: 9 2013 . 9 . . A million tons of fuel has been imported into Afghanistan over the past 12 months (AFP Photo/Wakil Kohsar) Kabul (AFP) - Tax-exempt military fuel imported into Afghanistan is being sold on the open market, industry officials and a new anti-corruption report reveal, causing the government huge revenue losses as Kabul struggles to wean itself off foreign aid. An AFP team witnessed first-hand evidence hinting at how duty-free fuel destined for NATO and local forces is being sold commercially when an Afghan energy official swooped unannounced on a Kabul oil depot last week. Flanked by a gaggle of assistants and bodyguards, the official examined a sheaf of customs documents from visibly nervous fuel tanker drivers, scouring the fine print for any trace of the illicit practice that traders have long claimed is crippling the industry. Among the documents from one driver was a "maafinama" - a tax-exemption certificate for military fuel that cuts costs by around $200 a ton - showing fuel imported from Turkmenistan in the name of the Afghan interior ministry. Only fuel bound for foreign troops as well as the defence and interior ministries - responsible for Afghan military and police - is exempted from custom duty, following a security agreement between the government and NATO. "What is this fuel doing in this market?" asked the official, standing near huge cylindrical reservoirs in the depot that supplies fuel to commercial traders and fuel stations. "That's the big question," he continued as he snapped pictures of the document and truck, pledging a full investigation. He allowed AFP to accompany him during the inspection but requested that his name be withheld for safety reasons. - 'Misuse' - No commodity is as vital to the reconstruction effort in war-ravaged Afghanistan as fuel - and none is more at risk of being stolen, smuggled or wasted in a country bedevilled by corruption, observers say. Last year more than one million tons of internationally funded military fuel was imported into Afghanistan, the finance ministry said, with its uncharged customs duty estimated to be around $100 million. Story continues "The custom duty exemption mechanism... (for) international forces has led to abuse by fuel traders which allows them to illegally profit," said a new report by the Independent Joint Anti-Corruption Monitoring and Evaluation Committee (MEC), which was seen by AFP. The report, due to be released on Tuesday, said 20 commercial companies were issued tax-exemption certificates last year. The process to obtain "maafinamas" involves a tightly bureaucratic application system that goes through the US military, NATO and the Afghan finance and foreign ministries - but the document remains prone to "misuse". - 'Contaminated' - "Companies that possess legitimate exemption forms have been known to sell the original to other companies," the report said, explaining how military fuel was ending up in the commercial market. "(Also) after the customs department process the exemption paperwork, the companies that have been granted exemption forms re-sell the fuel." NATO's Combined Security Transition Command (CSTC-A) said it was "not aware" of any specific allegations of illegally sold fuel. Shafiq Qarizada, deputy minister for customs, told AFP he "cannot confirm nor deny" whether exempted fuel is washing up in the commercial market. The comments come ahead of a crucial conference in Brussels in October, where donor countries are expected to reaffirm civilian aid funding for Afghanistan over the next four years. Afghanistan is battling what observers label "donor fatigue" as efforts to replace its huge foreign aid dependency with self-sufficiency are thwarted by corruption and criminal networks imperilling the already weak economy. Misuse of fuel exemptions is killing local businesses in a country that is heavily dependent upon imports to meet its energy needs, two private traders told AFP. The exemption waives 12 percent off customs duty among other charges, officials say. "Maafinamas have contaminated the commercial market," said the official who carried out the inspection. "How can a trader who dutifully pays taxes compete with cheaper maafinama fuel? This is suffocating lawful businesses and encouraging smuggling of fuel... and resulting in custom revenue losses worth millions." The misuse also has potential military implications. In May last year 17 Afghan policemen were killed when the Taliban stormed their remote base in the mountainous province of Badakhshan. Officials at the time said the policemen were unable to escape because they lacked adequate fuel for their vehicles, raising concern that military fuel was not reaching its intended destination. There are ongoing discussions for a memorandum of understanding between NATO and the finance ministry to curb the misuse of maafinamas, multiple sources including Qarizada told AFP. Among various reforms being discussed is a suggestion to levy customs duty on all military fuel and reimburse payments for actual deliveries. "MEC understands from interviews with both (NATO) and (finance ministry) that this reform is strongly supported but it is still not implemented," the MEC report said. "Why not? Is the reason for the delay perhaps another instance of corruption?" Tennant Company TNC has strengthened its emerging market business by acquiring the assets of its prominent Mexican distributor, Dofesa Barrido Mecanizado (Dofesa). The buyout is in sync with the companys existing inorganic growth strategy. Dofesa has been the prime distributor for Tennant Company in Mexico for a long time now. After obtaining the assets of Dofesa, the company intents to enlarge its sales and service network in the booming economy of Mexico. It would be able to offer equipment, parts and services to a larger number of Mexican end-users, in a much more cost effective and prompt approach. In other words, Dofesas competent distributional facilities and productive workforce would help Tennant Company meet customer demand more efficiently. The acquisition is anticipated to boost the companys sales in Monterrey, Mexico City, Puebla and Guadalajara in the near term. The deal was completed through the companys Mexican subsidiary, Tennant Sales and Services of Mexico (Tennant Mexico). The transaction was closed on Sep 1. However, the company has not revealed any financial details yet. Moving Forward For some time now, growth of companies operating in the manufacturing and industrial sector is being affected by lower corporate investments. A fragile macroeconomic environment, due to factors like weak energy resource prices, the Brexit episode and sluggish domestic demand from emerging markets, has been weighing over the performance of U.S. manufacturing and industrial companies like Tennant Company. However, this Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) stock is poised to grow on the back of strategic acquisitions, superior marketing and greater innovation. On Jul 28, Tennant Company acquired the floor coatings business of Crawford Laboratories. The latest acquisition of Dofesa is expected to reinforce Tennant Companys Mexican business by allowing it to cater to an expanded customer base through competitive marketing and sales services. Over the last 60 days, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for Tennant Company has been revised upward both for 2016 and 2017. Share price of the company was $66.53 per share as of Sep 2. We expect investors to react positively to the news of the Dofesa buyout. Other Stocks to Consider Other equally ranked stocks within the same industry include DXP Enterprises, Inc. DXPE, Gorman-Rupp Co. GRC and Nordson Corporation NDSN. Confidential from Zacks Beyond this Analyst Blog, would you like to see Zacks' best recommendations that are not available to the public? Our Executive VP, Steve Reitmeister, knows when key trades are about to be triggered and which of our experts has the hottest hand. Click to see them now>> Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report NORDSON CORP (NDSN): Free Stock Analysis Report DXP ENTERPRISES (DXPE): Free Stock Analysis Report TENNANT CO (TNC): Free Stock Analysis Report GORMAN RUPP CO (GRC): Free Stock Analysis Report To read this article on Zacks.com click here. Zacks Investment Research 2000 - 2022 24 .- . focus-news.net, () . 24 . 24 . . 24 . We value your privacy. Focus Taiwan (CNA) uses tracking technologies to provide better reading experiences, but it also respects readers' privacy. Click here to find out more about Focus Taiwan's privacy policy. When you close this window, it means you agree with this policy. To activate the text-to-speech service, please first agree to the privacy policy below. Taipei, Sept. 5 (CNA) Tien Hung-mao (), a former Taiwan foreign minister who will soon head the Straits Exchange Foundation (SEF), said on Monday that China's top leader has yet to speak on the "1992 consensus," and he hopes that there is still some leeway on this issue. I asked you to keep me informed about the $1.9 billion you are extracting out of the Ontario economy in new carbon taxes. I was excited when you promised lots of new jobs and reductions in carbon emissions. Then I saw the July jobs report. Wow, 36,100 Ontario jobs lost in a single month, the worst decline since the recession, and you still haven't told me any good news about carbon emission reductions. I guess your new plan is not working.Maybe it would have been better to leave that $1.9 billion in the hands of the Ontario businesses that were using it to hire employees before you taxed it away from them.However, I hear it's not all bad news on the Ontario job front. While the private sector is losing jobs by the tens of thousands under your new tax policies, you have been busy creating some really interesting opportunities for your staff. I don't know how I missed this, but apparently you lost $70 million setting up and then cancelling the Ontario Retirement Pension Plan (ORPP) in June. While in operation only six months, you hired some really special people that walked away with millions of taxpayers' dollars for apparently doing nothing. It sounds so ridiculous that I am assuming I must have it wrong, and that's why I'm putting pen to paper.So here goes, true or false?mo In a remote tropical forest in Indonesias Spice Islands, villagers planned their last stand. A foreign gold-mining company was preparing to gouge out a massive pit from the mountain that had sustained these farmers and fishermen for generations. To protect their way of life, the villagers planned to hike to the summit and refuse to leave. Newcrest Mining had won the right to explore this mineral-rich area during the 30-year rule of Suharto, Indonesias military dictator. But when mass protests swept Suharto from power, the new parliament outlawed the environmentally devastating open-pit mining method in certain areas like this one, where it could endanger the water supply. Newcrest, however, was proceeding as if the new law didnt apply because, effectively, it didnt. The Australian company had found a way to trap Indonesia in the deals of the deposed dictator and, in the process, reap huge profits. The weapon that Newcrest and other powerful foreign mining companies wielded was a threat. A highly specialized legal threat: They warned they might haul Indonesia before a sort of private global super court. Though most people have never heard of it, this justice system has the power to make entire nations fork over hundreds of millions or even billions of dollars to companies that say their business was unfairly hampered. Known as investor-state dispute settlement, or ISDS, this legal system is written into a vast network of treaties that set the rules for international trade and investment. It is as striking for its power as for its secrecy, with its proceedings and in many cases its decisions kept from public view. Of all the ways in which ISDS is used, the most deeply hidden are the threats, uttered in private meetings or ominous letters, that invoke those courts. The threats are so powerful they often eliminate the need to actually bring a lawsuit. Just the knowledge that it could happen is enough. An 18-month BuzzFeed News investigation into ISDS for the first time casts a bright light on the use of these threats. Based on reporting from Asia, Africa, Central America, and the US; interviews with more than 200 people; and inspection of tens of thousands of pages of documents, many of which have never before been made public, the series has already exposed how executives accused or convicted of crimes have turned to ISDS to help them get off the hook . Todays story reveals how corporations have turned the threat of ISDS legal action into a fearsome weapon, one that all but forces some of the countries where these corporations operate to give in to their demands. Only companies can bring suit. A country can only defend itself; it cannot sue a company. Arbitrators who decide the cases are often drawn from the ranks of the same highly paid corporate lawyers who argue ISDS cases. These arbitrators https://www.buzzfeed.com/chrishamby/the-billion-dollar-ultimatum?bftwnews&utm_term=.myBVwZV86#.dwBL04LgY Wonder why Ozland wants an exemption as opposed to an outright elimination of the ISDS clause...... One of the most revealing contradictions of left-wing ideology is the determination of liberals to bring as many Third World immigrants of color as possible into the U.S., where, if those same liberals are to be believed, they will face bigotry of appalling proportions. The ACLU, for example, claims that every institution of American government and private enterprise is pervaded by systemic bias against blacks and Hispanics. Cops lethally profile them; prosecutors and judges pack them off to prison because of the color of their skin; and universities, employers, and banks try to exclude them. (Such, also, is the position of the Obama administration.) Yet that same ACLU sues to knock down any legislated impediment to bringing as many aliens of color as possible into the country and sues to prevent any aliens already here illegally from being deported. (Such efforts also dovetail with the Obama administrations own policies.) But why this open-borders push? Had those hapless immigrants stayed in their countries of origin, they would not have had to face the discrimination and oppression that, according to the liberal intelligentsia, characterize the U.S. and other Western nations.This year alone has seen several Herculean efforts to impose the West as the mother lode of all discrimination template on outbreaks of violent hatred by Muslims. European feminists rushed to dismiss the New Years Eve sexual assaults by Muslim men as simply an outgrowth of Western patriarchy. The Islamic terror attack on a gay nightclub in Orlando, Florida, was somehow the product of American homophobia, exacerbated by opposition to transgender bathroom use . An Interpreter column in thetwisted itself into knots trying to claim that Donald Trumpsof honor killings was an attempt to shore up white-male dominance and to demonize the non-white-male Otherjust like lynchings in the Jim Crow South.But every so often a story slips through the liberal-media filter and escapes being slotted into the bigoted Westerners v. harmonious Rainbow Coalition countries narrative. Such was a recent story in theabout two sisters from Tanzania with the Albino skin condition. Tanzanians view Albinos with fear, loathing, and cupidity. Because Albinos body parts are believed to carry magical powers, their limbs are highly marketableonce obtained, of course, through mutilation or murder. Attending school for the two sisters, Bibiana and Tindi Mashamba, was a nightmare; not only did other children throw rocks and spit on them and teachers beat them, but the threat of murder was ever-present. So, like many Third World girls, they simply stayed home. But even such a retreat from the public realm couldnt protect them. The day after their fathers funeral (he died of AIDS), Bibianas leg and two fingers were hacked off in the hope of a lucrative sale.Good Samaritans brought the girls to the Orthopedic Institute for Children in Los Angeles so as to provide Bibiana with a new prosthetic leg. And then students from USCs law school started an asylum appeal for them. Did those law students seek to get them asylum in Nigeria, say, or Haiti, so that they wouldnt be oppressed by white privilege? No, oddly, they targeted their asylum petition at the U.S. government, the place where victims of the brutality, superstition, and hatred that characterize so many Third World countries flee to (along with equally reviled Western Europe). The petition was successful, and now Bibiana and Tindi are students in Ojai, California, where they are eager to catch up on their lost schooling and go on to college. There are no reports as of yet of the girls being stoned in Ojai.The girls adopted mother in Tanzania, a member of parliament who is also Albino, supported their asylum petition because Tanzania was not a safe space, she said. The MP herself does not risk going outside alone. By now, it should be clear to every voter in Legislative District 2 that Bill Kintner represents one person: Bill Kintner. A person with a sense of integrity would have long since resigned from his legislative seat. However, Bill Kintner is not that person. At the Cass County Fair, I spoke to numerous Republicans and Democrats who signed the petition suggesting that Mr. Kintner resign. I believe he has very little support in this district, his protestations notwithstanding. Now it is time, as voters, to do something. Unfortunately, the Nebraska Constitution has no recall process for state senators. That does not leave us completely voiceless. The Unicameral can still expel or impeach Mr. Kintner. However, they must know that the voters of this district are serious. I propose we all take a few steps. First, continue to write Bill Kintner and respectfully suggest he resign. Resist the temptation to engage in name-calling. Doing so only lowers yourself to Mr. Kintner's level. Flood his e-mail inbox. His e-mail address can be found at http://nebraskalegislature.gov/. Second, write Speaker of the Legislature Galen Hadley. His e-mail address is also at the Nebraska Legislature website. Third, write Chairman of the Legislature's Executive Board, Senator Bob Krist. Finally, write Governor Pete Ricketts. His e-mail address can be found at https://governor.nebraska.gov/. Use social media like Facebook and Twitter to get the message out. Don't play Mr. Kintner's game of allowing this episode to fade from public view. He has shown he is unwilling to resign, so he must be expelled or impeached. James A. Harrold Plattsmouth Today U.S. Congressman Jeff Fortenberrys office open, 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., 641 N. Broad St., Fremont. Alcoholics Anonymous meeting, 10 a.m., Chapter 5 Club, 136 N. Main St., Fremont. Alcoholics Anonymous meeting, noon, Chapter 5 Club, Fremont. Supportive Singles, 12:30 p.m., Village Inn, Fremont. For more information, call 402-721-9019 or 402-459-0692. Alcoholics Anonymous meeting, 5:15 p.m., Chapter 5 Club, Fremont. TOPS 58, 6-7 p.m., St. Timothy Lutheran Church, Fremont. Weigh-ins are from 5:30-6 p.m. For more information, contact Nancy Wit at 402-727-6745. Narcotics Anonymous open meeting, 6:30 p.m., Bethlehem Lutheran Church, 540 W. Eighth St., Wahoo. Narcotics Anonymous It Works Group, 6:30 p.m., Good Shepherd Lutheran Church Education Building, west of the church, 1440 E. Military Ave., Fremont. Enter through the rear door. Fresh Hope Support Group, 7 p.m., Fremont Healths Health Park Plaza, Room 5. The faith-based support group is for those suffering from mental illness or family members and/or caregivers. Al-Anon meeting, 8 p.m., Chapter 5 Club front room, Fremont. This support group is for families and friends of alcoholics. Narcotics Anonymous open meeting, 8 p.m., United Faith Church, 218 W. Gardiner St., Valley. Wednesday Newcomers Coffee, 9:30 a.m., Nye Square Wellness Center, Fremont. Visitors are welcome. U.S. Senator Deb Fischer office hours, 10-11 a.m., Keene Memorial Library, Fremont. Tiffany Settles, Fischers constituent services representative and outreach coordinator, will offer help with casework and other issues at the federal level. Alcoholics Anonymous meeting, noon, Chapter 5 Club, Fremont. U.S. Senator Deb Fischer office hours, 12:30-1:30 p.m., Blair Public Library, and 2:30-3:30 p.m., Tekamah Public Library. Alcoholics Anonymous meeting, 5:15 p.m., Chapter 5 Club, Fremont. Fresh Hope Support Group, 7 p.m., Trinity Lutheran School, 16th Street and Luther Road, Fremont. The support group offers faith-based help for those with mood disorders and for loved ones trying to understand. For more information, call David and Wray Lynn Trost at 402-480-1777. Narcotics Anonymous Library Group, 7 p.m., Keene Memorial Library East Building, Fremont. Alcoholics Anonymous, 8 p.m., Chapter 5 Club, Fremont. Thursday Alcoholics Anonymous big book study, 10 a.m., Chapter 5 Club, Fremont. Storytime, 10-10:30 a.m., Keene Memorial Library auditorium, Fremont. Alcoholics Anonymous meeting, noon, Chapter 5 Club, Fremont. Fremont Kiwanis Club, noon, Fremont Golf Club. Alcoholics Anonymous meeting, 5:15 p.m., Chapter 5 Club, Fremont. Narcotics Anonymous It Works Group, 6:30 p.m., Good Shepherd Lutheran Church East Building, west of the church, 1440 E. Military Ave., Fremont. Enter through the rear door. Bingo, 7 p.m., Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 8223, 742 N. Main St., North Bend. Everyone is welcome. Civil Air Patrol, 7 p.m., 1201 W. 23rd St., in yellow hangar at Fremont Airport. Compassionate Friends, 7 p.m., Fremont Healths Health Park Plaza, third floor, Room 5. This offers grief support after the death of a child. Storytime, 7-7:30 p.m., Keene Memorial Library auditorium, Fremont. Tally Ho Toastmasters, 7-8 p.m., Midland Universitys Anderson Building, Ninth and Clarkson streets, Fremont. Everyone is welcome to learn skills in communication, self-confidence and leadership. For more information, call Jan at 402-720-5526. Alcoholics Anonymous big book study, 8 p.m., Chapter 5 Club, Fremont. Narcotics Anonymous open meeting, 8 p.m., First Evangelical Lutheran Church, 201 N. Davis Ave., Oakland. Its been a long summer for Nebraska Sen. Ben Sasse, the conservative Republican whose refusal to support GOP presidential nominee Donald Trump has led to angry confrontations at local meetings, criticism from leaders in the state party and even death threats. In an interview, Sasse acknowledged hes been lambasted by his partys most engaged voters and other politicians in his overwhelmingly conservative state but said he doesnt regret his decision to publicly oppose and at times ridicule the New York businessman. Lots of Nebraskans adhere to a lesser of two evils theory, and I completely understand and respect that, Sasse said. But humbly, I think theres more to it than that... When you vote, youre saying that this person is an exemplar of the American system. Youre saying this person has character. Youre telling your kids that this person is a model of civic virtue, and that you hope to have more candidates like that in the future. The first-term senator doesnt have many like-minded colleagues: Nebraskas other U.S. senator, Deb Fischer, has endorsed Trump, and Republican Gov. Pete Ricketts and the states popular former governor, Dave Heineman, added their support at a raucous Omaha rally this summer. But supporters of Sasse point to his conservative principles and say hes not alone in his thoughts. Sasse, a 44-year-old former college president who holds degrees from Harvard and Yale, argues Trump isnt a true conservative. When Trumps last GOP rival dropped out of the race, Sasse went so far as to argue on his Facebook page that two dishonest liberals were leading the national parties. After Trump spoke in July with Republican senators in Washington, Sasses spokesman quipped: This election remains a dumpster fire. Nothing has changed. Sasse declined to discuss the threats his office has received but said it reflects a breakdown in civil discourse. We should never normalize this kind of stuff, he said. He also said he isnt trying to pressure others, just speaking his conscience because he believes Trump would try to expand the executive branchs power. Nebraskans are much more comfortable with civil disagreement than finger in-the-wind pandering, he said. Its that kind of talk thats angered Republican residents. Bob Warner, a GOP activist who voted for Sasse in 2014, has repeatedly called the senators office to protest the senators statements. What he personally thinks of Trump is his own business, but the people in his party supported Trump, the former city council member in Sasses hometown of Fremont said. As far as Im concerned, hes telling the people that they dont know what theyre doing. Jill Woodward, of Omaha, likes Sasse but is disappointed in him as well. Donald Trump won our primary fair and square, Woodward said. He might not have been everyones first choice, but thats life. Lets stick together, be a party and support our candidate. Sasse held a series of town hall meetings in Nebraska recently but didnt discuss his opposition with voters as he has to media outlets. He has said he wanted to keep his town hall events focused on policy issues. I wanted to know why he feels the way he does, said Jack Schreiner, who owns a rubber factory in Hastings and attended a town hall meeting in that city. Im not opposed to somebody having different views. But as a Republican, what are our options? Hillary? In suburban Omaha, Sasse refused to take questions about Trump until after a town hall meeting, prompting about 70 people to gather outside and pepper him about it. Sasse said the confrontation was organized by a small group of agitators who didnt speak for most of the attendees. The overwhelming number of people who want talk about the election talk about how distraught they are that we have two horrible candidates, he said. Despite the backlash, its unclear how much it ultimately hurt Sasse. Hes not up for re-election until 2020, and supporters say many Nebraska Republicans share his misgivings. Trump received 61 percent of the vote in the states May primary even though all other candidates had dropped out of the race. Nebraska voters are pretty pragmatic, and I dont see them punishing Sasse, said Bryan Baumgart, a former Douglas County GOP chairman. There are a ton of Republicans here who support him and actually agree with him. Hes kept every promise he has made, including sticking to his principles. Some may accuse him of abandoning the party, but he has supported all of the partys principles. Former Nebraska Republican Party Chairman Mark Fahleson added that it would be hard for potential Republican primary challengers to position themselves as more conservative. In a state like Nebraska, the danger in a primary is to be portrayed as not conservative enough, and thats a tough argument to make against Sasse, who was elected with 64 percent of the vote in 2014. If youre a conservative Republican, hes doing a phenomenal job, Fahleson said. If youre a Republican Party activist who has spent your life attending county Republican meetings and Republican conventions, then, yeah, you may be upset. Many Republican activists are frustrated because Sasse benefited from the partys support when he was running for office but now doesnt want to help its presidential nominee, said Hal Daub, a former Nebraska congressman and Omaha mayor. Daub endorsed Sasses primary opponent, establishment favorite Shane Osborn, in 2014, but said hes more concerned now that Sasses strong opposition to Trump will backfire. For my state and for his sake, what if Donald Trump is the next president? Daub said. Were really going to be welcome in the White House, arent we?David Kramer, a former Nebraska GOP chairman who is now a national committeeman, agreed Sasse might not pay a high price and speculated Sasse might just be trying to make a name for himself nationally. I just think its a risk for us, as a party, not to get behind the nominee, said Kramer, whose wife managed the campaign of one of Sasses primary opponents. I think that Sen. Sasse is playing a calculated game of being able to stand on the morning after the election if Trump loses and say, I told you so, which I think he hopes will bolster his national reputation. I still dont know that will resonate back here at home. Since the year 1792, the citizens of Wales have honored its writers, scientists, artisans, lawyers, poets and leaders with admission to the prestigious Gorsedd of the Bards. The highly regarded society is only open to those whose achievements and commitment to Wales, the Welsh language and the Celtic culture and heritage are deemed worthy. Almost always, the honorees are Welsh by birth and blood. But this year, among the 13 literary recipients was Martha Davies of Lincoln. She is one of three Americans to ever receive the honor her late husband was another. Davies is more Welsh by desire, than by ethnicity. But her contributions to Welsh culture the translation of historic documents, newspaper clippings and letters has rescued centuries of stories that were all but lost, forgotten and rewritten by non-Welsh peoples. Davies, 75, and her husband Berwyn Jones, 79, another American Welshman, are the driving force for the Great Plains Welsh Heritage Centre in Wymore. They live and breathe the heritage, traveling the continent and beyond, taking part in festivals, conventions and classes. Jones is immensely proud of his wife, whom he married in 2002. The widow and widower met at a Welsh American conference. He lived in Denver. She lived in Massachusetts. After traveling back and forth between homes, the couple loaded the RV and headed to Lincoln, where Jones grew up. Their late dog a Welsh corgi, of course, picked out their southwest Lincoln home, stubbornly standing his ground until Davies and Jones made an offer, Jones recalled. His grandparents settled among the Welsh community in Wymore. Jones grew up speaking the language and learning about his culture. But for Davies, her Welshness was diligently acquired. Davies grew up in Southern California her parents were transplants from Iowa and Kansas. Sometime around the fourth grade Davies remembers coming home from school and asking her mom: What are we? Language and people interested me, Davies recalled. It was the early 1940s, and California was growing with Jewish refugees and migrant workers from Mexico. I remember looking out at the community and wondering how I fit into it, Davies said. My mom said, Go ask your dad. Eventually, the family pieced it together: 80 percent German, Scottish, English, Irish, Welsh. Davies first husband, a professor of statistics, received a grant to teach in London for two years. In 1976, he was invited to teach at the university in Aberystwyth, Wales. I felt right at home in that little town right on the sea, she recalled. I could walk everywhere. Across the street from her Aberystwyth home was a cultural center. The singing and dancing intrigued her. So while her husband taught, and her children attended school, Davies took Welsh lessons, eventually earning a certificate in Welsh as a second language from the University of Wales. Id never heard Welsh before being in Wales, and I had not a hook in my brain on which to hang Welsh sounds and syntax, she said in an interview with the Welsh press upon the Gorsedd of the Bards honor. As a 35-year-old mom, I was child-like while learning the Welsh language. I would paper ceilings and refinish floors while listening to Welsh radio and singing along with Welsh pop songs and nursery songs, she told the University of Wales alumni magazine. She recalled her third winter in Wales. Ill with a heavy cold, she spent a week reading T. Rowland Hughes novel William Jones in Welsh. By the time she finished, she was a fluent reader. I thought I would be there forever, Davies said wistfully of her time in Wales. I loved it so much. I got the Welsh bug. But in 1980 the family returned to the United States. Her heart, however, remained in Wales. Yearning to fill the void she discovered Welsh-America. She learned Welsh hymns at the Cymanfaoedd Canu in Albany, New York. Wherever the family moved, Davies sought out and found Welsh-American communities. Following her first husbands death, Davies moved to Ames, Iowa. Her second husband, Phillips G. Davies, was a Welsh-American scholar who translated Welsh-American settlement histories and articles from Y Drych, (The Mirror), the Welsh language newspaper published in New York. When Phillips Davies died, Martha Davies carried on the translations. She was fascinated by the stories of the Welsh settlers who arrived in America around 1620. Now fluent in the old Welsh language she was able to retell the stories in their own words, rather than the translations which tweaked perspectives and word choices to reflect the English school of thought. Translating 19th century Welsh is no picnic, but the rewards can be great, Davies told the University of Wales magazine. The settlers expressed themselves more candidly in their language of the heart confiding details they would never have shared in the English language. She has published four books of Welsh-American settlement stories. One tells the Nebraska story of those who settled in Wymore and Blue Springs. Two others tell the history of Welsh settlers in Minnesota and Wisconsin. Another looks at the Welsh church in Jackson, Ohio. And Hanes Cymry America: A History of the Welsh in America (1872), is Davies rewritten version of the Rev. R.D Thomas book, in which she has translated writings from Welsh settlers. Her newest publication offers a brief look at the Welsh of Calgary, Alberta. She planned to debut the book Labor Day weekend during the North American Festival of Wales in Calgary. One month ago, Davies and Jones were in Wales for the National Eisteddfod, an annual weeklong festival celebrating the best of Wales. The Gorsedd honors took place in a special ceremony, harkening back to the 1700s. Members from the fields of law, science, sports, journalism, media and local and national activities become honorary druids and wear blue robes for the ceremony. Those who have contributed to the arts literature, music, drama or art wear green robes. Davies wore green. She calls her recognition by the Gorsedd of the Bards one of the highest points of a well-lived life. After 40 years, Aberystwyth is still the center of the universe for me, Davies said. For more than four decades, Pakistan has trained and armed hundreds of thousands of Afghan insurgents and hosted millions of refugees in the hope of shaping Afghanistans future to its liking. Islamabad, however, has embarked on a new approach that centers on controlling movement across the long and porous border between the two countries. Observers say the new policy is unlikely to help stabilize Afghanistan because it wont prevent insurgents from entering the country but will haunt refugees and border communities whose livelihoods depend on cross-border trade. The Pakistanis are not making this into a hard border, said David Sedney, a former deputy assistant secretary at the U.S. Defense Department. The Pakistan approach of making it harder for legitimate travelers and businesspeople to cross the border will have negative economic, security, and social consequences for both countries. Lieutenant General Asim Bajwa, the spokesman for Pakistans powerful military, recently outlined the rationale for the new policy. [We want] to ensure that no one can go on the other side illegally and no one from Afghanistan can come here except at those [official] crossing points, he told journalists on September 1. It will take time, but we have already taken that direction; we are moving ahead steadily, and we are succeeding. The new approach -- dubbed border management in the official parlance -- is being backed with ambitious security and border control infrastructure across the 2,500-kilometer border known as the Durand Line after the 19th-century British diplomat who demarcated it with an Afghan king. Kabul has never recognized the line as an international border with Pakistan to the east because it separates some 50 million Pashtuns into the two countries. An estimated 35 million Pashtuns are Pakistani citizens, while the remaining 15 million comprise Afghanistans biggest ethnic group. Most are concentrated in that country's southern and eastern provinces. While relations between Islamabad and Kabul have been a rollercoaster for 70 years, the Pashtun communities in both countries have long thrived on easy cross-border movement. Islamabad now appears poised to change that. Bajwa said Pakistan plans to build hundreds of border posts and expand its Frontier Corps border security force in an attempt to regulate all cross-border movement with Afghanistan at 18 border crossings. We will build proper gates on all these crossings and post immigration staff, he said. Only people with valid documents will be allowed to cross both ways. We will ensure that. Since June Islamabad appears to have enforced this new border regime. And the results have troubled civilians and further poisoned the already acrimonious relations between Kabul and Islamabad. In June, one soldier from each country died during a clash at Torkham, a border crossing that is part of a key trade artery connecting the northwestern Pakistani province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa to eastern Afghanistan through the famed Khyber Pass. On September 1, the Chaman border crossing connecting Balochistan Province in southwestern Pakistan to southern Afghanistan opened after a nearly two-week closure. More noticeably, government harassment in Pakistan forced more than 100,000 Afghan refugees to return to an uncertain future in their country. They are among the estimated 3 million Afghans Islamabad wants to return to their country by the end of the year. The border closures have devastated Afghan farmers and Pakistani businessmen whose livelihoods depend on cross-border access to markets, goods, and services. But they have made no apparent dent in the raging Taliban insurgency. With urban attacks and insurgents capturing new territory in the countryside, Afghan and Western officials say the Taliban are engaged in one of their deadliest offensives since the demise of their regime in late 2001. Sedney, who has served in Afghanistan for years, said the Pakistani plan will leave out thousands of kilometers of unpatrolled border and hundreds of unmonitored crossings across the vast border that includes snowcapped mountains, deserts, and forests. The Pakistani measures have had no impact on Taliban shipments of weapons, explosives, money, and fighters across the border, he said. [They] are not designed to impact terrorists and are having no evident positive impact on security for either country. The new policy has created some domestic political backlash in Pakistan. On September 1, Pashtun leaders of secular and Islamist political parties in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan provinces called on Islamabad to review its new approach. The two provinces share a border with Afghanistan, and their residents are impacted by the negative economic consequences of border closures and refugee harassment. Sedney said Islamabads new approach is unlikely to win any hearts and minds in Afghanistan, either. He said an overwhelming number of Afghans hold Islamabad responsible for Taliban violence and are deeply offended by how their compatriots are treated in Pakistan. He said both factors have enhanced Afghan enmity toward Pakistan over the past decade. Few Pakistanis seem to realize just how extensive and how debilitating for the future this negative dynamic is, he noted. fg/ PARIS, Sept. 5, 2016 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- On October 5&6, CF&B Communication is organizing the 16th consecutive edition of the "Large & MidCap Event", the unique independent forum in Europe where about 260 business leaders meet over 400 institutional investors in one-on-one. EnterNext and Euronext are the exclusive Premium partners of the event, supporting traded securities every year since the first edition, and enhancing the visibility of medium capitalizations among investors. - 258 business executives from Austria, Belgium, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, the Netherlands, Portugal, Scandinavia, Spain, Turkey. - Market Caps: 6.8bn to 5m. - Market Sectors: All! - Over 400 institutional investors (from Europe, the UK, the USA). - One-to-One, Discovery Meetings, Presentation Group Meetings, Speed Meetings. The 2016 "Large & MidCap Event", created and organized by CF&B Communication, is the unique European and independent event allowing traded companies to meet with new investors who are not necessarily clients of their usual partners. CF&B Communication thanks the Brokers and Sponsors who trust them in 2016 again or enter into the circle of the MidCap Events' new players: Bank Degroof Petercam, Gilbert Dupont, Invest Securities, Midcap Partners, CFO Sim, Groupe Caceis, Franklin Law Firm, FGA M&G Valores, and SFAF, as well as the media partners who support them. CF&B Communication will be pleased to welcome you to the Paris "Large & MidCap Event" next October 5&6. Registrations are open until 9th September with Caroline Bader Gilliume c.bader@cfbcom.fr English Icelandic Reykjavik, 2016-09-05 19:15 CEST (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Moodys Investors Service today upgraded to Ba2 the issuer rating of Orkuveita Reykjavikur (OR). Concurrently, the outlook has been changed to stable. In Moodys attached rationale for the upgrade, the company states that it reflects the progress the company has made with regard to strengthening its financial profile and improving its liquidity position in the context of a continuing improvement in the macroeconomic environment and market conditions in Iceland. In the attached release, Moodys states that it expects that OR should be able to maintain its improved financial performance and good liquidity position. ADELAIDE, Australia, Sept. 06, 2016 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC) will highlight key capabilities and programmes that offer the advantages of next-generation command, control, communications, computers, intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (C4ISR) at the Land Forces 2016 defence exhibition and forum. A photo accompanying this release is available at: http://news.northropgrumman.com/file?fid=57cd82ff2cfac20a7b6e4729. Land Forces 2016 takes place at the Adelaide Convention Centre, Sept. 6-8. Northrop Grummans exhibit in the U.S. pavilion is at Stand 2K6. The conference provides an excellent opportunity to showcase our unrivalled end-to-end C4ISR capabilities, said Ian Irving, chief executive, Northrop Grumman Australia. Our highly advanced, secure C4ISR systems provide critical decision-making intelligence and allow global defence forces to sense, share, target, fix and finish missions faster. At Northrop Grumman, we continue strengthening our presence in Australia and building partnerships with industry to help grow a strong defence and technology enterprise, added Irving. In its stand, Northrop Grumman will show the benefits of an open architecture approach to C4ISR for improved mission effectiveness and enhanced interoperability across the Australian Defence Force and with U.S. and other coalition partners. Demonstrations include advanced sensor-to-shooter capabilities for land forces and integrated air and missile defence capabilities. Additionally, in the Rheinmetall stand, Northrop Grumman will demonstrate advanced C4ISR capabilities integrated into the combat-proven Rheinmetall Boxer vehicle to reveal the potential growth of the Australian Defence Forces future combat reconnaissance vehicle. We are committed to supporting current and future Australian Defence Force capabilities and helping to realise the vision for a networked, fifth-generation force, said Dan Verwiel, vice president and general manager, missile defense and protective systems division, Northrop Grumman Mission Systems. In todays complex and fast-evolving environment, a holistic view for joint C4ISR and electronic warfare, air-sea-land integration, and cyber resilience is key for ensuring success. Northrop Grummans open systems C4ISR solutions enhance interoperability, situational awareness, communications and coordination for warfighters in the air, at sea and on the ground. Capabilities include: Advanced command-and-control that leverages fifth-generation sensors, data links, networks and decades of experience pioneering interoperable systems to provide joint and coalition forces with an integrated common operating picture. The greater ability to collect, integrate and disperse these intelligence products is driving a global trend to make warfare more information intensive, with many advanced armed forces including Australias adopting a network centric concept of operations. Airborne gateways that translate imagery, video, voice communications and data from various sources to allow defence forces to share information across diverse platforms and domains. The companys combat-proven airborne gateway technology can be integrated on manned and unmanned platforms, pods and mobile ground locations to deliver discriminating fifth-generation capabilities for a truly integrated joint future force. In March, the airborne gateway capability successfully integrated three disparate data networks during a demonstration in Australia. Expertise leveraging more than 30 years of experience in computer network operations and cyber. The company understands the breadth and complexity of all aspects of cyber defense and resiliency. Through technology investments, Northrop Grumman continues to provide solutions to address rapidly evolving cyber threats and to secure networks and systems worldwide to ensure the delivery of trusted information for its customers. Northrop Grumman products and systems have been supporting Australias national security requirements for more than 20 years. The company employs more than 400 people across Australia for numerous defense and civil programs, and its Australian headquarters are located in Canberra. Northrop Grummans Integrated Defence Services operates from three facilities located in New South Wales and three in Queensland, while NGM5 is located in Canberra. The company is also active in local science, technology, engineering and mathematics activities such as the Australian Centre for Cyber Security, Australian Science Teachers Project, and UAV Challenge. Northrop Grumman is a leading global security company providing innovative systems, products and solutions in autonomous systems, cyber, C4ISR, strike, and logistics and modernisation to customers worldwide. Please visit www.northropgrumman.com for more information. the army of terra-cotta warriors created to protect Qin Shi Huang, China's first emperor, in his afterlife is more than 2,000 years old and took 700,000 artisans more than 36 years to complete. the army of terra-cotta warriors Qin Shi huang, China's first emperor, it took 700,000 artisans more than 36 years to create more than 2,000 years ago more than 36 years If we look over the options, it's clear that each option includes the same information in a totally different order. Whenever we see a question like this, we should look to the non-underlined portion for a clue to what we should focus on: Rivaling the pyramids of Egypt or even the ancient cities of the Maya as an achievement, the army of terra-cotta warriors created to protect Qin Shi Huang, China's first emperor, in his afterlife is more than 2,000 years old and took 700,000 artisans more than 36 years to complete. The non-underlined portion of this sentence is a modifier! Since that is the only thing that all 5 options has in common, we can focus on that to look for problems. (A) Rivaling the pyramids of Egypt or even the ancient cities of the Maya as an achievement, the army of terra-cotta warriors created to protect Qin Shi Huang, China's first emperor, in his afterlife is more than 2,000 years old and took 700,000 artisans more than 36 years to complete. CORRECT (B) Rivaling the pyramids of Egypt or even the ancient cities of the Maya as an achievement, Qin Shi huang, China's first emperor, was protected in his afterlife by an army of terracotta warriors that was created more than 2,000 years ago by 700,000 artisans who took more than 36 years to complete it INCORRECT (C) Rivaling the pyramids of Egypt or even the ancient cities of the Maya as an achievement, it took 700,000 artisans more than 36 years to create an army of terra-cotta warriors more than 2,000 years ago that would protect Qin Shi Huang, China's first emperor, in his afterlife INCORRECT (D) Rivaling the pyramids of Egypt or even the ancient cities of the Maya as an achievement, more than 2,000 years ago , 700,000 artisans worked more than 36 years to create an army of terra-cotta warriors to protect Qin Shi Huang, China's first emperor, in his afterlife INCORRECT (E) Rivaling the pyramids of Egypt or even the ancient cities of the Maya as an achievement, more than 36 years were needed to complete the army of terra-cotta warriors that 700,000 artisans created 2,000 years ago to protect Qin Shi Huang, China's first emperor, in his afterlife INCORRECT There you have it - option A was the correct choice all along! Hello Everyone!Let's tackle this question, one problem at a time, and narrow it down to the correct choice! This is an updated version of an old question, so even if you've seen this before, it's going to be slightly different! To begin, here is the original question with the major differences between the options highlighted in orange:Rivaling the pyramids of Egypt or even the ancient cities of the Maya as an achievement,(A)created to protect Qin Shi Huang, China's first emperor, in his afterlife is more than 2,000 years old and took 700,000 artisans more than 36 years to complete(B)was protected in his afterlife by an army of terracotta warriors that was created more than 2,000 years ago by 700,000 artisans who took more than 36 years to complete it(C)an army of terra-cotta warriors more than 2,000 years ago that would protect Qin Shi Huang, China's first emperor, in his afterlife(D), 700,000 artisans worked more than 36 years to create an army of terra-cotta warriors to protect Qin Shi Huang, China's first emperor, in his afterlife(E)were needed to complete the army of terra-cotta warriors that 700,000 artisans created 2,000 years ago to protect Qin Shi Huang, China's first emperor, in his afterlifeIt's going to be too difficult to tackle every single difference. So what do we do?When we focus on modifiers, we must make sure it's placed next to what it's modifying, and it should be clear for readers to understand. Let's see how each option breaks down! To make things easier to spot, I'll include the non-underlined modifier to each option:This is! The modifier is referring to the army of terra cotta warriors, and it's clear because both the modifier and its antecedent are right next to each other.This isbecause Qin Shi Huang isn't what the modifier is referring to - it's referring to the terra cotta army. By putting Qin Shi Huang next to the modifier, readers may mistakenly think that the man himself rivaled the pyramids of Egypt and ancient cities of the Maya, which doesn't really make sense.This isbecause it uses a vague pronoun "it" after the modifier. It's not clear at all what "it" is referring to - what took 700,000 artisans more than 36 years to create? Your reader might be able to figure it out after reading the sentence a few times, and that's a bad thing! It should be clear to readers what the modifier is referring to!This isbecause, again, it's not clear what rivaled the pyramids and cities of the Maya. This sentence also strangely states that the artisans may have rivaled the pyramids and cities of the Maya? It's incredibly vague and confusing, so let's rule this one out!This isbecause the modifier isn't placed next to what it's referring to. The sentence is confusing for readers to decipher, which is a big no-no on the GMAT! Modifiers and antecedents should be right next to each other and clear to readers!It's the only option that places the modifier and antecedent next to each other!Don't study for the GMAT. Train for it._________________ Official Solution: Hiberian Opposition Party Spokesman : Our National Textile board is running at loss; The cost of maintaining a wide network of inspection offices and officials are disproportionate to the benefits accrued since hardly only 1% of the consignments are getting rejected overall. Hence, if we cut down the size of the official expenditure on maintenance of such inspection operations, it will go a long way in sustaining the operations, yet maintaining Hiberian quality of exports and reputation. . Hiberian PMO Spokesman: This is a fallacious approach. The mere message that somebody is overseeing the affairs deters many potential fraudsters from exporting unfit goods and earning bad reputation. The PMO Spokesman responds to the Opposition Party Spokesman by A. rebutting the argument of the spokesman of the opposition party while urging that the standards according to which the board inspects exported textiles should be raised.B. evidencing that the Opposition stand has significantly overestimated the cost of maintaining the board.C. criticizing the Opposition Partys stand introducing into the issue irrelevant and non- economic factors.D. bringing out into open a factor which the Opposition totally failed to consider.E. resorting to Ad hominem, i.e. attack ones character rather than the argument per se.A. There is no mention of raising the standard - wrongB. No evidences produced wrongC. No introduction of irrelevant issues by the PMOD. This is the correct answer. The PMO points out deterrence factor to blunt oppositions allegation.E. No personal names called: wrong choice.Answer: D_________________ Re: Wolves generally avoid human settlements. For this reason, domestic sh [ #permalink Resolve paradox = no conclusion Which of the following, if true, most helps to explain the increase in wolf attacks on sheep? A. Populations of deer and other wild animals that wolves typically prey on increased significantly in numbers from 1910 to 1915. This almost makes the paradox even weirder. If more other prey, then why kill the sheep? B. Prior to 1910, there were no legal restrictions in Hylantia on the hunting of wolves. Doesnt matter what happened before 1910 were concerned with 1910-1915 and why despite the killings of wolves did sheep attacks increase. But if anything, this could almost strengthen if you spin it. There were a bunch of wolves before. But starting in 1910, maybe hunters went ham and killed a bunch of wolves. So why if wolf population went down, why would sheep attacks increase? C. After 1910 hunters shot and wounded a substantial number of wolves, thereby greatly diminishing these wolves' ability to prey on wild animals. This sounds off, but it resolves the paradox. Wolves are wounded and their ability to hunt isnt so great. If youre wounded and cant hunt to well, but you still need to eatwouldnt you eat the easy prey? Perhaps sheep? How do we know that sheep are easy prey? Stimulus explicitly says so domestic sheepessentially easy prey for wolves D. Domestic sheep are significantly less able than most wild animals to defend themselves against wolf attacks. This could strengthen if anything. Sheep = defenseless. But regardless, this would be true even before more wolves were killed. So sheep are less able than other animals and were killed before by a large population of wolves. But if theres a smaller population of wolves, wouldnt it mean the wolves be able to kill fewer? Doesnt resolve anything. No need to extrapolate further than this. E. The systematic hunting of wolves encouraged by the program drove many wolves in Hylantia to migrate to remote mountain areas uninhabited by humans. Makes the problem even worse. They not only were killed but all moved away. So why sheep killings? We rely on your support to make local news available to all Make your contribution now and help Gothamist thrive in 2022. Donate today The memory of J'Ouvert 2016 is guaranteed to be a somber one. Two people were killed during the festivities, a year after a Cuomo aide was fatally struck by a stray bullet in a pre-festivities shootout. At least four more people were wounded when shots rang out on the corner of Empire Boulevard and Washington Avenue, which is almost the exact midpoint of the all-night party's one and a half-mile parade route. Despite the city's best efforts, history repeated itself, and already Monday morning some are openly wondering if J'Ouvert might be banned for good. From the outside, many write off J'Ouvertan all-night celebration of Caribbean pride that kicks off the fall carnival seasonas a dangerous mess. But standing in the middle of it all, last night was beautiful. The relentless steel bands and booming stereos meant the parade was six straight hours of rhythmic bliss as paint, powder, and motor oil was lobbed in every direction. Limbs and voices shook beneath the flags of Jamaica, Barbados, Trinidad, and many more West Indian nations, and more than a few communal rum bottles made the rounds. The doubled NYPD presence, while formidable, wasn't stifling. Officers lined both sides of the entire parade route but allowed revelers to celebrate, with thousands of open containers and joints in sight. Chanel Boothman, 19, made it to Crown Heights at 1 p.m. Sunday along with a group of friends from Queens. "We've been coming since we were young. I'm Trini, and this is my culture. J'Ouvert means just being free and open to express ourselves." "We don't really care," Boothman said of the NYPD presence. "It's good that they're here to protect. I feel safe, I'm with my family." "If you're gang-involved, that's when things happen," Andriana Beltre, 20, said as she walked on Eastern Parkway. Beltre, whose family is French Dominican, had traveled to Crown Heights from Boston for the entire West Indian American Carnival weekend. "But if you're not, and just be in the crowd, it's all about peace." A man and a woman were killed during the J'Ouvert celebrations in Brooklyn earlier this morning. At least four other people were injured as well, as thousands gathered for this pre-West Indian American Day Parade festivity. Just before 4 a.m., at Empire Boulevard and Flatbush Avenue, three people were shot: a 17-year-old boy, Tyreke Borel, died from a gunshot wound to the chest while a 66-year-old was shot in the arm and a 72-year-old woman was injured as she tried to get away. Then, around 4:15 a.m., Tiarah Poyau, 22, died after being shot in the face. Police assembling before J'Ouvert (David Torres) Near Ocean Avenue and Eastern Parkway, a 23-year-old woman was reportedly stabbed in the back at 4:20 a.m. And a man in his 20s was apparently shot in the leg at Clarkson and Rogers Avenues around 4 a.m. Moments after one of the deadly shootings at this year's #Jouvert celebration. Latest on @NY1 pic.twitter.com/ghJwRkLM2G Lori Chung (@lorichung) September 5, 2016 Two people were killed during last year's J'Ouvert, including an aide to Governor Andrew Cuomo. Last week, Mayor Bill de Blasio had promised a "massive NYPD presence" to ensure this would be "the safest J'Ouvert ever." The NYPD's 71st Precinct also distributed a flyer telling revelers, "Do not shoot anyone. Do not stab anyone." Police presence (David Torres) A huge number of police officers were seen at the start of the parade, with many along the route just trying to keep the floats moving. Prospect Heights resident Jill Roberts lamented about the violence to the Daily News: "I feel like I didnt have a JOuvert" and said "she wished authorities would 'tell these people to go home.'" "It's not safe," Roberts added. News, analysis, and archives on the grassroots in Haiti. Nouvel, analiz, ak achiv sou baz yo an AYITI. Noticias, analisis y archivos sobre el pueblo de Haiti. Living amidst violence rapidly constricting hope for a safer, sustainable, more equitable, and happier community and nation, what is to be done?There's more to be done than I can envision or perhaps even imagine. People who suffer -- whether for being different, for trying to control their bodies, for randomly encountering some gun fetishist, from climate disruption, or simply for lacking cash -- need to be cared for. In some places and moments, some people have to raise a ruckus in the streets.But also, what experience with actual, existing U.S. political power has taught me: in the mid-term elections in the fall of 2022, there are some contests that are vital. Here is a useful list of articles to help you figure out which elections are most important.Or hit me up about volunteer and paid opportunities to join campaigns in Nevada, Arizona and Pennsylvania: jan.uhreno@gmail This journal serves a community of small businesses worldwide. Here John Wiley Spiers addresses topics on business start-up and expansion and reports relevant daily headlines.John Wiley Spiers is a small business international trader, author of HOW SMALL BUSINESS TRADES WORLDWIDE , and lecturer at various colleges. For those interested in becoming members of this community, contact John at john@johnspiers.com. The city of Helena is within four to six weeks of launching its two-route bus service, City Manager Ron Alles said. I think were looking at an early October two-route system, Alles added. The bus service, recently renamed Capital Transit, has been undergoing a change. A new logo with a capital letter T inside of a circle bordered by the words Capital Transit has replaced the former Western hat and name, Helena Area Transit Service. Also changing with new additions to the bus service fleet is the former white color thats being phased-out for indigo blue. Planning for the future of the citys bus service has been ongoing for perhaps three years or longer and a two-route system had been proposed in 2014, if not discussed even earlier. Tentative plans for the two routes would have one traveling between the Walmart store on the citys eastern edge and the Target store on North Montana Avenue. A second proposed route would span between St. Peters Hospital on the citys east side and roughly the 1700 block of Euclid Avenue on Helenas west side. While saying he didnt expect the proposed routes to be a perfect solution to transit riders needs, Alles did explain that the bus service would look for opportunities to improve service. If we can make it better, we will, he added. Each route will take 30 minutes. The current single bus route across Helena has been faulted for taking an hour or more to make a single loop. Some 40 bus stops are planned for the two routes, although all of them wont be operational when the new service is launched. Were installing about half of those right now, Alles said, noting that work on the others was anticipated for next years construction season. He figured between $65,000 and $70,000 is being spent on the roughly 20 bus stops along the two routes. Some of the proposed bus stops are on private property and the city will need to negotiate with landowners on those, Alles said. Im optimistic, Alles said. Weve got a good plan laid out. People will benefit from using it. A consultant was hired last year to review the proposed bus stops and advise what work needed to meet federal Americans with Disabilities Act standards. The city manager said hes hopeful that some of the bus service riders who currently rely on the curb-to-curb service that takes them from one location to another will be able to use the new routes with Americans with Disabilities Act-compliant bus stops. Those who need the door-to-door service will still be able to obtain it, he added. The city also has to complete an engineering and traffic study of bus stops to meet a new Montana Department of Transportation requirement before implementing the new routes. This Labor Day, we recognize the millions Americans and thousands of Montanans who go to work every day to provide for their families. Their hard work drives our economy and is what makes Montana strong. Working Montanans arent waiting for an invitation to the table -- we are driving the debate about the issues that matter to us. We are making sure our voices are heard. In November, we will come together to elect leaders who share our values and vision, and who put working families first. Together, well create an economy that works for everyone. Thats why we will support Gov. Steve Bullock for re-election. Working people across Montana know that creating a prosperous economy thats fair for everyone means equal pay for equal work, benefits that include health insurance and a dignified retirement, the right to stand together and speak up for better pay and benefits and well-funded public education for our children. Gov. Bullock understands this. His opponent does not. Greg Gianforte opposes making equal pay for equal work the law. Gov. Bullock stands with us. Gianforte doesnt believe workers are entitled to a retirement plan theyve paid into their entire lives. Gov. Bullock has supported strengthening retirement. Gianforte supports using our tax dollars to fund private schools. Gov. Bullock has repeatedly stood with Montana students and fought for quality public education. Gianforte has funded radical groups that want to transfer and sell off our public lands. Gov. Bullock knows public access to public lands is part of our Montana heritage and has fought to preserve it. Gianforte gives us rhetoric, and Gov. Bullock gives us action. A perfect example is Gov. Bullocks response to the Clean Power Plan. Gov. Bullock put Montana in the drivers seat by convening a special council to design our response. Furthermore, Gov. Bullock has shown his support for Montanas workers by engaging with the U.S Department of Energy to research and invest in technologies that protect and expand Montana energy jobs. What has Greg Gianforte done? He has given workers lip service. Nothing else. Why would any worker support Greg Gianforte? He has refused to even meet with Montana's largest labor organization made up of miners, educators, building trades unions, nurses, linemen, laborers, fire fighters, refinery workers, public servants and many other occupations. Furthermore, Gianforte refuses to oppose dangerous Right-to-Work laws that weaken worker's rights, silence whistleblowers, and endanger employees safety and health. Gov. Bullock is clear on this important issue and Montana workers know where he stands. Unions built the middle class in our country, and we are working to strengthen the right to have a voice on the job. In Montana, we want a leader who believes all workers should be able to join together and negotiate for better wages and benefits and a safe workplace. Gov. Bullock stands with us, while Greg Gianforte has backed and funded organizations that push policies that would pull the rug from under hard working Montanans. On Labor Day, lets commit to making our voices heard at the polls. This fall we are voting to elect candidates who believe we deserve fair wages, decent benefits, a reasonable work schedule and paid time off when we get sick. These candidates include Gov. Steve Bullock, Denise Juneau, Tim Fox, Jesse Laslovich, Melissa Romano and Monica Lindeen. If we elect our candidates the same way we have driven the debate in Montana, we can make progress for all families and communities. This November, we are voting for a better life for all working Montanans. Al Ekblad is the executive secretary of the Montana State AFL-CIO, which is Montanas largest labor organization with 50,000 members and their families. Support Mary Ann Dunwell! House District 84 is the only district that includes both Helena and East Helena schools. I am fortunate to pay taxes in both school districts. I support both districts, yet I have concerns how state level decisions may significantly affect my tax bills for the long term. I trust Mary Ann Dunwell, the incumbent, to represent my interests because she acts as a person of action; she listens with her full attention; she understands the diversity of individual situations in our neighboring communities. She respects us. We need solid leadership. She delivers great representation. From Dartman fields to Mountain View Meadows to Nob Hill -- her district encompasses every kind of person, neighborhood, businesses you can imagine. It may be the most diverse district in Montana. Do you want to improve your life? Then do what you need to do. Dunwell has told me, If you work hard, then you deserve a fair shake. She gets that the freedom, liberty and prosperity rise when we have equal opportunity to succeed. Dunwell is a powerful representative. She works at it. She makes tough decisions. She is the best. Please tell your friends, Vote for Mary Ann Dunwell. MISSOULA -- None of the 10,000 Syrian refugees allowed into the United States since President Obama set that threshold last fall landed in Montana. A map published this week by the New York Times displayed the distribution of refugees who arrived in the U.S. from camps outside the war-torn Middle East country in fiscal year 2016, which ends Sept. 30. Other maps show those whove come to the U.S. since 2012. Montana is one of about 10 that has received no Syrians. Neighbors Wyoming and South Dakota are among the others. The closest city to western Montana that has accepted Syrian refugees in recent months is Spokane, Wash., where the Times map indicates up to 100 Syrians have resettled. The International Rescue Committee recently reopened an office in Missoula, but the initial refugees here are Congolese coming from refugee camps in East Africa. The Bismarck Tribune reported Friday that the first Syrians to touch down in North Dakota arrived in Fargo on Aug. 19. The newspaper said Jamal Tmr, his wife and seven children, ages 1 to 12, had flown more than 15 hours from Iraq, with stops in Amman, Jordan and Chicago. The flight over the ocean, that was just kind of endless, Tmr told the Tribune, speaking Kurdish through a translator. The kids, they were just not patient at all. A monthly update on Aug. 10 by the Canadian government reported that 708 Syrian refugees had been resettled in Calgary, Alberta some of the 25,000 Syrians that have landed in Canada since November. In the U.S., most of the 10,000 refugees from Syria have been sent to more affordable medium-size cities, the New York Times pointed out. Boise, Idaho, for instance, accepted 108, more than New York and Los Angeles combined. The largest concentration is in San Diego, where 626 Syrian refugees have arrived since last Oct. 1. According to the New York Times maps, other states besides Montana and its two neighbors with no Syrian refugees since 2012 are Alabama, Alaska, Delaware, Hawaii, Mississippi, New Jersey, and New Hampshire. 1. d), according to the National Hot Dog and Sausage Council 2. a), by far 3. Beef hot dog, topped with chopped onions, diced/wedged tomatoes, a dill pickle spear, sport peppers, pickle relish, mustard, and celery salt, and served on a poppy seed bun. 4. c) at Chicago's Columbian Exposition, though some will argue for the 1904 St. Louis World's Fair. 5. a wiener with mustard, covered in a savory chili sauce and chopped yellow onion. 6. Cured and cooked sausages that consist of mainly pork, beef, chicken and turkey. Meats used in hot dogs come from the muscle of the animal and looks much like what you buy in the grocer's case. Other ingredients include water, curing agents and spices, such as garlic, salt, sugar, ground mustard, nutmeg, coriander and white pepper. 7. Some questions aren't meant to be answered; one source says bakers' pans traditionally were designed in clusters of four in pans designed to hold eight rolls. LINCOLN Two iconic Route 66 locations are closer to reopening in redefined roles, thanks to recently secured grants. The Mill, a former Lincoln restaurant closed since 1996, is expected to open as a museum next spring, while Spragues Super Service gas station in Normal is set to be turned into a visitors center, and could be open this fall. Both plans are now possible because of grants from The National Park Service, Route 66 Corridor Preservation program, said Bill Kelly, executive director of the Illinois Route 66 Scenic Byway. These are two iconic properties that have not been restored to a proper level of care that is really going to allow the traveling public to stop and fully enjoy them, he said. This is going to take care of that issue. Spragues was originally built in about 1930 by William Sprague at 305 Pine St. in Normal and was a combination cafe, filling station and service station. Earlier this year, the town of Normal acquired the property. The $31,398 grant will help repair and stabilize the exterior stucco and masonry and rehabilitate the last of the windows. This is wonderful news, said Route 66 enthusiast Terri Ryburn, who is restoring Spragues and transforming it into the visitors center. We are really working to get open sometime this fall, but the rain has really slowed us down. But we still are going to put a lot of effort in and try to get it done. Project eligibility criteria require a minimum 50 percent cost-share match by the applicant. After closing in 1996, The Mill at 738 S. Washington in Lincoln, deteriorated over several years, said the secretary of the restoration committee, Geoff Ladd. In 2006, the Route 66 Heritage Foundation of Logan County was created to promote and preserve The Mill and other Route 66 sites in the county. The $22,720 grant will provide accessibility to the building, including an entrance and bathroom, he said. We have also received recent $2,500 donations from Apex Clean Energy, the owners of the Sugar Creek Wind Farm project and from Illico Incorporated, a gas station and farm supplier, which also operates convenience stores, based in Lincoln. All of this will allow us to finish the interior work at The Mill, he said. One project that was required was to bring the restrooms into compliance with the Americans With Disabilities Act and now, we are able to do that. Ladd said The Mill is a prime example of early American roadside architecture and is one of the few buildings from the era still standing. The restaurant was first opened in the shape of a small Dutch windmill with sails on the front in 1929 under the name of The Blue Mill. The projects were two of eight that were awarded by the National Park Service, which provides grant assistance for eligible historic preservation, research, oral history, interpretative and educational projects. Americans trust the U.S. military to protect lives and freedoms, but they cannot trust it to perform an honest accounting of its own budget. The United States Armys finances are so jumbled it had to make trillions of dollars of improper accounting adjustments to create an illusion that its books are balanced, Reuters recently reported. According to a report from the Defense Departments Office of Inspector General, the Army materially misstated, or simply made up, accounting figures totaling $6.5 trillion for 2015. The errors eclipse the DODs total budget, which is $573 billion for 2016, because errors in one account cascade down to multiple levels of subaccounts as well. DOD and Army managers could not rely on the data in their accounting systems when making management and resource decisions, the IGs report concluded. In some cases, the Army simply did not maintain required data, in other cases data was woefully inaccurate and sometimes data was lost. For example, the Defense Finance and Accounting Services, which performs accounting functions for the DOD, was unable to produce accurate year-end financial statements for the Army because more than 16,000 financial data files had vanished from its computer system, Reuters noted. In order to fill these gaps in the financial statements, DFAS staff engaged in what some employees refer to as the grand plug; in other words, pulling numbers out of the air to make things add up. As a result, the Reuters story observed, there has been no way to know how the Defense Department far and away the biggest chunk of Congress annual budget spends the publics money. These revelations call into question whether the Defense Department will be able to meet a deadline to be ready for a comprehensive audit by Sept. 30, 2017. The long overdue audit would be the first in the history of the DOD, which for 20 years has flouted a law requiring all federal departments to conduct annual audits. The DOD has a long history of waste and a lack of accountability. In recent years, it has wasted billions of dollars in doomed Afghanistan reconstruction efforts, spent $1 billion to destroy $16 billion worth of obsolete and unused ammunition and lost more than $500 million worth of weapons, aircraft, patrol boats and equipment given to Yemen, some of which might have fallen into the hands of terrorists. Politicians plead for more defense spending for the troops with almost as much regularity as they seek more money for other programs for the children. But the DOD IGs latest report, and many others preceding it, clearly illustrate that much of the Pentagons funding has nothing to do with the troops welfare or the readiness of our military services. While both Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump have called for increased defense spending to strengthen our military forces, our hope is that these reports will not only reiterate the need for the Defense Department to undergo that long-delayed comprehensive audit, but also spur an honest discussion about its budget and the need to eliminate its wasteful spending and frivolous defense contracts. -- The Orange County Register DECATUR Elizabeth Gipson has joined SCB Wealth Management as assistant vice president and trust officer in the companys Decatur office. Elizabeth is a certified financial planner professional. She graduated from Millikin University with a bachelors degree in finance. She is a member of the Financial Planning Association, Central Illinois Estate Planning Council and American Business Womens Association. Elizabeth has over eight years financial planning and portfolio management experience. For more information about Soy Capital Bank and the many services it provides, go to www.soybank.com. Kids in a Yerevan neighborhood have no qualms petting a seven-month old bear cub being kept in a tiny barred enclosure. Foam drips from the cubs mouth. Its not due to the sweltering summer heat. Children say that the cubs teeth have been removed by its keeper a safety measure, no doubt. The cub is a brown bear, (Ursus arctos), registered in Armenias Red Book of Endangered Species. Readers might ask how the bear cub appeared in this section of Gogol Street in the Zeytoun-Kanaker district of Yerevan. According to homeowner Gayaneh, the cub belongs to a friend of her husband. He asked that they keep the cub until he finishes building a cage. While this reporter was talking to Gayaneh, the cubs owner showed up. He is Shant Bagratyan, son of a former Regional Governor of Vayots Dzor province. Bagratyan claims to have all the necessary permits for the bear. Bagratyan says the cubs canine was broken accidentally. He didnt say how. When I ask Bagratyan if hes aware that the bear is registered in Armenias Red Book of Endangered Species, the young man replies: Maybe. But were not doing anything bad. Red Book? Thats even better. We are keeping one as well. Hes obviously proud of the fact. Bagratyan doesnt enjoy the attention of the press. Theres so much to photograph in this country. People cant work and die from hunger, he says. He says it costs a mere 500 AMD ($1) per day to feed the cub; mostly from household scraps. The cub eats all the rotten stuff, says Gayaneh, asking us to erase what we have filmed. We cant send you off in good fashion if you dont, she adds. Good fashion, I reply would be to show us the permits for keeping a wild animal who is evidently sick. Bagratyan promised to show us the permits before 2 p.m. today. He never did. Morning briefing: Can Democrats ride an anti-Trump wave to retake the House and Senate? You have permission to edit this article. Edit Close A 22-mile, high-speed chase started with a stolen vehicle in Winnebago County and ended with a crash in Dodge County, the Wisconsin State Patrol said. The State Patrols Fond du Lac Post for the Northeast Region reported the driver in the crash was Alecia J. Swick, 28, of Menasha. The Neenah Police Department first received a report of a stolen white GMC Sierra pickup truck from a nearby campground around 4:25 p.m. A few minutes later, the Winnebago County Sheriffs Department received a report of a similar vehicle sideswiping another vehicle on Highway 41 near Highway 26, Sgt. Michael Galvan of the State Patrol said. At 4:30 p.m., State Patrol Trooper Daniel Hester reported he was behind the stolen vehicle in Fond du Lac County, Sgt. Andrew Hyer said. When the trooper tried to stop the vehicle, the truck moved onto the right shoulder to drive past traffic on Highway 41 that was slowed for a traffic incident, Galvan said. County deputies tried three times to deflate the tires, but Swick avoided all attempts. The trooper and two county deputies followed the truck, reaching speeds of 100 mph, Galvan said. As the truck crossed into Dodge County, state troopers continued to follow while deputies fell behind. Dodge County Deputies and the Lomira Police Department also tried to use tire-deflation devices, Galvan said, but Swick avoided the strips. For an unknown reason, at least one tire on the truck disintegrated, Galvan said, but the truck continued for several miles on the rims while traveling at around 80 mph. The truck eventually drove off the pavement, hit a highway sign and spun out across the southbound lanes of Highway 41 near Highway 67, coming to rest at the median, Galvan said. Swick was flown to an Oconomowoc hospital due to injuries Galvan said were caused by not wearing a seat belt in the crash. No officers were injured in the chase. Swick was the subject of warrants from two counties, Galvan said. Hyer said the State Patrol was working to refer a charge of fleeing an officer to the Fond du Lac District Attorneys Office. He said other charges may be referred as well. Scrapbook welcomes news of academic honors other than deans or honors lists. We accept news of scholarships, class reunions, service club officers, honors to volunteers, military promotions and decorations and other special recognitions. Please type or write clearly, and include a phone number. Submissions must be received at least one full week prior to publication. All items received may not necessarily be used. Please send contributions to Scrapbook, Wisconsin State Journal, P.O. Box 8058, Madison, WI 53708; or by email to ageiger@madison.com. I am Kerry Burgess. This is what I think. Bethany Lutheran Videos at Each Live Worship Service Such is the contrast between the Bible of the old and the Bible of the new theologies. That there are compromise systems between the twoor at any rate attempts at a compromise is certainly true; but it is impossible to effect a compromise between systems fundamentally and essentially at variance. This is a case of either or, Delitzsch was right when he maintained that a deep chasm existed between the old and the new theology, and this chasm exists because there is a chasm between the Bible of the old and the Bible of the new theologies. In one word, the Scriptures of the one is the Bible without God; the Scriptures of the other is the Bible of and with God. The Bible Of The Old And The Bible Of The New Theology. By Rev. Professor George H. Schodde, Ph. D., Columbus, O. in Loy, ed. The Columbus Theological Magazine. Vol. 18, 1898. LutheranLibrary.org Special Envoy for Climate Change Travel to Dakar, Abuja, Johannesburg, and Pretoria Washington, DC - U.S. Special Envoy for Climate Change Dr. Jonathan Pershing will travel September 4 9 to Senegal, Nigeria, and South Africa. His trip is an important opportunity to discuss implementation of the Paris Agreement, and advance climate and clean energy efforts with leaders across Africa ahead of this years UNFCCC annual climate conference, COP-22, in Marrakesh, Morocco, on November 7-18. Special Envoy Pershing will travel to Dakar, Senegal, on September 4 for meetings with government officials and civil society to highlight our strong partnership based on common interests in addressing climate change and how it impacts coastal communities, food security, power production and inclusive economic growth. On September 6, Special Envoy Pershing will travel to Abuja, Nigeria, for meetings with government officials and civil society to discuss climate finance and investment, youth engagement on climate change, and the importance of joining and implementing the Paris Agreement. Special Envoy Pershing will then travel to Johannesburg and Pretoria on September 8 for meetings with South African government officials, private sector, and civil society to discuss climate negotiations, leadership on renewable energy, and priorities going into COP-22 in Marrakesh later this year. ABC News(CLEVELAND) -- Hillary Clinton said in an interview in Cleveland, Ohio, with ABC News' David Muir that Donald Trump created a "diplomatic incident" last week with his trip to Mexico. "He came out saying one thing and the Mexican president contradicted him almost immediately," said Clinton, referring to Trump's claim that he did not discuss payment for the border wall, a centerpiece of his presidential campaign. "He didn't raise it, so he did choke. He didn't know how to even communicate effectively with a head of state. And I think that's a pretty clear outcome from that trip," she added, taking Trump's word that the issue was not discussed. But after the joint press conference in Mexico City, Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto tweeted that the topic of the wall led off their conversation and said that he was unambiguous regarding his countrys stance. Al inicio de la conversacion con Donald Trump deje claro que Mexico no pagara por el muro. Enrique Pena Nieto (@EPN) August 31, 2016 "At the beginning of the conversation with Donald Trump I made it clear that Mexico will not pay for the wall," wrote Pena Nieto in Spanish. Clinton called the short trip, which only lasted a few hours, "unfortunate." Her running mate, Sen. Tim Kaine, then chimed in, saying, "If you're gonna cave when you're with an ally, and Mexico's an ally, what are you gonna do when you're with an adversary?" Kaine added that he finds it "impossible to believe" that funding for the wall was not discussed, characterizing it as a "rookie mistake" by the GOP nominee. "You shouldn't leave the safety of America and our diplomacy in the hands of a rookie who, on his one visit with a foreign leader, has already created kind of an international embarrassment for us," said the Virginia senator. Muir also asked Clinton whether she'll accept Pena Nieto's invitation to visit Mexico before Election Day in November, as Trump did. Clinton responded, "No." "I'm going to continue to focus on what we're doing to create jobs here at home, what we're doing to make sure Americans have the best possible opportunities in the future," said the Democratic presidential nominee. Following his visit to Mexico last Wednesday, Trump flew to Arizona for a highly publicized speech about his immigration reform policies and was direct in his own right about who he believed would be footing the bill. "We will build a great wall along the southern border," said Trump. "And Mexico will pay for the wall." Copyright 2016, ABC Radio. All rights reserved. AAP leader Ashutosh's blog has stirred up controversy, with the NCW sending him a notice for his "objectionable" article. By India Today Web Desk: Aam Aadmi Party spokesperson Ashutosh's article defending former party member Sandeep Kumar has put him in the line of fire. The National Commission for Women (NCW) sent him a notice for his blog saying that consensual sex is a private matter and what Sandeep Kumar did behind closed doors is something that he should not be pulled up for. The NCW held that it was "demeaning" to women. advertisement Ashutosh took to Twitter to lash out at the commission's chief Lalitha Kumaramangalam. "Lalitha Kumar Manglam is member of BJP national executive/was national secretary of BJP," he tweeted. In another tweet, he said he hoped that "she was summoning every writer who wrote about consensual sex. NO pick and choose." Lalitha Kumar Manglam Is member of BJP national executive/was national secretary of BJP. If I get notice from NCW, I will react. I hope Lalitha Kumarmangalam, member of BJP Nat Ex/chairman NCW is summoning every writer who wrote about consensual sex.NO pick and choose. ashutosh (@ashutosh83B) September 5, 2016 Ashutosh had drawn an analogy of lofty personalities such as Jawaharlal Nehru, Mahatma Gandhi, Atal Bihari Vajpayee and said that their relations with more than one women was seldom discussed or held against them. BLAMES TV ERA FOR SCRUTINISATION "Maybe these leaders were fortunate as they didn't live in the TV era; they were not caught on camera; no sting operation was done...If it is a sin and a certificate for characterless-ness, then the role of all the above great leaders in history should also be re-assessed and reevaluated," he wrote. "The NCW feels that the language of the article was derogatory and demeaning towards women. He has portrayed the former minister's act as something being done by many people, (and hence implying) what is the big deal about it. It is insulting towards women in general," NCW chairperson Lalitha Kumaramangalam said. She denied being a member of the BJP's national executive as she said her party upholds the principle of "one person-one post". Reacting to the notice, Ashutosh had tweeted, "Should I be hanged for writing a column?" Recd notice fm NCW.Is any freedom of expression?Is india turning into a fascist state? pic.twitter.com/WBVkBk5EL5 (With inputs from IANS) ALSO READ: AAP distances itself from Ashutosh's Gandhi remark, says his opinion personal --- ENDS --- A Delhi MLA has written to AAP convener and Delhi Chief Minster Arvind Kejriwal alleging that senior party leaders are exploiting women in Punjab promising them party tickets. By Kumar Kunal: More embarrassment is in store for the Aam Aadmi Party and its leadership. Even as the party strives hard to steer clear of the sex CD scandal of former Delhi minister Sandeep Kumar, AAP MLA Colonel Devendra Sehrawat has alleged that party leaders are 'exploiting women in Punjab'. Delhi's Bijwasan MLA Colonel Sehrawat has written a letter to Delhi Chief Minster and AAP convener Arvind Kejriwal seeking a clarification from the top leadership on the matter. advertisement READ: Sex CD: Sacked Delhi minister Sandeep Kumar suspended from AAP THE ALLEGATION "I saw disturbing reports about women being exploited in Punjab in return of or promise of tickets. I am meeting people in Chandigarh to check the position on ground," Sehrawat wrote to Kejriwal. "I am probing reports claiming that party leaders Sanjay Singh and Durgesh Pathak made physical relation with women on the pretext of ensuring party tickets? Similar allegations have been leveled against Dilip Pandey in Delhi. His photographs with women have also appeared in public," Sehrawat claimed in his letter. READ: Objectionable posters of Sandeep come up in Goa; AAP irked STRICT ACTION SOUGHT Colonel Sehrawat further said that it had become difficult for him to defend his party due to the activities of some of the leaders. He demanded that such leaders be immediately thrown out of the party. "It is expected of you (Kejriwal) that you would act in a manner which will reinforce people's faith in us that we still believe in bringing about a change in politics," said Sehrawat, who had earlier spoken out against expulsion of Prashant Bhushan and Yogendra Yadav from the AAP. READ: Sex CD case: My husband is innocent, I stand by him, says Sandeep Kumar's wife The Delhi lawmaker also slammed AAP leader Ashutosh for defending Sandeep Kumar. Sehrawat called it against the ethics and tradition of the party. In his defence of Sandeep Kumar, Ashutosh had drawn parallels with Mahatma Gandhi, Pt Jawaharlal Nehru and Atal Bihari Vajpayee. Sandeep Kumar had been removed as Delhi women and child development minister after a sex CD appeared in public. Kumar was arrested on Saturday on the charges of rape and wrongful confinement. ALSO READ: Satirist Gurpreet Ghuggi becomes Punjab unit convener AAP in Punjab finds itself sinking in controversies after sacking local leaders --- ENDS --- By India Today Web Desk: Amitabh Bachchan is probably the coolest Dadu in B-Town, a fact his granddaughters Navya Naveli Nanda and Aaradhya Bachchan would vouch for. On Teacher's Day, Big B penned down a message to his granddaughters that is a must-read for everyone. ALSO READ: Aaradhya Bachchan is the reason Azad Rao Khan is sad these days ALSO READ: Aaradhya is helping mother Aishwarya dress up for Cannes advertisement The veteran actor took to Twitter last night to say that he was writing a letter: T 2369 - I write ... a letter .. because I wanted to .. !! pic.twitter.com/l2xUPf1TBa Amitabh Bachchan (@SrBachchan) September 4, 2016 Bachchan's message to Aaradhya and Navya is essentially to tell them that they 'carry a very valuable legacy' on their 'tender shoulders'. It goes on to say how they should not let anyone's opinion of them matter to them. He asks them to never worry about 'log kya kahenge' (what will people say). The letter, which Bachchan tweeted, reads: You both carry a very valuable legacy on your tender shoulders - Aaradhya, the legacy of your pardadaji, Dr Harivansh Rai Bachchan...and Navya, the legacy of your pardadaji, Shri H P Nanda.... Both your pardadaji's (sic) gave your present surnames celebrated fame, dignity and recognition ! Both of you may be a Nanda or a Bachchan, but you are also girls...women ! And because you are women people will force their thinking, their boundaries on you. They will tell you how to dress, how to behave, who you can meet and where you can go. Don't live in the shadows of people's judgement. Make your own choices in the light of your own wisdom. Don't let anyone make you believe that the length of your skirt is a measure of your character. Don't let anyone's opinion of who you should be friends with, dictate who you will be friends with. Don't get married for any other reason other than you want to get married. People will talk. They shall say some terrible things. But that doesn't mean you have to listen to everyone. Never ever worry about - log kya kahenge At the end of the day, you are the only one who will face the consequences of your actions, so don't let other people make your decisions for you. Navya - the privilege your name, your surname offers you, will not protect you from the difficulties you will face because you're a woman. Aaradhya - by the time you see and understand this, I may well not be around. But I think what I am saying today shall still be relevant. This may be a difficult, difficult world to be a woman. But I believe that it is women like you that will change that. It may not be easy, setting your own boundaries, making your own choices, rising above people's judgement. But YOU !...you can set an example for women everywhere. Do this and you would have done more than I have ever done, and it will be my honor to be known not as Amitabh Bachchan, but as your grandfather !! Big B has time and again taken to social media to express his love for his granddaughters. On the work front, Bachchan will soon be seen as a lawyer in Aniruddha Roy Chowdhury's courtroom drama Pink, slated for a September 16 release. --- ENDS --- By Devarsi Ghosh: Abhay Kumar's Placebo, a documentary that is part-actual footage and part-animation, takes on the issue of student-suicides in India which was and is a persistent problem in India. The film was completed by late 2014 and had been doing the rounds of festivals and private screenings for two years till it saw a worldwide release on Netflix on Thursday (September 1). advertisement The film shot on the grounds of the All India Institute Of Medical Science (AIIMS) in Delhi tries to understand the psychopathology of a student who is driven to suicide in a place that is host to, perhaps, the country's best geniuses. In the beginning of the film, a disclaimer says that while Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and Harvard have acceptance rates of nine and seven percent respectively, the acceptance rate for students in AIIMS is less than 0.1 percent. As such, why would, the most 'elite' of the student community of India, feel insecure, scared and agitated on a day-to-day basis? ALSO READ: Netflix's first Indian release Brahman Naman is a first-rate sex comedy ALSO READ: Gurvinder Singh's Chauthi Koot is unlike any contemporary Indian film ALSO READ: ISLAND CITY MOVIE REVIEW Placebo does not give any answers to this 'why' but it takes the first crucial step of asking that question to students, parents, teachers, and educational communities. Every time, a student in India commits suicide, the cause for it is relegated to depression and/or 'romantic problems'. In popular cinema, very recently, Rajkumar Hirani's 3 Idiots (2009) tried exploring this issue, in a rather wishy-washy manner, through the Joy Lobo character. But where 3 Idiots fails and Placebo succeeds, is that the latter does not have the burden to entertain you for money, which is the prerogative of a Hindi commercial potboiler. Therefore, Abhay Kumar is able to go into disturbing territory that would leave the audience emotionally drained by the end of the film. Placebo's subjects are four AIIMS students - the affable Chopra, the childish Sethi, the capricious K and Abhay's own brother Sahil. Through the eyes of these four, Placebo tries to understand the mindscape of a place like AIIMS; the kind of drive millions of Indian students have in them to get here and what this place does to them once they are here. A still from Placebo Chopra admits to the camera that an Indian child's life is a debt to his parents and that becoming a doctor or an engineer is part of fulfilling that debt. Sethi says that he has always had two ambitions; to crack the AIIMS entrance and to settle in US, because that's what the 'elite' do and he wants to be part of the 'elite'. K, a Dostoyevsky-hero personified, is the kind of guy you will not want to be locked up in a room with after 2am, and though he has, or, pretends to have an eagle-eye view of the cage that every Indian student is born into, he knows that he himself is a part of it, and that clearly disturbs him. A still from Placebo A still from Placebo advertisement Finally, Sahil, which is where the film becomes personal. Abhay began studying AIIMS with a handycam when his brother, in a fit of rage, sadness, and confusion, punched through glass, resulting in his right hand becoming mush. Sahil had complete nerve damage, lost motor control, and skin from his thigh was grafted into his hand. Through the course of the film's shooting, Sahil was recovering, and he was in a deep, dark place in his head, and in a telling scene, he looks into the camera and tells his own brother, Abhay, who is essentially a wall-like voyeur, "I don't know you" and "You are not helping me". To figure out whether this act of self-introspection adds to the film's emotional weight or if its simply manipulative is a grey area. advertisement When Darren Aronofsky (director of Black Swan, The Wrestler) was asked how his films look and feel so different from each other, he said that the story at hand dictates the style instead of him imposing a style on the story. This is another grey area that will come to mind while watching Placebo. Placebo is heavily stylised. The ominous music and sound design (by Shane Mendonsa and Micke Nystrom respectively), the nocturnal imagery of the AIIMS campus making it look like purgatory itself, ample use of animation including black-and-white animated stretches, highly saturated segments, etc. takes the film away from the idea one has of a traditional documentary and tries to transport the viewer to the headspace of Chopra, Sethi, K and Sahil. A still from Placebo After a private screening in Delhi, when asked about his aesthetic choice, Abhay said, "I've always seen the universe of this film as a larger than life, hyper-real version of the narrative. the emotions are exaggerated - the sense of competition, the ambition, the desolation, the violence, there are no soft edges here." advertisement Full marks to Abhay Kumar and producer Archana Phadke for making a film that treats the issue of student-suicides with much-needed empathy and seriousness. Placebo needs to be seen by every Indian student burning the midnight oil, losing their minds and identities, sitting in Kota or wherever, trying to be a part of the hallowed Indian 'elite'. Placebo needs to be seen by the Indian parent who is far removed emotionally from his/her child to be able to create an environment where every child can open up to their mother and father. Placebo needs to be seen by teachers who wash their hands off students the moment a kid does not figure into the ideal Indian idea of a 'student'. But most importantly, Abhay Kumar should continue making films. We need voices in Indian cinema like Kumar's today that do not shy away from walking the rough road, talking the tough talk. ( The writer tweets as @devarsighosh ) --- ENDS --- According to a senior administrative official, over two dozen prisoners had to be hospitalized due to week-long hunger strike and the strike was not called off despite intervention by senior Agra officials. By Siraj Qureshi: After more than two dozen convicts incarcerated in the Agra Central Jail were hospitalized due to indefinite hunger strike, the Agra divisional administration has decided to raise this issue to the prison authorities in Lucknow. The strike was in support of prisoners who have spent more than 14 years in jail. According to a senior administrative official, over two dozen prisoners had to be hospitalized due to week-long hunger strike and the strike was not called off despite intervention by senior Agra officials. advertisement STATE GOVERNMENT INTERVENTION The matter has now been referred to the state government and a meeting has been planned at Lucknow where the issue of release of prisoners who have spent more than 14 years in jail will be decided. He said that at present the Agra central jail holds about 2000 prisoners, while there are 350 such prisoners who had been given life imprisonment and have spent more than 14 years in jail. These prisoners are demanding release on grounds of having spent their prison term. Over 1500 prisoners are not eating anything since a week and demanding that the prison authorities to accept their demands. COMMITTEE SET Meanwhile, a committee, headed by the district magistrate of Agra, has been formed in the central jail for the premature release of Manchu, a prisoner who had been given life imprisonment. This committee will also decide the cases of each prisoner who has passed 14 years in prison under legal boundaries. Bhartiya Muslim Vikas Parishad chairman Sami Aghai said that if this issue is not resolved soon, this prisoner movement could affect other prisons in the state as well as create a problem for the administration. He also added that the demands of the prisoners are quite justified and the administration should take legal recourse to find a way to release these prisoners. If this is not done soon, more prisoners could fall ill or succumb to hunger which will be a serious issue in itself. --- ENDS --- Air India has prepared a list of erring pilots and has warned to take stringent action against indiscipline. By Anindya Banerjee: A series of indiscipline has forced Air India to talk tough. Lately many flights were late or cancelled due to pilots and crew either not reporting to duty or reporting terribly late without any valid reason. This has cost Air India its image as well as financial loss. Particularly at a time when Air India has got back to operating profit after years for the first time, this is one thing the carrier cannot afford. advertisement Apparently CMD Ashwani Lohani, who is a personal pick of PM Modi has been given a free hand by the highest level. India Today is in possession of the letter A list of erring pilots already submitted to Lohani who are likely to be suspended. If any revolt takes place, their services can also be terminated which is extremely unusual for Air India. Sources from the carrier said that Pilots not reporting to duty at whims and fancy. The CMD had chaired an emergency meet on indiscipline this August. Also read: After employee's death, Air India makes use of seat belts mandatory for staff --- ENDS --- Athens-Limestone public library in Alabama imposes a new policy of jail sentences to those who don't return overdue books to recover 200,000 USD worth of missing books. By India Today Web Desk: We have all faced this at some point, a book that eternally stares at you, pleading to be returned. But you somehow keep procrastinating till that date and before you know, years pass by. Not all are as lucky as the woman who dodged a fine for a book she returned after 68 years. advertisement The unlucky ones are those who have overdue books from this Alabama library. The Athens-Limestone public library has decided to impose a strict rule in order to recoup missing books worth 2,00,000 USD. The newly written ordinance prescribes fines and possibility of a 30-day jail sentence. The new rule deems it unlawful for people who 'fail or refuse to return' the books they borrowed on time. The News Courier quoted Library Director Paul Laurita as saying "The taxpayers expect us to protect their investment. We make every effort to be good stewards of public funds." According to her, the rule was essential to stop the offenders who were not just stealing from their library, but from other library patrons and taxpayers. To keep a tab on overdue retainers, the library will send a reminder via text or email. If they fail to acknowledge the notification, they will send a letter with a ten day deadline to return the book. If that fails, court summon will be issued and possibly a jail term in extreme cases. The potential 'book-return' procrastinators in Alabama can run, can hide, but cannot escape jail sentence if they don't adhere to the rules. --- ENDS --- Young filmmaker makes first short film on the increasing number of suicides in Andaman and Nicobar Islands. By Manogya Loiwal : The pristine islands spread across Bay of Bengal and entering Indian Ocean have got there first short film. The film focuses on the issue of increasing suicides in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. With almost one person killing themselves every 40 second suicide is escalating as one of the major issue of not only India but across the globe. And to fight against the raging evil through the means of creativity, 25 year old K Raja Kumarr, a film maker hailing from the Andaman and Nicobar Islands produced a short film titled as "Say no to suicide" to raise awareness among the mass especially the youth. advertisement Startled by the logistics of the number of suicide case coming to light each year with more than 150 deaths from his native land of Andaman & Nicobar Islands, he strongly felt the need to raise awareness among the youths who indulge in alcohol or drugs to overcome the pain of loss. ONE SUICIDE EVERY 40 SECONDS "Every 40 second one person kills himself and over eight lakh people lose their precious lives every year. Of these 1.35 lakh are residents of India. Over 150 suicides are recorded in Andaman and Nicobar Islands each year. This is on a rise and shocking too," said Kumarr. The short film which intends to create awareness against the perilous issue has already gone viral in the Islands with more than 13,000 likes and still counting. It is gaining popularity across the social media platform in the region with each passing day. Former Lieutenant Governor of Andaman & Nicobar Islands, Lt. Gen. AK Singh appreciated the film by hailing it as "Great and relevant effort. I will ask Social Welfare department to incorporate the video in our effort against suicides". Born in a Tamil family K. Raja Kumarr had his initial schooling at Port Blair but shifted to a boarding school in Chennai where he developed a fondness for music and movies. SHORT FILM COMPETITION PAVED WAY He found his calling for films at a Short film festival Competition where he was judged as the winner for a 10-minute short film, Raja discontinued Engineering and started pursuing visual communication. However, his road towards success was not at all easy as his parents could not associate with his job prospect. With his talent, budding film maker Raja, made a fair living out of the job opportunities in Chennai but his life took a rough turn when he arrived to try his luck in Mumbai. The city of dreams did turn into a nightmare for Raja as he struggled to land a job. But with time, he overcome his hardships and became an ad film maker. ANYONE CAN SUCCEED With 48 ad films lined up, Raja is a successful film maker and believes if he can overcome his struggle, anyone can do so. advertisement "But in reality, do we really care about the word suicide or the emotions related to it", that's what Raja questions to those who stay ignorant towards the social evil. Raja is now making all possible efforts to spread awareness and reduce the number of suicides, "If you kill yourself you're also going to kill the people who love you". Also read: Why Placebo is a film every Indian student, parent, and teacher MUST watch Smooch, Sindoor and Suicide: Rekha biography gives shocking details on the star's life Haryana folk singer Sapna Chaudhary attempts suicide, admitted in hospital Mumbai: Family opposes marriage, live-in couple commits suicide --- ENDS --- By Ashish Pandey: In an alleged case of medical negligence a patient died due to lack of oxygen in the ambulance. As per the family 35 -year-old Laxmi Devi of Puttaparthy, Anantapur of Andhra Pradesh was suffering from dengue and was undergoing treatment at a local hospital. When her condition worsened the doctors suggested family to shift her to Bangalore for better treatment. Following the doctors suggestion the family hired an ambulance to take Laxmi to Bangalore. advertisement However, Laxmi died on her way to the hospital. Family alleged that the ambulance did not have sufficient oxygen leading to her death. The family also accused the ambulance staff of negligence. "We admitted her to a hospital in Puttaparthy and she was doing fine there. After about two days the hospital authorities asked me to shift her to Bangalore for better treatment. They called the ambulance with oxygen as recommended by the doctor. Midway they told us that the cylinder ran out of oxygen. They used another cylinder but that too got over soon," said Laxmi's husband Venkatesh. LAXMI DIED MIDWAY Venkatesh added that his wife complained about breathing trouble but the staff did not assist. She was rushed to another private hospital in Bangalore where she was declared brought dead. Following the incident, the local police rushed to the spot and began investigating the incident. They are waiting for the post-mortem report to ascertain the exact cause of Laxmi's death. Police officer told India Today that after they will file a complaint after they got the post-mortem report. Also read: Hospital, doctors ordered to pay Rs 64L for medical negligence --- ENDS --- The girls were forced into prostitution by a 7-member gang who were running the racket from a massage parlour. By Aravind Gowda: As many as six girls from Bihar and West Bengal were rescued by the police from a massage parlour in HAL 3rd stage in the city on September 2. All the six were forced into prostitution by a 7-member gang, which is now behind the bars. The police raided Paradise Spa located in the prestigious HAL locality on the basis of information provided by local residents. The police arrested the spa owners - Jayanth Shetty (from Udupi), Dheeraj Sharma from Uttarakhand and five of their accomplices. advertisement PROSTITUTION RACKET While Shetty, who owned the spa, rented it to Dheeraj to run the prostitution racket, the other five identified were potential clients. Dinesh Shetty, business partner of Jayanth, is absconding. Also read: Bengaluru: 6 drug peddlers arrested All the six girls, who were rescued were lured to Bengaluru under the pretext of getting jobs in the service industry. The police have registered multiple cases against the seven accused and a probe is on. --- ENDS --- The Expat Insider 2016 has come up with a list of 67 countries around the world and ranked them based on their friendliness and 'scope of finding friends'. By India Today Web Desk: Do you like making friends? Are you a people person? Then this is a list just for you. The Expat Insider 2016 by InterNations, which surveyed more than 14,000 respondents, has come up with a list that ranks 67 countries around the world as per their 'friendliness' and scope of 'finding friends'. In this ranking sub-headed as 'Where Expats Are Met with Open Arms', India has cosied up to the 34th place. advertisement This is not so bad compared to countries like Czech Republic, Saudi Arabia and Kuwait, which have been found to be the least friendly of all. The list says there is "no better place for finding friends" than Mexico, while Uganda has the friendliest population. Greece, Cyprus and Spain have been listed as "more welcoming towards expats". Hong Kong and Mozambique are said to "disappoint in terms of friendliness". Even for "finding love", the list is some what the same for expats. Malta tops the ranking, with Costa Rica closely following. China seems to the worst place of expats to build a relationship. Source: Expat Insider 2016 Source: Expat Insider 2016 Check out the entire list here. However, if you are an expat, these are a few troubles you might face, says the Expat Insider 2016. Source: Expat Insider 2016 Here's what the Expat Insider 2016 has to say about Indians living abroad: Source: Expat Insider 2016 --- ENDS --- With the arrest of the inspector who apprehended JDU's Indrajeet Sen, the Bihar government seems to be working hard to free the jailed leader. By Rohit Kumar Singh: Two days after Bihar Sharif's excise inspector Deepak Prasad arrested JDU's Harnaut block president Indrajeet Sen for stocking 168 bottles of liquor in his house, he is being hounded by the local administration and the local police. After seizing huge quantity of liquor stock from the JDU leader's house, Prasad who would have wished to be appreciated for his act, is shockingly under detention for last two days. He is being questioned by the police for his alleged role in hatching a conspiracy to frame the JDU block president. advertisement The police have also detained Subendra Kumar, former Mukhiya of Lohra panchayat in this connection. The alleged charges which the police is probing against him is, Subendra's wife contested elections against Indrajeet's wife for Lohra panchayat. Subendra's wife lost elections by merely 26 votes in the recently concluded panchayat polls. Perhaps in a bid to take revenge against Indrajeet Sen , Subendra may have planted the liquor bottles in his house. "The police is questioning me. I as an excise inspector whenever get a tip off, carry raids and seize liquor. I never ask who the person is or to which party he belongs when arresting the accused. This is for the first time that such thing is happening to me", said Deepak Kumar, Excise Inspector, Bihar Sharif. POLITICAL TWIST Meanwhile, the entire matter has turned political as Indrajeet belongs to Harnaut block in Nalanda district, the home block of Bihar CM Nitish Kumar. Indrajeet himself is considered close to Bihar CM. Perhaps this is the reason why the Nalanda administration and the entire machinery is trying its level best to turn the case in favor of the jailed JDU leader and get him released. "The govt is trying to cover up the entire case because it involves a JDU leader. This case has happened in Nitish Kumar's home district, so the entire govt is now trying to save its image. It is not possible to plant 168 bottles of liquor in someone's house", said Nand Kishore Yadav, senior BJP leader. JDU on the other hand is claiming that Chandradeep's arrest and subsequent jailed for stocking 168 bottles of liquor was a glaring instance of misuse of the prohibition law. "There is provision in the law that anyone who plants liquor in someone's house will be dealt with accordingly. In the Harnaut case it has been found that liquor was planted at JDU leader's house. If BJP has proof that govt is trying to protect the JDU leader, they should make it public", said Neeraj Kumar, JDU Spokesperson. advertisement Also read: Bihar excise inspector, who arrested JD(U) leader with 168 liquor bottles, arrested --- ENDS --- By PTI: Jaipur, Sep 3 (PTI) The BJP appears to have stepped in to resolve the ongoing tussle between the erstwhile royal family of Jaipur and Jaipur Development Authority over Raj Mahal Palace heritage hotel owned by the family of a party MLA Diya Kumari. BJPs national joint general secretary Saudan Singh held separate meetings with Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje and Diya Kumari at the party office here yesterday, a day after Rajamata Padmini Devi took out a rally protesting the Authoritys action to seal the main gate of the Palace claiming its ownership. advertisement On September 1, Rajasthan government had justified the Authoritys move and said it was "completely legal and bona fide" as the action was taken for public land. The Opposition Congress too has taken a swipe over the "confrontation" brewing between Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje and the royal family. Diya Kumari, daughter of Rajamata Padmini Devi and BJP MLA from Sawai Madhopur, briefed Singh about the JDA action on Raj Mahal Palace hotel owned by the family, party sources said. Later, the Chief Minister also visited the party office and met Singh. The sources said that the party leader had been sent to intervene in the ongoing conflict between the erstwhile royal family and the state government over the issue though they did not divulge further details of the meetings. Diya was not present in a protest rally taken out by the Rajamata against the JDA earlier this week but her husband and son had joined Devi in the march. PTI SDA MNG RT MNG --- ENDS --- Murali had gone to the PG centre hoping to find jewellery but ended raping the lone woman in the PG centre. By Mail Today Bureau: A burglar, who had raped a techie at a paying guest (PG) accommodation centre in Bengaluru nearly 10 days ago, was arrested by the police. HABITUAL OFFENDER According to the police, the crime was committed by a habitual offender Murali (24), who hailed from Kolar district in Karnataka. Murali had relocated to Bengaluru two years ago and indulged in petty crimes. There are several cases of burglary and rowdyism against Murali in police stations of Bengaluru. advertisement RAPE The police picked Murali on the basis of information provided by the victim. They prepared sketches of the rapist and zeroed in on Murali, who upon arrest, confessed to have committed the crime. Murali had gone to the PG centre hoping to find jewellery but ended raping the lone woman in the PG centre. A case has been registered and an investigation is on in the case. The police have also directed the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike to initiate action against the owner of the PG centre for not implementing guidelines recommended by the government. ALSO READ: Sex CD case: Sandeep Kumar arrested by Delhi Police after rape complaint India safer for foreigners than its daughters, over 34,000 rape cases registered in 2015 --- ENDS --- Tamil Nadu has got a big relief in the Cauvery water dispute as the Supreme Court on Monday directed the Karnataka government to release more water over next ten days. By India Today Web Desk: In a big relief for Tamil Nadu government the Supreme Court on Monday ensured the farmers of the state get more water in the coming days. The apex court directed the Karnataka government to release 15,000 cusecs of water from Cauveri river to Tamil Nadu for the next ten days. Tamil Nadu had approached the SC seeking release of 50 TMC of water from Karnataka from the Cauvery river. The two states are at loggerheads about the distribution of Cauveri river water. advertisement FARMERS IN DISTRESS Approaching the apex court, Tamil Nadu said that the farmers of the state were in distress as they heavily depended on Cauvery water for irrigation of their fields. But, Karnataka had expressed inability in releasing additional water from Cauvery. Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah said that there had been poor monsoon leading to acute shortage of water in the state. Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Jayalalithaa wrote a letter to the Karnataka government asking it to comply with the existing agreement. A delegation of farmers from Tamil Nadu also met the Karnataka CM with its demands. But, Karnataka maintained that the state is facing acute water crisis. READ: Supreme Court urges Karnataka to release water to Tamil Nadu on humanitarian grounds THE BACKGROUND The Cauvery water dispute is more than a century old. The first trouble arose in 1881 as the then Mysore state planned to build a dam across the Cauvery. The state of Madras objected to it. An agreement was reached with British mediation in 1892. Another agreement was signed in 1924. However, the dispute over distribution of Cauvery water continued and it was only in 1990 that the Cauvery Water Disputes Tribunal was set up. The tribunal announced its award in 2007. THE ARRANGEMENT The Cauvery tribunal distributed the river water among four riparian states. It allocated 419 TMC feet of water to Tamil Nadu, 270 to Karnataka, 30 to Kerala (as a tributary of Cauvery flows through it) and 7 to Pudducherry (situated at the mouth of Cauvery). The tribunal, in its findings, said that the Cauvery has a total of 740 TMC feet of water at 50 per cent dependability over a period of hundred years. On the basis of the average water availability, the tribunal mandated Karnataka to release 192 TMC feet of water every water year i.e. between June and May. But, the tribunal also said that during bad monsoon, the states must share water distress in the same proportion. This provision has led to perpetuation of water dispute between the two neighbouring states. Karnataka has maintained that the state has received low rainfall and it doesn't have enough water supply to share with Tamil Nadu. ALSO READ: Cauvery dispute: Karnataka denies water share to Tamil Nadu, farmers blame Centre --- ENDS --- advertisement The Foreign Medical Graduates Examination, which has now been scrapped as a mandatory screening test for those who have studied medicine abroad and wish to practice in India, saw a major case of cheating and impersonation in 2013. By Shivendra Srivastava: Central Bureau of Investigation has filed a chargesheet in the Court of Chief Metropolitan Magistrate, Dwarka, New Delhi against nine doctors including three FMG candidates, three impersonators and three others who arranged impersonators, in a case relating to Foreign Medical Graduates Examination conducted in 2013. The case was registered in 2015 on the allegations of impersonation in the examination conducted by the National Board of Examination for the Foreign Medical Graduates. It was alleged that the exam was conducted so that the qualified candidates could be recognised by the Medical Council of India (MCI) to enable them to practice and also to join the hospital/health sector in India. It was allegedly difficult for the foreign medical graduates who passed out from certain places outside India. advertisement Three candidates who completed their medical degree from a medical academy in Russia had managed dummies to appear on their behalf in the FMG Examination in 2013, allegedly on payment of Rs 4-5 lakh. Three impersonators who appeared as dummy candidates were also doctors who passed out from medical colleges in Kanpur and Lucknow and allegedly employed with the UP government in different medical health centres. The involvement of three more doctors, in arranging the impersonators were also found. ALSO READ: 57 students, 14 teachers booked for mass cheating in UP board exams --- ENDS --- Farmers stage massive protest in Chandigarh demanding compensation for the farmers who have committed suicide. By India Today Web Desk: Farmers in Chandigarh today are staging a massive protest against the government demanding compensation for farmers who committed suicides. Section 144 has been imposed in Chandigarh following massive farmer protest. LEADERS ARRESTED Seven farmer unions are organising a joint protest today. However, in the wake of the protest over 100 farmer leaders were arrested as a preventive measure by the police. advertisement Also read: Trichy: Farmers on 7-day protest, demand Centre's intervention The farmers are also demanding that the loans they have taken should be waived off. They are alleging that the government is not paying attention to their plight leading them to commit suicides. DEMANDS MADE The protesting farmers are also demanding a survey be done of the suicides from 1990 onwards; full compensation of Rs 40,000 per acre to farmers who faced damage to the cotton crop and making laws favourable to farmers. --- ENDS --- Just a few weeks after its opening, world's longest and highest glass-bottomed bridge in China shuts down. By India Today Web Desk: Not too long ago, it was a moment of joy for globetrotters from different parts of the world as China's popular Tianmen Mountains got a new tourist hotspot in the form of a glass-bottomed walkway. Titled as the Coiling Dragon Cliff, the 330-foot-long glass walkway got the world's attention for being the longest and highest glass-bottomed bridge in the world. Also read: China's Tianmen Mountain range is now home to a glass-bottomed cliff for tourists! advertisement Located in the Zhangjiajie Grand Canyon, a popular tourist spot in China, the bridge offered its visitors a breathtaking panorama of the mountains. In fact, these mountains were used as a major shooting location for the Hollywood blockbuster, Avatar. No doubt, the bridge attracted a huge number of tourists who travelled to the place from different parts. Just two weeks after its opening, the bridge has been shut down in order to undergo 'an internal system upgrade'. This happened mainly because the bridge received an overwhelming number of tourists who flock to the 980-feet-high transparent structure in the last few days alone. According to officials, the bridge was designed to support a maximum of 800 people at a time, and it has received as many as 10,000 tourists a day since its opening. Now, we can only hope that the bridge reopens for the tourists after the 'upgrade'. --- ENDS --- Prime Minister Narendra Modi was presented a collection of Chinese translations of ancient Indian texts and yoga sutras on to mark his visit on Sunday. By Ananth Krishnan: Prime Minister Narendra Modi was presented a collection of Chinese translations of ancient Indian texts and yoga sutras on to mark his visit on Sunday. The presentation of the books by Hangzhou scholar Wang Zhicheng comes at a unique time for China's Indologists. CHINA'S LOVE FOR SANSKRIT LANGUAGE Just before Modi landed in China, Huang Baosheng, China's most renowned Sanskrit professor and Indologist, was completing a lifetime's endeavour. advertisement It took Huang 10 years to finish China's first complete Sanskrit textbooks. The 11 volumes are a full guide for aspiring Sanskrit scholars that will be introduced in universities and schools. These include a primary Sanskrit reader, the last book that was finished recently, to literature readers and translated Buddhist sutras that are important to Chinese. For Chinese scholars, this is potentially a transformative development as for the first time it provides them a complete set of guides to study the language which will be circulated in Chinese universities. Peking University has taught Sanskrit for decades, and there are still around 30 Chinese studying the language. But they have been facing difficulties. "Why I have compiled these books? We have so many people in China studying Western culture, but few studying Indian culture," Huang told Mail Today. SANSKRIT TO BRIDGE THE GAP BETWEEN INDIA AND CHINA "Ancient Indian culture has been so important to China and Sanskrit is a key language to have a deep understanding of this great culture, so this is my effort to help the new generation in China learn this language and culture." Many young Chinese interested in India or Buddhism are taking to the language, says Sanskrit researcher Huang Yiting at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences. "I majored in Indian English literature, but to learn Indian literature you need to understand ancient culture of India which drew me to learning Sanskrit," she said. "But the problem is many can't go to India to study as Indian universities are not interested in hosting Chinese scholars on short-term courses and visas do not come easily. Most Chinese Sanskrit students go to Germany but what they learn is also not so ideal." As Modi visits China, the appeal from Professor Huang is that India should do more to help the next generation of Sanskrit scholars starting with providing them visas and allowing them to come to India on fellowships. The biggest tragedy he says is more Chinese scholars are now going to the West to learn the language and not to India. "What I would like to request to PM Modi is if Indian universities can host Chinese scholars and help them learn this challenging language," he said. advertisement ALSO READ: G20 Summit: Mere talks not enough, we need to be decisive, says Modi --- ENDS --- Durex has come up with a new brinjal flavoured condom range. They tweeted about it and people are scratching their heads! By India Today Web Desk: We can't decide if this is a veg joke or a non-veg joke. There is a new condom flavour in town and the Twitteratti have got their underpants in a twist. Why? Because this one's baingan (eggplant). Now, condom brands have been offering flavoured condoms for ages, from chocolate to strawberry to what not. But we never thought you'd get more baingan for your buck. advertisement What's next? Bhindi? The brinjal flavoured condom has been launched by global condom manufacturer Durex and people have only one question. Why? Durex went with the American name 'eggplant'. Here's what the company tweeted. Now, if you are active on social media and you have a decent sex (sexting) life, you would know what brinjal emoji stands for. No? Okay, let us tell you. Durex launched a campaign a few months ago to promote safe sex, and safe sexting (we don't know how sexting is physically harmful) and made possible a new condom emoji -- a brinjal emoji to be precise -- so that people at it can use aubergine in place of a penis. But when Durex actually launched a brinjal flavoured condom today, at least some thought they are stretching it too far. Here are some of the responses to Durex's tweet. We hope Durex is not serious about this one. --- ENDS --- Shashi Tharoor has alleged that BJP is trying to "hijack" Indian history for political purposes. By PTI: Former Union minister Shashi Tharoor has alleged that BJP is trying to "hijack" Indian history for political purposes and said Congress will not let it reduce the country to a "Hindu Pakistan". "We will not let them run away with the history or hijack it for their political purposes. We are not going to let BJP reduce India to a Hindu Pakistan," he said in his speech on "rewriting history and redefining nationalism". advertisement He said the new ruling doctrine in the country has sought to redefine Indian nationalism in "more sectarian terms". "BJP stood aside from the freedom struggle and sometimes actively collaborated with the colonial rulers. They, instead of accepting that at one time they were on the wrong side of the history, want us to believe that they are the true nationalists of India," he said. "BJP is appropriating the heroes of the Indian independence," he alleged. Tharoor said, "In the run up to the 2014 Lok Sabha polls, comparisons were drawn between Narendra Modi and the country's first Home Minister Sardar Vallabh Bhai Patel. This showed a lack of understanding of history." "It took Modi three-four days to take action in the 2002 post-Godhra riots but during the 1947 riots, Patel took prompt measures to ensure the safety of Muslims in the national capital," he said. "Patel personally went to Nizamuddin Dargah and prayed for the Muslim community. Can you imagined Modi going to a dargah for Muslims?" he said. The senior Congress leader said his party will always oppose what is not in the interest of the nation. "We are a constructive opposition. The Modi government passed many bills which were initiated by the UPA government and BJP had opposed them at that time. "Jan Dhan scheme, Insurance Bill, GST, Aadhar, they all were UPAs initiatives and we should welcome if the government has done it, but we will oppose what is not in the interest of the nation," he said. --- ENDS --- "I am sure this must have been done personally at the behest of the Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal who was also roaming around in the same district around the time", Capt Amarinder said in a statement while holding Mr Badal responsible for the violence. By Manjeet Sehgal: Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee president Capt Amarinder Singh on Sunday strongly condemned the violence and intimidation resorted to by the Akali workers during an Aam Aadmi Party rally in Malout on Saturday. "Such tendencies must be nipped in the bud as the electoral violence will be the worst thing that can happen to Punjab", he warned. "I am sure this must have been done personally at the behest of the Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal who was also roaming around in the same district around the time", Capt Amarinder said in a statement while holding Mr Badal responsible for the violence. advertisement The PCC president said, this only reveals the frustration among the Akalis, particularly the Badals and that is the reason that they were trying to intimidate their political opponents. "Better fight them politically than using physical force", he asked Mr Badal, while warning against violent confrontation ahead of elections in the state. He pointed out, while his goons were indulging in violence against the AAP workers at Malout, Badal was himself sadistically enjoying his favourite pastime of Sangat Darshan in nearby Lambi. Capt Amarinder reiterated his warning to the police against playing partisan role. He asked them to ensure peace and safety of everyone participating in the political process. "We are living in a democracy and not a dictatorship and everyone has a right to convey his message and express his point of view", he said, while asking the police to ensure that such things are not allowed to happen in future. Reacting to Badal's denial about having signed the SYL file, Capt Amarinder suggested him the easy way out. "Instead of crying hoarse day in and day out that you did not sign the file, why don't you accept my suggestion and swear at Akal Takhat and set at rest all questions and accusations of betrayal that keep on haunting you?" he asked Mr Badal. --- ENDS --- Posters put up at Rudrapur in Deoria district for her brother and party vice-president Rahul Gandhi's rally signalled a bigger role for her in the ongoing campaign. By Kumar Vikrant Singh: Signs have finally emerged Priyanka Gandhi Vadra may actively participate in her party campaign across Uttar Pradesh for upcoming Assembly elections in 2017. So far, daughter of Congress president Sonia Gandhi has canvassed mainly in the family constituencies of Rae Bareli and Amethi. But posters put up at Rudrapur in Deoria district for her brother and party vice-president Rahul Gandhi's rally signalled a bigger role for her in the ongoing campaign. advertisement They carried her images alongside Sonia's and Rahul's. GROWING POPULARITY Local MLA Akhilesh Pratap described the phenomenon as an outcome of Priyanka Gandhi Vadra's "growing popularity." But the decision to participate in party campaign lay only with her, he added. Highly-placed sources in Congress, however, confirmed to India Today that the party high command has allowed supporters to use her images in posters and banners across the state. The permission is not without conditions though. TERMS AND CONDITION According to party sources, her campaign pictures have to be smaller than her brother's. Party workers are not allowed to use her image solo in any election material, the sources said. The whole idea is to project Rahul Gandhi as the Congress face, with his mother and sister rallying around him in support, a senior leader explained. Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, insiders say, has been involved in party affairs largely behind-the-scenes. Through posters, Congress activists have often demanded she take an active role. But until now, her banners have mostly appeared in Rae Bareli and Amethi. Digvijaya's prescription for down-and-out Congress: Major surgery, Priyanka After biting the dust in four states, Congress looks to Priyanka Gandhi --- ENDS --- Captain Amarinder Singh, along with other leaders spoke at a Dalit outreach programme and assured the crowd that the party will fight for their cause. By Manjeet Sehgal: Asserting that the Congress alone has watched over and safeguarded the interests of the Dalits, Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee President, Captian Amarinder Singh today assured Dalit voters saying that 33 per cent of the chairmanship positions within the party will be reserved for Dalits. He also said that all communities will get due representation in ticket distribution. DALIT OUTREACH PROGRAMME advertisement Addressing a 'Dalit Outreach' programme organised by the SC Cell of the PCC here today, Captain Amarinder said, he was aware of the problems faced by the Dalit community. He said, the Akali-BJP government has discriminated and victimised the Dalits and that during his meetings with Dalit workers, he had found that they were not even being provided blue cards. The PCC president reiterated that only a Congress government will increase the Shagun scheme to Rs 51,000 as promised. He also said that the Dalit households will be provided 300 units of power free of cost. Speaking on the occasion the CLP leader, Charanjit Singh Channi also reiterated that no political party in Punjab can safeguard Dalits interests better than the Congress. He pointed out how the CLP leader was nominated from the Dalit community and how one of the three Rajya Sabha members belonged to the SC community. The AICC in charge for Punjab, Ms Asha Kumari said, only the Congress party cared about the interests of all sections of the society. She said, it was in the best interests of the people of Punjab that the Congress formed government in the state. ALSO READ: Navjot Sidhu's reverse sweep: New front Aawaaz-e-Punjab next week AAP announces 13 more candidates for Punjab election --- ENDS --- Hollywood star Daniel Craig has been offered a whopping Rs 1000 crore to return as James Bond for two more films, say reports. By Lasyapriya Sundaram, India Today Web Desk: Daniel Craig, who is currently shooting for director Steven Soderbergh's Logan Lucky, has been reportedly offered a whooping Rs 1000 crore to return as Ian Fleming's James Bond for two more films. Craig, who joined the Bond franchise in the 2006 blockbuster Casino Royale, has already starred in four films. ALSO READ: Sylvester Stallone rubbishes death rumours, shares a kickass picture on Instagram advertisement ALSO READ: Don't Breathe movie review- Intense, thrilling and so very smart Speaking about the next Bond installment, a source close to the celebrity was quoted by the Radar as saying, "The studio is desperate to secure the actor's services while they phase in a younger long-term successor." The source also suggested that Craig "has played a genius hand." "Everyone knows how much executives adore him, and the idea of losing him at such a crucial time in the franchise isn't an option as far as all the studio honchos are concerned," the source said. "Daniel's the key for a seamless, safe transition as far as Sony and Bond bosses are concerned, and they're prepared to pay a king's ransom to make it happen," the source added. Interestingly, Craig had turned down Euro 68 million offer to return as Bond in May 2016. Meanwhile, rumours are rife that actors Tom Hughes, Chris Hemsworth and Tom Hiddleston are likely to be the frontrunners to replace Daniel Craig as James Bond. However, actors like Idris Elba and Jamie Bell remain top choice among Bond fans. --- ENDS --- This milk custard-stuffed dim sum is squeezed to make it look like a lactating breast. Photo: Reuters By Shreya Goswami: Sometimes, the most delicious food can look like something absolutely disgusting. A scoop of chocolate ice cream can remind you of poop, or a curry on the plate can look like vomit. But these are accidental visuals. The cook doesn't go out of their way to present it in its grotesque form (unless they're running a poop-themed cafe). advertisement This is so not the case with Hong Kong's Dim Sum Icon restaurant, that once you look at the food they have on offer, you won't know whether you want to laugh or avert your eyes, horrified. The Japanese Kobitos are showcased on the counters at Dim Sum Icon. Photo: Reuters Why? Because this place serves dim sums that are inspired by the popular Japanese Kobito Dukan cartoons, which look like breasts! For those who don't know, Kobitos were created by illustrator Toshitaka Nabata, and are now sold as toys all across Japan. Young customers enjoy some Kobito-inspired dim sums. Photo: Reuters That perfect mix of cute and ugly, their main attraction is the milk custard bun. It looks like a pink breast, with the face of a baby stamped on it. It's served to the customers, and then, this happens: Yes, this dim sum looks like a lactating breast. We're sure it tastes delicious, but eating something like that just makes one feel so, so wrong! Also read: What's the story behind dim sums? Read up while you gorge on some, thanks to these easy recipes One customer poses with a Kobito and the full range of bizarre dim sums. Picture courtesy: Instagram/dim_sum_icon One customer poses with a Kobito and the full range of bizarre dim sums. Picture courtesy: Instagram/dim_sum_icon But that's not all. The other Kobitos-inspired steamed and fried dim sums are equally crazy. These steamed chocolate buns aren't just delicious. They go ahead and do this: ?????? #A?A?A #dimsumicon. address?AA?AAA??1??A?A?AAA?A B/f century square , no 1 D'Aguilar st. Central A?A?A?? The One 3/F L308 A video posted by DIM SUM ICON (@dim_sum_icon) on Jun 1, 2016 at 9:15am PDT You got that right. That creepy bun just pooped all over the bun behind it! We know, it's only chocolate, but it's messing with your head just as much as it is with ours. A large amount of steamed chocolate buns are ready to be served. Photo: Reuters Other Kobito dim sums look like phallic symbols (with faces stamped on), elephants, or other weird things you can eat. Nothing, as far as we can tell from the pictures, looks like traditional dim sums served throughout the rest of China or the world. advertisement But why would an eatery do something like this at all? It's trendy and can attract younger customers. Going by the number of likes they get, and the number of photos posted in their restaurant, Dim Sum Icon is quite popular. These dim sums look like elephants, with prawns made to look like their trunks. Picture courtesy: Instagram/dim_sum_icon It's probably the bizarre that attracts the punters, just like at poop-themed or animal-themed restaurants. And just like in molecular gastronomy, dishes that push the borders of our imagination (even if they make you uncomfortable at times), are the in-things with foodies. --- ENDS --- The police seized 10 kilos of ganja worth Rs 5 lakhs from the six drug peddlers in Bengaluru. By Mail Today Bureau: The Bengaluru Police arrested six drug peddlers in connection with two different cases in Mico Layout and Rajarajeshwarinagar over the weekend. The police seized 10 kilos of ganja worth Rs 5 lakhs from them. Notorious drug peddler Venkata Suryanarayana Raju (30), who was evading the police since the last one year, fell into a trap set by the police in Mico Layout. Raju, who hailed from Andhra Pradesh, procured ganja from Odisha and sold it to students through his network. advertisement Also read: Watch: Lions at Bengaluru's Bannerghatta National Park charge at safari vehicles Last month, the police had arrested three of his accomplices based on the information provided by them and Raju was nabbed later. In the second case, 5 people were arrested for selling ganja near BEML Layout in Rajarajeshwarinagar. The accused Purushottama, Tekaram, Kalimuttu, Ravo and Govind Prasad allegedly sold ganja to college students on Mysuru Road. The police have registered two different cases under the Narcotics, Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act, 1985 against the six accused. --- ENDS --- A car stolen from Delhi is dismantled and its engine sold to farmers in the neighbouring states, mainly UP, to be used as power generators to supply electricity or run water pumps. Parts such as side-view mirrors, steering wheels come back to the city markets to be sold as genuine spare parts. By Ankur Sharma: The recent arrest of an automobile thief by Delhi Police and subsequent questioning have brought out shocking facts about how new-age gangs take help of stolen data, laptops and female members to steal high-end luxury cars that have engine immobilisers fitted in them. Other interesting facts that came to light included how a car stolen from the city is dismantled and its engine sold to farmers in the neighbouring states, mainly Uttar Pradesh, to be used as power generators to supply electricity or run water pumps. Some of these accessories also make their way back to Delhi to be sold as 'genuine spare parts' at various auto-spare markets in the city. DELHI: MAJOR PLAYGROUND FOR AUTO-LIFTERS advertisement Delhi Police data shows that the recovery rate in auto theft cases is about 5 per cent. "Auto-lifters operating in the city have upgraded themselves to decode security gadgets installed in high-end cars. The capital has become a major playground for them," a senior official of Delhi Police anti-auto theft squad told Mail Today on the condition of anonymity. According to Delhi Police, till 15th August, every day, more than 100 vehicles were stolen from Delhi this year. These included two-wheelers to highend luxury cars and SUVs. THE MODUS OPERANDI In the recent arrest, made by North-east district police, the accused revealed that high-end luxury cars in the city are stolen on demand basis. The modus operandi includes finding work at a car workshop or embezzle data on engine-key combinations with the help of an employee. The stolen code data, stored in a laptop, is used for making a master key or a set of keys that will match the electronic control module of a car. The car thieves then target their victim and often use a female member to avoid suspicion. "Car companies claim the engine immobiliser as one of the safest security device but these auto-lifters have found a way to crack it. They match codes installed in their laptop, connect it with the car chip to start the engine," said Ajit Kumar Singla, DCP, North-east. An immobiliser is an electronic device fitted to an automobile that prevents the engine from running unless the correct key (or token) is used. This prevents the car from being "hot-wired" even after the thief has broken inside the vehicle, thus reducing the theft. A few months back, Delhi Police registered a case in Safdarjung Enclave area where auto lifter along with a female member decoded the security system of a SUV with the help of a laptop. The incident was captured on a CCTV. BUYERS GALORE IN UTTAR PRADESH Sources in the anti-auto theft squad say that engines having low CC are used for providing electricity in neighbouring UP as they are converted into generators in many villages. Also, such vehicle engines are also in demand that can be converted into water pumps to run tubewells in the farms. advertisement Several parts of these cars, such as side-view mirrors, steering wheels, and other unmarked components, also make a comeback to the city markets to be sold as genuine spare parts. "Dismantling of a car is done quickly and as the word spreads, buyers reach out and frisk away the parts they specialise in," the soruces said. According to Delhi Police, last year almost 31,000 vehicles were stolen from the city but only 1,770 were recovered even they arrested 1,542 accused during the period. Auto theft has seen a steep rise after Delhi Police started online FIR to help people in filing a case of theft. "This is a good initiative which helps people avoid running to a police station to file an FIR in case their bike of car stolen. But, it has been also noticed that after this initiative, there is a downfall of recovery rate," the official said. According to National Crime Records Bureau, last year, with more than 32,000 stolen vehicles, Delhi topped the list of all the states as well as cities in the country. Uttar Pradesh and Maharashtra were the two states that reported maximum number of auto theft cases after the National Capital. ALSO READ: advertisement Delhi: Gang of hi-tech auto-lifters, who stole about 200 cars, arrested Delhi Police busts auto lifters' gang, recovers 20 luxurious cars --- ENDS --- By PTI: Johannesburg, Sep 5 (PTI) For the first time, scientists have confirmed the birth of rare identical twin puppies born to an Irish wolfhound in South Africa. The puppies were first suspected to be twins when, during their birth last year, veterinarian Kurt De Cramer at the Rant en Dal Animal Hospital in South Africa observed that the two puppies had shared a single placenta. advertisement The puppies mother had been straining to give birth for several hours and was taken to De Cramer, who performed a Cesarean section. He delivered the mothers other five puppies, each with its own placenta. De Cramer thought it possible that the placenta-sharing puppies were monozygotic twins. When the puppies were two weeks old, researchers drew blood samples and sent them for genetic testing. "I wasnt sure that they were going to be monozygotic at that time," Carolynne Joone, a veterinarian and lecturer at James Cook University in Australia told the Live Science. "They did look very alike, but they werent completely identical. There were slight differences in the puppies white markings," she said. The DNA showed that the puppies had identical genes on 40 different markers that are commonly used in such testing. A second DNA analysis, done with samples taken from cheek swabs, confirmed that the dogs were identical. The differences in white marking patterns are likely due to differences in gene expression between the two puppies, Joone said. Since this is the first documented case, researchers think that monozygotic twins in canines are rare, she said. However, it is also possible that such twins are born more frequently than thought, but go undetected, she added. The research appears in the journal Reproduction in Domestic Animals. PTI MHN SAR MHN --- ENDS --- An Australian kid who will start kindergarten schooling next year, has identified as transgender and begun gender transition. By Vishakha Saxena: A four-year-old Australian child who identifies as transgender has begun "transitioning their gender", according to various media reports. The kid, who will start kindergarten schooling next year, "has identified as transgender" said Gregory Prior, a education department official. Government records in Australia's New South Wales have also revealed "hundreds" of other children are reporting gender dysphoria - a condition of feeling that their emotional and psychological identity is the opposite of their biological sex. Some of these children are as young as three years old. advertisement The state education department will support the four-year-old throughout the transition as part of a 'Safe Schools' program. Officials, family and even media are ensuring that the child's privacy protected by not identifying the patient's name or gender. EXPERTS DIVIDED Data from a children's hospital in Westmead, Australia shows referrals for gender dysphoria have tripled, while another hospital in Melbourne reported assisting 250 children. A decade ago it had just one, said the report in The Daily Telegraph. And this case of the four-year-old has sparked a debate among psychologists and gender dysphoria experts. Experts say many children who identify with a gender opposite to their biological one tend to grow out of it as they age. On the four-year-old, some therapists argued the patient was "simply too young" to change gender, but a transgender advocate told the Daily Telegraph that children were "usually right" when they identified themselves as cross-gender. Early research shows children develop stability in their gender identity between ages 3 to 4, but gender consistency (recognition that gender remains the same across situations) often does not occur until ages 4 to 7. Statistics, however, seem too broad to reach any conclusions. A study published by the American Psychological Association in December last year says between 12% and 50% of children experiencing gender dysphoria may identify with a gender different than their biological sex into late adolescence and young adulthood. PRE-PUBESCENT TREATMENTS HARMFUL? "Gender transitioning" essentially means an individual begins living like the gender they identify with, and can involve medical treatment, but not necessarily. Medically, professionals avoid surgeries when treating patients younger than 18, as they are irreversible. The alternate is a treatment with puberty blocking chemicals that ensure hormonal biological changes like vocal chord changes, development of breast tissue, development of facial hair, etc, are avoided until the patient figures out their gender identity. Their only problem is there is very little research on effects of such blockers, as they are a fairly new treatment method. In a report from July last year, a pediatrician told PBS, "we don't really know how sex hormones impact any adolescent's brain development. We know that there's a lot of brain development between childhood and adulthood, but it's not clear what's behind that." advertisement Another doctor was quoted as saying that in her experience pubertal blockers were "generally a very safe medication." But last month, American College of Pediatricians published a report that said surgeries and/or hormonal treatments too young can result in sterility of minors. Similarly, a "left-leaning, open-minded, and pro-gay rights" online community of "psychologists, social workers, doctors, medical ethicists, and academics" argues that such procedures violate the principle of "First do no harm." Translated from a Latin phrase "Primum non nocere," "first, do no harm" is a bioethic precept that teaches health care professionals that "given an existing problem, it may be better not to do something, or even to do nothing, than to risk causing more harm than good." The distinction between harm and good, however, can just be a matter of perspectives. Even with the unknowns, pubertal blockers can greatly help gender-non conforming or transgender children. In most cases surgical treatment doesn't start until patients are older or even adults. By that time, most individuals already undergo bodily changes that go with their biological gender - these changes are irreversible and a great source of distress for them. advertisement CHANGING ATTITUDES In May this year, the Obama administration issued a directive to every public school saying transgender students should be allowed to use the bathrooms that match their gender identity. "No student should ever have to go through the experience of feeling unwelcome at school or on a college campus," read the statement. Just last year, in fact, country's Oregon state green-lit sex-change operations for 15-year-olds. Even in the UK, up to 80 children as young as four-years-old were seeking help with gender transitioning, according to a Daily Mail report from December last year. These changes are coming at a time when gender discourse at its pinnacle. For example, the estimate of transgender population in the US has doubled to 1.4 million adults this year. With increased awareness of transgender issues, more people are seeking help to transition to the gender with which they identify. Doctors committed to the cause say delayed treatments can be life-threatening. "For young people who aren't supported in expressing and having treatment for their gender dysphoria, approximately 30 per cent will attempt suicide," a doctor told the Sydney Morning Herald in July 2014. advertisement Recently, the grandmother of a 10-year-old boy -- in the process of becoming a girl -- in Sydney, Australia, made a moving phone call to a local radio urging people to understand her grandson had "instinctively wanted to become a girl". Pre-pubescent gender-transition initiatives have so far lead to quite a few successes. In 2009, Jackie Green became the youngest person in England to undergo sex-change at 16. It took her seven suicide attempts and two years of 'suicide watch' to convince her parents to let her become a girl. Three years later, she emerged as a semi-finalist in the Miss England beauty pageant. Similarly in 2008, 16-year-old German teenager Kim Petras underwent "world's youngest ever full sex-change operation" at the time. The procedure was kept secret and paid for by the German health service after authorisation from psychologists. She is now an established pop and cappella singer-songwriter. --- ENDS --- In remarks targetted at Pakistan, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said that "one single nation" was spreading "agents of terror" in South Asia. By Ananth Krishnan: Prime Minister Narendra Modi today at the last session of the G20 Summit delivered a strong message on cracking down on terror emanating from Pakistan. Especially significant as he was speaking in China, Modi made an intervention on terror financing at the G20's last session, pointing out that it was an issue inextricably linked to global governance and stability. advertisement "There are some nations that use terrorism as an instrument of state policy," he said. "Indeed one single nation in South Asia is spreading these agents of terror in countries of our region." Modi said that "those who sponsor and support terrorism must be isolated and sanctioned, not rewarded." "For us a terrorist is a terrorist." the PM said, adding that "India has a policy of zero tolerance to terrorism because anything less than that is not enough." This came a day after he made a similar pitch to the BRICS leaders' informal meeting calling on countries to not politicise error. This has been a message that India has also been stressing to China bilaterally as it urges Beijing to rethink its stance of shielding Pakistani terrorists at the UN Security Council. Modi said India "appreciates the G20 initiative on combating financing of terrorism", with the issue featuring in the G20's last session, and also in the 7,000 word communique, partly at India's insistence. The final document said the G20 "will tackle all sources, techniques and channels of terrorist financing" and remains "committed to effectively exchanging information, freezing terrorist assets, and criminalising terrorist financing". BLACK MONEY At the G20, India and China found some common ground of sorts in making strong pitches to curb global corruption. India's campaign on black money has been mirrored by a push in China to repatriate economic fugitives, part of Xi Jinping's anti-corruption crackdown. Prime Minister Narendra Modi called for the G20's "full commitment" to act against the corrupt and "to eliminate safe havens for economic offenders, track down and unconditionally extradite money launderers and break down the web of complex international regulations and excessive banking secrecy that hide the corrupt and their deeds". Xi, meanwhile, said members had agreed to a Chinese proposal to establish a research centre on fugitive repatriation and asset recovery in China. An anti-corruption action plan for the next year will be worked on as well as agreeing principles on persons sought for corruption and asset recovery. "This will leave corrupt officials no place to hide in G20 members' territories and in the world at large," Xi told a press conference following the end of the summit. MEETS FRANCE, UK, TURKEY LEADERS advertisement While the G20 Summit and the Prime Minister's all-important bilateral talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping to iron out recent strains in ties may have assumed the focus of his China trip, his two-day stay in Hangzhou has also provided India the opportunity to bolster several key relationships. Following his bilateral meetings with Australia and Saudi Arabia and his interactions with US President Barack Obama on Sunday, the PM on Monday reached out to France, the United Kingdom, Turkey and Argentina. In what officials said was a "pull aside" chat - not a structured bilateral meeting - the PM raised with French President Francois Hollande the leak of sensitive confidential data on the Scorpene class submarines. The meeting with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, scheduled at the last minute, allowed India to push for the country's support for its entry to the Nuclear Suppliers Group. Turkey was among a group of countries that had raised procedural questions on India's bid at the last NSG plenary, and had called for a criteria-based approach for all non-NPT (nuclear non-proliferation treaty) countries. With the issue set to come up again in November, India's hope is to bring to its side Turkey and other countries that had raised procedural questions, even if they were not as strongly opposed to India's entry as China had appeared to be. advertisement In his talks with the new UK Prime Minister, Modi conveyed what officials described as a "significant" message that India's ties with the UK would be "just as strong" after Britain's looming exit from the European Union. At the same time, he also raised concerns on the UK's visa policy and whether it could have a negative impact on Indian professionals wishing to visit the UK for short term business visits. Modi at G20: Eliminate safe havens for economic offenders, crack down on corrupt G20 Summit: Modi meets new British PM Theresa May --- ENDS --- Nationalist and freedom fighter Bal Gangadhar Tilak was the man who turned the private, household Ganesh Chathurthi celebration into the present day carnival. Here is all you need to know about it. By India Today Web Desk: Ganesh Chaturthi is one of the most resplendent festivals celebrated in India, mainly in Maharashtra. Over time, the festival is celebrated with the same fervour in many parts of south India and Gujarat. Bal Gangadhar Tilak, nationalist and 'The Father of Indian Unrest' as described by the British, was the man behind turning a private, household Ganesh Chaturthi celebration to a gala event. advertisement HISTORY OF GANESH CHATURTHI The ten-day long Hindu festival is celebrated to honour the younger son of Lord Shiva and Goddess Parvati, the elephant-headed God, Ganesha's birthday. While some historians are of the opinion that the earliest instances of Ganesh Chaturthi celebrations can be traced back to the times when Satavahana, Rashtrakuta and Chalukya dynasties ruled, that is from 271 BC to 1190 AD, historical records suggest that Ganesh Chaturthi celebrations were initiated by Chatrapati Shivaji Maharaja, to promote culture and nationalism. It was continued during the rule of Peshwas, for whom, Lord Ganesh was a family deity. Maybe that is why the makers of Bollywood movie Bajirao Mastani had this track included. However, it remained a family affair till 1892. HOW THINGS TURNED AROUND IN 1857 The year is famous for the Indian Rebellion of 1857 which is also referred to as the Sepoy Mutiny, India's First War of Independence, Revolt of 1857 among many other names. It was a rebellion that posed serious threat to the rule of the East India Company. Bal Gangadhar Tilak was one of the prominent leaders of the Great Rebellion.The leader saw the need to unite Indians more and realised nothing can bond people more than a common idol, equally worshipped by all. Photo courtest: Reuters Photo courtest: Reuters Also read: Bal Gangadhar Tilak: 95th death anniversary of "Lokmanya" Tilak GANESH CHATURTHI CELEBRATIONS RELOADED Tilak noticed that Lord Ganesh was considered "the God for everyman", that Ganesh was worshipped by the members belonging to the upper castes and lower castes alike, leaders and followers alike. He popularised Ganesh Chaturthi as a national festival 'to bridge the gap between the Brahmins and the non-Brahmins.' Photo courtest: Reuters In 1893, Tilak organised Ganesh Utsav as a social and religious function. It was him who put large hoarding with images of Lord Ganesh in pavilions and the man behind the tradition of immersion of huge Ganesh statues on the tenth day of the festival. The festival served as a meeting place for common people of all castes and communities at a time when public social, political gatherings were banned by the British. --- ENDS --- All your favourite TV stars are busy celebrating Ganesh Chaturthi today, and how! By India Today Web Desk: Ganesh Chaturthi is one festival that the entire Mumbai film and television industry celebrates. In fact, there are a lot of TV celebs who have already started the celebration in full swing. Watch:Arjun Bijlani's 2-year-old looks super-cute as Krishna One such celebrity is TV star Arjun Bijlani, who is currently featuring in dance reality show Jhalak Dikhhla Jaa. Ganpati bappa morya.wishing all of u happiness and peace..?????? pic.twitter.com/OX40R74sDw Arjun Bijlani (@Thearjunbijlani) September 5, 2016 advertisement The talented actor recently posted a picture of himself with his son in front of a large Ganesh idol on his personal Twitter handle. Dressed in Indian traditional attire, the actor posed for a picture with his super-cute son on the happy occasion. Arjun tweeted, "Ganpati bappa morya. Wishing all of u happiness and peace." A screenshot of Vindu's tweet. Picture courtesy: Twitter/RealVinduSingh TV personality Vindu Dara Singh also wished his followers a very happy Ganesh Chaturthi on Twitter by writing, "Happy #GaneshChaturthi pray to the god so that every new activity that is started is a success ! Bless us all." Even television and film actress Preetika Rao took to social media to wish her fans on this festive occasion. She posted a couple of pictures of herself with her own Ganesh idol on her Twitter account. Preetika Rao's Ganesh. Picture courtesy: Twitter/preetikatweets Karan Tacker also wished everyone on his social networking accounts by posting a picture of the god. And Sumona Chakravarti of The Kapil Sharma Show fame was not far behind in ringing in the special day on Twitter. A screenshot of Sumona's tweet. Picture courtesy: Twitter/sumona24 Hopefully, this sweet celebration will continue for the rest of the day. On that note, Happy Ganesh Chaturthi, people! --- ENDS --- The Delhi Commission for Women chairperson, who visited the GB Road brothels with other members and SHO Dinesh Kumar, was appalled to see rampant flouting of laws in the area. By Ram Kinkar Singh: Delhi Commission for Women chairperson Swati Maliwal Jaihind visited the brothels at GB Road late night on Sunday along with other members of the commission Fraheen Mullick, Promila Gupta, Sarika Chaudhary and SHO (Kamla Market) Dinesh Kumar Sharma. The commission, which wanted to understand the ground reality of the area, was shocked to see that each brothel was thronged by hundreds of drunk boys, several of them in their early teens. Upon interacting with them, the commission learnt that many boys visiting these brothels were students belonging to some of the best universities in Delhi. advertisement BROTHEL FUNCTIONING, EVEN AFTER RAID AND ARREST OF KEY MEMBER The area was rife with criminal activities - attacks and gang fights are common. The commission also visited the brothels owned by Aafaq, who was recently apprehended by the crime branch for selling over 5000 girls in GB Road. The commission was shocked to learn that the business in the brothels owned by Aafaq continued as usual and was not affected by the raid. In fact, these brothels continue to be thronged by men from across Delhi and nearby states. The appalling conditions of the brothels was evident from their stench. Illegal constructions and hidden cells were all over the place. These tehkhanas are used by brothel owners to hide minor girls. The commission has been repeatedly requesting Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) to break these tehkhanas but no action was has been taken till date. SHO Dinesh Sharma informed the commission of the lack of proper streetlights in the area and stressed for the need for high definition CCTV cameras to aid policing. The commission has also requested the same from Public Works Department (PWD) and MCD, but resources are insufficient. CHILDREN PLAYING AROUND BROTHELS, NO ACTION TAKEN ON REQUEST FOR THEIR SCHOOLING The commission found several children playing around the brothels. These are the children of the victims of commercial sexual exploitation and are very vulnerable. The commission has been repeatedly requesting the Women and Child Department to ensure their proper schooling in a residential school. However, that is yet to be done. The commission believes that the issue can be resolved only if Delhi Police, Delhi Government and MCD work in close coordination with each other. The recent efforts of the Crime Branch - the raid and transfer of 36 staff from the local police station is a step in the right direction to break the nexus of the traffickers. However, the commission believes that similar exercise to identify the owners of the rest of the brothels should be immediately taken up by the police and their linkages with police officials and politicians be cracked and the corrupt be held guilty. On its own accord, the commission has been conducting regular meetings with police, government and MCD to identify the owners of the brothels. advertisement The commission is taking these steps to ensure a trafficking-free Delhi and these steps. Maliwal stated that, "GB road is 3 km from Parliament of India. Still criminal activities continue here. Every other day minor girls are sold and brutalized.?? She also stated that, Every night, women are bought and sold at GB Road. Drunk men remain ready to devour these women. This is the women empowerment of our nation!" ALSO READ: Delhi child trafficking racket busted: Girls confined in almirahs, tunnels; forced to entertain clients in cubicles --- ENDS --- Neosonic' technology, that does not require any fuel or electricity to run, uses magnetic action to reduce organic materials to three hundredth part of its original volume. By Kumar Vikram: The Narendra Modi government has shown interest in an eco-friendly mechanism to turn organic waste into ashes that may be used as fertilisers for agricultural use under the Swachh Bharat Mission. The mechanism uses 'Neosonic' technology that does not require any fuel or electricity to run, thus causing zero-pollution, and uses magnetic action to reduce organic materials to threehundredth part of its original volume. advertisement "We had made a presentation to the Prime Minister's Office which recommended it for further presentation in other ministries. The Urban Development ministry has also shown great interest in the technology," said US Sharma who brought this technology from Japan to India. EQUIPMENT DRAWS POSITIVE RESPONSE FROM MAHARASHTRA According to Sharma, the equipment has drawn a positive response from Maharashtra for waste management in its Devnar area. States are the main implementing agencies of projects under Swachh Bharat Mission. "This technology has unique features and this is the reason that officials in PMO recommended this for waste management solution to other departments. But there is apparently lack of will among the implementing agencies which has delayed our efforts in contributing to the ambitious Swachh Bharat Mission," Sharma said. HOW NEOSONIC TECHNOLOGY WORKS Neosonic equipment does not produce any toxic gases, substances, even noise, heat into the environment as it is based on low-temperature 'pyrolysis' that decomposes organic wastes using powerful magnetic action. The machine can decompose 72 tonnes of garbage per day and once activated it will continue to operate for another 10-12 years. The end output is only vapour and ceramic ash that can be used as fertiliser for agricultural land. Sharma said he would start getting these machines manufactured in India to promote the Centre's 'Make in India' plan if states adopt the technology. "One of the associates is a member of JICA (Japan International Corporation Agency) which has agreed for funding the technology in India. It will also help in generating employment in our country," said Sharma. SWACHH BHARAT MISSION VS OPEN DEFECATION Ministry officials who have witnessed Sharma's presentation said that Union ministries regularly coordinate with their state counterparts for implementation of works under Swachh Bharat mission. Recently, officials of ministry of water resources had held meetings with officials of various states including Punjab, Telangana, Andhra Pradesh and others to make the states open defecation free. A senior official said that senior officers and district collectors of these states held a participative discussion with the ministry, and shared ground-level initiatives undertaken by them to realise the vision of the Swachh Bharat Mission. advertisement Officials also said they found the Neosonic cost effective as it does not require maintenance for longer period and once activated will continue to operate for another 10-12 years. The magnet in the machine requires to be changed only after 10 years. ALSO READ: Par panel asks govt to evolve mechanism for e-waste management Swachh Bharat gets comic relief: Amar Chitra Katha joins hands with govt to create comics on campaign --- ENDS --- By PTI: Hyderabad, Sep 4 (PTI) A bridegroom who allegedly fired in the air during his own wedding was today arrested by the city police. Assistant Commissioner of Police (Falaknuma Division) Mohd Abdul Bari said that Mohd Mohsin alias Irfan surrendered before the police and handed over two "dummy" weapons and four bullets. Police lodged a case under the Arms Act today after the incident, which took place on August 22, came to light. advertisement "He confessed that he had opened fire in the air from two dummy weapons during the celebration of his nikah on the night of August 22 and the weapons caused only sound and spark," the ACP said. Irfan told police that a film producer had given him the dummy revolver and pistol with some bullets. Local news-channels had aired footage of a bridegroom on horseback firing in the air. "Both the weapons appear to be a dummy. But we are sending the weapons, bullets and the video footage to FSL," said ACP Bari. PTI VVK KRK BSA JMF --- ENDS --- From Aamir Khan as Ram Shankar Nikhumbh to Sushmita Sen as Chandni, here's looking at Bollywood's top five filmy teachers who left an indelible mark on the big screen... (L to R) Aamir Khan and Darsheel Safary in a still from Taare Zameen Par, Sushmita Sen in a still from Main Hoon Na By Devarsi Ghosh: Teachers play a pivotal role in our life. Our first teachers are our parents, then we encounter those who we know as 'professional' teachers in school, then college, then the workspace. Our break-ups, fights, flings, relationships, in fact, our lives itself act as teachers. All of these teachers influence us in one way or another. TEACHER'S DAY SPECIAL: Cobbler imparts free education to Mahadalit children in Bihar advertisement ALSO READ: Google honours India's teachers with a cute doodle ALSO READ: Placebo is a film every Indian student, parent, and teacher MUST watch. Here's why And since reel reflects real, Bollywood, has, time and again, portrayed teachers on the big screen. Some of them were harsh, some kind, some lovable while some were despicable, but, for sure, all of them were memorable. Here's looking at Bollywood's top five filmy teachers who left an indelible mark on the big screen... Naseeruddin Shah as Amar Verma Film: Sir (1993) Dir: Mahesh Bhatt Naseeruddin Shah plays the perfect 'sir' in Sir. He is a reasonable, understanding man, committed to teaching his students high ideals. He listens to them patiently, takes care of them, and even jeopardises his life to help protect them. An underrated performance by Naseer sir in an underrated film by Bhatt saab. Shah Rukh Khan as Raj Aryan Malhotra Film: Mohabbatein (2000) Dir: Aditya Chopra Shah Rukh as Raj teaches a very important thing in this film: To question and rebel against authority. While in the context of the film, any parent would scream seeing a teacher like Raj, who essentially asks his students to screw everything and fall in love, in hindsight, we need teachers like Raj today... teachers who encourage debate and rebellion against crude authoritarian views. Simi Garewal as Mary Film: Mera Naam Joker (1970) Dir: Raj Kapoor Mary is every student's school crush. That one English teacher in chiffon saree you still have fantasies about. That one teacher whose smile brightened up the room. That one teacher who, when she scolded you, would appear all the more beautiful. The ever-radiant Simi Garewal is affable and charming as Mary, one of her finest, most memorable performances. Sushmita Sen as Chandni Film: Main Hoon Na (2004) Dir: Farah Khan Continuing in the traditional of Mary from Mera Naam Joker, Chandni is the quintessential 'hot teacher'. Shah Rukh Khan as an undercover military major in his mid-30s has trouble pretending to be Chandni's student and, well, of course, it's Sushmita Sen! Though never for a second we see Chandni, the Chemistry teacher, teach some actual chemistry, the chemistry between SRK and Sushmita in this film is one for the ages. advertisement Aamir Khan as Ram Shankar Nikumbh Film: Taare Zameen Par (2007) Dir: Aamir Khan Aamir Khan stars in TZP as the rare, empathetic Indian teacher who attends to every student's need personally. He does not treat Ishaan (Darsheel Safary) - a kid suffering from dyslexia - as an outlier, but he embraces him with all his inadequacies and inspires him to follow his passion, art. Truly, Aamir as Ram was one of the best Bollywood teachers ever. --- ENDS --- Home Minister Rajnath Singh today said that separatists behaviour did not reflect Kashmiriyat. By India Today Web Desk: A day after separatist leaders shunned the offer of coming to discussion table, Home minister Rajnath Singh says their behaviour was not reflective of Kashmiriyat and Insaniyat. Singh today briefed media after the two-day long all-party delegation meet at Srinagar. Singh added that the government was concerned about the ongoing situation in Kashmir. The all-party delegation from the Parliament had arrived in the Valley on Sunday. Despite several attempts to have an inclusive dialogue, separatists snubbed the Parliamentary delegation. Here's what he said: As far as talks are concerned, our doors are open for everyone those who want peace and normalcy. Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti also wrote letters. Not only our doors, but our window ventilation is also open for anyone who wants to talk to us for bringing in peace and normalcy in the state within the ambit of 'jamhooriyat', 'Kashmiriyat' and 'insaniyat'. Some members of the delegation went to meet Hurriyat leaders. We had neither said no nor yes to their meetings (with separatists). You know what happened. They had gone there in their individual capacity. What I learnt from some members of the all-party delegation, who went to meet the separatist leaders, was certainly neither 'Kashmiriyat' nor 'insaniyat'. Parliament, which is supreme "panchayat" of the country, is very serious about the situation in Kashmir and hence decided to send a delegation of its members for talks. I am fully confident that the situation will improve which people also want. Centre is giving full support to the state government which is also trying to bring improvement in the situation. We are fully cooperating with the state government to restore normalcy in Kashmir. The expert committee that was set up, has suggested use of PAVA shells instead of pellet gun. No two ways about fact that Jammu and Kashmir is a part of India, was a part of India and will be a part of India. Everyone is very concerned, we all are of the view that things in Kashmir need to improve. advertisement Also read: Kashmir unrest: Heavy security deployed as Valley remains shut for 58th day Kashmir unrest: Separatist leaders call Parliamentary delegation's visit a crisis management tactic --- ENDS --- India's Next Top Model Season 2 is drawing to a close; we wonder who will win since all the 3 finalists; Jantee Hazarika, Pranati Rai Prakash, Subhomita Banerjee; are doing such a smashing job on the show. INTM will soon come to an end. Picture courtesy: Instagram/indiasnexttopmodel.2 By India Today Web Desk: India's Next Top Model Season 2 is bigger, better, and bolder this time. This time around the reality show, made along the concept of the Tyra Bank's America's Next Top Model, has made every viewer sit up and take notice of all the aspiring models who feature on the show. Also read:These north-eastern girls are vying to be India's Next Top Model advertisement The panel of judges; supermodel-turned-actress Lisa Haydon, celebrity photographer Dabboo Ratnani, VJ-model Anusha Dandekar, and grooming expert Neeraj Gaba; made sure that they select the best of the lot, and looks like they did exactly that. One look at the final three contestants and you will know what we are talking about. Neha Dhupia also made her appearance on the show recently as a guest judge. Picture courtesy: Instagram/indiasnexttopmodel.2 Jantee Hazarika, Pranati Rai Prakash, Subhomita Banerjee are still in the running for the ultimate prize. In fact, the contestants recently went through another trial of fire to show that they have what it takes to be India's next top model. Yes, we are talking about the stunning photoshoot of the ladies with Judge Lisa Haydon. The contestants gave a tough competition to the supermodel as they posed and smiled for Dabboo Ratnani. Lisa Haydon with Dabboo Ratnani. Picture courtesy: Instagram/indiasnexttopmodel.2 Lisa Haydon with Dabboo Ratnani. Picture courtesy: Instagram/indiasnexttopmodel.2 Well, it still remains to be seen as to who will take the crown. May the best model win! --- ENDS --- The Leader of Opposition hitting out at Chandrababu Naidu said that irrigation has never been on the priority list of Telugu Desam Party. By Ashish Pandey: Reiterating that the anti-farmer policies of Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu have badly affected the rural landscape, Leader of Opposition and YSR Congress party president YS Jaganmohan Reddy has said that irrigation has never been on the priority list of Telugu Desam Party (TDP). Addressing the agitating farmers at his hometown Kadappa in drought affected Rayalseema region, Reddy added that YSR policies had gushed hope into the farmers and agriculture of the state. advertisement Also read: Andhra CM, Jaganmohan Reddy hail Teresas canonisation "Chandrababu Naidu speaks of various irrigation projects but never completes even a single one. Though there are projects like Gandikota and Brahmasagar which had seen completion of 80 per cent of works during the YSR term, he failed to complete the remaining 20 per cent work in 2.5 years," Reddy said while addressing the huge gathering. NO TIME FOR DROUGHT HIT FARMERS Targeting the chief minister and ruling TDP, the opposition leader said, "Though Chandrababu Naidu boasts of putting information technology to the best use, he suddenly wakes up to find that the state is facing severe drought and the cabinet has no time to discuss the steps to mitigate the drought. Although, it has time to discuss the Swiss challenge method for capital formation." "His policies have been against the interests of farmers and they continue to pursue them. We demand that water should be given to farmers who come under the KC Canal by January next to cover 92,000 acres of land. The submergence issue of Ghandikota should be solved and the project should be completed and at least 12 TMC water should be stored. At least now, Chandrababu Naidu should take positive steps for farmers' welfare." added Reddy. Also read: Ganesh Chaturthi: 58-feet Ganpati major attraction in Hyderabad EMPLOYMENT TO YOUTH The Opposition leader also demanded that the steel plant issue, taken up by the YSR, should be completed which provides employment to the local youth. Reddy also advised the state government to allocate 10 TMC water from Telugu Ganga to Brahmasagar project and complete Gandikota, Vanikonda, Pydipalem, GD Palle and PADR projects in Anantapur as early as possible, so that the drought affected districts get some relief. --- ENDS --- The Himmatwala actor took a trip down memory lane as he visited the Ganpati idol of Girgoan's Shyam Sadan Chawl where he had spent his initial years. By Mayuresh Ganapatye: Veteran Bollywood actor Jeetendra today visited Girgoan's Shyam Sadan Chawl where he had spent 22 years of his life. Every year, he visits the chawl's Ganpati pandal on the first day of the festival without fail. Around 2 PM, Jeetendra took darshan and participated in aarti at his old place. He then visited the home where he and his mother used to stay. "My mother was hard working. Today everything is going fast forward in front of my eyes. I have spent 22 beautiful and great years of my life here in Girgaon. The Ganeshostav during my time was really good," he said. advertisement "I still remember during Ganeshostav in this chawl, all used to stay awake and all doors were open. During my stay, whenever we required anything we used to ask our neighbours and they used to help us without keeping anything in mind. All of them were really helpful," added the actor. The residents felicitated the actor for getting the Maharashtra government's Raj Kapoor Lifetime Contribution Award. --- ENDS --- By PTI: Faridabad, Sept 4 (PTI) Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar today urged experts to suggest ways for improving the traffic system in Faridabad and Gurgaon. He alleged that people of Gurgaon were suffering due to the "oversight" of the previous government, which, during its 10-year regime, issued 1,100 licences for residential and other schemes without taking into consideration traffic and other basic amenities. advertisement The Chief Minister was speaking at Workshop on Capacity Building in Traffic Management in Gurgaon and Faridabad in Faridabad. He said the process was underway to fill up 7,000 posts of constables in Haryana Police and recruitment would also be carried out to fill up 500 to 700 new posts. The assistance of part-time employees and Home Guards would also be sought to improve the traffic system, he said. Laying emphasis on development of metro and railways apart from construction of roads, Khattar urged experts and administrative officers, present on the occasion, to come up with their suggestions for ensuring smooth flow of traffic. He said the construction of Northern Peripheral Road-Southern Peripheral Road would reduce traffic pressure in Gurgaon and Faridabad. The construction of flyovers on IFFCO Chowk, Signature Tower and Rajeev Chowk would also help in improving management of traffic in Gurgaon, he asserted. Khattar lauded experts for their suggestions, such as development of traffic management centre and deployment of additional labour. PTI SUN DKS AQS ZMN AQS --- ENDS --- The kids aged 8 and 11 studied at 'Undu Uraividapalli', a school run by an NGO under Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan at Thirukovilur, Villupuram. By Pramod Madhav: Two children studying in a government aided hostel died under mysterious conditions in Villupuram on Sunday. The kids studied at 'Undu Uraividapalli', a school run by an NGO under Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan at Thirukovilur, Villupuram in Tamil Nadu. Close to 92 children stay and study in the school. On early Sunday morning, Ayyanar, an 8-year-old child was found dead near the toilet by other children. Before the officials could move Ayyanar's body to a hospital, his 11-year-old sister, Subbulakshmi also collapsed along with another 11-year-old boy Rajadurai. advertisement Also read: Supreme Court urges Karnataka to release water to Tamil Nadu on humanitarian grounds Shocked officials rushed them to the Villupuram government hospital but unfortunately doctors could not save Rajadurai. However, after hours of struggle, doctors were able to stabilise Subbulakshmi. MEDICAL CHECKUP Officials were clueless as to what caused the sudden death of the two children. A special medical team was sent to the hostel to conduct a medical check up of other children in the school. BASIC FACILITIES LACKING Meanwhile, a team sent by the village administrative office found out various levels of mismanagement in the hostel including lack of basic sanitation and no means to providing clean drinking water to the children. Police have filed a case and have begun the investigation but are waiting for the post-mortem report to find the actual cause of death of the two children. --- ENDS --- Areas like Deshapriya park, Sarat Bose Road, Central Avenue, Chandni Chowk, Bidhan Sarani had knee deep water leaving commuters stranded for several hours. By Manogya Loiwal : A few hours of rainfall has resulted in turning the city of joy into a city full of pain for commuters. The rainfall left the streets of Kolkata water-logged for several hours. Areas like Deshapriya park, Sarat Bose Road, Central Avenue, Chandni Chowk, Bidhan Sarani which had knee deep water leaving commuters stranded for several hours. ALSO READ:Low pressure likely to trigger heavy rain in Odisha advertisement Many people who generally opted for public transport while returning from office were forcefully made to walk down the road as water logging resulted intense traffic jam. TRAFFIC CONGESTION With the roads being submerged in water traffic police were trying to control the traffic congestion. Both four wheelers and two wheelers had a tough time riding through these areas. The public transport system almost collapsed in the city for entire evening. ALSO READ:Low pressure likely to trigger heavy rain in Odisha People residing in the ground floor in areas like College Street had to shift to upper floors as water entered their ground floor. Slum dwellers tried to resist the rain through plastic sheets but the heavy rain and water logging had left them in total despair. The weatherman has predicted that similar rainfall may hit the city on Tuesday as well. --- ENDS --- In what looked like a deadly attack, at least three lions of Bengaluru's Bannerghatta National Park charged at two safari vehicles carrying visitors and tried to get the doors opened. By India Today Web Desk: A group of visitors at Bengaluru's Bannerghatta National Park encountered an unusual attack from at least three lions in the safari park. Visitors, who were travelling in two different safari vehicles, were initially stopped by two lions. Soon after, the lions tried to get on to the car, walked beside it and later, chased it. advertisement Also read: Attacked by a bear, Purulia woman did something outright crazy to fight off the beast The incident was captured on camera by Durga Nandini, Director of Communications of Change.org and shared on Twitter by Dhanya Rajendran, Editor-in-Chief of The News Minute. Bengaluru's Bannerghatta National Park, located just 22 km from Bengaluru city, is a common tourist destination for people in Bengaluru and nearby areas. An area of 731.88 ha of the national park was set aside to constitute a biological reserve in 2002. This, called as the Bannerghatta Biological Park, has a zoo, an animal rescue centre, a butterfly park, an aquarium, a snake house and a safari park and hosts a variety of wildlife from peacock to lions. Also read:Christian prophet loses challenge to hungry lions, says he was possessed Photo courtesy: bannerghattabiologicalpark.org Dhanya tweeted three videos on Twitter. Here's the first one that shows one lion charging towards the cars they had hired. The first time the lion came running at the car. Not captured well pic.twitter.com/znCBZYsDqo Dhanya Rajendran (@dhanyarajendran) September 4, 2016 Also read: Caught on cam: Lion pounces on a 2-year-old child but gets a bad surprise Describing the experience in a series of tweets, Dhanya wrote, "the car had scratches; holes actually. The scary bit was when two lions just blocked it for sometime." This was as the two lions blocked and then later walked next to the car. #Bannerghatta pic.twitter.com/kixaYODgpM Dhanya Rajendran (@dhanyarajendran) September 4, 2016 Dhanya's son was in the Toyota Innova seen in the video, and she says she 'freaked out' seeing the lions blocking the car. She also tweeted, "so he also hit the tire and bonnet. But we could get only this much on camera. Too much excitement already by then," Some really crazy ***t happened to us when we went to Bannerghatta national park safari today. We had hired 2 cars pic.twitter.com/GIJ785fAUJ Dhanya Rajendran (@dhanyarajendran) September 4, 2016 She also said, "apparently its normal in a safari. But never happened in bannerghatta before as I had seen animals almost always sleeping (sic)." advertisement Also read: 18 lions in Gujarat put on trial for murder; 'Guilty lion' will be kept in a zoo for life Here's a report on the incident: --- ENDS --- Not only have Maharashtra ministers brought eco-friendly idols of lord Ganesha, but are also using the festival to create awareness through unique ideas. By Kamlesh Damodar Sutar: Maharashtra ministers have taken PM Narendra Modi's appeal to celebrate eco-friendly Ganpati festival this year very seriously. Not only have they brought eco-friendly idols of lord Ganesha, but are also using the festival to create awareness through unique ideas. CM BRINGS HOME ECO-FRIENDLY BAPPA CM Devendra Fadnavis installed an eco-friendly Ganesh idol at his official residence Varsha. Fadnavis, along with wife Amruta and daughter Divija celebrated by doing a puja at his house. Speaking to reporters after the puja, Fadnavis said, "There is need to preserve mother nature." advertisement ALSO READ:What is Ganesh Chaturthi? Why is it celebrated? "PM Modi himself had appealed to celebrate Ganeshotsav eco-friendly way. We too have installed an eco-friendly idol and I appeal people of Maharashtra to celebrate this festival in an eco-friendly way", he added. VINOD TAWDE'S "TREE-GANESHA" Education Minister Vinod Tawde has installed a unique eco-friendly Ganesh idol called "Tree Ganesha". The idol at Tawde's residence is made with red soil, organic fertilisers and shadu clay filled seeds of plants. The idols were set atop clay pots with a base of soil. Once the festival is over, instead of immersion, these idols can be watered, which would lead the clay idols to melt over a span of few days and eventually the seed inside them would begin sprouting. "Lord Ganesh is known as a "vighnaharta" - god who removes obstacles. But through this concept Ganesha stays with us forever in the form of a tree, to protect us and the environment" said Tawde. GANESH IDOL DEPICTING ORGAN DONATION Maharashtra Medical Education Minister has installed an idol made of symbolic organs. A ganesh idol has also been specially made by noted Bollywood art director Nitin Desai. The idol showed Lord ganesh made from organs like, lever, heart, brain, kidneys etc. Mahajan says that the idea behind this unique idol is to create awareness about organ donation. "Nearly 5 lakh people die every year only because of the dearth of organs." IN PICS:India welcomes Lord Ganesha with pomp and splendour "5 lakh patients are suffering from kidney diseases, 50,000 from liver diseases and 2,000 from heart diseases and waiting for a transplant. Ganesh himself is a symbol of organ donation as he received an elephant's head. We want to create more awareness this Ganeshotsav." said Mahajan while speaking to India Today. Rural Development Minister Pankaja Munde and her husband Amit Palve have also installed an eco-friendly Ganesh idol at her official residence "Royal Stone". Pankaja has also made an eco-friendly decoration with flowers. Union Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari, Former CM Minister and Congress leader Narayan Rane, Former Loksabha Speaker Manohar Joshi too have brought Lord Ganesh at their Homes. While MNS Chief Raj Thackeray visited houses of his party leaders for Ganesh Darshan, Shivsena President Uddhav Thackeray visited Mumbai's famous Lalbaug cha Raja with his family. --- ENDS --- advertisement By Manogya Loiwal : As Vatican City was thronged by lakhs of visitors and followers from across the world to stand witness to the canonization of Saint Teresa there were three major delegations from India too. One led by External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj, second by Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and the third and largest contingent led by representatives from Mother Teresa's city Kolkata under the leadership of West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee. advertisement There were basic exchange of greetings between the three contingents in Rome but West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee and Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal met beyond the celebrations over a dinner in Rome. The two Chief Ministers have been vocal opponents of the Central Government. Mamata Banerjee presented a Bible translated in Bengali to the Archbishop Thomas D'Souza as a mark of respect in presence of Kejriwal. MAMATA, KEJRIWAL DISCUSS ELECTIONS But there is more to it than what meets the eye. Sources said that the two discussed the impending elections and a bit of future strategy too. Aam Aadmi Party is launching itself aggressively in Punjab State Elections. Trinamool Congress too has recently become a National Party recognised by the Election Commission of India. Both have been strong in their respective states and now it is time to focus on Uttar Pradesh, Punjab and not to forget Manipur. Interestingly all three states are ruled by three different political parties hence the style and issues of political campaign will differ. HEALTHY POLITICAL RAPPORT Mamata and Arvind are known to share a healthy political rapport with common agenda and ideology and are expected to support each other in political campaigns to keep the vote bank united. This time however both have decided to utilise the time even in Rome not to do what Romans do but to think what Indians would do...rather Voters would do in state elections. Also read: Mamata Banerjee leaves for Rome, to attend Mother Teresa's canonisation on Sunday --- ENDS --- In the meeting on the sidelines of the G20 summit, Modi said the Saudi Deputy Crown Prince has been a "strong friend of India", sources said. By PTI: Prime Minister Narendra Modi today met Deputy Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia Mohammad bin Salman here and held discussions on UNSC reform and on enhancing bilateral ties in various areas including energy and maritime security. In the meeting on the sidelines of the G20 summit, Modi said the Saudi Deputy Crown Prince has been a "strong friend of India", sources said. ALSO READ: Hello Hangzhou! PM Modi tweets as he arrives to attend G20 Summit advertisement "They held a detailed discussion on UN Security Council reform, with both leaders emphasising the need for expansion of the UNSC to include more permanent members," they said. The prime minister called for strengthened partnership with Saudi Arabia in various areas such as maritime security, infrastructure, low-cost housing and energy sector. ALSO READ: Exclusive: NSG, Pakistan in focus as Modi arrives in China for G20 He invited greater Saudi investment, mainly through the National Investment and Infrastructure Fund (NIIF), and sought greater cooperation in infrastructure, particularly modernisation of railway stations, according to the sources. Modi told the Saudi Deputy Crown Prince India could also become a source of food supply to the oil-rich Gulf Kingdom. The deputy crown prince, who is the son of Saudi King Salman, holds the key defence and economic policy portfolios. --- ENDS --- Modi for the first time met new Britain's Prime Minister Theresa May and held discussions on enhancing bilateral tie. PM Narendra Modi at the opening session of G20 Summit. By Press Trust of India: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday for the first time met new Britain's Prime Minister Theresa May and held discussions on enhancing bilateral ties in the aftermath of the UK's decision to exit the European Union. Both the leaders held discussions on the sidelines of the G20 Summit on "building opportunities" after the UK voted to leave the EU - the world's single largest market. advertisement "Building opportunities with the United Kingdom. PM @narendramodi meets PM @theresa_may for their first bilateral," External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Vikas Swarup tweeted. WHO IS THERESA MAY? May was sworn in as Britain's Prime Minister on July 13, succeeding David Cameron who resigned after the country voted in favour of exiting the EU. May, 59, is UK's second woman Prime Minister after Margaret Thatcher, also known as Iron Lady, with whom May is often compared. Modi had congratulated May on her assumption of new responsibility on July 27 and had affirmed India's commitment to further strengthen the strategic bilateral partnership. Thanking Modi, May had during the telephonic conversation said she looked forward to work closely with India to develop stronger ties and enhance cooperation. Modi earlier on Monday said fighting corruption, black money and tax-evasion were central to effective financial governance. He also said, "We need to act to eliminiate safe havens for economic offenders, track down and unconditionally extradite money launderers." ALSO READ | Modi at G20: Eliminate safe havens for economic offenders, crack down on corrupt --- ENDS --- Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the second day of G20 Summit raised issues like corruption and tax evasion. By India Today Web Desk: Prime Minister Narendra Modi today made it clear that effective financial governance requires "full commitment" to act against the corrupt and elimination of "safe havens" for economic offenders as he called on G20 members to break down the web of excessive banking secrecy. Modi also said that efforts should be made towards zero tolerance for corruption, black money, administration and policy loopholes and that there should be no barriers to commitment and action. advertisement "We need to act to eliminate safe havens for economic offenders, track down and unconditionally extradite money launderers and break down the web of complex international regulations and excessive banking secrecy that hide the corrupt and their deeds". The prime minister said that a stable global economic and financial system is imperative for growth as it promotes inclusive and sustainable growth. XI JINPING PRAISES MODI Chinese President Xi Jinping today praised PM Modi's leadership of the Indian economy especially his energy policy. The two leaders held bilateral talks and raised several issues including terrorism, China's economic corridor and India's membership in the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG). The prime minister also professed India's support for BEPS recommendations and called on countries to commit to the timeline of 2017-18 announces in Hangzhou, China. While talking on effective global economic and financial governance in Hangzhou, PM Modi said that fighting corruption, black money and tax evasion was key to financial governance. He said that long delayed 15th General Review of Quotas must be completed by 2017 Annual meet. NEED REGULAR DIALOGUE "We need a regular dialogue between the IMF, Regional Financial Arrangements and Bilateral Swap Arrangements," said Modi. He added that IMF remain a quota-based institution and not depend on borrowed resources. The Prime Minister also said that India needs energy to support its development. A "balanced mix of nuclear, renewal energy and fossil fuels are at the core of our policy." The G20 member states represent 85 per cent of the world's GDP. Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, South Korea, Turkey, the UK, the US and the European Union make the G20. At the G20 Summit, Modi also met Theresa May the prime minister of United Kingdom. With inputs from PTI --- ENDS --- By PTI: New Delhi, Sep 4 (PTI) Wife of sacked Delhi Minister Sandeep Kumar, who was arrested on rape charges, today came out in support of her husband, claiming that he was "falsely implicated" in the scandal. "My husband is innocent, I stand by him. Rape charges against my husband are wrong," Ritu Kumar told a news channel here. advertisement The embattled ex-ministers wife said that the charges were part of a "political conspiracy against her innocent husband" and that her entire family was with Sandeep at this hour. The MLA from Sultanpur Majra was arrested yesterday on rape and other charges following a complaint by a woman, who purportedly figured in an "objectionable" CD with him. He was also suspended from AAP after the scandal came to light. Sandeep, who is being interrogated by the police, has claimed innocence in the matter. The former women and child development minister has been booked on charges of rape, transmission of material containing sexually explicit act and taking illegal gratification. In her complaint, the woman alleged that around 11 months ago, she was raped by Kumar when she had gone to his office in outer Delhis Sultanpuri seeking help to obtain a ration card. Kumar was removed from the AAP government on August 31 by Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal after the CD purportedly showing him in compromising position with the woman surfaced. PTI SLB VIT PPS SRY SC SRY --- ENDS --- The NIA will also send a request under the MLAT (Mutual Legal Assistance Treaty) to Bangaladesh, Germany, New Zealand and US to gather evidence against IS suspect Musa (Mohammad Masiuddin), arrested in West Bengal this year said a source. By Revathi Rajeevan: The National Investigation Agency (NIA) teams have arrived in Kasargod and Palakkad in Kerala to probe the case of 21 missing youths believed to have joined ISIS. The NIA teams will take custody of those arrested by Kerala police earlier. The NIA will also send a request under the MLAT (Mutual Legal Assistance Treaty) to Bangaladesh, Germany, New Zealand and US to gather evidence against IS suspect Musa (Mohammad Masiuddin), arrested in West Bengal this year said a source. advertisement ALSO READ: Bengal: Man with suspected ISIS link arrested by NIA The 25-year-old was picked up from Burdwan railway station when he was traveling to Birbhum district onboard the Viswabharati Fast Passenger train from Howrah railway station. ALSO READ:15 Kerala youths go missing: Did they join ISIS? Families fear they did The Central Government had issued orders for transfer of investigation of two cases, one in Kasargod and the other in Palakkad, to the NIA in August. The Govt of Kerala had forwarded reports to the Central Govt on these two cases and stated that these were fit to be investigated by the NIA. ALSO READ: ISIS terrorists auctioning sex slaves on Whatsapp, Telegram apps It was in July this year that reports of 21 youths missing from Kasargod and Palakkad districts of Kerala emerged. The missing youths including women and children are believed to have joined the ISIS. Although some of the missing men have messaged their families, none of them have returned yet. --- ENDS --- By Rohit Kumar Singh: Bihar CM Nitish Kumar on Sunday said he has been mocked by a certain section of the society ever since prohibition has been imposed in the state. The Bihar chief minister added that the opposition has attacked him for bringing a draconian law. "Many say that I have lost my wisdom by imposing prohibition in Bihar", Kumar said. advertisement BIHAR CM NITISH KUMAR DEFENDS PROHIBITION Defending prohibition, Kumar said that this new law had brought a social change in the society. "There is an unbelievable atmosphere that has been created in the society post prohibition. Some people say that the prohibition law is Talibani in nature and some say I have turned insane. Some even say that I have been derailed", said Nitish Kumar. Nitish, who was speaking at an event, even cautioned people who are still continuing to consume liquor or are smuggling liquor into the state for some quick money. "There are people who are smuggling liquor into Bihar to make fast money. They are selling liquor costing Rs 500 for Rs 5000 by risking their lives. They think that if they do not get caught, that would mean huge profit. I caution them not to take such risk. Hands of law are very long," said the Bihar chief minister. "Whenever something new takes place, people first mock at it then they oppose it and later they accept it. I am sure this will be the case with prohibition law also. Majority of the people are in favour of prohibition and those against will soon accept it ", said Nitish. Nitish on Sunday received praise from an unexpected quarter for imposing prohibition in Bihar. VHP chief Praveen Togadia lauded Nitish for this revolutionary step by saying this will bring change in society. ALSO READ | Togadia needles PM Modi again, praises Nitish for prohibition in Bihar --- ENDS --- The three ballistic missiles were fired by North Korea from Hwangju in North Hwanghae province today. By Reuters: North Korea fired three ballistic missiles into the sea off its east coast today, South Korea's Office of Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said in a statement. The country test-fired the three ballistic missiles from Hwangju in North Hwanghae province at around 12.14 pm, Yonhap News Agency reported citing South Korea's JCS as saying. Also read: World needs to avoid steps that would heighten tensions with North Korea: Putin advertisement The launches came hours after the leaders of South Korea and China, the North's main diplomatic ally, met on the sidelines of a world leaders' meeting in Hangzhou, China. --- ENDS --- By PTI: From Sajjad Hussain Islamabad, Sep 5 (PTI) A top Pakistani diplomat today travelled to Belgium to seek the European nations support for Islamabads bid to get membership of Nuclear Suppliers Group. The Prime Ministers special envoy Syed Tariq Fatemi met Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs and European Affairs Didier Reynders and Ministry of Foreign Affairs Secretary-General Dirk Achten, Foreign Office said. advertisement In addition to exchange of views on bilateral relations, the special envoy briefed his interlocutors about Pakistans application for membership of the elite nuclear club and sought Belgiums support in this regard, it said. "Presenting Pakistans point of view, the Special Envoy reiterated that Pakistans application for the NSG was based on solid grounds of technical experience, capability and commitment to nuclear safety and security," it said. He emphasised the need for adopting a non-discriminatory and objective approach while considering membership applications for NSG, as this issue directly impacted the strategic stability in South Asia as well as the future of the global non-proliferation regime, it added. The Belgian side was also apprised about the current situation in Kashmir, the FO said in a statement. The special envoy voiced Pakistans deep concern about the alleged human rights violations in Kashmir. He asked the international community to play its role in urging India to respect the basic rights of the people of the Kashmir to ensure their right to self-determination as enshrined in the relevant UN Security Council resolutions, the statement added. PTI SH ZH --- ENDS --- By India Today Web Desk: Since India's first Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru, the only PM whose managed to generate enough buzz with his sartorial choices is Narendra Modi. And, the feat can be credited to Mumbai-based menswear designer Troy Costa. Also read: Everyone is going crazy over Rakhi Sawant's 'sexy' Narendra Modi dress, and not in a good way The fashion designer--who specialises in western formals--is known for dressing the country's hottest Bollywood stars, CEOs and the biggest names from different walks of life, but it's his work as a "tailor" for Prime Minister Narendra Modi that catapulted him into the limelight. Troy Costa dresses B-town's hottest celebs. Picture courtesy: Instagarm/@troycosta advertisement When the PM finally made the much publicised trip to the US in 2014, all eyes were trained on his wardrobe choices and it's safe to say that he didn't disappoint. With Troy Costa working his magic, how could he? In an interview with Brunch, talking about designing for Modi, he said, "For the PM, like for all my clients, I first understand the person and what they do, and then proceed to put together a wardrobe. In this case, I believe that if you want to be part of an international space, you need to dress the part. Do you see a Japanese person wearing a kimono in an international context? I think not. On an international stage, I don't think an all-out traditional look is the best choice. You want to blend in." In 2014, the PM landed in the US wearing an on trend, deep berry hued bandhgala suit. Photo: Reuters In the same interview, he also called dressing the PM an "amazing experience", adding, "He (Narendra Modi) is extremely fashionable. He is tall and can carry his clothes off so well. He does love his clothes." Costa gave the bandhgala a chic update. Photo: Reuters To his credit, Costa has avoided bringing any media attention on his sartorial choices for the PM, letting his work do the talking. "From what I gather of the Prime Minister, he is a guy who wouldn't want to talk about something as trivial as his personal tailor. I respect that," he added. The PM with POTUS at the National Martin Luther King Memorial on the National Mall in Washington. Photo: Reuters The PM with POTUS at the National Martin Luther King Memorial on the National Mall in Washington. Photo: Reuters And for those who would love to be dressed by the PM's designer, but don't have the moolah, Troy Costa will soon come out with Cruz Troy Costa, an affordable menswear range, catering to the taste of the modern man. --- ENDS --- The prominent leader of IS, among the five killed, was said to be close to the top IS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi. By Indo-Asian News Service: A prominent leader of Islamic State (IS) group and four extremist militants were killed on Sunday in a US-led coalition airstrike near the IS stronghold of Mosul in northern Iraq, a security source said. The airstrike destroyed four IS positions near the newly-freed town of Qayyara near Mosul, Xinhua news agency reported The prominent leader of IS, among the five killed, was said to be close to the top IS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, a security source on condition of anonymity told Xinhua citing an intelligence report. advertisement The source didn't give the name of the prominent leader, adding that there were six other IS militants injured in the airstrike. On August 25, Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi declared the liberation of Qayyara after defeating the extremist militants. ALSO READ: Islamic State eliminated from the country, claims Pakistan army --- ENDS --- By PTI: Bengaluru, Sep 5 (PTI) Farmers and pro-Kannada outfit activists protested in various parts of Karnataka today against the Supreme Court direction to release Cauvery water to Tamil Nadu while Chief Minister Siddaramaiah convened a meeting of legislature leaders and MPs here tomorrow to discuss the issue. As farmers and others hit the streets protesting the apex court directive to release 15,000 cusecs of water per day for next ten days to the neighbouring state, the Cauvery Hitarakshana Samithi (Cauvery protection committee) called for a bandh tomorrow in Mandya, the hotbed of Cauvery politics. Siddaramaiah, whose government has been expressing its inability to release water to Tamil Nadu citing poor storage, would hold a meeting with floor leaders of all parties in the state legislature, MPs and district-in charge ministers tomorrow evening to take stock of the situation, an official release said tonight. "We have decided to call for Mandya bandh tomorrow to protest against the court direction to release cauvery water to Tamil Nadu when there is hardly any water left at our side of the river," Samithi President and former MP G Made Gowda told reporters at Mandya, some 100 km from here. Gowda also urged the government to file a review petition in the apex court. He said he had spoken to state Water Resources Minister M B Patil over phone and urged him to safeguard the interest of Karnataka farmers. The farmers leader also warned the government that it would face a strong agitation if water was released to Tamil Nadu. Protests broke out in other parts of the state including Chamrajnagar, Mysuru and Hubballi with farmers and pro-Kannada activists demonstrating against the Supreme Court order and urging the Siddaramaiah government to protect interests of Karnataka farmers and not release water to Tamil Nadu. Police said effigies and posters of Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa were burnt in some places in these districts. advertisement A group of farmers tried to enter the KRS Reservoir in Mysuru protesting the court direction, but police prevented them. Karnataka Okkuta, led by Vatal Nagaraj, called for a Karnataka bandh on September 9. Workers of the pro-Kannada outfit held a protest here, bringing traffic to a halt in the heart of the city. "There is no water in Bengaluru, Mysuru, Mandya and Chamrajnagar, and that is the truth. We have called for Karnataka Bandh on September 9 to protest against the injustice meted out to farmers here," Nagaraj told reporters. Passing orders on a petition by Tamil Nadu, the Supreme Court noted that damage would be caused to samba crops in the neighbouring state and directed Karnataka to release water. PTI BDN VS RG --- ENDS --- By Tatsam Mukherjee: Let one thing be said. The horror movies by the Bhatts are crap. There just isn't another way to put it. Therefore it only points towards the abysmal state of horror movies in India, if the Bhatts are our best hope. Horror movies in India have so much potential, which is a polite way of saying no one has wracked their brains behind making one. This, in spite of the fact that India has a rich repository of supernatural tales. We've always been inundated with folklore, heard tales of 'demons' and brave warriors since childhood. But if Emraan Hashmi shoving his tongue inside a woman being haunted by spirits is our best version of horror films, then good luck, Bollywood. ALSO WATCH: Violins, french-kisser Emraan Hashmi, lonely lady you get the drift...for the Raaz Reboot trailer advertisement Emraan Hashmi said in a recent interview how the A-listers stay away from horror as a genre, since they don't find it lucrative. However, the sad part is that if these A-listers make the kind of 'horror films' Hashmi and the Bhatts make, they might recover the money every now and then, but will not add anything to improve the state of the genre in India. Mahesh Bhatt said horror movies with good music have repeat value. Sir, with all due respect, how about *trying* to make a different movie, which doesn't have the same 'melodious' music by Jeet Ganguly with the 'hit track' in Arijit Singh's voice? How about stopping with the sequels, and the reboots and the same old bland formula? Emraan Hashmi in Raaz 2. This apathy towards the genre of horror films is a recent phenomenon. Bollywood used to make good horror films at one point. And we're not talking about the Ramsay Brothers. There was a time when movies like Bees Saal Baad and Madhumati were made. Competent actors like Waheeda Rehman, Dilip Kumar and the stunning Vyjayanthimala took part in them. The last half-decent horror film we saw was Ram Gopal Varma's Bhoot in 2004. After that, the indulgent director went on to rehash his same formula of shaky cam, loud thumping background score to such a point that it even started affecting his other films. We need to start understanding the reason why minds aren't being invested in the horror genre. Are horror films more expensive to make than the regular drivel? Will we not accept ghost stories unless they're packaged into an Urvashi Rautela and sold to us? It's definitely not expensive to make, like we saw in last week's Hollywood release, the horror-thriller Don't Breathe made by Uruguayan filmmaker Fede Alvarez. Bollywood did try to get on to the Paranormal Activity rip-off bus with Ragini MMS, but couldn't do much to change things. Urvashi Rautela played a bosom-heavy ghost in Great Grand Masti Urvashi Rautela played a bosom-heavy ghost in Great Grand Masti An industry which produces three films per day has not produced a 'good' horror film in the past decade. The problem with the Bollywood fare is because it talks down to the audience. Most horror films in India follow the most banal template. Someone moves to a new house, the house has a spirit (generally a wronged woman 'cos chudails are more 'in' than men-ghosts) and they attack the woman. The woman complains to the man, who doesn't believe her until he sees her floating over the bed in true Omen-esque style. Bipasha Basu in Raaz 3. Things have to change, and Indian filmmakers have to start writing better stories in the genre. Even tested players like Vishal Bharadwaj, who tied up with Ekta Kapoor for Ek Thi Daayan, couldn't deliver a decent film in spite of an amazing cast including Konkona Sensharma, Emraan Hashmi (in good form after Dibakar Banerjee's Shanghai) and Huma Qureshi. Bollywood cannot be discouraged by a couple of failed films. They have to find a way to, in Samuel Beckett's words, fail better. And at the same time, find a way to keep the budget at a minimum, so recovering the money isn't a problem for the stake-holders. Konkona Sen Sharma in Ek Thi Dayan Konkona Sen Sharma in Ek Thi Dayan advertisement As for Raaz Reboot, it will NOT improve the dismal state of horror movies in India. --- ENDS --- By PTI: Colombo, Sep 5 (PTI) Former strongman Mahinda Rajapaksa today dubbed as "one against the government" the attack on Sri Lankan envoy in Malaysia who was mobbed by a group of protesters allegedly linked to the LTTE for hosting him. The attack on High Commissioner Ibrahim Ansar yesterday at the Kuala Lumpur International Airport was allegedly carried out by the LTTE sympathisers, who were protesting against the visit of Rajapaksa, under whose leadership the Lankan troops defeated the Tamil Tiger rebels ending the nearly three decade-long civil war. advertisement "This is not good for the country, it was an attack against the government," Rajapaksa said at the airport upon his return from Malaysia. "I am prepared to face this kind of threats as I finished the decades old terrorist campaign in this country," Rajapaksa said. Rajapaksa visited Malaysia to attend a conference. Ansar was seeing off the joint opposition leader Dinesh Gunawardana at the airport when he was attacked. The LTTE sympathisers in Malaysia were angry with Ansar as he hosted Rajapaksa, who led the opposition delegation at the meeting. Sri Lankan government yesterday expressed concern over the incident and summoned Malaysias High Commissioner here to the ministry of foreign affairs for an explanation on the incident. PTI CORR UZM AKJ UZM --- ENDS --- By PTI: Colombo, Sep 5 (PTI) Former strongman Mahinda Rajapaksa today dubbed as "one against the government" the attack on Sri Lankan envoy in Malaysia who was mobbed by a group of protesters allegedly linked to the LTTE for hosting him. The attack on High Commissioner Ibrahim Ansar yesterday at the Kuala Lumpur International Airport was allegedly carried out by the LTTE sympathisers, who were protesting against the visit of Rajapaksa, under whose leadership the Lankan troops defeated the Tamil Tiger rebels ending the nearly three decade-long civil war. advertisement "This is not good for the country, it was an attack against the government," Rajapaksa said at the airport upon his return from Malaysia. "I am prepared to face this kind of threats as I finished the decades old terrorist campaign in this country," Rajapaksa said. Rajapaksa visited Malaysia to attend a conference. Ansar was seeing off the joint opposition leader Dinesh Gunawardana at the airport when he was attacked. The LTTE sympathisers in Malaysia were angry with Ansar as he hosted Rajapaksa, who led the opposition delegation at the meeting. Sri Lankan government yesterday expressed concern over the incident and summoned Malaysias High Commissioner here to the ministry of foreign affairs for an explanation on the incident. PTI CORR UZM AKJ UZM DK --- ENDS --- By Shreya Goswami: You know just how infectious chef Ranveer Brar's enthusiasm for food is. Whether it's through his Twitter posts or his many food shows, he has inspired many of us to identify the cook within, and enter the kitchen. But, unlike other chefs who first launch cookbooks and then make their foray into the world of television, Ranveer Brar has done the exact opposite. advertisement His first cookbook, Come Into My Kitchen, was released last month. Finally, we'll get to read and try out select recipes from Brar's huge store of culinary knowledge. And though a cookbook, Come Into My Kitchen reads like an autobiography--something that all foodies would enjoy reading. Ranveer Brar's cookbook is now available in stores. Picture courtesy: Amazon.in We caught up with the chef, and here's what he had to say about his book. The title of your book is very welcoming and homely. Is that how you want your readers to take it? Essentially, as my first cookbook, Come Into My Kitchen is an introduction to my kitchen, and me. The first chapter is about my childhood-my grandparents, the city of Lucknow, and the way I developed a taste for food. The second chapter is about how a chef, in this case, how I think. This would give the readers an insight into my mind. The rest of the chapters are about what I cook every day, and how I cook it. So the whole book is basically an invitation to come into my life, my kitchen, and spend a whole day with me. Also read: This is what Chef Ranveer Brar's brand new restaurant is all about Tell us a little more about Come Into My Kitchen. Where did you draw the inspiration from? I did draw inspiration from all my travels. I think we shouldn't buckle up our creativity. You've got to experiment! For example, I believe in fusion. A lot of people might think that it doesn't work, but it does for me. My recipes aren't classic recipes, they're all fusion recpes inspired by all the places I've been to. What has the response to Come Into My Kitchen been like? It's been great. I've been travelling constantly, shooting for a number of web and television series. So it's been a bit difficult to consolidate everything, or even do a promotional tour. But we've had really good sales on Amazon, and other online shopping sites. Stick to the basics, and you'll nail every dish, says Ranveer Brar. Picture courtesy: Instagram/ranveer.brar Your focus, as a chef, always seems to be on the ingredients--their antecedents, quality, use, etc. How much of this focus and goldmine of information will we find in Come Into My Kitchen? Not that much in this particular book. I'm working on another book about Indian ingredients. I really think ingredients are the key. We need to understand the source of our most impressive dishes. We need to respect what's on the plate, but even more than that, we need to respect the ingredients that make the dish what it is. advertisement There's this concern regarding cookbooks by professional chefs--the recipes are so complicated, and ingredients so difficult to find, that you can never try out anything from these books. Will we have the same issue with Come Into My Kitchen? Not at all! I've been working in television, and that gives you a rare insight into the Indian home. You come to know what's always available in those kitchens, and what else can be bought easily. Take this recipe for example: Thai Veg Rice Paper Roll Ingredients: 2 sheets rice paper 1/2 red bell pepper, thinly sliced 1/2 English cucumber/ desi cucumber, thinly sliced 1/2 cup thinly sliced red cabbage 1/2 medium mango, thinly sliced 1/2 green apple, thinly sliced 1 package of rice noodles 2 tbsp Sambal sauce to serve This recipe is easy to make, and the ingredients easily available. Photo: Ranveer Brar Method: 1. First, start by soaking the kelp noodles in warm water while you're prepping all your veggies. They'll gradually soften (still al dente) while you're getting ready to assemble. 2. Using a large bowl of warm water, gently dip 1 rice paper at a time. 3. On a clean surface like a cutting board, lay flat the softened rice paper then start laying the thinly sliced vegetables and fruit in the lower 1/3 and center of the rice paper. Using your hands, gently fold the sides towards the center (similar to rolling a burrito), then roll from the bottom up tightly rolling the rice paper around the fillings. Continue until it's rolled. 4. For the sauce, simply stir together and dip the spring roll in and enjoy. Immediately enjoy or keep in the fridge for up to 1 day. advertisement Also read: Chef Ranveer Brar shares the forgotten story of rice and sugarcane What's the one trick that works every time for you while cooking? It's easy: stick to the basics. Once you've nailed that, you can build on it. But the basics are what you need to master first. What's next for chef Ranveer Brar? My restaurant, Tag by Ranveer will open on October 10 in Kamala Mills, Mumbai. I'm also working on a new restaurant in Ontario, Canada--Mayura by Ranveer Brar. Kitchen Chronicles just started airing on Living Foodz last month. It has a soulful narrative, and every foodie must watch it. Another show on the cards is Global Menu, about food from countries we don't know much about as yet--North Korea, Peru, Chile and South Africa. This would be a new food journey, and I'm excited about bringing these cuisines to the Indian audience for the first time. advertisement Watch, as Ranveer Brar changes your idea of boring old, tinda, here: --- ENDS --- After a Sunday Standard report said that sacked Delhi minister Sandeep Kumar misused his official position to make sure that his child was born in the US, the BJP launched a fresh attack on AAP leaders. By Kapil Sharma: AAP leaders are mysterious, more CDs to come, claims BJP After the arrest of sacked Delhi minister Sandeep Kumar, the BJP has upped its ante against the Aam Aadmi Party. Delhi BJP chief Satish Upadhyay said on Monday that all the AAP leaders are mysterious. They say something and do something else, Upadhyay said. Reacting to the arrest of Kumar's personal secretary and OSD Praveen Kumar, Upadhyay said that it showed that the sex scandal was 'organized.' He also claimed that the police investigation will reveal many more dark secrets of the Aam Aadmi Party. advertisement Upadhyay demanded that the allegations leveled by AAP MLA Colonel Devendra Sehrawat should be investigated thoroughly. He claimed that exploitation of women in AAP is common and more CDs would come in the public soon. READ: Sex CD case: Sandeep Kumar arrested by Delhi Police after rape complaint BJP TARGETS KUMAR'S US TRIPS The BJP leader said, "Now it has emerged that Sandeep Kumar traveled to the US three times keeping his own government in the dark. As Sandeep is an elected representative and was a minister at the time of his tours, the real motive of his US trips should be probed." "Why did Sandeep Kumar's wife gave birth to their child in the US and that too without informing the government about the trip? Was it done to get US citizenship," asked the BJP leader. READ: How deep in trouble with the law is sacked AAP minister Sandeep Kumar? DID SANDEEP KUMAR PLAN HIS SON'S US CITIZENSHIP? Sacked Delhi minister Sandeep Kumar continues to bring troubles for the Aam Aadmi Party. According to a report published by the Sunday Standard, the disgraced AAP leader allegedly misused his official position as a minister to ensure that his child is born in USA and thereby become a US citizen. Kumar apparently hid information about his wife, Ritu Verma's pregnancy when they traveled to the US. The Delhi Police Crime Branch is probing not only a rape case in the sex CD scandal but also the AAP leader's jaunts. Here are the highlights of the new controversy: Sacked minister Sandeep Kumar holding passport number K649210, made two trips to the US-first with his pregnant wife, Ritu Verma on April 22 by Kuwait Airways and the second by Air India on June 24. Kumar did not disclose his wife's pregnancy to the US embassy authorities in New Delhi. On May 3, Kumar summoned his personal secretary Praveen Singh in the Delhi government to fly to the US on state expenditure, i.e. taxpayers' money. Kumar returned from the US on May 6, directing his PS to admit his wife in the Elmhurst Hospital in New York. On June 10, Ritu Verma gave birth to a baby boy, Rudra Pratap Singh. The Sunday Standard claimed to have a copy of the child's birth certificate in its possession. The birth certificate proclaims Kumar's son to be a US citizen. Kumar went to the US on June 24 the second time and returned on July 10 with Ritu, baby Rudra and Praveen to Delhi by Air India. advertisement ALSO READ: Sex CD case: My husband is innocent, I stand by him, says Sandeep Kumar's wife Sex CD case: What lies ahead for Sandeep Kumar? --- ENDS --- Delhi Police has demanded 14-day custody of Sandeep Kumar for further investigation into the sex CD case. By India Today Web Desk: Delhi Police is likely to seek further police custody of former AAP minister Sandeep Kumar today as he remained evasive during the interrogation. Delhi Police has demanded 14-day custody of Kumar. Further, his personal secretary and friend Praveen Singh will also be grilled by the police, sources said. Kumar has alleged that his friend Singh leaked the video and circulated it. advertisement Sexual Harassment case The former minister was arrested on Saturday night after a woman approached Sultanpuri police station in north Delhi with a complaint of sexual harassment against Kumar. Also read: Sex CD case: Rape accused Sandeep Kumar sent to one-day police custody The police has said that they would try to recover the device from which the recording was done. Delhi police informed the court that the woman was raped on pretext of giving her a ration card. Meanwhile, the court also slammed Delhi Police for booking the minister under the Prevention of Corruption Act. Also read: Sex CD case: My husband is innocent, I stand by him, says Sandeep Kumar's wife Kumar was removed from the AAP government on August 31 by Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal after the CD purportedly showing him in a compromising position with the woman surfaced. --- ENDS --- By PTI: New Delhi, Sep 5 (PTI) In an interim order which may ameliorate the plight of Tamil Nadu farmers to some extent, Supreme Court today asked Karnataka to release 15,000 cusecs of Cauvery water daily for the next 10 days to its neighbouring state. The apex court also directed Tamil Nadu to approach the Supervisory Committee, set up to implement award of Cauvery Water Disputes Tribunal (CWDT), within three days for the release of Cauvery water as per the final order of Tribunal. advertisement "The Supervisory Committee shall pass appropriate direction in this regard within four days from the date of filing of the reference, keeping in view the language employed in the final order of the Tribunal. Be it clarified, the Supervisory Committee is bound by the language used in the order passed by the Tribunal... "Coming to the immediate arrangement, keeping in view the gesture shown by the State of Karnataka and the plight that has been projected with agony by Mr Naphade, we think it appropriate to direct that 15,000 cusecs of water per day be released at Biligundulu by the State of Karnataka for ten days," a bench comprising Justices Dipak Misra and U U Lalit said. It also directed Tamil Nadu to release water to the Union Territory of Puducherry proportionately as per its interim arrangement, while posting the matter for further hearing on September 16. The order came after senior advocate Fali S Nariman, appearing for Karnataka, said as a "goodwill gesture" the state government was ready to ensure flow of 10,000 cusecs (about 0.86 TMC) per day from September 7 to 12. However, Tamil Nadu sought release of 20,000 cusecs of water per day instead of 10,000 cusecs of water in the interest of the farmers of the state. During the hearing, senior advocate Shekhar Naphade, appearing for Tamil Nadu, contended that Karnataka has not been complying with the Tribunals directions in the final order and there has been flagrant violation of the same. He said that if the water is not released by Karnataka, the samba crops will be damaged, which will lead to disastrous consequences for the farmers of Tamil Nadu. (More) PTI PKS MNL SJK RKS ARC --- ENDS --- By PTI: New Delhi, Sep 5 (PTI) AAP leader Ashutosh was today locked in a bitter war of words with NCW chief Lalitha Kumaramangalam after he was summoned by the womens body for defending sacked Delhi minister Sandeep Kumar, who is embroiled in a sex tape scandal. "Ms Mangalam, as a chairperson of NCW, you should not lie on a national TV that u r not BJP member. Wikipedia writes You are still a member. Lalitha Kumar Manglam is member of BJP national executive/was national secretary of BJP. If I get notice from NCW, I will react (sic)," Ashutosh tweeted. advertisement "I hope Lalitha Kumarmangalam, member of BJP Nat Ex/ chairman NCW is summoning every writer who wrote about consensual sex. NO pick and choose (sic)," he said in another tweet. Reacting to it, Kumaramangalam said, "What kind of a journalist are you? You are two years behind time. I am not a member of BJP national executive. I was before. I am not even a spokesperson for the party. I was, before NCW. BJP has a strict rule of one person one post." "The moment I was offered the chairmanship of NCW, I was told I can no longer be the spokesperson and national- executive member. I accepted the post on those terms. So, Ashutosh you should learn to get your facts right, especially as a journalist, before you issue a statement or tweet." Earlier in the day, Kumaramangalam said Ashutoshs blog, in which he defended Kumar, was "misogynistic". "We have asked him to come on September 8. This is in response to what we feel is a very reprehensible and demeaning blog Ashutosh wrote, where he defended a man accused of rape. "We feel that as a spokesperson of a party that governs Delhi and a party whose members have been accused of many incidents of violence against women he should not be writing a blog like this which reeks of patriarchy and misogyny," she said. The womens panel chief also said the AAP leader had jumped the gun in calling Sandeep Kumar "innocent". "Why did he jump the gun. The police had taken cognisance immediately and there was no shroud on what action the police had taken. Jumping the gun is also a sign of patriarchy in our country. This is not a blog especially the spokesperson of a party, whose minister committed the crime, should be allowed to get away with," Kumaramangalam said. PTI JC PR GVS ZMN GVS --- ENDS --- Brock Turner, convicted of raping a fellow Stanford student, was released after just three months in jail for 'good behaviour'. By India Today Web Desk: Brock Turner, the former Stanford University swimmer convicted of raping a young woman on campus, was released early from jail for 'good behaviour', triggering armed protests outside the prison he was held in and his Ohio home. Turner served just half of a six-month sentence. On Friday, while exiting a California jail, Turner was even handed a big packet of hate mail by prison guards, according to a report by the Associated Press. advertisement Turner's early release has sparked yet another bout of widespread outcry, after many believed he was given preferential treatment and too light of a sentence for the January 2015 assault. For hours after his pre-dawn release from the Santa Clara County jail, about 200 people demonstrated outside, calling for the judge in the case to resign. Wearing a wrinkled dress shirt, Turner walked with his head down and didn't say a word as he made his way through a gauntlet of television camera lights and into a waiting SUV. The 21-year-old intends to live with his parents near Dayton, Ohio, where he is required to register for life as a sex offender. Brock Turner leaves the Santa Clara County Main Jail in San Jose, California. (AP Photo) There, about a dozen protesters stood outside the Turner's home in Sugarcreek Township, as police watched. One man's hand-lettered sign said "Let only pain & misery fall upon those who rape their fellow person." Turner's parents have reportedly asked police to help deal with protesters and monitor them for possible violence, voicing fear for their son's safety. Anger was visible on social media too. Many people pointed to Turner's case as "this is what rich white male privilege looks like." Others compared his jail term to harsher punishments people receive for comparatively trivial offences. Brock Turner spent 3 months in jail for rape, yet some nonviolent drug offenders are serving a life sentence. The system needs to be fixed.Tim Hess (@EsKaLiDiNg) September 2, 2016 I made a MySpace in 5th grade without telling my parents and was grounded for longer than Brock Turner was in jailEvan (@EvansPosts) September 5, 2016 It's scary to think it's easier to get out of a 6 month prison sentence in America than a 6 month phone contract in the UK #BrockTurnerCharlie (@charliegray772) September 5, 2016 I have a bottle of ketchup that's been in my fridge longer than #BrockTurner spent in jail for raping an unconscious woman.Juan (@jrivera64) September 5, 2016 Turner was convicted of assaulting the woman near a trash bin after they drank heavily at a fraternity party. The woman had passed out and Turner was on top of her when confronted by two graduate students passing by on bicycles. They chased and tackled him when he tried to flee, holding him on the ground until police arrived. advertisement A jury in March found Turner guilty of three felony sexual assault counts. Judge Santa Clara County Judge Aaron Persky sentenced him to six months in jail, citing the "extraordinary circumstances" of Turner's youth, clean criminal record and other considerations in departing from the minimum sentence of two years in prison. Prosecutors had argued for six years. Turner's case exploded on social media and ignited a debate about campus rape and the criminal justice system after the victim's 7,200-word letter to Turner that she read in the courtroom during sentencing was published online. "I want to show people that one night of drinking can ruin two lives," she wrote. "You and me. You are the cause, I am the effect," she wrote. Social media also lashed out against Turners father, who in a letter to the judge, called his son's crime "20 minutes of action." Since the outrage, USA Swimming condemned Turner and banned him for life, and so did Stanford University. advertisement Following Turner's release from jail, Sheriff Laurie Smith said she believed his sentence was too light. "He should be in prison right now, but he's not in our custody," she told reporters. BROCK TURNER IS A RAPIST. NOT AN "EX-SWIMMER", SWIMMER, STANFORD STUDENT, ETC. HE'S A RAPIST.Best Coast (@BestCoast) September 2, 2016 So basically #BrockTurner was grounded for summer for raping a girl. That'll show him! Surprised he wasn't sent to his room without dinnerJose Barrientos (@ToastIsFunny) September 3, 2016 But Brock Turner can literally rape a girl and be free after just 3 months because "he had good behavior?" pic.twitter.com/OrAzfMuPXecam (@cambusken) September 5, 2016 Raped a women and only serves 3months bc he has a "future" is basically telling that girl it doesn't matter that she got raped#BrockTurnerIt's Royalty (@StephfanP) September 5, 2016 Lol Brock Turner should wish he's in jail. Society most def does NOT and never will accept a rapist. Put him back where he belongs.J (@JackJ) September 3, 2016 Smith said jail guards gave Turner a big package of hate mail sent to him over the last three months and that Turner lived in protective custody in jail after receiving threats. She also urged Governor Jerry Brown to sign a bill passed by California Assembly last week that would require harsher punishment for the same crime Turner committed. Brown hasn't said whether he will sign it. advertisement "The law has to be that if you rape someone who is unconscious and intoxicated you go to state prison," she said. "And that bill is on the governor's desk right now, and we're urging the governor to sign it." A well-funded campaign also is underway to recall Persky. The judge voluntarily removed himself from hearing criminal cases, starting next week. But supporters of the recall campaign said that is not enough. "We need judges who understand sexual assault and violence against women," Stanford law professor Michele Dauber, a friend of Turner's victim and the chair of the recall campaign, said Friday while demonstrating outside the jail. "Judge Persky does not." Persky didn't respond to requests for comment Friday and hasn't responded to numerous requests since Turner's sentencing. He has launched a campaign website soliciting campaign donations to help retain his seat. California jail inmates with good behavior typically serve half their sentences. Ohio prison officials earlier this month agreed to take over supervision of Turner's probation. #BrockTurner may have gotten a light sentence but the neighbors not making it easy for him to live outside of jail pic.twitter.com/k4DXAF7AY2coke (@wildd_child) September 3, 2016 Greene County Sheriff Gene Fischer said Turner has five days to register as a sex offender with his office in Xenia, Ohio, 15 miles east of Dayton. He will have to report to a probation officer for three years and must avoid alcohol and drugs during that time. Fischer said his department will notify Turner's neighbors informing them that a convicted sex offender is moving nearby. Turner will be required to register every three months in person at the sheriff's office, reaffirming that he is still living with his parents, the sheriff said. Deputies also will check on Turner without warning to ensure he has not moved without permission from authorities. WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO REGISTER AS A SEX OFFENDER? Turner has to complete a sex-offender counseling class for one to three years. He cannot live near schools, parks and other places where children congregate. He will be barred from working with children in any capacity. He will be need to submit to random polygraph tests and waive patient-counselor confidentiality privileges. His name, photo and address will be publicly available on Ohio's online sex offender registry. The local sheriff will send postcards to Turner's neighbors informing them that a sex offender has moved in nearby. Turner has to check in with the sheriff every three months and is subject to random searches of his home. He will need permission from law enforcement to travel out of state. (With inputs from AP) --- ENDS --- It was not immediately clear if there was a link between the blasts reported west of Damascus, in the state-held cities of Homs, Tartous and in the northeastern province of Hasaka,which is controlled by Kurdish YPG fighters. By Reuters: Six explosions hit government-controlled areas and a province held by a Kurdish militia in Syria on Monday morning, killing dozens of people, state media and a monitor said. It was not immediately clear if there was a link between the blasts reported west of Damascus, in the state-held cities of Homs and Tartous - which hosts a Russian military base - and in the northeastern province of Hasaka, which is controlled by Kurdish YPG fighters. advertisement No group claimed responsibility for the attacks, which all took place between 8 am and 9 am local time (0500-0600 GMT). SIX CONSECUTIVE BLASTS Islamic State - which is fighting both the government and the US-backed YPG militants - confirmed that one Hasaka blast took place but did not say whether its fighters were involved. The turmoil underlined the complexity of a five-year civil war that has cut Syria into a patchwork of territories held by the state and an often competing array of armed factions and sectarian groups. Two explosions hit the Arzouna bridge area at the entrance to Tartous on Monday, killing 35 people, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said. The death toll was confirmed by the head of a city hospital. Syrian state television said the first explosion was a car bomb and the second was a suicide belt detonated as rescue workers came to the scene of the first incident. The blasts hit during Tartous's Summer Festival. Its beaches recently featured in a government tourism video circulated on social media inviting people to visit Syria's Mediterranean coastline. A car bomb struck the city of Homs at the Bab Tadmur roundabout at the entrance to the al-Zahra neighbourhood, killing three people, state media said. The Observatory said the Homs explosion hit an army checkpoint, killing four officers. West of Damascus, there was an explosion at the entrance to the town of al Saboura, along a road which leads onto the Beirut-Damascus highway, killing one person and injuring three, according to a police commander quoted on state television. A local police chief told state media three men were stopped in a car by security forces. "The driver was killed and the two others got out of the car and detonated their suicide belts, killing one person," he said. The Observatory said three people died in the Saboura blast. A motorbike also exploded in the centre of the northeastern city of Hasaka, killing five people including three members of the YPG-affiliated security force known as the Asayish, said the Observatory. KURDISH DE FACTO AUTONOMY The Kurdish YPG militia, a critical part of the US-backed campaign against Islamic State, took near complete control of Hasaka city in late August after a week of fighting with the government. advertisement The YPG already controls swathes of northern Syria where Kurdish groups have established de facto autonomy since the start of the Syrian war in 2011. The Observatory said a percussion bomb also went off in the province's city of Qamishli city. Amaq, a news agency affiliated to Islamic State, said seven Kurdish security forces were killed an injured there. Also Read: Key Islamic State leader killed in apparent US strike in Syria Also Read: IS genocide in Iraq and Syria exposed: Terrorists buried thousands in 72 mass graves --- ENDS --- The court's observation came on Bhushan's plea that sedition was a serious offence and the law on it was being grossly misused for stifling dissent. By Ahmad Azeem: The Supreme Court today said sedition or defamation cases cannot be slapped on anyone criticising the government. "Someone making a statement to criticise the government does not invoke an offence under sedition or defamation law. We have made it clear that invoking of section 124(A) of IPC (sedition) requires certain guidelines to be followed as per the earlier judgment of the apex court," a bench of Justices Dipak Misra and UU Lalit said while disposing of a petition filed by NGO Common Cause of senior lawyer Prashant Bhushan. advertisement The court's observation came on Bhushan's plea that sedition was a serious offence and the law on it was being grossly misused for stifling dissent. He cited the examples of sedition charges being slapped on agitators protesting against Kudankulam Nuclear Power Project and cartoonist Aseem Trivedi, among others. To this, the bench said, "We don't have to explain the sedition law. It's already there in the five-judges' Constitution bench's judgment in Kedar Nath Singh vs state of Bihar of 1962." Court refuses to pass direction The court, while alleging misuse of the sedition law, refused to pass a direction on the plea that a copy of this order be sent to all chief secretaries of states and the Directors General of Police. "You have to file separate plea highlighting if any misuse of sedition law is there. In criminal jurisprudence, allegations and cognisance have to be case specific, otherwise it will go haywire. There can't be any generalisation," the bench said. Bhushan said law has not been amended after the Kedar Nath Singh judgment by the apex court and a constable does not understand the judgment but what he understands is the section in the IPC. "Constables don't need to understand. It is the magistrate who needs to understand and follow the guidelines as laid down by the apex court while invoking sedition charges," the apex court said. NGO's plea on misuse of section 124A IPC The court was hearing a plea seeking the apex court's intervention to address the "misuse" of section 124 A of the IPC contending that such a charge was being framed with a view to "instill fear and scuttle dissent". The NGO's plea said "there has been an increase in the number of cases of sedition against intellectuals, activists, students, with the latest being the sedition charge on Amnesty India for organising a debate on Kashmir". "In this regard, a petition has been filed to address the misuse and misapplication of Section 124A (sedition law) by the Centre and various state governments leading to routine persecution of students, journalists and intellectuals engaged in social activism. It is submitted that these charges are framed with a view to instill fear and to scuttle dissent". advertisement Sedition case slapped on Amnesty International, Arundhati Roy, Kanhaiya Kumar among others Acting on a complaint by the ABVP on Saturday, Bengaluru police had slapped sedition charges against Amnesty International India after an event it had organised on allegations of human rights violations and denial of justice in Jammu and Kashmir. Referring to a National Crime Records Bureau report, the plea said that 47 cases of sedition were filed in 2014 alone and 58 persons arrested in connection with these cases, but the government has managed only one conviction so far. It cited a series of recent examples of activists being slapped with sedition charges, including Arundhati Roy in 2010 for alleged anti-India remarks at an event in Kashmir, cartoonist Aseem Trivedi in 2012 for allegedly insulting the country through his cartoons, doctor and human rights activist Binayak Sen, JNUSU President Kanhaiya Kumar and DU professor SAR Geelani. Direction sought The plea sought a direction that either Director General of Police or Commissioner of Police be asked to give a report before registration of an FIR for the offence of sedition that the act has led to violence or there was an intent on the part of the accused to create public disorder. advertisement It also sought a direction that the investigations and prosecutions be dropped in cases where such a reasoned order was not provided and the act in question involved peaceful expression or assembly. The constitutional validity of section 124 A rests upon either an intention to create public disorder or incitement of violence, it had said. Last month, senior lawyer Prashant Bhushan's NGO Common Cause had moved the Supreme Court on the alleged misuse of sedition laws. "With rampant misuse of Sedition law, we have filed PIL to ensure there's incitement to violence for charging sedition," he had alleged and added that the sedition law is causing persecution of students. "Sedition laws are being misused," the NGO had alleged and demanded that the approval of concerned DGP or Commissioner should be sought before booking someone on charges of sedition. The PIL was filed even as Amnesty International India was booked on the charge of sedition on August 16. Amnesty International had organised the event in Bengaluru as part of a campaign to seek justice for "victims of human rights violations" in Jammu and Kashmir. The event took a turn for the ugly and heated exchanges were witnessed and allegedly anti-India and anti-Army slogans were raised. advertisement (With inputs from agencies) ALSO READ | Amnesty sedition case: Congress caught on the wrong-foot? --- ENDS --- Sushant Singh Rajput's promotions of his upcoming movie, MS Dhoni: The Untold Story, is not going very smoothly. By India Today Web Desk: Film actor Sushant Singh Rajput is in news again, thanks to his upcoming biopic MS Dhoni: The Untold Story. The actor has already started promoting the film. But not everything is going according to plan as far as the promotions are concerned. A promo poster of the movie. Picture courtesy: Instagram/sushantsinghrajput Sushant, who started his career with television, was recently on the sets of the dance reality show Jhalak Dikhhla Jaa 9 in order to promote his movie. advertisement Also read:Jhalak Dikhhla Jaa 9: When Nora Fatehi taught dancing legend Govinda belly dancing According to reports, the actor threw a lot of tantrums on the sets and asked the show managers to not mention the fact that he made his start in the industry with an Ekta Kapoor serial, Kis Desh Mein Hai Meraa Dil. In fact, Sushant was also a former contestant on Jhalak Dikhhla Jaa, and according to same reports, he had even asked the show's team to not mention the aforementioned fact as well during the shoot of the show. However, Sushant has denied the rumours. A screenshot of Sushant's tweet. Picture courtesy: Instagram/itsSSR A screenshot of Sushant's tweet. Picture courtesy: Instagram/itsSSR The actor wrote on Twitter, "I am extremely proud to be an actor irrespective of the medium and also of my past. So stop these bullshit stories. What an actor does on a reality show is decided by the studio for the film." Sushant had recently posted a couple of pictures from the sets of the show (Jhalak Dikhhla Jaa) on his personal Instagram account. Picture courtesy: Instagram/sushantsinghrajput Jhalak Dikhhla Jaa airs every Saturday at 10 pm on Colors TV. --- ENDS --- A hoax article featuring the watermark of CNN carried a fabricated news of the death of Hollywood star Sylvester Stallone, went viral online. By India Today Web Desk: Hollywood superstar Sylvester Stallone took to social media to disprove fake reports of his death that left his fans mourning. Earlier to this, a hoax article featuring the symbol of CNN carried a fabricated news of the death of Sylvester Stallone, went viral online. Fans of the Rocky and Rambo were thrown into a state of shock this weekend as a rumour circulated on social media and appeared to confirm his death. advertisement A fake news story was being shared on Facebook, with fans clicking on the spam article, which then shares it on their page for their friends to see. Rubbishing all the rumours, the Rocky star shared an image on Instagram holding up his fists with professional boxer Sergey Kovalev on Saturday, reports mirror.co.uk. He posted: "With the incredibly powerful unified light heavyweight champion, Sergey Krusher Kovalev...Whatever he hits, he destroys Sergey Kovalev." With the incredibly powerful unified light heavyweight champion, Sergey "Krusher"Kovzalev " ? Whatever he hits, he destroys"@sergeykovalev A photo posted by Sly Stallone (@officialslystallone) on Sep 3, 2016 at 4:39pm PDT However, Stallone, who has ignored the prank, has still been active on his own social media accounts --- ENDS --- We often forget the problems our teachers face while giving us the 'gift of knowledge', but today should be the day we acknowledge all that they've done for us despite it posing a risk to their health. By Nikita Bhalla: Teaching as we all know is a noble profession which comes with a great deal of respect in our society. As the popular saying goes, "The mediocre teacher tells. The good teacher explains. The superior teacher demonstrates. But the great teacher inspires." There's no denying that the physical and mental demands of the profession often put teachers at risk of serious health complications. To top it all, you've been mean to at least one of your teachers, admit it. From sticking nasty gum to their chairs to reducing them to tears with your atrocious behaviour, you left no stone unturned to make their lives a little miserable. advertisement But despite all odds, these loving souls only put their best foot forward (something we didn't quite value back then) to educate, enlighten and train us for every hurdle that life would throw at us, both big and small. Also read: Happy Teacher's Day: 8 one-liners every Indian teacher has said at least once So, this Teacher's Day, let's take a moment to appreciate what they did for us and further understand the kind of health hazards they underwent in their journey to teach us. We spoke to Dr M Udaya Kumar Maiya, Medical Director, Portea Medical, Bangalore and asked which ailments affect teachers in particular, and ways to prevent and treat them. Below are a few reasons that trigger many health problems: " Firstly, there is enormous pressure on teachers from the administrative side--completing the syllabus, finishing a truck load of paperwork, corrections, mock tests, notes, exams etc--all of this leads to unnecessary tension which ultimately could lead to stress. " Parents today are more demanding than parents of yesteryears--the constant need to stay in touch with them adds to the already existing burden. " There is an added challenge of coping with extreme steps like suicide or harming themselves which adolescent students sometimes take when they are punished or pulled up. Our teachers braved and continue to struggle with the following health hazards even today: Blood pressure: From a physical health standpoint, many teachers have issues with their blood pressure because of stress and it's a vicious cycle because BP leads to stress. Vocal chords are put to excessive use: Teachers need to speak in the classroom for hours at a time, day in and day out. There may not be adequate audio systems in use and they may have to shout to make themselves heard over ambient noise in a class which tires the vocal chords and in some cases, may even damage them permanently. Bad posture: Many teachers also have postural issues, thanks to poor ergonomics. They may carry a lot of books, they invariably have to move from classroom to classroom or across considerable distances within the campus, climb stairs etc. Prone to more infections: Teachers are also prone to fall sick very often with cough, cold, laryngitis, pharyngitis and other infections and inflammation, thanks to the assortment of infections they are subject to in a classroom full of students. Vein issues: Varicose veins is another problem area that many teachers suffer from due to long hours of standing. Stress: One of the major issues teachers have to deal with is stress. Stress can be lead to exhaustion and affect mental health which could also lead to depression and anxiety disorders. Constant, high stress may also lead to other serious physical ailments and/or aggravate issues like back and neck pain. advertisement Dr Maiya however also has suggested a few solutions for the above mentioned health problems: " School administrations should conduct stress management sessions by professionals; " Creation of teacher support groups go a long way as they help teachers to vocalise feelings and discuss issues and solutions with their peers. " Schools have to devote adequate resources and enough assistance and helpers to teachers since teachers usually end up doing several activities on an end-to-end basis. " It is absolutely imperative for teachers to have periodic medical checks. While schools typically stress on medical checks for students, not many bother about teachers. In fact, when children aren't able to cope with their health, this is manifested more expressly and corrective measures or treatment can be applied. But when teachers have issues, these are suppressed and there is no proper or timely treatment. " Comfortable chairs and desks are a must for teachers. " Teachers should take steps to use masks etc, when their students are sick. Not only is this important for the teacher's own health but also ensures teachers don't end up passing on infections to other students (in case they get infected). " They should also be advised to wear stockings or leggings and do some simple exercises between classes such as stretching the back and neck muscles, thigh, calf and gluteus muscles. " Yoga as well as some relaxing activities such as listening to music etc, must be a part of a teacher's daily routine to take away any kind of work-related stress and tension. advertisement And once these solutions are paid attention to, that's when we can actually celebrate a Happy Teacher's Day. --- ENDS --- Abdul Gafoor who is the Minority Welfare Affairs minister from RJD in the Nitish Kumar's cabinet made these comments is Saharsa at an official event. By Rohit Kumar Singh: Bihar Minister Abdul Gafoor on Monday backed deputy chief minister asserting that Tejaswi Yadav was not only capable of becoming the next Bihar chief minister but also has the calibre to become the next Prime Minister. Abdul Gafoor who is the Minority Welfare Affairs minister from RJD in the Nitish Kumar's cabinet made these comments is Saharsa where he had gone to for an official event. advertisement "At the moment Nitish Kumar is CM of Bihar but Tejaswi is an able leader who is not only capable of becoming CM but also PM in the long run", said Abdul Gafoor. Abdul Gafoor comments are likely to stoke a debate within the political circle and also likely to trigger a war of words between JDU and RJD. It may be noted that the JDU camp is working upon to project Nitish Kumar as the next PM candidate who will take on PM Modi in 2019. This is not the first time that RJD leaders have spoken in favour of RJD President Lalu Prasad's son Tejaswi to be the next CM of the state. In August this year, RJD MP from Bhagalpur, Bulo Mandal had declared that Tejaswi will be the next CM of Bihar. He had informed that the youth RJD was carrying a well planned campaign in this regard. "The Narendra Modi govt has cheated the people of the country. No jobs have been generated as promised by PM Modi. Tejaswi is a capable leader and will become the next chief minister of the state", said Bulo Mandal. --- ENDS --- Sporadic gunfire could be heard in an area of the city near to embassies and government buildings, but there was no immediate claim of responsibility and no word on any casualties. An Afghan policeman keeps watch near the site of a suicide attack in Kabul, Afghanistan. Twenty-four people were killed in the attack on Monday. (Photo: Reuters/ Mohammad Ismail) By Reuters: A loud explosion hit the centre of Kabul late on Monday, hours after a Taliban suicide attack near the Defence Ministry killed at least 24 people, including a number of senior security officials, and wounded 91 others, officials said. Sporadic gunfire could be heard in an area of the city near to embassies and government buildings, including the Interior Ministry but there was no immediate claim of responsibility and no word on any casualties. advertisement Afghan authorities said they were trying to pin down the location of the blast and there was no immediate claim of responsibility from any militant group. TALIBAN CLAIMS RESPONSIBILITY FOR MONDAY BLASTS Earlier, twin blasts in quick succession tore through an afternoon crowd in a bustling area of the city close to the Defence Ministry. The Taliban immediately claimed responsibility for that attack, in which a suicide bomber caught security forces personnel and civilians who rushed to help victims of the first explosion. "When the first explosion happened people crowded to the site and then the second blast occurred, which was really powerful and killed lots of people," said Samiullah Safi, who witnessed the attack. An army general and two senior police commanders were among the dead, a Defence Ministry official said. MILITANTS STEP UP CAMPAIGN AGAINST WESTERN-BACKED GOVT The Taliban claimed responsibility for the attack, which it said killed 58 officers and commanders. The militants have stepped up their campaign against the Western-backed government in recent weeks, following a brief lull after the death of their former leader, Mullah Akhtar Mansour. The double bombing came less than two weeks after gunmen attacked the American University in Kabul, killing 13 people. It was the deadliest attack in Kabul since at least 80 people were killed by a suicide bomber who targeted a demonstration on July 23. That assault was claimed by Islamic State. Government officials have been preparing for a conference in Brussels next month at which foreign donors, concerned about the ability of the Afghan security forces to withstand Taliban violence, are expected to pledge continuing support over coming years. ALSO READ: 12 killed in American University attack in Kabul: Police --- ENDS --- By India Today Web Desk: Tusshar Kapoor is giving all daddies in town a run for their money. The actor, who welcomed his first child Laksshya via surrogacy in June this year, was snapped with him on the balcony of their house. Ever since Laksshya graced the Kapoor house, his entire family has been ecstatic. Laksshya is Jeetendra and Shobha Kapoor's first grandchild. advertisement PHOTO: Meet Tusshar Kapoor's son Laksshya ALSO READ: Unmarried Tusshar is now father to a baby boy, thanks to surrogacy Back in June this year, Tusshar took to Instagram to share the news with his followers. He wrote, "I proudly announce the arrival of my son, a baby boy, born last week through IVF and surrogacy. The baby, Laksshya, is in excellent health. I am thrilled to be a father! The paternal instincts in me have been overpowering my heart and mind for some time now. Therefore, I am thrilled beyond words to have Laksshya, now the greatest source of joy in my life. By the greatness of God and the excellent medical team at Jaslok, parenthood is an option for many, who choose to be single parents. Thanks to you all for your blessings & good wishes!" Soon after the birth of the baby, Jeetendra and Shobha shared their happiness with the world with the message, "We could not be more excited to be grandparents to Laksshya, and are completely supportive of Tusshar's decision. This is certainly a tremendous blessing, and an exciting time in our lives. Tusshar is a wonderful son, and he has proven, with responsibility, independence and kindness, that he will be a great father to Laksshya." Dr Firuza Parikh, director of IVF and Genetics at the Jaslok Hospital and Research Centre in Mumbai where the baby was born, said, "I am impressed with Tusshar's determination to be a father. He maintained a keen interest in the baby's health at every stage. He will surely be a sensitive and nurturing parent." Dr Parikh, who headed the procedure, added, "Recently, we have had many single men and women approved for parenthood. As a public figure, Tusshar's brave and bold decision will open the field of assisted reproduction making it accessible to not just single parents, but also to many who fervently desire to have a baby." Tusshar's decision to welcome a baby through surrogacy was made on board a flight with director Prakash Jha on it. Jha, who has an adopted daughter, is said to have inspired Tusshar to take the leap. advertisement "I had visited the Tirupati temple last year and while I was leaving after the darshan, I met Prakash Jha who was also in my flight. And in our conversation, he said that 'this (IVF) is also a way if you want to have a child, if you want to be a single parent'. He introduced me to a family who had followed the IVF and surrogacy procedure. So I felt very inspired and felt I was ready," Tusshar said. (Photos: Yogen Shah) --- ENDS --- By PTI: New Delhi, Sep 4 (PTI) Upset over suspension of an IAS officer, four senior officers in Home Ministry have conveyed to Union Home Secretary Rajiv Mehrishi that action against Joint Secretary G K Dwivedi for the alleged lapses by his juniors in FCRA licence renewal of Zakir Naiks NGO was "demoralising" and "harsh on an honest officer". Coming out in support of Dwivedi, who was serving as Joint Secretary (Foreigners) in the Home Ministry, the four senior officers -- all Joint Secretary -- told Mehrishi on Saturday that his suspension was a "gross miscarriage of justice" towards an officer who has been diligently doing his job and has successfully implemented several ambitious projects of the government. advertisement "It is demoralising for honest officers. I feel injustice has been done to Mr Dwivedi. We have conveyed our feelings," Joint Secretary (Police-I) in the Home Ministry Kumar Alok, who was one of the four officers, told PTI when asked whether he had met the Union Home Secretary, pleading Dwivedis case. Kumar, himself an IAS officer, however, refused to elaborate further about their discussions with the Union Home Secretary. Dwivedi, along with three of his junior officers, were suspended three days ago after government found that the FCRA licence of an NGO run by controversial Islamic preacher Zakir Naik was renewed by the Home Ministrys Foreigners Division headed by him (Dwivedi) despite several probes being undergoing against Naik for allegedly radicalisating youths and attracting them towards extremism. Sources said the four Joint Secretaries told the Union Home Secretary that the integrity of Dwivedi was beyond any question and such action against a senior officer for the alleged lapses of his juniors would send a wrong signal. Dwivedi has been credited with successfully implementing Prime Minister Narendra Modis several key projects including TVoA (tourist visa on arrival), enabled by Electronic Travel Authorisation (ETA), popularly known as e-tourist visa scheme that led to 293 per cent jump in foreign tourist arrivals in India. The scheme was launched on November 27, 2014 and is currently offered to citizens of 150 countries. Dwivedi also led the successful merger of Person of Indian Origin (PIO) card scheme with Overseas Citizen of India (OCI) card scheme, as announced by the Prime Minister. He oversaw Modi governments another pet project of offering long term visa and citizenship to Hindu, Sikh and other minorities of Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan, who have taken refuge in India after facing religious persecution in their home counties. Dwivedi was also instrumental in completely overhauling the registration process of NGOs under the Foreign Contribution Regulations Act and making it completely online and transparent. PTI ACB RT --- ENDS --- Voters went to the polls to elect 35 lawmakers from 84 candidates in the territory's first election since the 11-week pro-democracy protests of 2014. Voters line up outside a polling station on the election day of the Legislative Council in Hong Kong, China on September 4, 2016. (Photo: Reuters/ Bobby Yip) By Indo-Asian News Service: More than half of Hong Kong's voters participated in elections on Sunday that are pivotal in defining the specially administered Chinese city's political future. Nearly two million citizens, or roughly 52 per cent of eligible voters, had cast a ballot one hour before polling stations closed late Sunday night, according to the latest official figures. HONG KONG VOTES IN FIRST ELECTION SINCE 2014 PROTESTS advertisement The elections of lawmakers to serve on Hong Kong's 70-seat unicameral legislature -- the first since mass protests in 2014 to demand greater autonomy from China -- are considered the most important for the city since it ceased to be a British colony and was handed over to China in 1997, EFE news reported. Voters went to the polls to elect 35 lawmakers representing geographical districts to seats on the Legislative Council, choosing from a record total of 84 lists of candidates. An additional 30 seats are filled by so-called functional constituencies that represent six per cent of the electorate and are strongly influenced by the Chinese government. Five other at-large seats are chosen via city-wide vote. The current makeup of the Legislative Council could be altered by the entry into the political arena of young candidates with more radical positions, including those demanding Hong Kong's independence from China. HONG KONG COUNTS VOTES FROM FIRST POST-PROTESTS POLL The elections are considered critical because pro-democracy forces are trying to maintain the minimum one-third of seats necessary to block the government from pushing through unpopular legislation, including an electoral overhaul package. Some 5,000 police officers were on alert due to possible disturbances during the 15 hours of voting, although no incidents were reported. The vote count began after Sunday midnight in Hong Kong, with the results expected on Monday. ALSO READ: Hong Kong confirms first case of deadly Zika virus --- ENDS --- By PTI: Nagpur, Sep 4 (PTI) A woman and five teenaged girls drowned in a pond at Sawangi Deoli village in Hingana tehsil of Nagpur district today, police said here. They had gone to the pond on the occasion of Hartalika puja, which precedes Ganesh Chaturthi. The deceased were identified as Manda Nagose (45), Priya Raut (17), Janavhi Choudhary (13), Pooja Dadmal (17), Poonam Dadmal (18) and Pranali Raut (16), police said. advertisement Apparently, some of them slipped into deep water and the others too drowned while trying to rescue them. The bodies were fished out and sent for autopsy, police said. PTI JOE KRK NSD --- ENDS --- iStock/Thinkstock(LONDON) -- Around 2,600 migrants were saved in the Mediterranean Sea on Monday in several rescue operations, according to the Italian Coast Guard. MOAS, the Migrant Offshore Aid Station, a Malta-based foundation that provides search and rescue at sea, assisted in the rescue of at least 354 migrants. Seven people died, according to MOAS. The five women and two men who lost their lives trying to reach Europe were on board an overloaded rubber boat. People were frightened and inhaling toxic fumes from the vessel's broken engine, according to a statement released by MOAS. When panic broke out on the boat, many people who could not swim fell or jumped into the water. Rescue swimmers from MOAS were able to save 134 people from that boat, including 99 men, 29 women and six children. In total, MOAS rescued 354 who are now being attended to by the Italian Red Cross, the statement said. Monday's operations are the latest in a series of recent migrant rescues at sea. In only one week, from Sunday Aug. 28 until Friday Sept. 2, around 12,000 migrants were rescued in the Mediterranean Sea, the International Organization for Migration told ABC News. Last year, more than 1 million refugees, many fleeing the war in Syria, arrived in Europe -- an unprecedented number, according to the United Nations. While the number of refugees trying to reach Europe via the route from Turkey to Greece has fallen dramatically, the use of the North Africa to Italy route has remained constant and has seen an increase in the number of deaths, making 2016 the deadliest year so far for refugees in the Central Mediterranean, according to the United Nations refugee agency. The chances of dying on the Libya to Italy route are ten times higher than when crossing from Turkey to Greece, William Spindler, a spokesperson for the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees told journalists at a media briefing Friday. In 2015 and in the first half of 2016, over 6,600 refugees or migrants drowned or went missing in the Mediterranean after their boats capsized while trying to reach Europe, according to the International Organization for Migration. Copyright 2016, ABC Radio. All rights reserved. R.AGE, the youth initiative of The Star in Malaysia, has taken the top award in the annual World Young Reader Prize of WAN-IFRA for its innovative use of video, compelling journalistic storytelling and audience involvement in ways that can inform news publishers around the world. The World Young Reader Prizes are part of WAN-IFRAs efforts to recognize, encourage and disseminate promising new ideas, thinking and actions to help build stronger and vital news media. World Young Reader Prize winning strategies are celebrated and shared as they benefit not only the media companies and their young audiences but also society as a whole, says WAN-IFRA. "This year's winners show, once again, that engaging with the young people is a smart strategy for news publishers worldwide who want to grow while they also help create a civic-minded, media-savvy new generation" said Vincent Peyregne, WAN-IFRA CEO. R.AGE has been named the 2016 World Young Reader News Publisher of the Year for an initiative that began with a video social media explaining the seriousness of cheerleading and eventually became a full-blown video reporting initiative that included an undercover documentary about child sex predators on mobile chat apps and an investigation of a mysterious illness attacking the children of an indigenous tribe that brought government action. The other top prizes are being awarded in several categories: Schleswig-Holsteinischer Zeitung of Germany in the Public Service category for Welcome to Germany: Language Training for Refugees with the Newspaper that uses classic newspapers in education strategies supported by other resources to creatively help three age groups of refugees learn German language and culture. Polska Press Group of Poland (News in Education category) for #juniorlab, a transformation of its news in education program to offer multimedia lessons in using modern tools to do journalism (with prizes for success). Het Belang van Limburg of Belgium (Editorial category) for a special focus in its We solve your problems feature on young people, opening up new relationships in the process. Lausitzer Rundschau of Germany (Brand category) for Planbar, a multi-faceted, multimedia and profitable initiative that helps young people about to enter the job market. Uitgeverij Young & Connected of The Netherlands (Digital First special category). The team of its 7Days media brand that focuses on news for teenagers created a news app relying on cheap or free resources and featuring a creative way to make money. Winners of other awards are from France, Germany, India, Hong Kong, The Netherlands, South Africa, and the United States. Details about all the winners can be found here. Hide traders demand re-opening of Chittagong tanneries Bangladesh Raw hides wholesalers and traders have demanded the immediate re-opening of the last two tanneries situated in the coastal seaport of Chittagong. The Chittagong Rawhide Wholesalers Cooperative Society has demanded the immediate reopening of two tanneries in Chittagong during a press conference on September 3, 2016. Addressing his speech to Sheikh Hasina, Bangladeshs Prime Minister, Alhaj Md Sekander Meah, President of the Cooperative Society, pointed out that hundreds of job losses had already occurred in the region following the closures of several tanneries in the past, and that this new situation further aggravates the traders problems. As reported by ILM, Bangladeshs Department of Environment had recently ordered the closure of the last two tanneries still operational in Chittagong, Madina Tannery and Riff Leather, until the Effluent Treatment Plants (ETP) had been constructed and fully installed. While Riff Leather is said to have started the process of constructing the ETP, the Madina Tannery, however, has a lack of funds. According to Sekander Meah, the traders will incur greater losses this year because of the higher price of salt used in processing raw hides. He also claimed that tanneries in Chittagong had applied to relocate factories to the new Savar Industrial Zone but their applications were refused. Source: Financial Express [September 05, 2016] Huawei and Infosys Launch New Financial Cloud Solution to Empower Bank 3.0 SHANGHAI, Sept. 5, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Huawei announced a new innovation from its industry collaborations in the financial sector: the New Financial Cloud Solution for Mission Critical jointly developed by Huawei and Infosys Finacle, designed to ease some of the IT challenges of the finance and banking sectors. The new innovation is based on the Huawei FusionCloud platform and the world's first 32-socket Mission Critical server KunLun, integrated with the world's leading banking system - Infosys Finacle, which includes its entire suite of products such as core banking system, online banking, mobile banking, customer relationship management (CRM) and wealth management. The best-in-class technology has been specifically designed to help financial institutions reduce total cost ownership (TCO), improve agility, and accelerate digitalization. Photo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20160905/404047 Huawei and Infosys Finacle announced their new solution at the HUAWEI CONNECT 2016 event in Shanghai. Huawei also hosted the Finance Industry Summit with the theme "Reshaping IT, Bank for Digital Transformation". The summit hosted over 600 financial industry executives from around the world, who convened to discuss latest industry topics such as business transformation for the banking sector, sharing bank digitization strategies, bank/broker finance cloud practices, mid-range computer migration planning, big data applications, and FinTech innovations. Huawei launches Mission Critical Cloud for Bank3.0 "Transformation" and "Innovation" formed the central messaging for the sessions at the 2016 Huawei Finance Industry Summit. Richard Longo, Global Head of Marketing and Alliances at Infosys, and Diana Yuan, president of marketing and solutions sales of Huawei's Enterprise Business Group (Enterprise BG), jointly announced the Mission Critical Cloud Solution at the summit. Yuan shared, "Powerful forces are reshaping the financial industry, transformation is vital to remaining competitive but there are multiple challenges associated with making this a reality. Huawei recognizes customer needs as the primary force driving ICT deployment. Huawei's work with Infosys allows us to better understand the needs of the customer, and also carry out business-driven ICT infrastructure (BDII) construction. With this partnership, we can merge the latest innovations with detailed industry expertise, ensuring that we can co-create and deliver solutions and experiences that goes beyond the sum of our individual capacities." Brett King, industry pioneer and author of the book. BANK 3.0, gave the keynote address entitled "Winning strategies and key digital trends for Bank 3.0". As part of his key-note, he said, "Banking is no longer somewhere you go, but something you do. This means that in a Bank 3.0 world, customer and consumer behaviors will change radically. Bank cards and cash will no longer exist. Customers will no longer need banks to be a finance channel. Instead, banking will become more of a lifestyle. That means banks need to respond to this consumer shift and use new technologies such as mobile Internet, smart devices, and machine interaction in order to place the customer at the center of the process. In essence, banks must completely revolutionize their branches, processes, management, and systems. Through the implementation of new innovation, banks can improve both their own efficiency and the customer experience, creating win-win outcomes and new competitiveness in the digital era." Banks move to all-cloud services China Merchants Bank's director of data centers Gao Xulei said in his remarks, "Industry surveys have shown that 100% of respondents said security was their main worry about using public cloud. We now have access to innovation that can meet this most vital customer concern." Gao expanded saying that impeccable security must be achieved through a combination of checks and processes which includes highly reliable cloud security, risk control and audit systems, and data security systems. He also said that reliable, user-friendly cloud architecture demands both high quality physical infrastructure and highly available data architecture. Huawei's financial IT services Huawei's finance industry solutions currently span three main areas: platform, data, and services. They cover all processes (front-end, middle, and back-end), and include finance cloud, big-data, real-time risk control, server upgrade, mobile finance, core accounts data, and end-of-day acceleration. Huawei serves over 300 financial institutions worldwide, including six of the world's top ten banks. Huawei also has wide-ranging partnerships with a dozen major banks worldwide. [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] [September 05, 2016] Top 5 Vendors in the Dental Services Market in China from 2016 to 2020: Technavio Technavio has announced the top five leading vendors in their recent dental services market in China report until 2020. This research report also lists 16 other prominent vendors that are expected to impact the market during the forecast period. The dental services market in China will witness astounding growth and will grow at a CAGR of above 18% during the foreseen period. China has started investing in oral health services to increase the number of dental facilities. The government is also trying to spread awareness of oral and dental hygiene among people, particularly those from rural areas. During 2008-2012, the country spent about USD 20 million for oral health services. The government does not provide reimbursements for dental services. This has led it to focus on the expansion of its medical expenses for stomatological disease such as dental problems to reduce the overall expenditure of people with dental conditions. To increase general awareness for dental care, the government celebrates 20th September of each year as the Love Teeth Day. Many people in China had limited concerns about oral health, but this program has helped increase awareness levels. This has led to an increase in the number of people visiting dental hospitals and clinics for treating minor dental such as oral cavity to major issues such as cosmetic dentistry and dental implants. Competitive vendor landscape The competition in the dental services market in China is intense, with the presence of established global and local vendors. These vendors offer cost-effective products, but the devices have limited features and functionalities. The increase in M&A has led to advances in technology, resulting in the expansion of dental services. This further increases the competition in the market. To enter the market, foreign companies are likely to acquire regional or local players. "Major dental service providers are establishing more clinics to increase their market share and remain competitive. For instance, Bybo Dental Group owns about 200 dental clinics in China. These service providers are also seeking investments to expand their businesses," says Srinivas Sashidhar, a lead orthopedics and medical devices research analyst from Technavio. Request a sample report: http://www.technavio.com/request-a-sample?report=52032 Technavio's sample reports are free of charge and contain multiple sections of th report including market size and forecast, drivers, challenges, trends, and more. Top five dental services market vendors in China Arrail Dental Arrail Dental offers a range of services in the areas of orthodontics, pediatric dentistry, prosthodontics, endodontics, general dentistry, implants, periodontics services, toothache treatment, tooth restoration, tooth whitening, geriatric teeth care services, and online appointment services. The company has established close partnerships with the School of Dental Medicine of the University of Pennsylvania and University of California, US. Its corporate clients include IBM, DELL, Hony Capital, CISCO, Siemens, Schneider Electric (News - Alert), and Deutsche Bank. More than 60% of the company's workforce has a doctoral or master's degree and are specialist in respective fields. Bybo Dental Group Bybo Dental Group consists of around 200 chain dental clinics in different cities of China. It has more than 30 business divisions distributed in more than 40 first-tier cities in the country. It is also focusing on expanding into major cities of all provinces and forming nationwide dental service chains. The company was the first group member of the Chinese Stomatological Association and Chinese Stomatological Association Hospital Management Committee. The company has implemented international advanced medical management module and strict supervision system, and takes the lead in conforming to international quality management system in the dental industry. Jiamei Dental Jiamei Dental is the first large-scale and modern chain operation dental healthcare institution in China. The company has adopted established dental techniques and has dental healthcare expert team, series of independent intellectual properties, expert operation management team, and many professional doctors and care teams. The company offers its services in the areas of orthodontics, cosmetic dentistry, dental implantation, dental cosmetic restoration, tooth whitening and reshaping, and pediatric dentistry. Q & M Dental Holdings Q & M Dental Holdings operates in the country through a joint venture with Dan De Dental in Nanjing and Ayashi in Beijing, China. The company's facilities have advanced dental technologies such as 4D radiography, CAD/CAM technology for one-day crown, dental laser, and cone beam technology-based 3D imaging solutions. In June 2015, the company acquired 60% stake in two dental clinics located in Panjin City, China, and another in Gaizhou City. These clinics would be rebranded as Liaoning Dental Clinics. Its subsidiary Shenyang Xin'Ao Hospital Management closed this deal. TC Medical TC Medical is the first listed company with oral care chain management as its main business in China. The company operates dental clinics and hospitals such as Ningbo Dental Hospital, Yiwu Dental Clinics, Hangzhou Dental Hospital, Quzhou Dental Hospital, Cangzhou Dental Hospital, Topchoice Jingzhao Dental Hospital, and Huangshi Xiandai Dental Hospital. It engages in M&A of regional dental hospitals to expand its businesses. It has operations all over China, with major focus on Zhejiang province. It has completed the acquisition of Kunming Dental Hospital by setting up a joint venture with the Kunming municipal government. Browse Related Reports: Global Dental Crowns and Bridges Market 2016-2020 Global Oral Hygiene Market 2016-2020 Global Dental Implants Market 2016-2020 Do you need a report on a market in a specific geographical cluster or country but can't find what you're looking for? Don't worry, Technavio also takes client requests. Please contact [email protected] 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 [email protected]. View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20160905005083/en/ [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] [September 05, 2016] Transgene Provides an Update on its Development Strategy and on its First Half-Year 2016 Financials Regulatory News: Transgene (Paris:TNG) (Euronext Paris:TNG), a company focused on designing and developing targeted immunotherapies for the treatment of cancer and infectious diseases, today announced its financial results for the six-month period ended June 30, 2016 and published an update on its business and on the development of its portfolio of therapeutic vaccines and oncolytic viruses. Since the beginning of the year, Transgene has focused its efforts on implementing its strategy aimed at combining Transgene's immunotherapies with other immunotherapy treatment approaches, in particular immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs). The power of these combinations was the subject of great interest at the recent annual American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) meeting that was held in Chicago in June. The scientific rationale of these combinations is to use Transgene's immunotherapies, such as therapeutic vaccines and oncolytic viruses, to arm and stimulate a cancer-specific immune response while the ICIs further enhance their effects by blocking a pathway that acts as a brake on this immune response. Transgene has already demonstrated the positive effects of these combinations in several preclinical tumor models. More generally, these mechanisms are now widely acknowledged in the scientific community and have been reported in a growing number of publications. Combining these immunotherapies and their different mechanisms of action aims to both improve the survival outcomes for individual patients and to increase the number of patients that will respond positively to the treatments. Both clinicians and pharma companies have been impressed with the promising clinical results that we have generated with our products to-date. The first readouts from these combination clinical trials, which are due to begin shortly, are expected as soon as 2017. In parallel with this progress in our clinical development activities, our research teams have been able to showcase Transgene's capacity to be at the forefront of innovation in the immunotherapy space. Philippe Archinard, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Transgene said: "With its focus on research and development activities, Transgene has all the elements needed to position itself as an acknowledged leader in the field of immunotherapy. We are actively working to deliver the improved treatment options that patients with severe diseases clearly need, and to materialize development partnerships." Product pipeline review 1. Therapeutic Vaccines TG4010: development focused on Phase 2 clinical trials in combination with ICIs TG4010 is a therapeutic vaccine that induces an immune response against MUC1 expressing tumors, such as non-squamous non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). TG4010's mechanism of action and excellent safety profile make it a very suitable candidate for combinations with other therapies. TG4010's development plan aims at positioning Transgene in all relevant settings of either first or second line treatment of NSCLC patients by the end of 2017. Transgene will focus exclusively on Phase 2 studies that can generate a comprehensive data package as early as 2017. The Company has decided that the Phase 3 study of TG4010 in combination with chemotherapy in first line treatment will not be launched, in order to focus initially on "PD-L1 negative1" patients. Recent clinical trials in NSCLC have shown that a number of ICIs deliver efficacy in first line treatment. However, only about 30% of patients respond to these therapies. Therefore, in first line treatment, where chemotherapy is currently the standard of care, there still remains a significant need for improved therapeutic options, notably for "PD-L1 negative" patients. In second line treatment where ICIs have been approved, there also remains a significant need to improve the prognosis and to increase the number of patients that respond to treatments. Transgene's products could be instrumental in achieving these goals. In line with its strategy, Transgene intends to capitalize on the recent developments in lung cancer treatment to make TG4010 the ideal candidate for combination regimens with current and future standards of care. TG4010 + Opdivo (nivolumab) Phase 2 Non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) - 2nd line Trial expected to start in H2 2016 (NCT02823990) and first readout expected in 2017 Trial of TG4010 in combination with Opdivo, conducted by UC Davis Medical Center (USA) TG4010 + ICI Phase 2 Non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) - 1st line Preparation for Phase 2 clinical trials (in patients expressing low or undetectable levels of PD-L1) Trials expected to start in H1 2017 TG4001: preparation of a Phase 2 clinical trial in combination with ICI TG4001 is a therapeutic vaccine that has already been administered to more than 300 patients with high grade cervical intra-epithelial neoplasia (CIN 2/3). It has demonstrated good safety, a significant HPV clearance rate and promising efficacy results. Its mechanism of action and good safety profile make TG4001 an appropriate candidate for combinations with other therapies, such as ICIs. TG4001 + ICI Phase 2 HPV positive head and neck cancer - 2nd line Trial expected to start in H1 2017 Prof. Christophe Le Tourneau, Institut Curie, principal investigator Transgene will be the sponsor of the trial TG1050: ongoing Phase 1/1b trial TG1050 is a therapeutic vaccine for the treatment of chronic hepatitis B. Transgene has initiated, in 2015, a first-in-man study (NCT02428400) evaluating the safety and tolerability of TG1050 in patients who are currently being treated for chronic HBV infection with standard-of-care antiviral therapy. TG1050 is also being developed in China, where Transgene operates a joint-venture with Tasly Biopharmaceutical Technology. TG1050 + Standard-of- Care Antiviral Phase 1/1b Chronic hepatitis B Phase 1/1b clinical trial is progressing following positive recommendation of the Safety Review Committee in July 2016 IND number granted in China First data readout in H2 2017 2. Oncolytic viruses Pexa-Vec: launch of the Phase 3 trial, preparation of the Phase 2 clinical trials in combination with ICIs Pexa-Vec is an oncolytic virus designed to selectively destroy cancer cells through the lysis (breakdown) of cancer cells through viral replication, the reduction of the blood supply to tumors through vascular disruption, and the stimulation of the body's immune response against cancer cells. Its mechanism of action and its safety profile make it an appropriate candidate for combinations in solid tumors. Pexa-Vec + sorafenib (PHOCUS) Phase 3 Advanced liver cancer (hepatocellular carcinoma - HCC) - 1st line 1 st patient included and opening of clinical centers is progressing patient included and opening of clinical centers is progressing Poster presentation at ASCO annual meeting Clinical trial conducted by SillaJen, Inc., Transgene's partner First data readout expected in 2019 Pexa-Vec + ipilimumab Phase 2 Solid tumors Preparation of Phase 2 clinical trial with Centre Leon Berard, the sponsor of the trial Trial expected to start in H2 2016 and first readouts in 2017 Pexa-Vec + nivolumab Phase 2 Advanced liver cancer (hepatocellular carcinoma - HCC) - 1st line Preparation of Phase 2 clinical trial (USA + Europe) Trial expected to start in H1 2017 TG6002: preparation of first-in-human trial TG6002 is the next generation of oncolytic immunotherapy. It has been designed to induce the breakdown of cancer cells (oncolysis) and express the FCU1 gene in cancer cells it has infected. The expression of this gene causes these cancer cells to transform the non-cytotoxic pro-drug, flucytosine (5-FC), into 5-FU, a widely used chemotherapy. Because this mechanism of action is different from standard therapies, TG6002 could potentially be used both in combination or as a monotherapy once a cancer becomes resistant to standard therapy. TG6002 Phase 1 Glioblastoma Preparation of a Phase 1 clinical trial with AP-HP (Pr Delattre principal investigator), with the support of INCA (French national cancer institute) Trial expected to start in H1 2017 3. Preclinical portfolio During the first six months of 2016, Transgene has focused its preclinical research on two key topics: The design of new, highly innovative oncolytic viruses with embedded payloads such as ICIs, or enzymes, either prodrug-activating enzymes or enzymes that can degrade immunosuppressive compounds. These novel viruses are expected to modulate the tumor microenvironment and to improve the potency of the anti-tumor immune response; The development of innovative modalities for the preclinical screening, of new mode of administration, and the further characterization of our new candidate products. Several posters have been presented at key conferences, which allowed the Company to introduce its most recent results in the fields of onco-immunology and chronic infectious diseases. For example, at the last AACR (American Association for Cancer Research) meeting, Transgene presented a poster reporting the features of an oncolytic vaccinia virus expressing an anti-PD-1 antibody, thus demonstrating our capacity to engineer advanced multifunctional viruses in a so called "2 in 1" approach. Transgene expects that the integration of advanced therapeutic payloads within an oncolytic virus will allow it to generate several new drug candidates. Corporate Restructuring plan and sale of the production asset to ABL Europe for 3.5 million finalized. Annualized savings are estimated to be approximately 15 million. Management team strengthened: Maud Brandely, MD, PhD appointed Chief Medical Officer, and John Felitti, JD, LLM appointed General Counsel & Corporate Secretary Key financials Key elements of the income statement (in thousands of euros) June 30, 2016 June 30, 2015 Operating revenues 4,875 5,255 Research and development expenses (12,504) (16,907) General and administrative expenses (3,406) (2,991) Other revenue and (expenses), net 336 (5,536) Net operating expenses (15,574) (25,434) Operating income / (loss) from continuing operations (10,699) (20,179) Net income / (loss) from continuing operations (11,639) (21,659) Net income / (loss) from discontinued operations (514) (6,424) Net income (12,153) (28,083) Operating revenues amounted to 4.9 million in the six months to June 30, 2016 against 5.3 million in the corresponding period in 2015. Revenues from collaboration and licensing agreements amounted to 1.9 million versus 0.8 million in the same period last year. Theses revenues come mainly from fees for conducting research and development activities for third parties and from royalties on licensed products. A one-off revenue of 1.3 million came from Sanofi Chimie. Government financing of research expenditure amounted to 3.0 million and 4.5 million for the first six months of 2016 and 2015 respectively. These figures include a research credit tax of 2.9 million for the six-month period to June 30, 2016, compared to 4.3 million in the same period in 2015. This reduction was due to the lower level of research expenditure that was eligible for the research tax credit. This was as a result of the restructuring of the company which was announced in the first half of 2015. Research and development expenses (R&D) amounted to 12.6 million for the first half of 2016 compared to 16.9 million for the same period in 2015. This decline was mainly due to the reorganization of the company that resulted from a decision made in June 2015. The increase in external expenses for clinical trials reflected the execution of the development plans for TG4010, Pexa-Vec and TG1050. General and administrative expenses stood at 3.4 million for the first six months of 2016 compared to 3.0 million during the same period in 2015. The overall net loss was 12.2 million for the first half of 2016 a significant reduction compared to the 28.1 million net loss in the first half of 2015. As of June 30, 2016, the Company had cash, cash equivalents, available-for-sale financial assets and other financial assets of 33.4 million. This compares to 31.7 million as of December 31, 2015. Cash burn (excluding EIB financing) for the first six months of 2016 fell by 37% to 8.2 million, compared to 13.0 million in the same period in 2015. Net cash outflows linked to the restructuring plan amounted to 3.6 million in the first half of 2016. Excluding the cash-out related to the restructuring plan, cash burn was 4.6 million. In June 2016, Transgene drew the first tranche of the EIB (European Investment Bank) loan facility secured in January 2016. This 10 million tranche will be repayable in 2021, and the accrued interest will be payable from 2019. The overall size of the EIB loan facility is 20 million. "The results of the first six months of 2016 reflect the completion of the reorganization started in 2015. We have significantly reduced our operational costs, which allows us to fund our promising preclinical and clinical developments, while containing our cash consumption", commented Jean-Philippe Del, Chief Financial Officer of Transgene. Transgene confirms that it expects its cash burn to be around 35 million in 2016. This forecast includes a significant increase in cash consumption that is expected in the second half of 2016 due to: An acceleration of our clinical development plan, and the related expenses; Exceptional cash payments including: A milestone payment to SillaJen, Inc., when the first patient is recruited in Europe in the Phase 3 trial of Pexa-Vec (PHOCUS trial), A capital increase of our joint-venture in China with Tasly Biopharmaceutical Technology; Major cash-ins in the first half of 2016 included tax credit financing (7.6 million) and a one-off payment from Sanofi Chimie (1.3 million). As a reminder, the Company still benefits from access to further funding that can be activated in 2016: namely the second tranche of the EIB loan (10 million) and the commitment given by Institut Merieux for up to 10 million. The Board of Directors of Transgene met on September 1, 2016 and reviewed the financial statements for the six-month period ended June 30, 2016. The Statutory Auditors have conducted a review of the interim consolidated financial statements. The half-year financial report is available on Transgene's website, www.transgene.com. Conference call (in French) scheduled on: September 5th at 06:00 pm CET (12:00 pm EST) Webcast link to French language conference call: http://edge.media-server.com/m/p/bpgh4mbi Participant telephone numbers: France: +33 (0)1 76 77 22 25 UK: +44 (0)20 3427 1912 USA: + 1 212 444 0481 Confirmation code: 7860102 A replay of the call will be available on the Transgene website (www.transgene.fr) following the live event. Conference telephonique (anglais) : September 6th at 06:00 pm CET (12:00 pm EST) Webcast link to English language conference call: http://edge.media-server.com/m/p/oermaiem Participant telephone numbers: France: +33 (0)1 76 77 22 30 UK: +44 (0)20 3427 1916 USA: +1 212 444 0895 Confirmation code: 5713370 A replay of the call will be available on the Transgene website (www.transgene.fr) following the live event. About Transgene Transgene S.A. (Euronext: TNG), part of Institut Merieux, is a publicly traded French biopharmaceutical company focused on designing and developing targeted immunotherapies for the treatment of cancer and infectious diseases. Transgene's programs utilize viral vector technology with the goal of indirectly or directly killing infected or cancerous cells. The Company's two lead clinical-stage programs are: TG4010, a therapeutic vaccine for non-small cell lung cancer and Pexa-Vec, an oncolytic virus for liver cancer. The Company has several other programs in clinical and pre-clinical development. Transgene is based in Strasbourg, France, and has additional operations in Lyon, as well as a joint venture in China. Additional information about Transgene is available at www.transgene.fr. Follow us on Twitter (News - Alert): @TransgeneSA Disclaimer This press release contains forward-looking statements, which are subject to numerous risks and uncertainties, which could cause actual results to differ materially from those anticipated. The occurrence of any of these risks could have a significant negative outcome for the Company's activities, perspectives, financial situation, results, regulatory authorities' agreement with development phases, and development. The Company's ability to commercialize its products depends on but is not limited to the following factors: positive pre-clinical data may not be predictive of human clinical results, the success of clinical studies, the ability to obtain financing and/or partnerships for product manufacturing, development and commercialization, and marketing approval by government regulatory authorities. For a discussion of risks and uncertainties which could cause the Company's actual results, financial condition, performance or achievements to differ from those contained in the forward-looking statements, please refer to the Risk Factors ("Facteurs de Risque") section of the Document de Reference, available on the AMF website (http://www.amf-france.org) or on Transgene's website (www.transgene.fr). Forward-looking statements speak only as of the date on which they are made and Transgene undertakes no obligation to update these forward-looking statements, even if new information becomes available in the future. Appendices CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEET, IFRS, (In thousands) ASSETS June 30, 2016 December 31, 2015 Current assets: Cash and cash equivalents 5,608 3,285 Other current financial assets 27,760 28,365 Cash, cash equivalents and other current financial assets: 33,368 31,650 Trade receivables 2,384 1,784 Inventories 151 1,164 Other current assets 15,324 12,930 Assets available for sale - 3,500 Total current assets 51,227 51,028 Non-current assets: Property, plant and equipment 15,357 16,559 Intangible assets 512 485 Financial fixed assets 5,064 4,050 Investments in associates 734 1,148 Other non-current assets 21,623 27,599 Total non-current assets 43,290 49,841 Total assets 94,517 100,869 LIABILITIES AND EQUITY June 30, 2016 December 31, 2015 Current liabilities: Trade payables 6,985 6,521 Financial liabilities 9,967 9,396 Provisions for risks 3,249 7,038 Other current liabilities 3,356 3,770 Total current liabilities 23,557 26,725 Non-current liabilities: Financial liabilities 53,169 44,401 Employee benefits 3,335 3,196 Other non-current liabilities - - Total non-current liabilities 56,504 47,597 Total liabilities 80,061 74,322 Equity: Share capital 38,545 88,196 Share premiums and reserves 476,875 476,788 Retained Earnings (487,987) (491,263) Profit (loss) for the period (12,153) (46,374) Other comprehensive income (824) (800) Total equity attributable to Company shareholders 14,456 26,547 Total equity and liabilities 94,517 100,869 CONSOLIDATED INCOME STATEMENT, IFRS (In thousands, except for per-share data) June 30, 2016 June 30, 2015 Revenue from collaborative and licensing agreements 1,905 777 Government financing for research expenditure 2,970 4,478 Operating income 4,875 5,255 Research and development expenses (12,504) (16,907) General and administrative expenses (3,406) (2,991) Other income and (expenses), net 336 (5,536) Net operating expenses (15,574) (25,434) Operating income from continuing operations (10,699) (20,179) Finance cost (526) (882) Share of profit (loss) of associates (414) (598) Income (loss) before tax (11,639) (21,659) Income tax expense - - Net income/(loss) from continuing operations (11,639) (21,659) Net income/(loss) from discontinued operations (514) (6,424) Net income (12,153) (28,083) Basic loss per share () (0.32) (0.73) Diluted earnings per share () (0.32) (0.73) CONSOLIDATED STATEMENT OF COMPREHENSIVE INCOME, IFRS (In thousands) June 30, 2016 June 30, 2015 Net income (12,153) (28,083) Foreign exchange gains/(losses) (2) 13 Revaluation of hedging instruments (22) 102 Other comprehensive income re-classifiable into profit or loss (24) 115 Net comprehensive income (12,177) (27,968) Of which, equity holder of the parent: (12,177) (27,968) Of which, minority interests: - - CASH FLOW STATEMENT, IFRS (in thousands) June 30, 2016 June 30, 2015 Cash flow from operating activities: Net income/(loss) from continuing operations (11,638) (28,083) Net income/(loss) from discontinued operations (514) - Cancellation of financial income 526 882 Elimination of non-cash items Income of associates 414 598 Provisions (6,593) 8,933 Depreciation 1,291 1,489 Share-based payments 87 231 Others 6,220 6 Net cash generated from/(used in) operating activities before change in working capital and other operating cash flow: (10,207) (15,944) Change in operating working capital requirements: Current receivables and prepaid expenses (2,186) (202) Inventories and work in progress 1,013 12 Research tax credit (2,997) (4,487) Assets available for sale 2,000 - Other current assets (2,347) 311 Trade payables 414 (169) Prepaid income (65) 376 Employee benefits (348) 293 Other current liabilities (2) (2) Net cash used in operating activities: (14,725) (19,812) Cash flows from investing activities: (Acquisitions)/disposals of property, plant and equipment 159 (578) (Acquisitions)/disposals of intangible assets (4) (4) Other (acquisitions)/disposals 330 355 Net cash used in investing activities: 485 (227) Cash flow from financing activities: Net financial income proceeds (130) (443) Gross proceeds from the issuance of shares - 111 Share issue costs - - Conditional subsidies - - (Acquisition)/disposal of other financial assets 605 13,246 Net tax credit financing 6,760 7,975 Bank loan 10,000 - Financial leases (670) (543) Net cash generated from/(used in) financing activities: 16,566 20,346 Effect of changes in exchange rates on cash and cash equivalents (2) 13 Net increase/(decrease) in cash and cash equivalents: 2,324 320 Cash and cash equivalents at beginning of period 3,285 3,513 Cash and cash equivalents at end of period: 5,609 3,833 Investments in other current financial assets 27,760 49,175 Cash, cash equivalents and other current financial assets: 33,369 53,008 1 A molecule called PD-1 can be found at the surface of T cells. It binds with another molecule, PD-L1 that can be found on the surface of certain cancer cells. This interaction prevents T cells from attacking the abnormal cell, and allows the development of the tumor. By inhibiting PD-1 or PD-L1, ICIs help the immune system to eliminate cancer cells again. Nevertheless, these markers can be expressed at different levels in cancer patients. ICIs have demonstrated a significant efficacy in "high PD-L1" patients. ICIs have to date not been able to demonstrate a sufficient efficacy in patients with low or undetectable levels of PD-L1 ("PD-L1 negative" patients). View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20160905005461/en/ [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] [September 05, 2016] Tactical Communications Market Worth 18.53 Billion USD by 2021 PUNE, India, September 5, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- The report "Tactical Communications Market by Platform (Airborne, Shipborne, Land, Underwater), Type (Soldier Radio, Manpack, VIC, HCDR), Technology (TDM, NGN), Application (ISR, Communications, Combat, Command & Control) - Global Forecast to 2021", published by MarketsandMarkets, the global market is estimated to be USD 8.62 Billion in 2016 and is projected to reach USD 18.53 Billion by 2021, registering a CAGR of 16.52% during the forecast period. (Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20160303/792302 ) Browse 54 market data Tables and 27 Figures spread through 162 Pages and in-depth TOC on "Tactical Communications Market" http://www.marketsandmarkets.com/Market-Reports/tactical-communication-market-255957957.html Early buyers will receive 10% customization On this report. Underwater segment is projected to lead the tactical communications market during the forecast period On the basis of platform, the underwater tactical communications segment is estimated to witness the highest growth as government agencies are focusing toward strengthening the communication related capabilities of submerged manned and unmanned systems. This is expected to enable such systems to receive and transmit broadcast of real-time situational awareness data to other airborne and shipborne platforms. Manpack segment is estimated to grow at the highest rate during the forecast period The Tactical Communications Market has been segmented and analyzed on the basis of type into soldier radio, manpack radio, VIC (Vehicular Intercommunication Radio), High Capacity Data Radio (HCDR), and others. The tactical communications market for manpack radio is expected to register the highest growth, driven by their increasing procurement owing to their ability to provide dual channels of communications and operability on different wavelengths simultaneously. They are also being preferred as theirusage eliminates the need for more than one radio at any location. North America: The largest market for tactical communications The market for tactical communications has been estimated to be the largest in North America due to the increase in procurement of advanced communication systems such as those based on internet protocol (IP) and voice over internet protocol (VoIP) apart from satellite communications. Inquiry Before Buying: http://www.marketsandmarkets.com/Enquiry_Before_Buying.asp?id=255957957 Harris Corporation (U.S.): One of the key players in the tactical communications market Major players in the tactical communications market are Harris Corporation (U.S.), Northrop Grumman Corporation (U.S.), Raytheon Company (U.S.), General Dynamics Corporation (U.S.), and Thales Group (France), among others. Browse Related Reports Network Centric Warfare Market by Platform (Land, Air, Naval, Unmanned), Application (ISR, Communication, Computer, Cyber, Combat, Control & Command), Mission Type, Communication Network, Architecture, and Region - Global Forecast to 2021 http://www.marketsandmarkets.com/Market-Reports/network-centric-warfare-market-77370144.html C4ISR Market by Platform (Land, Naval, Airborne) Application (Command & Control, Communications, Computers, ISR, EW) Component (Networking Technologies, Communication Networks, Display Consoles, Software, EW Hardware) and Region - Forecast to 2021 http://www.marketsandmarkets.com/Market-Reports/c4isr-market-1315.html Know More About our Knowledge Store @ http://www.marketsandmarkets.com/Knowledgestore.asp About MarketsandMarkets MarketsandMarkets 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 a multitude of clients across 8 different industrial verticals. We specialize in consulting assignments and business research across high growth markets, cutting edge technologies and newer applications. Our 850 fulltime analyst and SMEs at MarketsandMarkets are tracking global high growth markets following the "Growth Engagement Model - GEM". The GEM aims at proactive collaboration with the clients to identify new opportunities, identify most important customers, write "Attack, avoid and defend" strategies, identify sources of incremental revenues for both the company and its competitors. M&M's flagship competitive intelligence and market research platform, "RT" connects over 200,000 markets and entire value chains for deeper understanding of the unmet insights along with market sizing and forecasts of niche markets. The new included chapters on Methodology and Benchmarking presented with high quality analytical info graphics 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. Rohan Markets and Markets UNIT no 802, Tower no. 7, SEZ Magarpatta city, Hadapsar Pune, Maharashtra 411013, India Tel: + 1-888-600-6441 Email: [email protected] Visit MarketsandMarkets [email protected] http://mnmblog.org/market-research/aerospace-defence Connect with us on LinkedIn @ http://www.linkedin.com/company/marketsandmarkets [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] MATTOON -- A.W.A.K.E., a health awareness support group for people affected with sleep apnea, will meet at 6 p.m. Sept. 15 at the Effingham Public Library and on Oct. 6 in the Sarah Bush Lincoln Lumpkin Family Center for Health Education. Area residents with sleeping disorders are encouraged to join A.W.A.K.E., which stands for Alert, Well, And Keeping Energetic, of Central Illinois. People who suffer from sleep apnea, and family members and friends of those who suffer from sleep apnea, are encouraged to attend the meeting. It is free and open to the public. The support group is sponsored and coordinated by SBL Sleep Disorders Center and Lincolnland Home Medical Equipment. Sleep Technologist Rodney Wildman, RPSGT, will present Treating Sleep Apnea using CPAP, BIPAP and ASV. The meetings will also include free mask fitting, pressure checks and refreshments. The National Sleep Foundation and Sarah Bush Lincoln suggest people be aware of the following six symptoms that can signal inadequate sleep. If any apply, discuss them with a doctor or other health care provider: Dozing off while engaged in an activity such as reading, watching TV, sitting in meetings, or sitting in traffic Slowed thinking and reacting Difficulty listening to what is said or understanding directions Frequent errors or mistakes Depression or negative mood Impatience or being quick to anger For more information, contact Rodney Wildman, at 217-238-4908. Sleep studies are offered in both Mattoon and Effingham locations. The Sleep Disorders Center in Mattoon is located at Prairie Pavilion 1, Suite 106, on Sarah Bush Lincolns campus. Sleep studies are also conducted at the SBL Effingham Clinic, located at 905 N. Maple. The missiles were fired from a region south of the capital Pyongyang just after noon local time (0300 GMT) and flew about 1,000 km (600 miles), hitting Japans air defense identification zone, the Souths Office of the Joint Chiefs of Staff said, Reuters reports. We are still analyzing details but this is a grave threat to our nations security, and we express deep concern, the Japan Defence Ministry said in a statement. The missile launches were the latest in a series of launches by the isolated North this year in violation of U.N. Security Council resolutions, supported by China, that ban all ballistic missile-related activities by the North. Pyongyang rejects the ban as infringing its sovereign right to pursue a space program and self defense. Shortly after the missile launches, South Korean President Park Geun-hye and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe met on the sidelines of the G20 summit and agreed to cooperate on monitoring the situation, a Japanese statement said. The Souths military said the missiles were medium-range Rodong-class, launched as a show of force timed to coincide with the G20 summit. In 2014, the North fired two Rodong medium-range missiles just as Park and Abe were meeting U.S. President Barack Obama at the Hague to discuss responding to the Norths arms program. The latest missiles were launched from a region called Hwangju and came just hours after the leaders of South Korea and China met on the sidelines of the G20 summit in Hangzhou, China. South Koreas Park told Chinese President Xi Jinping that the Norths fourth nuclear test and its ballistic missile launches this year threatened regional peace and posed a challenge to South Koreas ties with China, Yonhap news agency reported earlier. During the meeting, Xi reaffirmed Chinas commitment to realizing the denuclearization of the Korean peninsula, Chinas state news agency Xinhua reported on Monday. Xi also told Park that Beijing opposed the proposed deployment of a THAAD anti-missile system in South Korea, which Seoul and the United States have said is designed to counter an increasing missile threat from North Korea. Park said that a THAAD deployment would not threaten any other countrys security interests and would not be needed if the Norths nuclear issue was resolved, Yonhap news agency said. In July, the North launched three missiles in a single day from the western region that flew across the country and into the sea off its east coast, flying about 500 km and 600 km (300-360 miles). Amigos celebrated it's 36th year of business with the Annual Amigos Awards Banquet at Hillcrest Country Club. This is the second year that all of the store managers achieved the sales and customer satisfaction goals to be included in the incentive trip, which will be to Iberister Resort in Cancun. The Seward Amigos achieved Hall of Fame status, the company's highest award based on increased sales and profitability. Manager Kim Fiala, who has been with the company seven years, received $3,000 for travel or a trip to a Disney resort. Executive Manager Matt Keslar, along with Assistant Manager Marili Vasquez, achieved the President's Club Award based on sales and profitability for the 84th & Holdrege Amigos. Keslar, along with Assistant Manager Riva Knutson, also won the 2016 Division I Store of the Year Award for the Coddington and West A Amigos, an award based on sales, mystery shopper results, store inspections, and labor percentage. For these achievements, Keslar received trips to Disney World or Lake Delavan, Wis., and Vasquez and Knutson received a trip to Lake Delavan. Executive Manager Roger Pohlmann, along with Assistant Manager Amber Bates, achieved the President's Club Award for the Highlands Amigos. Pohlmann received a trip of his choice to Disney World or Lake Delavan and Bates received a trip to Lake Delavan. Manager Charlie McDougall won the 2016 Division II Store of the Year Award for the Havelock Amigos. He received a trip of his choice to Disney World or Lake Delavan. Director of Operations Steve Talbot won the "Kathy" Award, an award given to an office-staff employee for exceptional contributions during the past year. Talbot was awarded a trip to Florida. Lincoln Industries President, Bill Ellerbee, is pleased to announce Tim Carpenter as vice president, operations. In this role Carpenter will be responsible for safety, quality, productivity and delivery in all operations areas. In addition, Carpenter will oversee the customer service and planning teams. Since joining Lincoln Industries in 2011 Carpenter has demonstrated strong people centric leadership while leading the Nickel Chrome and Continuous Improvement teams. He has also aided in the evolution of the Lincoln Industries' culture and strategy. Prior to Lincoln Industries, Carpenter spent 13 years with Pella Corporation at their Pella and Sioux Center, Iowa, locations. During that time, he worked in a wide variety of production and manufacturing leadership positions. Carpenter is a Columbus, Neb., native and a graduate of the University of Nebraska-Lincoln with a Bachelor of Science degree. Carpenter also continued his education through the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University. "Tim's passion for our culture and operational excellence makes him ideal for this role," said Ellerbee. "I've always looked at every new opportunity as a way to have a positive impact on the lives of our people," Carpenter said. "This new role won't be any different. I'm looking forward to spending more time with different functions of the business and learning how I can support them in achieving their goals and ultimately the goals of our company." Lincoln Industries is the largest and most diverse privately-held metal finishing company in North America. They are a growth-oriented company with powerful resources and a tenacity to push the limits of industry tradition. For over 60 years Lincoln Industries has been solving technically difficult problems for premium brands like Harley Davidson, PACCAR, John Deere, Polaris, Navistar and Mercury Marine. Their wide range of expertise and success in customer relations, quality, supply chain management and innovation allow them to offer an unmatched comprehensive solution to customers. Known for its unique company culture, Lincoln Industries has been named to the Top 25 Best Medium-Sized Companies to Work for in America List, seven times. Speedway Properties would like to welcome several new tenants to our properties across Lincoln. IMKO Workforce Solutions is a professional staffing company that provides opportunities for both future employees seeking jobs, and those that need jobs filled. IMKO Workforce Solutions is moving from its current location at 1201 O Street into their new space at 3302 O Street. For more information, or to inquire about staffing opportunities you can reach them at (402) 805-4373. Ali Auto Sales recently moved into their new location at 201 O Street, just west of the Harris over pass outside downtown Lincoln. Ali Auto Sales does mechanical and body work as well as selling used cars. You can reach them during standard business hours at (402) 304-9780. The Lincoln branch of Commonwealth Electric has recently moved into 5321 N 70th Street just south of the intersection of 70th Street & Cornhusker Hwy. Commonwealth is a full service electrical and communications contractor, with established position in Arizona, Iowa and Nebraska markets. If you would like to contact them you can visit their website www.commonwealthelectric.com or call them at (402) 474-1341. A program being implemented this fall by the Nebraska Department of Labor will give businesses across the state a new alternative to layoffs when economic times are tight. The short-time compensation program, which takes effect Oct. 1, will extend partial unemployment benefits to groups of people who are still working, but whose hours have been trimmed by cost-saving employers. Created by the Legislature in 2014, the program won't replace workers' lost wages dollar for dollar, but it allows them to keep at least part of their regular paychecks and avoid having to search for another job, said Nebraska Labor Commissioner John Albin. Companies are also required to maintain their employees' retirement and health insurance benefits. "We all hate to loose skilled, dedicated employees due to economic distortions," said Mike Boyle, vice president and plant manager for Kawasaki Motors in Lincoln, which cut jobs during the recession due to rapidly declining sales of its ATVs, utility vehicles and personal watercraft. "Having an additional financial bridge could help employers avoid (or delay) the loss of their employees," Boyle said. Nebraska's new program is modeled after similar short-time compensation programs in at least 21 other states. Like Nebraska, many of those states came on board after witnessing how short-time compensation preserved jobs and limited unemployment during the recession. "I think a lot of states realized, Wow, I wish we'd had this program before," Albin said. State Sen. Health Mello of Omaha, who sponsored the legislation to bring short-time compensation to Nebraska, said such programs have been credited with saving about 166,000 jobs nationwide in 2009 and nearly 100,000 jobs in 2010. Those years provided an extreme case, but the pro-rated unemployment benefits available under the program can also help ease seasonal economic shifts that are common in some industries, particularly manufacturing. "It protects that workforce so that they don't have to keep retraining people," Mello said. Recruiting and training skilled labor can represent a major investment for employers, and maintaining and boosting the state's available workforce has been a particular focus of Nebraska's business community in recent years. While some Kawasaki workers require just a few days of on-the-job training, preparation for more technical positions, such as those operating computer-controlled machines, can take far longer. "It may take months to get all the proper training in place for them to be able to do that work, and then years for them to be proficient," said Boyle. Losing those workers during slow seasons or economic crises is significant, particularly for smaller firms with tighter margins. Several smaller-scale manufacturers some still smarting from the recession, others leery of discussing layoffs or cutbacks declined to comment for this story. Yet Albin said some employers have already expressed interest in the program. To qualify their workers, each employer must have a formal "work-sharing" plan approved by the Labor Department. All employees in the affected group must experience the same reduction in hours at least 10 percent of their usual weekly hours and the benefits may last no longer than a year. That year can be critical for keeping trained staff on board as businesses weather financial storms. Kawasaki's Lincoln operation is generally large enough to take seasonal ebbs and flows in stride, Boyle said, although he acknowledged the short-time compensation program could prove useful to the company in the future. "I really appreciate the state government looking at ways to bridge problems that business has," he said. Don Walton Political reporter/columnist Don Walton covers politics and the Legislature along with writing a weekly column. Follow Don Walton Close Get email notifications on {{subject}} daily! Your notification has been saved. There was a problem saving your notification. {{description}} Email notifications are only sent once a day, and only if there are new matching items. Save Manage followed notifications Close Followed notifications Please log in to use this feature Log In Don't have an account? Sign Up Today Game on. "Not a high tax or spending state" was the message on the video screens in the attractive conference room at Nebraska Innovation Campus one morning last week. That was an assessment of Nebraska's comparative position among the states. And it was accompanied by a reminder of the substantial "budget shortfalls" that already have been opened by a continuing decline in anticipated state revenue. Add in the approaching spending pressures, including those created by continuing challenges at the Department of Correctional Services that are going to take big bucks to help resolve and the needs of a growing and aspirational University of Nebraska as it enters the two-year state budget phase with new leadership at the helm. That was the big picture painted by the OpenSky Policy Institute with lots of state senators seated throughout the room and a number of them perched on the stage. Not the same picture that was sketched at a Platte Institute forum last month that made the case for tax reform that reduces top-line corporate and individual income tax rates while broadening the sales tax base and reducing corporate tax credits. Those are battle lines. And they are being drawn four months before the 2017 Legislature convenes in January and begins to tackle a plate full of hot potatoes. Gov. Pete Ricketts is expected to propose a tax cut package of his own. Sen. Jim Smith of Papillion will be authoring a comprehensive legislative proposal, one which he earlier suggested might be similar to the plan aired at the Platte Institute gathering. Smith sat on the stage at the OpenSky event along with three fellow senators to answer questions about the revenue issue, and he quickly distanced himself from the premise that Nebraska is not in need of more tax reduction. "Nebraska does have a tax issue," he said, and the state needs tax reform to create jobs and "provide for its growth needs," which, in turn, would increase revenue over time. Speaker of the Legislature Galen Hadley of Kearney pointed to the recent legislative history of virtually annual tax cuts that already have reduced revenue by $750 million over the past 10 years. And Sen. Paul Schumacher of Columbus raised a caution flag. "Obsession with taxes blinds us to opportunities and challenges," he said. This is going to be a legislative battle and it's already begun. * * * Continuing evidence that the Clinton campaign is really going for it in Omaha keeps emerging as the Democratic nominee pursues a single Nebraska presidential electoral vote. House Democratic Whip Steny Hoyer showed up last week to host a "working families organizing group" in Omaha a couple of days after the campaign held an event in Lincoln where it gathered volunteers to help in the Omaha district campaign. Eight years ago, the Obama campaign also looked to Lincoln Democrats to help in Omaha. Best guess today is Clinton wins Lincoln in November while Trump wins the 1st Congressional District electoral vote, which would appear to be out of reach for a Democratic presidential nominee. Bill Clinton won Lincoln twice. Up the road, Clinton would appear to have a good chance of snagging metropolitan Omaha's 2nd District vote just as Obama did in 2008, although that district always is very competitive. Marginal in political terms. The state itself is a virtual lock for Trump with the R behind his name. Aggressive voter registration, identification and turnout efforts in Omaha by the Clinton campaign, which mirror the Obama campaign's successful effort to energize new and occasional voters eight years ago, presumably could have some impact in other election contests. The first to come to mind is Democratic Rep. Brad Ashford's re-election bid. But Obama's win in the Omaha district did not lead the way to a Democratic congressional victory in 2008. Each contest has a life of its own. Obama bested John McCain by 10,000 votes in Douglas County eight years ago, while losing the congressional district's strongly Republican Sarpy County precincts by 7,000 votes. Subsequent redistricting by the Legislature following the 2010 census purposely strengthened the Republican hand in the district. In November, it will be a battleground. * * * Prem Paul was a gift to the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, the key figure in its research funding surge. His contribution to the university and to the state and to students will continue. That is a powerful and lasting legacy. Finishing up * David Brooks comes to the Lied Center for an E.N. Thompson Forum look at the 2016 election on Oct. 4, a month before the nation chooses between Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump and a week after their first presidential debate. * It's hard to even imagine what that "debate" will look like and how the referee, uh, moderator, will be able to control it. * The developing spring 2017 mayor's race up Interstate 80 between Omaha Mayor Jean Stothert and Sen. Heath Mello should be a heavyweight struggle worth watching. More on that later. * Mixed message from the Huskers on Saturday with Ragtime Cowboy Joe now riding our way. Time to fix the leaks and establish early-game dominance before that big, high-scoring Duck waddles into Lincoln. Since the year 1792, the citizens of Wales have honored its writers, scientists, artisans, lawyers, poets and leaders with admission to the prestigious Gorsedd of the Bards. The highly regarded society is only open to those whose achievements and commitment to Wales, the Welsh language and the Celtic culture and heritage are deemed worthy. Almost always, the honorees are Welsh by birth -- and blood. But this year, among the 13 literary recipients was Martha Davies of Lincoln. She is one of three Americans to ever receive the honor -- her late husband was another. Davies is more Welsh by desire, than by ethnicity. But her contributions to Welsh culture -- the translation of historic documents, newspaper clippings and letters -- has rescued centuries of stories that were all but lost, forgotten and rewritten by non-Welsh peoples. Davies, 75, and her husband Berwyn Jones, 79, another American Welshman, are the driving force for the Great Plains Welsh Heritage Centre in Wymore. They live and breathe the heritage, traveling the continent and beyond, taking part in festivals, conventions and classes. Jones is immensely proud of his wife, whom he married in 2002. The widow and widower met at a Welsh American conference. He lived in Denver. She lived in Massachusetts. After traveling back and forth between homes, the couple loaded the RV and headed to Lincoln, where Jones grew up. Their late dog -- a Welsh corgi, of course, -- picked out their southwest Lincoln home, stubbornly standing his ground until Davies and Jones made an offer, Jones recalled. His grandparents settled among the Welsh community in Wymore. Jones grew up speaking the language and learning about his culture. But for Davies, her Welshness was diligently acquired. Davies grew up in Southern California -- her parents were transplants from Iowa and Kansas. Sometime around the fourth grade Davies remembers coming home from school and asking her mom: What are we? Language and people interested me, Davies recalled. It was the early 1940s, and California was growing with Jewish refugees and migrant workers from Mexico. I remember looking out at the community and wondering how I fit into it, Davies said. My mom said, Go ask your dad. Eventually, the family pieced it together: 80 percent German, Scottish, English, Irish, Welsh. Davies' first husband, a professor of statistics, received a grant to teach in London for two years. In 1976, he was invited to teach at the university in Aberystwyth, Wales. I felt right at home in that little town right on the sea, she recalled. I could walk everywhere. Across the street from her Aberystwyth home was a cultural center. The singing and dancing intrigued her. So while her husband taught, and her children attended school, Davies took Welsh lessons, eventually earning a certificate in Welsh as a second language from the University of Wales. Id never heard Welsh before being in Wales, and I had not a hook in my brain on which to hang Welsh sounds and syntax, she said in an interview with the Welsh press upon the Gorsedd of the Bards honor. As a 35-year-old mom, I was child-like while learning the Welsh language. I would paper ceilings and refinish floors while listening to Welsh radio and singing along with Welsh pop songs and nursery songs, she told the University of Wales alumni magazine. She recalled her third winter in Wales. Ill with a heavy cold, she spent a week reading T. Rowland Hughes novel William Jones in Welsh. By the time she finished, she was a fluent reader. I thought I would be there forever, Davies said wistfully of her time in Wales. I loved it so much. I got the Welsh bug. But in 1980 the family returned to the United States. Her heart, however, remained in Wales. Yearning to fill the void she discovered Welsh-America. She learned Welsh hymns at the Cymanfaoedd Canu in Albany, New York. Wherever the family moved, Davies sought out and found Welsh-American communities. Following her first husbands death, Davies moved to Ames, Iowa. Her second husband, Phillips G. Davies, was a Welsh-American scholar who translated Welsh-American settlement histories and articles from Y Drych, (The Mirror), the Welsh language newspaper published in New York. When Phillips Davies died, Martha Davies carried on the translations. She was fascinated by the stories of the Welsh settlers who arrived in America around 1620. Now fluent in the old Welsh language she was able to retell the stories in their own words, rather than the translations which tweaked perspectives and word choices to reflect the English school of thought. Translating 19th century Welsh is no picnic, but the rewards can be great, Davies told the University of Wales magazine. The settlers expressed themselves more candidly in their language of the heart confiding details they would never have shared in the English language. She has published four books of Welsh-American settlement stories. One tells the Nebraska story of those who settled in Wymore and Blue Springs. Two others tell the history of Welsh settlers in Minnesota and Wisconsin. Another looks at the Welsh church in Jackson, Ohio. And Hanes Cymry America: A History of the Welsh in America (1872), is Davies' rewritten version of the Rev. R.D Thomas book, in which she has translated writings from Welsh settlers. Her newest publication offers a brief look at the Welsh of Calgary, Alberta. She planned to debut the book Labor Day weekend during the North American Festival of Wales in Calgary. One month ago, Davies and Jones were in Wales for the National Eisteddfod, an annual weeklong festival celebrating the best of Wales. The Gorsedd honors took place in a special ceremony, harkening back to the 1700s. Members from the fields of law, science, sports, journalism, media and local and national activities become honorary druids and wear blue robes for the ceremony. Those who have contributed to the arts -- literature, music, drama or art -- wear green robes. Davies wore green. She calls her recognition by the Gorsedd of the Bards one of the highest points of a well-lived life. After 40 years, Aberystwyth is still the center of the universe for me, Davies said. Union density in the United States has shrunk from a peak of about 35 percent coming out of World War II to under 11 percent today. Those who oppose unions argue that density is down because wage earners trust employers to have their backs. They trust management to be fair in its dealings with employees. That is not the case, judging by the most recent Gallup polling. Surprisingly, even with low density, 58 percent of Americans approve of labor unions. That number is lower than the 72 percent in the Great Depression and the 75 percent in 1954. There are several possible explanations for decreasing density which may be related to only a 58 percent approval rating. Automation; the flight of employers overseas in search of ever cheaper sources of production; an outdated labor law that has no real penalties for significant and repeated violations; and an increase in sources that intentionally misconstrue what unions exist to do all contribute to the difference. Sadly, on Labor Day 2016 labor unions remain one of the most misunderstood institutions in American society. People are unaware of why unions exist, and what actually goes into a labor contract. If they knew more, the numbers might mirror those of the post-World War II era. There is yet another factor that goes unmentioned, the inability of unions themselves to tell a compelling story about all the things that the public is missing. Organized labor is the only institution in American society that exists to introduce meaningful workplace democracy to job sites across the state and nation. Unions are based on the ideas that an injury to one is an injury to all; that collectively we can achieve more than we can individually; and that in our consumer-driven economy, we all do better when we all do better. Why do unions exist? To bring meaningful democracy into the workplace. Why is that needed? Because in both the private and public sectors there are employers who focus 24/7 on becoming leaner and meaner by finding ways for their employees to do more with less. That mentality in the private sector drove the massive growth of unions throughout the Great Depression up to the mid-1970s. In the public sector Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. put it this way on his last night on Earth: You are demanding that this city will respect the dignity of labor. So often we overlook the work and the significance of those who are not in professional jobs, of those who are not in the so-called big jobs. But let me say to you tonight that whenever you are engaged in work that serves humanity and is for the building of humanity, it has dignity and it has worth. What goes into a labor contract? Simply put, only the items that both the employer and the union can agree upon. If both dont agree, it doesnt make it into the contract. Moreover, the items that fill a contract flow from labor law that in most instances spells out the mandatory items of bargaining: wages, hours, and terms of employment. The contract is legally binding, and both sides need to live up to it for its duration. Due process rights that exist outside the workplace thanks to the Bill of Rights enter it through the just cause clause. This little known and under-appreciated clause is part of the mutually negotiated grievance procedure that is used when the contract is violated. This clause says that management must prove that it has good and sufficient reason for any discipline it metes out. So on this Labor Day as 58 percent of the country approves of unions, maybe expanding meaningful workplace democracy could be the prescription for combatting income inequality, resisting arbitrary and capricious management decisions, and once again putting the American dream within reach of everyday wage earners. Imagine youre invested in an oil company engaged in offshore drilling. If it began using risky cost saving measures, increasing profits and stock prices, youd be happy, right? Now imagine one of its offshore oil wells blows and releases millions of gallons into the sea, damaging the coastline and destroying livelihoods. If this were to happen in a truly free market, the companys assets may fail to cover the loss. In that case, stockholders are on the hook to make up the difference, putting personal assets at risk. In an unregulated market, a business venture and its owners are one and the same. As such, owners are fully liable for the debts of the company, even beyond what they have invested. In this state, securing financing for innovations and new technologies is extremely difficult. Fortunately, government offers stockholders powerful economic tools to encourage the investment of capital into corporations. One, corporate personhood, detaches a business from its stockholders into a separate and distinct entity. Another, limited liability, ensures stockholders are not liable for the debts or obligations of the company beyond their capital investment. These government-provided regulations have facilitated the organization of large capitalized corporations able to produce high quality automobiles, aircraft, computers and many other products on which we rely. On the contrary, unions are borne of the free market. Workers began organizing early in our nations history to bargain for a fair share of the wealth they create. This was done without help from the government, in fact just the opposite. Previous court decisions ruling union activity as criminal conspiracy were reversed by Commonwealth v. Hunt in 1842, allowing it so long as peaceful methods were used. Despite this ruling, federal, state and local governments began intervening in union activities after the Civil War. Local police, state militia, federal troops and court injunctions assisted companies in their quest to stop labor from organizing and acting to secure fair wages and tolerable working conditions. If its desirable to protect stockholders and the organization of capital, then it is also desirable to protect workers and the organization of labor. In that regard, the 1935 National Labor Relations Act required employers to recognize and negotiate with a union when voted for by a majority of its employees. Subsequent acts, though, amended the NLRA and stripped labor of its most powerful tools. Most notably, they allow states to pass right to work laws which deny unions the ability to negotiate a security clause requiring employees to join the union as a condition of employment. A security clause violates no ones rights. Employers are allowed to set conditions of employment, and if the employer and union agree to terms, it is their right to do so. If you dont like the pay or other terms of your employment, supporters of right to work will tell you to find another job with terms you like. If only they would heed their own advice. If they dont want to join the union in their workplace, they should find a workplace without a union. Though they shouldnt be surprised by the lower wages and benefits and poorer working conditions theyll most likely find there. In the last few decades, wages have stagnated and economic gains have been going almost entirely to the top. The reason is simple, organized capital holds much more power than organized labor. When unions are strong, when employees can negotiate on equal footing, the rich get richer, but so does everyone else. All people who contribute to the economy benefit from economic gains. When unions are weak, when workers have no bargaining strength, all gains go to the top. Organized capital has contributed immensely to our economy; there is good reason to encourage and protect it. Organized labor has contributed as well, by securing a middle class status for countless millions after the U.S. shifted from an agrarian economy of self-employed farmers, merchants and craftsmen to an industrial economy of employees. No organic group of workers supports right to work laws. They are championed only by business groups because they decrease membership in unions, hamper their ability to negotiate and reduce compensation. It is time to live up to the words of our first Republican president when he said Labor is prior to, and independent of, capital. Capital is only the fruit of labor, and could never have existed if labor had not first existed. Labor is the superior of capital, and deserves much the higher consideration. It is time to end right to work. A few years ago some were ready to declare that town hall meetings by members of Congress were a relic of the past -- done in by an increasingly harsh political climate. The New York Times blamed the decline on the tea party, reporting that an unintended consequence of the groups town hall confrontations with lawmakers was that fewer members of Congress were willing to face their constituents. So were happy to report that in Nebraska the town hall tradition not only survives, it is robust. Leading the delegation in town hall meetings during the August recess is Sen. Ben Sasse, who one might expect to be most leery of meeting with Nebraska voters due to his adamant refusal to support the Republican Partys nominee for president. But Sasse held two dozen town hall meetings across the state during the August recess. In fact, since Sasse took office, no member of Nebraskas congressional delegation has held more town halls, spokesman Tyler Grassmeyer reported. At a couple of those town halls Sasses opposition to Donald Trumps candidacy did not even come up, Grassmeyer said. Sen. Den Fischer held eight town halls in August. She prefers to call them community coffees or listening sessions at which she makes an introduction and gives an overview of her work. Fischer devotes the rest of the time to hearing the views of attendees, according to Tom Doheny, her communications director. So far this year she has held 26 town hall events, he said. Most last more than an hour. Rep. Jeff Fortenberry held six town halls across the 1st District, according to Todd Wiltgen, Fortenberrys district director. In his Fort Report column Fortenberry wrote that questions did not focus as much on pieces of legislation as anxiety about the direction of the country. Rep. Adrian Smith held six public forums in the 3rd Congressional District during the August recess, reported Communications Director Emily Miller. So far this year he has hosted 14 forums across his district, which sprawls across most of the state from Chadron to Beatrice, she said. Trailing the delegation in number of town hall meetings this August was Rep. Brad Ashford, who held only his usual monthly coffee at his district office in Omaha. Spokesman Joe Jordan said the coffees also allow constituents one-on-one time with Ashford. While we wish that Ashfords schedule offered more opportunities for his constituents to bend his ear at town hall-type forums this August, were happy that constituents in the Cornhusker State have multiple opportunities to hear from their federal lawmakers. Town halls are a valuable point of access, and they bring a personal element to American democracy. The Journal Star editorial of Aug. 26 about the Clinton Foundation is rife with errors ("Faulty ethics at Clinton Foundation"). As a starting point, the Clinton Foundation is a model charity which has a coveted "A" rating from Charity Watch. Moreover, the Clinton Foundation has improved the quality of life for millions of people around the globe. There has been no evidence whatsoever that the Clinton Foundation is some kind of "pay for play" operation. The cases offered up by the Journal Star certainly offer no proof of it. The meeting with the Crown Prince of Bahrain had nothing to do with any contributions. Bahrain is a longtime ally where the U.S. maintains an important naval base. Any Secretary of State would meet with an important official from Bahrain. The op/ed neglects to mention that nine agencies, not just the State Department, had to approve the uranium deal. Moreover, the author of the right-wing book "Clinton Cash," Peter Schweizer, admitted on Fox News that he had no evidence proving that Clinton had anything to do with this transaction and no proof of a quid pro quo arrangement. I would recommend to the Journal Star editorial staff that they conduct their appropriate due diligence before they repeat unsubstantiated rumors and allegations from the right wing of the GOP. Dennis Crawford, Lincoln We as a society are often quick to point out when we feel that we didnt get what we paid for or when we feel government entities have not met the standards for the tax dollars that we have paid. In many cases, that may be true. However, I dont think that as a society that we take as much time to appreciate the occasions when we do get what we expected or perhaps even more than we expected. I would like to thank the City of Lincoln Public Works and state Roads departments for the manner and work pattern implemented with the repaving of Nebraska Highway 2. They worked most often at night to reduce inconvenience to the driving public, clearly marked and identified all lanes, including those places where three-lane traffic is accepted and functional and it has been done in a staggered section of the road, so that the entire road was not a construction zone from the beginning of the project to its end. Quality work in short order with as little frustration to the consumer was clearly the goal and intention when the project was started and I thank them for doing it just as they have planned. We may not always get what we expect for our money from the city government but the resurfacing of Nebraska Highway 2 was an excellent planned construction job yielding outstanding results for the consumer in fine fashion. Thank you all for your efforts so the rest of us could enjoy the drive on Highway 2 after you finished your work. You deserve a thank you from the Lincoln consumers who use this critical roadway. Michael D. Carpenter, Lincoln OMAHA Omaha's zoo is blaming staff miscommunication for an incident in which a boy using a wheelchair was barred from the zoo's new splash pad. Nicole Steng said she took her 8-year-old son, Titus, and his sisters to the new Alaskan Adventure splash pad last month at the Henry Doorly Zoo and Aquarium. A young staffer and a zoo supervisor told them Titus' wheelchair couldn't go onto the pad because the pad's ground cover wasn't durable enough to handle the wheels, Steng said. She said she remembers saying to them: "'You're telling me that my handicapped child is not allowed to play in a public facility that we are paying for. I'm pretty sure that wasn't the intention.'?" Steng said Titus went home disappointed. She shared her account of the incident with friends and learned Titus wasn't alone. Steng said a friend of her son who uses walking canes also was denied admission. Steng said she contacted the zoo for further explanation but received no reply. Zoo spokeswoman Dawn Ream told the Omaha World-Herald the two zoo staffers were wrong: Wheelchairs are allowed on the splash pad. The zoo's electric-powered rental scooters are barred, however, because they aren't waterproof. Ream blamed the incidents on miscommunication with staffers about rules for the new splash pad. A staff meeting was held in mid-August to make the rules absolutely clear, she said. The Arts Committee at St. Matthew's invites the public to the opening of "Sand Hills Serenade: The Art of Nadine McHenry" on Sunday (Sept. 11) at St. Matthew's Episcopal Church, 2325 S. 24th St. Breakfast will be hosted by St. Mary's Guild at 9 a.m., with comments by John McHenry at 9:30 a.m. The exhibition will be on view in the Parish Hall Sept. 11 - Nov. 13 and available for viewing weekdays from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. and on Sundays. Nadine McHenry and her husband, John, are long-time members of St. Matthew's. They have two adult children, John of San Francisco and Claire of Lincoln. Nadine grew up in the Sand Hills and much of her work includes scenes from that part of the state. Other subject matter includes cows, clouds, abstractions and her children. Her work is in the collections at the Sheldon Museum of Art as well as the Nebraska Museum of Art and in private galleries. RACINE Racine Unified eighth-grade students, along with high school juniors and seniors, will take to the road this school year to learn about what it takes to handle money. Its an example of how Unified uses field trips to enhance learning at all grade levels, according to officials. The classroom doesnt stop where the walls end, said Chris Thompson, Unifieds executive director of curriculum and instruction. In the past, only a few eighth-grade classrooms would go to the Junior Achievement Finance Park to learn how to become financially literate; this year, its a field trip for all eighth-graders. We thought it was really important for all children to have access to this, Thompson said. The same concept will be applied to the districts high schools with reality check day. This year only a few select juniors and senior classes will be involved but in the 2017-18 school year it will be scaled up to include all juniors. Junior year, you might have a job or thinking about a job and you might be thinking about college ... now money becomes so real, said Chris Neff, supervisor of career and technical education, in explaining the expansion of the offering. High school and real world The Academies of Racine, the new high school system geared toward career development, will bring fresh experiences to students starting with this years freshman class and the See Your Future Expo, which will result in a field trip. It made sense to expose all freshmen students to what careers are available and also the employers, Neff said. Its more of a human interaction ... really connecting with (as an example) the engineer and the testing engineer and the production people, that makes those careers real. Also in their freshman year, students will visit colleges in the fall and winter, and sophomore year theyll visit some local employers. They can start thinking about college before their ACTs, before their sophomore year, Neff said. During their sophomore year, students will take part in coordinated learning trips to businesses and employers related to a particular learning-track academy that students will be connected to, Neff said. Field trip opportunities are not limited to the older students in Unified. Another field trip that will be added this year will be for first-graders to the Racine Heritage Museum. When youre working in the primary grades, youre teaching children about their community, Thompson said. We wanted the students to learn about Racines beginnings as a community. Thompson said starting this year, kindergartners will visit the River Bend Nature Center in Caledonia to learn about nature. Were not done yet, Thompson said of the off-site learning opportunities. Were going to continue to re-evaluate what were offering. This story initially included incorrect information about the number of students that will be participating in "reality check day." This year only a few select classes will participate in the event. It will become open to all juniors during the 2017-2018 school year. RACINE COUNTY A standing order has been issued in Wisconsin allowing pharmacies to distribute naloxone to citizens without a prescription. The standing order was signed by Gov. Scott Walker on Aug. 26 at the Pharmacy Society of Wisconsins annual meeting in Wisconsin Dells. In Wisconsin, and nationwide, were seeing lives lost and families shattered by opioid overdoses, whether from heroin or prescription painkillers, in our urban centers and rural areas, Walker said in a news release. This standing order allows pharmacies the ability to make this life-saving drug more accessible for friends, family and loved ones of those at risk of overdose, and potentially open the door for treatment and recovery. Under the order, pharmacies are allowed to distribute the drug without an individual prescription. Naloxone, is a nonaddictive medication used to reverse the effects of overdose from opioids and restores breathing. Opioid overdose has been the leading cause of injury deaths in Wisconsin since 2009 when it passed car crashes. In 2014, in Wisconsin there were 393 deaths from prescription drugs and 266 deaths from heroin. This is the states latest effort to combat opioid use, abuse and overdose, which includes the Heroin Opiate Prevention and Education legislation. Previously, Walker signed Wisconsin Act 115 in December allowing practitioners to prescribe naloxone in pharmacies. Naloxone is safe and effective. Newer ways to administer the drug make it easier to give naloxone in a life-and-death situation, stated Dr. Jon Meiman, chief medical officer for the Bureau of Environmental and Occupational Health in the Department of Health Division of Public Health, who signed the standing order. Assembly Speaker Robin Vos, R-Rochester, said this move is another way to combat this growing epidemic. "I welcome the increase in access to this life-saving medication, Vos said. I'm proud that the Assembly has taken the lead on this issue, passing 17 laws to fight against opioid abuse and addiction." Be wary Fred Hornby, interim executive director of the Wind Lake-based Wisconsin EMS Association, warned naloxone users especially friends, family or anyone administering the drug to be wary of the effects of naloxone. The problem is when you give it to patients and wake them up, Hornby said. They can wake up quickly and can be very combative at times because youre taking away their high. The general public should be aware of that. Racine County Medical Examiner Michael Payne said this legislation may not cure the problem, but will help users have a better chance of surviving overdose. Whatever efforts can be made to stop the amount of deaths weve had is definitely great legislation, Payne said. Its something that we can fight back with and use to try to save a life. Yes, you can transfer your domain to any registrar or hosting company once you have purchased it. Since domain transfers are a manual process, it can take up to 5 days to transfer the domain. Domains purchased with payment plans are not eligible to transfer until all payments have been made. Please remember that our 30-day money back guarantee is void once a domain has been transferred. For transfer instructions to GoDaddy, please click here. 10 amendments proposed to Bill against torture Ten amendments to the Anti-torture Bill registered within a 72-hour deadline will be forwarded to the State Affairs Committee for clause-wise discussion that begins on Monday. Bhutan bound to take back its citizens: FM Foreign Minister Prakash Sharan Mahat has said it is Bhutans obligation to ensure the repatriation of more than 10,000 Bhutanese refugees remaining in camps in eastern Nepal after the resettlement of over 80,000 of them in the West. Calls louder for Saarc convention revision In a bid to cast a wider net against human trafficking, stakeholders have called for a revision on the South Asian Association for Regional Corporation (Saarc) Convention on Preventing and Combating Trafficking of Women and Children for Prostitution. Dahal Cabinet snubs reminder to submit details Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal and almost all the ministers in his Cabinet have ignored to submit their property details even one month after the formation of the new government. Developer seeks extension to financial closure deadline SJVN Arun-III Power Development Company (SAPDC), the developer of 900MW Arun-III hydropower project, has requested for an extension of the deadline for financial closure by a year. Doesnt look good Nepals negative brand value cannot be removed until we correct our systemic flaws Ex-Minister Shyam Sundar Gupta nabbed again Former Minister ShyamSundar Gupta has been arrested yet again on extortion charge from Lalitpur on Monday. House committee insists on effective enforcement of WJA The majority of lawmakers airing their views in the meeting said it was really misfortunate that journalists who were supposed to raise voice of the voiceless were themselves deprived of their rights. Fugitive Indian serial killer held from TIA Notorious Indian serial killer Rais Miya aka Mohammad Mustakim was arrested from Tribhuvan International Airport in Kathmandu on Sunday. Miya faces seven murder chargesfour in Saptari district and three in Sunsari district. Injured former combatants flocking to PMO for support After former supreme commander of the Maoist Peoples Liberation Army Pushpa Kamal Dahal became the prime minister for a second time, those injured during the decade-long armed conflict have been flocking to the PMs Office demanding support for treatment. Sangam Prasain is Business Editor at The Kathmandu Post, covering tourism, agriculture, mountaineering, aviation, infrastructure and other economic affairs. He joined The Kathmandu Post in October 2009. Leopard preys on 4-year-old girl A girl was killed in a leopard attack in Udayadev VDC-2 in Baitadi district on Saturday evening. Nada Auto Show ends as bookings top Rs3.5b The 11th Nada Auto Show concluded on Sunday on a high note, with bookings exceeding Rs3.5 billion. National Day against Human Trafficking marked The ninth National Day against Human Trafficking has been marked amid various programmes in the Capital on Monday. North Korea 'fires three ballistic missiles into sea' North Korea has fired three ballistic missiles into the waters off its east coast, say South Korean officials. Oli returns from Thailand medical trip CPN-UML Chairperson KP Sharma Oli said amendment to the new constitution was possible but calls for those amendments should be justified first. Syria conflict: Dozens killed in bombings in government-held areas At least 40 people have been killed in four bombings in government-held areas of Syria and one in a city dominated by Kurdish forces, state media report. Tarun Dal convention likely to be postponed Owing to deep disunity while selecting representatives, Tarun Dal, the youth wing of the Nepali Congress, is unlikely to complete all its district conventions in time in order to hold its 4th general convention set for September 9-11 in Pokhara. The brand that you are If once branding was strictly considered a realm for companies and their products, todays digital world of Facebook, Instagram and LinkdIn means that almost every individual also has a personal brand, whether they want it or not. Walk the talk NC, Maoists were critical of UMLs politicisation of the reconstruction process. Are they better? We vary fundamentally from Oli govt, especially how we view India The government is gearing up for Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahals official visit to India on September 15 Young woman dies in house fire A person died and four others sustained injuries in a fire that engulfed a house in Khalanga, the district headquarters of Jajarkot, on Sunday. A team of doctors in South Africa is today expected to carry out a postmortem to establish the cause of death of Ambassador Najuna Njuneki, who collapsed and died aboard a plane yesterday. Speaking to Daily Monitor on telephone from London yesterday, Foreign Affairs Minister Hon. Sam Kutesa said Amb Njuneki collapsed as he got up from his seat and died before he could be taken to a health facility within the airport. Ambassador Njuneki was reportedly returning from a meeting in Stockholm, Sweden, with Ugandans living in Nordic countries. Vice President Edward Ssekandi attended the Diaspora gathering which, Foreign Affairs Permanent Secretary Amb James Mugume said focused on investment. As an Ambassador for Special Duties at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Njuneki was in-charge the Diaspora community and coordinated the Ugandan aspect of the regional Northern Corridor Infrastructure projects. Amb Mugume adds that Ugandas High Commission in Pretoria has taken charge of the body and will handle it until it is flown home on Wednesday. Ambassador Njuneki becomes the second high-level Uganda government official to die abruptly on a plane, following the death almost a year ago of then Internal Affairs minister Aronda Nyakairima aboard an Emirates Airline plane while returning from South Korea. Story By Tabu Butagira The South Sudanese government has given the go-ahead for the deployment of a 4,000 strong regional protection force recently mandated by the UN Security Council. Accordding to UN Radios Daniel Dickinson, the announcement came after Council members, who are currently in the country, met with President Salva Kiir. Its hoped the 4,000 troops of the Security Council-mandated Regional Protection Force will provide the stability to allow some people displaced by the 3 year conflict to return home. Martin Elia Lomuro, Cabinet Affairs Minister in the Transitional Government of National Unity read a joint communique after the Council delegation met President Kiir. South Sudan had initially held back on agreeing to the force saying it was a violation of sovereignty. There are already some 12,000 peacekeepers serving in the UN mission. South Sudan has also agreed to implement a hybrid court to investigate war crimes. Story By UN Radio She graduated Central High School in La Crosse. Shortly after, she joined the Air Force and served three years as a radar specialist in Denver, Colo. She was very proud to be a veteran. She was always up for an adventure as Bernadines career took her many places within the U.S. She was very proud of and loved her nieces and nephews very much. MINNEAPOLIS (TNS) Cassandra Garbers plan when she moved to Minnesota in her early 30s was to telecommute and keep her environmental stewardship job at Coca-Cola in Atlanta. Then one night she went to a party and met up with some people around her own age who worked at 3M Co. They talked up the opportunity there and suggested she apply. The company did work she would enjoy, they said, hailing pollution-prevention initiatives with customers. It ran contests that awarded employees prizes for suggesting ways to cut power and material use. I was blown away. 3M has amazing sustainability programs, said Garber, now 35 and head of 3Ms Strategic Initiatives for Sustainability. Here we talk about doing business with purpose (and making) a positive difference in the world. Millennials are kind of expecting it and demanding it. Here, its the culture. You can do anything. Employers increasingly are focused on attracting and keeping employees in Garbers age group, the millennial generation born in the last two decades of the 20th century. Few have been as effective as 3M, which recently came out on top in a national survey that asked 13,000 millennials where they would most like to work. Things that appeal to these workers about the company, headquartered near the Twin Cities, include mentors, training in the sciences, leadership programs and lots of flexibility for employees to work on projects of their own choosing. The survey, by the National Society of High School Scholars, or NSHSS, found that millennials are looking for employers that are stridently committed to the environment, social causes, communities, teamwork and flexible work schedules. With baby boomers hitting retirement age at the rate of 8,000 a day, according to AARP, companies have little choice but to embrace these preferences. U.S. census records show millennials number 83 million strong, displacing baby boomers as the largest generation in the workforce. A blitz of outfits from 3M and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce to consulting giants such as McKinsey & Co. and Deloitte are striving to educate employers so they can create welcome workplaces where this demographic wants to come and stay. Its critical, said Sean ONeil, head of the Minnesota Chamber of Commerces Grow Program. Businesses are having a harder time finding employees and millennials in particular in industries such as manufacturing, he said. So, its important to be able to track and retain millennials to make sure we continue to have a strong workforce. The industries that are the most interesting to millennials include science, health and technology, according to the NSHSS survey. Ranked 13th was the Mayo Clinic in Rochester. Survey after survey consistently says that millennials want to change the world and make it a better place, Mayo recruiting director Brent Bultema said. At 3M, recruiters and managers carry easy reference charts showing a list of Millennial Needs and 3M Offerings. CEO Inge Thulin has been determined to help young millennials prosper and gain skills at 3M since before he took office in 2012. When you get recognition like that (NSHSS millennial survey), it is not coming out of the blue. Its a lot of work that is leading up to it, he said during a recent interview. Studying millennials has helped the company learn that they tend to want freedom, training and diverse leadership. But ultimately, they want to know they can make a difference. And here they can and do, he said. Garber, the sustainability manager, said her favorite part of working at 3M (is that) no matter what you are working on, you can spend 15 percent of your time on something of your choosing that has a societal impact, she said. She works with scientists from around the $30 billion behemoth who constantly have energy, water and timber saving ideas they want to implement. Thats fun, Garber said. They are encouraged by management to spend their time that way. Understanding how millennials connect to your company is essential. Businesses must adjust how they nurture loyalty among millennials or risk losing a large percentage of their workforces, said James W. Lewis, president of the high school scholars group. In its fourth millennial survey released in January, business consulting firm Deloitte found a loyalty challenge. Some 67 percent of the 7,700 young professionals interviewed planned to quit their jobs by 2020. More than 40 percent planned to quit in two years because they found leadership lacking, felt overlooked or wrestled with inflexible work schedules. Sarah Sladek, CEO of workplace consulting firm XYZ University, said millennials are burdened by huge student loans and work because they have to. But they stay when they find work that lets them learn new skills, stay challenged and move into new roles that often pay more, Sladek said. Millennials have a financial urgency that baby boomers never had. So they want to know what programs, what training and what mentors are going to help them progress their careers and fast, Sladek said. Perks like free food or open floor plans help, but they are the gravy. At Mayo, there are employee clubs and programs that allow younger workers to shadow employees in jobs they might be interested in, Bultema said. Mayo also starts interacting with millennials early in the process. It invites 900 high school students to the health systems Rochester campus, about 75 miles southeast of Minneapolis, each year to learn about careers. Hundreds of college students and interns are separately invited to interview Mayo nurses, physical therapists and other professionals to develop realistic career expectations. 3M has decided to invest in new hires to build loyalty. By 2025, every employee will have gone through a lengthy leadership training, said 3M CEO Thulin. We call it leadership way. We have four different programs depending on where you are in the company. For everyone in 3M today, there is a program for you, he said. Some work with customers and scientists in other countries, which exposes them to different cultures and business procedures, Thulin said. The key is that each has a personal development plan. By the time Genevieve McSpaden, 24, was hired in 2014 with a masters degree in engineering from the University of Rochester in New York, she was well versed in what 3M had to offer. Shed already studied 3Ms patents and product innovations in college and knew it offered young people so much more than just Scotch tape. Ive wanted to work at 3M ever since I was in middle school, she said. Graduate school and internships reinforced her decision. It was extremely exciting to me to see a company always welcoming new ideas and that (its) never more than a few years away from a new product, said McSpaden who earlier this summer celebrated her second work anniversary by making cake pops for her co-workers. When she was hired as an advanced manufacturing technical engineer for 3Ms Optical Film Division, McSpaden was given a mentor, a separate 3M buddy and enrolled in 3Ms Optimized Operations Engineers and Supply Chain Analysts monthslong training program. The coolest part of this training was that we (spent) one week (in a 3M) plant. We were given a project at the start of the week and placed on a team with 10 to 30 people, all millennials, who had different backgrounds, said McSpaden, a Quebec native. We were all working toward one conclusion, she said. Millennials are really wanting to change the world in a big way. To come into work every day and have an opportunity to work on new product developments and innovations that have the ability to change the world is extremely rewarding. Jim Pauluss heart skipped a beat when the milkweed patch he is cultivating as a nursery for monarch butterflies appeared to have attracted some babes to his woods until he realized that the fuzzy striped caterpillars he spied were just cousins of the majestic monarchs. Like other wildlife enthusiasts, Paulus laments the demise of monarchs that has propelled efforts to have them declared endangered, largely because of human pesticide and herbicide use that has made milkweed scarce. The plants are the monarchs nurseries, food and home during their forays northward to their breeding grounds in the U.S. and Canada after their 3,400-mile flights from wintering sites in Mexican forests. I have some wooded property near Stoddard with a cluster of milkweed that Ive let grow for the purpose of attracting monarchs, said Paulus, who lives in Bridal Coulee in La Crosse just off Hwy. 33. The dozen or so striped caterpillars he saw munching on his milkweed last week stirred his hopes that his efforts had been rewarded. They looked similar to monarch caterpillars he recalled from memory, but he discovered otherwise upon researching the topic. Disappointed that the caterpillars actually would become the milkweed tussock moth aka as the other milkweed caterpillar Paulus nonetheless figured that they provided an opportunity to draw attention to the plight of the monarchs. I enjoy watching wildlife, and I picked up on them, he said. Sedum plants this time of year attract monarch butterflies. Paulus also has his eye on a 40-foot patch of milkweed along Hwy. 33 with hopes that it will become a monarch magnet. Ive been watching that. I persuaded the town of Shelby not to mow that milkweed, said Paulus, who is retired from the marketing department of the former Norplex Corp. in La Crosse. Paulus thus is part of an effort in the United States, Canada and Mexico to bring monarchs back from the brink of extinction. Pesticides and herbicides largely, Round Up that farmers and homeowners have used during the past two decades are the main culprits in the decimation. More than 1 billion monarchs vanished like ghosts in the mist between 1990 and 2015, leaving their numbers hovering around 33 million, according to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. The monarch massacre prompted Fish and Wildlife to launch a partnership with two private conservation groups the National Wildlife Federation and the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation in a massive effort to grow milkweed to save the monarchs. The U.S. is trying to reintroduce milkweed on about 1,160 square miles within five years with a combination of planting and designating pesticide-free areas. Signs of a rebound have appeared, although experts say the threat is far from over. The area that monarch wings cover in mountains west of Mexico City last season was more than 3.5 times bigger than the previous winter, according to population counts. The butterflies clump so thickly in the pine and fir forests that nose counts are impossible, so the tallies are based on how much area the wings cover. In December, the butterflies stretched over 10 acres, compared with 2.8 acres in 2014 and a record low of 1.66 acres in 2013. Still, that is a far cry from the 44 acres they covered 20 years ago. The news is good, but at the same time we shouldnt let our guard down, Omar Vidal, director of the World Wildlife Fund in Mexico, said in February. Now more than ever, Mexico, the United States and Canada should increase their conservation efforts to protect and restore the habitat of this butterfly along its migratory route, Vidal was quoted as saying in an Associated Press report. The Washington, D.C.-based Center for Biological Diversity, which is advocating endangered species status for the monarchs, lamented that the butterflies are still only at 68 percent of their 22-year average. The migration is an inherited trait, and it is unclear how the monarchs find their way back to the same patches of pine forest in Mexico each year. Some scientists suggest that butterflies release chemicals marking the migratory path. If their numbers fall too low, the chemical traces will not be strong enough for others to follow, those scientists contend. Peril looms even south of the boarder, where illegal logging in Mexico, cut huge swaths from monarchs wintering grounds around a designated reserve that UNESCO has declared a World Heritage site. Illegal logging plundered more than 22 acres in 2015, but authorities detected the cutting and arrested several people in an attempt to stem the slashing. The forest canopy acts as a blanket against the cold as the butterflies huddle on branches. The logging took place in a particularly sensitive area of the reserve, monarch expert Lincoln Brower wrote in a research paper. If butterflies cant find shelter there, they may be forced into forested areas with less microclimatic protection, exposing them to potential death in cold and rain, Brower wrote. Alejandro del Mazo, the head of Mexicos protected natural areas, hailed the three countries cooperation and said they expect to achieve their goal of having 220 million butterflies in the reserve by 2020. About 140 million were there this past season, del Mazo said. This is a motivation for us to continue building bridges between our three countries, not walls, Del Mazo said. WINONA, Minn. Five years ago Monday, an angel was plucked from the river. About 2 p.m. Sept. 5, 2011, Winona County Law Enforcement Center dispatch received a call from a family boating about six miles south of Winona near the Pla-Mor Campground. They said they had driven their boat past what appeared to be a canvas bag floating in the water. They turned back and retrieved the bag, opened it and inside found the 7-pound dead body of a newborn baby girl. According to the medical examiner, the little girl was two or three days old at the time of her death, and her body had been in the river for less than a day. From evidence gleaned from the babys body, it is probable the mother did not give birth in a hospital or under medical supervision, most likely without any assistance. No cause of death was determined. Several days later, then-Winona County Sheriff Dave Brand called a news conference to make public additional information relating to the childs death in the hope it would lead to identifying the baby and the person or people responsible for her death. Brand told reporters that the baby was found wrapped in green T-shirt printed with a faced graphic of a slice of bread. The baby was inside two plastic garbage bags inside a cream-colored canvas bag, embroidered in gold with the word Manzanillo a resort town on Mexicos Pacific coast. Also inside the canvas bag were two 9-inch angel figurines, two porcelain bells decorated with angels, and a bracelet with an eye pendant. The figurines inspired investigators to informally christen the child Angel. In the ensuing weeks, Brand and law enforcement investigators followed up on innumerable tips, leads and hunches each one bringing them no closer to identifying the baby and her mother, or explaining how she came to be in the river as Angels body remained in the custody of the medical examiner. In March, 2012, haunted by the case, Brand began making arrangements to give the child a proper burial. On April 7, with the Rev. Lawrence Green officiating, the Sheriffs Honor Guard serving as pallbearers, and more than 150 community members in attendance, Baby Angel was laid to rest in Woodlawn Cemetery. Five years later, Baby Angels death is still an open case, Sheriff Ron Ganrude said. Periodically the department receives a new tip or a fresh lead for investigators to follow up, but so far without success. Still, Ganrude holds out hope that one day, someone will provide the bit of information needed to put closure to the infants death. Somebody out there knows, he said. We want them to tell us. New owners of a manure digesting plant near Waunakee say they have improved the facilitys performance but a major challenge looms. Clean Fuel Partners vice president Jessica Niekrasz said finding new customers for natural gas produced by the digester will be key to its continued operation when Alliant Energy lowers the price it pays for the plants gas-generated electricity four years from now. But things look better than a year ago, when the previous owners faced scores of water and air pollution violations that culminated in a state lawsuit and an $80,000 fine. On Wednesday morning this week, the digester is scheduled to be open to the public as the new proprietors spread the word about their efforts to generate renewable energy and chip away at environmental degradation caused by dairy farms. More than 80 people had signed up for the tour by late last week. Neikrasz, a resident of suburban Chicago, said she is focused on the projected 2020 revenue crunch. An answer could come in the form of more customers for compressed natural gas to fuel cars and trucks, or a new technology that turns methane into a marketable material such as plastic, she said. Another possibility is additional farmers contributing manure to create a more efficient economy of scale, she said. Part of that is seeing how big the pain in Wisconsin becomes in terms of the runoff from the farms all over the state, Niekrasz said. Rain and snow melt carrying farm manure into lakes and streams is the major cause of unnatural weed, algae and bacterial growth that limits swimming, fishing and boating on a growing list of public waters. Agriculture industry manure, along with commercial fertilizer, is also the source of the most widespread health hazards in underground aquifers that supply drinking water to three-quarters of Wisconsin residents. Just three Dane County farmers pipe manure to the digester where harmful nutrient levels are reduced and pathogens killed before it is returned to be spread on fields. A newer multi-farm digester is being operated by another company in the town of Springfield, and some farms operate their own facilities. But the states runoff problems indicate theres potential for more, Niekrasz said. Meanwhile, under state law manure management on small farms is mostly voluntary. Early problems The digester near Waunakee was built in 2010 for $12 million including tax subsidies. Milwaukee-based Clear Horizons operated it, but ran into problems. A judge ordered the previous owner to pay $80,000 last year after the state cited it in spills of 400,000 gallons of manure in three incidents, repeated failure to remove pollutants from treated manure and 90 violations of air emission standards in operations of machinery. Clean Fuel Partners announced in October it was buying the plant. The new owner has replaced the roofs on two of the facilitys three 1.25-million-gallon digesters, large containers where manure and restaurant waste is heated and naturally occurring methane gas is collected. The gas is burned in two engines that generate electricity that is sold to Alliant on a contract that pays 12 cents per kilowatt during peak usage times and 7.3 cents otherwise. The contact expires in 2020, though, and the 2007 incentive program that offered higher-than-market rates to digester operators is over, said Alliant spokesman Chris DuPre. The initial construction subsidies and energy purchase contract are what made operating the plant feasible, said John Haeckel, who was a California investment banker who specialized in debt restructuring before he formed Clean Fuel Partners to purchase the digester. Haeckel, who now lives in Madison, said last month at a talk sponsored by the Clean Lakes Alliance that buying the facility was made possible in part by the pound of flesh we took out of the hide of the seller when we paid them less than what they invested. The purchase was negotiated at about the same time the former owners were settling the lawsuit brought by the state Department of Justice based on a 2014 request by the DNR. Nutrients go to another watershed Clean Fuel Partners has overseen installation of a crucial new piece of equipment that was already being purchased by the former owners. Clear Horizons repeatedly failed to meet its water pollution permit requirement to remove 60 percent of the nutrient phosphorus from the material it processed because of frequent mechanical problems with a centrifuge that separates phosphorus heavy solids from liquids. The new centrifuge has been more reliable and efficient, plant manager Eric Schumann said. After the manure and food waste mixture has yielded methane, it is fed into the centrifuge. The liquid that comes out of the machine is expected to carry no more than 40 percent of its original phosphorus content, under the DNRs water pollution permit. The three farms spread the liquid on fields. The solid byproduct that emerges from the centrifuge with most of the potentially harmful phosphorus is dried and sold as animal bedding to a farm near Waterloo so that it doesnt end up adding to nutrient pollution in the Yahara River or Dane Countys lakes. The Crawfish River flows through Waterloo in Jefferson County. Like the Yahara and the Dane County lakes, the Crawfish drains into the Rock River, which has been the target of efforts to reduce nutrient pollution from farms. Three spills In 2013 and 2014, pipes failed three times allowing manure to spill. In one case, about 300,000 gallons were released, and manure traveled more than a mile over land and through ditches to a tributary of Six Mile Creek, which empties into Lake Mendota. Water samples from the creek showed severe impacts by pollution, DOJ said in the lawsuit, which was filed on Aug. 3, 2015. After the spills, the digester installed flexible pipe fittings designed to prevent ruptures, as well as sensors that close valves and shut down pumps automatically when they detect spilled liquids or changes in pressure in pipes, said Schumann, who also worked for Clear Horizons in a variety of capacities going back to the plants construction. The new owners have workers at the site around the clock except for weekend nights, Schumann said. In 2013, a pipe rupture became the plants largest spill because it happened at night and went unnoticed for hours until the day shift arrived. An alarm system failed to alert an on-call employee, a company spokesman said at the time. The digesters current water permit requires 60 percent removal of phosphorus. Each year the requirement will become stricter until all the phosphorus from the restaurant waste is removed, Schumann said. Sixty percent will remain the standard for the manure portion of the material returned to the three farms to be spread on fields, he said. The air permit has been revised to allow five times the hydrogen sulfide emissions from generators burning biogas as was allowed originally, said Tom Roushar, a DNR air management program supervisor. Clear Horizons initially supplied incorrect information about the machinery that led to an unrealistic permit requirement, and the new limit remains well within state standards, Roushar said. SAUL LOEB/AFP/Getty Images(HANGZHOU, China) -- President Obama addressed his tense, 90-minute-long meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin on the sidelines of the G20 in a press conference on Monday. The two leaders apparently held fast to their positions on hot button issues like cyber-security and brokering a cease-fire in Syria. Russian hackers having been implicated in some current cyber threats and security issues was a key topic. Though Obama didn't identify specific instances, he said "we have had problems with cyber intrusions from Russia in the past" and that the goal is to not to duplicate a "cycle of escalation" that has occurred in arms races of the past. "What we cannot do is have a situation where this becomes the wild, wild West, where countries that have significant cyber capacity start engaging in unhealthy competition or conflict through these means," the president said. He added that nations have enough to worry about in the realm of cyber attacks from non-state actors without nation-states engaging in hacking against one another. Obama also said the two countries "havent yet closed the gaps" that remain to reach a meaningful ceasefire deal for Syria but said that they had a productive conversation. The president said he has instructed Secretary of State John Kerry to continue working with Russian Foreign Minister Lavrov to broker a deal in the coming days. Describing the current situation in Syria as one where the Assad regime is again "bombing with impunity," Obama emphasized the need to reach a compromise quickly and provide needed humanitarian relief for civilians caught in the crossfire of the raging civil war. He also said the two countries should focus on common enemies like ISIS and Al Nusra. Copyright 2016, ABC Radio. All rights reserved. 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wanted or unidentified suspects the Albany Police Department are looking for. If you recognize someone, please do not name th Country United States of America US Virgin Islands United States Minor Outlying Islands Canada Mexico, United Mexican States Bahamas, Commonwealth of the Cuba, Republic of Dominican Republic Haiti, Republic of Jamaica Afghanistan Albania, People's Socialist Republic of Algeria, People's Democratic Republic of American Samoa Andorra, Principality of Angola, Republic of Anguilla Antarctica (the territory South of 60 deg S) Antigua and Barbuda Argentina, Argentine Republic Armenia Aruba Australia, Commonwealth of Austria, Republic of Azerbaijan, Republic of Bahrain, Kingdom of Bangladesh, People's Republic of Barbados Belarus Belgium, Kingdom of Belize Benin, People's Republic of Bermuda Bhutan, Kingdom of Bolivia, Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina Botswana, Republic of Bouvet Island (Bouvetoya) Brazil, Federative Republic of British Indian Ocean Territory (Chagos Archipelago) British Virgin Islands Brunei Darussalam Bulgaria, People's Republic of Burkina Faso Burundi, Republic of Cambodia, Kingdom of Cameroon, United Republic of Cape Verde, Republic of Cayman Islands Central African Republic Chad, Republic of Chile, Republic of China, People's Republic of Christmas Island Cocos (Keeling) Islands Colombia, Republic of Comoros, Union of the Congo, Democratic Republic of Congo, People's Republic of Cook Islands Costa Rica, Republic of Cote D'Ivoire, Ivory Coast, Republic of the Cyprus, Republic of Czech Republic Denmark, Kingdom of Djibouti, Republic of Dominica, Commonwealth of Ecuador, Republic of Egypt, Arab Republic of El Salvador, Republic of Equatorial Guinea, Republic of Eritrea Estonia Ethiopia Faeroe Islands Falkland Islands (Malvinas) Fiji, Republic of the Fiji Islands Finland, Republic of France, French Republic French Guiana French Polynesia French Southern Territories Gabon, Gabonese Republic Gambia, Republic of the Georgia Germany Ghana, Republic of Gibraltar Greece, Hellenic Republic Greenland Grenada Guadaloupe Guam Guatemala, Republic of Guinea, Revolutionary People's Rep'c of Guinea-Bissau, Republic of Guyana, Republic of Heard and McDonald Islands Holy See (Vatican City State) Honduras, Republic of Hong Kong, Special Administrative Region of China Hrvatska (Croatia) Hungary, Hungarian People's Republic Iceland, Republic of India, Republic of Indonesia, Republic of Iran, Islamic Republic of Iraq, Republic of Ireland Israel, State of Italy, Italian Republic Japan Jordan, Hashemite Kingdom of Kazakhstan, Republic of Kenya, Republic of Kiribati, Republic of Korea, Democratic People's Republic of Korea, Republic of Kuwait, State of Kyrgyz Republic Lao People's Democratic Republic Latvia Lebanon, Lebanese Republic Lesotho, Kingdom of Liberia, Republic of Libyan Arab Jamahiriya Liechtenstein, Principality of Lithuania Luxembourg, Grand Duchy of Macao, Special Administrative Region of China Macedonia, the former Yugoslav Republic of Madagascar, Republic of Malawi, Republic of Malaysia Maldives, Republic of Mali, Republic of Malta, Republic of Marshall Islands Martinique Mauritania, Islamic Republic of Mauritius Mayotte Micronesia, Federated States of Moldova, Republic of Monaco, Principality of Mongolia, Mongolian People's Republic Montserrat Morocco, Kingdom of Mozambique, People's Republic of Myanmar Namibia Nauru, Republic of Nepal, Kingdom of Netherlands Antilles Netherlands, Kingdom of the New Caledonia New Zealand Nicaragua, Republic of Niger, Republic of the Nigeria, Federal Republic of Niue, Republic of Norfolk Island Northern Mariana Islands Norway, Kingdom of Oman, Sultanate of Pakistan, Islamic Republic of Palau Palestinian Territory, Occupied Panama, Republic of Papua New Guinea Paraguay, Republic of Peru, Republic of Philippines, Republic of the Pitcairn Island Poland, Polish People's Republic Portugal, Portuguese Republic Puerto Rico Qatar, State of Reunion Romania, Socialist Republic of Russian Federation Rwanda, Rwandese Republic Samoa, Independent State of San Marino, Republic of Sao Tome and Principe, Democratic Republic of Saudi Arabia, Kingdom of Senegal, Republic of Serbia and Montenegro Seychelles, Republic of Sierra Leone, Republic of Singapore, Republic of Slovakia (Slovak Republic) Slovenia Solomon Islands Somalia, Somali Republic South Africa, Republic of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands Spain, Spanish State Sri Lanka, Democratic Socialist Republic of St. Helena St. Kitts and Nevis St. Lucia St. Pierre and Miquelon St. Vincent and the Grenadines Sudan, Democratic Republic of the Suriname, Republic of Svalbard & Jan Mayen Islands Swaziland, Kingdom of Sweden, Kingdom of Switzerland, Swiss Confederation Syrian Arab Republic Taiwan, Province of China Tajikistan Tanzania, United Republic of Thailand, Kingdom of Timor-Leste, Democratic Republic of Togo, Togolese Republic Tokelau (Tokelau Islands) Tonga, Kingdom of Trinidad and Tobago, Republic of Tunisia, Republic of Turkey, Republic of Turkmenistan Turks and Caicos Islands Tuvalu Uganda, Republic of Ukraine United Arab Emirates United Kingdom of Great Britain & N. Ireland Uruguay, Eastern Republic of Uzbekistan Vanuatu Venezuela, Bolivarian Republic of Viet Nam, Socialist Republic of Wallis and Futuna Islands Western Sahara Yemen Zambia, Republic of Zimbabwe An Orange County man is behind bars after threatening a South Florida gay community with a Pulse-like shooting attack. Orange County's Craig Jungwirth is accused of posting Facebook threats against gay community FBI has charged him with transmitting threatening communications Craig Jungwirth, 50, first popped up on law enforcements radar when he made several threats online about how he would hurt the gay community in an area known as Wilton Manors. His threats were all focused on this Labor Day weekend. However the Florida Highway Patrol in Osceola County arrested Jungwirth before his threats came to fruition. Jungwirth was initially arrested for driving with a suspended license. However a Broward County judge issued a warrant for his arrest this weekend for allegedly violating bond conditions in a pending misdemeanor case. Mr. Jungwirth has been arrested, he is currently in our custody, Commander Gary Blocker with the Wilton Manors Police said. The Orange County resident Jungwirth markets himself as a party planner, but recently made threats on Facebook, police said. One of those threats said, If you thought the Pulse Nightclub shooting was bad, wait till you see what Im planning for Labor Day. Immediately we began communicating what we could to our community, we beefed up patrols, we beefed up special operations, Blocker said. Maryann Jungwirth, who lives in the Dr. Phillips section of Orlando, admitted to this station that she is a relative of the man accused of allegedly making threats to the gay community. But she did not give any further information. "I'm not making any comments on this because I don't know what's going on," she said. Now the FBI has taken over the investigation, following a federal complaint which states Craig Jungwirth has been reported to police for stalking and harassing behavior. On Labor Day, the FBI charged Jungwirth with transmitting threatening communications in connection with his alleged online threats to the gay community. Jungwirth is currently in federal custody at a Seminole County jail and is expected to have his initial appearance on Tuesday at the federal courthouse in Orlando. Amidst all the buzz that Daniel Craig will not be playing James Bond any longer comes a surprising report Sony has offered the actor a whopping $150m to feature in two more Bond films. A Hindustan Times report pegs this figure as Rs 996 crore in Indian currency. (Actually 9974700000.00 to be precise.) RadarOnline reports, The studio is desperate to secure the actors services while they phase in a younger long-term successor. Daniels the key for a seamless, safe transition as far as Sony and Bond bosses are concerned, and theyre prepared to pay a kings ransom to make it happen," he further added. The source has also revealed that the production house will soon be renewing their distribution rights. This will bring in a lot more revenue, following which they would bring out two more Bond films, preferrably with Craig who will then pass on the legacy to someone else. Earlier a report by Daily Mail has suggested that the actor rejected a 68m offer from the makers to return in the next Bond film. Craig has already featured in four of the 007 films since 2005, Spectre being the latest in 2015. He is also said to be the highest paid Bond actor. Several other stars are being considered for the role of the 007 agent including Idris Elba, Michael Fassbender and Tom Hiddleston. There has been no confirmation on the news from both the producers and the actor. Los Angeles: Actor Tom Cruise is reportedly looking to recruit actress Margot Robbie for Scientology. The Mission: Impossible Rogue Nation actor wants some famous Australian actors to be the "faces of the religion there", an insider told okmagazine.com. "Tom is working hard to recruit her for Scientology. Tom wants some big names from Down Under to be the faces of the religion there. He has been telling Margot she can help transform the church's image for a new generation," the insider said. But according to another source Cruise is "finally realising what a negative impact that has had on his relationships. The buzz in Cruise's circle is that he is ready to walk". New Delhi: Indicating further consolidation in the Rs 15-lakh crore mutual fund industry, at least four fund houses are said to be in discussions for possible takeover by rival players, including for reasons of cashing out at good valuation. Some smaller ones are also looking to exit the market due to regulatory requirements such as higher net worth and difficult business conditions in a market full of too many small fund houses and only a few large players. The names doing the rounds for possible merger and acquisition (M&A) deals include L&T Mutual Fund, which has built a significant asset base including through acquisitions. Industry sources said L&T Finance, a part of the diversified group Larsen & Toubro, is believed to be mulling over sale of its mutual fund business, which manages assets worth Rs 28,000 crore. Sources said L&T Finance has begun discussions for a possible sale of its Indian mutual fund arm, although the firm officially declined to comment on the same. When contacted, an L&T Finance spokesperson said, "We do not comment on rumors and market speculations." Sources said Peerless MF is also looking at potential M&A opportunities, but officials at the fund house maintained there was no truth in such speculations. L&T had entered in mutual fund space in January 2010 by acquiring DBS Chola Mutual Fund. Later in March 2012, L&T had acquired Fidelity's mutual fund business in India. Total asset base of the Indian mutual fund business crossed Rs 15 lakh crore last month, although the industry is highly scattered with 42 active players with most of them having small businesses. In last few years, mutual fund houses faced a challenging time due to regulatory changes coupled with high redemption pressure from investors mainly on account of weakness in the equity markets. The conditions saw several players exiting the mutual fund space. JP Morgan sold its mutual fund business to Edelweiss Asset Management, Goldman Sachs sold its MF business to Reliance MF and Morgan Stanley offloaded its MF operations to HDFC MF. Besides, ING MF operation was acquired by Birla Sunlife. Kotak MF has bought PineBridge MF and Pramerica MF has taken over Deutsche Bank's mutual fund business. Moreover, experts believe that in the coming months, the industry will see further consolidation as the Securities and Exchange Board of India's deadline for mandatory Rs 50 crore minimum net worth for asset management companies is approaching. The capital market regulator had in February 2014 given three years to asset management companies to meet the minimum net worth norm. The move was aimed at weeding out non-serious players and ensure stability of the financial system. "We will see further consolidation in mutual fund space as many small fund houses are not able to meet the Sebi's net worth threshold," Quantum chief executive Jimmy Patel said. London: Two Indian-origin brothers, who were declared Britain's richest family this year, were said to be close to clinching a whopping 5-billion deal to sell a stake in one of the world's biggest computer hosting networks to a Chinese consortium. Mumbai-born brothers - David and Simon Reuben - are in advanced talks to sell half of their UK-based company Global Switch, which runs data centres in locations ranging from London to Hong Kong and Singapore, according to The Sunday Times. Global Switch's two centres in Canary Wharf, east London, are together the biggest in Europe. They manage servers for a range of Wall Street banks and Sprint, the US wireless internet provider. The Chinese consortium is led by Daily Tech, a data centre giant run by its founder Li Qiang. Daily Tech, which hosts server space for the likes of Alibaba, is leading a dozen other Asian investors, including Avic Trust, a private financial subsidiary of the state-owned Aviation Industry Corporation of China. Data centres form the backbone of the internet and the banking system. They are hi-tech, high-security warehouses that host servers on behalf of financial institutions, governments and telecoms providers. They are equipped with sophisticated cooling, power and security systems to prevent blackouts or data breaches. Under the terms being discussed, the newspaper reports that the Chinese could take a 50 per cent stake in Global Switch in the next few weeks, with the possibility of buying the other 50 per cent from the Reubens' Aldersgate Investments at a later date. The potential deal is understood to value Global Switch, which has 10 data centres, at about 5.2 billion, including debt. The new shareholders will help fund an expansion in Asia, and the existing management will stay in place. Their talks have raised some security concerns over the sale of the data centres headquartered in the UK to the Chinese, leading to calls for UK security services to vet the deal. Labour peer Admiral Lord West, a former security minister, said the prospect of the deal alarmed him. "I have a nervousness about the Chinese getting more and more involved in large chunks of our digital infrastructure," he said. A spokesperson for Global Switch said the new Chinese investors will have no role in its management or day-to-day running and will have no access to any customers' data. The Reubens were born in India to a wealthy Iraqi-Jewish family before moving to Britain in the 1950s and made their fortune in metals and property. They had topped The Sunday Times 2016 Rich List with a fortune of 13.1 billion. New Delhi: The Special Investigation Team (SIT) on black money has asked Reserve Bank to develop an institutional mechanism to share data with enforcement agencies to track illicit fund flows out of the country. The SIT headed by Justice M B Shah (retd), in an August 11 letter to the RBI governor, impressed upon need to establish an institutional mechanism for sharing of data and stressed on effective sharing of information between various government departments. "Chairman SIT has asked RBI for an institutional mechanism for sharing of data in its various databases with the enforcement authorities," a Finance Ministry tweet said today. It has asked banking regulator RBI to develop an institutional mechanism to track illicit financial flows out of the country. The Supreme Court appointed SIT was set up to suggest methods to curb black money in the economy. The SIT feels that the data can be shared only by having one agency such as Central Economic Intelligence Bureau (CEIB) or any other agency, as a data warehouse. "From the said data warehouse, various agencies can gather the relevant information for taking early appropriate action," the SIT said. It said since the data would be available with one agency, it can be relevant to action expected to be taken by other law enforcement agencies. At present, RBI holds the information with respect to all types of foreign exchange transactions under various categories. "SIT feels that for controlling and tracking illicit financial flows out of the country, use of RBI data by various law enforcement agencies, like Enforcement Directorate, Directorate of Revenue Intelligence and CBDT is of critical importance," the Finance Ministry further added in a statement today. The SIT in its letter has suggested that RBI gives access to data relating to foreign exchange transactions of all authorised dealers with authorities like enforcement directorate and Directorate of Revenue Intelligence. Foreign Exchange Transactions Electronic Reporting System (FET-ERS), which holds the said data should capture the PAN number of the importer or exporter and that RBI should take necessary steps to get this done on an "urgent basis". As regards Exports Outstanding data, the SIT said huge amounts were found outstanding beyond a period of one year in violation of FEMA. The SIT had noted that the possibility of the concerned companies having wrongly claimed duty drawback also cannot be ruled out. Further, the possibility of the concerned Companies having availed of various export promotion schemes also cannot be ruled out. "In light of this, the SIT has asked the Enforcement Directorate, Directorate of Revenue Intelligence and Ministry of Commerce to analyse the data of export outstanding and take necessary action in this regard," the statement said. RBI maintains export realisation data in its EDPMS database. The SIT in his letter has also observed that it is important to corelate shipping bills with confirmation from banks on the EDPMS database itself rather than Bank Realisation Certificate (BRC) which is different database and that RBI may impress upon the banks to inform regarding realisation of export proceeds on the EDPMS itself. With regard to 'monitoring of Advance Remittances against Imports', the SIT in wake of the Bank of Baroda scam, the SIT had asked RBI to institutionalise a mechanism for cross checking of advance remittances against Bill of Entry irrespective of value of advance remittances sent. RBI had informed the SIT that huge advance remittances running into billions of dollars were outstanding as on September 30, 2015, for which Bill of Entry correlation has not been done. "SIT had thereafter asked RBI to get this corelation completed and inform," the statement said, adding SIT has asked RBI to complete this exercise at the earliest. SIT in his letter expressed satisfaction that IDPMS (Import Data Processing and Monitoring System) is being set up by RBI which is expected to be launched by the end of September, which will enable cross checking of each advance remittance irrespective of value against the Bill of Entry. "Chairman, SIT in his letter requested RBI to develop, in consultation with Department of Revenue, an institutional online mechanism for sharing of data of all the above three databases being managed by RBI i.e. FET-ERS, IDPMS and EDPMS," the statement said. It has also asked the Revenue Department to identify a single point agency in the department which could access the above three databases and could thereafter disseminate them to various Enforcement Agencies. In its letter the SIT has impressed upon the imperative need to establish the institutional mechanism for sharing of data with the RBI in its various data bases with the enforcement authorities so that the data could be cross checked with information available with other enforcement authorities and illicit financial flows could be curbed. The SIT in the past had raised this concern and had requested RBI to provide data on advance remittances sent abroad for which corresponding Bill of Entry has not been received by the authorised dealer. It had also requested RBI to provide details of export outstanding for more than one year. "The data provided by RBI on both the above counts clearly showed that there are gaps in monitoring the above trade flows which are used by unscrupulous elements to take out precious capital outside the country, thus damaging the fabric of Indian economy," the Finance Ministry said. New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Monday directed the Karnataka government to release 15,000 cusec of Cauvery river water to Tamil Nadu for the next 10 days to meet the demand of the summer crop in the state. The bench of Justice Dipak Misra and Justice Uday Umesh Lalit, asked the Supervisory Committee to look into Tamil Nadu's plea over the deficiency in the supply of 60 tmcft of water from June to August. It gave Tamil Nadu three days time to approach the Supervisory Committee with its grievance. The court gave three days time to Karnataka to respond to the plea by Tamil Nadu. The bench asked the Supervisory Committee to examine the matter in four days and pass appropriate directions. The court directed listing of the matter for further hearing on 16 September. Chennai: Expressing their happiness at the Supreme Court's order to Karnataka to release 15,000 cusecs of Cauvery river water to Tamil Nadu every day for next 10 days, farmers in the latter state hope this will be an interim order and the final order will give sufficient water for their crops, said a leader of farmer's association. "We are happy at the Supreme Court's order. The total water release ordered for 10 days amounts to around 12 thousand million cubic (TMC) of water. Only when 25 TMC water is released there will be storage at Mettur Dam for release," S Ranganathan, General Secretary, Tamil Nadu Cauvery Delta Farmers' Welfare Association, told IANS. He said it is possible for Karnataka to release 25 TMC of water so that it can cater to the need of crops till October. "Before the close of September, we have to raise the crop," Ranganathan added. He hoped the Tamil Nadu government would press strongly for more as the interim release will not be helpful. "In order to have smooth release of water there should be Cauvery Management Board (CMB) but it may take time. Till CMB is set up there can be a committee headed by a judge with members from Tamil Nadu and Karnataka. This is to address the issue and take decisions based on the availability of water," Ranganathan added. New Delhi: Congress leaders in Delhi onMonday observed a maun vrat (silent protest) at Rajghat to protest against AAP leader Ashutosh's remarks on Mahatma Gandhi and other leaders including Jawaharlal Nehru and Atal Bihari Vajpayee. "It is the same Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) which took birth at the feet of Mahatma Gandhi at his samadhi at Rajghat, and now its leader Ashutosh is insulting him with his disparaging remarks in his blog," Ajay Maken, who led the Congress protest, said. The Delhi Congress chief said the blog also cast aspersions on former prime ministers Nehru and Vajpayee and this "silent protest" is to pray for "wisdom" to AAP leaders, including Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and Ashutosh. AAP and its leaders have brought the level of politics to an "unbelievably low level", he alleged, adding that the big difference between the "words and deeds" of the party and its leaders has become apparent now. "The political discourse by AAP has hit such an abysmal level that it cannot be even visualised how this party, which swore by Mahatma Gandhi, could sink to such a low level," Maken said. Ashutosh has come under sharp attack from Opposition parties as well as some AAP leaders, who have criticised his blog in support of expelled party MLA Sandeep Kumar, arrested on rape charge, drawing parallels with Gandhi, Nehru and Vajpayee. Srinagar: Justifying the refusal of separatist leaders to hold talks with the all-party delegation of MPs, hardline Hurriyat Conference on Monday said they were not invited officially as New Delhi is "scared" of any meaningful dialogue with them and Pakistan to address the issue. "They never officially invited us (separatists) and at the same time (they) blame us for rejecting it. It is not only shameful but speaks volumes about their truthfulness, sincerity and clarity... India is scared of any meaningful dialogue with Hurriyat and Pakistan," hardline Hurriyat said in a statement. Reacting to the statement of Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh that separatists did not believe in humanity, democracy or even Kashmiriyat, the amalgam said, "as always, this press conference (of Singh) is full of lies, deceit, denial and contradictions". The statement said, "We don't need lectures and sermons on democracy and humanity...They tried to play a game of 'win only' for them as they just wanted to discredit us as whether we accept their offer of dialogue which never came or we ignore their casual personal gestures." It said, "The sole intention of the delegation was to act as firefighting just to derail and fizzle the current movement out through these age old tactics, as they have been doing whenever Kashmiris stood up for their basic rights." The National Green Tribunal (NGT) has asked the counsel for the environment ministry to submit a status report on the implementation of its stop work order at the Polavaram project, reported The Orissadiary. Earlier in August, a bench headed by NGT Chairperson Justice Swatanter Kumar had asked for the report by the next date of hearing on 5 September. However, The Orissadiary reported on Monday that the NGT has asked the Centre to report within two weeks on public hearing and status of the project. The next hearing is on 19 October. The ministry had issued stop work order in 2011 due to non-compliance of the condition for environment clearance, that is by conducting a public hearing in Chattisgarh and Odisha. The tribunal had previously also ordered a joint inspection of the Polavaram dam construction site by the Andhra Pradesh government, state pollution control board and Polavaram Project Authority following a complaint about dumping of mud in the West Godavari district. Polavaram project is a multi-purpose interstate irrigation project on river Godavari which has been accorded national project status by the central government, according to Orissadiary. The Andha Pradesh government claims it to be lifeline of the state and it has been declared as a national project under the AP Reorganisation Act, 2014, according to The Business Standard. According to the Ministry of Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation, Polavaram project spillway shall be designed for a flood discharge capacity of 36 Lakh cusecs at the pond level of 140 feet and not less than 20 lakh cusecs at pond level of 130 feet. The project aims for the development of irrigation, hydropower and drinking water facilities to East Godavari, Vishakhapatnam, West Godavari and Krishna districts of Andhra Pradesh. The need to undertake such an ambitious project arose after a dam break analysis was conducted by the National Institute of Hydrology (NIH) from Polavaram to Rajahmundry and by other scientists from Rajahmundry to the sea, according to India Water Portal. The report indicated that when a peak flood of 50 lakh cusecs occurs in the river and the dam breaks, Rajahmundry area would be under 40 feet of water. This would lead to the death of 46.15 lakh people (2001 census) in the Godavari Delta. Andhra Pradesh irrigation minister D Umamaheswara Rao said that the Polavaram project is expected to be completed by 2018. He also assured that all works on the right bank canal of the project will be finished by June 2017, according to a PTI report. According to Down To Earth, the environmental impact assessment (EIA) of the project says 276 villages will be affected. It also reported that according to the documents relating to the Polavaram project, 291,000 hectares (ha) of new land will be brought under irrigation129,000 ha by right canal and 162,000 ha by the left canal. But the Government of Indias official data shows 71 percent of the right canal command areas are already under irrigation since 1999. The report also cites the findings of the International Water Management Institute based in Sri Lanka. While studying the Krishna-Godavari river link, it found that 95 percent of the areas to be irrigated by the Polavaram dam through the right canal were already irrigated. The remaining five percent was not cultivated. With inputs from PTI. Srinagar: Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh on Monday hit out at Kashmiri separatist leaders who refused to talk to some MPs from an all-party team, saying their conduct defied the spirit of "Kashmiriyat". The Home Minister, however, made it clear that MPs Sharad Yadav, Sitaram Yechury, D. Raja, Jay Prakash Narayan and Assaduddin Owaisi went to meet the separatist leaders in their individual capacity and not as part of the all-party delegation that was on a two-day trip to Jammu and Kashmir. "Some members of the delegation went to meet Hurriyat leaders. We had neither said 'no' nor 'yes' to their meetings. You know what happened. They had gone there in their individual capacity," he told reporters here before flying to Jammu. He was referring to the attempt by the national opposition leaders from the delegation to hold talks with top Kashmiri separatists on Sunday. While other separatist leaders did meet them briefly but refused to hold talks, hardliner Syed Ali Shah Geelani shut his door on the MPs even as they kept waiting outside his upscale Hyderpora residence for about 10 minutes. This, Rajnath Singh said, "was certainly neither 'Kashmiriyat' nor 'insaniyat' (humane). "If you do not want to talk is a different thing. But what they did proves they have no faith in democracy." The all-party delegation arrived here on Sunday, nearly two months after a bloody unrest erupted in the aftermath of the July 8 killing of Hizbul Mujahideen commander Burhan Wani. At least 74 persons have been killed and over 12,000 injured in the weeks of the turmoil, the deadliest Kashmir has seen in six years. As the delegation left for Jammu, the Kashmir Valley continued to be tense amid curfew in some parts, shutdown and recurring anti-government and pro-freedom protests. Rajnath Singh said the government had left its options open for talks with anyone within the ambit of "Kashmiriyat, jamhooriyat and insaniyat". But he made it clear that there were no two ways about the fact "that Jammu and Kashmir was, is and will remain an integral part of India". Visibly disappointed, the minister hinted that any chance of talks with the separatists in the near future was impossible. He also dismissed any possibility of an India-Pakistan dialogue over Kashmir, rejecting a key demand of separatist leaders. "Everybody in Kashmir wants peace and normalcy to return. I am hopeful that the situation in Jammu and Kashmir will improve," he said after meeting some "300 people including students, teachers, traders" during the delegation's nearly 30-hour stay in the valley. Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti's government and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) also retained hopes for peace and a dialogue process to engage all stakeholders, including separatist leaders. "Dialogue and engagement is a continuous process. It can't be expected to happen (by rubbing) a magic lamp," senior PDP leader and Education Minister Naeem Akhtar told reporters. Yechury, who faced a snub from Geelani on Sunday, said he had not given up on the mission to bring peace in Kashmir. "Please understand it was not a snub. We understand the ground reality and realize that there is a need for state and central governments to take the political dialogue forward with all stakeholders, including separatists, for peace in Kashmir. "The killings in Kashmir have pained me. We want the government to resolve this issue. There will be no solution without a political dialogue. You have to start a political dialogue, an unconditional political with all," Yechury told the media here. New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Monday said that it will hear the plea of the Delhi government challenging the Delhi High Court's decision on the power and position of Lt Governor Najeeb Jung on 9 September. The Kejriwal government had challenged the Delhi High Court verdict that Lt Governor was the administrative head and had the final word in the governance of the national capital of Delhi. The bench of Chief Justice TS Thakur and Justice DY Chandrachud set the date for hearing the plea that the Lt Governor was obliged to act on the aid and advice of the council of ministers after senior counsel Gopal Subramaniam mentioned the matter for an early hearing on Monday. The Kejriwal government had moved six petitions between 31 August and 2 September challenging the Delhi High Court's verdict. New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Monday granted four weeks time to the Centre to file its reply on a batch of petitions on triple talaq and the plight of Muslim women. A bench comprising Chief Justice T S Thakur and Justice D Y Chandrachud gave time after Additional Solicitor General Tushar Mehta sought more time to respond. On 2 September, All India Muslim Personal Law Board (AIMPLB) told the Supreme Court that personal laws of community cannot be "re-written" in the name of social reforms and opposed pleas on issues including alleged gender discrimination faced by Muslim women in divorce cases. The AIMPLB, in its counter affidavit filed in the apex court, had said the contentious issue relating to Muslim practices of polygamy, triple talaq (talaq-e-bidat) and nikah halala are matters of "legislative policy" and cannot be interfered with. The board also said that practices provided by Muslim Personal Law on the issues of marriage, divorce and maintenance were based on holy scripture Al-Quran and "courts cannot supplant its own interpretations over the text of scriptures". Regarding polygamy, the board's affidavit said though Islam permitted it, but it does not encourage the same and referred to various reports, including World Development Report 1991, which had said that polygamy percentage in tribals, Buddhists and Hindus were 15.25, 7.97 and 5.80 per cent respectively as compared to 5.73 per cent in Muslims. The apex court had taken suo motu cognizance of the question whether Muslim women faced gender discrimination in cases of divorce or due to other marriages of their husbands and a bench headed by Chief Justice of India T S Thakur is examining the issue. Subsequently, various other petitions including one by triple talaq victim Shayara Bano were filed challenging the age-old practice of 'triple talaq' among the Muslim community. AIMPLB and Jamiat-e-Ulema had defended triple talaq and said it was part of Quran-dictated personal law which was beyond the ambit of judicial scrutiny. The board had said though it was the "least appreciated" form of terminating a marriage, yet it was "very much effective" and in line with the Shariat law. It further said that since part III of the Constitution does not touch upon personal laws of the parties, the apex court cannot examine the question of constitutional validity of practices of marriage, divorce and maintenance in Muslim personal law. The board also said all the sources of Muslim personal law have been approved and endorsed by Holy Quran. Srinagar: A day after Hurriyat leaders snubbed members of the all-party delegation who reached out to them, Home Minister Rajnath Singh said on Monday that the behaviour of the separatists shows they do not believe in 'Kashmiriyat', 'Insaniyat' and 'Jamhooriyat'. Addressing a press conference on the second day of the delegation's visit, Singh said he was confident that peace will be restored in the state and the members had interacted with 30 delegations representing various sections of the society. "As far as talks are concerned, our doors to everyone who wants peace and normalcy. Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti also wrote letters. "I want to clarify that some members of the delegation had gone to meet Hurriyat leaders yesterday. Neither had we said yes nor no. Whatever happened you know about it. I do not wish to go into the details. "But whatever information those friends gave us upon their return, it can be said it was not 'Kashmiriyat'. It cannot be called as Insaniyat (humanity). When someone goes for talks and they reject it, it is not jamhooriyat (democracy) as well. We are ready to talk to everyone who wants peace and normalcy," he said. Singh said Jammu and Kashmir "was, is and will always be integral part of India". The Minister said during his last visit concerns were raised about the use of pellet guns for which non-lethal replacement shells PAVA have been recommended. "The shells will not take lives. About 1000 shells have arrived here," he said. The Minister, who is leading an all-party delegation on a two-day visit to assuage the volatile situation in the Valley, said the entire country and Parliament are pained by the situation in Kashmir. On a question whether India plans to talk to Pakistan on Kashmir, Singh said, "First let us talk to Indians." When asked whether the Centre is willing to go the extra mile on the demands of autonomy raised by PDP and National Conference from time to time, he said, "We are not concerned with whatever one had said in the past. We have taken everyone's view and cooperation to improve the situation in Kashmir in the delegation-level talks." To a query on track-2 channel talks, Singh said he did not wish to enter the debate of "track one, track-two or track-three." The Minister said to address concerns of Kashmiri youths living in different parts of the country the Ministry has appointed Dr Sanjay Rai as nodal officer who can be approached on phone number 011-23092923, 23092885. Singh said Parliament, which is supreme "panchayat" of the country, is very serious about the situation in Kashmir and hence decided to send a delegation of its members for talks. He said 26 Members of Parliament belonging to 20 parties have come here for talks as part of the delegation. More than 30 delegations comprising 300 members from political parties, civil society, University teachers, fruit growers, students and intellectuals have presented their view before the delegation, he said. "Everyone wants that the situation must improve. The delegation spoke to these people, the Governor and the Chief Minister of State and also officials of the state government. I am fully confident that the situation will improve which people also want," he said. He said the Centre is giving full support to the state government which is also trying to bring improvement in the situation. The Raman Singh government has dismissed the PDS (public distribution system) scam as a figment of the imagination of the Congress. Although 15 persons have been in jail for more than 18 months in connection with the scam touted to be the biggest ever PDS scam in the country the government filed an affidavit rubbishing the charges as politically-motivated to denigrate its much-awarded PDS system. The alleged scam came to light in 2014 when the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) conducted raids across the state and seized cash and documents showing coded diary entries of massive pay-offs to officials and politicians. The Opposition Congress has put the scam figure at a whopping Rs 36,000 crore and has alluded that Singh transferred scam money to Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) headquarters in Delhi and the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) in Nagpur. In an affidavit filed in the Chhattisgarh High Court on 30 August, the Raman Singh government trashed the charges thus: "...it is wrong to disparage the state government's policy of distribution of subsidised food grains... based on conjectures, surmises, politically motivated allegations and extrapolations, and to calculate an imaginary loss to the public exchequer due to an alleged PDS 'scam'. This has been deliberately done by the petitioner to denigrate the state government, its agencies and functionaries, and to mislead the honourable High Court into believing that there is indeed a PDS 'scam' as alleged." Article continues after the following documents: When everything looked good last year the governments own ACB in February 2015 raided 28 places of the state food department (Nagrik Apurti Nigam) including offices and residences, and recovered Rs 3.4 crore. The ACB claimed that it had unearthed scam worth thousands of crores as per newspaper reports that quoted ACB officials. Following the link, the main Opposition party positioned the scam as worth more than Rs 30,000 crore. Media hype was at its peak. The CBI filed its charge sheet against employees and officials of the food department. Fifteen people were put behind bars. The entire case was based on the procurement of poor quality food by the department, causing huge losses to the state exchequer and distribution of poor quality food to people in the state. Interestingly, the government filed its reply in the Chhattisgarh High Court on a PIL on 30 August this year the entire scenario looked different. In the reply, the government said that its PDS has been the best model in the country for 12 years, since the BJP came to power. There is no such scam. It is the imagination of Opposition parties. There is no question of distribution of poor quality of food grains, the government reply said. Now the question arises that if there is no case, how did the ACB recover Rs 3.4 crore from food department officials. Legal experts say that a separate case has been filed under section 13(1) E of PC ACT in a special court of respective districts from where the accused hail and the case under 13 (1) D is not maintainable against them. The BJP sailed into power for the third time on the basis of the food supply system and the chief minister was hailed as Chaur Baba (Rice Man). So who is playing foul and putting the BJP government in a soup? Why did the government never come out strongly against the allegations of poor procurement of rice which derailed the entire PDS in the state? Political pundits said that the BJP government was never on a front foot during the entire episode and the blame game was mostly played at the expense of the employees. However, the BJP leadership in the state tried to reason the issue, but until the reply was filed in court, no concrete steps were taken. In earlier instances when the Congress tried to corner the BJP government and seek the resignation of the chief minister, the government was mild. It was only in the Assembly on the topic of no confidence Singh replied that the no-confidence motion was a bag full of lies and has no merit. He added that the motion reflected Congress frustration at facing defeats across the country. Claiming that Congress has been the mother of all scams in the country, Singh said that to further his policy of zero tolerance for corruption, he has taken steps to ensure transparency, restrict officers discretionary powers and strengthen the police agency working against corruption. Pointing out that his government had introduced food security in the state, he claimed that his policies have curbed migration and ended starvation deaths. Meanwhile the Leader of Opposition TS Singhdeo said that the government has failed on all fronts and has lost the confidence of the people. A day after an all-party delegation led by Home Minister Rajnath Singh held talks with Jammu and Kashmir chief minister Mehbooba Mufti in Srinagar, the Union minister briefed the media. "The country's largest panchayat is the Parliament. And these are the representatives of that panchayat," Singh began the media interaction recapping the fact that an all-party delegation had arrived in Srinagar on Sunday. He noted that the delegation had held meetings with a variety of students, intellectuals, state officials and other members of society. "Everybody wants the situation in Kashmir to improve," he said, adding, "There is no doubt that Jammu and Kashmir is, has and will be an integral part of India. The home minister alluded to the fact that members of the delegation had sought meetings with members of the Hurriyat Conference, without much success, and dubbed the behaviour of the separatists as not being consistent with Kashmiriyat, insaaniyat or jamhooriyat. Interestingly, he neither confirmed nor denied whether the Opposition leaders who had gone to speak to the Hurriyat had been given permission to do so. "We are willing to speak with anyone who wants piece in Kashmir and the Centre and state are working to alleviate the situation here." "When I had come here on 24 and 25 July," continued Singh, "People complained to me about the pellet guns. I had then said that I was instituting a committee to decide on an alternative in two months. It's not even been two months and the suggestion of non-lethal PAVA shells has emerged. I believe those won't cause any deaths or injure to people." "Discussions with delegations overall have been positive, and I appeal to the press to bear in mind that the goings-on in Kashmir are a concern to us all, and we need to support of everyone to overcome them," he signed off. In answer to questions from the media regarding the efforts of delegation members to meet the Hurriyat, Singh said, "I had maintained from the start that we were willing to speak to everyone." When asked about whether the home minister would speak to Pakistan about the issue, Singh said, "Let's first speak to those in the country." The 26-member all-party delegation was expected to interact with a cross-section of people with a view to restore peace in the strife-hit Valley, but was notably snubbed by members of the separatist Hurriyat Conference. Initially, the delegation was proposed to comprise 29 MPs, but only 26 of them made the visit. With inputs from PTI Srinagar: CPI-M General Secretary Sitaram Yechury on Monday urged the government to start an "unconditional dialogue" with all stakeholders, including separatists, for peace in Kashmir that is battling nearly two months of the deadliest unrest in years. "The state and central governments have to take the political dialogue forward now. There will be no solution without a political dialogue. You have to start a political dialogue, an unconditional political with all stakeholders," Yechury told the media in Srinagar. Yechury spoke a day after some leaders from the all-party delegation of MPs, who had gone to meet separatist leaders, were snubbed. Separatists refused to talk to the MPs who had gone in their individual capacity and not as a part of the delegation from Delhi. The CPI-M leader, who was one of the MPs to try to meet Hurriyat leaders, said it was not a snub. "They met us. Only one (Syed Ali Shah Geelani) didn't. However, they refused to speak on the Kashmir issue," Yechury said. The team from Delhi met some 200 people of 30 delegations, including mainstream regional political parties, on the first day of its Kashmir visit. The situation in the Valley continues to be tense amid recurring street protests, triggered by the 8 July killing of Hizbul Mujahideen commander Burhan Wani. At least 74 people have been killed and nearly 12,000 injured in the weeks of the unrest, the deadliest since 2010 when some 120 people died in firing by police and paramilitary troopers. Agartala: Veteran tribal leader and former Tripura Pradesh Congress Committee chief Diba Chandra Hrangkhawl, who along with six Congress lawmakers joined the Trinamool Congress in April, was chosen as leader of the TMC legislature party in the state, TMC all India Vice-President Mukul Roy said in Agartala on Monday. Six MLAs, led by former opposition Leader Sudip Roy Barman, resigned from the Congress on 7 April and joined the TMC on 7 June in protest against the Congress' alliance with Left parties ahead of the West Bengal assembly elections. "Diba Chandra Hrangkhawl has been choosen as leader of the TMC's legislature party in Tripura. TMC's Tripura unit chairman Ratan Chakraborty would communicate this decision to the state assembly speaker soon," Roy told the media. The six legislators after three-month long parleys were recognised as TMC MLAs by the Tripura Assembly Speaker Ramendra Chandra Debnath on 29 August. The Speaker, citing rules and Supreme Court verdict, refused to give opposition party status to the TMC in the state assembly "TMC would get the opposition party status soon and the party would seek the position by referring to rules and the court verdict," the TMC parliamentarian said. Trinamool leader Sudip Roy Barman said the six MLAs comprise the second largest legislature group of the party in India after West Bengal, where the party has been ruling since 2011. Roy, who came to Agartala on Sunday and addressed a gathering in southern Tripura's Udaipur, told the reporters that a large number of CPI-M (Communist Party of India-Marxist) and Congress members and leaders are keen to join the TMC. "The political situation in Tripura is same as it was in 2008 in West Bengal. Like Bengal, the ruling CPI-M is rapidly losing its supports from the people. The TMC would come to power in Tripura in the 2018 assembly elections," he added. Before leaving for Kolkata, Roy said that party supremo Mamata Banerjee would soon constitute a full fledged state committee of the TMC to spearhead the party in the Left-ruled Tripura. The TMC would organise a rally in Agartala on 23 September as a mark of completion of one month of August 23 violent clashes here in which 24 persons, including five policemen, were injured and 17 private vehicles damaged. The 23 August trouble occurred after activists of a tribal party Indigenous People's Front of Tripura (IPFT) took out a rally here demanding a separate state. Dhaka: Bangladesh on Sunday summoned Pakistan's acting high commissioner to protest its interference in its affairs after Islamabad said it was "deeply saddened" by the execution of a top Islamist party figure for atrocities committed during the war to leave Pakistan. Mir Quasem Ali, 63, a key financier of the Jamaat-e-Islami party, was executed on Saturday at Kashimpur Central Jail on the outskirts of the capital, for murder, confinement, torture and incitement to religious hatred during the war. Pakistan's foreign ministry said it was "deeply saddened" by Ali's execution, describing the proceedings of the war tribunal as "flawed". Since December 2013 five prominent Jamaat members, including Ali, and a leader of the main opposition party, have been executed for war crimes. Relations between the two countries have never recovered from the 1971 war when Bangladeshi nationalists, backed by India, broke away from what was then West Pakistan. Official figures show about 3 million people were killed and thousands of women were raped during the war, in which some factions, including the Jamaat-e-Islami, opposed the breakaway. The party denies that its leaders committed any atrocities. "By repeatedly taking the side of those Bangladesh nationals who are convicted of crimes against humanity and genocide, Pakistan has once again acknowledged its direct involvement and complicity with the mass atrocity crimes committed during Bangladeshs Liberation War in 1971," Bangladesh said in a statement. "The Government of Bangladesh strongly rejects Pakistans claim that these are recriminations for political gains." Critics say Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has used the war crimes tribunal, set up in 2010, to target Jamaat and weaken the opposition. The government denies the accusations. International human rights groups say the tribunal's procedures fall short of international standards but Bangladesh rejects that and the trials are supported by many Bangladeshis. In January, a Bangladeshi diplomat in Pakistan was expelled in what Dhaka officials called "an act of retaliation" after a Pakistani diplomat in Dhaka was expelled for spying. Hangzhou: The United States and Russia struggled Monday to keep alive negotiations to end the bloodshed between US-backed rebels and Syria's Russian-aligned regime. Even as top diplomats vowed to keep trying, President Barack Obama expressed skepticism that an unlikely alliance between rivals would yield the breakthrough needed to end the 5-year-old civil war. Still, as Obama and Russian President Vladimir Putin attended an economic summit, the leaders were under pressure to push the negotiations beyond the sticking points that have thus far prevented a deal. White House spokesman Ned Price said Obama and Putin were huddling on the sidelines of the Group of 20 economic summit, with details of their informal meeting expected to be released later Monday. A second day of talks in China between Secretary of State John Kerry and his Russian counterpart, Sergey Lavrov, ended Monday without a deal to announce. The two diplomats met for an hour but emerged still at odds on certain issues, said a senior State Department official, who wasn't authorized to discuss the talks by name and requested anonymity. The talks culminated a several weeks of searching for a cease-fire between Syrian President Bashar Assad's government and moderate rebels that would expand access for hundreds of thousands of civilians caught in the crossfire. The strategy has hinged on an unlikely US-Russian militarily partnership against extremist groups operating in Syria. But beyond the Islamic State group and al-Qaida, the two powers have conflicting views about who fits in that category as well as a deep and mutual distrust that the other party will hold up its end of the bargain. "We're not there yet," Obama told reporters Sunday. "It's premature for us to say that there is a clear path forward, but there is the possibility at least for us to make some progress on that front." Obama's wariness was less apparent among his State Department negotiators, who had been so hopeful a deal could come together while world leaders gathered in China that they scheduled a press conference and announced plans to brief reporters on the pact. Those plans deflated throughout the day, as both the briefing and the press conference were canceled. After an aide scrambled to remove the podium once intended for his bargaining partner, Kerry eventually announced there was no deal - standing alone. "I've said all along we're not going to rush," said Kerry, who has negotiated several failed truces with Russia in recent months. Kerry said the two sides had worked through many technical issues but said the US didn't want to enter into an illegitimate agreement. In recent days, the State Department has said it only wants a nationwide cease-fire between Assad's military and the rebels, and not another "cessation of hostilities" that is time-limited and only stops fighting in some cities and regions. The talks faltered Sunday when Russia pulled back from agreement on issues the US negotiators believed had been settled, the State Department official said. As the diplomats were negotiating, Syrian pro-government forces backed by airstrikes launched an offensive in the northern city of Aleppo, capturing areas they lost last month and besieging rebel-held neighborhoods. It was a major blow to insurgent groups that was likely to raise fresh concerns about Russian support for the Syrian military's attacks on Assad's opponents. The Syria conflict has killed as many as a half-million people since 2011 and caused millions of Syrians to flee their homes, contributing to a global migration crisis. Amid the chaos, IS has emerged as a global terror threat. Kerry and Lavrov's talks represent their third significant attempt since July to finalize a new US-Russian military partnership that Moscow has long sought. The package would include provisions so aid can reach besieged areas of Syria and measures to prevent Assad's government from bombing areas where US-backed rebels are operating. U.S. officials have said that as part of a deal, Russia would have to halt offensives by Assad's government, something it has failed to do over months of diplomatic efforts. And the US must get rebels to break ranks with the al-Qaida-linked Nusra Front, a task that grew tougher after its fighters last month successfully broke the siege of Aleppo, Syria's largest city and the site of fierce recent fighting. Negotiators on both sides have spent weeks poring over maps of potential areas where opposition groups operate and where Assad's forces would be prohibited from launching airstrikes. The idea is for Russia to use its significant influence over Assad to ensure compliance with the deal. But the US has long been skeptical of the military coordination part of the deal, because it says Russia has mainly targeted moderate, US-backed opposition groups in a bid to prop up Assad. The US wants Russia to focus exclusively on IS and al-Qaida-linked groups. Both Defense Secretary Ash Carter and National Intelligence Director James Clapper have expressed misgivings about sharing intelligence and targeting information with Moscow. Neither side explained Sunday in detail what sticking points remain. Kerry said the US wanted a deal with the best chance for survival. Lavrov's deputy, Sergei Ryabkov, said a deal was "close" but that Washington had to dissociate itself from Nusra. "Many of the groups considered acceptable by the US have actually affiliated with the Nusra Front, while the Nusra Front is using them to avoid being attacked," Ryabkov told Russian media, citing a longstanding complaint of his government. Hangzhou: Chinese President Xi Jinping offered Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe an olive branch at their first meeting in over a year on Monday, Beijing's official news agency Xinhua reported. The Asian giants have been at loggerheads over territorial disputes and historical animosity, but Xi said they should "put aside disruptions" in their relationship and return to normal development, Xinhua said. For his part Abe said that Tokyo wanted to "manage difficult issues" and promote win-win cooperation, Japan's Kyodo news agency reported. The relationship between the two powers -- the world's second- and third-largest economies -- is crucial to regional stability but they have a longstanding dispute over islands in the East China Sea controlled by Japan, which knows them as Senkaku, and claimed by China, which calls them Diaoyu. The comments after a G20 summit in Hangzhou were in marked contrast to the last time the two met on Chinese soil, on the sidelines of an APEC summit in 2014, when they could barely conceal their mutual distaste. Ties later thawed, but tensions have been rising again in recent months as Japan weighs in on another Chinese territorial dispute in the South China Sea, where Beijing has built artificial islands capable of supporting military facilities. Abe has vocally criticised China for rejecting a July ruling by an international tribunal that said extensive claims to the strategically vital waters had no legal basis. Washington: Democratic vice-presidential candidate Tim Kaine on Sunday defended Hillary Clinton against criticism over her handling of classified information as secretary of state, saying she was unaware of the sensitivity of some information she exchanged over email because it had been "improperly labelled". In July, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) rebuked Clinton, the Democratic presidential nominee, for her use of a private email server during her tenure as secretary of state from 2009 to 2013, saying she was "extremely careless" in her handling of classified information. According to records released by the FBI on Friday, Clinton told the bureau's investigators in a July interview that she could not recall getting any briefings on how to handle classified information or comply with laws governing the preservation of federal records. Kaine, a US senator from Virginia who sits on the Senate Foreign Relations and Armed Services committees, told ABC's program "This Week," that the volume of information received by government officials often makes it difficult to know what information has been declared classified. "There were emails that contained classified information that had been improperly marked. So when she received the email, the material that was classified - which is supposed to be flagged and identified as classified - in many instances was improperly labelled," Kaine said. "We look at so much material, unless it is specifically pulled out and identified, it is difficult to know sometimes whether a statement or a paragraph is classified or not," he added. Kaine likened Republican Donald Trump's recent call for Russia to "find the 30,000 emails that are missing" from Clinton's server to the 1972 burglary at the Democratic Party headquarters at the Watergate office in Washington that upended Richard Nixon's presidency. "He has openly encouraged Russia to engage in cyber hacking to try to find more e-mails or materials, and we know that this cyber attack on the DNC was likely done by Russia," Kaine told the Sunday television program. "This is serious business." Trump was referring to some 30,000 emails deemed personal by Clinton's lawyers that she has repeatedly said she chose "not to keep" while returning thousands of other work emails to the government in 2014. This has been widely interpreted as meaning that Clinton deleted the personal emails, but her staff has declined to confirm if this is the case. Clinton, who is facing Trump for the White House in the election on 8 November, has been dogged for more than a year by the fallout from her decision to use an unauthorised private email account run from the basement of her Chappaqua, New York, home. She repeatedly said she did not use it to send or receive classified information. The government forbids handling such information outside secure channels. Contradicting Clinton's comment that she never exchanged classified information over her private email server, the FBI said that at least 81 email threads contained information that was classified at the time, although the agency said the final number may be more than 2,000. While the FBI has scolded Clinton over the handling of classified information, the agency recommended that no criminal charges be filed against her. Clinton has said that in hindsight she regretted using a private email system while secretary of state. Opinion polls show that voter concerns about Clinton's honesty and trustworthiness are among her biggest vulnerabilities. A series of surveys show the race has tightened over the past few weeks. In a Reuters/Ipsos poll taken during the week of 26 August to 1 September, Trump had the support of 40 percent of likely voters while Clinton had the backing of 39 percent. Clinton's support has dropped steadily in the weekly tracking poll since 25 August, eliminating what had been an eight-point lead for her. Washington: US Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump was fighting back in polls and set to spend millions on TV advertisements as the US presidential election unofficially kicked off in force on Monday. The Labour Day holiday marks the start of an intense period for campaigning with a little over two months left until the 8 November, The Telegraph reported. Surveys showed a significant narrowing of the gap between Trump and his Democratic rival Hillary Clinton. A Morning Consult poll released on Sunday showed Clinton up by two points, a lead that had been seven in the same poll three weeks ago. The latest Reuters/Ipsos tracking poll of "likely voters" in all 50 states had the race as a statistical tie, registering an eight point swing against Clinton in the last week. It also showed support for Trump among Republicans jumping six points over the past two weeks, giving him 78 percent backing in his own party. That was close to the 85 percent Mitt Romney enjoyed as the Republican nominee in 2012. An average of all recent polls showed Clinton's lead at 3.9 points, less than half what it was a month ago, The Telegraph added. The boost she received after the Democratic Convention at the end of July has disappeared. One poll conducted by the Los Angeles Times gave Trump a three-point lead nationally. It came as Clinton faced a resurgence of criticism over her use of a private email server while she was US Secretary of State, and the relationship between the Clinton Foundation and some of its donors. However, Clinton maintained healthy leads in key battleground states including Pennsylvania, Ohio and North Carolina. Trump finally began opening his funding war chest, buying $10 million in television advertisements. So far, Clinton has outspent the billionaire by nine to one on advertising. Hangzhou: Minister Narendra Modi on Monday made it clear that effective financial governance requires "full commitment" to act against the corrupt and elimination of "safe havens" for economic offenders as he called on G20 members to break down the web of excessive banking secrecy. In his intervention on the second day of the G20 Summit in this east Chinese city, Modi said fighting corruption, blackmoney and tax-evasion were central to effective financial governance. To achieve that, he said, "we need to act to eliminiate safe havens for economic offenders, track down and unconditionally extradite money launderers and break down the web of complex international regulations and excessive banking secrecy that hide the corrupt and their deeds". The prime minister said that a stable global economic and financial system is imperative for growth as it promotes inclusive and sustainable growth. He called for further strengthening of the global financial safety net. "We need a regular dialogue between the IMF, Regional Financial Arrangements and Bilateral Swap Arrangements. Important mechanisms like financial stability board should stick to their core mandate," External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Vikas Swarup quoted the Prime Minister as saying in a series of tweets. "IMF should remain a quota-based institution and not depend on borrowed resources," Modi said emphasing that the "long-delayed 15th General Review of Quotas must be completed by 2017 Annual Meetings." The Prime Minister also said that India needs energy to support its development. A "balanced mix of nuclear, renewal energy and fossil fuels are at the core of our policy." A picture of the G20 leaders. This is an important forum to discuss global challenges & how to overcome them. pic.twitter.com/sevJc36yTl Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) September 4, 2016 The G20 member states represent 85 per cent of the world's GDP. Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, South Korea, Turkey, the UK, the US and the European Union make the G20. New Delhi: In a historic event, the first Bangladeshi vehicle laden with imported consignment rolled into a customs depot as part of an accord that has done away with trans shipment of goods from one country's truck to another at international border, a time consuming and costly process. Senior customs officials said that this is yet another measure in a series of trade facilitation initiatives taken by the government recently to help businesses cut transaction costs. "It is a very big day that marks ease of doing business. The entry of Bangladesh's cargo vehicles to India and our's to their territory will help in saving of days and transaction cost. It will further trade between the two countries," Chief Commissioner of customs Vivek Johri told PTI. He said the compulsion to tranship goods at the borders with neighbouring countries has been a major and longstanding pain point" hindering free flow of trade. It has been made possible under the Bangladesh-Bhutan-India-Nepal (BBIN) Motor Vehicles Agreement, which was signed in June last year. The pact allows vehicles to enter each other's territory and does away with trans shipment of goods from one country's truck to another at the border. There was no provision to allow trucks registered in India to enter Bangladesh and vice versa until the accord was signed last year. Johri said the measure would not only cut cost and time but also allow the BBIN region to fully exploit its potential for integration through trade. The truck had left Dhaka on 27 August and entered India through Petrapole land border in West Bengal. It reached Inland Container Depot (ICD), Patparganj, Monday morning. The vehicle, which was carrying goods for Marks and Spencer's, London, was fitted with a Global Positioning System (GPS) to help officials track its movement and help them ensure hassle free entry into the national capital via various states. "It is a historic event for both the countries," said Vinayak Azaad, Additional Commissioner of customs. Officials from Bangladesh's High Commission and Ministries of External Affairs and Road Transport and Highways were present during a function organised at the ICD. "The event will help in increasing trade between Bangladesh and India. It also shows that trust exists between the two countries," said Zahid-Ul-Islam, Counsellor, Bangladesh High Commission. Drivers of the truck Motiur Islam (32) and Md Rasel (28) were enthusiastic over their first visit to India. "It is a proud moment for us. I enjoyed driving on the India roads," said Rasel. Motiur, who could barely speak in Hindi, was happy to be part of this historic event. Hangzhou (China): In remarks targetted at Pakistan, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday said that "one single nation" was spreading "agents of terror" in South Asia. "Terrorist is a terrorist. One single nation in South Asia is spreading agents of terror in our region," the Prime Minister was quoted as saying at the G20 Summit here, by External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Vikas Swarup. "Terrorist is a terrorist" PM:1 single nation in https://t.co/DgmCrOoiUF is spreading agents of terror in our region pic.twitter.com/RcLQMPPkub Vikas Swarup (@MEAIndia) September 5, 2016 "There are some nations that use it as an instrument of state policy. One single nation in South Asia is spreading agents of terror in our region," Modi said, without naming Pakistan. India's ties with Pakistan have soured after Islamabad declared Jammu and Kashmir terrorist Burhan Wani, shot dead by security forces, as a "martyr". "For us a terrorist is a terrorist," Modi said. He was speaking during his intervention at the last session of the G20. The Prime Minister said "growing forces of violence and terror pose a fundamental challenge" and urged the international community to act in unity and respond against terrorism. "India has a policy of zero tolerance to terrorism. Because anything less than that is not enough," he said. In his meeting with President Xi, Modi expressed concern over terrorism emanating from Pakistan's restive regions of Giligit-Baltistan and Pakistani Kashmir where the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor is coming up. In another tough message, PM Modi also asked G20 leaders to act to eliminate safe havens for economic offenders, unconditionally extradite money launderers and end excessive banking secrecy, asserting that fighting corruption and black money was central to effective financial governance In his intervention on the second day of the G20 Summit in this east Chinese city, Modi said fighting corruption, black money and tax evasion were central to effective financial governance To achieve that, he said, "we need to act to eliminate safe havens for economic offenders, track down and unconditionally extradite money launderers and break down the web of complex international regulations and excessive banking secrecy that hide the corrupt and their deeds" The prime minister said a stable global economic and financial system is imperative for growth as it promotes inclusive and sustainable growth He called for further strengthening of the global financial safety net "We need a regular dialogue between the IMF, Regional Financial Arrangements and Bilateral Swap Arrangements Important mechanisms like financial stability board should stick to their core mandate," External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Vikas Swarup quoted the Prime Minister as saying in a series of tweets "IMF should remain a quota-based institution and not depend on borrowed resources," Modi said emphasing that the "long-delayed 15th General Review of Quotas must be completed by 2017 Annual Meetings." Modi also said India needs energy to support its development. A "balanced mix of nuclear, renewal energy and fossil fuels are at the core of our policy." G20 member states represent 85 percent of the world's GDP. Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, South Korea, Turkey, the UK, the US and the European Union make the G20. Global attention that is both transient and fickle is currently focused on the G20 summit at Hangzhou that is being seen as Chinese President Xi Jinping's Olympic equivalent. The 2008 Beijing Games were the high point of the Hu Jintao era. But alas, the Xi script seems to have gone awry. Early reports dwelled on the unseemly exchange between Chinese and US officials over the protocols related to US President Barack Obama's arrival and an intriguing visual showing him disembarking from the underbelly of Air Force One. Predictably, social media was shrill and one post that was particularly unsavory noted: "Apparently Obama is treated like shit in Hangzhou." This G20 summit being hosted by China is rich in symbolism of different shades and the fact that it comes soon after an international tribunal rejected Beijing's South China Sea (SCS) claim and upheld that of the Philippines is only the more visible. The extended western Pacific littoral from Japan down to Singapore exudes varying degrees of anxiety about China's maritime assertiveness and all eyes are on Obama and the credibility of the US "pivot" to Asia. China's inflexible stance on the SCS and its rejection of both international law and customary practice apropos freedom of navigation became the dominant issue on the opening day of the G20 Summit and overshadowed the more substantive climate change agreement. The summit leaders have a prickly challenge ahead of them how to raise the SCS issue with Xi and to encourage Beijing to work towards a modus vivendi. Domestic public opinion is a critical determinant for all the SCS stakeholders and the US is an involved party both due to its global military profile and the security umbrella it provides to some of the regional countries with whom it has a formal alliance. How the SCS will be addressed or erased from the final G20 summit document will provide a cue about the nature of the major power relationship over the short-term and the degree to which the Xi doctrine of muscular assertiveness will be "appeased" or resisted. The contrast to the G20 deliberations was on display at a more modest event the Indian Ocean Conference 2016 (IOC2016) in Singapore September 1-2 under the aegis of the India Foundation, a recently established think-tank with BJP Secretary Ram Madhav at the helm. The other organisers included the Rajaratnam School of International Studies (RSIS), Singapore, the Bangladesh Institute of International and Strategic Studies (BIISS), Dhaka, and the Institute of Policy Studies (IPS) Colombo. This two-day event was significant for it marks the first time that India has mounted a Track-II event of this scale with a maritime focus. Indian political participation included three cabinet ministers of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government, a former UPA minister and members of parliament. Indian Foreign Secretary S Jaishankar provided a comprehensive overview of the current Indian orientation on the Indian Ocean. The invitee list included the Prime Minister of Sri Lanka, the Foreign Ministers of Bangladesh, Singapore and Vietnam, culture ministers from other Asean states, the former President of Maldives and official representation by the US, France, Japan and Taiwan. This was described by a local diplomat as a subtle demonstration of India's appeal and the ability to draw such political participation on the eve of the G20 Summit. The final tally was 21 countries and over 50 speakers who addressed the 3Cs Comity, Commerce and Culture in the Indian Ocean and its littoral. Shakti Sinha, Director of the India Foundation, highlighted the rationale and objective of IOC2016 as one that "is intended to help the Indian Ocean stakeholders initiate the development of platforms that would facilitate cooperative behaviour and minimise risks of misunderstanding and conflict... apprehensions about unilateral attempts to re-order regional arrangements are unsettling and showing no signs of abating." The continuing turbulence in the SCS that pits China against some Asean states and further north between China and Japan is reflective of maritime tensions that "show no sign of abating" and the G20 summit is an appropriate forum for the leaders to engage in candid closed-door deliberations that will help make the situation more malleable to consensual resolution. New Delhi has been consistent in supporting normative principles at sea and has accepted international arbitration on its maritime boundary dispute with Bangladesh. At Singapore, Jaishankar reiterated what New Delhi has maintained for over a decade: "India supports freedom of navigation and overflight, and unimpeded commerce, based on the principles of international law, as reflected notably in the United Nations Conference on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS). India also believes that states should resolve disputes through peaceful means without threat or use of force and exercise self-restraint in the conduct of activities that could complicate or escalate disputes affecting peace and stability." Without exception, every political invitee to IOC2016 made much the same plea -- that peaceful resolution through sustained dialogue and self-restraint by the major power in a dispute should from the core of the proposed code of conduct. The Indian Ocean littoral is adhering to these tenets by practice and this may offer some cues to the seas on the other side of the Malacca that are currently roiled. The juxtaposition of IOC2016 with the G20 summit may be more coincidence than devious design -- but the contrast of the maritime tenor is unmistakable. At Singapore, many delegates shared their concern and helplessness in the face of an assertive and "bullying" China and added that their governments were looking at the G20 deliberations with interest to get a sense about how the US and India would position themselves in relation to the SCS and related maritime issues. For the Modi government, the larger maritime objective is contained in the acronym Sagar (Security And Growth for All in the Region). India is seen as a more benign and accommodating power that is able to contribute to the common public good in the Indian Ocean region. However, New Delhi has to sustain this initiative and harmonise the other fora it has nurtured -- namely, IORA (Indian Ocean Regional Association), IONS (Indian Ocean Naval Symposium) and the Bay of Bengal cooperative effort. Sustainable growth in the extended Indo-Pacific continuum can be nurtured only if China is a willing and consensual partner. To that extent, the current G20 and the forthcoming EAS (East Asia Summit) and the Brics (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa) summits should be utilised to persuade Beijing to live up to the self-image it seeks to project at Hangzhou. Keith Vaz, Britain's longest serving Indian-origin MP, was on Sunday embroiled in a sex scandal and announced that he will "stand aside" as the chair of the influential House of Commons Home Affairs Committee after a newspaper claimed he had paid for male prostitutes. The Labour MP from Leicester since 1987, who is a married father of two, paid for men to visit him one evening last month at a flat he owns in London, the Sunday Mirror' claimed. The 59-year-old Goan-origin MP has since announced he will be stepping aside as chair of the influential House of Commons Home Affairs Committee, which he has headed for the past 10 years. "I am genuinely sorry for the hurt and distress that has been caused by my actions, in particular to my wife and children. I will be informing the Committee on Tuesday of my intention to stand aside from chairing the sessions of the Committee with immediate effect," he said in a statement quoted by Sky News. It is understood that Vaz has not resigned completely but temporarily, as he speaks to his lawyer and other members of the committee. The committee is currently examining prostitution in the UK and had issued a report recently saying that soliciting by sex workers should be decriminalised. Vaz allegedly paid for sex with two male prostitutes and offered to pay for a class A or banned drug, according to the newspaper report, which is accompanied by a video. It is alleged the MP had two meetings with Eastern European-origin escorts, including a 90-minute meeting on 27 August. One text, reportedly sent by Vaz, said the men should arrive at "11 pm, nice and late". He is said to have added, "I want a good time please". Vaz is accused of asking the young men to bring poppers to the flat, as well as allegedly joking about being a "pimp". As the talk ranged from sex to pets, Vaz eventually said, "We need to get this party started". He also spoke about having had unprotected sex. And ahead of the meeting, he had allegedly sent a series of texts in which he jokingly called himself one of the men's "pimp" and "bank manager". Vaz paid the escorts in cash, the report claimed. "Money was also paid into a bank account used by one of them by a man linked to a charity set up by the MP," it said. A Labour Party spokesperson said, "Keith Vaz has issued a statement on this matter. "As with all departmental select committees, Keith was elected to the chair of the Home Affairs Select Committee by the House of Commons, and his position is a matter for him and the House." According to a report by The Guardian, Vaz's committee was recently carrying out an inquiry into prostitution, which makes these allegations more awkward. The interim report by the committee said that sex should be outlawed but soliciting by sex workers should be decriminalised. Who is Keith Vaz? Vaz was born in Yemen in 1956 to Indian parents. When he was nine, the family moved to UK where Vaz read law at Cambridge University and then in 1987 entered the parliament as the MP for Leicester East. According to a report by The Telegraph, over the years, Vaz has been dogged by various controversies. In 2000, he came under investigation by parliamentary standards watchdog, Elizabeth Filkin, over claims that he could have accepted financial contributions from a solicitor friend. These contributions were undeclared. In 2001, he faced criticism under claims that the had helped process the British passport application of the billionaire Hinduja brothers. He had temporarily stepped down from his post at the time. In 2002, he was suspended from the Parliament for a month after making false allegations about a retired policewoman. In 2007, he was appointed as the chair of the Home Affairs Select Committee and hence given a position of power to scrutinise public figures, police chiefs, MPs and civil servants. At the time of The Daily Telegraph MPs expenses scandal, his name was mentioned and he was made to return a four figure sum. According to a report by The Daily Telegraph, he was subjected to investigation by the Scotland Yard, under allegations of 'suspicious payments'. Earlier this year, Vaz had argued against a proposed ban on amyl nitrate, also known as poppers. During his 29 years as an MP, he has been embroiled in many controversies. Many say that the latest incident could bring an end to his career. With inputs from PTI New York: The police in Florida, the US, have arrested a fugitive by tracking him on Facebook where he had put his "Wanted" poster as profile picture. The Stuart Police Department in Florida were hunting Mack Yearwood for an accusation of battery a criminal offence involving use of force against another, resulting in harmful, offensive or sexual contact, CNET reported on Monday. "If you are wanted by the police, it's probably not a good idea to use the 'Wanted of the Week' poster of yourself as your profile pic," the Stuart Police Department wrote on its Facebook page. The police had few clues about Yearwood's whereabouts and they decided to check out his Facebook page to see what they could find. They found an image of Yearwood in a "Wanted" poster from another Florida jurisdiction, Citrus county. A spokesperson from the department said he was not sure why Yearwood had displayed the "Wanted" poster. With two warrants on his name, the police decided to go to Yearwood's brother's house and arrested Yearwood. Hangzhou: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday for the first time met new Britain's Prime Minister Theresa May in Hangzhou and held discussions on enhancing bilateral ties in the aftermath of the UK's decision to exit the European Union. Both the leaders held discussions on the sidelines of the G20 summit here on "building opportunities" after the UK voted to leave the EU- the world's single largest market. "Building opportunities with the United Kingdom. PM @narendramodi meets PM @theresa_may for their first bilateral," External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Vikas Swarup tweeted. Building opportunities with the United Kingdom. PM @narendramodi meets PM @theresa_may for their first bilateral pic.twitter.com/fRf7ZvUL9i Vikas Swarup (@MEAIndia) September 5, 2016 May was sworn in as Britain's Prime Minister on 13 July, succeeding David Cameron who resigned after the country voted in favour of exiting the EU. May, 59, is UK's second woman Prime Minister after Margaret Thatcher, also known as Iron Lady, with whom May is often compared. Modi had congratulated May on her assumption of new responsibility on 27 July and had affirmed India's commitment to further strengthen the strategic bilateral partnership. Thanking Modi, May had during the telephonic conversation said she looked forward to work closely with India to develop stronger ties and enhance cooperation. Modi earlier on Monday said fighting corruption, black money and tax-evasion were central to effective financial governance. He also said, "we need to act to eliminiate safe havens for economic offenders, track down and unconditionally extradite money launderers." Egyptian President Abdel Fattah Saeed Hussein Khalil el Sisi was in India last week. However, Sisi's visit didn't drawn in the kind of attention of media that it deserved. Civilisational ties apart, India and Egypt have been traditional allies ever since Gamel Abdel Naseer assumed power in 1952 overthrowing King Farook. Naseer and Nehru were great friends and were the chief architects in the formation of Non Aligned Movement (NAM). In the 1956 war, Nehru steadfastly stood by Naseer and threatened to pull out of the British Commonwealth if Egypt did not receive British support. Both laid a solid foundation on NAM and bilateral ties, which fortunately continues to flourish despite ups and downs and the occasional turbulence in Egypt. Naseer's successor Anwar Sadat, continued the momentum between the two countries and Hosne Mubarak, who succeeded Sadat in 1981 paid a productive visit to India in 2008. Significantly, in the aftermath of Arab Spring leading to Mubarak's unceremonious ouster from power, things initially looked uncertain on Indo- Egyptian ties. The new leader Mohammad Morsi being a diehard Islamic Brotherhood figure, skeptics were wary of his approach towards the non Islamic countries. Morsi, amid increasing domestic upheavals, chose not to ignore India and visited the country. His standing in the international community was below par in terms of credibility largely due to the fact that Egypt, under his leadership, was seen to be drifting towards Islamic radicalism which also saw systematic killings of the minority Coptic Christians . In his India visit, Sisi, the military high profile President may not have drawn substantial media attention, both in print and electronic, yet the bilateral talks between the prime minister and him did yield tangible results, especially the security and defence deal that was signed by the two nations. The highlight of the deal is to bolster both the countries' concern for growing threats of terrorism and ongoing radicalisation a core area that merits complete attention. Egypt has been seeing IS sponsored terror for a considerable amount of time, especially in the areas adjoining Sharm El Sheikh and also on aviation security with sky piracy threats to its commercial airlines. Also, because of its relative proximity to Syria, radicalisation and terror incidents loom large on the Egyptian horizon. The deal under reference, therefore, can redress the menace by a robust joint cooperation. Security professionals must work out a near fool proof mechanism to combat radicalisation. More specifically, India and Egypt should proactively engage in exchange of hard time intelligence to foil any radicalisation programmes and Egypt remains in a position to collaborate. However, Egyptian intelligence does not appear to be as professional as the Indian federal intelligences here is an opportunity to orient them and receive actionable intelligence by gaining a foothold under the aegis of this security and defence deal. The prime minister aptly described Egypt as a natural bridge between Asia and Africa and as such defence trade, training and combat capacity building have been touched upon in the deal. On his part, President Sisi has pledged to work towards vigorous security cooperation for intensification of bilateral trade and investment cooperation. India and Egypt trade relations in the fields of oil and power are also full of promise. Egyptian General Petroleum Corporation (EGPC) facilitates import of crude oil. Power KEC India and its Egyptian counterpart have had a transaction of over $ 8.9 million for supply of overhead transmission towers for Egypt-Jordan supplies. Further, in the transport sector, Ashok Leyland, Tata Motors, Maruti Suzuki and Mahendra and Mahendra are already marketing their vehicles. Bajaj's three-wheelers have a vibrant presence in Egypt. Indian films and actors are very popular in Egypt, making the country as a natural friend of India. All said and done, security and defence deal appear to be the most striking feature of Sisi's visit, needing to be carried forward without any creases. Through Egypt, India can expand its asset base in other North African countries including Algeria, Morocco, Libya , Chad and Sudan. All these countries are Islamic and need of the hour is to consolidate friendship with them. This should help India diplomatically to isolate Pakistan on Kashmir and Balochistan, especially when Pakistan has embarked upon a diplomatic offensive on Kashmir. Egypt, a trusted friend, can be well appropriated to foil Pakistani attempts to Islamise Kashmir. The author is a security analyst and a retired police officer. Views are personal. Hangzhou: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday raised the issue of black money and tax evasion at the ongoing G20 summit in Hangzhou, urging the member countries to take action against the financial corruption. On the second day of the Summit, Modi said "fighting corruption, black money and tax evasion were central to effective financial governance." The Prime Minister also said there should be "zero tolerance" for corruption and black money and treaty loopholes. He urged the members nations to show "full commitment" to action against the financial corruption. Hangzhou: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday left this picturesque city after attending the two-day G20 Summit on the sidelines of which he met Chinese President Xi Jinping and a host of other world leaders. From Hanoi to Hangzhou, and now home. Another fruitful visit ends as PM @narendramodi emplanes for Delhi. pic.twitter.com/k04Qjmj2Y3 Vikas Swarup (@MEAIndia) September 5, 2016 Goodbye in Hangzhou. See you in Goa. PM @narendramodi bids adieu to President Xi pic.twitter.com/1wEhayAmaM Vikas Swarup (@MEAIndia) September 5, 2016 "Discussions at G20 Summit were extensive & wide-ranging. I thank Chinese people & government for the great hospitality during the Summit," Modi tweeted before emplaning for Delhi. "Goodbye in Hangzhou. See you in Goa. PM Narendra Modi bids adieu to President Xi," External Affairs spokesman Vikas Swarup tweeted. "It's curtains down on another Summit for this critical global forum," he said. Modi, who came here from his first visit to Vietnam, met Xi and held talks on a host of issues including bilateral tensions between the two countries over a raft issues. On the sidelines of the summit, Modi also met Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull, Deputy Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia Mohammad bin Salman, UK Prime Minister Theresa May, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Argentine President Mauricio Macri and held talks with them on key bilateral issues. He also informally met President Barack Obama and French President Francois Hollande during the summit. Before the G20, Modi presided over the BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa) leaders meeting to finalise their stand on G20 summit. The BRICS leaders are due to attend the summit to be held in Goa next month. Kabul: At least 24 people were killed and 91 wounded Monday in a Taliban double suicide bombing in central Kabul during late afternoon rush hour, the latest assault on the Afghan capital. The carnage near the defence ministry came as the Taliban ramp up their nationwide summer offensive against the US-backed government. The two bombers on foot blew themselves up in rapid succession, in an assault apparently aimed at inflicting mass casualties as government employees left the ministry after work. "The first explosion occurred on a bridge near the defence ministry. When soldiers, policemen and civilians rushed to the scene, there was the second explosion," defence ministry spokesman Mohammad Radmanish told AFP. Health ministry spokesman Waheed Majroh said the attack left 24 people dead and 91 others wounded, some of them seriously. "The casualties could rise still further," Majroh said. The Italian-run Emergency Hospital in Kabul tweeted that it had so far received 21 injured people, four of whom died on arrival. President Ashraf Ghani strongly condemned the attack and offered condolences to the families of the victims. "The enemies of Afghanistan have lost their ability to fight the Security and Defense Forces of the country," Ghani said in a statement. "That is why they are attacking highways, cities, mosques, schools and common people." Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said on Twitter that the defence ministry was the object of the first attack, while police were targeted in the second. The attack took place more than a week after 16 people were killed when militants stormed the American University of Afghanistan in Kabul, in a nearly 10-hour raid that prompted anguished pleas for help from trapped students. Explosions and gunfire rocked the campus in that attack, which came just weeks after two university professors an American and an Australian were kidnapped at gunpoint near the school. Their whereabouts are still unknown and no group so far has publicly claimed responsibility for the abductions, the latest in a series of kidnappings in the conflict-torn country. The uptick in violence in the capital comes as the Taliban escalate nationwide attacks, underscoring the worsening security situation since Nato forces ended their combat mission at the end of 2014. Afghan forces backed by US troops are seeking to head off a potential Taliban takeover of Lashkar Gah, the capital of the southern opium-rich province of Helmand. The Taliban have also closed in on Kunduz the northern city they briefly seized last year in their biggest military victory since the 2001 US invasion leaving Afghan forces stretched on multiple fronts. But Nato coalition forces have insisted that neither Kunduz nor Lashkar Gah are at risk of falling to the insurgents. Hangzhou: Britain's new visa policy could have a "negative impact" on Indian working professionals' short term business visits to the UK, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday told his British counterpart Theresa May during their first meeting after she became Premier. Meeting on the sidelines of the G20 Summit, the two prime ministers also discussed further enhancement of bilateral defence partnership, External Affairs Ministry Spokesperson Vikas Swarup said. "Prime minister also touched on UK's visa policy. In particular, he said that the new UK regulations could have negative impact on Indian working professionals wishing to visit UK for short term business visits," Swarup said. The prime minister invited British firms to 'Make in India' as both leaders also looked forward to an early visit by Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar to the UK, he said. During the meeting, Modi also spoke about challenges of terrorism, which he said is the "biggest threat to the world and knows no boundaries". He alluded to May's previous stint as Home Secretary and said she was well aware of the dangers of terrorism, Swarup said. In this context, the two leaders discussed counter terrorism cooperation. Modi said that the recent meeting of the India-UK joint group on counter terrorism was very useful and called for greater collaboration in cyber security and intelligence sharing besides information gathering. May said she was very keen to support Modi's vision for India and the broader strategic partnership including the decisions taken during his successful visit to Britain last November. She also underlined the importance Britain attaches to the Indian diaspora. This was the first face-to-face meeting between the two leaders after May took over as the prime minister following the resignation of David Cameron after Britain's exit from the European Union. The fact that she had deputed three Ministers to India Preeti Patel, Alok Sharma, and Greg Clarke showed the priority she attached to India, Swarup said. "The prime minister underlined that even after the Brexit, the UK remained as important to India as before," he said. Modi also sought the British prime minister's suggestions on further strengthening the partnership particularly trade and investment ties. In this context, he referred to the recent launch of the HSBC Corporate Rupee bond on the London Stock Exchange which has been very successful. India, Modi said, also needed more UK participation in 'Make in India'. The prime minister also referred to passage of GST Bill, which he said would further boost trade and investment ties with UK, Swarup said Modi also invited May to visit India in her new capacity. May accepted the invitation and said she would like to make as early a visit to India as possible. Washington/Hangzhou: A United States spy agency on Sunday apologised for a sarcastic tweet aimed at China over its treatment of American reporters who had travelled with President Barack Obama to cover the G20 meeting there. "Classy as always China," the Defence Intelligence Agency tweeted on Saturday from its @DefenseIntel account. Defense Intelligence Agency bringing the snark to China (screenshot in case it gets deleted) pic.twitter.com/N7a8OHbuly Chris Brigham (@CJBrigham) September 3, 2016 "Earlier today, a tweet regarding a news article was mistakenly posted from this account and does not represent the views of DIA. We apologise," CNN quoted the Pentagon-housed spy agency on Sunday as saying in a tweet. Earlier today, a tweet regarding a news article was mistakenly posted from this account & does not represent the views of DIA. We apologize. DIA (@DefenseIntel) September 4, 2016 The initial tweet, which has since been deleted, included a link to a New York Times report about a dust-up over security protocols at the tarmac when Obama landed in China and later, shouting matches between Chinese officials and Secret Service agents at the West Lake State House, where Obama met Chinese President Xi Jinping, CNN added. The tiffs were largely over American journalists' access to Obama. Chinese officials unexpectedly limited reporters' access to the President. When asked about the airport kerfuffle, Obama acknowledged to reporters that "the seams are showing a little more than usual in terms of some of the negotiations and jostling that takes place behind the scenes". "I wouldn't over-crank the significance of it, because, as I said, this is not the first time that these things happened," Obama said. "And it doesn't just happen here. It happens in a lot of places, including, by the way, sometimes, our allies. Part of it is we also have a much bigger footprint than a lot of other countries. And we've got a lot of planes and a lot of helicopters and a lot of cars and a lot of guys, and if you're a host country, sometimes it may feel a little bit much." Moving to unsnarl the chaos in its container cargo after it filed for bankruptcy protection, Hanjin Shipping Co. will seek stay orders in dozens of countries, the Financial Services Commission said yesterday. Hanjin, South Koreas largest ocean container shipper, will seek bankruptcy protection in 43 countries, including Canada, Germany and Britain, and the government said it would urge those countries to expedite the process. Hanjin filed for bankruptcy in the U.S. and South Korea last week. A company spokeswoman, Park Eun-hye, confirmed Hanjin was moving to protect its assets but refused to specify in how many countries, beyond the U.S. and South Korea. The intent is to minimize seizures of Hanjin Shippings vessels in foreign countries, the South Korean government said in a statement jointly released by several ministries, including the FSC. Hanjin said last week that one ship had been seized in Singapore. South Korea hopes to salvage its ailing container shipping sector, which like ocean shipping worldwide has been battered by weak demand and overcapacity. But it is reluctant to commit huge sums of taxpayers money, and hopes to orchestrate a takeover by Hanjins smaller rival, Hyundai Merchant Marine, which is already being restructured. The moves would protect Hanjins assets from being seized by creditors while South Korea arranges to have Hyundai Merchant Marine, take over Hanjins key assets, including its vessels, workforce and networks. With its assets frozen, Hanjins ships are being refused permission to offload or take on containers at ports worldwide, out of concern tugboat pilots or stevedores may not be paid. Out of 141 vessels the company operates, 68 were not operating normally, were stranded or seized, as of Sunday. The South Korean giant represents nearly 8 percent of the trans-Pacific trade volume for the U.S. market, and with Hanjins container ships marooned offshore, major retailers were scrambling to work out contingency plans to get their merchandise into stores. The worlds seventh largest ocean shipper, Hanjin Shipping is part of the Seoul-based Hanjin Group, a huge, family-dominated conglomerate, or chaebol, that also includes Korean Air. The shipping company has posted net losses every year since 2011. Last week, creditors led by the Korea Development Bank rejected a plan by Hanjin Group to spend another 500 billion won (USD447.2 million) to rescue the shipping firm, way short of Hanjin Shippings more than 6 trillion won ($5.37 billion) in debts. Yim Jong-yong, the Financial Services Commissions chairman, pushed Hanjin to move quickly to clear the logjam of freight stranded at sea, urging major shareholders and Cho Yang-ho, chairman of Hanjin Group and Korean Air Lines, to take responsibility. He promised Hanjin support in sorting out its problems. Whats most desirable, of course, is for Hanjin Shipping to revive itself. But in the view of many experts, that possibility is low, the Yonhap News Agency quoted Yim as saying. Hanjin Shippings labor union chief, Lee Yo-han, said that while the 510 crew aboard Hanjin-operated vessels are not facing any immediate crisis, they could suffer from shortages of food and water if they are stranded too long at sea. Hanjins share price plummeted about 30 percent early yesterday, but a flurry of buying spurred by hopes for government help for the company helped erase some of the loss by mid-afternoon. Hanjins stock closed 13.7 percent lower yesterday. The government asked Hanjin Group to pay some overdue fees and payments to resolve outstanding cargo issues, saying that it can help, said Ryu Jae-hyun, an analyst at Mirae Asset Daewoo Securities. That raised expectations. Youkyung Lee, Seoul , AP Air France-KLM Group will overhaul its restructuring efforts, moving away from the previous chief executives strategy that strained relations with pilots, to a more conciliatory approach called Trust Together, said a person familiar with the plans. Jean-Marc Janaillac, who became CEO in July, will unveil the program in November that seeks to lower costs as well as rebuild trust between management and labor, and between the groups sister airlines, said the person, who asked for anonymity because the program isnt public. The airline has been torn by a series of costly strikes by pilots and flight attendants, and by mistrust between KLM and its French counterpart. The new plan was first reported Sept. 2 in newspaper La Tribune. Janaillac will drop the Perform plan initiated by his predecessor Alexandre de Juniac, while still seeking to make the carrier competitive with rivals. said the person. De Juniac had failed to win pilot support for measures that would increase productivity. Poor labor relations came to a head in late 2015 when workers clashed with management at a meeting, ripping the shirts worn by executives. Several of those workers have been fired, and the CGT union has called for protests later this month. Andrea Rothman, Bloomberg Bangladeshi authorities executed a top Islamist party leader convicted of war crimes involving the nations 1971 independence war against Pakistan, officials said. Mir Quasem Ali, a leader of the Jamaat-e-Islami party, was hanged at 10:30 p.m. Saturday, hours after several dozen family members and relatives met him for the last time inside Kashimpur Central Jail near the capital, Dhaka, said Proshanto Kumar Bonik, a senior jail superintendent. We are doing our necessary formalities now. We will send the body soon to the ancestral home in Manikganj district for burial, Bonik said. Immediately after the execution, Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan said security measures were put in place to prevent unrest by Alis supporters, including deployment of paramilitary border guards and additional police in Dhaka and other cities. The Jamaat-e-Islami party in a statement protested Alis execution and called for an eight-hour general strike beginning this morning. The execution took place a day after Ali refused to seek presidential clemency. The president had previously rejected appeals for clemency by other Islamist party leaders facing execution. Last week, the Supreme Court rejected a final appeal for reviewing Alis death sentence handed out by a special tribunal two years ago. After the ruling, the Jamaat-e-Islami party called for a daylong general strike across the country last Wednesday, but got little response. A special tribunal dealing with war crimes sentenced Ali to death in November 2014. The 63-year-old member of Jamaat-e-Islamis highest policy-making body was found guilty on eight charges, two of which carried the death sentence, including the abduction and murder of a young man in a torture chamber. Ali was sentenced to 72 years in prison on the other charges. Ali became the fifth Jamaat-e-Islami party leader to be executed since 2010, when Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina formed the special tribunal to try suspected war criminals. The international human rights group Amnesty International noted that the United Nations had raised questions about the fairness of the trials of Ali and other Islamist party leaders. There is no question that the people of Bangladesh deserve justice for crimes committed during the War of Independence, but the death penalty is a human rights violation and will not achieve this. It is a cruel and irreversible punishment that most of the worlds countries have now rid themselves of, said Champa Patel, Amnesty Internationals South Asia Director, in a statement released Saturday. MDT/AP If President Barack Obama was hoping for a graceful start to his final trip to Asia as commander in chief, this wasnt it. Confrontations between Chinese officials and White House staff and other diplomatic dust- ups were out in the open from the moment Air Force One landed in Hangzhou, where world leaders were attending an economic summit. The first sign of trouble: There was no staircase for Obama to exit the plane and descend on the red carpet. Obama used an alternative exit. On the tarmac, a quarrel broke out between a presidential aide and a Chinese official who demanded the journalists traveling with Obama be prohibited from getting anywhere near him. It was a breach of the tradition observed whenever the American president arrives in a foreign place. When the White House official insisted the U.S. would set the rules for its own leader, her Chinese counterpart shot back. This is our country! This is our airport! the Chinese official yelled. The dispute escalated when a Chinese official tried to keep Susan Rice, Obamas national security adviser, away from her boss. Rice, one of the highest-ranking officials in U.S. government, seemed less than amused when asked about it by a reporter. They did things that werent anticipated, she said. Obama, reflecting later on the squabbling, said it wasnt the first time it had happened. But he acknowledged hosting huge summits like the Group of 20 can be overwhelming and said the issue isnt limited to China. We dont leave our values and our ideals behind when we take these trips, Obama said. It can cause some friction. Tense exchanges continued after Obama started his program of meetings in Hangzhou. An Associated Press reporter was denied entry to a climate change ceremony because a credential list used a common nickname, though he was eventually allowed in after the U.S. Embassy intervened. Two Chinese officials one working to assist the American delegation had to be physically separated after trying to hit each other outside an event. Brusque interactions and last- minute disagreements about protocol are not uncommon when the U.S. leader visits China, where theres an expectation that government ground rules be followed without question, no matter how rigid. Despite public protestations, the U.S. has had little success persuading China that its in its interest to be more tolerant of scrutiny by the public or the press. We dont make apologies for pushing a little bit harder when it comes to press access, Obama said. Josh Lederman, Hangzhou, AP Israeli commuters began their work week with massive traffic jams and a cancellation of train service along one of the countrys busiest routes following a political scuffle that could shake the governing coalition. The crisis erupted over the weekend after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, under pressure from ultra-Orthodox partners, ordered routine railway repairs scheduled on Saturday, the Jewish Sabbath, to be halted. Orthodox Jewish law forbids work on the Sabbath, and a religious party in the coalition had threatened to quit the government unless he halted the repairs. Netanyahus transport minister, Yisrael Katz, canceled key train routes yesterday because of the delayed repairs. The government dispatched extra buses for some 90,000 affected commuters. Netanyahu accused Katz, a senior figure in the ruling Likud Party, of orchestrating the crisis. A man was arrested on Sunday after using a hammer to assault a 54-year-old man, the Public Security Police Force (PSP) said yesterday in a press conference. The incident was registered by the PSP on August 29 when the victim filed a complaint against a unknown person who had allegedly attacked him at Estrada do Repouso around 5 p.m. when he was walking on the street. It was impossible for the victim to identify the perpetrator of the crime as he had been wearing a closed motorcycle helmet. The attacker hit the victim several times with a hammer, injuring his hands, arms and torso. After an investigation, the police identified and intercepted the suspect on September 4 around 3.15 p.m. at Rua da Perola Oriental. The suspect, a 40-year-old taxi driver, admitted the crime upon interrogation, justifying the attack as the result of an old dispute. He claimed to have been a victim of assault by the other man, which had allegedly caused head injuries. The man decided not to press charges over the assault at the time, but in his eyes, the case remained unsolved. He added that he had spotted his alleged assailant while passing the Estrada do Repouso area last year, at which point he started to plan his revenge. He bought the hammer, placed it inside his motorcycle storage compartment and waited for an opportunity to exact his revenge, which came at the end of August. After the attack, the suspect fled the scene and changed his clothes. These premeditated actions indicate extensive preparations. The suspect has been accused of offenses to physical integrity. Indian tourist arrested over chocolate bar theft An Indian tourist (23) was arrested by the PSP over the theft of a chocolate bar in a convenience shop at Rua do Almirante Sergio. When the storekeeper went into the shops storage room, the man in question took the opportunity to steal a chocolate bar worth MOP35 from the shelf, leaving the shop immediately afterwards. However, a police officer observed the entire incident from nearby. The man was arrested and delivered to the immigration authorities for further procedures. CCCC Highways Consultants Co. has been chosen to perform the preliminary design of the fourth bridge that will link the Peninsula to Taipa Island, according to a notice published yesterday in the Official Gazette (BO). The preliminary work will cost a total of MOP75.19 million, which will be paid in three installments between 2016 and 2019. The design contract was awarded to the same mainland China company, which is a subsidiary of state-owned transportation infrastructure group, China Communications Construction Company. It is responsible for some of the works being undertaken on the Hong Kong-Zhuhai- Macau bridge structure. The same company was recently also awarded a government contract to undertake a feasibility study for the construction of two tunnels linking Macau and Taipa alongside the existing Nobre de Carvalho Bridge. The contract to undertake the study was awarded by an order from the Chief Executive for an amount of MOP7.22 million which will be paid by 2020. During the Policy Address for 2016, Chui Sai On indicated that the expected fourth link between the Peninsula and Taipa would be a bridge. Chinese airline Colorful Yunnan General Aviation Co. has ordered two Phenom 300 light executive jets from Brazilian aeronautical manufacturer Empresa Brasileira de Aeronautica (Embraer), and signed the contract to purchase them last Friday, the company said in a statement. Xuefan Tang, president of the airline and the Yunnan Airport group, said the two six-seater aircraft would be used for general aviation missions, such as air medical rescue and humanitarian aid, among others, including business trips. On Friday Embraer also signed another contract to supply up to five E190 jets to Chinas Colorful Guizhou Airlines, which includes two firm orders and three purchase rights. Embraer recalled that Colorful Guizhou Airlines had signed a firm contract for seven E190s, four of which were delivered during the 51st edition of the Paris Air Show in June 2015. Founded in June 2015, Colorful Guizhou Airlines performed the maiden flight just 216 days after its establishment, and has since opened nine routes, including Guiyang, Zhuhai, Guiyang, Tianjin and Guiyang-Nanjing and transported more than 140,000 passengers. MDT/Macauhub A nationalist, anti-immigration party performed strongly in a state election Sunday in the region where Chancellor Angela Merkel has her political base, likely overtaking her conservative party to take second place, exit polls indicated yesterday. Exit polls for ARD and ZDF public television put support for Alternative for Germany, or AfD, in yesterdays election for the state legislature in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania around 21 percent. They put support for Merkels Christian Democrats at 19 or 20 percent, which would be their worst result yet in the state. The center-left Social Democrats, who lead the outgoing state government, were expected to be the strongest party with about 30 percent support. Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania is home to 1.6 million of Germanys 80 million people and is a relative political lightweight. It is, however, the state where Merkel has her parliamentary constituency, and yesterdays vote was the first of five regional votes before a national election a bit more than a year away. Perhaps this is the beginning of the end of Angela Merkels chancellorship today, local AfD leader Leif-Erik Holm told supporters. His party, however, fell well short of its aim of becoming the strongest party, and also didnt match the 24.3 percent support it won in another eastern state, Saxony-Anhalt, in March. Merkels refugee policies were a prominent issue in the campaign for yesterdays election, which came a year after she decided to let in migrants from Hungary setting off the peak of last years influx. Germany registered more than 1 million people as asylum-seekers last year. New arrivals in Germany have slowed drastically this year. Still, New Years Eve robberies and sexual assaults blamed largely on foreigners, as well as two attacks in July carried out by asylum-seekers and claimed by the Islamic State group, have fed tensions. Merkel has stuck to her insistence that we will manage the refugee crisis. Mecklenburg was the only one of Germanys 16 states where the far-right National Democratic Party was represented in a state legislature, but it appeared to have lost its seats yesterday. The exit polls put its support below the 5 percent needed to keep them, with many supporters apparently switching to AfD. The state has been run for the past decade by the parties that currently run Germany. Popular Social Democratic governor Erwin Sellering has governed with Merkels party as his junior partner. Both parties lost support compared with the last state election five years ago, when they polled 35.6 and 23 percent, respectively. The opposition Left Party also lost support, slipping about six points to 12.5 percent, and the left-leaning Greens were hovering around the 5 percent mark. Theres no realistic prospect of AfD going into government. Geir Moulson, Berlin, AP Hong Kong voted yesterday in a legislative election that will test the appeal of a new wave of anti-China activists and set the stage for future political fights over Beijings control over the city. The Legislative Council election is the first since police clashes with student protesters two years ago thrust the former British colonys struggle for greater democracy into the global spotlight. The scuffles exposed rifts in Hong Kongs political camps, with some pro-democracy advocates demanding a sharper break with China and other more establishment politicians calling for the ouster of the citys Beijing- backed leader. The result, expected today, will impact Chief Executive Leung Chun-yings ability to implement his agenda in the Asian financial hub and get re- elected in March. Also at stake is the oppositions capacity to block legislation with more than a third of the chambers 70 seats, a key barrier to controversial bills like the proposed election overhaul that sparked the mass Occupy rallies in 2014. You may be disappointed by the fact that Hong Kong, the city we love, has not been making more progress, said Carrie Lam, the citys chief secretary, after casting her vote yesterday morning. But it is exactly for this reason that I urge you to vote because indifference will not lead us anywhere. Alongside candidate banners and flags that have lined city streets in recent weeks, Hong Kongs government has advertised on billboards and on Googles YouTube home page, with the slogan vote for your choice. More than 500 voting stations were open in schools, government buildings and community centers across the city until 10:30 p.m. yesterday, for the 3.78 million people registered to cast their ballots. Since the last legislative election in 2012, Hong Kong has seen a series of political clashes over whether China is preserving the high degree of autonomy it promised before regaining sovereignty almost two decades ago. The disappearance last year of five local men who sold books critical of the ruling Communist Party drew international protests after they were revealed to be in the custody of mainland Chinese authorities. Underlying the election campaign are worries about rising competition from mainland Chinese workers, sky-high housing costs and a slowing economy. Growth in 2016 is forecast to slow to a seven-year low of 1.2 percent, according to a Bloomberg survey. A lack of reliable polling and a system in which lists of candidates vie for multiple seats in each district makes predicting the outcome difficult. Thirty-five seats represent geographical districts, while 30 represent various professions, industries and special- interest groups such as medicine, finance and agriculture. Five more super seats are selected by citywide vote. Legislators under the pan-democratic umbrella currently hold 27 seats, compared with 43 in the pro-establishment group. That gives the opposition the power to slow legislation with filibusters and block changes to the citys charter, which require support from two-thirds of the chamber. That power held by the opposition is the only thing preventing the government from reintroducing the political reform package against the will of Hong Kong people, said Chung Kim-wah, a political scientist at the Hong Kong Polytechnic University. It is important for the opposition to hold that majority if LegCo is to remain a balance to the executive power, he said, referring to the legislature. Five pan-democratic candidates said they were pulling out of the election late Saturday, urging their supporters to vote for others under the pan-democratic group, the South China Morning Post reported. The announcements were seen as a last- minute effort to unite the bloc in the face of fierce competition from the other side, according to the Post. The professional seats are dominated by Beijing loyalists, damping the fractious pro-democracy camps hope of winning a majority for the first time since the U.K. handed Hong Kong back to China in 1997. Maintaining unity has become even more challenging as more-radical parties push for self-determination or even independence from China. The government has drawn a red line on advocacy of independence, barring six candidates from running and requiring hopefuls to sign a form acknowledging that the city is an inalienable part of China. Still, some so-called localists have made the cut. Success in yesterdays vote could give them a greater platform to challenge China. Holding those views risked grave consequences, said Zou Pingxue, director of Hong Kong and Macau Basic Law Research Centre, Shenzhen University. The Hong Kong government took effective measures to deal with it, and I think this is the right thing to do. Leung has become the target of a cross-party campaign to urge Beijing to not support him for another five-year term as Hong Kongs leader. Leung, who refused to speak with students during the 79-day Occupy protest, is blamed for failing to calm political divides in the city. He hasnt said if he wants to stay on. Under current rules, the chief executive is selected by a 1,200-member committee of political insiders dominated by China loyalists, and subject to approval by the central government in Beijing. David Tweed, Natasha Khan, Bloomberg High turnout in Hong Kong election Voters have turned out in force for Hong Kongs crucial Legislative Council election. Turnout appeared to be higher than average, with long lines of people still waiting to cast ballots at some polling stations by the time voting was supposed to end last night. Some 52.6 percent of nearly 3.8 million registered voters had turned out an hour before polls closed, matching the total turnout for the previous election four years ago. Turnout in the 2008 election was 45.2 percent, according to the governments website. A beautician ended up charged with arson over the burning of joss papers, the Judiciary Police (PJ) informed in a joint press conference held at the police force headquarters yesterday afternoon. The case reportedly occurred on August 31 around 10 p.m. when an electrical appliances shop requested the polices help regarding a fire which had spread to their shop, located on Rua Sanches de Miranda. The shop claims a loss of MOP5,000 as a result of a small fire ignited by the employee of a Beauty Center next door. While burning joss papers, the staff member was unable to prevent fiery ashes from being blown under the door of the electrical appliances shop, which then initiated a small fire inside. A review of the CCTV camera footage provides evidence of the non-intentionality of the act, which nevertheless caused damage to the shop. The beautician, a non-resident worker of 28 years, now faces charges of arson by negligence. The Minister of Economy and Finance of Mozambique last week restated the governments commitment to comply with the recommendations and the timetable set out by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) last April, Mozambican newspaper Noticias reported. Minister Adriano Maleiane, who was speaking during a visit by President of the Republic to the Maputo International Fair, said the government has maintained contacts with the IMF, which is due to send a mission to Mozambique this month. Maleiane said the Mozambican government is working actively to clarify so-called hidden debts debts taken on by public companies with a State guarantee and said that the IMF mission will carry out the assessment required of it. The minister pointed out the adoption last July of a revised state budget, with a package of austerity measures, such as compliance with the recommendations of an IMF mission, which visited the country in June. The disclosure of loans that were taken on between 2013 and 2014 without consulting Parliament, international financial institutions and donors, has led the IMF and major donors to suspend financial aid to the country. MDT/Macauhub A new mobile-based ride-hailing app has launched in the territory, coinciding with the last gasps of Uber. The new service, which according to the Macao Government Tourism Office website is fully licensed, will provide a platform for passengers to contact existing licensed taxi drivers. According to a representative of Ying Hai Group Macau, which owns the new app, TaxiGo was established earlier this year and began operations this month only a few days ago. The mobile app, which can be downloaded from the App Store and Google Play (Android), allows users to search for and request a taxi, driven by one of Macaus traditional taxi drivers. As opposed to Ubers system of credit card payments, TaxiGo requires customers to pay the driver directly in cash. The companys representative said that the service is entirely legal, because it connects you to a local [already] licensed taxi and as a result, the firm has had its license to operate confirmed by MGTO. Andrew Scott, president of the MTPA, said that he was not previously aware of TaxiGos existence and came into contact with the Uber rival only yesterday. This is despite the community leaders forewarning last week in a Times Letter to the Editor, that someone, maybe sooner than we think, will fill the void created by Ubers departure. I am yet to be convinced that TaxiGo is a real company, said Scott, shedding doubt on the newly-launched service. Ive never seen anybody using it [and] we dont know if its viable in Macau. The big advantage of Uber was that it was well- known. A new company will take longer to get a foothold, he added. The app was in development as early as April 1, when a Times reporter spotted a presentation board of the service at an exhibition of student works at IPM. Although little advertising has been conducted ahead of its launch, a promotional video introducing the service has surfaced online. The video, which is eerily reminiscent of Ubers plea clip launched last month, shows licensed taxi drivers offering stellar service to customers and claiming their passengers become [their] friends. The app may not become a replacement for the soon-to-exit Uber, mainly because it will employ the same drivers already operating on Macaus streets. Consequently, there will be no increase in the number of taxi drivers and, some would argue, no incentive to reform customer service. In any case, the MTPA president says he will stand behind TaxiGo if it can deliver an efficient taxi system for which he continues to campaign. DB Pearl Horizon pre-sale buyers are staging a protest that will last for 15 consecutive days, the Radio Macau Chinese channel reported. According to the same report, the protest will be held in front of the Tai Fung Bank branch in Areia Preta and is related to claims of financial loss suffered by the buyers due to mortgage repayments for the residential units that were never built. Buyers also expressed concern over the developments future as it is currently under legal dispute with the government, which is trying to reclaim the land plot on the basis of its concession expiring back in December 2015. With the demonstration, the small owners hope to pressure their respective banking institutions to suspend mortgage repayments until a final solution to the case is reached in the courts. Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte warned President Barack Obama yesterday not to question him about extrajudicial killings, or son of a bitch I will swear at you when they meet in Laos during a regional summit. Duterte said before flying to Laos that he is a leader of a sovereign country and is answerable only to the Filipino people. He was answering a reporters question about how he intends to explain the extrajudicial killings to Obama. More than 2,000 suspected drug pushers and users have been killed since Duterte launched a war on drugs after taking office on June 30. In his typical foul-mouthed style, Duterte responded: I am a president of a sovereign state and we have long ceased to be a colony. I do not have any master except the Filipino people, nobody but nobody. You must be respectful. Do not just throw questions. Putang ina I will swear at you in that forum, he said, using the Tagalog phrase for son of a bitch. Duterte has earlier cursed the pope and U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon. It isnt clear whether Obama plans to raise the issue of extrajudicial killings with Duterte during a meeting on the sidelines of the summit of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations. Who is he to confront me? Duterte said, adding that the Philippines had not received an apology for misdeeds committed during the U.S. colonization of the Philippines. He pointed to the killing of Muslim Moros more than a century ago during a U.S. pacification campaign in the southern Philippines, blaming the wounds of the past as the reason why [the south] continues to boil with separatist insurgencies. Duterte also pointed to human rights problems in the United States. Last week, Duterte said he was ready to defend his bloody crackdown on illegal drugs, which has sparked concern from the U.S. and other countries. Duterte said he would demand that Obama allow him to first explain the context of his crackdown before engaging the U.S. president in a discussion of the deaths. The White House had no immediate reaction to Dutertes comments. Obama has been attending a meeting of the Group of 20 nations in Hangzhou, China. MDT/AP Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte gestures as he addresses Overseas Filipino Workers who were repatriated back to the country at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport, on August 31 Dutertes history of harsh language Dutertes warning to Obama is the latest irreverent utterance from a politician who has disparaged the pope and others who controvert his worldview. Some of the memorable broadsides on Dutertes growing list of them: ON THE UNITED NATIONS Maybe well just have to decide to separate from the United Nations. If youre that rude, son of a bitch, well just leave you. So take us out of your organization, you have done nothing here anyway. ON U.S. AID AND DIPLOMATS We were talking to [U.S. Secretary of State John] Kerry, hes OK but I had a feud with his gay ambassador. Son of a bitch, Im annoyed with that guy. He meddled in the elections, giving statements here and there. ON A SLAIN MISSIONARY I looked at her face, son of a bitch, she looks like a beautiful actress in America. Son of a bitch, what a waste. What came to mind was, they raped her, they lined up on her there. I was angry because she was raped, thats one thing. But she was so beautiful, the mayor should have been first. What a waste. ON THE POPES VISIT I wanted to call him, Pope, you son of a bitch, go home. Dont visit here anymore. The three-day summit of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations shines a rare spotlight on the landlocked nation of Laos, which usually stays under the radar. Along with Brunei, it is the most under reported and under-scrutinized country in the 10-nation ASEAN. Unlike fellow communist country Vietnam, the country of 6.2 million people is no economic beehive of activity. Nor does it have a democracy icon like Aung San Suu Kyi in Myanmar. Tourism, which has made Thailand a household name around the world, remains nascent; and it is not a U.S. ally like the Philippines, Singapore or Malaysia. Nor is it the worlds biggest Muslim nation by population like Indonesia to give it prominence. Little wonder then that what goes on in Laos, largely stays in Laos. But by virtue of taking on the rotating chairmanship of ASEAN this year, it has suddenly sprung into limelight. Also, its the first time a U.S. president will visit Laos. Most of Laos top leaders are from the first generation of revolutionary fighters, and even those who have retired retain influence over the Communist Party and the government. But the leadership is passing on to a younger generation slowly, evident in the party congress held this year. While the top two posts party secretary and president are held by an old guard, former Gen. Bounhyang Vorachit, the cabinet has many young ministers, including Prime Minister Thongloune Sisoulith, the second-highest ranking person in the Politburo. There is hope that this transition will lead to change in Laos. Thongloune has acknowledged corruption in the government and has taken action to halt illegal timber and wildlife trade. Still, many problems remain, such as environmental degradation, forced evictions and illegal land concessions. Also, Laos wants to improve its economy and the life of its people by attracting more foreign investments, especially from its ASEAN neighbors. It also wants to forge closer ties to the U.S. as a counterbalance to China, which has a massive economic influence here. MDT/AP At least 48 people were killed in a string of bombings inside government territory in Syria, state media reported yesterday. The Islamic State group has claimed responsibility for the attacks. The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitoring group, which maintains a network of contacts inside the country, put the toll at 47 dead. Conflicting casualty figures are common in the Syria war. The SANA news agency reported blasts in the coastal city of Tartus, the central city of Homs, the suburbs of the capital Damascus, and the northeastern city of Hasakeh. Attackers detonated two bombs at the entrance of the government stronghold of Tartus along the international coastal highway, SANA said, killing 30. A car bomb at the Arzoneh bridge was followed by a suicide bomber wearing an explosive belt who targeted the gathering crowd. The city, a stronghold of support for President Bashar Assad, is home to a major Russian naval base. The Observatory said the twin blasts killed at least 35 people, including an army colonel, and injured dozens more. The governor of Homs province said a car bomb struck a military checkpoint in the provincial capital, Homs, killing two soldiers and injuring four others, one critically. The city, Syrias third largest, is largely under government control, with only one neighborhood still under opposition control. yesterdays bomb exploded in the government-held Bab Tadmor district, SANA said. The Observatory said four soldiers were killed. Syrian TV aired footage showing massive damage to the area, with a number of smashed cars and the bloodied body of a guard at the checkpoint, where the blast had taken place. An attacker detonated his motorcycle at the Marsho roundabout in the northeastern city of Hasakeh, killing five, SANA said. Government military forces withdrew from the city in August after street battles with the Kurdish autonomous self-defense force for the region, the YPG. The YPG and its political wing, the PYD, inherited control of the city, though the states police force remained. The Observatory said the blast killed three members of the Kurdish police force, the Asayesh, and two civilians. SANA also reported an explosion in the Sabbourah suburb of the capital, Damascus, killing one. The Observatory said three people were killed. There has been no immediate claim of responsibility for the blasts. The Islamic State group claimed twin suicide bombings in the neighboring coastal towns of Tartus and Jableh in May that killed over 160 people. Albert Aji, Damascus, AP Tencent Holdings Ltd. has surpassed China Mobile Ltd. to become the countrys most valuable corporation, underscoring the growing importance of a vibrant private economy over lumbering state-owned enterprise. Tencent rose 4.2 percent to HKD210.20 in Hong Kong yesterday, reaching a market value of HKD1.99 trillion USD256.6 billion), edging past China Mobiles HKD1.97 trillion and putting the tech company in the ranks of the worlds 10 largest public companies, including Apple Inc. and Alphabet Inc. Tencents shares have jumped four-fold in as many years by building a lead in mobile gaming and online advertising, surpassing a roughly 20 percent advance in the Hang Seng Index. The companys rise exemplifies the new realities of the worlds second largest economy, where smokestack industries prepare to lay off workers while younger companies such as e-commerce giant Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. make inroads into everything from finance to media. Private businesses, marginalized for decades by a state sector that enjoyed easy funding from government-owned banks, now play a pivotal role in hiring and innovation, and the best performers are spearheading Chinas shift toward a consumption-led economy. Chinas economic restructuring is happening faster than many have expected, said Shen Jianguang, chief Asia economist for Mizuho Securities Asia Ltd. Services accounted for more than half of output last year for the first time, while consumption made up more than 70 percent of the expansion in the first half of this year. The rise of companies such as Tencent shows China can unlock still more of its growth potential by giving more market access to private companies and rolling back state monopolies, he said. Since 2006, the title of Chinas most valuable company has been held mainly by government-controlled industrial heavyweights such as China Mobile, Industrial & Commercial Bank of China Ltd. or PetroChina Ltd., according to data compiled by Bloomberg. Tencent arch-foe Alibaba also briefly held the title just after its 2014 debut. Bloomberg Traffic briefly came to a standstill at the intersection of Avenida do Infante Dom Henrique and Avenida de Dom Joao IV yesterday afternoon, due to an Uber demonstration that had its sights set on the Government Headquarters. It began as a disappointingly small demonstration of less than 150 people, and swelled in size to more than 250 by the time it reached its destination at the Nam Van Lake promenade. Spearheaded by Macau Community Development Initiatives (MCDI) leaders, including lawmaker Au Kam San and Love Macau Association president Cloee Chao, the demonstrators wielded placards provided by organizers and chanted slogans for about two hours yesterday. Among the messages brandished on signs held by demonstrators were: Make Uber legal, people need more options; Support coexistence [of taxis and ride-hailing services], enjoy the benefits of economic growth; and Crackdown on the monopoly. Another, in English, read: We need Uber, no [more] tickets. Pedestrian onlookers greeted the demonstrators with mixed reactions, some visibly exhibiting support for the cause and others among them tourists wearing a look of bewilderment. At the heart of Tap Seac Square, where the demonstrators rallied ahead of their march, lawmaker Au insisted that competition is a good thing and that Macau could follow mainland Chinas approach to legalizing and regulating these services. Meanwhile, Cloee Chao, who also took to the stage, emphasized that consumers today read books and order products online, and that ride-hailing apps are a natural extension of the conversion to internet-based services. She also justified the low turnout as the result of demonstrators needing to work or look after their children yesterday. Co-organizer and lawmaker Ng Kuok Cheong told the Times last week that MCDI leaders had expected a turnout of 600, given the signatures on the official Uber ePetition adding to more than 22,600, in addition to an estimated 2,000 Macau-based Uber drivers. Organizers could not have been anything but disappointed with yesterdays turnout of 250. Andrew Scott, president of the Macau Taxi Passengers Association (MTPA), told the Times yesterday that, regardless of the turnout, the demonstration will not make any difference whatsoever. The government made up their mind [on Uber] within 24 hours of [the firm] entering the market, he said. Asked whether the rallying of lawmakers to the Uber cause might be linked to opportunism ahead of the Legislative Assembly elections next year, Scott preferred not to comment on the issue. Instead, he highlighted the services popularity among residents as the chief reason for their involvement. Lawmakers rallied around the app precisely because of its popularity, explained Scott, [but] it wouldnt have been nearly as popular in Macau if the taxis were any good. In a statement provided to the Times, the Public Security Police Force (PSP) estimated that the protestors numbered to 200. To manage this, 60 PSP officers were dispatched to the areas between Tap Seac Square and the Government Headquarters. The police also reported that the protest was entirely peaceful and that no illegal incidents occurred. Uber announced last month that it would shortly be withdrawing from Macau following the hefty driver fines that are now in excess of MOP 10 million. The date penned for the termination of the ride-hailing service is September 9 (Friday). While Ubers exit from the Macau market is not unprecedented, it is unusual, making Macau one of the few regions where authorities have been successful in driving the firm out. Aside from Ubers recent withdrawal from the mainland China market (in return for a stake in its most prominent China-based competitor, Didi Chuxing), the company was also forced out of Hungary last month after the National Assembly voted to enable websites operating an illegal taxi service to be temporarily blocked for up to 365 days. Uber also faces ejection from Taiwan, after regulators accused the company of misrepresenting its service and subsequently exploiting its license to operate as a business. The MTPA president believes that the response from governments and transport authorities over the past few months is an indication of trouble ahead for Uber. There are a lot of issues with Uber and their destructive corporate culture, he said. I do believe that there will be more backlash from authorities [in the future]. The leaders of China and Japan plan to meet on the sidelines of the G-20 summit in Hangzhou on today, at a time of tensions over territory in the East China Sea. President Xi Jinping and Prime Minister Shinzo Abe will have a sit-down in the evening not just a handshake according to an official familiar with the plan, who asked not to be identified, citing government policy. Asias two largest economies have long bickered over territory and Japans wartime history, but things have taken a turn for the worse in recent months, even as trade and tourism have held up. Beijing has taken more assertive measures by sending greater numbers of vessels near uninhabited Japanese-administered islets in the East China Sea, triggering a flurry of protests from Tokyo. Its a good opportunity for both nations as they face economic downturn pressure domestically, said Liu Jiangyong, director of international relations at Tsinghua University in Beijing, referring to a Xi-Abe meeting. An improved relationship is needed by both China and Japan. The two leaders joined other heads of G-20 nations at a summit yesterday. Their sideline meeting would be the first since a brief chat during the Asian African Conference in Jakarta in April last year. Ahead of that, Abe and Xi shook hands as Xi greeted the G-20 leaders at the start of the summit on Sunday. Xi gave a brief smile while a more relaxed-looking Abe flashed a grin and appeared to laugh a little. During a leaders photograph, Abe stood in the middle row, to the back and several places to the left of Xi. The first time Abe and Xi met formally, at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum in Beijing in late 2014, it proved a brief and awkward affair. The nations broke their two- and-a-half year deadlock at the time with an uneasy handshake. Sino-Japanese ties hit a particularly icy patch in 2012 when Japan nationalized three of the East China Sea islands, and China announced an air defense identification zone over the waters in late 2013. Tensions were also sparked by an arbitration court ruling in July that invalidated most of Chinas claims in the South China Sea. While Japan is not a claimant in the South China Sea, it has supported some Southeast Asian nations and urged all parties to abide by the ruling. China has accused Japan of interfering. The latest tensions havent dented Chinese tourism to Japan the 731,400 visitors in July marked a monthly record or impacted trade. But they further complicate ties just as their economies face headwinds, as well as adding to the risk of a physical clash. Bloomberg New research has added to the growing list of challenges facing the nations pollinators. A study, published last week in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, suggests that agricultural changes in the Northern Great Plains particularly the expansion of corn and soybean cropland could be putting a strain on honeybee colonies by infringing on grasslands and other types of land cover more suitable for pollinators to forage on. The study finds that from at least 2006 to 2014, corn and soybean cropland has been increasing in parts of the Dakotas where beekeepers already house their colonies. This could be a problem, the researchers suggest, because beekeepers typically try to avoid these types of crops when selecting sites for their apiaries. Theres a lot of other research provided that shows that there are profound changes taking place in the Northern Great Plains, said Clint Otto , a research ecologist with the U.S. Geological Survey and lead author of the new study. The paper... takes a bee-centric view of these land-use changes and how it affects habitat suitability for supporting commercial honeybees. A growing national interest in the production of biofuels renewable fuels made from plant matter or other organic materials has sparked a recent uptick in the planting of crops that can be used for that purpose. Corn and soybeans are both common ingredients. The use of biofuels has been touted as one method of cutting down on greenhouse gas emissions in the transportation sector. The Environmental Protection Agency already requires refiners to mix a certain amount of renewable fuel, mainly corn-based ethanol, into the gasoline they produce. And some companies are beginning to produce biofuels for use in boats and planes, as well. Increased subsidies and the growing market for biofuels have likely helped contribute to the rise in corn and soybean cultivation in the Northern Great Plains, the researchers note an expansion that can come at the cost of grasslands and wetlands. The new study grew out of an interest in investigating the effects his type of agricultural expansion might have on the ecosystem, compared to what is produced by the natural environment in the region. Plant pollination, carried out by bees and other insects, is estimated to have an economic value of $15 billion a year, and the Northern Great Plains serve as a hub for commercial beekeeping, supporting up to 40 percent of the nations honeybee colonies. While the new study doesnt actually draw any connections between biofuel cropland and pollinator health, experts believe that corn and soybean cropland is less than ideal for the bees when it comes to foraging. Corn, in particular, is thought to be a poor forage crop for honeybees, who tend to prefer other types of plants and corn pollen is primarily spread by wind, rather than insects, anyway. Additionally, these crops are often treated with pesticides and herbicides that could be harmful to pollinators, the researchers noted in the study. Recent field studies conducted in the [Northern Great Plains] have shown that apiaries surrounded by larger scale agricultural land covers, including biofuels, have lower honeybee colony overwintering survival rates and increased physiological stress, they wrote. Bret Adee, a beekeeper and co-owner of the South Dakota-based Adee Honey Farms (who was not involved with the new study), noted that the more diverse the plant resources the better when it comes to managing healthy bees. The types of agricultural land typically thought to be best for pollinators are the type often cultivated in conjunction with cattle farming, such as clover and alfalfa fields, he said. To conduct the study, researchers first identified approximately 18,000 sites in North and South Dakota where beekeepers had registered apiaries. They then used maps of the region from 2006 to 2014 to quantify changes over time in the type of land cover around these apiaries. They found significant gains in the biofuel crop area surrounding apiary locations during the study period an increase of 1.2 million hectares, or more than 4,600 square miles, in all. At the same time, grassland cover around these sites decreased. Next, the researchers gathered data on the types of land cover in which beekeepers in the region had chosen to place their apiaries in the past and fed that information into a model that showed them which types of land beekeepers most preferred and which they avoided. The researchers found that apiary placement was most strongly associated with grasslands, as well as alfalfa fields and open water. On the other hand, apiary placement was negatively associated with biofuel crops in other words, beekeepers were less likely to place their colonies near that type of environment. What all of these results essentially mean is that the type of land cover most avoided by beekeepers is increasing around their apiaries at the expense of the types of habitats they most prefer. In other words, if this type of agricultural expansion continues, it may mean that beekeepers will be increasingly less able to place their apiaries in the kinds of habitats they consider most desirable. Whether this translates into actual health concerns for the bees remains to be seen, Otto noted the new paper doesnt actually suggest that honeybee populations are declining as a result. However, a few other studies have suggested this could be the case. At least two studies have suggested that land use changes in the Northern Great Plains can affect honeybee survival and productivity. And another study, published just last year, indicated that wild bees could be affected as well. That paper suggested a link between wild bee declines and the conversion of natural habitats for the cultivation of row crops, particularly corn. Adee, the South Dakota beekeeper, suggested theres room for both to thrive. Increased crop rotation, for instance, adds diversity to the landscape, which is good for bees, he noted. And rotating crops is also good for the soil and can help reduce the risk of insect infestations, cutting down on the need for pesticides a win for both the plants and the pollinators. A practice called intercropping, in which multiple types of crops are sown together, could also produce similar results when possible. So we get the benefit of healthier fields, healthier soils and forages for the bees, Adee said. If this idea takes hold... I think we have some real possibilities for a rebounding of the bees. The U.S. Department of Agriculture already works with landowners in the region on the development of conservation programs, Otto noted. And he added that his research team is currently involved in helping the agency develop new conservation efforts by figuring out what types of plants are most favored by pollinators in the Northern Great Plains. Ultimately, any land use policy should be evaluated in terms of its costs and benefits to society, Otto suggested. The development of biofuels has a clear environmental purpose but it also contributes to landscape changes that are still not entirely understood. What I hope is that other people can take this information and say, OK, how do we use it now to make wiser decisions about how we manage lands out here, Otto said. MENDOTA, Calif. Many California farmworkers who make up the backbone of the nations No. 1 agricultural state were praising historic legislation that brings them closer to receiving the same overtime pay as the rest of the states workers who are paid by the hour. If signed into law by Gov. Jerry Brown, a new overtime bill would put California at the forefront nationally of farm labor pay and mark a victory in the fight to improve farmworkers rights in the decades old movement launched by Cesar Chavez, the legendary co-founder of the National Farm Workers Association who fought for higher farm worker pay. Brown, a Democrat, has not said whether he will sign the law that would be the first of its kind for the United States. Florentino Reyes, 48, has been picking tomatoes and working a wide variety of crops in Californias fertile Central Valley for more than two decades and says he could make another $60 weekly. That would give him more purchasing power to buy better food and clothes for his wife and three children and ease his stress over paying down bills. For me, its discrimination, said Reyes, finishing up Tuesdays harvesting of green tomatoes near the town of Mendota. But other farmworkers are nervous about California farmers claims that the higher overtime pay could hurt them economically and outprice California products from the marketplace in favor of crops grown in other states and countries. Gonzalo Najera, who drives a tractor on Salinas Valleys lettuce, carrots and broccoli fields, said some farmers are saying the extra overtime payments could drive them out of the state, but he doesnt buy the argument. The growers cant leave, Najera said. They cant take their dirt with them. The 35-year-old father of four also has parents back in Mexico, who rely on money he regularly sends. He earns about $33,000 a year and said he has worked seven days a week since March this year. The added overtime pay he expects to receive will correct a longstanding injustice so farm workers are no longer treated as second class California employees, Najera said. Under the current law, California employers must pay time-and-a-half to farmworkers after 10 hours a day or 60 hours a week. Lawmakers in Sacramento on Monday sent the legislation to Brown that would give them overtime after eight hours in a day or 40 hours a week. It is backed by the United Farm Workers, which Chavez helped found in 1962, more than three decades before his death. Farmers vehemently oppose it, and third-generation almond and olive farmer Pat Ricchiuti said approval by Brown could prompt him to cut his workers take-home pay by as much as 33 percent. The Fresno Country farmer says he and others he know would respond by limiting crews to eight hours by finding other workers and increasing their use of farm machinery. It is really, really sad, Ricchiuti said. The only people getting hurt in this are the workers. Ricchuiti argued that farming shouldnt be compared to other industries, because it is seasonal, susceptible to unpredictable weather and the availability of water, a scarce resource in drought-stricken California, he said. Each of these limit when he needs workers to certain times of the year, he said. Farmworker Juan Valencia, 39, who raises calves on a Fresno County dairy, said he often works more than 60 hours weekly and gets overtime but fears his boss might cut him to 40 hours making it hard for him to support his wife and two young children. They make it sound pretty. Its not going to be pretty at all, said Valencia, who earns about $32,000 a year. Im going to have to look for another job. Reyes, the tomato picker, said the farmers claims are political heat aimed at trying to prevent Brown from giving him the same pay protections that the rest of Californias hourly workers have. Weve been waiting for this change, Reyes said. They make it sound pretty. Its not going to be pretty at all. Im going to have to look for another job. Juan Valencia, Fresno County, Calif., dairy worker, who earns about $32,000 per year A power struggle in Egypt is upending global wheat markets as a dispute between government ministries resulted in the nations failure Wednesday to buy grain needed to subsidize bread. Egypts state-run buyer couldnt attract enough offers and thus had to cancel Wednesdays tender after the Agriculture Ministry said over the weekend it would ban any imports with traces of ergot, naturally occurring fungus that can be dangerous in large amounts, the nations Supply Ministry said Wednesday. The statement highlights a dispute between the two government sectors over who controls imports in the worlds largest buyer, where state grain purchases help supply bread to a population of more than 90 million. Wheat is back at the center of a standoff between Egypt and international traders this year after the Agriculture Ministry said on Aug. 28 it had reinstated rules that are stricter than international standards and aim at protecting the local crop from being contaminated with the fungus. The new ruling runs counter to a less restrictive policy by the Supply Ministry. The nation has gone back and fourth with its regulations over ergot, rejecting cargoes sold from companies including U.S. agribusiness giant Bunge Ltd. and local trader Al Wehda. Im not sure why someone in Egypt is trying to make things stricter, said Michael McDougall, a senior director at Societe Generale SA in New York. Has there ever been an outbreak of fungus that decimated local crops? I have never heard of anything like that so something doesnt appear to add up. Venus International was the only company willing to supply wheat to Egypt in Wednesdays tender compared with seven traders that participated in the process last week, according to traders familiar with the matter, who asked not to be identified as they are not allowed to speak to the media. Tunisia, which buys seven times less wheat than Egypt, managed to attract offers from 13 firms in a separate tender Wednesday before buying 50,000 metric tons from Dutch grains trader Nidera, according to a trader involved in the process. Wheat is crucial to Egypt, where bread shortages triggered food riots in the past. The Middle Eastern nation, which sends a team to check the quality for every cargo it buys at the loading port, could save as much as $30 million a year with changes to tender terms including using international inspection agencies, Peter Talks, a consultant for the Rome-based Food & Agriculture Organization, said last year. Egypt has already lived through the riots that occurred when wheat prices went up, it took down Mubarak then, McDougall said. What will they do when they have no wheat? No one wants to play their games, and sooner or later, they have to bend a bit. The country has stockpiles to cover demand for more than 6 months, the supply ministry said. Egypt, which buys greater than 30 percent more wheat than the No. 2 importer Indonesia, is paying $6 a ton to $7 a ton more than private companies partly because of quality-inspection requirements, Talks said at the Global Grain Conference in Geneva in November, citing FAO figures. The UN body said in a report to Egypt earlier this year that international ergot standards of as much as 0.05 percent didnt present a threat. The Agriculture Ministry said on Sunday that a follow-up study showed the fungus is a risk to local crops and the FAO report didnt account for different strains of ergot. Its difficult to see where Egypt might go with this, said Amy Reynolds, a senior economist at the International Grains Council in London. As the worlds largest buyer, they need to secure supplies and it might have a possible stalemate. Egypt has already lived through the riots that occurred when wheat prices went up, it took down Mubarak then. What will they do when they have no wheat? No one wants to play their games, and sooner or later, they have to bend a bit. Michael McDougall, a senior director at Societe Generale SA in New York EPHRATA, Pa. A central Pennsylvania agricultural fair has suspended its annual pig and rooster chases due to safety concerns after an animal rights protester jumped a fence last year and entered a pig chase area. An Ephrata Fair attorney says similar disruptions were expected this year. Attorney Richard Young said the fair is intended to educate attendees about the importance of agriculture while providing a safe and fun environment for the entire family. Fair officials say they havent decided whether to continue the chases, which have been running for nearly four decades. Hundreds of children participate in the annual events. Kelly Lehman, who jumped the fence last year, says she will continue her efforts until the chases are banned. BURLEY Watco Companies LLC has purchased Keystone RV Companys former manufacturing facility west of Burley for an undisclosed amount of cash. Coldwell Banker Commercial Advisors brokered the sale for the two companies and called it among the largest commercial property transactions in southern Idaho in the past few years. Watco company officials were not available for comment on Friday. We are thrilled to have advised two great companies in this transaction that will once again bring jobs back to the site, Jarrod Hunt, senior vice president-industrial services with Coldwell said. Ensuring our clients needs are met with every purchase and sale is our highest priority. This transaction accomplished that. The facility has 156,400 square feet of manufacturing and office space. The property encompasses 121 acres of land and has three climate controlled potato storage buildings that were built by Max Herbold Company, the owners prior to Keystone. Kansas-based Watco Companies plans to utilize the facility to accommodate warehousing and distribution services for existing customers. This will be good for our area, Doug Manning, Burley economic development director, said. It will be a very valuable piece of infrastructure for the community and I think it lead to great things in the future. Manning said he was not cleared to discuss any details of the acquisition or future plans for facility. Labor Day traditionally is a time for celebrating our working men and women, the folks who keep our society running, who keep us healthy, who build our communities, who feed and clothe us, who serve and protect us, and who sacrificed over the years to improve working conditions for all of us. Work is the gold standard of self-determination and freedom. Work opens the doors to opportunity and helps us achieve our goals of independence and self-reliance. An appreciation of work is both a value to be passed from generation to generation and one goal among many to help us measure our success in life. Job growth is a metric aggregating those individual success stories into a measure of broader economic progress. So its great news, and not surprising, that Idaho has been leading the nation in job growth. Our statewide unemployment rate now is 3.8 percent, down sharply from 9.7 percent in June and July 2009. But its important to remember that while job growth is a primary indicator of an improving economy especially when it raises per capita income levels in a community or a state not all job growth is created equal. Dont get me wrong; good-paying jobs are inherently valuable wherever they are created. But economically and politically, growing the number of government jobs in society generally is not considered real progress. After all, government is the ultimate service industry. Its focus is not on producing or manufacturing but rather on improving the underlying conditions for private-sector economic growth. The First Lady and I greatly value our hard-working State employees who strive every day to meet the needs of Idaho citizens. They have our deepest respect and gratitude for their labors, as do all whose bread is earned by the sweat of their own brow. But except when the bottom fell out of the global economy in 2008-2009, job growth in Idahos State government has been consistently outpaced by private employment growth throughout my tenure as Governor. From my point of view thats the proper dynamic between government employment and private-sector jobs, and its the way I am committed to keeping it while I hold this office. Even in 2009-2010, when the private sector was taking it on the chin to the tune of an actual 1.1-percent decline in Idaho jobs, our State government reduced its employment by 5.3 percent. And as the economy started to turn around, Idaho businesses began growing jobs at rates from two to four times that of the State. That was and remains a result of entrepreneurs and business leaders expressing confidence in Idahos recipe for job growth and economic success: Keep government small, efficient and responsive; live within the peoples means, and keep more money in taxpayers hands. We still have a lot of work to do. We need more and better-educated, better-trained people to meet the growing demands of our employers. We are addressing that need through my K-through-Career focus on improving education and workforce development with sustainable investments in our public schools and post-secondary educational opportunities. Some critics also contend the Tax Reimbursement Incentive we enacted a couple of years ago goes beyond governments proper role in Idahos economy. But its tough to take issue with public policy that in two years has resulted in 4,737 new jobs in Idaho and $2.1billion in new payroll generating an estimated $216.7 million in new State revenue and a 400-percent return on taxpayer investment. Add that kind of proven carrot to make our outstanding work force and world-class standard of living even more attractive to employers and the result is more jobs, higher wages, and the kind of economic environment that really makes Labor Day a time to celebrate Idaho! A few years back, when Idaho legislators debated whether to establish a state insurance exchange program under the Affordable Care Act, I criticized most of them for an obsession, not with the health of uninsured Idahoans, but with the perceived evils of the federal government. Today, the exchange in Idaho is established, popular, heavily used and without doubt saving lives and improving health. Debate has nonetheless continued over what to do about the 78,000 Idahoans who earn too little to qualify for participation in the exchange and get payment help for health care if at all through a state and local government catastrophic health program, which pays hospitals for some emergency care no one else will compensate. The answer adopted by 31 states, and proposed by many in Idaho, is to allow expansion of Medicaid to cover the 78,000. After four years of that debate, some progress: At least now, theyre talking to a significant degree about health care. Progress should be noted where it happens. But dont consider the progress, even after four years with a good, working example right in front of them, too spectacular. The most recent discussion of Medicaid expansion came in an interim legislative committee on August 29. The pro side included savings of many millions of dollars (now paid out in expensive emergency medical care costs) to state and local governments, clear help for the health of many Idahoans and overwhelmingly positive public comments to legislative and others panels over four years. And on the other side? Sen. Steve Thayn said he doubts federal rules on food stamps or Medicaid encourages people to become productive. If were really, truly looking at an Idaho solution, we need to look at what we can do with Idaho money, Idaho rules, and what we can do to change the cost of medical care. What is that exactly wed all love to know and if there are such options why has no one found them in the last four years? Rep. Judy Boyle of Midvale: I think weve heard of some other [non-Medicaid] options. I think we can come up with a really good solution that fits Idaho. What sort of options? Theres a non-profit from Seattle that arranges for free care for some low-income people. And a lone (apparently) Idaho Falls physician who takes no insurance payments, just charges very low rates and keeps his overhead down. Interesting instances both, but if you ask why theyre not more widespread nothing in the Affordable Care Act or other law is stopping them youve halfway answered your question. Or just ask your local hospital or physician why theyre not doing it this way. Their responses would run much longer than this column, but probably point out the many costs, services and risks left addressed by operating essentially as a pure charity. Limiting costs is a great thing to do, would be smart to bear in mind, and must be part of where health care planning goes in the years to come, but it wont be easy. Finding ways to do it everywhere in the health care system would be useful work for lawmakers and others for years to come. In the meantime, 78,000 Idahoans are stuck in a holding pattern of being without health care coverage except the most expensive kind (in crisis condition in hospital emergency rooms) which when paid for at all is paid by local taxpayers or by hospitals who pass on the costs to everyone else. It is a nonsensical system, both in terms of finance and health. The most positive spin for not improving it seems to be that some people insist on finding perfectly satisfying answers, in opposition to merely fostering public health and saving lives. China and Russia should firmly support each other's efforts to safeguard sovereignty, security and development interests, President Xi Jinping said on Sunday. Xi made the remarks in a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin on the sidelines of the G20 Summit in Hangzhou. The two countries should push forward practical cooperation in areas such as infrastructure construction, energy, aviation, aerospace and high-technology, Xi said, adding that bilateral military exchanges and security cooperation should also be strengthened. China and Russia should strengthen coordination in international and regional affairs to safeguard justice and promote world peace, he said. Xi also called for the alignment of China's Belt and Road Initiative with the Russia-led Eurasian Economic Union. A successful G20 Summit could meet the demands of a developing global economy and is in the common interest of all members, including China and Russia, Xi said. During Putin's state visit to China in June, the two nations issued three joint declarations and signed some 30 cooperative agreements. Such collaboration reflects the shared stance of China and Russia on key international and regional issues, with both sides making similar comments on safeguarding global strategic security and world peace, Xi said. Putin said Russia would like to join with China to share political trust and their people's friendship to stimulate economic cooperation. The two countries should enhance cooperation in trade, investment, finance, energy, science and technology, to bring real benefits to people on both sides, he added. He voiced support for the G20 Summit theme and agenda set by China and said he hoped the summit will be a success. This year marks the 20th anniversary of the countries' establishing a strategic partnership of coordination, as well as the 15th anniversary of the signing of the China-Russia Treaty of Good Neighborly Friendship and Cooperation. Contact between the top leaders of China and Russia has been frequent in recent years, sometimes five or six meetings a year, which reflects the strategic importance of bilateral ties, said Jin Yong, deputy head of the School of Foreign Studies at Communication University of China. Chen Yurong, director of Eurasian studies at the China Institute of International Studies, added that cooperation in infrastructure and energy industries are at the top of the agenda for China-Russia exchanges. "Beijing is pushing forward the Belt and Road Initiative, aimed at improving connectivity in Eurasia, while Moscow needs support to counter declining oil prices," she said. anbaijie@chinadaily.com.cn President Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin arrive for the G20 Summit in Hangzhou, Zhejiang province, on Sunday. Nicolas Asfouri / Reuters (China Daily 09/05/2016 page2) A cafe in Spain has begun charging its customers more for their coffees and pastries if they are rude when ordering. Restaurant Blau Grifeu in Llanca charges rude customers 5 for their morning pick-me-up while those who behave more graciously pay just 3. Saying please and wishing the barista a good morning will get you a coffee for as little as 1.30. Israeli Craft Beer Saga * The Beer Bazaar has been in touch with me, and I hope to have a proper visit in the near future. I must say that they really seem to care ... Bye, Bye Cafe Rimon For as long as I remember Jerusalem, going on forty-nine 49 years, there has always been a restaurant, or two, called "Rimon" just... the easiest cake recipe Plain Cake, Simply Delicious! This is the basis for all sorts of cakes, including chocolate, apple, chocolate chip, etc. It can be multipl... Best Salad Deal in Jerusalem The other day my friend and I needed a quick lunch before going to our "next stop/event." All I wanted to eat was a salad, and she... Jerusalem Light Festival 2018, Rather Dull The other night I went to the Jerusalem Light Festival 2018, even though I couldn't find anyone to go with. There were thousands of othe... Win for "Jerusalem Big Blue Lions" Opening Game! 46-10 Lions beat the Petach Tikva Troopers 46-10 We (two of my kids and I-after m... Piccolino Friday Brunch, What Took Me So Long? For years I had been hearing about the Friday Brunch served at Piccolino , but it took me until last Friday to finally experience it. The oc... Newly Decorated "Tunnel" Last night, when my husband and I got off of the bus that had taken us from Ashdod to Jerusalem, I wondered how we were going to cross the ... Leader of the French far rightist party, Le Front National, has lashed out at presidential hopeful and former president Nicolas Sarkozy for the secret visit he paid to King Salman of Saudi Arabia in Tangier, Morocco, where he was vacationing in August. Marine Le Pen, who called the meeting controversial, told her supporters at a rally in the French city of Brachay, on September 2, that as revealed by French Marianne newspaper Nicolas Sarkozy secretly travelled to Morocco early August to meet the Saudi King and pledge him allegiance. Nicolas Sarkozy on August 3 visited King Salman in his private residence in Tangier. According to Marianne it was a seduction move in view of refreshing French-Saudi ties. During the two-hour meeting, Sarkozy claimed his attachment to Islam in France, while he is known for his anti-Islam stance. He has been accused of demonizing Islam to gain public support in France. During his meeting with King Salmane, he also alluded to his presidential ambition, but according to the French magazine, the meeting yielded no results as Riyadh is currently more concerned with strengthening ties with the U.S. and with the American elections. Sarkozy late last month announced his presidential ambitions in his book titled Everything for France where he intimated his intentions were mission-like at the time the country is caught up in a difficult situation marred by a series of terrorist attacks. The FN leader pointed out that French electors cannot afford to rally behind someone who claims his opposition to terrorism but pledges allegiance to the promoters of Wahhabism. For Marine Le Pen, there is discrepancy between the image that Sarkozy has promoted in his election campaigns, and the alliances he established under wraps with promoters of extremism. Clearly, Nicolas Sarkozy, who wants to be the media champion of fighting Islamic radicalism, paid allegiance to the global promoter of Wahhabism. That is, the doctrine adopted by the most obscurantists, most radicals, and organizers of the worst provocations, she was quoted by several media outlets as saying. Wahhabism, a religious movement or branch of Sunni Islam, is described as ultraconservative, austere and fundamentalist. In 2013, the European Parliament identified Wahhabism as the main source of global terrorism. Civilians continue to disproportionately bear the burden of acts of terrorism, violence and armed conflict in Iraq, accounting for more than two-thirds of those killed or injured in the month of August, the United Nations Assistance Mission in Iraq (UNAMI) announced. The bloodletting in Iraq continues without let-up, the Secretary-Generals Special Representative for Iraq, Jan Kubis, said in a news release issued by the UNAMI, earlier this month. Casualty figures remain too high and civilians again are bearing the brunt, he added. According to the UNAMIs casualty figures for the month of August, a total of 691 Iraqis were killed, of whom 68 percent were civilians. Similarly, of the 1,016 injured, 813, or about 80 per cent, were civilians, the press release said, adding that the figures do not include the western province Anbar, as the UN mission has been unable to obtain the August figures from the local health department. In the news release, the UNAMI head also strongly condemned the terrorist attacks and violent acts, including recent suicide attacks by the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) at a wedding celebration in Ain Al-Tamr in Karbala that killed and wounded many, and bombings in capital Baghdad. [We] reiterate our call on the parties to undertake every effort to safeguard the lives of civilians and urge Iraqis in general to show strength in unity in the face of this unrelenting violence, he said. The United States and China have formally ratified the Paris agreement to curb climate change in a joint declaration Saturday, ahead of the G20 summit in Hangzhou, China. The announcement, made jointly by Presidents Barack Obama and Xi Jinping, is a major stride towards the global accord being enforced by the end of the year. China and the USA are responsible for almost 40 per cent of total carbon emissions worldwide. President of the 22nd session of the Conference of the Parties (COP 22) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), Moroccan Foreign Minister, Salaheddine Mezouar, hailed the move as an important step towards the entry into force of the Paris Agreement. He said, this process must continue and be intensified. The Paris Agreement, negotiated by representatives of 195 countries at the 21st Conference of the Parties of the UNFCCC in Paris and adopted by consensus on December 12, 2015, is the worlds first comprehensive agreement on climate. The deal commits countries to cut emissions sufficiently to keep the global average rise in temperatures below 2 degrees Celsius compared with pre-industrial levels. To enter into force, the Agreement needs to be signed and ratified by at least 55 countries representing at least 55 percent of global emissions. As of September 2016, 180 UNFCCC members have signed the treaty, but only 26 have ratified it, which is not enough for the treaty to enter into force. The ratification by the USA and China of the Paris Agreement comes few weeks prior to COP22 Conference, to be held in the city of Marrakech next November 7 through18. In another development, President of the Economic, Social and Environmental Council (CESE) and of the COP22 Scientific Committee, Nizar Baraka, highlighted in Buenos Aires, during a preparatory meeting for COP22, the importance of common values in raising climate awareness and encouraging responsible commitment to the environment. Notwithstanding our differences and our origins, we must seek in our religions, cultures and beliefs shared values that are necessary for the promotion of responsible commitment to nature and future generations, he was quoted by MAP news agency as saying during the meeting. He stressed the need to share the values of peace, commitment and solidarity with the greatest number of people to kindle hope for a better future. The CESE will hold on November 3 in the city of Fez a Summit of Consciences to provide the various parties to COP22 with a roadmap for a common environmental commitment. Belgium announced Monday it would donate Palestine a humanitarian aid worth over 10 million to meet the needs of the Palestinians. The Belgian Foreign Ministry said in a statement that the aid amounting to 10,281,321 euros will be entrusted to the United Nations system and to Belgian and international NGOs that are involved in assistance to Palestine. Belgian Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Cooperation for Development, Alexander De Croo, said two years after the conflict in 2014 in Gaza, the humanitarian challenges remain unchanged and the needs are still as important. He deemed it essential to support vulnerable households suffering from the protracted humanitarian crisis and the recurring cycle of confrontations that the 2.3 million needy Palestinians in the occupied Palestinian territories are subjected to. For 2016, Belgium has earmarked a total of over 20 million of humanitarian aid to the needy Palestinians. The Belgian aid is destined to rehabilitate fishing activities and promote the free movement of goods and people through providing legal assistance, by establishing and strengthening advocacy activities. The aid also seeks to expand access to basic health care and services for risk preparedness and psycho-social support to the most vulnerable people in the Gaza Strip. Belgian funds will also serve to protect Palestinians threatened by forced displacement in the West Bank and to preserve and promote the right to education of Palestinian children in the West Bank and Gaza Strip. In addition, the funds will help rehabilitate and reconstruct Palestinians homes that were severely damaged during the hostilities of 2014. People with the most common type of lung cancer whose disease has spread to the brain could be spared potentially harmful whole brain radiotherapy, according to new research published in The Lancet. The phase 3 randomised trial found that whole brain radiotherapy had no beneficial effect on length or quality of survival over treatment with steroids and other supportive care. Despite its widespread use, until now there has been no robust evidence to determine whether whole brain radiotherapy, which can have substantial side effects (eg, fatigue, nausea, neurotoxicity), is better than best supportive care alone in terms of prolonging life or improving quality of life. The authors say that while whole brain radiotherapy may be beneficial in patients who are younger than 60 years old, it should no longer be considered standard treatment for the majority of patients with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) that has spread to the brain. The findings will be presented at the European Respiratory Society meeting in London on Monday 5th September. More than 1.8 million people will be diagnosed with lung cancer worldwide this year. Up to 30% of NSCLC will eventually spread to the brain and most are inoperable and have a poor prognosis. Secondary brain tumours are usually treated with whole brain radiotherapy along with supportive care including steroids (usually dexamethasone), but with limited success. "Whole brain radiotherapy was widely adopted into clinical practice based on the assumption it improves tumour control in patients with brain metastases. But in our lung cancer clinics, we were not seeing the improvements we had hoped for in our patients. Survival times are poor and have hardly changed since the 1980s. What's more, the technique's toxicity can be substantial and it can damage cognitive function", explains study author Dr Paula Mulvenna, Consultant Clinical Oncologist, Newcastle Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, Newcastle upon Tyne, UK. In order to see if patients could be treated as effectively without whole brain radiotherapy (WBRT), Mulvenna and colleagues designed the non-inferiority Quality of Life after Treatment for Brain Metastases (QUARTZ) trial. They recruited 538 NSCLC patients (aged 18 or older) with brain metastases from 69 centres in the UK and three in Australia between March 2007 and August 2014. Participants were randomly assigned to receive either best supportive care and dexamethasone, or best supportive care and dexamethasone plus whole brain radiotherapy (20 Gy in five daily fractions). As the life expectancy of patients with advanced NSCLC is poor, the benefits of treatment were measured in terms of quality adjusted life years (QALYS) which combines length and quality of life (evaluated during weekly telephone assessments). The researchers decided that a reduction in QALYs of no more than 7 days would convince clinicians and patients that WBRT should no longer be considered as standard care. By October 2015, 536 patients had died (267 in the whole brain radiotherapy group and 269 in the best supportive care alone group). Findings showed that patients in both groups lived a similar length of time after randomisation (average survival 64.4 days whole brain radiotherapy group vs 59.5 days best supportive care alone group ), and experienced a similar quality of life. Having one week of whole brain radiation showed no quality-of-life benefit. Furthermore, the difference between the groups in terms of average QALYs was just 4.7 days (46.4 days in the whole brain radiotherapy group vs 41.7 days in the best supportive care alone group. There were no clear differences in steroid use or the number of serious adverse events reported in both groups, although more episodes of drowsiness, hair loss, nausea, and dry/itchy scalp were reported while patients were receiving WBRT. The authors note that although the patients recruited in this trial had a poorer prognosis than those in previous studies (which provided the basis for the use of whole brain radiotherapy), they are typical of patients in routine clinical practice, of whom very few (3.5%-7.5%) fall into the better prognosis groups. Dr Mulvenna explains, "Just 30 patients (6%) in our analysis fell into the best prognosis group. Most (301 of 533; 56%) fell into the intermediate group who have previously been thought to benefit most from whole brain radiotherapy, but actually appear to derive no substantial benefit from this treatment." The researchers point to several caveats including the fact that 11% of participants randomised to whole brain radiotherapy were in too poor health or did not live long enough to receive the treatment. Additionally, the quality of life assessment was limited to key measures to avoid overburdening patients. According to Professor Ruth Langley from the Medical Research Council Clinical Trials Unit at University College London, where the study was designed and co-ordinated, "Whole brain radiotherapy cannot be considered as the standard treatment for all patients with brain metastases because it does not extend survival, improve quality of life, or reduce steroid use. Overtime, there's been a shift away from using whole brain radiation in favour of radiosurgery, which has minimal side effects. Our results could further restrict its use. In the future, potential new treatments (whether using drugs or stereotactic radiotherapy techniques) should be assessed in addition to best supportive care rather than in addition to, or in place of, whole brain radiotherapy." Writing in a linked Comment, Dr Cecile Le Pechoux from Gustave Roussy Cancer Campus, Villejuif, France and colleagues discuss whether there is still a place for whole brain radiotherapy in NSCLC patients with brain metastases. They conclude, "This trial might not rule out use of whole brain radiotherapy in all patients with NSCLC and brain metastases...We believe that optimised whole brain radiotherapy, given at the right time to appropriate patients, could lead to more individualised strategies. Both systemic and local treatments of brain metastases need to be discussed with patients, taking into account the results of this trial, classical prognostic factors, and the molecular status." Explore further Lung cancer patients whose tumor has spread to the brain could be spared radiotherapy Intermediate magnification micrograph of a low malignant potential (LMP) mucinous ovarian tumour. H&E stain. The micrograph shows: Simple mucinous epithelium (right) and mucinous epithelium that pseudo-stratifies (left - diagnostic of a LMP tumour). Epithelium in a frond-like architecture is seen at the top of image. Credit: Nephron /Wikipedia. CC BY-SA 3.0 Deaths from ovarian cancer fell worldwide between 2002 and 2012 and are predicted to continue to decline in the USA, European Union (EU) and, though to a smaller degree, in Japan by 2020, according to new research published in the leading cancer journal Annals of Oncology today. The main reason is the use of oral contraceptives and the long-term protection against ovarian cancer that they provide, say the researchers, who are led by Professor Carlo La Vecchia (MD), from the Faculty of Medicine, University of Milan (Italy). They say the decline in hormone replacement therapy (HRT) to manage menopausal symptoms and better diagnosis and treatment may also play a role. Using data on deaths from ovarian cancer from 1970 to the most recent available year from the World Health Organization, the researchers found that in the 28 countries of the EU (minus Cyprus due to the unavailability of data) death rates decreased by 10% between 2002 and 2012, from an age standardised death rate per 100,000 women of 5.76 to 5.19. In the USA the decline was even greater, with a 16% drop in death rates from 5.76 per 100,000 in 2002 to 4.85 in 2012. In Canada ovarian cancer death rates decreased over the same period by nearly 8% from 5.42 to 4.95. In Japan, which has had a lower rate of ovarian cancer deaths than many other countries, the death rate fell by 2% from 3.3 to 3.28 per 100,000. Large decreases occurred in Australian and New Zealand between 2002 and 2011 (the most recent year for which data were available); in Australia the death rate declined by nearly 12% from 4.84 to 4.27, and in New Zealand they dropped by 12% from 5.61 to 4.93 per 100,000 women. However, the pattern of decreases was inconsistent in some areas of the world, for instance in Latin American countries and in Europe. Among European countries, the percentage decrease ranged from 0.6% in Hungary to over 28% in Estonia, while Bulgaria was the only European country to show an apparent increase. In the UK, there was a 22% decrease in death rates, which fell from 7.5 to 5.9 per 100,000 women. Other EU countries that had large decreases included Austria (18%), Denmark (24%) and Sweden (24%). The Latin American countries tended to have lower rates of deaths from ovarian cancer. Argentina, Chile and Uruguay showed decreases between 2002 and 2012, but Brazil, Colombia, Cuba, Mexico and Venezuela all showed increases in death rates. Prof La Vecchia said: "The large variations in death rates between European countries have reduced since the 1990s when there was a threefold variation across Europe from 3.6 per 100,000 in Portugal to 9.3 in Denmark. This is likely to be due to more uniform use of oral contraceptives across the continent, as well as reproductive factors, such as how many children a woman has. However, there are still noticeable differences between countries such as Britain, Sweden and Denmark, where more women started to take oral contraceptives earlier - from the 1960s onwards - and countries in Eastern Europe, but also in some other Western and Southern European countries such as Spain, Italy and Greece, where oral contraceptive use started much later and was less widespread. "This mixed pattern in Europe also helps to explain the difference in the size of the decrease in ovarian cancer deaths between the EU and the USA, as many American women also started to use oral contraceptives earlier. "Japan, where deaths from ovarian cancer have traditionally been low, now has higher rates in the young than the USA or the EU - again, reflecting infrequent oral contraceptive use." Another researcher, Dr Eva Negri, Head of Epidemiologic Methods at the IRCCS Istituto di Ricerche Farmacologiche Mario Negri in Milan, added: "Women in countries such as Germany, the UK and the USA were also more likely to use hormone replacement therapy to manage menopausal symptoms than in some other countries. The use of HRT declined after the report from the Women's Health Initiative in 2002 highlighted the increased risk of cardiovascular disease, as well as breast and ovarian cancer, and so this may also help to explain the fall in death rates among middle-aged and older women in these countries." The researchers predicted the age-standardised ovarian cancer death rates for France, Germany, Italy, Poland, Spain and the UK, and for the whole of the USA, the EU and Japan up to 2020. They expect there will be a 15% decline in the USA and a 10% decline in the EU and Japan. Of the six European countries, only Spain showed a slight increase from 3.7 per 100,000 women to 3.9. "This is possibly due to the fact that women who are middle-aged or elderly now were less likely to use oral contraceptives when they were young," concluded Prof La Vecchia. Professor Paolo Boffetta (MD), the Annals of Oncology associate editor for epidemiology and Associate Director for Population Sciences at the Tisch Cancer Institute of the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai in New York (USA), commented: "The findings of Professor La Vecchia and his colleagues are important as they show how past use of hormone treatments has an impact on the mortality from ovarian cancer at the population level. As our understanding of preventable causes of this major cancer progresses, early detection strategies are being developed and novel therapeutic options become available, we enhance our ability to reduce ovarian cancer mortality." Explore further Lung cancer set to overtake breast cancer as the main cause of cancer deaths among European women More information: "Global trends and predictions in ovarian cancer mortality", by M. Malvezzi, G. Carioli, T. Rodriguez, E. Negri and C. La Vecchia. Annals of Oncology. DOI: 10.1093/annonc/mdw306 Journal information: Annals of Oncology "Global trends and predictions in ovarian cancer mortality", by M. Malvezzi, G. Carioli, T. Rodriguez, E. Negri and C. La Vecchia. The wild-type, or normal, mouse neuron on the left has more synapses than the one with a mutation in the gene GPT2. Credit: Ouyang et. al./Brown University In rare casesfor instance, among siblings in two families from Pakistan and Oman described in a new studychildren have been born with an unnamed neurological disorder. Now researchers have not only identified the genetic mutations involved, but also replicated them in lab cultures and mouse models to produce an initial understanding of how the mutations cause the disease. The study in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences highlights both new medical and scientific opportunities, said Dr. Eric Morrow, associate professor of biology and of psychiatry and human behavior in the Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University. "This is a clear, new neurogenetic disorder due to mutations in GPT2," said Morrow, who also sees patients at Bradley Hospital and is affiliated with the Brown Institute for Brain Science. "In addition to the relevance this has to the diagnosis of developmental disorders, and potentially therapeutics, it is also a window into how the brain develops and how the brain functions." The paper reveals specific findings of basic neurodevelopment, Morrow said. The gene at issue, GPT2, is expressed in the nucleus of cells, but the enzyme it generates appears vital to metabolic pathways in the mitochondria, organelles which provide energy and biosynthetic building blocks to cells. The consequences of the mutations appear to be in leaving developing brains without biosynthetic abilities to grow properly, and to deficits in metabolites that could help prevent degeneration. Moreover, the G in the gene name stands for glutamate, an important neurotransmitter that governs how brain cells, or neurons, connect and interact. "To find a glutamate metabolizing enzyme that is associated with a brain disease is an opportunity to understand how that neurotransmitter might work or be modulated," Morrow said. Morrow is co-corresponding author along with collaborators David Housman at Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Ganeshwaran Mochida at Boston Children's Hospital. The study's co-lead authors are Brown investigator Qing Ouyang and Boston Children's Hospital researcher Tojo Nakayama. The second author, Ozan Baytas, is a Ph.D. candidate in Brown's neuroscience graduate training program. An unnamed disorder The team, which also includes collaborators in Pakistan and Oman, began the investigation more than five years ago when they were studying two families in those countries with children whose symptoms included below-normal postnatal brain growth, intellectual disability and progressively worsening motor problems. The children, 14 in all across the two large families, typically were able to walk by age 3, yet a majority lost that ability later as motor control diminished in their legs, as a condition called spastic paraplegia emerged. Spastic paraplegia is generally considered to involve a neurodegenerative cause, Morrow said. The team traced a genetic mutation to chromosome 16, and as next-generation sequencing technology became available, they were able to find two specific mutations in GPT2. In the interim, a few other research groups had also linked GPT2 mutations to neurological disease in other families, including a family in the U.S. Taken together, Morrow said, the studies provide strong evidence that the gene is relevant to neurological disease. Modeling a mitochondrial mechanism With gene mutations identified, Morrow and his collaborators went much further to learn how the mutations could cause the disease. To do that the team created models in which the mutations were induced in human cells and also in mice. Like the children with GPT2 mutations, developing mice with the mutations also showed reduced neural and brain growth. In these lab models the researchers were able to study in detail the different biochemistry at play with and without the mutations. In the human cells they saw that mutations led to reduced enzyme activity. They also determined that the protein locates in the mitochondria. Mutant mice engineered with a GPT2 enzyme deficiency showed abnormal brain metabolism. For example, some of the differences undermined a process called the TCA cycle, which is important for producing energy and generating building blocks for cells. While these metabolic pathways have been well studied in rapidly dividing cells such as in cancer, Morrow said, they have not been as thoroughly studied in differentiating neurons growing extensions and connections during early childhood. To do that, Morrow and colleagues teamed up with experts in cancer metabolism, Ralph DeBerardinis at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center and Shawn Davidson and David Housman at MIT, to develop experiments pertinent to GPT2 and brain. When the researchers looked at the neurons of developing mice, they found that ones with the GPT2 mutations produced fewer synapses, the connections between neurons that make up brain circuits. The researchers conducted large-scale profiling of metabolites in the brains of the mutant mice. They found in the GPT2 mutant mice abnormal metabolite levels related to amino acid metabolism, TCA and pathways required for protecting neuron health. The deficiencies in these neuroprotective metabolites, Morrow said, might explain why the disease appears to have a degenerative course. Future hope Morrow's team at Brown is now developing new hypotheses and testing them in the mouse model they developed. Not only are they seeking to refine and deepen their understanding of how those metabolic pathways regulate brain disease and function, but also, they are eager to test potential ways to rescue development and prevent disease progression. "I believe there is hope that if these children were identified early as having this genetic condition, there may be an intervention that could prevent the progression," Morrow said. The researchers are also interested to learn more about how these mitochondrial metabolic pathways play key roles in the developing brain and how these pathways may contribute to brain health. Several public and private organizations helped to support the research. More information: Mutations in mitochondrial enzyme GPT2 cause metabolic dysfunction and neurological disease with developmental and progressive features, PNAS, www.pnas.org/cgi/doi/10.1073/pnas.1609221113 Journal information: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences Mutations in mitochondrial enzyme GPT2 cause metabolic dysfunction and neurological disease with developmental and progressive features, Patients with both HIV and multi-drug-resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB) can now receive better-balanced medication. This may shorten the treatment duration for MDR-TB and reduce the many side effects associated with current treatments, such as hearing loss and nausea. It will hopefully also help reduce the development of antibiotic resistance. These are the findings of new research from Uppsala University. 'This research can help doctors prescribe the right doses of medicine so that patients get the best possible benefit from tuberculosis treatment,' says Elin Svensson at the Department of Pharmaceutical Biosciences, Uppsala University. 'Patients with HIV have sometimes had to terminate or replace a working HIV treatment while they were being treated for multi-drug-resistant TB. It was previously unknown how concurrent treatments with multiple drugs would affect each other and the patient's recovery because everyone was treated with a standard dose. Now we can avoid doing that.' The medication that Elin Svensson has examined dosing for is the active substance bedaquiline, a relatively new antibiotic used to treat multi-drug-resistant tuberculosis. For the treatment to be successful, three to four other drugs must be given at the same time. Much is still unknown about bedaquiline and its side effects. Tuberculosis is the world's deadliest infectious disease, killing an estimated one-and-a-half million people in 2014. One in 20 people with tuberculosis are infected by a kind of tuberculosis bacteria that are resistant to the most common and effective medications, so-called multi-drug-resistant tuberculosis. Currently, only half of these patients recover. Most of these cases are in Asia and Eastern Europe. Elin Svensson has produced pharmaceutical models that can be used to better calculate the dose of bedaquiline the patients should receive. This often involves patients who have both HIV and MDR-TB. 'This will be a new link between dosing and drug concentration as well as between drug concentrations and effect,' says Elin. 'How much bedaquiline does a patient need to recover within a certain period of time? What effects do different exposure levels have?' The standard treatment for multi-drug-resistant tuberculosis is long up to two years with poor efficacy. It also causes many uncomfortable side effects; it is common, for example, for patients to suffer hearing loss. There is therefore an acute need for new and better drugs. Although there is great uncertainty regarding the effects and side effects of bedaquiline, the drug is one of the most promising options right now. One possibility with the new calculation models is that the patient can be given an adjusted dose of bedaquiline depending on which other medications that patient is taking. In the studies, Elin Svensson used data shared through the EU collaboration Predict-TB. Information on when, where and how the patients took the drug, along with data on blood tests, age and weight, has been used to produce mathematical models describing concentrations and effects chronologically over the duration of treatment. How a drug is absorbed, distributed and eliminated from the body is usually referred to as the drug's pharmacokinetics. The measurable effects that a drug provides, desired or undesired, can be called pharmacodynamics. In pharmacometrics, both of these are combined with mathematical models that can simultaneously represent both the typical pharmacokinetics and/or the pharmacodynamics, and contain variations, for example between individuals or from day to day. Elin Svensson's dissertation, which was completed in May, presents a model describing the pharmacokinetics of bedaquiline and one of the main decomposition products the body creates from bedaquiline, the metabolite M2, in patients with multi-drug-resistant tuberculosis. The model is then linked to a recently developed effects model describing how the patients' bacteria levels decrease during therapy. This model-based analysis is the first successful description of how specific bedaquiline concentrations affect how quickly the treatment provides results and shows that current standard doses do not seem to provide maximum effect. The model will now be used to investigate alternative, potentially better doses of this new drug and to support the interpretation of the clinical relevance of known drug interactions. 'It is very important that the best science is also used for diseases that primarily affect people in poorer parts of the world,' says Elin. 'In Sweden, many people think that tuberculosis is a problem of the past, but it is still a disease that needs lots of innovative research and smart solutions to give more people effective treatment, no matter where in the world they happened to have been born.' Explore further New treatment strategy allows lower doses of toxic tuberculosis drug without compromising potency More information: Pharmacometric Models to Improve Treatment of Tuberculosis: Pharmacometric Models to Improve Treatment of Tuberculosis: uu.diva-portal.org/smash/record.jsf?pid=diva2 %3A916511&dswid=6059 West Nile virus landed in the United States in the summer of 1999, arriving in New York City possibly in the blood of a sick bird on a ship or via an infected mosquito on a plane. Soon it had afflicted people in Queens with brain inflammation and killed birds at the Bronx Zoo. Four years later, the virus had migrated across the country to California, where it was to become a scourge far from Uganda, where it was first isolated in1937. Since its arrival in California, it's killed 229 people in the Golden State and sickened nearly 5,600. Last year a record 53 people died in California of the virus, and this year has the potential to end up as bad or even worse. While the recent arrival in the U.S. of the Zika virus is getting most of the attention, public health experts consider West Nile to be a much more potent threat in California than Zika will ever be. The state has tallied 123 human West Nile cases in California so far this year, including a pair of deaths in Sacramento County and Yolo County. But it takes weeks for reporting and verification of West Nile cases to make it through the system. So Gary Goodman, the general manager of the Sacramento-Yolo Mosquito & Vector Control District, expects the real numbers are far higher. "I think in terms of human cases it's going to be equal to or conceivably even worse than what we had last year," he said. There were 783 cases of West Nile in California last year and 801 the year before that, the most in a decade. More infected mosquitoes and birds have been found dead from West Nile this year than at this time last year, with the 398 dead birds found in Sacramento County the largest number in the state. West Nile activity in the Sacramento area this summer appears to have peaked and begun its decline. But the peak comes later in Southern California, and the virus remains a threat into October. It's not clear why West Nile activity has been so strong this summer. Officials blamed the high numbers in 2014 and 2015 in part on the California drought. Birds carry the virus and mosquitoes spread it through bites. The idea is that with fewer sources of available water, birds and mosquitoes crowded together at remaining water sources and spread the virus. Goodman speculated that this year's easing of the drought led to a rebound of the mosquito population as water became more available for the first time in years - keeping West Nile activity high. "This year we've seen some of the mosquitoes that breed in larger agricultural areas at higher numbers than usual, and I think that's explainable in part to the additional water," said Chris Barker, a specialist in the research of mosquito-borne viruses at the University of California, Davis. Rice fields are a huge source of mosquitoes in the Sacramento area, according to public health experts. Woodland, Davis, West Sacramento and Natomas are ringed by the fields, which consist of acres of standing water and vegetation, a prime breeding ground for mosquitoes. Goodman said the Sacramento-Yolo Mosquito & Vector Control District has sprayed over 600,000 acres for mosquitoes so far this year, mostly in rural stretches but also in Woodland and the Arden Arcade area of Sacramento. Costs for the spraying run more than a million dollars. Most people who contract West Nile virus will have no symptoms or possibly mild infections that might include vomiting and fever. But the virus can lead to a serious neurological illness that sometimes includes coma, seizures or paralysis, with recovery taking months. Nearly 44,000 cases of West Nile have been reported in the U.S. and more than 1,900 people have died. West Nile is particularly hard to stop because of the role that birds play in its spread. After the virus arrived in New York, migratory birds helped spread it across the country, thwarting efforts to stop it through mosquito eradication. No one was sure which birds were the carriers. "I am not sure there would have been any way that we could have prevented West Nile from taking hold in the state," said Desiree LaBeaud, an associate professor of pediatric infectious diseases at Stanford University who specializes in viruses that are spread by mosquitoes. The Zika virus is much different. Zika, which recently struck the U.S. with a homegrown outbreak in Florida, is primarily spread by two mosquito species - Aedes aegypti and Aedes albopictus - that have not been detected in Sacramento County. Zika can also be spread by sex. There's no reason to think Aedes mosquitoes won't arrive in Sacramento. They've already been found in other areas of California, including Los Angeles, San Mateo, Madera and Fresno. Some research also suggests that the far more common Culex mosquito, which transmits the West Nile virus, might also spread Zika, which Goodman said "would definitely complicate things." But he and other mosquito experts don't think Zika has the potential to approach the level of West Nile in California. California is a prime spot for West Nile with a bird population of corvid and jays to host the disease and an abundance of the Culex type of mosquitoes, which spread it. The state could experience small Zika outbreaks as Californians infected elsewhere spread the virus when they come home, either through sex or being bitten by Golden State mosquitoes that then go on to bite other Californians, said UC Davis epidemiologist Barker. "But in terms of an endemic pathogen that is going to be with us from now on, West Nile is a much bigger threat in California," he said. 2016 McClatchy Washington Bureau Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC. Credit: Kaggle / University of Melbourne An online contest in association with online platform Kaggle, the Mayo Clinic, University of Pennsylvania will let the globe's keenest data scientists loose on the holy grail of epilepsy researchan algorithm that can predict seizuresusing data from patients that has never before been available to researchers. The University of Melbourne is joining forces with US analytics and predictive modelling platform Kaggledubbed the online "stadium" of data sciencein partnership with the University of Pennsylvania and the Mayo Clinic to crowdsource a solution. University of Melbourne Professor Mark Cook, an epilepsy specialist and clinician, said he expected hundreds of teams around the world to take on the challenge. "Increasingly, the future of neuroscience is about enlisting the smartest people from several disciplines, wherever we can find them," Professor Cook said. "We are about to witness an exciting convergence of engineering and neurology to tackle one of the most stubborn mysteries of medical science." Teams will crunch human brainwave data spanning six months to three years. Until now, international researchers have only been able to work on data taken over a period of two weeks. Professor of Engineering David Grayden, who is part of the team developing the Stentrode devicepraised by US president Barack Obamasaid the data had been obtained using an implantable device developed by Seattle-based startup NeuroVista. The University of Melbourne has hosted the world's only clinical trial of the device. "Researchers have until now only had a two-week window to extract brainwave data from electrodes, when people with epilepsy go into hospital," he said. "That's typically allowed access to data from up to 10 seizures. We can now offer data on dozens of seizures measured over a longer period. "This is the only dataset with an adequate amount of data to accurately evaluate seizure prediction algorithms in humans." Lead organiser, senior engineering researcher Levin Kuhlmann, said a 2014 Kaggle contest by UPenn and Mayo offered data from humans spanning two weeks, and longer-term data from dogs. "That contest revealed some novel and existing approaches that performed well, and now we want to know how well through this contest they can perform on long-term data from humans," he said. Contestants will vie for up to US$20,000 in prize money. Teams will have just under three months to pore over 60GB of data, taking in intervals both before and between seizures. The winners will share their algorithms online via Kaggle and the findings will be presented at the next American Epilepsy Society annual meeting in December. The contest is being run by the University in conjunction with the American Epilepsy Society, the National Institutes of Health and US software firm MathWorks, which has developed a tool that will be offered to contestants. Dr Kuhlmann said the contest would give teams access to the world's most prized dataset in seizure prediction research. "The end game is to be able to warn patients of an impending seizure or activate an implantable device that stops seizures," Dr Kuhlmann said. This will help alleviate the stress of not knowing when a seizure will occur and greatly improve the quality of life of people with epilepsy." Explore further Crowdsourcing contest using data from people, dogs advances epileptic seizure forecasting We attempted to send a notification to your email address but we were unable to verify that you provided a valid email address. Please click here to update your email address if you wish to receive notifications. Otherwise, you may click here to disable notifications and hide this message. CORVALLIS Al and Selma Putnam loved everything except the wild neighbors when they bought a place in the Bitterroot Valley and settled down in 2005 to start a vineyard. When I was planting out here, I didnt have the fence, and I looked up on the hill and saw 17 mule deer watching me. And within a week they had come down and eaten everything. So we said, OK, lets start this thing right, with a fence, Al Putnam, a retired horticulture professor from Michigan State University, recalled. That explains the name on the label of Putnams award-winning hobby wines: Fenced-Out Mule Deer Vineyards. Robins and wasps are harder to fence out. The birds and the wasps, like the mule deer, have figured out what Al Putnam suspected all along: The Bitterroot Valley is a great place to grow grapes and make wine. And its good wine make no mistake about it. I submit my wines to the largest amateur competition that is held each year. Ive gotten 29 medals in the last five years, six of which have been gold. These are professional judges, theyre California people, theyre East Coast people, and theyre saying, Hey, theres some good wine coming out of Montana. But not all parts of Montana. Putnam first tried growing grapes in Gallatin County when he retired to Montana. He moved west to the Bitterroot partly to get into a better area for grapes. An idea whose time has come? The catch is, people are just now ripening to the idea that the area will be good for grapes and wine. Putnam believes some well-chosen locations in the area from Darby all the way to Kalispell will work well for grapes. We get a lot of sun. To get grapes ripe, of course, you need heat what we call growing degree days. We usually here get about 2,200, which is adequate for ripening these varieties. What wed like to think about in terms of ripeness here would probably be sugars in the range of 20 to 25 percent. Ive been able to get between 20 and 25 bricks thats percent sugar with these varieties consistently. Wine trail Putnam said that a local winery industry has already sunk deep roots in other northern states. For example, in the early 1960s, Michigan had about 12 wineries, Putnam said; now there are about 168. I see this very much like Michigan 40 years ago, or like Minnesota 20 years ago. Its in its infancy now. We do have a handful of wineries that have here for some time that are successful, but a lot of them have had to bring in grapes from other places like Washington and California because we just havent had the grape production here. But there were more grapes grown in the Bitterroot in 2016 than ever before, Putnam said, and he believes more will come. My neighbor over here just put in 4 acres, Putnam said. I think what well see here is probably a wine trail like you see in other states where the industry has developed commercial wineries perhaps all the way from Hamilton to Kalispell. If I were to project, Id guess that within 10 years wed probably see another 10 commercial ventures that are up and operating and a base then to have a little wine trail where people would come out and tour. Thats traditionally what has happened in all these other areas all of a sudden grapes are available, so hey, what can we do with them? East and West Daniel Getman, president of the Montana Grape and Winery Association, said there is a lot of talk among growers about that idea. Getman said the state association is only two years old, but already it has about 80 grape growers as members some of whom grow other kinds of fruit as well and about 12 wineries. Jim Auer, a grant coordinator for the Montana Department of Agriculture who has worked with several grape growers or wine producers, tends to think Putnam is right. I think eventually we will do the wine trail thing in Montana, Auer said. And while western Montana seems to be where a lot of the action is, outfits such as the Tongue River Winery in Miles City prove that it can be done all over. What we see, too, is that North Dakota has a more developed winery industry than we do, Auer said. In a climate similar to eastern Montana, theyre growing some pretty good grapes. The climate doesnt preclude eastern Montana. Wrestling with climate But the climate has its challenges, even in the Bitterroot. I started here in 2005, so weve got 11 years history here, Putnam said from his vineyard outside Corvallis. This has been an experimental vineyard, basically. We tested about 36 different varieties. We even tried some of the vinifera. Vitis vinifera is the European grape and that is the grape of renown your Chardonnay, your Cabernet Sauvignon, your Pinot noir, all those wonderful wine grapes. I planted what I considered to be some of the more cold-hardy vinifera varieties, like Riesling and Gewurztraminer and Cabernet Franc. They all winter-killed. We also tried a whole series of French-American hybrids that were developed by a French fellow named Albert Seibel. There were a whole series of Seibel hybrids, many of which are grown now in the Midwest. Some are hardy enough to make it in Iowa, and Michigan particularly along the lake in Michigan where they get better moderation of temperatures. I tried I think 14 of those and none of those worked here. They would not over-winter. One or two might, and then the next winter they would die. Grape grower lessons Fortunately, Putnam said, grape breeders early on figured out that North Americas native grapes already have some of the genetics necessary to stand up to what the North American climate and pests will hurl at a vineyard. Were fortunate in America that we have about five native species. We have Vitis riparia, which is extremely important, the river grape, and that is one that grows in Montana in the wild. Vitis riparia has a lot of hardiness. Theres vitis riparia everywhere because it doesnt winterkill. We also have in America Vitis rupestris, which is important because it has a lot of pest resistance. What plant breeders have done, and particularly people in Minnesota and Wisconsin, they have taken the best wine-quality grapes of Vitis vinifera and they have made these crosses with the wild American grape in order to achieve two things: hardiness and pest resistance. This effort has really paid off thats why we have a future in commercial grape production in Montana. Many of these hybrids now not only are hardy enough, but theyre making excellent wine as well. For example, some of the red varieties that Im growing right now have Pinot noir in the parentage. What we end up with now is a hardy red grape that tastes a bit like Pinot noir. I would say one of the most important people in this was Elmer Swenson, who was pretty much a hobby grape breeder in Wisconsin. In his later years he worked in collaboration with the University of Minnesota. He released wonderful hybrids, many of which were growing here. Theyre hardy enough. For example a white variety we grow called St. Pepin is one of his. Another one of his that we grow here is Prairie Star. It just makes an incredibly nice wine. Putnam said his vineyard now grows 14 varieties of grape mostly from developed by Elmer Swenson, or the University of Minnesota, or by another Minnesota plant breeder named Tom Plocher. There is one exception. We have a French-American hybrid called Marechal Foch. Marechal Foch was actually developed a century ago by a fellow doing these crosses. He was interested in cold hardiness and Marechal Foch thrives here. It makes a great red wine, Putnam said. For the future, Putnam said he is watching what Harlene Hatterman-Valenti from North Dakot State University is doing with grapes now for that state. She has thousands of seedlings shes selecting from with the same idea, hardiness, wine quality and so on. Choose your site well Zach Miller, a horticulture professor for Montana State University and director of the Western Agricultural Research Center in Corvallis, said he, too, thinks western Montana could easily see a wine trail develop in coming years. With the breeding efforts of the last few decades, there are many grape varieties that will thrive in the climates west of the Divide, Miller said. A wine trail would be a natural way to add to the experience of the tourists and others who want to enjoy western Montana, he said. Miller added that theres also a niche for those who want to incorporate other fruits grown in Montana into their wines. We do have other fruits that will add a distinct regional flavor. Especially for selling to tourists, its another opportunity, Miller said. A word of the wise to those who are thinking of getting into commercial grape growing or fruit production: Start-up costs are high, easily in the range of $3,000 to $5,000 an acre, and many varieties of fruit wont yield a crop for at least three years. On the other hand, Miller said, its not uncommon for a well-managed fruit orchard to see returns of $4,000 to $7,000 an acre, though major expenses such as harvest labor and pruning take a bite out of that. Thats why choosing the site for an orchard or vineyard is so crucial. Talk to the Western Agricultural Research Center in Corvallis for information about choosing a site, he recommended. Acclaimed Missoula outfitter Smoke Elser and Paul Greany of Drummond, who at 90 is still active in the winter chariot racing sport of cutting, are among the ninth class of inductees into the Montana Cowboy Hall of Fame. Elser, 82, was feted with the Living Award for District 11, which encompasses Mineral, Missoula and Ravalli counties. He's been featured in recent years in National Geographic for teaching wilderness skills to Navy SEALS and FBI agents, and in the PBS documentary "Three Miles an Hour" about packing trips into the Bob Marshall Wilderness. Legacy Awards for District 11 go to Charlie Yerian of Corvallis and Elton Vanleir Brechbill of Stevensville. Yerian, who was known throughout the Northwest for his prized draft horses, died in December 2014 at age 94. Brechbill, whose adventure with a pack string was memorialized in a painting by his friend Charlie Russell in the 1800s, was 76 when he died in 1943. Greanys 90th birthday was recently celebrated at the Drummond rodeo grounds with a dance, barbecue and team roping that drew more than 90 contestants. He received the Living Award for District 12, a six-county region that includes Granite, Powell and Silver Bow counties. Legacy Awards for District 12 went to Don Harrington of Dillon and Sam McDowell of Wisdom. Harrington, a National Finals Rodeo announcer and quarter horse breeder, was inducted into the National Cowboy Hall of Fame in Oklahoma City in 2002. He was 88 when he died in 2013. McDowell, a rodeo standout and long-time rancher in the Big Hole Valley, was 86 when he passed away in March. Les Baldwin of Polson and the Park Saddle Horse Company of Glacier National Park were feted with Legacy Awards in District 10 (Flathead, Lake, Lincoln and Sanders counties). No one was named for the Living Award in District 10. Since the initial round in 2008, 274 inductees have been honored by the Big Timber-based Montana Cowboy Hall of Fame. Inductees are chosen from a field of candidates nominated by the general public for contributions to the history and culture of Montana. Volunteer trustees from around Montana vote on nominations for the districts in which they reside. It gives the local communities a strong voice in who will represent them in the Montana Cowboy Hall of Fame, Hall president Jeff Bolstad said in a press release. The Hall of Fame exists to honor those who have made an impact in their part of the state and represent Montanas authentic heritage for future generations. A documentary movie chronicling the struggle to end energy exploration in the Badger-Two Medicine area is starting a tour of Montana. The 24-minute film Our Last Refuge had its premiere on the Blackfeet Indian Reservation on Thursday. It has additional showings in Missoula and Whitefish, Great Falls, Bozeman, Helena and Billings, during a road show in October. Final dates have yet to be determined. The Badger-Two Medicine area lies bounded by the Blackfeet Indian Reservation, Glacier National Park, the Bob Marshall Wilderness and the Helena-Lewis and Clark National Forest. While not part of the reservation, the Blackfeet people consider it a sacred part of their heritage and source of many traditional creation stories. It also supports habitat for grizzly bears, wolverine, wolves, elk, and cutthroat trout, linking the Great Plains to the Rocky Mountain Front. The film traces the Blackfeet tribal influence on the land from when they encountered Lewis and Clark 200 years ago, through the reservation creation and the oil-lease years of the Reagan Administration in the 1980s. In March, the Department of the Interior canceled one of the last remaining exploration leases where a Louisiana company sought to drill for oil and natural gas. It features commentary from traditional Chief Earl Old Person, who recalled how the Blackfeet Tribes claims to traditional territory were progressively reduced from Fort Benton to Choteau to the boundaries of the present reservation. If it wasnt for these mountains, theyd push us into the Pacific Ocean, Old Person says in the film. This is where we said it stopped. And this is what were going to keep. Were going to fight for this area that we call our home. Tribal authorities and several conservation groups maintained the energy leases were granted illegally in the 1980s without proper tribal consultation or review, and a large number of other leases were voluntarily released or retired. There are 17 energy leases remaining in the Badger-Two Medicine. The film is testament to the power of faith and determination and perseverance, said Bozeman filmmaker Daniel Glick. The title Our Last Refuge speaks volumes. This is the last bastion of Blackfeet traditional culture. This is where they make their stand. Colleen Windell strives to move her daily science lessons from gee, why? to Gee Whiz. Its a passion shes had ever since opening her first science textbook and discovering the section on respiration in the human body was just one paragraph long. Advised that previous teachers only used three chapters of that textbook anyway, she committed to developing good lessons on her own. That first year, they handed me a book that was older than I was, the Washington Middle School science teacher said. Ever since then, Ive always been teaching without using the book. I always try to bring in outside resources. After three decades of building on that goal, Windell was honored this fall with the Presidential Award for Excellence in Mathematics and Science Teaching. On Thursday, she and 212 fellow top teachers will meet with President Obama at a gathering celebrating their achievements. The recipients of this award are integral to ensuring our students are equipped with critical thinking and problem-solving skills that are vital to our nations success, Obama said in an email announcing the award. As the United States continues to lead the way in the innovation that is shaping our future, these excellent teachers are preparing students from all corners of the country with the science, technology, engineering, and mathematics skills that help keep us on the cutting-edge. The award winners also receive a $10,000 prize from the National Science Foundation. Windell said a lot of it would go toward supplies for her classes. That instinct shows up throughout her Washington Middle School classroom, from the real stuffed badger on her microwave to the trophy case stuffed with skulls and other bones from Montana native species. Wasp and hornet nests hang from the ceiling, although most of those are gifts from students. I dont get flowers I get these things brought in, Windell laughed, pointing to a particularly large papery globe spiked with leafy tree branches. I started with one on the ceiling, and now it seems I get another one every year. Windell maintains that kind of experiential learning makes all the difference in science teaching. With Google and Siri just a smartphone away, the memorization of scientific vocabulary isnt a good investment in time. Im shifting more toward problem-solving identifying patterns and cause and effect, she said. NASA is going all over looking for life. How will they know if they find something? Her seventh-graders are learning the six basic criteria for life, such as whether the object has cell structures or can metabolize energy. They also learn how to debate the findings of their experiments without arguing. Instead of giving the kids information, I give them situations, and have them figure it out, Windell said. They ask Are you going to tell us if its alive or not? and I say No. They get excited. Windell started college as a physics major at Rutgers University, but stepped out for a couple years to work in an outdoor education program. A visit to Canada got her interested in the Mountain West, and she started looking for different directions in her education. While perusing the course catalog at the University of Montana, an unplanned goof set her on her career path. She was reading about secondary education, and didnt realize that some pages were stuck together. So it appeared that she could get a teaching degree with an emphasis in environmental studies. That turned out not to be the case, but Windell did complete her teaching degree with a minor in mathematics. She went to work first in Belgrade, then a year in Washington, and then in Lolo for 25 years. She moved to Missoula two years ago as a science and language arts teacher. Windell remembered two of her own teachers having a big influence on her development. In fifth and sixth grade, Mr. Sherman made her feel smart and comfortable learning about math and science. Then in seventh and eighth grade, Mrs. Kelley consistently gave her A- instead of As, reminding her she could always push to make assignments a little better. In 2009, Windell participated in the Big Sky Science Partnership, a collaboration of teachers and professors at Montana State University, Salish Kootenai College and UM. That was amazing, she said of the five-year project. It really gave me confidence that what I was doing was the right thing, and it connected me to all these others who taught the way I did. It showed me I could be a teacher leader and still be in the classroom. A sixth-grade male student, age 11, would like to participate in band and needs to rent an instrument. The rental fee for the year is $60. If you would like to help with this need you can donate $60 to My Student in Need and we will pay the fee for the student. C.S. Porter No. 1685. A seventh-grade female student, age 12, would like to participate in band and needs to rent an instrument. The rental fee is $60. We are seeking a donation to cover the rental fee. If you would like to help with this need you can donate $60 to My Student in Need and we will pay the fee for the student. C.S. Porter No. 1684. After Antoinette Arkinson tore a ligament in her knee, her doctor recommended surgery. But despite treaties mandating health care be provided to Native Americans, the referral request was denied because Indian Health Service funding was only available to pay for treatment of life-threatening cases. A few weeks later, now enrolled for insurance coverage through the marketplace, the 35-year-old plans to ask again about that surgery. Count her among the thousands of tribal members to sign up for coverage through private or public programs in Montana, a state that has consistently ranked as having the highest uninsured rate among Native Americans. Arkinsons experience highlights shifting health care options for tribal members after federal and state health care reforms. I used to get all my health care at the Rocky Boy clinic, Arkinson said earlier this month, sitting amid stacks of records she was organizing at her new desk in the tribal housing office. I recently started working and got hired full time, so I got cut off of Medicaid. She had relied on the public program after becoming pregnant and leaving her job to care for her son in 2010. She no longer qualified after returning to work, so the tribal clinic had to pay for the usual check-ups, diabetes management and a trip to the ER with a broken arm. Because federal funding for the Indian Health Service falls short of need and she no longer had Medicaid, she had trouble getting approved for treatment not offered by the clinic, such as her denied request for knee surgery. This month, with the help of a tribal benefits coordinator, she signed up for coverage through the marketplace and applied for a new tribal program to cover any additional costs. I really dont know too much about it, but Ive got all the stuff here Im supposed to read, Arkinson said of the mechanics of her new coverage. I just know I dont have a deductible, so that was pretty nice. Efforts to encourage enrollment in revamped public and private insurance programs have led more tribal members than ever to sign up for health coverage, especially after Montanas Medicaid expansion took effect in January. Various official estimates suggest more than half of Montanas Native American population could qualify for cost-free coverage, either with public programs or through private plans. Many others likely qualify for an extra marketplace discount or tribal payment assistance. Yet, many remain uninsured. (Federal agencies) failed to understand the cultural perspective of tribes with health care and health insurance, Northern Cheyenne Tribal Health Director Jace Killsback said about the launch of health insurance exchanges. Weve been trying to talk about health care when we shouldve been explaining health insurance. Of the about 70,000 Native Americans in Montana potentially eligible for reduced-cost or free coverage, only about 17,000 adults have signed up today, according to a Lee Newspapers analysis of state and federal enrollment records. Another roughly 22,000 appear to have private insurance through their employer. While it is difficult to know the exact number of enrolled, it is clear that many more Native Americans are eligible for subsidized coverage than have signed up. Experts say the limited enrollment is, in part, the result of two massive, national health care systems the direct care provided by IHS and a subsidized private market born out of the Affordable Care Act colliding in new ways even as federal leaders debate reforms for both. The people leading tribal enrollment initiatives in Montana also point to other challenges: sovereignty concerns, a general unfamiliarity with insurance, practical barriers in the application process and limited resources to hire on-reservation navigators, among others. In 2013, the Government Accountability Office criticized IHS, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services and others for a delayed, lackluster enrollment effort in Indian Country. The federal auditors may be updating that study this year, according to local officials who have been interviewed. Spokespersons from two GAO offices did not return multiple requests for confirmation. Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribal Health Director Kevin Howlett attributed some of the limited outreach to a perception among federal officials that taking care of Indian people was only the purview of Indian Health Services despite federal health reforms that put responsibility on other entities. As she announced a Medicaid enrollment pilot project at the Browning Unit this summer, IHS Principal Deputy Director Mary Smith said her agency and others are working to ramp up interest in health insurance. Were trying to improve education, she said. To the extent our patients are entitled to these options, we want to make sure theyre aware of that. Without any requirement for insurance at IHS facilities, most Native families never saw a reason to buy coverage. Others simply could not afford it, or considered themselves healthy enough not to need it. Additionally, recognized tribal members are exempt from the federal requirement to enroll. Now, the Affordable Care Act offers year-round enrollment for tribal members and their immediate family when seeking insurance in federal and state marketplaces. They also receive additional insurance plan subsidies regardless of income that further discount their payments. Those who earn up to three times the federal poverty level qualify for coverage with no out-of-pocket costs. In 2013, the Government Accountability Office estimated that about 30,000 Native Americans in Montana likely qualified for reduced-cost or free insurance plans through the exchanges. As of March 2016, only 865 tribal members were enrolled in Qualified Health Plans, according to figures compiled by the Centers for Medicaid and Medicare. Although that figure fluctuates throughout the year as plans are dropped and added, enrollment nonetheless falls far short of eligibility in the state. This summer, some Montana tribes have launched Tribal-Sponsored Health Insurance Programs, or TSHIPs, to help some members purchase coverage through the marketplace. The programs use tribal or federal funds to buy insurance policies and cover all out-of-pocket costs. How this will affect overall insured rates in those communities will vary. Some only target people with extensive medical needs while others offer the assistance to a broader group of patients. None yet have suggested buying insurance for all enrolled members as some national Native health advocates have urged. To date, a few dozen individuals have been enrolled through the Rocky Boy or Confederated Salish and Kootenai programs. Several other tribal councils remain in discussion about whether and how to start a TSHIP. Some are waiting for IHS to clarify rules governing the contracts to use federal funds. A second, more recent change to access has seen higher enrollment than the marketplace. In 2015, after years of heated debate, the Montana Legislature passed the HELP Act to expand Medicaid and update the programs rules. Under the law, Native Americans have no deductibles, copays or other personal costs, while the state benefits from a permanent 100 percent federal match for care provided to enrolled tribal members through IHS or tribal programs, including referrals to other hospitals. Its definitely on the upswing and very positive, said Mary Lynne Billy, who started in April as the states first director of the Office of American Indian Health. Federal figures estimate that about 20,000 Native Americans were covered by Montana Medicaid before the expansion on Jan. 1. As of Aug. 15, more than 6,400 have newly enrolled and officials expect that number could triple again, only if enrollment can match eligibility estimates. Although improvement is needed, Lesa Evers finds promise hidden in the numbers. She sees and has heard stories from tribal benefit coordinators who are enrolling 100 or 200 people for Medicaid each month, sometimes in places that only have a few thousand residents. Most had not qualified under the previous rules, such as single, childless men. Its incredible work, really hard work on the ground, the Tribal Relations Manager for the Department of Public Health and Human Services told the HELP Act Oversight Committee in July. Sitting across from people and having to educate and inform them. You have to do that several times. People dont make a decision quickly. She said the next step is to build on that momentum and not let it slow. Theres literally one or two coordinators per reservation, she said. Most of Montanas seven Indian communities cover vast, rural areas. For instance, the Fort Peck Indian Reservation covers 2.1 million acres of frontier land along an 83-mile stretch of Highway 2 in northeastern Montana. Crow Nation, about an hour east of Billings, is the largest at 2.2 million acres. The neighboring Northern Cheyenne Tribe is one of the smallest reservations but still encompasses about half a million rural acres. We really need to get more people out there that know how to do this work, Evers said. Those people that have been really successful in the past, some of those people are leaving and we have to start over again. Our tribal partners can reach people we havent been able to reach. Renita Watson is an expert on the challenges of promoting health insurance in Indian Country. Sitting in her dim office tucked in a trailer across the parking lot from the Chippewa Cree Clinic, Watson explained how the Rocky Boy Tribe broke ground with its outreach program after residents reported trouble getting coverage. The more we learned, the more barriers we saw that were placed in front of our clients, she said. Acknowledging that the situation has improved some as the state has made a concerted effort to consult tribes, Watson described numerous barriers to applying for Medicaid, some of which also affect marketplace applicants today. Watson said Medicaid applications had been denied because families did not turn in tribal enrollment documents even though there was no requirement for them. Some elderly members born on the Fort Belknap Indian Reservation were sent 46 miles to fetch a hard copy of their birth certificate from an office in Chinook when eligibility techs could have checked electronic vital statistic records. For children, only the income of their parents counted on applications, but in many Native American families those kids often live with grandparents, aunts or other relatives who might not have state-recognized guardianship. Nearly a decade ago, the tribe became the first in the country to have a contract with its state to determine Medicaid eligibility for its members rather than having to rely on the staff of a distant office. We felt if we dont speak up for these patients, nobody else will, Watson said. The same spirit guides a broadened mission today. The Alternative Resources program educates members about all their coverage options and guides them through the application process for each. Although some people are referred from the clinic, Watson and other coordinators often take a more proactive approach. They print out lists of recent patients who did not report any coverage, then call them or drive to their home to talk. Watson and Loni Taylor also work as EMTs, so they know who frequently triggers big medical bills. At a rodeo earlier this month, a third person from the office stopped her truck and rolled down the window to ask a woman she knew was pregnant if she had coverage. Were such a small community, Taylor said. We pretty much know everybody. Those efforts have paid off. Just this year, Watson says they have enrolled hundreds in Medicaid or helped them secure private insurance through the exchange. Howlett reports his staff has signed up more than 600 patients and counting. Crow hospital, which hired three benefit coordinators earlier this year, reports similar success. Weve been signing up people like crazy, Benefits Coordinator Ada Iron said. More and more people are learning about it. They arent familiar with insurance. I wasnt familiar until I got trained to do this. Were used to coming here. One person Iron hasnt signed up is herself. My kids are all signed up, she said, pointing to school photos taped to her office wall. Just not me. Im healthy. I dont need it. If you have chronic issues or if youre a sickly person then its good to get insurance because youre covered and its peace of mind. Irons own situation reveals possible explanations for the low enrollment in Indian Country. Insurance is an abstract, foreign concept to many Native Americans. The benefits of coverage are largely not understood until someone becomes ill and they need referred care but are denied by IHS. Or, they might have familiarity if they work in health and care for patients racking up medical bills that could be paid by insurance rather than the local clinic budget. Others wont provide application information, like income or family size, as a matter of principle if they even support Native Americans signing up for coverage at all. A lot of our people argue we shouldnt have to buy insurance because its a given right by virtue of our treaties, Rocky Mountain Tribal Leadership Coalition Director Bill Snell said. They think if we accept this health care system our treaty rights and IHS will be taken away. Theres a lot of education that has to go on to change minds about it. Watson is ready. As they have for more than 20 years, members of the Missoula Area Central Labor Council and union supporters from around the city celebrated Labor Day with a gathering in Bonner Park. Labor council president Mark Anderlik said his organization is backing the Missoula Community Benefits Coalition as part of a push to support local unions. The coalition is a partnership between labor unions and area organizations such as the state chapter of the Sierra Club, to secure requirements for the Riverside Triangle development project. The coalition is proposing an agreement with the project's developers to prioritize local products and labor, as well as to reduce the impact of the construction on the environment and guarantee more affordable housing as part of the project, among other goals. Weve already had three meetings with the developers and we have three more planned, Anderlik said. This is something that could really change the way our developments are done. Apart from strictly local issues, the labor council also takes stances on matters with national and global impact, such as rejecting the proposed international trade agreement called the Trans-Pacific Partnership. How anything changes in this world is through active solidarity. Its the accumulation of all of those effects and we are going to do our part, Anderlik said. Mondays labor picnic, which drew around 50 people to the park, was smaller than previous years, something Anderlik chalked up to the rainy day. Denise Juneau, the state superintendent of public instruction who is running against Republican incumbent Ryan Zinke for Montanas sole seat in the U.S. House of Representatives, was the first speaker during the Labor Day picnic. She touted the impact that union workers have had on the history of the state and country. "We helped build the strongest economy, we fought for stronger rights and we helped make America great," she said. The Democrat said she was running for a seat in Congress in part to help assure workers' rights, adding that Zinke and other millionaires like himself were working to take them away "at the expense of working-class families." I will always stand side by side with Montana workers, Juneau said. She wasnt the only politician to take the stage Monday. A series of Montana legislators and hopefuls such as House District 99 candidate Marilyn Ryan spoke about the importance of unions to the state. More needs to be done in the next session of the Legislature to create infrastructure jobs, Ryan said. Its easy to just say jobs. We all want jobs, she said. Representatives for U.S. Sen. Jon Tester and Montana Supreme Court candidate Dirk Sandefur delivered statements on their behalf. Anderlik encouraged everyone to take home a campaign yard sign, nearly all for Democratic candidates, that were staked in the ground at the edge of the park. What has always brought us success is that we organize, he said. This Labor Day, we recognize the millions of Americans and thousands of Montanans who go to work every day to provide for their families. Their hard work drives our economy and is what makes Montana strong. Working Montanans arent waiting for an invitation to the tablewe are driving the debate about the issues that matter to us. We are making sure our voices are heard. In November, we will come together to elect leaders who share our values and vision, and who put working families first. Together, well create an economy that works for everyone. Thats why we will support Gov. Steve Bullock for re-election. Working people across Montana know that creating a prosperous economy thats fair for everyone means equal pay for equal work, benefits that include health insurance and a dignified retirement, the right to stand together and speak up for better pay and benefits and well-funded public education for our children. Bullock understands this. His opponent does not. Greg Gianforte opposes making equal pay for equal work the law. Bullock stands with us. Gianforte doesnt believe workers are entitled to a retirement plan theyve paid into their entire lives. Bullock has supported strengthening retirement. Gianforte supports using our tax dollars to fund private schools. Bullock has repeatedly stood with Montana students and fought for quality public education. Gianforte has funded radical groups that want to transfer and sell off our public lands. Bullock knows public access to public lands is part of our Montana heritage and has fought to preserve it. Gianforte gives us rhetoric and Bullock gives us action. A perfect example is Bullocks response to the Clean Power Plan. Bullock put Montana in the drivers seat by convening a special council to design our response. Furthermore, Bullock has shown his support for Montanas workers by engaging with the U.S. Department of Energy to research and invest in technologies that protect and expand Montana energy jobs. What has Greg Gianforte done? He has given workers lip service. Nothing else. Why would any worker support Greg Gianforte? He has refused to even meet with Montana's largest labor organization made up of miners, educators, building trades unions, nurses, linemen, laborers, firefighters, refinery workers, public servants and many other occupations. Furthermore, Gianforte refuses to oppose dangerous "right-to-work" laws that weaken worker's rights, silence whistleblowers, and endanger employees safety and health. Bullock is clear on this important issue and Montana workers know where he stands. Unions built the middle class in our country, and we are working to strengthen the right to have a voice on the job. In Montana, we want a leader who believes all workers should be able to join together and negotiate for better wages and benefits and a safe workplace. Bullock stands with us, while Gianforte has backed and funded organizations that push policies that would pull the rug from under hard working Montanans. On Labor Day, lets commit to making our voices heard at the polls. This fall we are voting to elect candidates who believe we deserve fair wages, decent benefits, a reasonable work schedule and paid time off when we get sick. These candidates include Gov. Steve Bullock, Denise Juneau, Tim Fox, Jesse Laslovich, Melissa Romano and Monica Lindeen. If we elect our candidates the same way we have driven the debate in Montana, we can make progress for all families and communities. This November, we are voting for a better life for all working Montanans. Ever since collaboration became the mantra for many of Montanas conservation groups, a strange dynamic has existed that paints other conservation groups that litigate over forest projects in a very unflattering light. Called serial litigators, environmental extremists and worse, the lawsuits are often filed to protect habitat for wolverine, lynx, grizzly bears, fishers and other non-game species. But when it finally came down to logging and road-building projects threatening elk habitat, well, the collaborator groups finally had to realize their only option was doing what was very hard for them to contemplate suing the U.S. Forest Service. The project that finally drove the Montana Backcountry Hunters and Anglers, the Montana Wildlife Federation, Anaconda Sportsmans Club, Helena Hunters and Anglers Association and the Clancy-Unionville Citizens Task Force to file a lawsuit is located on the Helena-Lewis and Clark National Forest. Its part of what is now being called a landscape-scale logging project in which the Forest Service amended its travel plan to redefine the longstanding requirement for leaving enough trees to hide an elk at 200 yards. The requirement is intended to provide security for elk, especially during hunting season and, given that most of Montanas elk herds are at or above the goals Fish, Wildlife and Parks has set, it would appear the hiding cover requirement makes good sense and is working as planned. But under the amendment the Forest Service stuck into its travel plan, the hiding cover requirement is gone. As the chair of Backcountry Hunters and Anglers told reporters, Simply put, litigation is our last tool in the toolbox. But if we accept that elk need security from hunters and predators, then that means dense trees or theyll move onto private ground. Indeed, treeless areas, formerly known as clearcuts, dont provide much in the way of hiding cover for anything, let alone animals as big as elk. As anyone who has ever hunted them can attest, an elk standing in a clearing at 200 yards would be hard to miss with a rifle. And with the proliferation of all-terrain vehicles and the illegal user created roads now bisecting our national forests into ever-smaller roadless areas, the hiding cover requirement is more important now than in the pre-ATV, road-hunter past. Ironically, the groups that are suing the Forest Service are alleging the agency violated the same law over which the non-collaborator groups often file suit. Namely, the National Environmental Policy Act, which requires federal agencies to consider the effects of proposed actions and offer alternatives. The groups say the Forest Service did neither when it adopted the new amendment that did away with the hiding cover requirement. Although some of the groups in the lawsuit were not involved in collaborating on the Helena-area landscape-scale logging projects, they rightly fear that if the new amendment is allowed to stand on the Helena-Lewis and Clark National Forest, it may well set a precedent to similar amendments on other national forests. Make no mistake, the effort to paint conservation or environmental groups that take federal agencies to court to force them to follow the law as somehow being extremists is a deliberate ploy by resource extraction interests and their friends in political office. Simply put, it is a divide and conquer strategy which has served them well for years while splintering the once-solid conservation community into collaborators and litigators. But heres the deal our form of government is, by design, split into three separate but equal branches. The legislative makes the laws; the executive implements projects within the requirements of those laws; and the judicial, which provides citizens the path by which they may challenge the government when they believe it is not acting within the confines of the law. Every American citizen has the constitutional right to force government agencies to follow the law and, despite the significant effort to imply that those who use the judicial path are doing something wrong, thats exactly why the judicial branch exists to force government agencies to follow the law. As retired state elk biologist Gayle Joslin said: How we got to this decision to litigate is we have no other opportunity. Shes right. And when it comes to protecting Montanas highly treasured elk herds or a host of other species going to court to force the Forest Service to follow the law is hardly extremist. In fact, its the sane recourse when collaborator kumbaya fails to protect our most cherished public resources. Tim Cook of Apple arrived in Congress to offer our Speaker of the House, Congressman Paul Ryan, an honorarium dinner last month for all the wonderful things the speaker has done, or perhaps should do, for Apple. Apple was one of thousands of corporations that fled America to Ireland and China to avoid taxes as well as American labor; several billion dollars to be exact. Apple has recently gotten itself into trouble with Europe for tax evasion. They cheated on the 15 percent taxes, and were only paying a tenth of 10 percent, but got caught. Now, CEO Cook desperately wants America to bail him out. Apple doesn't hire Americans but has a special privilege of inviting our duly elected leaders out to lunch. If you don't get invited out to lunch, or if you are simply "out to lunch," you will not hobnob with the multinational corporations that run American politicians and our government. I'm not presuming the Speaker of the House is getting any reward for his service to multinational corporations like Apple. If I did, I might be sent to a re-education camp. This corruption is no different than Clinton's, who received millions of dollars while supposedly serving as secretary of state. Crown Prince Salman donated $32 million dollars to the Clinton Global Initiative of the Clinton foundation. I now wonder if Libya was late on its own "donations." We have just discovered Hillary Clinton threatened one of our former generals, Mike Flynn, with sedition for being at a Russian social gathering where Vladimir Putin was in attendance. Flynn is a conservative and a Christian. If Clinton is elected she will be forced to make good on her threat, and Flynn may face prosecution for practicing his First Amendment rights. Clinton is not as sophisticated or as clever as her husband. The vile attacks on Donald Trump from both Democrats and Republicans needs to be translated. Trump is a threat for the power-brokers who rob this country blind, while planning conflict with Russia as a way to balance their deficit. These power-brokers, national and international, don't have a party affiliation, and neither should we. If Tim Cook of Apple can get personal favors from leaders of our government, then it is no longer my government. It is not worth supporting. If anyone thinks puppets like the Clintons want to be leaders of the Western Hemisphere instead of escaping prison, then they deserve to go to a re-education camp, which is exactly what Hillary Clinton intends to do to anyone who objects to her presidency. Mike Donohue, Kalispell Some 500 firefighters remained at work on the Copper King fire eight miles east of Thompson Falls on Monday, despite the cool, damp weather. The expected rain did not materialize, said Mondays update from the Lolo National Forest, although it noted that intermittent showers were expected Monday. The fire will creep and smolder with some limited surface fire possible in the heavier fuels. Evacuations for cabins along Little Thompson Creek and the Mud Creek area remain in effect, as do pre-evacuation notices for homes along Highway 200 from the mouth of the Thompson River up to and including Buffalo Bill Creek. Pre-evacuations also apply to homes between mile markers 3 and 4 on Little Thompson River. Fire management was in transition Monday from Greg Poncins Type 1 Northern Rockies Incident Management Team to a Type 2 team under Commander Roger Staats, who was to assume management at 8 p.m. Monday. While other special education funding proposals got the go-ahead from a legislative commission last week, the issue of whether to provide funding for special needs students older than 18 has hit another roadblock. The School Funding Interim Commission, which wrapped up its work Aug. 29, couldn't decide whether Montana should continue to cut off state funding for special education students 19 years old or older. Montana is one of two states that doesn't provide funding for students in school after they turn 19. Maine is the other, though its limit is higher at 20 years old. Despite extensive public testimony supporting lifting the age limit, the commission "ultimately did not reach consensus," according to its draft final report, which received 15-1 approval. According to state law, a school district can't include a student in its enrollment count any student who is 19 years old or older as of Sept. 10 of that school year. But individual school districts sometimes make exceptions with school board approval they just don't get state funding for that student. "It's dead in the water," said state Sen. Mary Sheehy Moe, D-Great Falls. It's the effort's second death in recent years. House Bill 451, sponsored by state Rep. Christopher Pope, D-Bozeman, in 2015, also died. "Personally, I have seen my son Andre reach levels not remotely possible without early intervention received on the beginning end of early education," said Alyson Ball, president of the Bozeman Special Education Parent Teacher Association. If that extra time is given to special needs students at the beginning, she said, why wouldn't we do the same at the end? *** Proponents argue that students in special education need more time to develop the skills needed to be independent after high school and less dependent on other public assistance. The argument against centers on cost. Commissioners received an updated financial analysis in May. It showed the potential impact on state funding based on two scenarios: the number of 19-, 20- and 21-year-old special needs students being served this year 36 and the number served in 2009, which was 112. The 2016 figure would increase state costs by $283,000 and local mill levies by $63,000. Using the 2009 numbers, state costs would increase by $879,000 and local mill levies by $223,000. But in the commission's report, it said it's impossible to predict how many more school districts would enroll older students if this proposal went through. Moe said that's a ridiculous notion one of the issues she raised in her report, "Overall Adequacy and Equity" that she wanted to include with the commission's final report. "It's not like there would be a rush to cash in on the state share, because the districts would still see a net loss," Moe said. "This was penny wise but pound foolish." Moe's amendment to include her report failed 7-9, and led to her being the sole commissioner voting against the final report. "We are, I think, trying to take a step back and look at where we are in terms of meeting our constitutional obligation," Moe said. "The commission declined to do that. They didnt dispute any of the facts that were in that, so without making that statement, I dont think we're doing our duty by the public." *** While other commissioners may not have disputed specific points Moe made, they did take issue with her "Adequacy and Equity" report as well as her more detailed "Minority Report," which also failed 6-10. In the Minority Report, Moe discusses the commission's work and editorializes on it. "It is a critique of the commission's work," said state Rep. Jeff Essmann, R-Billings. State Sen. Kristin Hansen, R-Havre, went further, saying it was inappropriate. "I personally could've written a minority report that cataloged the things we could have done differently, but I don't think it's appropriate," she said. "To add this to the report is, to me, undermining of the commission's report." An amendment by state Rep. Kathy Kelker, D-Billings, did make it into the final report, however, approved 10-6. In part, it reads: "Because the costs of providing services for this student population usually exceed the state funding and the proposed program is voluntary, it is unlikely that the number of districts providing this opportunity will increase dramatically." The commission's draft final report also backed off the proposal because it said even an increase of $4,000 to $6,000 from the state for an additional student wouldn't be enough and the district would still have to provide funding locally. "Because this cohort would likely include the most severely disabled students, these costs could be substantial and a significant financial disincentive for districts providing services to these students may remain," according to the report. *** Shelly Dowdle, of Belgrade, has two sons with autism and other special needs. One is 24 years old and "had to graduate at 19." "There were no transition services offered and nothing waiting for him when he graduated," Dowdle said. He was placed on a job list at 17, she said, but waited five years. During that time, his social skills deteriorated. "The gap in between school and getting these services created problems I'm not sure can be repaired," she said. "If he stayed in school until he was 21, maybe there would not have been such a long wait. He could have learned more of the skills he needed in life." Her younger son is only 10, and she wants to see changes in the funding structure now that could help him avoid what his older brother went through. "I hope my small, often hopeless voice can help make a difference for our kids," she said. The key word always used when talking about older special needs students is "transitions," said Shanell Marshall, who works with the Montana Independent Living Project and is a mother of a 19-year-old with autism. "How that transition occurs for a typical student, and how it occurs for someone with an IEP (individualized education program), there's a little bit of a delay in those benchmarks," Marshall said. Andree LaRose, a Helena attorney who represents families of children with disabilities, argued that Montana is not complying with federal law regarding special education. States must show they're making an effort to provide adequate education to children with disabilities "aged birth through 21" and a timeline for meeting that goal. In Montana's Office of Public Instruction's annual report to the feds, OPI states "It is the goal of the OPI to achieve full educational opportunity for children with disabilities birth through 21 by the year 2025." "That's a 50-year time period to get into compliance. We're in the last decade of that 50 years and we're still the last state in the country in terms of the age we cut off special education services," LaRose said. Twenty students from Missoula College recently passed their national surgical technology certification exam with a 100 percent pass rate and earned their associate degree in surgical technology. The surgical technology program at Missoula College teaches students to work with surgeons, anesthesia providers, registered nurses and other perioperative personnel to provide patient care before, during and after surgery. Ninety-five percent of Missoula College surgical technology students had job offers before graduation in May. The computerized certification exam, administered by the National Board of Surgical Technology/Surgical Assisting, is composed of 200 multiple-choice questions measuring the broad range of skills required by the profession. Students must demonstrate competence and mastery in their knowledge of asepsis, sterile technique, basic sciences, preoperative, intraoperative and postoperative case management, materials management, sterilization, legal concepts and other specific skills. An individual who receives a passing score on the exam earns the credential of certified surgical technologist and the CST designation after their name. Students must graduate from a program accredited by the Commission on Accreditation of Allied Health Education Programs to take the exam. The Accreditation Review Council on Surgical Technology/Surgical Assisting requires all programs have an exam pass rate outcome of at least 70 percent. Students who pass the exam demonstrate that their program meets the national standard for knowledge underlying surgical technologist practice in guiding the certified individuals to obtain and master a broad range of skills related to surgical procedures, aseptic technique and quality patient care. For more information on the surgical technology program at Missoula College, visit mc.umt.edu/health/surgicaltech/default.php. UM welcomes Fulbright professors to campus This week two international language teachers joined the University of Montana as Fulbright Foreign Language Teaching Assistants. Karoline Fuchs from Austria is teaching first-year German, and Martina Fontanarosa from Italy is teaching first-year Italian. The FLTA recipients also will take courses at UM during the 2016-17 academic year while sharing their language and culture with UM. Fuchs and Fontanarosa are among nearly 400 young educators from 50 countries who will travel to the United States through the Fulbright FLTA Program, which aims to inspire Americans to travel and study overseas and make U.S. citizens better prepared to engage with businesses, governments and organizations abroad. Fulbright teaching assistants help internationalize U.S. colleges and universities, a key goal of many institutions as they prepare students for a 21st century workforce and globalized world. Recipients of Fulbright FLTA grants are selected on the basis of academic and professional achievement, as well as demonstrated leadership potential. Fulbright FLTA scholarships are awarded by the J. William Fulbright Foreign Scholarship Board. This academic year the grant recipients will contribute to U.S. students acquiring more than 30 foreign languages at over 200 U.S. institutions. The primary source of funding for the Fulbright Program is an annual appropriation made by the U.S. Congress to the U.S. Department of State. Participating governments, universities, corporations and foundations in foreign countries and in the United States also provide direct and indirect support. The Fulbright Program was established in 1946 under legislation introduced by U.S. Sen. J. William Fulbright of Arkansas. The Fulbright Program has given about 360,000 students, scholars, teachers, artists and scientists the opportunity to study, teach and conduct research, exchange ideas and contribute to finding solutions to shared international concerns. Since 2001, more than 4,000 Fulbright awardees have been Fulbright FLTAs. Fulbright FLTA recipients are among over 50,000 individuals participating in U.S. Department of State exchange programs each year. The Fulbright FLTA Program is administered by the Institute of International Education. For more information on UMs visiting Fulbright instructors, call 243-5001 or email liz.ametsbichler@mso.umt.edu. For further information about the Fulbright FLTA Program, call the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs at (202) 632-6452 or visit http://eca.state.gov/fulbright or http://foreign.fulbrightonline.org/. Mansfield Center launches fall lecture series UM's Mansfield Cente has announced its fall Brown Bag Lecture Series for the community. The lectures reflect the centers mission to promote an understanding of Asia, public affairs and ethics. Lectures include perspectives on climate change, Asian politics and international opportunities for students. All sessions will be held from noon to 12:50 p.m. The lectures are free and open to the public. The schedule follows: Tuesday, Sept. 13: University Center 326-327: Crossing Borders: A Global Perspective on Climate Change and Collaboration with Asian Fellows from the Young Southeast Asian Leaders Initiative on Environmental Issues. Moderated by UM Environmental Studies graduate and adjunct faculty member Peter McDonough. A special offering of the U.S. Department of State. University Center 326-327: Crossing Borders: A Global Perspective on Climate Change and Collaboration with Asian Fellows from the Young Southeast Asian Leaders Initiative on Environmental Issues. Moderated by UM Environmental Studies graduate and adjunct faculty member Peter McDonough. A special offering of the U.S. Department of State. Wednesday, Sept. 28: University Center 332-333: JET to Japan! Working in Japan with the Japan Exchange & Teaching (JET) Program with Chelsea Robinson, JET program coordinator for the consulate-general of Japan in Seattle. University Center 332-333: JET to Japan! Working in Japan with the Japan Exchange & Teaching (JET) Program with Chelsea Robinson, JET program coordinator for the consulate-general of Japan in Seattle. Thursday, Oct. 13: University Center 333: Climate and Culture Deep in the Mekong Delta with Nicky Phear, program director, UM Climate Change Studies Program. University Center 333: Climate and Culture Deep in the Mekong Delta with Nicky Phear, program director, UM Climate Change Studies Program. Wednesday, Oct. 26: Liberal Arts 103B: Cross-Cultural Comparisons of NGO Best Practices Southeast Asia to Montana with Asian Fellows from the Young Southeast Asian Leaders Initiative Professional Fellows Program. A special offering of the U.S. Department of State. Liberal Arts 103B: Cross-Cultural Comparisons of NGO Best Practices Southeast Asia to Montana with Asian Fellows from the Young Southeast Asian Leaders Initiative Professional Fellows Program. A special offering of the U.S. Department of State. Tuesday, Nov. 15: University Center 330-331: Chinas Water Crisis with Owen Sirrs, adjunct professor of culture and regional studies with the Mansfield Defense Critical Language and Culture Program. University Center 330-331: Chinas Water Crisis with Owen Sirrs, adjunct professor of culture and regional studies with the Mansfield Defense Critical Language and Culture Program. Thursday, Dec. 1: University Center 326-327: Controlling Uyghur Bodies: the New Colonial Project in Chinese Central Asia with Eric Schluessel, UM assistant professor of history and political science. For more information and extended session descriptions, go online to umt.edu/mansfield/events/brownbaglectures or call 243-2988. MISSOULA A documentary movie chronicling the struggle to end energy exploration in the Badger-Two Medicine area is starting a tour of Montana. The 24-minute film Our Last Refuge had its premiere on the Blackfeet Indian Reservation on Thursday. It has additional showings in Missoula and Whitefish, Great Falls, Bozeman, Helena, and Billings during a road show in October. Final dates have yet to be determined. The Badger-Two Medicine area lies bounded by the Blackfeet Indian Reservation, Glacier National Park, the Bob Marshall Wilderness and the Helena-Lewis and Clark National Forest. While not part of the reservation, the Blackfeet people consider it a sacred part of their heritage and source of many traditional creation stories. It also supports habitat for grizzly bears, wolverine, wolves, elk, and cutthroat trout, linking the Great Plains to the Rocky Mountain Front. The film traces the Blackfeet tribal influence on the land from when they encountered Lewis and Clark 200 years ago, through the reservation creation and the oil-lease years of the Reagan Administration in the 1980s. In March, the Department of the Interior canceled one of the last remaining exploration leases where a Louisiana company sought to drill for oil and natural gas. It features commentary from traditional Chief Earl Old Person, who recalled how the Blackfeet Tribes claims to traditional territory were progressively reduced from Fort Benton to Choteau to the boundaries of the present reservation. If it wasnt for these mountains, theyd push us into the Pacific Ocean, Old Person says in the film. This is where we said it stopped. And this is what were going to keep. Were going to fight for this area that we call our home. Tribal authorities and several conservation groups maintained the energy leases were granted illegally in the 1980s without proper tribal consultation or review, and a large number of other leases were voluntarily released or retired. There are 17 energy leases remaining in the Badger-Two Medicine. The film is testament to the power of faith and determination and perseverance, said Bozeman filmmaker Daniel Glick. The title Our Last Refuge speaks volumes. This is the last bastion of Blackfeet traditional culture. This is where they make their stand. Buttes boasts run the gamut, including firsts, biggest, most, and even smallest. The Midget Saloon at 104 N. Main was full if it had eight patrons and modestly boasted it was the smallest bar in the northwest. But Buttes best-known claim to fame in the smallest category goes to the Success Cafe, just 3 feet, 9 inches wide. The success of the tiny, year-old Success Cafe almost ended in the summer of 1905 when it lost one of its walls. The building was scarcely built. Sometime before 1884 an unknown entrepreneur leased the narrow space between the grocery store on the southwest corner of Broadway and Main and the California Beer Hall to the east on Broadway. He let the walls of the two adjacent buildings serve as his walls and erected a door facing the street and a bit of wall facing the alley. He put a low roof over it, and 8 E. Broadway was born. For many years the space served as a tiny office, but in 1904, the worlds smallest restaurant, seating four patrons, opened for business. A year later in June 1905, the single-story wood-frame California Bar was being demolished for a grander two-story saloon with spaces for offices and performances. As a crowd of hundreds gathered to watch the demolition of one of Buttes best known historic buildings, business at the Success kept up to beat the band. But in short order, it became evident that once the saloon was gone, so would be the east wall of the cafe. Proprietor Sam Botke tried to convince the demolition contractor to not put him out of business, but the contractor could clearly see that the wall he was demolishing belonged to the California, whose owners were paying him. The wall came down by 3:00 p.m., and since nobody likes to eat with the crowd on the street standing around and rubbering, the Success was out of business. For the rest of that day. Botke and his partner Tom Howard quickly put up a new wall and reinforced the sagging roof and were selling lunches again while the new California Saloon was built. You could get Irish turkey no poultry, but a stew of beef, vegetables, and herbs for 25. Or wrap it in pastry on Thursdays and call it a pasty. Legendary breakfasts meant that even in winter there was a line out the door waiting for one of the four seats in the narrow cafe, and in 1914, the owners had a contract with a firm in Caldwell, Idaho, to supply them with 30 dozen eggs every 24 hours. Frank Hickman and his son Paul managed the Success from late 1905 until 1952, with the address changed to 10 E. Broadway. The tiny space appears to have been vacant for the next 17 years as various businesses occupied the larger buildings adjacent. Among the last tenants in the 1905 California Saloon building was the Board of Trade Bar the third and last establishment of that name. The entire corner was destroyed by fire June 24, 1969. The space is a parking lot today. It was a perfect summer evening. On July 31, a small group of people stood silently at the front of the Immaculate Conception Church in Butte. The congregation was clearly moved and prayed over them. As the group received the very meaningful blessing, their facial expressions reflected a spectrum of emotions, including a hint of nervousness. It was the eve of a grand adventure. "It was a life-changing experience for each of us." Marietta Sorini The nights in Uganda do not cool down much. The humidity feels even higher than during the day. It was only 6 a.m. Mijah McLeod and Gia, Marietta, and Bella Sorini were starting their day. They were still sleepy, but what they saw in the streets made them alert. Crowds of colorfully dressed, smiling, and fast-walking people were everywhere. Minus the smiles and the colorful dress, a New Yorker would find the sight familiar, but not Montanans. "The constant congestion is what surprised me the most about Africa." Mijah McLeod The four young Butte women were on a medical mission under the direction of Butte's Dr. George Mulcaire-Jones, his son Liam, and a capable team. Dawn Lewton, an energetic real estate agent from Whitehall, spent a lot of time with the four teenagers and helped coordinate outreach to the Ugandan youth and children. Audrey Mendenhall is the owner of Sound Health Imaging that provides diagnostic imaging in Butte, Anaconda, and Helena. Her mission contribution was teaching ultrasound skills. The general objective was to train local health professionals to improve the care of expectant mothers and the newly born. Improving care does not take place in a medical exclusion zone. It is the result of a slow and beautiful process of developing trust and earning respect. With smiles that exude sincerity, the Butte quartet engaged in a mission of friendship. "The littlest things made the biggest difference." Gia Sorini She describes a number of simple gestures that generated gratifying reactions. They gave toothbrushes to a woman with her four children in a hospital and to many others. They brought toys and games to 115 orphans in Kamuli. They shared Montana stories with young school children crammed in a tiny classroom. Everywhere they went, they took Polaroid photos of people whom they met on their journey literally hundreds and hundreds of happy, appreciative faces who were all so easy to love. Some of these Ugandan faces belonged to highly memorable people. Like John Mark, made wise by poverty and faith, bright as daylight and a born leader. He was mature way beyond his 15 years. Or the delightfully lighthearted and kind Henry, who selflessly and joyfully ran a youth camp in Masaka. Young Americans are now conditioned by a culture defined by undiluted and unhealthy self-centeredness. So this was also a mission of discovery. Gia observes: "Listening to what different people had to say was very interesting and rewarding." Mijah offers this insight: "There is no way you can form a valuable opinion or credible system of beliefs without seeing what the rest of the world has to offer." "My dad would have been so happy that we were able to put a smile on the face of so many." Marietta Sorini For three among the group, the Sorini sisters, the journey took on an added level of significance. They were doing this, in part, as a tribute to their recently deceased father, the late Dr. Pete Sorini, outstanding neurosurgeon and an exceptionally giving human being. Gia, the eldest daughter, explains: "Dad always wanted us to do a mission trip as a family. In a sense, I did go for my dad, because he wanted us to help as many people as we could." One encounter proved particularly moving. They met two precious little children suffering from untreated hydrocephalus a condition their surgeon father was particularly skilled at correcting. "My dad could really have helped them," Gia said. As someone who has observed closely the Sorini family in the wake of the cruel loss of a husband and father, it did not surprise me at all that all the sisters made a point of mentioning their mother as a great fount of motivation and strength. While herself tormented by searing grief, Ms. Stephanie Sorini has been able to magnificently and selflessly provide for her daughters hope and a path to resilience. The groundbreaking for the Dr. Pete Sorini Family Center in Masaka was a powerful moment. At the emotional ceremony, Gia gave a remarkable speech. Her words were received with unique warmth, gratitude and kindness. Sympathy and condolences were extended to the sisters. The sisters were hugged as they were enthusiastically being adopted by these Ugandan families. No longer were they visitors. They now belonged. That same night Bella texted her mother: "It was like the best day ever Mom. It does not matter the color of your skin, we are one big family here." Bella also made a heart-warming comparison between the mission leader, Dr. Mulcaire-Jones, and her father: "They are so much alike. They work very hard to help others. They are filled with immense kindness, and both are very funny." In the weeks leading up to their African mission, I thought a lot about Gia, Marietta, and Bella. I wondered how the memory of their brilliant father was going to influence their lives. Were Dr. Sorini's astonishing accomplishments going to represent for them a source of inspiration, or rather intimidation? I no longer wonder. It is clearly all about inspiration. "As his daughter, I feel lucky to carry on his legacy, and going to Africa on a mission trip is part of that." Gia Sorini She could not have answered my question more perfectly. To the high plateaus, lake shores, rainforests, and bustling cities of Uganda the four brave young women delivered fragments of the giant heart that is Butte. They also brought with them the irresistible spirit of the unforgettable Dr. Pete. Through them, he will continue to transform lives for the better for a long, long time to come. His mission is not over, because theirs is only beginning. TUESDAY, SEPT. 6 ECONOMY DISCUSSION Bring your own lunch and discuss issues that are important to your business at noon at the Butte-Silver Bow Chamber of Commerce, 1000 George St. With the 2016 elections and 2017 Legislative session just around the corner, the Montana State Chamber is touring Montana to provide updates on its strategic plan. Your thoughts on Montana's economy are wanted. Reservations, Stacye@MontanaChamber.com or 888-442-MONT (ext. 100). I had decided not to see Nate Parker's new movie. This was a tough choice. I had been looking forward with great eagerness to the October release of "Birth of a Nation," Parker's acclaimed account of Nat Turner's 1831 slave uprising. But this was before I heard about the rape. Meaning the 1999 rape that Parker, as a matter of legal fact, did not commit when he and his roommate, Jean Celestin, had a sexual encounter with a drunken woman while they were students at Penn State. Parker was acquitted -- he said the act was consensual and that they'd had sex previously. Celestin was convicted, but the conviction was overturned. The alleged victim also accused Parker, Celestin and their friends of harassing her when she pressed charges. She dropped out of school and twice attempted suicide. On the third attempt, in 2012, she was successful. All of which was troubling enough. Then came the recent interviews in which Parker addressed the incident. "Seventeen years ago," he told Variety, "I experienced a very painful moment in my life. It resulted in it being litigated. I was cleared of it. That's that." Observers were predictably appalled by such self-centered dismissiveness. "The solipsism is staggering," wrote Roxane Gay of The New York Times. Writing in The Root, Maiysha Kai scored Parker's "seeming disconnect and lack of empathy." He has since apologized. And you should know: This was not the non-apology apology so common now for misbehaving celebrities. It was not Donald Trump's vague "regret" for unspecified sins against unspecified people, nor Ryan Lochte describing his lie as a failure to be "careful and candid." No, in an interview posted Saturday by Ebony, Parker comes across as a man honestly appalled by his own "selfish" behavior. "I wasn't thinking about even the potential hurt of others. I was thinking about myself." He said he has read his critics' criticisms to figure out "what do I need to learn about the situation? ... If I'm really serious about changing my attitude ... then what do I need to be feeling?" He confessed that when he initially spoke, he didn't know his alleged victim had killed herself. "I was acting as if I was the victim," he said. "Why didn't (my words) come off more contrite? Because I wasn't being contrite. Maybe I was being even arrogant. And learning about her passing shook me. It really did. It really shook me." "I'm sorry for all the women who are survivors who were hurt by my words," he said, "because they were insensitive and they were nonchalant." Parker seems belatedly to realize how little it means that, as a legal matter, he didn't commit rape. As a legal matter, after all, George Zimmerman didn't commit murder. Nor did O.J. Simpson. Granted, Parker has reason to sound convincing. He's trying to save a movie. On the other hand, Trump was trying to save a presidential run and Lochte, a career. Me, I believe him. I'm just trying to figure out what that should mean. I offer no sophistry about separating art from artist. No such separation exists for any art worthy of the name. If Phil Spector, Bill Cosby and Roman Polanski prove nothing else, they prove human beings and human art are complicated, a latticework of shadow and light. As a man, it's not my place, nor is it within my power, to absolve Nate Parker. I'm just trying to decide whether to see his movie - whether doing so is consonant with the moral man I try to be. He's got me thinking about it. That's more than I could have said a week ago. -- Leonard Pitts Jr. is a columnist for the Miami Herald and can be reached at lpittsmiamiherald.com. Meth is again on the rise in Montana, and its threatening to overwhelm our criminal justice system. Investigators, police and prosecutors in Missoula and across the state are seeing more methamphetamine cases involving larger amounts of the stimulant than ever before. Thats the bad news. The good news is they are largely in agreement about how to fight back against the meth problem. Its time we all listened to what theyre saying and started giving them the support they need to fight this rising threat to public health and safety. Whats more, cracking down on meth will help Montana make progress on a number of related fronts, from overcrowded jails to an overburdened foster care system. According to investigators, home meth labs arent the problem they used to be, thanks in large part to laws limiting the purchase of certain ingredients necessary to make meth. Instead, large labs in Mexico are churning out large amounts of the drug in a highly concentrated form and smuggling it into the United States, where it is sold in larger quantities for lower prices. The Missoula County Attorneys Office has 62 open cases of meth possession or distribution so far this year, on track with last years 117 cases and a sharp increase from 2007s zero meth cases. (The Montana Standard has an in-depth series on meth in Southwestern Montana to launch later this fall.) The Missoula Drug Task Force has seen a 38 percent increase in meth seizures just over the past year. Not only that, but the sheer amounts of meth being seized have increased alarmingly from ounces to pounds. Clearly, the meth problem hasnt gone away. Its just been simmering, and now its boiling over. Law enforcement agencies are having to prioritize cases in order to deal with the most dangerous first, and new meth-dealing operations pop up just as soon are others are taken down. Meanwhile, meth is behind increases in other kinds of crime. It is, for example, impossible to separate meth from child abuse and neglect. Missoula has seen a direct correlation, according to the Missoula County Attorneys Office, between the two. The Montana Department of Health and Human Services counted more than 1,000 children in foster care in 2015 who were removed because of parental meth use. Its a problem that the legislature needs to address with increases in funding for investigation and enforcement and for treatment options, starting with local drug treatment courts. As Montana District Court Judge John Larson, who was the first judge in Montana to start a drug treatment court, explained in a recent Missoulian article exposing the new meth epidemic, such courts have an impressive track record when it comes to reducing the rate of repeat offenses. Montana law is already set up to allow those convicted of a first felony drug offense to agree to treatment in exchange for a deferred sentence. However, those who are unsuccessful in beating their addictions often are referred to chemical dependency programs with the Department of Corrections. If Missoula were able to offer local inpatient treatment programs instead, more meth users could receive addiction services while being held accountable in their home communities, without causing further disruptions in their housing, jobs and families that would only serve to drive them to meth again. In Yellowstone County, where more than 500 people were arrested on meth charges last year, County Attorney Scott Twito is proposing a new drug intervention program to prevent repeat drug charges for accumulating while offenders are awaiting sentencing, as well as reduce the time between arrest and sentencing thereby getting addicts into treatment sooner. And last week, U.S. Sen. Steve Daines announced that the Montana Department of Public Health and Human Services would be receiving $300,000 to help fight opioid abuse in the state. The announcement noted that the Comprehensive Addiction and Recovery Act received overwhelming support when Congress passed it in July. The legislation allows grants to support community-wide strategies in places where opioid and meth abuse is higher than the national average places like Montanas Indian reservations. At the U.S. House candidate debate in Frazier last month, U.S. Rep. Ryan Zinke and his challenger, Montana Superintendent of Public Instruction Denise Juneau, both acknowledged that methamphetamine is a particular menace on Montanas Indian reservations. Its another encouraging sign that the problem is starting to get the kind of attention it needs. But it needs more. Since 2005, when the Montana Meth Project first launched with the goal of reducing first-time meth use among teens, the organization has taken on the monumental task of raising public awareness. The organization made national headlines for its attention-getting advertising campaign and for a unique approach to youth involvement, with public art campaigns and school presentations that included recovering addicts. Those efforts continue, but they cant do it alone. Montanas communities must recognize that meth is a problem that requires cooperation and coordination of preventive, legislative and enforcement levels at the local, state and federal levels. The magnitude of public support for these efforts should reflect the magnitude of the meth problem and of the likely results of a sustained fight against it. -- The Missoulian BILLINGS Beating the pervasive bias against Native Americans in Montana may come from first admitting the biases exist, says Montana American Civil Liberties Union Executive Director Caitlin Borgmann. She was one of 18 panelists representing criminal justice, education and health care who spoke recently in Billings about discrimination against Native Americans. The meeting was meant to gather information for The Montana Advisory Committee to the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights. The committee presented a report on border town discrimination in 2011. A major note of that report was the high percentage of Native American high school dropouts. Since the report was produced, Montana schools have seen an improvement in the number of Native American graduates, going from 61.5 percent in 2011 to 65 percent in 2014. Borgmann believes public officials should put into place inherent bias training in their departments. Racial disparity is "baked" into our systems, Borgmann said. Questions regarding release from jail prior to a case being tried and release from prison on parole are in themselves biased against American Indians, who are often impoverished, Borgmann said. Most don't have a car or a steady job, and because of this are often not released from jail or can't afford bond. There is some bias in decision-making, but it doesn't come from inherent racism, Borgmann said. "People are not conscious of these biases. They don't have bad intent," Borgmann said. "But they've seen images in the media or other places and have ingrained views of people." Yellowstone County Deputy Chief of Criminal Litigation Ed Zink presented statistics at the meeting that showed that from 2013 to 2014, the Native American population in Montana was about 6.2 percent. But American Indians made up 11 percent of the homicide victims, 9.2 percent of rape victims and 13 percent of aggravated assault victims. American Indians also made up 11 percent of the people arrested in connection with a homicide case, 14 percent of those arrested on rape charges and 19 percent of those arrested for aggravated assault, Zink said, citing statistics from the Montana Board of Crime Control. Crime data kept by individual reservations was not included in those numbers. Health statistics also were alarming. According to the 2014 Montana Vital Statistics Annual Report, white Montana women live an average of 82 years and 75 years for men. American Indians in Montana have a life expectancy of 63 years for women and 58 for men. Gwendolyn Kircher, an advisory committee member, was attending school during the civil rights era of the 1960s. She said Native Americans need to organize and prepare to be beaten down, as African-Americans did. "Native Americans are in the same spot African-Americans were before the civil rights movement," Kircher said. "Passive, docile, content and happy to have what we got and accept whatever happened to us. Separate but equal didn't work for us and it doesn't work for Native Americans. "Many people are bigoted and they don't even realize it,'' Kircher said. The Montana Advisory Committee does not have much power, committee member David Lopez said. The committee is meant to advise the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights, which can in turn make recommendations to Congress. The power of the advisory board comes from exposing biases, not fixing them. People wishing to submit comment about discrimination against Native Americans in Montana have until Thursday, Sept. 29, to share their thoughts with the Montana Advisory Committee to the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights. Those comments can be submitted to the email address ebohor@usccr.gov. MUSCATINE, Iowa Gildas Club is hosting a free Lymphedema Workshop from 6-8 p.m., Thursday, Sept. 15, at the First Presbyterian Church, 401 Iowa Ave., Muscatine, with Robin Edwards, PTA, CLT, speaking. The event will be held in the Gathering Room 2nd Floor (use 4th Street entrance). Edwards, a Physical Therapist at Integrated Therapy Specialists, PC, will present on: The Lymphatic System Signs of Lymphedema Symptoms of Lymphedema Risk Factors of Lymphedema Risk Reduction Strategies Treatment Interventions (Complete Decongestive Therapy, or CDT) Anyone impacted by cancer is welcome to attend. For more details and to register, please call Gildas Club at 563-326-7504 or email kelly@gildasclubqc.org. Topic: ACT Testing Information As part of the Muscatine Community School Districts goal of increasing academic rigor in order to ensure college readiness for all students, Muscatine High School began offering the ACT, a nationally administered standardized test, to all 11th grade students in the 2014-2015 school year. The ACT is a test that assists colleges in evaluating college readiness in English, Mathematics, Reading, Science and the optional Writing portion. To further support this goal, the Muscatine Community School District has adopted an ACT Testing sequence in grades 4-11 for the 2016-2017 school year. Below are current updates of our ACT Testing Progress. These updates represent year 2 of the changes adopted by MCSD to increase academic rigor in order to ensure college readiness for all students. Over a 3 year period 300 students in MHSs class of 2016 took the ACT in comparison to 160 MHS students in the class of 2013 MHS 2016 Average ACT score for proficient students is 26.2 in comparison to a score of 23.9 in 2013 As a district, 90% of students who took the ACT are making progress toward Career Readiness based on ACT composite score Nationwide, an opportunity to improve student college and career readiness (CCR) in Reading, Math and Science is being discussed. ACT research has shown students meeting 3 or more ACT College Readiness Benchmarks are likely to be successful in post secondary education. As noted by the ACT, a great way to improve CCR is for students to take a college preparatory core curriculum, which MHS adopted in the 2014-2015 school year. Muscatine High School is also increasing college readiness by offering an increased amount of Advanced Placement (AP) courses as well as continuing to offer Concurrent and Post Secondary Enrollment Options (PSEO). MHS is presently offering 20 AP courses compared to 8 courses in 2013. MHS is currently ranked 15th in the state of Iowa in the number of students taking AP tests. Research shows that students who have completed two or more AP courses increase their chances of attaining a Bachelors Degree to 76%. In the 2015-2016 school year, MHS had 641 enrollments in Concurrent/PSEO courses and 778 enrollments in AP courses. Muscatine Community School District is excited by the current trends in student ACT scores. Implementing a more rigorous core curriculum and offering more college preparatory courses should led to continual growth among our students. MUSCATINE, Iowa - The public is invited to attend an open house at the Old Stone Church hosted by The Friends of The Old Stone Church from 1-4 p.m. on Saturday, Sept. 17. The Old Stone Church is located at 3507 180th Street, Muscatine, which is one and one-half miles north of Wild Cat Den State Park. Muscatine's Old Stone Church is a fully restored historic church built by the County's early settlers. In 1867, a group of pioneers of German heritage needed a place of worship for their German Methodist Episcopal congregation. Their faith was such that they hand quarried the sand stone near Pine Creek one-half mile to the south and built the church themselves. After the congregation abandoned the church in 1910, it slowly deteriorated and had many uses. This included being used as a machine shop and later for storing oats and hay. Eventually the building was abandoned entirely. In 2006 the Friends of the Old Stone Church was formed to restore the church. After several years of work, the church was ready. The first event to be held in the restored church was a Christmas Service in 2010, one hundred years after the last use. Today the Old Stone Church is available to families and groups for a variety of uses. The church is owned by The Friends of the Old Stone Church, a 501(c)(3) non-profit that is part of the Muscatine County Heritage Association. To make a donation or to obtain information on using the church for an event such as a wedding, contact Mr. David Casstevens, phone: 563-263-0422, e-mail: dcasstevens@q.com or Mr. John Scott, President, phone 563-299-8205, e-mail: jscott@machlink.com. DES MOINES, Iowa - Governor Branstad will sign a proclamation next week declaring September 5-11 as Suicide Prevention Week. According to the Iowa Department of Public Health (IDPH), suicide is the 10th leading cause of death for all Iowans and the second leading cause of death for 15 to 24 year-olds and those ages 25 to 44. Last year in Iowa, 414 Iowans died by suicide an increase of 22 deaths from 2014, said IDPH Suicide Prevention Program coordinator Pat McGovern. Unfortunately, many of those who died never received effective help, partly because of the stigma often associated with behavioral health illnesses and treatment. Most people who die by suicide have talked about it or given definite warning signs, said McGovern. These signs include things like making a plan or talking about suicide; making statements about feeling hopeless, helpless, or worthless; suffering the recent loss of a family member or friend through death or suicide; other losses, like a job or relationship loss; use or increased use of drugs and/or alcohol; sudden uncharacteristic behavior changes like increased aggression; withdrawing from activities and people one usually enjoys; or a sudden decline in grades at school or work performance. Talking about suicide is not an easy thing to do, but if you are concerned, your involvement might save a life. Ways to start a conversation about suicide: I have been feeling concerned about you lately. Recently, I have noticed some differences in you and wondered how you are doing. I wanted to check in with you because you havent seemed yourself lately. Questions you can ask: When did you begin feeling like this? Did something happen that made you start feeling this way? How can I best support you right now? Have you thought about getting help? Are you thinking about taking your own life? What you can do to help: Be open and honest about your concerns. Be willing to listen without judgement. Offer to help. You can say things like, You are not alone in this. Im here for you. or I may not be able to understand exactly how you feel, but I care about you and want to help. Seek support for yourself and the person you are concerned about. Everyone can play a role in preventing suicide. If you or someone you know may be suicidal, get help immediately. Call the Suicide Prevention Lifeline at (800) 273-TALK or go to www.suicidepreventionlifeline.org/. You may also contact Your Life Iowa by calling (855)-581-8111, texting (855)-895-8398 (2:00 to 10 p.m. Central) or visiting www.yourlifeiowa.org. For more information about how IDPH is addressing suicide prevention, visit https://idph.iowa.gov/substance-abuse/youth-suicide-prevention. OPEC Supports Nigerias Diversification Agenda Secretary-General of Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), Mohammad Sanusi Barkindo, has declared his support for Nigerias ongoing efforts to diversify the economy and expanding the agricultural sector. According to the OPEC chief, the future of Nigeria looks bright, particularly if the continued pace of diversification in Nigeria can be sustained. Speaking during a courtesy visit by Charge dAffaires of the Permanent Mission of the Federal Republic of Nigeria to Austria and Slovakia, Gazing Jessy Napmwang Dangtim, Barkindo said that the oil industry tends to move in cycles, which is a constant challenge to market fundamentals. He therefore stressed the need for oil producers to work together to tackle the challenge of low oil prices. Besides, contributions by members countries into the Fund for International Development (OFID) has reached $1billion Therefore, the Secretary-General declared his intention to work closely with OFID to stimulate economic growth and alleviate poverty in developing countries. As a result, he said, it is the general consensus of the industry that some form of coordination is needed among producers. He recalled OPECs founding fathers, whom he described as visionaries who saw the wisdom of working together in order to support and promote market stability. Todays challenges, he said, are a reminder that producers need to return to basics and further enhance efforts at working cooperatively. Also, Barkindo met with HE Suleiman Jasir Al-Herbish, Director-General of OFID, at the Funds headquarters in the Austrian capital. Al-Herbish congratulated Barkindo on his new position as Secretary General. He also commended him for the good coverage that OPEC has provided for OFID in the last edition of the Organisations magazine, the OPEC Bulletin. I am very happy and pleased to see you back in Vienna leading OPEC, Al-Herbish said. The Secretary General thanked Al-Herbish for his hard work in leading OFID and implementing the various programmes the Fund has to stimulate ecnomic growth and alleviate poverty in developing countries. OPEC is proud of the achievements of OFID, said Barkindo. Al-Herbish provided the Secretary General with a detailed explanation of OFIDs different programmes and focus areas. He described its participation in projects, particularly in the areas of public and private sector lending, trade finance facility, and grant operations. He also spoke at length about OFIDs Energy for the Poor Initiative, which started in 2008 in recognition of the link between human development and energy use. Al-Herbish explained that during his tenure, the Fund has managed to secure a total of around $ 1 billion from member countries to support the work of the Fund. Total resources of OFID as of the end at 2015 amounted to $ 6863 million. www.bizwatchnigeria.ng The Muscatine High School Class of 1948 will have their 68th high school reunion on September 16 at the Hy-Vee Community room at 2500 2nd St. A lunch buffet will be served at 12:00 noon. Reservations are asked to be made by September 7th by calling Barb Brown at 309-368-3592 or 309-342-3084 or email bjbrown31@aol.com. For those not attending please send any news from the past year. There will not be a group get-together on September 21. Les emplois a Rennes sont abondants et varies. Il y a quelque chose pour tout le monde. Que vous soyez a la recherche dun emploi [] Les blattes ou cafards (Blatta orientalis) sont des insectes qui appartiennent a la famille des Blattoptera. Ils se caracterisent par leur forme allongee, leurs ailes [] The Minister of Telecommunications and Postal Services, Siyabonga Cwele, has talked up governments Broadband War Room. Speaking to delegates at SATNAC 2016, Cwele said the war room was established to speed up the roll-out of the countrys broadband policy, South Africa Connect. He said the War Room was a product of the governments coordinated implementation plan. We are also practicing this coordination at the implementation level through Provincial Broadband Steering Committees that seek to align all broadband activities to the South Africa Connect. In the future, Cwele said they hope to coordinate business. Cwele said they are also partnering with the KwaZulu-Natal Provincial Government and the City of eThekwini to host African Ministers responsible for ICT from 16 October 2016. To develop a South African position, Cwele said they will host a National Internet Governance Forum. This will focus on: South African digital economy and e-commerce. Open data government. Inclusive development and the digital transformation in SA. Internet and human rights/freedom of expression. The impact of cyber security on SA economy. Net neutrality in South Africa. Shaping the future of IGF. Jan Vermeulen is a guest of Telkom at SATNAC 2016. More on South Africas broadband policy Why Minister Siyabonga Cwele is suing Icasa South African government too useless to run SA Connect: DA The Independent has reported the Department of Communications appointed a United States-based lobbyist for more than R10 million to try improve South Africas image. The lobbyist is Mudunwazi Baloyi, who was previously the programme manager of the Mozambique Regional Gateway Programme for the Department for International Development. Baloyi was also an executive manager for the Cross Border Road Transport Agency, and spent some time in the Embassy of South Africa in Washington. He was registered as the country head for Brand South Africa in the US in March this year, and will aim to change policies or perceptions. According to the report, Baloyis pay exceeds R2 million per year, and he will also receive R219,300 per month extra to cover his cost of living abroad. The DA questioned the money spent on the project, highlighting that there are no clear measurements to assess the success of Brand SA. More on South Africa How Zuma broke the rand Warning of South African junk status downgrade if Gordhan exits Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan takes on the Guptas, SABC A debate on coalition politics at the Tshwane University of Technology ended in a near brawl when SABC chief operating officer Hlaudi Motsoenengs managerial skills were praised. Leader of the Black First, Land First movement, Andile Mngxitama gave praises to Motsoeneng during his closing remarks following the debate. The media is controlled by the western ideologists. For me there are only two progressive managers in South Africa: Hlaudi Motsoeneng and Brian Molefe, he said. That statement was interrupted by a comment from Tshwane FM station Manager Jeremy Thorpe who said Motsoeneng was an idiot.An exchange of words started with Thorpe saying Mngxitama was out of his mind. Mngxitama in turn grabbed an empty water bottle and threw it at Thorpe. Why is this man insulting Hlaudi? I will not be insulted by a white man. He said I was out of my mind, that is insulting, yelled Mngxitama. He was part of a panel to talk about coalition politics. Other speakers included Womens Justice Foundation founder Magdalene Moonsamy and Democratic Alliance MP Stevens Mokgalapa. The debate was hosted by the South African Association of Public Administration and Managements Gauteng chapter. Members of the crowd then also got involved in the screaming match with one asking: Who is Hlaudi to us? Mngxitama was restrained by organisers and he took his bag and left the venue. The incident brought an abrupt end to the discussion before people went to lunch. News24 More on the SABC SABC has a positive cash balance: Muthambi There was no R18 million golden handshake for former CEO: SABC Advertise Here Be seen advertise here. Contact us. Scientists probing a newly exposed, formerly snow-covered outcropping in Greenland claim they have discovered the oldest fossils ever seen, the remnants of microbial mats that lived 3.7 billion years ago. It's a stunning announcement in a scientific field that is always contentious. But if confirmed, this would push the established fossil record more than 200 million years deeper into the Earth's early history, and provide support for the view that life appeared very soon after the Earth formed and may be commonplace throughout the universe. A team of Australian geologists announced their discovery in a paper titled "Rapid emergence of life shown by discovery of 3,700-million-year-old microbial structures," published Wednesday in Nature. They made their find in July 2012 while doing field research in Isua, a region of Greenland so remote that they had to travel there by helicopter. The site is known for having the oldest rocks on Earth, in what is known as the Isua supracrustal belt. Allen Nutman, a University of Wollongong geologist who has studied the rocks there since 1980, said one day he and his colleagues were working at the site when they spied some outcroppings they'd never seen before. The formations had been exposed where the snow pack had melted - the result, Nutman said, of the global warming that is so pronounced in Greenland or of low levels of snowfall the previous winter. They examined the outcropping and immediately saw something intriguing: conical structures, just one to four centimeters (less than two inches) high. They look like fossilized microbial mats - basically, pillows of slime - known as stromatolites, which are formed today by bacterial communities living in shallow water. "We all said, 'This is amazing. These look like stromatolites,' " Nutman told The Washington Post. Subsequent laboratory analysis established that the formation is 3.7 billion years old, and turned up additional chemical signatures consistent with a biological origin for the conical structures, Nutman said. Fossilized stromatolites nearly 3.5 billion years old have previously been found in Western Australia. Those fossils have until now been the oldest widely accepted evidence for life on Earth. Some researchers have cited signatures of life from an even earlier time, including in the Isua formation in Greenland, but typically these assertions have involved biologically friendly molecules rather than actual fossils. Moreover, very old rocks - older than 3 billion years - are exceedingly rare, because the Earth's surface has been eroded over time and recycled through plate tectonics. Claims about evidence for ancient life have invariably been controversial. The multiple lines of evidence for the Greenland stromatolites "are not as clear cut as you'd ideally want for such an extraordinary claim," cautioned Abigail Allwood, a geologist at the NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory who has studied fossil stromatolites. "They might really be biological but it's hard to absolutely refute the possibility that they formed by localized mineral precipitation from seawater. If we found these on Mars, would we plant a flag and declare that we had found life on Mars? I think not, but we would definitely get very excited and continue looking around for more information," she said. "We expect there will be some robust debate. That's what science is all about. There will be people surely who will put forward alternative hypotheses. But we think we've covered all those alternatives," Nutman said. The Australians' claim of Greenland stromatolites is "plausible and likely correct," said J. William Schopf, a pioneering paleobiologist at the University of California at Los Angeles who was not involved in the discovery. Schopf, who in 1993 reported the discovery of 3.465-billion-year-old microfossils in Western Australia, said he expects scientists to find more Greenland stromatolites as the warming atmosphere continues to melt the huge ice sheet covering the world's largest island. The Australian researchers do not contend that these stromatolites represent the first examples of life on the planet. Rather, these would have to be the descendants of the earlier life forms. Microbes capable of performing photosynthesis and forming communities are relatively sophisticated organisms. They presumably had less-sophisticated ancestors that lived more than 4 billion years ago, the Nature paper states. "Stromatolites are really complex, so you have to have a lot of evolution from when life started to when stromatolites appeared in the fossil record. So life either had to start earlier, or evolution is more rapid than you might expect," said Sara Walker, an astrobiologist at Arizona State University who was not involved in the new study. Earth, along with the other planets in our solar system, formed about 4.5 billion years ago from a cloud of dust and gas swirling around the embryonic sun. For hundreds of millions of years, ours was a harsh, molten world, heavily bombarded by debris. At one point, a Mars-sized object slammed into the Earth and blasted into space the material that eventually cohered into the moon. Schopf said that when he first began working in paleobiology half a century ago, the leaders of the field believed that life began on Earth only about a billion years ago. Discoveries kept pushing the start date for life further into the past. An early appearance of life on Earth has implications for the abundance of life beyond Earth. Life on a young Earth could imply that life is a routine development in the universe, and could be, as Nobel laureate Christian de Duve put it, a "cosmic imperative." "The origin of life, at least on a planet like ours, is a lot faster, and you think a lot easier than anyone had imagined. To the extent that that is true, life ought to be abundant in the universe - because there are lots of Earth-like planets out there," Schopf said. This remains a matter of conjecture and philosophy, because no one has discovered a sign of extraterrestrial life. The early dates for the origin of life on Earth also could suggest that complex, multi-cellular life (including, perhaps, an intelligent and technological species) typically arises on a planet only after a very long period of evolution and diversification. No one knows how life began on Earth. Charles Darwin hypothesized that life emerged in a "warm little pond," but other researchers imagine that it emerged around a deep-sea hydrothermal vent, or even came to Earth from space, perhaps after sparking into existence on Mars, or even in some other, distant planetary system. The Greenland discovery comes just a week after the announcement that astronomers have detected evidence of a "habitable" planet orbiting Proxima Centauri, a red dwarf star that is the sun's closest stellar neighbor. But little is known about that planet other than its mass and temperature, which suggest that, if it has an atmosphere, water could remain liquid at the surface. Closer to home, Mars remains the top target for the search for extraterrestrial life, and the Greenland discovery, if it holds up, suggests that the investigation on Mars should include a hunt for fossilized stromatolites. "It means that there is a heightened interest in the search for life on Mars," Nutman said Wednesday. "Three thousand seven hundred million years ago, Mars was wet. If life had managed to evolve to produce structures like stromatolites by 3,700 million years ago on Earth, there is an increased probability - certainly not a certainty - that the same type of process might have happened on Mars before it dried out." An 856-acre forest near Angwin with redwoods seldom found so far inland could soon be permanently preserved from chainsaws and development. Two partners in the endeavor are asking community members to help out with the last fundraising push. Another $2.7 million is needed to finish establishing an $8 million conservation easement and $1 million endowment to manage the forest. Pacific Union College owns the land. It wants to sell the development rights by establishing the conservation easement, a common land preservation tool. It would still own the land, but neither it nor any future owner could cut down the forest. I think we see our land as a sacred treasure, said Walter Collins, vice president for advancement at PUC. The Seventh-day Adventist college is working with the Land Trust of Napa County on the effort. Cal Fire would hold the conservation easement. State and federal grants have raised $6.3 million and the Land Trust is continuing to seek grants. But community money is needed for the endowment and also to show community support to potential grantors, Land Trust CEO Doug Parker said. Were interested in building a corridor of contiguous, protected land across the ridge on the east side of Napa Valley, Parker said. The PUC project fits right in its a key corridor going along that ridge. Parker noted that the PUC forest is adjacent to 800-acre Las Posadas State Forest. Together, the properties would create more than 1,600 acres of contiguous protected forest, which equals 2.5 square miles, or roughly the size of Calistoga. He also sees the project as helping to protect the watershed that feeds Moore Creek, which in turn feeds Lake Hennessey reservoir, the main water source for the city of Napa. PUC allows the general public in the forest, Collins said. The community uses the land for hiking, mountain biking, field biology and other endeavors, he said. The college mentions the forest as a selling point on its website in a section that says why prospective students should choose to attend PUC. Acres of college-owned forest adjacent to the student residences provide accessible options for getting out in the woods, relaxing and hiking, the website said. Even that doesnt guarantee PUC would keep the forest forever. Collins said theres a need to protect the land in case a future administration has a different view toward conservation. We know the pressures for development and vineyard conversion are only growing, given the value of land and value of vineyard land, particularly in the prestigious Howell Mountain AVA, he said. Collins said working with Cal Fire will help PUC with both forest management and fire management. Management includes such tasks as restoring trails, establishing a fire break and thinning underbrush and other fuels. PUC will use money from the conservation easement to build its endowment for tuition and scholarships, he said. The college also owns 578.8 acres of agricultural land in the Howell Mountain wine appellation that it is trying to sell. The asking price is $51.5 million, according to a marketing brochure. When college officials earlier this year talked about that possible sale, they stressed the school was committed to protecting the nearby, 856-acre forest. A $2.8 million grant from Californias Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund recently boosted the grant total for the PUC forest conservation easement to $6.3 million. The state program protects forests so they can continue to remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. Parker is ready to submit an application for a federal grant. But, even as the grant total inches toward the $8 million conservation easement price, he sees a need for community help in landing future grants. One of the things these sources ask for is private funding, he said. People can go to https://community.napalandtrust.org/donations/Protect-PUC-Forest to donate to the conservation easement effort. A Napa plant nursery won the right to move this summer after surviving a neighbors attempt to block the relocation. But its victory will apparently be short-lived. DJs Growing Place, which has operated for nearly a quarter century, will stage a close-out sale starting Tuesday, according to co-owner Debbie Gore. The nursery will be open from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. daily, except on Sundays, until all plants are sold. The decision to wind down the nursery comes barely two months after she and her husband, Curt, fended off a homeowners appeal against their move to an acre-and-a-half plot at Trancas Street and Big Ranch Road a delay the couple says cost them the most profitable spring months of the growing season and left them without the funds to continue. The loss of time and visibility for DJs, which had operated from Big Ranch Road north of the city since the early 1990s, was too much to overcome, Debbie Gore conceded. Unfortunately, were in a very seasonal business, she said Wednesday of the nursery, which cut back its hours in early August. Youre open year-round but you make the bulk of your sales in spring, and with all the delays in going through the appeal, we didnt get the go-ahead until almost July. Our (growing) season starts at the end of March and goes to June, so we basically lost our sales for the year. Coupled with the fact were not allowed to put signs on the property on Big Ranch Road to instruct people that our entrance is on Trancas, nobody can find us. DJs, which raises and sells potted flowers, herbs and vegetables, won the city Planning Commissions approval in May to move to 708 Trancas St. from its longtime home on Big Ranch Road north of the city. But a neighboring homeowner, Michael Imfeld, objected to the arrival of his new neighbor, alleging the plant-growing operation violated the spirit of the sites residential zoning and created excessive noise and nuisances during months of ground preparation. (Zoning terms for the site allow limited other uses, including agricultural cultivation, with a permit.) Imfelds appeal sent the dispute to the City Council, which in June voted to let the Gores reopen their nursery at Trancas and Big Ranch. Despite Imfeld sending city officials a thick sheaf of documents and photos alleging various code violations, no council members took his side, with Vice Mayor Mary Luros describing the appeal as general NIMBY-ism and completely irrelevant to city land-use law. The citys approval of DJs new home, however, proved no panacea for the business. The Gores were given only a two-year permit to grow plants, with the option of a third year, on a residential site Napa planners say will eventually be zoned for as many as 10 homes. A division of the property into residential and commercial zones also required customers to enter only from Trancas Street, then continue to the back of a parking lot before reaching the nursery. A movable kiosk in the parking lot hosts purchases, and shade structures to protect plants must be easily taken down and removed. The problem was that the space was zoned for homes and was not appropriate for a nursery, Imfeld said last week. If they had gone to the city (first) and found out what the conditions for moving it on their use permit would be, they probably never would have moved in the first place. After selling their remaining plants, the owners of DJs may sell their Napa home and head for Placerville, a move Debbie Gore said is made necessary by the abrupt end to their business. Its sad. After 24 years, whats really sad is that Napa boasts of wanting small businesses in the community, and what could be more perfect than to have a small nursery surviving? she said. What happened shouldnt have happened. The fact that you can put up eight houses here, or a day care center, or a church its ridiculous that those things are allowed while we have to go through months and months of permits. Because DJs nursery was a tenant rather than the landowner, the use permit will not end with the Gores departure although it was unclear who, if anyone, would run a plant-growing operation with a limited operating permit, according to Rick Tooker, Napas community development director. Despite the nurserys impending closure, Imfeld, who battled its arrival, suggested he too may leave the neighborhood and move elsewhere in town in the coming years. A widening of Big Ranch Road planned by the city would bring its shoulder 20 feet closer to my front door, which is not a positive for us, he said. Deputies arrested a Napa man in connection with a late-night vandalism incident on Sunday north of Lake Berryessa, according to the Napa County Sheriff's Office. At 3:45 a.m., a visitor at the Lower Hunting Creek Campground called the department to report that someone had smashed the windows and slashed three tires on his Smart car, according to Sgt. Joseph Jones. Deputies arrived at the campsite, which is located on a rural road branching southwest from Berryessa Knoxville Road, and arrested 19-year-old Christopher Richard Hennion. He was booked into the Napa County jail on suspicion of felony vandalism. There were no reports of any items taken out of the smashed car, Jones said. A 54-year-old Napa resident was arrested in connection with a fatal hit-and-run incident Friday in Napa. The California Highway Patrol detained Russell Lee Wyant Saturday evening on Interstate 80 near Tennessee Street in Vallejo, Napa Police reported on Facebook late Saturday night. Two witnesses called CHPs Solano County bureau after seeing a 2014 Volkswagen Beetle matching a description released by authorities in connection with an incident with a pedestrian at Monarch Drive and Byway East, police said. CHP officers who stopped the vehicle on I-80 found that Wyant, the cars registered owner, was the driver, Napa Police reported. Wyant was arrested and booked into the Napa County jail for investigation of felony vehicular manslaughter and leaving the scene of a fatal accident. Michael Dean Green, 54, of Napa was on foot when he was hit at 2:17 a.m. Friday. He was taken to Queen of the Valley Medical Center, where he died from his injuries at 10:02 a.m. Saturday. Although the motorist left the scene, investigators found some identifying car parts that allowed authorities to issue an alert for a Volkswagen with damage to the drivers side. The CHP first announced the discovery of the car at 6:20 p.m. on Twitter, followed by Napa Polices announcement of Wyants arrest about four hours later. I first met Jennifer Baker in the summer of 2007 as a part of her interview panel for the position of library director at the St. Helena Public Library. The city was fortunate to have attracted a candidate with vision, leadership and masters degrees in both public administration and library science. Under her direction, the St. Helena Public Library became a model for other libraries, large and small, throughout the country. New programs and services were introduced to meet the changing needs of our community. In 2014, the St. Helena Library received the award for runner-up to the Best Small Library in America by the Public Library Association. I was impressed, but not surprised, to find she and her work well known and respected. I am confident that Jennifer will bring this same diligence, enthusiasm, foresight and professionalism to her work as a trustee for Napa Valley College. Bonnie Long St. Helena On Tuesday, Aug. 30, the St. Helena Rotary Club presented a check for $12,000 to St. Helena Preschool for All. The money was raised at a Kentucky Derby Party on May 7 at the Masonic Lodge in St. Helena. One of Rotarys philanthropic goals is education, and St. Helena Preschool for All offers scholarships to enable children in need to attend local participating preschools. The monies raised will pay for three children to attend preschool for the year. Next years Kentucky Derby party will be May 6. For more information contact St. Helena Rotary at roxann@exede.net or contact St. Helena Preschool for All at shpreschoolforall.org. Brother Timothy Diener (1910-2004), who helped revive the wine industry in Napa Valley, produced wines for many years for the benefit of students attending the Lasallian Christian Brothers schools in the west. Today, his legacy of making wines that changed lives continues in the cabernet sauvignon produced by the Hess Collection Winery in Napa and donated to the Christian Brothers Foundation. These wines are not usually available to the public, but on Saturday, Sept. 10 from 2-5 p.m. Mont LaSalle will host a private tasting of the limited production wines in their courtyard setting. Guests will be able to taste and purchase the 2009, 2010, 2012, and 2013 vintages, accompanied by appetizers prepared by chef Juan Zavala. A tasting and pre-order of the 2014 vintage will also be offered. All proceeds pay for education scholarships for low-income students in Christian Brothers schools. To receive an invitation to this private tasting, email hclark@dlsi.org or mpowell@dlsi.org, or call Matt Powell, executive director of the Lasallian Christian Brothers Foundation at 707-252-3710. For those unable to attend the tasting, online purchase is available by the bottle or case, from Sept. 10-24 only, at lcbfoundation.org. President discusses latest foreign political developments around Artsakh Azerbaijan officials considering opening embassy in Israel Armenia PM, EU Special Representative for South Caucasus discuss regional security and peace Nikol Pashinyan, Garo Paylan exchange views on Armenia-Turkey normalization process Quake hits Armenia-Turkey border zone Armenia ruling party adopting new vision regarding Karabakh conflict settlement Russia MOD: Ukraine carried out terrorist attack on Black Sea Fleet ships, civilian ships in Sevastopol Premier: CSTO should plan force operation, restore Armenias territorial integrity Armenia PM: All countries consider Karabakh to be part of Azerbaijan Armenias Pashinyan: CSTO does not exist Kremlin responds to question on extending mandate of Russian peacekeepers in Karabakh Armenia premier: We need to know, ultimately, what Russian peacekeepers are doing in Nagorno-Karabakh Armenia PM: Im ready to sign document, accept that Russian peacekeepers term in Karabakh be extended 10-20 years Armenias Pashinyan: We are ready to delegate border guard service operation to Russian border guards Finland, Sweden promise to join NATO together European Parliament calls on Armenia to consider diversifying its security partnerships Visiting Armenia MPs brief Canada lawmaker on recent Azerbaijan military aggression Armenia PM at ruling party congress: We declared repairing states foundation our primary task Karabakh President: Russia leaders statement inspires certain hopes Armenia ruling party congress kicks off Man breaks into US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's home, demands to speak with her, beats husband with hammer EU-Armenia Joint Committee on Research and Innovation first meeting to be held in November Provincial governor of Armenias Gegharkunik: EU monitoring mission already started US accuses Russia of disinformation regarding Washington intentions towards Armenia, Azerbaijan Mexico fully legalizes gay marriage Newspaper: Azerbaijan not inclined to sign anything with Armenia in Russias Sochi Armenia ruling party convening closed convention Italian prime minister demands that she be addressed as prime minister in masculine form Pentagon to send Ukraine new aid package worth $275 million Europe will ban sale of one type of car European Commission head announces new aid and investments for Serbia Biden calls Putin's rhetoric on nuclear weapons 'dangerous' Lukashenko on Armenian-Azerbaijani conflict: What are you fighting for in these mountains, where not even goats walk? Swedish authorities offer to create united northern army Lukashenko: Conflict issue between Armenia and Azerbaijan must be resolved now - with Ilham Aliyev Lukashenko about situation on Armenian-Azerbaijani border: Where are we racing horses, where are we rushing to? Pashinyan: Armenia-Diaspora relations undergo profound substantive changes Lukashenko to Pashinyan: Sit down with Aliyev and make a decision, if you don't make it today, it will be worse Bulgarian interim government urges to speed up transition to euro zone President of Karabakh: It is necessary to unite all national potential and efforts IMF: China's sharp and uncharacteristic economic slowdown will stall growth in Asia by the end of 2023 Iran: Riots in country were planned by the intelligence services of the USA, England, Israel and the KSA Steinmeier: Ukraine war caused 'epochal break' in Germany's relations with Russia Gas prices in Europe remain high in coming years Ararat Mirzoyan and Toivo Klaar stress importance of hosting EU civilian mission in Armenia Armenia's ambassador-at-large: Daily false propaganda can't cover up Azerbaijani war crimes Taiwan MFA outraged by Putin's speech on his status and Pelosi's visit Armenia gives no response to peace treaty proposals, Bayramov says Netanyahu expects return to power after 5th Israeli election in 4 years Armenian gravestone found in Trabzon, Turkey neighborhood Pashinyan: CSTO Secretary General's report mainly reflects existing realities Azerbaijan talks possible deliveries of its gas to international Turkish hub CSTO leaders to meet in late November: Situation on Armenian-Azerbaijani border will be discussed Dollar, euro continue falling in Armenia Pelosi's house attacked, her husband injured Russias Putin to have private talks with Armenias Pashinyan, Azerbaijans Aliyev Mher Grigoryan: CIS needs a new scientific and technical agreement Pentagon strategy doesn't rule out use of nuclear weapons against non-nuclear threats French National Assembly plans to pass resolution proposing certain sanctions against Azerbaijan Mher Grigoryan: There are no other corridors in the trilateral statement other than Lachin's Konstantin Zatulin: Russia should have made maximum efforts so that there would be no war in Karabakh The Hill: The American people deserve to know how the war in Ukraine will end Sochi to host trilateral talks of Russian, Armenian and Azerbaijani leaders on October 31 Poland receives first Turkish drones Hungarian government may extend price limits on fuel and some basic foodstuffs Armenias Simonyan attends meeting of heads of EEU countries parliaments Polish general appointed as head of EU mission to train Ukrainian troops Russia MP: Karabakh status decision is in fact its Armenians safety guarantee Zatulin: West seeks to push Russia out of negotiation process at any cost Legislature head proposes to organize, under CIS auspices, return of Armenians detained in Azerbaijan Iran prevents bomb explosion in Shiraz crowded street Iraqi parliament expresses vote of confidence in new cabinet France lawmakers visit Armenian Genocide Memorial in Yerevan Putin: Moscow is doing everything possible to normalize relations between Yerevan and Baku Annual shopping festival kicks off in Dubai on December 15 Lazarevsky Club: Minute of silence held in memory of fallen Russian and Armenian soldiers Bayramov and US Assistant Secretary of State discuss Yerevan-Baku relations Expansion of cooperation with Interpol is important, Armenia PM says Armenia defense minister briefs Austria envoy on situation due to recent Azerbaijan military aggression (PHOTOS) Australia can't rule out energy price caps Armenia parliament speaker: Use, threat of force undermine processes aimed at establishing peace Garo Paylan is in Yerevan Barack Obama tries to help Democrats win midterm elections Azerbaijan president, Russia first deputy PM discuss North-South transport corridor project PM Pashinyan receives France-Armenia friendship group delegation from French parliament Taiwan urges China to start talking Armen Grigoryan and Toivo Klaar discuss Armenian-Azerbaijani negotiation process Matviyenko: Russia will continue mediation for signing Armenia-Azerbaijan peace treaty Politico: Scholz and Macron threaten U.S. trade retaliation CIS premiers sign several agreements at Kazakhstan meeting Konstantin Zatulin: Nagorno-Karabakh peoples right to self-determination must be respected Armenia legislature head: Policy of threats, coercion is unacceptable to us U.S. must strengthen its defense against growing threats from both China, Russia Karabakh ex-President: Necessary to rule out mistakes, miscalculations which will have irreversible consequences EU reaches agreement to ban new cars with internal combustion engine by 2035 Benny Gantz: Future of Israel and Turkey is promising EU Special Representative for South Caucasus arrives in Armenia Lazarevsky Club meeting underway in Yerevan, Moscow Yellen sees no sign of recession in U.S. economy in near future Cannes palm trees promenade named after Charles Aznavour YEREVAN. There will be no major progress before the end of this year, in the negotiation process to resolve the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. Giro Manoyan, Head of the Political Affairs Bureau and the Armenian Cause Office of the Armenian Revolutionary Federation (ARF) Dashnaktsutyun Party, noted the aforementioned at a press conference on Monday. In his words, Azerbaijan continues with its unconstructive position in this regard. The main hindrance in the negotiation process is Azerbaijan, which does not wish to recognize the independence of the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic [(NKR/Artsakh)], noted Manoyan. He added, however, that the mediation efforts by the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) Minsk Group have considerably increased toward resuming talks. The fact that the violations by Azerbaijan have decreased, naturally, is a result of pressure by the intermediaries, stressed the ARF official. He stated that the conflict settlement package, which is currently under discussion, is the solution that was offered in 2007. An uncertain status for Nagorno-Karabakh is proposed, in exchange for territories, added Giro Manoyan. German carmaker Daimler will release at least six, and possibly as many as nine, electric car models between 2018 and 2024, Reuters reported quoting German trade magazine Automobilwoche. Germans expect to compete with the company Tesla Motors and Volkswagen's Audi. It was reported that, the carmaker is going to focus on crossovers and SUVs, but the plans of Daimler are also creation of electric sedans and compact cars. Earlier it was reported that Mercedes-Benz brand which is a part of Daimler will organize a separate sub-brand MEQ under which electric cars will be produced. Germans have already registered the whole line of indexes for designation of models which include the names EQA, EQB, EQS and EQX in patent bureau. The debut of the first electric prototype will take place at the end of September at the Parisian motor show, however, serial cars will appear not earlier than 2018 or 2019. It is expected that at first Mercedes intends to release the sedan and the SUV which will be able to compete with Tesla Model S and Tesla Model X respectively. YEREVAN. By analyzing the actions in April, we expect to have soldiers and military divisions that are more equipped with technical hardware and higher in potential, and the implementation of appropriate security measures. The Nagorno-Karabakh Republic (NKR/Artsakh) Minister of Defense and Defense Army Commander, Levon Mnatsakanyan, told the aforesaid during an interview in an Armenian TV program. In his words, huge work has been done since the four-day war which Azerbaijan had unleashed against Artsakh, in early April. Our main focus was on becoming technically [better] equipped, said Mnatsakanyan. In the war in April, the [NKR] Ministry of Defense carried out the tasks that were set before it. God forbid, if such actions resume, the Ministry of Defense is capable of carrying out the tasks that are set before it. Aside from defensive actions, there are other actions that force the adversary to refrain from its intentions. We have had and continue to acquire new weapons (). We have the means and are working toward surprising the adversary. We shall always be ready for the offensive actions by the adversary. Hence, we dont stop for one minute, one second, to prepare for it, [and] give an adequate response. YEREVAN. - The establishment of joint Armenian-Georgian enterprises in Armenia may be promising; this will facilitate the entrance of Georgian companies to the common EAEU market. Armenian Prime Minister Hovik Abrahamyan said the aforementioned at the meeting with his Georgian counterpart Giorgi Kvirikashvili, who is in Armenia on an official visit. The Georgian PM welcomed this idea and suggested discussing the further steps in a working group format. During the tete-a-tete meeting, the Armenian and Georgian PMs expressed satisfaction with the political and economic relations between the countries, touching on the perspectives for their development, the Government press-service informed Armenian News NEWS.am. Abrahamyan and Kvirikashvili also stressed the positive dynamics of the commodity turnover between the two countries and discussed issues related to the deepening of trade and economic cooperation. The meeting of the PMs was followed by that of the official delegations of both countries in an expanded format. At the meeting, PM Hovik Abrahamyan noted: The active cooperation between the authorities of both countries is growing, significant progress being observed in the Armenian-Georgian relations. The mutual visits at the highest level contribute to this process, and your visit will also strengthen our cooperation from both political and economic viewpoints. The role and significance of Georgia for Armenia are important not only in terms of bilateral ties, but also for ensuring the security of the entire region. For his part, the Georgian PM stressed: During the recent years, the mutual Armenian-Georgian relations have stood out for their development rates; a number of official visits took place at the highest level, which contribute to the development of our relations in different directions. We are pleased with the fact that the cooperation level between our countries in economic areas is quite high, the joint intergovernmental commission working effectively. Hovik Abrahamyan and Giorgi Kvirikashvili discussed a wide scope of issues regarding the Armenian-Georgian cooperation in the area of trade and economics, energy, transportation, tourism and education. In terms of invigorating the trade and economic cooperation, both sides underscored the importance of the Armenian-Georgian intergovernmental commission. The sides agreed to give new impetus to the activities of the commission. The interlocutors expressed satisfaction with the cooperation level in the spheres of energy and transportation, touching on the current programs. Abrahamyan and Kvirikashvili underscored the importance of developing the energy cooperation both in bilateral and multilateral formats, welcoming the meetings between the energy sphere representatives of Armenia, Georgia, Russia and Iran, which took place in December 2015 and April 2016 in Yerevan. According to the interlocutors, the aforementioned meetings will give an opportunity to initiate and realize investment programs of regional significance. The sides alsi stressed the importance of implementing the North-South Energy Corridor project. Apart from this, Abrahamyan and Kvirikashvili referred to the power transmission lines, attaching importance to the relevant work underway. YEREVAN. - President of Armenia Serzh Sargsyan on Monday received Georgian Prime Minister Giorgi Kvirikashvili, who has arrived in Armenia on an official visit. The president welcomed the guest, expressing hope that his first official visit to Yerevan will contribute to the strengthening of the ties between the two friendly countries and also give new impetus to the interstate relations. Sargsyan underscored the importance of high-level visits, which, according to him, are a good opportunity for discussing the issues on the Armenian-Georgian agenda in a constructive and warm atmosphere and for identifying new chances of cooperation. Stressing that Armenia and Georgia are not only friendly states but also two people tied by historically formed centuries-old brotherly relations, the President noted that those ties should constantly be developed and strengthened. In his words, the current high level of political dialogue between the two countries allows to deepen the bilateral ties in all directions, bringing them to a qualitatively new level. Thanking for the warm reception, PM Giorgi Kvirikashvili noted that he is happy to be in a friendly country, which has centuries-old history of relations with Georgia. According to him, the Georgian people and government attach great importance to the development of those relations. The mutual understanding between the governments of both countries, as well as the cooperation dynamics of the recent years and active trade and economic ties are good bases for further deepening of the ties, using the great potential to the fullest, he noted. In the Georgian PMs words, the solid friendly ties between Armenia and Georgia are important for both countries, as well as generally in terms of the stability in South Caucasus. In this context, Kvirikashvili thanked the Armenian President for his great contribution in the development of mutual relations. At the meeting, the interlocutors discussed the opportunities and potential for expanding the cooperation in a number of areas of mutual interest. The petrol price cap of N145/litre has been faulted by former Group Managing Directors (GMDs) of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), who say it is not harmonious with the liberalization policy of the Federal Government. A statement by the NNPC'S Spokesman, Mr Garba Mohammed, said the N145/litre price cap did not go well together with the liberalization policy when factors such as the foreign exchange rate, crude cost and Nigerian Ports Authority charges remain uncapped. The former NNPC GMDs made this position known at the end of a one-day meeting put together by the NNPC'S Group Managing Director, Dr Maikanti Baru. The stakeholders are also expressing concern over the declining production level of crude oil in Nigeria and its consequences on the environment and the nation's revenue. They pointed out that if the current situation was left unchecked, it could lead to the crippling of the NNPC and the nation's oil and gas sector. In addition, the stakeholders are also worried about the level of the NNPC'S debt profile; and advised that, as a matter of urgency, the NNPC should establish the true state of its current financial status and immediately decide on the most appropriate capitalisation model. In reaction to the meeting however, the Nigeria Labour Congress, Trade Union Congress, Afenifere, former federal lawmakers, security experts and rights activists, have all vowed to resist any attempt by the Buhari Government to further increase fuel price. General Secretary of the NLC, Dr. Peter Ozo-Eson, said Nigerians would not accept any further fuel price increment. Ozo-Eson said that it was also up to Nigerians to decide whether to allow being subjected to the incessant increase in the fuel pump price or not. He said, "We had given a warning before that Nigerians cannot take any further increase, that they shouldn't do it. "That remains our position, and if they go ahead and do it, it is up to Nigerians to say how they want to respond to it. But we remain opposed to any new increase in the price of petroleum product." Also the President of the Trade Union Congress, Bala Kaigama, warned Government not to take Nigerians for granted, because there was no paliatiative in place. He said, "Nigerians have been taken for granted a couple of times by the Buhari Government but things would be different this time around. We would fight this modern day slavery." The National Publicity Secretary of Afenifere, Yinka Odumakin, said the masses would resist the hike. "There is a limit to which you can tax poverty, it is only prosperity you can continue to make demands on. "If you are unable to provide an enabling environment for people to improve their lives and you continue to tax them wantonly, you risk the rage of the poor," he said. A new militant group, Niger Delta Greenland Justice Mandate, yesterday announced that it has not entered into any ceasefire deal with the Federal Government to stop hostilities on oil facilities in the upland areas of the Niger Delta region. It also dismissed as untrue reports tagging the group as Urhobo militant group, calling on the military to halt further invasion of Urhobo communities in the name of searching for members of the group. The group made this known on Sunday in a statement released by its Spokesperson, Aldo Agbalaja. The statement called on residents around oil and gas facilities within the region to vacate as it has planned to attack such facilities in the coming days. "Another thing, we have observed is an organised plot to tag us an Urhobo group, thus the frequent and deliberate characterisation as such by a section of the media, especially Vanguard and Thisday. "This attempt has been followed up by a reckless military invasion of some Urhobo communities. As for the operatives and the operations of the Niger Delta Greenland Justice Mandate, the wind is invincible." It said it was continuing its hostilities against critical oil installations because the government of the day led by President Muhammadu Buhari had not shown any reason why the group should halt attacks oil facilities in the region. "For the avoidance of doubts, we have seen no reason to halt our anger against the Nigerian Federal Government; not when the oppressive system has yet to move a muscle to respond to our requests." 20:28 Europe's Rosetta spacecraft has finally spotted the tiny lander Philae stuck in a dark crack on the surface of its comet home -- the first glimpse since the robot lab crashlanded in 2014, ground controllers said today. The European Space Agency released a photograph of the washing machine-sized robot lab on the comet's rough surface, one leg thrust into the air. The image, captured with the Rosetta orbiter's OSIRIS narrow-angle camera on Friday last week, were downloaded two days later -- just weeks before the official end of the ground-breaking science mission to unravel the mysteries of life on Earth. "With only a month left of the Rosetta mission, we are so happy to have finally imaged Philae and to see it in such amazing detail," Cecilia Tubiana of the OSIRIS camera team, the first person to see the images, said in a statement. The 1.3-billion-euro mission, saw Rosetta launched into space in March 2004, with Philae riding piggyback. He also appealed the grouping to "isolate and sanction supporters of terrorism". At the two-day G20 summit which began in the eastern Chinese city of Hangzhou, India raised the issue of terrorism at various sessions. Modi told Chinese President XI Jinping how the scourge of terrorism was affecting the region. "There are some nations that use it as an instrument of state policy. One single nation in South Asia is spreading agents of terror in our region," Modi said, without naming Pakistan. India's ties with Pakistan have soured after Islamabad declared Jammu and Kashmir terrorist Burhan Wani, shot dead by security forces, as a "martyr". "For us a terrorist is a terrorist," Modi said. He was speaking during his intervention at the last session of the G20. The Prime Minister said "growing forces of violence and terror pose a fundamental challenge" and urged the international community to act in unity and respond against terrorism. "India has a policy of zero tolerance to terrorism. Because anything less than that is not enough," he said. In his meeting with President Xi, Modi expressed concern over terrorism emanating from Pakistan's restive regions of Giligit-Baltistan and Pakistani Kashmir where the China Pakistan Economic Corridor is coming up. (Gaurav Sharma is the Beijing-based IANS correspondent. He can be contacted at sharmagaurav71@gmail.com and gauravians@yahoo.com). --IANS gsh/mr ( 262 Words) 2016-09-05-16:29:58 (IANS) After taking her on a shopping spree to London and accompanying her to shoots, the 46-year-old actor recently took his beloved Bebo on a dinner date. According to a Pinkvilla report, the 35-year-old actress was seen glowing in a blue maxi dress with minimal make-up and an infectious smile, holding hands with her dear hubby. Saif was also seen in a colour coordinated outfit sporting a blue t-shirt and denims. Having made the announcement in early July, the couple is expecting their first child in December. On the professional front, Saif will next be seen in Vishal Bharadwaj's directorial 'Rangoon' along with Shahid Kapoor and Kangana Ranaut. Kareena will be seen in 'Veere Di Wedding' alongside Sonam Kapoor in the lead. (ANI) Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday saluted the 'dedication and commitment' of all the teachers on the occasion of Teachers Day, saying their role in nation building is paramount. "Happy Teachers Day! India salutes the dedication & commitment of all teachers, whose role in nation building is paramount," Prime Minister Modi tweeted. The Prime Minister also paid tribute to Dr Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan, the second president of India, saying he was a scholar, statesman and a respected teacher who shaped many minds and served India. In his last address to the nation during his 'Mann ki Baat' programme, Prime Minister Modi said that for him, Teachers Day was an Education Day as well. "In our life, a teacher holds the same place which a mother does. We have also seen such teachers who care more for their pupils than for themselves. They devote their lives for their disciples, their students," he said. "We always feel the contribution of our teachers in our lives. September 5 happens to be the birthday of India's former president Dr. Sarvapalli Radhakrishnan ji and the country celebrates this as Teachers Day. Whatever post he held in his life, he always tried to live like a teacher, an educator. Not only this, he always said that "a good teacher can only be one who keeps the student within always alive". Dr. Radhakrishnan ji showed this by living as a teacher and by keeping alive the student within him despite holding the highest office of the president," he added. Dr Radhakrishnan believed that 'teachers should be the best minds in the country.' When he was president, he once said that instead of celebrating his birthday, it would be a privilege for him if his date of birth were to be celebrated as Teacher's Day, and so from there on, every September 5 is celebrated as Teachers Day in India. Teacher's Day is celebrated on different days all across the world, and it also varies from the World Teacher's Day on October 5. In India, September 5 has been celebrated as Teacher's Day since 1962. (ANI) Four of the six great apes - Eastern Gorilla, Western Gorilla, Bornean Orangutan and Sumatran Orangutan - are now listed as 'Critically Endangered,' whilst the Chimpanzee and Bonobo are listed as 'Endangered'. The Eastern Gorilla - the largest living primate - has been listed as Critically Endangered due to illegal hunting, according to the latest update of The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. The Red List update also reports the decline of the Plains Zebra due to illegal hunting, and the growing extinction threat to Hawaiian plants posed by invasive species. Thirty eight of the 415 endemic Hawaiian plant species assessed for this update are listed as Extinct and four other species have been listed as Extinct in the Wild, meaning they only occur in cultivation. The IUCN Red List now includes 82,954 species of which 23,928 are threatened with extinction. The Eastern Gorilla - which is made up of two subspecies - has moved from Endangered to Critically Endangered due to a devastating population decline of more than 70 per cent in 20 years. Its population is now estimated to be fewer than 5,000. Grauer's Gorilla, one subspecies of Eastern Gorilla - has lost 77 per cent of its population since 1994, declining from 16,900 individuals to just 3,800 in 2015. Killing or capture of great apes is illegal; yet hunting represents the greatest threat to Grauer's Gorillas. The second subspecies of Eastern Gorilla - the Mountain Gorilla - is faring better and has increased in number to around 880 individuals. "To see the Eastern gorilla - one of our closest cousins - slide towards extinction is truly distressing," says Inger Andersen, IUCN Director General. The once widespread and abundant Plains Zebra has moved from Least Concern to Near Threatened. The population has reduced by 24 per cent in the past 14 years from around 6,60,000 to a current estimate of just over 500,000 animals. The Plains Zebra is threatened by hunting for bushmeat and skins, especially when they move out of protected areas. "Illegal hunting and habitat loss are still major threats driving many mammal species towards extinction," says Carlo Rondinini, Coordinator of the mammal assessment at Sapienza University of Rome. Invasive species such as pigs, goats, rats, slugs, and non-native plants are destroying the native flora in Hawai'i. As many as 415 endemic Hawaiian plant species assessed so far for The IUCN Red List (out of 1,093 endemic plant species), 87 per cent are threatened with extinction, including the Endangered 'Ohe kiko'ola - a beautiful flowering tree found only on the island of Kauai. Thirty Eight have been listed as Extinct, including the shrubs 'Oha Wai and Hibiscadelphus woodii. There is some good news as The Giant Panda, previously on the endangered list is now listed as vulnerable, as its population has grown due to effective forest protection and reforestation. The improved status confirms that the Chinese government's efforts to conserve this species are effective. Due to successful conservation actions, the Tibetan Antelope has moved from Endangered to Near Threatened. The population underwent a severe decline from around one million to an estimated 65,000-72,500 in the 1980s and early 1990s. This was the result of commercial poaching for the valuable underfur - shahtoosh - which is used to make shawls. It takes 3-5 hides to make a single shawl, and as the wool cannot be sheared or combed, the animals are killed. Rigorous protection has been enforced since then, and the population is currently likely to be between 100,000 and 150,000. Other conservation successes include the Greater Stick-nest Rat and Bridled Nailtail Wallaby, both endemic to Australia.UNI YSG SB 0850 -- (UNI) -- C-1-1-DL0129-919287.Xml Despite unrest for the past 59 days in the Kashmir valley, the weekly Karvan-e-Aman bus, operating between Srinagar and Muzaffarabad, capital of Pakistan Occupied Kashmir (POK) left here early this morning for Kaman post, the last Indian military post on this side of the Line of Control (LoC) in Uri sector. As many as 22 passengers boarded the cross-LoC bus here early this morning for crossing over to the PoK, official sources told UNI. The bus left at about 0530 hrs for security reasons to avoid any demonstrations or stone pelting on way, and reached Kaman post safely at about 0900 hrs. Sources said the exact number of people crossing over to the PoK will be known only at 1200 hrs as more people could join at Kaman post. Similarly people coming from the PoK will have to wait at Kaman post or Salamabad before starting journey towards their respective destinations in the evening to avoid any untoward incident because of strike called by separatists in protest against the killing of civilians since July 9, a day after killing of Hizbul Mujahideen (HM) commander Burhan Wani and two other militants in Anantnag encounter. The bus service was suspended on July 4 because of Eid-ul-Fitr festival. The cross-LoC bus was suspended on July 11 and 18 for security reasons after the death of Burhan following massive protests across the valley. Later, it was decided to ply bus service early in the morning from here and late in the night from Kaman post to avoid any violence. The bus service, introduced on April 7, 2005 has helped thousands of families divided due to partition in 1947 to meet each other after India and Pakistan agreed to allow travel of state subjects from both sides on travel permits instead of international passport. However, people are allowed to travel only after their names are cleared from intelligence agencies from both sides. UNI BAS QAB SB ADG RAI1217 -- (UNI) -- C-1-DL0153-919295.Xml A newly married woman was gangraped and then murdered in front of her husband in Sunngarhi police station area of the district in Uttar Pradesh. Police sources here today said the 22-year-old woman, who was returning after having a Ganga bathing on the occasion of Teej along with her husband on a bi-cycle, was attacked by the criminals and they gangraped the woman last night. Later they strangulated the victim to death in front of her husband. The husband was also critially injured in the attack. The couple was coming from Kachlaghat in Soro area of the district when the incident happened. Police is investigating the case.UNI XC-MB PY ADG RAI1211 -- (UNI) -- C-1-DL0196-919325.Xml Punjab Unaided Colleges Association (PUCA) urged Government should rescue ailing unaided private educational Institutions of Punjab.Recently a meeting of PUCA was held under the leadership of President, PUCA, Dr. Anshu Kataria. It was decided that a delegation of PUCA would soon meet Punjab Government to make them aware about the problems being faced by unaided colleges of Punjab. Dr. Anshu Kataria while speaking on the occasion said that as per latest information in Technical sector, around 75-80% seats are lying vacant due to which huge investment and infrastructure in Punjab would now be left unutilized.It is to be mentioned that in Punjab there are 108 Engineering Colleges, 165 Polytechnic Colleges, 51 Pharmacy Colleges, 232 Management Colleges, 9 Architecture Colleges etc. More than 90% of Technical education in Punjab is under Unaided Private Colleges.S. Jagjit Singh, Senior Vice President, Federation of Self Financed Colleges of Education said that in 2016, GNDU could fill only 6500 seats against 25000 seats in one and half months which would lead to huge financial loss.Jagjit Singh further said that after its own failure GNDU has asked Private Unaided Colleges to fill the left out around 18500 seats in week's time. Jagjit Singh further said that Degree Colleges have also observed a steep fall in 2016 admissions due to high Registration and examination charges. "Government Universities have raised these annual charges from Rs 1800/- to 8000/- in last 7-8 years."Students are unable to pay such high charges which are being charged by Government Universities leading to major downfall in admissions in these Institutions" Jagjit added. Similarly in Nursing as per the last year report around 25-30% of the seats were left vacant in the colleges in the year 2015-16.Manmohan Garg said that due to non payment of Scholarship amount for SC/ST students Colleges are not able to give salaries on time. Many colleges have been declared Non Performing Asset (NPA) by the banks State Government and many more would be declared NPA if Government would further delay in the release of scholarship funds.PUCA has also demanded that Government should form a high level committee to look into the reasons for the sudden downfall of education Industry in Punjab and urged Government intervention to save the dying unaided colleges in Punjab.UNI JS VS -- (UNI) -- C-1-DL0293-918685.Xml The zero line wire fencing in Kailashahar of North Tripura along Bangladesh border was suspended today for the 12th time following objection from Border Guards of the neighbouring country. The construction company has suspended the work following firing threat from Border Guards Bangladesh (BGB). However, BSF and BGB finally sat for commandant level flag meeting over the issue but could not resolve.Allegedly, BGB jawans had threatened NBCC construction workers to kill them unless they stop fencing work in the morning when they start digging at zero line. Initially, BGB jawans asked them to stop working and when argued they attempted to fire, alleged Mantu Shil, a villager."The jawans not only threatened firing, they warned to burn down the village too if zero line fencing continued," Mr Shil alleged, adding that the fencing work had been held up over a decade, as fencing in 150 yard inside India as per existing plan could fence out a major portion of the village and a huge establishment.The BSF officials, however, stated that BGB was informed about India's dissatisfaction over the act of their jawans and sought cooperation to complete the fencing along entire unfenced stretches as per the latest agreement of zero line fencing.Barbed wire fencing inside 150 yards of Zero line in 25 patched of Tripura has began with the agreement of India and Bangladesh last year to protect Indian establishment from fencing out.Considering permanent construction in the Indian side, the Tripura government had taken up the proposal of erection of zero line fencing in 27 spots with Union External Affairs ministry two years ago.Last year, Bangladesh has agreed to do the same in 25 patches barring two spots- Sidhai (Mohanpur) of Agartala and Amritpara under Nutun Bazar police station in South Tripura.As per the Indira-Mujib agreement, no permanent structure is allowed inside 150 yards of the Indo-Bangla border. However, in some cases, it is being allowed as part of goodwill gesture between BSF and BGB."Bangladesh had agreed on principle to erect wire fencing at 150 yards inside India in 13 locations considering the establishment of important institutions, including airport, market and schools and in the first phase it allowed nine places after several stages of discussions," the BSF officials stated.According to MHA, fencing along Zero line was allowed in Kasba Kalibari, Akhaura Check post, Agartala Airport, Mohanpur Bazar, Khowai Bazar of West Tripura, Belonia and Sabroom in South Tripura and Kailashahar of North Tripura.UNI BB AD VS ADG NS1314 -- (UNI) -- C-1-DL0108-919425.Xml An irate mob blocked NH 31 under Mufassil police station area in the district today in protest against the death of 16-year-old student in a road accident. Police said here that the local infuriated over the death of the student identified as Kundan Kumar blocked NH 31 (Patna-Ranchi road) with the body of the deceased, throwing vehicular traffic out of gear. Senior civil and police authorities have reached the spot to pacify the mob and lift the road blockade, police added. The student, a native of Kena village, was crushed to death by a speeding vehicle when he was going on a motorcycle to attend the Teacher's Day function at his school at America Bigha village in the district. UNI XC DH AD VS AS1413 -- (UNI) -- C-1-DL0108-919498.Xml Uttar Pradesh BJP terming Congress as a ' B ' team of the ruling Samajwadi Party in the state alleged that the proposed 'Deoria to Delhi Kisan yatra' of Rahul Gandhi is just an 'ornamental' programme to confuse the people of the state. " The yatra will not at all yield any results for the Congress as it is playing as a 'B ' team of the SP and through these programme, the party was trying just to facilitate Mulayam Singh Yadav so that they can retain the power," alleged BJP state general secretary Vijay Bahadur Pathak here today. In a statement here, Mr Pathak said Congress and SP are two sides of the same coin and in 2014 Lok Sabha elections too Mr Gandhi won the Amethi seat just due to an open support by the SP. "By organising such yatras, the Congress is trying to strengthen the SP as they are not saying a word against Akhilesh Yadav's government even though the 2017 elections in UP will be fought on the works of the SP government during its five year rule," he added. Mr Pathak said that during the previous 10-year-rule of UPA government, the SP had supported Manmohan Singh government which also proves its close relationship. Questioning the Congress vice- president Rahul Gandhi's repeated promises that he would continue to visit UP during the 2012 election campaign, Mr Pathak said ," the Congress leader did not get any time to visit other parts of UP except for Amethi and Rai Bareli which proves his fake commitment for the people of the state. Commenting on the much publicised ' Khat Sabha' to be held during the Mr Gandhi's yatra, the BJP leader said ," it is just a celebration for the Congress leaders but for the poor it is a reality."UNI MB PY ADG AS1410 -- (UNI) -- C-1-DL0196-919543.Xml Rejecting talks with Pakistan to restore normalcy in the valley, Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh today said this was India's internal matter and there is no need to drag an outsider. However, the Union Home Minister said, "Not only our doors, but our windows are also open for Kashmiris, who want to talk." Referring to Hurriyat Conference(HC) leaders' yesterday's refusal to meet the All-Party-Delegation (APD), which is on a two-day visit to ease the volatile situation in Kashmir, Mr Singh said this was neither 'Kashmriyat' nor 'Insaniyat'(Humanity). "As they (separatists) don't want to talk, it is not even 'jamhuriat' (democracy)," he added. "Some members of the delegation went to meet Hurriyat leaders. We neither said yes or no for it. After those people returned, I can say that they(separatists) did not show Kashmiriyat or Insaniyat. The people attempted to talk to them, but they refused," he said. Meanwhile, reiterating that Kashmir was an integral part of India, he said, "We are willing to speak with anyone who wants peace in Kashmir and the Centre and state are working to alleviate the situation here." "There is no doubt that Jammu and Kashmir is, has been and will be an integral part of India, Mr Singh told reporters here when the APD was leaving for winter capital, Jammu this afternoon. Asked if Government of India (GoI) will talk to Pakistan on Kashmir situation, Mr Singh said this is India's internal matter and he is speaking to his countrymen. "There is no need to drag outsiders into the internal matter of the country," Mr Singh said. Asserting that Parliament is very serious about the prevailing situation in the Kashmir valley, he said the Centre and state governments are of the view that situation in Kashmir needed to improve. In reply to a question, he said, "We did not say yes or no to delegation members who wanted to meet the separatists on individual capacity." ''My advice to all those who are continuing violence is that talks are the only way to address all issues''. Asked about Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti's letter to separatists inviting them for talks with APD, the Union Home Minister said he was aware of the letter. However, he did not say whether it was approved by the Centre or BJP, a coalition partner in the state.MORE UNI ABS SB NS1414 -- (UNI) -- C-1-DL0433-919537.Xml He was 81. He is survived by two sons and five daughters. According to information received from the party, the funeral procession will commence from his Koh-e-Fiza residence at 2000 hrs. Born on February 2, 1935, Mr Baig was first elected to the Lok Sabha from Bhopal on Bhartiya Lok Dal ticket in 1977 by defeating Dr Shankar Dayal Sharma. He served as the Union Commerce and Industry Minister in the Morarji Desai regime. He was again elected to the Lok Sabha on the BJP ticket from Betul in 1989. Mr Baig left the BJP in 1996 to join Congress but returned to the saffron party in 2003. In 2013 state assembly polls, he unsuccessfully contested Bhopal North Assembly seat. State BJP President Nandkumar Singh Chouhan and the party's Organisation General Secretary Suhas Bhagat condoled the demise of the leader and described his death as an irreparable loss.UNI GV-PS PR RJ AS1639 -- (UNI) -- C-1-DL0044-919789.Xml A gang of five poachers, suspected to be planning to kill a rhino, were arrested from Darrang district in northern Assam. Police sources said here today that the poachers' gang included one member from Manipur, while the others hailed from different parts of Assam. The gang was arrested from Bechimari area of Darrang district last night.Police suspect that they were hatching a plan to poach a rhino in Orang National Park. Police also recovered arms and ammunitions from them. UNI SG RN SDR RJ NS1602 -- (UNI) -- C-1-DL0108-919726.Xml Urging the Centre to start an unconditional dialogue with all stakeholders, including separatists, to restore normalcy in violence-hit Kashmir, CPI (M) General Secretary Sitaram Yechury today said Hurriyat Conference leaders refusal to meet us was not a snub. Meanwhile, echoing the same sentiments, senior CPI leader D Raja, one of the MPs who went to meet Hurriyat leaders yesterday, said separatists refusal to meet was not a snub as they are angry because of their detention from last around two months. "The centre and State Governments have to take the political dialogue forward now. They should start an unconditional political dialogue with all stakeholders, including separatists," Mr Yechury told reporters here. "They met us. Only one (Hardline Hurriyat Conference Chairman Syed Ali Shah Geelani) didn't. However, they refused to speak on Kashmir issue," he added. Similarly, Mr Raja advocating for unconditional talks with all stakeholders, including separatists, said there is no alternative to dialogue process to resolve the issues. "They (separatists) didn't talk about Kashmir yesterday, but it is not their permanent stand. We will make such attempts in the future as well to start a meaningful dialogue process with everyone including separatists," he said. "They (separatists) are angry. They have been confined to their houses or detained from so many days," he added. Mr Yechury and Mr Raja were a part of 30 member All Party delegation, led by Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh, which was on a two-day visit to Kashmir to interact with various sections to create a roadmap for restoration of normalcy in the valley. Meanwhile, the situation remained tense in Kashmir valley, where the ongoing unrest has left 73 civilians dead and over 6,500 others injured in security force action since July 9, a day after Hizbul Mujahideen (HM) commander Burhan Wani and two other militants were killed in Anantnag.UNI ABS SZ RJ AS1655 -- (UNI) -- C-1-DL0433-919692.Xml Hitting back at Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh for his comment that Separatists do not believe in democracy or humanity, hardliner Hurriyat Conference(HC) chairman said killing of a teenager in security force firing was neither Kashmiryat, nor Insaniyat. "Musaib a teenager injured by indian forces in #OccupiedKashmir Neither Kashmiryat Nor Insaniyat, just Haywaniyat," Mr Geelani wrote on micro-blogging site twitter. Mr Geelani was reacting to a comment made by Mr Rajnath at a press conference on the conclusion of two-day All Part Delegation (APD) visit to Kashmir valley, where the ongoing unrest has left 73 civilians dead and over 6500 others injured since July9. Mr Rajnath had said the Separatists' refusal to meet the members of All Party Delegation was neither 'Kashmiriyat' nor 'insaniyat'. "As they (separatists) don't want to talk, it is not even jamhuriat (democracy)," he added. Hinting that the government was ready to go to any extent to discuss the situation with the Separatists, Mr Rajnath had said, "Not only our doors, but our windows were open for talk with anyone. Janata Dal-United (JD(U) leader Sharad Yadav and CPI(M) General secretary Sitaram Yechury and senior CPI leader D Raja had yesterday gone to meet Mr Geelani, but the hardline Hurriyat chairman refused to even let them in. The three MPs left after waiting at his door for about ten minutes. However, urging the Centre to start an unconditional dialogue with all stakeholders, including separatists, to restore normalcy in violence-hit Kashmir, Mr Yechury and Mr Raja said Hurriyat Conference leaders refusal to meet them was not a snub. Meanwhile, life remained crippled for the 59th days due to curfew and restrictions imposed by the authorities and strike called by the separatists against the killing of civilians since July 9, a day after Hizbul Mujahideen (HM) commander Burhan Wani and two other militants were killed in Anantnag.UNI ABS ASM PR RJ NS1645 -- (UNI) -- C-1-DL0433-919849.Xml Chairman and Managing Director of Air India Ashwani Lohani on Monday warned "mischievous" elements attempting to "sabotage the progress of Air India" of "exemplary disciplinary action". In a letter issued on Monday, Lohani noted that recently, there have been cases of delays or cancellations of flights due to indiscipline by a small section of pilots. "Such instances, besides resulting in loss of revenue, also cause tremendous inconveniences to passengers; besides, lowering the image of the organisation. Such acts, especially at this juncture when all of us are making efforts together to achieve a turnaround in the organisation and also focusing on employee welfare, are just not acceptable," he said. Such attempts at sabotaging the progress of Air India and also instigation by mischievous elements shall not be tolerated under any circumstances, and employees responsible for the same shall be liable for exemplary disciplinary action," the CMD warned the entire Air India family. The warning came in the wake of increasing tussles between the Air India management and pilots union, following which the CMD called a high-level meeting on Sunday to tackle pilots' behaviour. On Sunday, the management decided if pilots would call a mass strike, the management would take strict action against them and their union. Well-placed sources with AI told ANI that the management had yesterday decided if pilots proceed on a mass-strike, the authorities would suspend the protesting pilots immediately. AI spokesperson, however, said, "At the meeting, it was decided that the management would not tolerate anymore anti-Air India element in the organisation and warned the employees to stay away from anti-Air India employees." Earlier in August, the Indian Commercial Pilots Union (ICPA) wrote a letter to the management about their 'Flight Duty Time Limitation' (FDTL) and pending allowances, and demanded a week-off after 144 hours instead of 168 hours of flying. In this regard they also cited the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) norms, which says the crew will take a week-off after completing flight time 144 hours and before 168 hours. Sources also said the pilots are planning to go on a mass strike over FDTL and pending allowance issues. The ICPA was not available for comments. (ANI) In an apparent bid to counter Reliance Jio's low data tariffs, state-run telecom operator Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) today announced launching of an entry-level new promotional high-speed unlimited broadband plan at Rs 249 per month. "Users will get 2Mbps speed for the first 2GB of data, and thereafter they will get 1Mbps speed which will be minimum broadband speed henceforth for the rest of the month. Under the plan, data cost will come around 75 paise per GB," Chief General Manager (Bhopal Circle) GC Pandey told media here. He said the plan also offered unlimited free calls from 2100 hrs to 0700 hrs and the whole day on Sundays to any network in India. Besides, landline connection would be made available to new customers for Rs 49 per month and installation charges would be waived off during the promotional period. "Besides, round-the-clock free unlimited calling would be provided at an additional cost of Rs 98 to landline customers availing plan of Rs 700 per month or above. For mobile phone users, unlimited 3G data would be provided at Rs 1,099 at 3G speed," he said. The state-run telecom operator is also planning to provide facility of free wi-fi spots at 258 places. Of them, wi-fi facility has become operational at 60 spots.UNI PS RJ AS1849 -- (UNI) -- C-1-DL0044-920209.Xml Clashes erupted in several areas in the Kashmir valley, where security forces foiled "Azadi Conventions" today, when separatist organizations had urged people to organise conventions in their respective areas and discuss ways and means to strengthen the ongoing movement for right to self-determination. Both the factions of the Hurriyat Conference (HC) and Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front (JKLF), who refused to meet some members of All Party Delegation (APD) yesterday, in the protest calendar had asked people to observe strike and also organize conventions. Security forces and state police personnel burst teargas shells and resorted to lathicharge to disperse pro-freedom processionists, proceeding towards venue of the convention at Bagh-e-Mehtab Machoo on Srinagar-Charar-e-Sharief road. Though there was no curfew, security forces had closed the main road and all link roads to prevent people from participating in the convention. However, people from different parts of the uptown were heading towards the venue in processions when security swung into action and burst teargas shells. The processionists later pelted stones leading to clashes in which several people, including some women, were injured. Security forces burst teargas shells Baghat Barzulla on Srinagar-Airport road to disperse pro freedom demonstrators who were pelting stones. A local office of Srinagar Municipal Corporation (SMC) was allegedly damaged by the security forces who stormed into the building and damaged it. The officials presented in the office alleged that they were beaten and furniture and other articles were damaged by the security forces which was captured by them in their mobiles. Security forces also burst teargas shells inside the SMC building they alleged. Massive protests erupted in a village in south Kashmir district of Kulgam, where a people were assembled for Azadi convention. Security forces burst teargas shells and resorted to lathicharge to disperse them, who were pelting stones. About a dozen persons were injured who were shifted to local hospital. Security forces also burst teargas shells and resorted to lathicharge repeatedly to disperse people who had come to attend convention at Lalpora, Lolab, in the frontier district of Kupwara. Several persons were injured in the clashes , official sources said. Similar clashes were also reported from other parts of the valley, including uptown Natipora in Srinagar.UNI BAS PR RJ AS1805 -- (UNI) -- C-1-DL0153-919901.Xml Haryana Congress Legislature Party leader Kiran Choudhry toda7 asked the BJP government, led by Manohar Lal Khattar, to immediately accept the demands of the state government employees and keep its word on giving them Punjab pay-scales and allowances. In a statement here, the former excise and taxation minister said the BJP government had forgotten all the promises made to the employees and other sections of the society during the run-up to the polls. " BJP had promised the state government employees Punjab pay-scales and allowances on the eve of the Assembly polls, but has not kept its word, which is forcing the employees to agitate. The Chief Minister should immediately accept this and all other genuine demands of the workers," she added. The Haryana Sarv Karamchari Sangh, which represents employees of all departments, including Power, Health, Roadways, Corporations, Boards and Universities, is pressing the demands which include Punjab pay-scales and allowances, new appointments, regularisation of services of contractual employees, minimum wages of Rs 24,000 per month and implementation of labour laws. "In case, the BJP government does not keep its word and refuses to pay heed to the genuine demands of the workers, Congress will take up their issues and launch an agitation", Ms Choudhry warned.UNI DB RJ RK1844 -- (UNI) -- C-1-DL0293-920055.Xml Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar handed over a cheque of Rs three lakh to the mother of national level swimmer Master Sagar Rana, who was injured in a swimming competition recently, to compensate for the expenditure made on his treatment. Mr Khattar, who presented the cheque to mother of the swimmer at a press conference here,also inquired about his well being and wished him speedy recovery.UNI DB RJ GC1817 -- (UNI) -- C-1-DL0293-920083.Xml The 10-day long Ganesh Utsav began today in Pune; the city of Ganesha has decked up to welcome its favourite Lord Ganesha. This year, Pune will have about 4419 Sarvajanik Ganesh Pandals, more than 1.8 lakh home Ganesh idols and about 15,000 Gauri idols. While citizens of Pune are busy finishing their decorations and some last minute shopping, the Mumbai Police is on their toes to ensure that the city remains safe and peaceful during these ten days.While speaking with UNI, Police Commissioner Rashmi Shukla said that Police will use GPRS at many crowded immersion points of the city, Traffic restrictions will also be in place to avoid inconvenience to devotees flocking the city for darshan and also to ensure that Visarjan routes remain clear. She also appealed to citizens to follow the rules and obey the Supreme Court orders. ''We will also use Noise and Decibel meters for checking the noise, if anyone will not follow the rules, he shall be prosecuted,'' she warned. While Pune's most popular Srimant Dagdu Sheth Halwai Trust has got itself a throne in the shape of a huge owl, 'Idol of Dagdusheth' sits inside the replica of Shiv temple from Mahabalipuram, which will be inaugurated by Director General of Police Satish Mathur in the evening, In morning, Priest Babasaheb Taranekar Maharaj installed the idol in this beautiful Temple, while a replica of Maha Kali temple will be the humble abode of Sri Gajanan Mandal, for the next 10 days. UNI SP JS CJ RJ 1915 -- (UNI) -- C-1-DL0169-919801.Xml Nagaland Chief Minister T R Zeliang today called upon global leaders to embark on reforms to ensure that global development and growth is sustainable and has a humanitarian aspect. According to a CMO release, delivering his Statement of Hope at the 4th edition of the Pangkor dialogue at Ipoh in the Malaysian state of Perak Mr Zeliang said to achieve inclusive sustainable development, every progress would require change and lamented that development and growth have been measured by number so far. "Today, we should focus on humanitarian values as measurement for development and growth," he emphasised. Questioning if the primary attention of humanity is to make maximum profits, Mr Zeliang asked if it was acceptable that "1 per cent of the world population should own most of the global wealth depriving the majority to live in wars, conflicts and violence." He called upon global leaders to accept a higher even if more difficult, but more promising call for reforms to create effective and implementable solution to sustainable development."The hope is there, we can see it everywhere, please join us now making the Pangkor dialogue a platform for the voice of everyone to be heard. Let us unite together to make a better development to set pace of living for the younger generation without forgetting our ancestors," the Chief Minister appealed. He also expressed his firm belief that "Every issue in the world can be resolved if the people who care would come together to fund solutions." The Pangkor dialogue is organised by the Institute Darul Ridzuan with the theme "Building Resilience for Inclusive & Sustainable Future." Launched by Chief Minister of the Malaysian State of Perak, Dr Zambry Abd Kadir, the keynote address at the inaugural function was delivered by Fredrik Haren of Sweden while leaders from Sri Lanka, Republic of Guinea, the Philippines, Thailand and UAE delivered their statements of Hope along with Nagaland Chief Minister. The outcome of the dialogue is expected to provide actionable and impactful recommendations for the benefits of all stakeholders. The Pangkor dialogue also has been proven to be a venue for forming fruitful collaborations between international stakeholders. The event provides a platform that brings all the stakeholders under one roof. Pangkor dialogue will also bring together leaders, academicians, researchers, policy maker, industry thinkers and personalities from around the world to shares ideas and to discuss issues related to development and sustainability. The event will serve as a unique platform to network, business match, share ideas, and to showcase investment opportunities in Nagaland. Nagaland Chief Minister is scheduled to deliver the keynote address at the dialogue tomorrow, the release said. UNI AS AKM PR GC1930 -- (UNI) -- C-1-DL0213-920191.Xml All India Arakshan Sangharsh Samiti President Yash Pal Malik today said that their fight to get reservation will continue till they achieved their objective. Stating this while addressing a district level meeting in local Arya Samaj Bhawan here today, he said that Jats will take along other castes striving for reservation and were ready to make any sacrifices for the sake of reservation. Malik said that government should not test their patience and should not back track from its promises made to their community leaders on February 22 in Delhi and in subsequent meetings held with Haryana government in March and June this year. He said that Jats wanted that government should keep its promises and enforce reservation. The Jat leader also accused some self styled leaders of their community for creating differences among them and said that such so called leaders were playing in to the hands of Haryana government and now they had been exposed now. He said that Jats would assemble in large numbers in Mayar (Hisar) on September 13 to pay tributes to martyrs of their community who lost their lives during reservation stir. He said in October they would organise district level workers meetings to mobilise them for next agitation. If the government failed to accept their demands. District president Parveen Kichana, Balwan Kotra, Bharat Singh Beniwal, Sanjay Jaglan were among those who also spoke on the occasion. Malik and other Jat leaders met Deputy Commissioner R P Gupta and SP Sumer Partap Singh and urged them to withdraw criminal cases registered against youth of their community. Later during interaction with media persons, Mr Malik lashed out at state government and judiciary and said that they should see the difference between terrorists and agitators fighting for their rights.UNI DB CJ RJ 1945 -- (UNI) -- C-1-DL0293-920368.Xml Mahila Morcha's Pradesh President Kamaljeet Sehrawat led the protest march of a women delegation from Pragati Maidan to the residence of Delhi Deputy CM Manish Sisodia raising slogans demanding expulsion of Ashutosh from AAP. Demonstrators carried 'roses' to be presented to Mr Sisodia to urge AAP leaders to shun their anti-women mindset but police stopped them about 100 yards before his residence. Later a women's delegation was allowed to go inside Mr Sisodia's residence where they handed over a bunch of 100 roses to his camp officer Surendra Kumar. ''If our voices are not heard we will present bangles to the Chief Minister himself','' one of the protestors said. Mahila Morcha's demonstrations will continue tomorrow also.UNI SY/AR AE 2030 -- (UNI) -- C-1-1-DL0092-920487.Xml The Prime Minister had left New Delhi on September 2 and his first destination was Hanoi. From Vietnam he had flown to Chinese city of Hangzhou on September 3. He attended the G-20 Summit on September 4 and 5 and emplaned for New Delhi this evening.UNI NAZ CJ AE 2240 -- (UNI) -- C-1-1-DL0400-920532.Xml Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh today said that the Centre will chalk out an action plan to end unrest in Kashmir valley after the visit of All Party Delegation (APD) to Ladakh region. Talking to media persons here after concluding the APD's two-day visit to Jammu and Kashmir, he said all party delegation would soon meet in Delhi and discuss the outcome of the meetings and deliberations held with various delegations. Mr Singh said, the all party delegation would soon visit Ladakh, the third region of the state to interact with the people and know their views. Flanked by Minister of State in PMO Jitendra Singh, Mr Rajnath Singh said, the APD today met 18 delegations in Jammu which expressed their concern over the situation in the state. The APD had yesterday met 30 delegations in Srinagar from cross section of society including political parties. During their meeting with the APD, Jammu traders raised the issue of provocative speeches made against security forces from mosques in Kashmir valley. Rakesh Gupta, President, Chamber of Commerce and Industries, said that the traders of Jammu have suffered huge losses due unrest in the Kashmir valley.More UNI VBH CJ SHK 2150 -- (UNI) -- C-1-1-DL0400-920552.Xml The Delhi High Court has said that "Roka", a traditional Punjabi pre-marital ceremony, is a "social evil that needs to be condemned". A division bench of Justice Pradeep Nandrajog and Justice Pratibha Rani said: "It is a social evil which needs to be condemned. It entails useless expenditure and in many cases becomes the source of future bickering." In most matrimonial disputes, the allegations between parties commence from the day of the Roka, added the court as it decided a matrimonial dispute. Roka is a traditional Punjabi ceremony in which the families of the bride and groom exchange gifts and this ceremony signifies that the boy and girl are formally engaged. "A word on the so-called Roka. Its existence takes back approximately 25 years. The couple is treated as a kind of a chattel," said the bench, adding: "Its significance is that on account of money given by the family of the female to the male, it is conveyed to the society that neither would henceforth scout for a life partner - the search for a life partner is stopped: Roka." The court's observation came, while giving its judgement on an appeal filed by a Punjabi wife against the decision of a family court here which granted divorce on her husband's plea. The family court had granted divorce on ground of "cruelty" and "desertion" which the high court has quashed. As per the plea, the marriage between the two took place in 2006. The next year, a son was born. However, the wife then left the matrimonial house, with the infant son, on the ground that her husband was a heavy drinker and was in the habit of beating her. The husband, also professing Sikh religion, had alleged that after the Roka ceremony, she complained to him over the telephone that his parents had not gifted her sufficient items as per her taste and living standard - allegations she had denied. --IANS gt/vd ( 332 Words) 2016-09-05-23:06:25 (IANS) Senior official Susheel Kumar has been directed to conduct the probe over the episode as "flip flop" by officials had resulted in the IRF getting the FCRA license, the source told IANS here. Home Minister Rajnath Singh was displeased after the mandatory FCRA licence of NGO IRF was renewed by the Foreigners cell of the Home ministry. Sources said the online route for issuance of licences was utilised by the NGO on August 19 even as a probe was on against Naik. Four officials of the Home Ministry were suspended on September 1 for their "lapses" in renewing the FCRA licence of the NGO Islamic Research Foundation (IRF) run by Zakir Naik. Naik's Peace TV and his speeches have come under the scanner of the central security agencies for allegedly propagating radical views, especially in the aftermath of the July 1 Dhaka terror siege that left 22 people dead. According to security agencies, Zakir Naik through Peace TV had reportedly promoted radical Islamist views. While the probe by the Home Ministry and security agencies was on, the Law Ministry has meanwhile favoured registering a case against Naik and IRF for pursuing divisive agenda and communalism. However, a group of Home Ministry officials have resented the suspension of a senior IAS officer G K Dwivedi, who was heading Foreigners Cell in the Home ministry. They said suspension of the joint secretary was uncalled and "demoralising" as the alleged lapses were committed by his juniors only. --IANS nd/vd ( 292 Words) 2016-09-05-23:13:56 (IANS) Jammu and Kashmir National Panthers Party chairman and former minister Harsh Dev Singh headed delegation today exchanged heated words with Union Ministers Rajnath Singh and Arun Jaitley during their meeting with the All Party Delegation in Jammu. ''Taking strong exception to the persistent attacks on the BJP-PDP government and particularly on BJP during the All Party Delegation, an infuriated Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley stood up from his seat and threatened to leave the meeting half way in case Mr Harsh Dev Singh persisted with his virulent attacks,'' Panthers Party official spokesman here said. He alleged that following heated exchange of words, Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh stood up from his seat and pleaded for calling it a day. ''When Mr Singh persuaded Mr Jaitley to take his seat, he told Mr Harsh Dev that they are not going to listen them further,'' he claimed. The spokesman said Mr Harsh Dev Singh retorted back, asserting, ''they are not my masters. And I have a right to put forward my viewpoint as a duly invited participant in the conference." Earlier during 15 minutes address, the JKNPP leaders accused BJP-PDP of forging an unholy and opportunist alliance in the state despite having vowed during elections to wipe out each other. UNI VBH CJ AE 2254 -- (UNI) -- C-1-1-DL0400-920594.Xml "Mishandling the issue is not conducive to strategic stability in the region, and could intensify disputes," Xinhua news agency quoted Xi as saying on the sidelines of the second day of the ongoing G20 summit here. China has repeatedly expressed "deep concern" since the US and South Korea decided in July to deploy the US Terminal High Altitude Area Defence (THAAD) system to counter missile and nuclear threats from North Korea. China and South Korea should put bilateral ties on the right track toward stable development, Xi said. The two countries should cherish their existing cooperative foundation and overcome difficulties and challenges, Xi said in a meeting with President Park. The two countries are "close neighbours with broad common interests", Xi said. Park said the South Korean government has the firm will to value and develop its bilateral relations. In response, North Korea has threatened a "physical response" against the THAAD decision. --IANS ksk ( 191 Words) 2016-09-05-08:25:59 (IANS) Following accusations of delivering a calculated diplomatic snub to United States President Barack Obama for not providing with a staircase to leave his plane during his arrival at the G20 Summit by Chinese authorities, a Chinese newspaper has suggested that the incident was "trifling" one adding, it has been sensationalised by the western media. Obama arrived at the Hangzhou international airport on Saturday afternoon as his final face-to-face meetings with Chinese President Xi Jinping. The Global Times, a Communist party controlled tabloid in an editorial pointed out its views on the airport saga. "Western media has hyped up the incident, but Obama tried to play it down," the Guardian quoted the Global Times as saying. "This makes us believe that the tense atmosphere between China and the US can be partly attributed to the western media, which often makes a fuss over trifling issues," it added. Officials from the both the countries are said to have exchanged angry words with one local official castigating a White House staffer. Stating that the episode would not eclipse US-China cooperation, it said that "Obama probably would not like to see undercurrents in Sino-US ties before he leaves office." Chinese Government is said to have denied of diplomatic snub to Obama, who did not disembark from his aircraft on to a red-carpet-lined staircase, like other world leaders arriving for the G20. Shen Dingli, an international relations expert from the prestigious Fudan University in Shanghai, told Singapore's Straits Times that the US should know well what they have done to upset China. The reason could be Washington's criticism at Beijing's activities in the South China Sea. Meanwhile, the Defence Intelligence Agency (DIA), a Pentagon spy agency, also chimed the incident. "Classy as always China," DIA tweeted, linking to a New York Times article about the incident. The message was, however, later deleted. A subsequent post by the account read, "Earlier today, a tweet regarding a news article was mistakenly posted from this account & does not represent the views of the DIA. We apologize." (ANI) Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday held his first bilateral talks with United Kingdom Prime Minister Theresa May, here on the second day of the G20 summit. "Building opportunities with the United Kingdom. PM @narendramodi meets PM @theresa_may for their first bilateral," tweeted Vikas Swarup, Ministry of External Affairs official spokesperson. "Cementing ties with UK, PM @narendramodi & PM @theresa_may hold talks on the sidelines of G20 Summit. @Number10gov," tweeted PMO. This was the first bilateral meet between Prime Minister Modi and his British counterpart, who took charge as UK's premier on July 11 after David Cameron's resignation following Brexit. The bilateral relationship between India and UK was upgraded to a strategic partnership in 2004 was further strengthened with the visit of former British prime minister Cameron to India in 2010 during which the foundation for enhanced partnership for the future was laid. UK is the third largest inward investor in India, after Mauritius, and Singapore with a cumulative equity investment of USD 22.56 billion (April 2000- September 2015). UK ranks first among the G20 countries and accounts for around 9 percent of all foreign direct investment into India for the period April 2000 - September 2015. Foreign Direct Investment in the last five years has dropped from USD 7.8 billion in 2011-12 to USD1.4 billion in 2014-15. Prime Minister Modi's visit to UK from 12-14 November, 2015 took the relationship between the largest and the oldest democracies to new heights. Earlier in the day, Prime Minister Modi said that fighting corruption, black money and tax evasion is the key to effective financial governance. Intervening in the session on 'More Effective and Efficient Global Economic and Financial Governance' at the ongoing G20 Summit here in Hangzhou, he called for zero tolerance for corruption and black money and zero administrative, policy and treaty loopholes in this area. He said that the G-20 member nations need to act to eliminate safe havens for economic offenders and track down and unconditionally extradite money launderers. (ANI) German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier today urged Russia to finalise a ceasefire agreeement on Syria with the United States and stressed the urgency of delivering humanitarian aid to people under siege in Aleppo."The USA has made its offer. Russia can now show that it is genuinely interested in seeing an end to the fighting in Syria," Steinmeier told FUNKE Mediengruppe, a German newspaper group, in an interview to be published in tomorrow editions."Even Russia cannot have an interest in seeing the fighting continue in Syria. Moscow knows, like everyone else, that there is no military solution for the conflict in Syria," he said.Steinmeier, a Social Democrat, has frustrated members of his own right-centre ruling coalition by insisting on the need for continued engagement with Russia. He said that ending the fighting in Syria was not solely up to Moscow, but "also other players inside and outside Syria who just want to keep fighting".Chancellor Angela Merkel also discussed the "catastrophic" humanitarian situation in Syria with Russian President Vladimir Putin during a nearly two-hour meeting on the sidelines of the G20 summit, a German government spokesman said.Speaking in Oslo today evening, Steinmeier told reporters that a ceasefire in Aleppo was the prerequisite for the Syrian opposition to agree to return to negotiations."This is the only condition under which the opposition ... will be ready to return to Geneva for the political talks," he said.Steinmeier added his hope that US and Russian officials would make progress on the issue during bilateral meetings on the sidelines of the G20 summit in China. REUTERS AKC 0044 -- (Reuters) -- C-1-1-DL0432-919205.Xml Israeli aircraft attacked targets in Syria today after errant mortar fire from fighting among factions in Syria struck the Golan Heights, the Israeli military said.There were no casualties from the shellfire.The area where the shells landed in the Israeli-controlled Golan is close to where fighting in the Syrian civil war is taking place and in retaliation, an aircraft targeted "canons of the Syrian regime," an Israeli military statement said.Israel has responded similarly in the past when there has been an overspill of fire into the territory.Israel captured the Golan, a strategic plateau, from Syria in the 1967 Middle East war and annexed it in 1981 in a move that has not won international recognition.REUTERS AKC 0236 -- (Reuters) -- C-1-1-DL0432-919210.Xml Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe today agreed with South Korean President Park Geun-hye to closely cooperate regarding North Korea's latest ballistic missile launch, the Japanese government said in a statement.Abe and Park confirmed their cooperation during a meeting on the sidelines of the G20 summit in the eastern Chinese city of Hangzhou, the statement said. REUTERS VS RAI1150 -- (Reuters) -- C-1-1-DL0440-919336.Xml Three North Korean missiles launched today likely landed in the sea 200 to 250 km west of Hokkaido, Japan's northern-most main island, sources at Japan's defence ministry said.They were likely to have been either Scud or Rodong-class missiles, the sources said.South Korea's military said the missiles were medium-range Rodong-class, launched as a show of force to coincide with the G20 summit meeting taking place in China. REUTERS VS VP1214 -- (Reuters) -- C-1-1-DL0440-919450.Xml Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte said today "plenty will be killed" before the end of his campaign against illegal drugs that has led to the death of about 2,400 people since he became president two months ago.Duterte will meet Barack Obama at a regional summit in Laos tomorrow, although he has made it clear he will take no lecture on human rights from the US president."Plenty will be killed until the last pusher is out of the streets. Until the (last) drug manufacturer is killed we will continue," Duterte told reporters before leaving for Laos.Police say about 900 of those killed died in police operations, and the rest were "deaths under investigation", a term human rights activists say is a euphemism for vigilante and extrajudicial killings.Duterte, a former crime-busting mayor of southern Davao city, won the presidency in May promising to suppress crime and wipe out drugs and drug dealers.While his campaign has won popular support, the killings have alarmed rights groups and brought expressions of concern from the United States, a former colonial power and a close Philippine ally, and the United Nations."I am a president of a sovereign state and we have long ceased to be a colony," Duterte said, when asked about his meeting with Obama."Who is he to confront me? As a matter of fact, America has one too many to answer for," he said."Everybody has a terrible record of extrajudicial killings."He earlier lambasted the United Nations after it criticised the surge in killings and he turned down a meeting with UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon at the summit in Laos. REUTERS SZ NS1502 -- (Reuters) -- C-1-1-DL0441-919712.Xml Gabon's opposition leader Jean Ping called today for a general strike to protest against what he said was a fraudulent re-election victory by President Ali Bongo.Ping, who says he is now the leader of the Central African nation, said in a statement on his website that his fight was not over, even as calm returned to the capital following deadly riots last week."I ask you from today onward not to use violence but to resist by blocking the country's economy," he said in the statement, addressing all Gabonese. President Ali Bongo has dismissed allegations of vote fixing. REUTERS SZ AS1639 -- (Reuters) -- C-1-1-DL0441-919904.Xml Prime Minister Narendra Modi today left for New Delhi after a four-day two-nation tour that took him to a bilateral visit to Vietnam and to China to attend the G-20 Summit. The highlight of Mr Modi's visit in this Chinese city was India's forceful presentation of the case for destroying safe havens for economic offenders and also for terrorists, his bilateral meetings with President Xi Jinping, his first interaction with UK Prime Minister Theresa May, Australian counterpart Malcolm Turnbull and other leaders. Highlighting the importance of stable economic and financial system for growth, Prime Minister Narendra Modi today urged global leaders to focus on elimination of corruption, black money and tax evasion for effective financial governance. "We need to act to eliminate safe havens for economic offenders. Need to track down and unconditionally extradite money launderers and tax offenders," he said at the second day of G20 Summit. He also singled out Pakistan, though without naming it, for sponsoring terrorism . On the opening day of the Summit yesterday, he had urged G-20 leaders to work for action-oriented agenda of collective, coordinated and targeted action. To benefit all, G20 would need to act decisively. This will also require a strong network of partnerships, he added. On nurturing India's growth aspirations, the Prime Minister said, ''We aim to improve financial system, boost domestic production, enhance infra investment and create a pool of human capital.'' Mr Modi also addressed BRICS leaders meeting on the sidelines of the G-20 meeting. Citing BRICS, as an influential force in the global fora, the Prime Minister called its leaders to shape the global agenda that would help in achieving developing economies' goals. Earlier, during his visit to Vietnam, Mr Modi held extensive talks with his Vietnamese counterpart Nguyen Xuan Phuc following which the two countries also decided to elevate Strategic Partnership to a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership. The two countries signed a total of 12 agreements, ranging from cooperation in IT and Space to double taxation. India announced a new defence Line of Credit of 500 million dollars for shoring up Vietnam's Defense capabilities.UNI NAZ PS RJ 1740 -- (UNI) -- C-1-1-DL0421-920012.Xml Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is considering an offer by Russian President Vladimir Putin to host talks in Moscow between the Israeli leader and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, Netanyahu's office said today.It said in a statement Netanyahu, at a meeting with Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Bogdanov, "presented Israel's position whereby he is always ready to meet (Abbas) without preconditions and is therefore considering the Russian president's proposal and the timing for a possible meeting".A spokesman for Abbas, who is on a visit to Europe, declined immediate comment.The last Israeli-Palestinian peace talks collapsed in 2014.With his eye on shifting big-power influence in the Middle East, Netanyahu has visited Russia for talks with Putin three times in the last year, and the two also speak on occasion by phone to discuss regional issues. REUTERS SZ RK1740 -- (Reuters) -- C-1-1-DL0441-920025.Xml Prime Minister Theresa May said today that British lawmaker Keith Vaz should make his own decision about his future political career after claims in the Sunday Mirror newspaper about his personal life."What is important for people is that they feel that they are able to have confidence in their politicians and that's what we all have a duty to provide for those who elect us," May said when asked about the report."What Keith does is for Keith and any decisions he wishes to make are for him but I think that overall what people look for is confidence in their politicians," she saidREUTERS SZ AS1747 -- (Reuters) -- C-1-1-DL0441-920052.Xml Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan said today he had urged world powers to set up a "safe zone" in Syria, providing people in the Arab nation with an area that was free from fighting and which would help stem the flow of migrants.Speaking at a gathering of leaders of the G20 in China, Erdogan said he had called specifically for a "no-fly zone" in talks with the Russian and US leaders.The president has said the Turkish offensive in Syria aimed to drive Islamic State away from its border and ensure the Syrian Kurdish YPG militia did not expand in the area. Turkey says both Islamic State and the YPG are terrorist organisations.The president said he was working with US-led coalition forces and Russia to establish a ceasefire in Aleppo before the Eid al-Adha religious holiday expected to start around September 11.REUTERS SZ AS1804 -- (Reuters) -- C-1-1-DL0441-920099.Xml Germany said today it was optimistic Turkey would lift a ban on German lawmakers visiting German troops working at a NATO air base in the country though Ankara had not yet taken a specific stance after intense talks on the matter.Turkey banned German MPs from visiting the Incirlik base near the Syrian border in June after they passed a resolution declaring the 1915 massacre of Armenians by Ottoman Turkish forces a genocide. German lawmakers in turn threatened to end Germany's military mission in fellow NATO state Turkey.German Foreign Ministry spokesman Martin Schaefer said there had been intense German-Turkish discussions about the dispute, which could jeopardise German participation in the US-led coalition fighting Islamic State insurgents."We are optimistic and hope and expect that all the desired visits by German lawmakers for Incirlik or other sites will be approved," Schaefer told a regular government news conference. "But we don't know that yet for certain."German Chancellor Angela Merkel struck an upbeat tone after meeting Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan in China yesterday, saying she expected progress on both the Incirlik dispute and visa-free travel for Turks to Europe.Both Germany and the EU, which depend on Ankara to keep a lid on the movement of migrants to the bloc, are trying to ease tensions with Turkey after criticising Erdogan's crackdown on opponents following the failed coup in July.Schaefer said a decision by Turkey to approve the lawmaker visits would be a "good and important step forward" in repairing ties strained by the Armenia resolution and Ankara's concerns about Germany's response to the putsch attempt."It would send a signal that the German-Turkish relationship has made progress, at least on that point," he said. REUTERS SZ AN2000 -- (Reuters) -- C-1-1-DL0441-920434.Xml Russia hopes the United States will make secure safe routes for humanitarian aid supplies to the Syrian city of Aleppo in the nearest future, Interfax news agency quoted Russian Deputy Defence Minister Anatoly Antonov as saying today.REUTERS CJ AN2109 -- (Reuters) -- C-1-1-DL0400-920550.Xml Special Assistant to Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif on Foreign Affairs, Syed Tariq Fatemi, visited Brussels on Monday and briefed his interlocutors about Pakistan's application for membership of the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) and sought Belgium's support in this regard. "Presenting Pakistan's point of view, the Special Assistant reiterated that Pakistan's application for the NSG was based on solid grounds of technical experience, capability and commitment to nuclear safety and security," said a statement from Pakistan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The statement said that Fatemi held meetings with Brussel's Deputy Prime Minister Didier Reynders, Minister of Foreign Affairs and European Affairs and Dirk Achten along with other leaders as Prime Minister's special envoy. "The Special Assistant emphasised the need for adopting a non-discriminatory and objective approach while considering membership applications for NSG, as this issue directly impacted the strategic stability in South Asia as well as the future of the global non-proliferation regime," said the statement. Fatemi also apprised the Belgian side about the current situation in Kashmir. Last month, Pakistan had also approached the White House with a request to support its NSG bid. The Pakistan Embassy in Washington in a statement said, that Ambassador Jalil Abbas Jilani called upon U.S. State Department and Congressional leaders to support Islamabad's membership to the NSG group. Holding a series of meetings with significant think tanks and opinion-makers in Washington, Jilani explained that his country has a strong case for joining the group. India also failed to join the NSG in May after China opposed its application. To admit a new member, the NSG requires unanimous support from all member nations. (ANI) The world's biggest mining companies called today for action to stop any firms, including the oil and gas industry, extracting resources from natural sites protected by the United Nations.In 2003, the International Council on Mining and Metals (ICMM), which groups 23 firms including BHP Billiton , Rio , Anglo American and Glencore, agreed to halt mining in World Heritage Sites as part of a remit to make mining more sustainable."Yet 13 years later, other companies and industries are still operating in these precious sites," ICMM CEO Tom Butler told the Congress of the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) in Hawaii."The ecosystems that underpin our economies, well-being and survival are collapsing," he wrote in a blog. "The message is clear: we need urgent and collaborative action."Royal Dutch Shell was the only oil and gas firm to join the ICMM in 2003 in making heritage sites "a no go area" and on Monday it reaffirmed its pledge. French oil firm Total and Tullow Oil have also made a commitment.But other big oil companies have not followed suit and the ICMM, whose members are responsible for about a third of global metal production, have also failed to recruit the rest of their industry to pledge to respect U.N. protected sites.UNESCO (the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization) said 59 out of 203 protected sites had been formally reported to the World Heritage Committee as facing a threat from extractive industries.Apart from government bans, UNESCO said private sector action could be effective. For instance, funding bodies could withhold cash for development in sensitive areas.Among governments, Australia and South Africa out of the 192 countries that ratified the World Heritage convention have enshrined this protection in domestic legislation.The International Association of Oil and Gas Producers, which collectively produce more than a third of the world's oil and gas, said in a statement, "our members' operations are carried out complying with the relevant legislation".It said new technology could minimise the drilling footprint, for instance by horizontal drilling.One threatened area is Virunga National Park, a UNESCO World Heritage Site in Democratic Republic of Congo, which is a habitat of exceptional biodiversity and home to endangered gorillas, elephants and other species.British oil company Soco International said in November it no longer held the exploration licence for a block, of which about half lies within Virunga, after ceasing operations following human rights protests and a campaign by conservation group WWF.Conservationists say Virunga is still vulnerable. Apart from oil exploration rights, its mineral wealth includes gold, diamonds, tantalum, used in mobile phones, and tin, WWF said.REUTERS RJ BD2155 -- (Reuters) -- C-1-1-DL0400-920575.Xml Two people were shot dead at a pre-dawn Caribbean heritage celebration in New York despite ramped-up efforts by police and community activists to prevent the violence that has plagued the annual event, authorities said on Monday.Gunfire erupted in three separate incidents during J'Ouvert, a street party tied to the Caribbean Carnival that draws tens of thousands of revelers in the borough of Brooklyn over the Labor Day Weekend. Two other people were wounded, police said.At the same event last year, two people were killed, including a top aide to New York Governor Andrew Cuomo."Last night, we had unfortunate tragedy once again affect this event," New York City Police Commissioner Bill Bratton said at a news conference.Two men, aged 18 and 22, were killed in shootings at about 3:45 a.m. and 4:15 a.m. a.m. A 72-year-old woman was injured in the first shooting and a 20-year-old man was shot in the leg in a third shooting at about 6:45 a.m.Only one of the victims, who were not publicly identified, was believed to have been targeted, police said. No arrests have been made.J'Ouvert takes its name from a word in the French Creole languages of the Caribbean that means "daybreak." The party is followed by the West Indian Day Parade, which attracts some one million people.Last year, Carey Gabay, 43, a Harvard-educated attorney who was formerly an aide to the state's governor, was struck and killed by a stray bullet during pre-parade festivities and another person was fatally stabbed.In the past decade, more than a dozen people have been either killed or wounded in shootings and stabbings at parade-associated events, according to media reports.The New York Police Department assigned 34,000 officers to the event this year, compared with 1,700 last year.In addition, 45 surveillance cameras were installed along the parade route, 250 light towers were erected to illuminate streets and community activists and clergy reached out to gangs leading up to the event. Police conducted a gun buy-back the Friday before the festivities.Mayor Bill De Blasio, who declined on Monday to say whether he would consider cancelling the parade in future years, said the city would need to continue strengthening its security of the event."I think a lot of impressive work was done," De Blasio said. "We have more work to do.REUTERS CJ BD2308 -- (Reuters) -- C-1-1-DL0400-920598.Xml South Sudan still needs to agree the number and nationality of United Nations peacekeepers for a protection force, a government minister said on Tuesday, a day after President Salva Kiir approved the deployment in a bid to avoid a UN arms embargo.Kiir publicly consented to the protection force, authorized by the UN Security Council last month, after meeting with council envoys, led by U.S. Ambassador Samantha Power, on Sunday in Juba. However, a joint statement after the meeting noted that the details of the troop deployment still needed to worked out.Government spokesperson Michael Makuei said on Monday the country also needed to "agree on the armament, we need to agree on the deployment, we need to agree on the time frame."In the wake of deadly violence in Juba in mid-July between Kiir's troops and soldiers loyal to opposition leader Riek Machar, the Security Council authorized a 4,000-strong regional protection force as part of the 12,000-strong U.N. peacekeeping mission already on the ground, known as UNMISS.The council has mandated the force until Dec. 15."If we don't accept it, if we don't agree with that, nobody will enter South Sudan. Anybody who enters without our consent is 'an invader'," Makuei told reporters.The council threatened to consider an arms embargo if U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon reported in mid-September that Kiir's government was not cooperating on the protection force and was still obstructing peacekeepers already on the ground."We're going to want to see a significant acceleration in operational discussions about the deployment of the force," Power told Reuters, warning the South Sudanese government not to go back to "first principles or challenging consent.""There are very conflicting signals because there are some who, if they had a choice, would expel UNMISS tomorrow," Power said. "So the real question is: is there going to be united and consistent follow-through on the direction that the president gave last night by making that commitment?"East African regional bloc IGAD pushed for a protection force and has pledged to provide troops. South Sudan Minister of Cabinet Affairs Martin Elia Lomoro said on Sunday that the government had no objection to who contributes soldiers.However, some Security Council diplomats said South Sudan had concerns about some neighboring countries, like Ethiopia, sending troops."We have heard some names of the countries which can substitute regional neighboring countries - Zambia, Zimbabwe were mentioned," said Deputy Russian U.N. Ambassador Petr Iliichev, after the council envoys met with the African Union Peace and Security Council in Addis Ababa on Monday.South Sudan gained independence from Sudan in 2011 but slid into civil war in 2013 after Kiir sacked Machar as his vice president. The pair signed a peace deal a year ago but fighting has continued and Machar has now fled to neighboring Sudan.REUTERS CJ AN2319 -- (Reuters) -- C-1-1-DL0400-920605.Xml NAIROBI, Sept. 4 (Xinhua) -- The economic diplomacy that Kenya has actively promoted in its engagement with African countries and major powers has started bearing fruits, an international relations expert said on Sunday Peter Kagwanja, the CEO of Nairobi based pan-African think-tank, Africa Policy Institute said in a commentary published by a local daily that Kenya's pursuit of economic diplomacy has unleashed profound benefits. President Uhuru Kenyatta in his inauguration address in April 2013 said economic diplomacy will be the defining feature of Kenya's engagement with the rest of the world. Kagwanja noted that Kenya's enviable status as a trade, investment, transport and logistics hub in the region has been enhanced thanks to economic diplomacy. "Kenya has recently enhanced its soft power hegemony through its economic diplomacy," Kagwanja remarked, adding that strategic use of economic tools is behind the current foreign direct investments frenzy in Kenya. The Kenyan government has refashioned its foreign policy to enhance the country's military, economic, diplomatic and cultural influence. Kagwanja noted that Kenya's vibrant foreign policy has sustained its time-honored reputation as a peace broker in a troubled region while courting new allies to advance its economic interests. "In the past, Kenya has enhanced its soft power capital through mediation in regional hot spots. Since 2013, the country has aggressively pursued economic diplomacy in different parts of the globe," said Kagwanja. He noted that economic diplomacy has not only enhanced bilateral trade with emerging powers like China but also attracted capital and technical skills. Kenya has in the last one year hosted a number of foreign leaders and high level summits on trade and investments whose impact to the local economy is profound. Kagwanja said the visits by foreign leaders coupled with major summits have elevated Kenya's stature. He noted that President Kenyatta's forays abroad have expanded market access for Kenyan goods while attracting foreign direct investments in key sectors of the economy. by Liang Xizhi, Zhang Jianhua LONDON, Sept. 4 (Xinhua) -- The Lord Mayor of the City of London, Jeffrey Mountevans, said the G20 summit held in Hangzhou is very important, and that he expects China to play an important role in promoting global economic growth. "I think G20 is very important, something I attach personally great importance to. I think China's interest in increasing Chinese involvement in the world economy is very positive," Mountevans said in a recent interview with Xinhua. Mountevans told Xinhua that the most interesting topic for him during this summit is green financing, which is an important topic in the world and is something that China and Britain can cooperate together. He said the great thing about Chinese presidency for the G20 is that China is quite focused on growth, which is the heart of the meeting that he thinks is very positive. "China is focused at the moment on green, because we all know that the older generation has not succeeded in doing so much, now we are in a hurry and we need to do more to work together to resolve the challenges we will be faced," he added. Commenting on British government's decision to delay the construction of Hinkley Point C nuclear power station, Mountevans said the City of London wants to see this issue resolved rapidly because it is keen on partnerships with Chinese businesses. Regarding British Prime Minister Theresa May's participation in the G20, the Lord Mayor said it is important for Britain to further ties with other G20 members after the Brexit. "After Brexit, we are looking at strengthening our international relations. Britain is a great place for doing business, we are the No. 6 in the world for the ease of doing business. We are very international in our outlook," he said. "I think that the prime minister will be looking to build on the relationships we have in so many areas." Mountevans said he will lead a business delegation to Hong Kong and Beijing, Shanghai and Tianjin in China later this month, in a bid to strengthen Britain-China commercial ties and promote Britain as "one of the best places" to invest and do business in. Describing China as a vital trade and investment partner for Britain, he said his visit comes at an opportune time to reassure China's government and industries that Britain remains open for business. "I will reiterate our commitment to deepening the long-standing links between the UK and China, I will celebrate the strengths and cooperation between our nations and I will explore new ways for us to work together," he said. As the financial and commercial heart of both Britain and Europe, the City of London is a natural partner for Chinese investors and businesses that want to expand their global presence, he said, adding, "We believe that opportunities to collaborate will continue to emerge, benefiting our own economies and wider global growth." JERUSALEM, Sept. 4 (Xinhua) -- The Israeli military struck Syria in retaliation to a mortar that landed in the Israeli-held Golan Heights on Sunday, the Israeli army said. "Israel Defense Forces (IDF) targeted cannons of the Syrian regime in the northern Syrian Golan Heights," a military spokesperson said in a statement. The attack followed a mortar that fell in an open field in the Golan, causing no injuries or damages. The army also said it holds the Syrian government "accountable for this blatant breach of Israel sovereignty, and will continue to safeguard Israel." An earlier military statement said that the mortar was believed to be a spillover from fire from Syria's civil war. Errant fire from the fighting in Syria has occasionally been spilling over to Israel, usually causing no casualties or damages. Israel had occupied the Golan Heights from Syria in the 1967 Mideast War and annexed the territory in 1981. In July, the Israeli army failed to intercept an unmanned aerial vehicle over the Golan Heights, despite launching two Patriot air defense missiles at it, the IDF spokesperson said. The drone had apparently returned to Syria. Israel had repeatedly declared it would not intervene in the internal fighting in Syria, amid the civil war that broke out in 2011. It did deliver medical treatment to hundreds of wounded Syrians who reached the border. Israel had also been responsible for several airstrikes in Syria in the past several years, allegedly targeting convoys carrying weapons from Iran and Syria to the Lebanese Hezbollah militant organization, a staunch enemy of Israel. The country remained quiet on its part up until two months ago, when Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu admitted that Israel carried out "dozens" of attacks across the border. BEIRUT, Sept. 4 (Xinhua) -- Former Justice Minister of Lebanon Ashraf Rifi requested Sunday that Syria's ambassador to Lebanon be expelled, local media said. According to the National News Agency, in addition to the request to the Cabinet to expel Ali Abdul Karim Ali, Syria's Ambassador to Lebanon, he also asked the government to dissolve a pro-Syrian party over the 2013 Tripoli mosque bombings. Rifi made the request addressing the Interior Minister Nouhad Machnouk to dissolve the Arab Democratic Party and to take legal action against the pro-Syrian Islamic Unity Movement, saying it is operating illegitimately. Rifi also asked that a complaint be filed against Damascus with the United Nations. The request comes just two days after an investigative judge accused Syria of involvement in the Al-Salam and Al-Taqwa mosques twin bombings, which killed over 40 people and wounded hundreds others in August 2013. Rifi had previously called on the Lebanese government to cut diplomatic ties with Damascus. UNITED NATIONS, Sept. 4 (Xinhua) -- The UN Security Council on Sunday voiced "serious concern" over the political impasse in Guinea-Bissau and urged national actors in the West African country to seek a political solution to the crisis through dialogue. "The members of the Council expressed their serious concern over the political impasse in Guinea-Bissau and urged national actors to abide by the Constitution and the rule of law, while striving to find a political solution to the crisis through good-faith dialogue," the 15-nation UN body said in a press statement issued here. "They urged the security forces of Guinea-Bissau to maintain their non-interference in the political situation, to continue the restraint shown in this regard, and maintain respect for civilian control," the statement said. The press statement came after the council heard a briefing by the special representative of the UN secretary-general and head of the United Nations Integrated Peacebuilding Office in Guinea-Bissau (UNIOGBIS), Modibo Ibrahim Toure, who provided an update on the situation in Guinea-Bissau on Aug. 30. "The members of the Security Council stressed the urgent need to ensure a functioning government and welcomed the ongoing dialogue among key national stakeholders," the statement said. "They further urged them to work towards that end and underlined the importance of ensuring stability throughout the current parliamentary term." Meanwhile, the statement said, "The members of the Security Council also noted the challenge of fighting illicit drug trafficking and organized crimes and urged positive engagement by the Bissau-Guinean authorities and the support by the international donors in this regard." "The members of the Security Council reiterated their commitment to continue to monitor the current political crisis and expressed their readiness to take necessary measures to respond to further worsening of the situation in Guinea-Bissau," the statement. The longer the political crisis continues in Guinea Bissau, the more likely the country could see setbacks to its development and economic gains, Toure warned in June when he was speaking to the Security Council. On May 26, President Josd Mfirio Vaz of Guinea-Bissau appointed Baciro Djfi as prime minister through a presidential decree. Djfi's Cabinet was sworn in on June 2. However, the dismissed Cabinet led by Carlos Correia refused to leave the Government Palace. UNITED NATIONS, Sept. 4 (Xinhua) -- UN Secretary-Generl Ban Ki-moon on Sunday deplored the loss of life during demonstrations in the aftermath of Gabon's presidential elections, and called for "an immediate end to all acts of violence in the country." Ban, who is in Hangzhou in east China to attend a summit of the Group of 20 (G20), made the appeal when he spoke by phone to Ali Bongo Ondimba, the Gabonese president, and Jean Ping, presidential candidate of the Democratie Nouvelle party, Ban's spokesman told reporters here. "The secretary-general deplored the loss of life that occurred during the demonstrations in the aftermath of the presidential election," the spokesman said in a note message emailed to the press here. "He expressed concern about the continuing inflammatory messages being disseminated and called for an immediate end to all acts of violence in the country." The secretary-general welcomed the release of the 27 opposition members that were detained in Ping's campaign headquarters, said the spokesman. "However, he reiterated his call to President Bongo Ondimba to impress upon the government the need to show restraint." "He also urged Mr. Ping to issue a clear message to his followers calling on them to refrain from any acts of violence in the interest of the country and of national unity," the spokesman said. "The secretary-general stressed the importance of employing exclusively peaceful and legal means to seek redress in all dispute related to the outcome of the presidential election," the spokesman said. Ban has requested his special representative for Central Africa, Abdoulaye Bathily, to continue to work with the parties in order to defuse tensions, said the spokesman. On the sidelines of the G20 summit in Hangzhou, the secretary-general also met with Idriss Deby Itno, president of Chad and current chairperson of the African Union, the spokesman said. "The secretary-general welcomed the engagement of the African Union in facilitating a peaceful resolution of the current crisis in Gabon." Tension has eased in Libreville, the capital of Gabon, after days of deadly rioting triggered by an announcement that president Bongo narrowly won re-election in a vote the opposition said was stolen, reports said. Massive protests have sparked in the streets of Libreville late Wednesday after the announcement of the election result. The protesters attacked the parliament building and clashed with police, leaving 1,000 arrested, local media reported. A photo show, titled "Ever Victorious General of World War II" on legendary Chinese General Sun Li-jen, opens on Sept. 3, 2016 at Virginia Military Institute, the United States. (Xinhua/Yin Bogu) LEXINGTON, the United States, Sept. 4 (Xinhua) -- An exhibition on legendary Chinese General Sun Li-jen, known as Jungle Fox or Rommel of the East during World War II, opened here on Saturday, marking the final victory over Japan and complete ending of WWII against fascism 71 years ago. The photo show, titled "Ever Victorious General of World War II," traces the life and times of the general who became internationally famous for his staunch leadership and daring battlefield strategy in Myanmar (then Burma) fighting against Japanese aggressor troops. The exhibition is being held at Virginia Military Institute (VMI). "This really is a remarkable, outstanding history," said VMI Superintendent Gen. Binford "Binnie" Peay III at the opening ceremony in Marshall Hall, named after Gen. George Marshall, VMI's most famous alumnus. Peay told the audience that he was struck after taking a couple of hours walking all around this exhibition one day before. The exhibition, with the timeline taking place in China during the turbulence of WWII, includes over 300 photos printed in UNESCO intangible cultural heritage Xuan paper with modern graphic art style. It is said many of the pictures go to the public for the first time. "I think General Sun was an example of natural leaders who understood how to lead people," Col. Keith Gibson, director of the VMI Museum System, told Xinhua. "We have many visitors to come here every year to honor General Sun," he said. Sun, a member of the VMI Class of 1927, died in Taiwan in 1990 at the age of 89. Under the command of Sun and his subordinate Liu Fangwu, a regiment of the Chinese Expeditionary Army smashed through the Japanese line and rescued almost 7,000 British troops, as well as some 500 missionaries and journalists in Yenangyaung, Myanmar, in April 1942. "A tide of overpowering joy flooded through me as I recognized the insignia of the Chinese Army and I stood up shouting 'Chung Kuo Wan Wan Sui' -- which means 'China for ten thousand years'," Jack Belden, a U.S. correspondent among those desperately encircled at the time, wrote in Life magazine issued in May 1942. It is believed Sun was the first non-British general to command British troops during WWII. He was knighted Commander, O.B.E., by King George VI, and awarded Legion of Merit by U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt. A photo show, titled "Ever Victorious General of World War II" on legendary Chinese General Sun Li-jen, opens on Sept. 3, 2016 at Virginia Military Institute, the United States. (Xinhua/Yin Bogu) Also on the exhibition is a 12-meter-long Chinese brush-drawing mural, titled "Historical Monument" and painted by contemporary Chinese painter Hou Zhen in China, illustrating the Chinese Expedition Army's performance. "With huge national sacrifice, the Chinese people held ground in the main theater in the East of the World Anti-Fascism War, thus making major contribution to its victory," said Wang Fawei, secretary-general with the China Association for Promotion of Culture, one of main sponsors of the exhibition. "General Sun Li-jen was a quintessence of a hero in that war," said Wang, praising the war hero for combining traditional Chinese and modern American training to create the so-called Sun Doctrine which proved unique and effective in the battlefield. "As we learn from history, we appreciate even more of our two nations' friendship. We are determined to collaborate with you and maintain the world peace together," Wang addressed the opening ceremony. General Sun and his senior alumnus Gen. Marshall are "great leaders who inspire the future generation represented by the young men and women today here in the uniforms," said Peay. He later said the exhibition will be extended from originally one week to a whole month in the VMI. Once the exhibition closes, its contents will be donated to the VMI Museum. The items also to be donated include a traditional Chinese thread-bound book illustrating Sun's military careers and a replica of the mural in the same size. Sponsors of the exhibition also include the office of California legislator Kansen Chu, Anhui Hongtian Culture & Media Promotion Society of China, and the American Sun Li-jen Historical Association. An Iraqi soldier stands next to a wall with a red cross above a slogan of the Islamic State (IS) group, on September 4, 2016 in the city of Fallujah.(AFP Photo) BAGHDAD, Sept. 4 (Xinhua) -- A prominent leader of Islamic State (IS) group and four extremist militants were killed Sunday in a U.S.-led coalition airstrike near the IS stronghold of Mosul in northern Iraq, a security source said. The airstrike destroyed four IS positions near the newly-freed town of Qayyara, some 50 km south of Mosul. The prominent leader of IS, among the five killed, was said to be close to the top IS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, a security source on condition of anonymity told Xinhua citing an intelligence report. The source didn't give the name of the prominent leader, adding that there were six other IS militants injured in the airstrike. On August 25, Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi declared the liberation of Qayyara after defeating the extremist militants. Regaining control of the town and the airbase would help government forces free Iraq's last major IS stronghold in Mosul, which is located some 400 km north of the Iraqi capital of Baghdad. Meanwhile, Iraqi aircrafts dropped leaflets over the besieged town of Shirqat, some 280 km north of Baghdad, and the nearby village of Zuwiyah, telling the residents to leave their homes immediately for secure places. The residents, otherwise, must stay away from the positions of IS militants which will be targets of the Iraqi aircrafts, a statement issued by the Iraqi Joint Operations Command said. Residents in Shirqat and other besieged cities and towns were prevented from leaving by IS militants who used them as human shields during armed military attacks. However, the siege upon Shirqat imposed by security forces has drove most extremist militants to the IS major stronghold in Mosul. The escape of IS militants weakened their grip on the town, enabling some of the residents to leave their homes, where long-term repeated power blackouts, acute food shortages, scarce drinking water and lack of medicine prevailed. The security forces and allied paramilitary units known as Hashd Shaabi have been preparing for an operation to free the towns of Shirqat and nearby Hawijah as part of their major offensive towards liberating Mosul, the capital of Iraq's northern province of Nineveh, from the extremist militants. Iraq has witnessed increased violence since the IS took over parts of its northern and western regions in June 2014. SAN FRANCISCO, Sept. 4 (Xinhua) -- Researchers at U.S. Oregon State University (OSU) hope to build on latest findings about a protein and to create a new class of antibiotics. The work, published in the recent issue of the journal Structure, involves using X-ray crystallography to acquire first-ever detailed, atomic-level images of a peroxiredoxin, which is needed by all cells to help eliminate hydrogen peroxide, a toxin. "Peroxiredoxins are found in animals, plants, and bacteria, and are proteins that are crucial for cell survival," said Arden Perkins, the lead author on the study. However, peroxiredoxins inside bacteria help provide protection from immune cells and increase the virulence of bacterial cells that cause infections. "The main function of peroxiredoxins is to eliminate hydrogen peroxide in cells by converting it to water," Perkins said in a news release from OSU. "This toxin is a byproduct of normal cell metabolism, and hydrogen peroxide has to be removed so it doesn't damage the cell. If peroxiredoxin doesn't do its job, cells will die." The researchers believe if a molecule can be found that selectively blocks the motions of peroxiredoxin only in bacterial cells, it could function as an entirely new way to kill those cells and set the stage for new types of antibiotics. With images provided by X-ray crystallography, a technique that can reveal structures down to individual atoms, the researcher found that when peroxiredoxin is restrained and loses its mobility, it also loses its function. And if the normal function is lost, it can lead to cell death. In addition, they discovered that there are special regions on bacterial peroxiredoxins, different from those found in humans, that could be specifically targeted. Based on these findings, they envisioned that if compounds could aim at those targets and selectively shut down the protective function of peroxiredoxin just in bacteria, it would weaken or kill bacterial cells. "There's a lot of potential for this to be foundational work," Perkins said. "The key concept is selectively restraining the motions of peroxiredoxins in some cells, inactivating its function and leading to the death of the cells you want to kill." The researchers hope the approach could help address the increasing problem of antibiotic resistance to many existing drugs and work in synergy with existing antibiotics to improve their efficacy. In related approaches, Perkins said, the concept may also hold some value against certain non-bacterial pathogens, like those that cause malaria or African sleeping sickness, which increasingly are difficult to treat. SANAA, Sep. 5 (Xinhua) -- A U.S. drone strike killed at least six suspected al-Qaida operators overnight in Yemen's northeast province of Marib, a security official said on Monday. The drone strike launched late Sunday night in Wadi Abidah region, central Marib, the country's oil-producing province which the Saudi-backed Yemeni government forces regained control of from Shiite rebels in late 2015. "The U.S. drone strike targeted the six armed al-Qaida suspects while they were at a meeting in a farm in the area," the official told Xinhua on condition of anonymity. U.S. drones have been active over skies of Yemeni cities since years ago, launching hundreds of air strikes that killed scores of al-Qaida leaders and many other extremists. Yemen has recently seen a growing number of Al-Qaida activities in eastern and southern provinces, due to the prolonged security vacuum resulting from the 18-month civil war between the exiled government and Houthi rebels who seized much of the country's north including capital Sanaa since 2014. MELBOURNE, Sept. 5 (Xinhua) -- Despite having a growing expatriate community in Asia, Australia is not doing enough to engage and utilize this talent and is poorly positioned to do so in future, according to a report released by accounting firm PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) on Monday. With the Asian region to account for half the world's GDP by 2025, and the Asian middle class population swelling to more than 3 billion by 2030, there is no doubt that this is the Asian Century. Yet, the findings of the report show the opportunity for Australia's success in Asia continues to pass it by. Australia does have the talent to succeed in Asia, but it is not doing enough to foster, prepare and deploy this talent in the region. Australia's growing expatriate population in Asia will play a pivotal role in helping the country grasp the Asia opportunity, according to the report. "We have hundreds of thousands of expatriate Australians amounting to a forgotten army - overlooked by policymakers in Australia and passed over by business when they choose to return," Jason Hayes, PwC Australia Partner and Japan Practice Leader, said while launching the report: Our diaspora's got talent: Australia's advantage in Asia. The report includes PwC data modeling which suggests that by 2030 there will be 450,000 Australians living and working abroad in Asia, representing one-third of its total expatriate community, up from approximately one-fifth of the total today. Given the paucity of available statistics on the number of Australians living and working abroad in Asia, PwC believes the prediction above is conservative. "Australians from every field are doing great things in Asia and have been doing so for some time now. Our expatriate workforce is also rebalancing away from the US and UK towards Asia, so the good news is this community is only going to get bigger. This highly educated and global savvy workforce can be harnessed to help produce a more Asia-ready Australia, but we need leadership from the government, education and corporate sectors to make this happen," he said. China and Japan already make up a significant share of Australia's inward foreign direct investment (FDI) and the proportion of FDI sourced from Asia is expected to only increase from here, the report said. "Australia must consider how to capitalize on the new skills, contacts and opportunities our expatriates have formulated in Asia, and help those returning to reintegrate into the Australian landscape in a way that takes full advantage of their unique knowledge of the region," Hayes added. The report reiterated that it is imperative for Australia to seize the Asian opportunity. PwC's previous report "Passing Us By" argued that Australia's cultural understanding of Asia is lacking, "In short, in many cases, we simply don't know how to do business in Asia." Chinese President Xi Jinping (R) meets with Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy in Hangzhou, capital of east China's Zhejiang Province, Sept. 5, 2016. (Xinhua/Pang Xinglei) HANGZHOU, Sept. 5 (Xinhua) -- China would like to work with Spain to elevate their comprehensive strategic partnership to a new level, President Xi Jinping said Monday. He made the remarks while meeting with Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy on the sidelines of the Group of 20 (G20) summit in the eastern Chinese city Hangzhou. China appreciates Spain's support for the Belt and Road Initiative and encourages its companies to invest in Spain, Xi said, adding that the two sides should continue to cooperate in fields such as finance, telecommunications and renewable energy, and use their respective advantages to complement each other. The two sides should also expand their trade through the cargo railway link connecting Yiwu in east China's Zhejiang Province with Madrid in Spain, Xi said. He added that China supports the stability and prosperity of the European Union (EU) and expects Spain to play a positive role in promoting China-EU relations. Rajoy said Spain speaks highly of the Chinese government's efforts to tackle ongoing economic challenges and supports China's hosting of the G20 Hangzhou summit. Spain is willing to work with China to maintain close contacts and explore the potential in trade and investment while expanding culture and education exchanges, Rajoy said. RIO DE JANEIRO, Sept. 4 (Xinhua) -- Demands for refugee status by Venezuelans crossing the land border with Brazil in the northern state of Roraima have been surging in the last two years. Brazil news portal G1 reported on Sunday that figures from the National Council of Refugees showed nine Venezuelans had asked for refuge status after crossing the border in 2014, before climbing to 230 in 2015 and topping 600 between January and August. Brazil offers a refugee visa to any person who has been persecuted on grounds of race, religion, nationality, social group or political affiliations in their country of origin. It can also be granted to those coming from countries where the population suffers from human rights violations. In 2015, Brazil received over 28,000 refugee requests, mostly from Syria, Angola and Colombia. Enditem By Qian Yongwen and Edna Alcantara MEXICO CITY, Sept. 4 (Xinhua) -- Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto has hailed China as a global economic power, stating that "our priority is to strengthen bilateral relations." Pena Nieto said in a recent joint interview with Chinese media that the ties have deepened since he and Chinese President Xi Jinping decided in June 2013 to elevate the relationship to the level of a comprehensive strategic partnership. Such a relationship aims to bring prosperity and more opportunities to both societies through commercial exchanges, as well as cooperation in culture, tourism and education, said the president. "Today, the relationship between China and Mexico is deeper, more productive and positive for both nations. The intense dynamic of dialogue and bilateral collaboration in recent years has allowed us to bring into full play the potential of our economies," Pena Nieto emphasized. He noted that more and more Mexican products like pork and tequila are reaching Chinese shores, while more financial exchanges are possible as the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC) opened its first office in Mexico in 2015. Meanwhile, cultural exchange has been another important dimension in which both countries have worked well, said Pena Nieto as he mentioned the exhibition of the work by prominent Mexican artist Diego Rivera touring China's Shanghai, Beijing and Guangzhou. "Education and culture have helped to enrich mutual understanding and reinforce the friendship of the two nations that both enjoy millennial cultures," Pena Nieto added. China is "continuing to grow, despite complicated global conditions. We must study its experience to learn from its successful practices," said the Mexican leader. "Its economic dynamism, the size of its economy and its high demand for goods have made China a very attractive market for Mexico. The key is to focus on learning and enjoying the complementarity in our economies." As the G20 Summit began Sunday in China's eastern city of Hangzhou, Pena Nieto said the summit is a platform privileging dialogues on economic growth, global financial system, sustainable development, free trade, energy efficiency, food security, the fight against corruption and climate change. In terms of the summit, Pena Nieto said the G20 member states "face crucial tasks of maintaining stability, building an innovative, interconnected, inclusive and growing global economy, and improving global economic governance." "During our last bilateral meeting at the 2015 G20 summit in Turkey, I expressed to President Xi my desire to share Mexico's broad experience within the group," said Pena Nieto. He detailed that Mexico has promoted an active agenda including allotting larger investments to infrastructure projects, adopting energy efficiency policies and other steps to ensure a sustainable economic growth. "In this way, Mexico works closely with the world to be part of the solutions to the great challenges of the 21st century," according to the Mexican president. Pena Nieto added that, in recent years, Mexico has been working to make itself a balanced area for business and investment, including through the creation of special economic zones. These zones, located in the south of Mexico, seek to stand out as centers of innovation, technology and economic development, in order to attract investment and create quality jobs. Pena Nieto added that a group of businessmen from China's Guangdong Province has already been attracted and recently signed 18 cooperation and exchange agreements with Mexican companies in such sectors as aerospace, electronics, automotive, biotechnology and energy. "The approval of the Federal Law for Special Economic Zones gives us the perfect opportunity to deepen the strategic partnership between China and Mexico," he noted. SEOUL, Sept. 5 (Xinhua) -- The Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) on Monday fired off three ballistic missiles into eastern waters ahead of the country's National Day, Yonhap news agency reported, citing South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS). The JCS was quoted as saying that the missiles were launched into the East Sea at about 12:14 p.m. local time from its western area of Hwangju in North Hwanghae province. What types of missiles were fired and how far they traveled are still unknown. The South Korean military is analyzing the details. South Korea's military has closely monitored the moves of DPRK forces on possible DPRK provocations ahead of the 68th anniversary on Friday of the founding of the state, according to the Yonhap report. Seoul's military had already detected preparations for ballistic missile launches of the DPRK. SEOUL, Sept. 5 (Xinhua) -- The Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) on Monday fired off three ballistic missiles into eastern waters ahead of the country's National Day, South Korea's defense ministry said. A defense ministry official told Xinhua that the missiles were launched into the East Sea at about 12:14 p.m. local time from its western areas near Hwangju county in North Hwanghae province. What types of missiles were fired and how far they traveled are still unknown. The South Korean military is analyzing the details. Seoul's military authorities had already detected preparations for Pyongyang's ballistic missile launches, according to the Yonhap news agency report. Concerns emerged about possible DPRK provocations ahead of the 68th anniversary on Friday of the founding of the state. The defense ministry official said over the phone that the military has been closely monitoring DPRK troops. The missile launches came less than two weeks after Pyongyang test-fired a ballistic missile from a submarine off its east coastal town of Sinpo, where a submarine base is known to be located, on Aug. 24. The submarine-launched ballistic missile (SLBM) flew some 500 km eastward, falling inside Japan's air defense identification zone for the first time. The SLBM test was conducted in an apparent show of force toward the annual U.S.-South Korea military drills, codenamed Ulchi Freedom Guardian (UFG), which had run from Aug. 22 to Sept. 2. The DPRK denounced the computer-simulated exercises as a dress rehearsal for northward invasion. Tensions are also running high in the region and on the Korean Peninsula as Seoul and Washington agreed on July 8 to deploy a U.S. missile shield in South Korean soil by the end of next year. The two allies claimed that one Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) battery, presumed to be installed in southeastern South Korea, could protect against what they claimed was the DPRK's nuclear and missile threats. However, China and Russia have strongly opposed the deployment. TOKYO, Sept. 5 (Xinhua) -- Japan's Defense Ministry confirmed Monday that the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) had launched three ballistic missiles into the Sea of Japan, with officials from the prime minister's office, as well as the Foreign Ministry, saying they are currently gathering more information on the launch. According to the defense ministry here, it is along with Japan's coast guard gathering information as to whether any vessels or aircraft in the region along the projectiles' flight paths and landing spots in the Sea of Japan have been damaged. The ministry said it believes the missiles were launched at around 12:14 p.m. local time from close to the coast of the DPRK in its Hwanghae province, adding that it is currently trying to determine what type of missiles were launched, how far they flew and exactly where in the Sea of Japan they landed. Japan's defense ministry also issued a warning for possible falling debris from the projectiles. The DPRK has recently voiced its opposition to the joint military drills conducted by the United States and South Korea in the region which concluded last Friday, with the Ulchi Freedom Guardian exercise comprising some 25,000 U.S. troops. The DPRK also stands opposed to the U.S. and South Korea deciding to deploy a Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) system to South Korea to counter potential threats from the DPRK. The spate of recent launches, government officials here have said, have also been a show of defiance against UN Security Council resolutions slapped on the DPRK for its ongoing nuclear and ballistic missile technology programs, which are banned under the council's resolutions. BEIJING, Sept. 5 (Xinhua) -- The determination and joint leadership that China and the United States have demonstrated on the sidelines of the Group of 20 (G20) major economies summit in Hangzhou, east China, in fighting climate change wins widespread applause. In the eyes of some observers, hopes are raised for their continued joint efforts on other issues. United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon described their handover on Saturday of legal documents ratifying the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change as making a "historic step." He also on Sunday commented it as a major success from the Hangzhou summit on Sept. 4-5 by "encouraging the speedy entry into force of this key agreement" signed in Paris last December, while praising the "outstanding leadership" by China and the United States. French President Francois Hollande on his Facebook account hailed the joint move, while UN climate chief Patricia Espinosa said in a statement that it opens up a venue for the world's sustainable development. As the world's two largest economies, China and the United States together account for 39 percent of global emissions, while the Paris pact has a 55-percent threshold for it to take effect. "Nearly two years ago, the early announcement of emissions reductions targets by China and the United States helped catalyze broad support for the landmark Paris climate agreement," said Nathaniel Keohane, vice-president for global climate at the U.S. Environmental Defense Fund, adding that their latest move "will play a similar role." "Continued global momentum on climate action depends on strong leadership" by them, Keohane told Xinhua. The joint announcement on climate action by Chinese President Xi Jinping and his U.S. counterpart Barack Obama "represents important progress -- but also highlights where continued leadership will be critical," Keohane added, citing their pledged support for a global market-based measure to ensure carbon-neutral growth in international aviation from 2020 on. "Civil aviation is one of the world's fastest-growing sources of carbon pollution," Keohane noted, saying China's indication that it expects to participate in 2021 is "a good start." As the UN aviation agency, the International civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), will meet late September, "concerted climate diplomacy by the U.S. and China will be vital to secure broad participation from their key aviation partners," which "will be crucial to ensuring environmental integrity and avoiding market-distorting loopholes," Keohane pointed out. From their cemented partnership against climate change, a policy watcher from Mexico also sees hope for China and the United States to work together to tackle other global challenges. The over-three-hour-long meeting on Saturday between President Xi and President Obama is highly significant since it shows their willingness to join efforts on settling global problems, Liljana Arsovska, an expert on China at the College of Mexico, believes. In her eyes, the length of their meeting on the sidelines of the G20 summit in Hangzhou also says a lot about this as well as the two leaders' respect for each other. During the latest meeting between the two leaders, they held in-depth, frank and constructive talks and reached consensus on a series of issues, ranging from bilateral relations, economic restructuring, and global economic and financial governance to regional and international problems of common concern. "All their meetings have led to results, even if they have not been substantive. The messages they send to the world show that they want to resolve problems," she noted. Senior officials from across South-East Asia pose for group photos in Vientiane, capital of Laos, Sept. 5, 2016. Senior officials from across South-East Asia met in the Lao capital Vientiane Monday ahead of the arrival of regional and world leaders for the Association of Southeast Asian Nation's (ASEAN) 28th and 29th Summits, East Asia Summit and related meetings from Tuesday to Thursday. (Xinhua/Liu Ailun) VIENTIANE, Sept. 5 (Xinhua) -- Senior Officials from across South-East Asia met in the Lao capital Vientiane Monday ahead of the arrival of regional and world leaders for the Association of Southeast Asian Nation's (ASEAN) 28th and 29th Summits, East Asia Summit and related meetings from Tuesday to Thursday. The agenda of Monday's Senior Officials Preparatory Meeting (Prep-SOM) included discussion of final arrangements and draft documents ahead of the start of regional summits that involve participation of leaders of the 10-member bloc as well as those of dialogue partners. Meanwhile, ministers of foreign affairs as well as commerce, trade and economic matters from South-East Asia are also meeting in the capital for related meetings including the ASEAN Business and Investment Summit 2016 being held from Monday to Wednesday due to be opened by Lao Prime Minister Thongloun Sisoulith Monday afternoon. The meetings come as heads of state and government from the 10-member bloc are set to arrive in Vientiane Tuesday morning ahead of the commencement of the 28th ASEAN Summit Tuesday Afternoon. Chinese Premier Li Keqiang will be joined by leaders of fellow ASEAN dialogue partners including Australia, India, New Zealand, Japan, South Korea, Russia and the United States. Premier Li will also meet ASEAN state leaders including host chair Lao Prime Minister Thongloun Sisoulith in marking 25 years of dialogue partner relations at the 19th ASEAN China Summit as well as joining leaders of fellow dialog partner nations at the multilateral 11th East Asia Summit. The ASEAN summits and related meetings are also seen as notable for the participation of U.S. President Barack Obama, marking the first visit of a U.S. leader to Laos. SEOUL, Sept. 5 (Xinhua) -- The Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) on Monday test-fired three ballistic missiles into eastern waters ahead of the country's National Day, South Korea's defense ministry said. A defense ministry official told Xinhua that the missiles were launched into the East Sea at about 12:14 p.m. local time from its western areas near Hwangju county in North Hwanghae province. Those missiles, which are believed to have been Rodong mid-range missiles with a range of 1,000 km to 1,200 km, traveled about 1,000 km toward Japan. Yonhap news agency reported that those missiles landed in Japan's air defense identification zone. The DPRK hadn't issued a navigation warning before the test-firings, according to South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS). Seoul's military authorities had already detected preparations for Pyongyang's ballistic missile launches, according to the Yonhap report. Concerns emerged about possible DPRK provocations ahead of the 68th anniversary on Friday of the founding of the state. In 2014, Pyongyang conducted two rounds of short-range missile launches before the National Day. The defense ministry official said over the phone that the military has been closely monitoring DPRK troops. Seoul's military said Monday's test-launches were an apparent armed protest to maintain military tensions on the Korean Peninsula by showing off its nuclear and missile capabilities ahead of the National Day holiday. The missile launches came less than two weeks after Pyongyang test-fired a ballistic missile from a submarine off its east coastal town of Sinpo, where a submarine base is known to be located, on Aug. 24. The submarine-launched ballistic missile (SLBM) flew some 500 km eastward, falling inside Japan's air defense identification zone for the first time. Three Rodong ballistic missiles, fired by the DPRK on Aug. 3, also fell into Japan's exclusive economic zone (EEZ). The SLBM test was conducted in an apparent show of force toward the annual U.S.-South Korea military drills, codenamed Ulchi Freedom Guardian (UFG), which had run from Aug. 22 to Sept. 2. The DPRK denounced the computer-simulated exercises as a dress rehearsal for northward invasion. Tensions are also running high in the region and on the Korean Peninsula as Seoul and Washington agreed on July 8 to deploy a U.S. missile shield in South Korean soil by the end of next year. The two allies claimed that one Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) battery, presumed to be installed in southeastern South Korea, could protect against what they claimed was the DPRK's nuclear and missile threats. However, China and Russia have strongly opposed the deployment. DAMASCUS, Sept. 5 (Xinhua) -- A series of bombings rocked four Syrian cities on Monday morning, and casualties are feared, official media outlets reported. Two suicide bombers detonated their booby-trapped cars at the entrance of the coastal city of Tartus, the official SANA news agency said. The two suicide bombers had apparently planned to detonate their vehicles inside the city but did so at the entrance after they were discovered by the authorities, State TV reported. A third car bomb went off at a checkpoint at the entrance of al-Zahara, a pro-government neighborhood, in Bab Tadmur, in the central province of Homs. In the capital Damascus, an explosion rocked a road between the summer resort town of Sabura, and Bajaj. Also on Monday, an explosive-packed motorcycle exploded in the predominantly-Kurdish city of Hasakah in northeastern Syria. It wasn't immediately clear if the bombings Monday, one day after government forces' recapture of key military targets from rebels in eastern Aleppo in northern Syria, were coordinated. HELSINKI, Sept. 5 (Xinhua) -- While the target of halting the debt increase by 2019 is hard to reach, the Finnish government is aiming to raise the employment rate of its work force. However, analysts said the 2017 budget published earlier this week did not give any concrete measures in this regard. Prime Minister Juha Sipila still adheres to the goal of raising employment to 72 percent from the current 68 percent. The government said a solution will be worked out jointly by employers, trade unions and the government. The government is working to make employment more attractive in comparison to unemployment benefits. But local commentators expect tough resistance from trade unions. Under the current system, an unemployed person gets compensation based on his or her last salary for the initial 500 working days after leaving his or her job. The government would like to reduce the compensation in stages if the unemployed person does not look for a job. As of Sunday, labor unions have shown great concern over this move. There have also been talks about accepting salaries that are lower than union tariffs in some cases. In Finland, trade union tariffs are mandated by law as the minimum allowed, be an employee in the union or not. The 2017 budget bill totals 55.2 billion euros (61.6 billion U.S. dollars). It is only 300 million euros (335 million dollars) more than the figures for 2016. Sipila has said that "living on credit" will not stop until 2021 and the earlier governmental targets will not hold. When announcing the budget late Thursday, the government gave most publicity to a few reforms the three ruling parties considered to be most favorable to their supporters. The Finns Party got through their recent suggestion that the long-term unemployed over 60 years old would be pensioned off. The budget also includes an initiative from the Conservative Party on calling off a previous decision to increase daycare charges, as well as an initiative from the Center Party on assisting ailing agriculture. The opposition parties criticized continued cutbacks in education and social services. As the 2017 budget process has attracted major expectations of policy changes, the caution of the government has disappointed many analysts in the past days. Matti Viren, an economics professor at Turku University, said the government could have altered the country's economic policies in 2015, but changes "remained rhetorical." "Now the government has the second chance, but no major change is visible," Viren commented to news service Uusi Suomi. He said much in the budget was directed to please the supporters of the coalition government parties and did not amount to economic policy changes. He also criticized the comeback of "three side talks" among employers, unions and the government, saying it meant outsourcing the creation of labor reforms to those who "do not want reforms." The leading newspaper Helsingin Sanomat in its editorial on Sunday expressed disbelief in the government's efforts to reach its employment goals. The newspaper said that despite the three-side talks, the final decision is up to the government and it hardly wants to antagonize wage earners again. "In the budget talks, many matters were left half way," the newspaper commented. Jyvaskyla-based daily Keskisuomalainen predicted on Sunday that the employment level will ultimately decide when to halt getting into further debt. "Success of the government will depend on its achievements in employment," the paper said. TOKYO, Sept. 5 (Xinhua) -- The Japanese government on Monday condemned the firing by the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) of three ballistic missiles into the Sea of Japan, describing the act as being in violation of UN Security Council resolutions. The government said in a statement that it will strongly protest the launches with Pyongyang and underscored the fact that the launches violate the ban imposed by the UN Security Council on the DPRK from using missile technology. The Japanese government said it believes the missiles were launched at around 12:13 p.m. local time from a site on the DPRK's west coast and, according to the Defense Ministry here, the missiles flew for around 1,000 km before falling into the Sea of Japan, within Japan's exclusive economic zone. The government said that it has along with Japan's coast guard been gathering information as to whether any vessels or aircraft in the region along the projectiles' flight paths and landing spots in the Sea of Japan have been damaged, but confirmed that it had received no reports of damage or injury as yet. The latest launch by the DPRK comes as global leaders gathered for the Group of 20 summit in Hangzhou, China. The DPRK has recently voiced its opposition to the joint military drills conducted by the United States and South Korea in the region which concluded last Friday, with the Ulchi Freedom Guardian exercise comprising some 25,000 U.S. troops. The DPRK also stands opposed to the U.S. and South Korea deciding to deploy a Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) system in South Korea to counter potential threats from the DPRK. The spate of recent launches, government officials here have said, have also been a show of defiance against UN Security Council resolutions slapped on the DPRK for its ongoing nuclear and ballistic missile technology programs, which are banned under the council's resolutions. Monday's launches forced Japan's new Defense Minister Tomomi Inada to cancel a scheduled visit to a local Ground Self-Defense Force base in Tokyo in the afternoon, to address the situation. Chinese President Xi Jinping presides over the opening ceremony of the Group of 20 (G20) summit in Hangzhou, capital of east China's Zhejiang Province, Sept. 4, 2016. (Xinhua/Li Xueren) BEIJING, Sept. 5 (Xinhua) -- When addressing the opening ceremony of the G20 Hangzhou Summit on Sunday, Chinese President Xi Jinping not only identified major challenges facing the global economy but also prescribed remedies to revive sluggish growth, said experts and observers from different parts of the world. Ignacio Martinez Cortes, a researcher on China at the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM), spoke highly of Xi's call on G20 members to improve coordination on macroeconomic policies in order to jointly ensure financial stability and find new engines of economic growth. Another key proposal by Xi for the G20 is to reject new protectionist measures and build a more open global economy, Cortes noted. He also highlighted Xi's emphasis on inclusive and balanced global growth, saying that he believes China will play an even bigger role in helping less developed nations achieve development targets. The Mexican scholar said he was happy to see that China is getting ready for a leading role in devising an agenda for sustainable development. Meanwhile, Paris-based global affairs analyst David Gosset said Xi's G20 speech is of great significance as it came at a time when the world is facing multiple challenges. To name a few, poor growth figures, deteriorating environment, and regional tensions affecting relations between G20 members are all weighing on, said Gosset, who is also a renowned Sinologist. "The high expectations for the summit can be explained by the unique context surrounding it, and also by the recognition that it can have a positive impact at a critical moment in the global affairs," the French expert said when asked to comment on Xi's G20 speech. Gosset noted that Xi has asked his G20 colleagues to avoid empty talks -- he wants concrete results and effectiveness. As he sees it, at present there is probably no better place than in China to reassure countries facing economic difficulties and to send a message of confidence for the future of the global economy, since China is still among the best-performing economies in the G20 club despite a gradual slowdown. While it is unrealistic to expect the Hangzhou summit to solve all the world's problems, it can certainly infuse a spirit, he said. The spirit of the Hangzhou summit "takes its roots in the imperatives of creativity, harmony and inclusiveness" and such a spirit can "enrich our collective wisdom and is an encouragement for mankind to envision a common dream of peace and happiness," Gosset concluded. For Mahmoud Allam, Egypt's former ambassador to China, Xi's G20 speech reflects China's aspiration to help build a better world, and it is also a proof of the country's role as a bridge between developed and developing countries. In his speech, Xi called on the G20 leading economies to support developing countries and take concrete measures so as to avoid a scenario that these countries are stripped of the opportunities to draw foreign investment, participate in global trade and improve the livelihood of their people, the former ambassador said. He also noted that Xi has pledged comprehensive support for developing nations. "China, itself being a developing country, wants to pay back the support it has received from developing countries by boosting their development." Luigi Gambardella, president of ChinaEU, a business association based in Brussels, talked about two things in Xi's G20 speech that impressed him most, one being digital economy as a new drive of global growth and the other free trade. Noting that trade protectionism is on the rise and the anti-globalization movement is also gaining momentum, Gambardella said that China, as the world's second largest economy, is taking on the responsibility to build an open global economy, and its efforts are increasingly recognized by Western countries. Donald J Lewis, an expert of international trade now teaching at the Stanford Law School, said Xi's speech shows that China is a responsible stake-holder and also a leader in reviving the global economy and revamping global governance. China's focus on inclusive growth is also refreshing against the backdrop of rising protectionism, he said, adding that the world needs a more open global trade framework and a rejuvenation of multilateral trade system so as to facilitate sustainable growth. Related: Spotlight: G20 summit to open new path for growth -- experts BEIJING, Sept. 5 (Xinhua) -- The 11th summit of the G20 major economies is expected to open a new path for growth and more efficient global economic governance, international experts have said. Full story China hosts G20 summit, starting new journey for world's growth HANGZHOU, Sept. 4 (Xinhua) -- Leaders of the world's 20 major economies on Sunday met in Hangzhou, discussing how to transform the lackluster global economy into the "innovative, invigorated, interconnected and inclusive" one, a vision proposed by the host country of China. Full story Xi expects G20 summit to offer remedies to world economy Indian Home Minister Rajnath Singh addresses a press conference in Srinagar, summer capital of Indian-controlled Kashmir, Sept. 5, 2016. Rajnath Singh, who led an all-party parliamentary delegation to Indian-controlled Kashmir for talks with all stakeholders to resolve the crisis in the northern region, slammed separitists for not participating in the discussions. (Xinhua/Javed Dar) NEW DELHI, Sept. 5 (Xinhua) -- The Indian government Monday said that it's serious about resolving the crisis in Indian-controlled Kashmir. More than 70 people have died and over 10,000 injured in unrest in Indian-controlled Kashmir since the killing of 22-year-old Burhan Wani, Hizbul Mujahiddin's poster body for new militancy by Indian security forces. "The central and the state governments are working to alleviate the situation in Indian-controlled Kashmir," Indian Home Minister Rajnath Singh said in Srinagar, the summer capital of Indian-controlled Kashmir. The minister, who led an all-party parliamentary delegation to Indian-controlled Kashmir for talks with all stakeholders to resolve the crisis in the northern region, slammed separitists for not participating in the discussions. However, Singh recapped the overall discussions with stakeholders as "positive" and also appealed to the media "to bear in mind that the goings-on in Kashmir are a concern to us all, and we need to support of everyone to overcome them." Indian-controlled Kashmir has been on the boil since the killing of Wani as Pakistan has invited India for Foreign Secretary-level talks in Islamabad over the unrest, an offer rejected by New Delhi. Both India and Pakistan claim Kashmir, the Himalayan region divided between the two neighbors, in full and have fought at least three major wars over the northern region in the past 65 years. BEIJING, Sept. 5 (Xinhua) -- Shanxi, China's leading coal-producing province, has awarded nearly 1 billion yuan to six state-owned coal producers for cutting production. The six pledged to slash coal production capacity by a combined 10.6 million tonnes per year, with Datong Coal Mine Group promising the biggest cut of 3 million tonnes per year. The group received 312 million yuan, according to the Shanxi provincial department of finance. The central Henan province plans to award 2.18 billion yuan to coal and steel producers this year for cutting production, with three state-owned coal producers already receiving a portion of the funds. The funds will compensate workers whose employment has been affected due to cuts in overcapacity, said the Henan provincial department of finance. The country has adopted a combination of measures to make cutting overcapacity an economic priority. Last week, a furnace capable of producing 1.33 million tonnes of iron every year, or enough iron to build an Eiffel Tower in three days, was demolished in Baogang Group in north China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region. The furnace, which was built in 1959, is the largest to be demolished since China initiated supply-side reform to tackle industrial overcapacity last year. The country has vowed to cut steel capacity by 100 to 150 million tonnes by 2020, including 45 million tonnes in 2016. This year's target to slash coal capacity is 250 million tonnes. Time is limited, as China's top economic planner had ordered local governments to speed up measures to cut excess coal capacity. "Local governments should strive to fulfill their targets by the end of November, while central and provincial state-owned coal producers should complete them in early November," Lian Weiliang, deputy head of the National Development and Reform Commission, said in August when addressing an internal meeting. DAMASCUS, Sept. 5 (Xinhua) -- At least 43 people were killed and dozens of others wounded on Monday when at least five explosions rocked several key Syrian cities, Syrian national TV reported. It wasn't immediately clear if the bombings, which struck one day after government forces' recapture of key military targets from rebels in eastern Aleppo in northern Syria, were coordinated. The first bombing happened in the central city of Homs at 7.14 a.m. local time (0414 GMT), when a booby-trapped car was detonated after being discovered by government soldiers at a checkpoint at the Bab Tadmur area. Four people were killed and as many others wounded in the explosion. Had it not have been stopped, the vehicle could have caused much heavier casualties if the powerful explosives detonate inside the city, the report said. The Homs blast left also property damage in an area almost deserted form civilians in that part of the city. It said the explosion came as authorities and rebels in al-Waer were working to establish reconciliation that might lead to an end to insurgency in the neighborhood, the last rebel-held district inside the city of Homs. In the coastal city of Tartus, at least 30 people were killed and dozens of others wounded on Monday, in twin bombings that rocked a checkpoint at the city's entrance, said the report. An explosive-laden vehicle was detonated at the checkpoint of the entrance of Tartus, when it was discovered by military personnel, said the report. Another explosion followed when a suicide bomber detonated his explosive belt among a crowd who gathered to help the wounded in the first blast, said the report. The suicide car bomber had apparently planned to detonate inside the city but did so at the entrance after he was discovered by the authorities, the report said. Both bombers, wearing military uniforms, were disguised as members of government troops, the military said. It wasn't the first time Tartus, once one of the safest cities in Syria, was targeted by explosions. On May 23, eight bombings were carried out by Islamic State (IS) militants in the cities of Tartus and Jableh, another coastal city, killing 184 people and wounding at least 200 others. Also on Monday, an explosive-packed motorcycle exploded in the predominantly-Kurdish city of Hasakah in northeastern Syria, killing eight people. The IS claimed responsibility for the Hasakah bombing, saying it had targeted a checkpoint of the Kurdish security forces, known as Assayish. In the capital Damascus, an explosion rocked a road between the summer resort town of Sabura, and Bajaj, killing one man. JERUSALEM, Sept. 5 (Xinhua) -- Israeli police said they shot dead a Palestinian who tried to ram his car into a group of Israeli officers in a refugee camp in East Jerusalem on Monday morning. Police spokeswoman Luba Samri said border police officers were finishing a raid in the refugee camp of Shuafat when a car sped up toward them. They opened fire at the car, killing the driver and seriously injuring a passenger in the vehicle, she added. No Israelis were injured in the incident. Violence has rocked Israel and the West Bank since mid-September, claiming the lives of least 220 Palestinians, 34 Israelis, two U.S. citizens, and two asylum seekers from Eritrea and Sudan. BEIJING, Sept. 5 (Xinhua) -- China on Monday published details of seven criminal cases uncovered during a crackdown on online pornography and piracy to protect minors. The National Office Against Pornographic and Illegal Publications in February launched a campaign against the production, sale and distribution of illegal publications and online content that could affect juveniles. In one case, police in Xuzhou city, Jiangsu Province, shut down a profit-making child pornography website. The investigation showed the website used cloud storage services to provide more than 15,000 obscene videos and 31,000 pornographic pictures to its 7,771 registered members. Another case in Huangshi city, Hubei Province, saw police seize a man surnamed Hong and confiscate more than 16,000 copies of unlicensed publications intended for students. Hong had sold publications with a total value of 5 million yuan (747,686 U.S. dollars) since 2011. In other cases, police busted the illegal printing and sale of pirated books for children. Production and storage sites and illegal bookstores were closed and suspects involved were arrested. TEHRAN, Sept. 5 (Xinhua) -- Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on Monday slammed Saudi rulers for what he described as their "crimes in the Muslim world," according to his website. Khamenei said extremists "created and equipped by Saudi Arabia have inflicted civil war in the Muslim world and have massacred civilians in Yemen, Iraq, Syria and Libya." "The Muslim world, the governments and the nations, should know the rulers of Saudi Arabia very well, and... the crimes that they have done in the Muslim world," Khamenei was quoted as saying in a message ahead of the annual Muslim Hajj ritual that will be held in Mecca of Saudi Arabia later this month. Khamenei described Saudi rulers as "traitors" defending the interests of global arrogance and allying with the United States and Israel. The Iranian leader again blamed Saudi officials for Iranian pilgrims' inability to attend the Hajj ceremonies this year. Iran said earlier that performing Hajj for Iranian pilgrims was rendered "impossible" because Saudi Arabia failed to provide consular services to Iranians who wanted to attend the ritual. Saudi Arabia and Iran have accused each other of "politicizing" the Hajj and held one another responsible for barring Iranian citizens from performing the ritual this season. Relations between Tehran and Riyadh, already at odds over Iraq, Syria and Yemen, soured further after Sunni-majority Saudi Arabia executed a prominent Shiite cleric over terror charges in January. The execution sent a large number of Iranians to the streets, and some of them stormed the Saudi diplomatic missions in Tehran and the northeastern city of Mashhad. After the attacks, Riyadh cut its diplomatic ties with Tehran, and many other Gulf countries either followed suit or downgraded their relations with Iran. DUBAI, Sept. 5 (Xinhua) -- A serviceman from the United Arab Emirates was killed while on duty in a Saudi-led operation in the war-torn Yemen, the General Command of the UAE Armed Forces said on Monday. The General Command did not specify the circumstances of the soldier's death. A Saudi-led Arab military coalition has been fighting Shiite Houthi rebels in Yemen since March 2015, trying to restore the internationally recognized government of President Abd Rabbu Mansour Hadi. International efforts and talks between the war parties have been so far fruitless. LONDON, Sept.5 (Xinhua) -- British members of parliament on Monday will debate a public petition calling for a second Brexit referendum which has so far attracted more than 4.1 million signatures. According to the schedule on the British Parliament website, the three-hour-long debate among members of the House of Commons will start at 4:30 p.m.local time. The petition urges the government to implement a rule for another referendum since neither of the remain or leave vote in June's Brexit referendum won over 60 percent with a turnout less than 75 percent. The referendum saw the Leave campaign win by 52 percent to 48 percent with a turnout slightly over 71 percent. Over 30 million British voted. British Prime Minister Theresa May has said that the decision of Brexit must be respected and "Brexit means Brexit." According to the official response from British Foreign and Commonwealth Office on the Parliament petition website, the government believed that the European Union Referendum Act, which Britain complies with, does not set a threshold for the result or for minimum turnout in an referendum. "We must now prepare for the process to exit the EU and the government is committed to ensuring the best possible outcome for the British people in the negotiations," the office said. MPs are obliged to consider any petition which receives more than 100,000 signatures for debate in Parliament. TOKYO, Sept. 5 (Xinhua) -- The Japanese government on Monday condemned the firing by the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) of three ballistic missiles into the Sea of Japan, yet also called for restraint, stating that the act was both provocative and in violation of UN Security Council resolutions. Japan's top government spokesperson, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga, at a regular press conference described the launches as an act of provocation but called for increased restraint from the DPRK. Suga also said that Tokyo had lodged a protest to the launches with Pyongyang. The Japanese government earlier on Monday said it believed the missiles were launched at around 12:13 p.m. local time from a site on the DPRK's west coast. The Defense Ministry here, having confirmed the launches, said the missiles flew for around 1,000 km before all three of them fell into the Sea of Japan, within what Japan believes to be its exclusive economic zone. The government said that it has along with Japan's coast guard been gathering information as to whether any vessels or aircraft in the region along the projectiles' flight paths and landing spots in the Sea of Japan had been damaged, but confirmed that it had received no reports of damage or injury as a result of the missiles. The DPRK has recently voiced its opposition to the joint military drills conducted by the United States and South Korea in the region, which concluded last Friday, with the Ulchi Freedom Guardian exercise comprising some 25,000 U.S. troops. The DPRK also stands opposed to the U.S. and South Korea deciding to deploy a Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) system in South Korea to counter perceived threats. The spate of recent launches, government officials here have said, have also been a show of defiance against UN Security Council resolutions slapped on the DPRK for its ongoing nuclear and ballistic missile technology programs, which are banned under the council's resolutions. Monday's launches forced Japan's new Defense Minister Tomomi Inada to cancel a scheduled visit to a local Ground Self-Defense Force base in Tokyo in the afternoon, to address the situation. Inada told a press briefing Monday that the DPRK's capabilities are "definitely improving" as all three missiles were fired simultaneously and landed in the same area in the Sea of Japan. Her remarks follow the Aug. 24 launch by the DPRK of a submarine-launched ballistic missile. RAMALLAH, Sept. 5 (Xinhua) -- Palestinian Prime Minister Rami Hamdallah on Monday accused Israel of moving toward an "apartheid" state through its settlement activities. "Israel's settlement expansion and land confiscation is ending a two-state solution and pushing toward a state that practices apartheid system," Hamdallah said in a statement following his meeting with Australian Foreign Minister Julie Bishop in the West Bank city of Ramallah. He stressed the Palestinian commitment to the two-state solution and the peaceful channels to realize the establishment of an independent Palestinian state within 1967 borders with East Jerusalem as its capital. He urged the international community to exercise pressure on Israel to end its control over area C to allow Palestinians to utilize its natural resources, and to lift the siege on Gaza. According to the interim Oslo Accords signed between the Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO) and Israel in 1993, the West Bank is divided into three zones: A, B and C, with area A being under Palestinian control, B under Israeli security coordination and Palestinian administrative control and C under full Israeli control. Israeli settlement construction has been one of the thorny issues in the Palestinian-Israeli negotiations. United States-sponsored peace talks between Israel and the Palestinians have remained stalled since April 2014. They lasted for nine months with no tangible results achieved. The Australian foreign minister is on a short visit to Israel and Palestine. She met with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Jerusalem on Sunday, according to the Israeli public radio. BLED, Slovenia, Sept. 5 (Xinhua) -- The Slovenian-hosted Bled Strategic Forum (BSF)started on Monday, bringing debates and meetings in two days focused to security. The foreign policy event this year features about 700 participants from 70 countries or regions and senior representatives of international organisations and NGOs. During the event held at Lake Bled, some 55 km northwest to the capital city of Ljubljana, a dozen of panel debates will be held as part of the core event and the business segment, Business BSF, covering diverse issues such as water security, energy, radicalization, the media image of terrorism, and tourism security. The main event on Monday will be a leaders' panel featuring Slovenian President Borut Pahor, Croatian President Kolinda Grabar-Kitarovic, Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama, and Canadian Speaker of the Senate George Furey, according to Slovenian Press Agency. Slovenian Prime Minister Miro Cerar and Foreign Minister Karl Erjavec will deliver welcome addresses o Monday afternoon, with the keynote provided by Michael Moller, director-general of the UN office in Geneva. JERUSALEM, Sept. 5 (Xinhua) -- Two people were killed and dozens of others injured or missing after a four-story parking structure in Tel Aviv collapsed on Monday, Israeli authorities said. The underground structure, located in the neighborhood of Ramat Hachayal in northern Tel Aviv, was still under construction, police said. Police spokeswoman Luba Samri confirmed the deaths. She said that one victim, identified as a 35-year-old construction worker, was found dead under the debris. She said that about five more people are feared to be trapped. According to Eli Bin, director of MDA rescue service, about 20 people, mostly construction workers, were injured. One of them sustained serious injuries to his head, Bin said. A military spokesperson said that the army sent "search and rescue forces to assist in the rescue and extraction of civilians from the building." Television broadcasts showed that the roof of the structure had caved in, and that hundreds of emergency crew were working at the site. Ramat Hachayal is a business quarter in which many offices of Israel's booming high-tech industry are located. Authorities have launched a criminal investigation into the collapse, suspecting negligence. MANILA, Sept. 5 (Xinhua) -- Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte proclaimed on Monday a state of national emergency for the Philippines on account of lawless violence, a Malacanang presidential palace said in a statement. Presidential Communications Office Assistant Secretary Kristian Ablan told reporters that "the proclamation technically took effect today and remains in force until lifted by the president." He said Duterte "can call out the military as commander-in-chief by virtue of the constitution." He said the proclamation commands the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) and the Philippines National Police (PNP) to undertake measures permitted by the constitution and laws. Ablan said the proclamation is mainly ordering both the AFP and the PNP to "suppress all forms of lawless violence in Mindanao and prevent lawless violence from spreading elsewhere across the country." He said the state of national emergency on account of lawless violence gives "due regard to fundamental and civil political rights and has nothing to do with martial law or the suspension of the writ of habeas corpus." "It's just a stepped-up campaign of the police and the military to ensure the safety of the general public," Ablan said. Chinese President Xi Jinping attends a press conference after the 11th summit of the Group of 20 (G20) major economies in Hangzhou, capital of east China's Zhejiang Province, Sept. 5, 2016. (Xinhua/Yao Dawei) HANGZHOU, Sept. 5 (Xinhua) -- The 11th summit of the Group of 20 (G20) major economies concluded here on Monday, reaching extensive consensus on pursuing innovative, invigorated, interconnected and inclusive world economic growth. "Held at a critical time for world economic growth and the transformation of the G20, the Hangzhou summit attracted wide attention from the whole world and carried high expectations," Chinese President Xi Jinping said at a press conference after the summit's conclusion. From Sunday to Monday, leaders of G20 members, guest countries and international organizations exchanged views on topics including more effective global economic and financial governance, robust international trade and investment, and inclusive and interconnected development. They also discussed prominent issues affecting the global economy, including climate change, refugee, anti-terrorism financing and public health. CHARTING A NEW COURSE World economic recovery remains weak this year. The World Bank in June cut its 2016 global growth forecast to 2.4 percent from 2.9 percent projected in January, partly due to sluggish growth in advanced economies, stubbornly low commodity prices and weak global trade. The forecast is much lower than a year-on-year growth of 6.7 percent in the first half of 2016 in China, in line with the government's target to keep its annual growth between 6.5 percent and 7 percent this year. The world has been hoping for Chinese wisdom and prescription to cope with common challenges after the country took over the G20 presidency. Xi said in a closing speech that leaders attending the summit decided to point out the way and set the course for the world economy. "We will continue to reinforce macro-policy dialogue and coordination, work in the spirit of partnership to promote mutual help and win-win cooperation, and focus our minds and energy to pursue strong, sustainable, balanced and inclusive growth," Xi said. A G20 Leaders' Communique of the Hangzhou Summit was adopted to set out the direction, targets and steps of G20 cooperation and depict the blueprint for future world economy. A mix of effective tools, including fiscal, monetary and structural ones, must be implemented to buffer against short-term risks and unleash medium- to long-term potential, Xi said. "This will send a strong signal of G20's commitment to promoting global growth, and help shore up market confidence and ensure stability of global financial markets," Xi said. BLUEPRINT ON INNOVATIVE GROWTH "We are determined to break a new path for growth to inject new dynamism into the world economy," Xi said. Past realities teach us that merely relying on fiscal and monetary policies does not work for the world economy, Xi said, adding that the world should pursue innovation-driven economy and create a new round of growth and prosperity. The leaders unanimously adopted the G20 Blueprint on Innovative Growth, which reflects their desire to find the right path toward sustainable and healthy growth. The G20 members will capitalize on the new opportunities brought about by innovation, new industrial revolution, digital economy and other new factors and business types, and make a series of action plans, he said. They are also going to encourage innovation in various domains and ensure that the fruits of innovation are shared, Xi said. "The blueprint provides us with the consensus, action plan and the overall framework to open up a new path for global growth and increase medium- to long-term potential of the world economy," he said. BETTER GOVERNANCE, INCLUSIVE GROWTH The leaders were also determined to improve global economic and financial governance to enhance the resilience of the world economy, and to revitalize international trade and investment as the key engines of growth and build an open world economy, Xi said. They agreed to advance the quota and governance reform of international financial institutions, broaden the use of Special Drawing Rights, strengthen the global financial safety net and make the international monetary system more stable and resilient. The leaders agreed to deepen cooperation on financial inclusion, green finance and climate funds, and formulated an action plan on energy access, renewable energy and energy efficiency, Xi said. They will also enhance international tax cooperation, and join efforts of anti-corruption to deprive all corrupt persons of any safe haven in G20 countries and beyond, he said. G20 members reiterated their stance to oppose trade protectionism and support multilateral trading mechanisms in pursuit of trade growth, and formulated guiding principles for investment policymaking to facilitate investment around the world. Consensus was also made to promote inclusive and interconnected development, so that G20 cooperation will deliver benefits to the whole world, according to Xi. For the first time, the summit put development at the center of global macro policy framework and made a groundbreaking action plan implementing the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, he added. "The development of G20 has a bearing on the immediate interests of all its members and the future of world economy. Only when the mechanism responds to changes and advances with the times can it retain its vitality," Xi said. Related: G20 to advance anti-corruption campaign: Xi HANGZHOU, Sept. 5 (Xinhua) -- Chinese President Xi Jinping on Monday said members of the G20 have agreed to advance anti-corruption campaign including the establishment of a research center on fugitive repatriation and asset recovery in China. Full story G20 to revitalize international trade, investment: Xi HANGZHOU, Sept. 5 (Xinhua) -- The G20 members will support multilateral trading system, oppose protectionism, unlock global trade cooperation potential, and reverse the decline of trade growth, President Xi Jinping said here on Monday. Full story G20 to explore long-term growth potential: China's Xi by Maria Spiliopoulou ATHENS, Sept. 5 (Xinhua) -- The Greek government reiterated a call to the EU to quickly help relocate thousands of refugees and migrants currently living in overcrowded reception centers on the Aegean Sea islands, as new clashes among refugees broke out on early Monday inside Moria hot spot on Lesvos island. "Greece has shouldered its share of responsibility concerning the handling of the refugee crisis. The European Union and its leaders should bear their share," the Greek Migration Ministry said in a press release. The words came in response to German Interior Minister Thomas de Maiziere's suggestion that Greece failed to do its job on EU borders and therefore should take back refugees from Germany. The German official made the comment when speaking to Welt am Sonntag newspaper. Germany has not sent migrants back to Greece in the past five years. Under the Dublin regulations, migrants and refugees should be processed in the first member state they entered, which for the overwhelming majority today is Greece. More than one million people have crossed into Europe from the Turkish shores via Greece since early 2015. According to the latest official figure released by the Greek Refugee Crisis Management Coordination Body, some 59,500 people are currently stranded across Greece after the closure of the Balkan route to central Europe. Under the agreement sealed a year ago between EU members, about 33,000 refugees should be relocated across Europe under the relocation program this year. So far only 3,000 refugees have been relocated, the Greek ministry stressed. Regarding criticism that the procedures are delayed due to deficiencies in the Greek asylum processing system, Athens replied that its European partners have also failed to fully keep their promises concerning the European experts that would be sent to the islands to assist the Greek authorities. As Greek and European officials argued on the issue, five minors were hospitalized at Lesvos after scuffles broke out between young refugees from Syria and Afghanistan, according to the police. Some 40 underage refugees are believed to have fled the Moria center during the clashes, Greek national news agency AMNA reported, citing police sources. Monday's incident ended with the intervention of police, but tensions between different ethnic groups remain. Following a dozen such clashes at accommodation centers in recent months, Greek officials have pledged to accelerate the efforts to decongest the camps. According to the official figures, 5,400 refugees and migrants are hosted on Lesvos island, while the capacity of the operating facilities reaches 3,500. Meanwhile, more arrivals are recorded each day from Turkey, as Ankara warns that March's agreement with EU to curb the migrant and refugee influx will collapse unless the EU immediately grants visa-free travel for Turkish nationals into Europe. Deputy Migration Minister Yannis Mouzalas repeated during an interview with Greek Real News daily on Sunday the government's pledge to transfer thousands of refugees to the mainland this autumn to relieve congestion on the islands. The relocation concerns people who have already been processed and will not be returned to Turkey, as well as migrants who are to be deported and will be detained in closed centers. However, the idea has not received a warm welcome by all. In a letter addressed to Mouzalas, the Greek Tourism Confederation (SETE) called on the government to reconsider the plan to establish new centers at major tourist destinations, such as Crete island, to "not harm the tourism industry." The SETE proposed the creation of such facilities in sparsely populated regions. BEIJING, Sept. 5 (Xinhua) -- The mainland underscored its "resolute opposition" against any form of "Hong Kong independence" activities inside or outside of the special administrative region's (SAR) Legislative Council (LegCo), according to an official statement on Monday. The statement, issued by the Hong Kong and Macao Affairs Office of the State Council, noted that certain organizations and candidates were publicly advocating for "Hong Kong independence," capitalizing on the exposure afforded to them because of the election for the sixth-term LegCo of the Hong Kong SAR. The statement reiterated that "Hong Kong independence" was against the Constitution of China, the Basic Law and relevant laws of the Hong Kong SAR, that it was a threat to China's sovereignty and security, damaged the prosperity and stability of Hong Kong, and was counter to the fundamental interests of Hong Kong citizens. "We firmly support the Hong Kong SAR government to mete out penalties according to law," the statement said. The election for the sixth-term LegCo of the Hong Kong SAR was held on Sunday. The elected members are expected to fulfill their duties according to the Basic Law and relevant laws of Hong Kong, and to implement the "one country, two systems" principle, in an effort to protect the prosperity and stability of Hong Kong, according to the statement. The term of office of the newly-elected sixth-term LegCo members will begin on Oct. 1, 2016. MANILA, Sept. 5 (Xinhua) -- Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte proclaimed on Monday a state of national emergency for the Philippines on account of lawless violence, a Malacanang presidential palace said in a statement. Presidential Communications Office Assistant Secretary Kristian Ablan told reporters that "the proclamation technically took effect today and remains in force until lifted by the president." He said Duterte "can call out the military as commander-in-chief by virtue of the constitution." He said the proclamation commands the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) and the Philippines National Police (PNP) to undertake measures permitted by the constitution and laws. Ablan said the proclamation is mainly ordering both the AFP and the PNP to "suppress all forms of lawless violence in Mindanao and prevent lawless violence from spreading elsewhere across the country." He said the state of national emergency on account of lawless violence gives "due regard to fundamental and civil political rights and has nothing to do with martial law or the suspension of the writ of habeas corpus." "It's just a stepped-up campaign of the police and the military to ensure the safety of the general public," Ablan said. The proclamation of a state of national emergency for the Philippines came barely three days after Duterte declared "a state of lawlessness," which authorized the military and the police "to run the country" in the wake of the terror attack Friday night at his hometown in Davao City. The attack claimed the lives of 14 people and injured almost 70 others. Police said the still unidentified perpetrators used a cellular phone-activated improvised mortar to carry out the attack. A few hours after the attack, Duterte visited the bomb site shortly before dawn Saturday and told reporters, "I am declaring state of lawless violence. It's not martial law, but I am inviting now the Armed Forces of the Philippines, the military and the police, to run the country in accordance with my specifications." Duterte clarified that the "state of lawlessness" is not synonymous to martial law, adding it merely requires "well-coordinated efforts of the military and the police." "There will be major checkpoints," Duterte said, adding that there is no suspension of the writ of habeas corpus. "I have this duty to protect the country. I have this duty to keep intact the integrity of the nation," he said. Duterte was in his hometown Davao City when the blast ripped off a crowded strip of the night market shortly after 10 p.m. Friday. Duterte left for Laos on Monday to attend the ASEAN summit and related meetings which will also be attended by leaders from ASEAN dialogue partners which will start Tuesday. VIENTIANE, Sept. 5 (Xinhua) -- The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and related summits are scheduled here in the Lao capital on Tuesday, with the main theme of "Turning Vision into Reality for a Dynamic ASEAN Community." Community building efforts, ASEAN's cooperation with dialogue partners, as well as a commemorative summit of the 25th anniversary of ASEAN's dialogue relations with China will be on the agenda of the three-day meetings. According to the Foreign Ministry of Laos, which is holding the rotating ASEAN chairmanship, the meetings will include the 28th and 29th ASEAN Summits, ASEAN+1 Summits, the Summit on Commemoration of the 25th Anniversary of ASEAN-China Dialogue Relations, ASEAN+3 (China, Japan, and South Korea) Summit, as well as the East Asia Summit. The 28th ASEAN Summit will discuss ASEAN Community building efforts, especially the implementation of the ASEAN Community Vision 2025, while the 29th ASEAN Summit will focus on ASEAN's external relations and future direction as well as exchange of views on regional and international issues of common concern. The ASEAN+1 Summits and ASEAN+3 Summit will review cooperation between the ten-member bloc and its dialogue partners. The East Asia Summit, a forum of leaders from 18 countries (10 ASEAN members, China, Japan, South Korea, Australia, New Zealand, Russia and the United States) will review and discuss future direction of cooperation as well as exchange views on regional and international issues. ASEAN, which groups Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Brunei, Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar and Vietnam, established at the end of 2015 the ASEAN Community which comprises the Political and Security Community, the Economic Community and the Socio-Cultural Community. Community building efforts, especially integration measures in specific fields, would be addressed by ASEAN leaders at the summits, according to Soukthavy Keola, a former counselor at the Lao Embassy in China. As for the hot regional issues that captured media attention in previous months, Soukthavy said a consensus had been reached during ASEAN foreign ministers' meetings and such topics were expected to be downplayed during the upcoming summits. As this year marks the 25th anniversary of the ASEAN-China Dialogue Relations, the two sides will hold a commemorative summit on Wednesday. Cooperation with China, ASEAN's most active cooperation partner, will take center stage then. China is the largest trading partner of ASEAN, while ASEAN is China's third largest trade partner. Trade volume between the two sides reached 209 billion U.S. dollars in the first half of 2016. Stronger cooperation between China and ASEAN will contribute to regional peace, growth and prosperity and benefits both sides, as well as the region as a whole, Director-General for ASEAN Cooperation of Indonesia Foreign Ministry Jose Antonio Morato Tavares told Xinhua prior to the summits. China, as the biggest market in terms of population in the world, brings a lot of opportunities for ASEAN economies, Tavares said. Apart from the economic sphere, people-to-people exchange has also become a bright spot in and an important part of the friendly cooperation between ASEAN and China, said Korn Dabbaransi, former deputy prime minister of Thailand. During commemoration of the 25th anniversary for dialogue relations, people-to-people exchanges would be suggested by the Chinese side as a new pillar for China-ASEAN cooperation, according to Liu Zhenmin, China's vice foreign minister. Cooperation between China and ASEAN in the past 25 years has yielded significant achievements in various fields. Bilateral cooperation has entered into a period of maturity and needs to be upgraded. The upcoming summits are expected to add new vigor to China-ASEAN cooperation. BEIJING, Sept. 5 (Xinhua) -- It is a hope of China that the United States and South Korea will make positive contribution to regional stability and development instead of mishandling sensitive issues and intensifying disputes by deploying the THAAD anti-missile system. At the G20 Hangzhou Summit, Chinese President Xi Jinping and his U.S. counterpart Barack Obama had in-depth, candid and constructive talks on China-U.S. relations and major regional and global issues of common interests, and reached consensus on a wide range of important issues. The two sides agreed to continue the joint endeavor to move forward their new model of major-country relationship, pledging to deepen mutual trust and coordination, and manage differences in a constructive manner to promote the sustained, sound and steady development of China-U.S. relations. The determination and joint leadership that China and the United States have demonstrated on the sidelines of the G20 summit in fighting climate change have also won widespread applause. During his meeting with South Korean President Park Geun-hye, Xi praised the "leapfrog development" of bilateral ties, saying China and the Republic of Korea should cherish their political mutual trust, safeguard the basis for bilateral cooperation, and overcome difficulties and challenges to put bilateral ties on the right track toward stable and healthy development. Xi also reaffirmed China's commitment to achieving denuclearization on the Korean Peninsula, safeguarding peace and stability of the peninsula, and solving relevant issues through dialogue and consultation. However, the Chinese president also clearly expressed China's opposition against the U.S. deployment of the anti-missile system of Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) in South Korea during his talks with Obama and Park separately. Xi told Obama that China opposes the deployment of the anti-missile system of THAAD in South Korea, while urging the United States to respect China's strategic security interests. While meeting with Park, Xi stressed that mishandling the issue is not conducive to strategic stability in the region, and could intensify disputes. It is not common for China to clearly express opposition to the possible deployment of THAAD on such bilateral diplomatic occasions, which shows China's serious concerns about the issue. The THAAD issue has already become a roadblock to China's relations with the United States as well as South Korea. China's legitimate concerns deserve understanding by the two countries, which need to avoid taking any moves that might put regional peace further at risk. THAAD's X-band radar is believed to have a detection range as far as 2,000 km in forward-based mode. Thus once placed in South Korea, the United States would be able to peer conveniently deep into China and Russia, imposing a grave threat to the security interests of the two countries and to regional peace. With Seoul agreeing to let THAAD in, a new arms race is well expected. If that were to happen, then regional countries would be sucked into a security dilemma and an unavoidable action-reaction cycle. BEIJING, Sept. 5 (Xinhua) -- China's State Forestry Administration (SFA) said Monday that it was too early to downgrade the giant panda's conservation status after an international group reclassified it from an "endangered" to "vulnerable" species. The International Union for Conservation of Nature announced the change in a report, after reviewing the results of conservation efforts that have boosted the panda's population. Insisting that the pandas remain classed as endangered, the SFA stressed that there are still threats to the animal's survival. The wild giant panda population is fragmented into 33 isolated groups, with some having fewer than 10 animals, which limits the gene pool for reproduction. Meanwhile, climate change is predicted to wipe out more than one third of the panda's bamboo habitat, a situation that will only be exacerbated by insufficient funding and technical support. "If we downgrade their conservation status and our protection work is reduced, our achievements would be quickly forgotten," the administration noted. Over the years, China has implemented a series of environmental initiatives, including the establishment of nature reserves, to increase the giant panda population. At the end of 2015, China had 1,864 giant pandas in the wild, increasing from about 1,100 in 2000, and there were 422 in captivity, according to the SFA. A suicide bomb attack rocked the Pakistani Defense Ministry on Sept. 5, 2016. (Reuters Photo) MOSCOW, Sept. 5 (Xinhua) -- Pakistan's ambassador to Russia Qazi Khalilulla said on Monday that the two countries are carrying out closer cooperation in combating terrorism. "We appreciate Russia supporting Pakistan's efforts in the fight against terrorism, as well as its willingness to supply weapons for these purposes," Khalilulla was quoted as saying by RIA Novosti. He said the Russia-Pakistan working group on fighting terrorism, which was founded in 2002, will meet in Moscow before the end of the year. The ambassador said that Islamabad was implementing a national action plan of comprehensive resistance to terrorism and extremism, including countering violence propaganda, and blocking financial flows to terrorists and their supporters, with the aim of extinguishing terrorism in the country. Khalilulla also revealed that the Chief of Air Staff of the Pakistani Air Force Sohail Aman had "fruitful talks" in Moscow in July on purchasing Russian Su-35 fighter jets, but he did not elaborate. He said the Pakistani Air Force and other services of the country were considering different options of deepening cooperation with Russia, but denied knowledge of any plans to buy Russian weaponry in the near future. BEIJING, Sept. 5 (Xinhua) -- China's first Charity Day, which fell on Monday and follows the enforcement of the Charity Law last week, was celebrated with a string of promotional activities nationwide. Charity Day falls on Sept. 5 every year. From Sunday to Tuesday, a charity fair was held in Beijing, attracting more than 100 charity organizations from the capital, and neighboring Tianjin Municipality and Hebei Province. "The fair is an exchange and cooperation platform for charity groups to share and pool their information and resources," said Yang Liping, a charity official with Beijing Civil Affairs Bureau. In a similar move, an Internet charity service and information platform will be set up in the southwestern province of Yunnan, which has 351 registered charities. "We must better define the allocation of resources, so that the recipients of charity receive the support they need," said Zhang Zhixiong, a charity official with Yunnan Civil Affairs Department. The charity sector will support the country's poverty alleviation campaign. As of the end of 2015, 55.75 million rural Chinese were still classed as impoverished, meaning they had a per capita net income of less than 2,800 yuan (419 U.S. dollars) a year. To help reduce poverty, a "Charity Village" opened Monday in Zengcheng District, Guangzhou, capital of Guangdong Province. Charity organizations will be encouraged to extend support to Dapuwei village to offer help to its needy residents. The Charity Law recently eased restrictions on the fundraising and operational activities of charity groups, promising tax benefits and improved supervision. The country had about 670,000 registered social organizations as of the end of June, including 5,038 foundations, according to the Ministry of Civil Affairs. Last Friday, Minister of Civil Affairs Li Liguo issued qualification certificates to an initial group of 16 charity organizations, meaning they are allowed to engage in fund-raising activities. To mark the passing of the Charity Law, the Chinese Philanthropy Museum opened to the public in Nantong, east China's Jiangsu Province last week. The museum is located on the site of a cotton mill founded by Zhang Jian, a businessman and philanthropist at the turn of the 20th century. It is hoped that Charity Day will give the public welfare sector much needed exposure, said Sun Zhiqiang, the founder of a charity alliance in east China's Shandong Province. The alliance, which helps poor students, single retirees or children with leukemia, has seen its membership base rise to 128 from about 10, since it was established in 2013. "We find pleasure in helping others," said Sun, adding that he hoped the whole of society would value and support charity work. Photo taken on Nov. 27, 2015 shows the Baiyulan Plaza (L) of Puxi and buildings in Lujiazui of Pudong in Shanghai, east China.(Xinhua) by Liang Xizhi, Zhang Jianhua LONDON, Sept. 5 (Xinhua) -- The Lord Mayor of the City of London, Jeffrey Mountevans, said the G20 summit held in Hangzhou is very important, and that he expects China to play an important role in promoting global economic growth. "I think G20 is very important, something I attach personally great importance to. I think China's interest in increasing Chinese involvement in the world economy is very positive," Mountevans said in a recent interview with Xinhua. Mountevans told Xinhua that the most interesting topic for him during this summit is green financing, which is an important topic in the world and is something that China and Britain can cooperate together. He said the great thing about Chinese presidency for the G20 is that China is quite focused on growth, which is the heart of the meeting that he thinks is very positive. "China is focused at the moment on green, because we all know that the older generation has not succeeded in doing so much, now we are in a hurry and we need to do more to work together to resolve the challenges we will be faced," he added. Commenting on British government's decision to delay the construction of Hinkley Point C nuclear power station, Mountevans said the City of London wants to see this issue resolved rapidly because it is keen on partnerships with Chinese businesses. Regarding British Prime Minister Theresa May's participation in the G20, the Lord Mayor said it is important for Britain to further ties with other G20 members after the Brexit. "After Brexit, we are looking at strengthening our international relations. Britain is a great place for doing business, we are the No. 6 in the world for the ease of doing business. We are very international in our outlook," he said. "I think that the prime minister will be looking to build on the relationships we have in so many areas." Mountevans said he will lead a business delegation to Hong Kong and Beijing, Shanghai and Tianjin in China later this month, in a bid to strengthen Britain-China commercial ties and promote Britain as "one of the best places" to invest and do business in. Describing China as a vital trade and investment partner for Britain, he said his visit comes at an opportune time to reassure China's government and industries that Britain remains open for business. "I will reiterate our commitment to deepening the long-standing links between the UK and China, I will celebrate the strengths and cooperation between our nations and I will explore new ways for us to work together," he said. As the financial and commercial heart of both Britain and Europe, the City of London is a natural partner for Chinese investors and businesses that want to expand their global presence, he said, adding, "We believe that opportunities to collaborate will continue to emerge, benefiting our own economies and wider global growth." Chinese President Xi Jinping (L), U.S. President Barack Obama (R) and Secretary-General of the United Nations Ban Ki-moon attend the deposit of instruments of joining the Paris Agreement in Hangzhou, capital city of east China's Zhejiang Province, Sept. 3, 2016. (Xinhua/Li Tao) NAIROBI, Sept. 5 (Xinhua) -- The UN Environment Programme (UNEP) has lauded China and the United States for ratifying the Paris Agreement on the fight against global warming. UNEP Executive Director Erik Solheim said over the weekend that the move by the two of the world's largest economies was significant. "This announcement is hugely important. The leadership of China and the U.S. is crucial to taking the Paris Agreement forward. They bring significant additional momentum to keeping global warming under 2 degrees," Solheim said in a statement issued in Nairobi. Presidents of China and the United States handed over their countries' instruments of joining the Paris Agreement separately to UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on Saturday in China's Hangzhou. Chinese President Xi Jinping (C), U.S. President Barack Obama (R) and Secretary-General of the United Nations Ban Ki-moon attend the deposit of instruments of joining the Paris Agreement in Hangzhou, capital city of east China's Zhejiang Province, Sept. 3, 2016. (Xinhua/Li Tao) The Paris Agreement, which was sealed in December 2015 after two weeks of intense negotiations, needs to be ratified by 55 countries, representing 55 percent of global emissions, in order to come into effect. Experts said both countries joining the Paris Agreement could help bring the accord into affect by the end of the year. "By putting the well-being of our planet at the top of the agenda, the two largest economies in the world are also showing that our economic future is low-carbon and green," Solheim said. He said the fight against climate change remains difficult and urgent, but having heavy-hitters like China and the United States on "your side is extremely heartening." MOGADISHU, Sept. 5 (Xinhua) -- A businessman escaped with injuries when a bomb planted in his car went off along Maka al-Mukarama road in Mogadishu's central business district, police said Monday. A police officer at the scene Yahye Abdi told Xinhua the car had been rigged with explosive devices and went off when the businessman tried to start the car. An eye witness told Xinhua there was a huge explosion then the vehicle went up in flames. "There was sudden explosion across the street and shortly we saw a vehicle on fire," said Elmi Noor. The street is popular with African Union convoys and government vehicles. No group has claimed responsibility, but Somalia-based militant group Al-Shabaab has been known to use such tactics to launch attacks. JOHANNESBURG, Sept. 5 (Xinhua) -- The South African Presidency denied press reports that President Jacob Zuma was stalling the Financial Intelligence Centre Amendment Bill as part of an attempt to "clip the independence and powers" of Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan and the South African Reserve Bank (SARB). The report by the Business Day newspaper on Monday is "misleading and incorrect", presidential spokesperson Bongani Ngqulunga said. The report alleged that the developments surrounding the Bill, which has been brought to the president for his consideration and assent, "form part of an orchestrated attack by parts of the government and the ANC (African National Congress) aligned to Zuma on the Treasury, Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan, and the Reserve Bank, with a view to clipping their independence and powers". That was the reason why the Bill has not yet been signed into law, the report said. "This is a gross distortion of the facts," Ngqulunga said, adding that the president received an objection to the signing of the bill from the Progressive Professionals Forum. "When the President is petitioned not to sign a bill, he has to consider the merits of such objection focusing mainly on whether the interested parties raise valid constitutional issues," said Ngqulunga. It is not the first time that the president has taken time to consider a bill for similar reasons. Currently, the president has not signed the Expropriation Bill, the Private Security Industry Regulation Amendment Bill and the Protection of State Information Bill, because various parties petitioned him not to do so, citing concerns about their constitutionality, Ngqulunga said, adding that all these concerns are being looked into. Zuma also sent the Mineral and Petroleum Resources Development Amendment Bill back to the National Assembly in 2015 on the ground that certain provisions of the Bill are unconstitutional. "Journalists are urged to stick to the facts and ensure balance and fairness in the coverage of news and current affairs," Ngqulunga added. Chinese President Xi Jinping meets with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, who is here to attend the Group of 20 (G20) summit, in Hangzhou, capital of east China's Zhejiang Province, Sept. 5, 2016. (Xinhua/Pang Xinglei) HANGZHOU, Sept. 5 (Xinhua) -- President Xi Jinping told Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on Monday that China and Japan should "put aside disruptions" and bring their relations back on the normal track as soon as possible. In their meeting held after a two-day G20 summit in the resort city of Hangzhou, Xi said China and Japan are important and close neighbors to each other. Long-term, healthy and stable development of bilateral ties is conducive to the benefits of people from both countries and to regional peace and stability, Xi said. He said currently Sino-Japanese ties are still "troubled by complications at times." The two countries should put aside such disruptions and propel bilateral relations back on the track of normal development as soon as possible. According to the Chinese president, China's basic standpoint to improve its relations with Japan has not changed. Bilateral ties have entered a key phase, where "no progress means regression." "Both sides should bolster their sense of responsibility and crisis awareness, and work to build on the positive elements of bilateral ties while putting a lid on negative ones, in order to ensure stable improvement of relations," Xi said. They should also make the most of the 45th anniversary of normalization of Sino-Japanese ties in 2017, and the 40th anniversary of the signing of the Treaty of Peace and Friendship between China and Japan the year after, to push forward Sino-Japanese ties, he said. Xi stressed that China and Japan should adhere to their four political documents and the four-point principled agreement reached in late 2014, in a bid to ensure that their political foundation of bilateral relations will stand firm. The two countries should properly "manage historical issues, and prevent new issues from emerging" in a bid to cut back on the "stumbling blocks," Xi added. When talking about China-Japan cooperation, Xi noted that the two countries are highly complementary in economy, and that they could strengthen macroeconomic communication and raise the level of practical cooperation in all sectors. The two sides should also carry forward the tradition of people-to-people friendship and boost exchanges at local levels. "Both countries should follow the new concept featuring win-win cooperation, make joint efforts to advance regional cooperation, and address global challenges," he said. The Chinese president said China and Japan should properly handle the East China Sea issue via dialogue and consultation to jointly safeguard peace and stability in the region. Japan, he said, should "exercise caution in its words and deeds" on the South China Sea issue, so as not to disrupt the improvement of Sino-Japanese ties. Abe, for his part, congratulated China on the success of the G20 Hangzhou summit. He said Japan attaches great importance to its relations with China, noting the two countries are "neighbors that can not be parted." Tokyo is willing to establish political trust with Beijing, and will work to improve bilateral ties in the spirit of consensus reached between the two countries, and maintain dialogues on relevant issues. Abe added that Japan hopes to step up cooperation with China in finance, trade and environmental protection. Chinese President Xi Jinping (R) meets with Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto, who is here to attend the G20 summit, in Hangzhou, capital city of east China's Zhejiang Province, Sept. 4, 2016. (Xinhua/Yao Dawei) By Qian Yongwen and Edna Alcantara MEXICO CITY, Sept. 4 (Xinhua) -- Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto has hailed China as a global economic power, stating that "our priority is to strengthen bilateral relations." Pena Nieto said in a recent joint interview with Chinese media that the ties have deepened since he and Chinese President Xi Jinping decided in June 2013 to elevate the relationship to the level of a comprehensive strategic partnership. Such a relationship aims to bring prosperity and more opportunities to both societies through commercial exchanges, as well as cooperation in culture, tourism and education, said the president. "Today, the relationship between China and Mexico is deeper, more productive and positive for both nations. The intense dynamic of dialogue and bilateral collaboration in recent years has allowed us to bring into full play the potential of our economies," Pena Nieto emphasized. He noted that more and more Mexican products like pork and tequila are reaching Chinese shores, while more financial exchanges are possible as the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC) opened its first office in Mexico in 2015. Meanwhile, cultural exchange has been another important dimension in which both countries have worked well, said Pena Nieto as he mentioned the exhibition of the work by prominent Mexican artist Diego Rivera touring China's Shanghai, Beijing and Guangzhou. "Education and culture have helped to enrich mutual understanding and reinforce the friendship of the two nations that both enjoy millennial cultures," Pena Nieto added. China is "continuing to grow, despite complicated global conditions. We must study its experience to learn from its successful practices," said the Mexican leader. "Its economic dynamism, the size of its economy and its high demand for goods have made China a very attractive market for Mexico. The key is to focus on learning and enjoying the complementarity in our economies." As the G20 Summit began Sunday in China's eastern city of Hangzhou, Pena Nieto said the summit is a platform privileging dialogues on economic growth, global financial system, sustainable development, free trade, energy efficiency, food security, the fight against corruption and climate change. In terms of the summit, Pena Nieto said the G20 member states "face crucial tasks of maintaining stability, building an innovative, interconnected, inclusive and growing global economy, and improving global economic governance." "During our last bilateral meeting at the 2015 G20 summit in Turkey, I expressed to President Xi my desire to share Mexico's broad experience within the group," said Pena Nieto. Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto arrives at Hangzhou International Expo Center to attend the G20 summit in Hangzhou, capital of east China's Zhejiang Province, Sept. 4, 2016. (Xinhua/Xing Guangli) He detailed that Mexico has promoted an active agenda including allotting larger investments to infrastructure projects, adopting energy efficiency policies and other steps to ensure a sustainable economic growth. "In this way, Mexico works closely with the world to be part of the solutions to the great challenges of the 21st century," according to the Mexican president. Pena Nieto added that, in recent years, Mexico has been working to make itself a balanced area for business and investment, including through the creation of special economic zones. These zones, located in the south of Mexico, seek to stand out as centers of innovation, technology and economic development, in order to attract investment and create quality jobs. Pena Nieto added that a group of businessmen from China's Guangdong Province has already been attracted and recently signed 18 cooperation and exchange agreements with Mexican companies in such sectors as aerospace, electronics, automotive, biotechnology and energy. "The approval of the Federal Law for Special Economic Zones gives us the perfect opportunity to deepen the strategic partnership between China and Mexico," he noted. TEHRAN, Sept. 5 (Xinhua) -- Tehran and London promoted their diplomatic ties to ambassador level by exchanging ambassadors on Monday, semi-official Mehr news agency reported. According to the report, Iran's new ambassador to London is Hamid Baeidinejad, who had served as nuclear negotiator and Foreign Ministry's director general for political affairs. On Monday, Baeidinejad presented his credentials in London. In Tehran, Nicholas Hopton, former British Charge d'Affaires to Iran, presented his credentials to Iran's Foreign Minister Mohammad-Javad Zarif. A statement issued by the British Foreign Office on Monday confirmed that Hopton has been upgraded to ambassador. "This comes a year after the reopening of the Embassy in Tehran, and marks an important step forward in the two countries' diplomatic relations," the statement said. It quoted Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson as saying that "the upgrade in diplomatic relations gives us the opportunity to develop our discussions on a range of issues, including our consular cases." He expressed the hope that the move will mark "the start of more productive cooperation" between Britain and Iran on issues such as implementation of the nuclear deal and the expansion of the trading relationship. On Monday, Iran's Foreign Ministry Spokesman Bahram Qasemi expressed hope for improving relations with Britain, saying that the expansion of bilateral ties is supported by both sides. "Our relations with the UK, over the past decades, have witnessed ups and downs, but attempts were made to promote the ties," Qasemi said in his weekly press conference. In August last year, Britain reopened its embassy in Iran's capital Tehran. The silver-color signboard showing "British Embassy" was installed on the exterior wall of the Britain embassy's complex in central district of Tehran. Groups of local and foreign media, as well as hundreds of people, were present in front of the British embassy to witness the reopening of the embassy, which was stormed by a group of angry Iranian students in 2011 to protest against Britain's nuclear-related sanctions. by Grandesso Federico VENICE, Sept. 5 (Xinhua) -- At the ongoing 2016 Venice Film Festival, American actress Dakota Fanning spoke to Xinhua here about her character in the film Brimstone by Martin Koolhoven, currently premiering at the festival. Fanning said it was a very strong and powerful role, quite different from anything she had ever done before. "The whole film was a totally new adventure for me and I had ever seen a film project like that, therefore I was happy to be part of this challenging, in many ways, but fulfilling, movie," Fanning said. For Fanning, the screenplay was very layered and fully developed on the page, like a puzzle with a lot of pieces fitting perfectly together. Fanning, an "enfant prodige" of U.S. cinema, worked in movies like Man On Fire, War of the Worlds, and I am Sam where she was applauded together with Sean Penn and Michele Pfeiffer. In Koolhoven's western film, Fanning plays the role of a tough and brave woman who doesn't accepts the rules of the period. Despite the violent theme of the movie, Fanning said she really wanted to be truthful about what was happening during that period and how women were treated. "For me, when I'm on set, I enjoy pushing boundaries and to show what's real," she confessed. About the preparation for her arduous role, Fanning explained she just wanted to stay true to the script. "Martin is a very direct and clear director so I never felt lost or confused because he was always there to provide whatever answers I needed," she said. Asked about the difficulties on set, the American actress said: "Just from physical standpoint, when we were shooting in Germany it was extremely hot, while in Austria and Hungary it was brutally cold and rainy then I was wearing corsets and paddy coats and driving horses in muddy hills." Another challenge was that during wintertime with few hours of daylight the shooting time was limited while the film was very demanding, intense and detailed, according to Fanning. "I think we all pushed ourselves to the limits and this is what I loved because I don't like easy things," she said. "I just do projects that make me feel growing as an actor and project did that for me, then I make my decisions reading the script and watching the materials, then you have to connect with the director or the writer," Fanning underlined. A possible next step in the career of the American actress could be direction, she disclosed, "I would like to direct and I learned a lot from Martin who is probably the most direct director I ever worked with; he made me want to direct too," she said. KABUL, Sept. 5 (Xinhua) -- Taliban militants fighting the government to regain power have claimed responsibility for twin blasts that went off near the fortified defense ministry on Monday claiming 24 lives besides injuring 91 others including security personnel and civilians. In the deadly incidents, according to the spokesman for Public Health Ministry, Ismael Kawusi, two dozen people have lost their lives and more than 90 injured who have been taken to hospitals for medical treatment. "Based on the latest information collected from concerned sources and hospitals, 24 people including civilians and security personnel were killed and 91 others injured in the twin blasts that hit near defense ministry today afternoon," Kawusi told Xinhua. However, eyewitnesses believed that the casualties might go higher than reported by officials. Meantime, Interior Ministry spokesman Sediq Sediqi in talks with media has confirmed that one police officer is also among those killed in the deadly attacks. According to Sediqi, an explosive device went off in front of the second police district, which is next to defense ministry, causing casualties, and when security personnel rushed to the site of the blast to rescue the injured people, a suicide bomber blew himself up killing and injuring people at nearby. The twin blasts occurred at 03:30 p.m. local time when the employees of defense ministry were coming out from the gate after their duties. Defense Ministry is located next to the Finance Ministry, the Presidential Palace, and the Petroleum and Mines Ministry among other government buildings. A busy road is located in front of the Defense Ministry, where hundreds of civilian vehicles and pedestrians travel to the downtown city. This is the third terrorist attack conducted by militant groups on the same road against defense ministry over the past couple of years. Zabihullah Majahid who claims to speak for the Taliban outfit, in contact with media claimed responsibility for the twin attacks, insisting huge casualties inflicted to the personnel of defense ministry. President Mohammad Ashraf Ghani in a statement released by his office blamed the "enemies of Afghanistan" for organizing the deadly bombings and condemned it with strongest term. Meantime, local observers blamed security lapse for the deadly double bombings, saying that security slips would enable Taliban and associated groups to conduct subversive activities even in the fortified capital city Kabul. SINGAPORE, Sept. 5 (Xinhua) -- Singapore's Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong will be in Vientiane, Laos from Tuesday to Thursday to attend the 28th and 29th ASEAN Summits, said the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) in a statement on Monday. As the first meeting among ASEAN Leaders following the establishment of the ASEAN Community, ASEAN leaders will discuss the "Implementation of the ASEAN Community Vision 2025 and the Way Forward," said PMO. The leaders will also launch the Master Plan on ASEAN Connectivity 2025 and the Initiative for ASEAN Integration Work Plan III, according to the statement. In addition, leaders will sign the ASEAN Declaration on One ASEAN, One Response: ASEAN Responding to Disasters as One in the Region and Outside the Region. PMO added the leaders will also exchange views on regional and international issues. ASEAN leaders will meet their counterparts during the 19th ASEAN Plus Three Summit as well as related meetings. They will hold the 19th ASEAN-China Summit to commemorate the 25th Anniversary of ASEAN-China Dialogue Relations. PMO said Lee will be accompanied by his wife Ho Ching, Minister for Foreign Affairs Vivian Balakrishnan and senior officials from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Deputy Prime Minister and Co-ordinating Minister for National Security Teo Chee Hean will be the Acting Prime Minister while PM Lee is in Vientiane. Chinese President Xi Jinping 's wife Peng Liyuan and spouses of leaders attending G20 summit write calligraphy during a visit to China Academy of Art in Hangzhou, capital of east China's Zhejiang Province, Sept. 5, 2016. (Xinhua/Xie Huanchi) HANGZHOU, Sept. 5 (Xinhua) -- Peng Liyuan, wife of Chinese President Xi Jinping, invited the wives of leaders attending the G20 summit to visit the China Academy of Art in Hangzhou City on Monday. The visitors watched exhibitions of celadon art and Chinese calligraphy and paintings. Peng invited the guests to write the Chinese character "he" together. The character carries the meanings of "peace" and "harmony", she said. They took a group photo in front of a traditional Chinese painting featuring the scenic West Lake. When enjoying a Chinese silk clothes exhibition, Peng explained that Hangzhou has a reputation of being a "capital of silk" and its silk products were transported overseas through the ancient Silk Road. Related: Peng Liyuan attends anti-AIDS activity with G20 leaders' wives HANGZHOU, Sept. 5 (Xinhua) -- Peng Liyuan, wife of Chinese President Xi Jinping, invited the wives of leaders attending the G20 summit to an anti-AIDS advocacy tour in Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, on Monday. VIENTIANE, Sept. 5 (Xinhua) -- Chinese Premier Li Keqiang's upcoming tour to Laos will significantly enhance relations between China and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and China-Laos comprehensive strategic cooperative partnership, Chinese ambassador to Laos said here on Monday. During his stay in Laos on Sept. 6-9, Li will attend the 11th East Asia Summit in Vientiane and pay an official visit to Laos. Guan Huabing, Chinese ambassador to Laos, told Xinhua in a recent interview that since this year marks the 55th anniversary of the establishment of China-Laos diplomatic ties and the 25th anniversary of the establishment of the China-ASEAN dialogue relationship, Li's visit is expected to push forward regional integration in East Asia. Prior to his official visit to Laos, the Chinese premier will arrive at Vientiane on Tuesday to attend the 19th China-ASEAN Summit to commemorate the 25th anniversary of the China-ASEAN dialogue relationship, the 19th ASEAN Plus Three (China, South Korea and Japan) Summit and the 11th East Asia Summit. Guan said that as neighbors with close culture relations, intervolving interests and common destiny, China and ASEAN in the past 25 years have developed their dialogue relationship into the most dynamic one among all dialogue relationships of ASEAN. According to Guan, Li will review achievements reached between China and ASEAN with leaders from the 10-nation bloc, summarize constructive experience and raise a series of new Chinese initiatives so as to develop new pillars for bilateral ties, and to take the 25th anniversary of the China-ASEAN dialogue relationship as an opportunity to upgrade China-ASEAN ties and push East Asian cooperation to a new high. China and Laos, linked by rivers and mountains, have enjoyed a long history of friendship and are "good neighbors, good friends, good comrades and good partners," said Guan Since the establishment of diplomatic ties between the two countries 55 years ago, the development of China-Laos relations has withstood tests and scored substantial progress featuring deepened comprehensive strategic cooperative partnership, closer high-level exchanges and fruitful achievements from pragmatic cooperation in all sectors, thus benefiting the peoples of the two countries, he said. Guan noted that the highly compatible strategies between China's initiative on the construction of the Silk Road Economic Belt and the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road (the Belt and Road initiative) and Laos' strategy of turning itself from a "landlocked" country into a "land-linked" country will expand the space for further deepening cooperation between the two sides. According to the ambassador, China has now become Laos' largest source of foreign investment, largest donor country and the second largest trading partner. The last year witnessed the laying of the cornerstone for the China-Laos railway, the launch of a communication satellite "LaoSat-1" developed for Laos by China, record high trade volume and deeper cooperation in defense, security, people to people exchanges between the two sides. The two countries have also enjoyed close cooperation on international and regional affairs and worked together to make positive contributions to maintaining peace, stability and development in the region. Guan said China believes that Laos, which took over the rotating chair of ASEAN immediately after the establishment of the ASEAN Community on Dec. 31, 2015, will play an important role in boosting regional cooperation and maintaining regional peace and stability. China will continue to fully support Laos' role as ASEAN's chair for 2016, he added. Lao President Bounnhang Vorachit visited China in May shortly after he was elected president of Laos in April and became general secretary of the Central Committee of the Lao People's Revolutionary Party in January. During the visit, Chinese President Xi Jinping and Bounnhang stressed the importance of building an unshakable community of common destiny between the two sides, drawing a blueprint for the development of ties between the two countries and the Communist Party of China and the Lao People's Revolutionary Party. Guan said that during his upcoming visit to Laos, Li will exchange views with Lao leaders on further deepening the China-Laos comprehensive strategic cooperative partnership, pushing forward the implementation of the Belt and Road initiative, and boosting cooperation in various fields. Leaders from the two sides will also witness the signing of a series of cooperation documents. The visit will inject robust driving force into the deepening of bilateral relations, he added. Drinking water from the same river and having destinies intertwined, peoples of the two countries hope that the traditional friendship between China and Laos will be injected with new vigor in the new era, and bring about more benefits for all, he said. Chinese President Xi Jinping welcomes U.S. President Barack Obama before the Group of 20 (G20) summit in Hangzhou, capital of east China's Zhejiang Province, Sept. 4, 2016. (Xinhua/Ma Zhancheng) BEIJING, Sept. 5 (Xinhua) -- The determination and joint leadership that China and the United States have demonstrated on the sidelines of the Group of 20 (G20) major economies summit in Hangzhou, east China, in fighting climate change wins widespread applause. In the eyes of some observers, hopes are raised for their continued joint efforts on other issues. United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon described their handover on Saturday of legal documents ratifying the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change as making a "historic step." He also on Sunday commented it as a major success from the Hangzhou summit on Sept. 4-5 by "encouraging the speedy entry into force of this key agreement" signed in Paris last December, while praising the "outstanding leadership" by China and the United States. French President Francois Hollande on his Facebook account hailed the joint move, while UN climate chief Patricia Espinosa said in a statement that it opens up a venue for the world's sustainable development. As the world's two largest economies, China and the United States together account for 39 percent of global emissions, while the Paris pact has a 55-percent threshold for it to take effect. "Nearly two years ago, the early announcement of emissions reductions targets by China and the United States helped catalyze broad support for the landmark Paris climate agreement," said Nathaniel Keohane, vice-president for global climate at the U.S. Environmental Defense Fund, adding that their latest move "will play a similar role." "Continued global momentum on climate action depends on strong leadership" by them, Keohane told Xinhua. A tourist visits the West Lake in Hangzhou, capital of east China's Zhejiang Province, Aug. 31, 2016. (Xinhua/Liu Jinhai) The joint announcement on climate action by Chinese President Xi Jinping and his U.S. counterpart Barack Obama "represents important progress -- but also highlights where continued leadership will be critical," Keohane added, citing their pledged support for a global market-based measure to ensure carbon-neutral growth in international aviation from 2020 on. "Civil aviation is one of the world's fastest-growing sources of carbon pollution," Keohane noted, saying China's indication that it expects to participate in 2021 is "a good start." As the UN aviation agency, the International civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), will meet late September, "concerted climate diplomacy by the U.S. and China will be vital to secure broad participation from their key aviation partners," which "will be crucial to ensuring environmental integrity and avoiding market-distorting loopholes," Keohane pointed out. From their cemented partnership against climate change, a policy watcher from Mexico also sees hope for China and the United States to work together to tackle other global challenges. The over-three-hour-long meeting on Saturday between President Xi and President Obama is highly significant since it shows their willingness to join efforts on settling global problems, Liljana Arsovska, an expert on China at the College of Mexico, believes. In her eyes, the length of their meeting on the sidelines of the G20 summit in Hangzhou also says a lot about this as well as the two leaders' respect for each other. During the latest meeting between the two leaders, they held in-depth, frank and constructive talks and reached consensus on a series of issues, ranging from bilateral relations, economic restructuring, and global economic and financial governance to regional and international problems of common concern. "All their meetings have led to results, even if they have not been substantive. The messages they send to the world show that they want to resolve problems," she noted. TEHRAN, Sept. 5 (Xinhua) -- Iran's Foreign Ministry dismissed concerns over the agreement with Financial Action Task Force (FATF) on Monday, saying it would not harm the country's interests. Iran's Foreign Ministry Spokesman, Bahram Qasemi, rejected concerns that Iran's work with the FATF might limit cooperation between Iranian banks and local and international revolutionary entities. Some media sources claimed that, under the FATF agreement, Iran must make public its financial information to the international institution. This is "wrong," and "we reject that," Qasemi said in his weekly press briefing. Furthermore, Iran's support to some revolutionary entities like the Lebanese Hezbollah is completely separate from Iran's agreement with the FATF, he said, adding that Hezbollah is a regional political party which is not regarded as a terrorist organization by Iran. Therefore, there ought to be no concerns over Iran's cooperation with the FATF as Iran's international financial transactions are "transparent," Qasemi said. Last Saturday, local media reported that two state banks, Mellat and Sepah, refused to deal with a company affiliated with Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC). Recently, Mellat bank refused to transfer foreign currency for one of IRGC's companies, Khatam al-Anbia, Iran's largest contractor of government construction projects, reported the daily Kayhan. The report added that Sepah bank also declined to issue a letter of guarantee for Khatam al-Anbia due to the international sanctions placed on the company. The governor of the Central Bank of Iran (CBI), Valiollah Seif, stressed that Iran will keep people's banking information confidential during transactions with the FATF, Press TV reported. The CBI will be the only authority to determine instances of money-laundering and terrorism-related finances, he was quoted as saying. The objectives of the FATF, an inter-governmental body established in 1989, are to set standards and promote effective implementation of legal, regulatory and operational measures for combating money laundering, financing of terrorists and other related issues threatening the integrity of the international financial system. Following Iran's international nuclear program deal last year, several major financial and economic sanctions were lifted upon Iran. However, Iran complained it cannot benefit the agreement's economic privileges. According to media outlets, the FATF, which monitors money laundering worldwide, decided in June to keep Iran on its blacklist of "high-risk countries, but welcomed Iranian promises to improve, and called for a one-year suspension of some restrictions on Tehran." DAMASCUS, Sept. 5 (Xinhua) -- The Islamic State (IS) group claimed responsibility for the six bombings that rocked key Syrian cities and killed at least 48 people earlier on Monday. In a statement carried by the group's Amaq news agency, the IS said six of its suicide bombers had carried out bombings in the cities of Tartus, Homs, Hasakah and Damascus. It said a bomber detonated himself at a military checkpoint in the Sabura area in the countryside of Damascus, and another one detonated himself at a checkpoint in the central city of Homs. In the predominantly-Kurdish city of Hasakah, the IS said, a bomber carried out a suicide attack against a checkpoint of Kurdish security forces, known as Assayish. In the coastal city of Tartus, three suicide bombers, one with an explosive-laden vehicle and two others with explosive belts, detonated themselves at a checkpoint of the entrance of the city, the statement said. Chinese President Xi Jinping meets with British Prime Minister Theresa May, who is here to attend the Group of 20 (G20) summit, in Hangzhou, capital of east China's Zhejiang Province, Sept. 5, 2016. (Xinhua/Pang Xinglei) HANGZHOU, Sept. 5 (Xinhua) -- Chinese President Xi Jinping on Monday urged China and Britain to deepen political mutual trust and communicate and cooperate in various fields to achieve more stable and better development of their ties. Xi made the remarks when meeting with British Prime Minister Theresa May on the sidelines of the G20 summit in the eastern city of Hangzhou. The year 2016 marks the start of the "Golden Era" of China-Britain relations, and 2017 marks the 45th anniversary of the two countries establishing diplomatic relations. China is willing to work with Britain to lift the "global comprehensive strategic partnership for the 21st century" between the two countries to a higher level, said Xi. The two countries should continue to promote pragmatic cooperation in economy and trade, investment, energy, infrastructure and finance, and expand cooperation in emerging areas of urbanization, high technology and clean energy, Xi said during the meeting. The two sides should also actively discuss mechanism for law enforcement cooperation and proceed with cooperation in anti-corruption, fugitive repatriation and asset recovery. They should also strengthen cooperation over international hot spot issues and within the frameworks of the United Nations, G20 and Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank, Xi said. May congratulated China on having successfully hosted the G20 Hangzhou summit. She added the two countries are in the "Golden Era" for bilateral ties. Britain is committed to actively deepening comprehensive strategic partnership and enhancing mutual understanding and trust. She said her country expects to closely cooperate with China in economy and trade, investment, finance, security and law enforcement. SINGAPORE, Sept. 5 (Xinhua) -- There has been no perceivable impact of Zika on Singapore's tourism so far, with only a handful of cancellations, said Oliver Chong, Executive Director of Communications and Marketing Capability, Singapore Tourism Board (STB) in a statement to Xinhua on Monday. Chong said Singapore remains a safe travel destination, as the country has a robust system in place to manage Zika in the community, with the mainstay being vector control. "In keeping with an open, transparent and multi-pronged approach throughout Singapore, STB will continue to closely monitor developments through Ministry of Health and National Environment Agency," added Chong. Chong revealed that STB is working closely with both Singapore and in-market tourism and travel partners to ensure that there will be necessary mitigating measures and communications plans in place to address concerns by visitors. Chong exemplified that STB's frontline operations, such as Call Center and Singapore Visitor Center, have been monitoring daily visitor feedback and queries on the Zika outbreak. As for question on whether Chinese tourists have been infected with Zika, Chong responded that Chinese nationals who were affected by Zika are working in Singapore, as far as he knows. Meanwhile, the Chinese Embassy in Singapore on Monday said it has been informed by Singapore's Ministry of Health that a total of 30 Chinese nationals in Singapore have been tested positive for Zika virus as of noon on Monday. About 16 new cases of locally transmitted Zika virus infection were confirmed in the country as of Monday, according to a joint statement released by Ministry of Health and National Environment Agency. Monday's update brings the total number of Zika infections here to 258. COLOMBO, Sept. 5 (Xinhua) -- Sri Lanka on Monday accused Malaysia of failing to protect the Sri Lankan High Commissioner of Malaysia Ibrahim Ansar, who was assaulted in Malaysia over the weekend. The Secretary Sri Lanka's Ministry of Foreign Affairs called in the High Commissioner of Malaysia in Sri Lanka to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to express the condemnation of the Sri Lankan government, on the assault carried out by a group of persons on Sunday, the Foreign Ministry said in a statement. The High Commissioner was assaulted in a restricted area of the Kuala Lumpur International Airport, while he was in the process of carrying out his official duties. The Foreign Secretary expressed disappointment that the Malaysian authorities had failed to provide necessary protection to Sri Lanka's High Commissioner despite the High Commissioner bringing to the notice of relevant Malaysian authorities, the need for such protection, in the face of mounting protests especially in the last few days. The Secretary also conveyed to the High Commissioner, that the government of Sri Lanka insists that immediate and swift action is taken to identify the perpetrators and take legal action to the fullest extent of the law, while also taking immediate measures to provide adequate security for the Sri Lanka High Commissioner, including assigning a Personal Security Officer, providing adequate security to the staff of the High Commission, the official residence and the Chancery premises as well as a Buddhist temple in Sentul, where a Sri Lankan monk was also assaulted on Saturday. The High Commissioner of Malaysia expressed the deepest regret of the Malaysian government regarding the incident and informed that the Malaysian law enforcement authorities had already arrested five suspects involved in the incident, and that legal action would be taken against the perpetrators. Enditem Chinese soldiers pose for a photo after participating in the opening ceremony of ASEAN Defense Ministers' Meeting-Plus Military Medicine-Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief Joint Exercise (AM-HEx 2016) in Chonburi, Thailand on Sept. 5, 2016. Troops from 18 countries -- 10 ASEAN member states and its eight dialogue partners on Monday began a joint exercise on humanitarian assistance and disaster relief here in Thailand. (Xinhua/Li Mangmang) CHONBURI, Thailand, Sept. 5 (Xinhua) -- Troops from 18 countries -- 10 ASEAN member states and its eight dialogue partners on Monday began a joint exercise on humanitarian assistance and disaster relief here in Thailand. During the seven-day exercise, or the ASEAN Defense Ministers' Meeting-Plus Military Medicine-Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief Joint Exercise (AM-HEx 2016), troops from different countries are set to work together to offer assistance to a certain country that just suffered a tsunami, earthquake and other natural disasters. The exercise consists of command post exercise and integration trainings, while these multinational forces are set to work together in medical support, airlift, maritime search and rescue and so on. Prawit Wongsuwan, Thai deputy prime minister and minister of defense, held opening ceremony of the exercise, which he said "is considered an important milestone of defense cooperation under the ASEAN Defense Ministers' Meeting-Plus (ADMM-Plus) mechanism." Prawit also said the exercise is aimed to foster cooperation and to share experience, information, and skills among military medics of ASEAN member states and those dialogue partners, including China, Japan, South Korea, Australia, New Zealand, India, Russia and United States. "China attached great importance to this exercise, as we have sent 120 troops to take part in land operations and 245 troops to maritime operations, "said Chen Zhaohai,deputy commander of the Chinese People's Liberation Army(PLA)'s Southern Theater Command, after the ceremony, adding that the number of Chinese troops is the largest in the exercise, except for the host country Thailand. Chen also said the joint exercise will strengthen trust between Chinese troops and troops from other participant countries as well as foster capacities for dealing with natural disasters together. Besides troops, China also sent an amphibious landing ship, the Changbaishan, and several helicopters to join in the exercise. NEW YORK, Sept. 4 (Xinhua) -- The Frenchman Lucas Pouille defeated the 14-time Grand Slam champion Rafael Nadal here on Sunday over five sets 6-1, 2-6, 6-4, 3-6, 7-6 (6) to reach the quarter-finals of US Open. "It took everything. I could not dream better than that," Pouille, the 22-year-old, said of his victory. The match lasted four hours and seven minutes and it was decided by a fifth set tie-break. In the final-set tiebreak, Pouille held a 6-3 lead, with three match points on his racket before Nadal battling back to level the breaker at 6-all. "I was very aggressive all the match and at 6-6 (in the tiebreak) I didn' t want to miss," Pouille said after the match. Nadal then dumped his forehand into the net before Pouille striking a decisive forehand winner down the line the next point to seal the victory. "Last time I played him it was 6-1, 6-2," said Pouille. "When I was younger I used to watch all his matches on (Arthur Ashe Stadium) and now it' s me so I wanted to take full pleasure and enjoy it." KIGALI, Sept. 5 (Xinhua) -- African government and business leaders have called for increased private investments in Africa in order to boost economic growth on the continent. They made the call on Monday at the opening of Global African Investment Summit (TGIAS) in Rwanda's capital Kigali. Rwanda hosts the high-level investment forum from Sept. 5 to 6, aimed at delivering international trade and investment to Africa's most dynamic region. "Africa is ripe for investments in several sectors of the economy. There are lots of untapped business prospects for both local and foreign investors. Increased private investments will explore these investment opportunities and help accelerate growth," said Uganda President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni. He added that Africa has realized the importance of private capital in expanding and growing the mining sector on the continent, given its mineral endowment. "Private investments bring the required capital and essential skills that sustain the growth of economic sectors. Without the mobilization of private capital specifically to fund the mining and infrastructure sectors on the continent, such economic development would not have been possible, at least at the rate at which it occurred," Museveni said. The summit organized by the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA) and the government of Rwanda has attracted about 1,000 delegates, including some African heads of state and government, ministers and private sector businesses leaders. The two-day meeting is held under the theme "Transforming African Economies for Global Competitiveness" and will cover sectors including infrastructure, power, agribusiness, fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG), tourism and natural resources. According to the Rwanda President Paul Kagame, Africa's huge investment potential remains largely unexplored due to lack of commitment to ensure the ultimate goal of seeing Africa thriving. "Africa cannot just remain a story about huge potential that never materializes. Postponing our priorities and delaying our commitments are the most expensive mistakes that Africa can make," he added. The investment meeting also focuses on promoting intra-regional trade, which is at a low level compared to other regions across the world. Currently, the levels of intra-Africa trade remain at under 15 percent compared to regions such as Asia where it is over 40 percent. According to analysts, despite an economic growth rate of more than 4 percent, Africa still accounts for only about 2 percent of global trade. African leaders argued that regional integration will provide big market for investors and unlock unnecessary trade and investment barriers in African countries. Admassu Tadesse, President of the Eastern and Southern African Trade and Development Bank commonly known as PTA Bank, said that mobilization of private capital and the consequent infrastructure development will give Africa prominence globally as a developed region. "Investments in infrastructure and human resource development will unlock the true potential of Africa. The continent has become the most attractive investment destination in the world and investors should bank on the opportunities available and explore Africa's potential," he said. The summit will engage the private sector on the Tripartite Free Trade AREA (TFTA) initiative, and explore how public and private sectors can collaborate to realize the aspiration of Africa's largest single market. TFTA aims to economically integrate Africa's three major regional economic communities -- the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA), the Southern African Development Community (SADC), and the East African Community (EAC). Together, the three economic blocs will create the largest trading bloc in Africa, comprising 26 countries, about 620 million consumers and a combined GDP of almost 1.2 trillion U.S. dollars. HANGZHOU, Sept. 5 (Xinhua) -- On a chilly, wet day in early winter of 2008, leaders of the world's 20 major economies gathered at the height of the global financial crisis in downtown Washington. An air of anxiety hung over the U.S. National Building Museum, the meeting venue, as the crisis had pushed the global financial system to the brink of systemic meltdown, and the developed economies at the eye of the storm were out of solutions. Emerging economies were called in for reinforcement to salvage a global economy on the ropes. It was the first time these countries sat at the table for top-level design of the global economic governance system. "We are in this together, we'll come through this together," said then U.S. President George W. Bush, who chaired the summit, calling for "a serious global response" to rein in the turmoil. Eight years later, on a balmy day in early autumn, leaders of the Group of 20 (G20) major economies descended upon eastern China's Hangzhou, an ancient city renowned for its picturesque West Lake and home to a flourishing digital economy. It is the first time for China to host such an eye-catching gathering with focus on global governance. The timing of the summit is even more appropriate as the world economy struggles at another crucial moment. The fragile global recovery is groping for new growth drivers, financial supervision is riddled with loopholes, protectionism is growing, an anti-globalization wave is rising, and the Western-centric international cooperation mechanisms don't work well. After helping pull the world economy through the crisis, the G20 mechanism has produced much more talk than action, as the world economy set off on a bumpy road of recovery. Most developed economies have been holding tight to the "master key" of monetary easing to stimulate the economy, but have accomplished little in painful but necessary structural reforms. Over the period, China has taken bold steps to transform its economy at the price of slower growth. These endeavors have been especially strong since 2012, when the Communist Party of China's 18th National Congress saw Xi Jinping take the helm of the ruling party. To address the acute challenges of uneven, uncoordinated and unsustainable development, China has implemented a vision of innovative, coordinated, green, open and shared development, making the Chinese economy a rarely bright spot in the global economy. The weak world economy and problematic global governance system are thirsty for China's wisdom and ideas to solve the conundrum. It is fitting that the G20 summit has come to Hangzhou, China. The G20 summit has come to the right country at the right time, the U.S. Council on Foreign Relations said in a recent symposium report. The Chinese economy's "new normal" of slower but higher-quality growth has much to offer to a world economy mired in the "new mediocre." The country, which has lifted more than 700 million people out of poverty in less than four decades, might provide answers for building an inclusive global economy. China, as the single largest contributor and stabilizer of the world economy, has prescribed a remedy: to build an innovative, open, interconnected and inclusive world economy. Merely relying on fiscal and monetary policies doesn't work, and innovation holds the key to a fresh round of growth and prosperity, all G20 members drew the conclusion on Monday. For the G20, which risked becoming less relevant, President Xi called upon all members to "make the G20 group an action team instead of a talk shop." The bloc, which includes developed and emerging economies, represents 90 percent of the world's economy and two-thirds of the global population. It is the premier forum for global economic cooperation. The Hangzhou summit has made a point of pushing the group to transform from a crisis response mechanism focused on short-term policies to one of long-term governance that shapes medium- to long-term policies. Seeking harmony and coexistence is in the genes of the Chinese nation and represents the essence of Eastern Civilization. China has turned to this wisdom, injecting new vitality into the sinking global governance system. Global governance should be about participation and benefits for all. Instead of seeking dominance or winner-takes-all results, it should encourage the sharing of interests and win-win prospects, Xi said. The Chinese president called for global economic governance to increase the representation and voice of emerging markets and developing countries, and to ensure that all countries have equal rights, equal opportunities, and equal rules to follow in international economic cooperation. To make economic globalization more inclusive, the Hangzhou summit has, for the first time, put the issue of development front and center in the global macro policy framework. The first action plan has been formulated for implementing the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. For the first time, cooperation is in place to support Africa and the least developed countries in their industrialization. In Hangzhou, President Xi and his U.S. counterpart Barack Obama handed over their instruments of joining the Paris Agreement on climate change separately to UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on Saturday. At the summit, all G20 members agreed to take the lead in implementing the Paris Agreement. In a city described by the Venetian traveller Marco Polo some 800 years ago as most noble and magnificent city in the world, not only has the G20 obtained an opportunity for rebirth, but the world and mankind have arrived at a new starting point. HANGZHOU, China, Sept. 5 (Xinhua) -- U.S. President Barack Obama and his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, discussed the Syria and Ukraine issues at a meeting here Monday on the sidelines of the 11th Group of 20 summit. The meeting, which lasted more than an hour, was "longer than planned, "Russian media quoted Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov as saying. The two leaders discussed Syria and Ukraine before moving on to a one-on-one talk, Peskov said, noting that the meeting went well. Putin said at a press conference after the meeting that he and Obama had "some alignment" of positions and an understanding of what they could do to de-escalate the situation in Syria. It can be said that Russia-U.S. efforts in fighting terrorist organizations, including those in Syria, would be significantly improved and intensified, he added. Both countries are interested in fighting terrorism, Putin said, adding that "the U.S. president is absolutely sincere in striving for a resolution of the Syrian conflict." Meanwhile, Obama called the meeting "constructive" but not "conclusive." "Typically the tones of our meetings are candid, blunt, business-like and this one was no different," he said at a separate press conference following the meeting. However, he said that given the gaps of trust that exist, that's a tough negotiation. "We haven't yet closed the gaps in a way where we think it would actually work," Obama said. Earlier Monday, a senior Obama administration official was quoted as saying that the two presidents failed to force a breakthrough in negotiations over a cease-fire in Syria, but have agreed to keep up negotiations. The two leaders directed their top diplomats to return to talks quickly, likely later this week, the official said. The United States and Russia have been trying to reach a deal over the Syria crisis. Obama said Sunday that the two sides still have "grave differences," but there is still possibility "to make some progress." U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, who met in this eastern Chinese city on Sunday for Syria talks, launched a fresh round of negotiations on Monday morning, but ended without agreement, U.S. media reported. Photo taken on Sept. 3, 2016 shows the scene along the Qiantang River in Hangzhou, capital of east China's Zhejiang Province. (Xinhua/Xu Yu) BEIJING, Sept. 5 (Xinhua) -- The 11th summit of the G20 major economies is expected to open a new path for growth and more efficient global economic governance, international experts have said. The summit is being held in eastern Chinese city of Hangzhou under the theme of "Toward an innovative, invigorated, interconnected and inclusive world economy." OVERCOMING GLOBAL ECONOMIC DIFFICULTIES The greatest challenge for the G20 is to overcome economic difficulties the world has encountered since the 2008 financial crisis erupted, Jose Angel Gurria, secretary-general of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, told Xinhua in an interview this week. For Neil Renwick, professor of global security at Britain's Coventry University, a big priority for the G20 summit is "to get the group's members back to medium and long-term strategic planning, rather than on-the-hoof crisis response." The G20 Hangzhou summit "is essentially about consensus-building, establishing a workable middle way that can oil the wheels of the world's crowded and complex financial and economic systems," Renwick said in a recent article. "The meeting is concerned with stressing the importance of technological innovation, especially by promoting the digital economy, entrepreneurship and improved financial and economic governance through institutional reforms," Renwick said. "As a business leader, I would expect the overarching theme at the B20 (Business 20) and G20 will be the need for increased global growth and subsequently, the actions and policies needed to deliver greater growth," Mary Andringa, co-chair of the B20's SME (small-and medium-sized enterprises) Development Taskforce, told People's Daily. Andringa, chairperson of Vermeer Corporation, said she hoped that G20 commitments would be made toward regulatory simplification, a more open and transparent business environment, ratifying the trade facilitation agreement to simplify cross-border trade. G20 commitments should also be made toward improved frameworks for public-private partnerships to enable infrastructure investment, well-thought-out guidelines for the future of electronic trade coupled with increased investment in broadband deployment, and innovative ways to close skills gaps and connect people to opportunities, Andringa said. Artists perform during an evening gala for the G20 summit at the West Lake scenic zone in Hangzhou, capital of east China's Zhejiang Province, Sept. 4, 2016. (Xinhua/Ma Zhancheng) CHINA'S ROLE Gurria has hailed China for placing the challenge to overcome global economic difficulties at the very center of this year's G20 agenda. Under the theme of the summit, there are four priorities: "breaking a new path for growth," "more effective and efficient global economic and financial governance," "robust international trade and investment," and "inclusive and interconnected development," Renwick said. Renwick highlighted an inclusive world economy, pointing out the G20 should come up with a meaningful definition of "inclusive" and actual plans and tools to make the world more so. "This is where China's year of G20 leadership has already made a positive difference," Renwick said. "It has moved sustainable development into the political center ground and set the goal of coming up with real plans for implementing massive global agreements. It has enforced a mindset of actually getting things done, for example by setting up an innovative economic indicator system for structural reforms and proposing the new anti-corruption measures." "China's goals for the G20 are a greater international focus on sustainable and inclusive development for all sections of the world's population. It has put Africa, often neglected by the West, at the top of the agenda," Michele Geraci, head of China Economic Policy Program and assistant professor in finance at University of Nottingham, said in an article. The Chinese presidency of the G20 has been very successful as the country has been very clear about the need to boost free trade and increase the flow of investment around the world, said Argentine Ambassador to China Diego Guelar. In a column written this week for Argentine daily Clarin, the ambassador said China is uniquely poised to lead the charge as it has been the highest recipient of foreign investment for the last two decades and has helped build an ever more connected and open world. "This year's agenda will fuel the German and Argentinean presidencies (2017 and 2018), which will have to consolidate the path we must walk prior to 2030, by eliminating extreme poverty and defeating international terrorism and drug trafficking (as marked in the UN's 2030 agenda)," Guelar wrote. "China has laid the groundwork for meaningful action as no G20 leader state ever has before," Renwick said. Chinese President Xi Jinping (R) meets with French President Francois Hollande, who is here to attend the Group of 20 (G20) summit, in Hangzhou, capital of east China's Zhejiang Province, Sept. 5, 2016. (Xinhua/Pang Xinglei) HANGZHOU, Sept. 5 (Xinhua) -- China always sees France as an important strategic partner no matter how international situations change, Chinese President Xi Jinping said Monday. Xi made the remarks while meeting with French President Francois Hollande after a two-day G20 summit in the eastern city of Hangzhou. Xi spoke highly of France's support for the summit, which has yielded rich results. The quality and level of bilateral relations have been elevated comprehensively in recent years, which have brought about benefits to the people of both sides, Xi said. China is willing to work with France to deepen pragmatic cooperation in various areas, enhance people-to-people exchanges and strengthen communication and coordination in international affairs, he said. He pointed out that China and the European Union have extensive common interests. China is happy to see a prosperous and stable EU, will not change its policy of supporting European integration, and will continue to deepen pragmatic cooperation with the EU, he said. China expects France to play a greater role in promoting the healthy development of China-EU ties, the Chinese president added. Hollande congratulated on the achievements at the G20 Hangzhou summit, especially the consensus on boosting world economic growth and trade, and tackling climate change. France pays high attention to its relations with China, and is willing to promote cooperation with China in agriculture, food, nuclear power, tourism, environment as well as international and regional hot spot issues, Hollande said. KIEV, Sept. 5 (Xinhua) -- The conflicting sides in eastern Ukraine on Monday reported more combat casualties among their soldiers despite a ceasefire that has been in place since Sept. 1. The government military spokesman Olexandr Motuzyanyk said one Ukrainian soldier was wounded in the hostilities in the restive region in the past 24 hours, but there were no deaths. Besides, six other servicemen and a border guard officer were injured in two separate cases of ordnance explosion, Motuzyanyk said. Meanwhile, the press service of the government military operation in eastern regions said that despite the casualties, the ceasefire regime in the area is widely observed -- the Ukrainian military has recorded 20 attacks on their positions in the last day, a drastic decline from 75 attacks reported on Aug. 31, a day before the ceasefire was established. A senior commander of independence-seeking insurgents Eduard Basurin said that the situation in the conflict area "remains relatively calm," accusing the Ukrainian army of violating the truce 49 times in the last 24 hours. Basurin said one rebel soldier was severely wounded in a "targeted attack" carried out by the government forces in Donetsk region in the past day. A fresh round of truce has begun in eastern Ukraine on Thursday, as the conflicting parties agreed to cease the hostilities, allowing children quietly go to school. The conflict that erupted in mid-April 2014 has claimed more than 9,500 lives and injured some 22,000 others. VIENNA, Sept. 5 (Xinhua) -- The Vienna International Airport was subject to multiple hacking attempts on Friday that were subsequently able to be blocked, the Kurier newspaper reported on Monday. The "many attacks in a short time from several directions" on the computer systems of the airport are now being looked into, with the airport having filed a complaint to authorities. It is as yet unknown who was behind the attacks or what the perpetrators were hoping to achieve. They did not appear to have got within range of any sensitive data, nor was the homepage of the airport disrupted. The Kurier reported airport director Guenther Ofner as having stated that such cyber attacks have been planned for via simulations. "This has really helped us with our measures," he said, noting that the hacking attempts had been immediately recognized and snuffed out, leaving" no damage." Enditem MINSK, Sept. 5 (Xinhua) -- Belarusian Foreign Minister Vladimir Makei said on Monday that its oil and gas disputes with Russia are not related to the country's normalization of relations with the EU. "I am familiar with opinions that periodically appear in the media that some problems in our relations with our main ally and partner Russia are allegedly connected to Belarus's attempts to normalize relations with the European Union. I don't think it is the official Moscow line," the minister said. Makei described the negotiations on natural gas and oil primarily as a dispute between commercial entities. He also stressed Belarus has always honored and will honor the commitments it has undertaken as part of its membership in various integration structures and associations and will never make any steps that will run contrary to these commitments. Belarus and Russia are arguing about the Russian gas price supplied to Belarus. The Belarusian side declares that it pays a fair price, and insists on lowering gas prices. As a result, according to the calculations of the Russian side, a debt exceeds 270 million U.S. dollars. In response to the underpayment for its gas Russia wants to cut oil supplies to Belarus from 5.3 million tons to 3.5 million tons in the third quarter of 2016. Belarus says the oil supply decline cost 0.2 percent of its GDP. DUBLIN, Sept. 5 (Xinhua) -- Credit rating agency Fitch said on Monday that the European Commission's Apple tax ruling has "mixed implications" for the country's sovereign credit profile. In a statement, Fitch said the ruling could result in a substantial one-off improvement to Ireland's fiscal position, but may also add to medium-term economic uncertainty and increase political risks. On Aug. 30, the European Commission said Apple should pay up to 13 billion euros (about 14.5 billion U.S. dollars) in taxes, plus interest, to the Irish government, because Apple's tax arrangements enabled it to pay less than other companies and were illegal under EU state aid rules. Both the Irish government and Apple have said they will appeal the decision, a process that could take several years. The European Commission has said the amount could fall, depending on developments in other jurisdictions. "If upheld, the European Commission's ruling would represent a substantial one-off fiscal windfall for Ireland," Fitch said. "Excluding interest, the payment to the Irish government could amount to around 5.1 percent of 2015 GDP. If used to pay down debt and/or reduce borrowing rather than spent, this would accelerate the improvement in public debt dynamics that has been driven by fiscal consolidation and robust nominal growth," it said. The credit rating agency predicted Ireland's gross general government debt will fall to 63.7 percent of GDP in 2020, down from 78.7 percent in 2015. "These do not factor in any impact from the Apple ruling but do incorporate the large upward revision to 2015 growth announced in July, mainly related to the reassessment of intangible assets of re-domiciled Irish companies and contract manufacturing," it said. It also said any such benefit would be "partly offset by increased uncertainty over Ireland's attraction to global businesses potentially damaging FDI and employment." But Fitch said this risk is "limited", because Ireland's low 12.5 percent corporate tax rate, and its high human development and governance indicators should keep the business environment attractive to multinationals, and the costs of relocating would be large. The credit rating agency said the Apple ruling could add to uncertainty created by the Brexit referendum, which it said will slow export and investment growth. It said divisions within Prime Minister Enda Kenny's minority government have become more evident despite a cabinet decision on Friday to formally lodge an appeal against the European Commission. This shows the challenge that the minority government faces in formulating and enacting policy, Fitch said, adding that it has already been outvoted in parliament on some minor economic issues since its formation in May. "A more unstable political backdrop would add to fiscal and economic risks," it concluded. DUBAI, Sept. 5 (Xinhua) -- Saudi-Russian consultations at the G20 summit held in Hangzhou, China, caused a marked increase in stock market indexes from Dubai to Saudi Arabia, according to Dubai's Gulf News. The Saudi-Russian consultations led to an increase in the price of oil, and Brent crude oil rose two percent Monday reaching 47.60 U.S. dollars a barrel, causing a 1.72 percent jump in the Saudi Arabian Tadawul market index, finishing at 6,204.08. Earlier, Russian President Vladimir Putin and Saudi Arabia's Deputy Crown Prince Mohammad Bin Salman met on the sidelines of the two-day G20 summit and consulted on how to stabilize the weak oil market, according to the daily paper. Energy Ministers from both sides, Russia's Alexander Novak and his Saudi counterpart Khalid Al-Falih, announced on Monday the setting up of a special task force to develop standard procedures in order to ensure the hydrocarbon market's "stability." Saudi Arabia and Russia are both major oil exporters and experienced substantial drops in revenue since the oil slump began in June 2014, when oil traded at 110 dollars a barrel. The oil, also known as the "black gold," hit a 13-year low to less than 27 dollars a barrel at the start of 2016. Dubai's financial market general index, known to be the most volatile indicator in Gulf Arab countries, advanced 0.31 percent, reaching 3,546.23. Also, the Abu Dhabi ADX market, home to seven percent of the world's oil reserves, advanced 0.89 percent, ending at 4,512.01. Plus, the Kuwaiti KSX 15 index also rose slightly up to 802.9 points, while the MSM30 Index in Muscat, Oman, registered at 0.36 percent, closing at 5,748.56 points. However, in Doha, the Qatar Exchange 20 Index failed to follow the region's lead, and slipped 0.10 percent down to 10,839.73. by Maria Spiliopoulou DELOS, Greece, Sept. 5 (Xinhua) -- The ancient theater of Delos island came alive this weekend for the first time after 2,100 years to host a play, based on ancient Greek tragedies, that aims to raise awareness about the ongoing drama of refugees who cross the Aegean Sea. The unique performance of "Hecuba (Ekavi), A Refugee on Delos", organized by the Cyclades Antiquities Ephorate and the Municipality of Mykonos, was staged on Sunday at the ruins of the ancient theater and performed for a small audience of some 100 spectators. "These ruins are my homeland Troy, smothered in smoke, mud and blood. And I am Ekavi," were the first lines Despina Bebedeli, one of the most renowned Greek actresses today, said during the theatrical performance portraying the dethroned Queen of Troy. Euripides' tragedies "Trojan Women" (Troades) and "Hecuba" written in the 5th century BC, follow the fates of the women of Troy after the city has been destroyed, their husbands killed, and their remaining families are about to be taken away as slaves. The play presented by a troupe from the municipal theater company of Agrinio, a city in western Greece, under the auspices of Greek President Prokopis Pavlopoulos, fused the two ancient tragedies to lend a voice to the current real-life refugee drama playing out in the Aegean Sea, organizers told Xinhua after the performance. At the start of the performance, a letter written a few months ago by a Syrian refugee addressed to the UNHCR was read out: "We escaped to save our children from death after the loss of 200,000 lives." The refugee, whose name is Hanan, now lives in Austria. "I considered that it should be included at the start of the play to link the current refugee crisis with Ekavi ... Tragedy is always modern. War is an issue throughout the centuries. Ekavi of the past has many similarities to Ekavi of the present," director Nikos Karageorgos explained. "I feel blessed that I had the luck to be the first actress after 2,100 years whose voice was heard inside the ancient theater of the holy island of Delos," Bebedeli added. "I played this role on an island surrounded by a sea which is filled up with dead bodies, refugees, violated women, and orphaned infants, toddlers who drowned. This entire contemporary image was reflected in our play," she said, pointing out the scene when Ekavi mourns the loss of her grandson. Spectators immediately saw the parallel drawn to Aylan, the young boy from Syria whose lifeless body was found a year ago washed up on a Turkish beach, lying face down. Aylan was among those who perished that day attempting to reach Greece by boat. The shocking images of a policeman carrying his body encapsulated the plight of the refugees unfolding on Europe's doorstep since early 2015. Both Bebedeli and Karageorgos, who is also the municipal theater's artistic director, expressed hope that the play would be hosted in several theaters across Greece, and abroad, to carry the message of the modern Ekavi. Dimitris Athanassoulis, head of the archaeology service overseeing the archaeological site on Delos, said the performance marked the beginning of a joint bid by the Antiquities Ephorate, the culture ministry, and Mykonos' municipality to restore and revive the ancient marble theater. "Antiquities always carry timeless messages. We hope that visitors will again embrace archaeological sites by transmitting such messages about the present, messages that concern people today," Athanassoulis said. The terror of war, and the ordeal of today's refugees, concerns all people across the world. Therefore, the Cyclades Antiquities Ephorate chose "Ekavi, A Refugee on Delos" to be the first theatrical play hosted on Delos in two millennia. "(We wanted) to stress the symbolism of this performance, and in addition, to turn the spotlights on this great ancient monument," Athanassoulis said. In ancient times, the theater of Delos, a place of worship as the birthplace of Apollo and his sister Artemis, according to the Greek mythology, hosted feasts drawing large crowds from across Greece. It seated more than 6,000 spectators. Following pirates' invasions and wars during the 1st century BC, Delos was gradually abandoned and fell into decline. Excavations during the 19th century unearthed the city, including the marble theater which broke its silence this weekend. NEW YORK, Sept. 5 (Xinhua) -- Two people were shot dead and at least 2 others wounded early Monday morning at the J'ouvert celebration in New York City's Borough of Brooklyn, a carnival celebrating Caribbean culture held before dawn on each Labor Day. A male between ages 18 to 20 years old was shot in the chest at around 3:50 a.m. local time and died later at hospital, according to local police. About 25 minutes later, a 22-year-old woman was shot in the left eye just a block away and died at a hospital. At least two others were shot and wounded but expected to survive, police said. J'ouvert, which means daybreak, is an annual pre-dawn celebration held ahead of the annual West Indian Day Parade. The event had a history marred by violence. Last year, a top aide to New York State Governor Andrew Cuomo was killed by a stray bullet during the celebration. The investigation is ongoing and no arrest have been made yet. GENEVA, Sept. 5 (Xinhua) -- A UN committee on Monday endorsed principles to guide governments, NGOs and other stakeholders in actions concerning children on the move and other children affected by migration. The UN committee on the rights of migrant workers and members of their families also expressed alarm about the situation of children, particularly the human rights violations they face at all stages of migration. According to committee chair Jose Brillantes, the recommended principles set out in simple terms that the best interests of a child should be a primary consideration in all actions concerning them, and detaining children because of their parents' migration status constitutes a child rights violation. "The principles are vital tools to help uphold international human rights standards regarding children affected by migration," the official said. The committee said it hoped the recommended principles would be part of the discussions at the high-level meeting on the large movement of migrants and refugees in New York on Sept. 19, and at the Global Forum on Migration and Development in Dhaka in December. "As the principles state, no child is illegal," Brillantes highlighted, adding that detention was never in the best interests of children and states should take efforts to end this practice. The recommended principles were developed at an expert meeting in Geneva on May 12 that included participants from the UN Human Rights Office, the UN Refugee Agency, the International Organization for Migration, UNICEF, among others. Life jackets and dinghies left by migrants are collected and piled up on Lesvos island, Greece, March 23, 2016.(Xinhua/Lefteris Partsalis) by Anthi Pazianou MYTILENE, Greece, Sept. 5 (Xinhua) -- Dimitris Boutris owns a fish tavern in Mytilene, the capital of Lesvos island in Greece. His high expectation in July for attracting more Turkish tourists to his tavern in the summer soon fell apart with the July 15 coup attempt in Turkey, less than 10 km away from the Greek island. Boutris told Xinhua that his tavern and all the stores of the downtown area were full of Turkish tourists at the beginning of July. "All the restaurant owners, including myself, thought Turkish visitors would be a good opportunity to outweigh the number of tourists we lost, due to the huge decrease in European flights during the summer,"said Boutris. Then the coup attempt on July 15 in Turkey changed the whole picture: there was a drop of 22 percent in Turkish tourists arrivals in July and a 41.46 percent drop in August comparing to the same period of 2016. "I still remember the evening of July 15," said Boutris."All Turkish clients who had filled my tavern, turned their heads to the TV screen staring at the news. Half an hour later the tavern was empty." Since 2015, more than a million migrants and refugees have arrived to Greece and then moved on to Western Europe, half of whom passing through Lesvos, which has about 85,000 residents. Yiannis Samiotis, the president of Lesvos travel agents union told Xinhua that "the refugee crisis influenced the local tourism this summer a lot, in spite of the deal between the EU(European Union) and Turkey to stem the influx." According to the official data of Lesvos airport "Odysseas Elitis", the number of European passengers arrived at Lesvos in July 2016 was 6,841, which is 62.77 percent lower than the same month in 2015. Samiotis said the coup attempt in Turkey played a major role to this decline in tourism. According to the local police, 8,836 Turkish tourists visited Lesvos in August, comparing to 15,094 arrivals in the same month of 2015. In July, there were 11,887 turkish visitors to the island while in July 2015 it was 14,403. "We expected a lot of people from Turkey," Aris Lazaris, the owner of a travel agency told Xinhua. "A Turkish tourist equals to five Europeans in terms of purchase power and this is something extremely satisfactory for the local market," he explained. Aimilia Voulvouli, assistant professor of social anthropology of Abdulah Gul University, told Xinhua that after the coup attempt "there is a feeling of uncertainty, which of course has financial implications too." NAIROBI, Sept. 5 (Xinhua) -- Kenya on Monday kicked off the 6th African Green Revolution Forum (AGRF) to chart new path to transform the continent's agricultural sector and enhance food security. A total of 1,500 agriculture experts, government leaders and high-level officials from over 40 countries are attending the five-day meeting in Nairobi, where they have promised to "seize the moment" and deliver hundreds of millions of dollars in new investments for African farmers and agricultural businesses. Agriculture, Livestock and Fisheries Cabinet Secretary Willy Bett said the sector needs new transformation to lift the continent out of abject poverty and low investment. "We have over the years witnessed attempts by various stakeholders to transform the agriculture sector but real growth is yet to be realized," Bett told journalists in Nairobi. "We need new excitement in the sector, especially enticing the youth who forms majority of the continent population and are quick in adopting and implementing new technology," he added. Bett said participants of the forum are expected to demonstrate new political will and commitments in order to upgrade the sector. Heads of State from Rwanda and Ghana are expected to highlight detailed, nationwide agriculture development strategies covering multi-year spending plans, policy reforms and accountability scorecards. The theme of this year's forum is "Seize the Moment: Securing Africa's Rise through Agricultural Transformation." Bett explained that a new approach is expected to transform the agriculture sector in order to boost the state of smallholder farmers who are majority in the sector. "We believe Kenya is the appropriate venue for this historic gathering because farming and food production are the lifeblood of the Kenyan economy and we want to set an example that others can follow," said Kenya's Agriculture Cabinet Secretary Hon. Willy Bett. "We are committed to pushing through the policy and financial reforms that can make farming and other agriculture businesses an economically and environmentally sustainable way of life," he added. Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA) President Agnes Kalibata said the forum presents an opportunity for national governments, regional and global players, the private sector and non-state actors to advance policies, actions, partnership and to secure investments. She added that it is expected to accelerate Heads of States commitments outlined in the national agricultural and food security investments plans (NAFSIP), the Malabo declaration and the AU Vision 2063. Countries are also expected to increase budgetary allocation in the sector to 10 percent as stipulated in the AU Maputo declaration on agriculture and food security. "The 2016 AGRF has been designed to showcase examples of transformation in agriculture in action, and to promote efforts to drive and achieve scale and to foster accelerated impact," said Kalibata. She said the agriculture sector has witnessed input from private sector mainly in adoption and application of modern technology that needs further support from the government. Kalibata said the sector is grappling with various challenges including grinding poverty, insecurity, a lack of technology, low budgetary allocation and poor market linkages. Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta and other African leaders are expected to attend the AGRF meeting. This year's AGRF will feature many other heroes of African agriculture who are committed to mobilizing the investments and partnerships that can "seize the moment" for making Africa's agriculture potential a reality. Strive Masiyiwa, Founder and Executive Chairman of Econet Wireless who also chairs AGRA's Board, said while much has been accomplished over the last decade, Africa needs to work far more aggressively to tap the potential of agriculture and turn it into a powerful engine of economic growth. "Just as we have seen in Africa's telecom revolution, I believe the private sector can become a force for social change by transforming African agriculture," he added. "Business-focused investments in production, processing and marketing can ensure that the soaring demand for food products among Africa's urban consumers delivers new economic opportunities for rural communities and African youth." PRAGUE, Sept. 5 (Xinhua) -- The Czech Republic sent 50 police officers to Hungary on Monday to help protect the Schengen area as previously asked by Hungary in connection with the migrant crisis. The Czech police officers will patrol together with the Hungarian police along the Hungary-Serbia border in the next two months. Hungarian ambassador to Prague Tibor Peto said the Czech Republic is the first country to have helped Hungary in reaction to its request for help. The Czech Republic sent police to help Hungary in the autumn of 2015 already. Their mission ended before Christmas. Czech Police President Tomas Tuhy said the Czech Republic has pledged to help EU countries with its foreign missions. He said they not only help their colleagues but mainly learn tackling the problem that has not hit the Czech Republic as strongly as their partners for the time being. So far, the Czech police accomplished ten Schengen protection missions. They have operated in Greece, Slovenia and Macedonia since 2015. VIENNA, Sept. 5 (Xinhua) -- The repeat run-off round for the Austrian presidential election to be held on Oct. 2 appears to again be subject to controversy surrounding voting cards, Austria Press Agency reported Monday. The initial run-off round had been held on May 22, though issues with the voting cards among other things had led the Constitutional Court to order it be re-held. New reports indicate that problems with about 1,000 voting cards have now been revealed, particularly in the electoral district of Bregenz in the nation's west. The instances appear primarily centred around defective envelopes, that have only in at most three cases actually been handed on to voters. Interior Ministry elections administrator Robert Stein said Monday afternoon a reprint of the voting cards in question could take place. He said outside of Bregenz between 10 and 20 electoral districts had also reported isolated cases numbering in the single or double-digit range. The ministry did not wish to speculate on whether yet another challenge to the outcome of the election would be possible due to the production faults, but noted that it would have to be enough to potentially alter the final outcome. Stein said this would only involve actual voting cards, for which he expected faulty ones to number in the single-digit range. Interior Minister Wolfgang Sobotka has also ruled out a rescheduling of the Oct. 2 election. Rescue workers move injured personnel from the site where a parking structure collapsed in Tel Aviv, Israel, Sept 5, 2016. Two people were killed and dozens of others injured or missing after a four-story parking structure in Tel Aviv collapsed on Monday, Israeli authorities said. (Xinhua/JINI) JERUSALEM, Sept. 5 (Xinhua) -- The collapse of a four-story car park in Israel's financial capital Tel Aviv on Monday killed at least two construction workers, including a Ukrainian nationality, and injured 23, as rescue teams struggled to locate missing people believed trapped under the ruins. The midday accident occurred at an underground parking garage that was under construction. The reason for the collapse was not immediately clear. Police launched a criminal investigation into the collapse, suspecting negligence. Videos of the accident showed a huge plume spreading in the air as the roof of building caved in. Police spokesperson Luba Samri identified one victim as a 28-year-old construction worker from Ukraine. She said the second victim has yet to be identified. Palestinian Labor Minister Mamoun Abu Shahla was quoted by Palestinian media as saying that some of the casualties may be Palestinians. Israel did not comment on his remark. Some 50,000 Palestinians have permits to work in Israel and many others are entering the country without papers. Together they compose a substantial part of Israel's construction labor force. The searches for more victims continued into the night, with hundreds of medical personnel, firefighters, police officers and soldiers at the site. A military spokesperson said in a statement that the forces are operating to "extract five additional trapped civilians." The statement added that over 300 soldiers from the "Search and Rescue" battalion and the "Canine Special Forces Unit" are taking part in the rescue efforts. Micha Levin, identified as a project manager at the site, told Channel 2 TV news that he was underground in the car park when the collapse occurred. "We felt the vibrations when suddenly everything started to collapse," he said, adding that he was very lightly wounded because he was in the higher story when the accident happened. "I don't wish anyone to experience it. It was scary. You feel like everything is going to fall, and you are going with it," he told reporters at a hospital. In the evening, Eli Bin, director of Israel's MDA rescue service, said that the teams identified voices of two people trapped inside the debris but could not manage yet to get to them. "The site is tough to operate in," he said, adding that the work is progressing slowly for fear of creating more collapses. The accident occurred in Ramat Hachayal, a neighborhood in northern Tel Aviv where many offices of Israel's booming high-tech industry are located. The car park was constructed by Africa-Israel, a construction company based in Israel that won a tender to build to the site from the Tel Aviv municipality. Israel has a high number of construction accidents, compared to other developed countries. According to figures from the Economy and Industry Ministry, 30 workers were killed in construction sites since the beginning of 2016. JOHANNESBURG, Sept. 5 (Xinhua) -- A planned visit to South Africa by U.S. Pastor Steven Anderson, who has repeatedly called for gay people to be killed, has raised ire in the African country. The Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender/Transsexual and Intersexed (LGBTI) community in South Africa has launched a campaign to stop Anderson's visit in September. Home Affairs Minister Malusi Gigaba on Monday met with representatives from the LGBTI community and the SA Human Rights Commission (SAHRC) on the matter in Pretoria. South Africa, as a democratic state, will not fold its arms in the face of intolerance, hate speech, and human-right violations of any kind, Gigaba said at the meeting. "Therefore, we will not tolerate untoward behaviour, whether directed at the LGBTI community, or at any other national group on our soil," the minister said. The department has asked for more time to decide whether or not to grant entry visa to Anderson. LAGOS, Sept. 5 (Xinhua) -- Police in Nigeria Monday said they have begun a search for 15 oil workers kidnapped last Friday in the oil-rich Rivers State. State police spokesperson Nnamdi Omoni told Xinhua in the southern city of Port Harcourt that the police had mobilized their anti-kidnap unit and other special units for the operation. Unknown gunmen seized 14 oil workers and their driver on their way to a project site along Omoku-Elele road area of the state. "So far, we have succeeded in retrieving the car conveying them to work where it was abandoned and efforts are on to rescue them unharmed," he said. Omoni said the police were determined to ensure the freeing of the workers and refused to give more details on operations carried out so far. He urged the public to offer useful information that will help they fight crime in the state. High-profile kidnappings of foreigners for ransom are rampant in the southern oil-rich states and most victims were released unharmed after payment of ransoms. Enditem by Maria Spiliopoulou ATHENS, Sept. 5 (Xinhua) -- Thousands of Greeks and foreign visitors danced from Aug. 31 to Sept. 4 to the rhythms of folk music from across the world during the Earthdancers international traditional dance and music Festival. Organized for the fifth year in Athens, the festival which aims to bring people closer through this form of art, featured more than 300 dancers from Greece, Brazil, Indonesia, Argentina, Serbia, Paraguay, Georgia, Costa Rica and Hungary who performed in various theaters. More than 2,000 dancers from 45 countries have participated in the annual event since its establishment, Panagiotis Bitakos, President of the Organization Committee, told Xinhua. The 2015 edition was cancelled due to the capital controls imposed last summer in Greece, as the country was at the brink of financial meltdown. The seven-year debt crisis has affected all aspects of life, including the staging of culture events. Although the capital controls are still in force, Greeks have adapted to the new normal and seek refuge in culture. For Bitakos, one of the founders of the Earthdancers initiative, tradition is a strong anchor keeping the ship secure amidst the tempest. Through traditional music and dance he believes that people can acknowledge the beauty of each culture and learn to respect each other, live in peace and cooperate. "The message we want to send the world is that culture connects, tradition links people. All these ensembles from all these countries manage to tear down walls and borders," he said. Through the event which started with a parade of dancers wearing colorful costumes in front of the Greek parliament, the organizers aim to present and promote the different cultural identities and build roads of communication among people. The Earthdancers festival is a private sector initiative launched by three former dancers in the Dora Stratou dance theater, a public benefit institution, which is regarded as the living museum of Greek traditional music and dance, since 1953. Dance has always played an important role in the life of Greeks. According to ancient Greek philosopher Plato, dance, of all the arts, is the one that most influences the soul. Almost every dance has a story to tell and according to scholars there are some 10,000 traditional dances that come from all regions across Greece and continue to be passed from generation to generation. Kostas Papadellis, member of an Athens-based dance troupe, who has performed across Greece and abroad, is optimistic about the future, pointing to the increasing number of young people who are learning Greek traditional dances and maintaining Greece's cultural heritage, he told Xinhua. "Tradition brings us closer and the feeling is amazing. We see that traditions, similar or different, between nations are a bridge connecting us, showing that we can find the way to do things through cooperation," he noted. "It is great. I like it very much," Diu, a non professional Argentinean dancer who visited Greece for first time to perform, said. He was laconic with words, but showed his enthusiasm clearly through the dance, like his professional fellow dancer from Indonesia who shared his joy about the event. "It is really nice. You can see another culture from another country," she said, calling on spectators to follow dancers on a trip across the globe through traditional music and dances. MEXICO CITY, Sept. 5 (Xinhua) -- The governments of Mexico and China have signed a memorandum of understanding to collaborate on aquaculture, in order to deepen technical, scientific and commercial know-how in the field, according to the Mexican Ministry of Agriculture. The agreement was signed during the visit of a Chinese delegation to Mexico. Mario Aguilar Sanchez, the national commissioner for aquaculture and fishing, said this deal would lead to the exchange of personnel and the sharing of information on freshwater aquaculture, sanitary standards, and the conservation of fishery resources, the Ministry announced on Sunday. The note said this agreement would also lead to the development of genetic improvements, the prevention and eradication of diseases, aquaculture production methods, equipment and processing and the development of rural aquaculture. The Chinese delegation, led by Zheng Zhiling, the vice president of the Chinese Academy of Fishery Sciences (CAFS), visited the northern state of Sinaloa to research private and public aquaculture initiatives. This region of Mexico is one of Latin America's leading centers for shrimp farming and the delegation learned from examples of extensive, semi-intensive and hyper-intensive fisheries, larva laboratories and the training of human resources. Aguilar Sanchez added that China's experience in fisheries has been a reference for Mexico, especially in terms of public policies and in the successful increase of seafood consumption by its population. This influence, he said, has helped Mexico reach annual growth of 14 percent in the aquaculture sector, more than double the global average of 6 percent, according to the Food and Agriculture organization. Syrian soldiers wait in front of buses parked to collect civilians who were evacuated from the rebel-held town of Muadamiyeh, in rural Damascus, capital of Syria, on Sept. 2, 2016. Nearly 300 civilians, who were originally from the town of Daraya for refuge, were evacuated from Muadamiyeh to government-controlled shelters in southern Damascus. (Xinhua file photo/Ammar) DAMASCUS, Sept. 5 (Xinhua) -- Several bombings rocked key Syrian cities almost simultaneously Monday, killing at least 48 people, as Russia and the United States fail short of concluding negotiations on a cease-fire in Syria. The first bombing happened in the central city of Homs at 7.14 a.m. local time (0414 GMT), when a booby-trapped car was detonated after being discovered by government soldiers at a checkpoint at the Bab Tadmur area. Four people were killed and many others wounded in the explosion. Had it not been stopped, the vehicle could have caused much heavier casualties if the powerful explosives detonate inside the city, the national Syrian TV said. The Homs blast also left property damage in an area almost deserted form civilians in that part of the city. It said the explosion came as authorities and rebels in al-Waer were working to establish reconciliation that might lead to an end to insurgency in the neighborhood, the last rebel-held district inside the city of Homs. In the coastal city of Tartus, at least 35 people were killed and dozens of others wounded on Monday, in twin bombings that rocked a checkpoint at the city's entrance, said the report. An explosive-laden vehicle was detonated at the checkpoint of the entrance of Tartus, when it was discovered by military personnel, said the report. Another explosion followed when a suicide bomber detonated his explosive belt among a crowd who gathered to help the wounded in the first blast in Tartus, said the report. The suicide car bomber had apparently planned to detonate inside the city but did so at the entrance after he was discovered by the authorities, the report said. Both bombers, wearing military uniforms, were disguised as members of government troops, the military said. It wasn't the first time Tartus, once one of the safest cities in Syria, was targeted by explosions. On May 23, eight bombings were carried out by the Islamic State (IS) militants in the cities of Tartus and Jableh, another coastal city, killing 184 people and wounding at least 200 others. Also on Monday, an explosive-packed motorcycle ripped through a checkpoint for the Kurdish Assayish security forces in the predominantly-Kurdish city of Hasakah in northeastern Syria, killing eight people. In the capital Damascus, an explosion rocked a road between the summer resort town of Sabura, and Bajaj, killing one man. The IS group claimed responsibility for the attacks, saying its suicide bombers detonated themselves at military checkpoints in the aforementioned cities. Meanwhile, the Syrian Foreign Ministry condemned the bombings, saying the terrorist attacks are a continuation of the systematic terrorism practiced by the terrorist groups in Syria. It urged the UN Security Council to undertake "deterrent" measures against the countries that support the terrorist groups, naming Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Qatar and France as patrons of the terror groups. Internationally, the leaders of the United States and Russia fell short to resolve snags facing an agreement that could bring a ceasefire in the war-torn country. "Given the gaps of trust that exist, that's a tough negotiation, and we haven't yet closed the gaps in a way where we think it would actually work," U.S. President Barack Obama told a news conference in Hangzhou, China at the sidelines of the Group of 20 summit , following his meeting with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin. Obama said he had instructed Secretary of State John Kerry to continue the negotiations with the Russian side in the hope of reaching a durable ceasefire in Syria. Both powers had previously agreed on ceasefires in Syria, but such truces were quick to fall apart. Observers here believe that a robust agreement between both powers could be conducive in bring the violence in Syria to a pause, and hopefully to a long-run pacification. BAGHDAD, Sept. 5 (Xinhua) -- At least three people were killed and 11 others wounded on Monday in a car bomb attack at a crowded neighborhood in the Iraqi capital of Baghdad, a police source told Xinhua. The attack occurred late on Monday night when a booby-trapped car detonated near a hospital at a busy thoroughfare in Karrada neighborhood in southern central Baghdad, the source said on condition of anonymity. The blast destroyed several nearby shops and many stalls, along with destroying several civilian cars, the source said. Iraqi security forces sealed off the area and blocked the roads leading to the scene, while ambulances and police vehicles evacuated the killed and wounded people to the city hospitals, the source added. In early July, Karrada was the scene of massive bombing that killed and wounded hundreds of people and huge fires in several nearby commercial buildings. Iraq has witnessed worsening violence since the Islamic State (IS) group took control of parts of its northern and western regions in June 2014. Terrorist acts, violence and armed conflicts killed 691 Iraqis and wounded 1,016 others in August across Iraq, the United Nations Assistance Mission for Iraq said on Thursday. Many blame the current chronic instability, cycle of violence, and the emergence of extremist groups, such as the IS, on the United State, who invaded and occupied Iraq in March 2003. PYONGYANG, Sept. 6 (Xinhua) -- Top leader of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) Kim Jong Un has guided the test-firing of ballistic rockets by the strategic force, the official news agency KCNA reported Tuesday. Taking part in the test-firing drill were Hwasong artillery units of the strategic force of the Korean People's Army, who are tasked with hitting the U.S. military bases in the Pacific, the state media said. The drill was aimed to reexamine the flight security and guided accuracy of the improved ballistic rockets deployed for action and to assess and inspect capabilities of the units for action, it noted. The state media described the test-firing as "perfect" and said the drill has proved that the strategic force of the military is "capable of mounting a preemptive attack on the enemies any time and from any place." Kim, who was satisfied with the test result, instructed to make more achievements in bolstering nuclear force and to bring the military deterrent on a higher lever through development of nuclear arsenal. The state media did not give the date and place of the test-firing drill. South Korean defense ministry has said that the DPRK on Monday fired three ballistic missiles into its eastern waters at about 12:14 p.m. Seoul time near Hwangju county in North Hwanghae province. The missile launches came less than two weeks after Pyongyang test-fired a ballistic missile from a submarine off its east coastal town of Sinpo, where a submarine base is known to be located, on Aug. 24. The submarine-launched ballistic missile flew some 500 km eastward, falling inside Japan's air defense identification zone for the first time. The submarine-launched ballistic missile test was conducted in an apparent show of force toward the annual U.S.-South Korea military drills, codenamed Ulchi Freedom Guardian (UFG), which had run from Aug. 22 to Sept. 2. BRASILIA, Sept. 5 (Xinhua) -- Brazil's federal police launched on Monday a new operation, named Greenfield, against fraudulent practices in four of the country's biggest public pension funds, Funcef and Previ for public banking employees, Petros for Petrobras employees, and Postalis for postal employees. In a massive nationwide operation, 560 police agents carried out 127 searches in the states of Sao Paulo, Rio de Janeiro, Bahia, Espiritu Santo, Rio Grande do Sul, Parana, Santa Catarina and Amazonas, as well as the Federal District. A federal court ordered the seizure and blocking of assets in the bank accounts of 103 companies and individuals, reaching a total of 8 billion reais (2.5 billion U.S. dollars). According to a police statement, the investigations began from 10 separate cases, which all received millions in missing capital from the pension funds. A number of arrests were made, including Wesley and Joesley Batista, the controlling partners of J&F and directors of JBS, the largest meat exporting company in the world. This operation could reflect badly on the Brazilian Democratic Movement Party (PMDB) of new President Michel Temer, and the Workers' Party of impeached Dilma Rousseff, who have been responsible for the naming of most pension fund executives in recent years. All the pension funds involved are non profit and were created to maximize benefits from pension contributions made by state workers. Women offer prayers at Shiva Temple during the Teej festival at Hanumandhoka Durbar Square in Kathmandu, capital of Nepal, on Sept. 4, 2016. During the festival, married women fast and pray for good health and longevity of their husbands while unmarried women pray for marrying healthy and handsome husbands. (Xinhua/Sunil Sharma) PLEASE NOTE! Due to the March 23, 2020 NM DOH Public Health Order, These Event Listings Are Not Accurate! All non-essential businesses are closed, public gatherings are prohibited! (One day some of these events will be rescheduled or will resume, but they are not happening now!) Man, son held with guns CID Port-of-Spain Task Force conducted an exercise from 12 noon to midnight on Friday when they executed several search warrants in the PoS area. In Richplain, Diego Martin, police recovered a 16 gauge shot gun and a 9mm pistol. A 47-yearold father and his 19-year-old son were arrested along with a 27-year-old man and another 19-year-old man. They are expected to be charged today and brought to court tomorrow. Also during the exercise, a search warrant was executed on Nelson Street. Police seized one kilogramme of marijuana and a 34-year-old man was arrested. And a little child will lead them TRINIDAD-BORN writer Lynn Joseph delivers a flawless lyrical composition that captures the September 11 terrorist attack in New York. Joseph channels the wretched loss of two families with a cascade of agonising intonations from Elizabeth and Brandt, the novels young protagonists. Elizabeth, who resides with her mother in Dominica Republic, loses her father in the tragedy. As Providence dictates, she befriends Brandt whose mother, an employee in one of the destroyed buildings, seeks respite from the haunting trauma by returning with her family to that very Caribbean island. Dancing in the Rain makes a definitive statement Americas tragedy was universal, impacting families of every hue and culture. It delves into the existential core of humanity and showcases our commonality, our connectedness. There is a sentience that binds us - never to be separated. We are united in pain and joy. It is an ineffable phenomenon that comes to life when Elizabeth and a friend somehow sense the anguish of that fateful day long before its occurrence. It is testament to the metaphysical reaches of our being. Elizabeths words prove disturbingly prophetic: That night, after we get a call from Papi saying he arrived safely in New York, I started having my dreams. I dream Im trapped in a box and I cant breathe. I wake up coughing and smelling smoke. After three nights of the same nightmare, I tell Clara about it. Clara, equally sensitive, instinctively begins drawing pictures of small, dark boxes on loose leaf paper There is thread of foreboding that weaves throughout this narrative. It begins with the numb tranquillity of Elizabeths aunt, Dona Maria, whose grieving for her diseased husband smothers her ocean front home with a rueful ambience. Elizabeth, though, survives in this lugubrious dwelling as she anticipates the arrival of her father - her hero from New York. It is a yearly ritual that stirs the precocious girl. A year may seem like nothing to some people.But a year of missing Papi seems like forever to me. And it probably seems even longer to Mami, she muses. And when he arrives at the airport, Elizabeths reaction is almost transcendental. And then he is there in front of us, my sweet-smelling Papi, my handsome, spin-me-around Papi, and I cant breathe as the world goes faster and faster and my yellow dress spreads out liker butterfly wings in the breeze. On the eve of his return to the US she is lonesome, torn, and hopeful that he will stay. She recalls, I start to cryat Papis unseeing eyes, at the mist and the dark clouds. Everything feels on the verge of breakingNo one says a word. Then quicklyits all hugs, kisses and last wordsI run up to the passenger side and press my hand into Papis and whisper, Come back, soon Papi. But he never returns. Before he perished, we learn that he called to say goodbye [and that] he was coughing so much he could hardly talk that he couldnt breathe. Like identical twins, the mothers of the two leading characters are in tandem withdrawn and grieving, oblivious of the heightened distress they have caused. Months after Papi has vanished in Nueva York, Mami still cries every night, Elizabeth records. And figuratively magical are her words: Some nights, Mamis tears spill out the window, down the hill and into Sosua Bay. The water level in the bay is rising drastically. Her tears are wet but they leave scorched embers behinds, so hot I cant walk without feeling the feeling the burn of her grief under my feet. Her mother lashes out, blaming her daughter for willing her fathers death. Her pained is rammed into our breasts, and surely, we are moved. Meanwhile, Brandt must grapple with his mothers sadness and anxiety, hoping that the familys relocation would have offered some relief. But emptiness swallows both families. Anguish seems infinite. Elizabeth cries - again - this time listening to her grandfathers harrowing escape from Nazi Germany. She learns of mans inhumanity at an early age. But neither she nor Brandt folds under the emotional weight. They respond. There is goodness, love and forgiveness in innocence. The children aim to redeem the world by first redeeming the hurt of their parents, if only for a day. This time Providence smiles. Dancing in the Rain chronicles the potential of humankind to commit the most egregious excesses. Still, it emphasises the infinite capacity for kindness and forgiveness. It offers hope, ever lending credence to the biblical prophecy: In that day the wolf and the lamb will live together; the leopard will lie down with the baby goat. The calf and the yearling will be safe with the lion, and a little child will lead them all. Feedback: glenvilleashby@gmail. com or follow him on Twitter@ glenvilleashby Dancing in the Rain by Lynn Joseph 2016 Blouse and Skirt Books, Jamaica ISBN: 978-976-95436-9-0 Available at Amazon Ratings: Highly recommended Rowley defends Marlene in crime talks Miss McDonald, at this point in time, remains a functioning member of Parliament, even though she was removed from the Cabinet. Shes a lawyer and shes a functioning member of Parliament, representing Port-of- Spain South. That is a fact. So if I am dealing with the functioning in Parliament, Miss McDonald is qualified to take part in that. That is what happened and what will happen as we go to the Parliament, Rowley declared. He was speaking on I95.5 FMs talk show programme, Showdown, late yesterday morning. Rowley had called into the show after hearing former Portof- Spain (PoS) Mayor, Louis Lee Sing, tell the hosts why he thought it was inappropriate for Rowley to have included McDonald on the Governments team for last Fridays crime talks with the Opposition. Louis Lee Sing seems to think that he is the court, he is the judge, he is the Integrity Commission (IC) and he has deemed McDonald guilty until proven innocent. I have to observe the processes and the law, and to act sane and sober. This is craziness. Rowley also made it clear that McDonalds firing was done to facilitate an investigation about actions which were ascribed to her from a previous government and new information which was alleged to have come up under this government. I removed her from the position so that the authority that is required to check on the conduct of Parliamentarians would have a free hand to investigate without her being there. That has been done and all I can say, it is not for Mr Lee Sing, not for anybody else, to assume and usurp the authority of the Integrity Commission (IC), Rowley stated. Regarding the ICs seeming inability to act expeditiously to deal with allegations made against persons in public life, the PM said this should be a matter of national concern. In the spirit of the Integrity in Public Life Act, when allegations are made against public officials, especially Parliamentarians, that the IC must act expeditiously to deal with those investigations. Determine whether theres a case to answer or whether the personss name should be cleared and the person should continue to function without a cloud. These investigations are dragging out too long,Rowley argued. And its not just this one (against Marlene McDonald), its every one. I think the country should be concerned that allegations are made left, right and centre against people and they have no end, especially the ones at the IC. We cant have a situation where we can accept that an allegation is made and thats the end of the story. McDonald was fired as Housing Minister on March 18 after it was revealed that her common- law husband, Michael Carew, and a director of the Calabar Foundation were employed at her Port-of- Spain South constituency office for five years, while Carews brother Lennox Carew still worked at the MPs office. McDonalds common-law husband, who worked at the office from June 1, 2010 to September 7, 2015, had earned the second highest salary of $13,400 on the Constituency payroll for the full parliamentary term while Lennox began working in the office on March 1, 2011 and has been in receipt of the highest salary of $14,000 out of 13 people working in the office. At the same time, McDonald was facing heat over an investigation by the IC into a $375,000 cheque made out to the Calabar Foundation on May 12, 2010. The foundation, said to be run by Michael Carew, received a cheque dated May 12, 2010 from the the Ministry of Community Development. The foundation allegedly received money from the ministry before its name had been registered. Man killed in Arouca Superintendent Neville Sankar of the police Northern Division told Newsday that officers who were on patrol responded to a call at about 2 am that someone was shot in the area. When they arrived on the scene, they found Charles body slumped outside the house and also observed that he was shot multiple times. Charles was dressed in a light blue Tommy Hilfiger shirt, short khaki pants and white Nike sneakers. Sankar stated that up to yesterday afternoon the police had no motive for the killing of Charles who lived at Pine Ridge Heights, Arouca. Reports are that Charles was with a group of friends at the bar when he got into a confrontation with someone. Charles was shot dead shortly after leaving the bar. When Newsday visited the scene yesterday, an occupant of a house at Royal Promenade Road said he was awakened by the gunshots and only after he got out of his bed to see what had happened he learnt of the identity of the victim. He said he knew Charles to be a cool fella and a good technician, who fixed and installed air-conditioning units. However, before disappearing back into the house, he said he didnt know anything more about what happened nor about Charles except that he use to hang out in the area. Similarly, the occupants at the bar claimed no knowledge of the crime. Newsday also spoke to someone of the SWAT office who said she heard the shots but knew of nothing else since their cameras face the opposite direction. Sankar said Charles had no police record and that they were in the process of tracing for more information on him. Cpl Bennett of the Homicide Division is continuing the investigation. Cocoa farmers given assurance of good sales According to the CDCTTL, this announcement was met with excitement by all gathered; and they sought to highlight the further assistance that is required of CDCTTL to get them re-energised in the sector. These included a reliable supply of labour, the drying process/ method used; adequate drying facilities; price; storage and praedial larceny concerns, among others. One farmer, Leroy Chrysostom, urged the CDCTTL to address the labour shortage first. The labour issue is a real issue. There is work to be done! This labour pool is required since yesterday. Get the labour moving and you will get the cocoa going, Chrysostom declared. Rudder meanwhile lamented that while TT has a world renowned reputation for producing fine or flavour cocoa, quantities have decreased over the years. He said this calls for the CDCTTLs intervention to turn around production numbers. Farmer, Carol Noel said, I am here to listen and learn. What is in it for us? We are land owners and want to invest. Jensen Alexander, a cocoa farmer and director of the Cocoa Development Company, called on farmers like himself to encourage their children and the younger generation to get involved in cocoa farming. He said the transformation has to begin with us! We have to change the mindset of our young persons. Rudder advised the farmers to form co-operatives to improve their negotiating position and increase the sales of their cocoa beans, a call that was echoed by the President of the Rio Claro Cocoa and Coffee Marketing Cooperative. Jacqueline Rawlins, a director of the company, said this Board has been set up to remove all the screws which inhibits the production of cocoa locally. Over time, we will do all that is necessary for the development of the sector to ensure that the revitalisation and modernisation of this industry takes place. Among the highlights of the session was a presentation to Harryman Chattergoon of the Tabaquite Fermentary, who was listed among the top 50 quality cocoa producers in the world at the annual Excellence Cocoa Awards in Paris, France. Brazilian Delegates Discuss the Essence and Challenges of Brazilian Cinema at The BRICS Film Festival New Delhi, Mon, 05 Sep 2016 NI Wire The delegates from Brazil while addressing the press gathering at BRICS Film Festival said that India is a culturally rich and diverse country and Brazil is similar to India in various ways. The Cast and crew of the Brazilian films described the idea behind the movies, along with their experience while shooting the films. They also talked about the importance of Brazil's participation in the BRICS Film Festival. Speaking on the occasion about the movie They'll Come Back, Maria Luiza Tavares, Actress, said that, the movie was shot in the year 2011, when she was 13 year old. Since 2015, she has been travelling across the world in various film festivals for the screening of the film and she has learnt a lot since then. They'll Come Back film is about the story of Cris and Peu, her elder brother, who are left on the side of a road by their own parents, to punish them for fighting constantly during a trip to the beach. After a few hours, realizing that their parents will not return, Peu part in search of a gas station. Cris remains in place for a whole day and, without news of her parents or brother, decides to go by herself the way back home. Isabel Martinez, Producer of Road 47 said that, Road 47 is a very important movie for the world as it portrays a never discussed chapter of military history of the World War 2. The world is not familiar with the participation of the troupes of 25,000 Brazilian Soldiers in the allied forces in Italy. Road 47 is not an action movie, but describes the participation of Brazil in the war and has been shot mostly in Italy. Road 47 movie follows the trajectory of the landmine clearance unit from the Brazilian Expeditionary Force who, after a panic attack, is trying to get tempers and defuse the mined road that separates them from a village monitored by the axis forces. Cristiane De Stefano Feo, Assistant Director Between valleys, while sharing her experience, said that, Shooting the movie in one of the world's biggest dumpsters was very challenging, while not disrupting the on-going work of dumping. Another task was learning the lifestyle of the people living in the dumpsters who had lost their identity in the struggle to live. Between Valleys film is about an economist Vicente, who is the father of Caio and married to Marina, a dedicated dentist. He leads an ordinary life both at home and work. However, a loss followed by another ultimately leads him to a life completely miserable. He changes his name and starts living in a garbage dump. It was quite a challenge to find a North Eastern Brazilian girl who was actually 18, but looked 14, as the movie required so. They travelled for several days, looking for a perfect locations and an isolated village was chosen to shoot the film, described Ana Stella De Almeida Quesado, Producer- History of Eternity. History of Eternity film takes place in a small village in the hinterland; three stories of love and desire and how they are changing the emotional landscape of its residents. Characters of a Romanesque world, in which their conceptions of life are limited on one side by human instincts, are blinded by the fatalist fate. Source: PIB All Party delegation meets about 200 members from different sections of society in Srinagar Jammu and Kashmir, Mon, 05 Sep 2016 NI Wire Delegation reaffirms that J&K is an issue of 'national interest' and needs a common solution All Party delegation to visit Jammu today An All Party delegation led by the Union Home Minister Shri Rajnath Singh reached Srinagar yesterday. Before leaving for Srinagar, Shri Rajnath Singh said that we intend to talk to individuals and groups who want peace and normalcy in the Kashmir valley. The delegation is on a two-day (September 4-5, 2016) visit to Jammu and Kashmir. During the first day of its visit, the delegation met about 200 members in about 30 delegations from various sections of society and listened to their point of view to reach at a common solution to the current scenario in Jammu and Kashmir. The Home Minister chaired the meeting of All Party delegation which was attendend by Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Ms Mehbooba Mufti. During the meeting, a detailed presentation was given by the State Government highlighting various issues related to the current scenario in Jammu and Kashmir. It was emphsasised that a clear roadmap needs to be drawn with a focus on the way forward. It was also stressed upon that the recommendations of Working Groups and Parliamentary delegations need to be considered. While interacting with the delegation, Ms Mehbooba Mufti said that Kashmir is a common issue of national interest and should not be viewed as a political issue. All the parties agreed to this fact and emphasised that steps need to be taken to restore normalcy and peace in Kashmir at the earliest. CM of J&K also thanked all the parties for visitng the state to listen to the problems of people of Jammu and Kashmir. She also thanked the members for holding discussions on the issue of J&K in Parliament. Ms Mehbooba Mufti emphasised that media needs to be sensitive while reporting on such issues like the current happenings in Kashmir. The All party delegation also met the representatives of various political parties. Various political parties expressed their concern over the injuries to civilians due to the use of pellet guns. The Union Home Minister said that Government is already working on the alternatives to pellet guns such as PAVA shells. The J&K National Conference led by Shri Omar Abdullah, Indian National Congress J&K led by President Shri Ghulam Ahmad Mir, Peoples Democratic Party led by Shri Sartaj Madni, Peoples Conference led by Shri Sajad Gani Lone, Communist Party of India (M) led by Shri M. Y. Tarigami, Awami Itihaad Party led by Er. Abdul Rashid, Peoples Democratic Front led by Shri HM Yaseen, Democratic Party Nationalist led by Shri Ghulam Hassan Mir and BJP led by state President Shri Sat Sharma met the All Party delegation. These parties interacted with the All Party delegation and expressed their views and ground level experiences during the meeting. In addition to the political parties, delegations of academicians, teachers and student assciations, representatives of school management, prominent NGOs, representatives of Leh, Kargil, Pahari associations, Gurudwara Prabandhak Committee, Fruit & Saffron Growers associtions, Civil Society etc. also met the All Party meeting visiting Srinagar. The Jammu and Kashmir Students Welfare Association informed the All Party delegation that they are willing to work with Government of India, hand in hand and shoulder to shoulder to bring normalcy in the state. The delegation will meet the Governor of Jammu and Kashmir Shri N. N. Vohra later in the evening today. The All Party delegation will visit Jammu tomorrow after meeting different civil society delegations in Srinagar in the morning. Source: PIB Trial run of cargo vehicles between India and Bangladesh New Delhi, Mon, 05 Sep 2016 NI Wire Trial run of cargo vehicles between India and Bangladesh : Paving the way for seamless movement of traffic under BBIN MVA History was written at the Inland Customs Depot in Patparganj in East Delhi today when for the first time a cargo truck from Bangladesh drove in with a Delhi bound consignment, having come seamlessly through customs free borders. The truck of Nazrul Transport Agency and Expo Freight Pvt. Ltd. from Bangladesh was despatched from Dhaka on 27th of August 2016 as part of a trial run under the Bangladesh Bhutan India Nepal (BBIN) Motor Vehicle Agreement (MVA). Bangladesh, Bhutan, India and Nepal (BBIN) signed an agreement on 15th June, 2015 in Thimphu, Bhutan to facilitate cross border movement of both passenger and cargo vehicles in the sub-region. Protocols to implement the Agreement are being negotiated by the four countries for passenger and cargo vehicles separately. The trial run was organized to help develop the protocols for implementing the Agreement. The cargo vehicle started its journey from Dhaka and reached at Petrapole on 28th August, 2016, and Kolkata on 29th August, 2016. In India it travelled through the states of West Bengal, Jharkhand, Bihar, UP, Haryana and Delhi travelling more than 1850 kms to reach the Custom Depot at Patparganj in New Delhi today. Shri Vivek Johari, Chief Commissioner Customs, Delhi welcomed the truck at ICD Patparganj and customs formalities were completed. The truck was issued an E-permit for the trial run through an online web based system. This will help establish a customer friendly process acceptable to and recognized by all BBIN countries. The consignment did not have to undergo any customs clearance at the border. Instead, when it reached the first Indian customs station at border point Petrapole, an electronic seal with GPS tracking device was fixed on the truck so that the goods could be inspected for custom clearance at Delhi rather than at the border . An electronic online vehicle tracking system was also installed in the truck that facilitated real time monitoring of its progress. The truck was thus allowed to pass through without delay or causing congestion. The Integrated Multi-modal Transit System Ltd (DIMTS) provided support for testing the GPS based online/live vehicle tracking by all stakeholders and agencies concerned in India and Bangladesh. The trial run has demonstrated that time and cost can be saved through facilitation of seamless transport through the sub-region. Cargo trucks earlier often had to be off loaded at the border and also go through customs clearance. This led to delay and often also caused damage to the goods. The steps being taken to facilitate seamless movement of cargo vehicles will give a major boost to trade and business in the sub-region . A similar trial run of cargo vehicle from India was conducted in November, 2015 from Kolkata to Agartala via Dhaka. This trial run was a successful endeavour which established that with such facilitation, the distance of more than 1550 kms from Kolkata to Agartala via Indias Chickens Neck will be reduced to 650 kms if truck travels through Bangladesh resulting in reduction in overall transaction costs. The Agreement has also envisaged seamless movement of passenger vehicles. Like in case of cargo vehicles, protocols have to be worked out for the movement of passenger vehicles too. Hence a trial run of passenger vehicles was also flagged off from Kolkata in India on 30th August 2016 to Khulna in Bangladesh. The operator for trial run of passenger bus was the South Bengal State Transport Corporation (SBSTC), Government of West Bengal. Source: PIB After digging trenches on its western and eastern borders, Algeria is planning to build an electric fence on its western borders with Libya, several Libyan and Algerian newspapers reported. The 120-km fence aims at beefing up security measures on the porous borders with Libya to avert the infiltration of terrorists into Algeria amid reports of an imminent border-crossing by fighters from war-torn Libya, several Algerian papers including Chorouk and Al Mihwar said. Up to now, there has been no official confirmation of these reports from Algerian or Libyan government officials. A report by the UN issued in July, warned that IS terrorists in Libya are facing defeat which will propel them to seek other sanctuaries in the Maghreb. In the report, the UN Secretary General Ban Ki Moon voices fears over a relocation of IS Jihadists from their stronghold in the Libyan coastal city of Sirte where forces loyal to the Government of National Accord (GNA) have tightened their grip. Algeria is already building a fortified wall on its western borders with Morocco where it also built trenches in response to the Kingdoms move to build a security fence to prevent the infiltration of terrorists from the Algerian territory. Algeria with its large desert swathes and porous borders is battling its own home-grown terrorist organizations that operate in the extreme south and the eastern mountains. A court in Nouakchott has upheld the prison sentences handed to two sons of former Mauritanian president Mohamed Khouna Ould Haidalla involved in a drug trafficking case, reports say. Ely Cheikh and Sidi Mohamed Ould Haidalla saw the prison sentences they were handed in June confirmed, their lawyer Moctar Ould Ely told the media on Friday. Ely Cheikhs sentence has been reportedly increased to a six- year suspended sentence. However, in appeal, we must favor reduction of the sentences and not their aggravation. But in this parody of justice, it happens the way it is, the lawyer said. Ely Cheikh and Sidi Mohamed Ould Haidalla were sentenced on June 1st after they were convicted for participating in the trafficking of 1.3 ton of Indian hemp, seized by authorities earlier in January. Sidi Mohamed was sentenced to 15 years in prison by Nouakchott first instance criminal court on June 1st. His brother Ely Cheikh was handed four years. They appealed the June ruling. Two other individuals, namely Ely Hamdi Ould Abou Bekrine and Elmaaloum Ould Ahmed Bilal, were respectively handed 11 and 10 years in prison. Nine other defendants have been acquitted for lack of evidence, reports say. Sidi Mohamed Ould Haidalla was arrested in Morocco and condemned in 2008 to seven years for drug trafficking. He was deported to Mauritania in 2014. Mohamed Khouna Ould Haidalla ruled the country from 1980 to 1984. Morocco, host country of the 22nd UN conference on climate change (COP22), will fit its mosques with energy saving light bulbs, solar thermal water heaters and photovoltaic systems. The move dubbed Green Mosques is part of the North African strategy to encourage renewable energies. Six hundred green mosques are to be created in the country by March 2019 in a national consciousness-raising initiative that aims to speed the countrys journey to clean energy. Moroccos ministry of Islamic affairs supports this innovative project, by covering up to 70 % of the initial investment costs in a partnership with the German government. The new green mosques project will use established technologies that can be adapted to public buildings and residential homes. By training electricians, technicians and auditors, the project will also enable Morocco to follow suit of the Germans in their successful transition towards clean energy. Under the projects business model, contractors will eventually be paid by the energy savings generated from the clean power systems they install. The project will also help Moroccan mosques to cut by 40 pc their electricity consumption and power bills. The first 100 mosques to get benefit from this green drive are mostly based in big cities such as Rabat, Fez, Marrakech and Casablanca before expanding to smaller villages and towns. The ultimate goal of the initiative is to boost renovations industry for sustainable companies that could employ many Moroccans in the clean energy sector. Morocco has pledged to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 32 by 2030. In its Intended Nationally Determined Contribution (INDC) to address climate change to UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC,) the country has unveiled an ambitious plan to increase the share of renewable electricity capacity to 42 pc in 2020 and to 52 pc by 2030. The commitment made by the Moroccan government to reduce GHG emissions rests to a large extent on the countrys ambitious national energy strategy which seeks to reach over 50 pc of installed electricity production capacity from renewable sources by 2025 and cut energy consumption by 15 pc by 2030. Free Syrian Army soldiers celebrate after expelling ISIS from the northern Syrian border area near the town of Jarablus. Photo: Anadolu Agency/Getty Images As of Sunday, ISIS no longer controls any territory along the Syrian-Turkish border, after advances by Turkish forces and their Syrian rebel allies, according to Turkish authorities and the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights. The Associated Press reports that this means ISISs self-labeled caliphate in Syria and Iraq is now sealed off from the outside world, with opposing forces surrounding it on all sides, and its outside supply lines for foreign fighters, weapons, and ammunition cut. ISIS had held territory in the border region for more than two years, and its not the only ground the Islamic militant group has now lost, having recently been expelled from Fallujah, Iraq, and Manbij, Syria, as well. CNN reports that the Turkish military says it has hit well over 300 ISIS targets since sending its troops south of the border on August 24 to repel ISIS forces as well as U.S.-backed Kurdish rebels in northern Syria. That gif makes me cringe :X She also held a little Twitter Q&A about Glory and answered a lot of non-Glory stuff. Reply Thread Link any good bits?? Reply Parent Thread Link Decent enough. If they pick a good 2nd single the album will have better legs than the abomination that shall not be mentioned by name. Reply Thread Link Someone please post that video of Queen Lexie bopping to I love rock n roll. Nearly died laughing Reply Thread Link Its so cute! Reply Parent Thread Link good enough numbers. i like Reply Thread Link Poor Demi. Reply Thread Link 88k in pure sales yikes! And you know the sales will drop on the 2nd week. Edited at 2016-09-05 12:25 am (UTC) Reply Thread Link And you know the sales will drop on the 2nd week. Yes, you are correct. This rule apply to 100% albums! Well done! Reply Parent Thread Link lmaoooooo Reply Parent Thread Link A great value version, yes. Reply Parent Thread Link Copping mechanism lol Reply Parent Thread Link is 111k low when it girls like Selena Gomez aren't doing that much better sis? Unless its Adele, Beyonce, or Drake nobody is selling much these days. Reply Parent Thread Link The buzz is not there and the fact that she hasn't had a hit is not helping at all. Then again, other artists have hits and still sell badly. Reply Parent Thread Link What's sad is their failed attempt because they're comparing Britney to younger pop stars from a different era whose fans aren't known to sell albums. Literally none of those chicks are her peers. Britney should be pulling Beyonce level of sales, especially as a white woman. Reply Parent Thread Expand Link 116k - Britney Spears, Glory Doesn't the tweet say 111k? Reply Thread Link idc i love this album, so good. Reply Thread Link How much did Ariana, Adele, Rihanna, Beyonce etc sell? Edited at 2016-09-05 12:32 am (UTC) Reply Thread Link Ariana: 175k Adele: 3.4kk Rihanna: 166k Beyonce: 653k Reply Parent Thread Link Thank you Reply Parent Thread Link Nobody can touch our savior Adele, bless. Biggest star of the generation. Reply Parent Thread Link damn bey did more than I remembered! Reply Parent Thread Link Adele always makes everybody look like flops. Reply Parent Thread Link at least it's selling better than br*tney j*an either way i love it and it's the best stuff she's released in a long time Reply Thread Link Uh, yeah these are not good numbers at all considering she's Britney Spears and she promoted her ass off. It's a solid album tho Reply Thread Link She didn't promote her ass off. People still don't even know she has an album. Also people don't but albums anymore. They listen them with Spotify and Apple Music. 111K is way higher I thought would be Reply Parent Thread Link Lol please. The excuses Reply Parent Thread Expand Link She was on Carpool Karaoke the day before the release, vmas the day after, magazines, papers and radio stations... I mean, thats a lot of promo nowadays. I think the leak ultimately hurt ha sales Reply Parent Thread Link People still don't even know she has an album bc they don't care Reply Parent Thread Expand Link 88k doesn't seem that bad, especially in this day and age Reply Thread Link ....Goddamit. I guess I'm watching AoS again. Reply Thread Link The important question is if that ONTDer will be back on AoS posts now that Ward is dead?!! Edited at 2016-09-05 06:36 am (UTC) Reply Thread Link but is he gone forealsies or are they gonna find a way to bring him back again? Reply Parent Thread Link I mean, if Wolverine can regenerate from a single cell... Reply Parent Thread Link Forming a ring of rock salt and burning sage around this and every future post. Reply Parent Thread Expand Link Ghost Rider deserved a Netflix show, not being treated like shit for the 3rd time like FF. Reply Thread Link i keep hearing on podcasts that they're hoping that the introducing here will eventually lead to a netflix show later. i know it's a bit of wishful thinking, but... Reply Parent Thread Link My only experience with Ghost Rider is trailers for the Nic Cage movie. So I have no idea what to expect with this. Reply Thread Link robbie is a pure teenage angel who deserves better than being played by a 30 yr old Reply Parent Thread Link Lol, your icon just makes me wonder what late 20s actor they'll get to play Ash if they ever get to that live action Pokemon movie. Reply Parent Thread Link At first I thought of Ghost Writer (PBS) and was like Reply Thread Link rally J! Reply Parent Thread Link o I thought that was john turturro Reply Thread Link kill off this shitshow already Reply Thread Link OT but: What happened to the Sebastian Stan post from yesterday? Reply Thread Link apparently it's gone Reply Parent Thread Link was it a post by derevko? because it now says their account is suspended :( Reply Parent Thread Link WHAT NO Reply Parent Thread Link Learn more about LiveJournal Ratings in Hello! Your entry got to top-25 of the most popular entries in LiveJournal!Learn more about LiveJournal Ratings in FAQ Reply Thread Link what is that half assed party city suit lmao. the demon inside him makes the suit and that's the best he could do? damn eli shape up Reply Thread Link from this distance i thought it was lin manuel miranda circa ITH Reply Thread Link also it's late i'm tired my laptop is on it's lowest brightness 4giv me Reply Parent Thread Link Nah Reply Thread Link He's not attractive enough to play 18 year old Robbie Reyes, plus he's older, but yay at Latino representation and at the fact that Marvel is relaunching his series. Reply Thread Link i'm only on board w/ this because felipe deserved that relaunch. the marvel writer we deserve Reply Parent Thread Link Got excited thinking it was a Netflix series because I have a soft spot for Ghost Rider and he deserves better than what he's been given But now I'll just wait for the gifs on tumblr Plus like, they deal with aliens...Thor deals with magic... This shouldn't be that weird a thing to see. Reply Thread Link Plus like, they deal with aliens...Thor deals with magic... This shouldn't be that weird a thing to see. This right here. I'm so ready for the truly fantastic elements of the Marvel universe to be played straightforward. Magic, demons, gods, etc. Reply Parent Thread Link Lol, I still can't deal with them acting like the straight up magic in Thor is just super duper "advanced science". EMBRACE THE FANTASY! Reply Parent Thread Link wha what can a lawyer do when your suga mama is over the relationship? Reply Thread Link call the sheriff and throw his ass out Reply Parent Thread Link Lol she announced the breakup on her website! She could do better. Reply Parent Thread Link ahah this is a weird rumor, they're not together anymore but she didn't announce anything on her website. Reply Parent Thread Link I'm also p sure he's gay. Reply Parent Thread Expand Link i randomly caught his ugly mug in a music video BTS and apparently he uses 'beau smart' for work stuff? what kind of nomen est not omen Reply Parent Thread Expand Link I do love That 70s Show, even if it has it's problems, it's one of those shows I find really rewatchable. Reply Parent Thread Link me too! tbh I think no other show captured authentic teenage stupidity as well as this one. Reply Parent Thread Link I used to watch this show, what do you mean by having problems? As in how the show ended? Reply Parent Thread Expand Link This GIF, omg!!! Damn, he really thinks she has to take care of him, even though it's really only been good for him that he's associated with her. Men and entitled nonsense continue. Reply Thread Link they said on E News that this was false and he has his own house Reply Thread Link Did she buy it for him? Reply Parent Thread Link hmm... idk but it was in the valley so... he could have bought it with his own money (that he made working for her) Reply Parent Thread Link yeah when they were still together she said that he had his own place and doesn't live with her. Reply Parent Thread Expand Link Oh, I was hoping for the pap pics of him outside of J-Lo house with all his stuff on the ground, looking like Heidi Montag crying on the chair. Reply Parent Thread Expand Link not a very smart decision Reply Thread Link she's so cute Reply Parent Thread Link :O now you say it Reply Parent Thread Link Or Scarlet Witch, sorry Liz. Reply Parent Thread Expand Link Love her! Reply Parent Thread Expand Link I want her to have the best career Reply Parent Thread Link Didn't they once fake a break-up for attention? Reply Thread Link I wonder if she really is a nightmare behind the scenes like people say she is.... Because she should be pulling in some grade A dick idgi. Reply Thread Link She likes bottom shelf store brand dick. Reply Parent Thread Link I've heard she is. Reply Parent Thread Link E! said it was false. What's the truth? Also she owes him nothing, they weren't married. Reply Thread Link I mean... Intouch is not the most reliable on most things..... A result when I looked up intouch covers Reply Parent Thread Link How long were they together for? Doesn't he get some of her money in the split? Reply Thread Link idts? but i wish that were true because my ex owes me money >:| Reply Parent Thread Link how long do you have to be together for common law marriage to kick in? Reply Parent Thread Expand Link I don't know, that's why I'm asking. In my country you can get recognised as a formal couple and get health benefits/insurance/etc and split the earnings. I personally find it stupid since it's basically the same as getting married but without using the words Reply Parent Thread Link lmao that gif, I saw that episode the other day Reply Thread Link Same. And he's been told to repeatedly. It'll never end at this rate. Reply Parent Thread Link Get an eviction notice and after 30 days you can have the sheriff take his ass out. Reply Parent Thread Link Argentinas renewable energy supply auction, which began accepting bids on August 22nd and will conclude on September 5th, 2016, represents a meaningful market entry opportunity for investors hoping to expand their presence or break ground in Latin American power markets. Dubbed RenovAr, the auction has been classified as Round 1 of the program, and offers 1,000 megawatts (MW) of renewable energy capacity, with 600 MW assigned to wind, 300 MW to solar, and 100 MW between biomass, biogas and small hydro. Helping drive the auction are renewable energy targets established in Law 27.191 of October 2015, which calls for eight percent of electric generation to derive from renewables by 2018, and 20 percent of generation to derive from renewables by 2026. As just two percent of electric generation currently comes from renewables, to comply with targets, Argentina must integrate approximately 2,500 MW of renewable energy capacity into its grid by 2018, and at least 7,800 MW total of renewable energy capacity by 2026. Some forecasts based on the same targets predict up to 12,000 MW of renewable energy capacity by 2026, depending on demand and economic growth. Aside from renewable energy targets, to meet demand in general, Argentinas Renewable Energy Chamber estimates that the country will need to install an additional 7,000 MW of capacity by 2021. Accordingly, if Round 1 of RenovAr is successful in fostering competition and securing renewable energy capacity, similar supply auctions are likely to follow. First movers in the tenders will benefit from nuanced knowledge of the market and bidding process, local relationships, and potentially higher $/megawatt hour (MWh) prices that the first auctions are likely to produce. Investors are seemingly interested in participating, with Argentine media reporting more than one-hundred companies taking part in the RenovArs initial public consultation. Yet similar auctions recently held in Chile, Mexico and Peru, were highly competitive, producing lower than expected $/MWh bids, and decreasing opportunity for return on investment. (Click to enlarge) 1,2 Represents the average per MWh price for all technologies in the auction: wind represented ~40 percent of winning bids, solar represented ~11 percent of winning bids. Related: The Biggest Wildcard For Oil Prices Right Now Argentina, however, has never held a successful capacity supply auction and is undergoing profound (and often unpopular) economic and political reform. In its present state, Argentina is therefore a riskier market for power generation investment than many of its Latin American counterparts. The nations unique set of risk factors may help apply upward pressure on bid prices, as investors seek to eliminate uncompensated risk and capture greater return on investment while remaining competitive in the bidding process. Political Risk and Financing Before Mauricio Macri took office as Argentinas president in December 2015, the nation experienced twelve years of socialist rule under Cristina Kirchner, and her late husband, Nestor Kirchner. The Kirchners implemented initiatives including the nationalization of private companies, repatriation limits for foreign companies, and currency controls for businesses and citizens. Notably, the Kirchners rule oversaw a vast energy subsidy program, for both electricity and gas tariffs, which resulted in Argentines paying just a fraction of the true cost of energy, and helped increase residential electricity demand by seventy-five percent from 2005 to 2015. In the same period, energy subsidies increased from 1.5 percent to 12.3 percent of government spending, and also deprived the countrys distribution grid of investment, causing rolling blackouts in Argentinas hot summer months. Even though he has only been in office for less than a year, Macri has taken significant steps to improve the Argentine economy and reintegrate the nation into the international financial system. For example, he has already cut energy subsidies and held a $16.5 billion bond sale. However, foreign commercial banks that finance renewable generation projects may want to confirm the staying power of the Macri Administration and his pro-business policies prior to market entry. At least in the first auction, project developers may have to rely predominantly on development banks for financing. To a lesser extent, Argentinas new renewable energy development fund, FODER, will provide limited financing for auction winners. Even more consequential for investors, is the prospect that Macris proposed electricity subsidy cuts do not pass regulatory muster. On August 18, Argentinas Supreme Court ruled that the gas subsidy cuts for residential users are illegal, as the Macri Administration did not precede the initiative with public hearings, as required by the constitution. As public hearings were not held for electricity subsidy reductions either, similar obstacles could arise for power tariffs. This risk, which may be amplified by the opposition partys control of Congress, is likely to be taken into account by project lenders, and considered by investors and project developers when calculating bid prices. Off-taker Risk CAMMESA, the wholesale market administrator and off-taker that purchases power on behalf of distribution companies and large clients, has been historically underfunded. Guarantees from a new development fund (FODER), and the World Bank (up to $500,000 per MW) have been established to help mitigate nonpayment risk and facilitate financing. FODER will underwrite power purchase agreements, guaranteeing payments and maintaining a minimum balance of one year of outlays due by CAMMESA. FODER will be funded by National Treasury, and would be supported by the Ministry of Finance in the event that the minimum balance is not upheld. The World Bank guarantee, which includes a maintenance fee that must be paid by the project developer, is optional, and would also cover nonpayment on behalf of CAMMESA. Related: Private Equity Senses Market Bottom, Pouring Money Into Texas Shale While the guarantees make financing more feasible, it is unclear how lenders will respond. With 20 year power purchase agreements (PPAs), long-term confidence in FODER and Argentine government policy in general will be necessary. While the World Bank guarantee may provide a buffer, $500,000 is unlikely to cover the whole cost of each MW of installed capacity. Winds Advantage Out of the eligible technologies, wind is most established, and may be the safest option for investors. With proven transmission capability from Argentinas windy Patagonia region in the south to population (demand) centers in the north, wind generation in Patagonias Rawson and Puerto Madryn demonstrate that projects of up to 200 MW can be incorporated into the grid within 12 18 months. In many areas, wind capacity factors, or the percentage of total capacity that is utilized, is greater than 35 percent. High capacity factors translate into more MWh produced and sold, ensuring that intermittent energy sources do not sit idle due to weather conditions, and helping investors safeguard market upside. According to Argentinas Renewable Energy Chamber, 2,000 to 3,000 MW of new wind capacity can be integrated into the grid. The northwest of the country, especially along the border with Chile (as seen in the map below), enjoys significant solar potential and could be ideal for utility scale solar, yet transmission to population centers remains uncertain. Accordingly, in Round 1 of RenovAr, it is likely that bids for wind capacity will yield more competitive prices than solar capacity bids. A Brighter Future For investors with the desire to do business in Argentina in the long-term, and the risk appetite to enter a nascent renewables market, the auction provides a unique opportunity. According to Erico Spinadel, President of the Argentine Wind Energy Association, prices can reach up to $70 or $80 per MWh in the auction. Investors interested in Latin American power generation opportunities without establishing a race to the bottom bidding phenomenon may find the right conditions for investment in Round 1 of the RenovAr program. By Michael Hochberg for Oilprice.com More Top Reads From Oilprice.com: China is bothering energy analysts and investors. Its bothering them because it has been on a buying spree for crude in the last two years but nobody knows for sure how much of it the worlds second-largest consumer of oil has stashed away in strategic and commercial tanks. At least, that was true up until this morning, when China graciously reported their oil strategic inventory reserves as of the first of the year31.97 million tons, or between 33 and 36 days worth of China imports. The figure, which is higher than analysts had expected, may not mean a whole lot, because we still dont know anything about how much they have amassed since then, and it doesnt include any information about what may be stashed away in commercial storage facilities. Knowing how much oil China has put away could be vital for predicting the future moves of the oil market, from analysts perspective. Unfortunately, Beijing doesnt feel that it has to share this vital information with the world. What the world-outside-China knows is that this year, crude oil imports there have reached historic highs, as the country takes advantage of the price rout and teapot refineries gain in prominence and clients abroad. The world also knows that local production is falling, as E&Ps have to deal with maturing fields and low profitability. This falling local production is increasing Chinas dependence on external sources of crude, which hardly sits well with Beijing and could provide an easy explanation for the inventory boost: buy it cheap while it lasts, have a nice big cushion when prices start climbing back up. Yet, its certainly uncomfortable for observers and analysts to not know even approximately how much crude oil there is in China. Thats why some of them have found a way around the fragments of information that the countrys bureau of statistics releases sporadically. Related: Saudi Arabia And Russia Agree To Cooperate On Oil Prices Bloomberg writes that analysts at JPMorgan use a simple calculation method to figure out those notorious inventories. They simply subtract what the country consumes from what it produces and imports. The difference over the first half of the year came in at 1.2 million bpd, with total inventories reaching about 400 million barrels by end-June. This falls short of a stated target of 511 million barrels, but the target may have been reached by the end of August and JPMorgan analysts are suggesting Chinese imports this month could fall. After todays new figures, the number crunchers might have to do some refiguring, and already unsettled markets more unsettled. Energy Aspects, on the other hand, believes there will be no serious changes in Chinas oil-buying habits in the near term as another 150 million barrels worth of storage space is due to be built by the end of 2017. This includes both strategic and commercial storage space, as China can move crude from strategic to commercial tanks and backrendering todays figures even less useful. China wants to have enough oil in storage to secure 100 days worth of imports, but accumulating this amount takes time and new storage facilities. Initially, plans were to have these 100 days secured by 2020, but earlier this year the deadline was pushed forward as the construction of storage space will apparently take more time than initially estimated. Any reliable piece of information regarding the consumption and inventories of the worlds biggest oil consumers could help analysts and investors navigate an extremely volatile market. At the same time, however, this information arguably makes the market even more volatile: every week the release of crude inventory estimates by the American Petroleum Institute and then official data from the Energy Information Administration causes sudden jumps and falls in crude oil prices, even if the two reports contradict each other, which is not infrequent. So, how would the market benefit from complete information about Chinas oil in storage? Today, were about to find out. By Irina Slav for Oilprice.com More Top Reads From Oilprice.com: In August, when OPEC floated the idea of meeting once again to discuss the possibility of a production freeze, oil prices skyrocketed, ending the bear market that had just formed. WTI and Brent subsequently jumped more than 20 percent in a few weeks, kicking of a bull market. Still, oil analysts dismissed the meeting as more bluster. After having seen OPEC try and fail to reach an agreement for more than a year, and the dynamics between OPEC members not having appreciably changed from the last time they tried to negotiate, the prospects of a deal seemed slim to nil. And right on cue, after oil prices jumped on the news that OPEC and Russia would meet on the sidelines of an energy conference in Algeria at the end of September, several representatives from OPEC nations seemed to back off from the notion of a freeze. Iraqs oil minister said that Iraq still had much more room to grow production and wouldnt be interested in a deal. Iran stuck to its line that it needed to reach pre-sanctions levels. Saudi Arabia said that market intervention was not necessary. Russias energy minister also said that a freeze deal was not needed. However, all parties involved seem to have changed their minds a bit, or at least their tone, since oil prices began falling again in late August. Crude fell back before hitting $50 per barrel, trading back down to the mid-$40s. Oil traders were calling OPECs bluff, having been burned too many times by rumors that they would seek coordinated action to prop up prices only to see nothing come from the talk. But the array of comments from OPEC and Russian officials over the past week could signal that a real effort might be underway to reach a deal on freezing production. The Iraqi Prime Minister said his country would support a deal; Iran will attend the meeting; and Saudi Arabias foreign minister said that his country should sign onto a deal. And on Friday, the potential for an OPEC deal received an endorsement from a surprising source Russian President Vladimir Putin threw his weight behind a production freeze. Related: Venezuelas Oil Output Set To Collapse As 1 Million Take To The Streets From the viewpoint of economic sense and logic, then it would be correct to find some sort of compromise, Putin said in an interview, Bloomberg reported. I am confident that everyone understands that. We believe that this is the right decision for world energy. Putins voice may come as a surprise, but he insists that Russia supported a freeze deal back in April. Our Saudi partners at the last moment changed their view, he said. We didnt reject the idea of freezing output. Our position hasnt changed. And crucially, Putin suggested that Iran should be granted a bit of flexibility with the freeze, allowing it to boost output further as it continues to recover from years of international sanctions. Iran is starting from a very low position, connected with the well-known sanctions in relation to this country, Putin said. It would be unfair to leave it on this sanctioned level. Putin reportedly also said that he would meet with Saudi Arabias powerful Deputy Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in China at the G20 summit in a few days and recommend that they agree to those terms. He is a very reliable partner with whom you can reach agreements, and can be certain that those agreements will be honored, Putin said of the prince. Related: Is Elon Musk Taking Advantage Of Solar City Investors? Of course, as has been pointed out ad nauseam, the freeze deal would do little in addressing the glut of global oil production. Just about all the participants in the potential freeze are producing at their limits, with several of them having ratcheted up production this year. Capping output at record levels does very little to restrain output. Nobody is actually considering a cut. Yet, oil prices will move anyway. Just as OPEC managed to spark an oil price rally in February when they floated the idea of freeze negotiations to be held Doha, OPEC could be interested in talking up another price rally. After all, discussion of the Algeria meeting sparked a 20 percent rally in crude prices last month. OPEC might see the upside of agreeing to a deal, even if (or especially if), it has no teeth. The psychological impact on the oil markets could lead to further price increases while not actually requiring any sacrifice. All participants seem to be coming around to that idea, which suggests that the chances of a successful agreement are not as much of a longshot as many oil analysts thought just a few weeks ago. By Nick Cunningham of Oilprice.com More Top Reads From Oilprice.com: As the EU has pushed to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and lower the portion of energy that comes from nuclear sources, the greatest benefactors have been natural gas producers. The single biggest EEA benefactor has been Norway. According to the Norwegian Petroleum Directorate, hydrocarbon production on the Norwegian shelf is expected to remain relatively stable for the next 10 years. In the long-term, new discoveries will be crucial to the sustained production of Norwegian Oil and Gas. However, according to the Wall Street Journal, declining oil and gas revenues could prompt the country to tap into its sovereign wealth fund, as oil and gas fields contributed 29 percent less to governments oil revenue for the first half of 2016. This discrepancy suggests Norway needs to look deeper to keep producing oil and gas at its current levels. Falling UK gas production has necessitated the UK to start importing natural gas. Gassco AS completed three pipelines last year from Norway to the UK: the Knarr, Utsira, and Valemon pipelines were the first pipelines completed in Norway in five years all were destined to the UK. Gassco is a crown corporation and operator of the Norwegian gas transport system. The UK has since accounted for over 15 percent of Norways natural gas and condensate, the countrys second largest export country, with the Netherlands coming in at first place and almost one fifth. Struggling to keep investment as efficiency increases However, according to a report by Wood Mackenzie, the country expects a decline in Oil and Gas investment by over $50 billion between 2016 and 2020. How this plays out in production numbers in the future is yet to be seen. If the latest developments in Statoils largest oilfield are any indicator, there are reasons to believe that falling investment will not mean falling production: the $12 billion Johan Sverdrup oil field is expecting development costs to fall by 20 percent while increasing expected production rates by 25 percent. Related: Slashing Dividends: The Only Option Left For Big Oil? Although there have been increases in gas development efficiency, such as wells being drilled 50 percent faster compared to 2013 speeds, more work is needed to keep investment and production levels, steady. Statoil is seeking to squeeze more gas out of existing fields such as the Gulfaks field using technologies such as we gas compression, extending the fields life by up to two years. Statoil leading the Northern push Statoil is set to drill Norways Northern-most well next year, and a total of seven wells in the Barents Sea. These wells will test different geologies, and will be a determining factor for Norways Oil and Gas production in the distant future. The Barents Sea has many advantages for investment over other areas in the Arctic: it is relatively shallow, with depths similar to the North Sea, and is ice free all year round, thanks to the Gulf Stream. Oslo estimates that half of the 18 billion barrels of oil equivalent that are yet to be discovered in Norwegian waters will be found in the Barents Sea. With these new wells coming online, Europe will be watching to see how the Sea fares. In the long term, the IEA estimates that Norway will continue to decrease its gas production at a rate of 1.3 percent annually this could mean a 40-50 percent decline by 2025 should the northern push prove to be a whimper. Gassco noted that an Arctic gas pipeline could be built from the Barents Sea to supply European customers, depending on developments next year. There is no doubt however, that with falling Western European gas production, a new source of gas will need to be found, whether it is Russian, U.S., Norwegian, Algerian, or Azeri gas. By Matt Slowikowski for Oilprice.com More Top Reads From Oilprice.com: One of the most interesting stories in mining and energy of late has been the re-emergence of Argentina. With a new pro-business government here moving quickly to open the country to investment, after a long absence on the world stage. And this past week, President Mauricio Macri took the biggest step yet in re-booting the mining sector. Thats a move to unify mining policy across the entire country. Which Argentinas Secretary of Mining Daniel Meilan told Reuters Thursday is now underway. Meilan said that one of the biggest features of the unified federal mining policy would be permission for open pit operations. Which right now are prohibited by local laws in seven of Argentinas 23 states. Thats been a big sticking point for mine developers over the past several years in gold, silver, copper and uranium. But the federal government wants to change that patchwork of regulations, with Secretary Meilan saying they are working on legislation to invite the provinces back into the system. He noted that the government is taking the first steps by creating a draft national mining bill using input from Argentinas Federal Mining Counsel. Which will be then be used to initiate discussions with state governors, aimed at getting a nationwide consensus on mining policy. If successful, this would be a quantum leap for mining in Argentina. With the country hosting great geologic potential, which has gone under-investigated during the most recent exploration boom due to concerns over the viability of deposits found here. A new mining policy allowing open pits would be a major trigger for increased activity. Especially combined with other recent moves from the Macri government, such as a lifting of laws prohibiting repatriation of corporate profits out of Argentina. Watch for news on the progress of the draft bill, and the ensuing discussions with local government. It isnt going to be an easy path, but federal officials do appear determined. Heres to uniting the country. By Dave Forest More Top Reads From Oilprice.com: Jesus Salas, former executive director and board member at UMOS, remembers the struggles of migrant workers and other immigrants who arrived in southeastern Wisconsin more than 50 years ago in need of social services. "There was a great need for bilingual education, job training and other basic services to help newcomers adjust and survive," Salas said. In the process of filling those needs, Salas and other visionaries helped create the first nonprofits to serve the growing Latino community in Milwaukee and other parts of Wisconsin. From those efforts, organizations including UMOS, which began by offering adult education and daycare programming for migrant workers, were born. The 50-year history of UMOS, which now provides employment, health, housing and a host of additional services to the community, is being honored with a mural and oral history project. The project is spearheaded by artist Raoul Deal, a senior lecturer at UW-Milwaukees Department of Art and Design at the Peck School of the Arts. Helping to design and paint the mural are UWM student researchers and artists, volunteers and youth members of ArtWorks for Milwaukee, which is partnering with the university on the project. ArtWorks for Milwaukee provides paid arts-based internships to local high school students. As part of their research, Deal and the students conducted interviews with long-time UMOS CEO Lupe Martinez and Salas. Salas shared memories from his participation in a nine-day march from Milwaukee to Madison in 1971 to demand better housing conditions for migrant workers and elimination of trespass laws, which kept UMOS outreach workers from meeting with migrant families. He also talked about his involvement with other Latino activists in occupying UWMs Chapman Hall on Aug. 27, 1970, to protest discriminatory admission policies. "Latino students were being shut out from the university. It was unbelievable that the door was being closed to us," recalled Salas. Milwaukee native Isa Cortes, a community arts student at UWM, said shed heard of UMOS before, but didnt know about the connection between the organization and the struggle for equal rights. She and other students learned about those connections through interviews and by reviewing archival footage and documents related to the history of Milwaukees Latino community. "I didnt realize that a lot of the things they were fighting for, people are still fighting for now," Cortes said. For Eduardo Rangel, a student at Ronald Reagan High School and an intern at ArtWorks for Milwaukee, the fact that there were migrant workers in Wisconsin was a surprise. "Being from the city, I didnt even know that there were and still are migrant workers in Wisconsin [nor] about their long struggle for housing and fair pay," Rangel said. The end result of the project will be a 9-by-90-foot mural featuring cornfields, migrant workers, Father James Groppi, breweries, foundries and other images. Together, they symbolize the "swirling winds of activism and movement," Deal said. "This mural not only connects the agricultural movement to that of immigrant workers demanding jobs at foundries and breweries, but it also demonstrates how history applies to current events and ongoing struggles for equality," he added. Deal and the students have spent the summer painting the mural in the UWM Student Union Art Gallery and at the INOVA Art Gallery at UWMs South Campus. Upon completion, It will be transported and displayed on a building at South 1st and West Mitchell Street in the Walkers Point neighborhood. Financial support for the mural is being provided by the Greater Milwaukee Foundation, the Wisconsin Humanities Council with funds from the National Endowment for the Humanities, Milwaukee School of Engineering, ManpowerGroup and the federal Community Development Block Grant program. The artwork is expected to be completed this fall, said Deal. For Rangel, the mural is his way of leaving a mark on the city. "The mural and the meaning behind it are something I will always be able to look at and be proud of," Rangel said. Salas said he shared his stories so that todays students could learn about the history of Latinos in Milwaukee. "We didnt just come here with sweat on our hands; we came to build a community," Salas said. With Americans finally waking up to the systemic corruption that has spread through our national institutions like a cancer, the establishment has gone retro. In a return to the paranoia of the Cold-War era the media and the government are conjuring Senator McCarthy in an effort to stifle political dissent. With the election a scant two months away and the general public increasingly distrustful of Hillary Clinton, all real issues have been shelved and replaced by demagoguery and fear mongering. As the entrenched bloodsuckers in Washington face the very real possibility that an outsider will kick down the doors of the smoke-filled back rooms, a familiar foreign bogeyman has returned to save the day. As reported by the Washington Post, "Intelligence community investigating covert Russian influence operations in the United States": U.S. intelligence and law enforcement agencies are probing what they see as a broad covert Russian operation in the United States to sow public distrust in the upcoming presidential election and in U.S. political institutions, intelligence and congressional officials said. The aim is to understand the scope and intent of the Russian campaign, which incorporates cyber-tools to hack systems used in the political process, enhancing Russia's ability to spread disinformation. The effort to better understand Russia's covert influence operations is being spearheaded by James R. Clapper Jr., the director of national intelligence. "This is something of concern for the DNI," said Charles Allen, a former longtime CIA officer who has been briefed on some of these issues. "It is being addressed." A Russian influence operation in the United States "is something we're looking very closely at," said one senior intelligence official who, as others interviewed, spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss a sensitive matter. Officials are also examining potential disruptions to the election process, and the FBI has alerted state and local officials to potential cyberthreats. As has become common practice with the putrid press in this once-great country, the WAPO cites the obligatory anonymous sources to make their case. The hysterical red-baiting coming from the D.C. establishment, the Democrats, and Hillary Clinton is a blatant and ham-handed effort to sow the seeds of suspicion among Americans in order to maintain their stranglehold on power. It's also a mockery that the piece claims that the efforts to root out the "Russian" fifth column are being "spearheaded" by DNI James Clapper, the same man who lied his ass off to Congress over the NSA's domestic-surveillance programs that were exposed by Edward Snowden. If it wasn't so dangerous the paranoia could be dismissed as parody. What better way to chill dissent and put down a rebellion against the jack-leg thieves who have hijacked the country than to play the traitor card. Nothing has really changed since George W. Bush and the GOP patriotism police declared that you're either with us or you are with the terrorists only now that the Democrats have become the establishment it's far more politically correct to demonize the "Russians" instead. Could loyalty oaths and a revamped House Un-American Activities Committee be far behind? "Two simple words in the English language" should be a sufficient defense against charges of tax evasion or armed robbery," says Steve Martin in a routine captured on his 1979 stand-up album Comedy is Not Pretty! The two words? "I forgot." Some jokes are funny because they reveal uncomfortable truths. Other jokes, like the "I-forgot" routine, tickle our funny bones because they're absurd. Nobody could possibly get away with armed robbery by informing the judge "I forgot armed robbery was illegal" in the real world, right? If Hillary Clinton worked in comedy instead of in politics, she'd probably be in court right now defending a suit for stealing Martin's gag. But she's no comedienne. She apparently put up the Steve Martin defense with a straight face when questioned by the FBI, as revealed in newly released documents. The subject: Why, as US Secretary of state, she ignored the briefings she received on handling and safeguarding of classified information, choosing to illegally use a private server for transmission and storage of that information instead of following the rules. The FBI reports: "Clinton stated ... she did not recall receiving any guidance from State regarding e-mail policies outlined in the State FAM [Foreign Affairs Manual]. "When asked, Clinton recalled being briefed on [Special Access Programs] information but could not recall any specific briefing on how to handle SAP information. "Clinton could not recall any briefing or training by State related to the retention of federal records or handling of classified information." Why couldn't she remember these things? "[I]n December of 2012, Clinton suffered a concussion and then around the New Year had a blood clot ... Based on her doctor's advice, she could only work at State for a few hours a day and could not recall every briefing she received." The "I forgot" defense is admittedly a new and novel explanation for Clinton's actions. But I'm not sure it's a very good one, given her specific personal situation. The possibilities break down to two: One possibility is that Clinton is a lying felon who, either intentionally or with reckless negligence, compromised classified information that was entrusted to her care, and who knew she could successfully play the "I-forgot card" to forestall prosecution because she is Hillary Clinton. The other possibility is that Clinton suffers from a traumatic brain injury which negatively affects her ability to remember important things. Things like, say, "when meeting with the Russian ambassador, don't let him play with the briefcase that contains the nuclear strike codes." Do either of these possibilities -- and remember, they could BOTH be true! -- strike you as a strong advertisement for Hillary Clinton's credibility and qualifications as a candidate for president of the United States? The Battle of Blair Mountain, WV, lasted from August 25 to September 2, 1921, and was the largest labor uprising in American history. The wiki says it was "one of the " best-organized, and well-armed uprisings since the American Civil War "in Logan County , West Virginia , some 10,000 armed coal miners confronted 3,000 lawmen and strikebreakers, called the Logan Defenders,who were backed by coal mine operators during an attempt by the miners to unionize the southwestern West Virginia coalfields. Sounds like something I should have heard about in American History class. But I didn't, and that's a disgrace. I learned about it today, in an email from progressive Congressman Alan Grayson, reprinted below: Today is Labor Day, and last week marked the 95th anniversary of the most brutal confrontation in the history of the American labor movement, the Battle of Blair Mountain. For one week during 1921, armed, striking coal miners battled scabs, a private militia, police officers and the U.S. Army. One hundred people died, 1,000 were arrested, and one million shots were fired. It was the largest armed rebellion in America since the Civil War. This is how it happened. In the '20s, West Virginia coal miners lived in "company towns." The mining companies owned all the property. They literally ran union organizers out of town -- or killed them. In 1912, in a strike at Paint Creek, the mining company forced the striking miners and their families out of their homes, to live in tents. Then they sent armed goons into that tent city, and opened fire on men, women and children there with a machine gun. By 1920, the United Mine Workers had organized the northern mines in West Virginia, but they were barred from the southern mines. When southern miners tried to join the union, they were fired and evicted. To show who was boss, one mining company tried to place machine guns on the roofs of buildings in town. In Matewan, when the coal company goons came to town to take it upon themselves to enforce eviction notices, the mayor and the sheriff asked them to leave. The goons refused. Incredibly, the goons tried to arrest the sheriff, Sheriff Hatfield. Shots were fired, and the mayor and nine others were killed. But the company goons had to flee. The government sided with the coal companies, and put Sheriff Hatfield on trial for murder. The jury acquitted him. Then they put the sheriff on trial for supposedly dynamiting a non-union mine. As the sheriff walked up the courthouse steps to stand trial again, unarmed, company goons shot him in cold blood. In front of his wife. This led to open confrontations between miners on one hand, and police and company goons on the other. Thirteen thousand armed miners assembled, and marched on the southern mines in Logan and Mingo Counties. They confronted a private militia of 2,000, hired by the coal companies. President Harding was informed. He threatened to send in troops and even bombers to break the union. Many miners turned back, but then company goons started killing unarmed union men, and some armed miners pushed on. The militia attacked armed miners, and the coal companies hired airplanes to drop bombs on them. The U.S. Army-Air Force, as it was known then, observed the miners' positions from overhead, and passed that information on to the coal companies. The miners actually broke through the militia's defensive perimeter, but after five days, the Army intervened, and the miners stood down. By that time, 100 people were dead. Almost a thousand miners then were indicted for murder and treason. No one on the side of the coal companies was ever held accountable. The Battle of Blair Mountain showed that the miners could not defeat the coal companies and the government in battle. But then something interesting happened: the miners defeated the coal companies and the government at the ballot box, as pro-labor candidates won victories. Standing Up for Truth (Image by Akemi Ohira) Details DMCA While there is little more patriotic than storming the beaches of Normandy, it is just as courageous to suffer civilian neglect after tours of duty. There's more to patriotism than the Patriot Act, Citizens United or day trip south of the border, down Mexico way. American citizenship deserves more than misquoting historical documents or confusing a pledge of allegiance with a declaration of independence or mistaking Guns, God and Freedom Caucus for America the Beautiful. There's more to Love Thy Neighbor as Thyself than espousing religious freedom while menacing freedom's greatest privilege with voter-ID Laws, political gerrymandering and transforming faith, hope and charity begins at home, by diminutive education at degrading school infrastructure. There's more to justice than blocking the restoration of voting rights to those former felons who did the crime and served the time, for beware, a society of revolving doors from Congress to K Street and schools to prisons, risks being crushed under its own corrupted correctional collateral. And what of the humanity of providing affordable healthcare, rather than being awash in the thrill of sticking the masses with addicting chill pills -- hedged by dealers dealing in insurance and pharmaceuticals? There can be more to our American life than diminishing returns, but ultimately is already here, and those too distracted to deny the powerful denial of truth standing before us, allow the powerful to reap what the rest sow. Though born out of war, freedom to peacefully assemble has always been an American ideal; less so, misogyny and bigotry -- and there is more to being a patriot than blocking supreme-court nominees, while costuming sexual harassment in a black robe of silence, hiding in plain sight. There's more to standing up for our country than standing during the rockets' red glare, and, more to honoring our veterans than a government shutdown. It's not enough to display Old Glory for all to see, until weather rending it filthy and tattered, like a warrior forgotten. There is more to American patriotism than saluting a flag while denigrating the unity and civility for which it stands. A pledge of our allegiance to each other without prejudice, is more patriotic than flag waving or struggling to remember the lyrics of a challenging melody before sports events. Patriotism is not being media numbed into glossing over a mother being gunned down while strolling with her children. Being an all-American citizen begins with being a decent human being to all Americans. Citizenship flourishes when liberally nourished with civil participation in the civics of our nation. Patriotism is not how loud we shout, for if we but journey together from disunity to community, The Ugly American roar is silenced. The very nemesis of patriotism is the injustice in the words of an extreme hard-right Virginia amendment, spousal abuse, rape, trafficking, the falsely convicted serving decades, while one caught in the act of sexual assault receives a six-month sentence. True patriotism accepts accountability and celebrates contribution, especially from those who have been denied full citizenship. Our Herstory is resplendent with Americans like Sojourner Truth & Harriet Beecher Stowe, Harriet Tubman & Elizabeth Cady, Alice Jones Rhinelander & Susan B. Anthony, Marion Anderson & Eleanor Roosevelt, Mary McLeod Bethune & Ruth Williams Khama, Fannie Lou Hamer & Jeannette Rankin, Shirley Chisholm & Alice Paul, Dorothy Height & Betty Ford, Aretha Franklin & Barbra Streisand, Oprah Winfrey and, if she can be saved from police bi-coastal trafficking, possibly Celeste Guap. Real patriots preserve, protect and defend not only America's symbols, but the rights and privileges for which they stand. We are a nation of nations on a planet we share with all that live upon it. Worshiping the symbols of exceptionalism is not exceptional, but letting world peace begin with America, would be. Reprinted from Truthdig This is a transcript of a speech that Chris Hedges gave Saturday at the annual meeting of the American Political Science Association in Philadelphia. Great writers and intellectuals give us a vocabulary that allows us to make sense of reality. They excavate depths that we, without their help, are unable to fathom. We are captive to systems of power until we can name the dominant myths and the intricate systems of coercion and control that extinguish our freedom. We are a society awash in skillfully manufactured lies. Solitude that makes thought possible -- a removal from the electronic cacophony that besieges us -- is harder and harder to find. We have severed ourselves from a print-based culture. We are unable to grapple with the nuances and complexity of ideas. We have traded ideas for fabricated cliche's. We speak in the hollow language we are given by our corporate masters. Reality, presented to us as image, is unexamined and therefore false. We are culturally illiterate. And because of our cultural illiteracy we are easily manipulated and controlled. The great writers -- Marcel Proust, Anton Chekhov, Hannah Arendt, Simone Weil, Max Weber, Samuel Beckett, George Orwell, W.E.B. Du Bois, James Baldwin and others -- knew that thought is subversive. They challenged and critiqued the dominant narrative, assumptions and structures that buttress power. They freed us. They did not cater to the latest fashion of the academy or popular culture. They did not seek adulation. They did not build pathetic monuments to themselves. They elucidated difficult and hard truths. They served humanity. They lifted up voices the power elites seek to discredit, marginalize or crush. Sheldon Wolin was a writer of this stature. He gave us the words and the ideas to understand our corporate despotism -- what he called "inverted totalitarianism." He did so by battling the dominant trend within university political science departments that, as he lamented, has seen them become de facto social science departments "addicted" to quantitative projects, chasing after an unachievable scientific clarity and refusing to take a stand or examine the major issues facing the wider society. This quantitative gathering of "value-free" facts may get you tenure. It may get you invited as a courtier into the machinery of power -- indeed academic writing too often serves the ends of power. But these pursuits, as Wolin reminded us, are intellectual treason. Wolin was not afraid to ask the huge, esoteric, uncomfortable and often unanswerable questions that make the life of the mind and political thought vital and important. He called out corporate power for its destruction of our capitalist democracy. He railed against the commodification of the individual and the ecosystem. He unmasked the mechanisms of manipulation. He denounced our corporate coup d'e'tat. He upheld the integrity of the scholar. And he was often alone. I taught his "Politics and Vision" last spring in a maximum-security prison in Rahway, N.J., to students earning their B.A. degrees. Intellectuals in our society who are poor, especially those of color, are trapped in environments and schools, and too often prisons, that make learning difficult and often impossible. In prison these intellectuals, struggling against odds that most in this hall cannot imagine, convert their cells into libraries. My class was consumed by "Politics and Vision" -- Machiavelli's advocacy of "calculated violence" and call for the power elites to be skillful pretenders and dissemblers; Locke's ability to convert property into an instrument for coercing citizens into political obedience; Weber's understanding that the modern hero, unlike the classical hero battling fortuna, had to struggle against a bloodless, faceless system "where contingency has been routed by bureaucratized procedures" and where "even charisma has been bureaucratized." The ideological mantra of corporate oppression -- sine et studio, without scorn or bias -- is, as Weber knew, a weapon to crush those with the passion, outrage, courage and vision to effect change. Wolin warned in the book that "each individual bore the awful responsibility for choice at this ultimate level but each was denied anything like the scientist's sense of certainty." He quoted Weber, whom he loved: "The ultimate possible attitudes towards life are irreconcilable and hence their struggle can never be brought to a final conclusion." This course expanded, at the requests of my students, from the required 12 class meetings to 24 and then 36. As they sat in a circle in the prison classroom week after week hunched over the text, my students began to discern that Wolin had another quality besides brilliance. He cared. And he cared about them. They were his demos. When we finished Marx, the class fell silent. One of my students then lamented that they had been waiting all semester for Marx and now it was over. I promised that once we had completed the book I would give a final lecture on Marx. By then you could feel Wolin's presence in the classroom. One of the many cruelties of corporate capitalism is that it has abandoned the poor and, among them, the gifted intellectuals I teach. And even when they do manage to climb out of the deep black hole we have constructed for them, even when they are able to achieve academic success, they remain stigmatized as poor men and women of color with a prison record. The abject failure to provide an education to the poor, to nurture this potential and these intellectuals -- and by this I do not mean sitting on a scholarship committee but going to teach in the internal colonies and the prisons where our poor are trapped -- is one of the most damning marks on academia. One of my students, Boris Franklin, is here today. He is currently an honors student at Rutgers. I was waiting for him, with his mother, when he walked out of the prison gate after being incarcerated for 11 years. His first words to me -- remember he had just spent more than a decade in a cage -- were "I have to rebuild my library." He had left 100 books behind in the prison. Or take the case of our friend Walter Fortson, who left prison to graduate magna cum laude from Rutgers, won the university's first Harry S. Truman Scholarship in more than 10 years and received his Master of Philosophy in criminology from the University of Cambridge. But Walter, like Boris, like all my students, remains condemned in a criminal caste system, struggling with the poverty engendered by globalization, deindustrialization and neoliberalism and damned by white supremacy. Walter, who just got his final eviction notice, is about to take a course to become a truck driver. Boris, who knows what is coming, is making sure he will graduate with a contractor's license. We live in a despotism where Jean Valjean is again reviled, hunted and persecuted. A couple of weeks ago I was in the windowless room of a halfway house in Trenton, meeting with one of my students, Ron Pierce, who is being released after 31 years in prison. When you leave prison it is the great giveaway. The few items in your cell -- sneakers, sweatsuits, plastic bins, water bottles, food and books -- cannot be taken with you. You walk out with only what you can carry. A halfway house official sat in on our conversation. When I was informed our two hours were up, I hugged Ron goodbye. Next Page 1 | 2 (Note: You can view every article as one long page if you sign up as an Advocate Member, or higher). Congress Switchboard: 202-224-3121 "There's no dispute that we now live in a hyper-connected, globalized world--but plenty of argument over the type of globalization that's best for our collective future. In this timely work, Rob Kall makes a persuasive case for 'trickle-up' globalization from below and that the truest, best, and most long-lasting fundamental change always comes from the bottom up. Read this bookthen act on it!" Rory O'Connor, award-winning filmmaker and author of Friends, Followers, and the Future: How Social Media are Changing Politics, Threatening Big Brands, and Killing Traditional Media From Greg Swank, 12-4-2 You are about to read a list of 45 goals that found their way down the halls of our great Capitol back in 1963. As... Ewefiaga, Togbui Agokoli IV, President, Togolese National House of Chiefs has called on stakeholders in the December general election 7 in Ghana to work towards peace. He described Ghana as a model of democracy in the sub-region and asked the political parties, the Electoral Commission and the media to commit to peace and safeguard the countrys democratic credentials. Togbui Agokoli made the call through the Ghana News Agency on the sidelines of a grand durbar to climax this years Agbogboza at Notse in the Republic of Togo. Agbogboza is an annual cultural festival of Ewes at their ancestral home-Notse, which attracts thousands of Ewes from across the globe, especially Ghana, Benin, Nigeria and Germany. Togbui Agokoli asked the Ghanaian media to be circumspect and play its gatekeeping role effectively as a key stakeholder in the elections. He also urged the political parties to be tolerant and accept results of the elections to avoid electoral conflicts, saying, such conflicts could affect Togo. Togbe Afede XIV, Agbogbomefia of Asogli who led hundreds of Ewes from the Volta Region to the festival, in a remark at the durbar assured that the December elections would be peaceful. He commended Togbui Agokoli for initiating the festival, which had become a homecoming event for Ewes and called for collaboration between the two countries to fight poverty and hunger. Togbe Afede asked political leaders on the Continent to shun greed and use national resources to create jobs. Mr Selom Komi Klassou, Prime Minister, Republic of Togo urged the youth in Africa to go into agriculture, saying, If everything fails, farming wont fail you. The festival also attracted members of the diplomatic corps and tourists. Source: GNA Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. Featured Video A scanning electron microscope image of Group A Streptococcus (orange) during phagocytic interaction with a human neutrophil (blue). Credit: NIAID Biochemists at the University of California San Diego have uncovered patterns in the outer protein coat of group A Streptococcus that could finally lead to a vaccine against this highly infectious bacteriaresponsible for more than 500,000 deaths a year, including toxic shock syndrome and necrotizing fasciitis or "flesh-eating disease." In a paper published in this week's issue of Nature Microbiology, the researchers report that they had uncovered "hidden sequence patterns in the major surface protein and virulence factor" of group A Strep, called the M protein, that limit the body's immune response against these bacteria. "At present, there is no vaccine against group A Strep, and our discovery of hidden sequence patterns has offered up a novel way to devise such a vaccine," said Partho Ghosh, chair of UC San Diego's Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, who headed the team of researchers. Ghosh said that one of the biggest obstacles to the development of a vaccine against these bacteria is the "hyper-variability" of the M protein. Group A Streptococcus bacteria have a multitude of different strains, each of which displays a different protein on its surface. Because our immune systems must recognize these different proteins before launching an immune response with antibodies specific to the outer protein coat, the hyper-variability of the M proteins make it difficult for our immune systems to attach antibodies specific to each these proteins from different strains. "When we become infected with a particular strain of group A Strep, we generally mount an immune response against the particular M protein displayed by that strain," explains Ghosh. "But this immunity works only against the infecting strain. We remain vulnerable to infection by other group A Strep strains that display other types of M proteins on their surfaces. This is because the antibody response against the M protein is almost always specific to the sequence of that M protein, and M proteins of different types appear to be unrelated in sequence to one another." The key to resolving the problem was the recognition that a human protein called C4BP had been discovered by another group of researchers to be recruited to the surface of Group A Strep by many different protein types. "This was a puzzle, because the antibody response is specific and limited to a single M protein type, while C4BP binds a broad variety of M protein types, perhaps up to 90 percent of them," said Ghosh. "Group A Strep brings C4BP to its surface to dampen the immune response. We wanted to combat this recruitment by blocking the interaction between M proteins and C4BP, but equally as importantly, we wanted to take advantage of the broad recruitment of C4BP by M proteins that would pave a path to the development of a vaccine." To determine if this was possible, a graduate student in Ghosh's lab, Cosmo Buffalo, collaborated with another graduate student, Sophia Hirakis, in the laboratory of Rommie Amaro, a professor of chemistry and biochemistry who uses computers to study protein structures, to first study the complex interactions between M protein and C4BP. "This allowed us to understand some detailed features of the interaction," said Ghosh. The research team, which also included an undergraduate researcher, Adrian Bahn-Suh, collaborated extensively with Victor Nizet, an expert in infectious diseases who is a professor at UC San Diego's School of Medicine and Skaggs School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences. In their experimental and computational study, the biochemists painstakingly detailed four crystal structures of four different M protein types, each bound to human C4BP. "These structures revealed that even though the different M protein types appeared to be unrelated in sequence, there were common sequence patterns hidden within the differences that linked all these M proteins together," said Ghosh. "These common patterns are what is used to recruit C4BP to the surface of group A Strep by the different M protein types." "The idea now is to have antibodies do the same thing as C4BPthat is, recognize many different M protein types," he added. "That way, the antibody response will not be limited to one M protein type and one strain of group A Strep, but will extend to most, if not all, M protein types and most, if not all strains, of group A Strep." The UC San Diego chemists, in collaboration with Nizet, are now working on developing a vaccine that, they hope, will be protective against most, if not all, strains of group A Strep. Explore further Deadly bacteria stiff-arm the immune system More information: Conserved patterns hidden within group A Streptococcus M protein hypervariability recognize human C4b-binding protein, Nature Microbiology, nature.com/articles/doi:10.103 /nmicrobiol.2016.155 Journal information: Nature Microbiology Conserved patterns hidden within group A Streptococcus M protein hypervariability recognize human C4b-binding protein, Figure 1 | Crystal structure and characterization of CIPS. (a,b) The side view (a) and side view (b) for the crystal structure of CIPS (CuInP 2 S 6 ) with vdW gap between the layers. Within a layer, the Cu, In and PP form separate triangular networks. The polarization direction is indicated in by the arrow. (b) The ferroelectric hysteresis loop of a 4-m-thick CIPS flake. (c) AFM image of the CIPS flakes with different thicknesses. Scale bar, 2 m. (d) The height profile along the line shown in c. Clear step height of 0.7 nm corresponding to single layer thickness of CIPS can be observed. L, Layers. Credit: Liu F, et al. Room-temperature ferroelectricity in CuInP 2 S 6 ultrathin flakes. Nature Communications 7, Article number: 12357 (2016). Copyright 2016, Rights Managed by Nature Publishing Group. Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. (Phys.org)Optoelectronic devices that combine electronics and photonics are incorporating two-dimensional (2D) materials for a range of applications. At the same time, cooperative phenomena in which a system's individual components appear to act as a single entity rather than independently have yet to be widely investigated, an important example being ferroelectricity (spontaneous electric polarization that can be reversed by an electric field) in the 2D limit. Recently, however, scientists at Nanyang Technological University, Singapore have demonstrated room-temperature out-of-plane ferroelectricity (that is, orthogonal to the 2D material) in 2D CuInP 2 S 6 (copper indium thiophosphate) with a ~320 K transition temperature, as well as switchable polarization in 4 nm CuInP 2 S 6 flakes. The researchers state that their findings create the possibility of sensors, actuators, non-volatile memory devices, various van der Waals heterostructures (devices made from layers of dissimilar 2D crystals in which forces are based on molecular attraction or repulsion rather than covalent or ionic bonds), and other novel applications based on 2D ferroelectricity. Prof. Zheng Liu and Prof. Junling Wang discussed the challenges that they and their colleagues encountered in conducting their study published in Nature Communications. "With reduced dimension, ferroelectricity namely, long-range electric-dipole order becomes fragile owing to the depolarization field that is opposing its own electric polarization," Liu tells Phys.org. "The depolarization field inherently arises in ferroelectric materials due to the imperfect screening of bound charges," that is, those bound to molecules and so cannot move in response to an external electromagnetic force. The difficulty lies in maintaining a precise geometry, Liu adds, because when the ferroelectric material's thickness is reduced to its two-dimensional limit, the depolarization field can increase by orders of magnitude. At that point, the depolarization field may place the ferroelectric material into a paraelectric state, the result being disordered electric dipoles with a temporary polarization only when in the presence of an electric field. Therefore, the electrical boundary conditions are extremely important when exploring ferroelectricity at the material's 2D limit. Moreover, he adds, reporting the experimental observation of switchable polarization in CuInP 2 S 6 films down to 4 nm at room temperature, thickness reduction will greatly weaken the out-of-plane ferroelectric polarization. "This makes characterization of the ferroelectricity very difficult. Moreover, the large ionic conductivity of this material makes the polarization switching quite challenging. We therefore had to choose a small electric field that is just above the coercive field to avoid unwanted ionic motion." Other concerns include demonstrating the potential of this 2D ferroelectric material by preparing a van der Waals ferroelectric diode formed by CuInP 2 S 6 /Si heterostructure. "In the case of CuInP 2 S 6 , the chemical composition and phase stability also play a role in stabilizing ferroelectric states and in the 2D limit, it is difficult to determine the ferroelectricity with traditional methods, such as the time-dependent ferroelectric hysteresis loop measurement, due to large leakage current," lead author Liu Fucai points out. Regarding potential, he explains that due to the relatively large band gap and thus weak light absorption, few-layer CuInP 2 S 6 appears almost transparent on silicon (Si) substrate. "This situation makes the fabrication of the van der Waals heterostructure quite challenging during the lithography process." Figure 2 | AFM and piezoresponse images of CIPS with different thicknesses. (ac) AFM topography (a) PFM amplitude (b) and PFM phase (c) for CIPS flakes ranging from 100 to 7 nm thick, on doped Si substrate. Scale bar in a, 1 m. (d,e) AFM topography (d) PFM amplitude (e) and phase (f) of 24 layer thick CIPS on Au coated SiO 2 /Si substrate. Scale bar in d, 500 nm. (g) the height (black) and PFM amplitude (blue) profile along the lines shown in d and e, respectively. L, Layers. Credit: Liu F, et al. Room-temperature ferroelectricity in CuInP 2 S 6 ultrathin flakes. Nature Communications 7, Article number: 12357 (2016). Copyright 2016, Rights Managed by Nature Publishing Group. Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. Finally, in demonstrating a non-volatile memory device with an on/off ratio of ~100 in a CuInP 2 S 6 /Si ferroelectric diode, Liu notes that this investigation is just a preliminary demonstration of the possible applications of the 2D ferroelectric material. "A lot of work needs to be done to fully understand the transport mechanisms and how it is coupled to the ferroelectric switching," he acknowledges. Wang describes the ways in which the researchers addressed these challenges. "To characterize ferroelectricity at nanoscale, the most widely used technique is called piezoresponse force microscopy, or PFM, which utilizes the converse piezoelectric effect." (In the converse piezoelectric effect, materials become strained when an electric field is applied.) This is a technique that can be implemented using a commercially available atomic force microscope (AFM), in which AC bias can be applied to the AFM probe that serves as a moving electrode on top of the sample. The resulting AC electric field will cause the periodic oscillation of the ferroelectric sample due to this converse piezoelectric effect. The oscillation signal can then be detected by the AFM. "The amplitude of the oscillation represents the piezoelectric response that is proportional to the ferroelectric polarization," Wang explains, "while the phase of the oscillation represents the direction of the polarization." In their study, the scientists employed a state-of-the-art approach known as Dual AC Resonance Tracking (DART) PFM developed by Asylum Research to amplify the piezoelectric response by taking advantage of the resonance enhancement. Figure 3 | Ferroelectric polarization switching by PFM for CIPS flakes with different thicknesses. (a) The IV curves from the typical vdW CIPS/Si diode with 30 nm thick CIPS, by sweeping the bias from 2.5 to 2.5 V, and then back to 2.5 V. Inset is the schematic of the device. (b) Resistance-switching voltage hysteresis loop of the diode measured at a bias voltage of 1.3 V. The schematic representations of the ON and OFF states with respect to the polarization direction are shown in the bottom-left and top-right insets, respectively. (c) Out-of-plane PFM amplitude (black) and phase (blue) measurements on the same diode device shown in a. Credit: Fucai Liu, Lu You, Kyle L. Seyler, Xiaobao Li, Peng Yu et al. Room-temperature ferroelectricity in CuInP 2 S 6 ultrathin flakes. Nature Communications 7, Article number: 12357 (2016). Copyright 2016, Rights Managed by Nature Publishing Group. Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. "By driving the AC field at the first harmonic contact resonance," Wang continues, "the piezoelectric oscillation signal can be greatly enhanced. Thus, the small ferroelectric polarization of the ultrathin CuInP 2 S 6 flakes can still be detected by the AFM, as the signal has been amplified by orders of magnitude. This advanced PFM technique helps us to image the fine domain structure with nanometer lateral resolution and picometer vertical resolution, and thereby realize local ferroelectric switching using an AFM probe." The paper discusses novel applications, including sensors, actuators, non-volatile memory devices, and various van der Waals heterostructures based on 2D ferroelectricity. "By virtue of the piezoelectric effect, ferroelectric materials always have the piezoelectric and pyroelectric properties that allow the use of atomically-thin CuInP 2 S 6 as a strain sensor with high flexibility, such as electric skin monitoring human body motion," Liu tells Phys.org. "By using the pyroelectric effect, 2D CuInP 2 S 6 could also be used for thermal energy harvesting, and as we know, commercially available ferroelectric random access memory, or FeRAM" random-access memory similar to DRAM "with fast writing speed and low-power consumption, but with destructive readout could be improved by employing a ferroelectric diode to achieve non-destructive readout of the information. Considering the quasi-freestanding nature of 2D materials, ferroelectric diodes, or even ferroelectric tunnel junctions with an atomically thin ferroelectric layer may have a much higher ON/OFF ratio, providing the possibility of high-density ferroelectric memories with non-destructive readout." Regarding the relationship between, and potential applications deriving from, ferro- and piezoelectric effects and van der Waals heterostructure interactions, Liu notes that vertically stacking of different 2D materials with van der Waals force have revealed unusual properties and have been investigated for the application of tunneling transistors, light emitting diodes, and light harvesting devices. "Incorporating ferroelectricity to the van der Waals heterostructure could demonstrate new functionality, such as ferroelectric field transistors and optoelectronic memory, by combining CuInP 2 S 6 with 2D semiconductors." Figure 5 | Electric characterization of the vdW CIPS/Si diode. (a) The IV curves from the typical vdW CIPS/Si diode with 30 nm thick CIPS, by sweeping the bias from 2.5 to 2.5 V, and then back to 2.5 V. Inset is the schematic of the device. (b) Resistance-switching voltage hysteresis loop of the diode measured at a bias voltage of 1.3 V. The schematic representations of the ON and OFF states with respect to the polarization direction are shown in the bottom-left and top-right insets, respectively. (c) Out-of-plane PFM amplitude (black) and phase (blue) measurements on the same diode device shown in a. Credit: Fucai Liu, Lu You, Kyle L. Seyler, Xiaobao Li, Peng Yu et al. Room-temperature ferroelectricity in CuInP 2 S 6 ultrathin flakes. Nature Communications 7, Article number: 12357 (2016). Copyright 2016, Rights Managed by Nature Publishing Group. Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. The scientists are planning to study the pyroelectric properties of CuInP 2 S 6 at its two-dimensional limit and apply their findings to developing energy harvesting devices. To that end, he adds, because mechanically exfoliated 2D materials are usually small and unsuitable for device applications, chemical vapor deposition growth of atomically thin CuInP 2 S 6 is under development. "Ferroelectric properties are also very interesting for solar cell applications because of efficient ferroelectric polarization-driven carrier separation," Liu concludes, "so 2D ferroelectricity-based solar cells could be very interesting, In its liquid phase, 2D ferroelectric CuInP 2 S 6 could be easily hybridized with semiconductor 2D or organic materials and a solar cell based on these hybrids would be very promising." Explore further Tunable and mechanically robust ferroelectric ionic plastic crystals More information: Room-temperature ferroelectricity in CuInP 2 S 6 ultrathin flakes, Nature Communications 7, Article number: 12357 (2016), Room-temperature ferroelectricity in CuInPultrathin flakes,, Article number: 12357 (2016), doi:10.1038/ncomms12357 Related: 1. Subatomic deformation driven by vertical piezoelectricity from CdS ultrathin films, Science Advances 01 Jul 2016, Vol. 2, no. 7, e1600209, doi:10.1126/sciadv.1600209 2. Picoscale precision though ultrathin film piezoelectricity, Phys.org (10 August 2016), http://phys.org/news/2016-08-picoscale-precision-ultrathin-piezoelectricity.html Journal information: Nature Communications , Science Advances 2016 Phys.org Credit: University of Minnesota Less than one year after President Barack Obama announced a White House Arctic Initiative that included better mapping of the area, a team of researchers led by the University of Minnesota Polar Geospatial Center released the first-ever publicly available set of high-resolution, three-dimensional topographic maps of the entire state of Alaska. The digital elevation models, or DEMs, serve as a benchmark for measuring future climate changes in the Arctic by assisting scientists studying glaciers, permafrost collapse, and coastal retreat. All of the information is publicly available online. The DEMs also provide critical new information for ground and air transportation safety, land management, sustainable development, and scientific research. "With these digital elevation models we can see detailed topography of the land, including individual trees, lakes, roads and buildings," said Paul Morin, director of the University of Minnesota's Polar Geospatial Center. "This high-resolution data is invaluable. For example, researchers and land managers can use the data to "digitally rain" on a surface and watch where the rain goes to analyze watersheds." The digital elevation models are based on 50-centimeter resolution images captured by DigitalGlobe commercial satellites and licensed by the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency. "We used sub-meter optical satellites to collect stereo imagery from space. We broke the Arctic up into 20 trillion two-meter-by-two-meter squares and then used one of the most powerful computers to measure the height of each of those squares," Morin said. "We are measuring the surface of the Earth at a resolution and geographic scale and spatial resolution that no one has ever done before. It is one of the most exciting things I've ever seen in my career." Digital elevation models allow researchers and land managers to see detailed topography of the land, including individual trees, lakes, roads and buildings. Credit: University of Minnesota This technology is significant in polar mapping because it allows for a wider coverage of the Arctic than did traditional data collection by aircraft, which is limited in the inhospitable and remote polar region. The data can also be collected again in the future to watch ice, permafrost and vegetation change over time. Funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF), researchers at the University of Minnesota, Ohio State University and Cornell University have been using the National Center for Supercomputing Applications (NCSA) Blue Waters supercomputer at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, one of the most powerful supercomputers in the world. The U.S. Geological Survey and the State of Alaska were also key partners in coordinating the project internationally. Teams from NGA and NSF worked with the partners to launch an unclassified, open Arctic portal where the DEMs and emerging information is available to the public. Esri, a geographic information system provider, hosts the site at nga.maps.arcgis.com. The public website hosts webmaps, map viewers, other DEM exploratory tools, nautical charts, sailing directions, and infographics. It also includes a downloadable Pan-Arctic map with mission-specific data layers. The United States serves as the chair of the Arctic Council through Spring 2017 when the position rotates to Finland for two years. The White House Arctic Initiative supports efforts to understand the Arctic, engage with residents, and develop tools, products and services that improve federal, state and local activities in the Arctic. Digital elevation models of the entire Arctic are scheduled for release in 2017. Researchers at Murdoch University have helped to build Australia's first ever online health database for pets. VetCompass Australia, Veterinary Companion Animal Surveillance System, will be officially launched across the country today. With access to more information, the digital hub will make it easier for veterinary surgeons to diagnose and treat sick animals. Harnessing big data in an accessible, central database will also offer greater support to researchers across a range of fields, including public health. Professor Peter Irwin, Principal at Murdoch University's College of Veterinary Medicine and a Chief Investigator on the VetCompass project, said: "This project will support research which will significantly, and almost immediately, advance our understanding of disease in veterinary clinical sciences." VetCompass is based on a database of the same name which was first developed in the UK in 2007. Collaboration between the Royal Veterinary College in the UK and the University of Sydney, the project investigated the range and frequency of companion animal health problems and identified risk factors with the most common disorders. Vet clinics involved in the project shared stored information held in their practice management systems with clinics throughout the UK in a single, merged database. The UK project has been hugely successful. More than 450 vet clinics signed up, with researchers able to study more than 11 million episodes of care, representing four million unique animals. Research projects targeted numerous disorders that affect pets, including kidney disease, epilepsy, pyoderma (skin infection) and cancer. Professor Paul McGreevy, from the University of Sydney, was involved in the launch of VetCompass UK and he's brought the project to Australia. He said: "Initially looking only at the most popular pets cats and dogs as well as horses, for which little data exists, we envisage VetCompass eventually expanding to all companion animals in Australia." VetCompass has been launched in collaboration with all seven Australian veterinary schools, including Murdoch University. The consortium of veterinary schools secured Australian Research Council funding for the project, which will share information with the UK database. "The Australian data may reveal different patterns of diseases and different breed predispositions because, to some extent, we have a separate gene pool to dogs and cats in the UK," said Professor McGreevy. "Vets collect this information anyway and once VetCompass has its first 100 Australian practice signatories, data from the system will provide researchers with access to a wealth of information. "It's great news for pets but we're also excited about learning more about how our relationship with companion animals can affect and inform human health." Professor David Morrison, Deputy Vice Chancellor Research & Innovation at Murdoch University, said: "Murdoch's research focus is translational in nature. We aim to provide solutions to the challenges facing the world we live in. "VetCompass has been very successful in the UK and Murdoch University has played a role in bringing the project to Australia." Pet owners are asked to support the project by asking their vet clinics to join VetCompass. Explore further Current VetCompass understanding on canine health Detail of a simulation of a pulsed positive discharge near a dielectric rod, made by Anna Dubinova. Credit: CWI Renewable energy requires new electricity grids, sometimes over entire continents, because 'green energy' is often generated in remote locations. A general problem in such networks is that, although electrically conductive parts are separated from their environment by insulators, sparks often occur on the surface of insulators, causing permanent damage to the equipment. Until now, this was not well understood. Anna Dubinova, Ph.D. student at the Centrum Wiskunde & Informatica (CWI) research institute in Amsterdam, the Netherlands, developed new mathematical models and techniques to predict the behavior of these sparks. She defended her Ph.D. thesis, "Modeling of streamer discharges near dielectrics" on 1 September 2016 at Eindhoven University of Technology. With the results, the architecture of high-voltage networks can be fundamentally renewed and improved. The researcher says, "There was not much known about these 'creeping sparks'for instance, when they occur and how the discharge starts moving. Sometimes, a spark will run over a surface, even if its path length is much longer than directly through the air. Thanks to our models, it is now clear how behaviour depends on the geometry, the type of gas and the type of insulator. A major insulator in the industry is SF6, a strong greenhouse gas. Alternatives can now be chosen in a more balanced way." The results are not only applicable to high-voltage technology, but also on the beginning of lightning. "Hailstones are also insulators. Along with Casper Rutjes and others, I developed models that describe how lightning starts in a thundercloudit is a combination of sharp hail (graupel) and cosmic particles." This news made it to the international press in 2015. The research was funded by Technology Foundation STW and ABB Corporate Research. The mathematical modelling was carried out by the Ph.D. student and a postdoc researcher in the Multiscale Dynamics research group of 'lightning professor' Ute Ebert. In addition, two Ph.D. students at Eindhoven University of Technology have studied the phenomena experimentally. Several companies are interested in the applications of the new insights, e.g., for high-voltage equipment or high intensity discharge lamps for outdoor use, in shops and cars. Explore further The cosmic start of lightning Volkswagen admitted in September 2015 to building so-called "defeat devices" into millions of diesel cars, which detected when the motors were undergoing regulatory tests and drastically reduced emissions German auto giant Volkswagen could face penalties and compensation claims over its diesel emissions scandal under European consumer protection law, a top EU official told newspaper Die Welt in remarks published Monday. "In most member states, Volkswagen clearly infringed consumer protection law," justice and consumer protection commissioner Vera Jourova said. "I think it's therefore necessary that we intervene to co-ordinate at the European level." Jourova had asked national authorities to examine whether the carmaker had broken consumer protection rules in the so-called "Dieselgate" scandal. VW admitted in September 2015 to building so-called "defeat devices" into millions of diesel cars, which detected when the motors were undergoing regulatory tests and drastically reduced emissions. In normal road driving, emissions were much higher than claimed by the manufacturer and exceeded regulatory limits, in some cases many times over. So far the firm has only been hit with fines and forced to compensate customers in the United States, where VW is on the hook for $16.5 billion (14.8 billion euros) in fines and payouts to drivers. The firm has long insisted that the different legal environment in Europe spares it any obligation to make compensation payouts there. Paying out even a fraction of what has been agreed for US drivers to European customers would quickly bring VW to the limit of its financial resources. While the payments in the US concern some hundreds of thousands of vehicles, around eight million cars with the affected diesel engines are on Europe's roads. VW plans to retrofit the vehicles to bring them into compliance with emissions standards, but their owners have until now had little prospect of compensation. Now the European Commission believes Volkswagen broke consumer protection and dishonest trading rules by claiming to meet EU standards in its advertising. That could expose the firm to fines from national authorities in member states and compensation claims from individual buyers. "I will fight for European consumers to be treated fairly," commissioner Jourova told Die Welt. According to the newspaper, consumer protection officials from the 20 member states that found VW had infringed European rules will gather in Brussels in the coming days to discuss the next steps. Explore further Germany demands tougher rules on emissions testing 2016 AFP Artists come together to drink beer and make art. Participants must bring personal supplies. Join us every Monday evening at 8 on the patio at Tractor Brewing Company in Nob Hill for ABQ Pens & Pints! Where Albuquerque artists spend quality time drinking beer and doing artwork together. Bring any of your current art to work on, and look for the tables reserved with our logo. We do not provide any extra art supplies, so make sure to bring your own. This is a low-key, no agenda, show-up-&-leave-whenever event, so let nothing hold you back from joining us! The Virginia Creepers will be having their usual Monday night "Tractor Tune-Up" from 7-9, so come early if you like bluegrass, and come late if you don't! Oh, and did we mention, Happy Hour starts at 9. Wahoo! Like us on Facebook to get more connected + involved in the ABQ art scene! Crandall Public Library fall film series begins with showings of Class of 27 at 2:30 and 6:30 p.m. Tuesday in the community room in the library basement. The film focuses on education in rural Kentucky communities, among farm workers in western states and on White Earth Reservation in Minnesota. The showings are open to the public free of charge. Environmental film Tri-County Transition Initiative will present the film Tapped, about clean drinking water issues, at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday in the community room in the basement of Crandall Public Library. An open audience discussion will be held after the film. The showing is open to the public free of charge. Book sale Queensbury Senior Center will hold its fall used book sale from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Thursday and from 9 a.m. to noon Friday. Art contemplation Eugene Fairbanks acrylic painting Communion with Picasso and Warhol, on exhibit at the Lower Adirondack Regional Arts Council gallery, inspired me to contemplate which two historical figures I might want to break bread with. I concluded it would be 17th century Welsh poet/clergyman George Herbert and self-help writer Dale Carnegie. I spent 18 months in the early 1990s researching and analyzing Herberts poetry for my senior thesis at Middlebury College. Carnegies book How to Win Friends and Influence People is the book, other than the Bible, that has most influenced my philosophy. Fairbanks is one of nine regional artists featured in the LARAC exhibit Masters Show 16, which runs through Sept. 16 at the gallery on Lapham Place, next to Glens Falls City Park. The other artists are Dave Francis, Bob Walp, Betty OBrien, Paul Chapman, Jean Kroeber, Charlene Leary, Tom Ryan and Ruth Asuer. Democratic congressional candidate Mike Derrick said it is premature to say whether he would join the Blue Dog Coalition, a group of fiscally conservative House Democrats, if he is elected in November. I am focused entirely on getting elected. When that happens, I will see what the landscape looks like, he said in a telephone interview on Sunday. This is a pretty turbulent political year, as you know. So lets see what the shape of the House is before we start putting people into specific groups. That would be my approach. Derrick, a retired Army colonel from Peru, in Clinton County, is running in the 21st Congressional District against U.S. Rep. Elise Stefanik, R-Willsboro, and Green Party candidate Matt Funiciello, a bread company owner and political activist from Hudson Falls. Click here to read more about the Blue Dog Coalition and the involvement of former local U.S. Rep. Kirsten Gillibrand, D-Greenport, now a U.S. Senator. The incident occurred just after 6 p.m. at the intersection of Quaker Road and Glenwood Avenue. Dylan Deyette, 20, of Hudson Falls was traveling south on Quaker Road, when he attempted to make a left turn off Quaker Road onto Glenwood Avenue. While making the turn, the Buick collided with a 2015 Kia sedan that was traveling east, operated by 53-year-old Peter Gaiotti of Danby, Vermont. Candidates in the 21st Congressional District appear set to debate at least three times in October. U.S. Rep. Elise Stefanik, R-Willsboro, said Sunday she has confirmed participation in three debates. Green Party candidate Matt Funiciello, a bread company owner and political activist from Hudson Falls, said he has been invited to participate in five debates. Democratic candidate Mike Derrick, a retired Army colonel from Peru, in Clinton County, has been invited to at least 10 debates, said Drew Prestridge, Derricks campaign manager. Stefanik said she has confirmed she will participate in a Time Warner Cable News debate on Oct. 3, an Adirondack Regional Chamber of Commerce/EDC Warren County forum in Glens Falls on either Oct. 17 or 18, and a Mountain Lakes PBS debate on Oct. 24. Im looking forward to exchanging views with both of my opponents, she said. Im confident these important events will better inform voters of their choice on Election Day. Funiciello said he has been invited to five debates, the three Stefanik said she will attend, and two others one at SUNY Adirondack in Queensbury and a WNNY TV-7 Watertown debate. We have said to everybody that we will make ourselves available wherever and whenever as long as the rules are equivocal for everybody, he said. Prestridge said at least 10 groups have contacted the campaign and expressed interest in organizing debates. As you know, they may not all happen, and were negotiating on dates and formats, he said. Youll definitely be seeing Mike in debates this fall. U.S. Sen. Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., has renewed his push for federal action on Canadian trade policies that could curtail business for Ideal Dairy Farm in Kingsbury and other dairy farms around the state. Schumer last week urged U.S. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack and U.S. Trade Representative Michael Eastman to investigate a planned Canadian action aimed at reducing the import from the United States of ultra-filtered milk used to make cheese. Ultra-filtered milk has an 85 percent protein level. Schumer said in a news release he is renewing his advocacy, begun in March, because the Canadian government recently announced it will implement an incentive program for Canadian cheese processors that shift away from imported milk. Schumer said the policy appears to violate U.S.-Canadian trade agreements. We must take every step possible to preserve fair trade and to protect New Yorks dairy farmers, who could be put in grave jeopardy if these rules are fully imposed, he said. Under the North American Free Trade Agreement, the United States is exempt from restrictions that are imposed on other countries on the volume of milk protein that can be exported to Canada without tariffs, according to the Daily Dairy Report, an online agriculture news publication. Canadian imports have steadily increased under NAFTA, but have started to drop off after Ontario took measures similar to the Canadian national plan. Schumer visited Ideal Dairy Farm in March to discuss the issue. Local dairy farmers, at the time, said the loss of Canadian customers could leave a glut of supply that would cause milk prices to decrease. The proposed Canadian restriction could undermine moving forward with the proposed TransPacific Partnership trade agreement between United States, Canada and 10 other nations, said Jim Mulhern, president and chief executive officer of National Milk Producers Federation. Tourism and local government officials are satisfied with the second best summer tourism season in recent years. Overall, its been another great season in Lake George, said Mayor Robert Blais. Most folks have said theyre down somewhat this season from last year. But last year was certainly one of the biggest seasons in Lake Georges history. Weather was a big factor, said Michael Consuelo, president and chief executive officer of Lake George Regional Chamber of Commerce. The weathers been our fan favorite, with the exception of maybe a couple of days where we had some rain and some heat and humidity, he said. Good weather has a mixed impact on commerce, Blais said. That, of course, helps the amusement parks and attractions, he said. But when the weather is real nice, its not shopping weather. People tend not to walk the streets and shop. They tend to stay by the water and enjoy the attractions. Blais said parking revenue and sewage flow in the village this summer, two measures of tourism, were both down about 5 percent as of the last report two weeks ago, but above typical levels. If we counted the last five years, this year will probably be the second best year out of the five, he said. Blais said lodging industry reports show about a 6 percent decrease in occupancy in Lake George this year, compared with 2015, but occupancy in the Saratoga Springs and Lake Placid are both down by more than 10 percent. Reports show occupancy for July and August in Warren County actually increased slightly over 2015, but year-to-date occupancy is still down because of the poor winter, said Joanne Conley, tourism director for Warren County. Considering that 2015 has been our best performing year in recent past, an on-par comparison is a good way to close out the summer and head into fall, she said. Conley said officials have not yet been able to pinpoint why 2015 was such as strong year, other then perhaps the weather. The industry reports survey larger hotels in Warren County, and do not include smaller hotels, cottages and bed and breakfast establishments, but are considered a reliable reference on trends, she said. Conley said the company that compiles the reports has not yet authorized her to release specific figures. Greater Glens Falls Transit System trolleys had the second most riders in history this summer, surpassed only by 2015, said Transit Director Scott Sopczyk. As of the end of August, the trolley system had 106,324 riders so far this season, a 2.7 percent decrease from the same period in 2015. The season continues through Columbus Day weekend. The two trolley routes in Lake George had a 4.9 percent increase in riders, but the route between Lake George and Glens Falls had a 7 percent decrease, resulting in the overall 2.7 percent decrease. The decrease was primarily because of slightly fewer foreign seasonal working commuting to Great Escape this season, Sopczyk said. The Hyde Collection art museum in Glens Falls had about 7,500 visitors in June, July and August, about a 20 percent increase over summer 2015, said Bill Belcher, the museums director of external affairs. Typically, the museum has one major exhibit that runs the entire summer, he said. This summer, the museum changed over to a new major exhibit at the end of June. Our attendance was still better, but we were dark (without a major exhibit) for 10 days as we changed over, he said. Conseulo said summer business helped hotel, restaurant and shop owners turn around from a bleak winter at the start of the year. People are trying to make up for anything that they might have lost in the winter. I believe they have, he said. Post-Labor Day weekend tourism looks promising as well. I dont think theres a room to be had for car show weekend, Consuelo said. Calls are coming in now for balloon festival. Adirondack Nationals Car Show is Thursday through Sunday at Fort William Henry Hotel and Conference Center in Lake George. Adirondack Balloon Festival is Sept. 22 to 25 at Crandall Park in Glens Falls and Warren County airport in Queensbury. Israel targeted Syrian Army artillery in the Golan Heights Sunday night, hours after a mortar shell landed on the Israeli side of the DMZ. There were no immediate reports of injuries or damage from the Israeli retaliation. Syrian opposition sources reported intense shelling of the village of Hamidiyah, in the demilitarized zone, around the time of the response. The IDF holds the Syrian government accountable for this blatant breach of Israeli sovereignty, and will continue to act in order to safeguard Israel, the army said in a statement. Israels retaliatory strike came a few hours after a stray mortar shell fired from Syria hit a road in the central Golan Heights. No injuries were reported in that incident, but the mortar damaged a roadway. Syrian opposition media reports around the time of the earlier incident said forces in Tel al-Shaar, a village near the demilitarized zone separating Syria and the Israeli-controlled Golan Heights, fired artillery at troops in Hamidiyah, a village in the DMZ. A report posted on Twitter by the Step News Agency wasnt clear about which force was responsible for the fire. Clashes were also reported in the nearby village of Jubata al-Hashab. Reports claims ISIS has lost all its territory along the Syrian-Turkish border Turkish forces and Syrian rebels thought to have expelled the militants Rebels and Islamist factions backed by tanks and warplanes took villages ISIS militants have lost all territory along the Turkey-Syria border - and in a double blow to the terror group, authorities have also seized an arsenal of weapons in Iraq. Turkish troops and allied Syrian rebels have driven the Islamic State group from the last strip of territory it controlled along the Syrian-Turkish border, a Turkish news agency reported. The advance effectively seals the extremist group's self-styled caliphate off from the outside word, shutting down key supply lines used to bring in foreign fighters, weapons and ammunition. The Anadolu news agency today reported that Turkey-backed Free Syrian Army rebels had cleared the area between the northern Syrian towns of Azaz and Jarablus. It said the advance 'has removed terror organisation Daesh's physical contact with the Turkish border in northern Syria'. 'IS has lost its contact with the outside world after losing the remaining border villages,' said the UK-based news agency, monitor. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights added: 'rebels and Islamist factions backed by Turkish tanks and warplanes' had taken several villages on the border 'after IS withdrew from them, ending IS's presence... on the border.' The Assad regime made major advances against rebels just south of Aleppo with government forces planning to encircle opposition fighters in order to reimpose the controversial siege on what was once the crown jewel city of Syria. The Syrian Arab Army plowed through territory south of Aleppo City on Sunday as the Assad regime once again looks to encircle rebel controlled territory in a bid to reestablish the siege. "The Syrian army, supported by allied forces, has total control of the armaments academy and expanded the territory it controls in the military academies zone," said the SANA state news agency . Additionally, military sources told AFP that the government has already recaptured the air force academy and that rebel fighters "are now besieged in the artillery academy." Video footage shows airstrikes devastating an artillery college in southern Aleppo confirming the Assad governments advances in the rebel controlled area making the reimplementation of the siege more likely. The siege is unpopular among Western analysts who argue that it causes disproportionate suffering among Aleppos civilian population who are unable to access necessary food and medical care in the Assad regimes effort to starve the opposition forces of supplies. Russia looked to remedy this situation through the implementation of humanitarian corridors for civilians to evacuate, but the idea was never fully tested as the siege was fractured only days later. Others worry that the civilians are effectively held hostage by the rebels and are caught in between the two forces. President Barack Obama took a hardline during discussions with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin on the sidelines of the G20 Summit parroting the theory of Hillary and the Democrats that Moscow has nothing better to do than intervene in Americas election. Following the G20 conference in Hangzhou, President Obama said that the issue of Russian hackers invading Americas cyberspace was a critical issue he raised during the summit amid a bout of anti-Russia hysteria in the United States provoked by claims that Putin has converted Republican nominee Donald Trump into an agent of the Kremlin in addition to concerns regarding the DNC Leaks. "We have had problems with cyber intrusions from Russia in the past," but he cautioned that the United States would not immediately seek to play into a "cycle of escalation." It was then that President Obama hurled headlong into threatening a cyber war against Russia saying, "Look, were moving into a new era here where a number of countries have significant capacity. And frankly, weve got more capacity than anybody, both offensively and defensively." Reids claims and the ensuing investigation follow in the wake of the much publicized DNC email dump by WikiLeaks that exposed a concerted scheme by Hillarys campaign to collude with the DNC and mainstream media pundits to spin false narratives about her primary election opponent Bernie Sanders. While Russia has denied any involvement in the leak, the Hillary campaign claims that Russian hackers had breached their systems and occupied the DNC server for over a year conflating the issue of a hack and the leak. In previous election cycles, both political parties have been hacked by as many as a dozen countries that seek to garner information on the potential next president of the United States. Hysteria took full force last week when it was reported that the election systems of Arizona and Illinois were breached by hackers with officials immediately pointing the finger at Russia despite a lack of evidence. What was actually hacked in Illinois, however, was not an election system, but rather a voter file that is already accessible to people online with names, phone numbers and party affiliation supposedly 200,000 or so records were "exfiltrated" (copied and pasted) which is hardly anything of value to a state actor. Not only has Russia faced continued insinuation that they are responsible for hacks that have potentially impacted the tone and tenor of the 2016 election cycle, but the country has also come under fire due to Trumps former campaign manager Paul Manaforts connection to former Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych who Russia favored. President Vladimir Putin vehemently denies the allegations of Russias involvement in the DNC leak saying "I dont know anything about it and on a state level Russia has never done this" but regarded the transmission of the information of potential malfeasance by Hillarys campaign and the DNC as a "public service." After being poorly received at the airport ahead of the G20 Summit, President Obama created a stir at the summit threatening "consequences" against China while in the country as a guest. On Monday, President Barack Obama leveled a severe warning against what he views as Chinas continued misbehavior in the South China Sea saying that there will be "consequences" if Beijing refuses to back down from its increasingly aggressive behavior that he says is worrying its neighbors. "Part of what Ive tried to communicate to President Xi (Jinping) is that the United States arrives at its power, in part, by restraining itself," said Obama in a CNN interview . "You know, when we bind ourselves to a bunch of international norms and rules, its not because we have to, its because we recognize that, over the long-term, building a strong international order is in our interest. And, I think, over the long-term, it will be in Chinas interests, as well." The statements fell flat given President Obamas plainly stated goal of minimizing Chinas regional influence as part of his "Asian pivot" as well as in light of recent diplomatic friction with a key American ally, the Philippines, whose President accused the United States of treating it as a colony on Monday before erupting in an obscenity laden tirade against the US President. Obama announced that he refused to meet his Filipino counterpart on Monday as a result. The friction that the United States faces with the Philippines is critical to the dispute over the South China Sea as the island nation was urged by the Obama administration to seek unilateral arbitration before The Hague international tribunal setting into motion the diminution of Chinas longstanding claim in the region. "Where we see them violating international rules and norms, as we have seen in some cases in the South China Sea or in some of their behavior when it comes to economic policy, weve been very firm. And weve indicated to them that there will be consequences," said President Obama. The statements by the US President fly in the face of Beijings request that the dispute over the South China Sea be avoided for the sake of maintaining a sense of diplomacy at the economic summit. Welcome Guest! You Are Here: Welcome Guest! You Are Here: Home Regional News East The IMF team in charge of Ghanas three-year bailout program has expressed displeasure at the passage of the BOG Amendment bill which keeps thresholds of the Central Banks financing of governments budget at 5%. However, as part of conditions under the $918 million bailout program with Ghana, the Central Bank is required to reduce its five percent financing of the annual budget to 0%. This was supposed to be solidified by the amendment of the BOG Amendment Bill which hitherto placed the threshold at 5%. The move has led to the suspension of the release of the third tranche of Ghanas IMF funds, which should have been transferred in August. The IMF as part of the three-year bailout conditions with Ghana, expected that the Central Bank financing of governments budget will be reduced to zero from the initial 5% of the budget. However parliament recently voted to keep the cap at 5%, meaning that government could still receive financing from the Central Bank to the tune of 5% of the national budget. The IMF team currently reviewing governments adherence to the fiscal conditions under the bailout program as a pre-requiste to the release of the third tranche of the IMF funding, stated clearly that , outstanding questions remain with regards to certainelements of the legislation recently passed by Parliament and discussions will continue. The team visited Accra from August 29 to September 2, 2016 to continue discussions on the third review of Ghanas financial and economic program supported by the IMFs Extended Credit Facility (ECF). It stated that the team had constructive discussions with the authorities during the week on a few outstanding issues. The discussions focused mainly on updating the macroeconomic projections, firming up the fiscal outlook for 2016, and ascertaining that financial pressures faced by the main State Owned Enterprises (SOEs) in the energy sector will not pose additional risks to the central government budget, it said. The trip is to bring British importers, exporters and SMEs to scout for business opportunities and partnerships in Ghana in October 2016. CEO of UKGCC Tony Burkson, based in Accra, said Ghana remains an exciting prospect for British companies due to its historic trading relationships with the UK. British expertise and innovation is highly sought after in Ghana and the wider West Africa region. "The Ghana Investment Tour is an opportunity for British companies to meet decision makers, regulators and potential business partners in Ghana. The UKGCC is excited to welcome British businesses to Accra in October for the Ghana Investment Tour," he said. The UK is one of the largest foreign investors in Ghana, and several British brands already operate in the West African country, including Barclays, Standard Chartered, Vodafone, Tullow, Blue Skies, British Airways, G4S, Prudential, GlaxoSmithKline, and Diageo. Ghana is also a favoured choice for SMEs making their first steps exporting into Africa, with benefits such as skilled and trainable labour, immediate access to all the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) markets, and a large consumer base with a growing middle class. GIT aims to give new, business-focused entrants to Ghana a packaged opportunity to research and act-upon their business and investment interests in the country, alongside a friendly team of UK and Ghanaian experts and professionals. Speaking at the inauguration of the Agona Abodom Community Senior High School in the Central Region as part of his five-day tour, he said an additional 120,000 boarding students have been earmarked for the programme, which will increase the total number of students in senior high schools. The 1992 Republican Constitution stipulates that Ghana must embrace a progressively free Senior High School education ten years upon the coming into being of the Constitution. He said 23 out of the 200 community day schools are at various stages of completion. He noted that every Community SHS have been allocated a brand new bus. See also: Mahama to inaugurate Agona Abodom Community SHS The President said Community Day SHS will benefit students who could have missed out on admission due to limited resources. Young boys and girls, who, but for the establishment of these schools would have missed out on receiving an affordable yet world-class education with these community day schools; that hard working girl who could not get a place in secondary school because of limited access, can now have a heart desire and hope to access secondary education again. It is humbling yet fulfilling that a brilliant young boy in a community like Agona Abodom who will ordinarily drop out of school after JHS because of limited access and financial difficulties can today pick up his books and contribute to class discussions and receive a round of applause from his peers for giving the right answers to a question posed by his teacher, he said. However, President John Mahama will be in the Central region this week for a 5-day campaign tour. While in the region, he will visit and pay courtesy calls on the various traditional councils, interact with identifiable groups and address party supporters. President Mahama will visit constituencies like Agona East, Agona West, Gomoa East, Gomoa West, Gomoa Central, Ekumfi, Mfantseman and Cape Coast North all in the Central region. According to 3news the suspect used a razor blade to cut the penis after the victim refused to be sodomised by his colleague. This is not the suspects first attempt at trying to sodomise the victim without succeeding. READ ALSO: Thief caught sleeping in pastors bed during robbery When the prison officers got to the cell they saw the victim lying helplessly in a pool of blood. He was subsequently rushed to the Interberton Hospital for surgery after the Prisons infirmary administered first aid. Prison wardens say they do not know how the suspect got a razor blade into his cell for such an act. He revealed that producers of the movie did not pay him because he was up and coming artiste but hurriedly added that the movie makers gave him a token of GHC 10.00 as an appreciation fee. He applauded producers of Agyese Nyame Bamu movie for giving him such an amount because he "used to walk home with nothing after working with some producers during the time he shot that movie". My transportation to many movie sets back then was from my pocket so if someone is helping to give you this amount then its good. In everything, if you dont dedicate yourself, you will not be successful. In Ghana, most people want free goods so they will continue to use that particular product for it to grow and they wont get that free anymore from same product again because it is now a big brand. If you think you are good and they are giving you penny for your services, do it very well because your reward will come in no time. If you focus on money from onset of your career, it might not end you well, he told MzGee on Hitz FM. Lil Win later thanked God for making him relevant in the industry with the phrase I feel very happy when I hear a lot of people using my term because who am I for God to use me in this way. I didnt attend Legon so for Ghanaians to be using what I say, its just the blessings of God," he said. Rev Prof Martey explained that he only addresses issues and not names and he has no intention of changing the trend. Pressure has been mounting on the outspoken moderator of the PCG especially from the governing National Democratic Congress and some anti-corruption crusaders for him to mention those he alleges came to bribe him. READ ALSO: Outgoing Presby moderator commended But addressing a gathering at the Presbyterian College of Education at Abetifi in the eastern Region, Rev Prof Martey said he will consistently stick to issues than naming and shaming. The outgoing Moderator accused a political party of attempting to bribe him with $100,000 to silence him. Rev Prof Martey said at a news conference on Tuesday. Politicians have tried all means to muzzle me, to get me but they cant, they come with bribes, fat envelopes, $100, 000 I want everybody to listen that politicians came to my house with $100, 000 and also with the promises that if you keep quiet, we will give you a house at Trasaaco with [a] swimming pool, Rev Prof Martey said at a news conference last week Tuesday. A former Public Relations Officer of the Presbyterian Church of Ghana Dr Emmanuel Osei Acheampong subsequently revealed that the outgoing moderator of the church accepted $100,000 as a bribe from the opposition NPP. The situation has not gone down well with some sections of the public, with many asking security agencies to invite Rev Prof Emmanuel Martey for interrogation. Others have also dared the outgoing Moderator to name those who attempted bribing him. Commenting on the matter, the Managing Editor of the Insight newspaper, Kwesi Pratt said leaders of the Presbyterian Church of Ghana must rise and restore the image of the church as it is being destroyed by Rev Martey. "When I heard what he had said I was shocked to the marrow because it did not make sense.why did he come [to the] public when he was not ready to disclose. If all these drama was unfolding in a den of thieves I will have no problem but this is the headquarters of the Presbyterian church of Ghana; the oldest church in Ghana; double standards, somebody lying and so on. This press conference was held to mark the end of his tenure but in the end, nothing of the Presbyterian church is being discussed. He managed to divert attention from the achievement of the church, its history and so on promoting his ego; wanting to look like a moral King Kong, he said on Accra-based Radio Gold. President Mahama said, There are many requests for the establishment of new districts. It is not peculiar to Agona alone; all over the country I have received requests for creation of new districts. Speaking at the inauguration of the Agona Abodom Community Senior High School in the Central Region as part of his five-day tour, he said I want to assure that districts will be created but in a comprehensive manner. They are not to be created individually on singly. We would look at what the population numbers are in the various districts and those that qualify to be created as new districts will be given new districts and I assure you that when this process takes place, Agona Nyakrom is not going to be left out, I can assure you, Nana." Speaking to Accra-based Starr FM spokesperson for the Hajj Board Mohammed Amin Lamptey said the monies will only be refunded to failed pilgrims who made payments to the right people. READ ALSO: Stranded pilgrims to be airlifted on Sunday Mohammed Amin Lamptey explained that the Saudi Arabia government earlier promised to increase Ghanas quota but failed to fulfil it. This led to many pilgrim hopefuls been denied visas for this years hajj. Hundreds of prospective hajj pilgrims failed to make it for this years pilgrimage even though they had made payments to participate. The last batch of Ghanaian Muslim pilgrims were airlifted on Sunday. The Community Land Bill, signed into law by Kenya's President Uhuru Kenyatta on Aug. 31, lays out the steps for communities to acquire titles to their ancestral land. Around two-thirds of Kenya's land is customarily owned by communities without formal title deeds, making it easy for corrupt individuals to sell or lease the land without the communities' knowledge. "This is very important," Shadrack Omondi, executive director of the Resource Conflict Institute, told the Thomson Reuters Foundation in a phone interview. "Without a legal framework... community land rights have been abused." Nomadic herding communities in Kenya's marginalised arid and semi arid areas have been especially vulnerable because they leave their land vacant when they migrate in search of water and pasture. "People would see that land as empty," said Omondi. "Through corrupt means, they start subdivision and all manner of things and before you realise, the communities have lost their land." The government is hopeful that recent discoveries of oil and coal, much of it on community land, will reduce poverty in these areas and help Kenya attain middle-income status by 2030. But several projects have become bogged down in disputes over land ownership and benefit sharing with local communities. The Lake Turkana Wind Power project, Africa's largest single wind farm, and the county government were sued in 2014 by residents who alleged the land was leased without consultation. The company said it held numerous public meetings and received a leasehold from the local government. The court did not issue orders to stop the project, which should be completed by December, the government said. Also in Turkana, Tullow Oil halted work in 2013 because of violent protests by locals demanding more jobs and other benefits. A $144 million wind power project in central Kenya was cancelled in February due to disputes with residents over land compensation. ALSO READ: Kenyan president signs anti-doping bill into law Under the new law, community members must meet to choose a land management committee, register themselves and agree the boundaries of their land with government officials before receiving title deeds. Questions remain over the implementation of the act as land is an explosive political issue in Kenya and has been one of the main drivers of conflict since independence in 1963. Politicians have illegally granted vast tracts of public land to themselves and their allies, ignoring numerous government inquiries calling for their titles to be revoked. "What is the willingness to implement?" asked Odenda Lumumba, national coordinator of Kenya Land Alliance advocacy network. "What land reforms have shown us worldwide in the recent past is that where the ruling elites have been challenged by citizenry to enact (reform)... they have gone ahead to block the land reforms through implementation." The former Presby Moderator, Reverend Professor Emmanuel Martey revealed last week that when the Christian Council nominated him to be on the Council, he had second thoughts about the position. So I told God about it. I dont do anything without first consulting my friend the Holy Spirit. Few days to the inauguration of the Peace Council, I had a missed call; I didnt know the person so I didnt call back. So the person sent a text message, it was the Deputy Minister of Interior, [James] Agalga. So immediately something said call so I called back. He was then at the house so he came out, Rev Martey added. First I said, yes, this is the Rev. Prof. Martey, Moderator of the Presbyterian Church of Ghana, but you know something, the Holy Spirit blinded his mind so he didnt even hear that it was the Presby Moderator who was talking to him. The Holy Spirit wanted him to tell me what he has for me, to help me decide whether or not to be a member of the Peace Council. He said he had a meeting with the Minister of Interior and they both agreed that I become the Chairman of the Peace Council, he said. However, a statement from the Interior Ministry said Hon. James Agalga could not have 'lobbied' Rev. Prof. Martey to take up the position of Chairman of the Peace Council in view of the fact that he not clothed with such power in view of the law. Below is the full statement from the Interior Ministry: Since taking office in July, May and her Brexit minister David Davis have given little detail about what Britain's future relationship with the EU will look like, saying only they want it to involve curbs on immigration and a good deal on trade. "He (Davis) will be making a statement to parliament this week about the work that the government has been doing over the summer and obviously how we are going to take that forward in shaping the sort of relationship we want with the EU," May told the BBC in an interview recorded before she left Britain for the G20 summit in China. On her way to the summit, May told reporters Britain's economy will suffer as a result of the decision to leave the EU despite signs in recent economic data that the impact has not been as severe as some predicted. May told the BBC she would use the summit to begin talks with world leaders including U.S. President Barack Obama, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull over future trade deals. "I want to talk about how we can scope out what a trade deal and the negotiations on a trade deal would be like so that when the time comes, when we are able to sign those deals, we are able to do so," she said. May, who upset Chinese officials by delaying a $24 billion project to build a partly Chinese-funded nuclear power plant, is also due to hold a one-to-one with Chinese President Xi Jinping at the summit. She told the BBC she would be making a decision on the deal later this month. May has been clear she will not trigger Article 50, the formal process of leaving the EU, this year in order to give Britain time to prepare for upcoming negotiations, but said it would not be "kicked into the long grass". ALSO READ: British PM promises to help small businesses navigate Brexit May said there would be no early national election, despite some in her ruling Conservatives believing turmoil in the opposition Labour Party gives them an opportunity to increase their small parliamentary majority. "We need that period of time, that stability to be able to deal with the issues that the country is facing and have that election in 2020," she said. The workers of the Electricity Company of Ghana have been on strike to press home demands for government to rescind its decision to give away operations of ECG to a private concessionaire for twenty years. Understand that this is an essential service. We need some kind of calm in the sector to be able to do what we have to do to ensure that consumer get the right kind of service. We came out of load shedding and these things are not really good at this time when we need to makes sure there is a smooth stabilisation of power. Strike to continue Workers of the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG), will today [Monday], continue with day two of their sit down strike. The Public Utility Workers Union, who have led the boycott of the delivery of services by staff of ECG, asked the workers to continue the strike that was supposed to last for three-days last week. Addressing residents of the constituency as part of his campaign in the Upper West Region, Nana Addo said the people of Nadowli-Kaleo must vote for the NPPs 26-year old candidate, Elvis Bortaa, to replace Bagbin. The Member of Parliament, Majority Leader Alban Bagbin, was in parliament when I went to parliament in 1997. He had already served one term. I left parliament in the year 2008 and Bagbin my good friend is still in parliament. I think that we will all do Alban Bagbin a good favour if we retire him so that he can go and have a good retirement. Lets work on that and retire him so he can go and have a rest so we push this young man Elvis Bortaa to come in his place, he added. READ ALSO: Mr Bagbin has held the seat since 1992. Meanwhile, the NPPs Elvis Bortaa had earlier expressed optimism of winning the seat come December 7. I am competent and well-equipped with what it takes to lead the people. All it takes is for you to understand the suffering of the people and to have adequate knowledge of what options you need to make available to salvage the situation, he explained. He, therefore, questioned why the two major political parties (NDC and NPP) are trying to claim ownership over a policy his party is already implementing. Dr Nduom, therefore, warned Ghanaians to be cautious of politicians who make fake and empty promises just to win power. NPPs Presidential nominee Nana Akufo Addo promised to construct one dam for a village in the northern regions if he wins the December polls but the governing NDC later claimed that it has been building dams in those areas already. Nana Addo was speaking during his campaign tour at a rally in Wa in the Upper West region. He argued that there was absolutely nothing wrong with begging to be President. He said he will continue to beg the electorates if that was all he needed to help him realise his dream of serving Ghana. Im prepared to beg the people of Ghana to be President if that is what is required to be done, he added. President John Mahama at a campaign rally in Bimbilla in the Northern Region has asked Akufo-Addo to refrain from begging for power. But Nana Addo argued that the experience of the person who is there now, has been a disastrous experience for our country so what is the purpose of continuity? Nana Addo said. Although the questions he shared via his Instagram page are mostly rhetorical in nature, they are enough to provoke deep concerns in the hearts of Nigerians. According to the comedian, the country has gotten to the point where, even Jesus Christ, cannot save it. He wrote: The economy will remain like this for a long while because the strings that pull us into dire straits are still pulling us even much stronger. How did we get here? We were making so much from oil and neglected all other sources of revenue. We did not only neglect those sources of revenue, we did not invest the revenue from oil in infrastructural development of the country. We were not futuristic in our planning either. Did we increase the number of hostels in our universities to accommodate the new numbers of students? Pay teachers well? Did we build more roads to take care of the millions of cars and transportation needs? Did we improve the services of the police force, Did we use the money to build better hospitals? Did the new industries create more jobs? Did we improve our power supply? Did we have stronger and modified laws that made sure that people who broke the laws were punished adequately to discourage others? Did we tidy up our pension scheme so that people are assured that they did not need to steal to assure themselves of better retirement? What have we done to reduce the cost of administration? What kind of enabling environment has the government created to grow the economy? What have we done to ensure the right people got elected? Have we developed our tourism potentials to attract foreign investors and revenues? Better banks? What have we done to curb corruption? What steps have we taken in the direction of housing? Who has security votes helped? We have failed to do all of that NOW OUR ALMIGHTY crude prices that were our saving grace are low. The production is even nearly nonexistent, thanks to militants. There is backlog of owed salaries, uncompleted projects, dead refineries, high unemployment and huge numbers of the unemployable. We are borrowing even Jesus cannot save us unless we create new sources of revenue. What do I know? I am an ordinary rib-cracker, I dey look, the comedian concluded. Ali Baba has been very vocal on issues concerning the country amongst other celebrities and he is showing no signs of backing down. ALSO READ: Comedian narrates how his mum almost lost her limbs The 51-year-old stand up comedian is one of the veterans in his trade and is widely looked up to by upcoming talents. He has also been vigorously involved in sensitizing the public on important issues. Toyin Aimakhu was born on September 5, 1984 in Auchi, Edo state but spent her early life in Ibadan, Oyo state. She holds a Higher National Diploma certificate in marketing from Ibadan polytechnic. She began acting in 2003, when Bukky Wright, visited Ibadan to shoot a movie. currently an actress, producer and director, Toyin has featured in several Nigerian films, such as "Alani Baba Labake", "Ebimi ni" and "Iya Ibadan". The elated actress took to Instagram to celebrate her special day. "Who am I Lord that you are mindful of me? Who am I that you should hear me when I call? its been a roller coaster year but Im grateful to God for his mercies over me even when I least deserve it. I dont know what lies ahead of me but I know God's plans for me are for good and not for disaster, to give me a future and a hope. Happy birthday to me!" she wrote. Nollywood movie producer, Emem Isong is unarguably one of the most respected filmmakers in Nigeria. Emem began her career in 1994 and has excelled in writing and producing movies. She holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Theater Arts from the University of Calabar and a diploma in computer science from the Computer Science Institute (NCR). During "I'm never ever going to be politically correct. I am going to try not to be insulting. I come from the two most insulting tribes in the world" said Freeze. The Cool FM OAP, however, admitted that he would try to be more diplomatic in future. "What I am going to work on is my diplomacy, not my political correctness. There is no way I am going to sit down and see someone say our President's wife did not go to the US when we have pictures of her going to the US and now be politically correct." ALSO READ: Freeze takes a shot at Duncan Mighty He further said "I will not insult. I will try not to let the Yoruba and Romanian side in me come out. I will tame those things down but the truth is what I am here to speak. Whatever you hear from me is the truth." He grabbed headlines last month when posted an old photo of him with Basketmouth's wife. Ogunwusi made the call when the crew of Apreel 1 Events Management visited him in his palace in Ile-Ife, Osun, to herald the 70th birthday of popular juju musician, Mr Sunday Adegeye. He said that the musician, popularly known as King Sunny Ade (KSA), had touched many lives in Yorubaland and the world through his music. Ogunwusi said that Sunny Ades brand of juju music cut across old and new generations, adding that he brought joy and happiness into several households. He said that he decided to support the 70th birthday celebration of KSA as a royal father, fan and ``to project the Yoruba race. The monarch pledged that he would give all necessary support toward a successful organisation of the anniversary. Earlier, Mr Seyifunmi Odunuga, Chief Executive Officer, Apreel 1 Events Management, gratitude to the monarch for his support of the event. Odunuga called for the celebration of Yoruba icons and heroes while they lived, and commended the traditional ruler for his efforts toward the preservation and projection of Yoruba culture and tradition. The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports Adegeye's birthday celebration would hold on Sept. 28 with a lecture entitled "Music Industry: The Way Forward", at Oduduwa Hall, Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile Ife. Welcome to the Pulse Community! We will now be sending you a daily newsletter on news, entertainment and more. Also join us across all of our other channels - we love to be connected! Welcome to the Pulse Community! We will now be sending you a daily newsletter on news, entertainment and more. Also join us across all of our other channels - we love to be connected! Welcome to the Pulse Community! We will now be sending you a daily newsletter on news, entertainment and more. Also join us across all of our other channels - we love to be connected! Dara's session was designed to equip the participants with the formal toolkits required for success in business generally but marketing especially. ALSO READ: Three smartphones to jumpstart your photography career For Efritin, the teenagers are the countrys future leaders and CEOs. Hence our MD shared with them Marketing and Strategy tips and on Identifying Competition and Developing Competitive Advantage, which will help them set their enterprises apart. Through case studies, question and answer sessions as well as practical examples, the participants understood their young age was not a disadvantage for present business endeavours but the strength to be harnessed for good. On why Efritin also sponsored the event, Dara disclosed that the companys mission to create sustainable value for underserved communities was not done if the youth were not developed. Efritin is the brand of the future, which is why we ardently support the young among us because they too are the future and together we can create a sustainable society for everyone, he added. The CEO Apprentice Africa was organised by BusinessDay to introduce teenagers to the formal ecosystem required for success in business. This years event which is the first in a series of many over the coming years held from August 22nd August 26th at Microsoft Office in Victoria Island, Lagos. Other sponsors of the event include Microsoft, Andela, Avis, Cafe Neo, Whogohost and many others. According to the woman who spoke to Punch News in an interview, members of her family have been living in fear, as suspected kidnappers are trying to steal her three months old grand-daughter. The baby was delivered by 14 years old daughter, Ese Oruru, who was forcefully taken by one Yunusa Dahiru, from her home residence in Bayelsa state to Kano, where she was converted to Islam and put in the family way. Oruru was however rescued by some law enforcement officers, who returned her to her family and given adequate security. ALSO READ: Abducted teen delivered of baby girl Punch reported that the once reliable security is now under threat, as some members of the family are now being threatened according to Rose. Towards the end of July, a man traced us from the court to the Police Officers Mess in Yenagoa (Bayelsa State capital). We later overheard him talking in Hausa language to someone on the telephone that he had located the place where Ese and her baby were staying. He said that they dont want the baby to grow up with these people, meaning us. My daughter ran to us when she heard that. I later sent my son to buy sachet water and he told us when he returned that he also saw the same man standing outside. I later saw this same man walking back and forth outside the officers mess, and he was still talking on the phone. His movements were suspicious. Since then, we have been living in fear. The same man was with Eses alleged abductor, in the court premises during one of the proceedings, wearing a red cap. Just recently one of my children was assaulted recently while on a commercial motorcycle by some unknown persons. The men sounded like they were Hausas; they asked her if she was going to the house the government had paid for them. I didnt know how they knew that. Before my daughter could rush into a tricycle, these men forcefully took away some of her belongings and the food she was bringing for Ese and the baby. We have reported the separate incidents to the Bayelsa State Police Commissioner, who then ordered that the security around the Officers Mess be beefed up. The number of police officers guarding our premises has since reduced, that is why I am even more afraid now." Like all pregnant women in Uganda, she was tested for HIV as part of routine screening for the virus. She lost her baby and was then given the news that she was HIV-positive. "I was in a lot of pain and the situation was bad. They told me they were going to clean my womb. They took me to the examination room and asked me how many children I had. I told them I had four," she said, recalling the events of 2008. "They were using English. I did not understand what they were saying because I never studied English. They told me they were going to give me treatment. Later when I gained consciousness I saw a dressing on my belly, but because I was in great pain, I couldn't ask questions." After the miscarriage, Ida tried for some years to get pregnant again. Eventually, she went to another hospital, where she was examined and told her fallopian tubes had been cut. Without her knowledge, she had been sterilized. Joy, who, like Ida, did not want to give her real name, was sterilized in 2003, when she was 21 years old. She had been admitted to hospital in Kampala to deliver her first child. She was HIV-positive. "They told me after birth that they would give me an injection so that I wouldn't give birth again for five years - which I accepted,"," she told the Thomson Reuters Foundation. "I didn't know until later that I had been sterilized. I found out when I visited a clinic because I kept getting stomach pains." The doctor at the clinic asked to see her medical records which were with her uncle. When she asked to see the forms she learnt that her fallopian tubes had been cut and her uncle had signed the consent form. "Upon hearing that, I started shedding tears. This has greatly affected my health. I just struggle to accept the situation," she said. A 2015 study carried out in nine districts of Uganda by the International Community of Women living with HIV Eastern Africa (ICWEA) found 72 out of 744 HIV-positive women surveyed had been sterilized. Twenty of them had been forced to undergo the procedure, or it had happened without their consent. Hajarah Nagadya of ICWEA said that 18 of the 20 forced sterilizations had been carried out in government hospitals, and two cases occurred in private clinics. "These women need psychological support such as counseling because a lot is going through their mind," Nagadya said. "Others want to consider a legal action, go to court and have the government compensate them." Asuman Lukwago, the permanent secretary at the ministry, said such cases of forced sterilization were a criminal offence. However, he said there may be exceptional circumstances in which doctors may decide to sterilize women if they believed their lives would be in danger in pregnancy. The monthly release of N500,000 is part of effort to own and promote Infant and Young Child Feeding (IYCF) in 203 communities of the council area. UNICEFs Kaduna Chief of Field Office, Mr Utpal Moitra, who gave the commendation in a statement in Kaduna described the effort as positive and welcome development. Moitra said the effort was a positive development towards institutionalising ownership of programme by the local government authorities. According to him, Kajuru LGA Chairman, Sani Magaji, has placed nutrition as a priority in the agenda of the local government and is committed to the success of the programme. ``In March, 2016, the Federal Ministry of Health, Kaduna State Ministry of Health and other ministries and agencies met with UNICEF and USAID-funded SPRING project to improve IYCF practice in the area as a pilot scheme. ``It was agreed at the meeting that to improve nutrition and child survival in the State, the state government is to release a total of nine million annually. ``N500,000 monthly for Community-based IYCF and N250,000 monthly for Community Management of Acute Malnutrition (CMAM) for each LGA. ``The chairman of Kajuru LGA has therefore approved the monthly release of the N500,000 to promote IYCF and pledged his administration commitment to supervise the programme, " he said. Moitra said that the Community-based infant and young child feeding promotion, counselling, and support had been acknowledged as one of the key pillars and strategy for combating malnutrition and other diseases associated with high under five mortality rates. ``UNICEF developed a global counselling package to equip community and health facility workers to support caregivers to optimally feed their infants and young children. ``In 2014, the USAID-funded SPRING project, UNICEF, and the Federal Ministry of Health collaborate to evaluate the effectiveness of the Community Infant and Young Child Feeding (C-IYCF) Counselling Package in Nigeria. The disclosure was made by Comrade Salihu Othman Isah, the media aide to Attorney General of the Federation (AGF), Abubakar Malami to Daily Trust on Sunday, September 4, 2016. Isah added that a US-Nigerian lawyer, Godson Nnaka, had filed an appeal stalling the release of the funds after claiming to be entitled to a portion of the assets as compensation for legal services allegedly rendered to Nigeria. Malami had spoken of Nnaka in August, blaming him for the delay in the fund recovery process. For the US, the only impediment is a Nigerian lawyer who has been constituting a threat to the repatriation of the funds, Malami said. He has filed many court processes in the past few years demanding 40 per cent of the amount involved. He relied on a purported court injunction granted him in the last 14 years. Over the period of 10 years, the matter had gone through processes. At a point, he did not even have licence to operate in the US. His filings have been of concern to the US and the Federal Government. We are looking at the possibility of concluding the process at a Court of Appeal in the US, he added. Malami also said, at the time, that Switzerland is preparing to return $132million also looted by Abacha. But Finance Minister Kemi Adeosun and Senior Special Assistant to the President on Foreign Affairs, Abike Dabiri-Erewa, apparently had other ideas. First, Adeosun, the smooth talking minister was quoted by her twitter handle as saying: recession is just a word. The strongest of all warriors are these two, time and patience. I know people are concerned about the recession. Recession is a word, the tweet read. Thousands of Nigerians feeling the pangs of Buharinomics in their pockets, understandably begged to disagree and harassed Adeosun via the twitter account. As the backlash intensified, Adeosun and her team did what they shouldnt have done: they disowned the twitter account and the tweet was hurriedly deleted. The Twitter handle, @Mrskemiadeosun, does not belong to the Honourable Minister of Finance. At no point did she make that kind of statement in her interaction with the media after the Federal Executive Council meeting on Wednesday. The fake handle does not belong to her,Festus Akanbi, spokesman for Mrs. Adeosun, fired off to the press and the baying mob. It is worth noting that the disowned twitter account had been used in Adeosuns name in the past and had come in handy in conveying relevant information to Nigerians. Heck, the presidents spokesperson, Garba Shehu, had copiously mentioned and quoted Adeosun with the same twitter handle not too long ago. If the twitter handle was a fake, why will the presidency even make copious reference to it? Isnt there a simple enough system for vetting social media accounts belonging to government officials at the highest level of administrative power in Nigeria? As Team Adeosun scampered to save face, a video soon surfaced online starring the minister in her own words. It was a different occasion, but one in which Adeosun, in trying to explain why Nigeria should diversify her economy, did refer to recession as a word. Here goes: So, yes, were borrowing. We need to borrow because we cannot wait for the oil prices to recover. We have to invest in this large infrastructure projects that are needed to unlock the competitiveness in our economy and create jobs for our people. Thats the objective of this government and thats what were working towards. Im also extremely confident that we would get there. The one thing Nigerians have in abundance is probably our greatest intangible asset and the spirit of the Nigerian people. The entrepreneurship of the Nigerian people. And their hard work. If we can combine those with an enabling environment created by government, I believe this economy can turn around. I know people are concerned about recession. We can come out of recession. We can make sure its as short as possible by sticking to the prescription which is; we must be disciplined with our expenditure, we must invest in capital and we must diversify our economy, Adeosun said in the video that was shared numerous times on Twitter this week until it assumed a life of its own. The 'cockneyed' minister was thereafter left with plenty of eggs on her face. As the blowback from the Adeosun faux pas was simmering, Dabiri was cooking up one of hers. Facebook Founder, Zuckerberg, was in Nigeria and yes, Dabiri had met with him at the Villa alongside the President, his Vice and other top government officials. Met Mark Zuckerberg today, I asked what he is doing to make it more difficult to clone people's identitys on FB. Cos I have 11 fake Facebook accounts opened in my name and he said, would be looked into immediately, Dabiri tweeted profusely. While nothing is wrong with complaining about numerous Facebook accounts in your own name to the founder in the flesh, it is still open to debate whether a top government personnel should consider her cloned accounts worthy of the publics time at a time we should all be talking about bringing badly needed investments to Nigeria in a time of economic recession. Dabiri was surprised that she got berated on Twitter for her comments. But what is even wrong with complaining about multiple identity and solutions on FB to the founder, she would later tweet. What is wrong Maam is that as one of the presidents top advisers, meeting the 6 richest man in the world and what concerns you the most as you make small talk with him are your cloned accounts, was soooo off! Shouldnt the subject of cloned accounts have been handled by a tech team at the presidency? Why would a Zuckerberg be bothered anyway, about the cloned accounts of someone in Nigeria when hes got bigger fish to fry on his plate? Like they say, discretion is need. Top government officials should be held to certain standards by the rest of society and the public was understandably outraged because last week, Adeosun and Dabiri dropped the ball. According to a tweet by Sahara Reporters, Salkida was arrested when he came into the country from the United Arab Emirate (UAE). The Nigerian Army had declared the Nigerian journalist, alongside two others- Ahmed U. Bolori and Aisha Wakilin connection with a video showing some of the Chibok girls. Salkida had earlier asked the Nigerian Army to send him an airline ticket if they wanted him to return immediately. Mrs. Wakil, in an exclusive interview with Pulse News, said the Chibok girls are being treated well by the Boko Haram sect in Sambisa forest. According to her, the protests that followed the abduction of the girls, made the terrorists refuse to release them. Wakil said "It did not take long, then the noise started 'Chibok girls, Chibok girls.' So they called me to ask if Chibok girls have become gold and diamond. And they decided that they wont release anyone. The protest was so much! "They told me Mama, we saw Obamas wife on television with #BringBackOurGirls placard. When the noise became too loud, they became bold and said they would not release them. They began to call the girls Our golden Chibok girls. President Muhammadu Buhari has said undefinedthe release of Chibok girls with representatives of Boko Haram. Peterside stated this at the closing ceremony of a five-day training programme tagged ``Train the Trainers, facilitated by the International Maritime Organisation (IMO) and NIMASA on ISPS Code Compliance in Lagos. He said that the agency was committed to improving the fortunes of Nigeria by creating an enabling environment for a business-friendly and secured environment for stakeholders in the industry. The director-general said that the training was predicated on the premise that a fact -finding team was in Nigeria earlier in the year to conduct a Needs Assessment where a number of gaps were identified. According to Peterside, this necessitated the training, with a view to addressing some of the gaps identified. ``I guess that in the course of this exercise, we have learnt that good security requires planning and stringent implementation. ``I know that in the course of this training, the seed of co-operation and collaboration between NIMASA as Designated Authority (DA) for ISPS Code Implementation in Nigeria, Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) Nigerian Inland Waterways Authority (NIWA) and the Federal Ministry of Transportation has been planted. ``My expectation and desire of the leadership of these Agencies is that it will grow and blossom in a tripartite series of planned training programmes. ``This is expected to culminate with the lead auditors training, which will place you the drivers of the system at the cutting edge of professionalism in ISPS code implementation, the director-general said. He thanked the Minister of Transportation, Mr Rotimi Amaechi, for his support and enduring commitment to the imperatives of NIMASAs DA status and indeed all matters pertaining to the maritime industry in Nigeria. They (the GMDs) noted that the petrol price of N145/liter is not congruent with the liberalization policy ALSO READ: Marketers want increase in fuel price If that sounds like a precursor to another round of increase in the pump price of petrol, thats because it probably is. Isnt it rather curious that the state run oil company it was that released the statement? Here are 3 reasons why we think Nigerians would have to put up with another round of agony occasioned by petrol pump price increase: 1) The federal government is certainly mulling the idea, otherwise the NNPC wouldnt have sent out that statement. Last month, Group Managing Director of the NNPC, Maikanti Baru, denied that a price increase of PMS was imminent. I have not been directed to increase pump price. Even the other price was based on recommendation from the regulated body. Well, that was last month. Pulse put a call through to an aide of Mr. Baru who repeated the same lines. But like they say, there cant be smoke without fire; especially in this clime. 2) Foreign exchange (Forex) availability is a huge factor at the moment for businesses in Nigeria and that is certainly the case whether you are importing toothpick or refined petrol. As everyone now knows, one thing this country doesnt have enough of at the moment is forex. ALSO READ: NNPC boss says no increase in fuel price The petrol price of N145/liter is not congruent with the liberalization policy especially with the foreign exchange rate and other price determining components such as crude cost, the NNPC statement read. Well, there you have it, guys. 3) Independent marketers are insisting that if what happened a few months ago can be called liberalization, why peg the price of the product? Allow market forces determine the price of the product, the marketers have argued. Marketers have argued that they are struggling to maintain pump price at N145 per liter because of the stiff competition in the downstream oil sector, but stressed that the practice was not sustainable, according to a Punch story on the development. Deja vu? So, yes, you may want to brace up for another round of debates and protests after a petrol price hike. Ekweremadu asked the Governors to emulate the Ekiti state Governor, Ayo Fayose, who passed the Grazing Prohibition law recently. According to the Deputy Senate President, laws like that will stop the loss of innocent lives in Igbo land. He also suggested that the Federal Government can construct and lease ranches for use by the herdsmen, adding that it will produce healthy livestock. Ekweremadu said Governments of various states in Igbo land and indeed other parts of the country should immediately consider enacting legislation that confine cattle-rearing to modern ranches as obtainable in developed societies. In fact, our governments could go a step further to invest in constructing and leasing out modern ranches. This will produce healthier animals, give better products, provide employment, added value to the farm products, and help in promoting peaceful co-existence as well as sifting armed bandits and terrorists from real farmers doing legitimate business. Sadly, when you enact laws to checkmate the menace, as Ekiti State has commendably done, you will still rely on the same security institutions to enforce them. This is the dilemma. Therefore, our state governments should take further step by ensuring that such legislations provide for enforcement bodies, such as Forest Rangers, which will consistently comb the forests to ensure that those who run foul of the laws are arrested and speedily prosecuted to serve as deterrent to others. The Deputy Senate President also condemned the attack carried out by Fulani herdsmen in At-takwu, Akagbe Ugwu community, Enugu State on Thursday, August 25, 2016. Dr Olufemi Onanuga, the Special Adviser to Governor on Primary Health Care, said this while reviewing the report of recent raids by the State Task force on Counterfeit, Fake Drugs and Unwholesome Processed Foods in Lagos. The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that 30 illegal patent medicine stores and pharmacies were sealed in June at Ajeromi-Ifelodun Local Government Area. Onanuga, who spoke on recent raids in Ikorodu local government area by the task force, said that 37 outlets out of 49 visited in the area had been sealed. He listed some of them to include Ikorodu Central, Agric, Agbede, Ita-Oluwo, Eyita, Odongunyan, Igbogbo, Itamaga and Ijede were sealed off for various offences. He said the pharmacies and patent medicine stores were sealed in accordance with the provisions of Chapter C34 of the Counterfeit, Fake Drugs and Unwholesome Processed Foods (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act. According to him, the task force carries out the raids in conjunction with the officials of National Agency for Food, Drug and Administration and Control (NAFDAC) and representatives of the Pharmaceutical Society of Nigeria (PSN). ``The closure is part of the governments renewed efforts aimed at ridding the state of fake, substandard and illegal drugs and outlets through streamlining of drug distribution system in the state. ``The LASG has reiterated its commitment to rid the state of fake drugs and illegal pharmaceutical outlets shops operating in the State to avert the danger posed by the illegal operators. ``The affected pharmacies and patent medicine stores were sealed off for offences ranging from engaging quacks, licensed patent medicine shops operating beyond their scope and dispensing drugs to unsuspecting citizens. ``Licensed patent medicine vendors are authorised to sell only drug products in their original packs in approved pack size as produced by the manufacturing companies. ``The law prohibits dispensing and wholesaling of drugs by patent medicine vendors. Onanuga said that an investigative meeting would be held on Thursday, Sept.8 at the Pharmaceutical Inspectorate Unit of the Ministry. He said that the meeting would discuss the status of the sealed premises and also give room for the task force to meet with the owners of the sealed premises. ``It will also notify them of the procedures and appropriate conditions to be met for reopening and payment of administrative fee to the State government," the aide said. Waney also told the NDA and other militant groups to stay away from Rivers state, adding that he will engage any group that dares him. Waney said On a strong note, we are non-violent and we shall remain so in our collective agitation for a better ONELGA (Ogba/Egbema/Ndoni LGA), Orashi and Rivers State. In the light of this, we call on the Niger Delta Avengers group to leave ONELGA and Orashi region out of their targets. We are against the bombing and destruction of vital oil and gas installations in our communities. We shall not allow them or any of their type to enter our land. We want peace and development and that is what we have signed with our governor, Nyesom Wike. Rivers State is peaceful and we do not want outsiders to cause crisis and general insecurity in our state again. Adding that We have, accordingly, accepted amnesty gesture the government has granted us. We salute the governor for his love, for the sanctity of lives of some young people, who may have been deceived in the past. We believe that the amnesty will go a long way to transform for good, the lives of these youngsters. We hereby call on other armed groups to embrace the amnesty programme and give up militancy so that together, we can benefit from the development strides of the Rivers State Government. Oshiomhole gave the admonition at the Jesus Deliverance Ministry, Benin, where he went on a thank-you visit for the churchs support and prayers to his administration. He said that inviting God for guidance was imperative as power belonged to Him, and that He alone could guide and direct leaders to know what to do and deliver on their political promises to the people. He said that unless God guided, leaders would work in vain, adding that there had been cases where people were elected into office and did not know what to do after their election. The governor said that anything done without the fear of God could not succeed, stressing that he was in church to appreciate it and God for his stewardship. According to him, it is only fair I did that as I have visited in the past to seek your support during my elections. He said that his tenure was a story of miracle in view of his background and the fact that he had spent better part of his life agitating for the betterment of the masses. Oshiomhole added that his tenure was also a miracle as he defeated forces that had dominated the nation's political life. "Although many did not know how it happened, every believer knows that when God says yes, no man can say no," he said. He told the congregation that he had always been concerned about the environment where the church was located because of the massive erosion threat in the area, but said he was happy his administration checked it. He said that he felt fulfilled in handling the issue of the environment with the excitement on the faces of members of the church, adding that it was so because the people believed he would deliver on his promises. Oshiomhole appealed to the congregation to come out on Sept 10 `` to make very important decision by voting wisely for my successor. He however advised them to first take an appraisal of the state on how it was before and during his tenure and be wisely guided. He also urged the congregation to have faith in the country as present challenges facing it would be surmounted, and that church remained the strongest pillar in spite of the weaknesses of political leaders. In her response, the Spiritual Leader of the church, Pastor Ngozi Peters, prayed for God's intervention in the election. For today, September 5, 2016: THE GUARDIAN NEWSPAPER Akeredolus victory in Ondo reechoes 1978 UPN saga History repeated itself in Ondo State at the weekend when a former President of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), Mr. Rotimi Akeredolu (SAN), emerged the standard-bearer of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the November 26 governorship polls after a closely contested primary.Against all odds, the accredited 2,774 delegates across the 203 wards of the state elected Akeredolu as their choice. READ MORE Why U.S. is still holding $458m Abacha loot, by AGF A $458 million loot by the late former Head of State, Gen. Sanni Abacha and which the United States government planned to return to the Federal Government will not come now.According to the Attorney-General and Minister of Justice, Mr. Abubakar Malami (SAN), the money is being held back because a lawyer is insisting he be paid for representing the government in the suit that led to the forfeiture of the loot. READ MORE Why Nigeria, India top list of countries at greatest risk of Zika virus Nigeria has emerged as one of the countries at greater risk of Zika virus transmission. According to a new study published yesterday in The Lancet Infectious Diseases, many countries across Africa and Asia-Pacific may be vulnerable to Zika virus outbreaks, with India, China, the Philippines, Indonesia, Nigeria, Vietnam, Pakistan, and Bangladesh expected to be at greatest risk of transmission. READ MORE THE NATION NEWSPAPER Alamieyeseighas N2.8b hotel rots away in Abuja Almost seven years after the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) handed over the N2.8billion Chelsea Hotel to the government of Bayelsa State, the hitherto money-spinning edifice is rotting away in Abuja. READ MORE Tinubu is our leader, says Akeredolu Ondo State All Progressives Congress (APC) governorship candidate Oluwarotimi Akeredolu (SAN) has described Asiwaju Bola Tinubu as the partys respected leader, who he is waiting for his blessing. READ MORE Fayose: dead civil servants names on Ekitis payroll The names of many dead civil servants are still on Ekiti States payroll, Governor Ayo Fayose said at the weekend. READ MORE THE PUNCH NEWSPAPER Pope declares Mother Teresa saint Pope Francis has declared Mother Teresa of Calcutta, known as the saint of the gutters during her lifetime, a saint, just 19 years after her death. READ MORE Oke rejects Ondo APC primary result Two DAYS after the primary of the All Progressives Congress in Ondo State, some of the governorship aspirants of the party have been reacting to the outcome of the election. READ MORE FG plans 20-man panel to review electoral laws The Federal Government is finalising its plan to set up a 20-member committee to review existing electoral laws and past reports on electoral reforms, including that of the Justice Muhammad Uwais National Electoral Committee, The PUNCH has learnt. READ MORE THE BUSINESS DAY NEWSPAPER CBN launches Nigerian Portfolio Investors programme to boost FX inflows The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has launched a Nigerian portfolio investors (NPI); programmed designed to attract more dollar inflows into the country and continues to build on gains of the new foreign exchange (FX) market. READ MORE Funding, regulation, FX, others compound airlines' woes The grounding of two of Nigeria's eight airlines, Aero Contractors and FirstNation airlines, within a space of seven days, highlights the problems of the nation's domestic aviation sector. READ MORE Hope in sight for Aba ting-fenced power supply The Senators enstranged husband, Lieutenant Colonel Satchie Ayomike Etoromi (rtd.), who said he was not informed of his sons death, has issued a statement replying his sons comments about him. Tuoyo Etoromi Oduah, had earlier issued a statement in the dailies, calling his father an attention seeker. According to Lt. Col. Etormi, Tuoyo is being manipulated and lied to by his mother, who has been silent since this war of words started. The Senators enstranged husband also said Eyituoyo my son, they have misled you. When Omabuwa came home last year, Stella, your mother told me to call you to come home. She gave me your phone number. She said you were in the United States of America and dont answer calls. All calls to that your phone were not answered. I believe Omabuwa was killed, that is why Stella refused to tell me. The stories about how Stella took you away need not be told now. The grief that my son, Omabuwa, who was contacted by your junior sister, Valentina Omawumi Etoromi, and who came home, is dead is too much a pain for me now. Stella should bring our kids home. I want to bury Omabuwa who is now late, and you my lovely son, Eyituoyo should come home. I married Stella traditionally and under Ibo marriage law, every child she has before my dowry is returned belongs to me. It is Stella and not yourself who should tell me that my son, Omabuwa, your senior brother is dead. You said you offered flight tickets and accommodation to attend the burial and funeral of my son. Burial where? Do you have flight infrastructure at Akili Ozizor now? Is it Ibo culture for a woman whose dowry was paid to take her childrens corpse to her home town? That is an abomination from an abominable person. The controversies surrounding Omabuwas death will be investigated. My son, do not allow yourself to be dragged into what you do not have knowledge. Could it be that Omabuwa was killed because he came home? This is not the time to talk. May the Almighty God grant us His mercies, show us light that will make us know the truth. Amen. Eyituoyo, I am not Mr. Satchie Etoromi. I was commissioned into the Nigerian Army and attained the rank of Lieutenant Colonel before Stella came into my life. I was also conferred with a chieftaincy title when she was with me. It is a pity that you were not told my status in life. You will know I am not a nonentity as you were made to believe. My marriage with Stella was not short. She moved out of our home 19 years ago and so her telling you she divorced me 30 years ago is another big lie. How old are you? So why did she tell you all these lies? I am an incorruptible and disciplined officer and gentleman and you shall be proud that my blood flows in your veins when the truth becomes public knowledge. I was a polygamous man before Stella married me. I married many wives and it is a custom of our people. His Royal Highness, Igwe Oduah 1 of blessed memory had many wives too, so what did I do wrong? When Stella took you and everything away, in humility I prayed for the Almighty Gods mercy. Must she not do the needful and bring you to me? The Almighty God shall judge. I am your father. Bring Omabuwa home and come with him. I am not threatening you nor your mother. May the Almighty God bless you my son. All will be well. Marino had written the letter to the US Secretary of State, John Kerry, alleging infractions on some principles and local and international regulations and conventions by the President Muhammadu Buharis administration. In a statement issued on Sunday in Abuja, the Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, said that the allegations by Marino were imaginary and that he was poorly informed about the issues he commented on. He wondered why the congressman did not take the pains to get first-hand information from the US Embassy in Nigeria or any other credible source before engaging in "what is nothing but a propaganda of his own imagination. According to him, by asking the US to refrain from selling warplanes and other military equipment to Nigeria based on a faulty premise, the congressman has demonstrated a poor understanding of global security issues. "Insecurity anywhere is insecurity everywhere. Had Congressman Marino understood this, he would not have made the kind of call he made concerning the US security assistance to Nigeria. "The Boko Haram insurgency that Nigeria has decisively dealt with under President Muhammadu Buhari is not just a Nigerian problem but a regional and international crisis, he said. Mohammed said that Marino was wrong when he alleged that Buhari did not "demonstrate a commitment to inclusive government and the most basic tenets of democracy - freedom to assemble and freedom of speech. "An administration that operates purely on the basis of respect for the rule of law and a strict adherence to constitutional order is not one to deny the citizens of their constitutionally-guaranteed rights. "This administration therefore does not need the goading of Congressman Marino or anyone for that matter to do what is right. "Concerning running an inclusive government, had Congressman Marino done his homework before dispatching his letter, he would have realized that no part of the country is left out in the distribution of political appointments. "The appointment of ministers was done in accordance with the Constitution that mandates that the President must appoint at least one minister from each of the 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory. "Had the Congressman sought information from credible sources before engaging in a flight of fancy, he would have been presented with comprehensive information on the appointment of CEOs for Federal Governments parastatals, agencies and commissions. "The appointments were almost evenly matched along the line of the six geo-political zones in the country, with the North-West having 51, North-Central, 46; North-East, 45; South-East, 41; South-West, 45 and South-South, 45. "The Congressman may wish to note that each geo-political zone comprises six states, with the exception of North-West (7) and South-East (5), he said. The minister said that Marinos description of the Buharis administrations anti-corruption efforts as "selective was a tired argument that clearly showed that the US lawmaker must have appended his signature to someones concocted line. "That line was invented by those seeking to cause an unnecessary distraction from the administrations anti-corruption efforts, and it has been roundly rejected. "Congressman Marinos decision to exhume the dead postulation without an iota of proof is a reflection of whose side he has taken in the ongoing efforts to rid Nigeria of corrupt elements. "Needless to say that the anti-corruption battle will continue unhindered, irrespective of whose ox is gored. And in this fight, only the guilty needs be afraid, he said. The UN also said that Nigeria is deeply divided on the basis of the plurality of ethnic, religious and regional identities. This was contained in a report released by the UN on Nigerias Common Country Analysis (CCA). The report reads in part: Nigeria, with a population of over 75 million, is the most populous nation in Africa and the seventh most populous in the world. Her population will be approximately 200 million by 2019 and over 400 million by 2050, becoming one of the top five populous countries in the world. Nigeria is one of the poorest and most unequal countries in the world, with over 80 million or 64% of her population living below poverty line. The situation has not changed over the decades, but is increasing. Poverty and hunger have remained high in rural areas, remote communities and among female headed households and these cut across the six geo-political zones, with prevalence ranging from approximately 46.9 percent in the South West to 74.3 percent in North West and North East. In Nigeria, 37% of children under five years old were stunted, 18 percent wasted, 29% underweight and overall, only 10% of children aged 6-23 months are fed appropriately based on recommended infant and young children feeding practices. Youth unemployment which is 42% in 2016 is very high, creating poverty, helplessness, despair and easy target for crime and terrorism. Over 10 million children of school age are out of schools with no knowledge and skills. Nigerias economy is currently in a recession and it is estimated that government revenues have fallen by as much as 33 percent, which has further resulted in the contraction of the Gross Domestic Product, GDP, by 0.36 percent in the first three months of 2016. The vulnerable macroeconomic environment in Nigeria is affecting investors confidence in the domestic economy. Despite the fact that Nigeria is a signatory to a number of protocols on sustainable and renewable environment, the country had, over the decades, failed to protect the environment, ecosystem and natural resources. Over-exploitation of natural resources and pollution of the environment, desertification are exposing the population to vulnerability and risks caused by climate change, among others. Nigeria is well-endowed with forest resources, accounting for 2.5% of GDP. But Nigeria has one of the highest rates of forest loss in the world. Between 1990 and 2000, Nigeria lost an average of 409,700 hectares of forest per year on average deforestation rate of 3.5% per annum. Increase in population, human activities like farming, construction and cutting of trees, use of wood and effect of climate change lead to environmental destruction across Nigeria. This in turn leads to unpredictable weather, drought and floods. The implication of destruction of the environment includes reduced agricultural productivity, destruction of property and loss of lives. Nigeria faces humanitarian and emergency crises of considerable proportions fueled by a combination of factors including climate change, inter-communal conflicts and violence, insurgency, recurring floods, heavy handed tactics of security forces in combating crime and insurgency. The overall consequence is the situation of systematic and chronic internal displacement that has given rise to different humanitarian crises that include the most egregious and dehumanizing human rights abuses. Over 80 million Nigerians live in poverty and are affected in one way or the other by the current humanitarian crisis. Available reports indicate that there are over 3.3 million Internally Displaced Persons, IDPs, which is Africas largest, ranking behind Syria and Columbia on a global scale. The major challenges Nigeria is currently facing that constrain her economic growth and social development are lack of good governance, general increased insecurity across geo-political zones in North East, Niger Delta and Lake Chad region in particular. The situation is exacerbated by the existence of systematic accountability challenges, limited capacities of independent institutions/ commissions and limited accountability at the federal, states and local government levels. Nigeria is a deeply divided society considering the plurality of ethnic, religious and regional identities that define her political existence. Since independence in 1960, Nigeria has struggled to build and sustain national integration. For decades, different segments of Nigerias population had, at different times, expressed feelings of marginalization, of being short-changed, dominated, oppressed, threatened, or even targeted for elimination. The report recommended that a radical and new approach is needed to successfully transform and diversify Nigerias development paths. The clerics told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) that if implemented positively, it would go a long way to help the young ones to imbibe the culture of discipline. The Director of Social Communications, Catholic Archdiocese of Lagos, Monsignor Gabriel Osu, urged the government to make use of the media aggressively, to sensitise the masses. ``It is commendable, but our prayer is that they will be able to implement it. They implemented aggressively during the Buhari/Idiagbon regime. "But at that time, it was during military rule and it was more of cohesion, physical, brute force, but at least it affected us positively too and people became conscious. ``Unlike those days when they used the horsewhip, the situation of today does not call for such. So, they should make use of the media, both print and electronic, to sensitise the people aggressively. ``We are supposed to be disciplined, we are supposed to know how to queue orderly, we are supposed to keep our environment clean. It will be a positive thing if implemented positively, he said. Imam Lukmon AbdulRaheem, Senior Lecturer, Center for Entrepreneurship Development, Yaba College of Technology, Lagos, said the planned reintroduction of WAI was a ``welcome development. ``I think the declaration of WAI is a welcome development, if you look at the country today, we are ]grossly indisciplined in all facets of ournational life. ``But I will advise they work with NGOs, religious communities and schools so that the young ones would be able to imbibe discipline in their early lives, AbdulRaheem added. A lawyer and public affairs analyst, Mr Ademola Adewale, however noted that government would need more than mere sloganeering to wage a successful war against indiscipline and corruption in the country. Adewale, who made the remark in an interview with The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), said that the fight required clear-cut policies and visible action plans. ``Such policies should be backed by laws which are enforced in a transparent and objective manner, across board. ``This is what I feel can bring decency and orderliness to our nation withthe planned re-introduction of the War Against Indiscipline (WAI), he said. Another legal practitioner, Mr Ejile Okpe, also commended the planned re-introduction,noting that Nigeria had become ``a society where all kinds of impunities havebecome the norm. ``The high level of indiscipline in our country has assumed alarming proportions. Governments at all levels must first show respect for the laws of the land, so that itscitizens can follow suit. ``WAI will work only if there is a holistic approach to its implementation. It worked in 1984during President Muhammadu Buharis military era and nobody couldquestion the high handedness exhibited by the military in its implementation then. ``Although Nigerians do not require kid gloves in the establishment of Law and orderliness,but then government must realise that the war can only be fought successfully within thelimits of the law, he said. According to Mrs Ugochi Opara, another Lagos-based lawyer, the re-introduction of WAI wouldcertainly be a welcome idea as the society has become so decadent and needed somere-orientation. Opara stated that it would be a good development for the citizenry and would also bring about a neworder in the society. ``The implication of WAI will be that our people and governments will have to become more civiland conscious of the law and people's rights, just as we see in the civilised societies, she said. Opara said that the advantages of WAI will be orderliness in the society, mutual respect forone another, good self-esteem and the absence of disorderliness in public places. In addition, she said that the re-introduction of WAI would also enhance respect for law andthe rule of law. Opara, however, noted that Government may now be compelled to spend the moneyit does not have at this time on WAI campaigns and the accompanying re-orientation drive. ``The Government would have to sponsor new bills and enact laws that will cover the operationsof WAI and its agencies, she added. For Emmanuel Olu-Alade, also a legal practitioner, the reintroduction of WAI would be a positive step,adding that indiscipline was the root of corruption and the war against corruption in Nigeria was incomplete without a war against indiscipline. "Urinating in public places, throwing parties in the middle of the road, dropping garbage by the roadside and other acts of indiscipline would be curbed," he said. Another lawyer, Mr Ita Oto, however, warned that the reintroduction of WAI at this point in time, would be of no serious impact to many Nigerians. He noted that the country was now running a democratic system of government and not a military regime, where the right to dignity of the citizenry could be abused. Oto recalled that the WAI Brigade of the early 80s acted like tyrants, adding that they flogged and humiliated people at will. The lawyer said that how to eradicate poverty in the country, providing Nigerians with electricity, creation of employment opportunities for Nigerians of all cadres and the development of infrastructure, should now be governments paramount concern. Governor Wike said his administration will continue to support all security agencies in Rivers state to maintain peace and order. He said this while speaking with the Chief of Army Staff (COAS), Lieutenant General Tukur Buratai at the Rivers state Government House. Wike said The Rivers State Government is fully in support of the Operation Crocodile Smile. I was fully briefed by the Brigade Commander and we associate ourselves with the programme because it will make the Niger Delta safer. One of the advantages of the programme is that hoodlums in the creeks are being uprooted for a safer Niger Delta. I support the programme insofar as it is done with the constitution. In his response, Buratai explained to Wike that Operation Crocodile Smile is aimed at training men of the Nigerian Army on the intricacies of securing the Niger Delta. The COAS also said the military operation will also help to meet the basic needs of some communities in the Niger Delta. Buratai said The Operation Crocodile Smile is an exercise to train our troops on amphibious operations. Our waters are generally porous. The Nigerian Army has amphibious capabilities in conjunction with the Nigerian Navy to carry out limited operations within the creeks. The Ijay Youth Congress Worldwide spokesman, undefinedadding that those involved in Operation Crocodile Smile are intimidating innocent civilians in the Niger Delta. The party also called on the Inspector-General of Police, Ibrahim Idris, to call his men to order, so there would be no breakdown of law and order. The Edo PDP also said its members should not be blamed if there is a breakdown of peace, as a result of intimidation. According to the party, In view of the unconstitutionality of this wicked act, the PDP has instructed our members to resist henceforth all police arrests not backed by any relevant warrant of arrest, the party said in a statement by Chris Nehikhare, its publicity secretary in the state. We want to again call on all lovers of peace and democracy to prevail on the governor and his party, the APC to tow the path of sportsmanship and decency in the contest for the office of the governor of Edo State which comes up in a few days. We call on the Nigerian Inspector-general of Police, the Assistant Inspector-general of Police in charge of Zone 5 to immediately intervene and find urgent ways to reverse this unholy and unwarranted harassments of PDP leaders. This call is necessary because there is a limit to the patience of PDP members and we cannot guarantee their reaction if these unprovoked arrests by Governor Oshiomholes men continue unchecked. Many Nigerians have criticised the All Progressives Congress (APC) governorship flag bearer, Godwin Obaseki calling him Governor Adams Oshiomhole's puppet. APGAs Osaro Onaiwu and Labour Partys Amos Areolegbe may as well kiss their chances of an upset, goodbye. The Edo governorship election will hold next Saturday, September 10. The debate covered a broad spectrum of social issues from security, to economic growth, to job creation. We run the rule on the chances of each candidate below; in no particular order: His striped suit and tie during the debate would have scored him zero points with the fashion police. He talked a big game in what was a performance lacking in depth and substance. He looked ill prepared for the job of overseeing the affairs of Edo State and fluffed his lines on one too many occasion. We will encourage inventors and innovators to create jobs for the unemployed. We have what it takes in Edo State to generate revenue for ourselves, Areolegbe offered at one point, without saying how. It was a debate performance that bordered on hot air and nothing else from the man in the multi-striped suit. Specifics are definitely not his thing. Governing a State wont be, either. Chances of winning: 3/10 The former investment banker has a thing for shouting himself hoarse and he probably ruptured a few vocal chords on Sunday. Hes run a campaign of continuity and improving what has worked from the Adams Oshiomhole era. The foundation has been laid already by the current government of Adams Oshiomhole and that foundation is what I will build on, Obaseki blared at some point. The APC candidate also spoke of his plans for diversification and mineral resources exploration, but like the APC government at the federal level, his generic action plan sounded like what they really are: generic. A wink in the dark too. What Obaseki may have going for him may be Oshiomholes performance. The outgoing former labour leader may not be everyones favourite politician, but some Edo citizens love to think hes acquitted himself well, to some degree. There are also those who see in Obaseki, an Oshiomhole lackey. Hes waved that aside, but that albatross is one hell have to carry until the last ballot is cast in anger. Obaseki is a shoo-in to nick this. His pitfall? An APC controlled government at the center hasnt been up to the races and hasnt lived up to pre-election hype. The economy has tanked under the partys watch and social indicators have been rather dismal. Therell be protest votes against Obaseki on account of President Muhammadu Buharis mid-term performance. And the APC wouldnt say it never saw it coming. Chances of winning: 7/10 The former Director General of the PDP Governors Forum pushed back insinuations that he seeks to replicate an Igbo agenda in Edo, but few believed him on the night. First, there was this traditional cap sitting incongruously atop his suit and he kept citing Anambra as a model for how he wants to run Edo State. Whoever suggested to Onaiwu that a traditional cap and suit are a match, did him no favours. We are exporting Ugwu leaf and other vegetables in Anambra StateAgro-economy is number one, said Onaiwu, without a word on storage and processing facilities for his beloved Ugwu leaf. Onaiwu left the PDP in a fit of rage to pitch tent with APGA. No sign on the night that his new found political party has robbed off positively on him. Chances of winning: 5/10 Pastor Ize-Iyamu was the winner of the debate on several viewer scorecards. He sounded articulate. It also wouldnt hurt his campaign either that he sounded like hes spent plenty of time thinking the process of governance through. Obaseki and the APC are allowed the occasional look over their shoulders and just as well: Ize-Iyamu isnt in this to make up the numbers. He stands as good a chance as any to take home the crown. Clinton is contesting the US Presidency on the platform of the Democratic Party. Read Fani-Kayodes comments in his article, titled Nigeria and the implications of a Donald Trump presidency [Part 1], below: I support Mr. Donald J. Trumps presidential bid because he has admitted publicly that the American-inspired removal of Arab secularist leaders like Saddam Hussein, Muammar Ghadaffi, Hosni Mubarak and, more recently, the attempt to remove Bashir Al Assad were wrong, short-sighted, counter-productive and have led to nothing but chaos. How many politicians, from either side of Americas political divide, have that level of vision and understanding of world affairs? How many have the courage to admit that successive American Presidents, including George W. Bush who was a Republican like him, were wrong on this issue? Hussein, Ghadaffi, Mubarak and Al Assad were/are, though dictators, moderate Muslims who fought and supressed the Islamist terrorists and Islamic fundamentalism in their respective domains. Since the time they were removed or bogged down in fighting a civil war, as is the case with Assad, the Middle East, north, east and west Africa, Europe and indeed the world has become a far more dangerous place. The Obama/Clinton/Kerry administration (whom I often refer to as the evil triumverate or the unholy trinity) helped the islamist terrorists to spread their violence and evil throughout the world more than any other government in the entire history of the United States of America. The questions that those that doubt my assertions need to answer are as follows: 1. Why did it take the Obama/Clinton/Kerry triumverate literally three years to designate Nigerias Boko Haram as a terrorist organisation and why is it that they waited until over 100, 000 innocent Nigerians were killed before they did so in 2014. 2. Why did the Obama/Clinton/Kerry triumverate impose an arms embargo on Nigeria when President Goodluck Jonathan was in power and why did they stop the entire western world, including Israel, from selling us arms to fight Boko Haram? Who benfitted from that policy more than Boko Haram itself and those in Nigeria that were using them to discredit and fight the government? 3. Why did the Obama/Clinton/Kelly triumverate encourage their closest Arab allies, including the Saudi Arabians, the Qataris and the Turks, to fund islamist terror groups like the Al Nusra Front and ISIS in Iraq and Syria? 4. Why was Mubarak removed and replaced with the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt? How could this have been allowed to happen? It could only have happened under the rulership of the triumverate. Mubaraks Egypt was Americas greatest ally in North Africa and the Arab world and she was Israels best friend. When the Muslim Brotherhood came to power they got it so wrong that the Egyptian military had to do a coup, topple them and come back. I am sure that the Obama administration were not too pleased with that because they were very comfortable with the Muslim Brotherhood and they welcomed their islamist agenda and anti-Israerli-sentiments. 5. How can the Obama/Clinton/Kerry triumverate justify the mess in Libya? They ensured that they toppled Ghadaffi through their Libyan and Gulf Arab state surrogates and European allies and after that Al Qaeda and ISIS moved in and flooded the place. Libya is now in anarchy, turmoil and chaos and the terrorists control more parts of it than the government does. 6. Why did the Obama/Clinton/Kerry triumverate bring the relationship between Israel and the U.S. to such an all-time low that, for the first time since the creation of the Jewish state in 1948, an Israeli Prime Minister, Mr. Binyamin Netanyahu, visited America in his official capacity without seeking or being granted audience by the President of the United States? Those that think Clinton will not continue the evil that she and Obama started seven years ago in the name of political correctness and the subtle promotion of radical islam and terror are either dangerously naive or ignorant or both. Trump has declared that his foreign policy will be focused on one thing: the elimination and destruction of those that espouse terror and radical islam and the protection of those that are victims of radical islam and the jihadi terrorists throughout the world. He has rejected the Obama/Clinton/Kerry approach of trying to appease the terrorists. That is good enough for me. That is the only way forward if we want a better and safer world. The complicity of the Obama administration in what is going on in our country is self-evident. They have weakened, undermined and further divided our nation by interfering in our internal political affairs and by encouraging and supporting an incompetent, sectional, dictatorial and essentially islamist government whose intention is to intimidate, bully and brow-beat our people into a cowering and grovelling silence, submission, slavery and captivity. The support that the Obama administration and the Democrats generally appear to be offering the Buhari administration and the dark forces that they represent makes it imperative for any right-thinking person that believes in the secularity of the state, the plurality of our nation, the sanctity of our constitution and laws and the equality of all religious faiths and ethnic nationalities in our country to pray for Trump to prevail. That the Obama/Clinton/Kerry triumverate and unholy trinity assisted President Buhari to come to power last year is no longer disputable. That they had nothing but contempt and disdain for President Goodluck Jonathan simply because he refused to be their puppet, he refused to work for the CIA and for the establishment of a demonic new world order and he rejected the notion that gay rights and gay marriage should be given pride of place in our laws and his policies is a matter of fact. That Obamas campaign manager David Axelrod was paid large sums of money (which according to some reports ran into 10 million US dollars) to assist the Buhari campaign is no longer debatable. That the Obama administration has turned a blind eye to the massive violation of human rights and civil liberties in our country and the perpetration of mass murder, ethnic cleansing and genocide against our people cannot be denied. That the CIA, through its various fronts and surrogates in the international private sector, is quietly selling the idea that the Hausa language ought to be the lingua franca of Nigeria and the indigenous language that our nation ought to be identified with is increasingly obvious. That John Kerry came to Nigeria a couple of weeks ago and insulted the collective sensibilities of the entire south and every self-respecting Christian in the country by visiting the Sultan of Sokoto, a handful of core northern Muslim governors, an Arewa-loving Buhari and no-one else is irrefutable. In a country that is multi-racial, multi-religious, multi-cultural and multi-lingual and in a nation in which the south rightfully believes that it is presently under siege and in the process of being systematically enslaved, these things cannot be defended, rationalised or justified under any circumstances. Not only is it utterly reprehensible but it also confirms the fact that Obama and his triumverate are not only partial to the Muslim north but that they also have a hidden agenda to further divide Nigeria along religious and ethnic lines and perhaps cause another major conflict just as was done in Syria. A vote for Clinton is a vote to continue this shameless and utterly dangerous policy. Worst still a Clinton victory would ultimately cost Nigeria dearly. Donald Trump, who is well known for his disdain and contempt for radical Islam, his rigid opposition to islamist intolerance and jihadi terrorism and his concerns about the activities of those that seek to establish a new world caliphate where sharia law is applied to all and where Christians and non-Sunni Muslims are slaughtered and killed, would have none of that. The result of Obasanjos imposition of President Muhammadu Buhari on the country is the hunger and sufferings that Nigerians are facing now, the governor said in a statement issued by his media aide, Lere Olayinka. Fayose made the comments in reaction to the recent meeting between Obasanjo and factional PDP leader, Ali Modu Sheriff. The meeting was a coming together of collaborators in the total annihilation of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). No genuine lover of the PDP will go to the house of a man who openly destroyed his membership card and worked assiduously to ensure the partys failure in the 2015 presidential election, to seek advice on how the way forward for the PDP. Sheriff can as well begin to sleep in Obasanjos house, it is good riddance to bad rubbish. Since Obasanjo is no longer a member of the PDP and he has consistently maintained that he can never return to the PDP, only those in the same league with him can go about visiting him, he added. The Edo PDP made the allegation via a statement issued by the State Publicity Secretary, Chris Nehikhare. The statement reads in part: Civil servants are supposed to be apolitical, the trend where they were ordered through text messages ostensibly from the Head of Service to immediately adorn the arm bands, paste posters and put the APC flag on their desks, with immediate effect is a tragedy. Although the text messages were also forwarded to local government employees in the state, indications are that they will not comply owing to the several months arrears of unpaid salaries. Even the orders to the head of Service who was also said to have received orders to proceed to collect consignments of the arm bands, flags and posters of the APC candidate from the party secretariat along Airport road, Benin City, is pathetic as it shows a desperation on the part of APC government to win the September 10 elections at all costs. ALSO READ: Oshiomhole threatens to arrest PDP members Edo state is currently being governed by Adams Oshiomhole, whos a member of the APC. The former president however described the report as completely false and destructive by those behind it adding that he hadnt communicated with Mr Nwokedi in three years. My belief is that democracy allows for anybody including President Buhari for that matter to contest any election and it is the prerogative rights of Nigerians to vote or not to vote for them, Obasanjo said via a statement issued by his media aide, Kehinde Akinyemi on Sunday, September 4, 2016. I have not communicated with Alex in the last three years, so how could a story be credited to me when I did not authorise such or communicated with him in the last three years? I condemn in the highest manner the story and those behind it. And for those behind it, they are simply enemies of democracy and freedom of expression, he added. Recent reports had it that Obasanjo boasted about pushing Buhari into power saying that the decision to choose the president was reached by him and three or four others. In an announcement from the company, the German company said it lost 617 million (about $690 million) across its range of online businesses during the first half of the year. Rocket says most of the blame rests on the shoulders of GFG (Global Fashion Group), the holding company that manages its group of fashion-focused e-commerce businesses that are all over the world. GFG contributed negative EUR 383 million to the Rocket Internets first half year results. The result was further impacted by special items such as impairments, fair value adjustments and to a lesser extent positive special items, the company said, according to a Techcrunch report. As a result of deconsolidation effects, group revenues in the first half of 2016 decreased to EUR 29 million compared to EUR 71 million in first half of 2015, Rocket Internet said. In spite of all that, Rocket Internet boss Oliver Samwer expects at least three of our selected portfolio companies to turn profitable by the end of 2017, and that the aggregate EBITDA losses of the selected portfolio companies will have peaked in 2015. This is not obviously bad news, but those following GFG and Rocket Internet business shouldn't be too shocked by these confessions. The signs have been there and they are not limited to just the downward spiral of Rocket's share price in 2016. GFG had closed a sizeable downround of funding earlier this year after it raised a total of $365 million at a $1.1 billion valuation - that's massively down from the $3.4 billion valuation it had in 2015. GFG had also put itself before over 90 investors before it raised that round of funding, which means there must have been trouble with the business. As it continued to struggle to sustain its business model and make it profitable, GFG started to sell off some of its less profitable business units. Chinese President Xi Jinping gave the remark in a keynote speech at the opening of the G20 Summit at Hangzhou, China. Xi, whose speech was entitled: A New Starting Point for Chinas Development: A New Blueprint for Global Growth, said peace and stability were critical to global development and security. History has proven time and again that without peace, there will be no development and without stability, there will be no prosperity. Countries are all closely linked in their security. No country can develop solely on its own or resolve all problems without working with others. It is important to reject the outdated Cold War mentality and build a new concept of common, comprehensive, cooperative and sustainable security, he said. He called on all countries to cherish the hard-won peace and tranquility and play a constructive role in maintaining global and regional stability. According to him, all countries should uphold the purposes and principles of the UN Charter, adhere to multilateralism, and settle disagreements and disputes through dialogue and consultation. Xi also urged countries to seek consensus and dissolve tensions rather than doing the opposite and make the international order more just and equitable, in accordance with the UN Charter. China is committed to the path of peaceful development. The logic that a strong country is bound to seek hegemony no longer applies and the willful use of force will lead to nowhere. China is the biggest contributor of peacekeepers among the permanent members of the UN Security Council. The proud sons of the Chinese people are among the UN peacekeepers that gave their lives to the mission of peace in Mali and South Sudan not long ago. China will continue to fulfill its international obligations and serve as the builder and defender of world peace, he said. In promoting green development, Xi said China aimed to address climate change and overcapacity. According to him, in the next five years, Chinas water and energy consumption as well as carbon dioxide emission per unit of Gross Domestic Product will be cut down by 23 per cent, 15 per cent and 18 per cent respectively. Xi stressed the need to build an interconnected world economy to forge interactive synergy. According to him, in the age of economic globalisation, countries are closely linked in their development and they all rise and fall together. No country could seek development on its own; and the one sure path is through coordination and cooperation; we need to realise interconnected development by promoting common development of the world economy. The Chinese leader challenged the global leaders to build an inclusive world economy to strengthen the foundation for win-win outcomes. We need to eradicate poverty and hunger and advance inclusive and sustainable development. This is not just a moral responsibility of the international community, he said. According to him, the parties have all committed themselves to working for an early entry into force of the Paris Agreement on climate change. We have also formulated joint action plans on energy accessibility, energy efficiency, renewable energy and entrepreneurship, and have strengthened cooperation on food security and agriculture. We care for the needs of different social strata and communities, especially the needy, and encourage discussions among countries concerned on public administration and adjustment of redistribution policies. We hope to convey a message to the international community that the G20 works for the interest of not just its 20 members, but the whole world. Two blasts in quick succession hit a crowded area of the city near government buildings, a market and a main intersection, defence ministry spokesman Mohammad Radmanesh said. "When the first explosion happened people crowded to the site and then the second blast occurred, which was really powerful and killed lots of people," said Samiullah Safi, who witnessed the attack. The casualty total may increase as more information becomes available, said Mohammad Ismail Kawousi, a spokesman for the public health ministry. An army general and two senior police commanders were among the dead, a defence ministry official said. The Taliban claimed responsibility for the attack, which it said killed 58 officers and commanders. The militants have stepped up their campaign against the Western-backed government in recent weeks, following a brief lull after the death of their former leader, Mullah Akhtar Mansour. The double bombing came less than two weeks after gunmen attacked the American University in Kabul, killing 13 people. It was the deadliest attack in Kabul since at least 80 people were killed by a suicide bomber who targeted a demonstration on July 23. That assault was claimed by Islamic State. Ping, who says he is now the leader of the Central African nation, said in a statement on his website that his fight was not over, even as calm returned to the capital following deadly riots last week. Two simultaneous blasts hit the Arzouna bridge area at the entrance to the northwestern coastal city of Tartous, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights and state news agency SANA said. Those explosions killed at least 11 people and wounded 45, a source in the Tartous police told SANA. Syrian state television said the first explosion was a car bomb and the second was a suicide belt detonated as rescue workers came to the scene of the first incident. A car bomb struck the city of Homs at the entrance to the Bab Tadmur neighbourhood, SANA said. Homs' health director told SANA that hospitals in his directorate had received two bodies and seven injured people. The Observatory said the Homs explosion hit an army checkpoint and two officers were killed. A suicide bomber had targeted a gathering of Shi'ite Muslims in the Karrada district, according to a statement circulated online by the Amaq news agency, which supports the ultra-hardline Sunni militant group. The fight against Islamic State, which seized a third of Iraq's territory in 2014, has exacerbated a long-running sectarian conflict in Iraq, mostly between the Shi'ite majority and the Sunni minority. The militants have lost ground in the past year to U.S.-backed government forces and Iranian-backed Shi'ite militias, but such bombings show they can still strike outside the territory they control in northern and western Iraq. Turning the ship before it hits the iceberg On this Labor Day, the Quad-Cities holds the distinction of having two of its working people at the top rung of leadership of their respective international unions the United Auto Workers and the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers. With UAW president Dennis Williams and IBEW president Lonnie Stephenson in the Quad-Cities today for the annual Labor Day festivities, local union leaders reflected on how their advancement through the ranks is a testament to the region's strong labor tradition as well as the leadership skills being cultivated in area union locals. "I think it says something about our character, our work ethic and overall, that good, kind, honest people with integrity come from this area," said Jim Hecker, a UAW international rep himself before retiring in 2010. "We've had several labor leaders that have come from this area. I don't want to slight any of them." Williams, a 1972 Rock Island High School graduate, is the grand marshal of today's Quad-City Federation Parade in East Moline. He and Stephenson, a 1974 Rocky graduate, then will be honored at the Rock Island County Democratic Party's annual picnic at Illiniwek Park, Hampton. The two men are keynote speakers at the picnic, where they now are sharing the stage with Democratic presidential hopeful Hillary Clinton. Dino Leone, the Quad-City Federation's president, thinks the region's history of producing high-ranking union leaders is, in part, because of labor's stronghold here. "Isn't that incredible? When you think about how large our country is, and we have two international presidents right from here," said Leone, who also is AFSCME Council 31's regional director. "The 17th Congressional District has one of the highest union densities in the country 90,000 households are part of organized labor across the district." Long tradition Leone and Hecker also think the strength of the companies the unions work with deserves some of the credit. "This area has a long tradition of organized labor and some very large employers with organized labor: Alcoa, John Deere, the government employees and the Rock Island Arsenal," Leone said. "It goes clear back to the early days of the ag implement industry being so recognized here," Hecker said of the region's reputation as the Farm Implement Capital of the World. "We all worked for good companies that had good leadership qualities, and I think that resonates into the workforce as well," said Hecker, of Port Byron. His own later career was spent servicing labor agreements between Deere & Co. and Case IH and its union workers. He is good friends with Williams, who was elected UAW president in June 2014. "I knew him when he was active in the local union when I was in Local 434," Hecker recalled. Williams began with UAW Local 806 in 1977 as a salvage welder at the old J.I. Case plant in Rock Island before working up the union ranks, first locally. Before being elected UAW president, he had been the UAW's secretary-treasurer since 2010 and a regional director for 10 years prior. Scott Verschoore now fills the post of business manager for IBEW Local 145, Moline, replacing Stephenson when he was called up in 2002 to the international. Stephenson was international vice president from 2010 until he was elected international president last year. He is up for election at the international convention next month, Verschoore said. He recalled how he and Stephenson started electrician apprenticeships with Local 145 in the mid-1970s. Leadership, charisma "He's a great guy, one of them who is very good at what he does," Verschoore said. "He deserves the president job. He has that leadership capability but the charisma to be one of the guys." Verschoore also thinks having two international presidents with local roots speaks to the character of the Quad-Cities itself. "We're not the biggest metropolitan area, but it does show we have some great community leaders that come from our schools and cities," he said. According to Jerry Messer, former Quad-City Federation president, the area has produced many great leaders in the past. He attributes some of it to the reputation the region has as a labor city. In fact, he said Hillary Clinton's repeat Labor Day visit to the Quad-Cities "is unheard of" and speaks to the area's union roots and strength. "Usually, you'd have Hillary in New York or Detroit," said Messer, who also is United Food and Commercial Workers Local 431 president. "To have her here in the Quad-Cities two years in a row is something we can be proud of." Messer, who personally knows Williams and Stephenson, called them both "very good guys, gentlemen." According to Hecker, having Quad-City natives at the international level helps raise the individual locals' profiles and also sends a message to the next generation. Hecker said those high-profile positions can convince young people to get involved as they are coming up through the ranks. "It helps us to show there is a lot of talent in this area," Leone said. "To rise to that level, you have to have excellent organizing skills and a very good concept of what it takes to make a strong labor movement. It shows our area develops that." Verschoore also is pleased Stephenson's success is putting the IBEW local on the map. "Few can say the international president came from that union," he said. U.S. Sen. Joni Ernst, R-Iowa, and a CIA contractor who survived the Sept. 11, 2012, attack on the U.S. consulate in Libya said Sunday night that presidential candidate Hillary Clinton has failed as a leader. Ernst and Kris Tanto Paronto spoke at a Muscatine County Republican fundraiser at the Wilton (Iowa) Community Center, with more than 300 people in attendance. The patriotic-themed event included a dinner, music and prayer. Many state, regional and local government representatives, along with veterans in each branch of the service, were recognized. When she introduced Paronto, Ernst said he is a hero who has experienced the lack of leadership from Hillary Clinton first-hand. She left him there. The attack, which left four Americans dead, drew criticism from those who said Clinton, who was secretary of state at the time, acted irresponsibly. The Benghazi Select Committees investigation into Clintons role in the attack was one of the longest Congressional investigations in American history. After the committee investigated what prompted the attacks, Clintons response, and emails on her private home server, Clinton emerged relatively unscathed. Ernst said Clintons lack of leadership cost the lives of four Americans. Failure to lead is not an option, especially in this election, she said. As I travel around the globe, our allies are asking me, Where is Americas leadership? Ernst said. We dont have leadership in the White House right now. Ernst said that Clinton cant be trusted and that she has failed us. She does not deserve to be our president. Under Clintons watch, terrorist groups expanded, Ernst said. She has failed to stop ISIS. We need to defeat ISIS, Ernst said. Thats what Donald Trump has promised to do. Paronto, who earned a standing ovation when he took the stage, echoed Ernst in saying Clinton is a failure. Terrorists are not dumb, he said. They will use anything at their disposal. He asked how they got their information, referring to the disclosure that Clinton used a private email address and server in her home during her four-year tenure as secretary of state. In a statement to the Washington Post over the weekend, the Clinton campaign spokesman Brian Fallon said, While her use of a single email account was clearly a mistake and she has taken responsibility for it, these materials make clear why the Justice Department believed there was no basis to move forward with this case. Many of those attending expressed support for Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump. Among them was Bill Condon, of Lowden, Iowa, who says he is a conservative who believes our country is being hijacked by people who dont really believe America is the greatest country in the world. He said he is a big fan of Paronto and others who survived the attacks. The media dropped the ball when they reported the attacks, he said. They were not being honest and fair. Compare the Abu Ghraib coverage to the Benghazi coverage, he said. Journalists, Condon said, are doing the narrative, going along with the national media narrative. People are afraid to speak up, Condon said. Because if you are not with this narrative, you are regarded a racist and a bigot and a hater, he said. We cant say the truth anymore. Three tables away, Mary Vogt, of Oskaloosa, Iowa, discussed her personal agenda: She spoke with other guests about her website findyourservicedog.com, a website that helps people, including veterans, find service dogs of all kinds. Vogts own service dog lay quietly under the table. This dog was supposed to be euthanized, she said. I said No shes not. Im going to take her. Vogt, a retired registered nurse, wants to share her site with veterans. Rescue a dog, and theyll rescue you for the rest of their life, she said. She is committed to veterans, saying that My family has been in every war this nation has seen . We believe in our country, we believe in God, and we believe in freedom. The crowd included first-time voter Ben Hanser, of Davenport, who attended with his parents Teresa and Stacy Hanser, of Davenport. He went along because his parents had a ticket, he said. I actually didnt know this was a political rally. He came mostly to hear Paronto speak, but Hanser said he appreciates Trumps policies. Services for Willie Nathaniel Holley, 62, of Rock Island, a construction worker who was killed Thursday in a crash near Blue Grass, are pending at Wheelan-Pressly Funeral Home and Crematory, Milan. Holley died Thursday at Genesis Medical Center-East Rusholme Street, Davenport, after the driver of a speeding car apparently lost control in a work zone on U.S. 61 near Blue Grass. Holley worked for Valley Construction. According to the Scott County Sheriffs Department, the driver was Sebon Cordell Reese, 18, of Davenport, whose 1-year-old sister also was in the car. Reese apparently tried to leave the highway but traveled into the construction area where the car struck Holley, who was pronounced dead at the hospital. According to Iowa State Patrol, charges may be filed against Reese, who was on probation for prior convictions. Linda Cook Loyalty oaths have been tried in the past, but eventually were struck down by the courts as either too vague, or an unconstitutional violation of free speech. These applied, as far as I can tell from reading their history, only to American citizens. Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump has suggested something different. He wants to screen people coming into America to see if they share American values. Trump says he would exclude not only people who sympathize with terrorists and believe in Sharia law, but those "who do not believe in our Constitution, or who support bigotry and hatred." Think of it this way, would the NAACP admit a member of the KKK? Who would deny them their right to turn racists away? From the reaction of the media and Democrats (but I repeat myself), one might think Trump's name is a synonym for "bigot" and that he is attempting to create a master race in America. Not so fast. As World Magazine editor Marvin Olasky points out in the publication's Sept. 3 issue, "Millions of Americans are here because their ancestors signed 'declarations of intention' similar to what Trump is suggesting." Olasky found the declaration of intention Albert Einstein signed in 1936. He became a U.S. citizen four years later. Here is what it said: "I will, before being admitted to citizenship, renounce forever all allegiance and fidelity to any foreign prince, potentate, state, or sovereignty. ... I am not an anarchist; I am not a polygamist nor a believer in the practice of polygamy." Olasky writes that his immigrant grandfather signed a similar declaration in 1914. A century ago, he says, "anarchist" was the equivalent of today's terrorist. Some anarchists planted bombs, one assassinated President William McKinley. Olasky continues: "Since Sharia law allows and even proposes polygamy as an act of justice, U.S. law excluded Muslims who embraced it. There were to be no divided loyalties." In order for Utah to enter the Union, the state had to renounce polygamy, a doctrine believed and practiced at that time by some Mormons. President Obama is admitting people into America who believe in Sharia law, and the polygamy it allows. "No divided loyalties" was the key phrase in Olasky's last sentence. How long ago and far away that seems today when our loyalties are more divided than at any time since the Civil War. Diversity has replaced unity and hyphenated identifiers now divide races and ethnic groups. "Out of many, one" is fading as our national motto. Out of one, many, is rapidly becoming our new one. Much of mainstream media fuel the division because conflict sells. They promote our flaws instead of the phrase from "America the Beautiful," one of our great patriotic hymns, "God mend thine every flaw." Instead, too many seem intent on exposing, even promoting, new flaws and dividing us further. Who will love America if we don't? Who will sacrifice their lives for freedom if not us? We had better realize America is something special, or risk losing it. Another verse from "America the Beautiful" is worth recalling as the presidential election approaches: "O beautiful for heroes proved In liberating strife. Who more than self their country loved And mercy more than life." Who among our leaders demonstrate their love of America more than their love of self? Go to YouTube.com and listen to the late Ray Charles' version of this hymn to America. If it doesn't make you tear up, perhaps you'd better check your patriotic meter. There is nothing wrong and much right about what Trump proposes for people who want to become citizens of this country. He is no more a bigot than those who wrote the oath taken by Albert Einstein and many others. Even though retired University of Iowa President Sally Mason does work for the firm that Iowas Board of Regents hired to help search for a new University of Northern Iowa leader, officials said she wont be involved in it. There would not be any chance she would play a role in that search, said Jamie Ferrare, founding managing principal at AGB Search in Washington, D.C. We see that as a potential conflict. Mason joined AGB Search as a consultant in 2015 after leaving the university, which she served as its 20th president from Aug. 1, 2007, to July 31, 2015. Ferrare said Mason has aimed her consulting work toward the overarching Association of Governing Boards of Universities and Colleges, of which AGB Search is a subsidiary. She has not been assigned to facilitate a search at AGB. She could in the future be involved in a search, Ferrare said. If theres an institution thats a good fit for her, then we would assign our consultants accordingly. AGB consultants James McCormick and Janice Fitzgerald are heading the search to replace former UNI President Bill Ruud, who left in July to lead the private Marietta College in Ohio. The Board of Regents has used Parker Executive Search to conduct its last three presidential searches those that netted Ruud in 2012, Iowa State University President Steve Leath in 2011, and Masons replacement at the UI of Bruce Harreld last year. Parker came under fire during last years UI search for, among several things, failing to note inaccuracies and discrepancies on Harrelds resume. The board in August announced it was going in a different direction for the UNI search and would be paying AGB Search $85,000 plus expenses to help find Ruuds replacement. McCormick and Fitzgerald participated in their first public meeting with the 21-member UNI search committee last week, outlining the process and timeline for advertising the post, recruiting applicants, whittling down the candidate pool and deciding on finalists. Ferrare said AGB has 34 consultants who occasionally network and collaborate when developing candidate pools. In that sense, he said, Mason could weigh in on the UNI search. She could be among the network contacted, he said. This is a unique situation where she was president of another university in the state of Iowa. She is well regarded at AGB, and if (McCormick and Fitzgerald) asked for her assistance, she might weigh in if she wants to. McCormick told The (Cedar Rapids) Gazette that although AGB consultants cast a wide net in developing a candidate pool, they typically dont get involved in each others searches. We are doing it, he said. Thats clear. A subgroup of UNIs search committee spent the last few days continuing to meet with campus constituents and develop a draft advertisement. The Board of Regents at its meeting this week is expected to consider approving the duties of the search firm, the charge to the search committee and the proposed timeline. The board also will receive an update on the search, which is expected to officially launch Sept. 12 and wrap in early December. NATION 'Wyatt Earp' star dies at 91 Hugh O'Brian, who shot to fame as Sheriff Wyatt Earp in what was hailed as television's first adult Western, has died. He was 91. A representative from HOBY, a philanthropic organization O'Brian founded, says he died at home Monday in Beverly Hills. Until "The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp" debuted in 1955, most TV Westerns were aimed at preteen boys. "Wyatt Earp" was based on a real-life Western hero, and some of its stories were authentic. It made O'Brian a star. After that show left the air in 1961, O'Brian continued to work in movies, television and theater through the 1990s. 2 die at West Indian Day events Revelers in costumes danced as the sounds of steel drums filled the air Monday at the city's annual West Indian Day Parade, but despite an expanded police presence violence again marred the event, with two people shot to death at pre-dawn festivities. A 17-year-old, Tyreke Borel, was shot in the chest at around 3:50 a.m. in Brooklyn during J'ouvert, a celebration that fills the streets with music hours before the parade steps off. Police said a 72-year-old woman was shot in the arm at the same location and was hospitalized in stable condition. Soon after, a 22-year-old woman, Tiarah Poyau, was shot in the head just a block away, police said. Borel and Poyau died, and police said they were investigating whether the shootings were related. The New York Police Department had doubled the number of officers at J'ouvert and the West Indian Day Parade, which are overseen by different organizations. They also added security cameras and more light towers. WORLD Merkel takes blame for German vote Chancellor Angela Merkel took responsibility for her party's election defeat in the German state where she has her political base, but strongly defended her migrant policy on Monday even as she vowed to win back voters' trust. A year before an expected national election, a nationalist, anti-immigration party's second-place finish Sunday ahead of Merkel's conservatives was a jolt that will likely increase tensions in Germany's governing coalition. However, the result didn't pose any immediate threat to Merkel, 62, Germany's leader since 2005. Merkel's Christian Democratic Union finished third in the election for Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania's state legislature, behind the three-year-old Alternative for Germany, or AfD. It was held exactly a year after she decided to let in migrants stuck in Hungary, triggering the peak of last year's influx. Merkel conceded the outcome was "almost entirely about federal political issues." The center-left Social Democrats, Merkel's partners in Germany's national government, remained the strongest party in Mecklenburg. They have led the regional government for a decade with the CDU as junior partner, a coalition they can continue if they choose. The region is sparsely populated, but the vote was symbolically significant because Merkel's parliamentary constituency is there. It was the first of five regional ballots before a national election a year away. The next is Sept. 18 in Berlin, where local issues are likely to feature more strongly. North Korea fires missiles North Korea on Monday fired three medium-range missiles that traveled about 620 miles and landed near Japan in an apparent show of force timed to coincide with the Group of 20 economic summit in China, South Korean officials said. North Korea has staged a series of recent missile tests with increasing range, part of a program that aims to eventually build long-range nuclear missiles capable of striking the U.S. mainland. Such tests are fairly common when international attention is turned to Northeast Asia, and this one came as world leaders gathered in eastern China for the G-20 summit of advanced and emerging economies. China is North Korea's only major ally, but ties between the neighbors have frayed amid a string of North Korean nuclear and missile tests and what many outsiders see as other provocations in recent years. South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff said that the three ballistic missiles, all believed to be Rodongs, were launched from the western North Korean town of Hwangju and flew across the country before splashing into the sea. A Joint Chiefs of Staff statement described the launches as an "armed protest" meant to demonstrate North Korea's military capability on the occasion of the G-20 summit and days before the North Korean government's 68th anniversary. The U.S. State Department said Monday's launch and other previous launches violate multiple United Nations Security Council resolutions prohibiting North Korea from launches using ballistic missile technology. Editor's note: This story is part of Divided America, AP's ongoing exploration of the economic, social and political divisions in American society. LAS VEGAS | It's a paradox in American politics: Many Hispanic families have an immense personal stake in what happens on Election Day, but despite numbers that should mean political power, Hispanics often can't vote, aren't registered to vote, or sit it out. Enter Donald Trump, and the question that could make or break the election in key states. By inflaming the anti-immigrant sentiments of white, working-class men, has the Republican nominee jolted awake another group 27.3 million eligible Hispanic voters? "A lot of times you hear this rap about how politics doesn't affect their life," says Yvanna Cancela, political director of Las Vegas' largely immigrant Culinary Union. "But that changes when it's personal, and there's nothing more personal than Donald Trump talking about deporting 11 million immigrants." Hispanics now represent the nation's largest ethnic community with some 55 million people. More than one-third of them are U.S.-born, and the others immigrants who are citizens, legal residents or here illegally. Most trace their familial roots to Mexico, one of Trump's favorite targets. A cornerstone of Trump's platform is building a wall along the Southwest border and forcing Mexico to pay for it by threatening to cut off remittances those living in the U.S. send to relatives. He questioned the impartiality of an Indiana-born federal judge hearing a lawsuit against him because of the judge's Mexican ancestry. He's complained Mexico has sent "rapists" and "criminals" illegally to the U.S. Now some Republicans worry Trump is creating more people like John Herrera, 38, who signed up to vote in June in Las Vegas. "I've never really voted until now, only because of Trump being against Hispanic people," he said. "I didn't think my vote would count before but now I want to make a difference." Republicans blame a 1994 ballot measure targeting illegal immigrants in California for alienating that state's growing Hispanic population and turning it solidly Democratic. "With Trump saying the things he's saying, we might see this same thing again," says Jody Agius Vallejo, a University of Southern California sociologist and author of "Barrios to Burbs: The Making of the Mexican American Middle Class." ''Only this time, it would be nationally." There is reason, though, to be skeptical. Overall, the Hispanic voting record is not good. The first obstacle is that more than half of the nation's Hispanics cannot vote because they are either under age 18 or not citizens. Relatively few of the Hispanics who are eligible to vote actually register and then cast ballots. Their turnout rate in the 2012 was lower than that of blacks and whites. In Texas, where 39 percent of the population is Hispanic, Democrats have been shut out of statewide elections for decades. During 2014's elections, fewer than 2.3 million Texas Hispanics reported being registered to vote, or about 46 percent of the nearly 4.9 million who were eligible, according to U.S. Census Bureau surveys. "We've been spending our money wrong," concedes Crystal Zermeno, director of special projects for the Democratic field organization Texas Organizing Project. "For the past 15 to 20 years, we've been focusing on moving swing white voters. If you talk to Hispanic voters, they say, 'No one has asked me to vote.'" There are success stories. In Nevada, Latinos have demonstrated the power they wield when they either turn out or stay home. In the 2014 midterms, for example, Hispanic turnout plummeted, and Republicans swept every statewide office and won control of both houses of the Legislature for the first time since 1929. But in 2008, 2010 and 2012 they helped deliver the state for Democrats. "When you have the resources put in, you see turnout that favors the Democrats," says David Damore, a political science professor at the University of Nevada Las Vegas. "But you need to put resources in the community. It's not just going to happen." This year with Trump priming the pump, and with former state Attorney General Catherine Cortez Masto running to become the first Latina senator resources are flowing. In June, two days after graduating from high school, Fabiola Vejar stood outside a Latin grocery store on a sweltering afternoon quizzing a parade of customers in Spanish: "Are you registered to vote?" Most shook their heads no. Vejar followed up: "Are you eligible?" Again, most responded in the negative. One man laughed and bellowed: "Soy Mexicano!" I'm Mexican! Vejar cannot vote. Now 18, she came from Mexico with her mother when she was 2 years old. So she volunteers with Mi Familia Vota, encouraging others to be heard at the ballot box. "I don't have that voice," she says, "but there's other people ... who feel the way I do. They should vote." Xiomara Duenas will. She immigrated legally to the United States from Cuba in 1996 to join her father. She had always believed that her shaky English prevented her from becoming a citizen. She was resigned to the idea that immigrants didn't have the same rights as native-born Americans until Trump's candidacy. Last November, she became a citizen. This November, she plans to act. "I didn't want him to become president, but I couldn't do anything," says Duenas. "But now, I can vote." PIERRE | Trust companies headquartered in South Dakota surpassed $226 billion in assets during 2015, according to the state Division of Banking. Director Bret Afdahl described the five-fold increase in five years as sustained and dramatic growth during a meeting Thursday with the state Banking Commission. There were 223 employees of trust companies in South Dakota last year. They included 120 people working for 51 public trust companies, 93 people working in the trust departments of banks and 10 people working for 33 private trusts. There were nine trust departments at banks, 51 public trust companies and 33 private trusts. The bank trust departments held $7 billion in assets, while public trust companies had $165 billion and private trusts about $54 billion. The Legislature and the governors advisory committee on trusts have worked consistently with the Division of Banking and its commission to better position South Dakota as a site for trusts starting some 20 years ago. Trusts choose among the states for the best tax advantages. Four private companies and 22 public companies had an active presence as of last year. There were 26 private companies and 22 public companies that had a contracted presence. Three of each had a limited presence. Changes made by the Legislature this year are intended to lead to more employment by trust companies in South Dakota. If theyre not working that way, theyre working their way out, Afdahl told the commission. The Division of Banking now has two deputy directors, one for banks and one for trusts, and a staff of eight devoted to trust examinations. Last year the division didnt conduct any examinations outside South Dakota. There are trusts with offices in 22 other states. Theyre supposed to have situs in South Dakota, said Jeff Erickson of Sioux Falls, the commissions chairman. Instead people associated with the trusts fly into South Dakota for examinations. This is a lot more efficient, Afdahl said. Advocates for the new Childrens Museum of the Black Hills have already reached the halfway point in efforts to secure The Founding 50 50 individuals, businesses or organizations that have pledged at least $1,000 to make the museum a reality, organizers said this week. We hope to create a place where families can come and learn together in a fun, enriching, discovery-based environment, Museum Board President Lily Bruckner said. Childrens museums have totally changed what a museum is. In a childrens museum, everything is touchable and children are able to create anything to their wildest imagination. Its a place where everyone can embrace their inner-kid. Bruckner, who teaches in a masters program at National American University, said advocates of the museum had been discussing its potential for five or six years and held their first official meeting in June. Since then, its really taken off, she said. Clearly our community is embracing this idea and is ready for a museum of this type in our town. As envisioned, the Childrens Museum of the Black Hills would redefine the museum experience for local residents and visitors by inspiring families to enjoy art, culture, science and history together in a hands-on, interactive environment, Bruckner explained. Proponents hope to open the new museum by 2020. Honestly, the biggest challenge is funding, and I think most nonprofits say that, she said. The initial funding and continued donations will be critical to its success, but so many have said, 'We need this. The first 50 members to donate to The Founding 50 will be recognized with a distinctive plaque that will be displayed in the museum, according to a prepared release. Once the museum is open, plans also call for an interactive exhibit designed by and devoted to The Founding 50 members that celebrates the active role their $1,000 donation played in getting the museum open, the release stated. Those wishing to support the proposed museum may mail a check to: Children's Museum of the Black Hills, P.O. Box 9187, Rapid City, SD 57709-9187. For more information about The Founding 50, contact Bruckner at 545-0623 or email childrensmuseumbh@gmail.com or info@childrensmuseumbh.org or visit ChildrensMuseumBH.org. One of the worst-kept secrets in Washington is that federal regulators rarely encounter an issue to which more red tape cant be applied. While anecdotally its duct tape that can fix anything thats broken, Washington bureaucrats seem to believe red tape can fix anything whether its broken or not. I often wonder if the people who make these rules and regulations have ever traveled outside the beltway to see exactly how their actions impact hard-working people in states across the country, because if they did, its hard to imagine how theyd reach the same conclusions. According to a recent study by the American Action Forum (AAF), federal agencies in the Obama administration have issued 600 major regulations with a negative impact of $100 million or more per regulation to the economy since the president took office. AAF has determined these major regulations have burdened the U.S. economy by $743 billion, or roughly $2,300 per American. For perspective, if you stacked 743 billion $1 bills on top of one another, they would reach more than 50,000 miles into the air, the equivalent of two full trips around the Earth. In addition to $1.7 trillion in tax increases on President Obama's watch, this dramatic expansion of government has resulted in stagnant wages, record low participation in the workforce, and the worst economic recovery in 60 years. In fact, the Obama presidency will be the first ever not to achieve at least 3 percent economic growth for a full year. Regulations arent metaphorical. They arent written and then shoved in the back of a book for someone to read about years later. Heavy-handed federal rules and regulations can have a real impact on the American people and make it more difficult and more expensive to create jobs and earn a living. In an economy where wages are flat and the cost for just about everything else in our daily lives has gone up, we should avoid squeezing families any more than they already have been. Not all regulations are bad regulations. For example, I think most people in South Dakota would agree that individuals or businesses shouldnt be allowed to dump toxic substances in our lakes or rivers. Doing so would threaten our water supply, and it would put the health and safety of our communities at risk. I would venture to guess most of those same common-sense people would also agree that the federal government shouldnt be regulating common activities of private property owners who happen to have small ponds or ditches in their backyards, which is what the EPA has tried to do with its Waters of the United States Rule. One of the most effective ways to create change is by having a presidentthe leader of the executive branch and its agencies who is opposed to an over-regulated America. The best part about this option is that South Dakotans and the rest of the American people get a direct say in its outcome, and theres no greater or more powerful voice than that. South Dakota's high school students have more opportunities than ever. Through a program that began in 2014-15, South Dakota juniors and seniors are eligible for dual credit courses, which count for both high school and college credit. And, after the first year it was available, the program gained significant momentum during the 2015-16 school year. We're thrilled to hear about it and hope educators and parents promote its benefits. To get paid a decent salary in today's workforce, some form of post-secondary education is necessary, whether it's from a two-year technical college or a four-year institution. To see students utilizing the dual credit program shows long-term planning and organization, which are great traits for employers to see when hiring. Last year, more than 3,500 students in South Dakota were enrolled in some dual credit courses, compared to about 2,300 the previous school year, and collectively they saved millions of dollars. The cost per credit is $48, while the state picked up the rest of the cost. Statewide, students saved more than $2.5 million in the 2014-15 school year by using the program, which averages $1,000 per student, according to information presented by Gov. Dennis Daugaard in his State of the State address in January. And now more than ever, students need a break to pay for their college education. According to the College Board, the average cost of tuition and fees for the 2015-16 school year was more than $32,400 at private colleges, $9,400 for state residents at public colleges and about $23,900 for out-of-state residents attending public universities. Those savings are strong incentives for students to have good grades throughout high school. To be eligible for the courses, students must meet admission standards of the post-secondary institute. Even better, the dual credit program allows students who are educated beyond the high school level to move on to more advanced coursework. All of those benefits spell out success for South Dakota's students and show why the program is a no-brainer for juniors and seniors. South Dakota's students have more opportunities than ever because of the dual credit program. In turn, we hope it's a serious consideration of all juniors and seniors and highly encouraged by all teachers and parents. Russian court to review Googles appeal against antimonopoly watchdog on October 25 MOSCOW, September 5 (RAPSI) The Moscow Commercial Court has set preliminary hearings in Googles appeal against ruling of the Federal Antimonopoly Service (FAS), which fined the corporation 438 million rubles ($6.7 mln), the court documents read on Monday. On August 17 the Ninth Commercial Court of Appeals has dismissed an appeal filed by Google against a ruling that the US company had broken Russian anti-monopoly legislation by abusing its dominance on the Russian market of mobile applications. In early August FAS announced that it had fined Google 438 million rubles for violating administrative legislation. On September 18, 2015, the Federal Antimonopoly Service (FAS) found Google guilty of violation the legislation. On March 15, 2016, the Moscow Commercial Court dismissed Googles petition requesting to abolish the FAS decision and order issued in September 2015, which stated that the company had violated the Federal Law on Protection of Competition and accusing it of abuse of dominance on the market of preinstalled applications in the Android operating system. Appeal of Russian hydropower giants ex-chairman set for September 12 MOSCOW, September 5 (RAPSI, Yevgeniya Sokolova) The Moscow City Court will review an appeal filed by the former Management Board Chairman of Russias hydropower giant RusHydro Yevgeny Dod against arrest of his property on September 12, RAPSI learned in the court on Monday. Earlier the Basmanny District Court of Moscow has seized property of Dod and his family. On August 18 charges against Dod have been changed from fraud to misappropriation of 73.2 million rubles ($1.2 million). He could face up to 10 years in prison if convicted. Initially Dod and another defendant in the case, Chief Accountant of RusHydro Dmitry Finkel were charged with large scale fraud. As it has already been reported, Dod pleaded not guilty to the charges, but expressed his willingness to reimburse the company for damage. Finkel also pleaded not guilty. The official spokesperson for the Investigative Committee Vladimir Markin has earlier said that after the companys financial report had been approved, the defendants drafted an order On special bonus payments to the RusHydro Management Board members in 2013, which was signed by Dod. Under this order, Dod charged to himself a bonus amounted to 353.21 million rubles ($5.5 million) and thus illegally overrated the bonus by no less than 73.2 million rubles. Investigation into the case has been extended until December 22. JFC ex-CEO Kekhmans $6.6 mln debt to UniCredit Bank affirmed MOSCOW, September 5 (RAPSI) - The Thirteenth Commercial Court of Appeals has upheld a lower courts ruling to include former CEO of JFC Group Vladimir Kekhmans debt to UniCredit Bank estimated at 434.3 million rubles ($6.6 million) on the list of creditors' claims, the court learnt in the court on Monday. Kekhman was declared bankrupt by court upon the application of Sberbank on July 28. Moreover, on July 21, a court in St. Petersburg dismissed a petition lodged Kekhman seeking the recognition of Londons High Courts judgment declaring him bankrupt. Kekhmans financial executive Mikhail Bologov, Russias Federal Tax Service, Sberbank, Rosbank, Promsvyazbank, Raiffeisenbank, UniCredit Bank, Aquamarine Company and Pulkovo Trade Company anre named as interested parties in the dispute. A Kekhmans representative claimed during the bankruptcy hearings that the former head of JFC had no obligations before Sberbank because he was already been declared bankrupt by The High Court of Justice of England in 2012 and Sberbank received its share from sales of Kekhmans property. A Sberbanks representative, on the other hand, claimed that the bank was not involved in the process and did not receive any compensation. According to the Sberbanks representative, the bank had rulings of several Russian courts on debt recovery from Kekhman. Nevertheless, the representative of Kekhman insisted that the ruling of The High Court of Justice of England had been recognized by Sberbank and was to be complied with in Russia. In its ruling, the court pointed out that in the absence of international treaties, entered into by the Russian Federation, decisions on bankruptcies taken in foreign jurisdictions were to be recognized in Russia only on the reciprocity basis unless otherwise stipulated by federal laws. At present, the court stressed, the Russian Federation was not a party in any international treaty on bankruptcy issues. Russian student accused of attempting to join ISIS seeks to close her case MOSCOW, September 5 (RAPSI) Varvara Karaulova (Alexandra Ivanova), the Moscow State Universitys student, who stands charged with attempting to join the Islamic State militants in Syria, has filed a motion to close a case against her, RIA Novosti reported on Monday citing her lawyer Sergei Badamshin. The accused and her defense have already finished reading the case materials, the agency quoted Badamshin as having said. According to the usual procedure, in the near future the case will be forwarded to prosecutors for approving indictment and then it will be transferred to court. As previously reported the second-year student of the Moscow State Universitys Faculty of Philosophy, allegedly decided to join the Islamic State and secretly started off for Istanbul on May 27. On June 4, she was arrested near Turkey's border with Syria along with 13 other Russian citizens when attempting to cross into the territory occupied by Islamic State militants. On June 11, she returned to Russia under escort of Interpol employees. In October, Karaulova, who had changed her name to Alexandra Ivanova, was again arrested in Moscow and put in jail. She has been found sane by the psychiatric evaluation. The student did not plead guilty and stated that she was not going to become a terrorist. 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Sandeep Kumar was arrested on Saturday, days after he was dismissed as women's and children's minister of the region covering Delhi following the video leak to television channels which showed him kissing two women. "He was arrested on a complaint filed by one of the woman seen in the video. She has alleged Kumar raped her. The investigations have just started," Vikramjit Singh, deputy police commissioner of Delhi, told AFP. The married woman, who cannot be named for legal reasons, said in her complaint to police that Kumar spiked her drink with sedatives before sexually assaulting her last year at his residence, the officer said. She alleged the minister had promised her a job and help in securing a government benefits card. Singh said the second woman seen in the video has yet to be identified and efforts are being made to contact her for her testimony. The nine-minute video was sent late Wednesday to a local news channel and to Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, who immediately sacked him from his cabinet. Only snippets of the "sex tape" were aired on the channel, showing Kumar on a bed waering only shorts and kissing one of the women. A set of photographs allegedly show him kissing another woman. Local media reports say portions of the video show Kumar having sex with one of the women. Kumar, a married father of one, has denied the allegations. He says the tape was fabricated and a political conspiracy to tarnish his image. Delhi's ruling Aam Admi Party (AAP) led by anti-corruption campigner Kejriwal, routed Prime Minister Narendra Modi's BJP in last year's elections in the capital. But it has been hit by a series of controversies involving its legislators. Thirteen of its legislators have been charged with various crimes including rape, attempted murder and corruption since winning the elections in February 2015. A former minister has been arrested for allegedly faking his law degree last year and another was held on corruption charges. Kathmandu, Nepal: Nepal Police have arrested an Indian national, Rayes Miya aka Mohammad Mastkim, on the charge of committing seven murders in Nepal. Though the 26-year-old serial killer was the native of Madhubani of the Indian state of Bihar, he was living in Saptari since few years and series of criminal activities of murdering and extortion. It is said that he was arrested from Tribhuwan International Airport (TIA) on Sunday and handed over to the Saptari police for the further action. He was paraded amid a function at Saptari on Monday. Absconding Miya was on most wanted list of the Saptari Police. It is also suspected that he would have committed similar crimes even in his country India as well. He was on the way to foreign job with a fake Nepali passport numbered 07656643. Police investigation has also found that he had acquired passport after taking a fake citizenship certificate from Saraswar-7 in of the district. According to the Police, Miya had committed the murder in Nepal for the first time in 2012. He had begun his criminal activities by killing Sahabud Miya and his daughter-in-law Sagira Khatun in Kalyanpur-8 of Saptari on September 17, 2012. Following the murder he had robbed Rs 276,000 from the vicitms. Likewise, in October 2013, he had murdered Dulari Devi Sah in Jandaul-6 of the Sunsari district and robbed Rs 600,000. Similalry, on March 15, 2014, he had murdered Nirmala Devi Sah of Trilok-5 in the district. US Assistant Secretary Nisha Bishwal (centre) holding a meeting with Nepalas Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal (left) at the PMas official residence in Baluwatar. Photo: PM s Secretariat Kathmandu, Nepal: The United States of Americas Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asian Affairs, Nisha Biswal, has concluded her two-day official visit to Nepal on Monday. During her two day stay in Kathmandu, she met various political leaders including Prime Minister and CUPN Maoist Chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal, Nepali Congress president and former Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba and others. During the meeting with Nepal Nepali leaders, US senior diplomat Biswal concentrated her discussions about the recent situation of the country particularly in the front of constitution implementation, reconstruction and rehabilitation works after the devastating earthquake and others. The United States Government continues to work closely with the people and government of Nepal in order to support democratic systems and structures that improve inclusiveness, strengthen the business environment, and focus on development and reconstruction efforts, Biswal has stated in the statement issued by the US Embassy in Kathmandu on her departure. The United States continues to engage with Nepal to support its democracy, prosperity and stability, the press statement states further. We, as part of womenas movement and practising feminists working with Muslim community and the women of the community for years in India, take the liberty to write this statement condemning the recent affidavit posed by All India Muslim Personal Law Board. The facts of this affidavit is that,- first, abolition of triple talaq is (un)Quaranic; second, since women lack decision making abilities, it is only men of the community who should have this right; third, polygamy is Islamic though not promoted and this practice ensures marital rights for Muslim women, banning of which will tantamount to promiscuous sexual practices or murder of women in hands of their husbands; fourth, the honorable Supreme Court of India has no right to intervene in the religious law of the community. The occasion of this statement issued by the organization is the growing numbers of Muslim womenas petitions challenging the constitutionality of triple talaq in the apex court. We strongly condemn this statement based on all the four premises issued by the organization. First, whether the practice of unilateral triple talaq is validated by religion or not is not our contention, rather it is gender discriminatory and epitomises patriarchal values and therefore must be abolished should be emphasized. Second, the belief that women lack decision making qualities dilutes the citizenship rights of Muslim women in India who have been exercising their electoral rights for more than sixty years now. Third, polygamy ensures marital rights for Muslim women and prevents death threats; and its erasure will increase promiscuous sexuality is not only conservative but also challenges the principle of aequalitya enshrined by our Indian Constitution for women who are being treated as second class citizens as compared to their male counterparts of the community. Fourth, that Supreme Court cannot intervene in the personal law eliminates the possibility of Article 14 which promises equal rights to the citizens within Indian territory across religion, race, caste, sex, or place of birth. It is no surprise that All India Muslim Personal Board has not progressed over the decades and reiterates the same position which reverberates the patriarchal conservative ideas of the community. However, we envision a gender just law for the community where womenas question of social security and rights promised by the Indian Constitution will be practised. We do not believe in progressive or regressive interpretation of religion or codification of Muslim Personal Law for we believe that in every community there are multiple realities of an identity, multiple practices of beliefs and pluralist envisions of family structure. We therefore, emphasize on acknowledgement of womenas rights which are otherwise controlled in the name of religion, purity or chastity or even in the garb of aprotectinga women. This statement is not only an emphatic resistance to the religious organizations like All India Muslim Personal Board but also a call to reiterate feminist vision of gender just laws for Muslim women who are also rightfully Indian citizens. On behalf of Bebaak Collective (Voices of the Fearless) Bebaak Collective Morocco has reaffirmed its resolve to continue, in coordination with MINURSO, the cleaning up operation of the border area of Guargarate between the Kingdom and Mauritania, ignoring the Polisarios accusations that Morocco is violating the 1991 ceasefire. This came at a time the Polisario is embroiled in a drug case after the arrest of a son of one of its officials for drug trafficking. The cleaning up operation is conducted in strict compliance with the ceasefire, particularly the military agreement No. 1, said the Moroccan Interior Minister, Mohamed Hassad, who expressed Moroccos resolve at the weekly Cabinet meeting held Thursday in Rabat. The clearing of the area of all kinds of trafficking and the asphalting of a 3.8 km long road linking Guergarate to Mauritania, take place amidst an escalation, with unpredictable consequences, between Morocco and the Polisario about the latest developments in this locality situated in the buffer zone. The operation is conducted because of the insecurity danger in this region with the proliferation of drug trafficking and other illicit activities, besides the obstacles that hampered the traffic flow to Mauritania said Mohamed Hassad. The Interior Ministers remarks are timely, as the Directorate of National Security (DGSN) revealed the same day, in a communique, that units of the Royal Armed Forces (FAR) deployed along the security berm, 280 km southeast of Boujdour, dismantled, last week, an international drug trafficking network. Four alleged drug traffickers were arrested and 500 kg of chira were seized by the FAR. According to the DGSN communique, investigations revealed that the arrested individuals are from Mali and the Tindouf camps and are in connivance with the Polisario. Actually, one of the arrested individuals is Majidi Ida Ibrahim Hamim, who is the son of Ida Ibrahim, former Wali of Es- Smara camp in Tindouf and current so-called minister of development of the pseudo Sahrawi republic SADR. On Sunday August 28, the UN Secretary General, Ban Ki-moon, urged Morocco and the Polisario to refrain from any action likely to lead to a military escalation at Mauritanias borders, at a time the Polisario is having difficult times with the latest developments. Meanwhile, the Moroccan Government remains mobilized to respond to all provocations and maneuvers by the Polisario and other opponents of the Kingdoms integrity and sovereignty, as affirmed by the governments spokesperson, Mustapha Khalfi, after the weekly cabinet meeting. Mustangs hold off Andover in 5A playoff opener Salina Central made all the right plays at the right time Friday night to edge Andover, 21-15, in its Class 5A playoff opener. Nothing written, appearing, or linked to, on this site is intended to be individual legal, or investment, advice. Consult a financial or legal adviser before making any trade, or any other decision, based anything you read, or see, on this website. 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We may collect (for our own use only) information using cookies, pixel tags, and similar technologies. Cookies are small text files containing a string of alphanumeric characters. We may use both session cookies and persistent cookies. A session cookie disappears after you close your browser. A persistent cookie remains after you close your browser and may be used by your browser on subsequent visits to our pages. Image: Dusteramaranth Every aspect of creation is governed by an angel. Even trees and plants (especially those with healing prop... Text by Rabbi Daniel Travis Two by two the animals came into the Ark to Noach. [ Noah 7:9 ] The concepts in this verse are ill... [If you did not see Part 1 click here to watch ] What will happen in the final war of "Gog and Magog" at the End of Days? Who are ... This video was made by Berel Solomon in response to Kanye West's attacks on Jewish business people. Send it to someone who may need to h... Rabbi Aaron L Raskin [28 min video] After being isolated for two years from the pandemic, COVID-19, the year of Hakhel is like a breath of... HT: AG "A soul like his does not descend in every generation, it descends once in many generations" Rav Shlomo Yehudah Be'eri... A few days after officially becoming an independent candidate, Jeff VanDerWerff is ramping up his quest to win the Iowa House District 4 seat. VanDerWerff, of Orange City, is vying with Republican Skyler Wheeler, of Orange City, in the heavily Republican district. The outcome will be decided in Nov. 8 balloting. VanDerWerff already was on the ballot once this year, when he came in third in a Republican primary in June. He received 25.6 percent, behind the 44.5 percent of Wheeler, who won the GOP nomination. VanDerWerff subsequently gathered enough signatures to be nominated by petition in August. VanDerWerff has planned a Tuesday event at the Sioux County Courthouse in Orange City. He will be joined by Rock Valley Mayor Kevin Van Otterloo, who finished second in the June party primary for House District 4. VanDerWerff will also introduce two other supporters -- former Republican state Sen. Dave Mulder and Sioux County Board of Supervisors Chairman Mark Sybesma. Wheeler got traction for his primary win with an endorsement of The Family Leader, a socially conservative advocacy group. There is no Democratic candidate in the Iowa House District 4 race. SOUTH SIOUX CITY | As several Siouxlanders have been firing up the grill, hitting the road or relaxing at the beach over the holiday weekend, a few have also been participating in a slightly different Labor Day tradition: gaming. Since Friday afternoon, gamers young and old have been gathering at the Marina Inn & Conference Center in South Sioux City for Tri-Con, a biannual convention organized by the Tri-State Gamers, a local nonprofit. The convention, which concludes Monday evening, features board and card game tutorials, play-to-win board games, a spaceship simulator, children's events and live-action role playing games, as well as local gaming vendors, artist booths and an auction to benefit charity. Mark Wilson, president of the Tri-State Gamers, said gaming conventions have been going on in Sioux City for nearly 30 years, including a long tradition over the Labor Day weekend. The events, he said, attract people from Sioux City and beyond. "It not only can bring the community together, but it brings in people from out of town to Sioux City," he said. "Were conveniently located between Sioux Falls and Omaha, so we bring people in from both areas." Wilson said the Tri-State Gamers began heading up the event after their formation about three years ago. The group now holds one convention in the spring and one in the fall. The event was first branded as "Tri-Con" in 2015. Unique this year, Wilson said, were three artists who attended the event, as well as an "epic" Saturday night Dungeons and Dragons battle that involved 70 players. "That's about the biggest D-and-D event in the tri-state area we've had," he said. "It was pretty huge." While the crowds had thinned out slightly Sunday afternoon, several sat around tables, enjoying various strategy games. One of them was Will Conley, of Des Moines, who sat around a table with Erin Meeker, also of Des Moines, and Jose Dominges, of Vermillion, South Dakota. The three were playing Via Nebula, a strategy board game that challenges players to gather resources and construct buildings in a fantasy world. "We play board games in Des Moines a lot, so the opportunity to play to win, and to play games Ive never played before (brought us)," Conley said. "We've played probably a dozen games now -- all different types of genres." At a nearby table, Daulton Johnson, of Whiting, Iowa, and Corey Meth, of Storm Lake, Iowa, were playing a game of Weiss Schwarz, a Japanese strategy card game. Both are current members of Western Iowa Tech's anime club. Johnson said while the group had traveled to other larger anime and gaming conventions before, he was enjoying attending one closer to home. "This one's nice because it's local and it's easy to show up to," he said. "I like the quaintness and local town feel of this one." As of Sunday afternoon, Wilson said the convention had attracted approximately 400 gamers. He said Tri-Con will continue through about 7 p.m. Monday evening. All attendees on Monday get in the door for free. Wilson said for those wanting to become more involved with the Siouxland gaming community, Tri-State Gamers holds several gaming events throughout the year that are open to the public, often at the South Sioux City Public Library. CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa | No one knows for sure how many homeless veterans are on the streets in Iowa because only four of Iowas 99 counties are surveyed for a total statewide count. Additionally, many of these elusive veterans are transient and not in the state on the one day in January that the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development tries to count them. Others simply dont want to be found, social workers trying to count homeless people in Iowa told IowaWatch. The number of counters available to take on finding homeless veterans can be a problem, too. When I started there was a small group of us, maybe three or four of us, and we would go out for a few hours, midnight till 2 or 3, and wed find who we could find, Dusty Noble, Hawkeye Area Community Action Program (HACAP) veteran advocate in Cedar Rapids since 2014, said. Iowa's homeless veterans are counted the last Wednesday of each January. Finding homeless veterans is important because of a national push to end veteran homelessness and because U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs and HUD funding that homeless shelters and anti-poverty organizations like HACAP receive to help the veterans is based on how many are counted as homeless. The last Housing and Urban development department estimate of homeless veterans in Iowa was 170 on the Jan. 27, 2016. That count was made in Woodbury, Linn, Polk and Johnson counties and presented to HUD in June. The main problem is we dont know how many homeless veterans there are in Iowa, U.S. Rep. Dave Loebsack, D-Iowa, formerly a member of the House Armed Forces Committee, said. I have no have doubt in my mind that it under-reports the amount of homeless, he said about the January HUD count. The January count is focused on large population centers in Iowa because thats where most veterans go for shelter or other services, interviews revealed. Also, those are the places that are likely to have more volunteers who go out and do the street count, Ehren Stover-Wright, research director for the Iowa branch of the Institute for Community Alliances, said. His organization is a multi-state organization that is in Des Moines and which collects the data from shelters to communicate the data to HUD. Sometimes its hard to nail down a number because you know people are sleeping rough, or maybe sleeping in abandoned buildings. Its really hard to have people who are willing to go out and ask (about being a veteran), and then if you do ask you dont always get a straight answer, Stover-Wright said. The VA is pushing to get veteran homelessness down to functional zero, said Jan Zeleke, a veterans case manager at the Central Iowa Shelter and Services in Des Moines. Functional zero means doing whatever the VA can to help those who want help. For example, HUD and the VA partnered to create a voucher called the HUD-VASH that is given out only in areas with a large amount of homeless veterans. Four criteria exist for functional zero: identifying all veterans experiencing homelessness, providing shelter immediately to homeless veterans who want it, providing limited short-term transitional housing, and having the capacity to swiftly assist veterans into permanent housing. The HUD estimate from January is based on a point-in-time count during winter on the last Wednesday of that month. It is included in a report about homelessness in the United States that is given to Congress each November. But HACAPs Noble, who helps conduct the point-in-time count in Linn County, said he knew the local count was not accurate because he had dealt with more homeless veterans than were showing up in the January count. We started to see there was a problem, that we werent getting an accurate benchmark, Noble said. Linn County volunteers try to find additional homeless veterans during a summer count of all homeless people in the county, which is Iowa's second largest behind Polk County. HACAP partners with groups like the Abbe Center for Community Mental Healths Projects for Assistance in Transition from Homelessness or PATH, a grant-supported state program for homeless outreach. Volunteers counting homeless people in the summer focus on the Cedar Rapids metro area and the Interstate 380 rest stops south of Cedar Rapids. The count this year was made starting the night of July 27 and concluding during the early morning hours of July 28. Doing the summer count carries some risk for volunteers making the counts, Noble said. Volunteers go out after midnight and speak to people in places where some try to hide. The volunteers are trained to be as non-confrontation as possible but still wake sleeping people up in their cars. On that hot Iowa night in late July volunteers Mark Brown, a Willis Dady Prevention and Shelter outreach specialist; Lisa Williams, development and project coordinator with the Willis Dady Prevention and Shelter; Chris Poole with the Abbe Centers PATH homeless outreach; and HACAP case manager Jenny LeVelle checked parking lots and the rest stops, speaking to people who had been sleeping in their cars and one couple camping along a store building. They were in one of four groups of volunteers trying to find homeless people who werent using shelters. Some people the counters spoke to were not homeless. Some said they were traveling while others objected to being offered help. Brown asked everyone he talked with whether or not they were a veteran. Brown works with homeless veterans at Willis Dady. He is a veteran himself, serving in the Army from 1985 to 1991 in Germany, Honduras and Colorado. At the end of the night the volunteers had found three homeless veterans. A lot times it's just a hit miss, Brown said. They're not there the night we go out and see them but they might be there the next night. But the next night doesn't count. This story was produced by Iowa Center for Public Affairs Journalism-IowaWatch.org, a non-profit, online news Website that collaborates with Iowa news organizations to produce explanatory and investigative reporting. ELK POINT, S.D. | Numerous rescue teams and law enforcement agencies searched the Missouri River Sunday evening after reports that a man had gone missing. Union County Sheriff Dan Limoges said authorities received word around 5:30 p.m. that a male in his 20s had gone missing in the Missouri River at a boat ramp west of Elk Point. Limoges said the man and four others had been swimming in the river Sunday afternoon. "The current kind of got them, so they started across the river, and four of them got across and they lost sight of the fifth individual," Limoges said. South Dakota Game Fish & Parks, North Sioux City Fire Department, Elk Point Police Department, Elk Point Ambulance, National Park Service and Mercy Air Care assisted the sheriff's office in an investigation of the areas downstream from the boat ramp. Limoges said their search was conducted mostly within a mile of the ramp. Crews stopped the search for the night around 9 p.m., Limoges said. They will resume around 7 a.m. Monday. The Union County Sheriff's Office is not releasing the name of the man at this time. Close Get email notifications on {{subject}} daily! Your notification has been saved. There was a problem saving your notification. {{description}} Email notifications are only sent once a day, and only if there are new matching items. ELK POINT, S.D. | Rescue crews from South Dakota and Nebraska are continuing their search for the body of a man who went missing Sunday afternoon along the Missouri River. Tom Patterson, a 23-year-old Briar Cliff University student from Frostburg, Maryland, disappeared around 5:30 p.m. Sunday while swimming with a group of friends across the Missouri River near a boat ramp four miles southwest of Elk Point. Several crews assisted the Union County Sheriff's Office in an investigation of the areas downstream from the boat ramp Sunday evening but stopped the search around 9 p.m. Monday's search resumed at 7 a.m. and included the Union County Sheriff's Office, Yankton Search and Rescue, South Dakota Game Fish & Parks, Nebraska Game & Parks, Brookings Search and Rescue K9 units, and the Dixon County Sheriff's Office. The crews included four dogs and three site scan sonar units. Union County Sheriff Dan Limoges said Monday evening that the crews had found some "areas of interest" using sonar but were unable to send divers into the water because of the wind. "The river is very relentless, very unforgiving," Limoges said. "We will have them out tomorrow and will assess whether we'll put them in or not." Crews were to resume the search Tuesday morning. Limoges said the main area of the search includes a mile downstream from the boat ramp. Briar Cliff University confirmed Monday that Patterson was a student at the university and a member of the school's wrestling program. "It is with heavy hearts that we acknowledge the disappearance of current student and wrestler Tom Patterson," a statement from the university said. "The search is ongoing and our prayers continue to surround the situation and all involved. As a campus, we will be providing support to those coping in this difficult time." The university held a prayer vigil Monday evening at Our Lady of Grace Chapel on the university campus. Students and faculty packed the chapel to near capacity for the service. Patterson's parents were also in attendance. Limoges said he would warn others not to enter the river without life jackets, citing a similar search in August 2015 for a man who went missing while swimming with friends. Register for more free articles. Sign up for our newsletter to keep reading. Get local news delivered to your inbox! Subscribe to our Daily Headlines newsletter. Sign up! Already a Subscriber? Already a Subscriber? Sign in Terms of Service Privacy Policy DES MOINES | Nearly a decade after a national report showed Iowa had some of the highest rates of racial disparities in its jails and prisons, updated figures show the state has made slight improvements but still ranks among the worst in the U.S. The good news is racial disparity among Iowas inmates has improved since that first report. The numbers just havent improved enough to move Iowa out of the bottom few states in the nation. Iowa made modest gains in key metrics measured by The Sentencing Project, a national nonprofit organization that, according to its website, advocates for a fair and effective criminal justice system. Iowa has the fourth-most black inmates per capita in the country, according to The Sentencing Projects newest report, which was published this summer. That represents the slightest of improvement from the groups 2007 report, in which Iowa had the third-highest rate of black inmates per capita. In the new report, Iowa has the nations third-highest ratio of black-to-white inmates, a small improvement from 2007 when Iowa led the nation in the statistic. Only 3 of every 100 Iowans is black, but 1 of every 4 Iowa prisoners is black, according to the report. I think that the numbers indicate that its a systemic problem, that its not like theres just one issue, said Russell Lovell, a retired Drake University law school professor who works with the Iowa and Nebraska branch of the NAACP. You dont get the rankings that Iowa has without having broad-based, systemic issues. Im certainly confident that African-Americans in Iowa are not more crime-prone than they are in other states. I cant buy that argument. The good news is Iowas inmate disparity numbers did improve. The new report shows Iowa has 2,349 black prisoners for every 100,000; thats a 44 percent decrease from the 4,200 per 100,000 in the 2007 report. Iowas ratio of 11.1 black prisoners for every one white prisoner also is an improvement; thats down 18 percent from the nation-worst 13.6 in the 2007 report. Its good to see that we have scratched the surface, and we definitely believe it is a scratch, said Betty Andrews, president of the Iowa and Nebraska branch of the NAACP. But if we are scratching the surface, it is good to see those numbers moving in the right direction. That modest improvement comes despite statewide attention that has been paid to the issue in recent years. Since the 2007 report: Multiple advocacy groups have pitched solutions to and worked with state leaders. The Iowa Supreme Courts chief justice highlighted the issue in his past two annual addresses to the Iowa Legislature. Gov. Terry Branstad in 2015 convened a work group to develop recommendations. As Dr. (Martin Luther) King said, the arc of justice is long, but it bends toward justice, Andrews said. We are hoping were seeing the bending of that arc. The Sentencing Projects report lists possible contributors to racial disparities in jails and prisons: criminal justice policies and practices, human bias and structural disadvantages faced by minority populations. Iowa leaders have taken incremental steps to address its high racial disparity levels among inmates. The states nonpartisan legislative analysis agency produces minority impact reports for any legislation that could have an effect on minority communities. And this year, the state passed into law a package of criminal justice reforms that gave judges more sentencing flexibility for some low-level drug crimes and a measure that makes private the juvenile records of some nonviolent offenders. But lawmakers have not agreed to other recommendations from the governors work group and other advocates who suggest ways to diversify jury pools and pass legislation to ban employers from asking job applicants if they have been convicted of a felony and to monitor racial profiling by law enforcement officers. Lovell said the racial profiling legislation is critical. He noted an NAACP study that showed Iowa is one of 20 states without any racial profiling laws and an American Civil Liberties Union study that showed that while whites and blacks use marijuana at roughly the same rate, blacks in Iowa are more than eight times more likely to be arrested for marijuana use than whites. That study is a really powerful indication, we believe, of the racial profiling here in Iowa, Lovell said. And thats where it starts: You get arrested and you get into the system. So, that legislation is really an important piece. Proponents of ban-the-box legislation, which prevents employers from asking job seekers about their criminal history, say such laws eliminate a significant hurdle for former prisoners trying to find employment. Studies show that after a certain amount of time, the people who have committed a crime are no more likely than the general population to commit a crime, Andrews said. Here they are, 30 years later, 20 years later, and theyre still not able to get a job in the field they would like to be in. Lovell said the inability of released inmates to find a job can create a revolving door at jails and prisons. When ex-offenders come out, if they cant find work because no one will hire an ex-offender, then the likelihood of recidivism will increase, he said. Andrews said she and other advocates will continue to work with state leaders on these and other potential methods of reducing racial disparities in the states criminal justice system. She said education is important, as is continuing the conversation that has built in recent years. For example, in a few weeks, the Des Moines branch of the NAACP will host the fourth annual Iowa Summit on Justice and Disparities. Her hope is that with continued education and attention, the states criminal justice disparity numbers will continue to improve, perhaps even at a faster rate. Our goal is always to try to talk and help people and that includes our states highest officials understand the impact of maybe outdated practices and policies and legislation (that impacts) people of all colors, Andrews said. Because that gap is at a crisis level, and it just needs to be addressed. Even when he was a student in Fremont, Neb., Sioux City Community School District Superintendent Paul Gausman looked forward to the first day of class. "To be honest, it had little to do with classes," he admitted. "It was all social and catching up with my friends after summer break." The start of the school year is still exciting for Gausman since he takes it as an opportunity to personally greet some of the district's 2,000 employees and the more than 14,600 students. "I can't personally say 'hi' to everybody," he said, "but it won't be for lack of trying." Indeed, Gausman's Aug. 23rd schedule (the first day of class for the 2016-2017 school year) began by meeting with bus drivers in the district's "bus barn" by 6 a.m. The day then proceeded to various school visits and wouldn't end until the last of the school activities ended at night. "Oh, it's always crazy because we can easily be going 14-15 hours on the first day," Gausman said. "But it's also important to make your presence known." This is because some students might be experiencing school for the first time. "The first day of school is a rite of passage," Gausman said. "It can be really exciting or it can be a little scary." To ease a student's anxiety, he recommended a good night sleep as well as a healthy breakfast. Will this advice also work for anxious parents who are seeing their kids off as well? "Probably," Gausman reasoned. "The start of the school year can be a bit traumatic for both students and their parents, I suppose." Mostly, the start of the school year is a time to set goals and look forward. "It doesn't matter if you're a student or a staff member, the first day of class is when you look at what you've already accomplished and see what still needs to be done," Gausman said. In fact, he compares the first day of school to the day of the year. "Most people only say 'Happy New Year' one day a year," Gausman said. "I'm fortunate enough to be to say it twice a year." Reflecting on the many first days of school he's personally experienced, Gausman can't help but smile. "The first day may be a social thing or it may be strictly academic," he said. "Either way, we will always remember the first day of school." Robert Gilpin, R.I.P. - The Washington Post : His greatest book was written in 1981, but the main theory in it is perhaps more trenchant now... Canada, Labour September 5, 2016 Evert Hoogers, Donald Swartz and Rosemary Warskett Labour Day Weekend is upon us, and many union activists and their families will be out marching and picnicking, joining with brothers and sisters from other unions in a show of solidarity. While their participation is heartfelt there is no doubt many of them are asking what is there to celebrate? There are a few recent victories but not enough to prevent workers from concluding that the current Labour movement is in crisis. Labour Day is recognized by most unions in Canada and the U.S. as a day to promote labours role in the community. In 1894, it became a national holiday in Canada. The Canadian government was seeking to accommodate the Labour Movement after the rise of the Knights of Labor and the strengthening of unions in the 1880s. Shortly after, the American government followed suit, wanting in particular to offer a counterpoint to May Day, which commemorated the state violence against the 1886 Haymarket demonstrators. The contrast remains between the North American Labour Day holiday and May Day, which is Labours day elsewhere. While May Day stands for the international struggle against capitalism, Labour Day signifies the accommodation of workers within the capitalist system. Canada and the U.S. are the only countries where Labour Day rather than May Day celebrates the achievements of workers. Postwar Legal Recognition With the postwar settlement in Canada and the legal recognition of workers rights to organize, bargain and strike, accommodation of labour within the system was realized. By linking union certification and recognition of state-defined bargaining units in specific workplaces, the collective bargaining regime channeled unions away from broadly-based struggles and toward a narrow form of unionism centred on negotiating the price and use of labour-power at the level of the workplace. Workplace disputes were required to be resolved through formal grievance procedures rather than collective action helping to lead to the legalization of conflicts. Collective bargaining was confined to the economic issues of the workplace and separated from decisions made in the political realm. This process was powerfully reinforced by the cold war hysteria of the 1950s (and after) that resulted in the shunning and expulsion of both communists and socialists from U.S. and Canadian trade unions. While this regime did allow for the growth of unions and material benefits for a few decades, it was already evident by the 1980s that it had reached a state of crisis. Stark evidence of this can be seen in the USA. In 2013, the percentage of workers belonging to a union was 11.3%, compared to 20.1% in 1983. The rate for the private sector was 6.7%, and for the public sector, 35.3%. In Canada (according to Statistics Canada), the rate of unionization has fallen from 37.6% in 1981 to 28.8% in 2014. There have been no significant organizing advances. Meanwhile the continual spread of precarious forms of work, such as part-time, casual, zero-hours, and contingent labour, makes organizing in the service and other new industries such as call centres extremely difficult. There is a real danger that the Canadian labour movement, as it now stands, will go down the same road as its U.S. counterpart. The decline of union density in the private sector has reached a critical point, and the neoliberal turn to austerity has reduced the effectiveness of unions to make gains. At best, unions are fighting against rollbacks. But in many instances, the acceptance of concessionary collective agreements continues particularly with respect to defined benefit pension benefits. Public sector union benefits are constantly under attack with insidious comparisons made to non-union private sector companies. The recent embrace of social movement unionism by many unions as the way forward has done little to boost the capacities of labour. While this has led to greater involvement of unions nationally and locally with other social movements, it has not entailed the significant changes in union structures, practices and priorities that might have prevented the crisis of the current model of trade unionism from deepening. Signs of Revival If overall unions, in both the U.S. and Canada, have been slow in recognizing the need for major changes, recently there have been some encouraging developments. The Fight for $15 in the U.S. stands out as a movement that has bypassed the union certification process and has developed a community-based strategy in support of workplace-based actions to redress grievances. Starting with a few hundred fast food workers right across New York City in 2012, who went on strike for $15 an hour and union rights, the movement has grown considerably in a short period of time. In April 2015, tens of thousands of striking fast food workers in more than 200 cities were joined by other low paid workers, including childcare and homecare assistants, Walmart workers and airport staff, many of whom were women and racialized workers. The Service Employees International Union (SEIU) now supports this community-based movement and is helping to organize the strikes and demonstrations. In November 2015, Bernie Sanders spoke out in support of the movement pushing Hillary Clinton to support $15 as a minimum wage standard. Another widely noted example concerns the determined efforts of the Chicago Teachers Union (CTU) to break out of the confines of a narrow collective bargaining system through an ongoing fight for real systemic change within the education system. In September 2012, they went on strike against school privatization and the broader corporate reform agenda. But they realized that they couldnt depend on collective bargaining alone to fix the failures of the public school system. They are continuing to build the capacity of education workers, parents, and the community as a whole in a broad alliance in the working class areas of Chicago to challenge the racist inequality of the system. Turning to Canada, the Leap Manifesto: A Call for a Canada Based on Caring for the Earth and One Another offers another example of ambitious, imaginative thinking. The Manifesto proposes a restructuring of the economy away from fossil fuels and has forged alliances with unions and community groups in the hope of moving the project forward. The Leap s support of the One Million Climate Jobs project has brought the Canadian Labour Congress (CLC) and Indigenous and environmental organizations together to work together on a climate job creation plan. While Leap doesnt explicitly address the problems of capitalism (and its social relations of production), it does call on the labour movement to go beyond its traditional focus on the price of labour and its use and instead concern itself with the character of production and public control of investment. The CUPW Example Then there is the Canadian Union of Postal Workers (CUPW) with its ambitious vision for the Post Office of the future. CUPW has often been noted as a union prepared to break new ground. This has included founding the Winnipeg Workers Action Centre to support unorganized and vulnerable low-income workers. More famously, CUPW organized rural and suburban mail contractors for several years despite a legal prohibition against forming a union, and ultimately pressured Canada Post into voluntarily agreeing to the creation of the certified RSMC (Rural and Suburban Mail Carriers) bargaining unit in 2003. The recent developments arose out of the unions efforts to respond to four hard years of concessions-infused bludgeoning at the hands of the Harper government and the market fundamentalist leadership of Canada Post Corporation. These included the decision by Canada Post to completely eliminate door-to-door delivery and 8000 good union jobs in late 2013. If the union couldnt find a response, it could have faced a future of growing irrelevancy, so its activists chose to fight. The first step was to develop a campaign around postal banking. This not only served to answer the argument that the Post Office was a more or less hapless victim of the digital crisis; the banking initiative also opened up the prospect of a host of real benefits for some of the most vulnerable in our society. In order to advance this campaign, CUPW nourished a growing relationship with the Canadian Postmasters and Assistants Association (CPAA, a much smaller rural union) and ACORN, the well-known national organization of low-income community activists which has long fought against predatory lenders and the policies of the big banks (ACORN now embraces CUPWs project of postal banking). At the same time, CUPW developed a strategy of community based initiatives to Save Canada Post, featuring door-to-door campaigning, aggressive demonstrations and sit-ins, a call for a postal mandate review under a new government, and then began working with the new organization, Friends of Public Services, to expand its outreach. It soon became clear that the upcoming negotiations for a new collective agreement were inextricably connected to the development of a forward-looking proposal about the future role of Canada Post as a public service. With the election of the Justin Trudeau Liberals and the promise of a postal review, this objective developed into an alliance including ACORN, CPAA, Friends of Public Services and the Leap Manifesto group. This alliance developed the widely distributed program Developing Community Power. While still a work in progress, it envisions Canada Post as a green hub providing community economic development and social care along with postal banking imaginative new possibilities for the role of public services in what is now often called the new economy. The first fruits of these initiatives were reflected in the negotiations for a new collective agreement with Canada Post that was just concluded. CUPW succeeded in forcing the post office to abandon all of its key demands for concessions including a defined contribution pension plan for new hires, the right to close up to 500 retail outlets, and changes to work rules. The union also won a modest wage increase and a commitment to address its main demand of pay equity for its rural members within 19 months following an expedited review by a Pay Equity Committee. This last achievement was greatly assisted by CUPWs outreach to women across the country, including the release of a powerful open letter to the Prime Minister signed by 200 well-known women insisting that he live up to his pay equity commitments. The Struggle Continues CUPWs victory at the bargaining table means that the union is in a much better position to promote the vision of Community Power that it developed with its allies. The Canada Post Review process, which was a Liberal election promise, is well underway and has the potential to give the proposal high visibility. Community groups have started to hold meetings around the proposed vision and support from activists around the People4Posties national network and the Developing Community Power group is ongoing. Support from the CLC, other union centrals, and individual unions is crucial to the process. But the solidarity initiatives need to go further and an awareness needs to be built that all unions are implicated and have a stake in the fight for the expansion of public services. This is precisely because the next phase of the struggle is not going to be easy. Both Leap and Delivering Community Power have laid out remarkable visions of how we could transform our communities. At the same time, neither in and of themselves is particularly radical. There are large postal banks in many major capitalist countries including France, England and Japan. As for Leap, as Avi Lewis himself noted when speaking in Ottawa, the only really radical thing about the Leap manifesto is its implicit suggestion to leave the oil sands in the ground. The radicalism of both proposals lies in the need to confront and challenge capital if the visions are to be achieved. The banks and the pay day loans they support will fight tooth and nail against postal banking. The petroleum companies will strenuously oppose any suggestion that they give up billions in profit by leaving the oil unexploited. Moreover, leaving the oil in the ground poses a serious threat to thousands of jobs and indeed to Fort McMurray as a whole, and will meet with serious resistance from some parts of labour. This will not be overcome by promises of new retraining programs. Restructuring the oil industry will require serious planning, including financial planning, and this wont be possible without challenging capital. This also wont be possible without a much more powerful, politicized movement of community and labour organizations than exists now. It will need to be a transformed movement which sees itself as an integral part of working class communities in cities and towns across the country. This Labour Day there are hopeful signs that this transformation is beginning. The strategy of community-based initiatives that CUPW developed to save Canada Post from further cuts and privatization was a crucial part of the unions strategy going into this round of negotiations. Victory at the bargaining table could not have been achieved without them. Other struggles, such as that of the Chicago teachers and the North American-wide Fight for $15 campaigns for low-paid workers have raised the possibility of breaking out of the straight jacket of the current labour relations regime. These struggles not only open the way to new possibilities for labours collaboration with other popular-based groups and organizations; they also raise the political aspirations for the entire labour movement and for the Left as a whole. A week after he set off a South Florida firestorm by allegedly threatening to massacre gays in a 'Pulse-like' attack on a Wilton Manors nightclub, Craig Jungwirth is under arrest, this time for some very serious charges. The FBI has speedily accused Jungwirth of making online terrorist threats, a federal crime. At a hearing in Orlando's United States District Court on Tuesday, a federal judge will decide if Jungwirth is even entitled to a bond. For a host of reasons, he may not be. Here is why. First, at his initial hearing, federal prosecutors have a right to detain him automatically for 72 hours, while they amass information showing he is a flight risk or danger to the community. Both arguments can be validated. Along with the lethal potential of his present threats, Jungwirth has a sordid past of placing others in fear of their own safety. It has led to judicially ordered restraining orders against him by three different judges in three different states, all in recent years. Additionally, his residential history is sketchy at best. He has been evicted from apartments in Broward, and in Orlando he lied to the court about his address, listing as his home a self storage warehouse. Then he provided the State of Florida with a Walnut Creek, California address on a corporate filing. That's not good if you are trying to provide a judge with a reliable address. If you are out on bond, courts want to know where you are. Secondly, compounding his criminal legal problems, Jungwirth has two pending criminal charges against him in Broward. While already out on bond for a charge of defrauding an innkeeper, Jungwirth was subsequently arrested and charged for criminal mischief. Last week, businessman Nick Berry, the victim in both cases, notified the state attorney of a second case. Mike Satz's office had been unaware of the same. Their bad. When you are out on bond, and get arrested on a new charge, the court, on its own, or upon the petition of a state attorney, can revoke your bond or alter the conditions of your release. On Friday, a Broward County judge issued a warrant for Jungwirth. What this means is that when Jungwirth appears in court on Tuesday, he will already have an arrest pending in another county on an outstanding warrant, making it even less likely that a court would immediately release him. If that wasn't enough, theres more. A local businessman, Jeff Black, has filed an application for a new restraining order against Jungwirth for allegations of yet new potential threats to his person and safety. In my opinion, the jurist assigned to the case erred in failing to grant Black an 'ex parte' restraining order on the spot. He could have and should have. Additionally, there is anther recently documented incident where Jungwirth had threatened Pink Submarine's Dawn Holloway. Finally, the simple fact that he was stopped last week for driving on an eight year old suspended license, another misdemeanor, drives another nail into the bail application. Faced with a multiplicity of incidents, all involving threats to individuals, it is my conclusion that Jungwirth will be denied a bond release in the immediate future. I have been a criminal defense lawyer 40 years, and I sure would not let the guy out. If he in any way is subsequently or eventually released, you can bet it will be with an electronic monitoring device strapped to his ankle. The truth is, as SFGN revealed earlier this year in our expose of Jungwirth's Beach Bear Weekend's frauds, he is seriously unhinged and probably mentally compromised. He has become a threat and danger to others, let alone himself. He had my staff locking our door, and me, making sure my .357 magnum was accessible, locked and loaded. In the end, as in the beginning, Craig Jungwirth has been his own worst enemy, himself setting into motion all the factors that warrant his present incarceration. He tried to perpetrate a fraud but got caught. A little credit is due also to both Jeff Black and Robert Young, the former host of Beach Bear Weekend. Both men, along with Nick Berry, overcame public and professional apathy to press their case against Jungwirth at every level. I am proud SFGN joined in that effort. That is what a community newspaper is supposed to do. Ultimately, we are all in this together. Read SFGN's coverage of Jungwirth here SFGN.com/Jungwirth Thu, 27.10.22 - 11:04 The temperatures will fall in the Murcia Region but the weekend still promises to be warm and sunny Autumn has ye... MOSCOW (Sputnik) Gabon was shaken last week by clashes between security forces and supporters of opposition candidate Jean Ping, who lost to incumbent President Ali Bongo. "Arrests have been made in the past few days. France has had no news from several of its compatriots," Jean-Marc Ayrault said in a statement. "It expresses deep concern in this regard and demands that it be allowed to exercise consular protection under the Vienna Convention," he added. Rima, a 36-year-old mother, lost her 9-year-old son, when he was hit while playing on the balcony by shrapnel from a mortar round. The 40 days of mourning have passed and now Rima volunteers in a shelter for families displaced from the eastern neighborhood of Aleppo where the mortar round that killed her son was fired. 'Qui Aleppo' These are some of the stories that Rome-based Syrian TV reporter Naman Tarcha collects from his brother and friends, who still live in Aleppo. All these tales of bravery before savagery have induced Tarcha to launch a Twitter campaign called "Qui Aleppo" Italian for "Here Aleppo"- in which he asks friends and relatives to send in pictures of their daily life. "Tell them that we will stay and won't give up," Tarcha relates his friends' reaction upon hearing that Sputnik wants to know their stories. "This is what they keep saying," adds Tarcha, "and during wartime the choice to stay turns into heroic action." "In wartime, the simple actions of daily life, like going to work, sending one's children to school and dining out with friends become the highest form of resistance against the threats of terrorism," Tarcha told Sputnik, "this is the spirit of Aleppo's inhabitants." No Ghost Town "Once I was a language school student, and now I am a cafe manager. I have an opportunity to meet fantastic people and to visit interesting events. Unfortunately, complications do arise sometimes, but I won't give up and will do my best to ensure our cafe thrives," Nastya said. Takuya Omori, Nastyas Japanese partner in the cafe venture, explained that she met Nastya while scouting cosplayers in Moscow 3 years ago. And when last year Nastya suddenly decided to visit Japan for a prolonged period of time, they came up with this idea as, among other things, it was a good way for the Russian girl to obtain a working visa. "Russian girls are famous in Japan for their beauty, and Nastya is an excellent cosplayer and a cute girl whose looks are very appealing to the Japanese audience. And since right now there are no Russian maid cafes in Japan, we decided to start our own," Omori explained. According to Omori, the cafe will be staffed by three Russian 'maids' "Nastyan, Alyo-Senpai and Usagi-san" and will be serving "homemade Russian cuisine: borscht, piroshki, vodka, Russian beer and more." The cafe is scheduled to open early in October. The Danish textbook, written for high school students and aimed at teaching history, religion and social studies, features a map of the Cold War era, marked by both artistic freedom and historic mistakes. In addition to displaying northern Norway and the whole of Finland as parts of the Soviet Union, the notorious map listed the West-German state of Schleswig-Holstein as part of East Germany. In the Mediterranean, Greece, alongside with the previously unknown "Balkan Federation," obviously an amalgamation of Albania, Yugoslavia and Bulgaria, fell under the category "other communist states." Lastly, Turkey (a NATO member since 1952) was marked as "Soviet ally" together with and large swaths of the Middle East. Later, it turned out that the publishers had availed themselves of a fictional map, which was published on the website Deviant Art by Icelander Andri Jonsson under an alias, Kuusinen, and featured an alternate version of the Cold War in the 1960s. Remarkably, Otto Wilhelm Kuusinen was the leader of the Finnish revolution in 1918 and the subsequent, very short-lived Finnish Socialist Workers' Republic until his flight to the Soviet after the defeat of the Reds in the Finnish Civil War. "Naturally, I was surprised and I also think it's very, very strange. I do not understand how this could happen. But first and foremost, I think it's funny," Jonsson told Norwegian broadcaster NRK. The disputed shoal sits at the heart of the South China Sea territorial dispute between China and the Philippines who sought a declaration from The Hague international tribunal to invalidate Beijings longstanding claim to the territory and much of the surrounding waters. The basis of that decision, in large part, was Manilas control of the shoal and the decision, which China has denounced, would rip waters from Beijings control through which 40% of the worlds shipborne trade transits through. On Sunday, the Philippines rang the alarm over what they perceive as a move by China to begin the process of reclaiming the shoal while the world is distracted with the G-20 Summit after Filipino surveillance aircraft spotted an increasing number of Chinese vessels much more than Beijing has maintained since seizing the shoal after a 2012 standoff according to Philippines Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana. Interestingly, the editorial conjures up the believe that "China would not attack the US homeland" even in the event of "an intensely violent conventional conflict" despite Beijings fielding of a fleet of fifth generation J-20 fighter jets and the development of two separate major naval carriers that expand Chinas potential reach. The group also says that Chinas growing military capabilities including "sensors, weapon guidance, digital networking and other information technologies used to target opposing forces have advanced to the point where the Chinese military forces seriously threaten" the United States. In finding so, the group calls for a preemptive strike to be on the table in the US military policy vis-a-vis China, a scenario that many in the defense community likely find not only unthinkable but reckless. The editorial itself argues that a preemptive strike would result in a protracted conflict that would be ruinous both in terms of fatalities and economic costs, but proposes an unprovoked attack nonetheless. The group also visited Jammu-Kashmir Liberation Front (JKLF) chief Yaseen Malik, who is under detention at BSF camp in Humama. He met with the delegation but only told them that he will talk when he visits New Delhi. Another member of the delegation, MP Asaduddin Owaisi attempted to reach Mirwaiz Umar Farooq, the leader of one of the two key factions of the All Parties Hurriyat Conference, a "grassroots coalition" of pro-Pakistan and pro-freedom parties in Jammu and Kashmir. Farooq exchange formal greetings with Owaisi but refused to talk. Abdul Ghani Bhat, a former leader of All Parties Hurriyat Conference, welcomed the delegation but only to explain why no talks will take place. "This is a futile exercise. Nothing concrete will happen until or unless India talks to Pakistan on Kashmir. We will not be able to arrive at any solution if India only talks to Kashmiris or Pakistan talks to Kashmiris. We should try and solve this issue which can otherwise result in hostilities between the two neighbouring nations," Bhat said. His explanation corresponds to a more expressive joint statement made by Geelani, Farooq and Malik. According to the leaders, cited by India Today, "one fails to understand what hope to attach with a delegation which has neither spelled out its mandate for any engagement on a clear agenda." "These deceitful methods of crisis management only prolong the sufferings of the people and cannot take the place of a genuine transparent agenda-based dialogue to address the core issue of the peoples` right to self-determination in Jammu and Kashmir," the statement says. The very visit of the delegation has sparked a new wave of mass protests across Kashmir, that even the curfew and vast amount of law enforcement have so far failed to contain. According to various reports, somewhere between 100 to 250 people have been injured in recent days. Earlier, up to 9,000 people were injured and 73 were killed in the protests in Kashmir since July 8th. HANGZHOU (Sputnik) Russian President Vladimir Putin and US President Barack Obama met for bilateral talks on the sidelines of the Group of Twenty (G20) summit in Hangzhou on Monday , a Sputnik correspondent reported. On Sunday, Putin and Obama had a few short conversations throughout the summit events and agreed to hold a separate meeting on Monday, according to Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov. No shortage of tough topics for Vladimir Putin & Pres. Obama when they meet today on G20 sidelines. @CBSEveningNews https://t.co/mqCrdtTDpy margaret brennan (@margbrennan) 5 2016 . Also on Sunday, Obama said that the United States and Russia continued to support different sides in war-torn Syria and had differences over the peace process in the country. HANGZHOU (Sputnik) The G20 leaders have reaffirmed their commitment to fighting terrorism in all its forms and tackle all their sources of funding, the draft copy of the Hangzhou communique said, as seen by Sputnik. "We reaffirm our solidarity and resolve in the fight against terrorism in all its forms and wherever it occurs. We will tackle all sources, techniques and channels of terrorist financing, including extortion taxation, smuggling of natural resources, bank looting, looting of cultural property, external donation, and kidnapping for ransom. In confronting terrorism, we remain committed to effectively exchanging information, freezing terrorist assets, and criminalizing terrorist activity," the draft copy of the Hangzhou Consensus said. The G20 summit, which kicked off on Sunday, is set to last through Monday, September 5. TOKYO (Sputnik) Japanese Defense Minister Tomomi Inada interrupted her visit to a military base due to the latest North Korean launch of ballistic missiles, media reported Monday, citing sources in the ministry. According to Kyodo News, Inada was visiting a base near the Nerima district in Tokyo. Earlier in the day, the country's Defense Ministry said that the North Korean authorities had fired three ballistic missiles from Hwangju county in the direction of the Sea of Japan. BEIJING (Sputnik) The Chinese Embassy in the Philippines has urged Chinese nationals to exercise vigilance when traveling to the Philippines after a blast hit the island nation's city of Davao On Friday, an explosion occurred in a night market in Davao City, a southern commercial coastal town in the Philippines. Over a dozen people were killed, and more than 50 injured. According to the Chinese Embassy in the Philippines, Chinese nationals were not injured in the blast. "The Embassy urges Chinese nationals who are going to visit the Philippines and those nationals including company employees and security staff who are already visiting the country to pay particular attention to the situation, exercise vigilance and take necessary measures," a statement released by the embassy read. MOSCOW (Sputnik) There is no terrorist threat to the North-South gas pipeline in Pakistan, the construction should begin soon, Pakistani Ambassador to Russia Qazi Khalilullah told Sputnik. "Both sides are in constant contact on the issue of implementation of different aspects of the agreement on the project of the North-South pipeline which was signed last year It is expected that the constriction of the pipeline will begin shortly, and our authorities see no terrorist threat to this project," Khalilullah said. Russian and Pakistani energy ministers signed an intergovernmental agreement for the construction of the North-South gas pipeline in October 2015. The 683-mile Karachi-to-Lahore pipeline, expected to cost some $2 billion, will have an annual capacity of up to 12.4 billion cubic meters of gas. MOSCOW (Sputnik) As many as 3,500 terrorists were killed during Pakistans Zarb-e-Azb counter-terror operation on the border with Afghanistan, Pakistani Ambassador to Russia Qazi Khalilullah told Sputnik. "The large-scale anti-terrorism operation called Zarb-e-Azb has presently entered its final phase. The operation was hugely successful the Pakistani armed forces eliminated more than 3,500 terrorists, destroyed 992 hideouts, confiscated 253 tonnes of explosives, as well as 3,500 rockets and mortars, destroyed numerous explosives plants and eliminated 2,800 mines in the regions bordering Afghanistan," Khalilullah said. BEIJING (Sputnik) China hopes that the two countries on the Korean Peninsula will not allow the recent ballistic missile launch by North Korea to escalate the situation, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying said Monday. Earlier in the day, the Japanese Defense Ministry confirmed that the North Korean authorities had fired three ballistic missiles from Hwangju county in the direction of the Sea of Japan. Japanese Defense Minister Tomomi Inada interrupted her visit to a military base near the Nerima district in Tokyo due to the launch. "Chinas position on the matter is unchanged and clear. The current situation on the Korean Peninsula is complicated and sensitive. We hope that the relevant parties will avoid actions which could lead to the escalation of tensions there. Instead, they should work in the interest of peace and stability on the peninsula," Hua said. "There have been a lot of such illusions. Japan often intentionally uses bilateral issues in an attempt to convince Russia that economic relations between the two countries will flourish if the territorial issue is resolved on Japan's conditions. This has been claimed more than once. For example, in the 90s, the Japanese even started a rumor that if Russia gives them the Kuril Islands, Japan will pay from 25 to 30 billion dollars. Of course, the Russian leaders of the day didn't fall for it," Kholodkov told Sputnik. The fact that the Japanese government has now decided to focus on the economy, not politics, may be only encouraged. After all, the political atmosphere influences, but does not always determine the extent of the global economic cooperation according to Vyacheslav Kholodkov. "The government, which is interested in solving the territorial issue, is not a subject of business activity. In Japan, there are no state-owned companies, and private companies cannot be ordered about by the government," said the analyst. "There are far more acute and serious political issues between Japan and China than in Russian-Japanese relations. However, China now takes 26% of the market of high-tech products; Germany is in second place with 10%, and the US has only 7%. This is the reason why Japanese businesses rush to China. That's the way the market economy works. It's the same with Japan's relations with Russia. With the improvement of the investment climate in Russia, Japanese companies will come to the Russian market even if the territorial problem remains unsolved," the expert explained. According to the analyst, Prime Minister Mirziyoyev is one of the most likely candidates, since he has the support of much of the military and security forces. Deputy Prime Minister Azimov is another possibility, since he is supported by the government's economic bloc. Security services head Inoyatov is not out of the running, although he, according to Mirzayan, "is likely to remain a grey cardinal." At 72, Inoyatov may be "too old, and too cautious" to take the job. Another option, of course, may be to elect a figurehead leader, which is a common practice in the region, the analyst recalled. "Whatever option is chosen by Karimov's confidants, it will be accompanied by consensus within the elite (and perhaps the effort to create this consensus helps explain the delay in the announcement on Karimov's incapacitation and death)." "Of course, security officials and apparatchiks may come to blows among themselves, with the clever among them using Islamist groups for the internal struggle. However, everyone is also perfectly aware that doing so would undermine the main pillar of their own legitimacy the stability for the sake of which the country's population is ready to tolerate an authoritarian government." Whoever is picked to become the new president, Mirzayan is convinced that he or she will be forced to initiate serious reforms in both domestic and foreign policy, the former aimed at reducing the threat of radical Islam, the latter at normalizing relations with Uzbekistan's neighbors Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan. Ties with these countries had been ruined by personal political animosities, by historical conflicts and issues surrounding water resources. As far as global strategy is concerned, Uzbekistan's old strategy of strict isolationism, including reliance on domestic resources and non-participation in multilateral international negotiations, and the refusal to delegate even a small degree of sovereignty to supranational structures, may no longer be applicable in the current situation in the region, according to Mirzayan. On Saturday, speaking before the Eastern Economic Forum in Vladivostok, Park called on North Korea's neighbors, including Russia, to assert their influence over Pyongyang. In response, Russian President Vladimir Putin said that it was necessary to act cautiously, so as not to provoke North Korean leaders in taking measures that they see as the protection of their national security. An aggravation of the situation would be counterproductive, and it's necessary to return to multilateral negotiations, Putin emphasized. At the same time, he added that Moscow still has some channels of communication with Pyongyang, and will use them to attempt to reduce tensions. Also on Saturday, President Xi met with US President Barack Obama. The two men discussed the North Korean issue. Xi reiterated the position that Beijing is fundamentally opposed to the deployment of THAAD in Korea, and urged Washington to respect China's strategic security interests. The US made the decision to deploy its THAAD ABM system in South Korea in July. Speaking to Sputnik, veteran military expert Vladimir Evseev laid out the contours of Beijing's concerns, and what China expects to gain by pressing Washington and Seoul not to deploy THAAD in South Korea. "According to the information we have at the moment, the US will only be deploying one THAAD battery [in South Korea]," the expert noted. "This battery is meant to defend US military facilities, not Seoul. I think that this was discussed at the meetings Xi Jinping held with Park Geun-hye and Barack Obama." "Just looking at the JL-1 and the North Korean SLBM, theyre looking exactly the same, he said before claiming that China has a long track record of providing illegal weapons to North Korea including transporter-erector-launchers (TEL)" which is a system used for launching missiles. Bechtol also noted that in joint research with space and weapons expert Tal Inbar of Israels Fisher Institute, the two reached identical conclusions that the North Korean missile was acquired from China. "He and I agree that there is really not any other missile that looks similar at all to this North Korean missile whereas the JL-1 looks like a carbon copy of it," he said. "Part of what Ive tried to communicate to President Xi (Jinping) is that the United States arrives at its power, in part, by restraining itself," said Obama in a CNN interview. "You know, when we bind ourselves to a bunch of international norms and rules, its not because we have to, its because we recognize that, over the long-term, building a strong international order is in our interest. And, I think, over the long-term, it will be in Chinas interests, as well." The statements fell flat given President Obamas plainly stated goal of minimizing Chinas regional influence as part of his "Asian pivot" as well as in light of recent diplomatic friction with a key American ally, the Philippines, whose President accused the United States of treating it as a colony on Monday before erupting in an obscenity laden tirade against the US President. Obama announced that he refused to meet his Filipino counterpart on Monday as a result. According to the FSA, only 700 million out of the roughly 4 billion NOK ($84 million out of $500 million) transferred from Norway annually in accordance with Hawala principles is being sent by firms which are properly registered in the country. Norwegian agents who cooperate with foreign payment institutions are therefore in a high risk group for transferring money for supposed criminal or terrorist activity, the Norwegian national broadcaster NRK reported. Hawala, a huge network of money brokers, primarily located in the Middle East, North Africa, the Horn of Africa, and the Indian subcontinent, operates outside of, or parallel to, traditional banking. It also provides a legitimate service for money transfers between countries that have no functioning banking. According to the FSA, however, the use of Hawala transfers implies a high risk of money being laundered or used to finance terrorism. According to FSA section manager Ole-Jrgen Karlsen, Hawala businesses could become a channel for sending the proceeds from crimes such as trafficking, prostitution and drug dealing out of the country. The transferred money may be used to finance terrorism in conflict areas around the world. The IUCN has officially changed the giant panda's status from 'endangered' to 'vulnerable' on its Red List of Threatened Species, as the population of these creatures has apparently increased by 17 percent during the decade up to 2014. The organization praised the measures implemented by the Chinese government to conserve this species, naming them a "positive step" that "must be strongly supported." "The recovery of the panda shows that when science, political will and the engagement of local communities come together, we can save wildlife and also improve biodiversity," World Wildlife Fund Director General Marco Lambertini said. He denied the accusations later in an interview with the news channel BFM TV, saying that he only admitted to the indecent exposure because he was caught off balance by the arrest. He didn't want to spend the night in jail and panicked. French MEP Robert Rochefort made a statement today that, while visiting the DIY, he tripped and exposed himself. pic.twitter.com/ZoZGZLhLvR EU News Service (@EU_News_Service) September 4, 2016 "This is crazy and very serious if it is true," said the head of MoDEM party, Francois Bayrou, as cited by Politico. "It just goes to show that you never really know some people." Bayrou reportedly called on Rochefort to relinquish all his duties in the party. In France, one can avoid being put behind bars for this sort of crimes and get away by paying a fine and undergoing a mandatory medical treatment. According to the country's parliamentary rules, Rochefort cannot be ousted from his post, unless he resigns, both from MoDEM and from the European Parliament. MOSCOW (Sputnik) New Normandy Format talks on Ukrainian reconciliation are scheduled to take place in the upcoming weeks, French President Francois Hollande said Monday. "In Ukraine, we need to continue the process of Minskincluding the implementation of the special status, [addressing] the security situation and the lack of trust between the parties. We agreed to organize in the next few weeks a summit between Germany, France, Russia and Ukraine," Hollande posted on his official Facebook account. On Sunday, the French leader said he wanted to discuss Ukraine and Syria with Russian President Vladimir Putin at their one-on-one meeting in China's Hangzhou, where a G20 summit is currently taking place. It followed up this 'Orange Revolution', which was known as 'Maidan' (named after Kiev's Independence Square or Maidan Nezalezhnosti), with a 'Revolution of Dignity' in 2014. Violent clashes with law enforcement broke out on the square, claiming the lives of some 100 civilians. In this second Maidan, dubbed Euromaidan, the corrupt government of Yanukovych, who had become president following a fair and democratic election, was ousted by a US-backed coup. Russia refused to recognize the new interim government, and when the predominantly Russian region of Crimea, which had been ceded to Soviet Ukraine by Soviet Russia in the 1950's, voted for independence and subsequently to reunify with Russia, Russia accepted. According to the survey, 68 percent said that the goals that were established during the first Maidan and Euromaidan were never reached, a standpoint that was opposed by just five percent of respondents. In addition, around 53 percent said that they did not support the so-called anti-terrorist operation in eastern Ukraine, which was backed by a third of respondents. The poll also showed that more than half of Ukrainians remained pessimistic about the possible introduction of a visa-free regime with the EU; 57 percent of respondents said they didn't expect visa-free travel to become a reality in 2016. MOSCOW (Sputnik) Over a third of UK voters think that the Labour Party is the most committed to addressing the issue of fighting poverty in the country, a poll revealed Monday. According to a poll by the Joseph Rowntree Foundation (JRF), 36 percent of UK voters said the Labour was most committed to tackling the issue, while the same number of people could not give a definitive answer on the matter. Only 10 percent of respondents said they believed the Conservatives were best at tackling poverty, followed by UKIP (6 percent). Surprisingly, the country's other two prominent left-of-center parties, the Greens (5 percent) and the Liberal Democrats (4 percent), scored low marks. The poll comes as the JRF is set to launch a campaign on Tuesday, following a four-year study, to eradicate poverty in the United Kingdom. MOSCOW (Sputnik) A select committee on arms export controls in the UK's Parliament is set to meet later this week to finalize a report on Saudi-led strikes in Yemen and call for a ban on the sale of weaponry to Saudi Arabia, the Guardian reported Monday. The report is expected to be highly critical of the Saudi-led intervention, while pushing for a ban on arms sales to the country. In July, it was reported in the media that the United Kingdom had sold over 3 billion pounds ($3.9 billion) worth of weapons to Saudi Arabia in the period between April 2015 and March 2016, the first year of the Saudi-led intervention in the Yemeni conflict at the request of the country's president, Abd Rabbuh Mansur Hadi. MOSCOW (Sputnik) Two convoys of at least 40 trucks and tractors joined a demonstration on Monday, slowing traffic on a major highway near Calais, France, to protest against the presence of the so-called Jungle refugee camp, according to the news outlet Franceinfo. On Friday, French Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve announced the "fastest possible" closure of the camp, which is home to some 6,900 people according to the French authorities. Humanitarian groups working at the camp put the number at 9,000. Cazeneuve did not specify the schedule of the closure. While some of the migrants are refugees from war-torn countries such as Syria, Iraq and Afghanistan, many are simply African migrants from countries such as Eritrea who've taken advantage of Europe's lax borders and seek economic opportunities. MOSCOW (Sputnik) The European Union will present a new external investment plan focusing on tackling the core reasons of the global migration crisis next week, EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini said Monday. "We will present next week very ambitious and innovative external investment plan to tackle causes of the deep crisis of migration in a sense of partnership, acknowledging the fact that it is not a European problem, [but] this is a global phenomenon," Mogherini said, addressing the EU Ambassadors' conference. Europe has been suffering severe migration crisis due to current Syrian civil war. BRUSSELS (Sputnik) Negotiations between the European Union and the United States on the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) may be suspended to ensure a fair balance between the interests of the two parties, Belgian Prime Minister Charles Michel said Monday. The things we see on the table, seemingly are not [balanced]. Therefore, at the present moment, I prefer saying that this is not right and, possibly, we will resume negotiations later on, the prime minister said in an interview with Soir newspaper. TTIP seeks to establish a free trade zone between the United States and Europe. The US government started discussions on the draft deal with the European Union in 2013. The details of TTIP, including specific rules of market access, have not been released to the public. TVER (Sputnik) Over 40 Ukrainian citizens wanted in Russia have been detained aboard vehicles in the Central Federal District this year, with 49 cases of arms smuggling detected, Russian Security Council Secretary Nikolai Patrushev said Monday. "As a result of additional measures to ensure public transport security, more than 40 Ukrainian citizens wanted in Russia have been detained in the current year, 49 cases of contraband have been revealed, including weapons and ammunition, 14 crimes related to the transportation of narcotics," Patrushev said. More than 200,000 vehicles and over 50,000 Ukrainian citizens have been inspected throughout the course of the year, he added. MOSCOW (Sputnik) US President Barack Obama, French President Francois Hollande and German Chancellor Angela Merkel are set to keep sanctions on Russia until the Minsk deal envisioning ceasefire in southeastern Ukraine is implemented, a White House official told reporters after a meeting between the three leaders on the G20 summit sidelines in China on Monday. "They agreed on the importance of maintaining sanctions on Russia until Moscow fully implements its Minsk agreement commitments to which all sides must adhere," the official said. The official noted that Obama, Merkel and Hollande stressed the need for transatlantic unity to solve the ongoing conflict in Ukraine. MOSCOW (Sputnik) In February, it was reported that Sarkozy had been placed under investigation for allegedly illegal financing of his failed attempt to return to the Elysee Palace in 2012. The investigation centered on a scandal involving the Bygmalion PR company which allegedly falsified Sarkozy's election campaign bills in order to circumvent France's strict candidate spending limits. The investigation into the case was closed earlier on Monday, the broadcaster Europe1 said, citing obtained information. The investigators found evidence that Sarkozy's 2012 campaign spending exceeded the maximum limit of 22.5 million euros ($20 million) and was disguised by means of bogus invoices issued by the Bygmalion PR company. The amount spent totaled about 50 million euros, the media outlet added. According to the media outlet, the former leader will not stand trial for the alleged campaign funding fraud before the upcoming presidential elections, scheduled to be held in spring 2017. Should he be elected the new head of state, he will be granted immunity from prosecution, only being tried after the end of his presidential term, the media outlet added. May's meeting with Mr. Xi at the end of the G20 summit in the east China city of Hangzhou will be critical for Sino-British relations. Osborne's "golden era" idea was aimed at attracting huge amounts of Chinese investment in UK projects particularly infrastructure. In the event of May not giving the nuclear deal the go-ahead, it would be seen as a snub to China, putting at risk future investments in the UK. However, some analysts have pointed out that China is a long-term UK investor, putting more finance into the UK that any other European Union country, so any snub would be short-lived. EDF Energy in the UK has been planning to build a new nuclear station at Hinkley Point for several years, but the project has been bedeviled by financial uncertainty and technical issues. Despite the British Government agreeing a "strike price" with EDF Energy in the UK, which guarantees EDF a price of US$141 MWh for generating electricity over 35 years and a debt guarantee, EDF could not go ahead with the project alone. Thus, China was brought in to shore-up the financing of the plant. MINSK (Sputnik) Security issues are on the agenda of the meeting of Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) and Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) heads, set to take place in the Belarusian capital of Minsk on September 11, the CIS Executive Committee said in a press release Monday. "On September 11, 2016 at the CIS Executive Committee in Minsk a meeting between SCO Secretary General Rashid Alimov, CSTO Secretary General Nikolai Bordyuzha and Chairman of the Executive Committee and Executive Secretary of CIS Sergei Lebedev will take place," the press release read. The results of the SCO jubilee summit held in June in Tashkent will be discussed at the meeting. The parties are expected to exchange views on security and stability in the region and globally. Some journalists believe that the evening news program, which was about to expose massive corruption in the trafficking of precious stones in Western Ukraine, might be the reason behind the attack. " #Ukraine's Inter TV channel survives two arson attempts, no deaths reported" https://t.co/LeQ0YHZibG Ville Kostian (@Kostian_V) 5 2016 . The statement also reveals that while, police were conspicuously absent in the immediate area surrounding the building at the time of the attack, a news outlet partially owned by the countrys Interior Minister Arsen Avakov, was suspiciously quick and accurate to arrive at the site within minutes. A feat that would have proven difficult without advance notification of the attack, the declaration suggests. The attack left multiple Inter staff hospitalized for smoke inhalation. One female employee suffered a broken leg trying to escape, and others fled to the buildings roof because the front doors were blocked by the attackers. The outlet says the attack raises serious concerns about freedom of speech in Ukraine and the impunity the attackers demonstrated at the scene strongly suggests some form of official protection for their actions against the independent media outlet. #Ukraine: a group of young men had been detained by the police after arson attack against Inter TV and then released pic.twitter.com/5ofnSAdrAE Tomasz Maciejczuk (@TomekMaciejczuk) 4 2016 . On Monday, Russias Foreign Ministry has condemned the attack saying that it is a gross violation of the Freedom of Expression principle. Meanwhile, the countrys former prime minister and now opposite political leader Yulia Tymoshenko says that some of the countrys high-ranking officials might have a hand in the Sunday attack. #Ukraine ian police let go the nationalists who tried to set Inter TV channel bld on fire https://t.co/2oNOyR4QoY pic.twitter.com/qwlmimJARP Alex Bukovsky (@BungeeWedgie) 4 2016 . Every entrepreneur knows that he had never before come under such violence which he is experiencing right now, RIA Novosti reports Tymoshenko said on Monday at the meeting of the Conciliation Board of the leaders of the countrys parliamentary factions. The key TV channels are now being set on fire. Do you think you can suppose here that it is the fight against the Kremlin? she wondered. #Ukraine: Ukrainian TV Inter attacked and arsoned by a group of people who accused Inter of being "pro-russian" pic.twitter.com/Jf32qnkXcT Tomasz Maciejczuk (@TomekMaciejczuk) 4 2016 . No, my dear friends. It is the humiliation and destruction of Ukraine, as no investor in the world who has seen what had happened with the countys leading TV channel will bring his funds here, the politician stated. DTN Ukraine: National police chief: No detainees in Inter TV Channel arson case: Chief of the National Police https://t.co/HFCKkkJa9l DTN Ukraine (@DTNUkraine) 5 2016 . Tymoshenko further said that no one has any doubts that there are high-ranking officials behind what has happened with the channel. Otherwise nobody would have allowed this and the police would not have been called off 15 minutes prior to this [the blaze], she said. #BREAKING The public in #Ukraine is shocked by the news about unpunished arson attack on the building of INTER TV channel by ATO fighters Storm Bringer (@StormBringer15) 5 2016 . All of this is an inseparable part of the chaos which our country had submerged into, Tymoshenko finally stated. The Secretary-General of Merkel's sister party in Bavaria, the CSU, Andreas Scheuer, told the newspaper Berliner Tagesspiegel: "The CSU is pointing in the right direction. We need a cap on refugee numbers, expedited repatriation processes, an expansion of the list of nations deemed to be safe countries of origin, and better integration measures." Fourth Term Doubts Merkel is facing a split within her coalition government, which comprises her CDU party, which is represented everywhere except within Bavaria, the CSU in Bavaria and the SPD party which formed a coalition with the CDU/CSU at the last federal election. At present, unaccompanied refugee children constitute roughly 35,000 out of last year's influx of 163,000 asylum-seekers. However, the tests, performed by Swedish authorities to verify their real age are naive and insufficient, pediatrician Josef Milerad, Associate Professor at the Department of Children's and Women's Health at the Karolinska Institute, told the Swedish tabloid newspaper Expressen . Instead of the current procedure, which largely rests on visual evaluation and is ruled by political correctness, Milerad advocates for the tests to be done medically, including taking x-rays. According to Milerad, who has examined many people officially classed as children by the Migration Board, almost 40 percent of them are in fact between 20 and 25 years old, and some of them even near their forties. The botched age verification system spawns misplacement of funds and deficient care, Milerad argued, citing political correctness as one of the main reasons for such ridiculousness. "The refugee children who are in their early and mid-teens are the ones who end up paying the price for this lying. There are resources that have been earmarked for children, but they are used for a completely different age group," Josef Milerad told the newspaper. Putin and UK Prime Minister Theresa May held a one-on-one meeting early Sunday on the sidelines of the G20 leaders' summit in Hangzhou, China. "The prime minister is only beginning her work, she has internal issues to deal with, but the United Kingdom and Russia used to have very stable and full-format relations at some point, we are ready to return to them. The issue is not with us, the issue is with the British side," Putin told reporters. His comments follow French Prime Minister Manuel Valls who has called for a "clear break" to the negotiations. "The agreement on the table is, under these conditions, unacceptable. We need a clear halt in order to resume from a new basis," Valls said. He implied that the current negotiations were more favorable to the US than to the EU. Whilst German Vice-Chancellor Sigmar Gabriel said: "In my opinion, the negotiations with the United States have de facto failed, even though nobody is really admitting it." Trade deals with nations who have have much lower labour standards than the EU is now called social protection?#CETA https://t.co/3EJI4UJxuI Stop TTIP (@eci_ttip) September 5, 2016 However, Juncker told reporters at the G20 summit in China that the talks would continue, in a show of defiance. "We are continuing to negotiate with the US because we think these trade agreements are of highest importance," he told reporters in Hangzhou, China. His comments will anger opponents of TTIP, who believe Brussels is not listening to growing public opposition to the trade deal and is a further sign of the EU machine acting like a juggernaut. The TTIP talks have been condemned by many campaign groups and MEPs for being conducted behind closed doors, with restricted access to the discussion documents. Moreover, billions have been spent to large corporation on lobbying to secure good terms in the negotiations. Dumbing Down Standards PRAGUE (Sputnik) According to the head of police in the Czech Republic, Tomas Tuhy, this is the 10th such mission in the space of a year for officers from his force in European countries that have been experiencing the largest flow of irregular migration since the beginning of the crisis. "Some of you have already participated in such missions so you know what it means. You are not only helping our colleagues but also gaining experience in the matter, which has not yet affected the Czech Republic to such an extent as in the case of our partners," Tuhy said in an address to police officers. The Czech police officers will serve on the Hungarian-Serbian border for two months alongside their Hungarian counterparts. HANGZHOU (Sputnik) A Normandy format meeting between the leaders of Russia, France, Germany and Ukraine will be held in the near future, with the specific date yet to be coordinated, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Monday. This is where it is leading to, but so far it has not yet been coordinated. We are talking about the near future, but it is not clear exactly when. A week, a month, a year, Peskov told RIA Novosti. MOSCOW (Sputnik) A group of 36 Conservative lawmakers called on UK Prime Minister Theresa May to redirect billions of pounds in farming subsidies to environmental protection after Brexit, media reported Monday, citing a letter written by the parliamentarian. "Done properly, Brexit is a massive opportunity for our environment Brexit allows us to repatriate and reform the environmentally disastrous CAP [EU common agricultural policy] to make sure farm subsidies are there to pay for environmental and public services. The upside is enormous," the letter obtained by The Guardian read. Much of funding under CAP is currently provided for simply owning the land, the letter stressed, adding that there was urgency for new laws after Brexit that would make farmers responsible for wildlife protection. Guillaume Pepy, president of the French rail authority SNCF, said security had already been strengthened at many stations including airport-style gates to detect weapons. In April 2016, he announced a 50 percent increase in the authority's security budget to bring it to US$446 billion. Sources within SNCF told Le Figaro newspaper: "The implementation could go very fast, but it takes time to equip officers and train them in the use of these weapons." According to the newspaper, the agents can under existing law carry out identity checks and search travelers' luggage upon their arrival at the station. However, subject to a decision by the State Council expected in October, besides carrying weapons, the train marshals will be able to conduct other missions in cooperation with the police, according to the sources. MOSCOW (Sputnik) The performance of the far-right party Alternative for Germany (AfD) during the recent elections in German Chancellor Angela Merkel's constituency is "phenomenal" with expectations running high that this success could be repeated in two weeks time when elections are held in the city-state of Berlin, the spokesman for the AfD's Berlin branch told Sputnik on Monday. On Sunday, the eastern German state of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania held state elections with AfD winning 21 percent of the vote, beating Merkel's conservative Christian Democrats (CDU), which finished in third place. "This success is phenomenal. We gained from all the other parties. Unfortunately for them, they just assured, that they will not change their course of Willkommenskultur [welcoming culture]. Therefore our next victory in Berlin (18 September) is on the books," Ronald Glaeser said. BELGRADE (Sputnik) The economic losses sustained by Croatia as a result of the introduction of sanctions against Russia are estimated at about 300 million euros ($334 million at the current exchange rates), Russian Ambassador to Croatia Anvar Azimov said. "Croatia is part of the European Union and NATO and has also introduced sanctions [against Russia]. It also bears losses. Russian businessmen will not invest in a country that imposes sanctions on us. Because of the decrease in exports, Croatia has lost approximately 300 million euros, according to our estimates," Azimov said in an interview with the Croatian Vecernji List newspaper, published on Monday. According to AI, 86 percent of Syrian refugees living in urban areas of Jordan exist below the local poverty line. @eucopresident Really? What will Libanon, Jordan, Turkey make of that? Alice Stollmeyer (@StollmeyerEU) September 4, 2016 In Lebanon, refugees have US$0.70 cent a day for food. However speaking ahead of the G20 Summit in China, Donald Tusk called on other countries to "scale up" their share of responsibility for refugees. "The practical capabilities of Europe to host new waves of refugees, not to mention irregular economic migrants, are close to the limits," said Tusk. "In light of an unprecedented number of 65 million displaced people all over the world, the G20 community needs to scale up its share of responsibility. "Only global efforts supporting refugees and their host communities will be able to bear fruit," he added. More than a million migrants and refugees arrived in Europe in 2015, but it's 2016 that is proving to be the deadliest year on record for refugees dying in the central Mediterranean region. "The chances of dying on the Libya to Italy route are ten times higher than when crossing from Turkey to Greece," William Spindler, a spokesperson for the UN's refugee agency (UNHCR) said. More than 115,000 refugees and migrants have landed in Italy so far this year; but for every 42 crossings from North Africa, one person dies. "This makes 2016 to date the deadliest year on record," Mr Spindler, a spokesperson for UNHCR said. Overall, around 281,740 people made the sea crossing to Europe so far this year 4,176 have gone missing or have died. BRUSSELS (Sputnik) The European Parliament's Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs on Monday voted to support a visa-free travel deal with Georgia and Kosovo, the committee's press service said. "#Visa waiver proposal for #Georgia backed by @EP_Justice 44/5/0 | @GabrielMariya," the committee said via its Twitter account. Also on Monday, the committee approved the same decision with regard to Kosovo by a slight majority. McLeish admitted that restarting talks between Russia and Western Europe amid mutual mistrust would be tough, but he said this would help make progress on many fronts. "Nobody can be naive about this. These would be tough discussion to get underway. There are lots of suspicions, lack of trust and doubts between all the parties but unless we talk we are not going to make progress on one front and its high time we started to make progress on other fronts," he said. "We need a mature look at what were doing and we need to get unhooked from the many prejudices of the past which have haunted both Russia and Western Europe. This is a time for dialogue however difficult that may prove," he noted. McLeish also gave his backing to a proposition to normalize trade with Russia that former UK Trade Minister Brian Wilson voiced in a comment to Sputnik last June. "And by talking on trade we can maybe extend talks to other areas," McLeish added. UK transport officials are expected to travel to Moscow soon to discuss ways in which Britain and Russia can work more closely on aviation security and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov will meet with his British counterpart, Boris Johnson, at the next session of the UN General Assembly in New York due to open on September 13. EDINBURGH (Sputnik) The second referendum on the United Kingdom's membership of the European Union cannot be ruled out since the country is "bitterly divided," former First Minister of Scotland Henry McLeish told Sputnik on Monday. Earlier in the day, the British parliament started discussions of a petition signed by more than four million people, who demanded a new referendum on London's membership of the 28-nation bloc. "One of my main concerns is that at the heart of our democracy [pro-Brexit supporters] are quite happy to say the people have spoken through a referendum and then disinclined to allow the people any further say on what may happen once the negotiations are complete. I think it is a ludicrous proposition to rule-out the idea of parliamentary votes and its ludicrous to rule out a second referendum when the outcome of negotiations has been firmly resolved," McLeish said. MOSCOW (Sputnik) The UK government will build national consensus around its stance on Brexit negotiations with the European Union, UK Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union David Davis said Monday. "We will strive to build national consensus around our approach," Davis told the House of Commons, the lower house of the UK Parliament. Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania's economy minister, CDU politician Harry Glawe, essentially agreed with his counterpart from the SPD, noting that while "we had reduced unemployment and created a lot of new jobs, the refugees became the main issue, from which we suffered the most." However, some CDU officials remain defiant. CDU member and regional Minister of Justice Uta-Maria Kuder said that while she was disappointed, she also felt that "we did a good job," with the migrant issue unfortunately casting a shadow over the entire campaign. Overall, Kuder insisted that "Merkel has done the right thing." Meanwhile, asked by Sputnik about whether AfD has any plans to field a candidate in next year's federal election, Alexander Gauland, the party's co-founder and party leader in the state of Brandenburg, emphasized that it's "too early" for that. "If you nominate a candidate, you must have a chance of winning. We have not reached that level yet," the politician humbly noted. At the same time, Gauland added that the party is thrilled by the results in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, even if it didn't manage to defeat the ruling SPD. "There cannot even be any question of any disappointment. We have existed for three years. We have defeated the Chancellor in her home region. We have every reason to be happy." Sunday's results are expected to translate into 26 seats for the SPD, 18 for AfD, 16 for Merkel's SDU, and 11 for Die Linke. While Brussels is in favor of the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership, member states are opposed, investigative journalist Tony Gosling told Radio Sputnik. "Brussels itself is very much behind this, but it's fair to say the individual member states don't want anything to do with it, because effectively it means their own abolition," Gosling said. Gosling outlined some of the similarities between TTIP and the proposed Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) between the EU and Canada, and the global Trade in Services Agreement (TiSA). In 2013, a non-governmental human rights organization (NGO) called Anne Frank, began dealing with cases of human trafficking in Colombia Since their opening, the organization began to receive applications from mothers searching for their missing daughters. When we began investigating, we found that the young women had been abducted on Bronx Street, the organizations director Claudia Quintero told Sputnik. Casi 2000 habitantes de la calle del Bronx habrian llegado al Eje Cafetero La historia > https://t.co/OArh3boyrk pic.twitter.com/fwUo1Gte7X Publimetro Colombia (@PublimetroCol) 2 2016 . Anne Frank has carried out several rescue operations, and has been documenting a number of disappearances. The first victim found told the organization about all the cruelty she had to go through. We have classified her abduction as a crime associated with torture and human trafficking, continued Claudia Quintero. Further investigation revealed that children are also exploited on Bronx Street. El Bronx Aftermath #blackandwhite #bnw #monochrome #Bogota #colombia Juan Rivera (@aguyinjapan) 15 2016 3:11 PDT Due to our persistence, the situation in the area has been made known to the general public. The majority did not believe in the existence of torture houses, mass rape, slavery, organ theft and children being exploited for drug trafficking among other things, added Quintero. On May 28, the police launched a crackdown on Bronx Street. Now, instead of one criminal area, we have a whole network of crime throughout the city. Everyone from victims to offenders was evacuated from the area. Today, they are all over Bogota, reported Anne Franks officials. After four years of negotiation, on August 29 the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) agreed on a ceasefire with the Colombian government, ending a guerrilla war that began over 50 years ago. Two days before the announcement, Ukrainian journalist Oleg Yasinsky, accompanied by two Russian documentary filmmakers, visited a FARC base in Colombia where he spoke with the fighters. Despite the perception of Colombia as a conservative country with relatively strict gender roles, Yasinsky was struck by the large number of women represented among the troops, and shared his experiences with Sputnik Mundo in an exclusive interview. The marchers, rallied by left-wing groups and unions aligned with Rousseff's Workers Party, called for new elections and chanted "Out with Temer!" The police explained the gas attack as an attempt to stop vandalism. The attack caused panic and led clashes of protesters with police officers. Michael Temer, whose approval rating is an incredibly low 12%, has a somewhat lengthy record of wrongdoings. In particular, he managed to step into office despite ongoing punishment for violating campaign finance laws in his 2014 election, that was supposed to keep him from running for political office for eight years. He is also charged with channeling $400,000 in Petrobras kickbacks to one of his cronies running for mayor of Sao Paulo. On top of that, he is charged with paying off a construction executive some $300,000 in a bribe also related to the Petrobras scandal. During his visit to the G20 summit in Hangzhou, China, Temer, who came to the event aiming to "reveal to the world that [Brazil has] political and legal stability", tried to play down the wave of protests in comments to reporters. "They are small groups, not popular movements of any size," he said. "In a population of 204 million Brazilians, they are not representative." MOSCOW (Sputnik) According to SANA news agency, the fifth terror attack in the northeastern province of Hasakah killed at least five people, with two injured. Earlier in the day, two explosions took place in the city of Tartus, one in Homs and another at the entrance to Damascus, leading to no fewer than 16 people killed and more than 40 injured. No terrorist group has claimed responsibility for these terror attacks so far. Two terrorist groups are operating in Syria the Jabhat Fatah Al-Sham (formerly known as the Nusra Front) and the Daesh, both outlawed in Russia and many other countries. The terrorist group has reportedly released an order stating that no woman is now allowed to be wearing a niqab or burqa, a full body veil, when entering security and military facilities in the Daesh-held Iraqi city of Mosul. The news was reported by Al Alam News Network, state-owned Arabic news channel broadcasting from Iran, citing its local source in the Iraqi province of Nineveh. The decision, according to the source, was made after some women wearing the garment killed a number of Daesh commanders and militants in the past months. TEL AVIV (Sputnik) Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is studying Russias offer to hold the first in several years Israeli-Palestinian summit and is ready in principle to hold direct talks without preconditions, Netanyahus press service said Monday. "Netanyahu presented the Israeli position, which is that he is always ready for a direct meeting with [Palestinian leader] Mahmoud Abbas without preconditions. Therefore, he is examining the Russian proposal and the offered terms of a possible meeting," the statement reads. The remarks came after Netanyahus meeting with Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Bogdanov in Jerusalem. Police have confirmed that a police chief and a high-ranking Defense Ministry offials were among those killed in the blasts. Kabul blasts leaves more than 10 dead, at least 30 wounded: MoI pic.twitter.com/9RwwoXfEpg TOLOnews (@TOLOnews) September 5, 2016 Initial reports earlier suggested that the bombing targeted Defense Ministry personnel. #Afghan MoD spox to @pazadiradio: 9 killed & 30 wounded in blast in front of MoD. Photos Noor Kochay- social media pic.twitter.com/YOBbAetAIG Malali Bashir (@MalaliBashir) September 5, 2016 Taliban is said to have claimed responsibility for the attack. ANKARA (Sputnik) Turkish Prime Minister Binali Yildlirim confirmed Monday that the Daesh terrorist group had been forced out from territory along 98 kilometers (some 61 miles) of the Turkish-Syrian border between the northern towns of Jarabulus and Azaz. Last month, units of the opposition Free Syrian Army routed terrorists from 10 Syrian villages to the south of Jarabulus, and a total of 400 kilometers in northern Syria have been retaken since the start of the Turkish military operation. "Ninety-eight kilometers of the border with Syria from Azaz to Jarabulus were taken under control. All terrorist groups were pushed from there," Yildlirim said during his address in the country's Diyarbakir province. MOSCOW (Sputnik) There is still no certainty regarding a possible meeting of Israeli and Palestinian leaders with Russian mediation , Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Monday. "Not yet," Peskov told RIA Novosti, asked whether any decisions had been made regarding the summit. Earlier in August, a diplomatic source told Sputnik that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas could meet in Moscow in late September, while there has been no official confirmation of such a meeting from either side. The 22-page note was sent by Ankara police as part of a case against al-Qaeda, which concerns a total of 26 suspects who worked on recruiting jihadists, many of them were fighting with Daesh militants in Syria, said the article. According to the note, Daesh is also looking for experts to make heavy weapons in Ankara. One of the suspects named Borak Musab Guler searched for someone to make mortar shells while also providing guidance to militants going to Syria or arriving in Turkey. Stressing that Iran has not committed its military facilities to any country in the world, Masoud Pezeshkian, first deputy speaker of the Majlis, the Iranian parliament, said that military cooperation between Russia and Iran was impossible without the Supreme leaders permission. Speaking to a reporter, Pezeshkian pointed out that Majlis presiding board has not held a meeting on Iran and Russias military cooperation at the Nojeh base in Hamadan province, since such political and security issues are related to the Supreme National Security Council and the leader. Commenting on the announcement, Iranian political analyst and expert in Russian-Iranian relations Mostafa Azeriyan told Sputnik Persian he has no doubts that Russia could resume the use of the Iranian military base for its air campaign in Syria. MOSCOW (Sputnik) Russian state arms exporter Rosoboronexport will exhibit hundreds of types of weaponry and advanced military equipment manufactured for export at the Army-2016 forum, Rosoboronexport said in a press release Monday. "Rosoboronexport will bring over 270 pieces of military equipment to the exhibition. We are also going to put into action a new exhibition technology, developed by the companys specialists, namely a touch screen terminal integrated into a network of demonstration displays, capable of capturing pictures of physical models and providing on-line catalogs. That is how we will demonstrate the T-90 tank, TOR-M2E SAM system, Project 636 submarine, Yak-130 combat trainer aircraft, and Ka-52 scout attack helicopter," the press release read. Rosoboronexport plans to hold talks with government delegations and representatives of the business community from over 40 countries of Europe, Asia, Latin America, Africa, and the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS). MOSCOW (Sputnik) Egypt aims to equip its army with modern Russia-produced weaponry, Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu said Monday. "[We] are glad to note that Egypt seeks to use modern weapons and military equipment manufactured in Russia to equip the national armed forces," Shoigu said at the third meeting of the joint military and technical cooperation commission. He added that the Russian weaponry effectiveness was demonstrated in Syria. The minister also stressed the importance of connecting Egypt to Russia's Glonass satellite navigation network in May 2016. MOSCOW (Sputnik) Bahrain is interested in renewing its air defense systems, and its delegation, headed by King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa, will assess S-300 and S-400 systems at the Army-2016 expo in Russia, Bahrain's Ambassador to Russia Ahmed Abdulrahman Saati told Sputnik. "We are interested in everything new, in renewing [air defense] systems. However, we do not have information regarding the contracts or acquisitions being made, this is classified military information," Saati said. "Overall, we are interested in military products, air defense systems, we came to closely assess them. There is an exhibition here where we can see them, military experts will be able to assess them and their suitability, they'll be able to see, in particular, these two systems [S-300 and S-400," he added. Russia's Ministry of Defense and the "Special Design Bureau for Machine Building" (SKBM) have begun testing a next-generation Armored Recovery Vehicle (ARV), which is used to repair or recover damaged combat machinery during warfare. The new ARV has been developed on the platform of the Kurganets-25 infantry vehicle, and is intended to support infantry vehicles or armored personnel carriers. It carries repair equipment such as replacement engines, transmission systems, clutches and other necessary components, and is able to withstand heavy gunfire. "The vehicle is currently undergoing testing at the moment, and it can be expected to be deployed together with the Kurganets-25," Sergey Abdulov, head designer at SKBM, told Izvestiya. The Iskander system has been known to be mounted on-board Kamaz trucks, produced in Naberezhynye Chelny, Tatarstan, and on vehicles produced by the Minsk Wheel Tractor Plant, in Belarus, Russia's ally in the Collective Security Treaty Organization. The vehicles are equipped with an 8-cylinder turbocharged diesel engine with direct fuel injection. The drive train hauling this beast of a weapons system has 500 hp and 1,400 Nm of torque. MTU-20 Engineering Vehicle The success of the MTU-20 bridge layer, featuring a twin-tread superstructure based on a T-55 tank chassis, is basically the real-life embodiment of the maxim 'an oldie but a goodie'. Created by Siberia's Omsk Transport Machine Factory, also known for its production of the T-80 tank, the vehicle was designed to overcome water barriers up to 15 meters wide, with its 20 meter fold-out bridge. The armored engineering vehicle has a 39 liter 12-cylinder diesel engine under the hood, producing 580 horsepower and 1,960 Nm of torque. Widely exported, the MTU-20 is operated by the armies of several former Soviet republics, including Russia and Ukraine, and by Egypt, India, Nigeria, Syria and Finland. 2S9 Nona-SKV The 2S9 Nona-SKV is a lightweight, air-droppable self-propelled 120 mm mortar system introduced into the Soviet military in the mid-1980s. Featuring the same aluminum hull chassis as the BTR-D airborne multi-purpose tracked APC, the system was designed to suppress enemy fortifications, artillery, armored and mobile targets. Its 120-mm rounds can be fired almost immediately, with little to no preparation time necessary. The vehicle has a turbocharged 8-cylinder YaMZ-238M2 engine, produced by the Yaroslavl Motor Plant; the engine puts out 240 hp and 883 Nm of torque. The 71th session of the UN General Assembly is scheduled to open on September 13 at the UN headquarters in New York. Russia's UN Envoy Voices Top-Priority Issues for Moscow at 71st UN General Assembly Churkin also said that such issues as prevention of the arms race in space, information security and counteraction to attempts to revise the history of World War II, would have the highest priority for Moscow at the 71st session of the UN General Assembly in New York. "Such issues as the prevention of the arms race in space, maintenance of the international information security are top-priority issues for us. We will continue to resist the attempts to revise the history of World War II and we will increase the cooperation between the United Nations and our regional organizations such as the CSTO, EEU, CIS and SCO," Churkin stated. According to Churkin, the agenda of the 71st session of the UN General Assembly includes 170 issues devoted to sustainable development, maintenance of international peace and security, human rights, coordination of efforts to provide humanitarian aid, development of international law, disarmament, fight against international terrorism, organizational and administrative issues. MOSCOW (Sputnik) Syria has been mired in civil war since 2011, with government forces loyal to Syrian President Bashar Assad fighting numerous opposition factions and extremist groups. The Syrian government delegation, as well as three opposition groups the Riyadh-formed HNC, the Moscow-Cairo and the Hmeimim groups have been taking part in the UN-mediated Geneva talks on peaceful settlement of the conflict. "Staffan de Mistura's chances [to resume the talks] have increased, as he has currently something to rely on. Though, there is currently 'a pause in negotiations' over a number of reasons. We hope that the special envoy will be able to overcome it in the near future and finally make the governmental and opposition delegations seat at one negotiation table," Churkin told the Russian Izvestia newspaper in an interview, published Monday. The latest round of the talks took place in Geneva on April 13-27. The HNC walked out of the negotiations, citing the continuous fighting in Syria and the lack of progress on humanitarian issues. "There is a new situation [in Europe] over UK's referendum of EU membership. The Brits have always been representatives of a very strict line, sort of pro-US line towards Russia. We should take advantage of the new situation as a starting point.. to overcome the anti-Russian sanctions," Rupprechter told the Kurier newspaper in an interview published Sunday. "In order to adopt a law on the special status of Donbass and the amnesty provided by the Minsk agreements, which is expected from Kiev, a UN peacekeeping operation is not needed. The Ukrainian sides discourse concerning it is a diversion," Churkin told the Izvestia newspaper, when asked about the possible introduction of a UN mission in Donbass. According to the Russian UN envoy, the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) already plays a leading role in Donbass conflict settlement. An OSCE special monitoring mission is present in eastern Ukraine, Churkin reminded. HANGZHOU (China), (Sputnik) The bilateral meeting Xi Jinping and the South Korean leader took place on the sidelines of the Group of Twenty (G20) summit in eastern China's Hangzhou. "Improper resolution of this issue will not help ensure strategic stability in the region and may exacerbate existing conflicts," Xi stated, as quoted by the Xinhua news agency. Earlier, Chinese leader met with the US President Barack Obama and discussed the North Korea's missile program. They agreed that Pyongyang's pursuit of nuclear weapons and ballistic missiles presented a threat to the region. Xi and Obama stated they would cooperate on achieving the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula in line with UN resolutions. In late August, another source told Sputnik that Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Bogdanov was expected to visit Israel on September 5 to discuss with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu the possibility of holding direct Israeli-Palestinian talks in Moscow. Relations between Israel and Palestine have been wrecked for decades, as Palestinians have been seeking diplomatic recognition for their independent state on the territories of the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, which is partially occupied by Israel, and the Gaza Strip. The State of Palestine is recognized by 137 countries, including Russia. The format of direct talks between the two sides was agreed in 1991 in Madrid, following which certain progress was observed, but the talks deadlocked repeatedly. The most recent round of peace talks between the Israelis and Palestinians was initiated by the United States in mid-2013 but ended in a deadlock almost a year later. According to the draft's extracts published by the paper, the HNC calls to form a transitional governing body, which will incorporate powers of both the president and the government of Syria, while representing the country in all international and regional organizations, allocating budget funds, ensuring work of all ministries and departments and controlling all financial institutions, including the central bank. In addition, the transitional authority would receive legislative power by taking over the functions of parliament, as well as the judiciary power, since it would form the Supreme Constitutional Court, the Supreme Council of Justice and the commission responsible for institutional reforms. At the same time, the National Conference to be formed under the auspices of the new government would play a purely advisory role, while the existing legislature would be dissolved. Syria has been mired in civil war since March 2011, with government forces loyal to Syrian President Bashar Assad fighting numerous opposition factions and extremist groups. The Syrian government delegation, as well as three opposition groups the Riyadh-formed HNC, the Moscow-Cairo and the Hmeimim groups have been taking part in the UN-mediated Geneva talks on peaceful settlement of the conflict. The latest round of the talks took place in Geneva on April 13-27. The HNC walked out of the negotiations, citing continuous fighting in Syria and the lack of progress on humanitarian issues. . If you do not agree with the blocking, please use the Access to the chat has been blocked for violating the rules . You will be able to participate again through:. If you do not agree with the blocking, please use the feedback form The discussion is closed. You can participate in the discussion within 24 hours after the publication of the article. "The arguments concerned refugees. Turkey and Europe believe that other countries also have to recognize the problem and do something to resolve it," the source said. Controversial topics also included climate, excess capacity and the right to territorial property, according to the source. President Putin has met with his US counterpart on the sidelines of the September 4-5 G20 Summit in the Chinese city of Hangzhou on Monday. Talks between US President Barack Obama and Vladimir Putin lasted longer than planned, as the two leaders discussed Syria and Ukraine, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said. "The meeting was longer than planned," Peskov told reporters after the meeting, adding that it lasted over one hour. MOSCOW (Sputnik) The remaining differences between the United States and Russia on Syria are technical, and concern the deal implementation, according to the White House pool report citing an administration official after the meeting between US President Barack Obama and Russian President Vladimir Putin on the G20 sidelines in China. Responding to the question on the remaining differences in US, Russia views on Syria, the official described them as "technical," the pool report said. "There was some backsliding from some of the recent discussions in Geneva, however I think today there was a narrowing back to essentially, at least where we were coming in to here," the White House official stated. Theresa May had already said today that she will not be implementing the controversial immigration points-based system, a promise made by the Brexit camp ahead of the vote. So it seems there are fears in the Vote Leave team that Britain will not stick to its word. Tom Slater demanding that politicians respect democracy at spiked's Invoke Article 50 NOW demo at Parliament. pic.twitter.com/vO7QPIgpI4 spiked (@spikedonline) September 5, 2016 At the same time, across the road in Westminster Hall, MPs were debating a petition, which received 4.1 million signatures and called on the government to hold a second referendum on Britain's EU membership. As the turnout on June 23 was below 75 percent and fewer than 60 percent of the vote backed Brexit, millions of people have called for it to be discussed in parliament. One pro-EU campaigner told Sputnik that staying in the EU was the best thing for the UK and called the "Invoke Article 50" crowd a "bunch of racists." "Living standards are better now that we are part of the EU. I voted to be part of the EU all those years ago. So of course I want to remain in the EU now," the pro-EU campaigner told Sputnik. The House of Commons' Petitions Committee announced an investigation and later denied its site had been hacked after confirming tens of thousands of signatures were "fraudulently" added. However, whether anything will change as a result of the parliamentary debate remains to be seen. "As the Prime Minister made clear in his statement to the House of Commons on 27 June, the referendum was one of the biggest democratic exercises in British history with over 33 million people having their say. The Prime Minister and Government have been clear that this was a once in a generation vote and, as the Prime Minister has said, the decision must be respected. We must now prepare for the process to exit the EU and the Government is committed to ensuring the best possible outcome for the British people in the negotiations," a statement on the parliamentary website read. Andy Burnham MP said in a parliamentary debate Monday, that the government is confusing the country and Brexit is not understood. He said that people are getting non-answers on Brexit and that is simply because the government asked civil servants not to prepare for Brexit. "What does Brexit mean for the UK?" Mr. Burnham said in the commons debate. In addition to this, MPs questioned the Home Secretary on the triggering of Article 50 and said that many EU nationals had been kept awake at night since the referendum as they had been unsure if they would be asked to leave by the government. However, the "Invoke Article 50" camp or are concerned that the Prime Minister will go back on the country's decision. One Brexit protester said that the country must follow the democratic decision of the people. "We voted to leave and that decision remains, it has not changed. We must stick with what the majority of people wanted and that's final," they told Sputnik. If you look at the growth rates in energy, the world will need 35 percent more energy by 2035, Dudley told Sputnik. More than a half of the growth rates in energy will come in Asia, China in particular, he forecasted. Hence Vladivostok is a great place for many companies to represent themselves, as it brings together people from the East and Far East and Asia; all the way from India, all the way down through Alaska, China, Korea, Japan. Robert Dudley also noted that Brexit has no impact on the company. People will need oil and gas for many years to come, BPs CEO added. He also suggested that clean burning fuels, such as natural gas should become the fuel of choice for generating electricity in many countries. While renewables are a good thing and lots of people are investing in it, actually people are going to need oil and gas for many-many years to come, particularly clean burning fuels such as natural gas. And I think what you will see is more of a displacement of coal for natural gas going forward, he said. Summing up the results of the Forum, Russias Deputy Prime Minister and Presidential Plenipotentiary Envoy to the Far East Yury Trutnev told journalists that a total of 201 agreements valued at more than RUB 1.63 trillion ($25bln) were signed at the forum. The second Eastern Economic Forum showed that it was much-in-demand. We see that business has a desire to come here and this livens up the business environment. So the forum is being held in the right place at the right time. As a result, new projects and enterprises will emerge in the Far East, Trutnev noted. "An agreement in principle has been reached on a meeting in Moscow, although a few details have not been agreed upon yet," the diplomat said. "There is yet no information on the time of the meeting. It will probably take place later [in the day], but we do not know when exactly," Nofal added. In what the mainstream US media calls "an unsettling forecast," some are saying that God has tilted the scales in favor of the bombastic billionaire Republican nominee Donald Trump etching the controversial candidates image in the skies. A cloud formation appears to be a perfect replica of the candidates facial profile from the exactly 45 degree angle nose to the patented Trump fluff of frontal hair to the oddly small chin attached to such a large face. The portrait of the truculent tycoon painted masterfully by the Almighty graced the skies of Chicago on August 15 and was immediately posted by Fox32 Chicago news before going viral when Trumps executive Vice President Michael Cohen circulated it around Twitter late Saturday night. Democratic Presidential nominee Hillary Clinton suffered a severe four minute long coughing fit on the campaign trail in Cleveland that she chalked up to an allergic reaction to Trump as she struggled to even utter words in a strained tone surely to be seized upon by her Republican rival who has questioned her physical endurance to serve in the White House. NBC Reporter Monica Alba remarked that the coughing fit was the "worst one I can remember." Monica Alba (@albamonica) September 5, 2016 Hillary Clinton has long been rumored to have suffered complications following a concussion in December 2012 near the end of her tenure as Secretary of State after which she was hospitalized for a blood clot in her brain. Those rumors came screaming right back when the FBI released notes on their investigation into Clintons private email server in which Hillary claimed to not remember receiving briefings on document retention while with the State Department due to the impact of the incident on her memory. RAMALLAH (Sputnik) Earlier in the day, Palestines Ambassador to Russia Abdel Hafiz Nofal told Sputnik that Abbas and Netanyahu looked set to meet in Moscow, but the exact timing was not defined. "Abbas is not in Palestine now, he is in Warsaw. This proves that he has not agreed to meet Netanyahu and has not made a decision [on the issue]," Majdalani told RIA Novosti. He added that the Palestinian delegation expected a conversation with Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Bogdanov following the Russian diplomat's dialogue with the Israeli leader to become familiar with the outcome of the meeting between Bogdanov and Netanyahu. With German Chancellor Angela Merkels approval ratings at a 5 year low and far-right populist party AfD making gains in local elections well be taking a closer look at the German political landscape and whether or not there is a credible contender to Mrs Merkel in next years general election. We talk to political consultant and EU policy specialist Jon Worth, and Professor of Politics at the University of Bath, Charles Lees. Protestors took to the streets of Sao Paulo in their thousands to demonstrate against the new administration which officially took over last week, following the impeachment of Dilma Rousseff. What reportedly began as a peaceful protest descended into chaos as demonstrators clashed with military police. We talk to the Brazilian Journalist and academic, Carolina Matos. You can find previous editions of World in Focus here. MOSCOW (Sputnik) Two militants were eliminated in a special operation in Dagestan, Russia's National Antiterrorism Committee said Monday. "Two militants were killed, their identities have been established. Both were members of a gang carrying out terrorist crimes," the Committee said in a statement. One serviceman was killed in the operation and two sustained injuries. Dagestan is best known internationally as the area where the infamous Tsarnaev brothers, two terrorists who were found responsible of the April, 2013 bombing of the Boston marathon, are from. MOSCOW (Sputnik) It is "far too early" to discuss the 2018 Russian presidential elections, Russian President Vladimir Putin said, noting he had yet to decide whether to run for another term. "We are now on the brink of parliamentary elections. We need to hold these elections, to see the results. But after that, there will be almost another two years. So its far too early to speak about this," Putin told Bloomberg. "I havent yet made the decision for myself," he stated. The president also noted that Russia's future leader should be a "fairly young," yet mature person. MOSCOW (Sputnik) King of Bahrain Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa will attend the opening ceremony of the Army-2016 international military forum to be held near Moscow on Tuesday, Bahraini Ambassador to Russia Ahmed Al Saati told Sputnik on Monday. "King of Bahrain Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa will visit the expo on Tuesday and attend the opening as only head of state," Al Saati said. According to the ambassador, the King will meet Russian President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday at a Bahrain-Russia summit. Vladimir Putin spoke about his hope for a full restoration of 'normalized Russia-US relations', an agreement on the Syrian crisis, the need for compromise in the matter of the Kuril Islands, and the future of UK-Russian ties. Russia maintains dialogue with the United States and Turkey over the Syrian crisis, President Putin told reporters, suggesting that the sides could agree on mutual steps to improve the situation. Kashuba said that the rising price of gold makes the mines an attractive investment for Chinese investors such as Zijin Mining, China Gold, Zhaojin Mining Industry and Shandong Gold, who want to take advantage of the Chinese government's institution of its latest five-year plan for social and economic development. "In China this year the 13th Chinese five-year plan began, funding has been allocated and now it's time to buy. As I see it, there will be two years of asset-buying, and in the third year they plan what to do, then in year four and five you have to produce the metal," Kashuba said. The development of Russia's Far East is a priority for the Russian government, which established the Far East Development Fund in 2011. The fund aims to stimulate development with a flexible approach to structuring and financing projects, including tax breaks and less red tape. "I know that three or four large companies traveled to the Eastern Economic Forum with the aim of finding out how these tax breaks work," said Kashuba, who expects Chinese investors to sign some contracts with their Russian counterparts during the Minex conference in Moscow next month. While Russia has denied any involvement in the leak, the Hillary campaign claims that Russian hackers had breached their systems and occupied the DNC server for over a year conflating the issue of a hack and the leak. In previous election cycles, both political parties have been hacked by as many as a dozen countries that seek to garner information on the potential next president of the United States. Hysteria took full force last week when it was reported that the election systems of Arizona and Illinois were breached by hackers with officials immediately pointing the finger at Russia despite a lack of evidence. What was actually hacked in Illinois, however, was not an election system, but rather a voter file that is already accessible to people online with names, phone numbers and party affiliation supposedly 200,000 or so records were "exfiltrated" (copied and pasted) which is hardly anything of value to a state actor. In Arizona, a hacker obtained the login key for an employee at the Gila County Recorders office, but no voter records were modified. Due to redundancies in Arizonas electoral system, even if a record were modified it would have no effect because three different government agencies maintain a file of voters. Not only has Russia faced continued insinuation that they are responsible for hacks that have potentially impacted the tone and tenor of the 2016 election cycle, but the country has also come under fire due to Trumps former campaign manager Paul Manaforts connection to former Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych who Russia favored. NIZHNY NOVGOROD (Russia) (Sputnik) Russian company Heliports of Russia could open a helicopter center in country's Ulyanovsk Region, regional government said in a statement Monday. "In September, opening of a helicopter center 'Heliport-Ulyanovsk,' which is an innovative and ambitious project on development of light aviation in Russia, is scheduled," the statement said. According to Heliports of Russia's CEO Alexander Khrustalev, the construction of the heliport in the region started in 2014 and cost about 700 million rubles ($10.65 million at the current exchange rates). This is the background in which the Chicago Fraternal Order of Police (FOP) has called for all its members to stay at home during the Labor Day holidays and "refrain from volunteering to work for any and all Special, Secondary and other types of Non-Mandatory Overtime Employment." According to the document posted on the FOP website, the police officers are urged to "show unity and to protest the continued disrespect of Chicago Police Officers and the killings of Law Enforcement Officers across [the US]." According to Zero Hedge, Chicago police Superintendent Eddie Johnson has given an ambiguous comment on the FOP conference call. "I would never get upset with the FOP for encouraging officers to spend more time with their families because they should spend time with their families," he said. "But having said that, I'll tell you this, the best way for officers to support one another is to be out there for each other." Given the above mentioned atmosphere of record gun violence, the consequences of police being understaffed and (not exactly groundlessly) demotivated might be dire. On Sunday, that tone changes as Bernie Sanders appeared to turn against Hillary on NBCs "Meet the Press" calling on her to "cease all operations, all contact with the Clinton Foundation" over perceptions that the former Secretary of State provided access to donors turning the State Department into a pay-to-play scheme. He went one step further in the interview despite having hitched his wagon to the Democratic Party for the election cycle decrying the two-party systems unrealistic 15-point polling threshold that keeps the American people in the dark about the multitude of other options for leadership besides the Democrats and Republicans. Sanders said that the bar must be lowered to provide access to candidates who do not have the same access to the mainstream media or the support of the overbearing two-party political establishment. The investigation by intelligence and law enforcement agencies also appears to be predicated on patently incorrect statements and attempts to conjure up mass hysteria. Russias purported connection to the hacking of the Arizona and Illinois voter files is based on an unconfirmed suspicion by FBI authorities at the time of the breach according to hearsay comments by an employee at the Arizona Secretary of States Office. Furthermore, these allegedly Russian hackers "exfiltrated" (copied and pasted) 200,000 voter records from the Illinois database that consist of names, phone numbers, addresses and party affiliation. The use of this information for a state actor is unfathomable unless Kremlin officials are secretly seeking out American pen pals and the use for a political campaign is equally inexplicable because all candidates have access to a much more advanced listing of voters through their respective political parties. Evermore confusing is why the information would be pulled from either Illinois or Arizona, neither of which are swing states, rather than a state like Ohio. Yet it turns out, there is a complete listing of identical information publicly available on the internet for all 8 million registered Ohio voters as well as for many state again begging the question of the veracity of this claim. Diplomat said that Chief of Air Staff of the Pakistan Air Force Sohail Aman had "fruitful talks" in Moscow in July on purchasing of Russian Su-35 (NATO reporting name: Flanker-E) fighter jets. According to the official, the Pakistani Air Force "is considering different options of deepening cooperation with Russia." Qazi Khalilullah noted that Pakistan is interested in expanding the military and technical cooperation with Russia. "Yes, Pakistan is interested in further expansion of the military-technical cooperation with Russia. But I would not want to limit my answer by the possibility of purchase weapons alone. We attack great importance to the agreement on defense cooperation, which was signed in Islamabad in November 2014 during the visit of the Russian defense minister," Khalilullah said. Pakistani Minister of Defense Production Rana Tanveer Hussain will visit the Army-2016 international military forum to be held near Moscow this week. "I want to note that Pakistani Minister of Defense Production Rana Tanveer Hussain will head the delegation at the Army-2016 forum," Khalilullah said. The military forum, which is set to take place on September 6-11 in Kubinka, a western suburb of Moscow, will bring together representatives from the Russian defense industry, research institutes, universities, as well as foreign companies. Over 800 Russian and foreign participants will mount some 7,000 exhibitions throughout the week. The forum's participants and guests will attend a number of conferences and round-table discussions to discuss the future development of military technology. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters that the talks lasted "longer than planned", with Syria and Ukraine being discussed first and foremost. Sudakov, for his part, recalled that Obama is already being called a lame duck in the United States and that right now, he has "a very simple task" to deal with. "Democrats believe that Hillary Clinton has already won a 100-percent election victory, which is why Obama needs to put an exclamation mark at the end of his presidential term. He will try to resolve the issues that are yet to be solved, and to score the gains for Clinton," Sudakov said. In Syria, Obama wants Russia to withdraw, he said, adding that the US President is doing his best to weaken the Russian alliance formed in the Middle East. "His task is to show that America is able to resolve conflicts with someone else's hands, which is why he offers a new military coordination stage on Syria, a proposal that was earlier put on the table by Russia," Sudakov said. He also lashed out at Washington's repeated calls for Syrian President Bashar Assad's resignation, which he said is out of line with Moscow's position on the matter. "We call for fighting global evil, instead of focusing on the resolution of opportunistic political tasks and the scoring of points for the outgoing [US] President," he said referring to Russia's efforts to combat Daesh and Jabhat Fateh Al-Sham (formerly al-Nusra), two of Syria's most notorious terrorist groups. HANGZHOU (Sputnik) A joint oil market stabilization statement signed between Saudi Arabia and Russia is a "historic moment" in relations between members and non-members of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), Russian Energy Minister Alexander Novak said Monday. Novak and Saudi Arabias Minister of Energy, Industry and Natural Resources, Khalid bin Abdulaziz Al Falih, signed a joint statement to step up cooperation in stabilizing the oil market and ensuring stable long-term investment earlier in the day. I am confident that this is a new stage in relations between the countries that are members and non-members of OPEC. This is a historic moment in my opinion, Novak told reporters. MOSCOW (Sputnik) Bahrain welcomes the joint statement by Russia and Saudi Arabia on stabilizing the oil market, Bahrain's Ambassador to Russia Ahmed Abdulrahman Saati told Sputnik. "Bahrain is not a major oil producer, we are not members of OPEC, but we welcome any agreement between oil producers that could stabilize the market. I think that the Russian-Saudi agreement will promote a stabilization of oil production and prices, as these are major oil producers. This will affect the entire oil market," Saati said. New Delhi (Sputnik): Speaking at the G20 Summit in the Chinese city of Hangzhou, India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi said: "We expect the international community to speak and act in unity and to respond with urgency to fight this menace. Those who sponsor and support terrorism must be isolated and sanctioned, not rewarded. India appreciates the G20 initiative to combat the financing of terrorism." Without naming Pakistan, Prime Minister Modi said, "Growing forces of violence and terror pose a fundamental challenge. There are some nations that use it as an instrument of state policy. Indeed, one single nation in South Asia is spreading these agents of terror in the countries of our region. India has a zero-tolerance policy toward terrorism. For us, a terrorist is a terrorist." Relations between India and neighboring Pakistan have continued to sour ever since Pakistan declared that the Hizbul Mujahedeen terrorist Burhan Wani, who was killed by Indian security forces in Kashmir, was a martyr. Pakistan has accused India of human rights violations in the Kashmir Valley. Meanwhile, India has accused Pakistan of funding and fueling the unrest in the Kashmir Valley. Nicholas Hopton, previously British Charge daffaires in Tehran, has been appointed Her Majestys Ambassador. The appointment comes a year after the UK embassy in the city was reopened. "The upgrade in diplomatic relations gives us the opportunity to develop our discussions on a range of issues, including our consular cases about which I am deeply concerned I hope this will mark the start of more productive cooperation between our countries, enabling us to discuss more directly issues such as human rights and Irans role in the region, as well as ongoing implementation of the nuclear deal and the expansion of the trading relationship between both our countries," UK Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson said in a statement. HANGZHOU (Sputnik) Argentina remains Russias significant economic and trade partner in Latin America, President Vladimir Putin said Monday at his first face-to-face meeting with the nations new leader Mauricio Macri. "Argentina is our noticeable trade and economic partner in Latin America. Despite all the difficulties weve discussed today, our trade turnover rose 1.7 percent in January-June," Putin said after the meeting on the G20 Summit sidelines in Hangzhou, China. Right-winger Macri succeeded Argentinas Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner after the November 2015 election. This is the first meeting of his tenure with the Russian president. They spoke twice over the phone. Vladimir Putin also said that he and US President Barack Obama spoke of the issue of sanctions in passing during their meeting at the G20 forum, adding he saw no reason to discuss it in detail at this point. Putin and Obama met for bilateral talks on the sidelines of the Group of Twenty (G20) summit in Hangzhou on Monday. "The theme of the sanctions was touched upon, but only in passing, we did not discuss anything in detail, but I do not see the point of discussing any issues of this kind. It was not our initiative to bring out such restrictions. It seems that this is a thing of the future, discussing such issues, if we ever start discussing them," Putin said. The Russian president said that his discussion with his US counterpart was detailed and thorough. "I believe that we reached mutual understanding, an understanding of the issues before us, but technical details still must be elaborated," he added. HANGZHOU (Sputnik) The Argentinian government plans to extend cooperation with Russia in such spheres as energy, culture and media, Argentinian President Mauricio Macri said Monday. "Mr. President, it is very important for us to develop different areas of cooperation between Russia and Argentina. It concerns culture sports, language cooperation. And, of course, the issue [related to the broadcast] of the RT TV channel [in Argentina] And a very important sphere [of cooperation] is energy cooperation. As you know, Argentina has quite serious difficulties with it. And we need to extend cooperation there," Macri said at the meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin on the sidelines of the G20 summit in China's Hangzhou. He added that the cooperation could also focus on issues related to the hydroelectric power stations. On July 12, the Hague-based Permanent Court of Arbitration ruled that Beijing has no legal basis to claim historic rights to South China Sea resources and has violated the sovereign rights of the Philippines in the country's exclusive economic zone. The ruling came after Manila filed a case in January 2013 accusing Beijing of violating the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea. "We stand in solidarity and support of China's position on this issue not to recognize the decision of this court This is not a political position, but purely legal. It lies in the fact that any arbitration proceedings should be initiated by the disputing parties, while the arbitration court should hear the arguments and positions of the disputing parties. As you know, China did not address the Hague arbitration and no one listened to its position there. How can you recognize these decisions as fair? We support China's position on this issue," Putin stressed. Beijings territorial claims to the Spratly Islands in the South China Sea, which are believed to be rich in oil and gas reserves, run counter to those of the Philippines, Taiwan, Malaysia, Brunei and Vietnam. According to him, the situation with the flags during the Merkel-Erdogan meeting in China could be explained by the German Chancellor's willingness to make it plain that Berlin is not going to abolish EU visas for Turkish citizens in October despite Ankara backsliding on human rights after July's attempted coup in Turkey. "Perhaps through concessions in the flags-related issue Merkel thought that it would be easier to tell Erdogan to let German MPs once again get access to the Incirlik airbase so that Berlin can refrain from deploying German warplanes on the Greek part of Cyprus," Kraule said. However, there is another side to the coin, he said, adding that "if Erdogan stops adhering to the Turkey-EU agreement on refugees, he will be able to decide the political fate of Angela Merkel." "The promise that the 2015 influx of refugees would not be repeated depends on whether Ankara will continue to keep its border closed. In this sense, the human sized Turkish flag is also a symbol of blackmail," Kraule noted. He urged Merkel "to demonstrate the fact that Berlin is not the capital of a Turkish province", recalling that the German side has "a red line of self-esteem." Meanwhile, experts said that chances of improvement between both sides remains slim as mutual discontent keeps mounting. Points of the Berlin-Ankara contention include the diplomatic row sparked by a German comedian, who wrote a satirical poem that mocked Erdogan, sparking a firestorm in Turkey. Strengthening the Strategic Partnership with France. PM @narendramodi has a quick pull aside with President Hollande pic.twitter.com/4nVA1Uqzln Vikas Swarup (@MEAIndia) 5 2016 . New Delhi (Sputnik): Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi met French President Francois Hollande on the sidelines of the G-20 summit in Hangzhou, China. The two leaders reportedly discussed issues pertaining to the recent leakage of 'sensitive' data related to the Scorpene class submarines that are to be inducted into the Indian Navy. Indias Ministry of External Affairs confirmed the reports in a statement. Another statement said the two leaders held a pull aside meeting on the second day of the G-20 Summit. According to Vikas Swarup, spokesman for Indias Ministry of External Affairs, "This issue (the Scorpene data leak) also figured in the talks." In a series of revelations in the last week of August, The Australian reported that it had 22,400 pages of data which included sensitive details about the ongoing construction of six Scorpene submarines for the Indian Navy. The newspaper published excerpts from the file that allegedly had details on the key stealth capabilities of the Indian submarines including, what frequencies the submarines gather intelligence at, what levels of noise they make at various speeds, as well as their diving depths, and the specifications of the submarines torpedo launch system and combat system. MOSCOW (Sputnik) The United Kingdom is assisting Egypt in its investigation into the Russian A321 airliner crash over the Sinai peninsula in October last year, an Egyptian newspaper reported on Monday, citing a UK Department of Transport official. "British and Egyptian authorities work together in the ongoing investigation of the Russian plane crash," the official told the newspaper Al Ahram Al Massai. The Airbus A321, operated by the Russian airline Kogalymavia, was en route from the Sharm el-Sheikh resort in Egypt to Saint-Petersburg when it crashed, killing all 217 passengers and seven crew members on board. The Russian authorities have concluded that the crash was caused by a terrorist attack. MOSCOW (Sputnik) Moscow and London need to improve their relations and cooperate in the areas of common interest such as counterterrorism and achievement of long-lasting peace in the Middle East, the chairman of a cross-party working group in the UK Parliament on relations with Russia, Edward Leigh, told Sputnik Monday. Earlier in the day, Russian President Vladimir Putin expressed hope during a meeting with UK Prime Minister Theresa May that bilateral relations between Moscow and London would reach a higher level in both political and economic spheres. In turn, May pointed out that there were differences between the polices of the two countries that hopefully could be overcome through dialogue. "Russia and the United Kingdom need to pursue closer ties. Our two countries share several strategic interests, most importantly in countering terrorism and seeking an end to the violence in the Middle East," Leigh stressed. BY OLIVIA ROSE THE UNIQUE and diverse flora and fauna of the Turks and Caicos Islands will be featured in a new British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) documentary. Preserving our treasure island is a new series coined by BBC which aims to highlight the exceptional biodiversity of several islands. Commenting on this announcement Governor Peter Beckingham said the documentary will augur well for the TCI as it relates to exposure. He said : "There are many reasons why our Turks and Caicos Islands attract so many visitors each year, but one must be at the top of everyones list: the magic of an environment surrounded by crystal clear turquoise seas. "The colour is so distinctive, even from the height of a jet crossing from Miami to South America that I have heard of passengers asking to know which group of islands they were flying over. We should treasure that beauty. "Thanks to the endurance and hard graft of a British naturalist our "beautiful by nature islands have been recorded for thousands to see on film or in a book. Stewart McPherson decided, with enormous ambition, to create a series of films for TV on all the Overseas Territories, entitled "Britains Treasure Islands, the Governor added. The series was shown earlier this year on BBCs Channel Four, and a book of the series has just been published. "Extraordinarily, he must be one of the few people who can claim he has visited, in a journey of over 70,000 miles, all 14 Overseas Territories, from Anguilla to Pitcairn Islands, and the British Indian Ocean Territory to the Falkland Islands. "Im delighted to say that Turks and Caicos Islands have its own section, and Stewart has highlighted in some beautiful photography and film many of our natural highlights. "Of course the wildlife is featured prominently, with some great film (some of it by David Stone, former Vice President of our Reef Fund) of migratory humpbacks, the endangered loggerhead turtles, sting and eagle rays and sea turtles. "Our wonderful birdlife is also shown: where, as the film asks, can you be in a capital city with its own resident flamingos? "The film doesnt spare some of the more disturbing aspects of TCIs earlier history, depicting the "vile industry of cotton picking and salt production before slavery was abolished. Thankfully the filming does gloss over the recurring environmental problems we face by litter. The Governor noted that the documentary is a wonderful boost for Turks and Caicos. "It highlights the urgent need for us to preserve and be proud of our environment. I hope that copies of the book, which I expect to be able to present to schools during Jills Footsteps4Good walk across the islands in September, will encourage and educate our younger generation to take pride and pleasure in one of the most beautiful environments in the world. According to the information found on BBC`s website about the series ,the Turks and Caicos islands because of its exceptional biodiversity importance is one of very few sites on UKs current Tentative List for World Heritage Site status. The East Caicos, Middle Caicos and North Caicos wetland complex forms one of the best examples of natural marine to freshwater transitions in the Caribbean. It is also one of the most natural amongst some 160 wetlands of international importance listed by UK under the Ramsar Convention. The coral reefs, flats and mangroves, marshes, tropical dry forest and salinas (salt-pans) provide a haven for wildlife and the natural basis of fisheries and tourism. The historically important Salinas at Grand Turk and Salt Cay are internationally important for migrant and breeding waders and terns and also provide some of the best bird-watching in the world of normally shy water-birds. There are endemic subspecies of two land-birds, and several species which are endemic either to TCI and the Bahamas or TCI and Cuba. Offshore cays hold the largest Caribbean breeding populations of several sea-bird populations, as well as nesting turtles and land reptiles. By Daisy Handfield A MOTORCADE was held for the Turks and Caicos Islands first Olympian, Delano Williams, shortly after his arrival through the Providenciales International Airport, on Thursday. The sprint prodigy was greeted with enthusiasm, as he exited the airport. The motorcade commenced at the Sammie Been Plaza and finished off at the local Fish Fry, where Williams gave a speech. Upon arrival, the track star told media houses that he was elated to be back in the TCI. He said: "It feels great to be back. "It is amazing; I cannot wait to hear what people have to say tonight and I know that they want to hear what I have to say. I am just excited to be here! Williams represented Great Britain in the mens 4x400m relay, at the 2016 Olympics Games in Rio, last month. Delano Williams, Matt Hudson-Smith, Conrad Williams and Martyn Rooney clocked the third fastest time in the world this year (2:58:88) and celebrated their performance in front of the cameras, that night. However, their excitement was short-lived, when it was revealed that Rooney had started outside the changeover zone, so they were disqualified. STRATA Corporation is not giving up its fight to prevent the Turks and Caicos Islands Government from introducing twelve-storey hotels on the GraceBay strip. Once again, the players in the one-year-long battle, head back to court in the new month. This time, for the three justices that preside over the appellate court to decide whether Chief Justice Margaret Ramsay-Hale was guided by the law and the facts in the case when she concluded that the Government had conducted adequate consultation with respect to proposed changes to the development manual to permit increases in building height from seven storeys to twelve and for increases to be made in the density of buildings allowed in the islands. They also want the justices to give notice that the Chief Justice erred in law and in fact in concluding that the environmental protections of section 18 of the Constitution had been met. However, before a determination is made on the appellants application, at this upcoming hearing the justices will make a decision as to whether they will allow the appeal to be heard in the first place. In her ruling, delivered on July 21, Ramsay-Hale had also ordered that Strata Corporation pay the cost incurred by the respondents in the application for a judicial review. Strata is also appealing that ruling. The respondents are Governor of the TCI; Minister of Infrastructure, Housing and Planning; Director of Planning and the Desarrollos HotelCo TCI Limited (which is listed as an interested parties). Notice of Appeal In the application for appeal, a copy of which was obtained by this publication, Strata stipulates that the 2016 amendment to the development manual to allow the increases in height and density represent a fundamental change to the nature and character of the built environment of the TCI, particularly Grace Bay, Providenciales. They also contend that the amendment was enacted pursuant to section 39 A of the physical planning ordinance; and that the section was in itself enacted as a result of the 2015 ruling by the same Chief Justice that struck down an earlier amendment to the development manual that was made without a current development plan in place for the country. The Government had appealed that decision, but it was dismissed by the appellate court in May this year. The hoteliers further pointed out that section 39A has a two-year sunset clause due to a TCI development plan now being prepared by the Government. They contend that because of this state of affairs the need is greater for there to be appropriate and meaningful consultation and for that consultation to be carefully considered before any changes are implemented in the absence of a development plan. They further argue that the 2016 consultation was inadequate because there was no written proposal, let alone a written proposal giving any reasons in support of the change. The application for appeal states: "It is difficult to conceive of any consultation process, let alone one concerning a matter of this gravity, being adequate when even the outcome proposed is not set out in writing. "Consultation does not take place in the ether nor does it mean whatever the proposer might think it means and when consultees may not share or be aware of the proposers understanding or the reasons for and against the proposal. The hotels argue that a proposal to limit 12-storey developments to coastal parcels of five acres in Grace Bay and NorthWest Point was not part of the stated consultation process, and it was never advanced in writing. They said it was merely part of the outcome set out in the 2016 amendment. They further stipulate that the narrowing of the changes to the geographical areas made it even more important that the limited class of property owners in these areas (including themselves) should be given meaningful access to all the relevant issues underlying the proposals to allow them to respond on an informed basis and to have reasonable time in which to do so. They further pointed to the Chief Justice ruling that consultation had taken place prior to 2015, pointing out that she had previously struck down an amendment to the development manual on the basis that there was not any defined consultation done in 2014. They also pointed to the courts November 2015 decision to strike down the change to the development manual made in February that year, following which consultations were carried out in August. The appellants are adamant that the Chief Justice should never have found that consultations were reopened in January 2016 when as far as they are aware that was only consultation on the change that was ever lawfully done. They also believe that the judge was wrong when she found that the alternatives to the proposed changes were self-evident, as the respondents had allegedly withheld all relevant reports and explanations as to why the proposal to increase height and density was being considered. They finally claim that the consultation was inadequate, contrary to Ramsay-Hales findings. As the first announcement of a consultation appeared on Facebook on Monday, January 4, that these notices did not begin to appear in newspapers until January 8 and 9, and that the consultation was only done for one week. This, they said, is grossly inadequate for a matter of this magnitude and complexity which involved important economic and environmental issues. Strata stated that there was no point for the consultation to be so abrupt, and no explanations as to why it was, was advanced by the Government. Meanwhile, in relation to their claim that the Government breached the Constitution, the appellant stated that the Chief Justice was wrong in concluding that the Government paid due regard to the environment under section 18 of the Constitution before they enacted the 2016 amendment. "To have allowed the 2016 amendment without any evidence of the impact on the environment including expert evidence of the impact on the environment of the proposal as a whole, fell so far outside the boundary of reasonable responses that the judgement amounted to an error in law and fact, the appellants claim. Daisy Handfield AFTER months of investigations, police have confirmed that a man, 33, has recently been arrested on suspicion of the murders of Dominicans Yuneiry Veras and Sonrineida Moreno Arias. Both women were found dead in Providenciales, within three months of each other. Following extensive inquiries, detectives from the Royal Turks and Caicos Islands Police Force (RTCIPF), arrested the man at his home in Millennium Heights, on August 31 and he remains in custody, where he is being interviewed by detectives. Police officials say that investigations into the two offences continues. In an interview with the Police Commissioner James Smith, prior to the arrest, he confirmed that the police were following leads, but he could not give details, because it could hinder their investigations. He said: "I cant give you details on what we are doing, but we have a team of officers on board, who are continuing to make enquiries. "In fact, at the end of last week, three officers travelled to the Dominican Republic, as part of an enquiry. Sonrineida Moreno Arias, a 26-year-old Dominican woman, was found naked in the bushes on July 13, with burn marks to the private parts of her body. The last time Moreno Arias was seen was around 4 am that morning, leaving her residence on Robinson Street, Five Cays. According to reports, around or before 4am she was picked up by an unknown driver. She reportedly left work at the Shadow Bar around 3 am Sunday morning and was dropped off at her home by a co-worker. The body of Yuneiry Veras was discovered at about 1.04pm on Saturday, April 23, in Pirates Cove, located on Tom Lightbournes Drive, in the north western area of Providenciales. The area is very secluded and is surrounded by bushes. Veras was last seen on April 18, at about 2.15am, at her residence in Blue Hills. She was wearing a black top and blue short skirt. BY OLIVIA ROSE OPPOSITION Leader Sharlene Cartwright -Robinson says the People`s Democratic Movement (PDM) is still the Government`s watchdog and has been keeping the Government`s feet to the fire on serious issues that affect the populace. Cartwright Robinson was at the time speaking during an appearance on Radio Turks and Caicos where she was accompanied by the party`s deputy leader Sean Astwood on Monday August 29. Cartwright took the opportunity to remind voters who have expressed concerns in the public domain that the Opposition is giving the Government an easy ride and not holding them accountable as it relates to certain matters. She said: "We`ve spent the last almost four years trying to educate an reeducate and to pretty much debunk those persons who are choosing to be mischievous and malicious by telling them that the opposition basically has the same powers as the Government. "The opposition under my leadership has been very vocal and we`ve actually had some very strong representation in the house of assembly where we`ve been able to make history in many areas, we have been vocal on the issues and keeping them in front of the people of the country. She explained that Opposition`s constitutional role is that of a watchdog with limited powers to keep the Government in line. "Persons would remember not too long ago that Government would say opposition will have its say and the Government will have its way, nothing has changed that is the democracy that we have when a party gets the majority of seats whether its by one they become the government, with that authority comes the right to run the country`s purse and to determine the agenda. The Opposition Leader also dispelled comments made recently in the House of Assembly by the Minister of border control Don Hue Gardiner who said motions don`t change anything bills do. In this vein she said: "We`ve had a record on bringing private members motion, trying to stay in dialogue on issues in the house of assembly and hold the Government`s feet to the fire ,issues that people have told us about and that we have seen from our visits where leadership needs to be addressed . "I want to say that motions do not change laws bills do, but the most important thing about why we do bring motions it that we cannot control the country`s purse , we are not allowed to bring a motion that would increase the expenditure. Making the Opposition`s situation pellucid she said:"So while I would have brought a motion for example to introduce pensions or paying persons for gratuity or ex- gratia payments, I could not say to the government do it in a motion, because thats increasing expenditure. "Whilst Honorable Goldray wouldve said we need biometrics,we should be looking at CCTV and fingerprinting and all of these other things, we could not say do it in a motion because thats increasing expenditure we could only recommend to the government that they consider ,so I want to make that abundantly clear. Turning her attention to several burning issues the Opposition has been vocal on for some time, she noted that unemployment, crime and illegal jitneys are just a few. "From something that affects six people to something that affects the entire population we have been very visible, very vocal and we`ve done it through private members motion, through questions, we`ve done it through committees, we`ve used every tool that we can. "Unemployment has been our issue that we flagged straight through, squatting has been an issue that we`ve flagged straight through, illegal jitneys and Im picking on those issues out of the clear blue ,because within the last two weeks nobody has been saying anything on these issues. "We have been on these issues and many other issues, now we`re in the political season people are paying attention so its important for us to then remind persons who were not listening the entire time on some of the issues that we wouldve raised as an opposition. "We spoke about roads generally and the un-cleanliness of the country, we`ve been on national security and crime for four years. Opposition Leader Cartwright-Robinson reiterated the party`s readiness for the looming general elections. By Daisy Handfield TWENTY new members have been recruited to the Police Force in Providenciales, in an effort to increase police presence on the island. In an interview with Police Commissioner James Smith, who hailed the increase in their ranks, he explained that the reason there was not enough police presence on the streets was because of insufficient staff numbers. The new recruits of men and women started initial training on August 1 and will be embarking on a three-month journey to become full-fledged officers. During this training period, the recruits will undergo both classroom and situational training, which includes basic police procedures and duties, swimming and lifesaving, customer service, firearms, self-defence, drill and physical training. Smith said that the trainees, along with additional district constables, will complete the training process at the end of October. He said: "They will be patrolling the main tourist areas in Providenciales, which will allow us to put a focus on that, because we need to make sure that we keep a good name, as far as tourists are concerned. Smith said that with the new recruits, the police force will be able to increase presence around the entire island of Providenciales. "We are trying to make sure that we reduce crime across the country, not just prevent crime for the tourists. He said. However, the Commissioner added that crime detection was everyones business, not only the Police. Although the Police Force was working on increasing its presence, the general public should not hesitate to come forward with any information they may have pertaining to a crime, he said. By OLIVIA ROSE SPECIALTY shops, whose sole business is tobacco, will be exempted to advertise and display tobacco products. This comes as Cabinet last month advised Governor Peter Beckingham to approve the advancement of the amendments to the Tobacco Ordinance to the House of Assembly, which will exempt those shops whose lone business is tobacco, to publicize tobacco products. In this vein the Governor agreed for the Attorney General's Chambers to commence drafting the regulations to the Tobacco Ordinance. A tobacco control law, which made public places in the Turks and Caicos Islands smoke-free, came into effect on April 1 this year. This law made it illegal for some shops to sell tobacco. The bill which was passed in the House of Assembly in October 2015, aims to prevent tobacco use by minors, regulate tobacco use overall and enhance public awareness of the hazards of tobacco use. Since the law came into effect, some businesses made the necessary adjustments to ensure customers observe the law, many of them have since erected no-smoking signs on conspicuous spots throughout their establishments. Back in March, senior substance abuse counselor John Malcom, told the Weekly news that the department was looking to engage tobacco importers and wholesalers to discuss the ramifications of the bill. He noted that special emphasis will be placed on protecting individuals from exposure to tobacco smoke, prohibiting and restricting promotional practices. He said: "In addition to the legislation, a national smoke free policy was devised to give a framework for the legislation. "The fact is that a lot of people are exposed to second-hand smoke because of the environment that they work in, restaurants, bars where people smoke So non-smokers are exposed to second hand smoking, and were really concerned about that. "So this legislation is going to help curb those kinds of behaviours and activities, so that persons who are non-smokers are not exposed to second-hand smoke. Malcom noted that the legislation will also give teeth to the relevant authorities to clamp down and prevent smuggling of tobacco and provide for the regulation of tobacco products to mitigate against the harmful effects of tobacco in the Turks and Caicos Islands. He said: "The legislation provides for the establishment of a Tobacco Control Unit, and the Tobacco Control Unit is going to enforce the legislation. "There will be a new structure of license fees for businesses that sell tobacco products, which means that if you have a bar of restaurant you have to get a separate license to sell tobacco products. "Also we have these little corner stores especially in communities, corner stores that sell loose cigarettes. "Were going to strictly enforce the age limit for people who can purchase tobacco products from this legislation. Malcom noted that strict measures will be implemented to ensure businesses comply with the new legislation. Worldwide, tobacco use is the single greatest cause of preventable death, killing a total of five million people each year including an estimated 5,600 in the Caribbean region. Tobacco use is therefore a source of tremendous concern and as such the World Health Organisation has declared that the tobacco epidemic is one of the biggest public health threats the world has ever faced. Tobacco use affects all human organs and is responsible for the development of several chronic non-communicable diseases. Although data on the burden of chronic non-communicable disease in the Turks and Caicos Islands has been limited, it is clear that chronic non-communicable diseases are the leading cause of premature death in the Latin America and Caribbean. In this region tobacco accounts for half of all deaths in people less than 70-years-old and two thirds of all deaths in general. The Turks and Caicos Islands national policy for 100 percent smoke free environments is guided by the World Health Organisation Framework Convention on Tobacco Control which was signed on June 16, 2003, and ratified on December 16, 2004, by the United Kingdom. Indian mother in Hyderabad has given birth to a male baby weighing 6 kg. The woman named Shabana Begum gave birth to his child at Niloufer Hospital in a very rare incident. Doctors were shocked to see the weight of the baby which nearly twice of the recommended weight (2.5-3 kg and four kg for diabetic women). Diabetic women in general give birth to heavier young ones. Although, doctors knew that Shabana is diabetic and will give birth to a heavier child but what happened on Saturday, completely took the doctors by surprise. If diabetes is not controlled, blood glucose levels rise. This gets supplied to foetus which means more glucose will be available for foetus to grow. This is one of the main reason why diabetic women give birth to huge babies, said Dr Malchuru Satyavathi, assistant professor, Obstetrics and Gynecology department, Niloufer Hospital. Doctors performed medical examinations two days before the birth and were expecting a baby weighing around 5 kg. However, doctors weighed the baby after the birth in a manual weighing machine and found it to be 6 kg. We expected the baby to be around 5 kg, but he turned out to be 6 kg. Expecting heavy bleeding during the surgery, we took all precautions and the surgery was performed sans any complications, she said. Shabana reported doctors about breathing problems and constipation during pregnancy. Doctors told that it is all due to heavy weight of the baby. Doctors performed Caesarean surgery to take out the baby from Shabanas womb. Moreover, experts told that it is a very rare incident where a baby of 6 kg is born. If mother is diabetic then there are very high chances for the new born to develop the disease, however, it can be prevented with proper care and precautions. hidden The EU's ruling that Apple Inc must pay a huge tax bill to Ireland was clearly based on facts and existing rules and was not a decision aimed against the United States, European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker said on Sunday. Last week, European Union antitrust regulators ordered Apple to pay up to 13 billion euros ($14.5 billion) in taxes to the Irish government after ruling that a special scheme to route profits through Ireland was illegal state aid. Apple's Chief Executive Tim Cook last week described the ruling as "total political crap", but France and Germany have come out to back Brussels on the decision. Juncker said that the EU Commission investigations on taxation have mainly targeted Euroopean companies. This comes right after Ireland's cabinet agreed on Friday to join Apple in appealing against a multi-billion-euro back tax demand that the European Commission has imposed on the company, despite misgivings among independents who back the fragile coalition. With transatlantic tensions rising, the White House said President Barack Obama would raise the issue of tax avoidance by some multinational corporations at a summit of the G20 leading economies in China this weekend. Reuters tech2 News Staff Drones are racing through central Paris but they're not hunting for terrorists, they've just been brought out for fun. The city is hosting its first Drone Festival on Sunday, including an international race along the Champs-Elysees. Drones of varying shapes and sizes are zipping along the avenue, lined with trees and luxury stores, in a circuit that stops just shy of the Arc de Triomphe. While drones are increasingly used by French security services, civilians are forbidden from flying them over Paris without special permission. Paris City Hall authorized them for Sunday's event, aimed at introducing the public to France's civilian drone industry. France saw a spate of mysterious drone flyovers last year over sensitive sites that worried the authorities. Despite the fact that civilians are banned from flying drones, France has the world's largest commercial drone market, selling over 300,000 drones in 2015. The turnover was around $442 million, with $88 million going to the professional drone sector. The festival as held to help people understand that drones aren't toys, but that that they can be useful if employed responsibly. It also marks the announcement of two permanent drone sites, at the Bois de Boulogne park and the Parc de la Villette, for amateur pilots to practice their skills. These areas will only be open to amateurs on Sundays, however. With inputs from AP hidden Data centre operator Global Switch, owned by Britain's billionaire Reuben brothers, said on Sunday its parent company was in talks with a consortium of Asian investors about a potential sale of a stake in the business. The Sunday Times reported the brothers were in advanced talks for a 5 billion pound ($6.7 billion) deal to sell half of the company to a consortium led by Chinese firm Daily Tech and which includes a private financial subsidiary of state-owned Aviation Industry Corporation of China. The newspaper said senior British politicians, including former foreign secretary Malcolm Rifkind, had raised concerns about security risks if the sale went ahead. Global Switch develops and operates data centres in Europe and Asia. The centres house IT servers for clients including government organisations, financial institutions and telecoms firms. Global Switch said in a statement its parent company, Aldersgate Investments Limited, was in talks with "a consortium of high quality private sector Asian investors about a potential investment". "If the investment is concluded by the consortium, there will be no change to the management or strategic direction of Global Switch. Aldersgate Investments Limited and the consortium will exercise joint control of Global Switch," the company said. On Sunday, British Prime Minister Theresa May said she wanted her security advisers to help review a delayed nuclear power investment from China. Global Switch said there were no security issues relating to its possible transaction. "This is a potential financial investment into a real estate company. The investors will have no involvement in the operations or management of the company," it said. "Global Switch has no access to customer data whatsoever and only provides space, power, cooling and physical security. Global Switch provides no IT services for its customers." Reuters tech2 News Staff Google is marking the celebration of Teacher's Day in India with a Google doodle on its homepage. The doodle shows a bigger pencil walking in the front with a book in hand while looking back on the smaller pencils. The larger pencil at the front is signified as the teacher who is guiding and teaching the smaller pencils (students) following it in the behind. The smaller pencil at the end is running to keep up with the rest of the class. Teacher's Day is celebrated in various countries all over the world, but the dates for the day differ from country to country. In India, the day is celebrated on September 5, the birth date of Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan, the first Vice President of India and second President of India. He was know one of the most distinguished scholars of the country in philosophy. It was his wish not to celebrate his birthday, but instead, celebrate the day as Teacher's Day to show respect to all the teachers in the country. Educational institutions all across the country celebrate teachers day with students expressing their gratitude for the services provided by their mentors and educators. This doodle unlike other doodles by Google has reached very less number of countries regarding reach, online. hidden Indonesia has asked the chairman of China's Alibaba Group Holding Ltd, Jack Ma, to act as adviser in the development of the Southeast Asian country's nascent e-commerce industry, according to a video released by the government. Indonesia has the world's fourth-largest population, boasting a young, internet-savvy demographic, and a thriving e-commerce market that is increasingly attracting global investors. Earlier this year, Alibaba bought a controlling stake in Southeast Asian online retailer Lazada Group for around $1 billion, while a group of investors led by private equity firms KKR & Co LP and Warburg Pincus LLC poured more than $550 million into Indonesian ride-hailing start-up Go-Jek. To promote growth in the e-commerce industry, the government is setting up a "steering committee" consisting of 10 ministers for which it has asked Alibaba's Ma to be an adviser, Communication and Information Minister Rudiantara said. "The thinking behind this is to make Indonesia's positioning in the international marketplace more prominent," Rudiantara said in a video released by the state secretariat. The minister, like many Indonesians, only uses one name. Rudiantara is part of President Joko Widodo's delegation attending the G20 summit in the Chinese city of Hangzhou. An Alibaba spokeswoman confirmed that Ma was asked to be adviser to Indonesia's e-commerce steering committee, but declined to say whether he had accepted the offer. Reuters hidden Israeli satellite operator Space Communications said on Sunday it was working on an amended deal to be acquired by Beijing Xinwei Technology Group after a Spacecom communications satellite was destroyed last week. Xinwei last month agreed to buy Spacecom for $285 million, saying the deal was contingent on the successful launch of Spacecom's Amos-6 satellite - which was due to take place on Saturday. But an explosion destroyed a Falcon 9 rocket belonging to Elon Musk's SpaceX as well as Amos-6 during preparations for a routine test firing at Cape Canaveral in Florida last Thursday. Spacecom said the loss would have a significant impact on the company, with its equity expected to decline by $30 million to $123 million. Its shares lost 9 percent on Thursday, with the explosion occurring late in the trading day. They were suspended on Sunday morning and when they resumed trade lost another 34 percent. Prior to Sunday's decline, Spacecom had a market value of 806 million shekels. Spacecom "updated the acquirer (Xinwei) about the loss of the satellite and is examining, along with the buyer, the possibility to amend the agreement and adjust to the new situation," it said on Sunday. In a conference call, Spacecom's general counsel Gil Lotan said it was still too early to provide any forecast regarding the prospect of the merger. "We hope to continue fruitful communications with the prospective buyer," he said. The Amos-6 satellite was going to be used by a number of key clients, including Facebook to expand internet access in Africa. Bezeq Israel Telecom, Israel's largest telecoms provider, said its digital satellite TV provider unit YES could be impacted by the loss of Amos-6. It said it had been using the older Amos-2 and Amos-3 satellites and that should a replacement not be found, it may have to remove some channels. Spacecom said it was entitled to a full refund for Amos-6 from Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI), the satellite's manufacturer, as well as interest of LIBOR plus 4 percent. It will also receive $50 million in compensation from SpaceX, or it can choose to use SpaceX for a future launch at no extra cost. Spacecom will also get back money it paid to insure the Amos-6 satellite in orbit. It added that once it receives its compensation, it will be able to pay off bondholders $232 million they are owed. Reuters tech2 News Staff A lot has already been said and written about Xiaomi's Mi Note 2, and if the latest leak is to be believed than the device finally gets a launch date. Now, the screenshot below from a Weibo user, spotted by AndroidPure claims that the device is all set to be launched on 14 September, which is no later than next week. Along with the launch date, the leak also gives a sneak peek into some of the device's specifications, such as the presence of a Qualcomm Snapdragon 821 chipset, 5.7-inch display, 13MP dual camera, etc. It also shows a price that reads 2,999 yuan, which translates to approximately Rs 29,800. However, that's not the only leak about the release. Another leak, of what looks like an official promo, shows 9.24 at the lower end of the page. It is speculated to be the date 24 September for the launch of the device. This could also mean that that the company plans to announce the device on 14 September and release it for users on 24 September. In either case, the device could launch this month. According to previously leaked information the upcoming Mi Note 2 is likely to come in at least three variants, with at least one standard version featuring a 1080p display and one high-end version with a 2K curved display, in two storage configurations of 64GB or 128GB. Previous rumours have also been hinting at specs such as a 12MP dual rear camera, 6GB RAM, and 4,000 mAh battery. The lower-priced variant is expected to have 4GB RAM and a 16MP camera. hidden By Shefaly Yogendra I want to be a founder. Alarm bells start ringing when I hear these words from the mouth of a person with no more definitive an idea than being a founder. It is now a word with social currency, with swagger. It is a job title that winks and says I will raise a lot of VC money, sell to Facebook, and be so rich, you will want to be my slaves, bitches!. In practice, however, it is the one word explanation of why a person can no longer make it to your regular Friday bacchanalia, or organise your pre-wedding do, or even be on time for her own parents milestone anniversary party. It is the word that can strike fear in the hearts of middle-class parents, who scraped and saved to send their progeny to the best schools in the country, even the world, and who now do not know how to answer when their friends ask, So what does your daughter do? because heck, damned if they know what with the world buzzing with apps, SaaS, AI, ML, drones, robotics and such words as they never heard in the Bible. With all the gentleness I can muster, I ask, A founder of what? Then, sometimes, magic unfolds. I hear the person describe a dream, where she tells a moving story of a childhood memory or an experience as a young adult newly launched into the world. The story sometimes describes a challenge that may or may not have affected them personally in a material sense, but did affect them at a deep, emotional level and strengthened the resolve that soon as they can, they will work on solving it. She goes further into details of how, over the years, she has thought about the issue, read up a lot of things that helped her understand the source of the problem and why nobody had tried to resolve it effectively, and formulated some possible ideas of how she would go about it. And that all those years, and that pain has brought her to the point where she says: I want to be a founder. I must confess though, that this rarely happens. What does happen is some version of I want to be the Uber of this, the AirBnB of that, the Facebook of something. In other words, the wannabe founder wants to copy an existing and visibly successful business model and apply it to some obscure problem. Deeper questioning reveals some to have thought deeply about it, but most have not. The rumoured ease of raising VC money seems to have created a monster of an ambition but nary a dream. With a firm idea of the exact business model, albeit untested in their target market, some are very certain, impervious to advice and often resistant to questions. Yet others have even sometimes irresponsibly been advised by others to create a business that a specific large operator in their industry will be certain to buy for a lot of money. Greed as a business model has not created many successes in the startup world as we know it. Some however have a dream, a vision. Many have an open mind but may or may not understand what a business model is. Some even realise the difficulties of copying a blazingly successful business model and the many ways it could fail in India. A few have a rough idea of what they want to do, and have tested whether anyone will pay for their planned product or service. A smaller number have spoken with a lot of people including successful entrepreneurs from the pre-VC world when losing the shirt off your back and the soles off your shoes were two essential ingredients of success. And a small number have done all of that, identified that they need a lot of help and advice, and have started to identify seed money, whether from parents or friends, or even their own saved-up rainy day fund. These are exhilarating conversations. There is emotion, but there is also the acceptance that a dream is only as big as the work you put into realising it. There is confidence in the self, but also the humility to know the gaps in ones knowledge and experience. There is belief in the idea but also finite understanding of the fact that it may need to be tweaked, adopted, changed wholesale pivoted as startup speak goes for success. This is where the engagement begins for an advisor. It promises to be a tough but fun ride for both the founder and the advisor. Absent all this though, founder, the verb, is exactly what a wannabe founder will do. Which description of a wannabe founder describes you? The author is a decision-making specialist, and advises founders and CEOs on technology, risk, branding and talent. She can be found on Twitter: @Shefaly. Obama, Putin tell diplomats to keep working on Syria ceasefire Russian President Vladimir Putin, left, listens to US President Barack Obama in Hangzhou in eastern China\'s Zhejiang province on Monday. AP, Hangzhou : President Barack Obama and Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday failed to force a breakthrough in negotiations over a cease-fire for Syria, but agreed to keep looking for a path to provide humanitarian relief to thousands of besieged civilians in the civil war-ravaged country. After a 90-minute huddle on the sidelines of an economic summit, the two leaders directed their top diplomats to return to talks quickly, likely later this week, according to a senior administration official who briefed reporters on the meeting. The official would not be named discussing the private discussion, which also covered U.S. concerns over cybersecurity and the situation in Ukraine. The official said the U.S. was eager to find an agreement quickly, mindful of the deteriorating conditions around the besieged city of Aleppo. But U.S. was wary of enter a deal that would not be effective. The two leaders used the talk to clarify sticking points, the official said. The conversation came hours after U.S. and Russian negotiators acknowledged that a recent round of intense talk had come up short. Secretary of State John Kerry and Russian foreign minister Sergey Lavrov have for weeks been trying to broker a deal that would curb the violence between the Russian-ally Syrian President Bashar Assad's government forces and moderate rebels backed by the U.S. The deal depends on the two sides agreeing to closer militarily coordination against extremist groups operating in Syria, something the Russians have long sought and the U.S. resisted. Obama has expressed skepticism that Russia would hold to its agreement. The State Department has said it wants nationwide cease-fire between Assad's military and the rebels, rather than another limited "cessation of hostilities" that has repeated failed in the past. Obama's meeting with Putin comes as the Russia leader is playing a prominent role in the presidential campaign at home. U.S. officials blame Russian intelligence for a hack on the Democratic National Committee that resulted in a leak of emails damaging to its presidential nominee Hillary Clinton. Putin has denied his government was involved, but cheered the release of the information. The official said Obama raised concerns about cybersecurity issues with Putin, but would not detail the discussions. Obama and Putin also discussed the conflict in Ukraine, where Russian-backed separatists have been fighting the government, and the implementation of the agreement to stop the violence, the official said. Obama met earlier with French President Francois Hollande and German Chancellor Angela Merkel on the same issue. Merkel under fire after poll defeat to anti-migrant party AFP, Schwerin : German Chancellor Angela Merkel came under renewed pressure over her liberal refugee policy today after an upstart anti-migrant populist party handed her party a humiliating defeat in her home state. The xenophobic Alternative for Germany (AfD) clinched around 22 per cent in its first bid for seats in the regional parliament of Mecklenburg-Western Vorpommern, results showed after most ballots had been counted from Sunday polls. Merkel's conservative Christian Democratic Union (CDU) garnered just 19 per cent in its worst ever score in the northeastern state, while the Social Democrats maintained top place with around 30 percent. AfD's lead candidate Leif-Erik Holm called it a "proud result for a young party" as the populists secured seats on the opposition benches of the ninth out of 16 regional parliaments. "The icing on the cake is that we have left Merkel's CDU behind us... maybe that is the beginning of the end of Merkel's time as chancellor," he said. Although the former Communist state is Germany's poorest and least populous, it carries a symbolic meaning as it is home to Merkel's constituency Stralsund. Together with Berlin's elections in two weeks, Sunday's polls are a key test ahead of general elections next year, when Merkel's decision exactly one year ago to let in tens of thousands of Syrian and other migrants is expected to be a key point of contention. Although she won praise at first, the optimism has given way to fears over how Europe's biggest economy will manage to integrate the one million people who arrived last year alone. Merkel's decision has left her increasingly isolated in Europe, and exposed her to heavy criticism at home, including from her own conservative allies. The CDU's general secretary Peter Tauber said Sunday's results were "bitter", acknowledging that voters "wanted to send a signal of protest, as we had noticed in discussions about refugees". In the sprawling farming and coastal state of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, where economic regeneration and jobs used to be residents' top concerns, the issue of refugees and integration has become the deciding factor for one in two voters. Britain nears post-Brexit trade talks with Australia British Prime Minister Theresa May shakes hands with Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull during a bilateral meeting on the sidelines of G20 Summit in Hangzhou, China on Monday. AFP, Hangzhou : Britain and Australia have discussed negotiating a post-Brexit trade agreement, the two countries' leaders said Monday at the G20 summit in China, as Britain seeks to secure its economic ties before quitting the EU. "Britain's made a very momentous and historic choice to leave the European Union," Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull said as he met his new British counterpart Theresa May by Hangzhou's picturesque West Lake. "We have already been engaged in discussions with you about what the free trade agreements may look like after that." In the wake of its vote to leave the European Union, Britain must renegotiate its access to the markets of the rest of the world, as well as those of the grouping it is leaving. It is a huge task for the world's fifth-biggest economy. Australia is "determined" to provide its ally with support in negotiating new deals with other countries, Turnbull added. Britain maintains a close relationship with its resource-rich former colony, and May said she was grateful for Turnbull's offer of trade discussions. Australia would be "one of the first countries we will be looking to", she said, in what would be among the first such negotiations following the Brexit vote. Proper diagnosis of disease ease early recovery from ailment From right: President of Bangladesh Homeopathic Parishad Principal Dr. Abdul Karim , Country Director of B.Jain Pharmaceuticals of India Mr.Mukul Kumar Das and CEO of EXIMPO, Chittagong Dr. Saleh Ahmed Suleman seen addressing the seminar on Indian Homeo m Chittagong Bureau : A seminar on marketing of a noted Indian Homeo Pharmaceutical company was held at Hotel Paramount International auditorium in city on Sunday afternoon with President of Bangladesh Homeopathic Parishad central President Principal Dr.Abdul Karim in the chair. Indian Homeo pharmaceutical- B.Jain Pharmaceuticals and the EXIMPO Chittagong - Marketting distributor in Bangladesh jointly organised the seminar . Homeo physicians of Chittagong irrespective of status participated the seminar.The subject of the seminar was 'Importance of Technology in Successful Homeopathy Practice' . Country director of B .Jain Pharmaceuticals in Bangladesh Mr. Mukul Kumar Das presented keynote paper in the seminar. Chittagong Divisional representative of Bangladesh Homeopathic Board and chief of EXIMPO Dr. Saleh Ahmed Suleman delivered address of welcome in the seminar. Among others, Principal of Zakir Hossain City Corporation Homeopathic Medical college & Hospital Dr. Md. Nurul Amin, Acting Principal of Azizur Rahman Homeopathic Medical College Dr.Ferdousi Begum, former Principal of Chittagong Homeopathic medical college Principal Dulal Kanti chowdhury, Chittagong district president of BHMA Advocate Md. Samiuddin, General secretary Dr. Shamsuddin, Chittagong district President of BAHOP Dr.SM Saleh Jahangir , Prof. Dr. Himangshu Nath, Director of EXIMPO Shahid H Khan, President of Chittagong Homeopathic Medicine Welfare society Dr.Ratan chakbratory , Dr. Tapan Bhowmik, General Secretary of Bangladesh Homeopthic welfare Parishad Prof. Dr. Abul Kalam Azad , Chittagong Unit President of World Federation of Homeopathy Prof. Dr. Shariful Kabir, noted physician Dr. Sudakar Barua, Dr. Abu Bakar siddiqui, Dr. AKM Rafiqul Islam, and Dr. Sukaylan Das spoke on the occasion as honourable guests. More than hundred homeo physicians from Chittagong also attended the seminar. The speakers in the s eminar said patient's early recovery from ailment depends on proper diagnosis of disease and applications of appropriate medicines with required potency and doses . They said the qualitative standard and purity of medicines of B.Jain Phamaceuticals have wide reputations across the world. The seminar urges the physicians to apply the B.Jain Pharma's medicines to patients . Country Director of B.Jain Pharma Mr. Mukul Kumar Das presented the keynote paper on the subject of the seminar and elaborately discussed the advantages of their products and urged upon the homeo physicians to apply the medicines of B.Jain in every chronic and acute diseases. Chair of the seminar and Chief Editor of Homeo Chetona Publication Principal Dr.Abdul Karim delivered concluding speech of the seminar , a sources of EXIMPO said. Japan keen to provide technical assistance for BD's land reform The Japanese government expressed its interest to provide technical assistance for developing a comprehensive land management system in Bangladesh. Parliamentary Vice-Minister, Ministry of Land, Infrastructure & Tourism (MLIT) of Japan Yasutada Ohno expressed the keenness when Land Minister Shamsur Rahman Sherif called on him during his 11-day official visit to Tokyo starting from August 25, according to a PID handout on Monday. During the meeting with Yasutada Ohno, the Minister discussed how Japan can assist Bangladesh in land reform including review of relevant laws, development and digitization of land records and registration. In his meeting with JICA Vice President Hidetoshi Irigaki, Sherif requested JICA to support the next phase of the Gucchagram Project (cluster villages) to provide shelter to the homeless population in Bangladesh. He also requested the JICA official to send expert to his Ministry to assist in a needs assessment of the land sector and assist in developing a comprehensive strategy on land planning, management and development. The JICA Vice President said and they would carefully examine those proposals. Australia beat Sri Lanka by 5 wickets, win ODI series 4-1 The Australia players celebrate their series win against Sri Lanka in 5th ODI at Pallekele on Sunday. AP, Pallekele : Captain David Warner became the first Australian to hit a one-day international century in Sri Lanka as he led his team to a five-wicket victory Sunday - with 42 balls remaining - and a 4-1 win in the series. Sri Lanka opted to bat after winning the toss and was bowled out for 195 in 40.2 overs. Australia was at 25-2 in its chase but Warner held the innings together, sharing 132 runs for the third wicket with George Bailey, who made 44. Australia reached 199-5 at the end of the 43rd over with a boundary from John Hastings. "Good to get a milestone but the credit goes to our bowlers," Warner said. "It was always going to be a challenge coming here and facing that new ball ... (Bailey) has been a rock in the middle allowing us to bat around him." Bailey was named player of the series with 270 runs in five matches with an average of 67.5. Sri Lankan bowlers started aggressively, and spinner Dilruwan Perera struck in the fourth over, having Matthew Wade (3) caught behind with the total on 11. Usman Khawaja (6) failed again when he tried to play Dilruwan Perera against the turn and skied the ball for a catch to Danushka Gunathilaka. But Warner and Bailey weathered the difficult period, taking time to adjust to the pitch before opening up to score runs. Their partnership took 161 deliveries before Bailey was out in the 33rd over, trapped lbw by Dilruwan Perera. Warner's 106 off 126 balls was a return to form for the captain - after just 38 runs in the last four games. He was caught and bowled by off spinner Dhananjaya de Silva.Dilruwan Perera returned 3-51. Sri Lanka stand-in captain Dinesh Chandimal blamed poor batting for the defeat. "We are really disappointed with the batting unit throughout the series," Chandimal said. "With experienced guys we have good youngsters, but they have to learn if they get a start they have to bat longer. It makes it easier for others." Earlier, Australian fast bowler Mitchell Starc took 3-40 while spinners Travis Head and Adam Zampa took two wickets each to help Australia dismiss Sri Lanka with more than nine overs remaining. GAFARGAON(Mymensingh): A meeting was held at Abdur Rahman Degree College premises at Gafargaon protesting militancy and terrorism on Saturday. 4 female JMB suicide squad members held Police in a drive arrested four suspected female members of banned militant outfit JMB\'s \'suicide squad\' from Kazipur Upazila in Sirajganj on Monday. Staff Reporter : Police in a drive arrested four female members of 'suicide squad' in Kazipur Upazila of Sirajganj district on Sunday night. The arrested persons are: Phulera Begum, 45, her two daughters Shakila Khatun, 18, Salma Khatun, 16, and a neighbour Razia Khatun, 35, police said. Mohammad Wahiduzzaman, Officer-in-Charge (OC) of Detective Branch of Police in the district, said, "A team of detectives conducted a drive at Baraitala area following information at around 2:30am and arrested them with some 'Jihadi books' and a computer." They were prepared for conducting operation after receiving instruction from the high command, the police official said. "We are trying to be sure the link with the JMB," the OC said. The arrested persons were being interrogated at the office of the Superintendent of Police (SP) of the district, the OC said. A case was filed in this connection, he said. Writ filed against holding posts of 2 ministers Staff Reporter : Supreme Court lawyer Advocate Younus Ali Akanda on Monday filed a writ petition challenging the legality of holding posts of Food Minister Quamrul Islam and Liberation War Affairs Minister AKM Mozammel Haque as they have violated their oath. Advocate Akanda filed the petition with the High Court seeking directives to explain under what authority the two Ministers have been holding the posts of Minister as they violated their oath. He submitted the petition saying that the SC in a judgment observed that the two ministers have violated their roles at their offices by questioning the authority of the judiciary. According to the Public Servants (dismissal on conviction) Ordinance-1985, if the government servants are fined with Tk 1,000 or more he or she will be dismissed from the services, said Advocate Akanda. The SC fined the two Ministers Tk 50,000 each for committing Contempt of Court and therefore they cannot hold the office of the Ministers. In default, they have to serve seven days in jail. "Hearing on the petition might be held at a bench of Justice Moinul Islam Chowdhury on Tuesday," said the petitioner. Earlier on September 1, the SC published it full text of the verdict convicting the two Ministers in Contempt of Court. The judgment said, "They have acted in violation of law and are in breach of their oath of office to preserve, protect and defend the Constitution." According to the Constitutional provision, by taking oath, a Minister enters his office to preserve, protect and defend the Constitution. On Saturday, Advocate Akanda sent two separate legal notices to Food Minister Quamrul Islam and Liberation War Affairs Minister AKM Mozammel Haque seeking their explanations in 24 hours in this regard. Obaidul confesses Risha killing Court Correspondent : Obaidul Khan, arrested in connection with the murder of Willes Little Flower School and College student Suraiya Akhter Risha, on Monday made confession to a Dhaka court admitting his involvement in the killing. The Chief Metropolitan Magistrate (CMM) Court Magistrate Ahsan Habib on Monday recorded the confessional statement made Under Section 164 of the Criminal Procedure Code. The accused made the confessional statement on the 4th day of his six-day remand. On September 1, the CMM Court put Obaid on a six-day remand to quiz him in connection with the killing of Risha, a Class VIII student. On August 31, he was arrested from Domar upazila of his home district Nilphamari. Risha, 14, died at Dhaka Medical College Hospital on August 28, three days after she was fatally stabbed by tailoring shop employee Obaidul Khan on the foot over-bridge in front of her educational institution in Kakrail area. She achieved GPA-5 in her primary terminal examination in Class V and was preparing for the same result in the Junior School Certificate Examination this year. JnU to get complete campus: Nahid M M Jasim : The government has taken various initiatives for the Jagannath University (JnU) with a view to making it as "complete university" and resolving the on going movement of the students. "We have decided to build a campus for the JnU to make it as complete university in the outskirts of the capital at Keraniganj as there is no adequate space to run all the academic activities properly on the existing campus in Old Dhaka," said Education Minister Nurul Islam Nahid. The minister said this at a press conference to clear the government's stance following the Cabinet decision about the JnU at its meeting held at the Secretariat on Monday. The decision came amid ongoing protests for almost a month by the students of the university demanding residential halls. "The JnU is now facing various problems, including residential facilities for the students, teachers and officials, modern laboratory, standard library, research centre and good auditorium. It cannot be a complete university without these modern amenities," the minister said. "The Education Ministry has already bought 25-bigha land in Keraniganj to build a 10-storey building as a residential hall for students. It has the plan to buy more lands where academic buildings, more students' residential halls, teachers' quarters, residential facilities for the officials and employees, and other necessary establishments with modern amenities will be ensured," Nahid said. He said that the ministry already discussed the matter with the vice-chancellor, teachers and students' representatives. "The vice-chancellor, teachers and students' representatives agreed with us to buy more lands for the JnU at Keraniganj. I have been continuing discussion with the vice-chancellor time to time," he said. Asking about the existing campus of the university located at Old Dhaka's Chittaranjan Avenue, the minister said both the campuses would be used for academic purpose. The university authorities will decide how they use the existing campus and for what purpose, he said. "We will acquire more land if needed. Our government will do whatever is necessary to establish a modern university there," Nahid said. He said, "We are yet to take any plan to decorate the campus at Keraniganj. The ministry will take a master plan to run the work smoothly. But no time to delay, the work will start soon." The minister hoped that every ministry would help the Education Ministry in this regard. With the help of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina we will be able to resolve all the problems of the JnU, he said. He assured that good academic ambience would be prevailed on the new campus. It may be mentioned that the Jagannath College became university in 2005. The students began their demonstration for the fourth time on August 2 this year for halls on the land where the Dhaka Central Jail was situated on Nazimuddin Road in Old Dhaka. On August 17, the students staged a sit-in in front of the Jatiya Press Club after their attempts to lay siege to the Education Ministry was foiled by police. The students demonstrated in 2014. No classes and examinations were held that time. The teachers also expressed solidarity with the students' demand. The students also demonstrated on April 19, 2013 demanding recovery of nine dormitories occupied by land grabbers. The students of the university have started their movement for halls from the begging of the university. The movement geared up in 2009, but failed for the attack of the activists of Bangladesh Chhatra League, JnU unit. Ferry service disrupted Hundreds of vehicles remained stuck on both sides of the river Padma due to disruption of ferry service on Paturia and Daulatdia route causing sufferings to the passengers on Monday. This photo was taken from Paturia in Manikganj. Staff Reporter : The ferry services on Paturia-Daulatdia route came to a halt on Monday, as the tidal surge of Padma River washed away three terminals out of four on the route. Hundreds of passengers vehicles and goods laden trucks got stuck on both sides of the route following halt in ferry services, sources said. The disruption also put the country's south western 21 districts disconnected from Dhaka "We took the decision on Monday morning as tidal surge washed away three terminals out of four of the ferry ghat," Md Shafiqul Islam, Manager (commerce) of Daulatdia Terminal told The New Nation yesterday. He said: "Vehicular movement to ferry via one of the four terminals remained active, but it may also stop anytime. "We are trying repair the ferry terminals but we can't fight against the strong tide in the mighty Padma," Md Shah Alam Deputy Assistant Engineer of Bangladesh Inland Water Transport Authority (BIWTA) told The New Nation. Earlier, authorities had halt vehicle shifting via No. one and three terminals for last one month as strong tide washed away the terminals. `Real BNP` men beaten up by BNP activists Staff Reporter : The so-called 'real BNP' men were beaten up by the BNP activists in city's Nayapaltan area on Monday afternoon. The incident took place at 2:45pm. Witnesses said, the real BNP men started a procession after 2:00pm chanting slogans in the name of their leader Kamrul Hasan Nasim in front of Palwel Super Market. When they reached near the Jonaki Cinema Hall the BNP workers and activists attacked the procession and beat the participants with sticks. As a result, some of the real BNP men were injured in the incident. Sources said, after getting information that the so-called 'real BNP men' are taking preparation to stage a procession, the party workers and activists gathered in front of the Nayapaltan office with sticks. After foiling their procession the BNP men staged demonstration in front their party office. However, their leader Kamrul Hasan Nasim was not present in the procession. One of his followers, injured in the incident, said that he was taken to Dhaka from Jessore to join the procession. BNP wants resignation of two ministers Staff Reporter : BNP on Monday demanded immediate resignation of Food Minister Qamrul Islam and Liberation War Affairs Minister AKM Mozammel Huq who have been convicted of contempt of court. "The two ministers should quit voluntarily from the cabinet and parliament without delay for maintaining the dignity and image of the Supreme Court," said BNP standing committee member Moudud Ahmed at a press briefing at the party's Nayapaltan central office. He also demanded cancellation of all the orders signed by the two ministers after the pronouncement of the Supreme Court verdict on March 27. "If it's not done, it'll have a far-reaching negative impact on the democratic system," he added. Moudud further said it is not only a matter of law but a matter of ethics and their resignation will boost their image in society. On March 27, the Supreme Court fined ministers Qamrul Islam and AKM Mozammel Huq Tk 50,000 each for their controversial comments about Chief Justice SK Sinha in connection with the war crimes case against Jamaat-e-Islami leader Mir Quasem Ali. On 14 March, ministers Qamrul Islam and Mozammel Huq offered unconditional apology to the court for their remarks. The Supreme Court on March 8 summoned the duo to appear before it on March 15 for their reactions to the remarks of Chief Justice SK Sinha about the prosecution as regards the trial of Mir Quasem Ali in a war crimes case. Qamrul and Mozammel had demanded resignation of the Chief Justice for his reported remarks that 'the prosecution is doing politics with the trial of condemned war criminal Mir Quasem Ali'. They made the demand at a roundtable discussion organised by Ekattorer Ghatak Dalal Nirmul Committee in the city on March 5. Moudud said they are seeking resignation of the two ministers as the government still did not make any statement on the issues even after the Supreme Court's Appellate division released its full verdict. "The emerging situation has created a serious national and constitutional crisis." He said the moral degradation of the two ministers has clearly manifested as they are still holding their offices. "It's a question of their moral state alongside the legal aspects. "I think they should quit right away showing respect for law." Moudud, a former law minister, said according to Section 3 (1) of the Public Servants (Dismissal on Conviction) Ordinance, 1985, a public servant cannot remain in his/her post after being fined over Tk 10,000 by court for criminal offence. He said the ministers are also public servants and they have been punished with a monetary fine of Tk 50,000 each. Giving some relevant instances, the BNP leader said Pakistani Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani, India's Maharashtra Transport Minister Swarup Singh Naik and Kerala Minister R Balakrishna Pillai resigned after they were found guilty of contempt of court. "The rule of law will be impeded and the judiciary's image will be tarnished if the Cabinet is functioned with the convicted ministers," he observed. Replying to a question whether there is any scope to take action if the two ministers do not quit willingly, Moudud said, "We'll wait to see what the Supreme Court does in this regard." He also criticised the government for what he said foiling a schedule programme of Jatiyatabadi Chhatra Dal at the Institution of Engineers, Bangladesh yesterday. "We strongly condemned it. The incident has once again exposed that the country lacks democracy and politics." Plan to increase power generation using coal Anisul Islam Noor : The government has finalized a plan of increasing electricity generation using coal from own sources. As part of this plan, the second coal fired power plant using locally produced coal is scheduled to be set up near Dighirpara coal field in Dinajpur, State Minister for power, Energy and Mineral Resources Nasrul Hamid told The New Nation on Monday. The government gave positive nod to a proposal of Chinese state-run POWERCHINA Resources Ltd to set up a 660MW power plant that would be run on coal from the Dighipara coal mine filed, he said. Power Development Board (PDB) would sign a non-binding memorandum of understanding with the Chinese company to form the joint venture, Nasrul Hamid said. Earlier, PDB examined the organisational capability and the proposal of POWERCHINA and sent the proposal for ministerial approval to form the joint venture to set up the coal-fired power plant using Ultra Supercritical technology, said officials. The proposed power plant will require 1.55 million tonnes of coal a year, according to the proposal. Dighipara will be the second mine to be developed for coal extraction after the Barapukuria mine. In 2005 Barapukuria coal mine was developed some 20 years after its discovery. In 1995 Geological Survey of Bangladesh discovered Dighipara coal deposit with an estimated reserve of 600 million tonnes of coal. The first layer of the coal deposit was found at 327 metres depth, officials said, which made it suitable for underground mining. Till now, Barapukuria Thermal Power Station is the lone coal-fired power generation facility in the country. PDB runs the two-unit power station with a combined generation capacity of 250MW and is also setting up another power unit with 275MW capacity at the power station. The power plant gets coal from Barapukuria deposit. State-run Barapukuria Coal Mine Company Limited engages a third party to extract coal from the mine through underground mining. The company has also been given the task to develop Dighipara coal mine. BCMCL has already initiated a move to carry out a complete geological and geo-technical study to determine the technical and economic feasibility of the coalmine. They plan to complete the studies in 30 months beginning from January 2017. There are three other large coal deposits in the North Bengal area at Jamalganj in Joypurhat with an estimated reserve of 1,054 million tonnes of coal at 900-1000 metres depth, Khalashpir in Rangpur with an estimated reserve of 523 million tonnes of coal at 257-483 metres depth and Phulbari in Dinajpur with an estimated reserve of 572 million tonnes of coal at 150-240 metres depth. Dhaka protests Ankara`s reaction In a diplomatic fallout, Dhaka on Monday strongly protested Ankara's reaction on the execution of war criminal Mir Quasem Ali. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs issued a 'note verbale' to the Turkish Embassy in Dhaka saying that the reaction of Ankara is tantamount to interference in matters pertaining to a sovereign state. "This also does not help foster bilateral relations that exist between the two brotherly countries," the protest note contains, according to a press release issued by the Foreign Ministry this afternoon. Turkish Foreign Ministry reacted sharply after the hanging of Mir Quasem Ali and issued a press release on its website on September 4. "We have learned with sorrow that the death sentence issued by the International Crimes Tribunal in Bangladesh against Mir Quasem Ali, Key-Financier and Central Executive Council Member of the Jamaat-e-Islami, has been executed in Bangladesh," according to the press release of Turkish Foreign Ministry. It added: "We stress once again that the wounds of the past cannot be healed with these methods and hope that this wrong practice will not lead to separation among the brotherly people of Bangladesh". Pakistan also showed a similar reaction after the execution of Jamaat-e-Islami Bangladesh moneyman Mir Quasem Ali. Given the genesis of the establishing of the International Crimes Tribunals (ICT-BD), it was expressed that through these trials against the perpetrators of war crimes and crimes against humanity committed in 1971, the long cherished aspiration of the nation will be fulfilled, justice ensured, rule of law upheld and opportunities for true reconciliation will be created, according to the note of Bangladesh Foreign Ministry. The note verbale elaborated the crimes perpetrated by Mir Quasem Ali, one of the central commanders of the infamous Al-Badr militia force in 1971, who was involved in the commission of offences of war crimes and crimes against humanity, including planning, instigating and executing genocide, murder, abduction and torture in Chittagong during the Liberation War of Bangladesh in 1971. The verdicts against him had been handed down through an independent, fair and transparent judicial process, with full access given to national and international media and without any political interference, said the Foreign Ministry press release. It also said the prosecution produced irrefutable oral and documentary evidence proving charges against Mir Quasem beyond reasonable doubts. The defence lawyers of Ali had been given unimpeded access to the proceedings of the court throughout the trial process. The ICT-BD trials took solely into consideration the crimes committed by Ali during 1971 and was not at all based on his political identity or affiliation. "We lodged strong protest against the statements of Turkey and Pakistan," State Minister for Foreign Affairs Shahriar Alam told The New Nation on Monday. He added: It is a matter of great regret that Turkey and Pakistan continues to comment in the misguided defence of the convicted criminals. These reactions are direct interference in the internal affairs of a sovereign country, which is totally unacceptable. Earlier, Turkey strongly condemned the execution of top Jamaat leader Motiur Rahman Nizami and reacted angrily when Bangladesh executed its first convicted war criminal in December 2013. bKash employee shot dead in Tongi, Tk 10 lakh snatched Staff Reporter : A bKsah employee was shot dead in a broad-day light on Monday by some unidentified snatchers in Sataish area of Tongi. The deceased has been identified as Sheikh Abdul Hamid, 50, an employee of bKash in the area. He came from Rampal upazila of Bagerhat district. The snatchers took away Tk 10 lakh from Abdul Hamid by shooting him while they were barred to hijack the money, police said. Firoj Talukder, Officer-in-Charge (OC) of Tongi Police Station, said, "Three snatchers riding on a motorcycle, intercepted Abdul Hamid, while he was returning to his local office by a motorbike after collecting around Tk 10 lakh in Sataish area around 3:00pm. They also shot him dead as he tried to resist them." Locals recovered Abdul Hamid in a critical condition and took him to Tongi Health Complex where the on-duty doctors declared him dead, the police official said. He was shot on his head and chest. A case was filed in this connection with the police station, the OC said. The body was sent to the Shaheed Tajuddin Ahmed Medical College and Hospital morgue for an autopsy, he said. Previous plan to be executed PM asks Nahid for JnU`s master plan Staff Reporter : The cabinet has rejected outright for using other purposes of the 17 acres of land that left vacant after the shifting of Dhaka Central Jail to Keraniganj. The Cabinet in the weekly meeting held at the Secretariat on Monday decided in principle not to use the land to establish any structure or use for other purposes with Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina in the chair. "As per previous decision, the government will establish a museum, park with walkways and a shopping complex on Nazimuddin Road as the Dhaka Central Jail has already been shifted to Keraniganj from the site," Cabinet Secretary Mohammad Shafiul Alam told journalists after the Cabinet meeting at the Secretariat yesterday. He said the place of abandoned Dhaka Central Jail has been enriched with country's tradition and history as Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman stayed there as prisoner in several times. "Besides, four national leaders were brutally assassinated inside the jail," the Cabinet Secretary said. The cell 'Dewani' where Mujibur Rahman was detained during the Pakistan regime and the other where four national leaders were killed would be kept intact and a museum would be built to protect those sites. Besides, the government wants to preserve the gallows in the jail to bear the history of the executions of the war criminals. The Bangabandhu Memorial Museum has already been established centering the cell 'Dewani' in the jail. According to meeting sources, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina wanted to know from the Education Minister Nurul Islam Nahid about the development of construction of JnU halls. In reply, the Education Minister informed the Prime Minister that as the university authorities have 25 acre lands in Keraniganj, male students' dormitories would be constructed there. "And the female students' hall will be constructed on the main campus. A 20-story administrative building is also now under construction on the campus," Nahid was quoted as saying. The Prime Minister asked the Education Minister to formulate master plan in a bid to give the JnU a full-fledged public university shape with construction of all necessary buildings, including Teachers Student Centre (TSC). "Do everything whatever you need for the JnU as per public university rules," Sheikh Hasina was quoted as saying. The cabinet also sent back the draft of the 'Brick Manufacturing and Brick Kiln Establishment (Control) (Amendment) Bill, 2016' terming it a premature proposal. Aiming to make the existing law on brick more pragmatic and time-befitting, the Ministry of Environment placed the proposal to amend the existing Brick Manufacturing and Brick Kiln Establishment (Control) Act 2013 that came into effect in 2014. The existing law, passed by Parliament in November 2013, is said to have some shortcomings such as the obligation to set up brick kilns in specific areas that are making the sector vulnerable. Besides, the Cabinet adopted an obituary reference at the death of former lawmaker from Dinajpur and a key member of the country's constitution formulation committee and Bangabandhu's close political aide M Abdur Rahim. Rahim, a key member of country's constitution framing committee and an organiser of the War of Liberation, died of old-age complications at a hospital in the capital on Sunday at the age of 90. The cabinet meeting was also apprised of the participation of the Industries Minister in the 4th Green Industry Conference under the theme: 'Green Industry for Sustainable Cities' held in South Korea on June 28-30, 2016 and the visit of the Information Minister to Singapore on May 30-31, 2016. The participation of the Railways Minister in the foundation stone-laying ceremony of Akhaura-Agartala rail link project at Agartala rail station in India on July 31, 2016, and the visit of a Bangladesh delegation, led by the Expatriates' Welfare and Overseas Employment Minister, to Jordan and Lebanon on August 5-13, 2016 was also apprised. The participation of a Bangladesh team led by the Expatriates' Welfare and Overseas Employment Minister in the 'Ministerial Consultations' and 'Senior Officials' meetings in Sri Lanka, organised by Colombo Process on August 24-25, 2016, was also apprised. Ministers and State Ministers concerned attended the meeting, while secretaries concerned were present. 15 pc income tax on pvt varsities illegal: HC Staff Reporter: The High Court Division of the Supreme Court on Monday declared two government orders that imposed 15 percent income tax on private universities as illegal. The order was issued in 2007 and 2010. The HC bench, comprising Justices Sheikh Hassan Arif and Justice Bishwadeb Chakrabarty, delivered the verdict after hearing 42 writ petitions filed by 41 private universities and a student challenging the legality of the government orders. Barrister Shakhawat Hossain, a lawyer of the petitioners said, the private universities do not need pay income tax to the government following the HC verdict. The government imposed the income tax on private in 2007. According to the case statement, the government issued the orders of imposing tax on the private universities in 2007 and 2010. The National Board of Revenue (NBR) authorities were also asked to return the taken money to the private universities. Private University students took to the streets protesting the government decision. The NBR in a statement said the universities authorities, not the students, would have to pay the VAT. If you are looking for the new Immoral Minority posts, you should know that they can be found here at our new home Please stop by to get caught up on politics, join the conversations, or simply check out the new digs. President Joe Biden has decided to ban Russian oil imports, toughening the toll on Russia's economy in retaliation for its invasion of Ukraine. The United States generally imports about 100,000 barrels a day from Russia, only about 5% of Russia's crude oil exports, according to Rystad Energy. Last year, roughly 8% of U.S. imports of oil and petroleum products came from Russia. Gas prices have been rising for weeks due to the conflict and in anticipation of potential sanctions on the Russian energy sector. The U.S. national average for a gallon of gasoline soared 45 cents a gallon in the past week and topped $4.06 on Monday, according to auto club AAA. Should the US ban Russian oil imports over Ukraine war? You voted: The sextoy market is growing quite rapidly in India right now. Although it is not a big trend, it is a hot topic on the internet as it is secretly expanding its market. In this article, we will focus on sextoy and introduce recommended sextoy for Indian beginners of sextoy by gender. India, the birthplace of the Kama Sutra, is very strict about sex. Also, premarital sex is basically not allowed. Therefore, there are many people who are sexually restricted. But what happens when you continue to be sexually restricted? Frustration may build up and you may end up taking your sexual stress out on your partner. If you are able to adopt sextoy in a timely manner, you can get rid of those problems. I want to have more exciting sex than Im having now. I want more variation in masturbation I want to get even stronger pleasure than I do on my own. If you have any of these problems, please stay with me until the end. What is sex toys for Indian? Sextoy, as the name implies, is a toy used during sex and masturbation. It is a generic term for vibrators, Egg-vibrators, Electric massagers, dildo, handcuffs and condoms. They are used to make regular sex more exciting or to make masturbation more pleasurable. Because sextoy is very stimulating, it can help you to get rid of the problems and frustrations of being in a rut of sex with your partner for a long time, or if you are unhappy with the lack of pleasure in sex with your partner. The ability to satisfy your desires with movement, texture, and size, which cannot be done by a normal human being, can help you to be satisfied with sex and, as a result, improve your relationship with your partner. It is also said to help improve sexual dysfunction (inability to get an erection or ejaculate) and difficulty in feeling during sex (insensitivity), which is attracting more attention than in the past. In recent years, the demand for sextoy has increased due to the spread of smartphones and the Internet and the increasing number of people using online shopping. Even those who are concerned about the appearance of sextoy (and find it difficult to purchase) can now easily obtain it by using mail order. In the case of online shopping, most of the stores have taken steps to ensure that the contents of the products delivered to you are not revealed, so you can purchase them without your family members knowing. Until a while ago, you had to go to the store where the adult goods were sold to buy them, so it was quite a hurdle to overcome. Also, many people may have an image that sextoy is somehow embarrassing to own. But nowadays, some of them are so stylish and cute that you cant believe they are sextoy at a glance. More and more people are using them for travel and outdoor use because they are not too bulky and are suitable for carrying around. Sextoy situation in India Before introducing the recommended sextoy for Indians, lets talk about one of the sextoy situations in India in recent years. In India, due to the high concentration of population, the following six cities have particularly high sales of sextoy in India. Mumbai Kolkata Bangalore Delhi Chennai Hyderabad These cities account for roughly 70 percent of sextoy sales in India. In the future, the percentage of sextoy use will gradually increase in other cities in India as well. If you never talk about sextoy publicly, that girl in your neighborhood might be a sextoy user too. If you are interested in sextoy, you dont have to suppress your desire for it. What are Sextoys for beginner? Among all sextoys, sextoy for beginners are vibrators, dildo, masturbators, Sex Lubricants, and condoms. Sex Lubricants and condoms, which are familiar to people who have had sex, are also a great beginners sextoy. I will explain the details of each toy later, but there are many sextoy products that are painful to use and can only be used after some anal expansion. I assume that the Indian readers of this article are people who have not had much experience with sextoy. If such people use professional sextoy suddenly, they are at risk of injury or trauma. Therefore, to introduce sextoy, you need to start with a beginners version and gradually become familiar with it. Advantages of using sextoy for Indians There are three advantages of using sextoy for Indians You can masturbate in a wide variety of ways. Can have stimulating sex Can develop new sexual zones If you try to masturbate with your own fingers or hands, it tends to be a pattern. However, with sextoy, you can easily masturbate in a variety of ways. You will definitely be fascinated by the attraction of new stimulation. Also, your daily sex life will be more exciting than ever. There are many things in sextoy that are visually stimulating and give you a strong and intense feeling of pleasure. This allows you to see your partners promiscuity in a way that you wouldnt normally see it. When you are in a relationship, sex with your partner may become a pattern, but it can also eliminate these problems. It can also lead to the development of new sexual zones (which is the training of sexual stimulation to allow you to feel orgasms). For more information on the development of new sexual zones, see the following articles [Women's Erogenous Zone]How to find and develop, 7 hidden sexual zones !![In India] In this issue, we will dissect the female erogenous zone! ..." Many of you may be like that. Men, in particular, shou... Thus, the use of sextoy can only be a good thing for the men and women of India. Sextoy for beginner men in India So, lets continue with the recommended goods for Indian sextoy beginners. For ease of understanding, we will introduce them by gender. Lets start with the men! The following five goods are recommended for novice Indian sextoy men Masturbator Cock rings Love Doll Sex Lubricants Toys for the prostate Lets check each one in detail. Masturbator The masturbator is a sextoy for men that elaborately reproduces a womans vagina, mouth, and anus, and is one of the most popular sextoy products. It is used by men to masturbate, and it is popular because it provides stronger stimulation and pleasure more easily than using hands. Most are made of good quality silicone, and their softness is something that cannot be achieved with ones own hands. They can provide stronger pleasure than a real womans vagina, so be careful not to overuse them. (You wont be able to have an orgasm in a womans vagina anymore.) Again Male masturbators are a wonderful toy. I do not need any favourite timing, bothersome bargaining. You do not have to worry too much. Revolutionize your masturbation time! ! ! Made in Japan is a wonderful kinky toy.#sextoysindia #SexToyIndia #Japanhttps://t.co/4k70QGzoTP pic.twitter.com/tRVdxTKPpa SEXToys India PR (@SextoysIndia) November 12, 2018 Some of them are disposable, while others can be washed and used over and over again, so its fun to buy a few to use depending on your mood. If you want to know more about masturbator, please click here Really pleasant male masturbation and how to do it Are you in a rut with your daily masturbation routine? I'm going to show you five ways men masturbate that you might ... [For Beginners] How to choose and use a male masturbator without fail Gentlemen.Have you ever used a masturbator? The person who sees this article is probably the one who has not experien... Cock Ring A cock ring is literally a ring-shaped sextoy that is worn on a mans penis. It maintains an erection by binding the penis with a ring of rubber and blocking blood flow. It is sometimes used as an accessory to be worn on the penis, and may be made of metal or plastic as well as rubber. In some cases, cock rings have parts or vibrators attached to them that stimulate the vagina, so they kill two birds with one stone, giving a woman pleasure while maintaining an erection. Cock rings are also sometimes used to treat erectile dysfunction. It can help with erectile dysfunction, where the penis doesnt get hard when you get an erection or doesnt last long when you try to insert it. Men who are prone to breakage or who are unsure of the hardness and size of their erections can use a cock ring to increase the size of their penis and maintain an erection for a longer period of time. Cock rings vary in price from around RS700 to over RS2000 with a vibrator function. Some of them do not fit your penis, so you should check the size of the cock ring before you buy. You should know the size of your partners or your own penis when it is erect. [Penis enlargement] What is a cock ring? Types and usage Cock rings can make your penis bigger and harder. It also makes sex with women more fulfilling and increases your sat... Love Doll Love dolls, also known as Dutchwives, are dolls with the appearance of a woman who can experience simulated sex. There are dolls that look like a woman, but they have no face and only have their breasts and lower torso cut off, and some dolls are so realistic that they can actually be mistaken for real women. Some expensive dolls can cost more than 1 million yen, and the quality of the doll is easily influenced by the price. The higher the price, the higher the quality of the doll will be, the closer it will be to the real woman, and the cheaper the doll will be, the less elaborate it will be, making it look like a real doll! Something is wrong! That is also true. You cant go wrong if you choose a balance between price and taste. There are stores that allow you to make custom-made love dolls, so you can create a girl of your choice. You can make a girl of your choice. You can start with inexpensive love dolls at first, and once you get used to it, you can try custom-made love dolls. If you want to know more about Love doll, please click here Thorough explanation of the charm of sex dolls! Have you ever heard of sex dolls that are used primarily for pseudo-sex purposes? It is a doll that is quite close to... Sex lubricants Sex lubricants are used as a substitute for lubricating fluid during sex or as a lubricant for men to use masturbator rules. It is not uncommon for women to have difficulty getting wet, depending on their physical condition, or to have difficulty getting wet due to their constitution. Forcing the penis into the vagina at such times can cause painful intercourse. There are various types of Sex Lubricants, some with a warming effect, some with a cooling effect, and some with a scent. Changing the Sex Lubricant used during play is recommended as a good sex accent. If you want to learn more about Sex Lubricants, click here. What is sex lubricant?Explain the difference and usage of each ingredient The word "sex toy" may seem like a hurdle to overcome, but lotion is actually one of the most familiar sex toys. Many... Toys for the Prostate Another sextoy for men is prostate toys. The most famous prostate toys include Enemagra, which was originally a prostate massager developed by an American urologist to treat an enlarged prostate line. Modern prostate toys are imitations of Enemagra that have spread as sextoy for men. Many people think of prostate toys as being used by gay men, but in fact they are often used by straight men. What is the prostate? The prostate is an organ found only in men. It is a walnut-sized organ located deep in the pelvis, just below the bladder, and its primary role is to protect and nourish sperm. You cannot touch the prostate gland from outside the body, but you can touch it by inserting a finger or sextoy through the anus. By inserting a finger or sextoy through the anus and touching the prostate and developing it, you can feel intense orgasms. Orgasms felt in the prostate are mainly dry orgasms, which are orgasms that do not involve ejaculation. (You can also feel orgasms with ejaculation through prostate stimulation.) The prostate is called the male G-spot, and dry orgasms can be much more intense than ejaculation. Therefore, men who are able to develop a prostate can become addicted to the pleasure. sextoy for beinner women in India The following are the recommended goods for Indian women who are new to sextoy. The following three are recommended for use by women who are new to sextoy. Vibrator. Dildo Electric Masserger Lets check out what each one is in detail. If you want to check out womens toys, click here. [BEST25]Sex Toys for Women in IndiaThat Can Help You Have an Orgasm There are many women who pretend to feel orgasm during sex. But don't worry, you don't have to pretend to feel orgasm... Vibrators A vibrator is a sextoy that vibrates with an Egg-Vibrator to provide stimulation and is often referred to simply as a vibrator. Some vibrate as well as rotate, and there are many variations of sextoy. It is quite a popular sextoy, and is well recognized by people who do not know much about sextoy. Its usage is similar to that of a massager, but it is more compact and easier to carry than a massager, and many of them look as cute as a lipstick or a macaroon, so they are popular among women. For a while, a famous influencer on twitter said, This is good! You may have heard of the topic of this article by introducing the recommended vibrators. Vibrators are great for women to use on their own, but they are also recommended for men who have difficulty satisfying women with sex. Since it is powered by electricity, it is far less tiring than moving your hands by yourself. This makes it easier to satisfy a woman with sex because you can caress her for longer than usual. Vibrators are mainly used on the female side, but they can also be used on men. When used on men, they are used to attack the nipples and glans, and in both cases it is recommended to wear a condom for hygiene reasons. Introducing how to use the vibrator, its purpose, and how to choose it! Vibrator uses the vibrations caused by the rotation of the motor to provide stimulation. It is one or two of the most... Dildo A dildo is a model sextoy made to mimic a male penis. It can be made of silicone, elastomer (think of it as a material similar to PVC), metal or glass. A dildo can be used by a man for his female partner during sex, or by a woman for masturbation to get pleasure from it. They are mainly inserted into women, but some can be used in the male anus as well. It is sometimes used synonymously with vibrators, but the vibrator is not the same thing as a vibrating device. A model of a penis that does not vibrate is a dildo. Some of them have suction cups that can be attached to the floor or wall so that you can enjoy realistic masturbation without using your hands. For fun, there is a dildo made in the shape of your partners penis. This one is also popular as a gift, and if youve been together for a long time and are having trouble finding a gift for your partner, you might want to pick one. To learn more about dildo, please click here. What is Dildo: Orgasms with Dildos for Men and Women A dildo is a model of a male organ that is used by women for masturbation and by men to stimulate the prostate gland. Th... Electric Masserger A Electric Masserger is a hand-held electric massager, also known as a handheld massager, and can usually be purchased at electronics stores. It was originally designed to relieve stiff shoulders and back pain, so the hurdle of buying one in a physical store is quite low. Many people may have seen or used it in some form or another, as it is often installed in leisure hotels. Such a massager is highly recommended for beginners because it is easy for women to get pleasure from it when they use it during masturbation. It is larger than Egg-Vibrator and vibrations are stronger than those of Egg-Vibrators and vibrators, so even just hitting the clitoris can give you a great deal of pleasure. For those women who have never had an orgasm during sex with their man, the massager may be a good way to get a feel for what it feels like to have an orgasm. It looks and feels like an electric massager, so you wont have to feel awkward if your roommate finds out. If you are in a rut of having sex with your partner, if you want to feel an orgasm through masturbation, or if you are thinking of using a sextoy, why dont you try it from a simple massager? To learn more about Electric Masserger, click here. What is a massager? Introducing types, selection methods, and usage Originally, the Magic-wand vibrator and the massage machine were sold as a home massage machine used for the back and th... How to choose a sextoy for Indian Now that weve covered the different types of sextoy, heres how to choose one. Especially if you are trying sextoy for the first time, pay attention to the following three points: Does the size fit you (the partner)? Does the size fit you (your partner)? Is the environment able to produce sound without problems? Price range First of all, the choice of size is quite important. Most sextoy are used against or inserted into the genitals, but the genitals are very delicate organs for both men and women. For this reason, using an inappropriate size may cause damage. Secondly, the environment should be able to produce sound without problems. Some sextoys not only wear, but also rotate and vibrate. Its easier to get pleasure from something that moves than something that doesnt, but the fact that it moves means that the internal rotors make some noise. If you live in a house with thin walls or if you have roommates, you may not be able to concentrate because of the noise, so it is best to choose one that is silent or has a low noise level. Especially in India, where many people live with their families, it is very important that you dont have to worry about sound when you use it. Finally, there is the price range. The price range of sextoy ranges widely, from around RS500 at the cheapest to RS10,000 or more at the highest. Its good to consider how much money you can afford and how much you want to buy. Do you want your family to not find out about sextoy? I live with my family and want to use sextoy without them finding out! If you are a man, you should buy a camouflage sextoy that does not look like a sextoy at first glance. For men, there are many masturbators that do not look like a sextoy, and for women, there are vibrators that only look like cosmetics. If you choose such a type, youll be safe in case your family members find out. How to buy sextoys in India The best way to purchase sextoy is through online shopping. For more information on how to purchase sextoy, please see the article below. Sextoy is one of them. Therefore, you can easily get sextoy in India by using online shopping. SexToysINDIA is a long established and stable sextoy store and you can have sextoy delivered to any place in India. They also offer cash on delivery, so those who are worried about shopping with a credit card do not have to worry. Of course, the latest security is in place, so your information will not be taken out when you use your credit card. To begin with, many people may be concerned about whether they are legally allowed to purchase sextoy. ikmAs it turns out, its not illegal. Right now, it is not open to the public because the Indian adult market is still in the development stage, but it will gradually spread from now on. Take advantage of sextoy and open the door to new pleasures and culture. Cautions for Indians using sextoy When using sextoy, keep the following three things in mind Keep sex toys clean Watch out for electrical leakage Beware of the heat generated by the body while using a sex toy As I mentioned earlier, many sextoy products are used for the delicate zone. Therefore, it is most important to keep the sextoy itself clean. It is very important to keep the sextoy itself clean, because if a slight scratch is created by friction, bacteria can enter and breed there. It is safe to wear a condom when using the masturbator, just in case. 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If this is your first time to learn about sextoy, or if you are interested in using sextoy, why not give it a try? Indian Sextoys for ur best! will introduce you to sextoy and other trivia about sextoy, sexuality, and sexuality for men and women. I want to read more! If you think its a great idea, please bookmark it. CARBONDALE A change in a zoning district could give way to NeuroRestorative building a few rooming houses for individuals in need of its services. At Tuesdays Carbondale City Council meeting, a request to rezone about 7.6 acres at 169 Old Illinois 13 from general agriculture to planned unit development was approved. The applicant, named as RD Management LLC in the agenda item, submitted plans to construct four, eight-bedroom rooming houses. Also, it has plans to demolish a single-family home and two accessory structures on the site. The plan calls for a 36-space parking area, four dwelling units and about 920 square feet of recreational space. NeuroRestorative State Director Scott Shaw said at the meeting that the organization is a significant economic driver for the community, and it is the third largest employer in Jackson County. We have more than 300 employees in the city of Carbondale. We currently pay $250,000 in property taxes, Shaw said. This development will add substantially to that tax base. The only concern at the meeting was brought up about the amount of police and fire department calls to these homes, and if NeuroRestorative should pay extra for those services. Carbondale Police Chief Jeff Grubbs said as a general rule, rehabilitation facilities do require higher levels of city services. However, as far as requiring those entities to pay more for the high level of services, that is a Council decision, he said. Councilman Adam Loss said because NeuroRestorative is a for-profit organization, and it pays a large amount of property taxes, he didnt see any reason to charge anything extra. Shaw said within the first year of operation, the development will add 11 full-time jobs. When the development is complete, it will add about 47 jobs. When the project is complete, we plan on spending about $400,000 annually with local vendors and contracts to provide services for new program, Shaw said. The construction costs will inject about $3 million to the local economy. I think we do quite a bit to contribute to the local economy. He said the construction timeline is about three years, and the second building will begin construction in the spring. Each structure would commence construction shortly afterward. The facilities would be for adolescences, or ages 11 to 21, which is what Shaw said the organization is licensed to serve. WARE Several law enforcement agencies are assisting in a manhunt in Union County for a burglary suspect who has been identified as Dejun D. Booker, according to the Illinois State Police. Dejun D. Booker, is reportedly armed with a handgun. He is a 26-year-old black male, standing 6-1, weighing 240 pounds. He is described as having a muscular build and shoulder length dreadlocked hair. He was last seen wearing gray pants and no shirt. A Union County deputy observed a person thought to be the suspect Monday morning in Union County, about two miles east of Ware off of Illinois 146 near Dug Hill Lane, according to the Illinois State Police. On Sunday, a group of five suspects burglarized Revlon Tavern, east of Ware. Union County deputies and Anna and Cobden Police Department officers secured four of the suspects. The fifth suspect, thought to be Booker, escaped on foot and a gunshot was heard as he fled. No officers were injured, the ISP reports. Union County Deputies and Cobden Police Department Officers, assisted by Illinois State Police Districts 22, 13, SWAT, and Air Operations, Illinois Department of Natural Resources, and U.S. Fish and Wildlife, Jackson County Sheriffs Department personnel set up a perimeter Monday morning. Booker is considered armed and dangerous. The ISP advises that if members of the public see Booker, do not approach him. Immediately contact 911, Union County Sheriffs Department at 618-833-5500, or the Illinois State Police at 618-542-2171. Authorities reported earlier today that Illinois 146 west from Illinois 127 North to Illinois 3 is temporarily closed and the community is asked to seek an alternate route. NORMAL Larry Martin, a Central Illinois beef producer, likes having the opportunity to see candidates in person instead of in an orchestrated commercial. He was among 120 farmers and agriculturalists at the McLean County farm of Dan Kelley Aug. 24 for a U.S. Senate Candidate Forum. The audience had a chance to hear and question incumbent U.S. Sen. Mark Kirk, R-Illinois, and challenger U.S. Rep. Tammy Duckworth, D-Illinois. The candidates spoke separately and answered questions moderated by Illinois Farm Bureau President Rich Guebert. Its a tradition for the event not to be debate style. Its more important for farmers and our members to have their questions answered on the spot, Guebert said. Martin, a Clinton farmer, said his experience as an auctioneer is one reason he likes to see the candidates in person to see their body language. Both the candidates at the Illinois Agricultural Legislative Roundtable event emphasized the importance of agriculture in the country during their opening statements and vowed to get farmers input for decision making. Im not a farmer and I dont come from a farm, Duckworth said. She thanked the Illinois Farm Bureau, Illinois Corn Growers and Illinois Soybean associations for providing her with information on issues. Agriculture affects everyone in this state. Its not just a farming issue, said Duckworth. It affects Chicago. It affects commerce. It affects food prices. She said she was proud she had voted for the farm bill and said crop insurance is often misunderstood, with some people seeing it as a hand out, not knowing farmers must pay for it and work hard in the process. In his introduction of Kirk, Guebert recognized that Kirk has been a true friend of agriculture during his tenure as a senator, voting on issues that matter for farmers. Kirk thanked the group for twice awarding him the Friend of Agriculture award. The candidates agreed their military experience helps them do a better job. Both expressed concerns about EPA regulations affecting farmers. And, both expressed support for home-grown renewable fuels. "We should make more American energy off American agriculture," Kirk said. "I have backed the ethanol industry big time. I have voted that way to constantly protect the Renewable Fuel Standard. Duckworths stance was similar. "A nation that cannot fuel itself is a nation that cannot lead," she said. "To me, the RFS is a no-brainer." Both candidates support improving infrastructure on Illinois rivers, but they disagreed about how to do it. They noted the projects have been approved, but the appropriations not allocated. Kirk explained he wants to dredge the river. He vowed to make the waterways a drag strip for Illinois farmers. He said there could be a 35-cent increase in the price of soybeans if the connection through the United States with the new Panama Canal is fostered. Duckworth said she would see that the Army Corps of Engineers made it a priority. But Kirk said the Army Corps of engineers is too slow; he would like to see private companies help with funding to make it happen. He gave the example of the port facilities Archer Daniels Midland (ADM) has in Decatur. Duckworth said there are where money can be found for locks and dams. The $12 million price tag is not a lot in the scheme of the whole military budget, she said. Kirk said hes in favor of the Trans Pacific Partnership (TPP), unlike Duckworth and presidential candidate Donald Trump. We need to make sure Illinois agriculture has access to those countries, Kirk said. Duckworth disagreed, saying, TPP is not good for Illinois as a whole. She said it would hurt the tool and dye manufacturers and other U.S. industry. However, she is open to negotiations that would benefit farmers. Duckworth is for trade with Cuba; Kirk is not. Both repeatedly referred to the importance of agriculture to the economy and security of the nation. If our farmers arent strong, our nation isnt strong, Duckworth said, giving a nod to the events hosts, the Kelley family, who have been farming for six generations. BROOKPORT The armed suspect who was fatally shot early Saturday morning by authorities in Massac County has been identified as Donny Max Daugherty, 36, of Clifton, Tennessee, according to a news release from the Illinois State Police. Daugherty was wanted by the U.S. Marshals Service for a probation violation pertaining to a charge of possession of a weapon and an aggravated assault warrant through the Nashville, Tennessee Police Department. He was known to have violent tendencies and had prior arrests for aggravated assault and weapons violations, according to the Illinois State Police. The Illinois State Police stated that the incident began at 4:09 p.m. Friday, when an armed suspect entered a residence in Metropolis and assaulted a resident. The armed suspect then fled on a motorcycle and was pursued by local law enforcement and subsequently escaped after abandoning the motorcycle in rural Massac County. At approximately 4:30 a.m. Saturday, a citizen witnessed a person, possibly carrying a handgun, in a neighbors yard and reported hearing three or four gunshots. A Massac County Deputy and a Metropolis Police Department officer arrived on scene and attempted to locate the subject. Officers went toward the subjects last known direction of travel. The officers heard a gunshot close to their location while searching the area, but were unable to locate the subject, according to the Illinois State Police. Illinois State Police District 22 Patrol assistance was requested at approximately 6:15 a.m. An additional shot was fired as an inner perimeter was being established. ISP District 13 sent additional patrol units to reinforce the perimeter. ISP Air Operations and ISP SWAT also responded to the scene. At approximately 9:21 a.m., a state trooper on the perimeter encountered the armed suspect. Shots were fired and the suspect was fatally wounded. The suspects weapon was recovered at the scene, the Illinois State Police reported. This incident remains under investigation by the Illinois State Police, Illinois Conservation Police, Massac County Sheriff's Office, Massac County States Attorneys Office, US Marshalls, and Metropolis P.D. No further information is being released at this time. CLEMSON Clemson Universitys Institute of Translational Genomics which continues to gain prominence for stretching the limits of computational research in agriculture and health will soon be expanding its reach even further with the addition of a three-year fellowship program designed to recruit and develop future leaders in the burgeoning field of agriculturally oriented computational science. A $238,500 grant from the National Institute of Food and Agriculture a federal agency within the U.S. Department of Agriculture has been awarded to the university to recruit three promising graduate student scholars. The project places special emphasis on attracting candidates from underrepresented groups and protected classes, including black, Hispanic and female scholars. In addition, the offices of the provost and vice president for research at Clemson have committed funds to cover the cost of a fourth student. Project leader Stephen Kresovich, Coker Chair of Genetics at Clemson, said that this is the first-ever award for the university in this peer-reviewed national competition. Only about a dozen other universities received this grant in 2016. This will lay the foundation for developing interdisciplinary training for our new certificate program in translational genomics, Kresovich said. It will truly link agricultural, life and computing sciences to serve the land-grant mission of the institution. Our goal is to cross-train and mentor the next generation of leaders who will be promoting and enhancing a safe, sufficient and nutritious food and/or energy supply for the U.S. and the world. Clemsons NIFA program, which is titled National Needs Training in Computationally Intensive Genomic Analysis and Application, will scour the nation in search of top scholars using a variety of community resources and recruitment venues and tools. These will include databases of minorities seeking all-encompassing world-class graduate programs; resources from scientific and professional societies and high-profile journals; networks of undergraduate researchers at historically black colleges and tribal colleges; graduate program coordinators; and social media. Applications for Year 1 will begin in late 2016 or early 2017. Each candidate must be a U.S. citizen or permanent resident. A renowned team of participating faculty from three of the universitys seven colleges Science; Agriculture, Forestry and Life Sciences; and Engineering, Computing and Applied Sciences will initiate and facilitate an inclusive program that will recruit students from underrepresented groups. In this regard, Clemson University has already been successful in the fields of engineering and science, which provides models that will be used as a springboard for the fellowship programs recruitment and retention efforts. Scientifically, we are concentrating on computationally intensive approaches how we can use computers to analyze DNA data to tackle problems in agriculture by providing solutions to immediate issues while being mindful of the many grand challenges we face in the long term, said Amy Lawton-Rauh, an associate professor in the department of Genetics and Biochemistry who is co-director of the NIFA project along with Kresovich. Of equal importance is our laser-sharp focus on training scholars from underrepresented groups as they are among the rising leaders who will provide the elegant solutions we need in society for a sustainable and healthy future. The NIFA project will become an integral part of the universitys recently released ClemsonForward plan, which calls for Clemson University to be an innovative leader in research excellence and high-quality graduate education. This project intentionally bridges strengths, resources and disciplines described in the ClemsonForward plan, said Robert Jones, executive vice president for academic affairs and provost. It is a great fit for our vision of building a bigger pie for research and graduate education. Clemson, which consistently ranks among the top 100 programs in their respective scientific fields, possesses the institutional capacity to build a unique curriculum linking agricultural, computational and genomic sciences. Agriculture is not only about traditional crops, Lawton-Rauh said. For example, nutrition as part of personalized medicine extends into human health. The approaches we use in agriculture go hand in hand with approaches used in medicine. Agriculture encompasses all aspects of human and environmental health locally and across the globe. The four Ph.D. students will each receive $73,500 in stipend-student aid for a three-year period and an additional $6,000 per year for a cost-of-education allowance. The aim is for all four to earn their doctorate degrees in four to six years. After the three-year stipend ends, the students will receive additional funding from a variety of public and private sources to help complete their education. Learning activities for the NIFA program will be varied and extensive: Experiential learning: group and research meetings, laboratory rotations and workshops on how to communicate effectively with the media. Computational experience: classes, workshops and short courses. Teaching experience: a prepared class lecture in an undergraduate course and interactions with undergraduate research interns. Measuring performance outcomes: one-on-one meetings with Kresovich, Lawton-Rauh, faculty advisors and other key participants to keep track of each fellows progress. Field, industrial laboratory and networking experience: one week per year at selected CU Research and Education centers and additional visits to agribusiness and research companies throughout the Southeast, such as Titan Farms in Ridge Spring, S.C., and Smithfield Foods in Rose Hill, N.C. We want to give them every opportunity to become agricultural leaders in South Carolina and throughout the Southeast, nation and the world. Were not just sponsoring excellent students for our individual research programs, Lawton-Rauh said. We want this program to become the first step in leveraging more funds, resources and experiences for training graduate students in computational genomics. Were positioning the Clemson program to be a catalyst for placing increasing numbers of minorities and women in scientific leadership positions in agriculture. Our desire is to build on this foundational award through a coordinated expansion of the total number of fellowships in subsequent years via support and engagement with industrial sponsors, several of which have already shown interest in helping to finance the program. A 61-year-old Eutawville man will serve 90 days in jail after pleading guilty to two counts of felony ill-treatment of animals. Michael Havens of 137 Knott Drive was charged with shooting his two dogs in an incident on March 25. Havens shot one dog that was tied to a tree. The other dog ran away after being shot. One of the dogs survived. On Thursday, Circuit Judge Ed Dickson sentenced Havens to prison for five years. After he serves 90 days, the balance is suspended to probation for five years. Dickson gave Havens credit for having already served 23 days in jail. Havens' probation ends after two years, if the probation office recommends it. He is allowed to serve his time on weekends beginning at 6 p.m. on Sept. 9. While hes on probation, Havens is not allowed to own an animal. It was a few days after the March 25 incident that the Orangeburg County Sheriff's Office obtained warrants for Havens arrest. However, the same day that authorities obtained the warrants, one of Havens relatives reported him missing. He was eventually taken into custody following an April 13 traffic stop in Jacksonville, Arkansas. Bamberg police officers are looking for the man who stole a vehicle containing a child from a gas station. The man likely lives in Denmark and may be between the ages of 16-20, Bamberg Lt. Regina Gatling said. The child and vehicle were found safe about an hour after the incident took place. Now police are trying to find the man who committed the crime. Gatling said the incident happened just before 6 p.m. Sunday at the gas station at 2187 Main Highway in Bamberg. A woman pulled up at a gas pump to fuel her vehicle, then left her unlocked vehicle unattended with her child inside of it, Gatling said. She also left her keys in the vehicle. Surveillance video shows within 60 seconds, the woman's vehicle and child were taken. A group of four males were in the store at the same time the woman was inside paying for fuel, Gatling said. The four men exited the store and began walking toward the road. One of them jumped in the woman's vehicle and took off, Gatling said. The three remaining men continued walking. "We began searching and called in for an AMBER Alert," Gatling said. About an hour later, some ladies riding bicycles notified Bamberg County Councilman Trent Kinard that they saw the car on Dickinson Street, less than a mile from where the incident took place. Authorities recovered the unharmed, sleeping child from the vehicle, Gatling said. Gatling said she's spoken with at least one of the men who was part of the group of four males seen at the gas station. The man was only able to provide law enforcement with the suspected driver's nickname. The Bamberg Police Department is asking the public to report any information about the suspect to Bamberg County Central Dispatch at 1-803-245-3000 or Crimestoppers at 1-888-CRIME-SC. Callers may remain anonymous. Gatling said the suspect could face at least two charges: grand larceny and kidnapping. With Labor Day around the corner, a traditional holiday honoring American workers, its an apt time to take a hard look at the value of labor unions. At the turn of the last century, labor unions were the underdog in the efforts to organize and before the law itself. But times have changed. Here in the modern, 21st-century workplace, do unions still deserve the preferential treatment they get from the law? U.S. labor policy is explicitly aimed at benefiting labor unions over workers and businesses. The preamble of the National Labor Relations Act, the primary law governing private-sector labor relations, states that it is national policy to encourage collective bargaining and, hence, labor unions. For example, under current law, unions operate as exclusive bargaining representatives, the only party permitted to bargain with the employer. This unfairly prohibits individual workers from bargaining for themselves. Also, if only 50 percent-plus-one of workers vote for union representation, 100 percent of workers must accept the contract the union negotiates. And in states without right-to-work laws they are forced to pay dues to a union they dont want as a condition of employment. Once a union becomes the exclusive representative of a workforce, it is nearly impossible for workers to rid themselves of an unwanted union, and workers cannot simply choose to represent themselves. This has led to the prevalence of inherited unions. Research shows that only 7 percent of private-sector workers actually voted for the union that represents them. Unions should not possess the authority to force a contract and fee payments on workers who do not want their representation. Congress should consider adopting legislation that only workers who desire union representation have to work under a union contract and pay dues. Other individual workers would be free to negotiate directly with their employer over pay and work conditions. Further, a recent survey conducted by National Employee Freedom Week shows that 67 percent of union members support that worker-choice system. Its a remedy that would also resolve the most common union contention with right-to-work laws, which allow workers to opt out of union dues. Unions claim that workers in right-to-work states who choose to refrain from paying dues still benefit from the union contract. But allowing workers the freedom to represent themselves is still a better option than forcing workers to accept union representation. In addition to exclusive representation, there are many other perks afforded to unions by the law. Recently, the National Labor Relations Board issued a regulation that not only eases union organizing campaigns but gives unions greater access to workers private information. Under the new rule, employers must hand over their employees contact information to union organizers including personal cellphone numbers, email addresses and work schedules when a union is trying to organize a workplace. Despite obvious privacy concerns, the NLRB pushed to preserve the provision in the rule. However, in regulator guidance related to the rule, even the NLRB recognized the adverse results of the rule, including selling the list to telemarketers, providing it to a political campaign, or using the list to harass, coerce or rob employees. Instead, it should be left to the sole discretion of workers, not NLRB bureaucrats, whether or not their private information is shared with a union. Whatever good intentions were originally associated with union favoritism, today there are evident political reasons the government uses its power to favor unions over worker choice, even though unions have experienced decades long decline in membership (currently only representing 6.7 percent of private-sector workers). Labor unions are some of the top all-time campaign spenders giving nearly all their funds to Democrats. According to Opensecret.org, six out of 10 all-time high political giving organizations are labor unions. The Service Employee International Union is the No. 1 spender at $233,405,610. Unions have become overly political organizations that rely on special privileges from government. It is time for unions to re-evaluate how they operate. They need to become responsive to the needs of membership and offer tangible benefits to employers and employees alike. If unions can provide value to workers and employers, they will not need to depend on government granted special treatment to increase their ranks. Trey Kovacs is a policy analyst for the Competitive Enterprise Institute. He wrote this for InsideSources.com Take a good look when someone says unions arent needed anymore. Is it a representative of a think tank financed by Big Business? Some corporate executive whose place in the 1 percent is secure? Working people know better. We know that the American Dream isnt only for Wall Street bankers and the 1 percent. Its for all of us who want to improve our standard of living and help our children and grandchildren have even better lives. Unions enable working people to make our workplaces safer and to negotiate just wages and working conditions. Unions are how working people can earn a good living and have a better life. We have a huge income inequality problem in our country today. There hasnt been such a concentration of income in the hands of the richest one-tenth of 1 percent of America since 1928, just before the Great Depression. How do we turn this around? We go back to what works, and thats enabling working people to stand together, to join a union and negotiate for a better life. Thanks to the New Deal, unions lifted millions of families out of poverty and into the middle class. Unions helped the economy grow from weakness to strength, making the American economy the envy of the world. For decades afterward, the wages of working people and productivity rose together, because workers were able to negotiate with management for better conditions. But since the 1970s, the gains from worker productivity started going mainly into the pockets of corporations and Wall Street investors. The overwhelming majority of working families havent seen an increase in real wages for nearly four decades. Some try to dispute this fact, claiming that average wages across the entire workforce have gone up. For high-end earners, sure they have. But for the rest of us the bottom 80 percent of wage earners, the average working person real wages are flat and declining. Since the 1980s, there has been an aggressive attack on the right of working people to have a union. That attack, waged by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, some powerful employers and their political allies, first focused on private-sector workers, then on public-sector workers. Without the ability to come together and negotiate collectively, millions of U.S. workers have no way to gain their fair share of a companys profits. Many companies think thats just fine, leaving more for corporate executives, stock buybacks and offshore foreign accounts. Thats the source of our growing income inequality. Management routinely fires workers who want a union. Supervisors call mandatory meetings to issue threats about what will happen if workers choose a union. Some employers send high-level executives to camp out at workplaces to intimidate workers. For some companies, stopping workers from joining together in a union is more important than almost anything. In todays economy, Wall Street calls the shots. The 1 percent is booming. Between 2009 and 2012, the top 1 percent received 95 percent of all income gains following the Great Recession, a downturn caused by Wall Street greed. Most working families still havent recovered from the 11.6 percent drop in real income they faced in the Great Recession. Many now face more hardships, including sky-high student loan debt, health care costs and the fallout from bad trade deals that send even more jobs overseas. Were not looking to shut down Wall Street. We are looking to restore fairness to an economic and financial system thats been one-sided for way too long. And unions, today as much as ever, are the only effective force against rampant corporate greed. Most of the time, working people negotiate their differences with management and both sides come together in agreement. That didnt happen earlier this year, when members of my union were forced to take on Verizon, a Fortune 15 company with monthly profits in excess of $1 billion. This very wealthy company was insisting on slashing workers benefits and closing call centers in the United States, to send more jobs overseas. The 39,000 working men and women and their families took a stand and went on strike for seven weeks. It was a real hardship. But we knew what we were fighting for, and in the end, we prevailed, with Verizon agreeing to keep call centers open and add more jobs. That couldnt have happened if Verizon workers didnt have a union. Thats something that benefits all working people, and thats why unions will always be needed. Chris Shelton is president of the Communications Workers of America, representing 700,000 working men and women in telecommunications, media, airlines, public service and manufacturing. He wrote this for InsideSources.com Scoring boards, paper cutters, glue runners, decorative cardstock, a cutting and embossing machine and a multitude of rubber stamps are just some of the card making items that can be found in Linda McGannons craft room. That's where she carefully constructs expressions of love, thanks, sympathy, congratulations and compliments for those she hopes will receive joy, inspiration or encouragement. Its a hobby, and you have to be interested in it because its time consuming. The hardest part for me is coming up with the idea, but once I get the idea, Ill get supplies together and come up with five or six cards using those same things, McGannon said. She started making cards about a decade ago, initially doing very simple ones made from cardstock that featured a single, stamped image. She eventually graduated to more elaborate cards that included, for example, trickier folds, embossing and the use of dimensionals, or double-sided adhesive foam dots that add depth and dimension. I like to do a lot of creative things. You can add different stamps. There are so many stamp product lines available now and, of course, you can find anything on the Internet, said McGannon, adding that some of her multi-layered cards feature intricate cuts, ribbon and other embellishments, along with decorative Washi tape. Washi tape is sticky so all you have to do is apply it and then trim it to fit the card, she said. McGannon said she usually doesnt write sentiments to go in her cards, but noted that lovely writing pens" are available for those who want to try their hand at adding sentiments to cards. One of her messages, however, was featured on a card by Cards by Anne, an international greeting card company specializing in hand-calligraphied cards with philosophical messages. The Wexford, Pennsylvania-based company is owned by Anne Kertz Kernion. Every year the company has a contest and people submit quotes, and her readers vote on which one they like best and which one they would like to see her design a card around. My message was chosen for the card design, and the cards are sold throughout the world," McGannon said. McGannons simple message was: There is no greater gift than a good friend. She actually began card making after being influenced by her good friend Carol Cassone of Orangeburg. Its a lot of trial and error, but Carol really got me started and introduced me to a lot of product lines. There is so much stuff available, and I just enjoy doing it, said McGannon, who also draws inspiration and ideas from what she sees on YouTube videos, Pinterest and other places. Ill look through those and be inspired with a certain style. Its never the same because it just doesnt turn out that way, but its inspiring to get an idea of how to use your stamps, said McGannon, who also uses watercolor pencils and/or ink on certain pieces. In addition, she uses fine- and wide-tipped Copic markers for coloring stamped images she may include on a card. McGannon gave this reporter a hands-on lesson in making a folded "thank you" card with two layers attached on top of it, along with an embossed stamped image, ribbon and colored stamped image. Dimensionals were also used to make the stamped images look as if they were popping up from the card. The lesson included use of McGannons Cricut Cuttlebug manual die cutting and embossing machine to produce clean, crisp cuts and deep, even embossing. You can use it to make impressions, emboss or to cut out shapes from dies. I think the main thing is to work on each individual element first so that if you make a mistake on something, you dont have to trash the whole card, McGannon said. Then the very last thing to do is just assemble and put it together. Part of the finished card was the stamped message: Thanks so much. The letters was given a shiny gloss with the use of embossing powder and an embossing heat gun. McGannons pointy-tipped Cutter Bee Scissors delivered a precision cut for the twine she used to tie around the card for embellishment. I think card making is all about being creative. It is relaxing, too, but I like creating things, she said. Cassone said, Its like a small, simple pleasure that you can manage. Its fun just creating something small because Im not an artist." "Theres crafty people and theres artistic people," she added, smiling. McGannon makes birthday cards, thank you cards and sympathy cards, along with congratulations and "thinking of you" cards. I try to stock up on my birthday cards during the summer, but I havent done that well so far this summer. I start to look forward to seasonal things. I like to do Halloween cards for my grandchildren and I do like to do Christmas cards every year, she said. "I've done invitations, too. McGannon added, "I just hope that people get joy from a card for whatever it is. You create something every day. A blog for students in my introductory classes in government, and any interested passersby. You'll find news items and random stories that illustrate any of the topics we cover in class. Special attention will be paid to the constitutional issues associated with contemporary issues and disputes. Feel free to send me stories you find important. Please note that due to spam, I'm limiting the ability of people to comment on these pages. My apologies. We use cookies on our website to give you the most relevant experience by remembering your preferences and repeat visits. By clicking Accept, you consent to the use of ALL the cookies. By Azertac President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev has today visited Embassy of the Republic of Uzbekistan to express his condolences on the death of President of the Republic of Uzbekistan Islam Karimov. The head of state signed the Book of Condolences opened at the Embassy. Iran will send its warships to Russias Astrakhan port in a friendly symbolic act, the Islamic Republic's Foreign Ministry Spokesman, Bahram Qasemi said. Russian warships also are scheduled to berth at Iranian Anzali port in Caspian Sea for a few days, Qasemi went on to say at a press conference in Tehran, Trend correspondent reported from the event Sept. 5. The first ever visit of the Caspian Flotilla warships to Iran happened in 2007. Back then a missile boat Tatarstan entered Irans port of Anzali. The next visit by the Caspian Flotillas warships Dagestan and Grad Sviyazhsk to Iran took place in November of 2014. Irans missile boats Paykan and Joshan also paid a courtesy visit to the port of Astrakhan in 2013. Qasemi further said that Iran will continue security cooperation with Russia, while responding to a question about possible use of Nojeh airbase in Irans western Hamadan By Russia for attacking terrorists in Syria in the future. The kind of actions that this cooperation entails depends on the situation and the way third and fourth countries cooperate with us on the front, Qasemi added. On Aug. 16, Russia said its bomber planes are deployed in Iran and from there the bombers launch attacks on the IS (Islamic State, ISIS, aka ISIL) terrorist group's positions in Syria. Some Iranian politicians raised concerns on the issue, saying the move is against the Islamic Republics constitution. A few days later Tehran announced that Moscow's use of the Iranian airbase has ended. Fan Comment Brave new world or false dawn? David Booth 05/09/2016 So Phase One of the Great Everton Revival has been reached: new owner, new manager, new signings and a new stadium apparently in the offing. But being a justifiably cynical bunch and having witnessed a variety of false dawns since we fell from a position of eminence, I wonder how happy we Evertonians really are? Are we back on track, or just aimlessly puffing up and down in the sidings again? The transfer window has certainly focused attention on our current status and divided opinion as to whether we are generating sufficient head of steam to begin to pose a threat to the Sky-favoured elite, or just blowing hot air. As ever, opinion is wonderfully divided, with six-of-one happy with the progress being made, whilst half-a-dozen of the other are disappointed by what they see as the same old story. Me? Im perched right on the top of the fence and freely admit I can see both sides of both sides! If you look at the hard facts in isolation, no-one could seriously argue that we are not better off. Could they? Stekelenburg has already earned us at least four points with crucial saves in our three games so far and is a massive improvement on Howard (who had overstayed his welcome) and Robles (who will never be the foundation we are looking for). Williams, although a bit old for my liking, will hopefully galvanise the team when their backs are against the wall and deliver the necessary leadership qualities to compensate for the fact he has a short shelf-life. Gueye has been the epitome of a quiet revolution in midfield. The obsession with the Barry/McCarthy axis has at last been banished and we appear to have a craftsman in front of the back four. In front of him, Bolasie represents something of an expensive surprise to many, if not all of us. However, the one thing I remember from our two home defeats and one draw with Palace in the last three years is how incapable we seemed to be to deal with him. Every time he got the ball, we looked vulnerable. So if that works in our favour now he has a blue shirt on his back, I am glad we have him. Completing our signings is Valencia. Indisputably the biggest shock / surprise / disappointment [delete as appropriate] of deadline day and our transfer window as a whole. Whilst he will certainly not cause a log-jam in the shirt-printing department, he does offer the potential to provide a positive surprise. And lets face it, he cant be much worse than Kone or Niasse... can he? One hopes he will, er, prove he has something to prove. All this and only one departure of note: the inevitable departure of John Stones to any club who were happy to treble his wages. Manchester City in this case. I was sad to see him go, as he, like every player under Martinez, looked a shadow of himself in the last two seasons. And lets not stoop to be bitter and file him under the heading of 'good riddance'; he is a fine player and could/should have been a vital component of our much wished-for successful side for the next 10 years. But money talks and you cannot blame him for listening. Elsewhere, the deadwood that was Osman, Hibbert and Pienaar have been told they are no longer allowed to draw their disability benefits. McGeady has been shifted sideways and the likes of Cleverley and Lennon appear to have been identified as squad players, which is all they are. Bafflingly, Gibson has been retained, presumably to give the physios something to do now that some of the aforementioned have vacated the treatment tables. Which just leaves Niasse as the remaining superfluous link with the past. Lost for words on him! The net result, three games in, is that we already look like a different team to the one Martinez left behind: tougher, fitter, more resilient and with round pegs fitting snuggly in round holes. Those surplus to requirements have been moved sideways and the Koeman effect is readily apparent. The players have shape, discipline and a combined sense of purpose. This is a different team. But, for all the changes we can see on the pitch, have things really changed off it? Because, for all the excitement generated by our seven unbeaten points, there are 35 games still to go and in order to sustain our good start, there needs to be a fundamental shift in the way we are perceived and do business. This cannot be another make do makeover. Putting a new overcoat on Goodison is fine for now, but the board cannot afford to be exposed for trying to get away with wearing the emperors new clothes. Again. Because, for all our dreams of a new dawn, have we really been presented with the official manifesto from Mr Moshiri yet? The lack of communication from the board, at such a vital point in the clubs immediate and long-term future, is hard to fathom and does not auger well for the wave of enthusiasm that seems to be engulfing Evertonians right now. That has left us to speculate wildly about transfer budgets running into hundreds of millions, instantly elbowing our way to a place on the top table alongside the likes of Sheik Mansour and Abramovich and that most holy of grails: a new ground in the next few years. And it is here that I begin to have serious concerns. We clearly did not have anywhere near that size of transfer budget. It was the usual media nonsense. Worryingly, most of us seemed to fall for it. In the league table of (so-called) Premier League owners, Mr Moshiri might just about scrape into the top half, falling not only behind the usual suspects, but also the likes of those who control Leicester, Southampton, Stoke and Sunderland, all clubs we naturally assume superiority over in every aspect. Not so. So, although we are significantly financially better off than we were under Kenwright and Woods, we are still way down the pecking order. This sense of perspective needs to be quickly grasped by we supporters. We are far from the biggest pigs at the trough and must still be content with whats left after the fattest ones have gorged themselves. For me, that raises questions about the latest transfer window and those that will follow. For, despite the balance sheet showing one out and five in, it was not really until the one departed that the arrivals lounge opened for business. Yes, Stekelenburg and Gueye arrived in advance, but we didnt spend 42 million on Bolasie and Williams until we had received that net amount (allowing for Barnsleys sell-on clause), from Stones. And then with suspiciously indecent haste. Taking this one stage further, whos to say that the reason we failed to land any of the high-profile forwards we were allegedly courting, as the clock ticked down to the deadline, was because Lukaku was persuaded to stay? Co-incidence, or deja vu? You decide I think one would have to be blissfully naive to believe we were just unlucky. Arnautovic, Begovic, Bony, Brahimi, Carvalho, Gabbiadini, Hart, Indi, Kone, Koulibaly, Mata, Perez, Pelle, Sissoko, Slimani, Wijnaldum, Witsel, Ziyech and several others have all been touted as Goodison-bound. Sounds like almost every other transfer window for the last 20 years or so to me. And dont just blame media speculation, although that is not unwarranted. I am surely not the only one to smell some PR smoke behind all those raging fires. Thankfully, Koeman has already proved at Southampton and is already showing signs at Everton that he can make a damn good silk purse out of a sows ear. Justified optimism on that front for now then. Which brings me to the aspect that our whole future hinges on: a new ground. Ten of our fellow clubs have new grounds. Tottenham will soon make it 11. And three others already have measurably bigger and better facilities. That means, at best, we can only cock a snook at Bournemouth, Burnley, Crystal Palace, Watford and West Brom. That is how far we have fallen behind. It is something of a miracle that, even though we have slipped out of media consciousness, we are just about still regarded as fringe members of the elite. If we do not get a new ground, that will not last much longer. If we fail to do so now, when will we? How much more favourable do the circumstances have to be, before we do? Here lies the proof of the pudding. My judgement is reserved until the latest rumblings prove to be the sound of excavators digging out foundations. Please do not let them just be the clubs media programme breaking wind again! So thats where my thinking lies I guess. Undecided, with a hint of oft-fed scepticism. I would like the club to have been a lot more vociferous about the transfer window and to have issued some sort of post-deadline statement to affirm their intentions. I would like something concrete (no pun intended), on the plans for a new ground. So far, all we have had is the mayor saying what a great guy Mr Moshiri is and the fact that another dockland site may be available. And I would absolutely love to know Koemans thoughts now that he has been in the job for long enough to know how the land lies. Is he party to, and part of the real story or has he been fed promises and expectations that the board cannot keep? He seems a great guy for the job. Pragmatic, shrewd, savvy, wry-humoured and assured. I like him very much and think he is potentially the best manager by far since Howard Kendall Mk 1. A man with a plan. My worry is whether or not the board have one to match? And with it, the wit, will and wherewithal to make this club great again. Share this article Note: the following content is not moderated or vetted by the site owners at the time of submission. Comments are the responsibility of the poster. Disclaimer About these ads ToffeeWeb Bahrain-based Al Baraka Banking Group, one of the Gulf's top Islamic banks, said its Pakistani unit would merge with Pakistan's Burj Bank to create an institution with assets totalling more than $1.1 billion. The merger, which was approved by shareholders of the two banks last month and still needs regulatory approvals, would see Burj Bank holders receive one Al Baraka Bank (Pakistan) share for every 1.7 shares in Burj, the Bahraini bank said on Monday. The merger is expected to take effect from the last quarter of this year, with 74 Burj Bank branches converted into Al Baraka Bank (Pakistan) branches to form a combined network of 224 branches across the country. The Bahraini bank will be the major shareholder in the merged institution. Burj Bank, one of Pakistan's five full-fledged Islamic banks, attracted interest from several Pakistani institutions and short-listed three to conduct due diligence before agreeing to the merger with Al Baraka. Currently, the largest shareholders in Burj Bank are Bahrain's Bank Al Khair with a 37.9 per cent stake and the Jeddah-based Islamic Corporation for the Development of the Private Sector, which holds 33.9 per cent. Bahrain-based Islamic investment bank GFH Financial Group said last month that it had signed a memorandum of understanding to buy a majority stake in Bank Al Khair. Reuters Lafarge Iraq, a leading investor in Iraq's cement industry, has signed an agreement with Iraqs General Company for Land Transportation (GCLT) for the transportation of cement, said a report. The contract is the largest in the history of the GCLT, which is owned by Iraqs Ministry for Transport, added the Iraq Business News report. The deal will run for one year, and may be further extended for five years, it said. Lafarge Iraq is a subsidiary of Swiss-based LafargeHolcim Group, a world leader in the building materials industry. Lafarge Iraq operates three cement plants: Bazian and Tasluja cement plants located in Sulaimani, Iraqi Federal Region of Kurdistan, and Karbala Cement Plant located close to Karbala province. The company posted sales of CHF29.5 billion ($29.9 billion) in 2015. Topaz Energy and Marine, a leading offshore support vessel company, has said that its vessel Topaz Sophie has received a special award from Total Nigeria in recognition of its Operational Commitment. The first of its kind given by Total Nigeria, the award recognises excellence in fuel economy, operational safety, management offshore visits, operational anomaly reporting and attendance by the vessels senior crew in all Service Quarterly Meetings, said a statement from the company. Topaz Sophie and her crew were formally presented with the award in Onne, Nigeria by Total Nigerias representative, marine superintendent Norris Chukwudi Olisedeme, it said. The Topaz Sophie, which is one of seven sister vessels, is a 75-metre, 3,300 DWT, DP2 platform supply vessel which Topaz operates in West Africa through its local subsidiary, Topaz Marine Nigeria Ltd, it added. TradeArabia News Service Expo 2020 Dubai has revealed ambitious plans to transform the Expos 4.38-sq-km site into an ecosystem that connects businesses in the transport and logistics, travel and tourism, real estate and education sectors, as part of creating a thriving knowledge economy. In a keynote speech at the Cityscape conference, Marjan Faraidooni, Expo 2020s vice-president of legacy, explained Expos intentions. Our legacy plans are wide ranging and ambitious. Our Expo will continue to foster innovation, and to create meaningful partnerships that will live beyond 2020 - not only for the UAE but for the region as a whole. Faraidooni explained how Expo 2020 Dubai would target its investment to deliver a long-lasting legacy from the Expo site. We have spent the past year working on developing our masterplan specifically to create a platform for the future. Over 80 per cent of our investments will be retained following the event. This includes the infrastructure, as well as the cutting-edge technologies, the roads and public transport systems put in place to host the Expo. We intend to build on those physical and virtual platforms to create an ecosystem that lives through legacy. We have dedicated considerable effort towards identifying how we could develop a place that will continue to attract everyone: businesses, students, workers. It will be a place where people will continue to learn and take benefit from the plans and investment being made now. Connecting Minds, Creating the Future Expo 2020 Dubais theme is Connecting Minds, Creating the Future. The theme represents the belief that progress happens when people and ideas come together in new ways. And our theme celebrates the power of ideas, from anyone, to improve the lives of everyone. This is the guiding principle that lies behind all of Expo 2020s activities. Developing a legacy plan Expo 2020 Dubais legacy plans are the product of over two years of research and development, following the successful bid to host the mega event in November 2013. Officials from the Expo organisers have looked closely at the UAEs national strategic priorities, and the planning for other mega events, including the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games, and the Lisbon Expo of 1998. Both events stimulated investment which resulted in the successful regeneration of run down inner-city areas. Expo 2020 Dubai will, in contrast, by a driver of the development of an entirely new quarter within the Dubai South district. Expos ecosystem strategy uses physical proximity and an enabling environment to create competitive advantages, most importantly access to leading edge skills and capabilities. Expo officials believe that the merging of industries with related technologies will create a centre of excellence that draws in further related companies, enabling wider collaborations and innovations. Supporting strategic industries Expos legacy planners have identified four high priority strategic industries: education, transport and logistics, travel and tourism, and real estate. These sectors form the backbone of the current UAE economy, and are industries that have a major role to play in the nations ongoing economic diversification. As part of the legacy plan, Expo has explored what technologies, including augmented reality, big data and the internet of things could transform these industries. Expo has also identified education and cultural initiatives to complement the ecosystem envisaged by Expo organisers. An adaptable site Over 80 per cent of the Expo site will be reused or repurposed in the legacy phase. The theme districts which will host the majority of the country pavilions - will become collaborative work spaces to house companies of all sizes, along with social and cultural institutions. Expos iconic theme pavilions the designs of which were unveiled earlier this year will also be reused under the legacy plans. The conference and exhibition centre, a key structure within the Expo masterplan will become a major event venue for Dubai, to be operated by Dubai World Trade Centre, and benefitting from the synergies that will be created as businesses, and people develop the Expo site in the legacy phase. The Expo site will also feature fully integrated residential communities and retail offerings. - TradeArabia News Service Forty per cent of files tested by Infoblox, a top network control company, show evidence of DNS tunneling, a security threat that can indicate active malware or ongoing data exfiltration within an organizations network. This comes as the company announced results of the Infoblox Security Assessment Report for the second quarter of 2016. Infoblox, an industry leader in securing Domain Name System (DNS) infrastructure, offers free security assessments to customers and prospective customers, identifying outbound DNS queries inside an organizations network that are attempting to reach known malicious or suspicious Internet locations (hostname), a company statement said. External threat data from these evaluations is anonymized and aggregated to produce the Infoblox Security Assessment Report. In the second quarter of 2016, 559 files capturing DNS traffic were uploaded to Infoblox for assessment, coming from 248 customers across a wide range of industries and geographies. Infoblox found 66 per cent of the files showed evidence of suspicious DNS activity. One indicator that stands out in the second quarter report is the prevalence of DNS tunneling. Cybercriminals know that DNS is a well-established and trusted protocol, and have figured out that many organizations do not examine their DNS traffic for malicious activity. DNS tunneling enables these cybercriminals to insert malware or pass stolen information into DNS queries, creating a covert communication channel that bypasses most firewalls. While there are quasi-legitimate uses of DNS tunneling, many instances of tunneling are malicious. There are also several off-the-shelf tunneling toolkits readily available on the Internet, so hackers dont always need technical sophistication to mount DNS tunneling attacks. At the same time, DNS tunneling is often part of very sophisticated attacks, including those sponsored or directly managed by nation states. For example, the recently uncovered Project Saurona particularly advanced threat that is considered likely to have been sponsored by a governmentuses DNS tunneling for data exfiltration. In the physical world, burglars will go to the back door when youve reinforced and locked the front door. When you then secure the back door, theyll climb in through a window, said Rod Rasmussen, vice president of cybersecurity at Infoblox. Cybersecurity is much the same. The widespread evidence of DNS tunneling uncovered by the Infoblox Security Assessment Report for the second quarter of 2016 shows cybercriminals at all levels are fully aware of the opportunity. Organizations cant be fully secure unless they have tools in place to discover and prevent DNS tunneling. Among the specific security threats uncovered by Infoblox during the second quarter, ranked by percentage, are: Protocol anomalies 48 per cent DNS tunneling 40 per cent Botnets 35 per cent Amplification and reflection traffic 17 per cent Distributed denial of service (DDoS) traffic 14 per cent Ransomware 13 per cent While these threats are serious, DNS can also be a powerful security enforcement point within the network, said Rasmussen. When suspicious DNS activity is detected, network administrators and security teams can use this information to quickly identify and remediate infected devicesand can use DNS firewalling as well to prevent malware inside the network from communicating with command-and-control servers. Infoblox delivers Actionable Network Intelligence through advanced technologies that analyze DNS traffic to help prevent data exfiltration; disrupt advanced persistent threat (APT) and malware communications; and provide context around attacks and infections on the network, according to the statement. TradeArabia News Service Fiat Chrysler Automobiles is in talks with several parties, including South Korea's Samsung Electronics Co Ltd, over the future of its components business Magneti Marelli, the carmaker's chairman John Elkann said. "There are ongoing talks, but nothing formal," Elkann said on Saturday during a meeting of shareholders in his family's Exor holding company. Talks with officials from the Korean group had taken place on the sidelines of Exor board meeting earlier this week, he added. Samsung Electronics's vice chairman Jae Yong Lee is an independent board member of Exor. "We have talked about Magneti Marelli and also other issues, including the insurance sector ... as we own PartnerRE," Elkann told journalists. The components unit is attracting interest because it could have an important role in car development in the coming decades, Elkann said, adding FCA was keen to strengthen the business. Last month FCA CEO Sergio Marchionne said Magneti Marelli's future would be outside the Fiat group in the medium- or long-term, but for now it was essential to its parent company. Samsung has identified automotive components as a growth driver as sales in its existing businesses, including smartphones, slowed. Acquiring a proven supplier such as Magneti Marelli could help it overcome the high entry barrier in an industry known for conservatism and an emphasis on track record. Reuters National Shipping Company of Saudi Arabia (Bahri) has launched a series of initiatives aimed at harnessing the power of data innovation to enhance and transform existing operations model in the shipping industry. As the pioneer and foremost exponent of data-driven decision-making in the maritime industry, Bahri has created a dedicated Big Data platform called BahriData as part of its efforts to improve its operating performance and drive data innovation within the global shipping industry, and has assembled a team of specialists to embed sustainable analytics into the fabric of the organisation, said a statement from the company. Bahri is also actively supporting the development of an ecosystem of partners from the maritime industry, academia and industry labs to drive data-driven advancements and enable their application in the shipping industry, it said. Ibrahim Al Omar, CEO of Bahri, said: Big Data is already playing a larger role in shaping the future of the maritime industry than previously imagined. By embracing analytics and turning data into actionable insights, shipping and logistics players have an opportunity to drive improved efficiency and quality. In the long run, this will help transform their organizations into smarter, more dynamic entities that have a more informed picture of market trends and demands and are better prepared to meet the challenges of tomorrow, he said. Bahri has pioneered the use of Big Data technologies in the regional maritime industry to achieve sustainable growth and facilitate the overall development of the sector. We have already seen how, by maintaining a sustained focus on Data Innovation, we are able to eliminate or mitigate many of the risks typically associated with the shipping industry, while gaining a clearer understanding of how the market is shaping up and how challenges can be turned into opportunities, added Al Omar. Bahris cross-functional team of experts comprising maritime industry professionals and technology specialists is working on developing several Big Data models that will help streamline and enhance all aspects of the companys operations, said a statement. The models cover a number of key business areas including chartering, voyage management, fleet operations, connected ship, maintenance, customer control tower and customer service, it added. With a current owned fleet of 88 ships and carriers and a diverse service offering that includes shipping of crude oil, oil products, chemical, bulk and general cargo, Bahri is relying on the competitive advantage it expects to gain from its steadfast focus on Data Innovation, to diversify its reach across all lines of business and emerge as the leading global operator by 2017, it stated. TradeArabia News Service Gulf Opec producers Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates (UAE)support the cooperation dialogue between top oil producers Saudi Arabia and Russia announced on Monday in China, their energy ministers said. "This dialogue confirms that the main oil producers are watching the oil market... to help achieve stability," Kuwait's acting oil minister Anas al-Saleh said in a statement on state news agency KUNA. "UAE, as an active and responsible member of Opec will always support any joint efforts which will benefit market stability," UAE energy minister Suhail al-Mazroui tweeted. Saudi Arabia and Russia on Monday signed a deal to seek cooperation in the oil market. Reuters Saudi Arabian energy minister Khalid Al Falih said that freezing output is not "necessary" for the time being after signing a cooperation pact with Russia. "Freezing (production levels) is one of the preferred possibilities but it's not necessary today," Falih told the Saudi-owned Al Arabiya TV after a news conference with his Russian counterpart in China. "The market is getting better and we have noticed that prices reflect this (improvement)," he said. -- Reuters Over the next five years the private sector will be responsible for adding more than 20GW of generating capacity in the GCC. This reliance on Independent Power Producers (IPPs) is set to increase as GCC governments face increasing deficits and lower budgets because of lower oil revenues, says a new report. While private sector involvement eases financial burden on the states, governments need to ensure that IPPs fit in the larger picture of reformed markets, and not just a short-term solution to rising demand, according to the latest Apicorp Energy Research published by Arab Petroleum Investments Corporation (Apicorp), an investment company established to foster the development of the Arab world's oil and gas. Electricity demand in the GCC has risen sharply driven by factors such as population growth, urbanisation, improvements in income levels, industrialisation, and low electricity prices. These factors will continue to place greater demand on power-generation capacities. We estimate that GCC power capacity needs to expand at an average annual pace of 8% between 2016 and 2020. To meet rising demand, the GCC will need to invest $85bn to add 69GW of new generating capacity over the next five years. But declining oil revenues mean that GCC governments can no longer continue to support the provision of cheap power and have looked towards IPPs to play an increasing role in power generation, Apicorp said in the report. The structure of the electricity market has witnessed little change over the past few years, but reforms are gradually picking up throughout the GCC. At the heart of recent reforms were recent price hikes. Governments have increased water, electricity and fuel prices to ease the burden on state budgets. These efforts are part of a broader programme that aims to liberalise domestic energy prices over the medium-term. Structural reforms are also taking place. Oman is leading GCC efforts to unbundle the power sector by privatising most of its generating assets and is considering to privatise transmission and distribution. The country will become the first GCC country to introduce spot trading in the electricity market by the end of the decade. In Saudi Arabia, state utility Saudi Electricity Company (SEC) has recently announced plans to break up into four independent power-generating bodies and an independent transmission company by the end of 2016. The single-buyer model will remain The region still relies on the single-buyer model where a state-owned entity is the only wholesale purchaser from power-generating companies. The single buyer is responsible for selling the electricity to distribution companies which then sell to the final consumers. While the power-generating sector is open to the private sector, governments still have monopoly over transmission and distribution networks. The current market structure in the GCC has served IPPs well as governments assume most of the risks. IPPs are usually offered 15 to 25-year Power Purchase Agreements (PPA) where the government agrees to buy the electricity at a take it or leave it basis at a previously agreed price for the duration of the contract, thus mitigating demand-side risk. Most IPPs also sign fuel supply agreements with governments to mitigate feedstock price fluctuations. These favourable terms came at a time when GCC governments were desperate to bring IPPs and quickly increase capacities. But it is unclear if these terms will continue, as prospects of liberalising the market and governments desire to reduce its off-taking risk may result in terms becoming less favourable. Yet IPPs know that lower government revenues and rapidly rising demand mean that their involvement in the sector is crucial, giving them strong negotiating power. IPPs a quick solution for governments The introduction of IPPs in the GCC has been instrumental in meeting rapidly rising electricity demand. Oman was the first country to open up its power-generating sector. Today, IPPs represent the majority of new capacity and continue to replace government power plants. Although there are potential implications of over-reliance on this strategy going forward, we can discern several benefits to the GCC power sector. First, IPPs allow investments in power generation without the need for governments to pay the entire upfront cost. While fiscal buffers and substantial export revenue has allowed governments to invest heavily, governments are becoming increasingly constrained, as falling revenues need to be allocated towards other vital sectors such as education, health, and infrastructure. Low oil prices mean that cash will not flow easily from governments to state utilities. This is particularly the case for SEC, which is aggressively tapping local and foreign debt markets. This year alone, SEC secured a loan of $1.4bn from Japanese banks and a $1.5bn financing deal with the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China. Overall, the state utility has received government and capital-market funding for more than $34bn since it launched its first sukuk in 2007. SEC is also planning a $3.3bn back-up credit facility. Second, IPP projects are usually more cost effective than government power plants. Contracts under the IPP model are usually awarded to developers who provide the lowest levelised cost of electricity (LCOE) - the price per kWh that represents all fixed and variable costs of a project throughout its lifetime. Developers are therefore encouraged to maximise efficiency. Since the ability of developers to cut costs and improve technology differ, IPP bidders can have costs that vary by large margins. For example, the Dubai solar park phase III received five bids for the 800MW project ranging from 2.99 /kWh to 4.48 /kWh. A consortium of Abdul Latif Jameel, Fotowatio Renewable Ventures, and Masdar broke the global solar record with 2.99 /kWh. This comes after phase II of the same solar park broke the then world-record when a consortium of Acwa Power and TSK offered 5.85 /kWh. Tendering projects to IPPs based on competitive bids will continue to reduce costs and prices for governments and consumers. Third, IPP projects are quicker to execute. With an additional 69GW that needs to be added in the next five years, projects must be implemented swiftly. IPPs provide governments with the flexibility to identify projects and capacity needs while leaving developers to execute. On average, an IPP takes 3-4 years to be commissioned after tendering. Unlike government projects that usually face delays due to technical specification changes and conflicting roles of various government entities, it is in the interest of IPPs to bring on line the project as soon as possible given that delays translate into higher costs. TradeArabia News Service Tilal Properties, a pioneering Sharjah-based real estate developer, is set to unveil its major retail projects at the Cityscape Global 2016 expo which opens in Dubai tomorrow. During its participation, Tilal Properties will be showcasing the latest updates and designs of its flagship project, Tilal City, a Dh2.4-billion ($653 million) mixed-use development project and the first of its kind in Sharjah located on Emirates Road (E611). On the second day of its participation, Tilal Properties will unveil a major retail project, which will take centrestage at the exhibition, and will serve as a key component of its Tilal City project. The project, which is also the first and leading development project in Sharjahs masterplanned community and the first freehold and free-lease project in the emirate, will be showcased at the company's stand at the three-day event. Khalifa Shaibani, the director general, Tilal Properties, said: "Our participation in one of the largest real estate exhibitions in the world falls under our mission and vision to lead Sharjahs property development sector." "Were excited to share with our partners, stakeholders and new visitors where Tilal City has reached since its announcement in late 2014, and we will certainly promote our pioneering freehold policies for new plot owners and the benefits which they will receive when working with Tilal Properties," he added. Strategically located on the Emirates Road, close to Al Dhaid interchange, Tilal City is just 10 km away from Sharjah International Airport and within convenient commuting distance to nearby emirates, with Dubai only 2 km away. "Today, Tilal City is leading Sharjahs upscale retail and residential market, with inquiries and requests on plot availability still growing exponentially," noted Shaibani. "Were truly excited to announce our new addition to the project, which will surely transform the project into a fully-fledged residential and commercial community with top-tier services, amenities and public parks to all our partners and customers," he added. Tilal City is set to become the first-of-its-kind mixed-use community in Sharjah. Comprising 1,855 land plots, it offers the opportunity to UAE residents, as well as GCC nationals, to buy or lease land and develop properties in the emirate for the first time ever. Tilal Properties is a joint venture between Sharjah Asset Management and Eskan Real Estate Development focusing on the establishment, development and management of real estate projects in Sharjah.-TradeArabia News Service Have an event, trend or general energy happening youd like to see in the Energy Journal newsletter? Send it to Star-Tribune Energy Reporter Heather Richards at heather.richards@trib.com. Sign up for the newsletter at www.trib.com/energyjournal. Energy wrap-up of the week Not many people associate Texas with renewable energy. Like Wyoming, the Lone Star State produces oil and natural gas with a fierce pride in its industries. However, the state recently reached a surprising milestone in wind energy. The Wall Street Journal did an interesting write-up on it here. Natural gas prices took a ride this week, with a jump early on when hurricane fears shut down 10 percent of production in the Gulf of Mexico. But it was a short-lived gain. Thursday revealed that supply had outrun demand when the Energy Information Administration released its weekly inventory data. The grouse Sage grouse were back last week when the Bureau of Land Management released instructions on how to carry out conservation plans for the persnickety bird. The documents are still being reviewed, with early responses largely positive. The threat of an endangered species listing galvanized work on a conservation strategy for the grouse, particularly in Wyoming, which is home to the largest percentage of the birds population. But the energy industry has long argued against stringent limits on development in areas where the birds mate, while environmentalists maintain that such limits should be expanded. Too soon for a rebound? Some good news from a state perspective: The downturn in natural gas, oil and coal may be loosening its grip on Wyomings economy. Natural gas prices made a modest rebound, and the summer tourism boom brought in some revenue. The unemployment rate and the fall in mineral revenues appear to be slowing. Energy reliance Every time there is bust in Wyoming, there are those who wonder loudly why the state has failed to diversify its economy. But the picture is more complicated, and the fact is that Wyomings dependence on minerals is not easily replaced. Potable or not The Wyoming Department of Environmental Quality announced a revision Thursday to how regulators designated surface waters, an attempt to ensure that waters used for activities like swimming are distinguished from those that can be used for eating, drinking or washing. "This analysis is a big step toward ensuring that our streams have the appropriate protections for our citizens, said Kevin Frederick, water quality administrator. DEQ is confident that the revised designations will help the department better manage Wyomings surface waters and ensure that the uses of those waters are adequately protected." The department began this project in 2009, and the analysis has been through multiple comment periods. This final draft will be up for public review for 60 days. Irish folk music wafted in the air as Dan Lynch painstakingly adjusted a machine mounted on a large yellow tripod balanced on a grassy hill. Casper Mountain rose behind Lynch. It was a hot Wednesday morning. The wind was calm. Lynch waved toward a man standing in the distance who was hoisting into the air a 2-meter red-and-white pole. Lynch pushed a button on his machine, called a total station, which sent a laser beam shooting toward the metal pole. The beam, invisible to the naked eye, reflected off a prism perched at the top of the pole and returned to the total station. Lynch and the other man, Danny Walker, were measuring the distance in order to arrange a 30-meter square grid. Walker is the former assistant state archaeologist for Wyoming. Lynch is an anthropology professor at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst. The two, with a group of scientists, are searching for the site of the 1865 Battle of Red Buttes. This was their third attempt. The battlefield is the last major Indian war battle in Wyoming that has never been found, Walker said. Theres 21 U.S. soldiers buried out here somewhere in an unmarked grave, he said. They could sell this land off for more housing, and they just built the new West Belt Loop. It could be destroyed by Casper getting bigger. The Wyoming Archaeological Society this summer received $11,000 from the Wyoming Cultural Trust Fund to search for the battlefield. Though much has been written about the battle which involved 25 Fort Caspar soldiers and a large group of Lakota, Cheyenne and Arapaho the precise site of the conflict has never been found. The group first began searching for the site in west Casper in 2008 after receiving a grant from the Natrona County Commission. They used metal detectors, but nothing turned up. They tried again a few years later and began using magnetometers, as well as cadaver dogs, to search for human remains. Though they covered four times more ground than before, the scientists found nothing definitive. For this 10-day project, they were laying out a metric grid with rope. Then they will slowly and methodically push magnetometers through the grid. The archaeologists will upload their findings to a computer program and study any magnetic disturbances in the soil. Back on the grassy hill, the laser beam returned to Lynchs machine. He spoke into a blue walkie-talkie. Eighty-five centimeters backwards, he said. Lynch could see Walker, who was dressed in gray sweatpants and a navy polo, move the metal pole. Stake in, Lynch said over the walkie-talkie. Wayne Reynolds, Natrona Countys deputy coroner, was helping Walker. He pulled a yellow stake out of a Tidy Cats litter bucket and used a mallet to drive it into the ground before tying on a piece of red tape that showed the stakes position on the grid. Each stake was placed a specific distance from a metal pole that served as a reference point called a datum. When the archaeologists push the magnetometers over the surface, a separate data file is saved for each square on the grid. That way when they analyze their data on a computer, they will know exactly where on the survey site they are looking. On a nearby hill, Rory Becker strode slowly back and forth between white ropes laid on the ground. His hands were placed on a white pole in front of him, as though he was riding a bicycle. Two white metal rods were attached vertically on each side of the pole. A small electronic box between his hands beeped rhythmically as he walked. The machine was one of two magnetometers the group is using to survey 120 of the 30-meter squares. Becker, who wore a white t-shirt and a safari hat, had replaced the buttons in his khaki pants with plastic ones so as not to interfere with the machines magnetic work. He wore a small backpack with weights inside to counterbalance the weight of the magnetometer. I love the history part of it, he said. But its also important to me that we find these folks before development runs them over. We want to have it protected rather than have it accidentally run over by a bulldozer. Becker, an anthropology professor at Eastern Oregon University, was looking for wagon parts, horse bridles, buttons from military uniforms and perhaps a burial trench. The magnetometer doesnt provide a real-time view. Instead, hell have to wait to upload the data to his computer. A program called TerraSurveyor will convert the data into an image Becker can analyze. It will take months for him and the other scientists to produce a final report on the project. Connie Jacobson, the Natrona County coroner, adjusted the ropes marking the grid as Becker moved through the grass with the magnetometer. Should the magnetometers spot remains, Jacobson will be tasked with determining if the bones are human and if theyre modern or historic. Then the soldiers living descendants would be told of the discovery. The archaeologists would study the remains and look for signs of trauma and disease before releasing them to the families for burial. I feel like I need to help in the front end instead of just being called in if human remains are found, Jacobson said. On an adjacent hill, Walker continued the tedious work of creating the grid. Reynolds, the deputy coroner, pricked his finger on a cactus as he hammered another stake into the ground. Whether they solve the mystery this time remains to be seen. Two years ago, the Wyoming Supreme Court ruled that a controversial education law was unconstitutional. Senate File 104 had stripped former Superintendent Cindy Hill of many of her powers, bitterly dividing Republicans in the process. On one side were mostly members of the GOP establishment, who felt the law was necessary to address what they saw as problems within the Department of Education. On the other side were Republicans who considered SF104 an overreach that thwarted the will of the voters. Although the case was long ago put to rest, members of the two camps continue to engage in other fights. Gov. Matt Mead and many lawmakers who supported SF104 have been the subject of lawsuits and an ethics complaint filed by people who opposed the so-called Hill Bill named after the educator, whose tenure was marked by contention and controversy. Hill filed a defamation suit earlier this year against state Rep. Tim Stubson of Casper. Stubson said the lawsuits are changing the political climate in Cheyenne. There definitely seems to be a pattern of conduct of politics through litigation, he said. What their motivation is I dont know. But it muddies the waters and makes Wyoming politics a lot uglier than it used to be. In an interview Tuesday, Mead said the court fights may dissuade potential candidates from seeking a seat in the Legislature. Hill didnt respond to questions about the recent legal and ethics complaints except to say, in a text message, that she didnt want to try the defamation case in the media. The Star-Tribune also left a phone message and sent a text message asking for her response to comments by Mead and Stubson that the complaints are having a chilling effect on Wyoming politics. She did not respond. Jennifer Young of Goshen County is one of four Wyoming residents to file the ethics complaint. She also worked to overturn SF104 at the ballot box. Young dismissed the notion that her concerns about Mead and other legislative leaders have anything to do with the past. How could this have anything to do with Cindy Hill? she said. They did something wrong. Defamation case On Feb. 22, Hill sued Stubson, a fellow Republican, over comments he made on Facebook regarding Hills performance as state superintendent while answering a question about SF104. Stubson at the time was running for the U.S. House and made the comments on his candidate page. The court case is ongoing. Stubson said that the spate of complaints is affecting government, with elected officials looking over their shoulder waiting until the next lawsuit is going to drop. If you look at the lawsuit against me and there were threatened lawsuits before the one filed against me that said, Dont talk about Senate File 104, Stubson said. When you have people talking about matters of public interest, that cant help but chill public discussion. Obviously thats a piece of legislation people felt strongly about and needed to talk about. Hill sent a statement to the Star-Tribune about the matter: In regards to Stubson, which I am involved with, I will not try this case in the media, Im a private citizen. Capitol suit Less than a month after the defamation suit, Rep. Gerald Gay of Casper and a Uinta County resident sued Mead, Stubson and other members of legislative leadership over the Wyoming Capitol reconstruction project. The plaintiffs opposed SF104 and the attorney representing them is Drake Hill, Cindy Hills husband. That case, too, is ongoing. Mead said Gay never visited with him about the suit before filing it. He didnt know Gay felt so passionately that the contracts on the Capitol reconstruction project are unconstitutional. Mead said hes attended dozens of public meetings over the years and never saw Gay or the Uinta County resident in attendance. Gay, who opposed SF104, said he did object to the project the way lawmakers are most effective: by sponsoring legislation in the 2016 session. Had Matt Mead mentioned to you that I brought legislation thats the exact wording of the lawsuit? he said. And Republican leadership failed to run my bill? Gay sponsored two House resolutions that would have called for an investigation into Capitol reconstruction contracts and potential conflicts of interest. Legislative records show both resolutions died after neither was presented for debate. Gay said he wouldnt need to sue his colleagues most of the people named in the suit are fellow Republicans if his bill had been heard, or had they followed the law. You wouldnt want to be a member of the Legislature and doing duties assigned to the executive branch, which is a major part of the lawsuit, he said. Ethics complaint The ethics complaint states that Sen. Eli Bebout voted for the Abandoned Mine Land program, which paid his company $27 million in recent years. The complaint questioned Mead, Bebout and other Senate leaders because Bebout hasnt abstained from voting. It called for an investigation. The researcher who compiled all the contract information concerning Bebouts company is Kevin Lewis, who was a senior member of Hills leadership team when she was superintendent. For the ethics complaint, Lewis requested the copies of the companys contracts with the Wyoming Department of Environmental Quality. The Star-Tribune sent a message to Lewis but he did not reply. A legislative committee recently dismissed the complaints request for an investigation. Young, one of the four people who made the ethics complaint, spearheaded the movement to repeal SF104 on the ballot. She said she was not surprised that lawmakers didnt want to pursue an investigation. This is not over. Thats what you can say, she told the Star-Tribune. Bebout is happy the request for an investigation has been dismissed. He said that throughout his years in the House and Senate, hes always been transparent about his business dealings with the state. He voted for the Abandoned Mine Land bill but said he thats no guarantee that his company would win the bid for mine reclamation work. When youre in politics and its a political season and you choose to run for office, in my case Ive been around for a while, there seems to be a target on my back, he said. But Im proud of my service to Wyoming in the House and the Senate. Long-term effect? Mead, who defeated Hill in the 2014 gubernatorial primary, said he worries that the ongoing litigation is dissuading people from running for office. I think the legislators are frustrated that they give their time and effort and are trying to do the right things, and when disagreements in policy end in litigation, I dont think its helpful to the state or the process, he said. There will be agreements or disagreements. To run to the courthouse every time there is, I think it sends a chilling effect for people who are considering being in the legislature. While most of the fighting has been among Republicans, a small number of Democrats have been named in actions. Rep. Mary Throne, as leader of the Democrats in the House, was sued over Capitol reconstruction. She was a sponsor of SF104. The day in early March when lawmakers were served with the suit, a process server in the House wrote a note to Throne, asking to speak to her but not indicating she was being sued. A legislative aide gave the note to the Cheyenne representative, who walked to the lobby to meet with the person who wanted to talk. Being served a complaint in the lobby of the House as I was is not a fun experience, Ill just say that, she said. I love the Legislature and I love serving people of Wyoming. I love policy and finding solutions for the state, but at some point when your name keeps showing up on a complaint, it begins to lose some of its allure. State lawmakers are floating a proposal to let some county residents vote in city elections. Under a concept that will go before the Legislatures Joint Corporations, Elections and Political Subdivisions Interim Committee, residents in unincorporated areas near city or town limits would be entitled to vote in city elections if they are affected by municipal ordinances or rules. On the other hand, if a municipality does not have extraterritorial jurisdiction the ability to wield power beyond its borders county residents could not vote in the city and would not be affected by the proposed law. Some municipalities in Wyoming have extraterritorial jurisdiction for things like planning and zoning, but others do not. The issue was discussed at a Corporations subcommittee meeting Friday. Some lawmakers said they think people covered by laws or regulations should be able to have a say in who creates those laws. I just think its patently unfair if someone can regulate you and you cant vote, said Sen. Curt Meier, R-LaGrange, a subcommittee member. Rep. Marti Halverson, R-Etna, said she also favors allowing county residents to vote in a city, as her property is in an unincorporated area but covered by municipal regulations. Allowing county residents to vote in city elections has come up from time to time, including in Laramie County in 2009 and in Natrona County during Caspers smoking ban vote. An alternative proposal floated Friday that failed would have allowed Wyoming residents who own a majority stake in a property within a city to vote in those elections, regardless of whether they actually live in the municipality. However, county residents could vote in the city only if the city decided to allow the practice. That proposal was brought by another lawmaker from a rural district, Rep. Albert Sommers, R-Pinedale. Sommers said he raised the issue after complaints in his district. He said some county residents who owned property in town limits felt they should have a say in town government. They really believe its taxation without representation, he said. However, that was scrapped after Meier suggested it could be considered a poll tax, and after concerns that one property owner could vote in multiple cities, among other issues. Several organizations, including the Wyoming Association of Municipalities and the Equality State Policy Center, questioned the property owner proposal. Shelley Simonton, the director of the Wyoming Association of Municipalities, said the organization is opposed to allowing non-city-resident property owners to vote, as it would be a fundamental change to our election process in Wyoming. In addition, Simonton questioned if the proposal would water down the rights of those that live in the town. Brianna Jones, the director of the Equality State Policy Center, also questioned creating another category of voters. This would essentially change the rules for a select group of people and would allow the opportunity to vote in a way that is not equal, she said. Another proposal that failed would have allowed certain county residents to run for municipal elected office. The proposal that moved forward allowing county residents near city limits affected by city rules the right to vote in the city will be discussed at a future meeting of the full Corporations Committee. Lawmakers said the bill likely will be amended as it moves through the legislative process. Natrona County Parks Director Dick OHearn was let go after a recent executive session of the county commissioners, a county official confirmed. Commission Chairman Forrest Chadwick said he could not discuss the decision because it was a confidential personnel matter. The decision was made a week ago Wednesday, and he was let go a week ago Thursday, Chadwick said. The Star-Tribune was unable to reach OHearn for comment. County Road and Bridge Supervisor Mike Haigler has been named interim parks director. Haigler has experience in the position, having held the title for a number of years before the Parks Department was split off from Road and Bridge, and OHearn named as director, in 2012. Mike is going to be very busy here for a while catching up on exactly what progress has been made on what projects, Chadwick said. There are a lot of irons in the fire, so to say, that Mike will have to be following up on. The Parks Department is implementing a Casper Mountain Plan, which includes development of the new Biathlon Training Center, and improvements at the popular Rotary Park. The department has also been active in upgrading the county facilities at Alcova, Gray Reef and Pathfinder reservoirs. The county recently renewed its lease agreement with the Bureau of Reclamation to manage the park, cabin and trailer areas. We are helping him as much as possible to get up to speed, as well as are some of our other departments, Chadwick added. Chadwick said the vacancy of the position, along with a job description, has been posted on the county website. A group of Wyoming ranchers and the environmental group they were suing for trespassing have reached a settlement, with both sides claiming victory. Fifteen landowners from Fremont, Sublette and Uinta counties alleged in a 2014 lawsuit that a Western Watersheds Project researcher had illegally crossed their property to collect water samples. The settlement prohibits the groups employees from going onto the landowners property in the future and makes it easier for the ranchers to seek punitive damages if future trespassing occurs, plaintiffs attorney Karen Budd-Falen said. We are very happy, Budd-Falen said. The settlement gives the landowners even more than they could have gotten if Western Watersheds Project had allowed the case to go forward. But watersheds project interim director Greta Anderson said the settlement represented a positive outcome for the organization under the circumstances. Her claims didnt actually win anything that didnt already exist, Anderson said, noting that while the settlement explicitly bars watersheds representatives from trespassing on private land, those same restrictions apply to all members of the public. (Landowners) paid two years of legal bills to Ms. Budd-Falen for a claim that she hoped would deliver a much greater outcome. The lawsuit alleged that Western Watersheds trespassed on private property 60 times between 2005 and 2014. The organization maintains that it used public access roads to collect water samples and that any trespassing was unintentional. In a 2015 speech covered by Livestock Weekly, Budd-Falen described the lawsuit in giddy terms, explaining that suing an environmental group for using private roads to collect samples from public waterways was a new and exciting tactic. One of the funniest things Im doing right now is we have figured out a way to sue Western Watersheds Project, the article quoted Budd-Falen as saying. The Cheyenne attorney said the reporter misquoted her. Budd-Falen said she meant it was funny that the coordinates that Western Watersheds turned into the Wyoming Department of Environmental Quality, along with the results of their tests, are what showed that they had crossed private lands. The reason we were able to catch them is because they had collected data, Budd-Falen said. But the article quotes Budd-Falen describing at length the lawsuit as a breakthrough in the legal fight between ranchers and environmental groups that claim livestock is polluting public waters. For a long time we all thought we were relegated to just suing the federal agencies or intervening on behalf of the federal agencies when some stupid environmental group sued them, Budd-Falen said in her speech to New Mexico ranchers. But by going after the method that environmental groups used to collect their data, Budd-Falen said they could target the organizations directly. This is so much fun, Budd-Falen was quoted as saying. Budd-Falen disputed the articles characterization of her speech and said the lawsuit was purely about respect for private property rights. However, she was clear in her disdain for Western Watersheds. Obviously, the work theyre doing is trying to put my clients out of business, she said. Western Watersheds says the data it collected shows high levels of E. coli in water near cattle grazing. The group submits that data to the Wyoming DEQ to include on its list of impaired waters, Anderson said. The work we do is in the public interest, and private interests shutting us down have been unsuccessful, Anderson said. The group was represented pro bono by law professors at the University of Denver. The tactic of going after environmentalists for trespassing, rather than challenging the substance of their claims, was bolstered by a 2015 state legislature bill. Senate File 12 imposes penalties of up to six months in jail and a $5,000 fine on people who trespass on private land to collect data. Individuals seeking to collect data on private land must now receive explicit permission to access private property. Environment and civil liberties groups criticized the bill as an attempt to stifle the work of activists. Turkish troops and allied Syrian rebels expelled the Islamic State from the last strip of territory it controlled along the Syrian-Turkish border on Sunday, effectively sealing the extremists self-styled caliphate off from the outside world, Turkeys prime minister and a Syrian opposition group reported. Also on Sunday, Syrian pro-government forces backed by airstrikes launched a wide offensive in the northern city of Aleppo, capturing areas they lost last month and besieging rebel-held neighborhoods, state media and opposition activists said. Turkey-backed Free Syrian Army rebels have cleared the area between the northern Syrian border towns of Azaz and Jarablus, Turkeys prime minister, Binali Yildirim, said. From Azaz to Jarablus, 91 kilometers (57 miles) of our border has been completely secured. All the terrorist organizations are pushed back, they are gone, Yildirim said, speaking at a dinner with non-government organizations in the southeastern city of Diyarbakir. The FSAs advance shut down key supply lines used by the IS to bring in foreign fighters, weapons and ammunition. The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said IS has lost its link with the outside world after losing all border areas with Turkey. It said the last two border villages that IS held were Mizab and Qadi Jarablus, which were taken Sunday afternoon. The IS had occupied the border area even before it declared its self-styled caliphate in June 2014, and it used the Turkish border to bring in fighters from around the world. The extremist group, which controls parts of Syria and Iraq, is now surrounded from all sides by hostile forces. The loss of its territory along the Turkish border follows a series of recent defeats for IS, including its expulsion from the central Iraqi city of Fallujah and its defeat in the former stronghold of Manbij in northern Syria. Airstrikes by the U.S.-led coalition have killed a number of the groups most prominent founding members and leaders. In a statement, Turkeys armed forces said the Jarablus-Azaz line has been connected. Turkey has long pushed for a safe zone in Syria between these two towns, with a plan to house Syrian refugees there. Turkey hosts an estimated 3 million Syrian refugees, the highest number in the world. PHOENIX If Hillary Clinton carries Arizona in November, theres a good chance it wont be because Democrats on their own have flipped a reliable GOP state they hope to win consistently someday. Instead, Clinton and Democrats may have Gary Johnson to thank. The Libertarian Party nominees best chance to influence the presidential race may come in Arizona, where the former New Mexico governor appeals to a group of finicky conservatives who make up part of the GOP base. It could happen, said GOP Sen. Jeff Flake. Donald Trump has managed to make this an interesting state in terms of presidential politics, and not in the way that Republicans have wanted. Johnson is an easy out for some people in our party, Flake told The Associated Press. About a dozen of the most contested states will help determine which candidate gets the 270 electoral votes to win the presidency. In Arizona, where the Republican nominee has carried the state in 11 of the past 12 presidential elections, Johnson could play the spoiler, potentially putting 11 electoral votes in Clintons column. The GOPs recent struggle with independent-minded, small-government Libertarians was clear before Trumps speech Wednesday in Phoenix, when he reaffirmed a hard line on immigration. And his stance could alienate the roughly one-quarter of Hispanic voters in the state who usually align with Republicans. I think that right now were at a tipping point, where at any moment we are going to begin to see an outpouring of support, said Latino GOP strategist Juan Hernandez, who works for Johnson in Arizona. Sensing an opportunity herself, Clinton began airing television advertisements in the state Friday and has reserved $500,000 in ad time through mid-September. Democratic strategist Andy Barr said Hispanic turnout was the multimillion-dollar question. About one-third of the states population identifies as Latino, but their share of the vote ranges between 12 percent and 16 percent, according to public and private polling. This closer it gets to 20 percent, the more our chances of winning go up, Barr said. Johnson will appear on the ballot in every state this fall, while Green Party nominee Jill Stein is on track to make it in at least half. Neither is remotely within reach of carrying a state. Neither seems in a position to tip any state toward Trump. But Johnson could move a close race toward Clinton, in much the same way that Ralph Nader pulled enough votes away from Democrat Al Gore in 2000 to hand Florida to Republican George W. Bush. Four years ago, Libertarian candidates in Arizona drew enough votes away from Republicans that Democrats Ann Kirkpatrick and Kyrsten Sinema won election to the U.S. House. Flake, who had endeared himself to many Libertarians while serving in the House, won his Senate race that year, too. Its a really sore spot for the party, Arizona Republican Party spokesman Tim Sifert said of those 2012 results. You could see people frustrated, throwing away their vote and going with a third-party candidate. The views of most Libertarians, focused on personal liberty and small government, overlap more with Republicans than Democrats. Johnsons call for dramatically lower business taxes and regulation to unburden entrepreneurs resonates with Matthew Sherman of Phoenix, who describes himself as more as a conservative than as a Republican. Im for whoever has the best plan on startup companies, said the 31-year-old whos working on a business networking app. So far, thats Gary. Republican Dave Richins, a councilman in Mesa City, said Johnson is conservative on spending, but tolerant on social issues, which he calls a pragmatic combination. For me, a lifelong Republican, I dont agree with everything Johnson proposes, said Richins, a Johnson organizer. But I find his pragmatism refreshing. Thats how we get things done. Johnsons hands-off approach to government also includes decriminalizing marijuana, and he could benefit from a November ballot proposal in Arizona on that question. Thats another reason for Libertarians to vote in higher numbers, said Barr, who is running the decriminalization campaign. Were inclined to believe that could increase Johnsons performance. At the beginning of August, Johnsons campaign had $1.2 million after raising $1.6 million in July, according to Federal Election Commission reports. Since Aug. 1, hes raised more than $3 million, according to his campaign. Thats a paltry sum compared with Trump and Clinton, whose campaign said it raised a total of $143 million last month. Johnson is spending in a few competitive campaign states, including Colorado, Iowa, New Hampshire and Wisconsin, and less-competitive ones such as Oregon, New Mexico and Utah. Arizona is not on that list, but aides say it likely will be this fall. As a New Mexican, hes fairly well known in Arizona, said Johnsons spokesman, Joe Hunter. Arizona makes sense for us. We have a natural base of support there. Canyon del Oro High Schools orchestra is seeking donations from the public. The orchestra was invited to perform at the Carnegie Hall in New York City next March. The 40 students need to raise $75,000 to get there. CDOs orchestra was chosen to perform based on a competitive process that involved submitting videos of past performances. Those who are interested in donating can contact Toru Tagawa, the orchestra director, at 520-696-5797 or visit https://cdoorchestra.wordpress.com/ Learn about college admission at event The Tucson Unified School District will host an event to help parents and students understand the college admission process on Sept. 10. Focus on the Future is a grassroots effort by a group of women who want to help all high school students get to college. The event, which is scheduled for 8 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. at Tucson High Magnet School, 400 N. Second Ave., is free and open to the public. Lunch will be provided. People who are interested can sign up at http://tusd1.org/contents/depart/highschool/focus.asp Help name new Amphi elementary Amphitheater School Districts new science, technology, engineering and math elementary school needs a name. The public can submit their ideas at www.amphi.com or on social media. The districts moniker on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter are @AmphiSchools. Open enrollment for the school begins Sept. 6. For more information about the school, visit http://www.amphi.com/STEMschool. Cienega student meets Stephen King A Cienega High School student had a chance to meet his idol. Drew Walker of Vail traveled to Nevada to attend a book signing for his favorite author, Stephen King. There, he presented King with a signed copy of his own science fiction book. Palo Verde class of 66 to host reunion Palo Verde High Schools Class of 1966 will be hosting its 50th reunion on Oct. 1. Classes of 64, 65 and 67 are also welcome to attend. For more information about the event, visit http://paloverde66.com. The Charleston Mine, located eight miles southwest of Tombstone, produced lead and zinc along with byproduct metals: gold, silver and copper. The name of the mine was derived from the nearby historic milling town that serviced the Tombstone mines during the 1880s. The Charleston claims themselves were located in 1928. Early estimates surmised the size of the zone of mineralization to be a minimum of 2 miles long and three-quarters of a mile wide. Attempts to mine lead and zinc ores in the 1930s proved unsuccessful except for a few thousand tons. It was not until Charles H. Suiter acquired the property that production of lead and zinc concentrates was achieved through the use of a crude mill. Diamond drilling in the early 1950s was carried out by lessees and the Ryan Oil Co. The mine tailings proved attractive, as they contained excellent specimens of rosin jack, a yellow variety of the zinc ore sphalerite. Country rock at the mine site includes andesite and rhyolite, part of a series of volcanic flows over 20 million years ago, some of which were altered by intense hydrothermal action forming sericite, a gangue material at the mine site. Sericite, a hydrous mica material, is a powdery substance used in rubber, ceramics, agriculture and paints. The sericite mined at Charleston was described as a product finer than flour. It was sold to the Tombstone Flotation Mill beginning at $10 per ton. The sericite crude ore was washed prior to the processing of the sulfides by flotation. This clay-like material, containing microscopic grains of mica, was purchased by the White Eagle Stucco Corp. in Phoenix. The mica was used in the manufacture of high-quality cement finish used to provide opaque whiteness in the swimming pool industry. The mine was first worked by underground methods. But rising costs combined with the soft, slippery nature of the sericite in underground workings resulted in the need for reinforced timbers because of caving concerns. By 1955, the mine consisted of six shafts, the deepest being 104 feet on a 55-degree incline, resulting in multiple levels comprising several hundred feet. Open-pit operations followed, carried out by the James Stewart Construction Co., which removed 60,000 tons of overburden to further mine sericite. The sericite was sold to the Western Chemical Co. and the Dutch Boy Paints Co., while the metal concentrates were sold to the International smelter at Toole, Utah. By the late 1950s, the mine had produced $40,000 in profit. The pit reached a size of 50 feet deep, 500 feet long and 150 feet wide. Suiter likened the association of sericite to copper on a similar mining property to one in Butte, Montana, regarding the sale of his mining corporation in the early 1970s. The James Stewart Co. was the owner in 1984, and the mine was reported to have long since been abandoned in the early 1990s, with a deteriorating mill and surplus of scattered core samples. The mine is on a mixture of Bureau of Land Management and State Trust land. Harlow L. Jones, who owned seven of the mines patented claims with plans to initiate further sericite and metals production, supported later reclamation attempts involving the BLM and the Arizona State Mine Inspectors Office at the site, consisting of 5 acres of waste dumps and mine entrances. Sulphides naturally leaching from the tailings and pit caused acid rock drainage after rains, with water levels reaching a depth of 7 feet in the confines of the pit. By the early 2000s, the pit was partially backfilled with mine tailings and cement mill foundations, with plans in place to incorporate an impermeable layer to prevent water runoff that might affect the nearby Upper San Pedro River watershed. The $250,000 remediation attempt was never completely fulfilled, due to the issuance of a mineral exploration permit on the State Trust Land property. It sounded too good to be true an official forecast that 2016 water use in Arizona, California and Nevada will be the lowest since 1992. That forecast from the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation was too good to be true by the bureaus own admission. It was widely reported recently as a sign of major progress toward conservation. But what the bureau calls its more accurate forecast, while still showing progress, is significantly higher, predicting water use in the states will be its lowest in 11 years not 24. For those three Lower Colorado River Basin states, the bureau predicts their 2016 total use will be 7.29 million acre-feet of water. Thats enough to serve about twice that many homes with water for a year. The forecast comes from the bureaus monthly study that looks up to 24 months ahead to predict how high Lake Mead and other reservoirs will be in a given month. Its still good news, the bureau said about 200,000 acre-feet less water out of Lake Mead this year than the states have the right to take. Its also about 150,000 acre-feet less than the states used in 2015. Thats due to conservation efforts by the three states, bureau officials say. Water officials across the West say the states need to conserve more to keep Lake Mead from dropping so low as to require severe cutbacks in water deliveries, including to Arizonas $4 billion Central Arizona Project that delivers Tucsons drinking water. The lake already has fallen more than 100 feet since 1999 due to drought and a chronic structural deficit in which use exceeds supplies even in years of normal runoff. The other bureau forecast, updated daily, has predicted since late July that the three states will use 6.9 million to almost 7 million acre-feet this year. Thats around 500,000 acre-feet less than they have the right to take. The last year the three states used less than 7 million was 1992 the final year of George H.W. Bushs presidency. This lower forecast made news in the Las Vegas Review Journal and on the water news website Circle of Blue as a sign of how much progress the three states are making in conservation. In a water-oriented blog, Albuquerque-based author John Fleck wrote that the 6.9 million forecast illustrated a central point of his new book, Water is for Fighting Over: That when people have less water, they use less water that we have the ability to significantly reduce our water use in the arid West and still thrive, and that we are in fact already making significant progress. But when asked by the Star why the bureau predicted such a dramatic decrease, bureau officials said recently that this forecast is likely to be wrong. The discrepancy stems from the fact that the agencys two forecasts have different purposes and rely on different assumptions. The higher-use forecast comes from a study the bureau uses to predict whether it will have to cut water deliveries to states the following year. That study relies on computer models to project future reservoir conditions and potential dam operations. Those models rely on a range of factors, including existing reservoir conditions and forecasts of how much water will flow into the reservoirs and how much the states will take out of them. The other forecast helps the bureaus staff and water users monitor projected water diversions and use to avoid overruns, or the diversion of more water than theyre allowed to take, said Paul Matuska, water accounting and verifications manager in the bureaus Boulder City, Nevada, office. Its based on the amount of water that users order and that the bureau approves to be diverted from the river to farms and cities in the three states. But while the bureau considers the 24-month study forecast more accurate, its not planning to abandon the daily forecasts. The two forecasts differ slightly during the year, but theyll dovetail by years end, said Rose Davis, a bureau spokeswoman. The two forecasts begin with the same assumptions of water use for the year, but vary in how the changes in water use are recorded or observed, Davis said. Some Lower Basin users are interested in both sets of data and understand their complexities, she said, although the information can seem confusing at times. A felony arrest warrant was issued Monday for a second man in connection to an armed robbery and stabbing at Chariot Pizza Sept. 1. Robbery detectives obtained the warrant for David Ryan Howe, 35, according to a post on Tucson Police Department's Facebook page. Investigators said Howe is considered armed and dangerous, and should not be approached. Anyone with information on his whereabouts is asked to call 911. On Sept. 4, police arrested Alex Joseph Haider, 18, in the robbery and stabbing at the pizza restaurant at 3930 N. Flowing Wells Road. Haider was booked on suspicion of attempted armed robbery, aggravated robbery, aggravated assault with a weapon, kidnapping and an unrelated warrant. Officers responded to a call from Chariot just before 11 p.m. on Sept. 1, police said. They found a man, who worked at the restaurant, with stab wounds. He was taken by Tucson Fire Department paramedics to Banner-University Medical Center Tucson with non-life-threatening injuries. Another worker was treated on the scene for a substance that was sprayed into his eyes. The pizza restaurant was closed and the two employees were cleaning up when two men entered through an unlocked back door. One sprayed what appeared to be pepper spray in the face of one of the employees and chased the other one, police said. The second employee was stabbed multiple times and stomped on during a struggle, authorities said. Help India! By Pradipta Tapadar, IANS, Kolkata : For decades, the Marxists sold Left literature during Durga Puja. Now out of power, the Communists are struggling to get people to run the stalls. And many locals are staying away. Support TwoCircles The Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) has also complained of violence unleashed by the ruling Trinamool Congress in several pockets to prevent the stalls from coming up. As Durga Puja celebrations peak, the changed political equation in the state has started biting the CPI-M hard. For long, the Marxists used Durga Puja as a platform to popularise Marxist literature. Stalls outside Puja marquees across the state did brisk sales. On sale would be classical works of Lenin, Stalin and Marx besides writings and speeches of Indian Communists. CPI-M supporters would manage the booths. In power for 34 years, the Marxists had become accustomed to crowds. The occasion was also used by hangers-on trying to strike a rapport with party leaders and activists. Not this time. This year the rush to our stalls is really quite low, maybe due to the changed political scenario, admitted Badal Singha, at a stall in South Kolkatas Bhowanipore area. We couldnt find enough men to manage the stalls. Earlier there used to be a rush, said a local committee member of the CPI-M in Dum Dum area. Bacchu, overseeing a stall in Kolkatas Lake Town area, complained that there were few buyers now. The CPI-M, founded in 1964, is Indias biggest Communist party. It now rules Tripura and is the main opposition in West Bengal and Kerala. It was in power in West Bengal from June 1977 to May this year. Since losing power in May, the CPI-M has accused the Mamata Banerjee government of fomenting violence against Communist supporters and leaders, besides forcibly closing down party offices. In most places such as West and East Midnapore districts and parts of Hooghly and Burdwan, most of our party offices are shut. So there we could put up only a few stalls, said a CPI-M source. Incidents of ransacking of stalls by alleged Trinamool supporters and their hostile opposition to the stalls in many parts of West Bengal have been published in the CPI-M mouthpiece Ganashakti Still we have managed to put up stalls in most areas where there were problems, said CPI-M state secretariat member Rabin Deb. (Pradipta Narayan Tapadar can be contacted at [email protected]) Help India! By Dr Kouser Fathima for Twocircles.net Triple Talaq is in news again and the way Muslim community has reacted to it speaks volumes about how confused we are as a community. The various answers given by the All India Personal Muslim Law Board (AIMPLB) has only added to the confusion. Although many Muslim men condemn Triple Talaq, they are reluctant to let the practice go. They are not sure why they are supporting a practice which is unfollowed in most of Muslim-majority countries. Support TwoCircles Scholars and intellectuals have been repeatedly telling that Triple Talaq is un-Islamic, but still many dont want it to go in India. Why? What are the reasons for their attitude? Many dont even have a proper answer to the question. The most common answer is that it is not followed commonly, or that it is rarely used. However, the fact is many Muslim women are victims of this practice and few are vocal about it. Yes, we dont have a proper data about it, simply because no one bothers to record such data. For Representation purpose only The other excuse given is that the whole issue is politically motivated, media is highlighting it with an agenda. Why are we surprised if it is politically motivated? These issues of Muslim womens rights were long due and neglected for a long time. Many attempts by feminist organisations and Muslim feminist were brushed aside, issues were ignored or failed to arrive at a consensus. While we failed to set our house in order, others are now taking advantage and trying to reform us. Suddenly, everyone seems to have woken up to the political motivation and are requesting Muslim women not to wash the laundry in public, but were conveniently silent on the state of Muslim women all these years. And to people complaining about political motivation, I ask: what made you think that these issues would never be used for politics ? You had enough time to address these issues but refused to even discuss it and now the consequences are clearly visible. Most are confused to the extent that they are not sure about what they are trying to convey. They claim to not support Triple Talaq, but will go on trying to explain about it. Many even dont accept that it is relevant in our community and some even claim that hardly any women are affected by the practice. Blaming media is only an easy escape while neglecting relevant issues and if this continues, the results would be disastrous for sure. The author is a Bengaluru-based writer Help India! By Amit Kumar for Twocircles.net Sanjay Subrahmanyam once wrote about Ashis Nandy as being dazzling clever as he is tiresomely repetitive and profoundly ill-informed Armed with blissful innocence, he can then brilliantly develop paradox after paradox. Subrahmanyam ended his piece with calling Nandy as our only true colonial thinker. In a different time and in an absolutely different context, Nandy has again shown his ignorance and his colonial mentality by picking up his pen to think and write about the current assertion of Kashmiris for Azaadi. His ideas and assertions I will highlight below are deeply flawed as they were when he discussed Secularism in Indian context. Support TwoCircles Nandy, in his recent article on Kashmir in Outlook starts his analysis by comparing current Kashmir situation, with that of Palestine. In both cases he asserts teenagers pelt stones and state and its machinery is busy dubbing these protestors as terrorists. So far so good. Nothing objectionable here. Later he goes on to assert that Kashmiri elite which doesnt support terrorism is saddened by the cruelty and the surplus violence that our politicians and army have produced. Oxford dictionary defines surplus as an amount of something left over when requirements have been met; an excess of production or supply. That way surplus violence will mean something more than required or violence which is in excess. So is this great Indian scholar saying that a certain amount of violence is necessary and its problematic only when its in excess or when the requirement of the Indian nation-state is met i.e. when a Kashmiri is finally maimed, raped, repressed to such an extent that he/she decides to join India? After justifying just violence of the state, Nandy creates another dichotomy of militants on one sides and Army-police on another side. For him Kashmiri community is caught in between the two warring factions. What a tribute to the agency of subalterns! Reminds me of that old imperial school of thought which systematically denied agency to the colonial subjects, and always portrayed them as voiceless, immobile subjects manipulated by the bourgeois nationalist leadership. To then further stretch argument of Sanjay Subrahmanyam the question becomes, Is Kashmir an Indian colony and Ashis Nandy the imperial ideologue defending the Indian empire by rendering Kashmiri assertion of Azaadi as manipulation of few indigenous elites. If it is so, Nandy should not feel alone, there are many from the great Indian elite circus from Tavleen Singh to Swapan Dasgupta doing the same. Nandy also is at pains for what Indian army is doing in Kashmir. Dont get me wrong, he isnt worried much about the death toll in Kashmir, or about those who are blinded forever by the pellet injurious. (He makes a fleeting reference to the pellet bullets that have blinded more than fifty teenagers in Kashmir). Rather his heart bleeds for the credibility and image of Indian army and it irks him so much that Indian army is finally apologetic. He is sincerely worried about all this and very innocently argues, we shall soon find out that we have paid a heavy price, internationally and in India itself, by trying to emulate Israel. Who is we in this assertion? Why should a scholar who never gets tired of criticizing nation-state align himself with a murderous history of Indian nation-state? Is Nandy then a closet nationalist critiquing nation-state because it sells or because it is glamorous these days? Whatever way one may take it; I dont think many radical movements within India despite sharing the same national boundaries as Nandy does associate with this we the upper caste masculine nation-state. It will be hard to assume that Ashis Nandy has not heard about the long history of Pledge of Resistance started by leading American intellectuals against the American war on terror. It read something like this, We believe that as people living in the United States it is our responsibility to resist the injustices done by our government, in our names Not in our name will you wage endless war. There are many within India who hold this position and they not only dissociate themselves from the actions of the Indian army and Indian state, but severely criticize both these entities from streets to universities. But love for someone/something is hard to hide. The thick jargon coated veil which Nandy has always used to hide his love for Indian army and Indian state is finally slipping. The emperor is naked! This convoluted understanding of Kashmir which Ashis Nandy shares with majority of his countrymen emerges from a more horrible understanding of Kashmir history. For Nandy the date of the present crisis in Kashmir is from the time when New Delhi cleverly began to nibble at Kashmirs autonomy. Can someone please give him a good history book on Kashmir to read! Can someone tell him that historians of Kashmir trace the alienation of Kashmiris back to the sale of Kashmir to the Dogra Maharaja in 1846. Has he heard of something like Treaty of Amritsar? I am seriously curious to know. Anyway history was never his forte as Subrahmanyam had noted long back. But it does not stop him from garnering some facts to get an authenticity for his verbal diarrhea. Of all people he quotes a former police officer K.F Rustamji who started his career as a British colonial officer and a Times of India journalist who was also a sympathizer of Hindu Nationalism. He remembers them telling him how much popularity Indian Army had among Kashmiris around 1948 and how Kashmiris are difficult people to live with. Had Ashis Nandy ever had a conversation about Indian Army with anyone from my grandfathers generation he would not have made such a grandiose claim and would have seriously questioned what Rustamji had informed him about. Also had he often met Kashmiris he would not have taken the role of colonial judge to call Kashmiris whose homes and fields have been trampled by the jackboots of Indian Army as cussed. I dont know what Indian intellectuals expect Kashmiris to do. The Indian state can go on killing, raping and torturing Kashmiris and Kashmiris are expected to welcome their killers with open arms. This absurd logic betrays all levels of humility and shame. As someone who by forced circumstances is a part of Indian academia, I take it upon myself to make a few suggestions to my fellow colleagues. First suggestion will be to stop writing these absurd, derogatory and vile commentaries about Kashmir. In order to sound very humane and radical intellectual, you endlessly keep exposing your latent Indian empire project. Your articles and commentaries put in shame those colleagues of yours and mine who have much more important and genuine ideas and critiques to offer to the Kashmiri movement. Second, if you have an intense urge to tick one more progressive box and write or say something about Kashmir which of course no Kashmiri will stop you to then you need to go back to the basic lessons of research. Revising your own yellow colored notes on research methodologies wont be a bad idea. As someone like M.N. Srinivas or contemporary James C. Scott would have told you, please spend a couple of years in the field, listen, learn and assimilate. After two years of field work I am sure your palace of dubious assertions will crumble and you will some new found truth. You may still not able to appreciate what Kashmiri movement is about, but still you will be readable. Lastly if you are not ready to devote some serious time to understand Kashmir, better go back to your intimate enemy and look for your losses and recoveries there. Let Kashmiris talk and write their own stories. The author is a Doctoral candidate at the Department of History, Delhi University One of the recent controversies involved the new grilled KFC products that have beef. Reportedly, it is being served in all parts of the world, and is unhealthy for human Health. We know that this company feels pride to release their ingredients list every month online. Most of the foods served here cause cancer, health experts at Harvard University claim. Here is why eating at KFC is bad for health. Their grilled chicken has loads of sodium Researchers have proved that the grilled chicken of KFC, McDonalds, and other fast food stores have loads of sodium. The excessive intake of sodium causes breast cancer, obesity, high blood pressure, and other health complications. According to Kentucky Fried Cruelty, every year millions of chickens are killed for preparing the meals. The legs and wings are consumed in a large amount, and these have the highest amount of sodium. At over 400 calories, 900mg of sodium, and 25g of fatty acids, a single KFC burger can become the reason of severe health complications. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration says that we need to keep a balance in our life. The inappropriate use of junk foods can lead you to baldness, weak eyesight, and abnormal blood flow in the body. KFC has an unhealthy attribute of frying This fast food chain has long been in the news because of its unhealthy attribute of frying. Studies reveal that at most of its branches, expired or unhealthy oil is used for frying. Most of its eatables have high amounts of Sodium Bicarbonate, Monocalcium Phosphates, Monosodium Glutamate, and other components. When you consume these food items, you can suffer from infertility, and other serious disorders. Its food stores across the US, Canada, Europe, and Asia, do not guarantee that they are using fresh oil and healthy spices. Thus, the company should take action against those restaurants. Directly or indirectly they are damaging the repute of the brand. By shutting down such stores, the firm can maintain its reputation to a greater extent. We recommend that you stay away from such low quality food stores. In a stunning new poll by FOX News, 66% of voters believe the Clintons were selling influence to foreign contributors to the Clinton Foundation. In a poll taking place from Aug. 28-30, voters were asked: "There have been reports that the Clinton Foundation, a non-profit organization started by former President Bill Clinton, accepted substantial financial donations from foreign governments while Hillary Clinton was serving as secretary of state. How likely do you think it is that the Clintons were selling influence to foreign contributors who made donations to the Clinton Foundation?" 66% responded that it was Likely (including 42% who thought it was Very Likely and only 24% that thought it was Somewhat Likely). This is up from June 2015 when 61% thought it was Likely (with a corresponding 31%/30% split). Newly released e-mails regarding 'favors' to Foundation donors Three weeks ago, the conservative activist group Judicial Watch requested a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) regarding Huma Abedin, Chief of Staff during Hillarys tenure as Secretary of State. The e-mails released revealed requests of favors by donors to the Clinton Foundation. For example, Abedin urgently connected Gilbert Chagoury, a billionaire businessman from Nigeria and donor to the Clinton Foundation, to someone at the State Department after receiving an appeal. More e-mails have been released since then, following the same pattern. Further polling results show dissatisfaction with Clinton Due to the Clinton Foundation e-mail reveals, along with her e-mail server debacle, dissatisfaction with the candidate has been gradually rising. The same FOX poll cited above shows that 74% believe Clinton will do anything to get elected. Furthermore, voters find her less and less trustworthy. Since April 2014, the number who believe shes honest has dropped from 54% to 31%: Polling description This data was taken from a FOX News poll from Aug. 28-30, 2016. The poll was conducted through landline and cellphone interviews with 1,011 randomly selected registered voters. The results have a margin of error of plus or minus three percentage points. The appearance of the Islamic State (ISIS) and its fast expansion through Iraqi and Syrian territories has again destabilized the delicate balance in a region already inherently known for its instability. The war against ISIS, which has fused with the Syrian civil war, has generated a conflict more akin to the Cold War, where the different actors are supported by patrons who, in turn, have their own interests in the area. In said battle of interests, disguised as a six-year ongoing war, the Kurds fight for survival and the control of their lands, in an effort that could mean the first step towards the creation of a Kurdish state. Largest minority with no state Kurds are considered today the largest minority group in the world who do not have their own state. Dispersed between Syria, Iran, Iraq and Turkey, estimations claim there could be between 20 and 30 million Kurdish people, whose aspiration is Kurdistan, a state that would encompass regions from the aforementioned 4 countries. Although they have obtained a certain degree of independence in a determined area of Iraq, the creation of Kurdistan has always been subject to difficulties and interests that closely resemble those that exist for the creation of a Palestinian State. The appearance of the Islamic State and its expansion has forced the Kurds to fight to control their own territories in the northern parts of Syria and Iraq. This resistance movement, which has turned them into an allied force for the international coalition, as well as the void left behind the disappearance of governmental authority nucleuses both in Syria and Iraq, has reopened the possibility for the Kurds to aspire for an own State. The war for independence What started out as a war for survival has turned, with time, into a war for independence. The Kurdish people believe that in their resistance against invaders lies their greatest claim for self-determination, although chances seem slim especially in Turkey, where most of the Kurdish population resides. Knowing that a hypothetical defeat of the Islamic State in the future with help from the Kurds could mean a steroid for their hopes and dreams of independence, Turkish forces have been forced to intervene in Syria under the pretextof protecting their borders. In this offensive, named Shield of the Euphrates, Turkey has tried to curb the independence aspirations of the Kurds launching a full-on attack on the Islamic State as well as Kurdish forces, who have been forced to retreat and surrender territory that had been reclaimed from ISIS forces. The Turkish strategy, which could be described as a move to secure its borders, seems also to target keeping Kurdish forces from reclaimed territory. A real possibility In any case, and despite difficulties, the creation of a Kurdish State seems no longer a stretchand is becoming more and more a real possibility. As the Islamic State retreats and relinquishes territory in a slow process of erosion and collapsing, the idea that the Kurds can seize the opportunity earned through their participation in the war to negotiate the creation of a Kurdish State, something that will not be easy taking into account the reluctance of Iran, Iraq, Syria, and above all, Turkey. Server manufacturer chairman calls for more big data cooperation Updated: 2016-09-02 19:51 By Ma Si(chinadaily.com.cn) The chairman of China's largest server manufacturer called for deeper communication among global big data enterprises at the upcoming B20 summit on Friday, as Internet data centers become as important as water and electricity in the big data era. Sun Pishu, chairman and CEO of Inspur Group Co Ltd, said when it comes to the interconnections of the global information infrastructure, enterprises should not just focus on improving internet bandwidth. "As a growing number of governments and enterprises move their business to cloud platforms, internet data centers will play a central role in connecting different countries around the world," he added. Sun made the comments in Hangzhou, capital of Zhejiang where the B20 summit will be held on Saturday. According to him, when promoting the Belt and Road Initiatives, which are designed to promote trade and exchange between China and Middle Asian and European countries, it is important to balance investments in traditional infrastructure and internet infrastructure. The Shandong-based company has been stepping up efforts to "export" its big data capability to countries such as Russia, Indonesia and Thailand by partnering with local firms or setting up research and development centers there. Fire breaks out fruit market in Hong Kong Updated: 2016-09-04 20:24 (Xinhua) HONG KONG -- Firefighters were battling a huge blaze engulfing a fruit market in Hong Kong on Sunday afternoon. The fire broke out at a store built from metal sheets, located at the Yau Ma Tei Wholesale Fruit Market, at around 4:24 pm local time (0824 GMT), sending palls of black smoke high into the sky, according to local TV reports. It was raised to a No. 3 alarm in 13 minutes. Fire crew and police officers rushed to the site after receiving reports from nearby residents. No casualties have been reported so far and the cause of the fire remained unknown. The market was founded in 1913 and is classified as a Grade II historic building by the Antiquities Advisory Board. It is also next-door to the Yau Ma Tei Theatre, another listed building. The incident occurred less than three months after two firefighters died when battling a fire that razed an industrial building in Hong Kong's East Kowloon. CCDI shows progress in hunt for corrupt officials Updated: 2016-09-05 07:26 By ZHANG YAN in Beijing and CAO YIN in Hangzhou(China Daily) Fugitives brought to justice.[Infographic made by China Daily] As the G20 throws the spotlight on global anti-corruption efforts, China has released fresh data on its progress in capturing former officials accused of fleeing abroad with billions in public money. The nation is more than two years into an intensive campaign to track down and repatriate economic fugitives overseas, part of wider measures to tackle graft. So far, 2,020 economic fugitives, including 342 former officials, have been returned to China from more than 70 countries and regions since 2014, according to the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection. The top discipline watchdog said also that 7.62 billion yuan ($1.14 billion) in illegal assets had been seized. China has worked to make corruption a major talking point at the on going G20 Summit in the eastern city of Hangzhou. Cai Wei, joint head of the G20 Anti-Corruption Working Group, said he expects to see world leaders "further implement action plans promised in previous years to improve cooperation in law enforcement, extradition and seizing illegal funds". "Corrupt fugitives and the cross-border flow of illegal proceeds seriously damage social justice and hinder economic development," said Cai, who is also deputy director of the CCDI's International Cooperation Bureau. Li Chengyan, head of Peking University's Center for Anti-Corruption Studies, predicted that the summit will result in all members agreeing to a legal definition of corruption, a coordinated mechanism to pursue fugitives and stolen assets, and the implementation of the UN Convention Against Corruption. At the Business 20 Summit on Saturday, also in Hangzhou, experts agreed that graft "is a barrier to economic growth", said Evelyn Mantoiu, a policy analyst from the University of Sheffield who attended the meeting. B20 delegates made two recommendations to the G20 regarding corruption: one to strengthen intergovernmental cooperation; the other for leaders to foster a transparent commercial environment. "Curbing corruption is important, as graft undermines trust, which is a key investment security factor. And it increases transaction costs due to unpredictability," Mantoiu said. China launched a massive anti-corruption campaign after the new leadership was elected in late 2012. To capture economic fugitives abroad, the government set up the Central Anti-Corruption Coordination Group, led by the CCDI, and launched its Sky Net operation. "Western countries can't become 'safe havens' for corrupt fugitives. No matter where they have escaped to, we will try every means to bring them back," President Xi Jinping said in 2014. In April last year, Interpol issued red noticesinternational arrest warrantsfor 100 Chinese fugitives. By the end of July, 33 had been returned from 16 countries and regions, including seven from Canada, the CCDI data show. Two of the 33 have been convicted and sentenced. Developed countries such as the United States, Canada, Australia and Singapore have become popular destinations for Chinese fugitives due to the lack of extradition treaties. President continues one-on-one dialogues Updated: 2016-09-05 08:24 (China Daily) Editor's note: Sunday marked the third day of President Xi Jinping's busy schedule of bilateral meetings with leaders attending the G20 Summit in Hangzhou, Zhejiang province. Following are highlights of some of the two-way talks: Egypt Abdel-Fatah al-Sisi China wants to enhance its cooperation with Egypt in areas such as production capacity, finance, environmental protection and infrastructure, President Xi Jinping said. The two countries should strengthen communication and cooperation in international and regional affairs, he said, adding that both sides should push forward their bilateral connection to mark the 60th anniversary of their diplomatic ties. Egyptian President Abdel-Fatah al-Sisi said the China-Egypt friendship is deeply rooted in the minds of the people from both countries. Egypt wants to boost communication and cooperation with China in areas such as industry, telecommunications, technology, agriculture, water projects, finance, local government administration and human resources, he said. Australia Malcolm Turnbull Mutual trust is a precondition that ensures the smooth development of China-Australia ties, and the two countries should respect each other's core interests and major concerns, President Xi Jinping said. China and Australia are expected to further implement their bilateral free trade agreement and to explore cooperation in fields such as energy and resources, agriculture and husbandry, food processing and infrastructure construction, Xi said. It is hoped Australia will further provide fair, transparent and understandable policies for foreign investors, which also serves the interests of Australia itself, Xi said. The two countries should work on expanding joint research and development in fields such as food, agriculture, mining and ocean science, and they should reinforce cooperation to fight corruption and hunt for fugitives and illegal assets, while boosting anti-terrorism efforts, Xi added. Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull said his country is dedicated to implementing the bilateral free trade agreement, is ready to deepen the bilateral economic and trade relationship and will continue welcoming Chinese investment in the country. The two countries have a tradition of friendship, and their comprehensive strategic partnership has widespread support within Australia, Turnbull said. Mexico Enrique Pena Nieto President Xi Jinping said China and Mexico should draw a road map for bilateral cooperation for the next five years. The two countries should make use of overlapping points in China's 13th Five-Year Plan (2016-20), along with its innovation-driven development strategy, and Mexico's structural reform to promote cooperation in fields such as building special economic zones, geospatial information technology and nanotechnology. Developing the China-Mexico comprehensive strategic partnership is a pioneering job, Xi said. The two countries have made achievements in sectors including trade, investment, finance and energy, he said. China expects to join Mexico to consolidate mutual trust, deepen integration of interests and promote people-to-people exchanges. Xi said he expects Mexico to fully exert its regional influence to promote China's relations with Latin America. Mexico's President Enrique Pena Nieto said China is a close friend and an important trading partner. He said his country is committed to pushing forward cooperation in fields including investment, finance and tourism, and deepening coordination with China on international affairs. India Narendra Modi China and India should respect each other's concerns and properly handle disputes in a constructive way, President Xi Jinping said. He said the two neighbors - both large, developing countries - should stick to developing bilateral ties, often exchange views on major issues of common concern, and strengthen strategic communication to boost mutual understanding and trust. China expects to work with India to maintain the hard-won favorable situation in their bilateral ties, he said. Xi added that the Chinese government will encourage enterprises to invest in India and suggested the two sides explore the possibility of some "big, concrete projects" in fields such as infrastructure and capacity cooperation. India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi said India-China relations are of great importance to the two countries, the region and the world. The two countries have similar stances on international affairs, he said. Asian countries should join hands to strive for regional stability and prosperity, Modi added. (China Daily 09/05/2016 page2) Bruce Lee Club in Hong Kong to hold auction before closure Updated: 2016-09-05 08:55 (Ecns.cn) Bruce Lee Club in Hong Kong founded by fans of the legendary kung fu star will close on Sept 4 after 15 years of operation due to rising rent in one of the world's most expensive property markets. This mini-museum and souvenir shop in Kowloon has action figures, toys, movies and memorabilia related to the martial arts icon. It will hold an auction of its collection on Sept. 3 including a rare porcelain figure of Bruce Lee with an estimated market value of $HK100,000 ($12,900). Income from the auction will be used to cover expenses and redundancy pay. The club said it aimed to "bring members from around the world together to express and exchange their feelings about Bruce Lee and to promote martial arts, philosophy and arts movies." The shop had already cut its space by half to reduce costs, but was still unable to cover the rising rent. Chairman W Wong said the shop that was in operation for 15 years was more like a venue for fans to meet rather than a profit-making business. Bridging the gap between skills and employment Updated: 2016-09-05 08:26 By Su Zhou(China Daily) A student works on an electric motor at the Shanxi Yongji Advanced Technician School, which has trained 12,000 skilled technicians since it was established in 1974. Liu Baocheng / For China Daily Many workers lack expertise required by key industries, says govt minister All G20 members face the challenge of employing lower-skilled workers in a difficult economic environment, but China has taken positive steps to tackle the problem, according to a senior official. At the 2016 G20 Labor and Employment Ministerial Meeting held in July, Yin Weimin, minister of human resources and social security, explained that China's problems are twofold: an estimated 15 million new job seekers will enter the labor market every year between now and 2020, and many workers lack the skills required by the industries that are at the heart of the country's development plans. He described fresh college graduates and workers lacking the necessary skills as the country's "most pressing issue", which was also the "main focus" of the meeting. According to the World Economic Forum's Human Capital Report 2016, approximately 25,000 new workers will enter the labor market in developing countries every day between now and 2020, while more than 200 million people globally are unemployed. Yet at the same time, there is expected to be a world shortage of some 50 million highly skilled applicants over the coming decade. To make sure there are enough skilled workers to match the available job vacancies, China has focused on maintaining a large number of labor-intensive industries during its economic transformation and upgrades, while at the same time promoting the service industry, Yin said. "We are also promoting small - and medium-sized enterprises, which form the largest platform to offer employment," he said. "Such companies could absorb more than 80 percent of job seekers." The Chinese government has also launched training projects and an entrepreneurship consulting service to help those facing difficulties finding work, Yin added. "Through education, we hope that those in difficulty can rely on themselves to change their situation," he said. "We have encouraged many people to start their own business by providing training, consultation and financing guarantees. Their startup projects could also provide more job opportunities." College students attend an intern opportunity fair held in June at Nanjing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics in Nanjing, Jiangsu province. Yang Bo / China News Service Li Shanxiang, deputy head of human resources at Linyi Mining Group in Shandong province, said the company had signed a contract with Shandong Coal Technician College, to train 100 medium-skilled workers over the next two years. This is part of China's apprentice program to foster job skills around the country. "We are very keen to cultivate our workers into highly-skilled ones. The new apprenticeship model provides one teacher for three to five apprentices and special training for them," Li said. Focus on globalization, aging populations, technical progress The 2016 G20 Labor and Employment Ministerial Meeting, held in July, involved in-depth discussions on globalization, technological progress and aging populations, with a particular focus on the opportunities and challenges these issues posed to the labor markets of G20 economies. The major outcomes of the meeting were as follows: 1. The G20 Entrepreneurship Action Plan was adopted. G20 economies agreed to carry out action plans and strengthen efforts to nurture the conditions that unleash the entrepreneurial potential of this valuable human capital, especially of our youth. G20 economies welcomed China's leadership in the establishment of the Entrepreneurship Research Center on G20 Economies as a platform to deepen information exchange and extend the sharing of good practices among G20 members in support of this action plan. 2. The G20 Initiative to Promote Quality Apprenticeship was adopted. G20 economies committed to offering high-quality apprenticeships and developing workforces that possess strong capacities in both theory and practice and meet the needs of the labor market. 3. G20 members were urged to adopt well-targeted job creation policy measures based on national conditions. This had been the first time that a whole package of policy recommendations was produced on social protection. The meeting adopted Policy Recommendations to Enhance Employability, Sustainable Wage Policy Principles and Policy Recommendations for Promoting More Equitable and Sustainable Social Protection Systems. suzhou@chinadaily.com.cn China, Spain pledge to boost ties Updated: 2016-09-05 13:27 (Xinhua) HANGZHOU - China would like to work with Spain to elevate their comprehensive strategic partnership to a new level, President Xi Jinping said Monday. He made the remarks while meeting with Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy on the sidelines of the Group of 20 (G20) summit in the eastern Chinese city Hangzhou. China appreciates Spain's support for the Belt and Road Initiative and encourages its companies to invest in Spain, Xi said, adding that the two sides should continue to cooperate in fields such as finance, telecommunications and renewable energy, and use their respective advantages to complement each other. The two sides should also expand their trade through the cargo railway link connecting Yiwu in east China's Zhejiang Province with Madrid in Spain, Xi said. He added that China supports the stability and prosperity of the European Union (EU) and expects Spain to play a positive role in promoting China-EU relations. Rajoy said Spain speaks highly of the Chinese government's efforts to tackle ongoing economic challenges and supports China's hosting of the G20 Hangzhou summit. Spain is willing to work with China to maintain close contacts and explore the potential in trade and investment while expanding culture and education exchanges, Rajoy said. President Xi Jinping speaks during the opening ceremony of the G20 Leaders Summit in Hangzhou, Zhejiang province, on Sunday. Xi expressed hope that the summit would promote solutions to problems facing the global economy and lead to strong, sustainable, balanced and comprehensive development. Feng Yongbin / China Daily Ice cream gift warms Russia-China ties Updated: 2016-09-05 07:25 (Agencies) Despite warm relations between Moscow and Beijing, Vladimir Putin brought a chilly gift for his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping as they met on the sidelines of the G20 Summit Sunday: a tub of ice cream. Putin did not divulge the flavor of the frozen gift as he was welcomed by Xi at a government guesthouse in Hangzhou. "I promised to bring it for you. And I've brought you a whole package of ice cream," Putin said. Xi thanked the Russian president for his "kindness", before adding that he'd developed a taste for Russian ice cream on his many official visits to Moscow. "Every time that I come to Russia, I ask them to buy me Russian ice cream. And after, we eat the ice cream at home," said Xi, according to comments provided by the Russian delegation. "The fresh cream you have is the best. That's why your ice cream is particularly delicious. I like it a lot," he added. The two leaders met on the sidelines of the G20 Summit and in more traditional diplomatic language pledged "enhanced cooperation", according to Xi. Related: G20 tableware inspired by West Lake landscape Miami beckons Chinese to beaches and all Updated: 2016-09-05 10:03 By Amy He in New York(China Daily USA) S. Florida city looks to explain benefits of sand and surf to potential tourists Convincing Chinese to visit Miami requires a lot of persuasion and education about American beach and water culture. "[Chinese] interest in beaches is minimal. One day at the beach is already adequate, but [beaches] are an important part of what Miami has to offer," said Bruce Orosz, chairman of the Greater Miami Convention & Visitors Bureau (GMCVB), Miami's official marketing organization. "So when we have Chinese visitors or delegations, we want to take people to explore by boat, and they come away being amazed that Miami has waterways that makes navigating around this town so amazing," he said. Of the major US tourist cities devoting more marketing resources to attract the Chinese, Miami is faced with two quandaries that other gateway cities do not have: The city has no nonstop flights to and from any Chinese city (though Orosz said that's something he and his team are working on), and Miami does not have the same brand recognition with Chinese travelers that New York, Los Angeles or even Boston has. "Last week, I had a guest here from China who's a fund manager and he said he frankly didn't know what to expect," Orosz said. "He didn't really know the depth of what we had to offer in this town." Because of the lack of direct flights, it is difficult to measure how many Chinese visit Miami, and the tourism agency only has estimates based on how many Chinese transit through Miami's airports. The Miami market generated more than 55,000 Chinese passengers in 2014, though that figure also includes those who can be headed to another destination with a layover in Miami. Orosz said that since 2014, there has been more and more interest in Miami from China. "We're starting to see some interest and desire in the town. There have been [media articles] about North Miami becoming a destination in the future, call it the future Chinatown of Miami," he said. "There are acres and acres, and they're talking to numerous Chinese investors about trying to build a community, so we feel that there's tremendous opportunities going forward with the expansion," said Orosz. Miami is increasingly a city of interest for Chinese investors who are shopping for real estate development projects through the federal EB-5 program, which grants visas for investors and their families who invest at least $1 million ($500,000 in certain areas) and create at least 10 jobs. In November 2015, the Panorama Tower in Miami, the tallest building on the Eastern Seaboard, reportedly received numerous inquiries from Chinese investors interested in the development. Orosz says that the GMCVB team is working not only with tour operators but also meeting planners and destination managers to promote Miami as a place of business and leisure. Representatives also travel to various trade missions to China throughout the year. "It's a full cadre of what you would hope for from a tourism perspective for us to touch as many Chinese travelers as possible, so we're going through the entire specter. "We have material that we distribute; we're hosting many delegations that are coming into town, with the hopes that when they go back to China, with the help of our representatives, that they'll continue to promote the activities that we have here in Miami that we feel a Chinese consumer would really enjoy," he said. The GMCVB is developing a TV program with a major Chinese television group that will introduce Chinese viewers to Miami, though Orosz declined to disclose more details. amyhe@chinadailyusa.com Houston hotels get China-friendly Updated: 2016-09-05 10:03 By May Zhou in Houston(China Daily USA) JohnPaul Jourard and Joanna Xie, senior sales manager and international business travel consultant, respectively, at the Crowne Plaza Suites Houston, show the Chinese-language welcome letter and newspaper package specially prepared for guests from China. May Zhou / China Daily In some guest suites at the Crowne Plaza Suites Houston, you might find a few special amenities not typically found in American hotel rooms - a carafe of hot water and two bags of Jasmin tea labeled in Chinese, a pair of slippers, a welcome letter (also in Chinese) and a copy of the Southern China Daily News. "We are getting more and more guests from China," said JohnPaul Jourard, senior sales manager of the 240-suite hotel. "Last year, about 30 percent of our clients were Chinese, a significant number." Jourard first Chinese guests came about 10 years ago. "Nancy Li, owner of Easton Resource Development which provides training programs to Chinese leaders, began introducing customers to me in 2006," said Jourard. "That's how I started and I've been chasing the Chinese market ever since." A few years ago, Jourard read an article about how some East Coast hotels were offering small touches to appeal to Chinese visitors. "I thought we should do the same thing here," he said. "So starting in 2010, we began to offer congee (porridge) for breakfast and a welcome letter in Chinese." The hotel went a step further by hiring international business travel consultant Joanna Xie in 2011. With her input, the hotel began to offer slippers and a carafe of hot water to Chinese guests. As of today, the hotel's chefs are trained to make Chinese dishes such as fried rice and the bar is stocked with Qingdao beer. "We rotate Chinese dishes on our special menu and offer them on request too," said Jourard. The hotel has celebrated Mid-Autumn Festival and Chinese New Year. "We borrowed Chinese decorations like lanterns from the Consulate General of China here in Houston. The events were very well received," said Xie. The hotel has gradually developed a reputation for being Chinese-friendly. Over the past few years, it hosted business groups from Chinese companies of all sizes, from big names like Sinopec, CNPC, Sinochem and Huawei to many smaller provincial and municipal groups. "The former Deputy Consul General of China Li Guixi stayed with us for a month and half until his residence was ready," said Jourard. The China-friendly trend is catching on with other Houston-area hotels too, according to Leo Yao of the Greater Houston Convention and Visitors Bureau. "Most hotels close to Chinatown are starting to do what the Crowne Plaza Suites has been doing," Yao said. "The two Westin hotels in the Galleria (the largest shopping mall in Houston) have employed Mandarin speaking personnel to help the Chinese guests." Dimples Boettcher, sales manager of the Crown Plaza River Oaks hotel which is eight miles away from Chinatown, has seen a considerable increase in the number of Chinese guests over the past year. "Roughly 5 percent of our guests were Chinese last year," she said. "We realized that Chinese are where the international market is, and I have been talking to travel agents and others to get some ideas. Slippers and hot water carafes seem to be a big deal for the Chinese. So we provide those." The hotel also plans to add a couple of Chinese dishes to its breakfast menu, and offer instant noodles, said Boettcher. "I was told most of them like instant noodles. However, I think the Chinese are also becoming more adventurous. Some guests are starting to ask for recommendations of American food. They want to try it." Yao attributes the increase in numbers of Chinese visitors to the direct Houston-Beijing air service that began three years ago. "The direct flight allows the Chinese to avoid a layover in the US, a considerable obstacle for a lot of people with limited English," said Yao. "We want to make Chinese visitors feel welcome," Yao said. mayzhou@chinadailyusa.com Turkey can serve as bridge linking China, Europe: minister Updated: 2016-09-05 09:06 (Xinhua) HANGZHOU - Turkey can serve as a bridge connecting China and Europe, especially in terms of logistics, Turkish Minister of Economy Nihat Zeybekci said here Sunday. Speaking at a business summit on the sidelines of the 11th Group of 20 (G20) summit, he also expressed interest in the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), saying that his country has been paying close attention to and hopes to take part in the program. The CPEC is part of the initiative on the construction of the Silk Road Economic Belt and the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road (the Belt and Road Initiative), which was proposed by Chinese President Xi Jinping in 2013. It is aimed at building a trade and infrastructure network connecting Asia with Europe and Africa along the ancient Silk Road routes. The Turkish minister spoke highly of the initiative, noting that the ancient Silk Road has played a vital role in exchanges between countries. Moreover, the minister stressed the need to promote inter-connectivity in transport, human resources and information, adding that removing trade barriers is also of crucial importance. Turkey is a founding member of the China-proposed Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank. It signed a memorandum of understanding with China in November 2015 on the harmonization of the Belt and Road Initiative with Turkey's Middle Corridor project, a proposed regional transportation network between Turkey and China. In their meeting on Saturday, Xi and his Turkish counterpart, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, agreed to advance cooperation in such fields as infrastructure, energy and counter-terrorism. The two sides, Xi suggested, should work out concrete measures and projects to link the Belt and Road Initiative with Turkey's development strategy. US-China climate change decision praised Updated: 2016-09-05 14:33 By ZHENG JINRAN(chinadaily.com.cn) Chinese President Xi Jinping (center), US President Barack Obama (right) and Secretary-General of the United Nations Ban Ki-moon attend the deposit of instruments of joining the Paris Agreement in Hangzhou, Zhejiang province, Sept 3, 2016. [Photo/Xinhua] Environmentalists have hailed the decision by China and the United States to ratify the Paris Agreement on climate change, with the move being praised as a pivotal step toward controlling global warming. WWF-China CEO Lo Sze Ping described it as an encouraging signal to the world. "This clearly shows China's determination to implement the Paris Agreement. This also shows that China is taking more of a leadership role in the global effort to prevent climate change," he said. China and the US announced that they had ratified the agreement on Saturday on the eve of a meeting of G20 leaders in Hangzhou. The joint formal approval marks a crucial milestone, according to the United Nations Environment Programme. "This announcement is hugely important. The leadership of China and the US is crucial to taking the Paris Agreement forward," said Erik Solheim, UN environment head. "The fight against climate change remains difficult and urgent, but having heavy-hitters like China and the US on your side is extremely heartening." The Paris Agreement has so far been signed by 180 counties, but it will only take effect after 55 nations responsible for 55 percent of greenhouse gas emission have ratified it. Before this weekend's joint announcement, only 24 countries representing just more than 1 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions had ratified the deal. China the US are responsible for 38 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions, making their ratifications crucial. "This is a pivotal moment for our planet. And there's no turning back. The world's largest emitters of carbon pollution are now on an unstoppable path to protect us from climate change," said Rhea Suh, president of the Natural Resources Defense Council, an international nonprofit environmental organization based in New York. Now that China and the US have ratified the deal, aiming to cap global warming at 2 C above pre-Industrial Revolution levels, more countries are being urged to follow suit. "President Obama and President Xi Jinping are signaling to other countries that the Paris Agreement can come into force this year," said Lou Leonard, WWF-US senior vice president for climate and energy. He added that an urgent and accelerated implementation of the deal is necessary in order to prevent the worst affects of climate change. Ping, from WWF-China, said: "Now other countries must act swiftly to ratify the deal, and to reduce their emissions in line with the Paris Agreement's long-term goals, according to science and equity, and therefore increase their current pledges." zhengjinran@chinadaily.com.cn Xi, Obama hail expansion of dialogue, commit to climate deal Updated: 2016-09-05 23:14 By WANG YANFEI in Hangzhou and WANG LINYAN in New York(chinadaily.com.cn) China and the United States showed leadership and commitment in tackling climate-change challenges as they formally committed to joining last years Paris Agreement on climate change on Saturday ahead of the G20 Summit. "China and the United States have expanded dialogue and achieved fruitful results in recent years to tackle global climate challenges, said President Xi Jinping, commenting on the two countries' efforts to advance climate-change initiatives since 2014, when the two countries submitted their respective emission goals for the Paris Agreement. Xi and US President Barack Obama submitted formal agreement documents to United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon. China pledged to peak carbon emissions by 2030, while the United States pledged to cut emissions by 28 percent by 2025 compared with the level in 2005. The formal commitment to the agreement by the two major countries, which together account for a large proportion of the worlds carbon dioxide emissions, sets a good example for other G20 members who signed the Paris Agreement to facilitate ratification, experts said. China and the US, as the world's two largest emitters, are "setting a powerful and positive example" helping to spur momentum toward the rapid entry into force of the agreement, said David Nabarro, the UN secretary-generals special adviser on sustainable development. "China's example demonstrates that a low-carbon and climate-resilient development is not only feasible but beneficial on many fronts, said Nabarro. The special adviser said UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon will be hosting an event on Sept 21 at the UN in New York to build on the strong momentum coming from the G20 Summit for ratification of the Paris Agreement. As China moves quickly to use more clean energy and scale up green technologies, Nabarro said China is also demonstrating strong resolve in tackling air pollution caused by the burning of fossil fuels, and is promoting more sustainable urbanization. By 2050, one quarter of the worlds largest cities will be in China. "The way in which Chinese cities develop and address climate change may well serve as a model for the worlds cities in both developed and developing countries, he said. "Commitment and efforts being made by the two countries send strong signals to other G20 members to quicken the pace of their own legislative process, said Bai Yunwen, a climate and policy researcher at Greenovation Hub, a Beijing-based NGO. The G20 members are responsible for 75 percent of global emissions, and their energy-related greenhouse gas emissions increased by 56 percent from 1990 to 2013, according to a report released in late August by Climate Transparency, a nonprofit organization. Echoing Bais statement, Niklas Hoehne from Germanys New Climate Institute said that if G20 members were to rid themselves of their reliance on coal, this would have a significant bearing on their ability to both increase their climate pledges, and get their emission trajectories below 2 C. The Paris agreement, made in December last year, set goals to limit the rise of global temperatures below 2 C compared to the preindustrial levels. The agreement will only come into effect with the ratification of at least 55 parties that account for 55 percent of total emissions. Lin Boqiang, director at the China Center for Energy Economics Research at Xiamen University, said the formal commitment made by the two major emitters would help the agreement to come into force. "Global powers could take the chance provided by the G20 platform to enhance policy coordination and help the agreement to come into force at an earlier date, he said. The St. Augustine Alligator Farm The Farm flourished and was featured in many tourist attraction magazines and guide books. It quickly earned a reputation as 'the world's largest alligator farm and was an essential tourist attraction in Florida. Sadly, in September 1920, a horrible rainstorm ravaged South Beach, destroying the railroad tracks and simultaneously ending the consistent flow of tourists to the area's attractions. The following December, a fire destroyed many businesses on South Beach, luckily the Alligator Farm was unharmed. Their good fortune did not last long, unfortunately, just 4 months later, yet another fire occurred, ultimately burning down the Alligator Farm. The owners of the St. Augustine Alligator Farm decided it was time to relocate and rebuild. They wanted a location frequented by tourists and easy to access - the lighthouse. The relocation went quickly and smoothly, and the Farm is still at this location today. The original founders of the Farm continued its day-to-day operations until 1937, when it was sold to two businessmen, W.I. Drysdale and F. Charles Usina. These two managed to create a reputation for the Farm beyond St. Augustine, and ultimately on a national scale. They began improving the exhibits, adding new and exciting animals, and even new facilities like a gift shop and offices. Throughout the years, the Farm's education, research, and entertainment programs grew exponentially. Scientists from the University of Florida spent many years researching the wildlife that calls the Farm home. The Farm has managed to education the public and generate a better understanding of Florida's natural resources and wildlife. As of 1989, the Farm had been accredited by The American Association of Zoos and Aquariums, making it a nationally recognized zoological facility. The mission of the Farm is to educate and conserve Florida's wildlife. The hardworking staff and volunteers hope to instill a deeper appreciation and respect of these magnificent creatures that people had previously feared. Today, visitors can enjoy the Alligator Farm's vast wildlife collection of crocodiles, birds, fish, and many other species of reptiles and amphibians. And, for the thrill-seeking visitors - there is even a zip-line tour over the crocodile habitats. Explore Florida's wildlife like never before. With such a rich history filled with dedication and entertainment, the St. Augustine Alligator Farm is sure to delight visitors of all ages. All sorts of shows, exhibits, and attractions await! -- You are reading "Best Things to Do in Florida: St. Augustine Alligator Farm" Back to Top Please turn JavaScript on and reload the page. Loading... Checking your browser before accessing the website. This process is automatic. Your browser will redirect to your requested content shortly. Please wait a few seconds. MOSCO The free trade agreement (FTA) between the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) and Viet Nam will take effect on October 5, Minister for Trade at the Eurasian Economic Commission Board Veronika Nikishina has said. She made the confirmation at the second Eastern Economic Forum held in Russias Vladivostok, noting that the two sides finished the ratification of the deal and it will come into force after 60 days. The EAEU-Viet Nam FTA features the two sides obligations pertaining to such spheres as trade, services, investment and movement of natural persons. With the formation of the EAEU-Viet Nam free trade area, bilateral trade can increase from US$4 billion at present to $8-10 billion. EAEU exporters can save about $40 million in tax in the first year the pact takes effect, according to the Eurasian Economic Commission. Under the agreement, Viet Nam will immediately remove import tariffs on 59 per cent of the goods from the EAEU, including meat products, wheat flour, alcohol, mechanical equipment and steel products. The tariffs on another 30 per cent of goods will be gradually reduced to 0 per cent in the transitional period. Indonesia and Singapore also suggested similar FTAs with the EAEU, but procedures will be more complicated, Nikishina said. The EAEU consists of Russia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Armenia and Kyrgyzstan. The union and Viet Nam signed the agreement in Kazakhstan on May 29, 2015 after eight official rounds of negotiations. VNS QUANG NAM The central province of Quang Nam has launched a photo contest highlighting the beauty of the Tien Phuoc region. The contest will run from September to February. Tien Phuoc Districts Culture and Information Centre said the competition is open to all amateur and professional photographers, journalists and freelancers nationwide, as well as to overseas Vietnamese. The events organising committee will select the best photo for exhibition in March 2017. Tien Phuoc, located 30km from Tam Ky City, has a mixed culture stemming from the pre-Sa Huynh and Champa periods. The district preserves dozens of old houses, including the memorial house of famous Vietnamese scholar Phan Chau Trinh (1872-1926). Loc Yen Commune preserves old houses with traditional lifestyle and landscape fatures that have endured for centuries. It was established as a new district in the central province in late 1816 during the Nguyen dynasty under the reign of King Khai inh. The district became a base for revolutionary forces during the anti-French war and served as the headquarters of the liberation army during the American war. The district marked its 100th anniversary in June. It will be an eco tour site of Quang Nam Province in 2020. VNS SZIGETVAR, Hungary The recent discovery of the tomb of Suleiman the Magnificent, considered the greatest Ottoman ruler, has raised hopes of a tourism boom in one of Hungarys most impoverished areas. From hammam baths and crumbling minarets to battle site memorials and ruins of mosques, traces of the countrys 150-year-long stretch (1541-1699) in the Ottoman Empire are not hard to find in Hungary. But many Hungarians see them as relics of a dark period during which the countrys flourishing renaissance era was extinguished. As a result, few of the Ottoman monuments have so far been promoted by the Hungarian authorities. Suleimans case could change that, however. Experts confirmed in July that excavations begun two years ago in the struggling town of Szigetvar, close to the Croatian border, had revealed the tomb of the 16th-century ruler. Suleiman died aged 71 on September 7, 1566, during an epic battle with the mainly Croatian defenders of Szigetvar castle that depleted his forces hoping to quickly advance on Vienna, the capital of the Habsburg Empire. On Wednesday, senior government officials from Hungary, Croatia and Turkey will join thousands of visitors to Szigetvar to commemorate the 450th anniversary of the siege. "This town is dying, young people are leaving or have already left for Germany or London, but Suleiman can bring in jobs, income, and tourists," said Norbert Pap, head of the team of researchers whose excavations uncovered the tomb. "Szigetvar may be on the periphery now, but 450 years ago it was on the main street of European history," Pap, a geographer and historian at nearby Pecs university, told AFP. Wiped from the map Born in 1494, Suleiman, whose reign from 1520 to 1566 was the longest of any sultan, greatly expanded the Ottoman Empire, annexing large swathes of the Balkans, the Middle East and northern Africa. Taken ill before his final battle, Suleiman was found dead in his imperial camp, located an hours walk east of the castle according to contemporary accounts. His body, later removed to Istanbul, was drained of its internal organs and heart, which were buried and later built over by a tomb. While his body was laid to rest in Istanbul, his heart and other internal organs were buried at the site of his death and later covered by a tomb. Around the tomb the town of Turbek grew, the only settlement that the Ottomans built from scratch during their reign in Hungary. At the end of the 17th century, however, both the town and the tomb were wiped off the map by the Habsburgs. Until 2012 that is, when Pap secured funding from the Turkish government to use technology to try find them. A few days before Christmas 2014 a geophysics survey of a site nestled beneath vineyards and orchards four kilometres to the east of Szigetvar castle returned results that set Paps pulse racing. "It showed the presence of buildings, just under the grass, matching positions on the medieval maps of Turbek, and all of them pointing very precisely toward Mecca," he said. Excavations gradually uncovered the remains of Turbek: the walls of a mosque, a tomb, dervish monastery cloisters, as well as a wealth of silver coins and fragments of clothing, pottery, glass and metal. The evidence became overwhelming, and by July this year experts in Turkey were also convinced. "Finally we could say for certain that we had found Suleimans tomb," said Pap. National icon Sleepy Szigetvar with a population of 10,000 has few hotels, but Pap is convinced of the towns long-term potential for tourism given appropriate investment. The only other Ottoman sultan to die outside the Empires centres of Istanbul and Bursa -- Sultan Murad, killed in the 1389 battle of Kosovo Polje -- draws several thousands of tourists annually to his tomb in modern-day Kosovo. "Suleiman is a national cultural icon in Turkey, and as Szigetvar is easier to get to from both western Europe and Turkey than Kosovo, there is a very good chance that Turkish tourists will come visit the tomb," said Pap. The towns mayor Peter Vass told AFP that he hopes the number of visitors to Szigetvar will double from the current 25,000 per year. The municipality has already earmarked a site for the construction of higher-end hotels close to the castle. As Paps team continues to dig for the rest of Turbek including a military barracks and the towns walls as well as Suleimans heart -- buried in a golden urn according to legend -- five Turkish descendants of Ottoman princesses will give DNA samples next week in Szigetvar for comparison with samples from the tomb area. "Hungary and Turkey have much in common, a shared cultural heritage," Turkeys ambassador in Budapest Sakir Fakili told AFP. "Many Turks are wealthy, and can afford to travel, so why not to Szigetvar?" AFP HA NOI Scientists have unearthed various objects at an excavation site at Ho Citadel in central Thanh Hoa Province, helping them to learn more about the scale and characteristics of the citadel. Several large cube-shaped stones of different sizes have been found at the excavation site, together with many pieces of building materials, such as brick and tiles. The remnants of a canal were found at a depth of 0.3m-4.4m in the north of the citadel and at a depth of 0.3m-4.6m in the south of the citadel. Based on the findings, scientists concluded that the site hosts a system to defend including the canal in the north of the citadel, built by stones of small sizes and clay mixed with gravel. The canal measured 0.6m in width and 7m in depth at the deepest point. Scientists have also found daily kitchen utensils made from terra cotta and porcelain and metal coins dating back to the Le (1428-1788), Nguyen (1802-1945), Tran (1225-1400) and Ho (1400-1407) dynasties. In the next few months, scientists will conduct further research in the east and the west of the citadel to understand the general layout of the canal system surrounding the citadel. Citadel of Ho Dynasty (also called Tay o castle or Tay Giai castle) was constructed by the Ho Dynasty (1400-1407). It is located in Tay Giai Commune, Vinh Loc District in Thanh Hoa Province . Tay o castle is rectangular in shape. Its north-south side is 870.5m in length and its east-west side is 883.5m in length. There are four gates: one at the south (main gate), one at the north (back gate), one at the east (left gate) and one at the west (right gate). The southern gate is 9.5m high and 15.17m wide. The castle was constructed from stone blocks, each of which is 2 by 1 by 0.7m in size, on average. Except for its gates, the castle is mostly ruined. The citadel was given the status of a UNESCO World Heritage Sites on June 27, 2011. VNS HA NOI Actor Han Van Tinh has passed away at the age of 60 after battling lung cancer for over a year. The actor was best known for his role as Chu Van Quenh in TV serial at Va Nguoi (Land and Human). Tinh was born in 1957 in Van Lang Commune in the northern province of Phu Tho. He studied at the Faculty of Tuong Art-Vietnam Tuong Art School (now known as Ha Noi University of Theatre and Cinema) from 1972 to 1976. After graduation, he worked as an actor for the National Tuong Theatre. He also held the position of deputy director of the theatre and won several prizes at national Tuong Festivals, including a silver medal for his role as Ngu Y (Royal Physician) in the play Tieng Thet Giua Hoang Cung (A Scream in Royal Palace) in 1990 and another silver medal for his role as Tho Cong in the play Bach Tinh (White Snack) in 1996. In 1999, Tinh was presented with the medal For Vietnam Stage by Vietnam Stages Artist Association. He was, however, best known for playing antagonists in TV serials, notably Chu Van Quenh in at Va Nguoi (Land and Human), So in Bao Qua Lang (Storm Sweeps the Village) and Troc in Canh Bac (Gamble). He was diagnosed with lung cancer in January 2015, but maintained a positive attitude throughout his battle against the disease. Encouraged by family and colleagues, he became better and was able to participate in several shows. In early 2016, despite his condition worsening, he joined the Tet (Lunar New Year) comedy titled Thong Gia on Tet (Alliance Welcomes Tet) while undergoing treatment. Tinh was hospitalised on September 1 when the cancer spread to his brain. He passed away at his home in Nam Tu Liem District three days later. His funeral will take place at Phung Hung Funeral Home on September 7. Tinhs death has caused great sorrow for both his family and the colleagues who accompanied him through the ups and downs of Viet Nams traditional opera. He was a very good-natured and sincere man who received a lot of affection from us, actor Cong Ly said. I have worked with him in several films and seen that he always tried his best in any role, even minor ones, to leave a good impression on the audience. We are very saddened by his death," he added. VNS What was the response from the General Department of Geology and Minerals to the recent collapse of a gold mine in the northern Lao Cai Province? Upon learning about the accident from social media, we immediately contacted the Lao Cai Department of Natural Resources and Environment to get further information about the accident and rescue efforts at the accident site. We were informed that the Lao Cai Provincial Committee created an inspection team led by the committee chairman to go immediately to the site to give directions to rescue teams and try to find out what caused the accident. According to a report from the Van Ban District Peoples Committee on August 23, typhoon Danmu hit the district August 19 and caused heavy rains in Ma Sa Phin hamlet. As a result, heavy floods were reported in Nam Xay Noi and Nam Xay Luong streams and swept away two workers and injured four others at the exploitation site of Vang Nhan Company in Ma Sa Phin hamlet, Nam Xay Commune. According to a report from Vang Nhan Company, seven people have died - two of them were workers from the company - and four people were injured. However, the number of deaths and injuries reported by media is somehow different. So we have to wait for an official report from the provincial Department of Natural Resources and Environment to confirm the deaths and injuries from the incident. Do you have any comment on Lao Cai authorities management of mineral mines in general and of gold mines in particular? Lao Cai is a province with rich mineral resources, including gold, copper, steel, apatite and others. I would say the total budget collected from mineral resources in Lao Cai ranks second in the country (after Quang Ninh Province). As a result, the Lao Cai Provincial Peoples Committee has defined that the mineral extraction industry is a major driving force for the provinces socioeconomic development. As a result, the provincial authorities have given special attention to the management of mineral extraction and exploitation. All mineral extraction and exploitation activities in the province must be in line with the countrys Mineral Law and relevant legal documents. I would say that the Lao Cai Provincial Peoples Committee has done quite well with its assigned state management functions on mineral extraction and exploitation in the province. However, some local authorities have certain limitations in their ability to manage mineral extractions and exploitations or to co-operate with concerned ministries, agencies and localities in accordance with the Law on Minerals. In addition, illegal mineral extractions have been reported here and there, but local authorities seem to turn their heads. This has caused big anxiety for the general public. Does the collapsed gold mine in Ma Sa Phin have a licence to operate? No! The problem of illegal gold mining, particularly activities in Ma Sa Phin hamlet, have been going on for several years, in spite of big efforts from local authorities. Do you have any comment on the States management of mineral extractions nationwide? Generally speaking, State management of mineral extraction activities has achieved notable success nationwide. I would say this is an important contributing factor to our mineral extraction industrys sustainable development. Currently, we have a good set of complete legal documents on the implementation of the Law on Minerals. In addition, we also have a strategy on mineral extraction by 2020 with a vision towards 2030. -- VNS Former Minister of Planning and Investment, Professor Nguyen Mai Former Minister of Planning and Investment, Professor Nguyen Mai, speaks to the Tuoi tre (Youth) newspaper, suggesting that HSG should focus on the manufacture of high grade alloy rather than steel. Recently, the Hoa Sen Joint Stock Group (HSG) made public a super project for steel production in central Ninh Thuan Province with a strong commitment on the use of clean technology. The Ministry of Trade and Industry has included the project on the list of the countrys development plan. Did you feel any anxiety upon learning the news? In many countries, having a steel mill with a production output of 10 or 15 million tonnes per year is not rare. Some steel mills have production outputs much higher than that. A case in point is the Posco Steel Mill with its annual production of 21 million tonnes per year. That mill is located next to the sea. We should not say that steel mills are always culprits of environmental pollution. What we should focus on is the technology that is applied in such mills. In our country, the Formosa steel mill is an expensive example for us. Nowadays, there are various technologies for steel production, but the blast furnace technology is out-dated and only used now in China. In a recent announcement about the steel project from the Hoa Sen Joint Stock Company (HSG), its Chairman Le Phuoc Vu said that the company would use blast furnace technology. I dont know where Vu could buy the equipment. Would it be from China? Until now the Ninh Thuan Steel Mill has not received its environmental impact assessment (EIA). But according to the plan, the projects ground breaking ceremony will be launched sometime in 2017. Do you think the proposed timetable is being rushed? In my opinion, to have an EIA for the project is not the most important step but the investment process. The EIA is the first step to be done in any project. And it is totally based on theory, not on actual reality. Thats why evaluation of the investment process is more important. Through the investment process plan, we can actually evaluate the quality of the air emissions, water discharges and emitted toxic chemicals among other things. I should say, for the Formosa project, its EIA was properly done. With the HSG project which is worth US$10.6 billion, the projects owner HSG plans to conduct the EIA in only three to four months. I think it is a very tight time slot. Having a good EIA, like that Formosa had, does not guarantee that everything goes smoothly as it is written in the document. What happened to the sea off the four central provinces is an expensive lesson for Viet Nam in environmental monitoring activities. Here I mean in all aspects, including water discharges, air emissions, waste treatment and others. So, for the HSG Steel Mill, it should draw on the lessons learned from the Formosa project. Many steel experts have expressed their special caution about the process of approving a steel mill project. Whats your opinion about the investment capacity committed by HSG? I seriously recommend that Viet Nam not engage in steel production. That was the path followed by many countries in the 19th and 20th centuries. China and the USA have produced surplus iron and steel. If we have the money, just import it. What production industry the country should choose depends on its capacity and its real needs, as well as on lessons learned from other nations. We should never follow the beaten tracks of other countries. Some people have said that steel production is the foundation for the development of the countrys support, processing and manufacturing industries. How do you respond to that idea? It is an outdated idea! We are now in the process of deep international integration. We should know what our country is good at. For example, instead of investing in steel production, why dont we focus on the development of telecommunications and technology like Viettel has been doing? In my own opinion, Viet Nam should not pour its investment into manufacturing cement, iron and steel or oil refineries. Why? At present, we already produce surplus cement and dont have an export market for it. Regarding the oil refinery industry, we have just about 15 million tonnes of crude oil in deposit while our current production capacity has already reached 45-50 million tonnes. Steel consumption in Viet Nam has already reached its peak mark. In my opinion, we should go into the manufacture of high-grade alloy using advanced technology. The value of one tonne of alloy is equal to 10 tonnes of steel. If HSG decides to invest in that direction, I could not agree more. VNS Administrators of Long Xuyen Citys General Hospital, one of the biggest and most modern hospitals in the Mekong (Cuu Long) Delta region, are concerned about high operational costs coupled with low revenues just five months after the facility opened. Photo baoangiang.vn AN GIANG Administrators of Long Xuyen Citys General Hospital, one of the biggest and most modern hospitals in the Mekong (Cuu Long) Delta region, are concerned about high operational costs coupled with low revenues just five months after the facility opened. Electric and water fees and hospital services such as security guards and cleaners account for the high expenditures. The hospitals director, Nguyen Thi Hanh, said operational costs total VN10 billion (US$446,000) per month, not including doctors and medical workers salaries, while total monthly revenue averages about VN9 billion-10 billion. The VN1.3 trillion (US$58 million) hospital, equipped with 600 patient beds and modern medical devices, became operational in April. It includes a main 10-storey building and other building blocks covering a 4.6ha area in ong Xuyen Ward, An Giang Province. The directorate is conscious to save electricity by shutting off air-conditioning systems and lights on higher floors and other areas, but monthly electricity bills still cost up to VN1.5 billion, Hanh said. If the hospital uses electricity as normal, that monthly bill doubles, according to the hospitals deputy director, Nguyen Triet Hien. He said the hospital is equipped with an escalator, elevators and central air-conditioning system in each building block. Additionally, the hospital has to spend VN6 billion annually for cleaners and VN2 billion for security guards. However, hospital administrators said the number of people who come for health check-ups and treatment is low for such a large-scale facility. The hospital receives about 1,500 people for health check-ups and 800-900 patients for treatment per day. Tu Quoc Tuan, director of An Giang Provinces Health Department, said that although the hospital was built and designed following international standards, it was still forced to apply the same medical fees for services as provincial-level health facilities. VNS Nguyen Khanh Chi Viet Nam News A mother of two was looking for a public kindergarten. Through an acquaintance she met the principal of a kindergarten in the city centre known for its prestige. Along with the three-year-old childs CV, she brought an envelope containing VN5 million (US$220). After hearing that one needed to pay a price to get a seat, she went ahead with sending $220. After a weeklong wait, she got a nod. The 36-year-old Hanoian who asked to remain anonymous said her act simply helped grease the wheels. She said she had paid a similar amount to receive a place for her elder son in a primary schools first grade some years ago. My friends, colleagues and next-door neighbours often speak about the so-called greasing money when it comes to education and health services, and other administrative procedures, she said. When I gave birth to my children, whenever the hospital nurses came to pick them up for a shower, I put VN20,000 (about 90 US cents) into the nurses pockets to make sure she would take good care of them. Tolerance for corruption The unofficial payment she speaks of has become increasingly accepted by Vietnamese people, according to results of a seven-year study released by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) last month. Research on the efficiency index of Viet Nams public administration, which surveyed nearly 75,000 people across 63 cities and provinces, reveals that the number of people speaking out about greasing money in HCM City went down from 12.5 per cent in 2011 to only 2.3 per cent in 2015, whereas none of those surveyed in Ha Noi reported corrupt acts to the police in 2015. Deputy Head of the municipal Department of Construction o Phi Hung said worrying problems still exist, such as complicated procedures, bureaucrats seeking private gains and people wasting lots of time going back and forth when it comes to service provision. In half of the provinces surveyed in the Viet Nam Provincial Governance and Public Administration Performance Index (PAPI 2015), just 28 to 47 per cent of respondents said they did not have to pay bribes when accessing public health care at district hospitals. Similarly, only between 36 and 59 per cent of those asked claimed that bribery does not take place at primary schools. The Penal Code and related laws stipulate that any person who abuses their authority to receive money or material benefits in any form valued at VN2 million or more shall be accused of taking bribes. The average amount of greasing money that respondents admitted to paying for administrative procedures since 2011 has far exceeded this amount, says PAPI 2015, released in April. The index indicates that between 2014 and 2015, the tolerance of bribe amounts surged, with victims of corruption saying they would not report the case unless the bribe being asked for reached about VN24 million ($1,070). Those figures reflected an increasing tendency of Vietnamese in getting used to corruption, said UNDP policy analyst o Thi Thanh Huyen. Corruption still exists and is getting worse despite determined efforts from the highest level to eradicate it. If the corrupt acts persist, people are likely to fall into depression, increasingly drawing the poor away from social development while increasing feelings of injustice and exerting negative impacts on public confidence in those in power. According to the 2013 Global Corruption Barometer Views and Experiences from Vietnam citizens, only 38 per cent of Vietnamese citizens surveyed said they were willing to report an incident of corruption, the lowest among surveyed countries in Southeast Asia. The figures show that when the level of corruption tends to rise in Viet Nam, Vietnamese people seemingly are getting more used to corruption and easily accept corruption, said ao Nga, executive director of Towards Transparency. The phenomenon is worrying because it might lead to the normalisation of corrupt acts in society. A joint study by UNDP Viet Nam and the National Economics University entitled Local governance, corruption and public service quality: Evidence from a national survey in Vietnam shows that while corruption may benefit a smaller number of people holding public offices, it hurts society as a whole. In basic areas such as health and education, corrupt acts lead to higher consumer costs and destroy personal integrity. Other consequences include the breakdown of social trust, followed by crime and social vices. In a report released last month reviewing 10 years of implementing the Anti-Corruption Law, the Government Inspectorate found that over 92 per cent of hush money was lost. Known damages caused by corrupt cases and practices over the past 10 years reached VN59.8 trillion ($2.7 billion) and more than 400ha, but only a tiny sum of VN4.7 trillion ($209 million) and 219ha of land were recovered to the State budget. Corruption is seen as a market, but in this market demand comes first. If public bodies and officials say no to unlawful money, customers shall not have to grease the wheels, said policy analyst Huyen. More importantly, the whole society must demand information transparency and a stop to all corrupt practices. Surely enough, if there is no demand, supply will find no place to proceed, she said. Public engagement During a recent meeting with a Nang authorities, Dennis Curry, assistant country director at UNDP Viet Nam, emphasised that "to move towards facilitating responsive and accountable local governments, it is necessary that voices of citizens and businesses are heard, their demands are met and their concerns are addressed." Vice Chairman of HCM Citys Peoples Committee Tran Vinh Tuyen also asserted that the fight against corruption requires citizens determination not to pay bribes. How can we stop corrupt acts if one is willing and even advises others to pay greasing money? he said, adding that the city had created mechanisms for direct dialogues with local enterprises and hotlines to receive residents feedback. A variety of legal documents have been put in place to encourage people to report corruption and to protect those who come forward to report corrupt acts. These include the Anti-Corruption Law, Decree 47, which guides the implementation of the law; the Law on Denunciation 2011; the Government Inspectorates Circular No 07 from 2014, which allows anonymous written complaints to be accepted; and the Government Inspectorate and the Ministry of Home Affairs Joint Circular No 01 from 2015 regulating rewards for individuals who have denounced acts of corruption. Experiences of developed countries have shown that transparency, accountability and participation significantly reduce corruption which in turn helps increase access to and improve the quality of public services, said the National Economics University and UNDP Viet Nam research. VNS o Thi Thanh Huyen Viet Nam Newso Thi Thanh Huyen, policy analyst, UNDP Viet Nam If the State and citizens are not well aware of their responsibilities and obligations, the tolerance for corruption by chance will become a prolonged practice. Corruption is something hard to eliminate, but it is controllable, which requires concerted efforts of both the State and citizens. What matters is whether citizens have a full understanding that: First, they have right to be informed of policies. For example, one should be aware of official fees when it comes to services like land use certificates, healthcare and education. The PAPI reveals that numerous indicators are unknown to citizens, forcing them to follow what they heard from the neighbourhood to give an envelope to shorten the time for administrative procedures or to purportedly have better education and medical services. Second, they have the right to examine and inspect service-supplying bodies. Citizens should know why a house-ownership red book is provided late or there is any implication for money. Third, they have the right to denunciate corrupt practices. The Penal Code specifies that whenever they are asked for at least VN2 million ($90), they can denounce the act. The right is little known to the general public, so they havent taken full advantage of the right to raise concerns with public bodies. Fourth, they have the right to be protected when reporting corruption. Survey respondents in HCM City said on average they paid a VN14 million slush fund for a house-ownership certificate. Clearly, such amount is not modest, but they do not denunciate the practice because they think that they are not protected. The people should understand that if they expect public officials to abide by the law, they themselves should also obey the law adequately. Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc recently mentioned a constructive Government for development, which means individuals and enterprises are fully facilitated to develop without being imposed any power. That is the key. Authorities must provide information to citizens so they are well aware of all their rights. ao Nga ao Nga, Executive Director of Towards Transparency The core reason behind citizens increased tolerance for corruption is that the States efforts to prevent and fight against corruption havent brought about the desired outcome and the people are becoming increasingly pessimistic about the effects of these efforts. When the people gradually lose their belief in the ability to control and limit corruption, they are likely to compromise with corrupt acts/phenomena. Society plays an indispensable role in the fight against corruption. This is maintained in the UNCAC, the Anti-Corruption Law, the National Strategy for Preventing and Combating Corruption Towards 2020 and numerous under-law documents. In fact, however, barriers still exist, limiting the participation of social entities in the fight against corruption. For instance, the current Anti-Corruption Law focuses primarily on responsibilities rather than conditions ensuring the participation of society. The Law on Denunciation stipulates that people who report corruption must be identified, but falls short of specific and practical measures to protect the denunciator. The ongoing revision of the Anti-Corruption Law is a chance for Viet Nam to consider and complete the law on anti-corruption in the direction of facilitating the engagement of society. The revision of the law is also crucial to improve openness and transparency, and reduce corruption in the public sector. Institutions on assets and income declaration should be amended to reduce those subjected to declaration but expand the scope in which declarations are made widely to the public. Nguyen Tuan Anh Nguyen Tuan Anh, deputy director of the Government Inspectorates Legal Department Saying tolerance seems a bit too serious because it sounds like one is forced to do so, even though under numerous situations in many cases, it is not really so. Acceptance seems to be more suitable, as in many cases it stems from our own desire and expectation. If someone helps our family, especially in the event of an accident or illness, we will feel uneasy if we do not have sorts of gifts for medical practitioners or helpers. Sometimes, it is hard to find a suitable present, so an envelope sounds adequate. In many countries, such a practice is considered corruption. Nevertheless, in Viet Nams society, we should not have such a strict view, even though the practice should not be encouraged and turned into a normal act either. The root cause of the acceptance stems from both sides. The recipient or provider of public services always thinks that they have the right to enjoy that privilege and consider it normal. In addition, citizens do not have many choices when it comes to public services, especially basic services, so they are forced to make a deal. Furthermore, in many cases, citizens wish to enjoy a higher standard of services (for example, medical treatment and education for their children at places different from designated facilities within their living area). If we abuse this, social vices will develop. First, socio-economic development targets, particularly targets for social justice, will not be achieved as resources are not allocated due to the run for soliciting favours. Second, the gap between rich and poor is increasingly wide since the poor do not have the chance to give envelopes, making it hard for them to access resources and basic services. Third, fundamental social elements such as healthcare and education will not be developed based on practical societal demands and will not bring about inherent values for society. It is essential to continue reforming the management mechanisms of agencies and organisations that provide public services to promote enhanced autonomy and self-responsibility of these bodies. It is also vital to boost openness and transparency in the organisation and operation of these bodies, carry out regular inspections and increase the accountability of leaders. Last but not least, the settlement principles of corrupt practices should be defined more clearly in the Anti-Corruption Law. VNS HAI PHONG The Hai Phong Police raided a dance floor yesterday and temporarily detained two people to investigate allegations that they illegally stored and used drugs. Sixteen others who tested positive for drugs were moved to the Hai Phong Education Centre for further diagnostic procedures and questioning. At midnight on Saturday, the Kien An District Police raided the Gossip Dance Hall in Ngoc Son Ward. The police discovered a number of substances suspected to be drugs and other addictive substances. As many as 81 customers and 43 employees of the dance hall were taken to the police office for investigation. The owner of the Gossip Dance Hall failed to produce any legal documents regarding public order, fire prevention and control, and workers contracts. The Gossip Dance Hall is one of the most famous dance halls in the northern port city. VNS HA NOI President Tran ai Quang has expressed hopes that Vietnamese students and teachers would make even more fruitful achievements in the new academic year that officially starts today. In a congratulations letter sent a day prior to the traditional nationwide school opening day on September 5, the President wrote that he was glad to see the dedication of teachers and educational officials for the sake of students over the last year, as well as the success of many Vietnamese students who gained high results in regional and international Olympiad competitions. In the coming academic year, the educational sector should effectively carry on comprehensive educational and training reforms to develop high-quality human resources, he wrote. It should invest more in education in remote areas, like in the mountainous border region and on islands, while also focusing more on students studies in soft skills, morality and citizen responsibilities. I hope that the students will continue the studious tradition of our people, nurture the desire for a better life for themselves, their families and society, as well as strive for fruitful achievements in their studies and research to follow their ancestors footsteps in making our country more and more prosperous, Quang wrote. Scholarships for Cham students Four hundred young students of Cham ethnicity in HCM City were awarded 200 scholarships worth more than VN600 million (US$26,600) and another 200 bicycles on the eve of the school opening day. The amount of scholarships and the bicycles is not big, but it is the love from the community and the donors to the struggling Cham students so that going to school is more affordable to them, Deputy Prime Minister Truong Hoa Binh said at the scholarship award ceremony on Saturday morning. He asked the local authorities and religious leaders to keep supporting poor Cham families in the area and help the students who might be forced to quit school due to poverty. The Cham ethnicity currently ranks third in terms of population in HCM City with around 10,000 people. VNS Nearly 60 households in Tien Loc Commune in the northern province of Thanh Hoa said that their houses are being damaged by the operation of a local water supply plant. Photo enternews.vn THANH HOA Nearly 60 households in Tien Loc Commune in the northern province of Thanh Hoa said that their houses are being damaged by the operation of a local water supply plant. Pham Ngoc Ngon, 60, a local resident, said cracks appeared in the walls of his house in late 2014. The cracks soon spread all over the house. My house is not only suffering from cracks in the walls and foundation, but also from subsidence, he said. Nguyen Thai Hai, 68, another resident, said the cracks in her house are 2.5cm wide. My family could not sleep well for several years for fear our house could collapse at any time, she told zingnews.vn. Hoang Thi Ca, head of Bui 2 Village of Tien Loc Commune, said the cracks also exist in two- and three-storey houses. Fifty-eight houses have been affected so far. To make matters worse, all the local wells dried up when the cracking began, she said. Local residents blame the Tien Loc Water Supply Plant, saying the cracks and dry wells started when the plant began operating in September 2014. This claim has been confirmed by Hoang Van Them, deputy chairman of Tien Loc Communes Peoples Committee. Them said relevant agencies in Thanh Hoa Province concluded that cracks in 59 houses in Bui 2 Village were caused by well drilling and high capacity water pumps for the Tien Loc Water Supply Company. The management board of the plant has been ordered to coordinate with Hau Loc Districts Peoples Committee to set up a council to assess the damage so that compensation can be provided to affected households soon. Tien Loc Water Supply Company opened in September 2014 with a total investment of VN30.9 billion (US$1.4 million) with loans from Asia Development Bank. The water company has a capacity of 1 ,200 cu.m of water per day. VNS Viet Nam is feeling strong climate change impacts to production and peoples lives. Photo moitruongvadoisong.vn Ha Noi Viet Nam is feeling strong climate change impacts to production and peoples lives. In the last few years, drought, unseasonable rain, downpours, long hot spells and extremely cold weather have seriously affected farm production and peoples daily lives. During the 2015 and 2016 dry seasons, the average rainfall in the South Central region and Tay Nguyen Central Highlands was about 60-70 percent of the average many years ago. In August 2015, the northern coal mining province of Quang Ninh was devastated by heavy rains of up to 1,500 mm of water for ten straight days. During this years dry season, the Mekong Delta provinces experienced severe drought. The water level of the Cuu Long (Mekong River) was reported at the lowest level ever in the past 90 years. As a result, salt water infiltration came two months earlier than usual. In some localities, salt water infiltration was reported 120 kms inland the worst ever in Viet Nams history. In 2015-2016, due to heavy infiltration of sea water, farmers in the three central provinces of Ninh Thuan, Binh Thuan and Khanh Hoa could not plant rice on 80,000 ha. Some 500,000 ha of subsidiary crops were adversely affected. According to Nguyen Van Tinh, deputy director of the General Department of Irrigation, Vietnamese water resources are now under the management of three different ministries: the Ministry of Natural Resource and Environment (MONRE), the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD), and the Ministry of Industry and Trade (MOIT). In Tinhs opinion, this complicated water management policy has become a stumbling bloc to successful water irrigation activities, particularly during the rainy or drying seasons. Hoang Van Thang, MARD Deputy Minister and the director of the General Department of Irrigation, thinks its time for Viet Nam to restructure agriculture, its primary industry, in the context of climate change. The irrigation sector should switch from a State-subsidized operation to the market-operated economy, Thang said. This is the only way to use water efficiently and effectively." Chu Phuong Chi, of the Viet Nam Water Irrigation Union said Not only rice plants need water. Industrial plants and subsidiary crops also need water. Water is also an essential element in peoples daily lives." Water is a commodity To adapt to climate change, many Vietnamese irrigation experts note the importance of encouraging the participation of all social sectors in adopting the idea that water is a kind of commodity that everyone needs to preserve. If we consider water a commodity, we have to encourage the whole society, including enterprises, to adopt the idea that water is indispensable to our lives and it is closely associated to social security and food safety, Deputy Minister Thang said. According to the General Department of Irrigation, the draft Law on Water Irrigation which is now on the table at the National Assembly has laid out a road map of a price mechanism for irrigation water. Under the draft law, the construction, exploitation and management of irrigation projects will happen in the form of public-private partnerships. The mechanism of water irrigation fees will be changed gradually to a service charge irrigation model. The service charge mechanism will help change peoples awareness about using the water more efficiently. It will also encourage organizations or individuals to invest in irrigation schemes. said Tinh, the deputy director of the General Department of Irrigation. Poor people will continue to benefit from government subsidies. Tinh also pointed to the importance of State management in the planning and management of water resources to coordinate water irrigation management nationwide. VNS In the history of our country no one single individual has done more damage to America, the American people, American values and American democracy than Donald Trump. It is vitally important that ALL intelligent and patriotic Americans vote against ALL Republican candidates in ALL elections at ALL levels who do not publicly and aggressively oppose, denounce and disavow Trump and his lies even if this means voting Democrat. This is not because Democratic, or liberal, policy and philosophy is better than traditional Republican, and true conservative, policy and philosophy but because current Republican Party policy and philosophy, which embraces Trump and his lies, is a very serious threat to American democracy and American values. Unequal Budget funding for the Yes vote wont give Australians equal say If you seek to ensure not all Australians get an equal say in the debate about an enshrined voice, then dont be surprised when millions of them cry foul about the integrity of the result. Industrial relations bill to create more strikes and less jobs 12:21 Shadow Employment and Workplace Relations Minister Michaelia Cash says the industrial relations bill introduced by the government on Thursday... Government advised energy price caps must be done by November: Clennell 03:56 Sky News Political Editor Andrew Clennell says the federal government has been warned it must act prior to November if it is to implement energy... New industrial relations bill has caused quite the storm 02:08 The industrial relations bill introduced on Thursday to push along multi-employer bargaining in an effort to lift wages has caused quite the... WATERLOO The Alliance & Chamber will host a forum for area businesses and institutions to address talent and workforce challenges in the Cedar Valley. Addressing Workforce: Beyond the Numbers is for employers, educators and workforce partners. It will be held from 7:30 to 11:30 a.m. Sept. 29 at the National Cattle Congress Pavilion. Recent data compiled by the Alliance & Chamber projects businesses in the Cedar Valley will need 12,000 additional workers in the next 10 years, while the working-age population is expected to decrease. Business leaders from a cross-section of industries will facilitate three separate discussion tracks. Human resource professionals, business managers, education leaders and service providers who support business with workforce needs are encouraged to participate in the most relevant discussion track. A light breakfast will be served at 7:30 a.m. The event is free. Registration is requested through the Alliance & Chamber website www.cedarvalleyalliance.com by Sept. 16. WATERLOO Hawkeye Community Colleges next Business Consortium Workshop Series, focusing on providing specific business topics to employees in all industries, is set to begin Oct. 20. Workshops run once a month from 8:30 to 11 a.m., and are led by business training professionals. Topics include Employee Management: Conflict Resolution Achieved; The Power of Failure; Leadership Gold; Team Leadership Lessons from the Military (two parts); Everyone Communicates; Few Connect; Trust; Kaizen Basics; Strike a Balance; and Accountability Conversations. Membership in the consortium entitles a business to one seat in each workshop. Businesses can send any employee to any workshop, but seats are limited to the number of memberships purchased. To join the consortium, visit www.hawkeyecollege.edu/go/business-consortium or call 296-4290. CEDAR FALLS The 2016 John Pappajohn Iowa Entrepreneurial Venture Competition came to a close last week with the announcement of the winners at a special recognition luncheon at Drake University in Des Moines. Performance Livestock Analytics of Osage, run by Osage High School grads Dane Kuper and Dustin Balsley, received first place and was awarded $25,000. Performance Livestock Analytics has created a data-driven, real-time analytics system for precision livestock operations management. Through its Performance Beef product, a farm management platform for livestock producers, and through its Cattle Krush profit management application, the company helps the worlds livestock producers efficiently measure and manage activities and inventories as well as provides software analytics support for the entire livestock lifecycle. Punctil/Virtual Waiting Rooms came in second place and was awarded $15,000. Punctil Health of Fairfield is a software-as-a-service company offering punctuality solutions for health care. Punctil Health aims to become the American patients virtual waiting room, allowing for same-day appointments and real-time service on arrival. Punctils goal is to simultaneously reduce wait-times, patient no-shows and bad debt, delivering value to American doctors and patients. SwineTech of New Sharon received third place and was awarded $10,000. SwineTech is dedicated to the production of swine farrowing monitoring systems to protect piglets lives and improve production. Special thanks to John Pappajohn, who through his unwavering commitment to foster entrepreneurship in Iowa, has again sponsored this entrepreneurial venture competition and has provided extensive support for entrepreneurship in Iowa, said Randy Pilkington, director of the University of Northern Iowa John Pappajohn Entrepreneurial Center. 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(1) The USA has officially succeeded in pissing off China and Russia both. Our president has been set to a level of respect less than just about any country around in the world now. Everyday we walk a straight line to war and war is just about all that is left, that we seem to be able to do and that is questionable! Change the end results by trying to cover it all up and by laughing it off, but a snafu is a snafu and it just so happened that Putin had no issues, as did the others that appeared at the G20! China may have had some internal conflicts going on, but the animosity showed and showed clearly.Those animosities are what cause the end result to become violent I also say, An arrogant man is a weak man. This can be changed a little bit, An arrogant country is a weak country. Obama is lucky, the loathe that came out in the situation, could have been exponential and no one could have stopped it. When a president of a country that has terrorized the world to the extent America has (take it or leave it, but step across the border and live a few years, walk with the peasants, you will see,) trouble is never far behind in a retaliatory way. This is a very bad thing and if it keeps up! The American president will become unable to travel the world freely, by means of non-safety Everyday in the real world and if you live in America, or the USA as some people vehemently correct you when you say, America, has worked itself into a situation of disrespect, caused by flagrant violations in international situations and by (In simple terms!) being a bully against the world. Strong arm tactics only carry the message so far. If you have to use coherence to get what you want? Then you have failed somewhere down the line of progression to the end goal * * * * * * * * * * The sides are forming and the fence riders are starting to come down from the fence. The more pressure that is pushed for reasons of insanity, as the USA has been doing lately and the more countries realize that they are next, in the Geopolitical games of the world. China stepped down and it now shows. China has firmly planted itself with Russia and Iran. Soon and sooner than you think, the division line between east and west will be drawn on a map. That line will become the war sector if allowed to be. The west is indebted to the east and has no way to pay it back, short of default and or war.Either way sucks and will shake the world to a new start. I see both default and war as the end result * * * * * * * * * * I wish that we would just admit we are broke and file the world equivalent of bankruptcy. Start over, clean the slate, suck it up and swallow or pride. When you cause your own issues and don not want to pay your debt owed, then we have a saying Pay the piper! .There is a proverb, He who pays the piper calls the tune! This simply means that anyone who provides money for any reason, has the right to express what, how and when it can be spent, used, and no why is necessary! Or we could look at it this way, as we contemplate what we are doing Time to Pay The Piper people One way or the other! People lose their homes all the time and their car is repossessed all the time, when they do not pay their bills. Some pay their bills by borrowing and hoping for a reprieve, as their money tree grows in the backyard! Have a nice day! WtR This website is all about The Beatles and the individual members of The Beatles. It is kept by Roger Stormo, who has been associated with the Norwegian Beatles fan club, "Norwegian Wood", since 1980. Feel free to quote from the site, but please give me credit and a link back to the original item. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. This is not a news site per se, but if we hear about something that has yet to be reported by other Beatles news services, we tend to write about it. Apart from that, we will write stuff about the Beatles on an irregular basis at the whim of the author. A lot of our readers arrive at specific articles from internet searches or references to this site from forums and other Beatles sites. If you did, we encourage you to click here to access the main page, and also to indulge in our archives - you may find other posts that are interesting. You may also subscribe to news from the site and have each new issue delivered to your rss feed reader. This is not a begging letter... but feel free to support me by donating money! It'll keep me in business... Or just buy a t-shirt! Or take a look at my Amazon wish list ...If you have Beatles related product to push, feel free to send us a copy, the address is:Roger StormoBaglergata 21BNO-2004 LillestrmNORWAYemail: roger.stormo@gmail.com We can't promise that your product will be featured on the site, but it stands a better chance than the ones we don't get... Sep 5, 2016 | By Tess Across Europe, youth unemployment has remained a rampant and serious problem, with many students or young people unable to find work because of weak markets and more often than not, lacking skills. In an effort to help curb youth unemployment in Europe and to introduce younger generations to the increasingly important field of digital technologies, Samsung Electronics Europe has teamed up with 3D printer company MakerBot to equip a number of educations institutions (including schools, colleges, and museums) with 3D printers. The recently announced initiative is hoping to inspire a new generation of makers and innovators across the continent. According to Samsung, the first phase of their partnership program with MakerBot, which is a part of Samsungs larger digital skills program, will be launched this year across Germany, Italy, Spain, the UK, and Sweden. Essentially, by investing in making 3D printers and other digital technologies accessible to students of any age through their schools, the companies are seeking to introduce coding, digital manufacturing and other technological skills to younger generations so that when they do enter the job market, they will have the skills that many businesses now require. In line with this goal, the partnership is also hoping to teach students about how a full design cycle works, to show them how from concept to end product, something, anything even, can be achieved. As Evelyn Nicola, Sustainability & Citizenship Manager at Samsung Europe, explains: In response to the alarming skills gap and high levels of youth unemployment in 2013, we backed the European Commissions Grand Coalition for Digital Jobs with a pledge to engage 400,000 young people across Europe by 2019. We will achieve our goal 3 years early so we can now invest further in educating thousands of young people in the latest digital skillsJust imagine a 9 year old girl with her idea for a new design, being able to turn her idea at school into a reality and take home. Experiencing the entire creation journey, from idea to digital concept to physical object represents the future of learning and R&D. The new partnership program between Samsung and MakerBot will essentially expand upon Samsungs existing network of 1,300 Smart Classrooms and 65 Digital Academies. Smart Classrooms, for those wondering, are geared towards teaching young students (between the ages of 6 and 16 years) a number of digital skills such as coding. So far, the company has launched over 1,300 of these Smart Classrooms in 20 European countries and has helped to teach both students and teachers how to approach such technologies as 3D printing. Digital Academies, for their part, are designed for a slightly older demographic (16 to 24) and are essentially centers where young adults can learn about and access a number of smart technologies, ICT training, and even employability programs which will help to ultimately bridge the gap between education and employment. Samsung and MakerBot share the same vision of developing new technologies that help prepare students for the jobs of the future, explained Andreas Langfeld, General Manager of MakerBot EMEA. 3D printing can help teach many of the 21st century skills that employers are looking for and applying knowledge to the real world. Were excited to partner with Samsung to help even more educators and students discover the power of 3D printing. Posted in 3D Printer Company Maybe you also like: Jefferson wrote at 9/6/2016 3:33:07 PM:It's funny that Shillbot's answer to youth unemployment is to teach them how to swap clogged extruders. You'd think a company like Samsung wouldn't fall for these charlatans. Why not hook up with Ultimaker or Zortrax?Andreas wrote at 9/6/2016 8:58:55 AM:Makerbot? Seriously? The same company that just decided to move its production from the US to Asia, just to save a few $ and increase profits? They are now presenting itself as "white knight" in the fight against unemployed youth in europe? What the heck? The problem from my point of view is not just that the youth lacks skills, the problem is that the big companys move all the labour intensive jobs into the third world countrys where manpower is cheaper and regulations are not as strict. Not everyone has the mental capacity to work in high skill and highly intellectual jobs, we do need workplaces for the "less smart" in europe too... Sep 5, 2016 | By Alec Back in April, Dutch food 3D printing pioneers byFlow reached a very important milestone: they served a delicious five course 3D printed meal at a pop-up restaurant during the 3D Food Printing Conference. While some critics simply called it a gimmick, byFlow already pointed out that 3D printed food pastes have numerous nutritional benefits. Not only does it make food easier to swallow, it also retains more vitamins and minerals than overcooked mushy foods and can even be packed with nutritional extras. It sounds like a perfect solution for the elderly and for patients in hospitals, who often have trouble chewing or who are not getting enough of the fibers, vitamins or minerals that contribute to their recovery. Officials from the Isala Hospital in Zwolle, the Netherlands, have therefore set up an initiative to bring that 3D printed food to their patients together with food provider Huuskes. A wide variety of foods, including cabbages, carrots, peas, fish and even classic Dutch dishes such as kale stamppot, are already on the agenda. While this initiative is under development, the hospital believes that 3D printing can have a huge impact on patient health and recovery. Up to 20 percent of patients in Dutch hospitals are malnourished in some way not starving, but lacking certain vitamins that will support their recovery. After treatment, many patients cant even stand the smell of cooked vegetables while especially cancer patients often have no appetite at all. Meanwhile, food as a medication is still everything but conventional in the medical industry. Isala Hospital is seeking to change that, with a new policy being implemented on November 1. They will start to serve meals to patients before or after being admitted to hospitals, preferably in communal settings. Patients are more likely to eat their food while seated at a table with other patients than when propped up in a hospital bed, while the nutrients will strengthen them for any procedure that will follow. When admitted to hospitals, especially cancer patients turn out to be malnourished. But if they eat as much as possible (and like the healthy food) well in advance, their recovery process will be much quicker, a spokesman explained. 3D printing can play a huge role in that process, and supplier Huuskes is building on TNO studies revolving around food 3D printing. We are still in the developmental phase with 2D printing, and were looking at options for coating foods with layers of extra nutrients. It would also be great if we can add some medication to the food itself, the spokesman added. Of course we will be working with fresh and natural foods, which are the healthiest. Good food in a hospital will aid recovery, and pureed and 3D printed foods shaped like mini-bonbons will certainly help. Isala is even planning to deliver these meals to patients at home, both before and after their stay in hospital making them one of the first to deliver that level of care. Once that involves meals packed with additional nutrients, this will ensure that patients wont be malnourished upon their arrival at the hospital. But its only the first step on a new medical path, argues food professor Jaap Seidell from the Vrije Universiteit in Amsterdam. Theres so much you can do with good nutrition, he says, arguing that medical faculties need to shift their paradigms and educate the next generation of doctors about the advantages of foods. Posted in 3D Printing Application Maybe you also like: J Frank wrote at 10/22/2016 4:50:26 AM:Most of you do not understand the concept! There are many patients in hospitals on pureed food. A plate of scoops of pureed food is unappealing. Food molds are commonly used to give pureed foods shape. Printing these foods into shapes with natural colors is amazing for these people!Steve wrote at 9/20/2016 3:04:02 PM:I think they should be looking at micro greens, dense nutrient based food.RC wrote at 9/10/2016 12:30:18 AM:Hello, can you give a source for this post? Thanks!Blruble Krumpkins wrote at 9/9/2016 9:13:23 PM:they 3D printed a pearrrr!!!!!!!!!!!!!mick wrote at 9/7/2016 5:42:47 PM:This is not food, This only benefits the bottom line.Seth B wrote at 9/6/2016 4:34:56 PM:This is such a game changer for hospital food. Good for them to get the ball rolling.John Dee wrote at 9/5/2016 7:26:25 PM:Surely the best food is nice & fresh...processed BAD, you dont see 3D printed food in the MED Diet, just pure healthy goodness. by Paul Braterman What is now proved was once only imagind William Blake Really important ideas in science are not the work of a single individual or even a single generation. The idea of an atom, for instance, was developed by ancient Greek philosophers, revived by eighteenth century chemists to make sense of their discoveries about the composition of matter, and used by nineteenth century physicists to explain the effect of temperature and pressure on gases. Our modern idea of molecules, formed with definite shapes by joining atoms together according to definite rules, was developed by chemists studying naturally occurring substances in the late nineteenth century. In the early twentieth century, the structure of the atom itself was explained in terms of more fundamental particles, while the last half century has seen advances that make it possible for us to directly sense, and even move around, individual atoms. Roman fresco, illustrating front cover of R.E. Latham's excellent translation Atomic theory dates back to the pre-Socratic philosophers, especially Leucippus and Democritus, who wrote and taught more than four hundred years BCE. The works of the pre-Socratics survive only in fragments, and in quotations by later authors. For example, Epicurus, some 130 years later, built this theory into his unified view of the world and morality. The views of Epicurus were beautifully expressed by the Roman poet Lucretius, who lived at the same time as Julius Caesar, in his great work De Rerum Natura (On the Nature of the Universe). According to this ancient atomic theory, atoms are eternal and indestructible. All forms of matter are built up from a relatively small number of kinds of atoms. What led the early atomists to theories so remote from simple appearances? Greek philosophers were greatly puzzled by the phenomena of change and motion. If something is real, how can it be transformed into something that it is not? If something is in one place, how can it move, since that would imply that it was no longer in that place? Besides, how can anything move without displacing something (if only the air) that is already there, in which case which one moves first? There are serious problems here, that were not properly solved until the mathematics of fluid flow and the theory of limits were developed in the 18th and 19th Centuries. One radical approach to the problems posed by change is to say that change itself is an illusion, and that the world of experience, in which we live and act, grow and die, is in some important sense unreal. Plato was influenced by this approach when he compared knowledge gained through the senses to a mere shadow-play on the walls of a cave. Such a view is deeply hostile to science, which relies on observation, and the influence of Plato and his followers was to greatly hinder the development of scientific thinking. An alternative view, that taken by the atomists, is that nature consists of two components; atoms, and the void. The atoms are eternal, since nothing can be created out of nothing. Everything that happens, happens according to natural laws, otherwise nature would not be predictable. The atoms have room to move because there is a void between them. The individual atoms are unchanging, but their arrangement can change, and the forces between atoms explain why objects have a definite shape. All natural processes are caused by collisions and rearrangements of atoms. The force of the wind, for instance, is attributed to the impact of the atoms (we would now say molecules) of air on objects. As Lucretius points out, the theory is consistent with common experience for instance, the smell of a perfume diffuses through a room, so the perfume must be giving off invisible particles. Sheepskins hung up by the sea become wet overnight; this shows that atoms of water have found their way from the water through the air to the sheepskins surface. A pit dug a little inland from the sea fills up with drinkable water. This is because sea water contains more than one kind of atoms, and the jagged ones (which are also responsible for its sharp taste) stick to the ground through which the drinkable water flows (this is remarkably similar to the modern view, in which the ions that make up salt stick to clay). He could also have mentioned the way that things dissolve in water and can then be recovered unchanged when the water evaporates. But let us allow Lucretius to speak for himself: The headlong force of the wind lashes the body, overthrows great ships and scatters the clouds, then swiftly whirling strews the fields with tall trees So there must be unseen particles in the wind, sweeping the seas, the land, the clouds of the sky. Without seasonal storms, the Earth would not be able to give rise to the produce that gladdens us, nor could living things sustain themselves and propagate. So it is better to think that the same components occur in different things, much as the same elements occur in different words, rather than that anything could exist without an origin. Some things are primary objects, while others are assemblages, but there is no force that can destroy the primary objects, for in the end they overcome through their own sheer solidity. In other words, rain, plants and animals must be made of similar atoms in different arrangements, in order to explain the facts of growth and feeding (Lucretius, of course, had no idea that the plants needed carbon dioxide from the air, as well as water and minerals from the soil, but otherwise his account is surprisingly modern). The force of the wind, and its ability to carry clouds, is due to the impulse of the atoms in the air. All the changes that we observe in matter are due to the movement of atoms and their combining together in new ways. For Lucretius, as for Epicurus and Democritus before him, the atoms themselves are eternal and indestructible.* I should mention that this is part of a moral, as well as a natural, world view. Lucretius was writing at a time of great civil disorder. The constitution of the Roman republic, originally designed for a small city-state, was breaking down even as the territory under Roman control grew. The central authority was increasingly unable to control its own generals, and the civil liberties enjoyed by the old governing class, to which Lucretius belonged, were being trampled underfoot. War, external along the expanding frontiers or internal between one ambitious general and another, seemed endless. At such times, individuals of spirit concentrate all the more keenly on the inner freedoms of thought and feeling. Thus Lucretius wrote to free the mind of superstitious fears through the light of understanding: This fear and darkness of the mind cannot be dissipated by the rays of the Sun, nor by the clear shafts of day, but only by the perusal and understanding of nature. His purpose, in short, was to demystify. Why was there no progress from such a promising beginning? Bertrand Russell (History of Western Philosophy, Chapters IX, XXVII) suggests two types of possibility, one deriving from the way society was structured, the other from political circumstances. In the world of Greece and Rome, there was a total lack of contact between the useful arts (cookery and brewing, dyeing, metallurgy, tanning, ceramics, even medicine), which were delegated to the laboring classes, and the speculations of gentlemen. When labor is cheap, there is little pressure to improve technology, and when thinkers despise manual activity, they will not develop any experimental technique. Lucretius himself often appeals to observation, but experiment involves more than simply observing what presents itself. It is the deliberate setting up of situations in order to observe them, and no Greek or Roman gentleman would be likely to soil his hands in such a business. Secondly, there was what Russell calls a failure of nerve. Leucippus and Democritus were great intellectual innovators; Epicurus and Lucretius were not. Leucippus and Democritus wrote as citizens of free city states at their most confident, during and immediately after Greek successes in the Persian Wars. By the time of Epicurus, these city states had been subdued by Philip of Macedon and his son Alexander. Lucretius wrote when the Roman Republic was degenerating by way of civil war into a despotic empire. Later centuries saw the decline and fall of Rome, the chaos of Europes Dark Ages, and the subsequent medieval reverence for authority and verbal argument rather than experience. As Lucretius repeatedly reminds us, if everything happens according to natural laws, there is no need to fear the gods. Indeed, he regarded religious belief as a source of evil, and gave as an example how Agamemnon had sacrificed his own daughter to the gods in order to secure a fair wind for the Greeks on their way to attack Troy. He also regarded the mind as the product of subtle atoms within the body, rather than a separate immaterial entity. As for the murderous political struggles of his time, these were the expressions of misplaced ambition, itself the product of incomplete understanding. Such views did not endear him to the early Church. Thus St. Jerome, translator of the Bible into Latin, claimed, four centuries after the event, that Lucretiuss death was suicide, that he had been driven insane by a love potion, and that his books, written in lucid intervals, had been reworked and corrected by Cicero. I have found no reason to believe that any of this is true. .Further south and east, in the Islamic and Hindu worlds, science and mathematics continued to flourish. Muslim theologians developed their own extreme version of atomic theory, in which matter consisted of dimensionless atoms, while space was atomised into separate points and time into instants, but the scientists of the Islamic world generally followed the continuous matter theories of Aristotle. There were major advances in the practical applications of chemistry, while the alchemists made important discoveries of how different substances react. However, a proper understanding of molecules, atoms, and the relationships between them requires an understanding of the mechanics of moving particles, and quantitative understanding of chemical reactions. We would have to wait until the 17th century for the first of these, and another hundred years for the second. *But it would be easy to see Lucretius as more modern than he really is. He believes that he can discover facts about the world using purely verbal arguments, and many of his explanations amount to nothing more than This is how things behave, because such is the nature of the atoms that compose them. Such reasoning gives the illusion of understanding, and is the enemy of scientific enquiry. He describes a fantastical cosmology, in which the Sun is composed of lighter atoms than the Earth, squeezed out into space when Earth first cohered. Here we should not blame him for being wrong, but should blame him for being too easily satisfied. And while Democritus regarded all directions in space as equivalent, Lucretius, following Epicurus, thought that there was an absolute direction of downwards, in which direction atoms were eternally falling. This although Plato, centuries earlier, had taught that the Earth was round, at the centre of things, and stationary. Translations by the present author. An earlier version of this material appeared in the authors From Stars to Stalagmites, World Scientific, 2012. by Christopher Bacas (Here are Midnight in Moscow, Chapter 1 and Chapter 2.) Backstage, old friends were stopping by, bringing hugs, booze and sweets. In an embossed box tied with ribbon, a Kievski (Kiev-style) cake rested on a gold foil base: stacks of merengue ovals held with mortar of the richest, densest buttercream imaginable. One small piece made my teeth ache and fell brick-heavy into my belly. If I could prevent vertigo by opening my eyes, maybe I was immune from diabetic coma, as well. All conversations stayed in Russian. Through the cacophony, Drum Doctor began to mention the names of American musicians. It seemed he was throwing out names with possible Russian connections. Equating nationality and ethnicity with instrumental skill is a fool's errand, but I offered great composers Vernon Duke (Dukelsky) and Irving Berlin (Balein). He wanted players, though. I added Stan Getz. Drum Doctor looked shocked. Jewish family from Kiev I said. He waved his hand majestically. Aaaaah. Special category! I looked around. Pianist never flinched. Another day at the office for him. Each musical genre collects myths; of origin, personality, prowess and transcendence.They are passed around, misconstrued by dilettantes, written down, challenged by academics, reversed and re-reversed. Phylogeny can't explain greatness nor its' relation to place. Tales about Russian musicians include feats of flawless execution and prodigious memory; gifts nurtured by colossal workhorses while epic snowstorms raged outside their practice rooms. During the Cold War, Soviets paraded one phenomenon after another. Gilels said wait until you hear Richter, and he was right. Heifetz and Horowitz got out before Milstein, while Kogan and Oistrakh stayed, the latter teaching Kremer. I wouldn't appreciate how overwhelming their approach was until I heard others play the same notes. Connecting tone and articulation to written music in the moment is a thespian feat. We are what we play, an act that places anyone, sufficiently aware, in the eye of that howling storm. Krasnoyarsk was with us from the beginning, but expected force majeur. In that spirit, I stepped front and leaned into my horn, closing my eyes. I saw myself: black cashmere jacket, matching wool pants and multi-color shirt; tumbling head first off the stage. My stomach executed a double flip. I jacked my eyelids open and kept them there. On break, the Kievski cake, its' box permanently compromised, slept in a forest of liquor bottles. We finished the night with encores and satisfaction. My roomie, a veteran of dozens of house-wrecking Far East tours for the Soviet agency GosConcert, felt the Siberian audience had become jaded with so many international musicians showing up on their stages. We said our goodbyes to the green room guests and headed to the station. The band was booked on an overnight train to Novokusnetsky. The trans-Siberian railroad is an incredible feat of Soviet engineering and heroic slave labor. Solzhenitsyn said there were two heads under every railroad tie. Our driver dropped us at the station and we rolled luggage up to wait on the platform. My colleagues joked and talked impenetrably, their voices alternating and overlapping, maybe remembering a hundred past Siberian journeys. Standing next to them, half a world from home, on a soundless, windless night, the absolute desolation of our planet dawned. The cold coiled head to toe, absorbing into my body in advancing layers. The Doctor examined my coat and boots and made a halting diagnosis: Boots and jacketare goodbut..for Siberia.NOT GOOD ENOUGH. Everyone roared and I felt at home again; the butt of a loving and pointed jibe. When then train arrived, we boarded quietly, the others reacting instantly to the crew's instructions. Each car had an attendant; mine, a tiny elephant-skinned woman in headscarf. She addressed me sharply. I mumbled a few Russian words. She smiled gloriously, revealing a few widely-spaced incisors. My colleagues chuckled, relaying: your girlfriend is asking if you want tea My berth was comfy and spartan. Its window, clean enough to see limitless taiga. The attendant turned the bed down, grinning and chatting non-stop. I slept once we started moving but woke up for the bathroom. Behind its' sliding door, The WC was a metal and wood enclosure, completely porous to the outside; air well below freezing. Exhaling unfurled ghostly sails. Inhaling singed my nostrils. Stocking feet couldn't stand the steel sheet floor, so I went back for shoes and a hat. On the way, I saw my attendant, bundled and bolt upright in a child-size seat, her head vibrating against the wall. Back inside, the steel toilet stood ready. Next to its' wooden seat, a carved out wooden block filled with sloshing water and a battered plastic dipper for flushing. The car rattled and groaned, swaying in little whirlpools. I aimed for the hinged bottom of the toilet and missed widely, breathing quickly through my mouth. Against a tender throat and voice box, the air hit and stuck sharp and three-dimensional, a Ninja throwing star. Lips pressed tight, I used the dipper to carefully wash down the spills, then replaced it in the tub. Fully awakened by cold and adventure, I slid the door shut with a metallic clang. The attendant's eyes opened. She got to her feet cat-like and slid past me, voice starting as she clasped the door handle. I turned to face her. She entered the freezing enclosure demonstrating the process of manually emptying and rinsing the toilet; copiously narrating each quick, rough movement. Standing in the doorway, I just watched, adding misplaced comments. Da Da, Da Spasiba Da I had no idea what she was saying. There wasn't a simple way to excuse myself. Awkwardly, I backed away and reached for the door handle. She continued talking as the door closed behind me. Once inside my berth, I undressed and laid down. From the window, stars and moon reflected purple on the snowpack. Taiga, a boreal forest of moss and stunted spruce and pine, passed on a spinning wheel. Taiga makes up twenty-nine percent of the land mass of earth; a biome second only to the oceans. Poking through the snow, skinny trees multiplied into thickets, then borderless fields, and finally vast spiny peninsulas tilting toward dark river beds. Every hour or so a clump of snow blasted buildings appeared, barely a block wide and lit by a conic section of yellow light. Hurtling toward solstice, on a silent planet frozen to its molten core, the arctic night felt like an intergalactic Christmas Eve. I slept on and off until what I guessed was morning, then dressed for breakfast. The chair where my attendant slept sat empty, her bag tucked under a low table beside it. Chests and lockers lined the walls around the corner. In a forward car, Pianist sipped tea at a table. His attendant, a hard-faced Siberian beauty, served him rolls and cold cuts. She spoke to him softly, leaning in close, then stepping away. A slight smile stayed on his face as she left. At breakfast, we met other passengers. A solider, who drove tanks, told us wearily he was going home to his family after two years away. He hadn't even been able to talk with them for months as diligent thieves in his hometown dug up more than a mile of copper telephone cable. My attendant appeared. She never acknowledged me and shuttled about doing small tasks. Pianist's attendant served me breakfast. With its' battered furnishings, idiosyncratic staff, and remote location, our train seemed like a rustic inn near a long-vacated vacation spot. Northern State's defense sets record in win over MSU-Moorhead NSU picked up 254 of their 402 yards on the ground to improve to 6-3 on the year. The Healthcare BI Platform market is expected to exceed more than USD$3.9 Billion by 2023 growing at a CAGR of more than 11% in the given forecast period 2015 to 2023. New York Sep 05 Market Research Engine has published a new report titled as Healthcare BI Platform Market By Function (Clinical Analytics, Financial Analytics, Operational Analytics and Others); By Deployment Type (On-premise and Cloud); By Model Type (Self-service BI and Corporate BI) Global Industry Analysis, Trends, and Forecast 2015 2023 The Healthcare BI Platform market is expected to exceed more than USD$3.9 Billion by 2023 growing at a CAGR of more than 11% in the given forecast period 2015 to 2023. Browse Full Report Here: https://www.marketresearchengine.com/reportdetails/healthcare-bi-platform-market Business intelligence consists of different tools and techniques which gain and transform the row information into useful and valuable data for business purpose. It provides present, past and future view of business processes. In health care the meaning of executive performance is varying as rapidly as the requirement for it is increasing. 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REPORT SCOPE: The scope of the report includes a detailed study of global and regional markets for various types of coatings with the reasons given for variations in the growth of the industry in certain regions. The report covers detailed competitive outlook including the market share and company profiles of the key participants operating in the global market. Key players profiled in the report include SAP SE, Oracle Corporation, Microsoft Corporation, SAS Institute, Inc., IBM Corporation, OpenText Corporation, and Information Builders .Company profile includes assign such as company summary, financial summary, business strategy and planning, SWOT analysis and current developments. The Top Companies Report is intended to provide our buyers with a snapshot of the industrys most influential players. The Healthcare BI platform Market has been segmented as below: By Product Segment Analysis Global Healthcare BI Platform Market, by Function Clinical Analytics Financial Analytics Operational Analytics Others (Regulatory Reporting, etc.) by Deployment Analysis On-premise Cloud by Model Analysis Self-service Corporate by Regional Analysis North America Europe Asia-Pacific Rest of the World Reasons to Buy this Report: 1) Obtain the most up to date information available on all active and planned healthcare BI platform market globally. 2) Identify growth segments and opportunities in the industry. 3) Facilitate decision making on the basis of strong historic and forecast of healthcare BI platform industry and unit capacity data. 4) Assess your competitors refining portfolio and its evolution. About MarketResearchEngine.com Market Research Engine is a global market research and consulting organization. We provide market intelligence in emerging, niche technologies and markets. Our market analysis powered by rigorous methodology and quality metrics provide information and forecasts across emerging markets, emerging technologies and emerging business models. Our deep focus on industry verticals and country reports help our clients to identify opportunities and develop business strategies. Media Contact Company Name: Market Research Engine Contact Person: John Bay Email: john@marketresearchengine.com, contact@marketresearchengine.com Phone: +1-855-984-1862, +91-860-565-7204 Country: United States Website: https://www.marketresearchengine.com/ Madera Superior Court of California verifies Emily Galilahi Jugashvili, a political activist, researcher and Native American as the relative of Joseph Stalin. Emily Galilahi Jugashvili is a political activist, researcher, Native American on her mothers side, related to Joseph Stalin on her fathers side (her first cousin by the fourth generation), and transgender. Emily is a public figure and has met with backlash which varies from people slandering her, editing documents against her, and creating fake accounts to pretend to be her and therefore used to mock her. It became very overwhelming that she had to ask the court to intervene regarding her genealogy. As a political activist, people really need to stop attacking me to discredit me, she said. People may slander me, but the truth is right in your faces. Im happy that the court has granted my name and gender change, but Im also happy that they verified my family relations. However, there are many family members who are unhappy about this. Jacob Jugashvili (great grandson of Joseph Stalin) said, Ive talked with the courts. Ive talked with the church. They verify her documentation, but Im not comfortable with an 18-year-old transgender person being around my family. The Georgian Orthodox Church were the ones to release the original documentation to Emily. We understand the frustration, but abandoning family is not the solution, they said. Emily, however, doesnt let the hostility affect her. I was human, I am human now, being transgender doesnt make me any less human. Why do people now care about my gender when they didnt before I came out? Why do people speak about me and shout my name at me in the street? One of the first things you learn as a child is that: You must always be yourself, no matter what anybody else thinks. But the one thing society always forgets to mention is that they dont really mean it. Or rather they do but conditionally. Meaning, you can be yourself as long as it fits their perception of what is socially acceptable. I hate it when people refer to me as a trans girl. Im not a trans girl, Im just a girl. Why do I need to specify that I used to be a boy when I never was? Ive always been a girl. Sometimes I forget I was born differently than what I feel. People might think thats nice to forget youre transgender and you just feel like you were born the right way, in the right body. But honestly, I think it makes it so much harder. I am a girl, but for the first time I can begin to say that I am glad that I was a boy. As a boy I felt forever trapped in an empty, if skillful, performance of masculinity. In becoming a girl I was liberated into myself, a self that was hard-won and fought for; a self that learnt to play with gender roles, practices and began to discover moments of peace. Willingness to be reconciled with the fractures and lack of simplicity in myself was crucial to that process. To become a girl was a step away from power and status and, yet, I am glad beyond words that I am a girl. But, though it is still very difficult to acknowledge, I am surprised to discover that Im also glad that I was a boy. Emily said. Emily went on saying, We must all give and receive leadership from each other. Communism can be won only through armed struggle by masses of workers, soldiers, students and others, to destroy the dictatorship of the capitalist class and set up a dictatorship of the working class. Media Contact Company Name: RT News Contact Person: Peter Oliver Email: press@rttv.ru Phone: +7 499 75-00-100 Country: Russian Federation Website: http://www.emilyjugashvili.com/ AGM Presentation Perth, Sep 5, 2016 AEST (ABN Newswire) - Strategic Elements Ltd ( ASX:SOR ) are pleased to provide the Company's AGM Presentation. SOR Summary - Strategic Elements is registered by the Australian Federal Government under a special program to encourage investment into Australian SME's enabling most investors to pay no capital gains tax when they sell their shares. - We seek to work with world leading experts and focus on projects with large scale potential upside. We back 'higher risk - higher reward' opportunities. - The Company is a unique vehicle listed on ASX under the code "SOR" and has a dual resources and technology exposure. $7M cash and debt free. - Currently focusing on developing Nanocube Memory technology for potential use in bendable/flexible electronic devices. - Currently in discussions with potential development partners. - Currently conducting due diligence on further Printed Electronics technologies. - Working to re-open 100 year old high grade NZ goldfield. - Drilling is being planned to target the Pioneer Shoot where last exploration assays returned 663.9 g/t gold over 0.75m including 5342.5 g/t gold over 0.25m. - Exploration Permit progress and conceptual drilling to be announced shortly. - Currently working with world leading geologist Dr Franco Pirajno for a 'discovery from overseas models in WA frontiers'. - The Officer Project includes 700km2 of unexplored ground in WA deserts. - Currently preparing first exploration program to occur within next few months. To view the presentation, please visit: http://abnnewswire.net/lnk/I5148TA6 About Strategic Elements Ltd Strategic Elements (ASX:SOR) shares are listed on the Australian Stock Exchange under the code SOR. The Company is registered under the Pooled Development Program run by the Australian Federal Government to encourage investment into SMEs. To assist Pooled Development Funds to invest and raise capital, the Federal Government enables most shareholders in a Pooled Development Fund to make capital gains and receive dividends tax-free. Appointment of New Chairman Perth, Sep 5, 2016 AEST (ABN Newswire) - The Board of Directors of Liquefied Natural Gas Limited ( ASX:LNG ) ( LNGLY:OTCMKTS ) (LNGL or the Company) is pleased to announce that it has appointed Non-Executive Director Mr Paul Cavicchi as chairman of the LNGL Board effective at the close of the Annual General Meeting on 17 November 2016. The current Chairman, Mr Richard Beresford, will step down as Chairman and remain on the LNGL Board as Non-Executive Director. Mr Cavicchi is based in Houston and will be able to directly provide assistance with the North American development and operational efforts. Houston is the location of the North American headquarters of LNGL. Mr Cavicchi has over 30 years' experience in the international energy industry across a range of natural gas and power projects, including development and construction of LNG infrastructure. His most recent position was Executive Vice President of GDF SUEZ Energy North America, Inc. (GSENA), a subsidiary of GDF SUEZ Energy International, where he supervised and directed all business development and construction efforts for GSENA in the United States, Canada and Mexico. Previously, he held the roles of President and CEO of SUEZ Renewable Energy NA, LLC, and before that President and CEO of SUEZ Energy Generation North America, Inc. Mr Cavicchi joined the LNGL Board in October 2014. Mr Richard Beresford stated, "We are delighted to welcome Mr Cavicchi as our new Chairman and we believe that, with his extensive experience in international energy industry and commitment to governance best practice, he is an excellent choice to step in as Chairman." LNGL's Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer Mr Greg Vesey said, "The Board wishes to thank Richard for his guidance, leadership and commitment as Chair of the Board since 2010, and is pleased that the Company will continue to benefit from Richard's 30-plus years of experience in the international energy industry through his ongoing Non-Executive Directorship." About Liquefied Natural Gas Ltd Liquefied Natural Gas Limited ( ASX:LNG) ( OTCMKTS:LNGLY) (LNGL) is an ASX listed company whose portfolio consists of 100% ownership of the following companies: - Magnolia LNG, LLC (Magnolia LNG), a US-based subsidiary, which is developing an eight mtpa or greater LNG export terminal, in the Port of Lake Charles, Louisiana, USA; - Bear Head LNG Corporation Inc. (Bear Head LNG), a Canadian-based subsidiary, which is developing an 8 12 mtpa LNG export terminal in Richmond County, Nova Scotia, Canada with potential for further expansion; - Bear Paw Pipeline Corporation Inc. (Bear Paw), which is proposing to construct and operate a 62.5 km gas pipeline lateral to connect gas supply to Bear Head LNG; and - LNG Technology Pty Ltd, a subsidiary which owns and develops the Company's OSMR LNG liquefaction process, a midscale LNG business model that plans to deliver lower capital and operating costs, faster construction, and improved efficiency, relative to larger traditional LNG projects. Change of Joint Company Secretary Perth, Sep 5, 2016 AEST (ABN Newswire) - The Board of Directors of Liquefied Natural Gas Ltd ( ASX:LNG ) ( LNGLY:OTCMKTS ) (LNGL or the Company) today announced that Mr Andrew Gould has been appointed to the position of Joint Company Secretary following the departure of Mr David Gardner. Mr Gould's new role is in addition to his existing role as Group Development Manager. The Chairman of LNGL's Board of Directors, Richard Beresford, thanked Mr Gardner for his 8 years of service to the Board. The change is effective from 3 September 2016. About Liquefied Natural Gas Ltd Liquefied Natural Gas Limited ( ASX:LNG) ( OTCMKTS:LNGLY) (LNGL) is an ASX listed company whose portfolio consists of 100% ownership of the following companies: - Magnolia LNG, LLC (Magnolia LNG), a US-based subsidiary, which is developing an eight mtpa or greater LNG export terminal, in the Port of Lake Charles, Louisiana, USA; - Bear Head LNG Corporation Inc. (Bear Head LNG), a Canadian-based subsidiary, which is developing an 8 12 mtpa LNG export terminal in Richmond County, Nova Scotia, Canada with potential for further expansion; - Bear Paw Pipeline Corporation Inc. (Bear Paw), which is proposing to construct and operate a 62.5 km gas pipeline lateral to connect gas supply to Bear Head LNG; and - LNG Technology Pty Ltd, a subsidiary which owns and develops the Company's OSMR LNG liquefaction process, a midscale LNG business model that plans to deliver lower capital and operating costs, faster construction, and improved efficiency, relative to larger traditional LNG projects. Spectacular Plus 2,000 g/t Au Hit from Dona Maria Perth, Sep 5, 2016 AEST (ABN Newswire) - Crusader Resources Limited ( ASX:CAS ) ( CHLXF:OTCMKTS ) are pleased to announce visual gold returns spectacular +2,000 g/t Au from Juruena's Dona Maria Prospect. Highlights - Spectacular high-grade gold intercept from hole MD-09 at Juruena's Dona Maria prospect: -- 10m @ 101 g/t Au from 125m in MD-09 including: - 1m @ 65.36 g/t Au from 126m - 0.5m @ 10.24 g/t Au from 127m - 1m @ 24.30 g/t Au from 131m - 1m @ 104 g/t Au from 132m and - 0.4m @ 2,009 g/t Au from 133m - Results provide further evidence of the potential at Dona Maria - central area returning coherent high grades - Total of 14 holes for 1,787m completed at Dona Maria (results for 5 holes released to date) further results will continue to be announced as they come to hand This high-grade result is the latest to be received from the Dona Maria prospect and follows on from bonanza grade results announced late last month from hole MD-06 (up dip of MD-09) at Dona Maria including 1.50m @ 141 g/t Au from 45m; 4m @ 8 g/t gold from 96m (including 1m @ 27.99 g/t Au); and 4m @ 3.98 g/t Au from 77m (including 1m @ 11.09 g/t Au) (refer to ASX announcement dated 24 August 2016 see Figures 3 and 4 in the link below). Commenting on the result, Crusader Resources' Managing Director Rob Smakman said: "We are obviously really excited to get such an extraordinary hit and even more so that it occurs as part of a broad, highgrade intercept. The central zone at Dona Maria is proving to be the source of some of the best intercepts in the district and indicates a broad, high-grade zone that is continuous and relatively close to surface. I look forward to updating shareholders with the next round of assay results when they come to hand- we are confident the results will help achieve our goals of increasing the confidence level and size of the Dona Maria resource." Dona Maria Prospect Dona Maria is located adjacent to the Crentes prospect, approximately 1 kilometre along the Juruena fault zone from Querosene (see Figure 2 in link below). Mineralisation at Dona Maria is perpendicular to the main Crentes trend (WNW) toward the NNW (see Figure 3). There is a broad, relatively shallow garimpo working over the mineralised trend and with the new intercepts along with historical drilling, the central zone appears to show a coherent, high-grade core that is open at depth. A total of 14 holes for 1,787m were completed at Dona Maria in the 2016 campaign, with results released to date from the first 5 holes. The central zone of Dona Maria has now returned some of the highest grades of the Juruena district, from both historical drilling as well as results from the current campaign. Twenty-five metres to the north, hole MR-010 (RC hole drilled by Crusader in 2015) returned 8m @ 62.4 g/t Au from 101m downhole and the nearby hole J-07 (historical diamond drilling-Madison) returned 10.5m @ 14.59 g/t Au from 109m and 4.68m @ 64.35 g/t Au from 125m downhole. Geological interpretation of the Dona Maria mineralisation (including the central zone) will advance once assays for all the holes are received and the wireframe updated. Gold mineralisation at Dona Maria appears to be associated with strongly altered granite and dolerite dykes with the geometry of the alteration zones controlled along a structural corridor. The current interpretation of the structural zone has a north-south orientation dipping steeply to the west. This zone may split and meander, additional results from drilling will be essential for understanding the structural zone geometry. It is important to observe that the structure is not always mineralised with high grades and given the moderate nugget effect of the mineralisation, lower grade zones within the structural zones are expected. The alteration of the predominantly pink granite is generally observed as pale-green sericite, chlorite with minor quartz and fine grained pyrite. The appearance of the rock when strongly altered is dramatically different to the host rock and as such, the geological modelling of the alteration zone will be relatively well constrained. The mineralised zone is also often accompanied by a dolerite dyke (or dykes), which appear to be using the same structural zone- variable between the footwall and hangingwall contacts. This dolerite is fine grained, non-magnetic, has a dark green appearance and is sometimes mineralised. The core photo in Figure 1 (where the visual gold was observed) has been logged as a strongly altered dolerite dyke, with the gold concentrated along small fractures. There was also minor gold observed at 128.75m, which is logged as moderately altered granite. Further results from this region are eagerly anticipated and will form a critical part of the planned update to the mineral resource estimate. About Juruena The Juruena Project (~400 km2 of contiguous tenements) is located in Central Brazil on the southern fringe of the Amazon Basin. Situated on the western end of the prospective Juruena-Alta Floresta gold belt (estimated to have produced ~7Moz Au), Juruena has been explored extensively by artisanal miners since the 1980's, producing an estimated 500koz of gold. The current Drilling program at Juruena has now completed a total of 7,722m, with 38 holes at Querosene, 14 holes at Dona Maria, 7 holes at Tomate and 4 holes at Mauro. To view tables and figures, please visit: http://abnnewswire.net/lnk/06J5D79B About Crusader Resources Limited Crusader Resources Limited (ASX:CAS) is a minerals company focussed on the identification, acquisition, development and operation of projects in Brazil. Crusader believes that Brazil is a vastly underexplored country with high potential for the discovery of world class mineral deposits. The company has already acquired a diverse portfolio of projects including gold, iron ore, tin, tungsten and uranium and continues to utilise its strong networks in Brazil to identify new opportunities. Crusader is characterised by a tight corporate structure and features an experienced board of directors who are strongly focussed on the success of the company. Underlying the importance of the Affiliates in todays digital marketing age, Ravi Bansal, Head Traffic and Content, LeEco, said that Affiliates have the potential to be as big as AdWords or FB, but the only thing stopping is the visibility to the advertisers. The way we have AdExchange, we could have an Affiliate Exchange. He was participating in a panel discussion on Anatomy of Perfect Affiliate Marketing at the India Affiliate Summit, organized by Internet and Mobile Association of India (IAMAI), in association with VCommision. The speakers at the two-day mega event were unanimous in their views that Affiliate Marketing is a key enabler today. Parul Bhargava, Co-founder & CEO, vCommission Media, in her address, mentioned that the affiliate network has been growing steadily in India despite the fact that it is still at a nascent stage. She underlined the importance of a strategic partnership amongst the various channels such as advertisers, brands, publishers, which could be a win-win for all the stakeholders. In his address, Anurag Gupta, Founder & MD, DGM India, said that the Advertisers would need to recalibrate their affiliate strategy to derive best mileage out of the Affiliate Channel. This will continue to be one of the most cost effective channels of customer acquisition. A whitepaper titled, Affiliate Marketing What is the big deal, jointly prepared by IAMAI and Tata Strategic Management Group was also released on Day 1 of the event. Releasing the paper, Sourabh Gupta, Engagement Manager Technology & Digital, TATA Strategic Management Group, said Industry often takes a myopic view on affiliate marketing by limiting it to sales. We, at TSMG believe that technology evolution would not only drive but also re-shape affiliate marketing in India. Companies across industries should re-align their conservative outlook towards affiliate marketing thus driving disproportionate results. Speaking at the Summit, Milind Pathak, Chief Operating Officer, Madhouse India, emphasized that in todays connected world the modern marketer has to think beyond the obvious. He said: Affiliate Marketing is not only about getting the downloads; with technology moving towards programmatic, data intelligence and attribution, marketers today can identify the time when a consumer will convert and that to in real time. Marketers today can take all these innovations, combine them together and create a cracking campaign with effective strategy that will surge brand impact and customer engagement, at the same time driving a defined outcome, he opined. Rohan Bhargava, Co-founder, CashKaro.com said that Cashback as a channel has helped e-commerce players to gain initial traction, spearhead their new customer acquisition model and do more business at reduced costs! For e-commerce companies, offering cashbacks/coupons has emerged as a popular alternative not just to attract new customers, but also to retain them. He mentioned that as per recent reports, cashback industry is growing at the rate of 62.9% with around 7.6 million unique users getting added every month and accounts for about 15-20% of total sales in the e-commerce sector. So, whether a company is small or in the Fortune 500, affiliate marketing is a valuable channel for attracting new business and retaining existing customers, he added. In todays growing e-commerce era, Affiliate Marketing has become imperative. Affiliate Marketing is marketing third party products and being recompensed for each purchase, sale, click or revenue generated by visitors who have reached the Seller through the advertisements, vouchers or other incentives on website, mailers etc. One can easily work from home and earn big money through the Affiliate marketing channel and this Summit will highlight how one can earn from home by joining hands with the affiliates. Spread across 2 days of networking & innovation, the Summit provided the industry fraternity the opportunities to hobnob with fellow Affiliates & Brands alike and visit the Affiliate Street, a section completely dedicated to Affiliate marketers. The two-day mega event was attended by more than 1600 delegates. Recently launched Gurgaon based AI Startup, Staqu has partnered with one of the leading fashion e-commerce portals, Yepme, to ameliorate its backend technology with their AI-based product suite. The association is meant to bring in a much refined user experience for customers of Yepme, aiding intelligent product recommendation, enabling visual search, automating meta-tag generation and complimentary product recommendation for the ecommerce brand. Existing with the vision to explore, execute and innovate, Staqu has created an intelligent product suite, based on Artificial intelligence, deep learning and machine intelligence. By integrating these products, Yepme will be able to automate majority of the common-day tasks, whilst providing their users with an intuitive and smooth experience. Speaking at the association, Manish Shrivastava, Chief Revenue Officer at Yepme said, "It has been our constant endeavor to deliver features and services to our users of utmost value. Fashion is a domain that should encourage discovery and Yepme, being a market leader in the domain, aims just to do that through cutting edge technology partnerships. We are further affirmative that our users will appreciate the refined experience at the platform and look forward to a lon g term association with Staqu. Through this partnership, we are aiming to automate a lot of our operations which, in fact, will be one of the first such implementations for any e-commerce firm in India. A large business such as ours needs a lot of customization and segmentation for effective operational efficiency and Staqu is helping us achieve that through Artificial Intelligence led solutions." Cinepolis, Indias 1st international and Worlds 4th largest exhibitor has acquired two properties of DT Cinemas, owned by DLF group (operated under the name DT Cinema), as part of its expansion strategy, in India. The two acquired cinemas: DT Cinemas, Saket (6 Screens) and DT Cinemas, Greater Kailash-2 (1 Screen) will be part of Cinepolis portfolio. Cinepolis India now boasts 267 screens, with the addition of 7 screens in premier locations across Delhi NCR. The company has created a strong footprint across 41 Indian cities having strong presence in major metros: Delhi, Mumbai, and Bengaluru. Cinepolis India has also been strategically targeting tier-I/tier-II cities like Kolkata, Hyderabad, Kochi, Vadodara, Pune, Ahmedabad, Lucknow, Amritsar, Bhopal, and Vijayawada to grow its brand presence. Speaking on the occasion, Mr. Javier Sotomayor, Managing Director, Cinepolis India said, I am pleased to announce the acquisition of 7 screens of renowned exhibition brand DT Cinemas from DLF. Apart from taking over the operations, we will refurbish these cinemas and rebrand them to Cinepolis, in the near future. We have plans to transform these two cinemas into our landmark properties. With the opening of Cinepolis Rohini in May this year and now the acquisition of these 7 Screens, we have strengthened our screen presence to 24 screens in Delhi. Committed to our brand promise and focus to offer best cinema viewing experience, we will continue to increase our presence in the country. Mr. Sriram Khattar, CEO Rental Business - DLF India mentioned; This deal is in line with our strategy to focus on our core business. It will provide the management a more focused approach for enhancing value, especially in our retail businesses. Cinepolis offers a new age experience to its patrons and we are confident that the brand will continue to provide excellent movie-viewing experience to a wider audience. The Mexican multiplex chain has transformed the movie watching experience of its patrons while providing a truly international movie-watching experience to the cinema lovers in India. YES Securities (a subsidiary of YES BANK) and J. Sagar Associates acted as the exclusive financial and legal advisors, respectively to Cinepolis India on this transaction. EY India and Luthra & Luthra were the exclusive financial and legal advisors respectively to DLF on the transaction. The Social Street, one of the leading new age marketing communications agencies has been instrumental in crafting the successful association between Times Network and Festival of Globe(FOG), an annual event held to empower and integrate global cultures and communities through Film Arts, Performing Arts, Visual Arts and Folk Arts. FOG was held from August 05- 14, 2016 in the Silicon Valley, San Francisco. The Social Street roped in Times Network as a broadcasting partner for the event. Times Network covered the entire event which was telecasted in 5 countries India, Middle East, Canada, USA and UK on Times Now and Zoom. The Social Street was also actively involved in bringing both the parties (FOG and Times Network) together and was the sole point of contact with regards to the entire co-ordination, facilitation and execution of the event. This year, FOG took up the cause of Empowering Youth to fight Sex Crimes. Festival of Globe - Silicon Valley & their Movie Fest was an enriching experience for the team at The Social Street. The Social Street was involved with FOG right from the conceptualization stage to the execution of the entire association with the film The Mother starring Raveena Tandon. Raveena was felicitated for her contribution towards empowerment of the girl child as part of the association. The festival last year had participation from over 15 countries and celebrities from across the globe making it a truly international event. This year too many eminent personalities like Randeep Hooda, Gulshan Grover, Raima Sen, Prosenjit Chatterjee among other attended the festival. Dr Romesh Japra, Founder & Convener of FOG Silicon Valley said, Association of The Times Network and Festival Of Globe was long overdue. We were be able to reach out to millions of people across USA, Canada, UK, Middle East & India through this association and take Festival of Globe to new heights. Naveen Chandra, Head of International Business of Times Network says, Our leading channels Times Now and Zoom are now in over 80 countries on 4 continents. We have been happy to power The Festival of the Globe and broadcast the Awards & India Day Parade in San Francisco and add them to our repertoire of great international events which we have been a proud part of. Weve been privileged to be on the panel of the Advisory board of FOGsv, said Pratap Bose, Founding Partner & Chairman of The Social Street. Pratap further added, I am really proud of the fact that we at TSS are doing some clutter breaking work for our clients and hence it is even more exciting and rewarding to see partnerships like TSS-FOGsv flourish! The San Francisco Global Movie Fest last year spanned across 10 days and featured close to 75 films; included various workshops and panels, a series of social-dos featuring celebrities, investors and filmmakers, and concluded with a Hollywood and Bollywood Premier Night / Grand Closing Showcase, Grand Awards Night and the legendary India Day Parade of The Bay Area. Canadian Dollar Climbs As Oil Prices Rally (RTTNews) - The Canadian dollar drifted higher against its most major counterparts in European deals on Monday, as oil prices climbed after Russia and Saudi Arabia agreed to work together to stabilize oil market. Crude for October delivery rose $1.76 to $46.14 per barrel. Russian President Vladimir Putin met Deputy Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman on the sidelines of the G20 summit in China and said they are willing to cooperate to limit output to ensure stability in oil market. Both the nations agreed to meet at next OPEC meeting in Vienna in November to address the crisis. The currency was also underpinned by rising risk appetite, as Friday's weaker than expected U.S. jobs report in August dampened the prospect of an imminent rate rise by the Federal Reserve. The loonie showed mixed trading against its major counterparts in Asian deals. While the loonie held steady against the euro and the aussie, it rose against the greenback. Against the yen, it declined. The loonie climbed to a 10-day high of 1.2906 against the greenback, up from last week's closing value of 1.2982. The loonie is likely to find resistance around the 1.28 mark. The loonie advanced to 1.4412 against the euro, its strongest since July 25. The next likely resistance for the loonie may be found resistance around the 1.42 region. Final data from Markit showed that Eurozone private sector grew at the slowest pace in 19 months in August. The final composite output index fell to 52.9 in August from 53.2 in July. The score was below the flash estimate of 53.3. The loonie strengthened to a weekly high of 0.9807 against the aussie, compared to last week's closing value of 0.9823. On the upside, the loonie may target resistance around the 0.97 area. Latest survey from the Australian and New Zealand Banking Group showed that Australia's job advertisements increased in August, after falling in the previous month. Total job ads rose a seasonally adjusted 1.8 percent month-over-month in August, reversing a 0.8 percent fall in July. On the flip side, the loonie eased from an early session's high of 80.15 against the yen, edging lower to 79.70. Continuation of the loonie's downtrend may see it finding support around the 78.00 zone. Survey by Markit Economics showed that Japan's service sector activity deteriorated in August, after expanding marginally in the prior month. The services purchasing managers' index, or PMI, fell to 49.6 in August from 50.4 in July. US and Canadian markets are closed due to the Labor Day holiday. Copyright(c) 2022 RTTNews.com, Inc. All Rights Reserved Regulatory News: Novacyt (ALTERNEXT: ALNOV), an international clinically focused diagnostics company, today provides a Research and Development (R&D) update following the completion of the acquisition of Primerdesign in May 2016. The integration of Primerdesign is progressing well, in line with the strategic objectives and management expectations defined at the time of the acquisition. Novacyt has now identified its initial molecular diagnostic targets for the clinical testing market, with the first assay expected to be launched in H1 2017. Novacyt has committed to developing and marketing a portfolio of CE market clinical diagnostic products from Primerdesigns extensive non-clinical catalogue. The Company has selected the following six infectious disease assays for development and commercialisation: a broad spectrum human papilloma virus (HPV); Zika virus and a multiplex assay that differentiates between the Zika, dengue and chikungunya viruses; aspergillis and pneumocystis. The company intends to commercialise these assays through Novacyts existing sales channels. Initial Pipeline Broad spectrum HPV molecular assay to identify the 14 higher risk subtypes of the HPV infection The global PAP and HPV market is forecast to grow at a 6.6% CAGR1, reaching $4.5bn by 2020. The HPV market alone is forecast to reach $512m by 2020, driven by a growing and aging population, increased awareness about HPV and linked diseases as well as systematic government programmes across the globe. The new Primerdesign HPV high risk assay will complement Novacyts offering in this exciting market. The test will be available in Q2 2017 for research use on open molecular platforms and subsequently as a CE marked assay on the Groups q16 molecular platform. Conversion of the successful research use only (RUO) Zika assay to a clinically approved test Adoption of Primerdesigns Zika assay around the world as a RUO test has been strong so far this year particularly in Brazil, USA and Korea. Novacyt plans to complete the CE-IVD submission for the assay by early 2017 which will significantly open up the clinical market opportunity for the Company. In addition, Novacyt is working with a large US hospital to generate the clinical data necessary for submitting an application to the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for Emergency Use of the Zika assay. Novacyt anticipate this submission will be during Q4 2016. Multiplex test differentiating between three mosquito borne diseases Primerdesign has already developed a single tube test for three mosquito borne diseases, Zika, dengue and chikungunya viruses, which is already sold under a RUO label in Brazil, USA, Costa Rica, and several Southeast Asian territories. Clinical testing in Brazil has gone extremely well, with clinical validation for CE-IVD accreditation of this assay to be initiated shortly. There is high demand for simultaneous detection of these three tropical diseases, which present a similar clinical symptomology which cannot be readily distinguished by antibody based tests. Next generation aspergillis and pneumocystis assays, providing faster and more sensitive molecular diagnostics for life threatening fungal infections Reduced time to treatment with a higher sensitivity test should improve patient outcomes for the more than 10 million patients each year at risk of life threatening fungal infections. These next generation assays are being developed to offer clinicians significant performance improvements over the Companys current fungal products and are expected to launch in H2 2017. Graham Mullis, Group CEO of Novacyt, commented: We are pleased with the progress of the integration of Primerdesign and the opportunities we have identified, in particular the pipeline and commercialisation synergies within our enlarged Group. The six initial product candidates demonstrate these advantages, allowing us to accelerate product development by leveraging the combined expertise across the Group. The initial assays identified, which we expect to launch during the next 18-24 months, all address significant and high growth opportunities in market segments that the Group is currently focused in with its existing sales channels. - End About Novacyt Group The Novacyt Group is a leader in the field of cellular diagnostics with a growing portfolio of clinically focused cancer and infectious disease products and services. Through its proprietary technology platform NOVAPREP, q16 molecular platform and strong international network Novacyt is able to provide an extensive range of oncology and infectious disease diagnostic products. The Group has diversified sales from diagnostic reagents used in oncology, microbiology, haematology and serology markets, and its global customers and partners include major corporates. For more information please refer to the website: www.novacyt.com 1 Market report HPV Testing & Pap Test Market by MarketsAndMarkets View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20160904005015/en/ International Brett Pollard / Victoria Foster Mitchell FTI Consulting +44 (0)20 3727 1000 brett.pollard@fticonsulting.com / victoria.fostermitchell@fticonsulting.com or France Arnaud de Cheffontaines / Astrid Villette FTI Consulting +33 (0)147 03 69 47 / +33 (0)147 03 69 51 arnaud.decheffontaines@fticonsulting.com / astrid.villette@fticonsulting.com or NOVACYT Graham Mullis Chief Executive Officer +44 (0)7901 514 121 graham.mullis@novacyt.com The space industry has undergone unprecedented growth since the start of the 21st Century becoming one of the fastest growing industry sectors on the planet (or in this case off of it). The drivers of this growth and the role that Australia plays in space will be presented by Mr William Barrett, Senior Vice President of Asia Pacific Aerospace Consultants (APAC) at the World Space Biz 2016 Conference in Bengaluru from 1 3 September 2016. Mr Barrett is part of the Australian delegation attending the conference and one of the Australian companies exhibiting at the 5th Bengaluru Space Expo 2016 which runs concurrently with the World Biz 2016 Conference. Mr Barretts talk "Space Transformation in the 21st Century and Australian Space Capabilities" is based on APACs recent report to the Australian Government "A Selective Review of Australian Space Capabilities". The presentation will cover some of the key findings of the report including: Globally, commercial space activities are continuing to outpace government activities and now constitute the majority of the global space economy The use of space systems, space-derived data and space enabled services generate 70% of space economic activities worldwide. Commercialisation of space activities is being driven by an emerging consumer market in areas such as satellite broadband, and navigation/positioning technologies such as GPS-enabled applications. Australia has a growing space sector generating annual revenue of around $3 billion per year Employment in the sector is estimated to be around 10,000 full-time equivalent staff Space-related products and services are used in every sector of the Australian economy. Australian firms have strong capabilities in ground systems and related space enabled services and applications, driven by the extensive use of satellite communications and navigation in Australia. Space-related products and services are used in every industry sector of the Australian economy. "I am pleased to be returning to India to attend the World Space Biz 2016 Conference in Bengaluru and for APAC to be part of the Australian exhibition at the 5th Bengaluru Space Expo. I have been watching the tremendous accomplishments of the Indian space industry with great interest for many years. It has been fascinating to watch how India has developed its space capabilities from very modest beginnings to become one of the leading nations in the space industry today with strong capabilities in all the major aspects of space including satellite construction, launch systems, communications, earth observation and soon its own regional position, navigation and timing satellite system. I am very excited to be able to learn more about Indias space achievements firsthand through discussions with my Indian colleagues at the Space Conference and Expo in Bengaluru. It will be a great opportunity to highlight Australias space capabilities, to better understand Indias capabilities and to explore ways that the Australian and Indian space industries can work together in this exciting growth sector of space. I am really looking forward to it," Mr Barrett says. [dropcap]Q[/dropcap]uasem Alis hanging comes nearly four months after Jamaat-e-Islami chief Motiur Rahman Nizami was executed. Jamaat-e-Islami leader Mir Quasem Ali was executed on Saturday night after deciding not to seek presidential clemency, the last option for a death row convict to avoid the gallows. Ali, a financial backer of the Jamaat and a business tycoon, was hanged at the high security Kashimpur jail in Gazipur district near Dhaka. Quasem, who had led the ruthless Al-Badr militia that supported Pakistan Army in the port city of Chittagong during nations Liberation War in 1971 became the sixth individual to go to gallows for crimes against humanity, over four decades after Bangladesh emerged as an independent country through a war against Pakistan. When Bangladeshs independence war broke out, Jamaat had opposed the struggle, siding with the military regime in Islamabad.As the president of its students wing, Islami Chaatra Sangha, the Bangali Khan, as Quasem was widely known, had reportedly set up a torture camp in Chittagong, where scores of pro-freedom individuals were tortured and killed. Mir Quasem Ali, was a Bangladeshi tycoon, the former director of Islami Bank, and chairman of the Diganta Media Corporation, which owns Diganta TV. He founded the Ibn Sina Trust and was a key figure in the establishment of the NGO Rabita al-Alam al-Islami. He was considered to be the wealthiest member of the Bangladeshi political party Jamaat-e-Islami. He was sentenced to death on 2 November 2014 for crimes against humanity committed during the Liberation War of Bangladesh in 1971 by a controversial war crimes tribunal. The charges were denied by his relatives, stating they were politically motivated. He was hanged at Gazipur on 3rd September 2016. Mir Quasem was a first-year student of Chittagong College in 1971, where he was pursuing a bachelor degree in physics. He was the president of Chittagong Chhatra Sanghas unit. He was elected a to the Pakistan Islami Chhatra Sanghas provincial working council on 6 November. He was also general secretary of East Pakistan Islami Chhatra Sangha. Al-Badr was a paramilitary force composed of Jamaat e Islamis then student wing Islami Chhatra Sangha to support Pakistan army and crackdown on pro-liberation groups. Al-Badr branch of Chittagong seized Mohamaya Bhaban building at Andrrkilla. The building was owned by a local Hindu family. They renamed it Dalim Hotel and used it as an interrogation and detention centre. Pro- Bangladeshi activists Jahangir Alam Chowdhury and Syed Md Emran testified at Quasems trial that the prison was used to torture suspected members of Mukti Bahini. Mukti Bahini members Jasim, Tuntu Sen and Ranjit Das were killed at this place. Witnesses testified at the trial that guards at hotel Dalim would announce the arrival of Quasem with Mr Quasem has come. Mr Commander has come. After independence Quasem fled to Saudi Arabia. He returned to Bangladesh and became the founding president of Islami Chhatra Shibir, the Jamaats student front, on 6 February 1977. The organisation is a successor to the Islami Chhatra Sangha. Out of the 14 charges, Quasem was convicted in 10 charges in the trial at International Crimes Tribunal and he was awarded death sentence for two of the charges including murder and kidnapping. After the announcement of the verdict of the trial the lawyers from the defense said that justice had not been done on Quasem and he did not get proper judgment. Gonojagoron Moncho supported the verdict and expressed satisfaction. The defense pledged an appeal to Bangladesh High court. Quasems political Party Jamaat-e-Islami called for a nationwide three days strike as a protest of the verdict. He filed an appeal with the Supreme Court of Bangladesh. The Supreme Court rejected the review petition on 30 August 2016. Some critics of the current Bangladeshi Government said that Sheikh Hasina, the prime minister of the country used the trials to target her political enemies. In 2016, Human Rights Watch reported that Mir Quasem Alis trial was flawed. It demanded a moratorium on the death penalty, after details emerged that the prosecution had for producing insufficient evidence in court. Brad Adams of HRW stated: Allowing the death sentence in a case with such fundamental doubts about the evidence is unthinkable. Amnesty International raised serious concerns about the court proceedings. Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International also alleged that Mir Quasem Alis son Ahmed Bin Quasem disappeared on August 9, 2016. But finally no one is above the law; Mir Quasem Ali was hanged at Kashimpur Jail Gazipur on 3 September 2016. There were reports of street celebrations held in Dhaka and Chittagong after the news of Alis execution was broadcast live on television. (Any suggestions, comments or dispute with regards to this article send us on feedback@afternoonvoice.com) The state government cant wash off its hands by simply according martyr status to deceased Vilas Shinde says Uddhav Thackeray. Shiv Sena Chief Uddhav Thackeray attacked the Fadnavis government for its failure to provide security to traffic constables on duty. The death of traffic constable Vilas Shinde has raised questions about the safety of traffic constables who have to face the ire of motorists who violate traffic laws. Uddhav said that the state government cant wash off its hands by simply according martyr status to deceased Shinde and it should take responsibility for enhancing their security. Already traffic cops are undergoing severe stress due to long working hours and rising pollution while discharging their duties. The family of Shinde and wives of other policemen had met Uddhav at his Matoshree residence in Bandra. They demanded that the government must take stringent action against accused responsible for attacking traffic cops on duty. They added that the government must take this matter seriously as incident of assault on constables have been increasing. Uddhav gave a patient hearing to cops wives and assured them that he will take steps to provide justice to them. The Sena chief along with cops wives are expected to meet Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on September 7 to raise the issue of rising attacks on traffic cops. He said, The attacks on traffic cops is a serious matter and sets a bad precedent in Maharashtra. The morale of police too takes a severe beating if attacks continue against them. Such incidents never used to occur earlier. The men who maintain law and order in the city are being attacked by motorists flouting traffic rules. The government must take initiative to reform the police force. Youth dont cooperate with cops when they ask them to furnish documents. The cops wives also met MNS Chief Raj Thackeray at his residence Krishna Kunj demanding action to be taken against accused responsible for attacking constable Shinde. They demanded that the accused must be awarded death penalty. Raj assured that he will look into this matter. Earlier Thackeray had threatened to hold demonstrations if the accused is granted bail. Traffic police are responsible for ensuring smooth flow of traffic and penalise violators. However, if cops themselves are being attacked how will they discharge their duties amicably? Attacks on cops have been increasing of late and hence the government must intervene in this matter, said Raj Thackeray. After Shindes death Mumbai police have withdrawn all cops from petrol pumps across the city. Even petrol pump owners confirmed that cops are not visible at fuel stations after August 31. The traffic department nonetheless denied that the decision has nothing to do with Shindes death. Around 208 cops have been attacked in four and half years. Web Toolbar by Wibiya Date: 24 August, 2016. Place: Clearwater, State of Florida, United States. Clearwater is a thriving urban centre located in the Gulf of Mexico, near the city of Tampa Bay. Its sunny weather and its relaxed conditions of life are the main factors that have taken Clearwater to the top 10 of the best places to retire in the United States. In addition, it is considered a spiritual city, since it is home to the Church of Scientology. However, on 24 August, an unnatural event would alter Clearwaters peaceful pace of life. According to an anonymous report published on UFO specialised website MUFON.com, on that date, a black ball was seen hovering above the Floridian town. My wife was headed west on Court Street in Clearwater, FL on August 24th, 2016. She called me to tell me she was taking a picture of the beautiful sunset. After the event, she told me it reminded her of a megaphone pointing to the sky related the anonymous witness. So while we're on the phone, no words have been exchanged yet as she takes the first photo, he continued. Then, suddenly everything changed. I heard her saying something but couldn't make it out, then I heard her exclaim. She told me that she yelled, "Nick! I got a picture of an alien!" Amazed by the unusual discovering, the woman returned home in order to take a look at the photos she had just taken. She came home and we reviewed the picture. Originally, I thought that the black ball emerged from the top shadowy arc. She said it was actually moving as a single object in a north-western direction, the author of the report stated. It was moving over or towards the Scientology headquarters, he said. About the appearance of the object, this person expressed: She [the witnesss wife] described it as if the sky was blowing a bubble and this UFO appeared. She also stated it was blurry, even in plain sight and thats why she was doing double takes between the cam and sky. This person also commented that there was an electric storm near the town. In his opinion, this meteorological event could be related to the UFO sighting. Articles Ive read have also stated that they [UFOs] appear a lot near lightning strikes. It was across from a gigantic tunnel shaped storm cloud that I started recording live on Facebook after she [his wife] called me about the sighting, he expressed. Draw your own conclusions For further information: https://mufoncms.com/cgi-bin/report_handler.pl?req=view_long_desc&id=78855&rnd= Long Description of Sighting Report This is a huge phenomenon that Im extremely interested in, since I too have had a couple of UFO sightings. One in particular together with my wife. I wanted this one to be well documented and my wife didn't want to be questioned. Hence, I asked her a ton of questions to clarify the event and sighting for others. My wife was headed west on Court Street in Clearwater, FL on August 24th, 2016. She called me to tell me she was taking a picture of the beautiful sunset. After the event, she told me it reminded her of a megaphone pointing to the sky. So while we're on the phone, no words have been exchanged yet as she takes the first photo. I heard her saying something but couldn't make it out, then I heard her exclaim. She told me that she yelled, "Nick!! I got a picture of an alien!!" The interval between the first picture and second was 16 seconds apart. We were only on the phone for no more than 30 seconds as she took these two pictures. The timestamps in the filenames are 20160824_200518 and 20160824_200534. The second picture was taken 2 blocks down, where she had slowed down the car enough to capture the photo as it went out of view. She came home and we reviewed the picture. Originally I thought that the black ball emerged from the top shadowy arc. She said it was actually moving as a single object in a northwesterly direction. It was moving over or towards the Scientology HQ it seemed. The UFO hovered and began travel again. She was able to snap a picture as she looked back and forth from plain sight to the camera view. She described it as if the sky was blowing a bubble and this UFO appeared. She also stated it was blurry, even in plain sight and thats why she was doing double takes between the cam and sky. I recently read that they're caught during sunrise and sunset due to the refraction of light and their cloaking technology. If that's so, this looks like it may have been only partially cloaked. Articles Ive read have also stated that they appear a lot near lightning strikes. It was across from a gigantic funnel shaped storm cloud that I started recording live on Facebook after she called me about the sighting. All I was able to catch was a few fierce lightning strikes but in reviewing the video, nothing appeared to stand out. Im sure it was long gone or hidden at this point. September 5, 2016 Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi has called for austerity measures on several occasions. He made one of his key statements about the issue during a television interview in November 2015: We are ready to go hungry to build our country. It seems that though Sisis words resounded among millions of Egyptians whether they liked him or not, they fell on deaf ears in the government. Government spending has long suffered from bloat in Egypt. A well-informed government source told Al-Bawaba News on Aug. 20 that the International Monetary Fund, in one of its reports on Egypts ministries and institutions prior to approving a $12 billion loan for Egypt, had lamented the excessive number of advisers in each ministry. This statement came alongside reports by the Egyptian monitoring authorities stating that there are a large number of highly paid advisers in ministries including international cooperation, supply, health, investment, health, education and industry. The reports also noted that the names of these advisers are listed on the ministries' payment statements all the time, although they work for short periods without offering the ministries any real services. Al-Masri Al-Youm reported on July 28 that the Cabinet submitted a draft law to increase the salaries of the prime minister, his deputies, ministers, members of parliament and governors, and that the new legislation is currently under study by the state councils legislative department to be re-drafted legally, as per the constitution. The suggested amendments to Law No. 100 of 1987, which sets the salaries of these officials, are the following: First: The prime minister receives a salary of 42,000 Egyptian pounds ($4,730) per month, which is the legal wage cap on the public sector. Yearly, his salary amounts to 504,000 pounds ($57,000), 42 times that determined by the old law, which set the salary at 6,000 pounds ($670) yearly and another 6,000 pounds in other allowances, equivalent to 12,000 pounds ($1,350) per year in total. Second: The ministers and governors receive a monthly salary of 35,000 pounds ($4,000), with a yearly total of 420,000 pounds ($47,300), up from 9,000 pounds ($1,000) per year. Third: The deputy ministers and deputy governors receive a salary of 30,000 pounds ($3,380) monthly, amounting to a yearly total of 360,000 pounds ($40,500). The salaries of this category were not included in the old law. The same members of parliament who voted confidence in the current government criticized the draft law. Parliament member Ayman Abu al-Ala told Al-Monitor, The Cabinet and ministers should be role models for citizens, who they are asking to reduce their spending. Otherwise, citizens wont take the austerity calls to heart. The economic situation does not allow an increase in the salaries of key officials." Parliamentarian Mohammad Abu Hamed, a member of the majority Support Egypt coalition, said in a press statement, The parliament wont approve the draft law because the economic challenges do not allow this. Parliament member Haitham al-Hariri agreed with him and noted that the increases would not normally be an issue, but the current economic situation will not allow it. Al-Monitor interviewed economist Medhat Nafie to discuss Egypts economic policy. The states policies toward its citizens expressly call for rationing spending by seeking to decrease government employment through the civil service law and to increase taxes. The VAT will be used to increase subsidies gradually, as is the case with fuel and electricity. These are austerity or rationing policies. The government, which is applying an austerity plan for its citizens, must lead by example, he said. Economist and parliament member Bassant Fahmy told Al-Monitor, We must stop the waste in government spending, whether on salaries, allowances, guards or excess staff. There are 34 ministers in Egypt, and this figure is not found in any other state. We must decrease the number of ministries, curb spending on advisers in each ministry, reduce the number of diplomatic missions and offices of commercial representation abroad and focus on the remaining offices. Meanwhile, Yusri al-Azbawi, a political researcher at Al-Ahram Center for Political and Strategic Studies, said that the actual income of ministers is different from that stated in the 1987 law due to officials high allowances and might even exceed the cap set in the amended law. Speaking to Al-Monitor, he said, In general, it is assumed that officials in government ranks have higher salaries, and the proposed law will put an end to the excessive allowances that ministers receive. But the timing of demanding a salary increase is not commensurate with the economic and political situation. Politically, subsidies are being lifted, citizens have to pay more taxes and prices are increasing. Citizens hold the government accountable even if it isnt here. Therefore, asking for a raise will worsen the governments image in the eyes of citizens who believe it has failed to relieve them of their economic burdens. Citizens will also blame the government for not practicing what it preaches. Al-Bawaba News's government source also spoke about the advisers and their salaries. He said that the prime minister ordered a notice circulated to all ministries that have seven to eight advisers to reduce this number to two, and to reconsider their incentives and salaries and put them on yearly renewable contracts rather than permanent ones, as are most common. The Al-Bawaba report also addressed the excessive appointment of advisers. The source said that the ministries are jammed with advisers who had been brought on in previous terms. There are currently 120,000 advisers in Egypts ministries and their salaries reach 2 billion pounds ($230,000) total, according to the report. Will the pressure posed by the IMF loan be a wake-up call for the Egyptian regime to ration its spending on advisers and ministers? September 4, 2016 TEHRAN, Iran A war is going on in the Islamic Republic. The war of whistle-blowing was launched by hard-liners who disclosed the pay slips of some managers appointed by the administration of moderate President Hassan Rouhani. These leaks, were used to damage Rouhanis approval rating and instill the sense that Rouhani has reneged on his electoral promise of fighting corruption. It seems that the hard-liners have a new weapon to use against Rouhani over the eight remaining months of his current term in office. It is clear that along with hard-line figures, Friday prayer leaders are frequently reminding people of the pay stub scandals to foment pessimism about the moderate president. However, it appears that the hard-liners have received a response in kind, blunting their new weapon. The man at the center of it all is not a Reformist nor a moderate, but surprisingly one of the countrys most prominent conservative figures: Tehran Mayor Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf. Ghalibaf has surfaced as a key target for Reformists who have been scouring the field for wrongdoings in the conservative camp. Fresh leaks allege that the Tehran mayors office has been selling homes in affluent districts of the Iranian capital below market prices. In fact, lots of residential properties have apparently been sold at a 50% discount to the mayors deputies and conservative members of the Tehran City Council. Ghalibaf, a former national police chief and two-time failed presidential candidate, is not a popular person among conservatives. However, when it comes to saving face, the entire conservative camp appears to be standing united in the face of the public backlash. Conservatives have been giving speeches, denying any corruption in the Tehran mayor's office and attributed the leaks described as lies to three sources. The first is the "seditionists." Conservative member of the Tehran City Council Parviz Sorouri has claimed that some of the leaders of the sedition are behind the propaganda against the Tehran municipality. In the view of conservatives, former Parliament Speaker Mehdi Karroubi, former Prime Minister Mir Hossein Mousavi and former President Mohammad Khatami are sedition leaders after their roles in the unrest following the 2009 presidential election. The second group is the opponents of a conservative-dominated Tehran City Council. Hossein Ghorbanzadeh, the managing editor of the Hamshahri newspaper, which is owned by the Tehran municipality, has opined that the disclosures are all lies aimed at influencing the results of the election for the Tehran City Council board of directors. Ghorbanzadeh said, The project was not effective, as all of the people on the board of directors and even the secretaries were re-elected. The last source is Rouhanis cultural adviser Hesamoddin Ashena. The Shafaf news site, whose editors are said to be appointed by Ghalibaf, has claimed that the recent attacks against the Tehran mayor are coming from a think thank headed by H.A., a not-so-veiled reference to Ashena. Apart from these points, Ghalibaf and his supporters may worry most about the May 2017 presidential election. They believe that the real motive for the public disclosure of alleged corruption linked to the Tehran mayor is a Reformist strategy to burn Ghalibafs chances ahead of the vote. Conservative Fars News reported, The name of Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf has always been mentioned on the list of possible candidates for the presidential election by Reformists. The new key phrase of 'devolution of estates,' which has happened based on a legal process and under the monitoring of the inspection organization, has activated the governments attack group against the mayor. In the future, such attacks will soar by using new subjects. Prominent conservative political analyst Amir Mohebbian has argued, By [initiating] the issue of corruption in the municipality, the Reformists seek to get rid of one of their possible rivals. Hossein Qorbanzade, the secretary of Ghalibafs Progress and Justice Party, has stated, The attacks will intensify as we approach the presidential and city council elections. Farda News, a website with ties to Ghalibaf, has warned, The moderate-Reformist current is in need of preparations for next years elections. These anxieties appear to indicate that Ghalibaf may be envisioning a third shot at the presidency. In fact, recent statements and analysis in the media signal that conservatives, and especially Ghalibafs supporters, are uneasy with people becoming pessimistic about them ahead of the presidential vote. In a letter to the prosecutor general, Ghalibaf expressed his concern over the image of the Tehran municipality being tarnished by the leaks, saying, Public opinion has become pessimistic about urban management. When the hard-liners and the conservatives unleashed payslipgate, Rouhani and members of his administration did not deny it. At first, they asked for patience as they looked more closely into the matter. When the allegations were proven true, they came forward and apologized to the people and promised to eradicate corruption. Many of the implicated managers were removed and a circular was issued to prevent managers from receiving unconventional levels of compensation. In contrast, Ghalibaf has not only refused to acknowledge the reported corruption linked to his office, but filed lawsuits against the whistle-blowers. An order was issued to block Memari News, which was the first media outlet that disclosed the alleged corruption. In his letter to the prosecutor general, Ghalibaf asked for the judiciary to launch legal action against those who have targeted the reputation of people and prestige of the Tehran municipality. Ghalibaf and Rouhanis reactions to the corruption scandals are being compared on social media, especially the popular smartphone messaging app Telegram. Reformists are saying that the differences in the responses between the two politicians is the difference between a "lawyer" and a "colonel": The lawyer apologized to the people, while the colonel silenced the whistle-blowers. The use of these terms orginated in the televised debates ahead of the 2013 presidential vote, in which Rouhani forcefully exhorted that he was a lawyer and not a colonel, in reference to Ghalibaf. Whether Ghalibaf is really taking a third shot at the presidency or not, the latest corruption scandal has damaged both the colonels reputation and that of other conservatives ahead of the May 2017 vote. As such, they have a difficult path ahead if they decide to contest Rouhanis bid for a second term. Indeed, they no longer claim that Reformists and moderates who quickly confronted corruption within their camp are corrupt, in consideration of the reportedly bigger and unprecedented corruption within the conservative camp. September 5, 2016 BAGHDAD A new crisis between Iraq and Saudi Arabia has emerged over Riyadh's ambassador to Baghdad Thamer al-Sabhan amid calls by the Iraqi Ministry of Foreign Affairs to replace him. Iraqi Foreign Ministry spokesman Ahmad Jamal said Aug. 28, Saudi Ambassador Thamer al-Sabhan made several media statements that went beyond the bounds of diplomatic protocol and functions of any ambassador. Therefore, we believe that Sabhan is impeding the development of the bilateral relations between Iraq and Saudi Arabia. He added, The Iraqi government sent a request to the Saudi government to replace current Saudi Ambassador Thamer al-Sabhan." Sabhan is the first Saudi ambassador to Iraq after a break of 25 years that followed the Iraqi armys entry into Kuwait in 1990. This crisis will create a bad relationship between the two countries, knowing that a diplomatic reconciliation was brought about over a year ago between the two countries as Sabhan was appointed as the first ambassador to Saudi Arabia on June 2, 2015. While forecasts indicated the possibility of a new diplomatic atmosphere between the two neighboring countries, the results proved otherwise. While Jamal chose not to respond to Al-Monitor, Saad al-Hadithi, the Iraqi government spokesman, commented that this is part of the Iraqi Foreign Ministrys tasks. On Aug. 21, London-based Saudi newspaper Asharq Al-Awsat reported that it learned from unnamed sources that Iran masterminded a plot to assassinate Saudi Ambassador to Baghdad Thamer al-Sabhan and entrusted the implementation of this plot to Iraqi Shiite militias affiliated with Iran. In the same article, an unnamed Iraqi source was quoted as saying, The plot [to assassinate the Saudi ambassador] consisted of using cars from the Interior Ministry with fake plates to intercept the Saudi ambassador's convoy on its way to Baghdad International Airport and carry out the assassination attempt using anti-tank RPG-7 grenades. The perpetrators of the operation would then flee to the Sunni Radwaniyah area in order to mislead the security services and pretend that the operation was carried out by the Islamic State. A day after the article's publication, Jamal responded in a press statement, The Iraqi Foreign Ministry confirms that what is being circulated by some media outlets regarding a plot to assassinate the Saudi ambassador to Baghdad is incorrect and only aims to harm the brotherly relations between the kingdom and Iraq. For his part, Sabhan said in a televised statement Aug. 22, We are receiving information every now and then about plots prepared by Iraqi militias in cooperation with Iran to target the Saudi Embassy in Iraq or the Saudi ambassador, and we relay this information to the Iraqi Foreign Ministry in line with the norms of diplomacy. Aws al-Khafaji, the secretary-general of the Abu al-Fadl al-Abbas Brigades, which is affiliated with the Popular Mobilization Units (PMU), confirmed Sabhan's assassination theory in an Aug. 23 statement. The hostility of the Saudi ambassador to the Iraqi people is clear, and many Iraqis are targeting him. Should Sabhan be assassinated, then it would be an honor to everyone, Khafaji said. A group of Iraqi bloggers started using a hashtag that translates to "Thamer al-Sabhan is Iraqs enemy," calling for his expulsion. As the presence of the Saudi ambassador to Iraq led to a popular and political division, his replacement process led to a new division. The Shiite political blocs that are close to Iran are calling for the replacement of Sabhan. The Islamic Dawa Party, led by former Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, lauded the [calls to] replace Sabhan and said that they came late. The PMU welcomed the idea of replacing Sabhan through spokesman Karim al-Nuri, who said Aug. 28, The PMU welcomed the decision of the Iraqi Foreign Ministry to call for the replacement of current Saudi Ambassador Thamer al-Sabhan, although the decision came late. Nuri added, Sabhan doesn't know anything about diplomacy, and he harmed and insulted the PMU more than he insulted IS. The Sunni Mutahidoun bloc expressed dissatisfaction at the request of the Iraqi Ministry of Foreign Affairs to replace Sabhan and said in an Aug. 30 press statement, The call to replace Saudi Ambassador to Iraq Thamer al-Sabhan is serious and is unprecedented in the diplomatic customs and traditions between civilized nations. This deliberately harms Saudi Arabia's regional role. This request came in response to the pressure exercised by the unrestrained militias that have long threatened the security of both Iraq and the Arab world. It also came in response to regional agendas that do not like to let Iraq enjoy healthy Arab relations. While the Saudi Ministry of Foreign Affairs made no statements about replacing its ambassador, some Iraqi local media outlets reported Saudi Arabia's appointment of a new diplomat. However, Saudi media sources denied the news to Al-Monitor, saying, Whatever is being said about the appointment of a new Saudi ambassador is not true and Sabhan is staying in Iraq to represent the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. This crisis may lead Iraq to move away from its Arab environment, especially considering that Saudi Arabia has the biggest say and is the largest decision-maker in the Arab world. This could mean that new crises are in store for Iraq, ones that may lead other Arab countries to withdraw their ambassadors. September 2, 2016 GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip As soon as the Palestinian Central Elections Commission (CEC) announced Aug. 25 that the nomination process for the local elections had ended, several electoral lists and candidates across the West Bank started to withdraw their candidacies after having allegedly been told not to run by Palestinian security forces and anonymous parties under threat. These threats, which included detention and deprivation of salary, were made against electoral lists opposing the Palestinian Authority and the Fatah movement, such as the Palestinian left and Hamas. The homes of some candidates such as Noureddine Khalaf, who was nominated for the Burqin town list in Jenin, came was shot at in Nablus and Jenin in the northern West Bank. Other candidates and their families were severely beaten by unknown assailants. In the Gaza Strip, the Fatah movement accused the security forces affiliated with the Hamas government of arresting a candidate. In response to these accusations, the Gaza police said Aug. 30, Ibrahim Abu Ali from Khan Yunis was arrested after one of his relatives submitted a complaint against him based on a family issue. Badran Jaber, a leader of the leftist Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP), told Al-Monitor, Many candidates in the city of Hebron were subjected to harassment and threats by members of the Palestinian security forces and Fatah in a bid to discourage them from participating in the Palestinian leftist lists. Jaber said that some of the female candidates were threatened by their husbands, Fatah members, with divorce should they not withdraw their names from leftist lists. Other candidates received threats that their salaries from the PA would be cut. PA staff received the same warning during an electoral meeting in Gaza, and many of the threats were documented by the PFLP. According to him, these candidates were prompted to withdraw their candidacy in the city of Hebron because the elections have taken on a purely tribal character at the cost of the national struggle. Jaber said that those who made the decision to hold the elections at this time failed to take into account that the Palestinians are currently plagued by division and that the Palestinian left is suffering from Israeli arrests and prosecution. Add to this, he said, the PA's unjustified meddling in the course of the electoral process through the security members threatening of electoral lists. He added that the PFLP filed a complaint about these violations with the Public Freedoms Committee to be referred to the CEC, and that the judiciary would be shown that the electoral process has been badly affected and the freedom of the candidates has been limited. In this context, candidates of the independent Beitunia list in particular received threats in regard to their participation in the elections. Salah Hamidah, a candidate and media coordinator for the list, told Al-Monitor, Anonymous persons and Fatah members threatened Khaled Abu al-Bahaa one of the candidates on our list with arrest as he tried to register the list with the CEC on Aug. 25, which prompted him to withdraw his candidacy. He said, Two days later during a meeting held by some of the candidates in Beitunia candidate Jamil Shalash received an anonymous call from someone who asked to be put on speakerphone. The caller addressed the attendees and said, 'For your safety and the safety of your family and your belongings, you should withdraw from the elections.' Hamidah added that candidates Ghalib al-Khatib and Mohammed Sohail received similar threats, and an unknown person contacted the husband of a candidate on the list, Nariman Sabeh, and asked him to pressure his wife into withdrawing from the election, but he refused to do so. Meanwhile, Hamas announced in an official statement that it submitted a formal complaint to the CEC Aug. 30, including an extensive report on the overall abuses practiced by the security agencies against candidates in the electoral lists backed by Hamas in the West Bank. Hamas said in the statement, These violations included threats, summons, arrests, shootings, improvised explosive devices and raids of homes. Add to this that the Israeli occupation is threatening and arresting some candidates, particularly in the city of Hebron. Anis Abu Sabah, the head of the CECs Department of Political Parties and Candidates, told Al-Monitor that the CEC had received several complaints from some lists and candidates about threats. Sabah declined to reveal the number of complaints and said that more may be made until the end of the electoral process on Oct. 8. He explained that the CEC is now examining the complaints and will discuss them with the concerned authorities in the Palestinian government and the judiciary. Maan Dais, the head of the National Legislation and Policies Monitoring Department in the Independent Commission for Human Rights, confirmed that his organization's offices, which are scattered across the West Bank, received many complaints from candidates and electoral lists about threats. He told Al-Monitor that the number of complaints received does not reflect the size of the problem that these threats have caused, as many people fear submitting formal complaints. Dais explained that his organization is in touch with the CEC under a memorandum of understanding signed between the two with the aim of keeping the CEC informed about those complaints, noting that Palestinian Prime Minister Rami Hamdallah has been called on to investigate the complaints. For its part, the Palestinian cabinet, headed by Hamdallah, stressed in an Aug. 30 statement the importance of freedom of expression and the need to protect the freedom of individuals throughout the electoral process. The Hemaya Center for Human Rights said in an Aug. 31 statement that it is gravely concerned that a large number of candidates scattered across the West Bank have been directly threatened by Israel and other Palestinian parties to discourage them from competing. Palestinians hope that the electoral process they have been waiting for since 2006 will take place in a smooth and democratic manner despite the violations, and wish the elections will end the internal Palestinian division. An Albertville man was killed Sunday in a single-vehicle crash near Gurley, state troopers report. Thomas Jerome Swearengin, 34, was killed when the 2005 GMC Sierra he was driving left the roadway and overturned, according to a statement from Trooper Curtis Summerville, public information officer at the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency's Huntsville post. Swearengin was not using a seat belt and was pronounced dead at the scene, according to the scene. The crash happened at 7:55 p.m. on U.S. 72, less than a mile east of Gurley. Nothing further is available as Alabama State Troopers continue to investigate, according to the statement. Jerald Douglas Wade didn't have a lot of money and, in recent years, lived among the homeless on the streets of Birmingham. But he was a giver, and that was never more evident than shortly before his death last week when he gave what little he had to help others like himself. "He told me he wanted to tithe to our ministry,'' said Chris Carr, whose Church of the Highlands serve group visits with, and helps, Birmingham's homeless weekly. "He was supposed to meet me, but I couldn't meet him at a certain time, so he actually gave another homeless guy the money to give me. He tithed $93 to our ministry. That just touched me because that could have been another two nights off the streets. Or another meal." Wade, 64, was homeless, but he was also so much more. A retired Texas cattle ranch hand. A U.S. Army veteran. An ordained Assembly of God minister. A son. A brother. A friend and an inspiration to many. "He was a great guy, always quoting Scripture with me,'' said Derek Crosby of Hope for the Homeless. "He always had a smile on his face, always had a kind word, always wanted to encourage." "We came out here to encourage him," Crosby said, "and we would leave encouraged by what he shared with us." Birmingham police received a call just after 1:30 a.m. of a person down in the 1900 block of Ninth Avenue North. Officers and Birmingham Fire and Rescue Service responded to the scene at 1:38 a.m. and tried to revive him, but their efforts were unsuccessful. He was pronounced dead at 1:47 a.m. Birmingham police spokesman Lt. Sean Edwards said the victim had been shot multiple times. His brother, John Wesley Wade, told AL.com his brother spent several years in the U.S. Army and then returned to Texas where the two worked together as ranchers in the small town of Llano. "He was just a good, honest, hardworking guy that worked on a ranch for most of his life,'' John Wade said. He said his brother left Llano a couple of years ago, traveling to Odessa and Midland, and then on to California, Illinois and Kentucky. "He had been wanting to leave Texas for a long time,'' John Wade said. "He was traveling around, moving from state to state to figure out where he wanted to take it easy for the rest of his life." Jerald Wade would write to his mother often, updating her on his whereabouts. Those letters stopped about four months ago, and his family had no idea he was in Alabama. John Wade says he doesn't know why anyone would kill his brother. "He wasn't mentally ill and he never used drugs,'' he said. "He got paid (social security) on Aug. 24, so this might be about money." More than 50 people gathered in Linn Park Sunday night to remember Wade, many of them the very people who lived on the streets alongside Wade. They cried, held candles, sang Amazing Grace and released white balloons in his memory. Crosby said Wade's death was a hard hit to the homeless, and to those who serve the homeless community. "He was a precious man that just loved people,'' Crosby said. "And everybody here loved him. That's why it's so tragic, and hurt us so much. I can't name one kinder person on the street." In their many talks together, Wade told Crosby how he traveled around a good bit in his ministry. "He felt like he was supposed to be ministering in Birmingham,'' Crosby said. "Now why he was on the street, I don't know, unless he just felt that's where he was supposed to be. " "He felt he was called to Birmingham to minister to the other homeless people,'' he said. "I feel like he was a minister to homeless, even though he was out there with them. He meant so much to us." In the days leading up to his death, Wade had begun to make plans to get off the streets. "I saw him a day or two before he passed away, and he was in the process of getting it to where he could be off the street,'' he said. "We're talking a few weeks to a month and he would have been off the street. He was ready to get off the street. When I heard this, it just hurt me. The street is a dangerous place and we see the effects of it." Carr also had the same conversations with Wade. "I talked to him on Wednesday, and he said, 'I want to be on the other side of the table. I want to serve my people out here with you,''' Carr said. "Then Friday morning this happened." "My first reaction was, 'He's home. He doesn't have to be out here trying to beat the heat, or out here getting robbed or trying to keep his place where he's sleeping at night,''' Carr said. "I had a peace because I knew where he was at. I knew his faith, and how much he loved Jesus because it poured out to every person he was around. But the flesh part of me hurt really bad. And I'm still hurting." Police have not announced any arrests in Wade's slaying, and it's still not clear when or where Wade will be buried. "I want people to remember his faith. He was out here to change people, and that's what we're about. We're all just people,'' Carr said. "I just want people to remember Jerald as a mighty man of God. You can see he was loved by a bunch of people." India Mother Teresa_Heim.jpg Mother Teresa will be canonized Sunday morning by Pope Francis in Rome. (Associated Press) When Pope Francis canonizes Mother Teresa of Calcutta on Sunday, he'll be honoring a nun who won admirers around the world and a Nobel Peace Prize for her joy-filled dedication to the "poorest of the poor." Vatican spokesman Greg Burke told The Associated Press all 100,000 tickets had been distributed for Sunday's Mass but that the crowd would be bigger around St. Peter's Square. Fifteen official delegations have confirmed to be in attendance, 13 of them led by heads of state or government, and 600 journalists have been accredited. For nearly 50 years, Mother Teresa endured what the church calls a "dark night of the soul" -- a period of spiritual doubt, despair and loneliness that many of the great mystics experienced, her namesake St. Therese of Lisieux included. In Mother Teresa's case, the dark night lasted most of her adult life -- an almost unheard of trial. The Holy Mass and canonization by Pope Francis is set for 4:30 a.m. ET (3:30 p.m. Central) on Sunday, Sept. 4. You can view the online stream at ucatholic.com. Per the site: Small of stature, rocklike in faith, Mother Teresa of Calcutta was entrusted with the mission of proclaiming God's thirsting love for humanity, especially for the poorest of the poor. "God still loves the world and He sends you and me to be His love and His compassion to the poor." She was a soul filled with the light of Christ, on fire with love for Him and burning with one desire: "to quench His thirst for love and for souls." Marcilio Haddad Andrino, the Brazilian man whose "miraculous" cure from a brain infection paved the way for Mother Teresa's canonization, told a Vatican press conference Friday he is just one example of God's ample mercy and love. "The merciful Lord looks at us all without distinction," Andrino said, per The Associated Press. "Maybe it was me this time but maybe tomorrow it will be someone else. The merciful mother looks after everyone. I don't feel special." Pope Francis in December decreed that Andrino's cure was a miracle after Vatican doctors and theologians determined that it was medically inexplicable, instantaneous, lasting and due to the intercession of Mother Teresa, who died in 1997. It was the final step needed to canonize the nun who cared for the poorest of the poor. According to reports, no one but Mother Teresa's spiritual directors and bishop knew of her spiritual agony until her correspondence came to light during her beatification cause. The letters were then made available to the general public in a 2007 book, "Come Be My Light." For the Rev. Brian Kolodiejchuk, the Canadian priest who published the letters and spearheaded Mother Teresa's saint-making campaign, the revelations were further confirmation of Mother Teresa's heroic saintliness. He said that by canonizing her, Francis is recognizing that Mother Teresa not only shared the material poverty of the poor but the spiritual poverty of those who feel "unloved, unwanted, uncared for." "That was her experience in her relationship with Jesus," Kolodiejchuk said in an interview. "She understood very well when people would share their horror stories, their pain and suffering of being unloved, lonely. She would be able to share that empathy because she herself was experiencing it." Tens of thousands of people are expected for the canonization ceremony Sunday for the tiny, stooped nun who was fast-tracked for sainthood just a year after she died in 1997. St. John Paul II, who was Mother Teresa's greatest supporter, beatified her before a crowd of 300,000 in St. Peter's Square in 2003. Francis has made the canonization the high point of his Jubilee of Mercy, a yearlong emphasis on the church's merciful side. Francis has an obvious interest in highlighting Mother Teresa's mercy-filled service to outcasts on the periphery, given that her life's work exemplifies the priorities of his own pontificate. Mother Teresa died on Sept. 5, 1997. On Oct. 19, 2003, Pope John Paul II beatified Mother Teresa of Calcutta, the founder of the Missionaries of Charity, "whom I have always felt close to me," per ucatholic.com. (The Associated Press contributed to this report.) license office.jpg There is no place for discrimination in the DMV. (AL.com/File) Caleb Wolanek By Caleb C. Wolanek, a third year student at Harvard Law School and a 2014 graduate of Auburn University. Religious discrimination has no place in our democracy. Like any other form of invidious discrimination, we believe that whether someone is Christian, Muslim, Jewish, or Hindu is completely irrelevant to government decision-making. Multiple laws embody this principle. Three provisions of the United States Constitution (the Free Exercise Clause, the Establishment Clause, and the Equal Protection Clause) forbid religious discrimination, and the Alabama Religious Freedom Act protects all religious adherents. And in Lee County, we see once again why these protections are essential. Yesterday, the ALCU filed a lawsuit on behalf of Yvonne Allen, a Christian who believes she must wear a headscarf. Government officials at the DMV in Lee County told Ms. Allen that she could not wear her headscarf in her license photo. That alone raises a religious liberty issue. But the DMV made it worse: officials directly told her that she would have been permitted to wear her headscarf if she was a Muslim. That is the very essence of religious discrimination. By allowing Muslim women to wear headscarves, the DMV and those who oversee it demonstrate two things. First, they recognize that some religious adherents believe they must cover their head. In other words, the DMV knows that uncovering one's head can be a substantial burden on the free exercise of religion. Second, allowing Muslim women to wear headscarves shows that the government has no interest in making women uncover their head. Ms. Allen was faced with a choice at the DMV: obey the government (and violate her religious convictions) or obey God (and be denied her driver's license). As the Supreme Court noted in Sherbert v. Verner (1963), the government cannot put someone to that choice. And as the DMV made clear, she was only put to that choice because she is a Christian, not a Muslim. That distinction is not allowed. DMV officials may think that Christian women need not cover their head. But the fact remains that Ms. Allen believes she must do so. And even though her belief is an historic one, that fact is irrelevant--our laws protect even the most idiosyncratic beliefs. As the Supreme Court wrote in United States v. Ballard (1944), "Heresy trials are foreign to our Constitution." It continued: The religious views espoused by [by religious claimants] might seem incredible, if not preposterous, to most people. But if those doctrines are subject to trial before a jury charged with finding their truth or falsity, then the same can be done with the religious beliefs of any sect. When the triers of fact undertake that task, they enter a forbidden domain. The First Amendment does not select any one group or any one type of religion for preferred treatment. It puts them all in that position. In other words, all that matters is that Ms. Allen's religious beliefs are sincerely held--not substantively correct. Because the DMV substantially burdened Ms. Allen's sincere religious beliefs, the DMV must show that it has a "compelling government interest" furthered through the "least restrictive means." The DMV cannot pass this test. As the Supreme Court wrote in Church of the Lukumi Babalu Aye, Inc. v. City of Hialeah (1993), the government cannot claim to have a compelling interest if its policies are substantially under-inclusive with respect to the government's interest. Because it allows Muslim women to wear headscarves, the DMV has demonstrated that it has no interest in making women uncover their head. Therefore, Ms. Allen's legal argument is airtight. If she can prove her factual allegations (and it sounds like she can), she will win. The defendants would therefore be wise to settle this case immediately. This case serves as a reminder that religious discrimination can happen to anyone--even Christians in the Bible Belt. Though this case might seem trivial to some (after all, no one went to jail), it is not. We must stand firm against any violation of religious liberty, whether the claimant is of the Christian, Muslim, Jewish, Hindu, or any other faith. To paraphrase Thomas Jefferson, we cannot afford the slightest breach. Jeffrey Woods family pleads clemency for man sentenced to death as an accomplice in a deadly 1996 robbery. Dallas, Texas Terri Been always urges her students to be aware of who their friends are and of the people they surround themselves with. Been, a 43-year-old teacher, says she knows well the dangers of keeping dubious company: Her brother Jeffrey Wood currently sits on death row for a murder committed by someone else. A court recently granted a stay of execution to Wood, who was slated to be killed on August 24. I always warn my students to be careful of who theyre around this is Texas, and Texas takes it seriously, Been tells Al Jazeera. Wood was sentenced to death by a Texas court on March 3, 1996, after being found guilty under the states so-called Law of Parties. The Texas penal code defines a person as criminally responsible for an offence committed by the conduct of another if the individual acts with intent to promote or assist the commission of the offence, he solicits, encourages, directs, aids or attempts to aid the other person to commit the offence. Anti-death-penalty campaigners and human rights activists, as well as Woods family, criticise the Law of Parties as implementing disproportionate punishment. Wood does not deserve execution because he never killed anyone, they argue. It kills me, Been says. I live with the threat of his death on a daily basis. Im not sleeping well. His daughter is not sleeping well shes having nightmares. It is causing untold psychological damage to us all. We consider ourselves victims of this law as well. She adds, There is this whole overwhelming sense of hopelessness that I drown in all the time. Very little culpability In Woods case, he drove a getaway car during a petrol station robbery-turned-murder. During the early morning hours of January 2, 1996, then 22-year-old Wood and Daniel Reneau parked outside a Texaco petrol station in Kerrville, his hometown in central Texas. While Wood waited outside, Reneau shot dead the station attendant and took off with an estimated $11,350 from the safe and cash register. Reneau was executed in 2002. Five-and-a-half hours before his first scheduled execution in 2008, a federal judge in San Antonio granted Wood a stay of execution to provide his legal team with time to present the case that he is mentally incompetent. READ MORE: US states revise death penalty options Kate Black, a lawyer at the Texas Defender Service and a member of Woods legal team, says Wood has very little culpability. Its difficult for any person to wait for an execution date, but its particularly problematic when a person like Jeff is so limited intellectually and has such a huge history of psychiatric problems and delusions, she tells Al Jazeera. Its obviously very difficult for everyone involved. Its a difficult process And the state has never contested the fact that Jeff has not taken a life. I mean, thats undisputed. Dr Death On the afternoon of August 19, the Court of Criminal Appeals in Texas decided a state district court should re-examine the validity of testimony provided by Dr James Grigson, a forensic psychiatrist who testified that Wood was likely to be violent in the future despite never having examined him. Grigson, who died in 2004, was expelled from the American Psychiatric Association and the Texas Society of Psychiatric Physicians for providing testimony against people he had never examined. He was known as Dr Death for testifying against people facing the death penalty. Justice is not served by executing Mr Wood, who was outside the building when it happened and who had no criminal history, Jared Tyler, Woods lawyer, said in a statement. Since 1976, the US has implemented 1,437 executions, at least 537 of which took place in Texas. Noting that Texas has put more people to death than any other state in the country, the Death Penalty Information Centers Robert Dunham says a number of states have similar laws that allow accomplices to face the death penalty. READ MORE: Nevada runs out of lethal injection drug But none of them apply the doctrine as broadly or as harshly as Texas does, he tells Al Jazeera. According to the Washington DC-based centre, at least 10 people have been killed for their role as accomplices in murders since 1979. Five of those were in Texas. By any standard, this case is an extreme application of the death penalty. Jeffrey Wood is someone who would almost certainly not be capitally prosecuted today, Dunham adds, citing Woods mental health problems. In fact, in his case, there is a strong argument that he didnt go there with the intent that any crime be committed at all. Explaining that an estimated 75 percent of people executed in the US last year involved people with mental illness or serious evidence of mental disability, Dunham said that most of the executions in 2015 posted very serious legal problems. Unusual solidarity Several politicians, religious leaders and activists have campaigned on Woods behalf. Scott Cobb of the Texas Moratorium Network, a group that works for the abolition of the death penalty, says the attention around Woods case is testament to the growing effectiveness of grassroots campaigning. Were definitely going to be staying on his case actively. Despite what happens on the judicial level we are going to try to get the Texas legislature to ban executions through the Law of Parties, he tells Al Jazeera. In early August, more than 50 Evangelical Christian leaders from Texas and across the country delivered an open letter to Texas Governor Greg Abbott and called on him to rectify this mistake and stop this execution while they still can. The death penalty, we are told, is reserved for the most egregious crimes, they wrote. Woods actions which did not include directly committing a murder or intending to simply do not fall into this category. But Wood has also found solidarity from unusual allies. A group of right-wing Republican lawmakers and Democratic counterparts in Texas urged the state to halt Woods execution ahead of the courts decision to grant him a stay of execution. READ MORE: US Supreme Court upholds use of disputed execution drug While the Democratic party has for the first time included the abolition of capital punishment in its 2016 election platform, the Republican party has generally remained staunch in its support of putting convicted murderers to death. Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump has reiterated his support for capital punishment several times throughout his campaign. Trump in December called for people convicted of killing police officers to be executed. More recently, he voiced his support for the execution of Edward Snowden, the whistle-blower who exposed the National Security Agencys mass surveillance operations. Yet, Jeff Leach, a Republican state representative, wrote on Twitter ahead of Woods scheduled execution date: I simply do not believe that Mr Wood is deserving of the death sentence. I cant sit quietly by [and] not say anything. Terri Been, Woods sister, says her family has received threats and harassment over her brothers case. In one instance, she says, someone tried to run her and others over with a vehicle while they protested on her brothers behalf in 2008. People have called us prison whores; others said, Stick a needle in him already, Been recalls. They assume that my brother is this cold-blooded killer when hes not; but thats what hes labelled, as and thats what people see. As the stigma associated with being childless persists, some elderly women in India risk it all to become mothers. Hisar, India Pregnancy and childbirth take a toll at any age, but Rajo Devi Lohan has struggled to regain her health more than most other women since becoming a mother. After she had given birth eight years ago, the Indian woman was diagnosed with cancer. She has had three operations to repair a ruptured uterus and to remove tumours, many rounds of chemotherapy, and still suffers from stomach pain. Lohan was 70 years old when she gave birth in 2008, becoming the oldest mother in the world at that time. The doctor didnt tell me anything about the dangers and I never felt that there was any danger, Lohan says. A doctor who is now treating Lohan believes that her health problems could have been caused by fertility treatment and pregnancy. Stories of elderly women having babies in India have made international headlines in recent years, including a 72-year-old who set a new world record when she gave birth in April. The doctor responsible for helping these women get pregnant says it is every womans right to have a child regardless of their age. But the ethics surrounding such births are increasingly coming under attack. Critics insist that doctors, eager for fame and fortune, are putting lives at risk from the elderly mothers and the young women who provide donor eggs, to the children themselves. At least two young Indian women have died after donating eggs. Indias booming IVF industry The first IVF baby was born in India almost 40 years ago. Since then, the industry has exploded, with IVF clinics opening up across the country. Couples of all ages have flocked to fertility specialists in the hope of having a baby and shaking off the stigma associated with being childless in India, the worlds most populous country. But no laws or age restrictions apply to this booming industry. READ MORE: The price of life: Treating infertility Al Jazeera travelled to the northern Indian town of Hisar and visited the National Fertility and Test Tube Baby Centre, the clinic that has helped create babies for some of the worlds oldest mothers. The son of Daljinder Kaur, who gave birth in April at the age of 72, was created here, as was Lohans daughter eight years ago. Kaur had been married for 46 years before she and her 79-year-old husband became parents to baby Armaan, which means hope. Seventy-two is not the right age to have a baby ... Getting a 72-year-old pregnant is putting her life in jeopardy. by Dr Narendra Malhotra, president of the Indian Society of Assisted Reproduction A lot of people used to tell me, adopt a child, but I never felt the urge to adopt or have someone elses baby, she says. The Almighty only has made this possible for us; its his gift we havent done anything. Its his wish and he granted him to us. Doctors playing God While Kaur considers her son a miracle from God, the man responsible for his birth is Dr Anurag Bishnoi. The embryologist claims to have helped more than 100 women over the age of 50 become pregnant. If men can have children into their 60s and 70s, why shouldnt women be able to? he asks. Bishnoi insists his older patients must pass rigorous health checks before starting IVF treatment. We dont see much of a risk as far as middle-aged and older ones are concerned, he says. Others disagree, arguing that age limits on who can access fertility treatment are urgently needed to protect womens health. Seventy-two is not the right age to have a baby, says Dr Narendra Malhotra, president of the Indian Society of Assisted Reproduction. Getting a 72-year-old pregnant is putting her life in jeopardy. Malhotra accuses Bishnoi of playing God. He says even though science can help women give birth at any age, it is for society to decide whether we are going to let scientists do things which are unethical or which put the patient and the child to great harm. The risks of being an egg donor While the elderly mothers attract the headlines, the other crucial players in this industry are largely invisible the young women who donate their eggs. Without them, Indias record-breaking births would not be possible. An agent tells Al Jazeera that he and his colleagues can easily recruit many egg donors. There are no complications in this procedure at all, so my agents tell other ladies that we pay a handsome amount for egg donations, says Subhas Chandra. If someone works in a factory they earn less than $75 a month but we can pay $525 for the 10-day process. But, for some women, the true cost of being an egg donor can be much greater the procedure can claim their life. READ MORE: Motherhood on Ice In 2010, 17-year-old Sushma Pandey died in Mumbai. Despite guidelines that egg donors should be at least 18, no action has been taken against the clinic. Four years later, 24-year-old Yuma Sherpa died in Delhi after donating eggs. The 24-year-old mother from West Bengal was working in a garment shop when she decided to become an egg donor to make extra money to help support her husband and young daughter. She was told that she would be paid $448. But she died after having her eggs extracted. When I tried to wake her up I realised something was wrong, her husband, Sanjay Rama, says. I started screaming and asked for the doctor. They called the doctor and the doctor came half an hour later. Another three and a half hours would pass before Sherpa was taken to a hospital and pronounced dead, a delay her husbands lawyer says amounts to negligence. An autopsy showed that the young woman suffered ovarian hyperstimulation syndrome, a potentially fatal condition that can occur when high doses of hormones are used to produce higher numbers of eggs. Vikram Pradeep, the lawyer acting pro bono for Sherpas husband, said clinics were harvesting many more eggs than was recommended, sometimes up to 50. That ends up putting the womans life in danger, he says. The clinic which treated Sherpa did not respond to Al Jazeeras request for comment. God is his guardian For the women who become mothers at an age when most of their friends are already grandmothers, their desire to have a baby is so great that health risks are of little concern to them. Lohan, whose daughter Naveen is now aged eight, still suffers stomach pain. Her doctor suspects her health problems may be related to having fertility treatment and going through her pregnancy when she was 70. I feel the treatment she underwent at this age may have caused all these problems, because having a baby at this age means there is some fiddling with the hormones, Dr Praveen Sharma says. Bishnoi denies that fertility treatment and pregnancy could be responsible for Lohans health problems. And what of the children at the centre of this ethical firestorm? For the worlds oldest woman to give birth, looking after a newborn is exhausting and at times, overwhelming. I have been feeling very weak. I had a really tough time, says Daljinder Kaur. At times, he keeps on crying and doesnt get pacified. Then I get very nervous. Asked who will care for her son after she and her husband die, Kaur says, Dont talk to me about this. I dont want to talk about it God is his guardian. From the 101 East documentary Indias Miracle Babies. Watch the full film here. With each encounter their relationship grew stronger, thriving in a bubble detached from the world of crises. Editors note: This article is the fourth piece of a five-part series that examines the bizarre and at times uncanny relationship between John Kerry and Sergey Lavrov. Click to read the first, second and third articles. Its become customary for American and Russian diplomats to present each other with symbolic gifts nothing fancy. But when Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and United States Secretary of State John Kerry tried to get creative, it turned out to be comical, if not embarrassing. In the spirit of their increasingly casual relationship, Lavrov offered Kerry two big baskets of tomatoes and potatoes before their meeting in Sochi in May 2015. The message wasnt lost on the American. Kerry had previously presented Lavrov with two long and ugly Idaho potatoes, from where he maintains a second home, or should I say, a fifth home. Their exchange took a weird and awkward turn. Lavrov thanked the secretary for the impressive gesture and then suggested that the potatoes may have been symbolic. The specific potato which John handed to me has the shape which makes it possible to insert potato in the carrot-and-stick expression. So it could be used differently, he remarked. Remember, I am not imagining this particular exchange; its on the record. And, if that wasnt weird enough, Kerry blushed and replied that there was no hidden meaning behind the potatoes. Everyone laughed nervously; there was nothing else one could do as Russian-American relations were reduced to potatoes and carrots. At any rate, with each encounter John and Sergeys relationship has continued to grow stronger, thriving in a bubble detached from the world of international crises. But ultimately, Lavrov and Kerry are not their own bosses; they report to Barack Obama and Vladimir Putin. The eye of the beholder Theres been no shortage of disagreements over vision, style and demeanour between these two leaders, especially during Obamas second and Putins third terms as presidents. Long story short: Over the past 16 years, US-Russian relations underwent four different phases. President George W Bush had a very positive rapport with Putin during his first term, which was reflected in Russian solidarity with the US after 9/11. After their first summit in Slovenia in 2001, Bushs initial impression seemed somewhat overconfident, even naive. OPINION: John Kerry and Sergey Lavrov Fatal attraction I I looked the man in the eye. I found him to be very straightforward and trustworthy, and we had a very good dialogue. I was able to get a sense of his soul. Hes a man deeply committed to his country and the best interests of his country. I appreciate very much the frank dialogue and thats the beginning of a very constructive relationship. Although US-Russian relations had initially jumped a step forward after the US war in Afghanistan, the relationship shrunk two steps back after the 2003 US invasion of Iraq and the 2008 Russian military intervention in neighbouring Georgia. But when Obama became president in 2009, he preferred methodical and institutional relations to personal associations, and generally avoided looking into Putins eyes. OPINION: John Kerry and Sergey Lavrov Fatal attraction II The US president dealt primarily with President Dmitry Medvedev, Putins protege, who kept his seat warm until he could run again, in accordance with the Russian constitution. The two signed a nuclear arms reduction pact in 2010, and prepared the ground for Russias entry to the World Trade Organization two years later. Things seemed to be going well. Obama was even captured on camera whispering to Medvedev, asking him to tell Putin that hell be free to do more on accommodating Russia after his re-election. But after Putin returned to the Kremlin in the spring of 2012, relations between the Kremlin and the White House began to deteriorate, especially around their differences over Ukraine and Syria. Russia was unhappy with the way the US and its European allies abused their UN mandate from preventing genocide in Libya to regime change. Putin saw Obamas support for change in the Arab world as reckless, and in Ukraine as dangerous, even menacing. And Putin was determined to stop what he saw as a US drive to destabilise the international state system. China agreed with Russia, but without the hostility. Eventually, Putin made the decision to interfere militarily in Syria to protect Bashar al-Assad and prevent another regime change. Obama warned him of another Afghanistan but did nothing to stop him. In fact, while Obama slapped Russia with sanctions over Crimea, he sent Kerry to Moscow to mend fences over Syria; but without much leverage. Without any leverage. Messrs Fix-it Since Obama and Putin are very different political animals, with very different styles and demeanours, it was left to Kerry and Lavrov to fix the glitches and stop the haemorrhage in the relationship. It helped that both presidents seem to trust their world ambassadors, who not only follow instructions, but also think like them. In short, Obama and Putin set forth US and Russian key foreign policy objectives and trajectory. However, it was Kerry and Lavrov who steered the way forward. And since John and Sergey have become so close at times too close for their bosses own comfort, they were able to turn crises into opportunities. OPINION: John Kerry and Sergey Lavrov Fatal attraction III Kerry seems to have more leeway with his own president than Lavrov did. When the latter asked the secretary of state to explain Obamas foreign policy bravado at the UN General Assembly in November 2014, he was told dismissively to pay [it] no mind. I imagine, based on various news reports, their conversation could have gone as follows: SL: You can afford to say that, John! I would never be able to say such a thing. JK: Look, speeches are made for public consumption. You know that! We need to focus on diplomacy and getting things done. SL: Yes, but my boss is not as lenient as yours. JK: You know; I did give Barack his first debut on the national stage when I chose him to give the opening platform at the Democratic convention that nominated me for president in 2004. He owes me, but more importantly, we think alike. SL: See, John, I can make no such claim. Putin doesnt owe me anything. Though, yes, he also trusts me and thats why I could hold on to the job for a dozen years. JK: Obama and I both believe in the power of diplomacy and the shortcomings of military solutions. Remember, he was elected on his anti-war platform. SL: [Rolling his eyes] I believe you and can see the similarities; you love the sounds of your voices. But on a more serious note, you continue to hold a militaristic posture and only changed your priorities from boots on the ground to a worldwide drone policy that is no less militaristic. JK: [Exasperated] Look Sergey, as any strategist will tell you, drones are used only to cover for strategic rollback. Thats how we cover for our strategic retreat from the greater Middle East. SL: [Shaking his head] Thats not how it looks from Moscow or from the Middle East. Kerry: [Aggravated] It is, I assure you, it is. On the other hand, you are getting deeper and deeper into a regional quagmire if you continue to think you can restore Assad through military force. Do you really want confrontation with Turkey, or NATO? SL: Of course not we are only trying to restore order on our borders with Ukraine and in Syria, the country you helped to break up. JK: Thats not true why else do you think I am trying to work with you to find political solutions? We can build on your new boldness to rein in Assad and others. We dont and cant trust the Middle Easterners to resolve their own issues. We must lay down the conditions for ceasefire and political transition between your folks and ours. SL: Amen. JK: The Assad regime owes you or should I say, you own it after you helped it to survive the war. Assad is your b****h and you must get him to step down for the sake of the order and stability you preach. SL: Not so simple. Putin wont go for it. But hypothetically, what can you do for us in return? Kerry: [With a big smile] I love hypothesis. Now youre talking. Coming up in the series on Kerry and Lavrov: How and why the US accommodated Russia. Marwan Bishara is the senior political analyst at Al Jazeera. Follow him on Facebook. The views expressed in this article are the authors own and do not necessarily reflect Al Jazeeras editorial policy. Travellers and brokers say Egypt is charging up to $10,000 to give Palestinians permission to cross at Rafah. Gaza Strip Egyptian officers are asking for bribes of up to $10,000 from Palestinians in Gaza desperate to leave the besieged coastal enclave, according to Gaza brokers who coordinate the bribe payments, former Palestinian border officials and travellers. Typically, an adult in Gaza must pay a bribe of $3,000 to get permission from Egypt to cross the border, two Palestinian brokers, who spoke on condition of anonymity, told Al Jazeera. The brokers said that they took a 20 percent cut of the bribe, sending 80 percent to the Egyptian soldier or officer who coordinated it. Sometimes, Egyptian officers put the names of Palestinians on a blacklist, declaring them to be a security threat, both brokers said. The list forbids entrance to Egypt for those whose names are on it, but a $10,000 payment can have it removed. Occasionally, the Egyptians want bribes paid in goods, not cash, the brokers said. Sometimes, they want iPhones or even gold, said one of the brokers, known in Gaza as the King of the Border for his ability to get almost anyone across. INTERACTIVE: 24 Hours in Gaza During a two-hour interview at his Gaza City office, this broker received six phone calls from people asking him for help getting into Egypt. My phone never rests, he said. The willingness to pay such high fees to leave Gaza may reflect residents desperation to escape the coastal enclave, which has endured three major Israeli military operations since 2008, leaving the most densely populated place on earth in ruins. Gazas infrastructure is so damaged that a United Nations report last year predicted that, if current trends persist, the enclave would become uninhabitable by 2020. The Egyptian government of General Abdel Fattah el-Sisi has imposed extreme restrictions on Gazas Rafah border crossing since the military coup in 2013. Sisi considers Hamas, the governing body in Gaza, to be an extension of the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt declared a terrorist organisation in 2013 and has accused Hamas of carrying out attacks on Egyptian soldiers in the Sinai Peninsula. Hamas has repeatedly denied any role in those attacks. In the first half of 2013, when former Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi was in office, an average of 40,816 people crossed between Gaza and Egypt each month. Since Sisi took power, Egyptian officials have rarely opened the border, allowing it to operate for a few days every month or two. This year, the average number of people who cross the border each month is 1,896, according to the Gisha Legal Center for Freedom of Movement, an Israel-based non-profit organisation. There are about 30,000 cases of people in Gaza needing to urgently travel abroad for humanitarian reasons, many in order to obtain medical care, Gisha spokesperson Shai Grunberg told Al Jazeera. Mohamed Abu Abdelqader, a cancer patient in southern Gaza, told Al Jazeera that he would soon die if he were unable to go to a hospital in Egypt to receive proper treatment for his condition. But he says he is unable to, as he cannot afford the $2,000-$3,000 bribe to a broker to arrange his travel. I dont have the money, the 55-year-old flower farmer said, appearing on the verge of tears. [The by Shai is basically Gazas channel to the rest of the world.] Palestinians only other option for leaving the Gaza Strip, which has been under a joint Israeli and Egyptian-imposed air, land and sea blockade since 2007, is via the Erez crossing to Israel and then over the Allenby Bridge to Jordan. Both Israel and Jordan impose severe restrictions, however, on who is permitted to use the Erez and Allenby crossings. Al Jazeera made repeated requests to the Egyptian government for comment, both by telephone and email, but did not receive a response. But allegations of corruption at the Egyptian border crossing are nothing new. A former high-ranking Hamas official who worked for the Hamas Crossings Authority, which oversees the Rafah terminal, confirmed to Al Jazeera that such bribe-taking occurs frequently, and that the business has become a real moneymaker. Over the course of only two days last year, when he was working at the Rafah border, the official said that nearly half a million dollars in bribes were paid by 150 Palestinians in exchange for permission to travel to Egypt. The Arabic-language news website PLS48 also recently cited Hamas officials as saying that Egyptian officers working at the Rafah crossing during a two-day opening in May had insisted that Palestinians who had paid hefty bribes be allowed to cross the border before those who had not. The Egyptians went so far as to shut down the passenger terminal for seven hours until their demands were met, Hamas officials said. In addition, in 2009, the Associated Press reported that Gaza residents were paying Palestinian middlemen to facilitate their entrance to both Israel and to Egypt, often by obtaining fake documents saying they had life-threatening diseases. The Rafah crossing has become a lifeline for Gaza, Grunberg said: Its basically Gazas channel to the rest of the world. READ MORE: Palestinians in Gaza mass for rare Rafah border opening Amal Mustafa, 40, said she came to Gaza from Kuwait in 2012 to take care of her dying father. She stayed by his side during the military coup in Egypt and the closing of the border crossing in 2013. Her father died shortly after, but Mustafa found herself unable to return to her family in Kuwait. In early July, Mustafa paid a $3,000 bribe to a Palestinian coordinator to arrange her travel to Egypt. But when she got to the border, she was told that her name was on Egypts blacklist, marking her as a security threat. Im just a housewife. Ive never been involved in politics, she said. I have no idea why they listed my name. Mustafa said the King of the Border told her that if she paid him $10,000, he could coordinate her entrance to Egypt an amount she says she is willing to pay whenever the crossing opens again. To her, returning to her husband and family after years away is worth the cost. At least 23 people died when a fire broke out at a prison housing high-profile politicians in the Ethiopian capital, state-controlled media have said citing a government statement. The blaze erupted on Saturday at Addis Ababas high security Qilinto prison, where many opposition figures and journalists are held in a country gripped by a wave of protests. Fana Broadcasting Corporate cited a government statement on Monday as saying 21 inmates died during a stampede and from suffocation. Two others were killed while trying to escape, Fana said. Ethiopia protests: Fast facts Protests in Oromia started in November when the government announced a plan to expand the capital a city-state into the surrounding Oromia region. Many Oromos saw that as a plan to remove them from fertile farmland. The scheme has since been dropped, but the unrest spread as demonstrators called for the release of political prisoners and for wider freedoms. In the Amhara region, demonstrations began over the status of a district Welkait that was once part of Amhara but was incorporated into the neighbouring Tigrayan region more than 20 years ago. Those demonstrations have since widened. The ruling Ethiopian Peoples Revolutionary Democratic Front is a multi-ethnic coalition made up of four parties. The opposition and political analysts, though, say it is dominated by the Tigrayan Peoples Liberation Front. An earlier government statement had said only one person died in the fire. The cause of the fire has not been given. Local media and opposition activists on Saturday reported that gunfire was heard from inside the prison as it burned. Amateur videos posted online showed a thick plume of dark smoke rising from the prison located on the outskirts of the capital. Two buildings were damaged in the blaze, while nine prisoners and police were being treated for injuries, Fana reported. The remaining inmates have reportedly been moved to other facilities. Many of the inmates at Qilinto were arrested in ongoing government crackdowns against months of protests in the central Oromo region and elsewhere. According to the New York-based Human Rights Watch group, at least 500 people have been killed by security forces since the protests began in November. Though demonstrations started among the Oromo, Ethiopias largest ethnic group, protests later spread to the Amhara, the countrys second most populous ethnic group. Both groups say that a ruling coalition government is dominated by the Tigray ethnic group, which makes up about 6 percent of the population. The government has denied that violence by the security forces is systemic, though a government spokesman told Al Jazeera recently that police officers sometimes take the law into their own hands, and pledged an independent investigation. Authorities have blamed the unrest on opposition groups inside and outside of the country and what they have called anti-peace elements. UK parliament debates petition signed by more than four million people calling for a second referendum on EU membership. UK politicians have debated a petition signed by more than four million people demanding a second referendum on whether Britain should leave or remain within the European Union. The debate, which took place in the British parliaments second debating chamber on Monday, did not give MPs legal authority to decide on a second referendum, but demonstrated that the Brexit debate is still raging in the country. British MPs are obliged to consider for debate any petition which receives more than 100,000 signatures. Almost half of those who voted in the June referendum wanted Britain to stay in the EU and some are still marching and protesting, said Al Jazeeras Barnaby Phillips, reporting from London. Not many believe a second referendum is likely, but they want Britain to keep close ties with Europe. OPINION: Three paths to European disintegration Prime Minister Theresa May has ruled out a second referendum, saying that she is preparing to trigger the formal divorce proceedings that would eventually take Britain out of the club it first joined in 1973. Brexit must mean Brexit During the June 23 referendum, 17.4 million people, or 51.9 percent of the electorate, voted to leave the EU while 48.1 percent, or 16.1 million people, voted to stay. Some 4.14 million people have now signed the petition calling for a second referendum. During Mondays debate, David Davis, Britains newly appointed Brexit minister, made it clear that the UK is leaving the EU. There will be no attempt to stay in the EU by the back door, he said. No attempt to delay, frustrate or thwart the will of the British people. No attempt to engineer a second referendum because some people didnt like the first answer, he said. Some MPs argued that even discussing a second referendum undermined the will of the British people. Brexit must mean Brexit and it is up to every red-blooded democrat, no matter which side they were on before the result was known, to accept the clear electoral verdict and to pull together to deliver it as best we can, said John Penrose, a Conservative politician. READ MORE: David Camerons legacy in the shadow of Brexit David Lammy, of the opposition Labour Party, said the public had been lied to during the referendum campaign and a second vote on the Brexit deal was the only way out of a constitutional crisis. He said the meaning of Brexit was unclear, as were the terms whereby Britain would have access to the European single market. Just listened to 12 minute statement from David Davis Secretary of State for @DexEUgov. Still none the wiser about what Brexit means. David Lammy (@DavidLammy) September 5, 2016 Astonishingly empty statement from Brexit Sec David Davis. No plan, no sense of grip, no detail. It's too important for this kind of drift Yvette Cooper (@YvetteCooperMP) September 5, 2016 David Davis has come under some criticism not only from Labour MPs but also from the MPs from the governing Conservative Party, said Al Jazeeras Phillips. They were mainly asking for more details. They were saying that the government is badly prepared for Brexit and it still does not have a clear plan for the way forward. BREXIT FALLOUT: Anti-migrant attacks surge in the UK The Brexit result unleashed immediate political and financial market turmoil in Britain. The vote has also raised questions about the future of Britain and post-World War II European integration, though the initial economic effect of the Brexit vote has been less negative than was predicted by those who campaigned to remain within the EU. Several lawsuits have been launched to force the government to accept that parliament should decide on whether Britain should trigger Article 50 of the Lisbon Treaty, which would begin the formal exit process from the EU, rather than allowing the prime minister to decide alone. Pro-China contingent to continue to dominate citys legislature despite a strong showing by pro-independence candidates. Pro-democracy groups have retained their one-third veto bloc in Hong Kongs 70-seat Legislative Council (Legco) following an election marked by a record voter turnout and the emergence of candidates calling for independence from China. Official results show that pro-democracy candidates won 30 of the 70 seats, more than is required for the opposition to have veto power to block attempts by Hong Kongs government to enact unpopular or controversial legislation, according to AFP news agency. Several pro-independence candidates emerged victorious in Sundays election the first since the so-called Umbrella Revolution of 2014. READ MORE: Hong Kong Rooftopping for freedom and disobedience Nathan Law Kwun-chung, the former student leader of the Umbrella Revolution and key figure in the 2014 pro-democracy movement, which saw parts of downtown Hong Kong occupied for 79 days in protest against a controversial electoral reform bill, was declared a winner on Monday. Law, 23, contested as a candidate of the Demosisto party, which wants a referendum for Hong Kong residents on whether they should stay part of China. I think Hong Kongers really wanted change, he said, celebrating his win. Young people have a sense of urgency when it comes to the future, he added. In a brief statement carried by Chinas official Xinhua news agency on Monday, Chinas Hong Kong and Macao Affairs Office said it was resolutely opposed to any kind of Hong Kong independence activities in the territorys legislature, Reuters news agency reported. Hong Kong independence is contrary to Chinas constitution, harms national sovereignty and security, and will harm Hong Kongs prosperity and stability, it added. At some polling stations there were long queues until until 2:30am local time on Monday morning four hours later than the scheduled cut-off time for voting in an election which saw a turnout of 58 percent of the citys 3.8 million eligible voters. Pro-democracy rallies The city-wide vote was the biggest since mass pro-democracy protests in 2014 and saw candidates fighting for seats in the Legco as concerns grew that China is tightening its grip on the semi-autonomous city. There have been some emotional scenes here at the election centre as the results came in, bearing out the expected trend that has been predicting the rise of the so-called localist movement, Al Jazeeras Rob McBride, reporting from Hong Kong, said. These new parties and groupings have grown largely out of the Occupy movement two years ago, groups with a very different agenda from the mainstream pro-democracy groups. Some key leaders of the pro-democracy parties have lost their seats. Only 40 out of 70 total seats are directly elected by the public, while special-interest groups representing a range of mostly pro-China businesses and social sectors select the other 30 legislators. The pro-China contingent will continue to dominate the legislature, as they hold on to their seats in the functional constituency. The way the Legislative Council is structured, it still remains effectively a pro-establishment body. But even so, Beijing and Hong Kong will be worried about the results that show how polarised Hong Kong society has become, the Al Jazeera correspondent said. Sundays election was marred by accusations of fraud, an uncommon occurrence in the city that was transferred to Chinese control from Britain in 1997 under a one country, two systems agreement. Leung Chun-ying, the citys chief executive, in a statement on Sunday night praised the conduct of the commission in ensuring fair elections. Famed ancient monument in Delos, Greece, reopens with performance raising awareness about the plight of refugees. A forceful cry breaks from her lips as she spreads her arms wide open. The words come out in Greek, but her grief can be felt in all languages. Just one day was enough to lose everything, she says, dressed entirely in plain mourning black. Respect me, she wails, before falling to her knees to touch the centuries-old earth. This is Despoina Bebedeli, the renowned actress who starred over the weekend in Hecuba: A Refugee, the first play to be performed in an ancient theatre on the uninhabited Greek island of Delos in more than 2,100 years. The play, which is based on two monologues written by Athenian tragedian Euripides, tells the tale of Hecuba, the queen of fallen Troy who, as a captive, mourns the loss of her husband and children during the Trojan War. Over the centuries, this tragic heroine of Greek mythology has become an anti-war icon whose suffering lays bare all the horrors caused by conflict. In this theatre, this forgotten monument, where no theatrical speech had been heard for thousands of years, we decided to stage the absolutely timely story of Hecuba, said Dimitris Athanasoulis, director of the department of antiquities of the Cyclades a group of islands in the Aegean Sea which co-produced the play. Our goal was to highlight the grave problem that affects all of us here in the eastern Mediterranean Sea: the plight of war and being a refugee, he told Al Jazeera. Organisers said they chose Delos, situated in the heart of the Aegean, to raise awareness about the drama of refugees risking everything to reach Europes shores. Millions of people fleeing poverty, war and repression in the Middle East, Asia and Africa have tried crossing the Aegean in recent years. Thousands have died undertaking the perilous journey. Last year, we experienced all these intense and horrific events; children drowning in our sea, Nikos Karageorgos, the plays director, told Al Jazeera. My thoughts are with people who lose everything. How can they adapt in this new situation? Its something unbearable; all these people whove lost children or relatives in the Aegean Sea, and are now somewhere in Europe. Will they be able to live a normal life again? Describing Hecuba as a symbol of a woman, of a human, who loses everything instantly, Karageorgos said her story explored how people can adapt to abrupt changes. Syrians are experiencing this now. Other people around the world, too. Greeks also in the past. How can you manage this, having to find refuge on an outdoors bench in a foreign city? Having left behind a life where you had a family, where you could support yourself and now, all of a sudden, you are left without a home and a country. Sacred island Known as the most sacred of all islands, Delos is the birthplace of Apollo, the god of daylight, and his twin sister, Artemis, the goddess of moonlight, according to Greek mythology. This small rugged island was first settled in the third millennium BC, and by the third century BC it had become a prosperous and cosmopolitan centre of cultural, commercial and political life in the region. Its imposing ancient theatre, regarded as one of the most important artistic creations of its time, was built entirely from marble in the third century BC. With a 6,500-strong capacity, it hosted major theatrical productions, dances and other cultural events. But the prominence of the theatre and of the island came to an abrupt end in 88BC when Mithridates, the king of Pontus, attacked and sacked Delos. Looted again by pirates in 69BC, the island quickly fell into decline and was gradually abandoned. Currently largely uninhabited, the entire island is an archaeological site; no settlements have been built over the ancient marble ruins, which attract more than 100,000 visitors each year. Since the ancient theatre cannot today welcome large numbers, organisers said a total of some 300 people were invited to watch the stripped-down play, performed on Saturday and Sunday morning without sets or props, lighting or sound system. But the lack of technical support only added to the mesmerising experience. The location also played a huge part, Karageorgos said. Delos is a special place, it has an absolute stillness and quietness, he added. You have to take a boat to get there, and to reach the theatre you have to go up a path surrounded by all these ancient marbles. Hecuba: A Refugee opened with an actress reading the words of an Austria-based Syrian woman, who last year wrote a poignant letter to the United Nations describing the plight of people fleeing war. I wonder, if the European countries truly wanted to welcome us, why dont they do it legally, through their embassies? Has the whole world gone blind and not seeing what is happening? the woman wrote in the letter. In a symbolic gesture, the actress who read the excerpt from the letter remained close to the stage throughout the performance, watching Hecubas drama unfold in front of her eyes. It was something overwhelming, Karageorgos said. The spectators, men and women, were crying from the first minute of the performance until the last. Athanasoulis agreed. All the viewers left overcome with emotions, he said. We believe that such monuments and the ancient Greek literature can transmit messages that are relevant to humanity today one of which is Hecubas anti-war cry. Former journalist starts business to meet rising demand for military uniforms for Kurdish soldiers in northern Iraq. Suleimania, Iraq As more and more Kurdish fighters join the battle against the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) group in northern Iraq, there has been an increase in the demand for military uniforms. But with Kurdistan battling an economic crisis and the government unable to provide more than one uniform per soldier, Zrebar Hawrami spotted an opportunity to serve her country. The 23-year-old quit her job as a news presenter, sold her car and borrowed money from her father to open a war-clothing workshop under her own name. Hawrami is the first woman in the Kurdish region of northern Iraq to own such a business. It seems circumstances and destiny have played a role in my life and kind of forced me to open such a business, she told Al Jazeera. By importing the fabric and making the uniforms locally, she says she is selling them about $20 cheaper than the imported ones sold in the market. For Hawrami, each stitch of the military uniforms is the result of a dream and nationalistic pride. Determined to empower women through her work, she has chosen a Yazidi woman warrior to be her business logo. Sexism is not an issue, Hawrami said. Once the businessmen heard of my project, they encouraged me because I produce cheaper but high-quality clothes. Branching out Zrebar makes 21 types of uniforms not only for Kurdish forces in Iraq but also in Syria. The company, which also stitches womens army uniforms, is branching out and making military fashion apparel. Gains on the battlefield are a triumph for Hawrami and her employees. As the victories of the Kurdish forces continue, we feel more enthusiastic to continue working, says Kalawish Abbasi, a Zrebar employee. Israeli forces shoot dead man after alleged car ramming attack, an account denied by the victims family. Israeli soldiers have shot dead a Palestinian man, and wounded a relative, inside a refugee camp in occupied East Jerusalem. Mustafa Nimr, 27, was killed at approximately 2am on Monday, when Israeli forces opened fire at the car he was driving, also wounding his sisters husband, Ali Nimr. Israeli police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld said police officers operating in Shuafat refugee camp shot at a vehicle as it drove up towards them at close range, endangering them. As a result of the shots that were fired, one of the men in the vehicle passed away, while the other one is in the hospital and is being treated, he told Al Jazeera. But members of the victims family and witnesses at the scene said the two were not attempting to run over the guards. He was at his older brothers house. He went out with his sisters husband to buy Eid clothes and food for the children, said Abdullah Nimr, a cousin of the victim. The army had been raiding the camp at that time, and they simply shot at them while they were driving, Abdullah told Al Jazeera. Israeli army raids in the Shuafat refugee camp are common, especially late at night. OPINION: Israel and Palestine Breaking the cycle of violence According to local journalist Lama Ghosheh, witnesses at the scene said the officers had ordered the drivers to stop but they were driving too fast to stop in time, so the army opened fire. Mustafa was killed in cold-blood. I saw at least 30 bullet marks on the car, which is still in the camp, Ghosheh told Al Jazeera. The presence of fresh food in the car testifies to the fact that they went to get food and were not planning on carrying out an attack. READ MORE: Will Israel be put on trial for war crimes? Mustafas body was taken by the Israeli army at the scene, while his relative, Ali, is being held while he is being treated in hospital. No one has been allowed to visit Ali so far. In the latest wave of increased violence since October 2015, it is estimated that Israeli troops and settlers are responsible for the killing of at least 223 Palestinians, including unarmed demonstrators, bystanders and alleged attackers. Thirty-five Israelis were also killed in the past 11 months, in stabbing and shooting incidents carried out by Palestinians. South Korea says medium-range Rodong-class missiles flew about 1,000km before landing in the waters of the Sea of Japan. North Korea has fired three ballistic missiles off its east coast, according to South Koreas military, in a show of force apparently timed to coincide with the ongoing G20 economic summit in China. South Koreas joint chiefs of staff said in a statement on Monday that the three missiles, launched from the western North Korean town of Hwangju, flew across the country before splashing in the Sea of Japan off its east coast. All three missiles were medium-range Rodong class and flew about 1,000km, South Koreas military said. At least one of the missiles fell into Japans Air Defence Identification Zone, a South Korean military official told Reuters news agency by telephone. The development came as world leaders gathered for the G20 summit of advanced and emerging economies in Hangzhou in eastern China. It also came four days before the 68th anniversary of the founding of North Koreas government, and just days after South Korean and US troops ended annual joint military drills. Earlier on Monday, speaking in Hangzhou, South Korean President Park Geun-hye criticised the North for what she called provocations that were hurting South Korea-China ties. Shortly after the missile launches, she and Shinzo Abe, Japans prime minister, met and agreed to cooperate on monitoring the situation, according to a Japanese statement. Al Jazeeras Adrian Brown, reporting from Hangzhou, said: This latest [missile] incident came as China expressed unhappiness over Seouls threats to deploy a defence shield in response to Pyongyangs continued attempts to refine and perfect its nuclear missile programme. China regards this missile-defence shield as a threat to its sovereignty. But we have got a reminder this morning of why South Korea feels so vulnerable. The European Union issued a statement following the launches, calling on North Korea to end illegal actions, which were yet another in a string of serious violations of the countrys international obligations as set out in UN Security Council resolutions. North Korea must halt all missile launches using ballistic missile technology and abandon its ballistic missile programmes in a complete, verifiable and irreversible manner, the EU said in the statement. Such launches serve no purpose other than increase tensions to the detriment of all, it added. Regular missile tests North Korea regularly engages in missile and rocket tests, especially when international attention is turned to Northeast Asia. It has staged several missile tests this year, the most recent being a submarine-launched ballistic missile that flew 500km towards Japan on August 24. That launch, which was widely condemned, marked what weapons analysts described as a clear step forward for North Koreas nuclear-strike ambitions. China is North Koreas only major ally, but ties between the neighbours have frayed amid a number of nuclear and missile tests and what many outsiders see as other provocations in recent years. Last month, worries about the Norths weapons programmes deepened after a missile from a North Korean submarine flew about 500km, the longest distance achieved by the North for such a weapon. The UN Security Council in late August strongly condemned four North Korean ballistic missile launches in July and August. It called them grave violations of a ban on all ballistic missile activity. As fear and silence grips the general population, authorities in the Philippines strain to handle the rise in killings. The body of 22-year-old pedicab driver Eric Sison lies in a coffin in a Manila slum with a chick pacing across his coffin, placed there in keeping with a local tradition to symbolically peck at the conscience of his killers. Mobile phone video footage circulating on social media purports to capture the moment Sison was killed last month when, according to local officials, police were looking for drug pushers in the Pasay township of the Philippines capital. A voice on the video, recorded by a neighbour according to newspaper reports, can be heard shouting Dont do it, Ill surrender!. Then there is the sound of gunfire. A poster near the coffin demands Justice for Eric Quintinita Sison. A hand-painted sign reads: Overkill Justice 4 Eric. These are rare tokens of protest against a surge of killings unleashed since Rodrigo Duterte became president of the Philippines just over two months ago and pledged to wage war on drug dealers and crush widespread addiction to methamphetamine. Very little stands in the way of his bloody juggernaut. Last week the number of people killed since July 1 reached 2,400: about 900 died in police operations, and the rest are deaths under investigation, a term human rights activists say is a euphemism for vigilante and extrajudicial killings. Indeed, Duterte may intensify the crackdown after 14 people were killed on Friday in a bomb attack at a market in his hometown, Davao. Police blamed the Abu Sayyaf, an ISIL-linked group Duterte has vowed to destroy, but his war on the drug trade is making enemies elsewhere and the attack quickened rumours of a plot to kill him. Dutertes office did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment on this report. Police overload, public fear Interviews reveal that the polices Internal Affairs Service (IAS) and the Commission on Human Rights (CHR) are so overwhelmed by the killings that they can investigate only a fraction, and there is scant hope of establishing many as unlawful because witnesses are too terrified to come forward. Philippines: State of lawlessness declared after deadly Davao attack Meanwhile, the immense popularity of Dutertes crusade and a climate of fear whipped up by the blood-letting have together silenced dissent from civil society. Hardly anyone turned up at candlelight vigils in Manila recently to protest against extrajudicial killings. Anxious reminders by the Catholic Church of the commandment thou shalt not kill make few headlines in the predominantly Catholic country, with newspapers preferring to carry breathless accounts of the latest slayings. Duterte has delivered withering attacks on his chief critic, Senator Leila de Lima, accusing her of dealing in drugs herself and having an affair with her driver. As for critics abroad, Duterte pours scorn on them in language laden with curses. He lambasted the United Nations after it criticised the surge in killings and he turned down a meeting with UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon at a summit in Laos this week. Duterte will meet Barack Obama in Laos on Tuesday, although he has made it clear in advance that he will take no lecture on human rights from the US president, when in the United States, he alleged, black people are being shot even if they are already lying down. No witnesses Chief Superintendent Leo Angelo Leuterio, who heads the IAS, said that with only about 170 investigators nationwide, the unit can deal with just 30 percent of the roughly 30 cases coming in daily. Our resources are breaking at the seams, said Leuterio. The CHR, for its part, is looking at just 259 of the 2,000-plus killings since July 1, and its forensics team of 14 is swamped. The commission says its biggest obstacle is that witnesses are hard to find. On August 29, police told reporters that they had opened fire that night on a drug suspect in Tondo, a dirt-poor and densely populated district of Manila. A Reuters reporter looked into the suspects one-room home and saw a mattress splattered with blood. He asked a neighbour how many shots had been fired, but the man replied: Sorry, my friend. I didnt hear a single shot, and walked away. US President Barack Obama has cancelled what would have been his first meeting with Rodrigo Duterte, according to a White House spokesman, hours after the Philippine leader described his American counterpart in vulgar terms. Duterte called Obama a son of a whore, saying that he would not be lectured by the US leader on human rights, according to AFP news agency. Dutertes tirade came as he bristled at warnings he would face questioning by the US president at their scheduled meeting over his war against drugs in the Philippines, which has claimed more than 2,400 lives in just over two months. You must be respectful. Do not just throw away questions and statements. Son of a whore, I will curse you in that forum, Duterte told a news conference shortly before flying to Laos to attend a summit on Monday. We will be wallowing in the mud like pigs if you do that to me, he said. However, a statement released by the Philippine president on Tuesday expressed regret for the tirade against his US counterpart. While the immediate cause was my strong comments to certain press questions that elicited concern and distress, we also regret it came across as a personal attack on the US president, the statement said. Duterte was due to hold a bilateral meeting with Obama on Tuesday afternoon on the sidelines of a gathering of global leaders hosted by the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) in Vientiane, the capital of the Laos. READ MORE: The Philippines, where bodies pile up, but no one talks Shortly after Dutertes comments, Obama had appeared to cast doubt on whether a meeting could take place with the Philippines president. Calling Duterte a colourful guy, Obama said he was asking his staff to find out whether a meeting would be useful. I always want to make sure if Im having a meeting that its actually productive and were getting something done, he told reporters. Duterte, 71, was elected in May after promising to wage an unprecedented war on drugs. INTERACTIVE: Death toll in Dutertes war on drugs Official figures released on Sunday showed that, since Duterte took office on June 30, more than 2,400 people have been killed in police anti-drug operations and by suspected vigilantes. Speaking on the sidelines of the G20 summit in the Chinese city of Hangzhou, Obama said Washington recognised that drugs were a significant problem for the Philippines. But he also insisted that he would not shy away from raising concerns about the way the issue was being handled under the new administration. The issue of how we approach fighting crime and drug trafficking is a serious one for all of us. Weve got to do it the right way, Obama said. Undoubtedly, if and when we have a meeting, this is something thats going to be brought up. And my expectation, my hope, is that it could be dealt with constructively. More people will be killed Duterte has previously angrily rejected criticism from the Catholic Church, human rights groups, politicians and the United Nations. More people will be killed, plenty will be killed until the last pusher is out of the streets. Until the [last] drug manufacturer is killed, we will continue and I will continue, he said on Monday. READ MORE: Philippines and Maoist rebels sign indefinite ceasefire Duterte insisted he would not take orders from the US, a former colonial ruler of the Philippines, and did not care about how he was perceived. The maverick president has quickly earned a reputation for making offensive comments about his critics. Nearly two years ago, young students boycotted classes and began a mass civil disobedience movement in downtown Hong Kong to protest against a controversial electoral reform bill. For 79 days, thousands of Hong Kong residents took to the streets blocking roads and shutting down key areas of one of the worlds major financial centres. Protesters were beaten, pepper-sprayed and tear-gassed by police during what is known as Hong Kongs Umbrella Revolution, named after the way demonstrators used umbrellas to protect themselves from police pepper spray. The pro-democracy movement fizzled after the Hong Kong government and China refused to allow any real concessions for a full election in 2017. READ MORE: Hong Kong At the heart of Occupy Central Nathan Law Kwun-chung, 23, was one of the student leaders of the Umbrella Revolution and a key figure in the 2014 pro-democracy movement. In April, he founded the Demosisto party with another prominent former protest leader Joshua Wong. His party is calling for independence from China and a referendum on Hong Kongs sovereignty in 2047. On Monday, in the first major, city-wide, legislative council election since the Umbrella Movement, several young, pro-independence candidates were elected. Law was one of them. Al Jazeera spoke to Law who has become the youngest legislator in Hong Kongs history. Al Jazeera: Tell us about your campaign and why you think you won? Law: I believe the people of Hong Kong were looking for a new voice in the electoral system who can uphold the different voices of the democratic movement. I think the elections reflect that. WATCH our three part series Hong Kong: Occupy Central Al Jazeera: You are Hong Kongs youngest politician. Do you think you have the experience to carry that voice? Law: For the past few months and few weeks during the campaigning I have performed well and have proved myself to those who were questioning my abilities. I have convinced them of what I can do. Age is a factor that is not affecting my performance. For the past two years, I have been fighting against the Communist Party as part of the Umbrella Movement. I was the core organiser of that protest. I will be one of the few in the legislative council with that kind of experience in terms of that framework. I am perfect for that. Al Jazeera: What will be your agenda? Law: The problem with the Hong Kong situation it is completely different to talk about it in daily life or during campaigning and putting it on the agenda. Talking about Hong Kongs self-determination is one of the main things I want to talk about and that will be at the core of my job. Al Jazeera: How are you going to be different from others? What can you bring to your constituency and the people? Law: For the past two years I have been involved in the citizens movement. I am keen on continuing that. I would sacrifice myself to make my target happen. It is with that experience that I would bring changes to the system. I think during this election, because of our movement, people came to us and supported us, and that influence will continue in the future. READ MORE: Hong Kong votes in first major election since protests Al Jazeera: What does the road ahead for you and your party hold? Law: We need time to digest and assess first and see how we can bring changes and push for the self-determination movement. How can we arouse public debate and discussion? Al Jazeera: Is this a fantasy? Law: No, we have to accumulate our power. It is not difficult to understand what we want. There is always hope. People need to realise the desire for Hong Kongs residents to decide their own future. Al Jazeera: Will you be pushing for change in the current electoral system, and how? Law: Definitely, we want electoral change in our system. That is the basis of democracy. We want to change that and we should do it together. Al Jazeera: What kind of message do you think these elections have sent to Beijing? Law: I think Beijing is worried about what happened today, that we have a new voice of resistance. They are worried about that. Al Jazeera: How will you unite the fractured democratic camp? Law: I know there is a lot of fragmentation in the camp but I believe as individuals we need to search for cooperation. That is what I want to do. We recognise that there have been ups and downs in the movement. We understood that we need to have representation in the electoral system. We need to have steady political influence on the society. That is why we needed to involve ourselves in politics. 2005 .. English News Climate change is both a burden and an opportunity for economic change Alwihda Info | Par peoplesdaily - 5 Septembre 2016 Climate change is one of the priorities on the G20 agenda, and this year marks a crucial period time to nail the world's first comprehensive climate agreement. By Zhao Minghao Source:Global Times, Peoples Daily China and the US finally inked their commitment to global climate governance on the eve of the theatrical G20 Summit. The two biggest emitters of greenhouse gases have both formally joined the Paris global climate agreement, which was approved last December. By taking the lead in this regard, Chinese President Xi Jinping said both countries have showed their "ambition and determination to jointly tackle a global challenge." Climate change is one of the priorities on the G20 agenda, and this year marks a crucial period time to nail the world's first comprehensive climate agreement. At the UN Climate Change Conference in Paris last November, joint efforts between China and the US led to the approval of the Paris deal, which has become the roadmap for the world to deal with climate change after 2020. The deal will only come into force legally after it is ratified by 55 countries, whose carbon emissions account for 55 percent of the global total. Prompted by China and the US, this year's G20 will issue a communique about climate change, urging all participants to implement the Paris agreement. As a major platform to discuss international economic issues, the G20 is playing an increasingly significant role in climate change. China has dramatically changed its approach to climate change in recent years. In the past, China was reluctant to reduce carbon emissions for fear of shutting down factories, which would raise its export prices and spoil its impressive GDP growth rate. However, China has realized that optimizing the structure of energy consumption and improving low-carbon development is essential to its economic transformation. New measures to deal with climate change can not only smooth pressures from the international community, but also ensure China's sustainable growth. China has adopted a progressive strategy to reduce carbon emissions, and a new climate change law is waiting to be promulgated. In 2014, China's consumption and emission rate of carbon dioxide have reduced by 29.9 percent and 33.8 percent respectively compared to 2005. China has become the most avid practitioner of new energy and renewable resources. China's non-fossil energy accounts for 11.2 percent of the total energy consumed in 2014, 4.4 percentage points higher than 2005. China is committed to reducing the emission of carbon dioxide by 60 to 65 percent by 2030, and in 2017, China will initiate a nationwide market for carbon emission trade. China is displaying leadership in climate governance. Beijing believes that the key to dealing with climate change is to narrow the area of difference between developing and developed countries. As the biggest developing country, China insists that every country must take its due responsibility, and the developed countries should offer more solid support for the developing countries. China set an example by initiating the China South-South Climate Cooperation Fund and investing 20 billion yuan ($2.99 billion) into it. Beijing and Washington's cooperation in climate change has impressed the world, and also becomes the biggest highlight in their bilateral relationship. In 2013, under the framework of strategic and economic dialogue, China and the US launched a special working group for climate change. In 2014 and 2015, both countries issued joint statements about climate change, making a commitment to the rest of the world about their determination to reduce carbon emissions. Together China and the US are responsible for 40 percent of global carbon emissions, so their joint action means a lot to the global climate governance. In August, 2015, the UN released a 2030 agenda for Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) in place of the Millennium Development Goals issued in 2000. Climate change has taken a prominent position on the agenda. The Secretary-General of the United Nations Ban Ki-moon said we are "the last [generation] that can end climate change." As the G20 president, China has included the SDG into the agenda of the summit. China hopes the world can keep the climate change in perspective by being more inclusive and sustainable. Climate change, China believes, is not a burden, but might be an opportunity to create new economic spin-offs. The author is a research fellow with the Charhar Institute in Beijing and an adjunct fellow at the Chongyang Institute for Financial Studies at Renmin University of China. Dans la meme rubrique : < > China's FAST discovers largest atomic cloud in universe China to make greater contributions to human progress China willing to work with the international community to promote equality, mutual learning, dialogue, and inclusiveness among civilizations Pour toute information, contactez-nous au : +(235) 99267667 ; 62883277 ; 66267667 (Bureau N'Djamena) English News G20 Chinas chance to lead by example Alwihda Info | Par peoplesdaily - 5 Septembre 2016 Setting out to ostracize the world's largest nation would hardly be a wise course of action on anybody's part. This is particularly the case when the problems of today's world demand everybody's attention. By Jeremy Garlick Source:Global Times, Peoples Daily The G20 meeting of the world's 20 most powerful nations in Hangzhou this September comes at a critical juncture for humanity. Environmental, political and economic concerns challenge global leaders, demanding holistic but hard-to-find solutions. Global warming and climate change are altering the face of the planet. Temperatures are rising year on year. Sea levels are rising as ice caps melt, submerging Pacific islands. Extreme weather events are becoming more common. Food and water security are threatened. At the same time, radicalism and extremism appear to be on the rise. The Islamic State and far-right political movements have gained footholds in the Middle East, Africa and Europe. Meanwhile, the global economy seems fragile. Growth is slowing, nations are increasingly indebted, financial institutions and markets are vulnerable. There is a considerable risk of the global capitalist system cracking apart if nations do not take concerted action to avert this danger. Yet this G20 summit comes at a moment when global leadership seems either contested or lacking. Disputes over the refugee crisis and Britain's exit from the European Union have revealed that Europe is actually not a proper union at all. In the US, the endless election process has thus far proved bitter and divisive. In Asia, territorial disputes show how far nations have to go to establish relationships of trust and security. Just getting leaders to focus on the issues and discuss them in a clear-headed manner is going to be a challenge. Most are preoccupied with local issues, regional rivalries or winning elections. Yet there are one or two encouraging signs. For instance, Britain's new Prime Minister, Theresa May, has apparently offered an olive branch to Russian President Vladimir Putin. Just agreeing to get together for a chat in Hangzhou is a step in the right direction. This is just as well. Setting out to ostracize the world's largest nation would hardly be a wise course of action on anybody's part. This is particularly the case when the problems of today's world demand everybody's attention. In the forefront has to be the intractable issue of how to reconcile economic growth with reducing the impact on the environment. Put simply, leaders need to think carefully about how it is possible to constantly increase manufacturing output in a consumer-led global economy while protecting the natural environment. For example, it is difficult to see how the targets of the 2015 Paris Climate Conference (or COP21) can be met while reliance on consumption continues. Cars continue to roll off production lines at ever-faster rates, steelmakers are dumping surpluses onto markets at knock-down prices, and stores are chock-full with goods which customers are exhorted to buy even if they don't need them. All of this activity requires ever greater quantities of fossil fuels, which fill the atmosphere with pollution and greenhouse gases. Of course, this is not at all an easy task, especially when the prospects of agreement and concerted action appear to be so far away. Still, Hangzhou presents an opportunity for China to demonstrate leadership by bringing the nations together under one agenda: to clean up the planet while stimulating new economic growth. It goes without saying that there are obstacles to such an aim: lack of trust between nations, differing geopolitical and geo-economic agendas, and so on. Yet China has already shown, by initiating with the US a move to implement COP21 at the earliest opportunity, that it is serious about eco-friendly policy. Crucially, China has also begun to meet targets to lower its national carbon footprint. Peak coal usage was reached in 2014. Slowly but steadily, the use of coal as a percentage of China's total energy consumption is reducing. This demonstrates that China, understanding the urgency, is willing to make a change. It also shows that China can eventually become a leader by example. At the same time, China is developing renewable energy technologies. In addition, only China, due to its large population and developed industry, can achieve the economies of scale necessary to bring down the costs of green energy and also make these energies profitable. Developing new industries should also create new jobs which will benefit countries economically and reduce incentives for young people to turn to extremist politics. The G20 therefore presents an historic opportunity for China to show that it can begin to find ways to overcome obstacles to cooperation, and lead the world into a greener future while re-stimulating the economy. Last year was the hottest on record. This year is predicted to be even hotter. It's high time that leaders should get together to do something to change habits of industry and investment that have been entrenched since the 19th century. Why should this process of change not begin in Hangzhou 2016? The author is a lecturer in international relations, Jan Masaryk Centre for International Studies, University of Economics in Prague. Dans la meme rubrique : < > China's FAST discovers largest atomic cloud in universe China to make greater contributions to human progress China willing to work with the international community to promote equality, mutual learning, dialogue, and inclusiveness among civilizations Pour toute information, contactez-nous au : +(235) 99267667 ; 62883277 ; 66267667 (Bureau N'Djamena) English News G20 Hangzhou summit is continuative and constructive: expert Alwihda Info | Par peoplesdaily - 5 Septembre 2016 By Bao Jie and Li Feng from Peoples Daily China this year has been very constructive and diligent about ensuring the continuity of the work that has been done in the last few years in Turkey, Australia and Russia. But also I think China has done an excellent job of introducing some new themes when Chinese President Xi Jinping last year laid out the four themes around innovative, invigorated, interconnected, and inclusive. In my opinion China has done an excellent job in the working group and ministerial meetings that I have observed of ensuring there are practical agendas: the outcomes over the last few months from key Ministerial meetings have all been much focused and very constructive. says Robert Milliner, 2014 B20 Sherpa of Australia, who has attended many B20 and G20 meetings as a senior advisor. Milliner considers that this year China has introduced important new themes around innovation, entrepreneurship and inclusive growth. My expectations of this year are that the G20 will continue to develop the commitments that have been reached in recent years especially around plans to foster economic growth. The continued slowing of global growth has consequences for all countries, for employment and wellbeing of societies. Further, while we know that is difficult for governments, structural reform agendas need to be addressed and China has been providing leadership in this discussion. My biggest expectation is there will be a significant discussion by G20 leaders on what they can do about global growth including structural reforms, and how they get trade and investment going. He says the G20 leaders summit has only existed since 2009, after the financial crisis. From 2009 to 2012, the G20 was very much driven by the need to make sure there was not a global financial crisis and global depression, so the primary focus was to make sure the global financial financial was stable and that trade continues to develop without reverting to protectionism. From 2013 to this year, the focus of B20 and G20 has moved to focus on a sustainable recovery from the financial crisis, getting global growth and employment going. During the 2014 G20 summit held in Australia, there was an action plan agreed by G20 Leaders to lift global GDP by 2 percent in 5 years, and there were significant commitments made by G20 members on specific actions to be taken by them. Milliner points out that the big issues for the B20 in the last few years, and again this year in China have been centered around the financial architecture. Since the financial crisis, a lot has been done by the G20 and Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors through the Financial Stability Board to ensure that we have a safe and stable financial system. There have been major reforms of the banking system, with significant steps taken to ensure that we have an appropriate and safe financial system. The B20 concern now is that some of those reforms are actually restricting the flow of money to certain sectors and in certain markets, for example SMEs. , So the B20 continues to encourage the G20 to review the financial reforms, not to take away the stability they provide but to ensure that we are not having unintended negative consequences. So there are some key areas around economic and financial architecture that the B20 would like the G20 to make a move on this year. The B20 Policy Recommendations will be submitted to G20 leaders during the B20 Summit to be held in Hangzhou from September 3 to 4, 2016. Milliner has involved in and contributed a lot to the paper. He considers that 20 recommendations from B20 are very important in promoting the global economy growth. Trade is a critical issue for global economic growth, the current trade and investment level is still far below what it was before the 2008-2009 global financial crisis. In July, during the Trade Ministers meeting in Shanghai, there were some very good commitments around a G20 trade action plan and investment policy principles. The B20 hopes that G20 leaders will take these recommendations and put them into confirmed action. There are also some very interesting proposals around innovation, entrepreneurship and e-commerce. The fundamental steps the G20 members need to take are around structural reform and infrastructure in all economies whether developed, emerging or developing. As part of this we need more transparency around national development plans, and encourage more investment in green energy to meet the Paris COP21 commitments. The 11th G20 Summit will be held in Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province on September 4 and 5. Milliner tells Peoples Daily that he is very much looking forward to going to Hangzhou. Its a beautiful city and obviously has played such a significant part in Chinas history as one of the great cities of the past, but now its a modern city as so many of the cities in China. I have had a lot to do with people from Hangzhou, but what I always enjoy in China is no matter which city you are in, people are always from anywhere else in China, they always talk about their hometown. So it will be a great opportunity to go and visit, I am sorry I cant be there longer but I will come back, I am sure! Dans la meme rubrique : < > China's FAST discovers largest atomic cloud in universe China to make greater contributions to human progress China willing to work with the international community to promote equality, mutual learning, dialogue, and inclusiveness among civilizations Pour toute information, contactez-nous au : +(235) 99267667 ; 62883277 ; 66267667 (Bureau N'Djamena) English News It is the right time for China to host G20 Summit: Singapore Ambassador Alwihda Info | Par peoplesdaily - 5 Septembre 2016 China has proposed the G20 formulate high-level principles on international fugitive repatriation and asset recovery, set up a research center in this field and drafted a 2017-2018 anti-corruption action plan. By Ji Peijuan from Peoples Daily This year is the right time for China, a developing nation, to host the G20 summit, Singapores Ambassador to China Stanley Loh Ka Leung told the Peoples Daily, further explaining that developing nations now boast more expectations on delivering louder voices and posing greater influence on world economy via this platform hosted by China. The largest-ever presence of representatives from the developing world embodies an inclusive principle, a key word of this years summit theme, Loh added. Todays world expects a more inclusive G20, he said, pointing out that acknowledgment from the international community is the precondition to thoroughly implement the G20 consensus, but such recognition will come only when the G20 is more inclusive. Since worlds traditional development models have come to bottlenecks, new impetus are now required to stimulate a new round of development. Given such backdrop, incorporation of break a new path for growth into major summit agendas by China is a wise choice, the ambassador said. In recent years, China has been accelerating its transformation and upgrade pace and giving priority to structural reform, especially the supply-side structural reform. At the same time, many other world economies are also attempting to find new growth drivers through structural reform. Against this background, We can refer each others experience in structural reform, and Chinas precious experience can be used a reference for other countries, Loh said. Commenting on anti-corruption cooperation, another key topic of this years summit, Loh called on global cooperation to address this common challenge, saying that China has had a better-than-expected performance in anti-corruption efforts. China has proposed the G20 formulate high-level principles on international fugitive repatriation and asset recovery, set up a research center in this field and drafted a 2017-2018 anti-corruption action plan. The ambassador also called on the members to increase their communications with non-G20 members and consider the latters suggestions when making final decisions. The Global Governance Group (3G), an informal coalition established at Singapores proposal in 2009, is one of such platforms to facilitate their exchanges, according to Loh. He stressed that China is now contributing to regional and global development via the initiatives of the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) and the Belt and Road. The former can fill other Asian nations gaps in infrastructure construction and boost their economic development, while the latter can narrow the regional wealth gap by driving economic development through improved connectivity, the ambassador added. Dans la meme rubrique : < > China's FAST discovers largest atomic cloud in universe China to make greater contributions to human progress China willing to work with the international community to promote equality, mutual learning, dialogue, and inclusiveness among civilizations Pour toute information, contactez-nous au : +(235) 99267667 ; 62883277 ; 66267667 (Bureau N'Djamena) The Transitional Government of National Unity of South Sudan expressed its determination to implement the Agreement on the Resolution of the Conflict in South Sudan, in particular the reform agenda, now that the Transitional National Legislative Assembly is in place. The members of the United Nations Security Council and the Transitional Government of National Unity []http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Appa-sourceTheAfric... English News New Zealand benefits from G20 commitment to sustain growth: diplomat Alwihda Info | Par peoplesdaily - 5 Septembre 2016 By Ji Peijuan from Peoples Daily New Zealand expects to benefit from the commitment made by G20 members to sustain global economic growth, and profit from a facilitated trade and investment flow, New Zealand Ambassador to China John McKinnon told the Peoples Daily ahead of the upcoming G20 Hangzhou Summit. By gathering the leaders of most important economies, the G20 will deliver the world their commitment to a steady global economic recovery, the ambassador said, adding that this agenda is important not only to G20 members, but to other nations including New Zealand. McKinnon hailed the leadership demonstrated by China as host of this years summit. As the worlds second largest economy and major trade partner of most G20 members, China now plays an important part in the global economy, he added. After hosting the APEC Economic Leaders' Meeting two years ago, the country will soon host this years G20 Summit and more international conferences in the coming years. These events will also boost Chinas influence in the global economy, McKinnon added. He also praised the Hangzhou Summits theme, Toward an Innovative, Invigorated, Interconnected and Inclusive World Economy, saying that the four key words perfectly embody the demands of the world economy and his country. He further explained that a developed nation like New Zealand needs innovation very much. In addition, his country focuses on innovation in agricultural technology, environment, health care and other fields, and is collaborating with China in most of these sectors. In addition to innovation, an open and invigorated economy is the precondition for sustainable growth, while interconnection is an indispensably component of the world economy, the ambassador added, saying New Zealand is a reliable trade partner of China and other parts of the world. Inclusiveness represents global economic development, which means that economic growth should bring equal benefits to all partners, McKinnon said. New Zealand attended the G20 Trade Ministers Meeting in July as an observer, during which the G20 strategy for global trade growth and global trade governance were discussed. These will also be included in the outcomes of the Hangzhou Summit. McKinnon said his country expects to benefit from facilitated trade and investment flow. New Zealand is the first developed country to recognize Chinas market economy status as well as the first to sign a free trade agreement with China, while China was New Zealands second largest trading partner and largest export destination in 2015. The two governments have agreed to increase bilateral trade to about 30 billion NZD by 2020. Citing booming bilateral trade in the dairy industry, he said he is confident the goal would be reached. China is the largest export destination of New Zealands dairy products, he said, adding that in the past, Chinese dairy companies like Yili and Mengniu have expanded their distribution in his country, while New Zealand exported more dairy products, kiwifruit, oysters, spiny lobsters, haliotis and clams to China. New Zealand is now benefiting from the G20s commitment to ensuring the steady growth of the world economy, he concluded at last. Dans la meme rubrique : < > China's FAST discovers largest atomic cloud in universe China to make greater contributions to human progress China willing to work with the international community to promote equality, mutual learning, dialogue, and inclusiveness among civilizations Pour toute information, contactez-nous au : +(235) 99267667 ; 62883277 ; 66267667 (Bureau N'Djamena) The rate of impunity for crimes against journalists remains extremely high worldwide, according to UNESCO figures, which show that since 2006, fewer than 7% of these crimes have been brought to justice. In Africa, only five of the 131 murders of journalists committed between 2006 and 2015 have been brought to court. UNESCO and the []http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Appa-sourceTheAfric... English News USA should stop encouraging India for further killing & bloodshed in Kashmir Alwihda Info | Par Hem Raj Jain - 5 Septembre 2016 Bengaluru, India Sub:- (i)- After farce of All Party Delegation (APD) the USA should understand lack of seriousness of India (ii)- GOI is embolden to violently harass Kashmiris due to irresponsible policy of USA (iii)- APD played over smart and didnt meet OFFICIALLY with Hurriyat (iv)- Hurriyat in 5 point demand mainly wanted Kashmir to be recognized as disputed territory (v) APD did not respond to this demand before coming to Kashmir (vi)- Does USA agree with GOI that J&K is not disputed territory (vii)- Even if yes, why USA doesnt constrain India to talk to Pakistan for retrieve of PoJK --- Human rights friendly world-community should expect that the USA, which is so ably supported by so many think tanks, will understand the farce which India played [by way of two day visit to Kashmir on September 4 & 5 of All Party Delegation (APD) of 30 Member of Parliament under the leadership of Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh] and will stop encouraging India to carry out further killing & bloodshed in Kashmir as explained below:- (1)- Both India and Pakistan consider J&K to be integral part of their country. Hence Pakistan tried to take militarily Kashmir in 1947, 1948, 1965, 1971 during Kargil etc but India never tried (not even once) to retrieve PoJK hence due to adverse possession Pakistan has better claim on J&K. Having said that government of India (GOI) led by PM Modi of BJP has, since last two years, stopped talking to Pakistan even for retrieve of PoJK on the lame excuse that Pakistan is talking to Hurriyat (though in agenda of alliance of PDP-BJP government in J&K it is mentioned that government itself will talk to Hurriyat). Moreover Pakistan is not making Hurriyat the third party in dispute as during bilateral talks only two parties India and Pakistan are supposed to be on table. (2)- The irresponsibility of India is best reflected the way the farce was enacted through APD as it didnt meet OFFICIALLY with Hurriyat though in 5 point demand (published in media much before APD left Delhi for Sri Nagar) Hurriyat mainly wanted Kashmir to be recognized as disputed territory which USA also recognizes so (hence asks India and Pakistan to resolve Kashmir problem thorough bilateral dialogue). (3)- But APD wasted this opportunity to bring peace in Kashmir (where 73 are killed, ~ 5,000 civilians injured ~ 150 eyes injured by pellet guns, immense destruction of properties and over 55 days of curfew) on the contrary it indulged in meaningless arguments (about some members of APD who went to meet Hurriyat leaders) that APD did not go OFFICIALLY to Hurriyat leaders (generally called as Separatists though they did not demand, before said APD visit, the separation of J&K from India rather are only demanding that Kashmir should be recognized as disputed territory). OPD further absurdly said that there was no OFFICIAL invitation to Hurriyat from APD or GOI or government of J&K rather an invitation was there to Hurriyat by PDP President Mehbooba (and not Chief Minister Mehbooba). (4)- On the top of it during debates on prominent TV channels of India the spokesperson of BJP castigated the APD members (who went to meet the Hurriyat leaders) as stooges of Pakistani sponsored Separatists who went with a begging bowl to Separatists (hence are anti-national). (5)- USA should understand that despite secular India saying that entire J&K is an integral part of India it not only does nothing (not even talk to Pakistan) for retrieving PoJK for the simple that PoJK is Muslim populated but Hindus are also taking revenge against Muslims of Kashmir (by way of exposing Kashmiris to Indian Army with AFSPA etc with immense violation of human rights) for the atrocities committed by Muslim invaders and rulers against Hindus for ~ 1,000 years Hence Hindu India is simply not interested in solving Kashmir problem and hardly concerned even if thousands of Kashmiris are bleeding and weeping profusely (during on-going unrest also). (6)- Due to new friendship of USA with India (due to China factor) USA is also giving only lip service to dialogue between India and Pakistan for resolving Kashmir dispute. But USA does not realize that this Indo-US new friendship has made India absolutely irresponsible and now India is simply not bothered about talking to Pakistan for Kashmir solution which makes even the claim of India (that entire J&K is integral part of India) as absurd for the simple reason that about half of J&K is with Pakistan (and some with China through Pakistan). (7)- Hence USA Should understand that (by way of condoning said irresponsible attitude of GOI) the responsibility of all the on-going killings and bloodshed in Kashmir is on USA too [who claims to be the leader of free world despite what it did in bringing gory situation in Ukraine and NAME (Especially in Syria) by way of its acts of omission]. Therefore for protecting the good reputation of the father of the nation of USA (who through Americanism gave such respect for USA as the leader of free world) the present US government should immediately call the bluff of GOI and should constrain GOI to sit with Pakistan for resolving Kashmir problem so that GOI may not indulge in further killing and bloodshed of beleaguered Kashmiris. Regards Hem Raj Jain (Author of Betrayal of Americanism) Bengaluru, India Dans la meme rubrique : < > China's FAST discovers largest atomic cloud in universe China to make greater contributions to human progress China willing to work with the international community to promote equality, mutual learning, dialogue, and inclusiveness among civilizations Pour toute information, contactez-nous au : +(235) 99267667 ; 62883277 ; 66267667 (Bureau N'Djamena) The Department of Defense first tried to shut down payday lending near military bases in 2007, but its rules contained loopholes wide enough to drive a tank through. Today, high-cost lenders remain fixtures outside the gates of bases from coast to coast. On Friday the Pentagon unveiled its latest attempt to protect active-duty members of the military from the debt cycle that often accompanies small-dollar consumer credit. The proposed regulations aim to make it harder for high-cost lenders to find ways around an annual percentage rate cap of 36% for service members. The types of borrowing covered by the regulation would include installment loans, credit cards and other open-end credit products, according to a Pentagon press release. Those categories were excluded from the earlier version of the rules. The revised rules could have a significant impact on the credit-card business, since plastic used by a member of the military would be subject to certain consumer protections that do not apply to the rest of the card industry. In particular, the proposal appears to prohibit credit cards sold to active-duty military members from including mandatory arbitration clauses. Mandatory arbitration, which is commonplace throughout the card industry, is opposed by consumer advocates because it blocks borrowers from going to court. But the Pentagon's press release also offered certain assurances to banks and other mainstream lenders. In the case of credit cards, it said that "bona fide fees that are reasonable and customary" will be excluded from the 36% interest rate cap. The press release also promises simplified disclosure obligations for lenders. In addition, the Defense Department stated that lenders who check an existing database to determine whether borrowers are covered by the law will receive a safe harbor from legal liability. The proposal drew praise from Sen. Jack Reed, D-R.I., who led the charge in Congress to close loopholes in the earlier regulations. "This is good news for our troops and their families that will help prevent unscrupulous lenders from targeting our soldiers and saddling them with unnecessary debt," Reed said in a news release. "This lets our troops know we have their backs and are looking out for their future while they are out there working hard to protect us." Gary Kalman, director of federal policy at the Center for Responsible Lending, expressed hope that the regulations will prevent high-cost lenders from targeting members of the military. "I think they're actually going to have to follow the rules," he said. Meanwhile, representatives from banking trade groups, who spoke Thursday before the rules were released, said they hope the new restrictions will not go too far. "I know from talking to representatives from the Department of Defense that they were very sensitive to not limiting credit," said Robert Rowe, vice president and senior counsel at the American Bankers Association. Congress passed the Military Lending Act in 2006 after the Pentagon issued a report finding that predatory lending was undermining military readiness. The law specified the 36% annual interest rate cap, but it largely deferred to the Pentagon about which specific types of credit should be covered. The regulations released by the Defense Department in 2007 cover payday loans of 91 days or less, auto-title loans of 181 days or less, and tax refund anticipation loans. Those loans are subject to the interest rate cap, a ban on prepayment penalties and a ban on mandatory arbitration clauses. The restrictions apply to active-duty members of the military and their dependents. Credit cards and other forms of open-end credit are currently exempt. So are installment loans of 92 days or more, and car-title loans of 182 days or more. Outside military bases such as Fort Hood in Texas and the Jacksonville Naval Air Station in Florida, as well as on the Internet, high-cost lenders have gotten around the Pentagon rules by simply tweaking the terms of their products. Last year, Congress passed new legislation requiring the Defense Department to review the rules it had developed six years earlier. Then in April, the Pentagon signaled in a report that it planned to expand the types of credit that are subject to the interest rate cap and other consumer protections. "I think there is a recognition that narrow definitions for these types of products don't work," said Tom Feltner, director of financial services at the Consumer Federation of America. "I think the market has changed, lending practices have changed, and I think the rules need to change with it." Banking trade groups including the ABA, the Consumer Bankers Association, the Independent Community Bankers of America and the Association of Military Banks of America opposed making revisions to the regulations. "The problem with expanding coverage is that it has unintended consequences for service members and their families since an expanded definition also would capture many beneficial credit products," the banking trade groups wrote last year in a comment letter. Still, the president and chief executive officer of the Association of Military Banks of America, Andrew Egeland, said Thursday that his organization supports the purpose behind the Defense Department's new proposal. "And that is to deal with the people who have been able to escape the scrutiny and the supervision, and still prey on members of the military," he said. The Defense Department developed the proposed rule after consulting with federal banking agencies, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, the Federal Trade Commission and other agencies. The public will have the opportunity to file comments on the proposal before it is finalized. Labor Day weekend is here, marking the end of summer and the beginning of the real election season. Donald Trump finds himself up by one point in the latest Rasmussen poll, while other polls show a rapidly shrinking Hillary Clinton lead. The momentum seems to be shifting, especially following Trump's visit to Mexico and his detailed immigration policy speech not to mention the Friday afternoon dump of Clinton's FBI interview. Yet the #NeverTrumps are not giving up. Many are doubling down on their efforts to stop their party's nominee. Despite Ted Cruz pledging to support the eventual Republican nominee, he withheld his endorsement. His supporters continue to run ads against Trump in swing states. What will this accomplish? "Free the Delegates" and "Vote Your Conscience" are catchy phrases to shout from atop a moral high horse. These #NeverTrumps view themselves as modern-day Paul Reveres, riding through America shouting, "Trump is coming." I'm here, not on my high horse, but simply writing to tell these #NeverTrumps that the real phrase that needs to be shouted during election season is "The Democrats are coming." If Hillary Clinton wins in November, the odds of Republicans ever winning the White House again are lower than the odds of Barbra Streisand endorsing Donald Trump for president. This may well be the last chance for Republican relevance in a national election. Do the #NeverTrumps realize this? Do they care? Start with illegal immigrants in the U.S. The Department of Homeland Security estimates this number at 11.4 million. Others, such as Mexico's former ambassador to the U.S., believe that the number is closer to 30 million. What happens to illegal immigrants under a Hillary Clinton presidency? Mrs. Clinton has promised "comprehensive immigration reform" within her first 100 days in office. This is a fancy way of saying "path to citizenship" or amnesty. Doesn't this have to pass via Congress? Yes, and it probably will, given previous Gang of Eight support from Marco Rubio and John McCain as well as from Speaker Paul Ryan. And if a few pesky House Republicans get in the way, Mrs. Clinton can always proclaim amnesty via the executive order pathway, perfected, without Republican resistance, during the Obama presidency. Think you can stop executive order amnesty? How? By defunding government agencies? Or impeachment? During the Obama administration, the Republican congressional leadership took these checks and balances off the table, leaving President Obama to tinker with Obamacare without consequence. Any reason to believe they wouldn't roll over in similar fashion before a President Clinton? Well then the Supreme Court can stop it. Really? The same Supreme Court that twisted itself into a pretzel to justify the constitutionality of Obamacare? There are already four solidly liberal votes on the Supreme Court with four sometimes, but not always, conservative votes. Any bets on whom a President Clinton would appoint to be the tie-breaking ninth vote? More than likely another liberal Justice Ginsburg, who was appointed by President Bill Clinton. Building on that liberal majority during her presidency, Clinton would create a rubber-stamp court for her progressive agenda. Any other checks and balances we don't know about? If Congress and the Supreme Court don't check the executive branch, who will? Big media will be the wind in Mrs. Clinton's sails just as they were for President Obama. A "path to citizenship" is a path to voting, since that is a fundamental right of citizenship. How will these new 11-30 million citizens vote? Pew Research Center surveyed Latino immigrants who are not U.S. citizens or legal permanent residents. Thirty-one percent identified as Democrats, only 4 percent as Republicans. Latino voters who are U.S. citizens identify as Democrats over Republicans by 54 percent to 11 percent. In the 2012 presidential election, Latino voters chose Obama over Romney by 71-27 percent. Based on these numbers, for the sake of argument, assume that newly legalized immigrants will vote Democrat over Republican by a 5-to-1 margin. How close are presidential elections? Barack Obama beat John McCain by 9.5 million popular votes. Obama beat Mitt Romney by 5 million popular votes. Granted, the election will be decided by the electoral college and the vote tally in a few battleground states, but the popular vote is still a good barometer of electoral success. No one knows for sure how many illegal immigrants are currently in the U.S., but the doorway is wide open with a steady flow of from across our southern border and from places unknown in the Middle East. If the 11 million figure is accurate, with a 5-to-1 ratio favoring Democrats, this would be a net gain of 8 million or so new Democrat voters. If 30 million illegal immigrants can vote, there will be well over 20 million additional votes for the candidate with a D after their names more than the margin of Reagan over Mondale in 1984 (17 million) and Nixon over McGovern in 1972 (18 million), both considered landslide elections. This analysis does not include the votes bought through new entitlements, proudly brought to you by your Democrat president. Student loan forgiveness, single-payer health care to replace the imploding Obamacare, government reparations for any group feeling aggrieved or mistreated, and so on. Bottom line is permanent minority status for Republicans as a national governing party. As much chance of winning the White House as Dole, McCain, or Romney. Probably less. Exactly as Ted Kennedy planned 50 years ago when he ushered the 1965 Immigration and Nationality Act through Congress. #NeverTrumps can moralize about the Constitution and presidential temperament all they want, but come November 8, a choice is necessary. Republicans who can't pull the lever for Trump are in essence pulling it for Clinton. Ditto a vote for a third-party candidate like Gary Johnson, who, by the way, supports Obama's executive amnesty. Go ahead, Republicans. Wrestle with your conscience, ride on your high horse, wrapped in your morals and ethics. This may be the last election where you have a vote that matters. Brian C Joondeph, M.D., MPS is a Denver-based retina surgeon, radio personality, and writer. Follow him on Facebook and Twitter. The striking down of North Carolinas 2013 voting law by the U.S. Court of Appeals 4th Circuit, and the Supreme Courts refusal to reinstate the law, was very disappointing. The court found the law to be discriminating against black Americans. In my opinion, the courts ruling, at the urging of the Democratic Party, was discriminatory and demeaning! The following quotes from the 4th Circuits ruling can be found on pages 14, 43, and 75. The law required in-person voters to show certain photo IDs, beginning in 2016, which African Americans disproportionately lacked The district court specifically found that the removal of public assistance IDs in particular was suspect, because a reasonable legislator would be aware of the socioeconomic disparities endured by African Americans and could have surmised that African Americans would be more likely to possess this form of ID. if an in-person voter cannot present a qualifying form of photo ID which African Americans are more likely to lack Since the court ruled that black Americans disproportionately lack the ability to obtain proper ID, why should they need proper identification at all? If the courts logic is fully applied, black Americans should be exempt from obtaining drivers licenses, or any other government-approved form of ID necessary to purchase alcohol, tobacco, or medication, or to perform any function that requires proper ID. The court all but stated that black Americans are inferior and in need of special benefits; therefore, all us black folks can thank the Democratic Party for saving us once again! Democrats are always looking out for the best interest of black Americans. We should thank them for creating the Ku Klux Klan and bringing Southern lynching into vogue. We should also thank them for fighting against the implementation of the 15th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. Their efforts forced Southern blacks to wait an additional 95 years for the Voting Rights Act of 1965 to be signed. We must never forget the innovative requirements they brought to the voting booth: literacy tests, poll taxes, and other Jim Crow separate-but-equal procedures. This Democratic push to protect blacks from the necessity to obtain proper voter identification is just another form of voluntary servitude. If you cant chain the person, chain the mind! By constantly programming black Americans to the effect that the Republicans are racist and presenting themselves as saviors, Democrats have successfully created freed slavery. The key is to keep black minds fixated on Democrats as their only way out of poverty. Allow a bite of the carrot every now and then, but never permit access to the crop. Let a few achieve greatness to entice the masses, but never permit the masses to achieve greatness. Chains are not necessary if the mind is imprisoned. The last thing black Americans should want is elections that do not require proper voter identification from everyone. Blacks make up less than 15% of the population and whites over 70%. If every black man, woman, and child voted, all of them together would never be able to offset the white vote if it was against them. The only assurance that every black vote will count is if every counted vote comes from identifiable voters. Black Americans cannot expect to be treated as adults and children at the same time. Since there are no rights without responsibilities, we must be responsible enough to partake of our rights. We will never achieve the achievable by allowing others to steer our course. We must navigate this land called the United States of America on our own. Then, and only then, will we be able to stand alongside every other group of Americans equally. Samuel E. Tolley, III, CPM, B.A., M.A. is the author of Enemy of Christ: Revelation 21:8. Follow Samuel on his website, inhimfirst.com and email inhimfirst@sbcglobal.net, Facebook, or Twitter. At a news conference held during the G-20 summit, European Council president Donald Tusk warned that the "practical capability" of Europe to accept more refugees is at its limit. AFP: Europe is "close to limits" on its ability to accept new waves of refugees, EU President Donald Tusk said Sunday, urging the broader international community to shoulder its share of the burden. "The practical capability of Europe to host new waves of refugees, not to mention irregular economic migrants, is close to limits," he told a press conference on the sidelines of the G20 summit. A steady stream of refugees has flowed into Europe over the last year, largely fleeing the civil war in Syria. The issue has become a political hot potato for leaders in the region as a series of Islamist terror attacks and rising anti-globalisation sentiment have combined to create an increasingly inhospitable environment for refugees from the brutal conflict. The highly publicised drowning of a three-year-old Syrian boy last year temporarily softened hostility to migrants, after pictures of his corpse lying on a Greek beach rapidly became an emblematic image of the suffering involved in their journeys. Germany threw open its borders and volunteers across Europe flocked to train stations and frontier crossings to welcome those fleeing war and poverty. But a major backlash swiftly followed. The EU's outer borders have since come back down hard, the so-called Balkan migrant route has shut and anti-migrant sentiment has soared. Angela Merkel has been a strong voice pushing to continue to accept refugees. Although she won praise at first, the mood has since turned, giving way to fears over how Europe's biggest economy will manage to integrate the million people who arrived last year alone. Her decision has left her increasingly isolated in Europe, and exposed her to heavy criticism at home, including from her own conservative allies. Cheryl Mills sat in on Hillary Clintons FBI interrogation a highly irregular procedure, given her status as a material witness and possible suspect. This foreclosed the common investigative procedure of questioning witnesses separately and leveraging the differences in their stories. The basis for this was the claim that Mills was also Hillarys personal attorney. Whether Cheryl Mills was ever Hillary Clinton's attorney could be resolved by asking her to produce their retainer agreement. In the District of Columbia and most other jurisdictions, a lawyer must have a written agreement with a person in order to act as his lawyer. Lawyers are also required to keep contemporaneous records of their time. Neither of these things is privileged, and courts have ordered lawyers to produce them to the other side when issues of representation arise. If this were in front of a judge instead of a corrupt agency, you could argue that if there is no evidence of an attorney-client relationship (mainly the retainer agreement), then there is no privilege. Mills is certainly not the first lawyer to invoke the privilege to hide her own criminal conduct. A judge could easily deal with this issue, but for some reason the FBI cannot. A grand jury should have been convened, rather than the very weak investigation done by the FBI, which seemed designed to fall short from the beginning. I'm not sure a congressional investigation will be any better, but Ms. Mills should not be allowed to get away with this without some proof of her legal representation. Author's Update: Rule 1.5(b) of the D.C. Rules of Professional Conduct, which applies to retainer agreements, states: [w]hen the lawyer has not regularly represented the client, the basis or rate of the fee, the scope of the lawyers representation, and the expenses for which the client will be responsible shall be communicated to the client, in writing, before or within a reasonable time after commencing the representation. Regardless of any fee arrangement, Mills would have had to communicate the scope of the representation to Clinton, in writing. It's true that an attorney-client relationship can be formed by accident, if a person mistakenly believes that an attorney is representing them. Although it's conceivable that this occurred between Mills and Clinton, Mills would still have had an ethical duty to reduce their understanding to writing within a reasonable time. Both Mills and Clinton are attorneys, and are expected to know these rules. With respect to refusing to answer questions, the party asserting a privilege bears the burden of proof. Absent a retainer agreement, Mills would have to prove this through other evidence, such as time keeping records. If there is no evidence, other than Mills' self-serving statements, I don't think she could meet the burden of proof. President Obama played down the altercations that took place on the tarmac upon his arrival in China for the G-20 summit, saying he wouldn't "overcrank the significance" of the incidents. But the president said nothing about the most significant incident at the airport: Chinese officials refused to roll out a red carpet staircase for the president to disembark from the plane, forcing him to exit from the rear of the craft. Obama shrugged off the confrontations between the press and Chinese officials as something that "happens in other countries where we travel." Obama didn't give any examples of where else an American president had been so disrespected. Guardian: This is a president who courts humiliation, who believes that America deserves to be disrespected. Most other presidents treated in this manner would have refused to disembark from the plane until the red carpet staircase had been pushed out. And if it didn't materialize, they would have taken off and gone home. But Obama doesn't have it in him to blow up China's moment in the sun. As in everything else, he flinched and endured the humiliation. Obama's cowardliness extends to others in his administration. Secretary of State John Kerry was repeatedly screamed at by his Iranian counterpart during the negotiations over the nuclear deal. Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif was ordered by Supreme Leader Khamenei to stop shouting at Kerry, who sat there like a whipped dog and took it. No doubt Kerry believed that the U.S. deserves that kind of treatment, too. If we conservatives have the wit to exploit it, a new study offers ammunition to attack a critical process by which the left has recruited an ever larger share of adolescents as they grow into adults and voters. The ruthless propagandists of the left, as shrewdly as any Madison Avenue advertising strategy, have linked their product to sex. That is shrewd, because a major portion of adolescent energies are devoted to sex, real, planned, or imagined, and those who offer a vision of free and easy sex with no consequences have an effective path into the emerging life preferences of these adults-in-development. For roughly the last century, the cultural left has asserted that conservatives are uptight, unhappy prudes anxious to impose their antediluvian views on their betters. Harold Ross, the legendary founding editor of The New Yorker (which virtually defined the cultural attitudes conservatives now denounce as elitist), alluded to this when he famously declared that the magazine was not intended for the little old lady in Dubuque. Margaret Meads anthropological research in Samoa, which has subsequently been highly contested, came as a godsend in 1928, with the publication of Coming of Age in Samoa. She argued that Samoans lacked the inhibitions we in the West observed back then and were all the healthier for it. The most spectacularly obvious example of this propaganda strategy came in the early stages of the Vietnam War, promising sex to young males who resisted the draft. Of course, Judeo-Christian religious teaching informs us that free and easy sex is no path to salvation or happiness, but as the decades passed, a variety of forces, many of them related to the same wave of cultural leftists grabbing control of the commanding heights of the academy and culture, weakened the power of religious constraints. Simultaneously, the availability of sex to youngsters skyrocketed with the invention and legalization (via the Supreme Courts Griswold decision) of the birth control pill. It takes a lot of maturity to resist the gratification of urges at their most powerful in adolescence and post-adolescence. But at last we have some evidence to prove that the progressive bargain with youth is a fraud. Via Buzzfeed with a hat tip to John Hinderaker: People who describe themselves as very right wing are the most likely to be satisfied with their sex lives, according to a survey carried out across five European countries by the polling company YouGov. The survey of more than 19,000 people in the UK, Germany, France, Denmark and Sweden, shared exclusively with BuzzFeed News, found in most countries sexual satisfaction increased the further right you went along the political spectrum. In the UK, people with left wing politics were least likely to describe their sex lives as satisfying (with 66% of people saying they were), versus 73% for those saying they were very right wing. American Thinker is not edited for the sexually frustrated progressive in Berkeley. We pity them. Pass the word. The political beating that the CDU took this weekend was not the first indication of public opinion souring towards Merkel's party with local elections earlier this year also showing a rise in support for the AfD. Carsten Brzeski, chief economist at ING-DiBa, said in a note on Monday that the latest election was "another shot across the bow for the national government and Chancellor Angela Merkel." He noted that the state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern has around 1.3 million voters, the highest youth unemployment rate of all German states, a high poverty rate and that "the extreme right-wing party, NPD (National Democratic Party), has been member of the regional parliament for ten years". "Therefore, yesterday's results are obviously not representative but they definitely are symbolic for Chancellor Merkel and the entire German landscape." The big test case ahead of the 2017 national elections will be next year's elections in North Rhine Westphalia, a state which has more voters than all eastern German states together, Brzeski noted. In all, however, he said that Sunday's result would not "change Chancellor Merkel's stance on the refugees or the economy but the atmosphere in her own government and party will become rougher." Another test of the CDU's popularity will be seen when Berlin's state election is held on September 18, however. While Alavan's Newton said in his note, "let's see what happens in Berlin a fortnight from now (in the state election) before writing Merkel off," another analyst said the Berlin election could force the CDU into an uncomfortable position with the SPD a party that, despite partnering the CDU/CSU in power, has criticized her migrant policy. It is a reasonable question to ask if Barack Obama will outdo the Clintons in accumulating wealth in his post-presidency. Gardiner Harris of the New York Times reports that the president has ambitions that would indicate wealth of that magnitude: After he is out of the White House, President Obama has said that he wants to become a venture capitalist, own part of an N.B.A. franchise and avoid taking off his shoes during security screenings at commercial airports. That last item, of course, indicates a desire to travel exclusively by private jet. He will be off to a good start: All of those goals, serious or not, might soon be achievable if Mr. Obama and his wife, Michelle, sign post-presidency book contracts for what literary agents and major publishers say could amount to $20 million to $45 million more than enough to pay the estimated $22,000 monthly rent for the nine-bedroom home they will occupy in the Kalorama neighborhood of Washington and foot the bill for flights on private jets. (Mr. Obama has said he would like to avoid commercial flights once he surrenders Air Force One.) But as Richard Baehr pointed out to me, "he could be the first billionaire ex-president, given his age. At a hedge fund, he could do as little as Rahm Emanuel did at his firm, but earn 25 times as much." One potential fly in the ointment: The National Enquirer has reported for months that the Obamas will divorce after they leave the White House. I have no idea if their sources for this are equal to their enterprise reporting on John Edwards. If the Obamas do divorce, that might halve the existing assets, but it would also mean that post-divorce earnings of Barack would not be claimed by Michelle, perhaps encouraging him to recover his financial losses rapidly. A massive wooden replica model of 17th century London was set ablaze on the River Thames on Sunday night to mark the 350th anniversary of the Great Fire of London that razed the city in 1666. The 120-meter-long wooden model of Londons skyline, titled London 1666, was designed by the American artist David Best, who is best known for building immense structures from wood and burning them to the ground, mostly for Nevadas annual Burning Man festival. The exhibitions and events marking the anniversary included, aside from the model burning, public art installations, tours, food market and an unusual exhibition of recipes and remedies for burns and scalds used at the time of the fire. Photo credit: andrew/Flickr The Great Fire of London, which started at the bakery on Pudding Lane, on the night of September 2, 1666, raged for four days, destroying 80% of the mostly wooden buildings in the medieval city of London. It left an estimated 70,000 of the city's 80,000 inhabitants homeless. Officially, only six people were reported to have died, because the poor and middle-class people were not documented. Besides, the heat of the fire was so great that many victims might have been totally consumed by the fire leaving little to no skeletal remains. London, as we know today, was eventually rebuilt with grey Portland stone, but the old street layout was preserved. Photo credit: CityAM Photo credit: Julian Walker/Flickr Photo credit: andrew/Flickr Photo credit: andrew/Flickr Photo credit: andrew/Flickr Photo credit: andrew/Flickr Photo credit: andrew/Flickr (ANSA) - Vatican City, September 5 - Mother Teresa, revered for her work with the poor in India, was proclaimed a saint by Pope Francis on Sunday. An estimated 120,000 people filled Saint Peter's Square for the canonization ceremony - including hundreds of members of her Missionaries of Charity order, who had front-row seats alongside 1,500 homeless people from across Italy. In his homily, Pope Francis said Teresa was "a dispenser of divine mercy" who held world powers to account. "She made her voice heard before the powers of the world, so that they might recognize their guilt for the crimes of poverty they themselves created," he said. Born Agnes Gonxhe Bojaxhiu to Albanian parents on August 26, 1910, in Skopje, the current capital of Macedonia, Teresa travelled to India in 1929 as a member of the Sisters of Loreto before receiving what she described as a "calling within a calling" to found a new order devoted to caring for the "poorest of the poor" in the slums of the Indian city of Calcutta. In 1950 she founded the Missionaries of Charity, which has since spread to countries around the world and runs hospices for terminal HIV/AIDS, leprosy and tuberculosis patients, as well as soup kitchens, dispensaries and mobile clinics, children's and family counselling programmes, orphanages, and schools. Its over 4,000 members follow Teresa's injunction to work on "small things with great love" for those suffering both material and spiritual poverty. Mother Teresa in 1979 received a Nobel Peace Prize for her humanitarian work. She died on September 5, 1997, at the age of 87 and was beatified by the Holy See in October 2003. Beatification is one of the steps towards possible canonisation, which requires the documentation of a miracle performed from the candidate's intercession. In 2002, the Vatican recognised as a miracle the healing of a tumour in the abdomen of an Indian woman, reportedly after the application of a locket containing Mother Teresa's picture. Last year, Pope Francis recognized as a miracle the healing of a Brazilian man with several brain tumours in 2008. The staunchly pro-life nun was not a stranger to controversy during her lifetime, when some criticized her for poor conditions at the clinics she ran in spite of millions in donations. ROME - The Mantua Literature Festival "Festivaletteratura", now in its 20th edition and taking place September 7-11, opens a window this year on the world of migrants in Italy. The first migrant-themed event takes place on opening day, September 7, with Gazmend Kapllani, author of A Short Border Handbook. It tells the story of Kapllani's own migratory experience in the 1990s, when he crossed the border between Albania and Greece to live in a foreign country that turned out not to be the welcoming paradise he expected. Also on September 7, Leonardo Zanier and Pierluigi Di Piazza will present a collection of stories in the language of Friuli from 1964, tales of the many Italians from that area who left to find their fortunes elsewhere. The collection has been translated into several languages and is now coming out in an Arab version in solidarity with the thousands of men and women currently fleeing wars and hunger. As part of the Festival, Mantua - which is this year's Italian Capital of Culture - will also offer a "migration information point" for five days in Piazza Erbe, in collaboration with Open Migration and Forensic Oceanography. Festival organisers said its goal is to "provide information and tools to allow for forming an unemotional, unprejudiced opinion on migration". They said the information point will allow visitors to test their knowledge on the topic as well as hear from experts and first-hand witnesses to help break down the most commonly held stereotypes and acquire greater awareness. Various events highlighting the Mediterranean's other shore will also be part of the Festival, including one called "Una Citta in Libri: Alessandria d'Egitto" (A City in Books: Alexandria, Egypt), curated by Elisabetta Bartuli and Luca Scarlini. Another, titled "Un Muro Tra Noi" (A Wall Between Us), will feature Borderlife author Dorit Rabinyan, whose novel tells the love story between a researcher who served in the Israeli Defense Forces and a Palestinian painter. Boualem Sansal will present his Orwellian novel set in Algiers, "2084", which in 2015 won the French literary award Gran Prix du roman de l'Academie francaise. And, in a talk open to adults as well as children ages 12 and up, two foreign authors living in Italy - Tsegehans Weldeslassie of Eritrea and Elvira Mujcic of Bosnia - will examine the true meaning of exile and of being a refugee. (ANSAmed). Islam: Co-mai launches 'Christians in mosques' on 9/11 'Over 1,000 adhesions from across Italy' (ANSAmed) - ROME, SEPTEMBER 5 - Over 1,000 among ''federations, associations, communities, Arab and Muslim organizations, Italians of foreign origin and mosques from all over Italy'' have adhered to an initiative launched by the president of Co-mai (Community of the Arab world in Italy), Foad Aodi, that will include mosques and Muslim places of worship open to Christians on September 11 and 12. The idea, explained Aodi, on the anniversary of the 9/11 attacks in the US, is to continue the initiative of unity started in July, when thousands of Muslims went to church to express indignation and solidarity for the murder of Father Jacques Hamel in France. The initiatives 'Christians at the mosque' reverses roles, said its promoters, of 'Muslims in church', which on July 31 brought over 23,000 Muslims in several Italian churches to pray with Christians for the victims of terror''. The invite, aimed at all Christians and worshippers of other religions and non-religious people, will include two moments: September 11, from 5 to 8 pm mosques will host debates and welcome those will bring a ''message of peace and solidarity to tear down the wall of fear and prejudice''. On the 12th, for the festival of Eid, the mosques and places of worship will be open since the morning to exchange well wishes. Over the past few days, Co-mai and the international movement ''united to unite'' asked Pope Francis to respond to the appeal #Cristianinmoschea, for an inter-faith prayer on September 11 on the eve of the Islamic festival of Eid. (ANSAmed). Mideast: West Bank, car assault, Palestinian killed (ANSAmed) - TEL AVIV, SEPTEMBER 5 - Israeli border police opened fire last night in the Palestinian refugee camp of Shuafat (between Jerusalem and Ramallah) against a car that was driving fast towards them and the gunfire killed one of the passengers on board and wounded another, an Israeli military spokesman said Monday. The spokesman said the officers fired only when they felt their life was in danger. Palestinian sources identified the victim as a 20-year-old, Mustafa Nimer. (ANSAmed). ROME - Lorry drivers, retailers and farmers have decided to block on Monday morning the A16 highway in Calais, in northern France, to demand the closure of a migrant camp known as the 'Jungle', French media reported on Monday. Members of the local economy in the region blame the migrants for weakening the local economy. Two marches to be staged by truck drivers were planned, with some 40 lorries from Loon and about 30 from Boulogne expected to converge in Calais and block the highway where France's largest port is located in terms of the number of passengers and for the tunnel towards Britain. (ANSAmed) - BELGRADE, SEPTEMBER 5 - Serbian Interior Minister Nebojsa Stefanovic and Hungarian Interior Minister Sandor Pinter on Monday discussed a series of joint measures aimed at coping with the migrant crisis facing their countries. The two leaders met on the sidelines of Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban's visit to Belgrade. Media sources said the two spoke of strengthening efforts between police forces in order to combat illegal immigration. Serbian Prime Minister Aleksandar Vucic said there are currently more than 5,000 migrants and refugees in Serbia trying to reach western Europe. Many of them are waiting in reception centres near the Hungarian border, which has been sealed off for the past year by a metal barbed wire fence. Hungarian authorities allow a maximum of 30 asylum seekers per day to enter the country. Despite the closure of the Balkan route in March, thousands of Middle Eastern migrants still manage to enter Serbia through its borders with Bulgaria and Macedonia. From there they continue westward, often paying inordinate sums of money to human traffickers.(ANSAmed). Israel: 50 years of occupation,pacifists call for referendum Letter to Netanyahu: population must decide Territories' future (ANSAmed) - TEL AVIV, SEPTEMBER 5 - A group of left-wing Israeli activists on Monday started a sweeping campaign to promote a national referendum in Israel in 2017 on the future of the Palestinian territories occupied 50 years ago in the Six-Day war. ''The time has come for a decision'', said the activists, who sent a letter on the initiative to Premier Benyamin Netanyahu and are promoting it on the street and on the web. Among the group's supporters - which goes by the name 'Decision on the 50th' - are Peace Now and the Labor Party members including a family member of late premier Yitzak Rabin, as well as former army officers and intellectuals. ''For the past 50 years Israel has controlled the Territories and has not taken a definite decision on the matter'', organizers said on their site. ''For 50 years our society has been torn'' on the issue, they also wrote, saying Israel ''hasn't had defined and recognized'' borders for 50 years and could ''not afford 50 more years like this''. (ANSAmed) Leonard Chuah joins DAE Capital as senior vice president, marketing and will be part of the team responsible for DAEs aircraft leasing and sales origination in the Asia Pacific region. Prior to DAE, Leonard was Senior Vice President Marketing Asia Pacific at Aircastle covering airline marketing. Leonard has also worked in various origination roles within aviation finance for Commonwealth Bank of Australia (CBA), HSH Nordbank and Commerzbank AG. Leonard has strong relationships with airlines, aircraft financiers and investors in the Asia Pacific region as well as internationally. Leonard holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Marketing from Arizona State University. Passenger numbers in July totalled 7,616,792 compared to the 6,682,676 handled in July 2015, a significant increase of 14 per cent. During the first seven months of the year, DXB welcomed 48,123,248 passengers, up 7 per cent compared to 44,981,967 passengers recorded during the same period last year. Eastern Europe was the fastest growing region in July up 33.4 per cent, followed by Asia which grew by 20.8 per cent, and the Indian subcontinent at 17.1 per cent. GCC traffic rose 16.2 per cent while North America registered a 13.9 per cent increase. Traditionally a strong market, India was the top destination country with 990,213 passengers, followed by the UK (573,025 passengers), and Saudi Arabia (475,841). London, Doha, Mumbai, Kuwait and Bangkok headed the list of the most popular destinations served from DXB. Aircraft movements during July reached 35,832, up 5.8 per cent compared to 33,855 recorded during July 2015. Year to date flight movements totalled 243,035 compared to 231,081 aircraft movements recorded during the same period last year, an increase of 5.1 per cent. The passengers per movement remained at world-beating levels at 220 during July as DXBs rising ratio of wide-bodied aircraft continues to drive airport efficiency Freight volumes at Dubai International contracted 1.2 percent in July to total 203,153 tonnes compared to 205,526 tonnes recorded during the corresponding month last year. During the first seven months of 2016, DXB handled 1,485,177 tonnes of cargo, up 3.2 per cent compared to 1,438,904 tonnes recorded during the same period in 2015. This summer was the busiest in DXBs history with daily traffic averaging a quarter of a million passengers across the three terminals. We are pleased as much with the growth as we are with the way we managed service levels by implementing detailed operational plans, boosting staff levels, intensifying communication efforts with our business partners and customers during the peak period, said Paul Griffiths, CEO of Dubai Airports. Analyst Saj Ahmad said: Dubai international's continued progress will ensure it will break records again this year and retain the top slot for international traffic. On the back of the end of Ramadan and Eid Al Fitr and the start of the peak summer season, the airport has benefitted from a surge in passenger growth of 14% over the same period a year ago. Ahmad added: With 48m passengers handled to date, the vibrancy and robustness of the low cost market led by flydubai and the organic expansion of Emirates who have deployed their A380s on more European routes, it is evident the desire for travel to and through Dubai places pressure on developing Al-Maktoum International much quicker to help absorb demand. Dr Nadia Bastaki, Etihad Airways vice president medical services and senior aviation medical examiner, who is the first Emirati woman to be registered as a specialist in aviation medicine, highlighted the importance of collaboration within the industry. Etihad Airways Medical Centre organises annual aviation health conferences to encourage collaboration among aviation medicine practitioners and health industry stakeholders both in the region and internationally. The airline is honoured to have Dr Ansa Jordaan, Chief, Aviation Medicine Section at International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) as a guest speaker this year. The on-going education, sharing of medical experience and latest intervention work towards standardising medical practice and encouraging aviation safety by enhancing aircrew health is of paramount importance, especially as we explore the latest advances in the aviation field, said Dr Bastaki. The Etihad Airways Medical Centre is a state-of-the art facility, which is staffed by 13 physicians and 15 nurses offering a full range of services including: General Medicine, Aviation Medicine, Travel Health, Occupational Health, Ear Nose and Throat (ENT) Services, Internal Medicine, Dental Services, Physiotherapy, Laboratory and Radiology, 24 hour Ambulance Service and National Service medical checkups for the airline's staff. Each year, a different topic is discussed by the conference attendees who include aviation medical examiners and nurses, ophthalmologists, doctors and other healthcare professionals from major airlines and the health industry. Speaking at the conference, Dr Jordaan highlighted the issue of colour vision assessments, calling it a matter of high priority for the industry, adding that the aviation industry needs to standardise assessments for colour vision across the world. Mohammed Ali Al Shorafa Al Hammadi, chief executive officer of United Eastern Medical Services, commended the airline for highlighting the issue of ophthalmological health. Through Moorfields Eye Hospital Centre Abu Dhabi, we are pleased to participate in this important medical event in the field of aviation medicine, in collaboration with Etihad Airways Medical Centre. We continue to provide full support and cooperation to the industry, said Al Hammadi. Passenger numbers have increased to 4.9 million demonstrating sustained strong growth; an increase of 16.5% compared to the first six months of 2015. The number of Business Class passengers carried, per departure, saw an increase of 19% compared to same period last year. In the first half of its financial year, Flydubai has seen an increase in the flight frequency to existing destinations on its network including Bahrain, Baku, Belgrade, Bucharest, Muscat and Salalah as it grows the demand for travel and passengers recognise the benefits of direct air links. Ghaith Al Ghaith, chief executive officer of Flydubai, commenting on the Half-Year Results for 2016, said: Flydubais network continues to mature offering our passengers enhanced connectivity as we meet the growing demand for travel in the region. Looking ahead to the second half of the year, we have started to receive the first deliveries from the order for 111 aircraft placed in 2013 with a total of 8 aircraft scheduled to join our fleet between May and December. Reflecting on the tragic loss of FZ981, Ghaith Al Ghaith, said: Saturday 19 March brought news you never hope to hear and all those who lost loved ones remain upper most in our thoughts. Our Long Term Family Assistance Team remain available to all families for as long as they require. Mukesh Sodani, chief financial officer said: We have seen continued pressure on yields due to the uncertain international economic situation set against a backdrop of lower oil prices and adverse currency exchange rates. We maintain a sharp focus on cost improvement while pursuing our broader goal of expanding our network and our service offering. Lower fuel prices, together with a reduction in its hedging position from 41% last year to 22% this year, saw fuel account for 23.5% of total operating cost down from 30.6% last year. In the first half of 2016, Flydubais average fleet age was 3.7 years. During the same period, flydubai has issued three Sale and Leaseback mandates for a total of eight Next-Generation Boeing 737-800 aircraft. One aircraft joined the flydubai fleet in May and a second in June. The closing cash and cash equivalents position, including pre-delivery payments for future aircraft deliveries, remained robust at AED 2.4 billion. Outlook July to December 2016 Flydubai has received positive feedback from its passengers about its services from Al Maktoum International (DWC) which provides further opportunities for growth in 2017 beyond the services it is already operating. The six aircraft deliveries planned during the second half of 2016 will enable 77 flights per week to be added to services from Dubai International to Almaty, Asmara, Astana, Bahrain, Bangkok, Bishkek, Bratislava, Colombo, Dar es Salaam, Entebbe, Erbil, Kiev, Male, Moscow, Odessa, Prague, Tbilisi, Yerevan, Yekaterinburg and Zanzibar. Flights from DWC to Kathmandu will increase to 14 per week from 10 October. Ghaith Al Ghaith, commenting on the outlook for the remainder of the financial year, said: Our Results have shown the same trend as last year and we expect a stronger second half. From our robust platform, we will continue to drive sustainable growth and operational performance to meet the demand for affordable travel from our passengers. Supported by the new aircraft deliveries, we will expand our convenient services across our network and see the start of double daily flights to Bangkok. Analyst Saj Ahmad commented: Flydubai's first half performance reflects the strength and robustness not just of the brand, but also that of the intra-GCC low cost market. The pressure on yields has been driven by greater competition, however, Flydubai's unique dual-class cabin product offering has allowed the carrier to shield itself to rivalry but also helped drive up revenues by 5.4% to $627m. In turn, this revenue growth has been bolstered by rising passenger traffic out of both Dubai International and Dubai World Central to almost 5m, a rise of 16.5% over the same time a year ago. Ahmad added: While the immediate aftermath of the tragic crash of FZ981 hit demand, the airline has worked tirelessly to assist all affected parties as well as the investigative authorities. Despite the challenges the tragedy created, Flydubai has bounced back strongly. The delivery of new 737-800s as well as it's first tranche of new fuel efficient 737 MAX 8s, these will further aid Flydubai to maintain its competitive edge to suppress costs and develop new city pair frequency growth as it continues its organic growth policy. Moving to Dubai World Central by the end of next year will allow Flydubai to truly unlock it's growth capability going forward and its inevitable in my mind they'll need to exercise and procure more 737MAXs before the decade is out. In an interview with Mubasher TV, Aly said preliminary studies for the offering would be completed in October. The carrier is currently working with several unspecified underwriters to finalize a possible date, he added. Earlier this year, managing director Yousry Abdel Wahab said the IPO could see as much as 30% of the carrier's total stock being offered to Egyptian investors with owner and founder, Dr. Nasser Al Tayyar, retaining a 40% stake. YEREVAN, SEPTEMBER 5, ARMENPRESS. On September 5 Prime Minister of Armenia Hovik Abrahamyan received the Georgian delegation led by Prime Minister Giorgi Kvirikashvili who is on an official visit to Armenia, press service of the Government informed Armenpress. During the separate private talk, the two PMs expressed satisfaction over the process of the bilateral political and economic relations and discussed their development prospects. The two PMs underscored the positive trade-turnover dynamics between the two states and discussed issues related to the deepening of trade-economic cooperation. The separate private talk was followed by the extended meeting of the official delegations of the two states. Welcoming the Georgian PM and the delegation, Armenian PM Hovik Abrahamyan stated: In recent years active cooperation is underway between the leaderships of the two states, and the Armenian-Georgian relations have achieved a notable progress. The high-level official mutual visits contribute to this process, and Your visit will more strengthen our cooperation both politically and economically. Georgias role and significance for Armenia is appreciated not only in the bilateral relations, but also in the provision of security of the entire region. The Georgian PM expressed gratitude for the warm reception by stating: In recent years the Armenian-Georgian mutual relations have achieved a positive progress: a number of high-level official mutual visits were held which contribute to the development of our relations in various directions. It is welcoming the economic cooperation level between our states is high, and the joint inter-governmental commission carries out productive work. Giorgi Kvirikashvili expressed gratitude for the Armenian high-level official delegations participation in the ceremonies dedicated to the 25th anniversary of Georgias independence. The Armenian and Georgian PMs discussed a wide range of issues related to the Armenian-Georgian cooperation in trade-economic, energy, transportation, tourism, educational sectors. To boost the trade-economic cooperation, the sides highlighted the activity of the Armenian-Georgian inter-governmental commission. The sides agreed to give a new impetus to the commissions works. The Armenian PM said the establishment of the Armenian-Georgian joint enterprises can have a prospect which will ease the Georgian companies access to the Eurasian Economic Unions common market. The Georgian PM welcomed that idea and offered to discuss the further steps through the joint working group format. The sides attached importance to the development of energy cooperation both bilateral and multilateral formats and welcomed the meetings held between the representatives of energy sectors of Armenia, Georgia, Russia and Iran in December 2015 and April 2016 in Yerevan. The sides gave importance to the implementation of the North-South energy corridor project. Referring to the situation in the Upper Lars checkpoint, the Georgian PM said the Armenian and Georgian Ministries of Transportation actively cooperate and make efforts for eliminating the issues in the checkpoint. The sides exchanged views also on the development of bilateral cooperation in tourism and educational sectors. The two PMs attached importance to the efforts aimed at the provision of regional stability and security. At the end of the meeting Georgian PM Giorgi Kvirikashvili said with satisfaction currently the Armenian-Georgian relations are at the highest level, and it is necessary to continue efforts for strengthening those ties. Armenian PM Hovik Abrahamyan ensured that the Georgian PMs visit will give an additional impetus for the strengthening and further development of the Armenian-Georgian friendly relations. YEREVAN, SEPTEMBER 5, ARMENPRESS. The Central Bank of Armenia informs that on September 5 the USD exchange rate was 474.75 AMD which is a decrease of 0.03 drams compared to the previous day. Armenpress reports that the Euro decreased by 0.60 drams forming 530.01 drams. British pound increased by 3.04 drams forming 632.79 drams, Russian ruble increased by 0.11 forming 7.33 drams on September 5. The prices for precious metals are as follows: the price for silver per gram is 286.19 AMD, gold-20,219.65 AMD, and platinum-16,057.27 AMD. YEREVAN, SEPTEMBER 5, ARMENPRESS. The giant panda is no longer an endangered species, following decades of work by conservationists to save it, BBC reported. The official status of the much-loved animal has been changed from "endangered" to "vulnerable" because of a population rebound in China. The change was announced as part of an update to the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List. But the update also brought bad news. The eastern gorilla, the world's largest primate, is now endangered. Efforts by China, which claims the giant panda as its national animal, have brought its numbers back from the brink. The latest estimates show a population of 1,864 adults. There are no exact figures for the numbers of cubs, but estimates bring the total number of giant pandas to 2,060. "Evidence from a series of range-wide national surveys indicate that the previous population decline has been arrested, and the population has started to increase," said the IUCN's updated report. "The improved status confirms that the Chinese government's efforts to conserve this species are effective," it added. But the rebound could be short-lived, the IUCN warned. Climate change is predicted to wipe out more than one-third of the panda's bamboo habitat in the next 80 years. "And thus panda population is projected to decline, reversing the gains made during the last two decades," the report said. It added: "To protect this iconic species, it is critical that the effective forest protection measures are continued and that emerging threats are addressed." John Robinson, a primatologist and chief conservation officer at the Wildlife Conservation Society, told the AFP news agency: "When push comes to shove, the Chinese have done a really good job with pandas. "So few species are actually downlisted, it really is a reflection of the success of conservation," he told the AFP news agency." A surge of illegal hunting has taken the eastern gorilla in the other direction, reducing its numbers to just 5,000 across the globe. Four out of six of the Earth's great apes are now critically endangered - the eastern gorilla, western gorilla, Bornean orangutan and Sumatran orangutan. "Today is a sad day because the IUCN Red List shows we are wiping out some of our closest relatives," Inger Andersen, IUCN director general, told reporters. The number of eastern gorillas has declined more than 70% in the past two decades. The IUCN Red List includes 82,954 species, both plants and animals. Almost one third, 23,928, are listed as being threatened with extinction. All the latest Ashbourne news. Ashbourne is an historic market town in Derbyshire. Situated on the southern edge of the Peak District, it is known as the 'Gateway to Dovedale' and the 'Gateway to the Peak District'. Ashbourne is famous for the annual Royal Shrovetide Football Match, which has been played since at least 1667, although its origins may date back centuries earlier. Ashbourne became a Fairtrade town in March 2005. The popular Tissington Trail, which follows the route of the former Ashbourne to Buxton railway, starts on the edge of town. Keep up to date with the latest news from the town by signing up for our newsletter. by Sumon Corraya Mir Quasem Ali was the main financier of the political movement. The Tribunal for war crimes confirmed 10 charges of 14 against him. He was among the collaborators who supported Pakistani soldiers in the conflict for the liberation of Bangladesh. Dhaka (AsiaNews) - The Bangladeshi authorities have executed by hanging another leader of the Islamist party Jamaat-e-Islami, whose members in the past have been targeted by the government of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina. The condemned man, Mir Quasem Ali, was found guilty of war crimes against civilians during the war for liberation from Pakistan in 1971. The sentence was carried out in the late evening of Saturday 3 September. Previously Quasem, 64, a very famous tycoon and the main financier of his party, was able to meet his family in the central prison Kashimpur in Gazipur, near Dhaka for the last time. After the hanging, his coffin was transported to the home village of Manikganj, where he was buried in the family tomb. The Islamic leader was found guilty of 10 counts of indictment, out of a total of 14. In particular, he was sentenced to death for torturing and killing a teenager who was fighting for the liberation of Bangladesh and for killing seven others abducted in Chittagong. He was among the prominent members of the pro-Pakistan militia al-Badr, guilty of war crimes by working with the Pakistani army during the conflict that led to the independence of the country. According to government sources, in 1971, Pakistani soldiers, aided by collaborators, killed three million people and raped about 200 thousand women. In 2014 the International Criminal Court, a special judicial body created by the current Prime Minister Hasina to punish war criminals, sentenced him to death. Despite Quasem having invested millions of dollars on commercials and funding for schools, hospitals and media to avoid condemnation, last week the Supreme Court confirmed the death sentence on appeal. The Islamic leader is the fifth leading exponent of the Jamaat-e-Islami condemned to death since 2010, when Hasina took power. Before his, the killing that caused most uproar was that of leader of the party, Motiur Rahman Nizami, whose funeral was attended by thousands of people. This morning, anniversary of the saint's death, a Mass was celebrated in the parish of the Immaculate Conception in Manila, close to the house for the poor and the dying run by the Missionaries of Charity. On October 7, a service is planned for Manila Cathedral led by Card Tagle. Manila (AsiaNews/CBCP) Today the Missionaries of Charity in the Philippines celebrated the canonisation of their foundress, Mother Teresa, with Masses celebrated in different parishes and missionary centres across the country. Today is also the anniversary of the new saints death. In the parish of the Immaculate Conception of Manila, the service began at 6 am. The church is located in the Tondo District, near the house run by missionaries who take in people who are sick, abandoned and dying. On 7 October, Card Luis Antonio Tagle, archbishop of Manila and president of Caritas Internationalis, will preside a thanksgiving Mass for the canonisation of Mother Teresa in the capital's cathedral. Fr Regie Malicdem, rector of the cathedral, said the Missionaries of Charity will also attend the Mass. In 2010 the number of Missionaries of Charity in the Philippines was 160, a third of whom in overseas service. Relations between the Philippines and Mother Teresa began in 1977 when the Albanian nun visited the country (then under the dictatorship of Ferdinand Marcos). Following that trip, the congregation opened its first centre in Manila's Binondo District: a home for sick and malnourished children. In 1978 Mother Teresa herself opened a home for the dying in Tondo. Eight years later, a House of Joy was completed in Tayuman (Manila), also for children in difficulty. In the following years, the Missionaries of Charity spread their work throughout the country, with new centres in the Archdiocese of Lingayen-Dagupan, Caceres, Cebu, Davao, Tuguegarao, Palo and elsewhere. by Mathias Hariyadi She was born into one of the richest families of Indonesia. Conversion while she was in Hong Kong in a luxury hotel: "I saw so many poor people who felt sick. Then I realized I had to do something for them". She entered the Missionaries of Charity, and is now based in East Timor. The joy of Indonesian Catholics for the canonization of Mother Teresa. Jakarta (AsiaNews) - Leaving the comforts of a rich family to devote herself to the care of the poor in Hong Kong, the United States and East Timor. That's what Indonesian Maria Donna Dewiyanti Darmoko of ethnic Chinese origin decided to do, who joined the Missionaries charity taking the name Sister Lucy Agnes. Born in Kudus into a wealthy Catholic family - close to the richest in Indonesia family, owners of PT Djarum cigarettes - Maria Donna graduated in the United States, and went on to study in Australia. Her first contact with the Missionaries of Charity took place in Illinois, where she joined the work of the religious to take care of the homeless. Her final conversion to the missionary life took place in Hong Kong, where Maria Donna went on vacation with her family in a luxury hotel. Her conversion, she says, was a moving experience: "At first I was very disturbed by seeing so many homeless people on the streets of Hong Kong, who were huddled, sick and dirty. My first emotional instinct was to run away at the sight of them and I was about to throw up. " "Then she continues - as I was leaving these people behind, something made me slow down, as if she told me to come back to them to do something good for those unfortunate people ". Maria Donna decided so to enter the Congregation of the Missionaries of Charity with the name of Sister Lucy Agnes. Her parents strongly opposed this choice. From that onwards day Sister Lucy has worked for the poor and the most marginalized in society, avoiding the stage and press attention. Now she is based in East Timor, one of Asia's poorest countries, but it is very difficult to contact her because she gives her details to very few people. The same applies to the Missionaries of Charity in Indonesia, who work in silence and without publicity. The canonization of Mother Teresa, founder of the Missionaries of Charity, was greeted with joy by Catholics in Indonesia, very close to the new saint. Irene Setiadi, a physician and the founder of the charitable Kelompok Bakti Kasih Kemanusiaan (Kbkk), decided to appoint Mother Teresa patron saint of its activities. The Kbkk, which includes dozens of doctors, provides free health services to the poor in 30 dioceses spread throughout Indonesia. by Melani Manel Perera Liturgies of thanksgiving were celebrated this morning in every diocese for the canonisation of Mother Teresa. In Colombo, the Missionaries of Charity live in the Home of peace, which takes in the sick, the disabled and orphans. On 11 September, an official celebration will be held to honour the saint. Colombo (AsiaNews) Thanksgiving Masses were held today in all the homes of the Missionaries of Charity in Sri Lanka to honour Saint Teresa of Calcutta, who was canonised yesterday in St Peter's Square by Pope Francis. Some women, saved by the Sisters of Mother Teresa when they were children and taken in by the Shanthi Niwasa (Home of Peace) in Mutwall, a district in the capital, told AsiaNews: "We are very happy because today is the feast of our Amma (Mother)". The Missionaries held spiritual events in honour of the founder of their congregation in the dioceses of Galle, Kandy, Kurunegala, Trincomalee, Vavuniya and Jaffna. In the Diocese of Columbus, the Sisters welcomed scores of faithful, volunteers, sick, disabled and orphans for this purpose. Mass began at Shanthi Niwasa at 6.30 am (local time), officiated by Fr Leo Perera, director of Semata Sarana charity centre, along with five other priests. The service was celebrated in three languages: Sinhala, Tamil and English. In his homily, Fr Leo said that everyone should take Mother Teresa as an example. "She worked for the needy. Sometimes she reproached world leaders who wasted time arguing about what to do. She said to them, 'In the meantime I work for these poor." The priest added that "anyone can visit patients and do something for the poor. But this is different from the love that Mother Teresa showed. She loved the poorest with a great love". The example of this love is expressed in the work done by the Missionaries worldwide. Boniface Tennakoon, 73, has lived at Colombos Home of peace for three years. He noted that ahead of the canonisation, the facility held a novena of prayer, with the recitation of the Rosary and liturgies every day. Anna Mary, Mary Shanthi and Ruwani are three girls, now young women, abandoned by their parents and taken in by the Missionaries. Sureka Jayamali, another orphan, is happy to see the holy nun of Calcutta proclaimed saint. "Only Mother gave a home to innocent orphan children like me; otherwise, we would be living on the streets. But today we live in peace and serenity. " Mudhuka came to the nuns when she was four. Today she is 21. "Although our Mother is no more, it is a great privilege to live with the Sisters of Saint Teresa." The mother superior of Shanthi Niwasa added that on 11 September, the official celebration for the canonisation of Mother will be held in the parish of St John the Baptist in Mutwall. The date was chosen to coincide with the 200th anniversary of the church. The parish also has a special meaning for Mother Teresa. It is the community that she visited the most when she stayed in Sri Lanka for a while in 1986. Stalemate in the negotiations between the two superpowers. People will continue to fight and die on the ground. Positions on the future of Syrian President Assad and the rebel militias remain distant. The next round of talks scheduled for September 18 at the UN General Assembly on. Damascus (AsiaNews / Agencies) - Negotiations between the US and Russia for a ceasefire in Syria, where people continue to fight and die, have once again ended in stalemate. Positions remain far apart and opposing interests between the two sides, with mutual exchanges of accusations for the failure of negotiations. The new - useless - round of talks between US Secretary of State John Kerry and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov took place this morning on the sidelines of the G-20 in Hangzhou, China. Yesterday Washington had pointed the finger at Moscow, blaming the other party of having "backed off" on some points of the negotiations, making it, in fact, impossible to reach an agreement on cooperation between the two great powers. The main bone of contention between the US and Russia, both involved in a military air campaign against jihadist groups in Syria, is the fate of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. Meanwhile, the air force of the Damascus government continues to bomb opposition targets - called "moderate" by the US and the West, even if internally there are Islamic extremist groups - with Russian support. Even this last point is a source of dispute between the White House and the Kremlin. US President Barack Obama and Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin are to meet in the day today; However, diplomatic sources said it will be "very difficult" that the two sides can reach an agreement. Moreover, the White House wants to avoid President Obama signing an agreement that will not be respected by the warring parties. In the past truces were reached at the level of international diplomacy but failed on the ground. From the outset, American diplomacy has approached the negotiations with Russia "with scepticism", although "we wanted to give it a try." In addition, the United States does not want to provide international legitimacy to Putin for his support for Assad. For its part, Russia insists that it is not possible to reach an agreement until the pro-Islamic extremist opposition guerrillas, backed by Washington and other allies in the Middle East (Saudi laws, Qatar and Turkey in particular), should not be equalled to militia of al Qaeda. The new round of talks between the US and Russia is scheduled - still unofficially - for September 18 in New York, on the margins of the UN General Assembly. The Syrian conflict, which broke out in March 2011 as a civil uprising against President Bashar al-Assad, has caused at least 289 thousand deaths and originated an unprecedented humanitarian crisis, with millions of refugees. The largest law firm in the UK DLA Piper , boasted a 4% revenue growth in the UK to 1.6bn but profit per equity partner stayed flat.One-hundred-and-eighty business support roles are now to be relocated to Warsaw from the UK, as part of a two-year review into the firms operations by UK COO Andrew Darwin. The number is less than was feared when the firm first made its intentions known.Its part of... plans to operate more effectively on a global basis and improve the quality, consistency and efficiency of the way we deliver our services to our clients, he said.The announcement reportedly follows a consultation launched in May this year.Redundancies across the IT, finance, HR, marketing & business development and secretarial teams make up the 200 proposed job losses, the current number currently at 175.According to a report by Legal Business UK, the redundancies are the largest of any law firm since the global financial crisis.It comes just three years after the firms last redundancy round that saw 250 staff culled and the firm shut its Glasgow office.The firms Sheffield and Leeds offices are likely to be heavily affected, as well as offices in London, Birmingham, Liverpool, Edinburgh and Manchester.Its another sign of a market slowdown. Following the Brexit vote, Simmons & Simmons laid off lawyers in London; in March King& Wood Mallesons axed 45 business services staff in London and Reed Smith cut 45 lawyer roles across its US, UK and Middle East offices in January. The Federal Court in Melbourne has banned a former Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) lawyer and her husband from giving financial advice. Vanessa Ash and her husband Bradley Grimm have been banned from dispensing financial services for 20 and 10 years, respectively, after the Melbourne court found the couple stole money from their clients at Ostrava Equities. The owner alleged through a court appointed administrator that the couple had defrauded him of over $800,000 over a four-month period. Ash was an ASIC lawyer between 2000 and 2009. Early in April the couple made headlines when they were investigated over their handling of the property of a Parkinsons afflicted client. In 2014 they had moved into his huge mansion in Kew while the owned was in a nursing home. ASIC will not tolerate this kind of egregious misconduct, said ASIC Commissioner Greg Tanzer, a report from the Sydney Morning Herald noted. Sue Littleton, the court appointed administrator accused the couple of transferring funds from the owners superannuation fees in a series of payments to BankWest accounts operated by their group of companies. The SMSF company as well as eight other associated firms have been wound up. Ash and Grimm have also been disqualified from managing corporations for 15 and seven years, respectively. The court also found the husband and wife in breach of their duties as company directors and that they gave misleading statements to clients. Being a lawyer who formerly worked for ASIC, Ash either knew, or ought to have known the standard of conduct required by law, said Justice Davies. Meanwhile, Grimms actions were deliberate and in contumelious disregard of the law, the judge said. Free newsletter Subscribe to our FREE newsletter service and well keep you up-to-date with the latest breaking news, cutting edge opinion, and expert analysis affecting both your business and the industry as whole. Please enter your email address below and click on Sign Up for daily newsletters from Australasian Lawyer. HSF loses 10 partners to White & Case Aussie launch White & Case has hired a team of lawyers from HSF Asia head of finance Brendan Quinn, head of projects Andrew Clark, finance partners Alan Rosengarten, Josh Sgro, Tim Power, Jared Muller and Joanne Draper in Melbourne, Joel Rennie in Sydney, Fergus Smith in Hong Kong and Matthew Osborne in Singapore, resigned late last week. "We can confirm the resignation of ten partners from our Australian and Asian offices yesterday. We are disappointed at this decision," said joint CEOs Mark Rigotti and Sonya Leydecker in a statement yesterday. "We continue to have a strong 100-partner infrastructure and projects practice globally. This is an exceptionally talented team of partners and lawyers, in Australia, Asia and around the world. Their focus is on our clients and delivering the top-quality work that those clients expect. "When it comes to big-ticket, complex projects, project finance and infrastructure work, we remain the firm to beat in this market and globally." White & Case has hired a team of lawyers from Herbert Smith Freehills in Sydney & Melbourne for its Australian launch.HSF Asia head of finance Brendan Quinn, head of projects Andrew Clark, finance partners Alan Rosengarten, Josh Sgro, Tim Power, Jared Muller and Joanne Draper in Melbourne, Joel Rennie in Sydney, Fergus Smith in Hong Kong and Matthew Osborne in Singapore, resigned late last week."We can confirm the resignation of ten partners from our Australian and Asian offices yesterday. We are disappointed at this decision," said joint CEOs Mark Rigotti and Sonya Leydecker in a statement yesterday."We continue to have a strong 100-partner infrastructure and projects practice globally. This is an exceptionally talented team of partners and lawyers, in Australia, Asia and around the world. Their focus is on our clients and delivering the top-quality work that those clients expect."When it comes to big-ticket, complex projects, project finance and infrastructure work, we remain the firm to beat in this market and globally." US-headquartered global law firm Morgan & Lewis has opened a new Shanghai office and hired a team of lawyers experienced in the market.The firm, which opened in Singapore last year and now has 6 offices in Asia, says that the new location represents a significant expansion to its services in the region.The Shanghai office is led by global corporate transactional lawyers Mitch Dudek, Todd Liao, Alex Wang, Eddie Hsu, and Cindy Pa.Another international firm has entered the Hong Kong market. CMS already has offices in Beijing and Shanghai and says that the Southeast Asia region offers huge opportunities for the future. It now has 60 international offices.The Hong Kong team will be led by Nicolas Wiegand, a partner in the firms International Arbitration Group. The office will initially focus on dispute resolution and M&A but a banking & finance practice is planned for 2017 with further expansion later.A law firms secretary has been hailed a hero after delivering a baby in the firms offices and likely saving its life.Holly Sanderson was working along at Olmsted & Olmsted in Maryland, USA when she heard a woman screaming in the firms car park. She discovered the woman was pregnant and going into labor and helped her into the office.Wearing latex gloves from the emergency kit the secretary delivered the baby and then realized that the umbilical cord was wrapped around its neck; but her quick thinking soon corrected that too.Mother and baby are doing well, WUSA9.com reports, and the law firm secretary said that rather than being a hero she felt blessed to have helped baby Isabella into the world. By Michael Dello-Iacovo, PhD candidate (Mining Engineering), UNSW Australia Shutterstock/trialhuni Sixty-five million years ago, disaster struck the Earth. An asteroid or comet around 10km in diameter slammed into what is now the Yucatan Peninsula in Mexico. While the idea was ridiculed at first, this event is now widely believed to be the reason the dinosaurs became extinct. This realisation led to a rallying of scientists and engineers around the world to detect and monitor the asteroids in the heavens, and if need be, to be prepared to deflect one from hitting us. Today, we have a Planetary Defense Coordination Office under NASA whose sole mission is to prepare us for this unlikely but devastating possibility. It is believed that we have found all of the asteroids the size of that which killed the dinosaurs (at least those near Earth). Recent impacts But there are many smaller asteroids that can still do a lot of damage which are undetected. In 1908, the Tunguska event flattened about 2,000 square kilometres of forest in Siberia. This asteroid was only about 50 metres across, but we have only found about 1% of the near Earth objects (NEOs) of this size. Despite being so rare, if a large asteroid did hit Earth, it would cause extraordinary damage. In fact, youre more likely to be killed by an asteroid than die in a shark attack. We know about a number of recent asteroid impacts, but were still discovering more in the geological record. Currently its estimated that NEOs which can cause global ecological effects occur around once every 500,000 years. Right now, despite being able to detect and track large asteroids (you can look at current known asteroid positions yourself using online databases), we know very little about their interior. Much of what we do know is based on meteorite samples which have fallen to Earth. But it is difficult to extrapolate small samples to understanding what asteroids look like as a whole. Asteroid types Asteroids have several types based on mineral composition, but their internal structure can also potentially take several forms. Some might be rubble piles, weakly held together by gravity and electrostatic forces, while others might be solid bodies of rock. Different structural types would require different methods of deflection. For example, a rubble pile might break up if we hit it with an object, with each smaller piece still posing a threat. This might dictate a more finessed approach, such as hitting it with a smart cloud of smaller particles released by a space craft. The use of explosive devices to move an asteroid is expected to be about 100 times less efficient on porous asteroids compared to more solid bodies. Inside an asteroid My research involves repurposing geophysical techniques used for more than a century on Earth to determine the strength and structure of asteroids. To test whether these techniques will work requires simulating asteroid conditions in a lab. This means we have to recreate the gravity, atmospheric and temperature conditions. We also have to find a material that matches the properties of an asteroid surface to test our equipment on. NASA performs experiments in low gravity using a parabolic jet, which is temporarily in free fall. Atmospheric conditions can be modified in a vacuum chamber. Researchers have developed simulant materials that are similar in chemical composition to various classes of asteroids. As well as being useful for testing mining equipment that might be used on asteroids, they can also be used to test geophysical equipment might be able to determine useful properties, such as structure. Once this technology is proven, it can potentially be used to land on an asteroid and peer into its interior. By understanding its structure, porosity and strength, we can then start to plan deflection strategies for individual asteroids, and for asteroids in general. Being prepared The dinosaurs went extinct because they didnt have a space program. Luckily, we are more prepared (although Australia is still one of just two OECD nations without a space program, the other is Iceland). If we were to detect an inbound asteroid with warning of at least several years, we can send a mission to find out what its made of. Then we can plan the optimal strategy complete with backup plans. In 1995, a workshop with ex-Cold War US and Russian weapons designers was held to propose a way of deflecting an asteroid if it was detected at the last minute. They came up with (though never built) a nuclear weapon capable of instantly vaporising a 1km asteroid. It would also have the potential to move an extinction class asteroid out of our path given at least a few months notice, or a comet given two years notice. Given any less time, we may have to be content with evacuating as many people as possible from the predicted landing site. Asteroid impacts arent the only event that might wipe us out. Nuclear warfare, biological terrorism and artificial intelligence all have the potential to destroy us. Some researchers have even suggested that the probability of humanity surviving until 2100 is just one in two. Given this level of risk, one thing is certain: we can and should spend more time and resources trying to reduce these risks. Michael Dello-Iacovo does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond the academic appointment above. Originally published in The Conversation. Hi all Can anyone help me, how do I apply sub 309, I have married 4 yrs to Australian in Spore. Can I apply directly or do I need immi agt? Need advise pls. Thanks HiI'm sorry if this question is recurring I am new to this pageI am currently living in the UK on an ancestry visaMy partner is a UK citizen (we are not married) and I am an Australian citizen we have just had our little girl and she was born in the UK so is British born I have asked so many people in regards to what passport she will have and what citizenship she holds but can't seem to get a defiant answerWe are wanting to move back to Australia in the next couple of monthsIf anyone can help me I would be very greatfulThankyou Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Madhya Pradesh, Karnataka and Maharashtra are the top five states in India with the highest number of rash driving cases. Road rage is not an uncommon sight and it usually results in a lot of rancour and sometimes accidents and injuries. While most motorists would agree that there is growing incidence of this behaviour in India, now there is official confirmation of the same. As per 2015 statistics released by National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB), Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Madhya Pradesh, Karnataka and Maharashtra are the top five states in India which have the highest number of cases of Causing injuries under Rash driving/ Road rage. The overall cases of road rage and rash driving in the country amounted to 4,51,069, which means almost 33 people out of every 1,00,000 unleashed their wrath while driving on Indian roads! Whats more, such incidences have gone up by 10 percent compared to 2014 when the overall number of cases was 409,899. As Kerala reported close to 1,31,000 road rage cases in 2015, Tamil Nadu registered 54,253 cases, followed by Madhya Pradesh with 41,529, and Karnataka with 34,201. Meanwhile, Maharashtra saw 31,161 cases of injury caused due to rash driving or road rage. Considering the high occurrences of such issues, it is no surprise that Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra, MP, Kerala and UP saw the highest increase in road accidents last year. As per the data released by the Ministry of Road Transport & Highways (MoRTH) in May this year, Uttar Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra, Karnataka also recorded the highest number of road deaths in the country. Four cities in Kerala and Delhi have the most rash drivers With Kerala being the den for hot-headed drivers, it is no surprise that Thiruvananthapuram saw 12,440 cases of road rage, the highest among all Indian cities. It was followed by other cities such as Kochi (10,502 cases), Thrissur (8,068) and Kozhikode (6,661). Further, the countrys capital New Delhi reported 7,411 road rage incidences helping it to the fourth spot for the most fuming drivers. Reflecting Tamil Nadus behaviour, Chennai also saw 6,516 cases of road rage. Meanwhile among other metros, 4,569 people in Kolkata were charged with the same, closely followed by 4,255 people in Bengaluru and 3,963 in Mumbai. Ludhiana, Amritsar and Varanasi have the coolest drivers On the flip side, Ludhiana in Punjab saw an astonishingly low number of road rage incidences with only three reported cases in the entire year! It was closely followed by the Amritsar yet again which reported only 56 cases. Another city with low incidences of rash driving was Varanasi which reported 89 instances. Increase in the number of juveniles booked under road rage The act of losing your cool and getting into fights with other motorists is not limited to adults. NCRBs report says that a total of 1,538 juveniles were booked under Section 279 IPC, i.e. causing injuries due to rash driving/road rage. Moreover, 238 children caught in the act were aged between 12 to 16 years, while eight of them were under 12 years! New Delhi itself reported 61 cases of juveniles booked under this section, indicating the rising lot of youngsters below the legal driving age hitting the roads. FWD There's a reasonable explanation behind the fact that Honda engineers are spending their summer (the autumn hasn't arrived yet over there) in Spain, testing the upcoming Civic Type R. And while nobody needs explanations when it comes to getting more hot hatches, we'll provide it anyway.At first, one might wonder why the still-fresh Civic Type R, which is nothing short of a front-wheel-drive hero, be it in a drag race or on the Nurburgring, is being replaced so soon.Well, Honda has already introduced the tenth incarnation of the Civic outside Europe, but Old Continent buyers are still being treated with the ninth-gen model. Next month's Paris Motor Show will mark the debut of the Euro-spec Civic X and the Type R will have to follow, probably early next year. So seeing the manic compact testing is only normal.If you can contain your Subaru-related comments for a moment, we'll mention that the hood-mounted air scoop close to the base of the windshield is the only major aero change set to be introduced by the new generation of the fiery hatchback - anybody who's seen the current Type R should already be accustomed to the aggressive approach.The "VTEC kick in, yo!" times are now behind us, so the upcoming Civic Type R will, once again, say no to natural aspiration. In fact, the vehicle is expected to retain the 2.0-liter turbo-four of the current model. And since we're talking about a front-wheel-drive effort, don't expect the output to outgun the 310 PS (305 hp) and 400 Nm (295 lb-ft) of the 9th-gen car by that much. Oh, and you can also bet on the six-cog manual making it past the generation gap.And since the current chassis has already been tweaked to a Nurburgringrecord-setting 7:50, we expect the performance boost delivered by the X model to be owed to the weight reduction brought by the new platform.Perhaps the most important feature of the new Honda Civic Type R will be its global approach, as the hot hatch is finally coming to the US. Late last year, the Koreans announced that they would split the product line in two, basically turning the Genesis model into the creator of a separate brand that would later host other new vehicles as well. It's too early to say whether it was a wise move or not as Hyundai's plan continues to unfold. After the official launch of the first model, the Genesis G90, the luxury brand is now opening its first ever dedicated showroom More than anything else, Genesis is regarded as an image vector for the core brand, so these premium cars need a special place to be exhibited in outside of Hyundai 's regular showrooms. The first location chosen for this purpose was a newly constructed culture and shopping complex in a wealthy Seoul suburb, a place considered appropriate for the brand's ambitions.The company says it will follow up with more similar locations throughout the country and abroad, but the statement didn't include any specific places or a more detailed timeframe. Still, don't expect Genesis to build up an expensive network of independent dealerships yet, as that would necessitate a substantial initial investment.Instead, the luxury brand will use this boutique-like approach to convey its values to the public. You will see more exciting brand spaces to come in the near future, said Manfred Fitzgerald, head of the Genesis. This space, located in a busy area, will serve to introduce our brand, and to raise visitors curiosity around it.Genesis has only launched two models so far, but it plans to increase that number to six by 2020. The G90 limousine and the G80 midsize sedan will be joined by their G70 compact sibling, and a coupe and two crossovers are also planned to complete the six-vehicle lineup. The price for the base model G90 on the US market has just been announced at $68,100, but the Korean sedan can brag with the best selection of standard equipment in its class, plus a healthy 3.3-liter twin-turbo V6 engine good for 365 hp, so buyers will get a lot of bang for their bucks. Luxury bang, that is. The goal is even more ambitious, as the brand hopes to build and sell 2,000 cars this year. With such low production values, it is hard to achieve profit, and this has been shown by the brands previous financial results, which have not been fortunate for some time.However, Jean-Marc Gales, the CEO of Lotus, has revealed that things are looking up, but things are going slow. Gales has led the brand in the past two and a half years, and has had various priorities until profit could be a goal on the companys flip-charts.Before profit, Lotus production line needed to be stabilized, the company had to complete the development of some models, and obtaining a positive cash flow was the primary objective.With the issues presented above out of the day-to-day concerns of it leaders, Lotus wants to grow. At this moment, the carmaker earns the money it spends, so it no longer relies on cash injections from shareholders, the CEO of the brand has explained in an interview with the Brits at Auto Express Lotus workforce was trimmed from 1,200 employees to 850, who now build almost 50% more cars than previously achieved. So instead of 1,200 workers making 1,200 cars a year, just 850 people now make 2,000 vehicles. The companys CEO admits that people work harder now, but they are more motivated these days. At the same time, warranty claims are 60% down from two years ago.The next thing for Lotus is designing and launching a volume car, which will bring the much-needed volumes expected of it. According to Jean-Marc Gales, an SUV is almost certainly the definitive choice for the next step. This model would be entirely different from other products, while also having the particular touch of the Hethel brand. SUV Audi, Subaru and Volvo have been playing the jacked-up station wagon game fro quite some time now. With the niche growing, Mercedes-Benz wants a slice of the pie and with the tenth generation of the E-Class allowing the automaker to fully exploit its pillar model's potential, the timing is just right.The test car seen here is still wearing its front end cladding, but, judging by the details on the rest of the vehicle, it's obvious that we're nearing the moment when the X213-codenamed E derivative makes its public debut - while a late 2016 launch ins't excluded, the go-anywhere E-Class is more likely to show up in the first half of next year.The generous ground clearance allows the All Terrain to overcome an issue that can sometimes affect the standard E-Class, be it a sedan or a T-Modell, namely the mainstream feel delivered by the low-trim taxis or fleet vehicles.As Audi's Allroad efforts have demonstrated, the entry-level powerplants will probably be skipped when the engine line-up for the lifted T-Modell is built. However, with the German automaker rumored to make its straight-six return in 2017, expect the E-Class All Terrain to be one of the models that benefit from this, while 4Matic all-wheel-drive will be standard. Don't expect Affalterbach to include this model on its list of goodies, though.When it comes to the U.S. market introduction, it's still to early to tell whether Mercedes-Benz wants to educate American consumers regarding avoiding the heavy feel of anor will wait for the lifted wagon market to develop further before jumping the bandwagon. Dr. Wolfgang Schreiber, the former CEO of Bentley , and also the head of the transmission development from 1996 to 2003, has sued the German corporation.According to the Germans at Der Spiegel , Schreiber has requested hundreds of millions of Euros, but the amount has not been confirmed by official sources.However, a spokesperson representing Volkswagen has confirmed that Dr. Schreiber had formally requested compensation from the Volkswagen Group, but refused to provide further details. It was reasonable for the VW representative not to provide information on the topic, since the legal dispute is ongoing and far from resolved.The same German magazine stated that Dr. Wolfgang Schreiber had refused an offer of 20 million euros (roughly $22 million) in compensation for the development of the DSG gearbox, and was now seeking adequate payment.With seven years at the helm of Volkswagens transmission development department, right around the time when the DSG gearbox was being developed, Dr. Schreibers name is probably in many patent applications.The Volkswagen Group installed the DSG gearbox and its derivatives in millions of vehicles, thus the resulting patent royalty demands.German media reports that Dr. Schreiber is listed as the inventor on some of those patent applications, which could help him land a significant payment from the Volkswagen Group. DSG is an abbreviation of Direct-Shift Gearbox (or Direkt-Schalt-Getriebe in German) and is an ingenious blend of two manual transmissions that operate together without a conventional clutch pedal.The first of its kind was developed by Porsche for its 962 racing cars, but passenger car adaptations had to start from a clean sheet of paper.It is worth nothing that BorgWarner designed the transmission, and that it is licensed to the Volkswagen Group. It first appeared in Volkswagen products in 2003, but has since known lavish adaptation in the corporations offering. The Wall Street Journal is reporting the FAA is considering reducing the number of hours military pilots must have before they can be airline first officers. An industry-labor panel has recommended that military pilots with as little as 500 hours be allowed to slide directly into the right seat of airliners. The current minimum is 750 hours, while non-military pilots must have at least 1,500 hours. The panel didnt make any recommendations to change the current 1,500-hour minimum for airline captains. The group was convened by the FAA to address growing concerns about a shortage of airline pilots. The WSJ got the information from an unnamed source and the report hasnt been officially released. The proposal is bound to revive the debate over just what the initial experience and training requirements for line pilots should be. But since the number of pilots coming from the military has dwindled to less than 25 percent and because most retiring military pilots have more than the current minimums this proposal is unlikely to have much impact. The minimum for all pilots used to be 250 hours but the FAA was ordered by Congress to adopt the current 750-1,500 minimum (depending on background and education) after the 2009 Colgan Air crash in Buffalo. The producers of Sully, the movie based on the ditching of Flight 1549 in the Hudson River in 2009, are apparently so confident of its authenticity theyve invited a theater full of pilots to a preview screening on Sept. 7, two days before it opens to general audiences. Warner Bros. has given free tickets to hundreds of pilots in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada, for the invitation-only preview. Were all really looking forward to seeing it. It will be a lot of fun swapping notes, said Jill Oakes, the Winnipeg pilot who suggested the idea to Warner Bros. Local airline pilots plus rec pilots are attending so it should be interesting. The room will be overfull, several hundred viewers. Passes were offered to organizations representing all level of pilots, from ultralights to airline and military, so Oakes is expecting lively discussion after the movie. There is already Oscar buzz around the film, which stars Tom Hanks as US Airways Capt. Chesley Sullenberger and Aaron Eckhart as First Officer Jeff Skiles. Its directed by Clint Eastwood and, since it would be hard to get a feature-length film out of the 208 seconds it took the pilots to glide to the successful ditching on the river, the movie concentrates on the investigations and the finger-pointing that followed. Although revered as heroes by the public, Sullenberger and Skiles faced detailed scrutiny about their decisions and actions on that bitter cold morning. Sullenberger and his new friend Harrison Ford reportedly had a lot to say about the accuracy of the scenes. Aviation movies often get a rough ride from those in the industry for their sometimes-painful portrayal of life in the air but the trailers have been given two thumbs up by the aviation community so far. Critics have also given generally positive reviews so far. Well let you know what the Winnipeg aviation community had to say. The U.S. Air Force has created a new kind of testing regime for evaluating military aircraft, and recently announced that Textron AirLands Scorpion jet will be the first product to go through the process. The process, called a cooperative research and development agreement, or CRADA, is open to any industry partner, on a first-come, first-served basis, the USAF said. This process enables the Air Force to gain a much deeper understanding of the state of civil aviation, according to the USAF news release, while providing industry with an expert, independent evaluation of the safety and reliability of their products. The manufacturer benefits by gaining an expert assessment of its design, while the USAF says it will gain a better understanding of commercial innovations and advance its broader research and development goals. These partnerships will help our military maintain its technical superiority while supporting a robust defense industry base, said Jorge Gonzalez, of the Air Forces Technical Airworthiness Authority. The standard CRADA will take about two years to complete, and the industry partner will cover all expenses, the USAF said. The Scorpion jet first flew late in 2013. The design aims to fill a gap between a turboprop light attack aircraft and multi-role strike fighters, according to Textron AirLand. It has a composite airframe, two turbofan engines, an internal payload bay and a tandem cockpit. It sells for under $20 million and operates at $3,000 per hour, according to the company. As an aviation journalist, my job description isnt exactly to cheer when a flying machine craters, runs amok, blows up or otherwise goes awry. Hey, two wings, one love, right? So it was with a little guilt when, like a beer burp you cant quite keep down, I had this moment of so there, when SpaceXs Falcon 9 blew itself into charred scrap metal last Thursday at Cape Canaveral during a test fire. Horrible thought, right? Ill concede Im defenseless, but I know why that thought darkened my otherwise sunny and nurturing disposition. One reason is the private enterprise space industrys natural tendency toward hubris and the other was that one purpose of the satellite being launched was to bring Facebookinternet access, reallyto Africa. When boy billionaire Mark Zuckerberg reacted to the accident, his tone struck me a little shocked that his rocket could blow up. So, yeah, youre not NASA, but your rockets can still blow up. Welcome to aerospace. There, got that off my chest. The AMOS-6 satellite, an Israel Aerospace Industries build, was a multi-purpose satellite with 45 transponders for communication services in Europe and the Middle East, not just Facebooks internet-to-Africa initiative. Facebooks Zuckerberg has made it his calling to connect parts of the world that dont have affordable internet access but his true intentions have been met with suspicion, mainly because single providers threaten the concept of net neutrality. In India, a group of tech companies and users viewed Zuckerbergs effort as less altruistic than just another marketing plan. My thought is, do people who dont have clean water, sufficient food and who are dodging tribal wars really pine for the navel-gazing wonders of Facebook? Its absurd to think this justifies blowing up a guys satellite, it just makes it harder to collapse on the floor in inconsolable grief. Hope they had enough insurance. Also, Facebook plans to build as many as 10,000 Aquila solar-powered drones to beam internet around the world. This is actually more ambitious than the satellite project. But I know where the real genesis of my feeling is and it goes back to the NASA bashing Burt Rutan did in the early days of Richard Bransons Virgin Galactic space tourism venture. Did I mention that was 12 years ago and Galactic has yet to fly a single tourist? There, got that off my chest, too. (And no, Ill never get over it.) If theres anything useful to be derived from this its that private space ventures may or may not, in the long term, have better launch records than NASA or the Air Force. Thus far, before this accident, SpaceX was comparable to the rest of the industry, with about a 93 percent success rate. But its not better. SpaceXs launch costs are the lowest in the industry and expected to get lower with scale and if reusable boosters work out. All good. But its always wise to remember this: No matter who you are, your rockets will still blow up. No matter how many likes you have. Armenias leaders and Georgias Prime Minister Giorgi Kvirikashvili hailed rapidly growing trade between their countries and called for its further expansion when they met in Yerevan on Monday. Kvirikashvili held talks President Serzh Sarkisian and Prime Minister Hovik Abrahamian during an official visit to the Armenian capital. Sarkisian told him that Georgian-Armenian relations should be deepened in all areas and raised to a qualitatively new level. According to a statement by Sarkisians office, Kvirikashvili agreed, saying that the increasingly active Georgian-Armenian economic ties bode well for that. Kvirikashvili and Abrahamian were reported to praise positive dynamics in Georgian-Armenian trade at their separate meeting held earlier in the day. The Armenian premier spoke of noticeable progress in relations between the two neighboring statements. In recent years, Georgian-Armenian relations have been characterized by positive progress, an Armenian government statement quoted Kvirikashvili as saying. He praised the high level of cooperation in the economic field. According to Armenian government data, Armenias trade with Georgia rose by 17 percent in 2015 and as much as 63 percent in the first half of this year, even if it remained rather modest in absolute terms. The rapid growth followed the 2014 signing of Georgias far-reaching Association Agreement with the European Union and Armenias controversial accession in January 2015 to the Russian-led Eurasian Economic Union (EEU). The EEU membership requires the Armenian authorities to gradually adopt significantly higher duties that are collected by Russia, Belarus and Kazakhstan from goods imported from third countries. But contrary to many expectations, Armenia appears to have succeeded in maintaining its free-trade regime with Georgia and Armenia. Abrahamian suggested on Monday the creation of Armenian-Georgian joint ventures in Armenia that would have tariff-free access to the Russian and other EEU markets. Georgias prime minister welcomed the idea and proposed to discuss further steps in the format of a joint task force, a read a statement released by his press service. The statement said the two prime ministers also noted that the ongoing construction of a new bridge at the main Georgian-Armenian border crossing is proceeding according to plan. The two governments agreed to build it in 2014. They said the friendship bridge will facilitate bilateral commerce and travel. Abrahamian and Kvirikashvili also discussed the planned construction of a new high-voltage transmission line connecting their Armenian and Georgian power grids. The $105 million facility should lead to a sharp increase in mutual electricity supplies. Incidentally, Energy Minister Kakha Kaladze was among Georgian officials that accompanied Kvirikashvili on the trip. 5 September 2016 10:54 (UTC+04:00) By Rashid Shirinov Thousands of Armenians are being deceived not only by their government daily, but also by businessman. One of the most vivid examples of that is the case with the Armenian winery "Vedi Alco" and wine-growers. Local media, epress.am announced that the winery owed 140 million drams (over $295,350) to the wine-growers of the Aghavnadzor village of Armenia. The plant received grapes from the locals last year, but still has not paid for them. Locals have repeatedly protested in a bid to get their money. They argue that they failed to pay for taxes, and even failed to send their children to school this year as they dont have money to buy school items. What is interesting, the villagers say they are protesting not so much against the plant, as against Prime Minister Hovik Abrahamyan, who last year promised to solve the problem year. Wine-grower Aikas Asatryan told the reporters that PM Abrahamyan promised them that the entire crop will be accepted and paid for in 2015. But the problem still remains. This problem has deep roots, the villagers say. Several years ago, Vedi Alco and other plants rented lands in Aghavnadzor for a paltry price and planted vineyards there. They said they would take our grapes, but they tricked us, the growers say. As a result of unpaid debts, some 80 percent of Aghavnadzor residents found themselves in a very difficult social situation. Most of the villagers suffer from loans. Last year, a man committed suicide because he did not have money. My son left home to get money from somewhere else, said Asatryan. Another villager, Matevos Tovmasyan, stated that he borrowed money and hoped that he would cover it through the sale of grapes, but now he was sued. The villagers promise not to send their children to school as long as the issue is resolved. The residents also emphasized they are ready to resort to more drastic measures, for example, to block the major highway and not to participate in the October elections of local governments. "This issue will be resolved within 10 days. And those media reports that the Prime Minister promised to pay the debts and deceived the villagers is a baseless talk," Hovik Abrahamian told journalists, commenting on the issue. Well, they will wait a little more... --- Rashid Shirinov is AzerNews staff journalist, follow him on Twitter: @RashidShirinov Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz 5 September 2016 13:00 (UTC+04:00) By Rashid Shirinov The recent survey conducted by Armenian office of the Helsinki Citizens Assembly revealed that over the past three years the number of people wishing to emigrate from Armenia significantly increased, Armenian newspaper Aravot reports. Half of the surveyed Armenians voiced that they dream to leave the country, which is badly hit by economic and political problems. Some 42 percent of Armenians positively answered the question Would you leave Armenia with a purpose to establish permanent residence abroad if you get such opportunity? The figures of last years surveys were slightly less: 36 percent in 2014 and 39 percent in 2015. The rising figures indicate that at such rates the number of Armenians wishing to leave the country for permanent residence will soon exceed 50 percent. Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan recently announced that it is normal when people leave for work, it is a natural migration process, and then people return to Armenia. However, most of emigrants do not even think about returning to their poor homeland. Why shouldve they leave the country for work if they had their own decent economy? The answer is that the Armenian economy is almost dead. Thats why thousands of Armenians, mostly men, leave their country to find some money abroad they cannot find any work in Armenia. The volume of unemployment in the first quarter of 2016 made 19.3 percent of able-to-work population in the country, and due to the wrong structure of national economy, new vacancies do not seem to come up soon. That means the Armenian population will continue to suffer in their country. In this case, the choice of almost half of Armenians to leave the country for good seems to be the most logical decision. The corruption can be regarded as one of the reasons of unemployment in the country every week a number of Armenian media reveal dirty business of Armenian officials. Recently, Armenian president ostentatiously announced a large anti-corruption fight in the country; however, his own brother, who is known as 'Sasha 50/50' among the Armenian population, squeezes a half of profits of all businessmen - no matter whether it is a large or small business. This year, some 15 communities of Armenia did not open the first grades in schools. Last year, the situation was the same. This is a picture of a dying state, Aravot stated. --- Rashid Shirinov is AzerNews staff journalist, follow him on Twitter: @RashidShirinov Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz 5 September 2016 14:23 (UTC+04:00) By Rashid Shirinov Bribes and other tributes in Armenia are modestly called gifts and this dirty money is shown in the Declarations of income exactly like that. Interestingly, gift does not cause any questions from appropriate authorities. In the meantime, the poor Armenian population can only read and be envious of such gifts - ordinary citizens sometimes cannot find enough money for bread, and no one gives them millions as gift. Local news agency Hetq.am was able to get the Declarations of income of the Armenian governors and heads of the communes, where over 50,000 people live (Yerevan, Gyumri, Vanadzor and others). According to the law On public service, heads of other communes do not present the Declaration of income. The agency revealed that only one of the ten governors of Armenia, Head of Lori region Arthur Nalbandyan declared the gifts received during his tenure. Nalbandian holds this position since 2011. Prior to that, he was mayor of the city of Alaverdi. In sum, in the 2011 Declaration of assets and income he showed that he received gifts of 50 million drams ($105,000) and $80,000. In subsequent years, the Governor, in addition to the salary, received interest on credits which reached 5.5 million drams ($11,600). The declarations of other heads of the communes do not include such gifts, however, this does not mean they did not receive them. For example, son of the Ararat regions Governor Rubik Abrahamyan received a gift of 10 million drams ($21,000) in 2014 along with no other income for that year. That, of course, cannot but cause questions. Abrahamyans other son, received a gift of $11,000 in 2014. Let us recall that Rubik Abrahamyan holds the office since 2014. Also, Vardan Davtyan, Deputy Governor of Syunik, got a gift of 9,750 within just a year after his appointment to the position. Moreover, Vice-Governor of Shirak Seyran Petrosyan received an apartment worth 11.5 million drams ($24,200) in the fifth year of his tenure. Gifts were also received by Deputy Governor of Lori Hovhannes Tadevosyan, who took office since late April. In his Declaration, the Vice-Governor and member of the party Dashnaktsutiun noted that after January 1 he received extra 1,500 as gift. The wife of the Yerevans Mayor, Gohar Sargsyan obtained natural products in the amount of 39 million drams ($82,100) in 2012. However, she did not specify what kind of gift that was. Let us note that the wealth of the Mayors spouse, who does work anywheer, makes up 50 million drams ($105,300). So, thats how luxuriously the Armenian elite live. They just found a pretty word gift to conceal all that corrupted money they receive. And "natural products" of 40 million are especially impressive. While ordinary Armenian population purchase even basic goods on credit, the officials are swimming in the money. --- Rashid Shirinov is AzerNews staff journalist, follow him on Twitter: @RashidShirinov Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz 5 September 2016 14:01 (UTC+04:00) By Jacek Rostowski A Donald Trump presidency would be a catastrophe for NATO and the West. Aside from threatening to withdraw the United States from the North American Free Trade Agreement and to start a trade war with China, Trump praises Russian President Vladimir Putin and suggests that America should not honor its commitment to defend its NATO allies unless they pay more for that protection. Although Trumps chances are slipping away by the day, the European Union should consider his candidacy a wake-up call regarding its own defense. The EUs total GDP is slightly higher than Americas, yet it contributes only 25% of NATOs defense budget, while the US accounts for 72%, and Canada and Turkey supply the rest. If Russia attempted a conventional incursion into NATO territory, and was defeated, it might consider launching a nuclear first strike in Europe. After all, unlike the Soviet Union, Russia has not ruled out the offensive use of nuclear weapons. In such a scenario, Americas nuclear umbrella would amount to Europes only credible protection. But if the US retaliated against a Russian nuclear strike, it would risk facing a Russian counterstrike on its own territories or forces. Such is the grim logic of mutually assured destruction. Why should the US risk so much for a continent that gives short shrift to its own conventional defense capabilities? This is not an unreasonable question to ask, and where previous US presidents have feared to tread, a populist demagogue has rushed in. One problem is that NATO members commitment to spend at least 2% of its GDP on defense is not nearly enough. The US spends 3.5% of its GDP on defense, and there is no reason why the EU should be spending less than the US, given the manifold threats it faces, from Russia to terrorist incitement by the Islamic State. Moreover, most European NATO countries defense spending falls short of the obligatory 2% of GDP, with only the United Kingdom, Poland, Greece, and Estonia maintaining defense spending at or above that level. This complacency has become so entrenched that an agreement at the 2014 NATO summit in Newport, Wales, that no member would cut defense spending any further and another agreement this year to meet the 2% target was seen as a major breakthrough. The problem is not that EU countries are inherently unreliable. Its that they have tied their hands with fiscal austerity. I experienced this firsthand as Polands finance minister during and after the 2008 financial crisis. On two occasions when I suddenly had to cut spending to comply with the EUs Stability and Growth Pact (SGP), a 1997 agreement among EU member states to enforce fiscal responsibility, I had few options other than to cut the defense budget. Fortunately, Polands 1998 Public Finance Act requires that 1.95% of GDP be spent on defense. So, after the immediate crisis was over, Polish defense spending returned to its NATO-mandated level. This points to a possible solution: the US should restructure the NATO collective-defense commitment so that it is self-policing what economists call incentive-compatible. For starters, EU countries defense spending should be excluded from the SGP. France has long pushed for this, but Germany which spends a meager 1.2% of its GDP on defense opposes it, claiming that it would open a Pandoras box of other demands and exclusions. In 2015, then-Polish Prime Minister Ewa Kopacz proposed that if the full defense budget could not be excluded from the SGP, at least increases in defense spending up to the 2%-of-GDP NATO commitment should be exempted for one year. Poland would not have benefited, because it had already fulfilled the NATO requirement; but the change would have made it easier for other European members to meet their commitments. Germany rejected the Polish proposal again on the grounds of Pandoras box. But, if anything, Kopaczs proposal was too modest. Global politics has become even more precarious since last year. With the US looking more toward Asia, where Chinas unilateral assertion of territorial claims in the South China Sea has jeopardized regional stability, it may become stretched too thin to provide a credible deterrent to Russian aggression, especially when it takes the form of unconventional, hybrid attacks. The EU should respond to these changing geopolitical dynamics by adopting the Polish proposal and extending it for more than one year. The SGP should exempt increases in general defense spending for five years, and increases in spending on equipment procurement for ten years. And thats not all: the European Commission should be able to waive the 2%-of-GDP exemption limit for individual countries or for the EU as a whole, depending on external security risks and economic needs. This change will not be easy, but the US must insist on it, despite continued German resistance in the name of supposed fiscal rectitude. Germany, which has loudly demanded that Greece keep its promises to the EU, is now standing in the way of NATO members ability to meet their commitments to collective defense. Worse still, Germanys misguided imposition of austerity on the eurozone has undermined European political cohesion, thereby opening the door for Russian revanchism and aggression. Trump is right about one thing: NATO allies should pull their weight. But that message should be sent to Germany, not Estonia. The US should tell Germany in the same no-nonsense terms that Germany used with Greece that it cannot defer to the US for its security while undermining Western unity to protect its taxpayers from possible intra-eurozone liabilities. As the EUs de facto leader, Germany should be making it easier, not harder, for NATO members to meet their obligations to collective defense. It can start by embracing the Polish proposal and it should move forward from there. Copyright: Project Syndicate: Taking Trump seriously about NATO --- Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz 5 September 2016 12:20 (UTC+04:00) Grandmaster Ray Robson from the United States of America joined Susan Polgar in the press center shortly after concluding his game with a draw, thus securing victory for his team against Argentina, Caruana and Wesley So having scored two wins earlier. Question: Ray, how did your game go today? Answer: I think it went pretty well at the start; I was Black, so I was trying to be a little bit solid. We had a typical Semi-Slav Meran type of position, but then he made a somewhat strange move, Bishop to b5, and gave up his bishop by exchanging it for my knight on d7; after that I had the two bishops, but still it probably was around equal. However, he had spent a lot of time, so we got to a pretty double-edged position. I played f5 and g5, pushing on the kingside but also making some weaknesses, and I thought maybe I was better, but I couldnt find anything clear in the complications. So, at the end we both had little time; I sacrificed a piece and gave perpetual check. Q.: How do you feel so far about this Olympiad? Youre a veteran, youve played a number of Olympiads already, despite your young age. How do you find this one, compared to the others? A.: The organization has been great, I think; the venue and the playing conditions are simply fantastic, security is very tight which I think is good, to make sure that the event is very professional, and the hotel is nice as well. So far I am really enjoying my stay. Q.: And how are things going for the US team in general? A.: So far so good! The first match we won 4-0, the second 3.5-0.5, though we got a little bit lucky not to lose a full point; and this match I dont know whats going to happen in Hikarus (Nakamuras) game (ed: it was a draw in the end), hes still playing, but considering the positions we had, were definitely happy with the result we at least won the match for sure. Congratulations for the result so far and best of luck in the remaining rounds. -- Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz 5 September 2016 14:53 (UTC+04:00) By Gunay Hasanova Azerbaijan, Turkey and Turkmenistan have signed the Ashgabat Declaration to create a transport corridor from Beijing to London, TRT Haber reported with reference to Turkish Minister for Transport, Shipping and Communications Ahmet Arslan on September 5. He noted that the document was undersigned at the meeting of the transport ministers of three countries in the Turkmen capital. Currently, production of different commodities is shifted from the West to the East. Therefore, in order to supply products manufactured in Asia and our region, the West an efficient transport corridor is needed, said the minister, adding that the project being realized 2003 is aiming that. Arslan stressed that through realization of projects such as Baku-Tbilisi-Kars railway, construction of the third airport in Istanbul and others, Turkey seeks to integrate the international projects to the national development plan of the transport sector. The Ashgabat Declaration signed in Turkmenistan enables us to take another step closer to our goal, he added. The Trans-Caspian International Transport Route intends to become the most efficient way of economic connection of the continent's two sides. It will transport approximately 300,000-400,000 containers by 2020, enriching Azerbaijani income. TITR runs through China, Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan, Georgia and then to Europe via Turkey and Ukraine. The first test container train on route Shihezi (China)-Dostyk-Aktau-Alat, arrived in Baku international sea trade port on August 3, 2015. New competitive tariff came into the force on TMTM since July 2016. The route will enable the countries to reduce the costs of international cargo transportation. --- Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz 5 September 2016 10:44 (UTC+04:00) By Laman Ismayilova Azerbaijani Movie Night series, organized jointly by Azerbaijans Consulate General in Los Angeles and the Azerbaijani-American Community of Los Angeles, has been launched in Los Angeles. Within the series, regular screenings of Azerbaijani feature films at the Consulate General are planned. The first screening of this kind took place on September 2, when the award-winning Azerbaijani film The 40th Door, directed and co-produced by Elcin Musaoglu in 2009, was presented. Azerbaijans Consul General Nasimi Aghayev, speaking before the screening, stressed the special role the Azerbaijani cinematography has always played in the countrys promotion abroad. Therefore he noted that the Consulate General will continue to support this project, jointly implemented with the local Azerbaijani-American community. Speaking afterwards, the chief co-organizer of the Azerbaijani Movie Night series and one of the activists of the Azerbaijani-American community of California, Kimiya Mammadova thanked the Consulate General for the support for the project. She noted that the major goal of this project was to promote classical and contemporary Azerbaijani movies. Mammadova also informed the audience about film The 40th Door. Then the film was screened. The 40th Door was received by the audience with ovations. The film was shot in 2009 and tells the story of fourteen-year-old Rustam. Rustam lives with his mother in a village. After his father's death, Rustam tries to provide for himself and his mother, however he has a dream to join a music band. -- Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz 5 September 2016 16:19 (UTC+04:00) By Gunay Camal Most of foreign nationals, who illegally visited the occupied territories of Azerbaijan and thus violated the international norms, are representatives of media outlets. The names of 529 individuals from 50 countries who had visited Azerbaijans territories occupied by Armenia, without Bakus permission are included in the Foreign Ministrys black list. Of them 160 are representatives of media outlets, DailyKarabakh website reported. Armenia captured Nagorno-Karabakh and seven surrounding regions of Azerbaijan in a war that followed the Soviet breakup in 1991. More than 20,000 Azerbaijanis were killed and nearly one million were displaced as a result of the war. Nagorno-Karabakh and seven adjacent regions are temporarily out of the control of Azerbaijan as a result of Armenias aggression. The list of persona non grata banned from visiting Azerbaijan also includes MPs, businessmen, entertainers, and others, who violated Azerbaijans borders and showed disrespect to the sovereignty and territorial unity of the country. The OSCE Minsk Group co-chair countries, tasked to mediate for a peaceful solution to the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, and European countries top Bakus black list. Thus, the Minsk Group co-chair, Russia, again leads the list with over 130 representatives, followed by the other co-chair, the United States. Germany completes the trio, while Italy and France are the next on the black list. Over the past 11 months, the number of people in the "black list" increased by almost 30 people. Unauthorized visits to Nagorno-Karabakh and other occupied regions of Azerbaijan are considered illegal and individuals who pay such visits are included in the ministrys black list. Two decades of talks mediated by the OSCE MG group have failed to produce a breakthrough, and the renewed hostilities in April 2016, the worst since the ceasefire deal signed in 1994, were assessed as the result of inactivity of the international community. -- Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz 5 September 2016 11:06 (UTC+04:00) Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev visited the Uzbek Embassy in Baku on September 5 to express his condolences over the death of President of the Republic of Uzbekistan Islam Karimov. The head of state signed the Book of Condolences opened at the Embassy. The Uzbek government has confirmed the death of President Islam Karimov, six days after he was taken to hospital with a suspected brain haemorrhage. 5 September 2016 14:43 (UTC+04:00) By Rashid Shirinov The Mayor of Astana, Asset Issekeshev held talks with the Mayor of Baku, Hajibala Abutalybov during his visit to Azerbaijan on September 5, the Kazakh embassy reported. The sides discussed topical issues of mutual cooperation between the two capitals, as well as promising areas of cooperation. Abutalybov noted that Kazakhstan and Azerbaijan are fraternal countries, and the relations between the two countries have always been at a high confidence level. During the meeting, Issekeshev reminded about the upcoming International Specialized Exhibition Astana EXPO 2017, participation in which Azerbaijan confirmed among the first, and invited Abutalybov to visit the exhibition. In the framework of the visit to Baku, Issekeshev also plans to meet with Natig Aliyev, Energy Minister of Azerbaijan and Commissioner of Azerbaijans national section at Astana EXPO 2017. Moreover, Issekeshev plans to visit the Center for Intellectual Traffic Management of Baku. Brotherly relations between Azerbaijan and Kazakhstan, huge resource of two countries, sea borders, diasporas, geostrategic position of the states on the historical Silk Way are main driving forces of the further development of two countries economic relations. Energy, transport, construction, agriculture, communications, tourism are main priority directions of bilateral cooperation. Joint Intergovernmental Commission on economic cooperation between Azerbaijan and Kazakhstan is successfully operating. Moreover, necessary measures are taken to better utilize the opportunity driven from the passage of shortest East-West transport corridor through the territories of the countries. Currently energy and other goods produced in Kazakhstan are carried to Europe by different means of transport through Azerbaijan. Additionally, the commissioning of Baku-Tbilisi-Kars railway will serve further development of cooperation on this field and increase importance of the two countries as transit corridor. --- Rashid Shirinov is AzerNews staff journalist, follow him on Twitter: @RashidShirinov Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz 5 September 2016 16:59 (UTC+04:00) By Amina Nazarli The upcoming session of the Azerbaijani Parliament will consider several amendments to the Criminal Code with respect to foreigners. Under the proposed amendments, the implementation of Islamic religious rites and ceremonies by foreigners and stateless persons will be prohibited in the country. The punishment will be applied for violation of the rule. In case of violation of this paragraph, offenders will be punished in the amount of 2,000- 5,000 manats ($1,200 -$3,000) or imprisonment for a term of 1 year. Articulation of religious slogans and demonstration of religious attributes (except religious attribute on the body) and flags outside places of worship and in public places is also prohibited in the country. The government will apply financial sanctions in relation to foreigners, who will violate the rule, and they will be deported from the country. In this regard, its proposed to include a new article in the Code of Administrative Offence. Also, in case of violation of this prohibition, the citizens of the country will be fined in the amount of 2,000 to 2,500 manats ($1,200 -$1,500), officials - from 8,000 to 9,000 manats ($4,800-$5,400), legal entities - from 20,000 to 25,000 manats ($12,000-$15,000). Foreigners and stateless persons will be fined in the amount of 2,000-2,500 manats ($1,200 -$1,500) and deported from Azerbaijan. For attempts to break the state or the constitutional order, violation of territorial integrity of the country on the basis of religious fanaticism, strife new penalties, including life imprisonment will be applied. Also, its proposed to include a new article in the Code of Administrative Offence. The article stipulates punishment from 15 to 20 years or life imprisonment, for attempt to damage or change the constitutional system of Azerbaijan, including its secular character, as well as for the violation of the territorial integrity or the seizure of power by violence motivated by religious hatred, radicalism and fanaticism. -- Amina Nazarli is AzerNews staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @amina_nazarli Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz 5 September 2016 18:15 (UTC+04:00) Azerbaijan`s Foreign Minister Elmar Mammadyarov met newly-appointed Ambassador of the Netherlands to the country Onno Kervers, Azertac reported. Mammadyarov congratulated Kervers on his appointment, and wished him success in his future activities. Presenting a copy of his credentials to Mammadyarov, the envoy stressed that he would make his best efforts to expand bilateral ties between the two countries during his diplomatic mission. The relations between the Netherlands and Azerbaijan have strengthened over the past years. About 112 companies with Dutch capitals operate in Azerbaijan, in the spheres of shipbuilding, logistics, ecology and banking. Earlier the Netherlands showed an interest in cooperation with Azerbaijan in agriculture, in particular water industry and lake water purification. The trade turnover between the Netherlands and Azerbaijan amounted to $44.71 million in the first quarter of 2016, $21.65 million of which fell on exports to this country, according to the Azerbaijani State Customs Committee. -- Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz 5 September 2016 13:24 (UTC+04:00) By Nigar Abbasova Azerbaijans state energy giant SOCAR, is in talks with Iran on the purchase of technical gas to fill Azerbaijans underground gas storage facilities, President of SOCAR Rovnag Abdullayev told reporters on September 5. Iran faces certain problems with the provision of gas supplies in the winter season, therefore Iranian side is interested in the use of our storages, Abdullayev said. Abdullayev mentioned that the issue was high on agenda during the visit of Irans President Hassan Rouhani to Azerbaijan. The gas purchase will enable us to increase the volume of its injection into reservoirs, as well as to test the capacity of our gas storage facilities, he said earlier, adding that currently, capacity of storages nears 3.5 billion cubic meters (bcm), but in theory, it is possible to increase it to more than 5 bcm. Irans gas production in winter is less than the consumption in the country. But in summer Iran produces several billion cubic meters of surplus gas. The country stores some of the surplus gas in Shoorijeh and Sarajeh gas storage facilities. Moreover, Azerbaijan also needs technical gas to check capacity of its storages. Two underground gas storage facilities (Garadag and Kalmaz), which belong to SOCARs Azneft syndicate play a major role in ensuring a steady year-round supply of gas in Azerbaijan. Kalmaz storage is located 75 km southeast of Baku and was put into operation in 1955, while Garadag storage is located 25 km southeast of Baku and it was launched in 1954. Abdullayev also mentioned that such negotiations [testing of capacity of storage facilities] were also held with the Russian Gazprom company, however SOCAR was not satisfied with conditions of the Russian side. He added that SOCAR already sent its offers to Gazprom, but no talks are being held currently. Director General of the Gazprom Transgaz Makhachkala OJSC Alexander Astanin earlier said that his company was holding talks regarding the supply of 3-5 bcm of gas per year to Azerbaijan. Abdullayev earlier said that gas swap with Gazprom would enable Azerbaijan to ensure the gas supply to southern regions of Russia and to test its own gas storage facilities as well as, in case of a consistently high level of injection into them, to reduce the volume of extraction of associated gas at the Azeri -Chirag- Guneshli, and to pump it to the maximum extent to reservoirs to increase oil output at the block. Gas production forecast for 2016 stands at the level of 5.6 bcm while the level forecast for 2017-2018 is 5.8 bcm. TANAP Commenting on the implementation of the Trans-Anatolian Natural Gas Pipeline (TANAP) project, which envisages transportation of gas of Azerbaijans Shah Deniz field from Georgian-Turkish border to the western borders of Turkey, Abdullayev said that that works are currently underway in accordance with the plan, adding that there are no problems with the implementation of the project. Partly, we are even ahead of schedule and 850 kilometers of pipes have been already welded, Abdullayev said, adding that the projects financing is not a problem and the Azerbaijani government is in talks to attract external resources. Worth of the pipeline is currently estimated at $9.3 million. The gas is expected to be delivered to Turkey in 2018, and after completion of the Trans Adriatic Pipelines (TAP) construction, the gas will be delivered to Europe in early 2020.TAP's initial capacity will be 10 billion cubic meters of gas per year with the possibility of expanding it to 20 billion cubic meters -- Nigar Abbasova is AzerNews staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @nigyar_abbasova Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz 5 September 2016 15:25 (UTC+04:00) By Amina Nazarli President of Azerbaijans state oil company SOCAR Rovnag Abdullayev took part in the opening of a gas distribution network in Girikhli village of Marneuli region in Georgia. Abdullayev, who was on a visit to Georgia, took part in the event together with this countrys Energy Minister Kakha Kaladze, the company reported. As many as 259 users have been connected to this network in the Girikhli village. During the meeting with the village residents, it was noted that the work on ensuring gas supply to the neighboring Kvemo Kulari village will be completed by late 2016 and additional 137 potential users will be connected to the network. The SOCAR president inquired about the general situation with gas supply in the Kvemo Kartli region densely populated by Azerbaijanis. to date, 1,027 kilometer-long gas pipelines have been laid to ensure the gas supply to 26,837 users. After laying additional 158 kilometers of the gas pipeline by late 2016, it will be possible to provide 3,500 more users with gas. In total, SOCAR Georgia Gas subsidiary of SOCAR has constructed 5,360 kilometers long gas lines and provided 209,136 users with gas since 2009. It is planned to construct additional 1,600 kilometers of gas lines by late 2016 and provide another 40,000 potential users with gas. The volume of export of natural gas from Azerbaijan to Georgia saw a 9.2 per cent growth last year. A total of 1.51 million tons of natural gas was exported to Georgia through SOCAR Georgia Gas LLC in 2015. Azerbaijan is Georgia's largest natural gas supplier. -- Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz 5 September 2016 16:06 (UTC+04:00) By Nigar Abbasova Russia and Saudi Arabia, the two oil giants, have agreed on certain measures, joint or in cooperation with other oil producers, to be taken with a view to stabilize the oil market, tackle weak prices and rein of oversupply, as well as maintain stability and provide sustainable level of long-term investment, TASS reported. The two countries made a joint statement within the framework of the running G 20 Hangzhou Summit on September 5. The countries said they will set up a working group to monitor the oil market and come up with recommendations to promote stability. The statement increased expectations of the possible deal on output freeze and oil prices rose following the announcement, the increase, however was below the anticipated level. October West Texas Intermediate crude rose $1.05, or 2.4%, to $46.79 a barrel, while November Brent crude increased by $1.27, or 2.7%, to stand at $48.10 per barrel. Russian Energy Minister Alexander Novak described the announcement as an "historic moment" in relations between OPEC and non-OPEC members, Interfax reported. Novak added that the likelihood of a previously abandoned output freeze "could significantly bring closer the date of the relevant market balance." Russian President Vladimir Putin earlier met with Saudi Deputy Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman on the sidelines of the G20 summit in Chinas Hangzhou. The sides vowed to boost dialogue between the two countries regarding bilateral ties and global challenges. Bin Salman underlined that cooperation between the two countries may lead to solid results with respect to developments on the oil market. OPEC will hold informal talks in Algeria this month and member countries are scheduled to officially meet in Vienna in November. The Saudi energy minister and his Russian counterpart are expected to discuss how to cooperate under the new agreement in the upcoming meetings. Putin earlier shocked commodity traders on September 3, calling for a global freeze in oil output to normalize global energy stockpiles with demand to bring stability to the economies of oil dependent nations. Some experts however argue that OPEC is not an organization, which is made up of Saudi Arabia and Russia, and the decision of other countries is also of great importance. Attention of traders is focused on the result of the upcoming Algeria meeting, while speculation over it is currently the main factor that influences oil prices. Oversupply in the market has caused oil prices to fall from above $100 two years ago to below $30 earlier this year. Several attempts to boost crude prices by freezing the oil output have failed in the past. -- Nigar Abbasova is AzerNews staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @nigyar_abbasova Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz 5 September 2016 11:22 (UTC+04:00) By Gunay Hasanova The European Union and Turkey have agreed on the abolition of a visa regime, the Turkish newspaper Haberturk reported on September 5. The agreement has been recently reached with the framework of the EU foreign ministers meeting, according to the newspaper. The visa-free regime between the EU and Turkey will enter into force in early or late October this year. Earlier, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said that Turkey expects the abolition of visas for citizens from the EU until October 2016. The minister said that Turkey expects that the EU to keep its promise regarding the abolishing visas for Turkish citizens and providing financial aid for Syrian refugees, adding that Turkey will not be able to stop the flow of refugees to Europe alone, if the EU fails to fulfill its obligations The Heads of State and the EU Member States' governments agreed with Turkey upon a joint plan to combat the migration crisis in mid-March. The program is focusing on the return of illegal immigrants arriving from Greece to the territory of Turkey and accepting legal Syrian refugees in Turkey by the EU based principle of "one for one". The European Commission has proposed in May that the European Parliament and EU Council will lift visa restrictions for citizens of Turkey, if Ankara will fulfill the remaining conditions for the abolition of visas until the end of June. The list of pre-conditions included the measures to prevent corruption, negotiations on an operational agreement with Europol (the EU police office), providing judicial co-operation with all EU member states, as well as the revision of the legislation on the fight against terrorism. On May 4, European Commission proposed the EU to cancel visa regime with Turkey. In turn, Ankara abolished visas for citizens of all 28 EU countries. However, visa-free regime will come into force only after the EU abolishes visa regime for Turkish citizens. In accordance with the agreement reached between Turkey and the EU, the citizens of Cyprus will also be able to take advantage of visa-free regime with Turkey. --- Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz 5 September 2016 12:23 (UTC+04:00) By Gunay Hasanova The meeting between Russian and U.S. Presidents, Vladimir Putin and Barack Obama went well and lasted more than planned, reports TASS. The two presidents held a bilateral meeting on the sidelines of the G20 summit. The meeting was also attended, among others, by Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and the US Secretary of State John Kerry. The Syrian issue and Ukraine were discussed first and foremost, Russian presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters following talks, TASS reports. "The meeting lasted longer than planned. They discussed, above all, Syria and Ukraine. After that Obama and Putin a one-on-one meeting behind closed doors," the Kremlin spokesman said. On the eve Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry have discussed the Syrian issue. However, Bloomberg reported that the parties failed to reach an agreement, adding that it is expected that the negotiations of the diplomats will continues on September 5. Previously, Russian President Putin said that Russia was not the initiator of the cooling relations with the U.S. and Russia is ready to expand the full-scale cooperation, adding that, however it depends on the policies of the new leadership in Washington. --- Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz 5 September 2016 12:35 (UTC+04:00) By Nigar Abbasova The Islamic Republic of Iran, the fourth country in the world for the volume of proven oil reserves, is now seeking to sign new agreements with foreign companies to recover its energy sector. The state-run National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC) is planning to sign an agreement with the Swiss Vitol energy and commodities company on the sale of oil and gas condensate, Fars agency reported. Details of the agreement have not yet been disclosed. However, NIOC is expected to sale oil to the European company at a discount rate within two years, while Vitol, in return, will issue a credit on easy terms. NIOC has recently signed an agreement with Vitol on petrol purchases. Vitol has also expressed its interest in oil swaps with the Caspian Sea littoral states by means of the Neka oil terminal located in Iran. A Swiss delegation comprising representatives of Vitol has recently visited facilities and infrastructures of the terminal, which is considered to be Irans largest crude terminal in the Caspian Sea. Meanwhile, NIOCs official earlier announced that Iran is ready to raise its oil production to 4 million barrels per day (bpd) in a couple of month, depending on market demand, Reuters reported. A new model of oil contracts, also known as Iran Petroleum Contract (IPC) is considered to be one of the main tools for reviving energy sector in the country. The IPC offers more flexible terms on investment risks, making the country attractive for foreign investors. -- Nigar Abbasova is AzerNews staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @nigyar_abbasova Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz 5 September 2016 12:43 (UTC+04:00) Two Turkish servicemen died in a shootout between the countrys military and the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) militants in Turkeys south-eastern province of Hakkari, Milliyet newspaper reported on September 5. Turkish armed forces sent additional troops to the Hakkari province, according to the newspaper. The conflict between Turkey and the PKK, which demands the creation of an independent Kurdish state, has continued for over 25 years and has claimed more than 40,000 lives. The UN and the European Union list the PKK as a terrorist organization. -- Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz 5 September 2016 13:12 (UTC+04:00) By Gunay Hasanova Different issues were discussed by Russian and Turkish Presidents Vladimir Putin and Recep Tayyip Erdogan on the sidelines of G20 summit, RIA Novosti reported with reference to Russian presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov. Vladimir Putin and Recep Tayyip Erdogan exchanged views on the Syrian issue and issues of bilateral relations, said Peskov. Meanwhile, Russian Economic Development Minister Alexei Ulyukayev said that President Putin discussed the food embargo issues with his Turkish counterpart Erdogan. The issues has been discussed in the sense of removing the restrictions by the Russia side, said the minister. Moreover, Russia and Turkey have switched to discussing specific details of Turkish Stream pipeline construction, TASS reported. "As for the Turkish Stream it is also in progress. They are discussing specific details. For example, certain places where the pipe will enter the Turkish coast, allocation of a land plot for it. Very practical issues..." Ulyukayev said. He added that Russia and Turkey may sign a mid-term program of economic and scientific and technical cooperation by the end of the year. We handed a draft medium-term program of economic scientific and technological cooperation to our Turkish colleagues. We plan to sign it before the end of the year. I think that in October we will complete all text work so that the text was signed before the end of the year," Ulyukayev said. He also said that the work on the establishment of Russian-Turkish Investment Fund is about to be completed. "In late August, the necessary legislative changes were made, a partner of our Russian fund of direct investments was set up in Turkey ... Now colleagues are work at the level of experts. I think that in October-November, we will have a list of projects and financing in order to start working on these issues," the minister added. --- Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz 5 September 2016 14:25 (UTC+04:00) By Trend No date has been set so far for Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogans visit to Tehran, Irans Foreign Ministry Spokesman Bahram Qasemi said in a press conference in Tehran on September 5. No date has been set for Erdogans trip to Iran or Iranian Parliament Speaker Ali Larijanis trip to Turkey, Qasemi said, Trend correspondent reported from the event on September 5. Things have been changing fast between Tehran and Ankara in the recent weeks. Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu traveled to Tehran on August 18 and held talks on regional affairs with Iranian officials in the few hours he was in Tehran. Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif visited Turkey on August 12. The developments came about after Turkey voiced willingness to work alongside Iran and Russia over the undergoing Syrian crisis. Elsewhere in his remarks, Qasemi touched upon the recent claims over a US ransom to Iran on its nuclear program. Neither Iran nor the US has given a special privilege to each other, the Iranian diplomat underlined. According to a new report by the Washington-based Institute for Science and International Security, the US and other members of international community granted Iran exemptions to their requirements under the nuclear agreement which was signed last year. The alleged granting of "secret" exemptions to Iran by the Joint Commission, the deal's implementing body, is likely to thrust the controversial accord, officially known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), back into the political spotlight. The report says "most of the conditions" laid out in the agreement were met by Iran, but it also claims Iran would have not been in compliance by January 16, 2016, the deal's so-called Implementation Day, without the exemptions to the requirement that Iran limit its stockpile of low enriched uranium to under 300-kilograms. 5 September 2016 15:51 (UTC+04:00) By Gunay Hasanova Russian and U.S. Presidents, Vladimir Putin and Barack Obama instructed Foreign Ministers Sergei Lavrov and John Kerry to meet as early as this week to keep working on a deal on the Syrian issue, Reuters reported citing a senior U.S. administration official. President Obama and Putin spent about 90 minutes in a "constructive" meeting about getting humanitarian aid into the country, reducing violence, and cooperating on combating militant groups, the official told reporters. Obama and Putin did not get into the finer details of a deal, but made progress to clarify "the remaining gaps" and directed Kerry and Lavrov to meet as early as this week to keep working on a deal, the official told reporters. "If an agreement can be reached, we want to do so urgently, because of the humanitarian situation. However, we must ensure that it is an effective agreement," the official said. "If we cannot get the type of agreement we want, we will walk away from that effort." Putin and Obama met on the sidelines of the G20 summit in China. The press-secretary of the Russian president, Dmitry Peskov, earlier said that the meeting went well and lasted longer than planned. "The meeting lasted longer than planned. They discussed, above all, Syria and Ukraine. After that Obama and Putin had a one-on-one meeting behind closed doors," Peskov said. He noted that the Russian and U.S. leaders discussed Syrian and Ukrainian issues. --- Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz 5 September 2016 17:16 (UTC+04:00) By Gunay Hasanova Turkey and Russia are holding talks to achieve a ceasefire in Syrias Aleppo, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said during the G20 summit, TRT Haber reported on September 5. The Turkish president added that achieving a ceasefire in Aleppo is one of the most important issues for Turkey and Russia. Ankara hopes a ceasefire will be achieved in Aleppo next week, Erdogan said. Previously, Russian presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that different issues were discussed by Russian and Turkish Presidents Vladimir Putin and Recep Tayyip Erdogan on the sidelines of G20 summit, including Syrian issue and issues of bilateral relations. The president further said that Turkey will continue rendering humanitarian aid to Syrian refugees. Erdogan pointed out that the Syrian refugee problem is not only Ankaras problem, but unfortunately, a number of countries failed the humanity exam. Syria has been suffering from an armed conflict since March 2011, which, according to the UN, has so far claimed over 500,000 lives. Militants from various armed groups are confronting the Syrian government troops. The Islamic State (IS, ISIL, ISIS or Daesh), the YPG and the PYD are the most active terrorist groups in Syria. --- Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz 5 September 2016 17:49 (UTC+04:00) By Nigar Abbasova China and Kazakhstan, the two strategic partners, are planning to implement some 51 joint projects in different spheres of Kazakhstans economy, Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev announced about this following his working visit to China, the presidents press-service reported. He said that facilities for two large scale projects, implemented in automobile and oil processing industries have already been prepared, four more facilities worth $2.5 billion will be completed by the end of 2016, adding that joint Kazakh-Chinese Funds are operating to support the projects. The sides are planning to build joint facilities worth approximately $26 billion within five years. The two neighbor countries signed four documents on cooperation during the meeting between Nazarbayev and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping in the city of Hangzhou. The heads of two countries discussed a wide range of bilateral issues, including the prospects of strengthening cooperation in trade, investment, transit and transport, fuel and energy, as well as cultural and humanitarian spheres. In addition, the two leaders exchanged views on a number of the most pressing issues of regional and international agenda. The parties also signed a Protocol on Amending the Agreement between the governments of the two countries on the establishment of the Committee for bilateral cooperation May 17, 2004 and a cooperation plan for adjunction of Kazakhstans development program "Nurly Zhol" and Chinese "Economic belt of the Silk Road" program. The two countries are currently expanding their bilateral cooperation in all spheres. China is considered to be one of the major foreign partners of Kazakhstan. The trade turnover between the countries exceeded $10 billion, while investments of China in Kazakhstan amounted to $15 billion in 2015. Main spheres of investment include transport, warehousing, oil and gas, construction and minerals industry. Moreover, Astana is also engaged in the creation of special economic zones that include the Khorgos dry port on the Kazakh-Chinese border. The port, which is expected to become one of the major cargo hubs of the new Silk Road has the capacity of 200,000 containers per year, while the figure is expected to reach 500,000 or some by 2020. China was the major supplier of funds provided for the project. Chinas Jiangsu province invested more than $600 million for developing the surrounding infrastructure in Kazakhstan. Kazakhstan participated in G20 Summit as a guest country. Next year marks the 25th anniversary of the establishment of China-Kazakhstan diplomatic ties. China's economic influence in Central Asia has grown fast in the last decade in terms of regional trade. It has made deals worth tens of billions of dollars with Kazakhstan and other regional countries. -- Nigar Abbasova is AzerNews staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @nigyar_abbasova Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz Canadian and US restaurant chain Tim Hortons will expand into the UK market after announcing a joint venture with a British investor. The brand, which is part of Burger King owner Restaurant Brands International (RBI), serves fresh baked goods, paninis, sandwiches, wraps and other food products. Gurprit Dhaliwal will lead the UK joint venture company as chief executive of the master-franchise joint venture. He said the business would focus on delivering great products and an exceptional guest experience. RBI said in a statement that the deal was part of its plans to take the Tim Hortons brand around the world. "This brand already has almost 4,500 restaurants across Canada, the US and the Middle East. Last month a master franchise joint venture agreement to develop in the Philippines was announced. The company will bring some of its signature products to British consumers, and described the UK as an attractive quick-serve restaurant market with a strong and growing coffee culture. Tim Hortons is known for its Timbits donut bites that are sold in a range of snack-pack size flavours. Earlier this month, American snack and confectionery supplier Innovative Bites announced that it will move into new premises in Dunstable, Bedfordshire. Unfortunately, our website is currently unavailable in your country. We are engaged on the issue and committed to looking at options that support our full range of digital offerings to your market. We continue to identify technical compliance solutions that will provide all readers with our award-winning journalism. To continue following the latest news and information for Bedfordshire and surrounding areas, simply enter your full postcode below Director Dharanidharan of Burma and Jackson Durai will be starting his third film soon and Shirish Saravanan of Metro fame will feature as the lead in this. Shirish shares his excitement and the project details, Director Dharanidharan liked my work in Metro and thats how I got the call from him for this venture. He told me the oneliner for his next and I really loved it. Personally, I liked his Burma and also the making style of Jackson Durai. Our new project is yet to be titled and it is a murder mystery. The entire story happens in Chennai and therefore shooting also will happen in Chennai. I cant tell anything about my character but can say that it is an interesting one. I am sure Dharanidharan would showcase me in the best way and his making style is unique. Heroine and other technical team will be finalized in two weeks time. Shooting will begin from November. Wish you the best Shirish and Dharanidharan! The prospect of a major free trade deal between the UK and China was raised by Xi Jinping in talks with Theresa May following the G20 summit after she said the "golden era" in relations with Beijing would continue. A deal with the Asian superpower would be a major boost to the UK and new Prime Minister and comes despite the delay on whether to press ahead with the Chinese-backed Hinkley Point nuclear plant. A Number 10 official said Mr Xi understood why Mrs May felt the need to take a fresh look at agreements made by her predecessor. Although Hinkley Point was not specifically mentioned he said "he recognised the new Government would need to take some time before reaching decisions on some agreements pushed by the last government", the source said. "President Xi said that they had the patience to wait for a resolution on those issues. "He said that they wanted to look at how we could strengthen our trading and economic relationship and that China was open to a bilateral trade arrangement with the UK." Mrs May said she was hoping to visit China next year. Downing Street said the 30-minute meeting was "warm" and Mr Xi even referred to the UK on finishing second in the Rio Olympics medal table - ahead of China. Before the meeting in Hangzhou, Mrs May insisted that the UK's "global strategic partnership" with Beijing will continue. And she said that other world leaders had been "very keen" on talks on new trade agreements with the UK in the wake of its withdrawal from the European Union. Australian prime minister Malcolm Turnbull said he wants a "very strong" free trade agreement after talks with Mrs May on the sidelines of the Hangzhou summit and his trade minister will visit London later this week to take the project forward. Mrs May said that the leaders of India, Mexico, South Korea and Singapore had also told her that they would welcome talks on removing barriers to trade. Japanese prime minister Shinzo Abe is understood to have pushed for greater clarity about Mrs May's plans during a brief meeting after his administration earlier issued a 15-page document setting out the assurances on the future of the economy being sought by Japanese companies operating in the UK. The country's ambassador in London warned Japanese firms could move operations to the continent unless the UK remained the best place for them to be based. Mrs May told a press conference in Hangzhou: "What I have found good about the discussions I've had with a number of world leaders, including discussions I had with Prime Minister Abe, is the willingness of other countries to talk with the UK about future trade arrangements and the confidence that they have in the United Kingdom." She added: "I'm confident and others have been confident about the relationship we can build with them." Asked whether her decision to delay final approval for the planned nuclear power plant in Somerset had damaged UK relations with her hosts, Mrs May said: "A decision about Hinkley will be made later this month, but our relationship with China is about more than Hinkley. "If you look at the investment that there has been from China in various other parts of the UK and other infrastructure in the UK, we have built a global strategic partnership with China. "I've been clear we will be continuing that global strategic partnership with China. It is a golden era of relations between China and the UK." The official communique signed by the G20 leaders acknowledged the potential impact of Brexit and called for close ties between the UK and EU after the break from Brussels happens. The document said: "The outcome of the referendum on the UK's membership of the EU adds to the uncertainty in the global economy. Members of the G20 are well positioned to proactively address the potential economic and financial consequences stemming from the referendum. "In the future, we hope to see the UK as a close partner of the EU." Rapid7 counts international IT giants such as Microsoft among its clients, and has grown its workforce to around 100 here since 2014 A Belfast software firm is creating up to 50 new jobs here as part of rapid expansion at the US-owned business, it can be revealed. Boston-based Rapid7 counts international IT giants such as Microsoft among its clients, and has grown its workforce to around 100 here since 2014. It's now planning to expand by around 50% over the next year. Chris Wallace, the company's director of people strategy who also heads up the Belfast office, said: "We are going to continue to grow pretty aggressively. In the next year or so we will add about 50% (more staff) or so. "We are taking over the floor above us as well. It's going to continue to be all systems go. "How large Belfast will be in two or three years from now, I'm not too sure," Mr Wallace said. "I do know that Belfast will continue to be the largest engineering centre the company has." And the Belfast operation produces a range of different pieces of software, which are used throughout the company. Rapid7 produces a range of security software and data analytics, designed to help cut down and speed up work for a host of IT firms. In little over a decade, the company has increased its global workforce from 350 staff to almost 900. Deral Heiland, who was visiting Belfast yesterday from the US and looks after the company's 'internet of things' development, said: "We deal with companies from the Fortune 500, to the shop-type companies. We service all of those," Mr Heiland added. The company sells to a range of big name businesses, along with smaller organisations. Mr Wallace said the reason the company set up in Belfast two years ago included the convenience of the time zone and a "good technical population". "It has a reputation for having very good education, it has the ability to form very good relationships with universities." The company recruits many of its new software engineers through the universities, and has a dedicated internship programme. And out of that, he says between 50 and 60% of those on placement are subsequently offered a full-time job. "We have been practically overwhelmed sometimes with interest from potential interns." But despite it being a talking point among company bosses, Mr Wallace said Brexit will not stymie the firm's plans for rapid growth and job creation. "Their stance was pre-decision, that Brexit won't impact us one way or the other. "It's business as usual. It is neither here, nor there ... we are in it for the long-haul." Clothing chain Superdry is to open a new store in Newry Clothing chain Superdry - famous for its heavily branded hoodies and leisurewear - is to open a new store in Newry. Work is underway to fit out the 6,700 sq ft shop in The Quays shopping centre, home to major retailers including Debenhams, Sainsbury's, Miss Selfridge, Topshop and Next. And it will be Superdry's third store in Northern Ireland. It has a flagship branch in Belfast's Victoria Square and a discount outlet in Royal Avenue, Belfast. The brand has a growing presence around the world, operating through 515 Superdry branded locations in 46 countries. There are 139 owned stores across the UK and mainland Europe, 208 franchised and licensed stores, all but one outside the UK, and 168 concessions. Its parent, SuperGroup, posted pre-tax profits up 16% at 73.5m. Sales rose more than a fifth to 590.1m in the year to April 30. SuperGroup also has ambitions to crack the US and Chinese markets this year. The Nineties were dominated by Buddy TV from Friends to Neighbours we were glued to the latest episode to find out whose relationships was breaking up or making up. But one series which drew an impressive following was Cold Feet, starring Coleraine-born actor Jimmy Nesbitt, which followed the intertwining lives of three Manchester couples at different stages in their relationships. At the start, Adam Williams and Rachel Bradley are a new couple. Adams best friend Pete Gifford and his wife Jenny are adjusting to life as new parents, while Rachels friends Karen and David Marsden fear the possible disintegration of their marriage. Poignantly true to life but with plenty of twists, it explored all the ups and downs of friendship, romance, relationships and family life. While tonights show will bring us up to date with the characters, two writers take a look at how their relationships have changed over this time. Frances Burscough: When I look back over the Cold Feet years of 1997 to 2003 I realise in retrospect that these were equally tumultuous times for me too. I was still married at the beginning of the first series and I had one son Luke who was four. I worked at a television company in Belfast while Luke went to a child minder and I was loving it but it was increasingly long hours, sometimes filming through the night. We were a really sociable couple, with a network of friends wed both made mainly through work since wed moved to Northern Ireland in the early Nineties. Most of them were also married couples with young kids and wed see them almost every weekend. There was about 10 of us altogether and wed either go out to restaurants and split the bill or wed go to each others houses for dinner parties. They were always great fun and on the outside everything seemed to be going great, but once we were home alone the cracks were starting to show. We were both spending so much time working that we hardly saw each other and as a result our marriage was starting to crumble. Wed even talked about splitting up, but after a long talk we decided to have another go at things and to be more attentive to each other. I left my job and started to look for something less taxing and closer to home. I was offered a job with PR company and accepted it. This seemed like a bit of a turning point for me with a new job and a fresh start, but a week before I was due to begin the new job I discovered I was pregnant. I worked there very successfully for six months, but then when I started to get pregnancy complications I had to leave my job. Meanwhile, my husband had changed jobs and was now working in London so I was looking after two young children on my own without any respite. The pressure got to us both, our relationship crumbled and that was the end of that. The marriage was over and we split. So you could say that I empathised with the various female characters in Cold Feet as they went through their assorted ups and downs, trials and tribulations, because I was going through a lot of similar ones of my own simultaneously. I did have a network of friends whom I could talk to at the time, but its a sad fact of life that when a married couple splits up, their relationships with mutual friends are devastated too. I found only a few really close friends withstood our divorce. The rest either dropped me completely or gradually cut me out of their lives over a few months. Why? Well I was single again while they were all still married. This for me was one of the worst parts of my divorce and almost as painful as the split itself. I realised that some of the friends I had devoted so much time to for so long were only interested in me when I fitted the bill and complemented their little clique. The moment I became an anomaly, the invitations stopped. As a result I had to start again from scratch, almost like I was a newcomer in a strange town. While on telly, in Cold Feet, the friendships grew stronger through thick and thin, and survived infidelities and break ups and rows and problems, in my real-life kitchen sink drama I felt like Id been abandoned completely. Fortunately, around about the same time as my divorce was finalised, I started writing for the Belfast Telegraph and I was able to pour my heart out in that way. So 12 years later and Im still living alone with my sons going backwards and forwards to and from uni and things have stabilised somewhat. Im really looking forward to seeing how the characters in Cold Feet have developed and where they ended up in life. But I must admit that Ill also be watching it with a tinge of sadness too, for the friends that I lost along the way. Karen Ireland: When Cold Feet first appeared on our screens as the UKs answer to Friends in 1997, I like so many was hooked from the beginning and it became part of the landscape of my life at that period as I identified with all the relationships which were complex and interwoven. I was newly-wed and had just began a career as a journalist on this paper full of hope and anticipation about my future. Little did I know my life was about to become something akin to a sitcom plot itself with many highs and lows over the coming years. In 1999 I gave birth to my first son Jesse, now 16. At midnight, an hour after he was born, my parents, Bill and Gwen rushed through the doors of the maternity unit anxious to see their new grandson and perhaps equally as important to check in on their only daughter. During the first six weeks of his life they practically lived in my house staying with me all day to help me get some rest and establish a routine. I will always cherish those days as Jesse was to be the only child of mine my mother would ever see. Nine months after he was born I fell pregnant again but it wasnt to be and I miscarried at just a few weeks. Again my mum was my first port of call and I came home to rest in her house while she looked after Jesse for me. Then on Jesses first birthday, everything changed when mum was diagnosed with a rare form of cancer and died a few short months later. Overcome with grief I spent the next six months in a bubble. I know I was lucky as I had the support of my then husband and a good group of friends around me including in-laws and my brother Michael, but my life changed at that time and as cliched as it sounds a part of me died too. But fate hadnt finished with me yet. At the end of that year I gave birth to my second son, Korey now 14, a blessing and reassurance of the moving circle of life. When he was just five months old, my dad, who we were all living with at the time, was diagnosed with lymphoma and he died a cruel death two months later. I wondered how I would cope with two young children and trying to deal with the loss of both parents. Around the same time we had started building our own home, so I threw all my energy into that and looking after my boys. I surrounded myself with a few close friends, some from school, some from university, church and my two closest friends who I had grown up with Karen Lyness and Tracey Magill. In fact Karens (my next door neighbour growing up) mum died a few hours after my dad. Their funerals were hours apart in the same church, giving us a unique bond which will never be broken. A week after their deaths we found ourselves in a tattoo parlour, promising each other we would live every day and not put off the things we wanted to do. Life would never be the same again but it took on a kind of normality. Church life and my faith became very important to me. By this stage I had been told I would never have any more children and was scheduled to have a hysterectomy when I found out I was pregnant. After a difficult pregnancy, most of which was spent in the hospital, I gave birth to my third son, Teo, now 12. I was convinced I would have a girl and longed for that mother-daughter bond which I had, but when Teo was rushed to special care with a pneumothorax, the only thing that mattered was that he was okay. Two weeks later he was discharged and I was now mum to three young boys. I struggled with childcare costs for the three of them in day care and eventually decided to work part-time. Just when you think youve faced everything and dealt with all which life has to throw at you, two years ago my marriage, the one constant in my life (I thought) broke down and I was faced with the stark reality of betrayal, hurt and yet more devastating heartbreak. This was a time when I needed friends around me and many who had been friends with us as a couple struggled to find where they belonged, as did I. But as always Karen and Tracey were there to listen to me cry, shout and scream or just sit over a long coffee or glass of wine. I couldnt have got through the last two years without their unconditional love and that of my brothers first wife, Amanda ironically the only sister I have ever known and my cousins Paul and Louise. Fast forward to today and life has changed dramatically. The boys and I are stronger and closer than ever. They have been my reason for getting up and getting on with it every day. I thought I would never love or trust again but fate intervened once more and I am now happier than I have ever been in a loving and caring and genuinely grown-up relationship. I have found a true partner, companion and most importantly a friend who accepts me for who and what I am. I have been given a second chance and I dont intend to waste a single minute of it. If I have learnt anything over the last 20 years it is that you never know what is round the corner so you should never take anything or anyone for granted and live life to the full. The new series of Cold Feet starts on ITV tonight at 9pm The critics gave Aidan Turner's Poldark a warm welcome as the new season began Critics breathed a sigh of relief after Poldark's second series kicked off in fine form, with a cliffhanger - and a topless Aidan Turner. The BBC series picked up where it left off, with Ross Poldark (Turner) arrested for "wrecking, inciting a riot, murder", and Demelza (Eleanor Tomlinson) left bereft on a cliff-top, with the threat of the death penalty hanging over her husband. Fans and critics were also waiting with bated breath to see whether Ross would bare his chest again after the topless scything scene of series one. It did not take long. Sam Wollaston wrote in the Guardian: "There it is, not scything but mining this time, and it's hot down there, in that mineshaft, hammering away, all senses of hot." "Turner fanatics can at least console themselves with a glimpse of the fabled Aidan torso when he went to his mine for 'an honest day's work' and took his shirt off for a bit of 'hot hewing' down below," wrote Ben Dowell in the Radio Times. He noted that the camera "lingered on his bare upper body as he wielded a pick axe" Ian Hyland joked in The Mirror: "There was so much flesh that when Poldark's lawyer said he'd need to see evidence of his client's 'assets' I'm surprised Poldark didn't just whip off his smock and say, 'There you go, mate'." Critics agreed that the show's fast-paced return was very welcome. Wollaston wrote: "Weekends, with the nights beginning to close in, are better places with Poldark back." "Poldark's return is pacey, breathless and matches anything that has came before," Cameron K McEwan said in Digital Spy, forgiving Debbie Horsfield for a script that was "a little too on the nose at times." Gerard O'Donovan agreed in The Telegraph, writing: "There were no signs here of nerves or second album syndrome. Picking up from exactly where we left off... Poldark came out all guns blazing." The episode's end left critics shocked, as Ross's cousin Francis Poldark (Kyle Soller) shot himself in an apparent suicide - although viewers will have to wait until episode two to find out if he is gone for good. McEwan wrote: "T hose final moments are heartbreaking and we can only hope, somehow, that his apparent suicide is a ruse. Poldark needs Francis's heart." Stephen Nolan has laughed off suggestions that he is enduring the holiday from hell in Florida after a series of tweets slamming the US hotspot. The BBC presenter had given his fans back home the impression that his trip to Miami has been more nightmare than paradise, he even went so far as to slam the city - one of the world's most popular tourist destinations - and saying he will never return again. A later post included a photo of Nolan looking fed up, accompanied with the message: "Now my hotel is being evacuated - I'll need a bloody holiday after this." It prompted fears he had been caught up in tropical storm Hermine, which is currently pummelling the US east coast. However, it appears as though it was the broadcaster having a long-distance laugh at our expense. Nolan's critique was a tongue-in-cheek response to a post by his long-suffering radio sidekick, Vinny Hurrell, who had enquired about his holiday on Twitter. The message was accompanied by footage of a scene from sitcom Friends, where Ross Geller went for a spray tan, and the query: "Anyone heard from @StephenNolan & his Miami adventure? Is he OK? Just workin' on his tan?" But speaking to the Belfast Telegraph yesterday, Nolan revealed: "I'm having a great time. "I'm lying on the beach in sunny Key West. I'm enjoying myself." Nolan followed up his comments with a series of reassuring tweets. In keeping with the banter of his recent posts, he bemoaned the amount of ice cream on offer. "Moved from dreadful Miami to beautiful Key West. It's stunning, but there's too much ice cream for a fat man!" he joked. A second post showed a smiling Nolan posing in a straw hat and wearing a Miami Beach T-shirt. The Radio 5 Live broadcaster and self-confessed workaholic rarely takes time off from his presenting duties - but when he does he tries to find time to travel to America. His preferred destination is sunny Santa Monica in California and he planned 15 trips to the States in 2015. One of his journeys to the States last year was work-related, however, when he travelled to Las Vegas as part of a documentary looking at people's eating habits. During the programme, which saw him visit the Heart Attack Grill, he admitted his passion for junk food was killing him. Royal ITV drama Victoria has trumped the return of BBC's Poldark in the ratings war, initial Sunday night figures appear to show. However, Poldark could still dethrone its royal rival, as overnight figures for the BBC series do not take into account those watching on catch-up while the ITV programme's figures do. The two shows went head-to-head with a 9pm slot with the first episode of series two of Poldark being viewed by an average of 5.1 million with an audience peak of 5.3 million. Victoria scored a slightly higher average of 5.2 million and peak of 5.9 million, with these numbers including those watching on ITV+1. The series, starring Jenna Coleman as a young Queen Victoria, was the most-watched drama on Sunday night with a 23.3% audience share. Initial figures for Poldark show the Aidan Turner-fronted series set in Cornwall garnered a 22.7% share. This is the second week running that the lavish ITV drama has had the upper hand over a BBC broadcast. Last Sunday night, Victoria's debut episode beat the BBC's remake of Are You Being Served? when the drama faced off against the return of the comedy favourite. Victoria attracted 5.7 million viewers and 6.1 million at its peak, claiming a 30% share of the audience, and Are You Being Served? claimed five million viewers, a peak of 5.2 million and a 24% share of the audience. Irish actor Turner has won legions of fans with his brooding role as Captain Ross Poldark, and his topless scything has become one of the drama's most famous moments. In the new series, Ross faces capital crimes while he and his wife Demelza (Eleanor Tomlinson) are still dealing with the death of their daughter, Julia. Victoria sees former Doctor Who star Coleman as the young monarch inheriting the throne at the age of 18. The drama also stars Rufus Sewell as prime minister Lord Melbourne and will later feature Tom Hughes as Prince Albert. Meanwhile, Sunday's most popular show was The X Factor on ITV, with 7.6 million viewers on average and an audience peak of 8.4 million, including ITV+1 figures. It ruled the night with a 33.1% share of the audience. The return of the TV talent competition started last Saturday with the lowest launch ratings in 10 years despite a revamp by boss Simon Cowell, but the numbers have risen. Its debut episode was watched by 6.8 million with a peak of 7.5 million, but its third episode on Saturday saw the figures rise to 8.3 million with a peak of 9.2 million. Raymond McCord and politicians including David Ford, Colum Eastwood, John O'Dowd and Steven Agnew are seeking to judicially review the British Government's move towards leaving the EU. Photo-Jonathan Porter/Presseye. The Northern Ireland peace process is based upon membership of the European Union, the High Court heard. Lawyers mounting legal challenges to Brexit insisted the case was one of significant constitutional importance at a hearing on Monday. Separate proceedings have been issued by the father of a loyalist paramilitary murder victim and a cross-party group of MLAs. Raymond McCord and politicians including David Ford, Colum Eastwood, John O'Dowd and Steven Agnew are seeking to judicially review the British Government's move towards leaving the EU. They claim it would be unlawful to trigger Article 50 of the Lisbon Treaty - the formal process for confirming the UK's exit - without first securing Parliamentary authorisation. Similar legal challenges are already underway in London. But a judge in Belfast was told today there are issues and implications specific to Northern Ireland. Ronan Lavery QC, representing Mr McCord, said: "It's clearly a matter of some gravity and constitutional importance, not just for England and Wales, but particularly for Northern Ireland. "The very basis of the peace process and the Good Friday Agreement, we say, is based upon the membership of both states (UK and Ireland) to the European Union." Both cases centre on the Government's response to the June 23 referendum result. Even though the UK overall voted narrowly to leave, a 56% majority in Northern Ireland wanted to remain. Mr McCord's legal team contend Brexit will undermine the UK's domestic and international treaty obligations under the Good Friday peace accord. The campaigner, whose son Raymond McCord Jr was murdered by the UVF in north Belfast in 1997, is taking the case amid concerns that European peace money which goes towards victims of the Troubles may be discontinued. The MLAs, backed by representatives of the voluntary and community sector in Northern Ireland, are also contesting the legality of the process. They have identified a series of obligations that must be satisfied before Article 50 can be triggered, including requirements for Parliamentary legislation and the consent of the Northern Ireland Assembly. Mr Eastwood, the SDLP leader, Alliance MLA Mr Ford, and Sinn Fein representative John O'Dowd all joined Mr McCord in court for the brief hearing. Discussions centred on whether their challenges should focus on issues specific to Northern Ireland, while other proceedings continue in England. Although Prime Minister Theresa May has indicated Article 50 will not be triggered before the end of this year, Mr Justice Maguire was told proceedings should be "expedited". Tony McGleenan QC, for the Government, said: "There's a desire to conclude any litigation by the end of 2016." Following submissions the judge decided to list the cases for mention again on Thursday. Outside court Mr O'Dowd claimed the legal challenge was being taken to protect the rights of the 56% in Northern Ireland who voted to remain. He said: "This is probably one of the most important constitutional cases that has been heard here for decades." Mr McCord expressed fears for the potential impact on the Good Friday Agreement. He added: "There's no way that victims are going to trust the British Government that funding will remain in place." Families of some of the Birmingham pub bombings victims said they feel frustrated and disappointed after a meeting with Home Secretary Amber Rudd to secure legal funding did not produce "the expected results". Families of nine of the 21 victims met with the Home Secretary on Monday following senior coroner for Birmingham and Solihull Louise Hunt's landmark decision in June that fresh inquests should take place into the deadly blasts. Legal representatives have so far been working pro bono, but the families say funding is urgently needed for their upcoming legal bid for answers. Julie Hambleton, 53, of the Justice4the21 campaign, lost her 18-year-old sister Maxine in the bombings at the Mulberry Bush and Tavern In The Town pubs on November 21 1974. She said of the meeting with Ms Rudd: "Obviously we are frustrated and disappointed. "The meeting did not produce the expected results, but she listened to us and she listened to the reasons why we want funding and why we need to be legally represented at those forthcoming inquests. "A line of communication has now been opened where she has informed us that she will make a decision by no later than the end of this month." Mrs Hambleton agreed this was promising but added: "Our legal team are still waiting in the wings in limbo while they need to be sifting through all the documentation." A pre-inquest review into the bombings is due to be held in October but a full inquest is not expected to get under way until next year. A Home Office spokeswoman said: "This afternoon the Home Secretary met relatives of victims of the tragic 1974 Birmingham pub bombing. "The meeting was private and was to enable the Home Secretary to hear from the families directly. A decision about funding legal costs will be announced in due course." A representative of KRW Law, which is representing the families, said it would continue for as long as was sustainable. Paul Bodman and Paul Rowlands' fathers, Stanley and John, were both killed in the double IRA blasts. Mr Bodman, 63, from Birmingham said: "I feel quite devastated. We didn't get anything like what we wanted, did we? "I feel like we've gone two steps forward and three back today, that's how I feel personally. It's probably not like that - she hasn't said no, she hasn't said yes - it's a bit disappointing for me." Mr Rowlands, a rigging manager living in Stourbridge, the West Midlands, said he felt optimistic that the channels of communication were open but added: "We need answers sooner rather than later." "We won't give up, we go forward, but the clock is still ticking," the 53-year-old said. The bombings - the worst terrorist attack on the British mainland until the London 7/7 bombings - left 21 dead and 182 injured. Those responsible have never faced justice and the only men to be tried for the crime - the Birmingham Six - had their convictions overturned by the Court of Appeal in 1991, after a botched investigation by West Midlands Police. A mother-of-three who suffered horrific injuries after she was attacked by a cow in Co Fermanagh remains in a stable condition in hospital. Caroline Somerville, who works as a librarian at the Belfast Bible College, had been visiting Devenish Island with family members when the freak incident occurred. Friends at the Bible College had been praying for her recovery. Ms Somerville, who is aged in her 40s and from south Belfast, had been walking her dog when the attack happened on the island in Lower Lough Erne last weekend. It is believed she went to the aid of the family pet when the cow attacked. The dog was taken to a vet, but later died from its injuries. The mother-of-three was initially airlifted to the South West Acute Hospital in Enniskillen in a critical condition. She was later transferred to the Royal Victoria Hospital in Belfast. It is believed she had surgery on her colon and back. A spokesman for the Belfast Health Trust last night described her condition as stable. A spokesman from the Belfast Bible College described Ms Somerville as a popular member of staff and said many students had been left distressed by the news that she was so badly injured. He said she was an invaluable asset for the students who attend the college. Ministers have been urged to make money available to the families of victims of the Birmingham pub bombings so that they can be appropriately represented at a new inquest into the deaths. The calls from Birmingham MPs Jess Phillips and Steve McCabe came ahead of a scheduled meeting between representatives of the families and the Home Secretary Amber Rudd in London on Monday. The families have already appealed to the Government to make money available to fund their legal bid for answers. Relatives of nine of the 21 people killed in the double IRA blasts in 1974 are due to meet with Ms Rudd. Ms Phillips, the Labour MP for Birmingham Yardley, asked during Home Office questions: "In Birmingham we are only too aware that terrorism is not something that has recently been on our shores. "I wanted to welcome the Home Secretary and ask her does she agree with me and most of Birmingham that the relatives of the victims of the 1974 Birmingham pub bombings should be treated equally and with parity to the relatives of the Hillsborough disaster and be provided with the access to legal representation so that they can effectively participate in the inquest into the murder of their loved ones?" Ms Rudd replied: "I know about this case and you have of course raised it with me before. "I know about the campaigning that you have done on behalf of your constituents and on behalf of the city in general. "I don't know whether you are aware but I am seeing the representatives of the Birmingham families this evening and I will follow up with more information after that." A pre-inquest review into the bombings is due to be held in October but a full inquest is not expected to get under way until next year. Concerns have been expressed that the families of victims would be unable to meet the legal costs needed to effectively take part in proceedings. Mr McCabe (Labour, Birmingham Selly Oak) asked if it was Ms Rudd's intention that the relatives of those killed should have access to legal representation at the new inquest. Ms Rudd said: "I'm afraid you have got a little ahead of the meeting that I am having this afternoon in order to address exactly that proposal. "No decision has been made yet." Penny Holloway has spoken of the help that the bursaries have provided In the hours and days that followed the murder of Thomas Devlin, it was a chance conversation that helped his mother find hope amid the despair. The brutal killing of the 15-year-old, stabbed as he walked home from buying sweets on a balmy summer's evening 11 years ago, shocked the country. For his mum Penny, father Jim and older siblings James and Megan, it was a shattering loss. But as she struggled to come to terms with the death of her boy, Penny realised that with grief came responsibility. "It was Fr Sean Emerson, who was our parish priest at the time," she recalls. "He spoke to us and his words were very powerful. "It was a very dark time for Thomas's friends and he put it to us that, as Thomas's parents, we had a responsibility to make sure that it didn't remain dark for them. "We had to find something positive and something good to come out of it." Those words led to the setting up of the Thomas Devlin Fund, which this year marks its 10th anniversary. The fund provides grants to young people aged between 15 and 19 who want to pursue a career or study in the creative and performing arts. Later this week, 10 more young people will be given bursaries towards fulfilling their dreams. Penny describes with pride how the fund has ensured Thomas's legacy lives on. "The fund has given so many young people such great opportunities to do something that they are really interested in," she explains. "Thomas's life was stopped not through his own choice. "He didn't get the chance to even begin to do things that he wanted to do. These bursaries enable young people to have those opportunities. "It's a good thing that has happened out of something that was pretty terrible for us." Thomas was murdered in an unprovoked attack as he walked home from buying sweets with his friends on the evening of August 10, 2005. A pupil at Belfast Royal Academy, he was about to go into his GCSE year at school and had a bright future ahead of him. He enjoyed playing computer games, music, playing the tenor horn and socialising with his pals. "Thomas was just a typical teenage boy. He had lots of friends and a very good sense of humour," Penny recalls. "He was having a great summer because he had been over to see his brother James, who lived in Glasgow, and he'd had a good time there. "He had only just come back and was with his mates, all his friends, and just generally enjoying life." On that terrible August evening, Thomas had strolled to the local garage with two friends. It was just a short walk from where he lived on the Somerton Road in north Belfast. However, he never made it home. The group were set upon by two thugs, Gary Taylor and Nigel Brown. Thomas tried to run away but was pulled off a wall and stabbed nine times. Just 200 metres from the safety of his home, the teenager lay bleeding to death from wounds to his chest, abdomen, arm and face. Penny remembers: "I got a phone call from my daughter who had got a call from one of Thomas's friends to say he had been attacked. "By the time that we got down, the ambulance and police and some passers-by who happened to be doctors were helping. "We realised pretty quickly it was a very serious situation. "They took him straight away to the Mater Hospital where they did everything they could to save him. They tried so hard. "Unfortunately it was too serious an injury for Thomas to survive." The murder shocked people right across Northern Ireland. At the time someone suggested to Penny that her son had simply been in the wrong place at the wrong time. It is something she has always struggled to accept. After all, what could be so wrong about a 15-year-old boy walking to his local shop with his friends to buy sweets during the school holidays? "I think it touched people because they were just doing what normal lads or young people of their age wanted to do," adds Penny. "They lived their lives normally, without fear of violence or being attacked, and I think that's not an unreasonable expectation. "Some people said that he was in the wrong place at the wrong time, but I really don't agree with that. "He was on his own road, on his way to his own home. He had a normal expectation of being able to walk home without fear of attack." At Thomas's funeral service Fr Emerson spoke of the importance of good conquering evil. "The worst possible thing that could happen is for those who believe in evil and violence to be allowed to terrorise the rest of us to become like them," he had told mourners. "Therefore I would ask all of you, especially the young people among us, to continue to focus on doing good things and showing that good will always overcome evil." It was something the priest also stressed to the Devlin family in private, and they set about creating something tangible in Thomas's memory. By the following February, the Thomas Devlin Fund had been established. "It was really that [Fr Emerson's words] which made us think about what we could do," adds Penny. "Thomas loved music and was into gaming. He also really liked art. "Quite a lot of his friends we noticed at the time were able to express themselves through music and poetry. "A number of them wrote poems about Thomas and sent them to us. "We felt that perhaps this was something that we could help and where we could maybe do something. "We came up with the idea of a fund and one of the main strands of it was to provide financial support for young people who want to pursue a career or opportunities or just experiences in the music and creative and performing arts. "Because we knew it was very difficult for them to get funding, we thought providing bursaries would be quite a good way of doing that." The fund, run by the Community Foundation for Northern Ireland, has so far benefited 58 people, with a further 10 bursaries being awarded this year. One recipient was able to go to Brazil to learn about drumming, another went to ballet school in New York. Penny tries to keep in touch with all those who have benefited from the fund. "We also had one girl from Lurgan who went to Los Angeles for three months to learn dance. She is now moving to Liverpool to continue that, and has made a great success of it," she added. "It's good to see what they're doing now and how they have progressed." Lord Chief Justice Sir Declan Morgan is worried about the effects of further delays to inquests on the families of those who died Northern Ireland's most senior judge has called on political leaders to agree on funding to get urgent progress on inquests from the Troubles. Lord Chief Justice Sir Declan Morgan said delays to the backlog of cases were hugely disappointing and could mean further devastation for grieving families. The judge told the opening of the region's new law term that if a deal was not done it could be decades before all the outstanding cases would be completed - a breach of legal requirements to have them heard in a reasonable time. Sir Declan noted that the NI Department of Justice has not revealed yet the full cost of dealing with the past. "Disappointingly, however, it now appears that a political resolution will be required on an overall legacy package before the resources required for legacy inquests will be released," he said. "It is impossible to see how the issue of legacy can be moved forward politically without progress having been made on the new legislation and in the absence of a clear assessment of the costs involved in implementing all of the elements of a legacy package. "The overall picture is, therefore, hugely disappointing." Dozens of the most highly disputed cases from the Troubles are awaiting inquests, decades after the killings took place. They span allegations of security force misinformation to frame the IRA for bombings, state collusion in loyalist murders, inept police investigations and IRA men shot dead by the army as part of a claimed policy of shooting to kill in which civilians died in the crossfire. Sir Declan has proposed a dedicated unit to hear cases over the next five years but that is dependent on getting the funds from Government. In his address in Belfast, the Lord Chief Justice warned that coroners would only have resources to complete two more inquests this financial year and he called on ministers in the Stormont Executive and Westminster to act. "The coroner's courts will not be able to satisfy their legal obligation to deliver these inquests within a reasonable timeframe in the absence of the necessary resources," he said. "I do not want us to remain in that position since that would be yet another devastating blow to the families. "The judiciary will be facing up to its responsibilities but this is not a matter on which the judiciary alone can deliver. "I therefore call again on the local Executive and legislature, and on the UK Government, to play their part as a matter of urgency. We cannot move on while we remain under the shadow of the past. Nor should we. But time is not on our side." Victims' campaigners said there were 57 legacy inquests involving almost 100 killings. Mark Thompson, director of Relatives for Justice (RFJ), which supports 40 families, accused the Secretary of State's office of playing politics with the issue by seeking agreement from the Northern Ireland First and Deputy First Ministers Arlene Foster and Martin McGuinness. "This is a reserved matter for the sovereign government not the devolved administration," Mr Thompson said. "The time has come for politicking by the Northern Ireland Office and London on this matter to cease. "Families have faced decades of deliberate delay, exacerbating their trauma, as well as denying their rights as victims, and it is unacceptable that the NIO continue to delay." The Pat Finucane Centre said politicians who are causing delays in the hearing of inquests "should hang their head in shame". A spokesman said: "We share with him (the Lord Chief Justice) a belief, however, that there still remains a window of opportunity for the politicians to move forward and this chance must not be squandered. "We join him in calling on the Stormont Executive, the new Northern Secretary of State (James Brokenshire) and parliament in London to seize this moment." Sinn Fein MLA Gerry Kelly said he shared the Lord Chief Justice's frustrations. "There is also deep frustration and anger among relatives, some of whom have waited more than four decades to find out exactly what happened to their loved ones," he said. Mr Kelly added that Sinn Fein fully supported the five-year plan to clear the backlog. "It is the British government who is holding it up by withholding funding and in doing so they are adding to the pain and distress felt by relatives," he said. John Teggart, whose father Danny was among 11 people killed in the Ballymurphy area of west Belfast over three days in August 1971, awaits a full inquest. "This is very disappointing news. We lost two of our main eyewitnesses and campaigners Mary Murphy and Joseph Corr in recent weeks," he said. "When will we have our day in court? We have been campaigning 45 years for the truth and according to this statement from the Lord Chief Justice it could take decades without proper funding to finalise our inquests." Briege Voyle, whose mother Joan Connolly was killed, called on local politicians to stop making excuses and "take their sectarian hats off". "We all have the same pain losing a loved one," she said. Amnesty International's programme director in Northern Ireland welcomed the senior judge's remarks. Patrick Corrigan said: "Bereaved family members have already been made to wait decades for a proper investigation into the deaths of their loved ones. For politicians to continue to deny the prospect of an inquest, after decades of delay and denial of justice, will only add to the victims' sense of betrayal." Titanic Belfast beat the Eiffel Tower and the Colosseum in Rome to be named the best visitor attraction in Europe Titanic Belfast has been crowned best tourist attraction in Europe. The museum, which opened in 2012, staved off competition from the Eiffel Tower in Paris, Rome's Colosseum, the Acropolis in Athens and La Sagrada Familia in Barcelona to scoop the title at the World Travel Awards in Italy. It is the first time anywhere in Northern Ireland has won the accolade in the 23-year history of the awards, dubbed the "Tourism Oscars". Tim Husbands, chief executive of Titanic Belfast, said: "After only four years in operation, to be recognised and beat off stiff competition from Europe's most iconic landmarks is a true honour. "We know what we offer at Titanic Belfast is something our city and country can be proud of and are so pleased that this has been recognised on an international level." Last year, the coveted award was presented to the Guinness Storehouse in Dublin. Titanic Belfast is a six-floor building featuring nine interpretive and interactive galleries exploring the sights, sounds, smells and stories of Titanic, as well as celebrating the city and the people who built the doomed ocean liner. Among the three million visitors from 145 different countries who have passed through its doors are the Queen, former US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, film director James Cameron and celebrities such as Adele and Michael Buble. Northern Ireland's First Minister Arlene Foster has praised the success of the venue. She said: "Titanic Belfast is now a global brand which has put Northern Ireland on the map for all the right reasons so official confirmation that it is now Europe's leading tourist attraction is well deserved." Deputy First Minister Martin McGuinness said it was a "phenomenal achievement" to have won. "The story of the Titanic is known around the globe and it is only right and proper we have a world-class visitor attraction to match," he said. Titanic Belfast was also recently included in Lonely Planet's Ultimate Travelist of 500 of the world's most striking locations. It will now go on to compete for the title of world's leading attraction at a ceremony in the Maldives later this year. The National Union of Journalists has paid tribute to leading Northern Ireland journalist David Morgan, who has died following a long illness. David Morgan (56) was one of the best known journalists in Northern Ireland and a former officer of the Northern Ireland broadcasting NUJ branch. He began his career as a reporter with the Irish News and subsequently worked for BBC NI and UTV. He retired as news editor at Citybeat radio in 2011. Gerry Carson, chairman of the Irish Executive Council of the NUJ, extended sympathy to David's son Richard, himself a reporter with BBC NI. Gerry described David as "a loyal union member with a strong work ethic and a genuine commitment to the profession of journalism". Michael Fisher, former chair of the NI broadcasting branch, recalled David's contribution to the union through his service as branch secretary and member of the broadcasting industrial council. He said: "David was a loyal union colleague. He came from a journalistic family and took pride in the achievements of his son. He will be missed by many colleagues and friends who valued his friendship." Irish secretary Seamus Dooley also extended his sympathies. He said: "David worked as a journalist during the darkest days of The Troubles. He had an abiding interest in current affairs and a genuine commitment to public service broadcasting and to ethical journalism." His funeral takes place this morning in St Michael the Archangel Church on Finaghy Road North at 10am. The number of older people in Ireland looks set to almost double over the next 15 years, according to new research. By 2031, there will be nearly one million people aged 65 or over - a rise of 86.4%, a policy briefing from Social Justice Ireland has found. During the same period, some 136,000 people will also have aged to 85 years or more, representing an increase of 132.8% prompting r esearchers to warn the demographic change could put a strain on services and infrastructure. Dr Sean Healy, director of Social Justice Ireland said: "This level of population ageing will be associated with higher levels of disability and long-term ill-health and now is the time for planning and investment." The findings have been published in Social Justice Ireland's National Social Monitor 2016 which outlines the current situation on a range of policy issues that impact on people's well-being. Dr Healy added: "This level of population ageing will be associated with higher levels of disability and long-term ill-health and now is the time for planning and investment." The report also found there has been a 17% reduction in the number of home help hours delivered since 2008 leaving some families struggling to cover the gaps in care for their elderly relatives. Michelle Murphy, a research and policy analyst with Social Justice Ireland, said: "With an ageing population, the acute hospital system will be unable to operate effectively unless there is a greater shift towards primary and community services as a principal means of meeting patient needs. "A commitment to supporting people at home is only aspirational if funding is not provided for home help services, day care centres and home care packages. These are the very areas which must be the subject of investment to address population ageing." Meanwhile, environment and sustainability were among the other issues covered in the annual monitor with calls for "major changes" on the climate policy to enable the Government to meet the EU2020 targets. The National Skills Strategy should also be "fully resourced" to help those who are unemployed and there were appeals for better investment in rural broadband. One of the founders of the Social Democrats has quit the party, claiming the partnership with his co-leaders did not work. Stephen Donnelly, TD for Wicklow, is leaving the group which was only formed in the summer of 2015 ahead of the last election. "It is a fact that some partnerships, in every walk of life, simply don't work no matter how hard all of the parties to that partnership try to make it succeed," he said. In a statement, the party said: " We are disappointed that he has decided to walk away from the project, we undertook, to establish and build the party." Mr Donnelly, a former management consultant in London and Dublin, was one of the three Social Democrats TDs returned to the Dail following the February election - along with Catherine Murphy and Roisin Shortall. The party had a shared leadership. Mr Donnelly said he took the decision after a prolonged period of consideration and with great sadness. "My decision is based on the fact that for the Social Democrats to achieve its potential as a party of significant influence and scale, despite the many obstacles new parties face, one critical component is that the leadership team must function very well together as a team," he said. "In spite of everyone's best efforts, I have concluded that our partnership did not have that . "I further believe that this would be the case whether the leadership had continued to be shared or was vested in one person, which was not something I or anyone else had sought." Mr Donnelly was first elected in 2011 as an independent. "I will continue to work hard on the issues I am championing, including stopping tax avoidance by vulture funds, improving public services, resolving the mortgage crisis; responsible fiscal management, promoting high quality job creation and reducing the costs of living and doing business," he said. The Social Democrats said they remained fully committed to a vision of a strong economy, fair society and honest politics. "As is the case across the globe, the defence of social democratic values is not dependent on one personality or politician - but rather is a collective pursuit," the party said. "Since the Social Democrats were first founded, in July 2015, we have worked to build the party brick-by-brick. "This is a long term project which requires dedication, hard work, long hours and a major commitment from all involved including our elected representatives. "The levels of dedication required for such a major undertaking can be overwhelming for some." The Social Democrats wished Mr Donnelly the best in his future endeavours and said they looked forward to the party's future development. An influential figure in the Church of Ireland last night said he expects 14 Anglican clergy members who have married their gay partners to now face disciplinary procedures. Canon Ian Ellis, editor of the Church of Ireland Gazette, was reacting to a controversy which has gripped the Church of England. It emerged yesterday that 14 Church of England clergy have defied the Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, and married their gay partners. The gay and lesbian clergy revealed their status in a letter to a newspaper calling for parishes to be allowed to decide for themselves whether to celebrate same-sex marriages. The Church of England has no official liturgy for blessings of gay marriage and the Church forbids clergy from marrying same-sex partners and from conducting gay weddings. The latest revelation in The Sunday Times comes after the Bishop of Grantham became the first in the Church of England to declare that he is gay and in a celibate relationship. The new disclosures are expected to ignite a fierce debate in the Anglican Church and members on this side of the Irish Sea are closely watching developments. Canon Ellis said: "If clergy or bishops disregard the teaching and discipline of the Church, I don't think they should be surprised if the Church follows its disciplinary procedures. "That is what I would expect in the Church of Ireland, and it is what I would expect in the Church of England. "However, I do believe that Church members who are not clergy and who conscientiously decide to enter into a same-sex civil marriage should have the Church's teaching explained to them, but should still be assured of their place in the Church as parishioners, even though their decision is against Church teaching." Canon Ellis said he disagreed with the idea that the same commitments in personal life should be required of both clergy and other members of the Church. "I believe that those who are involved in ordained or commissioned ministry do need to follow the Church's teaching and discipline in a more rigorous way than the person in the pew, because ministers have to teach the Christian faith and have to minister to all members of the Church," he said. "For those reasons they are called in a special way to embody in their own lives the fullness of Church teaching and discipline. "There is, of course, a diversity of views within the Church of Ireland, the Church of England and the wider Church on the subject of same-sex relationships. Nonetheless, each Church must uphold its own teaching as best it can." MPs will seek to learn lessons from Australia's points-based immigration system as they look to draw up recommendations for post-Brexit British border control. The All Party Parliamentary Group on Social Integration, chaired by Labour former frontbencher Chuka Umunna, will meet immigration experts on Monday as part of its inquiry into integration in the UK after the EU referendum. It will hear evidence from Alexander Downer AC, the High Commissioner of Australia to the UK, on the merits of his country's immigration system. Leave campaigners suggested in the run-up to the referendum on June 23 that Britain could seek to imitate the Australian system. Speaking ahead of the meeting, Mr Umunna said: "Politicians from all sides have to accept that the British people, in the main, have rejected freedom of movement. "Some Remain voters were no great fans of free movement either but felt risking access to the single market in order to avoid it was not worth the damage to our economy. "So, Brexit is an opportunity to redesign our immigration system and make it into one that both works and reflects people's concerns. "This new system needs to support both existing communities and newcomers to manage changes that come from extra pressure on our schools, hospitals and public services." Mr Umunna has called on the Government to bring forward plans to create an infrastructure investment fund to help mitigate the impact of immigration. Mr Downer said: "For Australia, migration is the key to building our economy, shaping society, supporting the labour market, reuniting families and providing protection in accordance with international protection obligations. "We are immensely proud of the contribution of migrants to Australian society and culture. Today, almost half of all Australians were born overseas or had at least one parent born overseas. "Our cultural diversity is one of our greatest strengths and is at the heart of who we are as a nation." Other speakers due to address the group include Elizabeth Collett, director of Migration Policy Institute Europe, and Peter Bedford, the leader of Boston Borough Council. Boston recorded the highest Leave vote in the UK at the referendum, with 75.6% of people backing Brexit. People attend a vigil in Harlow after the death of a Polish man in a possible hate crime Hardworking Poles living in the UK must be protected from hate crimes, Polish foreign minister Witold Waszczykowski said after meeting with senior cabinet members in response to a wave of post-Brexit violence. Mr Waszczykowski and Poland's home affairs minister Mariusz Blaszczak met their British counterparts Boris Johnson and Amber Rudd following the series of "unjustified attacks" against people of Polish origin in the UK after the "very heated" campaign preceding the country's vote to leave the European Union (EU). These include the killing of Polish man Arkadiusz Jozwik in Harlow, Essex, and the physical assault of two Polish men within hours of a vigil for Mr Jozwik. The Polish Embassy in London said its consuls have intervened 15 times in recent weeks over reports of xenophobic incidents. Mr Waszczykowski said: "Once again I would like to reiterate: the Polish community, the overwhelming majority of them are people who are hardworking, intelligent, smart. "They are contributing to the society, to the community, to the economy, they are paying taxes - they deserve to be protected." In a meeting on Monday evening which lasted over one hour, the ministers discussed the steps that need to be taken to provide security for Poles living in the UK. The Polish ministers said they were grateful that Prime Minister Theresa May, Mr Johnson and Ms Rudd had condemned the attacks. They added they were confident the recent spate of violence was "an original phenomenon" that would not be repeated. There will be a meeting on Tuesday between the Polish and Essex police in Essex, they said. During the meeting, Mr Johnson and Ms Rudd said they would be looking very closely at the incidents, "which we treat as a very good sign for the future", Mr Blaszczak said. The Polish ministers offered help from Polish police to assist UK officers in communicating with Polish communities, and suggested educational programmes about the contributions of Polish migrants. Mr Blaszczak said: "What we want to achieve is to make sure that that investigation is effective and perpetrators of that tragedy are brought to justice." Mr Waszczykowski said: "We are here not to criticise, not to blame, not to accuse. We are here to find the facts, to find the reasons why it happened and we are here to better solve the problems." Asked if the Polish government regretted its role during the renegotiation over Britain's place in the EU, he said: " The deal which was accepted by the British side in February, it was satisfactory, so we shouldn't be blamed for this. "The result of the referendum was a great surprise for the whole of society and of course the government, so once again, we shouldn't be blamed, we Europeans, for the lack of good result in the referendum." A Foreign Office spokeswoman said: "The Foreign Secretary, Boris Johnson, offered his condolences for the tragic death of Arkadiusz Jozwik. "The Foreign Secretary reassured Minister Waszczykowski and Minister Blaszczak that violence against anyone in this country is a crime and will be treated seriously. The Polish community here in the UK provides a huge contribution to our country and will continue to be welcome." There will be no snap general election before 2020, Prime Minister Theresa May has insisted in her first major interview since taking office. Mrs May told The Andrew Marr Show the country needed a period of stability after the shockwaves of the pro-Brexit vote, and that the UK should be prepared for "difficult times" ahead despite a slew of better than expected economic indicators. The Prime Minister insisted controls on the movement of people from the EU to Britain needed to be imposed as part of an exit deal with Brussels. Brexit Secretary David Davis will make a statement to the Commons this week on the Government's emerging position on the terms of withdrawal, and what kind of relationship the UK wants with the EU, Mrs May said. Pressed on whether she was tempted to call a snap general election with polls showing she could increase her knife-edge majority to one of 130 seats, Mrs May told the BBC: "I'm not going to be calling a snap election. I've been very clear that I think we need that period of time, that stability to be able to deal with the issues the country is facing and have that election in 2020." Mrs May said the referendum result showed Britain could no longer accept free movement of labour. "What the vote, what leaving the European Union does enable us to do is, yes, to say what I think the British people are very clear about, which is that they don't want free movement to continue in the way that it has done in the past," she said. "They do want to see controls of movement of people coming in from the European Union. Now, obviously we're looking at what those options are, what that might be. "But people also want to see the job opportunities, to see the economic opportunities, and so getting a good deal in trading goods and services is also obviously important for us," the PM said in an interview recorded in her constituency before she headed to China for the G20 summit. Meanwhile, Barack Obama has said the US and UK will have to do everything they can to make sure strong trade links do not start "unravelling" as a result of Brexit. In a blow to Brexiteers' hopes of a quick trade deal with the US, he stood by his comment that the UK was now at the "back of the queue" for trade talks. Speaking at the G20 Summit alongside Theresa May, he said the US trade negotiations with the EU is his priority. "It is absolutely true that I believe pre-Brexit vote and post-Brexit vote that the world benefited enormously from the UK's participation in the EU," he said. "But I also said at the time (of making the comment) that ultimately this was a decision for the British people." Mr Obama said that he never meant to say that the US would "punish Great Britain", but simply that he wanted to challenge the "notion" that the consequences of Brexit were negligible and that Brexiteers would "just go ahead and light-up a whole bunch of free trade agreements". Prime Minister Theresa May, pictured with Chancellor Philip Hammond, has dismissed the idea of an Australian-style points-based immigration policy Prime Minister Theresa May has ruled out th e points-based immigration policy championed by Brexit campaigners, saying it was "not a silver bullet" to reduce the numbers coming to the UK. Mrs May was accused of backsliding on immigration by outgoing Ukip leader Nigel Farage, who said that "watering down" the system backed by the Leave side in the EU referendum would lead to real anger. But Mrs May insisted that the Australian system would not succeed in giving Britain control back over its borders. She told a press conference at the G20 summit in China: "What the British people voted for on June 23 was to bring some control into the movement of people from the European Union to the UK. "A points-based system does not give you that control." Mrs May said that as Home Secretary she was told by immigration officers that the most important thing the Government should focus on was students who had met the criteria to come to the UK but did not appear to be heading for a genuine course. "Because they met the criteria, they were automatically allowed in," she said. "That's the problem with a points-based system. "I want a system where the Government is able to decide who comes into the country. I think that's what the British people want. "A points-based system means that people come in automatically if they just meet the criteria." Mrs May said there were "various ways" for the Government to assert control over migration into the UK. "We will be coming forward in due course with proposals," she said. Mrs May indicated that her drive to regain control over immigration would be balanced with the desire to get "the best deal possible" on trade for the UK in negotiations with other EU states. She said: "What we will be doing is working for the best deal for the United Kingdom. "Yes, the voters' message on June 23 was clearly that they didn't want to see free movement continuing as it has done up to now. They wanted some control in movement of people from the EU into the United Kingdom. "But we also want to get the best deal possible for trade in goods and services with the EU, and I intend to go out there and be ambitious. "I think there is a benefit not just for the UK of a good deal in trade in goods and services, but a benefit for Europe as well." In a sign of Italy's concerns about Brexit, the country's economic development minister Carlo Calenda warned that measures to curb free movement would be met with trade barriers from Brussels. "The more they are going to regulate and limit the presence of EU citizens in the UK, the more we are going to limit the presence of UK goods into Europe," Carlo Calenda told Bloomberg Television. "There should be a balance there. You cannot be here in the single market but at the same time excluding some part of the European relationship which is very important." Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton made rival Labour Day campaign pitches in Ohio - with their planes parked on the same tarmac. Mr Trump and his running mate, Mike Pence, prepared to leave Cleveland as Mrs Clinton and Tim Kaine arrived. It was a near-encounter that even forced the Trump press team to the side of the road as Mrs Clinton's motorcade whizzed by. "It's kind of interesting to have all the planes here on the same tarmac," Mr Kaine said as he walked over to greet Mrs Clinton. "Just shows you how important Ohio is. We're going to be here a lot." Mrs Clinton and Mr Kaine planned to take part in a Labour Day festival with union leaders and workers in Cleveland before travelling to Illinois. Mr Trump and Mr Pence attended a round-table discussion with union members, during which Mr Trump warned that America's manufacturing jobs are "going to hell". Mr Trump also appeared with Democratic Mayor Tom Coyne, of Brook Park, Ohio, who said he supported Mr Trump in this spring's Republican primary and would vote for him this autumn. "The mayor today is just one example of what's happening across this country," Mr Trump campaign manager Kellyanne Conway said. "Voters who traditionally have not voted Republican or haven't even voted in a very long time seem to be coming out to support this messenger and this message." While Labour Day has traditionally been the kick-off to the autumn campaign, both Mrs Clinton and Mr Trump have been locked in an intense back-and-forth throughout the summer. Mrs Clinton arrived in Ohio aboard a new blue-and-white Boeing 737 campaign plane emblazoned with her slogan, "Stronger Together". She has mostly travelled by private jet during the primaries and the summer but was being accompanied on the plane by journalists for the first time. "It's so exciting," she told journalists as they boarded her plane. Mrs Clinton has been pressured by media critics and Republicans alike to hold a news conference for the first time in 2016. She has not held a formal question-and-answer session with reporters since one in Iowa in early December. As he left Cleveland for his next stop in Youngstown, Mr Trump extended a rare invitation to a handful of journalists on his private jet, and said that "on occasion," he will invite journalists to travel with him. "It doesn't have to be all the time," he added. He said that his message to voters will be "all about jobs now". Asked whether he will be pressing some of his controversial policy views on immigration, Mr Trump said: "I think I've got that issue very well covered." No Republican has won the White House without winning Ohio and Mr Trump is trying to overcome some splintering in the state party, which was supportive of Ohio Governor John Kasich during the presidential primary. Mrs Clinton has questioned Mr Trump's temperament and preparation to serve as commander in chief while seeking to connect the reality television star to the extreme "alt-right" movement within the Republican Party. Mr Trump visited a predominantly black church in Detroit on Saturday in a rare appearance with minority voters, aiming to counter Mrs Clinton's argument to moderate and suburban voters that he has allowed a racist fringe to influence his candidacy. The start of fully fledged campaigning opens a pivotal month, culminating in the first presidential debate on September 26 at Hofstra University in Hempstead, New York. Polls show Mr Trump trailing Mrs Clinton in a series of must-win battleground states, meaning the debates could be his best chance at reorienting the race. Mr Trump told reporters that he does plan to take part in all three presidential debates, joking that only a "hurricane" or "natural disaster" would prevent him from attending. Mrs Clinton will have millions of dollars at her disposal this autumn to air television advertising. The former secretary of state raised a combined 143 million dollars (107 million) in August for her campaign, the Democratic National Committee and state parties - her best month yet. She began September with more than 68 million dollars (51 million) in her campaign's bank account to use against Mr Trump, who has not yet released initial fundraising totals for August. Democrats were fanning out across battleground states, dispatching Mr Kaine and Vice President Joe Biden to Pittsburgh, former president Bill Clinton to Detroit and Cincinnati and one-time Clinton primary rival Bernie Sanders to New Hampshire. Mr Clinton told a crowd of union workers at the UAW's Labour Day picnic in Detroit that Mr Trump's economic policies have been tried before - cutting taxes on the rich, doubling the national debt and loosening financial industry regulations. "The last time we did that kind of stuff, it didn't work out too well for us," he said. AP 'It will be a few hours, and then Isis will be cut off from the rest of the world' Isis has lost control of its last territories on the border with Turkey, monitoring groups say, in a major blow to the group's ability to receive foreign fighters from the rest of the world. Speaking to The Independent, a spokesperson for the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said Isis had conceded control of its last two villages on the border, retreating to positions around 7-8km to the south. It completes an operation to take control of the area by the rebel Free Syrian Army, backed by a Turkish ground offensive that began at the town of Jarablus on 24 August. On Saturday, more Turkish tanks rolled over the border into Al-Rai, a town some 55km (34 miles) west of Jarablus, and over the weekend a pincer Turkish-rebel offensive has been closing the gap between the two. Rami Abdulrahman, from the UK-based Observatory, said: "Everything is finished. There is no more Isis at the border." Turkey's state-run Anadolu news agency also reported that the advance had removed terror organization Daesh's [Isis] physical contact with the Turkish border in northern Syria." After three years in control of portions of the border, Isis's grasp over the last villages dissolved in a matter of hours. Expand Close Turkish-backed rebels have cleared Islamic State from a 90km corridor along Turkeys Syrian border, reinforcing Ankaras plan to drive out Sunni militants and stop the advance of Syrian Kurdish fighters. In the meantime, Syrian government forces and their allies again laid siege to rebel-held eastern Aleppo. Graphic shows situation in northern Syria The credit GRAPHIC NEWS mu / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Turkish-backed rebels have cleared Islamic State from a 90km corridor along Turkeys Syrian border, reinforcing Ankaras plan to drive out Sunni militants and stop the advance of Syrian Kurdish fighters. In the meantime, Syrian government forces and their allies again laid siege to rebel-held eastern Aleppo. Graphic shows situation in northern Syria Three hours before the Turkish-rebel advance was complete, Isis was still reported as holding four villages. Two hours before, the Observatory had told The Independent: "There is only 4-6km still under Isis control at the border, just two villages and a farm, and after that they [FSA] will control the whole area. "It will be a few hours, and then Isis will be cut off from the rest of the world." Asked how the Turkish-led offensive had been able to secure a stretch of 55km in just two days, mopping up a dozen or more towns and villages, Mr Abdulrahman said: "Isis have stopped fighting there, they are moving out. "We said after they lost Manbij, Isis would start to lose everywhere. Sure enough, when the Turkish forces went into Jarablus that was not really fighting, there was no one killed from either side." For Isis, it seems the link to Turkey became too hard to maintain. "Isis is losing the border because they had operations againt the Free Syrian Army, and also operations against the Kurdish, and against the regime," Mr Abdulrahman said, suggesting Isis will redeploy their fighters elsewhere. Turkey launched its operation in Syria, which it has named Euphrates Shield, with the dual purpose of driving out Isis and stopping the advance of the Kurdish YPG militia, fearing its growing control of northern Syria as Isis's power waned. Speaking at the G20 gathering of world leaders in China, President Tayyip Erdogan made no distinction between Turkey's goals against Isis and the YPG, which controls the rest of the Syrian border area. He told reporters following a meeting with Barack Obama: "It is our wish that a terror corridor not be formed across our southern border." Indeed, with Isis almost pushed back from the border, Turkey appears already to have turned its full attention to the US-backed YPG. Prime Minister Binali Yildirim said in a speech on Sunday in the southeastern city of Diyarbakir: We will never allow the formation of an artificial state in the north of Syria, referring to the Kurdish desire for autonomy in the region. "We are there to protect our borders, ensure the safety of our citizens' lives and property, and to protect the territorial integrity of Syria." Islamic State forces have been pushed back by Turkish troops and Syrian rebels Turkish troops and allied Syrian rebels have driven the Islamic State group from the last strip of territory it controlled along the Syrian-Turkish border, a Turkish news agency reported. The advance effectively seals the extremist group's self-styled caliphate off from the outside word, shutting down key supply lines used to bring in foreign fighters, weapons and ammunition. The Anadolu news agency reported on Sunday that Turkey-backed Free Syrian Army rebels have cleared the area between the northern Syrian towns of Azaz and Jarablus. It said the advance "has removed terror organisation Daesh's physical contact with the Turkish border in northern Syria". Daesh is an Arabic acronym for the Islamic State group. Turkey has launched two incursions into Syria since August 24 in an operation designed to drive IS away from the border and prevent the advance of US-backed Kurdish forces, which are also battling the extremist group. AP Richard Neville, pictured aged 29, in west London - the 1960s counterculture leader has died in Australia Richard Neville, who founded the 1960s counterculture magazine Oz, has died in Australia aged 74. His wife Julie Clarke Neville said said she and their daughters Lucy and Angelica were with him when he died on Sunday night in the east coast town of Byron Bay. She did not say what he died of, but Australian Broadcasting Corporation reported he had Alzheimer's disease. Born in Sydney in 1941, Neville railed against the long era of conservative rule in Australia that lasted from 1949 until 1972. He was editor of the University of New South NSW student magazine when he collaborated with Richard Walsh, editor of the Sydney University student newspaper, and artist Martin Sharp to found anti-establishment magazine Oz. The magazine, first published on April Fool's Day in 1963, mocked hypocrisy in Australian society and took on taboo subjects including abortion, homosexuality, sexism, racism and censorship. Neville was among editors charged with breaching obscenity laws and became locked in a two-year court battle before being cleared on appeal. The public profile of Oz grew when the editors moved to the more permissive society of London. In 1971, Neville and two of his co-editors Felix Denis and James Anderson were charged in Britain with corrupting the morals of children through an obscene publication. They were jailed but later won the case on appeal. The last Oz was published in 1973. "It was a stroke of luck, the obscenity (trial) because it made the magazine quite famous," Oz cartoonist Peter Kingston told ABC on Monday. He said Neville became a life-long friend who was motivated by a strong social conscience and a confrontational nature. Neville met journalist Julie Clarke in 1974 and the pair wrote The Life And Crimes Of Charles Sobhraj, a biography published in 1979 of the French serial killer who preyed on Western tourists in Southeast Asia in the 1970s. The couple married in 1980. Neville published his explanation of the international counterculture Play Power in 1970 and his memoir of London in the 1960s Hippie Hippie Shake in 1995. It was adapted into a film of the same title in 2010. "Our wonderful Richard has gone on to his next adventure," Clarke Neville posted on Facebook. AP President Rodrigo Duterte insists he is answerable only to the Filipino people (AP) Filipino President Rodrigo Duterte has labelled US counterpart Barack Obama a son of a bitch and warned him not to question his policy of extrajudicial killings. Since gaining power in June, Mr Duterte has engaged in a vicious war on drugs, which has seen around 2,400 people killed with impunity by hit squads, drawing international criticism. But before heading to Laos for the ASEAN Summit on Monday, Mr Duterte said he was a leader of a sovereign country and answerable only to the Filipino people. He said Mr Obama should be respectful and refrain from throwing questions at him about the killings, "[or] son of a bitch, I will swear at you in that forum." Mr Duterte was answering a reporter's question about how he intends to explain recent events in the Philippines to Mr Obama. He continued: "Who is he to confront me? As a matter of fact, America has one too many to answer for. "Everybody has a terrible record of extrajudicial killings." The strongman president made his name as a tough law enforcer and has advocated the killing of drug users and suppliers, offering his protection to police officers who do his bidding. Around 900 of the dead were killed in police operations, while the remainder are deaths under investigation a term human rights campaigners say is a euphemism for vigilante murders. At the same conference, Mr Duterte told journalists: "Plenty [of drug dealers] will be killed until the last pusher is out of the streets. Until the [last] drug manufacturer is killed we will continue. Mr Obama is not the only world leader to have felt the sharp end of Mr Dutertes tongue, with Mr Duterte having used the same insult towards the United Nations following criticism of his policies. Maybe well just have to decide to separate from the United Nations, Mr Duterte said in late August. If you are that disrespectful, son of a bitch, then I will just leave you. He later retracted the comment, saying it was a joke, but also refused a meeting with UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon in Laos, saying his schedule did not allow for it. Independent Titanic Belfast has become the first attraction in Northern Ireland to be crowned Europe's Leading Visitor Attraction at the prestigious World Travel Awards. The event known as the Tourism Oscars, was held in Sardinia, Italy on Sunday night. Titanic Belfast fought off stiff competition for the top spot from the Acropolis, Athens, Buckingham Palace, England, Guinness Storehouse, Dublin, La Sagrada Familia, Spain, Ribeira do Porto, Portugal, The Eiffel Tower, France and The Roman Colosseum, Italy. Titanic Belfast Chief Executive, Tim Husbands MBE said it was an "honour" to have won the award after just four years in operation. He said: We know what we offer at Titanic Belfast is something our city and country can be proud of and are so please that this is has been recognised on an international level. We are looking forward to welcoming the national and international visitors that this award will attract to Belfast and Northern Ireland. "We would like to thank everyone who has supported and voted for us. First Minister Arlene Foster said: In just four short years, Titanic Belfast has become an iconic tourist attraction, attracting over three million visitors from all over the world. Titanic Belfast is now a global brand which has put Northern Ireland on the map for all the right reasons so last nights official confirmation that it is now Europes leading tourist attraction is well deserved." Deputy First Minister Martin McGuinness said: Titanic Belfast being voted Europes leading visitor attraction is a phenomenal achievement. The story of the Titanic is known around the globe and it is only right and proper we have a world class visitor attraction to match." Since opening in 2012, Titanic Belfast has established itself as a world-class attraction on the local, national and international stage, and continues to go from strength to strength. Last month, it welcomed its three-millionth visitor, having once again exceeded visitor number expectations. This milestone came during a record-breaking August, as the visitor attraction experienced its busiest day to date. The visitor experience has also experienced significant growth from France, Germany, USA and China year to date. Expand Close First Minister Arlene Foster joins celebrations with Titanic Belfast's Vice-Chairman Conal Harvey (left) and Chief Executive Tim Husbands MBE (centre), as it is named as Europe's Leading Visitor Attraction at the prestigious World Travel Awards. Photographer William Cherry / Press Eye / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp First Minister Arlene Foster joins celebrations with Titanic Belfast's Vice-Chairman Conal Harvey (left) and Chief Executive Tim Husbands MBE (centre), as it is named as Europe's Leading Visitor Attraction at the prestigious World Travel Awards. Photographer William Cherry / Press Eye The award adds to Titanic Belfast accolades as it was recently included in Lonely Planet's Ultimate Travelist of 500 of the world's most striking locations, featuring everything from imposing temples to hidden gems, after only a few years in operation. Tourism NI have said they are "extremely proud" of the success of Titanic Belfast. Chief Executive John McGrillen said: "My colleagues and I at Tourism NI are extremely proud of the achievements of Titanic Belfast over the past four years and of the professionalism, creativity and energy of the staff who run the attraction on a daily basis. "I congratulate Tim and his team on achieving this latest accolade and I have every confidence that Titanic Belfast will remain at the heart of our tourism industry for decades to come. Tourism NI and its forerunner, NITB, played a key role in the development of Titanic Belfast. "The Titanic Belfast team has exceeded our expectations in terms of creating a step change for tourism in Northern Ireland and a catalyst for wider economic growth in Belfast and beyond." Titanic Belfast fun facts Recent undercover reports have revealed over 4,000 'major' breaches of animal welfare laws in just two years in UK abattoirs. Many people think cruel practices don't happen in the UK. Not only are those people mistaken, they're also missing the point. Animal welfare laws are of little to no value, as transgressions often only result in warning letters and dropped prosecutions. Even if they were taken seriously, this wouldn't put an end to cruelty in the meat industry. Most of us would never dream of hurting a cat or dog, but when it comes to pigs, cows and chickens, we turn a blind eye. It's legal to gas male chicks, shoot cows in the head or slit their throats, to cut off horns and beaks without anaesthetic. What is legal and what is moral are completely different issues. Welfare laws in industries which profit from killing animals will always be a sham, because there is no humane way to kill an animal which does not want to die. The next logical step for someone who truly believes in animal welfare is to stop funding industries which profit from animal cruelty, and to go vegan. Elena Orde The Vegan Society Workers leave the Michelin plant in Ballymena for the last time The decision by Caterpillar to seek 200-250 redundancies as well as the potential closure of its plant at Monkstown is deeply disappointing. Above everything else I am mindful of the very direct and personal impact this devastating news will have upon the workers affected and their families as they face an uncertain future. The full weight of all relevant Government departments and agencies will be deployed, to help find alternative employment or through retraining to equip those affected to compete in the labour market. Job losses like those at Caterpillar, Bombardier, JTI and Michelin are devastating blows for those affected, but those who use them to peddle a myth that manufacturing in Northern Ireland is in terminal decline are way off the mark. It's important that when considering the state of manufacturing that we look at the facts and not listen to the ill informed opinions of opposition politicians. The latest official statistics show that: Total manufacturing jobs are now at 80,000 for the first time since 2008; Manufacturing sales stand at 18.1bn, up 1.7%; Manufacturing exports are up 350m to 6.3bn; and Manufacturing output is up 2.4%, outperforming the UK average. I wouldn't dismiss for a second the seriousness of the recent Caterpillar announcement but to suggest that manufacturing is a sunset sector is simply wrong. I am proud of the fact that Northern Ireland businesses continue to build upon our incredible industrial heritage. The fact that one in three of London's red buses are made at Wrightbus in Ballymena. That 40% of the world's mobile crushing and screening equipment is made in Northern Ireland. And that over 30% of the world's airline seats are manufactured at B/E Aerospace in Kilkeel. We should all be praising local companies for the many achievements and successes they are having instead of talking the sector and the economy down. I hear calls from some for the Executive to introduce a dedicated manufacturing strategy as the seemingly obvious answer to job losses. The Executive does have an Economic Strategy which has policies, initiatives and targets on innovation, growth, exports and skills that all assist manufacturing. Between 2011 and 2015 the majority of Invest NI's assistance has gone to manufacturing businesses. Over the last five years the Executive has contributed 270m worth of direct support to manufacturing businesses in Northern Ireland. If I honestly thought that a document with the title of "a manufacturing strategy" would have any impact on the announcements by firms like Caterpillar, JTI or Michelin, I would have launched it weeks ago. But the truth is Caterpillar has been suffering a significant and sustained downturn in its business flowing from a collapse in oil prices which has resulted in company revenues dropping by over 20% in five years. What would a couple of hundred-page documents be able to do to resist the impact of a fall in global commodity prices or a slowdown in China's economy? Our approach is to focus on sectors, with cross cutting themes. That way we can be much more focused on the needs of similar clusters of companies, but still address the issues that impact on them, whether that be skills, productivity including manufacturing processes, infrastructure such as manufacturing technology and energy, innovation and access to markets. To date, strategies are in place for Agri-Foods, Aerospace, Health & Life Sciences, Advanced Manufacturing and Advanced Materials, all of which including manufacturing. This is a much more meaningful, effective and supportive way to address issues in any area of the economy, including manufacturing. Do our opposition parties realise that the call for a Manufacturing Strategy, is a call for a less specific and less effective, higher level document that will not address the needs of very diverse sectors across our economy? Whilst others carp and criticise, the Executive continues on its clear path of transforming Northern Ireland into a globally competitive economy. It is by no means an easy task. We have come out of one of the deepest downturns in living memory and are buffeted by international factors beyond our or any government's control. Yet, in spite of the many challenges we face, Northern Ireland's economy is heading in the right direction. Unemployment is down. Economic inactivity is falling. External visitor numbers are at record levels. Exports and R&D spending are rising. And inward investment is at an historic high. Northern Ireland was once one of the world's economic powerhouses. I believe that we can be again. Everywhere I go I see our entrepreneurial spirit in action across all sectors of our economy. It is my job to work with business to put in place the skills, tax system and infrastructure to make Northern Ireland the globally competitive economy we know it can be. The ghostly sounds of the solar system's "baddest" planet Jupiter have been beamed back to Earth. Nasa spacecraft Juno has captured the best views of Jupiter yet, revealing turbulent storms in the north pole, as well as whistling and whooshing noises emanating from above. Space agency Nasa has released a batch of close-up pictures taken by Juno when it flew within 2,500 miles of Jupiter's dense cloud tops. The data collected also revealed the eerie-sounding transmissions of what the area sounds like. Dr Jonathan Nichols, a Juno mission scientist from the University of Leicester, said the latest success is "amazing" and described the images as "jaw-dropping". He told the BBC: "We're hearing the sounds of the magnetic field from Jupiter vibrating like strings on a guitar. When they get disturbed they ring and that's the sound that we're hearing. It's been changed from radio waves into audio and it makes that great sound. "If you were going to make up a sound that sounds like space, then that's it." He said Juno is the first spacecraft to go in to a "polar orbit", meaning that it is the first spacecraft to get a view down on the poles of Jupiter. Dr Nichols added: "Jupiter is crazy. It's the biggest, baddest, most dangerous place in the solar system. It's really radioactive." Unlike rocky Earth and Mars, Jupiter is a gas giant that probably formed first, shortly after the sun. Studying the largest planet in the solar system may hold clues to understanding how Earth and the rest of the planets formed. Expand Close This Aug. 27, 2016 infrared image provided by NASA shows the southern aurora of Jupiter, captured by NASA's Juno spacecraft. The phenomenon can hardly be seen from Earth due to the position of the two planets. The image is a mosaic of three photographs made as the spacecraft was moving away from the gas giant. (NASA/JPL-Caltech/SwRI/MSSS via AP) AP / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp This Aug. 27, 2016 infrared image provided by NASA shows the southern aurora of Jupiter, captured by NASA's Juno spacecraft. The phenomenon can hardly be seen from Earth due to the position of the two planets. The image is a mosaic of three photographs made as the spacecraft was moving away from the gas giant. (NASA/JPL-Caltech/SwRI/MSSS via AP) After a five-year journey, Juno slipped into orbit around Jupiter in July to map the massive planet's poles, atmosphere and interior. It is the first spacecraft to carry a titanium vault designed to shield its computer and electronics from intense radiation. Juno is only the second mission to orbit Jupiter. When it completes its job in 2018, it will deliberately crash into Jupiter's atmosphere and disintegrate. Nasa planned the finale so that Juno will not accidentally smash into Jupiter's moons, particularly the icy moon Europa, a target of future exploration. Explaining the significance of the latest success, Dr Nichols told the BBC: "It's important because Jupiter tells us the story of the solar system. It tells us the story of the formation of the solar system and therefore us. "So first the sun formed four and a half billion years ago, and then what was left over Jupiter formed, and then what was left over from that we formed. So we're the leftovers of the leftovers if you will. Expand Close This Aug. 27, 2016 image provided by NASA provides a new perspective on Jupiter's south pole, seen when the Juno spacecraft was about 58,700 miles (94,500 kilometers) away. Unlike the equatorial region's familiar structure of belts and zones, the poles are mottled by clockwise and counterclockwise rotating storms of various sizes, similar to giant versions of hurricanes on Earth. (NASA/JPL-Caltech/SwRI/MSSS via AP) AP / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp This Aug. 27, 2016 image provided by NASA provides a new perspective on Jupiter's south pole, seen when the Juno spacecraft was about 58,700 miles (94,500 kilometers) away. Unlike the equatorial region's familiar structure of belts and zones, the poles are mottled by clockwise and counterclockwise rotating storms of various sizes, similar to giant versions of hurricanes on Earth. (NASA/JPL-Caltech/SwRI/MSSS via AP) "Knowing where Jupiter formed in the solar system tells us about how the other planets formed afterwards, so it's all about the story of how the planets formed. "In order to do that we need to know about the interior structure of Jupiter and how the atmosphere works and the composition of Jupiter, and that's what the goal of Juno is." Indian journalists and supporters rally in support of slain journalist Kishore Dave, who was stabbed in his office in Junagadh, Aug. 24, 2016. Indian journalists are demanding a fresh law that safeguards their rights in the wake of a new report that claims more than two dozen of their brethren have been killed since 1992 in the worlds most populous democracy. It is now extremely important to have some sort of cover for journalists, especially those who are vulnerable the ones working in small towns, as they do not have the same level of support as journalists working in big cities, Jagtap Yadav, a senior journalist from Agra, in northern Indias Uttar Pradesh state, told BenarNews. Investigative reporters and cameramen, particularly those covering politics and corruption, are working under constant threats. We need a new law that protects us, Yadav said. Journalist Kishore Dave, the bureau chief of local daily Jai Hind-Sanjh Samachar, was stabbed to death Aug. 22 at his workplace in Junagadh, in Gujarat state, according to Indian media reports. Three suspects were arrested two days later. One of the suspects allegedly was involved in a business partnership with and had issues with the journalist, New Delhi Television reported. Demand grows Yadav said the call for a new law to protect the rights of Indian media workers began in May after two journalists were killed in Bihar while working on separate stories. On May 13, two men on a motorcycle gunned down Rajdeo Ranjan, bureau chief of leading Hindi-language daily Hindustan, in the Siwan district of Bihar state. A day earlier, Taza TV news channel reporter Akhilesh Pratap Singh was killed in a similar fashion in neighboring Jharkhand state. The demand for increased protection gained steam after the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), a New York-based international media watchdog, released a report on Monday claiming that the Indian government had failed to protect journalists who were working to expose graft, Yadav said. The investigative report by CPJ shows that 27 Indian journalists have been killed during the past 24 years. The CPJ said it found only one case in the past 10 years where a suspect had been charged, prosecuted and convicted for killing a journalist. Kishore Daves killing was not included in the CPJ report. As a group, we welcome the CPJ findings. It will strengthen our demand for a new law, Yadav said. The CPJ report also noted that Indias notoriously slow judiciary is a concern. Even if a court hears the case, there will be delays, the report said. India, with its population of 1.25 billion people, has more than 30 million cases pending in the court system, according to the latest available official figures. It is becoming more and more difficult to work and report on [the] ground, partly because there are no credible institutions that one can turn toward, Sonal Mehrotra, chief correspondent with New Delhi Television (NDTV), told BenarNews. Mehrotra and a colleague were threatened with violence, abused and manhandled by a group of lawyers while reporting inside New Delhis Patiala House Courts for a story related to the arrest of a controversial student leader on charges of sedition in February. It is all very ironic as it happened in a court room, which is one of the most important pillars of a democratic society. Shockingly, it took me longer to file a police complaint than it took for the accused to get bail. And not much has moved forward since, Mehrotra said. Calls for law to shield press The New Delhi-based Press Club of India president Rahul Jalali said a law on the books, the Working Journalists Act, provides some cover to regular employees of newspapers, but even press associations are not clear about its exact implementations. We need a new law that covers all working journalists, whether freelance or contractual, so that they are not exploited, Jalali told BenarNews. I have observed that a majority of defamation cases in the past couple of years have been on journalists working for online magazines, which the present law does not protect. G.V.L. Narasimha Rao, the ruling Bharatiya Janata Partys national spokesman, rejected the CPJ findings, claiming there was no need for a separate law. I do not agree with the sentiment that there is shrinking space for free speech in India. This [the CPJ report] is mostly propaganda, he told BenarNews. Yes, there have been incidents of journalists being targeted recently, but we have always made it a point to come forward and vehemently condemn such acts of violence [as] journalism continues to be a strong pillar of our democracy, he added. The majority of our forest encounters were with wild boars, which have become so populous that locals hunt them with large packs of dogs. Encounters with hunters were minimal, but encounters with boars were almost guaranteed each time we went into the field. You might be wondering why would I be scared of running into a pig in the forest? Well, these pigs are big, some of them weighing more than 200 pounds, and when you startle one they charge at you. Because theyre so big they can inflict some serious damage and your only hope is to run to the side and scale a tree as quick as you can. You want to run to the side because the boar cannot change direction once its charging you, but sometimes the simple change in direction isnt enough and they will come after you again, which is why you also need to climb a tree. Because of hunting in the area, many of the boars will run off if you yell loud enough, unless you run into a female with young ones, which is exactly the situation we found ourselves in our first day alone in the field. We had just finished setting up my project at two of the elevational plots in a transect that had three total plots and were on our way to the final plot. In between the patch of forest theres a grassy opening that we walk through because its easier than cutting our way through the forest. Hidden in the grass there was a piglet that did not show itself until we were almost on top of it. It jumped higher than the tall grass and made a noise that was surely a call to its mom. Hearts racing and running backward, we were on the lookout for an angry blur of black racing toward us. Fortunately, the piglets call must not have reached its mom and we cut back into the dense forest to go around where it was still resting in the grass. I did have some less dramatic experiences during my summer in Hawaii that I will never forget. One was snorkeling in the Pacific Ocean. Here the sea turtles swim right up to you as youre floating on the surface. Being able to watch them swim and eat sea grass in their natural habitat is so incredible. I also had the opportunity to snorkel at night with Coastal Manta Rays. We essentially held onto surf boards with lights built into them and the mantas came to us. The lights attract plankton, small plants that float in the water, which the manta rays eat. On average these manta rays have a wingspan of 8-12 feet, but one female that frequents the area where we snorkeled was 14 feet, tip to tip. So, these are incredibly large creatures, which makes it even more incredible to see them gliding gracefully through the water. As if that werent cool enough, they also get incredibly close to you floating on the surface of the water so close that you almost have to lift yourself up out of the water to avoid them hitting you, and you can see all of the little organs within their gills. This was my absolute favorite experience during this summer. The first independent communications/PR measurement agency in Nigeria, P+ Measurement Services, recently became a member of the International Association for Measurement and Evaluation of Communication (AMEC). Philip Odiakose In a chat with Philip Odiakose, lead consultant of the firm P+ Measurement Services, he spoke on the benefit of being AMEC member and why it is unethical, unhealthy and unprofessional for PR agencies to mark their own homework. This is an excerpt from that interview with BrandArea: Q: Communications/PR measurement is key to the growth of any business. How is this practice in Nigeria? A: AMEC is the International Association for Measurement and Evaluation of Communication. The PR measurement practice is a budding industry in Nigeria. Brands are gradually warming up to the idea that value measurement is a core aspect of every marketing communications campaign. Benchmarking has become more important, PR measurement is gradually taking center stage and definitely trend setting will complete the revolution for future performances of businesses and brands and we are glad that P+ is at the forefront of this evolution in the Nigerian business space. There are no independent associations in Nigeria for the consultants in Nigeria, that is the reason PR agencies can take independent monitoring briefs, which is unethical, unhealthy and unprofessional for an agency to mark their own homework. Q: Can you expand more on that? A: From my experience in the IMC industry, I can tell you that sometimes agencies trim down on the negative report in order to look good in the eyes of the brand owners. Especially if the story is being published in one of the second tier publications that they feel doesn't matter. That is why part of the service we also provide to our clients is crisis management advisory. We understand the behaviour of the online media; we have monitored them and their feeders for a long time to know how to engage them when we want to. Q: How do you feel becoming the first member of AMEC in Nigeria? A: We are excited to be the first member of AMEC in Nigeria. We are also happy to be the first independent communications/PR measurement agency in Nigeria. Our drive has been to improve the value proposition of brands so as to create an environment where brands can improve their services after reviewing the results of their campaigns. We want PR agencies to start seeing independent communications measurement agencies as partners (friends) rather than foes, as our work helps to reflect the effectiveness of their activities. Q: Many brand owners have been cutting costs on marketing communications, how has that affected P+? A: The economic situation has affected brands no doubt, but we have been able to play a vital role in the growth of several brands even in this recession. We have proved through this period of recession that our consistent services are valuable to our clients by constantly providing them with access to information about their brands and supplementary information about the economic situation, so the effect on us has been minimal. Q: Tell us about some of the things P+ has done this year? A: As new entrants into the Nigerian market, we are proud of some of the work weve been able to do this year. We have provided PR measurement and media monitoring for clients locally and internationally across diverse industries ranging from financial institutions, airlines, mobile technology, politics and government, tourism and resorts (South Africa), beverages and regional carnivals. Q: Where do you see P+ in the next 5 years? A: In the next five years I see an industry where brands will put a stop to the practice of allowing PR agencies to handle their media monitoring and reportage, an industry where professionalism is paramount and one in which P+ is bringing in new innovations to help PR agencies and communications managers implement the new public relations measurement standard of the industry. Q: What does being a member of AMEC mean for P+? A: AMEC membership is internationally representative, with members in over 48 different countries, providing an opportunity to network and do business across borders which P+ happens to be the only member in Nigeria currently. I have always said that measurements and evaluations are destined for top management capacities; from the creative strategy sessions and the processes of determining results. The future of the measurement industry is an industry where measurement consultants are called in during the planning phase to help determine a scope for how to measure results of their campaigns on all platforms from the start. So-called killer diseases of the past have been reduced to common ailments. Some 50 to 70 years, people died from bacteria and viruses which, today, a simple vaccine or medication will cure. A world without medical innovation would be catastrophic for humankind, says Dr Konji Sebati, CEO of the Innovative Pharmaceutical Association South Africa (IPASA). Cost and limited access For us to work towards our aim of a healthier population, it is important for people to understand and appreciate the role of medicine innovation in their own lives. Not only have we eradicated many diseases which previously were killers, but there has been a pipeline of new innovations which continue to contain and may ultimately eradicate many existing life-threatening diseases. This is not widely understood or appreciated, due to a number of factors. One is the controversy regarding the cost and limited access for low-income groups to essential drugs, diagnostics, vaccines and medical devices in Africa. The industry has made considerable progress in broadening access in sub-Saharan Africa, especially in combating HIV, something that is being accomplished without sacrificing innovation. The need for innovation stems from the nature of bacteria which can evolve and which in many cases are several steps ahead of current medical research. It is not a static environment we are dealing with. We want the broad public to understand that we innovate not for the sake of profit, or for its own sake. Our scientists are dedicated to finding solutions to medical needs that is what they trained for and is their vocation, says Sebati. Need for private- and public-sector funding However, a particular prerequisite of innovation is its need for support and funding, both by the private sector and public sectors. The quantum of support by the government, whether it be 10%, 20% or more, is less significant than the fact that it is supporting innovation and mitigating some of the risk of medicine development. We, at IPASA, think both sectors should be involved as medical innovation is both a humanitarian requisite and one of the most important levers of economic development, says Sebati. Sebati, a medical practitioner by training, has over 25 years experience in both the public and private sectors, having managed 21 primary healthcare clinics and she commissioned a new 200-bed hospital, Odi Hospital, Ga-Rankuwa, for which she also served as hospital administrator. Phillip Tshuma is a happy farmer. Despite one of the worst droughts ever to hit his country, Zimbabwe, Tshuma's maize and small grains harvests this year are 50% more than they were in 2015, thanks to micro-dosing, the targeted application of small quantities of fertiliser in a field. Using the micro-dosing method, farmers apply about 8 kg to 10 kg of nitrogen fertiliser per hectare, approximately a fifth of the recommended application rates. Photo: Busani Bafana Image Source: AfricaRenewal - Simnai and Phillip Tshuma, smallholder farmers from Hwange, Zimbabwe, show off their sorghum crop planted using fertilizers. Last season Tshuma made about $350 in profits from his harvests, a decent amount in a country where most survive on less than $1.25 per day. He plans to spend a third of that on nitrogen fertiliser for use in the next season. If things go as anticipated, he will make more profit each season from his farm in the Hwange District in Southern Zimbabwe. It was only a decade ago that African leaders adopted, at a special summit in Abuja, Nigeria, a 12-point resolution on the use of fertiliser as part of efforts to achieve an African Green Revolution. They acknowledged that inorganic fertiliser alone could not lift agricultural output, and requested countries to commit to increasing fertiliser use from an average of 8 kg of fertilizer per hectare in 2005 to 50 kg per hectare by 2015. Both organic and inorganic fertilisers provide plants with the nutrients they need to grow healthy and strong. Organic fertilisers contain only plant- or animal-based materials, such as manures, leaves, and compost that are either by-products or end products of naturally occurring processes. Inorganic fertiliser, also referred to as synthetic fertiliser, is manufactured artificially and contains synthetic chemicals. Organic fertiliser releases nutrients only when the soil is warm and moist, while inorganic fertiliser provides this nutrition in a plant-ready form immediately. With a Green Revolution, Africa would be following in the footsteps of Asia and Latin America, where effective policies, new farming methods, improved inputs and high-yield seed varieties have improved harvests and reduced poverty. Although no country has met the target for 2015, Rhoda Peace Tumusiime, the African Union commissioner for rural economy and agriculture, says there is no need to despair and that countries should instead continue to invest in improving access to fertiliser for smallholder farmers. Increasing demand Richard Mkandawire, the vice president of the African Fertilizer and Agribusiness Partnership (AFAP) an organisation that promotes investment in commercial fertiliser in Africa says that despite failing to meet the target, some countries made significant progress in increasing their use of fertiliser. A World Bank report notes that between 2005 and 2015, Ethiopia recorded the highest proportional increase of fertiliser use per hectare, from 11 kg to 24 kg. Within the same period, Ghanas fertiliser use increased from 20 kg to 35 kg per hectare and Kenyas from 33 kg to 44 kg. As a result of the increase in fertiliser usage over the 10-year period, the countries recorded growth in farm yields and in the agriculture sector generally, with Ghana notching a 4.6% growth in 2014, according to the Ghana Statistical Service. In Kenya, there was a 56% increase in smallholder fertiliser use, and maize yields increased by 18% between 1997 and 2007, according to data from a nationwide household survey. A bit of fertiliser goes a long way In March 2016, Amit Roy, a former president of the International Fertilizer Development Center, told the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) regional conference for Africa in Cote dIvoire that while Africa had not achieved the fertiliser use targets set under the Abuja Declaration, it was on course to reach at an average of at least 17 kg per hectare by 2018. Although this will still represent a modest improvement, it will be double what it used to be when the declaration was made. According to the International Fertilizer Industry Association, a global trading body representing over 500 fertiliser producers and distributors, the average fertiliser use in many countries in Africa today is still as low as 12 kg per hectare, compared to Asian countries like Malaysia, where usage averages 1,570 kg per hectare, Hong Kong (1,297 kg per hectare) and Bangladesh (278 kg per hectare). Nevertheless, fertiliser demand in Africa has been rising since 2008, particularly in Sub-Saharan Africa, where usage has increased by 130%, says the International Fertilizer Development Center, a group that seeks to increase agricultural productivity by promoting crop nutrition and agribusiness skills. Roy reckons fertiliser demand will reach seven million metric tons by 2018, although this figure will represent a mere 2% of global consumption. Brazil, China, India, and the US drive global fertiliser consumption collectively, accounting for 55% of global demand. The evidence that micro-dosing could be a breakthrough method in increasing fertiliser use in Africa is demonstrated by Tshuma, who is one of the 170,000 households in Zimbabwe giving it a try. His cereal production, which has since doubled, has significantly improved his familys food security. By promoting micro-dosing, Zimbabwe is already saving $7 million in food imports annually, according to the International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT). The cost of micro-dosing Micro-dosing is affordable and, when adopted by smallholder farmers, enhances fertiliser use, says ICRISAT, adding that the returns on investment are still higher than before. Tshuma maintains that the small amounts of fertiliser he uses in micro-dosing yield bigger returns without much money. He would need to spend over $300 per season on fertiliser alone if he applied the 50 kg per hectare that African leaders set as a threshold. In Zimbabwe, ICRISAT used crop models to study the cost of micro-dosing and how the practice works. The study found that, contrary to conventional wisdom, even small amounts of fertiliser can increase yields significantly. Using micro-dosing, farmers apply about 8 kg to 10 kg of nitrogen per hectare, approximately a fifth of the recommended application rates. Martin Moyo, a scientist at ICRISAT, says that despite obvious benefits, not many Zimbabwean smallholder farmers practice micro-dosing due to lack of knowledge, as well as difficulties with availability and affordability. There are also cultural and traditional beliefs that discourage farmers from the practice, such as the belief that fertilisers burn crops. Dealing with soil infertility A decline in soil fertility resulting from mono-cropping, degraded soils, and other factors, often blamed for the drop in crop yields across Africa, ought to encourage African smallholder farmers to use fertilisers. Fertiliser use supports soil quality and also helps mitigate the effects of soil erosion and nutrient depletion. A 2015 FAO report titled The Status of the World's Soil Resources urges countries to encourage farmers to return crop residues and other organic material to the soil, employ crop rotation with nitrogen-fixing crops and carefully use organic and mineral fertilisers. Fertiliser is key to Africas food security and we need to keep pushing private-sector involvement in its development, said Tumusiime. To boost agricultural productivity, African countries must embark on mechanised agriculture and increase fertiliser use, says Grace Akello, Ugandas ambassador to Italy and also representative to the FAO and the UN World Food Programme, adding, We have to raise productivity of our agriculture by improving the health of our soils and increase fertiliser use because we are aware of the poor conditions of soils in many parts of Africa. Financing fertiliser There is a need for Africa to accelerate sustainable soil management practices and capitalise on the Africa Fertilizer Financial Mechanism set up by the AU at its Africa Fertilizer Summit in 2006 to promote fertiliser use, advises Roy. Last July, a meeting organised by AFAP and the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI), a global agricultural research centre, to review progress on fertiliser use in the region concluded that while several regional economic communities have established successful regional fertiliser markets, they still face poor infrastructure and distribution networks, as well as problems with storage and local blending facilities. Smallholder farmers will increase their fertiliser use if they can get affordable access, said Mkandawire. Limited fertiliser access leads to prohibitively high costs, resulting in smallholder farmers using less or not at all. This ultimately leads to the low-level productivity trap. In such a trap, constraints such as lack of fertiliser investment incentives and a stagnant rural economy reinforce each other, Mkandawire said. Most smallholder farmers are already stuck in a low soil fertility - poverty trap, making it impossible for them to afford inputs needed to increase productivity and end hunger, Mkandawire explains. Experts agree that micro-dosing, increased fertiliser use, private-sector investment, improved access to credit, reduction in import costs, smart subsidy programmes and accelerated sustainable soil practices will help Africa realise its Green Revolution dream. The challenge is for countries to work with the experts and follow through. Africa Renewal All hospitals should be investing in research and ongoing educational programmes around hospital-acquired infections (HAIs), including the role of mobile phone usage by healthcare workers during work hours. This could significantly assist in preventing HAIs which could lead to a decrease in the burdens our hospitals are under in South Africa HAIs are defined as infections that are acquired by patients while hospitalised, providing the patient was not incubating that infection when they were admitted. Research While there is research into the link between cell phone usage and HAIs in South Africa, published in the Southern African Journal of Infectious Diseases in May 2016, the authors of the study admit that their sample size was small. Of the 100 mobile phones sampled in the research, 30 were contaminated with bacteria. The research noted that: This is lower than the prevalence found in other studies, but still of concern in view of the possible risk factor for the spread of infection. There is little available data on the prevalence of HAIs because surveillance of these infections is neglected and poorly resourced, according to another research paper published in the South African Medical Journal. No standardised surveillance systems Ultimately, unless we understand the burden of HAIs there is little we can do about them and currently, very few SA healthcare facilities understand their own HAI burden at a sufficiently detailed level, the paper says. South Africa has no national standardised surveillance system for HAIs which makes it difficult to assess the prevalence of the issue in the country and develop necessary strategies to combat it. Graham Anderson, CEO and principal officer of Profmed, has called on both private and public sector hospitals to implement systems and dedicated teams to monitor HAIs. He says a contributing factor behind a lack of resources in HAI surveillance is the fact that this type of system requires significant investment from hospitals. The existing research shows, however, that a better understanding of HAIs provides significant benefits through more targeted interventions and efficient use of resources. My very first experience of the media world was selling advertising for our university newspaper. We got regular advertisers to continue their holdings, brought on board new advertisers which paid for us to increase the pagination and, in one honest mistake, I sold the back page on a full-year contract not quite knowing that the back page is conventionally for 'sports'. Ross Sergeant At the time I was a regular newspaper reader myself and, although a finance degree doesnt exactly call for a lot of essay-writing, I had a fair grasp of the creative writing talents that a journalist might need. What I hadnt yet realised was the degree to which the young student journalists went to make sure that the news they reported was factually correct, objective, provided a proper context and was sufficiently in-depth. While we were setting the physical material (which arrived by the post) in to place we watched the editorial team debating for hours, with as much fascination as finances majors can stare at journalism majors, on whether the news was balanced, objective, whether it had sufficient verified sources and checking every single fact covered. Once this was all done, the editors and sub-editors checked each and every piece over and over again. The attention to detail was inspiring. Today, we live in a world once only imagined in science fiction. Conversations, pictures and video flow around the globe almost instantly from anyone wishing to share to anyone willing to receive. News of tragedy can tear through billions of hearts and lovable kittens can spread millions of smiles all faster than the speed of sound. According to an International Center for Media & the Public Agenda study, students today are not just unwilling, but functionally unable to be without their media links to the world. Starved of news for 24 hours, those in the study reported severe stress, saying one, Although I started the day feeling good, I noticed my mood started to change around noon. I started to feel isolated and lonely. But it is a somewhat different world to the dystopian future predicted in great novels such as 1984 by George Orwell. Its not quite the one where a single news source controlled by an autocratic power is the only supplier of news to the people. Recent local efforts to obtain this imagined dreadful future seem somewhat ignorant in the face of digital adoption. In fact, our reality is precisely the opposite. In South Africa, over half (51%) of city-dwelling LSM 10 consumers are heavy Internet users (more than five hours per day) and 46% say they often post online (Target Group Index). 60% of Americans say they get their news from social media and 66% of American Facebook users say they are most likely to get their news on Facebook (Pew Research). But if were increasingly getting our news instantly and more and more of it through user-generated content, how much of it is true? Do we actually believe all the things we read? Following conversations on Twitter during a developing story might make one think the majority of us actually do believe whatever is shared regardless of the source. The American Press Institute found that only 12% of Facebook users had a great deal of trust in the news they read on that platform. Twitter did slightly better with LinkedIn the highest at only 23%. 66% of those who got their news through Facebook cited the source of the news (rather than the person posting it or how many comments or likes it received) as the most important factor in trusting the news they gained through social media. Whilst this is an encouraging level of scepticism it still leaves a tremendous gap of people who do believe whatever they read, regardless of whoever posted it and regardless of the original source. Globally, mainstream media is under increasing pressure to keep the commercial engine going. The broadcast television news model once a major revenue contributor of stations is crumbling in favour of bite-sized digital formats which draw less income. Newspapers, particularly, are struggling to monetise their move from the increasingly-redundant printed format to digital. Unsuccessful paywalls and the prevalence of ad blocking arent helping. In the past five years, global newspaper revenues (including printed circulation sales and print advertising as well as digital subscriptions and advertising) have declined 4.3% overall (World Press Trends Survey June 2016). We may be destined for world with fewer and fewer credible news sources. Not only does this have the dangerous effect of the spread of shallow, inaccurate information, but it would have a marked effect on brands too. Consumers hold brands accountable for the content they distribute and the content with which they associate themselves. 39% of UK social media users say they would lose trust in a brand if they found out the content the brand claimed to be real (or associated with) wasnt genuine (Censuswide 2016). Since the dawn of modern advertising, brands and content providers have existed in a symbiotic relationship. The content lends credibility to the brands and the brands provide the finances to keep the content going. As we move through exciting times of redundancy of old formats, creation of new commercial models one key relationship remains true people deserve credible news and brands need consumers to believe the news is credible. This article originally appeared in Ads24s trade newspaper The Beat. Late last week, KFC South Africa celebrated the return of its memorable tagline, 'It's Finger Lickin' Good', with J'Something Micasa ,musician turned chef at a sensory dining experience at the Good Food Studio, in Johannesburg. Guests were delighted as JSomething, assisted by Sam Mdluli, KFC head cook, revealed how the brand freshly prepares its chicken by hand every single day in its restaurants. Mdluli has worked at KFC for over 25 years, during which time he has prepared over 91 million pieces of chicken, exactly the same way Colonel Harland Saunders did over 75 years ago. Guests then tried their hand at preparing KFCs Original Recipe chicken and had the opportunity to be one of the first few people in the country to not only make, but also try out the new KFC Burrito, coming to KFC restaurants on 6 September 2016. This was accompanied by a serenade from JSomething. FreshStop has added three new fast food lines to its in-house offerings - Hooked On Fish, Mr Brown's and Grill to Go. These join the existing 21 Crispy Chicken outlets, 2 Doughnut Delite outlets and 12 Biltong Bars, within select FreshStop stores across the country. Joe Boyle, director at FreshStop, explains, With fish being the fastest growing food segment in South Africa, based on the number of outlets opened during the past few years, we expect Hooked On Fish to do very well. We have opened four Hooked On Fish outlets and we are planning to rollout an additional five by the end of the 2016. In contrast to the national popularity of fish and chips, FreshStop as a new regional concept has introduced Mr Browns, a smoked BBQ product that originates from the Southern US. It is a standalone brand that has partnered with FreshStop and has three outlets open in Hillcrest, Gilletts and Cato Ridge in the Durban area. The Mr Browns product offering has done extremely well in KwaZulu-Natal and in Hillcrest specifically, where it contributes 14% to the stores sales participation, explains Craig Davis, new category development manager at FreshStop. The latest venture, a burger/mixed grill concept called Grill to Go, opened its first outlet at FreshStop Penlyn in Cape Town in early December 2015. It is a completely new concept that weve been working on for the past year and it has received a lot of interest from our retailers so far, so were confident that it is going to do very well. Our second outlet opened in Maclear in the Eastern Cape in January and 3rd opened in Mafikeng in June 2016, with another five outlets planned this year still, adds Davis. FreshStops approach provides store retailers with a basket of offerings to choose from to suit their specific customer base and location, at affordable entry costs. According to Boyle, Our store retailers want to be in a position to offer their customers new brands and food lines to attract further shoppers and drive sales. Retailers can also select various concepts that complement one another, such as a Seattle Coffee and Doughnut Delite; or a selection of two proteins such as Crispy Chicken and Hooked On Fish to cover various target markets. Convenience retail brands must have a solid food service strategy to be successful in todays rapidly changing retail environment and our selection of fast food concepts with low cost of entry and shared operational expenses form part of this future view of our business. [Newsmaker] Sechaba Motsieloa from Magna Carta Sechaba Motsieloa was appointed as the new CEO of Magna Carta Reputation Management Consultants last month. He began his new role at the beginning of September, having moved from McDonald's South Africa where he was corporate affairs director Motsieloa takes over from Vincent Magwenya who has been with the TBWA\ Group for the past four and a half years. Briefly tell us about your role as CEO of Magna Carta? Briefly tell us about your role as CEO of Magna Carta? Motsieloa: My role, working with the business heads, is to secure the future of Magna Carta by making decisions now that will make us win in the present without compromising our future. Winning in the present gives the teams they lead the confidence to buy into the future. Finding harmony between all the stakeholder requirements and ensuring that we meet or exceed their expectations. I want us to do for our clients what our competitors cant do or wont do. What will your first order of business be? What will your first order of business be? Motsieloa: Matching our current resource allocation to the needs of our clients and making adjustments where required. The starting point will be meeting with the business heads and staff leading projects to learn from them. At the same time I will also be meeting with clients to check if there are any gaps between their expectations and our commitments to them. The biggest trend to note in your industry? The biggest trend to note in your industry? Motsieloa: Contextualising business and brand reputation in the dynamic digital world where reputation can be lost at a click of a button. What is your core strategy? What is your core strategy? Motsieloa: We are a leading world class African reputation management company. We offer reputation management solutions by partnering with our clients to inform strategy, corporate communication, brand communication, stakeholder relations, public affairs, investor relations, social PR, crises communication, their content in the media whilst ensuring a fully integrated approach to reputation management. What is your main business challenge? What is your main business challenge? Motsieloa: The challenging economic environment with projected flat growth is putting pressure on consumers and as a result our clients have to constantly adjust the execution of their business plans. Internally therefore as Magna Carta we need to be nimble and offer our clients relevant solutions in response to the prevailing business conditions as well as the anticipated challenges in the future. Most important attribute needed to do your job? Most important attribute needed to do your job? Motsieloa: Closing the gap between the promise made to clients and delivering on it. The ability to hold people accountable for their deliverables and supporting them by giving them the required resources and most importantly creating a working culture that sets them up to succeed. What inspires you? What inspires you? Motsieloa: Mother Nature. There is so much to learn from the flora and fauna about how to not only live, but to thrive. What's at the top of your bucket list? What's at the top of your bucket list? Motsieloa: Learning about our clients business, their opportunities and challenges in the market place so that I can align our people competencies and capability to better service them now and into the future. I will also be introducing myself to the people in the business as well as getting to know them. Our delivery is through our people so it will be very important to me to find how I can be an enabler for them. There is a global shift towards energy efficiency, environmental sustainability and green buildings. South Africa's recent signing of the Paris Agreements, coupled with increasing demand on the power grid is driving many businesses to invest in energy efficiency and alternative energy sources. Global interest and investments in energy efficiency and renewable energy are at an all-time high. At the same time, case studies for the 'greening' of existing buildings, are proving that such investments can not only save energy, but also provide an attractive financial return for building owners. Clay Nesler and Neil Cameron For example, in 2009, the Empire State Building in the United States embarked on a project to reduce costs, increase real estate value and protect the environment. In 2011, the building beat its first year energy-efficiency target by 5%, saving $2.4m. The following three years saw the program generate a total of approximately $7.5m in energy savings at the landmark building. The multi-million dollar investment in greening the building is projected to save 38% in energy consumption, not only saving money for the buildings owners, but also for the buildings tenants who agreed to build out their office space to high performance standards. On-site renewable energy generation The next big trend in the evolution of green buildings is to use on-site renewable energy generation to deliver more energy to the electric grid than it consumes from the grid over the course of a year. These buildings, called nett zero or nett positive, are a key global strategy for delivering on the Paris COP21 commitments. The 2016 Johnson Controls Energy Efficiency Indicator (EEI) survey of more than 1,200 facility and energy management executives in the United States, Brazil, China, Germany and India indicates that as many as 72% of the organisations surveyed anticipate increased investments in energy efficiency and renewable energy over the next 12 months. It also pointed to lack of funding, insufficient payback, uncertain savings and a lack of technical expertise as the most significant barriers to investment. Similarly, there is a perception in South Africa that investing in green buildings is prohibitively expensive. While it can be costly, the cost savings will usually more than make up for the expenditure over time and subsequent to the payback period, the savings add directly to the bottom line. Over and above the cost saving and contribution towards a more sustainable environment, there are multiple additional benefits to energy efficient buildings, such as the positive effect on a business brand and reputation with investors, customers and employees. There is a feel-good factor to knowing that a business is concerned for the environment. Start with little things There are a number of ways that companies can begin investing in energy efficiency and they dont all involve the investment of massive amounts of money into complete building retrofits. Building owners can start with little things, like properly insulating their building to reduce the cooling load, thus reducing the size and costs of the air-conditioning system. Using sensor technology to automatically detect peoples presence in a conference room or office and adjusting the lighting, cooling and ventilation accordingly also makes a big impact, as equipment is not in use unnecessarily. Building owners with multiple tenants can also promote energy efficiency by including energy efficiency provisions in leases to incentivise high performance. They can also educate tenants and promote healthy competition between tenants to see who can reduce energy the most over a given time period. Businesses looking to go green adopt a phased approach, ensuring that the right steps are taken in the right order. The iconic building in the US example shows us that having a knowledgeable team of experts on board and following a proper, well thought out master plan can ensure that benefit is maximised with minimum investment. With such a strong business case for energy efficiency and renewable energy, South African companies should have no excuse for not investing in greener buildings. With the global trend evidencing a move towards a more sustainable future, South African companies need to act now to take full advantage of the significant financial benefits while helping to preserve the environment and drive economic growth and job creation in our communities. An area of the north-eastern Free State has become the first in the province to be declared a "protected environment". The 17,456-hectare protected area, known as the Sneeuwberg Protected Environment (SPE), was gazetted on Friday 29 July 2016. A protected environment is a class of protection under the National Environmental Management: Protected Areas Act (NEMPAA), which offers the next most secure form of protection after a nature reserve. The fact that protected areas can be proclaimed on privately owned land is made possible through the national Biodiversity Stewardship Programme. Protected environments require a management plan encompassing issues like veld management and wetland protection, while still allowing residents to make a living off the land through activities such as livestock farming and tourism. Strategic water source area The Sneeuwberg Protected Environment lies within a strategic water source area, feeding rivers that provide water for cities. It is also rich in fauna and flora and falls within the Grasslands Important Bird and Biodiversity Area (IBA). The area is important for unique and threatened bird species such as the threatened Wattled Crane, Southern Bald Ibis, Blue Korhaan, Denhams Bustard, Yellow-breasted Pipit and Rudds Lark. Other special species to occur in the mountainous grassland environment include the Oribi and Giant Girdled Lizard. In terms of the gazette notice, the purpose of the declaration is to: Regulate the area as a buffer zone for the protection of and conservation of the provincial Seekoeivlei Nature Reserve; To enable landowners to take collective action to protect unique and threatened grasslands, wetlands, and the associated animals; and To ensure that ecosystem services derived from the area (such as water production) are sustained. In 2012, WWF South Africa, BirdLife South Africa, the Department of Economic, Small Business Development, Tourism and Environmental Affairs (DESTEA) in the Free State and 12 landowners came together to develop a conservation plan for the valuable biodiversity within the focal area. With the declaration of the SPE, the plan is to build on this success through the establishment of additional private protected areas that are critically important for biodiversity and as water source areas in other parts of the Free State. Use of innovative mechanisms The Sneeuwberg Protected Environment is another success story for our birds, grasslands and water resources, providing the springboard for future protected area declarations of this nature in the Free State. We applaud MEC Mr Malambulele Samuel Mashinini for his foresight and the Memel landowners for their commitment to conservation," comments Mark Anderson, CEO for BirdLife South Africa. "South Africas rich diversity of 847 bird species relies on the successful conservation of our 112 Important Bird and Biodiversity Areas (IBAs). This is, in part, dependent on achieving legal protection for priority IBAs, and can be accomplished using innovative mechanisms such as biodiversity stewardship, and through strategic partnerships between NGOs, government and landowners. Says Dr Morne Du Plessis, CEO for WWF South Africa: I commend the Free State provincial government, landowners and our partners for reaching this significant milestone. The declaration of the Sneeuwberg Protected Environment not only recognises the unique biodiversity of South Africas grasslands but also the need for those who live in this beautiful part of the country to sustain their livelihoods through caring for the environment. As an important water source area, the wellbeing of this natural system is of significance to us all. Officials say unselective species of trees have been planted across Kigali - the capital of Rwanda - and other towns around the country with no regard to international standards for urban forestry. It is against this background that the government has embarked on formulating a policy, which will complement the Kigali City Master plan and the national green-growth agenda. This is so property developers also get to plan for urban afforestation while putting into consideration specific species of trees to grow in cities and towns. Antoinetorrens via Wikimedia Commons - Gishwati hills, Rwanda Vincent Biruta, the Minister for Natural Resources, says that as Rwanda strives to increase Forest Landscape Restoration (FLR) across the country, the government is equally mindful about mitigating carbon emission in urban areas, hence looking at urban forestry as key leverage to meet this target. Biruta made the remarks during deliberations on policies and opportunities for sustainable economies, at a two-day Africa High-Level Bonn Challenge Roundtable meeting which concluded in Kigali. The meeting brought together more than 50 environment leaders and experts from over 20 African countries that have demonstrated leadership on forest landscape restoration, as well as delegates from international organisations supporting these endeavors. Streamlining urban forestry Birutas comments were echoed by Rwanda Environment Management Authority's (REMA) acting director general Eng. Colleta Ruhamya, who noted that a policy to streamline urban forestry is being worked on, and is expected to come into force in the near future. The new procedure originates from the study that was conducted which shows what would be planted in urban areas, Ruhamya told The New Times in an interview. We have been planting just any kind of trees; everybody plants tree species they are interested in but we need to know the appropriate trees to be planted in urban areas, at which length and, of course, their benefits, Ruhamya added. Ruhamya said the new campaign to promote specific trees in urban areas, is aimed at producing more oxygen which would meet high carbon emission in urban centres. When you are in Kimihurura and then move to the Kiyovu area (which has many trees), you will definitely feel the difference. Kiyovu is cool and the air around that area is so fresh thats the feeling we need to have throughout the City of Kigali, she said. Urban forestry regulation So, what would be the fate of the already existing trees which would be deemed inappropriate under the new policy? Ruhamya said the already planted trees would not be uprooted, but rather new guidelines will not allow further planting of trees considered unfit for urban forestry. Dr Emmanuel Nkurunziza, director general, Rwanda Natural Resources Authority, said that after coming up with the tree planting guidelines, the proposals would be forwarded it to Cabinet to be considered as an urban forestry regulation. In urban areas, we have more carbon that needs to be absorbed than in rural areas. We need trees (in urban areas) for environmental purposes and beauty, protection of infrastructure and much more, he said. In the past, nobody has been willing to give a small part of their plot of land for tree planting; instead, they want to build on their entire plot. But in the Kigali master plan, there has been an attempt to reserve some areas for afforestation. The challenge has been a lack of expertise to know the right species for urban afforestation. The trees being considered under the proposed guidelines are those that would not interfere with the city infrastructure, including utility lines, whose roots wont destroy roads and houses, according to Nkurunziza. We hired a consultant to give us a new plan on the way we can change the urban forestry. Once we get this tool, we will be more systematic in our urban afforestation plan, he said. Nkurunziza added that some of the proposed trees have recently been planted along all streets in Kigali, with support from the National Reserve Force. Committed to restoring forests Rwanda has committed to restoring two million hectares of deforested and degraded land by 2020. The commitment was made as part of the Bonn Challenge a global aspiration to restore 150 million hectares of the worlds deforested and degraded lands by 2020, extended to 350 million by 2030 during the New York Declaration of 2014. This commitment seeks to improve the quality and resilience of ecosystems, improve livelihoods, secure the countrys water and energy supply and support low carbon economic development. Also, the government recently established one of Africas newest national parks the Gishwati-Mukura Forest which is being rehabilitated under the principles of the Bonn Challenge commitment - restoring ecological integrity while also improving human wellbeing. The new South African Airways (SAA) Board will bring a wealth of skills and expertise to the national carrier, government said on Friday, 2 September 2016. The new full-strength Board brings a wealth of skills and expertise, making them well positioned to oversee the turnaround of the airline. These skills include finance, risk management, treasury management, investment management, project management, business strategy, marketing and business management, legal, banking, stakeholder management, communication and social development, said Acting Government Communication and Information System (GCIS) Director General Donald Liphoko. Cabinet announced earlier on Friday that it had discussed the appointment of the Board of SAA at its ordinary meeting this week. Cabinet approved the reappointment of Duduzile Cynthia Myeni as Chairperson of the Board with Mmakeaya Magoro Tryphosa Ramano appointed as the Deputy Chairperson and non-executive director. The term of the previous non-executive Board members expires with the appointment of the new Board. In total, 11 new non-executive directors have been appointed to the Board of SAA for a three year period starting from 1 September 2016. Ms Duduzile Cynthia Myeni, the current Chairperson of the Board of SAA, has been reappointed for a period of two years, said Liphoko. Myeni is a successful entrepreneur and business woman with expertise in business strategy and development. She has been a member of the Board and as the Chairperson of the Board she spearheaded the transformation agenda at SAA. Ramano, former SAA Chief Financial Officer (CFO) is a chartered accountant and the Chief Financial Officer and member of the Board of PPC Cement. Other appointments include: Bajabulile Swazi Tshabalala (non-executive director) Thandeka Nozipho Mgoduso (non-executive director) Nazmeera Moola (non-executive director) Akhter Hoosen Moosa (non-executive director) Gugu Sepamla (non-executive director) Siphile Buthelezi (non-executive director) Peter Holmes Maluleka (non-executive director) Mzimkulu Malunga (non-executive director) Martha Mbatha (non-executive director) Peter Tshisevhe (non-executive director) In terms of Clause 13.1 of the Memorandum of Incorporation (MOI) SAAs Board is to be appointed by the Minister of Finance Pravin Gordhan, as the Executive Authority for SAA, in consultation with Cabinet. The SA Council for Business Women (SACBW) will host its annual national gala dinner on 17 September at Southern Sun Pretoria, Arcadia to announce the Business Women of the Year winners. The guest speaker is Dr Shirley Zinn, patron of SACBW. SACBW patron, Shirley Zinn This year there were 24 finalists competing for Business Woman of the Year in the various categories of Entrepreneur, Corporate and Professional will be announced as well as Emerging Entrepreneur, SMME and NPO. The presidency for 2017 will also be revealed on the evening. The gala dinner starts at 6.30pm for 7pm at R500 for members and R550 for non-members or a table of 10 for R4,750, which includes a three-course meal and a cash bar is available on the night. To book your seat simply contact Prinisha Chetty on gro.wbcas@nimda or Cerita Nagy gro.wbcas@tnediserp. For more information, visit www.sacbw.org.za. Regardless of size, no organisation is immune to payroll errors, and while in some instances the impact will be felt on the bottom line and businesses may be seen skirting the edges of the law, in most cases the hardest hit will be the employee and business morale. Lavine Haripersad, Vice Chairman, South African Payroll Association Payroll can be seen as an intimidating and complex minefield. Fortunately, unlike the analogy, payroll comes with a map, and experts are available to organisations of all sizes that can assist in ensuring that the most common errors are avoided. Regular errors Some of the most common payroll errors include: the incorrect calculation of pro-rata pay for part periods worked, payslip reversals for the correction of a payslip, the incorrect application of tax directives and getting the details of an employee wrong. There is also the risk of misclassifying an employee, failing to maintain proper payroll records, filing taxes late and running late on payroll processing and output. Irrespective of the efficiency of the system being used, or the person in charge of payroll, these issues can easily occur. A technical failure may result in delays in paying employees, or perhaps the person responsible is just too busy. Not having a dedicated payroll professional in place could see the business owner pay people late. This is often the case in smaller businesses where entrepreneurs are on tight budgets and are forced to undertake all tasks themselves. The impact on the business is significant; employees rely on the money to pay their bills and may be stung with fines or left out of pocket. This may negatively impact on their relationship with the business and result in high staff turnover and a poor reputation. A precise detail Ensuring that payslips are completed properly, filled in correctly, and distributed accurately is also important. Each slip should include the employers name and address, the employees name and occupation, the payment period, the total salary, details of deductions, the full amount paid and calculations, where appropriate, of pay and overtime, ordinary and overtime hours, and hours worked on Sundays or public holidays. Its critical that business pay attention to prevent errors. It is a potential risk that errors may result in the payroll being flagged by the South African Revenue Service, which has a clear line on what the penalties for incorrect payroll and PAYE are, and how these should be paid. Its in every employers best interest to read the rules and make sure that payroll adheres to them. However, this may not be as relevant to the large enterprise, as they often have a payroll department and payroll experts on hand. Although, for the larger organisation, perhaps an error which can cause mayhem and cost the company is a technical one. Payroll mistakes may also be made by the systems put in place to process payment. These technical issues could be once off, or could be a warning to the organisation that the system is battling with volume and may need to be updated to keep up with the growth of the business. No breaks allowed Unfortunately, one of the next most common payroll challenges is holiday pay. This could be miscalculated when a person leaves the company, or payroll distribution and numbers can be impacted by public holidays which see automated systems fail to process payslips and cause payment delays. This has a marked effect on employee morale. Business must ensure that the employee is paid the right amount, at the right time and to the benefit of the employee. Awareness of these challenges can also prevent employees from suing the business, so its best to be prepared. The above represents the tip of the iceberg when it comes to payroll errors. Negative payslips, inability to correct errors properly, manual payment updates, overpaid amounts for medical aid, the impact of hours worked, time off and employee-specific reductions are among some of the other challenges that payroll faces every month. Prevention is best While mistakes creep in, organisations can take steps to prevent many of these mistakes from taking place. For the smaller business, investing in the support of a payroll consultant can ensure that systems are set up properly and allow for easy maintenance, while giving them much-needed confidence throughout the process. It is important to remember that while a payroll system may have been configured correctly at time of installation, rules change, and the setup should be checked annually against current legislation. Larger organisations should ensure that a professionally qualified payroll manager is employed, who has a full, up-to-date understanding of payroll incorporating, payroll accounting, payroll legislation, governance and compliance, as well as broad systems knowledge. Furthermore, the payroll manager should have access to an income tax specialist and a payroll consultant for support. BERLIN: Always wanted to know what it would be like to watch a TV talkshow in the studio? Or zoom in on a particular player in a Bundesliga game rather than see a wideshot of the field? Rommel Canlas via 123RF The technology is there for such "live" 3D television experiences from the comfort of your home, according to the Fraunhofer Heinrich Hertz Institute, one of many exhibitors at Berlin's mega consumer electronics show IFA touting the latest in virtual and augmented reality technology. From VR headsets and 360-degree cameras to AR glasses, tech giants like Samsung, Qualcomm and Acer are offering visitors a glimpse of reality-altering experience. Don a pair of VR glasses at Fraunhofer's stand and you are plunged straight into a TV talkshow. Turn your head to the left to see the crew filming the presenter, while on the right, there are spectators sitting next to you and beyond, the producer with her clipboard. Look up and you see the studio lights. With its OmniCam-360, the institute has filmed live events that can be replayed back in 3D mode by a viewer wearing VR goggles. "You can feel the roar of the crowd in the stadium, or see what the television crew is doing, it's the live experience," said Fraunhofer HHI's spokesman Andre Groeger. Market boom Goldman Sachs predicted earlier this year that the virtual reality and augmented reality markets will reach $80 billion by 2025. The difference between the two is that while virtual reality blocks the user's view of the real world through special glasses, augmented reality blends real life with virtual reality. At German optical giant Zeiss' stand, senior product manager Franz Troppenhagen is showing off the company's new VR headset to curious visitors. "Since 2016, the market has really started to grow because people are now seeing the benefits of using VR," he told AFP. One key factor is the increasing popularity of 360-degree cameras, which are allowing people to take 3D "panorama pictures while on vacation", he said, adding that the images can be easily shared with friends. A few halls down, a man was waving his arms around, trying to catch avatars on a screen in front of him - giving a glimpse of what a living room could look like once augmented reality invades. Marek Maciejewski, product development director at Chinese TV maker TCL, said the AR game was just one example of how screens would be used in the future. "In the next five to eight years, you will look at the screen, which will be on your wall, and you won't be able to tell if it is reality or the screen," he said. Converging trends If VR is seeing a boom in 2016, AR is only in its nascent stages of development, even if Pokemon Go has given a foretaste of the potential of the market. The AR gaming app has been a runaway hit, sending millions of people across the world into the streets to catch digital monsters. While many VR headsets can also be used with AR apps, industry experts believe that as the sectors mature, manufacturers will develop distinct gadgets for each area. "In the medium term, the development of these two trends may converge," said Klaus Boehm of consultancy Deloitte, noting that new offerings such as Microsoft's HoloLens can offer VR on top of AR. "But even for these mixed reality glasses, specific applications will be developed for new goggle types perfectly," he said. And that spells more opportunities for the industry. "AR is a market with a very high potential but the technology is not there yet, and apps are missing but this is something that will come," said Zeiss' Troppenhagen. "I think if you come to IFA five years from now, you'll see very nice AR applications." Source: AFP The Savanna Comics' Choice Awards, along with partner Savanna Premium Cider, has introduced a twelfth category to the 2017 awards: the Savanna Pan-African Comic Award. The award will go to the comic on the continent who has contributed the most to the African comedy industry, as voted for by his or her fellow African comedians. Savanna and the Awards made the announcement of the new category at a media event at Montecasino, Johannesburg and hosted nine of the continents top comedians at this event. These included Bright Okpocha aka Basketmouth (Nigeria), Ndangi Iileka (Namibia), Leonel Mendes (Mozambique), David Aglah (Ghana), Phenyo Phaladi aka Phenyo the Master (Botswana), Mdura (Swaziland), Tongai Makawa (Zimbabwe), Tshepo Masapo Mpiti (Lesotho) and Mbeu Snooze Kambuwa (Malawi). The Savanna Comics Choice Awards are all about elevating the art of comedy, and the African continent has produced so many leading comics we want to reach out and close the distance in this network, so that African comedy starts to show up on the worlds radar, says Savanna CCAs co-founder John Vlismas. These comedians have been invited to attend the main awards show on Saturday 3 September, most of whom will be part of it for the first time. They have also been given the honour of presenting the Waldos (the award statuettes) to their South African comedy comrades on stage on the night. Comedy without borders Weve never had a comedy gathering of this caliber on the continent, says Vlismas. The Savanna CCAs have unprecedented potential to make new connections, foster collaboration and make comedy boundaries fall away. We spoke with Savanna and they saw the value of the idea immediately. Comedy and humour have been a part of Savannas DNA since the brands inception, and has become synonymous with Savannas style and tone. The brands ongoing partnership with the Savanna Comics Choice Awards is part of the plan to keep consumers in South Africa and Africa laughing. By hosting these African comedians, Savanna furthers its aim of making comedy accessible throughout the continent, says Loyiso Sipayile, Savanna global marketing manager. The nine countries were chosen based on existing networks, and on the resources available for the pilot phase of the project. We believe this is a great first step as we work to include every African country from 2017 onwards, says Savanna CCAs co-founder, Taffia Keight. To facilitate the connections with the African comedians, South African comedian Ndumiso Lindi will act as Savanna CCA Ambassador to Africa briefing visiting comics and ensuring that each returns to their home country equipped to share the Savanna CCA voting system with their fellow comedians in their home countries. Once details of eligible comics across Africa have been captured in the voting system, the mechanics of the voting process will be announced, paving the way for the first-ever Savanna Pan-African Comic. Follow #SavannaCCA online for news and updates. Event details See who will walk away with the Waldos at this years Savanna Comics Choice Awards on 3 September 2016 at the Teatro at Montecasino. Book your tickets online http://www.ticketpros.co.za/portal/web/index.php/event/3d708d44-c68c-d10e-7a4f-57187650ef22 here www.comicschoice.co.za FRANKFURT: German carmaker Daimler said on Friday it would pilot a project to allow sensor-studded, networked cars to share information about available parking spots to save drivers time. MikeBirdy via Pixabay "The daily hunt for a parking space often takes up as much time again as the actual journey," the Mercedes-Benz maker said in a statement, causing "stress and annoyance". Daimler will work with Bosch - the world's largest auto-parts maker - on the scheme dubbed "community-based parking" in its home city of Stuttgart, capital of southwestern Baden-Wuerttemberg state. During the project, set to begin "imminently", participating cars will use built-in ultrasound sensors to scan the roadside while travelling at speeds of up to 55 kilometres per hour (34 miles/hour). Information about free parking spaces will then be sent via a "secure connection" to Bosch's cloud computing service to be processed. One technical challenge will be identifying which gaps in the roadside are genuine parking spaces and which are exits from parking garages. But with enough cars travelling down the same street, spaces that are repeatedly registered as empty can be identified as likely exits, Daimler explained. The first iteration of the technology will simply provide drivers information about the probability of finding a parking space on a particular street. With a larger base of users in the future, it will be possible to display available parking spaces in real time on a dashboard map or in the carmaker's smartphone app, Daimler said. Connected cars and their associated services are becoming one of the biggest areas of research and development for manufacturers and component suppliers, fitting into the wider Internet of Things. Source: AFP The Centre for Entrepreneurship and the Institute for Local and Global Research Initiatives (ILGRI) at Regent Business School in partnership with the South Africa's Department of International Relationships and Cooperation (DIRCO), The Embassies of the BRICS nations in South Africa, the Durban Chamber of Commerce and Industry, eThekwini Municipality, the Management College of Southern Africa (MANCOSA) and other Corporate and Public Sector Organisations is hosting a BRICS Masterclass on 16 September 2016. The occasion will also be used to launch the BRICS and Emerging Markets Business Schools' Association and provide an opportunity for delegates to interact with the Trade Missions of the BRICS countries. BRICS Masterclass Interaction and Trade between the BRICS Nations Theme: Doing Business with the BRICS Date: 16 September 2016 Venue: The New Centre for Entrepreneurship Building Regent Business School 35 Samora Machel Street - Durban Time: 7.30am for 8am to 12.30pm Cost: R500 per person (A discount of 10% is available for Durban Chamber of Commerce and Industry And Trade & Investment KwaZulu-Natal Members.) Programme The morning will commence with a Reception and Welcome at 7.30am and a Breakfast at 8am during which time the BRICS and Emerging Markets Business Schools Association will be officially launched in South Africa. The Masterclass will commence at 9.30am and conclude at 11am. Thereafter delegates will be able to interact with the BRICS Trade Missions. A Finger Lunch will be served before the event draws to a conclusion at 12.30pm. The Andries Botha (South Africas world-famous artist) Exhibition on Sustainability will feature throughout the day. Seating at this prestigious event is limited. To reserve a seat and register for the event, please contact Ms Portia Nthetha: az.ca.tneger@ssalcretsam or Ms Alison Thomas: az.ca.tneger@gnisitrevda. According to hospitality consultant, Joop Demes, there is great potential in Southern Africa for hotel brands, owners and investors. Founder Shareholder and ex-CEO of Pam Golding Hospitality, Demes has masterminded a number of successful condominium (sectional title) hotel applications in Southern Africa and consults internationally. He is regarded as one of the continent's specialists in condominium and fractional applications at the top end of the hospitality industry. Southern Africa offers two types of opportunities to the bigger brands and operators. The first type is to follow the development of hotels at the three, four and five-star level and to enter into management contracts. The second opportunity is for owners to refurbish and rebrand and enter into management or franchise contracts, said Demes. Demes will be hosting a panel discussion on New Aspects in the Negotiation of Management Contracts at the inaugural Tourism, Hotel Investment and Networking Conference, THINC Africa, taking place in Cape Town from 6-7 September, hosted HVS South Africa. Other international heavyweight panelists include: Andrew McLachlan, senior vice president business development, Africa and Indian Ocean, Paul Anseh, vice president international hotel development, Marriott Hotels Group, Phillipe Baretaud, head of development, Africa and Indian Ocean, Accor hotels Michael Cooper, vice president development Sub-Saharan Africa, Hilton Worldwide The operator vs. ownership debate The operator vs. ownership debate in the hotel industry is ongoing when it comes to which option offers the best return. At the top end in the luxury segment, the large global brands have aligned their operations away from ownership to management, with the risks and rewards being carried by owners. Demes says that the primary advantages for global operators are brand recognition and brand exposure. Operators also bring a contribution to the property improvement plan as well as a key financial contribution. In my opinion, in cities such as Cape Town, Johannesburg, and Durban as well as key cities in Africa, a management contract would be the way to go, he said. When it comes to the budget and economy segments, the preference is for owners to operate their own brands. This is mostly due to the challenge of generating reasonable management fees for the hotel brands. Capital appreciation driven by income returns is a significant concern when it comes to the debate around ownership and needs to be factored into the overall return on investment calculation. The risk/reward profile of Africa is much higher than most other places in the world. But if youre looking at it as a long-term plan and you are employing professionals and brands across the way, so much of that risk is mitigated because youre dealing with people who are familiar with global trends and used them previously in their experience in Africa, said Tim Smith, managing partner HVS South Africa. According to Demes, the challenges of investing in South Africa are far outweighed by the advantages, which include a well-developed economy, the attractive exchange rate, the availability of trained people and no delays in building. The development opportunities are strong for Southern Africa for both local and international players. South African brands still tend to favour ownership, and remain preferred partners in the mid- to high-end segment, because of what can often prove to be inflexible international brand standards, said Demes. Middle East based shipbuilding group, Privinvest has announced the start of a major shipbuilding and maritime economy programme with the Republic of Angola. fsHH via pixabay The programme will initially see Privinvest provide a range of vessels for the Angolan Navy. In parallel, Privinvest together with Simportex, will develop and operate a shipyard in Angola. This shipyard will have modern facilities and state of the art technology and will be able to build new ships, to service ships and to provide a wide range of servicing facilities for the existing fleet. In addition to supplying a number of ships, Privinvest will be providing a Transfer of Technology to enable the construction of naval vessels in Angola. This initiative is another component of Privinvests investment strategy in Angola and the strengthening of business relations between Privinvest and the Republic of Angola, as part of the commitment to the development of the countrys maritime economy. Boulos Hankach, president of Privinvest Shipbuilding Investments LLC, said: "This marks another step in our cooperation with one of the most dynamic economies in Africa. It shows that we have the skills and capabilities that generate appetite to promote high-level programs in countries around the world." OFM, the sound of your life in Central South Africa, will honour South Africa and the world's best artists during the month of September with the OFM Music Awards. The nominees in five categories for local and international artists, will be announced on 5 September 2016. Categories include Best Male and Female Vocal, Best Group, Song of the Year and Album of the Year. Says OFM General Manager, Nick Efstathiou: "OFM presented the OFM Music Awards for the first time last year and it was a huge success. As the leading commercial radio station in Central South Africa, we want to honour the dedication, commitment and creativity of our artists. They bring us joy, they entertain us, they keep us company and most importantly, bring us together as communities. This is just a small gesture to say thank you and keep making magic!" The winners will once again be chosen by OFM's listeners. Voting will take place on the OFM website at www.ofm.co.za, and also via the OFM App. Voting ends 22 September and the winners will be announced on 29 September during a live special awards broadcast. In addition, by voting OFM listeners stand a chance to win their share of R35,000. In order to be nominated, an artist must feature on the OFM playlist and must have released an album or single between 1 September 2015 and 31 August 2016. The number of requests for a song, as well as the number of times it was played on air, will also be considered. Last year's local winners included Karen Zoid and Francois van Coke for their song 'Toe Vind Ek Jou', Riana Nel for Best Female Artist, Bobby van Jaarsveld for Best Male Artist and Eden for Best Group. Juanita du Plessis's album 'Toe Staan die Wereld Stil' won Album of the Year. International winners included Rachel Platten ('Fight Song' - Song of the Year), Taylor Swift (Best Album for '1989'), Ellie Goulding (Best Female Artist), Ed Sheeran (Best Male Artist) and Maroon 5 (Best Group). For more about the OFM Music Awards, or to vote, go to www.ofm.co.za or check out the OFM App, available on Google Play Store and the Apple App store for all Apple devices. The new TV campaign for Hunter's Extreme Bold with Guarana launched last week with a 45-second commercial featuring an original track by DJ and producer Simon Ringrosen. Produced by award winning Lebo Rasethaba, who has many local and international brand ads under his belt, the TVC is set in a hot, steamy nightclub complete with dance crews, DJs, glow sticks and fireworks showing how the product carries the party from daytime into the night. The advert continues to build the brands narrative of overcoming lifes everyday obstacles and taking things in your stride. Portrayed by a night of partying being interrupted by a power failure, with Hunters Extreme Bold by their side, the revellers handle lifes heat and overcome the challenge by becoming the music with the rest of the crowd. When the lights go out and the music dies, the lead character, Fez, opens his can of Hunters Extreme Bold, instigating a series of cans opening. The crowd joins in with natural sounds such as hands clapping, feet stomping and chest pops, reigniting the party, whilst glows sticks and cellphones are activated for visibility that creates a surreal atmosphere in the club. View the video below: Rasethaba explains the inspirations behind the ad, The idea of people making a song during a power cut to overcome a challenge is rooted in the sub culture of a genre of music called Gqom in Durban, where people chant a song to the DJ who then records it to make it into a track. According to Ringrosen, who composed the track specifically for the advert, using a unique creative process, the idea was for the music to be a unique feature. I tried to compose a bold track that allows the crowd and the dancers to step into the music. This we did by bringing the crowd into the gap of a song and them ultimately becoming part of the song at the end. Distells global marketing manager for Hunters, Maijaliina Hansen, adds, It was important for us to illustrate that Hunters Extreme Bold shares the same values as the master brand, but that it is suited for a different drinking occasion. It offers the same apple refreshment, but that it speaks to the urban, cool, millennial consumer, who is on the cutting edge and doing things differently. Apart from the strong music direction, the art direction relies on wardrobe to set the edgy urban tone. The main idea was to make it relevant and to promote South African brands - so the entire cast was dressed in local street-wear orientated labels. In this environment of art meets fashion and popular culture, the fashion remains real and not over-styled and overthought. By using Fezile Mkhize and Nadine Buys, the same genuine guy and girl who feature in the Bring the Heat TVC, this TVC continues to reflect the authentic, real and natural personality of Hunters, concludes Hansen. The TVC is flighting on all major stations nationwide and forms part of a through-the-line campaign including a TVC, radio, out-of-home billboards, digital media and trade executions. The Small Business Expo and #BuyaBusiness expo opens at the Ticketpro Dome in Johannesburg from 8-10 September, offering entrepreneurs and investors opportunities and information they need to develop and grow their businesses through free workshops and courses. Carol Weaving, MD of expo organisers, Thebe Reed Exhibitions, says, In the many years we have been running business development events, we have learnt a great deal about how to help entrepreneurs succeed in business. It comes down to knowledge and networking. An entrepreneur may be very skilled in their field, but equipped with expert knowledge about how to start, run and grow a business, they have a much stronger chance at succeeding. Key events #BuyaBusiness Master Class Workshops. These workshops, running throughout the expos, will give attendees high level and practical information to help hone their business skills. Business experts include the London Stock Exchange Group Academy experts, Anne Kleynhans, who runs CEOS, marketing expert Basil OHagan, Andrew Barsa the Wealth Psychologist, Neale Petersen Founder & CEO Real Estate Investor, organisational culture expert and author Colin J Browne, Manny Veira of Planet Fitness, Mias Nel of the Breadman Bureau, Brent Davidhoff of Sweets From Heaven and Sorbet Marketing Manager Jade Kirkel. Entrance to the Buy a Business Master Class Workshops is free to all #BuyaBusiness Expo attendees. Absa Connect Zone. This is where products and services appropriate for new franchise owners and start-ups will be showcased. Visitors to the expos will have access to Absa small business development experts, bankers and consultants, for talks on the Absa products and services available to help them launch and grow their businesses. Absas franchise specialists, with advice and solutions for those wanting to franchise their business and prospective franchise owners, will be on hand to discuss the pros, cons and appropriate financing and transactional solutions for franchises. The Development Den hosted by Eskom. Eskom will host The Development Den, where successful entrepreneurs and business development experts will give attendees practical advice on running a business and how to grow their business. Hear from Tshepo Phakathi CEO of Phakathi Holdings, Bulelani Balabala presenter of 360Biz, Precious Mvulane of GAD Consulting, Marang Marekimane founder of Business in Theory, Xhanti Payi of Nascence Research and Advisor and more. The full-day programme topics include procurement and e-procurement, moving from average to great, capacity building and growth, innovation in business, managing financial performance and promoting your business through social media. Full on Franchising Theatre. Tailored for would-be franchise owners, the Full on Franchising Theatre presented by the SA Franchise Warehouse will give entrepreneurs an overview of what they need to know before embarking on franchise ownership. From franchising 101 through to legalities of franchising and how to fund a franchise, this programme is designed to prepare franchise owners to take advantage of the franchise opportunities to be on show at the #BuyaBusiness Expo. Dear Businessman Entrepreneurs Bootcamp. Running throughout the expo days on 8, 9 and 10 September, the Dear Businessman Entrepreneurs Bootcamp will feature presentations by business development experts including Thabo Nxumalo owner of Dear Businessman, Jenny Retief of the Riversands Incubation Hub, Lebogang Mokubela of the Lemok Digital Agency and Karabo Tsunke of Kasi Biz. They will give business owners valuable insights into must-know business strategies such as how to make profit, how to prepare mentally for failure, the characteristics of a game changer, how to communicate your brand and business idea, tax compliance and how to network. Business Theatre brought to you by Blue Label Telecoms. The Business Theatre will be presented daily and will look at business trends and strategies, featuring high-level business and sector experts. These include Brian Walsh founder of the Real Entrepreneur Institute, Karabo Songa MD of Olive Communications, Dr Konanani B Liphadzi, CEO of Fruit South Africa, Velly Bosega CEO of AdClick Africa Media Group, Teboho Mafodi business expert for Business Day TV and chairman of the TM Group as well as sessions dedicated to women in business. Attendees will discover what they need to know about small business strategies, labour law, sales and networking strategies for SMEs, personal and business branding, social entrepreneurship and more. Powering Your World Workshop presented by Eskom. This workshop, repeated daily throughout the show, will give would-be Eskom suppliers and partners an in-depth look at Eskom Supplier Development programmes, Eskoms Operation Khanyisa and insight into doing business with Eskom. Because business success is not just about what you know but who you know, #BuyaBusiness Expo and the Small Business Expo is structured to actively broker networking and the development of beneficial business relationships. We encourage visitors to take advantage of the opportunity to meet exhibiting companies and small business service providers, participate in networking opportunities and workshop areas and to foster beneficial new business partnerships, concludes Weaving Entrance is free if you register online before 6 September 2016. Entrance at the door is R60. For more information, go to www.buyabusinessexpo.co.za and www.smallbizexpo.co.za. SADC countries must scale up efforts to procure adequate seed for farmers ahead of the 2016-2017 cropping season to avert another year of food shortages after a drought that ravaged the region in the last season left millions hungry, a senior UN Food and Agriculture Organisation says. Lewis Hove, regional agricultural coordinator of FAO, told the Zimpapers Syndication Services that SADC countries, with the support of international partners, needed to take urgent practical steps to ensure seed availability ahead of the coming farming season. condesign via pixabay "La Nina is both good and bad news. It will bring good rains and problems related to flooding," he said. "SADC countries need to make sure there is seed for smallholder farmers on time. If we do not work on this, the region may face food shortages again next year." Hove said the seed security position is worse for some SADC countries while it was stable in others. SADC is facing a large cereal deficit of 9,3 million metric tonnes after an El Nino induced drought swept across the entire region leaving up to 23 million people in need of immediate assistance. All SADC countries have large cereal deficits with exception of Zambia and Tanzania. Humanitarian agencies last month appealed for US$2,7 billion in aid for the seven drought-hit countries in Southern Africa. Zimbabwe, Malawi, and Mozambique are among the hardest hit but the figure has since increased to US$2,8 billion after Botswana and Africa's biggest economy - South Africa - presented their appeals to SADC. A food crisis gripping the region may get worse if farmers do not access seed and other critical inputs in the coming planting season. Seed reserves are depleted after 2015-2016 crop failures and some hungry farmers ate the grain they would normally save to plant in the next season. Recurrent droughts in the last few years have caused massive losses of agricultural production and livestock, loss of human lives to hunger, malnutrition and disease, massive displacements of people and shattered economies across the region. Assessing seed security Hove said as part of a strategy to address the effects of the recent El Nino and its impact on the agriculture sector, the FAO is undertaking a seed and other agricultural input assessment in Lesotho, Madagascar, Malawi, Mozambique, Swaziland, Zambia and Zimbabwe, with support from international partners. The assessment was being conducted in partnership with the Consultative Group for International Agricultural Research (CGIAR), SADC Seed Centre, governments, NGOs, private sector actors and other stakeholders. "In order to assess seed security and farming households' ability to recover in the 2016/17 season following the El Nino-induced drought in Southern Africa, the assessment is being undertaken in two phases: Phase I focuses on establishing national-level agricultural input supply and demand information of the focus countries and Phase II will concentrate on ascertaining the capacity of drought-affected farming households and communities to timely access agricultural inputs," read part of the communique issued by the FAO and its partners. The communique was issued after the holding of a stakeholder's workshop recently in Johannesburg on the status of the seed supply and requirements situation in Southern Africa. Seed supply and demand scoping missions were conducted in Malawi, Mozambique, Zambia and Zimbabwe. "There are significant gaps in seed availability throughout the focus countries - most notably in Madagascar, Malawi and Mozambique," the FAO said. "Given that seed and input availability, in general, can be a proxy indicator for agricultural production capacity, urgent efforts are needed to support farmers to produce in the coming season. Further, efforts should be made to put in place mechanisms for mainstreaming this information into vulnerability assessments and other early warning systems." The UN agency was also collecting information from South Africa to determine the potential of seed and other input exports to other countries in the region. Weak disaster preparedness and gaps in informal seed systems Poor rainfall has led to an unsatisfactory overall regional seed security situation for the 2016 - 2017 period with an overall cereal (maize, wheat, rice, millet and sorghum) deficit of 9,3 million metric tonnes. Weather and climate-related disasters have caused economic losses running into billions of dollars and deaths of more than 5,500 people between 2005 and 2016 in the entire SADC region exposing the region's weak disaster risk preparedness systems, according to SADC Climate Services Centre. SADC experts say that funding committed, contributed or pledged for humanitarian events and disasters between 2005 and 2016 amounted to nearly US$13 billion. The Zimpapers Syndication Services presents information from the FAO on seed and input availability in the selected SADC countries. The information is only from formal systems. "It is recognised that overall, a significant number of farmers rely on informal seed systems for their production. "Owing to the difficulty of monitoring informal seed systems, the gaps in seed availability presented indicate gaps in the formal system, and do not account for the availability of seed in informal systems." FAO said. Zimpapers Syndication Services ALGIERS - Human Rights Watch appealed for Algerian authorities to free a journalist jailed for two years for offending President Abdelaziz Bouteflika in a poem shared on his Facebook page. Image by 123RF Mohamed Tamalt, who has dual Algerian and British nationality, is reportedly in critical condition from a hunger strike he began after his arrest near his parents' house in Algiers on June 27. The blogger and freelance journalist has been detained ever since, under the orders of an investigative judge for "offending the president" and "defaming a public authority", said HRW. The charges were for Facebook posts including a video showing Bouteflika greeting former French president Nicolas Sarkozy and a poem containing insulting verses about the Algerian leader. A court in Algiers sentenced him two years in prison on July 11 and fined him 200,00 dinars ($1,800, 1,632 euros), and an appeals court upheld the ruling on August 9. "No speech is safe in Algeria if a poem on Facebook can get you two years in prison," said Sarah Leah Whitson, Middle East and North Africa director at Human Rights Watch. Jailing people for allegedly insulting or offending public officials is unjust and threatens anyone seeking to comment on issues of the day. "The Algerian authorities should quash the case against Tamalt and send the message that free speech will be respected in Algeria," said Whitson. Tamalt has lived in Britain since 2002. A critic of Algerian authorities, he created an online journal in Britain, has blogged his own political views and also written for Algerian daily Al-Khabar. A copy of the video that he shared on Facebook was also uploaded on his online journal. Human Rights Watch said the court initially ordered his detention "even though these offences carry no prison terms but only fines". It also said that Algeria's constitution, which was revised on March 7, guarantees the right to freedom of expression. Article 50 stated that the right to freedom of expression may not be used "to harm the dignity, freedom, or rights of others", it said. But it added that "international human rights standards increasingly recognise that public officials must tolerate speech that could be insulting or offensive". Source: AFP. Subscribe to daily business and company news across 19 industries SUBSCRIBE Self-service data analytics platform, Alteryx, has released a new report, The Business Grammar Report, the findings of which show that businesses today consider the most important skills in todays workplace are data and analytics. Just over a quarter (26%) of UK business leaders cited data and analytics skills to be the most important skill or competency for a potential new employee. Overall, 60% consider data and analytics skills one of the top two skills with industry experience coming out on top (69%). Meanwhile, less than a quarter (22%) feel that multilingualism is one of the top two qualities for potential employees, despite the fact that a report from 2014 suggested two thirds of British businesses identified a demand for multilingual staff. So important is data and analytics to todays business environment that more than three-quarters (79%) of business leaders say that it should be a compulsory part of MBA programs. Furthermore, business leaders said they are prepared to pay more (around 30% more) to those who are data proficient. The change in attitude thats taking place in boardrooms today shows the value of being data-savvy and how important it is that effective analytics are made available to business users. It makes sense to equip every business analyst with self-service tools that allow them to ask questions of their data, said Stuart Wilson, VP EMEA, Alteryx, Inc. Most organizations depend on the IT department or business intelligence team for analytics-based decision-making, but things are changing. Business leaders are demanding more agile and flexible insight. Organizations can boost the speed and quality of analytics by adopting a DIY approach and providing self-service analytics tools. We can accomplish our mission if military have open-minded on NCA for the un-signatory group. But now they are not flexible and very rigid on NCA. What I mean is that if NCA cannot be revised or make adjustment we should find out the way to skip it; for that we have 8 points of agreement already. From this points we should make way to agreement, he told to Khonumthung News on the 2nd day of Union Peace Conference: 21st Century Pang Long at Naypyidaw on 2nd September 2016. We trust in our leader and state adviser Daw Aung San Su Kyi, and in UNFC. The rest armed group will also sign on NCA, I hope, said Pi Siami, member of People parliament in Kalay-Kabaw (Sagain region). In this regards, Pu Lalramlawma, central judge and central committee member of Chin National Front (CNF), the NCA signatory, said, I cant predict on the future of other armed group well. But it should not be delay, and I hope they will join soon. It has to build trust between us first, then it will be successes, to Khonumthung News. The Minister said that although the residents in Sihzang forest area were warned twice by the state government, they didnt response to shift other place. It is the decision of state government. They are given twice warning in the month of July and August, and given again on 22 in this month. As they didnt manage to clear the houses we had decided to do this way, he said. The residents are sheltering at Baptist Church in Chichai village now and some are at their relatives in nearby the villages. We were warned to move from this place immediately by the government. But we have nowhere to go. We didnt protest and challenge the government. In fact, we have no other place to stay; now our houses had been destroyed. Though we thought that the government will arrange settling in other location for its citizens, in reality we had faced this kind of bad experience, said one of the victims. The state government is planning to plant teak trees in the area after removing the houses. It is learnt that the illegal residents in Sihzang forest area are shifted from Bualpi village in 2015 as natural disaster happened in those areas. Although the government cannot accept them as refugees of natural disaster, the local claimed themselves as refugees of natural disaster and livelihood crisis. Nai Hongsar, also vice-chairman of the New Mon State Party (NMSP), stated the above, in his speech on the 3rd day of the Union Peace Conference, on Friday [September 2]. It was the first of a three-part statement for the UNFC that he was delivering at the conference. Burma and Myanmar are the same. Everyone knows that. Burma is what was used in the past and Myanmar is being used at the moment, said Nai Hongsar, in his speech. He also pointed to whether it is Burma in English or Myanmar, as it only refers to the ethnic Barmar, just one of the ethnic groups living in the union. Nai Hongsar speaking at the Union Peace Conference However, former Lt. Gen. U Myint Soe, of Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP), responded to a few of the ethnic representatives statements, in a meeting with reporters, There are two divided aspects. The 21st Century Panglong Conference is for these discussions and they can speak their points of view. However, some points are possible, but for those deemed impossible, we will know better at a later date. 33 representatives from political parties and other organizations discussed their views at the conference on Friday. There were five chairing persons for the 3rd day conference, including U Thu Wai, Dr. Win Myat Aye and 2nd general Tin Maung Win. The statement from the UNFC, a coalition of ethnic armed groups, had three parts and were presented by three UNFC leaders, namely Nai Hongsar of the NMSP, Khu Oo Reh of the Karen National Progressive Party (KNPP) and U Htun Zaw of the Arakan National Council (ANC). The UNFC is comprised of seven ethnic armed groups, and these are the Kachin Independence Organization, the NMSP, the KNPP, the ANC, the Shan State Progress Party, the Wa National Organization (WNO) and the Lahu Democratic Union (LDU). Suu Kyi has repeatedly said just that and recently, during her China visit, she reiterated this again when taking to the press: If you ask me what my most important aim is for my country, that is to achieve peace and unity among the different peoples of our union. Without peace there can be no sustained development. As the gathering was attended by 17 out of 21 Ethnic Armed Organizations (EAOs), it failed to be an all-inclusive meeting, but nevertheless which by far has been the most comprehensive get-together, involving major armed groups like United Wa State Army (UWSA), National Democratic Alliance Army (NDAA), Kachin independence Organization/Army (KIO/KIA) and Shan State Progress party/Shan State Army (SSPP/SSA), that have yet to sign the Nationwide Ceasefire Agreement (NCA). Whatever it is, it essential and important to have a closer look, which termed those attending as participants and not representatives of the convention, for no substantive political discussion and decision-making would be involved, aside from still unclear representation quota agreement and whether the mode of future convention be based on tripartite dialogue, as preferred by the EAOs and ethnic nationalities, or five party setup, as it has so far been accepted to work out a political settlement for the nation. All these should be determined in the forthcoming Framework for Political Dialogue (FPD) amendment discussions. The Agenda The five day meeting was opened on 31 August, Naypyitaws Myanmar International Convention Centre with the opening speeches of domestic major stakeholders, including the UN General Secretary Ban Ki-moon. The convention was attended by some 1400 people from the cluster of EAOs, political parties, government-parliamentary-military and special invitees. Originally, on 1 and 2 September, 66 of the participants from various groups of government, parliament, military, EAOs and political parties were to make their statements for 10 minutes each, with the remaining 10 persons doing their part on 3 September. But the plan was said to have a slight discrepancy, with a few failing to deliver position papers. At the end of the conference, opening speeches of the convention, conference participants position papers (individuals/groups), and reports of Union Political Dialogue Joint Committee (UPDJC), Joint Ceasefire Monitoring Committee (JMC), Framework for Political Dialogue (FPD), National-level Political Dialogue, Preparatory Convention Committee were to be compiled. The conference further resolved to hold UPC-21CP every six months and convene National-level Political Dialogue, shortly after the end of UPC-21CP. Opening Speeches Major stakeholders delivering opening speeches included State Counsellor Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, parliamentary house speakers Win Myint and Mann Win Khaing Than, and Burma Army commanderinchief SnrGen Min Aung Hlaing. Key ethnic leaders included Karen National Union chairman Saw Mutu Say Poe and Kachin Independence Organization (KIO) vice chairman Gen NBan La. Besides, National League for Democracy patron U Tin Oo and UN secretary Ban Kimoon addressed attendees with opening speeches highlighting the importance of Burmas peace process. State Counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi In her opening speech, Aung San Suu Kyi touched on the need for achieving peace, using Panglong spirit to build the much desired federal union, her deliberation to interact with signatory and non-signatory EAOs, creating conditions to pull in the non-signatory EAOs to join the UPC-21CP gathering, employing and creating a joint-committee through tripartite mode to determine the peace process, the tragedy of refugees and IDPs, the importance of the youth gathering regarding the peace process in Panglong recently, and her thank and acknowledgement to the former President Thein Sein and his regime for having started the peace process. But her main message has been her regimes adherence of the NCA, formally endorsed by the parliament during the previous government tenure and her willingness that the non-signatory EAOs to sign the agreement. She said: National reconciliation also includes reconciliation between EAOs. If there is difference of opinion between signatory and non-signatory groups, our peace journey would be delayed. In order not to have misunderstanding and difference of opinion, we are trying to have all groups under the shadow NCAs umbrella, which emphasizes the common agreement. Furthermore, she emphasized: With worries and hopes, our citizens are watching us. Those from unpeaceful areas are hopefully waiting (for the positive outcome). War refugees running here and there, made up of various age groups, have their hope dimmed for quite a long time. This time, they are watching with fearful eyes on how things will turn out. We cant afford to forget their suffering. She stressed: Today, we have started our (first) step of peaceful process through the 21st Century Panglong Conference, to resolve political problems through political means. How far (we) will go and whether peace could be achieved will be watched not only by the people of Burma, but also by the whole world. It depends on all the leaders in this convention hall, if the aspiration for peace could be imagined (delivered). She added the deliberation would not be mainly for the benefit of the people in the convention hall, but for the next generation to grow up physically and mentally secure, within the peaceful atmosphere. Commander-in-Chief Min Aung Hlaing In his opening speech, the Commander-in-Chiefs main thrust is that the EAOs should first lay down their arms and try to achieve their aspirations through legal channel. He said: The needs (of the EAOs) should be demanded through political approach, in a way, through governmental, parliamentary, democratic means. Besides, basic democratic principles such as freedom of speech, writing and expression are already been implemented. Given this systematic, democratic way of doing things, it should be seriously noted that clinging to the armed struggle, (narrow) nationalism and regionalism, to demand for their aspirations, are against democratic principles. We should have a dialogue for peace without being too ethnocentric, he added further to make his point. He further underlined the Tatmadaws (military) nation-building contribution and stressed, pressing all participants to abide by the controversial six principles for peace, which have been discarded by the ethnic armed group leaders, including ethnic political parties, and criticised by analysts as more of a stumbling block to cooperation than a road-map to peace. Adherence to the military-drawn, 2008 constitution that is part of the six principles openly endorsed the key roles for the Tatmadaw in politics. KIO Major General N Ban La Major General N Ban La, leader of the Kachin Independence Organisation (KIO) and Chairman of the United Nationalities Federal Council (UNFC), who until the eleventh-hour was still unsure of whether he would be able to deliver his opening speech, which the government side in the end has to give in, said that the peace talks must follow in line with the legacy of the historic 1947 Panglong Agreement. He explicitly emphasized that political solution and settlement have to be based on Panglong Agreement, Promises and Spirit, to the chagrin and annoyance of the military, with perhaps some Bamar political class, but overwhelmingly approved by most of the ethnic nationalities, armed and unarmed. The reason why we, the non-Bamar ethnic people, are staging armed revolution is because of the loss of the Panglong Agreements guarantees for democracy, national equality and self-determination of ethnic people, said Maj Gen N Ban La. He also made it clear that his organisation presence at the conference is meant to show the support for the NLD civilian government following the former opposition partys election victory last year. This is the very first step of the [new administrations] long-term peace negotiations that will solve decades-long conflicts, he said. He also once again stressed the federal Union that the armed ethnic organisations are demanding is not secession from the Union, but is a call for equality for the ethnic nationalities. Position paper presentation Altogether some over 70 position papers were presented. But the bulk of it centre around federal union formation from different points of view. The Tatmadaw and Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP) MPs papers were fixed on nailing the assumption that the military-drawn, 2008 constitution has federal features and that with some amendment, a federal Union could be built. Other than that the military bloc and USDP were determined to reject the 8 states configuration mode where the Bamar has to become an equal state like all the others and instead preferred the present setting of 14 states and regions, emphasizing that territorial-based federalism as the way to go. The ethnic political parties and armed organizations although were for the distribution and coordination of power between the two tier states and federal government system, they still differed on how this could be achieved, implicating the scene even more with demands for new state-level administrations or upgrading their statuses, notably by Wa, Palaung and Pa-O ethnic groups. The NLD position paper delivered by Dr. Tin Myo Win, Suu Kyis top peace negotiator, was said to be somewhere between the ethnic and military bloc proposals, emphasizing for harmonious states-federal government relationship, with a built-in checks and balances between the executive, parliament and judiciary. The UNFC, as a group of four presenters also tabled a proposal for the reform and innovation of the present Tatmadaw to be more federal and in line with a federal union, putting it under the civilian government control, with equal participation and privilege in serving the union army, coupled with control of security forces in each respective, individual ethnic state. A ceiling of 0.05 percent armed forces strength not exceeding the countrys population was also proposed. On the fourth, final day of convention, wrapping up the whole position paper presentation spectrum, Suu Kyi said: When I looked at the presentation of groups over the past four days, I know who is concentrated on things past, and who is focused on how to build our future state. But there is time yet for those stuck on the past to look forward to the future. It is very crucial that commit to bravely moving forward, not for the sake of an individual or an ethnic group, but for the sake of the entire Union. Speaking of criticisms of the conference organisation, she added, But we dont need to fear having problems or set-backs the threat is of pretending we do not have any problems. The most important thing is the ability to bravely move ahead, and work together on finding solutions, she said, according to Myanmar Times. Outlook and perspective The UPC-21CP that has been hastily convened to meet the deadline time-frame of Suu Kyi did stir up a lot of scepticism and doubtfulness. Also on the all-inclusiveness score, it has not been able to fulfil the governments often promoted and determined commitment. Other than that, the details in handling protocols like, sitting plan, disagreement over UNFCs Chairman opening speech inclusion, failure to honour the rebel armies military ranks, and last but not least, the ongoing wars in Kachin and Shan States, which were intentionally heightened on the eve of the convention, were drawbacks that have to be taken into account. The excluded three EAOs inclusion to the convention was put on hold to the last minute, as the government negotiators wouldnt let them in, unless they committed themselves to promise, to give up their stance of armed struggle, which was also duly rejected. BBC Morning Section on 31 August reported that Htun Myat Naing, leader of the Arakan Army (AA), said that just saying pleasant words for the ears, without really meaning it is like, in reality, closing the door to peace process; for the government side is demanding conditions like surrender that they could not follow. Earlier the unelected, officially registered some 70 political parties that was offered only a handful of five representative quota to attend the convention by the government also rejected the offer and declined to participate. In addition, Hkun Htun Oo, a prominent ethnic politician, who is Chairman of the Shan Nationalities League for Democracy (SNLD) and United Nationalities Alliance (UNA), also boycotted the convention for it was not all-inclusive. The United Wa State Party/Army (UWSP/UWSA) on the second day pull out of the convention and returned home, due to the degrading treatment of the party from letting them wear the observer tags and treating its delegation as such. The government has been quite enthusiastic with the Wa and people are at a loss on why this kind of glitches have to happen. However, the government later formally sent apology, stating that this as a technical failure on its side and in no way an attempt to degrade or belittle the delegation. The Wa duly replied stating its backing of the convention and praised Suu Kyis life-long peace commitment, but pull out as there were no equality and transparency in convening the gathering. Also regarding the allotment for opening speech where the signatory and non-signatory EAOs (UNFC) request to speak at the opening ceremony, the government side rejected it until the eleventh-hour, before giving in to the demand, as its Chairman NBan La threatened not to attend the opening ceremony but would tour the Naypyitaw city with his wife instead, if he was not allowed to speak. Sao Hsur Hten, patron of the Shan State Progress Party/Shan State Army (SSPP/SSA), was heard complaining later that if the UNFC has to meet such difficulties even to deliver a speech, he didnt like to think about the political negotiations. And finally, it seems that it is almost becoming a tradition to roll out offensives, whenever meaningful peace process takes place. Reports keep pouring in, on the eve of the convention, about numerous firefights and armed clashes in Kachin and Shan States between the Burma Army and Kachin, Shan and Taang troops, mostly due to the formers military offensives. The Tatmadaws massive military reinforcement in Kachin state was said to be also ongoing, even during the convention, according to Kachin sources. Prior to it, on the eve of the convention, the military MPs rejected the wordings of democratic federal union, when the union parliament doled out an endorsement of the UPC-21CP, as it was said to be against the 2008 military-drawn constitution. The charter doesnt use or mention the word federal, but only Union practising genuine, disciplined multi-party democratic system. However the parliament endorsement was approved with the majority vote of 391 to 184. But the positive side of the launching of this convention is the initiative of taking the first symbolic step, which is positive and hailed by international community and organizations like United Nations, European Union, United States, China, The Elders, an independent association of human rights advocates and so on. And even though the participation count of the EAOs were not all-inclusive, it did cover the whole 17 EAOs from a total of 21, a lot more than just 8 than during the tenure of Thein Sein regime. It could be said the partial participation has now become more inclusive, for big groups like UWSP, KIO and SSPP were involved and must be taken as a big plus. Maybe in the next round of talks, the three excluded EAOs could participate to become really all-inclusive. Another good thing about the convention is the position paper presentation of all organizations that were invited. With this undertaking, the premises of negotiation and debate have been thrown wide open, which some likened to the opening of a Pandoras box . But open questions like how long it is going to take and what the outcome would be will remain unanswered for the time being. Most important though would be in order to get all stakeholders on board, the soft power domination of the NLD, hard power possessed military rivalry must come to an end and level playing field must be created and worked out, if the peace process is to continue smoothly. Finally, as Salai Lian Hmung Sakhoung of Chin National Front (CNF) has recently and correctly said that there are two common points among all the stakeholders, regardless of many different views and ideas. They are the desire for peace and to build the country based on the principles of democracy and federal Union. We could only heartily agree on his assumption. But needless to say, whether these much valued aspirations by all the people will be achievable in the near future or not will solely rest on all the stakeholders ability and determination to deliver and on nobody else. The Most Extensive and Reliable Source of Information Related to the Mexican Drugs Cartels. You will not find this level of coverage anywhere else, join us! WARNING: Posts may contain strong violent material, discretion is advised. COMMENTS: We do not publish all comments, and we do not publish comments immediately. Borsa Italiana non ha responsabilita per il contenuto del sito a cui sta per accedere e non ha responsabilita per le informazioni contenute. Accedendo a questo link, Borsa Italiana non intende sollecitare acquisti o offerte in alcun paese da parte di nessuno. Sarai automaticamente diretto al link in cinque secondi. Prime Minister Narendra Modi delivers the opening remarks during the delegation level meeting with Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi at Hyderabad House in New Delhi on Friday. Photo: PTI. NEW DELHI (PTI): Signalling a major shift in ties, India and Egypt Friday decided to step up their overall defence and security cooperation to tackle the twin challenges of terrorism and radicalisation besides enhancing economic and trade engagements. A series of decisions to combat terrorism were taken in wide-ranging talks between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President of Egypt Abdel Fattah al-Sisi as the two countries have been engaged in staving off the threat of extremism and radicalism. Identifying terrorism as one of the "gravest threats", they decided to have greater information and operational exchanges, apart from ramping up defence cooperation. Both sides also inked a pact on maritime transport which will facilitate maritime commerce and transit of naval vessels. The Prime Minister said the two countries agreed on an "action oriented agenda" to drive the engagements in a range of sectors while Sisi resolved to work towards a robust security cooperation with India and lay out a roadmap for intensification of trade and investment. "President and I are of one view that growing radicalisation, increasing violence and spread of terror pose a real threat not just to our two countries, but, also to nations and communities across regions. "In this context, we agreed to further our defence and security engagement which would aim at expanding defence trade, training and capacity building," Modi said at joint media interaction with Sisi. Modi said both sides have also agreed on greater information and operational exchanges to combat terror. Cooperation on emerging challenges of cyber security and working together to fight drug trafficking, transnational crimes and money-laundering were other key decisions taken at the meeting. Complimenting Sisi's leadership, Modi called him "a man of many achievements", both at home and abroad, and said "1.25 billion people of India are happy to see you here. Egypt itself is a natural bridge that connects Asia with Africa. Your people are a voice of moderate Islam." For India, Egypt is a strategically located country which is a crucial link between northeast Africa and the Middle East. After coming to power two years back, Sisi has initiated major reforms to strengthen Egyptian economy. On trade ties, the Prime Minister said it was decided to deepen cooperation in agriculture, skill development, small and medium industry and health sectors to diversify the portfolio of economic engagement. "We recognised that strong trade and investment linkages are essential for economic prosperity of our societies. We, therefore, agreed that increased flow of goods, services, and capital between our two economies has to be among our key priorities," said Modi. A joint statement issued after the talks said, "The two leaders strongly condemned terrorism in all its forms and manifestations. They considered terrorism to be one of the gravest threats to international peace and security. They reaffirmed their resolve to strengthen cooperation in combating terrorism at all levels. "They also reaffirmed their resolve to work together at UN on concluding the Comprehensive Convention on International Terrorism (CCIT)." In his comments, Modi said Egypt is a "factor" for regional peace and stability in Africa and the Arab world and that it always championed the cause of developing countries. "In our conversation, President Sisi and I have agreed to build on multiple pillars of our cooperation. We agreed to sustain and strengthen the momentum of high-level political exchanges," he said calling Egypt a "natural bridge connecting Asia with Africa". The PM appreciated the good work Egypt has been doing during its current term on the UN Security Council. "We agreed that the UN Security Council needs to be reformed to reflect the realities of today. We also welcome Egypt's participation at next week's G20 Summit. We believe it will add value and enrich the substance of discussions at G-20," said Modi. Calling the talks very productive, Sisi said a large number of issues ranging from tackling terror, expanding trade ties to dealing with challenge of climate change were deliberated upon, adding that there was "major conversion" of views on them. The two leaders welcomed the recent exchanges on security cooperation and counter-terrorism at the level of National Security Advisers and the conclusion of a MoU for cooperation between the two National Security Councils. Referring to defence ties, the two leaders welcomed deepening and expansion of defence relations through high level visits, training, exercises, transit facilities and hardware cooperation. In the meeting, Sisi appreciated Modi's gesture of supplying 20,000 MT of rice to Egypt at "friendship price" last month. The two leaders agreed to maintain the spirit of friendship and extend cooperation in other food items as well. On climate change, the two leaders highlighted the importance of a global approach based on the principles and provisions of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and its Paris Agreement. Referring to trade, the joint statement said the two leaders welcomed the expansion of Indian investment in Egypt, which is currently about USD 3 billion. "Modi welcomed Egyptian investments in India under the 'Make in India' initiative, in the manufacturing and services sectors. President Al-Sisi invited Indian participation in the Suez Canal Economic Zone, particularly in sectors such as petro-chemicals, energy and agriculture," the joint statement said. Prime Minister Narendra Modi with his Vietnamese counterpart Nguyen Xuan Phuc during a joint statement in Hanoi, Vietnam on Saturday. Photo: PTI. HANOI (PTI): India on Saturday extended a USD 500 million line of credit to Vietnam to deepen their defence cooperation and signed 12 agreements including a deal to construct offshore patrol boats, amid China's muscle flexing in the disputed South China Sea and "emerging regional challenges". Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who held wide-ranging talks with his Vietnamese counterpart Nguyen Xuan Phuc here, said the two countries have decided to elevate their strategic ties to a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership to provide it a new momentum. "Our decision to upgrade our Strategic Partnership to a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership captures the intent and path of our future cooperation. It will provide a new direction, momentum and substance to our bilateral cooperation," said Modi, who arrived here yesterday on his maiden visit to this key south east Asian nation. Vietnam had earlier Comprehensive Strategic Partnership only with Russia and China. "I am also happy to announce a new Defence Line of Credit for Vietnam of USD 500 million for facilitating deeper defence cooperation," Modi said after the signing of the agreements. The 12 agreements were signed in a wide range of areas covering defence, IT, space, cyber security and sharing white shipping information in presence of Modi and Phuc. "The range of agreements signed just a while ago point to the diversity and depth of our cooperation," he said, adding the agreement on construction of offshore patrol boats is one of the steps to give concrete shape to the bilateral defence engagement. Modi described his talks with Vietnamese counterpart as "extensive and very productive" and said they covered the full range of bilateral and multilateral cooperation. "We have agreed to scale up and strengthen our bilateral engagement. As two important countries in this region, we also feel it necessary to further our ties on regional and international issues of common concern," said Modi, who is here on a day-long visit. "We also recognised the need to cooperate in responding to emerging regional challenges," the Prime Minister said, without naming any country. China is involved in a raging dispute with the Philippines, Vietnam, Taiwan, Malaysia and Brunei over ownership of territory in the South China Sea (SCS), a busy waterway through which India's 50 per cent trade passes. China has also objected in the past to India's Oil and Natural Gas Commission (ONGC) undertaking exploration at the invitation of Vietnam in the SCS, which is believed to be rich in undersea deposits of oil and gas. India and the US have been calling for freedom of passage in the international waters, much to the discomfort to Beijing, whose claim over SCS was recently struck down by an international tribunal in favour of the Philippines. "Our common efforts will also contribute to stability, security and prosperity in this region," Modi said. Officials in response to a question on Vietnam's request to India to supply BRAHMOS missiles recently said that both sides are engaged in "robust" conversation on stepping up cooperation in various areas including defence. Vietnam has shown a keen interest cooperating with India in air and defense production. India's L&T will build offshore high speed patrol boats for Vietnamese Coast Guards, while a pact was signed on cooperation in UN peacekeeping matters. Indian Navy and Vietnam Navy will cooperate in sharing of white shipping information. Modi said as the two important countries in this region, India and Vietnam feel it necessary to further their ties on regional and international issues of common concern. The Prime Minister also announced a grant of USD 5 million for the establishment of a Software Park in the Telecommunications University in Nha Trang. "We agreed to tap into the growing economic opportunities in the region," said Modi, the first Indian premier to visit the Communist country in 15 years. Noting that enhancing bilateral commercial engagement is the strategic objective of the two nations, he said, "For this, new trade and business opportunities will be tapped to achieve the trade target of USD 15 billion by 2020." Besides seeking facilitation of ongoing Indian projects and investments in Vietnam, Prime Minister Modi said he has invited Vietnamese companies to take advantage of the various schemes and flagship programmes of the Indian government. "As Vietnam seeks to empower and enrich its people, Modernise its agriculture; Encourage entrepreneurship and innovation; Strengthen its Science and Technology base; Create new institutional capacities for faster economic development; and Take steps to build a modern nation, India and its 1.25 billion people stand ready to be Vietnam's partner and a friend in this journey," Modi said. Speaking about the framework agreement on Space Cooperation, he said it would allow Vietnam to join hands with Indian Space Research Organisation to meet its national development objectives. Hoping for an early establishment and opening of the Indian Cultural Centre in Hanoi, he said, "The Archaeological Survey of India could soon start the conservation and restoration work of the Cham monuments at My Son in Vietnam." He also thanked Vietnam's leadership in facilitating inscription of Nalanda Mahavihara as a UNESCO World Heritage site earlier this year. India and Vietnam also signed an agreement on celebrating 2017 as 'The Year Of Friendship'. Noting that ASEAN is important to India in terms of historical links, geographical proximity, cultural ties and the strategic space that the two sides share, he said, "It is central to our 'Act East' policy. Under Vietnam's leadership as ASEAN Coordinator for India, we will work towards a strengthened India-ASEAN partnership across all areas." Modi also expressed the need to "stay focussed to keep up the momentum" in bilateral ties and invited the Vietnamese leadership to India. Marte coastal defence system. An MBDA photo DOHA (BNS): European missile maker MBDA has been awarded a contract by Qatar to supply a coastal defence system for the Qatari Emiri Naval Forces (QENF). The contract, signed on September 1, entails the delivery of two different missile systems the Marte ER (the Extended Range version of the Marte missile) and Exocet MM40 Block 3 missile. This "innovative" coastal defence system will be able to work in autonomous mode with its own radar, or alternatively by data-linking to a higher level within a wider coastal surveillance network, MBDA said without disclosing the contract amount. The supply of these coastal missile systems will allow the QENF to prevent hostile ships from reaching and threatening their territorial waters, the missile maker said. A file photo. ISLAMABAD (PTI): Alarmed by the growing Indo-US defence ties, Pakistan's cabinet has given the go-ahead for negotiating a long-term defence agreement and security cooperation with its all-weather ally China, a media report said on Sunday. Pakistan's cabinet in a meeting chaired by Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif on July 15 at the Governor House in Lahore gave the go-ahead for negotiating a long-term defence agreement with China, The Express Tribune reported. The cabinet considered the summary to initiate negotiations on a draft agreement between Pakistan and China on a long-term strategic framework agreement for enhancing defence and security cooperation in diversified fields. The cabinet held detailed discussions on the proposed agreement before giving the nod of approval, the report said. The cabinet was informed that the draft agreement was based on principles of mutual respect for each other's territorial integrity, sovereignty, non-integration and non-interference in each other's internal affairs, equality and cooperation for mutual benefits, and peaceful coexistence for strategic gains in defence and security, including arms and technology transfers. It was also informed that input from ministries of foreign affairs, interior and defence production as well as the Joint Staff Headquarters had been obtained and incorporated in the draft agreement which was subsequently vetted by the law and justice division. In April 2015, when Chinese President Xi Jinping visited Pakistan, the two countries agreed that their relationship had acquired greater strategic significance against the backdrop of complex and changing international and regional situations. They agreed to elevate the Pakistan-China relationship to the all-weather strategic cooperative partnership. The reports of defence agreement surfaced a week after the US signed a key logistics agreement with India governing the use of each other's land, air and naval bases for repair and resupply. Pakistan had called the Logistics Exchange Memorandum of Agreement between the US and India as an agreement between the two sovereign states and hoped it would contribute to peace and stability. "Pakistan would like to see that such arrangements do not contribute to polarising the region by disturbing the strategic balance in South Asia and escalating the arms buildup," Foreign Office spokesperson Nafees Zakaria told a news briefing on Thursday. The head of the Central Bank says the Government needs to work on alternative ways for measuring the economy. Philip Lane's warning comes after the Central Statistics Office measured the Irish economy as growing by 26% last year. The jobs minister Mary Mitchell O'Connor is expected to meet officials in Brussels later to discuss the impact of Brexit. Ms Mitchell O'Connor has said she will stress the importance of avoiding the introduction of customs or trade barriers during the discussions at the European Parliament. The Fine Gael TD said: "It is crucial that the EU institutions at the highest levels fully appreciate the potential impacts for Ireland at the earliest stage, before any detailed negotiation process, that will prepare the terms for the UK's departure and its future relationship with the Union." Ms Mitchell O'Connor will take part in a series of meetings with Elzbieta Bienkowska, European Commissioner for Internal Market, Industry, Entrepreneurship and SMEs, Cecelia Malmstrom, European Commissioner for Trade, and Vicky Ford, MEP, chair of the Internal Market (IMCO) Committee of the European Parliament. She added: "(I will) emphasise the importance of the Brexit negotiations taking full account of the impact on Ireland in relation to the economic and employment context, our desire to avoid the introduction of customs or trade barriers, the competitiveness challenge, and our ability to sustain engagement in research cooperation, including under EU funding programmes." The Common Travel Area (CTA) allows free movement of people between Ireland and the UK. During a visit to Northern Ireland last week, Brexit minister David Davis said the UK and Republic of Ireland wanted to retain an open border. Northern Ireland Secretary James Brokenshire has also said there is a strong will from both governments to ensure that there was no return to the borders of the past while Foreign Affairs minister Charlie Flanagan has insisted the two countries must keep the "invisible" border that exists at present after Brexit. Meanwhile, trade and single market issues including progress on the EU-US trade negotiations (TTIP), the EU-Canada trade agreement (CETA), and the Commission's initiatives to achieve progress on strengthening Europe's Single Market will also be on the minister's agenda. Ms Mitchell O'Connor is expected to underline Irish support for the EU's trade agenda in order to ensure that Irish exporters gain greater market share in existing markets and improved terms of entry to new markets, while urging progress on the EU's trade negotiations which have yet to be implemented (Canada) or completed (Japan and USA). The mating rituals that take place in nightclubs across the country have long been in need of a wildlife documentary, and thanks to one Limerick club, the process has been recorded with the finest of narrator; David Attenborough. Limerick nightclub Angel Lane has put together a short clip that fabricates David Attenborough's imaginary visit to the establishment where he describes it as extraordinary. Describing the scene, Mr Attenborough says: No where else on Earth are so many animals on the move with the same urgent purpose. Combined with scenes of youngsters busting a move on the floor, the famous narrator describes the battle for attention from the opposite sex. The males are starting to compete for the favours of the females -they are here to pull. They have just a single chance to impress a female. Continuing to describe the lengthy and complicated process of pulling in a nightclub David Attenborough says: Nothing deters the males as they consume several times their weight Of course this type of thing is not likely to help with the mating process as incoherent and vomiting males are likely to be rejected instantaneously. Always drink responsibly folks, know the one that is one too many. Of course as we all know not all will be successful in their quest for 'companionship'. Mr Attenborough gives his experienced opinion on who will be successful: Perhaps fortune will favour the bold... You heard the man lads and ladies! Be bold! Update at 10.30pm: Stephen Donnelly has denied his opinion on the Apple tax appeal was the reason for leaving the Social Democrats. The TD, who only co-founded the party 14 months ago, has today resigned from the party. However the Wicklow TD had voiced some disagreement with the party's policy, which opposes an appeal of the 13 billion ruling. He said this evening his position was slightly more nuanced than that of the party: I had a slightly different view, fundamentally very similar, Apple should have been paying their taxes, the Irish State should not have been facilitating this massive tax avoidance, I just would be concerned that this allows the commission to start meddling in our corporation tax affairs. Deputy Roisin Shortall denies that the party will now face a struggle to survive: The fact of the matter is that the Social Democrats were in existence for a mere six months, we set up without any state funding at all, without any backing. We ran a very credible campaign we believe, we influenced the direction of the debate during the campaign and Steven played an important role in that." Update 5pm: Stephen Donnelly's office says he will stay as part of the Dail group alongside his former Social Democrats colleagues and the Green Party, in order to maintain speaking rights. He said the decision to leave the party was "a very difficult personal decision". His former party colleague Catherine Murphy said continuing the work as a technical group in the Dail was the right thing to do and added: "We've all go to be mature about this." Update 3.20pm: Social Democrats co-founder Catherine Murphy has said she is not surprised that Stephen Donnelly has left the party. Deputy Murphy said the Wicklow TD had been "disengaged" for some time, and was taking August to consider his future. It hasn't come as a complete bolt from the blueHe was taking August off to think about things, she said. (However), were determined to plough ahead with the development of the party. Fellow co-founder Roisin Shorthall said: "We're really building the capacity of the party and we believe it has a very bright future. It's a pity he's not a part of that, but we have to respect his decision and we wish him well" Update: 1.15pm: Stephen Donnelly has citing leadership issues as the reason for his leaving the party. The Wicklow TD said that his partnership with Roisin Shortall and Catherine Murphy as leaders of the party did not work, saying: "Some partnerships, in every walk of life, simply dont work." He said that: "In spite of everyones best efforts, I have concluded that our partnership did not have that." He statement said: "I am announcing, after a prolonged period of consideration, that I am leaving the Social Democrats with immediate effect. I do so with great sadness, having vested so much together with my parliamentary colleagues, Catherine and Roisin, a small core team and many volunteers across the country, into the establishment of the Social Democrats over the last 20 months. "It is a fact that some partnerships, in every walk of life, simply dont work no matter how hard all of the parties to that partnership try to make it succeed. "My decision is based on the fact that for the Social Democrats to achieve its potential as a party of significant influence and scale, despite the many obstacles new parties face, one critical component is that the leadership team must function very well together as a team. In spite of everyones best efforts, I have concluded that our partnership did not have that. I further believe that this would be the case whether the leadership had continued to be shared or was vested in one person, which was not something I or anyone else had sought. "I entered politics in 2011 because I saw an urgent need for new thinking and approaches to steering Ireland through turbulent times and into a new era of opportunity and equality. I remain just as committed to making as best a contribution as I can to my constituency and our country through politics, as a social democrat. To this end, I will now be consulting with my supporters in Wicklow and East Carlow on the best way forward.. "I wish to thank most sincerely the many, many people who support both the Social Democrats and me personally. "I will continue to work hard on the issues I am championing, including stopping tax avoidance by vulture funds, improving public services, resolving the mortgage crisis; responsible fiscal management, promoting high quality job creation and reducing the costs of living and doing business." Earlier: A founding leader of the Social Democrats has left the party. Stephen Donnelly - who is a TD for Wicklow - was leader alongside Roisin Shortall and Catherine Murphy since it was founded in July of last year. All three were the only TDs returned for the party at the last election. A statement from the Social Democrats says they are surprised that he has decided to walk away from the project, but the remaining members will continue to build the party. Statement from Social Democrats regarding the departure of Stephen Donnelly T.D. https://t.co/fW6R6cQ0OF Social Democrats (@SocDems) September 5, 2016 The full statement by the Social Democrats read: "Stephen Donnelly T.D. has informed us that he is leaving the Social Democrats. "We are disappointed that he has decided to walk away from the project, we undertook, to establish and build the party. "The Executive Committee of the party has reaffirmed its commitment to the vision of a strong economy, fair society and honest politics. "We are fully committed to the project and will endeavour to develop the party into an exciting force for change in Irish politics. "As is the case across the globe the defence of social democratic values is not dependent on one personality or politician - but rather is a collective pursuit. "Since the Social Democrats were first founded, in July 2015, we have worked to build the party brick-by-brick. This is a long term project which requires dedication, hard work, long hours and a major commitment from all involved including our elected representatives. The levels of dedication required for such a major undertaking can be overwhelming for some. "However our elected Councillors, our staff team and our volunteers are passionate about our project and we will now get on with the job of building our party. "We wish Stephen the best in his future endeavours and look forward, with excitement, to the future development of the Social Democrats." Gardai are searching for a weapon believed to have been used in the murder of Philip Finnegan. The 24-year-old's remains were located on Friday night in Rahin Woods in County Kildare by a member of the public out walking a dog. It is being reported that Mr Finnegan was killed at the site and it is understood that he was stabbed to death and Gardai are now hunting for a weapon. He had been missing from his home at Mary Aikenhead House in Dublin's south inner city since August 10 and it is feared he was killed amid an ongoing rise in gangland violence in Dublin. A post mortem was carried out overnight but Gardai have declined to disclose the findings, citing operational reasons. It has been reported that Mr Finnegan was living in fear of his life and wore a bullet proof vest after being targeted by crime gangs in Dublin. The remains are believed to have been found partially buried in a shallow hole by members of the public who were walking in the woods. Unconfirmed reports also claim attempts had been made to set the body on fire. Meanwhile, Gardai have appealed for witnesses or anyone with any information to contact Leixlip Garda Station 01-6667800, the Garda Confidential Line 1800 666 111 or any Garda station. The Health Minister Simon Harris has said he felt "a bit sickened" about information reportedly being given out at a Dublin-based pregnancy counselling service. An undercover investigation for the Irish edition of 'The Times' found women were being told that abortions increase the risk of breast cancer. Doctors say the information is not accurate. The EU President has warned Ireland must obey the Apple tax ruling. Jean-Claude Juncker says the tech giant's 13bn bill in back taxes is based on "fact" and has to be repaid. Speaking at the G20 summit of world leaders Mr Juncker added that ruling was not "a decision against the US". Apple boss Tim Cook called the bill "political crap" last week and suggested the European Commission was using Ireland to penalise America. The Dail will be recalled on Wednesday to approve an appeal that was given the go-ahead, on the condition that we examine tax deals for all multinationals here within six months. IMPACT and Siptu trade unions, representing residential care staff at the Oberstown campus, will attend a meeting with management today. Planned industrial action at the campus in Dublin has been deferred to allow the talks to place. Children's Minister Katherine Zappone visited the facility last week and welcomed the deferral while inspecting the damage of a recent fire at the centre. The aim of the meeting is to bring a resolution to outstanding issues in the ongoing dispute over the safety of staff working at the campus. At least 13 people have been killed in a string of bomb attacks inside government territory in Syria, according to state media. The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitoring group, which maintains a network of contacts inside the country, put the toll at 24 dead. Conflicting casualty figures are common in the Syria war. The Sana news agency reported blasts in the coastal city of Tartus, the central city of Homs, a suburb of the capital Damascus, and the north-eastern city of Hasakeh. Attackers detonated two bombs at the entrance to the government stronghold of Tartus along the international coastal highway, Sana said, killing five. A car bomb at the Arzoneh bridge was followed by a suicide bomber wearing an explosive belt who targeted the gathering crowd. The city, a stronghold of support for President Bashar Assad, is home to a major Russian naval base. The Observatory said the twin blasts killed 14 people and injured dozens more. The governor of Homs province said a car bomb struck a military checkpoint in the provincial capital, Homs, killing two soldiers and injuring four others, one critically. The city, Syria's third largest, is largely under government control, with only one neighbourhood still under opposition control. Monday's bomb exploded in the government-held Bab Tadmor district, Sana said. An attacker detonated his motorcycle at the Marsho roundabout in the north-eastern city of Hasakeh, killing five, Sana said. Government military forces withdrew from the city in August after street battles with the Kurdish autonomous self-defence force for the region, the YPG. The YPG and its political wing, the PYD, inherited control of the city, though the state's police force remained. The Observatory said the blast killed three members of the Kurdish police force, the Asayesh, and two civilians. Sana also reported an explosion in the Sabbourah suburb of the capital, Damascus, killing one. The Observatory said three people were killed. There has been no immediate claim of responsibility for the blasts. The Islamic State group claimed twin suicide bombings in the neighbouring coastal towns of Tartus and Jableh in May in which more than 160 people were killed. President Barack Obama and Russian President Vladimir Putin have agreed to keep up negotiations over a ceasefire agreement for Syria. An official with the Obama administration said the president and Mr and Putin met for 90 minutes on Monday at the Group of 20 economic summit in Hangzhou, China. Hillary Clinton had a rough start to her election rally on US Labour Day, battling a stubborn cough. The Democratic nominee took to the stage in Cleveland coughing uncontrollably, before joking that, "every time I think about Trump I get allergic". Several people in the crowd began shouting "get her some water". She battled through the cough and delivered her speech with some difficulty. Both Mrs Clinton and Donald Trump are in Ohio courting voters in the critical swing state. A man and woman have been injured in a double stabbing in west London, police confirmed. Police were called at around 6.15pm today to reports that two people had been stabbed in Kirton Close, Chiswick, Scotland Yard said. London Ambulance Service and London's Air Ambulance, which landed on nearby Turnham Green, all attended the scene. Both victims were taken to hospital for treatment, where the woman's injuries were said not to be life-threatening. Police were waiting for an update on the condition of the man. Hounslow police force is investigating and could not give the names or ages of the victims. The force believe the pair were attacked by a man who fled the scene, and believe all parties are known to each other. No arrests have been made. An eyewitness told the Press Association: "I made my way towards the ambulance and saw a young girl being treated for superficial neck injuries. She seemed to be okay, and she was pointing down the alleyway. "I went down the alley as the police were taping it off and saw a man in the gutter, being treated by an ambulance crew. He was waving his arms trying to get up and they put him on a stretcher and into the ambulance." Road closures remained in place around Kirton Close, and Chiswick High Road was open, the Met added. A retired Catholic priest said he recognised the saintliness of Mother Teresa when he met her more than 40 years ago as he joined 120,000 people in St Peter's Square at the Vatican for her canonisation. Applause erupted around the square on Sunday morning from thousands of the faithful who had made the pilgrimage to see Pope Francis officially make the nun who cared for the world's destitute a saint. People from all over the world travelled to see the rite at the start of the Mass, including groups from Kolkata in India, where Mother Teresa found her calling among the poor of the slums, from her birth land of Albania and the many countries where her order of nuns, the Missionaries of Charity, have set up homes. Among them was Monsignor Barry Wymes, from Cobham in Surrey, who defied doctors and ill-health to attend the ceremony. Mgr Wymes, who is in his 80s, was advised not to go as he has been undergoing radiotherapy but decided to get a last-minute flight. He told the Press Association he met Mother Teresa in 1974 when he persuaded her to speak to the young people of the Arundel and Brighton Diocese in Guildford Cathedral at an event recorded by the BBC. Mgr Wymes said: "I recognised she was a saint back then, and it's good that she's now got official recognition." Among others at the service was a group of 15 from the Anglican Langley parish in Middleton, Manchester, who made a pilgrimage to Assisi in central Italy before visiting Rome. The Rev Philip Miller, 57, said: "We're so excited to be here, we really admire Mother Teresa. We met one of her friends and that got us interested. While in Rome we have visited Mother Teresa's house in Piazza San Gregorio, and seen where she actually slept." Kerry Edward, 36, also from the Manchester group, said: "It's great to be here for a historic moment." During the canonisation service, hundreds Missionaries of Charity sisters in their trademark blue-trimmed saris had front-row seats, sitting alongside 1,500 homeless people and 13 heads of state or government. Throughout the night before thousands prayed at vigils in local churches, flocking to the Vatican before dawn. Elevating the "saint of the gutters" to one of the Catholic Church's highest honours, Pope Francis praised Mother Teresa for her radical dedication to society's outcasts and her courage in shaming world leaders for the "crimes of poverty they themselves created". For Francis, Mother Teresa put into action his ideal of the church as a merciful "field hospital" for the poorest of the poor, those suffering both material and spiritual poverty. SAN FRANCISCO: US tech titans looking to the future are seeing growth take a beating in the face of foreign... MOSCOW: Russia is ready to supply up to 500,000 tonnes of grain to poor countries in the next four months, with... LONDON: OPEC is likely to maintain its view world oil demand will rise for another decade, longer than many other... Don't Miss the Latest News Subscribing is the best way to get our best stories immediately. ISLAMABAD: Pakistan and Saudi Arabia are said to have agreed to activate the agreement on financing and providing... LONDON: Rishi Sunak will on Wednesday face off against opposition lawmakers for the first time as British prime... Six years ago next month, Cory Bernardi made some comments about the United Nations, widely reported at the time and since. It was September 2010 and the Liberal National Party was peak crazy, what with the combination of a Labor government and a female prime minister. To entertain myself, I've read pages and pages of Hansard where Senator Bernardi, of South Australia has interrupted other speakers on a regular basis and made what I consider to be personal remarks (apparently, "the absence of belief in a greater being is generally replaced by something less than beneficent"). But it was his comments about the United Nations which are important now. He said of the UN: "The government's record and future agenda also threatens to concentrate power in Canberra, while outsourcing aspects of our national sovereignty to unaccountable foreign organisations like the United Nations. This was highlighted by the government's commitment to a climate change treaty prior to the Copenhagen conference in December last year, which would have seen billions of dollars of Australian taxpayer funds disappear into that fiscal black hole of bureaucracy known as the United Nations." Richmond President Peggy O'Neal has launched a strenuous and angry defence of the club's board, warning any spill brought on by a rival group would cause chaos at Punt Road. "Instability and change equals chaos and I refuse to let that happen to my club," said O'Neal as she condemned the Focus on Football group's misguided board challenge. "We believe there are more constructive ways of effecting lasting change than those outlined today by those seeking to take over this board." O'Neal said angry members had the opportunity to stand for election any year if they wanted change but none of the Focus on Football Group had yet sought to stand for the board. Later this week, you'll be freaking out when Apple releases its latest iPhone without that little hole for you to plug in your headphones. If, like me, you're nuts and you have multiple pairs of headphones, some of them stupidly expensive, you're about to be the proud owner of some very redundant technology. The internet will lose its mind over this sometime around breakfast on Saturday morning. Apple has not been big on paying corporate taxes. Credit:Getty Images It's weird and dispiriting really, because almost nobody's been freaking out over the titanic battle between Apple and the EU that's rumbled away for years, and finally erupted in the last week or so, when the fruit company received a bill for back taxes and interest worth tens of billions of Aussie dollars enough to pay for a fleet of air warfare destroyers, or a couple of nice trips to London for Christopher Pyne. Putting aside your feelings about Apple one way or the other, the tax ruling is way more important than any design change to the iPhone. (A change that will supercharge the wireless headphone market and which may flow through to Android users via USB-C. But that's a topic for another, geekier column). The details of the tax case are less important than its meaning. Long story short, the EU says Apple got way too sweet a deal when it parked its European profits in Ireland. Apple and the Irish government disagree. Ireland finds itself in the unusual position of refusing to collect billions of dollars in tax from the company. The fact that it's Apple and Ireland is less significant than the fact this happened at all. A good deal of what's wrong with the modern world is down to the trillions of dollars in tax that corporations and the super wealthy refuse to pay. They're not evading tax, as such, because as Apple's CEO Tim Cook says over and over again, they pay every dollar they are legally required to pay. The problem is that legally they're not required to pay much if anything at all; not if they're willing to arrange their affairs to shuffle their earnings through enough magic boxes that eventually the money just disappears. It becomes invisible to the taxman. Almost all big multinational companies do this. Some are such egregious parasites that they don't restrict themselves to neutralising their tax position. They actually put their hands out for a refund, even though they've effectively paid nothing towards maintaining the societies in which they do business. Companies like Apple, Google, McDonalds, IKEA, Qantas, Lend Lease, GMH and News Corp could not exist without the infrastructure of modern civilisation. But they aren't much interested in paying for that civilisation. Loading Once upon a time, Richard Neville played Peter Pan to the Baby Boomers of Britain. He died on Sunday at the age of 74. Not because of the fairy dust indulgently sprinkled in his youth, but in consequence of alzheimers, an illness that had dogged his father and family. In his heyday, a period bounded by the two Oz obscenity trials in Sydney (1964) and London (1971), he emerged as the provocative and witty spokesperson for the generation that questioned the assumed wisdom of its elders, mired in sexual hypocrisy, homophobia, discrimination against women and blacks, and loyally following the US into the war in Vietnam. Noted for schoolboy bravado ("always the first to buy the condoms" recalled Martin Sharp) Neville was in due course called upon to show true bravery. The three editors of the controversial Oz magazine (from left) James Anderson, Felix Dennis, and Australian Richard Neville. Credit:UPI Always charming, with a curiosity which pushed him beyond contemporary taboos, he reached his pinnacle of influence in the summer of 1971, on his release from prison after a six-week trial which had produced more letters to the The Times than the Suez Crisis. He had been charged with "conspiracy to produce a magazine with intent thereby to debauch and corrupt the morals of young persons within the realm". His trademark hippie hair newly shorn by the prison barber, he was rushed to the BBC studios and accorded an overly respectful interview with David Dimbleby, agog for further details of the "alternative society" condemned by the prosecution as involving "dope, rock and roll and f---ing in the streets". It turned out to be a commitment to sexual equality, rock 'n' roll and human rights. His words were picked up by Tony Blair, twenty-five years later, for his barn-storming "New Labour" election campaign: "As Richard Neville said, there is only an inch of difference between us and the conservatives, but it is an inch worth living in." Benjamin Netanyahu will become the first sitting Israeli prime minister to make an official visit to Australia in 2017, after accepting an invitation from Foreign Minister Julie Bishop. Ms Bishop is wrapping up a three day visit to Israel and the Palestinian Territories on Monday, after meeting with Israel's President Reuven Rivlin and visiting Israel's Holocaust museum, Yad Vashem. A picture provided by the Israel Government Press Office shows Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu meeting with Australian Foreign Minister Julie Bishop. Credit:GPO/Getty As part of the visit Ms Bishop discussed Australia and Israel's bilateral relationship, the ongoing Middle East peace process and Australian development assistance to the Palestinian Territories. Ms Bishop told Mr Netanyahu, leader of the country's right-wing Likud party, that Australia and Israel enjoy a deep friendship, recognising the contribution Australia's Jewish community make to the nation. The former Newman state government had agreed to funding for Cross River Rail to the extent that a cross-governmental media release was drafted, former federal infrastructure minister Anthony Albanese revealed on Monday. Speaking at the top of Brisbane's Kangaroo Point cliffs, Mr Albanese said internal Liberal National Party divisions leading up to the 2013 federal election, at which then-opposition leader Tony Abbott campaigned on a platform of not funding public transport infrastructure, was at the heart of the decision. At the time, Mr Albanese was the federal infrastructure and transport minister in the Gillard Labor government. "You had the premier (Campbell Newman) and the transport minister (Scott Emerson) rolled within the cabinet and a press conference that had been finalised at this very venue, that was due to be held with Wayne Swan as the treasurer, myself, Campbell Newman, Scott Emerson, the then transport minister," Mr Albanese said. The most senior figures in the Coalition government have ramped up pressure on Opposition Leader Bill Shorten over the Sam Dastyari donations scandal, seeking to elevate the issue as a test of his leadership and demanding further questions be answered. Following a week of revelations that have put intense pressure on the NSW Labor senator, acting Prime Minister Barnaby Joyce said Mr Shorten must "show real leadership" and explain the situation to the Australian people or force Senator Dastyari to resign. "It's time for Mr Shorten to come clean with the Australian people, to do one of two things: clearly explain exactly what these relationships mean, how these changes in policy that were announced by one his frontbenchers came about and what is the the relationship between those changes in those polices and the pecuniary benefit that was received by Senator Dastyari," Mr Joyce said. "And if he can't clearly and logically explain it to us, if it doesn't pass the test as far as the fourth estate are concerned, as far as the Australian people are concerned, then there's only one other alternative, he has to either stand Senator Dastyari aside or sack him." The federal government will hire a new team of specialist anti-corruption investigators in Perth after a series of revelations in Fairfax Media about high-level foreign bribery, including at WA mining company Sundance Resources. Justice Minister Michael Keenan announced on Monday that a new fraud and anti-corruption team, including investigators, forensic accountants and lawyers, will tackle corporate corruption and would "prioritise foreign bribery investigations". Corporate corruption will be targeted. Mr Keenan said the new funding would pay for 26 new officers. New teams would also be located in Sydney and Melbourne. The new unit comes after a series of explosive revelations in Fairfax Media including the Unaoil scandal that prompted the federal government to allocate $15 million to the Australian Federal Police to bolster the nation's capability to respond to serious and complex fraud, foreign bribery, and corruption. A three-year-old boy who was critically injured after falling under the wheels of a tractor west of Toowoomba has died. The child suffered a significant head injury as a result of the accident on Monday and on Tuesday the decision was made to switch off his life support. Investigations into the incident are ongoing. EARLIER Queenslanders are still in the dark about details of a casino for the Southport Spit after an "unattributed" Sunday newspaper report of backing from James Packer. Neither Mr Packer's company, Crown Resorts, or the ASF Consortia which in August 2015 received the right from Queensland State Development to develop a submission on five hectares next to Sea World would provide any confirmation or information on Monday. That left both State Development Minister Dr Anthony Lynham and Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk making vague assurances that "no final decision had been made" and promising community consultation. However, neither would provide any details or discuss a "master plan" coming before Queensland cabinet before Christmas, or that work would start by March 2017. More than $1.2 million a week has so far been provided to taxi and limousine operators in Queensland as part of a $100 million assistance package to an industry under siege from ride-sharing. Ride-sharing services, such as Uber, became legal in Queensland on Monday. Transport Minister Stirling Hinchliffe said $4.3 million in "immediate financial relief" had been provided to traditional taxi and limousine operators since August 11 "through the waiving of service licence renewal fees, taxi industry security levy payments and driver authorisation renewal fees". Although now legal in Queensland, the ride-sharing industry would be heavily regulated. Gang investigators have arrested eight teens over a series of terrifying violent robberies, including one where a couple, with a young baby, locked themselves in a bedroom while an intruder kicked holes in the door. The male teens, aged between 14 and 16, allegedly committed two aggravated burglaries and an attempted carjacking within an hour in Melbourne's north-west on Sunday morning. Credit:Cathryn Tremain In the first burglary, two teens allegedly smashed a rear sliding door of a Williams Landing home, armed themselves with a knife and demanded a resident's car keys, just after 5am. The pair fled in the man's red Ford Festiva. In the second, four teens allegedly smashed the rear glass sliding door on a Tarneit home, before stealing car keys and a black 2009 Holden Commodore, about 5.45am. There are fears St Paul's Cathedral's historic pipe organ could be shaken out of tune, and its stained glass windows cracked or dislodged, during construction of the Melbourne Metro Rail tunnel. A submission prepared for the Melbourne Anglican Trust Corporation has warned of a "high" risk of damage to the 125-year-old church due to vibrations from large rock breakers operating in the area. St Paul's Cathedral's assistant organist Roslyn Carolane. Credit:Eddie Jim St Paul's organ is considered Victoria's finest and was exported from England in 1891. Dean of Melbourne Dr Andreas Loewe said even "relatively weak vibration" could cause the organ to become out of tune, while dust in the air could render some of the pipes inoperable. Sevdet Besim after his arrest in 2015 Justice Croucher said Besim's plans to kill a law enforcement officer by "deliberating crashing into him with a car and then to behead him" was "unfathomable" to the vast majority of the community. He told the court that Besim had wanted to commit the "putrid act" in name of violent jihad to, in Besim's words "make sure the dogs remember this as well as their fallen heroes". Sevdet Besim pleaded guilty to planning a terrorist act. Besim was communicating with another young would-be terrorist in the United Kingdom, sending him messages from his bedroom in his parents' house in Hallam on what he thought was a secure telegram messaging device. Justice Croucher said they discussed the different ways in which the "unspeakable crime" might be committed as if talking about "football tactics". Justice Croucher said Besim's mind had been "corrupted" by "lunatic clerics". He was also influenced by the death of his friend Numan Haider who was shot dead by police in 2014 after he stabbed them outside the Endeavour Hills police station. Justice Croucher told the court the offence of doing an act of preparation for, or planning a terrorist act carried the same maximum penalty life imprisonment as the completed offence. However, Justice Croucher said the "preparatory" nature of the offence made it difficult for courts to assess the "gravity of the offending". But, he said, the "harm that was intended" would be important part of the assessment. Justice Croucher said Besim's offences fell between "two extremes" of "murder of thousands" and "causing serious damage to property" both to advance a political, religious or ideological cause such as violent jihad. He told the court that Besim had communicated with another and searched the internet while planning to behead a law enforcement officer on Anzac Day in a public street. He said they were not "fleeting thoughts", but Mr Besim had done virtually all of the preparation required for the "gruesome" murder and was only a week away from attempting it. The "terrifying and evil" act, Justice Croucher said, was intended to "terrify" police and their loved ones across the country. It was also calculated to "undermine" the authority of the institutions of government, and to "strike fear in the heart of the community". However, he said, the fact that only one death was intended and Besim was to act alone made it a "less serious example" of the offence. Justice Croucher said there may have been "faint" suggestions that Besim might have pulled out due to "natural human inclination for self-preservation". In a prosecution summary tendered to court earlier, Besim and a "person overseas" are shown to have discussed packing a kangaroo with explosives and letting it loose on police. "They have a general discussion around animals and wildlife in Australia, including a suggestion that a kangaroo could be packed with C4 explosive, painted with the IS symbol and let loose on police officers," the summary says. While police did not go into details of the symbol, the image mostly closely linked to IS is the group's black flag. Documents before the court do not suggest the alleged kangaroo discussion was linked to Anzac Day, or any other target. An earlier hearing was told that Besim held "extreme views in regard to the Islamic religion" and that he had told the same "person overseas" a 14-year-old English boy that he was prepared to die. Police say that on March 17, 2015, Besim told the boy: "all I wanna say is that insha'Allah im ready to fight these dogs on there doorstep. "I'd love to take out some cops," Besim said, according to court documents. "I was gonna meet with them then take some heads ahaha. "The more equipment im provided with the better but ill still go with jst a knife in my hand. I want to be among those Allah laughs at ..." Besim pleaded guilty in June to one count of doing an act in preparation or planning for a terrorist act, which carries a maximum sentence of life imprisonment. Besim, from Hallam, has been in custody since April 18 last year, when 200 heavily armed officers swooped on the city's south-east, arresting five teenagers and seizing knives and swords. In near-simultaneous raids in the near-west of England the 14-year-old was also arrested, Further details of the Anzac Day plot were revealed at Manchester Crown Court in England where the boy was on trial last year. The teenager, from Blackburn, in Lancashire, was sentenced to life in jail, with a minimum, five-year term. The court heard that he was in contact with an Australian IS propagandist and recruiter "Abu Kambozz", also known as al-Cambodi who at the time was operating out of Raqqa in Syria. Al-Cambodi told the boy about a "brother in Australia who wished to carry out a terrorist attack but needed a guide or mentor", the court heard. The boy volunteered to act as this man's guide. The man, who appears in evidence tendered to the court under the pseudonym "Illyas", was identified as Sevdet Besim. At an earlier hearing, it was revealed that Besim had drafted a martyrdom note for his family in the hours before his arrest. At about 1am on April 18, Besim drafted on his mobile phone why he intended to carry out a terror attack, and instructed his family on how he wanted his grave set and what they could do with his car and possessions, the Melbourne Magistrates Court was told. Loading A Perth man who has been missing for four days has been found "in good health". Steven Allison, 43, left his Clarkson home on August 30, with police finding his car in Ajana, more than 500km north of Perth and east of Kalbarri, on Friday. Missing man Steven Allison was found alive and in good health. Mr Allison was found in the Ajana area on Monday evening, and has been taken to hospital, police say. "Mr Allison is in good health and has been conveyed to Geraldton for medical assessment," a police statement said. Police have identified the woman whose body was found stuffed into a suitcase and dumped in the Swan River as Annabelle Chen, 57, of Mosman Park. Major Crime Squad Detective Senior Sergeant Tom Mills said on Monday that Ms Chen had relatives in Perth but was estranged from them, and others lived and worked interstate and overseas and it was not uncommon for her not to see or speak to them for long periods. Ms Chen led a self-sufficient lifestyle, and was described as a private, caring and spiritual person who was interested in art. But after an unusually long break in communication, which was out of character for her, her daughter from Melbourne reported her missing last Friday, leading police to search her Mosman Park home and identify her over the weekend. In 2014, tens of thousands of Hong Kong residents took to the streets in a defiant challenge to China. They called for full democracy, universal suffrage and the protection of their way of life. But few spoke of independence until now. Student Nathan Law, center, who helped lead the 2014 protests, celebrates after winning a seat at the legislative council elections in Hong Kong. Credit:AP Two years after the "umbrella revolution" swept Hong Kong, with rising anger about Beijing's influence in the city, what once was a fringe position has become a nascent political force. On Sunday, in the first election since the 2014 protests, a record number of Hong Kong voters chose several candidates who either support the idea of independence from China, or have called for far greater autonomy. Many Muslims will tell you that if you want to understand and appreciate Islam in its essence, then the Koran is the place to start. And that's fair enough - as long as you understand that it is only the start. I know you have quite a bit on at the moment, but there is nothing like reading the literature of the world - even in translation - to broaden the mind. "Seek knowledge, even if it is [as far away as] in China," the prophet Muhammad is reputed to have said . For as long as there has been a Koran, there have been people interpreting it and adding another layer of literature to explain it to Muslims. Indeed, only one sect of Islam relied exclusively on the Koran as a source of doctrine - the Kharijites, who are almost extinct today. They called themselves Ahl al-Istiqama - "the people of the straight path". The Koran is not going to explain to you why Syria or Iraq are the way they are today. As for the ages-old schism in Islam between Sunnis and Shiites, the Koran has precisely nothing to say about it, just as the Bible is silent on the events of the Reformation or the Great Schism between the Eastern and Western churches. You will find blood-curdling passages in the Koran, as well as poetic and peace-loving ones. Letter-writers in this country are quite fond of pulling one verse or another out of the Koran and brandishing it as "proof" of guilt or innocence. Yet Muslims differ widely over how its words are to be understood, just as the judges on the US Supreme Court disagree week in and week out over how to read and understand their nation's Constitution - a much simpler and more recent text. Islam, then, is not a static thing which we can track down in the Koran. It is a conversation that has been going on for 1400 years in a number of languages and currently involves well over a billion people. Those who seek to enter such a conversation from the outside need not only to figure out what it is they want to say, but how they decide to say it. Simply addressing Muslims as if they were a single coherent group is not going to work - because they aren't. Neither is talking about "what Muslims need to do" while turned to face another audience. Donald Trump said on Monday that he would have left the G-20 summit in China over a logistical flap that left President Barack Obama disembarking Air Force One onto a plain metal staircase. The president's subdued arrival on Saturday afternoon, from a secondary exit on the presidential plane, stood in contrast to other world leaders who departed their planes onto red-carpeted stairs - and some, including Trump, perceived it as a snub by Chinese officials. "They won't even give him stairs, proper stairs to get out of the airplane. You see that? They have pictures of other leaders who are ... coming down with a beautiful red carpet. And Obama is coming down a metal staircase," Trump said. Latest News Lendi Group settles $33.6 billion in FY22 Ambitious target of a deal a day for brokers APRA announces new appointments The prudential regulator has a new chair, deputy chair, and members A new jobs board specifically for mortgage and finance brokers has been launched by an experienced financial services recruiter.Speaking to Australian Broker, Zak Wilford , who runs his own recruitment firm after working as a business sales executive across the Finsure Group, said he launched the job site to increase transparency in the industry.I am trying to increase the visibility of the market for people who are looking to move. There are so many groups out there with an appetite to grow aggregators, sub-aggregators and the big brokerages and they are looking to hire people all the time. Im basically trying to give a comparison of which is the best opportunity.I just wanted to give visibility to people who want to join the industry or want to move within the industry.The site, WorkInFinance.com.au, is an industry-specific job board, similar to Seek, but aimed at mortgage brokers and aligned industries. However, companies or brokerages can create company profiles detailing what support they offer and what type of brokers they want to attract, as well as post job opportunities.On the other side, brokers looking for opportunities can create a candidate profile and apply through the platform.Wilford told Australian Broker that from his experience as a recruiter, this fills a big gap in the broker market where there is several aggregators vying to build market share. But the reality is, not every aggregator suits every broker.It is something I just saw a gap in the market for. I speak to so many brokers that are looking to move or brokers who are looking to get into the industry and there is some confusion, he said.They dont really know where to go or they dont really know what the role of an aggregator or what a sub-aggregator does. They end up maybe just meeting Aussie or one of the big brands and thinking that is the best offer, but in reality they could go somewhere else and get more support for what they need.What this site will allow brokers to do is to see everything in one place.The site went live a week ago but Wilford said it has already garnering much positive feedback, with seven companies already using the platform to advertise opportunities. Bizarre World Series opener ends with Phillies stunning Verlander's Astros Justin Verlander's World Series struggles continued as the Astros blew a 5-0 lead, losing Game 1 in extra innings to the Phillies. A relatively low number of doctoral students coupled with globally insufficient faculty-student ratio have resulted in the Indian Institute of Science (IISc) Bangalore, along with six of seven top-ranked Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs), slip in the 13th edition of the QS World University Rankings 2016-17. Older and new carriers have trained guns on each other over domination of the Indian skies. The bone of contention is pilots. When Arvind Mediratta goes to review stores of METRO Cash & Carry, he often walks in with his head looking up at the upper shelves that carry the inventory (cash-and-carry stores stack inventories on top of retail shelves). Inventory is the new margin, says the managing director & chief executive officer of India. Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Make in India mission has achieved some success in boosting mobile manufacturing and assembling in the country. The number of handsets manufactured in India nearly doubled in FY16 from the previous year, said Ravi Shankar Prasad, information technology minister, at a recent event. Pune-based is looking to tie up with private equity funds and foreign lenders after having announced setting up of a green fund last month. The ethanol technology provider is now focusing on second-generation ethanol production from agri-residue. The activists staged a protest against All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) leader Asaduddin Owaisi here on Monday after he reportedly met Hurriyat leaders. "We are here from the past 70 years but the delegation didn't have time to meet us. We are just saying that at least listen to us once. Why did they come here for? Are we not nationalists? What have we done? They have given us time for the meeting, but that is very less and we don't support it," said one of the protesters. Hurriyat leaders S A S Geelani and Mirwaiz Umar Farooq on Sunday refused to meet the all party delegation. However, the delegation on Sunday was successful in reaching out to Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front chairman Yasin Malik. Extremely upset with the separatists move to reject the offer of talks, Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh on Monday said this clearly indicates that they don't believe in 'insaniyat, Kashmiriyat, jamuriyat' while reiterating the doors are always open for those keen on holding a dialogue to restore normalcy in the region. Addressing the media in Srinagar, Singh said the Centre as well as the all-party delegation is extremely serious and concerned about ensuring that the prevailing situation improves in the valley and normalcy is restored at the earliest. "There are no two ways about the fact that Jammu and Kashmir is a part of India, was a part of India and will be a part of India," Singh said while spelling out the Centre's stand. "Some members of the delegation met Hurriyat leaders and that the government neither approved nor disapproved of the same. 'Baat-cheet kay liye hamara darwaaza hi nahin, hamara roshandaan bhi khulaa hai'," Singh said. The separatists had earlier rejected Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti's invitation for talks. The all-party delegation headed by Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh on Sunday held parleys with various sections of the society and listened to their concerns as part of efforts to find a common solution to the current unrest. The delegation earlier met the Chief Minister during which a detailed presentation was given by the state government highlighting various issues related to the current scenario in Jammu and Kashmir. While interacting with the delegation, Mehbooba said that Kashmir is a common issue of interest and should not be viewed as a political issue. The all-party delegation also met the representatives of various political parties who expressed their concern on the use of pellet guns. Kashmir has been on the boil since the killing of Hizbul Mujahideen commander Burhan Wani on July 8. Vishwa Hindu Parishad's (VHP's) gau raksha vibhaag (cow protection department) member Khemchand on Sunday told a meeting of fellow gau rakshaks, from western UP, Braj region and Uttarakhand, that they should beat cattle smugglers up but not break their bones, The Times of India reported on Monday. The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Monday warned chief Syed Salahuddin that he would meet the same end as Burhan Wani if he tries to spread violence in Kashmir. "Any kind of threat suggesting that they will turn Kashmir into a graveyard, they better be aware because the repercussions could be that of what happened to Wani," BJP spokesperson Shaina NC told ANI. She added that the needs to realise that the Central Government is not incompetent and that Prime Minister Narendra Modi has the political will and conviction to take on separatists. "The Hizbul Mujahideen, as an organisation, and Salahuddin need to realise that this is not an incompetent government that is in power at the Centre in New Delhi. Our Prime Minister has the political will and conviction to take on separatists," she said. Salahuddin had said he will turn entire Kashmir into a "graveyard" for the Indian armed forces. In an interview with a leading English daily, Salahuddin, disregarding the all-party meet, said talks would be futile and the only answer to the issue of Kashmir was militancy. While the all-party meet is an attempt to assuage the situation in the Valley, Salahuddin has warned of his "might", threatening to "take the entire region into [militancy's] fold". He also said that the militancy movement took a sharp turn after the Hizbul militant Burhan Wani was killed on July 8, the daily reported. Calling the Valley a concentration camp, he said use of more force by the army will only strengthen the militancy movement. Kashmir has been on the boil since the killing of commander Burhan Wani on July 8 with curfew continuing in parts of the valley for the 58th day today. Over the last decade India has made the US its biggest arms suppliers, contracting for $14-15 billion (Rs 93,000-100,000 crore) worth of American weaponry. Yet many US platforms bought have turned out to be less than cutting-edge, after New Delhis unwillingness to sign what Washington labels a foundational agreement the Communications Interoperability and Security Memorandum of Agreement (CISMOA) has forced the replacement of closely-guarded radio, communications security and navigation kits with lower-grade, commercially-available equipment. Authorities made heavy security deployment in Srinagar and other places of the Valley Monday to maintain law and order. "Deployments were made in sufficient strength to maintain law and order in the Valley. There will be no curfew anywhere today (Monday)," a senior police official said. Over 200 civilians and security personnel were injured in different incidents on Sunday. Separatists refused to engage in any dialogue with the members of the all party delegation who tried to break ice by calling on them on Sunday. Separatist leader Syed Ali Geelani refused to even open the door for Sharad Yadav, Sitaram Yechury and D.Raja who called on his uptown Hyderpora residence in Srinagar. Mirwaiz Umer Farooq, Shabir Ahmad Shah and Yasin Malik met the the opposition members of the delegation but conveyed their joint decision not to engage in any dialogue under the prevailing situation. The delegation led by Home Minister Rajnath Singh had a detailed meeting with Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti and her cabinet colleagues. Opposition leaders including former Chief Minister Omar Abdullah and state Congress leaders also met the delegation. A delegation of civil society from Ladakh's Kargil district also met the delegation in Srinagar. The all party delegation will visit Jammu later on Monday. Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister on Monday said only those teachers should be honoured who are serving in remote and far-flung areas. Speaking at a state-level function here to mark Teachers' Day, the Chief Minister said: "Only those teachers who are willingly serving in remote and far-flung areas of the state and have worked in difficult circumstances should be honoured on such occasions." He said it has been observed that none of the teachers who has been teaching with commitment for many years in schools in hard, mountainous and tribal areas was in the list of awardees. directed the education department to keep in mind the services of those teachers also who were committed to their profession and were working in tough areas rather than wasting their time in getting postings in the towns and cities. He also listed the name of the remote and tribal areas from where none of the teachers was in the list of awardees and directed the department to consider the services of such teachers in future. Emphasising the need to introspect the role of teachers in the present day context and their contribution to the society, the octogenarian Chief Minister said there was a need for value-based education. "We should take inspiration from the age-old 'Guru-Shishya Parampara' (teacher-disciple tradition) where the level of respect for the teachers and the commitment of a teacher towards the students is highly quoted," he said. The Chief Minister said the motive of the teachers should not be to create students in their own image but to develop students who can create their own personality. "I believe there is no other profession in the world that is more important to society than that of a teacher," he said. Prime Minister on Monday left for New Delhi after concluding his two-nation tour to Vietnam and China. From Hanoi to Hangzhou, and now home. Another fruitful visit ends as PM @narendramodi emplanes for Delhi. pic.twitter.com/k04Qjmj2Y3 Vikas Swarup (@MEAIndia) September 5, 2016 Prime Minister Modi prior to his departure tweeted that the discussions at G20 Summit were extensive and wide-ranging. "I thank Chinese people & government for the great hospitality during the Summit," he wrote. Intervening in the last session of G20 summit in Hangzhou earlier, Prime Minister Modi urged the international community to act in unity and respond against terrorism. He said a single nation in South Asia is spreading agents of terror in the region and, therefore, called on the international community to isolate and sanction those indulging in the same. The Prime Minister said the growing forces of terror and violence pose a great fundamental challenge before the world community. He insisted that domestic policy and action of every country must get support from international regimes and frameworks to put everyone on the path of development. The Prime Minister also highlighted how United Nations 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development could be an enabler to transform societies and bridge deep inequalities that are creeping in. Prime Minister Modi also emphasised on the collaborative action over the next 15 years and laid out specific actions which include--implementing the Paris Agreement in letter and spirit, unleashing agricultural productivity and innovation that has a close link with enhanced food security. Prime Minister Modi earlier held his first bilateral meeting with British counterpart Theresa May on the sidelines of the G20 Summit. He also met French President Francois Hollande and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. Yesterday, he held bilateral talks with Chinese President Xi Xinping, Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull and Deputy Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia Mohammad Bin Salman on the sidelines of the summit. On Sunday, Prime Minister Modi held bilateral talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping. He told Jinping that the partnership between both nations is important for the region and also for the whole world. During the talks, Prime Minister Modi highlighted the menace of terrorism, saying the recent attacks show how it is spreading across the world and is, therefore, a matter of grave concern. He also condemned the terrorist bomb attack at China's embassy in Kyrgyzstan's capital Bishkek. Prime Minister Modi reached Vietnam earlier on September 3 on the first leg of his two-nation tour during which both sides signed 12 agreements in a wide range of areas covering IT, space, double taxation and sharing white shipping information. An agreement on construction of offshore patrol boats was also signed by the two sides, signalling a step to give concrete shape to defence engagement between the two nations. India also extended $500 million Line of Credit to Vietnam for facilitating deeper defence cooperation with the south east Asian nation, as the two countries elevated their ties to a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership to respond to the emerging regional challenges. Nepalese Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal, also known as Prachanda, will be on a three-day state visit to India from September 15. The visit is expected to mark the return to normalcy in Kathmandu-New Delhi relations after the tensions of the past one year. The Supreme Court on Monday gave the Centre four weeks' time to file its response on the right of Muslim women in matrimonial matters relating to divorce and maintenance, including . The bench of Chief Justice T S Thakur and Justice D Y Chandrachud gave the time on the request of Solicitor General Ranjit Kumar. The Solicitor General had sought time mentioning that the Centre had to file its response to a suo motu writ petition filed on the direction of the apex court on the issue of the right of Muslim women in matrimonial matters. The All India Muslim Personal Law Board (AIMPLB) had in its response defended both polygamy and saying that courts have no jurisdiction to examine the issue as it relates to their religion based on the Quran and Sharia law. In yet another setback to self-styled godman Asaram Bapu, the Supreme Court on Monday denied interim bail to him while stating that his bail plea would be heard only after the medical report. The apex court had earlier in August rejected his bail application. The apex court, however, asked the AIIMS to constitute a medical board to evaluate Asaram's health condition. The AIIMS was asked to submit their report within a period of ten days. The Rajasthan High Court had earlier rejected Asaram's bail plea citing that the case had reached its "fag end" and thus it was not "appropriate" to grant him bail. This was his ninth regular bail application to be rejected. In 2013, a minor girl had alleged that Asaram had sexually assaulted her at his ashram in Jodhpur. The self-styled godman was subsequently arrested on August 31, 2013, and has been in jail since then. Asaram's counsel had sought bail citing that the accused has been suffering several ailments. The leaders on Monday committed to roll back protectionist measures by end-2018 to boost free trade but the Summit, held in the shadow of Britain's vote to exit the European Union, fell short of taking concrete measures in defence of globalization and against isolationism. On the concluding day of the two-day summit, Prime Minister Narendra Modi asked fellow leaders to act decisively to eliminate safe havens for economic offenders, unconditionally extradite money launderers and end excessive banking secrecy. In a reference to Pakistan, Modi said "one single nation in South Asia" was spreading terror in the region. In another of the thematic sessions at the Summit, the PM spoke about India's support to a trade facilitation agreement (TFA) for services, a move that will help in movement of professionals. In his meeting with UK PM Theresa May, their first after the Brexit vote, Modi said her country's new visa policy could have a "negative impact on Indian working professionals wishing to visit UK for short term". May, however, told reporters on the sidelines that she considered the points-based immigration system as "flawed" and will not use it to crackdown on post-Brexit migration from within the European Union (EU). The system was one of the key assurances given by those who campaigned for Britain to leave the EU in the June 23 referendum. The Summit, marked by diplomatic tiffs between US and China and distracted on the last day by firing of missiles by North Korea, ended without consensus on key issues. The joint communique released after the summit said the leaders agreed that countries will coordinate macro-economic policies, rollback protectionist policies in trade and investment by end-2018 and also set up a global forum to check overcapacity in steel production. This comes in the backdrop of the US imposing heavy duties on cheap steel imports from China. India, the third-largest steel producer, is also facing cheap Chinese steel exports. The leaders also decided to set up a research centre in China on fugitive repatriation and asset recovery. The leaders formulated a G20 2017-2018 anti-corruption action plan. It identified terrorism and immigration as challenges that complicated the global economic outlook. ALSO READ: Brexit pangs may push out Japanese firms from London In his intervention in one of the thematic sessions at the Summit, the PM said: "G20's efforts should be for zero-tolerance for corruption and black money; zero administration, policy and treaty loopholes; zero barriers and full commitment to action." Modi said fighting corruption, black money and tax evasion were keys to effective financial governance. The PM said to achieve that "we need to act to eliminate safe havens for economic offenders, track down and unconditionally extradite money launderers and break down the web of complex international regulations and excessive banking secrecy that hide the corrupt and their deeds". India is pursuing extradition of industrialist Vijay Mallya and former Indian Premier League Commissioner Lalit Modi from the UK. The PM also pressed for reform of the Bretton Woods Institutions - IMF and World Bank. "IMF should remain a quota-based institution and not depend on borrowed resources," Modi said emphasising that the "long-delayed 15th General Review of Quotas must be completed by 2017 Annual Meetings." India has been advocating governance reforms in the IMF to ensure its credibility, legitimacy and effectiveness. At the thematic session on Robust International Trade and Investment, the PM said: "Knowledge- and innovation-driven economy requires free mobility. India's priority is to work towards Trade Facilitation Agreement for Services." India is likely to move a proposal on this at the World Trade Organisation (WTO) to start the discussion. The PM urged countries to fully implement the Bali and Nairobi ministerial decisions, which provide special safeguard mechanism for developing countries against import surge in agricultural commodities, particularly sugar. On Climate Change, the leaders called for all countries to ratify the Paris climate deal as soon as their "national procedures allow", a move which would provide more time to India to work out its own strategy keeping up with its developmental goals. The PM stressed the need for safeguarding climate justice, which requires affordable financing and environmental sound technology for developing countries. The US and China have ratified the Paris Climate Change Agreement, while India has held out. Later in the day, NITI Aayog chief Arvind Panagariya told reporters, "We were not quite ready yet in terms of domestic actions that require for us to ratify or at least commit to ratify Paris Deal-2016. We plan to do it as soon as possible but can't commit." In his meeting with French President Francois Hollande, the PM raised the leak of confidential data on the capabilities of six Indian Scorpene Class submarines being built in Mumbai in collaboration with a French defence company. The leak reportedly took place outside India. With Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Modi discussed India's membership to the Nuclear Suppliers Group. Turkey, along with China and some others, had stalled India's efforts to join the 48-member nuclear non-proliferation club during its meeting in June in Seoul. The PM returned to India in the evening. He will now be travelling to Laos to attend the East Asia Summit and India-ASEAN Summit on September 7 and 8. MESSAGE FROM G20 Unlock 30+ premium stories daily hand-picked by our editors, across devices on browser and app. Full access to our intuitive epaper - clip, save, share articles from any device; newspaper archives from 2006. Curated newsletters on markets, personal finance, policy & politics, start-ups, technology, and more. Pick your 5 favourite companies, get a daily email with all news updates on them. 26 years of website archives. A truck that left Bangladesh capital Dhaka on August 28 and is expected to its destination New Delhi on Monday could mark the first step in creating a seamless market for a number of South Asian countries, the Economic Times reported on Monday. At the Cheirap Court Complex, Imphal (West), a group of people stand, waiting for their turn. They are families of some of the 1,528 victims of extra-judicial killings in Manipur in the last 30 years. Since July 2016, in accordance with the directive of the Supreme Court after a writ petition filed by Manipur NGOs (non-government organisations) Human Rights Alert and Extra Judicial Execution Victims Families Association (known as EEVFAM) the over-worked staff of the two NGOs has been documenting each case and registering the testimonies of victim families. The work is gruelling and emotionally intense, but the comprehensive picture emerging from the 500-odd cases documented so far is chilling. The special investigation team (SIT) on black money has asked the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to develop an institutional mechanism, in consultation with the revenue department, to share export-import and foreign exchange (forex) transaction information with investigative agencies, to curb illicit financial flows out of the country. A new chapter in Customs Cooperation between India, Bangladesh, Bhutan and Nepal was opened today i.e. 5th September 2016, as a cargo laden truck of Bangladesh of readymade garments, imported by Marks and Spencer India, rolled into Customs Inland Container Depot, Patparganj, Delhi. Though the vehicle entered India through Petrapole Land Customs Station, the customs clearance is being done at ICD, Patparganj. The vehicle was affixed with GPS tracking equipment at Petrapole and the cargo was sealed electronically. This helped in live tracking of the vehicle as it moved from Petrapole to New Delhi, with an alert mechanism to prevent any tampering of the cargo container. This also marks the first step by Indian Customs at adopting cutting edge technology in facilitating and securing transhipment of import cargo. It also represents a milestone in demonstrating the regional value chain effect in south Asia with a top multi-national retail chain in India importing goods manufactured in Bangladesh. . . This is part of a trial run under a Motor Vehicles Agreement for the Regulation of Passenger and Cargo Vehicular Traffic (MVA) which was signed between Bangladesh, Bhutan, India and Nepal (BBIN) in Thimphu, Bhutan, on 15 June 2015 by the Transport Ministers of the four countries. . . The MVA allows cargo vehicles registered in any one of the BBIN countries to cross borders and enter any of the other BBIN countries, along agreed routes. Consequently, border congestion is reduced and trade can clear cargo at a location proximate to them. Such seamless movement can help in faster and cheaper movement of goods. As the MVA also covers movement of passenger vehicles, it will deepen people-to-people contact and boost tourism. . . Three countries, viz., Bangladesh, India and Nepal have currently ratified the MVA and Bhutan is in the process of completing its ratification formalities. To help in finalization of Protocols that would facilitate trade and maintain balance with effective controls, the countries had agreed to conduct trial runs of vehicles, in terms of the MVA. . . The first cargo trial run was conducted between Kolkata and Agartala through Bangladesh between November 1-3, 2015, by DHL. The 2nd Trial Run trial run of vehicles is being conducted from Dhaka to Delhi from 29th of August 2016 to 10th September 2016.The Trial Run is being conducted under real-life conditions expected to be applied for operations under the BBIN MVA and the experience gained during the trial run would be used in fine-tuning the procedures, documentation and other operating provisions. . . In a function at ICD Patparganj, which was presided over by Shri Vivek Johri Chief Commissioner of Customs, Delhi Zone, Shri Johri stated that This is yet another measure in a series of trade facilitation initiatives taken by the Government recently to help businesses cut transaction costs. The compulsion to tranship goods at the borders with our neighbouring countries has been a major and longstanding pain point hindering free flow of trade. The measure would not only relieve that pain but also allow the BBIN region to more fully exploit its potential for integration through trade." . . CMD of CWC Mr Harpreet Singh, Officials from Bangladesh High Commission, Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) and Ministry of Road Transport and Highways were also present. Country Head for Marks and Spencers Ms Nidhi Dua welcomed the trade facilitation move. . . The delegates from South Africa participating in the 1st BRICS Film Festival have expressed the hope that very soon member countries will co-produce films on various interesting topics and enhance bilateral relations. Interacting with the media here today, the delegation said that the talks at the highest level of Governments are progeressing well and will soon give final shape to joint cooperation in the field of cinema. . . The cast and crew from the competing movies of South Africa in the festival shared their stories, ideas and experiences. Present at the conference were Mr. Sallas de Jager, Director of Free State, Mandla Dube, Director along with Lerato Louise Montoedi, Associate Producer of Kalushi: The Story of Soloman Mahlangu. Also accompanying them were Thapelo Mokoena, Actor, Mrs. Right Guy and Paul Egan, Producer of Tess. . . Mr. Sallas de Jager said that Free State was shot two years ago and involved people from South Africa and India. It was a privilege for him to write the story, portraying the essence of a forbidden love story. The film represents the relation between parents and children. He noted that working with the Indian crew, including Producer and Editor, was a great learning experience. . . Free State showcases the story of Jeanette, who is a beautiful open minded law student. During her summer holiday with her father in the Free State, a random act of kindness by an attractive Indian man sparks an unexpected love affair. Secret meetings follow, since it was against the law at the time to have an interracial relationship. As the film progresses, their secret comes out and all hell breaks loose. . . Mr. Mandla Dube, reminisced that Kalushi was shot eight years back. It has been screened at various film festivals including Cannes, and loved by the people of Edinburgh, South Africa, Zanzibar and London. . . Ms. Lerato Louise added that the idea of making this movie came from a stage play. The movie portrays the story of a young liberator who fought for the country. The story of Solomon relates to the connection of South Africa and India, as the lawyer of Kalushi was an Indian. The film shows the story of Solomon Mahlangu, who is a Mamelodi township schoolboy-hawker. After the events of June 16th joins the military wing of the ANC to fight against the brutal oppression of the Apartheid regime and ends up becoming an icon of South Africa's liberation. . . Mr. Thapelo Mokoena said that story of Mrs. Right Guy revolves around a woman. It is one of the only three romantic comedy movies produced by the black community. He added that the film is more than just a struggle story of the past. Mrs. Right Guy is the story of Gugu, a women who rejects love before it can get too close to rock her from a self-imposed exile from love. But, to find bliss with the right guy she must first realize that no man is created equal, and that in love nice guys have staying power. . . Mr. Paul Egan, said that the shooting of Tess completed in June 2016 and the audience outside South Africa will witness it for the first time at the BRICS Film Festival. The quality and precision of movies from the other countries screened at BRICS are extremely inspiring and we are learning quite a lot from them, he added. . . The conference concluded with hopes of enhancing the cinematic exposure of the BRICS nations with each other. . . NCJ/VM A rising China, which has been worrying its neighbours with its aggressive behaviour including over the South China Sea, needs to restrain itself in order to play a responsible role at the world stage, US President has said. "Part of what I've talked to communicate to President Xi (Jinping) is that the United States arrives at its power, in part, by restraining itself," Obama told CNN in an interview. "You know, when we bind ourselves to a bunch of norms and rules, it's not because we have to, it's because we recognise that, over the long-term, building a strong order is in our interests. And I think over the long-term, it will be in China's interests, as well," Obama said in the interview that was recorded before he left for China. "So where we see them violating rules and norms, as we have seen in some cases in the South China Sea or in some of their behaviour when it comes to economic policy, we've been very firm. And we've indicated to them that there will be consequences," Obama said. He asserted that what the US has tried to emphasise to China is that if it is working within international rules and international norms, then they should be partners. There is no reason that China and the US cannot be friendly competitors on the commercial side and important partners when it comes to dealing with the many international problems that threaten the two countries, he said in response to a question. Obama noted that China has been run during his lifetime by a communist party that has been much more anti-Western in the past. "We went through a period over the course of 20 years, in the '90s and on through maybe the onset of my presidency, where, because state-sponsored capitalism and an export-driven model was very successful, China was less interested in making waves," Obama said. "But, you know, you've got over a billion people, one of the largest economies now in the world. And so it's to be expected that they will want a bigger seat at the table when it comes to international affairs. And what we've said consistently is we welcome the peaceful rise of China, consistent with international norms. That's good for everybody. An impoverished and collapsing China would be dangerous for everybody," Obama said. The US wants China to take on more responsibilities, not only for its own people, but also for a wide range of international problems and conflicts, whether it is climate change or disaster relief or dealing with things like Ebola, Obama said. "What we have said to the Chinese -- and we've been firm consistently about this -- is you have to recognise that with increasing power comes increasing responsibilities. You can't pursue mercantilist policies that just advantage you now that you are a middle income country, in many ways, even though you still have a lot of poor people," Obama said. "You know, you can't just export problems. You've got to have fair trade and not just free trade. You have to open up your markets if you expect other people to open up their markets," he said. "When it comes to issues related to security, if you sign a treaty that calls for international arbitration around maritime issues the fact that you're bigger than the Philippines or Vietnam or other countries, in and of itself, is not a reason for you to go around and flex your muscles. You've got to abide by international law," Obama said. Iran's supreme leader issued an angry rebuke to "blasphemous" regional rival Saudi Arabia on Sunday, calling on the Muslim world to question its management of Islam's holiest sites. "Because of Saudi rulers' oppressive behaviour towards God's guests, the world of Islam must fundamentally reconsider the management of the two holy places and the issue of hajj," Khamenei said in a statement published on his website, referring to Mecca and Medina. He published the comments ahead of this month's annual hajj pilgrimage to Mecca in Saudi Arabia. Some 60,000 Iranians took part last year, but have been effectively barred from this year's event after negotiations between the two countries fell apart. Khamenei accused Saudi Arabia's ruling family, who are the custodians of Islam's holiest sites, of politicising the pilgrimage, and turning themselves into "small and puny Satans who tremble for fear of jeopardising the interests of the Great Satan (the United States)." "Saudi rulers... Who have blocked the proud and faithful Iranian pilgrims' path to the Beloved's House, are disgraced and misguided people who think their survival on the throne of oppression is dependent on defending the arrogant powers of the world, on alliances with Zionism and the US and on fulfilling their demands," he wrote. This month's hajj will be the first time in almost three decades that Iranian pilgrims have not participated. Khamenei was also fiercely critical of the Saudi response to a deadly stampede during last year's hajj, which killed some 2,300 foreign pilgrims, including an estimated 464 Iranians. "Instead of apology and remorse and judicial prosecution of those who were directly at fault in that horrifying event, Saudi rulers -- with utmost shamelessness and insolence -- refused to allow the formation of an Islamic fact-finding committee," he said. At least four women terrorists of the outlawed militant outfit were arrested today in Bangladesh, weeks after similar arrests were made here as part of nation-wide crackdown following the country's worst terror attack on an upscale cafe here. "We carried out the pre-dawn raid acting on a secret tip off... It was a rented house from where these women were conducting drives in recruiting other women in the name of preaching Islam," Sirajganj's district police superintendent Miraz Uddin Ahmed said. Police also seized a large quantity of bomb-making materials, six improvised bombs, nine Jihadi books, four grenade shells and electrical equipment from the den, he said. All the four arrested women are married and aged between 18 and 30. They are being questioned by police ahead of subsequent legal procedures. Earlier on August 16, elite anti-crime Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) arrested three women students of a private university and a woman intern at the Dhaka Medical College Hospital for their alleged links with (JMB), blamed for the terror attack on an upscale cafe in Dhaka that killed 22 people, including an Indian girl. JMB is known for its ideological inclination to ISIS. This is the third such major incident of arresting women militants since July when seven women JMB activists, three of them members of its suicide squad, were arrested from Tangail. Security agencies have arrested dozens of JMB militants with officials calling some of them as masterminds of the outfit as a nationwide anti-militant security clampdown is underway since the July 1 attack. Police call the arrested operatives as neo-JMB activists because of their inclination towards the Islamic State terrorist group, which initially claimed the cafe attack. But authorities have denied presence of ISIS in Bangladesh. The foreign policy of US President and his former secretary of state Hillary Clinton has resulted in the wider Middle East literally spinning out of control, Republican vice-presidential nominee Mike Pence alleged today. "The foreign policy of and Hillary Clinton has resulted in the wider Middle East literally spinning out of control. I mean, we've seen Syria imploding into civil war, Libya imploding into civil war," the Indiana Governor told NBC. "We have entire countries in that region of the world and territories that have been compromised by terrorism. I think what Donald Trump has said is that we have to immediately suspend immigration from any countries that have been compromised by terrorism," he said in response to a question on the immigration policy of Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump announced earlier this week. "Hillary Clinton wants to increase Syrian refugees to this country by 550 per cent. Donald Trump and I believe that we should suspend the Syrian refugee program...And create, working with Arab countries, to create safe zones for people to be able to escape those war-torn areas," he said. "But to continue to allow people into this country when our own Homeland Security, our own FBI says we can't know for certain who these people are, is putting safety and security of the American people second to the agenda to the UN or the liberals in this country. And Donald Trump is just simply not going to do that," Pence asserted. He said the Trump campaign has always been propelled by a movement of the American people. Earlier this week, Pence alleged that the release of FBI report on Clinton is just more evidence that she is the most dishonest candidate for President of the United States since Richard Nixon. "What's evident from the notes, what's evident from all of the revelations over the last several weeks, is that Hillary Clinton operated in such a way to keep her e-mails -- and particularly her interactions -- while secretary of state with The Clinton Foundation out of the public reach, out of public accountability," he said. "The issue here is not one of information that was not available or that the incomprehensible decision that she made as secretary of state and to have a private server in her home, 11 different BlackBerrys and mobile devices, but really rather it's all -- goes to the question of why did she do that," Pence said. "The other e-mails that have come out in the last several weeks really give evidence to the fact that it was all in an effort to paper over and conceal a pay-to-play process that was underway while she was secretary of state," he added. The Donald Trump campaign is attempting to mislead Americans on immigration plan to deport all undocumented immigrants, the rival Hillary Clinton camp alleged today. "Donald Trump has stated very clearly throughout his campaign that he will deport everyone who is undocumented, something that was reinforced in his speech in Arizona last Wednesday," Clinton Campaign manager Robby Mook said in a statement as top officials from the Trump Campaign in various interviews indicated that not all illegal immigrants might be deported. "Beyond forcibly removing every single undocumented person from this country, Trump has also promised to rescind DACA and DAPA, and deport American citizens who are born to undocumented immigrant parents," Mook said. "What we saw today is Mike Pence and Trump's top campaign officials attempt to mislead voters about their mass deportation policy by using soft words to describe harsh tactics -- one of the oldest tricks in the book. Immigrant families know the meanings of 'humane' and 'fair' and can see straight through their cynical ploys," he said. Trump's message to immigrant families is clear -- everyone must go, Mook alleged. In an interview to NBC News, Pence, the vice-presidential running mate of Trump, said that the fate of the undocumented immigrants would be considered after the deportation of criminal aliens. He asserted that there is no change in the Trump's policy on immigration as being claimed by the Clinton Campaign. "It begins with building a wall, border security. It begins with enforcing the laws of this country, removing criminal aliens and removing people who've overstayed their visa, ending catch and release, strengthening our border patrol, strengthening immigration and customs enforcement. Doing all of the kinds of things we've talked about, the eVerify system for employers in this country," Pence said. "All the things that we know will bring all the incentives that are built into our economy, all of the ways that illegal immigration has been made possible in this country, all of that will come to an end. I think that's exactly what the American people want to hear today," Pence said. "With regard to anyone that remains after all of that is done, I think what you heard Donald Trump say is that we'll give consideration, working with the Congress, in a new and reformed immigration system, to consider it at that time," he added. Leaders from the world's top economies broadly agreed at a summit in China on Monday to coordinate macroeconomic policies and oppose protectionism, but few concrete proposals emerged to meet growing challenges to globalisation and free trade. Hollywood actor Daniel Craig has reportedly been offered $150 million to return to the popular series of spy films "James Bond". Sony has offered the actor a massive sum to play Bond in two more feature films, which would be shot back-to-back, According to Radar Online. "(He) has played a genius hand. Everyone knows how much executives adore him, and the idea of losing him at such a crucial time in the franchise isn't an option as far as all the studio honchos are concerned," a source said. Whereas, producer Barbara Broccoli has already gone on record to say that she does not want to lose her leading man any time soon. Recently, a probable list of replacement candidates was also released which featured actors like Idris Elba, Tom Hiddleston, and Aidan Turner. Craig is currently filming Steven Soderbergh's film "Logan Lucky", alongside Channing Tatum and Adam Driver. Democratic presidential nominee is having a hard time in convincing American people that she is a truthful and honest candidate, the rival Donald Trump Campaign claimed today. " is having a hard time being accepted as a truthful and honest candidate vis-a-vis the American people," Trump Campaign Manager Kellyanne Conway told ABC News. Conway said the American people want answers, 17,448 e-mails were not turned over to the inspector general. "That's in addition to the 33,000 emails that had been deleted," she said. "And certainly a former United States senator, former first lady and certainly the sitting secretary of state should know what the C means," Conway said. Conway alleged that the Clinton Campaign is trying to shift the focus of the elections from these issues. "They want this election to be about Donald Trump. And the American people want this election to be about honesty and trustworthiness and her being more acceptable and forthcoming in her responses," she said. Turkish troops and allied Syrian rebels expelled the Islamic State group from the last strip of territory it controlled along the Syrian-Turkish border today, effectively sealing the extremists' self-styled caliphate off from the outside world, Turkey's prime minister and a Syrian opposition group reported. Today, Syrian pro-government forces backed by airstrikes launched a wide offensive in the northern city of Aleppo, capturing areas they lost last month and besieging rebel-held neighbourhoods, state media and opposition activists said. Turkey-backed Free Syrian Army rebels have cleared the area between the northern Syrian border towns of Azaz and Jarablus, Turkey's Prime Minister Binali Yildirim said. "From Azaz to Jarablus, 91 kilometers of our border has completely secured. All the terrorist organisations are pushed back, they are gone," Yildirim said, speaking at a dinner with non-government organisations in the southeastern city of Diyarbakir. The FSA's advance shut down key supply lines used by IS to bring in foreign fighters, weapons and ammunition. The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said IS "has lost its link with the outside world after losing all border areas" with Turkey. It said the last two border villages that IS held were Mizab and Qadi Jarablus, which were taken this afternoon. IS had occupied the border area even before it declared its self-styled caliphate in June 2014, and it used the Turkish border to bring in fighters from around the world. The extremist group, which controls parts of Syria and Iraq, is now surrounded from all sides by hostile forces. The loss of its territory along the Turkish border follows a series of recent defeats for IS, including its expulsion from the central Iraqi city of Fallujah and its defeat in the former stronghold of Manbij in northern Syria. Airstrikes by the US-led coalition have killed a number of the group's most prominent founding members and leaders. In a statement, Turkey's armed forces said the "the Jarablus-Azaz line has been connected." Turkey has long pushed for a safe zone in Syria between these two towns, with a plan to house Syrian refugees there. Turkey hosts an estimated 3 million Syrian refugees, the highest number in the world. Meanwhile, the recapture and return to siege of rebel-held parts of Aleppo dealt a major blow to insurgent groups. They have lost scores of fighters in recent weeks in the battle to open a corridor into the city and lift the government's blockade. After the government laid siege on Aleppo for the first time in July, the United Nations said that nearly 300,000 residents were trapped in rebel-held neighborhoods, making it the largest besieged area in war-torn Syria. Former strongman on Monday dubbed as "one against the government" the attack on Sri Lankan envoy in Malaysia who was mobbed by a group of protesters allegedly linked to the LTTE for hosting him. The attack on High Commissioner Ibrahim Ansar on Sunday at the Kuala Lumpur Airport was allegedly carried out by the LTTE sympathisers, who were protesting against the visit of Rajapaksa, under whose leadership the Lankan troops defeated the Tamil Tiger rebels ending the nearly three decade-long civil war. "This is not good for the country, it was an attack against the government," Rajapaksa said at the airport upon his return from Malaysia. "I am prepared to face this kind of threats as I finished the decades old terrorist campaign in this country," Rajapaksa said. Rajapaksa visited Malaysia to attend a conference. Ansar was seeing off the joint opposition leader Dinesh Gunawardana at the airport when he was attacked. The LTTE sympathisers in Malaysia were angry with Ansar as he hosted Rajapaksa, who led the opposition delegation at the meeting. Sri Lankan government on Sunday expressed concern over the incident and summoned Malaysia's High Commissioner here to the ministry of foreign affairs for an explanation on the incident. US President believes that a majority of Americans specially youngsters "completely reject" the kind of positions taken by Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump. "He (Trump) has been able to appeal to a certain group of folks who feel left out or are worried about the rapidity of demographic change, social change who, in some cases, have very legitimate concerns around the economy and feeling left behind. But that's not the majority of America," Obama said in an interview aired on CNN. "And if you talk to younger people, the next generation of Americans, they completely reject the kinds of positions that he's taking," Obama said in the interview which was recorded before his travel to Asia. "So, you know, we have to take it seriously. I think that any time we hear intolerance, any time that we hear policy measures that are contrary to our values, banning certain classes of people because of who they are or what they look like, what faith they practice, then we have to be pretty hard about saying no to that," Obama said. Obama said America will do that this time and he was optimistic about it. However, the US President said there was a need to pay close attention to what is going on. Dwelling into history, Obama said there has been a long tradition in the United States of inclusion, immigration diversity. "But also people, once they're included in what they consider to be the real America, worrying about outsiders contaminating, polluting, messing up a good thing," he said. "That's not new. That dates back to the beginning of this country. What I'm always reminding people is that, although you'll see bumps...Of anti-immigrant sentiment directed at the Irish or Southern Europeans as opposed to Northern Europeans, or the Chinese, or today, Latinos or Muslims -- the long-term trend is people get absorbed, people get assimilated." "We benefit from this incredible country in which the measure of your patriotism and how American you are is not the colour of your skin, your last name, your faith, but rather your adherence to a creed. Your belief in certain principles and values," Obama said. "I don't expect that that's going to change simply because Mr Trump has gotten a little more attention than usual," he added. fired three ballistic missiles off its east coast on Monday, Yonhap reported, in the latest show of force that comes some two weeks after it test fired a submarine-launched ballistic missile. The missiles were fired into the Sea of Japan (East Sea) from the North's Hwangju county at around 0300 GMT, the Yonhap news agency said, quoting Seoul's Joint Chiefs of Staff. The US and Russia struggled on Monday to keep alive negotiations to end the bloodshed between US-backed rebels and Syria's Russian-aligned regime. Even as top diplomats vowed to keep trying, President Barack Obama expressed scepticism that an unlikely alliance between rivals would yield the breakthrough needed to end the 5-year-old civil war. Still, as Obama and Russian President Vladimir Putin attended an economic summit, the leaders were under pressure to push the negotiations beyond the sticking points that have thus far prevented a deal. White House spokesman Ned Price said Obama and Putin were huddling on the sidelines of the Group of 20 economic summit, with details of their informal meeting expected to be released later on Monday. A second day of talks in China between Secretary of State John Kerry and his Russian counterpart, Sergey Lavrov, ended Monday without a deal to announce. The two diplomats met for an hour but emerged still at odds on certain issues, said a senior State Department official, who wasn't authorised to discuss the talks by name and requested anonymity. The talks culminated a several weeks of searching for a cease-fire between Syrian President Bashar Assad's government and moderate rebels that would expand access for hundreds of thousands of civilians caught in the crossfire. The strategy has hinged on an unlikely US-Russian militarily partnership against extremist groups operating in Syria. But beyond the Islamic State group and al-Qaida, the two powers have conflicting views about who fits in that category as well as a deep and mutual distrust that the other party will hold up its end of the bargain. "We're not there yet," Obama told reporters yesterday. "It's premature for us to say that there is a clear path forward, but there is the possibility at least for us to make some progress on that front." Obama's wariness was less apparent among his State Department negotiators, who had been so hopeful a deal could come together while world leaders gathered in China that they scheduled a press conference and announced plans to brief reporters on the pact. Philippine President called Barack Obama a "son of a whore" on Monday as he vowed not to be lectured by the US leader on human rights when they meet in Laos. The acid-tongued Duterte bristled at warnings he would face questioning by the US president over a crime war in the Philippines that has claimed more than 2,400 lives in just over two months. "You must be respectful. Do not just throw away questions and statements. Son of a whore, I will curse you in that forum," Duterte told a news conference shortly before flying to Laos to attend the summit. "We will be wallowing in the mud like pigs if you do that to me." Duterte was due to hold a bilateral meeting with Obama on Tuesday on the sidelines of a summit of global leaders hosted by the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) in Vientiane, the Lao capital. Responding to Philippine leader's foul-mouthed tirade, Obama on Monday cast doubt on his planned meeting with Duterte. "He's a colourful guy," Obama joked on the eve of the scheduled face-to-face, before pointedly noting: "I always want to make sure if I'm having a meeting that it's actually productive." Duterte was elected in May after a promise to wage an unprecedented war on illegal drugs that would see tens of thousands of suspects killed. Official figures released on Sunday show that, since Duterte took office on June 30, over 2,400 people have been killed in police anti-drug operations and by suspected vigilantes. Duterte has angrily rejected criticism from the Catholic Church, human rights groups, legislators and the United Nations. Duterte vowed Monday the bloodbath would continue as he pursued his goal of eradicating illegal drugs in the Philippines. "More people will be killed, plenty will be killed until the last pusher is out of the streets. Until the (last) drug manufacturer is killed, we will continue and I will continue," he said. Duterte insisted he would not take orders from the United States, a former colonial ruler of the Philippines, and did not care about how he was perceived. "I don't give a shit about anybody observing my behaviour," he said. Duterte also used vulgar language to accuse his domestic critics of wanting to please the United States. "There are who have the mental capacity of dogs who lap at the ass of the Americans," he said in reference to his critics. Thousands of Brazilians staged a protest on Sunday against new President Michel Temer, who was sworn in after Dilma Rousseff was definitively ousted by the Senate for manipulating budget figures. A sea of protesters took to Sao Paulo's Paulista Avenue for a seventh consecutive day, most of them wearing red, the colour of Rousseff's Workers' Party, EFE news reported. Unlike the other protests in recent days, Sunday's rally unfolded without any incidents between demonstrators and the police. Authorities had considered refusing to authorise protesters to gather on Sunday because the flame for the Rio Paralympics was scheduled to be carried along the thoroughfare that same day. But they later allowed the protesters to take to the streets a few hours after the passage of the torch relay. Rousseff said on Friday that she would fight in the courts to reverse the Senate vote two days earlier to remove her from office less than halfway through her term. By a vote of 61-20, senators found Rousseff guilty of bypassing Congress to alter budgets by decree and taking too long to reimburse state-controlled banks for funds used to pay for government programs, a delay that her opponents say amounted to taking out illegal loans from those institutions. Temer, Rousseff's former vice president-turned-enemy, was sworn in on August 31, just hours after Rousseff's impeachment trial ended with her ouster from office. In a remarkable public achievement, has been certified as malaria-free island country by World Organisation (WHO) on Monday. "Sri Lanka's achievement is truly remarkable. In the mid-20th century it was among the most malaria-affected countries, but now it is malaria-free. This is testament to the courage and vision of its leaders, and signifies the great leaps that can be made when targeted action is taken. It also demonstrates the importance of grass-roots community engagement and a whole-of-society approach when it comes to making dramatic public gains," WHO Regional Director, Dr Poonam Khetrapal Singh, said here. Sri Lanka's road to eliminating the mosquitoes was tough, and demanded well-calibrated, responsive policies. After malaria cases soared in the 1970s and 80s, the country's anti-malaria campaign in the 1990s adjusted its strategy to intensively target the parasite in addition to targeting the mosquito. The change in strategy was unorthodox, but highly effective. Mobile malaria clinics in high transmission areas meant that prompt and effective treatment could reduce the parasite reservoir and the possibility of further transmission. Effective surveillance, community engagement and health education, meanwhile, enhanced the ability of authorities to respond, and mobilised popular support for the campaign. The adaptation and flexibility of strategies and support from key partners such as WHO and the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria fast-tracked success. By 2006, the country recorded less than 1 000 cases of malaria per year, and since October 2012, the indigenous cases were down to zero. For the past three-and-a-half years, no locally transmitted cases have been recorded. To maintain elimination and ensure the parasite is not reintroduced to the country, the anti-malaria campaign is working closely with local authorities and international partners to maintain surveillance and response capacity and to screen high-risk populations entering the country. is the second country in the WHO South-East Asia Region to eliminate malaria after Maldives. The announcement of Sri Lanka's victory over malaria was made at the WHO South-East Asia Region's annual Regional Committee meeting in the presence of health ministers and senior health officials from all 11 Member States. The Regional Director said WHO will continue to support the efforts of Sri Lanka's health authorities as they relate to malaria, as well as the country's wider public health mission. This outstanding achievement should be a springboard to further public health gains in the country and the South-East Asia Region as a whole. After blacklisting around 31 companies, mostly start-ups, IITs are now not only scrutinising other start-ups more carefully, but are also encouraging students to go for core sector companies and PSUs this placement season. Come September, IITs are set to focus more on core sectors and PSUs as they begin inviting recruiters for pre-placement talks (PPTs). Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC), the countrys largest institutional investor, has turned richer by Rs 10,000 crore in the first five months of the current financial year, thanks to a strong rally in the stocks of top five automobile . The value of LICs stake in Maruti Suzuki, Tata Motors, Mahindra & Mahindra, and Hero MotoCorp and Bajaj Auto has zoomed 32 per cent to Rs 42,000 crore since April 1. The value of LICs equity investments (total) as of March 2016 was Rs 5,95,389 crore. In a fresh bid to claim the entire local use of iron ore, the steel industry has protested at governments proposed move to reduce export duty on the steel-making raw material. Everyone in the market pays homage to investors, especially small ones. The regulator, the government, the institutions, and the intermediaries: Nobody's an exception. But, two developments over the last few weeks makes one wonder if such homage is serious. The first relates to the sins of the past. The second is about the future. Vedanta Resources chairman Anil Agarwal does not consider aluminium and steel competing with each other for application in construction and manufacturing sectors. He sees plenty of scope for growth in the use of both in India, where infrastructure development is accorded high priority and which aspires to become a factory to the world under the Make in India banner. This is why Agarwal considers the argument that India should be targeting steel capacity of 300 million tonnes (mt) by 2025 and aluminium capacity of 20 mt some years down the road. The Punjab Government has announced the names of 34 teachers, who will be bestowed with prestigious State Awards, while 26 teachers will be honoured with appreciation letters on the occasion of Teachers' Day at a state-level function here on Monday. State Education Minister Daljit Singh Cheema said, "Seven PES Cadre Officers/Employees will also be honoured with appreciation letters for their exemplary performance in the assigned duties." While announcing the names of teachers for state awards, Cheema said a five-member committee has made judicious selection of teaching fraternity for state awards. Cheema further said that 34 State Award Winner teachers would be honoured with a cash amount of Rs. 25,000, appreciation letter, a medal and one year extension on service period. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Highlighting that Pakistan has relevant endowments for a sustainable textile industry, a Pakistani media house has pointed out that China lacks interests in joint ventures or Greenfield investments in the country's textile sector. The article published in the Express Tribune said Pakistan is even losing its market share to India and Vietnam in yarn exports to China. In New Delhi's case, the report said that the China Association of Small and Medium Enterprises (CASME) officially launched on June 20 this year a textile-focused industrial park to be built near India's Ahmedabad city in Gujarat. "Phase-I of this $1-billion industrial park is expected to be completed by the end of 2017. More than 100 Chinese enterprises have shown their willingness to invest in the park," it said. Highlighting Beijing's investments in Vietnam, the article said that the country has become a hot investment destination for the Chinese textile companies, which are pouring millions of dollars for establishing manufacturing facilities there. "Texhong, a large Chinese textile group, has four production bases in Vietnam, which are churning out 300,000 tons of textiles each year and make up 43 percent of its total production capacity," the article read. It added that Chinese companies from textile power houses of Guangdong, Jiangsu and Zhejiang provinces have already invested in Vietnam and are further expanding their capacities. The article also emphasized that on overseas investments, Chinese textile industry are building dedicated industrial parks for investment as well as setting up factories in existing infrastructure in the host countries and Pakistan is missing on the Chinese radar from both the investment models. Comparing China's annual textile exports which stand at $284 billion, a whopping 37 percent share in $766 billion worth of global textile trade, it said that Pakistan's textile export is of $13 billion and make up a paltry 1.7 percent of the global market. "Ironically even now when China is moving out of the low value-added textiles, the advantage is not being taken by Pakistan, but other low-cost operators such as India, Bangladesh and Vietnam are picking up the slack," the article read. Commenting on Pakistan's textile sector, the article said Islamabad is unable to compete with more efficient producers in the international markets. "Pakistan is even losing its market share to India and Vietnam in yarn exports to China. It seems like Pakistani textile sector is unable to compete with more efficient producers in the international markets," it added. The article said that Pakistani Government has been highlighting the potential of the country as a relocation base for Chinese textile enterprises but not much of this rhetoric is converting into reality. "Numerous reasons like power shortage, high cost of business, security situation and so on could be mentioned for this below par performance of the textile industry. One can often read half a page or more so advertisements by local textile associations appealing to the government for some more concessions to save their ever-sinking ship," it said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) A large number of Chinese vessels have been positioned close to a disputed reef in the South China Sea near the coast of the Philippines, despite warnings by the United States that Beijing should refrain from such provocations. The New York Times quoted Defense Minister Delfin Lorenzana as saying that the Philippine Defense Department has photographs of four Chinese Coast Guard ships and six other vessels, less than a mile from the disputed Scarborough Shoal. This comes despite President Obama holding discussions with Chinese President Xi Jinping on the South China Sea issue, ahead of the G20 Summit meeting in Hangzhou, China. Obama reportedly insisted that Beijing needs to "abide by its obligations" to an international maritime treaty in the dispute and the Hague international arbitrary court ruling, while Xi maintained that China would continue to protect its sovereignty and maritime rights in the disputed waters. In the foreign ministry statement issued following the meeting between the two delegates, Beijing urged Washington to drop its "double standards on the South China Sea" and play a constructive role in maintaining peace and stability in the region. In March, Obama had specifically warned Xi at a meeting in Washington in March not to start building an island at Scarborough Shoal. The appearance of ships while global leaders were still in Hangzhou was not expected. Scarborough Shoal has been the centre of attention as one of the most desirable places in the South China Sea for the Chinese to convert into an artificial island. It is close to military bases in the Philippines where the United States military has access. In the last several years, the Chinese have built a group of artificial islands with military capabilities in the Spratly Archipelago, not far from Scarborough Shoal. Washington fears that China plans to build a bigger military base on Scarborough Shoal. Some of the Chinese vessels spotted off the shoal last week could be dredges to do preliminary building work, said Lorenzana. One of the vessels was actually in the mouth of the shoal, he added. Four Chinese Coast Guard vessels have been permanently positioned near the shoal, an area of about 56 square miles, in recent weeks, he said adding that the other six vessels, one with what looked like large cable-laying machinery, were new additions spotted by Filipino fishermen last week. Lorenzana said that the Chinese ambassador in Manila had been warned about the ships last week, but the envoy denied that Chinese vessels were in the vicinity of the shoal. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) New Delhi [India], Sept. 5 (ANI): Medical Experts who assembled at the national capital opined that that regular surveillance of at risk patients helps to detect the liver cancer at early stage, adding that the benefit of early detection is early institution of treatments to achieve a cure. A two-day conference on latest advances in the management of liver diseases was concluded in Delhi by Sir Ganga Ram Hospital under the aegis of Delhi Liver foundation. Experts from India, USA, Myanmar, Pakistan and Nepal attended the conference and shared their views and discussed newer and better strategies to tackle Liver ailments. While sharing their experiences, experts said that if cancer is detected early, almost all patients can achieve benefits in terms of life expectancy with up to 70 percent five year survival and good chances of cure in a substantial percentage. However, if detected late, then this five year survival drops to five percent. The conference chairman was Dr Anil Arora who is also the president of Indian Association of Study of Liver. Dr. Amitabh Mohan Jerath Senior Consultant in Gastroenterology was invited as faculty for the session on rise in Liver Cancer in India. Dr Jerath threw light on the rising incidence of Liver diseases in the wake of increase in Hepatitis C, Hepatitis B, Alcoholism, Obesity and fatty Liver. He said that these diseases make a person more prone to Liver cancer as it is fifth commonest cancer in the world. Currently Liver cancer is fourth commonest cause of death in males and eighth commonest cause of death in females but actually it might be more rampant than this if correctly reported. The only way to decrease the increasing incidence is life style modification and early initiation of antiviral therapies. Notably media reports suggested that Punjab has becomes home of Hepatitis C disease and it has readily increasing on the border state of northern part of India. The conference also discussed cost effective modalities for Liver disease detection and treatments for third world countries. The annual event was attended by over 600 doctors. Experts also emphasized the need for better organ donation strategies as currently there is a long waiting list of patients waiting for cadaveric liver transplant. According to available information, currently about 2000 liver transplants happen in India with eighty percent from living related donors whereas in the western world, most transplants are cadaveric liver transplants. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump's mixed messages on immigration have reportedly created tension in the party with several leaders drifting away from him and looking towards a Democratic presidency. His demur speech in Mexico City and a vitriolic rally in Phoenix can be best examples. Following his speech in Phoenix, the Republican National Committee is reported to have withheld planned praise. Arizona senator Jeff Flake told CBS's Face the Nation on Sunday that Trump pivots and then pivots right back. "So it's kind of a 360-degree pivot at times. That's not clear at all. Some people said it was hardening, some said softening. I say it was just confusing," the Guardian quoted Flake as saying. He is one among the few republicans, who have refused to support Trump, He, however, yesterday said that he would like to escape that "uncomfortable" position and vote for the New York billionaire. Flake indicated a hint of praise for Trump's rival, Hillary Clinton, who has recently urged the Republicans to remember that the businessman's claims that Mexicans are "rapists" and refugees a "Trojan horse" of terrorism do not reflect their party. "I wish more Republicans would say that as well. But if Hillary Clinton wants to say it I'm glad - I'm glad people, voters, are being reminded of it, anyway." Trump then responded on Twitter - by bashing Flake. "The Republican Party needs strong and committed leaders, not weak people such as Jeff Flake, if it is going to stop illegal immigration," he said. He then elaborated that Flake was "a very weak and ineffective senator". Trump and Flake in the past had already clashed, exchanging sharp words when the Arizona senator confronted the former in a meeting with elected Republicans on Capitol Hill. Meanwhile, Senator John McCain, Flake's fellow Arizona senator has started running an ad that is said to look toward a hypothetical Clinton presidency. "My opponent, Representative Ann Kirkpatrick, is a good person," he says in the ad. "But if Hillary Clinton is elected president, Arizona will need a senator who will act as a check, not a rubber stamp, on the White House." Though he has not explicitly rejected Trump, who last year mocked the Vietnam war veteran for having been captured by the Vietcong. McCain has repeatedly asked the businessman to apologize to other former prisoners of war. According to polls only some voters are said to be swayed by Trump's winding week. In CBS poll, 47% of voters in swing states said they saw no change in his policy, and 37% said they thought he had slightly eased is proposals and the ABC poll, 78% thought Trump would fail to make Mexico pay for any wall, and 67% had a negative to his speech. Meanwhile, some felt that Trump's Phoenix speech was a return to form. Former Ku Klux Klan leader David Duke tweeted, "excellent speech by Donald Trump tonight." Conservative author Ann Coulter compared it favourably to the speeches of former British prime minister Winston Churchill. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Emphasising on the fact that global trading regime needs to respond to the needs and priorities of the developing nations, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday urged the global value chains to provide developing nations a 'level playing field.' Intervening in the session on 'Robust International Trade and Investment' on the second day of the 11th G20 Summit here in Hangzhou, Prime Minister Modi said global trade is at a cross roads. "Vision of transparent, equitable, non-discriminatory, open, inclusive and rule-based global trading architecture should underpin collective efforts," he added. Stressing on the fact that trade facilitation is important among the global nations; he urged all countries to fully implement the Bali and Nairobi Ministerial decisions The Prime Minister insisted that India's priority is to work towards trade facilitation agreement for services. He also called on the G20 member nations to act to stimulate investment flows. "Transformed and liberalized investment regime has put India among top host nations for FDI. Global investment principles shouldn't be prescriptive. Countries need policy space depending on national circumstances and developmental focus," he said. Earlier in the day, Prime Minister Modi said that fighting corruption, black money and tax evasion is the key to effective financial governance. Intervening in the session on 'More Effective and Efficient Global Economic and Financial Governance' at the G20 Summit, he called for zero tolerance for corruption and black money and zero administrative, policy and treaty loopholes in this area. He said that the G-20 member nations need to act to eliminate safe havens for economic offenders and track down and unconditionally extradite money launderers. Prime Minister Modi also held his first bilateral meeting with British counterpart Theresa May on the sidelines of the G20 Summit. He also met French President Francois Hollande and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. Yesterday, he held bilateral talks with Chinese President Xi Xinping, Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull and Deputy Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia Mohammad Bin Salman on the sidelines of the summit. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Criticising the Hurriyat Conference leaders for refusing to participate in the talks with the all-party delegation, Press Club of India (PCI) president and senior journalist Rahul Jalali has said the Hurriyat leaders lost a golden opportunity by not participating in the talks and not meeting parliamentarians who visited thier houses. "Well it's really unfortunate that the Hurriyat Conference has lost a golden opportunity. It's not only a question of Mehbooba's invitation to them, but the fact that a number of opposition leaders went to their homes, they were not even allowed entry, which goes against the grain Kashmir's hospitality not even a glass of water was given to them. The entire Parliament was there and they brought with them the mandate of the country of the Indian Parliament so Hurriyat should have taken it far more seriously than what they did and that's very unfortunate," he said. He further said that the all-party delegation, which will visit Jammu, should give time to the people to address their concerns, including the issue of Pakistan displaced refugees, who are seeking Indian citizen status. "The all-party delegation which will be in Jammu should give as much time to the people of Jammu as well as delegations which might come from Ladakh to meet them as they did in Kashmir, because there are so many issues concerning people here, including the issue of Pakistan-displaced refugees who would be asking for a permanent resident status," he said. Communist Party of India (Marxist) general secretary Sitaram Yechury, Janata Dal (United) member Sharad Yadav, CPI leader D. Raja and CPI (M) MLA Yousuf Tarigami, all of them parts of the all-party delegation, had gone to meet the separatist leaders on Sunday. But the Hurriyat leaders did not held talks with the delegation members. "We met Mirwaiz Umar Farooq; we met Shabir Shah; and then we met professor Abdul Gani Bhat; the leaders of Hurriyat, all of them, said they had decided not to talk on the issue," Yechury said. The Home Minister chaired the meeting of all-party delegation which was attended by Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti. During the meeting, a detailed presentation was given by the state government highlighting various issues related to the current scenario in Jammu and Kashmir. The all-party delegation also met the representatives of various political parties. Various political parties expressed their concern over the injuries to civilians due to the use of pellet guns. The Union Home Minister said that government is already working on the alternatives to pellet guns such as PAVA shells. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) With the separatists refusing to hold talks with the all-party delegation, Communist Party of India (Marxist) general secretary Sitaram Yechury on Monday urged the BJP-led NDA regime at the Centre to start a political dialogue with all stakeholders without any pre-conditions. Yechury, who is part of the all-party delegation presently in Srinagar to chalk out strategies to restore normalcy in the region, told ANI there is no solution to the Kashmir issue without talking about politics. "Out of five separatist leaders, one met us. But they have decided that there will be no talks on politics. But there is no solution without talking about politics. We told them before also that we believe in unconditional dialogue," said Yechury. "If we would have come two months back then the situation would have been better than this," he added. Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha, Mallikarjun Kharge, on his part said that efforts should be made to convince all stakeholders. "Many people have got injured and also died. So, naturally there is anger. These things take place till things calm down. We have to convince them. Steps need to be taken to bring normalcy in the valley," he added. Union Food and Consumer Affairs Minister Ram Vilas Paswan said the doors should always be open for those willing to express their views on the present situation in the valley. "Our main agenda was to have people to people contact... After discussion, we have got a lot of information," he added. The LJP leader further said the separatists are this time hesitant to hold talks with the all-party delegation as the present situation is quite different. Hurriyat leaders S.A.S. Geelani and Mirwaiz Umar Farooq yesterday refused to meet the all-party delegation. However, the delegation was yesterday successful in reaching out to Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front chairman Yasin Malik. The separatists had earlier rejected Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti's invitation for talks. The all-party delegation headed by Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh yesterday held parleys with various sections of the society and listened to their concerns as part of efforts to find a common solution to the current unrest. The delegation earlier met the Chief Minister during which a detailed presentation was given by the state government highlighting various issues related to the current scenario in Jammu and Kashmir. While interacting with the delegation, Mehbooba said that Kashmir is a common issue of interest and should not be viewed as a political issue. The all-party delegation also met the representatives of various political parties who expressed their concern on the use of pellet guns. The all-party delegation will visit Jammu later in the day. Kashmir has been on the boil since the killing of Hizbul Mujahideen commander Burhan Wani on July 8. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) With heavy rains lashing misery across parts of India many states are reeling under flood like situation. Bihar and Assam are among the states which are badly affected and need urgent relief measures. Believers Church is working towards helping and rehabilitating more than 9700 families in the affected regions. In the first phase, the Church reached out to the 800 most affected families in the four districts of Kishaganj, Araria, Katihar and Purnia of Bihar. The relief measures for these families were carried out from August 4th to 6th wherein these families were provided with dry food items packs containing Satu (lentil powder), Chana grain (lentil), Jaggery, Bread and other eatables. Besides, the volunteers of the church are also helping rebuild physical infrastructure for the affected families and supplying free tarpaulin and other relief material. In the second phase Believers Church Patna diocese is planning to conduct relief works for 3200 more families in the 6 affected Districts. Believers Church has earmarked Rs. 50 lakh for the flood affected areas of Bihar. In Assam, Dhemaji is one of the worst affected districts and as per reports by the district authority, an estimated 1.5 lakh people are affected under Dhemaji district. Seeing their plight and misery Believers Church has extended help to 5700 families of the flood affected Dhemaji District. Believers Church Dhemaji Diocese distributed over 1000 Mosquito nets, and items like beaten rice, boiled rice, biscuits, soap, toothpaste, toothbrush, oil, gur worth Rs. 15 lakh to the needy families. The team also distributed 600 blankets to the affected families of this region. Believers Church team also visited Khapu Chapori Island, the worst hit areas under Dhemaji district and met the authorities to extend all possible assistance to the affected people of the region to rebuild physical infrastructure. From July 2016 till now, Believers Church team headed by Bishop B Sunder Raj with few district officials - DC, BDO, Circle Officer, Few District Medical Officers, District Veterinary officers, District Agriculture officers, Jila Prashad President, Goan Panchyat President and others along with the help of district authority Dhemaji, has visited six relief camps under Jonai Sub-division and other places across Dhemaji. Victor Carpenter, the Deputy Commissioner expressed his gratitude to Believers Church for their support to the needy people. At another time Dharamprasad Mili of Demaji, ADC inaugurated the relief camp. Metropolitan Dr K. P. Yohannan, Believers Church said, "Most of the families have lost their homes and have no access to food or water. We will not leave a single stone unturned to help and re-build lives of those affected by this calamity. Our volunteers are also rescuing families from the flood hit areas and helping them rehabilitate in safer places with arrangement for food, shelter & medical facilities in both these states." The Church's numerous other programmes have benefitted thousands of children, women, leprosy patients and villagers in the form of education, counseling, health camps, medicines, hospitals, shelter, rehabilitation and clean drinking water. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) In another case of apathy, a tribal man from Madhya Pradesh's Neemuch area was forced to cremate his wife using garbage, tyres, and plastic bags after the crematorium turned him down as he was unable to pay Rs.2500 for the wood to be used in the rites. Jagdish Bheel, belonging to Bheel community, lost his wife, Neji Bai, 67, on Friday at 4 am after she succumbed to her illness. Distraught by his wife's death, he soon became anxious as he did not have enough money to cremate his wife. He went from pillar to post and pleaded to every district official to make arrangements for wood to cremate his wife, but much to his dismay, everyone turned him away. "My wife died at around 4 am then around 7 a.m., I first went to a Municipal Corporation and pleaded them to arrange for wood, to which they said that they don't have any logs and asked to pay Rs.2500 to buy wood. But I couldn't because I did not have that much money with me. Then I went to visit Mundra, the city councillor and he also refused to help and told me to visit Bhil community's councillor, but he didn't help me as well," Bheel told ANI. He said that one of the workers in Municipal Corporation also asked him to throw his wife in a nearby river. Unable to cremate his wife, the family of Jagdhish Bheel decided to bury Neja Bhai in nearby Ratnagarh area. But one of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) members, Pintu Bana, stopped them midway and called in other members and asked them to leave the place immediately. More than 12 hours had passed and Jagdish was still struggling to cremate his wife. Left with no choice, his family finally decided to go to the nearby cemetery but the roads leading to the cemetery were heavily damaged for the past 22 days. Having exhausted all the options, Jagdish finally decided to cremate his wife's body with tyres, garbage and plastic bags. "Since I did not have Rs.2500, let alone money to buy food, I decided to cremate my wife in a nearby field. I gathered wood, tyres, and other garbage materials," he said. "We belong to Bhil Community, we fill our stomach by cutting woods, where will we go if nobody is willing to listen to us," he added. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) New Delhi [India], Sept. 5 (ANI): The Hurriyat refused to meet with the all party delegation, which was in Srinagar yesterday and that decision of the Hurriyat was mostly on expected lines. They had rejected Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti's invitation for talks as well. Home Minister Rajnath Singh said that the members of the all party delegation who went to speak to Hurriyat members went in their personal capacity. This muddled mindset of the Hurriyat where they want talks but not want it at the same time, is not unusual. I was the Principal Information Officer of the Government of India when the first all party delegation led by then Deputy Prime Minister Devi Lal visited Srinagar on March 9, 1990. The delegation included the leader of the Opposition in Parliament, Rajiv Gandhi, Railway Minister George Fernandes and other leaders. Prime Minister V.P. Singh asked me to accompany the delegation. Jammu and Kashmir was under Governor's rule. Jagmohan, who had served earlier as the Governor, was sent to bring the situation under control by Home Minister Mufti Mohammed Sayeed. The separatists had declared a bandh and there was an eerie silence when the delegation drove from the airport to the Centaur Hotel on the bank of the Dal Lake. Ved Marwah, Advisor to Governor Jagmohan, had received the delegation. When we entered the hotel, there was a hostile reception and when some members of the delegation asked for time, the attendants gave the Pakistani standard time. Later, the members of the delegation were briefed by Governor Jagmohan. Much time was lost with blame-gaming on asking Jagmohan why he did not come to the airport to welcome the Deputy Prime Minister-led delegation. Governor Jagmohan told the delegation that the main political parties in the state, mainly the Conference and Congress had melted away. There were two groups among the militants, those who wanted Azadi and those who wanted the state to accede to Pakistan. He said that Government of India could talk to those who wanted Azadi. The delegation was told that there were regular bus services from Srinagar to the Line of Control. Kashmiri youth travelled in the busses, went across, got themselves trained in the use of AK-47 and returned with a gun and ammunition that they could carry. While in Srinagar, George Fernandes had called on Mirwaiz Maulvi Farooq, the father of the present Mirwaiz, Umar Farooq, and had initiated a dialogue in his personal capacity. After returning to Delhi, Rajiv Gandhi told Prime Minister V.P. Singh that the Governor Jagmohan had no political understanding of the situation. On his suggestion, a Minister for Kashmir was appointed. George Fernandes was given additional charge as the Minister of Kashmir affairs. The State Publicity Department had melted away in Srinagar. The media representatives had left Srinagar except for George Joseph, who worked for the Indian Express and his wife Asha Khosa, who worked for the Tribune. On return, I was asked to be the spokesman for the Jammu and Kashmir Government in addition to my duties as the Principal Information Officer. It took months of painstaking hard work to develop an insight into the situation. Watching the proceedings now from the comfort of my living room post-retirement, I don't envy the work of government negotiators who are dealing with the same separatists two and a half decades later. In the interim period, there have been several attempts to talk to the Hurriyat, several proposals, working groups, much back and forth. The only difference now seems to be that the Hurriyat are not that important a stakeholder in the current anti-India. [Mr. I. Ramamohan Rao is a former Principal Information Officer of the Government of India. He can be reached on raoramamohan@hotmail. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Prime Minister Narendra Modi returned to the capital on Monday night after attending the G-20 Summit, where he was present for the remaining sessions of the summit and bilateral meetings with top leaders of the world. Prime Minister Modi prior to his departure tweeted that the discussions at G20 Summit were extensive and wide-ranging. "I thank Chinese people & government for the great hospitality during the Summit," he wrote. Intervening in the last session of G-20 summit in Hangzhou earlier, Prime Minister Modi urged the international community to act in unity and respond against terrorism. He said a single nation in South Asia is spreading agents of terror in the region and, therefore, called on the international community to isolate and sanction those indulging in the same. The Prime Minister said the growing forces of terror and violence pose a great fundamental challenge before the world community. He insisted that domestic policy and action of every country must get support from international regimes and frameworks to put everyone on the path of development. The Prime Minister also highlighted how United Nations 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development could be an enabler to transform societies and bridge deep inequalities that are creeping in. Prime Minister Modi also emphasised on the collaborative action over the next 15 years and laid out specific actions which include--implementing the Paris Agreement in letter and spirit, unleashing agricultural productivity and innovation that has a close link with enhanced food security. Prime Minister Modi earlier held his first bilateral meeting with British counterpart Theresa May on the sidelines of the G20 Summit. He also met French President Francois Hollande and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. Yesterday, he held bilateral talks with Chinese President Xi Xinping, Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull and Deputy Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia Mohammad Bin Salman on the sidelines of the summit. On Sunday, Prime Minister Modi held bilateral talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping. He told Jinping that the partnership between both nations is important for the region and also for the whole world. During the talks, Prime Minister Modi highlighted the menace of terrorism, saying the recent attacks show how it is spreading across the world and is, therefore, a matter of grave concern. He also condemned the terrorist bomb attack at China's embassy in Kyrgyzstan's capital Bishkek. Prime Minister Modi reached Vietnam earlier on September 3 on the first leg of his two-nation tour during which both sides signed 12 agreements in a wide range of areas covering IT, space, double taxation and sharing white shipping information. An agreement on construction of offshore patrol boats was also signed by the two sides, signalling a step to give concrete shape to defence engagement between the two nations. India also extended $500 million Line of Credit to Vietnam for facilitating deeper defence cooperation with the south east Asian nation, as the two countries elevated their ties to a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership to respond to the emerging regional challenges. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday insisted that domestic policy and action of every country must get support from international regimes and frameworks to put everyone on the path of development. Intervening in the session on 'Inclusive and Interconnected Development' on the second day of the 11th G20 Summit here, Prime Minister Modi said the goal to put everyone on the path of development is not just aspiration for the G20 nations. The Prime Minister also highlighted how United Nations 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development could be an enabler to transform societies and bridge deep inequalities that are creeping in. "It also finds resonance with India's own national initiatives which are aimed at- eliminating poverty, empowering the marginalised and women, educating children, encouraging entrepreneurship and innovation, and enabling socio-economic change," he said. Prime Minister Modi also emphasised on the collaborative action over the next 15 years and laid out specific actions which include--implementing the Paris Agreement in letter and spirit, unleashing agricultural productivity and innovation that has a close link with enhanced food security. "Scaling up investments in infrastructure is the key to meet the growing aspirations of our citizens and our actions and powers need to be responsive to the special needs of LDCS/LLCDS/SIDS," he said. Emphasising on the fact that global trading regime needs to respond to the needs and priorities of the developing nations, Prime Minister Modi earlier in the day urged the global value chains to provide developing nations a 'level playing field.' Intervening in the session on 'Robust International Trade and Investment', he said global trade is at a cross roads. "Vision of transparent, equitable, non-discriminatory, open, inclusive and rule-based global trading architecture should underpin collective efforts," he added. Prime Minister Modi said that fighting corruption, black money and tax evasion is the key to effective financial governance. Intervening in the session on 'More Effective and Efficient Global Economic and Financial Governance' at the G20 Summit, he called for zero tolerance for corruption and black money and zero administrative, policy and treaty loopholes in this area. He said that the G-20 member nations need to act to eliminate safe havens for economic offenders and track down and unconditionally extradite money launderers. Prime Minister Modi today held his first bilateral meeting with British counterpart Theresa May on the sidelines of the G20 Summit. He also met French President Francois Hollande and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. Yesterday, he held bilateral talks with Chinese President Xi Xinping, Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull and Deputy Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia Mohammad Bin Salman on the sidelines of the summit. Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, South Korea, Turkey, the UK, the US and the European Union make the G20. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday held his first bilateral talks with United Kingdom Prime Minister Theresa May, here on the second day of the G20 summit. "Building opportunities with the United Kingdom. PM @narendramodi meets PM @theresa_may for their first bilateral," tweeted Vikas Swarup, Ministry of External Affairs official spokesperson. "Cementing ties with UK, PM @narendramodi & PM @theresa_may hold talks on the sidelines of G20 Summit. @Number10gov," tweeted PMO. This was the first bilateral meet between Prime Minister Modi and his British counterpart, who took charge as UK's premier on July 11 after David Cameron's resignation following Brexit. The bilateral relationship between India and UK was upgraded to a strategic partnership in 2004 was further strengthened with the visit of former British prime minister Cameron to India in 2010 during which the foundation for enhanced partnership for the future was laid. UK is the third largest inward investor in India, after Mauritius, and Singapore with a cumulative equity investment of USD 22.56 billion (April 2000- September 2015). UK ranks first among the G20 countries and accounts for around 9 percent of all foreign direct investment into India for the period April 2000 - September 2015. Foreign Direct Investment in the last five years has dropped from USD 7.8 billion in 2011-12 to USD1.4 billion in 2014-15. Prime Minister Modi's visit to UK from 12-14 November, 2015 took the relationship between the largest and the oldest democracies to new heights. Earlier in the day, Prime Minister Modi said that fighting corruption, black money and tax evasion is the key to effective financial governance. Intervening in the session on 'More Effective and Efficient Global Economic and Financial Governance' at the ongoing G20 Summit here in Hangzhou, he called for zero tolerance for corruption and black money and zero administrative, policy and treaty loopholes in this area. He said that the G-20 member nations need to act to eliminate safe havens for economic offenders and track down and unconditionally extradite money launderers. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) has appreciated Narendra Modi's efforts to raise the issue of Pakistan-occupied (PoK) and terrorism during the bilateral meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping, and added that the Prime Minister needs to focus on rather than Balochistan. Speaking to ANI, NCP leader Majid Memon said despite the Prime Minister's effort, the Chinese will not be receptive to India's concerns as the relation between the two countries "has not been very friendly". "The effort of the Prime Minister to bring about China in our support, both in obtaining membership (NSG) and also in resolving the Pakistan-occupied issue and exposing Pakistan as far a terrorism is concerned, but I don't find there would be a very positive and warm response from China, because China has not been very friendly with us all these days," he said. "They have opposed our membership to the NSG and they are not going to apparently interfere in the PoK matter with us. In fact, our 'own' Kashmir is burning for 60 days for which the Prime Minister needs to act urgently rather than talking about PoK and Balochistan," he added. During the talks which took place on the sidelines of the G20 Summit, undertaking in Hangzhou, Prime Minister Modi highlighted the menace of terrorism, saying the recent attacks show how it is spreading across the world and is, therefore, a matter of grave concern. He also condemned the terrorist bomb attack at China's embassy in Kyrgyzstan's capital Bishkek. The Prime Minister also involved Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa (BRICS) members to raise the awareness about the dangers of Pakistan-based terrorism. The Prime Minister also involved Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa (BRICS) members to raise the awareness about the dangers of Pakistan-based terrorism. President Pranab Mukherjee will today interact with students of Dr. Rajendra Prasad Sarvodaya Vidyalaya, President's Estate, on the occasion of Teachers' Day. He will also address teachers from various schools of the Delhi Government on the occasion. Around 80 students of Classes XI and XII of Dr. Rajendra Prasad Sarvodaya Vidyalaya will attend the President's class. The entire event will be aired live on DD (News) and DD Bharati Channels of Doordarshan from 10:30 a.m. onwards. It will also be webcast live on the President of India website at webcast.gov.in/president/ and live-streamed on the YouTube channel of Rashtrapati Bhavan. President Mukherjee will further receive the first copy of a booklet "Umang 2015" which will be released by Deputy Chief Minister of Delhi Manish Sisodia. The President, who was a college teacher and a journalist before he joined politics in 1969, held a joint class for the students of the same school last year too. The students assembled on the 'knowledge floor' to listen to their new teacher. The idea was mooted by Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and his deputy Manish Sisodia. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Repelling the notion that the all-party delegation visit to Jammu and Kashmir was a "failure", Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh on Monday said the delegation will now meet in Delhi to chalk out an action plan for the government on measures that it needed to take in future in Jammu and Kashmir. "Now, this all-party delegation will meet in Delhi, where we will derive a result from the talks that we held with various stakeholders, and will chalk out an action plan for the government on measures that it should take in future in Jammu and Kashmir," said Singh, while addressing a press conference before their departure to Delhi. Divulging detail of today's meeting in Jammu, the Home Minister said, "As many as 200 people comprising 18 delegations interacted with the all-party delegation. They expressed their concerns over the situation in Kashmir and were of the opinion that the problems in the Valley should be resolved at the earliest. Besides, they also merited the attention of the all-party delegation towards the problems of the Jammu region." Asking the people of Ladakh that he will soon hold talks with them as well, Singh said, "I know when we talk about the state of Jammu and Kashmir, we talk about three regions -Jammu, Kashmir and Ladakh. The delegation has already visited Kashmir; Jammu too has been covered; and soon, I will try to visit Ladakh to hold direct talks with people over there." The Home minister further said they had very good interactions with people and many members in the delegation, who were not very familiar with the situation of Jammu and Kashmir, also got a chance to learn about it. "And, I understand whenever a question concerning Jammu and Kashmir comes to Parliament, we will have their support," he added. The delegation was on a two-day visit of the state to deliberate over the prevailing restive situation in the Kashmir Valley and ways to bring normalcy there. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) With the Commission for Women (NCW) summoning for defending his former comrade Sandeep Kumar who is embroiled in a 'sex tape' scandal, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) Spokesperson on Monday lashed out at NCW Chief Lalitha Kumaramangalam asking that should he be punished for simply voicing his opinions. After receiving a notice from a NCW, took to Twitter and accused Kumaramangalam of still being a Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) member. "Notice recd from NCW. Should I be hanged for writing a column? Is india turning into a fascist state? Ms Mangalam as a chairperson of NCW, you should not lie on a TV that you are not BJP member.Wikipedia writes You are still a member," he said in a series of tweets. He called on the NCW Chief to look at Wikipedia, where it clearly states that she is still a member of the 'BJP National Executive'. The NCW on Monday summoned Ashutosh, over his blog where he allegedly defended the sacked AAP minister Sandeep Kumar, who was expelled from the party after a tape emerged showing him in a compromising position with two women. "We found that the blog was very objectionable as the tone used against women was very demeaning. First, he (Ashutosh) jumped the gun in trying to defend someone who as it turns out is actually guilty," Kumaramangalam said in a press conference here. Further stating that instead of showing restraint towards what was a "very patriarchal attitude towards women", she said that the party spokesperson gave examples of various people who have had consensual sex with various women. "The fact that is most objectionable is that he almost has objectified women," she added. Mentioning that one of the issues based on which the AAP came to power in the national capital was on providing security to women in Delhi, Kumaramangalam further asserted that the NCW could not just "sit back and accept" his blog, which is why he was summoned to appear on September 9th. On being questioned about Ashutosh's tweet which claims that she is still a member of the BJP, the NCW chairman said, "I'd really like to tell that I don't know what kind of a journalist you are because you are two years behind the time. I am not an executive of the BJP. I was for three terms but as I became the chair person for the NCW I was supposed to give it up." Calling on Ashutosh to get his "facts right", she further explained that the moment she was offered the post of NCW Chief, she made it clear that if she accepts it, she will no longer be a member or the spokesperson for BJP. Earlier, reacting to the summons, Ashutosh launched an attack on Kumaramangalam, accusing her of still being affiliated to the BJP, to which she responded saying that, "I am not an executive of the BJP. I was for three terms but as I became the chair person for the NCW I was supposed to give it up. The BJP Is very strict about one person one post and the moment they offered me this post I was informed that if I accept it I will no longer be a spokesperson or a National Executive member." Ashutosh, in his blog, mentioned that he didn't support the sacking of Sandeep Kumar on August 31st after his sex tape emerged. In his support of the sacked minister, he also wrote that various leaders had sex with various women. To conclude, he thought it would be best to blame the media, "Maybe these leaders were fortunate as they didn't live in the TV era; they were not caught on camera; no sting operation was done. As a puzzled individual may I ask why the SEX VIDEO of two consenting adults should grab headlines of the day and why should it be debated on TV channels? If it is a sin and a certificate for characterless-ness, then the role of all the above great leaders in history should also be re-assessed and reevaluated," said Ashutosh in his blog. The Supreme Court on Tuesday said the suspicion regarding whether Amity law school student Sushant Rohilla, who allegedly committed suicide, was harassed or not needs to be cleared. The apex court appointed senior advocate Fali Nariman as the amicus curiae in the matter and stated it needs to be taken care that such an incident does not repeat in future. The third-year law student took the drastic step after being barred by the Amity administration from appearing in the exams due to poor attendance. 21-year old, Sushant hung himself on August 10 at his Sarojini Nagar residence. Amity law school is affiliated to Guru Gobind Indraprastha University and as per its norms 75 percent attendance is a must to appear in the examinations. Rohilla family claims that Sushant's fractured leg was the reason behind his low attendance. Though, the suicide note does not give the reason of suicide. The interim report submitted before the Amity panel last month, observed that the college and faculty were following the rules and regulations. Earlier, Rohilla's friend Raghav Sharma, also a law student at Amity, had written to Chief Justice of India T.S. Thakur, asking for Amity to be tried for aiding Rohilla's suicide. Raghavs letter was placed before the Supreme Courts PIL committee, which directed the registry to treat it as a writ petition under Article 32 of the Constitution since it raised issues of violation of fundamental rights of students. (Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Aid workers have warned that tens of thousands of "ghost" refugees, who have been trapped in the desert along Jordan's border with Syria for more than two months, are at a risk of epidemics. The refugees, who have no sanitation or medical facilities, are living in some of the worst conditions and activists say the situation could undermine Jordan's role as co-host of a major summit on refugees in New York this month, reports the Guardian. No aid or food deliveries are allowed across the border and irregular water supplies barely cover drinking needs in temperatures reaching 50 degree Celsius over the summer, with nothing left for sanitation. Some people have reportedly dug themselves holes in the ground because they have nothing at all to improvise shelter against regular desert sandstorms. One settlement was bombed by Russian planes in July. "These are some of the most extreme conditions on earth. Then you add to that not having any access to healthcare or enough water or food, and being under threat of aerial attack. This is a critical humanitarian emergency," said Natalie Thurtle, the medical team leader for charity Medicins Sans Frontieres (MSF). Jordan is co-hosting the major international Leaders' Summit on Refugees on 20 September, on the sidelines of the UN general assembly. Jordan says it is hosting nearly 1.4 million Syrian refugees, of whom 630,000 are registered with the UN. The huge numbers have placed a massive strain on the kingdom's economy and resources as well as raising security concerns. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Three senior police officers reported to be killed in the Kabul twin blasts that claimed 20 lives while left over 40 others wounded. The toll is likely to go up. The three senior police officials, who were killed in the blasts that took place near the Defence Ministry premises, included Sayed Zaman, the police chief for PD2, Razaq, the deputy chief of support for the Afghan National Army's (ANA) Regiment Unit and Zaman's deputy, and the head of the intelligence unit for PD2, reports Tolo News. The first explosion took place shortly after 2.30 p.m. and was followed by a second explosion which appeared to have targeted the first responders to the scene. Ministry of Interior spokesman Sediq Sediqqi confirmed that at least 20 people were killed and over 40 injured. A number of other senior police officials are also among the dead. According to security officials the first bomb was detonated remotely while the second had been a suicide bomber. Officials also said the suicide bomber had been wearing an ANA uniform. Security officials have cordoned off the area. Meanwhile President Ashraf condemned the incident and said that Afghanistan's enemies have once again shown that they are against progress in the country. "Terrorist groups are trying to reach their nefarious aims by conducting terror attacks in the country," he said, adding, "Afghanistan's enemies have lost the capability of facing security forces on the battlefield and therefore attack highways, cities, mosques, schools and other public places." Ghani also extended his condolences to the families of the victims and wished all those wounded a speedy recovery. The Taliban has claimed responsibility for the attack. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Four out of six great ape species are now "Critically Endangered" - only one step away from going extinct -- with the remaining two also under considerable threat of extinction. Of the great ape species - the Eastern gorilla, Western gorilla, Bornean orangutan, Sumatran orangutan, Chimpanzee and Bonobo - only the Chimpanzee and Bonobo are not in critically endangered list but are listed as endangered. The Eastern Gorilla - the largest living primate - has now been listed as critically endangered owing to illegal hunting, said the latest update of the International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources' (IUCN) "Red List of Threatened Speciesa. The IUCN Red List now includes 82,954 species of which 23,928 are threatened with extinction. The Eastern Gorilla -- which is made up of two subspecies - has moved from Endangered to Critically Endangered due to a devastating population decline of more than 70 per cent in 20 years. Its population is now estimated to be fewer than 5,000. "To see the Eastern gorilla - one of our closest cousins - slide towards extinction is truly distressing," said Inger Andersen, IUCN Director General. "We live in a time of tremendous change and each IUCN Red List update makes us realise just how quickly the global extinction crisis is escalating," he added. The once widespread and abundant Plains Zebra has moved from Least Concern to Near Threatened. The population has reduced by 24 per cent in the past 14 years from around 660,000 to a current estimate of just over 500,000 animals. In many countries, Plains Zebra are only found in protected areas, yet population reductions have been recorded in 10 out of the 17 range states since 1992. The Plains Zebra is threatened by hunting for bushmeat and skins, especially when they move out of protected areas. Three species of antelope found in Africa - Bay Duiker, White-bellied Duiker and Yellow-backed Duiker - have moved from Least Concern to Near Threatened. "Illegal hunting and habitat loss are still major threats driving many mammal species towards extinction," noted Carlo Rondinini, coordinator of the mammal assessment at Sapienza University of Rome. This update of the IUCN Red List also brings some good news and shows that conservation action is delivering positive results. Previously listed as Endangered, the Giant Panda is now listed as Vulnerable, as its population has grown due to effective forest protection and reforestation. The improved status confirms that the Chinese government's efforts to conserve this species are effective. "However, climate change is predicted to eliminate more than 35 per cent of the Panda's bamboo habitat in the next 80 years and thus Panda population is projected to decline, reversing the gains made during the last two decades," the authors noted. To protect this iconic species, it is critical that the effective forest protection measures are continued and that emerging threats are addressed, they added. Due to successful conservation actions, the Tibetan Antelope has moved from Endangered to Near Threatened. The population underwent a severe decline from around one million to an estimated 65,000-72,500 in the 1980s and early 1990s. This was the result of commercial poaching for the valuable underfur - shahtoosh - which is used to make shawls. "Conservation action does work and we have increasing evidence of it. It is our responsibility to enhance our efforts to turn the tide and protect the future of our planet," the authors said during the release of the list at the IUCN World Conservation Congress in Hawaii. --IANS na/in (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) At least 43 people were killed and dozens injured on Monday in a series of explosions that rocked several key Syrian cities, officials said. The first bombing happened in the central city of Homs at 7.14 a.m, when an explosive-laden vehicle was detonated at the checkpoint when it was detected by military personnel, Xinhua news agency reported. Four people were killed and many injured in the explosion. Some 30 people were killed and many injured in Tartus city, in twin-bombings that rocked a checkpoint at the city's entrance. Both bombers, wearing military uniforms, were disguised as government troops, the military said. An explosive-packed motorcycle exploded in the predominantly-Kurdish city of Hasakah, killing eight persons. The Islamic State claimed responsibility for the Hasakah bombing, saying it targeted a checkpoint of the Kurdish security forces, known as Assayish. An explosion on a road between the resort town of Sabura and Bajaj killed one person. --IANS sm/ahm/bg (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The Valley is reeling under the bloodiest unrest it has seen in years and, to nobody's surprise, the two-day visit of the all-party delegation of parliament members has done little to improve matters. Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti now appears to be running out of options in the valley after the failed bid to open talks with separatist leaders, who refused to speak to a section of MPs from the delegation. The already complex crisis in the state may now have become even more complicated. As is evident, the central government has been unwilling to give legitimacy or extend an olive branch to separatists who have been spearheading the agitation with unending stone-pelting protests, triggered by the July 8 killing of militant commander Burhan Wani. Mehbooba, a reluctant first woman Chief Minister of the troubled state, had invited separatist leaders for talks with the delegation in her capacity as the president of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), if not as the head of an elected government. The separatist leaders, most of whom are either in jail or detained in houses, rejected the offer outright, saying that talks would be futile unless their set of demands -- including demilitarisation of civilian areas and accepting as an international dispute -- were first met. These are demands Mehbooba is powerless to fulfill, and the central government is unlikely to acquiesce to. In this apparent battle of egos, Mehbooba and her PDP seem to be caught between the proverbial rock and a hard place. Political analysts are of the view that the PDP is losing its electoral popularity due to the trail of death and destruction in the aftermath of Wani's killing. At least 74 persons, including two policemen, have been killed in the nearly two months of violence. Over 12,000 have been injured. And the worst hit is the south region -- the political bastion of the PDP -- where most of the deaths have occurred in firing by security forces. Analysts say that, after losing on account of her party's decreasing popularity, more so in the south, Mehbooba is left with two options now: Crack down harshly on separatists or step down to make way for Governor's Rule. "It is a difficult decision. But what are the options," asked a veteran academician of Kashmir University, requesting he should not be named. "In this deadly chaos, PDP's junior partner, the BJP (Bharatiya Janata Party), is consolidating its electoral bases in Jammu and Ladakh," the teacher told IANS on the phone from Srinagar. "The BJP has nothing to lose in Kashmir. The current unrest has shrunk the grey political areas (of soft separatism) in the valley within which the regional mainstream parties would conveniently operate to woo voters. The battle lines are now clearly drawn -- you are either pro-India or pro-Azadi. And the PDP, which was the biggest gainer of this grey constituency, appears to be the biggest loser," he said Aijaz Khan, a former separatist and now a PDP functionary, said if Mehbooba does not step down, it was more likely that the government would deal with separatists with an "iron hand". "She will have enough time to regain the lost confidence of her voters before the next elections. Her priority should be governance and not politics. She can restore normalcy with tough governance; let the government function first," Khan told IANS. "Or else the government must go and the PDP should prepare for fresh polls." But quitting at this juncture could be akin to political suicide for Mehbooba who has built the PDP through grassroots campaigning since the late 1990s. After her father, Mufti Mohammed Sayeed's death in January, Mehbooba had unwillingly assumed the office because she was not happy with the PDP-BJP alliance. She agreed to continue after being assured by Prime Minister Narendra Modi that the governance agenda would be fulfilled. Among other issues, the agenda promised to engage Pakistan and separatist leaders in a peace process for a permanent solution to the vexed Kashmir issue. Two of the five months of Mehbooba's government have been lost in curfew, shutdowns and deadly street protests. The agenda points apart, the government has not been able to function on a routine basis because most of its offices have remained shut. Yet, Mehbooba may not have lost all hope for peace. On Monday, she posted on her Facebook page a message to "revive the reconciliation and resolution process through an institutionalised mechanism involving all the stakeholders". In a passionate appeal, she said: "The challenge before the leadership of the state and the country is to insulate the process from setbacks that have derailed it in the past." It's not clear if she, or the Centre, would be able to effectively meet the challenge. (Sarwar Kashani can be contacted at sarwar.k@ians.in) --IANS sar/sac/hs (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Defending the European Commission (EC) tax ruling against Apple, EU President Jean-Claude Juncker has termed the decision as "landmark" that was taken "without discrimination and without bias". In his first public statement after the European Union (EU) ruled that Ireland must demand 13 billion euros in taxes from Apple, Juncker said: "National authorities cannot give tax benefits to some and not to others. This is the level playing field that the commission is always working to defend. We apply these rules without discrimination and without bias." According to an Irish Times report on Monday, Juncker added at the sidelines of the G20 summit in China the ruling was the result of "intensive work which has been going on for many years." EU officials and members of the Ireland government are set to meet this week over the ruling. Earlier, CEO Tim Cook dismissed the tax evasion allegations as "total political crap". In an interview to Irish Independent newspaper, Cook said Ireland is being "picked on". "I think we'll work very closely together, as we have the same motivation. No one did anything wrong here and we need to stand together. Ireland is being picked on and this is unacceptable," Cook told the newspaper. Cook also rejected the assertion by EU Competition Commissioner Margrethe Vestager that Apple paid only 0.005 per cent tax in Ireland in 2014. In a setback to Apple just before the much-awaited launch of its iPhone 7, the EU had announced that Ireland must demand 13 billion euros in taxes from company. "We have concluded that Ireland granted undue tax benefits of up to 13 billion euros to Apple. This is illegal under EU state aid rules, because it allowed Apple to pay substantially less tax than other businesses. Ireland must now recover the illegal aid," an EU statement read. Following an in-depth state aid investigation launched in June 2014, the EC concluded that two tax rulings issued by Ireland to Apple have substantially and artificially lowered the tax paid by Apple in Ireland since 1991. The film "Bad Moms", starring actress Mila Kunis, has gotten into trouble in Russia because of Kunis's last name which has a different meaning here. St. Petersburg-based ad agencies declined to place billboards of the film due to alleged sexual implications in the slogan which read "Do you want some Kunis?", reports hollywoodreporter.com. The ad agencies were said to be irritated by the word "Kunis", which is similar to the last name of the lead star and very close to the Russian term for "cunnilingus". Volga, the Russian distributor of the movie, refused to give any comments regarding the report. A conservative St. Petersburg legislator named Vitaly Milonov praised the ad agencies for "saving the city's pride". "We couldn't care less about the distributor's interests and opinion. St. Petersburg is the cultural capital, and you shouldn't bring all kinds of trash here," Milinov said. A major Russian TV station also refused to air a commercial for "Bad Moms" in daytime due to "sexual content". The comedy, which also stars actors Kristen Bell and Kathryn Hahn, opened in Russia on September 1. --IANS ks/nn/bg (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Britain's Brexit Minister pledged on Monday that his country will maintain or even strengthen its cooperation with the Europe Union (EU) on security and defence after its exit from the 28-nation bloc. David Davis, who was appointed by Britain's Prime Minister Theresa May to oversee the negotiations on Brexit, also told the Parliament that it is in the interests of both and the EU that they have "the freest possible trading relations". "We do not see Brexit as ending our relationship with Europe," he said. "It is about starting a new one," Xinhua news agency quoted him as saying. The minister's comments came as he and other members of parliaments debated a public petition calling for a second Brexit referendum which has so far attracted more than 4.1 million signatures. Davis said that securing a deal that is in Britain's national interest does not and must not mean turning its back on Europe. "We want a strong EU, succeeding economically and politically, working with in many areas of common interest," he added. The Special Investigation Team (SIT) of Bihar Police probing the topper's scam on Monday filed a chargesheet against 32 people, police said. Patna Senior Superintendent of Police Manu Maharaj, who is heading the SIT, told the media that the chargesheet was filed in the Patna civil court. "A chargesheet of over 4,000 page was filed against former Chairman of Bihar School Examination Board (BSEB) Lalkeshwar Prasad Singh, his wife and former JD(U) (Janata Dal (United)) legislator Usha Sinha, Bachcha Rai, the alleged kingpin of the scam and former director and principal of V R College in Bihar's Vaishali district and former board secretary Harharnath Jha," Maharaj said. Singh, Sinha, Rai and Jha are currently in jail after being arrested in the case. Maharaj said, "20 of the 32 people are government employees and 12 others include four fake toppers. Nine of the 32 people are still absconding." According to the police, last month a special juvenile court in Patna granted bail to Ruby Rai, an accused in . Ruby had topped this year's Class XII examination conducted by the BSEB in humanities stream. She got into trouble after a sting by a TV channel showed her giving ludicrous answers to elementary questions related to her subjects. Class XII science stream topper Saurabh Shreshtha was also caught on camera giving wrong answers to basic science questions. The sting suggested that the toppers might have used cheating and fraud to achieve their ranks. Both Ruby and Saurabh belonged to V R College in Vaishali district. Chinese director Huo Jianqi, who came to India to shoot for India-Chinese co-production film "Xuan Zang", says shooting in India was an emotional experience for him. Jianqi is in India for the first BRICS Film Festival, where "Xuan Zang" was screened on Sunday. "Last year when we had finished shooting of 'Xuan Zang' in China, we came to India in July or August. We went to Mumbai, Aurangabad, Nalanda and Ajanta Caves for shooting," Jianqi said at a panel discussion titled "BRICS Co-production: The Way Forward" on Monday. "We got a tremendous support from the Indian side. We were amazed by the expertise that Indians have and how much technologically advanced India is," he added. Jianqi shared that the only problem that he faced was the humidity. "It is very hot here. It was very tough for us to shoot in the humid weather, but Indians helped us a lot in making it possible. I had a very emotional experience shooting in India. It was a positive one," Jianqi said. The historical adventure film stars Chinese actors Huang Xiaoming and Kent Tong. It also features Indian actors Sonu Sood, Ali Fazal and Neha Sharma. Asked about the possibilities for an Indian producer to go to China and collaborate with a producer there, Jianqi said: "Indian films are really famous in China and are gaining popularity. In the 1960s, there was Raj Kapoor's 'Awara'. Now also films like '3 Idiots' and 'PK' are getting popular." "So the future is really bright and I hope that the problem of restriction on films will change very soon," he added. Jianqi said that Chinese believe that "Indians are very beautiful and good looking". "We might be two different countries, but our emotions are very similar. It's difficult for me to forget the shooting experince that we had in India," he added. Talking about more collaborations between India and China, Jianqi said: "Chinese film industry has a long history of collaboration with Hollywood. That's why that market is in a good shape right now. "Chinese films have not been able to get better response in the Indian market. That's because there is a lack of common grounds regarding topics and themes. Both the sides have larger side of population." He said to make more films between India and Pakistan. "We need to find these types of common topics more to satisfy audiences on both the sides". The first edition of the BRICS Film Festival will come to an end on Tuesday. --IANS sas/nn/vt (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Actor Tom Cruise is reportedly looking to recruit actress Margot Robbie for Scientology. The "Mission: Impossible Rogue Nation" actor wants some famous Australian actors to be the "faces of the religion there", an insider told okmagazine.com. "Tom is working hard to recruit her for Scientology. Tom wants some big names from Down Under to be the faces of the religion there. He has been telling Margot she can help transform the church's image for a new generation," the insider said. But according to another source Cruise is "finally realising what a negative impact that has had on his relationships. The buzz in Cruise's circle is that he is ready to walk". --IANS ks/nn/bg (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) US Republican presidential candidate was fighting back in polls and set to spend millions on TV advertisements as the US presidential election unofficially kicked off in force on Monday. The Labor Day holiday marks the start of an intense period for campaigning with a little over two months left until the Nov 8 vote, The Telegraph reported. Surveys showed a significant narrowing of the gap between Trump and his Democratic rival Hillary Clinton. A Morning Consult poll released on Sunday showed Clinton up by two points, a lead that had been seven in the same poll three weeks ago. The latest Reuters/Ipsos tracking poll of "likely voters" in all 50 states had the race as a statistical tie, registering an eight point swing against Clinton in the last week. It also showed support for Trump among Republicans jumping six points over the past two weeks, giving him 78 per cent backing in his own party. That was close to the 85 per cent Mitt Romney enjoyed as the Republican nominee in 2012. An average of all recent polls showed Clinton's lead at 3.9 points, less than half what it was a month ago, The Telegraph added. The boost she received after the Democratic Convention at the end of July has disappeared. One poll conducted by the Los Angeles Times gave Trump a three-point lead nationally. It came as Clinton faced a resurgence of criticism over her use of a private e-mail server while she was US Secretary of State, and the relationship between the Clinton Foundation and some of its donors. However, Clinton maintained healthy leads in key battleground states including Pennsylvania, Ohio and North Carolina. Trump finally began opening his funding war chest, buying $10 million in television advertisements. So far, Clinton has outspent the billionaire by nine to one on advertising. Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte said on Monday that many more people will die in the anti-drug campaign that he launched after assuming office on June 30. Before leaving for the Asean (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) Summit in Laos September 6-8, Duterte said many more will die until the last drug trafficker leaves the country's streets. Nearly 2,500 people have been killed since the launch of the campaign, Efe news agency reported. The President, whose aggressive war on drugs had come under severe criticism from the UN and human rights groups, added he will not tolerate other heads of state or governments in Laos commenting on his campaign. Of the 2,500 deaths in the campaign between July 1 and August 31, 929 were killed in police raids and 1,507 in extra-judicial executions. In Laos, Duterte is scheduled to meet with nine heads of state, including the US President Barack Obama, who is expected to discuss the human rights situation in the Philippines with him. Duterte, however, rejected all possible criticism from Obama over his war on drugs and assured the people that he would not kneel before anyone. Duterte won the presidential elections on May 9, 2016 riding on the promise of ending the country's drug problem within the first six months of his mandate. --IANS sm/vm (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Director Anand Shankar, who awaits the release of Vikram-starrer Tamil action-thriller "Irumugan", says he thoroughly enjoyed writing the character called Love, and denied rumours about it being a transgender. In the film, which hits the screens on Thursday, Vikram plays Akilan (a RAW agent) and Love (an eccentric scientist). "Akilan is very run-of-the-mill, and even though I've made it exciting, I feel anyone could play this role. You replace Vikram with any actor, change the backdrop, and you could make a different film. However, Love is unique and nobody else can play it other than Vikram and that's what made writing it so enjoyable," Shankar told IANS. Shedding light on Love's character, he said: "From the trailer, people have deciphered it incorrectly. Vikram isn't playing a transgender, and I believe I've made a character audiences will like and I haven't portrayed it in a way it will insult anyone. Love is just crazy, and he doesn't like doing anything predictable." The film, which has music by Harris Jayaraj, also stars Nayanthara and Nithya Menen. Shankar won over critics and audiences alike for treating action in his maiden film "Arima Nambi" very realistically. Assuring that the trend has continued in "Irumugan", he said action in the film will take the story forward. "This film doesn't have fights, and by that I mean we didn't stick to the regular template. The action sequences are part of the story and it will take the script to the next level. Hence, there was absolutely no need to compose stunts," he said, adding Ravi Varma and Anbu-Arivu were the two action directors who worked on the film. "While composing the action, we even took body physics into consideration. Even a car fall, for instance, was shot with some sense of logic. We shot car crashes on major over bridges in Malaysia, on busy shopping streets, and we were able to do it because we had planned it well even before we went on the sets," he added. Talking about working with Vikram, he said: "He's usually very excited about pulling off something very complicated and challenging. He loves pushing himself for the sake of a character and a director need not hesitate to tell him about working hard because he'd love to do it." The film is produced by Thameens Pictures. --IANS hp/nn/vm (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Terrorism, structural reforms, corruption and tax evasion were some of the key concerns which found mention in the joint communique released by the G20 countries on the second and last day of their Summit here on Monday. These issues were raised by India at the grouping whose economies accounts for 85 percent of the world's GDP. India was, as its Sherpa (representative) to the Summit Arvind Panagariya said, able to "influence" the outcome of the event and 7,000-worded communique. "We strongly condemn in all forms and manifestations, which poses serious challenges to international peace and security and endangers our ongoing efforts to strengthen the global economy and ensure sustainable growth and development," the communique said. "In confronting terrorism, we remain committed to effectively exchanging information, freezing terrorist assets, and criminalizing terrorist financing," it added. Prime Minister Narendra Modi in his meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping and heads of other member countries had raised the issue of . In his last intervention at the Summit, Modi urged the member nations to unite against terror. Without naming Pakistan, he said one single country in South Asia was spreading terror in the region. He also asked the grouping to eliminate safe tax havens which was adopted in the communique. "Financial transparency and effective implementation of the standards on transparency by all, in particular with regard to the beneficial ownership of legal persons and legal arrangements, is vital to protect the integrity of the international financial system, and to prevent misuse of these entities and arrangements for corruption, tax evasion, terrorist financing and money laundering." The joint statement also endorsed China's initiative to establish in China a Research Center on International Cooperation Regarding Persons Sought for Corruption and Asset Recovery in G20 member states, which will be operated in line with international norms. India, it was reported, will raise objections to such a centre. "Recognizing the detrimental effects of corruption and illicit finance flows on equitable allocation of public resources, sustainable economic growth, the integrity of the global financial system and the rule of law, we will reinforce the G20s efforts to enhance international cooperation against corruption, while fully respecting international law, human rights and the rule of law as well as the sovereignty of each country," the communique said. It also stressed the grouping's commitment to sustainable development, strong and effective support and actions to address climate change "We commit to complete our respective domestic procedures in order to join the Paris Agreement as soon as our national procedures allow. We welcome those G20 members who joined the Agreement and efforts to enable the Paris Agreement to enter into force by the end of 2016 and look forward to its timely implementation with all its aspects." India told the members that it was not ready to ratify the Paris accord before 2016 and that it was equally concerned over climate change, but needed more time to cut emissions. --IANS gsh/vd (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The Delhi High Court on Monday directed Tihar Jail authorities here to produce before it the two death row convicts in Jigisha Ghosh murder case on the trial court reference for confirmation of capital punishment given to them. A division bench of Justice Gita Mittal and Justice R.K. Gauba issued production warrant to convicts Ravi Kapoor and Amit Shukla for September 15. The trial court has to refer each death penalty case to a high court for confirmation of sentence within 30 days of the pronouncement of the verdict. On August 22, while sentencing the convicts to death, the trial court had referred the case to high court for confirmation of sentence. The high court issued production warrants to convicts so that it can ask them if they will file an appeal against the trial court's order which convicted them and sentenced them to death. Sentencing Kapoor and Shukla to death for kidnapping and killing Jigisha Ghosh in 2009 after convicting them and Baljit Singh Malik on July 14, the trial court had said that the magnitude and brutality of the crime made it "a rarest of rare cases". Malik was sentenced to life imprisonment. Jigisha, 28, who was working with Hewitt Associates Pvt Ltd as an operations manager, was kidnapped and killed on March 18, 2009, after her office cab dropped her near home in south Delhi's Vasant Vihar around 4 a.m. Her body was recovered on March 20, 2009, near Surajkund in Haryana. Police later arrested Kapoor, Shukla and Malik for the crime. --IANS gt/vd (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) At least six people were killed when two bombs exploded near the Afghan Defence Ministry here on Monday, authorities said. The deadly attack took place around 3.30 p.m. when the ministry employees were coming out after a day's work, media reports said. Xinhua news agency reported that several people were killed and injured. The Afghan media reported six deaths. Ambulances raced the injured from near the gate of the defence ministry to hospitals, witnesses said. The first explosion was reportedly small. When people gathered to find out what was happening, a second but powerful blast took place, according to a tweet by Afghan journalist Bilal Sarwary. The Defence Ministry is located next to the Finance Ministry, the Presidential Palace as well as other key government buildings in the heart of Kabul. About two weeks ago, 13 people were killed in a suicide attack on the American University in Kabul. --IANS sm-ahm/mr (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Seoul, Sep 5 (IANS/Yonhap) Park Myeong-hee, a 35-year-old North Korean defector, still vividly remembers how happy she felt when she walked down the aisle to get married to a man she met in the South. On occasion she had to fight back tears thinking about her parents left behind in the North and herself risking her life when crossing the North Korea-China border years before. But when she stood side by side with her husband-to-be, she started to look forward to the life she dreamed about. "I was just happy. All I can remember is that I was so happy," Park was quoted by North Korea's Yonhap news agency, while asking for an alias to be used. "As many other brides might do, I just wanted the ceremony to end as quickly as possible and go on the honeymoon trip right away." Born and raised in Cheongjin located in the northeastern part of the reclusive country, Park escaped her home country in 2012, leaving behind all of her beloved family and friends. Though it was quite exciting to get used to the totally different market-oriented economy and liberated life that she had never experienced in the North, like many other North Korean defectors she had no one to rely upon. Marriage might be one of the best ways for people like her to settle down, but it was hard to meet somebody. Also, she didn't have anyone who could fix her up on a blind date. It was when she happened upon an online site exclusively intended for matchmaking between North Korean women and South Korean men that she made headway. "I am so grateful that I met him," Park said, adding that she met her husband on her first attempt at this kind of matchmaking. She is one of the steadily increasing number of North Korean defectors seeking to find their lifelong partners in the South through matchmaking companies, whose business has been growing fast in recent years. There are no official figures, but industry experts say that the number of these matchmaking companies stood at around 10 in the early 2010s but has risen to around 70 these days. NK World is one of them and known as a leading matchmaking company fixing up dates between North Korean women and South Korean men. It claims to have about 8,000 members, including 2,000 women from the North. Kim Soo-jin, CEO of the company, is a North Korean defector herself who left her home country with her husband and a seven-year-old daughter in January 2006. While running a community site for North Korean women, she realised that there is a "demand" out there from South Korean men who are interested in marrying North Korean women. "Since I started the business years back, our company has helped over 500 North-South Korean couples get married," she said. "Around 30-40 people -- men and women -- sign up for our service every month these days." Behind her brisk business are an increasing number of North Korean defectors. According to official data provided by the country's unification ministry that deals with inter-Korean affairs, North Korean defectors living in South Korea totalled 29,543 as of June end. Of them, around 80 percent were female, with many of them unmarried. The number is showing signs of growing at a faster pace as the North faces tough sanctions from the international community for its continued missile provocations, which are obviously making the lives of ordinary people there more miserable than ever. From this year alone until end-July, 815 people had defected from the communist North into the South, up 15.6 percent from the same period a year earlier. At first, South Korean men living in rural areas or those with failed international marriages accounted for the largest proportion of NK World's clients, but now the customer base has diversified. Small business owners, office workers and even public servants are signing up. Kim said that recent TV programmes featuring North Korean women dating South Korean men might be of great help in removing any negative images attached to the women from the communist country with which the South technically remains at war even to this day. North Korean women are known for their strong commitment to the family. Adding to that, since many have lost everything in the North by opting to defect, they tend to cherish their marriage no matter what. "It can be very appealing to South Korean men given that you can see many 'South-South' couples go their own ways after failing to set aside what seems to be very trivial differences," she added. There are still downsides. Cultural differences between South and North Korea, no shared experiences before their meeting and a bias towards people from a poor country could become major causes for a crisis in marriage. Sometimes, North Korean women who were not completely honest about their lives back in the North, including whether they married before or had kids there, have led to break-ups. A more serious and probably the most challenging hindrance might be the trauma that North Korean women have about what they went through before coming to the South. "The North Korean women have trauma that ordinary people cannot experience throughout their life. Most never think about leaving their families behind forever," Kim said. "That's what they have gone through. Korean men should understand their trauma to make their relations pan out. Being patient and considerate might be the key here," she noted. (Koh Byung-joon can be contacted at kokobj@yna.co.kr) --IANS/Yonhap vm/ky/sac (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday met his British counterpart Theresa May here, saying India viewed the UK an important partner despite its decision to quit the EU. This was Modi's first bilateral with May, who succeeded David Cameron after he stepped down following the Brexit vote in June. "PM underlined that even after BREXIT, the UK remained as important a partner for India as before," External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Vikas Swarup told reporters here. The issue of terrorism also figured in the Modi-May meeting on the sidelines of the G20 summit. "PM said terrorism is the biggest threat and danger to the world and knows no boundaries. Alluding to the UK PM's previous stint as Home Secretary, he said she was well aware of the dangers of terrorism," Swarup quoted Modi saying. The leaders also discussed enhancing counter terrorism cooperation. Modi told May that the meeting of the India-UK Joint Working Group on Counter Terrorism had been very useful. He called for greater collaboration in the area of cyber security and intelligence sharing. May said she was keen to support Modi's vision for India and take forward the broader strategic partnership, including the decisions taken during Modi's visit to the UK in November. She also underlined the great importance the UK attached to the Indian diaspora in UK. He sought Modi's suggestions on further strengthening the partnership, particularly trade and investment ties with the UK. He referred to the recent launch of the HSBC Corporate Rupee Bond on the London Stock Exchange. India, he said, also needed more UK investment and participation in Make in India. The Prime Minister also referred to the recent passage of the Goods and Services Tax (GST) Bill, which, he said, could further boost trade and investment ties with the UK. Modi said he was working on making it easy to do business with India. May said she supported Modi's reform agenda and the UK was keen to participate in Make in India, Smart Cities and the Skill India Programme among others. The two leaders discussed further enhancement of the defence partnership, with Modi inviting British defence firms to take part in Make in India. Modi also touched on UK's visa policy. "In particular he said that the new UK regulations could have negative impact on Indian working professionals wishing to visit the UK for short term business visits" Swarup said. Modi invited May to visit India. --IANS gsh/mr (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday met his British counterpart Theresa May on the sidelines of the ongoing G20 Summit here. This was Modi's first bilateral with May who succeeded David Cameron after he stepped down following UK's decision to exit the European Union in June. "Building opportunities with the UK," External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Vikas Swarup, posting Modi's picture with May on the micro-blogging site. This is also May's first international summit as the Prime Minister. Gaurav Sharma is the Beijing-based Correspondent for IANS. He can be contacted at sharmagaurav71@gmail.com and gauravians@yahoo.com). --IANS gsh/ksk (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Devotees crowded temples while many people installed idols of Lord Ganesha in their homes as Madhya Pradesh celebrated Ganesh Chaturthi with great pomp and show on Monday. People were seen visiting the Birla temple and other temples in the capital city Bhopal since morning. Many people were seen buying Ganesha statues from the major markets in the city. Grand Ganesha statues are being installed in public places where religious and cultural programmes related to the festival are being held. People also thronged the Khajrana Ganesh Temple, Indore, since morning. One of the devotees donated a golden crown to the lord. Similarly Gwalior, Jabalpur and Ujjain and other cities in the state were celebrating Ganesh Chaturthi with great fervour. Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan wished the people on the occasion. --IANS hindi-vgu/rn (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Looking for a landing site for the next Mars rover mission in 2020, the US space agency, among several recommendations, has approved a suggestion from a teenager who is yet to finish high school. Alex Longo from Raleigh, North Carolina state, suggested that NASA should land the next rover at the same place where they landed rover Spirit in 2004 -- a place called Gusev Crater, npr.org reported on Monday. After his first experience with space exploration in 2005 -- when he was just five years old -- Longo decided he not only wanted to go into space himself someday, he also wanted to be the first person to walk on Mars. Longo started following NASA missions on the agency's website and in 2014 came across an announcement about the next rover mission to Mars. "I saw that they were looking for abstracts from scientists to suggest landing sites. I decided, well, I'll write something up," he was quoted as saying. Longo wrote multi-page scientific document in which he proposed to land the next rover at the same place -- called Gusev Crater -- where NASA's rover Spirit had landed in 2004. NASA apparently agreed. They sent Longo an email inviting him to attend the first landing site planning meeting. "I thought it was a dream or something. So I just got up, walked away and a while later I came back and that email was still there. And I was like, 'Wow, I actually just got invited to go to a NASA conference!' How cool is that?" Longo added. Longo attended the conference at the Lunar and Planetary Institute in Houston, Texas, in October 2015 and gave a presentation. He is now teamed up with some more experienced Mars scientists who also favour going back to Gusev Crater. --IANS sku/na/vt (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday accused Pakistan of spreading terror and using terrorism as an instrument of state policy. And as the G20 Summit ended, Modi met the leaders of Britain, Argentina and Turkey. Addressing G20 leaders, the Indian leader urged them to "isolate and sanction supporters of terrorism". At the two-day summit held in the eastern Chinese city of Hangzhou, India raised the issue of terrorism at various sessions. Modi told Chinese President XI Jinping how the scourge of terrorism was affecting the region. "There are some nations that use it as an instrument of state policy. One single nation in South Asia is spreading agents of terror in our region," he said, without naming Pakistan. India's ties with Pakistan have soured after Islamabad declared Kashmiri terrorist Burhan Wani, shot dead by security forces, as a "martyr". "For us a terrorist is a terrorist," Modi said. He was speaking during his intervention at the last session of the G20 Summit. "India has a policy of zero tolerance to terrorism. Because anything less than that is not enough," he said. On the sidelines of the Summit, Modi met new British Prime Theresa May here, Argentine President Mauricio Macri and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. Modi said India viewed the UK as an important partner despite its decision to quit the EU. This was Modi's first bilateral with May, who succeeded David Cameron after the Brexit vote in June. The issue of terrorism figured in the Modi-May meeting. They discussed enhancing counter terrorism cooperation. He called for greater collaboration in the area of cyber security and intelligence sharing. May said she was keen to support Modi's vision for India and take forward the broader strategic partnership. She underlined the great importance the UK attached to the Indian diaspora. She sought Modi's suggestions on further strengthening their partnership, particularly in trade and investment ties. May said she backed Modi's reform agenda and that the UK was keen to participate in Make in India, Smart Cities and the Skill India Programme among others. The two leaders discussed their defence partnership. Modi also met Argentina's newly elected President Macri and invited him to visit India, External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Vikas Swarup said. The Indian leader said he would personally take him to the birthplace of Mahatma Gandhi, for whom Macri has had high regards. Macri recalled his two previous visits to India, as a tourist and as a Mayor. Modi thanked Macri for Argentina's strong support for India's membership in the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG). "The two leaders agreed to expand cooperation in areas such as agriculture, mining and hydro carbons," Swarup said. "The President invited Indian companies to participate in the exploration of gas reserves in Argentina. He also sought Indian collaboration in the area of food security." Speaking with the Turkish President, Modi raised the issue of India's membership to the NSG. In June, Turkey had teamed up with a group of countries to oppose India's membership to the 48-member cartel. In New Delhi, President Pranab Mukherjee said India was a victim of cross-border terrorism, not a homegrown one. "We certainly face attack but from cross-border terrorism. Success of our governance and administration lies in ensuring that homegrown terrorism, which is the world's biggest menace today, is not yet there in India," he told a group of students on the occasion of Teachers' Day. --IANS gsh-ab/mr/rn (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Kerala's former Chief Minister V.S. Achuthanandan is peeved ever since he was sidelined by the CPI-M for the chief minister's position in the state and was succeeded by his arch rival Pinarayi Vijayan. The 92-year-old veteran has not yet taken up the post of Chairperson of the 4th Administrative Reforms Commission (ARC) that was cleared by the central leadership of the party and the state cabinet and offered to him in July. The Kerala assembly last month in an amendment to the 1951 Legislators Act had given the status of a state cabinet minister's position to the post offered to Achuthanandan. However, even 28 days after the formal appointment to it, the constitutional post remains vacant. When asked by reporters on Monday, the veteran politician retorted with: "That you should ask those who (Vijayan) made the appointment. Let them say." The former Chief Minister has been acting indifferent towards the position as even after leading his party to victory in the last election, he was given the status of 'Kerala's Fidel Castro', stunning many. The order appointing him to the state ARC had stated that Achuthanandan could have 14 personal staff, an official residence and a car. Incidentally, this is the fourth time that this Commission has been set up, the first was in 1957, when the legendary E.M.S. Nampoothirpad was the Chief Minister and also the ARC Chairman. Then in 1965, when the state came under President's Rule, senior civil service officer M.K. Velodi headed it, and in 1997 when E.K.Nayanar was the Chief Minister, he headed it. This is the first time that a legislator would be heading the commission. With this all eyes are now on Vijayan as the veteran politician has put the ball in the Chief Minister's court. Last week, Achuthanandan also refused to comment on Vijayan completing 100 days in office, and said that it was not yet time to evaluate the government. --IANS sg/in/vt (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) US President Barack Obama had better think twice about raising the issue of Philippine extra-judicial killings, warned the country's confrontational leader on Monday. "Who does he think he is? I am no American puppet. I am the President of a sovereign country and I am not answerable to anyone except the Filipino people," Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte scoffed in a speech on Monday. "Son of a b****, I will swear at you." Duterte went on to blame the US for causing the unrest on the southern Philippines Island of Mindanao. "As a matter of fact, we inherited this problem from the United States," he said. "Why? Because they invaded this country and made us their subjugated people. Everybody has a terrible record of extra-judicial killing. Why make an issue about fighting crime?" In response, the White House cancelled President Obama's upcoming meeting with Duterte in Laos this week, where Obama is attending a meeting of Southeast Asian leaders, CNN quoted National Security Council spokesman as saying. Earlier, hinting that his planned meeting with Duterte may not go forward, Obama said, "I always want to make sure if I'm having a meeting that it's productive and we're getting something done," "If and when we have a meeting, this is something that is going to be brought up," Obama said, referring to the Philippines' controversial record of combating drug crime since Duterte took office earlier in 2016. "Look at the human rights of America along that line. The way they treat the migrants there," CNN quoted Obama as saying. Since Duterte was elected, more than 1,900 people have died, including at least 700 in police operations that were part of the President's hard-line war on drugs. "Double your efforts. Triple them, if need be. We will not stop until the last drug lord, the last financier, and the last pusher have surrendered or put behind bars -- or below the ground, if they so wish," Duterte said during his State of the Nation speech on July 25. Human Rights Watch has called for the International Narcotics Control Board and United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime to condemn the "alarming surge in killings of suspected drug users or dealers" in the country. --IANS lok/ (Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Hundreds of people, especially farmers on Monday staged protest demonstrations in the Mysuru region against the Supreme Court order to Karnataka for releasing 15,000 cusecs of water daily for 10 days to Tamil Nadu. The protesters at Mandya, about 100km from here, blocked the vehicular traffic on the busy Bengaluru-Mysuru state highway by burning discarded tyres and effigies of Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J. Jayalalithaa and placing barricades at many places enroute. About 100 farmers stood knee-deep in the Cauvery river at Srirangapatna near Mysuru, threatening to hold 'jal satyagraha' (agitation for water) to prevent the state government releasing water from the nearby Krishnaraja Sagar Reservoir (KRS), built across the river basin. "We will not allow the state government to release water at any cost from the half-empty reservoirs as we don't have enough water for our fields and drinking water," said Karnataka Rajya Raitha Sangha leader Nanjungowda at Mandya. Farmers, traders, students and political leaders have called for a shut down in Mandya district on Tuesday in protest against the apex court order, which will deplete the water level in the KRS further, affecting supply to fields and taps. "At the rate of 15,000 cusecs daily, if the state has to release 10.3 tmcft of water for 10 days, there will not be enough water in the river to meet even the drinking water needs of Bengaluru, Mandya and Mysuru, as reservoirs in the catchment areas are half empty due to deficit monsoon," farmers' leader Made Gowda told reporters at Mandya. One thousand million cubic feet (tmcft) of water is equivalent to 28,317 million litres of water. A cusec, which is a measure of flow rate of water per second, is equivalent to a flow of 28.317 litres per second. According to the state water resources department, due to deficient rainfall during the southwest monsoon this year, the four reservoirs in the Cauvery basin have only 55 per cent of the water. "As against the combined 104 tmcft storage in the river basin, the KRS, Kabini, Hemavat and Harangi reservoirs have only 51 tmcft of water due to insufficient rains in August," an irrigation department told IANS here. The farmers' organisation urged the state government to file a review petition in the Supreme Court against its Monday order, and instead, send a fact-finding committee to assess the water levels in the reservoirs across the river basin. Meanwhile, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah has convened an all-party meeting here on Tuesday to discuss the apex court order. "We are waiting for the copy of the Supreme Court order, which is expected to reach us by Tuesday morning. We will discuss the next course of action with our lawyers and legal advisors and apprise the other political parties, lawmakers and central ministers from the state," Siddaramaiah told reporters here. --IANS fb/vd (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Hundreds of people, especially farmers on Monday staged protest demonstrations in the Mysuru region against the Supreme Court order to Karnataka for releasing 15,000 cusecs of water daily for 10 days to Tamil Nadu. The protesters at Mandya, about 100 km from Bengaluru, blocked the vehicular traffic on the busy Bengaluru-Mysuru state highway by burning discarded tyres and effigies of Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa and placing barricades at many places enroute. About 100 farmers stood knee-deep in the Cauvery river at Srirangapatna near Mysuru, threatening to hold 'Jal Satyagraha' (agitation for water) to prevent the state government releasing water from the nearby Krishnaraja Sagar Reservoir (KRS), built across the river basin. "We will not allow the state government to release water at any cost from the half-empty reservoirs as we don't have enough water for our fields and drinking water," said Karnataka Rajya Raitha Sangha leader Nanjungowda at Mandya. Farmers, traders, students and political leaders have called for a shut down in Mandya district on Tuesday in protest against the apex court order, which will deplete the water level in the KRS further, affecting supply to fields and taps. "At the rate of 15,000 cusecs daily, if the state has to release 10.3 tmcft of water for 10 days, there will not be enough water in the river to meet even the drinking water needs of Bengaluru, Mandya and Mysuru, as reservoirs in the catchment areas are half empty due to deficit monsoon," farmers' leader Made Gowda told reporters at Mandya. One thousand million cubic feet (tmcft) of water is equivalent to 28,317 million litres of water. A cusec, which is a measure of flow rate of water per second, is equivalent to a flow of 28.317 litres per second. According to the state water resources department, due to deficient rainfall during the southwest monsoon this year, the four reservoirs in the Cauvery basin have only 55 per cent of the water. "As against the combined 104 tmcft storage in the river basin, the KRS, Kabini, Hemavat and Harangi reservoirs have only 51 tmcft of water due to insufficient rains in August," an irrigation department told IANS in Bengaluru. The farmers' organisation urged the state government to file a review petition in the Supreme Court against its Monday order, and instead, send a fact-finding committee to assess the water levels in the reservoirs across the river basin. Meanwhile, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah has convened an all-party meeting here on Tuesday to discuss the apex court order. "We are waiting for the copy of the Supreme Court order, which is expected to reach us by Tuesday morning. We will discuss the next course of action with our lawyers and legal advisors and apprise the other political parties, lawmakers and central ministers from the state," Siddaramaiah told reporters in Bengaluru. Delhi Police is probing other cases of alleged "sexual assault" against sacked Delhi minister Sandeep Kumar after he disclosed that he has been involved in such acts with "many other women" in the past and also recorded them. Kumar was arrested following a complaint by a woman who figured in a "sex video" clip with him. Kumar was presented in Tis Hazari courts complex on Monday before Special Judge Poonam Chaudhary who remanded him to three-day police custody during in-camera proceedings. Delhi Police told the court in its plea seeking custody of Kumar that he "has disclosed that he has committed sexual assault with the woman and recorded this act as well". "He (Kumar) has disclosed that he has done such similar acts with many other girls, which needs further investigation," Delhi Police stated in the application seeking four day police custody of Kumar. Delhi Police informed the court that the woman complainant approached Kumar around 8-10 months back for providing her a ration card, whereupon the minister asked her to visit him at his office-cum-residence in Sultanpuri. Kumar told her that he will provide her a ration card and job to her sons and offered her a cold drink, after drinking which the woman felt dizzy, the police said. Taking advantage of the woman's drowsiness Kumar committed "sexual assault" on her, Delhi Police said. The police told the court that co-accused Parveen, who is Kumar's childhood friend, has been detained and the two men would be brought face-to-face to unearth the "hidden facts". Kumar was not cooperating in the investigations and did not tell the Delhi Police the exact address of his friend Parveen in Bahadurgarh. Delhi Police sought four-day custody remand of Kumar on the ground that it has to conduct sustained interrogation to find out various other facts about the women whose clips and pictures were telecast by news channels, to recover the case properties, to arrest other co-accused and find out the places of incident. The proceeding, which was to take place before a magistrate court in Rohini courts, was changed to Tis Hazari after Delhi Police booked Kumar under section 7 (public servant taking gratification other than legal remuneration in respect of an official act) of Prevention of Corruption Act, which can be tried by a special court dealing with corruption cases. Kumar was produced before a duty magistrate in Rohini court on Sunday, which sent him to one-day police custody. Delhi Police said that during the police custody remand, it has been able to recover mobile phones and hard disk of Kumar. The former Social Welfare and Women and Child Development Minister was arrested on Saturday after the woman approached Sultanpuri police station in north Delhi with a complaint of sexual harassment against him. A case was filed and Kumar booked under Sections 376 (punishment for rape) and 328 (causing hurt by means of poison, with intent to commit an offence) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC). He was also charged under the Information Technology Act's section 67A (punishment for publishing or transmitting of material containing sexually explicit act in electronic form). The woman in her complaint alleged that she was sexually harassed by Kumar at his office-cum-residence in Sultanpuri area where she had gone to get her ration card made. A Delhi Police team on Sunday visited the house where the woman was allegedly raped. Kumar was sacked on Wednesday after the alleged "sex video" involving him went viral. On Thursday, Kumar defended himself, saying he had resigned on his own and alleged that he was being targeted for being a Dalit. (Amiya Kumar Kushwaha can be reached at amiya.k@ians.in) --IANS akk/rn/vm (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The French Prosecutor's office said on Monday ex-President Nicolas Sarkozy and 13 others will be be tried for illegally financing his 2012 electoral campaign. Sarkozy, currently a candidate in the centre-right Les Republicaines (LR) party in primary elections, was involved in the "Bygmalion affair", a scandal named after the company that allegedly sent fake invoices for up to $25.67 million, 2.1 per cent more than allowed so that the Union for a Popular Movement (UMP) party (LR's previous name) could pay campaign-related expenses, Xinhua news agency reported. The scandal was sparked after claims that invoices for former President's 2012 election campaign were passed off as the party's expenses. According to EFE news, among the 13 others accused are old UMP leaders, campaign officials and executives from Bygmalion and its subsidiary, Event and Cie. Sarkozy's lawyer Thierry Herzog said the Prosecutor's announcement was "a gross political manoeuvre that would not resist, like all the rest, an examination of the facts", EFE news reported. Sarkozy has been in a series of investigations over corruption, including the Bettencourt affair in which he was charged with taking financial advantage of the elderly French billionaire, Liliane Bettencourt, the heiress of L'Oreal group. --IANS vgu/py/vm (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) At least 43 people were killed and dozens injured on Monday in a series of explosions that rocked several key Syrian cities, officials said. The first bombing happened in the central city of Homs at 7.14 am, when an explosive-laden vehicle was detonated at the checkpoint when it was detected by military personnel, Xinhua news agency reported. Four people were killed and many injured in the explosion. Some 30 people were killed and many injured in Tartus city, in twin-bombings that rocked a checkpoint at the city's entrance. Both bombers, wearing military uniforms, were disguised as government troops, the military said. An explosive-packed motorcycle exploded in the predominantly-Kurdish city of Hasakah, killing eight persons. The Islamic State claimed responsibility for the Hasakah bombing, saying it targeted a checkpoint of the Kurdish security forces, known as Assayish. An explosion on a road between the resort town of Sabura and Bajaj killed one person. Soon after he became India's second President, Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan's birthday began to be celebrated as "Teachers' Day", given his belief that "teachers should be the best minds in the country" and his impeccable career as an educationist. But along with being a teacher, he was also a distinguished philosopher and cultural ambassador, an effective diplomat and a consummate statesman. Radhakrishnan's (1888-1975) academic and philosophical achievements -- the Spalding Chair at Oxford, his interpretation of Hinduism and fostering its understanding worldwide, his work in comparative religion -- are deemed his legacy and were recognised with he being one of the first three recipients of the Bharat Ratna when it was instituted in 1954 (C. Rajagopalachari and C.V. Raman were the other two). But this was not all. His tenure as President (1962-67) saw the deaths of two prime ministers, including one of founding fathers, two of Independent India's wars, as well as one of the biggest challenges to the country's unity and integrity but here his sage counsel helped find a middle ground and calm the situation. Equally, important to India, was his role as the country's second ambassador to Moscow (1949-53), at the height of the Cold War, where he not only laid ground for a close relationship between India and the Soviet Union, but can be credited with initiating Soviet/Russian support for India on Kashmir. Veteran diplomat Maharaja Krishna Rasgotra, in his memoir "A Life in Diplomacy" (Viking/Penguin India, 2016), terms the decision to send Radhakrishnan to Moscow, "(Prime Minister Jawaharlal) Nehru's most imaginative choice for the post at that particular time". "Stalin had to be convinced of the genuineness of India's Independence, of the depth of India's concern over Cold War tensions and its desire for peace and for Russia's friendship and cooperation. The usual diplomatic approach would be of no avail, and Radhakrishnan was just the man for the complex task." As his "lean, tall figure and austere appearance made him look like a modern messiah", Radhakrishnan intrigued Stalin so much that he was summoned to a meeting soon after he took over -- and became one of the few people who left the Soviet leader at a loss for words. Citing Radhakrishnan's deputy Rajeshwar Dayal, who was also present, Rasgotra says Radhakrishnan after answing Stalin's questions like if India still had British army officers or a navy, why Ceylon was not its part and so on, deplored the Cold War and suggested the Soviet Union take the initiative to end it. "When Stalin said that there was also another side responsible for it and it takes two hands to clap, the ambassador's solution to the problem left him without an answer: "As a peace-loving country the Soviet Union should withdraw its own hand as it takes two hands to clap." And Soviet support on Kashmir owed to his "informality and directness", says Rasgotra. "In a meeting with Foreign Minister Andrey Yanuarevich Vyshinsky, the ambassador suddenly asked him why Russia was not supporting India on the Kashmir issue in the Security Council. Taken by surprise by this unanticipated query on an important foreign policy issue, Vyshinsky mumbled something about India never having asked for Soviet help in the matter. 'But that's what I am doing now, am I not?'" And from the very next Security Council meeting in 1951, where the "Soviet Union's representative blasted the UK and USA for meddling in Kashmir's internal affairs", the Soviet Union began vetoing Western resolutions, unacceptable to India, and "all this took place on the ambassador's own initiative, without consulting with anyone in India". Even Nehru was taken by surprise. When he was due to return to India, to become Vice President, Radhakrishnan was again received by Stalin, who assured him and India of all help. After becoming President, Radhakrishnan reassured the nation when the Chinese invasion and Indian reverses shook the people, in the aftermath of Nehru's death, and the 1965 war with Pakistan but his biggest achievement was calming tempers in the wake of the Anti-Hindi agitation of 1965. It is Radhakrishnan who prevented an irreparable breach when agitations swept Tamil Nadu against Hindi replacing English and Union Ministers C. Subramaniam and O.V. Alagesan resigned. His refusal to accept Prime Minister Lal Bahadur Shastri's recommendation that they be accepted led the latter to back down and strive for a compromise. It was Radhakrishnan who also convinced Shastri to retain the ministers, as veteran journalist Kuldip Nayar revealed in his "Beyond the Lines" (1969). He, however, remained a one-term President, with Prime Minister Indira Gandhi not keen on his continuance, and it can only be conjectured if India would have taken another path had been on in the Rashtrapati Bhavan. (05.09.2016 - Vikas Datta can be contacted at vikas.d@ians.in ) --IANS vd/vm (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Veteran tribal leader and former Tripura Pradesh Congress Committee chief Diba Chandra Hrangkhawl, who along with six Congress lawmakers joined the in April, was chosen as leader of the TMC legislature party in the state, TMC all India Vice-President Mukul Roy said here on Monday. Six MLAs, led by former opposition Leader Sudip Roy Barman, resigned from the Congress on April 7 and joined the TMC on June 7 in protest against the Congress' alliance with Left parties ahead of the West Bengal Assembly elections. "Diba Chandra Hrangkhawl has been choosen as leader of the TMC's legislature party in Tripura. TMC's Tripura unit chairman Ratan Chakraborty would communicate this decision to the state assembly speaker soon," Roy told the media. The six legislators after three-month long parleys were recognised as TMC MLAs by the Tripura Assembly Speaker Ramendra Chandra Debnath on August 29. The Speaker, citing rules and Supreme Court verdict, refused to give opposition party status to the TMC in the state assembly "TMC would get the opposition party status soon and the party would seek the position by referring to rules and the court verdict," the TMC parliamentarian said. Trinamool leader Sudip Roy Barman said the six MLAs comprise the second largest legislature group of the party in India after West Bengal, where the party has been ruling since 2011. Roy, who came here on Sunday and addressed a gathering in southern Tripura's Udaipur, told the reporters that a large number of CPI-M (Communist Party of India-Marxist) and Congress members and leaders are keen to join the TMC. "The political situation in Tripura is same as it was in 2008 in West Bengal. Like Bengal, the ruling CPI-M is rapidly losing its supports from the people. The TMC would come to power in Tripura in the 2018 assembly elections," he added. Before leaving for Kolkata, Roy said that party supremo Mamata Banerjee would soon constitute a full fledged state committee of the TMC to spearhead the party in the Left-ruled Tripura. The TMC would organise a rally in Agartala on September 23 as a mark of completion of one month of August 23 violent clashes here in which 24 persons, including five policemen, were injured and 17 private vehicles damaged. The August 23 trouble occurred after activists of a tribal party -- Indigenous People's Front of Tripura (IPFT) - took out a rally here demanding a separate state. Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar on Monday asked why his predecessor Bhupinder Singh Hooda was scared of a CBI probe into the Gurgaon land scandal if he was innocent. Khattar said the Central Bureau of Investigation has been conducting an independent probe into the 400 acre fraud near Manesar. Khattar said Hooda has been challenging in the state assembly any enquiry ordered into the Rs 1,500 crore land scam, calling it politically motivated. Hooda has demanded a judicial enquiry into the matter. Khattar said a judicial enquiry can be ordered if the CBI asks for it and that there was no difference between a judicial or CBI probe. The CBI raided the homes and offices of former Chief Minister Hooda, two former IAS officers and others on Saturday over alleged irregularities in the purchase of 400 acres of land from farmers. The raids took place in 20 locations in Delhi and . The land. whose market value then was above Rs 4 crore per acre, totalling about Rs 1,600 crore, was allegedly bought by private builders from land owners for only about Rs 100 crore. The CBI has registered a case of fraud, cheating and corruption against unknown politicians, builders and their agents. On the face of it, the Supreme Courts decision to set aside the land acquisition in Singur, West Bengal, by the Left Front government for the Tatas marks a remarkable political victory for the All India Trinamool Congress leader and chief minister, Mamata Banerjee. The Left, already emasculated, will lose face and self-confidence further. The court has ordered that 11,000 of the 13,000 land owners, who had accepted compensation, will get back their land and also get to keep the compensation they had received in lieu of cultivation income foregone over the past decade. Those who didnt accept compensation will also get their land back as also the compensation on the same ground of income foregone. The Ashok Leyland stock has shed five per cent since it declared its sales volumes for August. Medium and heavy commercial vehicles (M&HCV) sales in August were down eight per cent over year, the second month of decline. Tata Motors had eight per cent decline in July, while August sales were down 17 per cent. So, is this a trend in the making or a blip? Tata Motors indicated that the fall in sales was on postponement of replacement and fleet expansion. Analysts also attribute the muted August show to fall in freight rates. In the higher tonnage segment (37 tonnes), the company stayed away from discounts, which led to lost sales, say analysts at Motilal Oswal Securities. across India has emerged as a major concern. The main reason behind this the state governments' bidding process for road construction. According to rules, the lowest bidder gets the contract but the winner also does shabby work. The "classic" example is that of roads in Pune and Mumbai. Recently, we have noted in the print media that Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation has "blacklisted" five contractors for laying poor quality roads. It is high time the government adopted the public-private partnership mode for urban infrastructure, a practice followed the world over. It will be also desirable if municipal corporations raise adequate funds by issuing bonds, which will help develop quality roads. When an investor puts his money in a mutual fund scheme, she does so because the scheme fits well in her portfolio and helps her meet her financial goals. But if the fund house changes the nature of the fund, she needs to re-evaluate her investment carefully. An all-party delegation seeking to end turbulence in Kashmir concluded a two-day visit with no breakthrough but Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh saw some positives, even as he lashed out at the separatists for their refusal to meet the MPs. Some MPs in the delegation had literally knocked at the doors of separatists Hurriyat leaders in Srinagar on Sunday. Singh said this conduct was against democracy, humanity or even Kashmiriyat (Kashmiri ethos). Singh led the delegation of 26 MPs from 20 parties, which stayed overnight in Srinagar before stopping over in Jammu on Sunday afternoon. After spending a few hours in Jammu, the delegation returned to Delhi. The home minister disagreed that the mission was a failure and said the delegation had very good interaction with individuals and groups. The delegation would meet in Delhi and discuss the future plan. Before winding up the Kashmir leg of the visit, Singh asserted the state would always remain an integral part of India. There should be no doubt that was, is and will always be integral part of India, he said at a press conference in Srinagar. As far as talks are concerned, our doors are open to everyone who wants peace and normalcy. Not only doors, even our ventillators are open for talks, Singh said. He said he was aware that Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti had written letters to separatist leaders, inviting them for talks with the delegation. I want to clarify that some members of the delegation had gone to meet Hurriyat leaders yesterday. Neither had we said yes nor no (to their meetings). Whatever happened, you know about it. I do not wish to go into the details. But, whatever information those friends gave us upon their return, it can be said it was not Kashmiriyat. It cannot be called Insaniyat (humanity). When someone goes for talks and they reject it, it is not jamhooriyat (democracy) as well, he said. Talking about the motive behind the visit, the Home Minister said Parliament, which is the supreme "panchayat" of the country, is very serious about the situation in Kashmir and hence decided to send a delegation of its members for talks. The entire country and Parliament are pained by the situation in Kashmir and want early restoration of peace, he said. Asked whether India plans to talk to Pakistan on Kashmir, Singh shot back, "First let us talk to Indians." When asked whether the Centre is willing to go the extra mile on the demands of autonomy raised by PDP and National Conference from time to time, he said, "We are not concerned with whatever one had said in the past. We have taken everyone's view and cooperation to improve the situation in Kashmir in the delegation-level talks." To a query about possibility of 'Track-2' talks on Kashmir, Singh said he did not wish to enter into a debate about "track-one, track-two or track-three." The Minister said during his previous visit last month, concerns had been raised over the use of pellet guns and regarding this, non-lethal PAVA shells have been recommended as a replacement. "The shells will not take lives. About 1000 shells have arrived here," he said. More than 30 delegations comprising 300 members from political parties, civil society, University teachers, fruit growers, students and intellectuals have presented their view before the delegation, he said. "Everyone wants that the situation must improve. The delegation spoke to these people, the Governor and the Chief Minister of state and also officials of the state government. I am fully confident that the situation will improve which people also want," he said. He said the Centre is giving full support to the state government which is also trying to bring improvement in the situation. Meanwhile, justifying the refusal of separatist leaders to hold talks with the all-party delegation, hardline Hurriyat Conference said they were not invited officially as New Delhi is "scared" of any meaningful dialogue with them and Pakistan to address the issue. Later while addressing a brief press conference in Jammu, Singh was asked by a reporter whether the visit was a failure. He disagreed, saying it cannot be described as a failure. The delegation, he said, had "very good interactions" with individuals and groups during its visit to Kashmir and Jammu and heard their views on different issues. Many members of the delegation had little knowledge about and the visit helped them to understand the ground situation of the state, the Home Minister added. "I hope that whenever any discussion on takes place in Parliament, we will get full cooperation from them," he said. Singh said the delegation will meet in New Delhi after its return and will chalk out the future course of action. "The all-party delegation will meet in Delhi after its return and decide the action plan for the future," he said. Singh said the delegation would like to visit Ladakh also in the near future as the region too is a part of Jammu and Kashmir state and it is important to listen to the voice of the people there. The Minister said to address concerns of Kashmiri youths living in different parts of the country the Ministry has appointed Dr Sanjay Rai as nodal officer who can be approached on phone number 011-23092923, 23092885. The delegation comprised 26 MPs from 20 parties. Apart from the Home Minister, the delegation also included Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, Minister of State in PMO Jitendra Singh, Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha Ghulam Nabi Azad, his Lok Sabha colleague Mallikarjun Kharge, senior Congress leader Ambika Soni, Union Minister Ram Vilas Paswan (of LJP), JD(U) leader Sharad Yadav, CPI(M) general secretary Sitaram Yechury and CPI leader D Raja. NCP's Tariq Anwar and Trinamool Congress' Saugata Roy, Shiv Sena's Sanjay Raut and Anandrao Adsul, TDP's Thota Narasimham, Shiromani Akali Dal's Prem Singh Chandumajra, BJD's Dilip Tirkey, AIMIM's Asaduddin Owaisi, AIUDF's Badaruddin Ajmal and Muslim League's E Ahamed will be party of the delegation. TRS' Jitendra Reddy, N K Premchandran (RSP), P Venugopal (AIADMK), Tiruchi Siva (DMK), Y B Subba (YSR-Cong), Jaiprakash Yadav (RJD), Dharamveer Gandhi (AAP) and Dushyant Chautala (RLD) are also in the team. (Reopens DEL45) Meamwhile, the Home Ministry said in a statement that in Jammu, the all party delegation met over 200 people in about 18 different delegations from various sections of society. Delegation of Jammu Chamber of Commerce and Industry led by its president Rakesh Gupta, Chamber of Traders Federation of Jammu Province led by Neeraj Anand, Federation of Industries led by its president Lalit Mahajan and the Jammu and Kashmir High Court Bar Association led by its President Advocate Abhinav Sharma met the delegation. A composite delegation of Jammu Hotels, Lodges, Taxi Tour and Travel operators also discussed their issues with the delegation. The Doda and Talwara Reasi migrants, Kashmiri migrants' delegations and a composite delegation of J&K PoJK Refugees Front discussed their problems with the delegation in Jammu. Besides this, delegations of West Pakistani Refugee Action Committee-1947, All Jammu Civil Society Forum (Dogra Sadar Sabha), Vishav Hindu Parishad, Rashtriya Gurjar Manch, Sikh Gurdwara Prabandhak Committee, Muslim Front led by Imran Qazi, Anjuman-e-Imamia, Jammu led by Syed Amanat Ali Shah, J&K Christian Dalit Society of Jammu and Panthers Party led by Harshdev Singh also met the delegation. Earlier in the day, before reaching Jammu, the all party delegation met various delegations including political parties and civil society organisations in Srinagar. These delegations included Shah Hamdan Public Welfare Trust led by its President Nazir Ahmad Dhar, J&K State Rashtriya Janta Dal led by General Secretary Mehraj-ud-din Ganai, J&K Development Foundation led by its President Bilal Parry, Lok Janshakti Party (YUVA) led by its National President Sanjay Saraf, J&K National Democratic Front led by its Chairman Abdul Rashid Kabuli, J&K Kashmir Wattan Parast Front led by Khalid Tufail and Prof. Abdul Rashid Shawl as an individual. During the discussions, various points emerged like perception management of media, specially social media is very important to channelize the energies of our youths in the right direction, the statement said. The media should report on the incidents keeping the larger context in mind. The concern was also expressed on the source of funding of the terror-related activities, it said. It was also emphasised that rehabilitation of released/surrendered militants is also very important for which the Government already has a scheme. The Congress took a dig at Prime Minister Narendra Modi over his speech at the G-20 summit in China on Monday saying he had failed to bring back black money stashed abroad within the promised 100 days of coming to power. "The prime minister during his 2014 Lok Sabha poll campaign had promised the voters that if he comes to power, he would bring back all the black money stashed abroad and distribute around Rs 15 lakh each in the bank accounts of all citizens," Manish Tewari told Business Standard. Punjab Congress on Monday announced that it will launch a mass contact programme from September 19 to reach out to at least 20 lakh people across the state. The 40-day programme will cover all 117 assembly segments at least three times and five programmes will be held in each constituency. This was decided at a meeting presided over by Pradesh Congress Committee president Amarinder Singh, said a party release. The meeting was attended by Punjab All India Congress Committee in-charge Asha Kumari, secretary in-charge Harish Chaudhary, former CM Rajinder Kaur Bhattal and Congress Legislature Party leader Charanjit Singh Channi among others. The state has been divided into 13 parliamentary segments. Senior leaders will address these programmes, the release said. Separatist leaders on Sunday rebuffed attempts by five Opposition members of the all-party delegation to reach out to them as they refused to talk to them, with hardline leader Syed Ali Shah Geelani even refusing to meet them. The Congress is gearing up to re-launch Rahul Gandhi in poll-bound Uttar Pradesh on Tuesday, but organisational challenges remain on the ground. In 2012, the party could bag only 28 of the 403 seats in UP despite an aggressive campaign by the Congress vice-president. The result was marginally up from 22 seats in the 2007 Assembly polls. At least 12 children have been rescued and three suspected traffickers were arrested here by Railway Protection Force. "Continuing its drive against human traffickers, Railway Protection Force personnel of Rangiya rescued five boys and seven girls from traffickers," Northeast Frontier Railway Chief Spokesperson Pranav Jyoti Sharma told PTI. During interrogation, the accused said that they were taking the children to Mumbai for handing them over to some agents in exchange of money against each child. "They said that they had taken some girls from Assam to Mumbai and handed them over to the agents," he said. The accused were handed over to Government Railway Police for further necessary action, Sharma added. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) In a historic event, the first Bangladeshi vehicle laden with imported consignment rolled into a customs depot here as part of an accord that has done away with trans shipment of goods from one country's truck to another at international border, a time consuming and costly process. Senior customs officials said that this is yet another measure in a series of trade facilitation initiatives taken by the government recently to help businesses cut transaction costs. "It is a very big day that marks ease of doing business. The entry of Bangladesh's cargo vehicles to India and our's to their territory will help in saving of days and transaction cost. It will further trade between the two countries," Chief Commissioner of customs Vivek Johri told PTI. He said the compulsion to tranship goods at the borders with neighbouring countries has been a major and "longstanding pain point" hindering free flow of trade. It has been made possible under the Bangladesh-Bhutan -India-Nepal (BBIN) Motor Vehicles Agreement, which was signed in June last year. The pact allows vehicles to enter each other's territory and does away with trans shipment of goods from one country's truck to another at the border. There was no provision to allow trucks registered in India to enter Bangladesh and vice versa until the accord was signed last year. Johri said the measure would not only cut cost and time but also allow the BBIN region to fully exploit its potential for integration through trade. The truck had left Dhaka on August 27 and entered India through Petrapole land border in West Bengal. It reached Inland Container Depot (ICD), Patparganj, this morning. The vehicle, which was carrying goods for Marks and Spencer's, London, was fitted with a Global Positioning System (GPS) to help officials track its movement and help them ensure hassle free entry into the national capital via various states. "It is a historic event for both the countries," said Vinayak Azaad, Additional Commissioner of customs. Officials from Bangladesh's High Commission and Ministries of External Affairs and Road Transport and Highways were present during a function organised at the ICD. "The event will help in increasing trade between Bangladesh and India. It also shows that trust exists between the two countries," said Zahid-Ul-Islam, Counsellor, Bangladesh High Commission. Drivers of the truck -- Motiur Islam (32) and Md Rasel (28) -- were enthusiastic over their first visit to India. "It is a proud moment for us. I enjoyed driving on the India roads," said Rasel. Motiur, who could barely speak in Hindi, was happy to be part of this historic event. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Twenty-three people have died in a prison fire in Ethiopia over the weekend, a state-affiliated broadcaster reported today. The Kilinto prison on the outskirts of the capital, Addis Ababa, is where many opposition figures and journalists are held. Activists first raised concerns about the fire on Saturday. Fana Broadcasting Corporate cited a government statement as saying 21 inmates died from stampede and suffocation. The other two were killed while trying to escape. The government originally said only one person died in the fire. The latest government statement gives no details on how the fire began. It says an investigation has begun. This East African country has seen months of sometimes deadly protests calling for wider freedoms, while the government has been accused by opposition activists and rights groups of killings, beatings and internet blockages. The Oromia and Amhara regions have held protests in recent weeks that residents and rights groups say have left dozens dead. Regional concerns that sparked the demonstrations have broadened into anti-government protests. Ethiopia's government, a close security ally of the West, is often accused of silencing dissent. Recent video obtained by The Associated Press showed Ethiopian security forces beating, kicking and dragging several protesters during a rare demonstration in the capital. Yesterday, the US ambassador to the United Nations said her country has raised "grave concerns" about what it calls excessive use of force against protesters in Ethiopia. Ambassador Samantha Power called the recent violence in Ethiopia "extremely serious" and called for a transparent and independent investigation. She said the US has asked the government to allow people to protest peacefully. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Uttarakhand Governor K K Paul today awarded 26 outstanding school teachers of the state with the Governor's Award saying that by shaping the future of children they play an important role in nation building. Highlighting the important role played by teachers in shaping the future of children, he said it has become more significant today with most children having working parents who have little time to interactwith them. "These days when parents are mostly working and children get less time to interact with them, teachers have assumed a role perhaps even more important than parents. They must create an atmosphere in their schools where children can imbibe Indian values and culture to keep our heritage alive. "Education without values has no meaning. A person should not be merely a good student. He should be a good human being and a good citizen. In this era, when nuclear families are the rule, children sometimes have no way of linking themselves to their roots and cultural heritage. "Here, teachers can step in to impart these values and traditions to the youngsters," Paul said in the presence of Chief Minister Harish Rawat and School Education Minister Mantri Prasad Naithani. Greeting the teachers on the occasion of Teachers Day and Ganesh Chaturthi, he said this was an occasion for thanking all the teachers of the country whose consistent efforts have placed India on the path of progress. He said holding teachers/gurus in the highest regard was an ancient Indian tradition which should be maintained. Paul also asked teachers to keep upgrading their knowledge and skills to keep themselves abreast with the changing times. Teachers must know that technology will help them teach and help their students learn. Teachers can incorporate technology directly into their practice at the classroom level, he said. Chief Minister Harish Rawat, who was the special guest on the occasion, said teachers were making great contribution to the development of the state by spreading the light of knowledge. Congratulating teachers conferred with the Governor's award, Rawat said he was happy to see that most of the awardees were women and teachers from schools in remote areas. Naithani said India would require important contribution from teachers if it wanted to regain the glory of being Vishwaguru. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Congress leader and former chief minister on Monday defended two of his cabinet colleagues in the previous led UDF ministry against whom bribery charges were levelled in the bar scam, saying these are politically motivated and the party will face it legally. "We will legally face the government that acts politically," he said in a Facebook Post. "Former ministers K Babu and K M Mani, Chief of Kerala Congress(M) had provided a clear reply for the allegations raised in the First Information Report against them," he said. The effort to trap Mani in the case again and raid the house of Congress leader Babu, was with political motives and would backfire at the LDF government, he said. On the allegations of bribery levelled by Kerala State Bar Hotel Owners Association's Biju Ramesh, Chandy said taking steps against public servants on charges levelled by those who had suffered loss due to government decisions was with political intention. "This will only send out a wrong message and set a bad precedent," he said. "We welcome any type of probe on allegations. It is the government's responsibility to inform the public the truth.But initiating steps like raids based on unbelievable information is with ulterior motives and that is not good for any government", Chandy said. Recently, the Vigilance and Anti-Corruption Bureau had conducted raids at the residences of former Kerala Excise Minister Babu and his two daughters in connection with a disproportionate assets case against him. Babu, who had a controversial stint as Excise Minister in the UDF government, had resigned after a Thrissur vigilance court ordered the Vigilance Department to register an FIR against him in the bar bribery scam. He was later reinstated in the post. On August 7, Mani-led Kerala Congress(M) had severed its three decades old tie with UDF following differences with the Congress over the issues connected with the bar case. The party had announced it would keep equal distance from CPI(M)-led LDF, UDF and BJP-headed NDA. Local advocates observed a strike demanding arrest of four persons who had allegedly thrashed one of their colleagues last evening. Satvir Singh Gill was allegedly beaten up by Kohenoor Singh, Gurmeet Singh, Aman and Jaspreet, police said. They added the agitators blocked traffic going toward Ferozepur, Ludhiana and Jalandhar on the GT road, and also staged a dharna in front of a police station. Advocates claimed that the police was protecting the accused persons. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Nearly a dozen flights of Air India were delayed for up to two hours today as a section of pilots continued their protest for the second day over payment and other issues even as the airline served showcause notice to three commanders for alleged dereliction of duty. Seeking to resolve the issues raised by the pilots owing allegiance to Indian Commercial Pilots' Association (ICPA), Air India is expected to hold parleys with them tomorrow even as airline chief Ashwani Lohani warned of "exemplary disciplinary action" against agitating employees. Sources said around 5-10 flights were delayed by half- an-hour to two hours today as more than 70 pilots opted for their "weekly off" impacting services in the domestic network. At the same time, Air India has issued showcause notices to three pilots for not turning up for duty on Sunday, they added. Air India spokesperson was not available for comments. Earlier in the day, Lohani warned of "exemplary disciplinary action" against employees "sabotaging" the progress of the national carrier. In a stern message to employees, he said such acts at this juncture when the airline is looking to achieve a turnaround are "just not acceptable" and shall not be tolerated under any circumstances. Recently, there have been delays/cancellations of flights due to indiscipline by a small section of pilots. Such acts, not only result in revenue loss but also cause inconvenience to passengers, he said. Sources said Air India's Director of Operations has called for a meeting tomorrow with ICPA representatives to discuss their grievances. They, however, said ICPA -- which represents around 750 pilots of narrow-body planes -- is unlikely to soften its stances on their pending issues for which they are demanding resolution at the earliest. "If there are no definite time-bound assurance on resolving the issues by tomorrow evening, then the situation might turn worse," one of the sources said. Another source said ICPA is seeking the intervention of Lohani to resolve the issues. On Sunday, domestic flight services were partially affected a section of ICPA members decided not to report for duty in protest against pending issues related to salary and allowances, besides alleged denial of weekly-off. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The Green Tribunal (NGT) on Monday termed as "very irresponsible" the public statements made by Ravi Shankar's Art of Living (AOL) after an expert panel gave its report on the Yamuna that the organisation's cultural extravaganza had "completely destroyed" the riverbed. The bench's remarks came during the hearing when the counsel for AOL sought extension of time by three weeks for submitting its response to the expert committee's report. "The statements which your client (AOL) had made were very irresponsible. The media reports clearly stated what your client has said. What your client has done is very irresponsible," a bench headed by Chairperson Swatanter Kumar said. In its statement to the media, the AOL had termed the expert committee's report, submitted to the NGT, as "biased" and said it "contains no analysis, no in-depth investigation, no reports of any scientific tests to support the conclusions. The conclusions in the report are merely the opinion of the expert committee without scientific basis. The report does not reflect the true state of the ground." The issue came up when AOL's counsel sought time to file a response to the report, while the counsel for petitioner and environmentalist Manoj Kumar Mishra of Yamuna Jiye Abhiyan said the organisation has already formed its opinion on it as it released the statement to the media just a day after expert panel's report. "The very next day they formed their opinion. If they want time, why did they make their opinion in media," the counsel for the petitioner said. To this, AOL's advocate claimed that the organisation had not done any such thing as alleged by the opposite side and argued that it should not be made a media trial. The tribunal, however, granted a week's time to AOL to file its response to the committee's report. "From the averments made in the application, there is hardly any ground for extension of time. We grant one week's time for filing response. Reply be positively filed by September 12," the bench said, while posting the matter for September 28. AOL had on August 31 moved the tribunal seeking extension of time for submitting its response to the report. A seven-member expert committee headed by Shashi Shekhar, Secretary of Ministry of Water Resources, had opined that the three-day 'World Culture Festival' organised by AOL had not only damaged the floodplain, but the ground too was "now totally levelled, compacted and hardened and is totally devoid of water bodies or depressions and almost completely devoid of any vegetation". The AOL had refuted the findings, saying the committee's report was "biased, unscientific, lacked credibility". The had directed the expert committee of senior scientists and experts from Environmental Engineering Research Institute, IIT-Delhi and other agencies to inspect the site of the AOL festival site which was held in March. The committee, in its 47-page report, had said that due to the three-day event, the floodplain has lost "almost all its natural vegetation" like trees, shrubs, tall grasses, aquatic vegetation including water hyacinth which provides habitat to large number of animals, insects and mud-dwelling organisms. The green panel on March 9 had refused to prohibit the 'World Culture Festival', held from March 11 to 13, but had asked AOL to pay a compensation of Rs 5 crore for damaging biodiversity and aquatic life of Yamuna. (Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Southeast Asian leaders are likely to avoid any official mention at a summit this week of an arbitration ruling that shot down China's expansive territorial claims in the South China Sea, according to a draft of their final declaration, in a victory for Beijing's diplomatic clout. But the draft also expresses strongly stated concern about Beijing's construction of man-made islands in the South China Sea, which Southeast Asian countries fear could destabilize the region. The draft, obtained today by The Associated Press, is being fine-tuned by officials for the leaders to approve ahead of the summit of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations that begins tomorrow in the Laotian capital. The final version is to be released Thursday, but most major points including those concerning the South China Sea are expected to remain largely unchanged. Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte also plans to ask China's premier at a meeting between ASEAN and other regional leaders whether China is trying to develop another disputed reef, Scarborough Shoal, off his country's northwestern coast, Philippine Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana said. Duterte said last week that the Philippine coast guard has sighted Chinese barges at Scarborough, which he said could presage the transformation of the Chinese-held reef into another man-made island. One of the Chinese vessels had what appeared to be a crane, according to a Philippine official who did not want to be identified because he was not authorized to discuss classified intelligence. Lorenzana said surveillance photos taken from boats were blurry so the government deployed a plane on Saturday which spotted 10 Chinese ships, including four coast guard vessels, four others that looked like barges and two vessels that could carry people. One of the vessels had drums and tubes. "This is very worrisome because it's ours," Lorenzana told reporters in Vientiane. "If they succeed in building an island and construct (structures) there, we can't take it back anymore." The Philippine government asked China's ambassador in Manila about the sighting of the Chinese barges, but the envoy denied any island building was under way, Philippine Foreign Secretary Perfecto Yasay told the AP. China sparked widespread alarm when it converted seven reefs in the Spratly Islands into islands that the United States says could be transformed into military bases to reinforce Beijing's territorial claims and intimidate rival claimant countries. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Drug firm Aurobindo Pharma is looking to launch around 200 products in Europe in next four years to add to the company's product portfolio going forward. "The next lever of growth will come from the new products which are being developed. Currently, we have almost 200 products under development for Europe alone and that will be launched over next three to four years...," Aurobindo Pharma COO & Head Formulations Sanjeev Dani told analysts. That will be the driver of growth in Europe, he added. For the first quarter of FY16-17, the company's Europe formulations sales were at Rs 831.2 crore registering 12.1 per cent growth year-on-year. In the formulations segment, EU market accounted for 22 per cent of total sales in the category in the Q1 FY16-17. During the first quarter, Aurobindo had transferred manufacturing of four products from Europe to India. The company has also received the European GMP approval last quarter for its Vizag facility and started receiving product by product approvals. It expects to ship out on a regular basis from January next year. The homegrown major also expects to launch 19 approved products that have an addressable market of USD 6.8 billion in the US in the next three quarters. "We have 19 product families that are approved, that will be launched over the next three quarters and that is for approvals that we have on hand today," Aurobindo Pharma USA CEO Robert Cunard has said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) A teenager who plotted to run over and behead a police officer as part of an Islamic State movement-inspired attack on an Australian Veterans' Day ceremony was sentenced today to 10 years in prison. Sevdet Besim, 19, had faced a maximum sentence of life in prison after pleaded guilty in Victoria state's Supreme Court in June to one count of planning for a terrorist act. Today, the court instead ordered Besim to serve a 10-year prison term, with the possibility of parole after seven-and- -half years. Prosecutors said Besim was involved in a plot to attack last year's services in Melbourne or the neighbouring city of Dandenong marking ANZAC Day, the annual commemoration of the 1915 Gallipoli landings in Turkey. The campaign was the first major military action fought by the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps during World War I and hundreds of thousands of people attend commemoration services around Australia. Police said Besim was motivated by an extremist ideology and had expressed support for the Islamic State group. In court documents, prosecutors said that Besim and a British accomplice had also discussed packing a kangaroo with explosives and painting it with the Islamic State symbol before setting it loose on Australian police officers. The documents don't suggest the alleged kangaroo plot was linked to the ANZAC Day plot. Last year, a British court sentenced a 15-year-old boy from Blackburn, in northwestern England, for his role in the plot. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal today honoured two eminent educationists with the state government's maiden 'Lifetime Achievement Award' on Teacher's Day. In his congratulatory message, he said both Sister Mirabell from Sacred Heart Senior Secondary School, Ludhiana and founder Principal Swaran Singh from Baba Aaya Singh Riarki College, Tugalwala in Gurdaspur district would act as beacons and galvanise their fellow teachers to impart value-based education to the students to enable them become ideal citizens of the society. Badal also congratulated teachers who have been bestowed with prestigious state awards and given appreciation letters for their excellent performance as outstanding teachers. He asked teachers across the state to further excel in the field of education with a sense of utmost devotion, sincerity and commitment. (REOPENS NRG13) Meanwhile, Punjab Education Minister Daljit Singh Cheema honoured two academicians with 'Lifetime Achievement Award', 34 teachers with state award, and 33 teachers, education officers and employees with commendation letters. Sister Mirabell and Swaran Singh were also presented with an amount of Rs one lakh each, a medal, a shawl and a commendation certificate at the state-level function to mark 'Teacher's Day' which was held at CGC Landran here and dedicated to the 50th anniversary of Punjabi Suba. The state awardees were presented with the increased amount of Rs 25,000 each which earlier stood at Rs 10,000. The state awardee 34 teachers were also honoured with a medal, shawl and a commendation certificate. These teachers would also get an extension in service for a period of one year. Besides this, another 33 teachers, education officers, employees were awarded a shawl and a commendation certificate. Cheema while addressing the teachers said the 'Lifetime Achievement' award has been started for the first time to honour those who have devoted their entire life spans to serve the cause of education. He also exhorted the teaching community to take pledge for making Punjab number one in academic sphere. He said after infrastructure, now the target is to make Punjab topmost state academically. A 35-year-old Bangladeshi woman and her ex-partner, likely of Indian origin, were found dead inside a house in Australia with police suspecting it to be a case of murder-suicide. Tasmin Bahar had recently separated from her partner of six years, Dave Pillay, and moved out of the home they shared with their three-year-old daughter, the Sydney Morning Herald reported. But it was Father's Day on Sunday and, despite the relationship troubles they had recently endured, Bahar agreed that their three-year-old daughter should share part of the special day with her dad, her family said. Bahar drove her daughter to the weatherboard home they had previously shared in Smithfield, western Sydney, for the meeting on Sunday. On the same day, a relative visited the house and found the bodies of Bahar and Pillay inside a bathroom, the daily said. The child was found sleeping in the house and was not physically injured. Homicide Squad detectives are treating the case as a possible murder-suicide. Bahar's sister, Sharagin Bahar, said she was in utter shock at the sudden death of her sister, and was flying to their home country of Bangladesh and then on to Sydney, hoping to take custody of her niece, who had now lost both of her parents. "(Bahar) was perfectly fine when I talked to her two days before," Sharagin said. "I am so lost. I just want to take my niece into my custody, I want her with me. I'll take care of her. I'll do whatever is best for her," she said. Police said no other people were wanted over the deaths and the investigation was ongoing. Sharagin said her sister had been in a relationship with Pillay for about six years and had told her that Pillay had allegedly physically threatened her and her daughter in the past. Bahar also told her that she had filed a report with police about the threats, Sharagin alleged. Several weeks ago Bahar moved out of the house with their daughter and rented her own apartment, she said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) "Superman star Henry Cavill would have been in the British Armed Forces if he didn't get into acting. The "Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice" star, however, feels he is too old now to join the army, reported Female First. "Thankfully at this stage I've got my foot in the door enough that if someone tried to slam it shut, I could probably squeeze a little bit and keep the door open," he said. "As far as a full back-up plan, it was the British Armed Forces. But being 33 years old I think I'm too old to join now. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Noting that there is a "big deficiency" in the quality of education in the country despite the presence of institutions like IITs and NITs, President Pranab Mukherjee today said the flow of Indian students to institutions abroad needs to be reversed. "Our IITs, our NITs are excellent so far as campus recruitment is concerned," he said, adding, there are 732 universities and 36,000 degree colleges in the country. Despite this infrastructure, there is a "big deficiency" in terms of quality of education, he said at an event here where National Teachers Awards were conferred upon 364 school teachers from across the country. "Unless we have the quality of education, you cannot build a knowledge society. Unless you build the knowledge society, you cannot occupy your rightful place in the comity of nations," Mukherjee said. He said from 6th century BC to 12 century AD--the heydays of Taxila to the collapse of Nalanda--India was the leading centre of higher education and Indian universities attracted mighty minds from all across the globe in form of teachers and students. "Today, every year more than 60,000 students leave our country for higher education to Oxford, Cambridge, MIT etc. We shall have to make this flow reverse." This reversal of flow cannot be made only in the universities but a beginning has to be made at the primary level, Mukherjee said. He congratulated the teachers who were conferred the award and said primary and secondary education lays the foundation of higher education. He said teachers made a big contribution in terms of social responsibility for the country. HRD Minister Prakash Javadekar and his deputies Upendra Kushwaha and Mahendra Nath Pandey were also present at the event. In his speech, Mukherjee said he was the Visitor of 114 central institutions, including 30 NITs, 16 IITs, 45 universities, management institutions etc. Javadekar also echoed Mukherjee's thoughts, saying while 27 crore students were enrolled and access of education had spread, it was quality which was the biggest challenge. (REOPENS DEL37) Mukherjee also lauded the second President of the country, S Radhakrishnan, on whose birthday Teachers' Day is celebrated. He said he realised that a nation cannot be built unless it rests on the solid foundations of education. This job of nation building, training the minds of young people is done by teachers, who are 'gurus', he said, adding, the 'guru shishya' tradition was an important contribution of India to the world. Javadekar raised the issue of lakhs of teaching posts being vacant in the country and said he would hold a conference with chief ministers and assure the Centre's assistance in this regard. He said the HRD Ministry is focusing on teachers' training and added that there are 5 lakh untrained teachers and whose training is expected to be complete in 3 years. He also spoke about Paldeo, a Madhya Pradesh village he has adopted where the results of the school have drastically improved due to initiatives taken in community participation. Pandey spoke of the importance given to "jigyasu bhaav" (spirit of inquisitiveness) in Gita and said teachers play a role in this regard. Kushwaha spoke about the need for quality education and said while the country has moved ahead, a lot more distance needs to be covered. Union minister Birender Singh today cautioned the people of Haryana against "ill designs" of those who have been trying to "disrupt" the harmony of the state on the basis of caste. He urged the people to unite against such forces. The Steel Minister was speaking at a function in Hisar where he invited the people for the 'gaurav rally' to be held at Rajiv Gandhi Stadium, Jind, on September 11. He said the rally would be a platform to strengthen the atmosphere of harmony in the state. "In the rally, the achievements of the last 50 years (of Haryana) and the roadmap for the next 50 would be laid out," he said. The BJP leader said the state government was working towards raising the economic standard of the people in rural areas by doubling their income, as envisioned by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. He claimed Haryana had left behind Punjab and many other states in terms of foodgrains production, industry and sports, among other fields. With 21 per cent contribution of foodgrains to the central pool, Haryana stands second only to Punjab. One out of every five officers in the Indian Army in 1984 belonged to Punjab, but now this is true for Haryana, he added. Greeting people on the occasion of Teachers Day and Ganesh Chaturthi, Haryana's Finance Minister Abhimanyu said some Union ministers would attend the 'gaurav rally'. BJP chief Amit Shah will also be in attendance, he said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Monday mocked Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) chief Mayawati's assertion that she will crack down on criminals if voted to power in Uttar Pradesh, alleging she has several criminals among her party's ranks and several scams, including in Rural Health Mission (NRHM) and Taj corridor, took place under her rule. In a statement, the saffron party also questioned her commitment to the cause of the dalits, saying the community suffered maximum cases of atrocities when she was in power and claimed that such crimes have come down under the Modi government which has also launched a number of schemes for their welfare. " has no moral right to claim that she will send them behind bars when in power. The Rs 8500-crore NRHM scam during her tenure showcases the story of corruption under her. There were scams in police recruitment, sugar factory, Taj corridor... BSP is an alliance of criminals and the corrupt. It is ridiculous for to say that she will put criminals behind bars," BJP secretary Shrikant Sharma said in the statement. Over 30,000 cases of atrocities against Dalits were registered between 2008 and May 2011 during her tenure and 30 per cent cases of Dalit killings in the country were reported in UP, he said. He alleged that between 2004-14 under the United Progressive Alliance government, which received her support at many occasions, witnessed a whopping 245 per cent rise in such cases against 1994-2003. Mayawati, he claimed, was overlooking the Prime Minister Narendra Modi's pro-Dalit works as it would result in the loss of market rate of the BSP tickets. He also said BSP and ruling Samajwadi Party were hand in glove and that is why action was not taken against UP Minister Azam Khan, who had called the Bulandshahr rape incident a political conspiracy, and BSP leader Naseemuddin Siddiqui, who had allegedly made derogatory remarks against wife and daughter of an expelled BJP leader. "BJP wants to assure the people of UP that criminals and the corrupt will be forced to leave their activity or the state if it comes to power as it will take strong action against them," he said. Iran and Britain appointed new ambassadors to each other's countries today for the first time since a mob ransacked the British embassy in Tehran in 2011. Hamid Baeidinejad, 53, was named as Tehran's envoy to London, ISNA state agency reported. He played a crucial role in the negotiations with world powers that led to last year's nuclear accord and the lifting of international sanctions. Britain appointed Nicholas Hopton -- the current charge d'affairs in Tehran -- as its first ambassador to Iran since relations were severed following the storming of the embassy by students in five years ago. "The upgrade in diplomatic relations gives us the opportunity to develop our discussions on a range of issues, including our consular cases about which I am deeply concerned," British Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson said in a statement, referring to the ongoing detention of dual nationals in Iran. "I hope this will mark the start of more productive cooperation between our countries, enabling us to discuss more directly issues such as human rights and Iran's role in the region, as well as ongoing implementation of the nuclear deal and the expansion of the trading relationship between both our countries," said Johnson. The 2011 attack on the embassy saw a mob rampage for hours through the compound, tearing down the British flag, ripping up pictures of Queen Elizabeth II and trashing offices. The incident followed a vote by lawmakers to expel Britain's ambassador and reduce trade relations in retaliation for nuclear-related sanctions, but the violence was later condemned by Iran's supreme leader and other politicians. The British embassy was reopened in August 2015, a month after the signing of the nuclear accord, during a visit by Johnson's predecessor Philip Hammond. Baeidinejad worked as an expert on disarmament and represented Iran in several roles at the United Nations, including as ambassador between 2008 and 2011. Iran maintains a deep historical distrust of Britain, dating back to the early 20th century when London meddled frequently in Iranian politics in order to secure cheap access to oil for the Anglo-Iranian Oil Company (which later became BP). Britain played a key role in prodding the Central Intelligence Agency into carrying out a coup in 1953, toppling the hugely popular prime minister Mohammad Mosaddegh who had called for Iran's oil to be nationalised. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) A central California jail was examining security measures after an ex-convict shot and wounded two unarmed officers in the lobby, but officials said that they did not plan any immediate changes. After reviewing Saturday's shooting that left correctional Officers Juanita Davila and Toamalama Scanlan in critical condition, authorities will decide whether to alter procedures in the public area of the Fresno County jail, sheriff's spokesman Tony Botti said. Unarmed officers guard the facility and visitors go through metal detectors leading to secure areas, Botti said. Thong Vang, 37, is accused of shooting the officers in the head and neck areas during a struggle and has been booked into jail on suspicion of attempted murder, possessing a handgun as a felon and bringing drugs into a jail. He was placed on a parole hold, Botti said. Vang was released from prison in 2014 after serving 16 years for raping three girls aged 14 and under, Sheriff Margaret Mims said. He had no criminal violations since his release. Botti said he didn't know if Vang had an attorney who could comment on his behalf. Scanlan, who has 10 years of experience, and Davila, an 18-year veteran, approached Vang after he tried to cut to the front of the visitors' line and began pacing near a secure area of the jail. The officers were trying to get him to sit down when shots rang out. About 15 people, including small children, ran to safety. Officers inside the jail ran to the lobby, where a lieutenant shot at Vang, who returned fire, Botti said. No one was hit. Officers tried to subdue Vang with a stun gun, but he would not give up and ran to the hallway of the jail records area, authorities said. When confronted by sheriff's deputies and a Fresno police officer, Vang dropped his weapon and told authorities he wanted to be arrested, Botti said. The injured officers were dragged out of the lobby and taken to the hospital to undergo surgery. Vang was taken to the hospital for minor scrapes and cuts. Christy Rodriguez told the Fresno Bee newspaper that she and a woman with a walker hid in the bathroom after they heard the gunshots. Moments later, an officer yelled at them to get out of the building. "This is crazy. This isn't supposed to happen," Rodriguez said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Can a company initiate criminal defamation case against a person? The Supreme Court today agreed to examine the issue while seeking a response from the government on it. "It is an important issue. We can't just let it go. The issue needs to be examined," a bench of Justices J S Khehar and Arun Mishra said while issuing notice to the Centre on a plea filed by Greenpeace activist Priya Pillai against whom Mahan Coal Ltd has filed a criminal defamation case for allegedly carrying out negative publicity and protests over purported irregularities in mining activities. Senior advocate Shyam Diwan appearing for the Greenpeace activist said that companies did have reputation but asked whether they could file criminal defamation. The bench said "it is a statutory issue and not a constitutional issue" and added that what difference does it have in case of a corporation or a company. Diwan said that company can have a civil remedy but not criminal recourse. To this, the bench asked why does it not have legal criminal recourse. "Suppose if anyone one wants to destroy business by destroying reputation, then why can't (it have) criminal recourse." Diwan said that a company has reputation but it does not have right to life. The bench said the issue needs to be looked into. BJP leader Subramanian Swamy, who also sought impleadment in the matter, said the recent judgement of the apex court upholding the defamation law did not deal with several issues. He said that whole dispute was centred around public personalities and the matter should be sent to a five-judge constitution bench. "You are a parliamentarian. If Parliament feels, it can change law. Why leave the matters for us to take a call," Justice Khehar said, adding that on next hearing, the court will see whether Swamy's impleadment plea can be allowed. Pillai in her petition said "The petitioner is the victim of an abuse of justice and process, by which the respondent through Mahan Coal has used the criminal defamation provision in a strategy against public participation, association, discussion and advocacy. The activist in her plea said that lodging of a criminal defamation case was not limited to this instance alone, but was "part of a pattern of strategic lawsuits against public participation whereby the corporations are using criminal defamation provisions, to persecute and limit the discussions and advocacy, and association around issues concerning issues of public interest and participation. "With the intent of crippling the ability of petitioner, of forests community residents and of members and supporters of Greenpeace India Society, to exercise their constitutionally protected rights to freedom of association and freedom of expression, the respondent has embarked on a strategy designed to hijack the Indian justice system for its on private ends, using the criminal defamation provisions to file the instant case not only against the petitioner but also against the international executive director of Greenpeace International," Pillai's plea said. It said that "corporations do not have the same right or interest to be protected as individual citizen from defamation, thus individuals such as directors, being allowed to file for alleged defamations as 'some persons aggrieved' in section 199 CrPC for the harm of reputation to a company because he can legitimately feel the 'pinch of it' is an unconstitutional restriction on the Freedom of Speech and Association with no compelling reasons pursuant to Article 19(2) of the Constitution." It said, "a corporate entity cannot be imprisoned for criminal defamation and can only be fined. As such in the interest of Article 14 and equality before the law, it should be able to seek damages, not imprisonment". CBI has filed a charge sheet against nine doctors in a case of alleged impersonation during a test conducted by the National Board of Examination for allowing medical graduates from foreign institutes to practise here. The case relates to three pass-outs of Dagestan State Medical Academy, Russia -- Avinash Gupta, Prashant Mishra and Ashish Verma -- who allegedly hired services of three doctors employed in Uttar Pradesh government hospitals to clear the examination in 2013, CBI sources said. The medical graduates of foreign institutes have to clear the examination to be eligible for registration by the Medical Council of India which permits them to set up clinics or get employed in a hospital in India. CBI Spokesperson R K Gaur said the case was registered in January, 2015 on the allegations of criminal conspiracy and forgery against the students of the Russian institute. He said after a thorough investigation, a charge sheet has been filed against nine doctors for alleged criminal conspiracy, cheating, forgery among others. It is alleged that Rs 4.5 lakh was paid by each of the pass-outs to their dummy candidates -- Yogesh Mishra and Manoj Gupta of Ganesh Shankar Vidyathi Medical College Kanpur and Santosh Jaiswal of King George's Medical College, Lucknow, the sources said. They said the dummy candidates are working in various medical institutes of the state government. Besides the six, three other doctors -- Meraj Alam Siddique, Khurshid Ahmed and Nazrool Huda Khan -- who allegedly acted as middlemen in the deal with dummy candidates have also been named in the charge sheet. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) cases in Delhi have shot up to 560, according to a municipal report released on Monday, even as hospitals in the city continue to be swamped by patients affected by this vector-borne disease. The South Delhi Municipal Corporation (SDMC) which compiles the vector-borne disease cases report on behalf of all civic bodies, had pegged the total number of cases till August 27 at 432. The 128 fresh cases in one week measures far too little compared to its cases being reported at hospitals, on an average close to 200 per week. Only 20 cases were diagnosed in the national capital till August 20, according to SDMC. However, Safdarjung Hospital itself reported nearly 250 cases till August 29. Doctors say the cases are further likely to rise. " cases have spiked in the city. We are getting more and more patients with its symptoms. Till August 29, our hospital reported 246 cases," Medical Superintendent of Safdarjung Hospital A K Rai said. At the AIIMS laboratories, which get blood samples from Delhi and other parts of the country, 362 samples were tested positive for chikungunya during July to August 20. "Out of 133 samples sent to our labs, 83 were tested positive in July and this month till August 20, out of 502 samples, 279 tested positive for chikungunya," Department of Microbiology at AIIMS, Lalit Dar, had earlier said. Chikungunya is a viral illness and its symptoms are similar to those of dengue, which include high-grade fever, severe joint pain, muscle pain and headache and joint swelling. It also causes rashes in patients but is not a threat like dengue in which there is a risk of bleeding due to abrupt fall in platelet count. Meanwhile, IMA President-Elect Dr K K Aggarwal cautioned about chikungunya virus (CHIKV) that can cause CHIKV-associated encephalitis. "Children younger than 1 year and adults aged 65 years or older have the highest incidence of CHIKV-associated encephalitis," he said, while claiming such cases are occurring in Delhi. The sudden spike in chikungunya cases in Delhi and several other parts of north India, has come nearly 10 years after a big outbreak of the mosquito-borne disease across the country. In 2006, over 13 lakh suspected chikungunya fever cases were reported across the country, according to National Vector Borne Disease Control Programme (NVBDCP). This year till July 28, 9,990 suspected cases of the disease have been recorded, with Karnataka reporting 7,591 cases. experts have attributed the rise to a possible "evolution" in the virus that carries this disease and change in weather factors like humidity. "The disease is caused by the same aedes aegypti mosquito which causes dengue but the difference is that dengue virus has four strains while chikungunya has only one," NVBDCP Director Dr A C Dhariwal said. "The joint pains last longer compared to dengue cases and especially elderly people find it extremely difficult. Though, people should not worry as it not a life-threatening disease like dengue," Dar said. agreed on steps towards reducing its politically volatile steel exports but avoided binding commitments, as leaders of major economies ended a summit with a crowded agenda that also included trade, the Koreas and Syria. Beijing made boosting sluggish global growth through increased trade a theme of the Group of 20 meeting in this lakeside city southwest of Shanghai, but faces complaints that a flood of low-cost Chinese steel exports threatens US and European jobs, encouraging calls for trade curbs. In a joint communique due to be released after the meeting, agreed to the creation of a global forum to study excess production capacity in the steel industry, according to Japan's Nikkei and Yomiuri newspapers. They cited unidentified Japanese diplomats. The agreement included no binding limits on Chinese output. Chinese officials insist steel overcapacity is a global issue, but US and European officials say Beijing's vast state-owned industry, which accounts for half of global output, is the root of the problem. Washington has hiked import duties by 500 per cent on Chinese steel to offset what it says are improper subsidies. President Barack Obama, Chinese President Xi Jinping and other leaders at the two-day meeting called for efforts to defend free trade in the face of economic anxiety that has fuelled demands in the United States and Europe to protect local industry. hopes its status as this year's G-20 leader will increase its influence in global economic management. Chinese officials want the grouping, created to respond to the 2008 financial crisis, to take on a longer-term regulatory role. The meeting was frequently overshadowed by other concerns and got off to a rocky start on Saturday when there was no staircase at the airport for Obama to exit his plane. Obama used an alternative exit, but quarrels broke out on the tarmac and at other venues over access by US officials and the travelling press. Overwhelming security characterised the gathering throughout, with Hangzhou, a city of 2.5 million, brought to a standstill to facilitate the event. North Korea added to the drama on Monday with the firing of three ballistic missiles off its east coast. The US says the tests and other recent ones like it violate UN Security Council resolutions, and also pose a threat to aircraft and commercial ships in the region. At around the same time, Xi was telling his South Korean counterpart, Park Gyun-hye, that China is opposed to the deployment of a powerful US Anti-missile system in South Korea. China's leader Xi Jinping and Japan's Shinzo Abe sought to reset their countries' troubled relationship today at their first meeting in over a year, with the Japanese prime minister calling China an "important friend". The Asian giants have been at loggerheads over territorial disputes and historical animosity, but Xi said they should "put aside disruptions", the official agency Xinhua said. Their ties were "troubled by complications at times", it cited the Chinese president as saying, but they should seek to return to normal development for the sake of regional peace and stability. For his part Abe described China as "an important friend of Japan's since long ago". "We need to look at the big picture and work to improve relations," he told reporters after the meeting. The tone of the two leaders' comments after a G20 summit in Hangzhou was a marked improvement on the last time they met on Chinese soil, on the sidelines of an APEC gathering in 2014, when they could barely conceal their mutual distaste. Ties later thawed, but tensions have been rising again in recent months. The relationship between the two powers is crucial to Asian stability, and Abe said they were "both responsible for the region's peace and prosperity as well as the global economy". But they have a longstanding dispute over islands in the East China Sea controlled by Japan, which knows them as Senkaku, and claimed by China, which calls them Diaoyu. Just weeks before the summit, hundreds of Chinese fishing boats, accompanied by government ships, flooded into nearby waters, infuriating Tokyo and raising questions about Beijing's intentions for the relationship. Meanwhile, Japan has weighed in on another Chinese territorial dispute in the South China Sea, where Beijing has built artificial islands capable of supporting military facilities. Abe has vocally criticised China for rejecting a July ruling by an international tribunal that said its extensive claims to the strategically vital waters had no legal basis. Today's rapprochement only went so far. Xi told Abe that Japan should "exercise caution in its words and deeds" on the issue, Xinhua said. And Abe reiterated his stance, saying: "Any dispute has to be solved peacefully and diplomatically under international law, not through power or intimidation." "Since we are neighbours, we have a variety of problems," he said. "So therefore, it is important to have dialogue." The two agreed to accelerate talks on an air and sea communications hotline between their defence ministries, he added. Last week Japan's defence ministry requested a record budget, including funds for an anti-ship missile system to defend the East China Sea islands. Beijing has the world's largest military at its disposal and the tensions have at times raised fears of clashes between them. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) A religious outfit called Believers Church has decided to provide relief materials to 4,000 families in flood-affected Bihar, its office bearer K P Yohannan said today. "We have earmarked Rs 50 lakh for providing assistance, including relief materials, to 4,000 families in various flood-affected districts of Bihar," he said in a statement. The volunteers of Believers Church have also reached out to 800 'most-affected' families and distributed relief materials like food packets, tarpaulin and other essential goods to then, Yohannan, a Metropolitan Bishop of the religious outfit said. He said the Christian outfit has set up its relief camps in flood-affected districts like Kishanganj, Araria, Katihar and Purnia in the first week of last month and provided packaged dry food items like sattu (lentil powder), chana grain (lentil), jaggery, bread and other eatables among the affected families. Besides, the volunteers of the church were also helping in re-construction of physical infrastructure for the affected families like houses, besides supplying free tarpaulin and other relief materials to them, Yohannan said. In the second phase, the Believers Church, Patna diocese proposed to conduct relief work among 3,200 more families in the six other flood-affected districts, he said. Food packets containing beaten rice, chana, jaggery, sugar, tea leaf, salt etc and utility packets containing candles, matches, bathing soap, washing soaps etc will be distributed in these flood hit regions, the Believers Church Metropolitan Bishop said. The team was also evacuating some families stranded in the flood-hit areas and helping them shift out to safer places where the arrangements for food, shelter and medical facilities have been made for them, he said. Commenting on the plight of flood-affected people in Bihar, Bishop Juria Bardhan, Kolkata Diocese, said, "People of the flood affected regions are going through a tough phase especially children... It is our utmost duty to help them by providing basic needs like food, shelter, water and medical facilities." "With the help of our disaster management team, we are helping families of the affected region in the best possible way we can," Bardhan said. The Believers Church is a Christian denomination with congregations and parishes worldwide and over 2.6 million followers in 10 countries. The Church at present has eleven Bishops who impart spiritual and administrative leadership to various activities of the Church. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Delhi Police has registered a complaint against AAP leader for his remarks in his blog in defence of sacked AAP minister Sandeep Kumar facing the charge of rape. The complaint filed at Jyoti Nagar Police Station in northeast Delhi has demanded police send for a "mental check up" and register a case against him under appropriate law. Complainant Subodh Jain, RTI activist and former journalist, said Ashutosh's argument in defence of Sandeep Kumar that it was a matter of his "personal life" is a sign of his "warped mindset". "Now that the debauchery of his own party leader has been exposed Ashuotosh's argument of private life and his questioning of Mahatma Gandhi's character is a sign of his warped mindset," Jain said in his complaint. The complainant further added that Ashutosh's "low-grade" argument has "deeply hurt" him as well as a large number of people in the country and all over world. in a blog had referred to the reported relationships of Mahatma Gandhi and Jawaharlal Nehru with women to defend Kumar over the "objectionable" CD showing him in a compromising position with a woman and claimed that he was sacked as a minister for "perception management". "We have received the complaint against Ashutosh and it is being looked into for further action. No case has been registered so far," said a senior police officer. Ashutosh has come under sharp attack from Opposition parties as well as some AAP leaders, who have criticised his blog in support of Kumar drawing parallels with Mahatma Gandhi, Jawaharlal Nehru and Atal Bihari Vajpayee. Delhi Congress chief, Ajay Maken (lifting his hand), along with his colleagues holding a silent protest against AAP leader Ashutosh at Rajghat in Delhi. ( Photo: PTI ) Congress leaders on Monday observed a "maun vrat" (silent protest) at Rajghat in Delhi to protest against Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader Ashutosh's remarks on Mahatma Gandhi and other leaders including Jawaharlal Nehru and Atal Bihari Vajpayee. "It is the same which took birth at the feet of Mahatma Gandhi at his samadhi at Rajghat, and now its leader Ashutosh is insulting him with his disparaging remarks in his blog," Ajay Maken, who led the Congress protest, said. The Delhi Congress chief said the blog also cast aspersions on former prime ministers Nehru and Vajpayee and this silent protest is to pray for wisdom to leaders, including Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and Ashutosh. and its leaders have brought the level of to an unbelievably low level, he alleged, adding that the big difference between the words and deeds of the party and its leaders has become apparent now. "The political discourse by the AAP has hit such an abysmal level that it cannot be even visualised how this party, which swore by Mahatma Gandhi, could sink to such a low level," Maken said. Ashutosh has come under sharp attack from Opposition parties as well as some AAP leaders, who have criticised his blog in support of expelled party MLA Sandeep Kumar, arrested on rape charge, drawing parallels with Gandhi, Nehru and Vajpayee. Former Union minister Shashi Tharoor has alleged that BJP is trying to "hijack" Indian history for political purposes and said Congress will not let it reduce the country to a "Hindu Pakistan". "We will not let them run away with the history or hijack it for their political purposes. We are not going to let BJP reduce India to a Hindu Pakistan," he said in his speech on "rewriting history and redefining nationalism". He said the new ruling doctrine in the country has sought to redefine Indian nationalism in "more sectarian terms". "BJP stood aside from the freedom struggle and sometimes actively collaborated with the colonial rulers. They, instead of accepting that at one time they were on the wrong side of the history, want us to believe that they are the true nationalists of India," he said. "BJP is appropriating the heroes of the Indian independence," he alleged. Tharoor said: "In the run up to the 2014 Lok Sabha polls, comparisons were drawn between Narendra Modi and the country's first Home Minister Sardar Vallabh Bhai Patel. This showed a lack of understanding of history." "It took Modi three-four days to take action in the 2002 post-Godhra riots but during the 1947 riots, Patel took prompt measures to ensure the safety of Muslims in the national capital," he said. "Patel personally went to Nizamuddin Dargah and prayed for the Muslim community. Can you imagined Modi going to a dargah for Muslims?" he said. The senior Congress leader said his party will always oppose what is not in the interest of the nation. "We are a constructive opposition. The Modi government passed many bills which were initiated by the UPA government and BJP had opposed them at that time. "Jan Dhan scheme, Insurance Bill, GST, Aadhar, they all were UPA's initiatives and we should welcome if the government has done it, but we will oppose what is not in the interest of the nation," he said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) West Bengal Congress president Adhir Chowdhury today alleged that ruling Trinamool Congress paid Rs three crore to CPI(M) MLA Dipali Biswas to switch side, a charge denied by the legislator. "I had a talk with Dipali Biswas's husband who said they got Rs 3 crore to join Trinamool Congress. He said it was a huge amount for them and they could not withstand the temptation," Chowdhury alleged while addressing an orientation programme of Congress workers here in Malda district. Biswas and a Congress MLA of Bankura district joined TMC at the party's 'martyrs day rally' in Kolkata on July 21. The CPI(M) MLA from Gazole denied the allegation. "Chowdhury has lost his mental balance as he failed to keep his own flocks together. People do not believe him any more. He needs medical treatment," Biswas told PTI. The WBPCC president said it takes 148 seats to get majority in West Bengal and TMC secured 211 seats but Mamata Banerjee is still not satisfied. "It appears she has become a political omnivore and is ready to commit all types of illegal acts to satiate this hunger," he alleged. In the last Assembly election, 2.45 crore people voted for TMC while opposition parties secured 2.15 crore votes and the difference is only 30 lakh, Chowdhury said. So it turns out that TMC got only 38 more votes than opposition in each of the 70,000 booths of the state, he said adding as Mamata Banerjee knows that the opposition can easily bridge this small difference, she is scared. That is why TMC is either engineering defection or implicating opposition party workers and leaders in false cases, Chowdhury alleged. TMC, which drew a blank in Congress stronghold Malda district in the last Assembly poll held around four months ago, gained control of Malda Zilla Parishad after 14 Congress and Left members defected to TMC on August 22. Congress and CPI(M)-led Left Front fought the Assembly election in an alliance. Congress district president Mausam Benajir Noor, however, claimed the party still enjoys majority in Parishad. "TMC's claim to have secured majority in Malda Zilla Parishad is baseless and we will prove that the majority is still with us," she said in the same programme. On the Supreme Court verdict on Singur, Chowdhury said it was originally farmers' movement and Banerjee came later. Though Banerjee is trying to project that the verdict came because of her, the case that brought this judgement was not filed by anyone associated with TMC, he added. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Curfew in parts of Srinagar and restrictions in the rest of Kashmir continued today as normal life in the Valley remained paralysed for 59th day due to the violent protests that followed the killing of Hizbul Mujahideen militant Burhan Wani in July. "Curfew has been imposed in seven police station areas of Srinagar city today," a police official said. He said while the curfew continued in five police station areas in downtown locality of the city, the curbs were imposed in Batamaloo and Maisuma areas in uptown city this morning. "This has been done to maintain law and order," the official said. He said curfew-like restrictions on the movement of people were in place in the rest of the Valley. "Security forces have been deployed in strength in sensitive areas to maintain law and order," the official said. More than 200 persons were injured in clashes between protestors and security forces in the Valley on Tuesday even as an all party delegation was here to assess the ground situation. While the delegation met mainstream political parties and other civil society members, the separatist groups refused to talk to them. Meanwhile, normal life remained affected in Kashmir due to the separatist sponsored strike on 59th day. Shops, business establishments and petrol pumps continued to remain shut during the day time. Schools, colleges and other educational institutions also continued to remain closed. However, the attendance in government offices and banks has showed signs of improvement since the past few days, the official said. Public transport continued to be off the roads. The separatists have extended the shutdown programme till September 8. As many as 71 persons, including two police personnel, have been killed and several thousand others injured in the clashes between protesters and security forces in the Valley since Wani was killed in an encounter in south Kashmir on July 8. A 25-year-old woman has become the latest victim of dengue in Delhi taking to nine the count of fatalities due to the vector-borne disease, even as the number of people testing positive for it crossed 770. Out of the total number of cases this season, August alone had accounted for 652. According to a municipal report released today, at least 771 cases were reported till September 3, marking a rise of nearly 60 per cent from the count last week. Civic authorities which had till yesterday maintained the death tally at two, today updated the figure to four. 25-year-old Iram Khan, a native of Meerut, who lived in Jamia Nagar in south Delhi, succumbed to dengue on August 31 at the Apollo Hospital. South Delhi Municipal Corporation which complies the report on vector-borne diseases on behalf of all civic bodies here, also acknowledged the death from dengue of Nazish Khan, who had died on August 12. Nazish, 38, sister-in-law of Okhla MLA Amanatullah Khan, had died of dengue shock syndrome at Apollo Hospital. 12-year-old Muskan, a resident of Shaheen Bagh here, had died on July 29, while Deepak (19), from Jaunpur in Uttar Pradesh, succumbed to the disease on July 27, both at Safdarjung Hospital. Besides, five other fatalities have been reported by different hospitals in the city, which have not been acknowledged yet by the SDMC. Two-and-a-half-year-old girl Usra had succumbed to dengue at Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital on September 1, while three-year-old girl Noma died at Apollo Hospital on August 28. 18-year-old youth Asad Iqbal, a native of Bihar, had succumbed to the deadly disease on August 28 at Apollo Hospital. Safdarjung Hospital had recently reported another dengue death that took place late July. This year, dengue cases have been reported rather early. The vector-borne disease had claimed its first victim on July 21 when a girl from Jafrabad in northeast Delhi died at Lok Nayak Jai Prakash (LNJP) Hospital. 487 cases of the vector-borne disease were reported till August 27, while 284 cases came to light in the last week alone. Last year, the city saw a staggering 15,867 dengue cases -- the worst in 20 years -- with the disease claiming 60 lives, as per municipal reports. In 2015, only six cases were reported in June, while 36 were registered in July. In 1996, a severe outbreak of dengue had occurred in Delhi when about 10,252 cases and 423 deaths were reported. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) A possible US drone strike killed seven suspected Al-Qaeda operatives in central Yemen, a security official said. The official said a missile fired by what was "probably an American drone" hit an apartment building in the Al-Wadi area of Marib province, east of the capital Sanaa, killing seven people late yesterday. The United States, which rarely acknowledges its years-long unmanned drone campaign in Yemen, is thought to have carried out dozens of strikes against what it says are Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) members. AQAP and the Islamic State group have exploited a power vacuum created by the conflict between the government and Iran-backed rebels to expand their presence in the Arabian Peninsula country. The US has vowed to continue its campaign against AQAP, which it considers to be the Al-Qaeda network's deadliest franchise. A Saudi-led Arab military coalition that backs the Yemeni government has also turned its sights on AQAP, targeting it with air strikes. The coalition is supporting pro-government forces which launched an offensive this year to retake several towns from AQAP. More than 6,600 people have been killed in the Yemeni conflict since March 2015, the UN says. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Delhi University's election committee has issued notices to all those who had filed nominations for the varsity's student union polls over use of printed posters for campaigning. As per Lyngdoh committee recommendations, the candidates in student union polls can only campaign using handmade posters and not printed ones. However, walls full of such posters in DU's North Campus are a common sight every year. "We have issued notices to all students who filed their nominations including those who are contesting the polls for violating the code of conduct, NGT order and Lyngdoh committee recommendation by using printed material for campaigning," said D S Rawat, Chief Election Commissioner for DUSU polls. "They have been given time of 24 hours to reply following which the decision will be taken on their candidature," he added. DUSU is the representative body of the students from most colleges and faculties. Apart from DUSU, which is an umbrella council, each college also has its own students' union for which they hold separate elections. The elections for the student body are scheduled for September 9 and the students' wings of various political parties have intensified their campaign. A total of 91 candidates are in the fray for the four crucial posts of DUSU. There are 27 candidates for the post of president, 19 for vice-president, 24 for secretary and 21 for the post of joint secretary. 22 nominations were rejected during scrutiny by the election committee. Last year, the DUSU polls were swept by BJP-affiliated Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) trouncing Congress' National Students' Union of India (NSUI) and AAP's Chhatra Yuva Sangharsh Samiti (CYSS) to bag all four positions -- president, vice president, secretary and joint secretary. Though Delhi University officially does not recognise any political outfit, students who contest the polls are backed by different political parties. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Prime Minister Narendra Modi today asked G20 leaders to act to eliminate safe havens for economic offenders, unconditionally extradite money launderers and end excessive banking secrecy, asserting that fighting corruption and blackmoney was central to effective financial governance. In his intervention on the second day of the G20 Summit in this east Chinese city, Modi said fighting corruption, blackmoney and tax evasion were central to effective financial governance. To achieve that, he said, "we need to act to eliminiate safe havens for economic offenders, track down and unconditionally extradite money launderers and break down the web of complex international regulations and excessive banking secrecy that hide the corrupt and their deeds". The prime minister said a stable global economic and financial system is imperative for growth as it promotes inclusive and sustainable growth. He called for further strengthening of the global financial safety net. "We need a regular dialogue between the IMF, Regional Financial Arrangements and Bilateral Swap Arrangements. Important mechanisms like financial stability board should stick to their core mandate," External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Vikas Swarup quoted the Prime Minister as saying in a series of tweets. "IMF should remain a quota-based institution and not depend on borrowed resources," Modi said emphasing that the "long-delayed 15th General Review of Quotas must be completed by 2017 Annual Meetings." Modi also said India needs energy to support its development. A "balanced mix of nuclear, renewal energy and fossil fuels are at the core of our policy." G20 member-states represent 85 per cent of the world's GDP. Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, South Korea, Turkey, the UK, the US and the European Union make the G20. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar today exhorted teachers to teach students with a missionary zeal and ensure that they outshine them. Interacting with students of Class IX and X at a government school here, he said "Knowledge is vast and it has no limit," adding that "There is no limit to learning." He paid floral tributes to former President Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan, in whose memory Teachers' Day is celebrated. The 62-year-old chief minister, who passed Class X examinations in 1970, said, the education system has now considerably changed and the use of computers has become necessary. He added he learnt about computers when he was 30 years old while children as young as 5 years are able to use it nowadays. Regarding tuitions, he said almost all students now go for tuitions but during his times, this practice was not appreciated. Khattar added that "students should acquire knowledge from different mediums be it teacher, literature, computer and continue to strive ahead." On being asked about his favourite subjects, he said he has a special interest in mathematics and physics, adding that he wanted to become a doctor, but it could not happen because of the circumstances. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Several farmers' unions today held protests at various places in Punjab in support of their demands including debt waiver and compensation to families of farmers who committed suicides. A large number of farmers assembled at district headquarters at 16 locations and staged protests and blocked road traffic against the SAD-BJP led government in the state for its "anti-farmers" policies. "Protests were held in Mansa, Bathinda, Barnala, Sangrur, Moga, Amritsar, Patiala and Muktsar," said Sukhdev Singh Kokri, general secretary, Bhartiya Kisan Union (Ugrahan). "Farmers in large number supported the indefinite protest," Kokri said, adding that "Unions had decided that farmers would not return to their homes till their demands were met." He said police had stopped him at various places from marching towards Chandigarh to hold protest, while alleging that "In Tarn Taran, police resorted to cane charge in which several farmers sustained injuries." In Moga, around 100 farmers blocked kishanpura Dharamkot road when police did not allow them to go towards Chandigarh to hold their protest in early hours. Farmers lifted their dharna after 2 PM following which normal traffic resumed. In Chandigarh, security personnel were deployed in strength at Chandigarh-Mohali border areas in the wake of protest. Leaders of various unions criticized the present government at the Centre for not addressing the long pending issues of farmers. They also lashed out at Parkash Singh Badal government in the state, alleging that number of farmers suicides have increased during SAD-BJP regime as the regime "failed" to address farmers' concerns. The leaders also sought Rs 5-lakh compensation to families of suicide victims as well as a government job for one of their kin and new tubewell connections along with the installation cost and 24-hour supply to the farm sector The unions include BKU (Dakonda), Jhanda Singh Jethuke of BKU (Ugrahan), Chhinder Singh of BKU (Krantikari) and Jasvir Singh of Azad Kisan Sangharsh Committee. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) A fire at a prison housing political prisoners in the Ethiopian capital has killed at least one person, the government said today, but local media gave a much higher toll. The blaze erupted Saturday at Addis Ababa's high security Qilinto prison and was followed by gunfire, according to local and social media. Amateur videos posted online showed a thick plume of dark smoke rising from the site on the outskirts of the city. Local media reports that at least 20 people may have died were contradicted by a government statement. "One person was dead and six others were slightly injured by the fire," said a report published by the state-controlled Fana Broadcasting Corporation. Qilinto houses many of those arrested in an ongoing government crackdown against months of protests in the central Oromo region and elsewhere. Human Rights Watch estimates that more than 400 people involved in the anti-government protests have been killed by security forces since November. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) For the first time, scientists have confirmed the birth of rare identical twin puppies born to an Irish wolfhound in South Africa. The puppies were first suspected to be twins when, during their birth last year, veterinarian Kurt De Cramer at the Rant en Dal Animal Hospital in South Africa observed that the two puppies had shared a single placenta. The puppies' mother had been straining to give birth for several hours and was taken to De Cramer, who performed a Cesarean section. He delivered the mother's other five puppies, each with its own placenta. De Cramer thought it possible that the placenta-sharing puppies were monozygotic twins. When the puppies were two weeks old, researchers drew blood samples and sent them for genetic testing. "I wasn't sure that they were going to be monozygotic at that time," Carolynne Joone, a veterinarian and lecturer at James Cook University in Australia told the 'Live Science'. "They did look very alike, but they weren't completely identical. There were slight differences in the puppies' white markings," she said. The DNA showed that the puppies had identical genes on 40 different markers that are commonly used in such testing. A second DNA analysis, done with samples taken from cheek swabs, confirmed that the dogs were identical. The differences in white marking patterns are likely due to differences in gene expression between the two puppies, Joone said. Since this is the first documented case, researchers think that monozygotic twins in canines are rare, she said. However, it is also possible that such twins are born more frequently than thought, but go undetected, she added. The research appears in the journal Reproduction in Domestic Animals. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Two motorcycle-borne men today allegedly robbed a Forest Department officer of Rs 10 lakh at Chauki Bag Bahadur under Kotwali police station here. According to SP (city) Alok Priyadarshi, the miscreants were "partially" identified and efforts were on to nab them. "We had sealed the state border but they managed to escape," he said, adding that habitual offenders, known to indulge in this kind of activities, have been rounded up. Range Officer Mukesh Meena (50) had gone to a bank. "After collecting Rs 10 lakh cash and keeping the money in a bag, he was about to get into his car at around 11.30 am when two motorcycle-borne men snatched the bag and fled," DFOSK Shukla said. Meena and Forest Department guard Padam Singh, who was accompanying him, chased the culprits but they managed to flee. The bank is hardly at a distance of 50 metres from the Chauki Bag Bahadur police outpost. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Islamic State group fighters could flee to Egypt or Tunisia after being flushed from their former Libyan stronghold of Sirte, French Defence Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian warned today. "We should begin to look seriously at the question of the spread of the terrorists once Sirte... (is) emptied of the terrorists," Le Drian told a defence conference in Paris. "They don't disappear. There's a new risk that appears," he said, adding: "Indirectly this will pose new risks for Tunisia and Egypt." He said it was a "shame, perhaps political reasons prevent it, that all the neighbouring states of Libya don't meet" over the issue. Backed by weeks of US air strikes, forces loyal to Libya's Government of National Accord (GNA) have recaptured nearly all of what had been the jihadists' main stronghold in north Africa. Pro-GNA forces launched a new attack on Saturday against IS in Sirte, saying yesterday it could take several days to gain full control of the city. A former French budget minister went on trial Monday for hiding his wealth in tax havens around the world while at the same time leading the government's fight against tax evasion. Jerome Cahuzac appeared in a Paris court on charges of tax fraud and money laundering that saw him resign in 2013 in one of the biggest political scandals under President Francois Hollande. The 64-year-old former cosmetic surgeon is accused of concealing at least 687,000 euros (USD 766,000) in income from tax authorities in 2009-2012. He's also accused of laundering money in 2003-2013 through foreign bank accounts in Switzerland and Singapore and dummy companies in Panama and the Seychelles. Cahuzac, who acknowledged evading taxes for two decades, faces up to seven years in prison and a 1 million-euro (USD 1.1 million) fine if convicted. The fraud helped him finance a lavish lifestyle, such as expensive vacations, court documents show. Investigators discovered that Cahuzac paid bills to one luxury hotel for a total of 127,000 euros (USD 142,000) for several stays with his ex-wife and their three children. With the French presidential election eight months away, the trial is sure to revive voters' memories of the scandal that tarnished Hollande's mandate just a few months after the socialist president was elected in 2012, promising higher taxes on the rich. Hollande is widely expected to seek a second term next spring. On trial today alongside Cahuzac are his former wife Patricia Menard; a banker; a legal adviser; and bank Reyl, a respectable but little-known Swiss establishment, all accused of money laundering. Cahuzac and Menard entered the court today without speaking to reporters and sat separately as the judge summarized the case. The trial is expected to last two weeks. Menard is accused of hiding 2.5 million euros (USD 2.8 million) from French tax authorities and laundering money in the British tax haven of the Isle of Man and in Switzerland, allowing her to buy two London apartments estimated at around 3 million euros overall. The Cahuzac couple has already paid 2.3 million euros (USD 2.6 million) in back taxes to French authorities. The scandal was magnified by the fact that it involved France's top tax-enforcement official and that as a minister Cahuzac publicly lied to Parliament and to the French people. French law does not sanction perjury. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) India, China, the US and other G20 leaders today pledged to continue supporting international tax co-operation to achieve globally fair and modern international tax system, foster growth and refrain from competitive devaluation of currencies. "We will continue our work on addressing cross-border financial flows derived from illicit activities, including deliberate trade misinvoicing, which hampers the mobilisation of domestic resources for development...," said the G20 Leaders' Communique after the two-day summit here. The leaders vowed that they "will continue our support for international tax co-operation to achieve a globally fair and modern international tax system and foster growth, including advancing ongoing co-operation on Base Erosion and Profit Shifting (BEPS), exchange of tax information, tax capacity-building of developing countries and tax policies to promote growth and tax certainty". G20 member-states represent 85 per cent of the world's GDP. Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, South Korea, Turkey, the UK, the US and the European Union make the G20. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who participated in the Summit, also held several bilateral meetings on the sidelines. The leaders said growth must be shored up by well- designed and co-ordinated policies. "We are determined to use all policy tools - monetary, fiscal and structural - individually and collectively to achieve our goal of strong, sustainable, balanced and inclusive growth," the communique said. Monetary policy, they said, will continue to support economic activity and ensure price stability, consistent with central banks' mandates, but monetary policy alone cannot lead to balanced growth. Underscoring the essential role of structural reforms, "we emphasise that our fiscal strategies are equally important to support our common growth objectives. We are using fiscal policy flexibly and making tax policy and public expenditure more growth-friendly...". Our relevant authorities will consult closely on exchange markets, they said. "We reaffirm our previous exchange rate commitments, including that we will refrain from competitive devaluations and we will not target our exchange rates for competitive purposes. We will carefully calibrate and clearly communicate our macroeconomic and structural policy actions to reduce policy uncertainty, minimise negative spillovers and promote transparency," the G20 heads said. The communique further said the G20 nations will continue to closely monitor, and if necessary, address emerging risks and vulnerabilities in the financial system, including those associated with shadow banking, asset management and other market-based finance. Recognising the detrimental effects of corruption and illicit finance flows, it said "we will reinforce the G20's efforts to enhance international co-operation against corruption, while fully respecting international law, human rights and the rule of law as well as the sovereignty of each country". (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Major steel producers China, India and Japan along with other G20 nations have called for increased sharing of information as well as more cooperation by forming a global forum to address the issue of excess steel capacity. The development assumes significance in the backdrop of the problem caused in international markets due to excess steel capacity amidst softening of prices, which eroded sales and profits of firms across countries, especially at a time when the global economy recovery is weak. G20 leaders in a communique today recognised the "structural problems, including excess capacity" in some industries, exacerbated by a weak global economic recovery and depressed market demand that have caused a negative impact on trade and workers. "We recognise that excess capacity in steel and other industries is a global issue which requires collective responses," it added. The joint statement said the leaders' also recognised that "subsidies and other types of support from government or government-sponsored institutions" can cause market distortions and contribute to global excess capacity and therefore require attention. The leaders' committed to "enhance communication and cooperation" and take effective steps to address challenges so as to enhance market function and encourage adjustment. "To this end, we call for increased information sharing and cooperation through the formation of a Global Forum on steel excess capacity, to be facilitated by the OECD with the active participation of G20 members and interested OECD members. "We look forward to a progress report on the efforts of the Global Forum to the relevant G20 ministers in 2017," the Communique said. The joint statement also comes in the backdrop of nations such as the US imposing heavy duties on imports of cheap steel from countries such as China. India, the world's third largest steel producer, too is facing a spate of cheap imports from China, Japan and Korea. This has hit the sales and profits of domestic steel producers and also impacted their liquidity, which in turn has affected their capacity to repay loans and meet interest payment deadlines having a cascading effect on the number of non performing assets (NPAs) with the banks. Steel sector in India accounts for the highest number of NPAs with the banks. Last week, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said in Parliament: "Highest NPAs are in steel sector... Second is national highways... Imported steel is cheaper than domestically manufactured steel. Wherever, steel dumping is happening, we have imposed anti-dumping (duty). (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Two Turkish soldiers were killed in clashes with Kurdish insurgents in the volatile southeast today as rights groups said nearly 2,000 people have died since fighting between the two sides resumed last year. Turkey's state-run Anadolu agency reported that 157 "terrorists" belonging to the Kurdistan Workers' Party, or PKK, were killed or wounded in the latest offensive over the weekend meant to quash the outlawed group that has been waging a 30-year-war against the Turkish state. The governor's office of Hakkari province said 12 soldiers were killed and 26 wounded in the same period. Turkish Prime Minister Binali Yildirim visited a military unit in Hakkari Sunday and outlined a "new roadmap for combatting terror." "We will not be in defense but offense," Anadolu quoted him as saying. The clashes between Turkish forces and the PKK have killed an estimated 40,000 people since 1984 and a fragile two-and-a-half year ceasefire collapsed last summer. International Crisis Group, a non-governmental organization, tracked the deaths in the resumed conflict until the beginning of September. It said at least 1,958 people, including 676 state security force members, 733 PKK militants, 219 youth of unknown affiliation, and 330 civilians have been killed. The group said at least 40 per cent of the victims died in the so-called "urban curfew zones." According to the Human Rights Foundation of Turkey, another non-governmental organization, there were "at least 111 officially confirmed, open-ended, and round-the-clock curfews" in districts of nine predominantly Kurdish provinces until August 2016. Clashes in urban centers between security forces and militants have caused major destruction. Diyarbakir's Sur, a UNESCO world heritage site, has been one scene of the fighting, where thousands have been displaced and the historic district ruined. On his yesterday visit to Diyarbakir, Yildirim said the government will invest 10 billion liras (USD 3.4 billion) in "areas damaged by terrorism," including 1.9 billion liras in Sur alone. Yildirim visited the site to lay the first brick in a symbolic demonstration of redevelopment. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Delhi High Court on Monday dismissed a suit by the Indian Hotels Company Ltd (IHCL), which runs the iconic Taj Mansingh Hotel here, seeking to restrain New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC) from auctioning the property. Justice V Kameswar Rao did not accede to IHCL's request for renewal of licence for a further period saying it was not entitled for the extension. "In view of the discussion above, and the request of the plaintiff (IHCL) for renewal of licence for further period has not been acceded to and noting that the plaintiff has no right seeking renewal or grant of licence for further period and the decision of the defendant (NDMC) to go for auction, the plaintiff is not entitled to extension of licence as claimed in the suit," the court ordered. The property, owned by NDMC, was given to on a lease for 33 years. The lease had ended in 2011 and the company was given nine temporary extensions since then on various grounds with three of them being in the last year itself. NDMC had in January this year said it was in the process of assessing the assets of the hotel in preparation for the much-delayed auction of the property. had approached the high court seeking a decree of permanent injunction restraining the NDMC from interfering in any manner with the possession, right to operate, run and maintain the hotel premises at the prime location of 1, Man Singh Road in Delhi. It had also sought a direction restraining the NDMC from conducting an auction for running the hotel premises in Lutyen's Delhi. The Health Ministry today launched a two-week-long massive campaign to eradicate leprosy by focussing on 149 endemic districts across the country. In a first, the Leprosy Case Detection Campaign (LCDC) aims to cover more than 1,600 blocks in the 149 districts across 20 states where nearly 3 lakh health teams will undertake door-to-door visits to detect leprosy cases. "We are launching a special campaign from today for leprosy eradication. This is the first time in the country that we are doing something of this kind. "The campaign will be till September 18. It will cover 20 states, 149 districts and 1,656 blocks," Health Secretary C K Mishra told PTI. He said around 32.18 crore population has to be reached and checked through 2.97 lakh teams. "It is a huge campaign that we are launching today. The idea is to detect and treat leprosy and stop its spread," he said. The campaign comes after Prime Minister Narendra Modi called for eradicating leprosy from the country by 2019, which is the 150th birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi. After the Prime Minister's appeal, Health Minister J P Nadda had directed officials to launch a campaign in this regard. Mishra said the teams will go door to door, do a check up and if a suspected patient is found put him or her on treatment. He said although the number of cases will rise initially. it will ultimately come down because the moment the patient has the first tab, the spread will stop. Elaborating about the disease, Mishra said while at the national level, leprosy has been eradicated and most of the states have also eradicated it, the disease still exists at the districts and block level. "At the national level, we have eradicated leprosy while most of the states also have done so but at the disaggregated level, in districts and blocks, it is still there. Now we are concentrating on that. So we have picked up the 149 endemic districts," he said. According to the website of National Leprosy Eradication Programme (NLEP), a centrally-sponsored scheme under the Health Ministry, India achieved the goal of elimination of leprosy as a public health problem, defined as less than 1 case per 10,000 population, at the national level in December, 2005. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Himachal Pradesh Governor Acharya Devvrat today called for taking adequate measures for bringing qualitative improvement in education and said in spite of a quantum jump in literacy rate, providing quality education remains a major challenge. Presiding over the state-level Teachers' Day function at the Raj Bhawan, where he conferred state awards to 10 teachers, the Governor also underlined the need to educate the teaching community about child psychology to make the teaching-learning process effective. Devvrat urged the teachers to work with honesty and dedication and said they should become a role model for the students. Asserting that India had been a world leader in the field of education since ancient times and students from different parts of the world came here for attaining knowledge, he said "gurus" (teachers) were considered as nation builders and held in highest esteem. Welfare of the society at large was the basic purpose of education. The Governor also paid tributes to former President Dr S Radhakrishanan and described him as a man of veracious personality, a noble laureate, academician, philosopher and an able administrator. Four National Award Winners teachers for this year, Dr Chandreshwar Sharma, Kashmir Singh, Ram Pal, Sandesh Sharma were also honoured on the occasion. Speaking on the occasion, Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh said teachers willingly working in remote and tribal areas should also be awarded and, if need be, the number of state-level awards could be increased. The teachers who received the awards today got it due to their hard-work and dedication and needs appreciation, he said, adding Himachal Pradesh is second only to Kerala with 88 per cent literacy rate because of the hard work and dedication of the teachers. The Chief Minister said the government is keen to provide quality education to the children near to their homes and 1,010 schools were either upgraded or opened mostly in far flung areas to facilitate the education of girl child. He also said the government is providing Rs 75,000 every student from the state who qualify admissions in the IITs, the IIMs and AIIMS. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Manipur-based Hmar People's Convention (Democratic) peace delegation has submitted their charter of demands to the Mizoram government. HPC (D) delegation leader Lalthalien told PTI over phone that the five-point charter of demands was sent by an e-mail yesterday. The first round of talks between the HPC (D) and the Mizoram government was held here on August 10 and the second round was scheduled to be held during mid-September or third week of the month. Lalthalien said whether any member of the HPC (D) leaders would participate in the next round of talks was not yet known as the state government had not demanded the participation of the members of the outfit till date. As the parleys were held on mutual trust, the HPC (D) delegation till today did not raise the issue of signing Suspension of Operation (SoO), the church leader from Imphal said. The charter of demands were drafted by the Demand Drafting Committee headed by John Pulamte, a social activist and member of the HPC (D) delegation in the talks. The eight-member Demand Drafting Committee was constituted in a meeting of leaders of different Hmar organisations on August 13 at Churachanpur in Manipur. Both Mizoram government and the HPC (D) had made several efforts to find amicable solution to the Hmar imbroglio through negotiations and the last talks held in 2013 fizzled out due to disagreement over the period of extension of SoO. After that hostilities continued resulting in the deaths of three state police personnel and one HPC (D) militant and also the arrest of several leaders of the outfit. State home minister R Lalzirliana, yesterday expressed optimism over the outcome of the current peace talks. Lalzirliana, however, made it clear the state government would never allow establishment of a separate autonomous district council carving out north eastern part of the state adjoining Manipur. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Prime Minister Narendra Modi today said the country's priority will be to work towards trade facilitation agreement (TFA) for services, a move that will help in movement of professionals. The issue was flagged by Modi during his intervention on the second day of the G20 Summit in this eastern Chinese city. "Knowledge- and innovation-driven economy requires free mobility. India's priority is to work towards Trade Facilitation Agreement for Services," external affairs ministry spokesperson Vikas Swarup quoted the Prime Minister as saying in a series of tweets. India is pitching for this at the WTO as the services sector has a huge potential and it contributes significantly to the country's economy. Commerce Minister Nirmala Sitharaman had said India would move a proposal on this at the World Trade Organisation (WTO) to start the discussion. She had raised the issue of TFA in services during an informal meeting with key members of WTO on the sidelines of the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) ministerial council meeting in Paris in June. In a tweet, Sitharaman welcomed the Prime Minister's statement on the agreement. WTO has already signed a similar pact for the goods sector. The Prime Minister asserted that global trading regime must respond to needs and priorities of developing nations. Global value chains must provide them level-playing field, he said, adding that trade facilitation is important. "I urge countries to fully implement the Bali and Nairobi ministerial decisions," he added. The proposal for a TFA in services assumes significance as about a dozen countries are already negotiating Trade in Services Agreement (TISA) at WTO. India is not part of TISA. Smooth movement of professionals needs liberalised visa regime such as multiple entry visas, visa-free travel for foreign tourists and long-term visas for business community. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) President Pranab Mukherjee here today said India is "substantially free" from the globally witnessed menace of homegrown terrorism as citizens possess "ethnicity in mind and have faith in pluralism". Mukherjee, while teaching students in the school inside the President's Estate as part of the second edition of his 'Pranab Sir's class', also spoke about the worrisome development of "political assassinations" in India and its neighbourhood adding that despite these instances "we have had a stable political regime". The special session was held to observe 'Teachers Day' with students of Class XI of the Delhi government-run Dr Rajendra Prasad Sarvodaya Vidyalaya during which Mukherjee said "secularism is part of the life" for Indians. India has suffered the brunt of terrorism, including that of the cross-border variety, he said. The President said it was the credit and success of India's policy and acumen of the administration that incidents of homegrown terrorism, the biggest menace to international peace and community, has kept India "substantially free" from its tentacles. "It is we who are attacked and we are the victims of cross-border attacks... But not so much of homegrown terror," he said, adding this was because of the "ethinicity of mind, belief and faith in pluralism, huge diversity in language, religion, food... Almost in everything." We all belong to the same system, the President said, adding that this quality was "unique". Talking for about 50 minutes to the students on the subject of 'Politics in India since Independence', he recounted the evolution of the democratic process in India post Independence, the building up of the electoral process and participation of Indians in the constitutional democracy. The President, who has worked as a teacher before he took the political plunge, also taught the students about the formation of political parties including the creation of the BJP from Jansangh and the advent of coalition politics in the country. He remembered the "formation" of states by the State Reorganisation of Commission as an "important development" in India's history. Mukherjee called the partition of the country as a "psychological trauma" for the people who were extricated from their homes adding creation of communal tension was an aftermath of this but our political leaders and statesmen controlled these issues. He went on to praise the strength of the Indian economy saying it was steady despite eight years of international slowing down of ecomony as he hoped that the country's economy would grow not less than 7.5 per cent in the days to come. The students also asked some questions to 'Pranab Sir' including if it would be good to hold all elections in the country in one go. The President said India has "proved the mettle" in successfully implementing political democracy and the Election Commission can "put its mind" in changing the Code of Conduct so that it does not disturb the polls, adding "all participants of the political spectrum" can brainstrom how to tackle this issue. On being asked what should the country do to improve the economy and its medal tally in the Olympics, the President said India's requirement is to have "growth with equity" and also overall creation of better physical, educational and health infrastructure which are the requirements of a healthy society. Later, while making a speech to mark the event, the President said the need of the hour was to have "inspired teachers" who can keep the trait of curiosity and that of asking questions alive in children. "We have to build up scientific temper... We must also inculcate in the minds of teachers the spirit of innovation," he said. The President also expressed his worry over a recent item that many school children in Delhi were not able to read their textbooks and sought corrective measures. During the event, Manish Sisodia, Delhi's Education Minister said his government was working to enhance the confidence of people in government schools so that they can send their children to study in these institutions. (Reopens DEL35) Speaking on the occasion, the President said in ancient days, the parting advice of gurus to students was that they should be truthful, virtuous and not deviate from their conviction. He said as the Visitor to institutions of higher learning, he had always stressed on the need for inspired teachers in the country. If 74 per cent government schools students in class IX cannot read their textbooks and if about 46 per cent of the children from class VI to IX cannot read even textbooks of class II, the situation is "grave". "A spirit of innovation should be encouraged in the minds of students. Viable and sustainable bridges should be built between formal and informal knowledge systems. The marvel of our system is our commitment to pluralism. All Indians are united by a common thread despite diversities such as religion, language etc," Mukherjee added. India will present its views on women, peace and security, tackling sexual exploitation and abuse and improving peacekeeping through rapid deployment at the Peacekeeping Defence Ministerial meeting in London this week. This will be the first international meeting which Minister of State for Defence Subhash Bhamre will be attending after having taken over as the Minister of State for Defence. The minister will speak at the plenary sessions on September 8, which will be attended by representatives of more than 100 countries. The sessions would take up issues on women, peace and security, pre and post Deployment, tackling sexual exploitation and abuse and improving peacekeeping rapid deployment, the ministry said. During the visit, Bhamre will also have a bilateral meeting with UK Minister of State for Defence Production Harriett Baldwin. An alcoholic Indian-origin businessman, who was accidentally released last month by a London jail has surrendered to police after enjoying two weeks of freedom. Hoffman Singh even posed for a selfie with Scotland Yard officers on duty at the Notting Hill Carnival last weekend after wardens at Pentonville Prison in north London sent him home in a taxi instead of putting him into a van for a court hearing. "As far as everyone was aware, I should have been tucked up in a cell while I was out partying with the best of them in Notting Hill. I've been arrested four times in the last six weeks, all for minor alcohol-related incidents." "But after the last one, the magistrates lost patience and remanded me in custody," the 44-year-old courier firm owner told 'The Sun' newspaper. "I was due to have a court hearing on August 25, but no one came to collect me from my cell. I told the wardens but they didn't seem to care. Then at 5.30pm I was just reading the paper when a warden came round and said, 'Pack your stuff, you're going home'. I didn't understand it but just went along with it. I thought maybe the case had been dropped. It didn't cross my mind that it was a mistake," he added. Singh is accused of common assault, wasting police time, being drunk in charge of a motor vehicle, failing to provide a specimen and racially-aggravated harassment. He contacted his lawyers and they arranged for him to hand himself in at a police station. He now awaits a hearing in the coming days. "I am not a master criminal, just an alcoholic businessman who has made mistakes, needs help and wants to make changes," he said. The UK Prison Service confirmed Singh had been released in error. A spokesperson said: "These incidents are rare and the vast majority are returned to custody very quickly. We thoroughly investigate each incident and work closely with the police to recapture offenders at large". (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) With Iranians blocked from this month's hajj pilgrimage, their supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei issued a furious rebuke today to rival Saudi Arabia, saying the Muslim world should challenge its management of Islam's holiest sites. "Saudi rulers... Who have blocked the proud and faithful Iranian pilgrims' path to the Beloved's House, are disgraced and misguided people who think their survival on the throne of oppression is dependent on defending the arrogant powers of the world, on alliances with Zionism and the US," Khamenei said. He accused Saudi Arabia's ruling family, who are the custodians of Islam's holiest sites in Mecca and Medina, of politicising the annual hajj pilgrimage, due to start at the end of the week, turning themselves into "small and puny Satans who tremble for fear of jeopardising the interests of the Great Satan (the United States)". For the first time in almost three decades, Iranians have been effectively barred from participating in this year's pilgrimage to Mecca after talks on logistics and security fell apart. But even by recent standards, with relations between the rival Middle Eastern powers at an all-time low, the language was tough. "Because of Saudi rulers' oppressive behaviour towards God's guests, the world of Islam must fundamentally reconsider the management of the two holy places and the issue of hajj," Khamenei wrote in a statement on his website. He reserved some of his harshest words for Riyadh's response to a deadly stampede during last year's hajj that killed some 2,300 foreign pilgrims, including an estimated 464 Iranians. "Instead of apology and remorse and judicial prosecution of those who were directly at fault in that horrifying event, Saudi rulers -- with utmost shamelessness and insolence -- refused to allow the formation of an international Islamic fact-finding committee," he said. "The hesitation and failure to rescue the half-dead and injured people... Is also obvious and incontrovertible," he added. "They murdered them." As the two leading powers in the Middle East, Shiite Iran and predominantly Sunni Saudi Arabia are at odds over a raft of regional issues, notably the conflicts in Syria and Yemen in which they support opposing sides. Riyadh-Tehran ties were severed for four years after more than 400 people were killed in Mecca during clashes between Iranian pilgrims staging an anti-US protest and Saudi security forces in 1987. Iran is particularly opposed to the Saudi monarchy's close relationship with Washington and Israel. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Iran's supreme leader today said Saudi Arabian authorities "murdered" Muslim pilgrims who were injured during last year's hajj stampede. "The heartless and murderous Saudis locked up the injured with the dead in containers, instead of providing medical treatment and helping them or at least quenching their thirst. They murdered them," Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said in a statement on his website marking the anniversary of the disaster. He offered no evidence to support the allegations. Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince and Interior Minister Mohammed bin Nayef said Iran was attempting to "politicise" the hajj. In comments published later today by the Saudi Press Agency, he said Iran had decided not to send its citizens to the pilgrimage this year for domestic purposes. Iran accuses Saudi Arabia of sabotaging negotiations that took place earlier this year regarding the security of pilgrims. The September 2015 stampede and crush of pilgrims killed at least 2,426 people, according to an Associated Press count. Tehran has said 464 of the dead were Iranian and blamed the catastrophe on Saudi mismanagement of the annual pilgrimage. Khamenei has also blamed Saudi Arabia for an earlier crane collapse in Mecca that killed 111 people, and said the kingdom's rulers had "reduced the hajj to a religious-tourist trip" while accusing Iran of "politicizing" the pilgrimage. A top Saudi official said Khamenei's accusations reflect "a new low". "These accusations are not only unfounded, but also timed to only serve their unethical, failing propaganda," said Abdulmohsen Alyas, the Saudi undersecretary for international communications and media at the Ministry of Culture and Information. "Saudi Arabia stands ready to serve the pilgrims and ensure their safety and comfort," Alyas told The Associated Press. Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Bahram Ghasemi said the ministry has formed a committee to investigate the issue and pursue it in international forums, without elaborating. The hajj stampede caused a new flare-up in tensions between Iran and Saudi Arabia, regional rivals that back opposite sides in the civil wars in Syria and Yemen. The two countries severed diplomatic relations in January after Saudi Arabia executed a prominent Shiite cleric and angry Iranian crowds overran Saudi diplomatic missions. Saudi authorities have not released the findings of their investigation into the hajj disaster. Preliminary statements suggested the crush was caused when at least two large crowds intersected. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) IT Ministry's reported plan to rope in private companies like Microsoft and IBM for providing cloud computing services to government departments has come under flak from cyber security experts. "I think by using cloud services of foreign companies like Microsoft and IBM, IT Ministry has decided to throw all Data and National Security concerns into a dustbin. What has happened to the National Cloud Project of government? We appeal the Prime Minister to intervene and stop this else this will send a wrong message," Indian Infosec Consortium (IIC) CEO Jiten Jain said. IIC is India's cyber security group which has around 4,000 members. "If the world's software super power (India) does not have the capacity to even build its own Indigenous cloud infrastructure then where is 'Make in India'," Jain said. IT and Law Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad tweeted a report that suggested that private companies such as Microsoft, IBM and others may be roped in by the IT ministry to provide cloud services to government departments. The tweet attracted criticism by social network users who questioned the reported proposal on security grounds. Though there was no official announcement of the reported proposal, no immediate comment could be obtained from the IT ministry over the same. The previous UPA government had launched the National Cloud project which would be managed by its own agency NIC. "The purpose of the project MehgRaj was to basically to keep data of government managed projects within its control for security reasons and also to help government departments in reducing their time, capital and operational expenditure in implementing e-governance services," an official involved in the project MehgRaj said. Government has earmarked over Rs 1,000 crore for Meghraj under which the Department of Electronics and IT will have to set up datacentres and develop IT applications for all central and state government departments to roll out e-governance services. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Former Union minister Shashi Tharoor today said tension between India and China has increased in last two-three years and relations could be normalised by keeping border issues on the backburner, just like the UPA government did during its regime. He also said during the UPA regime, India did good trade with China but at present China was benefitted more as export from India was less than the import from the neighbouring country. "The relation with China is not good. Tension has increased in the last 2-3 years. We (the UPA government) tried with China, what we wanted to do with Pakistan, that to keep border issues on backburner, as they are not going to settle instantly and to continue with normal relations," he told reporters here. Tharoor, who was in the city to deliver a lecture on "Rewriting history and redefining nationalism", also said, "We can continue with normal relations with them (the neighbouring countries) by keeping issues of border disputes on backburner". "We did good trade with China but now China is more benefitted because the export from India is less than import. This is what needs to be adjusted by the government." He said the government should always give priority to the safety and well-being of the people. "As far as the issue of Balochistan is concerned, Prime Minister has remarked on the issue but I do not know whether he wants to do anything on it or not," the former minister said. (REOPENS DES 79) Ansari said economic deprivation was one aspect of the colonial rule, but more serious was its impact on the minds of the subjugated and on the totality of their existence. "The encroachment by the East India Company was piecemeal, and resentment or resistance was per force local. "It often took the shape of peasant uprisings motivated by economic deprivation of severe character often inflicted through physical brutality or ethnic prosecution. It was at times led by local landlords. "Some of these conflicts involved large numbers but organized military confrontations, of the type with Tipu Sultan of Mysore, were the exception. Nevertheless, these popular resistance movements continued for almost a century," the Vice-President said. Looting of natural resources and indulging in environment degrading activities like clearing of mangroves or unpermitted filling of wetlands, for pecuniary gains is now under the Vigilance scanner in Kerala. In view of widespread complaints about indiscriminate exploitation of natural resources with the alleged support of corrupt officials, the Vigilance and Anti-Corruption Bureau has drawn up a new action plan to expose corruption and organised crime in the environment sector and check its further spread. Titled 'Environmental Risk Vigilance', the initiative is envisaged to take stock of activities in connection with various aspects of environment including air, water (river, lake, ocean, ponds, ground water), land, soil, minerals, wetlands and mangroves. In a recent circular, Vigilance Director and DGP Jacob Thomas directed all VACB units to identify organized crime/corruption-chain in quarrying, sand mining, river/ water pollution, wetland/ paddy land filling, encroachment into public/forest land and construction in non-building zone, buffer zone and so on. An ERV monthly report on these subjects should be sent by each Unit, by the last Monday of each month to the Director, the circular said. The report would comprise details like category of natural resources observed in the jurisdiction of each VACB unit, the type of environmental risks observed on land, water, air, wetlands, forest, public lands, coastal zone etc. There and the government departments and public servants involved. It would also have details like non-use of authority or abuse of power by the public servants and action taken by the VACB in this regard including notice to them, vigilance action, further studies and so on. Thomas said unlike many other Indian states, Kerala has a large number of highly ecologically sensitive zones and vulnerable hotspots, which demand urgent attention and scientific measures for conservation. Therefore, there cannot be any tolerance for negligence of abuse of power by authorities implementing environmental laws, he told PTI. "But, unfortunately, both authorities and general public are less aware about the need to conserve these sites/zones or about the laws in this regard. Otherwise, there would not have been construction in highly vulnerable coastal zones or in sensitive forest lands in our state," he said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) In controversial remarks, AAP leader Sukhpal Khaira today said Mother Teresa truly deserved the sainthood bestowed upon her "unlike our fake sadhus and sants". "I salute Mother Teresa for her contribution to humanity n poor. She truly deserved 'sainthood' unlike our fake sadhus and sants," he said in a tweet. In a subsequent tweet, Khaira, who had left Congress to join the AAP last year, sought to clarify his earlier tweet, saying, "I'm against fake sadhus spreading superstitions." "I have not said anything about real sadhus and sants nor have I taken anyone's name. I am only talking about those fake ones who only play with the sentiments of people and spread superstition," he said. The former MLA from Bolath, however, downplayed the developments in AAP's Punjab unit following sacking of senior leader Sucha Singh Chhotepur. Chhotepur was removed from the post of the party's state convenor after a video clip surfaced showing him allegedly taking bribes in exchange for poll tickets. Khaira claimed that the support base of AAP was intact and the party was evoking good response in public meetings being held at various places in the state ahead of the 2017 Assembly polls. "These developments are like a 'churning' process. They have happened at the top. There is talk about these in the media, in the statements (being given by political opponents), but at the ground level, the base of AAP is fully intact. We continue to get huge response in our rallies," he said. Khaira also rubbished media reports that he was 'overlooked' by AAP after the party appointed Gurpreet Singh Ghuggi as Punjab's new convener yesterday. "These things are just media creation," he said. About allegations that non-Punjabis were calling the shots in AAP's state unit, Khaira said, "There are some issues which we are raising on the party platform. I have talked to Arvind Kejriwal about this. We are discussing within the party fora, but I can not say in the media what exactly is being discussed." Khaira added that the party will get a further boost when AAP convenor Arvind Kejriwal visits the poll-bound state on September 8. "We will also hold a big rally during his visit," he said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar today said the government values investments and job generating units are critical to the state. He was speaking during the inauguration of an OYO office in Gurgaon. The chief minister dwelt on steps taken by the government to increase job avenues. In this context, he spoke of the global investors' summit which was organised in Gurgaon this year. During the summit and after, a total of 406 MoUs have been signed, with a promised investment of Rs 6.41 crore and job opportunities for lakhs of youth. Backing it up, Khattar said 80 per cent of the total 500 Fortune companies of the world have their corporate offices in Gurgaon. He also claimed that Gurgaon is a better place for start-ups. Referring to the Digital India campaign, the chief minister said use of IT has convertedthe world into a global village. He greeted people on the occasion of Ganesh Chaturthi and Teacher's Day, saying OYO provides employment opportunity to the youth and also affordable services to businessmen. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Once bitter foes, former Malaysian leader Mahathir Mohamad and the one-time protege he jailed, Anwar Ibrahim, exchanged a previously-unthinkable handshake today that illustrated the country's topsy-turvy politics. Mahathir sparked a social media frenzy with a show of support at a court appearance by Anwar, who was jailed again last year by Malaysia's current government following a controversial sodomy conviction, the same charge Mahathir used against him in 1998. The brief and smiling encounter -- images were shared widely online -- underlined the current political flux in Malaysia, where opposition to scandal-tainted current Prime Minister Najib Razak has upended alliances. Najib is accused of massive graft in the alleged looting of billions of dollars in state money. He denies the charge and has cracked down in response. Mahathir, who imposed his will on Malaysia for 22 years as prime minister before retiring in 2003, has led calls for Najib to be toppled and to face justice. Today's meeting capped months in which Anwar and Mahathir have flirted from a distance, reviving memories of their stormy past. The charismatic Anwar was deputy premier and heir apparent to the autocratic Mahathir until he was sacked in 1998 by his boss over political differences, an episode that continues to reverbrate. Charged with sodomy and corruption, Anwar spent six years in jail. But he emerged to lead the previously ineffectual political opposition to historically strong electoral showings until he was jailed again in 2015 by Najib's government. Mahathir played down today's meeting, saying he was merely showing support for a legal challenge launched by Anwar against a new security law. The law, rammed through last year by Najib's government, grants Najib draconian security powers. "I don't know about friends but I know I talked to him," Mahathir said with a chuckle when reporters asked after the encounter whether the two were friendly again. "I met him and had a long chat with him about what he was doing." But the encounter quickly went viral in politics-obsessed Malaysia. "Now I think I have seen everything," Eric Paulsen of activist group Lawyers for Liberty said in tweeting an image of the handshake. It remains to be seen whether any real detente between the political heavyweights can be achieved -- or can put a dent in Najib. The formidable opposition alliance that Anwar forged has crumbled amid infighting, especially after his jailing. Najib, meanwhile, has tightened his grip and used the powerful ruling coalition's deep pockets and pervasive control to win recent by-elections. The next general election must be held by mid-2018. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) German Chancellor Angela Merkel came under renewed pressure over her liberal refugee policy on Monday, after an upstart anti-migrant populist party handed her party a humiliating defeat in her home state. The xenophobic Alternative for (AfD) clinched around 22 per cent in its first bid for seats in the regional parliament of Mecklenburg-Western Vorpommern, results showed after most ballots had been counted from yesterday polls. Merkel's conservative Christian Democratic Union (CDU) garnered just 19 per cent in its worst ever score in the northeastern state, while the Social Democrats maintained top place with around 30 per cent. AfD's lead candidate Leif-Erik Holm called it a "proud result for a young party" as the populists secured seats on the opposition benches of the ninth out of 16 regional parliaments. "The icing on the cake is that we have left Merkel's CDU behind us... Maybe that is the beginning of the end of Merkel's time as chancellor," he said. Although the former Communist state is Germany's poorest and least populous, it carries a symbolic meaning as it is home to Merkel's constituency Stralsund. Together with Berlin's elections in two weeks, yesterday's polls are a key test ahead of general elections next year, when Merkel's decision exactly one year ago to let in tens of thousands of Syrian and other migrants is expected to be a key point of contention. Although she won praise at first, the optimism has given way to fears over how Europe's biggest economy will manage to integrate the one million people who arrived last year alone. Merkel's decision has left her increasingly isolated in Europe, and exposed her to heavy criticism at home, including from her own conservative allies. The CDU's general secretary Peter Tauber said yesterday's results were "bitter", acknowledging that voters "wanted to send a signal of protest, as we had noticed in discussions about refugees". In the sprawling farming and coastal state of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, where economic regeneration and jobs used to be residents' top concerns, the issue of refugees and integration has become the deciding factor for one in two voters. "There was only one issue, that is, and was, refugee policy," said the CDU's main candidate Lorenz Caffier. A pensioner and former teacher who declined to be named said he picked AfD because of the "question over asylum-seekers". "One million refugees have come here. There is money for them, but no money to bring pensions in the east to the same levels as those of the west," he said, referring to the lower retirement payments that residents of former Communist states receive compared to those in the west. Compared to other parts of Germany, the northeastern state hosts just a small proportion of migrants under a quota system based on states' income and population having taken in 25,000 asylum seekers last year. Mexico has emerged as the top destination for India's automobile exports during April-July period, accounting for 18 per cent of the total outbound shipments, EEPC today said. Engineering Exports Promotion Council (EEPC) said that this makes a compelling case for the Indian engineering exporters to further push their products into the growing South American markets. Of the total automobile exports of USD 2.78 billion between April and July this fiscal, USD 501 million worth of automobiles were shipped to Mexico, it said adding that the Latin American country was followed by Nepal and the UK. "Mexico has emerged as the top destination for automobile exports. The exports to Mexico saw a phenomenal rise of 110 per cent," it said in a statement. EEPC also said that auto exports to Mexico were not constrained by the vast distance that the shipments have to cover. However, it added that for automobile components, the US remained the top destination, followed by Turkey. Total exports of Indian automobile components aggregated to USD 1.48 billion during April-July 2016, an increase of 4.54 per cent on annualized basis. Automobiles and automobiles components form a major part of India's overall engineering exports and are among the few sectors showing positive trend this fiscal. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) A three-year-old girl was allegedly raped by her stepfather and dumped near a railway station here, following which he was arrested, police said today. Rampal Verma (32), a labourer, has been arrested for abducting and raping his step-daughter on August 30, Government Railway Police's Bhopal Inspector General (IG) A K Singh told reporters. The minor was found dumped near a bridge the next day. Singh said that after quizzing 800 people, they zeroed in on Verma. He said that Verma gave contradictory statements and tried to dodge the police after they got some circumstantial evidence suggesting that he was behind the rape. The accused has finally admitted his crime, the IG said. "The minor, who lives with her parents in a slum near a railway station, had gone missing on the night of August 30 night and was found crying near the bridge - Pul Patra - close to railway station under Aishbagh police station area the next morning by people, who alerted the police," the officer said. She was admitted to Sultania hospital in a critical condition where the doctors treated her and confirmed that she had been raped. The accused was booked under IPC sections 376 (rape) and 363 (kidnap) and under the Protection Of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Prime Minister on Monday discussed India's NSG membership with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and also raised the issue of the confidential data leak of the Indian Scorpene Class submarines with French President Francois Holland on the sidelines of the G20 Summit. On the second and final day of the summit in this east Chinese city, Modi met Erdogan and Hollande in separate "pull-aside" meetings. Prior to that, he met Britain's new Prime Minister Theresa May and held discussions on "building opportunities" in the aftermath of UK's decision to exit the European Union. In his meeting with Erdogan, the prime minister discussed the issue of India's membership of the 48-member Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG), External Affairs Ministry Spokesperson Vikas Swarup told reporters. The discussion with Erdogan on NSG was significant as Turkey was among the few countries - along with China - which had stalled India's bid to join the elite grouping at its plenary meeting in June in Seoul. China had then raised objection saying India was not a signatory to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT). Turkey too raised its concern over the presence of supporters of dissident Muslim cleric Fethullah Gulen, who it accusses of masterminding the failed July coup attempt, in India. Swarup said enhancing civil aviation with Turkey also figured during the discusions. In his bilateral meeting with Hollande, Modi raised the leak of sensitive data related to Scorpene Class submarines. "This isues has also figured," Swarup said. Over 22,000 pages of secret data on the capabilities of six highly-advanced submarines being built for the Indian Navy in Mumbai in collaboration with French defence company DCNS were leaked. The data leak reportedly happened overseas. With May, the prime minister underlined that even after UK's exit from the EU, "Britain remains an important partner" for India. "May also referred to the recent passage of GST (bill) which would further boost trade and investment ties with the UK. She supported PM's reform agenda and the UK is keen to participate in Make in India, Smartcity and Skill India initiatives," he said. The two leaders discussed further enhancing of the defence partnership and Modi invited UK firms to India. They also talked about the challenges of terrorism, calling it "the biggest threat and danger to the world with no boundaries," Swarup said. Prime Minister Narendra Modi today raised with French President Francois Hollande the leak of confidential data on the Indian Scorpene Class submarines being built in Mumbai in collaboration with French defence company DCNS on the sidelines of the G20 Summit here. On the second and final day of the summit in this east Chinese city, Modi held separate "pull-aside" meetings with Hollande and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan with whom he discussed India's NSG membership. Prior to those meetings, Modi met Britain's new Prime Minister Theresa May and held discussions on "building opportunities" in the aftermath of UK's decision to exit the European Union. In his meeting with Hollande, Modi raised the leak of sensitive data related to Scorpene Class submarines. "This issue has also figured (in the talks)," External Affairs Ministry Spokesperson Vikas Swarup told reporters. Over 22,000 pages of secret data on the capabilities of six highly-advanced submarines being built for the Indian Navy in Mumbai in collaboration with French defence company DCNS were leaked. The data leak reportedly happened overseas. In his meeting with Erdogan, the Prime Minister discussed the issue of India's membership of the 48-member Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG), Swarup said. The discussion with Erdogan on NSG was significant as Turkey was among the few countries -- along with China -- which had stalled India's bid to join the elite grouping at its plenary meeting in June in Seoul. China had then raised objection saying India was not a signatory to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT). Turkey too raised its concern over the presence of supporters of dissident Muslim cleric Fethullah Gulen in India. Turkey accuses Gulen of masterminding the failed July coup attempt. Swarup said enhancing civil aviation cooperation with Turkey also figured during the discussions. With May, the Prime Minister underlined that even after UK's exit from the EU, "Britain remains an important partner" for India. "May also referred to the recent passage of GST (bill) which would further boost trade and investment ties with the UK. She supported PM's reform agenda and the UK is keen to participate in Make in India, Smartcity and Skill India initiatives," he said. The two leaders discussed further enhancing of the defence partnership and Modi invited UK firms to India. They also talked about the challenges of terrorism, calling it "the biggest threat and danger to the world with no boundaries," Swarup said. Modi also invited May to visit India in her new capacity. May accepted the invitation and said would like to make as early a visit to India as possible, sources said. "Modi also touched upon UK's visa policy. In particular he said that the new UK regulations could have negative impact on Indian working professionals wishing to visit UK for short term business visits," the sources said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) A Moroccan man arrested in Brussels in July is being held in Austria, suspected of having links to the jihadist cell responsible for the Paris attacks last November, a spokesman for the Belgian federal prosecutor told AFP on Monday. The suspect, Abid Tabaouni, was detained under a European arrest warrant from Austria after he had fled from Salzburg and was handed back to Austrian authorities last month. The Belgian prosecutor's spokesman Thierry Werts, said that the handover was done quickly as "we confirmed that he did not have any ties to our country nor it appears to any of our cases." The Salzburg prosecutor's spokesman Robert Holzleitner also confirmed to AFP that Tabaouni has been held in Austria since August 25 and is suspected of belonging to a terrorist organisation. Tabaouni is believed to have ties to the two alleged members of the Islamic State (IS) group, Algerian Adel Haddadi and Pakistani Mohamad Usman, who were arrested in Austria last December and handed over to French authorities in July as part of the investigation into the Paris attacks. Investigators believe Haddadi and Usman, who face terror charges in France, travelled to the Greek island of Leros on October 3 on the same boat full of refugees as two men who took part in the November 13 attacks in France that left 130 people dead. But Haddadi and Usman were detained by Greek authorities for 25 days because they had fake Syrian passports. Once released, they followed the main migrant trail and made it to Salzburg in western Austria at the end of November after the Paris attacks. Austrian police then arrested the two in December at a migrant centre a few hours after French authorities informed them the men could be in the country. After his arrest, Haddadi told investigators that he had wanted to go to France to "carry out a mission," according to a statement seen by AFP. A source close to the investigation said that Haddadi "was meant to take part in the Paris killings with his travelling companions." US channel CNN reported, citing investigation documents, that Tabaouni was allegedly linked to the four men who had traveled as supposed refugees through Leros and that he also was probably meant to take part in an attack. Mumbaikars today welcomed the God of good luck and prosperity--Lord Ganesha--into their homes and community pandals, kick-starting 10-day-long Ganesh Chaturthi celebrations with zeal and fervour. The festival commenced with devotees installing colourfully-crafted idols of their most beloved and venerated deity, Ganesha, in their homes and beautifully decorated pandals across the city. The mood was full of gaiety and devotion, with chants of 'Ganpati Bappa Morya' reverberating across- as devotees took part in 'aarti' at several temples, including the famous Siddhivinayak Temple at Prabhadevi in South Mumbai. This year, even megastar Amitabh Bachchan has lent his voice for a 'aarti' at Siddhivinayak Temple. The 73-year-old actor has recorded the aarti in his voice and tweeted that it is a "blessing" for him to be given this "divine honour". Several popular Ganesh Mandals were thronged by devotees since early morning, with the popular Lalbaugcha Raja kick-starting the prayers at 4 AM, followed by darshan for devotees at 6 AM. The Ganesh idol here resides on a throne shaped like an Owl. Other prominent Ganesh mandals like GSB Seva Mandal in Kings circle, has a 14-feet long idol made of clay while Wadala GSB Mandal has designed its pandal like the famous Tirupati Balaji Temple. These pandals witnessed a sea of people waiting to get darshan of the elephant-headed God. Bollywood personalities like Salman Khan, Jeetendra, Nana Patekar, Akshay Kumar, Hritik Roshan, Shilpa Shetty, Suresh Wadekar, Govinda and a host of Marathi film and theatre actors are prominent among the celebrities who celebrate Ganesh Chaturthi at their homes. Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis also installed a Ganesh idol at his residence and took to Twitter to share the same. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Muslim women who are young and educated choose to wear the veil as it is their means to integrate into modern society, according to a latest study conducted in 25 Islamic nations. The study, done by researchers from Oxford University and European University Institute published in the journal 'European Sociological Review' last week, tested earlier mathematical models to see how the intensity of wearing the veil varied according to the women's education, employment, urbanisation and contact with non-Muslims. The study, 'Behind the Veil: The Strategic Use of Religious Garb', includes the wearing of headscarves, the turban or hijab, the chador, the burqa (which covers the face too), and no head covering at all. "A veil is seen as a genuine expression of a woman's religiosity. Paradoxically, it is the women who are engaging with the modern world who appear to rely on the veil to signal to others that they will not succumb to the temptations of modern urban life," explained Dr Ozan Aksoy, the study's author from the Department of Sociology at the University of Oxford. The study drew on data of thousands of women living in Belgium, Turkey and 25 Muslim countries. Study co-author Professor Diego Gambetta, Official Fellow of Nuffield College, Oxford, and Professor of Social Theory at the European University Institute, noted: "Contrary to the populist cant that seems now dominant in Europe, veiling could be a sign of more rather than less integration. Highly religious women who have more native friends and live in areas dominated by natives use the veil to keep their pious reputation while being integrated. "Banning or shunning veiling would deprive them of a means that allow them more opportunity for integration rather than marking their differences. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) scientists have for the first time imaged the edge of the Sun, enabling them to describe the mysterious origins of solar wind. Ever since the 1950s discovery of the solar wind - the constant flow of charged particles from the Sun - there has been a disconnect between this outpouring and the Sun itself. As it approaches Earth, the solar wind is gusty and turbulent. But near the Sun where it originates, this wind is structured in distinct rays, much like a child's simple drawing of the Sun. The details of the transition from defined rays in the corona, the Sun's upper atmosphere, to the solar wind have been, until now, a mystery. Now, using NASA's Solar Terrestrial Relations Observatory, or STEREO, scientists have for the first time imaged the edge of the Sun and described that transition, where the solar wind starts. Defining the details of this boundary helps us learn more about our solar neighbourhood, which is bathed throughout by solar material - a space environment that we must understand to safely explore beyond our planet, researchers said. "Now we have a global picture of solar wind evolution," said Nicholeen Viall, scientist at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Centre in the US. "This is really going to change our understanding of how the space environment develops," said Viall. Both near Earth and far past Pluto, our space environment is dominated by activity on the Sun. The Sun and its atmosphere are made of plasma - a mix of positively and negatively charged particles which have separated at extremely high temperatures, that both carries and travels along magnetic field lines. Material from the corona streams out into space, filling the solar system with the solar wind. However, scientists found that as the plasma travels further away from the Sun, things change: The Sun begins to lose magnetic control, forming the boundary that defines the outer corona - the very edge of the Sun. "As you go farther from the Sun, the magnetic field strength drops faster than the pressure of the material does," said Craig DeForest, physicist at the Southwest Research Institute in Boulder, Colorado. "Eventually, the material starts to act more like a gas, and less like a magnetically structured plasma," said DeForest. Twenty million miles from the Sun, the solar wind plasma is tenuous, and contains free-floating electrons which scatter sunlight. This means they can be seen, but they are very faint and require careful processing. In order to resolve the transition zone, scientists had to separate the faint features of the solar wind from the background noise and light sources over 100 times brighter: the background stars, stray light from the sun itself and even dust in the inner solar system. The finding was published in The Astrophysical Journal. NASA has shortlisted a suggestion by a high school student in the US, along with seven others, for choosing the landing site next Mars rover mission, scheduled to launch in 2020. Alex Longo proposed to land in the same site where NASA's rover Spirit had landed in 2004 - a site called Gusev Crater. Spirit found some intriguing potential signs that there might have once been life on Mars, and Gusev was worth a second look, according to Longo. The teenager, who is yet to finish high school, came across an announcement by NASA in 2014 seeking abstracts from scientists to suggest landing sites for the rover mission to Mars, and sent his ideas. NASA replied with an email inviting him to attend the first landing site planning conference. Longo was scheduled to speak in the last session of the meeting. "Honestly, I was a bit scared. Because there are 125 PhDs and graduation students in that room, and I probably am by far the least experienced or knowledgeable person there," Longo was quoted as saying by 'npr.Org'. Longo has now teamed up with some more experienced Mars scientists who also favour going back to Gusev Crater. Their proposal is one of the eight semi-finalists shortlisted by NASA. In a meeting next year, four finalist teams will be announced. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The National Commission for Women has summoned Aam Aadmi Party spokesperson Ashutosh for his controversial blog in which he had defended Delhi minister Sandeep Kumar over an "objectionable" CD, saying it was a "consensual" act and that he had done no wrong. "We have asked him to come on September 8. This is in response to what we feel is a very reprehensible and demeaning blog Ashutosh wrote, where he defended a man accused of rape," NCW Chairperson Lalitha Kumaramangalam said. "...The Commission has taken a note in the larger interest because we feel that as a spokesperson of a party that governs Delhi and a party whose members have been accused of many incidents of violence against women he should not be writing a blog like this which reeks of patriarchy and misogyny," she said. The NCW Chairperson also said Ashutosh jumped the gun in terming the incident as an act among two consenting adults when a criminal investigation is underway. "Why did he jump the gun. The police had taken cognisance immediately and there was no shroud on what action the police had taken. Jumping the gun is also a sign of patriarchy in our country. This is not a blog especially the spokesperson of a party, whose minister committed the crime, should be allowed to get away with," Kumaramangalam said. "...Also, Ashutosh says that because Mao Zedong did it, it's okay. Because other people did it, it's okay. When you are in public life there are standards of rectitude that everybody is supposed to adhere to, man or woman," she said. In his blog on NDTV website Ashutosh had written, "This video encompasses pictures of a man and woman indulging in a sexual act. The video clearly establishes that both individuals knew each other and consented to sex in a private space away from the public glare. The question then is that if two consenting adults are physically involved with each other, is it a crime?" Kumar was arrested on Saturday night after a woman seen in a video with him in a "compromising position" complained that she had been drugged and raped a year ago. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Agents seized almost 260 reptiles, including protected lizards, crammed into suitcases at Amsterdam airport and arrested three Spaniards suspected of trafficking the creatures, Dutch authorities said today. The illegal stash of wildlife that arrived from Mexico was uncovered Saturday and is worth some 80,000 euros (USD 89,000), according to the Dutch food and consumer watchdog NVWA. Among the seized animals were 14 San Esteban chuckwallas, which look similar to iguanas and are protected by the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES). "Of the 259 animals found, 10 were dead," Dutch health and customs authorities said in a statement. The three Spanish suspects were being held by police and are accused of trafficking and animal cruelty. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The construction of a new terminal for international flights at the civilianAirport in Harni, on the outskirts of the city, has been completed and it is likely to be commissioned soon. Final touches are being given and the work for creating other facilities as per international standards will be done soon, project in-charge and General Manager of Airport Authority of India, Narendra KumarShukla said. The project is part of Centre's effort to modernise the existing airports and develop them on par with international ones, he said, adding the existing terminal at the airport is small and cannot handle a large number of passengers. He said the foundation stone for the new terminal was laid in 2009 and the construction work had started in May 2011. The new terminal, constructed at a cost of Rs 160 crore, is on an area of 18,120 sq mt with the capability to handle 700 passengers, including 200 international, per hour, Shukla said. It will have 18 check-in counters, official sources said. The Prime Minister's Office has been constantly monitoringthe new terminal's construction work which is expected to be ready for operating international flights very soon, local MP Ranjanben Bhatt told PTI. After the final touches, the Director General of Civil Aviationwill give approval formaking this new terminal operational. Thereafter itwillbe used for direct international flights for neighbouring countries. A direct flight for the US or the UKwill not be possibleas the length of the existing runway is not enough for big aircraft. "The new terminal building is a unique steel structure which isdesigned as per the advance building management system. It will have hi-tech security systems, energy saving cooling and rain water harvesting system, super-sensitive fire safety alarm and automatic glass cleaning facilities," Shukla said. "Currently 10 flights operate everyday from Vadodara, which is not capable to manage more passengers although its ranking is good in-terms of managing passengers and flights," he said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) China today denied it had begun building an artificial island at a South China Sea flashpoint and cautioned the Philippines not to "hype up" their maritime dispute. Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte said Friday he had received an "unsettling" intelligence report showing China had sent barges to the contested Scarborough Shoal and had appeared to begin construction in the area for the first time. Duterte has said he intends to ask Beijing -- possibly at a regional summit in Laos this week -- if they are reclaiming the shoal despite an international court ruling rejecting most of China's claims in the resource-rich area. Yesterday Philippine Defence Secretary Delfin Lorenzana said a Philippine air force plane saw four Chinese coastguard ships, two barge-like vessels and two suspected troop ships near the shoal on Saturday. "The Chinese side has maintained the patrol by coastguard vessels in relevant waters and there have also been some fishing boats for fishing operations in the relevant waters and the situation have always been like that, and has not changed," said Hua Chunying, a Chinese foreign ministry spokeswoman. Hua, at a regular briefing today, cautioned the Philippines not to "hype up" the situation. The shoal, which is just 230 kilometres from the main Philippine island of Luzon, has long been a bone of contention. China took control of it in 2012 after a standoff with the Philippine navy. A UN-backed tribunal ruled in July that China's claims to almost all of the South China Sea had no legal basis and its construction of artificial islands in disputed waters was illegal. China has sought to bolster its claims by building a network of artificial islands capable of supporting military operations. Its massive land reclamation has prompted criticism from the US and claimant countries, with Washington warning it endangers freedom of navigation in international waters. The United States has warned of "actions" if Beijing extends its military expansion to Scarborough Shoal. Apart from the Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia, Brunei and Taiwan also have partial claims to the sea, through which over USD 5 trillion in annual trade passes. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Communist Party of (Unified Marxist-Leninist) (CPN-UML) would not agree to amend Nepal's new Constitution under pressure from any external force, former prime minister and party chairman K P Sharma Oli said on Monday. "Though Constitution is a dynamic document and can be amended according to needs of the time, why do we need it now?" Oli said talking to reporters at the Tribhuvan Airport in Kathmandu on his return from Thailand. "The CPN-UML would not agree to amend the Constitution under pressure of any external force," Oli said without naming any country. In the past, Oli has alleged that India was behind the months-long agitation by Madhesis demanding amendments to the Constitution including redrawing of the country's federal provinces. He said the amendment to the Constitution should not be done against democracy and national interests, adding the statute could not be amended just to fulfill vested interests of some political groups. At this time, both the government and the agitating parties did not have any concrete logic behind their agenda for the Constitution amendment, he said. Oli had resigned in July, bringing an abrupt end to his nine-month-old government that struggled with the task of post-earthquake reconstruction and crippling protests by the Madhesis. President Barack Obama said today the US and Russia have not given up on negotiations that could stem the bloodshed in Syria, but acknowledged that leaders are challenged by "gaps of trust" between the rival powers. Significant sticking points remain in the negotiations over creation of an unlikely US-Russian military partnership focusing firepower on "common enemies" in Syria, Obama said. He acknowledged that a flurry of diplomacy at an economic summit and a 90-minute meeting earlier today with his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, did not yield a breakthrough. "Given the gaps of trust that exist, that's a tough negotiation," Obama said at a conference closing the Group of 20 summit. "We haven't yet closed the gaps." Obama didn't detail the trouble spots, although he suggested the US has concerns about Russia holding up its end of the bargain and enforcing the terms. Any deal would depend on Moscow using its influence with Syrian President Bashar Assad to persuade him to ground planes and stop the assault on opposition forces. Obama said the aim was to reach "meaningful, serious, verifiable cessations of hostilities in Syria." Secretary of State John Kerry and Russian foreign minister Sergey Lavrov have for weeks been trying to broker a deal that would curb the violence between the Russian-ally Assad's government forces and moderate rebels backed by the US Talks are expected to resume quickly, probably later this week. The deal depends on the two sides agreeing to closer military coordination against extremist groups operating in Syria, something the Russians have long sought and the US resisted. Obama has expressed skepticism that Russia would hold to its agreement. The State Department has said it wants a nationwide cease-fire between Assad's military and the rebels, rather than another time-limited agreement like ones that failed before. Obama's meeting with Putin came as the Russian leader is playing a prominent role in the presidential campaign at home. US officials blame Russian intelligence for a hack on the Democratic National Committee that resulted in a leak of emails damaging to its presidential nominee, Hillary Clinton. Putin has denied his government was involved, but cheered the release of the information. The president expressed concerns to Putin about cybersecurity issues, but would not detail the discussions. Obama and Putin also discussed the conflict in Ukraine, where Russian-backed separatists have been fighting the government, and the implementation of an agreement to stop the violence. Obama met earlier with French President Francois Hollande and German Chancellor Angela Merkel on the same issue. The difficult diplomacy on Syria set the tone for an uneven few days for Obama on his final tour of Asia as president. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Warning China of "consequences" due to its aggressive behaviour, US President Barack Obama has asked the Communist nation to restrain itself from worrying its neighbours in the disputed South China Sea region. "Part of what I've talked to communicate to President Xi (Jinping) is that the United States arrives at its power, in part, by restraining itself," Obama said. "You know, when we bind ourselves to a bunch of international norms and rules, it's not because we have to, it's because we recognise that, over the long-term, building a strong international order is in our interests. And, I think, over the long-term, it will be in China's interests, as well," he told CNN in an interview recorded before he left for China to attend the G20 Summit. "So where we see them violating international rules and norms, as we have seen in some cases in the South China Sea or in some of their behaviour when it comes to economic policy, we've been very firm. And we've indicated to them that there will be consequences," Obama said. What the US has tried to emphasise to China is that if it is working within international rules and international norms, then they should be partners, he asserted. "There is no reason that China and the US cannot be friendly competitors on the commercial side and important partners when it comes to dealing with the many international problems that threaten the two countries," Obama said. Obama noted China has been run during his lifetime by a Communist party that has been "much more anti-Western" in the past. "We went through a period over the course of 20 years, in the '90s and on through maybe the onset of my presidency, where, because state-sponsored capitalism and an export-driven model was very successful, China was less interested in making waves," Obama said. "But, you know, you've got over a billion people, one of the largest economies now in the world. And so it's to be expected that they will want a bigger seat at the table when it comes to international affairs. And what we've said consistently is we welcome the peaceful rise of China, consistent with international norms. That's good for everybody. An impoverished and collapsing China would be dangerous for everybody," Obama said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The AAP in Goa on Monday threatened to file a police complaint after "objectionable" posters showing sacked Delhi minister came up across the state with the party election symbol on it. Sandeep, an MLA from Sultanpur Majra in Delhi was arrested last week on rape and other charges following a complaint by a woman who purportedly figured in an "objectionable" CD with him. He was also suspended from AAP after the scandal came to light. His posters were put up in Panaji, Margao, Ponda, Vasco and Mapusa markets besides other prominent places in Goa with "AAP for Women Empowerment" written on it. The picture of broom, which is AAP's symbol, has also been displayed on the posters. "I suspect BJP behind such acts. BJP rules and governs the state (Goa). They should see to it that proper inquiry is conducted into such acts," AAP Goa Convener Walmiki Naik told reporters here. The party will file a formal police complaint, Naik said. "AAP condemns such cheap tactics." "We won't mind people criticising our developmental work or policies but someone stooping down to such a level is unexpected," he said. He said the resorting to putting up such posters "is the worst example of politics". AAP has began ground work in Goa for the upcoming Assembly elections where they will contest all the 40 seats. Sandeep, who is being interrogated by the police, has claimed innocence in the matter. The former women and child development minister has been booked on charges of rape, transmission of material containing sexually explicit act and taking illegal gratification. In her complaint, the woman alleged that around 11 months ago, she was raped by him when she had gone to his office in outer Delhi's Sultanpuri seeking help to obtain a ration card. Sandeep was removed from the AAP government on August 31 by Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal after the CD purportedly showing him in compromising position with the woman surfaced. Oil prices slipped in Asia today with traders disappointed by a lack of detail from Russia and Saudi Arabia on their plans to stabilise the crude market following talks at the weekend. President Vladimir Putin met Deputy Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman on the sidelines of the G20 in China yesterday and said they would work to address a global glut and overproduction that has hammered prices for the past two years. However, they provided no information on how they would proceed, just weeks before Moscow and crude cartel OPEC meet in Algeria to discuss the crisis. At about 0320 GMT, the US benchmark West Texas Intermediate was down 0.74 per cent, or 33 cents, at USD 44.11 while Brent fell 0.81 per cent, or 38 cents, to USD 46.45. Comments from Indonesian finance minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati on CNBC that she was "comfortable" with crude prices at USD 40- USD 45 a barrel, have also added pressure on prices. The only Asian member of OPEC, Indonesia exported $6.4 billion worth of petroleum in 2015. The losses pared Friday's three percent gains, which came after Putin said Russia and other producing nations should freeze output to stabilise fluctuating prices. Russia and OPEC together produce half of the world's oil. The previous attempt at reaching a deal in April were scuppered by OPEC member Iran's refusal to agree to any output freeze, and there are worries about the chances of an agreement can be reached in Algeria. "At this stage, markets are probably just going to take the view that it needs to see some evidence, some tangible idea on what the agreement might actually amount to before responding to it," Ric Spooner, a chief market analyst at CMC Markets in Sydney told Bloomberg . "We will get a lot of statements about it but probably nothing really concrete until we get to the stage of the Algiers meeting." The oil market has been plagued by a stubborn supply glut that saw prices plunge to near 13-year lows below $30 at the start of 2016, and while it has recovered recently, it is still well off highs above $100 seen in mid-2014. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Prime Minister Narendra Modi today launched a sharp attack on Pakistan, saying that "one single nation" in South Asia is spreading the "agents of terror" as he told the G20 leaders that those who sponsor the menace must be sanctioned and isolated, not rewarded. Soon after Prime Minister Modi's assertion, the G20 countries, including India, also came down heavily on terrorism as they vowed to tackle all sources, techniques and channels of terror financing. "Indeed one single nation in South Asia is spreading these agents ofterror in countries of our region," Prime Minister Modi said in an apparent reference to Pakistan. "We expect the international community to speak and act in unity, and to respond with urgency to fight this menace. Those who sponsor and support terrorism must be isolated and sanctioned, not rewarded," Modi said in his intervention during the concluding session of the meeting of the world's 20 strong economies. The G20, in its communique released after the conclusion of the two-day summit, said, "We strongly condemn terrorism in all forms and manifestations, which poses serious challenges to international peace and security and endangers our ongoing efforts to strengthen the global economy and ensure sustainable growth and development." The G20 nations reaffirmed their solidarity and resolve to fight terrorism in all its forms and wherever it occurs. They vowed to tackle all sources, techniques and channels of terrorist financing, including extortion taxation, smuggling of natural resources, bank looting, looting of cultural property, external donation, and kidnapping for ransom. Prime Minister Modi earlier said India appreciates the G20's initiative on combating the financing of terrorism and asserted that all countries should meet the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) standards. "Growing forces of violence and terror pose a fundamental challenge. There are some nations that use it as an instrument of state policy. India has a policy of zero tolerance to terrorism. Because anything less than that is not enough," Modi said. "For us a terrorist is a terrorist," he asserted. The G20 communique asked the member countries to implement the FATF's new Consolidated Strategy on Combating Terrorist Financing and back its call for effective implementation of its operational plan. "In confronting terrorism, we remain committed to effectively exchanging information, freezing terrorist assets, and criminalising terrorist financing. We call for the swift, effective and universal implementation of the FATF standards and of the provisions of the UN Security Council resolution 2253 worldwide," the communique said and welcomed the progress achieved by the UN-backed FATF. "We call on the FATF to reflect by March 2017 on ways to progress in strengthening its traction capacity and enhanced effectiveness of the network of FATF and FATF-style regional bodies," it said. Acknowledging that the G20 meeting is taking place at a time when the global economic recovery is progressing, resilience is improved in some economies and new sources for growth are emerging, the communique said downside risks remain due to potential volatility in the financial market, fluctuations of commodity price, sluggish trade and investment, and slow productivity and employment growth in some countries. Challenges originating from geopolitical developments, increased refugee flows as well as terrorism and conflicts also complicate the global economic outlook, it noted. "We call on G20 members, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and World Bank Group (WBG )to intensify their support for domestic capacity building to help countries improve their compliance with global anti-money laundering and countering the financing of terrorism and prudential standards. "We endorse the G20 High-level Principles for Digital Financial Inclusion, the updated version of the G20 Financial Inclusion Indicators and the Implementation Framework of the G20 Action Plan on SME Financing," the statement said. The G20 countries also emphasised on financial transparency and effective implementation of the standards on transparency by all, "in particular with regard to the beneficial ownership of legal persons and legal arrangements, is vital to protect the integrity of the international financial system, and to prevent misuse of these entities and arrangements for corruption, tax evasion, terrorist financing and money laundering." Modi's remarks at the G20 Summit came a day after India called on other BRICS members to intensify joint efforts to combat terrorism. The comments also assume significance amid a war of words between India and Pakistan in the aftermath of the unrest in the Kashmir Valley that broke out on July 8 after Hizbul commander Burhan Wani was killed by security forces. More than 1,000 people have been evacuated after a wildfire fuelled by intense heat roared through brush surrounding a popular tourist resort on Spain's Costa Blanca, officials said today. Some 300 firefighters backed 20 water-dropping aircraft were battling the blaze which broke out Sunday near the Mediterranean resort of Javea, a local emergency services official said. Officials suspect the fire was started deliberately. Officials evacuated over 1,000 people late on Sunday from Javea and the resort of Benitatxell near Benidorm, popular with British and German tourists, due to the threat from the flames. They were put up in schools. Residents of Javea also offered to put up evacuees for the night and gave them food and water, Javea city councillor Maria del Pilar Zamora told private television Antena 3. Photos and videos posted on social media showed flames raging near built up areas. Several homes were completely destroyed by the fire, according to Antena 3. Among those who posted photos of the blaze was BBC host Chris Stark who was on vacation in the area. "This is crazy. I think my car and maybe my apartment is on fire," he Tweeted on Sunday. He sent another tweet on Monday saying he was safe. Firefighters said the blaze was fuelled by scorching temperatures and low humidity levels. Most of Spain faced an "extreme risk" of wildfires on Monday due to the heat, with temperatures over 40 degrees Celsius (104 Fahrenheit) in some parts. Spain routinely suffers wildfires during the hot summer months but there have been fewer large blazes in 2016 than in recent years. There were just 13 wildfires that destroyed over 500 hectares (1,200 acres) of land between January 1 and August 28, according to a tally kept by the agriculture ministry. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) A top Pakistani diplomat today travelled to Belgium to seek the European nation's support for Islamabad's bid to get membership of Nuclear Suppliers Group. The Prime Minister's special envoy Syed Tariq Fatemi met Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs and European Affairs Didier Reynders and Ministry of Foreign Affairs Secretary-General Dirk Achten, Foreign Office said. In addition to exchange of views on bilateral relations, the special envoy briefed his interlocutors about Pakistan's application for membership of the elite nuclear club and sought Belgium's support in this regard, it said. "Presenting Pakistan's point of view, the Special Envoy reiterated that Pakistan's application for the NSG was based on solid grounds of technical experience, capability and commitment to nuclear safety and security," it said. He emphasised the need for adopting a non-discriminatory and objective approach while considering membership applications for NSG, as this issue directly impacted the strategic stability in South Asia as well as the future of the global non-proliferation regime, it added. The Belgian side was also apprised about the current situation in Kashmir, the FO said in a statement. The special envoy voiced Pakistan's deep concern about the alleged human rights violations in Kashmir. He asked the international community to play its role in urging India to respect the basic rights of the people of the Kashmir to ensure their right to self-determination as enshrined in the relevant UN Security Council resolutions, the statement added. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Panun Kashmir, an organisation representing Kashmiri Pandits, on Monday boycotted a meeting with the all-party delegation in Jammu, saying it was an eye wash and hit out at the MPs for begging before separatists to meet. Panun Kashmir Convener Agnishakher told reporters that 12 representatives of various Kashmiri Pandit organisations were invited for the meeting with the all-party delegation visiting Jammu and the time allotted to them was for eight minutes from 2.55 PM to 3.03 PM. "How can 12 representatives representing different political parties and points of view be able to communicate anything coherent to the all-party delegation in this duration," Agnishakher said. "We are boycotting the meeting with all-party delegation here today as it is merely an eye wash to show that nationalists are being taken onboard while they are begging before separatists in Kashmir for at least opening their doors to the delegation members," he said. "It is amply clear to us and the entire nationalist constituency in Jammu that Indian government along with the state government is only making a pretension of meeting the nationalists in the state. We have decided not to meet the all-party delegation visiting Jammu today," he said. Terming it as a cruel joke, Panun Kashmir Chairman Ajay Chrungoo said, "They are going to doors of separatists like Syed Ali Shah Geelani who do not want a system of democracy and secularism but Shariat rule." He claimed that the decision to send the delegation to Jammu was taken belatedly and was not part of the original plan. "We have come to know that the delegation is spending just a few hours in meeting various sections in Jammu which implies that the views of those living in the region are not important enough for the central and state governments to be communicated to the delegation," he said. "To us it is clear the central government wants only the separatists and semi-separatist views to dominate the political discourse on Jammu and Kashmir," Agnishaker said. "It means the Indian government has a policy design to delegitimise the nationalist opinion in Jammu and Kashmir. More precisely it means the government wants to suppress the opinion of Hindus, Sikhs and Bhudhists living in the state who have been facing a relentless genocidal assault," he alleged. "We can no longer close our eyes to the stark reality that the fundamentalist fascist religious separatism in Jammu and Kashmir is not only supported by Pakistan but receives support from within India," Chrungoo alleged. He claimed that the policies of central government treat nationalists in the state as liabilities and said the Hindus of Kashmir would work relentlessly to destroy internal subversion. "Hindus of Kashmir will continue their struggle to achieve the Union Territory of Panun Kashmir north east of river Jhelum," he said. Aditya Birla Fashion and Retail Ltd's clothing brand Peter England today announced its foray into Sri Lankan market with an exclusive outlet in Colombo. "Peter England today announced its successful foray into Sri Lanka... Peter England has successfully grown as one of the most popular Menswear brands in India. The brand is betting on the fastest growing retail sector in Sri Lanka," the company said in a statement. Aditya Birla Fashion and Retail Ltd Business Head - Madura F&L Ashish Dikshit said: "Besides witnessing a growing retail market, the island country of Sri Lanka is also very similar in nature to Indian market when it comes to Menswear fashion. We look forward to the foray contributing significantly to our growth and profitability in the years ahead." The company has opened the outlet in partnership Sri Lanka's Softlogic Holdings. Peter England is available in over 650 exclusive stores and 2,000 multi-brand outlets across more than 350 towns in India. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Platelet transfusion may not be needed or deferred for patients suffering from severe dengue if the percentage of young regenerated platelets in the blood is above or equal to a cut-off mark, a first of its kind clinical study has claimed. The study was conducted by the Sir Ganga Ram Hospital here on 50 adult dengue patients having a platelet count of less than 100000/cu mm, who were admitted there last year. Platelet is one of the major components of blood that is affected by dengue and its normal value is between 1.5 to 4.5 lakh. "In this study, the relationship of reduced platelet count with immature platelet fraction (IPF) was evaluated on a daily basis. IPF refers to percentage of young regenerated platelets in the peripheral blood. "On the basis of observing 100 normal individuals, we had earlier found out that the range of normal IPF was 0-7.25 per cent. So, if the IPF is more than 7.25 per cent, it signals presence of younger regenerating platelets and once it crosses 10 per cent mark, it signals that decreased platelet count will increase in next the few hours," said Dr Jyoti Kotwal, Chairman, Department of Haematology at the hospital. Immature platelets are young platelets recently released from bone marrow of dengue patients. IPF is an important parameter to predict platelet recovery, she said. According to the report released today, out of the 50 patients studied, 40 had dengue without alarm signs, nine had the disease with alarm signs and one was classified as having severe dengue, the hospital said. Decreased platelet count in dengue patients may lead to bleeding. In the study, bleeding was reported in 9 out of the 50 patients, it said. "According to existing guidelines, platelet transfusion is indicated when its count is less than 20000/cumm or if the patient has bleeding. "In our study, the indications of transfusion were present in 18 patients. However only 12 patients out of 18 received appropriate transfusion, while in the rest cases platelet transfusion was deferred as their IPF values were high," Kotwal said. "So, if the patient had a platelet count of 18,000 and the IPF was above 10 per cent, we first deferred the transfusion and realised it regenerated later, so we didn't do it. And, in case of a patient with 12,000 count, if the IPF was 3.5-4 per cent, we carried the transfusion later as we realised the count was still dropping after deferring it," she said. Death in dengue patients can occur either due to haemorraghic fever or dengue shock syndrome, which happens in severe cases. Nine dengue deaths have been reported in Delhi this season, while the total number of cases has gone up to over 770. Department of Internal Medicine & Department of Haematology at the Sir Ganga Ram Hospital is using IPF to monitor platelets in dengue patients during the current season also, it said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Two persons, including a proclaimed offender, allegedly involved in smuggling of drugs were arrested today from two different places in the district by Phagwara police and 400 gram of heroin was recovered from them. Tejpal Singh alias Teja, resident of Hadiabad sub-town of Phagwara in Kapurthala district, was during a checking drive at Chahal Nagar-Palahi road T-point naka, Phagwara SP Jasbir Singh Rai told reporters here. He said 300 gram heroin was also recovered from Teja, a gangster-cum-drug smuggler and a proclaimed offender who is wanted in many criminal cases, including armed rioting and causing grievous hurt. Also, Bhupinder Singh, a resident of village Panjora in Mehtiana in Hoshiarpur district, was arrested and 100 gram of heroin was recovered from him during checking at a 'naka' at Sugar Mill crossing, Rai said. Bhupinder, an inter-district gangster, was also wanted in dozen criminal cases in Phagwara, Mehtiana, Hoshiarpur districts, including a bid to snatch a purse from a 'Mahant' (a priest) recently, he said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Coming down heavily on Odisha government's 'Teachers on Call' policy, Union Petroleum and Natural Gas minister Dharmendra Pradhan today expressed concern over the appointment of teachers on a contractual basis in the state. In his message in social media on the ocassion of Teachers' Day, Pradhan expressed concern over the appointment of 1,07,752 newly aided teachers, gana sikshaks and siksha sahayaks in primary schools in Odisha on contract basis. "It is the responsibility of the government of a welfare state to relieve the teachers of their existing financial problems so that they can take proper care of the students," he said. Stating that 13,977 posts of high school teachers have fallen vacant in the state since long, Pradhan said Odisha government instead of appointing thousands of unemployed B.Ed and certified teachers as regular teachers for these vacant posts preferred to fill them through its 'teacher on call' policy. Hitting out at the state government and the ruling party for criticising him for saying the government has been using contractual teachers as "Uber and OLA vehicles", Pradhan said "I stick to my earlier statement and urge the state government to appoint regular teachers in schools and regularise those who have been given contractual appointment." Odisha's School and Mass Education minister Debi Prasad Mishra responded to Pradhan's remark saying, "The Union Minister should refrain from debating on the issue," and said the state government engaged the teachers 'on call' basis on the suggestions of the HRD ministry. Pradhan alsp said the government must refrain from the "unethical practice" of paltry salary to contractual teachers and terminating their services as per its "whims". On the "sorry state of affairs" of elementary education in the state, Pradhan said there is no high school in 38 gram panchayats in Odisha while 376 schools do not have their own buildings. "Of the total 53,252 schools in the state, 42,070 schools do not have a playground which is about 80 percent of the schools." He said schools do not even have required class rooms and students of different classes are taught in one room. "Unfortunately, there is provision for class rooms in 41,670 schools which is about 80 per cent of the total schools in the state." Pradhan said. Mishra said the state government has taken steps to fill up the posts of teachers. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Commerce and Industry Minister Nirmala Sitharaman today met with Wipro Chairman Azim Premji and is understood to have discussed visa problems being faced by Indian professionals in the US. Time and again, India has raised the issue of hike in visa fee by the US. It has also filed a case at WTO against the US decision to impose high fees on temporary working visas. In a tweet, the commerce and industry ministry said Premji and the minister discussed IT-related issues. The Americas accounted for 53.5 per cent of the company's total IT services revenue during the first quarter of this fiscal. Wipro is India's third-largest software services firm. Recently, at the India-US CEO Forum meeting here, the Indian side flagged its concerns over the visa fee hike in the US. The US assured India that it will look into the concerns. However, it maintained that the decision was not targetted against Indian professionals. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Online real estate advisor PropTiger today said it has acqui-hired Mumbai-based startup PropRates, a move that will help the Corp-backed realty portal to add advanced data collation tool to its offering. With this acquisition, PropTiger aims to provide consumers real-time access to actionable price related information on the property market, PropTiger said in a statement. "PropTiger.Com has acqui-hired PropRates, which is a pioneer in data collation tools and first in the industry who gathers actual real estate transaction data," it said in a statement. No financial details were disclosed. The latest acquisition comes close on the heels of the PropTiger's acquisition of Gurgaon-based 3DPhy in August. "With this acquisition, PropTiger will be able to augment its existing DataLabs offerings. The advanced data collation tool developed by PropRates will enable users to make more informed choices based on actual transaction prices while buying or renting property," ProTiger.Com CEO Dhruv Agarwala said. PropRates' exhaustive Mumbai-centric data resource will soon be available to customers on PropTiger and Makaan (bought by PropTiger last year), he added. After Mumbai, the next phase of expansion will see another nine cities being added. PropRates has been created by Abhishek Malhotra and Rohan Dey in 2015, with the objective of creating transparency in the real estate market. The team of PropRates will come on board at PropTiger and will continue to build on their data gathering and analysis expertise to augment and fine-tune their offering with the available resources at Proptiger. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Farmers and pro-Kannada outfit activists protested in various parts of Karnataka today against the Supreme Court direction to release Cauvery water to Tamil Nadu while Chief Minister Siddaramaiah convened a meeting of legislature leaders and MPs here tomorrow to discuss the issue. As farmers and others hit the streets protesting the apex court directive to release 15,000 cusecs of water per day for next ten days to the neighbouring state, the Cauvery Hitarakshana Samithi (Cauvery protection committee) called for a bandh tomorrow in Mandya, the hotbed of Cauvery politics. Siddaramaiah, whose government has been expressing its inability to release water to Tamil Nadu citing poor storage, would hold a meeting with floor leaders of all parties in the state legislature, MPs and district-in charge ministers tomorrow evening to take stock of the situation, an official release said tonight. "We have decided to call for Mandya bandh tomorrow to protest against the court direction to release cauvery water to Tamil Nadu when there is hardly any water left at our side of the river," Samithi President and former MP G Made Gowda told reporters at Mandya, some 100 km from here. Gowda also urged the government to file a review petition in the apex court. He said he had spoken to state Water Resources Minister M B Patil over phone and urged him to safeguard the interest of Karnataka farmers. The farmers' leader also warned the government that it would face a strong agitation if water was released to Tamil Nadu. Protests broke out in other parts of the state including Chamrajnagar, Mysuru and Hubballi with farmers and pro-Kannada activists demonstrating against the Supreme Court order and urging the Siddaramaiah government to protect interests of Karnataka farmers and not release water to Tamil Nadu. Police said effigies and posters of Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa were burnt in some places in these districts. A group of farmers tried to enter the KRS Reservoir in Mysuru protesting the court direction, but police prevented them. 'Karnataka Okkuta', led by Vatal Nagaraj, called for a 'Karnataka bandh' on September 9. Workers of the pro-Kannada outfit held a protest here, bringing traffic to a halt in the heart of the city. "There is no water in Bengaluru, Mysuru, Mandya and Chamrajnagar, and that is the truth. We have called for Karnataka Bandh on September 9 to protest against the injustice meted out to farmers here," Nagaraj told reporters. Passing orders on a petition by Tamil Nadu, the Supreme Court noted that damage would be caused to samba crops in the neighbouring state and directed Karnataka to release water. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Home Minister Rajnath Singh today lashed out at Hurriyat leaders in Kashmir after their refusal to hold talks with members of the all-party delegation, saying the separatists' behaviour showed they do not believe in Kashmiriyat, insaniyat (humanity) or jamhooriyat (democracy). Singh asserted that "the doors and windows for dialogue" on Kashmir were always open but ruled out any talks with Pakistan on the issue in near future saying, "Let us first talk with the people within our country". "Some members of delegation went to meet Hurriyat leaders in their individual capacity. We neither said 'Yes' nor 'No' (to the move). "The information given by the delegates (about how the members were treated) makes it clear that it is neither Kashmiriyat nor insaniyat," Singh, who is leading the delegation, told reporters on the second day of its visit. "The members had gone to hold talks but by refusing to talk, they have shown that they (separatists) do no believe in jamhooriyat as well," the Minister said, coming down heavily on the separatists who yesterday snubbed attempts by MPs like CPI(M) leader Sitaram Yechury, CPI's D Raja, JD(U) leader Sharad Yadav, RJD's Jay Prakash Narayan and AIMIM leader Asaduddin Owaisi to reach out to them. At hardline Hurriyat leader Syed Ali Shah Geelani's residence, the gate was not even opened for the MPs while people shouted slogans outside. Singh evaded a direct reply to a question about BJP support or otherwise to the move by Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti to write to the separatists urging them to engage with the delegation for resolution of Kashmir issue. "Yes, I have information about that .... She had written a letter," he said without specifying whether BJP, which is ally of PDP in the state government, supported the move. In response to another question, the Home Minister said he did not want to go into the debate about back channel talks with the separatists or appointment of a fresh team of interlocutors on Kashmir. "Track one, Track Two, Track Three ... I do not want to get into this debate," he said. The Home Minister said like his previous visits to Kashmir since the unrest began in the Valley, he had expressed his willingess for talks with anyone who wants peace and normalcy in the state. Singh said they were ready for dialogue on Kashmir but made it clear that it will be only held within the ambit of the Constitution. "There are no two opinions that Jammu and Kashmir was, is and will remain an integral part of India. "I know people of Kashmir also want this. "Not only our doors but windows are also open for talks," the Union Minister said. Singh said the situation in Jammu and Kashmir will improve and everyone who met the delegation had expressed this wish. "Everyone we met has the wish that situation in Kashmir should improve.... "I am convinced that the situation in Jammu and Kashmir will improve," he said.. Referring to his July visit to Kashmir at the start of the unrest in Kashmir, Singh said there was a demand for ban on pellet guns from the people he met. "We formed an expert committee which was mandated to submit a report on alternative to pellet guns within two months. The committee gave its report ahead of time and now PAVA has come. "I understand that no one will lose life due to use of PAVA," he said. Singh said 1,000 non-lethal PAVA shells have arrived in Kashmir yesterday. The Minister said the delegation of 26 Parliamentarians from 20 parties came to Kashmir as they were very serious about the situation in the Valley. He said the all-party delegation has taken suggestions from the people who interacted with it for improvement of situation in Kashmir. "If required, we will take suggestions from them again in future," he said when asked if the Centre was willing to consider proposals like PDP's self rule and National Conference's greater autonomy for Jammu and Kashmir within the ambit of the Constitution. In response to another question, Singh ruled out any talks with Pakistan on Kashmir in near future. "Let us first talk with the people within our country. "Do not take it outside the country," he said. "Parliament is the biggest Panchayat in the country and it is very serious about the situation in Kashmir. "This panchayat decided to send a delegation to Kashmir to interact with the people," he said. "We are not only concerned but pained by the situation in Kashmir. We need everyone's cooperation," he added. Giving details about the engagements of the all-party delegation, Singh said they interacted with more than 30 delegations comprising 300 persons from different walks of life. "We met the political parties, civil society, university teachers, Vice Chancellors, fruit growers, students and some intellectuals," he said. He said the the delegation also interacted with state Governor N N Vohra, Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti and officials of the state government yesterday. The Home Minister said the Centre was providing all assistance to state government which is trying to improve the situation. He said to address concerns of Kashmiri youths living in different parts of the country the Ministry has appointed Dr Sanjay Rai as nodal officer who can be approached on phone numbers 011-23092923, 23092885. Delhi Police on Monday detained the sacked Delhi minister Sandeep Kumar's personal assistant (PA) after the Aam Aadmi Party leader alleged that he was blackmailing him and threatening to destroy his public image. Praveen Kumar, who is Kumar's PA, was detained from the Delhi Secretariat this morning, police said. "As of now, we have detained him for questioning from the Delhi Secretariat," said Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP) (Outer) Vikramjeet Singh. During questioning by police, Sandeep had claimed innocence alleging that Praveen had tried to blackmail him and threatened to harm his public image. On Sunday, police had conducted searches at the residence of the minister and his acquaintances. Sandeep, arrested on charges of rape, was remanded in three-day police custody today by a court. On Saturday, the woman, who purportedly figured in the objectionable CD that led to the sacking of Sandeep by the Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, filed a rape case against the former minister. Thereafter, the minister surrendered at the office of DCP (Outer) and was arrested. Sandeep has also been suspended from primary membership of the . The Supreme Court today agreed to hear on September 12 a plea seeking setting up of a "public body", independent of the executive and judiciary, to ensure fair appointment of judges in High Courts and the apex court and check nepotism. A bench of Chief Justice T S Thakur and Justice D Y Chandrachud took up the matter after it was mentioned by advocate Mathews J Nedumpara seeking urgent listing. The PIL, filed by National Lawyers' Campaign for Judicial Transparency and Reforms and its office bearers, alleged that that the "common deserving lawyers" are usually not considered for appointment of judges in the higher judiciary and that those close to the judges of the Supreme Court and High Courts or politicians or big industrial houses only got chosen. "In the eyes of the Petitioners, what is paramount is a system of appointment of Judges independent of both the executive and the judiciary," it said. Alleging nepotism in the selection of judges, the plea said the existing system has appointed the "kith and kin of sitting and former Judges of the Supreme Court and High Courts, their juniors, celebrated lawyers, Chief Ministers, Governors and a few first generation lawyers who are all politically connected or are close to big industrial houses." The plea said the mechanism of appointment of judges, independent of the executive and the judiciary, was "killed" even before it was allowed to take birth by the judgment in the NJAC case. "No mechanism in substitution thereof, which will provide for a just, fair, open and non-discriminatory selection and appointment of Judges from a diverse and wider pool of candidates than the traditional ones, namely, the kith and kin of Judges, their near and dear ones, has been brought into existence...", the PIL claimed. It alleged the fundamental right of being considered for such appointment of ordinary lawyers has been infringed in the wake of quashing of National Judicial Appointment Commission (NJAC) Act and enabling 99th constitutional amendment by the Supreme Court. The plea also said that there was no effective mechanism to address complaints of misconduct against judges. The Judicial Standards and Accountability Bill, 2012 introduced in Parliament, remained in "cold storage" as the judges were not "forthcoming to welcome" it. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Describing the sending of an all-party delegation to Kashmir as a "big achievement", Lok Sabha Speaker Sumitra Mahajan today said the move conveyed a message to the people of the Valley that the country's political community was concerned about them. "Sending of a delegation of all party to Jammu and Kashmir is a big achievement. By this, a message has gone to Kashmiris that all the political parties of the country are concerned about them," Mahajan, who is local (Indore) MP told reporters here on the sidelines of a government meet. A lot of talking has been done on Kashmir since last couple of years. Now, proper steps are being taken, she said. Asked that the separatists had refused to talk to the delegation, Mahajan said that if people make the visitors return without holding talks with them, it was not going to work. The separatists may be few in number, the peace lovers' population is high in Jammu and Kashmir and for such people the all-party delegation is a boon, Mahajan said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Sacked Delhi Minister and AAP MLA Sandeep Kumar, arrested on rape charges on the complaint of a woman, was today remanded to three-day police custody by a court here. Kumar, 36, was produced before Special Judge Poonam Chaudhry on expiry of one day police custody. The former minister was arrested on September 3 after a woman approached Sultanpuri police station in north Delhi with a complaint of sexual harassment against the former social welfare and women and child development minister following which a case was filed. The woman had figured in an objectionable video with him. He has been booked under section 376 (rape), 328 (causing hurt by means of poison with intent to commit an offence) of IPC, under section 67A of IT Act (punishment for publishing or transmitting of material containing sexually explicit act) and Section 7 of the Prevention of Corruption Act (public servant taking gratification other than legal remuneration for an official act). In her complaint, the woman alleged that around 11 months ago she was raped by Kumar when she had gone to his office in Outer Delhi's Sultanpuri seeking help to obtain a ration card. She has alleged that Kumar had offered her a spiked drink and when she fell unconscious, she was taken to his house adjacent to the office and raped. The woman alleged that Kumar had told her that he will get a ration card for her and ensure jobs for her children. Kumar was removed from the AAP government on August 31 by Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal after the CD purportedly showing him in a compromising position with the woman surfaced. The MLA from Sultanpur Majra had surrendered before the investigators at the office of DCP(Outer) in Pitampura where his statement was recorded, police officials had said. Soon after the controversy, the MLA had defended himself, saying he has been targeted. Kumar's wife has also come out in support of her husband, claiming that he was "falsely implicated" in the scandal. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Bihar BJP appeared to be divided over the condition of flood relief camps set up by the Nitish Kumar government with party MP Shatrughan Sinha hailing them and senior leader Sushil Kumar Modi alleging that "anarchy" prevailed in them. Bollywood actor and Patna Sahib MP Sinha, after a visit to the camps in Bhakhtiyarpur area of Patna district yesterday, had lauded their functioning and praised his "friend" Nitish. He had told reporters that relief operations were being carried out well by the administration and lauded the Chief Minister saying he had done an "excellent work" for the marooned people. But, Modi differed sharply. "He (Sinha) might have seen good conditions at the camps he visited but I have been going to the camps in different areas for the past 9-10 days and I have found that anarchy prevailed in them," he told reporters. The state government had promised to provide five kg rice, two kg potato and one kg pulse to the flood victims but none of that was visible in the majority of the camps, Modi, who is the Leader of Opposition in the state Legislative Council, alleged, adding that there was gross non-availability of fodder for the animals in the inundated areas. On the other hand, Sinha told PTI that he narrated what he saw and experienced at the relief camps. "I do not believe in mixing politics at times of human tragedies and natural calamities...Everybody must follow the path of consensus in this hour of grief instead of confrontation," Sinha, popularly known as 'Bihari Babu', said without naming Modi. Sinha has been singing a different tune than that of the BJP ever since the Bihar Assembly polls last year in which he was ignored by the party. His praise of the state government and the Chief Minister provided ammunition to the ruling JD(U) in the state to fire salvo at the saffron party and its state leaders. JD(U) chief spokesman Sanjay Singh lauded Sinha for "speaking the truth unlike Sushil Modi who always sees politics even in a human tragedy". (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Jammu and Kashmir National Panthers Party today said the government should slap sedition charges against the separatists in Kashmir as they were responsible for the deteriorating security scenario in the Valley. "Soft approach adopted toward the separatists is responsible for deteriorating security scenario in the Valley. Sedition charges should be slapped against all those challenging the integrity and sovereignty of India," JKNPP Chairman Harsh Dev Singh told reporters. He said the prevalent situation mandated the invocation of Section 92 of the state's constitution and imposition of the Governor's rule. Singh criticised the separatists for refusing to meet the all-party delegation led by Home Minister Rajnath Singh and said "such subversive forces did not deserve any leniency and were required to be dealt with in accordance with the law". Singh said he apprised the all-party delegation of the "abuse of Article 370 and special status for the benefit of politicians". (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) An organisation of displaced people from PoK today held protests against the government here for not giving them separate time to meet the all-party delegation. SOS International, led by its chairman Rajiv Chuni, held a protest demonstration at the entry gate of the venue of all-party delegation over "failure of the government to grant separate time and audience to them as time of few minutes for their delegation was not sufficient". As they continued protests and raising anti-government slogans, the police took some of its activists into preventive detention for a brief time and later let them off. "We were cane-charged as if as we were anti-nationals. One of our elderly activist was injured. After taking us to police lines and kept for three hours there in detention, we were released. Is this the treatment that nationalists should face", Chunni claimed. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) As the national capital continues to battle spiralling cases of dengue and chikungunya, the South Delhi Municipal Corporation (SDMC) today launched 12 mobile fever clinics which will offer free treatment and medicine to people. "Each mobile clinic carries necessary supplies like paracetamol and other medicines used for fever. Besides, a team of a doctor and a nurse will travel in those vehicles," Leader of House in SDMC, Subhash Arya told PTI. SDMC has four zones, Central, South, West and Najafgarh. Three medium-sized vans will cover each region. "In view of the rising cases of dengue, chikungunya and viral fever, we realised it is important to reach out to people and take medical help to their doorsteps. Treatment and medicines will be offered free of cost," SDMC leader Ashish Sood said. "These will run till the end of dengue season. We may think of making those permanent," he said. The rising number of dengue and chikungunya cases has resulted in a slanging match between the three BJP-ruled municipal corporations and the AAP government in Delhi. Delhi Health Minister Satyendar Jain had last week alleged that the MCDs are "doing nothing" for either combating the vector-borne diseases or cleaning up the city. According to a municipal report released today, 560 cases of chikungunya have been reported in the national capital till September 3. Safdarjung Hospital alone had reported nearly 250 cases till August 29. During the same period, at least 771 dengue cases were reported, marking a rise of nearly 60 per cent over the count last week, while nine people died of this disease in the city. Jain has said hospitals run by the Delhi government are fully prepared to tackle the menace of chikungunya and dengue. "We have 10,000 beds and the number of fever clinics has been increased from 55 last year to 355. People should not panic," he said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) A string of bomb attacks hit across mostly government-controlled areas of Syria today, killing several dozen people including at least 30 in President Bashar al-Assad's coastal stronghold of Tartus, state media said. At least 43 people died in the blasts, and 45 were also wounded in the double bombing outside of Tartus city, which is home to a Russian naval base. There were no immediate claims of responsibility for the blasts, but the Islamic State group has regularly targeted several of the areas hit on Monday. Other attacks hit government-held Homs city, an army checkpoint on a road outside Damascus, and a Kurdish security forces checkpoint in Hasakeh city. In Tartus, two blasts targeted the Arzuna bridge, "the first a car bomb and the second a suicide bomber who detonated his explosive belt when people gathered to help the wounded," according to state television. Tartus has been largely spared the worst violence of Syria's conflict since it began with anti-government protests in March 2011. It has become a refuge for many Syrians fleeing the fighting that has displaced over half the country's population. In the northeast of the country, at least eight people were killed by a bomber on a bike in the city of Hasakeh, which is mostly controlled by Kurdish forces, though the regime is also present. Syrian state media said the dead were six members of the Asayesh security forces and two civilians. Hasakeh city has been regularly targeted by the Islamic State group, including in July, when a motorcycle bomber killed at least 16 people outside a bakery in the city. The IS-linked Amaq agency reported the blast in Hasakeh, but did not carry any immediate claim of responsibility. Monday's bombings came after advances by Turkish forces and allied Syrian rebels expelled IS from the last stretch of the Syrian-Turkish border under their control. The jihadist group has been losing ground to both an alliance of Kurdish and Arab fighters known as the Syrian Democratic Forces and, more recently, a Turkish offensive involving rebels loyal to Ankara. In central Homs city, state media said at least four people were killed in a car bomb at the entrance to the Al-Zahraa neighbourhood, whose residents mostly belong to the same Alawite sect as Assad. Al-Zahraa has also been regularly targeted in bomb attacks, including a devastating double bomb blast in February that killed 57 people and was claimed by IS. State television broadcast images from the aftermath of the blast in Homs, showing rubble strewn on the streets and smoke rising from the charred remains of vehicles. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Taking a dig at separatists for their "anti-Kashmiriyat behaviour", Chamber of Commerce of Jammu (CCIJ) today blamed successive governments' in the state for the present situation in Kashmir and said authorities should not allow hate speeches delivered from mosques against the security forces in the Valley. "We have told the delegation that it is the result of failure and non-deliverance of successive governments in the state due which it has led to the present turmoil. We hope they will take measures to rectify the mistakes," CCIJ president Rakesh Gupta told reporters this evening. On the question of separatists refusing to meet all-party delegation members, he said, "I cannot say whether they took a good or bad decision but even if enemy comes homes, he should have been welcomed by a cup of tea. It was wrong on the part of the separatists not to open the doors for the delegation members," he said. CCIJ asked the visiting delegation to ensure that "mosques in Kashmir should not be allowed to deliver hate speeches." "The issue of use of mosques for hate speeches was put forth and we asked them to ensure that religious places (mosques) should not be used for delivering provocative speeches against our security forces and asking the people to attack them," Gupta said. "Jammu and Kashmir is a sensitive state and we requested them not to utter any such words or issue statements that add fuel to fire which most people have been doing till now," he said. Gupta said, "We asked the major Opposition parties in India as to why they did not condole and condemn the attacks on our security forces and the deaths of soldiers. There is no space for playing politics in Jammu and Kashmir and we request all political parties to help restore normalcy here and play a positive role". "We condemn the statement of Dr Karan Singh, demanding the imposition of Governor rule in the state and we ask him as what good has he done for the people of the state which was most loved and taken care of well by his father and forefathers," he said. CCIJ rejected the trifurcation of the state and said, "We are not in favour of trifurcation but if the administration can't control the situation and deliver, then what choice will the Jammu people be left with and why should people of Ladakh and Jammu suffer who have always stood with the nation". Gupta said the strength of the security forces was not enough to contain the mobs and requested the centre to deploy "additional Central forces on permanent basis in the state. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The Tata-DoCoMo spat over USD 1.17 billion payment dispute today took a fresh turn with Tata Group urging a London court to set aside an ex-parte order obtained by the Japanese firm for enforcement of an arbitral award against the Indian company. On the other hand, DoCoMo -- citing the Indian company's filing in Delhi court on September 2 to block enforcement of the arbitral award -- charged the Tatas of attempting to "re-litigate arguments" that were already fully considered and rejected by the panel of London arbitrators appointed by the two companies. "Tata Sons has today filed an application to set aside an ex-parte order obtained by NTT DoCoMo from London's Commercial Court on July 25th, 2016," Tata Sons said in a statement. It may be recalled that DoCoMo had approached London's Commercial Court in July seeking enforcement of London Court of International Arbitration (LCIA) ruling against the Tatas for breach of contractual obligations pertaining to a shareholders' dispute in Tata Teleservices. Following the ex-parte order from London's Commercial Court in July, Tata Sons were granted time to file their application to set aside the said order. The latter has now moved the London Court on the same. Sources in DoCoMo told PTI that while the application had indeed been filed by Tatas in London's Commercial Court, the Indian company had not filed justification of evidence to support the application. Tatas, claimed DoCoMo sources, have time till September 30 to file evidence in support of their application. In a statement issued today, DoCoMo asserted that it is in its own interest to take all appropriate steps to enable Tata to fulfil its payment obligations in India, and therefore "Docomo is open to any discussion with Tata and the Indian government to enable this". Tatas have maintained that it is not permitted to pay the sum of USD 1.17 billion claimed by DoCoMo pursuant to the award, since the regulatory approval by Reserve Bank of India has been denied. In absence of such approval, enforcement of the award would be "unlawful under applicable Indian law and contrary to public policy", Tata Sons said. Tata Sons further said it has always been committed to honouring its contractual obligations "within the framework of Indian law". NTT DoCoMo in 2008 acquired 26.5 per cent stake in Tata Teleservices for about Rs 12,740 crore (at Rs 117 per share). This was as per a understanding that in case it exits the venture, it will be paid a minimum 50 per cent of the acquisition price. When DoCoMo decided to exit the joint venture - that struggled to grow subscribers quickly - it sought Rs 58 per share or Rs 7,200 crore from the Tatas. But the Indian Group offered Rs 23.34 a share in line with RBI guidelines that states that an international firm can only exit its investment at a valuation "not exceeding that arrived at on the basis of return on equity". The Finance Ministry had rejected a plea for exempting Tata-DoCoMo deal from the foreign exchange act, saying that the two firms had entered into a share buyback contract in contravention of prevalent law and the case would have to be settled legally. In June this year, a London tribunal LCIA ordered Tata Sons to pay DoCoMo a sum of USD 1.17 billion in compensation for breaching agreement on the India joint venture. The Japanese firm has filed a plea in the Delhi High Court seeking enforcement of the arbitration ruling. Tata Sons has deposited the entire amount of USD 1.17 billion with the registrar of the Delhi High Court which is hearing the matter. Japanese telecom major DoCoMo today accused its estranged Indian partner Tata Group of attempting to 're-litigate arguments' that were already fully considered and rejected by the panel of London arbitrators appointed by the two companies. "Instead of cooperating, and contrary to its publicly stated desire to pay, Tata used its court filing on September 2, to seek the Delhi court's assistance to block the enforcement of the award in India. In doing so, it appears that Tata is attempting to re-litigate arguments that already were fully considered and rejected by the panel of distinguished LCIA arbitrators appointed by both Tata and DoCoMo," the DoCoMo statement said. DoCoMo further said it is in the company's own interest to take all appropriate steps to enable Tatas to fulfil its payment obligations in India, and therefore "DoCoMo is open to any discussion with Tata and the Indian Government to enable this". Earlier today, Tata Group said it has approached a London court seeking setting aside of an ex-parte order obtained by the Japanese firm for enforcement of the arbitral award against the Indian company. "Tata Sons has today filed an application to set aside an ex-parte order obtained by NTT DoCoMo from London's commercial Court on July 25th, 2016," Tata Sons said. However, sources in DoCoMo told PTI, that while the application had indeed been filed by Tatas in London's Commercial Court, the Indian company had not filed justification of evidence to support the application. Tatas, claimed DoCoMo sources, have time till September 30 to file evidence in support of its application. Meanwhile, the statement by DoCoMo further said that while it did not wish to revisit its discussions with Tata in public, it has throughout sought Tata's cooperation to facilitate the payment of the award in line with the London Court of International Arbitration or LCIA tribunal's ruling. "Docomo had hoped that Tata would join it to seek confirmation from the Delhi High Court that enforcement of the LCIA award in India would not contravene Indian law. This clarity would have smoothed the path to payment of the award in India," DoCoMo said. In June this year, LCIA tribunal ordered Tata Sons to pay DoCoMo, a sum of USD 1.17 billion in compensation for breaching an agreement on India joint venture - Tata Teleservices. The Japanese firm has filed a plea in the Delhi High Court seeking enforcement of the arbitration ruling. Tata Sons has deposited the entire amount of USD 1.17 billion with the registrar of the Delhi High Court which is hearing the matter. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Locked in a $1.17 billion payment dispute with estranged partner NTT Docomo, Tata Group on Monday approached a London court seeking annulment of an ex-parte order obtained by the Japanese firm for enforcement of the arbitral award against the Indian company. "Tata Sons has today filed an application to set aside an ex-parte order obtained by NTT Docomo from London's Commercial Court on July 25th, 2016," Tata Sons said in a statement. Docomo had approached the London's Commercial Court seeking enforcement of the London Court of International Arbitration (LCIA) award against the Tatas for breach of contractual obligations pertaining to a shareholders' dispute in Tata Teleservices. Sources said that following the ex-parte order from London's Commercial Court in July, Tata Sons were granted some time to file their application to set aside the ex-parte order. The LCIA in June had ordered Tata Sons to pay Docomo $1.17 billion in compensation for breaching an agreement on India joint venture. "Tata Sons' position is that it is not permitted to pay the sum claimed by Docomo pursuant to the award, since regulatory approval by the India's central bank, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), which is necessary for performance of the award, has been denied," Tata Sons statement said. In absence of such approval, enforcement of the award would be unlawful under applicable Indian law and contrary to public policy, the statement added. Tata Sons further said it has always been committed to honouring its contractual obligations within the framework of Indian law. "In recent weeks, the company has been disappointed with the lack of cooperation from Docomo in arriving at an amicable resolution by jointly engaging with the Indian Government and the Regulator on the issue," Tata Sons said. Alleging that Docomo has been confusing its intent to pay with what is legally payable by the Indian company, Tata Sons said its intent is to pay but within the confines of the law. Tata Sons noted that Docomo had also earlier initiated enforcement proceedings in India, the place of residence and where the substantial assets of Tata Sons are located. "Tata Sons had deposited on July 30, the entire amount of $1.17 billion claimed by Docomo with the Court Registrar, High Court of Delhi, in connection with these proceedings before the High Court in Delhi, and has also filed its objections," Tata Sons added. NTT Docomo in November 2008 acquired 26.5 per cent stake in Tata Teleservices for about Rs 12,740 crore (at Rs 117 per share). This was according to a understanding that in case it exits the venture within five years, it will be paid a minimum 50 per cent of the acquisition price. Docomo in April 2014 decided to exit the joint venture that struggled to grow subscribers quickly. It sought Rs 58 per share or Rs 7,200 crore from the Tatas. But the Indian Group offered Rs 23.34 a share in line with the RBI guidelines that states that an international firm can only exit its investment at a valuation not exceeding that arrived at on the basis of return on equity. The Finance Ministry had rejected a plea for exempting Tata-Docomo deal from the foreign exchange act, saying that the two firms had entered into a share buyback contract in contravention of prevalent law and the case would have to be settled legally. Nagaland today celebrated Teachers' Day, the birth anniversary of Dr Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan, with a call for imparting quality education from the primary level. Nagaland Minister for School Education, Yitachu, expressed concern that in Nagaland the primary level has been neglected for quite long. He said that if the primary level is neglected, the future of the students cannot be bright and the state in general will not be able to progress. Therefore, he said, it is time that primary level education should be given the prime concern. The minister said this while participating in the main celebration organised by School Education Department here. Yitachu also called upon the teachers to re-dedicate themselves to the profession. He appealed them to be committed to provide quality education to the weaker section of the society. The Minister also appealed to the students, who had gathered to greet their teachers, to focus on their studies to be a successful and disciplined citizen and that it would be the greatest gift for their teachers. Commissioner and Secretary of the Department, F P Solo said that quality education can be imparted only by well trained and qualified teachers. In this context, he said that the department has come out with a policy for training the untrained government teachers. He also appealed to the management of private schools to recruit only trained candidates as teachers and make arrangement for existing untrained teachers. General Secretary of All Nagaland Private School Association, Nini Sekhose said a teacher is someone who has decided to dedicate the rest of his or her life to make a difference in the world. Taking the opportunity, Sekhose reminded the state government about its promise made during Teachers Day 2014 that private schools would be provided with Mathematics and Science teachers, which is yet to be fulfilled. Marking the occasion, altogether 24 teachers, including segven private school teachers, were honoured with state level award at a function. They received citation and cash award while the state government also extended financial support to seven teachers undergoing serious treatment. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) A teenager who plotted to run down and behead a police officer in an Anzac Day terrorist attack in Australia after being "corrupted by lunatic clerics" was today sentenced to 10 years in jail. Sevdet Besim, 19, pleaded guilty to "doing an act in preparation, or planning for, a terrorist act" over the 2015 plan to attack commemorations in Melbourne honouring soldiers who fought and died for Australia. The Victorian Supreme Court had previously heard that Besim discussed the plot in encrypted messages with a British boy, who was 14 at the time. The boy, who cannot be named for legal reasons, masterminded the foiled plot from his bedroom in Lancashire, northern England and was jailed for five years last October. Justice Michael Croucher said Besim's proposed "putrid act" was aimed at advancing violent jihad, intimidating the government and striking fear into the wider community. "To the vast majority of the community, it's unfathomable an 18-year-old boy planned to kill a law enforcement officer, to crash into him with a car and then behead him with a knife," Croucher said. "As part of his planning for this putrid act, Mr Besim conducted internet searches on Anzac Day and places where there might be memorials. "He had a knife, he had a car, he had a jihad flag, he had the encouragement of S (the British boy), and a mind corrupted by lunatic clerics. "That was all he needed to commit this atrocity, and he was prepared to die trying." The court heard that Besim, who was arrested a week before Anzac Day, was an associate of Numan Haider, who was shot and killed by counter-terrorism forces in 2014 in Melbourne after stabbing two police officers. Croucher said Besim wanted to go to the Middle East and join the so-called Islamic State, but he was refused a passport and when Haider was killed decided "that he must take up the fight here in Melbourne". "Fortunately, however, Mr Besim's plot was foiled," he added in sentencing him to 10 years in prison. Australia raised its threat level to high in September 2014 and has since carried out a series of counter-terrorism raids, with alarm fuelled by the departure of dozens of its nationals to Iraq and Syria to fight with jihadists. A handful of terror-related attacks have been foiled on home soil over the past 18 months, authorities have said, but several have taken place, including the murder of a Sydney police employee last year. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Police today started a case of kidnapping against unknown persons three days after a class X student of the Scottish Church Collegiate School, one of the oldest schools in the country. Biseswar Pal (15) of Phoolbagan was reportedly missing from the school on Saturday, family members alleged. School authorities, however, claimed that Biseswar was suspended from school over a month ago for tampering with his marksheet and was absent on Saturday. Infuriated family members of Biseswar today held demonstration inside the 186-year-old school and police had to intervene, a senior police officer said. A case of under Section 363 IPC (kidnapping) was recorded against unknown persons and search for the teenager was launched, he said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) A wanted terrorist allegedly involved in killing of eight Pakistani soldiers has been arrested in restive Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province. The Counter Terrorism Department (CTD) of police arrested the terrorist Anwar AIi during a raid in Matta tehsil of Swat district and took him to undisclosed location for interrogation, police said. Ali was allegedly involved in the killing of eight army jawans at Peochar area of Matta tehsil in 2009. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) A third massive explosion shook central Monday night, hours after a Taliban double bombing killed at least 24 people and left 91 wounded, in another day of carnage in the Afghan capital. Authorities said they were trying to pin down the location of the third blast and there was no immediate claim of responsibility from any militant group. It jolted the capital just hours after high-level officials, including an army general, were killed in the twin blasts near the defence ministry, as the Taliban ramp up their nationwide offencive against the US-backed government. A suicide bomber struck the area just minutes after the first explosion, in an assault apparently aimed at inflicting mass casualties as officials left the ministry after work. "The first explosion occurred on a bridge near the defence ministry. The second struck just as soldiers, policemen and civilians hurried to help the victims," defence ministry spokesman Mohammad Radmanish told AFP. Ambulances rushed to the scene, littered with disfigured bodies and charred debris. But there were so many bodies that some had to be taken to hospitals in car boots and the back of police pickup trucks. Firemen, meanwhile, raced to retrieve some bodies thrown into the River by the intensity of the first blast on the bridge. Health ministry spokesman Waheed Majroh said the attack left 24 people dead and 91 wounded, some of them seriously, adding the casualties could rise still further. The Italian-run Emergency Hospital in Kabul, which was overwhelmed with wounded patients, tweeted that four people died on arrival. The interior ministry initially said the attack was carried out by two suicide bombers on foot. But officials later said the first bomb was detonated remotely while the second was triggered by a suicide bomber. Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said on Twitter that the defence ministry was the object of the first attack, while police were targeted in the second. President Ashraf Ghani strongly condemned the carnage and offered condolences to the families of the victims. "The enemies of Afghanistan have lost their ability to fight the security and defence forces of the country," Ghani said in a statement. "That is why they are attacking highways, cities, mosques, schools and common people." The attack took place more than a week after 16 people were killed when militants stormed the American University of Afghanistan in Kabul, in a nearly 10-hour raid that prompted anguished pleas for help from trapped students. Explosions and gunfire rocked the campus in that attack, which came just weeks after two university professors an American and an Australian were kidnapped at gunpoint near the school. Their whereabouts are still unknown and no group so far has publicly claimed responsibility for the abductions. The uptick in violence in the capital comes as the Taliban escalate nationwide attacks, underscoring the worsening security situation since NATO forces ended their combat mission at the end of 2014. Libyan politicians today began two days of UN-brokered talks in Tunis to discuss power struggles and jihadist threats that are undermining stability in the oil-rich country. The members of the Libyan Political Dialogue signed in December 2015 a political agreement that established the UN-backed Government of National Accord (GNA). But nine months on, the GNA led by Fayez al-Sarraj is still struggling to fully impose its legitimacy across the North African nation and facing rejection by Libya's parliament. The internationally recognised legislature has repeatedly refused to give the GNA the vote of confidence it needs in order to formally take office. On August 22, it again voted no confidence in the GNA and gave a nine-member presidential council headed by Sarraj a "final chance" to propose a new cabinet. Today's talks also come as forces loyal to the GNA were facing stiff resistance from Islamic State group holdouts in the coastal city of Sirte. The pro-government forces launched an offensive in May to retake Sirte from IS jihadists, who had seized the hometown of slain dictator Moamer Kadhafi in June 2015. The capture of Sirte by IS sparked fears the jihadists would use the city as a springboard for attacks on Europe. National support for the GNA is seen as crucial to restoring stability and to tackling IS, which took advantage of the chaos that has gripped Libya since the 2011 uprising that ousted Kadhafi to take a foothold in the country. Jamel Achour, one of the participants at the Tunis talks, said the meeting was aimed at trying to "find urgent solutions to the stifling climate facing the country". "The Libyan nation needs the presidential council to take concrete steps... To solve the problems we and our children are facing," he said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) At least 24 people were killed today when two Taliban suicide bombers on foot struck close to the defence ministry in Kabul during late afternoon rush hour, the latest assault on the Afghan capital. Around 30 others were wounded in the assault, which comes as the Taliban intensify their nationwide offensive against the US-backed government. The two bombers blew themselves up in rapid succession, in an attack apparently aimed at inflicting mass casualties as government workers left the ministry after work. "The first explosion occurred on a bridge near the defence ministry. When soldiers, policemen and civilians rushed to the scene, there was the second explosion," defence ministry spokesman Mohammad Radmanish told AFP. Health ministry said 24 people were killed in the blasts. The Italian-run Emergency Hospital in Kabul tweeted that it had so far received 10 injured people, with more expected to arrive. President Ashraf Ghani strongly condemned the attack. "The enemies of Afghanistan are losing the fight in the ground battle with security forces," Ghani said in a statement. "That is why they are attacking, highways, cities, mosques, schools and ordinary people." Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said on Twitter that the defence ministry was the object of the first attack, while police were targeted in the second. The attack took place more than a week after 16 people were killed when militants stormed the American University of Afghanistan in Kabul, in a nearly 10-hour raid that prompted anguished pleas for help from trapped students. Explosions and gunfire rocked the campus in that attack, which came just weeks after two university professors -- an American and an Australian -- were kidnapped at gunpoint near the school. Their whereabouts are still unknown and no group so far has publicly claimed responsibility for the abductions, the latest in a series of kidnappings in the conflict-torn country. The uptick in violence in the capital comes as the Taliban escalate nationwide attacks, underscoring the worsening security situation since NATO forces ended their combat mission at the end of 2014. Afghan forces backed by US troops are seeking to head off a potential Taliban takeover of Lashkar Gah, the capital of the southern opium-rich province of Helmand. The Taliban have also closed in on Kunduz -- the northern city they briefly seized last year in their biggest military victory since the 2001 US invasion -- leaving Afghan forces stretched on multiple fronts. But NATO coalition forces have insisted that neither Kunduz nor Lashkar Gah are at risk of falling to the insurgents. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) At least 24 people were killed and 91 wounded today in a Taliban double suicide bombing in central Kabul during late afternoon rush hour, the latest assault on the Afghan capital. The carnage near the defence ministry came as the Taliban ramp up their nationwide summer offensive against the US-backed government. The two bombers on foot blew themselves up in rapid succession, in an assault apparently aimed at inflicting mass casualties as government employees left the ministry after work. "The first explosion occurred on a bridge near the defence ministry. When soldiers, policemen and civilians rushed to the scene, there was the second explosion," defence ministry spokesman Mohammad Radmanish told AFP. Health ministry spokesman Waheed Majroh said the attack left 24 people dead and 91 others wounded, some of them seriously. "The casualties could rise still further," Majroh said. The Italian-run Emergency Hospital in Kabul tweeted that it had so far received 21 injured people, four of whom died on arrival. President Ashraf Ghani strongly condemned the attack and offered condolences to the families of the victims. "The enemies of Afghanistan have lost their ability to fight the Security and Defense Forces of the country," Ghani said in a statement. "That is why they are attacking highways, cities, mosques, schools and common people." Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said on Twitter that the defence ministry was the object of the first attack, while police were targeted in the second. The attack took place more than a week after 16 people were killed when militants stormed the American University of Afghanistan in Kabul, in a nearly 10-hour raid that prompted anguished pleas for help from trapped students. Explosions and gunfire rocked the campus in that attack, which came just weeks after two university professors -- an American and an Australian -- were kidnapped at gunpoint near the school. Their whereabouts are still unknown and no group so far has publicly claimed responsibility for the abductions, the latest in a series of kidnappings in the conflict-torn country. The uptick in violence in the capital comes as the Taliban escalate nationwide attacks, underscoring the worsening security situation since NATO forces ended their combat mission at the end of 2014. Afghan forces backed by US troops are seeking to head off a potential Taliban takeover of Lashkar Gah, the capital of the southern opium-rich province of Helmand. The Taliban have also closed in on Kunduz -- the northern city they briefly seized last year in their biggest military victory since the 2001 US invasion -- leaving Afghan forces stretched on multiple fronts. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Two persons were killed and three others injured by robbers in Limkheda Taluka in Dahod district, police said today. A group of around 15 robbers armed with bow-arrow, guns and wooden sticks attacked the house of one Udesinh Ravat last night. They looted gold-silver jewellery, cash and a mobile phone worth Rs 1.94 lakh from Udesinh's house and his grocery shop, they said. They injured Udesinh's mother Kumatiben Ravat and daughter Sarlaben Ravat by attacking them with wooden sticks when they tried to resist, police said. When a neighbour Balwantsinh Baria tried to intervene after the victims raised an alarm, the robbers shot him in the head. He succumed to his injuries at a nearby hospital, they said. On their way out, robbers also attacked Chandubhai Baria's house at Goria village and killed him and injured his wife Samudhiben Baria, while taking away a goat from his house, police said. "We have lodged an FIR under sections 395 (dacoity), 396 (dacoity with murder), and 397 (robbery with attempt to cause death or injury), and Arms Act sections 25 (1), and 26(1), and are investigating the matter, though nobody have been arrested so far," Limkheda police sub-inspector P H Vasava said. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Two militants were gunned down today by security forces after a fierce encounter in a forest bordering South Waziristan Agency in northwest Pakistan, police said. The encounter took place in Tank district, Khyber Pakthukhwa, bordering Souht Waziristan Agency. District Police Officer Rasul Shah said that the law enforcement agencies were informed by theintelligence sourcesabout the presence of wanted militants near a forest on the outskirts of Tank district. The security forces along with the police cordoned off the area and launched search operation. The encounter later culminated in the killing of both the militants, he said. Police also recovered hand grenades and ammunition from their possession. DPO said that both the militants were wanted by Dera Ismail Khan policein several heinous crimes. Meanwhile, police today recoveredthe bullet-ridden body of a peace activist near Bhtyariwater channel in the limits of Gomal Bazar police station. Police have launched an investigation in the matter. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Several countries from around the world are interested in striking trade deals with Britain as it prepares to leave the European Union, new Prime Minister Theresa May said today. "The leaders from India, Mexico, South Korea, and Singapore said that they would welcome talks on removing the barriers to trade between our countries," May told reporters after a G20 summit in the Chinese city of Hangzhou. "The Australian trade minister will visit the UK this week to take part in exploratory discussions on the shape of a UK-Australia trade deal," she added. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The will meet tomorrow morning in New York to consider a response to the latest missile launches by North Korea, diplomats said today. The discussion, requested by council members Japan and the United States, is slated to begin at 11:30 am local time (1530 GMT). Today, Pyongyang test-fired three ballistic missiles into the Sea of Japan, a new show of force as world leaders meet at the G20 summit in China. A senior US administration official at the G20 in Hangzhou condemned the launches as a threat to its allies and to civilian air travel, and vowed diplomatic action against Pyongyang. The missiles were fired into the Sea of Japan (East Sea) from the North's Hwangju county at around 0300 GMT, a spokesman for Seoul's defense ministry said. North Korea has conducted a series of missile tests this year in defiance of UN sanctions imposed after its fourth nuclear test in January. Last month, North Korea fired a submarine-launched ballistic missile from the northeastern port of Sinpo. That missile flew 500 kilometres wards Japan, far exceeding the range of the North's previous sub-launched missiles. Three days later the security council strongly condemned North Korea for test-firing ballistic missiles and agreed to take "significant measures," without elaborating. The 15-member council issued the toughly-worded condemnation in a unanimous statement drafted by the United States and backed by China, Pyongyang's main ally. North Korea is barred under UN resolutions from any use of ballistic missile technology. In March the Council adopted the toughest sanctions ever imposed on North Korea in response to the country's military programs. The US today condemned North Korea's recent ballistic missiles test, terming it as a violation of the UN Security Council resolutions. "We strongly condemn this and North Korea's other recent missile tests, which violate UN Security Council Resolutions explicitly prohibiting North Korea's launches using ballistic missile technology," said Pentagon Spokesman Navy Commander Gary Ross. The US Strategic Command systems detected and tracked what it assessed were three North Korean missile launches on September 4 near the western city of Hwangju. "Two of the three missiles are presumed to be intermediate range ballistic missiles. The type of the other missile is still being assessed," Stratcom said. The missiles were tracked over North Korea and into the Sea of Japan, it added. Ross said this provocation only serves to increase the international community's resolve to counter the DPRK's prohibited activities, including through implementing existing UN Security Council sanctions. Multiple UN Security Council resolutions require the DPRK to suspend all activities related to its ballistic missile program, he asserted. "We intend to raise our concerns at the UN to bolster international resolve in holding the DPRK accountable for these actions. Our commitment to the defence of our allies, including the Republic of Korea and Japan, in the face of these threats, is ironclad. We remain prepared to defend ourselves and our allies from any attack or provocation," Ross said. "We call on North Korea to refrain from actions that further raise tensions in the region and focus instead on taking concrete steps toward fulfilling its commitments and international obligations," he added. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) An investigation by the special cell of the Vigilance and Anti-corruption Bureau (VACB) has unearthed documents related to land deals allegedly by a suspected benami of former Kerala Excise Minister K Babu. VACB officials today said one Baburam had effected 27 land deals worth crores of rupees between 2011 and 2016 when Babu, a senior Congress leader, was a Minister in the Congress-led UDF government. It came to the fore two days after Kerala's anti- corruption watchdog conducted searches at the residences of Babu, his two daughters and his two alleged benamis in connection with a disproportionate assets case against him. The Ernakulam VACB special cell team had seized valuable documents from their houses. VACB sources said Baburam owns land worth crores of rupees in Thrippunithura and other parts of the state. In the FIR filed before the Court of Enquiry Commissioner and Special Judge, Muvattupuzha, VACB Special Cell has submitted that Babu used Baburam as his benami for the land dealings. "He (Babu) also invested ill-gotten money for the benami business with one Mohanan, Royal Bakers, Thrippunithura." '"During the verification it is revealed that Baburam and Mohanan have no source for running their business and they use luxury vehicles like BMW and Benz. Inquiry revealed that the assets possessed by them are the benami of Babu," the FIR said. Babu and his alleged benamis have rejected the charges against them. "It is an act of vengeance against me," the Congress leader had said reacting to the raids. Meanwhile, tightening the investigation against Babu, the probe team has decided to examine the bank lockers of his daughter in Ernakulam. Babu's personal staff member one Nandakumar was summoned by the probe agency in its office to record his statement. (REOPENS MDS3) Vigilance sleuths found 117 sovereigns of gold jewels in a nationalised bank locker of Babu's daughter in Ernakulam. They sealed the locker after examination, Vigilance special cell officials said. They said Babu's daughter's locker in another nationalised bank would also be examined. Mining conglomerate will invest up to Rs 3,000 crore in copper operations to double the capacity to 8 lakh tonnes by 2019, making the firm India's largest producer of the metal. The firm led by billionaire Anil Agrawal has a custom smelter, a refinery, phosphoric acid plant, sulphuric acid plant, copper rod plant and three captive power plants at Tuticorin (Tamil Nadu) as well as a refinery and two copper rod plants at Silvassa (Dadra and Nagar Haveli). "We will invest Rs 2,500-3,000 crore in our copper operations to double the capacity from 400 kilo tonnes at present. This will happen by 2019," CEO of Vedanta's Copper business R Ramnath told PTI. Copper, which accounts for over 30 per cent of Vedanta's total revenue, is an important industrial metal with extensive use in sectors such as power, telecom, consumer durables and electrical goods. The company has been granted around 250 acres of land by the Tamil Nadu government in the special economic zone area in Titucorin, where it will set up another smelter of 400 kilo tonnes capacity, he added. After the addition of this facility, will become India's largest copper producer. At present, India has a total copper capacity of 10 lakh tonnes, of which Hindalco accounts for 5 lakh tonnes followed by (4 lakh tonnes) and state-run Hindustan Copper (1 lakh tonnes). In April-June quarter of 2016-17, Vedanta's revenue from copper business stood at $696 million, lower by 21 per cent year-on-year and 15 per cent sequentially. Production from the Tuticorin smelter stood at 100,000 tonnes of cathodes during the June quarter. The company said it expects the Tuticorin smelter to produce 4,00,000 tonnes of cathodes in 2016-17, ending March 2017. (Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc will pay an official visit to China from September 10 to 15, it was announced here today. His visit to Beijing comes close on the heels of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to Hanoi where the two countries reached 12 agreements to boost ties including in the defence sector. During Phuc's visit, Chinese leaders will hold talks with him, exchanging views on bilateral ties and issues of common concern, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson, Hua Chunying told a media briefing. "At present China- relations are sound," Hua said. Phuc will also attend the 13th China-ASEAN Expo to be held from September 11 to 14 in the southern city of Nanning, capital of Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region. "We hope Phuc's visit will enhance bilateral strategic communication, strengthen mutually beneficial cooperation and bring real benefits to the people of two countries," Hua said. China and has tenuous ties as the two countries have counter claims over the resource-rich South China Sea. Near-simultaneous bombings claimed by the group struck in and around strongholds of the Syrian government and Kurdish troops today, killing at least 48 people in a wave of attacks that came a day after the militants lost a vital link to the outside world along the Syrian-Turkish border. The IS-run Aamaq news agency said the attacks included six suicide bombings and one remotely detonated blast. Most targeted security forces. The Britain-based Observatory, which maintains a network of contacts in Syria, put the overall death toll at 53, although Syrian state TV said 48 were killed. Conflicting casualty figures are common in the 5-year-old Syria civil war. Jennifer Cafarella, a Syria expert with the Washington-based Institute for the Study of War, said it was too soon to say if the attacks by the IS group were a reaction to its recent defeats along the border. But she cautioned that setbacks for IS can lead to "a dangerous new phase" by the group, which sometimes resorts to "infiltration and spectacular attacks that exploit and widen rifts" between populations, groups and security forces in both western and northern Syria. Turkey's recent intervention in the north has exposed major rifts and encouraged anti-Kurdish activity, Cafarella said in emails to The Associated Press. She said it was likely that as IS militants are pushed out of territory, they will increasingly target government and Kurdish areas. "So it's a dangerous possibility that we're witnessing ISIS gear up for a campaign to expand westward into either or both regime and opposition territory as it loses to the anti-ISIS coalition," she said, using an acronym for the militant group. The territorial losses at the border were the biggest blow to the militant group that also has suffered a series of recent battlefield setbacks in Syria and Iraq. Syrian rebels, backed by Turkish warplanes and tanks, continued to push IS fighters out of the border strip today, securing their hold on an area seized a day earlier. In Hangzhou, China, meanwhile, President Barack Obama said the US and Russia have not given up on negotiations to halt the bloodshed in Syria, but acknowledged that "gaps of trust" exist between the rival powers. Significant sticking points remain in negotiations over creating a US-Russian military partnership focusing firepower on "common enemies" in Syria, Obama said. He acknowledged that a meeting today with Russian President Vladimir Putin did not yield a breakthrough. Justifying the refusal of separatist leaders to hold talks with the all-party delegation of MPs, hardline Hurriyat Conference today said they were not invited officially as New Delhi is "scared" of any meaningful dialogue with them and Pakistan to address the issue. "They never officially invited us (separatists) and at the same time (they) blame us for rejecting it. It is not only shameful but speaks volumes about their truthfulness, sincerity and clarity... India is scared of any meaningful dialogue with Hurriyat and Pakistan," hardline Hurriyat said in a statement here. Reacting to the statement of Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh that separatists did not believe in humanity, democracy or even Kashmiriyat, the amalgam said, "as always, this press conference (of Singh) is full of lies, deceit, denial and contradictions". The statement said, "We don't need lectures and sermons on democracy and humanity...They tried to play a game of 'win only' for them as they just wanted to discredit us as whether we accept their offer of dialogue which never came or we ignore their casual personal gestures." It said, "The sole intention of the delegation was to act as firefighting just to derail and fizzle the current movement out through these age old tactics, as they have been doing whenever Kashmiris stood up for their basic rights. (Reopen DEL49) Meanwhile, moderate Hurriyat Conference led by Mirwaiz Umar Farooq rejected the Home Minister's assertion that Kashmir is an integral part of India, contending that it is an "internationally-accepted dispute since 1947". "Government of India (GoI) should give up its adamant stance, which is devoid of facts and ground realities. It should instead become serious in finding a peaceful and long- lasting solution to the vexed Kashmir issue and initiate steps for its resolution, which would not only help in restoring peace in Kashmir but also create an environment for development and prosperity in entire South Asia," it said in a statement here. It also gave reasons for refusal of Mirwaiz to hold talks with three members of all party delegation. "As the delegation did not have the mandate to talk outside the Indian Constitution and did not acknowledge the disputed nature of Kashmir but instead considered it an integral part of India, joint resistance leadership had decided that it was futile to engage with it as it could not in any way address the people's will and aspirations, for which people are striving and greatly sacrificing," the Hurriyat said. The spokesman said similar decision of no talks was conveyed to the delegation, who later went to meet executive member Prof Abdul Ghani Bhat at his residence. Caroline Wozniacki, derailed this year by an ankle injury which sent her career into a tailspin, and Anastasija Sevastova, who quit the sport three years ago, set up a US Open quarter-final duel. Former world number one Wozniacki, the runner-up in 2009 and 2014, downed American eighth seed Madison Keys 6-3, 6-4 to make the last-eight in New York for a fifth time yesterday. Now ranked at 74 in the world after a right ankle injury sidelined her for almost three months, the Danish star hit just seven unforced errors in her win over Keys. Wozniacki is back in the last-eight of a Slam for the first time since making the semi-finals in New York in 2014. "After such a tough year, it's amazing to be in the quarter-finals," said the 26-year-old whose Grand Slam record this year had seen first round losses in Australia and Wimbledon while she sat out Roland Garros. "I was nervous in the last game. I told my serve please hold out. I knew Madison wouldn't give much up and that she'd go for the big shots, so I tried to keep it on her backhand side." Sevastova became the first Latvian woman in 22 years to reach a Grand Slam quarter-final when she beat British 13th seed Johanna Konta 6-4, 7-5. The 26-year-old world number 48 knocked out French Open champion and third seed Garbine Muguruza in the second round and she built on that victory on Arthur Ashe Stadium in a last 16 tie which featured 12 breaks of serve. The Briton was undone by 34 unforced errors. Larisa Savchenko was the last Latvian woman to make the quarter-finals of a Slam at Wimbledon in 1994. - Latvian breakthrough - ======================== Sevastova had not won a match in New York since 2010 before this year and with her career unravelling she quit in May 2013 to study leisure management in Austria. She returned to the sport in January 2015 and that decision has been fully vindicated by her stunning run in New York. "I had a lot of injuries. I was depressed and it just wasn't fun anymore, but now I'm back," said Sevastova when asked why she turned her back on the sport. Konta, bidding to become the first British woman in the quarter-finals in New York since Jo Durie in 1983, never recovered from a poor start. A semi-finalist at the Australian Open in January, the 25-year-old was 3-0 down in the first set and 4-1 behind in the second. She managed to save a match point in the ninth game of the second set but Sevastova held her nerve to secure victory after 1 hour and 42 minutes. "It was so tough to play her," said Sevastova. "But even though I had match point, I knew that with the sun at one end and the shade at the other I'd get another chance to break her. "I just told myself to fight and fight." Wozniacki defeated Sevastova in their only previous meeting, in straight sets in the Australian Open last 16 in 2011. Italian seventh seed and 2015 runner-up Roberta Vinci reached the quarter-finals for the fourth time with a 7-6 (7/5), 6-2 win over Lesia Tsurenko of Ukraine. Vinci, 33, and suffering with a tendon injury in her leg, will face either second seeded Angelique Kerber of Germany or Petra Kvitova of the Czech Republic for a place in the semi-finals. "I love to play here. The atmosphere, the crowd, everything is great," said Vinci who knocked out Serena Williams in the semi-finals in 2015 before losing the final to compatriot Flavia Pennetta. The remaining four last-16 matches take place on Monday when world number one and six-time winner Serena Williams tackles Yaroslava Shvedova of Kazakhstan. Carla Suarez Navarro meets Simona Halep while Agnieszka Radwanska takes on teenager Ana Konjuh and two-time champion Venus Williams faces Karolina Pliskova. Chinese President Xi Jinping offered Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe an olive branch at their first meeting in over a year on Monday, Beijing's official news agency Xinhua reported. The Asian giants have been at loggerheads over territorial disputes and historical animosity, but Xi said they should "put aside disruptions" in their relationship and return to normal development, Xinhua said. For his part Abe said that Tokyo wanted to "manage difficult issues" and promote win-win cooperation, Japan's Kyodo news agency reported. The relationship between the two powers the world's second and third-largest economies is crucial to regional stability but they have a longstanding dispute over islands in the East China Sea controlled by Japan, which knows them as Senkaku, and claimed by China, which calls them Diaoyu. The comments after a in Hangzhou were in marked contrast to the last time the two met on Chinese soil, on the sidelines of an APEC summit in 2014, when they could barely conceal their mutual distaste. Ties later thawed, but tensions have been rising again in recent months as Japan weighs in on another Chinese territorial dispute in the South China Sea, where Beijing has built artificial islands capable of supporting military facilities. Abe has vocally criticised China for rejecting a July ruling by an tribunal that said extensive claims to the strategically vital waters had no legal basis. A 24-year-old man, who had come with his friends from Jaipur to Bhimlat Kund, a popular picnic spot here, drowned while bathing in the water reservoir, police said today. The incident occurred last afternoon when Hemant Tailor slipped into the deeper part of the kund while bathing, officials from the Sadar police station said. The man, a resident of Churu, was in Jaipur in search of some employment and happened to come to Bhimlat in Bundi for picnic with his friends, they said. Search for the body was launched by the police personnel and later a rescue team from Kota Municipal Corporation was also called but it is yet to be recovered, an official from Bundi police control room said. The family members of the man have also reached the spot from Churu this morning, he added. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Two youths who chopped off the ear of a 24-year-old student preparing for civil services examinations over a petty dispute have been arrested in Timarpur area of north Delhi, police said today. Police said that victim Gaurav Singh, native of Hapur (UP) lived in a rented accommodation in Timarpur where his two neighbours attacked him and chopped off his left ear, at around 11.30 pm on Saturday. The accused Pankaj and Manjeet who had been absconding after the incident have been arrested, said a senior police officer. On the day of the incident, the elderly landlady of Gaurav had asked him to go to the neighbouring youths and ask them to check their overfilled tank as its watter was spilling over to her own house. Gaurav, who was preparing for civil services, went to the duo to ask them to turn off their water pump and there was some altercation after which he came back to his place. Later, the duo allegedly armed with sticks and sharp edged weapons attacked him in his room and chopped off his left ear, he said. Police reached the spot after receiving a PCR call and rushed him to hospital where doctors operated on him to attach the severed portion of his ear. The accused who were absconding were later arrested, he added. (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) By Ruby Lian, Josephine Mason and Rania El Gamal HANGZHOU, China (Reuters) - Saudi Arabia and Russia agreed on Monday to cooperate in oil markets, saying they will not act immediately but could limit output in future, sending oil prices higher on hopes the two top producers would work together to tackle a global glut. The joint statement was signed by the country's energy ministers in China on the sidelines of a G20 gathering and followed a meeting between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Saudi Deputy Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. Russian Energy Minister Alexander Novak said the two countries were moving to a strategic energy partnership and that a high level of trust would allow them to address global challenges. His Saudi counterpart Khalid al-Falih said the agreement would encourage other producers to cooperate. Oil prices soared almost 5 percent ahead of a conference by the ministers but pared gains to trade up 2 percent by 1130 GMT as the agreement yielded no immediate action. "There is no need now to freeze production ... We have time to take this kind of decision," Falih said. "Freezing production is one of the preferred possibilities but it does not have to happen specifically today." Even if the Monday statement was short on actions, it marks a significant development in the Russia-Saudi relationship. The two countries have been effectively fighting a proxy war in Syria and Moscow also sees itself as a big ally of Iran - Riyadh's arch-rival in the Middle East. FREEZE TALKS The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries will hold informal talks in Algeria later this month, and is scheduled to meet officially in Vienna in November. Several OPEC producers have called for an output freeze to rein in the glut, which arose as supplies from high-cost producers such as the United States soared. The price collapse of the past two years has hit the budgets of major producers such as Russia and Saudi Arabia while leading to unrest and social tensions is smaller producing nations such as Venezuela and Nigeria. OPEC's de-facto leader Saudi Arabia has also signalled willingness to cooperate as it faces budget pressures and seeks to float a stake in state-owned producer Aramco. Any deal between OPEC and non-OPEC Russia would be the first in 15 years since Moscow agreed to cut production in tandem with the group at the turn of the millennium, although Russia never followed through on that promise. Novak said he was open to ideas on what cut-off period to use if producing nations decided to freeze output. If output is frozen at the levels of the start of 2015, it would effectively mean a production cut as most producers - including Saudi Arabia, Russia, Iraq and Iran - have steeply boosted production since then. Novak also said outright oil production cuts could also be discussed. CRUDE OVERHANG In April, Russia was prepared to freeze output together with OPEC but talks collapsed after Riyadh said it would agree to a deal only if OPEC's third-largest producer, Iran, participated. Iran argues that it needs to regain market share lost during years of Western sanctions, which were lifted in January. Putin said last week that a new deal on oil output could involve some compromise on Iranian output. "We believe that the oil market rebalancing has been rather delayed ... And certainly joint actions which were considered at the beginning of the year, including a freeze, could have drawn much nearer the date of rebalancing of the respective markets," Novak said on Monday. "We are ready, if there is such a decision, to join (an oil output freeze)," TASS agency cited Novak as saying. Oil prices collapsed to as low as $27 per barrel earlier this year from as high as $115 in mid-2014 but have since recovered to around $50. "The market is getting better and we noticed that the prices reflect this (improvement)," said Falih. "A coordinated and appropriate, collective decision on production will help bring balance and reduce inventories in a more timely manner". (Additional reporting by Maria Kiselyova and Katya Golubkova in Moscow; Writing by Henning Gloystein in Singapore and Dmitry Zhdannikov in London; Editing by Christian Schmollinger and Dale Hudson) (Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The recent arrest of an automobile thief by Delhi Police and subsequent questioning have brought out shocking facts about how new-age gangs take help of stolen data, laptops and female members to steal high-end luxury cars that have engine immobilisers fitted in them. Other interesting facts that came to light included how a car stolen from the city is dismantled and its engine sold to farmers in the neighbouring states, mainly Uttar Pradesh, to be used as power generators to supply electricity or run water pumps. Some of these accessories also make their way back to Delhi to be sold as 'genuine spare parts' at various auto-spare markets in the city. Delhi Police data shows that the recovery rate in auto theft cases is about 5 per cent. "Auto-lifters operating in the city have upgraded themselves to decode security gadgets installed in high-end cars. The capital has become a major playground for them," a senior official of Delhi Police anti-auto theft squad told Mail Today on the condition of anonymity. According to Delhi Police, till 15th August, every day, more than 100 vehicles were stolen from Delhi this year. These included two-wheelers to highend luxury cars and SUVs. In the recent arrest, made by North-east district police, the accused revealed that high-end luxury cars in the city are stolen on demand basis. The modus operandi includes finding work at a car workshop or embezzle data on engine- key combinations with the help of an employee. The stolen code data, stored in a laptop, is used for making a master key or a set of keys that will match the electronic control module of a car. The car thieves then target their victim and often use a female member to avoid suspicion. "Car companies claim the engine immobiliser as one of the safest security device but these auto-lifters have found a way to crack it. They match codes installed in their laptop, connect it with the car chip to start the engine," said Ajit Kumar Singla, DCP, North-east. An immobiliser is an electronic device fitted to an automobile that prevents the engine from running unless the correct key (or token) is used. This prevents the car from being "hot-wired" even after the thief has broken inside the vehicle, thus reducing the theft. A few months back, Delhi Police registered a case in Safdarjung Enclave area where auto lifter along with a female member decoded the security system of a SUV with the help of a laptop. The incident was captured on a CCTV. Sources in the anti-auto theft squad say that engines having low CC are used for providing electricity in neighbouring UP as they are converted into generators in many villages. Also, such vehicle engines are also in demand that can be converted into water pumps to run tubewells in the farms. Several parts of these cars, such as side-view mirrors, steering wheels, and other unmarked components, also make a comeback to the city markets to be sold as genuine spare parts. "Dismantling of a car is done quickly and as the word spreads, buyers reach out and frisk away the parts they specialise in," the soruces said. According to Delhi Police, last year almost 31,000 vehicles were stolen from the city but only 1,770 were recovered even they arrested 1,542 accused during the period. Auto theft has seen a steep rise after Delhi Police started online FIR to help people in filing a case of theft. "This is a good initiative which helps people avoid running to a police station to file an FIR in case their bike of car stolen. But, it has been also noticed that after this initiative, there is a downfall of recovery rate," the official said. According to National Crime Records Bureau, last year, with more than 32,000 stolen vehicles, Delhi topped the list of all the states as well as cities in the country. Uttar Pradesh and Maharashtra were the two states that reported maximum number of auto theft cases after the National Capital. The government's recent order on releasing a part of the construction contractors' money stuck in litigation would encourage the government departments , who otherwise withheld the money fearing corruption charges, Chairman and Managing Director of Hindustan Construction Company (HCC) Ajit Gulabchand told Business Today. "Government order has enabled departments to make these payments. They were withholding payments because they were afraid that they would be called corrupt, " Gulabchand said. The government last week asked its departments to make 75 per cent of payments to private contractor who have won in arbitration. The payments would be made against a margin-free bank guarantee. The government has also asked its departments to transfer any existing arbitration cases under the pre-amended Arbitration Act to the amended act, which has the provision of time-bound completion of arbitration. According to an estimate by industry body CII, pending claims from government agencies and departments are key reasons behind mounting debt of construction companies. According to CII, over 85 per cent of claims raised are still pending, of which 11 per cent are at the level of employers, 64 per cent at arbitrators and 8.5 per cent in courts. As per CII estimates, around Rs 70,000 crore dues of construction companies are tied in arbitration. Gulabchand said with this decision HCC's debt would also come down by half. "HCC has arbitration awards for over Rs 3,200 crore and with the government's decision, the company will get 75 per cent of this amount immediately. Similarly, claims worth around Rs 5,000 crore are in arbitration process, which we would win within a duration of 12 months," he says. The company has a total standalone debt of over Rs 4,900 crore. Elaborating the problem faced by the construction companies, the HCC CMD said, "government was not paying their dues to the industry. There were cost overruns for which issues were constantly sent for arbitration and despite the contractors getting favourable award, government was not paying up and was instead challenging the award to Supreme Court." This, according to him, mounted the dues for the construction industry. "Construction companies had borrowed in good faith from banks in order to spend the money. (But) this (mounting dues) created a liquidity crisis in the construction industry as well as for the banks. While the award in favour of the construction industry remains unpaid, the industry is paying the interest on loans to banks. And since the industry could not pay their loans, the bank has to show NPAs in their books, creating a vicious circle," he explains. Though he feels that a complete settlement of disputes (over payments) would have been a much better option, but still he says, "the start of the payments itself is very positive for the industry." Commerce and Industry Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Monday met Wipro Chairman Azim Premji and is understood to have discussed visa problems being faced by Indian professionals in the US. Time and again, India has raised the issue of hike in visa fee by the US. It has also filed a case at WTO against the US decision to impose high fees on temporary working visas. In a tweet, the commerce and industry ministry said Premji and the minister discussed IT-related issues. The Americas accounted for 53.5 per cent of the company's total IT services revenue during the first quarter of this fiscal. Wipro is India's third-largest software services firm. Recently, at the India-US CEO Forum meeting in New Delhi, the Indian side flagged its concerns over the visa fee hike in the US. The US assured India that it will look into the concerns. However, it maintained that the decision was not targetted against Indian professionals. The Railways Ministry is set to roll out two major initiatives -- setting up of a regulatory authority for fixing fares and creating an infrastructure development fund -- that will have far-reaching effect on the national transporter, officials said. The latest initiatives of the railways, which has already undertaken a series of changes in its policy and structure, come at a time when Prime Minister Narendra Modi has been laying emphasis on reforms. While the formation of a railway regulatory authority is likely to be announced through an executive order soon, the World Bank has agreed to anchor the Railway Infrastructure Development Fund with a corpus of USD 5 billion over a period of seven years, a senior Railway Ministry official said. The fund will be co-anchored by pension and sovereign wealth funds. The official said these two initiatives are part of major reforms being undertaken by the railways that will transform the national transporter in a big way. In a recent interview to a TV news channel, Modi has said "reform to transform" is his government's mantra. The proposed regulatory authority will play a crucial role in deciding rail tariff while the Railway Infrastructure Development Fund will be used in remunerative projects which have scope of good returns in shorter period. There will be no separate Rail Budget in 2017 ending the age old practice as Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu has written to Finance Minister Arun Jaitley seeking the merger of it with General Budget, a step considered to be a major reform. Prabhu has already taken steps for decentralisation in the decision-making process empowering General Managers and Divisional Railway Managers. He has also made it mandatory making all procurement through online tendering process. The official said, "Railways is now exploring non-Budget funding options to implement projects, including high-speed trains, rolling stock, station development, and signalling and infrastructure development which was not before." Railways has already formulated a medium-term capital investment plan of Rs 8.56 lakh crore for the next five years. He said there will be no fund constraint for implementing rail projects as adequate measures being being undertaken to garner investment in the national transporter. Life Insurance Corporation has provided the railways a Rs 1.50 lakh crore loan for 30 years, of which Rs 10,000 crore has been used so far. Besides, the Japan International Cooperation Agency had agreed to provide loan at 0.1 per cent interest for a 50-year tenure and a 15-year moratorium for the Rs 1 lakh crore Mumbai-Ahmedabad bullet train. The implementation period for the 508-km project is slated till 2023. This is in addition to the budgetary allocation of Rs 1.21 lakh crore for the railways in the current fiscal. Railways expects broad gauge lines commissioning to increase to 19 km per day from the present level of 10 km per day and it would further rise to 25 km per day in partnership with state governments. British Prime Minister Theresa May and Prime Minister Narendra Modi agreed on Monday to look at ways to retain strong trading links after Britain leaves the European Union, a British official said. "The Indians said they wanted to look at how we could continue to have a strong trading relationship and there was agreement that as we prepare to leave the EU, we should be exploring what that looks like," the official said. "Prime Minister Modi said that we had always been an important partner for India and nothing about leaving the European Union would change that." The two leaders were meeting on the sidelines of the G20 summit in the Chinese city of Hangzhou. Prime Minister Narendra Modi who is in China for the G20 Summit held several meetings with world leaders including Chinese President Xi Jinping on the sidelines of the G20 summit. Here are the top quotes of PM Modi from his China visit: INDO-CHINA TIES "India, China must respect each other's aspirations, concerns and strategic interests," Modi said on Sunday during 35-minute-long meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping, where he raised India's concerns over the $46 billion China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) being laid through Pakistan-occupied Kashmir. ALSO READ: Chinese President Xi Jinping at G20 warns world economy at risk In his candid comments reflecting India's concerns, Modi said both India and China need to be "sensitive" to each other's strategic interests and called for specific actions to "prevent growth of negative perception". BLACK MONEY PM Modi said fighting corruption, blackmoney and tax-evasion were central to effective financial governance. "We need to act to eliminiate safe havens for economic offenders, track down and unconditionally extradite money launderers and break down the web of complex international regulations and excessive banking secrecy that hide the corrupt and their deeds," Modi said on the second day of G20 summit. TRADE "We need a regular dialogue between the IMF, Regional Financial Arrangements and Bilateral Swap Arrangements. IMF should remain a quota-based institution and not depend on borrowed resources," Modi said emphasing that the long-delayed 15th General Review of Quotas must be completed by 2017 Annual Meetings. At a session on 'Robust International Trade & Investment', PM Modi spoke on why global trade must respond to needs & priorities of developing nations. ENERGY The Prime Minister also said that India needs energy to support its development. A "balanced mix of nuclear, renewable energy and fossil fuels are at the core of our policy." TERRORISM "Our response to terrorism should not be motivated by political considerations," Modi told Chinese President Xi Jinping on Sunday in his first bilateral meeting before the G20 Summit. "Terrorists in South Asia, or anywhere for that matter, do not own banks or weapons factories. Clearly, someone funds and arms them." PM Modi went on to ask BRICS to intensify its efforts not just to fight terror but also to coordinate actions to isolate those who support and sponsor terror. Condemning the terrorist attack on the Chinese embassy in Bishkek, PM Modi told Chinese President Xi Jinping, "this is yet another proof of the continuing scourge of terrorism." (with inputs from PTI) HANGZHOU, China (AP) -- The American and Chinese presidents are calling on major economies to defend free trade at a summit held as sluggish growth and disputes over steel and other imports fuel demands in the United States and Europe to protect local industry. Opening the Group of 20 meeting, Chinese President Xi Jinping appealed Sunday for governments to resist pressure to raise trade barriers. At the same time, a European leader highlighted the conflicts looming over the summit by calling for action on China's bloated steel industry. China made trade a theme of the gathering in this lakeside city southwest of Shanghai even as it faces complaints a flood of low-cost steel exports are threatening U.S. and European jobs, fueling demands for trade curbs. "We should build an open world economy," Xi said before an audience that included U.S. President Barack Obama, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, British Prime Minister Theresa May and leaders from Japan, South Korea, India and other governments. Governments should "avoid taking new protectionist measures" and "take effective action to promote trade growth," Xi said. Xi called for innovation to spur growth and reforms to global financial and economic management. He appealed for cooperation in taxes and fighting corruption, and for measures to "improve the ability of the world economy to resist risks." China hopes its status as this year's G-20 leader will increase its influence in global economic management. Chinese officials want the G-20, created to respond to the 2008 financial crisis, to take on a longer-term regulatory role. Other leaders have called for "inclusive growth" - a reference to efforts to spread the benefits of closer global integration to millions of people who have been left behind by wrenching change. Obama stressed that theme at a separate news conference with May. "We must all work together to spur economic growth, to boost free trade and build a fairer economy that truly works for all," said Obama. Also Sunday, the president of the European Union's governing body, the European Commission, called for action on China's bloated steel industry. The G-20 meeting "must urgently find a solution" to excess steel production, said Jean-Claude Juncker. He called on Beijing to accept a monitoring mechanism for overproduction that Beijing's trading partners blame for low prices and job losses. China, the world's biggest steel producer, has committed to reducing its production capacity by 100 to 150 million tons by 2020, a pledge Xi repeated Saturday. Another prominent issue at the summit is G-20 member Britain's June vote to leave the 28-nation EU, seen by some analysts as the first in a wave of moves by other nations to retreat from free trade. "Free trade must be fair trade," Juncker said at a news conference with Donald Tusk, president of the European Council. As India resisted pressure from the US and China, who are responsible for around 40 per cent of the world's carbon emissions, to ratify the Paris climate deal this year, Chinese official media said it is high time India showed it means "business" in limiting climate change effects. The US and China's ratification of the Paris climate deal have set an example for "other emerging and industrialised economies", an oped article in the state-run Global Times said on Monday. "It is high time that the EU and India, the third - and the fourth-largest emitters, also show they mean business when it comes to limiting the effects of climate change," it said. India warded off pressure from China and the US at the G20 summit here when the US and China tried to set 2016 as a deadline to ratify the climate deal after they both ratified the pact and handed over the instruments to the UN. India and several other countries believe they cannot ratify the deal due to various legal impediments, said NITI (National Institution for Transforming India) Aayog's chief Arvind Panagariya, India's Sherpa at the Summit, on Saturday. "There is no deadline to my mind but we will make submissions of progress," Panagariya has said. Today's article said the US and China signing the deal is an "incredibly significant act towards the treaty coming into force, as it requires at least 55 countries that together account for at least 55 per cent of global emissions. With China and the US, 26 countries have ratified, accounting for 39.06 per cent of global emissions," it said. "It's fair to say that India has realised the importance of emissions reduction and has made some efforts. Before the Paris climate conference in December 2015, New Delhi submitted a long-term plan to reduce its emissions, pledging to cut fossil fuel emissions intensity by up to 35 per cent by 2030, compared with the 2005 level", it said. In June, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had said in a joint statement with US President Barack Obama that India had begun the processes to enable the Paris deal to enter into force, it said. "But while (UN Secretary General) Ban Ki-moon was 'hopeful and optimistic' that the agreement can be brought into force by the end of this year, Indian officials don't seem to think this way. After all, New Delhi has a dilemma to address," the article said. "China has gone through a similar development stage to India and it still has made significant commitment towards curbing global warming. India has striven to become a world power and to have a bigger say in international affairs, hence it needs to shoulder its due responsibilities and take actions, regardless of the difficulties, to help save the planet," it said. "In this process, China can be a reliable partner. In its proposal last year, India pledged to aggressively ramp up its production of clean energy like solar power, hydropower and wind energy. This entails the transfer of proper technologies from other countries and China can provide a lot of useful technologies and experiences," it said. The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has proposed working with the government to introduce interest-free banking to tackle financial exclusion for religious reasons, potentially opening Islamic finance to the largest Muslim minority population in the world. India's central bank made the proposal in its annual report last week, as departing RBI governor Raghuram Rajan hands over the reins to close ally Urjit Patel. The proposal marks a shift in stance by the RBI, which has previously said Islamic finance could be offered through non-bank channels such as investment funds or cooperatives. That has meant an estimated 180 million Muslims in India, the country's second-largest religious group, have been unable to access Islamic banking because of laws that require banking to be based on interest, which is forbidden in Islam. The RBI said it would explore introducing interest-free banking products in consultation with the government, a key detail as this opens the prospects of supportive legislation. "This is definitely a significant development as it is the first time that the RBI has concretely mentioned that it will now work with the government to introduce Islamic banking," said Saif Ahmed, managing partner at Bangaluru-based Infinity Consultants, which specialises in Islamic finance. "For Islamic banks to function in India, separate parallel legislation or an amendment needs to be passed by Parliament and that can only happen with the active support of the incumbent government." In 2015, a central bank committee recommended opening a specialised interest-free window to offer cost-plus financing, deferred payment and deferred delivery contracts, a reference to common sharia-compliant contracts such as murabaha and istisna. Development of Islamic finance has been slow, however, partly because of strong opposition from bureaucrats and politicians from the ruling Hindu-nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party. This has long hindered development, although there are signs that India is warming up to Islamic finance. The government's external lending agency, Exim Bank, said in April it would extend a $100 million credit line to the private sector arm of the Islamic Development Bank. The Exim Bank's credit line would support foreign buyers of Indian goods and services, with the Saudi-based Islamic Corporation for the Development of the Private Sector acting as the intermediary. Irish services sector growth improved in September from the two-year low hit after Britain's vote to leave the EU, but sterling weakness helped push new export orders to a five-month low, a survey showed on Monday. Europe's fastest-growing economy, Ireland is considered to have more to lose than any other European Union member from Britain's June 23 decision to quit the bloc, which both countries joined 43 years ago. The Investec Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) of activity in services ticked up to 59.7 in August from 59.5 in July, but remained well below the 61.2 in the June poll, which was mostly taken before the Brexit vote. The index, which covers businesses from banks to hotels, has been above the 50 mark denoting growth for four years as Ireland recovers from its 2008 real estate and banking crash. "While the improvement in the headline PMI is welcome, we note a further moderation in New Business, with this index now expanding at its weakest pace since February 2014," Investec Ireland chief economist Philip O'Sullivan said in a statement. The new business sub-index slipped to 58.1 in August from 60.8 the previous month, with 24% of respondents signalling an increase in new business and 17% noting a decrease. "Some respondents (are) reporting lower new orders from the UK, in part due to the strength of the euro compared with sterling," O'Sullivan said. He said this helped push the rate of expansion in the New Export Business index to a five-month low. But there were signs of optimism in the survey of around 450 private sector companies, with nearly 17 times as many firms expecting to see a rise in activity over the coming year as those which forecast a fall. Ireland's economy is forecast to grow 4.9% in 2016, faster than any other in Europe for the third straight year. But the government has cut its forecast for 2017 to around 3.4% from 3.9% and warned of worse ahead if Britain strikes an unfavourable post-Brexit deal with the EU. (Reuters) Source: www.businessworld.ie About us British retailer Marks & Spencer will cut 500 jobs at its head office next week as its new chief executive Steve Rowe tries to halt a slump in sales, Sky News reported on Saturday. It said M&S is to axe around 15% of the roles at its headquarters in Paddington, London, with more than half of the cuts affecting contractors. Quoting sources, Sky said the cuts are likely to be announced next Thursday. An M&S spokeswoman declined to comment on the report but added: "We said in May that organisation was an area of the business that needed further consideration and that we would update on this in the autumn." Rowe, a 26-year M&S veteran, replaced Marc Bolland as CEO of the 132-year-old retailer in April with a remit to revive clothing and homeware, which contributes about 60% of profit but has seen five years of falling sales. Long Britain's biggest clothing retailer, M&S has seen its market share eroded by rivals like Next and a push from supermarkets into clothing, while younger shoppers favour Primark and H&M's cheaper prices. (Reuters) Source: www.businessworld.ie About us Rachel Denny Clow/Caller-Times Gregory-Portland High School U.S. history teacher William Schuetz presents his theories during Conspiracy Week in May. Schuetz lectures about conspiracies after the standardized state exams each year. SHARE Rachel Denny Clow/Caller-Times Gregory-Portland High School U.S. history teacher William Schuetz presents his theories during Conspiracy Week in May. Schuetz began researching conspiracies when President John F. Kennedy was assassinated. He was in junior high school at the time. Rachel Denny Clow/Caller-Times Gregory-Portland High School U.S. history teacher William Schuetz presents his theories during Conspiracy Week in May. Schuetz spends years developing his conspiracies through research using books. Rachel Denny Clow/Caller-Times Gregory-Portland High School U.S. history teacher William Schuetz presents his theories during Conspiracy Week in May. Schuetz said he hopes the unit convinces his students to question what they are told and learn the truth for themselves. By Fares Sabawi of the Caller-Times PORTLAND William Schuetz's U.S. history class fell silent once he closed the door and walked into his classroom last May. "I don't expect you to believe anything I tell you over the next eight days," Schuetz told his students. For 10 months of every school year, Schuetz teaches U.S. history to juniors from the textbook assigned to them. But for two weeks after the state's standardized testing is over, the 65-year-old Gregory-Portland High School teacher goes beyond the book. He gives his students an insight into something he has spent his life researching conspiracies. Conspiracy Week started as a way to keep students engaged in the classroom once standardized testing is complete. Exams are taken in early May, leaving a few weeks of free time before the summer starts. "I came up with the idea of Conspiracy Week as a reward," Schuetz said. "I'm not telling (the students) but I'm secretly still trying to educate them and make them curious." Schuetz covers events unconfirmed by the government. He started the week with the Philadelphia Experiment, a top-secret operation in the 1940s intended to mask naval ships from radar detection that went wrong. By the end of his series this year, he had made his pitch to students about the existence of UFOs and why Elvis Presley didn't die until recently. The chase for the truth traces back to when the teacher was a seventh-grader in a Beaumont junior high school. Over the PA came an announcement that would change his life. "'President (John F.) Kennedy was shot in Dallas,'" Schuetz recalled. "I have been researching the Kennedy assassination since that time." Schuetz gets all of his research from books, his self-proclaimed "vice." His colleagues rarely see him without one. "He's always reading something," Charlotte Brown, the school's drama teacher, said. "It's his passion and that's why his conspiracies are so good." He works meticulously to put his conspiracies together, which requires years of research. Even when he hits a dead end, he doesn't give up. "I'm resilient in the fact that I don't accept setbacks," Schuetz said. "If I'm researching and I hit a brick wall, I'll find a way around it." Schuetz is only satisfied once he fits all the pieces together. He views his research like an archeologist digging for bones. "I'm digging in the ground for years and years and looking for that one stone tablet," Schuetz said. "That would be incredible." Conspiracy Week has become almost folklore for students. Brianne Dubose, now a senior at Gregory-Portland High School, heard about the lectures from her older sister, her mom and her friends before hearing it from Schuetz. "He's a very convincing speaker," she said. "It definitely makes you question everything." Through the years, Schuetz said teachers, principals and even school board members have stopped by to hear his conspiracies. Kyde Eddleman, the high school principal, said he enjoys sitting in for the lecture. "He's one of the most fascinating people I've ever met," Eddleman said. "His conspiracies get the kids thinking and opens up all sorts of discussions for the kids." The teacher's fascination began with a refusal to believe what he was told. Likewise, he doesn't want his students to buy into the conspiracies on his word alone. "I'm trying to challenge them," he said. "I want them to go check out a book and read up on something." Most students leave Schuetz's class with a new perspective on several events in American history, but the teacher hopes his students apply his lesson in their futures. "They're going to go to college and be exposed to incredible ideas," Schuetz said. "Don't discount them, listen, research and make up your own mind." Twitter: @Caller_Fares SHARE Izaak Cintron, 9, presents chocolate M&M's as "chill pills" to be used "in case of stress emergency" to Superintendent Brian Schuss at his surprise celebration at the Flour Bluff administration building Friday. Micah DeBenedetto/Special to the Caller-Times Members of Flour Bluff ISD look on as Brian Schuss is presented with gifts during a surprise celebration at the Flour Bluff administration building Friday. Schuss was appointed the district's interim superintendent in July after former superintendent Joe Kelley announced his retirement. Micah DeBenedetto/Special to the Caller-Times Principal of Flour Bluff's Early Childhood Center Amy Seeds holds a handmade sign before presenting it to Brian Schuss at his surprise celebration at the Flour Bluff administration building Friday. Brian Schuss formerly served as the district's assistant superintendent for business services for eight years. Micah DeBenedetto/Special to the Caller-Times Allison Ramos, 9, presents some nuggets of chocolate to help stay "alert and awake" to Superintendent Brian Schuss at his surprise celebration at the Flour Bluff administration building Friday. Related Photos Flour Bluff surprises new supt. By Beatriz Alvarado of the Caller-Times Brian Schuss doesn't expect to be a changing agent for the Flour Bluff ISD, he said. As the district's new superintendent, he wants to perpetuate the same respect for teachers and precedence for student success as his predecessor, he said. "My role is to keep it going," the 39-year-old Fort Worth native said. The Flour Bluff Independent School District board of trustees chose Schuss to lead the district after Joe Kelley announced in July he was retiring. Schuss, the district's former assistant superintendent for business services, has been at Flour Bluff ISD for eight years. He's a former economics and mathematics teacher and understands teaching is difficult, "even when it comes naturally," he said. He followed his mother's footsteps in working in public education because ushering youth through the endeavor of becoming productive members of society is the ultimate payoff, he said. He lives on Padre Island with his wife of 4 years, 8-month-old daughter and 4-year-old son, who "can't wait to be a Hornet." Schuss is modest and a bit shy. The traits were accentuated during a surprise event Friday to welcome him to his new role. He took a step back as he entered a room full of peppy teachers, administrators and students bombarding him with congratulatory shouts. Director of instruction and 17-year Flour Bluff ISD veteran Cheryl Cannon explained Schuss is "more of a behind the scenes" type of guy. Although this is a new area for him, "he's got the heart for it," she said. "He's always prioritized funds for the needs of the kids," she said. "It's not an 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. job ... He knows that." Schuss previously worked as Port Aransas ISD's business manager and the New Mexico State Legislature Finance Committee. A waiver was approved by the Texas Education Agency to allow Schuss to serve as a superintendent without the necessary certification requirements. After working closely with Schuss the past three years, Kelley said he's confident in his skill set, leadership and district pride. "He bleeds maroon," Kelley said. Kelley said he quickly discovered how sharp Schuss was after working with him. Schuss is a numbers guy, Kelley said of his ability to process intricate math calculations in his head, but he's also personable. "He's hard working, dedicated to district, honest and trustworthy. There's no stronger testimony I can give you," he said. "All those qualities make the perfect candidate for being superintendent." As late-campaign rhetoric gets overheated, voters should remain wary Be on the lookout for misleading ads, stump speeches and text messages from campaigns in the final countdown to the Nov. 8 elections. CONTRIBUTED PHOTO Neva Staudt (left) teaches Neelofar Ahmed as part of the Corpus Christi Literacy Council's efforts to reduce adult illiteracy. SHARE By Esther Hackleman, Esther.M.Hackleman@caller.com Ygdaeli Arrivillaga dedicated her education to learning human anatomy and becoming a pediatrician. Now, four days a week, she gives that same attention to sentence structure and verb conjugation. Arrivillaga is a native of Venezuela where she and her husband, Orlando Rodriguez, practiced medicine. Arrivillaga was a pediatrician and family nutritionist, and Rodriguez was an orthopedic surgeon, but when the two started chasing the American dream, they realized there was one hurdle they would have to overcome: English. The Corpus Christi Literacy Council is celebrating three decades of helping adults like Arrivillaga and Rodriguez learn reading, writing and computer skills. "As I improve my English, I can work and study," Arrivillaga said. "I need to improve my English so that I can get licensed to work here in the medical field. That's what motivates me." Arrivillaga's broken English quickly improved as she absorbed information from the grammar and conversation classes she attends with her tutor Sylvia Taylor. "We're all born communicators. We want to be known, and we want to know others," Taylor said. "Communication requires common language, and the literacy council is invested in the community." For students like Arrivillaga, that investment is not forgotten. The literacy council started in 1986 to guide adults with limited or nonexistent English reading and writing abilities that prevented them from further education or better jobs. "If you're only reading at a second grade level, you're going to flounder in a GED program," Literacy Council Executive Director Mary Gleason said. "A lot of what we do is get people to where they can think about having new opportunities." The nonprofit has helped more than 7,000 adults from ages 17 to 84, Gleason said. Tutors test students to find out where each is lacking and focus on meeting targeted goals. That impact will continue through September with five events to celebrate International Literacy Month. "The month is a celebration of learning," Gleason said. "We understand there are people out there who can't read, and it really isn't anything to be ashamed of. There are other ways to learn. ... We teach our tutors to be very flexible." The council will kick off its events with a Rita's Ice and Custard Social at the Town & Country Shopping Center from 5-9:30 p.m. Wednesday. On Thursday, the council invites residents to participate in its Dine In for Literacy event at BJ's Brewhouse on South Padre Island Drive to mark International Literacy Day. There also will be a Book Fair at Barnes & Noble with origami and storytelling Friday. The council will close its planned events with a proclamation at City Hall on Sept. 13. Gleason said the rise in adult literacy creates an immediate impact in Corpus Christi to attract businesses to a literate workforce and healthy residents and a lasting impact on generations of learners. "Educating the adults actually helps their kids when they arrive at school," Gleason said, explaining that children who are read to at home excel in the classroom and continue to pursue education. "We're preventing the next group of dropouts by educating (children's) parents." Arrivillaga said she is excited to learn English at the same time as her 4-year-old son and teach him what she already knows. "It's a beautiful experience to now teach him," Arrivillaga said. Half Price Books at Moore Plaza will be collecting donations for the Corpus Christi Literacy Council through the month of September. For more information on the literacy council or to donate online, visit ccliteracy.org. Rachel Denny Clow/Caller-Times Gino Montalvo (from left), Monte Montana and Rex Gabriel work on promotions for the next day's radio program for Two Guys in the Morning on Monday, Aug. 29, 2016. C101 is celebrating 40 years on the air. Montana, the program director, started a podcast which features interviews with radio personalities of the 1970s and '80s. SHARE Rachel Denny Clow/Caller-Times Rex Gabriel, radio personality for Two Guys in the Morning on C101, records promotions for the next day's radio program Monday, Aug. 29, 2016. C101 is celebrating 40 years on the air. Rachel Denny Clow/Caller-Times Gino Montalvo, radio personality for Two Guys in the Morning on C101, records promotions for the next day's radio program Monday, Aug. 29, 2016. C101 is celebrating 40 years on the air. Rachel Denny Clow/Caller-Times Monte Montana, program director for Two Guys in the Morning on C101, records promotions for the next day's radio program Monday, Aug. 29, 2016. C101 is celebrating 40 years on the air. Rachel Denny Clow/Caller-Times Rex Gabriel, radio personality for Two Guys in the Morning on C101, records promotions for the next day's radio program Monday, Aug. 29, 2016. C101 is celebrating 40 years on the air. By Natalia Contreras of the Caller-Times The year was 1976: The United States was celebrating 200 years of independence. Apple was founded by Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak. Gerald Ford was president and disco music was still popular. And in Corpus Christi, the clanging guitar that opens the Grateful Dead's "Truckin" heralded the city's newest radio station to hit the airwaves. When that song went on at 9 p.m. Aug. 17, C101 was born. Four decades later, the rock station, which made its mark early on playing songs by the Eagles, Triumph, AC/DC, Steely Dan and REO Speedwagon, has remained popular and listeners are still loyal to its sound. As part of the station's anniversary celebration, program director Monte Montana created a podcast called "C101: 40 years of Rock", which features the on-air personalities who were there when it all started. "This was kind of a passion project," Montana said. "I'd known the 40th anniversary was coming and I wanted to do something a little bit out of the ordinary." For the first podcast, Montana talked to Armando Camino, who was C101's first on-air personality, as well as Bonnie Stacy, Bob Fazio, Tim Parker, Jamie Wood, JJ Thomas and Matt "The Cat" Vaughn. "I wanted to talk to people who worked here for a while and hear their stories about the station," Montana said. He said the podcast is a way to allow old and new listeners to get some background on the station's history and the changes it has gone through. "There was a time in the late '70s when the DJs would take their van to the beach and speakers weren't even needed because every car had C101 on," Montana said. The station keeps its listeners despite technology that has evolved to allow music lovers to listen to any song at any time by finding. MP3s on the Internet. Rex Gabriel, who has worked at the station for about 27 years, said one of the reasons the station has remained popular is the relationship on-air personalities have built with the listeners, he said. "The interaction with listeners has also evolved because of social media," said Gabriel, host of Two Guys In The Morning. "We've all been here so long that people know us, our family, the name of our cat who died years ago. That's why we've been here so long, we have relationships with them." Texas A&M University-Kingsville journalism professor Manuel Flores said the station has remained and will continue to grow because listeners can still relate to the people behind the mic. "There is nothing more personable than local radio, " Flores said. "(The on-air personalities) live in your community, know your community. They are the strength of radio." "C101 was known for its laid back atmosphere and it has kept that till this day," Flores said. Gino Montalvo, who has worked at the station for about nine years, said with the growth of social media, it is a lot easier to stay close to listeners and to know what they're talking about and what they want to hear. "If you want to hear a song you can now get it anywhere, but people will always want to hear about what's going on in their town," Montalvo said. "They want to know about people they know and places they know, compared to things that have nothing to do with them." Montana said other topics in the podcast include how the station got involved in the filming of "The Legend of Billie Jean", the 30-year-long C101 C-Sculptures event, and a radio personality's connection to Pantera. Four episodes of the eight-episode series have been released so far. CATCH THE PODCAST To listen to podcast episodes, visit http://c101.iheart.com/media/podcast-monte-montanas-podcasts-MonteMontana/ SHARE Labor Day this year is different from those of years past. This Labor Day year marks the 50th anniversary of the historic 490-mile march by South Texas by farm workers from Rio Grande City to the capitol in Austin. The workers went on strike in the cantaloupe fields of Starr County Texas' version of plantations demanding a minimum wage of $1.25/hour. They were only averaging $.40/hour--$.60/hour on a good day. They began on July 4 and traveled throughout the Valley, to Kingsville, Corpus Christi, San Antonio, and on to Austin, under the blistering summer sun and in torrents of rain. People put cardboard in their shoes as the soles wore down. As they marched, more and more people joined them. Some walked all the way; some, only part. But they wanted to honor and support these workers mothers and fathers, grandmothers and grandfathers whose backbreaking work put food on the tables of Texans, at a pittance. People along the way gave the marchers food and drink. Even cowboys from the King Ranch helped out with tacos. The dignity of the farm laborers and the justice of their cause moved their supporters. These were people marching for a better life for their kids and grandkids and for their community. Their message was that the injustice and indignity they, their parents, and grandparents had had long suffered and endured had to stop. Then-governor John Connally, on his way to do some whitewing dove hunting, met the marchers in New Braunfels. He stopped his limousine long enough to tell them they should turn around and he would not "lend the dignity of his office" to a Capitol rally. Nor would he support their demand for $1.25/hour. He drove off, and the workers kept marching. They spent their last night at St. Edward's University. On Sept. 5, 1966, Labor Day, joined by 15,000 supporters from around Texas, they marched onward to the Capitol. They did not win the $1.25/hour in 1966, but they did three years later. It was not an easy struggle. Nor was the march their hardest test. After returning home, they had to endure horrific brutality from the Texas Rangers in 1966 and 1967. The Rangers, led by the notorious Capt. A.Y. Allee, crushed the strike. Magdaleno Dimas was beaten so severely that he suffered a concussion and spinal curvature. Alejandro Moreno, who later became a state legislator, was beaten in a striker's home. The Rangers held the faces of Rev. Ed Krueger and Dimas within inches of a passing train in Mission. When arrested strikers shouted "Viva la Huelga" ("Long live the strike"), a deputy sheriff, in cahoots with the Rangers, slugged the local union president and aimed a gun to his forehead. The farm laborers filed a civil rights case; and, in 1974, the U.S. Supreme Court issued a scathing denunciation of the Rangers. Allee v. Medrano, 416 U.S. 802 (1974). The 1966 March was the beginning of the Hispanic movement in Texas. It galvanized Mexican Americans and their supporters. The time had come to end the state's sordid and violent century-long history of oppression. The march was to the Hispanic community in Texas what Rosa Parks was to African-Americans. This year on Sunday, Sept. 11, there will be a commemorative march, again from St. Edward's to the Capitol. Some of the surviving 1966 marchers will be present. Farm workers still have much to march for: better wages and working conditions. That will be a goal of this year's march, to be sure. But it will also be an opportunity for us to honor the dignity and struggle of those courageous Starr County workers who made all our lives better when they set out for Austin in 1966. This year's march is our pledge to continue that struggle. Something went wrong, please try again later. Invalid email Something went wrong, please try again later. Get the latest news on Kate, Wills and their three children - Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis straight to your inbox A glittering auction to raise money for Syrian refugees has been backed by the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, Stephen Hawking and Jeffrey Archer. The big event, featuring lots donated by local businesses and others, takes place at St John's College on Monday September 26. William and Kate have sent their best wishes for the success of the sale, as has Prof Hawking, and Lord Archer, an experienced auctioneer, has offered to bring down the hammer. The event is being organised by the Rotary Club of Cambridge, and is being backed by Ridgeons, Coulson Building Group and the News. The money raised will be used to help the Cambridge Refugee Resettlement Campaign , and ShelterBox, the scheme that provides people in need with tents, blankets and other vital equipment. The Duke and Duchess have written to the event's organisers, saying they hope the evening is a great success", and Prof Hawking also passed on his best wishes, and congratulated organisers on their efforts. Among the items coming up for sale are holidays, a specially-made pearl necklace from, a personal flight over Cambridge by the Aero Club, and an E-type Jaguar for use over a weekend. Tony O'Mara, who is supervising the event, said: We've seen with dismay the tragic images of the bleeding and lost little 5-year-old boy in the Syrian ambulance. Could this poor child in other circumstances have been a member of one of our own families?" More details, including how to buy tickets to attend the auction, are on the Rotary Club's website . A 'silent' auction, where people can make bids online, is up and running now. | BY Ricki Green | Australian mortgage broker, Aussie Home Loans, has launched a new brand strategy, with the return of the iconic brand line Well Save You, as well as a new corporate positioning created by newly appointed advertising agency Special Group. The new campaign includes a re-design of the Aussie website and TV commercials, which position mortgage brokers at the front and centre of the brand and demystifies their role in helping to secure the right loan for customers individual needs when faced with a large and overwhelming selection of lenders. The fully integrated multi-platform campaign is Aussies biggest ever investment in strengthening what is already Australias strongest mortgage broking brand, with more than $25 million worth of investment committed to the campaign over the next 18 months. Aussie will use multiple advertising platforms to deliver its message to consumers, including TV, digital video on YouTube and Facebook, online advertising, a broad range of local and store-based marketing, as well as social media. The brand strategy is expected to roll out across all areas of the business throughout the 2017 financial year. The campaign has been built over the last six months by a number of Aussie and agency teams all collaborating closely with Aussies media and technology partners. Says James Symond, chief executive officer, Aussie: Nearly 25 years ago John Symond brought a face to a faceless industry and revolutionised the Australian home loan market. This new campaign drives forward what he and Aussies team have built together, Australias largest and most successful mortgage broking brand. The advertising shows consumers what happens in thousands of homes, offices and Aussie stores every month, Aussie brokers working side-by-side with customers, helping them navigate thousands of home loan products, each with different features and limitations that could go unnoticed to an untrained eye. It is designed to show how the collective wisdom and strength of Aussies industry leading broker network empowers our brokers to provide the very best customer experience. This will encourage consumers to use an Aussie Mortgage Broker to help them find an appropriate home loan for their needs. Just as every one of our brokers is at the heart of a great customer experience, they are also at the heart of the new campaign. With more than 50 per cent of home loans in Australia facilitated by mortgage brokers, we are driving the mortgage broking industry even further forward with this campaign. We are also very excited to bring back our famous slogan Well Save You, as it not only resonates with consumers who are shopping around for a better deal, but those who understand that being looked after by a professional, local home loan expert can help them save not just money, but help them avoid stress, wasted time and uncertainty. The campaign also marks a new era for the Aussie as it continues to build its sales footprint across Australia, now featuring more than 200 stores in metropolitan and regional areas and over 1,000 mortgage brokers. Aussie posted record results for the 2015-2016 financial year, with $22 billion worth of loans settled and 25 new stores opened. Says Symond: Literally every part of Aussie has been enhanced over the past 18 months. On top of these exciting new marketing initiatives we have expanded our product range, brought our customer contact centre in-house, moved to new headquarters, upgraded our industry leading training programs and technology whilst also launching our partnership with charity OzHarvest. Creative Agency Special Group Creative: Dave Bowman, Matty Burton, Will Miles, Pim Van Nunen, Charlie Gearside, Jack Nunn, Jesse McLallan, Kate Lovegrove, Delia Mennell Strategy: Dave Hartmann & Anthony Dever Business: Sam Sheriff, Lynsey Woods & Lindsey Evans Producers: Celia Nicholas, Paul Johnston & Sharon Gray Film Production TVCs Production Company : Plaza Films Director : Paul Middleditch Exec Producer : Peter Masterton Editor : Dave Whittaker Post Production : The Editors | BY Ricki Green | Australian influencer marketing agency, Social Soup, has launched a campaign for Fisher & Paykel to promote the appliance makers focus on innovation and how its products relate to different cooking styles. The three-month campaign is already on track to deliver a reach of over 1.2 million and in excess of 300 pieces of content. The #FindYourCookingStyle campaign leverages Social Soups vast network of influencers to create content that reflects their cooking personas The Perfectionist, The Freestyler or The Trailblazer. Utilising Australias largest influencer community and Social Soups advanced technology platform, the Influencer Gateway, key influencers have been matched with the three cooking personas to create relatable and engaging content through videos, advertorials, reviews and recipes on Instagram, Facebook and Snapchat. Says Sharyn Smith, CEO and founder, Social Soup: The key to the success of this campaign is being able to find the right influencers to create the content: influencers who are passionate about cooking, have highly engaged followers and can authentically influence them. Our influencers selected for this partnership sit in the powerful mid tier of influence with an average of 5,000 followers. They generate high engagement for Fisher and Paykel and create high reach but also maintain the necessary trust with their audiences. Media agency, Slingshot, is also working alongside Social Soup on the campaign. Says Simon Rutherford, CEO, Slingshot: We defined the role for influencers as a way to bring the brand into the kitchen in a relatable way a key opportunity for Fisher & Paykel to distinguish themselves against competing and more establish premium brands in the segment. The three-month campaign ends in November and is part of Fisher & Paykels positioning around innovation and human centered design; developing products that are focused on delivering the best user experience for people in their kitchens. Says Max Woodhead, senior brand manager, Fisher & Paykel: We were excited to add the element of influencer marketing to the communications this year, partnering with connected content curators providing both advocacy and content across the important mediums of digital and social. | BY Ricki Green | By Jamie Watson, strategist, M&C Saatchi These are just some of the anonymous comments (and casual death threats) Ive read in the last week on industry publication websites on new pieces of work and opinion pieces. Reading these comments left me feeling saddened for our future. Saddened because this isnt kids trolling each other on social media, its adult professionals trolling each other. Adults hiding behind keyboards, too scared to put their names to their comments incase their employer or potential employers see it. Yes, you Copy+Paste, Cringey, +1 on social copywriter and Happy Friday. You wont like everyones ad, you might think its a rip off or lazy, you might not agree with someones opinion in a thought piece, or even think it was worth writing. Thats not the point. But the lack of respect and decency saddens me. We all know how hard this industry can be. Weve all produced work that isnt going on our reels. Weve all dealt with client demands, agency demands, research results etc etc. Its not easy. Im saddened because whatever your opinion on the result, people believed in the work. They put their heart and soul into it, worked late, missed putting the kids to bed or simply kept themselves up all night worrying. This isnt a plea to silence disagreers or to celebrate mediocrity. Indeed, at Cannes David Droga declared we spend as much time justifying average as we do creating amazing. This is not a defence of any particular piece of work, any article or any one person, its a defence of our industry. Call me naive, pathetic, a hippie, whatever you want (just head to the comment section, you know where it is), but things need to change. Just this week Hollywood star Emma Stone warned youngsters saying I think young people have fallen into cynicism, and making fun of things, and pointing out the flaws in everything. Stone cited Conan OBriens Tonight Show farewell speech; Please do not be cynical, I hate cynicism, for the record its my least favourite quality, it doesnt lead anywhere. No one in life gets exactly what they thought they were going to get. Whether these anonymous commenters are ignorant youth or jaded oldtimers is irrelevant, this industry needs all of us, together. Our industry is increasingly under threat as smart, talented people are attracted elsewhere. These publications give outsiders a glimpse into our world; what we create and who we are. Advertising has always struggled with its reputation, is this really the image we want to portray? Where anonymous cynicism, anger and out and out bullying is thriving? Where, in response, people just shrug with acceptance and say thats just what this industry is like. John Bartle called cynicism the enemy of creativity. And fellow BBH legend Jim Carroll said We have a saying here that positive people have bigger, better ideas. I believe its true. Ideas are fragile and they need the brave to create and nurture them. So lets drop the cynicism. Lets acknowledge our reality. Lets get out of the comment section. Lets be positive. Lets build bigger, better ideas. And give them a chance. And if youre really so brilliant at advertising, maybe spend the time and effort it took you to anonymously abuse fellow professionals, into making work that your clients are paying you to create. Yours, | BY Ricki Green | Optometry Australia has today launched a new national information campaign via Melbourne agency Fuel, aimed at increasing awareness of the need to have regular eye health examinations throughout life to prevent avoidable vision impairment. The Good vision for life campaign responds to Australians passivity towards their eye health and the alarming fact that almost half of the Australian population suffers some form of long term vision impairment the vast majority of which can be treated, and in some cases avoided, through regular eye examinations. Says Kate Gifford, president and Brisbane-based optometrist, Optometry Australia: Far too many Australians are waiting until they have symptoms of vision deterioration or eye conditions before seeing an optometrist. Some eye diseases dont actually show any symptoms for a long time, but when they do appear, it is often too late for prevention or early detection, and significant vision loss may be the result. Good vision for life further aims to reduce the $16.6bn economic burden that vision disorders have on the Australian economy. Says Gifford: Thats a massive $45.5m per day or $1.9m per hour. Gifford says that unlike many community health campaigns, Good vision for life does not dwell on fear: While we needed to highlight the consequences of not seeking regular eye health examinations, we also wanted to create a campaign that motivated action and not dwell on dread. The warm and friendly creative direction is underpinned by the key messages of the value to the Australian community for prevention and early detection. At the centrepiece of the campaign is a new consumer website goodvisionforlife.com.au. The website is the campaigns primary call-to-action, supporting a wide range of eye health and vision information as well as a Find an optometrist search functionality. The campaign supports a strong digital element including online advertisements, social media and video, as well as radio and a moderate TV campaign. It has been designed to appeal to a target audience of 40-59 year old Australians, the majority who have children under 18, are still in the workforce and have ageing parents. Optometry Australia worked with boutique agency Media33 on channel selection. The family said it was now happy with the early transfer of the boy to high school, despite initial concerns. The boy was moved into high school in May, six months ahead of schedule, but the dedication of extra resources and commitment from staff has proved beneficial. "The first thing we have to do is encourage everybody in the neighbourhood that it is not branding them as a paedophile to be interested in children. And, in fact, if you've got the adults in the area keeping an eye on the children, then they are keeping an eye on the adults as well, so the children will be the safest they can be," she said. Your digital subscription includes access to content from all our websites in your region. Access unlimited news content and The Canberra Times app. Premium subscribers also enjoy interactive puzzles and access to the digital version of our print edition - Today's Paper. Although the accessibility of secondary jobs may have increased in the internet age, the dilemmas raised in this context are hardly novel. In 1946, British judge Lord Wilfred Greene observed: "The law would, I think, be jealous of attempting to impose on a manual worker restrictions, the real effect of which would be to prevent him utilising his spare time. He is paid for 5 days in the week. The rest of the week is his own." While the 5-day work week may have been consigned to history for most, Greene's reasoning remains sound. In this area and others, APS decision-makers should think carefully before intruding into public servants' private lives. [Your Business Name] Contact Info Phone: Fax: Email: Web: CAPITOLHILLCUBANS.COM Business Overview Geographic Area Line of Business Brands We Carry Products and Services Discounts Offered Additional Information Business Hours Timezone We Accept Our Promise: Welcome to Care2, the world's largest community for good. Here, you'll find over 45 million like-minded people working towards progress, kindness, and lasting impact. Care2 Stands Against: bigots, racists, bullies, science deniers, misogynists, gun lobbyists, xenophobes, the willfully ignorant, animal abusers, frackers, and other mean people. If you find yourself aligning with any of those folks, you can move along, nothing to see here. Care2 Stands With: humanitarians, animal lovers, feminists, rabble-rousers, nature-buffs, creatives, the naturally curious, and people who really love to do the right thing. You are our people. You Care. We Care2. Sometimes its good to be reminded of just how good a car is by giving it go once more. In the case of the Mitsubishi Xpander, its the smal... Lewis Hamilton and Fernando Alonso will get a taste of Formula Ones halo set to be adopted from the 2018 season in accordance with FIAs new regulations. A selection of teams have already tested out the controversial form of cockpit protection and at Friday;s free practice at the Singapore Grand Prix in two weeks time, McLaren and Mercedes will test the halo with Alonso and Hamilton. According to McLaren technical director Tim Goss, Testing the device through the year with all the teams has already been very instructive. For McLaren, running with Jenson [Button] at Monza has allowed us to gain insight into its performance in both tight chicanes and high-speed corners. The plan is for Fernando to try it in Singapore, which will offer up a number of different variables: the circuit is lit, with some very tight corners, and with plenty of Armco barriers. Formula Ones governing body recently pushed back the introduction of the halo from 2017 to 2018 at the earliest. While development of Red Bulls Aeroscreen has stopped, theres a possibility it could be adopted later in the decade. PHOTO GALLERY The annual celebration of glorious motoring days gone by, Goodwood Revival, will see Aston Martin participate with a selection of classic and modern vehicles. Staged at the Goodwood racing circuit in West Sussex, UK, this weekend, the event is looking to capture the automotive world from 1948 until 1966, and taking center stage from the British manufacturer will be a 1959 DBR1, a 1961 DB4 GT Zagato and two DB3S, from 1953 and 1955. It seems entirely fitting, therefore, that Aston Martin plays its part once again this year and gives the visiting crowds something truly memorable to admire and experience. It is always a delight to see our cars being enjoyed by true enthusiasts and I am especially looking forward to seeing the DBR1 in action, said Astons President and CEO, Andy Palmer. Among the competitors and spectators in period dress will be the all-new Aston Martin DB11, which will be displayed on the brands Earls Court 1950s inspired stand. Launched earlier this year under the automakers Second Century plan, the Grand Tourer replaces the old DB9 and carries an entirely new exterior design. Powered by a fresh 5.2-liter twin-turbo V12 engine, with 608 PS (600 HP) and 700 Nm (516 lb-ft) of torque, it needs 3.9 seconds to cover the 0-100 km/h (62 mph) sprint and it will keep accelerating up to 322 km/h (200 mph). PHOTO GALLERY In the US, despite this year being one of the industrys best ever through August, demand for mid-size family saloons is at a five-year low. It seems that with each passing month, the segment is fading even faster into obscurity. Sales for the mid-size segment fell 3.4% in the first quarter of 2016, 13% in the second quarter and a whooping 21% so far in the third, compared to 2015. According to Autonews, models such as the Nissan Altima, Ford Fusion, Hyundai Sonata and KIA Optima have all had to suffer as sales plunged by more than 30% in the month of August alone. Chrysler 200 sales fell by two thirds, whereas for all of the 16 mid-size nameplates, the decline evened out at around 27% a loss of more than 60,000 units. In comparison, sales of compact & smaller cars fell just 3.6% last month, more or less in line with the industrys overall 3.5% decline which proves that the market shifting away from mid-size saloons isnt a fluke occurrence. That larger sedan buyer just sees more value in the SUVs or CUVs, said Mike DeSilva, co-owner of Liberty Hyundai in Mahwah, NJ. Thats just where the activity is. And heading into the end of summer and going into winter, were really going to get into SUV season. Even through the SUV boom of the 90s and early 2000s, mid-size cars remained the industrys powerhouse segment, with sales topping 2.4 million units in each of the past four years. In 2016 though, compact crossovers are primed to take over as No.1 for the first time as mid-size cars will likely fall to fourth. In fact, since June, mid-size cars have proven less popular than even full-size pickups and compact cars. It doesnt matter how deep you discount the leasure suit and bell-bottoms nobodys going to buy them if theyre not fashionable, said Eric Lyman, VP of industry insights at TrueCar. I dont think theyre ever going to go away, but theres a lot more people who dont consider them anymore. Last December, Toyota head of US operations Bob Carter actually predicted that the Camry (Americas No.1 car for 14 consecutive years) would be outsold by the companys own RAV4 within five years though it might happen even sooner if the decline remains constant. In August, the Camry trailed not only the RAV4 (for the first time ever), but also the Honda CR-V and Nissan Rogue. PHOTO GALLERY Genesis will open the doors to its first dedicated showroom in South Korea this week as Hyundai looks to cement its luxury division as its very own brand. Located in Seoul, the dealership will help local consumers become familiar with Genesis as its own company and make it more distinguishable from Hyundai. Helping to achieve this will be the showrooms luxury feel provided by concrete, rusted steel sheets and wooden floor boards throughout its construction. The dealership will offer customers a full range of services including test drives, configuration tools and making the final purchase. In a statement, head of the Genesis brand, Manfred Fitzgerald, revealed that the company intends on opening other dealerships across South Korea and ultimately throughout the world. You will see more exciting brand spaces to come in the near future, he said. This space, located in a busy area, will serve to introduce our brand, and to raise visitors curiosity around it. PHOTO GALLERY McLaren may soon begin produced lightweight wheels inspired by the root systems of trees, according to the firms design director Frank Stephenson. While visiting Australia for the opening of a dedicated McLaren dealership in Melbourne, Stephenson revealed to Motoring that wheels of the future could have irregularly shaped and mismatched spokes just as trees have roots which shoot out in all directions and at differing angles. Beyond making wheels look very different to how they do currently, such a change would allow the company to develop thinner and lighter spokes as curved or bendy spokes dissipate energy from the road more efficiently than straight spokes. What you do is you get very curvy or very bent spokes. And what that allows you to do is when the wheel gets hit, instead of the impact going straight to the centre of the wheel, it dissipates much sooner. So you can make the spokes a lot lighter, a lot thinner. Then, what you need to do is counter-balance the wheel, obviously, but you can do that behind the spokes. So what you have is a wheel with all different-size-looking holes in the wheel. Theyre very unusual looking; its a lot lighter, a lot stronger, he said. The forward-thinking designer said that in the future, wheels will look very different to how they currently do, meaning in the coming years, we can expect to see some very intriguing wheels from the British automaker. PHOTO GALLERY Photo: Deborah Pfeiffer Students in School District 67 will not return to school until Wednesday, Sept. 7. According to Supt. Wendy Hyer, the reason for this is to allow staff to get together prior to the students' arrival. In the spring the school board goes through a consultation process with partner groups to finalize the district calendar for the year. Through this process, the decision to have Sept. 6 as one of the non-instructional days was made. "This allowed staffs to get together, review new curriculum and hold their start-up meetings prior to students arriving," she said. "There are a number of non-instructional days throughout the year, which can be placed anywhere in the calendar." It will also be business as usual at Trout Creek Elementary and West Bench Elementary. The two schools were slated for closure, but were able to stay open thanks to funding from the Rural Education Enhancement Fund, which was announced late in the school year. The principals will be Jeff Redden at Trout Creek and Darryl Tenisci at West Bench. Neither school has a vice principal. McNicoll Park Middle, the third school slated to be shuttered, was closed after June 30. More information on the first day of school is available here. Schools in SD 53 start back on Tuesday, Sept. 6. Supt. Bev Young said they are looking forward to implementing a revised curriculum for K to 9 students as well as a new reporting order that allows school and districts the flexibility to communicate student learning in a way that compliments the innovative ideas they have been using. Mike Safek remains the principal at Osoyoos Secondary School, which was also saved from closure, and Lyle Chapman remains as vice-principal. Photo: Contributed The District of Summerland and the Summerland Skatepark Committee have launched their fundraising campaign for a new skate park. School District 67 has contributed the land for the new site, which is located on the corner of Jubilee and Rosedale on the northeast section of the Summerland Secondary School playfield. We are thrilled so far with the support from the community, businesses and school board. The new skatepark will be a central feature for Summerland, attracting new visitors to the downtown core and enhancing the attractiveness of our community," said Mayor Peter Waterman. After considerable community engagement, public meetings and three conceptual design options, the final design by New Line Skateparks Inc. was selected. The new highly visible 10,000 square foot skatepark will provide a safe, professionally designed surface with unique features for all levels. The design will include features to promote and encourage family usage and a multiagenerational presence for an all-ages-friendly park. The cost of the project will be $594,200, and The Penny Lane Society has led the way with a donation of $135,000. Other sponsors have already come forward such as Ink Works, Freeride Boardshop and individuals such as Roy Bain, Richard Barkwill and Carol Mackenzie. The fundraising committee is launching a skate-shirt design contest. Go to the Summerland Skate Park Committee Facebook page for all updates, events, fundraisers and information. Designs can use a maximum of three colours and the contest closes Sept. 30. The grand prize for top design is a free skateboard from Freeride Boardshop. Submissions can be emailed in or delivered in person at the recreation office at the Summerland Aquatic Centre. The kickoff marks the start of the fundraising process in order to secure the monetary requirements to break ground. Donations of any amount are welcome, and tax receipts will be issued. For contributions or inquiries contact the Summerland District Office at 250a494a6451. Dustin Godfrey People gathered at Gyro Park Sunday afternoon in support of medical cannabis. There were about 30 people in the park at 2 p.m., though it is unclear how many were attending the event, and how many just happened to be there. Prior to the event, one of its promoters Jo Scofield said it was intended to promote a provincial medical marijuana program to supplement the federal program currently in place. At the event, Scofield said she had made hand-written signs with information she says supports the case for medical cannabis. "We decided to put some information together and come down and see what happened," she said. "It's just a community gathering." She said she would like to see equality of access to medical cannabis, and that people should be able to choose their medicine. "It's just a different choice. People can really easily choose to manage a lot of the same symptoms with other medications that have a different list of side effects and possible downsides," she said. "There's absolutely no reason that somebody like myself, for example, should be forced to choose a list of side effects that somebody else thinks is more acceptable, as opposed to one that I think is more acceptable for my life." Raylene Park, who attended the event in a StarBudz shirt but has no official affiliation with the chain of stores, said medical cannabis helps her nephew with multiple sclerosis. "He needs it. It helps him cope with life," she said. "It takes the pain away, it helps him sleep." Jim Park, who attended with Raylene, added that it helps with the nephew's shaking and mobility as well. The rally comes as cities in the Okanagan and elsewhere consider the issue of medical pot shops, while it remains more strictly regulated by the federal government. Penticton's 60-day investigation into potential regulations on dispensaries will be coming to an end in just over two weeks, while other cities, like Osoyoos, have decided on an outright ban on the shops while they remain illegal at the federal level. Penticton city council will hear some of staff's deliberations in a committee of the whole meeting on Tuesday afternoon. Photo: Google Penticton city staffers will present to council on Tuesday to outline three options for dealing with the city's medical cannabis dispensaries. City council will likely not be deciding anything for a couple of weeks, but will be able to give some guidance to staff based on the options provided in a committee of the whole meeting Tuesday afternoon. In a report filed on the city's website, the three options include an outright ban, potential regulations and inaction until the federal government takes the issue up. That second option, to impose regulations, have a number of different suggestions from zoning to fees. The report suggests that council create definitions for medical marijuana, "marijuana dispensary and medical marijuana production facility, with suggested requirements for the latter two. A production facility would have to be an approved facility under Health Canada regulations and meet all BC Building Code requirements and would be barred from being the same site as retail sales of any products, marijuana or otherwise. A dispensary would be barred from being combined with any other businesses, retail or otherwise; would not be allowed within 200 metres of an elementary or secondary school and would not be allowed to have product visible from the street. Provisions would also guide business operations, including limiting store hours from 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. and requiring two staff to be present during all business hours. Other regulations would mean people under 19 would need to be barred entry, approved ventilation systems would have to be installed and no smoking or other consumption of the product could be done on premises. A criminal record check for all employees would have to come up with no drug-related offences in the past 10 years and security must be implemented, with all product and money placed in a safe at night. Dispensaries would be required to pay a one-time $5,000 fee for the business licence, with a yearly $2,500 fee to renew, while operating outside of regulations would cost the business $1,500 for each infraction. The licence fees are higher than most business licences in Penticton, but staff justify the $5,000 fee by noting the cost dispensaries have caused the city in the past year of enforcement and other city operations regarding the businesses. Bylaw enforcement would cease for those who have paid all fines levied against them, and who have complied with whatever regulations the city does eventually decide on. The first option, an outright ban, would continue enforcement against the dispensaries in the city. Council meets for the committee of the whole meeting at 3 p.m. Tuesday afternoon. Photo: Thinkstock.com Public outcry over British Columbia's sizzling real estate market pushed the province's Liberal government to introduce a foreign-buyers' tax last month, but uncertainty around the policy leaves little room for political manoeuvring before next year's election, once the impact of the tax is better understood, experts say. Max Cameron, a political scientist at the University of British Columbia, said the prospect of housing affordability turning into an election issue is "undoubtedly" what motivated the Liberals to step in with the tax. "Their gamble is that it's better to look like you're doing something than to appear indifferent or tone deaf to the issue," Cameron said. "This is a government that is very single-minded about its electoral calculations. That's what drives its policy making." On Aug. 2, the provincial government began levying a 15-per-cent tax on all non-Canadians purchasing property in Metro Vancouver. It justified the surprise move as a bid to boost affordability for citizens looking to enter the housing market. Cameron said the B.C. Liberals' strategy appears aimed at depriving the Opposition New Democrats of fodder to accuse them on the campaign trail of inaction on housing. "The big fear on the part of the Liberals, to be blunt, is (NDP housing critic) David Eby filling town halls with angry residents saying, 'I can't afford to live in this place anymore and I'm moving out,' and the NDP capitalizing on that and carrying it forward as a central part of their campaign," he said. At the same time, the B.C. Liberals and its free-enterprise coalition cannot be seen as anti-market, thereby alienating its pro-business, anti-tax base, said Jamie Lawson, a political scientist at the University of Victoria. "It's actually quite a delicate thing they have to do and there aren't too many directions that a government with their commitments can go to provide really aggressive solutions." The government's goal is to give Canadians "access to workable real estate purchases," said Advanced Education Minister Andrew Wilkinson on behalf of Finance Minister Mike de Jong, who was unavailable to comment. "It's hard to find anyone who would say the market wasn't overheated in the Lower Mainland in the first half of 2016," Wilkinson said. He added that it would be premature to comment on the policy's long-term impact or whether the government might consider eventually tweaking the tax. Hamish Telford, a political scientist at the University of the Fraser Valley, said the Liberals' brand as the party of laissez-faire made it difficult for them to intervene in the marketplace. The conundrum the Liberals face now is that the tax will either be too effective or not effective enough, he said. "The risk here is that they cool off the housing market too much and they get trapped in a situation where, on the one hand, Liberal voters are losing equity, but (on the other hand) housing doesn't become affordable enough for those who already can't get into the market," said Telford. "One hopes that the 15-per-cent tax was calculated carefully enough that it would cool but not crash the market." The Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver released data Friday showing that home sales tumbled by 26 per cent in August compared to the same period last year. Despite the drop in sales, the board reported the composite benchmark price for all residential properties in Metro Vancouver had jumped more than 30 per cent since August 2015, to about $933,000. Photo: Google Maps UPDATE: 6:30 p.m. Two little starlings are to blame for back-to-back power outages in Penticton today. Penticton Fire captain Blaine Dionne says fire crews were called to two power outages just minutes apart Monday afternoon. In both cases they arrived on scene and discovered the body of a small bird beside the line. Power was restored in both incidents. UPDATE: 5 p.m. According to the City of Penticton, power went out for about 1,000 customers this afternoon for approximately an hour. Staff says they had a power outage to circuit R21 out of Waterford Transformer Station. That station supplies power to Walmart, Tim Hortons and the other plazas in the area. The city says the outage affected 1,000 customers for approximately one hour, between 2:30 amd 3:30 p.m. The cause of the outage is unknown, most likely a bird. Crews patrolled, but couldn't find the cause, writes the city. Crews are currently working on another bird-related incident (they found the bird in this instance) on Edna which has affected power to less than 10 customers. The city says power should be restored shortly. ORIGINAL: 2:45 p.m. Power is out in areas of Penticton. Castanet is getting multiple tips that power is out at the south end of town, at the mall and around Skaha Lake Road area. Castanet is waiting to hear back from the City of Penticton. We will have more information as soon as it is available. Send news tips, photos and video to [email protected] If you have just started your journey in an online casino or are looking for a new site to play,... Egypt sets out on a new course ICR Research By Published 05 September 2016 President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi has managed to return a certain degree of stability to Egypt, with the economy expected to show a gradual recovery. A broad infrastructure programme and robust housing demand is providing the foundation for a strong growth in construction, while the government is calling for the cement industry to increase its capacity. Egypts Minister of Finance, Amr El-Gahry, is in no doubt that the countrys route to a strong economic recovery depends on infrastructure spending. Egypts infrastructure projects in the last two fiscal years are the cornerstone of the recovery of the Egyptian economy. The GDP has already shown signs of recovery, rising from 2.2 per cent in FY13-14 to 4.2 per cent in FY14-15, he said in July 2016. The government targets a GDP ratio [growth] between six and seven per cent in the upcoming period by finding solutions in the different economic sectors, especially the investment section, and increasing the availability of foreign currency, he added. To continue reading this story and get access to all News, Articles and Video sections of the CemNet.com website, please Register for a subscription to International Cement Review or Login This service applies to you if your subscription has not yet expired on our old site. You will have continued access until your subscription expires; then you will need to purchase an ongoing subscription through our new system. Please contact The Chanute Tribune office at 620-431-4100 if you have any questions These days, it seems Americans are more at odds than ever. In the weeks after the last presidential election, a record-high 77% of people surveyed by Gallup said the country was divided. Its hard to imagine those numbers have budged much since. One sign of our fractured political climate? An increase in people talking seriously about secession. From coast to coast, dissatisfied citizens are wondering whether its time to cut ties with our supposedly indivisible republic. Not everyone takes this secession talk seriously. There are many reasons political, legal, and economic that make withdrawing from the United States difficult. For one, theres the chance that moving to break away could trigger another Civil War. Even if the split was peaceful, the economic impacts could be severe. Plus, breakaway states would be on the hook for all the things currently handled by the federal government, from paying for a military to policing their new borders. Still, those realities havent stopped some people from picturing their state seceding. In these states, theres been some serious talk of breaking away from the union. Could any of them survive as their own country? Did your state make the list? 1. California In the days after Trumps election, panicked Californians proposed a solution: Calexit. In a state where Hillary Clinton trounced her rival by 4.2 million votes and where only 25% of voters approve of the president, the idea has managed to gain some serious traction. The states attorney general has said a pro-secession group can go ahead and start collecting the 585,000 signatures it needs to get a Calexit measure on the 2018 ballot. The pro-secessionists will face an uphill battle for independence though. Only a third of Californians polled in March 2017 said theyd vote for the state to become its own country. But in other ways, the state is in a good position to go its own way. Not only is it less dependent on the federal government than most other states, but California has the sixth-largest economy in the world and independence wouldnt necessarily bring economic hardship, noted Foreign Policy. Next: This state has already spent 10 years as a sovereign nation. 2. Texas The Republic of Texas ceased to exist back in 1846, after a brief 10 years as a sovereign nation. But it might be due for a comeback, at least if certain Lone Star State residents get their way. Roughly a quarter of Texans surveyed by Public Policy Polling in August 2016 said they thought it was time for their state to leave the United States. Trump supporters were even more in favor of secession 37% wanted to kiss the Union goodbye. But we probably dont need to fear another Civil War just yet. Though some have tried to make secession part of the state Republican partys platform, their efforts havent been successful. One thing that would be in Texas favor if a serious secession movement were to arise is its economy. The states gross domestic product is bigger than that of any other state except California (and is the 15th largest in the world), which would probably smooth the journey to independence. Still, if Texas did strike out on its own, the road might be rocky. The state would also have to suddenly fulfill many functions now covered by the federal government, including maintaining interstates, border patrol, and airport security, as outlined in this report by NPR. Next: This state has a long history of independence. 3. Hawaii Hawaii is a world away from the mainland U.S. The island chain also has a long history of independence before its monarchy was overthrown in 1893 in a coup organized by sugar planters. For years, native Hawaiians have been lobbying the federal government for recognition similar to that given to Native American tribes. But some want to go even further. The annexation of Hawaii was illegal and the U.S. is an occupying force, they argue, and they want the state to become its own independent nation again. Could independence work? Hawaii is in the middle of the pack when it comes to dependence on the federal government. It has the 38th largest GDP in the U.S. But some argue independence would be good for the Hawaiian economy because it would be free from certain U.S. trade restrictions. Next: Not everyone here was happy about joining the United States. 4. Alaska Alaskans voted for statehood in 1959, but not everyone is happy with the results of that election. The Alaskan Independence Party the third-largest political party in the state, with more than 15,000 registered voters advocates for a new vote on secession, arguing that Alaskans should have had the option to choose independence the first time around. While not all in the party support full independence (some want a return to territory status, and others would be happy with stronger states rights), some definitely do. And it remains one of the best-established secessionist movements in the U.S. If it ever became its own country, Alaska would control a vast amount of oil wealth. But the oil reserves its sitting on are a double-edged sword. When prices are high, money floods into the state, but when prices fall, the economy suffers. The dynamic has created problems for Alaska as a state, and the issue wouldnt disappear with independence. Next: This northeastern state already had one go at independence. 5. Vermont Vermont has always had a strong independent streak. So perhaps its not surprising that a small but vocal group of Vermonters have spent the past decade or so advocating for secession. Noting that the Green Mountain State already had one go at independence from 1777 to 1791, they argue its time for a Second Vermont Republic. A 2007 poll found 13% of voters supported secession. But the push for independence seems to have faded somewhat since the movements controversial leader, Thomas Naylor, died in 2012. Naylor was the public face of the left-leaning secessionist groups but was criticized for his ties to racist Southern separatists. One issue an independent Vermont would face is replacing all the dollars it currently receives from the federal government. Currently, the state receives about $2 billion a year from Washington to help pay for everything from highways to school lunches. Next: This states motto is live free or die. 6. New Hampshire Is it any wonder that theres been talk of secession in New Hampshire? After all, the states motto is live free or die. Like its neighbors to the west and inspired by Britains 2016 vote to leave the European Union some New Hampshire residents have said they want out of the United States. The states Libertarian Party has even endorsed the idea of New Hampshire secession, or NHExit. Could secession work in the Granite State? Maybe. New Hampshire is small, but its less federally dependent than most other states, according to a WalletHub analysis. And it has seen a recent influx of libertarians, who are already working to turn the state (or perhaps independent country) into a small-government paradise. Next: Some Americans want these states to come together. 7. Oregon and Washington If some people in Oregon and Washington get their way, the entire Pacific Northwest region would join California in exiting the union. Their vision involves a Republic of Cascadia that would consist of most of those two states, as well as parts of British Columbia, Idaho, Montana, California, Nevada, Utah, and Wyoming. The idea has been around for a while but interest increased following Donald Trumps election. Supporters see the area as a distinct bioregion with its own unique culture. Not all support secession, but some do. Supporters of an independent Cascadia claim the country would be among the worlds 20 largest economies, producing between $750 billion and $1.5 trillion worth of goods and services, depending on what areas were included. Next: Could these five states form an alliance that could last? 8. North Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska, Wyoming, and Montana For years, some members of the Lakota Sioux tribe have argued they should be recognized as a fully independent country. To that end, they declared themselves citizens of the independent Republic of Lakotah in 2007. The nation consists of parts of North Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska, Wyoming, and Montana and has sought recognition from other countries, including Bolivia, Chile, and South Africa. Even if the Republic of Lakotah were to receive official recognition, it would likely face some big challenges. For one, the region is home to several of the highest-poverty counties in the United States. Geography also stands in the way. The Republic of Lakotah would be landlocked, which tends to hurt a countrys economy. Most of the 45 countries in the world without a maritime border are poor, the Economist explained, largely because its more difficult for them to move goods around without assistance from their neighbors. Next: Welcome to the Conch Republic. 9. Florida If youve visited Key West, you might have noticed a sign welcoming you to the Conch Republic. It sounds like a joke, and it is kind of. Back in 1982, the Border Patrol created a roadblock on the only highway in and out of the Florida Keys. Frustrated residents tried to get the checkpoint removed, and when they failed they declared themselves an independent country and announced a symbolic war on the U.S. The publicity generated by the stunt led to the removal of the roadblock and also proved to be a useful tourism booster. More than three decades later, the Conch Republic whose motto is we seceded where others failed is still around, issuing fake souvenir passports and celebrating its independence day every April 23. More from The Cheat Sheet: Covestro is turning one: The materials manufacturer has been standing on its own two feet for a year now and can look back on a fast successful development. Following the official separation from the Bayer Group on September 1, 2015, the former Bayer MaterialScience established itself of the international capital market with the largest stock market flotation in Germany since 2000. The past 12 months were also extremely gratifying for Covestro from a financial standpoint. We have completed a complex transformation process in a short time and shown what we are capable of. We are very proud of that, said CEO Patrick Thomas. A XL startup, Covestro has developed to the great satisfaction of its customers, investors and other stakeholders. Thomas pointed out that the operating result (adjusted EBITDA) has been increased each quarter since the company became independent. Relative to the issue price of EUR 24, the share price has approximately doubled now. Thomas is also pleased that the employees all around the world have a high appreciation for Covestro as an employer and are living the new corporate values with such enthusiasm. We are curious, courageous and colorful. That is our foundation for providing products, technologies and solutions that push boundaries and make the world a brighter place. To this end, the company is focusing even more intently on innovation. Besides traditional research and development, it gives all its employees the freedom to express their creativity in their fields. At the same time, Covestro is increasingly anchoring sustainability at every level. The objective is to conserve the environment, advance society and at the same time create economic value. The company has therefore established a series of challenging and measurable targets it wants to achieve by 2025. For example, it plans to halve greenhouse gas emissions per metric ton of product manufactured relative to 2005. YouTube is the third-largest website on Earth, a behemoth viewed by millions each day. It's also "over" or on the brink of it according to a group of outraged creators who claim the company has begun censoring them. The controversy springs from confusion over YouTube's long-standing policy of disabling ads on videos that could draw advertiser complaints. Those include videos that are violent, sexually suggestive, or that contain drug use or bad language. Advertisement But whereas YouTube has historically hidden demonetization notifications in its video analytics dashboard meaning that some creators never saw them the company recently began sending notices by email and alerting them directly on video pages. In the process, it has caught several YouTubers by surprise: Luke Cutforth, Melanie Murphy, Rob Dyke, MrRepzion and Philip DeFranco, among many others, have all posted videos and tweets accusing YouTube of "censoring" them and threatening their livelihoods. On Thursday, DeFranco's video on the subject which has thus far been viewed more than 1.7 million times sparked the trending Twitter hashtag #YouTubeIsOverParty, a vote of protest by creators and fans alike. Advertisement "Without us," tweeted the beauty vlogger Samantha Ravndahl, "you would have no content to advertise over top of." Ironically, the change is part of YouTube's ongoing efforts to be more transparent in its dealings with creators, and was actually designed to make it easier for YouTubers to appeal bad blacklistings. That process was previously difficult to both find and navigate; now it's as easy as checking a box that says "Review my video again. I believe it's advertiser-friendly." Still, many YouTubers have raised valid concerns about what YouTube considers "advertiser-friendly" in the first place. It's hard to quibble with an advertiser who doesn't want his product placed next to, say, a vaguely rape-y Sam Pepper "prank." (This isn't terribly different from conventional media, where companies cherry-pick the shows they advertise with very strategically, and pull those ads posthaste if the show gets mixed up in anything dicey.) But YouTube also demonetizes videos that concern "controversial or sensitive subjects and events, including subjects related to war, political conflicts, natural disasters and tragedies, even if graphic imagery is not shown." That could prove a major disincentive for news coverage on the platform, particularly among small creators. Aaron Wysocki, director of content distribution for the Web news network Young Turks, tweeted Thursday morning that YouTube had disabled ads on nearly 1,000 of the network's videos over the past three years including recent news items about Syrian refugees, pharmaceutical research and the Colombian ceasefire. Meanwhile, DeFranco said YouTube docked a video he posted Aug. 30, which contained some fleeting PG-13 language but otherwise stuck to discussing news stories such as the release of Brock Turner and the Annaliese Nielsen/Lyft incident. "How the hell am I supposed to talk about news?" he asked. Will YouTube revise its ad policy in light of all the outrage? Only time will tell. Amy Adams has been nominated for an Oscar five times, four of them for her work as a supporting actress. In a tribute to Adams on Saturday night at the Telluride Film Festival in Colorado, before the first North American screening of Denis Villeneuve's science fiction thriller "Arrival," the actress explained why she has so often opted for distinctive, smaller parts. "I love being a supporting actress," Adams said, in a conversation that followed a showing of clips of her work in movies like "Junebug," "Doubt" and "The Fighter." "In my experience, the lead role has the burden of plot. I'm not looking at the size of the role. I'm looking at, 'Will I get a chance to grow?' " Advertisement [ See the most-read stories in Entertainment this hour ] But in "Arrival," which Paramount Pictures will release Nov. 11, Adams is decidedly the lead, as a linguist reluctantly drawn into a government attempt to communicate with aliens that have landed on Earth. A brainy, "Close Encounters Of the Third Kind"-esque drama adapted by Eric Heisserer from the Ted Chiang story "Story of Your Life," "Arrival" places actors Jeremy Renner and Forest Whitaker in the supporting position to Adams' heroine, Louise Banks, whose job it is to decipher the aliens' complex language and determine their reason for coming. Competent and brave, Louise is weighed down by a personal sadness that is slowly explained over the course of the film. Advertisement "I felt like I knew her," Adams said of Louise. "She was everywoman. She was me, and I don't often see myself in my characters." In the pre-screening conversation conducted by Vanity Fair's Krista Smith, Adams, 42, reflected on how she had changed since first capturing critics' attention as a joyfully naive pregnant woman in 2005's "Junebug." "I'm a harsh critic of myself," Adams said. "I see when I stopped needing to be perfect. I stopped carrying the weight of criticism. I really was so tired of giving a [expletive] cause I just gave so many all the time." Adams noted that it was during the making of Spike Jonze's 2013 science fiction romance "Her" that she shed much of her self consciousness. One habit she said she has retained, however, is over-preparing for roles, and occasionally bringing home accents and quirks adopted for a part. "It's confusing when you invest in your work and you talk in a Boston accent and your husband says, 'You have to stop doing that. You sound like one of my ex-girlfriends,' " Adams said. The actress, who starred in the musicals "Enchanted" and "The Muppets," said her dream role would be to play the character Elphaba in a movie version of "Wicked." Asked if she would ever consider having a social media profile on Twitter or Instagram, Adams answered, "Hashtag Bad Idea." Advertisement rebecca.keegan@latimes.com Follow me on Twitter for more movie news: @thatrebecca MORE FROM ENTERTAINMENT 'Don't Breathe' holds top spot at box office for second week The indie summer provided a cure for the blockbuster blues 'The Girl on the Train' stays true to the novel with the use of sex as a weapon and medication Sunrise was just two hours away, but when his pregnant fiancee was hit with hunger pangs, Obed "OJ" DeLeon dutifully drove to a nearby Northwest Side taco spot to pick up some food. Three off-duty Chicago police officers who allegedly had just been drinking at a nearby bar were also inside the Taco Burrito King, eating at a table as DeLeon walked inside complaining about a car blocking the parking lot. Brian Murphy, one of the cops, jumped up from his seat with his service weapon drawn, pointed the semi-automatic pistol at DeLeon's head and shoved him against a wall, surveillance video shows. Advertisement The two other officers, Jason Orsa and Daniel McNamara, joined in, too, along with a Marine friend who had just returned from Iraq. DeLeon was punched, knocked down twice, kicked, hit and held facedown on the tile floor of the crowded restaurant. His shirt was ripped off, revealing gang tattoos on his shoulder and chest. "It happened so fast," DeLeon testified years later at a Chicago Police Board hearing about the March 2006 beating. "People were just jumping on my back, kicking me." Advertisement Even though the police board eventually fired Murphy and Orsa after two eyewitnesses and video confirmed they had started the fight, both still remain on the force more than a decade after the incident because a Cook County judge had overturned the firings. But last month, an Illinois appeals court upheld their dismissals, saying it was "dumbfounded" by the judge's "inexplicable" ruling. DeLeon and the two eyewitnesses who were arrested as well that night in 2006 were surprised to learn from a Chicago Tribune reporter that both officers were still on the force. All three said the handling of the investigation was another example of the city's reluctance to root out police misconduct. "My (then-unborn) son is 10 years old now!" DeLeon, 32, said recently on learning the officers had been reinstated on the force and given back pay after the judge reversed their firings in 2012. "The amount of evidence that they had against these guys, it's amazing to me that it's still going on," said Shawn Nelson, 37, a restaurant patron that night who tried to intervene on DeLeon's behalf. "I can't even believe it." "This is the reason why the general public has issues with police officers," said Joseph Mularczyk, 36, the other eyewitness. "It's misbehavior like this. It's covered up. It's pushed under the table, and here we are 10 years later (and) these guys are still on the Police Department." It had taken five years for Murphy and Orsa to be fired the first time. Now, four years after the two won their jobs back, the police board will fire them again unless the officers continue their legal challenge and appeal to the Illinois Supreme Court. Their lawyers did not return phone calls seeking comment. The police board found the evidence against McNamara insufficient to prove he took part in the beating and suspended him for 18 months for failing to tell supervisors of his and the other officers' involvement in the altercation. In addition, one of two sergeants who responded to the altercation, Louis Danielson, was given a six-month suspension for conducting what the police board found to be a nonexistent investigation he never even went inside the restaurant or attempted to find out who had a gun. But the city dropped the suspension after Murphy and Orsa won their jobs back, clearing his record and awarding him back pay. Advertisement None of the officers could be reached for comment, and Anthony Guglielmi, chief spokesman for the Police Department, declined to comment other than to say the police board would begin the termination process for Murphy and Orsa once it has the appellate court order in hand. All three officers had told investigators for Chicago's police oversight agency and later testified before the police board that DeLeon had yelled out gang slogans and threatened that he was a "cop killer" after he entered the Taco Burrito King at 5509 N. Harlem Ave. Several surveillance cameras inside the restaurant captured the beating, but the videos contain no audio. According to testimony before the police board, DeLeon asked who was the "a------" who had parked a Camaro blocking the entrance to the restaurant's parking lot. "What if I'm the a------?" Orsa replied, city lawyers argued at the police board hearing. "Then stop being an a------ and move your car," replied DeLeon, he and both eyewitnesses said in testimony that both the police board and appellate court found credible. Advertisement The videos, obtained by the Tribune through a Freedom of Information Act request, show DeLeon talking, gesturing and leaning over directly behind the officers as they sat eating at a table. Suddenly, Murphy pulled out his gun, jumped to his feet and physically confronted DeLeon. The other plainclothes, off-duty cops as well as the Marine friend quickly joined in, swarming over DeLeon and warding off other patrons from intervening. The video shows DeLeon knocked to the floor, eventually rising to his feet again and taking a couple of swings at one officer before he was thrown to the floor again. He suffered only bruises, he later testified. Chicago police responded to a 911 call of a "white man with a gun" an apparent reference to Murphy but DeLeon, Hispanic and unarmed, was hauled off in handcuffs, his shirt torn off him in the fight. Nelson and Mularczyk, friends at the time who were waiting in line for food that night and did not know DeLeon, were also arrested after separately telling police that the four white men had started the fight. "Is that the story you're sticking with?" Danielson asked the two, ordering them taken into custody "for being in the wrong place at the wrong time," both later testified. In their recent interviews with the Tribune, both eyewitnesses said they did not know at the time that the three plainclothes officers were off-duty cops. They said they thought the beating was at least in part racially motivated. The officers were allowed to leave the restaurant through a back door. Their names were never recorded in any police report, and none were even identified as complaining witnesses in the misdemeanor assault and battery charges brought against Nelson and Mularczyk. Advertisement An officer who didn't even speak to anyone at the restaurant was told to write up the police report, according to testimony before the police board. "I just felt it was unusual," the officer told the police board. Neither Murphy, Orsa nor McNamara filled out reports required any time officers use force on- or off-duty. Within a few days, DeLeon lodged a complaint with police, and he and both eyewitnesses were interviewed soon after the incident. But it wasn't until a year later that the officers were questioned by investigators for the Independent Police Review Authority, the much-maligned city agency that investigates the most serious allegations of police misconduct. In those interviews, the officers alleged for the first time that DeLeon had threatened police and yelled gang slogans in the restaurant. Eighteen more months passed before IPRA tried to interview the sergeant who approved the criminal charges against DeLeon and both eyewitnesses, but he had retired by then, records show. The records show the IPRA investigation limped along for years. One investigator asked supervisors for extensions on deadlines at least 23 times, according to the records. Advertisement Finally, in 2010, four years after the incident, then-police Superintendent Jody Weis brought formal charges against the officers, seeking their dismissal, before the police board. At the hearing into their firing, Murphy said he pulled the gun in fear for his life after DeLeon shouted the gang slogans and threatened to kill cops. "I was scared," Murphy testified. Orsa admitted kicking DeLeon but only to subdue him as DeLeon kicked at officers who were trying to restrain him. Both officers also denied drinking that night at the nearby bar, Teaser's Pub, a favorite police hangout in the Union Ridge neighborhood at the time, according to testimony. In his testimony, DeLeon said officers never asked any questions about what had happened before taking him into custody. Advertisement "It was just quick handcuffs, get in the paddy wagon, you're going to jail," he said. Danielson testified he saw no need to ask DeLeon any questions after seeing his gang tattoos. "I concluded 100 percent assuredly that he was indeed an active member of the Spanish Cobra street gang," he said. But DeLeon told the police board he had given up the gang life after he met the woman who would become his fiancee in 2003. After the 2006 beating, he had the "SC" tattoo on his right shoulder covered with another tattoo, he testified. But court records show he has three convictions since the incident, including for spitting on a cop that same year and an aggravated DUI in 2013. In her 2012 ruling reversing the police board decision to fire the two officers, Judge Kathleen M. Pantle found that the officers' testimony was more believable and that the video supported their account as well. She blasted DeLeon as an obvious gangbanger. Advertisement "All you have to do is look at him and know he's a gang member," a transcript quoted her as saying. "Anybody looking at the videotape knows that as soon as he walks in the door." The judge also held that the glacial pace of the IPRA investigation had deprived the officers of their rights and called the probe "shoddy." "This thing is a mess from start to finish," she was quoted as saying of the investigation. Pantle also downplayed the testimony of Nelson and Mularczyk, saying they were "not disinterested witnesses" because of their arrests that night. The misdemeanor charges against both had been dropped when officers didn't show up at their first court appearance. But in upholding the firings last month, the appeals court found that the weight of the evidence supported the police board's decision, noting that Murphy could have been fired just for pulling out his service weapon "unprovoked" in the crowded restaurant. The court concluded that both officers should have stayed and explained to police why the gun was drawn and DeLeon overpowered. The court held that Orsa had repeatedly kicked DeLeon without justification and that both officers had attempted to cover up what happened. Advertisement The court also rejected the officers' contention that DeLeon had started the conflict by yelling the gang slogans and boasting he was a cop killer. "We cannot ignore an even more troubling aspect of this case the inherently improbable character of the officers' defense, which largely relied on stirring prejudices by suggesting that DeLeon's conduct was gang-related," appeals court Judge Michael Hyman wrote in the unanimous decision by the three-judge panel. Daywatch Weekdays Start each day with Chicago Tribune editors' top story picks, delivered to your inbox. > Neither DeLeon nor the two eyewitnesses ever filed lawsuits against police. In DeLeon's case, he told the Tribune that he didn't think he could after broaching the subject with an IPRA investigator. Nelson and Mularczyk neither of whom has a criminal record other than their arrest for this incident, records show both said the spotlight on police misconduct in Chicago and across the country over the last couple of years has rekindled thoughts of their ordeal. Both said they support police Nelson's great-uncle was once Morton Grove's deputy police chief and his uncle spent more than 20 years with the department but that more needs to be done to remove the bad officers who dishonor hardworking cops. "It's never left my mind," Mularczyk said. "This isn't something you forget, especially when it's the only arrest you have in your life. Advertisement "I'm flabbergasted," he said. "I can't believe these guys still have jobs." sschmadeke@chicagotribune.com Twitter @SteveSchmadeke A member of the Chicago Police Department looks around the scene of a shooting in the 3300 block of West Flournoy Street on Sept. 5, 2016, in the Homan Square neighborhood. (Erin Hooley / Chicago Tribune) Shootings on the South and West sides Sunday afternoon into the evening left at least three people dead and nine others wounded, Chicago police said. About 10:30 p.m., a 17-year-old boy was shot to death in the South Shore neighborhood on the South Side, police said. Advertisement The boy was standing in the 7800 block of South Cornell Avenue when two unknown male attackers walked up to him and fired shots, striking him in the back, police said. The boy was taken to Northwestern Memorial Hospital, where he was later pronounced dead, police said. Advertisement A 19-year-old man was shot to death in the Back of the Yards neighborhood about 6:15 p.m., police said. Officers responded to a call about a person shot in the 5200 block of South Sangamon Street and found the man shot there. He was taken to Stroger Hospital in critical condition, according to Chicago Fire Department Cmdr. Walter Schroeder. Police later said the man died. A 45-year-old man was shot to death about an hour earlier in the Englewood neighborhood just to the south. About 5:15 p.m., paramedics were called to the 6700 block of South Green Street to treat two people who were shot, according to Schroeder. Officer Kevin Quaid, a police spokesman, said the two men, a 45-year-old man and a 27-year-old man, were unloading boxes in an alley when a man dressed in black approached on foot and began firing. The older man was shot in the torso and chest and was pronounced dead at Advocate Christ Medical Center in Oak Lawn, Quaid said. The younger man was shot in the chest, back and right wrist. He was taken to the same hospital, where he was in serious condition, Quaid said. The assailant fled east from Halsted, running through vacant lots. The man killed was identified as Robert L. Porter Jr., of the 7300 block of South Green Street, according to information released Monday morning by the Cook County medical examiner's office. Porter was pronounced dead at 6:02 p.m. at Christ Medical Center. Most recently, about 4:30 a.m. Monday, a 35-year-old man walked into South Shore Hospital after he was wounded in a shooting in the South Chicago neighborhood, police said. The man was driving and stopped at a red light in the 7900 block of S. South Shore Drive when a male attacker in a dark-colored sedan fired shots at him. The man was shot in the right knee and left foot. He drove himself to the hospital, where his condition stabilized, police said. Advertisement About 12:55 a.m., an 18-year-old man and a 19-year-old man were wounded in a shooting in the Fernwood neighborhood on the Far South Side, police said. Daywatch Weekdays Start each day with Chicago Tribune editors' top story picks, delivered to your inbox. > The two men were in the back of a parked vehicle in the 10100 block of South Princeton Avenue when someone walked up and fired shots, police said. The younger man was hit in the back, torso and left leg. The older man was shot in the right leg. They were both taken to Advocate Christ Medical Center, where their condition stabilized, police said. About 12:25 a.m., a 24-year-old man was wounded in a shooting in the Englewood neighborhood on the South Side, police said. The man was driving south in the 5800 block of South Laflin Street when a male attacker came out of a red sedan and fired shots, hitting him in the left arm. The man managed to get to St. Bernard Hospital, where his condition stabilized. Another shooting happened in the 9700 block of South Yates Boulevard in the Jeffery Manor neighborhood about 7:15 p.m. Sunday. Police said a 19-year-old man was on a basketball court when someone on a bicycle shot him in the leg and fled. The 19-year-old was taken to Advocate Trinity Hospital in good condition, police said. About 4:30 p.m., a 22-year-old man was shot in the abdomen while outside in the 7100 block of South State Street in the Park Manor neighborhood, Quaid said. An assailant approached on foot and fled after the attack. That man was taken in serious-to-critical condition to Stroger Hospital. Advertisement About 4:05 p.m. in the 7400 block of South Kenwood Avenue, someone inside a green vehicle exited and fired shots at a 23-year-old man sitting in front of a home, Quaid said. The 23-year-old was shot in the left torso, and his condition has stabilized at Jackson Park Hospital, Quaid said. The shooter fled west on 75th Street after the attack. About 11:35 a.m. in the 5200 block of West LeMoyne Street in the Austin neighborhood another person was shot, said Officer Bari Lemmon, a police spokeswoman. The 15-year-old boy was in an alley sitting in a car when two people in another car pulled up and someone stepped out and fired shots, police said. The two fled in their vehicle, and the boy was taken to Loyola University Medical Center, where his condition was stabilized. He was shot three times in the right hip, police said. A member of the Chicago Police Department looks around the scene of a shooting in the 3300 block of West Flournoy Street on Sept. 5, 2016, in the Homan Square neighborhood. (Erin Hooley / Chicago Tribune) Nine men were killed and at least 22 other people were wounded in separate shootings over a 21-hour period Monday morning into Tuesday morning, Chicago police said. The most recent homicide left two people dead and three other people wounded in the Lawndale neighborhood on the city's West Side. The five were standing outside about 10:45 p.m. in the 2700 block of West Lexington Street when someone in a silver minivan opened fire toward the group on a sidewalk. Advertisement A 22-year-old man was taken to Stroger Hospital and pronounced dead, and a 22-year-old man died at Mount Sinai Hospital. A 17-year-old boy was left in serious condition with a chest wound, a 20-year-old was left in serious condition with chest and arm wounds and a 16-year-old was left in critical condition with a chest wound. Another shooting left two people dead in Ogden Park as more than 100 people celebrated Labor Day there. Authorities were called to the shooting about 7:20 p.m., according to Chicago Fire Department Cmdr. Walter Schroeder. Advertisement Two adult victims were taken to Stroger Hospital, where they were pronounced dead, said Officer Michelle Tannehill, a police spokeswoman. A 47-year-old man, was walking his dog when he heard shots being fired from a vehicle and he was struck in the chest, Tannehill said. The second man, 24, was hanging out in the park when he also heard the shots and began running. He was shot in the chest, police said. Police earlier said the two shot were possibly in their late teens. One bystander, a man, said the park is an area that people gather for high school reunions and to play, but another man who is a long-time resident of the area said Ogden Park has "gotten worse over the years'' and added that he heard about five shots. Both men described the attack as "senseless.'' Police investigate the scene of a fatal shooting in Ogden Park that left two people dead on Labor Day. Sept. 5, 2016. (WGN-TV) (Chicago Tribune) Another fatal shooting happened a half hour earlier, about 6:50 p.m., in the 900 block of West 58th Street in the Englewood neighborhood. Someone in a light-colored vehicle drove past him and fired multiple shots, hitting him in the back, said Officer Kevin Quaid, a police spokesman. The man, identified as LaShawn Carr, of the 5900 block of South Emerald Avenue, was pronounced dead at St. Bernard Hospital, at 7:07 p.m., said police and the Cook County medical examiner's office. Earlier, 44-year-old Albertano Medrano was fatally shot about 4 p.m. in the Back of the Yards neighborhood, according to the medical examiner's office and police. The man was driving in the 4500 block of South Hermitage Avenue when several people inside a white van began harassing him, Tannehill said. The 44-year-old tried to drive away, but one of the van's occupants opened fire and hit him in the head, neck and back. As he fled, he struck several parked cars. He was taken to Stroger Hospital, where he was pronounced dead at 4:30 p.m., according to the medical examiner's office. Advertisement A van matching the description crashed on Western Avenue, and two men inside tried to flee and pitch a weapon in a clothing donation bin at a gas station in the 5200 block of South Western Avenue, police said. The two fled and were later taken into custody and a rifle was recovered, police said. About 1:25 p.m., police were called to the 4500 block of South Whipple Street in the Brighton Park neighborhood where they found Enrique D. Morales, 22, with a gunshot wound to the chest, Tannehill said. His roommates found his body lying in a driveway, Quaid said. In earlier police reports the man's age had been 20. About 9:30 a.m., officers responded to a call of two men shot in the 6800 block of South Emerald Avenue in the Englewood neighborhood, said Officer Jose Estrada, a police spokesman. David Baldwin, 24, was shot in the head and taken to Advocate Christ Medical Center in Oak Lawn, where he was pronounced dead at 2:58 p.m. Monday, officials said. The second man, 26, suffered a wound to the upper left shoulder and a graze wound to the head and was taken in critical condition to Stroger Hospital, Estrada said. Witnesses told police the gunman fled to a building on Emerald, and a SWAT team was called to the scene, Estrada said. The building was cleared by 12:40 p.m., but no one was in custody, police said. Advertisement Earlier Monday, an 80-year-old man was found fatally shot in the face in the city's South Shore neighborhood. The man was outside in the 2800 block of East 77th Street about 6:20 a.m. when he and another person, the assailant, began talking, Tannehill said. The assailant fired one shot, striking the 80-year-old, and then moved in and fired more shots, Tannehill said. Police found the elderly man lying on the ground unresponsive, said Officer Nicole Trainor, a police spokeswoman. The man, who lived nearby in the 2800 block of East 77th Place, was pronounced dead on the scene, according to the Cook County medical examiner's office. A suspect was arrested and charges were pending, Tannehill said. Police were investigating. In non-fatal shootings: A 20-year-old man walked into the University of Chicago Hospital after being shot at 3 a.m. Tuesday and told police he had been walking in the 6300 block of South Winchester Avenue when someone shot him. He was otherwise uncooperative and transferred to Mount Sinai Hospital for treatment. He had been shot in the back and his condition was stabilized. Advertisement An 18-year-old man was shot in the 900 block of North Long Avenue in the Austin neighborhood about 2:15 a.m., police said. He was shot in the back and buttocks and taken to Mount Sinai Hospital, where his condition was stabilized. About 12:40 a.m., a 36-year-old man and a 25-year-old woman were wounded in as shooting in the Englewood neighborhood on the South Side, police said. The two were in a vehicle traveling south in the 5600 block of South Green Street when someone in a white sedan fired shots at them. The man was shot in the left knee and was taken to St. Bernard Hospital, where his condition stabilized. The woman suffered graze wounds to both of her legs, and her condition also was stabilized, police said. A 26-year-old man told police he was shot on the Dan Ryan Expressway between 83rd and 85th streets about 11:25 p.m. Monday. The man crashed near 200 W. 87th St. and was taken to Advocate Christ Medical Center. About 11:10 p.m., two people in a car in the 3300 block of West Flournoy Street were shot. One man, whose age wasn't available, was grazed in the neck. A 36-year-old woman was shot right arm and back, and police said both of their conditions had been stabilized. Three men were shot about 11 p.m. in the 3300 block of West Douglas Boulevard in the Lawndale neighborhood. Two men were in a car traveling west when someone shot them. They drove to Mount Sinai Hospital, where their car remained as part of a crime scene into Tuesday morning. A 31-year-old man was shot in the right wrist and a 26-year-old was grazed in the back and left arm, police said. A 32-year-old man walked into Stroger Hospital separately. He was standing on the sidewalk when he was hit in the left arm during the same shooting. An acquaintance drove him to the hospital, where his condition stabilized, police said. Advertisement Daywatch Weekdays Start each day with Chicago Tribune editors' top story picks, delivered to your inbox. > Two boys, 15 and 17, were shot on the Far North Side in the Rogers Park neighborhood about 8:45 p.m. They were in the 2100 block of West Fargo Avenue when someone in a red SUV fired toward them, according to police. Both were taken to St. Francis Hospital, and both their conditions had been stabilized. About 6:40 p.m. an 18-year-old man was standing on a corner in the 3000 block of South Kedvale Avenue in Little Village when an unknown assailant began firing at the man. He ran inside a nearby store as the gunman continue to fire, causing damage to the storefront, Quaid said. The man was shot in the right leg and was taken to Mount Sinai Hospital in good condition. A dog was fatally shot in the Kedvale incident, said Schroeder. Someone shot a 22-year-old man in the Pilsen neighborhood about 5:15 p.m. He was driving in the 2000 block of South Allport Street when someone stepped into the street and started firing at him, police said. He was taken to Stroger Hospital in good condition after driving to the 1200 block of West 21st Street. About 4:35 p.m., a 19-year-old man was shot in the 7000 block of South Eberhart Street in the Park Manor neighborhood. He was taken to Stroger Hospital in good condition, police said. He was outside when someone fired at him from a dark sedan, hitting him in the leg. About 3:20 p.m. also in the Back of the Yards, two people were shot in the 900 block of West 53rd Street, Quaid said. The two people were standing on a sidewalk when someone walked up and fired shots, Quaid said. A 27-year-old man was shot in the back and was in critical condition at Stroger Hospital. The second victim, a 23-year-old woman, was shot in the abdomen and was taken to the same hospital in serious condition, Quaid said. About 10 a.m. Monday, a 30-year-old man was critically wounded in a shooting in the 5600 block of West Lake Street in the Austin neighborhood, Estrada said. According to preliminary reports, a dark van with two people pulled up, and an assailant got out and began firing shots at the man, who fled to the 300 block of Central Avenue, where he found help, Estrada said. He was taken in critical condition to Mount Sinai Hospital with a gunshot wound to the upper left shoulder, Estrada said. Advertisement Chicago police investigate where an 80-year-old man was found fatally shot in the face early on Sept. 5, 2016, in the South Shore neighborhood. (WGN-TV) (Chicago Tribune) Chicago Tribune reporter Diane Rado contributed. Anthony McElroy, 7, looks up at sister Jesusla of the Missionaries of Charity during a Mass to celebrate the canonization of Mother Teresa at St. John Cantius Parish in Chicago on Sept. 4, 2016. (Nuccio DiNuzzo / Chicago Tribune) Homeless and pregnant, Latrice Sims found refuge at a shelter run by the Missionaries of Charity in Pilsen, with sisters of the same order as St. Teresa of Calcutta. When the Archdiocese of Chicago honored the newly canonized Mother Teresa on Sunday, Sims was on hand with her 19-month-old son, Jonah, to credit the nuns with giving her a new start. Advertisement "They pretty much saved my life," she said. "Mother Teresa and all her sisters are just wonderful. Each one is like a mother to me." The sisters, wearing the same white saris with blue trim that Teresa made famous, were among hundreds of Roman Catholics who attended a special Mass at St. John Cantius Parish on the Near Northwest Side to honor the founder of their order. Advertisement At Chicago's St. John Cantius Parish, people gather Sept. 4, 2016, for Mass in honor of Mother Teresa, who has been canonized by Pope Francis. (Nuccio DiNuzzo / Chicago Tribune) (Chicago Tribune) Bishop John Manz helped celebrate the Mass, calling Teresa and her order an inspiration for anyone "who has a concern in their heart for people in need it could be your next-door neighbor or anybody." In addition to their convent and shelter at 2325 W. 24th Place, the nuns also have a convent nearby at St. Procopius Church in Pilsen, and a run a soup kitchen six days a week at St. Malachy + Precious Blood Church on the West Side. The order has seven active sisters who perform works of charity, and six contemplatives who devote their lives to praying. There are also four new aspirants or novices, who were part of a choir singing praises at the Mass. The readings emphasized the need to serve the needy, the hungry, the least among us. The Mother Superior of the order in Chicago, Sister Jesusla, spoke at the service, and with the order's trademark modesty, said the celebration was not so much about Mother Teresa. Pope Francis declared Mother Teresa a saint on Sunday, Sept. 4, 2016. (CBS Miami) "It's about what Jesus has done through Mother Teresa," she said. "Jesus can do this through anybody." Daywatch Weekdays Start each day with Chicago Tribune editors' top story picks, delivered to your inbox. > After the service, the faithful knelt to kiss relics of Teresa's hair and blood, held in small medallions under glass. Along with a newly commissioned portrait of Teresa, the items will be kept at the order's convents. The service was held in what's generally regarded as one of the most beautiful churches in the city, whose priests regularly say Mass for the order. Scaffolding covered the altar as part of a recent restoration of the gold leaf ornament. Advertisement The nuns established their convent in Chicago in 1983, and Teresa herself visited the city several times in the 1980s and 1990s. Nick Skokna, 53, of Hinsdale, who attended the service, said he met Teresa during one of her visits, and was impressed with her humility, declining even to be photographed in front of a statue of Jesus. "The sisters do a lot of good work in a beautiful way," he said. He said he encourages people who are struggling with their own lives to help at the soup kitchen, to be inspired by the nuns' example of making an effort to help someone else. Expand Autoplay Image 1 of 11 Pope Francis celebrates the Canonization Mass of Mother Teresa in St. Peter's Square, at the Vatican, Sunday, Sept. 4, 2016. (Gregorio Borgia / AP) rmccoppin@chicagotribune.com Twitter @RobertMcCoppin A Chicago police officer puts up tape Sept. 5, 2016, where a police officer fired shots at a man who allegedly pointed a gun at him in the 1300 block of West 13th Street in the University Village neighborhood. No one was injured. (Erin Hooley / Chicago Tribune) A man was taken into custody after he allegedly pointed a gun at a Chicago police officer, who then fired shots at him, in the University Village neighborhood on the Near West Side late Sunday evening. About 11:50 p.m., police approached a group of "suspicious males" outside in the 1300 block of West 13th Street, said Officer Hector Alfaro, a police spokesman. Advertisement One of the people in the group was holding his waistband. As officers came up, he ran. Officers ran after him, and during the chase, the suspect allegedly pointed his weapon in the officers' direction, Alfaro said. One officer fired shots, but no one was hit or injured. Advertisement Shortly afterward, the man was taken into custody. Charges against him were pending as of early Monday. Labor Day used to be considered the traditional start of the fall campaign season, marking the unofficial end of summer as candidates took to parade routes to kick off their bid for office in earnest. But that artificial launch deadline has become an anachronism, particularly in Illinois, which for so long had been insulated from the full-time campaigns of Washington. As with most things in state politics these days, this can be chalked up to the costly, bitter feud between Republican Gov. Bruce Rauner and Democratic House Speaker Michael Madigan. Advertisement Take Michael McAuliffe, a 20-year state representative. Anyone who has watched broadcast television this summer, from the Olympics to the Cubs to game shows, has seen a McAuliffe ad featuring his wife, Kim, touting his re-election bid in the Northwest Side and northwest suburban district. Since Aug. 1, the candidate's 30-second ads have run at least 478 times at a cost of at least $614,475, according to TV station records filed with the Federal Communications Commission. Advertisement Gov. Bruce Rauner discusses the Illinois economy while visiting Naperville's Labor Day parade. Sept. 5, 2016. (WGN-TV) (Chicago Tribune) It's not unusual for candidates to air early commercials over the summer. Typically, though, it's a contender for statewide office that's doing so. Republican U.S. Sen. Mark Kirk and Democratic challenger U.S. Rep. Tammy Duckworth have actually been airing general election TV ads since May. But it is highly unusual for someone running for the Illinois House to buy August broadcast time in the expensive Chicago TV market. Not only are campaign funds usually too scarce for such a move, but it's not viewed as good bang for the buck because only a tiny fraction of the people who see the ads will actually be able to vote on the race. After all, there are 118 Illinois House seats and 40 Senate seats on the Nov. 8 ballot. A lack of campaign cash hasn't been an issue for Republicans this year. The GOP has been able to mount an early push not seen in recent decades, one that includes hundreds of thousands of dollars for cable TV ad buys and dozens of fliers sent to voters' mailboxes that began in June. And it's primarily due to Rauner's deep pockets. Late last month, Rauner told reporters: "I'm really not focused heavily on any kind of electioneering right now." His money, however, decidedly has not been where his mouth is. Of the $16.4 million the Illinois Republican Party has raised this year, $16 million is from Citizens for Rauner, the campaign fund of the wealthy former private equity specialist from Winnetka. He also has given another $4.5 million this year to allied super political action committees working on state legislative races. Senate Republican leader Christine Radogno of Lemont calls the governor's cash infusion "totally a game changer." "I mean both in terms of the media that we're able to get, (and) the mail, but the other place that we've been able to be effective where we haven't been as effective as Democrats before is in the ground game," Radogno said. Advertisement "With the resources we have available, we've been able to get up early and have people out there knocking on doors since June. So that's another big difference and that can make the difference in a close race, one you can lose by 200 or 300 votes," she said. In prior campaigns, it was left to Republican leaders like Radogno to raise money for the Republican State Senate Campaign Committee and House GOP Leader Jim Durkin of Western Springs to do the same for the House Republican Organization. But Rauner has used the Illinois Republican Party as a vehicle to send out millions of dollars to the state Senate and House campaign operations, which in turn have shown up in the form of TV ads and campaign mailers. The money has proven to be at least a financial counter to the assistance veteran Democratic House Speaker Madigan and Senate President John Cullerton have long received from allies in organized labor and among liability attorneys. The Democratic supermajorities have blocked Rauner from achieving what he calls his "turnaround agenda," which includes items like limiting payouts for workers hurt on the job and changes to what's covered under collective bargaining. While Rauner wants to reduce Democratic legislative power, Democrats are hoping to pick up seats in order to ensure a true veto-proof majority. It is something Rauner has conceded may happen. At stake is Illinois' future. A stopgap budget, a timeout reached between the governor and lawmakers, runs out after the election. The results could determine whether Illinois will undergo another prolonged stalemate that could last through the governor's first term, as well as the fate of higher taxes and spending cuts that would be needed to provide Illinois with a workable if not balanced budget. Advertisement Radogno said she believed Rauner's almost single-handed funding of Republican campaigns was justified "because we so desperately need more balance in this state and if we get that, it will build on itself." "I think this is sort of an even-up election," she said. Democrats acknowledge the early and heavy spending spawned by Rauner has forced them into responding sooner with their own ads and mailers. They also admit that on a dollar-for-dollar basis, they can't match the influx of money Rauner is able to pour into House and Senate races. "The money is surprising. It's unprecedented in the amount that's going to be spent," said Steve Brown, the longtime spokesman for Madigan and the state Democratic Party, which Madigan also chairs. Still, the multiple political funds controlled by Madigan and Cullerton totaled more than $14.5 million, based on the cash they had on July 1 plus what they've raised since. Of that total, Madigan, the Southwest Side Democrat, controls more than $8.5 million while Cullerton, the Northwest Side Democrat, has nearly $6 million. Brown attributed the heavy spending by Rauner to woes the GOP has at the top of the ticket with presidential nominee Donald Trump. It's "a terrible ticket and a very unpersuasive message" that will have effects on down-ballot races, including contests for the legislature, Brown contended. Advertisement But much of the Republican focus in challenging targeted Democratic legislators is attempting to link them to the powerful Madigan, who has been speaker for 31 of the past 33 years. The messaging is particularly hard-hitting Downstate, where Democratic lawmakers are facing a double-edged attack of being tied to Madigan and the "Chicago Democratic machine." It is also in those Downstate areas where Trump could help GOP legislative candidates. Radogno said the challenge for Republicans opposed to Trump is to convince them of the need to come out to vote for down-ballot GOP candidates. "If they want change, which I think people are talking about, we need more balance in the legislature," she said. But Democrats are working to link Republican candidates across the ballot with Trump and Rauner, despite the Illinois GOP's efforts to largely separate local candidates from the presidential contender and governor in areas where that wouldn't be helpful. Take the McAuliffe race, where he's being challenged by Merry Marwig, an anti-airport noise activist and Democratic political newcomer backed by the politically active Service Employees International Union Healthcare Illinois. A union mailer showed McAuliffe and Rauner in pictures and questioned if they had the same priorities. In the past, McAuliffe has enjoyed strong union support running in a legislative district with a large constituency of police and firefighters. Rauner, however, has proposed union-weakening collective bargaining changes as part of his economic agenda. Advertisement That may explain why in McAuliffe's TV ad, his wife calls her husband someone who "stands up to the leaders of both parties," a "fighter for our first responders" and a "truly independent voice for us." It also may explain one thing the ad doesn't note: McAuliffe is a Republican. rap30@aol.com Twitter @rap30 This recent picture released by North Korea's official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) on Aug. 29, 2016, shows North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un dellivering his speech during the 9th Congress of the Kim Il-Sung Socialist Youth League which held in Pyongyang. (KNS / AFP/Getty Images) North Korea fired three ballistic missiles off its east coast Monday, South Korea's military said, in a show of force timed to the G-20 economic summit in China. North Korea regularly engages in missile and rocket tests, especially when international attention is turned to Northeast Asia. World leaders are gathering for the G-20 summit of advanced and emerging economies in the city of Hangzhou in eastern China. Beijing is the North's only major ally, but ties between the neighbors have frayed amid a string of nuclear and missile tests and what many outsiders see as other provocations in recent years. South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff said in a statement that the three missiles, launched from the western North Korean town of Hwangju, flew across the country before splashing in the waters off its east coast, but officials did not describe the range of the missiles. Before the firing, on Monday on the sidelines of the G-20 summit, South Korean President Park Geun-hye criticized the North for what she called provocations that are hurting Seoul-Beijing ties. The launch comes four days before the 68th anniversary of the founding of North Korea's government, and days after South Korean and U.S. troops ended annual joint summertime military drills, which North Korea regularly describes as a dress rehearsal for invasion. Last month, worries about the North's weapons programs deepened after a missile from a North Korean submarine flew about 500 kilometers (310 miles), the longest distance achieved by the North for such a weapon. The U.N. Security Council in late August strongly condemned four North Korean ballistic missile launches in July and August. It called them "grave violations" of a ban on all ballistic missile activity. SEOUL, South Korea Associated Press Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte defiantly reaffirmed his controversial campaign against drugs Tuesday and called for a redoubling of crime-fighting efforts across Southeast Asia as he prepared to face two prominent critics of his policy: President Barack Obama and U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon. "We shall not be cowed. We must press on," he declared in a speech at a business and investment conference on the sidelines of a summit of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, which he is attending. He called for increased use of intelligence gathering and more arrests. The summit has been overshadowed by his use of profane language toward Obama. Duterte also threatened earlier to pull the Philippines out of the United Nations over criticism of his crackdown on illegal drug trade that has led to a wave of extrajudicial killings. More than 2,000 people have been killed since June 30, when he took office after winning election on a promise to fight crime and corruption. On Wednesday he is to attend a gala dinner with both Obama and Ban, as well as join a meeting that the two leaders will have with ASEAN heads of state and government. Earlier Tuesday, Duterte expressed regret over his "son of a bitch" remark while referring to Obama, in a rare display of contrition by a politician whose wide arc of profanities has unabashedly targeted world figures including the pope. In a statement read by his spokesman, Duterte said his "strong comments" in response to questions by a reporter "elicited concern and distress, we also regret it came across as a personal attack on the U.S. president." Duterte made the intemperate remarks Monday before flying to Laos. He had been scheduled to meet Obama separately on Tuesday, but the White House canceled the meeting. Even though Duterte's statement did not amount to an apology, the expression of regret is unusual for the tough-talking former mayor, who is unapologetic about his manner of speech and liberally peppers casual statements with profanities. Duterte's aides are likely to have realized there would be a price to pay for insulting the president of the United States. The U.S. is one of the Philippines' largest trading partners and a key security ally in its fight against Muslim militants in the country's south. Manila also needs Washington's help in dealing with a more assertive China in the disputed South China Sea. The U.S. provides hundreds of millions of dollars in annual assistance to the Philippine military. Duterte likely had realized his folly by the time he arrived in the Laotian capital of Vientiane on Monday night. Speaking to reporters here, he said, "I do not want to quarrel with the most powerful country on the planet," but immediately returned to his typical combative approach, saying: "Washington has been so liberal about criticizing human rights (abuses), human rights and human rights. How about you? I have so many questions also about human rights to ask you. So ... people who live in glass houses should not" throw stones. He said if the White House had problems with him, it could have sent him a diplomatic note and let him respond. "There's a protocol for that," Duterte said. "You just cannot shoot a statement against the president of any country." But by Tuesday, he had done a complete U-turn in the tone of his statement. "We look forward to ironing out differences arising out of national priorities and perceptions, and working in mutually responsible ways for both countries," his statement said. The flap over Duterte's remarks started when a reporter asked him how he intended to explain the extrajudicial killings of drug dealers to Obama. Duterte responded: "I am a president of a sovereign state and we have long ceased to be a colony. I do not have any master except the Filipino people, nobody but nobody. You must be respectful. Do not just throw questions. Putang ina, I will swear at you in that forum," he said, using the Tagalog phrase for "son of a bitch." Duterte has previously cursed Pope Francis and U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon. "Who is he (Obama) to confront me?" Duterte said, adding that the Philippines had not received an apology from the United States for misdeeds committed during its colonization of the country. He pointed to the killing of Muslim Moros more than a century ago during a U.S. pacification campaign in the southern Philippines, blaming the wounds of the past as "the reason why (the south) continues to boil" with separatist insurgencies. Duterte has had a troubled relation with the United States, criticizing its inability to stop violence in the Middle East and Africa, and citing U.S. police shootings of black Americans. He has also taken a more conciliatory position with U.S. rival China. Philippine-China ties were strained under Duterte's predecessors due to territorial conflicts in the South China Sea. Duterte proclaimed early in his presidency that he would pursue a foreign policy not dependent on the United States. Former Philippine Foreign Secretary Albert del Rosario, under whose watch U.S.-Philippine relations blossomed, expressed disappointment over the canceled meeting with Obama. "An invaluable occasion to have our leaders meet for the purpose of discussing how to strengthen our comprehensive areas of cooperation would have been a golden opportunity," del Rosario said. Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Wis. arrives for a meeting with Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump and the Senate Republican Conference, Thursday, July 7, 2016, at the National Republican Senatorial Committee headquarters in Washington. (Alex Brandon / AP) GREEN BAY, Wis. Sen. Ron Johnson runs down a litany of the United States' ills: a rising debt and deficit, unsecured borders, threats from the Islamic State. And he knows just what to blame: an overreaching federal government stepping on the throats of American entrepreneurs. "Sometimes I refer to myself as Mr. Sunshine," the Wisconsin Republican tells the employees of a small energy-management firm here. "And I do it somewhat facetiously because, let's face it, I am laying out realities that are not the brightest every now and again." Advertisement Johnson was one of the most unlikely political success stories of the 2010 Republican wave, a plastics manufacturer who made his first run for political office and spent $9 million of his own money in a long-shot bid to unseat popular three-term incumbent Russell Feingold - and succeeded. Six years later, Johnson is trailing in a rematch with Feingold. Johnson's sharp-edged message of a nation heading off a cliff hasn't changed much. But its target has shifted from President Barack Obama to include Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton. Advertisement "From my standpoint, you've got another six years of failure of liberal progressive Obama-Clinton-Feingold policies," he said in an interview after his campaign appearance. As of Labor Day weekend, the unofficial start of the campaign's final stretch, the electoral map is bigger than Republicans are comfortable with. Bolstered by Republican nominee Donald Trump's unpopularity with non-white, female and suburban voters, Democrats have recruited candidates in enough Senate and House races to potentially flip control of both chambers. Democrats' chances are strongest in the Senate, where they now lead in enough races to eke out a majority, with hopes of putting more in play should Trump continue to falter throughout the fall. Republicans, playing defense, are asking voters to look past Trump and to question whether they really trust Clinton's party to fix Washington. "Wisconsin will need me to be a check and balance on her," Johnson said when asked about the prospect of a Clinton presidency, before adding that he would "work my tail off trying to find areas agreeing with her as well." Johnson is one of dozens of Republicans asking voters to thread that needle, from the suburbs of Philadelphia to the exurbs of central California. After winning his primary last week, for instance, Sen. John McCain, Ariz., offered his own check-and-balance pitch in a new ad. In Minnesota, just across the state line here, Democrats' bullishness about a Trump backlash has them playing in two House districts they would need if they are to retake the House, which remains an uphill fight with two months to go. In the 2nd District, south and east of St. Paul, the retirement of Rep. John Kline, R-Minn., has created a race between liberal health-care executive Angie Craig and conservative talk radio host Jason Lewis - a Trump endorser who bested Kline's preferred successor in the primary. In the 3rd District, south and west of Minneapolis, Democrats recruited state Sen. Terri Bonoff to challenge Rep. Erik Paulsen, who hasn't faced a credible opponent since his election in 2008. Advertisement Paulsen is presenting himself as a can-do Republican who got "the most legislation signed by the president" of anyone in Minnesota's delegation. He has not endorsed Trump, who has not "earned his support" - and pointedly he does not say what Trump could do to earn it. "I haven't been paying attention to him, to be honest," Paulsen said in an interview at the Minneapolis State Fair. Bonoff, like every Democrat on the ballot this year, can recite Trump's greatest hits. In an interview, the state senator credited Trump with pulling her into the race after months of pressure from the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee. "I was watching those Republican debates in shock," she said. "My opponent has a record that reflects the current Republican platform, and he's kind of flown under the radar. He was the co-author of the bill to defund Planned Parenthood, and he has not rejected Trump." On Saturday, Bonoff tested her theory of the race by knocking on doors in Paulsen's hometown of Eden Prairie - focusing on voters who were not identified as Democrats. When the doors creaked open, Bonoff introduced herself as an "exceedingly independent" candidate who had "a 20-year career in business" before running for anything. She mentioned her party only when prompted. Democrats view the Paulsen-Bonoff race as a reach, one that could be winnable if Trump significantly depresses the suburban Republican vote. They view the Craig-Lewis race as an example of what Trump has already done to the party. Advertisement Lewis, a long-time booster of former congresswoman Michele Bachmann, won his primary after years of high-profile talk radio punditry. Craig's Arkansas twang has not rubbed off since moving to Minnesota; the executive at St. Jude Medical, a Twins City medical device manufacturer, had no political record to run from. Democrats have attempted to bury Lewis in his old quotes. He's riffed on single women voting on "the issue of somebody else buying their diaphragm"; suggested it was "hard to say" if the Civil War needed to be fought; and worried about the "cultural suicide" of white people having fewer children than non-whites. As Craig walked through the state fair more than once, voters told her that they worried about the district if Lewis won. "He says, 'Oh, I was just trying to be provocative,' " Ken Boyd said after shaking Craig's hand. "We've had enough of that." Craig, who freely admitted that "both candidates at the top of the ticket are unpopular in the district," quickly pointed out that her polling had Clinton on top. It was clear, Craig said, that Lewis would be a poor fit. "Jason has spent his entire career staring at a microphone and trying to elicit the most provocative thought," she said. Lewis suggested that Democrats were running on phony issues to distract from Craig's "radical" agenda and endorsements from liberal groups. Advertisement "People are tired of the predictable, canned political campaigns," Lewis said, as he ordered cups of black coffee from a supporter's St. Paul restaurant. "I don't want to be glib about it, but when I see one of those Hillary ads that ends with her and Bill hugging?" Lewis rolled his eyes and brought up health care, an issue that Democrats aren't sure how to finesse. As they met voters this weekend, Craig and Bonoff repeatedly met people who had seen insurance premiums spike. A pair of dairy farmers told Craig that their farm's employees were being forced onto the state's most expensive plan. A retiree methodically walked Bonoff through all of his cost increases. "They make an ad about what Trump said 15 years ago," Lewis said. "Well, great. He said that, but so did my sister at Thanksgiving last year. Meanwhile, people are watching their insurance premiums double. It's like a bad Miller Lite commercial - less coverage, now with more cost. How is any of this helping with that?" In Wisconsin, Feingold is running a conventional Democratic campaign, talking about the same kinds of middle-class economic issues that Clinton has embraced. Issues he built his reputation on in his three Senate terms - campaign finance reform, civil liberties and foreign policy in Africa - are not on his front burner. "I think in 2010 everybody was feeling the pinch; everybody was frustrated that the economy had collapsed," Feingold said in an interview. "There was a lot of anger. I wouldn't characterize what I'm seeing right now as so much anger as, 'Where's the fairness? Why is it that things have gotten better in some respects, but why am I not feeling it?' " Feingold has taken a cautious approach to questions about Clinton's honesty. Asked whether the Bill, Hillary and Chelsea Clinton Foundation ought to shut down to eliminate possible conflicts of interest, Feingold suggested that the Clintons "be as open as possible," and make sure there's not "anything out there that's going to tarnish a new presidency." Advertisement Johnson has had a rougher time dealing with his own presidential nominee, staking out a tricky support-but-not-endorse approach. "Donald Trump, he's a business guy, knows how hard business is, knows how much harder government makes it," Johnson said. "When you talk to his most ardent supporters, if they have any discomfort with his positions, they realize that's his starting position. A good negotiator doesn't lay the best deal on the table right off the bat. He's got the personality and the approach of a negotiator of a businessperson, and that's not all bad for a president of the United States, okay?" To the extent that Johnson's fate is separate from Trump's, it depends on motivating voters such as J.D. Thorne, a Milwaukee employment lawyer who attended a Kiwanis Club lunch where Feingold spoke. Thorne left the event feeling that Feingold "comes off as anything goes." "He's not as strident," Thorne said. "Johnson is, and I want him to be. I want him to do something." Raymond P. Niro also was the author of a book titled "Go for It!" on the practice of intellectual property law. (Family photo / Handout) A nationally known patent litigator for more than 40 years, Raymond P. Niro Sr. brought technical prowess and plenty of charisma to his work representing inventors, many of them individuals or small companies, in battles against corporate giants. A series of judgments against large firms in favor of his clients, who sometimes had acquired patents and weren't actual inventors themselves, led Intel Corp.'s assistant general counsel to derisively describe Niro as a "patent troll," a nickname that stuck with him for the rest of his career. Advertisement Niro, not surprisingly, took a decidedly different view toward his work. "He loved the small inventor and was the champion of the little guy," said his son, Dean, who practiced law alongside his father for nearly three decades. "He was never happier than when he was meeting with the individual inventor, and when he represented those people, it meant more to him than you could imagine." Advertisement Niro, 73, died of a heart attack on Aug. 8 while vacationing on the island of Capri in Italy, his son said. Niro had been an Arlington Heights resident for almost 40 years until about a decade ago, and most recently had divided his time between a River North condominium and a home in Boca Raton, Fla. Born Raymond Pardo Niro in Pittsburgh to Italian immigrant parents, Niro grew up in the Pittsburgh area. After earning a bachelor's degree in chemical engineering from the University of Pittsburgh, Niro moved to Texas to work for Shell Oil as an engineer. Dissatisfied at work, Niro took a job at DuPont writing patent applications while attending George Washington University Law School at night. After graduating from law school in 1969, Niro moved to Chicago to join the intellectual property law firm now known as Brinks Gilson & Lione. He and a colleague, Gerald Hosier, left the firm in 1976 to form their own small firm. Among the services they offered was a novel one for the time: contingency representation for small inventors who thought that their intellectual property rights had been violated. That meant that individual inventors didn't need to pay their lawyers unless they were awarded damages or reached a financial settlement. The duo found early success, winning their first case on behalf of an inventor who had developed an automatic shutoff nozzle for gas station pumps. The inventor prevailed over a plumbing and heating manufacturer, settling for $200,000 without going to trial. Niro and Hosier's fee was $50,000 each. "In that first case, the money (he made) was nice, but the reward of seeing an inventor recoup something was worth more (to him) than the money," his son said. Tim Haller, a retired partner at Niro's firm who worked alongside him for 38 years, said Niro's ability to communicate with ordinary people, including jurors, was a key to his success. Advertisement "You can get bogged down in the details of our business. He had a good sense for simplifying things and making his story coherent for people," Haller said. "He was one of the best at it. And he was a people's person. People warmed up to him." Niro and Hosier went their separate ways in 1984 when Niro started his own intellectual property law firm, now known as Niro Law. Patrick F. Solon, a partner at the firm, recalled meeting Niro in 1994. "It was obvious then that he had the talent and ability you see in famous trial lawyers," Solon said. "He excelled in patent and intellectual property cases because he was so smart and had the necessary knack for presenting complicated engineering and scientific subjects to judges and juries. But his secret was making his cases about the inventor, not just the invention." Another partner at Niro Law, Paul Vickrey, practiced alongside him for 23 years and called Niro "a master of cross-examination." "Even though trials can be stressful, it was always fun to sit back and enjoy the show when he took on a key witness," Vickrey said. Colleagues said Niro's gift was being able to communicate to juries how his clients had been wronged "by the behemoths in their industries," Vickrey said, which meant proving that valid patents had been infringed upon. And in casting the battle lines in a David-vs.-Goliath fashion, Niro often invoked his Italian parents. Advertisement "During closing arguments of cases, he always mentioned that his parents were immigrants from Italy, and that fighting for the underdog was helping people like his parents," his son said. At one point, Niro had won 20 jury verdicts in a row that surpassed the multimillion-dollar mark. And from 1996 until his death, he won verdicts and settlements totaling more than $1 billion. His courtroom wins prompted the National Law Journal in 1997 to name him one of the top 10 trial attorneys in the U.S. Niro in 1999 endowed a professorship at the DePaul University College of Law. In 2009, he wrote a book titled "Go for It!" which detailed how lawyers can win intellectual property cases in courtrooms. A marriage to Judith Niro ended in divorce. Other survivors include his three other sons, Raymond Jr., Brian and Sean; a sister, Mary Lou DiBartola; a brother, William; and 12 grandchildren. Services were held. Bob Goldsborough is a freelance reporter. The Chicago area "Black Cowboys" were one of the main attractions during the Calumet City Labor Day parade on Monday, Sept. 5, 2016. (Frank Vaisvilas/ Daily Southtown) (Frank Vaisvilas / Daily Southtown) Calumet City carried on its nearly 70-year tradition Monday, by closing out summer with a parade and a family fun fest. Local politicians flocked to the parade, which included appearances from the Chicago White Sox mascot, the Chicago Bears Drumline. And lots of candy. Advertisement "We're bringing in the last big blast for the end of summer," said Gene Popa, parade organizer with the Calumet Park District. "We're a working-class town, so obviously Labor Day is a very important holiday." The parade began at Wentworth Avenue and Michigan City Road and traveled more than a mile to Memorial Park on 153rd Street where a family fun fest was held that included food trucks, face painting and live bands. Advertisement Popa said the parade included about 60 entries with about 1,000 marchers. He said the parade usually attracts between 2,000 and 5,000 spectators, and he was expecting the higher average Monday because of pleasant weather. A final tally wasn't available Monday afternoon. Secily Echols of neighboring Hammond, Ind., brought her two children, Jamar, 9, and Jamiaya, 8, for the first time. They seemed to be having a good time picking up candy and dancing in the streets. Echols said she heard about the parade from her mother-in-law, who knows she likes to bring the kids to outdoor events. Julie Martin was visiting from California and saw the parade for the first time her nephew was performing with the Thornton Fractional North High School marching band. "I love it," Martin said of the parade. "It's peaceful. Everyone's enjoying themselves, and there's a lot of candy." Beth Soley lives on the parade route and said she enjoys seeing military personnel being honored. But, she said her favorite part is watching the children pick up all the candy thrown from marchers on the floats. And they certainly had plenty of candy to toss. The Echols children enjoyed catching candy from Southpaw, the Chicago White Sox mascot, among others. Advertisement Members of the Chicago area Black Cowboys group also posed for pictures with children on their horses. Member Craig Taylor said this was the first time his group participated in the parade and wanted to bring a little bit of the joy of rural life to suburban children. Taylor brought his two teenage sons to ride, one on a pony, but he said he had to bring his daughter's horse because it's calmer than the horse he uses in rodeos. Daily Southtown Twice-weekly News updates from the south suburbs delivered every Monday and Wednesday > He said his group encourages others from Chicago and the suburbs to become involved with horses and the cowboy lifestyle. Members of the Shriners Arabic Temple 44 rode around in tiny cars tossing candy to children. "We want to show kids that once they grow up, they can still get into cars like this," said Shriners member Reggie Bills. Other groups in the parade included local dance companies, the Jesse White tumbling team and several local businesses. Advertisement Among the politicians in attendance where U.S. Rep. Robin Kelly, State Rep. Elgie Sims, Jr., State Rep. Marcus Evans, Jr. and Cook County Commissioner Stanley Moore. The Calumet City Lion's Club helped organize the parade route. Frank Vaisvilas is a freelance reporter for the Daily Southtown. Velma Thiel of Griffith sorts through all the greeting cards, handwritten letters and kids drawings from strangers who mailed her from across Northwest Indiana and from out of state. (Jerry Davich / Post-Tribune) Velma Thiel's latest handwritten letter to me best summed up her situation. "Dear Jerry, it's me again, the old lady with no computer," she wrote in neat penmanship, along with a small smiley face. Advertisement The 91-year-old Griffith woman has been writing me handwritten letters since 2013, each one a few pages long. She comments on my recent columns, offers her opinions of issues in the news, fills me in on her extended family (she has nine great-grandchildren) or reminiscences about distant memories from her long life. "I sure wish I could still ride a bike. I loved doing it," she wrote, referring to my column about bicycle riding with my son. Advertisement Yes, I still receive handwritten letters from readers every so often, but nowhere near the amounts I received, say, just five years ago. Some mailings are from regular readers who've been writing to me since I started at the Post-Tribune in 2006. Others are from readers who feel compelled to respond to my columns, but who refuse to do so via email, voice mail or social media. As one opinionated reader told me, "It means more if it's said with ink and paper, not through the internet." There's truth to that. Plus, it means a lot to me knowing that these readers take the time to put pen (or pencil) to paper, stamp an envelope and drop it into a mailbox. This takes much more effort than writing an email or posting a comment on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram (three social media sites I regularly use). "I don't use that Facebook," Thiel wrote to me last year. "I still write letters. I hope you don't mind." I don't mind one bit, as I told her in one of my return letters. To my knowledge, I've responded to every letter she's sent me, though my typed and printed replies always pale in comparison to her beautiful prose and neat penmanship. My letters are typically brief, usually thanking her for her feedback or kind words. Her most recent four-page letter was so eloquent and honest that I felt a sense of shame for not replying in similar length and candor. Instead, I had an idea. Advertisement What if I shared her letter with my social media readers while hinting that they could send her a personal, handwritten letter or card? Would any readers do this? Did anyone have time or inclination to mail an old-fashioned greeting to a stranger? I believed that someone would do it by putting a pen to paper. "Digital schmigital," I wrote on my Facebook page. Minutes after I posted that idea on my social media sites, several readers promised to mail something to Thiel. I had no idea if they would go through with it, but I hoped at least a handful of them would. A few days later, I received this Facebook post from one of them. "Jerry, I wanted to tell you that I received a return letter from Velma Thiel, the sweet senior that you encouraged us to write to," wrote Kara Gullickson Graper of Crown Point. "We sent her a picture that my daughter colored and she loved it. It really brightened her day. Thank you for helping ME make a new friend!" Advertisement How sweet, I thought. Thiel has received at least one card and a kid's drawing. The next day, I heard from another social media reader with similar feedback. Each of them wrote to Thiel and each of them received a thank you card or letter. I expected nothing less from Thiel, who also possesses old-fashioned values. "I enjoyed her reply," said Judy Penn of Hebron. "I intend to continue writing her." "I, too, sent her a card and, bless her heart, she sent me a thank you card," said Joyce Perdue of Hobart. "She sent me a thank you card, too," said Kathy Mulvihill of Hobart. "She also writes some lovely poetry, I learned, after I sent her one of my poems," said Sheila Wood of Portage. Advertisement Vicki Laack-Benham also wrote to Thiel, and also received a thank you letter from her. When I posted a photo of Thiel on social media, Benham told me, "I am glad to now have a face to the beautiful spirit. I am going to continue corresponding with her." After hearing about this outpouring of kindness and affection toward Thiel, I felt compelled to finally meet her after all these years. I also wanted to see a sampling of these greeting cards, handwritten letters and kids' drawings. This past Saturday, I called Thiel to confirm everything I've heard from those readers. "Oh, yes," she told me. "I was quite surprised. It was very exciting. Even fun. They revealed a lot of personal things to me." I asked Thiel if I could visit her home that day and look through those letters. She immediately welcomed me. In a box were all the envelopes she has received from readers across Northwest Indiana and even from out of state, handwritten by strangers who mailed her either some kind words, personal thoughts or colorful writing. Each one brought an instant smile. Advertisement "Oh my, yes," Thiel said, sorting through the box of envelopes. One woman mailed Thiel some of her poems. Thiel replied by sending her some of her own poems. "I'm sure they're not as good as hers, but I sent them anyway," Thiel said. Other readers promised to become old-fashioned "pen pals" with Thiel. Post Tribune Twice-weekly News updates from Northwest Indiana delivered every Monday and Wednesday > "I hope they do," she replied. On the day I visited her home, Thiel received yet another letter from a social media reader, this one from Amanda Shook Crowe, who lives in Georgia. Another letter was postmarked from Texas. And yes, she replied to those readers, too. Advertisement "Of course," Thiel said. "It's just the right thing to do." jdavich@post-trib.com Twitter@jdavich Letters always an option If you want to write me, mail your letters to my attention at 2100 N. Main St., Suite 212, Crown Point, Ind. 46307. I look forward to your feedback, opinions or recollections. The Business 20 (B20) summit, which was attended by business leaders and officials including those from the Group of 20 (G20) economies, came to an end Sunday with many consensuses and results, especially a policy recommendation report. The two-day event, which was scheduled on Saturday and Sunday ahead of the G20 summit, attracted more than 1,100 business leaders to discuss hot topics and difficulties for the world economy. The summit issued the B20 2016 Policy Recommendations report to the G20, raising 20 important aspects of recommendations and 76 concrete measures. The report offers some suggestions for the first time, such as an Electronic World Trade Platform initiative, a SMART innovation initiative to encourage entrepreneurship and innovation, as well as developing green finance and investment market. Leaders of Argentina, South Africa, Australia and Canada as well as heads of the International Monetary Fund, World Bank and the other multilateral organizations participated in the meeting and discussed with business leaders. They agreed that G20 members should strengthen cooperation with an open attitude, advance reform and promote growth. With good interaction between government and companies, sound environment for investors, investment in education and technology development, all sides should make joint efforts toward an innovative, invigorated, interconnected and inclusive world economy, the participants agreed. They held the view that it is necessary to break a new path for global economic growth, increase high-quality and "bankable" projects, and promote innovation in financial tools for infrastructure investment. The participants also agreed to facilitate private sectors' investment in infrastructure, promote the development of green finance and investment market, and develop inclusive finance. Ahead of the closing of the summit, Jiang Zengwei, chair of the B20 China, handed over the hosting right of the summit to Markus Kerber, director-general of the Federation of German Industries. Which of China's universities has the largest international impact? Which university is favored the most by world leaders? Which university is visited by the largest number of leaders from other countries? A report released earlier this year by cuaa.net showed that more than 250 leaders of other countries have visited or delivered speeches at almost 60 universities in China. Cuaa.net, also known as the Chinese Alumni Network, often releases rankings of Chinese universities. According to the report, Peking University, which has been visited 21 times by G20 leaders, is deemed to be their "favorite university in China". It is followed by Tsinghua University in Beijing, which was visited by leaders 14 times, and Tongji University in Shanghai, which was visited eight times. The report also found that leaders from Germany, having made 16 visits to Chinese universities, are more passionate about touring such higher education institutions than their peers from other countries. Following Germany is France, with leaders from that country visiting Chinese universities a total of nine times. Cai Yanhou, a senior researcher with cuaa.net and a higher education researcher at Central South University in Changsha, Hunan province, said visiting leaders consider factors such as the impact of the university, as well as the university's historic and business links with their country. Further analysis based on the report found that United States presidents prefer to visit Tsinghua University, while Russian presidents and Australian leaders favor Peking University. Leaders of France prefer Wuhan University; governor-generals of Canada like Sichuan University; and German leaders favor Tongji University. As the G20 throws the spotlight on global anti-corruption efforts, China has released fresh data on its progress in capturing former officials accused of fleeing abroad with billions in public money. The nation is more than two years into an intensive campaign to track down and repatriate economic fugitives overseas, part of wider measures to tackle graft. So far, 2,020 economic fugitives, including 342 former officials, have been returned to China from more than 70 countries and regions since 2014, according to the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection. The top discipline watchdog said also that 7.62 billion yuan ($1.14 billion) in illegal assets had been seized. China has worked to make corruption a major talking point at the on going G20 Summit in the eastern city of Hangzhou. Cai Wei, joint head of the G20 Anti-Corruption Working Group, said he expects to see world leaders "further implement action plans promised in previous years to improve cooperation in law enforcement, extradition and seizing illegal funds". "Corrupt fugitives and the cross-border flow of illegal proceeds seriously damage social justice and hinder economic development," said Cai, who is also deputy director of the CCDI's International Cooperation Bureau. Li Chengyan, head of Peking University's Center for Anti-Corruption Studies, predicted that the summit will result in all members agreeing to a legal definition of corruption, a coordinated mechanism to pursue fugitives and stolen assets, and the implementation of the UN Convention Against Corruption. At the Business 20 Summit on Saturday, also in Hangzhou, experts agreed that graft "is a barrier to economic growth", said Evelyn Mantoiu, a policy analyst from the University of Sheffield who attended the meeting. B20 delegates made two recommendations to the G20 regarding corruption: one to strengthen intergovernmental cooperation; the other for leaders to foster a transparent commercial environment. "Curbing corruption is important, as graft undermines trust, which is a key investment security factor. And it increases transaction costs due to unpredictability," Mantoiu said. China launched a massive anti-corruption campaign after the new leadership was elected in late 2012. To capture economic fugitives abroad, the government set up the Central Anti-Corruption Coordination Group, led by the CCDI, and launched its Sky Net operation. "Western countries can't become 'safe havens' for corrupt fugitives. No matter where they have escaped to, we will try every means to bring them back," President Xi Jinping said in 2014. In April last year, Interpol issued red noticesinternational arrest warrantsfor 100 Chinese fugitives. By the end of July, 33 had been returned from 16 countries and regions, including seven from Canada, the CCDI data show. Two of the 33 have been convicted and sentenced. Developed countries such as the United States, Canada, Australia and Singapore have become popular destinations for Chinese fugitives due to the lack of extradition treaties. Fu Suqing, the world's oldest female, died at 8:35 a.m. on Saturday at her home in Chengdu of southwestern China's Sichuan province. She reached her 119th birthday on August 21, 2016. Fu Suqing eats double-fried pork at her home in Chengdu of southwestern China's Sichuan province in this undated photo. [Photo: Chengdu Business Daily] The sudden death left Fu Suqing's relatives regretful at not being able to return from far-flung homes to see her for one last time. On Saturday evening, the lights of Fu Suqing's home were still on. There were elegiac couplets on the door saying she worked hard her whole life, dedicating it to her children. Along with the couplets was a sign saying "the oldest woman in the world". A dozen people were mourning her death reaching back to her fourth generation. "They came back home from the surrounding areas of Chengdu," said Leng Ting, Fu's great granddaughter, to Chengdu Business Daily. Leng Ting told the Chengdu Business Daily that at around 8 o'clock Saturday morning, everything was as usual. When it was time for breakfast, Fu had no appetite and refused to eat. Her children went on to have breakfast without her. All of a sudden, they saw Fu fall into bed, her eyes open, yet without breath. The incident happened so suddenly that Fu left without saying a word. Leng Ting said that Fu's health was in bad condition since the beginning of the year. "She slept most of the time and ate less double - fried pork. But just a few days ago, her wellbeing seemed to improve because she ate pork." Fu Suqing was born in Jianyang and moved to Shuangliu county with her husband 40 years ago. Fu lived her life without much fortune. She would always wear a blue handkerchief on her head with coarse clothes. In terms of meals, Fu loved coarse grain food. She loved double - fried pork and was able to eat pork in the morning and in the afternoon. "She would have three meals a day with double - fried pork. And she loves peaches, grapes, and peanuts." Fu Suqing stayed in good health for a long time. When she was over 100 years old, she would pick oranges and clean the yard. However, this year her health went into a relatively bad condition, she lost weight and she slept most of the time. "She used to eat lots of double - fried pork, but then she started to eat less and would only have soup sometimes," said Xu Shuhua, Fu's daughter. The old lady's temper also worsened. She no longer liked being touched by others, would lose her memory, and no longer could recognize her grandchildren. Fu's title as the world's oldest female was identified by Carrying The Flag World Records in 2013 and 2016, a London-based authority on record-breaking achievement. Flash News outlets from China, Japan, South Korea and the United States are among those represented among the 1,030 foreign news media personnel due in Laos to cover the upcoming ASEAN summits, 11th East Asia Summit and related meetings, the Lao Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced Saturday. Details of media contingents were revealed by Ministry of Foreign Affairs Director General of the Press Department, Phonethavy Boutdara, at a press conference held Saturday in the Lao capital. Among ASEAN member states, news outlets based in Thailand, Vietnam and the Philippines are expected to send the greatest number of reporters, photographers, camera operators and technical staff. The influx came in contrast to the relatively small number of foreign media with permanent bureau presence in the Lao capital, which includes China's Xinhua News Agency and China Radio International as well as Vietnam Television and Vietnam News Agency. The announcement regarding news coverage came as the Committee of Permanent Representatives to ASEAN meet in the Lao capital on Saturday ahead of summits involving heads of state and government from 10 ASEAN members as well as their dialogue partners. Chinese Premier Li Keqiang will meet ASEAN leaders including host chair Lao Prime Minister Thongloun Sisoulith in marking 25th anniversary of dialogue relationship at the 19th ASEAN-China Summit as well as joining leaders of dialogue partners at the 11th East Asia Summit. The ASEAN summits and related meetings will also see the participation of U.S. President Barack Obama, the first visit by a U.S. president to Laos. Flash Turkey can serve as a bridge connecting China and Europe, especially in terms of logistics, Turkish Minister of Economy Nihat Zeybekci said Sunday. Speaking at a business summit on the sidelines of the 11th Group of 20 (G20) summit, he also expressed interest in the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), saying that his country has been paying close attention to and hopes to take part in the program. The CPEC is part of the initiative on the construction of the Silk Road Economic Belt and the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road (the Belt and Road Initiative), which was proposed by Chinese President Xi Jinping in 2013. It is aimed at building a trade and infrastructure network connecting Asia with Europe and Africa along the ancient Silk Road routes. The Turkish minister spoke highly of the initiative, noting that the ancient Silk Road has played a vital role in exchanges between countries. Moreover, the minister stressed the need to promote inter-connectivity in transport, human resources and information, adding that removing trade barriers is also of crucial importance. Turkey is a founding member of the China-proposed Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank. It signed a memorandum of understanding with China in November 2015 on the harmonization of the Belt and Road Initiative with Turkey's Middle Corridor project, a proposed regional transportation network between Turkey and China. In their meeting on Saturday, Xi and his Turkish counterpart, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, agreed to advance cooperation in such fields as infrastructure, energy and counter-terrorism. The two sides, Xi suggested, should work out concrete measures and projects to link the Belt and Road Initiative with Turkey's development strategy. Flash The Syrian army wrested back control over a series of military bases south of the northern province of Aleppo Sunday, reimposing a full siege on rebel-held areas in the eastern part of Aleppo city, Syria's national TV reported. The military forces recaptured all the military bases near the al-Ramuseh area south of Aleppo, said the report. The rebels, mainly the Jaish al-Fateh, or the Army of Conquest, unleashed a wide-scale offensive early last month, capturing the military colleges and breaking the government-imposed siege on rebel-held areas in eastern Aleppo. The Syrian forces, backed by the Lebanese Hezbollah group and Russian airstrikes, mounted a counterattack, succeeding Sunday to capture those areas and placing back the siege. Previously, the army said the civilians wishing to leave eastern Aleppo are allowed to do so, while the rebels would be granted pardon if they laid down their weapons and surrendered to the army. It's not yet clear whether the pardon is still in place after the military recapture of the bases. You are here: Home Flash The Israeli military struck Syria in retaliation to a mortar that landed in the Israeli-held Golan Heights on Sunday, the Israeli army said. "Israel Defense Forces (IDF) targeted cannons of the Syrian regime in the northern Syrian Golan Heights," a military spokesperson said in a statement. The attack followed a mortar that fell in an open field in the Golan, causing no injuries or damages. The army also said it holds the Syrian government "accountable for this blatant breach of Israel sovereignty, and will continue to safeguard Israel." An earlier military statement said that the mortar was believed to be a spillover from fire from Syria's civil war. Errant fire from the fighting in Syria has occasionally been spilling over to Israel, usually causing no casualties or damages. Israel had occupied the Golan Heights from Syria in the 1967 Mideast War and annexed the territory in 1981. In July, the Israeli army failed to intercept an unmanned aerial vehicle over the Golan Heights, despite launching two Patriot air defense missiles at it, the IDF spokesperson said. The drone had apparently returned to Syria. Israel had repeatedly declared it would not intervene in the internal fighting in Syria, amid the civil war that broke out in 2011. It did deliver medical treatment to hundreds of wounded Syrians who reached the border. Israel had also been responsible for several airstrikes in Syria in the past several years, allegedly targeting convoys carrying weapons from Iran and Syria to the Lebanese Hezbollah militant organization, a staunch enemy of Israel. The country remained quiet on its part up until two months ago, when Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu admitted that Israel carried out "dozens" of attacks across the border. You are here: Home Flash Iran's Foreign Ministry condemned the deadly terrorist attack in Pakistan and urged the international cooperation to tackle the problem, semi-official Mehr news agency reported Sunday. Members of the Iranian revolutionary guard march during a parade to commemorate the anniversary of the Iran-Iraq war (1980-88), in Tehran September 22, 2011. [Photo/Xinhua] In a statement, Foreign Ministry Spokesman Bahram Qasemi offered condolences to the government and people of Pakistan, and the families of victims. "Still the international responsibility remains on the place to address the cruel events in the region in the face of atrocities afflicting the people on daily basis," Qasemi was quoted as saying. "Fight with extremism entails strong resolve and global coordination," he said. At least 18 people were killed and more than 50 others injured in the two suicide attacks on Friday in the northwest province of Pakistan, reports said. You are here: Home Flash The United Arab Emirates (UAE) cabinet in Abu Dhabi adopted Sunday a decision to grant visas for Chinese visitors to the UAE upon arrival, the government-controlled Dubai Media Office reported. A file photo of Dubai, capital of the United Arab Emirates. [Photo/Xinhua] The Dubai Media Office did not reveal the exact date the decision will be implemented. In 2015, 450,000 Chinese visitors came to the UAE, up 29 percent year on year. This growth represented the highest increase among all nationalities visiting the Gulf Arab state, according to the official Dubai Tourism body. In May, the UAE's first carrier Emirates Airline from Dubai expanded its network to China by adding Yinchuan and Zhengzhou in western and central China as its 4th and 5th destination in the country. Approximately 350,000 Chinese nationals live in the UAE which has a total population of 10.5 million. Earlier last week, the Gulf state of Qatar announced that Chinese visitors would be allowed "soon" to get their visas to enter the country on arrival, the Qatar daily The Peninsula reported. Flash The Syrian army recaptured Sunday a military base that fell to the rebels in the northern province of Aleppo, as part of a progress made by the army to restore fallen territory in the province, a military source told Xinhua. Men inspect a damaged site after double airstrikes on the rebel held Bab al-Nairab neighborhood of Aleppo, Syria, August 27, 2016. [Photo/Xinhua] The Syrian army recaptured the Armament College in the southern countryside of Aleppo, continuing to advance in that area to lay a "nearly full siege" on the rebels in the eastern part of Aleppo city. The college is one of a series of military colleges that had fallen to the rebels early last month, as part of a wide-scale rebel offensive aimed at breaking the government troops' imposed siege on rebel-held areas east of Aleppo. The rebels managed to open a narrow route into eastern Aleppo, following their attack, promoting the government forces to unleash a broad offensive to recapture the fallen basis and re-impose the siege on eastern Aleppo. The army reached the Armament College several days ago and clashed with the rebels inside, but achieved full control Sunday. The Syrian army sent some of the elite forces fighting in Aleppo to fend off the attack in Hama. You are here: Home Flash The Islamic States (IS) militants lost control of their last territory along the Syrian-Turkish border, Turkish military told Anadolu Agency on Sunday. According to Anadolu Agency, after Turkey backed the Free Syrian Army (FSA) forces, the FSA, which is supported by the Turkish Armed Forces (TSK), reconnected the Azaz-Jarabulus line on Sunday after flushing the area clean of IS militants. The Turkish army launched on Aug. 24 the "Euphrates Shield" cross-border operation to drive out IS and other terrorist militants through the FSA fighters, who are bolstered by Turkish weaponry, ammunition, artillery, and jets. Turkish soldiers, tanks and other equipment entered Syria from the Karkamis area in the Southeastern Turkish province of Gaziantep during the operation. Turkish tanks then crossed into northern Syria from the Southeastern Turkish province of Kilis on Saturday. Flash At least 20 people were killed and 36 others wounded in twin bombings that rocked a checkpoint at the entrance of Syria's coastal city of Tartus on Monday, Syrian national TV said. An explosive-laden vehicle was detonated at the checkpoint of the entrance of Tartus, when it was discovered by military personnel, said the report. Another explosion followed when a suicide bomber detonated his explosive belt among a crowd who gathered to help the wounded in the first blast, said the report. The suicide car bomber had apparently planned to detonate inside the city but did so at the entrance after he was discovered by the authorities, the report said. Both bombers, wearing military uniforms, were disguised as members of government troops, the military said. Zhao Yi, a 20-year-old engineering student from the University of Shanghai for Science and Technology, compares his shopping list for books with his friends in Popular Bookmall on Shanghai's Fuzhou Road. The mall hosts scores of bookstores of various sizes. The sophomore has four books on his list: Zero to One, The Hard Thing About Hard Things, The Innovator's Dilemma and Big Data: A Revolution. All of them are about starting up a business. His friends also have these books on their lists. Asked why they do not share these books, Zhao said each of these books is like a Bible for young students who aspire to become entrepreneurs, and they need to read them over and over. "It's like, you don't share your mobile phone with others," said Zhao. At Popular Bookmall, shelves for startup self-help books host hundreds of varieties. Guides for writing up business proposals, team-building, marketing, networking are among the most popular categories, said Wang Yue, a shop assistant. College students who wish to start up their own business are among the most frequent readers/buyers of these books, and sometimes they buy more than ten copies for entrepreneur club members in their college, according to Wang. The "startups" section in bookstores has also become an "offline" corner for future entrepreneurs to meet their partners, said regular book-readers at bookstores. Ruan Fang, a 32-year-old developer of mobile phone applications for time management, said that she met her business partner for the first time in a bookstore when she was browsing through a book on application programing. Her 28-year-old business partner Xie Xiaotian was reading a book on marketing. They both joined a lecture on entrepreneurship in the bookstore, and started conversing about books on starting up. Soon, they found they both wanted to offer time management tools to people. They discovered their skill sets were complementary. "You are less likely to chat up other readers of fiction, textbooks or social science titles because you may have different interests, taste and goals. But in the 'startups' section of bookstores, you know that everyone is struggling with the same ambition and share the same passion. It is so interesting that books can link up people," said Ruan. Chen Shaomin, founder of the Beijing-based Belencre bookstore chain, which has more than 20 stores, said that the "community-building power" and the interactions that brick-and-mortar bookstores create are exactly the benefits that online marketplaces for books may not be able to offer. A customer uses WeChat to pay at a Carrefour outlet in Shenzhen, Guangdong province. [Photo/China Daily] Line Corp plans to use part of the $1.3 billion it garnered from last month's initial public offering to bankroll acquisitions of content and technology, transforming its messaging service into a one-stop shop for Asian social media users. Japan's most popular messaging service is gunning for companies in areas ranging from artificial intelligence chatbots and advertising to video streaming and games, including those with augmented reality features, CEO Takeshi Idezawa said in an interview. The Tokyo-based company has assembled a dedicated team to scope out and review possible targets across the globe. The idea is to build Line into a "smart portal," supplementing its mainstay features of chatting, stickers and games with commercial services such as food delivery, job searches and travel reservations in main markets. "We are very open-minded about the size and geography" of potential acquisitions, Idezawa said. "What's important is that they are the right fit." Both the business and the talent that comes with it are important criteria, he said. Messaging services globally have become prime mobile destinations as they incorporate functions beyond simple chatting, such as media streaming and online shopping. Apps like Line and Facebook Inc's Messenger will evolve into "virtual agents" that provide services well beyond communication in three to seven years, said Julie Ask, an analyst with Forrester Research. She said one example of such technology is Amazon.com Inc's Echo, which deciphers, and acts on, spoken commands. The popular portable speaker can hail taxis or buy more shampoo, by analyzing a user's shopping preferences and history. Tencent Holdings Ltd's WeChat is increasingly woven into the fabric of its about 550 million users' daily lives in at least 200 countries and regions, letting them book hotels and buy products from a single app. Line has the potential to offer the same and possibly more. Its users in Japan spend at least five times as much time on the app as they do on Amazon, and their activities range from chatting to reading news and ordering food. That creates data the company can use to better understand its customers. Line in April announced the launch of an AI research lab, and funds from the IPO could allow it to buy startups that speed up development. Beefing up the platform with more commercial services requires close ties with local partners like retail shops, taxi companies or banks, especially in developing countries such as Indonesia and Thailand. That's where the IPO cash war chest comes in, which may allow Line to invest in joint ventures with local firms or swallow them whole. "Integrating payments and commerce servicessomething we've already seen very successfully through WeChat in Chinais a big opportunity for messaging apps," said Jack Kent, an analyst with IHS Markit Ltd. "But it's not the same as launching a game or content service, which scales easily. When you're integrating payments, taxi hailing or other forms of retail and commerce services, those are done at a local level." As part of ongoing efforts to be more than just a messaging app, Line has teamed up with local partners in Southeast Asia such as motorbike taxi on-demand service Go-Jek in Indonesia. In April, it also entered a joint venture with a Thai firm that enables users in the country to pay for subway rides, restaurant meals and online shopping through its app. Last year, it partnered with a Visa Inc. subsidiary to bolster payment security, and bought a Japanese startup that provides payments software. And in January, it acquired another Japanese startup to strengthen its advertising on mobile devices. While Line is the most popular chatting app in Japan, it's runner-up to BlackBerry Ltd's messaging service in Indonesia, a country with a population of at least 253 million. Idezawa said he will continue to focus on Southeast Asia, where the number of Line's monthly active users has risen in recent months, with a focus on winning the top spot in Indonesia. In Indonesia, Line is installed on 71 percent of Android devices, behind BlackBerry Messenger's 86 percent, according to researcher SimilarWeb. Besides beefing up marketing, analysts say Line's options in the country include striking partnerships to add more local content like news or music, and growing its commerce services. Doing so also works toward its long-term goal of completing the "smart portal". "What these platforms need besides audience is context, or data about the users. These platforms need to go wide to accomplish that: payments, calendar, maps, etc," said Forrester's Ask. "Messaging platforms are not the end game." Bloomberg An employee at a bank counter in Nantong, Jiangsu province, counts renminbi and dollars. [Photo/China Daily] A net $604 million has flowed in via an RQFII program in the January-July period Revived appetite for emerging market stocks and bonds is starting to include Chinaand even its currency, the renminbi. The China Asset Management Company has seen more inflows into equity funds that invest offshore yuan into mainland equities since Britain's June 23 vote to leave the European Union. CSOP Asset Management Ltd had its strongest inflows in 14 months in June to an exchange-traded fund that pumps yuan held abroad into China's sovereign bonds. A net $604 million has flowed into China via the Renminbi Qualified Foreign Institutional Investors program in the first seven months, versus an outflow of $4.1 billion last year, Z-Ben Advisors estimates. Inflows into stocks have dominated this year at about $880 million. "People are looking again at the emerging markets, which were undervalued, China for example," said Freddie Chen, Hong Kong-based managing director at China Asset, which has used just over half of its RQFII quota of 21.8 billion yuan ($3.3 billion) and allocated 80 percent to equity with the rest in fixed income. "We have seen a lot more interest" after the Brexit vote highlighted developed nation risks, he said. The inflows will help slow the decline in China's foreign-exchange reserves and support the yuan, which dropped 3.7 percent in the past 12 months in Asia's worst performance. They may also add fuel to a rally in the Shanghai Composite Index, which is up 5.3 percent this quarter but still down 13 percent for 2016. While the nation's sovereign bond yields have plunged this year, they are still high compared with negative rates in Japan and Europe, prompting global funds to boost holdings by the most in two years in June. "Our overseas clients have shown more interest in RQFII lately," said Melody He, head of exchange-traded funds and index solutions in Hong Kong at CSOP, which said on Aug 11 that its China 5-Year Treasury Bond ETF tripled assets to 2 billion yuan this year. "The two main reasons behind it are falling yields in developed markets and a stabilizing yuan." Morgan Stanley wrote in an Aug 20 note there could be a "powerful" catchup rally in Chinese stocks as global investors are again targeting developing nations. While the Shanghai benchmark climbed 16 percent from a low on Jan 28, that trails a 24 percent rise for the MSCI Emerging Markets index. The best-performing bond fund in China has also said government economic stimulus means money may flow from onshore corporate debt into stocks. Since RQFII licenses were first awarded in 2011 to promote the global use of the yuan, official data show China has granted 508.4 billion yuan in quotes to 169 financial institutions. The products suffered heavy redemptions since the currency's devaluation last August. This year, China offered a quota of 250 billion yuan to US institutions, which will lead to more demand for yuan products, according to Li Liuyang, a senior analyst at Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ China Ltd. One thing that could derail the momentum is a stronger dollar. Federal Reserve Vice-Chairman Stanley Fischer on Aug 21 signaled that a 2016 rate hike is still under consideration. The yuan, which closed at 6.68 per dollar on Friday (Sept 2), is forecast to weaken to 6.75 by year-end, according to a survey of economists by Bloomberg. Yields on the nation's 10-year sovereign bonds have fallen 10 basis points this year to 2.72 percent. That compares with a 50-basis-point drop in average yields for the Bloomberg Emerging Market Local Sovereign Index. Bloomberg LONDON - The Lord Mayor of the city of London, Jeffrey Mountevans, said the G20 summit held in Hangzhou is very important, and that he expects China to play an important role in promoting global economic growth. "I think G20 is very important, something I attach personally great importance to. I think China's interest in increasing Chinese involvement in the world economy is very positive," Mountevans said in a recent interview with Xinhua. Mountevans told Xinhua that the most interesting topic for him during this summit is green financing, which is an important topic in the world and is something that China and Britain can cooperate together. He said the great thing about Chinese presidency for the G20 is that China is quite focused on growth, which is the heart of the meeting that he thinks is very positive. "China is focused at the moment on green, because we all know that the older generation has not succeeded in doing so much, now we are in a hurry and we need to do more to work together to resolve the challenges we will be faced," he added. Commenting on British government's decision to delay the construction of Hinkley Point C nuclear power station, Mountevans said the City of London wants to see this issue resolved rapidly because it is keen on partnerships with Chinese businesses. Regarding British Prime Minister Theresa May's participation in the G20, the Lord Mayor said it is important for Britain to further ties with other G20 members after the Brexit. "After Brexit, we are looking at strengthening our international relations. Britain is a great place for doing business, we are the No. 6 in the world for the ease of doing business. We are very international in our outlook," he said. "I think that the prime minister will be looking to build on the relationships we have in so many areas." Mountevans said he will lead a business delegation to Hong Kong and Beijing, Shanghai and Tianjin in China later this month, in a bid to strengthen Britain-China commercial ties and promote Britain as "one of the best places" to invest and do business in. Describing China as a vital trade and investment partner for Britain, he said his visit comes at an opportune time to reassure China's government and industries that Britain remains open for business. "I will reiterate our commitment to deepening the long-standing links between the UK and China, I will celebrate the strengths and cooperation between our nations and I will explore new ways for us to work together," he said. As the financial and commercial heart of both Britain and Europe, the city of London is a natural partner for Chinese investors and businesses that want to expand their global presence, he said, adding, "We believe that opportunities to collaborate will continue to emerge, benefiting our own economies and wider global growth." Zhang Yaqin, president of Baidu Inc, speaks at the global business forum during Baidu Technology Innovation Conference 2016 held in Beijing, on Sept 2, 2016. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn] Chinese internet giant Baidu Inc seems to be dazzling the world nonstop. Robin Li, its chairman and chief executive, announced "Baidu Brain" on Thursday during Baidu Technology Innovation Conference 2016 held in Beijing, the core of the tech company's plans on artificial intelligence, which consists of three parts - artificial intelligence algorithms, computing power and big data. The next day, at the global business forum during the same event, Baidu's President Zhang Yaqin said the company's revenue coming from its global business has more than quintupled by September from a year earlier, but did not disclose the exact number. Baidu's globalization, along with "Baidu Brain", is the next big vision for the company, said Zhang. "During the process, we will choose the right country, the right products and technologies, and the right business model." "We prefer populous emerging markets where the prospect of mobile internet is huge. There we will recruit local talent, cooperate with local enterprises, respect local culture, and abide by local laws and regulations," he added. "That's what we call 'Global Technology, Local Partnership'." Zhang said that in the next five years, AI technologies, including machine learning, will be more deeply embedded in all products to better utilize Baidu's know-how and show the world a smarter global drive. According to Hu Yong, general manager of Baidu's global business unit, the company's mobile internet products have taken foothold in more than 200 countries and regions, with 1.6 billion overseas users, of which 300 million are active monthly. Hu Yong, general manager of Baidu's global business unit, speaks at the global business forum during Baidu Technology Innovation Conference 2016 held in Beijing, on Sept 2. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn] Meanwhile, DU Ad Platform, or DAP, the company's global mobile advertising platform, has connected more than 1,400 developers, with 1.5 billion daily ad requests, which has facilitated tech startups go global. "Currently, our main battlefield is Southeast Asia and Latin America, like Indonesia and Brazil. And we are also tapping into developed nations such as Japan and the United States," said Hu. He said creating real value is the only way to attract users and retain them. "With users, we can capitalize and continue to grow." The number of Chinese internet companies going overseas has been surging since 2015, with a year-on-year growth of 214 percent by September this year, according to Baidu, which did not reveal this number. However, a report jointly released by iResearch and baijingapp.com shows that domestic tech firms going global reached more than 6000 with over 11,000 mobile apps by August. "Tooling products would be the easiest, thus the first choice, for a Chinese tech company to tap overseas markets," said Tang Cailin, product director of Baidu's global business unit. "The next is content-based or social-networking products, which involve more efforts on localization." "The best time has come for Chinese internet companies to go global, and there are lots of opportunities out there," Hu noted. "But the first step is to survive. For that, we need to have really sharp eyes." Two Indonesian women pose for a photo in front of a model of China's high-speed train in Walini, West Java province, on Jan 21, 2016 to mark the launch of the Jakarta-Bandung high-speed railway project. [Photo/Xinhua] Overall investment needed for projects may reach $3.26 trillion Infrastructure connectivity is a focus of both the Belt and Road Initiative and the G20 Leaders Summit because of its significance for boosting economic growth and promoting prosperity. In the communique issued after the G20 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors Meeting held in Chengdu, Sichuan province on July 23-24, a global infrastructure connectivity alliance was planned to be launched to enhance the synergy and cooperation among various infrastructure connectivity programs in a holistic way. As the communique said, greater interconnectivity is a defining demand of the 21st century global economy and the key to promoting sustainable development and shared prosperity. A core aim of the Belt and Road Initiative is to achieve connectivity in five aspects, including policy, infrastructure, trade, financing and peoples. Infrastructure connectivity is a priority area for the Belt and Road Initiative, because it directly relates to trade costs and so will influence a region's trade level. The development of many countries along the Belt and Road routes is restricted by their underdeveloped infrastructure due to geographic factors and their low financing capacity. That means there is an urgent demand for infrastructure construction in these countries, as well as tremendous market potential to be tapped by improving the infrastructure connectivity along the Belt and Road. The Chinese consultancy company SWS Research Co. estimated in a report on the Belt and Road Initiative that the overall investment needed for infrastructure construction in core countries along the Belt and Road is about $3.26 trillion. "Since the launch of the Belt and Road Initiative by July 2016, the total value of the contract projects that China has signed with countries along the routes is $279 billion," said Shen Danyang, a Ministry of Commerce spokesman, at a media briefing on Aug 17. A series of infrastructure projects in countries along the routes, mainly ports, railways, highways, airports and telecommunication networks, have been launched recently. The China-Pakistan Economic Corridor, which has been called "the first movement of the symphony of the Belt and Road Initiative" by Wang Yi, China's foreign minister, is the demonstration project of the six economic corridors of the Belt and Road Initiative and the first milestone in the implementation of the initiative. "Connectivity, linkage and interdependence between China and Pakistan will all increase through the initiative," said Shaukat Aziz, former prime minister of Pakistan, in an exclusive interview with China Daily in July. Meanwhile, China's technological and management advantage in transportation infrastructure construction, especially high-speed railways, can effectively meet demands of the countries along the routes. Construction of the China-Thailand railway within the Trans-Asia Railway network and Jakarta-Bandung high-speed railway in Indonesia have successively started, and a batch of highways in countries along the routes have also been launched. A comprehensive regional traffic integration network is gradually forming shape. Chu Yin, a researcher on the Belt and Road Initiative at the University of International Relations, states that there are three major regions for infrastructure construction along the Belt and Road routes, namely Southeast Asia, South-Central Asia and Africa. "Infrastructure construction in these areas along the routes will be decisive in promoting regional integration," Chu said. China's plan is contributing to more efficient global economic and financial governance The Belt and Road Initiative, the Silk Road Economic Belt and 21st Century Maritime Silk Road, a new type of international cooperation mechanism launched by China, is contributing to "more efficient global economic and financial governance", one of the key issues being discussed at the G20 Leaders Summit in Hangzhou in East China's Zhejiang province. Chinese President Xi Jinping said at a symposium on the Belt and Road on Aug 17 that the initiative aims to benefit people along the routes and China welcomes all parties "taking a ride" on China's development. The global economy has not recovered eight years after global financial crisis erupted in 2008, and new drivers of economic growth are urgently being sought. Great hopes have been put on China, which has been the most powerful engine for global economic growth in recent times. Despite its slower economic growth, China still contributed more than 25 percent of global economic growth last year. Moreover, since the pattern of economic globalization, which has mainly been dominated by Western developed countries up to now, is changing, China is obliged to be the representative of developing countries in global economic governance. The Belt and Road Initiative has been proposed by China as a means to promote cooperation to drive global economic growth and achieve inclusive and interconnected development, especially among developing countries. "I hope the G20 summit will promote the Belt and Road Initiative and inclusive growth," said Zhao Jinping, director of the foreign economic relations research department of the State Council's Development Research Center, at a meeting organized by the China Center for International Economic Exchanges in August. G20 members account for two-thirds of the global population and 85 percent of the global economy, while countries along the Belt and Road, which are mainly developing countries, account for about 60 percent of the world population but only 30 percent of global economy. "The Belt and Road Initiative is a new international economic order on the basis of equality, which can enable people in less-developed countries and regions to participate and share the fruits of globalization," said Zhang Yansheng, chief researcher of CCIEE. The Belt and Road Initiative has been widely welcomed and supported by the international community. As of now more than 100 countries and international organizations are participating in the initiative. China has signed cooperation agreements with more than 30 countries along the routes, and has launched international industrial capacity cooperation with more than 20 countries. A further goal of the Belt and Road Initiative is to push forward the United Nation's 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, which is also a highlight of the G20 summit this year. A staff introduces Chinese products to a visitor at 2015 China-ASEAN Expo Thailand Exhibition in Bangkok, Thailand, on April 2, 2015. [Photo/Xinhua] As the world looks to the G20 for a prescription against the weak global economic recovery, the Belt and Road Initiative has become a new driver of international trade and investment. The World Trade Organization warned in April that the outlook for global trade growth will remain sluggish in 2016, forecasting that global trade would grow by 2.8 percent this year, the same as that registered last year. This will be the fifth consecutive year that world trade volume has grown by less than 3 percent, which would be the longest continuous period of weak global trade growth in the past three decades. While the picture for investment has been somewhat rosier, as global foreign direct investment flows grew 38 percent in 2015 according to the World Investment Report issued by United Nations Conference on Trade and Development in June, that is still lower than the figure before the onset of the global financial crisis. Moreover, large-scale FDI flew from emerging markets to developed countries. In 2015, the FDI in developed economies almost doubled to $962 billion, while the FDI in developing economies only increased by just 9 percent. And the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development predicts that FDI flows will decline by 10-15 percent in 2016, considering the persistent weakness of the global economic recovery. China remained the largest country in goods trade and the third largest investor in the world, and its outward FDI rose from $123 billion to $128 billion in 2015, according to the UN body. The launch of the Belt and Road Initiative has been China's response to the sluggish global economic growth and it is a significant move toward a more open global economic system. As the Silk Road Economic Belt and the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road have started to progress over the past few years, regional trade and investment along the routes have been remarkably boosted. The annual growth rates for trade and investment along the Belt and Road have been nearly twice as much as the global average, and in 2015 the bilateral trade volume between China and countries along the routes exceeded $1 trillion, Wang Yi, China's foreign minister, said on Aug 3. China's outbound direct investment in the countries joining the initiative has also soared. According to the Financial Times' cross-border investment database fDI Markets, Chinese investors announced 315 green field investments with a combined value of $75.9 billion in countries along the Belt and Road routes in the 18 months to June 2016. The recently launched Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank and the $40 billion Silk Road Fund demonstrate that China is also exploring innovations in financing to promote the Belt and Road Initiative. And China and countries along the routes are endeavoring to establish free trade zones and regional integration to further facilitate trade. In a speech in Uzbekistan on June 22, President Xi Jinping said China has jointly established 46 overseas economic cooperation zones with 17 countries along the Belt and Road. "As the proposer of the Belt and Road Initiative, China is providing considerable financial support to the construction of the Belt and Road," said Liu Ying, a researcher at the Chongyang Institute of Financial Studies at Renmin University of China." Fugitives brought to justice.[Infographic made by China Daily] As the G20 throws the spotlight on global anti-corruption efforts, China has released fresh data on its progress in capturing former officials accused of fleeing abroad with billions in public money. The nation is more than two years into an intensive campaign to track down and repatriate economic fugitives overseas, part of wider measures to tackle graft. So far, 2,020 economic fugitives, including 342 former officials, have been returned to China from more than 70 countries and regions since 2014, according to the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection. The top discipline watchdog said also that 7.62 billion yuan ($1.14 billion) in illegal assets had been seized. China has worked to make corruption a major talking point at the on going G20 Summit in the eastern city of Hangzhou. Cai Wei, joint head of the G20 Anti-Corruption Working Group, said he expects to see world leaders "further implement action plans promised in previous years to improve cooperation in law enforcement, extradition and seizing illegal funds". "Corrupt fugitives and the cross-border flow of illegal proceeds seriously damage social justice and hinder economic development," said Cai, who is also deputy director of the CCDI's International Cooperation Bureau. Li Chengyan, head of Peking University's Center for Anti-Corruption Studies, predicted that the summit will result in all members agreeing to a legal definition of corruption, a coordinated mechanism to pursue fugitives and stolen assets, and the implementation of the UN Convention Against Corruption. At the Business 20 Summit on Saturday, also in Hangzhou, experts agreed that graft "is a barrier to economic growth", said Evelyn Mantoiu, a policy analyst from the University of Sheffield who attended the meeting. B20 delegates made two recommendations to the G20 regarding corruption: one to strengthen intergovernmental cooperation; the other for leaders to foster a transparent commercial environment. "Curbing corruption is important, as graft undermines trust, which is a key investment security factor. And it increases transaction costs due to unpredictability," Mantoiu said. China launched a massive anti-corruption campaign after the new leadership was elected in late 2012. To capture economic fugitives abroad, the government set up the Central Anti-Corruption Coordination Group, led by the CCDI, and launched its Sky Net operation. "Western countries can't become 'safe havens' for corrupt fugitives. No matter where they have escaped to, we will try every means to bring them back," President Xi Jinping said in 2014. In April last year, Interpol issued red noticesinternational arrest warrantsfor 100 Chinese fugitives. By the end of July, 33 had been returned from 16 countries and regions, including seven from Canada, the CCDI data show. Two of the 33 have been convicted and sentenced. Developed countries such as the United States, Canada, Australia and Singapore have become popular destinations for Chinese fugitives due to the lack of extradition treaties. College students attend an intern opportunity fair held in June at Nanjing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics in Nanjing, Jiangsu province. [Photo/China News Service] Many workers lack expertise required by key industries, says govt minister All G20 members face the challenge of employing lower-skilled workers in a difficult economic environment, but China has taken positive steps to tackle the problem, according to a senior official. At the 2016 G20 Labor and Employment Ministerial Meeting held in July, Yin Weimin, minister of human resources and social security, explained that China's problems are twofold: an estimated 15 million new job seekers will enter the labor market every year between now and 2020, and many workers lack the skills required by the industries that are at the heart of the country's development plans. He described fresh college graduates and workers lacking the necessary skills as the country's "most pressing issue", which was also the "main focus" of the meeting. According to the World Economic Forum's Human Capital Report 2016, approximately 25,000 new workers will enter the labor market in developing countries every day between now and 2020, while more than 200 million people globally are unemployed. Yet at the same time, there is expected to be a world shortage of some 50 million highly skilled applicants over the coming decade. To make sure there are enough skilled workers to match the available job vacancies, China has focused on maintaining a large number of labor-intensive industries during its economic transformation and upgrades, while at the same time promoting the service industry, Yin said. "We are also promoting small - and medium-sized enterprises, which form the largest platform to offer employment," he said. "Such companies could absorb more than 80 percent of job seekers." A student works on an electric motor at the Shanxi Yongji Advanced Technician School, which has trained 12,000 skilled technicians since it was established in 1974. [Photo/China Daily] The Chinese government has also launched training projects and an entrepreneurship consulting service to help those facing difficulties finding work, Yin added. "Through education, we hope that those in difficulty can rely on themselves to change their situation," he said. "We have encouraged many people to start their own business by providing training, consultation and financing guarantees. Their startup projects could also provide more job opportunities." Li Shanxiang, deputy head of human resources at Linyi Mining Group in Shandong province, said the company had signed a contract with Shandong Coal Technician College, to train 100 medium-skilled workers over the next two years. This is part of China's apprentice program to foster job skills around the country. "We are very keen to cultivate our workers into highly-skilled ones. The new apprenticeship model provides one teacher for three to five apprentices and special training for them," Li said. Focus on globalization, aging populations, technical progress The 2016 G20 Labor and Employment Ministerial Meeting, held in July, involved in-depth discussions on globalization, technological progress and aging populations, with a particular focus on the opportunities and challenges these issues posed to the labor markets of G20 economies. The major outcomes of the meeting were as follows: 1. The G20 Entrepreneurship Action Plan was adopted. G20 economies agreed to carry out action plans and strengthen efforts to nurture the conditions that unleash the entrepreneurial potential of this valuable human capital, especially of our youth. G20 economies welcomed China's leadership in the establishment of the Entrepreneurship Research Center on G20 Economies as a platform to deepen information exchange and extend the sharing of good practices among G20 members in support of this action plan. 2. The G20 Initiative to Promote Quality Apprenticeship was adopted. G20 economies committed to offering high-quality apprenticeships and developing workforces that possess strong capacities in both theory and practice and meet the needs of the labor market. 3. G20 members were urged to adopt well-targeted job creation policy measures based on national conditions. This had been the first time that a whole package of policy recommendations was produced on social protection. The meeting adopted Policy Recommendations to Enhance Employability, Sustainable Wage Policy Principles and Policy Recommendations for Promoting More Equitable and Sustainable Social Protection Systems. Entrepreneurs hail Chinese leader's speech emphasizing broad inclusiveness President Xi Jinping's speech at the B20 Summit sent a message of confidence in the global economy amid rising risks from sluggish growth, business leaders said on Sunday. Entrepreneurs and industry experts who attended the business forum ahead of the G20 Leaders Summit in Hangzhou, Zhejiang province, lauded Xi's speech, saying his emphasis on innovation, coordination and inclusiveness helped lay out the future direction of the global economy. "Countries have been eagerly looking for new growth engines since the financial crisis in 2008. ...Xi's speech offered a prescription to the recovery of the world economy," said Eric Jing, president of Ant Financial Services Group, an arm of e-commerce giant Alibaba Group. "Only by amplifying the effect of innovation can we truly restore the growth momentum of the global economy," he said. In his speech at the opening of the B20 Summit on Saturday, Xi said the development of the world economy requires joint efforts from all countries, and he stressed that policies should not be drafted on the basis of self-interest but mutual benefit. He also called for the lowering of trade and investment barriers to spur growth. Luigi Gambardella, president of ChinaEU, a business association based in Brussels, said China's commitment to free trade is a good sign amid a backdrop of rising protectionism and trade fragmentation. Xi also sought to allay concerns over a slowing Chinese economy, reassuring in his speech that China will continue to be the growth engine of the world and that Beijing is capable of maintaining a medium to high growth rate. John Cai, chief executive officer of insurance firm AIA China, said the president's commitment to deepening reform and liberalizing the Chinese economy sends a positive message to domes-tic and international enterprises. He said China's proposal to expand financing on infrastructure projects to improve interconnectivity could bring opportunities for financial firms, insurers in particular, as insurance capital could serve as a stable source of financing for such projects. Some industry leaders said Xi's speech at the B20, and the opening of the G20 Summit in Hangzhou, were examples of China's rising influence in global economic governance. "Xi's speech shows China is moving from the side-lines to the center in global governance," said Clare Pearson, chairman of the China-British Business Council. Other business leaders were impressed with his resolution to promote green and sustainable growth. "Xi has been clear about the environment and sustainability," said Bob Dudley, BP's group chief executive. "He had a great phrase about green mountains and clean waters being better than gold and silver mines, and how it (green growth) is important to the development of China." Meng Jing, Zhong Nan and Chen Mengwei contributed to this story. When Li Wenxin, a Yale graduate, quit her analyst job at a cloud service provider at Silicon Valley, she knew she made the right choice coming back to China. "I didn't think twice when I chose Hangzhou to start a VR company," the 28-year-old said. Li was later pleased to see that the entrepreneurial atmosphere in Hangzhou appeared to be even stronger than Silicon Valley's, becoming the city's driving force, drawing talent, technology and capital for the city's development. Li is among millions of ambitious Chinese talents who return home from overseas to realize their dreams of owning a business, knowing China has their back. China has been promoting entrepreneurship and innovation as a key driver of the nation's economic transition. Placing reform and innovation at the top of its agenda, the G20 summit will bring new innovative opportunities for not only the host city Hangzhou, but also the world at large. The government has made market entry easier, cut red tape and rolled out tax breaks for startups. Overseas returnees are emerging as major forces in entrepreneurship. According to Report on Entrepreneurship and Employment of Chinese Overseas Students released by Center for China and Globalization in 2015, the number of students who come back to China has seen a 78.4 percent increase, compared to 2010. Hangzhou ranks first, both on number of returnees and increasing rate of returnees between 2010 and 2015, on the list. Statistics from the Hangzhou Returnees Service Center show that by the end of last year, the total number of companies founded by overseas returnees exceeded 1,200. Most of the companies are in Bio-medicine, electronic information, energy saving and environmental protection industries and have collectively brought the city 28 billion yuan. The returned entrepreneurs are mostly post-80s generation with master degrees and above, the report shows. A pioneer parks called "Dream Town" which is located in the city's Future Technology Park, one of the big four parks in Hangzhou, harbors many returned startups. Wang Mengqiu, a Stanford graduate who founded Zero Zero Robotics in 2014 chose "Dream Town" to be one of the company's locales. Its product Hover Camera, a selfie drone, has gone viral online before its release. "Hangzhou is becoming China's Silicon Valley," said Liu Lixin, the deputy manager of Zero Zero Robotics' Hangzhou office. According to Liu, the city's talent resources, the passion of the city and its people have for new technologies and the rich soil for starting up businesses that the local 'big trees' , such as Alibaba and NetEase, have already provided are the reasons why the company chose Hangzhou. The government provided the startups with fund and facilities support as well as tax benefit, Liu said. The convenience after the city cut the red tapes also helped the company greatly. 'Dream Town' has also introduced incubators for startups which provide supports on financing and legal issues so the entrepreneurs can focus on their core businesses, Liu said. "Life is made easier here too," said Liu. "The town has accommodation called 'You+ youth entrepreneur apartments' and has outsourced the property management system to a company that made everything smart and convenient. We also have a card that can buy items and services everywhere in the town." Tang Tao, vice minister of the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security, said earlier this year that the government will improve measures to attract Chinese overseas talent to return home. China launched its "Thousand Talents" recruitment program for global experts in 2008. Statistics shows that in Future Technology Park, there are 30,000 startup talents, 1,870 of which are overseas returnees. The city has planned to be a well-known center for startup and innovation by 2020. LinkedIn's latest survey shows that returnees were encouraged by the good momentum of Chinese economy and the country's talent policy. Up to now, China has 321 industrial parks for overseas returnees. Last year, returnees participated in 19,000 research and development projects. "The wave is likely to continue in the coming years as there is still ample room for improvement," said Zhou Shiping, an official with the State Administration for Industry and Commerce. Hangzhou founded a Returnees Entrepreneurship Association in July this year to better serve overseas returnees. Xie Shuangcheng, deputy major of Hangzhou expects that the young returnees can contribute to Hangzhou's 'going global' and also attract the world's attention to the city. Wang Jinbao, an advisor in Returnees Entrepreneurship Institute, said that the transition from "made in China" to "Created in China" in the major trend and innovation is the key. "As an early returnee, I can use my experience to instruct the younger returnees and enhance their confidence in starting up businesses." Before her first visit to China on Sunday to attend the G20 Summit, Britain's new Prime Minister Theresa May reiterated that "this is a golden era for UK-China relations". Theresa May, Britain's prime minister, arrives at the G20 Summit venue on Sunday. Xing Guangli / Xinhua Observers immediately noted the significance of the comment, which publicly reinforced the view of the previous resident of No 10 Downing Street, David Cameron. After Cameron stepped down earlier this year following the European Union referendum and was replaced by May, she did not immediately refer in public to a "golden era". China is the UK's second-largest non-European trading partner, while the UK is the largest investment destination in Europe for Chinese businesses. Some media commentators and observers have questioned whether the governments will continue to strengthen ties. But before boarding her plane for China on Saturday, May told British media that she will be talking with President Xi Jinping about "how we can develop the strategic partnership that we have between the UK and China". May wasted little time in getting down to business after her arrival on Sunday morning in Hangzhou, Zhejiang province, including a quick change of attire. Wearing black as she stepped off the plane, May appeared in red, matching the carpet, as she walked to meet Xi and shake hands ahead of the summit's afternoon session. Feng Zhongping, vice-president of the China Institutes of Contemporary International Relations, said May's public reaffirmation of the "golden era" sends a message. "The signal is evident," Feng said. "The May cabinet is willing to maintain close cooperative ties with China." Because she had not explicitly used the term "golden era", she may have inadvertently played into questions about whether ties remained as strong as they were under Cameron. Now, the May cabinet "plans to take China-UK ties back to the heights achieved during President Xi's visit to the UK last year", Feng said. Liu Xiaoming, China's ambassador to Britain, said in a signed article published in Politics First Magazine on Friday that "our strong confidence in China-UK relations remains unchanged". About the Xi-May meeting, Liu said: "I'm convinced that the meeting will set new goals, map out a new blueprint and introduce new dynamism for the future of China-UK relations." Ahead of her trip, May was also asked about possible problems with Beijing over her suspension of a partly Chinese-funded nuclear power station deal, but she did not respond directly. The Hinkley Point nuclear project in Somerset, a county in England's southwest, involves a power station designed and built by France's EDF, but with China picking up a third of the bill - 18 billion pounds ($23.9 billion). Shi Yinhong, a professor of international relations at Renmin University of China, noted that as both China and France have stakes in the project, London "has no other option but to further develop its win-win, important economic ties with Beijing". Zhao Junjie, an expert on European studies at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, said there will be no fundamental changes in UK policy toward China, as "it is important to expand markets outside of Europe after the Brexit", referring to the UK's voter-approved exit from the European Union. Contact the writer at zhangyunbi@chinadaily.com.cn A top European official on Sunday said it was urgent to resolve the global issue of overcapacity, and he pressured China to take action to avoid costing European jobs - a connection some analysts said was "exaggerated". Speaking at a news conference with European Council President Donald Tusk before the opening of the G20 Summit in Hangzhou, Zhejiang province, European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker said he hoped global leaders at the summit would push for a solution to the overcapacity issue, which he called a global challenge. He said overcapacity has particularly hurt the steel sector in Europe, where thousands of jobs have been lost in recent years, adding that he is determined to defend the interests of the European steel industry and its workers. "Addressing the challenge of overcapacity in a credible manner will be the test case," he said, adding that the G20 Summit "must urgently find a solution" to excess steel production. He suggested China accept a monitoring and supervision mechanism for overproduction in the sector after the formation in July of a working group to look at solutions. Officials and experts called for more communication to resolve trade friction while taking an "objective and rational" view with regard to China's overcapacity problem. Lu Feng, an economist at Peking University's China Center for Economic Research, said that some accusations aimed at China's steel sector have been somewhat exaggerated. "It is crucial to realize that China has been actively facilitating communications with other nations to enhance policy coordination," he said. Despite a number of problems remaining to be solved in China, "the nation has been actively seeking solutions to tackle the problem through reforms and using market-based methods", he said. At a news conference in August, Zhang Ji, China's assistant minister of commerce, played down accusations that China engaged in so-called dumping of products at low prices to other economies, noting that the nation has imposed export tariffs on some exported steel products. Zhao Chenxin, spokesman for the National Development and Reform Commission, a leading regulator in charge of excess capacity reduction, said, "China has been taking an active and serious attitude in efforts to cut overcapacity, and is striving to meet capacity reduction targets on time." China has committed to cutting capacity in the steel sector by 100 to 150 million metric tons over the next five years. wangyanfei@chinadaily.com.cn European Council President Donald Tusk (left) and European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker hold a news conference on Sunday. Wang Zhuangfei / China Daily (China Daily 09/05/2016 page4) Invitations to summit show country's expansive and 'compassionate' vision UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said on Sunday that he "really appreciates" China's effort to invite the largest number of developing countries ever to attend a G20 Summit. "It's easy to say we support developing countries, but it is difficult to really take action to help those people," Ban said, adding that the effort reflects the Chinese government's "far-reaching, visionary and compassionate" outlook. It is in line with "persistent Chinese efforts" to push forward South-South cooperation, he said at a news conference on the sidelines of the two-day summit in Hangzhou, Zhejiang province. Ban thanked President Xi Jinping for emphasizing sustainable development as the core element of the G20 agenda. Developed countries have the capacity to mobilize many resources, but there are many countries whose resources are limited, he said. He told reporters that G20 members have a key role in promoting a stable, inclusive and sustainable economic growth agenda. "All this should be promoted through a partnership of all of us," he said. "And the G20 Summit is the place where we strengthen such partnerships between developed and developing countries." Poverty reduction is the No 1 priority of the United Nations, Ban said, noting that there are still more than 1 billion people who earn less than $1.25 a day. The top priority goal is that all forms of poverty must be eradicated by 2030, when there will be no people "whose stomachs are empty", he said. "With the strong economic push by the Chinese government, we were able to achieve the No 1 goal of millennium development. We owe a lot to the Chinese government's contribution," he added. The government has made poverty reduction its top priority. During a tour in July to the Ningxia Hui autonomous region, an underdeveloped area with a high concentration of ethnic groups, Xi said: "There are still some 50 million Chinese struggling with poverty, and by 2020 they must all be lifted out of poverty. This is my top concern now." It was Ban's second trip to Hangzhou, where economic and social development has been impressive and the people live in peace and stability. "This kind of benefit and opportunity should be shared by people around the world," he said. Noting this is the last G20 he will attend as UN secretary-general, Ban congratulated China for "successfully hosting and wonderfully organizing" the event. Huang Wei, director of the Institute of Global Governance under the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, said that this year's summit has brought the industrialization of Africa to the forefront. African countries will benefit from the G20 platform, she said. "The participation of more developing countries has strengthened the legitimacy of the G20, as the group has long been asked whether only 20 economies should represent the world," she said, adding that the G20 should not be a club of superpowers but a key platform to benefit all countries around the world. anbaijie@chinadaily.com.cn Ban Ki-moon, UN secretary-general, praises China's effort to strengthen developing countries' participation in the G20 at a news conference on Sunday. Wang Zhuangfei / China Daily (China Daily 09/05/2016 page4) Five leaders, meeting informally ahead of summit in Hangzhou, pursue equity for developing countries, emerging economies Leaders of BRICS countries on Sunday urged the International Monetary Fund to reassign quota and voting rights to ensure that the IMF "fairly" reflects the "status of emerging markets and developing countries". The leaders - representing Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa, made the call during an informal meeting ahead of the G20 Summit. The five countries are also members of the G20. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi presided over the meeting. India holds the rotating chairmanship of the BRICS organization. "The leaders stressed ... that the current quota of the IMF failed to reflect the global economic situation," according to a statement issued after the meeting. The leaders "expect members of the G20 and the IMF to work together to increase quota sources of the IMF, and reevaluate quota and voting rights to ensure that they fairly reflect the status of emerging markets and developing countries." They called for the IMF to finish its 15th general review of quotas before the annual conference in 2017 and present a new formula for quotas. The quota formula is a weighted average of GDP and other factors, such as openness and reserves. The IMF decided in 2010 to divert 6 percentage points of quotas to emerging markets and developing nations. After the reassignment, the top 10 IMF members, by quota, are the US, Japan, China, Germany, France, Britain, Italy, India, Russia and Brazil. The plan took effect in January. However, Ruan Zongze, executive vice-president of the China Institute of International Studies, said the adjustment is not enough. "For example, Japan holds the second biggest quota," Ruan said. "But last year, China's GDP doubled that of Japan." President Xi Jinping said BRICS members should enhance coordination to have emerging-market economies and developing countries play a bigger role in international affairs. The five countries should also work to safeguard the position of multilateral trade as the key channel, jointly build an open world economy and oppose all kinds of protectionism and exclusionism, to ensure that all countries will be equal in their development rights, opportunities and rules, Xi said. He also called on members to drive the BRICS' New Development Bank to implement the first batch of projects and boost the bank's management and financing capabilities. The bank should promote research on the BRICS' contingent reserve arrangement, a provision for support in case of short-term balance-of-payment pressures, to enhance financial security for BRICS countries, he said. During Sunday's meeting, the leaders also strongly condemned recent terrorist attacks around the globe. They vowed to consolidate international anti-terror cooperation and called on the United Nations to play a central role in the fight. The meeting came days after a suicide car bomb attack on China's embassy in Bishkek on Tuesday, which injured three people and killed the attacker. The informal meeting gave BRICS leaders a chance to discuss and fine-tune major decisions before they are announced at the 8th BRICS Summit in mid-October in Goa, India, according to Swaran Singh, a professor at Jawaharlal Nehru University in New Delhi. lixiaokun@chinadaily.com.cn President Xi Jinping (center) takes a group photo with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi (2nd left), Brazilian President Michel Temer (left), Russian President Vladimir Putin (2nd right) and South African President Jacob Zuma (right) ahead of the G20 Summit in Hangzhou, Zhejiang, on Sunday. Xu Jingxing / China Daily (China Daily 09/05/2016 page2) HANGZHOU - The Business 20 (B20) Summit, which was attended by business leaders and officials including those from the Group of 20 (G20) economies, came to an end Sunday with many consensuses and results, especially a policy recommendation report. The two-day event, which was scheduled on Saturday and Sunday ahead of the G20 Summit, attracted more than 1,100 business leaders to discuss hot topics and difficulties for the world economy. The summit issued the B20 2016 Policy Recommendations report to the G20, raising 20 important aspects of recommendations and 76 concrete measures. The report offers some suggestions for the first time, such as an Electronic World Trade Platform initiative, a SMART innovation initiative to encourage entrepreneurship and innovation, as well as developing green finance and investment market. Leaders of Argentina, South Africa, Australia and Canada as well as heads of the International Monetary Fund, World Bank and the other multilateral organizations participated in the meeting and discussed with business leaders. They agreed that G20 members should strengthen cooperation with an open attitude, advance reform and promote growth. With good interaction between government and companies, sound environment for investors, investment in education and technology development, all sides should make joint efforts toward an innovative, invigorated, interconnected and inclusive world economy, the participants agreed. They held the view that it is necessary to break a new path for global economic growth, increase high-quality and "bankable" projects, and promote innovation in financial tools for infrastructure investment. The participants also agreed to facilitate private sectors' investment in infrastructure, promote the development of green finance and investment market, and develop inclusive finance. Ahead of the closing of the summit, Jiang Zengwei, chair of the B20 China, handed over the hosting right of the summit to Markus Kerber, director-general of the Federation of German Industries. The Chinese government is willing to encourage domestic companies to invest in Spain as the two countries are seeking to boost bilateral ties, President Xi Jinping said on Monday. Xi made the remarks while meeting with Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy during the sidelines of the ongoing G20 summit in Hangzhou. The two countries should make full use of the Yiwu-Madrid cargo train to continuously enlarge trade volume, Xi said, adding that the people-to-people exchanges and local-level communication should also be strengthened. Xi called on both sides to support and understand each other on issues related to their core interests. The Chinese president spoke highly of the Spanish government's support toward the Belt and Road Initiative, saying the two countries should cooperate more in areas such as finance, telecommunication and renewable resources. China hopes and supports the European Union to remain stable and prosperous, Xi said, adding that Spain as expected to play a positive role in improving the China-Spain relationship. Spain spoke positively of China's efforts in dealing with current economic challenges, Rajoy said, adding that Spain supported China to host a successful G20 summit in Hangzhou. Spain is willing to enhance communication with China and develop trade, investment, culture and education, he added. President Xi Jinping on Monday made it clear Beijing objected implementing an anti-missile system in the Republic of Korea, warning careless handling of the issue would "aggravate contradictions". He made the remarks when meeting ROK President Park Geun-hye on the sidelines of the G20 summit being held in Hangzhou. Washington and Seoul, in a joint announcement, said on July 8 that the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense system would be deployed to deal with the Democratic People's Republic of Korea's nuclear and missile threats. China and Russia expressed strong opposition to the system, in which radar would be capable of monitoring missiles in the two countries, saying it would destabilize the balance of security in the region. Xi said China was committed to denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula and seeked to settle root causes of the issue through "solve concerns of relevant parties in a comprehensive and balanced way" on the platform of the Six-Party Talks. "China expects to work with the ROK to well maintain and develop the hard-won ties and hopes both sides make efforts to expand positive facets of China-ROK cooperation and restrain negative factors," Xi said. "Both sides should respect core interests of each other and ensure the China-ROK ties to advance in a stable and sustainable way." Park said her country attaches great importance to ties with China and is committed to pushing forward bilateral ties "based on mutual trust". She said the two countries should use the 25th anniversary of establishment of bilateral ties which falls next year to deepen the relations. CAIRO - Egyptian economists and businessmen stressed on Sunday that the G20 Summit being held in the eastern Chinese city of Hangzhou will help Egypt attract more investments to revive its ailing economy. During a seminar organized by China Today magazine in Cairo, experts discussed the importance of Egypt's participation in the Summit and how the North African country should use it to increase foreign investments. The recent global economic recession and the possible solutions the Summit would offer were also on the seminar agenda. Experts stressed that the G20 Summit, with Egypt's participation as a guest of honor, is an opportunity to further Egyptian-Chinese economic partnership. Mustafa Ibrahim, member of the Egyptian Businessmen's Association, said it is a big opportunity for Egypt to attract larger investments through such a world event, as it would help recover Egypt's economy which has been going down for years. The two-day G20 Summit opened on Sunday amid multiple risks and challenges, aiming to find a way to bring the world economy back to a healthy growth trajectory. During his visit to Egypt in January, Chinese President Xi Jinping invited his Egyptian counterpart Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi to attend the G20 Summit in Hangzhou as a guest of honor. Earlier on Sunday, Xi met with Al-Sisi ahead of the opening of the Summit. During the meeting, Xi said China steadfastly supports Egypt's effort to maintain stability and explore its own development path in line with its national conditions. Xi added the two sides should strengthen cooperation in industrial capacity, finance, people's livelihood, environmental protection and infrastructure, and coordinate and cooperate closely in global and regional affairs. The Egyptian leader expressed the hope to deepen exchanges with China in the fields of industry, telecommunications, technology, agriculture, hydrology, finance, local administration, and human resources. Since the 2011 uprising, tourists and foreign investors, two major sources of Egypt's hard currency, have been deterred by the political and social unrest in the most populous Arab country. Egypt's foreign exchange reserves declined from $36 billion in early 2011 to $15.54 billion as of the end of July 2016. Environmentalists have hailed the decision by China and the United States to ratify the Paris Agreement on climate change, with the move being praised as a pivotal step toward controlling global warming. WWF-China CEO Lo Sze Ping described it as an encouraging signal to the world. "This clearly shows China's determination to implement the Paris Agreement. This also shows that China is taking more of a leadership role in the global effort to prevent climate change," he said. China and the US announced that they had ratified the agreement on Saturday on the eve of a meeting of G20 leaders in Hangzhou. The joint formal approval marks a crucial milestone, according to the United Nations Environment Programme. "This announcement is hugely important. The leadership of China and the US is crucial to taking the Paris Agreement forward," said Erik Solheim, UN environment head. "The fight against climate change remains difficult and urgent, but having heavy-hitters like China and the US on your side is extremely heartening." The Paris Agreement has so far been signed by 180 counties, but it will only take effect after 55 nations responsible for 55 percent of greenhouse gas emission have ratified it. Before this weekend's joint announcement, only 24 countries representing just more than 1 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions had ratified the deal. China the US are responsible for 38 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions, making their ratifications crucial. "This is a pivotal moment for our planet. And there's no turning back. The world's largest emitters of carbon pollution are now on an unstoppable path to protect us from climate change," said Rhea Suh, president of the Natural Resources Defense Council, an international nonprofit environmental organization based in New York. Now that China and the US have ratified the deal, aiming to cap global warming at 2 C above pre-Industrial Revolution levels, more countries are being urged to follow suit. "President Obama and President Xi Jinping are signaling to other countries that the Paris Agreement can come into force this year," said Lou Leonard, WWF-US senior vice president for climate and energy. He added that an urgent and accelerated implementation of the deal is necessary in order to prevent the worst affects of climate change. Ping, from WWF-China, said: "Now other countries must act swiftly to ratify the deal, and to reduce their emissions in line with the Paris Agreement's long-term goals, according to science and equity, and therefore increase their current pledges." zhengjinran@chinadaily.com.cn Representatives from Boston Consulting Group attended the Business 20 (B20) Summit in Hangzhou and listened to President Xi's speech at Saturday's opening ceremony. David He, a partner in the Boston Consulting Group, says: "President Xi's speech conveyed three key messages: First, the speech concluded China's success in the last three decades, which was built on innovation, openness, hard work and sharing; this spirit will continue to pay off in the next three decades. Second, the speech reinforced confidence in the Chinese economy. Lack of confidence has resulted in many issues, but through our persistence in innovation, coordination, greenness, openness and sharing, the confidence can be restored. Third, the speech reflected China's sense of responsibility in the global economy. President Xi has proposed innovation, openness, connectedness and inclusiveness as the key words for the global economy in the hope that this Chinese wisdom can also benefit the world. In addition, I was most impressed by President Xi's determination on deepening the supply side structural reform, to better coordinate between market and government, and to truly foster innovation." Editor Note: As the G20 global leaders gather in Hangzhou, capital of China's Zhejiang province, exploring the solutions for a robust and sustained global economic growth and fairer international governance regime, European opinion leaders and academic experts have kept a close watch on what messages President Xi Jinping is delivering at the first ever G20 gathering organized by China. The following are the points they shared with China Daily journalist Fu Jing based in Brussels. Chinese President Xi Jinping presides over the opening ceremony of the Group of 20 (G20) summit in Hangzhou, capital of East China's Zhejiang Province, Sept. 4, 2016. [Photo/Xinhua] Christos Vlachos, managing partner of Athens-based Silky Finance, an independent financial adviser I am impressed by President Xi's call: "We should strengthen coordination in macro-economic policies, reduce negative impacts and resolve the imbalance in systems and differences in standards. We should also increase investment in infrastructure to ensure all parties could be beneficiaries of global growth." And I think what President Xi stressed goes in tandem with the Belt and Road initiative dating back to 2013. Boudewijn Poldermans: Connect Global Capital Business, a Rotterdam-based Consultancy, which has a strong and extensive business relationship with China During his speech President Xi has stressed the importance of the link between business and social development and how China has realized rapid poverty reduction. He has indicated how China has developed from an aid recipient country into the world's second largest economy now able to assist other economies by making financial resources available. Xi stressed the need for more concrete steps and a sustainable, open and equitable approach to achieve more long term global economic growth and develop "win-win" strategies. The world is now looking at China to see what leadership role China will assume in the global economy David Laurier, CEO of environmental analyzer and integrated solutions provider AppliTek in Belgium President Xi has sent a very strong message that goes beyond respect and courtesy. During his speech, Xi has sent clear messages on his thoughts of global trends and China's development strategy. It is evident that China is open-minded in helping shape a win-win and sharing global economy by injecting green and sustainable impetus Dennis Pamlin, founder of Sweden-based consultancy the 21st Century Frontiers With the current political development, especially in the US presidential election, it is very much welcome that China focused on an open economy. It would be good if this process would focus the need on an open economy in the context of the great challenges we face. Last year the world agreed to radically reduce greenhouse gas emissions, address the global financial challenges and established the sustainable development goals where global inequity was an important part. This would help clarify the urgency for an economy that is built on global collaboration rather than protectionism. Shada Islam, Policy Director of Brussels-based think tank Friends of Europe As one of the world's largest economies, China has a pivotal role to play in steering the global conversation and ensuring coordinated international action on issues related to world Trade. A commitment by China to open and free trade is therefore highly significant especially at a time when political and public support for free trade is on the wane. Fredrik Erixon, Director of the Brussels-based European Centre for International Political Economy in Brussels It is critical that world leaders act to revert the trend of creeping protectionism in the world economy. Trade and investment are two engines of growth, and with the slowing growth of trade and investment, there has been a direct effect on economic growth, which this years will surprise us on the negative side. Tony Payne, director of the University of Sheffield's Political Economy Research Institute China is quite right to restate the case for an open global economy at the G20 summit in Hangzhou. Normally, this is one of the truisms that world leaders reiterate as a matter of routine, but at the moment it has extra meaning and significance because of the rising tide of populist politics that has emerged of late in parts of Europe and in the United States itself, which has been the most consistent advocate of openness since 1945. At the heart of that populism is a demand for national protectionism, as illustrated in its most threatening manifestation in Donald Trump's 'America First' rhetoric. America First unavoidably means the global order second. China cannot say it openly for all of the normal diplomatic reasons, but it badly need Hillary Clinton, not Donald Trump, to turn up at the next G20 summit! China is exceptionally well placed to make that case and lead the global order in that direction. Duncan Freeman,Senior Research Fellow, Brussels Academy for China and European Studies The open global economy has been weakened in recent years by crisis and the failure of globalisation to benefit all its participants, and also the incapacity of governments to sustain the relevance of institutions like the WTO. It is important that President Xi has committed China to an open global economy, but maintaining the system requires the commitment of all governments.China's reform and open in has been a key factor in the creation of the open global economy over the past three decades. China and the United States showed leadership and commitment in tackling climate-change challenges as they formally committed to joining last years Paris Agreement on climate change on Saturday ahead of the G20 Summit. "China and the United States have expanded dialogue and achieved fruitful results in recent years to tackle global climate challenges, said President Xi Jinping, commenting on the two countries' efforts to advance climate-change initiatives since 2014, when the two countries submitted their respective emission goals for the Paris Agreement. Xi and US President Barack Obama submitted formal agreement documents to United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon. China pledged to peak carbon emissions by 2030, while the United States pledged to cut emissions by 28 percent by 2025 compared with the level in 2005. The formal commitment to the agreement by the two major countries, which together account for a large proportion of the worlds carbon dioxide emissions, sets a good example for other G20 members who signed the Paris Agreement to facilitate ratification, experts said. China and the US, as the world's two largest emitters, are "setting a powerful and positive example" helping to spur momentum toward the rapid entry into force of the agreement, said David Nabarro, the UN secretary-generals special adviser on sustainable development. "China's example demonstrates that a low-carbon and climate-resilient development is not only feasible but beneficial on many fronts, said Nabarro. The special adviser said UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon will be hosting an event on Sept 21 at the UN in New York to build on the strong momentum coming from the G20 Summit for ratification of the Paris Agreement. As China moves quickly to use more clean energy and scale up green technologies, Nabarro said China is also demonstrating strong resolve in tackling air pollution caused by the burning of fossil fuels, and is promoting more sustainable urbanization. By 2050, one quarter of the worlds largest cities will be in China. "The way in which Chinese cities develop and address climate change may well serve as a model for the worlds cities in both developed and developing countries, he said. "Commitment and efforts being made by the two countries send strong signals to other G20 members to quicken the pace of their own legislative process, said Bai Yunwen, a climate and policy researcher at Greenovation Hub, a Beijing-based NGO. The G20 members are responsible for 75 percent of global emissions, and their energy-related greenhouse gas emissions increased by 56 percent from 1990 to 2013, according to a report released in late August by Climate Transparency, a nonprofit organization. Echoing Bais statement, Niklas Hoehne from Germanys New Climate Institute said that if G20 members were to rid themselves of their reliance on coal, this would have a significant bearing on their ability to both increase their climate pledges, and get their emission trajectories below 2 C. The Paris agreement, made in December last year, set goals to limit the rise of global temperatures below 2 C compared to the preindustrial levels. The agreement will only come into effect with the ratification of at least 55 parties that account for 55 percent of total emissions. Lin Boqiang, director at the China Center for Energy Economics Research at Xiamen University, said the formal commitment made by the two major emitters would help the agreement to come into force. "Global powers could take the chance provided by the G20 platform to enhance policy coordination and help the agreement to come into force at an earlier date, he said. China's Global Newspaper Sorry, the page you requested was not found. Please check the URL for proper spelling and capitalization. If you're having trouble locating a destination on Chinadaily.com.cn, try visiting the Chinadaily home page President Xi Jinping addresses the media on Monday after the G20 Summit ended in Hangzhou, Zhejiang province. Feng Yongbin / China Daily Leaders of major economies reached consensus during the G20 Summit on seeking workable solutions for global growth and development, a consensus that one analyst described as having China's "distinctive stamp". In his concluding remarks, President Xi Jinping said summit participants reached "important consensus" on such G20 tasks as strengthening policy coordination, breaking a new path for growth, achieving more efficient and effective global economic and financial governance, boosting international trade and investment and enhancing anti-graft efforts. Besides tackling regular challenges, such as promoting innovation to provide new engines for global economic growth, world leaders at the summit, which ended on Monday in Hangzhou, Zhejiang province, emphasized inclusive growth and development of less-developed countries. Xi called this progress "groundbreaking". "For the first time, we have given priority to development in the global macro-policy framework," a move that will "help reduce inequality and imbalance in global development, deliver tangible benefits to people of the developing world, make important progress toward realizing the (United Nations') Sustainable Development Goals by 2030 and contribute to the common development of mankind", the president said. Su Ge, president of the China Institute of International Studies, said the consensus shows that China, as the host and a developing country, has played a significant role in contributing its ideas to global governance. "It has the distinctive stamp of China, although the outcomes result from contributions of all G20 members and international institutions," Su said, adding that the summit was not a Chinese solo or duet, but rather a symphony. He said the outcomes of the G20 Summit reflect the direction of the G20 reform in serving the common interests of developed and developing countries. "The rise of the G20 comes from the failure of traditional organizations, such as the IMF and the World Bank, in handling global economic and financial crises," said Zhu Jiejin, a researcher of global governance studies at Fudan University in Shanghai. "The G20 mechanism is quite flexible, and since the world economic situation often changes, flexibility is the biggest advantage of the G20 in handling crisis," Zhu said. Analysts said the summit reflects a change of China's role in global governance from a participator to a lead reformer. "China has given the prescription that the world economies should not form small interest groups, but should use the G20 as a common governance platform to step toward a community of common destiny," said Wei Jianguo, vice-president of the China Center for International Economic Exchanges. Contact the writer at zhangyunbi@chinadaily.com.cn Xin Zhiming in Hangzhou contributed to this story. HANGZHOU, China -- US President Barack Obama and his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, discussed the Syria and Ukraine issues at a meeting here Monday on the sidelines of the 11th Group of 20 summit. The meeting, which lasted more than an hour, was "longer than planned, "Russian media quoted Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov as saying. The two leaders discussed Syria and Ukraine before moving on to a one-on-one talk, Peskov said, noting that the meeting went well. Putin said at a press conference after the meeting that he and Obama had "some alignment" of positions and an understanding of what they could do to de-escalate the situation in Syria. It can be said that Russia-US efforts in fighting terrorist organizations, including those in Syria, would be significantly improved and intensified, he added. Both countries are interested in fighting terrorism, Putin said, adding that "the US president is absolutely sincere in striving for a resolution of the Syrian conflict." Meanwhile, Obama called the meeting "constructive" but not "conclusive." "Typically the tones of our meetings are candid, blunt, business-like and this one was no different," he said at a separate press conference following the meeting. However, he said that given the gaps of trust that exist, that's a tough negotiation. "We haven't yet closed the gaps in a way where we think it would actually work," Obama said. Earlier Monday, a senior Obama administration official was quoted as saying that the two presidents failed to force a breakthrough in negotiations over a cease-fire in Syria, but have agreed to keep up negotiations. The two leaders directed their top diplomats to return to talks quickly, likely later this week, the official said. The United States and Russia have been trying to reach a deal over the Syria crisis. Obama said Sunday that the two sides still have "grave differences," but there is still possibility "to make some progress." US Secretary of State John Kerry and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, who met in this eastern Chinese city on Sunday for Syria talks, launched a fresh round of negotiations on Monday morning, but ended without agreement, US media reported. Lexus cars are characterized by the tranquility of their refined interiors and power produced by their class-leading hybrid powertrains and powerful rear-drive. [Photo provided to China Daily] With its robust sales out-pacing its competitors, Toyota Motor's luxury arm Lexus is now gearing up to write a new chapter in China, with a unique business philosophy that focuses more on quality than volume. Lexus sold 67,224 units from January to August this year, an average increase of 35.7 percent year-on-year. In August alone, Lexus China increased sales by 70 percent year-on-year, the best growth rate in the luxury market. Tetsuya Ezumi, executive vice-president of Lexus China. [Photo provided to China Daily] "We are exerting ourselves during the following months this year, to accomplish the 100,000-unit objective set for this year," said Tetsuya Ezumi, executive vice-president of Lexus China. Tetsuya said the excellent results were due to the strong product mix, with many models all featuring refined designs, and the good management of dealerships and operations. The new product lineups are designed toward a younger, progressive direction, in line with changes in the essence of the brand. "Lexus offers both tranquility and dynamism," Tetsuya said. "The balance between them is in the characteristics of the Asian auto brand, and it cannot be copied by a Western carmaker." Lexus said the tranquility lies in the refined interiors and its class-leading hybrid powertrains, featuring powerful rear-drive and high-performance hybrid technology. The dynamism comes from the Sport Marquee F model. The hybrid technology is one of Lexus' vital pillars, producing high energy savings and environmental protection, without altering customers' usage habits. Last year the carmaker took a dominant position in the country's hybrid luxury segment, with almost 80 percent of sales. Hybrid models contributed 20,991-unit sales, or 24 percent, to Lexus China's total sales volume in 2015. Lexus Full Hybrid Technology and product lineups have achieved wide recognition and popularity around the world, not only for their environmentally friendly attributes, but also for the responsibility shared between the manufacturer and customers. By July, nearly 1.05 million car owners around the world had chosen Lexus Full Hybrid models. The Lexus LC500h. Lexus is positioned as a luxury brand with an image of oriental elegance, vigor and passion. [Photo provided to China Daily] Business philosophy Lexus has met the expectations of Akio Toyoda, president and CEO of Toyota Motor Corp, in terms of both market performance and healthy operation in China, its second-largest market, Tetsuya said. He pointed out that the company follows a customer-first philosophy, and does not ofer models that do not meet Chinese customers' demands. "Lexus enjoys peerless word-of-mouth in the luxury segment," he said. "We strictly follow the motto that 'the customer comes first, the dealer second and the carmaker last'. We believe our dealers are also customers." The luxury carmaker helps its dealers make full use of resources in serving their customers instead of raising revenue by buying-in and relieving the financial pressure of car inventories. Unlike its rivals, Lexus does not sell large numbers of cars to dealers as inventories to improve its sales figures. A luxury car dealer's inventory lasts for 10 weeks on average, but Lexus dealers' inventories last for only two weeks, according to the company. The difference shows that a Lexus dealer, who sells 100 units a month, needs only 50 cars in stock, 200 fewer than other dealers. This means much less capital spent in advance, and releases much higher cash flows for better operation. "We ask dealers and investors to invest in their customers for higher satisfaction rather than paying the interest generated from loans taken to buy in car stock," Tetsuya said. "I'm against overselling to dealers. "Our target is to secure profits for dealers, even with Lexus' newly adopted mode of small scale dealerships." Tetsuya's individual performance is assessed with dealers' revenue as the most critical factor, not wholesale figures. Lexus' dealership network expanded to 161 by August, and is expected to reach 165 by the end of the year. Refreshed brand Lexus has emerged as a luxury brand with an image of oriental elegance, vigor and passion. Lexus is about to roll out a refreshed brand strategy in 2017, in which it will lead the world through a unique operational principle and a highly attractive product lineup, Tetsuya said. "The Lexus brand will enter a completely new chapter next year, not only in China but also in the rest of the world, with its designs undergoing tremendous changes. "As a luxury brand from the East, Lexus has unique charm and appeal, and the essence of the brand is balance." Dancers perform Butterfly Lovers on West Lake on Sunday night.[Photo/Xinhua] State leaders and their spouses in Hangzhou for the G20 Summit enjoyed a feast for the eyes on Sunday night with a gala on the city's much-storied West Lake. The 45-minute visual extravaganza, Most Memorable Is Hangzhou, a title taken from a poem by Bai Juyi (772-846), highlighted the city's rich cultural legacy as well as incorporated international elements that subtly reflect the state of today's globalization. The evening was billed as a symphony concert, using a musical idiom that director Zhang Yimou chose for its broadly international resonance. Traditional Chinese instruments wove in with the sounds of a standard orchestra in an East-meets-West marriage suggestive of exchanges in other areas. Dancers performed in the beautifully lit background in what looked like shallow water, and solo performances were on a floating platform. In such a setting, segments from the famous Russian ballet Swan Lake, which received instant applause when the first dancer appeared, gained a heightened realism thanks to ingenious lighting and projection. Clair de Lune never achieved a more shimmering effect than Sunday night as the reflections in the water brought out visual parallels with the Claude Debussy music. The classic Chinese piece, High Mountains and Flowing Waters, is much more about natural scenery. It was a metaphor for ancient Chinese literati to denote friendship, and its inclusion in the program is obviously a hint at the partnerships being formed by events like this summit. The opening numbers, however, were rooted in local narratives. Spring River in the Flower Moon Night originated from a Tang Dynasty (618-907) poem, which has evolved into a staple in music and dance. Picking Tea Leaves is a folk song and the tale of Butterfly Lovers, was partly set in Hangzhou. This story alone could have run the whole evening in various art forms. Filmmaker Zhang is the mastermind of many renowned stage spectacles, including the opening ceremony of the 2008 Beijing Olympics. The West Lake show had a subdued grace by his standards, reaching its climax with Beethoven's Ode to Joy, with dancers seeming to splash up waterspouts and finally fireworks. Parents read posters strung up on a line between two light poles next to the main entrance of the Wansong Shuyuan in Hangzhou. [Photo by Xing Yi/China Daily] Sitting on a small hill southwest of West Lake is Wansong Shuyuan, or Academy of Ten Thousand Conifers. It's just one of many tourist sites in Hangzhou, but for local residents, especially parents who are eager to see their marriageable children find their "other half", it is the place to go. "Bride wanted. Single male, born in 1980, height 172cm, good-looking, master from top university, civil servant in provincial government, fine-decorated apartment mortgage paid, parents alive, affluent family." So reads an advertisement in Chinese, posted on a light pole next to the main entrance of the academy. On both sides of the road, similar ads are hung, clipped, posted almost everywhere. Sidewalks are jammed with people reading the ads, taking notes and chatting with each other. A curious visitor like me who tries to read these ads should be prepared for a question from complete strangers: "So, are you looking for a mate?" Welcome to the city's Saturday marriage market, where hundreds of parents look for their ideal sonor daughter-in-law in front of the former higher-education institute between 9 am and noon. It's all thanks to the legend of Liang Shanbo and Zhu Yingtai. Liang and Zhu are household names in China because of their tragic love story. Also known as the butterfly lovers, they are widely compared with Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet. The legend traces back to the Eastern Jin Dynasty (AD 317-420). Women then were not encouraged to attend school, but Zhu, a beautiful and smart young woman of a wealthy family, persuaded her parents to let her study disguised as a man. On Zhu's journey to school, she encountered Liang, who was going to the same school in Hangzhou. In the next three years, they lived and studied together, during which Zhu fell in love with Liang, but Liang failed to discover that she was a woman. Although Wansong Shuyuan was built during the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644)around a thousand years later than the legend's time framepeople still believe that this is the school Liang and Zhu attended together. "Many tourists ask me: Where is the classroom Liang and Zhu studied in?" says He Jie, guide at Wansong Shuyuan. "We now downplay the legend part and focus on the culture and history of Chinese academies instead." However, parents assembled here don't seem to care too much about whether the legend is historically solid, as long as they have a place to find potential partners for their children and a social outlet for their worries. Du Xiguan, 67, started the whole thing in 2005 when he became worried about his daughter's marriage prospects. "Young people are all busy working, and have little time to find a date," says Du. "I put an ad on the local newspaper to organize a meeting of parents who have a similar situation." Du chose Wansong Shuyuan as the meeting place, "because everyone knows this is the place where Liang and Zhu's love story started," he says. At first, Du expected a few dozen people to come, but some 300 people turned out that day. They shared information about their children, and when they deemed someone to be suitable, they noted down the contacts. Around lunch time, people agreed that they would come again on the next Saturday morning. As time passed, more and more people got to know about this meeting place through word-of-mouth, and parents have gathered here almost every week in the past 11 years, rain or shine. "It's difficult to find an ideal partner nowadays," says a retired local resident, who would only give his surname, Yu. "People are setting too high a standard, but the reality is there is no perfect one." The most wanted husband is "a local Hangzhou resident, with an apartment for marriage and a stable job," says Yu, while for the most wanted wife is "largely depending on her appearance." "People should learn to be more reasonable," says Yu. "What I suggest is that people should pay more attention to personalities and characters." "My daughter eventually found a husband among people I introduced to her, and my grandson is already 9 years old," says Du, who still comes to the weekly event. He runs a non-profit organization that provides services from matchmaking to marriage counseling. "Now the divorce rate of Hangzhou rises every year, and that's also a serious problem," says Du. President Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin arrive for the G20 Summit in Hangzhou, Zhejiang province, on Sunday. [Photo/Agencies] China and Russia should firmly support each other's efforts to safeguard sovereignty, security and development interests, President Xi Jinping said on Sunday. Xi made the remarks in a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin on the sidelines of the G20 Summit in Hangzhou. The two countries should push forward practical cooperation in areas such as infrastructure construction, energy, aviation, aerospace and high-technology, Xi said, adding that bilateral military exchanges and security cooperation should also be strengthened. China and Russia should strengthen coordination in international and regional affairs to safeguard justice and promote world peace, he said. Xi also called for the alignment of China's Belt and Road Initiative with the Russia-led Eurasian Economic Union. A successful G20 Summit could meet the demands of a developing global economy and is in the common interest of all members, including China and Russia, Xi said. During Putin's state visit to China in June, the two nations issued three joint declarations and signed some 30 cooperative agreements. Such collaboration reflects the shared stance of China and Russia on key international and regional issues, with both sides making similar comments on safeguarding global strategic security and world peace, Xi said. Putin said Russia would like to join with China to share political trust and their people's friendship to stimulate economic cooperation. The two countries should enhance cooperation in trade, investment, finance, energy, science and technology, to bring real benefits to people on both sides, he added. He voiced support for the G20 Summit theme and agenda set by China and said he hoped the summit will be a success. This year marks the 20th anniversary of the countries' establishing a strategic partnership of coordination, as well as the 15th anniversary of the signing of the China-Russia Treaty of Good Neighborly Friendship and Cooperation. Contact between the top leaders of China and Russia has been frequent in recent years, sometimes five or six meetings a year, which reflects the strategic importance of bilateral ties, said Jin Yong, deputy head of the School of Foreign Studies at Communication University of China. Chen Yurong, director of Eurasian studies at the China Institute of International Studies, added that cooperation in infrastructure and energy industries are at the top of the agenda for China-Russia exchanges. "Beijing is pushing forward the Belt and Road Initiative, aimed at improving connectivity in Eurasia, while Moscow needs support to counter declining oil prices," she said. Bruce Lee Club in Hong Kong founded by fans of the legendary kung fu star will close on Sept 4 after 15 years of operation due to rising rent in one of the world's most expensive property markets. This mini-museum and souvenir shop in Kowloon has action figures, toys, movies and memorabilia related to the martial arts icon. It will hold an auction of its collection on Sept. 3 including a rare porcelain figure of Bruce Lee with an estimated market value of $HK100,000 ($12,900). Income from the auction will be used to cover expenses and redundancy pay. The club said it aimed to "bring members from around the world together to express and exchange their feelings about Bruce Lee and to promote martial arts, philosophy and arts movies." The shop had already cut its space by half to reduce costs, but was still unable to cover the rising rent. Chairman W Wong said the shop that was in operation for 15 years was more like a venue for fans to meet rather than a profit-making business. A student works on an electric motor at the Shanxi Yongji Advanced Technician School, which has trained 12,000 skilled technicians since it was established in 1974.[Photo by Liu Baocheng/For China Daily] Many workers lack expertise required by key industries, says govt minister All G20 members face the challenge of employing lower-skilled workers in a difficult economic environment, but China has taken positive steps to tackle the problem, according to a senior official. At the 2016 G20 Labor and Employment Ministerial Meeting held in July, Yin Weimin, minister of human resources and social security, explained that China's problems are twofold: an estimated 15 million new job seekers will enter the labor market every year between now and 2020, and many workers lack the skills required by the industries that are at the heart of the country's development plans. He described fresh college graduates and workers lacking the necessary skills as the country's "most pressing issue", which was also the "main focus" of the meeting. According to the World Economic Forum's Human Capital Report 2016, approximately 25,000 new workers will enter the labor market in developing countries every day between now and 2020, while more than 200 million people globally are unemployed. Yet at the same time, there is expected to be a world shortage of some 50 million highly skilled applicants over the coming decade. To make sure there are enough skilled workers to match the available job vacancies, China has focused on maintaining a large number of labor-intensive industries during its economic transformation and upgrades, while at the same time promoting the service industry, Yin said. "We are also promoting small - and medium-sized enterprises, which form the largest platform to offer employment," he said. "Such companies could absorb more than 80 percent of job seekers." The Chinese government has also launched training projects and an entrepreneurship consulting service to help those facing difficulties finding work, Yin added. "Through education, we hope that those in difficulty can rely on themselves to change their situation," he said. "We have encouraged many people to start their own business by providing training, consultation and financing guarantees. Their startup projects could also provide more job opportunities." Li Shanxiang, deputy head of human resources at Linyi Mining Group in Shandong province, said the company had signed a contract with Shandong Coal Technician College, to train 100 medium-skilled workers over the next two years. This is part of China's apprentice program to foster job skills around the country. "We are very keen to cultivate our workers into highly-skilled ones. The new apprenticeship model provides one teacher for three to five apprentices and special training for them," Li said. One building of the naked Stables, a rural home inn, in Mount Mogan in Deqing county, Zhejiang province. [Photo/chinadaily.com.cn] Yangjiale has grown in popularity among locals and foreigners, in particular for the naturally beautiful Mount Mogan, a famous summer resort boasting a cool and refreshing climate in East China's Zhejiang province. According to Yang Liping, director of the Deqing county tourism committee, yangjiale is also known as nongjiale, which means "happy farmhouse". Yangjiale can be translated to "happy farmhouse operated by foreigners. Yang means foreigner, while nong means farmer. Yang said foreigners started to invest in nongjiale by renting farming houses in Mount Mogan about one decade ago, and they later rented land to build exotic houses there after found the business was very successful. Foreign investors from more than 10 countries have invested in yangjiale to form a large resort area taking up hundreds of hectares, said Yang. Along with home investors-operated nongjiale, there are more than 100 rural home inns. The rural home inns attracted both domestic and foreign customers, and last year, more than 90,000 foreigners visited the rural home inns, said Yang. South African Grant Horsefield. [Photo/chinadaily.com.cn] South African Grant Horsefield invested 300 million yuan ($44.9 million) in yangjiale, called naked Stables, in Mount Mogan since 2009. He said some thought he was crazy at the time, but he was proved right. Tourism is a great industry with high growth rate every year now, he said, citing a Chinese tourism official told him that the industry grew more than 10 percent while other industries grew slower amid the economic slowdown. Marco Militzer, general manager of the naked Stables, said his company targeted the urban residents having lots of stress and lots of pressure and they sometimes went out to have a relax in getting close to nature. Mount Mogan is a perfect place because of its climate and distance to big cities such as Shanghai, Militzer said. In the early 20th century, many foreigners, bankers and dignitaries have already built many villas for summer resorts in Mount Mogan, and many villas are for rent now. Chinese patients suffering from serious diseases are to have easier access to quality medical services provided online by some of the United States's top hospitals. WorldCare International, a leading second medical opinion service in the US, will provide its services to Chinese clients via a network that includes Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston Children's Hospital, Duke Hospital and Mayo Clinic, Hassan Sharif, chief medical officer of WorldCare, said during the 6th US-China Health Summit that concluded in Xi'an, Shaanxi province, on Sunday. "We will introduce the US's top medical expertise to China, and help Chinese hospitals with their management," Steven Wu, a doctor at Massachusetts General Hospital and chief medical officer of WorldCare China, said after an agreement was made between the company and China's Sunshine Insurance Group. "Patients will be able to receive expertise from physicians from some of the best hospitals in the US via the internet, instead of having to go to the US," Wu said. "However, we can also arrange for them to come to the US for surgery, if necessary." Major clients of WorldCare China's second medical opinion services will be those with serious or critical diseases, such as cancer, Sharif said. Internet-based medical care services have developed rapidly in China in recent years, using various platforms that link doctors and patients via the internet. These companies usually only offer simple medical services, such as helping patients to register at hospitals or providing medical advice to patients with minor or chronic diseases. Admirers and manufacturers of porcelain and ceramics will gather next month in Jingdezhen, Jiangxi province, as the city holds the China Jingdezhen International Ceramic Expo from Oct 18 to 22. As the 13th edition of the event, this year's expo will feature 2,000 booths from more than 900 exhibitors. The expo will also include more activities, including a Northern Europe art festival, a ceramics skill competition and an auction sale in which pieces will eventually go on display nationwide. "We have plenty of art for the collectors and plenty of chances for the exhibitors," said Mei Yi, mayor of Jingdezhen city. "This is a major platform to facilitate the communication between Jingdezhen and the world." Jingdezhen, widely known as the porcelain capital of China, has a history of ceramics production that stretches back more than 1,000 years. The name "Jingdezhen" itself is said to be based on the name of the 11th century era,"Jingde", inspired by Zhenzong Emperor of the Song Dynasty. In A.D.1004 the emperor decided to grant the name of his era to the town to show his appreciation for the porcelain made there. The first edition of the expo served as the millenary celebration of this honor. Immediately after the Group of 20 (G20) Hangzhou summit on Sept 4-5, Premier Li Keqiang will visit Laos from Sept 6 to 9 to attend the 11th East Asia Summit and pay an official visit to the country. Li's visit is widely considered an important diplomatic action to deepen China-ASEAN relations, and promote cooperation among East Asian countries. ASEAN cooperation This year marks the 25th anniversary of the establishment of dialogue relations between China and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), and developing ties with ASEAN is a priority of China's peripheral diplomacy. Over the past 25 years, the political, commercial, social and cultural cooperation between China and ASEAN nations has all yielded significant achievements. Now bilateral cooperation has entered into a "period of maturity" and needs to be upgraded. To echo the need, Li will attend the 19th China-ASEAN (10+1) leaders' meeting to plan future development of relations between the two parties on the basis of successes already achieved. Currently, the global economy is still trapped in the quagmire of weak recovery. How to promote economic growth and seek development are major challenges of Southeast Asian countries, yet they also provide opportunities and impetus for China-ASEAN pragmatic cooperation. As ASEAN's most active partner, China has always been offering wisdom and strength for the development of ASEAN nations. In 2013, Chinese President Xi Jinping proposed construction of the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road with ASEAN countries and establish a closer China-ASEAN community of common destiny. In the same year, Premier Li initiated the 2+7 cooperation framework while attending the 16th China-ASEAN leaders' meeting in Brunei, and outlined together with other ASEAN leaders the roadmap of the "diamond decade." Wei Ling, director of the Institute of Asian Studies at China Foreign Affairs University, said Southeast Asian nations are very much concerned on how China would support the ASEAN common community building in the future, especially within the framework of the Silk Road Economic Belt and the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road Initiative, also known as the Belt-Road Initiative. China's Vice Foreign Minister Liu Zhenmin mentioned that besides political mutual trust and pragmatic cooperation, China and ASEAN would also build people-to-people exchanges as the third pillar of bilateral relations, which would also serve as a new impetus to bilateral cooperation. New vitality One of the shadows against the upcoming East Asia summit is the recent South China Sea Arbitration farce. In recent years, as the East Asia cooperation and integration process have been hampered by some outside forces, the regional situation has become complicated. Ruan Zongze, executive deputy president of the China Institute of International Studies, said that most of the countries concerned want to cool down the South China Sea issue. Wei said many ASEAN countries have expressed the hope that the East Asia cooperation should refocus on economy and development. The Chinese premier will also attend the 19th ASEAN-China, Japan and Republic of Korea (10+3) leaders' meeting, the main mechanism for building the East Asia economic community and promoting cooperation in various fields. Although there have been twists and turns in the development of relations between China, Japan and South Korea, the 10+3 mechanism has led to the achievement of a series of fruitful results in finance, food security and other areas this year. According to Liu, Li will urge all parties at the meeting to enhance cooperation in areas such as financial security, trade and investment, agriculture and poverty alleviation, inter-connectivity and capacity building. As for the East Asia Summit, Liu said the premier will introduce China's views on the summit's future development as "a strategic forum guided by leaders," and adherence to principles such as leadership by ASEAN, consensus on the basis of consultation, accommodation of the feelings of all sides, and driving by the "two wheels" of economic development and political security. Wei suggested that the East Asia Summit emphasize pragmatic cooperation and regional inter-connectivity, and return to the path of joint cooperation to tackle challenges such as terrorism. China-Laos ties Premier Li will also pay an official visit to Laos, the first during his term. The visit will surely propel bilateral friendly cooperation to move forward, and promote development of China-Laos comprehensive strategic cooperative partnership. Since the two countries established diplomatic relations 55 years ago, China and Laos have been trusting each other politically, and cooperated fruitfully in trade and infrastructure construction, bringing real benefits to both peoples. Located at a unique geographical position, Laos is China's important partner in building the Silk Road Economic Zone and the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road. The two countries signed a treaty last year on joint construction of the China-Laos railway linking Vientiane to the China-Laos border area in the north and Thailand in the south, which is progressing well. The Lao government also expects to develop the country's infrastructure construction with the help of China's Belt-Road Initiative, and invite Chinese companies to participate in the exploration of Laos' rich hydropower resources. Chinese President Xi Jinping (C) talks with local villagers and cadres at Shibadong Village in Paibi Township of Huayuan County in the Tujia-Miao autonomous prefecture of Xiangxi, central China's Hunan Province, November 3, 2013.[Photo/Xinhua] Fancy a free Kindle? Take this Long March quiz. When I walked into the Hunan villages with more than 50 fellow reporters, all wearing the same white T-shirts and carrying cameras, I was greeted with curious yet smiling faces from local people everywhere. This made me wonder whether the Red Army soldiers were given the same kindness and hospitality here 80 years ago when they suffered from extreme hunger and tiredness. The answer is yes. In Tongdao Dong autonomous county, villager Yang Zhengyi, who is around 70 years old, told us that his father used to be the guide for the Red Army. In 1934, a meeting in the county, close to the border between Hunan and Guizhou province, was convened to discuss the direction of the Red Army. During the meeting, Mao Zedong suggested the Red Army should change direction towards Guizhou, where the enemy defenses were expected to be weak, instead of marching further into Hunan. "My father guided and walked with them for three days and three nights until they reached Guizhou," said Yang, adding that his father was in his twenties back then. In Hunan, the route of the Long March covers hometowns of many ethnic minorities. Most of the people stick to their own language and don't understand mandarin even today. In Shibadong, a small village hiding in the deep mountains in the Xiangxi Tujia-Miao autonomous prefecture, 76-year-old Long Decheng held my hands and asked me where I am from. That is probably the only mandarin she has known her whole life. We had to communicate through a translator who can speak both Miao dialect and mandarin. During the Long March, chased and encircled by the Kuomintang (KMT), the Red Army marched through 14 provinces which are home to over 10 ethnic groups, encountering dramatically different natural and cultural environments. How could the Red Army communicate with local people and win their support? The key is the so-called "mass line", which was conducted wherever the army reached and proved effective. Inside the army, soldiers were strictly disciplined to never take any advantage of the people. They were forbidden from entering local people's houses and taking food or other property without paying. On the other hand, the Red Army built "flesh-and-blood" ties with the people during the Long March. The Red Army set up a specialized organization to deal with minority ethnic groups with tailored policies. The army upheld religious freedom and respected their customs. They also helped ethnic minorities to establish their own government and army. The heartfelt and selfish giving of the Red Army was rewarded with enormous kindness from local people, who had contributed both man power and material resources to the success of the Long March. Some of them even sacrificed their lives for the great cause. Their contribution will never be forgotten by the Party and the people. In 2013, President Xi Jinping visited the Shibadong village and for the first time put forward the concept of "targeted poverty alleviation", which has greatly improved the life of Long Decheng and her family. "Our Party comes from the people, is rooted in the people, and serves the people. Without popular support, none of the Party's achievements or aspirations would be possible," President Xi once said. "Under no circumstances will we ever forsake our commitment to sharing weal and woe with the people. We will never forgo the historical materialist view point which regards the people as the true heroes." Xi also said that as has been the case throughout the Party's history, its close ties with the people are the embodiment of its nature and purpose, the hallmark that distinguishes the CPC from other political parties, and an important factor enabling the CPC to grow strong. The fate of the Party's undertakings relies on whether it can maintain its ties with the people. Therefore, as we celebrate the victory of the Long March today, we should never forget those ordinary people from various ethnic groups, who may not even understand our language yet still remember the history vividly. It's the Party's responsibility to lift more people out of poverty and provide a better life for everyone, which is the goal of the new Long March. Fancy a free Kindle? Take this Long March quiz. The relationship between China and South Africa has never been stronger, and its strategic importance to both sides has been demonstrated by an unprecedented level of mutual political trust, increasingly close international coordination, fruitful pragmatic cooperation and wide-ranging cultural and people-to-people exchanges. Sino-South African trade and economic cooperation has led to a greater convergence of interests, which also reflects the comprehensive strategic partnership between the two countries. Sino-South African trade and economic cooperation has gained significant momentum in recent years. Last year, bilateral trade reached $46 billion, and China has been South Africa's largest trading partner for seven consecutive years, as well as its biggest export market and principal source of imports. Meanwhile, South Africa has been China's largest trading partner in Africa for six consecutive years. South Africa is the preferred destination in Africa for Chinese investors, and there are around 140 large-scale and medium-sized Chinese enterprises in the country with cumulative investments of $13 billion. Projects invested by Chinese companies such as the home appliances industrial parks and cargo vehicle factories have created more than 20,000 job opportunities. South Africa is, in turn, highly committed to engaging economically with China. Headquartered in Cape Town, Naspers Media Group has, as the largest shareholder of Tencent Group benefited immensely from the fast development of the Chinese technology company. In addition, the human resource development cooperation between China and South Africa has been rapidly enhanced in recent times. China now provides hundreds of training opportunities annually to South Africans in a wide range of areas including the arts, technology and business and management. Perhaps the most remarkable example of Sino-African cooperation came when Chinese President Xi Jinping paid a State visit to South Africa in December 2015 and co-chaired with President Jacob Zuma the Johannesburg Summit of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC). The event marked a historic moment in Sino-South African relations and even Sino-African relations. The "Ten Cooperation Plans", which aim to foster closer links between China and Africa, cover the areas of industrialization, agricultural modernization, infrastructure, financial services, green development, trade and investment facilitation, poverty reduction and public welfare, public health, people-to-people exchanges, and peace and security. The package, which was declared at the summit, clearly demonstrates the depth of the new cooperative relationship between China and Africa as a whole, and it will undoubtedly take trade and economic partnerships to new heights. Following the summit, all parties have worked hard to ensure that the lofty aims of the plans are met, as well as to fully implement the "China-South Africa Five-to-Ten-Year Strategic Programme for Cooperation". South Africa has one of the strongest economies in Africa, and this means the country is the perfect gateway to the continent for Chinese companies and investors looking for trade and cooperation opportunities. The Chinese economy will, so long as it allowed to develop in a sustainable manner, help to facilitate sustainable and independent development in South Africa and beyond. Although the world economy still faces many uncertainties, both China and South Africa have come to a crucial stage of their economic transformation and structural adjustment. South Africa is working towards meeting the goals set out by its National Development Plan. To this end it is formulating a series of action plans on industrialization, building special economic zones and industrial parks, and placing greater emphasis on key areas such as energy, infrastructure construction and the ocean economy. Meanwhile, China is comprehensively promoting supply-side structural reforms and industrial restructuring, as well as international capacity cooperation. The successful implementation of these strategies will better position the country to conduct win-win cooperation with African countries. China has also accumulated rich experience through its long process of reform and opening-up, which can provide a valuable frame of reference for South Africa and other African countries. Despite the current economic travails, the fundamental principle of win-win cooperation and common development between China and Africa will remain unchanged. With the profound shift in the global economic landscape and the adjustment of the international economic order, China is enhancing coordination and cooperation with South Africa in important international mechanisms and major international issues. China, as the world's largest developing country, together with South Africa, the sole African country in the G20, will work to both protect the interests of developing countries and ensure the international governance system works in a fair and equitable manner. The two sides are also ready to work with the other G20 members to build an innovative, invigorated, interconnected and inclusive world economy. The author is the economic and commercial counsellor of the Chinese Embassy to South Africa. (China Daily 09/05/2016 page31) Dancers perform Butterfly Lovers on West Lake on Sunday night. [Photo/Xinhua] State leaders and their spouses in Hangzhou for the G20 Summit enjoyed a feast for the eyes on Sunday night with a gala on the city's much-storied West Lake. The 45-minute visual extravaganza, Most Memorable Is Hangzhou, a title taken from a poem by Bai Juyi (772-846), highlighted the city's rich cultural legacy as well as incorporated international elements that subtly reflect the state of today's globalization. The evening was billed as a symphony concert, using a musical idiom that director Zhang Yimou chose for its broadly international resonance. Traditional Chinese instruments wove in with the sounds of a standard orchestra in an East-meets-West marriage suggestive of exchanges in other areas. Dancers performed in the beautifully lit background in what looked like shallow water, and solo performances were on a floating platform. In such a setting, segments from the famous Russian ballet Swan Lake , which received instant applause when the first dancer appeared, gained a heightened realism thanks to ingenious lighting and projection. Ballerinas perform for G20 leaders in Hangzhou on Sunday. [Photo/Xinhua] Clair de Lune never achieved a more shimmering effect than Sunday night as the reflections in the water brought out visual parallels with the Claude Debussy music. The classic Chinese piece, High Mountains and Flowing Waters, is much more about natural scenery. It was a metaphor for ancient Chinese literati to denote friendship, and its inclusion in the program is obviously a hint at the partnerships being formed by events like this summit. The opening numbers, however, were rooted in local narratives. Spring River in the Flower Moon Night originated from a Tang Dynasty (618-907) poem, which has evolved into a staple in music and dance. Picking Tea Leaves is a folk song and the tale of Butterfly Lovers, was partly set in Hangzhou. This story alone could have run the whole evening in various art forms. Filmmaker Zhang is the mastermind of many renowned stage spectacles, including the opening ceremony of the 2008 Beijing Olympics. The West Lake show had a subdued grace by his standards, reaching its climax with Beethoven's Ode to Joy, with dancers seeming to splash up waterspouts and finally fireworks. Related: G20 tableware inspired by West Lake landscape In the old days there were many workshops and manufacturers in Hangzhou and its vicinity that specialized in making umbrellas. [Photo by Raymond Zhou/China Daily] A recent visit to the China Fans Museum and the China Umbrellas Museum ignited a spark in me about the nature of these two traditional hand-held items. Fans are to keep one cool and umbrellas to prevent one from getting wet. But parasols usually provide shelter from the sun rather than the rain. Ancient Chinese scroll paintings too depict fans as being used for the same purpose. In my hometown, less than an hour's drive from Hangzhou, the words for fan and umbrella are similar. The two museums, situated in Hangzhou's Grand Canal Plaza, are home to a treasure-trove of history and tidbits about the two items that many take for granted. I learned at the museum that foldable fans came from Japanthough this is disputed by some scholarswhile the flat fan went the other way. As for the collapsible umbrella, the earliest references are from AD 21 when Wang Mang, a Western Han Dynasty (206 BC-AD 24) official who seized the throne, had one designed for a ceremonial four-wheeled carriage. But one need not visit a museum to know that fans and umbrellas are much more than functional items. During the Southern Song Dynasty (1127-1279), when Hangzhou was the nation's capital, fans were a popular gift item among the literati, who would inscribe lines of verses on themvery much like modern-day poets who share limericks on social media. One of Bao Zhiqiang's zisha works. [Photo provided to China Daily] Since the early 16th century, folk artists in Yixing, East China's Jiangsu province, have been perfecting and passing down their pottery-making techniques. They use locally produced zisha soil to craft refined teapots that feature a smooth texture, rich colors and graceful patterns, which are popular among tea drinkers and collectors at home and abroad. Bao Zhiqiang, a contemporary artist of zisha pottery-making from Yixing, donated two of his creations to the National Art Museum of China. An exhibition of his 80 works are also on show at the museum including teapots, vases and brush containers. It ends on Sept 11. Wu Weishan, the director of NAMOC, says Bao's zisha works reveal his cultural attainment and modesty as an inheritor of Chinese handicraft traditions and also a learned person. He adds that Bao's donation has enriched the museum's collection of intangible cultural heritage. Despite warm relations between Moscow and Beijing, Vladimir Putin brought a chilly gift for his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping as they met on the sidelines of the G20 Summit Sunday: a tub of ice cream. Putin did not divulge the flavor of the frozen gift as he was welcomed by Xi at a government guesthouse in Hangzhou. "I promised to bring it for you. And I've brought you a whole package of ice cream," Putin said. Xi thanked the Russian president for his "kindness", before adding that he'd developed a taste for Russian ice cream on his many official visits to Moscow. "Every time that I come to Russia, I ask them to buy me Russian ice cream. And after, we eat the ice cream at home," said Xi, according to comments provided by the Russian delegation. "The fresh cream you have is the best. That's why your ice cream is particularly delicious. I like it a lot," he added. The two leaders met on the sidelines of the G20 Summit and in more traditional diplomatic language pledged "enhanced cooperation", according to Xi. Related: G20 tableware inspired by West Lake landscape Zika Zika everywhere: Another tale of two cities Updated: 2016-09-05 08:31 By Dominic Lam Man-kit(HK Edition) On Aug 25, the government confirmed the city's first case of imported Zika virus infection. Coincidentally, two days later, Singapore also reported its first case of locally transmitted Zika infection. Importantly, the number of cases in Singapore had escalated to 215 by Saturday. There are many fascinating aspects about the Zika virus. First, although the virus was discovered at the Zika Forest of Uganda in 1947, the short span between the Hong Kong and Singapore outbreaks is truly remarkable, perhaps signifying the rapid penetration of such infections in this region. The sudden increase of local Zika infections in Singapore also suggests that many more cases are likely to follow. In fact, World Health Organization (WHO) has just listed Singapore on the list of Zika affected countries. This alarming phenomenon should serve as an urgent wake-up call for the Hong Kong government to do everything possible to prevent such similar proliferation in our neighborhoods. In addition to threatening the public health of Hong Kong people, a similar warning of Zika infection issued by WHO would be a disaster to the already declining tourist and retail industries in Hong Kong. Second, the world has paid so much attention to the Zika crisis even though as an infectious disease it is actually pretty mild and insignificant since in most cases this infection is either asymptomatic or only causes slight discomfort, such as low fever, red rashes, conjunctivitis (red eye), etc, that usually disappear in days even without treatment. However, when a pregnant woman is infected by this virus, her baby might suffer microcephaly (small brain formation), several brain malformations and other birth defects that will almost certainly become a major burden and agony throughout the child and its parents' lives. This is what makes the Zika infection so dangerous and dreaded! However, like many things in life, there might be a silver lining even amid Zika's very dark clouds. For instance, this virus might some day be a useful tool for deciphering certain mysterious mechanisms during brain development, thereby perhaps enhancing our understanding of the calligraphy of the brain originally discovered by Nobelists Torten Wiesel and David Hubel, as well as the basis of such precious human features as creativity and compassion. Also, Zika or its related products might even be used to develop novel diagnostics and therapeutics, just as in the case of many other toxins. In this regard, research on the possible prevention of Zika infection has already begun. In fact, scientists in the US are already attempting to produce genetically engineered Zika-bearing strains of mosquitoes whose progenies will die prematurely, thereby hopefully reducing the number of the Zika-carrying insects. Finally, no preventive or therapeutic agents are currently available for Zika infection, although many institutions are attempting to develop traditional injectable vaccines against the disease. As with many global public health issues, proper and massive vaccinations remain a most effective way to prevent many infectious diseases in animals and man alike. However, the production, storage and application of injectable vaccines might be prohibitively expensive or inconvenient to administer, especially for most developing nations. In this regard, governments and institutions such as the WHO, Institut Pasteur, Gates Foundation, etc, might want to consider seriously the development of edible vaccines as a novel application to combat these diseases. Such a cost-effective and convenient approach, though still in the developmental stage, is well worth pursuing since it might ultimately be an efficacious method not only against Zika, but also against many other human and animal infectious diseases as well. (HK Edition 09/05/2016 page11) [Photo/Chinanews.com] A group of Chinese ophthalmologists launched an over-two-year project on Sunday to help treat 1,000 patients with cataracts in Cambodia, officials said. The eye doctors from China's Hainan province began their operations at the Kampong Cham Provincial Referral Hospital in southeastern Cambodia before moving to other provinces in the kingdom from September 2016 to December 2018. During the period, five teams of ophthalmologists will travel to Cambodia to perform cataract surgeries for Cambodian patients. Tan Qingsheng, charge d'affairs of the Chinese embassy in Cambodia, said the Chinese doctors would provide free-of-charge treatment to 1,000 cataract patients throughout Cambodia. "China attaches great importance to the development of Cambodia's health sector, particularly helping to improve the health of poor people," he said during the launching ceremony of the project. "I'm confident that Cambodian patients with cataract will definitely get benefit from this project." He expressed his belief that this humanitarian mission would contribute further to enhancing people-to-people relations between China and Cambodia. Cambodian Deputy Prime Minister Yim Chhay Ly said the government strongly supported the project, saying it would greatly help improve eye health for Cambodians. "This is a new testament to longstanding relations and good cooperation between our two countries and peoples," he said, expressing profound thanks to the government and people of China for help improving the well-being of Cambodian people. Despite all the hand-wringing over China's slower economic growth, the Chinese economy remains the single largest contributor to world GDP growth. For a global economy limping along at stall speedand most likely unable to withstand a significant shock without toppling into renewed recessionthat contribution is all the more important. A few numbers bear this out. If Chinese GDP growth reaches 6.7 percent in 2016in line with the government's official target and only slightly above the International Monetary Fund's latest prediction of 6.6 percentChina would account for 1.2 percentage points of world GDP growth. With the IMF currently expecting only 3.1 percent global growth this year, China would contribute nearly 39 percent of the total. That share dwarfs the contribution of other major economies. For example, while the United States is widely praised for a solid recovery, its GDP is expected to grow by just 2.2 percent in 2016enough to contribute just 0.3 percentage points to overall world GDP growth, or only about one-fourth of the contribution made by China. The European economy is expected to add a mere 0.2 percentage points to world growth, and Japan not even 0.1 percentage points. China's contribution to global growth is, in fact, 50 percent larger than the combined contribution of 0.8 percentage points likely to be made by all of the advanced economies. Moreover, no developing economy comes close to China's contribution to global growth. India's GDP is expected to grow by 7.4 percent this year, or 0.8 percentage points faster than China. But the Chinese economy accounts for fully 18 percent of world output (measured on the basis of purchasing power parity)more than double India's 7.6 percent share. That means India's contribution to global GDP growth is likely to be just 0.6 percentage points this yearonly half the boost of 1.2 percentage points expected from China. More broadly, China is expected to account for fully 73 percent of the total growth of the BRICS grouping of large developing economies. The gains in India of 7.4 percent and South Africa 0.1 percent are offset by ongoing recessions in Russia, minus 1.2 percent and Brazil, minus 3.3 percent. Excluding China, BRICS GDP growth is expected to be 3.2 percent in 2016. So, no matter how you slice it, China remains the world's major growth engine. Yes, the Chinese economy has slowed significantly from the 10 percent average annual growth recorded during the 1980-2011 period. But even after transitioning to the slower growth of what the Chinese leadership has dubbed the new normal, global economic growth remains heavily dependent on China. There are three key implications of a persistent China-centric global growth dynamic. First, and most obvious, continued deceleration of Chinese growth would have a much greater impact on an otherwise weak global economy than would be the case if the world were growing at something closer to its longer-term trend of 3.6 percent. Excluding China, world GDP growth would be about 1.9 percent in 2016below the 2.5 percent threshold commonly associated with global recessions. Leaders pose for pictures during the G20 Leaders Summit at the Hangzhou International Expo Center in Hangzhou, East China's Zhejiang province, on Sunday. WU ZHIYI/CHINA DAILY Globalization was hailed as being the path toward greater shared prosperity. Things, however, started to change at the turn of this century, and the trend of anti-globalization has been gaining momentum. There has been a growing wave of anti-globalization, anti-elitism, anti-establishment and the reemergence of populist politics in many countries. Brexit was a blunt rejection of Europe by those in Britain who complained about the influx of foreigners and the lack of jobs. A similar story can be seen across the Atlantic with the rise of US Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump, who has clearly won the support of those who complain about job losses, the influx of foreigners and the country's waning competitiveness. And most of the world's major economies, notably advanced ones, are resorting to protectionist measures as the global economic slowdown bites harder. The WTO Doha round of negotiations has long been at an impasse. Both presidential candidates in the United States are promising what would be tantamount to a US exit from the global trading system. There are a number of underlying causes for the anti-globalization movement: insufficient macroeconomic policy coordination among countries has left the existing international economic and financial governance system inefficient and ineffective; the sluggish global economic recovery and slow growth are undermining the case for open markets that globalization rests on; social endeavors, including poverty reduction, and better human rights and labor standards, lag behind across the world. Moreover, the benefits of globalization remain highly concentrated in a few countries and among the upper echelon of society. At the same time, terrorism and political instability are slowing down the globalization process. The sense of insecurity that terrorism provokes and the fear that liberal standards are facilitating terrorism and that porous borders are allowing terrorists to enter target countries have caused the US and the members of the European Union to seek greater control over cross-border movements. And the spillovers of increasing geopolitical instability have added to people's sense of insecurity and prompted them to look inward. However, the bottom line is, like it or not, we all live in a globalized world. Against such a backdrop, all eyes are now on the G20 Hangzhou Summit to deliver some answers. Chinese President Xi Jinping presides over the opening ceremony of the G20 summit in Hangzhou, capital of East China's Zhejiang province, September 4, 2016. [Photo/Xinhua] A Hangzhou charter for fair growth and responsible capitalism would give the G20 Leaders Summit a much-needed sense of purpose, according to an economist with a London think tank. The summit sees government leaders and central bankers from the world's largest economies meet to exchange views on economic policy. Alan Wheatley, associate fellow for international economics at Chatham House Alan Wheatley, associate fellow for international economics at Chatham House, said one of the key ingredients to push for a new round of world economic prosperity is to increase the share of global income that goes to workers rather than to companies. "Countries like Japan, Germany and the United States are good examples that too much of national economic income goes to the corporate sector, and not enough to the labor sector. As a result, people don't have enough spending power, and therefore the demand for investment is subdued," he said. "If you are a factory owner, why would you build a new factory if people do not have the money to spend on your products." Wheatley thinks China is doing a good job in rebalancing its economy toward services and consumption instead of investment, as the tertiary sector is growing while investment is falling, but he said the nation can do an even better job by accelerating the trend. To do that, Wheatley suggested that the Chinese government invests less in hard infrastructure and more in social infrastructure, such as health spending, education and social security, so that people can have the confidence to spend more and save less as they grow older. He credits China's concerted efforts to engage in global economic governance, saying the intention is admirable and welcome, but he is keen to see more practical proposals as to how that goal could be achieved. He does not expect a big departure on economic policy in Hangzhou, as the G20 "is best suited to act in an acute crisis, and it has proved itself as a useful forum for an emergency such as the 2008 financial crisis, whereas now what we are witnessing is a phase of chronic economic status, not life-threatening." Commenting on British Prime Minister Theresa May's presence in Hangzhou, Wheatley said that the G20 could be a great opportunity for May and President Xi Jinping to get to know each other and to start the relationship on a positive footing, and a potential platform to signal May's stance on China. Vice-Prime Minister of Belgium Didier Reynders poses with young Chinese artist Zao Dao at the annual Brussels Comic Strip Festival on Sunday, saying he welcomes Chinese artists to the event. [Photo by Fu Jing/China Daily] Vice-Prime Minister of Belgium Didier Reynders said on Sunday that Europe should follow China and the United States, after the two powers took the lead in ratifying the Paris climate change agreement one day ahead of the two-day G20 summit in Hangzhou, in East China's Zhejiang province, which starts on Sunday. Reynders, who is also foreign minister of Belgium, made the comment when he was visiting the China exhibition at the annual Brussels Comic Strip Festival held on Sept 2-4. "It is my pleasure to visit the display of Chinese works for the second time and I am enjoying those by both classic and modern Chinese artists," said Reynders during an interview with China Daily. He also said he was enjoying the works by Chinese artists at the festival and "at the same time, to see the beginning of G20 summit in China." The Belgian foreign minister said it is positive and encouraging that China and the United States have taken the lead in ratifying the Paris Agreement on climate change which was achieved in the end of last year at the UN talks in France. "It is nice to see that China has ratified the climate agreement at the same moment as the United States ahead of the beginning of G20 summit and I hope Europe would do the same," said Reynders. United Nations has started a one-year ratification period of Paris Agreement in April and so far European Union has not announced its timetable. The EU could only go through the ratification procedure after its member states do so at domestic level. France has already ratified the agreement mainly because of its presidency of climate talks in 2015. At the festival, Reynders exchanged ideas and posed for photos with Chinese artists, welcoming them to the Belgium, which is dubbed "the kingdom of comics." Chinese organizers exhibited classic comics books such as Sanman, a lasting famous character created by the artist Zhang Leping (1910-1992), who lived roughly the same period as the Belgian cartoonist Georges Prosper Remi (1907-83) better known by his pen name of Herge and who created the long-running character Tintin. The works by Chinese young artist Zao Dao attracted much attention at the three-day comics and cartoon fair, with visitors have lining up to watch her paint on the blank page of her illustration collection which was sold at the show. To contact the reporter: fujing@chinadaily.com.cn HANGZHOU, China, Sept 5 - Chinese PresidentXi Jinping will hold talks with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on Monday, the Japanese government said, the first such meeting in more than a year as Asia's two largest countries are locked in a territorial dispute. The meeting will follow the conclusion of the two-day G20 summit that started on Sunday in the eastern Chinese city of Hangzhou. Tension flared up last month after more than a dozen Chinese coastguard and other government ships sailed near a group of East China Sea islets controlled by Tokyo but claimed also by Beijing, making a meeting between the two top leaders on the sidelines of the G20 summit uncertain. Ties between Japan and China have also been strained by the South China Sea dispute, with Japan urging China to adhere to a ruling by an international court that invalidated China's territorial claims there. China warned Japan not to interfere. Thousands of redheads fill a Dutch city Breda to celebrate International Redhead Day event in the Netherlands on September 4, 2016. Every year natural redheads from more than 80 countries come together at 'Roodharigendag' annual weekend long festival to celebrate their ginger genes. The event also holds the world record for the largest number of natural redheads being in one place. [Photo/IC] SEOUL - The Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) on Monday test-fired three ballistic missiles into eastern waters ahead of the country's National Day, the Republic of Korea (ROK)'s defense ministry said. A defense ministry official said that the missiles were launched into the East Sea at about 12:14 pm local time from its western areas near Hwangju county in North Hwanghae province. Those missiles, which are believed to have been Rodong mid-range missiles with a range of 1,000 km to 1,200 km, traveled about 1,000 km toward Japan. Yonhap news agency reported that those missiles landed in Japan's air defense identification zone. The DPRK hadn't issued a navigation warning before the test-firings, according to ROK's Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS). Seoul's military authorities had already detected preparations for Pyongyang's ballistic missile launches, according to the Yonhap report. Concerns emerged about possible DPRK provocations ahead of the 68th anniversary on Friday of the founding of the state. In 2014, Pyongyang conducted two rounds of short-range missile launches before the National Day. NEW YORK -- Two people were shot dead and at least 2 others wounded early Monday morning at the J'ouvert celebration in New York City's Borough of Brooklyn, a carnival celebrating Caribbean culture held before dawn on each Labor Day. A male between ages 18 to 20 years old was shot in the chest at around 3:50 am local time and died later at hospital, according to local police. About 25 minutes later, a 22-year-old woman was shot in the left eye just a block away and died at a hospital. At least two others were shot and wounded but expected to survive, police said. J'ouvert, which means daybreak, is an annual pre-dawn celebration held ahead of the annual West Indian Day Parade. The event had a history marred by violence. Last year, a top aide to New York State Governor Andrew Cuomo was killed by a stray bullet during the celebration. The investigation is ongoing and no arrest have been made yet. VIENTIANE -- The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and related summits are scheduled here in the Lao capital on Tuesday, with the main theme of "Turning Vision into Reality for a Dynamic ASEAN Community." Community building efforts, ASEAN's cooperation with dialogue partners, as well as a commemorative summit of the 25th anniversary of ASEAN's dialogue relations with China will be on the agenda of the three-day meetings. According to the Foreign Ministry of Laos, which is holding the rotating ASEAN chairmanship, the meetings will include the 28th and 29th ASEAN Summits, ASEAN+1 Summits, the Summit on Commemoration of the 25th Anniversary of ASEAN-China Dialogue Relations, ASEAN+3 (China, Japan, and South Korea) Summit, as well as the East Asia Summit. The 28th ASEAN Summit will discuss ASEAN Community building efforts, especially the implementation of the ASEAN Community Vision 2025, while the 29th ASEAN Summit will focus on ASEAN's external relations and future direction as well as exchange of views on regional and international issues of common concern. The ASEAN+1 Summits and ASEAN+3 Summit will review cooperation between the ten-member bloc and its dialogue partners. The East Asia Summit, a forum of leaders from 18 countries (10 ASEAN members, China, Japan, South Korea, Australia, New Zealand, Russia and the United States) will review and discuss future direction of cooperation as well as exchange views on regional and international issues. ASEAN, which groups Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Brunei, Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar and Vietnam, established at the end of 2015 the ASEAN Community which comprises the Political and Security Community, the Economic Community and the Socio-Cultural Community. Community building efforts, especially integration measures in specific fields, would be addressed by ASEAN leaders at the summits, according to Soukthavy Keola, a former counselor at the Lao Embassy in China. As for the hot regional issues that captured media attention in previous months, Soukthavy said a consensus had been reached during ASEAN foreign ministers' meetings and such topics were expected to be downplayed during the upcoming summits. As this year marks the 25th anniversary of the ASEAN-China Dialogue Relations, the two sides will hold a commemorative summit on Wednesday. Cooperation with China, ASEAN's most active cooperation partner, will take center stage then. China is the largest trading partner of ASEAN, while ASEAN is China's third largest trade partner. Trade volume between the two sides reached 209 billion U.S. dollars in the first half of 2016. Stronger cooperation between China and ASEAN will contribute to regional peace, growth and prosperity and benefits both sides, as well as the region as a whole, Director-General for ASEAN Cooperation of Indonesia Foreign Ministry Jose Antonio Morato Tavares told Xinhua prior to the summits. China, as the biggest market in terms of population in the world, brings a lot of opportunities for ASEAN economies, Tavares said. Apart from the economic sphere, people-to-people exchange has also become a bright spot in and an important part of the friendly cooperation between ASEAN and China, said Korn Dabbaransi, former deputy prime minister of Thailand. During commemoration of the 25th anniversary for dialogue relations, people-to-people exchanges would be suggested by the Chinese side as a new pillar for China-ASEAN cooperation, according to Liu Zhenmin, China's vice foreign minister. Cooperation between China and ASEAN in the past 25 years has yielded significant achievements in various fields. Bilateral cooperation has entered into a period of maturity and needs to be upgraded. The upcoming summits are expected to add new vigor to China-ASEAN cooperation. Chinas Relations With the West: Straight Line Decline There are those who believe China's ongoing Party Congress will bode well for companies that do business in or with China. I am firmly convinced that the opposite is true and that it will used as yet another opportunity by China to show that it will not be cowered by the declining relations and sanctions/counter-sanctions between the United States / EU / Australia / Japan on the one hand, and China on the other. I see China using this Congress to let the world (domestic and external) know that it fully intends to fight back and fight back hard. In other words, this Party Congress will lead to China's decoupling from much of the world accelerating, not slowing down. (Photo : Xinhua) Putin and Xi greet each other at the ongoing G20 Summit in China. Advertisement China and Russia, pariah nations facing international censure for brazenly violating the sovereignty of neighboring states, have taken the first public step to create a China-Russia alliance that will supplant the United States at the ongoing Group of 20 or G20 Summit in Hangzhou, China. Like Us on Facebook Advertisement Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin pledged to deepen their strategic cooperation and staunchly support each other's national sovereignty and security, according to Chinese media. Both autocrats also promised more coordination in international and regional affairs. Xi said he and Putin should strengthen pragmatic cooperation in infrastructure, energy, aviation, aerospace and advanced technology, according to Chinese media. In August, Xi Jinping called on Russia to join China in forming a "New World Order" dominated by both countries. Xi expects to realize this New World Order in the next 10 years. In a vitriolic speech delivered at the 95th anniversary of the founding of the Chinese Communist Party this July, Xi urged Putin to join China in a military alliance that will render NATO (the North Atlantic Treaty Organization) "powerless" and "put an end to the imperialist desires of the West." "The world is on the verge of radical change," said Xi to his communist comrades. "We see how the European Union is gradually collapsing, as is the US economy -- it is all over for the new world order." "So, it will never again be as it was before. In 10 years we will have a new world order in which the key will be the union of China and Russia," said Xi. At the G20 summit in Hangzhou, China made Putin's standing as the first among equals clear when it announced the Russian despot is at the top of China's G20 guest list. This lavish fawning stands in contrast to the frosty reception Putin received at the 2015 G20 summit in Turkey where he was all but snubbed by Western leaders as Russia showed no signs of abandoning its plans to conquer eastern Ukraine. In another sign Putin is China's man, the Russian was given the most prominent spot in the front row of photos of the assembled world leaders. For his part, Putin said Russia "will be glad to take part in this discussion" to deepen military and economic ties with China. He also said Russia will push for more cooperation in trade, investment, energy and technology that will benefit both countries. Xi asked Putin to join China in aligning their development strategies, including China's Belt and Road Initiative with the Eurasian Economic Union. Advertisement Tagschina, Russia, Group of 20, G20 summit, Hangzhou, china, President Xi Jinping, President Vladimir Putin, New World Order (Photo : Getty Images) Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull and Chinese President Xi Jinping held a closed-door meeting to discuss foreign investment during the G20 Summit Advertisement Australia's Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull met with China's President Xi Jinping on Sunday at the sidelines of the G20 Summit to discuss matters related to foreign investment, Xinhua reported. During the closed-door meeting, President Xi told Turnbull that he hopes Australia would create a positive atmosphere for foreign investors from China, who are keen to do business with Canberra. Like Us on Facebook Advertisement "I hope Australia would dedicate itself to providing foreign investors a fair, transparent and predictable policy environment," Xi told Turnbull. Ausgrid The meeting between the leaders of both countries comes on the heels of the Australian government's rejection of two Chinese bids for a majority stake in Ausgrid, citing national security concerns. Australia has said that it reserved the right to decide on its foreign investment policies and that China understands that it has to reject some foreign investments under critical circumstances. Turnbull has urged the Chinese government to adopt more trade reforms to provide easy access for foreign investors to markets and economic opportunities. Restraint On the South China Sea issue, Turnbull called on all parties involved to exercise restraint and take measures that would de-escalate the tensions in the region. Xi, on his part, said he hopes Australia would not take sides in the conflict and would uphold a fair position on the issue. "There will always be points of difference, and President Xi and I respect those differences of position," Turnbull said. The two-day G20 summit hosted by Beijing in the city of Hangzhou would come to an end on Monday. Leaders of the world's major economies participated in the annual global forum to discuss global, regional, and bilateral issues concerning member-countries. Advertisement TagsPrime Minister Malcolm Turnbull, President Xi Jinping, Ausgrid, foreign investment, Australia, china (Photo : Getty Images) People gather during a pro-democracy rally in Hong Kong in 2014. Advertisement Preliminary results indicate that a new generation of anti-China activists have won seats in Hong Kong's Legislative Council. Nathan Law, one of the young leaders that led pro-democracy demonstrations in 2014, is the most high-profile of the expected wave of new leaders. "I think Hong Kongers wanted real change," Law, 23, said. "Young people have a sense of urgency when it comes to the future." Like Us on Facebook Advertisement Law is a member of the Demosisto Party, which was set up by student leaders of the protest. The party advocates for Hong Kong's right to self-determination. With almost 90 percent of the votes counted, Law had garnered the second highest number of votes in the multi-seat Hong Kong constituency, which guarantees him a position in the Legislative Council. The election is the first since the 2014 protests, which saw central areas of the island paralyzed by protestors mainly composed of young people. Poll results were delayed due to a high turn-out of voters, with 58 percent of an estimated 3.8 million voters queuing up to cast their ballots. Two candidates of the Youngspiration Party also won seats. The party is more vocally pro-independent. Candidates were in the race for 70 seats on the LegCo, whose function is to pass laws and budgets in the territory. However, only 35 seats are directly elected by the constituents. Voters do not elect the Chief Executive, although many analysts are of the belief that this election would go a long way in determining whether Beijing grants current leader C.Y. Leung a second term in office. Despite the wins by pro-independence politicians, pro-Beijing politicians are expected to retain a majority of the seats. Advertisement TagsHongkong, china, elections (Photo : Getty Images) Cold shoulder. Xi and Obama at the G20 Summit in China Advertisement Asia and the world waits in suspense for China to make good its threat to reclaim land on Scarborough Shoal, only 240 kilometers from the Philippines, as a prelude to building a military installation that will inevitably be protected by its surface-to-air missiles and fighter jets. Like Us on Facebook Advertisement The United States has made it clear to China this step is its line-in-the-sand China must not cross or face unspecified consequences. That China might actually contemplate this dangerous move is bolstered by the stunning insult it inflicted on U.S. President Barack Obama at the Group of 20 or G20 Summit in Hangzhou, China that ends Sept. 5. Of all world leaders at the conference, Obama was the only one not met by a red carpet as he set foot on Chinese soil. Observers said this snub was President Xi Jinping's way of telling Obama of how low his esteem is, and to punish Obama for urging China to abide by the July 12 ruling of the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague that nullified China's nine-dash line and with it China's claim to own practically all of the South China Sea. Xi is known to hold a low opinion of Obama, a fact that might incite Xi to take reckless action on the calculation Obama will back down as Obama did in Syria during the poison gas controversy. Obama has long been plagued by a perception of being a pushover more interested in pursuing peace than demonstrating U.S. military resolve against China and Russia, its main strategic foes that are now in the process of forming a de facto military alliance to dominate the world. In response to the arbitration ruling, China has threatened to militarize Scarborough Shoal, which is owned by the Philippines, but has decided to begin process after the G20 summit. The Philippines has said it won't allow the Chinese to reclaim land on Scarborough Shoal. Two U.S. Navy aircraft carrier battle groups are currently patrolling the South China Sea to head-off Chinese adventurism. The Pentagon has also stationed units consisting of all three of its strategic bombers -- the B-52 Stratofortress, the B-1B Lancer supersonic bomber and the B-2 Spirit stealth bomber -- to Guam to patrol Asian airspace. Advertisement Tagschina, Scarborough Shoal, Philippines, President Barack Obama, President Xi Jinping, South China Sea, Permanent Court of Arbitration, U.S. Navy (Photo : Getty Images) President Obama arrives for the 2016 G20 summit at Hangzhou. Advertisement A Chinese newspaper has accused Western media of sensationalizing the gaffe during U.S. President Barack Obama's tumultuous arrival for the G20 Summit in China. There were chaotic and embarrassing scenes at the Hangzhou International Airport on Saturday as Obama touched down for his last meeting as President with his Chinese Counterpart Xi Jinping. Like Us on Facebook Advertisement Officials from the two superpowers hurled angry words at each other, with one local officer castigating a White House official during the altercation, and shouting ' This is our country! This is our airport! ' The Global Times, a state-controlled Communist paper, offered its insight on the incident, saying that western media had overblown the incident, but President Obama tried to play it down. "This makes us believe that the tense atmosphere between China and the United States can be partly attributed to the Western media, which often makes a fuss over trifling issues," the paper said in an editorial. The newspaper stated that the incident would not further strain the relations between the two countries, as Obama would not want to see more undercurrents in Sino-US ties before he leaves office. Sheng Deng Li, an international relations expert at the Fudan University in Shanghai, told the media that the United States should have an idea of what they did to anger Beijing. There are speculations that Beijing made a calculated snub of President Obama, a claim that has been refuted by an anonymous source in the Chinese government. Unlike other leaders, Obama did not disembark onto a red-carpet lined staircase. Obama tried to downplay the incident, saying that it was probable that his Chinese hosts had been overwhelmed by the size of his delegation. Advertisement Tagschina, USA, G20 (Photo : Getty Images) SEVASTOPOL, CRIMEA - AUGUST 12: People pass a huge figure of an ice-cream on August 12, 2015 in Sevastopol, Crimea. Advertisement Russian president Vladimir Putin arrived in Hangzhou for the G20 summit bearing a Russian specialty as a gift for Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping. Putin gave the Chinese leader a box of Russian ice cream - not vodka - as a host gift. China and Russia already share amicable relations, and the frosty treat could be the proverbial cherry on top. Whether the gift was simply a kind gesture or a shout-out to the Chinese for inventing the dessert is unknown, as is the flavor of Putin's offering. Like Us on Facebook Advertisement Xi was certainly pleased, and he even indicated that he had been craving some of the Russian delicacy. "Every time that I come to Russia, I ask them to buy me Russian ice cream," Xi said, according to NDTV. "The fresh cream you have is the best[;] that's why your ice cream is particularly delicious. I like it a lot," he explained. Putin decided to bring the ice cream after a Chinese businessman in Vladivostok, Russia told him that he was not able to pass through customs with the sweet dish, according to RT. "I promised to bring it for you," said Putin, "and I've brought you a whole box of ice cream." In future visits to China, Putin said he will always "bring ice cream as a gift for Xi [Jinping]." China's warm reception of Putin's cold present stands in stark contrast to the welcome the country gave the US delegation. US president Barack Obama was forced to use an emergency exit from Air Force One. Other world leaders exited their planes via red-carpeted staircases as they arrived in Hangzhou for China's first G20 meeting. While Chinese officials claimed that their treatment of the most powerful man in the world was a mistake, China expert Bill Bishop was not so sure they are being truthful. "This clearly plays very much into the [idea]: 'Look, we can make the American president go out of the ass of the plane," he told the Guardian. Advertisement TagsPutin, Russian ice cream, ice cream, Russia-China relationship, Xi Jinping, G20 summit (Photo : Getty Images.) British Prime Minister Theresa May has traveled to China to attend the G20 Summit in Hangzhou. Advertisement British Prime Minister Theresa May said on Sunday that she would ask her security advisers to review the stalled Hinkley Point Nuclear Project, which is backed by Chinese and French investors. May postponed the $18 billion Hinkley Point project in June, a day before the official inauguration of the project. Like Us on Facebook Advertisement "I will be doing exactly as you've said which is -- as you know, I'll be looking at all the evidence around this issue," May replied after being asked whether she would ask the National Security Council to look into security issues related to the Hinkley deal. The British Prime Minister's remark came after she landed in China to attend the G20 Summit, where she would hold a one-to-one meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping. Before leaving for China, May said that she would look into the evidence and reach a conclusion on the Hinkley project, Reuters reported. May stated that she would make a final decision on the deal later this month. May's sudden decision to postpone the Hinkley Project took Chinese and French investors by surprise. Close sources claim that May is apprehensive about Chinese investment in the British nuclear project. Diplomatic ties between China and Britain nosedived following postponement of the project. China issued veiled a warning about the possible impact of the move. To placate China, May wrote a special letter to China's leadership earlier this month, expressing her sincere desire to improve Britain's economic and diplomatic relationship with Beijing. The Hinkley Point Project was approved by May's predecessor David Cameron in a bid to attract foreign investment into the country. Cameron has criticized May's decision, claiming that hasty decision on the Hinkley Point Project may scare Chinese investors. Advertisement TagsHinkley Nuclear Project, Hinkley Point Nuclear Project, china, Theresa May (Photo : Getty Images) China and Pakistan may sign a defense agreement in the near future. Advertisement Pakistan's cabinet approved negotiations for a long-term defense agreement with its close ally China in July. The revelation comes barely a week after India, and the US signed a key defense deal to enhance military cooperation. The go-ahead to pursue long-term defense deal with China was given after Pakistan's Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif chaired a cabinet meeting in Lahore on July 15, Times of India reported. The defense agreement between China and Pakistan is expected to be based on principles of mutual respect for each other's territorial integrity and non-interference in each other's internal affairs. Like Us on Facebook Advertisement For many decades, China has been offering military and economic aid to Pakistan, which has helped in the countering hegemony of its arch-rival India in South Asia. Its close military ties with Islamabad have also helped China to keep a tab on India. Islamabad's latest bid to further enhance the military ties with China is seen as a strategy to counter balance the recent Indo-US military deal. The Indo-US military deal allows both countries to use each other's land, air and naval bases for repair and resupply. The deal was sealed during US Defence Secretary Ash Carter's visit to India last week. Pakistan did not criticize the deal but said it hoped that it does not contribute to polarizing and distributing the military balance in South Asia. South Asia experts claim that last week's US-Indo military agreement is a step forward for America to help India in shoring up its military defense against China. America apparently sees India as a key ally to counter China's growing influence in Asia. Advertisement TagsPakistan, India, India and China, China and Pakistan, Indo-US Defense deal (Photo : Getty Images) Chinese President Xi Jinping (R) shakes hands with US President Barack Obama (L) ahead of the G20 Summit Advertisement President Xi Jinping has encouraged world leaders to step up their efforts to aid economic growth and remove all trade barriers during the G20 summit in China over the weekend. During his briefing at the summit, Xi encouraged the world's economic superpowers to avoid empty talk and confront sluggish economic growth and the rising protectionism. Like Us on Facebook Advertisement "The economy still faces multiple risks and challenges, including a lack of growth momentum and consumption, turbulent financial markets, receding global trade and investment," said Xi. While addressing the leaders present at the summit, he also talked about the potential future of world economy. "We hope the Hangzhou summit will come up with a prescription for the world economy and lead it back to the road of strong, balanced comprehensive and sustainable," he added. This is the first G20 Summit to be held in China. Chinese officials are hoping that the meeting would cement China's position as an economic stronghold, ready to be given a role on the world stage. The eleventh G20 Summit was held at a circular hall in Hangzhou city, Zhejiang province over the weekend. President Xi greeted every president and prime minister at the event and held firmly to US President Barack Obama, with both men smiling. An airport gaffe when President Obama arrived in Beijing had left many observers worried about the state of the relations between both nations. Rather than being welcomed with a red carpet staircase, Obama was welcomed with a metal stairway as he alighted from his plane. Chinese officials were, however, quick to comment on the incident stating that it was the US' decision. They added that the peaceful co-existence of the two world powers is a matter of greater concern. Advertisement Tagschina, USA, G20, President Xi Jinping, President Barack Obama (Photo : US Navy) Carrier strike group of the USS John C. Stennis. Advertisement Two of the U.S. Navy's senior admirals agree the Navy has what it takes to defeat and operate within zones covered by China and Russia's land-based anti access/area denial (A2/AD) strategy. Chief of Naval Operations Admiral John Richardson pointed out China and Russia can't prevent Navy aircraft carriers from operating where they want to and when they want to. Like Us on Facebook Advertisement Asked if the Navy's Nimitz-class supercarriers and their carrier strike wings can fight inside Chinese and Russian A2/AD zones, Adm. Richardson unequivocally answered "Yes" but refused to give details. Referring specifically to China, what's clear, he said, is China's alleged carrier-killing capabilities are only speculation. "What you see often is a display of, 'Here's this launcher. Here's a circle with a radius of 700 miles, and it's solid-color black inside' ... And that's just not the reality of the situation," he noted. "You've got this highly maneuverable force that has a suite of capabilities that the force can bring to bear to inject uncertainty." China's heavily hyped but unproven "carrier killer," the DF-21D anti-ship ballistic missile (ASBM) only fired from land-based mobile launchers, has a maximum range over 1,450 kilometers but suffers from an immature kill chain due to a lack of long-range aerial drones (still being developed) and China's incomplete BeiDou navigation satellite system. China a few months ago began production of its Xianglong (or Soaring Dragon) aerial drone it will use to designate enemy warship targets for ASBMs, jam enemy transmissions and attack warships. BeiDou will only have its full complement of 35 GPS satellites by 2020. China orbited its 23rd BeiDou satellite this August. "I think there is this long-range precision-strike capability, certainly," said Adm. Richardson. He noted "A2/AD is sort of an aspiration. In actual execution, it's much more difficult." The range of China's intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance capabilities (ISR) have been widened with the militarization of its man-made islands or islands in the South China Sea illegally seized from other nations. "The combination of ubiquitous ISR, long-range precision-strike weapons takes that to another level and demands a response," said Adm. Richardson, adding that China's extension into the Pacific created a "suite of capabilities" that were of "pressing concern." Adm. Richardon said a long-range aerial drone must transmit target data back to an ASBM or another precision-guided weapon system that can reach out at a fairly long range. "You're talking about hundreds of miles now, so that raises a challenge," he pointed out. "Our response would be to inject a lot of friction into that system at every step of the way (and) look to make that much more difficult." On the other hand, Vice Admiral Mike Shoemaker, Commander, Naval Air Forces, said he's convinced of the Navy's ability to maneuver in a hostile environment such as that in an A2/AD zone. He also said the Navy can "create a battle space to do what we need to do, maneuver again and operate -- not with impunity -- but certainly with awareness of the risk that's out there." He noted China's land-based A2/AD strategy that relies on ASBMs fired from the Chinese mainland means the Chinese defenses have a lot of sea to attack. "That's a very long kill chain, "noted Adm. Shoemaker. "We have lots of things we do to disrupt that from all angles." That kill chain will be disrupted by the speed and maneuverability of the Navy's Nimitz-class nuclear supercarriers that can travel at speeds of up to 30 knots (56 km/h) and maneuver quite well for a warship weighing over 100,000 tons. He explained the problem with long range missiles is that while they're excellent at destroying land targets, they're not quite as effective against targets such as US Navy warships maneuvering at speed. Navy warships will use a combination of speed, maneuverability and defensive systems to fight while being attacked by enemy anti-ship cruise missiles and ASBMs, he said. Meanwhile, the carrier air wing will rely on the F-35C; the forthcoming MQ-25A Stingray aerial tanker drone and its Boeing F/A-18E/F Super Hornets and EA-18G Growler electronic attack aircraft to defeat modern enemy air defenses such as Russia's S-300 and S-400 surface-to-air missile systems. Advertisement TagsU.S. Navy, Admiral John Richardson, Vice Admiral Mike Shoemaker, china, Russia, DF-21D, Xianglong (Photo : Getty images) People watch a television screen showing a breaking news about North Korea's long-range rocket launch Advertisement South Korea military officials have confirmed that North Korea fired three ballistic missiles from the areas around Hwanju County into the Sea of Japan. Following the news, world leaders from China, Japan, the United Nations (UN), and the US have condemned the move. China, the UN, the U.S. and Japan have condemned North Korea's decision to launch three ballistic missiles at South Korea Like Us on Facebook Advertisement The military officials identified the missiles as the medium-range Rodong. They were reportedly fired at 0300hrs (GMT) and flew at 1000km (600miles) hitting Japan's air defense identification zone. "We are still analyzing details, but this is a grave threat to our nation's security, and we express deep concern," said Japan's Defense Minister Tomomi Inada. North Korea's actions goes against the UN Security Council Resolutions that ban all ballistic-related activities in Japan. It comes after Pyongyang test-fired a submarine-launched ballistic missile two weeks ago. North Korea argued that the ban was inhibiting the country from pursuing its space and self-defense program. Pyongyang's ballistic missile test comes at a time when China is hosting the G20 Summit. South Korean President Park Geun-hye and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe diverted their attention from the G20 Summit after the incident, according to a statement from the Japanese government. Tokyo and Seoul agreed to work together to keep a close eye on the incident. US officials present at the G20 summit described North Korea's missile launch as "reckless," adding that it posed a great threat to civil aviation and maritime commerce in the region. The incident comes just days before North Korea celebrates her 68 anniversary as a nation, and after South Korea and US troops ended their annual joint military drills. Advertisement TagsG20, Japan, china, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, Park Geun Hye (Photo : Getty images) Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe shakes hands with China's President Xi Jinping (R), during their meeting at the Great Hall of the People, on the sidelines of the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) meetings, in Beijing, China Advertisement For the first time in over a year, China's President Xi Jinping and Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe sat down to discuss the way forward for the two countries at the G20 Summit in China. China's President Xi called on officials in Tokyo and Beijing to work on making sure that their relationship between both nations is put back on track. Like Us on Facebook Advertisement He added that China and Japan need to "put aside disruptions" that hinder their bilateral ties. Japan's Prime Minister Abe spoke of Tokyo "managing difficult issues" while promoting mutually beneficial cooperation, according to Kyodo news agency. The relationship between the two Asian economic superpowers has overtime turned sour due to their dispute over territories in the East Asia Sea, and unresolved matters from World War II. Previous meetings between Xi and Abe have not been formal; both leaders have often met on the sidelines of other events. The last time the two met was in April at the Asia-Africa Summit. Durig the meeting, experts say both leaders were likely to discuss the territorial disputes in the East and South China Sea. North Korea's recent missile launch is another issue that was likely to be discussed. Experts have noted that the meeting wouls aid in relieving the growing tension while increasing exchanges between both nations. Former diplomat to Japan now researcher at the China Institute of International Studies, Jiang Yuechun, said he believes that the meting between Xi and Abe would create a better room of understanding. "The competition and differences between the two cannot be solved by one short meeting, but through the face to face talk, Abe may get a better idea how firmly China stands on the core interests and accordingly adjust their policies," said Jiang. Advertisement Tagschina, Japan, President Xi Jinping, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, G20 summit (Photo : Getty images) Mexico's President Enrique Pena Nieto (L) shakes hands with Chinese President Xi Jinping (R) at the West Lake State Guest House in Hangzhou, China at The 11th G20 Leaders Summit Advertisement Mexico's President Enrique Pena Nieto has said that Mexico's main aim is to strengthen its ties with China, the world's second-largest economic power, to bring more prosperity and opportunities. During a recent interview, Pena told Chinese state media that since President Xi Jinping's visit to Mexico in 2013, ties between both nations have grown stronger and deeper. Like Us on Facebook Advertisement "Today, the relationship between China and Mexico is deeper, more productive and positive for both nations. The intense dynamic of dialogue and bilateral collaboration in recent years has allowed us to bring into full play the potential of our economies," said Pena. He added that there has bee an increase in Mexico's exports to China. The financial market even got a boost when the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China was opened in Mexico in 2015. "Meanwhile, cultural exchange has been another important dimension in which both countries have worked well," said Pena. "Education and culture have helped to enrich mutual understanding and reinforce the friendship of the two nations that both enjoy millennial cultures." He applauded the fact that despite the tough times the Chinese market is facing, it was still growing. He encouraged his country to learn from China's successful practices "Its economic dynamism, the size of its economy and its high demand for goods have made China a very attractive market for Mexico. The key is to focus on learning and enjoying the complementarity in our economies," the Mexican leader stated. He noted that all members of the G20 Summit have a crucial mandate to maintain stability; build an innovative interconnected, inclusive and growing global economy; and improving global economic governance. Advertisement TagsMexico, china, G20 summit Homosexuality will divide Methodists, theologian tells world gathering 05 September, 2016 by Gregory Tomlin , | HOUSTON (Christian Examiner) Division among the congregations of the United Methodist Church over homosexuality is now unavoidable, a church elder and professor at Southern Methodist University has claimed before a global gathering of church leaders. Rev. Ted Campbell, professor of church history at SMU's Perkins School of Theology, said during the church's World Methodist Conference Sept. 1 that "the question at this point is not whether we divide or not." "That, I fear, is a given now," Campbell said, according to the denomination's official news service. [T]his matter now has the functional status of an 'essential' or 'necessary' teaching alongside the teachings of the ancient church and the Reformation and the Wesleyan movement as something that unites and divides us. Methodists have been struggling to find a unified voice on the issue of homosexuality for more than a decade, but the debate heated up in July when Methodists in the church's Western Jurisdictional Conference elected their first openly-lesbian bishop, Rev. Karen Oliveto, in defiance of the church's long-standing teaching that homosexuality is at odds with Scripture and the church's Book of Discipline. "I think at this moment I have a glimpse of the realm of God," Oliveto said after the election. "I want to thank the candidates who I have journeyed with these past few days, for the grace with which we walked with each other. And know I stand before you because of the work and prayers of so many, especially those saints who yearned to live for this day, who blazed a trail where there was none, who are no longer with us, and yet whose shoulders I stand on." Oliveto said the church, by her election, had taken a step closer to "perfection." At the time, Bishop Bruce R. Ough, president of the UMC's Council of Bishops, said Oliveto's election "raises significant concerns and questions of church polity and unity." While Ough said the council does not have any authority to intervene in the placement of the bishop, he added theat "being a self-avowed, practicing homosexual is a chargeable offense for any clergyperson in The United Methodist Church, if indeed this is the case." Campbell addressed the issue at the conference, the news service said, largely through the lens of church history. He said the church should have unity in beliefs that are "essential" and liberty in those that are not. However, due to the fact that so many Methodists are willing to defy the ban while others are willing to uphold what Scripture teaches, Campbell said they have already suffered a de facto separation. "So this matter now has the functional status of an 'essential' or 'necessary' teaching alongside the teachings of the ancient church and the Reformation and the Wesleyan movement as something that unites and divides us," Campbell said. Church doctrine on human sexuality always has been an essential. The early church's teaching, explored in the Didache (teaching), prohibits homosexuality, as does the Apostolic Constitutions, an early fifth century document. Early churchmen such as Justin Martyr, Tertullian, Novation, Arnobius, Basil the Great, Cyprian of Carthage and John Chrysostem, all figures from the Ante-Nicene and Post-Nicene Periods (the Council of Nicaea was held in A.D. 325), also wrote about the sinfulness of homosexuality. Augustine, the great doctor of the Latin church, wrote that God "has not made men to use one another in this way." Ough told the meeting of Methodists that he was preparing to name a commission which would examine revisions to church policies on homosexuality. He also expressed his appreciation for Campbell's frankness, but also concern at the tone of hopelessness. "I believe it's important that we not start the work of the commission making assumptions that we're already divided and there's no way back," Ough said. "I think it's far more helpful, and also far more faithful, to assume that God's imagination is greater than our impoverished imagination, and that if we surrender to that we might discover ways to be together that might look different, but nonetheless continue and affirm our unity." Pope says developed countries must repent of misusing the earth 05 September, 2016 by Gregory Tomlin , | ROME (Christian Examiner) Pope Francis is calling on Christians to unite "in showing mercy to the earth" and asking developed countries to "atone" for overuse of the world's ecological resources. In an address to the church Sept. 1, the World Day of Prayer for the Care of Creation, the pontiff said people should turn to "acknowledge our sins against creation, the poor and future generations." "As individuals, we have grown comfortable with certain lifestyles shaped by a distorted culture of prosperity and a 'disordered desire to consume more than what is really necessary,' Pope Francis said, quoting from his encyclical Laudato Si. During this Jubilee Year, let us learn to implore God's mercy for those sins against creation that we have not hitherto acknowledged and confessed. Let us likewise commit ourselves to taking concrete steps towards ecological conversion, which requires a clear recognition of our responsibility to ourselves, our neighbors, creation and the Creator "After a serious examination of conscience and moved by sincere repentance, we can confess our sins against the Creator, against creation, and against our brothers and sisters." Laudato Si has been criticized by many in conservative quarters as subtly Marxist in its political and economic overtones. The pope has on many occasions rejected the claim, though his recent speech again advocates for the redistribution of wealth and resources. "Economics and politics, society and culture cannot be dominated by thinking only of the short-term and immediate financial or electoral gains. Instead, they urgently need to be redirected to the common good, which includes sustainability and care for creation," he said. "One concrete case is the 'ecological debt' between the global north and south," Pope Francis added. "Repaying it would require treating the environments of poorer nations with care and providing the financial resources and technical assistance needed to help them deal with climate change and promote sustainable development." Francis said humans have left God's creation a "polluted wasteland" and were responsible for the loss of "biodiversity" on the planet. He also lamented global warming. "Global warming continues, due in part to human activity: 2015 was the warmest year on record, and 2016 will likely be warmer still. This is leading to ever more severe droughts, floods, fires and extreme weather events. Climate change is also contributing to the heart-rending refugee crisis. The world's poor, though least responsible for climate change, are most vulnerable and already suffering its impact," he said. That 2015 was the warmest year on record, however, is not true, according to multiple scientific sources. The pope also does not address species survival programs, largely funded by western countries, reforestation projects that have increased the number of trees in many countries, and large scale cleanup projects, also funded by western corporations. Despite of those efforts, Pope Francis said creation is still not being handled in a "balanced and respectful way" the way God intended for humanity "to till and to keep" the earth (Genesis 2:15). "To till too much, to keep too little, is to sin," Francis said. "During this Jubilee Year, let us learn to implore God's mercy for those sins against creation that we have not hitherto acknowledged and confessed. Let us likewise commit ourselves to taking concrete steps towards ecological conversion, which requires a clear recognition of our responsibility to ourselves, our neighbors, creation and the Creator." Today is Labor Day, the unofficial last day of summer. And not just any summer. Its being called the worst summer in modern history. And for good reason. It began in June with a massacre at a gay nightclub in Orlando the worst mass shooting by a single gunman in U.S. history. Before that horror could even be processed, terrorists with bombs and guns slaughtered 41 people and injured 100 more in an all-out assault at Istanbul Ataturk Airport in Turkey. Only a week later, we were confronted by a video of a white police officer firing into the chest of a 37-year-old black man Alton Sterling outside of a convenience store in Louisiana. A single day later another video was broadcast on Facebook Live by the girlfriend of Philando Castile, a beloved cafeteria worker, chronicling her eerily calm explanation of her boyfriend being shot by a police officer during a traffic stop in Minnesota. Who can forget the image of Castile lying slumped next to her in a bloodied shirt with a gun outside the window of the car? There was more. The next night, during a peaceful protest against police brutality, a sniper in Dallas gunned down five cops and injured 11 more. It was the deadliest day for law enforcement since 9/11. And then came Nice. At a celebration of Bastille Day along the banks of the French Riviera, a man in a truck drove through the crowd along a promenade. 84 were killed. Hundreds were injured. The summer wasnt done. At the end of July came the murder of an 85-year-old Normandy priest, Father Jacques Hamel, by ISIL knifemen who slit his throat during mass. Do we even need to bring up the Zika virus? Of course, any assessment of worst demands perspective. Through the advent of social media, not to mention the internet itself (more of a modern phenomenon than most people remember), there is a greater awareness of the kinds of calamities that have always plagued humanity since the fall. But to be sure, it was not a good summer. And I am not optimistic for summers to get much better. The Bibles view of time is distinct. It is not cyclical - a never-ending repetition of events such as you might find in much of Eastern philosophy. Instead, it is linear, with a clear beginning and an equally clear ending. And no matter your view of eschatology (the end times), the words of Jesus make it patently clear that as we approach that end, things will not get better (Matthew 24). There is no utopian existence awaiting the ever-growing intelligence and technology of mankind. No, there is an ever-inching march toward hells dominance, culminating in the rule of the anti-Christ. Sorry to give you such heavy-laden, almost archaic language. But its deeply biblical. And its true. Yes, even if a thousand more years await us, we are living in the end times. At any point in this era, the unfolding of the final events could occur. So what to think? What to do? C.S. Lewis was right: Simply live as if this was the worlds last night. Every day. This day. Why? Because it could be. James Emery White Sources Susan Miller, From Orlando to Nice: One month of madness, USA Today, July 15, 2016, read online. Harry Mount, Is 2016 really one of the worst years in history? The Telegraph, July 31, 2016, read online. C.S. Lewis, The Worlds Last Night (and other Essays). About the Author James Emery White is the founding and senior pastor of Mecklenburg Community Church in Charlotte, NC, and the ranked adjunctive professor of theology and culture at Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary, where he also served as their fourth president. His latest book, The Rise of the Nones: Understanding and Reaching the Religiously Unaffiliated, is available on Amazon. To enjoy a free subscription to the Church and Culture blog, visit ChurchAndCulture.org, where you can view past blogs in our archive and read the latest church and culture news from around the world. Follow Dr. White on twitter @JamesEmeryWhite. At least 14 people died in a bomb attack in Davao City of Philippines, and a "state of lawlessness" was declared by President Rodrigo Duterte. About 71 people were reported injured in the bombing. The police was called in at the market area near Roxas Street where the attack took place. Some 15 people were in critical condition, including a pregnant woman. "Initial investigations show they found shrapnel from a mortar-based improvised explosive device," Martin Andanar, Secretary of the Presidential Communications Office, told DZMM radio. Duterte allowed the police to undertake a thorough search of cars and frisking of people at checkpoints. "It's not martial law but I am inviting now the Armed Forces of the Philippines, the military and the police to run the country in accordance with my specifications," the President said. Davao is the hometown of Duterte, and the bomb went off in an area which frequented by the president, according to BBC News. At the time of the blast, the president was in the town about 7.5 miles from the location of the attack. The government had launched an offensive against a militant group called Abu Sayyaf a few weeks ago, which is claiming responsibility for the attack, but authorities are also investigating the involvement of drug mafia. Last week, the Abu Sayyaf militants beheaded a villager who was kidnapped by them, after which the ongoing military offensive against the group was intensified. About 30 terrorists were killed in the ensuing battle. Davon was on high alert in the aftermath of the army and militant group scuffle. But, yet the authorities did not rule out a hand of drug syndicate in the attack. "We're trying to cope up with a crisis now. There is a crisis in this country involving drugs, extrajudicial killings and there seems to be an environment of lawless violence," said Duterte. Eliminating crime, corruption, and drug use were some of the promises made by the president when he took power in Philippines. About 2,400 people have died in war on drugs in the last two months since Duterte became president. Ned Price, National Security Council spokesperson, released a statement condemning the attack and expressing condolences to the families of the victims. "The United States offers deep condolences to the families and other loved ones of the victims of the explosion in the Philippines' Davao City, and Our thoughts and prayers are with the injured," he said. The US has also offered to provide assistance in probing the attack. Two militant attacks took place in Northwestern Pakistan on Friday that targeted a Christian neighborhood and a district court, leaving at least 13 people killed and 54 wounded. The attack on the Christian neighborhood near Peshawar, the capital of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, took place early in the morning when the four would-be suicide bombers entered the neighborhood armed with ammunition. Security officers responded to the situation, leading to an exchange of gunfire. The four attackers and one civilian were killed. One security guard along with three other security personnel were wounded, according to the Washington Post. Later that same day, only hours after the attack on the Christian neighborhood, a suicide attack occurred at the district court in Mardan whereby the suicide bomber threw a grenade at the entrance of the court. He went on the detonate his explosives after he was prevented from entering the court gates, Senior Police Superintendent Shafiullah Khan said according to CNN. Among the 12 killed and 54 wounded are civilians, lawyers, and policemen. Ijaz Ahmed Khan, a local policemen, said the attack was targeted toward a group of lawyers at the bar room, according to the New York Times. An offshoot of the Pakistani Taliban, Jamaat-ur-Ahrar, claimed responsibility for both attacks. The splinter group has claimed responsibility for numerous similar attacks in past months, including the March bombing that took place in a park on Easter, targeting Christians and the hospital bombing in Quetta last month which killed 70 people, including lawyers and journalists. According to a 2016 information report from an official at the British High Commission (BHC) Islamabad, Muslims make up about 96.4 percent of the religious population. Christians are the minority, making up only 1.5 percent of the population. Open Doors USA, a Christian persecution watchdog, ranks Pakistan as 6th on its World Watch List, a tool used to measure the degree of persecution across the globe. home World Assyrian Christian militia liberates village from ISIS with help from U.S.-led coalition An Assyrian Christian militia group has announced that it has liberated a village from ISIS. The Nineveh Plain Protection Units (NPU) announced last week that it had recaptured Badanah, a village southeast of Mosul, with the help of the U.S.-led coalition. The group posted pictures and a video showing NPU fighters entering the abandoned area. The NPU revealed that this was the first operation supported by the international coalition, which provided weapons and supported the liberation of the village through airstrikes. Bahnam Abush, the commander of the group, said that Iraqi and Kurdish forces known as the Peshmerga are also cooperating with the NPU. He estimated that half of the Christians who used to live in the area fled because of ISIS' infiltration. The Nineveh Plains was captured by ISIS in 2014. "The operation is a step towards restoration of their confidence and hopes for Christians to stay in the land of their grandparents," he said to Iraqi media. The Iraqi Shiite militia referred to the NPU as a partner in a tweet announcing the liberation of Badanah. In February 2015, the NPU reported that it had over 3,000 troops in line for training. The NPU is funded by displaced Assyrians in Sweden, Australia and the U.S. Col. Jawat Habib Abboush, the deputy commander of NPU, stated that the group receives training from the U.S. army. Most of its leaders are former Iraqi army officers. The NPU is just one Christian group among three. The Nineveh Plains Forces, another Christian army, also reportedly received training from U.S. military. The NPF is supported by the Peshmarga. According to reports, the NPU and NPF remain rivals who often accuse each other of hidden agendas and fleeing from battles. Another Christian militia operating in Iraq, the Babylon Brigade, is led by a man named Rayan al-Kildani. He refused to reveal the actual number of his troops but stated to the BBC that his brigade fights alongside Muslim forces. Kildani claimed that his militia is the first "Christian power" in Iraqi history. home US Hobby Lobby CEO warns religious freedom will disappear if Hillary Clinton wins; says Supreme Court appointments crucial David Green, the CEO of Hobby Lobby, has warned that it will take only one judge for America to lose its religious liberty. He noted that the vacancy in the Supreme Court is crucial to the presidential election in November. "Make no mistake, the vacancy left by Justice Scalia and the subsequent appointment to fill his seat makes this presidential election one of the most significant in modern times," said Green in an article published on USA Today. Green cited a case that his company won in June 2014. The case, Burwell v. Hobby Lobby Stores, would have required them to provide contraception to employees as part of their company's health insurance plan. The business will have to shoulder the daily $1.3 million-penalty if it lost the case. "Fortunately, the Supreme Court issued a 5-4 ruling in favor of Hobby Lobby in 2014, but it's frightening to think that we a and all Americans a were just one judge away from losing our religious freedom." The ruling gave Hobby Lobb an exemption from the legal requirement based on religious convictions. Green warned that people may be forced to violate their conscience if Hillary Clinton becomes president. He cautioned that Clinton's appointee to the highest court in America will stand behind Clinton's convictions. He further claimed that Trump, unlike Clinton, is unwavering in his commitment to the Constitution. He said that Trump's list of possible nominees to the Supreme Court gives Green hope for his and his grandchildren's future. Trump released his list of possible Supreme Court nominees last May. The names in the list included Steven Colloton, Allison Eid, Raymond Gruender, Thomas Hardiman, Raymond Kethledge, Joan Larsen, Thomas Lee, William Pryor, David Stras, Diane Sykes and Don Willet. At the end of his article, Green warned against a Clinton presidency and outrightly endorsed Trump. "For Americans who value freedom of religion, we must elect a president who will support a Supreme Court that upholds not only this freedom, but all that have emanated from it. That president is Donald Trump," he concluded. home World Archeologists discover 'Solomon's Palace' in Israel; Finding supports Old Testament Bible accounts Archeologists excavated a grand prehistoric structure dating back to King Solomon's era which affirmed Old Testament accounts of Israel. The building, which the excavation team called "Solomon's Palace," is reportedly 3,000 years old and was discovered in the royal city of Gezer. No evidence was found if an Israelite king lived there but it was built in the 10th century B.C.E., the time when King Solomon was famous for his immense wealth and stable governance of Israel and Judah. The team also excavated a layer of Philistine bichrome pottery which attested to the presence of Philistines living in the area, as stated in biblical accounts. It was alluded to the Bible verses 2 Samuel 5:25 and 1 Chronicles 14:16. The Old Testament verses said the city was connected with the Philistines in King David's time until he drove them out. The team also unearthed a fragment of an Ashdod figurine, a figure believed to represent an Aegean goddess. It was also linked to Philistine evidence from other excavation sites like Ashdod, Timna, Ekron and Ashkelon. The excavation was a partly done by Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary researchers who sends archaeologists to the Gezer site. The Seminary's Tel Gezer Project website stated that the "purpose of the project is to reexamine previous results in the context of newly excavated and published material. Emphasis will be placed on ancient Gezer during the Iron Age." Dr. Sam Wolff, an archaeologist employed by the Israel Antiquities Authority, warned people against connecting biblical texts to the excavation's new finds. In an interview with Haaretz, he said, "Our 10th century date is tentative, pending further study of the ceramic assemblage and the results of carbon 14 analyses. Others may claim that the pottery we are calling 10th century is in fact 9th century." home US Out of 11,000 Syrian refugees admitted into the U.S., only 56 were Christians The Obama administration has fulfilled its promise to admit 10,000 Syrian refugees this week but out of nearly 11,000 admitted only 56 of these individuals were Christians. Out of the 56, 12 identified as Catholic and six Orthodox. There were four Protestants, four Jehovah's Witnesses, and one Greek Orthodox. The remaining 29 identified simply as Christians. A total of 10,612 refugees were identified as Sunni Muslims. Only 20 were Shiites while 90 belonged to unspecified Islamic sects. The Yazidis, another persecuted minority in Syria, only numbered 17. The figures are based on the records of WRAPS, the software used in the processing of refugees created by the Refugee Processing Center (RPC). The number of admitted Christian refugees is disproportionate to the actual Christian population in Syria which is estimated to be about 10 percent. Since civil war broke out in 2011, around 500,000 to a million have left the state. "It's disappointingly disproportional," Matthew Clark, senior counsel at the American Center for Law and Justice (ACLJ), told Fox News. "[The Obama administration has] not prioritized Christians and it appears they have actually deprioritized them, put them [at the] back of the line and made them an afterthought," he continued. Some experts have stated their belief that the small number of admitted Christians may be in part because they choose not stay in the U.N.'s refugee camp in Jordan for fear of persecution. "The Christians don't reside in those camps because it is too dangerous," said Nina Shea, the director of Center for Religious Freedom at the Hudson Institute. "They are preyed upon by other residents from the Sunni community and there is infiltration by ISIS and criminal gangs," she added. Kristin Wright, the director of advocacy for Open Doors USA, believes that some Christians opt to stay in Syria or in urban areas like Beirut. "Many have fled to urban areas instead of the camps, so they may be living in Beirut instead of living in a broader camp, meaning many are not registering as refugees," Wright said to Fox News. She added that some Syrian Christians may have come to the U.S. through other means. The White House said the screening process for refugees takes roughly 12 to 18 months. The administration added that they prioritize those who are in desperate situations such as families with children and those who need hospital care. home Faith 'Pray For America' campaign commences; 'Repentance, forgiveness, seeking God' prayers to run for 40 days The Christian Broadcasting Network (CBN) launches on Monday a "Pray For America" campaign that will run for 40 days. Reports said the network is enjoining its partners and viewers to pray for the country. The focus of the campaign is on "repentance, forgiveness, seeking God, unity, protection and blessing for the entire U.S." Pat Robertson, CBN founder and chairman stated: "Together, we can change America. An individual who prays and humbles himself before God can change the course of a nation... It is time to wake up and recognize the power God has placed in our hands, and give our all to the purposes of God." The network's CEO, Gordon Robertson, said the campaign aims to "ignite a national chorus of prayer." It is said to be a crusade of millions of people crying out to God with one voice across the 50 states. The campaign starts on Sept. 5 and ends on Oct. 14. CBN's leading program, The 700 Club, will regularly show a daily prayer for the nation. Local and international CBN staff will be praying for the country, every hour on the hour, all throughout the prayer campaign. A prayer map is also featured on the website and visitors can check the progress of the campaign. To join and pledge to pray for America, people can visit PrayforAmerica.com. Those who sign up will receive a free prayer pack that features a prayer guide, door hanger, postcard and a "PRAY" bumper sticker. Supporters are encouraged to spread the word on social media with these hashtags: #50IN40 #PledgetoPray #PledgeYourProfile. Robertson said, "Ultimately, our greatest need is not the election of any individual politician to save us, but for us to put our real Savior, Jesus Christ, at the center of our national life again. We need a revival in America." home US Donald Trump's offer to Christians is similar to devil's offer to Jesus Christ, says Eric Sapp Trump's offer to abolish the Johnson Amendment and let Christians pick Supreme Court justices is similar to the offer made by Satan to Jesus Christ, said Eric Sapp, executive director of American Values Network. Sapp is referring to the devil's offer to give the kingdoms of the world to Jesus if he would bow down and worship Satan. Sapp's comments were aimed at an article published by the Christian Post telling evangelicals that they must consider voting for Trump or a third-party candidate. The article described Trump's offer to appoint conservative Supreme Court justices as "tempting." Sapp argued that voting for Trump would harm Christian witnesses, especially in the perspective of Latinos and Muslims. "What will our Latino brothers and sisters think of us? How could we ever again have credibility on religious freedom if we are willing to trade the First Amendment rights of our Muslim American neighbors so easily?" he asked. A member of the Global Advisory Board of Christian Post's parent company, Sapp pointed out that Trump supported the idea of torture and the killing of innocent family members of terrorists. He also called attention to Trump's three marriages and the adulterous statements Trump made in his book, "The Art of the Comeback." Sapp pointed out that the issue of abortion should not be a reason to vote for the business tycoon because he supported partial birth abortion prior to his candidacy. He also mentioned that Roe v. Wade still remained even when two-thirds of the Supreme Court appointees were Republicans during the administration of George W. Bush. Furthermore, Sapp rejected the idea that Christianity will decline if liberals were appointed to the Supreme Court. "If the Church needs the Court to save souls and empower a faithful witness a both spoken and lived a then we are truly lost," he remarked. He also criticized the growing sentiments against the Johnson Amendment among evangelical Trump supporters. "In what world do we think it's a good idea to allow our tithes to be used to support political candidates and for churches to become openly partisan political operations?" Sapp asked. Near the end of his opinion piece, Sapp declared that Trump will neither save the church nor restore America's morality. Sapp predicted that Trump will not win the elections because the nation will realize who he truly is. home US #WhyBible campaign highlights Bible's relevance in today's world The Wycliffe Bible Translators have launched a campaign to counter the rising skepticism of the Bible's claims among today's youth. The #WhyBible campaign hopes to convince people, especially the youth, that the Bible still plays an important role in people's lives. Scott Everhart, Wycliffe Bible Translators' senior marketing director, said the goal of the campaign is to create a forum where people can share their testimonies about how the Bible has impacted individual lives and communities. He came up with the campaign when a millennial member of their team noticed the diminishing number of millennials in the church. "We saw that the research reflects this a a growing number of Christians and especially younger believers are seeing less value in Bible-teaching and are apathetic about the Bible's ability to change lives," Everhart told the Christian Post. The State of Bible survey conducted by Barna in May showed that the percentage of Americans who view the Bible as sacred literature dropped from 86 to 80 percent from 2010. The number of Americans who say that the Bible is not a sufficient guide for living rose from 23 to 33 percent. Meanwhile, the percentage of Americans who see the Bible as a book of teachings written by men rose from 10 to 22 percent. The study also noted that there is a growing number of non-believers who think of the Bible as a dangerous book. Everhart hopes that the #WhyBible campaign encourages those who have stopped reading the Bible regularly to recognize the benefits and importance of the book. "We also hope the testimonies shared will be an encouragement for anyone who might be considering spending time in the Word for the first time," he added. Everhart explained that the campaign will help connect people of all ages and allow young people to learn from the older generation, and vice versa. According to Everhart, the ultimate proof of the Bible's relevance is in the life changes that take place after reading the Bible. "#WhyBible is an opportunity for people to share their own stories of transformation, so that others can be encouraged by their testimony and exposed to the power of the Bible," he said. At least 40 dead in Syria as ISIS claims series of blasts Six explosions that killed dozens of people in Syria on Monday morning have been claimed by Islamic State, state media said. At least 40 people are dead after the blasts hit government-controlled Homs, Tartous and al Saboura, a town west of Damascus, and Kurdish-held areas in Qamishli and Hasaka in northeastern Syria. ISIS-affiliated news agency Amaq said the jihadist group had claimed responsibility for the attacks, which were suicide operations targeting the Syrian government and a Kurdish security force. It issued separate statements naming some of the bombers. The deadliest blasts hit Tartous, where two explosions hit the Arzouna bridge area at the entrance to the city, killing 35 people. Syrian state television said the first explosion was a car bomb and the second was a suicide belt detonated as rescue workers came to the scene of the first incident. Monitoring group the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) said that four officers were killed in Homs where an explosion hit an army checkpoint. Syrians state television said one person was killed and three injured at the entrance to al Saboura, but SOHR said the death count was three. A motorbike also exploded in the centre of the northeastern city of Hasaka, killing five people including three members of the YPG-affiliated security force known as the Asayish, said the Observatory. The Kurdish YPG militia, a critical part of the US-backed campaign against Islamic State, took near complete control of Hasaka city in late August after a week of fighting with the government. The YPG already controls swathes of northern Syria where Kurdish groups have established de facto autonomy since the start of the Syrian war in 2011. The Observatory said a percussion bomb also went off in the province's city of Qamishli city, but nobody was harmed. Qamishli has been hit by a number of militant attacks in recent months. ISIS claimed responsibility for three terror attacks on the city in December that killed more than a dozen people. In June a suicide bomber killed three people in an attack near a church that was believed to have targeted the head of the Syriac Orthodox Church. The explosions came as US President Barack Obama and Russian President Vladimir Putin met on Monday to discuss how to reduce violence in Syria, and a possible ceasefire deal. "If an agreement can be reached, we want to do so urgently, because of the humanitarian situation. However, we must ensure that it is an effective agreement," a senior US administration official said. "If we cannot get the type of agreement we want, we will walk away from that effort." Additional reporting by Reuters. Bishop of Grantham: Conservative Christians who condemn me are still 'brothers and sisters in Christ' The Bishop of Grantham, who on Friday became the first Church of England bishop to reveal he is gay and in a same-sex relationship, has said he "understand[s]" the backlash he has already received from some conservative Christians. Bishop Nicholas Chamberlain told the Guardian on Sunday: "There has been direct response I've had a lot of emails which has been concerned, or anxious, and even angry, but not very much of that and I do understand that. I haven't had time to take it all in yet." A statement from conservative group Gafcon, the Global Fellowship of Confessing Anglicans, has condemned Chamberlain's appointment. "There are aspects of this appointment which are a serious cause for concern for biblically orthodox Anglicans around the world, and therefore we believe that this appointment is a major error," it said. "I read it and listened to the news," Chamberlain said of this statement. "I can well understand what is being said by my brothers and sisters in Christ." During a sermon at St Mary and St Nicolas church in Spalding on Sunday, Chamberlain spoke from the Gospel of Luke, and said there was "a cost to following" Jesus. "It will be different for everyone but it will be there," he said, according to the Guardian. "I've been sitting with this gospel over the last few days: they have been interesting days. I hope you will forgive me that my words are not as polished as I would have chosen to be. They are what they are." He also referred to a time that he had used the word "hate" in a sermon while training to be a vicar. A member of the congregation told him "that the word 'hate' was not appropriate on the lips of a Christian, and especially not on the lips of a Christian minister," Chamberlain recalled. "I'm grateful to him for reminding me of my responsibility, for making me stop and reflect. So it is that Jesus' words today made me stop, think, reflect." The bishop's coming out made headlines across the UK but he told BBC News he had never sought to make it a secret. "My focus and priority has been on my ministry, on serving God, on serving God's people. And I do that, as I always have done, as a gay man," he said. He lives within the guidelines of the bishops of the Church of England which stipulates that gay clergy must be celibate, and Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby sad he was "fully aware of Bishop Nick's long-term committed relationship". Chamberlain's appointment last November was "made on the basis of his skills and calling to serve the church in the diocese of Lincoln," Welby said. "He lives within the bishops' guidelines and his sexuality is completely irrelevant to his office." Blogger arrested for playing Pokemon Go in a cathedral A Russian Orthodox Archbishop has appealed for the release from prison of a young blogger jailed on remand for playing Pokemon Go in a cathedral. Ruslan Sokolovsky, 21, who lives alone with his disabled mother, is accused of extremism, of disrespect and of insulting the feelings of believers. He has been remanded in prison for two months after posting a video on YouTube showing him catching some of the virtual reality pocket monsters on his iPhone. If convicted, he faces up to five years in prison. The local Russian Orthodox Archbishop, Metropolitan Kyrill of Yekaterinburg, has pleaded for him to be released on bail. He told the news website Znak: "We do not crave blood." He said he had been asked to find out if anything could be done to help Sokolovsky. The church just wanted to ensure "such actions do not spread". Pokemon Go itself warns players they should not trespass when hunting down the creatures. Metropolitan Kyrill said church representatives were "ready to spend time" with the blogger. They want to ask him to help with their charity work and assisting the disabled, elderly and children. They also want him to remove the YouTube videos which he said "offended God and the Virgin". Sokolovsky was arrested in All Saints Cathedral, a beautiful church in Yekaterinburg which has a special place in the heart of Russians because it is built on the site of Ipatiev House where the last Tsar of Russia and the Romanov family were executed in July 1918. Previously it published on Znak.com a column, which contained an appeal to Metropolitan Kirill, pleading for clemency and assist the release of Ruslan Sokolovsky. The local city duma chairman Yevgeny Roizman has also appealed for his release and said the blogger's imprisonment was "embarrassing". He posted on Facebook that Sokolovsky had of course been provocative. "But you can't arrest a man for idiocy and bad manners." According to the Sverdlovsk press statement, the blogger is accused of committing several extremist crimes and public actions showing "clear disrespect for society", inciting religious hatred and insulting the religious feelings of believers. Under Russian law, simply catching Pokemon in a church is a crime because it is held to violate the right to freedom of worship. This offence alone can be punished by a substantial fine and up to three years in prison. Sokolovsky said in his video that he did not believe this should be an offence, so he decided to go and hunt Pokemon in a cathedral. He also questioned whether Jesus had ever really existed. Calais: Lord Dubs condemns UK government for failing 'obligation' to refugee children The UK government is failing young refugees and must be held to account, Lord Dubs said this weekend. The Labour peer, who himself fled Nazi Germany as a refugee in 1939, told MP Stella Creasy that he was "disappointed and angry" with Prime Minister Theresa May's government. "They've virtually done nothing, and we've all got to keep the maximum pressure going on the government they've got to do what they're supposed to do, which is to help some of these children come to Britain for safety," Lord Dubs said. He was speaking during a trip to the 'Jungle' refugee camp on the edge of Calais, where thousands of people including around 800 unaccompanied minors are living. Both he and Creasy, MP for Walthamstow in East London, were there with charities Help Refugees and Safe Passage to bring attention to the deteriorating situation. Conditions are poor, and residents are facing being made homeless again after French interior minister Bernard Cazeneuve vowed to dismantle the camp in stages. Authorities would go ahead with the demolition "with the greatest determination", Cazeneuve said on Friday, and more police would be stationed in Calais "to reinforce the battle" against refugees and migrants trying to smuggle themselves across the Channel to the UK. Medecins Sans Frontieres warned on Tuesday that the crisis in Calais was "getting progressively worse". Lord Dubs urged the French and British authorities to work together to help set up a functional asylum process, and said he was "desperately worried" for unaccompanied refugee children who are stranded in the camp alone. "This is no life for young people, this is no existence," he said. "They are very cheerful, some of them, but they've been through traumas on their way here, and they really deserve a better future, and they ought to get to a safe country like Britain, go to school and get on with their lives." He continued: "The refugee issue is a major one, refugee children should be dealt with properly under the terms of the immigration act, and we should pressure the government to get on with it. That's the government's obligation and we should push them to doing it. "Political will can do a great deal, but I haven't seen much political will yet." Church leaders call for peace and unity, make people feel God's love in conflict-ridden Ukraine In 2014, the peninsula of Crimea in southern Ukraine was annexed by Russian forces, triggering a conflict that rages on up to this day. Even at the height of this political tensions, the Catholic Church in Ukraine exerted efforts to fight hatred with goodness, with the ultimate aim of resolving the conflict peacefully and making Ukraine a free country. Speaking at a meeting in Rimini, Italy hosted by the nonprofit organisation Aid to the Church in Need, Ukranian priest Fr. Oleksandr Khalayim told of how Catholic religious workers are making people feel God's love despite the conflict. Fr. Khalayim expressed how the Catholic Church in Ukraine "stayed close to all" and was always "ready to share the fate of his flock" even from the beginning of the conflict two years ago. "There are many priests who give their service as chaplains and give strength and hope to young soldiers to resist in this senseless war," he said, as quoted by The Catholic News Agency. The priest added that the Church continues to hold prayer meetings for peace, involving all denominations in these events. Unfortunately, however, the political conflict has also caused a rift between the Ukrainian Greek Orthodox Church and the Russian Orthodox Church. Fr. Khalayim said this situation is bad for the faithful and for the country in general. "More than a conflict, this attitude can lead to isolation of the ecclesial community," Fr. Khalayim lamented, adding that the rift happened not because of "loyalty to the commandments of God, but because of political views." The priest also stressed that so many people are still suffering due to the political tension in his country, and helping them should remain to be the priority. "The conflict in the territory east of Ukraine has already taken more than 9,500 people's lives, and almost 800,000 people live in war zones, or at least close to them. There are nearly 2 million people who were forced to leave their homes," he stressed. "And unfortunately, in recent times the situation has worsened," he said. Egypt: Muslim MP wants to build a church honouring Coptic pope A Muslim MP in Egypt has submitted the first request to build a new church under a controversial law passed last week by the country's parliament. The law aimed at liberalising church building and renovation was hotly debated and received Church support only at the last minute amid fears it conceded too much to local opposition forces. However, the independent MP for the Assiut region in Upper Egypt, El-Badri Ahmed Deif, told reporters on Saturday: "I wanted it recorded in history that a Muslim was the first to submit a request for building a church in Egypt after the passing of the new landmark law." According to AhramOnline, he said: "This request aims to build new bridges of confidence between Muslims and Christians and foster national unity in Egypt." He said he wanted to build the church in the village of Salam, which translates as 'Peace', the birthplace of the late Coptic Orthodox Pope Shenouda III. "This great, moderate man was the pope of the Coptic Orthodox Church for 41 years, during which he lived in the tumultuous eras of late presidents Gamal Abdel-Nasser and Anwar El-Sadat, as well as former president Hosni Mubarak," Deif said. "In spite of his central religious status over these four decades, he never used his influence to build a church in his home village." There are more than 5,000 Christians living in the village of Salam and Deif said they need a church. "I want to build a church in Salam to help these Copts perform their religious duties as well as to immortalise the name of Pope Shenouda, the son of this village," he said. The request will be submitted to the governor of the province. The new law says local governors must respond within four months and must provide clear explanations if they reject such requests. Coptic MP Margaret Azer, deputy chairwoman of parliament's human rights committee, said: "Deif's request is a very good initiative from a Muslim MP who belongs to a governorate that includes a large number of Coptic Christians." "This initiative also reflects a high sense of national unity and this is what we hope for after the passing of the new church building law," she said. Church buildings have been targeted for destruction by Islamist activists. Many were destroyed in rioting during the chaos surrounding the ousting of Muslim Brotherhood President Mohammed Morsi and are being rebuilt by the government. Egypt's President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi has made better relations between Christians and Muslims a priority for his administration. Finland: Church won't allow pastors to officiate gay weddings Finland's largest religious body will not allow its pastors to officiate same-sex weddings, despite country-wide legislation that will allow gay couples to marry next year. The Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland, which has around four million members, has issued guidelines to church leaders that says the new law on March 1, 2017, will "have no effect on the rights of pastors to officiate church weddings". The Bishops' Conference, which wrote the guidelines, said that the Church Handbook states that marriage is between a man and a woman, and this will not change. However, the Helsinki Times reports, church leaders may pray with and for couples who enter into civil marriages. The bishops also insisted that "same-sex couples are welcome to take part in all church activities". "Church members will include married same-sex couples after 1 March, 2017. As has been noted previously, the church is for everyone," the bishops said. "Same-sex couples are welcome to all church activities and shall be treated as families, even though they have not entered into marriage in accordance with the Church Act." The Evangelical Lutheran Church is one of two national Churches in Finland. The other is the Finnish Orthodox Church. The Church of England has for decades been grappling with same-sex marriage, and the issue has been highlighted once again after one of its bishops became the first to come out as gay on Friday. The Bishop of Grantham, Nicholas Chamberlain, made the announcement in an interview with the Guardian. He said that his sexuality was known by his senior bishop and the Archbishop of Canterbury when he was appointed last November. Church of England guidelines for bishops stipulate that gay clergy must be celibate. Archbishop Justin Welby said Chamberlain's sexuality is "completely irrelevant to his office". Former diocesan bishop part of British delegation that met Syria's President al-Assad The former Bishop of Rochester and others have been criticised on social media for being part of a delegation that has met President of Syria Bashir al-Assad. Besides Michael Nazir-Ali, the delegation included Rev Andrew Ashdown, the Bishop of Winchester's former interfaith adviser, who was the group leader; Baroness Cox, a committed Christian and a crossbench member of the House of Lords; David Clark of Cambridge University; and Raymond Hilton of Parliament's human rights committee. The Syrian Arab news agency Sana reported from Damascus that during the meeting, al-Assad criticised Western media for "falsifying" events in Syria. He wanted to clarify the image presented of his country. He warned of the dangers of rising extremism in the Middle East which he blamed for terrorism in the wider Western world as well. Sana reported that al-Assad's media adviser Bouthaina Shaaban called on the West to listen directly to the viewpoint of the Syrians and said Syria had been the "cradle of tolerance" between the religions. He claimed the Arab-Israeli conflict was at the root of the problems. Members of the delegation asked about the chances of those refugees who have fled returning to their homelands and what role countries such as France and Britain could play. Syria Times reported: "On their part, members of the guest delegation stressed that by visiting Syria and meeting Syrian officials and citizens they will be able to convey the truth about Syria, to correct the wrong image the British government and many Britons have about what is really going on in the country and to explain the huge suffering caused to the Syrians because of terrorism." Social media carried expressions of concern about the visit. Liberal Democrat member of the House of Lords Baroness Hussein-Ece tweeted: Sitting down to talks with a mass murderer, barrel bombing & dropping chemical weapons on civilians. Shameful #Syria https://t.co/wLAERJavnE Baroness Hussein-Ece (@meralhece) September 5, 2016 Political analyst HA Hellyer tweeted: But using concerns around Christians, to justify appeasement of Assad, over the bodies of many of their Muslim compatriots? Unconscionable. H.A. Hellyer . (@hahellyer) September 5, 2016 A spokesperson for the Diocese of Winchester said: "Andrew Ashdown retired from his parish position in the Diocese last October and stood down as interfaith adviser shortly afterwards. His personal views do not reflect those of the diocese." Hong Kong: Young 'umbrella protest' leaders win election seats A pro-independence leader of Hong Kong's 2014 Umbrella movement has won a seat in Hong Kong's legislative election, sparking hopes that the city has moved closer to autonomy from Beijing. Several pro-independence candidates won seats in the election, which saw a record turnout in the Chinese-controlled city on Sunday. Hong Kong's pro-democracy opposition also kept its crucial one-third veto bloc in the 70-seat Legislative Council over major legislation and public funding that has helped check China's influence. Nathan Law, a 23-year-old who rose to prominence during the 2014 student protests, vowed to "fight" the Chinese Communist Party and said the result showed the people of Hong Kong "wanted change". The former British colony was handed back to China in 1997 under a "one country, two systems" agreement that promised to maintain the global financial hub's freedoms and separate laws for at least 50 years, but gave ultimate control to Beijing. Beijing officials have repeatedly warned Hong Kong not to stray too far and Chinese leaders will now have to decide how to respond. There was no immediate reaction in official Chinese media to the election results. Despite the disqualification of six pro-democracy election candidates in July on the grounds that they backed independence, at least five "localists" and younger democratic newcomers won seats, including Law. "I'm quite shocked," Law, of the recently founded Demosisto party, said. "We inherit some spirit from the movement and I hope that can continue in the future... We still have to unite in order to have stronger power to fight the Chinese Communist Party." "I think it is a miracle," he told reporters. "This is absolutely unexpected nobody imagined this would happen. Every day and night, our team used hard work and sweat to turn defeat into victory. "People want change" Sunday's vote was the first major election since the student-led "Umbrella Revolution" protests of 2014 that blocked roads for 79 days in which Beijing gave no ground. Thousands of students demonstrated against the Chinese government's insistence on screening political candidates in Hong Kong to ensure their allegiance to the Communist party. Law and two other student leaders, Joshua Wong and Alex Chow, were last month sentenced for their role in the protest. Law received a community service order of 120 hours for "unlawful assembly". Wong who was raised in a Christian family told Christian Today last year that his faith has strengthened his determination to fight for justice. When he was a boy, his father took him to visit poor communities in Hong Kong, and instilled in him a passion to advocate on behalf of the vulnerable. "The Bible teaches us that we need to fight for justice, and Christians bear the responsibility to be salt and light in society," Wong said. "We have more obligation and a more important role in the world other than being just a normal citizen in society who wants to earn money." Wong retweeted news of Law's win this morning: Since the 2014 protests, many disaffected youngsters have decried what they see as increasing Beijing interference stifling dissent and civil liberties, leading to a radicalisation of the political scene and occasional violent protests. Several veteran democrats failed to retain their seats on Sunday, as voters backed a new batch of younger democrats espousing self-determination and a more confrontational stance with China. "It's a new era," said Lee Cheuk-yan, a democratic lawmaker who lost his seat after more than two decades in public office. "People want change, change meaning that they want new faces... but the price is a further fragmentation [of the democracy camp]. Ideologically they're talking about independence and they want to assert themselves." Hong Kong Secretary for Constitutional Affairs Raymond Tam said the government would do its best to "bring them around to a more centrist position". "But it's too early to say if this will be an issue," he said. Pro-establishment lawmakers like Elizabeth Quat said she hoped the issue of splitting from China wouldn't enter the legislature or it could damage Hong Kong's economic interests. "Independence is not realistic at all," she said. "Hopefully this will not be their main objective." Voters flocked to cast ballots in record numbers with some having to wait several hours after the close of polling past midnight at congested voting booths, leading to some delays in vote counting on Monday. "Hong Kong is really chaotic now. I want to do something to help," said 28-year-old Maicy Leung, who was in a snaking queue of several hundred. "It's to help the next generation and to help myself." The Electoral Affairs Commission said 58 per cent of the city's 3.8 million eligible voters had cast their ballot, up from 53 per cent in 2012 and the highest turnout for any legislative election since 1997. Additional reporting by Reuters. ISIS has torture cells just for women who resist orders to become sex slaves "God, I have wronged myself, and no one forgives sins but you. Forgive me, you are forgiving and merciful." This was the message in Arabic scribbled on the wall of a prison used by the Islamic State (ISIS) to detain and torture women who resisted orders to become sex slaves. The message appears to have been written by a Christian woman, according to God Reports. The prison was discovered in the formerly ISIS-occupied Syrian city of Manbij after it was liberated by fighters from the Manbij Military Council, which is part of the U.S.-backed, Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), the Arab24 news agency reports. "We discovered an Islamic State group prison for women, with rooms for groups as well as solitary prisoners," Syrian rebel fighter Ibrahim Al-Mohammed told Arab24. "We found the worst, most violent torture tools, and may God curse them." A video taken at the facility shows cells with metal doors and mattresses, pillows and blankets inside. Sexual stimulants, contraceptives and narcotics were also found inside the prison. "We found various kinds of pills, including sexual stimulation, contraceptives and narcotic pills which were used by the Islamic State group for torture," rebel leader Omar Mazerli told Arab24. "They have very strange ways. This place was very hard to find and it is well hidden, but we got here with God's will and the efforts of the Military Council." He said the prison was used by the ISIS to detain women who resisted orders to become sex slaves. The discovery of the exclusive ISIS prison for women came a few weeks after the SDF gained control of the city from ISIS after months of heavy fighting. Thousands of ISIS prisoners were freed when the Syrian rebel fighters took over the city. Many rejoiced in the streets, with men cutting their beards and women burning their burkas to signify an end to harsh ISIS regulations. The jihadis had imposed strict compliance regarding clothing and facial hair. The capture of Manbij is considered as the most significant defeat suffered by the ISIS in Syria in a year. Manbij lies on a key supply route between the Turkish border and the city of Raqqa, the ISIS' capital. The city earned the nickname "little London" due to the number of British jihadist fighters who stayed there on their way to Raqqa, according to Sky News correspondent Alex Rossi. U.S. officials said the capture of Manbij clears a path for anti-ISIS forces to recapture Raqqa, according to Sky News. Kickass Torrents, The Pirate Bay update: Copyright trolling targets Sweden users, urges file sharers to pay $233 for settlement It looks like torrent site Kickass Torrents is yet to rise from its shutdown while The Pirate Bay is once again being targeted, but the file sharers are the ones on the receiving end. KAT has been out for weeks now following the arrest of its alleged owner Artem Vaulin. There have been various attempts made to replicate the torrent hub, but they do not seem to last. At the moment, the emergence of mirror sites continues, although they do not capture the same functionality as the original Kickass Torrents. Most of the copies would not even deliver efficient search response. Meanwhile, The Pirate Bay, which just celebrated its 13th year on the web in the midst of the downfall of its fellow torrent giants, remains afloat. However, there is a new threat to its users in Sweden copyright trolling. This is the same method that dealt with users of torrent sites like The Pirate Bay and Kickass Torrents in United States, Canada, and Europe. Sweden has always been impervious to it until now. Although many of the piracy sites have fallen, file-sharing is the one thing that still lives. According to Torrent Freak, an organization by the name Spridningskollen (Distribution Check) has found a new way to deal with violators. The group recently revealed German anti-piracy group Excipio has kept an eye on the file-sharing activities of The Pirate Bay and other torrent users in Sweden, all of whom can be tracked through their internet service providers. "One can compare it to a speed camera. In the same way that a speed camera only records those who drive too fast, only those Internet users who share copyrighted material without permission are logged," Distribution Check spokesman Gordon Odenbark said. Those who are caught file sharing will be fined for $233 per film. However, getting caught in the fall might cost more. Odenbark said that this amount will surely be increased in the months to come. Distribution Check says that there's no use refusing to pay and take it to court, as the amount asked of them is lower than what file sharers have to shell out in Swedish courts. "So you can consider it as a kind of settlement. If you pay the sum, rights holders will stop their demands and both parties can avoid a costly and time-consuming trial," the company stated. The group also points out that they are also looking to educate individuals on file-sharing and how it manages the television, film and music industry. Nigeria 1966: How faithful missionaries saved countless lives in a forgotten genocide Think of Nigeria today and Boko Haram springs to mind, with its murderous version of Islam which has been responsible for untold suffering. But Nigeria itself is a colonial construction, created by Britain out of a conglomeration of different tribes and languages and given independence in 1960. It has known civilian governments and military dictarships as different tribes and interests competed for dominance, and has not yet come close to fulfilling its potential as a beacon of peace, prosperity and democracy for Africa. One of the earliest trials faced by the new nation was the genocide committed against the Igbo people in Northern Nigeria in 1966, a crime hardly remembered in much of the world. The exact number who died is unknown, but it's estimated at between 30,000 and 50,000. They were murdered by Hausa-Fulani soldiers and civilians seeking revenge for a failed coup-d'etat, and the atrocities led directly to the Biafran war of 1967-70; more than 3 million civilians died of starvation in that conflict, in which Nigeria deliberately used hunger as a weapon of war. What's also been forgotten is the role played by the many missionaries in the region in trying to help those attacked by government forces and that's an omission a US organisation is aiming to remedy. EthicsDaily.com, a division of the Baptist Centre for Ethics whose founder Robert Parham was the child of missionary parents in Nigeria during the genocide, has released a feature-length documentary entitled The Disturbances in time for the 50th anniversary of the events. According to EthicsDaily, the death toll would have been even higher if Christian missionaries and Nigerian pastors had not taken action to save lives. Their heroic work has been unknown, primarily because those involved never spoke about what happened, using veiled language and euphemisms in public reports and statements. Parham and his team have interviewed missionaries and their children with denominations including the Assemblies of God and the Southern Baptist Convention, and mission organisations including Sudan Interior Mission and Sudan United Mission, as well as Nigerians. The producers conducted more than two dozen on-camera interviews, acquired nearly 2,500 documents, slides and photographs, obtained several hours of missionary 8mm and 16mm home movies, worked with roughly a dozen different denominational, educational and filmic archives, and talked to scores of other witnesses. Parham got the idea for the documentary after uncovering cryptic correspondence where his father wrote that he couldn't share everything that happened. The interviews that ensued are often tearful as witnesses reveal what they saw. "Fifty years later, I think there's a certain freedom to tell the story," Parham said. "They have a need to tell the story." Many of the interviewees have never talked publicly about their experiences. Some fearerd being judged because of what they did or did not do, knowing that their decisions meant life or death for others. "You fly by the seat of your pants; we had no training, no experience, we had no resources except to pray," says one. "I don't know if we felt guilty for what happened," says another, while another speaks of the sadness, and depression left by the events. As well as the horrors, however, there are moving stories of rescue like Jonathan Ikerionwu, who escaped with the help of missionaries and made his way back to the Baptist High School in Jos. He earned a doctorate in the US and is now a professor in Nigeria, and says he owes his life to Bill and Audrey Cowley. The Disturbances is a first-class piece of documentary that recovers a vital piece of history that could have been lost forever. But it's also a window into how Christians responded at a time of terrible danger and distress, and how they remained faithful to their calling. It is not just informative, but inspirational. The Disturbances is available to pre-order at http://www.thedisturbances.com/. Pakistani who follows Islam says Muslims should follow Saint Mother Teresa's example Newly canonised Saint Mother Teresa of Calcutta has inspired many Christians for her selflessness and acts of charity. The new saint's example of love for humankind is getting the attention not just of Christians but people from other religions as well. Faisal Edhi, a follower of Islam and the son of Abdul Sattar, one of the most well-known philanthropists in Pakistan, sent a message on the occasion of Mother Teresa's canonisation on Sunday. In his message, Faisal described Mother Teresa as "a great social worker who dedicated her whole life to the service of humanity without distinction of caste or religion." "Her canonisation will immortalise her service for the poorest of the poor," the Muslim man said, as quoted by The Catholic News Agency. He added that Mother Teresa should serve as an example for people nowadays to open up possibilities for "ending rivalries between nations and communities." Faisal likewise recalled how his father frequently spoke of Mother Teresa and her work, saying her acts of selfless generosity should serve as an example to Muslims. Abdul did just that when he was still alive. Known to some as the "Mother Teresa of Pakistan," he established a free medical clinic, which has become a large organisation called the "Edhi Foundation." Faisal said Mother Teresa and his father indeed had something in common a missionary spirit which helped them deal with criticisms from "religious hard-liners." "Only missionary spirit can help them in working for the welfare of others and understanding their sufferings," Faisal said. Concluding his message, Faisal stressed how his father "trained [him] to do what Mother Teresa did," and expressed hopes that Muslims will be as charitable and generous as the new saint. "As a Muslim social worker in Pakistan, I thanks missionaries for their kindness and establishment centres that work without any discrimination in our Third World country," he said, adding that "there is no other example of the ways in which they help the disabled, especially handicapped children." Revelation 3: The victorious persecuted Church My brother Vijay was severely beaten this June in Jabalpur, India. My sister Shigo was executed in Syria last year. My sister Janani was killed by her mother in Sri Lanka. My brother Nadeem was beaten and abused in Pakistan because he dared to ask for his wages. My brother Fam Mary Kalaad from Egypt was stabbed repeatedly in the chest in July this year. He died. Some might think that I belong to a particularly large and unfortunate family. I admit it is large a multitude which no-one can count but I deny that we are unfortunate. Because despite the attacks and abuse upon us, my family is greatly blessed. We are of course the Christian family, our brother is the Lord Jesus, our Father the Lord God, and our helper and counsellor the Holy Spirit. All over the world we are being persecuted, privately, publicly and by governments. In Malaysia a law has just been passed which means that Christian converts from Islam can be detained in a 'purification centre' for up to three months. In Nepal, eight Christians were put on trial in July because they gave out a pamphlet about Jesus in a Christian school. In Nigeria the new leader of Boko Haram announced that they will now specifically target Christians only. In China and in Cuba churches are being closed and pastors arrested. The new film Insanity of God gives a moving account of the persecution of Christians throughout the world. The prophetic message that was brought to the Church of Smyrna (Revelation 2:8-11) praised the Christians there for their faithfulness in the face of such persecution. Smyrna (modern Izmir) was a large, beautiful, planned city, famous for its medical and science schools. The message that Jesus gave them is the shortest and the warmest of his messages to the churches and yet it is also a warning. What I find wonderful about this is that one of the most famous martyrs in the early Church could well have been sitting there when this letter was read in public (as Revelation was designed to be). Polycarp, who became the bishop/pastor of Smyrna, was martyred in AD 160. He was described as 'the teacher of Asia, the father of the Christians, the puller down of our gods, who teaches numbers not to sacrifice or worship". The Christians were persecuted because they did not go along with the Emperor cult. They faced unemployment, poverty and in some cases death. When he was asked to recant his faith and to swear allegiance to the Roman emperor, Polycarp declared: "Eighty and six years have I served Him, and He never did me any injury: how then can I blaspheme my King and my Saviour?" I love the description in the account of Polycarp's martyrdom: "Now, the blessed Polycarp suffered martyrdom on the second day of the month Xanthicus just begun, the seventh day before the Kalends of May, on the great Sabbath, at the eighth hour. He was taken by Herod, Philip the Trallian being high priest, Statius Quadratus being proconsul, but Jesus Christ being King for ever, to whom be glory, honour, majesty, and an everlasting throne, from generation to generation. Amen." This is the message of Revelation to the persecuted church then and the fearful Church today. Jesus Christ is King forever! Centuries later there was another martyrdom in Smyrna. On April 18, 2007, a 46-year-old German missionary and father of three, Tilman Geske, and his Turkish co-worker Necati, were killed by Islamist militants. The then Turkish Interior Ministry gave an official response on TV in which he gloated about the murders: "We hope you have learned your lesson. We do not want Christians here." But what about the church in the West? Are we persecuted? There seem to be two schools of thought on this. The first says "Yes, of course" and the second says "Don't be stupid, of course you/we are not persecuted." The former exaggerates the discrimination that Christians in the West are increasingly facing, while the latter minimises or justifies it. Is there not a more balanced and realistic perspective? Consider the following: In Belgium a Roman Catholic care home was fined 6,000 euros because it refused to euthanise a 74 year old woman. In Britain the British Medical Association reported that medical students who were pro-life "have complained of being harassed and discriminated against". In the US an American Christian dating site agreed to pay $450,000 in damages to a male same-sex couple who claimed they were being discriminated against. Is any of this persecution? Not in the sense that many of our brothers and sisters face, but it is discrimination and discrimination is always the seedbed for more serious persecution. Jesus warned the Smyrna church about what was going to come. And he warns us. As our society turns away from God and replaces him with an increasingly totalitarian state we will find that that the warning of Christ in verse 16 may well be true for us. The temptation will be to compromise so that we can retain our position in society. Don Carson puts it well: "In declining times, those who truly speak for God will be taunted and threatened. The pressures to dilute what God says become enormous. Clever exegesis to make the text say what it really doesn't, selective silence to leave out the painful bits, hermeneutical cleverness to remove the bite and sting of Scripture, all become de rigueur, so that we can still be accepted and even admired." Another temptation will be to fight back with the weapons of the world. We might regard ourselves as an embattled and persecuted group who have to fight for our rights. That is the wrong approach. Richard Bauckham in his book on the theology of Revelation points out: "It is not simply because Rome persecutes Christians that Christians must oppose Rome. Rather it is because Christians must dissociate themselves from the evil of the Roman system that they are likely to suffer persecution". In other words, we are most likely to be persecuted, not because we are Christians, but because we critique and don't buy into the cultural, economic and social norms of our society. The only way to resist these temptations and to be victorious is to be faithful, hear what the Spirit says to the churches and not to fear. We can resist and challenge the systems of this world, not because we have a better system, but because we have faith in the one true God. We don't rage against the machine. We follow Christ as he renews the whole creation. That is why faith in Christ is the most revolutionary thing that the world has ever seen. No weapon that is fashioned against us can defeat the love of Christ. It's no wonder that the 'powers that be' react so fiercely. Jesus, as the First and the Last (God), as the one who died and rose again, promises his people ultimate victory. The Phoenix was Smyrna's symbol because the city had been destroyed and rebuilt. It rose from the ashes. In 2014 a new church opened in Malatya, Smyrna. The gates of hell shall not prevail. David Robertson is the moderator of the Free Church of Scotland and director of Solas CPC, Dundee. Follow him on Twitter @theweeflea. Russian astronaut will take Gospels and Christian icons into space A Russian astronaut has pledged to take the Gospels with him whem he heads to the International Space Station later this month. Sergey Ryzhikov, aged 42, also said the new crew at the station have the call sign "Tabor" after Mount Tabor, the site of the transfiguration of Jesus. Ryzhikov was speaking at a press conference in the Astronaut Training Center at the Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Centre. He said he will take "the Gospels, icons, letters from his relatives and stones from Mount Tabor", Russian media reported. His spiritual freight shows how far Russia has come from the early days of its exploration of space. Yuri Gagarin, the first human in space and the man after whom the cosmonaut training centre is named, is said to have remarked that he "looked and looked, but didn't see God" on his return to earth, though the quote is disputed and may derive from a dismissive comment by then Russian leader Nikita Kruschev. Last week, a US astronaut described the humbling experience of witnessing at first hand in space "the amazing creative work of God". US astronaut Jeff Williams, commander of the International Space Station's Expedition 48, spoke to Albert Mohler, president of the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, through a NASA link. Williams takes beautiful pictures and has tweeted them regularly from the station. The Archbishop of Canterbury reveals how Christians should pray - and who to pray for The Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby took to Twitter today to join his 95,000 followers and many more in advising how to pray for the world, for individuals, for those in sickness - and for yourself Welby set up the #askJustinWelby lunchtime Twitter prayer session with a Tweet of his own: Join me for a Twitter Q&A on prayer today at 1.25pm UK time. Tweet your questions about prayer on #askJustinWelby Hundreds of people immediately asked for prayers for jobless teenagers, for guidance on how to "pray like the Psalmist" and even expressing concern that "God's inbox" might be getting too full. Some people invoked essays on the efficacy of intercessory prayer. A new convert to Christianity did not ask the Archbishop to pray for anything in particular, but just wanted advice on what he should pray for. People also wanted to know whether collective prayer was stronger than individual prayer, and whether prayer is more about talking, or listening. Welby responded to the prayer requests by 30-second Twitter videos. He told Naomi Bolton, who asked how to pray for God's will to be done after her mum died, that he sympathised and felt for her. He added: "It's not always your job to pray. It is very often other people's job to pray for you when you're going through a rough time as you have been at the moment. Be with others, and ask for their help." Colin Cameron asked how long the Archbishop prayed each day. Welby said it could be for a couple of hours or more in total, a mix of prayers with the community three times a day, contemplation with the Bible and intercessionary prayer. Beckly Walker asked why it was so hard to pray. He said: "Great question." For him, the reasons were laziness, distractions and a "desire not to meet with God" because when that happens, things change. "All those things stop me. Once I've started, it's wonderful." Lucy Smith asked if he always got answers to his prayers. He said he did, but not always the answer he wanted. "How I know there's an answer is that something happens or it doesn't, but also that sense of the presence of God by his spirit." He responded to the blogger Archbishop Cranmer: "Your Grace, your questions will always be terrifying." Welby said God answers prayers "surprisingly" and very often through others. "Often God just turns up and does the most extraordinary things in our lives." The purpose of prayer is "to bring ourselves into the presence of God" and to be transformed by "being in the presence of God." To the new Christian, he said: "I would start by praying for the gift of the spirit, to help you pray better. Secondly, make sure you are reading the Bible each day and as you read, pray for God to speak to you through the Bible and then pray about what he says to you." Asked if it was alright to be angry with God, Welby said it was alright to be "honest with God in prayer." Anger can be part of it, but the key thing is honesty. Churches Alive Online @aliveandonline asked for tips on praying during a lunch hour. Welby said if possible, pray with someone else. And give ten minutes for prayer about how you are, ten minutes with the Bible, ten minutes of further prayer "and make sure you eat your sandwiches." The God he prays to is "the God I'm learning to know through Jesus Christ, progressively as time goes on, more and more and more." The most helpful thing to aid prayer life was having "someone older, wiser and more experienced" to talk and listen to. The most important thing when struggling with prayer is to pray with others. "Being a Christian is being together with God, with others." He said it was ok for a person to pray for themselves, although he always prays for himself last. "We pray for ourselves because we are worried about things. We are absolutely honest with God. We never hide things from God. And that means we are going to pray for ourselves a bit. But not dominantly." He ended with a simple prayer: "Come Holy Spirit of God, and fill our hearts with the fire of your love. Amen." The Jenkins controversies: Can you be a Christian and not believe in the Virgin Birth? David Jenkins, the former Bishop of Durham who died yesterday aged 91, was famous for his trenchant criticisms of Margaret Thatcher and all her works. A withering description at the height of the miners' strike of coal boss Ian MacGregor as an "imported elderly American" was regarded as particularly unepiscopal language. It wasn't his politics that really upset most people, though, but his theology. Jenkins came to Durham from academia, and wanted to get the public thinking about things that might have been common enough in the common room but certainly weren't in the pew. Before his consecration at York Minster which was followed two days later by a lightning strike and catastrophic fire that conservatives regarded as not quite a coincidence he had given an interview for a BBC Credo programme in which he said that he doubted whether God would have arranged a virgin birth for Jesus, or allowed him to walk on water. Two months later he was recorded in an interview in the library at Auckland Castle saying: "To believe in a Christian way, you don't necessarily have to have a belief that Jesus was born from literally a virgin mother, nor a precise belief that the risen Jesus had a literally physical body." Pressed on this, he said that the Resurrection was "real". "That's the point. All I said was 'literally physical'. I was very careful in the use of language. After all, a conjuring trick with bones proves only that somebody's very clever at a conjuring trick with bones." In the tabloid press, Jenkins instantly became the bishop who had described the Resurrection as "a conjuring trick with bones", and never quite lived it down. His views were, and remain, a long way away from orthodox Christianity. When in the Apostles' Creed we say we believe Christ was "born of the Virgin Mary" and "on the third day he rose again", we are expected to affirm these truths in the plain sense of the words. Jenkins outraged Christian opinion and the opinion of many agnostics and atheists, too because he appeared to be attempting to finesse the Creed to make it more palatable to a sceptical world. But is there anything an orthodox believer can learn from his views? Jenkins was absolutely clear that he believed in the Incarnation, once writing: "God is. God is as he is in Jesus. So there is hope." So there are two issues. One is about the Bible, and whether because the Bible says something is true, it is therefore true. The Virgin Birth isn't in Mark's or John's Gospel, and Matthew's Gospel is arguably a little ambiguous, but Luke is quite clear (1:34). So Jenkins didn't regard himself as bound by the literal sense of scripture, even when it came to such a core doctrine of the faith. The "literal sense of scripture", though, is itself a slippery concept. Most scholars, including conservative evangelical scholars with a high view of the inspiration of Scripture, acknowledge that language is used in different ways in the Bible, and it's very important to identify exactly what kind of thing is being said. However, in this case, there's more at stake than whether the trees of the field really do clap their hands or whether Balaam's donkey spoke to him. The doctrine of the Virgin Birth is intimately connected with the doctrine of the incarnation. That Jesus had a human mother but no human father expresses and embodies the belief that he was both human and divine, a God-Man, with all the implications of that for our salvation and eternal destiny. Jenkins was cutting the link, and saying that the Incarnation had nothing to do with biology at all. At one level, of course, he was perfectly right: there's no necessary connection between virgin conception and incarnation. But in cutting the doctrine loose from the witness of Scripture, his view also struck at the grounding of faith in history. He seemed to make belief in the supernatural optional, and his option was to take the path of least resistance. But though God could, if He wished, have chosen to be incarnate without a virgin birth, the witness of Scripture is that to express most completely his identification with human beings, he did not. And the sense among orthodox believers was that they wanted a bishop to believe what he said he believed, without any mental reservations. It was the same with his comments about the Resurrection and old bones. Jenkins was trying to get people to think about the Resurrection as more than a totem, a sign of orthodoxy, which was fair enough. But again, he thought you could discard the sign and keep the thing signified. He did not believe in the empty tomb, but he would say with his hand on his heart that he believed in the Risen Christ, present and active in the life of the believer. Again, it's possible to argue that in principle this might work, theologically speaking. But the power of the Resurrection lies in its visible demonstration of the victory of God. Take that away, and it's difficult to see how anything other than a vague optimism remains. David Jenkins was a subtle and thoughtful theologian who never regarded himself as having departed from orthodoxy. But the Church, on the whole, has decided that his version of two core doctrines is better left in the classroom than preached from the pulpit. Follow Mark Woods on Twitter: @RevMarkWoods Thousands of Muslim refugees in Switzerland, Germany converting to Christianity amid disillusionment The love of Christ and hearing the truth of the Gospel are drawing more and more Muslim refugees in Switzerland and Germany to Christianity, the Gospel Herald reports. Since 2014, more than 2,000 Muslims have turned to Christ, and the number keeps rising, according to Switzerland's Counselling Centre for Integration and Religious Affairs. Speaking to the Swiss edition of "20 Minutes," coordinator Kathrin Anliker said some of the refugees embrace Christianity after witnessing the brutality of extremist groups like ISIS, which have been carrying out horrific acts in the name of Allah. Others who have come out to embrace Christ were already Christians but who kept their faith a secret for fear of persecution, she said. Philippe Datwyler of the Reformed Church in Zurich also reported many conversions to Christianity in Switzerland's free evangelical churches, which runs services for Iranians and Afghans, led by an Iranian pastor. In 2015, some 1.8 million asylum-seekers entered the European Union, fleeing war and poverty in the Middle East, according to data from the European Union border agency Frontex. Around 1.1 million of these refugees came to Germany. In June, The Guardian reported that a large number of Muslim refugees in Europe had converted to Christianity, with some churches conducting mass baptisms. For instance, at Trinity church in the Berlin suburb of Steglitz, the congregation has grown from 150 two years ago to almost 700, swollen by Muslim converts, according to Pastor Gottfried Martens. Earlier this year, churches in Berlin and Hamburg reportedly held mass conversions for asylum seekers at municipal swimming pools. RT, which conducted interviews with several converts, reported that "among the most popular reasons behind the conversion is faith in a new religion, triggered by 'lack of freedom' in Islam, and gratitude to Christians offering help to refugees fleeing war-torn countries." "I've been spat on, told that I've betrayed Islam. But through what I've learned, I can forgive them," one man who was baptised a Christian told the news outlet in Hamburg. "In Islam, we always lived in fear. Fear God, fear of sin, fear of punishment. However, Christ is a God of love," another Iranian refugee, Solmaz, told the German daily, according to RT. Trump uses visit to black church to call for new civil rights agenda Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump stepped up his bid to win over minority voters by addressing a largely black church in Detroit on Saturday and calling for a new civil rights agenda to support African-Americans. As scores of protesters outside chanted "No justice, no peace," Trump said he wanted to make Detroit a predominantly African-American city which recently emerged from bankruptcy the economic envy of the world by bringing back companies from abroad. Trump separately met with about 100 community and church leaders, his campaign said, in his latest push to peel away minority voters from Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton. His outreach to minorities over recent weeks comes as he seeks to improve his chances in the November 8 election and shake off months of offending the sensibilities of black and Hispanic voters with his hard line on immigration and rough-hewn rhetoric. "I fully understand that the African American community is suffering from discrimination and that there are many wrongs that must still be made right," Trump said at the church, which was half-full. "I want to make America prosperous for everyone. I want to make this city the economic envy of the world, and we can do that." His address of over 10 minutes at the Great Faith Ministries International church received moments of applause, including when he said Christian faith is not the past, but the present and the future. Accompanying Trump to the church was Ben Carson, the former Republican presidential hopeful who grew up in the city and whose childhood neighbourhood Trump visited on Saturday. Trump has argued that his emphasis on job creation would help minority communities in a way that Democrats have failed to. But Clinton has accused Trump of aligning himself with racists. Opinion polls show Trump has low support among minorities. "I believe we need a civil rights agenda for our time, one that ensures the rights to a great education, so important, and the right to live in a good-paying job and one that you love to go to every morning," Trump said. "That can happen. We need to bring our companies back," he added. Emma Lockridge, 63, said as she entered the church that she found his comments about Mexicans and Muslims "hateful". "That's my major reservation with Mr Trump is how he's treated those particular sets of people," said Lockridge, who is retired and an environmental activist. But she said she also had concerns about Clinton's support in the 1990s for crime legislation signed by her husband, former President Bill Clinton, which many black Americans say contributed to high incarceration rates in their communities. Vicki Dobbins, an activist protesting outside, said she was disappointed the church asked Trump to speak. "I believe that Trump coming to Detroit is a joke, and I'm ashamed of the pastor who invited him," she said. "In my opinion, he stabbed everyone in the back." Dear Abby: I have been married to my soul mate for 25 years. We get along great - she's my best friend and a good mother to our three kids. (She takes care of my mom, who lives with us, too.) The only problem: She loves to sleep. She will do anything for us except wake up a few hours early without being mad at the world. She gets our kids off to school with no problem but then returns to bed. I run a small construction company and need someone to answer the phones and do secretary stuff. Our books are a mess, the house is decent, but she won't let me hire a part-time secretary. She gets up at noon and spends the rest of the day "catching up." It's driving a wedge in our marriage. My friends and their wives do things together on weekends, but not mine. She sleeps until 2 or 3 p.m. on the weekends. I have threatened to leave, and she works on it for a couple days and then falls back into the same old habits. Help! Hurting Husband in California Dear Husband: Not everyone requires the same amount of sleep in order to function. Some folks may be fine with five hours, but others need eight, nine or even 10. If your wife needs more than that, there may be an underlying problem of some kind that she should discuss with her doctor. In marriage, there needs to be compromise. If you are experiencing stress because you don't have enough help in your business, then you need to hire someone because your wife is already doing all she can taking care of three kids and your mother. And you shouldn't need her permission. Dear Abby: At a pool party recently, I complimented another woman on her "good figure" (she was wearing a bikini and looked great in it), but I was told later by a different woman who had been there how "hurtful" my compliment had been to everyone else present because I complimented only the bikini-wearing woman. I felt coerced into apologizing to the second woman for not offering a compliment of some kind to everyone else at the party. The woman looking for the apology left me feeling steamed, and now I'm thinking that maybe I apologized for something I didn't need to. Is it true that you shouldn't compliment one person if you can't manage to do the same for everyone else present? Pool Party Compliment Dear P.P.C.: No, it's not. I have never heard of that rule of etiquette. Following her logic, you would be compelled to compliment every male at an event if you told one that the tie or shirt he was wearing was nice. I suspect the woman was less hurt than jealous, and I doubt the other women at the pool party were paying much attention to what you said. DearAbby.comDear AbbyP.O. Box 69440Los Angeles, CA 90069Universal Press Syndicate For hundreds of local families, the best way to capitalize on the extra free time afforded by Labor Day was to pack up and head to the Houston Zoo. Patrons willing to brave intermitent downpours got to gape at Baylor and Duncan, the zoo's youngest male elephants, roughhousing in the pool. Those standing in the right spot also received a different kind of downpour when Methai, the matriarch of the zoo's eight-member herd, guzzled water from a hose held by keeper Ian Ross and gave herself and those nearby a quick spray bath with her trunk. Anay Panchal was thrilled with all of it. The almost-3-year-old bolted bug-eyed from fence to fence, whooping. Parents Piyush and Meghana say they come to the zoo once a year, always on Memorial Day or Labor Day. "Now he recognizes all the animals, so I thought this is a nice opportunity to visit," Piyush said. "Right now he's just exploring. ... It's really good for them. As parents we're loving it. Seeing kids excited, it's a good thing." Anay's older brother, Krish, 8, said the cheetah enclosure had been his favorite stop, and wanted to check out the reptiles next. Mike Gregoire and Angela Dipaola, whose Connecticut-based relationship became a long distance one when Dipaola moved to Houston to study for a public health doctorate two weeks ago, also took advantage of the three-day weekend. Gregoire, a particular fan of the otters and elephants, said the zoo options are lacking at home. The couple also recognized the meaning behind the holiday, noting correctly that Labor Day has its roots in the growth of workers unions in the late 1800s. Public polling has suggested that fewer Americans know the meaning behind Labor Day than, for instance, Memorial Day. "Everyone that works need a holiday now is their day off. It's what I take from it," Gregoire said. "You know, 'It's a nice holiday, here you go.'" Dodging the rain under tall bamboo reeds at the elephant enclosure, Mitra Saeid similarly viewed Monday as "a day of rest for people that are working," and said she feels connected to the holiday as a chiropractor who works six days each week. "We're all together, so we decided to come," she said, motioning to husband, Mehrdad, and 4-year-old son Ryan, who was clamoring to see the lions and tigers. "We give him a choice, and he always picks the zoo." Granted, many employers keep some workers on the job each Labor Day about 40 percent of companies, according to a year-old Bloomberg survey. Among them Monday was elephant keeper Ross, one of 10 keepers for the zoo's elephant herd, at least six of whom must be on duty each day. "The animals still need to be taken care of, they still need to be fed, they still need to be cleaned up after, they still need checked upon," Ross said. "I knew when I was getting into this field that I'd have to work a lot of holidays. I don't have a problem working on Labor Day." "Obviously one of the big pluses for me," he said, laughing, "is no rush-hour traffic. I like that." 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. Twinsburg murder-suicide A Twinsburg man fatally shot a Northfield man Sunday outside his condo, then killed himself, according to police. (Adam Ferrise, cleveland.com) TWINSBURG, Ohio -- A Twinsburg man shot and killed a man Sunday during an argument over a woman, then turned the gun on himself, according to a witness and family members. Robert Waltzer, 58, shot and killed Jerry Robinson, 57, of Northfield about 6 p.m. Sunday outside Waltzer's condo in the 9600 block of East Idlewood Drive, police said. Robinson drove from his parents' home, where he cleaned their gutters and mowed their lawn, to Waltzer's condo, said Robinson's parents, James and Gloria Robinson. Robinson, the owner of Continental Boring, Inc., and his on-and-off girlfriend of more than 10 years had recently broken up. The woman moved in with Waltzer. Robinson believed Waltzer had previously went to his home and took several items, Robinson's parents said. A witness to the argument, who did not want to be named because she was traumatized by what she saw and heard, said she heard the two men yelling at each other outside the condo. Robinson accused Waltzer of breaking into his home. Waltzer denied it and the two traded insults, the witness said. She said Waltzer then made a comment about Robinson being upset over losing the woman to him. They again traded insults and Waltzer threatened to shoot him. Robinson challenged the man to get his gun. The woman said she heard three gunshots and Waltzer say: "How do you like that?" Robinson was taken to the Cleveland Clinic, where he was pronounced dead. Waltzer went back into his home. Twinsburg police and the Summit Metro SWAT team surrounded the home and tried to negotiate with Waltzer to come out. After four hours, the SWAT team shot tear gas into the condo and found Waltzer dead from an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound, police said. Twinsburg police said they could be finished with the murder-suicide investigation as early as Tuesday. Robinson's relationship with the woman spanned about 12 years and caused a lot of problems in his life, his parents said. "He would always say to her, 'I'll take care of you, but I'm never going to marry you,'" his Gloria Robinson said. "He felt like she was a taker." Jerry Robinson had lived with the woman on and off through the years and funded her pet-grooming business. He told his parents he was okay with the woman finding a new boyfriend. But his father said he was upset that she kept taking things from his home. He also said the business he helped the woman start also was a point of friction. James Robinson said his son wasn't friends with Waltzer and only knew him because of his ex-girlfriend. James Robinson said his son traveled the world for his boring business that he started on his own 22 years ago. Their family has endured tragedy before, he said. Their oldest son died in an accident in which he died of carbon monoxide poisoning while he was in the U.S. military. He was stationed in Fayetteville, North Carolina, when he died. A daughter died at just three days old. Their only surviving child, a daughter, is flying in from California to be with the family, James Robinson said. "Jerry was a good person. If you knew him, he'd give you the shirt off his back," Gloria Robinson said. "He'd help anybody. But he wouldn't back down from anyone either." To comment on this story, please visit our crime and courts comments section. Shirley Duncan-Barnes, far right, was killed early Sunday morning when a man in a stolen car crashed into her at Lee Road and Cloverside Drive, police said. Duncan-Barnes had just left her 30th class reunion where this picture was taken, said Cassandra Ward, who is pictured on far left. CLEVELAND, Ohio -- A Cleveland man is accused of carjacking a 71-year-old man outside the St. Rocco's Church Festival, then causing a crash that killed a woman who had just left her high school class reunion. Brian Burns Jr., 19, is charged with aggravated vehicular homicide, aggravated robbery and receiving stolen property. He is charged in both the carjacking and in the death of 49-year-old Shirley Duncan-Barnes, a Maple Heights mother. Burns was arrested Sunday and is at University Hospitals, where he is being treated for injuries he suffered in the crash, police said. Burns attacked a 71-year-old man on West 33rd Street, near Paris Avenue outside the festival and stole cash and the man's 2005 Chrysler, according to court records. He sped off in order to get away, police said. He was still driving fast on Lee Road when he went through a red light at Cloverside Avenue. Duncan-Barnes was driving home from a 30-year reunion for the 1986 graduating class of Jane Addams Business Career Center at H20 Lounge in Cleveland. She missed a turn and pulled into the Lee-Harvard Plaza, court records say. She was pulling out of the plaza when Burns slammed into the side of Duncan-Barnes' 2011 Dodge. The impact forced Duncan-Barnes' car to spin completely around, and propelled her through the brick wall of a music store. Several people tried to help Duncan-Barnes by kicking in the window to her car, but were unsuccessful. Cleveland firefighters and paramedics were called to the scene. Duncan-Barnes was later pronounced dead. Duncan-Barnes left the lounge early with her longtime friend Cassandra Ward, and the two were going to meet more friends at the Cabaret on Lee Road, Ward told cleveland.com Sunday. Neither woman had been drinking, friends told cleveland.com. Ward and Duncan-Barnes drove separately. Ward said Duncan-Barnes worked at several jobs, including cleaning downtown offices. Duncan-Barnes' husband died last month after years of health problems. Ward said Duncan-Barnes was still struggling to explain to her 6-year-old daughter that her father was not coming back in the days before the crash. To comment on this story, please visit our crime and courts comments section. Twinsburg police Twinsburg police and the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation are investigating a murder-suicide. (File photo) TWINSBURG, Ohio -- A man fatally shot another man Sunday afternoon here, then killed himself during a four-hour standoff with a SWAT team, police said. The shooters name has not been released, nor has a motive. The incident began about 6 p.m. Sunday at a condo in the 9600 block of East Idlewood Drive. The man shot another man several times in the stomach outside his truck parked outside the condos, police said. The man who was shot was taken to the Cleveland Clinic, where he was pronounced dead, police said. The shooter ran back inside his home and ignored repeated attempts by Twinsburg police and the Summit Metro SWAT team to coax him out of the home. The SWAT standoff also caused area residents to be evacuated from their homes while officers tried to negotiate with the shooter. After about four hours, the SWAT team set off tear gas inside the home, then rushed inside, police said. They found the shooter dead of an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound, police said. Twinsburg police and the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation are investigating the incident, police said. To comment on this story, please visit our crime and courts comments section. Donald Trump Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump speaks during a roundtable discussion with labor leaders and union members at American Legion Post 610 in Brook Park Monday. (Evan Vucci, Associated Press file) BROOK PARK - Donald Trump says he would have refused to meet with Chinese officials if they treated him like they treated President Barack Obama over the weekend. The Republican presidential nominee highlighted the issue as he met with labor leaders Monday for a roundtable discussion in suburban Cleveland. Trump noted that Obama couldn't use his traditional staircase to exit Air Force One when he arrived in China over the weekend. The president used an alternative exit instead, something Trump described as "a metal staircase in the back of the plane." Trump called it "a sign of such disrespect." "If that were me," Trump said, "I'd say, 'You know what folks, I respect you a lot, let's close the doors, let's get out of here.'" Obama has downplayed the issue. Trump also said America's manufacturing jobs are "going to hell." He blamed the Obama administration for allowing companies to move jobs to Mexico. He also lashed out at the proposed Trans-Pacific Partnership as "a catastrophe." Trump is spending Labor Day campaigning alongside running mate Mike Pence in battleground Ohio. The visit was not announced to the public ahead of time. Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton and running mate Tim Kaine also are in Cleveland for Labor Day. Trump and Pence met with about a dozen current and retired union members, including teamsters, steelworkers, plumbers, police patrolmen and firefighters. The event was not open to the public and was only open to certain members of the media. Trump noted that he's often best known for immigration, but he's also focused on jobs and the economy. "We're going to stop companies from leaving," Trump vowed. He said it's going to be "so easy." Update: Here is the pool report provided by the Trump campaign from the event. The report is from Darrel Rowland, public affairs editor of the Columbus Dispatch. Ohio pool for unannounced Donald Trump/Mike Pence Labor Day visit to Cleveland area, 9-5-16 (This originally was supposed to be a quick spray, but as the press was being escorted out Trump told his handlers to let us stay...so we heard the whole roundtable. There were no public remarks at the diner event.) Republican nominee Donald Trump and Indiana Gov. Mike Pence's initial event today was a roundtable with a dozen local labor leaders at American Legion post 610 hall in Brook Park near Cleveland Hopkins International Airport. The group included Nick Nardi, president of Teamsters local 416; Thomas Austin, president of the Ohio Police Benevolent Association; Steve Loomis, president of the Cleveland Police Patrolman's Association; Louis Cayet, retired president of Laborers local 1099; Larry Moran, retired president of United Auto Workers local 1005; and Brook Park Mayor Tom Coyne, a Democrat who is supporting Trump. Also present were Chris Corrigan of Teamsters local 436; Martin Surella, retired ex board member of Plumbers local 55; Michael Norman, first vice president of local 93, Cleveland Firefighters Union; David Byrnes, retired president of Northern Ohio Firefighters and AFL-CIO vice president; Tom Klein, United Steel Workers of America committeeman; Thomas George, Teamsters; and Susan Moran, AFL-CIO retiree. (names/titles provided by Trump campaign) Trump walked passed several pool tables in an adjoining room into the Legion's bar area, where tables were set up for the roundtable. He greeted each participant with a handshake. Trump noted the fiasco on the airport tarmac when President Barack Obama arrived in China last week and they "won't even give him proper stairs" to exit Air Force One. "Did you see that? They have pictures of other leaders who go over there, and they're coming down with a beautiful red carpet. And Obama's coming down a metal staircase, I guarantee you was made in China. He's coming down a metal staircase in the back of the plane. "I got to tell you, if that were me, I would've said 'you know what folks? I respect you a lot. But close the doors and let's get out of here. It's a sign of intense disrespect.'" Saying other countries have displayed similar disrespect, Trump wondered, "And he's going to negotiate for us? I don't think so." Trump said the upshot of the nuclear deal the Obama administration negotiated with Iran "is going to destroy Israel - unless I get elected. Then Israel will be just fine." Trump cited new poll results from several states, including one he said shows him up in Ohio by 3 points. Loomis, citing what he called "the false narrative" of Black Lives Matter, asked whether Trump would support law enforcement. The GOP nominee promised the police union leader "you're going to have a friend in the White House." Trump also recounted his quickly planned visit to talk trade with Mexican president last week for the union leaders. "I have great respect for him," Trump said. "I really liked him a lot. But it has to be a two-way street." Ohioans should know about the problem all too well since the state has lost so many jobs to Mexico, he said. "Right now, as we speak, they're negotiating to move jobs out of Ohio to Mexico," Trump said. After the labor roundtable, Trump traveled by motorcade to Goody's Diner, on Snow Road near I-71, where Trump and Pence shook the hands of every patron. Mike and Ellie Skoutas, who own the place known for serving breakfast all day, said they got only 24 hours notice that "a VIP" might be visiting. Both were glad that Trump stopped by, but said as small business owners they don't share who they are supporting in the election. Donald Trump,Mike Pence Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump talks with press, Monday, Sept. 5, 2016, aboard his campaign plane, while flying over Ohio, as vice presidential candidate Gov. Mike Pence, left, looks on. (Evan Vucci, Associated Press) Trump denies allegations: Donald Trump is denying any connection between a political contribution benefiting the Florida attorney general and her office's decision to drop an investigation into Trump University, reports USA Today. "She's a fine person beyond reproach," Trump said of Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi, a prominent Trump supporter in an important battleground state. He added that he "never spoke to her" about any investigation. The Washington Post reported that Trump paid a $2,500 penalty to the IRS because his charitable foundation violated tax laws with a $25,000 donation to a campaign group connected to Bondi. The contribution was made in 2013, when Bondi "was considering whether to investigate fraud allegations against Trump University. She decided not to pursue the case," The Post writes. Both Trump and Bondi have denied any wrongdoing. Pence's tax returns: Gov. Mike Pence said Saturday that he will release his tax returns this week, reports NBC News. "Donald Trump and I are both going to release our tax returns," the vice presidential candidate said on "Meet the Press." "I'll release mine in the next week." Pence echoed the notion that Trump will release his tax returns after the conclusion of an IRS audit. Trump continues to hit Clinton on emails: Trump on Friday dismissed Clinton's claim that she did not know what classification markings on her emails signified during her time as secretary of state, saying that she was either intentionally lying or "she's not an intelligent person," reports Politico. The FBI's report on the interview with Clinton shows that she seemed to have a limited understanding that emails marked with the letter "C" contained sensitive information. "With respect to these FBI notes, where she didn't know what the letter C was, now that's a lie," Trump told Philadelphia's WCAU. "Unless she's not an intelligent person. That's a total lie," going on to mock her for failing the Washington, D.C. bar exam in 1973, a jab he made on Twitter days before. Kaine, Pelosi defend Clinton: House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi said on CBS "This Morning" that "too much is being made" of Clinton's email scandal, reports CBS News. "And I say that as the top Democrat on the Intelligence Committee for years." Kaine also defended his running mate's use of a private email server Sunday on ABC's "This Week," reports Politico. "There were emails that contained classified information that had been improperly marked," he said, recalling FBI Director James Comey's testimony before Congress. "So when she received the email, the material that was classified, which is supposed to be flagged and identified as classified, in many instances was improperly labeled." Hill Force One: Clinton made the maiden voyage in her general election plane Monday from Westchester, New York to Cleveland, reports Politico. In the Boeing 737 emblazoned with the campaign's "H" logo on its wing tips, Clinton greeted a group of about 40 journalists traveling with her. "I was just waiting for this moment," Clinton said. "I wanted to welcome you onto the plane. I think it's pretty cool, don't you?" When the hesitant press corps paused before responding, the Democratic nominee said, "You're supposed to say yes." Johnson's unlikely endorsement: Although Virginia's second largest newspaper has endorsed the Republican presidential nominee for the last 36 years, the Richmond Times-Dispatch endorsed Libertarian candidate Gary Johnson Saturday. The editorial board began considering Johnson "several weeks ago, as scandal continued to engulf the Democratic nominee while the Republican candidate's statements and behavior daily piled distress upon puzzlement." They decided to officially Johnson and his running mate, former Massachusetts Gov. William Weld, after seeing their "great confidence and enthusiasm" in a meeting with Johnson last week. Sanders criticizes debate threshold: Sen. Bernie Sanders said Sunday that the requirement for presidential candidates to average at least 15 percent in national polls to earn a spot on the general debate stage is "probably too high," reports NBC News. "Probably should be lower than that," the Vermont independent said. Neither Johnson nor the Green Party's Jill Stein are serious contenders to break the 15 percent barrier. The RealClearPolitics polling average shows Johnson at about 8.2 percent and Stein at about 3.3 percent in a four-way race. And he praised Clinton on the campaign trail: Sanders explained why he endorsed Clinton Monday at a Labor Day breakfast sponsored by the AFL-CIO, reports The Washington Post. "We're not talking about personalities," he said in Manchester, New Hampshire. "We are talking about which candidate will better represent the needs of the American people." Sanders also attacked Trump, calling the GOP nominee "a pathological liar." Trump speaks to African-Americans in Detroit: Trump spoke about unity Saturday when addressing a largely African-American audience at a church in Detroit, reports CNN. After being greeted by protesters outside the Great Faith Ministries church, Trump sat in a pew in the front of the congregation. "For centuries, the African-American church has been the conscience of this country. So true," he said, reading from prepared remarks. "The African-American faith community has been one of God's greatest gifts to America and its people." When he concluded his speech, the church's pastor draped a prayer shawl over Trump's shoulders and handed him a Jewish Heritage Study Bible. Flaking out on Trump: Sen. Jeff Flake of Arizona is still not ready to vote for Trump, saying Sunday that Clinton might turn his home state blue in November for the first time in twenty years, reports Politico. "I would not vote for Hillary Clinton, and, as of now, I would still not vote for Donald Trump," the Republican said on CNN's "State of the Union." When asked if he thought Arizona could go to a Democrat since Clinton's husband won the state in 1996, Flake said, "Arizona should still be a red state. But Donald Trump, with the rhetoric that he's under and the characterizations of, you know, many of the state's population, have put the state in play. And unfortunately, you know, that leads to Democrats spending a lot of money here, unfortunately for Republicans." Hillary Clinton,Tim Kaine,Anne Holton Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton, Democratic vice presidential candidate Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va., and Kaine's wife Anne Holton, left, speak together on their campaign bus after visiting Imani Temple Ministries in Cleveland, Sunday, July 31, 2016. (Andrew Harnik, The Associated Press) CLEVELAND, Ohio - Labor Day marks the traditional start to the general election campaign, and Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton is kicking things off in Ohio. Clinton and her running mate, Sen. Tim Kaine of Virginia, will speak Monday afternoon at the 11th Congressional District Community Caucus festival in Cleveland's Luke Easter Park. Republican nominee Donald Trump and his running mate, Indiana Gov. Mike Pence, made last-minute plans to visit Northeast Ohio, too. They were to meet with union members at a Cleveland-area event closed to most local media and visit the Canfield Fair near Youngstown. The Clinton and Kaine speeches are set to begin at 2 p.m. Cleveland.com political reporters Henry J. Gomez and Mary Kilpatrick will be there. Follow along with their coverage below. CLEVELAND, Ohio -- Clevelanders celebrated Labor Day in Luke Easter Park with Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton. Supporters sported signs and T-shirts at the 11th Congressional District Community Caucus festival. Dexter Lowe, 57, of Cleveland, said he waited hours to see the candidate to speak, and liked what he heard. "It was honest," Lowe said. "It was straightforward. She laid out a platform for continued progress. She laid out the facts about Donald Trump." Marta Obejero-Paz, 63, of Cleveland Heights, said Clinton's speech was "great, like always." "She offered concrete ideas," Obejero-Paz said. Clinton wasn't the only presidential candidate in Cleveland on Monday. Republican nominee Donald Trump and his running mate, Indiana Gov. Mike Pence, made last-minute plans to visit Northeast Ohio, too. Watch the video above to see more on the Clinton Labor Day speech in Cleveland. China hopes Australia can provide a fair and transparent environment for foreign investors, President Xi Jinping said on Sunday, as he met Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull for the first time since Canberra blocked a major deal. Australia angered China last month after Turnbull's government stopped the A$10 billion ($7.57 billion) sale of the country's biggest energy grid to Chinese bidders after they failed to overcome security concerns. After a meeting on the sidelines of a G20 summit in the eastern Chinese city of Hangzhou, Xi said China "hopes the Australian side continues to dedicate itself to providing foreign investors a fair, transparent and predictable policy environment". "This also accords with Australia's own interests," China's Foreign Ministry quoted Xi as telling Turnbull. The decision has caused a rift between Australia and its biggest trading partner. China has accused Australia of bowing to protectionist sentiment in blocking the bid for Ausgrid, as well as an earlier one by a China-led consortium to buy cattle company Kidman & Co. Speaking to reporters later, Turnbull said China understood as well if not better than anyone else that it was Australia's sovereign right to determine who invests there and the terms in which they invest. Chancellor Angela Merkel suffered a humiliating defeat in German regional elections on her home turf on Sunday as voters turned their backs on her liberal refugee policy and gave the anti-immigrant Alternative for Germany (AfD) party a political triumph. A triumphant AfD pushed the chancellor's center-right Christian Democrats into third place in the vote in rural Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, with both coming behind the Social Democrats, the region's dominant political grouping. "We are writing history in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern," said Leif-Erik Holm, the AfD's lead candidate. "Perhaps today is the beginning of the end of the chancellorship of Angela Merkel." Peter Tauber, CDU general secretary, blamed the "bitter" result on widespread public "discontent and protest" at Merkel's refugee policy. A CDU official said the party would examine the result and hit back at the AfD's "simple, stupid slogans". More from the Financial Times: Angela Merkel's defeat sets the stage for national elections Sigmar Gabriel, the man taking the fight to Merkel Once a vote-winner, Merkel no longer sought for campaign rallies The result in the region where the chancellor has her parliamentary seat, mark a new low in 62-year-old Merkel's fraught struggle to retain public backing for her refugee policy. Protesting voters are abandoning the mainstream parties in droves and turning the AfD into Germany's most successful right-wing party since the second world war. Successive regional election setbacks are undermining the chancellor's authority and diverting her attention from a heavy international agenda, including the Brexit vote, the Ukraine crisis and difficult relations with Turkey. The AfD, formed only in 2013, took 20.8 per cent of the vote for the state legislature in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern. It took support from other parties and brought out non-voters, helping to raise the turnout from 51.5 per cent to 61 per cent. The CDU, meanwhile, fell from 23 per cent in 2011 to 19 per cent, their worst result yet in the state. Several pro-independence candidates won seats in Hong Kong's legislative council election on Sunday, Reuters reported citing early results, underscoring divisions in the city amid tensions with Beijing. Full results are expected later Monday but Reuters reported at 9:45 a.m. London time that the pro-democracy camp retained its one-third veto bloc. It was the first major election since the pro-democracy Umbrella Movement in 2014, and the most contentious. Up for grabs were 70 legislative council seats, with some pro-democracy candidates disqualified from running in the election by the Beijing-aligned Hong Kong government. Polls were supposed to close at 10.30 p.m. SIN/HK, but the record 2.2 million turnout meant that the last vote was only cast after 2 a.m. Beijing's influence on the city, as the mainland government turns its screws on political and civil liberties in Hong Kong, is thought to have spurred many voters. It comes against the backdrop of an economic slowdown in Hong Kong and China, as the mainland undergoes a transition itself from its traditional manufacturing base to a more service-led economy. This has sparked disenchantment among many of the Hong Kong's residents, who feel disenfranchised from the business and political elite. World Trade Organization boss Roberto Azevedo has a message for the U.S. electorate: Trade doesn't cause unemployment, no matter what you're told by the presidential candidates. Azevedo told CNBC's Sri Jegarajah that he was worried by the U.S. election rhetoric around trade, particularly when candidates advocated protectionist policies. "I'm very concerned with the type of debate I see in campaigning about trade and about the negative trade effects because that may lead to the wrong policies, to the wrong decisions," Azevedo said on the sidelines of the G-20 meeting of the world's top economies in Hangzhou, China, at the weekend. Azevedo said he was particularly concerned by the focus on perceived negatives from global trade. "When we talk about trade, most of the time, it's making a relationship between trade and unemployment," he said. "Trade is not the cause for unemployment. In fact, the biggest drivers for unemployment are innovation and increased productivity. It has nothing to do with trade." The implications of global trade have been a long-running theme this campaign season, as the Democrats' Hillary Clinton and the Republicans' Donald Trump vie for the White House. Both presidential candidates oppose the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), a newly inked free-trade deal among 12 Pacific Rim nations including the U.S., that is a cornerstone of President Barack Obama's focus on boosting relations with Asia. But foreign policy veterans have said Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton is degrees apart from Republican rival Donald Trump. While Clinton merely opposes TPP in its current form - the deal has yet to be ratified by Congress - Trump has vowed to renegotiate NAFTA, the country's long-time free trade deal with Canada and Mexico, and threatened to impose crippling tariffs on China. Those three countries are the top U.S. trade partners. Analysts have said Trump's strong measures would likely start an international trade war that crippled everyone involved, with an end result of high prices around the world, and a slowdown in international growth or even an outright recession. While he declined to comment specifically on Trump's proposals, the WTO Director General Azevedo said he was concerned about "contagious" protectionist rhetoric. The U.K.'s Brexit minister gave an insight into how workers from the European Union (EU) would be treated in a post-Brexit Britain when he told lawmakers that EU employees would be allowed to remain provided other countries afforded the same protection to British workers. "The prime minister is determined to protect the status of EU workers already here," David Davis told the U.K. parliament's House of Commons. People walk over Westminster Bridge wrapped in Union flags, towards the Queen Elizabeth Tower (Big Ben) and The Houses of Parliament in central London on June 26, 2016. Odd Andersen | AFP | Getty Images Davis was appointed Secretary of State for the newly established department for Exiting the European Union after the Brexit vote on June 23. He was a keen proponent of quitting the bloc in the run-up to the referendum. "This is an historic and positive moment for our nation," Davis said in a statement to lawmakers on Monday. "Brexit isn't about making the best of a bad job. It is about seizing the huge and exciting opportunities that will flow from a new place for Britain in the world. There will be new freedoms, new opportunities, new horizons for our country." He added that "most of those that wanted to remain (in the EU) have accepted the vote." Thousands of pro-Europe protesters marched in London at the weekend, calling for the government to delay the formal process of leaving the EU. Pro-Brexit demonstrators staged a counter-protest. "The prime minister has made clear there will be no attempt to stay in the European Union by the back door no attempt to engineer a second referendum because some people didn't like the answer in the first one," Davis said. watch now Davis's words may provide some certainty to U.K. businesses that employ EU nationals and are concerned about their future residency status. Forty-one percent of U.K. companies say EU employees from outside the country have expressed concern over their residency status, according to a survey of 800 firms published by the British Chambers of Commerce on Monday. Ten percent of businesses reported that EU employees had stated their intention to leave the U.K. and 5 percent said some employees had already resigned. The lobbying group called on the U.K. government to confirm that existing workers had a right to remain in the U.K. and to clarify how new EU hires will be treated. Earlier on Monday, Prime Minister Theresa May said the U.K. would not adopt the points-based immigration system advocated by pro-Brexit campaigners. Such a system would see potential immigrants awarded points according to the skills, education and other factors to judge whether they should be allowed in. Brexit will "put sovereignty and supremacy of the parliament beyond doubt," Davis said on Monday. On Wednesday, the U.K. parliament's second house, the House of Lords, will listen to evidence on the potential impact from Brexit on financial services, which are a major contributor to the British economy. watch now Judging by the tenor of Chinese President Xi Jinping's opening remarks urging leaders to "avoid empty talk," Beijing appears committed to re-invigorate a global summit that's been ridiculed as a monumental talking shop that produces little more than motherhood-and-apple-pie statements and photo opportunities. But can the Chinese leadership re-invent the G-20 under their watch and make it relevant, when its members are pulling in different directions? "Every host wants their leaders summit to be seen as a success. China will be no different," HSBC's Paul Mackel told me prior to the event. "The question is whether they or others can pull a rabbit out of the hat to convince everyone." So, as the G-20 discusses structural reforms, there's also pressure on Beijing to step up its own deregulation efforts, as UBS's Wayne Gordon points out: "Clear commitments from China will be needed to make this a success Timeframes to deepen financial reform and capital account opening. If they squib this, then it will be a non-event." Part of the problem, though, is the G-20 mandate or lack of a clear one. It can trot out as many resolutions and recommendations as it wants but has done a pretty poor job in following up on them, as NAB's Ray Attrill reminded me. Global trade flows are sluggish and should be double their present levels, according to the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). "Trade growth is below 3 percent, it should be at 6-7 percent and act as a locomotive ... We look like we're going backwards," Angel Gurria, OECD secretary-general, told CNBC over the weekend. Stalled progress over the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) isn't helping either, he said, speaking on the sidelines of the Group of Twenty (G-20) summit in Hangzhou. The TTIP is set to be one of the world's largest trade pact alongside the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) but a number of politicians, including French trade minister Matthias Fekl as well as U.S. presidential hopefuls Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton, have rejected the idea. "The TTIP rules make a lot of sense. But that's why it's so difficult and so important, that's why it's going to take time. We believe it's a win-win proposition, we believe it should be pursued," stated Gurria, who's held his post at the OECD for a decade. "Through simplifying the ID verification process, we'll be able to save our business customers time and open accounts quicker," said Richard Davies, HSBC's head of global propositions for commercial banking, in a press release published Monday. Almost half of all new HSBC business accounts are now opened online, compared to just 10 percent of accounts in 2013, according to the bank. This change is intended to simplify and speed up the process of opening a new account using a mobile or digital device, and reflects the increasing tendency of customers to open accounts online. A mobile app uses facial recognition software to take a headshot of a customer, which is then compared against a photo ID uploaded by the customer, such as a driver's licence or passport. HSBC business customers can now open new accounts by taking a selfie picture in order to verify their identity. "We also expect the convenience and speed of a selfie to become the verification method of choice for our customers, who no longer need to visit a branch to complete the process." HSBC is the latest bank to adopt biometric technology to improve security. Biometrics include the use of facial recognition, fingerprint scans and even measuring heartrate, in order to verify a customer's identity. For instance, and Bank of Montreal both outlined plans earlier in the year to introduce biometric checks for credit card customers. "I think the whole biometric space is a great way of protecting yourself when you are doing payments," Ann Cairns, head of international markets for MasterCard, told CNBC in February. "There are a whole range of biometrics that say 'I'm me, I'm making a payment' and it just makes the whole thing more secure." Biometric security is becoming more common because it is more convenient for consumers and the technology has become cheaper, but there are still some problems. "Facial recognition is a good example of biometric authentication that can still prove challenging to implement, as it tends to be prone to a high false positive rate. Something as simple as a pair of sunglasses could falsify or reject a facial scan," Sian John, chief strategist EMEA at Symantec, told CNBC via email in April. "While there is still a long way to go in biometrics becoming the norm for authentication, it's clear to see the long-term benefits on offer. After all, a pin can be stolen with a quick glance over your shoulder. However stealing a fingerprint? That's a little more difficult." Follow CNBC International on Twitter and Facebook. watch now Energy experts poured scorn on the prospect of Russia and Saudi Arabia collaborating to stabilize the oil market, after the two countries made a joint statement to that effect on Monday. The two major oil producers announced at the G-20 summit in China that they would form a group to monitor the market and make recommendations on stabilizing prices, according to media reports. Russian Energy Minister Alexander Novak described the moment as "historic" and touted the possibility of the much-discussed-but-never-delivered crude production freeze. Commodity strategists told CNBC that the statement might push crude prices higher in the short-term, perhaps toward $50 per barrel, but insisted that little in the way of deeper cooperation was likely. "The running gag of the 'freeze' means just nothing," Eugen Weinberg, head of commodity research at Commerzbank, told CNBC on Monday. "As to the cooperation between Russia and Saudi Arabia no chance! It's clearly just lip service since real cooperation between these competitors is just impossible," he later added. Alexei Druzhinin | TASS | Getty Images Crude oil futures rallied sharply in the build-up to the announcement, before paring some gains once it was out. Light crude futures for October traded over 2 percent higher at around $45.40 per barrel after the news, with volumes lower than usual because of the U.S. Labor Day holiday. WTI crude futures for October have rallied sharply this year, but remain far below the levels above $100 per barrel at which oil traded prior to the commodities slump that began in July 2014. "The press conference came and went without any significant initiatives being announced. Once again it highlights key producers' ability to talk up the market without backing it by action," Ole Hansen, head of commodities strategy at SaxoBank, told CNBC on Monday. "I expect the market to drift lower as this was an exercise in building up expectations without delivering anything," he added. Gimmicks With Saudi production at high levels and Russia lacking the means to cut output, it is debatable how much a freeze would achieve, even if agreed. Fereidun Fesharaki, founder of energy consultancy, FACTS Global Energy, described Monday's announcements as "gimmicks" designed to boost prices for a few days or weeks. "Fundamentals do not change at all with the freeze. Saudis have upped their production to 10.7 million barrels per day so immediate surge capacity for them is not more than 200,000 to 300,000 barrels per day. They max production then they talk freeze and markets are so stupid they take this as positive," he told CNBC on Monday. Even if Saudi Arabia and non-OPEC member Russia agreed to a freeze, there would still be the thorny matter of gaining the cooperation of other OPEC countries. Several attempts have failed in the past, in particular because Saudi Arabia has been wedded to keeping output high to hold market share. However, Saudi Arabia is not alone in scuppering deals, with Iran refusing to join forces with Saudi Arabia, Russia, Qatar and Venezuela in freezing output in February. Energy commodity prices Energy Futures President Barack Obama canceled what would have been his first meeting with Filipino President Rodrigo Duterte, after Duterte described Obama in vulgar terms, a White House spokesman said on Tuesday. Duterte, a plain-spoken populist known for his colorful remarks and his campaign against illegal drugs in which thousands of people have died, described Obama as a "son of a b****" to reporters on Monday, a day ahead of the planned meeting in Laos, where South Asian leaders are meeting for annual summits. Obama learned about the insult as he emerged from the Group of 20 summit in Hangzhou, China. At a news conference, he said he had told his aides to speak with Philippine officials "to find out is this, in fact, a time where we can have some constructive, productive conversations," leaving little doubt that the meeting would proceed as planned. "I always want to make sure that if I'm having a meeting, that it's actually productive and we're getting something done," Obama told reporters. Instead, Obama now plans to meet later on Tuesday with South Korean President Park Geun-hye, said Ned Price, spokesman for the White House National Security Council - a meeting where the response to North Korea's latest missile tests is expected to be on the agenda. Obama arrived in Vientiane just before midnight on Monday, for the first visit by a sitting U.S. president to Laos, where he wants to begin to address the legacy of U.S. bombing during the Vietnam War. He was set to give an address on the importance he has placed on Southeast Asia in his foreign and economic policy during his two terms in office, which will end on Jan. 20, setting the stage for three days of meetings with regional leaders. The White House had said Obama did not plan to pull any punches on his concerns about human rights abuses in the Philippines, its treaty ally, when meeting Duterte. Duterte won the presidency in May as he promised to suppress crime and wipe out drugs and drug dealers, and a wave of extrajudicial killings has followed. Russian President Vladimir Putin (L) meets with his US counterpart Barack Obama on the sidelines of the G20 Leaders Summit in Hangzhou on September 5, 2016. Alexei Druzhinin | AFP | Getty Images Russian President Vladimir Putin met with U.S. President Barack Obama on the sidelines of the Group of 20 (G-20) summit in China, continuing a series of meetings with high-profile leaders and signaling a rapprochement between Russia and the West. Putin and Obama discussed Syria and Ukraine when they met on Monday, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters at the meeting in Hangzhou, according to Russia's TASS news agency. Asked about the mood at the meeting, Peskov reportedly said that "it went well. Work will continue." The chat had a "businesslike tone" and went on longer than anticipated, a senior U.S. administration official said, according to Reuters. Obama later confirmed that he had productive concentrations on what a real cessation of hostilities in Syria would look like and made clear that sanctions on Russia would remain until the the Minsk cease-fire agreement was implemented. Russian President Vladimir Putin shakes hands with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan before a group photo at the Hangzhou International Expo Center to the G20 Summit on September 4, 2016. Lintao Zhang/Getty Images The subjects of Syria and Ukraine have been points of contention between Russia and the West for a number of years now. Russia is part of an awkward alliance attempting to defeat the terrorist group known as Islamic State in Syria and Iraq. Russia has been criticized for its military action seemingly aimed at keeping Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's controversial regime in power, however, although the West has tried to persuade Putin to use his influence on Assad to try to find a peaceful solution to the ongoing civil war in the country. Uncomfortably, Russia's alliance with the West over Syria comes at a time when it is simultaneously under international sanctions for its annexation of Crimea in Ukraine, as well as its alleged role in a pro-Russian uprising in eastern Ukraine, which have both isolated the country economically and politically. Yet Putin has held several high-profile meetings with Western leaders in the last few weeks not least of all at the G-20 meeting in China where he has already held talks with U.K. Prime Minister Theresa May, signaling that the strongman leader and Russia could be "coming in from the cold" on a diplomatic level. Persona grata? watch now watch now watch now watch now watch now watch now After the latest blow to Angela Merkel this weekend, with her party coming in third place to an anti-immigrant party in a state election, analysts are questioning both how much longer the German chancellor's refugee policy can stay intact and how long she can stay in power. "(The result was) a blow to the chancellor personally and sharpens the question over whether she will lead her party into next year's general election," Alastair Newton, co-founder and director of Alavan Business Advisory, said in a note Sunday. "So far, Merkel has declined to commit to standing again for the role of chancellor in next year's general election However, her diminishing personal popularity ratings do beg the question of whether she may choose to step to one side rather than risk a damaging internal challenge or even the CDU (Christian Democratic Union) being ejected from government under her leadership," Newton added. German Chancellor Angela Merkel, French President Francois Hollande (L) and European Union Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker. Getty Images In elections in the north German state of Mecklenburg-West Pomerania on Sunday, the center-left Social Democrat (SPD) party won around 30 percent of the vote while the anti-establishment, anti-immigrant Alternative fuer Deutschland (AfD) party surprised by taking around 21 percent of the vote. Meanwhile, Merkel's CDU party came third with about 19 percent of the vote, according to German public broadcaster ARD, marking the CDU's worst ever result on home turf (Merkel's constituency is within the state), Reuters noted. The blow inflicted on Merkel 's party yesterday is widely attributed to Merkel's controversial pro-migrant policies which enabled over a million refugees - many fleeing civil war in Syria - to enter Germany in 2015 alone. Although Merkel's open-door policy and leadership at the height of Europe's migrant crisis attracted praise from some quarters, there is growing disquiet with the policy in Germany's public and political sphere -- including within Merkel's own governing "grand coalition" made up of the CDU, Christian Social Union (CSU) and SPD, which is a junior partner in the governing alliance. Very down - but not out Top oil producers Saudi Arabia and Russia made a joint statement at the G-20 summit in China on Monday aimed at stabilizing crude prices, media reports said. Russia and Saudi Arabia recognize the need to contain excess volatility in the market, the statement said, according to Russian news agency Interfax. The two countries will form a working group to monitor the market and draft recommendations to stabilize oil prices and ensure steady investment in the industry, Interfax said. The group will meet for the first time next month. Crude oil futures rallied heavily in the build-up to the announcement and pared back slightly afterward. WTI futures for October remained over 3 percent higher on the day, however, at a little under $46 per barrel. ^]. btw, I agree with you that the C#6 "using static" namespace import syntax could, potentially, reduce code readability. cheers, Bill There is a spectrum, from "clearly desirable behaviour," to "possibly dodgy behavior that still makes some sense," to "clearly undesirable behavior." We try to make the latter into warnings or, better, errors. But stuff that is in the middle category you dont want to restrict unless there is a clear way to work around it. Eric Lippert, May 14, 2008 "These people looked deep within my soul and assigned me a number based on the order in which I joined." - Homer I am working with vs2013 to develop a console apps. how to add localdb to db folder of my console project. Please tell me the way to add localdb in db folder of my project? thanks tbhattacharjee Remember that we can't see your screen, access your HDD, or read your mind. So try explaining in more detail exactly what you are trying to do, and why it's causing you a problem. Bad command or file name. Bad, bad command! Sit! Stay! Staaaay... Do you mean a sql database? Also easy, don't copy it to your folder, access it via the server and the proper connection string. There are only 10 types of people in the world, those who understand binary and those who don't. There are only 10 types of people in the world, those who understand binary and those who don't. C# I am trying to receive values from a listbox and make a string which separates the items by " ," The following code does the job, but instead of the items, i get " System.Data.DataRowView" over and over. Here is my code: C# string[] items = listBox1.Items.OfType().Select(item => item.ToString()).ToArray(); string result = string .Join( " ," , items); label1.Text = result; Are you trying to use a listbox to transfer values from one part of your program to another? This is bad practice. Controls should never be used as a transport mechanism for data. Controls, like a ListBox, are a conduit through which you display parts of your data model to the user and are also used to get data from the user. Since you're not getting the list of selected items from a user this leads me to believe you're doing something you should not be doing while trying to manage your data model. A ListBox manages its items using a ObjectCollection class, which is essentially just a List . What you did, when you added items to the ListBox, is added a bunch of DataRowView objects to it. When the ListBox displays these items, it called .ToString() on each of them to get some kind of text to display. To convert the items in this list to a list of strings, you need to get an appropriate value of a field in each DataRowView. What happens in your code is that the objects in the ListBox are all cast to Object, which really doesn't have any methods or properties on them. The default .ToString() implentation of Object just returns the underlying type name. That's where you're getting the "System.Data.DataRowView" string from. In order to treat these objects as a type you can actually do something with, you have to cast the objects to the type you can work with, instead of .OfType it should be .OfType . Now you've got the methods and properties of a DataViewRow object to work with and your Select() code can be changed to pick an appropriate field/property to get a value from and return an actual value string instead of the type name. A guide to posting questions on CodeProject Click this: Seriously, do it. Dave Kreskowiak Click this: Asking questions is a skill Seriously, do it. I will learn your answer and hope to finish my project C# string items = string .Join( " ," , listBox1.Items.OfType().Select(o => o)); Do not forget about Dave's notes. .Select(o => o) - OfType already returns an IEnumerable . And since you're using .NET 4.5, you don't really need the .OfType() either. There's an overload of string.Join which takes an IEnumerable , and converts each item to a string. C# string items = string .Join( " ," , listBox1.Items.Cast()); "These people looked deep within my soul and assigned me a number based on the order in which I joined." - Homer OfType() has been used in my code. Well, OP wrote: Quote: The following code does the job, but instead of the items, i get " System.Data.DataRowView " over and over. You're suggesting to use Cast() , because string.Join() method is able to convert object to string. The differences between OfType() and Cast() are well known. Using OfCast() is always safer way. That's way that method is much slower than Cast() . Cheers! Maciej Using Cast Or OfType Methods[^] what is c#? This space for rent "what is Google?" "These people looked deep within my soul and assigned me a number based on the order in which I joined." - Homer "C# is an elegant and type-safe object-oriented language that enables developers to build a variety of secure and robust applications that run on the .NET Framework. " -- MSDN: Introduction to the C# Language and the .NET Framework[^] Bad command or file name. Bad, bad command! Sit! Stay! Staaaay... This space for rent Java/javascript is what you do after your carrots are digested (my advice - be in a sitting position when you do it, and wash your hands afterwards). ".45 ACP - because shooting twice is just silly" - JSOP, 2010 - You can never have too much ammo - unless you're swimming, or on fire. - JSOP, 2010 - When you pry the gun from my cold dead hands, be careful - the barrel will be very hot. - JSOP, 2013 I am using a model that to be converted into json with Newtonsoft Json as follows MyCars[ Car{ Name:"" Model:"" } Car{ Name:"", Model:"" } ] but I am getting MyCar[ Car[ {Name:"", Model:"" } { Name:"", Model:"" } ] ] how to get first format? "These people looked deep within my soul and assigned me a number based on the order in which I joined." - Homer The Missourians Opinion section is a public forum for the discussion of ideas. The views presented in this piece are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Missourian or the University of Missouri. If you would like to contribute to the Opinion page with a response or an original topic of your own, visit our submission form Best of Business 2022: Learn Who Won Our 15th Annual Reader Poll Local professionals chose their favorite business and professional services, products, healthcare, dining and more. Find out who their top picks are. Navy Seaman Joseph Carter, of Bartlett, serves aboard the USS New York, which was built with steel from the World Trade Center. (photo courtesy of Navy Office of Community Outreach) SHARE By Katie Fretland of The Commercial Appeal For Joseph Carter, working aboard the USS New York, which contains more than 7 tons of steel from the World Trade Center in its bow, signifies freedom and perseverance. Nearly 15 years after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, Carter, a 2011 graduate of Bartlett High School, is a gunner's mate on the Navy ship. His responsibilities include weapons, ammunition and security on the 684-foot, 24,000-ton ship, which can transport 700 Marines plus equipment for warfare and humanitarian missions. "What I like most about my job is the responsibility of teaching my fellow sailors how to properly shoot and handle weapons aboard New York," Carter said. The port for USS New York is Mayport, Florida, and a crew of more than 400 people work on the ship. The motto of USS New York is: "Strength Forged Through Sacrifice. Never Forget." "The sailors who serve aboard USS New York are exceptional in so many ways," the ship's commanding officer, Capt. Kenneth M. Coleman, said in a statement. "They represent some of the hardest working and most dedicated Americans I have served with in 25 years of naval service. They exhibit an impressive level of pride for serving onboard a ship that means so much to so many Americans. I am honored to lead this crew and be a part of the special bond that this ship and her crew shares with her namesake." The USS New York, an amphibious transport dock ship, is one of the Navy's most advanced amphibious ships, "capable of transporting the Marines and landing them where they are needed via helicopters, vertical takeoff and landing aircraft and landing craft ... It has four diesel engines that can push the ship through the water in excess of 26 mph.," the Navy said. Northrop Grumman built the ship in New Orleans at the Avondale shipyard. The USS New York was commissioned in November 2009 in a ceremony in New York attended by thousands of guests. "New York's bow, forged from steel salvaged from the wreckage of the 9/11 World Trade Center attack, embodies the strength and determination of the people of the United States: to recover, rally, and take the fight to the enemy and honor the memory of those who were affected by the attacks," the Navy said. "USS New York forges an enduring alliance between the people of New York, the ship, and her crew." SHARE By Jody Callahan of The Commercial Appeal Memphis police are investigating after a woman reported that she was robbed at gunpoint in the South Main district of Downtown early Sunday morning. The incident happened about 3:45 a.m. around 36 G.E. Patterson Ave., police said. The woman said she was walking west on Patterson from Earnestine and Hazel's when an armed man approached from behind. The suspect then grabbed her purse, the woman said, and fled west on G.E. Patterson Avenue on foot. The woman was not injured in the incident, and no one has been arrested, police said. SHARE Edward Stanton III By Michael Collins of The Commercial Appeal WASHINGTON With time running out, Senate Democrats are planning to ratchet up their pressure on Republicans to hold confirmation votes on President Barack Obama's judicial nominees, including Edward Stanton III of Memphis. The Senate returns to work Tuesday after a seven-week break. Democrats are expected to move swiftly to demand votes on the stalled nominees and maintain the pressure all through September. "There is absolutely no reason why all of these judges should not be confirmed, other than sheer obstructionism," said Glenn Sugameli, a Washington attorney and founder of the nonprofit group Judging the Environment, which closely tracks judicial nominations. Stanton, the U.S. attorney for Tennessee's Western District, has waited almost a year for a floor vote on his nomination as a U.S. District Court judge. Obama nominated him to fill a Western District vacancy in May 2015. The Senate Judiciary Committee voted unanimously last October to send his nomination to the Senate floor for a vote. Since then, he's been trapped in a standoff between Senate Democrats and Republicans. But this fight is about politics, not about Stanton or his fitness for the job. No one questions his qualifications. He's backed by the state's two Republican senators, Lamar Alexander and Bob Corker. He's almost certain to be confirmed, if the GOP ever agrees to give him a vote. Stanton isn't the only nominee in limbo. Twenty-seven await votes on the Senate floor, and, like Stanton, 18 would fill seats on federal district courts. Democrats have argued for months that Republicans are dragging their feet on Obama's nominees, hoping to run out the clock so judgeships can be filled by the next president. A report last fall by the liberal advocacy group Alliance for Justice charged that the pace of judicial nominees confirmed under the GOP-controlled Senate is the slowest in 60 years. Republicans say that's nonsense and note that the Senate has confirmed 329 of Obama's judicial nominees, compared to the 312 confirmed at the same point in George W. Bush's presidency. But most of Obama's nominees were confirmed when the Senate was under Democratic control. Republicans have confirmed just 22 judicial nominees since they returned to power in January 2015. What's more, Obama has faced more vacancies than Bush, which is why his overall number of confirmations is slightly higher, Sugameli said. Whenever the next round of confirmation votes occurs, Stanton should be first in line, assuming nominees are considered in the order in which they were sent to the floor. It's possible some nominees, including Stanton, could get a vote in September, said Carl Tobias, a University of Richmond School of Law professor who closely follows the judicial nominations process. "If it happens, I think he will clearly be confirmed," Tobias said. It's also possible judicial nominees will be moved to the back burner because of other issues, such as Zika funding and the federal budget, that need quick attention. If Stanton isn't confirmed in September, he'll probably have to wait until after the November election because the Senate will be in recess almost all of October. A postelection session would leave little time for senators to confirm all of Obama's judicial nominees before the end of the year. But Stanton's position at the front of the line dramatically improves his odds of winning confirmation, Tobias said. "It would take 10 minutes on the floor to confirm Stanton," he said. "There doesn't need to be a lot of debate. There's nothing to debate." Michael Collins is The Commercial Appeal's Washington correspondent. His weekly Tennessee in D.C. column highlights Volunteer State lawmakers, causes and connections. Contact him at 703-854-8927 or mcollins2@gannett.com. In this Jan. 19, 2016 file photo, a couple leaves the grounds of the state Capitol in Jackson, Miss., after participating in a rally in support of keeping the Confederate battle emblem on the state flag. In Mississippi, the last state to display the Confederate battle emblem on its flag, some lawmakers want the divisive symbol removed, others want to punish public institutions that refuse to fly the banner and a state House leader suggests having two separate but equal flags: one with the rebel cross and one without. (AP Photo/Rogelio V. Solis, File) SHARE By Ron Maxey of The Commercial Appeal We can't close the book just yet on the Greg Davis saga, but we at least finished a chapter last week. The Mississippi Supreme Court refused to reconsider, as Davis wanted, an appeals court opinion that a chancellor's decision was valid. What all that means is that Davis, the former Southaven mayor, does indeed have to repay about $174,000 that the state auditor's office ordered him to pay. The payment stems from charges Auditor Stacey Pickering determined were billed to the city improperly for personal expenses. It was all part of a tumultuous period in the life of both Davis and the city, where voters ultimately turned Davis out of office in favor of current Mayor Darren Musselwhite. During that period, in addition to the improper expenses, Davis was accused of improperly purchasing a SUV at a reduced price after the city leased it for his use, and also of billing the city for fuel expenses even though he used city gas pumps. A DeSoto County Circuit Court jury convicted Davis of felony fraud and embezzlement, but the state appeals court said in July that Davis should have been given a change of venue because of the intense local publicity. Davis' attorney and Prosecuting Attorney John Champion are still hashing out whether to retry the case and where. How long it will take to resolve the more serious, in legal terms, criminal case against Davis remains to be seen. GROCERY NEWS If you don't think it's possible to get excited about a grocery store, you're not from Hernando. I'm not saying everybody in town dropped what they were doing to get a look at the new Kroger last week, but the grocery chain's "sneak preview" of its new Kroger Marketplace definitely generated interest especially the coffee. Mayor Chip Johnson's photo was on social media proudly holding a Starbucks cup and grinning ear to ear. A local resident's Facebook response to the fact that the store houses the city's first Starbucks? "And Starbucks! WOOOOOOOO." Apologies if I didn't include the correct number of O's. I didn't count. Of course, this is more than a typical grocery store. The new Marketplace design, in addition to traditional grocery offerings, has departments for home fashion and design, bed and bath, kitchen and small appliances, apparel and shoes, and a Baby World. And Starbucks, of course. The store opens to the public Sept. 14 at the site of the old Kroger on Commerce Street. Local officials receive tour of new H'do Kroger Marketplace. Healthy, natural & specialty items are new additions. pic.twitter.com/NiBKRoDcXP City of Hernando (@CityofHernando) September 1, 2016 AND THEN THERE WAS ONE, SORT OF Mississippi State University more or less joined six of the state's other seven public universities last week in taking down the Mississippi flag because of its use of the Confederate battle emblem. Word trickled out through the campus newspaper that MSU President Mark Keenum had approved requests from the deans of two colleges to replace the flag with larger American flags. The state flag still is still flying, however, as part of a 50-flag state flag display in the campus's Perry Cafeteria. University spokesman Sid Salter spoke strongly of how the university's various bodies, from student government to administration, have supported a revamped flag since 2001. At the same time, the school notes that it's up to voters or legislators to change it and, until they do, the current flag is still the official flag. It's a sensitive issue that stirs strong passions on both sides, but it seems MSU is very carefully following the lead of other Mississippi universities in speaking out through its actions. Delta State University is the only holdout, so far, in taking it down. And for some, that makes them immediate fans of the Delta State Fighting Okra: Ich bin ein okra. https://t.co/GvOLNvhoUq John L. Pitts (@JohnLPitts) September 1, 2016 FASHION UPDATE Remember that Barack Obama dress that DeSoto resident Kelly Jacobs wore at the Democratic National Convention? The one that made the front page of The New York Times? Well, in case you missed it, it's now official the dress is on display at the New-York Historical Society Museum & Library in Manhattan. Jacobs said shortly after returning from the Philadelphia convention that the museum had contacted her about donating the dress for its political textile collection. Last week, the dress, hat and gloves worn by Jacobs went on display. Margi Hofer, the museum's vice president and director, returned a call too late for last week's update on the dress being displayed. Hofer said the dress will remain on display through the November election. After it comes off display, Hofer said, the dress will remain part of the collection and be available for viewing through the museum's searchable archives. The dress if of interest, Hofer said, because "it's a way to make a political statement in a time when social media has made traditional methods of expressing political opinion, such as campaign buttons, less common." SHARE By Ruth Marcus WASHINGTON Lie down with dogs, get up with fleas, the old saying goes. If so, Donald Trump should be awfully itchy. Trump has just augmented his ever-changing cast of mostly second-string campaign operatives with a new deputy campaign manager, conservative activist David Bossie. "A friend of mine for many years," Trump told my Washington Post colleague Robert Costa. "Solid. Smart. Loves politics, knows how to win." That's one way to put it. Win at any cost would be another, and that's being polite. If Bossie's name doesn't ring a bell, you're lucky, because it means that you haven't been immersed for the last two decades-plus in the mucky minutiae of the right's no-holds-barred war against Bill and Hillary Clinton. This is a war in which Bossie has risen from foot soldier to general, in large part thanks to his willingness to do anything in pursuit of his prey. He is the Captain Ahab of Clinton haters. Some highlights: In 1992, Bossie was working with Floyd Brown, of Willie Horton 1988 campaign ad fame, on an anti-Clinton effort that included a phone line in which callers could pay $4.99 to hear supposed sex tapes between Bill Clinton and Gennifer Flowers. President George H.W. Bush denounced the tactic as "the kind of sleaze that diminishes the political process" and filed a Federal Election Commission complaint against the group, the Presidential Victory Commission. Bossie's particular contribution to this effort involved harassing friends and family of a former law student of Clinton's, Susan Coleman, who had committed suicide. As reported by CBS' Eric Engberg, Bossie's effort involved trying to prove that Coleman shot herself after having a sexual relationship with Clinton and becoming pregnant. Bossie and another investigator pursued Coleman's mother to an Army hospital where her husband was being treated for a stroke. "Here the two men burst into the sick man's room, and began questioning the shaken mother about her daughter's suicide," Engberg reported. Five years later, Lloyd Grove recounted in The Washington Post, "A chastened Bossie later told friends that the CBS story had made his grandmother cry." Chastened? Not so much. Grove was writing about Bossie because he had landed himself back in the news, this time as a committee investigator for former Republican Rep. Dan Burton (of Vince Foster was murdered and shooting a pumpkin, or maybe a melon, to prove it fame). After working with Bossie for several months on the investigation into Clinton's campaign fund-raising, the committee's chief counsel and two other staffers, with the lawyer, John Rowley III, issued a public letter denouncing Bossie's "unrelenting, self-promoting actions." "Not since Roy Cohn, the bare-knuckled chief counsel for Sen. Joe McCarthy in the Red-hunting hearings of the 1950s, has a congressional staffer been so thoroughly demonized by his enemies," Grove wrote. The comparison is particularly striking in retrospect, since post-McCarthy Cohn became Trump's lawyer. Less than a year later, Burton was forced to apologize to his colleagues and Bossie resigned under pressure, after accusations that tapes of former Hillary Clinton law partner Webster Hubbell had been unfairly edited to exclude exculpatory comments about whether Clinton had known of his phony billing. (She had "no idea," Hubbell said.) In a closed-door Republican conference meeting, then-House Speaker Newt Gingrich told Burton he was "embarrassed ... at the circus that went on at your committee," The Washington Post reported. Since then, of course, Bossie, now at the helm of Citizens United, has continued his pursuit, now focused on Hillary. The Citizens United Supreme Court ruling grew out of his 2008 "Hillary: The Movie." My point is not that the Clintons are blameless they aren't but that a candidate can be judged by the company he keeps and, especially, the individuals he hires. Trump has shed, sort of, Corey Lewandowski (recommended to him by, yes, Bossie) and Paul Manafort. Now he has brought on Breitbart News chairman Steve Bannon (recommended to him by, yes, Bossie) as the campaign's chief executive officer, and with him questions about Bannon's voter registration at a vacant Florida house and charges, ultimately dismissed, of domestic abuse by his ex-wife. The grown-up in the room with Trump at least the one who's not related to him is campaign manager Kellyanne Conway, who has a reputation as a capable professional but has been praising her candidate for his supposed "pivot ... to substance" and vowing, in regard to Clinton, "we're going to fight her on substance." Uh huh. Now comes Bossie, lauded by Conway as "a battle-tested warrior and a brilliant strategist." Scratch, scratch. Ruth Marcus' email address is ruthmarcus@washpost.com. Apples iPhone 7(?) will be announced this week and a rash of leaks this weekend suggest its going to be anything but boring, faster, slimmer and more waterproof than ever before, with better digital audio quality to boot. Heres what we think we know: Processor The smartphone will offer an A10 processor. KGI analyst Ming-Chi Kuo explains the chip will run at 2.4-2.45GHz. A second set of claims from GeekBench suggest the new smartphone will deliver plenty of oomph, with benchmark figures way higher than previous models or any existing competition. The expectation remains that the processor will be manufactured by TSMC. Memory iPhone 7 is expected to offer 2GB RAM. The Plus model could host 3GB. Waterproof KGI claims the new smartphone will be waterproof, offering up an IPX rating. Thats enough to handle a shower, an accidental splash or brief immersion in water up to a meter deep. Haptic Home Weekend reports confirm plans to replace the current Home button with a haptic version. In combination with the removal of the headphone jack this should enable Apple to provide more usable display space on the front of the device, and potentially enable inclusion of a larger battery in a thinner form factor. (Weve previously heard it will be 6.1mm and 6.3mm thin.) Dual lens camera 12-megapixel wide-angle camera and a telephoto camera working together to deliver SLR-like image quality. This state-of-the-art camera will make use of some of the technologies Apple acquired with LinX Imaging in 2014. You can look forward to optical zoom and light field camera applications. The flash will also be improved thanks to the inclusion of four rather than two LEDs. Black is the new black Apple will at last offer a black iPhone model, various reports this weekend claim. Apple being Apple, it wont call them black, instead they will be shiny Piano Black and matt Dark Black. Some images of leaked labels this weekend lend a little substance to these claims. Space Gray? Thats gone. More memory There has been growing speculation Apple will offer a new 32GB entry level iPhone model, rather than the 16GB models were used to. Weekend reports confirm this, with 32GB, 128GB and 256GB capacity models expected, with 64GB and 16GB phased out. Better 3D Touch The 3D Touch system used is expected to work with even lower latency, it will feel more responsive than before. This ties in well with the many 3D Touch improvements within iOS 10. Apple will also introduce support for FeliCa NFC, the KGI analyst said. Hit the road, jack The loss of the headphone jack seems inevitable now, but while it is a controversial move it is interesting to note that it also matches current trends. Apples new Bluetooth AirBuds will allegedly also act as speakers, enabling you to make calls. Apple will include Lightning EarPods and a Lightning to 3.5mm Headphone Jack adapter in the box. High hopes Take this Digitimes rumor with a large pinch of salt, but Apple clearly has been reading these reports and is alleged to have increased production of iPhone 7 components by about 10% Apple Pencil support? Perhaps the most unlikely (though not impossible) claim is that Apple may enable support for the Apple Pencil in this release. Useful for taking notes, I guess, though Id still favor an iPad Pro mini for that. Time to switch Millions of people who currently use an iPhone 6 are likely to invest in the new model, which is also set to attract millions of Android switchers, particularly in light of Samsungs incendiary problem. One analyst last week predicted the company will sell up to 230 million iPhones. These are the most recent rumors at this time. Don't forget to visit again to find out what Apple really announces at this year's special event. Google+? If you use social media and happen to be a Google+ user, why not join AppleHolic's Kool Aid Corner community and join the conversation as we pursue the spirit of the New Model Apple? Want Apple TV tips? If you want to learn how to get the very best out of your Apple TV, please visit my Apple TV website. Got a story? Drop me a line via Twitter or in comments below and let me know. I'd like it if you chose to follow me on Twitter so I can let you know when fresh items are published here first on Computerworld. Many civil rights groups, trade bodies and companies, including Google, Amazon, Cisco Systems, Apple and Twitter, have filed briefs in a federal court to back Microsofts move to prevent the indiscriminate use by U.S. law enforcement of orders that force companies not to inform their users about requests for their data. Under the Stored Communications Act, a part of the Electronic Communications Privacy Act, companies can be compelled under 18 U.S. Code 2703 to turn over certain consumer information to law enforcement for their investigations, sometimes without the requirement of notice to the customer whose information is targeted. Under another statute, 18 U.S.C. 2705(b), courts when serving warrants, subpoenas or court orders for customer information can also issue so-called gag orders to service providers at the request of the government to prevent them from notifying any other person of the existence of the warrant or similar order. Such gag orders can be issued if a court, for example, finds that there is a risk of destruction of evidence or flight of person from prosecution if alerted. Under the Stored Communications Act, the government not only does not have a baseline duty to notify the person, but it can also gag the service provider, the Electronic Frontier Foundation and other rights groups have submitted in their filing Friday to the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington at Seattle. In its lawsuit in April, Microsoft said courts had issued almost 2,600 such secrecy orders in the previous 18 months, with over two-thirds having no fixed end date. The practice of issuing gag orders under section 2705(b) is so common that it is impractical to challenge each of the orders, as it would result in a high number of lawsuits each year, according to a friends of the court brief filed by Apple, Twilio, Mozilla and Lithium Technologies. When requesting user data, these gag orders are sometimes issued without the government demonstrating why the gag order is necessary, wrote Denelle Dixon-Thayer, chief legal and business officer at Mozilla. Worse yet, the government often issues indefinite orders that prevent companies from notifying users even years later, long after everyone would agree the gag order is no longer needed, Dixon-Thayer wrote in a blog post. Citing First and Fourth Amendment principles of the U.S. Constitution, Apple and others filing a joint brief are asking the court to rule that orders under 2705(b) should require a particularized showing of the need for nondisclosure in each case and a reasonable time limit on each nondisclosure order. The tech companies want the right to speak to their customers and the public about government surveillance of information stored in the cloud. The cloud services companies are also concerned that the continued use of the gag orders could impact their contractual commitments to customers as well as make them less attractive than providers outside the U.S. Apple has received about 590 unlimited or indefinite duration gag orders in 2016 alone, while in the first seven months of 2016, Yahoo received over 700 federal search warrants for user data, and about 60 percent of these were accompanied by gag orders of indefinite duration. The companies also draw a contrast between the rules governing physical and electronic searches. The governments ability to engage in surreptitious searches of homes and tangible things is practically and legally limited. But the Act allows the government to search personal data stored in the cloud without ever notifying an account owner that her data has been searched, wrote Yahoo, Google, Cisco and some other companies in a brief. Besides the tech companies and civil rights groups, media companies like The Washington Post and Fox News Network, and five former federal law enforcement officials from the Western District of Washington also filed briefs on Friday. Mr Speaker, I thought it would be useful to the House to be brought up to date on the working of my department after the referendum of 23rd June. Our instructions from the British people are clear. Britain is leaving the European Union. The mandate for that course is overwhelming: the referendum of June 23 delivered a bigger popular vote for Brexit than that won by any UK government in history. It is a national mandate and this Government is determined to deliver it in the national interest. As the Prime Minister has made clear, there will be no attempt to stay in the EU by the back door. No attempt to delay, frustrate or thwart the will of the British people. No attempt to engineer a second referendum because some people didnt like the first answer. The people have spoken in the referendum offered to them by this Government and confirmed by Parliament, and all of us, on both sides of the argument, must respect the result. That is a simple matter of democratic politics. Naturally, people want to know what Brexit will mean. Simply, it means the UK leaving the European Union. We will decide on our borders, our laws, and taxpayers money. It means getting the best deal for Britain one that is unique to Britain and not an off the shelf solution. This must mean controls on the numbers of people who come to Britain from Europe but also a positive outcome for those who wish to trade in goods and services. This is a historic and positive moment for our nation. Brexit is not about making the best of a bad job. It is about seizing the huge and exciting opportunities that will flow from a new place for Britain in the world. There will be new freedoms, new opportunities, new horizons for this great country. We can get the right trade policy for the UK. We can create a more dynamic economy, a beacon for free trade across the world. We want to make sure our regulatory environment helps rather than hinders businesses and workers. We can create an immigration system that allows us to control numbers and encourage the brightest and the best to come to this country. But I want to be clear to our European friends and allies: we do not see Brexit as ending our relationship with Europe. It is about starting a new one. We want to maintain or even strengthen our cooperation on security and defence. It is in the interests of both the UK and the EU that we have the freest possible trading relationship. We want a strong EU, succeeding economically and politically, working with Britain in many areas of common interest. So we should all approach the negotiations to come about our exit with a sense of mutual respect and cooperation. I know the House will want to be updated about the work of my new Department for Exiting the European Union. It is a privilege to have been asked to lead it by the Prime Minister, and the challenge we face is exciting and considerable. It will require significant expertise and a consistent approach. Negotiating with the EU will have to be got right. We are going to take the time needed to get it right. And we will strive to build a national consensus around our approach. We start from a position of strength. As the Prime Minister said yesterday, there will be challenges ahead. But our economy is robust: thanks in no small part to the work of my Right Honourable Friend the Member for Tatton. The latest data suggest our manufacturing and service industries and consumer confidence are strong. Businesses are putting their faith and money in this country. Over the summer Softbank, GlaxoSmithKline and Siemens all confirmed that they will make major investments in the UK. Countries including Australia have already made clear their desire to proceed quickly with a new trade deal for the UK. As other nations see the advantages to them, I am confident that they will want to prioritise trade deals with the UK. But we are not complacent. Our task, Mr Speaker, is to build on this success and strength, and to negotiate a deal for exiting the EU that is in the interests of the entire nation. As I have already indicated, securing a deal that is in our national interest does not and must not mean turning our back on Europe. We are leaving the European Union we are not leaving Europe. To do so would not be in our interest, nor Europes. So we will work hard to help establish a future relationship between the EU and the UK that is dynamic, constructive and healthy. We want a steadfast and successful European Union after we depart. And so, as we proceed, we will be guided by some clear principles. First, as I said, we wish to build a national consensus around our position. Second, while always putting the national interest first, we will always act in good faith towards our European partners. Third, wherever possible we will try to minimise any uncertainty that change can inevitably bring. And, fourth, crucially, we will by the end of this process have left the European Union, and put the sovereignty and supremacy of this Parliament beyond doubt. The first formal step in the process of leaving the European Union is to invoke Article 50, which will start two years of negotiations. Let me briefly update the House on how the machinery of Government will support our efforts, and the next steps we will take. First, responsibilities. The Prime Minister will lead the UKs exit negotiations and will be supported on a day-to- day basis by the Department for Exiting the European Union. We will work closely with all government departments to develop our objectives and to negotiate new relationships with the EU and the rest of the world. Supporting me is a superb ministerial team and some of the brightest and best in Whitehall who want to engage in this national endeavour. The Department now has over 180 staff in London, plus the expertise of over 120 officials in Brussels, and we are still growing rapidly with first class support from other Government departments. As to the next steps, the Departments task is clear. We are undertaking two broad areas of work. First, given we are determined to build a national consensus around our negotiating position, we are going to listen and talk to as many organisations, companies and institutions as possible from the large plcs to small business, from the devolved administrations through to councils, local government associations and the major metropolitan bodies. We are already fully engaging with the Governments of Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland to ensure a UK-wide approach to our negotiations. The Prime Minister met the First Ministers of Scotland and Wales and the First Minister and deputy First Minister of Northern Ireland in July, and last week I visited Northern Ireland for meetings with its political leaders, where I reiterated our determination that there will be no return to the hard borders of the past. I will visit Scotland and Wales soon. My Ministerial colleagues and I have also discussed the next steps with a range of organisations: my first meeting was with the General Secretary of the Trades Union Congress, followed by key business groups, representatives of the universities and charitable sectors, and farming and fisheries organisations. But this is just the start. In the weeks ahead, we will speak to as many other firms, organisations and bodies as possible research institutes, regional and national groups and businesses up and down the country, to establish the priority issues and opportunities for the whole of the UK. As part of this exercise, I can announce that we will hold roundtables with stakeholders in a series of sectors, to ensure all views can be reflected in our analysis of the options for the UKs withdrawal from the European Union. The first of these will take place later this month. I will also engage with the Member States and am beginning this with a visit to Dublin later this week. I am working particularly closely with the Foreign Secretary and the Secretary of State for International Trade. They have been meeting counterparts in Washington, Brussels, Delhi and the capitals of other EU Member States. While we do this, my officials, supported by officials across Government, are carrying out a programme of sectoral and regulatory analysis, which will identify the key factors for British businesses and the labour force that will affect our negotiations with the EU. They are looking in detail at over 50 sectors and cross-cutting regulatory issues. We are building a detailed understanding of how withdrawing from the EU will affect our domestic policies, to seize the opportunities and ensure a smooth process of exit. Mr Speaker, the referendum result was a clear sign that the majority of British people wish to see Parliaments sovereignty strengthened and so throughout this process, Parliament will be regularly informed, updated and engaged. Finally, we are determined to ensure that people have as much stability and certainty in the period leading up to our departure from the EU. Until we leave the European Union, we must respect the laws and obligations that membership requires of us. We also want to ensure certainty when it comes to public funding. The Chancellor has confirmed that structural and investment fund projects signed before the Autumn Statement and research and innovation projects financed by the European Commission granted before we leave the EU will be underwritten by the Treasury after we leave. Agriculture is a vital part of the economy, and the Government will match the current level of annual payments that the sector receives through the direct payment scheme until 2020, providing certainty. In terms of the position of EU nationals in the UK, the Prime Minister has been clear that she is determined to protect the status of EU nationals already living here, and the only circumstances in which that would not be possible is if British citizens rights in European member states were not protected in return something that I find hard to imagine. I am confident that together, we will be able to deliver on what the country asked us to do through the referendum. I am greatly encouraged by the national mood: most of those who wanted to Remain have accepted the result and now want to make a success of the course Britain has chosen. Indeed, organisations and individuals I have met already that backed the Remain campaign now want to be engaged in the process of exit and are identifying the positive changes that will flow from it as well as the challenges. I want us all to come together as One Nation to get the best deal for Britain. Mr Speaker, in conclusion: we are confident of negotiating a new position that will mean this country flourishing outside the EU, while keeping its members as our friends, allies and trading partners. We will leave the European Union, but we will not turn our back on Europe. We will embrace the opportunities and freedoms that will open up for Britain. We will deliver on the national mandate for Brexit, and we will deliver it in the national interest. Lord Flight is Chairman of Flight & Partners Recovery Fund, and is a former Shadow Chief Secretary to the Treasury. Britain, in particular, but also Western Europe and the US have cultures which rightly seek to be tolerant both in general terms and specifically of other religions. As Indian friends of mine have commented, it is wonderful to see that London is such a successful, multi-racial, multi-religious metropolis where, in the main, people live happily side by side. In this context, if women want to wear burkinis, then arguably they should be allowed to do so. But the current, French row over burkinis touches the surface of other major issues which are being largely glossed over. The first is that if individuals of migrant origin wish to live in Britain (or other countries) they must accept that they need to live in accordance with local national laws and customs, and must give their first political allegiance to their country of adoption and not to their religion. The second is the treatment of women. From both a legal and cultural perspective (from which Sharia practice is often contrary to our laws and customs), we should expect Muslim countries to afford similar tolerance to their non-Muslim populations to that which is afforded them in the UK, which is manifestly not the case. The particular issues which the French burkini row reflects are about the treatment of women (where, rather than wanting to wear burkinis, many Muslim women are forced to do so by their husbands or families); and that many Muslims regard the wearing of it as a politico-religious assertion. On the other side of the argument, Frances highest administrative court has found that banning burkinis is an infringement of fundamental liberty. In Britain, we are wholly relaxed about Sikhs wearing their magnificent turbans. I wonder, however, whether the French Court would find banning those who wish to swim naked in other than designated areas an infringement of fundamental liberties? I believe that the two big UK issues are Sharia law and Muslim schools. We have our laws and legal system, so it strikes me as wrong that an underground system of law, which is not the law of the land, is in operation and frequently conflicts with our laws with regard to the treatment of women. Sharia law is also an impediment to assimilation. Over the last 150 years, the United States has made a major success of assimilating migrants from all over the world, largely, through its education system. Schools do not teach religion, but teach American culture and values. Within two generations, millions of migrants have been happily assimilated to being full Americans. Muslim schools have been a great barrier to this happening in the UK and, in several cases, have been found to be promoters of Islamic fundamentalism. As we learned in Northern Ireland, Catholic children going to Catholic Schools and Protestant children to Protestant Schools served to prolong sectarian hostilities. It is not fair to compare British Muslim Schools with Christian Schools, since Christian Schools accept pupils of all religious faiths and do not actively propagate Christianity. We are, moreover, historically a Christian country. Many of the church schools in central London now have a majority of Muslim pupils. I was in Mumbai shortly after the terrorist attack in 2008, and was pleasantly surprised that this did not lead to major Hindu/Muslim altercations. I asked a great Indian friend why this was. To which he replied that the leading Mullahs had got together and agreed not to same-day bury any of the dead terrorists not doing so sends them to Hell according to some Muslims and also asked Muslims to wear black arm bands. I cannot help feeling the time has come for the civilised Muslim leaders in Britain to take a much more active role, both to root out the teaching of fundamentalism and to promote the necessary measures to speed up and underpin assimilation. Without this, and, particularly if people start thinking that our practice of tolerance is being exploited, there is the risk that tolerance will wear thin. Nadhim Zahawi is a member of the Foreign Affairs Select Committee and MP for Stratford On Avon. During these weeks following the EU referendum, I have made a conscious effort to remain quiet on the subject. Everyone needs to respect the fact that, although the result was decisive, and the wishes of those who voted to leave the European Union must be delivered, there are large numbers of people in the country who have been bitterly disappointed. Now is not the time for gloating. Now is the time for a capable Government to seize the chance to deliver a better Britain for everyone, outside the EU. However, two pieces of news in the last week demonstrate why I remain convinced that we made the right decision to leave, and have brought me back to the topic. The first was the decision by the European Union to punish Ireland, an independent sovereign state, over the amount of tax that Apple has paid, and to demand that the company must pay an extra 13 billion. During the referendum, if you discussed how the EU wants to centralise more power, and how it now wishes to make more active use of the powers it already has, you were accused of pedalling conspiracy theories. Sadly, some vigorous opponents of the EU do indeed slip into hyperbolic fantasy, which is both damaging and unnecessary: reality is enough to illustrate this meddling. The events of last week show the complete lack of respect that the European institutions feel for the democratic member states from whose agreement they derive their paltry democratic legitimacy. Both Apple and Ireland believe that the laws of that country have been followed, and that every penny of tax that was due has been paid. That should be the end of the matter. It is not for the European Union to decide what tax rates should be levied, or whether all of the tax that Apple is liable for in Ireland has been paid. That is entirely within and should always be entirely within the remit of the democratically-elected Government of Ireland. Some have welcomed this decision as a blow against the multinational corporations that seem to do anything to reduce their tax liability, to the detriment of society as a whole. But that misses the point. Whether you believe that Apple should pay nought per cent, 20 per cent or 80 per cent of its profits in tax, it is for the people of Ireland to decide. If they believe that these companies are not paying enough, then they should vote a party that will take action into government. That is how democracy works not through diktat from Brussels but via decisions of a Government accountable to the people. This is a clear example of overreaching by Brussels, and one that damages the attractiveness of the European Union as a place to do business. Businesses need to know what the tax structure is that they are working within, whatever it is. There is now the fear that, even when a sovereign member state sets its tax rate, and you pay what you owe in full, in a few years time the European Union will decide you didnt pay enough and then retrospectively hit you with a huge bill. The second piece of news was that Matthias Fekl, Frances Trade Minister, has described TTIP as dead, and has called for talks to end. Francois Hollande has so far not been as certain as his colleague, but did say that an agreement was impossible by the end of this year, and that France would not accept the current deal. During the referendum, we were often told that remaining in the European Union was necessary to give us negotiating clout, and sign up to free trade deals. If the European Union did perform this role even close to adequately, and forged ahead with free trade deals around the world, then that would be brilliant. Unfortunately, the European record on trade has shown that there is no hope of that. European trade deals suffer because they show that despite the many similarities with our friends in Europe, the members of the European Union still have huge differences economically and politically. It is almost impossible to negotiate a deal that encompasses the different requirements and priorities of economies as different as Britain and Bulgaria, Germany and Greece, France and Latvia. It is a difficult job, and at best a long and complicated one. The problem is that, because of this diversity, Brussels must keep all 28 countries onside and happy with the deal while negotiating with another single country that must only please itself. This fractured negotiating position inevitably undermines the process. It is hard to see how the United Kingdom could not do better than this. It will not be easy, but I have much greater faith that our Government could deliver a deal when it only has to consider the interests of our own economy. I am delighted that the British people voted to leave the European Union, and there is much work to do, especially in creating our new relationship with the EU. However as the economic news gets better, particularly in comparison to the rest of the world, it is certainly becoming ever clearer that remaining was always going to be the worse option. We still have to take the opportunities on offer, but if we do our future will be brighter outside. Senior Vote Leave strategists were astounded by what focus groups were saying, long before the referendum campaign began, about an Australian-style points system to control immigration. I remember one telling me about a particular session in which members began to debate in detail how Australia manages it, complete with details of what happened to friends when they applied to emigrate there. Its popularity played an important part in the immigration proposal which the organisation released on June 15, as part of a six-point manifesto, only eight days before the vote took place. The [Immigration] Bill would end the discrimination against non-EU citizens, it said, and create a genuine points-based immigration system in which the possession of suitable skills is a key element. ConservativeHome had got there earlier. In 2014, we produced our own manifesto, which called for such a system in very similar words: A points-based system should be used to prioritise the immigration of workers with skills in short supply. Theresa May read it herself, and it was made clear to us that she doesnt support the idea not because it would be too tough, but because it wouldnt be tough enough. The Australian system, she argues, gives migrants automatic entry if they have the right number of points whether or not they have a job lined up, and that simply wont do for Britain. Andrew Green of Migration Watch has argued on this site that it is extremely complex, applicable only to job seekers (employers have a different route), and only covers 15 per cent of all migrants. It is, he said, fools gold designed for Australias policy of having higher, not lower, migration. She has now repeated her view and thus given Fleet Street a lot of fun this morning. Boris Johnson is the most senior Vote Leave supporter in Cabinet, and can thus be said to have signed up to a policy that May has rejected, along with fellow Cabinet members Chris Grayling, Priti Patel, Andrea Leadsom and Liam Fox. The suggestion of a present difference between the Prime Minister and the Foreign Secretary over a points system could be right. It has already been reported that the latter has clashed with Philip Hammond about the economy. He has also been pressing the view within government that NHS spending should be raised further when Britain leaves the EU another part of that six-point Vote Leave Plan. On Saturday, the Times claimed that the Johnson has written to May highlighting four areas that should be non-negotiable in the upcoming Brexit negotiations: proper controls over immigration from the bloc, an end to compulsory contributions to the EU budget, a stop to more EU legislation applying to Britain and the removal of the authority of the European Court of Justice. The paper read it as setting out his own red lines; his camp insist he was describing those of voters. Wherever the truth may lie, one point is very clear. Had Johnson won the leadership election, his Government might reasonably have been by voters as a Vote Leave Government, and expected to deliver its six-point programme. But he did not. May was a Remainer. So were a majority of her Cabinet. She is under no obligation to deliver a proposal that she has never signed up to. But whatever your view, voters interest, when it comes to immigration control, lies less in what politicians have said in the past than what they will do in the future. Supporters of a points system will claim that one can be organised to produce less immigration, not more. Backers of using work permits instead will reply, as the Prime Minister does, that they deal better with the relationship between entry and work. Either way, however, the referendum message from the British people was unambiguous: they want less immigration and more control. May didnt deliver lower net migration as Home Secretary. She knows that she must make up for that failure as Prime Minister. This is plainly why were reading that she wants a bespoke Brexit deal though whether it seeks to curtail or end free movement is unclear. Continue Reading Below Advertisement But Han Solo didn't die in Jedi. (That was another spoiler, sorry, sorry.) This annoyed Ford, who by this point clearly had mixed feelings about how much people associated him with that character. Check out this interview Ford has with David Letterman. He is nominally there promoting Blade Runner, and after Letterman asks him a question about Return Of The Jedi you can see how close he comes to boiling over. Continue Reading Below Advertisement It was awkward, and moments later, he'd storm out of the interview. Decades later, you could tell he was still kind of carrying this chip around on his shoulder. When promoting The Force Awakens on Jimmy Kimmel's show, Kimmel asked Ford if he was grateful that his character endured for so many years. Ford clearly had to think about this a bit before answering. DisneyABC Domestic Television There were, uh, a few things going on in this interview, actually. Continue Reading Below Advertisement But in that same interview, he again talks openly about his desire to see the character killed off. He does it again on the same show a few months later (although for some reason, this time he isn't dressed as a hot dog). And then there was that Jimmy Fallon interview wherein, upon being asked if he got emotional when he put Han's costume back on, the cantankerous professional handsome man answered, "No, I got paid." Continue Reading Below Advertisement Or take true cinnamon, also called Ceylon cinnamon. It's sweeter and makes for better baking, which makes it a must-have for high-end bakeries and Mexican chefs, but you've probably never heard of it because it's not grown at the same scale as Chinese cinnamon (the kind you get in the supermarket). Grocery stores don't bother with these rare spices, due to the cost difference and limits on mass marketing. Think a grass-fed ground Angus burger versus a Big Mac -- everybody knows the former is better, but McDonald's moves a lot more of the latter. But it's not all for people who wear ascots and refer to themselves as "gourmands." One of my colleagues in New York fields big tamarind orders from Buddhist groups, and he never knew why. One day he asked, and it turns out they use it to polish statues the old-fashioned way. There's also camphor, which makes smokeless gunpowder -- historic ammunition makers still ask for it, in order to make authentic duplicates. At least, that's what you assume when a guy dressed like a redcoat runs into your shop rattling a musket. It's probably best not to ask him too many questions. WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. Heres a back-to-school message: Public schools need public support. Im not talking about with your tax dollars, which is where most folks tend to throw up their hands when it comes to our public schools. Well, I pay my fair share of taxes, Im often told. My response: Well, thats not enough. Not when teachers are going deep into their own pockets to buy basics like crayons and paper for their classrooms. Not when principals are taking time away from their own families to make sure that your child or grandchild gets the extra time they need to learn to read at grade level. And not when you have a superintendent pulling his hair out to, among other things, find money to update classroom technology just so schoolkids can take tests properly. Ask any of these dedicated folks what they would love more than just about anything, and they will tell you a good school volunteer. This isnt a debate about a particular teachers alleged imperfections, a specific schools glaring neighborhood challenges or an allegedly bloated school district administration. We can save that for another day any other day. This is about the rest of us. Those of us who demand quality public education for our tax dollars, but have never spent one minute on a public school campus. Never said Thank you to an exhausted lunchroom assistant. Never shaken the hand of a frustrated bus driver. Volunteer for an hour at a local public school and you can do any of these things, and get up-close-and-personal with how your hard-earned money is being spent. Afterwards, you may even be able to offer an idea or two on how it can be done better. Because were not just talking about writing a check and fund raising. (Although a school will surely take whatever they can get.) The staff want something far more valuable to most of us: our time. For just one hour out of a classrooms day, they want someone who can read to a group of third-graders, help calm a group of rambunctious seventh-graders or share with a group of quizzical 10-graders why a firm handshake is so important when you graduate into the real world. How valuable are school volunteers? They can be the difference between an A-rated school and a C-rated school. Period. Years ago, my wife the uber school volunteer told the principal of our daughters elementary school that she was moving the girls across town to a magnet school. The principal actually broke down in tears and not because she was going to miss the girls. You see, Klemie was the kind of volunteer that principals love: she wasnt there to nag the principal about how best to run her school; she was there to help make it the best possible learning environment for her kids. Indeed, no one knows the value of school volunteers and parental involvement more than principals. Volunteers can do the dirty work spiffing up a classroom and the heavy lifting providing hands-on motivation for students and staff. They can help plug all those little unexpected daily holes that school teachers and administrators just cant seem to get to fast enough. One ever-present hole at many Palm Beach County schools is getting the surrounding community to show support. Neighborhood schools are fixtures throughout the county. But there are neighbors who never set foot in them. Instead, many of us just glare and grumble because were forced to slow down while driving through a school zone. But I feel they deserve better, even though I no longer have kids in schools. So on Aug. 15, the first day of school, there I was at Westward Elementary School in West Palm Beach at 7:15 a.m., standing and sweating with about three dozen mostly African-American professional men -- lawyers, engineers, small businessowners, etc. -- in about 100 percent humidity. We were all there to applaud, cheer and Hi-Five kids as they walked onto campus that morning. As any parent knows, every child needs encouragement to do well in school, no matter their background. Even kids who were self-motivated, like my three daughters, benefited greatly from the fact that their mom and I were always there supporting them. For parents working two jobs, struggling to keep a roof over their heads and put food on their tables, theres often not much left in the tank when it comes to words of support and encouragement. Thats where the Hi-Five event comes in. Its a basic show of support thats been building across the country for the last several years, championed by groups like 100 Black Men, focusing mostly on inner-city schools from Detroit to Miami. On this particular Monday morning, diverse groups of men from various professional backgrounds were at various schools throughout Palm Beach County. Gatherings at the schools in West Palm Beach including Westward, Belvedere and Northboro elementaries were spearheaded by City Commissioner Cory Neering. The Palm Beach Post even shared the event via Facebook Live on The Palm Beach Post Opinion page. It doesnt sound like much. But watch a 6-year-olds face suddenly light up when he or she sees a gauntlet of professional men applauding, hi-fiving and cheering them on to have a great school year. Better yet, look at the parent walking them into school. The positive energy they get from knowing that some stranger cares about their childs education gives them a boost, too. But as Westward Elementary Principal Bobbie Brooks Jr. chided us, this was just one day. There are 182 days in the school year, he said, thanking us with hugs and handshakes. This is a community school, he said. It takes a community to make it successful; so dont let this be the only day you visit. Come back. I intend to. And I hope to see you there, too. There are about 1,200 hours in this school year ... so take your pick. The public schools need your support. More than that, they deserve your support. Rick Christie writes for The Palm Beach Post. Email: rchristie@pbpost.com. These real PA creatures could become cryptids if we don't save them Check it out: Fun things to do this weekend in Lake County entertainment As junior hospital doctors prepare for the first in a series of five-day strikes, there is growing evidence of a politicised campaign against the Government. Senior members of the BMA, the doctors' trade union, have talked of the 'trade union dispute of the century'. But then, the BMA has a long history of triggering political unrest. As junior hospital doctors prepare for the first in a series of five-day strikes, there is growing evidence of a politicised campaign against the Government Consider the following speech by a former Health Secretary: 'There has been . . . misrepresentation, sustained by a campaign of personal abuse, from a small body of spokesmen who have consistently misled the great profession to which they are supposed to belong. 'I make a distinction.. between the hard-working doctors who have little or no time to give to these matters, and the small body of raucous-voiced people who are alleged to represent the profession. 'So much misrepresentation has been engaged in by the BMA that the doctors who have voted are doing so under a complete misapprehension of what the Health Service is.' QUOTE OF THE WEEK Richard Angell, director of Blairite pressure group Progress, accuses pro-Corbyn Momentum supporters of planning to split Labour: 'This is not a party in a party, but a party waiting to leave a party.' Advertisement The speaker? Aneurin Bevan, Labour Health Secretary, addressing the Commons in 1948, four months before the launch of the NHS, of which he was architect. He added: 'We are to assume that one of the reasons why the doctors are taking up this attitude is because of unreasonableness on my part. 'It is a quality which I appear to share in common with every Minister of Health whom the British Medical Association has met.' If even the creator of the NHS was attacked by the BMA, what hope is there today for a peaceful settlement? Labour stands up for Virgin Trains With exquisite timing, the Labour Party leadership has just sent out a message to its members declaring: 'This year we have teamed up with Virgin Trains to offer an exclusive discount on rail travel to all attendees of Annual Conference Liverpool 2016.' Yes, the very same Virgin Trains on which Jeremy Corbyn staged his puerile and utterly bogus 'sit-in' to highlight the problem of 'ram-packed' trains. Virgin boss Sir Richard Branson humiliated him, of course, by revealing the Labour leader had passed by any number of empty seats before choosing to sit on the floor in the corridor. TV stardom beckons for parliamentary rock group MP4, who will be the house band on a new late-night political satire show, Unspun, with comedian Matt Forde, on the Dave channel. The world's only parliamentarian rock band is made up of Labour MP Kevin Brennan (guitar and lyrics), Tory Sir Greg Knight (drums), the SNP's Pete Wishart (keyboards) and Labour's Ian Cawsey (bass). The band has raised 1 million for charity since it was formed in 2004. Andy Coulson, the former Downing Street communications chief who was jailed as a result of the Met's phone-hacking inquiry into the News of the World, which he'd edited did an interview with the London Evening Standard magazine to promote his new communications consultancy. Asked if he had ever had a run-in with a London policeman, he replied: 'You obviously don't read the newspapers.' Andy Coulson, the former Downing Street communications chief did an interview with the London Evening Standard magazine to promote his new communications consultancy A casual glance at the MPs' register of outside interests and you will come across directorships and consultancies which often generate tens of thousands of pounds a year for our elected representatives. Not so in John McNally, the SNP MP for Falkirk's, case. Up until February he received 600 a month from a hairdressing salon in rent and 'for working Saturday mornings'. Apparently, he does a great shampoo and set. Clegg shame got Tim's vote In a hard-hitting speech, Lib Dem leader Tim Farron urged people to try to overturn the EU referendum Brexit vote. 'We are in danger of letting malevolent forces hijack the result. 'So, yes, I campaigned to remain. I'll carry on campaigning to remain,' he told the Institute for Public Policy Research. In a hard-hitting speech, Lib Dem leader Tim Farron urged people to try to overturn the EU referendum Brexit vote He never used to be such a bad loser. When, in a 2011 referendum, voters overwhelmingly rejected changing the first-past-the-post voting system to the alternative vote system proposed by Nick Clegg, he said: 'I am very proud we have given people the opportunity to have a say about the way they elect their MPs. It's the first time in British history people have been able to make such a decision.' Ever since Soho House opened in the mid-1990s, the exclusive members' club has been synonymous with laid-back chic. And now people who want imitate those achingly cool interiors at home are in luck, as the chain has just launched Soho Home, a brand new range of luxurious must-have pieces of furniture, textiles and kitchenware. While the high-end home accessories are no doubt flying off the shelves, you'll need deep pockets to invest in the collection, with a Chesterfield sofa priced at 3,995 while a velvet cushion costs 50. Scroll down for video Soho Home is synonymous with laid-back chic, and now the chain has branched into interiors with a brand new range of luxurious must-have pieces of furniture, textiles and kitchenware Luckily for homemakers on a budget, a raft of supermarkets now offer cut-price home furnishings that look far more expensive than they are. But can you really tell the difference between budget homeware and its more expensive designer counterparts? Explaining Soho House's decision to branch into home furnishings, design director Vicky Charles told the Telegraph: 'Theres always been a demand for "the look". 'Wed receive an email every other week, asking where we got certain things from, so it just made sense.' A key piece in the new range is a two-and-a-half-seater 'spoon' sofa in cumin mohair for 2,650, handmade in England and featuring pleated scroll arms (as seen in Soho Farmhouse) George Home's Elliott compact sofa is a more modest 275. The 'stylish and comfortable' piece comes in 'olive' and also features scroll arms, though it's finished in velvet rather than mohair Soho Home offers the sumptuous 50 Monroe square cushions in a range of colours including berry (right), but you may be more tempted by George's 7 budget version (left) But supermarket giant Asda reckons its George at Home range - which comes with a 100-day satisfaction guarantee - is just as good as the in-demand designer wares, with a press release announcing it has ' a wide range of look-alike furniture to rival the new Soho Home range for up to 96 per cent less.' FEMAIL has pitted Soho Home's best buys against George's purse-friendly pieces - so can you tell which is which? A key piece in the new range is a two-and-a-half-seater 'spoon' sofa in cumin mohair for 2,650, handmade in England and featuring pleated scroll arms; members might recognise the piece from Soho House Chicago and Soho Farmhouse. However if that's a little out of your price range, George Home's Elliott compact sofa is a more modest 275. The 'stylish and comfortable' piece comes in olive and also features scroll arms, though it's finished in cheaper velvet rather than mohair. Soho Home has designed a smart crystal decanter set, made at the Rogaska glassworks in Slovenia. With each piece mouth-blown and etched by hand, you'll need to fork out 180 Shoppers might find George's five-piece version a little more purse-friendly at 65. Made from lead crystal, they promise to add a 'splash of panache' to any dinner party or nightcap When it comes to textiles, Soho Home also offers the sumptuous Monroe square cushions in a range of colours including berry. While it retails at 50, manufacturers are keen to point out that the velvet is made from 100 per cent cotton rather than polyester and the cushion is stuffed with feathers for extra plumpness. But if that's a little out of your price range you may be more tempted by George's 7 version which, at a glance, is near-identical and features a smart 'Oxford' edge. Moving onto the drinks cabinet, Soho Home has designed a smart crystal decanter set, made at the Rogaska glassworks in Slovenia. With each piece mouth-blown and etched by hand, you'll need to fork out 180 for the decanter and four glasses. If your budget doesn't stretch that far, you might find George's five-piece version a little more purse-friendly at 65. Made from lead crystal, they promise to add a 'splash of panache' to any dinner party or nightcap. Soho Home's cashmere throw, finished in Italy, is definitely an investment piece at 400 (right), while George's grey tassel knit throw is a snip of the price at just 14 (left) Thinking of splashing out? Soho Home's loft sofa in grey linen perfectly combines style with comfort and will bring a cool, contemporary feel to your living room (3,295) For those on a budget, George Home's Valerie sofa at 525 (down from 625) comes in a range of colours and finishes - including a deep nickel grey not dissimilar to the Soho version As the nights draw in and the days get shorter, there's no better way to spend an evening than wrapped up in a luxurious blanket; and it doesn't get much cosier than Soho's softer-than-soft cashmere throw. Made from two layers of cashmere knitted together, and finished in Italy, at an eye-watering 400 it's definitely an investment piece. But you could do a lot worse than George's grey tassel knit throw, which is a snip of the price at just 14. It won't have the same sumptuous feel as its cashmere counterpart, and it can't be chucked in the washing machine. However customers testify it's of a 'very good quality' and compares favourably with more expensive versions on the market. Soho Home's stylish kitchen cutlery set with bakelite handles - as seen at Soho Farmhouse - will set you back 59 (right); while George's strikingly similar 16-piece set is just 10 (left) Soho Home's Country House dinnerware set (130): The 12-piece collection is entirely hand-glazed and perfectly emulates the laid-back vibe of Soho Farmhouse George's mushroom-coloured 12-piece dinnerware set is available on their website for 17. One happy buyer wrote online: 'It looks a lot more expensive than it actually was' If it's luxury you're after, Soho Home's loft sofa in grey linen combines style with comfort and will bring a cool, contemporary feel to your living room. Handmade in England and upholstered in Belgian linen, it comes with a considerable price tag of 3,295 - although with design director Vicky Charles describing it as 'the most comfortable sofa youll ever sit on,' it might just be worth forking out. For those on a budget, George Home's Valerie sofa at 525 (down from 625) comes in a range of colours and finishes - including a smart nickel grey not dissimilar to the Soho version. With a wool, viscose and polyster mix it's unlikely to have the same soft texture as Soho Home's offering, but at less than a sixth of the price it's a bona fide bargain. Need a good night's sleep? You could splash out on Soho Home's goose down duvet, 280 (left) or George Home's Fogarty Siberian goose & feather down duvet, 50 (right) George's Elliott medium sofa in soft linen, priced at 300 (down from 375), which comes in 14 different colours including pastels and deep jewel tones - perfect for cosy winter nights Soho Home's 2,450 flax linen sofa. Design director Vicky Charles calls it 'the perfect parlour sofa. It's perfect for a hallway, dining room, at the end of a bed or a little nook under the stairs' When it comes to kitchenware, Soho Home has got it covered - with everything from glassware to napkin sets on offer. Its stylish kitchen cutlery set with bakelite handles - as seen at Soho Farmhouse - will set you back 59. However, George Home's strikingly similar 16-piece riveted handle set is just 10 and even comes with a handy metallic caddy for storage. With cutlery out of the way, you can complete your kitchenware collection with a set of stylish stoneware crockery. The 12-piece collection is entirely hand-glazed and perfectly emulates the laid-back vibe of Soho Farmhouse. But if the 130 price tag puts you off, George's mushroom-coloured set is available on their website for 17. Indeed, one happy buyer wrote online: 'It looks a lot more expensive than it actually was.' George Home's goose feather medium support pillow, 14, (left) and Soho Home's goose down pillow, 120, (right) Equally affordable is George's Elliott medium sofa in soft linen, priced at 300 (down from 375), which comes in 14 different colours including pastels and deep jewel tones which are perfect for cosy winter nights. Soho Home offers a luxurious flax linen version that VIP guests at Soho House Chicago will be familiar with. Design director Vicky Charles calls the 2,450 piece '18th century-inspired, small and neat, this is the perfect parlour sofa. It's perfect for a hallway, dining room, at the end of a bed or a little nook under the stairs.' If you want to ensure a good night's sleep, you could splash out on Soho Home's goose down 10.5 tog duvet (280) and medium-firm pillow (120). She says: 'Haute couture isn't only for the runway' and loves nail polish Ms Clayrene paints the likes of Valentino and Elie Saab gowns However, instead of using traditional paint, the artist uses nail varnish When it comes to ripping up the artist's rule book, you can't get much more left field than this. Chan Clayrene, from Singapore, creates beautifully intricate and detailed fashion sketches. But instead of using watercolours, paint or pencils, the talented designer uses nail varnish. Talented: Chan Clayrene, from Singapore, creates beautifully intricate and detailed fashion sketches, using nail varnish (pictured) Social media success: Ms Clayrene's much-followed Instagram account showcases her incredible talent, in all of its colourful glory (pictured) Ms Clayrene's much-followed Instagram account showcases her incredible talent, in all of its colourful glory. To me, nail varnish is not just a piece of make-up; it's more my tools to create a work of art From recreating feather-soft Valentino gowns to painting classic Elie Saab couture dresses, each work is fashioned with nail varnishes and their brushes, which leaves a dreamy-style effect on each piece. 'Haute Couture is not only for runway, we can own it through our nail polish and brushes,' Ms Clayrene told Daily Mail Australia. And, as nail varnish is one of the artist's favourite cosmetics, combining it with her love of art makes complete sense. 'To me, nail varnish is not just a piece of make-up; it's more my tools to create a work of art,' she said. 'All of my works take different amounts of time; a quick sketch might only take me five to ten minutes, while a proper painting is more like 45 minutes.' Detailed: From recreating feather-soft Valentino gowns to painting classic Elie Saab couture, each work is fashioned with nail varnishes and their brushes Fantasy world: This often leaves a dreamy-style effect on each piece, which Ms Clayrene's followers on Instagram love In the past, Ms Clayrene has painted hundreds of dresses, from quirky Pokemon styles to feathered fantasy frocks. She excels in recreating the dresses she sees from leading design houses around the globe, and says that she is living the dream doing what she loves: 'I get my inspiration from my surroundings, especially from fashion magazines and gorgeous haute couture pieces I might see on social media,' she said. Inspired: According to Ms Clayrene, she gets her inspiration from her surroundings, including fashion magazines and social media Fantasy: According to the artist, she is very much into fantasy and fairy tales - this is why she loves to paint 'princessy' styles Success: Meanwhile, the artist's fans around the globe continue to praise her creative work on social media, frequently describing designs as 'amazing' and 'breathtaking' As as for the future, Chan Clayrene has her eyes set on countless pieces done up in nail varnish. 'I would most love to design a wedding gown,' she told Daily Mail Australia. 'Since I was a kid, I was deeply in love with fairy tales and fantasy. I think this is the reason why my design is always princessy [sic] in style.' Meanwhile, the artist's fans around the globe continue to praise her creative work on social media, frequently describing designs as 'amazing' and 'breathtaking'. As any parent will tell you, one of the worst things about travelling on a plane is when your baby won't settle and stop crying. Other passengers look at you, you can't sleep, and your poor bub is stressed and overtired by the time you get to your destination. One Sydney mum, however, has come up with a solution that will allow your children to sleep on busy and noisy flights. Brilliant: A Sydney mum has invented a pop-up baby carrier so infants can sleep on planes Take it anywhere: The FlyBabee also works as a stroller cover, giving children a dark and quiet place to snooze It's a bag that unzips and pops up, creating a covered bed for your baby that blocks out light and noise so they can sleep. High School teacher Emma Lovell was flying back and forth from Sydney to the UK to care for her sick mum with five-month-old baby Aimee when she had the brilliant idea. 'She was an awesome flyer but couldnt sleep on the plane,' Ms Lovell told Daily Mail Australia. 'So I would take a huge sheet and masking tape to try and create a tent around her.' 'I found myself as the envy of other parents. It was crap but it was better than nothing.' Striking gold: Mum-of-two Emma Lovell (above) invented the carrier after travelling to the UK with her five-month-old daughter Gap in the market: She couldn't find a product that existed so Ms Lovell invented it herself Ms Lovell looked online but couldn't find something made for babies travelling, so with the encouragement of her husband she decided to create her own. She came up with the FlyBabee, which can be used on planes or as a stroller cover when out and about. 'It means when they're on holiday, parents can go out to dinner and have their baby sleeping in the restaurant,' the mum-of-two said. Taking over the world: Now FlyBabee is stocked in 50 retail outlets and is expanding internationally Easy peasy: The product can be folded down so it's easy to transport Thus her company was born. They launched officially 18 months ago and the product is stocked in more than 50 retail outlets, as well as online. The mum-of-two has even got distribution deals in Malaysia and Singapore, and is looking to expand internationally into the US and Europe. As for sales, not only is the Flybabee selling well, customers are loving it - Parents often email Ms Lovell out of the blue telling her how much. As thousands of dads celebrated Father's Day on Sunday, tragically, there were many who were unable to have their children with them. Brad Kearns, a gym manager from Tuggerah, New South Wales, has had three sons but his first, Buddy, was stillborn. As he spent time with his two sons on Sunday evening, the doting dad reflected on what his very first Father's Day had been like without his son by his side. Opening up: Brad Kearns (pictured with his two sons and his wife), a gym manager from Tuggerah, New South Wales, has had three sons but his first, Buddy, was stillborn 'The hands of our first son': As he spent time with his two sons on Sunday evening, the doting dad reflected on what his very first Father's Day had been like without his son by his side 'Do you remember the first time you touched your child's hands?' Mr Kearns, 27, questioned in his blog post titled 'A Father's Day Message.' 'You rubbed your thumb across the top of their fingers as they hold onto yours. You grab their entire hand and hold it in your fist. You give it a little squeeze to let them know that you're there; and you sit in awe of their vulnerability. 'And at that moment you make your silent promise. A promise to protect them. To care for them. To give them your all. A promise to be the best parent you can be.' 'A Father's Day Message': Mr Kearns' full post can be read here Always a dad: He said despite Buddy being born sleeping, he was a dad from that moment on As Mr Kearns sat with his two sons before bed, he thought about the promises he had made them over time before thinking about the handprint tattoos around his neck. 'These tiny little hands that are positioned like an eternal cuddle. These are the hands of our first son. His name was Buddy,' he continued. 'It wasn't always going to be his name, but it seemed right at the time. When we met him for the first time and he was peacefully sleeping. It just seemed so right. He was my little Buddy. The handprints serve as my daily reminder.' Mr Kearns said from that day forward he was a dad. Beautiful: 'The fact that we couldn't take him home with us didn't change a thing. The fact I would never teach him to kick a ball didn't matter,' he said Dad time: 'I remember on the next Father's Day I didn't expect anything. I got a card. I received a few lovely text messages. I was still a dad. It meant the world to me,' he wrote 'The fact that we couldn't take him home with us didn't change a thing. The fact I would never teach him to kick a ball didn't matter. We held his hands and we called him our own. He was the first little boy I ever made that promise to,' he said. 'I remember on the next Father's Day I didn't expect anything. I got a card. I received a few lovely text messages. I was still a dad. It meant the world to me. It made my promise real. 'If you know a dad, a stepdad, a foster dad, or a family with two dads... Make an effort this Father's Day. Let them know their promise was real. It will mean the world to them too. ' Speak out: 'Make an effort this Father's Day. Let them know their promise was real. It will mean the world to them too,' he said Speaking to Daily Mail Australia, Mr Kearns said he decided to write the post after spending time with his boys. 'It's time like those where you actually do take time out of your busy life to reflect on how things are going,' he said. 'We have a lot of people around us who have been through similar misfortunes as us and I think it's nice for those people to be included and to feel included. 'It's also nice for those people when awareness is created around the topic because it gives them a chance to feel validated as a parent.' Everyone counts: 'We have a lot of people around us who have been through similar misfortunes as us and it's nice for those people to be included and to feel included,' he said For those dads who were unable to have their child or all of their children with them on Sunday, Mr Kearns says it's important to turn to support networks. 'I think awareness is key. Awareness validates everything. The more people who talk about it, the more people are able to talk about it. Especially men,' he said. Instagram star Sjana Earp has hit back at critics who slammed her for posting 'inspirational' travel messages from luxurious hotels. The 21-year-old lifestyle blogger and Instagram star recently described her take on the philosophy of travel in a series of poolside snaps from Bali, Indonesia. Some of her 1.2million followers criticised the pictures, saying she was not qualified to share life advice when she only stayed in lavish resorts. Scroll down for video Life of luxury: Next to this racy snap taken in Bali, Sjana gives her take on the benefits of travel One snap, posted from Bali's luxurious Villa Ariana Grande, shows the beauty from Newcastle, NSW, posing in a skimpy bikini next to a pristine swimming pool. She captions the picture: 'Travelling, in my humble opinion, is the greatest education known to humankind. 'There are no classes, no set structure, no books or essays. But the lessons you learn are far greater and more valuable than anything you could learn in an institution. Paradise: Sjana says there is nothing more educational in life than travelling the world 'You don't learn how to recall specific pieces of information, or memorise certain answers. You don't learn how to make money and pay your bills to survive. 'But my god you learn how to live. And if nothing else, isn't that what we're here for?' The post drew almost 200 comments and, although most supported her sentiments, some followers questioned her suitability to be giving travel advice. Luxurious: One commentor asked why Sjana always stayed in the most expensive and glamorous resorts Lavish: Some fans took to Instagram to criticise Sjana for sharing her thoughts on travelling 'So why aren't you staying in normal hotels?' one commenter asked. 'Why always the most expensive and luxurious hotels on water?' Sjana addressed the criticism in a follow-up post the next day. 'Deep thoughts': Sjana wrote a post to address the criticism aimed at her for travelling in style 'Yesterday I posted a pic with a caption I wrote about travelling,' she writes. 'A lot of people seemed to have an issue with me posting my 'deep thoughts' with a pic of a beautiful villa and wearing bikinis. 'I just want to say that humans - myself no exception - have every right to post and write what they like. Inspirational: 'A traveller is anyone who is open to the idea of growth and knowledge,' Sjana writes 'Also, travel is the traveller. It isn't where you stay or how much money you spend. It is about how deeply you explore within yourself as well as the world around you.' Sjana went on to say, 'I have travelled for culture and slept in dodgy beds and seen poverty and experienced that side of travel. But I am also blessed enough to travel like this, and Although I have been travelling for three years now, I am STILL constantly growing and learning (regardless of where I choose to stay) [sic]. 'Criticising someone else for what they do is not only horrible but it is the definition of a small mind and a closed heart.' Open-minded: A traveller is someone who is open-minded and always open to new experiences, Sjana says She continued: 'A traveller is anyone who is open to the idea of growth and knowledge of both the world around them as well as the world within themselves. 'It is someone who wanders in order to learn - regardless of their surroundings - and is always open to taking and making opportunities. A woman has been criticised after sharing a photo of her young sons holding up placards at Melbourne Slutwalk - a rally held to protest against victim blaming and so-called 'slut-shaming' in sexual assault cases. Catherine Manning, a mum of four, attended the Melbourne protest with her family on Saturday and snapped a photo of her two sons, Lachlan and Jem, with signs they made. After activist Van Badham shared the photo on her Facebook page, Ms Manning was both praised and criticised for taking her children to the event. Scroll down for video 'Boys will be respectful': 13-year-old Lachlan (left) and 11-year-old Jem (right) attended the Melbourne Slutwalk protest with their family on Saturday Fight the power: The boys' 14-year-old sister Lucinda (left) also attended the rally and proudly displayed her sign WHAT IS SLUTWALK? Slutwalk is a rally against victim blaming in sexual assault cases. It was started in Canada after a Toronto policeman said that 'women should avoid dressing like sluts in order not to be victimised'. Slutwalk is now held in cities all over the world protesting against rape culture. Advertisement But Ms Manning says she's proud of her sons for standing up for what they believe in. 'Theres been criticism saying "who takes their kids to Slutwalk? It's not appropriate,"' Ms Manning told Daily Mail Australia. 'I completely disagree and I think its an appropriate place to take your children.' 'I think kids are being exposed to these really dangerous messages about sex and consent daily, so it's a really important place for them to be,' she explained. Internet storm: The kid's mum Catherine Manning (above) has been criticised for taking her children to the protest 'Our bodies our choice': Slutwalk is a protest against victim-blaming and sexual assault Ms Manning said it was the third or fourth Slutwalks her sons, who are 11 and 13, have attended, and they enjoy the day. 'We got to the rally early, and they had the option of going to the Harley shop with my husband or coming with me to make the posters,' she said. 'So they could have gone to look at motorcycles and they just wanted to come and make posters.' The boys then made their own posters, with Lachlan deciding to write 'Boys will be respectful' and Jem creating a sign about equal rights. 'I turned around after they made their posters and thought it was awesome,' their mum said. 'I thought it was awesome': Ms Manning said that the boys created the posters themselves and she was very proud of them Family outing: She said it was an appropriate place to take children despite those who were shocked by it Ms Manning's 14-year-old daughter Lucinda also attended the rally and made a sign that said, 'The length of my school dress does not determine my self respect or integrity'. Ms Manning said that she's very proud of her children and everything they do. 'When they go to school and come up against sexism or homophobia or racism they work towards helping their friends understand why it's wrong,' she said. 'Gender stereotypes don't just hurt girls': The educator said that she thinks young men need to be more involved in conversations about respect and sexual assault The mother, who is also an educator at Seed Workshops, said that she believes young men need to be more involved in the conversations about violence against women and sexual assault. 'Gender stereotypes don't just hurt girls and women, they hurt boys as well,' Ms Manning said. 'It sends boys a message that theyre not smart enough and they dont have to exercise self control.' The honeymoon is well and truly over for Craig and Andy. Days after tying the knot at a drama-filled wedding in New Zealand, the first same-sex couple on Channel Nine's controversial show Married At First Sight have seemingly called it quits. In a dramatic episode on Monday night, Craig packed his bags and left his husband behind citing a lack of affection from Andy as the reason for walking out. Scroll down for video Over before it began! Married At First Sight groom Craig has walked out on his groom Andy in explosive scenes Walking out: Craig cited a lack of affection from Andy as his reason for walking out on their honeymoon in Christchurch, New Zealand Gone for good? 'We're on top of the mountain living the dream and he doesn't even want to touch me,' Craig said The couple were whisked away to a picturesque mountaintop in Christchurch, New Zealand, for their honeymoon. But things quickly went from bad to worse as 40-year-old Andy, who works in marketing, refused to give Craig the affection he craved. 'We're on top of the mountain living the dream and he doesn't even want to touch me,' Craig, 41, said. 'He doesn't even want to kiss me. 'I thought I was married to someone, I didn't realise I had to win him over.' Lack of connection: Despite going on incredible adventures in Christchurch the pair failed to find physical chemistry Newlyweds: The morning after the wedding the grooms put their differences from the day before aside Putting their differences aside: Andy's anger as Craig inviting his ex to their wedding disolved as they sealed their new romance with a kiss Alarm bells first started to ring for the couple at their wedding reception where Craig invited his ex-boyfriend of 13 years. Andy slammed Craig's decision, even going as far as to call it a 'deal-breaker'. But once the dust had settled on their argument, they were able to see eye-to-eye and look forward to their honeymoon. Despite setting aside their differences, Andy said the couple did not have sex on their first night together. Solo swim: Craig repeatably asked Andy to join him for a swim in the pool, but Andy declined Keeping his distance: Instead he chose to watch on and leave his new groom to swim alone The lack of intimacy, or indeed any affection at all, continued on in to their honeymoon. 'I like affection, I like to touch people I'm in love with,' Craig said. 'I think Andy's not overly affectionate. I just wish he was a little bit warmer.' Worlds apart: 'I find it really difficult to let people in. I generally keep them at arm's distance until I given them my trust and they've earned my trust,' Andy said Despite Craig's pleas, Andy stood firm. 'I just want to take things slowly,' Andy said. 'I find it really difficult to let people in. I generally keep them at arm's distance until I give them my trust and they've earned my trust.' Craig went on to say while he was initially attracted to Andy and felt immediate chemistry at their wedding, it had all but fizzled out by their honeymoon. 'I'm very sensitive and very emotional, and if my needs aren't being met I sort of, I walk away.' Different pages: 'I'm very sensitive and very emotional, and if my needs aren't being met I sort of, I walk away,' Craig said And with that, Craig packed his bags and left the house, leaving Andy behind. Craig said in the 48 hours they were together, Andy failed to show him he could be a 'loving and caring partner'. Andy appeared to hold on to some hope all was not lost, and continued to wear his wedding ring even after Craig left. 'If he was looking for somebody who wouldn't give up on him then they found the right guy,' he said. 'Am I holding on to hope? I don't know.' No turning back: After packing his bags he sped off in the car, leaving his groom behind Holding on to hope? Andy kept his wedding ring on even after Craig walked out Craig and Andy were not alone in finding trouble in paradise. Newlyweds Dave, a 28-year-old accounts manager, and 31-year-old banking officer Jess were also struggling to find a connection on their honeymoon in Byron Bay. Dave caused controversy at their wedding when he said he 'expected something different' from his bride. And despite Jess winning him over with her confidence, things quickly went downhill on their honeymoon. Rough ride: Jess and Dave were off to a rocky start after their wedding as Dave questioned whether there was chemistry between them Skeptic: The couple visited the Crystal Castle in Byron Bay, where Dave appeared less than amused Not interested: The newlywed could barely contain his bemusement at visiting the castle While the couple were off to a seemingly good start, Dave soon started to question whether there was chemistry between them. The couple seemingly reached a turning point when Jess opened up to Dave about her insecurities with her body. After going for a swim together, she admitted it took a lot of courage for her to strip down to her swimwear in front of her partner. Dave said Jess's lack of confidence was disappointing. Daring to bare: Jess admitted to her husband Dave it took a lot of courage for her to strip down to her swimwear in front of him 'When I first saw Jess I didn't really know what to think,' he said. 'She is definitely a bit different to the girls I have dated in the past. 'I don't know if I can see the physical attraction, which I know is not everything in a relationship but I think it's definitely quite important. 'I still think she's a really nice girl but look, just over the first couple of days on the honeymoon to be honest I don't know if the signs are that great.' Left alone: Jess was left to struggle with her large surfboard as her husband went for a surf Trouble in paradise: A clearly annoyed Jess asked Dave to carry back her board, but he declined Things went from bad to worse when the couple went on a joint surfing lesson where Dave went off with the instructor, leaving his wife behind to struggle with her board in the waves. 'That's the first time I actually realised his behaviour is not okay,' she said. Spurred on by the incident, Jess chose to confront Dave about the obvious tension between them. Speaking out: 'Whether or not it's intentional you've made me feel like an outsider,' she said Questioning their connection: Dave did not know if they should push forward with their relationship or call it quits 'Whether or not it's intentional you've made me feel like an outsider,' she said. 'I'm trying to, you know, bond with you and make you see I am worth of your timer and your affections but I feel like you kind of haven't really given me a chance.' Dave responded by saying if they don't feel a connection, he doesn't know how much further they should try and push their relationship. He questioned if they were giving the process of the show a proper chance if they called it quits, but said he didn't know what to do. Wedded bliss: Newlyweds Bella and Michael appeared smitten on their honeymoon in Port Douglas Smitten: The couple could barely keep their hands off one another and were regularly filmed kissing Meanwhile, the drama was left far behind when newlyweds Bella and Michael jetted off to Port Douglas for their honeymoon. The clearly smitten pair could barely keep their hands off each other, and were pictured kissing in bed the morning after their wedding. Bella, who is a 30-year-old radio host from the Gold Coast, said Michael was everything she wanted in a man. But Michael, a 32-year-old fashion accessories designer, monetarily broke the spell when he dropped a bombshell on his new wife: he has a six-year-old son from a previous relationship who lives in New Zealand. Tell all: Michael revealed to Bella he has a six-year-old son from a previous relationship who lives in New Zealand 'He's a nurturing, kind person': While admitting she was shocked by the news, Bella said the fact Michael was a father did not change how she felt about him Not wanting to ruin the moment, Michael chose to tell Bella about his son later in the honeymoon. 'I just hope Bella feels connected enough with me to accept me for who I am and all of me which is my son as well,' he said. The news came as a shock to Bella, but she was quick to say it did not change anything between them. Jumping in the deep end: The gamble on love appears to have paid off for Nicole and Keller who went to the Cook Islands for their honeymoon Aussie larrikin: Keller proved he would go to great lengths to make his new wife feel at ease, donning a grass skirt and feather hat for an impromptu performance All smiles: School teacher Nicole coule not help but smile at her new husband 'I think it's kind of cool, it shows he's a nurturing, kind person,' she said. 'It was a shock, but I honestly think it's a good thing more than a bad thing.' Also enjoying wedded bliss was Nicole and Keller, who travelled to the Cook Islands for their honeymoon. There, a heavily tattooed Keller did everything he could to make his new wife at ease and make her laugh. Close together: 'We're both really happy. She means the world to me at the moment,' Keller said Did they or didn't they? Nicole remained coy about whether the pair consummated their marriage and saying 'this is a PG show' The 26-year-old mechanical fitter donned a grass skirt and traditional dance costume to take part in a surprise performance for his wife. He also showed he was willing to change for her, asking if she liked his nose ring before taking it out and throwing it in the ocean. 'We're both really happy. She means the world to me at the moment,' Keller said of his 28-year-old school teacher wife. And as to whether the pair consummated their marriage, Nicole remained coy. 'I'm not answering that, this is a PG show,' she said. Loved up: Mark and Monica enjoyed a beautiful honeymoon at Lord Howe Island Passionate: The pair kissed as they went stand-up paddle boarding Like-minded: They relished in how much they have in common and appeared to have a blast playing board games Also caught up in the honeymoon phase were Mark and Monica, who enjoyed a honeymoon at Lord Howe Island. Mark, who is 30 years old and a firefighter, and 28-year-old project manager Monica relished in how much they had in common. 'It's refreshing to date somebody you have so much fun with,' Monica said. A couple who are set to wed after meeting on Deal Or No Deal have told how they're 'devastated' the show that helped them find love has been axed. Civil servant Graham Whipp, 43, from Essex, won far more than just 50,000 on the hit show, he also secured the heart of fellow contestant Lyn Carr, 44, from Newcastle, after Noel told the pair they were meant to be together. Now they're planning to tie the knot thanks to matchmaker Noel, 15 months after appearing on the show. Civil servant Graham Whipp, 43, won far more than just 50,000 on the hit show, he won the heart of fellow contestant Lyn Carr, 44, after Noel told the pair they were meant to be together Lyn appeared with Graham on Deal Or No Deal and host Noel Edmonds in November 2014 After spending two weeks filming together in November 2014, Lyn and Graham became inseparable After spending two weeks filming together in November 2014, Lyn and Graham became inseparable. This month, romantic Graham popped the question to Lyn during a helicopter ride across the coast of Florida - just 20 months after the end of filming. They will now be the first couple to marry after meeting and appearing on the show together. Mum-of-four Lyn said she even plans to invite Noel Edmonds to the wedding and pay tribute to the show, which announced it will no longer air last week after 11 series. She said: 'We are absolutely over the moon. I never went on Deal or No Deal thinking that I would meet my future husband, but I did. 'It's quite sad that the show won't go on because if it wasn't for the Deal or No Deal we would never have met.' Lyn, pictured front row third from the right, and Graham, pictured front row far left, with other contestants from the game show When it came time for Lyn to reveal her box as Graham took on The Banker, she told him he was 'the nicest man' she had ever met Lyn and Graham met in the green room of the show's set in Bristol and became 'best friends' during the two-week filming period in November 2014. When it came time for Lyn to reveal her box as Graham took on The Banker, she told him he was 'the nicest man' she had ever met. On air, cheeky host Noel asked both Lyn and Graham if they were single, to which they both replied 'yes'. Lyn and Graham, from Essex, met in the green room of the show's set in Bristol and became 'best friends' during the two-week filming period in November 2014 He then went on to joke that they may be the first couple to have a 'Deal or No Deal' wedding. Graham, a civil servant, managed to walk away from the show with 50,000 in the episode which aired in April last year while Lyn, a hotel receptionist, won 6,000 in her episode which aired on May 27 last year. Lyn said: 'It's still early days at this stage, so we haven't set a date but we are going to invite Noel. The couple on holiday with their family in Florida. Graham, a civil servant, managed to walk away from the show with 50,000 in the episode which aired in April last year while Lyn, a hotel receptionist, won 6,000 in her episode which aired on May 27 last year 'I think he'll feel like he predicted the future with us now that we are the first Deal or No Deal marriage. 'He was certainly instrumental to our relationship.' At the end of the shoot, Graham mustered to courage to ask Lyn out on a date and she delightedly accepted. In the weeks and months followed, the pair travelled hundreds of miles to visit one another as Lyn was based in Newcastle while Graham lived in Essex In the weeks and months followed, the pair travelled hundreds of miles to visit one another as Lyn was based in Newcastle while Graham lived in Essex. Lyn eventually introduced Graham to her four children Sophie, 24, Chloe, 22, Max, 15, Evan, 11, and the pair began going on family holidays together. Graham spent his cash setting up a building company, threw a big party for his friends and family and even took Lyn to Jamaica on a romantic holiday. Graham spent his cash from the show setting up a building company, threw a big party for his friends and family and even took Lyn to Jamaica on a romantic holiday Lyn said she had been watching the show for years and decided to sign up when her two daughters fell into unemployment and was hoping for a financial injection Lyn said she had been watching the show for years and decided to sign up when her two daughters fell into unemployment and was hoping for a financial injection. She also spent some of the cash taking her four children and Graham on a holiday to Ibiza in July last year. On their trip to Florida, Graham said that he didn't have any plans to propose to Lyn before they went to Florida for a two-week holiday, but said the moment 'felt completely right'. Graham went ring shopping while he was out there and devised a plan to have him and Lyn in one helicopter ride while Lyn's two sons rode in another He went ring shopping while he was out there and devised a plan to have him and Lyn in one helicopter ride while Lyn's two sons rode in another. Graham said: 'I was instantly attracted to Lyn, she was so friendly and so kind, we just clicked. 'We were out in Florida and I just realised that the timing felt completely right. I had absolutely no plan, I just went out and bought a ring and booked a helicopter ride.' The couple plan to invite Noel Edmonds to the wedding and pay tribute to the show, which announced it will no longer air last week after 11 series The pair hope to change their vows to say 'deal' instead of the traditional 'I do'. Lyn joked: 'Graham said we need get someone to say "Lyn, will you take Graham, deal or no deal?" when we get married. It's become the red carpet gown of choice for any celebrity determined to steal the limelight. Bella Hadid's profile rocketed after she flashed her thighs in a barely there wisp of red silk at this year's Cannes Film Festival and models Giulia Salemi and Dayane Mello made sure all eyes were on them in crotch-baring dresses at the premiere of The Young Pope this weekend. Now dresses with eye-wateringly high side slits are hitting the high street, but can a real woman ever get away with wearing one and maintaining some shred of modesty? Scroll down for video Model Giulia Salemi showed off her tan lines in a dress that was practically slashed to the navel on both sides at the premiere of The Young Pope in Venice Brazilian model Dayane Mello left very little to the imagination in a slashed pink gown on the red carpet in Venice, despite the dress featuring a built-in bodysuit Fashion Presenter and Stylist Naomi Isted admits she is not a fan of the trend, saying she feels it's a cynical trick. 'Celebrity Stylist are always looking for ways for their star clients to get global press and coverage, the more shocking an outfit the more coverage. 'There's a trend this year for everyone to wear sheer dresses with bodysuits underneath and this is an extreme extension of that. 'It's not a realistic for the public to wear. It's quite a dangerous look as it could go horribly wrong. If there's no underwear it's a potential fashion catastrophe.' Bella Hadid's profile rocketed after she flashed her thighs in a barely there wisp of red silk at this year's Cannes Film Festival Singer Mollie King braved freezing temperatures to showcase the daring look at the British Fashion Awards in November 2015 Kendall Jenner was an early proponent of the trend, wearing a dress slashed to her pelvic bones to the MuchMusic Video Awards in Toronto in June 2014 However, if you are brave enough to try retailers such as Lasula, Boohoo and Missy Empire are selling the daring dresses. But don't fall into the trap of thinking that barely there underwear is the way to go. Options include the C-string, which consists of the front of a thong-style pair of knickers, held up with wire at the back - or the Shibue: a strapless panty held in place using a soft adhesive gel. The Shibue is a strapless panty held in place using a soft adhesive gel, but don't be tempted to try one under a slashed dress if you want to protect your modesty The C-string consists of the front of a thong-style pair of knickers, held up with wire at the back but stylist Naomi Isted advises wearing big pants to offer more coverage However, Naomi advises against these skimpy lingerie options in favour of a classic pair of big pants. 'Go for skin toned shapewear,' she recommended. 'Ideally a big pant option which would be safer bet. 'If the skirt goes over to one side it will hopefully protect dignity at the back. Better still go for shapewear or a strapless bodysuit with a big pant in your skin tone.' Boohoo's take on the new red carpet dress worn by any celeb who wants to ensure they steal the limelight Lasula's black maxi dress features very daring slits on both sides. Stylist Naomi Isted recommends big pants and strategically placed tape if you're brave enough to try the look You might wonder how you can get away with underwear that offers good coverage under such skimpy dresses, but Naomi recommends using styling tape to place the slits around the hip bones, so that the crotch area is covered. 'If there are double slits, I would have it taped at the top in a v-shape where the slit is. 'You don't want it on the leg, as you need the dress to be able to flow. You want it right at the top of the slit to hold it in place.' If you're thinking of trying a barely there dress, like this one from Missy Empire, stylist Naomi Isted recommends doing it on holiday where it's more acceptable to flash the flesh If you are going to give it a go, Naomi doesn't recommend trying it on a Saturday night at your local nightclub. 'Try it on holidays where it doesn't matter about exposing so much flesh,' she said. Bella Hadid's notorious Cannes dress came with a built in body suit to protect her modesty, but Naomi still warns against it as an option. The Prince of Wales is urging Brits to ditch acrylic this winter in favour of wool. The keen environmentalist and heir to the throne says we should all be making the most of the 'extraordinary and versatile material' due to its environmentally-friendly properties. In a new column for the Telegraph, Charles, 67, champions the natural fibre for its many qualities, from its versatility to its ability to keep us cool in the summer and warm in the winter. Scroll down for video Prince Charles leads a sheep at Highrove House, his country home in Tetbury, Gloucestershire. In a new column, he has urged Brits to ditch acrylic in favour of wool 'We seem to have rather lost sight of the much bigger contribution that wool could, and should, be making in our lives,' he wrote. His Royal Highness has been involved in the Campaign for Wool for the past seven years, which was set up in part because of the 'severe financial pressure' sheep farmers were under - in some cases receiving less money for their wool than the cost of sharing their livestock. He says it is 'more important than ever' to make the most of natural materials which are not manufactured using fossil fuels, and can be recycled. Charles watches a sheep dog running along the back of the sheep during a visit to the Leenavale Sheep Stud at Sorell during the Diamond Jubilee tour of Australia in 2012 Charles helps with sheep shearing at the Leenavale Sheep Stud, Sorrell, in 2012. His Royal Highness has been involved in the Campaign for Wool for the past seven years 'When [natural fibres] are also practical and beautiful, we really should treasure them and use them as much as possible,' he wrote. 'But this is not yet happening with wool. Charles, who will next week be hosting The Dumfries House Conference in Scotland - bringing together wool industry leaders from around the world - hopes to convince retailers of the importance of using the fibre. The first in line to the throne says he conducted a test at Clarence House where he buried two jumpers in a flowerbed - one woollen, one synthetic. Charles with New Zealand's then Minister for Agriculture, Jim Sutton, during a visit to Moutere Station, in Central Otago, in 2005 He observed the former 'biodegraded itself away to nothing' after six months while the other remained perfectly intact. In another experiment, he burned two jumpers and watched how the wool 'smouldered in relative safety' while the synthetic burst into a 'disconcerting' blaze. Charles explained that he hopes to champion wool as 'as a global fashion resource of the highest quality' - and calls on 'environmentally aware' consumers to who seek out quality and durability when it comes to fashion and interiors, adding: 'that is exactly what wool provides.' A jilted bride who travelled the world after her big day was called off is selling her wedding dress to raise funds for the families of two murdered British backpackers. Katy Colins, 31, from Formby, has put her unworn gown up for auction on Ebay after revealing how she was left heartbroken by the deaths of Mia Ayliffe-Chung and Tom Jackson. Mia, 21, from Buxton, Derbyshire, was killed after being stabbed in a knife attack in a hostel in Queensland, Australia, last month. Katy Colins who travelled the world after her wedding was called off is selling her wedding dress in aid of the families of murdered backpackers Mia Ayliffe-Chung and Tom Jackson Tom, 30, from Congleton, Cheshire, died a hero trying to shield her from her attacker. Katy says she was left devastated when her fiance called off their wedding more than three years ago and her dress has been hanging in her wardrobe ever since. 'Trying on wedding dresses and realising that you've found 'the one' is pretty indescribable,' Katy wrote on her travel blog notwedordead.com. 'I'd never worn anything so pretty before, I felt like a Hollywood superstar. It hid my flaws and imperfections and was everything I'd dreamt about getting married in. Mia Ayliffe-Chung (left) was killed after she was stabbed in a hostel in Queensland while Tom Jackson (right) died when he tried to shield her from her attacker 'It was the most special item of clothing I'd ever bought and was the dress that would be in framed photographs dotted around our house for years to come. 'Only before I knew it, it wasn't. The day that I was supposed to be feeling like a million dollars as I walked down the aisle wearing my dress, I was actually in a bikini on a beach in Turkey as my best friend whisked me away for what would have been my big day.' Katy says that although she was initially besotted by her dress it became unbearable to even look at it. Katy Colins has listed the wedding dress on Ebay under the heading 'Jilted wedding dress seeks happy-ever-after' Katy says that she was unable to even look at her wedding dress after her big day was called off three years ago Katy quit her job in PR at Manchester Airport after being jilted, sold her belongings and set about travelling the globe She continues: 'After my wedding was called off, sorting out what to do with the dress was added to the long list of things I needed to cancel and sort out. 'That list was mostly taken care of by my mum and best friend, so I didn't have to see the beautiful beads, the vintage inspired brooch or feel the fabric between my fingers. 'I couldn't bear to look at it, so it was placed in its protective bag and put in the wardrobe. As with most things in life; once it was out of sight, it was out of mind. 'I got on with starting my new single life. I grabbed my passport, jumped on a flight to Thailand and the dress slipped from my thoughts as I got on with creating new adventures, fulfilling dreams and making new memories. The rest, as you know, is history.' Katy quit her job in PR at Manchester Airport after being jilted, sold her belongings and set about travelling the globe. Since embracing her new lifestyle Katy has been dubbed the 'Backpacking Bridget Jones' On what would have been her third wedding anniversary, she secured a book deal with Harper Collins for her series The Lonely Hearts Travel Club. The ivory fishtail wedding dress has been auctioned on eBay under the heading 'Jilted wedding dress seeks happy-ever-after'. As a fellow backpacker my heart has broken for them and this is something small that I can do to try and help The listing, written from the dress's perspective, reads: 'I've been patiently hanging in a wardrobe for more than three years after my big day was called off at the last minute. 'And instead of it being my chance to shine, I've been packed away ever since; a sad reminder of what could have been. 'Now my owner wants to give me a new lease of life and the attention I crave - and in the process raise money for the families of two British backpackers tragically murdered in Australia.' It continues: 'Both Mia and Tom were a lot like my owner, who discovered her own love for travelling after swapping weddings for wanderlust. They all shared a passion for exploring the world. 'Now I'm out of the closet, I'm searching for a lovely new owner. One who is carefree, adventurous and will cherish the memories I vow to give her. Katy has also written a book based on her experiences called The Lonely Hearts Travel Club 'I may be a reminder to my owner of broken promises but I am confident I can fulfil someone else's dreams. Every woman deserves that special moment, and I still think I'm capable of delivering it. 'So, please, bid for me and help raise money for the families of Mia Ayliffe-Chung and Tom Jackson - the auction ends on Wednesday, September 14. Save the date and say 'I do'.' Katy, who has been dubbed the 'Backpacking Bridget Jones' since her story of self-discovery went viral in January, said she felt compelled to help the families of Mr Jackson and Ms Ayliffe-Chung. She said: 'I just kept thinking that it could have been me staying in that hostel, I could have hung out with people like heroic Tom and made friends with Mia. 'Knowing what it's like to travel and spend time with other backpackers I just knew I wanted to do something to raise money for their grieving families. 'As a fellow backpacker my heart has broken for them and this is something small that I can do to try and help'. Orange, chocolate and kiwi are just some of the condom flavours available to couples looking to add a twist to their relationship. And now the contraception giant Durex has announced the 'launch' of a rather unusual new flavour of the product. The global company took to Twitter this morning revealing that their latest line of rubbers would be eggplant (aubergine) flavoured. Durex surprised its customers this afternoon when it announced the 'launch' of aubergine flavoured condoms Sharing an image of the box Durex tweeted the news which later turned out to be a hoax Tweeting an image of the new box they wrote: '#BreakingNews: We're launching an exciting new savoury #Condom range - Eggplant flavour!' The idea of the savoury flavour takes inspiration from the aubergine emoji which is often used as an innuendo for male genitalia in text messages and tweets. However, the company have since revealed that they have no plans to launch the condoms, and the tweet is part of a campaign to promote safe sex. For many Twitter users the news presented the perfect opportunity for a pun Although they eventually came clean about their intentions, plenty of Twitter users were fooled by the initial tweet taking to social media to share their reactions. While some were overjoyed by the news many are yet to be convinced, taking to Twitter to voice their concerns. Papa CJ warned the company that their wording could do with a rethink. Other users were less impressed, concerned that their wording need to be reconsidered He tweeted: 'Maybe you should avoid using the words 'breaking' News if you're a condom brand. Might not be auspicious!' Nishant Kaushik missed no opportunity to excercise a pun adding: 'So as to avoid planting an egg'. And Emma joked: 'brings a whole new meaning to a healthy sex life'. For other social media users the flavour was their main concern when it came to the condom Josh Barrie was keen to find out more about the flavouring process: 'Need to know how Durex has cooked the aubergine. Hope it's charred over a griddle with Olive oil and lemon. Ok bye.' However, despite causing an outcry on Twitter, everything was not as it seemed. Durex have since revealed they have no real plans to launch an aubergine flavoured condom. The stunt was created in response to the fact that the company's appeal for a safe sex emoji was rejected by Unicode. Other Twitter users seemed thrilled at the idea of the unusual product Ahead of World AIDS Day 2015, Durex launched the #CondomEmoji campaign which fired up passionate support across the internet, with people from over 140 countries voicing their support. Although Durex will not be launching an aubergine flavoured condom they are hoping the hoax will continue to promote safe sex and continue to rally support for a condom emoji. Volker Sydow, Global Director Durex, said: 'The idea of an Eggplant condom coming from Durex is pretty absurd. 'But it is not as absurd as the fact that there is no emoji that enables young people to discuss safe sex easily in this language. 'We want to thank all the supporters of the condom emoji and assure everyone that we will continue to champion communication about safe sex in all forms'. Six years after he charmed locals during an official royal trip, Prince Harry is set to visit Barbados once more - this time as part of a whistle-stop tour of the Caribbean. In an announcement today, Kensington Palace announced the party-loving royal will embark on a seven-leg trip including Antigua and Barbuda, Barbados, and Grenada. He will also visit Guyana, St Kitts and Nevis, St Lucia, and St Vincent and the Grenadines for the first time. Prince Harry takes to the stage during a fundraising concert for Haiti during his January 2010 trip to Barbados. He will return to the isle this autumn during a tour of the Caribbean Harry, 31, has planned his trip to coincide with the 50th Anniversary of Independence for Barbados, the 50th Anniversary of Independence for Guyana, and the 35th Anniversary of Independence for Antigua and Barbuda. The fifth in line to the throne visited Barbados in January 2010 when he met with locals and dignitaries, ate spicy food alongside Prince Seeiso of Lesotho, and famously danced the calypso on stage during a charity concert. After challenging donors to raise thousands to pull on his dancing shoes, Harry, then 25, was at a Haiti benefit concert in Farley Hill national park when he left the VIP section of the venue to wow the audience on stage alongside Prince Seeiso. Harry visits the children's ward at The Queen Elizabeth Ii Hospital In Bridgetown, Barbados, during his last visit. He also took part in a charity polo match and fundraising dinner The royal also met Cilla Black during his 2010 visit. The entertainer later recalled: 'Harry said to me "I didn't know you were going to be here" and I said, "Well, surprise, surprise"' 'I can't believe I have let myself in for this,' he told the audience. 'I think I'll just crowd dive instead.' He also attended a fundraising dinner dinner where guests included the late presenter Cilla Black, who after meeting the prince revealed 'Harry said to me "I didn't know you were going to be here" and I said, "Well, surprise, surprise".' Harry also visited a local hospital during his three-day trip and took part in a charity polo match, where horrified spectators saw the royal thrown head-first off his pony. Onlookers reported that he picked himself up unharmed seconds later, but seemed upset at the blunder as he 'threw his mallet to the ground in disgust, ripped off his helmet and punched it'. The pony was unhurt. Taking to the stage in front of a large audience, Harry said: 'I can't believe I have let myself in for this. I think I'll just crowd dive instead' Harry was at a Haiti benefit concert in Farley Hill national park when he left the VIP section of the venue to wow the audience on stage alongside Prince Seeiso (not pictured) in 2010 Harry's team went on to win the inaugural Sentebale Polo Cup, with the prince scoring one of their six goals. Speaking about the fall afterwards, Harry said: 'I'm a bit sore but it was all for a good cause so it was worthwhile in the end. 'Basically the horse slipped from underneath me, which does happen occasionally and is a but unfortunate. 'It probably looks very dramatic because I was trying to throw myself clear of the horse. I'm a bit sore but the horse is okay though.' The Prince later explained that he hadn't thrown down his mallet in anger at getting thrown but was furious that he may have lost Sentebale a sizeable donation. Harry also visited a local hospital during his three-day trip (pictured) and took part in a charity polo match, where horrified spectators saw the royal thrown head-first off his pony Harry's team went on to win the inaugural Sentebale Polo Cup during his 2010 trip to Barbados, with the prince scoring one of their six goals He explained: 'The reason why I was throwing my mallet down was because I met this nice businessman at dinner last night who offered me $50,000 for Sentebale if I fell off my horse today. 'His wife turned round and said 'that's a bit harsh, you should give him $100,000 if he stays on.' And he agreed to seal the deal on that. 'So when I fell off, I threw down my mallet and shouted: "What a waste of $100,000!" I was furious with myself. 'Fortunately this extremely generous gentleman has already been in touch and told us that it was the clear that the horse fell over, rather than I fell off it, so he was happy to honour the $100,000. What a star! When the father of twin daughters was put into a care home with debilitating Alzheimer's, the young women knew that they had to make the most of his time left. Sarah and Becca Duncan's father Scott, 80, was diagnosed with the disease in 2012, but only recently was forced to move into 24-hour care at a nursing home. The development had the 23-year-old ladies, who are from Grapevine, Texas, thinking about moments of their lives that their beloved dad was now almost certain to miss - and it gave them an idea. Taking a moment: Grapevine, Texas, twin sisters Sarah and Becca Duncan, 23, staged a wedding-themed photo shoot with their Alzheimer's-stricken father Scott, 80 Lots of love: Neither of the sisters are engaged, but after their father moved into a nursing facility they came up with the idea in case he wouldn't be around for their real weddings Despite neither of the girls being engaged, they bought a pair of beautiful wedding dresses, hired a photographer and had their picture taken with their father. Speaking to ABC News, Becca explained: 'Me and Sarah know that our dad is more than likely not going to be at our wedding - it's not being a downer or anything; were just being realistic - so we decided to do these wedding pictures with Dad.' The photo shoot only took ten minutes, but produced results that will stay with the sisters for their lifetime. Becca and Sarah's mother Pamela helped with their make-up and set up the photographer for the occasion. Quality time: The photos were taken on a neighbor's front lawn and the dresses were donated for the occasion When word got out about the idea, friends and family even pitched in to give the sisters donated wedding gowns and flowers. Taken on their neighbor's front lawn, the images show both women in the beautiful long white gowns and holding bouquets of white and yellow flowers. In some, they are seated together in a couch that has been dragged on to the grass, while in others, the sister lay kisses on their ailing father's cheeks. But for the women, the best part of the experience was watching Scott's face light up when he saw them approach him in their dresses. Lasting memories: The sisters said that the best part of the shoot was seeing their father's face light up when he saw them in their dresses 'It meant so much to us,' said Becca, while Sarah added: 'You could see the smile on his face.' The women hope that their dad will be around to walk them down the aisle for real one day, but just in case the worst happens they are happy to have the memory of the photo shoot to hold on to. 'Every girl dreams about her big wedding and her dad walking her down the aisle,' Becca added. 'It would be awesome to have our dad there. He was our superhero. He was our Superman growing up' But Robbie suggested she was singled out for her body type rather than her clothes, insisting: 'She was not showing anything inappropriate' Her mother brought her another outfit to wear but that was also deemed unsuitable The nine-year-old went to school wearing pants, a long V-neck T-shirt and trainers but was told it did not meet school regulations A school has been accused of 'bodyshaming' a nine-year-old girl after she was punished for wearing the wrong clothes to school. Robbie Nettles, from Brookhaven, Mississippi, claims his niece was given an in-school suspension because her clothes were 'formfitting'. Sharing pictures of her on Facebook - in which she can be seen wearing the two outfits that were deemed unsuitable - he wrote: 'Does my niece's round belly offend you?' Punished: A school in Brookhaven, Mississippi, has been accused of 'bodyshaming' a nine-year-old girl after she was twice told her outfits, pictured left and right, were not appropriate Outraged: Robbie Nettles, pictured, told of his anger at his niece's treatment by the school on Facebook Robbie suggested that his niece, a pupil at Brookhaven Elementary School, who wore a long V-neck T-shirt with pants and trainers was singled out because of her body type rather than her clothes. He claims another girl from her class with 'the same body type' was also punished with ISS. Although he said she 'may not be the ideal weight', he insisted she was not dressed inappropriately. In his Facebook post, that has been liked 35,000 times and shared by more than 46,000 users, he wrote: 'Does my niece's round belly offend you? Obviously, her attire was too form fitting. 'It was offensive enough to get her sent to in-school suspension at Brookhaven Elementary School. Apparently, it is acceptable to body shame a nine year old. 'My niece may not be the ideal weight, but she was not showing anything inappropriate.' He added: 'It sickens me to imagine my sweet niece going to a school that cares more about her weight than what's in her mind.' Rather than inviting her to wait in the office for a different outfit to be delivered, he said she was 'sent directly' to ISS. Her mother came into school with a different outfit, but he said that was also deemed unsuitable by the school. Singled out: Robbie claimed in a Facebook post, pictured, that his niece was given an in-school suspension because her clothes were 'formfitting' Robbie said if the school is 'so concerned with their student's appearance' they should introduce uniforms. The school district said officials had followed school protocol. Brookhaven School District Superintendent Ray Carlock told The Daily Leader: 'After I investigated it, the school followed the handbook guidelines to the letter.' The handbook reportedly states: 'All tops must be size appropriate and should neither be overly baggy nor overly tight.' It adds that 'tights or leggings/jeggings worn as outer wear' are also banned. But Robbie and many online commentators are not convinced that appropriate action was taken. Chad Allen wrote: 'The school district needs to find something else to do besides picking on a innocent young girl... 'This is targeted bullying in my eyes and needs to be addressed.' Dorothy pokes fun at brother Warren, 26, who she says once burned water One recipe is called 'chicken soup so simple a caveman could do it' We all know someone who just simply can't cook. So when Dorothy Elsken's older brother said he wanted to try out some recipes, the 22-year-old decided to take matters into her own hands. The result is a hilarious - and very sweary - cookbook full of family recipes called 'Recipes You Absolutely Can't **** Up'. With simple instructions that even the most incompetent beginner could understand, the cookbook has gone viral after the Nebraska-based animal care worker at a research lab posted photos of the recipes to picture-sharing website Imgur this week. Dorothy Elsken, 22, of the US, created a hilarious - and very sweary - cookbook full of family recipes called 'Recipes You Absolutely Can't **** Up' for her older brother Warren With recipes entitled 'Chicken soup so simple a caveman could do it' and 'Shepherd's pie that we all know will be eaten in one sitting,' the cookbook had Imgur users in stitches, and has been viewed more than 500,000 times. Dorothy, 22, who lives in Nebraska in the US, said she came up with the idea as a gift for her older brother, 26-year-old student Warren, last Christmas when she was short on cash. 'I have always been big on cooking and Warren recently has found an interest in it as well, so I wrote down family recipes that weren't too complex,' Dorothy told FEMAIL. 'I can honestly say I never expected it to get any attention, especially because the book itself is not very pretty. I thought that maybe I'd get a few points [on Imgur] and that would be the end of it, but it just skyrocketed to the most popular post of the day. With recipes entitled 'Chicken soup so simple a caveman could do it' and 'Shepherd's pie that we all know will be eaten in one sitting,' the cookbook had Imgur users in stitches this week, and has been viewed more than 500,000 times The cookbook contains 12 recipes, as well as a guide for looking after a cast iron skillet that Dorothy gave to her brother as a present with the book last Christmas 'It sort of blew my mind how much people liked it.' The cookbook contains 12 recipes, as well as a guide for looking after a cast iron skillet that Dorothy gave to her brother as a present with the book last Christmas. At the start of the book, which she has also made available online, she tells her brother: 'The most important thing to remember is that cooking is an art, its about experimentation and having fun. 'These are simple recipes to get your feet wet and are easy to tinker with when you start to branch out. 'Find your own rhythm in the kitchen and make your own style. Not everything will turn out perfect on the first try but dont get discouraged because failure is how you learn. 'Go wild and enjoy yourself, just dont burn down the house in the process. Merry Christmas, jerk face.' It is one of the tamest excerpts from the whole book, which she signs off as from 'the best godamned sister in the whole mother****ing world'. Dorothy (left) came up with the idea as a gift for her older brother Warren, a 26-year-old student, (right) last Christmas when she was short on cash Whereas normal cookbooks offer readers a description of what each meal is under the title of the dish, Dorothy instead injects her wicked sense of humour into the document. Underneath her recipe for 'Chicken Soup So Simple A Caveman Can Do It,' she writes: 'Unless youre so dumb you couldnt pour water out of a boot with instructions on the heel, then youre **** out of luck.' Meanwhile, she captions her recipe for ' Leftover Chicken Salad So Your Lazy *** Can Make Two Meals At Once,' she writes: 'If you cant make this, then youre pretty much hopeless.' Whereas normal cookbooks offer readers a description of what each meal is under the title of the dish, Dorothy instead injects her wicked sense of humour into the document. Underneath her recipe for honey soy pork chops, she tells her brother how to serve the dish, writing: 'Serve with rice and veggies or just eat straight out of the pan, loser' Her instructions are also hilariously simple. She writes: 'Chop up the chicken and celery. Mix with the other ****, eat on a sandwich or straight out of the bowl - I dont judge, usually. Why are you still reading dummy?' Underneath her recipe for 'Shepherd's Pie That We All Know Will Be Eaten In One Sitting,' she tells her brother: 'Lie to me all you want but dont lie to yourself.' For her 'Indian Chicken Curry' she clarifies it's 'not the "night on the toilet" kind' and jokes: 'Id say that this is as easy as boiling water, but youve burnt that before.' HONEY SOY PORK CHOPS 'Oink oink beeyotch' Ingredients: 8 pork chops cup soy sauce cup honey 2 cloves garlic pinch of ground ginger pinch red pepper flakes Instructions: Mince garlic and combine all ingredients in a plastic bag and marinate 4-6 hours. After marinating put pork chops in a hot skillet and cook four minutes on each side. Add remaining marinade over chops and reduce to make a sauce. Serve with rice and veggies or just eat straight out of the pan, loser. Advertisement Another recipe, Cream Cheese Spaghetti Bake, has a useful tip underneath: 'Use this to impress a girl if you ever manage to get one over.' And more useful advice is written above her take on Kentucky Fried Chicken: 'Remember: hot oil + bare skin = a not so fun night at the hospital.' For her honey soy pork chop recipe, she tells her brother how to serve the dish. 'Serve with rice and veggies or just eat straight out of the pan, loser.' Dorothy said ever since she gave the cookbook to her brother Warren, pictured, his skills have improved greatly and he now makes a dish from the book at least once a week Underneath Dorothy's recipe for 'Chicken Soup So Simple A Caveman Can Do It,' she wrote: 'Unless youre so dumb you couldnt pour water out of a boot with instructions on the heel, then youre **** out of luck' Some of the recipes were devised by her paternal grandmother, such as the curry and meatball dishes, while others she invented herself, including the pork chops and the chicken soup. She said ever since she gave the cookbook to her brother, his skills have improved greatly and he now makes a dish from the book at least once a week. Dorothy has shared a couple of her recipes with FEMAIL for you to try at home. British food has had a bad reputation overseas for many decades now, and is often branded 'bland' or 'stodgy'. So despite our fondness for patriotic staples like beans on toast and battered sausages, many foreigners may find such British classics disgusting, or just plain weird. FEMAIL has rounded up a list of the 25 classic British foods you can find in these green and pleasant lands that leave visitors from abroad puzzled. Beans on toast is one of the classic British dishes you will struggle to find abroad, as they perplex foreign visitors BEANS ON TOAST It's not just a meal, it's a way of life, and deeply embedded in British culture. We've been eating our beloved beans on toast for more than 100 years - but you'll be hard pressed to find any cafe serving it elsewhere in the world. On a Reddit thread where a user asked 'What British foods do Americans not understand?,' one Briton wrote: 'My American friends don't understand beans on toast.' A perplexed American then replied: 'Wat the hell?? That's random, do all British people eat beans on toast?' SCOTCH EGGS Despite being a picnic staple, scotch eggs - hard boiled eggs wrapped in sausage meat and fried in breadcrumbs - perplex foreign visitors. For decades, they were a humble snack you could find down the pub. Nowadays, the gastropub revolution has turned them into artisan delicacies, which use the best quality sausage meat and have a runny yolk in the centre (now an essential element). Common though they may be here, they are incredibly difficult to find anywhere else in the world. Tucking into one on Twitter, Claire Smith, of San Francisco, wrote: 'Scotch egg. Just one of the many foods America needs to learn about.' Foreign visitors turn up their noses at battered sausages, a cornerstone of any traditional British chippy BATTERED SAUSAGES Even some British folk find these unappealing, but they're a cornerstone of the traditional chippy. Elsewhere in the world, however, foreign visitors turn up their noses at the greasy treat - and leads them to wonder why us Brits love to deep fry everything. Canadian Hija del Sol said the treat would even put her off marrying a British man. She wrote on Twitter: 'Couldn't marry a British man, can't do the battered sausage & chips for dinner & the "my friend just died...pop the kettle on".' MINT SAUCE Mint sauce and lamb - the ultimate combination at Sunday lunch. But although it's as solid a partnership as Morecambe and Wise or salt and pepper, it seems to be a singularly British phenomenon, not enjoyed by the rest of the world. New Yorker Krista learned how important the combination is to British people one Sunday. She wrote on Twitter: 'Yesterday, I learned that you don't mess with a British person's Easter Sunday lunch. Lamb, roast potatoes, mint sauce OR NOTHING.' FAGGOTS A traditional dish native to the Midlands and Wales, the fact these meatballs are made from offal and off-cuts of meat turns off many who venture to the British isles from overseas. But they're incredibly cheap to make and were a wartime staple when rationing was in place. Best served with peas, naturall They're almost unknown to Americans, where the word is used as a derogatory term for gay people, as Rolly_G proved. He wrote on Twitter: 'The British chef on tv is making faggots,' alongside an emoji of a crying-with-laughter face. Native to Cornwall, a stargazy pie has the fish heads poking out of the pastry lid. But it's considered an oddity abroad STARGAZY PIE This dish is native to Cornwall and is named after the pilchard or sardine heads which poke out of the top of this egg, potato and fish pie. It's considered an oddity abroad - and the fish heads probably put off a fair few British folk too. When presented with a picture of the dish on Reddit, American user ranillabean just wrote: 'Oh god why.' But UK user starlinguk added: 'I prefer my food not to look at me. When it's dead, anyway.' BLACK PUDDING If it's not part of a British breakfast, some might say it's not a proper full English. But black pudding, otherwise known as blood sausage, is rarely found overseas - probably due to the fact it's made from pork blood. Despite its grisly nature, it's still a firm favourite in Britain, as Stamford16 expressed on Reddit. He wrote: 'It's something that always puzzles me about America, people will happily eat minced pig's ****holes boiled in a "sausage" and consider it almost one of their national dishes but put some pig's blood in a sausage and they throw a wobbler. Yet most of the European cultures that made up America have some sort of black pudding or boudin noir.' They may be a common seaside treat in the UK and even in Europe, but if you go to America, you'll be hard pressed to find winkles for sale WINKLES A common seaside treat in England, Scotland and Ireland, they're often sold in paper bags and are sucked from the shell. They're also a delicacy elsewhere in Europe - but in the States, eating these tiny molluscs is almost unheard of. Briton Rick T, who now lives in Los Angeles, discovered this problem. He wrote on Twitter: 'NORTH AMERICA: you have everything but why don't you have winkles???' JELLIED EELS Many Brits would turn up their noses at this concoction, so it's easy to understand why this Cockney classic, hailing from the East End of London, is a no-no for foreign guests. Eels, including eel pie and the jellied variety, became popular in the 18th and 19th centuries amongst London's impoverished because they were cheap, readily available and nutritious. There are still many eel houses in the capital, and the animal can be fished from the Thames. Frenchman JeanPierre Polnareff mused: 'See, this is why our grudge with the British was born. Because of things like jellied eels.' Mushy peas are another British classic that just haven't caught on in the rest of the world MUSHY PEAS Another chippy staple, but mushy peas are a definitively British addition to a very British classic: fish and chips. But while they're served up at every chip shop in the UK, they haven't really caught on elsewhere in the world. On a visit to the UK, Canadian Jen Gilroy gave a thumbs up to fish and chips but didn't try mushy peas. She wrote on Twitter: 'British food treats continue for me. Tonight it's #fishandchips from our favourite local shop. Will pass on mushy peas!' STEAK AND KIDNEY PIE Another pub classic, the steak and kidney pie is resolutely British. But it's a dish that has failed to gain momentum abroad, perhaps due to the kidneys. Ian wrote on Twitter: 'Why did the British add kidney to steak and kidney pie??' MARMITE We either love it or hate it - but Stateside, they mostly hate it. The salty breakfast spread, made from yeast extract, is a baffling concept to most Americans, and there's no US version. Reddit user 1mistakecharly does not understand how people like the spread. He commented: 'Marmite... tha ****..?' But in Britain, it's so ubiquitous that the word 'Marmite' is now a popular idiom used to describe something that will divide a crowd. Laverbread may be common in Wales, but it is a rarity around the world and has not earned itself a shining reputation LAVERBREAD It may be a common household treat in Wales, but this seaweed delicacy has not earned itself a shining reputation overseas. The seaweed paste is often rolled in oatmeal and then fried to accompany meat such as bacon or lamb. Of laverbread, American Reddit simply wrote: 'I just...how do you...sorry no I can't.' BREAD SAUCE If you think about it for long enough, serving up a sauce made from bread to partner a roast dinner is a strange concept. However, Brits know it works a treat - but we haven't really managed to convince the rest of the world quite yet. Agoodsharppencil had no idea what the sauce was on Reddit. They wrote: 'WTF is bread sauce?' when confronted with a picture of it slathered over a roast dinner online. CHIP BUTTY Sometimes we live up to our reputation of loving carbohydrates and stodgy food. Where else in the world would you be able to eat a chip butty, and not have anyone judge you in the street? American Victor-Victorian was baffled by the concept on Tumblr. She wrote: 'What the **** is a chip butty!?' The Bedfordshire Clanger, pictured, would probably puzzle any foreign visitor, but in Bedforshire, this long suet crust dumpling filled with meat one end and sweet fruit the other is a classic BEDFORDSHIRE CLANGER This dish would probably puzzle any foreign visitor, but in Bedforshire, this long suet crust dumpling filled with meat one end and sweet fruit the other is a classic. This all-in-one main meal and dessert dates back to the 19th century, and was made for labourers so that they didn't contaminate the food by touching the fillings with their grubby hands. Food columnist Craig LaBan, of Philadelphia, was won over by the concept though, writing on Twitter: 'A 2-course pie?! The #BedfordshireClanger @stargazyphilly is the most delicious bizarre food' SPOTTED DICK Americans may laugh at the name, but this suet pudding filled with raisins has been a British staple since the 19th century. Perhaps encapsulating the 'stodgy' stereotype British food is often lumbered with, it is hard to find anywhere else in the world. When Tiff watched the Great British Bake Off in the US (called The Great British Baking Show there), she wrote on Twitter: 'Can't stop laughing when Baking Show says "spotted dick".' Sussex Pond Pudding is a classic English pudding but would probably baffle anyone visiting from abroad SUSSEX POND PUDDING This traditional suet pudding native to Sussex encases a whole lemon, which creates a thick, oozing sauce once cooked - the 'pond' it is named after. It would probably baffle anyone visiting from abroad, but as the saying goes: don't knock it before you've tried it. HAGGIS Scotland's best known dish can't be exported to the US because the product contains sheep lungs - a ban that has been in place since 1971. As a result, many Americans may find the savoury pudding made from sheep heart, liver and lungs, traditionally wrapped in a sheep's stomach lining, unappetising. But reports last year suggested that the government was in discussion to get the ban lifted - so it could return to US menus before too long. Red pudding, as eaten by @TheChaoticScot here, is a Scottish delicacy, and is the same as black pudding but in a red casing RED PUDDING Another Scottish delicacy, red pudding is essentially black pudding in a red casing, native to east Scotland chip shops. It is little known outside its native country, however. DEEP FRIED MARS BAR Sticking with the Scottish theme, the deep fried Mars Bar is singularly British, not least because Mars Bars are hard to find outside of the UK. Foreigners may be baffled by the concept of deep frying a chocolate bar, and probably quite rightly so. But Reddit user Lukepa was more keen on the idea than haggis, writing: 'I'd try it before I'd ever try haggis, I can tell ya that much.' The pasty barm - a pasty sandwiched between two halves of a bun - is a singularly British food item PASTY BARM This northern treat is carbohydrates on more carbohydrates: what could be more British? Similar to the chip butty, a Cornish pasty sandwiched between two halves of a bun - or 'barm' up north - probably leaves visitors from abroad with an unfortunate view of British cuisine. Luckily, Andy Walton was on hand to help baffled Twitter users. He wrote: 'For anyone confused by the pasty barm phenomenon, fear not, Wikipedia is here to help,' before linking to the pasty barm's own . PICCALILLI Much like many British curries, piccalilli is a bastardised version of traditional Indian pickles. Those who like their Indian cuisine authentic probably balk at this version - but the bright yellow jars are a cornerstone of British Christmases. Willie Sparks had to search long and hard for piccalilli when he moved to Los Angeles. He wrote on Twitter: 'I've been looking for piccalilli ever since I've been back in America and finally found some at monsieur marcel @TheGroveLA #thegrovela.' Cornish Yarg is wrapped in nettle leaves before being left to mature, and forms an edible, mouldy rind CORNISH YARG Before this Cornish cheese is left to mature, it is wrapped in nettle leaves to form an edible, mouldy rind. It is quintessentially British - perhaps why you can really only find it in the UK, unless you fork out a lot of money for it. Here, experts reveal the possible causes for the constant, throbbing pain And statistically, women are three times more likely than men to get them Everyone gets headaches but there is one key factor that dramatically increases the risk: being a woman. Statistically women are infinitely more likely than men to suffer from virtually every form of headache there is. According to The Migraine Trust charity, they are, for example, three times more likely than men to have migraines which as well as causing throbbing pain can bring other symptoms, such as visual disturbances or nausea. Women are also more likely to develop tension headache, the most common form, felt as an ache all over the head and pressure behind the eyes. Scroll down for video According to The Migraine Trust charity, women are three times more likely than men to have migraines. Women are also more likely to develop tension headache, the most common form And women are more prone than men to chronic headache one that is present for at least 15 days a month. In fact a review of 24 worldwide studies published in the journal Headache in 2011 found that while over half of women polled (52 per cent) reported having a problem with headaches at the time of the research, only 37 per cent of men did. And its not just a pain in the head. Migraines especially can come with other long-term health risks. A major study involving more than 100,000 women published in the British Medical Journal in June found that those who reported having migraine headaches had a 50 per cent higher risk of having or dying from a heart attack, stroke or heart disease. The researchers believe more work should now be done into whether migraine treatments can reduce these risks. Yet while medications such as triptans can help reduce the severity of migraines, they dont work for all, and there is as yet no cure. One reason for the lack of work into this is that migraine headaches predominately affect women, says Professor Andrew Charles, director of the Goldberg Migraine Program at the University of California, Los Angeles. So until recently its been dismissed as a problem that is not serious, when actually, it can have an enormous impact on peoples lives and is a serious public health problem. While medications such as triptans can help reduce the severity of migraines, they dont work for all, and there is as yet no cure Yet why are women more at risk of migraines and headaches in the first place? Its not just that women feel pain more, it turns out there are fundamental physical differences between the sexes that explain it. Here, we look at the various reasons that scientists have now identified. WOMEN HAVE MORE EXCITABLE BRAINS One reason women are more prone to migraine especially could be the way their brains behave. Migraines are thought to begin with a rush of excitability that leads to a cortical spreading depression (CSD) a flurry of abnormal cell activity that passes like a wave across the brain. Rather than following a blood vessel or a lobe of brain, the migraine starts as this wave of excitement that passes across the brain at a few millimetres a minute, and its during this time that visual disturbances begin, says Dr Andrew Dowson, who leads the East Kent headache service. The CSD can be prompted by many things those who have migraines are sensitive to tiny changes, be that in their environment (temperature, for example) or to routines (sleeping in can trigger a migraine for some.) Migraines are thought to begin with a rush of excitability that leads to a cortical spreading depression (CSD) a flurry of abnormal cell activity that passes like a wave across the brain However, the female brain seems to be especially sensitive. Some research suggests that womens threshold for prompting a CSD is lower than mens. Studies on mice conducted by scientists at the University of California, found that a male brain needed two or three times the stimulus to prompt a CSD than a female one. It hasnt been replicated with humans because the challenge is to catch them as they are about to have a migraine, say Professor Charles, who conducted the study. We were able to physically stimulate the brain of the mice (we did this by physically touching them) while they were under anaesthetic. JAW MUSCLES TIRE MORE EASILY An often-overlooked cause of headaches is the tendency to grind and clench teeth at night. Obviously men may grind their teeth, too, but they tend to develop worn teeth as a result, while women are more likely to develop pain in the muscles around the jaw and headaches, according to Kate Stokes, a Worcestershire dentist with a special interest in jaw problems. This is thought to stem from differences between the muscles in male and female jaws. One cause of headaches, often overlooked, is the tendency to grind and clench teeth at night Women have more fast-acting white muscle fibres, which tire and ache more easily than the slow muscle fibres men have. The head pain caused by jaw problems can be felt in the temples, behind the eyes, in a band around the head and in the back of the neck, says Dr Stokes. Another tell-tale sign is waking up with a headache. Treatments include a plastic device worn over the teeth at night to help reduce grinding. These are available from pharmacists and online. THAT TIME OF THE MONTH Half of the women with migraine have so-called menstrual migraines, meaning their symptoms follow their menstrual cycle. Most of the differences between men and womens risk of headaches lies with the female hormones linked to the menstrual cycle, says Anne MacGregor, a professor at the Centre for Neuroscience and Trauma at Barts. Migraine and headaches are most common for women in the three days before and two days after their period, she adds. This phenomenon is due to a rapid drop in the female hormone oestrogen which occurs in the days running up to a period (it causes the uterus to shed its lining, leading to a period) and the rise of prostaglandin, a fatty acid which prompts the womb to contract. Half of the women with migraine have so-called menstrual migraines, meaning their symptoms follow their menstrual cycle Its thought that these two factors lead to a reduction in levels of serotonin, a brain chemical. Low levels of serotonin are believed to make blood vessels in the brain suddenly contract and then dilate, triggering a headache. Serotonin also influences pain mechanisms and low levels may mean pain is felt more keenly. The fluctuations in hormones that occur in both the run-up to the menopause and afterwards can also make migraines and headaches more troublesome for many women. This phase of disrupted hormones can last for up to 20 years, and continue well after periods cease, warns Professor MacGregor. For menopause-related headaches hormone replacement therapy (HRT) may be of benefit as it stabilises oestrogen levels The significant drop from high to low levels of oestrogen, and more frequent menstruation that occurs during the perimenopause means women who tend to have migraines or tension headaches may find they become more frequent. The Mirena coil, an inserted contraceptive device that releases progesterone into the lining of the womb, can help with menstrual headaches by reducing levels of prostaglandin. For menopause-related headaches hormone replacement therapy (HRT) may be of benefit as it stabilises oestrogen levels, says Professor MacGregor. Another option is isoflavones, a plant-based form of oestrogen. Professor MacGregor suggests taking 40 to 80mg a day. WOMEN EVOLVED TO HAVE HEADACHES The tendency to have migraines can be inherited, and the migraine gene has more impact on women than men. The migraine genes are expressed more implicitly in women, says Dr Fayyaz Ahmed, a consultant neurologist at Hull Royal Infirmary. That means women born with the gene are more likely to have migraines then men born with it. Anyone who has this gene has a threshold (at which a trigger will start a migraine), and for women that threshold tends to be lower. Some experts believe that womens genetic tendency to headaches may have had an evolutionary benefit. Women born with the 'migraine' gene are more likely to have migraines then men born with it Migraine brains tend to over-react to changes be that to routine or the environment. Those with migraines have more sensitivity to what is going on around them and there is a lot of speculation that migraine historically made women react more to any change in their surroundings, says Professor Charles. This may have given them some sort of evolutionary advantage. It may be this alerted them to changes that enabled to keep them or their offspring safe. THEY TAKE TOO MANY PILLS Women are up to four times more likely than men to develop headaches caused by the overuse of painkillers. These develop with persistent use of over-the-counter or prescription pain-relief medicine. One theory is that regular use of painkillers suppresses pain sensors in the brain and the sensitivity of nerves there, so when there is a break in medication, a headache develops. It can lead to chronic daily headache, which is any type that lasts for more than four hours a day for 15 days or more a month. While any painkillers can cause medication overuse headaches, combined analgesics, such as Syndol and Solpadeine which contain a mix of different painkillers, are most likely to cause problems says Brendan Davies, a consultant neurologist who runs a headache clinic at the Royal Stoke University Hospital. Women are up to four times more likely than men to develop headaches caused by the overuse of painkillers. These develop with persistent use of over-the-counter or prescription pain-relief If you are taking any painkillers for more than ten to 15 days a month for more than three months and seeing headache frequency increase, then the medication could be the problem, he says. Why women are more at risk of these is as yet unclear, although it may stem from the fact that women are more likely to acknowledge a headache and use painkillers in the first place. I find from the patients I see that women seem to use more painkillers than men, adds Dr Davies. He recommends stopping all painkillers for six to eight weeks to see if headaches reduce. Those who have been taking stronger opiate-based painkillers such as tramadol or codeine for a long period of time may need to go into hospital when they stop the painkillers to help them cope with any withdrawal symptoms. THEIR BRAINS LOOK DIFFERENT The shape of womens brains may work against them when it comes to headaches. Researchers at the Boston Childrens Hospital and Harvard Medical School conducted brain scans of 44 people, half of whom had migraines and half who didnt. A study found that women with migraines have thicker grey matter surrounding their brain cells They found that the women in the study who had migraines had thicker grey matter (the area that holds the brain cells, as opposed to the white matter that holds the cabling, that carries the information between the cells) in both the posterior insula (associated with pain processing) and the precuneus an area of the brain linked to migraines. The male participants both those who did not have migraines and those who did did not have this thickening. This is one of several studies finding structural differences in the brains of those who have migraines, says Professor Charles. The challenge ahead is deciphering if the changes brought on the migraines or the migraines caused the changes. Another new theory being investigated is whether or not women (as well as men who tend to have headaches) have different nerves in their neck, because neck pain is a common factor in migraine, according to Professor Charles. One hypothesis is that the sensitivity of the nerve plexis in the neck (the nerve network) differs between individuals and that this makes them more prone to headaches. It is possible that there is some difference in the nerve plexis of women that makes them more prone to headache. STRESS MAY AFFECT THEM MORE Women are almost 70 per cent more likely to suffer work-related stress than their male colleagues, according to Health and Safety Executive figures. And a recent study by U.S. researchers found that a common stress hormone triggers different responses in male and female brains, which makes women less able to cope with stress. Stress makes people more prone to headaches especially migraines and tension headaches, says Dr Andrew Dowson, of the East Kent Headache Service, adding: They will often get worse if the person is stressed. Women are almost 70 per cent more likely to suffer work-related stress than their male colleagues, according to Health and Safety Executive figures Part of this could be related to the fact that stress can lead to disturbed sleep and missed meals, and this can trigger migraines in some. The link to tension headaches is because of the tensing effect stress has on the neck muscles. One theory is that the nerves in the neck and brain share some of the same junctions, so information travelling up the nerves from tense muscles may transfer into the nerves travelling into the brain, triggering a headache. Sticking to regular bed and meal- times and taking up exercise can reduce stress and headache risk, adds Dr Dowson. Advertisement BEING OVERWEIGHT RAISES RISK Carrying excess pounds increases the risk of headache for either sex but the risk is greatest for overweight women. One study of more than 3,700 women, published in 2011 in the journal Headache, found the risk of migraine increased as a womans weight did, with severely obese women (defined as having a BMI of 40 or more) having an almost three times higher risk of migraine than a female of healthy weight. Yet studies have not found such a big risk for men. A review of studies published in The Journal of Headache and Pain in 2015 comparing the risk of migraine in the obese and those of normal weight found a 44 per cent increased risk for obese women, but no significant increase in risk for obese men. Carrying excess pounds increases the risk of headache for either sex but the risk is greatest for overweight women There are various theories about why obesity should prompt migraines. It could be that obese people exercise less, and exercise can reduce the incidence of migraines and headaches, says Professor MacGregor. It could also be that the part of the brain that is linked with migraine is also responsible for hunger. Fat tissue is also known to release inflammatory chemicals that may affect blood vessels in the brain and so may trigger a headache that way. Why obesity has more effect on womens headache risk than mens is not clear but, according to the studies, it is most apparent in the under-55s. After that age, obesity has less of an impact on womens headache risk. It could be that obese people exercise less, which can reduce the incidence of migraines and headaches, says Professor MacGregor. It could also be that the part of the brain that is linked with migraine is also responsible for hunger. Fat tissue is also known to release inflammatory chemicals that may affect blood vessels in the brain and so may trigger a headache that way. Why obesity has more effect on womens headache risk than mens is not clear, but according to the studies it is most apparent in the under-55s. After that age, obesity has less of an impact on womens headache risk. TAKING THE PILL Hormone-based contraception, including the Pill and certain coils, are a trigger for both tension-style headaches and migraines in up to 10 per cent of women. Some women taking the Pill find that their tablet-free week triggers a migraine, possibly because this prompts a drop in oestrogen levels. Professor MacGregor says taking the Pill without a break for at least three cycles, if not continuously, can help. It can be done constantly, but some women prefer not to do this as it means they dont have periods. Hormone-based contraception, including the Pill and certain coils, are a trigger for both tension-style headaches and migraines in up to 10 per cent of women Copper coils can, in some cases, increase levels of prostaglandins which can trigger migraines. THE HEADACHES MEN ARE MORE LIKELY TO GET Cluster headaches intensely painful episodes that tend to cause pain on one side of the head, a drooping eyelid and a blocked or running nose, affect six times more men than women. The headaches typically last up to an hour, and occur on a daily basis during flare-ups that last up to three months. Often these clusters happen in the autumn and spring. Its thought that they arise due to an irregularity in the hypothalamus in the brain, which releases hormones and chemicals, which triggers pain in the large trigeminal nerve. Additional reporting: LUCY ELKINS Advertisement Dr Sarah Hardman, a sexual and reproductive healthcare specialist at Chalmers Sexual Health Centre in Edinburgh, recommends women discuss their contraceptive choices with their doctor or nurse. Women who suffer from migraine with aura which can cause dizziness, a ringing in the ears and distorted vision should not be on the Pill, Dr Hardman says. Research has shown that women with this type of migraine have a higher (although still small) risk of suffering from a stroke using this form of contraception. Doctors have been left scratching their heads after a morbidly obese man weighing over 42 stone has been left unable to move or talk. Abdul Jabbar Tunio, 39, from Larkana in Pakistan, has been paralysed and kept silent by a mysterious condition for the past two months, reports theExpress Tribune. Such is the seriousness of his illness that he has also been unable to eat or drink. Abdul Jabbar Tunio, 39, from Larkana in Pakistan, has been paralysed and left silent by a mysterious condition for the past two months His concerned family have taken him to various doctors, but none had the facilities or expertise to analyse his condition. Fortunately Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centres (JPMC) intensive care unit , in Karachi, offered him treatment - but even their expert medical team are unsure what the route of his problem is. Despite his current struggle, the father-of-three has not always been in such an unhealthy state, only becoming overweight as an adult. He broke his leg as an 18-year-old and his family believe that his obesity can be linked back to the medication he took while he was recovering. Since then his weight has ballooned leaving him suffering from severe breathing problems, renal complications and skin ulcers. Such is Jabber's size that the hospital does not even have a bed to accommodate him. However, they have ordered a bespoke bed so that he can be treated at the facility in comfort. Abdul's obesity is causing him serious health issues including severe breathing problems, renal complications and skin ulcers Professor Rasheed Khan Durrani told the Express Tribune: 'Right now, he is not stable but we are hopeful that he will recover. 'We are trying hard to stabilise the patient. We are trying to ascertain the cause of the weight gain so that we can further proceed with his treatment.' A new spray-on dressing could speed up healing of chronic foot wounds, a common complication of diabetes. The dressing starts off as a liquid and is activated by body temperature. Once it is sprayed onto a wound it solidifies into a gel which covers the open wound to protect it against infection. Over the following three to four weeks, the gel gradually releases special proteins which accelerate the natural wound healing process. A new spray-on dressing could speed up healing of chronic foot wounds, a common complication of diabetes Initial results from tests on mice published last month (August), show the spray-on dressing reduces the time it takes to achieve 50 per cent closure of the wound from 17 days to just 11 days. And after 24 days, the wounds were completely healed, whereas wounds dressed with normal bandages take at least another week. Previous research has shown that up to 40 per cent of diabetic ulcers take at least three months to mend and in around 14 per cent of cases wounds are still present after a year. Diabetes affects around 2.8 million people in Britain. Patients often develop poor circulation to the lower legs and feet because high levels of sugar (glucose) in the blood thickens the walls of capillaries, tiny blood vessels in the lower leg, which makes them less efficient at delivering blood. The slightest cut can then develop into open wounds because, as blood circulation slows, the damaged skin is starved of the oxygen-rich blood and immune cells it needs to mend itself. These wounds often get bigger because bacteria in the wound feed off the raised levels of glucose in the blood and flourish, breaking down surrounding healthy tissue. The risks are heightened by the fact diabetes patients often have nerve damage in the feet so they feel little pain and are often unaware they have tiny injuries until they become infected and harder to heal. Last week, figures revealed that more than 7,000 people a year in the UK now have leg, foot or toe amputations due to diabetes complications. There are a range of treatments for chronic wounds, including many new dressings which encourage the healing process, but none of these are specific to diabetic wounds where the main issue is poor blood flow. There are a range of treatments for chronic wounds, including many new dressings which encourage the healing process, but none of these are specific to diabetic wounds where the main issue is poor blood flow Scientists at Northwestern University in Chicago have developed the spray-on bandage which contains a protein called stromal cell derived factor-1. This is a protein naturally produced by the body to recruit special cells which repair damaged skin and tissue by generating the growth of new blood vessels to boost oxygen supply to the wound. In diabetics with poor blood flow, the bodys own supply of these cells often fails to reach its destination. Scientists designed the bandage to gradually release the healing protein over a period of several weeks, mimicking the way the bodys own repair process works. HEALING WOUNDS USING 'REPROGRAMMED SKIN CELLS' Researchers at Tufts University in the U.S. have successfully reprogrammed skin cells from diabetes patients foot wounds into stem cells that then restart the healing process. Researchers have reprogrammed cells from diabetes patients foot wounds into stem cells that then restart the healing process In a lab study, researchers took samples from diabetes patients and reprogrammed the faulty skin cells using viruses. Results showed that it was possible to reboot the diabetic skin cells so that they looked and behaved just like normal fibroblasts, cells in the skin involved in wound healing. Writing in the journal Cellular Reprogramming, they say this discovery could help develop a new treatment which regenerates hard-to-heal wounds by using the patients own skin cells. Advertisement In a recent study, scientists gave mice with 6mm-wide wounds either standard gauze dressings or sprayed the new gel on. They monitored wound healing for nearly a month, and results in The Journal of Controlled Release showed healing was speeded up by at least a week compared to those with a gauze dressing. Researchers said another major benefit is likely to be that the liquid bandage can easily be dissolved with salt water when it needs to be changed or checked. Currently, peeling dressings off open wounds can be very painful and potentially harmful if it also removes delicate new tissue. Professor Guillermo Ameer, who developed the bandage, said: Patients have to change the wound dressing often, which can rip off healing tissue and re-injure the site. 'Our material conforms to the shape and dimensions of the wound and can be rinsed off with cooled salt water. Researchers hope to test the bandage on diabetes patients soon. Dr Emily Burns of Diabetes UK, says: Foot ulcers are a significant complication of diabetes which can lead to amputation. News reports have appeared in the Indian media about the presence of the Chinese J-20 stealth fighter at Daocheng Yading in Tibet, the highest civilian airport in the world. One article features a photograph of a J-20 on rain-swept tarmac, with the aircraft draped in a camouflage net - in a desert camouflage pattern! Surprisingly, there are no chocks on the wheels (to stop the aircraft from rolling) and the photograph shows a small hill in the background. No identifiable features of the airport are visible. A top-secret Chinese stealth fighter, the J-20, was recently spotted in Tibet close to the Arunachal Pradesh border The photographs, as per the article, appeared in China on the micro-blogging site Weibo, and on two websites just days before PM Narendra Modi travels to China for G-20 and days after China warned India against deploying BrahMos missile along the Himalayas. A news brief was also carried as a lead item by its national television arm, and the two conveyed an alarmist view of an event that otherwise is a normal milestone in the development cycle of a new aeroplane. Unfortunately, this view has been generated by many other media articles too, one of which stated that China has moved a stealth fighter into Tibet! It is time a professional assessment of the sighting of the J-20 in Tibet is undertaken. That the J-20 programme has entered the Low Rate of Initial Production has been widely reported in the press, both Chinese and Western. File photo of PM Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping, who met in May 2016 After the first prototype flew on January 11, 2011, seven more prototypes have been built for various phases of testing. The test flying has proceeded at a very fast pace such that the first Squadron would reportedly be established in 2017, with aircraft getting Initial Operational Clearance. Many photographs of the aircraft have also appeared, but surprisingly there have been no images of two J-20s flying together or any armament being fired (only images of open weapons bays are available). The deductions with this type of background information are: The prototype testing of the J-20 is still a work in progress. Even though the first squadron may be raised by 2017, the operational capability would not be that of a fully operational squadron as some clearances would come only after all aspects of the flight envelope are explored. The squadron would, in parallel, work up the standard operating procedures and train pilots in basic handling and procedures of the J-20. The aircraft is powered by Russian engines which do not give it super cruise capability (speed more than the speed of sound with no afterburner). Thus, the J-20 is not a true fifth generation fighter at present. The super cruise capability may come once the indigenous WS-15 engine gets cleared - this is still some distance away as the Chinese are facing problems of reliability in indigenous power plants. It is a well-known fact that the paintwork and skin finish play an important role in making an aircraft stealthy; hence, the very casual way in which the camouflage net has been draped on the aircraft in the photo, with loose flapping strings, shows that stealth is not being given its due, despite the hype that surrounds it. So, is the aircraft really stealthy? If it were, then the net would not have been draped the way it is. That the aircraft landed and took off from an airfield at 14,000 ft is indeed creditable (considering that the photo is genuine). But, this is just half the story. What would be operationally relevant is the information about the payload it carried and the ambient temperatures it operated in. So, what was the J-20 doing in the high altitude airfield? The answer is, just what the Indian Tejas was doing at the high altitude airfield at Leh some months back - these aircraft have operated from these high altitude airfields as part of their hot and high prototype testing, which is mandatory as part of flight clearance. What the photo does confirm is that the capability to operate from Tibet may be part of the task for the J-20. Many more visits to Tibet would be required to test out the aircraft in cold weather conditions, especially an engine start after an overnight cold soak in the open. This test is critical, besides many more to check out its systems, especially the avionics and radar, in the extreme cold conditions that prevail in Tibet. To link the J- 20 in Tibet to either the visit of PM Modi to China or the decision to place BrahMos missiles on Indias borders is incorrect. It is not signalling being done for geo-political reasons, but just part of the flight testing that any aviation system goes through. However, the message that does come through to India is that in some years to come, the Indian Air Force must prepare for the presence of a fifth generation fighter that can operate from high altitude air fields in Tibet. It can only going to get interesting from here - the last word on stealth in Tibet has not been said yet. After years of negotiations, India and the United States have finally signed the bilateral 'Logistics Exchange Memorandum of Agreement' (LEMOA). The new military agreement will provide a basic framework for the provision of logistical support, supplies, and services between the US and India on a reimbursable basis. Agreement The two countries had arrived at an agreement in principle during US Defence Secretary Ashton Carters visit to Delhi in April this year, but the final pact wasn't confirmed until last week when Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar visited the US. The recently agreed LEMOA framework signals a 'new bonhomie' in Indo-US relations (Pictured: US Defence Secretary Ashton Carter and Indian Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar) What is LEMOA? In short, an agreement that will make the US and India 'logistical allies' and enable both militaries to use each other's assets and bases to repair equipment and replenish supplies. The agreement will allow the US to respond to humanitarian disasters quickly and effectively. The framework will also facilitate support between India and the US on food, water, billeting, transportation, petroleum, oils, lubricants, clothing, medical services, spare parts and components, repair and maintenance services, training services, and other logistical items and services. The agreement is seen as a step toward building defence ties as India seeks to counter the growing maritime assertiveness of China in the region. Advertisement It is expected to help the two militaries coordinate better, and also allow the United States to sell fuel and provide spare parts to India. The pact will emphasise the importance of strengthening defence ties across many areas - from strategic and regional cooperation, to deepened military-to-military exchanges, and to expanded collaboration on defence technology and innovation. And with this, US-India defence ties have taken a major step towards consolidation. These are good times for India's military. Carter himself has a long-standing interest in India and has been keen to strengthen Indo-American relations. He was a strong supporter of the India-US nuclear deal, and as deputy secretary of defence in 2011 he was the principal architect of the Defence Trade and Technology Initiative (DTTI), intended to help the flow of advanced American technology to India, an initiative strongly resisted by Washingtons defence bureaucracy. The pact will emphasise the importance of strengthening defence ties across many areas - from strategic and regional cooperation, to deepened military-to-military exchanges Carter has taken this forward with the setting up of the India Rapid Reaction Cell (IRRC), the only country-specific cell in the Department of Defence, as part of the DTTI to fast-forward India-related acquisition issues. Known to his colleagues as 'Ash', the 25th United States Secretary of Defense has emphasised the Pentagons decision to change its mindset regarding the transfer of technology to India from a culture of presumptive no to one of a presumptive yes. And as he has suggested he has spent more time with Parrikar in little over a year than any of his other foreign counterparts, a relationship he attributed to the new bonhomie in India-US relations. The new military agreement will provide a basic framework for the provision of logistical support, supplies, and services between America and India Many in India worry that the US wants to make India a junior partner in its regional alliance network, though Washington has been categorical that the logistics agreement did not allow for US troops to be based in India. Carter himself has been explicit that India was not likely to be an exclusive partner of the United States: Indians are, like many others, also proud. They want to do things independently, and they want to do things their own way. "They dont want to do things just with us. They want to do things with all thats fine. So were not looking for anything exclusive. "But we are looking for as close a relationship and a stronger relationship as we can because its geopolitically grounded. Geopolitics This geopolitical grounding is provided by the rise of China, with Beijing seemingly unwilling to change or even moderate its anti-Delhi posture. To counter the Chinese challenge, the United States wants to create a network of countries with "shared values, habits of cooperation, and compatible and complementary capabilities", which will expand the strategic reach of the participating countries, enable them to pool their resources to share the security burden, and - "help ensure the peace and stability in the region for years to come." Prime Minister Narendra Modi with Chinese President, Xi Jinping: Beijing seems unwilling to change or even moderate its anti-Delhi posture New Delhi needs to articulate the requirement for a new security architecture in Asia that can successfully take on the challenge posed by a rising and aggressive China. During Parrikars visit, he and his American counterpart mentioned the importance of the free flow of trade to both countries, underscoring their - shared interest in freedom of navigation and overflight and unimpeded commerce as part of rule-based order in (the) Indo-Pacific. Delhi and Washington are now focusing on maritime security with another round of dialogue to follow the inaugural one held earlier this year in May. Motive US Secretary of Defense Ashton Carter (left) and India's Minister of Defence Manohar Parrikar confirm the bilateral 'Logistics Exchange Memorandum of Agreement' India and the US have been striving to conclude a series of foundational agreements for years now. But under the UPA, even the least controversial ideas could not move forward as then Defence Minister AK Antony, under the influence of the Left parties, became convinced of Americas malign motives in pushing it through. With the LEOMA now finalised, the two nations can finally move forward with some confidence for the future of India-US defence ties. India is in the big league today and should start thinking big. The old Third World rhetoric doesnt - and would not - do justice to Indias global aspirations. The defence pact between the US and India would help the two countries in governing the use of each other's land, air and naval bases for repair and re-supply, a step toward building defence ties as they seek to counter the growing maritime assertiveness of China. The Modi government is gradually shedding the traditional Indian strategic diffidence and has rightly concluded that strong defence ties with the US enhance our strategic autonomy rather than constraining it. Air India has been in the news for all the wrong reasons lately, and now its chairman and managing director believes people are sabotaging the national carrier. In a strongly worded letter seen exclusively by India Today, Air India CMD Ashwani Lohani has warned of exemplary punishments for the airline's employees. The letter says employees, particularly pilots, have not been reporting for duty on time, resulting in delays and sometimes flight cancellations. Air India CMD Ashwani Lohani has issued an unusually strongly worded letter to the 'sabotaging' pilots Sources say that lately, the rate of such unscheduled delays due to pilot indiscipline has shot up and the management believe it coincides with the Airline returning to operating profits for the first time in years. Highly-placed sources within Air India told India Today that they suspect a section of pilots have been deliberately failing to report for duty at the behest of competing airlines. A few days ago, Lohani chaired an emergency meeting to discuss the problems and issued a letter on Sunday with the subject reading as Attempts to sabotage the progress of Air India. Officials said that pilots regularly reporting late or not reporting without a valid reason have cost the company dear. Air India pilots have been warned of exemplary punishments for lateness Under the new civil aviation policy, if any airline cancels a flight and is unable to provide an alternative one within a specified time, the entire flight ticket amount has to be refunded to passengers. A person who has been associated with the developments asked on condition of anonymity: Why should the company bear the cost of someone's whims and fancy? The letter clearly warns against sabotaging the image of the organization. Historically, such moves were either ignored or let off with a customary warning as the Indian Commercial Pilots' Association has a very powerful pilots' lobby. If sources are to be believed, the wording of the letter comes from the free hand Lohani has been given by the highest levels in the government. He is the personal pick of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who entrusted him to run the organisation like a successful business corporation. Lohani has not yet commented on the matter. Prime Minister Narendra Modi delivered a strong message on Pakistani terrorism during the last session of the G20 Summit on Monday. Modi used his address to point out that terrorism is an issue inextricably linked to global governance and stability. Speaking in China, an ally of Pakistan, Modi said: There are some nations that use terror as an instrument of state policy. One nation in South Asia is spreading these agents of terror in (the) countries of our region". World Leaders: Prime Minister Narendra Modi (centre) delivered a strong message to Pakistan on terrorism during the last session of the G20 Summit on Monday Those who sponsor and support terrorism must be isolated and sanctioned, not rewarded. "For us, a terrorist is a terrorist. India has a policy of zero tolerance to terrorism, the Prime Minister added. Modis comments came a day after he made a similar pitch at the informal meeting of BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa) leaders, where he called on countries not to politicise terror. He said that India appreciates the G20 initiative on combating financing of terrorism, with the issue featuring in the G20s last session, and also in the 7,000- word communique, partly at India's insistence. On Black Money Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping agreed on the need to curb global corruption However, India and China found some common ground as both made strong pitches to curb global corruption. Indias campaign on black money has been mirrored by a push in China to repatriate economic fugitives as part of Xi Jinpings crackdown on corruption. Modi called on G20 countries to extend full commitment to act against the corrupt and eliminate safe havens for economic offenders, track and unconditionally extradite money launderers, and break the web of complex international regulations and excessive banking secrecy that hide the corrupt and their deeds. Brazil, India, China, Russia and South Africa are the world's leading emerging economies Xi said that member countries had agreed to China's proposal to establish a research centre on fugitive repatriation and asset recovery in the country. An anti-corruption action plan is to be prepared for next year in addition to a plan for people sought over asset recovery. This will leave corrupt officials no place to hide in G20 members territories and in the world at large, Xi told a press conference after the Summit ended. Top Leaders Prime Minister Narendra Modi and British Prime Minister Theresa May during a bilateral meeting at the G20 summit in Hangzhou, China Although the G20 Summit gave Modi and Xi the chance to iron out recent difficulties, Modi's two-day stay in Hangzhou has also provided India with the opportunity to bolster several other key relationships. Following his bilateral meetings with Australia and Saudi Arabia, and his interactions with US President Barack Obama on Sunday, Modi reached out to France, the UK, Turkey, and Argentina. In what officials said was a pull aside chat, and not a structured bilateral meeting, Modi raised the leak of sensitive, confidential data on Scorpene submarines with French President Francois Hollande. The meeting with Turkish President Recip Tayyip Erdogan, scheduled at the last minute, also allowed India to push for the countrys support for its entry to the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG). Aam Aadmi Party leaders have rubbished allegations that women were exploited by a few party-men in return for poll tickets - even though they were levelled by AAP MLA Devinder Sehrawat. They said the leaders facing the lawmaker's allegations plan to sue him over his comments. Launching a scathing attack on Sehrawat, the partys Punjab in-charge Sanjay Singh alleged that the BJP and Akali Dal are behind a "conspiracy" as they are scared the AAP could win over 100 seats in the state polls scheduled for next year. Terming Sehrawat a discontented element within the party, Singh said his closeness with rebel AAP leaders Prashant Bhushan and Yogendra Yadav is well known. The allegations levelled by Sehrawat are baseless, he said. AAP leaders Sanjay Singh (left) and Dilip Pandey address the media in Delhi after the claims by MLA Devinder Sehrawat They are also an insult to people and women of Punjab. I challenge him to prove his charges and I will quit public and political life. I will file a defamation suit against Sehrawat and he has to prove his charges before the court, Singh said at a press conference. The party also hinted at a possible action against the Bijwasan MLA after the return of AAP's national convenor Arvind Kejriwal from the Vatican City where he has gone to attend the canonisation of Mother Teresa. There will be action against the rebel MLA when party chief Arvind Kejriwal returns from the Vatican City In his letter to Kejriwal on Sunday, Sehrawat also hit out at AAPs Delhi unit convener Dilip Pandey, questioning his conduct. He then said there were disturbing reports from Punjab, going on to attack Singh and Durgesh Pathak, the partys co-in-charge of the state. A defiant Sehrawat said that he had written the letters with full responsibility and will pursue the matter to its conclusion. Sehrawat had also written a letter to social activist Anna Hazare saying he was upset with the corruption and immorality in the party, which has strayed away from its principles. Pandey, who also addressed the press conference, hit back at Sehrawat, saying the party leaders will sue him in an individual capacity. Reacting to Singh's charges about Sehrwats closeness to him and Bhushan, the co-founders of Swaraj Abhiyan, Yadav tweeted: So, those who speak truth in the AAP will now be termed as a soldier of Swaraj Abhiyan and our companions? Then thats good. Sehrawat had protested against the way Bhushan and Yadav were expelled from the National Executive, AAP's second-largest decision-making body. War of words over sex tapes AAP leader Ashutosh was locked in a bitter war of words with NCW chief Lalitha Kumaramangalam AAP leader Ashutosh was locked in a bitter war of words with NCW chief Lalitha Kumaramangalam on Monday. The wrangle came after he was summoned by the women's body for defending sacked Delhi minister Sandeep Kumar, who is embroiled in a sex tape scandal. Ms Mangalam, as a chairperson of NCW, you should not lie on a national TV that u r not BJP member. Wikipedia writes You are still a member. Lalitha Kumar Manglam is member of BJP national executive/was national secretary of BJP. If I get notice from NCW, I will react (sic), Ashutosh tweeted. I hope Lalitha Kumarmangalam, member of BJP Nat Ex/ chairman NCW is summoning every writer who wrote about consensual sex. NO pick and choose (sic), he said in another tweet. Reacting to it, Kumaramangalam said: What kind of a journalist are you? You are two years behind time. I am not a member of BJP national executive. I was before. I am not even a spokesperson for the party. I was, before NCW. BJP has a strict rule of one person one post. "The moment I was offered the chairmanship of NCW, I was told I can no longer be the spokesperson and national- executive member." Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh has voiced his displeasure over the refusal of J&K separatist leaders to meet with the all-party delegation that visited on Sunday. Singh claimed that their response does not reflect "Kashmiriyat, Insaniyat and Jamhuriyat". Reiterating that Jammu & Kashmir "was, is, and will remain an integral part of India", Singh did not completely rule out future talks. Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh (left) with Governor of Jammu and Kashmir N. N. Vohra in a meeting in Srinagar This all-party delegation went to meet Hurriyat Conference leaders. Whatever transpired there and on the basis of information given to us by members of the delegation, I can say that the response does not reflect Kashmiriyat... It cannot even be called Insaniyat", Singh told the media on Monday. Since the all-party delegation went for talks and the separatists refused them, it shows that they do not even have trust on jamhuriyat (democracy), Singh added. Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh sits next to Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti at the meeting of the All Party delegation and the Jammu and Kashmir Government On Sunday, three top separatist leaders, Syed Ali Geelani, Mirwaiz Umar Farooq, and Mohammad Yasin Malik, declined to speak to Asaduddin Owaisi, Sitaram Yechury, D Raja and Sharad Yadav. While Farooq and Malik refused to speak to the delegation when it visited them in jail, Geelani, who is under house arrest, did not even open his door to the visiting leaders. Singh said that members of the delegation went to meet the Hurriyat leaders in their individual capacity. He added that Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti had also invited Hurriyat leaders for talks herself. The Home Minister said that during the delegations interaction with political parties, civil society groups, the vice-chancellors of different universities, fruit growers, students, and intellectuals, it found that everyone was in favour of peace. This Easter I took my family to Disney World, Florida, booked through a local travel agent. I paid for the holiday upfront - the flights, accommodation, park tickets and car hire. When we arrived at Orlando Airport we were told by Avis that the car we'd booked (Ford Focus or equivalent) was not available and that we would be receiving an upgrade. I signed for the car and enjoyed two wonderful weeks in Disney World. When I returned to the UK, I discovered that my credit card had been debited an additional 261.08. When I inquired I was told this was for the upgraded car and additional insurances. I complained to Avis but received a standard response saying they were sorry that I did not understand the terms and conditions of the agreement. As it stands, I have given up all hope of a satisfactory response as they claim that I have signed a legally binding agreement. I think it's wrong to book a particular class of car and then to be told that it is not available and to charge me for the upgrade. Mr Turnbull When told the car he originally booked wasn't available, Mr Turnbull believed the upgrade he was offered by Avis would be free of charge. That was until he got home to find he'd been billed an additional 261.08 for the higher-spec vehicle Rob Hull from This is Money replies: Being charged extra for hire car bookings is by far the most common motor-related complaint we receive, and for good reason. Many people are shocked when they discover a raft of different additional fees at the collection desk on arrival or when dropping a vehicle back, but there are fewer cases of customers receiving a fright when they return home. Somewhere in the written agreement you signed at the Avis desk it would have stated that you were going to have to pay an additional sum as part of the process of accepting the upgrade. Bleary-eyed and eager to start your vacation after a nine-hour flight, we understand it would have been easy to miss - and it should have been made clear to you by the member of staff. If you had spotted it at the time of signing you could have disputed having to pay the difference at the desk, which would have been well within your rights. However, it is easy to misinterpret the fact that a hire firm's inability to honour your original booking would simply mean they'd provide you with another car free of charge. While it is your own responsibility to check the agreement you're signing, it's disappointing to know that the employee in this case didn't make this absolutely clear. When we contacted Avis regarding the matter, they issued a fairly run-of-the-mill response: 'We pride ourselves on delivering excellent customer service and have worked with our customer to reach a resolution. 'We encourage all customers to review items and charges highlighted in the contract before signing, and to ask our highly trained rental agents if they have any questions.' Mr Turnbull and his family had originally booked a Ford Focus for their two-week holiday in Florida but Avis informed them on arrival that they did not have this model or an equivalent vehicle in this class available Fortunately, Avis has since reimbursed you for the additional 261.08 and also provided a more apologetic statement courtesy of a member of the customer service department: 'I was most concerned to learn about the inconvenience you incurred after the above rental period. Providing a smooth, simple, and seamless rental experience, including post-rental processes is an important facet of the customer focused service we provide. 'In all it is clear you did not receive the service you should expect from us. I offer my sincere apologies for the inconvenience you have been caused together with my assurances that your experiences on this occasion are not typical. I am confident that should you choose Avis again in the future, we will provide the first class service you have every right to expect from us. 'I have reviewed your case and as appreciation of the situation I have refunded the charge of the upgrade, GBP 261.08 will reflect on your account in 5-7 business days maximum. 'We appreciate the time and trouble you have taken to bring this situation to our attention, the feedback you have provided will be acted upon to improve the service offered to all customers.' My advice to anyone who finds themselves in a situation where the vehicle (or an equivalent model in that class) is not available and an upgrade is offered is to take Avis' original comment and use it to its full extent. The Turnbull family received a refund from Avis after charging them for an upgrade during their holiday to Disney World Florida If you're told you're being upgraded, ensure you ask their highly trained rental agents to clarify that there will be no extra cost incurred for you, the customer, due to their failure to honour the original agreement. It's also important to remain as relaxed and composed as possible to ensure you don't miss any sneaky charges. Rental desks, strategically or not, can be stressful environments: they are compact in size making queues seem more overwhelming, are almost always positioned near terminal exits - making that final dash for freedom seem inches away thus encouraging you to swiftly complete the hand-over to get away from the airport - and are difficult places to concentrate with unsettled children in tow who have endured an arduous flight. Be patient, approach the desk alone with the relevant paperwork and ask the member of staff to confirm that no additional fees will be charged. Crude gained almost 5 per cent before settling around 2 per cent higher at $47.50 Oil rose back towards $50 a barrel after Saudi Arabia and Russia struck a deal that could stabilise the market. Crude which fell from $115 a barrel in mid-2014 to less than $28 earlier this year gained almost 5 per cent before settling around 2 per cent higher at $47.50. The rally came after the two countries' energy ministers signed an agreement on the sidelines of the G20 meeting in China following talks between Russian president Vladimir Putin and Saudi deputy crown prince Mohammed bin Salman. A statement said the plan was to support the 'stability of the oil market' and to ensure 'a stable level of investment in the long term'. Russian energy minister Alexander Novak said it was willing to join a freeze in oil output as he hailed a 'historical moment' for the industry. But there was no immediate cut to production despite concerns the supply of oil around the world still exceeds demand putting downward pressure on prices. The deal came as G20 leaders agreed to co-ordinate policies to bolster the global economy and oppose protectionism although there were few concrete proposals. Koovs' website includes clothes matching those worn by stars like Taylor Swift Young middle-class Indians desperate to dress like celebrities have sent sales soaring 115 per cent at online fashion brand Koovs. The retailer, which is listed in London and designs its clothes in the city too, targets a new class of affluent South Asian fashionistas with its range of celebrity inspired Western styles. Koovs' website includes outfits matching those worn by stars such as Taylor Swift, KimKardashian and Beyonce. Sales rose to 5m for the four months to July, with weekly website visits reaching 1.4million per week, up 142 per cent on last year. Chairman, the Labour peer Waheed Alli, said: 'Koovs continues to win in the fashion-forward ecommerce market for young, style-conscious fashion-lovers in India.' Alli was a founder investor in Koovs in 2012 and led it on to the AIM market in 2014. The firm targets the growing ecommerce market driven by the rise of tech-savvy middle classes in urban areas. The company said India offered a 'huge opportunity' for ecommerce in an industry expected to increase five-fold to 2.5billion by 2020. Mary Turner, its chief executive, said investment in brand marketing was 'delivering excellent results', and building customer loyalty. The group's Step Into Koovs campaign raised its profile and it has 1.2million registered users. Koovs offers 10,000 different lines, up 43 per cent on last year, following the expansion of its flagship own-brand, Private Label. Launches this autumn will include collaborations with London illustrator Hattie Stewart. Real estate deal: Goldman Sachs is snapping up 27 British properties worth 338m Goldman Sachs is snapping up 27 British properties worth 338million in a deal to give it a larger foothold in UK real estate. The bank is buying the portfolio from Swedish pension company Alecta. It had also been on course to acquire Alecta's 22 US properties but the deal is said to have fallen apart due to disagreements over price as the American market begins to show signs of a slowdown. Goldman was a major real estate investor before the financial crisis, through its property funds branded as Whitehall. But these were disbanded during the Great Recession after a collapse in prices and multi-billion-pound losses. By 2010, Whitehall had lost around 98 per cent of its value. But in the past six years the bank has been seeking to acquire low-risk property which would not see its value wiped out in another downturn. The UK portfolio includes retail parks in Evesham and Clacton-on-Sea, and office buildings across the country. Joules, the retail darling of the middle-classes, surged by just under 10 per cent ahead of results tomorrow. The company, which listed on the Alternative Investment Market in May, has pencilled in revenue expectations of 131million for the year and forecast a 12 per cent jump in UK sales. Established in 1989 by Tom Joule, the brand started out by selling typically British all-weather clothes with a contemporary twist at horse shows and country fairs. Joules has some 2million customers across its 97 stores in the UK and Ireland, and a growing presence in the US, Germany and online. Sales jump: Joules, a favourite clothing firm of Britain's middle classes, surged by just under 10% ahead of results tomorrow 'It's a fairly steady story it's a good story,' said Roger Tejwani of FinnCap. 'It is not a fast fashion player. They deliberately missed out on teenagers, and that's where all the pain on the High Street is right now.' Tejwani has a 200p price target on the shares, which ended the session up 9.9 per cent or 17p at 189.5p. Rated a 'buy' by all three retail analysts who cover the stock, founder Joule remains the majority shareholder with a 32 per cent stake. Zoopla led the list of mid-cap risers ahead of its investor day on September 15, providing a glimmer of excitement in a day otherwise subdued by Wall Street's closure for the Labour Day holiday that marks the end of summer. Bolstered by an upgrade to 'overweight' from 'equal weight' by Barclays Capital, Zoopla (which is 31 per cent owned by DMGT, parent company of the Daily Mail) gained nearly 8 per cent after the broker highlighted several sources of upside for the company, not least strong current trading at comparison site uSwitch, which it owns. STOCK WATCH - DECHRA PHARMACEUTICALS Shares in Dechra Pharmaceuticals gained nearly 8 per cent (or 100p to 1400p) after the animal health group reported strong results. The firm was boosted by a number of acquisitions during the year as it expanded into chicken vaccines, generic medicines in the US and a manufacturing business in Croatia. Reporting a near 22 per cent jump in revenues to 247.6million, the group said it is confident about the future and doesnt expect Brexit to impact its business. Investec lifted the price target to 1400p from 1300p after the results. The broker estimates the energy-switching market may grow by 60 per cent in the next four years, and by 2.5 per cent in the next couple of years gains that it hopes will more than offset the weaker outlook for the property portal the company is best-known for. Zoopla closed 7.8 per cent or 24p higher at 330p. On the broader market, the FTSE 100 reversed Friday's gains to slip into the red (down 0.2 per cent or 15.18 points at 6879.42) after a brace of brokers downgraded undermined banking stocks. Royal Bank of Scotland fell 3.5 per cent or 7.2p to 197.1p after Deutsche Bank slashed its rating to 'sell', while Lloyds dropped more than 2 per cent or 1.3p to 59.65p after the same broker downgraded it to 'hold'. The price of crude pared early gains sparked by a tenuous pledge that key oil-producing states Saudi Arabia and Russia will work together on output but still buoyed shares in natural resources and mining companies. Randgold Resources was in demand among the blue chips, with gains of 1.7 per cent or 125p to 7590p while BHP Billiton gained 0.85 per cent or 8.5p to 1004p, Royal Dutch Shell was 1 per cent or 20p higher at 1890.5p and BP up 0.9 per cent or 3.8p at 434.8p. Cluff Natural Resources was in focus, advancing more than 21 per cent or 0.4p to 2.42p ahead of the release of independent data which is expected to confirm larger gas resources than anticipated in the southern North Sea. Chairman Algy Cluff told the Mail that independent consultants are set to publish findings by the end of the month. 'There is no doubt the North Sea has a fair amount of gas yet to be discovered,' he said. 'But conventional exploration teams are reluctant to wildcat [drill in an unproven area].' The North Sea is being developed by independent exploration and production companies as the larger ones shy away from the higher risk of extraction because the oil is trapped in unconventional places. 'There's no lack of interest, but it's a funding issue,' Cluff added. While the supermajors can offset the cost of exploration against their profits, independent oil exploration companies find it difficult to secure funding at any level and there are currently no subsidies to support them, Cluff said. SoftBank founder Masayoshi Son has been appointed chairman of ARM ARM BOSSES Three SoftBank executives have been appointed to the board of ARM following its 24.3billion takeover. The Japanese telecom group's founder and chief executive Masayoshi Son has been appointed chairman and executive director of the UK tech firm. Ronald Fisher has been appointed an executive director, adding to the executive positions he holds at SoftBank and Sprint. SoftBank's chief financial officer Alok Sama has also been appointed an executive director. GAS SALE British Gas owner Centrica has extended its multi-billion-pound contract to buy gas from Qatar until 2023. The deal will see the energy giant buy up to 2million tons of liquefied natural gas from Qatar each year following a decline in North Sea production. The contract will start in January 2019, following the end of Centrica's existing contract with Qatargas in December 2018. FLIGHTS GROUNDED Business-class-only flights between Luton Airport and New York by French airline La Compagnie are to end after September 24. La Compagnie said it will instead introduce a second daily flight from Paris to New York. The airline said its decision to end fights between Luton and New York came 'in view of a new economic climate in Europe, fuelled by Brexit'. DEFENCE DEAL QinetiQ has won a deal to provide unmanned vehicles for a demonstration of mine counter-measures held by the Government's Defence Science and Technology Laboratory in Scotland in October. The demonstration dubbed Unmanned Warrior and involving 50 vehicles is part of the Royal Navy's event showing the potential of unmanned and autonomous systems. JOBS LOST Marks & Spencer has confirmed it will be axing 525 jobs at its head office in a bid to cut costs. It comes less than two months after chief executive Steve Rowe branded the performance of its clothing and home arm 'unacceptable' after sales plummeted 8.9 per cent. HIGH FLYING Chinese property firm Greenland Group is pressing ahead with the construction of Spire London, Europe's tallest residential skyscraper. Expected to cost in excess of 800million, the Docklands tower will boast 67 storeys and be 771ft high, and marks a sign of confidence in the London property market following the UK's vote to quit the European Union. Parents in England are forking out a premium of 53,000 to live near a top performing state school, research by Lloyds Bank reveals today. This poses hard-working parents with a conundrum: would sending a child to private school represent better value than forking out for a house near a highly-sought after, and often oversubscribed, state school? This is Money examines which schools parents are forking out hefty premiums to live near and tackles the state school versus private school conundrum in monetary terms. Paying a premium: Parents in England are forking out a premium of 53,000 to live near a top performing state school, research by Lloyds Bank reveals today HOW MUCH ARE PARENTS FORKING OUT TO LIVE NEAR A TOP STATE SCHOOL? In the postcodes surrounding 30 state schools achieving the highest average GSCE results in England last year, property prices average around 366,744, which is 17 per cent higher than the national average, Lloyds Bank said. WHICH STATE SCHOOLS ATTRACT THE HIGHEST PROPERTY PREMIUMS? Across England, homes located near Beaconsfield High School attract the largest premium, often fetching nearly 1million. Homes near Beaconsfield High School change hands for 629,021 or 171 per cent above the surrounding county of Buckinghamshire's average house price of 367,191. Meanwhile, house prices in the postal district of The Henrietta Barnett School trade at a premium of 429,506 or 74 per cent more than the average in Barnet. In third place, Sir William Borlase's Grammar School attracts a property premium of around 220,082 compared to the rest of Buckinghamshire. Doing the maths: In the postcodes surrounding 30 state schools achieving the highest average GSCE results in England last year, property prices average around 366,744 Comparisons: Five year house price change in postal districts of the highest ranked secondary state schools in England WHAT ARE THE POTENTIAL BENEFITS OF FORKING OUT A PREMIUM TO LIVE NEAR A TOP STATE SCHOOL? Poll I would pay an additional 53,000 to live near a good state school Agree Disagree I would pay an additional 53,000 to live near a good state school Agree 163 votes Disagree 106 votes Now share your opinion Investing in a property near a top state school won't necessarily just be a good move for your children's future. It can also be a 'shrewd investment' Lloyds Bank said. According to the bank's research, parents who bought a home near one of the top 30 schools just before their child first entered secondary school in 2011 have seen an average house price rise of 76,000. This is a significantly faster rise than in England as a whole, where the average house price has grown by 42,145 over the same period. HOW MUCH ARE PRIVATE SCHOOL FEES ACROSS THE UK? Private school fees vary significantly across the country. But, over the past five years they have risen four times faster than average earnings. Data published by Lloyds Bank last month suggests the average cost of sending a child to a private school from primary school level in 2003 through to the end of secondary school in 2016 was 156,000. Expensive: Private school fees vary significantly across the country. But, over the past five years they have risen four times faster than average earnings In London, the figure is higher at around 179,000. In the north of the country, the average figure is lower at around 126,000. But, for the top boarding schools in the country, parents can expect to fork out significantly more. HOW MUCH DOES IT COST TO GO TO ETON? To send a child to Eton for five years, parents would have to fork out around185,310. Fees at Eton, which once housed Prince William and Prince Harry, currently cost around 12,354 a term. Over a year made up of three terms this amounts to 37,062 a year. A five year stretch at Eton, which is for 13-18 year old boys, would cost 185,310. Meanwhile, an 11-year old joining Cheltenham Ladies' College would cost their parents 240,240 over a seven year period. TOP STATE SCHOOL OR PRIVATE SCHOOL? This boils down to personal choice and of course depends on factors including where parents live, how much they earn and where a child would prefer to go. But, the benefits of opting to fork out for a house in a sought-after postcode near a top state school are evident. How much? An 11-year old joining Cheltenham Ladies' College would cost their parents approximately 240,240 over a seven year period In short, the top state school is likely to remain at the top of its game for some time and property prices in the surrounding area are likely to increase over time. So, paying an additional 53,000 for a home of around 366,000 near a top state school could prove a decent investment in time. Couples who opted to get a cheap DIY divorce without legal representation during the financial crisis slump are now being stung after failing to arrange a settlement. Increasing numbers of former spouses are claiming for a slice of their ex-partner's recent business success, lottery wins or inheritance windfalls, family lawyer Victoria Walker of Simpson Millar claims. She adds that many opted for a cheap break-up around the recession period. 'Former couples who havent signed an agreement regarding their finances during the divorce risk having to share any wealth and fortunes accrued since then', the family lawyer warns. Future trouble: Couples who opted to get a cheap DIY divorce without legal representation during the recession are being stung after failing to arrange a financial settlement Between 2008 and 2012, 590,944 couples in the UK divorced, with the courts indicating a sharp rise in the number of people representing themselves. This summer, Ms Walker's firm has dealt with a number of cases where a couple with modest assets divorced without making any financial agreements, or signing a consent order. Since then, one party has significantly increased their wealth only to then suddenly receive a financial claim from their former husband or wife for what is legally their share of it. UK DIVORCES IN NUMBERS 2008: 121,708 2009: 113,949 2010: 119,589 2011: 117,558 2012: 118,140 Source: Office for National Statistics 'Judging by the number of enquiries we are now getting from people who opted for a DIY divorce during the recession and didnt make any financial arrangements, it is safe to assume that there are thousands of divorcees in the UK who dont yet know that they could be in trouble', Ms Walker said. She adds: 'We have seen examples of former spouses coming back to claim half of the other persons recent lottery win, inheritance or business success. 'Legally, they are entitled to do that if the couple didnt make formal financial arrangements at the time of the divorce a rather unpleasant surprise for some.' Warning: Increasing numbers of former spouses are claiming for a slice of their ex-partner's recent business success, lottery wins or inheritance windfalls, one lawyer claims With property prices continuing to rise and a growing number of people reaching well beyond retirement age, Ms Walker anticipates a rise in cases involving financial claims from past marriages. 'A couple who completed a DIY divorce five years ago, for example, might have amicably agreed for one party to remain living in the jointly-owned family home. 'One or both of them have since re-married, and now they finally decide to sell the house and divide the earnings. 'What they dont realise is that things have just become tenfold more complicated and expensive to sort out than they were at the time of the divorce.' Anyone getting married for a second or even third time should make absolutely sure their financial ties to their ex-spouse were dealt with professionally. Future-proof: Anyone getting married for a second or even third time should make absolutely sure their financial ties to their ex-spouse were dealt with professionally DIVORCE - THE KEY QUESTIONS ANSWERED When can you get divorced? You can't apply for a divorce until you've been married for at least one year. There are no exceptions to this rule. If you and your partner both agree to the divorce, this is called an 'undefended divorce.' If one party does not agree to the divorce, it is known as a 'defended divorce.' On what grounds can you get a divorce? For a marriage to have irretrievably broken down, one of the following things must be proved, according to Citizens Advice: 1) adultery, 2) your partner has behaved unreasonably, 3) your partner deserted you at least two years ago, 4) you've lived apart for at least two years if you both agree to the divorce or 5) you've lived apart for at least five years if one of you doesnt agree to the divorce. Rules: You can't apply for a divorce until you've been married for at least one year. There are no exceptions to this rule How much does it cost to get a divorce? Legally, divorce is akin to the end of a contract, requiring paperwork to be filed at court. UK courts levy a fee of 550 for handling this paperwork. This fee is fixed and has to be paid whether you engage a lawyer to help you fill in the paperwork or do it yourself. On top of this 550 fee, there will be the cost of any advice you get from a lawyer, who will help completing the necessary paperwork. Paperwork: Legally, divorce is akin to the end of a contract, requiring paperwork to be filed at court Legal fees can vary widely, but fixed fee options are widely available, giving you certainty about how much you'll have to fork out. Otherwise, hourly fees can easily top 200. As an alternative to getting a solicitor to help you get divorced, it is possible to do it yourself online, sometimes for less than 50. If a divorce is amicable and the finances involved are straightforward and undisputed, an inexpensive DIY option can be a relatively straightforward option, but is not without its risks. Online services enable couples to download all necessary divorce documents. At an additional cost, Some providers offer a 'caseworker' who will fill in the forms and return them to court. Australia had a volunteer army protecting the country during WWII in 1942 An instructional guide handed out to volunteer soldiers stationed in Australia during World War II explains the best way to kill invading Japanese and German 'enemies.' The booklet also offers advice on a wide range of defence tactics, including sections dedicated to 'the technique of stalking', 'street fighting' and 'the art of sniping.' It was posted to Reddit by the grandson of the original owner's friend; a carpenter by the name of Norman Philip Francis who joined the army in 1915 at the age of 22. Private Norman Francis served the country for four years in various battles in France before a shot to the chest sent him back home to Ipswich in south-east Queensland. An instructional booklet (pictured) handed out to volunteer soldiers stationed in Australia during the peak of WWII explains the best way to kill invading German and Japanese 'enemies' The booklet touches on a number of defence tactics, including sections dedicated to 'the technique of stalking' (pictured) Australians signed up to the Volunteer Defence Corps are taught how to throw a grenade One page of the booklet speaks about the Japanese martial art Ju-Jitsu, which is 'unequalled as a science of self-defence and every Australian should have some knowledge of it' He re-enlisted for WWII in 1942 as a Lieutenant, and was placed in the Volunteer Defence Corps (VDC) - a military force trained for guerrilla warfare in the event that Australia was attacked during the Pacific War. Heightened tensions after the fall of Singapore led the Australian government to believe that Japan could attack the mainland. If it is suspected that the enemy has confederates nearby a sharp blow at the base of the skull should keep him quiet From section: 'Dealing with an enemy at close quarters' From 1940-1945 an estimated 100,000 Australians joined the part-time VDC - most of whom were everyday Australians and ex-servicemen aged between 18-60. The guide, titled 'Illustrated Notes for Volunteer Defence Corps', begins with a visual two-page spread dedicated to 'dealing with an enemy at close quarters.' 'Keeping a suspect covered, the soldier should then advance and search him,' the booklet explains. 'If it is suspected that the enemy has confederates near by a sharp blow at the base of the skull (as in Figure 3) should keep him quiet.' 'Shooting should not be resorted to until absolutely necessary. It will alarm the others, and in any case a prisoner is always worth questioning.' Volunteer Defence Corps stationed inland were freed from regular training in May 1944, and the force was officially disbanded after Japan surrendered in August 1945. According to the booklet, the crucial 'qualities' needed to be a successful sniper include: fitness, good hearing and eyesight, patience, courage and truthfulness The Volunteer Defence Corps was a military force trained for guerrilla warfare in the event that Australia was attacked during the Pacific War. Pictured are soldiers during physical training 'What you should know about hand grenades': The booklet describes hand grenades as 'the weapon for the civilian' Another section outlines the 'technique of stalking', including the danger of hiding in shrubbery without camouflage and the best way to avoid 'intelligent sentries.' 'The soldier who can learn to stalk successfully has increased his efficiency to a very great extent,' the booklet reads. 'A man's face will be much lighter in tone than its surroundings. It is often necessary to screen the face with leaves.' Every volunteer soldier, according to the booklet, should have 'some knowledge of the art of sniping.' 'As a rule the countryman makes the best sniper, but this does not mean that a town dweller, with the necessary qualities, cannot be equally successful.' The crucial 'qualities' needed to be a successful sniper include: fitness, good hearing and eyesight, patience, the ability to sketch, aim, judgement of distance, ability to use a compass and camouflage, courage and truthfulness. Hand grenades, described in the booklet as 'the weapon for the civilian' - were considered a 'major weapon' in both WWI and WWII. 'Grenades are particularly useful in street fighting, for clearing houses and in uncivilised theatres of war - against an enemy who takes cover in caves or behind rocks.' Volunteer soldiers learn how to use automatic and semi-automatic machine guns Heightened tensions after the fall of Singapore led the Australian government to believe that Japan could attack the mainland. Soldiers were stationed inland to protect the country in the event of an attack 'Dealing with an enemy at close quarters': This section of the booklet stresses the importance of properly searching and dealing with potential suspects A police officer remains critically injured and a suspect is dead after two officers saw a robbery being committed outside an Atlantic City casino garage and were then fired upon. Officers saw three men trying to rob another trio near a parking garage at Caesars casino about 2:30am on Saturday, acting Atlantic County Prosecutor Diane Ruberton. The alleged robbers then opened fire on the two officers. One was seriously wounded as he was shot getting out of his car. The second officer returned fire and hit one of the suspects, who was found dead a short distance away. A police officer remains critically injured and a suspect is dead after two officers saw a robbery being committed outside an Atlantic City casino (pictured) Martell Chisholm, 19, (left) and Demetrius Cross, 28, (right) are being held on two counts of attempted murder, three counts of robbery and weapons offenses Police arrested two men Saturday night in connection with the shooting. Martell Chisholm, 19, of Millville, and Demetrius Cross, 28, of Bridgeton, each were being held on two counts of attempted murder, three counts of robbery and weapons offenses, Ruberton said. The dead suspect was identified as Jerome Damon, 25, of Camden. An autopsy is scheduled for Sunday. Ruberton said local, county, state and federal law enforcement agencies 'worked tirelessly' Saturday to identify and locate the suspects. The three victims also cooperated with police. Jerome Damon, 25, is the third suspect in the alleged robbery and shooting, but he was shot dead by one of the officers on Saturday morning The unnamed officer who was shot during the incident was taken to a nearby hospital and underwent surgery. Pictured police are standing guard at the casino The wounded officer, whose name was not released, was taken to nearby AtlantiCare Regional Medical Center. He underwent surgery Saturday morning and remained in critical condition Sunday. Atlantic City Mayor Don Guardian called the shooting 'a sad commentary on society.' 'These are good examples of what happens when too many of these assault weapons are in the wrong hands,' he said. Atlantic City Mayor Don Guardian called the shooting 'a sad commentary on society.' Police are seen outside the casino on Saturday Authorities had released video late Saturday afternoon showing six men they said were 'persons of interest' in the case. They sought the public's help in identifying the men, who in the video are seen walking along a sidewalk in two separate groups of three people. The New Jersey State Policemen's Benevolent Association offered a $20,000 reward for information on the suspects. 'We ask for prayers for the officer, his family and the Atlantic City Police Department,' said Patrick Colligan, the association's president. Cars are pictured at the scene where one police officer was shot after they and a fellow cop attempted to bust up a robbery A police officer who had her whole face 'practically ripped off' in an explosion two years ago has described the moment she pleaded with nurses to tell her if she was going to die from her injuries. Varli Blake, a 35-year-old police constable in Melbourne, received serious burns to more than 30 percent of her body in January 2014 when she was called to check on a suicidal man's welfare with her colleagues Constable Emma Quick and Sergeant Tony Scully. As they walked into the man's south Melbourne apartment, a leaked gas bottle exploded in a 'fireball', injuring all three police officers and placing Ms Blake in the hospital, fighting for her life and using her feet to communicate, she told the Police Association Journal. Melbourne police constable Varli Blake (pictured), 35, who had her whole face 'practically ripped off' in an explosion two years ago, has recalled the moment she asked nurses if she was going to die Ms Blake (pictured before the accident) was responding to a welfare check at a south Melbourne apartment in January 2014 when the man's apartment exploded Ms Blake (pictured) spent the next seven weeks in the hospital and the next two years wearing a compression mask to protect the skin grafts on her face 'I was terrified. I couldn't move because I was bandaged all over. And I couldn't open my eyes because my whole face and neck, including my eyelids, had practically been ripped off so that was all bandaged up too. 'I kept asking and asking "am I going to die?" and I can remember my sister getting up really close to me at one stage and assuring me: 'No Sweetheart, you're going to be fine'.' Ms Blake spent the next seven weeks in the hospital and the next two years wearing a compression mask to protect the skin grafts on her face. She has undergone numerous surgeries and had to learn how to walk and talk again during countless rehabilitation appointments. Unable to speak, Ms Blake (pictured in hospital) used her feet to repeatedly ask nurses and her sister 'am I going to die?' She received serious burns to more than 30 percent of her body (pictured) Ms Blake (pictured following surgery) has undergone numerous surgeries and had to learn how to walk and talk again during countless rehabilitation appointments The harrowing memory of the flames followed her around the home as she tried to flee from the explosion, all while not realising she was on fire, will stay with her, she said. 'The door slammed shut and the first thing I did was run towards it to try to get out, but it wouldn't open. 'Initially, I thought someone was on the other side of the door holding it closed to keep the fireball inside, so I ran over to the window. But all I saw when I looked out the window was roof tiles everywhere and I kept thinking to myself: "I'm not dying here", and "I want to see my nephew grow up", and "mum can't handle it if I die, so I've got to get out".' After running through the lounge room and down two flights of stairs, Ms Blake said she was able to escape with her colleagues and began to cry out for help. 'I kept thinking to myself: 'I'm not dying here', and 'I want to see my nephew grow up,' she said of the explosion (pictured with her nephew) Ms Blake (pictured) said that fateful day has forever changed her life but she is determined to focus on how lucky she is to still be alive 'People then started coming over to us with buckets of water and they were throwing them over us as we lay on the ground,' she said. Ms Blake said that fateful day has forever changed her life but she is determined to focus on how lucky she is to still be alive. 'We can't change what happened to us that day and while some days are harder than others, I don't think there's any point letting it ruin my life,' she said. 'It could have been so much worse, so even though sometimes I have to be reminded about it, every day I count myself incredibly lucky to be still here at all.' She recently returned to work but has been placed on lighter duties. All charges were dismissed against the man Ms Blake was checking on - who survived the blast - after a magistrate found he did not intentionally set the fire, according to the The Herald Sun. Police are investigating online threats to kill Jewish and Muslim students at one of the largest schools in South Carolina. The threats said Byrnes High would be attacked on Tuesday and included pictures of a person in a gas mask and holding a Nazi Iron Cross and a knife with a swastika on the handle. Police patrolled the school during the weekend and there will be security sweeps and extra officers on hand when pupils return on Tuesday. The threats from 'Xaver Lotz' included pictures of a person holding a Nazi Iron Cross The Facebook was pictured carrying a knife with a swastika on the handle and said 'hate Jews' A student at the school, Johnathan Radford said he was talking to the person on Facebook called 'Xaver Lotz' when he started making the threats. He said 'you will see your school burn down to nothing...do yourself a favor, don't go to school on Tuesday'. He explained how he was going to 'round up the Jew scum and Muslims' and wrote 'death to the impure'. Radford alerted law enforcement and took screen shots of the conversation. 'He said he was going to blockade the school and set fire to it so kids couldn't get out', Radford added. The Facebook user said he would 'burn the school down to nothing' in the online threats The sheriff's office said the person behind the posts claimed to be in Laurens but the Facebook account was registered in South Dakota. No arrests have yet been made. They have not found the name 'Xaver Lotz' in any of their district records. Scott Turner, the district's superintendent, moved to reassure parents that the school was doing 'everything possible' to make the campuses secure. He said: 'We are working with law enforcement to ensure the individual who made these threats is found. As always in District Five, the safety of our students and staff is our first priority.' The Facebook user also uploaded this picture, wearing a gas mask, as part of the threats He said the district was grateful the student went to police about the threats. He added: 'Don't think that it's just a joke, that someone's rant on social media, that nothing can happen from it. That's the last thing we want. We want them to take it seriously. 'We want them to report it to us or law enforcement like this student did so that we can follow up on it, because this is a crime, and we want to make sure he is prosecuted.' Claims have emerged the Bali policeman allegedly murdered by Australian mother-of-two Sara Connor and her toyboy lover could have 'peeping' on the couple before his death. Senior police officer Wayan Sudarsa was known for 'trawling around bars and markets at night scamming drunk tourists and ripping them off', a source told New Idea. Before his death, the policeman, who is known as Pak Wayan, may have been spying on the couple as they were kissing on the Kuta beach where he was found dead. Scroll down for video Claims have emerged the Bali policeman allegedly murdered by Australian mother -of-two Sara Connor (right) and her toyboy lover could have 'peeping' on the couple before his death Denpasar's top cop Hadi Purnomo warned his subordinates to steer clear of engaging in 'Peeping Tom' behaviour. 'Better if you buy a blue [movie] and watch it yourself,' he said, according to New Idea. But a lot of tourists have come to Pak Wayan's defence and shared a difference side of the dead officer. They say he always looked out for the well-being of tourists, especially females, and made sure they did not put themselves in any unnecessary danger. Wayan Sudarsa (pictured) was found dead on Kuta Beach in Bali with 42 wounds to his body Connor, 45, and her 37-year-old boyfriend, David Taylor remain behind bars where she was recently visited by her ex-husband, Anthony 'Twig' Connor. Mr Connor brought with him a video from their 11-year-old and nine-year-old sons who pleaded with their mother to return home, telling her 'we love you.' He insisted his ex-wife was innocent and told News.com.au she was shaking during their emotional visit in jail and immediately asked about the couple's children. 'They sent a little video to me to give to Sara and every time I see it, it breaks my heart you know. They are just saying, "Mum, we love you, come home soon", Mr Connor said. 'It is tough for us. The boys don't know when Mum's coming home.' Mr Connor, who called his ex-wife a 'good soul', said he would love his former partner 'forever' and wants to help her. 'We are still connected even though we are not together, we are still connected. The children have got a big part of that. But we are still friends, we are still good friends and that's why I am here,' he said. The 11-year-old and nine-year-old sons of Australian Sara Connor (right), who is accused of murdering a policeman in Bali two weeks ago, have begged their mum to come home in an emotional video The 45-year-old's ex-husband, Anthony 'Twig' Connor (pictured), delivered the video to Ms Connor this week during a heartbreaking visit to Bali Mr Connor (pictured) becomes emotional as he speaks in Denpasar, two weeks after she was arrested over the alleged murder of a Bali police officer The video was shown to Connor after the couple were forced to spend several gruelling hours re-enacting 'scenes' from the night, which police say is necessary after vast differences emerged in each of their stories during the first re-enactment. One of the main differences in their story is that Connor's lawyer claims she played no part in the murder and she was trying to separate Mr Taylor and Mr Sudarsa who were fighting following an argument over her lost handbag. During the re-enactment Connor was seen straddling the officer and appeared to pretend to strike him with a walkie talkie before the policeman mimed biting her on the thigh as she knelt next to him. Connor denies striking the officer with a walkie talkie and her lawyer claims she was told to re-enact 'scenes' she says never happened. Police chief Purnomo said ' Sara was definitely involved in the assault. Sara hit the victim with a walkie talkie'. Taylor's lawyer Yan Erick P Sihombing said Ms Connor told his client that she had hit the police officer. Police say Ms Connor was 'definitely involved' in the death of a Bali police officer after she and Mr Taylor were forced to re-enact the alleged murder Mr Taylor, 34, pretended to hit the 'victim' with a broken bottle as he re-enacted the alleged death of officer Wayan Sudarsa 'In David's testimony David said that Sara told him after they got to the hotel that she was bitten and she was punching this guy (police),' Mr Sihombing said, according to the Daily Telegraph. Another difference is related to whether the couple saw anyone else on the night of the alleged murder. Mr Sihombing said Mr Taylor didn't see anybody on the street but Ms Connor said she saw somebody in the street. Ms Connor had originally told police Mr Sudarsa was a 'bad cop' who had pinned her down in the sand with his body weight on August 17. But she later changed her story to say she had been trying to separate Mr Sudarsa and Mr Taylor after a fight broke out between the pair. The re-enactment was the first time Mr Taylor and Ms Connor have seen each other since their arrest almost two weeks ago. During the re-enactment Ms Connor was seen straddling the officer and appeared to pretend to strike him with a walkie talkie. Ms Connor denies this ever happened and claims she was told to act scenes that didn't occur The couple embraced at Kuta Beach on Wednesday morning as police tried to determine who is telling the truth about what happened on the night of a police officer's death A man lays on the sand at Bali's Kuta Beach, pretending to be Wayan Sudarsa - whose bloodied body was found on August 17 They have not been formally charged under Indonesian law as police have 120 days to build their case. Police say the couple admitted to clashing with victim and claim Mr Taylor hit the officer over the head with a beer bottle. The altercation allegedly broke out after Mr Taylor confronted Mr Sudarsa over his girlfriend's missing handbag. Just before the re-enactment, Ms Connor took off the sarong covering her face so Mr Taylor could kiss her on the top of the head after they came out of two separate armoured vehicles dressed in orange prison jumpsuits. The pair went 'scene by scene' through the alleged events which came across like a play, scripted under the direction of officers yelling through a microphone. As if she was standing in the wings of a play, Ms Connor was then brought into the 'scene', to re-enact how she allegedly tried to separate the pair Ms Connor appears solemn at Kuta Beach as she and Mr Taylor re-enact the events that led to the death of Mr Sudarsa The events began with Mr Taylor approaching the cop imitating Mr Sudarsa to confront him over Ms Connor's lost purse. 'Scene ... David fell and became involved in a fight with the victim,' a police officer directed as Mr Taylor lay on his back with the man playing Mr Sudarsa staring over him. As though being brought in from behind the curtains at a play, Ms Connor entered the 'scene'. Mr Sudarsa's stand-in mimed biting her thigh - a recreation of the moment she says she tried to separate the pair and 'protect' the cop. The 'scenes' slowly built up to the moment Mr Taylor mimed hitting Mr Sudarsa in the back of his head with a broken beer bottle, while Ms Connor crouched in the sand nearby. This blow, Denpasar Police Chief Hadi Purnomo said, was the 'most deadly one'. Sixty-eight 'scenes' were played out throughout Wednesday with the pair taken to Ulawatu in nearby Jimbaran after Kuta Beach. Ms Connor and Mr Taylor embrace as a police officer holds up their name tags as they continue the recreation of 'scenes' Ms Connor says Mr Sudarsa bit her on the thigh and hand when she tried to separate the pair Just two years ago Sophie Thomlinson, four, who has cerebral palsy, could not walk Skipping down the street proudly in her uniform, little Sophie Thomlinson cant wait for her first day of school. But just two years ago, Sophie, who has cerebral palsy, could not walk and her family feared she would always be in a wheelchair. Her life was transformed in August last year by generous Daily Mail readers, who donated more than 60,000 so she could have spinal surgery in a US hospital to enable her to walk. Sophie, now four, was turned down for the procedure at the same Leeds NHS Trust where aspiring glamour model Josie Cunningham had breast enlargements at the taxpayers expense. But today Sophie is able to walk into her local primary school in Dukinfield, Greater Manchester. Her mother Allison, 43, said: I knew the time would come when my little girl went off to school, but I always thought I would be taking her in a wheelchair. We are so incredibly grateful for the donations which meant Sophie could have the surgery. We knew the only way was up from there but we never thought she would improve so quickly. Sophie can now walk unaided for around three minutes before her weak legs become tired, but she can move around for much longer when she has things to hold on to, as she will in a classroom. Mrs Thomlinson, a nurse, and her husband Craig, 46, hope Sophies strength will continue to improve at school and expect she will only need help with situations such as carrying her tray at lunch. Now that she can join in with the other children she is like a different child, Mrs Thomlinson added. Thanks to the generous donations of Daily Mail readers Sophie was flown out to the US where she received life-changing treatment She was quite quiet and shy before and if she wanted to play she had to have me with her to help her. But now she is able to join in on her own she dances in front of the telly, she does ballet. She is much more confident and shes growing up into a lovely little girl. Sophie will need weekly physiotherapy sessions for at least another three years as well as intensive three-day courses once every three months. Her family said she is no longer given sessions on the NHS because of budget restraints, so they have to fund her care privately. They are continuing to raise money for her therapy, which will cost 15,000 over three years, through the charity Tree of Hope. Barack Obama yesterday said the UK can expect no special favours on a trade deal with America after voting to leave the EU. The President stepped up his controversial cautions about Brexit and suggested Britains relationship with the United States risked unravelling in the wake of the referendum. Mr Obama caused anger at the height of the referendum campaign when he used a visit to London to warn voters that the UK would go to the back of the queue in negotiating a new trade deal if it opted for Brexit. He hinted again yesterday that any deal was likely to take time with potentially serious consequences for UK-US trade in the meantime. Scroll down for video The President stepped up his controversial cautions about Brexit and suggested Britains relationship with the United States risked unravelling in the wake of the referendum Mr Obama caused anger at the height of the referendum campaign when he used a visit to London to warn voters that the UK would go to the back of the queue Speaking after an hour-long meeting with Theresa May at the G20 summit in China, Mr Obama bridled at suggestions he had threatened to punish Britain for leaving the EU. He said he and Mrs May had confirmed the very special relationship between the two countries, but added that he still believed the Brexit vote was a mistake, which could cost Britain dearly. Speaking at a joint press conference with Mrs May, he said: It is absolutely true that I believed pre-Brexit vote and continue to believe post-Brexit vote that the world benefited enormously from the United Kingdoms participation in the EU. But I also said this was a decision for the British people. What I have committed to Theresa is that we will consult closely with her as she and her Government move forward with Brexit negotiations to ensure that we dont see adverse effects in trade and commercial relationships. An enormous amount of trade already takes place, there is a lot of investment between British companies in the United States and US companies in the UK. Former Conservative leader Iain Duncan Smith (right) said of Mr Obamas comments: Who cares what he says? Hes going. Bye bye. Mrs May is holding talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping at the international gathering Thats not going to stop. We are going to do everything to make sure the consequences of the decision dont end up unravelling what is a very strong and robust economic relationship. Mr Obamas original back of the queue remark in April angered Eurosceptics. Speaking at the time, Boris Johnson accused the President of bullying Britain. But Mr Obama yesterday insisted that he was simply setting out the realities of the difficulties Britain would face after leaving the EU. Mr Obama praised Mrs May as a steadying influence during a time of transition. He added: At a time when the world order is under strain, the UKs leadership on the world stage is essential. Mrs May, who has made building new trade arrangements her top priority at this weeks summit, said the talks had been positive. We are both strong supporters of free trade and today we have discussed how to take forward consultations to ensure that the UK and US have the strongest possible trading relationship, she said. The PM has also had an encounter with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Hangzhou This reinforces my belief that as we forge a new global role for the UK we can and will seize the opportunities that Brexit presents and make a success of it. Former Conservative leader Iain Duncan Smith said of Mr Obamas comments: Who cares what he says? Hes going. Bye bye. Jacob Rees-Mogg, another Eurosceptic Tory MP, added: Fortunately, he is yesterdays man and will no longer be President early next year. The US is the UKs single most important partner, and as far as I can see the EU-US trade deal is dead in the water. Hes putting a corpse ahead of the United States most loyal ally. These comments tell us all we need to know about how President Obama has never been a friend of ours. Government sources last night played down Mr Obamas intervention, saying it was not surprising he was prioritising big multilateral trade deals in his final months as President. A source said Mrs May had won agreement to start official-level talks on mapping out the framework of a future trade deal, although she acknowledged any agreement was a way off. Meanwhile, the Prime Minister rebuffed overtures from Vladimir Putin to reset the UKs frosty economic relations with Russia. She challenged the Russian President over Moscows intervention in Syria and warned him there could not be business as usual in the relationship between the UK and the Kremlin. During a tense 30-minute meeting, described as formal and frank by No 10, Mrs May pushed the Russian leader over the need to secure access for aid convoys and demanded an end to the bombing of civilians. A British official said: The Prime Minister was clear that we cant have a relationship that is business as usual, there are a number of complex and serious issues of concern. A Labour MP suspended after she posted offensive online comments about Jewish people is now being investigated by police, it can be revealed. The remarks by Bradford West MP Naz Shah who has been re-admitted to the party are the subject of a highly sensitive inquiry by West Yorkshire Police. The probe into her conduct, launched after police received several complaints, is in its final stages. Under police investigation: Labour MP Naz Shah is now subject to a sensitive inquiry by West Yorkshire Police after several complaints wer made following her offensive online comments Officers have already taken advice from prosecutors and are preparing to pass a full file to the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) within days. The move could lead to Mrs Shah being charged with inciting religious hatred, an offence punishable by up to seven years in prison. Last night West Yorkshire Police said an investigation is ongoing, the first time it has confirmed the MP is under suspicion. The social media posts with stirred the controversy: Naz Shah apologised for the comments The revelation is likely to trigger a furious row in the Labour Party, which re-admitted Mrs Shah ten weeks after suspending her for making allegedly anti-Semitic comments. Critics demanded to know if Labour was aware she was under police investigation when it welcomed her back to the fold. The investigation into Mrs Shah is being overseen by officers in West Yorkshires Protective Service team, which is responsible for many sensitive inquiries. Asked whether the MP had been interviewed under caution, a police spokesman said: Were not prepared to offer any further comment at this time. It is understood officers have already discussed the case with prosecutors in detail ahead of passing over a full file of evidence. Mrs Shah, 42, was suspended by Labour in April amid widespread condemnation after calling for the mass transportation of Israeli Jews to the US. The controversy was sparked by discovery of Facebook posts she made in 2014, before being elected to Parliament. The investigation could lead to Mrs Shah being charged with inciting religious hatred, an offence punishable by up to seven years in prison A second post compared Israels policies to those of Nazi Germany. And a third called on her friends to back a poll criticising Israel. Jewish groups described her posts as gross and brazen anti-Semitism. The public outcry led to Mrs Shah issuing an apology, saying it does not reflect my views. She was stripped of the Labour whip but was allowed back two-and-a-half months later. Concern over anti-Semitism within the Labour Party has been growing since Jeremy Corbyn became leader, backed by hundreds of thousands of newly-joined, hard-left activists. The issue was further inflamed when a report into anti-Semitism in the Labour party by Shami Chakrabarti was condemned as a whitewash in August. A spokesman for the Campaign Against Antisemitism said: If it is true that there is an ongoing police investigation into anti-Semitic hate crime allegedly committed by Naz Shah, and Labour was aware of it but decided to end her suspension before the police investigation had concluded, then this is yet further evidence of the Partys abject failure to grasp its antisemitism problem. Breast cancer patients are being let down because the NHS watchdog is rejecting new drugs, experts warn (file photo) Breast cancer patients are being let down because the NHS watchdog is rejecting new drugs, experts warn. Nice has not approved a single treatment for the illness in ten years, even though countries such as France and Australia have made them available. The charity Breast Cancer Now says the watchdogs method for evaluating new drugs is flawed and places too much emphasis on cost. This is leading to an intolerable situation for breast cancer patients in England and the country is lagging behind other rich nations, it warns. The charity said that out of ten new drugs that have come onto the market since 2007, not a single one was approved by NICE. These include Perjeta, turned down in May, and Kadcyla, rejected in December 2015, which were both given the green light by Canada, Australia, France and Germany. These drugs treat a type of breast cancer called HER2-positive, which accounts for around a fifth of all cases. Trials show Kadcyla extends life by an average of six months, but some patients lived for several years. Early research suggests Perjeta can double the likelihood of tumours being eradicated. Breast cancer survival rates in England are worse than countries such as Norway, Sweden and Canada. Baroness Delyth Morgan, chief executive at Breast Cancer Now, described the system as broken. The last ten appraisals of breast cancer drugs by NICE have seen ten rejections and this intolerable trend is leaving patients in England behind, she said. It is hard to see how any new and improved breast cancer treatments would reach patients in England, despite the research progress being made. 'Around 9,500 women in England are still losing their lives to breast cancer each year, and we must ensure that new innovations have the best chance of being made available at the best price for the NHS. It is believed around 9,500 women in England are still losing their lives to breast cancer each year (file photo) The charity says NICEs system is flawed because it centres on comparing the cost of a breakthrough new treatment with the price of existing breast cancer drugs. This means new treatments are almost always turned down because they can cost up to 30,000 for a course, whereas the far less effective existing drugs may only be a few pounds a day. The charity says the watchdog fails to recognise that new drugs have the potential to give women several extra years of life compared to current medicines, which may only add a few more months. It is also concerned that NICE has just taken control of the Cancer Drugs Fund, used to pay for treatments not available on the NHS. Previously, patients still had a chance to access drugs rejected by NICE via the fund. But experts now fear more treatments will be turned down. Sir Andrew Dillon, chief executive of NICE, said the system appraised cancer drugs far more generously than those for other conditions. Anyone caught posting sexually explicit photos of people on the internet could now face jail time under new revenge porn laws announced today. The tough new laws are the result of a crackdown by state and federal police after revenge porn was thrust back into the spotlight this year. The move comes after a website was found which featured hundreds of explicit images of schoolgirls from private and state schools across the country. New South Wales will be the third state to criminalise 'revenge porn' and bring laws in line with the digital age The pornographic website was a hub where people went to share and even trade photos of women, with many victims unaware their photos were exposed to the masses. New South Wales tough new laws to criminalise revenge porn, will align the state with Victoria and South Australia, where 'revenge porn' laws already exist, according to the The Daily Telegraph. In South Australia the offence is punishable by a fine up to $10,000 or two years in jail, and in Victoria, the maximum penalty for an offender is two years jail time. NSW Attorney-General Gabrielle Upton said laws should be in line with growing technology like photo sharing application Snapchat NSW Attorney-General Gabrielle Upton said the posting of images, often distributed by former partners without consent, was totally unacceptable. These images can have a devastating emotional and social effect on the person pictured and can be used as a way to deliberately humiliate, control or harass the intended victim, she said. No one has the right to share explicit photos without consent and new laws will protect people and make it clear this kind of behaviour is totally unacceptable. NSW Attorney-General Gabrielle Upton said 'no one has the right to share explicit photos without consent' With technology making it easier than ever before to widely share images, Ms Upton said laws should be updated to reflect the digital age. The use of mobile phones as recording devices has made it easier for people to share intimate images without consent on social media or websites, causing great distress for victims, and we need laws to protect them, she said. Victim of revenge porn, Jean, told The Daily Telegraph her nude photo was shared online and the experience was devastating and embarrassing. Snapchat is a photo sharing application, a free and easy way for people to take and send photos of themselves to other people I have been called a sl*t, I have been called a wh*re, she said. The 22-year-old, who did not want her surname published, said people who put these photos up should be held accountable. Another victim Laura Bullock, 21, had her nude photographs stolen and posted to a hardcore porn website where strangers commented and even threatened to rape her. Laura Bullock was a victim of 'revenge porn' after her ex-partner shared nude photos of her 'When I found out about the photograph being sent to my boyfriend I didn't know what to do. I didn't know how I was going to be able to get on with my life', she said. The 'revenge porn' crackdown was part of the government's response to a parliamentary justice committee inquiry into privacy. Ms Upton said the government would soon begin a consultation process, asking legal experts for advice on how sexually explicit photos could be defined, and where the line could be drawn. The NSW Attorney-General said the consultation process would also establish what exact penalties should apply, as reported on the ABC. Advertisement The forgotten story of how a group of courageous First World War soldiers inspired the famous Stalag Luft 'Great Escape' breakout by digging their way under a prisoner of war camp has been revealed. A treasure trove of letters and other belongings once owned by fighter pilot Lieutenant Thomas Frank Burrill has offered a compelling insight into a daring escape forgotten by the public. Lt Burrill was a detainee at Holzminden prisoner of war camp, in northern Germany in 1918, when a mass bid for freedom was made through a tunnel the troops had dug using just pieces of cutlery. Pictured: Lieutenant Thomas Frank Burrill and his comrades at the Holzminden prisoner of war camp in northern Germany, Some 29 of the PoWs crawled free before the tunnel collapsed. Nineteen of the men were later captured but 10 made it to neutral Holland before being welcomed back to Britain as heroes. Historians believe the bid for freedom at Holzminden was used as a direct template by troops at the infamous Stalag Luft III prison camp 25 years later, an event which went on to be immortalised in the 1963 film The Great Escape starring Steve McQueen. In particular there are similarities between the way the tunnels were constructed and the use of stooges to distract and hoodwink the German guards. The story has come to light again as never-seen-before items owned by Lt Burrill, a fighter pilot shot down from his Airco DH.4 biplane in April 1918, are set to be sold at auction. His involvement in the escape is not known, but a letter written to his sweetheart Lucy just two months before appears to give a tantalising hint about what is to come. Dated May 14, 1918 and referencing the successful escape of two other men, he says: 'I suppose you will have heard that Wood and Rogers have been in Holland a long time. Am looking forward to my turn.' Treasure trove: Belongings and letters owned by Lt Burrill offered a compelling insight into the breakout and his life in prison Courageous: Letters from Lt Burrill told historians about his time flying for the British air force and also his personal life A later note asks Lucy for newspaper cuttings about the escape effort, but he makes no mention of his role, which is likely due to the letters being vetted by the Germans. The documents, which have been passed between collectors in the intervening decades, also include a group photo taken inside the camp of Lt Burrill with fellow inmates. Matthew Tredwen, specialist in military collectibles at C&T Auctioneers of Ashford, Kent, which is selling the lot with a 500 estimate, said: 'This is a bit of an unknown story for many people. 'It has been forgotten because of the fame of the Second World War great escape which was of course made into a hugely successful film. Correspondence: Among Lt Burrill's belongings included this letter which bears the seal of the Holzminden camp Keepsakes: Lt Burrill kept newspaper clippings of the escape attempt alongside his flying log book which detailed his sorties and patrols in his Airco DH.4 biplane before it was shot down in 1918 'The Steve McQueen film has a lot of romance around it and will be remembered forever - it is a great story. 'But it happened at Holzminden first 25 years before. That was the scene of the first great escape - and this is a rare collection of well-preserved personal belongings of someone who was actually there. 'It is like a time capsule. The letters are fascinating and go into great detail about his time with the Royal Flying Corps and as a prisoner of war.' This includes letters in which he describes rubbing whale oil into his face to avoid frost bite while flying and boasts of outmaneuvering enemy Germans. And later correspondence from his digs at Holzminden bemoan the conditions and quality of food. It is not known what happened to Lt Burrill after he was released at the end of the war in November 1918. Homes for 20,000 Syrian refugees have been found in the UK, Home Secretary Amber Rudd has revealed. She said 118 local authorities would provide the places to resettle those fleeing the war-torn country in the next four years. The Home Office also announced that an extra 10million would be provided to help Syrian adults learn English when they arrive. Homes for 20,000 Syrian refugees have been found in the UK, Home Secretary Amber Rudd (pictured), has revealed David Cameron made the pledge last year after global horror greeted pictures of Syrian toddler Alan Kurdi drowned on a Turkish beach So far 2,800 Syrians have arrived in the UK under the Vulnerable Person Resettlement Scheme and are being housed by 100 local authorities. But millions have been displaced by the fighting and David Cameron, as prime minister, promised he would make Britain take 20,000 refugees from Syria by 2020. He made the pledge last year after global horror greeted pictures of Syrian toddler Alan Kurdi drowned on a Turkish beach. Miss Rudd said: Securing the 20,000 pledges within 12 months is testament to the immense goodwill and generosity of the British people and the effort and determination of local authorities across the UK. She added the Government was on track and delivering our commitment to help the most vulnerable Syrians displaced by the conflict. Miss Rudd said: The hard work will continue throughout this Parliament as we provide those who have been traumatised and damaged by war with a safe environment and the chance to rebuild their lives. Former Prime Minister David Cameron promised to resettle the refugees a year ago It came as European Council president Donald Tusk admitted Europe was close to the limit of how many refugees it could take. In contrast to Angela Merkels invitation to give sanctuary in Germany to all Syrians and others fleeing war, Mr Tusk suggested the EU could not host many more. We will urge the G20 to seize the opportunity of the forthcoming summits on refugees and migrants hosted by the UN and President Barack Obama to increase aid and resettlements by countries outside Europe, he said. It is even more important in view of the fact that the practical capabilities of Europe to host new waves of refugees, not to mention irregular economic migrants, are close to the limits. Syrian refugee children pictured behind a fence at the Nizip refugee camp in Gaziantep province, southeastern Turkey earlier this year The UK has faced criticism for refusing to give in to demands that it takes a quota of refugees. Syrians arriving in Britain will get an extra 12 hours a week of English lessons for up to six months because of the 10million of new funding announced by the Home Office. The Government will pay local authorities 8,500 per refugee in the first year towards housing, healthcare and other costs, but this figure tapers down to 1,000 by 2020. Local authorities have warned the payments are often not enough to meet their costs. Stephen Hale, of the charity Refugee Action, said it was madness that only Syrian refugees would be offered language lessons. He said: In our long experience of supporting refugees from many different countries, the critical issue is their ability to speak English. If you can learn English you can speak to your neighbour, you can speak to your GP, you can get into the job market. He added: There has been huge frustration from refugees from many countries that there is a shortage of English language classes. They all, whatever nationality they are, want to learn English. It is madness to help one group of refugees to integrate fully while at the same time neglecting others. We call on the Government to make sure that all refugees rebuilding their lives [in the UK] have the opportunity to learn the language of their new home. Refugees who have fled war-torn countries pictured around the Stalingrad Metro station in Paris A spokesman for the Local Government Association said councils were working to ensure Syrian families receive the help they need. Councils will be helping to support some of the most vulnerable families fleeing Syria who will need ongoing support from health and social care services to cope with injuries, disabilities and to recover from the severe trauma they have experienced, he added. Ministers have been accused of backsliding over a separate pledge to allow unaccompanied child refugees to come to Britain. Around 400 languishing in Calais are believed to have links to the UK, making them eligible to come to the country under family reunification rules. The Daily Mail and other campaigners have urged the Government to allow them entry. Theresa May today defended her veto of a crucial Vote Leave pledge for points-based control of immigration amid a growing row over her Brexit plans. The Prime Minister insisted Britons had voted to for greater control over the numbers of migrants coming to the UK and said an Australian-style system - promoted by Boris Johnson in the referendum - would not work. Nigel Farage led criticism of Mrs May today warning her against 'backsliding' on Brexit and predicting 'real anger' in the country. But speaking this afternoon at a press conference at the G20 summit in China, Mrs May said: 'What the British people voted for on June 23 was to bring some control in the movement of people from the EU coming to the UK. 'A points-based system does not give you that control.' In a press conference at the end of the G20 summit Prime Minister Theresa May defended her veto of a points-based immigration system that had been promised by Boris Johnson Mrs May said her case was based on previous attempts to set criteria for arriving migrants, highlighting a student visa system which saw people being eligible for a visa on paper but arriving unable to speak English and with no course to attend. The Prime Minister said: 'That's the problem with the points-based system - I want a system where the Government is able to decide who comes in to the country, I think that's what the British people want. 'A points-based system means people come in automatically if they just meet the criteria.' Mr Farage earlier slammed Mrs May for dismissing the points-based immigration system promised by Boris Johnson when he led the Brexit charge. Mrs May triggered the row as she travelled to today's summit, delivering a slap down to her Foreign Secretary over the plan. The PM - who has vowed 'Brexit means Brexit' - criticised the scheme before her spokesman confirmed it would not be implemented because it 'will not work'. Downing Street said a range of alternative proposals were under constant discussion across Government but Mrs May's spokesman refused to reveal specifics. Theresa May (pictured greeting Chinese President Xi Jinping during the G20 summit in China today) insisted Britons had voted to for greater control over the numbers of migrants coming to the UK and said an Australian-style system - promoted by Boris Johnson in the referendum - would not work Mrs May said a points-based system meant people could gain access to Britain automatically if they met criteria whereas Britons had voted for genuine control over the border Mrs May's G20 press conference was her first public grilling on her Brexit plans since she entered No 10 in July Mrs May believes the Australian example, which has left immigration higher there than in Britain, proves the system does not work. WHAT'S YOUR SCORE? HOW A POINTS-BASED MIGRANT SYSTEM WORKS Australia's points-based immigration system has long been pursued by some British politicians. The idea is to only let in migrants who fill specific needs and is determined by attaching a score to different skills such as a languages or qualifications. The current EU free movement rules mean any EU citizen can move to Britain to look for a job at any time. In theory, a points-based system would mean creating rules that - for example - allow in English-speaking nurses while blocking foreign-speaking builders. Boris Johnson and Vote Leave promised to implement the policy by 2020 but it has been resisted by successive governments in relation to non-EU migrants over concerns about making the policy work in practice. Advertisement The Premier met her Australian counterpart Malcolm Turnbull on the sidelines of the G20 summit today. But outgoing Ukip leader Mr Farage has branded the remarks a 'worry' and warned: 'There is already huge anxiety out there in the country regarding Theresa May's reluctance to trigger Article 50. 'Her rejection of the type of migration system so many went out there and voted Leave to see implemented indicates serious backsliding. 'Those of us on the Leave side were perfectly clear in campaigning for strong border controls outside of the EU. 'The people were clear in wanting a points-based immigration system which is why so many went out and voted to Leave the European Union. 'Any watering down from that will lead to real anger.' In her initial remarks, the Prime Minister also refused to say whether Brexit would mean a complete end to all contributions to the EU budget, saying she did not want to reveal her 'negotiating hand' ahead of talks with Brussels. After the G20 summit concluded today, Mrs May met Chinese President Xi Jinping for talks on the bilateral relationship between Britain and China Mrs May greeted Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull at a meeting on the sidelines of the summit in China today after ruling out a points-based immigration system Theresa May, left today with her Indian counterpart Narendra Modi at the summit in China, has ruled out implementing the Vote Leave promise on points-based immigration And she ducked questions about whether the NHS could expect a 100 million-a-week financial boost from Brexit or whether she would slash VAT on fuel. The idea of a points-based immigration system was a central plank in Vote Leave's campaign to take Britain out of the EU, and has been backed by five serving Cabinet ministers. At the height of the referendum campaign, Mr Johnson, International Development Secretary Priti Patel and former Justice Secretary Michael Gove launched a mini-manifesto pledging to introduce the Australian-style system after Brexit. Former Cabinet ministers Iain Duncan Smith and Theresa Villiers have called for the introduction of a similar system. But Mrs May yesterday indicated she had no intention of allowing them to keep their promise. Speaking to reporters on a flight to the G20 summit in China, she said she was determined to bring down migrant numbers in the wake of the Brexit vote. But Mrs May added: 'A lot of people talk about a points-based system always being the answer to immigration. Boris Johnson (left) was sat next to Brexit Cabinet minister David Davis (middle) during his two-hour statement on the Government's plans for Brexit negotiations Mrs May, pictured at today's G20 talks in China, has long been sceptical of the points-based immigration system as No 10 today warned the scheme 'would not work' 'There is no single silver bullet that is the answer in terms of dealing with immigration. 'You have to look across the board. You have to look at the whole range of issues not just how you bring control, but also making sure you're rooting out the problems in the system. 'And obviously dealing with people if they're discovered here illegally.' A Downing Street spokesman today added: 'One of the opportunities of Brexit is that we will be able to control the number of people coming to Britain from the EU 'The precise way in which the Government will control the movement of EU nationals to Britain after Brexit is yet to be determined. 'However, as the PM has said many times in the past, a points-based system will not work and is not an option.' The idea of a points-based immigration system was a central plank in Vote Leave's campaign to take Britain out of the EU, and has been backed by five serving Cabinet minister - including Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson, pictured left in the Commons today with Brexit secretary David Davis Theresa May appointed Boris as her Foreign Secretary when she formed her cabinet Immigration is set to be a key talking point today when Mrs May holds one-to-one talks with India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping, both of whom are concerned about restrictions on visas to study and work in the UK. Australia's tough immigration points system is credited with keeping numbers under control while ensuring the country's economy can access the skills it needs. Visas for skilled workers are points-tested according to the need for their skills in the Australian economy. Extra points are awarded for factors such as experience, qualifications and age. But critics argue there is no guarantee it would bring numbers down, pointing out that Australia has proportionately higher immigration than the UK. Mrs May has already ordered Home Secretary Amber Rudd to draw up plans to cut non-EU immigration by clamping down on the three main routes into Britain student visas, work and family reunions and work. Nigel Farage, the outgoing Ukip leader, today warned of 'real anger' in the country if Mrs May blocked the Vote Leave pledge of a points-based immigration system The Prime Minister has yet to say how she will cut immigration. But her comments yesterday suggest she has abandoned the idea of a points-based system, and will focus instead on some form of work visa system where even skilled migrants have to have a job before they can come to Britain. Veteran eurosceptic Sir Bill Cash told MailOnline the most important thing was to repeal all EU laws and treaties and pass a 'sovereign' Immigration Act. He said: 'Immigration was a major issue during the campaign. The British people, by Act of Parliament, were given the right to make the decision as to whether to remain or leave. 'It is completely binding and there is no question immigration was a factor. 'But as to what immigration policy would be, there is nothing specific whatsoever that comes out of the campaign and certainly not a points-based system. 'The bottom line is we will have our own Immigration Act.' Mr Farage was today highly critical of Mrs May's move to rule out implementing the high profile Vote Leave promise Shadow Home Secretary Andy Burnham said: ' The referendum was a major decision and what the country needed more than anything else was leadership from Ministers. 'But instead, we are getting confusion from the Tory Government on its immigration policy. A number of members of the Cabinet made this pledge and voters will be surprised to see the Prime Minister rip it up without any consultation. 'The Government must clear this up without delay.' Her decision is embarrassing for Mr Johnson and fellow Vote Leave campaigners. Launching the policy in June, Mr Johnson said: 'By the next General Election, we will create a genuine Australian-style points-based immigration system. 'The automatic right of all EU citizens to come to live and work in the UK will end, as will EU control over vital aspects of our social security system. 'If we implement these principles, for the first time in a generation it will be possible for politicians to keep their promises on migration.' Lord Green of Deddington, chairman of Migration Watch UK, backed Mrs May, saying: 'The way to cut immigration from the European Union is by issuing work permits. If you go for a points-based system it becomes a mindless way of doing it. Nobody can check whether points are being accurately described. 'We already have a work permit system for non-EU citizens. The way to tackle this is to wrap up EU migrants in the same way. The effect would be that low-skilled migrants would not qualify.' But Labour MP Chuka Umunna, chairman of Vote Leave Watch, accused the Government of reneging on promises made during the Brexit campaign. 'Boris Johnson and his Vote Leave colleagues spent the whole referendum campaign making impossible promises,' he said. 'Theresa May cannot be let off the hook either. He was found guilty of assaulting an He was seen i n the garden of his parents' Sugarcreek Township house where he will serve three-year probation Former Stanford swimmer Brock Turner, 21, was pictured at home in Ohio on Sunday after serving three months in jail for sex assault Stanford rapist Brock Turner was pictured Sunday in the backyard of his Ohio home, where protesters have gathered to voice their anger over his arrival in the neighborhood. Turner, 21, was released from jail Friday after just three months behind bars for sexually assaulting an unconscious 23-year-old woman at Stanford University. He will now serve three years of probation and will be on the sex offender registry for life. The former Stanford swimmer was found guilty of three felonies: assault with intent to commit rape of an intoxicated person, sexually penetrating an intoxicated person with a foreign object, and sexually penetrating an unconscious person with a foreign object. Scroll down for video Stanford rapist Brock Turner (pictured) was spotted Sunday in the backyard of his Sugarcreek Township, Ohio home, following his release from jail on Friday Turner (pictured on Sunday walking in his backyard) will serve three years of probation and will be on the sex offender registry for life His father Dan is pictured on Sunday at the home in Sugarcreek Township, Ohio, mowing the lawn Dan Turner (pictured mowing the lawn on Sunday) told the judge his son's life would will 'never be the one that he dreamed about and worked so hard to achieve' His father Dan Turner was also spotted Sunday mowing the lawn at their Sugarcreek Township home. A crowd of protesters, including some who were armed, were pictured outside the home on Friday holding signs that read 'Castrate Rapists' and 'No Sympathy For Rapists.' Turner's parents have reportedly asked police to help deal with protesters, who are not happy to have a sex offender living in their neighborhood, and be on alert for any possible violence as they fear for their son's safety. While law enforcement is not forthcoming with details about actual threats, a source told TMZ 'everybody is always concerned about death threats'. And it added that law enforcement is also tracking social media to monitor threats, according to TMZ. Protesters, including some armed, protest outside Turner's parents' home on Friday. Law enforcement in Ohio are reportedly on the alert for possible violence and threats Armed: Protesters carrying placards are pictured outside the home Brock Turner will live with his parents Angry: Men and women gathered outside the home in Ohio, where Turner will serve his three-year probation The convicted pervert emerged from San Joses Main Jail South on Friday at 6.09am and shortly afterwards met his father Dan and mother Carleen at a nearby hotel. His father has dismissed his crime as '20 minutes of action'. A sole protester shouted 'loser' as he walked the 10 yards from the main door to a waiting car. Turner, who celebrated his 21st birthday in jail at the start of last month, must check in with his new probation officer within 72 hours of his release - or face being forced back to Santa Clara County to complete probation there. Family affair: Turner was met after he left prison on Friday by his mother Carleen and father Dan. He will live with them outside Dayton, Ohio, and be supervised by probation officers Wait till I get you home: Dan Turner had spoken up for his rapist son in a letter which fueled outrage about the sentence The Turner case sparked outrage after the 21-year-old's 'lenient' sentence was made public. Currently, California law metes out harsher punishment in cases where the victim was conscious - although campaigners are now advocating a change in the law. Among them is Santa Clara sheriff Laurie Smith who on Friday morning told media that probation is 'not a fair sentence for anyone convicted of a sexual assault felony'. She added: 'As the Sheriff of Santa Clara County and a mother, I believe the interests of justice are best served by ensuring sexual predators are sent to prison as punishment for their crimes.' Turner will also have to visit the Greene County Sheriffs Office in Xenia within five days of his return to Ohio to be photographed, finger-printed and to sign the state's sex offender's register. Once signed, the 21-year-old will remain on the list for life and will never be allowed to live near schools or work with children. Other restrictions include asking permission to travel out of state, keeping authorities informed of his address and submitting to regular visits from law enforcement. Neighbors will also be given flyers featuring Turner's picture advising them that a convicted sex offender is living on their street. During his probation period, Turner will have to undergo drug and alcohol counseling, be subjected to random chemical testing and be banned from possessing firearms. 'We don't forgive, we don't forget, expect us': Protesters wrote on the road at the Ohio home in chalk Protest: Men and women carry placards outside the home where Turner will live with his parents Sending a message: A chalk message on the road reads 'Rapist' and an arrow points towards the home Turner, a former champion swimmer, was convicted in June of sexually assaulting a 23-year-old woman during a party at the Kappa Alpha frat house on Stanford's Palo Alto campus. The victim, who has not been named, was unconscious at the time - although Turner claimed in court that she had appeared 'satisfied' with their interaction. Two passing Swedish students spotted Turner on top of the victim, who had and still has a serious boyfriend, chased him and wrestled him to the ground - holding him there until the cops arrived. Photographs obtained by NBC's Today show and broadcast on Friday morning show he had abrasions on his hands and his face when he was arrested. Aftermath: This was Brock Turner photographed after his arrest in an image obtained by NBC's Today show Abrasions: Pictures obtained by NBC's Today show revealed how Turner had abrasions on the front and back of his right hand and dirt on his face A supporting letter from Turner's father, in which the rape was dismissed as '20 minutes of action,' later sparked outrage after being read out in court - as did others portraying the pervert as a victim of campus drinking culture. In reality, Turner was no stranger to drugs and alcohol and only confessed to heavy boozing and dabbling with LSD after probation officers told him that text messages exposing his lies had been made public. Guarded: Jail staff were in attendance as well as sheriff's deputies as Brock Turner emerged from his sentence, which was widely condemned as lenient Eyes down: Shamed rapist Brock Turner walked out dressed smartly in penny loafers, dress shirt and carrying a blazer under his arm. Short walk to freedom: A white SUV was waiting for Turner to take him away from the jail As a result, additional conditions pertaining to drugs and alcohol have been added to the terms of his probation - with the convicted rapist facing another trip to court and a possible jail term if found to be drinking or taking illegal substances. Turner, who began his jail sentence on June 2, has spent most of his time inside at the 674-bed Main Jail South in San Jose, California. His first month behind bars was spent four miles away at the Elmwood Correctional Facility in Milpitas, which accommodates detainees in barracks and a sprawling tent city. However, due to the nature of his crimes, Turner was kept away from the general population and was eventually transferred to the more modern Main Jail. Call: Sheriff Laurie Smith renewed her calls for tougher rape sentences wit this letter to California's governor HOW DAN TURNER EXCUSED HIS 'SHATTERED' SON'S CRIME IN LETTER TO JUDGE A letter from Dan Turner to the judge sentencing his rapist son was part of a campaign his family launched to keep the swimmer out of jail. Turner wrote: ' These verdicts have broken and shattered him and our family in so many ways. His life will never be the one that he dreamed about and worked so hard to achieve. That is a steep price to pay for 20 minutes of action out of his 20 plus years of life. The fact that he now has to register as a sexual offender for the rest of his life forever alters where he can live, visit, work, and how he will be able to interact with people and organizations. What I know as his father is that incarceration is not the appropriate punishment for Brock. He has no prior criminal history and has never been violent to anyone including his actions on the night of Jan 17th 2015. Brock can do so many positive things as a contributor to society and is totally committed to educating other college age students about the dangers of alcohol consumption and sexual promiscuity. By having people like Brock educate others on college campuses is how society can begin to break the cycle of binge drinking and its unfortunate results. Probation is the best answer for Brock in this situation and allows him to give back to society in a net positive way.' Advertisement Sources at Elmwood told DailyMail.com that the transfer took place after he was put into protective custody, a status usually reserved for pedophiles and those at risk of harm from other inmates. 'They had to move him because hes a PC [protective custody], said a guard, who asked not to be named, to this website. 'The guy messed up but hes privileged, so In the end, he wasnt [at Elmwood] for very long - they moved him [to Main Jail] two months ago.' Main Jail South, which opened in 1956, features tiered cells spread over several floors with each inmate held in an open-style room fronted with bars. As at Elmwood, criminals are given three meals a day - cooked by other inmates - and can attend classes if they wish to. However, Santa Clara County officials were at pains to point out that Turner received no special treatment - apart from having his letters held for him instead of delivered. Lt. Joe Jensen, a spokesman for the Santa Clara County Sheriff, told an ABC News affiliate that the disgraced swimmer had been deluged with hate mail during his first month behind bars. 'He got several hate mail early in his sentence,' said Jensen. 'He told us he didn't want to receive any more mail. So we kept his mail.' She also told Crime Watch Daily that during his time in jail, Turner shared his cell with another inmate - who was also part of the protected custody program. The cell, a plain gray-painted room, included a set of iron bunk beds and had bars instead of doors to enable guards to keep an eye on him. According to Smith, Turner endured 'a tough regime' in Main Jail South but added she 'did not hear of him having any problems while he was here'. However, Jensen, who told DailyMail.com that Turner had not been given the option of leaving jail via a back entrance to avoid protesters angry at his 'lenient' sentence, said the ex-student would be given the letters regardless once he returns to Ohio. Turner is now planning to appeal his sentence in the hope of having his name removed from the sex offenders register. The Church of England accused gay clerics of being 'irresponsible' yesterday for alleging at least 11 bishops in the country are gay. Officials warned that the claim could lead to a witch-hunt and damaging attempts to 'out' clerics who were not involved in the argument. It followed a weekend of rising tensions between groups fighting for and against gay rights in the Church. The Church of England accused gay clerics of being 'irresponsible' yesterday for alleging at least 11 bishops in the country are gay. On Friday the suffragan or junior Bishop of Grantham (pictured) revealed he was gay More than 100 bishops will meet this month to discuss the CofE's attitude to homosexuality in the wake of secret sessions of its parliament, the General Synod, in July. The so-called 'safe-space' sessions were organised to build confidence between clergy and lay members on both sides of the argument. But campaigning by gay clerics and their supporters this weekend appears to have been designed to put pressure on the College of Bishops, which meets next weekend. On Friday the suffragan or junior Bishop of Grantham revealed he was gay. The Right Reverend Nicholas Chamberlain said he was in a long-term same-sex relationship which, in line with CofE rules, was celibate. He announced his sexuality in an interview with the Guardian newspaper in which he said: 'It was not my decision to make a big thing about coming out. People know I'm gay.' Yesterday, a group of 14 married gay and lesbian clergy called for a relaxation of CofE rules on gay relationships. More than 100 bishops will meet this month to discuss the CofE's attitude to homosexuality in the wake of secret sessions of its parliament, the General Synod (pictured), in July One, the Reverend Colin Coward, founder of the gay pressure group Changing Attitude, told the Sunday Times: 'There are at least ten other bishops in the Church who are gay, many of whom are in some kind of relationship. 'I would encourage gay bishops to be open, but I would not 'out' them against their will.' However, the claim that there are a number of gay bishops provoked an angry response from the Church. A statement said: 'Such comments should rightly be dismissed as idle speculation. The ancient law of misconduct in public office, used to prosecute journalists under Scotland Yards discredited Operation Elveden, is unclear and ambiguous and needs urgent reform, Government law advisers said yesterday. Even judges and lawyers do not understand what counts as a crime under the law, the Law Commission said. The operation led to 90 arrests of those suspected of paying public officials for information and 34 arrests of journalists and editors. A law used by Scotland Yard in its discredited Operation Elveden, is unclear and ambiguous and needs urgent reform, Government law advisers said While 32 public officials, including police and prison officers, were convicted, only two prosecutions of journalists were successful, with one appealing this autumn. The Commission, which advises ministers on which laws are not working, said the misconduct in public office law, which dates from the 13th century, had fallen into disuse after 1800. It is probably unsurprising, therefore, that many people, including judges and lawyers, were unsure of the definition of the offence, its report said. The Commissioner for criminal law, Professor David Ormerod QC, said the law is unclear in a number of fundamental respects. There is urgent need for reform to bring clarity and certainty and ensure that public officials are appropriately held to account for misconduct committed in connection with their official duties. A Sydney resident has tracked his parcel delivery up and down the east coast of Australia in a bizarre journey, only for it to arrive 9.8km from where it started. The image posted showed Australia Post received the delivery order in western Sydney on 25th August at 9.55am and was to send the parcel to Chullora, only 9.8km away. However, six days after the parcel had not been delivered, the curious man checked the delivery tracking to find the parcel had made an unnecessary 1800km round trip. The Australia Post parcel travelled from Granville, NSW to Underwood, Queensland and back The delivery destination was in Chullora, just 9.8km from where the parcel started its journey The delivery live tracking was posted online showing the destinations the parcel visited The parcel started in western Sydney and travelled 1800km to be processed all the way in Underwood, south of Brisbane. It was then sent back down south ending up in Granville, a frustrating 18 minute drive away from the intended destination. To add to the frustration, the estimated delivery was on the 7th September a total of 13 days from when the shipping information was received. The 1800km detour is not the first of its kind, last year 20-year-old Chris ordered a parcel to be delivered from Nathan to Sunnybank in Brisbane, which is only 5.4km away. The parcel was received three days later after undertaking a 1800km trip to Chullora in NSW, Chris told The Courier-Mail. Britain's Royal Family could be set to lose its role as head of state in New Zealand, a new poll has revealed. The study - published in New Zealand yesterday shows that just 34 per cent of those asked want to carry on with a British head of state. A substantial majority - 59 per cent - say they would rather sever the country's centuries old ties with Britain and have a New Zealander as the nation's figurehead. Britain's Royal Family could be set to lose its role as head of state in New Zealand, a new poll has revealed The study - published in New Zealand yesterday shows that just 34 per cent of those asked want to carry on with a British head of state NZ Republic chairman Savage said the UK's Brexit vote and Prince Charles's and Camilla's official visit to New Zealand (pictured) last year had also turned off New Zealanders The poll - conducted for campaigners NZ Republic - asked 1,006 people aged over 18 who they want as a head of state. Just a third - 34 per cent - said the British royal family should continue. But 44 per cent wanted a directly elected New Zealand head of state and 15 per cent wanted a leader elected by MPs. Only seven per cent were recorded as don't knows. Barely two years ago, just 44 per cent of New Zealanders asked the same question wanted a change from the Queen. Only weeks ago the head of the country's Maori population King Tuheitia (pictured) called for native New Zealanders to have a role in the country's sovereignty The Queen receives the New Zealand Prime Minister Helen Clark and her husband Professor Peter Davis in 2003 The dramatic swing, says NZ Republic chairman Savage has been caused by a recent referendum over whether the national flag should still contain the Union Jack. Nearly half - 43.27 per cent - wanted to ditch the Union Jack for a new flag with a silver and black fern. He said the UK's Brexit vote and Prince Charles's and Camilla's official visit to New Zealand last year had also turned off New Zealanders. Only weeks ago the head of the country's Maori population King Tuheitia called for native New Zealanders to have a role in the country's sovereignty. A Melbourne teen who plotted to behead a police officer in an Anzac Day terror attack has been sentenced to 10 years jail. Sevdet Ramadan Besim, 19, pleaded guilty to a single terror-related charge over the 2015 plan to run down an officer and behead him in a rampage that would ultimately end in the teen's own death. The teen, from Hallam in Melbourne's south-east, was handed a 10-year jail sentence in the Victorian Supreme Court on Monday and must serve at least seven and a half before he is eligible for parole. Scroll down for video Sevdet Ramadan Besim, 19, pleaded guilty to a single terror-related charge over the 2015 plan to run down an officer and behead him in a rampage Justice Michael Croucher said Besim's planned 'putrid act' was aimed at advancing violent jihad, intimidating the government and striking fear into hearts of the wider community. The murder plot would also terrify every law enforcement officer in the country and their loved ones, he said. 'To the vast majority of the community, it's unfathomable an 18-year-old boy planned to kill a law enforcement officer, to crash into him with a car and then behead him with a knife,' Justice Croucher said. Besim chose Anzac Day to 'make sure the dogs remember this as well as there fallen heros [sic]'. He said he was 'ready to fight these dogs on there (sic) doorstep'. 'I'd love to take out some cops,' Besim said in online chats with a UK teenager, where he discussed his deadly ideas. Besim blew kisses to a large group of supporters as he was led from the dock The teenager was handed a 10-year jail sentence in the Victorian Supreme Court on Monday and must serve at least seven and a half before he is eligible for parole 'I was gonna meet with them then take some heads ahaha.' The court heard Besim was radicalised by older, influential extremists he met at the now defunct Al-Furqan Islamic Centre, including senior Islamic State recruiter Neil Prakash. He was also greatly affected by the 2014 death of his friend Numan Haider and became alienated from mainstream society. Haider, 18, was shot dead outside Endeavour Hills police station after stabbing two counter-terrorism officers. Besim was with him in the hours before the attack. Corrections Victoria found a hand-drawn Islamic State flag in his jail cell last September as well as a collection of newspaper clippings about violent jihadis fighting overseas. One of the articles referred to Australian terrorist Khaled Sharrouf, who gained infamy after he posted a photo of his young son holding up a severed head online. Justice Croucher said he was not persuaded Besim had rejected his radical beliefs and protection of the community was an important consideration. The court heard Besim was radicalised by older, influential extremists he met at the now defunct Al-Furqan Islamic Centre, including senior Islamic State recruiter Neil Prakash Thousands of people gather to Anzac Day ceremonies every year. Pictured is one in Melbourne 'I'm not persuaded to accept ... he has in fact renounced violent jihadism,' the judge said. But Justice Croucher also said Besim's guilty plea, previous good character, apparent contrition and youth suggested his prospects of rehabilitation were good. Besim pleaded guilty to one count of conspiring to do an act in preparation for or planning a terror act. The charge carries a sentence of life imprisonment. An internet prankster has imitated a car park attendant to steal a man's prepaid ticket and drive off, leaving the driver's car stranded at the boom gate. Jamie Zhu, 22, wore a high-visibility vest at the exit of a shopping centre carpark in Sydney and motioned a young driver to hand over his ticket so it could be inspected. Video shows Mr Zhu then jump into his own car, which has the number plate 'MRPENUS', and use the victim's prepaid ticket to drive out of the car park. Jamie Zhu , 22, wore a high-visibility vest at the exit of a shopping centre carpark in Sydney and motioned a young driver to hand over his ticket so it could be inspected The victim watched him drive off, before jumping out of his car and running after Mr Zhu. He then returned to his car and angrily pulled off his jacket. 'When you can't afford to pay for parking,' Mr Zhu wrote on social media alongside the prank video on Sunday. He confirmed the man was a stranger and not an actor, but said he made it up to him. Video shows Mr Zhu then jump into his own car and use the victim's prepaid ticket to drive out of the car park The victim watched him drive off, jumped out of his car and ran after Mr Zhu 'To everyone saying that what I did was mean and cruel I ran straight back afterwards and gave him his ticket and bought him lunch, he thought it was all hilarious so relax your ball sacks hehe,' Mr Zhu wrote. One viewer wrote in the comment section it was 'amazing you can wear a fluoro vest anywhere and just about get away with anything'. 'No one ever questions the fluoro vest.. yet you can buy them from Kmart or any shop really.' Mr Zhu was also behind the viral video of the moment he was 'caught' watching pornography during a lecture at the University of NSW when his headphones became unplugged from his laptop and blared erotic sex noises. He confirmed the video was setup, but that the reactions were real. Mr Zhu confirmed the man was a stranger and not an actor, but said he made it up to him A notorious paedophile who was sentenced to seven years in prison after raping a four-year-old boy is seeking his release from jail. Darren Rodney Taylor, from Ipswich, lodged his third bid for parole on August 16 to Brisbane's Supreme Court, The Courier Mail reported. The 50-year-old was sentenced to a total of seven years in prison on November 12, 2012 for three counts of raping of a child, possessing child porn and other offences. A notorious paedophile who was sentenced to seven years in prison after raping a four-year-old boy is seeking his release from jail During his sentencing, the judge said Taylor suffered from paedophilia and made it a condition the convicted sex offender had to complete a rehabilitation program in order to be eligible for parole. He has been eligible for parole since May 11, 2015. But Taylor has continued to deny he had committed the offences. A completion report submitted to the Southern Queensland Parole Board in February after he participated in a program states Taylor maintained a 'stance of categorical denial'. Darren Rodney Taylor, from Ipswich, lodged his third bid for parole on August 16 to Brisbane's Supreme Court. Pictured is a stock image He was ultimately denied parole as the board considered 'the risk level that the applicant presented to the community was unacceptably high'. 'Factors [for refusing Taylor's parole] included that the applicant had not made full admissions regarding his guilt,' the board had said. Taylor's case will be heard on September 7. Acting Prime Minister Barnaby Joyce has had a number of skin cancers removed after a cancer scare earlier this year. The Minister for Agriculture held a press conference on Monday morning, and began by addressing the angry red marks visible on his face. 'I'm a walking advertisement for why you should wear a hat out in the sun as a young bloke working on the land,' Mr Joyce said. Scroll down for video Acting Prime Minister Barnaby Joyce reveals he had skin cancers burn off his face The red marks on his face were revealed during a press conference on Monday 'I'm having some cancers burned off with a cream so I'm going to look like this for a few weeks. 'It doesn't really add to my complexion but some are saying it doesn't take away from it either,' Mr Joyce joked. The removal of marks comes just months after he underwent surgery to have a number of spots removed from his neck and face. Mr Joyce had a melanoma scare earlier this year and underwent surgery on his right arm The Minister for Agriculture has urged Australians to wear hats and be sun safe In January, the Minister for Agriculture had a a stage one melanoma removed from his right arm. On Monday Mr Joyce urged Australians to be sun safe during the summer months to avoid 'looking the same' as him. A school bus driver who launched into an angry rant at a Spanish-speaking student before pouring water over his head has been fired. Mary Black, a driver with Northside Bus Company in Idaho, was dismissed after video of the incident was filmed by another student and then posted online by his relative. Brayan Alvarez, who took the footage, told KTVB that the argument began when Black falsely accused his friend Miguel Martinez of throwing a water bottle. Scroll down for video Mary Black, a school bus driver from Idaho, has been fired from her job after she was caught pouring water over the head of a student and berating him for speaking Spanish He said: 'She tried to take his phone away and when she didn't get to do that, she just grabbed the water bottle and started getting him wet.' At some point during the altercation Martinez said something in Spanish, which Black then took issue with. In the film, she can be heard saying: 'I don't understand Spanish. I'm not going to learn it. I live in America and it's an English-speaking country. 'So if you want to speak to me, speak to me in English.' Juan Espino, a family friend of Alvarez who uploaded the footage online, said this is not the first time Black has gone off at students about speaking Spanish. Espino said his own son had come home from school one day and told him that Black had banned students from speaking Spanish on the bus. But when he complained to the bus company, he was told there was no evidence. Brayan Alvarez, who took the footage, said Black blew up at friend Miguel Martinez after she falsely accused him of throwing a water bottle Alvarez (left) took the footage to family friend Juan Espino (right) who posted it online, saying there have been similar problems with Black before His son later told him that Black turned the bus CCTV cameras off whenever there was an incident like that. So when Alvarez came home with footage showing Black blowing up at Martinez, he said he knew he had to take action. A woman has been charged with theft after going on a bizarre 'off grid' vacation with her 'paranoid' family whose unfounded fears for their lives sparked an interstate man hunt. Ella Tromp, 22, was charged with theft of a motor vehicle and possessing the proceeds of a crime after she and her sister Riana, 29, became concerned about their parents mental state and abandoned their family trip last Tuesday. The pair were allegedly travelling from the Jenolan Caves, in the NSW central tablelands, in a car neither of them owned a day after severe paranoia drove the family of five to pack their bags and flee their Victorian home. Ella allegedly drove the stolen utility truck back to their redcurrant farm in Victoria after separating from her older sister in Goulburn, according to police. Scroll down for video Ella Tromp (left), 22, has been charged with stealing a car after her 'paranoid' father Mark (right) encouraged her family to flee their Victorian home It took five days to locate all members of the Tromp family, who aside from Mitchell were affected by a mental illness that caused them to fear for their lives (Pictured from left to right: Riana, Mark, Jacoba, Mitchell and Ella) Riana, who was found in a catatonic state hiding in the back of a utility truck, also faced charges however they were dismissed under section 33 of the Mental Health Act of NSW. It took five days to locate all members of the Tromp family, who apart from son Mitchell were affected by a mental illness that caused them to fear for their lives. Mitchell, 25, abandoned the trip on Tuesday in Bathurst one day after his father Mark hurled his mobile phone from the family's station wagon. Mark was found near Wangaratta Airport on Saturday and is expected to undergo a mental health assessment, while his wife Jacoba was found in a dazed state and taken to a hospital in Yass to be treated for 'stress related' illnesses. Riana Tromp (left) and her mother Jacoba (right) are being treated in a mental health facility in Goulburn Mark Tromp (right) was picked up by police on Saturday night and flipped the bird at media when he was released from custody Mark Tromp's father George said: 'There's no sinister, no cult, no one else involved, that's why this is such a puzzle. 'I can understand why everyone is so intrigued. One day we'll know.' Mitchell Tromp was the first to leave the family during the strange trip Mark, who is currently staying with his brother Ken, flipped the bird to waiting media when he was released from police custody. Before Mark was found his family told the media they believed their father was still in Victoria after a series of break-ins in Milawa, a small town south-east of Wangaratta, Sydney Morning Herald reported. The Tromps left their home in Silvan, Melbourne on Monday without their mobile phones, credit cards or passports. Mark was reportedly paranoid that someone was going to kill them, but police have said the family were never in danger. Mitchell Tromp and his sister Ella have returned to their home at Silvan, where they addressed media on Sunday morning THE TROMP FAMILY'S OFF-GRID VACATION Monday, August 29 The Tromp family abandon their redcurrant farm in Victoria and flee the town in their family station wagon without any bank cards or mobile phones. Son Mitchell, 25, is found to have a mobile phone and it is thrown from the vehicle east of Melbourne. Tuesday, August 30 Mitchell becomes concerned with his parent's 'delusional' behaviour and leaves the family trip at Bathurst before boarding public transport home. Mark, 51, his wife Jacoba, 53, and their two daughters Ella, 22, and Riana, 29, continue travelling to the Jenolan Caves. Ella and Riana allegedly steal a utility truck and leave their parents in Goulburn. The sisters become separated in the regional town and Riana is found in a catatonic state hiding in the back of a local man's utility truck. The 29-year-old was taken to hospital and treated for a stress-related illness. Ella started travelling back to the family home in the stolen vehicle. Police visit the family farm after the couple are reported missing. Wednesday, August 31 Ella and Mitchell arrive home separately and are met by police. Officers spot the family station wagon in Victoria's north-east and a man, believed to be Mark, flees the vehicle and runs into a nearby park but is not found. Thursday, September 1 Jacoba is found 'dazed and confused' in Yass after separating from her husband. She was taken to a local hospital to be treated for a stress-related illness. Mitchell reveals his parents were paranoid and afraid when he abandoned the trip. Friday, September 2 Jacoba was transferred to Goulburn hospital where Riana is undergoing treatment. Saturday, September 3 Mark was found wandering the streets near the Wangaratta airport in 'good health' and was taken into police custody. Advertisement The couple's three children went with them until realising their parents were 'delusional'. Mitchell was the first of the couple's children to leave. He got out of the car in Kelso, near Bathurst on Monday where he took public transport back to Melbourne. The children reported their parents missing in Goulburn. Riana was found there the next day in the back of a stranger's ute and appeared 'catatonic' when she was found. Riana and her mother are both in a mental health facility in Goulburn. Speaking to media on Friday, Mitchell said he couldn't explain the family's paranoia. 'I've never seen anything like it. It's really hard to explain or put a word on it but they were just fearing for their lives and then they decided to flee,' Mitchell said. Mitchell and Ella Tromp addressed media on Sunday after their whole family had been accounted for Mark Tromp (pictured) fled fearing people were out to hurt him and his family Mitchell and Ella said they couldn't comment on what caused their panicked road trip as police were investigating But t he reason could be a shared delusional schizophrenia, The Goulburn Post reported. The newspaper claimed a police circular shown to them suggested the family had been diagnosed with the mental illness. And the Herald Sun earlier speculated it could have been a condition known as folie a deux. The condition almost always occurs in tight-knit families between partners and siblings who could be otherwise socially isolated. People affected by the condition fall into a cycle of reinforcing each other's paranoid delusions. They tight-knit group worked together on the family farm and had unbreakable friendships. Two of the three adult children live with their parents. Ella was bailed to appear at Ringwood Magistrates Court in April, 2017. 'He thinks people are after him. He's not in a good state of mind,' Mitchell said of his father Karl Stefanovic has been nominated for a LGBTIQ award for an apology he made after he joked about 'trannies' on live television. The Today show presenter came under fire in July after he made the comments when a reporter in Rio was caught up in an attempted robbery involved a transgender person. After intense social media backlash, the Channel Nine host was forced to make a public apology. Scroll down for video Channel Nine host Karl Stefanovic while apologising for offensive comments he made on live television The Today show presenter made a public apology on the show after intense backlash This apology has earned him a nomination for the media category in this year's Honour Awards, which recognises contributions to the LGBTIQ community in New South Wales. Stefanovic was nominated 'for his ground-breaking and earnest apology to the transgender community following unfortunate comments made on the Today Show, and also for a subsequent piece on young transgender people'. But his nomination has sparked online outrage, with people questioning why he had earned a mention. 'No offence [Karl Stefanovic], I was glad to see an apology. But that is not award worthy - it should never have happened in the first place,' Alex West tweeted upon hearing the news. Social media users responded to Stefanovic's nomination for an award 'If that's the case, I'm apologising for Karl Stefanovic being an absolute d**k. There, now where's my nomination?' Chris Guerin said. During a live show in July, Stefanovic made the 'insensitive' remarks after Today reporter Christine Ahern and her cameraman were attacked in Rio. The breakfast show co-host said the cameraman was 'no stranger to the ways of the tranny' and had 'fought off tougher trannies'. The next day, Stefanovic issued an apology, expressing deep regret after offending the LGBTIQ community with his use of the word 'tranny'. 'Well as we all know I can be a complete tool. Well yesterday I was worse I was an ignorant tool - and when I say ignorant I truly mean it,' he said. Stefanovic said he could be a 'complete tool' during his apology for using the word 'tranny' 'I often laugh at things I shouldn't and most certainly say them. But I get it wrong, and yesterday I get it very wrong. I used a word which I will say for the last time ever - and I'm only saying it because you who didn't see the segment yesterday can learn from my mistake if you choose to. 'By using the word 'tranny' I annoyed an awful lot of beautiful sensitive people. I honestly didn't know the negative and deeply hurtful impact that word has not only on members of the LGBTQI community but on their family and friends. 'Therein lies the problem I reckon, I never bothered to ask.' A Channel Nine spokesperson said: 'Karl is delighted for those nominated in the category. 'He wants to thank the organisers but sincerely doesn't believe his apology is worthy of an award. 'He hopes his ignorance simply served a purpose in raising awareness about the community.' North Korea fired three ballistic missiles into the sea off its east coast on Monday, said South Korea, as the leaders of the Group of 20 major economies held a summit in China, the North's main diplomatic ally. The missiles were fired from a western region south of the capital Pyongyang, just after noon local time (0300 GMT), South Korea's Office of the Joint Chiefs of Staff said in a statement. The missile launches were the latest in a series of launches by the isolated North this year in violation of U.N. Security Council resolutions. North Korea fired three ballistic missiles into the sea off its east coast on Monday, according to South Korea. This undated picture was released by North Korea's official Korean Central News Agency on August 25 The South's military was trying to determine the type of missiles launched, a military official said. No other details were immediately available. The missiles were launched from a region called Hwangju and came just hours after the leaders of South Korea and China met on the sidelines of the Group of 20 leaders' meeting in Hangzhou, China. South Korean President Park Geun-hye told Chinese President Xi Jinping that the North's fourth nuclear test and its ballistic missile launches this year threatened regional peace and posed a challenge to South Korea's ties with China, Yonhap news agency reported earlier. During the meeting, Xi reaffirmed China's commitment to realising the denuclearisation of the Korean peninsula, China's state news agency Xinhua reported on Monday. North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un (pictured center) inspects a test-fire in this undated photo released August 25 The missile launches were the latest in a series of launches by the isolated North this year in violation of U.N. Security Council resolutions. The North Korean flag is seen in this file image Xi also told Park that Beijing opposed the proposed deployment of a THAAD (Terminal High Altitude Area Defense) anti-missile system in South Korea, which Seoul and the United States have said is designed to counter an increasing threat from North Korea Park said that a THAAD deployment would not threaten any other country's security interests and would not be needed if the North's nuclear issue was resolved, Yonhap news agency said. In July, the North launched three missiles in a single day from the western region that flew across the country and into the sea off its east coast, flying about 500 km and 600 km (300-360 miles). But the car's owner said he has no idea who she is and has never seen her Said she thought Honda belonged to her ex boyfriend, according to police She is accused of intentionally setting a car on fire earlier this month A Florida woman set fire to a car thinking it belonged to her ex boyfriend but got the wrong vehicle, authorities believe. Carmen Chamblee, 19, was arrested Saturday morning near Clearwater and charged with second-degree arson. She is accused of intentionally setting a Honda on fire earlier this month, ABC Action News reported. Chamblee said she believed the vehicle belong to her ex boyfriend, according to the police. But the owner of the Honda, Thomas Jennings, said he has never seen her before and has no idea who she is. Scroll down for video A security camera caught footage of a woman setting fire to a Honda earlier this month. Police believe this is Carmen Chamblee, 19, who was arrested Saturday near Clearwater, Florida Thomas Jennings, the owner of the car, said he had never seen the woman in the surveillance video (pictured) and had no idea who she was A security camera caught footage of a woman stirring up a blaze at the back of the Honda. Police believe Chamblee is the woman on the video. Investigators found that a rag was set ablaze and placed in the gas tank of the vehicle. Jennings' roommate was the one who alerted him that his car was on fire. The two men ran out with a pot of water to try to extinguish the blaze - but Jennings told ABC Action News it was 'too much'. Chamblee was taken to the Pinellas County Jail on Saturday according to online records. She was scheduled to appear in front of a judge on Sunday morning. Chamblee (pictured in a mugshot) was arrested near Clearwater on Saturday morning. She said she believed the vehicle belong to her ex boyfriend, according to the police Investigators found that a rag was set ablaze and placed in the gas tank of the vehicle. Pictured, surveillance footage shows a woman stirring a blaze at the back of the Honda A Facebook post that suggested 70 per cent of people living in a Queensland suburb took crystal meth has sparked outrage among those who live there. The backlash started when a woman tried to convince her friend not to move to Nambour in south east Queensland because she claimed the drug use there was rife. 'Don't do that - 70% of people there live on ice, and the other 30% can't afford to buy it,' the woman from Noosa was quoted as saying. Crime statistics from Queensland Police recorded there had been at least 60 drug-related offences - not specifically ice - in Nambour in Queensland in the past three months The exchange, which was shared in a private Facebook post by a mother-of-two who defended the town, has sparked outrage with many slamming the alleged figures, the Sunshine Coast Daily reports. 'To my friends that do live in Nambour, what are we missing out on? I can certainly afford 'ice' (if it's as cheap as media reports say), but alas prefer champagne and red wine. What about you? Long live the stereotype... NOT!' the woman wrote. Her post prompted an outpouring of support from the town of 10,000 people. A Facebook post that suggested 70 per cent of people living in the Queensland suburb of Nambour took crystal meth has sparked outrage among those who live there The woman claimed that 70 per cent of the people that lived in the town were on drugs 'So I don't live off ice and I'm not poor... where does that fit me in then seeing as I live in Nambour?' One woman wrote on Facebook. 'Who cares what some stuck up white shoe shuffler from Noosa says,' another wrote. 'I'd love to know where the claimed statistics come from? It's not like it was a census question. You can't possibly make a claim like this unless someone has gone door to door and found out.' Crime statistics from Queensland Police recorded there had been at least 60 drug-related offences - not specifically ice - in Nambour in the past three months. Barack Obama and Vladimir Putin have met for 'pull-aside' meetings at the G20 summit in China but failed to agree on a solution to the Syrian civil war. Washington and Moscow support opposing sides in the bloody five-year conflict, which has left 300,000 people dead and forced millions to flee. The two leaders discussed Syria at closed multilateral meetings but could not reach a deal to ease fighting in the war-torn region. But in their final face-to-face meeting before Obama leaves office in January next year, they agreed to keep up negotiations over a cease-fire agreement. Speaking today Obama said the pair had a 'candid, blunt, business like meeting'. It comes as Syrian government troops - backed by Russia - resumed their siege of the city of Aleppo. Scroll down for video Tense: Vladimir Putin and Barack Obama failed to agree on a solution to the Syrian civil war Stand off: Obama expressed skepticism that Russia would keep to its side of the agreement A deal to provide aid to Aleppo's ravaged civilians and at least partially stop Russian and Syrian bombardments had looked likely on Sunday, before talks collapsed. Secretary of State John Kerry and Russian foreign minister Sergey Lavrov had been trying to broker a deal for weeks that would curb the violence between Assad's government forces and rebel forces backed by the US. The agreement hinged on the two sides agreeing to closer militarily coordination against extremist groups operating in Syria. But Obama expressed skepticism that Russia would hold to its agreement and talks were overtaken by developments on the ground. Unofficial meeting: They have agreed to keep up negotiations over a cease-fire agreement Summit: Putin also met Secretary of State John Kerry on the sidelines of the G20 State media said Syrian government troops had taken an area south of Aleppo, severing the last opposition-held route into its eastern neighbourhoods. He said today: 'We are back in a situation where Assad is bombing without impunity and strengthening Nusra's position to recruit people for terrorism and that's a dangerous dynamic. 'We want to have productive discussions that would allow us both to focus on our common enemies like ISIS but there are gaps of trust and we haven't yet closed the gap. 'We will keep working at it over the next several days. The faster we can provide relief the better off we will be and we can have a serious conversation about this involving all the parties who are involved in Syria.' Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan said he had urged world powers at a G20 meeting to set up a 'safe zone' in Syria where there would be no fighting and which could help stem migrant flows from the Arab nation. Claims: Obama later described the meeting as 'blunt' during a press conference Leader: Putin was meeting Obama for the last time before the latter leaves office Speaking in China, Erdogan said he had repeated a proposal for a 'no-fly zone' in Syria during his talks with Putin and Obama. Away from Syria, he also discussed Ukraine and said until the Minsk Agreement was implemented the US would not pull down their sanctions with Russia. He said it was important for both sides over the next few weeks to seize the opportunity to finalize the agreement. The president said he expressed concerns about cyber security issues with Mr Putin, but would not detail the discussions. The meeting came as it emerged US intelligence officials are probing claims that Russia could be trying to influence the result of the American presidential election. Director of national intelligence James R. Clapper Jr is spearheading the investigation, it was reported today. The FBI has already alerted local authorities to cyber threats targeting the election - while Republican candidate Donald Trump previously warned the vote would be 'rigged'. Syrian soldiers give the victory sign on September 4, 2016 on the outskirts of the city of Aleppo Washington has repeatedly said that Assad must step down in order for a lasting peace deal. Turning up the heat in recent weeks, the White House has gone as far as to suggest Moscow is complicit in war crimes. 'You have the Assad regime which has been killing its own citizens with impunity, supported by the Russians and the Iranians,' Obama said on Sunday. He added: 'Our conversations with the Russians are key because if it were not for the Russians, then Assad and the regime would not be able to sustain its offensive. 'But it is worth trying. To the extent that there are children and women and innocent civilians who can get food and medical supplies and get some relief from the constant terror of bombings, that's worth the effort.' The failure to reach a deal is likely to heap pressure on Obama over his handling of the war in Syria. Obama came to office vowing not to repeat the mistakes of his predecessor George Bush, who launched disastrous wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. The Australian start up company has recently been valued at $10 million Users are able to hire out the An Australian start up company that links holiday makers with private camper vans for hire has been valued at $10 million two years after its launch. Camplify has gone from strength to strength since attracting investors through NRMA and Slingshot's Jumpstart Accelerator Program in 2014 and are now defying the odds to deliver 20 per cent business growth month on month. With most RV owners estimated to only use their motor home for six weeks of the year, Camplify's founder Justin Hales realised the untapped potential hidden in some 500,000 garages across the nation and worked out how to link owners and holidaymakers in a similar way to Airbnb. An Australian start up company that links holiday makers with private camper vans for hire has been valued at $10 million two years after its launch Camplify has gone from strength to strength since attracting investors through NRMA and Slingshot's Jumpstart Accelerator Program in 2014 Investing in a new company can be a risk considering around 95 per cent of start ups fail each year, however NRMA president Kyle Loades said it was worth giving the new business financial backing to help get the innovative idea off the ground. 'You've almost got to accept there there will be some pain and some lessons learned and some just will not win,' Mr Lodes told the Sydney Morning Herald. 'But the one or two gems that come out of the process can be well worth it,' he added. Former NRMA CEO Tony Stuart said in 2014 the program had given them unprecedented access to innovative ideas that allow them not only to continue growing their business, but to improve the customer experience for its members. The peer-to-peer sharing website allows RV owners to log on and advertise their motor home for rent online Holidaymakers can then log on and search for a price, location and style of camper van to suits their needs NRMA's CEO said the Jumpstart program had given them access to new and innovative ideas that allow them to continue growing their business and improve the customer experience Camplify's founder Justin Hales (pictured) worked out how to link owners and holidaymakers in a similar way to Airbnb 'The need to innovate is a continuous process, one that is imperative to the growth and ultimately the sustainability of any organisation. The peer-to-peer sharing website allows RV owners to log on and advertise their motor home for rent online. Holidaymakers can then log on and search for a price, location and style of camper van to suits their needs. Trailers can be rented for between $280 and $630 a week, while Caravans fetch up to $980. Jonah Cooper saw the joey trying to swim and drove his jet ski to save it A jet ski instructor has rescued a joey from drowning at sea. The footage was recorded by Jonah Cooper and shows him getting on the watercraft and saving the baby wallaby in the middle of the Noosa River in Queensland. Mr Cooper told Daily Mail Australia that he could see the joey was struggling to swim from the dock outside his office. Jet ski instructor Jonah Cooper helped rescue a baby wallaby from drowning at sea The entire rescue took Mr Cooper (pictured) less the four minutes to complete He explained that wallabies are usually good swimmers, but that this joey was clearly having difficulties. 'The joey seemed to be quiet spooked, perhaps it was chased by a dog,' he added. Mr Cooper and a kayaker tried to negotiate the best way of rescuing the marsupial as it thrashed about. 'I could see that the kayaker was not much help trying to save the wallaby while holding his paddle,' he said. 'It appeared to be a swamp wallaby, they dont get much bigger than that and the encounter was short, so I dont know if it was a male or female,' he said. Mr Cooper: 'I could see that the kayaker was not much help trying to save the wallaby while holding his paddle' He returned the joey back to the caravan park it had hopped out of before jumping into the river In the video the jet ski instructor manages to grab the joey by the tail, quickly driving it back to shore. The entire rescue took him just under four minutes and he released the joey back to the caravan park where it jump out from. An 81-year-old woman was left with blood pouring from her eyes and part of her ear hanging off after two out-of-control dogs viciously mauled her on the street. Four other people - two men and two women - also had to be treated by paramedics after they stepped in and desperately attempted to separate the pair of frenzied Staffordshire Bull Terriers. The elderly woman was attacked while walking along the footpath of a street in Wentworthville, western Sydney, just after 1pm on Monday, police say. The two dogs are currently locked up in the Blacktown pound after they were taken in by Blacktown City Council animal workers. Scroll down for video An 81-year-old woman has been hospitalised after two out-of-control dogs attacked her on the street. Pictured is one of the four people who stepped in to save her The two Staffordshire Bull Terriers responsible for the attack were taken in to the Blacktown pound by Blacktown City Council It is currently unclear if one or both of the animals will be destroyed as a result of the incident Miichaela-Louise Platt, owner of the dogs, said they were 'not aggressive' and were 'chained up at home' when she had last left them Miichaela-Louise Platt, the owner of the dogs, claimed they were 'not aggressive' and were 'chained up at home' when she had last left them. 'They are not aggressive dogs and were chained up when I left home. But when I got home my gate was broken and the chain empty,' Ms Platt told Daily Mail Australia. 'My deepest condolences go to the lady and her family (and) everyone that was involved. I'm truly sorry as to what happened.' Ms Platt said she had surrendered the dogs as she didn't want to endanger the lives of her younger sister and nephew. NSW Police confirmed the dogs had been seized and the incident was being investigated by officers from Parramatta Local Area Command in liaison with the local council. One man, whose brother was one of the five people injured in the violent attack, likened the woman to a 'rag doll' being flung about by the dogs. 'Her nose was bitten, part of her ear was hanging, she had bites under her eyes, back of head, hand ... just horrific,' he told Daily Mail Australia. He said the dogs, believed to be pit bulls, showed no sign of playfulness in the savage attack. The 81-year-old woman was taken to Westmead Hospital for treatment of facial and body lacerations. One man, who didn't want to be identified, was savaged in the face by the dogs as he attempted to save the elderly woman Parramatta Council said it was investigating the attack. 'As part of the investigation council rangers have transported two dogs to Blacktown pound and will be interviewing their owners, along with the victims of the attack,' it said in a statement. 'The breed of the dogs is yet to be confirmed, however at this stage it is not believed that they are restricted dogs.' Daily Mail Australia has contacted RSPCA for comment. Richard William (pictured) was on the 577 bus to Brisbane city when he noticed the hole Shocking footage emerged this morning after a Brisbane commuter noticed the floor of his bus moving up and down. Richard William said he didn't scare easily, but when he noticed part of the bus floor moving with the wind, he got the shock of his life. The Brisbane commuter told the Courier Mail he was aboard the 577 bus from Springfield to the city when he stepped on the manhole cover, only to find it wasnt fastened down. While he disembarked the bus unscathed, Mr William said he was lucky to escape without serious injury. I stepped onto it and it fell back into place, he said. If it hadnt it couldve been much worse. In the footage, filmed on his phone, Mr William can be seen lifting up the manhole, the road below clearly visible. Dropping the manhole back down, Mr William continued to film it flying up and down as the bus continued along its route toward the city. While he acknowledged he and other commuters were lucky they were not injured, Mr William said it could easily have been a very different story. The Brisbane man said it was scary to think he could have fallen down into the hole when he initially stepped on it. 'I don't scare easily but i'm a family man with a pregnant wife and an 18-month child,' he said. 'If anything had happened to me it would've been absolutely devastating for our family.' The manhole was not fastened down, flying up and down with the wind While the initial discovery was shocking, Mr William said the bus driver's reaction caught him by complete surprise. 'The response was "I don't have a key to lock that down and there's nothing I can do about it now",' he said. 'She was not that concerned and promptly drove off. 'I was so surprised they drove off I forgot to touch off.' After Mr William posted the video on the TransLink Facebook page, he said it did not take long before the customer service team filed a report about the safety breach and the driver's response. A man is believed to have killed his former partner and taken his own life while their three-year-old slept in the next room after luring her to his home by asking to spend time with his daughter on Father's Day. The bodies of Tasman Bahar and Dave Pillay were found in the bathroom of a home they previously shared with their young daughter in Smithfield, a suburb in Sydney's west, on Sunday. Ms Bahar, 35, reportedly moved out of the house several weeks earlier as Mr Pillay had started physically threatening her and their child, on one occasion with a knife. Her family warned her not to return to the property, but she wanted to give Mr Pillay an opportunity to spend time with his daughter, who moved to a nearby apartment with Ms Bahar when the couple separated, the Sydney Morning Herald reported. Scroll down for video Dave Pillay (left) is believed to have killed his former partner Tasman Bahar (right) while their three-year-old slept in the next room on Father's Day 'We told her not to go... but she went for Father's Day,' sister Sharagin Bahar told the Sydney Morning Herald. 'She wanted Dave to see her daughter,' she added. The young girl was found unharmed, sleeping in the next room when a male relative made the gruesome discovery and contacted police. Homicide detectives are investigating the possible murder suicide and have confirmed they are not seeking 'other parties' in relation to the deaths. The young girl was found unharmed, sleeping in the next room when a male relative made the gruesome discovery and contacted police Ms Bahar, 35, moved out of the house several weeks before her death as Mr Pillay had reportedly started physically threatening her and their child, on one occasion with a knife The bodies were found inside a bathroom of a home the couple previously shared in Smithfield Homicide detectives are investigating the possible murder suicide and have confirmed they are not seeking 'other parties' in relation to the deaths Sharagin, who lives in New York, said she was travelling to Australia via Bangladesh and planned to take custody of the young orphan. 'I am so lost. I just want to take my niece into my custody, I want her with me. I'll take care of her. I'll do whatever is best for her.' A neighbour said his wife had heard the young girl screaming for her mother before the two bodies were found. 'My wife raced downstairs and said 'John, the little girl has come out screaming, yelling mummy',' John Araco told the Sydney Morning Herald. Ms Bahar's sister is travelling to Australia to take custody of the three-year-old orphan 'It seemed very quiet so I didn't think anything of it until the police came,' he added. He said the couple had been living together for three years, but their relationship had become noticeably strained over the last six weeks. Are you caught up in the Costa Blanca fires? Send your pictures to anthony.joseph@mailonline.co.uk Local sources say a group of 15-year-old youths have been arrested as emergency crews battle back flames Mass evacuation underway after three fires broke out on Sunday amid fears they were started deliberately Advertisement Thousands of tourists have fled a Spanish wildfire with flames closing in on their holiday villas - amid claims the blaze was started by a group of teenagers. Holidaymakers, many of them British, left their homes and hotels for shelter as the flames burned through the province of Alicante on Sunday night and into Monday morning. Planes flew overhead dropping water as witnesses described the situation as like a 'warzone'. One British woman has described how her family was evacuated in the middle of the night as a fierce wildfire raged near their villa. And Spain wasn't the only country dealing with huge fires, as an infernos were pictured in the Massif des Calanques, near Marseille in France and Fonte Fria village in the Portuguese district of Leiria. Rosie Brown, from Portsmouth, Hampshire, was staying in a holiday home near the coastal resort of Xabia on the Costa Blanca when the blaze spread to undergrowth surrounding their property. Emergency services told the family of eight to evacuate the building at 1am this morning and they have since been asked to stay in a school gymnasium which is doubling up as a refuge centre. Scroll down for video Thousands of tourists have fled a Spanish wildfire with flames closing in on their holiday villas - amid claims the blaze was started by a group of teenagers Up in flames: A wildfire burns near Benitachel village, eastern Spain. Firefighters are still working to bring under control a forest blaze near Valencia that forced a mass evacuation Fonte Fria village is surrounded by fire after the residents receiving evacuation order by the authorities, in the district of Leiria, Portugal Authorities said more than 200 firefighters with 65 vehicles were deployed to the wildfire some 220 miles southeast of Madrid A seaplane drops water over a wildfire next to a residential area along the coastline near the Spanish resort of Javea, Valencia A British woman has described how her family was evacuated in the middle of the night as a fierce wildfire raged just yards from their Spanish villa Rosie Brown, from Portsmouth, Hampshire, was staying in a holiday home near the coastal resort of Xabia in the Costa Blanca when the blaze spread to undergrowth surrounding their property Holidaymakers, many of them British, left their homes and hotels for shelter as the flames burned through the province of Alicante on Sunday night and into Monday morning A photographer takes pictures of charred remains of a car in a residential area affected by forest fires along the coastline near the Spanish resort of Javea, Valencia Rosie, 23, told MailOnline that rescuers have urged them not to go back to the villa, which cost family members 500 each for the stay. She said: 'We are still here now as the fire has started up again on the other side of the mountain area and we have been told it is too unsafe to return.' Thousands have been evacuated in Spanish towns packed with British tourists after the 'horrendous' wildfires hit the Costa Blanca. Resident Jessica Accorsi said: 'Early hours of the morning many place were evacuated and sent to the Santa Maria Magdelena School right behind my apartment, where my children go to school. 'One family parked outside my bedroom window and, once I awoke at 5am and realised they bad been evacuated, I asked if they needed shelter or food. 'They told me everyone was being put up in the school gym. I then made some cupcakes, got together some biscuits and croissants and took them up to the people at the school and offered them round to those who weren't already sleeping. 'Most people seemed in good spirits despite what was happening . Once the sun rose the helicopters and aeroplanes came out and at one point I could count 8 in the sky at one time.' Firefighters work to put out the fire in the district of Leiria, centre of Portugal, yesterday evening Residents of Fonte Fria village watch the fire near their homes after receiving evacuation order by the authorities, in the district of Leiria, centre of Portugal. More than 200 firefighters are efforting to put out the flames Dramatic images show forest fires raging close to Xabia, south of Valencia amid fears the blaze was started deliberately yesterday Radio presenter Eric Taylor was golfing with his wife Angie, (pictured) and their friends when the fire broke out Radio presenter Eric Taylor was golfing with friends when the fire broke out. He said: 'The fire started at approximately 3pm yesterday, near the view point on Cumbre del Sol, Benitachell. 'My wife, Angie, phoned the emergency number 112 at 3.53pm. We were teeing off on the 7th Tee at Javea Golf Club, with friends Adrian and Pam Baker, also members of Javea Golf Club. It seemed to be over about 5pm but started again later. Dramatic images show forest fires raging close to Xabia, south of Valencia amid fears the blaze was started deliberately yesterday. Holidaymakers and residents are being evacuated to schools and hostels in the area while some 20 homes are said to have been destroyed in the blaze. According to local sources, a group of 15-year-old youths have been arrested over the fires. Rosie, whose seven-months pregnant sister is among family members, said her family had only arrived yesterday ahead of a ten-day holiday when smoke started to appear from a hillside behind their villa. 'This is when the helicopters and planes arrived to do the water dumping - this appeared to get the blaze under control but two hours later a further fire started at about 6pm. Smoke rising from a wildfire in the Massif des Calanques on the outskirts of the French southern city of Marseille A woman looks at the smoke rising from a wildfire in the Massif des Calanques on the outskirts of the French southern city of Marseille Rosie, whose seven-months pregnant sister is among family members, said her family had only arrived yesterday ahead of a ten-day holiday when smoke started to appear from a hillside behind their villa. This was the view from the property after night fell Emergency services told the family of eight to evacuate the building at 1am this morning and they have since been asked to stay in a school gymnasium which is doubling up as a refuge centre Rosie (second left) told MailOnline that rescuers have urged her and her family (also pictured) not to go back to the villa, which cost family members 500 each for the wee Fire has ripped through buildings in Xabia while thousands have been evacuated from the area Thousands have been evacuated in Spanish towns packed with British tourists after 'horrendous' wildfires hit the Costa Blanca. Residents took to Twitter to post pictures of the blaze 'The planes and helicopters had stopped at this stage as it had become dark and the fire spread rapidly due to the high winds. 'This continued until midnight when we went to bed. At around 1am the local police arrived at our villa and we were told we needed to leave immediately as the fire was 'really close' and we could smell the burning. 'It was a very frightening experience for everyone and we were directed to Benitatxell infant school being used as a refuge centre. BRITISH PENSIONER, 93, 'SUFFERS PANIC ATTACK AND ASSAULTS HIS RESCUERS' A British pensioner assaulted police who were trying to evacuate him from his burning home after suffering a panic attack, it emerged today. The 93-year-old man lashed out at Civil Guard officers who went door-to-door in a life-saving operation after dividing up in two teams of 10 as wildfires descended on residential areas near the Costa Blanca resort of Javea. The officers cleared houses in the areas of Calistro and Pino Sol close to Benitachell overnight. A spokesman for the force said: 'The clearance started with acoustic and light warnings using vehicle loudspeakers but the seriousness of the fire forced officers to go door-to-door getting residents out of their homes. 'The atmosphere was unbearable. The heat of the flames and the smoke left officers having to wear masks and dehydration was another of their worries. A British pensioner assaulted police who were trying to evacuate him from his burning home after suffering a panic attack, it emerged today. Pictures show fire raging near a group of houses 'Moreover in many houses people had to be convinced of the danger they were in. Many could not believe what was happening and resisted leaving all their belongings behind. 'The Civil Guards went from house to house convincing them as if they were psychologists and trying to persuade them that it was best to lose belongings rather than their lives. 'Some of these conversations took place with the flames right behind them. 'So great was some peoples' desperation that one of them, a 93-year-old English man, went into shock. 'The anxiety the situation left him in made him become violent and he began to attack everyone around him. 'Officers, who understood perfectly the state of nervousness he was in, managed to calm him down, although only after receiving more blows, and finally managed to get him away from the house he was in and help him reach safety.' Advertisement 'We were the first to arrive but through out the night lots more families arrived. The Red Cross and Cival Protection and local police were all here and have looked after us extremely well but we are still here and have been informed that our area is not safe to return to and we may be here another night. 'We can see that another fire have since broken out and more families are arriving at the school after being evacuated. We only have the clothes we stand in, it's extremely hot but we are managing to keep our spirits up and preparing for another night in the school hall.' Meanwhile, BBC Radio 1 presenter Chris Stark was among those caught up in the drama, tweeting: 'This is crazy. I think my car and maybe my apartment is on fire.' Dramatic images show forest fires raging close to Xabia, south of Valencia amid fears the blaze was started deliberately yesterday Dramatic pictures taken overnight showed the extend of the blaze in the coastal community A helicopter drops water over a wildfire as it burns near Benitachel village. Many people have been evacuated in the area More than 1,000 homes were evacuated and many fires had been extinguished, but the 'dry ground' and hot temperatures have led to further blazes breaking out He later confirmed to fans that he was 'safe' but described the inferno as 'scary'. Spanish emergency crews are still working to bring the fire under control and authorities said more than 200 firefighters with 65 vehicles were deployed to the scene. The temperature in the area was forecast to reach 36 degrees Celsius (96.8 Fahrenheit), but officials were hoping a stiff wind that has fanned the flames would drop. Emergency services said they almost brought the blaze under control on Sunday, but when water-dumping aircraft stood down after sunset the fire surged again and compelled the evacuations. One British tourist described the scenes as 'horrendous'. She added: 'I've never seen anything like it. Really scary. Still got helicopters going over with water. Flames were from one mountain to another. There are hundreds of cars taking pictures.' Another wrote on Twitter: 'Crazy to see the pictures from Xabia this morning. Praying for safety and swift eradication of the fires.' According to local police, properties in nearby Benitatxell, Tossalet and Cansalades were also evacuated as the flames came closer. Fire fighters have been battling through the night to extinguish the blaze on the Costa Blanca A volunteer covers her mouth with a cloth as smoke rises up from the fierce blaze in Spain About 20 homes have been destroyed by the fires, which broke out yesterday afternoon According to local police, properties in nearby Benitatxell, Tossalet and Cansalades were also evacuated as the flames came closer BBC Radio 1 personality Chris Stark was among those caught up in the drama, posting a video on Twitter and writing: 'This is crazy. I think my car and maybe my apartment is on fire.' There had been hopes yesterday that the fire had been contained, but new outbreaks later took hold. Aircraft have been used in a bid to contain the blaze overnight. Police are investigating the fire and say the cause is 'suspicious'. According to the Daily Express, three fires broke out yesterday - one at the Cumbres del Sol at 4.10pm, a second at 6.30pm in Granadella and a third at Playa del Arenal at 8.30pm. Stephanie Cooper, 21, from Pinosol - around 25 miles from Benidorm, said the air was heavy with smoke and described hearing explosions. She said many as 2,000 people had been evacuated, including scores of Britons from hotels in the area - and said new blazes started at nearby La Granadella and Cumbre del Sol on Monday morning. Police told everyone to leave their homes at around 7pm on Sunday night, forcing people to sleep in cars and emergency shelters. Ms Cooper said strong winds had blown the flames towards her house on Sunday evening. Pictures show her neighbours' garden scorched black, though the house itself was not affected. Claire Edwards, 39, a presenter on Overseas FM who lives in Javea, said: 'This morning it was like waking up in Vietnam with so many aircraft in the skies.' She said more than 1,000 homes were evacuated and said many fires had been extinguished, but the 'dry ground' and 'stupidly hot temperatures' had led to further blazes breaking out. Volunteer firefighter Leo Gomez, from Benissa, said a lot of people were made homeless. A huge forest fire is raging across the hills surrounding resorts in the Costa Blanca According to local police, properties in nearby Benitatxell, Tossalet and Cansalades were also evacuated as the flames came closer He said: 'Luckily I do not have housing in the burned area. The experience was very sad to see how something so beautiful is destroyed before you without doing more. 'The feeling of being there was terror, helplessness, fear, a set of bad feelings by not being able to do more - images that will never be forgotten.' Spanish authorities said more than 200 firefighters, with 65 vehicles, were sent to deal with the wildfire on Monday. Local authority official Jose Maria Angel said the fire was likely an act of arson and that the hottest day of the year was chosen deliberately. He added: 'Everything appears to indicate that the forest fire that has affected various residential areas around Alicante could have been intentional.' Radio One presenter Chris Stark said he had just started a week long holiday with his family when the fires broke out. 'We were just on the beach all day it was the first proper day of our holiday,' he told MailOnline. 'We saw this plane picking up water. He was doing shuttle runs, but this fire was so far in the distance. And it was like he did it every day. 'We went away and came back at about six, six thirty-ish. That was when we noticed ash falling from the sky. And the shuttle runs the plane was making were a lot quicker.' Chris and his family were still unfazed, believing the fire was some distance away. But then the waiters in the restaurant began to crowd around the window, watching the mountains. One of the party went outside to have a look. 'He came back almost a bit panicked,' the 29-year-old said. 'I thought he was exaggerating. Holidaymakers and residents are being evacuated to schools and hostels in the area while some 20 homes are said to have been destroyed in the blaze According to local police, properties in nearby Benitatxell, Tossalet and Cansalades were also evacuated as the flames came closer Aircraft were being used in a desperate attempt to extinguish the blaze this morning Fire have destroyed a number of houses after spreading towards villas near the coast 'But there was a huge orange glow just behind the apartment where we were staying. It just seemed to get very crazy very quickly.' Chris and his family managed to grab their passports, and ran for the relative safety of the other side of the beach. They left behind everything else including his car, which he believes was parked where the fires were burning. But it soon became clear that was not safe either. 'It was moving very, very quickly. It just seemed to completely pass from one side of the mountain to the other in 15 minutes.' At that point, it was decided to flee the area completely. Later, Chris counted nine separate fires burning across the mountains. 'There was no instruction on the beach [about what to do]. It was hard to get instructions on where to go. We were lucky we had cars with us.' Exactly what damage has been done to the apartment and their belongings is unknown. The car, he believes, will most likely have been destroyed. A woman who allegedly hit another car and caused a fatal crash while on her L-plates admitted to smoking 'five bongs' earlier, and had not been to sleep that night, a court heard. Bianca Harrington, 20, appeared in Gosford Local Court on Monday charged with dangerous and negligent driving occasioning death and one count of driving while suspended, reported the Daily Telegraph. Ms Harrington was driving a Holden Commodore from Sydney to the Central Coast that she had borrowed from her father, when she allegedly clipped another car on Mann Street about 6am on Saturday. Bianca Harrington, 20, (pictured) who allegedly hit another car and caused a fatal crash while on her L plates admitted to smoking five bongs earlier and had not been to sleep that night, a prosecutor told a court Ms Harrington was driving a car that she had borrowed from her father (pictured) from Sydney to the Central Coast, when she is said to have clipped another car about 6am on Saturday The court heard her car ended up on the other side of the road, where she had a head-on crash with another car (pictured). The driver, a 62-year-old woman, later died in hospital The court heard her car ended up on the other side of the road, before hitting a Mitsubishi Mirage head-on which was being driven by a 62-year-old woman. Kay Maria Shaylor was taken to Gosford Hospital with several serious injuries. Ms Shaylor was then transferred to Royal North Shore Hospital where she later died. Ms Harrington and her 17-year-old passenger were taken to hospital for compulsory blood and urine samples. Both women escaped the crash relatively unscathed. In court, Ms Harrington's solicitor said her client had had a 'dramatic childhood'. Ms Harrington (pictured) appeared in Gosford Local Court on Monday charged with dangerous and negligent driving occasioning death and one count of driving while suspended The solicitor representing Ms Harrington (pictured) told the court she'd had a 'dramatic childhood' and her mother had recently been diagnosed with cancer for the second time She told the court Ms Harringtons mother had just been diagnosed with a second cancer and needed constant care. However, the prosecutor told the court Ms Harrington had admitted to being an active and ongoing drug user, who told police in a recorded interview that she had smoked 'five bongs'. Outside court Ms Harrington's mother said she was devastated for the family of the woman who had died. Ms Harrington's application for bail was unsuccessful. Magistrate Susan McIntyre adjourned the matter to October 28. However, the prosecutor told the court Ms Harrington (pictured) had told police in a recorded interview that she'd smoked 'five bongs' before driving and hadn't slept that night She was Annabelle Chen, 57, who lived in Perth's Mosman Park suburb Woman found in a suitcase in the Swan River at Perth has been identified The mystery body of a woman found stuffed in a suitcase dumped in a river more than two months ago was 57-year-old Annabelle Chen. A fisherman found the Perth artist's body in the Swan River at North Fremantle when he pulled it aboard his boat on July 2. According to the ABC, the body of Ms Chen, who was from a wealthy family, was half-naked and had received 'significant' injuries. Scroll down for video The missing woman has been identified as Perth artist Annabelle Chen, 57, who was from a wealthy family, lived alone and waspartly estranged from her only daughter Police have been searching Ms Chen's Mosman Park, Perth home (pictured) for clues The suitcase Ms Chen's body was found inside by a fisherman in early July Her Melbourne-based daughter reported her missing last week without knowing about the suitcase discovery. Detective Senior Sergeant Tom Mills says Ms Chen, who had lived alone in the affluent suburb of Mosman Park since 1999, was self sufficient and partly estranged from her large extended family. He described her as 'extremely spiritual' and said she attended numerous churches and temples to pray, Perth Now reported. Det. Mills wouldn't reveal which country she'd moved to Australia from, but said she had an ex-husband overseas and was financially independent. Ms Chen's only daughter had travelled to Perth last week after she could not contact her. 'She'd been trying to get in touch with her mother for a period of time and had been unsuccessful,' Det. Mills told the ABC. 'It's a very complex situation in relation to the family.' Ms Chen was last seen on June 30 by her daughter, who alerted police last week when she couldn't find an sign of her mother at her home. The suitcase and body was discovered by fishermen on the Swan River in North Fremantle, Perth An earlier computer-generated image of Ms Chen was released by police in early July Earlier, a global DNA search to help identify Ms Chen came up empty. After detectives had no luck in an Australia-wide search through fingerprint and DNA databases, they called on law enforcement agencies in China, Taiwan and Japan to help. But The Australian reported at the time that global testing was unable to match the woman's DNA or fingertips, either. Her body was found stuffed inside the blue suitcase along with a small number of 20cm x 6cm blue ceramic tiles. Each tile had a distinctive yellow flower pattern. She was wearing a Tokyo Disneyland t-shirt and wearing a dark blue Katmandu vest when her body was found. A ceramic tile, one of a number that were found inside the suitcase Ms Chen's body was inside She was found inside the large 'SB Polo' travel case by two fisherman a few hundred metres from the Water Police headquarters in North Fremantle on July 2. The bag had been locked but a zip came open, exposing a foot, when the fisherman pulled the suitcase aboard. Earlier this month, police released images of a Blade brand scooter which had a wooden chopping board attached. They believe it may have been used to transport the suitcase. It was found in 18 metres of water near Freemantle Traffic Bridge, along with more tiles, The Australian reported. Police were searching Ms Chen's home for clues on Monday and her car was still parked outside, Perth Now reported. Police images of a Blade brand scooter which had a wooden chopping board attached. It was found in water near where the suitcase was found Ms Chen's body was found wearing this long-sleeve t-shirt The 134,000 tonne Carnival Vista cruise ship caused chaos at a Sicilian marina simply by pulling away from its berth. Dramatic CCTV footage has shown the mini-tsunami created by the liner's churning engines destroying walkways and sinking several small vessels. A thick wake surged towards the shore of The Marina del Nettuno, smashing through a concrete pier, reports Russia Today. The 134,000 tonne Carnival Vista cruise ship causes chaos at a Sicilian marina Yet the huge 700 million (590m) ship pulled on away from the port in Messina oblivious to the carnage it had just caused. Vista is largest ship in Carnival's fleet, the parent company of Costa Cruises, which operated the infamous Costa Concordia vessel that ran aground in Tuscany killing 32 people in 2012. Concordia's Captain Francesco Schettino was sentenced to 16 years in prison after abandoning ship during the disaster and subsequently found guilty of manslaughter. It is not believed severe injuries were inflicted after The Vista's manoeuvres, which it carried out on 28 August far too close to the jetties, reports Italian news site Ansa. An investigation is now being launched after the 320m-long liner's engine stream smashed through the port, which has space for 160 vessels, with each mooring costing as much as 27,000 (23,000) per year. Dramatic CCTV footage has shown the mini-tsunami created by the liner's churning engines A thick wake surged towards The Marina del Nettuno, smashing through a concrete pier The estimated damage of the waves could top 250,000 (210,000). The Carnival Vista has 15 decks and can ferry nearly 4,000 passengers at a time. It has a top deck running area, a water park and even a suspended cycle track. Shocking footage of the jetty being overturned was posted by the Sicilian News site Gazetta del Sud online. A spokesman said: 'As the cruise ship Carnival Vista departed Messina, Italy on Sunday, August 28, the currents and wind conditions were pushing the vessel off course. 'The ships officers were forced to increase the vessels propulsion motors to control the ships movement and bring it back on course. In the process, the force of the ships propeller wash in the harbour impacted a nearby floating dock and some small vessels which were damaged. No injuries were reported. 'The company sincerely apologizes for the matter and has been in close contact with Italian authorities to examine what transpired.' Wells Fargo has been forced to apologize after infuriating the arts community by suggesting they should take up more serious careers. The company released an ad campaign last week, which said that the ballerinas and actors of yesterday could be the botanists and engineers of today. But the glossy ads, showing young people smiling while holding technical equipment, have angered both professional and aspiring artists. Finance company Wells Fargo has been forced to apologize after infuriating the arts community by suggesting they should give up for more serious careers Cynthia Erivo, who won a Tony award this year for her role in The Color Purple, attacked the campaign on Twitter Paul Wesley, who stars in The Vampire Diaries, wrote: 'Missed my shot at becoming a real grown-up/botanist' Josh Groban, who stars in musical The Great Comet, wrote: 'Brb gonna take out a Wells Fargo loan to go write Botany: The Musical!' Cynthia Erivo, who won a Tony award this year for her role in The Color Purple, said on Twitter: 'Wells Fargo doesn't think that an actor or a ballerina require any work at all! Shame.' Will Chase, who starred in TV series Nashville, said sarcastically: 'I'd suck at botany. But as long as Wells Fargo can help me realize my dream...! Patronizing much?' Paul Wesley, who stars in The Vampire Diaries, wrote: 'Missed my shot at becoming a real grown-up/botanist.' Jeff Kready, who appeared in Broadway's Les Miserables, wrote on Twitter: 'Dear Wells Fargo: This ad stinks. Sincerely, An actor whose mortgage you hold #theatre #dance #grownupscanbeactors.' Some even mocked the advert, noting that being a Broadway actor is actually more lucrative than being a botanist, with an average salary of $46,000, according to job site Indeed.com. Wells Fargo has since been forced to apologize after the public outcry that emerged following the campaign. It admitted the idea 'fell short' of what it hoped to achieve Chris McCarrell, who has also featured in the cast of Les Miserables, wrote: 'Whispers. We make more money than your botanistttttttttttt. Wells FarGoooooo... awayyyyyyy.' Josh Groban, who stars in musical The Great Comet, wrote: 'Brb gonna take out a Wells Fargo loan to go write Botany: The Musical!' Wells Fargo has since been forced to apologize after the public outcry that emerged following the campaign. It wrote on Twitter: 'Wells Fargo is deeply committed to the arts, and we offer our sincere apology for the initial ads promoting our September 17 Teen Financial Education Day. An assistant principal's ill-judged joke that girls wearing 'tight clothing' was making boys get lower grades has attracted criticism An assistant principal's ill-judged joke that girls wearing 'tight clothing' was making boys get lower grades has attracted criticism. Phil Morgante, of Clements High School, Sugar Land, Texas, made the comments in an assembly for upperclassmen on August 24. The award-winning administrator said: 'Ladies, I know you've been working on your abs since the Olympics, right? 'But your shirts can't be up here. It's gotta cover the whole gut. Ladies, I blame you all for boys' low grades because of tight clothing.' Morgante, who has been part of Fort Bend ISD for 25 years, 14 of which have been spent at Clements High School for fourteen, was recorded by a pupil. In 2014, he was named as Texas High School Assistant Principal of the Year by the Texas Association of Secondary School Principals. Gwynn Barber, who has two grandsons attending the school, told local news website click2houston she did not find the joke amusing. He added: 'The girls are not at fault. Now, I agree that they don't need their shirts showing their little bellies. 'I don't approve of that either. They need to be appropriately dressed.' Several pupils reacted with outrage at his comments. Phil Morgante, of Clements High School, Sugar Land, Texas, made the comments in an assembly for upperclassmen on August 24 One wrote on Twitter: 'I regret not telling off Morgante when he basically said it is us GIRLS fault that boys over-sexualize girls.' Another tweeted: 'I think everyone regrets not speaking up. I wish I did.' A Fort Bend ISD spokesman said: 'These comments should not have been made, and do not represent the beliefs of Fort Bend ISD or the Clements administrative team or faculty. Insurance giant Lloyd's has threatened to move some of its business away from London unless there is 'clarity' on future relations with the EU. Chairman John Nelson said operations may even start leaving the UK before Brexit negotiations are concluded. Mr Nelson said it was 'critical' for the financial services industry to maintain the 'passporting' rights. The chairman of insurance market Lloyd's (London HQ pictured) has warned it may move business away from the UK before Brexit negotiations are completed The comments underline the challenge faced by Theresa May as she starts to draw up a strategy for the negotiations with the EU. The government has already signalled that immigration controls will be a red line for the talks - but EU leaders have warned that freedom of movement of labour is essential for membership of the single market. Mr Nelson said overseas investors shared London's interest in maintaining passporting rights and access to the single market, fearing 'massive disruption' if they are forced to change their operations. 'The issue is that if we do not get access to the EU single market, what will happen is that business will be written by us and others onshore EU. The loser will not be Lloyd's or the industry; sadly, it will be London,' he told BBC Radio 4's Today programme. 'There will be bits of business where it will be better for us and more efficient for us, if we don't get single market access if we write it in the EU. 'Insurance business is quite mobile. If there is uncertainty for a prolonged period of time, then the industry will vote with its feet and we will be in that. 'If we do not see a clear direction of travel, we will have to invoke our contingency plans and that would mean business leaving London more quickly than the renegotiation timetable. 'Therefore, clarity is important, and clarity fairly soon.' Mr Nelson added: 'Lloyd's is Lloyd's, it is not Lloyd's of London. We operate right round the world. We have our biggest hub outside London in Singapore, we have big hubs in Beijing and Shanghai, and we have a hub in Dubai and big businesses in Latin America.' Meanwhile, the chief executive of Hermes Investment Management, Saker Nusseibeh said the UK could need to obey Brussels regulations without having an input into deciding them. He warned that business may move out of the City to continental Europe if Brussels is unwilling to accept this arrangement. Mr Nusseibeh told Today: 'I'm more optimistic on the passporting, simply because all it means is that London has got to abide by the rules that Brussels is going to issue and that is how we get passporting. It is what it is. We are going to have to abide by the rules. 'If the Europeans are going to be slightly more difficult about accepting our obeying their rules on passporting, then we have to invoke contingency B and move some operations onshore in mainland Europe. 'The only way we can protect the business is to obey the rules, and I'm afraid we have lost the power to input those rules, so we shall just have to obey them.' Theresa May, pictured meeting Indian counterpart Narendra Modi at the G20 summit this morning, is starting to put together a negotiating strategy for leaving the EU Lord Mayor of London Lord Mountevans insisted that the City was 'facing the future with optimism' and determined to 'make a success' of Brexit and maintain its position as the world's leading financial centre. He said the City was lobbying Government to ensure it retains access to the single market and the ability to recruit key staff from the EU. 'We are stressing to the Government that we do need access to the single market and I am optimistic that common sense will prevail and the solution we negotiate with our European partners will safeguard that,' Lord Mountevans told Today. Disabled John Lewis claims a KFC worker refused to sell him a Rio 2016 chicken bites deal because 'the real Olympics were over' A disabled veteran has accused KFC of shunning 'inspirational' Paralympians after claiming a worker refused to sell him a Rio 2016 deal - because the 'real Olympics' were over. John Lewis, 40, was 'disgusted' by the comments, which he claims were made by an employee at the fast food chain's Barnstable Roundswell branch, in North Devon. He has slammed the fast food chain for ending the Rio BBQ Bites deal before disabled athletes begin competing in Brazil, as the staff member claimed to be following orders. The married dad-of-two, who hopes to one day compete in the Invictus Games for injured military personnel, served with the British Army's reserves for eight years before a bus accident 12 years ago left him suffering from chronic hip pain and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Emergency services worker John, from North Devon, said: 'I am a huge fan of the Paralympic Games and the Invictus Games and have two disabilities myself. 'Our Paralympians are inspirational. The 40-year-old, hopes to try out for the Invictus games himself in future through charity Help For Heroes 'I had just finished a ten and a half hour shift and was on my way home from work - I had bought the same bites about three weeks ago and wanted to get them again. 'But when I ordered the woman said to me 'we are not doing them anymore' - I asked why, and before I could even mention the Paralympics she said 'the real Olympics have ended'. 'When I asked her what she meant by 'real Olympics' and told her our Paralympians were still real athletes she told me it was not her decision and that was what she had been told. 'I am absolutely disgusted by her comments. The dad-of-two was running a reserves recruitment event at a school in central London 12 years ago when a bus accidentally reversed into him, crushing him against a military vehicle 'It shows a complete lack of respect. It is just so disgraceful and disrespectful. 'It was completely the wrong opinion to have in 21st century society in Britain so I knew the view had to be challenged.' The Rio BBQ Bites - chicken bites which come in either a 'sweet and smoky BBQ' or 'fiery chilli BBQ' sauce - are not currently believed to be on sale in any of the country's KFC branches. The snack was launched to coincide with the Rio 2016 Olympics and promised to help diners 'discover the explosive flavours of Brazil'. And John said he was more concerned KFC appeared to have taken the offer off sale before the Paralympics than about the employee's comments, allegedly made at 10.30pm on Thursday. The dad-of-two was running a reserves recruitment event at a school in central London 12 years ago when a bus accidentally reversed into him, crushing him against a military vehicle. Since then John has suffered from chronic hip pain, for which he needs painkillers and which affects his ability to walk long distances, and PTSD which causes him anxiety, depression and panic attacks. The 40-year-old, who hopes to try out for the Invictus games himself in future through charity Help For Heroes, has now cut up his KFC Colonel's Club points scheme card after complaining to the chain on Facebook. John said: 'I complained to KFC and they have told me they are investigating the situation. 'But what I have tried to explain to them is it is not just about this staff member - she said she was just doing what she had been told to do. The 40-year-old claims the comments were made by an employee at KFC's Barnstable Roundswell branch 'I want KFC to explain why they as a company have stopped the Rio bites when there is still three weeks of the Paralympics to go. 'They seem to be more interested in investigating this one complaint into one staff member's behaviour, but the biggest thing is the fact they have stopped the Rio bites at all. 'The Paralympic and Invictus Games are so inspirational - it is inspiring to see people who are battling disabilities to do such incredible things and display such remarkable strength.' The Rio 2016 Paralympics opening ceremony will take place on Wednesday before closing on September 18. A KFC spokesperson said 'We're really sorry for John's experience and the offence caused. 'We're proud to have a hugely diverse team, so this comment doesn't reflect who we are at all. This the moment a lucky wildebeest escaped for the jaws of death after a crocodile bit down on his tail, but he managed to battle free. Thousands of wildebeest had been crossing the Mara River between Tanzania and Kenya for their seasonal migration. However, for one of the animals, it looked as though he was going to meet a grisly end when an enormous crocodile jumped up from the water and grabbed hold of its tail. The heard of wildebeest trying to cross the Mara River between Tanzania and Kenya One of the animals gets separated from the group and begins to struggle crossing the river The crocodile then spots the wildebeest in the water and quietly pursues the stuck animal And amateur photographer and full time mother Corlette Wessels from Johannesburg, who was on holiday in Kenya, was on hand to snap the battle. She said: 'Every year animals cross over the Mara River into Tanzania or back into the Mara. 'They move from season to season to go to the area where it rained for better grazing. Normally between July and October they cross over to Tanzania side - there are no fences so the animals can roam free. 'There were thousands of animals crossing on that day. The wildebeest wanted to cross but this one in the photos was quite far behind the others. 'When there are hundreds of animals crossing at once, the crocodiles either stay away or go for the ones which are the slow swimmers. The crocodile then jumps up on the wildebeest and attempts to pull it into the water by its back legs Eventually the crocodile has to make do with biting down on the tail of the wildebeest However, a passing zebra proves a distraction for the crocodile, who then loosens his grip on the animal 'This particular wildebeest has drifted away from the rest as the river current was quite strong. 'I could see the crocodile approaching and once it got closer to the wildebeest it went under the water to get to 'striking' distance. 'This croc only got the wildebeest by the tail. I was amazed that he had such a strong hold on the wildebeest by just clinging onto his tail. 'The wildebeest was fighting and almost got to the bank of the river but then the crocodile kept pulling it back deeper into the river. 'The strength of this crocodile was unreal; I could not believe how he pulled this wildebeest like a toy into the river. 'At one point I thought the wildebeest was going to lose his tail - that is how hard the crocodile pulled on him.' Eventually the wildebeest manages to wriggle free from the crocodile and escape from his jaws But luckily for the wildebeest, a herd of zebras also began to cross the river at the same time - and distracted the crocodile enough so it loosened its grip, allowing its lunch to scramble up the river banks to safety. Mrs Wessels added: 'Some zebras decided to cross and swam right towards the crocodile and wildebeest - the Zebra almost looked like they trampled the crocodiles as they swam. 'This caused the crocodiles to let go of their grip on the wildebeest and he bolted for the riverbank. 'The wildebeest was absolutely exhausted. I do not think the zebras disrupted the crocodiles on purpose; it must have been wildebeest's lucky day. 'I wanted to get good photos but on the other hand I did not want to see the wildebeest drown. 'When I look at my photos, I think the happy ending is one of my favourite things about them. A majority of voters believe Britain is on the right track after June's Brexit vote, according to a new poll. Six in ten of the British public believe the economy will do well over the next year, despite drastic warnings of a recession if Britain left the EU. And 29 per cent of voters who backed Britain staying in the EU are confident the UK is on the right track despite the referendum result going against them. Six in ten voters believe the UK is on the right track after the Brexit vote, a new poll has found The survey of 8,000 people also found two thirds of voters believe Theresa May is the best choice for Prime Minister - including 42 per cent of Labour voters in 2015. Jeremy Corbyn fared poorly in the poll, managing to score just 7 per cent more than Mrs May among Labour voters. Overall, just 25 per cent think Mr Corbyn would make the best Prime Minister, while Lib Dem leader Tim Farron is even lower, backed by just 8 per cent. Respondents branded him 'out of touch,' 'out of his depth' and 'weak' while voters described the Prime Minister 'capable, 'statesmanlike' and 'confident'. Asked about their views on Britain's future, 59 per cent believe the country is on the right track, while 41 per cent said it was heading in the wrong direction following June's vote to leave the EU. The survey of 8,000 people also found two thirds of voters believe Theresa May (pictured left with India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi right) would make the best Prime Minister - including 42 per cent of Labour voters in 2015 The survey, conducted by pollster Lord Ashcroft between August 11-22, found 29 per cent of Remain voters believe Britain is heading in the right direction, with 71 per cent believing the opposite. Among Leave voters, 88 per cent said Britain is on the right track, with just 12 per cent believing the UK is heading in the wrong direction. Surveys conducted before the June 23 vote found Brexit supporters to be pessimistic about Britain's future - in January 2015 76 per cent of Ukip supporters said they thought the UK was heading in the wrong direction. The poll found 57 per cent thought the economy would do well over the next year, including 82 per cent of leave voters and 30 per cent of Remain backers. Respondents said immigration should be the top priority in the upcoming Brexit negotiations with the EU, with 52 per cent saying it should take precedence over keeping access to the single market. Four in five said that continuing to allow foreign nationals to live and work in the UK without restrictions would not represent true Brexit. The young British boy (pictured), believed to be JoJo, featured in the sick ISIS video The grandfather of 11-year-old British boy JoJo Jones, who is believed to have appeared in a sickening ISIS execution video, has said the youngster is a 'lost soul' whose life is 'finished'. Terry Lynch, 56, revealed that his stepdaughter - the boy's mother - was taking drugs when she was brainwashed before becoming part of the terror group. Mr Lynch raised Sally Jones, 47, as his daughter but is so furious about what she has done to JoJo he said the 'sooner she dies, the better'. He spoke to The Sun after shocking footage appeared to show the boy taking part in an ISIS video. And Mr Lynch, from Borough Green, Kent, was appalled and horrified after he saw the clip of the youngster holding a gun. He told the newspaper: 'That is a wasted life. His life is finished. There is no way he came back to the normal world - it's terrible.' Mr Lynch, who married Ms Jones' late mother Jacky, also helped looked after JoJo's older brother Jonathan at his home. Terry Lynch, 56, (pictured) said the boy's mother was taking drugs when she was brainwashed Ms Jones, from Chatham, Kent, fled to Syria three years ago and took her son JoJo with her Speaking of JoJo, he added: 'He was a lovely little boy, gorgeous. He's a lost soul, you are never going to get him back.' Ms Jones, from Chatham, Kent, fled to Syria three years ago and took her son - who was eight at the time - with her to the war-torn country. The mother-of-two wanted to join Islamic State after meeting hacker Junaird Hussian and later married him. The 20 year old was killed in August last year following a US air strike. The mother-of-two (pictured) wanted to join Islamic State after meeting hacker Junaird Hussian and later married him The young British boy was featured in the ISIS propaganda video - believed to have been filmed in Raqqa - which showed five children murder captured Kurdish fighters in cold blood In a shocking video released just weeks ago, five children where shown murdering a group of captured Kurdish fighters. This is the gruesome moment ISIS barbarians hacked off a man's arm - after accusing him of being a thief. Graphic pictures show a prisoner kneeling in a town centre in Syria with militants holding his arm across a chopping block as his sentence is carried out. A sword is held in place on his wrist before a jihadi brings a hammer down on the blade repeatedly until his hand is hacked off. Pictures captured the gruesome moment ISIS barbarians hacked off a man's arm - after accusing him of being a thief Graphic images show a prisoner kneeling in a town centre in Syria with militants holding his arm across a chopping block as his sentence is carried out Crowds of men and boys can be seen watching the punishment being meted out after his crimes were read out over a loud speaker. According to Terror Monitor, the brutal sentence was imposed by the ISIS-affiliated Khalid Bin al-Walid army in Syria. It is not the first time thieves have been maimed by ISIS brutes for their crimes. In August, sickening images emerged of a man having his hand chopped off with a cleaver while a baying crowd watched on. The man was blindfolded and dragged to a square in the terror group's stronghold of Raqqa in Syria before being forced in to a seat while his arm was held to a wooden table. Crowds of men and boys can be seen watching the punishment being meted out after his crimes were read out over a loud speaker A sword is held in place on his wrist before a jihadi brings a hammer down on the blade repeatedly until his hand is hacked off Gruesome pictures showed a balaclava-wearing jihadi positioning a cleaver on the man's wrist and striking down on the weapon with a large metal bar. The latest images emerged as it was revealed that Turkish forces and allied Syrian rebels had expelled ISIS from the last stretch of the Syrian-Turkish border under their control. The jihadist group has been losing ground to both an alliance of Kurdish and Arab fighters known as the Syrian Democratic Forces and, more recently, a Turkish offensive involving rebels loyal to Ankara. More than 290,000 people have been killed in Syria since March 2011, and millions displaced by the fighting. asked her how she would feel if he killed her pet cat Piers Morgan challenged an unapologetic 12-year-old trophy hunter live on TV by asking her how she would feel if he killed her pet cat and 'celebrated' the slaughter. Aryanna Gourdin, who is from Utah, sparked outrage last week when she posted boastful pictures on Facebook of a giraffe, zebra and wildebeest that she had killed on African safari. But the schoolgirl was today put on the spot by a fired-up Mr Morgan, who repeatedly quizzed Aryanna on how she would react to her own cat being killed. Piers Morgan challenged 12-year-old trophy hunter Aryanna Gourdin today (pictured) by asking her how she would feel if he killed her pet cat and 'celebrated' the slaughter The schoolgirl was put on the spot by a fired-up Mr Morgan (left), who repeatedly quizzed Aryanna on how she would react to her own cat being killed The girl - who was wearing a 'Stand Up to Anti-Hunting bullying' t-shirts - was visibly thrown off guard and stammered as her father Eli (right) answered in her place Looking exasperated at her lack of remorse as she appeared on Good Morning Britain, the presenter asked her how she would feel if the tables were turned. He said: 'How would you feel if I came to your house one day and I hunted down your pet cat and I killed it and I then posted pictures of me celebrating the slaughter of your pet cat?' The girl - who was wearing a 'Stand Up to Anti-Hunting bullying' t-shirts - was visibly thrown off guard and stammered as her father answered in her place. She then added: 'What... I'm not allowed a pet because I hunt?' After asking the same question again, Mr Morgan told Aryanna there was a conflict between photographs that she posts of slain animals and those of her pet cat. Mr Gourdin then replied on behalf of his daughter: 'I think that's a trick question. That would be your choice because I've never killed a pet and most hunters don't kill pets.' He added: 'A giraffe's not a pet. We would never think to go out and kill somebody's pet.' The outrage started last week, after Aryanna started posting pictures from her hunting trip to South Africa - including this picture of a giraffe she killed (pictured) - with her father She also spoke about the series of death threats she's received, saying it was 'upsetting' that some people valued an animal's life over another person's. She is pictured left with a wildebeest and right with a giraffe During her appearance, the hunter also insisted she felt remorseful for killing the animal - but that she enjoyed it too much to stop. She is pictured with a dead zebra Viewers appeared to be in support of Mr Morgan, with several bombarding the schoolgirl with vile messages. One viewer wrote: 'The only possible positive to the #trophyhunter interview on @GMB would be if someone shot them both in the head right now. #aryannagourdin,' Another wrote: 'That 12 year old trophy hunter needs to be locked up before she kills a human #GMB.' Another tweeted: 'That 12 year old trophy hunter and her dad are insane.' 'I would never back down from hunting. I am a hunter and no matter what people say to me, I'm never going to stop,' Aryanna said She told Mr Morgan: 'It won't stop me hunting. I will always hunt. It's something that thousands of people do and it's never going to stop' The tense exchange ended the interview, with Mr Morgan adding: 'I'm sure they wouldn't kill a pet but if they did they would do it with remorse.' During her appearance, the hunter also insisted she felt remorseful for killing the animal - but that she enjoyed it too much to stop. 'I like hunting because it's something that's been in my family a long time,' she explained. 'And I really enjoy the taste of the meat we kill.' She also spoke about the series of death threats she's received, saying it was 'upsetting' that some people valued an animal's life over another person's. The schoolgirl is pictured holding up a shotgun and triumphantly posing next to a dead giraffe 'I try to ignore most of the comments I get but I do read some by accident. I just try to not let them get to me,' she said. 'It won't stop me hunting. I will always hunt. It's something that thousands of people do and it's never going to stop.' Aryanna insisted the backlash would not make her give up the hobby she loves The father and daughter have been going on hunts together since Aryanna was aged seven. But she was thrown into the spotlight when she posted pictures of her most recent safari in South Africa, which she called a 'dream hunt'. After posing with the dead animals, some people insisted she was a 'murderer'. Another comment said: 'literally hope someone skins you'. But her father later defended the hobby, saying the giraffe his daughter killed was actually a 'problem' animal area, 'eating up valuable resources other giraffes need to survive'. He also said the meat killed during their hunt will go to feet 800 orphans in the local area. Aryanna also insisted the backlash would not make her give up the hobby she loves. 'It's something I cherish and enjoy and I want other people to see what I experienced,' she said. A six-year-old Perth boy with cancer whose parents won a legal fight to stop his radiotherapy and chemotherapy treatment has been photographed celebrating Father's Day. Oshin Kiszko celebrated the day on Sunday with his father Colin Strachan, riding a bicycle around the streets with a huge smile, reported WA Today. He was also photographed at a playground in a local park on a swing. Oshin Kiszko (front) celebrated Father's Day on Sunday with his Dad Colin Strachan (back), riding around his Perth neighbourhood on a bicycle Oshin (pictured) was diagnosed with a malignant brain tumour last year, but his parents, Angela Kiszko and Colin Strachan, opposed the treatment recommended by doctors due to the severe side effects Oshin was diagnosed with a malignant brain tumour last year, but his parents, Angela Kiszko and Colin Strachan, opposed the treatment recommended by doctors due to the severe side effects. A court order in March forced Oshin to receive chemotherapy and he was given two cycles of the treatment. Family Court Chief Justice Stephen Thackray then considered whether Oshin should also be given radiotherapy and handed down his judgement in May, saying the parents had given an undertaking to continue chemotherapy instead. But the case was back in court last week after both sides agreed there was no longer any benefit to continuing chemotherapy alone. Oshin is pictured riding on his bike with his father (left) and sister Kobe (right) Oshin (pictured) also played on the swing at the playground in a local park on Sunday The hospital made an application to force Oshin to have further medical treatment, including radiotherapy and chemotherapy, but his parents argued he should receive palliative care. In his judgment on Thursday, Justice Richard O'Brien sided with the parents and said it was in the best interests of Oshin to not force him to undergo radiotherapy and more chemotherapy. Justice O'Brien said the case was about deciding the most beneficial outcome for the child not about Oshin's right to live or his right to die without suffering, WA Today reported. A court order in March forced Oshin (pictured on his bicycle) to receive chemotherapy and he was given two cycles of the treatment In his judgment Justice Richard O'Brien said it was in the best interests of Oshin (pictured) to not force him to undergo radiotherapy and more chemotherapy The judge also emphasised his decision did not set any precedent for decisions to be made about the provision of curative or palliative treatment to other children. 'This case is solely about Oshin Kiszko and how to determine what is in his best interests as a unique individual child in the specific circumstances which he now faces,' Justice O'Brien said. His parents, Angela Kiszko and Colin Strachan (pictured), won a court battle to stop Oshin's cancer treatment In his judgment on Thursday, Justice Richard O'Brien sided with the parents and said it was in the best interests of Oshin to not force him to undergo radiotherapy and more chemotherapy Mayor Bill de Blasio said 'all options' are on the table including canceling event, adding that city officials will conduct a full review The two people shot dead at New Yorks annual West Indian carnival have been identified as a female college student and a Bronx teenager. St Johns University student Tiarah Poyau, 22, and Tyreke Borel, 17, were shot dead at the JOuvert parade, which is fast gaining a reputation for violence and bloodshed, police said. The shootings came amid unprecedented precautions taken by police to ensure safety a year after Governor Andrew Cuomo's aide was killed by a stray bullet at the early-morning celebration. In a news conference on Monday, New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio said that 'all options are on the table' when answering questions concerning the future of J'Ouvert and if it might be canceled following the two tragic deaths, the New York Post reported. Scroll down for videos Two people were shot during the J'Ouvert celebrations in Brooklyn: Tiarah Poyau, 22, (left) and Tyreke Borel, 17 (right) Crime scene investigators with the New York Police Department work at the scene where Poyau and Borel were killed and others injured in a shooting during Brooklyn's J'ouvert The bloodshed came amid unprecedented precautions taken by police to ensure safety a year after Governor Andrew Cuomo's aide was killed by a stray bullet 'Im not going to go into detail until we do a full review. 'Were going to look at the whole situation with the NYPD and community,' de Blasio added. Tiarah Poyau, 22, was a St John's University student who aspired to a career as an accountant City Councilman Brad Lander told the Post that it's 'pretty clear that big changes are needed'. 'Im open to canceling it next year,' he added. Borel, of the Bronx, was shot in the chest about 3:50am near Empire Boulevard and Flatbush Avenue. He was taken to the hospital, where he died. A 72-year-old woman was shot in the hand and the arm at the same location and was taken to a hospital in stable condition, police said. About 25 minutes later, Poyau was shot in the face just a block away, police said. She died at the hospital. Poyau was an aspiring accountant and was interning at top-five firm PwC in New York, according to her LinkedIn profile. Online, Poyau talked about her drive to become an accomplished professional as well as her passion for traveling. Poyau, 22, gushed on Facebook about her travel to Europe and her drive to become an accomplished professional But the celebration ended in bloodshed when Poyau and Borel were both shot and killed Revelers covered in oil dance during the overnight-into-dawn celebration called J'Ouvert A man dressed as the 'Bat King' walked down the street as he took part in the overnight-into-dawn celebration 'My greatest achievement was in Spring of 2014 when I studied abroad in Paris, Rome, and Seville,' she wrote. 'Apart from being able to get away for a while, I was given the opportunity to push my limits and be responsible for my personal growth and development journey. ' She shared a number of pictures from he travels on Facebook, from visiting the Palace of Versailles in France to surfing in Portugal and camel riding in Morocco. About 25 minutes later, a 22-year-old woman was shot in the head just a block away Aside from the shootings, the atmosphere at the J'Ouvert Parade was lively as thousands of revelers took to the streets of Crown Heights beginning around 3am People on a parade float play music during J'Ouvert, ahead of the annual West Indian-American Carnival Day Parade in Brooklyn A New York City police officer guards a float participating in J'Ouvert A man holds up a fake rifle during J'Ouvert, ahead of the annual West Indian-American Parade Police say they're investigating whether the shootings are related. No arrests have been made. A 23-year-old woman was also stabbed in the area, but police said she refused medical attention. The NYPD had planned to double the number of officers patrolling the neighborhood where a procession of steel drums and costumed revelers was set to kick off at 4am for J'Ouvert. 'We never accept violence in our midst,' de Blasio told ABC7. 'Last night there was violence that is fundamentally unacceptable and we will continue to address more forcefully. 'Last night a very few people violated that spirit of pride and celebration and caused pain for so many others.' A man sells alcohol on the streets during J'Ouvert ahead of the annual West Indian-American Carnival Day Parade in Brooklyn The tradition originated in the Caribbean and is celebrated in several North American cities with West Indian communities, including Boston and Toronto. The name, J'Ouvert, means daybreak, put together from the French words 'jour' and 'Ouvert' City officials and community organizers have long chafed at the perception that J'Ouvert, and the even larger West Indian Day American Day parade that follows hours later, are intrinsically hospitable to violence Police arrived at the scene where Poyau and Borel were gunned down Monday celebrating Caribbean culture in the hours before the city's annual West Indian Day Parade The department also added 42 new security cameras to watch over an estimated 250,000 revelers and illuminated this year's celebration with 200 light towers. For the first time, organizers of the parade were required to get a permit. Police, in conjunction with community groups, also distributed fliers with a blunt message. Borel was shot in the chest at around 3.50am Monday in Brooklyn during J'Ouvert, the New York Police Department said The bloodshed came amid unprecedented precautions taken by police to ensure safety at an event routinely marred by violence Leaflets were released reading: 'This community will no longer tolerate this violence. Do not shoot anyone. Do not stab anyone' The changes come a year after Carey Gabay, a 43-year-old lawyer who had worked for Gov Andrew Cuomo 'This community will no longer tolerate this violence. Do not shoot anyone. Do not stab anyone,' the leaflets said. Carey Gabay was killed at J'Ouvert last year The changes come a year after Cuomo's aide Carey Gabay, 43, was shot in the head as two street gangs exchanged gunshots during J'Ouvert festivities. He was immediately placed in a medically induced coma but eight days after the shooting, doctors declared him brain dead. Gabay was a lawyer who had worked for Cuomo and was deputy counsel of the state's economic development agency. Earlier the same morning, a Bronx man, Denentro Josiah, was stabbed to death during festivities. In 2014, a man was fatally shot and two people wounded during the celebration. Organizers say the early morning festivities that led to what is now J'Ouvert started in the 1980s. Earlier the same morning, a Bronx man, Denentro Josiah, was stabbed to death during festivities. Pictured is this year's event The tradition originated in the Caribbean and is celebrated in several North American cities with West Indian communities, including Boston and Toronto. The name, J'Ouvert, means daybreak, put together from the French words 'jour' and 'Ouvert.' City officials and community organizers have long chafed at the perception that J'Ouvert, and the even larger West Indian Day American Day parade that follows hours later, are intrinsically hospitable to violence. A man wears a sign making fun of US Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump's slogan during J'Ouvert Revelers buy food from carts during the overnight celebration J'Ouvert A woman wears devil's horns while marching along with hundreds of people celebrating the annual event Mexican authorities arrested a gang wanted for a number of assassinations - and were shocked to discover it was led by a 14-year-old boy. The hit squad comprised of six people - the oldest being 20 - and they are believed to have carried out at least five murders as contract killings. They belonged to the 'La Linea' [The Line] gang and are accused of murder and possession of drugs. The arrested members of the group - their leader was allegedly only 14 years old The gang is being investigated for their involvement in several other killings that happened in the Mexican city of Ciudad Juarez, in the north-central state of Chihuahua. The murders are apparently linked to disputes between rival drug traffickers. Their leader was named only as Jonathan C.C, 14, who was arrested in the colony of Las Montanas, in the city of Ciudad Juarez. Authorities also seized an arsenal of three heavy 7.62-calibre machine guns, a 40-gauge shotgun semi-automatic weapons and 420 rounds of ammunition He was apprehended along with Moises David Ch. E., 15; Miguel Angel H. G, 17; Ricardo R. L., 18; Jonathan Eduardo M. A., 19, and Braulio Raul O. C., 20. Authorities also seized an arsenal of three heavy 7.62-calibre machine guns, a 40-gauge shotgun semi-automatic weapons and 420 rounds of ammunition. Angela Merkel's own party has turned on her after suffering an election defeat to an anti-immigration party - with ministers admitting 'she cannot ignore the views of the people'. The German chancellor is under renewed pressure to U-turn on her controversial 'open door' refugee policy after her conservative CDU party was hammered into third place in a the election in her home state on Sunday. The right-wing populist Alternative for Germany (AfD) party clinched almost 21 per cent in its first bid for seats in the regional parliament of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania. With her eyes on national elections next year, AfD co-chief Beatrix von Storch hailed the shock outcome as 'the beginning of the end of the Merkel era', while Bild daily labelled the result another 'slap across the face' for the chancellor. Angela Merkel's own party has turned on her after suffering an election defeat to an anti-immigration party - with ministers admitting 'she cannot ignore the views of the people' The right-wing populist Alternative for Germany (AfD) party clinched almost 21 per cent in its first bid for seats in the regional parliament of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania. AfD supporters are pictured cheering after the first exit polls were revealed The result also led the daily newspaper Die Welt to comment: 'Germany now has what has never existed since the end of the war: an extreme-right party'. Her own key allies are now demanding changes, fearful of being decimated at the ballot box in n next year's general election. The anti-immigrant, anti-EU Alternative for Germany (AfD) party won nearly 22 percent in the vote in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania. The CDU trailed with 19 percent, its worst ever score in the starte where the chancellor has her own consituency. Poor and poorly populated, elections in the region are usually decided on economic matters. But this one was fought solely on the chancellor's immigration programme which has seen more than a million refugees settle in the country in a year. One in two voters said they were casting their ballot because of the migrant issue and nothing else. After her defeat the AfD lead candidate Leif-Erik Holm called it a 'proud result for a young party. After her defeat the AfD lead candidate Leif-Erik Holm (right) called it a 'proud result for a young party' 'The icing on the cake is that we have left Merkel's CDU behind us... maybe that is the beginning of the end of Merkel's time as chancellor.' The result now places the AfD in nine out of 16 state parliaments in Germany with eyes on an even greater prize - seats in the national legislature when the general election is fought in the autumn of 2017. Mrs. Merkel's decision to open Germany up to unregulated immigration has left some feeling fearful. Now her own parties - the CDU and her CSU allies in Bavaria, are turning on her. NUMBER OF MIGRANTS ON BENEFITS IN GERMANY UP 169% The number of migrants claiming German welfare benefits soared by 169 percent last year, data showed on Monday, a figure likely to further boost anti-immigrant groups such as the Alternative for Germany (AfD), which performed well in a weekend election. Around 975,000 migrants were receiving benefits in accordance with the Act on Benefits for Asylum Seekers at the end of 2015, the Federal Statistics Office said. That marked the sixth consecutive yearly rise and compared with 363,000 in 2014. The leap followed Chancellor Angela Merkel's decision a year ago to open Germany's door to refugees fleeing war in Syria and elsewhere. Germany took in more than one million people, though the inflow has fallen sharply in recent months due to tighter European border controls and a repatriation deal with Turkey. Monday's data include migrants with temporary residence permits and those who cannot be deported for the time being. They do not include those with refugee status or those entitled to asylum, who receive social benefits if they need help. The German chancellor is under renewed pressure to U-turn on her controversial 'open door' refugee policy after her conservative CDU party was hammered into third place in a the election in her home state on Sunday While many Germans gave migrants a warm welcome when they started arriving in droves last summer, that has partly given way to fear after three recent violent attacks on civilians carried out by migrants and to concerns about integration. Bolstered by such anxiety, the AfD took second place in Sunday's election in the eastern state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, ahead of Merkel's centre-right Christian Democrats. The AfD is now represented in nine of Germany's 16 regional parliaments. State spending on benefits for migrants climbed by around 120 percent in 2015 to almost 5.3 billion euros, the data showed. The scale of state aid for migrants has angered many Germans, particularly in the poorer eastern regions, but on Saturday Merkel stressed the government had not slashed benefits for anyone in order to provide for refugees. Almost two-thirds of the benefit recipients came from Asia, with half of this group coming from Syria, the data showed. Another 22 percent hailed from European countries such as Albania, Serbia, Montenegro and Macedonia, which are all outside the European Union, while 13 percent came from Africa. Of the migrants who received aid, 91 percent got basic benefits such as food, accommodation, clothing and health as well as durable and non-durable household items - mainly provided as benefits in kind, although they did get some cash for personal needs as well. Advertisement CDU general secretary Peter Tauber said Sunday's results were 'bitter', adding: 'Voters wanted to send a signal of protest, as we had noticed in discussions about refugees'. 'There was only one issue, that is, and was, refugee policy,' said the CDU's main candidate Lorenz Caffier. 'The migration policy has sparked a feeling of insecurity among people.' CSU finance minister Markus Soder said; 'It is no longer possible for the chancellor to ignore the views of the people on this issue. This was a wake up call that Berlin needs to change tack.' Mrs. Merkel, in China for the G20 meeting, has still refused to confirm whether she will stand for a fourth term in office in the election next year Andreas Scheuer, CSU secretary general, described the poll result as 'devastating' adding; The CSU is pointing in the right direction. We need a cap on refugee numbers, expedited repatriation processes, an expansion of the list of nations deemed to be safe countries of origin, and better integration measures. 'The AfD had seized the opportunity to exploit Merkel's dwindling support. We can't simply give in and watch how a party built on attracting protest voters profits from the failures of the federal government in Berlin.' The AfD was founded in 2013 and has enjoyed a meteoric rise thanks to the refugee crisis. Its leader Frauke Petry called earlier this year for border police to have the right to shoot illegal immigrants on Germany's border - remarks which did little to diminish the party's standing. Mrs Merkel, in China for the G20 meeting, has still refused to confirm whether she will stand for a fourth term in office in the election next year. JEWISH LEADERS' HORROR AFTER EXTREME-RIGHT SUCCESS Germany's Jewish leaders have reacted with horror to the success of the AfD in the weekend election in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania. 'That an extreme-right party which blatantly incites hatred against minorities in a disgusting way can rise unhindered in our country is a nightmare come true,' said Charlotte Knobloch, President of the Jewish Community of Munich and Upper Bavaria. 'The AfD is an openly far-right party. It is pathetic when a party - in which xenophobia, antisemitism, racism, homophobia, historical denialism and conspiracy theories are the basis for argument - can become such a strong social and political influence.' Knobloch warned that, in collaboration with other far-right parties, the AfD had the strength to threaten Germany's democratic foundations. Josef Schuster, President of the Central Council of Jews in Germany, also expressed concern saying: 'Clearly many voters are not aware or play down the fact that the AfD do not clearly distance themselves from right-wing extremists, in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania or anywhere else in the country.' AfD party leader Frauke Petry announced that 'Merkel has brought herself down,' adding: 'The Chancellor and the SPD are leading German citizens on, whether it be in the financial crisis or the refugee crisis. The main political parties are involved in surrendering this country.' Advertisement Merkel has taken a share of the responsibility for her party's election defeat, but strongly defended her migrant policy on Monday even as she vowed to win back voters' trust. Merkel conceded the outcome was 'almost entirely about federal political issues.' 'We must all consider how we can now win back trust, me first and foremost,' Merkel told reporters on the sidelines of the Group of 20 in China. 'I am the party leader, I am the chancellor - you can't separate those in people's eyes, so I am of course responsible too' for the result, Merkel said. 'However, I believe the decisions that have been made were right, and now we must continue working.' British DJ David Taylor has changed his statement to 'I don't remember' for key events the night a Bali police officer was killed, as police say they are pressing ahead with a murder charge against his girlfriend Sara Connor. Mr Taylor's statements relate to events involving Ms Connor on the night Balinese police officer, Wayan Sudarsa, was killed on a beach in Kuta, reported The Age. The couple are accused of killing the police officer, with local authorities also expected to push ahead with a murder charge against Mr Taylor. Scroll down for video British DJ David Taylor (pictured on Friday) has changed his statement to 'I don't remember' for key events the night a Bali police officer was killed, as police say they are pressing ahead with a murder charge against his girlfriend Sara Connor Mr Taylor's lawyer Yan Erick Sihombing said Mr Taylor had 'amended some of his statement' to acknowledge his panicked state and the fact he couldn't clearly remember what had happened on the night. Mr Taylor initially claimed Ms Connor told him she hit Mr Sudarsa after he bit her, but he has now said he can't remember Ms Connor telling him that. Mr Taylor's lawyer also said Ms Connor had said she never told Mr Taylor that. Mr Taylor also said the couple had burned the bloodied clothes they were wearing on the night. His lawyer said Mr Taylor later told him: 'Maybe Sara's match wouldn't light up. So I took the match and it was me who lit the fire to burn the clothes. Maybe (before) I wasn't remembering clearly'.' Denpasar district police detective chief Reinhard Habonaran Nainggolan has said they would be seeking an extension to the detention of Ms Connor and Mr Taylor. Det Nainggolan said police were pushing for the pair to be charged with murder, assault causing death and manslaughter. Mr Taylor (left) and his girlfriend Sara Connor (right) are accused of killing police officer Wayan Sudarsa, with local authorities also expected to push ahead with a murder charge against Mr Taylor This is despite Ms Connor denying during last week's re-enactment and earlier interrogations that she did not hit Mr Sudarsa and only sought to separate the pair during the late-night confrontation at Kuta beach almost three weeks ago. 'The evidence has been strong,' he told reporters. 'Even though there is some defence, we still have faith that both suspects (committed it). 'It will be tested in court. Evidence on Sara's hand and thigh is clear, the bite mark is quite deep that the victim (had caused). Wayan Sudarsa (pictured) was found dead on Kuta Beach in Bali with 42 wounds to his body 'Normally, it wouldn't have (existed) if there was no resistance from the victim.' He said they hope to hand over the pair as early as Tuesday but Chief of General Crime at the District Attorney Office, Ketut Maha Agung labelled that time frame 'impossible'. 'Even in an ordinary burglary case, it needs (a detention) extension. Especially now when it is a homicide case,' he told reporters. More time was needed, he said, adding that next week could be 'possible' for the matter to be fully handed over to prosecutors. Usually in Indonesia a trial follows within a month of the full case being handed over to prosecutors. This comes after claims emerged the Bali policeman allegedly murdered by Australian mother-of-two Sara Connor and her toyboy lover could have 'peeping' on the couple before his death. Senior police officer Wayan Sudarsa was known for 'trawling around bars and markets at night scamming drunk tourists and ripping them off', a source told New Idea. Before his death, the policeman, who is known as Pak Wayan, may have been spying on the couple as they were kissing on the Kuta beach where he was found dead. Ms Connor is pictured during a re-enactment in August of the killing of the Indonesian police officer at Kuta beach in Bali The 11-year-old and nine-year-old sons of Australian Sara Connor (right), who is accused of murdering a policeman in Bali two weeks ago, have begged their mum to come home in an emotional video Denpasar's top cop Hadi Purnomo warned his subordinates to steer clear of engaging in 'Peeping Tom' behaviour. 'Better if you buy a blue [movie] and watch it yourself,' he said, according to New Idea. But a lot of tourists have come to Pak Wayan's defence and shared a difference side of the dead officer. They say he always looked out for the well-being of tourists, especially females, and made sure they did not put themselves in any unnecessary danger. The 45-year-old's ex-husband, Anthony 'Twig' Connor (pictured), delivered the video to Ms Connor this week during a heartbreaking visit to Bali Mr Connor (pictured) becomes emotional as he speaks in Denpasar, two weeks after she was arrested over the alleged murder of a Bali police officer Connor, 45, and her 37-year-old boyfriend, David Taylor remain behind bars where she was recently visited by her ex-husband, Anthony 'Twig' Connor. Mr Connor brought with him a video from their 11-year-old and nine-year-old sons who pleaded with their mother to return home, telling her 'we love you.' He insisted his ex-wife was innocent and told News.com.au she was shaking during their emotional visit in jail and immediately asked about the couple's children. 'They sent a little video to me to give to Sara and every time I see it, it breaks my heart you know. They are just saying, "Mum, we love you, come home soon", Mr Connor said. 'It is tough for us. The boys don't know when Mum's coming home.' Mr Connor, who called his ex-wife a 'good soul', said he would love his former partner 'forever' and wants to help her. 'We are still connected even though we are not together, we are still connected. The children have got a big part of that. But we are still friends, we are still good friends and that's why I am here,' he said. The video was shown to Connor after the couple were forced to spend several gruelling hours re-enacting 'scenes' from the night, which police say is necessary after vast differences emerged in each of their stories during the first re-enactment. Police say Ms Connor was 'definitely involved' in the death of a Bali police officer after she and Mr Taylor were forced to re-enact the alleged murder Mr Taylor, 34, pretended to hit the 'victim' with a broken bottle as he re-enacted the alleged death of officer Wayan Sudarsa One of the main differences in their story is that Connor's lawyer claims she played no part in the murder and she was trying to separate Mr Taylor and Mr Sudarsa who were fighting following an argument over her lost handbag. During the re-enactment Connor was seen straddling the officer and appeared to pretend to strike him with a walkie talkie before the policeman mimed biting her on the thigh as she knelt next to him. Connor denies striking the officer with a walkie talkie and her lawyer claims she was told to re-enact 'scenes' she says never happened. Police chief Purnomo said ' Sara was definitely involved in the assault. Sara hit the victim with a walkie talkie'. Taylor's lawyer Yan Erick P Sihombing said Ms Connor told his client that she had hit the police officer. 'In David's testimony David said that Sara told him after they got to the hotel that she was bitten and she was punching this guy (police),' Mr Sihombing said, according to the Daily Telegraph. Another difference is related to whether the couple saw anyone else on the night of the alleged murder. Mr Sihombing said Mr Taylor didn't see anybody on the street but Ms Connor said she saw somebody in the street. Ms Connor had originally told police Mr Sudarsa was a 'bad cop' who had pinned her down in the sand with his body weight on August 17. But she later changed her story to say she had been trying to separate Mr Sudarsa and Mr Taylor after a fight broke out between the pair. The re-enactment was the first time Mr Taylor and Ms Connor have seen each other since their arrest almost two weeks ago. During the re-enactment Ms Connor was seen straddling the officer and appeared to pretend to strike him with a walkie talkie. Ms Connor denies this ever happened and claims she was told to act scenes that didn't occur The couple embraced at Kuta Beach on Wednesday morning as police tried to determine who is telling the truth about what happened on the night of a police officer's death A man lays on the sand at Bali's Kuta Beach, pretending to be Wayan Sudarsa - whose bloodied body was found on August 17 They have not been formally charged under Indonesian law as police have 120 days to build their case. Police say the couple admitted to clashing with victim and claim Mr Taylor hit the officer over the head with a beer bottle. The altercation allegedly broke out after Mr Taylor confronted Mr Sudarsa over his girlfriend's missing handbag. Just before the re-enactment, Ms Connor took off the sarong covering her face so Mr Taylor could kiss her on the top of the head after they came out of two separate armoured vehicles dressed in orange prison jumpsuits. The pair went 'scene by scene' through the alleged events which came across like a play, scripted under the direction of officers yelling through a microphone. As if she was standing in the wings of a play, Ms Connor was then brought into the 'scene', to re-enact how she allegedly tried to separate the pair Ms Connor appears solemn at Kuta Beach as she and Mr Taylor re-enact the events that led to the death of Mr Sudarsa The events began with Mr Taylor approaching the cop imitating Mr Sudarsa to confront him over Ms Connor's lost purse. 'Scene ... David fell and became involved in a fight with the victim,' a police officer directed as Mr Taylor lay on his back with the man playing Mr Sudarsa staring over him. As though being brought in from behind the curtains at a play, Ms Connor entered the 'scene'. Mr Sudarsa's stand-in mimed biting her thigh - a recreation of the moment she says she tried to separate the pair and 'protect' the cop. The 'scenes' slowly built up to the moment Mr Taylor mimed hitting Mr Sudarsa in the back of his head with a broken beer bottle, while Ms Connor crouched in the sand nearby. This blow, Denpasar Police Chief Hadi Purnomo said, was the 'most deadly one'. Sixty-eight 'scenes' were played out throughout Wednesday with the pair taken to Ulawatu in nearby Jimbaran after Kuta Beach. Ms Connor and Mr Taylor embrace as a police officer holds up their name tags as they continue the recreation of 'scenes' Ms Connor says Mr Sudarsa bit her on the thigh and hand when she tried to separate the pair Guilty: Raymond Grenfell, 70, claimed his touching, kissing and saucy comments to female customers was just friendly banter Women shoppers have won 1,000 compensation each from a groping grocer dubbed Grabber Grenfell who pressed his hands against their breasts. Raymond Grenfell, 70, claimed his touching, kissing and saucy comments to female customers were just friendly banter in Crickhowell, Powys. The Cub Scout leader was found guilty of sexual assaults in his store, before appealing to overturn this to clear his name as a pillar of the community. But his victims returned to Merthyr Tydfil Crown Court to give new evidence to a judge who ordered him to pay 1,000 to three shoppers and said he was a man who lacks respect for women. Grenfell was earlier convicted of sexually assaulting four women in their 30s and 40s by grabbing them by their breasts, their waist, kissing them on the lips and begging them to take their clothes off. The grandfather-of-four, described as the pillar of the community, denied the allegations at the Grenfell and Son store. He was convicted by magistrates at nearby Brecon - but appealed against his convictions at Merthyr Tydfil Crown Court as his victims gave more evidence. One victim told the court: We all called him Grabber Grenfell. The women, who cannot be named, said their relationships with Grenfell had begun innocently enough but had progressed quickly into smut and innuendo on his part. The Cub Scout leader was found guilty of sexual assaults in his store in Crickhowell, Powys One of the victims said: It started to become more than just an easy friendship. I felt some of his remarks became rather lewd, and inappropriate and dirty minded. I was very vulnerable. I had been through hell. It made me feel dirty. He did not hold back. She claimed Grenfell had pressed his hands against her breasts. I felt ashamed. I had been violated, she said. He had a smirk on his face. He is a dirty old man. Another victim said: There was always innuendo. It was like a drip, drip effect. You could be talking about the weather and he would say something about seeing me in a bikini Victim 'You could be talking about the weather and he would say something about seeing me in a bikini. 'It made me squirm and if I could avoid him I would. He was always very tactile but he was very crafty. She told the court Grenfell had sexually assaulted her by licking his fingers and putting them on her breasts. It was a momentary touch and he just did one of his dirty sighs, she said. Grenfell assaulted another victim after pestering her and demanding to see her belly button piercing. She said: He told me to lift up my top for him to have a look. Grenfell was convicted of sexually assaulting four women by grabbing them by their breasts, their waist, kissing them on the lips and begging them to take their clothes off 'I put my hand over my midriff. He dropped to his knees and asked me again. He said: You excite me. Give me a kiss before I go. 'I felt it was not going to a nice place. I turned my cheek and he lunged forward. He grabbed me around my waist, put his hand on my breast and squeezed. His fourth victim alleged that on one occasion when she went into his shop he was sitting on a stool but refused to move, telling her: I'm not going to move out the way because I want to feel your breasts on my back. Former school governor: Grenfell said it was normal for him to greet customers with a hug and a peck or sometimes a kiss on the lips She also alleged he had kissed her on the lips before she fled. He admitted kissing her once on the lips because he had gone to peck her on the cheek but she had failed to turn her head and he had given her a second one for luck. The women said they kept the incidents secret, which occurred between 2007 and 2014, for fear they would not be believed over the popular shopkeeper. It was only after the women found out about each other's experiences through other locals that they contacted police. Grenfell, a former school governor, told the court it was normal for him to greet customers with a hug and a peck or sometimes a kiss on the lips and it was all just part of his friendly persona. He told the court: Lies have been added to the truth to make more lies. The court heard Grenfell was a well-respected member of the community. His defence representative said previously that hugging and kissing people was 'playful and just friendly banter' for him. Ann Smith, the former headteacher of the local primary school, told the appeal: I have never had any concern about his behaviour. Store: The women said they kept the incidents secret, which occurred between 2007 and 2014, for fear they would not be believed over the popular shopkeeper I have not had any cause to question the propriety of his behaviour in any way at all. The children love Ray. He would put himself second and he is still holding the community together. Judge Michael Fitton QC and the appeal bench dismissed Grenfell's appeal for the first three complainants - but upheld it for the fourth because the burden of proof had not been met. He told Grenfell that he was found to be untruthful. I'm not going to move out the way because I want to feel your breasts on my back What 'Grabber Grenfell' Raymond Grenfell is said to have told a woman The judge added: The appellant in our judgment is a man who lacks respect for women and was seeking by degrees to exercise his own will and overcome the responses of those women to whom he was making approaches in a subtle way. It displays a character trait that is a personality flaw in contradiction (to) all the excellent things said about him. Grenfell, whose address was given as his grocery shop, was ordered to complete 150 hours of unpaid work along with the compensation amounts to three women. One of the attackers drew a knife and wildly slashed away at his victim Police say four men of Somali origin fought three Asians in Bow, London Horrifying CCTV footage of a man madly slashing a knife at his victim during a fight has been released by the police. The hooded suspect is seen squaring up to his rival outside a fast-food shop in Bow, east London. Suddenly he draws a large knife and begins flailing it wildly at his 21-year-old victim, wounding him with a slash across the head and with a deep jab into his left arm. A hooded attacker draws a knife on his opponent during a row outside a fast-food restaurant Detectives have released footage of the clash, which occurred around 7.40pm on 25 July, in the hopes of tracing those involved. A group of four men of Somali origin attacked three Asian men outside the Original Taste Store on Bow Road. The knife-wielding attacker drew his weapon in his left hand before raining down brutal blows on his rival. The 21-year-old victim suffers a slash across his head and takes a deep cut to his left arm The attacker wildly flails at his opponent during the shocking clash in Bow, east London He then ran off down Tomlins Grove leaving his victim badly injured. He is described by police 'as a black man wearing a blue/grey tracksuit with his hood up and white writing across his chest. He wore black trainers and was seen on camera with a knife in his hand.' The second suspect is described as a black male wearing dark clothing with a dark grey hooded jumper and a black Puffa jacket. The third suspect was not seen in the clip, but wore dark clothes with a jumper with a white drawstring and white stitching. Police say a group of four men of Somali origin attacked three Asian men outside the Original Taste Store on Bow Road Detectives have released the CCTV footage of the fight, which occurred around 7.40pm on 25 July, in the hopes of tracing those involved Clear footage of the fourth man could not be retrieved. He wore shorts, black trainers, and a blue-and-white striped jacket with a white hood. The victim was taken to an east London hospital where he was treated and later discharged. No law enforcement statistics even come close to backing up Gov. Paul LePage's assertion that blacks and Hispanics account for '90-plus percent' of heroin-trafficking arrests in Maine. The embattled Republican governor previously told the Portland NAACP chapter to 'kiss my butt' and blamed out-of-state drug dealers for impregnating 'young white' girls. Then he sparked another racial uproar when he said Aug. 24 that data he'd collected indicates out-of-state black and Hispanics accounted for '90-plus percent' of heroin-trafficking arrests in Maine. FBI data contradict his assertion, and a criminologist called the governor's data 'laughable.' Gov. Paul Lepage, of Maine, has come under fire for a number of racially charged comments recently Meanwhile, members of the African-American community in Maine, the whitest state, fear his comments strengthen racial stereotypes and tacitly approve racial profiling. 'I think this fear-mongering, and these us-against-them kind of statements, do not advance the community conversation, do not address the real issue of drug abuse,' said the Rev. Kenneth I. Lewis Jr., pastor at the Green Memorial A.M.E. Church, Maine's oldest African-American congregation, in Portland. The Maine Department of Public Safety doesn't include race when compiling and analyzing crime data. And the most recent crime data from the FBI suggest the governor's claim doesn't pass muster. The FBI data show that blacks accounted for 14 percent of a total of 1,211 drug sale and manufacturing arrests and 7.4 percent of 5,791 total drug arrests in Maine in 2014, the most recent numbers available. LePage said blacks and Hispanics account for '90-plus percent' of heroin-trafficking arrests in Maine but FBI data directly contradicts his claim Broken down by type of offense, the data showed that blacks accounted for 35.5 per cent of arrests for selling opium-derived drugs including heroin, morphine and cocaine, and 26 per cent when synthetic narcotics including most prescription narcotics were included in the tally. The FBI doesn't include a category for Hispanics in its statistics. Far from '90-plus percent,' the FBI figures could reflect even higher numbers of black offenders than reality because of small sample size, racial profiling and other factors, said Jack McDevitt, director of Northeastern University's Institute on Race and Justice in Boston. At a town meeting, LePage said: 'Let me tell you this, explain to you, I made the comment that black people are trafficking in our state. Now, ever since I said that comment, I've been collecting every single drug dealer who has been arrested in our state. 'I don't ask them to come to Maine and sell their poison, but they come, and I will tell you that 90-plus percent of those pictures in my book, and it's a three-ringed binder, are black and Hispanic people from Waterbury, Connecticut, the Bronx and Brooklyn.' Rally organizer Betsy Sweet stands on a picnic table giving a speech at the start of a rally to protest recent remarks by Gov. Paul LePage People clap during speeches at a rally to protest recent remarks by Maine Gov. Paul LePage in Capital Park in Augusta, Maine LePage said the contents of the binder are news clippings, not scientific data, that he began collecting in January after being criticized for saying out-of-state drug dealers were impregnating 'young white' girls. Gia Barboza, a professor at Northeastern's School of Criminology and Criminal Justice, described the governor's '90-plus per cent' figure as 'laughable' and 'completely inaccurate.' Media organizations including The Associated Press have requested that his office turn over a copy of the binder's contents, but it has yet to do so. LePage, who has said he's no longer speaking to reporters, did not respond to request by the AP to clarify or defend his comments. The controversy over LePage's remarks exploded when he left an obscenity-laden tirade the next day on the voicemail of a Democratic lawmaker he thought called him a racist. LePage eventually apologized to the lawmaker but never for the remarks about race. In fact, he has repeated similar assertions several times. In later explaining himself, LePage described Maine's problem of opioid addiction that resulted in a record 272 overdose deaths last year in terms of war, saying it's important to identify the enemy and then to attack the enemy. 'Look, the bad guy is the bad guy, I don't care what color he is,' LePage said two days after the town meeting. 'When you go to war, if you know the enemy and the enemy dresses in red and you dress in blue, then you shoot at red.' Lewis said he believes LePage doesn't understand the weight of his remarks in Maine. 'That kind of comment is not a tacit approval of racial profiling. It's the stamped approval "Let's do this. This is the enemy."' Lewis said. Theresa May has called for a 'golden' era of trade as she hailed a slew of countries wanting to strike a deal with the UK. China, Australia, India, Singapore, Mexico, and South Korea are among the states who had expressed an interest, according to the Prime Minister. Premier Xi Jinping apparently raised the prospect of a trade deal during talks as the G20 summit in Hangzhou came to an end today. Prime Minister Theresa May said she was hoping for a 'golden' era of global trade Downing Street said Mr Xi had said 'China was open to a bilateral trade arrangement with the UK'. Mrs May told a press conference at the international gathering: 'What I have found good about the discussions I've had with a number of world leaders, including discussions I had with Prime Minister Abe, is the willingness of other countries to talk with the UK about future trade arrangements and the confidence that they have in the United Kingdom.' She added: 'I'm confident and others have been confident about the relationship we can build with them.' She stressed the importance of more liberal trade globally, and insisted the Brexit vote did not mean Britain would be withdrawing from the world. Mrs May has been attending her first international summit since taking over from David Cameron in Downing Street. She has had some difficult encounters, including with Barack Obama, who reiterated that he believed the UK would be at the 'back of the queue' for a trade deal with the US. He also suggested the special relationship could 'unravel' unless action was taken to lessen the impact of cutting ties with Brussels. But Mrs May has also been boosted by positive meetings with Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull and Indian counterpart Narendra Modi, as they laid the groundwork for trade deals after we leave the EU. Mr Turnbull said Mrs May had been grateful for all of Australia's support during recent negotiations and getting in early to set up one of Britain's first trade agreements in around 40 years was essential. 'From our point of view, (we're) getting in to deal with the British early, to ensure that we are able to negotiate a very strong, very open free-trade agreement with Britain,' he said. Mrs May also appeared to hint that the Hinkley nuclear power plant project could be dropped During her closing press conference, Mrs May also appeared to hint that the Hinkley Point nuclear power plant project could be dropped. Mrs May said relations with China were not 'just about' the partnership over Hinkley. Mr Xi apparently told the PM during their meeting that he is willing to be 'patient' while the government reviews the project. Japanese prime minister Shinzo Abe is understood to have pushed for greater clarity about Mrs May's plans during a brief meeting after his administration earlier issued a 15-page document setting out the assurances on the future of the economy being sought by Japanese companies operating in the UK. Helicopter and a cutter dispatched to help and were joined by nearby ship The 63-foot vessel Invicta hit the rocks near Coronado Island Saturday Group of plumbers on fishing trip had to be saved after boat sprung a leak A group of plumbers on an annual company fishing trip had to be rescued after their boat sprung a leak. Most of those on board the 63-foot sportfishing vessel Invicta were asleep when it hit the rocks near Coronado Island in Mexico Saturday and began taking on water. One man was walking out of the bathroom when he noticed the collision, which prompted everyone on board to jump into emergency rafts. Most of those on board the 63-foot sportfishing vessel Invicta were asleep when it hit the rocks near Coronado Island in Mexico Saturday and began taking on water One man was walking out of the bathroom when he noticed the collision, which prompted everyone on board to jump into emergency rafts (pictured behind the boat) The San Diego coastguard were alerted to the state of the US-flagged vessel at 5am A helicopter and cutter were dispatched and another boat in the area, the 35-foot Sweet Marie, diverted to assist. Passenger Darian Fox told NBC 7: 'I was walking out of the bathroom - that's when the boat went full on collision with the islands, the Coronado Islands, and it threw everybody and just put everybody in a frenzy.' The crew of Sweet Marie rescued all 26 passengers and crew - who were all wearing life jackets - before making its way towards San Diego. They were then transferred to the coastguard cutter which took them to the San Diego Harbor Police Dock, on Shelter Island. A helicopter and cutter were dispatched and another boat in the area, the 35-foot Sweet Marie, diverted to assist The crew of Sweet Marie rescued all 26 passengers and crew - who were all wearing life jackets - before making its way towards San Diego. The Invicta was broken apart. The Coast Guard is in contact with Mexico's Secretaria de Marina (SEMAR) regarding any environmental impacts There was one reported back injury, and the passenger declined treatment. The Invicta was broken apart. The Coast Guard is in contact with Mexico's Secretaria de Marina (SEMAR) regarding any environmental impacts. Sweet Marie's crew collected all the Invicta's life rafts. A murder suspect is on the loose after he escaped from a pair of handcuffs inside a police station when an investigator left the interview room. Alonso Perez, 25, was arrested and taken to the North Las Vegas Police Department on Friday after Mohammed Robinson, 31, was fatally shot outside a McDonalds. An argument broke out on the night of August 27 after Robinson failed to hold a door open for a woman, according to the victim's family members who are mourning his 'senseless' death. When a detective left the room at around 12.45pm on Friday, Alonso Perez (pictured inside the detective bureau) twisted the handcuffs until they broke A police spokesperson said: 'I can understand their frustration we're just as frustrated ourselves. But the bigger focus is: We have a homicide suspect on the loose' (pictured, Perez) Perez, (left) who has an Air Jordan logo tattoo (like the one on the right) on his neck was arrested by the North Las Vegas Police Department Robinson, 31, (pictured) was shot outside a McDonalds on August 27 after one witness said an argument broke out after a woman was upset he didn't hold the door open for her Video courtesy of KTNV Perez was arrested around 10am on Friday, and taken to the department's detective bureau where he was questioned for several hours. When a detective left the room at around 12.45pm, Perez twisted the handcuffs until they broke, according to police spokesperson Aaron Patty. Perez, who is 'considered armed and dangerous', fled the station and stole a white pickup truck, although the vehicle was recovered the next day, according to police. The victim's sister Maggie Robinson was shocked by the news and told KSNV: 'I don't understand it at all...You are interviewing a murder suspect so you mean you couldn't have another person there?' Patty responded: 'I can understand their frustration we're just as frustrated ourselves. But the bigger focus is: We have a homicide suspect on the loose.' Police issued an appeal from the public to find Perez, a 6ft 3in, 200-pound Hispanic man who has a tattoo of the Air Jordan logo on his neck behind his left ear. Perez is wanted in connection to Robinson's murder around 11.45pm on August 27 outside a McDonalds on the 3000 block of Las Vegas Boulevard North. Perez, who is 'considered armed and dangerous', fled the station and stole a white pickup truck (pictured) although the vehicle was recovered the next day Robinson's best friend witnessed the shooting at McDonalds (pictured) and told his family members a woman was upset the 31-year-old did not hold the door open for her Robinson's best friend witnessed the shooting and told his family members a woman was upset the 31-year-old did not hold the door open for her, KSNV reported. The woman then turned to a man she was with, and he took out a gun and shot Robinson before the two fled the scene, the witness said. Robinson was taken to university Medical Center in critical condition, and died on Sunday morning, police said. His girlfriend said the 31-year-old was a respectful man who shied away from confrontation. Robinson's 14-year-old daughter Miniya Sampson struggled to understand her father's death, and told KSNV: 'I love him. I wish he was still here.' This is the horrifying moment a jealous mother kidnapped her husband's love child before murdering the girl and dumping her body in a park, say state investigators in Russia. The child's aunt had left two-year-old Yana Leonenko unattended for several minutes in a pushchair when the 27-year-old woman, named only as G. Sharaliyeva, seized her. The aunt returned to the pushchair to see a woman dressed in a white T-shirt and black trousers in the distance with her niece. The CCTV footage showing two-year-old Yana Leonenko being led away by a woman after being snatched from her pushchair The suspect dragged the girl through a park, and later carried her, say investigators, highlighting CCTV footage 'I pleaded for help, and ran after the woman, but fell down,' she said. No-one helped her chase the woman, she said, while eyewitnesses said the girl had easily gone with the kidnapper. The suspect dragged the girl through a park, and later carried her, say investigators, highlighting CCTV footage. A Muslim, she did not normally go outside without covering her hair, but chose to ditch her hijab, it is alleged. Then she took a taxi and vanished. Later the girl's body was found drowned in a river running through a park in the the city of Ivanovo. A court ordered Sharaliyeva to be detained with investigators alleging she killed her husband's love child. The suspect was held in a metal cage in the court room. A spokesman said: 'The investigation believes that the person who kidnapped and murdered the child is the wife of the biological father of the girl. Two-year-old Yana, pictured, was later found dead after having been drowned in a nearby river A court ordered suspect G. Sharaliyeva to be detained with investigators alleging she killed her husband's love child 'The woman made use of the short absence of a relative of the child and kidnapped the girl from the entrance to a residential building.' A family friend said the woman's husband Sakhyd Sharaliyev had had a relationship with a waitress in his cafe, resulting in the pregnancy. They explained: 'They had an affair three years ago. She was working as a waitress in his cafe. Soon she got pregnant. 'The man didn't want to leave his wife and their two children but promised to help to raise the child.' Sharaliyeva's husband Sakhyd admitted he had fathered the child, and denied keeping Yana's existence a secret from his wife, with whom he has children aged four and six 'The wife had been oblivious her husband had cheated on her. 'His wife came from Azerbaijan about four years ago and for a long time didn't know her husband had a mistress, more than one, in fact. 'He is very kind, and helpful but scatterbrained. He was cheating his wife but she simply didn't know about it.' The husband admitted he had fathered the child, and denied keeping Yana's existence a secret from his wife, with whom he has children aged four and six. 'When they said it's my wife, I was shocked,' he said. She never went out without covering her head and she seemed 'naked' to him in the CCTV images, he said. Hundreds of people turned out to pay their respects for the toddler who was snatched from her pushchair 'Her hair isn't covered...she has no such clothes at home.' He insisted: 'She was always quiet and calm, she has never said anything (angry about the baby). 'I promised her to not see that woman (Yana's mother) again, but to help the child.' An alleged killer accused of murdering an imam in an ISIS-inspired attack because he did not like his 'black magic' has told jurors he is a former Manchester United steward who has no affiliation to the terror group. Mohammed Hussain Syeedy, 21, who is accused of bludgeoning Jalal Uddin to death after stalking him in a car, described ISIS's global atrocities as 'absolutely wrong' as he gave evidence today over the alleged murder. Mr Uddin, 71, a well-respected imam, was battered to death in February this year in a children's park as he walked home after prayers at his mosque in Rochdale, Lancashire. Mohammed Hussain Syeedy (left), who is accused of murdering Jalal Uddin (right) in an ISIS-motivated attack, today told jurors he was a former Manchester United club steward The prosecution claim Syeedy and Mohammed Abudul Kadir, 24, carried out the killing because the duo did not like Ruqya, a traditional Islamic healing which the imam practised. The form of healing - which ISIS extremists believe should be punished with death -involves amulets, known as Taweez, which are said to bring good fortune. According to prosecutors, the pair and their associates carried out secret surveillance to establish where the imam was living before raiding the mosque where he kept his books of 'spells' and launching the late-night attack. Today, taking the stand for the first time, Syeedy told Manchester Crown Court that he could not have carried out the killing because he was against ISIS and did not like 'innocent people dying'. 'I do not support ISIS. I don't support any of their ideologies or the ways or words of their actions,' he said. 'I think what the things they are doing is absolutely wrong. I do not agree with what ISIS are doing around the world.' He added that, although he did not agree with Ruqya, he sees it as God's job to hand out 'punishment'. 'I don't know what's inside a Taweez so I wouldn't personally tell anyone to use it or use it myself,' he told jurors. 'With the Taweez I don't choose the punishment, it is not in my hands. It is up to God to punish the person is they are doing wrong. I have no authority to take the law upon myself.' The Rochdale-born engineering student also told the jury he was involved in various charities to help needy people worldwide and had travelled to Syria as part of a convoy to deliver ambulances and medical aid. He also said he was a member of a number of local youth groups and had delivered food parcels to deprived refugees in the area. Manchester Crown Court heard how Ruqya involves writing spells or verses in Arabic on paper which is put in a container and worn around the neck to protect against evil spirits. Syeedy with a banner that reads 'Rochdale 2 Syria' and standing with friends who are allegedly performing an ISIS salute. They wear robes with daggers and AK-47s on Photographs show Syeedy posting with a flag of the Shahada - the Muslim profession of faith - which is draped over road signs (shown above) It was in 2015 that Syeedy discovered that Mr Uddin was practising the healing. The defendant described how his younger brother had found a book of Taweez - which contains Islamic prayers - while cleaning at the Jalalia Mosque, where the imam work. He said it had been passed to his friend, who later ripped it up and then threw it in a river because it was considered potentially dangerous. Syeedy said the book, which had Mr Uddin's name on the front, contained images which he thought were 'inappropriate' and not in accordance with the teachings of Islam, including images of private parts with attached eyes, hands and legs. Concerned about the book, Syeedy said he and his friends hatched a plan to try to deport Mr Uddin back to Bangladesh, which he left in 2002. The court heard how one of his friends rang the Immigration Service to report him but was told they needed a photograph and address of the person, which they did not have. Syeedy said he was then told to 'keep an eye' on Mr Uddin to see where he lived. But added that he was more 'focused on making the community aware' of the practice and was contemplating holding a seminar about it. A photograph found on Mohammed Hussain Syeedy's mobile phone shows him posing with a flag in Rochdale and performing what prosecutors claim is an 'ISIS-salute' 'That was my main focus,' he said. 'I wanted to make people aware of what was going on with Taweez to they can make their own judgement if they want to use it or not.' The prosecution claim Syeedy and Kadir turned to murder after seeing a photograph of Mr Uddin - who was given the nickname Voldemort after the evil wizard in Harry Potter - with Rochdale MP Simon Danczuk last December. The court was told how a friend shared it with Syeedy on Whatsapp with the message 'Oh c**p Voldermort (sic) never gonna be busted by immigration now'. Asked if he felt the need to resort to physical violence against Mr Uddin, Syeedy told his barrister: 'I would never use aggression or violence. 'I have never spoken to any member of the public in a bad manner, never mind violence.' The court has previously heard how Kadir, of Oldham, boarded a flight three days after the imam's death from Manchester to Copenhagen in Denmark before catching a connecting flight to Istanbul. His whereabouts are unknown although it is thought he could have travelled to Syria. Syeedy agreed with his barrister, Icah Peart QC, that on the evidence it appeared Kadir was responsible for the murder. He said he learned that Kadir - who he referred to as 'just a guy I worked with' - had some 'wacky ideologies' and colleagues at the Rochdale takeway would 'take the mick'. On the night of the murder, Syeedy said the pair were driving around Rochdale when Kadir suggested they follow the imam so they might find his permanent address. Syeedy told the court: 'Kadir said "let's try and get a Taweez off him, I will say I have family problems".' He told Mr Peart it would be proof of what Mr Uddin was practising and he could show it to members of the mosque committee. It is up to God to punish the person is they are doing wrong. I have no authority to take the law upon myself Mohammed Hussain Syeedy Syeedy said they drove off but Kadir was 'quite adamant' they return later. He told him he had spotted Mr Uddin outside and told him to go to the entrance to the park, before getting out. Mr Peart asked: 'When he got out of the car, what did you think he was going to do?' Syeedy replied: 'To get a Taweez.' Kadir later 'just popped out' from a side alley with his hood up, said Syeedy. He said Kadir then walked off empty-handed after he spotted 'a few guys' in the park. He said there was nothing noticeable about his behaviour as they drove off and that Kadir said he needed to return to Oldham because of 'a family emergency'. Later, Syeedy received a video on his phone, showing the imam bleeding to death on the floor. 'We were shocked and disgusted by what we had seen,' he told the court. 'He was lying on the floor bleeding to death and that someone was recording it. I was thinking - how can you do that to someone who is dying?' Syeedy said he decided to meet Kadir face to face in Oldham later the same night, after he heard various rumours in the community about what had happened to Mr Uddin. He said he thought Kadir could help the police with their inquiries. Syeedy said: 'He said he didn't like the police and he couldn't be bothered with them. He said "no, I don't want the hassle. Just leave it".' The defendant said he did not think he needed to go to the police himself because he had not entered the park. He said he did not have any suspicions about Kadir at that stage as he was 'acting normally'. But he saw Kadir again while working a shift in his part-time job at Harry's takeaway. Syeedy said Kadir came in to ask for his wages before a planned family trip to London and told him he would think about going to the police on his return. The following afternoon Kadir was on his way to Turkey after catching a flight to Denmark from Manchester Airport. Syeedy, who has no previous convictions, was arrested on February 22 at his family home where he lived with his mother and siblings. He said: 'I was shocked. I was just stood there thinking how have they got me, I have got nothing to do with this. I told my mum "don't worry about it, I will be back in a few hours". Obama has now opted to meet the South Korean President instead He warned President Obama not to question the death toll of his war on drugs or 'son of a bitch I will swear at you' 'We will not stop until the last drug lord, the last financier and the last pusher have surrendered,' Duterte said More than 2,000 people have been killed since he took office and the death toll is set to rise even further After winning elections in May this year he has urged citizens to kill suspected drug users and dealers President Obama has canceled a meeting with Rodrigo Duterte, the hardline president of the Philippines after he called him a 'son of a bitch'. Duterte, dubbed 'The Punisher' had earlier warned Obama not to ask about extrajudicial killings during a planned meeting in Laos or 'I will swear at you'. More than 2,000 suspected drug dealers and users have been killed since Duterte launched a war on drugs after taking office on June 30 this year. Scroll down for video President Rodrigo Duterte (pictured today) warned Barack Obama not to ask about extrajudicial killings, or 'son of a bitch I will swear at you' when they meet in Laos during a regional summit President Barack Obama on Monday became the first sitting U.S. president to step foot in the isolated Southeast Asian nation of Laos. He stepped off of Air Force One in a deluge Obama had indicated earlier that he was going to bring the issue up, saying he would address the need to approach the drug trafficking war in a 'way that is consistent with basic international norms'. But Duterte warned that he is a leader of a sovereign country and is answerable only to the Filipino people. 'Who is he to confront me?' he said, adding that the Philippines had not received an apology for misdeeds committed during its U.S. colonization. 'I am a president of a sovereign state and we have long ceased to be a colony. I do not have any master except the Filipino people, nobody but nobody. 'You must be respectful. Do not just throw questions. Putang ina I will swear at you in that forum,' he said, using the Tagalog phrase for son of a bitch. More than 2,000 suspected drug dealers and users have been killed since President Rodrigo Duterte launched a war on drugs after taking office on June 30 this year (pictured a man's dead body after police reported drugs being sold in the area) More than 2,000 suspected drug dealers and users have been killed since President Rodrigo Duterte launched a war on drugs after taking office on June 30 this year The mother of a suspected drug user who was killed by police in an operation in Manila breaks down in tears The boy's devastated father is overcome with grief as authorities remove his son's body Now Ned Price, a National Security Council spokesman, said: President Obama will not be holding a bilateral meeting with President Duterte of the Philippines this afternoon. Instead, he will meet with President Park of the Republic of Korea this afternoon, September 6th.' The Philippines president pointed to the killing of Muslim Moros more than a century ago during a U.S. pacification campaign in the southern Philippines, blaming the wounds of the past as 'the reason why (the south) continues to boil' with separatist insurgencies. Duterte has also made it clear he will take no lecture on human rights from Obama, when in the United States he alleged 'black people are being shot even if they are already lying down'. Last week, Duterte said he was ready to defend his bloody crackdown on illegal drugs, which has sparked concern from the U.S. and other countries. Duterte said he would demand that Obama allow him to first explain the context of his crackdown before engaging the U.S. president in a discussion of the deaths. Last week, the number of people killed since July 1 reached 2,400: about 900 died in police operations, and the rest are 'deaths under investigation', a term human rights activists say is a euphemism for vigilante and extrajudicial killings. Duterte has been unapologetic in his war on drugs, telling a news conference on Monday that 'plenty will be killed' in his campaign. Philippine police SWAT personnel take position as they serve a search warrant to a resident in relation to drugs at an informal settler house in Pasig City, suburban Manila on September 5 President Duterte pledged a bloody war on drugs and promised to forgive cops who killed drugs suspects 'Until the (last) drug manufacturer is killed we will continue,' Duterte said before leaving for a regional summit in Laos, where he is due to meet Obama on Tuesday. Duterte won elections in May and immediately promised a law-and-order crackdown on drugs. '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. 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 last month to the government after President Duterte urged citizens to 'go ahead and kill' drug dealers and users. President Duterte has warned of widespread bloodshed as part of the government's war on drugs. Around 2,400 suspected drugs pushers or users have been killed since Duterte came to power (pictured are armed police in Manila on September 5) Armed police have been cracking down on anyone thought to be linked to the drugs trade (pictured carrying out an arrest warrant on September 5) Neighbors look on during a police raid on a suspected drug dealer 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. 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 spiraling out of control. 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. Filipino policemen march during a parade inside Camp Crame in Quezon City, east of Manila, Philippines, September 5 Reuters interviews reveal that the police's Internal Affairs Service (IAS) and the Commission on Human Rights (CHR) are so overwhelmed by the killings that they can investigate only a fraction, and there is scant hope of establishing many as unlawful because witnesses are too terrified to come forward. Meanwhile, the immense popularity of Duterte's crusade and the climate of fear it has engendered have severely restrained dissent from civil society. Hardly anyone turned up at candlelight vigils in Manila recently to protest against extrajudicial killings. Even as the death toll rose, a July poll by Pulse Asia put Duterte's approval rating at 91 percent. More than 2,000 suspected drug dealers and users have been killed since President Rodrigo Duterte launched a war on drugs after taking office on June 30 this year Advertisement Thousands of people watched as Burning Man was brought to a close at the end of a weekend mired in controversy. Burners gathered in the middle of Black Rock Desert as the Temple sculpture was set alight on Sunday night. The crowd was solemn and silent as the smoke rose into the air, bringing the 30th running of the festival to an end. The closing ceremony went on as police continued to investigate suspected vandalism at one of the camps. Throughout the week, revelers have been leaving notes and letters inside the sculpture in preparation for the final night. Some even put the ashes of loved ones inside the model before it was set ablaze. Scroll down for video The Temple Project is set ablaze, marking the end of Burning Man Festival in Black Rock Desert, Nevada The crowd watched in silence as the centerpiece of the festival site went up in flames at the end of a weekend mired in controversy after a camp was allegedly vandalized Burners all week have been leaving notes, letters and even the ashes of loved ones inside the sculpture in preparation for the final event Revelers watch as the fire rips through the sculpture in the middle of the desert Burners watched in awe as the Temple, filled with notes from revelers, was set ablaze under the crescent moon Participants from the 70,000-strong crowd watch the Temple Project burn. Two people are seen kissing in front of the crowd Three men in their costumes watch the Temple burn in front of the solemn crowd Dust engulfed the Temple earlier on Sunday as members of the crowd gathered for the closing ceremony of the festival A Burner walks through the dust to his bike that his barely visible in the distance on Sunday People sift through the charred remains of the Burning Man sculpture in the sun after it was burned on Saturday night Huybert Van De Stadt vacuums the Playa near his campsite on the final day of the festival Two participants sit near the burned remains of the Man on Sunday, the final day of the festival A participant holds a smore that was cooked on the remains of the Man, after it was set alight on Saturday night Two people watch the Temple burn on the final night of the festival Over the weekend, reports surfaced that a controversial 'plug and play' area, founded by a Russian billionaire's son, was targeted by 'hooligans'. White Ocean Camp, which holds nightly parties featuring famous techno DJs throughout the week-long event in Black Rock City, Nevada, says its campsite was attacked on Wednesday night. The alleged vandalism took place during what the group calls its biggest bash of the week, 'the white party'. The luxury camp was set up by Timur Sardarov - the son of oil magnate Rashid Sardarov - DJ Paul Oakenfold and entrepreneur Oliver Ripley in 2013. Rae Lin picks through the debris for leftover materials after the Man was burned to the ground Participants used the burning remains of the Man to roast a pig on the final day of the festival Since then it has been the subject of debate among festival regulars - or 'burners - who say it goes against the 'self-reliant' ethos of the event. Some revelers condemned the vandals on social media, while others hinted the suspected attack was inevitable because of the camp's elitist reputation. Others said the alleged petty crime showed a 'class war' had erupted in the desert. Ripley told DailyMail.com on Sunday night he would not be commenting on the alleged attack. A crowd gathers around a mutant vehicle shooting flames on the penultimate night of Burning Man Festival in Nevada. Guests partied into Saturday night following reports of vandalism at one of the event's most controversial camps Up to 70,000 people enjoyed the Saturday night in the Black Rock Desert for the annual festival Wrecka (left), her Playa name, plays with fire as revelers prepared to set models ablaze to mark the penultimate night Participants perform with fire in front of the huge crowds at this year's festival. The party continued as police investigated the reported vandalism on a stage at the edge of Black Rock City A stunning panoramic picture shows the huge festival site in the middle of the desert, dotted with bright lights and revelers in colorful costumes 'What happened last night should be known on social media,' the group wrote in a post on its Facebook page. 'A very unfortunate and saddening event happened last night at White Ocean, something we thought would never be possible in OUR Burning Man utopia. 'A band of hooligans raided our camp, stole from us, pulled and sliced all of our electrical lines leaving us with no refrigeration and wasting our food and, glued our trailer doors shut, vandalized most of our camping infrastructure, dumped 200 gallons of potable water flooding our camp.' The statement then went on to say the group has faced issues from other Burners this year. 'We have felt like we've been sabotaged from every angle, but last night's chain of events, while we were all out enjoying our beautiful home, was an absolute and definitive confirmation that some feel we are not deserving of Burning Man,' it read. 'We actually had someone from the organization tell us that in paraphrase "it makes sense that you have been sabotaged as you are a closed camp and not welcoming." White Ocean Camp (pictured during the 2015 festival) was targeted by vandals who cut their electrical wires and glued their trailer doors shut Workers at the controversial 'plug and play camp' detailed the alleged vandalism in a lengthy Facebook post The luxury camp was set up by Timur Sardarov (right in left picture), the son of a Russian billionaire Rashid Sardarov (far left); DJ Paul Oakenfold (right) was also one of the backers of the project Sardarov uploaded this picture onto social media earlier this week. It appears to have been taken at Burning Man Timur Sardarov (left), his father Rashid Sardarov (center sitting down), and Oliver Ripley (right) - who also helped set up the camp - are seen posing for a photo on Instagram There were mixed reactions to the suspected vandalism on social media, with some saying it was inevitable Others condemned the actions at the festival, despite the camp's reputation More extreme views included this one from a person who said it was the start of a 'revolution' 'Nonetheless, with open hearts and immense love for what we bring to Burning Man, we will absolutely not let this pathetic violation stop what we came here to do.' The camp serves as a temporary home for people from London, New York, Los Angeles and San Francisco who make the trip out to the desert. However, it has been met with opposition by some Burners because it has hired helpers, which some believe runs against the festival's pillar of 'radical self-reliance' and anti-commodification, according to the Reno Gazette-Journal. Plug and play camps have been a contentious issue in recent history for the festival, which has tried to regulate how and where they operate. The camps generally require little effort from Burners, with hired staff often setting up and taking down the camps at the end of the festival. Pershing County Sheriffs Office, which helps patrol Burning Man, is currently investigating the claims. The Man burns in front of the huge crowd of festival-goers. The festival has been mired by reports vandals broke into a camp and cut their electrical wires The event, which this year has the theme 'da Vinci's workshop', is described as an 'annual experiment in temporary community dedicated to radical self-expression and radical self-reliance' Incredible photos show sparks around the stick figure of The Man at the beginning of the burning ceremony Fireworks are seen going off in the background as party-goers watch in awe at the blazing spectacle The 'Man' is seen lit up just hours before it was burned to the ground in front of thousands of people The Man burns as approximately 70,000 people from all over the world gather for the 30th annual Burning Man arts and music festival in the Black Rock Desert of Nevada Aerials shots show the horde of people sprawling out across the desert as sculptures burn into the night An alien covered in lights moves along one of the areas of the festival site on Saturday A sculpture called The Space Whale lights up the festival skyline on Saturday night at Burning Man Participants on the Playa dance near a mutant vehicle. This year marks the 30th time the festival has taken place The huge crowd is seen gathered together on Saturday night, surrounded by sculptures and lights Guests pack onto a platform to take in a view of the Playa on the penultimate night of the festival Two cyclists line up next to a model based on a Pac-Man Ghost. The sculptures are dotted around the festival site and light the area up in the darkness of the desert Fire dancers are seen in the center of a large group of people on Saturday night at Black Rock Desert. The central structure (seen in the top left of the picture) will be set alight on Sunday evening to celebrate the end of Burning Man People gather inside one of the mutant vehicles while others ride around the festival sites on their bikes A woman dances as the 'Man' burns above her on the penultimate night of the festival, which has attracted one of its biggest ever crowds this year A man sits on top of one of the mutant vehicles as the crowd parties below Participants, wearing goggles and sunglasses to protect their eyes from the sand, dance below a huge flame A man is seen spinning fire in front of other party-goers on Saturday night at Burning Man Festival A vehicle specially designed for this year's festival is driven through the desert my a group of participants Participants dance in the sand while flames shoot into the air around them Nicky Morgan, the former education secretary, has demanded a vote of MPs on the Brexit deal Former education secretary Nicky Morgan has demanded MPs get a vote on the Brexit deal negotiated by Theresa May. The new Prime Minister sacked Mrs Morgan, an ally of David Cameron who backed Remain, when she formed her new government in the aftermath of the shock referendum result. The Loughborough MP today demanded Mrs May spell out a clear plan for her Brexit negotiations and promise the House of Commons will vote on the final deal. The call came hours before MPs debated whether a second referendum on Brexit should be held. Mrs Morgan warned the Government would not 'be able to please all the Leave campaigners' with the final package. Writing in The Times, she said: 'No 10 needs to be clear very soon on what is the balance between access to the single market and having open borders wide enough to support our economy and at the same time not make people feel resentful about immigration.' She added: 'Although parliament won't get a say on the exercise of Article 50, it will be kept involved in the negotiations and allowed to have a say about any final deal. 'Our constituents will expect us to be able to put their views about this significant change in Britain's status.' Mrs May's mantra since entering No 10 has been 'Brexit means Brexit' as she moves to reassure Eurosceptics they have nothing to fear. But her refusal to begin the formal Brexit process until next year has caused irritation among some who campaigned for Leave. Some Brexit campaigners fear the involvement of MPs will lead to a watering down of the deal amid claims the Commons could refuse to take Britain out of the single market. Prime Minister Theresa May, pictured today in China, has insisted 'Brexit means Brexit' but faces questions from both sides on the detail But Mrs Morgan - who also used the article to wish for the chance to run the referendum again with a positive Remain message - said the Government must ensure MPs are involved throughout the process. And she said: 'While the Article 50 process may take two years, the process for untangling us from EU laws and regulations will be much more complicated than simply repealing the European Communities Act 1972.' She added: 'The government needs to be clear that just because their departments and Whitehall will be focused on Brexit for years to come this is no excuse to slow momentum on education reforms, welfare reforms and prison reforms and that the government is also working on policies to heal the divisions revealed by the referendum and since as shown by the rise in hate crime.' Six in ten voters believe the UK is on the right track after the Brexit vote, a new poll has found Speaking in China today at a press conference to close the G20 summit, Mrs May indicated that her drive to regain control over immigration would be balanced with the desire to get 'the best deal possible' on trade for the UK in negotiations with other EU states. She said: 'What we will be doing is working for the best deal for the United Kingdom. 'Yes, the voters' message on June 23 was clearly that they didn't want to see free movement continuing as it has done up to now. They wanted some control in movement of people from the EU into the United Kingdom. 'But we also want to get the best deal possible for trade in goods and services with the EU, and I intend to go out there and be ambitious. Six migrants from Afghanistan and Iraq have been arrested over a series of sexual assaults on eight young women during a music festival in Austria. The men are alleged to have groped the women in a hall containing the bars at the Welser Volksfest wine and beer festival in Wels, a town in the state of Upper Austria. The women filed charges on Saturday night, reporting that the perpetrators held them against their will and touched them between their legs in separate incidents. Six migrants from Afghanistan and Iraq have been arrested over a series of sexual assaults on eight young women during a music festival in Austria. Pictured are the scenes in Cologne, where more than 1,000 women were sexually assaulted on New Year's Eve Of the five Afghan migrants arrested, four are thought to be just between 15 years old, while the other is said though to be younger than 22. A 23-year-old Iraqi migrant is also said to have touched a 28-year-old woman under her skirt from behind. The woman immediately alerted several police officers, who took the migrant to the police station, where he was later released from. The police expect that more women will still come forward to report sex attacks and the investigations are still ongoing. The men are alleged to have groped the women in a hall where the bars are located at the Welser Volksfest in Wels, a town in the state of Upper Austria.Pictured are the protests in Germany after the Cologne assaults Andreas Rabl, the mayor of Wels, demanded 'zero tolerance' to sexual assault and 'full consequences for the perpetrators' in a Facebook post afterwards. The local police has opened a special phone line for victims to report any sexual assaults. The latest attack in Austria comes after a swimming pool banned all migrants after an alleged incident in Mistelbach, about 100 kilometers (60 miles) northwest of Vienna. Operators erected a sign saying 'no entry for refugees' after a girl alleged she was followed to the changing room by an Iraqi. Edward Vines is accused of bombarding BBC Newsnight presenter Emily Maitlis (pictured) with letters A stalker who bombarded BBC Newsnight presenter Emily Maitlis with letters after he 'fell in love' with her at university was today jailed for three years. Edward Vines, 46, said he was left with 'no alternative' and had to write to her after she 'scorned' him when they both studied at Cambridge University. He told Oxford Crown Court he fell in love with her at university as she was an 'extremely attractive young lady'. Vines had denied two charges of breaching a restraining order - imposed in 2009 - which prevented him from contacting the journalist, 45. But jurors took less than an hour to find him guilty of both counts and he showed no emotion as the jury foreman returned the verdicts. And in a bizarre twist, Vines refused to rule out contacting her again, despite being convicted of breaching his restraining order. Giving mitigation in person, and having dispensed with his counsel Greg Foxsmith ahead of sentencing, Vines said he wanted a 'fair and just trial'. He was asked by judge Peter Ross if he would stand by a commitment made during the trial that he would not contact the Maitlis family again if convicted by a jury. Vines replied: 'I will not write to Emily Maitlis or her mother, most likely ever again. It's early days, Your Honour.' Asked by the judge to clarify, Vines said: 'I will never contact them again if I'm defeated rationally in court - and I cannot say I have been today.' Vines, 46, denies two charges of breaching a restraining order which prevented him from contacting the journalist The judge replied: 'That is not the unambiguous assurance I was seeking.' The court heard he sent her letters when Ms Maitlis rejected him after the pair met in 1989 at Queen's College. He today told the jury how the pair became friends 'quickly' when they were students. And today, Vines was jailed for 18 months for each charge, to run concurrently, as well as a further 18-month sentence for two outstanding breaches to which he had already admitted. It means Vines was sentenced to a total of three years. The judge added: 'Putting it bluntly, you've never had any reasonable case to contact Ms Maitlis following the order. 'You have what appears to me a completely unshakable obsession, underpinned by a couple delusion with regards to the relationship that had existed between you and Ms Maitlis. 'That's absolutely clear in the letters you have written to her. 'You have known for 25 years that this woman wants nothing to do with you. You've plagued her life and the life of her family.' Vines, who was sat in front of a member of staff from the psychiatric hospital where he is a patient, recalled how he considered her as a 'platonic friend' at university. He told the court: 'We became friends quickly, in the first week. In my eyes, at the time, I understood Emily Maitlis to be a platonic friend. 'Later I perceived there was more. I fell in love with her, she was an extremely attractive young lady, very bright, sentimental and emotional. 'I felt compelled to tell her that when I got back to college after Christmas. 'We remained friends and in the Easter holidays she wrote me a letter which I still have.' Vines said their friendship cooled when Ms Maitlis 'scorned' him and put him down in front of friends, but until September 1990 they saw each other about a dozen times. He added: 'It triggered in me a manic depression. Some days were fine but some I would slip into a slumber of despondency with regards the scorn and belittling attitude she'd shown me.' Vines (pictured right, in 2002) said that he 'fell in love' with Ms Maitlis (left) after meeting her at Cambridge University Vines was accused of breaching an order which was imposed to stop him from contacting Ms Maitlis, her husband, children and parents. He also told the court how he remembered the day in 1999 when he received a phone call from UK police warning him not to contact her. Defence counsel Greg Foxsmith asked Vines if he accepted he was subject to a restraining order, which he said he did. But the defendant said: 'I believe I have a reasonable excuse, in the circumstances, to breach the restraining order.' After graduating Vines lived in Paris while Ms Maitlis worked abroad in Hong Kong, and he said he made contact with her because he was plagued by thoughts about the soured friendship - four years after they met. Mr Foxsmith, defending, added: 'It was a correspondence in the real sense of the word.' A planned meeting took place in July 1995, and Vines described the reunion as 'very amicable and convivial.' However, three years later, when Vines was living in Berlin, Ms Maitlis wrote to his therapist to ask him not to contact her. In April 1999, while still in Germany, he received a call from police in Hammersmith, London. He told the jury: 'Police gave me a call. They said "you've sent her 50 letters," which I hadn't. I was given a warning.' ISIS has outlawed the burka at their security centres in a northern Iraqi city, despite previously brutally enforcing a law requiring them to be worn. The terror group have banned women entering the buildings in Mosul while wearing the full-face covering after a number of commanders were killed by veiled women. Previously women in Syria and Iraq have been beaten or even killed by ISIS's 'morality police' for not wearing a veil to conceal their body and eyes. ISIS has outlawed the burka at their security centres in a northern Iraqi city, despite previously brutally enforcing a law requiring them to be worn. File picture The website Iran Front Page were informed of the ban by a source in Nineveh, Iraq, on Friday. The normal strict dress code implemented by ISIS forces all women to be covered from head to toe in black. Women in the rest of Mosul except for the security centres, and in all other areas controlled by ISIS, will still have to abide by the strict dress code, it is understood. Last month, women were pictured celebrating the liberation of the Syrian city of Manbij by burning the sombre outfits. One girl grabbed the black burka she was wearing and pulled it off her head to reveal her face, an act which would have seen her severely punished under ISIS. Meanwhile another group of youngsters can been dancing around a burqa that has been discarded on the ground and left to burn. Previously women have been beaten or even killed by ISIS's 'morality police' if they did not wear a veil to conceal their body and eyes. Pictured are women burning veils in Manbij In June, Khadija Abdu Al-Muotee from the liberated town of Abu Qalqal, in Aleppo, northern Syria, celebrated not being forced to wear a black veil anymore The celebrations came as thousands of people displaced by the fighting with ISIS returned to Manbij after driving out the terror group. The loss of Manbij, occupied by Islamic State since early 2014, was a big blow to the militants as it is of strategic importance. The town served as a conduit for the transit of foreign jihadists and provisions from the Turkish border. A cancer-stricken woman has claimed she's added three years to her life by bargaining with doctors to give her treatments they didn't want to give her. Diagnosed with undifferentiated gastric sarcoma in 2012, doctors told Queensland woman Lisa Magill that she had only weeks left to live. But $100,000 later - all out of her pocket - she claims she has created a concoction of therapies that have given her more time on earth. The 34-year-old Australian woman suffers from tumour bleeds, which are fatal if not stopped in time. And if it wasn't for the tumour-shrinking radiation treatments, she wouldn't be here today. Queenslander Lisa Magill (pictured) who is dying from cancer, has claimed she's added three years to her life by bargaining with doctors to give her treatments they didn't want to give her Doctors told the 34-year-old (pictured with her niece Ava) she had just weeks left to live 'Every doctor tells me that I should be dead. They told me there was nothing they could do,' she said. 'I had a one kilogram tumour on my stomach and, looking back, I think the surgeon should have been more aggressive during my first operation. He should have taken out everything that the tumour was touching. 'They told me that if they took out more then I might have ended up living with a colostomy bag but I'd rather have a poop bag than be dying. 'And if they had given me radiation to begin with then I might not be in the position that I'm in today. 'Doctors aren't gods.' But despite all the 'what-ifs', Ms Magill doesn't harbour any resentment and instead has chosen to channel her thoughts into her blog Terminally Fabulous, which attracts 100,000 readers every week. Following the bad breakup of a 14-year-long relationship, the Queenslander said she started her blog as 'F*** You' to her ex. Part revenge, part catharsis, she didn't think anyone would be interested in her story, but since starting it back in February she's found that many people resonate with it. On it, she pens about everything from chronic illness and dying to family and dating. She wrote in a post: 'If Bridget Jones thought she had issues dating, then imagine dating when you have terminal cancer.' The 34-year-old woman suffers from tumour bleeds, which are fatal if not stopped in time She claims she has created a concoction of therapies that have given her more time on earth For Ms Magill, her blog is her legacy - a memory her family will have of her after she passes-but it's also a way to connect with people and to distract her, if only for a little while, from the everyday trails of being terminal. 'Nurses from cancer wards and cancer centres here and around the world have told me that they pass my blog onto other women that have cancer,' she said. 'They find comfort in it, and that is something that I am truly proud of.' When her cancer returned for a second time in September 2013, she felt her world collapsed. Despite having clear scans just two months' prior, the disease decided it wasn't finished. 'The ultrasound technician was supposed to wait for my doctor, but I could tell by her face that the cancer was back,' she said. 'She showed me the scans and pointed to the 13 tumours, each the size of iPhones. I said, "that's it, I'm dying". 'I tried chemo, which helped shrink the tumours, but it would stop working after only a few months.' She started a blog about everything from chronic illness and dying to family and dating When her cancer returned for a second time in September 2013, she felt her world collapsed After being refused multiple times for surgery, Ms Magill was able to convince a surgeon at Royal Prince Alfred Hospital to perform an aggressive operation. She said he told her there was a 50 per cent chance she wouldn't make it out alive. 'They cut into me like a Mercedes-Benz sign and gutted me,' Ms Magill said. 'When I got out of surgery I had PICC lines hanging from my arms and neck. There were a dozen foreign things coming out of my body, trying to keep me going.' The Australian woman was not willing to go down without a fight That was back in February 2014 and Ms Magill hasn't seen the inside of a hospital ward since. Since then, she said she's been able to cheat death with expensive immunotherapy drugs and radiation. A 24-hour stream of oxycodone keeps her pain manageable. But she was not willing to go down without a fight. 'I'm not ready to die. There will come a point when I won't have a choice and my body will reject the radiation, but that's why I'm trying these other therapies,' she said. 'They've put us in debt, but what's the cost of a life? For me, a couple of extra months is a long time.' Ms Magill said at this point doctors won't prescribe any more chemo and she has to beg for them to give her radiation. She said now all treatment is palliative and the radiation will only shrink her tumours by mere millimetres, alleviating some of the pain. Ms Magill (left) is happy to live out her days devoting time to her blog and enjoying her life If it wasn't for the tumour-shrinking radiation treatments, she wouldn't be here today Ms Magill counts herself lucky to have survived this long, although she admits that living has led to 'survivor's guilt' Ms Magill counts herself lucky to have survived this long, although she admits that living has led to 'survivor's guilt'. 'There are people who think I've been dying forever and they accuse me of pretending or exaggerating,' she said. She said she's been able to cheat death with expensive immunotherapy drugs 'I feel like people are judging me because, from the outside, I look well and they presume that I'm not as ill as I make out. 'Terminal cancer means you're dying and that it's quite imminent, but why should I feel guilty for still living while I'm dying?' Although she's always praying for a miracle, Ms Magill has more or less accepted her fate. Because her cancer is so rare-less than two percent of cancer diagnoses in Australia are sarcoma-doctors aren't looking for a cure and her treatment options are limited. Her last immunotherapy was a drug intended for patients with melanoma. And while Ms Magill's open to trying new methods, she has her limits. 'People are constantly telling me to do juice cleanses and try yoga,' she said. 'If I did everything people told me then I'd be praying to Buddha constantly.' She said she's been able to cheat death with expensive immunotherapy drugs and radiation She said now all treatment is palliative and the radiation will only shrink her tumours by mere millimetres, alleviating some of the pain Ms Magill is now happy to live out her days devoting time to her blog and enjoying her life Instead, Ms Magill is happy to live out her days devoting time to her blog and spending time with family and friends. She's already made sure that each of them will have a piece of her when she passes: her Tiffany's bracelet for her best friend, her Prada handbag for her mum, her diamond ring for her niece Ava when she's older. Her funeral is more or less all in order, too. She's just trying to figure out who will give her eulogy. 'I'm going to have white and green chrysanthemums and absolutely no lilies. I'm allergic to them,' she said. 'I know I'll be dead, but I don't want to be sneezing in heaven. And my coffin has to be lined with satin, not velvet. I hate the feeling of velvet. 'And I have the songs picked out too: "If I Die Young" by The Band Perry, "I Lived," by One Republic and "Ironic" by Alanis Morissette. 'I've taught my niece that stars are people who have passed away and are looking down on the world, watching. A neglected puppy that doctors suggested euthanizing due to its extreme levels of neglect has made a miraculous recovery. Libre, whose name means 'freedom' in Spanish, was found on the farm of 33-year-old Benjamin Stoltzfus in early July. At 16 weeks old Libre was found abandoned and left for dead on the farm. After being taken to Dillsburg Veterinary Hospital, doctors said the puppy would need a miracle to survive its ailments and injuries. Scroll down for video Libre (pictured), a puppy whose name means 'freedom' in Spanish, was found nearly dead on the farm of 33-year-old Benjamin Stoltzfus in early July After being taken to Dillsburg Veterinary Hospital, doctors said the puppy would need a miracle to survive its ailments and injuries and recommended putting the dog down. But then Pennsylvania's Speranza Animal Rescue then stepped in to begin the healing process Pennsylvania's Speranza Animal Rescue then stepped in and told Dillsburg to do whatever they could to save the tiny Boston terrier. The dog was emaciated and suffering from mange and sepsis. After diligent care, Libre, now four months old, has made a startling recovery and has also been adopted. His condition prompted worldwide outrage and hundreds stood outside the clinic with signs in support of Libre. Stoltzfus was charged with one count of cruelty against animals, to which he pleaded guilty, according to Penn Live. His sentencing was a fine of $750. The maximum sentence he faced was $750 fine, a possible prohibition on animal ownership and up to 90 days in jail. Video courtesy of PunkRox Productions After diligent care, Libre, now four months old, has made a startling recovery and has also been adopted However, Libre's case caused systematic changes in how Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, handles cases of abuse and will hopefully prevent similar stories like that of Libre from occurring. Libre is still recovering but the attention his photos received on social media caused a public outcry at the local SPCA officials initial failure in charging Stoltzfus with a crime. The department received a slew of angry letters and emails. Susan Martin, the Lancaster SPCA executive director, initially claimed she lacked evidence to charge Stoltzfus. Stoltzfus claimed to be getting veterinary care for the dog, which is why she didn't charge him at first. Stoltzfus was charged with one count of cruelty against animals, to which he pleaded guilty District Attorney Craig Stedman said in a press conference that changes to how cruelty cases like Libre's are handled would be changed after public outcry at his condition Before and after: Now local police officers will be the first point of contact in cruelty cases instead of the SPCA, which made missteps in Libre's case, and Senator Richard Alloway has also proposed 'Libre's Law', which would intensify cruelty statutes However, when the state took on the investigation along with Lancaster County District Attorney's Office, they said there was plenty of evidence to bring forth charges. Stoltzfus later admitted to failing to get Libre the proper care he needed. Martin is still the executive director of the Lancaster SPCA branch but has had her power of arrest revoked. After being stripped of power she said she would remain executive director but would relinquish her separate power as an appointed humane officer, Penn Live reported. District Attorney Craig Stedman said in a press conference that changes to how cruelty cases like Libre's are handled would be changed. This is a particularly sensitive subject for the 'Puppy Mill capital of the United States', as Lancaster has previously been referred to. The area has suffered numerous public cruelty cases. The changes include a switch up in the chain of command and now local police officers will be the first point of contact in cruelty cases. An email tip line has also been established. Bloody clashes broke out overnight as gangs of Afghan, Syrian and Iraqi youths fought each other in a Greek migrant centre. Seven people were injured in the fighting, which happened at the troubled camp at Moria on Lesbos, where more than 3,000 people live. The brawl started at around midnight in the area where underage refugees are hosted. Bloody clashes broke out overnight as gangs of Afghan, Syrian and Iraqi youths fought each other in a Greek migrant centre According to witnesses, children from Afghanistan moved against others from Syria. The Syrians were also reported to have fought Iraqi youths, who they accuse of threatening them with violence because of their superior numbers. Adults also became involved in the fighting. Approximately 40 people escaped when the doors in the area where the underage are being held and a container were destroyed. Police said five teenagers and two adults required treatment for light injuries. No arrests were reported. Overcrowding and a slow asylum process has fuelled tension on Lesbos, which holds 5,400 people in camps designed for 3,500. The island is very close to Turkey and a main destination for migrants seeking a better life in Europe. Seven people were injured in the fighting, which happened throughout the night at the hot spot of Moria on Lesbos Overcrowding and a slow asylum process has fuelled tension on Lesbos, which holds 5,400 people in camps designed for 3,500 Camp residents are awaiting processing of their asylum bids. If these are rejected, they face deportation back to Turkey under this year's EU-Turkey deal. The Moria camp previously witnessed trouble in April when migrants hurled rocks at police and set rubbish ablaze. Inmates also tore down fences, banged metal objects and shouted 'freedom and 'open the borders'. Riot police fired tear gas as they fought to suppress the trouble, injuring several people. From a traffic warden and litter picker to a voluptuous Page 3 model, these are the many faces of Islam convert Kimberley Miners who is suspected of being groomed to become a jihadi bride. The 27-year-old, who has posed topless for The Sun, has reportedly been questioned by security services after speaking with a British fighter on Facebook who is recruiting women for the 'caliphate'. Now a series of photographs have emerged which illustrate the incredible transformation of the Bradford woman since she converted to Islam in 2010. Transformation: From a traffic warden (right) and litter picker (left) to a voluptuous Page 3 model, these are the many faces of Islam convert Kimberley Miners who is suspected of being groomed online to become a jihadi bride Pictures show how Ms Miners formerly pounded the streets of her home town in West Yorkshire as a traffic warden and litter picker, as she tried to make a career out of glamour modelling (left). She was pictured today leaving her home in Bradford (right) Pictures show how Ms Miners formerly pounded the streets of her home town in West Yorkshire as a traffic warden, infuriating her bosses by letting drivers off from fines. Other images from 2009 show her posing with a lip gloss in hand while she worked as a road sweeper for Bradford City Council. In another change of tact, she also appeared in The Sun on Page 3, as part of her ambitions to become a glamour model. Today, she was seen leaving her home in Bradford but had shunned her traditional Islamic dress for more Western attire. Speaking about her transformation yesterday, Ms Miners said she had turned to Islam after her father's death in 2010 to 'find peace'. She said: 'I've gone from glamour model to something completely different. 'You don't get s*** for wearing nowt but the second you start wearing the veil you get accused of extremism.' Ms Miners' first became involved in Islam after her father drowned in a freak accident, when he fell headfirst into a frozen lake in Bradford. Ms Miners said she was told Isis is there to protect the religion but not really knowing as 'got her into trouble' Since then, she is understood to have started using the name Aisha Lauren al-Britaniya and has been communicating with Abu Usamah Al Britani, who is believed to be an Isis recruiter. But she insisted yesterday that, although she wants to travel to the area for charity work, she is not interested in becoming a jihadi bride and did agree with ISIS. It came amid reports that she had posted ISIS propaganda on social media. Ms Miners first found fame in 2009 as she split her time between being a street cleaner in Bradford and working to become a topless model Speaking to Dipesh Gadher and Jonathan Corke for the Sunday Times, Ms Miners said: 'I've shared a lot of bombs and stuff [on Facebook]; I've shared a lot of videos.' Ms Miners said she started working as a road sweeper when her mother Patricia told her about the job. She did the job on the side as she attempted to break into the modelling industry. Describing her work in 2009, she said: 'I put my make-up on and I love it. You get to meet people and have a laugh. I am a girly girl.' Speaking on another occasion about her traffic warden role, she said she enjoyed the job but was alwyas lenient with driver. 'You have to be fair with people,' she said. 'I would always give them a bit of extra time before issuing a ticket. Some motorists genuinely lose track of time and aregrateful that I do not act straight away. 'My bosses don't like it because they are missing out on cash but you can't be too hard on people.' Ms Miners has now been directed to a counter extremism programme by police amid fears she could end up in the same position as Sally Jones, who converted to Islam and left the country three years ago to become an ISIS recruiter. Ms Miners' case could mirror that of Sally Jones, above, who took her younger son to Turkey after converting to Islam several years ago One of the pictures Abu Usamah Al Britani has shared on Facebook is a kitten in a mock suicide vest Jones abandoned a disastrous career as a punk rocker to convert to Islam. She took her young son to Turkey on holiday over the Christmas period in 2013 and the pair failed to return to the UK. Keith Vaz has been accused of hypocrisy over a prostitution inquiry by his committee that included a 4,000 'fact-finding' mission to Copenhagen. The Home Affairs Select Committee recommended in July that laws on soliciting and brothel-keeping be loosened. The MPs' interim report also noted the link between sex work and 'criminality, including trafficking, coercion and illegal drugs'. And in a passage that has now taken on a new significance, the politicians lamented the difficulty in gathering evidence - pointing to the 'understandable unwillingness of those involved to identify themselves as sellers or buyers of sex'. Keith Vaz turned up at the Commons to ask Home Secretary Amber Rudd a question today despite the sex scandal threatening to engulf him A former sex worker who gave evidence to the committee, Paris Lees, said Mr Vaz had found it impossible to believe that she did not know any sex workers who had not been forced into the industry. Ms Lees, who was a rent boy before changing gender, said he had a 'bloody cheek', writing on Twitter: 'Keith Vaz paying for sex IS in public interest. He's leading a review of the sex work laws. 'Another patronising North London hypocrite.' The criticism came as Mr Vaz tried to get back to business as usual after allegations emerged that the married father of two paid male escorts to attend a sordid party at his London 'sex flat'. He apparently tried to conceal his identity by pretending to be a washing machine salesman called 'Jim'. Mr Vaz is said to have offered to pay for cocaine if it was brought to a sex party - but stressed he did not want any himself. The Labour MP, who is believed to have stood aside from his role as committee chairman, turned up to the Commons today to ask Home Secretary Amber Rudd a question about Britons going off to fight for Isis. The committee's report said that fear of being prosecuted for soliciting means sex workers take greater risks with clients, exposing them to more danger of exploitation, abuse and violence. It also means they are less likely to seek help from the police, access health care or try to quit prostitution, says the Home Affairs Select Committee. Former sex worker Paris Lees, who gave evidence to the Home Affairs Committee's inquiry into prostitution, has branded him a hypocrite Former sex worker Paris Lees took to Twitter to slam Mr Vaz for 'hypocrisy' Rules on running brothels should also be rewritten so prostitutes can share premises rather than placing themselves in jeopardy by working alone, the cross-party panel has conpresent cluded. Paying for sex is not against the law in mainland UK - it was made illegal in Northern Ireland last year - but many activities linked to it, such as brothel-keeping and soliciting in a public place, are banned. Mr Vaz said at the time that there was 'universal agreement' that parts of the law were 'unsatisfactory'. He said: 'Treating soliciting as a criminal offence is having an adverse effect, and it is wrong that sex workers, who are predominantly women, should be penalised and stigmatised in this way. The criminalisation of sex workers should therefore end.' The report added: 'We are very concerned that, despite there being no clear evidence that it reduces demand for prostitution, the current practice of treating soliciting as an offence is having an adverse impact, in terms of preventing sex workers from seeking help to exit prostitution, exposing them to abuse and violence, and damaging other areas of their lives, such as access to health and welfare benefits.' Mr Vaz is believed to have stood aside as chair of the Home Affairs Committee but has not quit altogether MPs said criminal records made it more difficult for prostitutes to quit the trade, described as 'the most dangerous occupation in the world'. Since 1990, 152 sex workers have been murdered in Britain. Evidence to the committee said convictions for prostitutes - which usually result in fines - 'trapped and entrenched them in a cycle of exploitation, offending and limited life chances'. The report said: 'Having a criminal record for prostitution-related offences also often creates an insurmountable barrier for sex workers wishing to exit prostitution and to move into regular work.' The committee stressed that the power to prosecute pimps should be maintained, along with 'zero tolerance' to criminal exploitation. MPs said they were 'not convinced' that the 'sex buyer law' introduced in Northern Ireland would work. They had heard evidence that prostitutes were forced to take greater risks to ensure their clients were not arrested, such as working in more isolated locations. As part of the inquiry, four of the MPs, including Mr Vaz, went on a two-day 'fact-finding' trip to Copenhagen and Malmo in April. A 16-year-old girl who went missing for three days has been found to the relief of her father, a radio show host who issued a public appeal for help on air. Gabrielle Pagliarulo, of Spring Branch, Texas was found more than 1,200 miles away in San Diego, California on Saturday with Christopher Lee Fretwell, 29, who was arrested for unlawful restraint, police said. The girl's father Joe 'Pags' Pagliarulo, a nationally syndicated radio talk show host, expressed his gratitude after he announced she was found near the border of Mexico. Scroll down for video Gabrielle Pagliarulo, of Spring Branch, Texas was found more than 1,200 miles away in San Diego, California on Saturday Gabby was found with Christopher Lee Fretwell, 29, (pictured) who was arrested for unlawful restraint because he took a child out of the state without her parents' permission, police said Her father Joe 'Pags' Pagliarulo (left, with Gabby, right) is a nationally syndicated radio talk show host who issued a public appeal for help on air Gabby was reported missing on Wednesday, and she was last seen with Fretwell in a 2011 Toyota Camry on Arizona's Interstate 40, police said. On Friday, Joe, who is broadcast on WOAI in San Antonio and KPRC in Houston, shared his worries on air, asking for people to keep their eyes peeled. He also wrote a post on Facebook that read: 'WE NEED her home. Gabby, we love you and miss you so much baby. Come home now.' Police suspected Gabby was heading to California, and the teen was found safe in San Diego after three days. Fretwell was arrested for unlawful restraint because he took a child out of the state without her parent's permission, Comal County Sheriff Tommy Ward said. Gabby and Fretwell knew each other through work, although it remains unclear why they were in California, Ward said. Joe (left, with Gabby, right) returned to the air on Saturday morning to announce Gabby had been found. He said: 'It's the joy of a father that I can't really truly express' Joe returned to the air on Saturday morning and said: 'I've got an amazing update- It's been a very long night, but my daughter Gabby has been found. 'It's the joy of a father that I can't really truly express. But I want to thank every single person- millions and millions of people saw this... 'Millions of you made phone calls and researched [Fretwell] on social media and called his friends, or former friends, or anyone who had ever known him. 'I think social media is a scary place sometimes, but I truly believe because of this resource, we will be able to have our daughter back.' Ameen Jogee was handed the second chance back in February A killer who was controversially awarded a retrial in a landmark British case has been convicted of the manslaughter of a former policeman days after being cleared of his murder. Ameen Jogee was handed the second chance back in April, two months the Supreme Court ruled its joint enterprise law had been misinterpreted for more than 30 years. He had initially been found guilty, along with his friend Mohammed Hirsi, of murdering Paul Fyfe in 2011 and the pair were both handed life sentences. Hirsi had fatally stabbed the 47-year-old at a flat in Leicester, with Jogee encouraging him to do it from the doorway. He had initially been found guilty, along with his friend Mohammed Hirsi, of murdering Paul Fyfe (pictured, above left) in 2011 and the pair were both handed life sentences. However, he was granted a retrial after the Supreme Court ruled that it must be proved that an accomplice to a crime had the mental intention to encourage or assist the person who delivers the killing blow. A jury at Nottingham Crown Court cleared Jogee of murder on Friday afternoon after more than 13 hours of deliberation, but the seven men and five women today convicted Jogee of manslaughter. Jogee will be sentenced on September 12. The ruling to overturn sent shockwaves through the legal world, with more than 500 killers predicted to have grounds to seek to have their sentences quashed. It was condemned by Mr Fyfe's family, among others, who said they were 'absolutely disgusted.' It was condemned by Mr Fyfe's family, among others, who said they were 'absolutely disgusted.' His wife, Tracy, said: 'Criminals like Ameen Jogee would literally be getting away with murder.' Joint enterprise was used to convict the killers of Stephen Lawrence and Garry Newlove and 500 others in the past decade alone. The case of Shauna Hoare, convicted with her boyfriend Nathan Matthews of killing Bristol teenager Becky Watts, is one that could be affected by the ruling. She claims she knew Matthews wanted to kidnap Becky to have sex with her but was not with him when he throttled her, although she was in the house. Tracey Fyfe, the widow of the former police officer, with her daughter Jess earlier this year after the retrial was granted WHAT IS JOINT ENTERPRISE? The law allows for several people to be convicted of the same offence, even if they played different roles. It can be used to prosecute all crimes but has recently been mainly used in murder cases. The law means that a gang involved in a fatal attack, who could be standing by encouraging others, can be convicted of murder even if they do not land the fatal blow or kick. Between 2005 and 2013 there were 4,590 prosecutions for murder with two or more defendants, according to a report by the Bureau of Investigative Journalism. In the same period, 1,853 people were prosecuted for homicides when the charge involved four or more defendants Prosecutors say the law is only used for people who participate in a crime while others have raised concerns about the danger of injustice. Joint enterprise law was used to convict David Norris and Gary Dobson of killing black teenager Stephen Lawrence. In another well-known case three teenagers, Adam Swellings, Stephen Sorton and Jordan Cunliffe were jailed for life in January 2008 for the murder of Garry Newlove. Mr Newlove was attacked in front of his daughters in August 2007 after he confronted a group outside his house in Warrington, Cheshire. Advertisement A five day strike by junior doctors has been called off amid fears over patient safety. The crippling walk out, which had been due to begin on Monday, was to be the first of a new wave of strikes over controversial new contracts. The Government insists the revised deals are crucial to deliver a seven day NHS service but junior doctors rejected a settlement brokered in the spring. The decision to announce new strikes last week prompted claims the junior doctors were being 'militant' in the dispute, which centres on rates of pay for Saturday shifts. Junior doctors have repeatedly taken to the picket lines this year but today suspended a walk out planed for next week to avoid harm to patients Ellen McCourt, the chairwoman of the junior doctors committee at the BMA, today rejected that charge but announced next week's strike would not go ahead. She said: 'We have to listen to our colleagues when they tell us that they need more time to keep patients safe. 'We have also listened to the concerns of working doctors, patient groups and the public. 'Thousands of you have been in touch, your level of anger over the Secretary of State's imposed contract remains high, but at the same time you want to keep your patients safe during industrial action. 'The BMA is therefore suspending the industrial action planned for the week of 12 September. The remaining programme of industrial action stays in place.' Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt, who condemned the decision to launch new strike action, is due to address MPs later on the latest developments. Downing Street welcomed news of the suspension of the walkout. A Number 10 spokesman said: 'The Government's position has been that we didn't want the strike to take place. The BMA, as we have repeatedly said, should be putting patients first and not playing politics. 'It is extremely good news for patients that this strike has been suspended. We would urge junior doctors to suspend all other planned strikes.' Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt condemned the plans to continue strike action and he is due to address MPs later Ms McCourt vowed the rest of the planned strike action - due to resume in October - will go ahead if Mr Hunt refuses to make concessions. She said: (Mr Hunt) continues to ignore our request to stop the imposition. 'He continues to force upon junior doctors a contract that discriminates against carers, parents, doctors with disabilities and women, a contract that devalues our time and a contract that disincentives careers in our most struggling specialities. Striking doctors have insisted Mr Hunt is personally to blame for the dispute 'He continues to strive towards an uncosted, unfunded, unstaffed extended seven day service. He continues to disregard the concerns junior doctors have about staffing shortages and patient safety.' Earlier today, health leaders warned junior doctors who go on strike for more than two weeks could face competency assessments. Prolonged industrial action could lead to a 'loss of training experience', according to the body which oversees education and training within the health workforce in England. Health Education England (HEE) has said that if any trainee misses out on more than two weeks of training - or work days - then they could be red-flagged by the General Medical Council (GMC). This could lead to an assessment of their training progression, HEE said. Professor Terence Stephenson, chairman of the General Medical Council, said: 'Last week, on behalf of a number of organisations, we asked the BMA to consider moving the start date of their industrial action. 'We are therefore pleased that they have agreed to do so. This delay will give hospitals and other providers more time to plan for reduced medical cover, thereby reducing the impact and potential harm to patients.' A Department of Health spokesman said: 'The public will be relieved that the BMA has decided to call off the first phase of these unprecedented strikes, so this is welcome news. 'But if the BMA were really serious about patient safety, they would immediately cancel their remaining plans for industrial action which, as the GMC says, will only cause patients to suffer.' The next action is scheduled for October 5, 6, 7, 10 and 11, November 14 to 18 and December 5 to 9, which will see junior doctors withdrawing from labour between the hours of 8am and 5pm, in the ongoing dispute over a controversial new contract for training medics. WHEN ARE THE JUNIOR DOCTORS DUE TO BE ON STRIKE? Junior doctors last week announced a new string of strikes ahead of a controversial employment contract being imposed upon them in October. With some health professionals suggesting millions of people could face disruption as a result, we answer a few questions about patient cancellations. When are the walkouts due to take place? There are still three sets of walkouts currently scheduled over coming months, the first on October 5, 6, 7, 10 and 11, followed by November 14 to 18 and December 5 and 9. How badly will services be affected? The British Medical Association (BMA) has announced the strikes will see a 'full withdrawal of labour' which will lead to considerable disruption and other medical staff having to attempt to plug the holes in the workforce. Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt estimated some 100,000 operations would be cancelled and more than one million appointments. NHS Providers, which represents NHS leaders, estimated it would be closer to half a million cancelled operations and four million appointments. What should I do if I'm concerned about a cancelled hospital appointment or operation? The Patients Association has advised contacting your local hospital's admissions clerk to see if you're affected - and how badly. It added that quick answers should not be expected, as many places will still be attempting to piece together their contingency plans following the announcement of industrial action by the BMA. How long would I have to wait for my appointment or operation to be rescheduled? According to NHS guidelines, these should be rearranged within 28 days of being cancelled. But, given the scale of strike action and the number of appointments which face cancellation, the Patients Association warned this could take longer. Advertisement Junior doctors' leader quits over growing backlash against five-day strikes as medics are warned they may be struck off if patients are harmed Lottie Elliott, 28, accused British Medical Association bosses of showing 'disregard for patient safety' after stepping down A junior doctors' leader has quit amid a growing backlash over next week's five-day strike. Lottie Elliott accused British Medical Association bosses of showing 'disregard for patient safety'. In a sign of growing division within the union, the 28-year-old stepped down from its junior doctors' committee over the weekend saying she 'felt bullied'. The BMA wants to stage five-day strikes every month until Christmas which are expected to cause the cancellation of 125,000 operations and one million appointments. But senior union bosses are said to be in a 'real panic' as so many junior doctors have told them they cannot afford to take part because they will lose pay. Thousands of doctors are planning to cross picket lines and work normally when the first of the walkouts starts next Monday. And today the General Medical Council issues a stark warning to junior doctors informing them they face being struck off if patients come to harm. A&E trainee Miss Elliott, who was the committee's representative for Merseyside, said: 'I cannot associate myself with a group of people with such a disregard for patient safety.' 'I think it's just gone too far now,' she told the Mail. A network of ISIS extremists who targeted Paris in November last year had ambitious plans to carry out yet more atrocities, it has emerged. Fanatics killed 130 people in the French capital on November 13 when they massacred music fans in the Bataclan theatre hall, set off suicide bombs at the Stade de France and gunned down revellers outside bars. But the terror group's external operations wing, known as Amn al-Kharji, may have been planning for the murderous team to hit other targets, including supermarkets and packed shopping centres, it has been reported. A network of ISIS extremists who targeted Paris in November last year had made ambitious plans to carry out yet more atrocities, it has emerged. People are pictured fleeing from the Bataclan on November 13 There are also suggestions their hit list included targets in the Netherlands while one official said ISIS has stepped up moves to infiltrate its attackers into Britain. Details of an apparent wider plot emerged after CNN examined tens of thousands of pages of documents from investigations into the Paris massacre. The papers revealed that the ISIS network may have been planning to follow up the slaughter in Paris with attacks in several other locations. CNN says the documents show a suspected terrorist called Abid Tabaouni, believed to have been linked to the Paris terror cell, was at large in Europe for months after the atrocity. He was only arrested in July this year. A European counter-terror official told CNN that Paris was a 'slimmed-down' version of a far wider plot. Sources told the broadcaster that, even now, operatives planted in Europe are waiting for instructions from key ISIS strategists based in the terror group's Syrian stronghold. The terror group's external operations wing, known as Amn al-Kharji, may have been planning for the murderous team to hit other targets, including supermarkets and packed shopping centres. The exterior of the Bataclan, where 90 people died, is pictured above Fanatics killed 130 people in the French capital on November 13 when they massacred music fans in the Bataclan theatre hall, set off suicide bombs at the Stade de France (pictured) and gunned down revellers outside bars According to the CNN reporters Scott Bronstein, Nicole Gaouette, Laura Koran and Clarissa Ward, documents revealed that two terror suspects who were delayed in reaching France ahead of the November 13 killings may have been plotting to return to the French capital for a further attack at a later date. Adel Haddadi and Muhammad Usman had reportedly been looking at train times to Paris and made a number of overseas calls in the days before they were arrested - and investigators believe they were waiting for a third man to join them. The attack on Paris was one of a series of jihadist strikes on French soil. In January last year, terrorists shot 12 people dead at the office of Charlie Hebdo in Paris. Days later a Jewish supermarket was targeted with four shot dead. In June this year Police officer Jean-Baptiste Salvaing and his wife were knifed to death inside their home near Paris by a man who said he had pledged allegiance to ISIS. Serial womaniser Michael Brain would trick lonely hearts out of cash or simply steal their jewellery A man dubbed the 'cash card Casanova' has been banned from dating websites for life after conning vulnerable women out of more than 40,000 that he spent on booze and gambling. Serial womaniser Michael Brain would trick lonely hearts out of cash or simply steal their jewellery, including one elderly victim whose losses accounted for more than half that amount, a court heard. The 47-year-old posed online as a former Royal Marine and preyed on women who had suffered bereavement or domestic abuse by telling his own made-up 'sob stories'. Brain claimed he had suffered burns following an explosion while serving on the frontline. In reality he suffered the injury from a gas canister while staying in a caravan. The fraudster, of no fixed address but previously from Plympton, Devon, admitted nine offences of fraud and five of theft at Plymouth Crown Court. He was jailed for four years and given an indefinite Criminal Behaviour Order banning him from dating and gambling websites. Brain was also barred from wearing any military uniform or medals unless by dint of service. The fraudster, of no fixed address but previously from Plympton, Devon, admitted nine offences of fraud and five of theft at Plymouth Crown Court Judge Paul Darlow told him: 'This was a callous web of rehearsed and repeated lies, carefully-honed and mainly directed by you at women because of their vulnerabilities or simply because of their inherent caring natures. 'I have no doubt that none of these women would have let you near them if they had known the truth about you.' Brain's offences took place between 2012 and 2015, netting him more than 40,000. One of his victims, a 75-year-old Cornish woman, loaned him 20,055 to pay various bills after meeting through the website Badoo. But the court heard Brain had spent the money on drinking and gambling. Brain's offences took place between 2012 and 2015, netting him more than 40,000. He would often spend the money on booze and gambling Nick Lewin, for the Crown Prosecution Service, said Brain had used several dating websites including Plenty of Fish, Badoo and Smooch to bombard women with flattering messages. He added that Brain could be at various stages of relationships with as many as four women at any time. Mr Lewin said he used 'sophisticated and cynical lies' to worm his way into the affections of his targets. He added: 'He claimed he was the victim of sexual violence or an abusive or controlling relationship.' A man who allegedly murdered his ex-partner before taking his own life in a suspected murder-suicide allegedly held a knife to his daughter's throat just weeks earlier. The bodies of Tasman Bahar and Dave Pillay were found in the bathroom of a home they previously shared in Smithfield, a suburb in Sydney's west, on Sunday. The grim discovery was made by a male cousin of Ms Bahar's who also found the couple's young daughter unharmed and asleep in another room. On Monday, another of Ms Bahar's cousins Sifat Sharmin Ruponty, alleged Mr Pillay had a violent past, saying just five weeks earlier he had threatened his own daughter, causing Ms Bahar to end their six-year relationship. 'He actually took a knife in my niece's neck and that is when my sister decided that she cannot live with the man anymore,' Ms Ruponty told Channel Seven. Scroll down for video Dave Pillay (left) is believed to have killed his former partner Tasman Bahar (right) while their three-year-old slept in the next room on Father's Day Ms Bahar's cousin Sifat Sharmin Ruponty (pictured) alleged that Mr Pillay had threatened his young daughter just five weeks earlier by holding a knife to her throat 'That is when she stepped out of the house.' According to another of Ms Bahar's cousins, Dorin Hussain, she had just started to 'smile again' when she was murdered, the Daily Telegraph reports. 'She is the sweetest, kindest girl who would never hurt a soul. She went to see Dave on Father's Day to be nice to him and she's ended up paying with her life,' Mr Hussain said. 'What makes me sad is that she finally was smiling again. She had moved into a new place and was talking about how she was going to decorate it. 'She was happy and looking forward to the future.' Ms Bahar, 35, was warned by her family not to return to the property, but she wanted to give Mr Pillay an opportunity to spend time with his daughter for Father's Day. The young girl was found unharmed, sleeping in the next room when a male relative made the gruesome discovery and contacted police. Another of Ms Bahar's cousins said she was just starting to 'smile again' after leaving her partner The couple's daughter had moved to a nearby apartment with Ms Bahar when they separated. 'We told her not to go... but she went for Father's Day,' sister Sharagin Bahar told the Sydney Morning Herald. 'She wanted Dave to see her daughter,' she added. The young girl was found unharmed, sleeping in the next room when a male relative made the gruesome discovery and contacted police. Homicide detectives are investigating the possible murder-suicide and have confirmed they are not seeking 'other parties' in relation to the deaths. Ms Bahar, 35, moved out of the house several weeks before her death as Mr Pillay had reportedly started physically threatening her and their child, on one occasion with a knife The bodies were found inside a bathroom of a home the couple previously shared in Smithfield Homicide detectives are investigating the possible murder suicide and have confirmed they are not seeking 'other parties' in relation to the deaths Sharagin, who lives in New York, said she was travelling to Australia via Bangladesh and planned to take custody of the young orphan. 'I am so lost. I just want to take my niece into my custody, I want her with me. I'll take care of her. I'll do whatever is best for her.' A neighbour said his wife had heard the young girl screaming for her mother before the two bodies were found. 'My wife raced downstairs and said 'John, the little girl has come out screaming, yelling mummy',' John Araco told the Sydney Morning Herald. Ms Bahar's sister is travelling to Australia to take custody of the three-year-old orphan 'It seemed very quiet so I didn't think anything of it until the police came,' he added. He said the couple had been living together for three years, but their relationship had become noticeably strained over the last six weeks. This is the incredible moment a man hunting in rural Florida rescued a deer from the death grip of a huge python. Jimmy Wilson was hiking through a swampy area near Ochopee in Collier County when he came upon the deer who was pinned down as a python had wrapped itself around it. Wilson, who is originally from Miami, recorded video of the shocking encounter on his cell phone. The video first shows the white-tailed deer on the ground, as the python - a non-native invasive species in the state - wrapping itself tightly around the animal. Scroll down for video Jimmy Wilson was hiking through a swampy area near Ochopee in Collier County when he came upon the deer who was pinned down as a python had wrapped itself around it (pictured) While walking closer, he said: 'A python just grabbed this f***** deer.' Wilson then can be heard firing several shots at the snake, before it started to slither away. 'A python just grabbed this f***** deer,' Wilson says while walking closer. Wilson then can be heard firing several shots at the snake, before it started to slither away. Wilson fires a few more shots at the python, before eventually killing it. He then goes back to coax the deer into getting up and running away. His video does not show the moment the deer actually stands, however, Wilson says 'he just ran off.' He then goes back to coax the deer into getting up and running away. His video does not show the moment the deer actually stands, however, Wilson says 'he just ran off' According to the Naples Daily News, Wilson recorded the incident a few months ago. The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission allow the hunting of pythons in the state. In recent years, they have hosted Python Challenges where hundreds of people compete for cash prizes for capturing the largest and most pythons. Danial and Benish Khan's first child, brown-eyed, dark haired daughter Ameila was born healthy in June. But shortly after, something went wrong and Amelia became seriously unwell - she somehow had irreversible brain damage. The Sydney couple didn't know it at the time, but their daughter was one of two babies at the Bankstown-Lidcombe Hospital affected by a 'devastating' gas mix-up. They found out several weeks later, with Amelia reliant on a feeding tube, constant care and seizures, The Sydney Morning Herald reported. A baby boy died and a newborn girl Amelia Khan suffered suspected brain damage after they were mistakenly given nitrous oxide instead of oxygen at Bankstown-Lidcombe Hospital The 24-page report stated that the ceiling pipe work supplying oxygen and nitrous oxide to the medical gas panel had been 'mislabelled' The couple have opened up about their child being administered nitrous oxide - 'laughing' - gas rather than oxygen. 'It's devastating as a parent to be told that your precious daughter has suffered permanent brain damage,' they said. Amelia's suffering wouldn't ever go away, they told the Herald. 'She will always have to live with the consequences of what was done to her at the hospital. But we will do everything we can to give her the best possible future.' 'A series of tragic errors' is being blamed for the oxygen mix-up that affected Amelia and caused the death of a baby boy. NSW Chief Health Officer Dr Kerry Chant said of her report: 'I can imagine that whilst giving some of the answers the families must require, it still doesn't undo what's been done, the catastrophic impact this error has had'. A final report released in August by NSW Chief Health Officer Dr Kerry Chant (pictured) found 'a series of tragic errors' led to the incidents 'We've certainly let them down and we should have done better.' The 24-page report found that South West Sydney Local Health District, and BOC Ltd which installed the medical gas piping, failed to comply with Australian standards. The report stated that the ceiling pipe work supplying oxygen and nitrous oxide to the medical gas panel had been 'mislabelled', the Daily Telegraph reports. It also unearthed broader clinical and governance issues around risk management, communication and lines of accountability. The Health Ministry has been directed to further examine the governance issues and take over a disciplinary investigation already under way. In a brief statement, Ms Skinner said the public could be assured the health system was safe The general manager of the hospital has been suspended following investigations, after an engineer at the hospital was suspended earlier this month. Further interviews are taking place in relation to the investigation. The South Western Sydney Local Health District will also be placed on 'performance watch'. NSW Health will now require different contractors carry out the installation and testing of gas pipelines. Medical gas outlets in all other NSW health facilities have since been tested and no other failures found. Health Minister Jillian Skinner did not appear before the media when the report was released, but said in a statement, the could be assured the health system was safe. Sonya and Youssef Ghanem (pictured) gave birth to their fourth child, John, on July 13. But John passed away when he was mistakenly given nitrous oxide Mrs Ghanem was told she needed an emergency caesarean and woke up from the general anaesthetic to hear her baby born was dead The family of the baby who passed away also spoke out in August about their grief over their loss. Sonya and Youssef Ghanem, from Bankstown in Sydney's west, gave birth to their fourth child, John, on Wednesday, July 13. But John passed away when he was mistakenly given nitrous oxide. Mrs Ghanem was told she needed an emergency caesarean and woke up from the general anaesthetic to hear her baby born was dead. 'I held my baby, they brought him to me at the hospital,' Mrs Ghanem told Nine News. 'I said: 'I want to see him'. Just looking at him, shaking. 'My son, wake up', I would tell him. 'Wake up, wake up. What did they do to you?' Disturbing video footage shows a vicious pit bull attacking a tiny beagle while its owner cried out in help and got caught up in the mauling herself. According to the uploader of the video, Raphael Fortin, he was out with his girlfriend visiting Boston for a Coldplay concert when they 'heard a loud yelling and shouting and realized that this was happening'. They were confronted by the harrowing scene of an out-of-control dog savaging a beagle as its owner tried to drag it away. Disturbing video footage shows a vicious pit bull attacking a tiny beagle while its owner cried out in help in Boston Horrified the woman who owned the beagle tried desperately to save her pooch and was left bloodied and bruised by the ordeal. The pit bull managed to bite into the neck of the smaller canine, which appeared lucky to not sustain life-threatening injuries. Mr Fortin said: 'The guy (pit bull owner) claimed that he got punched in the face which made his dog defend him and attack the smaller dog. I can't confirm if this is accurate.' In the ruthless attack the woman screamed out 'help me' as she lay injured on the floor. Passers-by tried to wrestle the pit bull away from the beagle, whose owner was left bloodied and bruised by the ordeal The woman filming the shocking scene could be heard screaming: 'What the f***! Oh my God,' before she yelled for people to stop kicking the pit bull 'Get it off her' she shouted as the older dog pulled her to the ground with her pet. The woman filming the shocking scene could be heard screaming: 'What the f***! Oh my God,' before she yelled for people to stop kicking the pit bull. A crowd of onlookers then tried to wrestle with the raging canine, before eventually the two dogs were pulled apart. Police officers arrived at the scene after the fight was broken up. The two dogs were eventually pulled apart. Police officers arrived at the scene after the fight was broken up The clip was posted by Mr Fortin on July 31 to YouTube and has over 200,000 views. He wrote that he was on his way to the Coldplay concert in Foxborough, and added he felt 'sad' that all the attention was given to the owner of the beagle rather than the pit bull. 'The guy was left alone by the crowd and even the cops which didn't seem to care about him that much. The girl left in the cops car. I assume she went to the hospital,' he posted. The missiles launched by North Korea today could be proof that China is arming the rogue state and flouting international sanctions, a former US defence chief believes. The country launched three medium-range missiles today that travelled 620 miles into the sea near Japan, believed to be a show of force for G20 leaders meeting for a summit in China this week. And recent images of Korean missiles show that they are remarkably similar to the Chinese JL-1 and has led to suspicion that China is selling arms and technology to Kim Jong Un, the country's aggressive leader. Scroll down for video Images of North Korean Rogon missiles (left) show that they look exactly the same as Chinese JL-1s, according to Dr Bruce Bechtol, formerly of the US Defense Intelligence Agency The similarities could be proof that China is trading with Kim Jong-Un's (pictured) rogue nation, breaching international laws banning trade with North Korea If this is true, it would mean China was ignoring the international sanctions banning trade with North Korea, which the communist state has been reluctant to enforce in the past. Dr Bruce Bechtol, formerly of the US Defense Intelligence Agency, said: 'It looks like it's a solid-fuel missile just like the JL-1. Just looking at them, they're looking exactly the same,' reports The Daily Star. North Korea has staged a series of recent missile tests with increasing range, part of a programme that aims to eventually build long-range nuclear missiles capable of striking the US mainland. Such tests are fairly common when international attention is turned to north east Asia, and this one came as world leaders gathered in eastern China for the G20 summit of advanced and emerging economies. China is North Korea's only major ally. Pictured is the late Kim Jong II (right), next to Chinese Vice President Xi Jinping in June 2008 Among the leaders attending the summit are British Prime Minister Theresa May, US President Barrack Obama and German Chancellor Angela Merkel. China is North Korea's only major ally, but ties between the neighbours have frayed amid a string of North Korean nuclear and missile tests and what many outsiders see as other provocations in recent years. Dr Bruce Bechtol (pictured) said that the rockets look exactly the same However, China has previously refused to inspect cargo going into the North, which could leave the door open for items to be imported that breach international law. South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff said today's ballistic missiles, all believed to be Rodongs, were launched from the western town of Hwangju and flew across the country before splashing into the sea. A Joint Chiefs of Staff statement described the launches as an 'armed protest' meant to demonstrate North Korea's military capability during the G20 summit and days before the North Korean government's 68th anniversary. In early August, another Rodong missile fired by North Korea also travelled about 1,000km, the longest-ever flight by that missile. All three missiles on Monday fell in Japan's exclusive economic zone, the 200-nautical-mile offshore area where a nation has sovereign rights for exploring and exploiting resources, according to Tokyo's Defence Ministry. Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga called the launches a 'serious threat' to Japanese security and said that Tokyo protested to North Korea via the Japanese Embassy in Beijing. It is believed that Kim Jong Un (pictured) launched the missiles earlier today as a show of force to the leaders at the G20 summit in China HOW THE SITUATION HAS BECOME MORE EXPLOSIVE IN RECENT MONTHS In early August, another Rodong missile fired by North Korea also travelled about 1,000km, the longest-ever flight by that missile. Last month, worries about the North's weapons programmes deepened after a missile from a North Korean submarine flew about 310 miles, the longest distance achieved by the North for such a weapon. Submarine-based missiles are harder to detect before launch than land-based ones like Rodongs. In June, after a string of failures, North Korea sent an intermediate Musudan missile more than 870 miles high in a test launch that outside analysts said showed progress in efforts to acquire the ability to strike US forces in the region. The UN Security Council in late August strongly condemned four North Korean ballistic missile launches in July and August. It called them 'grave violations' of a ban on all ballistic missile activity. Advertisement The United States also condemned the launches, saying it was discussing with allies the proper response and plans to raise concerns at the UN. The US also plans to bring up the issue during the East Asia summit in Laos this week. President Barack Obama was to head to Laos on Monday evening. The European Union said North Korea 'must halt all missile launches using ballistic missile technology and abandon its ballistic missile programmes in a complete, verifiable and irreversible manner.' Before Monday's launch, South Korean president Park Geun-hye met her Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping on the sidelines of the G20 summit and criticised the North for what she called repeated missile provocations that are threatening to hurt Seoul-Beijing ties. Japanese prime minister Shinzo Abe approached Ms Park during a coffee break at the G20 and agreed to cooperate closely, according to Japan's Foreign Ministry. The latest firing will not help the push by Mr Xi to get Ms Park to scrap the planned deployment of a powerful US anti-missile system in the South. During their meeting, Mr Xi warned Ms Park that 'mishandling the issue is not conducive to strategic stability in the region, and could intensify disputes'. Stockbroker Daniel Green (pictured), 26, allegedly raped a young woman while she was asleep under a desk following a late-night drinking session in central London A City worker raped a comatose woman in a stockbrokers' office after an impromptu cocaine and champagne-fuelled binge, a court has heard. Stockbroker Daniel Green, 26, allegedly attacked the young woman while she was asleep under a desk in his office block following a late-night drinking session in central London. The Old Bailey heard how the victim, who cannot be named for legal reasons, woke up on the floor of Green's workplace StratX to find him pulling off her trousers and knickers. Despite her repeatedly saying no, he continued to rape her and only stopped when she began to cry, the jury was told. Green is alleged to have then fled the office, leaving the woman crying and alone. Prosecutor Timothy Forster told the jury that the woman had been out drinking with a friend in the City to celebrate a good week in May 2015 when she met Green and his other work colleagues. Mr Forster said: 'He was just one of a number of men from Stratx out drinking in the same area. 'And so it was that the two women eventually ended up with a group of the defendant and a number of other people from his company. 'They went from one bar to the other. It is common ground that everyone in this case was consuming alcohol.' The court was told how the alleged victim and her friend started taking cocaine and that Mr Green also may have consumed the drug. Mr Forster said somebody in the group then suggested they return to the Stratx office, near Monument Station, where they continued drinking champagne. The Old Bailey (pictured) heard how the victim, who cannot be named for legal reasons, woke up on the office floor of Green's workplace StratX to find him pulling off her trousers The court was told how eight people returned but that by 4am it was just the alleged victim, her friend, Green and another man. Mr Forster said it was 'good natured' and that the woman eventually crawled under a desk and fell asleep, planning to wake up for the first train home that morning. About two hours later, Green entered the office. Mr Forster said: 'She was lying under the desk in the gloom of the office fast asleep, and suddenly she feels somebody pulling at her lower clothing. 'She can see its Mr Green because there's enough light to do that. And he pulls off her trousers and her knickers. 'As she realises what he is doing, she starts saying to him "no" and she repeats that, but he carries on. 'All the time, she is saying "no". It is only, it appears, when she actually bursts into tears that he stops. 'He then got up and left her in the room quietly sobbing in the gloom of the office.' Green left the building, and the victim called another friend on her mobile, who contacted the police, it was said. Police arrived at the scene, she told them what had happened and Green was arrested later that day at his home in Walthamstow, north east London. He was later told the victim's DNA had been recovered from his boxer shorts, the court heard. Twisted Arkadiusz Tomczyk, 30, was 'high on drugs' when he filmed the horrific sex attack A Polish immigrant who broke into a woman's home and made video recordings on his phone as he brutally raped her has been jailed for more than 13 years. Twisted Arkadiusz Tomczyk, 30, was 'high on drugs' when he filmed the horrific sex attack as he dragged the terrified victim around her house. Tomczyk then tried to cover his tracks by removing the evidence with bleach at the woman's flat in Handworth, Birmingham. A court heard the vile thug grabbed the woman by her hair and sprayed her in the face with pepper spray after breaking into her home at 2am on July 6 this year. He then dragged her by her hair, threw her against a coffee table and began to repeatedly punch her in the face at her flat. Tomczyk forced the victim to get on her knees and perform a sex act on him in her kitchen before threatening to kill her. He also dragged her back to the bedroom and subjected her to further sexual humiliation at her flat. The sex fiend tried to avoid leaving his DNA using a bucket of bleach and even asked the victim whether she recognised him but she said she didn't. When he was later arrested police found the pepper spray he had used at his home and then discovered two video clips of the warped attack on his mobile phone. Tomczyk, of Handsworth Wood, Birmingham, previously admitted rape, attempted rape, sexual assault, assault and another serious sexual offence. On Friday he was jailed for 13-and-a-half years and ordered to register as a sex offender for life at Birmingham Crown Court. Sentencing him, Judge Mary Stacey said: 'I have to sentence you for an appalling, terrifying and sustained attack and ordeal you subjected your victim to in her own home. 'You were high on drink and drugs. You chose to drink and smoke cannabis. On Friday he was jailed for 13-and-a-half years and ordered to register as a sex offender for life at Birmingham Crown Court (pictured) 'You filmed her humiliation and degradation. 'You beat her up and you dragged her around by her hair and you had your wits about you because during the course of this you still found time to try and remove your DNA from her flat. 'No woman can imagine anything worse than what you did. She has remained brave and she still had the courage to report the matter. 'You subjected her to severe psychological harm. I feel that you are totally lacking in remorse for what happened that night.' The court heard the victim was asleep in her home when she heard a noise and saw Tomczyk coming towards her. Martin Liddiard, prosecuting, said he also threatened to come back and rape and kill the woman if she reported what had happened to police. The judge was told how the victim was still living in fear that Tomczyk and his associates would come back for her. Judge Stacey added: 'She has lost her independence and sense of self worth. She has been affected in every possible way. 'She will, I fear, never recover completely from what you subjected her to.' The court heard Tomczyk had previous convictions between 2004 and 2009 for swindling and fraud in Poland. Before Barack Obama even set foot in China on Saturday afternoon, tensions mounted over how the president would disembark his plane. Obama, who arrived in Hangzhou for the Group of 20 summit, used Air Force One's built-in steps rather than the usual rolling staircase. The departure from convention, often employed in countries like Afghanistan where security is an issue, was the result of miscommunication, the NYTimes reported. But a former ambassador to China told the Guardian: 'These things do not happen by mistake. Its a snub. Its a way of saying: "You know, youre not that special to us."' Scroll down for video Before Obama even set foot in China on Saturday afternoon, tensions mounted over how the president would disembark his plane Pictured, Obama descending a red-carpeted rolling stairway in Beijing in November 2014 Chinese officials had approved a rolling staircase provided by the US military, only to reverse their decision once Obama arrived, a senior administration official told the Times. White House officials were willing to use a stairway provided by the Chinese, but a request to send the equipment with an English-speaking driver instead of a local one was rejected. A Chinese official told the South China Morning Post the US rejected a plan from the Chinese proposing they send a translator with the driver so they could understand security instructions. Chinese officials finally went back to square one and allowed Obama to use their own stairway, but by that time it was too late, according to the New York Times. The US military typically flies in its own stairway on foreign trips, and the built-in hatch steps are reserved for high security situations. Jorge Guajardo, the Mexico's former ambassador to China, insisted it was not a mistake, explaining: 'Its part of the new Chinese arrogance. 'Its part of stirring up Chinese nationalism. Its part of saying: "China stands up to the superpower."' A Chinese official shouted at members of the White House press corp for being too close to the president and declared, 'This is our country!' when an aide protested Bill Bishop, an expert on China who lived in the country for 10 years, agreed with Guajardo and told the Guardian: 'This clearly plays very much into the [idea]: |Look, we can make the American president go out of the ass of the plane."' But many Chinese news outlets painted a different picture, pointing to the arrogance shown by the Americans in the situation. Regardless of the intentions behind the chaos, tensions were high on the tarmac as well after a Chinese official shouted at members of the White House press corp. Reporters accompanying Obama on his trips are usually brought under the wing of the Boeing 747 to watch him disembark. On Saturday, the reporters were corralled behind a blue rope installed by Chinese security, but one official deemed it was still 'too close' and yelled: 'This is our country!'. Even the US National Security Adviser Susan Rice was also told off before a Secret Service agent ushered her forward. Even the Defense Intelligence Agency weighed in, writing 'Classy as always China' to its 83,000 followers before deleting the tweet About four hours later, the DIA issued an apology and said the offending tweet was 'mistakenly posted' The president tried to smooth things over when he addressed the incident, saying: 'It can cause some friction. It's not the first time it has happened. It doesn't just happen in China. 'It happens in other countries where we travel. I think that this time, though, the seams were showing a little more.' 'We think it's important that the press have access to the work that we are doing, that they have the ability to answer questions. And we don't leave our ideals and values behind when we take those trips.' Brexit Secretary David Davis put on a united front with Boris Johnson and Liam Fox tonight as he pledged to curb immigration and protect trade. Making his first appearance at the despatch box since he quit the Tory front bench in 2008, Mr Davis insisted the government could get the 'best deal' for the UK by leaving the EU. He signalled that the new package was unlikely to involve full membership of the single market, saying it was hard to see how that was compatible with controlling immigration. He also poured scorn on suggestions that there could be a second EU referendum or that MPs could overturn the will of the people. David Davis was flanked by Boris Johnson, left, and Liam Fox, right, for his Commons statement on the EU today The Commons statement came after Theresa May ruled out introducing a points-based system to control immigration after we leave the EU. The Prime Minister insisted such an arrangement would not be effective - despite Mr Johnson among others having backed the idea during the referendum campaign. Mr Davis was flanked by Cabinet colleagues Mr Johnson and Dr Fox, seemingly in an effort to quash rumours of tensions between the so-called 'Three Brexiteers'. 'Our instructions from the British people are clear. Britain is leaving the European Union,' Mr Davis said. 'The mandate for that course is overwhelming: the referendum of June 23 delivered a bigger popular vote for Brexit than that won by any UK government in history. 'It is a national mandate and this Government is determined to deliver it in the national interest.' Mr Davis said he would not tolerate any 'attempt to delay, frustrate or thwart the will of the British people'. 'No attempt to engineer a second referendum because some people didn't like the first answer,' he added. 'The people have spoken in the referendum offered to them by this Government and confirmed by Parliament, and all of us, on both sides of the argument, must respect the result. That is a simple matter of democratic politics.' Mr Davis was appearing at the despatch box for the first time since he quit the Tory front bench in 2008 Mr Davis said the government would be seeking a new deal with the EU that was 'unique to Britain', rather than mirroring other agreements with states like Norway. 'This must mean controls on the numbers of people who come to Britain from Europe but also a positive outcome for those who wish to trade in goods and services,' he added. 'This is a historic and positive moment for our nation. Brexit is not about making the best of a bad job. 'It is about seizing the huge and exciting opportunities that will flow from a new place for Britain in the world. 'There will be new freedoms, new opportunities, new horizons for this great country. 'We can get the right trade policy for the UK. We can create a more dynamic economy, a beacon for free trade across the world. 'We want to make sure our regulatory environment helps rather than hinders businesses and workers. We can create an immigration system that allows us to control numbers and encourage the brightest and the best to come to this country. 'But I want to be clear to our European friends and allies: we do not see Brexit as ending our relationship with Europe. It is about starting a new one.' Mr Davis poured scorn on suggestions there could be a reversal of the public's will as expressed in the EU referendum in June Mr Davis was challenged by former minister Anna Soubry on whether the government had given up on membership of the single market. He suggested it was 'very improbable' that immigration controls could be brought in while retaining full membership. In one memorable intervention during the statement, former justice secretary Michael Gove - a Brexit big beast who was axed by Mrs May - slammed 'experts' who had predicted leaving the EU would be a disaster. He argued that economic data showed the economy was still performing well, jibing that doom-mongers had been left with 'oeuf' - egg - on their faces. A good Samaritan who heard a distress call near the coast of San Diego saved 21 passengers and five crew members aboard a sinking fishing boat. John Rodriguez was out on his commercial fishing boat with his wife, son and a friend, when he heard a distress call come from the Coast Guard. The Coast Guard said there was a 63-foot sport fishing boat, Invicta, that had hit rocks and was taking on water at approximately 5am. The boat was technically in Mexican waters and the 26 people aboard had put on their life jackets and had begun deploying life boats after the crash. Scroll down for video John Rodriguez, was out on his commercial fishing boat at 5am on Saturday when he heard a distress call from the Coast Guard about a sinking boat (pictured) The Coast Guard said there was a 63-foot sport fishing boat, Invicta, that had hit rocks and was taking on water at approximately 5am The boat was technically in Mexican waters and the 26 people aboard had put on their life jackets and had begun deploying life boats after the crash Rodriguez knew he was close to where the sinking boat was located and told the Coast Guard he was headed that way. 'I realized they were only a mile and half away, so I immediately got the radio and said I would respond to the distress call,' Rodriguez told ABC News. It only took Rodriguez about 15 minutes to arrive at the distressed boat's location. Invicta passengers were still waiting for assistance as the boat sank deeper when Rodriguez arrived and he successfully transferred all of them to his boat. Rodriguez (pictured) knew he was close to where the sinking boat was located and told the Coast Guard he was headed that way Rodriguez was with his wife Sandra (left), his son Jake (right) and a friend Pinky Beaver (second from right) when he heard the distress call It only took Rodriguez about 15 minutes to arrive at the distressed boat's location and get the passengers (pictured) on to his boat 'One guy gave us a hug and started crying. People were just so thankful we were there,' Rodriguez's son, Jake, said. Within an hour the Coast Guard arrived to transfer the 26 people on to a bigger boat. 'The fact that they were relatively close and they were on the scene very quickly made all the difference in the world,' U.S. Coast Guard Master Chief Chris Swiatek told ABC News. The boaters arrived around 9am at the San Diego Harbor Police dock on Shelter Island. Sandra Rodriguez, Rodriguez's wife, said she's glad they were able to help. 'We were just in the right place at the right time for those people,' she said. Coast Guard officials said the accident is currently under investigation. Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton came close to having an awkward airport encounter when their campaign planes parked in sight on one another in Cleveland. The two presidential candidates both hit the mid-western city in a Labor Day offensive, and both their planes were parked on the tarmac at the same time Monday afternoon. The rival planes were visible from each other but airport officials carefully made sure they could not appear in the same photograph by having them taxi to opposite sides of the tarmac. Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton came close to having an awkward airport encounter when their campaign planes parked in sight on one another in Cleveland View from the Clinton camp: This was the view from Clinton's press bus as it loaded in Cleveland - her rival Donald Trump's personal Boeing 757 Also visible: Mike Pence's campaign plane, a smaller Boeing 737 was also parked on the tarmac at the lakeside city Too close for comfort: The Clinton campaign plane was carefully parked on the other side of the tarmac to avoid awkward encounters - or being in the same photograph as Trump and Pence's. Her plane is reflected in the window of the press bus First outing: The Cleveland landing was the debut for Clinton's new campaign plane, which took off from Westchester, New York, earlier Meeting: Clinton used her new campaign plane to go back and meet the traveling press corps, which was a first The presence of both campaigns in the same city underlines the importance of Ohio as a swing state. The most recent poll of the state, conducted by Emerson, has the candidates tied. Labor Day is the traditional start of the most intensive campaigning. It was Trump who landed first, along with his running mate Mike Pence, whose campaign plane - a Boeing 737 - was parked close to the Republican candidate's. They headed for an engagement at an American Legion branch. About two hours later, Clinton's new campaign 737, dubbed Hill Force One, made its first landing for a campaign stop, having left Westchester, New York, less than an hour before. Clinton is also to campaign in Illinois and then move on later in the week to Florida, another crucial swing state. Trump went to an American Legion to meet union members in a round-table discussion, and warned that America's manufacturing jobs are 'going to hell.' The Republican presidential nominee blamed the Obama administration for allowing companies to move jobs to Mexico. He also lashed out at the proposed Trans-Pacific Partnership as 'a catastrophe.' Trump also highlighted President Barack Obama's reception in China at the Group of 20 summit this weekend as a sign that he is not respected. He noted that Obama couldn't use his traditional staircase to exit Air Force One when he arrived in China over the weekend, instead, using something Trump described as 'a metal staircase in the back of the plane.' Blue-collar push: Donald Trump and Mike Pence met union members at a Cleveland American Legion branch Sing state: Both Clinton and Trump were meeting organized labor, with Trump heading to this American Legion branch for a round table with union members. Ohio is a key battleground In the sights: Trump is making his Labor Day trip to Cleveland as part of a bid to further erode Clinton's lead in the polls, which has faltered in recent weeks 'If that were me,' Trump said, 'I'd say, 'You know what folks, I respect you a lot, let's close the doors, let's get out of here.'' Trump was also expected to campaign at a fair in Youngstown, Ohio, in a nod to the state's role as a make-or-break proving ground for Republican presidential candidates. No Republican has won the White House without winning Ohio and Trump is trying to overcome some splintering in the state party, which was supportive of Ohio Gov. John Kasich during the presidential primary. While Labor Day has traditionally been the kickoff to the fall campaign, both Clinton and Trump have been locked in an intense back-and-forth throughout the summer. Clinton has questioned Trump's temperament and preparation to serve as commander in chief while seeking to connect the reality television star to the extreme 'alt-right' movement within the Republican Party. Trump visited a predominantly black church in Detroit on Saturday in a rare appearance with minority voters, aiming to counter Clinton's argument to moderate and suburban voters that he has allowed a racist fringe to influence his candidacy. The start of full-fledged campaigning opens a pivotal month, culminating in the first presidential debate on Sept. 26 at Hofstra University in Hempstead, New York. Polls show Trump trailing Clinton in a series of must-win battleground states, meaning the debates could be his best chance at reorienting the race. Clinton will have millions of dollars at her disposal this fall to air television advertising and power a sophisticated get-out-the vote operation in key states. The former secretary of state raised a combined $143 million in August for her campaign, the Democratic National Committee and state parties her best month yet. She began September with more than $68 million in her campaign's bank account to use against Trump, who has not yet released initial fundraising totals for August. Clinton was to attend the Labor Day festival in Cleveland alongside running mate Tim Kaine and AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka. Later in the day, she was joining with labor leaders in the Quad Cities community of Hampton, Illinois, across the Mississippi River from Iowa, where she is locked in a tight contest with Trump. Trump pulled into an effective tie with Democratic rival Hillary Clinton, in to the latest Reuters/Ipsos national tracking poll, published over the weekend. He has managed to erase a substantial deficit as he consolidates support among his party's likely voters with just two months to go before election day. The poll showed 40 per cent of likely voters supporting Trump and 39 per cent backing Clinton for the week of August 26 to September 1. The crossing lines at the right edge of this graph from the Reuters/Ipsos poll shows that Donald Trump has caught Hillary Clinton Clinton's support has dropped steadily in the weekly tracking poll since August 25, eliminating what had been a eight-point lead for her. Trump's gains came as Republican support for their party's candidate jumped by six percentage points over the past two weeks, to about 78 percent. That is still below the 85 per cent support Republican nominee Mitt Romney enjoyed in the summer of 2012, but the improvement helps explain Trump's rise in the poll. Polling aggregators, which calculate averages of major polls, have shown that Clinton's lead has been shrinking for the past few weeks. Those averages put her advantage over Trump at between three and six percentage points. Some of the more recent individual polls, however, have the race even tighter. Voters don't elect the American president directly, of course, but through the Electoral College, an assembly representing each of the 50 states and the District of Columbia based on the number of legislators they have in Congress. That makes the states of Ohio, Florida and Pennsylvania critical battlegrounds, because they have a large number of electoral college votes and electorates which could go either way. As of last Friday, the separate Reuters/Ipsos States of the Nation polling project estimated Clinton was on track to win the Electoral College, by about 332 votes to 206. Those numbers were scheduled to be updated later Friday. In recent weeks, Clinton has come under renewed criticism over her handling of classified information while serving as U.S. secretary of state, and her family's charitable foundation has come under fresh scrutiny for the donations it accepted while Clinton served in the Obama administration. Meanwhile, Clinton hasn't been campaigning as actively as Trump. Trump, meanwhile, has reshuffled his campaign leadership and sought to broaden his appeal to moderate Republicans and minorities. While Obama tried to smooth over a rocky start to his trip in China, Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump fanned the flames and said he would not have tolerated such 'disrespect'. Obama arrived in Hangzhou on Saturday for the Group of 20 summit, but tensions over the use of a rolling staircase mounted before the president unceremoniously descended from Air Force One's built-in steps. On the tarmac, a Chinese official yelled at White House staff and members of the press on the tarmac, screaming: 'This is our country! This is our airport!' At a meeting with labor leaders in Cleveland, Ohio, on Monday, Trump said: 'If that were me, Id say: "You know what, folks, I respect you a lot, lets close the doors, lets get out of here."' Scroll down for video While Obama tried to smooth over a rocky start to his trip in China, Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump fanned the flames and said he would not have tolerated such 'disrespect' While Obama tried to smooth over a rocky start to his trip in China, Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump insulted the president and fanned the flames on Twitter Chinese officials had approved a rolling staircase provided by the US military, only to reverse their decision once Obama arrived. He exited out the hatch steps instead Pictured, Obama descending a red-carpeted rolling stairway in Beijing in November 2014 Trump reiterated his thoughts on Twitter, writing: 'Can you believe that the Chinese would not give Obama the proper stairway to get off his plane - fight on tarmac!' Trump also criticized the President for failing to come to an agreement with Russian leader Vladimir Putin on Syria. 'President Obama & Putin fail to reach deal on Syria - so what else is new?' Obama is not a natural deal maker. Only makes bad deals!' Earlier Mr Obama had expressed his hope that a deal would be reached with Syria, but any chance of that happening appeared to fall away quickly on Sunday. The Hangzhou arrival of Obama on Saturday was farcical, with the President being forced to use the Air Force One's built-in steps after officials had trouble negotiating the use of a rolling staircase. On top of that, a Chinese official yelled at White House staff and members of the press on the tarmac, screaming: 'This is our country! This is our airport!' A Chinese official shouted at members of the White House press corp for being too close to the president and declared 'This is our country!' when an aide protested Chinese officials had approved a rolling staircase provided by the US military, only to reverse their decision once Obama arrived, a senior administration official told the NYTimes. White House officials were willing to use a stairway provided by the Chinese, but a request to send the equipment with an English-speaking driver instead of a local one was rejected. A Chinese official told the South China Morning Post it was the US that rejected a plan from the Chinese proposing they send a translator with the driver so they could understand security instructions. Chinese officials finally went back to square one and allowed Obama to use their own stairway, but by that time it was too late, the Times reported. The US military typically flies in its own stairway on foreign trips, and the built-in hatch steps are reserved for high security situations. Jorge Guajardo, the Mexico's former ambassador to China, insisted it was not a mistake, and told the Guardian: 'These things do not happen by mistake. Its a snub. Its a way of saying: "You know, youre not that special to us." 'Its part of the new Chinese arrogance. Its part of stirring up Chinese nationalism.' Obama offered a diplomatic answer when he was later asked about his arrival. He said: 'It's not the first time it has happened. It doesn't just happen in China' Obama (right with Chinese president Xi JinPing) added: 'We think it's important that the press have access to the work that we are doing...And we don't leave our ideals and values behind when we take those trips' Chinese officials had approved a rolling staircase provided by the US military, only to reverse their decision once Obama arrived, a senior administration official told the NYTimes. White House officials were willing to use a stairway provided by the Chinese, but a request to send the equipment with an English-speaking driver instead of a local one was rejected. A Chinese official told the South China Morning Post it was the US that rejected a plan from the Chinese proposing they send a translator with the driver so they could understand security instructions. Chinese officials finally went back to square one and allowed Obama to use their own stairway, but by that time it was too late, the Times reported. The US military typically flies in its own stairway on foreign trips, and the built-in hatch steps are reserved for high security situations. Jorge Guajardo, the Mexico's former ambassador to China, insisted it was not a mistake, and told the Guardian: 'These things do not happen by mistake. Its a snub. Its a way of saying: "You know, youre not that special to us." 'Its part of the new Chinese arrogance. Its part of stirring up Chinese nationalism.' Bill Bishop, an expert on China who lived in the country for 10 years, agreed with Guajardo and told the Guardian: 'This clearly plays very much into the [idea]: |Look, we can make the American president go out of the ass of the plane."' But many Chinese news outlets painted a different picture, pointing to the arrogance shown by the Americans in the situation. Regardless of the intentions behind the chaos, tensions were high on the tarmac as well after a Chinese official shouted at members of the White House press corp. Reporters accompanying Obama on his trips are usually brought under the wing of the Boeing 747 to watch him disembark. On Saturday, the reporters were corralled behind a blue rope installed by Chinese security, but one official deemed it was still 'too close' and yelled: 'This is our country!'. Even the US National Security Adviser Susan Rice was also told off before a Secret Service agent ushered her forward. Even the Defense Intelligence Agency weighed in, writing 'Classy as always China' to its 83,000 followers before deleting the tweet About four hours later, the DIA issued an apology and said the offending tweet was 'mistakenly posted' The president tried to smooth things over when he addressed the incident, saying: 'It can cause some friction. It's not the first time it has happened. It doesn't just happen in China. 'It happens in other countries where we travel. I think that this time, though, the seams were showing a little more.' 'We think it's important that the press have access to the work that we are doing, that they have the ability to answer questions. And we don't leave our ideals and values behind when we take those trips.' Anthony Constantinou, 34, has denied six counts of sexual assault A City boss groped a string of women in a series of sex attacks during alcohol-fuelled parties at his office and treated one of his victims 'like a piece of meat', a court heard. Anthony Constantinou, 34, head of financial group Capital World Markets (CWM), also allegedly forced a lump of hot wasabi paste in the mouth of one victim. He told her she had a 'cracking a***' before forcing his tongue into her mouth, jurors at the Old Bailey heard. Constantinou denies six counts of sexual assault against three women between October 2014 and February 2015. Most of the attacks are said to have taken place during drinking sessions at his firm's offices in the Heron Tower in the City of London. The allegations came to light after one of the victims went to police in Essex. When police carried out an investigation they discovered other women had made similar complaints, the jury was told. The court heard they also found a letter from a client terminating the contract because of his 'completely unacceptable' behaviour. Eloise Marshall, prosecuting, said the first victim was attacked in the office block. Constantinou pictured arriving at the Old Bailey at the start of the trial in January She said: 'There were about 15 people drinking in the office, and Anthony Constantinou appeared to be in a good mood. 'Without warning, she suddenly found herself being dragged into a utility room. And straight away he started kissing her. 'She described being shocked, and taking a few moments to realise what was happening. She pushed him away. 'She cannot now recall what he said, but she thinks it was words to the effect he liked her. 'She was aware others were just outside the room they were in. She didn't want to create a fuss or embarrassment. 'She is absolutely clear she had given him no cause to think she was interested in him. She shrugged it off, and continued with her evening.' They left the office block and went to a nearby bar where Constantinou made sexual remarks to her, jurors were told. At one point he spilled a drink on her before slapping her bottom and squeezing it, the court heard. The alleged assaults took place in Capital World Markets (CWM) officers in Heron Tower, London (pictured) The second victim was assaulted a few weeks later during another drinking session in the office block, the court was told. Miss Marshall said the woman went to the toilet, but found Constantinou waiting for her there. She told the court: 'He came towards her, grabbed her face, and started kissing her on the lips. 'She pushed him off, and asked what on earth he was doing.' But the court heard they were disrupted by another woman coming out of a cubicle, and left the bathroom. Later that evening, Constantinou took her to the office reception area, where he dragged her behind some frosted glass, the court was told. Miss Marshall said: 'She said he was touching her body and her head. 'She told him to stop. She also reminded him he was a married man.' Constantinou later took her into the stock room, and started kissing her, the court heard. Miss Marshall said he lifted up her dress, and pulled her tights down and began groping her. She pushed him off and he stopped, the jury was told. Constantinou has been photographed socialising with Princess Beatrice and showing Princess Anne around his company premises after agreeing to sponsor the London Boat Show The third alleged victim was attacked during drinks in the office block in February last year, the court heard. She described Constantinou as being very loud, and behaving as if he thought 'he can do whatever he wants.' At one point he shouted at her, 'do not f****** talking unless you are being spoken to', the court heard. Miss Marshall said he later offered her a glass of wine, and told her she 'couldn't say no to a Greek man.' She said Constantinou also grabbed the woman and said 'he could get with her, he could kiss her and do what he wanted.' He then claimed she had 'a cracking a***' and pair of t***', the jury was told. Constantinou then 'picked up a huge lump of Wasabi', and 'shoved it in her mouth', the court heard. She left the office and spat the paste out into her hands, but Constantinou followed her, the jury was told. Miss Marshall said he grabbed the woman, and pinned her against the glass, and 'as if she was a piece of meat, he stuck his tongue down her throat.' But she pushed him off and left the scene, the court heard. Jurors at the Old Bailey in London (pictured) have heard the allegations against the top city boss Constantinou, of north west London, denies all the charges. He has been photographed socialising with Princess Beatrice and showing Princess Anne around his company premises after agreeing to sponsor the London Boat Show. He was three years old when his fashion tycoon father Aristos Constantinou, was gunned down in his Bishops Avenue mansion in 1985. The unsolved case was dubbed the Silver Bullet Murder due to the six nickel-jacketed bullets that ended Aristoss rags-to-riches life. She and her VP nominee Tim Kaine stressed importance of winning Ohio Hillary Clinton caught a case of dry mouth on Monday afternoon that caused her to choke and cough through the first few minutes of her stump speech at a Labor Day event. Clinton welled up as the coughing fit continued and told a park full of people in Cleveland, Ohio, that it was an 'allergic reaction' to Donald Trump. 'Every time I think about Trump I get allergic,' she whispered before she whipped out a glass of water from behind the podium and took a big gulp. Scroll down for video Hillary Clinton caught a case of dry mouth on Monday afternoon that caused her to choke and cough through the first few minutes of her stump speech at a Labor Day event in Ohio She tried again. 'Boy we have 63 days to go.' The coughing persisted. The crowd could sense she was struggling and chanted her name as she waited for it to pass. Running mate Tim Kaine was sitting on stage behind her but didn't attempt to assist her. He clapped along with the crowd as she pushed ahead. She moved on to plan B and popped in a throat lozenge. 'Woah,' she said, grabbing and gulping the water again. The Democratic presidential nominee regained enough strength to finish the speech. 'Now, as I get over my allergic reaction,' she said, moving on from her introductory statement. At a critical moment, though, her first public remarks on Trump's trip to Mexico, her voice gave way again. 'He can't even go to a foreign country without getting into a public feud with the president,' she said. Clinton washed down a throat lozenge after the coughing fit, which she comically wrote off as an allergic reaction to Donald Trump As she charged that he is 'temperamentally unfit' and 'totally unqualified' to be president, her cough got the best of her for a second time - blunting what may have otherwise been an effective attack on her opponent. Her voice raw and strained, Clinton ran down her regular list of complaints about Trump in the speech and stressed the importance of winning Ohio, something Kaine did in his remarks, as well. 'You guys have a habit of being there,' he told Ohioans at the afternoon event. Pointing out that Labor Day is the unofficial kick-off of the general election, Kaine said, 'This is a big day.' We're 'battle tested,' he said, and 'ready for the home stretch.' Kaine met Clinton at the airport in Cleveland. The Virginia senator, who hadn't been seen with her since a bus trip at the end of the July, boarded the plane while Clinton was still on it, then deplaned with her minutes later. He appeared at an event earlier in the day with Vice President Joe Biden. Warming up the crowd for Clinton in Cleveland Kaine bashed Donald Trump for saying at his Labor Day event that she doesn't look 'presidential, fellas.' 'Can I tell you something that made me mad today? Donald Trump put out a tweet today about our nominee for president and the tweet essentially said, "She doesn't look presidential, does she fellas?"' Kaine said, misidentifying the place Trump made the remark. He told the crowd, 'Listen to that again. Listen to that again. This is what he said, "She does not look presidential, does she, fellas?" Does she, fellas? Does she, fellas?' After her 'allergic reaction' subsided, Clinton attacked Trump's Mexico visit, saying 'He can't even go to a foreign country without getting into a public feud with the president' Kaine predicted Trump would be making the same claim eight years from now at the end of Clinton's second term 'as he's hawking bottled water somewhere, and we've forgotten he'd ever run for president of the United States.' The Democratic lawmaker seemed to suggest with his remarks that Trump's commentary on Clinton's fitness for the presidency was sexist. Clinton played coy with reporters on her plane during a media avail. 'Hmm,' she said, as she was asked to reflect on whether 'conspiracy theories' about her health fell into that category. 'I'm not concerned about conspiracy theories. There are so many of them I've lost track of them. And so I pay no attention to them,' she said. She brought up Trump's comments about her look yet said of the possibility of underlying sexism, 'I don't know that's for you guys to opine on.' Advertisement A futuristic drone boat capable of racing across the water at 60mph was unleashed on the waters of the River Thames. The impressive unmanned 32-ft vessel was seen cutting through the water in central London, as it was put through its paces before a mammoth British military exercise involving 40 other autonomous crafts, called Unmanned Warrior, this autumn. While the Royal Navy boat is unarmed, it is well equipped for the field with a 360 degree camera, GPS, radar and a radio system. High tech: The Royal Navy's new unmanned boat drone cuts through the waters of River Thames during an exercise Cutting edge: The drone (pictured, passing under Tower Bridge in London), which can reach speeds of 60mph, has a blade runner hull - a design used to build speed boats Mission: The boat is unarmed and will be used for reconnaissance missions during operations where water is congested The vessel, which weighs 2,000kg and can reach speeds of up to 50 knots, has been designed using the Bladerunner hull structure which is commonly used on elite racing boats. Passersby on-shore could be forgiven for thinking they were watching the filming of a James Bond movie as the boat whizzed through the water, followed by training vessel HMS Archer, but there was no 007 needed for this wet and wild adventure. The craft, which has the slightly convoluted title of Maritime Autonomy Surface Testbed or MAST for short, will be used by the Navy to assess enemy craft when waters are congested during operations. It will not attack, but instead manoeuvre at high speeds to get close to opposing vessels and then relay information to the fleet so that our ships can asses which step to make. Equipped: The vessel is well kitted out for operations, with a 360 degre camera, GPS, radar and radio system onboard The boat was being tested out prior to its display alongside 40 autonomous crafts at the British Military's Unmanned Warrior exercise later this Autumn 007: Passersby could be forgiven for thinking they were watching the filming of a James Bond movie as the boat sped past London's landmarks, such as the Houses of Parliament and HMS Belfast MAST was built by ASV Ltd, an unmanned boat makers in Portchester, as a result of funding by the Defence Science and Technology Laboratory. Shocking cellphone video captured the moment a group of people knocked over an iconic sandstone rock formation known on an Oregon beach. The iconic sandstone pedestal at Cape Kiwanda collapsed last week and initially Oregon State Parks said it didn't believe humans were involved. However, David Kalas, who was out filming with a friend, noticed a group of about eight people pulling the formation and took out his camera. A group of people were caught on camera destroying a landmark sandstone pedestal inside Oregon's Cape Kiwanda park (pictured) Kalas's video shows the moment the group pulled the rock structure down. They later told him they 'did the world a favor' 'I kind of laughed to myself cause I thought there was no way that they could knock it down but then I noticed that it started wobbling and then I started to record it as two of the guys manged to knock it down,' Kalas told KATU News. The video shows the moment the group toppled the famous landmark, sometimes called 'Duckbill'. Kalas said he shot the video around 5pm on August 29. The area where Duckbill once stood is closed off to visitors but people often sneaked in to snap a photo of the unusual structure. 'I asked them, you know, why they knocked the rock down, and the reply I got was: their buddy broke their leg earlier because of that rock. Kalas said after they knocked Duckbill over they stood on the rubble, snapped a few pictures and left the area (rubble pictured) 'They basically told me themselves that it was a safety hazard, and that they did the world or Oregon a favor,' Kalas said. Kalas said after they knocked Duckbill over they stood on the rubble, snapped a few pictures and left the area. 'They were just standing on top of the rubble of the rock, laughing, smiling, giggling. 'I just want them to learn a lesson you know, because if they do this here they will probably do it elsewhere,' he said. Kalas said he did not know the vandals but hopes they will be identified. The Duckbill was often photographed and roughly seven feet to ten feet across and located in a fenced off section of the park. Many posted on Instagram to express their sadness at the collapsing of the structure. The often photographed structure was known as the 'Duckbill' and was considered 'iconic' by locals It is unclear if the vandals will face charges from the parks department. A call put in to the Oregon Department of Parks and Recreation went unanswered on Monday. However, the Associated Press reported that the Oregon State Parks and Recreation Department said Monday it will review the incident and takes vandalism seriously. However, in a similar case two former Boy Scout leaders intentionally toppled a formation in Utah's Goblin Valley State Park in 2014, according to the Oregonian. A theatre director claims a London bus driver hurled homophobic and racist abuse at him and his partner before refusing to allow them on his vehicle. Omar Okai said the incident happened in central London on Friday evening. The 51-year-old from Bethnal Green alleges the driver on the 25 bus route launched into the aggressive tirade before making suggestive comments and asking how long they had been 'using buses in this country'. Mr Okai said the incident took place in Oxford Street, London and took this photo of the driver he claims made the comments The 51-year-old alleges the driver launched into the aggressive tirade before making suggestive comments and asking how long they had been 'using buses in this country' Mr Okai, who manages a theatre company, added: 'My partner and I were waiting at the 25 bus stop on Oxford St. Bus comes, we put out our hands and he drives past. 'We caught up with the bus around the corner from The Dominion. The back door was open, we jumped on and went up to the driver and used our Oyster cards. 'He then aggressively says, "The front doors are closed for a reason." 'We apologised and said "but we have paid, is it ok?" 'He just kept repeating, "how long have you been using buses in this country?" 'I made it very clear I am British but he kept repeating it. It was really aggressive, it was vile. He then said, "why did you use the backdoor?" 'We again apologised and he said, "I bet you like it in the backdoor anyway." 'I asked what he meant by that and he said, "work it out for yourself."' Mr Okai has since shared his story online, alerted London Mayor Sadiq Khan, TfL and the Metropolitan Police, adding 'no-one should have to go through that'. Mr Okai said after he and his partner apologised the driver said: 'I bet you like it in the backdoor anyway' - before driving off The theatre director has shared his story online, alerted London Mayor Sadiq Khan, TfL and the Metropolitan Police, adding 'no-one should have to go through that' Mr Okai said the driver told them to board a different bus - despite letting another passenger on before driving off. He said the incident happened shortly before 10pm on Oxford Street, and after sharing his story online it led to an outcry of anger on social media. His story and appeal for help has since been shared hundreds of times. Mr Okai told MailOnline: 'I am not letting someone question my nationality and homophobically abuse my partner and I, in the city I was born in. 'I just felt so sad. I have never felt that before in my own country. It is a beautiful country..yes we have problems but overall..it is not a place for this kind of behaviour. 'It was a bad experience and not just homophobic but racist. 'I have also have contacted Sadiq Khan. 'I just don't want anyone of any colour or sexuality to have to go through that.' Transport for London confirmed an investigation into the alleged incident was now underway Transport for London confirmed an investigation was now underway. A Transport for London spokesman said: 'We are concerned to hear of this incident and are investigating it with Tower Transit, the operator of the 25 bus route. 'We expect the highest standard of public service from bus drivers.' Tower Transit and the Metropolitan Police have been contacted for comment. A string of bombings claimed by ISIS killed dozens across Syria, as Washington and Moscow failed to agree on a deal to stem the country's violence. The blasts killed at least 48 people and wounded dozens more, a day after the jihadist group lost the last stretch of the Syria-Turkey border under its control. In China, where world powers were gathered for the G20 meeting, US President Barack Obama and Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin touted 'productive' talks and 'some alignment' on Syria. But the two powers failed to produce an expected deal to ease the violence in Syria, where more than 290,000 people have been killed and more than half the population displaced since March 2011. The blasts killed at least 48 people and wounded dozens more, a day after the jihadist group lost the last stretch of the Syria-Turkey border under its control Syrian state media reported that multiple bomb blasts have struck government and military targets around the country The latest carnage came in a series of blasts, the deadliest of which was a double bombing in the coastal province of Tartus, a stronghold of President Bashar al-Assad's government and Russia's naval and air force base in the area. The bombings hit a bridge outside the provincial capital Tartus city, killing at least 35 people and wounding 43, state media said. The blasts targeted the Arzuna bridge, 'the first a car bomb and the second a suicide bomber who detonated his explosive belt when people gathered to help the wounded,' according to state television. Tartus has been largely spared the worst violence of Syria's conflict since it began with anti-government protests, and has become a refuge for many Syrians fleeing the fighting. In the northeastern city of Hasakeh, a bomber on a motorbike killed six members of the Kurdish security forces and two civilians. The city is mostly controlled by Kurdish forces, though the regime is also present. In central Homs city, the target was the Al-Zahraa neighbourhood, whose residents mostly belong to the same Alawite sect as Assad and have regularly been targeted by devastating bombings. Syrian security forces, emergency services and residents look at the remains of burned vehicles at the site of a bombing in Tartus Four people were killed there on Monday, in a car bomb that hit a checkpoint at the district's entrance. State television broadcast images from the aftermath of the blast in Homs, showing rubble strewn on the streets and smoke rising from the charred remains of vehicles. An additional attack hit the Al-Sabura road west of the capital Damascus, with state media saying one person had been killed and three wounded. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a Britain-based monitoring group, said that attack targeted a checkpoint and gave a toll of three dead. The ISIS-affiliated Amaq agency carried a statement saying the jihadist group was behind a 'string of simultaneous suicide attacks'. They came a day after Turkish forces and allied rebels seized the last part of the Turkish-Syrian border under ISIS control. A desperate search is underway for a 15-year-old girl who has been missing for more than four days. The teenager vanished from Willowvale, a rural area on the Gold Coast, on Thursday around 8.45pm and police are concerned for her welfare. She was last seen wearing a pink shirt, hooded black jumper, fluoro yellow socks and pink shoes. Police released a photo of a Queensland teenager who has been missing for more than four days Police released a photo of the teenager on Tuesday in hope the public can assist in locating her. She is described as being caucasian in appearance, around 150 centimetres tall with a solid build and has dark brown hair and blue eyes. Police are urging anyone who has seen the teenager to get in contact. The teenager vanished from Willowvale, a rural area on the Gold Coast, on Thursday around 8.45pm and police are concerned for her welfare Police are urging anyone who has seen the teenager to get in contact (stock image) Tough stance: Prime Minister Theresa May, pictured at the closing of the G20 summit in Hangzhou, China, on Monday EU migrants would need a job before entering the UK under post-Brexit border plans. The regime will be more rigorous than the points-based system proposed by Leave campaigners, Government sources said last night. David Davis, who is Cabinet minister for Brexit, said the UK was prepared to quit the single market to regain control over borders. He told MPs that outright departure from the tariff-free zone was almost certain and Britain would strike alternative trade deals. Yesterday Theresa May was forced to deny going soft on immigration following her apparent rejection of points-based entry rules. Aides said the Government was working on a far tougher system. Whitehall officials have been told that as a starting point EU citizens wanting to work in Britain must secure a job before setting foot here. That would stop tens of thousands coming to these shores each year to trawl for often low-skilled employment. Figures close to Mrs Mays top team are pressing the Prime Minister to bring in a full work permit regime in which migrants would be treated the same regardless of nationality. That would mean those from both inside and outside the EU would need to secure a job that a firm was unable to fill with a UK recruit. In other developments on the day MPs returned to Westminster: Mr Davis vowed there would be no anti-democratic second referendum or vote by MPs to ratify the June 23 result; The Prime Minister revealed China was among six states at the G20 summit expressing interest in trade talks with the UK; The services sector, which includes everything from hotels and restaurants to accountants and lawyers, clocked up its best month for at least 20 years in August. Post-Brexit plans: David Davis, who is Cabinet minister for Brexit, said the UK was prepared to quit the single market to regain control over borders. Pictured, Mr Davis in the Commons Mrs May caused alarm among some Brexit supporters yesterday by saying there would be no points-based system for controlling immigration. Used in Australia, this system was backed by five current Cabinet ministers during the referendum campaign, including Mr Davis, Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson and International Trade Secretary Liam Fox. ASHDOWN'S BREXIT 'BROWNSHIRTS' SLUR Former Liberal Democrat leader Paddy Ashdown was criticised last night after comparing Brexiteers to Nazi paramilitaries. The Europhile peer declared on social media that the Tory Brexit brownshirts are stirring after predicting that Theresa May would face accusations of betrayal at the Conservative Party conference over her rejection of a points-based immigration system. But his use of the term brownshirts the Nazi Party paramilitary wing that helped Hitlers rise to power drew a welter of criticism. Conservative MP James Cleverly demanded an apology for the disgusting slur. He responded to Lord Ashdown: So Im a Nazi now am I? Fellow Tory William Wragg, who backed the campaign to leave the European Union, accused Lord Ashdown of hysteria. He said: If youre going to dismiss those who campaigned for Leave as Nazis, which is by extension what hes done, then its a bit contemptuous of the population and the result, regardless of what side he campaigned on. In later comments on Twitter, Lord Ashdown wrote: Brownshirt-gate. Heavens! Even allowing for these over-heated times, do we really have to lose contact with the concept of the metaphor? Advertisement Her comments fuelled concern the Government might be preparing to cut an deal with Europe under which EU migrants continued to get preferential access to Britain, in return for Britain still having membership of the single market which guarantees tariff-free trade. Italy yesterday made it clear that it was prepared to start a trade war with Britain in order to protect the rights of its workers to come here. Carlo Calenda, Italys economic development minister, told Bloomberg TV: The more they are going to regulate and limit the presence of EU citizens in the UK, the more we are going to limit the presence of UK goods into Europe. But, on Westminsters first day back after the summer recess, Tory grandees made it clear that cutting a deal with Brussels on immigration would not be acceptable to the more than 17million people who voted for Brexit. Former Tory leader Iain Duncan Smith said: The number one thing that is not negotiable is the UK retaking control of our borders. That is not negotiable in any deal. John Redwood, a Tory ex-minister, added: Taking back control cannot be negotiated with the French, Germans and others. We take back control over those matters and we negotiate if they wish over trade. Speaking in the Commons, Mr Davis told MPs they should be in no doubt about the Governments commitment to crack down on EU immigration, which has led to a decade of unprecedented arrivals. He said: What the Prime Minister said in China is very clear: she wants a results-based immigration system, one that actually delivers an outcome the British people voted for. She was concerned that a points-based system was actually too open ended. Flanked by Mr Johnson and Mr Fox, Mr Davis insisted there would be no attempt to delay, frustrate or thwart the will of the British people for the country to leave the EU. Challenged on whether the Government would try to stay in the single market, he said all options were being looked at. Pledge: Flanked by Boris Johnson, left, and Liam Fox, right, Mr Davis insisted there would be no attempt to frustrate or thwart the will of the British people for the country to leave the EU But he added: If a requirement of membership is giving up control of our borders, I think that makes it very improbable. Officials are expected to hold meetings over the next two weeks to thrash out details of how a new immigration system will look and Mrs May yesterday refused to give details in public. She would only say: I want a system where the Government is able to decide who comes into the country. Thats what the British people want. But Ukips Nigel Farage said: Her rejection of the type of migration system so many went out there and voted Leave to see implemented indicates serious backsliding. Desperate: Migrants on the outskirts of The Jungle in Calais, France, on Monday Australian theatre director John Bell says he would like to see The Merchant of Venice's Jewish moneylender Shylock recast as a Muslim to reflect modern-day discrimination. Bell, who runs production company Bell Shakespeare, made the comments on Monday night's Q&A, which was held at the Sydney Opera House. The panel was asked by an audience member: 'In a country wrestling with its conscience about asylum seekers and the stigmatisation of the Muslim community as terrorists, what do you think a play like Othello or The Merchant of Venice has to say to us?' Scroll down for video Australian theatre director John Bell says he would like to see The Merchant of Venice's Jewish moneylender Shylock recast as a Muslim to reflect modern-day discrimination Bell said he understood Shylock's actions throughout the play written by William Shakespeare. 'I'd be interested to see a production of The Merchant of Venice where you substituted the word "Muslim" for "Jew" and see how that would resonate,' he said. 'If someone drives you far enough and spits on you and abuses you're going to be like a suicide bomber. 'If you said to me 10 years ago, could you as an actor imagine yourself walking into a school with an automatic rifle and shooting 20 children, or could you imagine putting on a vest and walking into a supermarket or cinema blowing up everybody, taking as many as you could. I would say no that is impossible. 'No human being could do that. Now we know better, it's a daily occurrence. So with Shylock I can understand completely why he does what he does, and I say good on him.' In The Merchant of Venice, Shylock - who was portrayed by Al Pacino in the 2004 film, is often on the receiving end of anti-Semitic comments. Bell, who runs production company Bell Shakespeare, made the comments on Monday night's Q&A after an audience member asked him about racial discrimination The director said he understood Shylock's actions as the moneylender was subjected by anti-Semitism. Pictured is Al Pacino portraying Shylock in the 2004 film Bell said it was also important for people to be exposed to material where a society was discriminating against a minority. 'I think it's even more apparent in The Merchant of Venice, which is a very disturbing play. It's about discrimination,' he said. 'The only people who belong here are the upper-crust white Venetian people. 'Nobody else is welcome not the French or the English or the Spanish and least of all the Jews. You've got to belong to this exclusive white club. 'Shylock is spat upon and reviled and abused and finally cheated of his money and his daughter. It's no wonder he cracks it at the end.' Monday night's Q&A panel discussed 'Over 400 years of Shakespeare' with actress Kylie Farmer, feminist Germaine Greer, actress Kate Mulvany and philospher A.C. Grayling. The parents of a baby left with brain damage after she was accidentally administered laughing gas have revealed the little girl must be fed through a tube and suffers constant seizures. Danial and Benish Khan welcomed their first child, baby Amelia, on June 20 via caesarean at Bankstown-Lidcombe Hospital, but quickly realised the infant was gravely unwell. Amelia was one of two babies at the Sydney hospital affected by a 'devastating' gas mix-up and administered nitrous oxide - 'laughing' - gas rather than oxygen. Danial and Benish Khan (pictured) were left devastated after their newborn Amelia was administered laughing gas instead of oxygen Amelia was one of two babies at the Sydney hospital affected by a 'devastating' gas mix-up and she now suffers constant seizures They were told of the devastating mistake several weeks later and baby Amelia has been left reliant on a feeding tube. She also requires constant care and suffers regular seizures. 'It's devastating as a parent to be told that your precious daughter has suffered permanent brain damage,' the Khan's said in a statement. 'She will always have to live with the consequences of what was done to her at the hospital. But we will always be by her side and we'll do everything we can to give her the best possible future,' they said. A series of 'tragic errors' is being blamed for the oxygen mix-up that affected Amelia and caused the death of a baby boy. Mr and Mrs Khan expressed their sympathies to the Ghanem family who lost their newborn John. 'We can only imagine the intense pain this family is going through and our hearts go out to them,' the couple said. NSW Chief Health Officer Dr Kerry Chant said of her report: 'I can imagine that whilst giving some of the answers the families must require, it still doesn't undo what's been done, the catastrophic impact this error has had'. A baby boy died and a newborn girl Amelia Khan suffered suspected brain damage after they were mistakenly given nitrous oxide instead of oxygen at Bankstown-Lidcombe Hospital The 24-page report stated that the ceiling pipe work supplying oxygen and nitrous oxide to the medical gas panel had been 'mislabelled' A final report released in August by NSW Chief Health Officer Dr Kerry Chant (pictured) found 'a series of tragic errors' led to the incidents 'We've certainly let them down and we should have done better.' Maurice Blackburn medical negligence lawyer, Libby Brookes is representing the Khan family and says Amelia's permanent brain injury sustained at Bankstown-Lidcombe Hospital has had a shattering impact on her parents and the extended family. 'Like all parents, they were simply looking forward to welcoming their child safely into the world. Now their lives have been turned completely upside down,' Ms Brookes said. 'Amelia's parents and her family have suffered a terrible shock learning that she was given nitrous oxide instead of oxygen at the hospital.' Ms Brookes is investigating a claim for compensation on behalf of Amelia and her parents. The Health Ministry has been directed to further examine the governance issues and take over a disciplinary investigation already under way. In a brief statement, Ms Skinner said the public could be assured the health system was safe The general manager of the hospital has been suspended following investigations, after an engineer at the hospital was suspended earlier this month. Further interviews are taking place in relation to the investigation. The South Western Sydney Local Health District will also be placed on 'performance watch'. NSW Health will now require different contractors carry out the installation and testing of gas pipelines. Medical gas outlets in all other NSW health facilities have since been tested and no other failures found. Health Minister Jillian Skinner did not appear before the media when the report was released, but said in a statement, the could be assured the health system was safe. Sonya and Youssef Ghanem (pictured) gave birth to their fourth child, John, on July 13. But John passed away when he was mistakenly given nitrous oxide Mrs Ghanem was told she needed an emergency caesarean and woke up from the general anaesthetic to hear her baby born was dead The family of the baby who passed away also spoke out in August about their grief over their loss. Sonya and Youssef Ghanem, from Bankstown in Sydney's west, gave birth to their fourth child, John, on Wednesday, July 13. But John passed away when he was mistakenly given nitrous oxide. Mrs Ghanem was told she needed an emergency caesarean and woke up from the general anaesthetic to hear her baby born was dead. 'I held my baby, they brought him to me at the hospital,' Mrs Ghanem told Nine News. 'I said: 'I want to see him'. Just looking at him, shaking. 'My son, wake up', I would tell him. 'Wake up, wake up. What did they do to you?' Advertisement A Florida grandmother who has lived in a tree house for 25 years, has been told that she must tear it down or face nearly $7,000 in fines. Shawnee Chasser, 65, has spent the last year fighting Miami-Dade County over her home called Shawnee's Paradise, that sits between an oak and strangler fig tree in her late son Joshua's yard, according to the Miami Herald. The county has said the tree house was built illegally, is unsafe and must be demolished in the next four months or she could face $7,000 in fines. Chasser said she has already paid $3,000 in fines. But the grandmother, who mass-produces and sells Shawnee's Greenthumb Popcorn which is stocked in Whole Foods, vowed that she will not take anything down and will continue to live there with her pet raccoon Coonie. Scroll down for video Shawnee Chasser (pictured) has spent the last year fighting Miami-Dade County over her home that sits between an oak and strangler fig tree in her late son's yard Authorities said the cottage that is built around a man-made pond and water fountain must be demolished in the next four months or the 65-year-old grandmother could face thousands in fines But Chasser vowed that she will not take anything down. Last September she was issued a citation by county code enforcement for illegally running a rooming house and for work conducted at the property without permits, including the pond, fountain and the tree house Someone complained that Chasser was running the property like an apartment complex and campground which prompted authorities to investigate 'I'll chain myself to that tree house,' Chasser told the Herald. Chasser sleeps in a double bed and her home is decorated with family pictures, books and a small couch. 'When I am up in my tree house in thunder, lightning and rain, I am in heaven,' Chasser told the Herald. Problems started a year ago when someone complained that Chasser was running the property like an apartment complex and campground in the middle of a single-family neighborhood. Last September she was issued a citation by county code enforcement for illegally running a rooming house and for work conducted at the property without permits, including the pond, fountain and the tree house. Chasser is seen above swinging on a swing in the garden around her tree house. The county said the tree house was built illegally and it's unsafe for her to live in Chasser said: 'I'll chain myself to that tree house'. Ricardo Roig, Miami-Dade's code enforcement division director, told the Herald that Chasser's case was the first time he's ever dealt with 'somebody living in a tree house' Chasser sleeps in a double bed (pictured) and her home is decorated with family pictures, books and a small couch The first floor of the cottage has dozens of photos hanging on the wall as well as a small couch that her dogs often sleep on Chasser's home may be tiny but it's cleverly decorated with lamps, small trinkets and wallpaper Ricardo Roig, Miami-Dade's code enforcement division director, told the Herald that Chasser's case was the first time he's ever dealt with 'somebody living in a tree house'. Roig said the county's issue with Chasser's cottage is that it's unsafe and South Florida has strict rules about building codes because of the frequency of hurricanes. He also said that running water and electricity have to be installed with permits and inspections. The home also includes a kitchenette with a mini oven and sink, along with a tiny living room equipped with a ceiling fan Miami-Dade's code enforcement division director said the county's issue with Chasser's cottage is that it's unsafe and South Florida has strict rules about building codes because of the frequency of hurricanes. Pictured is the inside of Chasser's cottage (left and right) The county said Chasser (pictured with her daughter) can live in a legal tree house, but code and unsafe-structure inspectors looked at the cottage and found it wasn't up to to county standards Chasser has lived in the tree since 1992 after she moved her family back to Miami from California Chasser told the Herald that she's unable to afford to hire the necessary people to bring her home up to code Authorities have said that that running water and electricity have to be installed with permits and inspections. Chasser is pictured above on a hammock Roig added that Chasser can live in a legal tree house, but code and unsafe-structure inspectors looked at the cottage and found it wasn't up to to county standards. Riog said: 'It's just a combination of situations that haven't been well thought out.' Chasser told the Herald that she's unable to afford to hire the necessary people to bring her home up to code. Even if she could, she said, the county told her she would still have to apply to the zoning department for permission to stay in the home outside the main home on the property. She said she isn't going to give up and she's in the process of talking with her attorney about all of her options. Chasser is seen cooking her brand of popcorn in the tree house. The popcorn is sold in Whole Foods stores around Florida Chasser mass-produces and sells Shawnee's Greenthumb Popcorn in Whole Foods stores around Florida Chasser has lived in the tree since 1992 after she moved her family back to Miami from California. The home is built with curved wooden steps that lead to a second story. It includes a kitchenette with a mini oven and sink, along with a tiny living room equipped with a ceiling fan. In the kitchen she has perfected her brand of organic popcorn, cooking it for her visiting grandchildren. She originally started making popcorn 40 years ago but went into business over 25 years ago when her son Joshua died to give her a new focus, according to Miami.com. It is called Shawnee's Greenthumb Popcorn and according to its website it is full of 'organic ingredients, guaranteed to be free of Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs.) 'Our commitment is to make a difference in the world, supporting family farmers and helping to improve the quality of Mother Earths soil, one pop at a time.' She adds that the brand aims to promote healthier eating and challenge the epidemics of obesity, diabetes and malnutrition plaguing our society. 'Processed foods are void of nutrition and high in fat and calories. Our popcorn is full of nutrients and minerals, and it leaves you wanting more just because it tastes so good and your body is feeling happy!,' the website adds. The popcorn is sold in Whole Foods stores around Florida. Chasser told the Herald that she's unable to afford to hire the necessary people to bring her home up to code A raccoon, who she's named 'Coonie', also visits her occasionally at her special haven Chasser sleeps in a double bed and her home is decorated with family pictures, books and a small couch. She is seen relaxing in the garden Chasser, who mass-produces and sells Shawnee's Greenthumb Popcorn, said she's unable to afford to hire the necessary people to bring her home up to code, but she's not giving up without a fight Her brother's tree house, which was also featured by the Tiny House Giant Journey travel blog, is included in marketing material from the county's tourism bureau and is treated like a landmark And living in tree houses seems to run in the family. Advertisement Donald Trump's supporters in the city of Canfield, Ohio, turned out to the Canfield Fair Monday to see the presidential candidate and his VP pick Michael Pence in person - and they weren't holding back. Some members of the crowd screamed for the candidate's attention as the men performed a brief meet-and-greet. And others reminded Trump of his long-held promise by chanting 'Build that wall!' as he waved to cameras and shook hands, WKBN reported. Scroll down for video Oh hi, Ohio: Donald Trump made a brief public appearance at the final day of the Canfield County Fair Monday Loud and proud: Trump addressed the cheering and chanting crowds through a bullhorn Screaming out: Some of Trump's fans were screaming for his attention as he made his way past the crowds. Some chanted 'Build that wall' as he went past Caught on camera: Camfield City residents were out in force to see the presidential candidate, although he was only in public for nine minutes before stepping inside to perform press interviews Excited: Trump attracted hundreds of spectators with his brief appearance Cheering: The presidential hopeful cheered, waved and posed for the many cameras before entering the fair's Republican tent, and later performing a number of media interviews Trump and Pence arrived at Youngstown Warren Regional Airport just after 1:30pm, having flown in from another campaign event in Cleveland. An hour and a half later the pair pulled up at the fair to crowds of cheering supporters being held back by a sharp-suited security detail. Trump then walked a short distance from the car to the fair's Republican tent, waving at supporters and posing for photographs. Greetings: Trump and his vice-presidential pick Mike Pence (seen left, giving thumbs up) were also invited to shake the hands of passers by - though security kept their eyes peeled for trouble Hands on: Trump shook hands with several members of the crowd during his brief public appearance Branding: Trump appeared on T-shirts as well as in person at the event Trump had a few very brief words with the crowd outside the Republican tent, shaking hands with some of those reaching out to greet the presidential hopeful. In all, the audience interaction ran from 3:04-3:13pm, WKBN noted - a brief but noisy period of excitement for those there. Trump then went into the Republican tent where he greeted others and signed a pencil illustration of himself. He then went inside the administration building where he performed interviews with the media for around an hour. Recent arrival: Trump had been in Cleveland earlier that day, also performing campaign duties, and landed in Ohio around an hour and a half before his appearance at the fair In tents action: Trump swung by the Republican tent, where he signed this picture of himself, before going into an administration building for press interviews Fans: There were many fans inside the tent as well as out, including this young woman Trump wasn't the only prominent politician to visit the Canfield Fair this year - Vice President Joe Biden also swung by the event on Thursday. The Canfield Fair started on August 31 and finished Monday. Thumbs up: Trump gave a hearty thumbs-up to the cheering crowds Waving: The presidential candidate had fans waving at him from the moment he stepped out of his car Keith Vaz had been in contact with rent boys for several weeks before he was exposed for paying young men for sex, it emerged last night. The disgraced Labour MP now facing a parliamentary sleaze inquiry had regular friendly text communications with the male prostitutes during the summer. Last night pressure was increasing on the married father-of-two to quit his 90,000-a-year job as chairman of the home affairs select committee, which meets today. Breaking cover: Keith Vaz leaves his London home yesterday with wife Maria Fernandes, right Intimate: Keith Vaz with one of the Eastern European escorts at his 390,000 flat. The MP had regular friendly text communications with the male prostitutes during the summer The Labour grandee put on a breathtaking show of defiance yesterday as he broke cover after being exposed on Sunday for paying male escorts for sex and offering to pay for cocaine. He headed to Westminster after emerging from his London home with his wife of 23 years, Maria Fernandes, who looked grim-faced by his side. The 59-year-old even made an appearance on the Commons benches, asking a question about Britons fighting for Islamic State. In other developments: Mr Vaz threatened to sue Tory MP Andrew Bridgen, who reported him to the police, Charity Commission and the Commons sleaze watchdog; The PM declared that the public must have confidence in politicians; Support for Mr Vaz on the home affairs committee was waning, as a majority of members said his position had become untenable; Mr Vazs brother-in-law told the Mail the MP had dinner with relatives hours before his alleged sex session; More questions have emerged about how the purchase of Mr Vazs sex flat was funded. Mr Vaz had initially apologised to his wife and children for the hurt and distress caused after he was allegedly filmed meeting two rent boys at his flat on August 27, pretending to be a washing machine salesman called Jim. Business as usual: The 59-year-old Labour politician, seen standing, even made an appearance on the Commons benches, asking a question about Britons fighting for Islamic State The MP had also indicated he would step down as chairman of the home affairs committee, after texts allegedly showed he asked the Eastern European sex workers to bring poppers sex-enhancing drugs to a liaison. He has now criticised the tactics used by the Sunday Mirror, suggesting he was entrapped. Shameless: Keith Vaz leaving his home in north London yesterday But it has become clear that he met the men on at least one occasion before they contacted the newspaper and he had been exchanging text messages with them frequently before the August 27 meeting. Both men approached the newspaper after one recognised Mr Vaz on TV and claimed to have been previously paid for their services. The August 27 encounter was filmed by the men, not the newspaper, before details were published last Sunday. Despite this, the MP shamelessly went on the attack again yesterday, with Mr Bridgen receiving a letter from Mr Vazs lawyers warning him he may be sued. The legal letter said: You have been maliciously spreading false and highly defamatory scuttlebutt about him. A source close to Mr Bridgen said the letter from lawyers Howard Kennedy had been an attempt to close down any further investigation and suppress information. Silver Star, a diabetes charity set up by Mr Vaz, has brought in law firm Carter Ruck, which denied its client made any inappropriate payments. The Sunday Mirror had claimed money was paid into an account used by one of the escorts by a man linked to the charity. Mr Vaz also denies the allegation. Asked about the scandal yesterday, Theresa May said: I have always been clear throughout my political career that what is important for people is that they feel that they are able to have confidence in their politicians. Relaxed: Mr Vaz is covertly filmed on his sofa during the alleged encounter Deal: The MP's text exchange with the escorts - Mr Vaz's alleged messages are in grey That is what I think we all have a duty to provide for those who elect us. Mr Vaz met the escorts at a flat he owns near his North London family home, according to the Sunday Mirror. Last night his brother-in-law revealed the shamed MP had a family dinner in Leicester hours before stripping off with rent boys and requesting sex without a condom. Pedro Fernandes, the brother of the MPs wife, said his sister would be horrified. He said: She will be shocked and find it difficult to believe this because its so out of character. We have tried contacting her by phone, but there is no answer. I always thought that Vaz and my sister had a happy marriage. He has always been dedicated to his work and he is always busy. He isnt what youd call a party animal at all. He normally never drinks maybe a couple of sips of wine and he never takes drugs. Thats why I think it could be made up. The Labour MP had been at the family get-together on August 27 with his wife and teenage daughter, before he left at around 9.30pm and made his way back to London alone going to the sex flat. Meanwhile, experts backed the newspaper exposure of Mr Vazs use of male escorts. Horrifying footage has emerged of the moment a gang of thugs violently attacked two school buses in broad daylight in China. The thugs were allegedly hired by a rival kindergarten on September 1 in an attempt to sabotage the other school, reports Huanqiu, an affiliation with the People's Daily Online. Six members of the gang have been arrested and police say they are looking for the remaining suspects. Sad: The gang attacked a rival school's bus with machetes before damaging other property Violence: 14 men were seen entering the premises of the kindergarten destroying property The incident took place in Xinhua County, central China's Henan province, according to the report. At 1pm, 14 unidentified men broke into the kindergarten and attacked two school buses and three cars. In the footage, posted by 'Guan Cha Shen Zhou' on Youtube, the gang can be seen walking into the kindergarten complex. They wander over to the school bus and start to beat the vehicle with what appears to be machetes. Shocking incident: In a matter of seconds, they smash through the windows of the bus Yobs: Police have already arrested six of the gang and say they are searching for the others Tragic: The men seemed calm and casual throughout their attack on the school's property Horrifying: The men can clearly be seen wielding machetes and damaging property Local education department say they are putting measures in place to ensure student safety In a matter of seconds, they smash through the windows of the bus. They then move over to another yellow school bus which they also attack followed by a white car. They then calmly walk away from the site. According to Xinhua County police, six people have been arrested and they are actively searching for the remaining men. A man in China was swallowed by a giant sinkhole that opened up in his bedroom last week. The man was preparing to eat dinner when he was suddenly sucked into the 10-foot-deep hole at his family's home in Xi'an, north-west China's Shaanxi province, on September 1, reports the People's Daily Online. The man, who stands six feet tall, was admitted to hospital after several of the tiles cut his waist. Shocking: A man in Xi'an, China, was sucked into a sinkhole that opened up in his bedroom Injured: The man was taken to hospital after being cut by several of the shattered tiles According to the article, the man, who remains unidentified, was about to tuck into a plate of grilled meat in his bedroom when the floor from underneath him gave way. The sinkhole measured about 64 square feet. The victim is the nephew of the house owner, Mr Du. Mr Du said he got a phone call at around 6pm and was informed that an accident had taken place in his house and that his nephew had fallen into a hole. Mr Du's sister, who also lives in the house, was the first one to find the victim. She told a reporter: 'When I entered [the room], I couldn't see anyone but the hole. Who would think he had fallen into the hole?' Mr Du's sister climbed into the hole on a ladder and pull her nephew out. She said her nephew had sustained several cuts and one of them measure nearly three inches deep. Horrific: He was rescued by family members who managed to pull him out from the hole It's thought that a leakage from a pipe underneath is the cause of the incident The victim's uncle, Mr Du, told reporters that water had been leaking from a pipeline at the bottom of the sinkhole. It's thought that the leakage is the cause of the collapsing hole. The hole was been filled in to prevent any further collapses from occurring. Residents have been evacuated from the house. People have been discussing the issue on China's social media site Weibo. One user wrote: 'That's a blessing indeed. They got a basement for free!' While another commented: 'He could not survive if he's 5ft 2in tall.' A teacher from China has been fired after he was caught on camera brutally hitting and slapping some of his pupils. The teacher, identified by his surname Zheng, was enraged after a number of first-grade students were late for military training, reported People's Daily Online. The shocking video was filmed at Rizhao Maritime College in eastern China's Shandong Province on September 1, according to the report. Violent: A college teacher from China has been caught on camera abusing his students Shocking: School claimed that the students were late for military training enraging the teacher At the time of the incident, the school was conducting freshmen military training, a mandatory drill for all high school and university students in China. However, a number of male students were allegedly late for the training, which infuriated teacher Zheng. In the 80-second video, shared by Youtube user 'Alex Lee', the teacher was seen stopping the group of students, who were wearing their military uniforms. The man went on slapping one of the students nearly ten times while kicking and hitting him. Horrific: The man slapped one of the students nearly ten times while kicking and hitting him Brutal: The man yelled: 'If you don't follow the commands, you mother f***** should go home' At one point, the boy's hat could be seen flying into the air after the teacher savagely slapped him the face. The teacher could be heard yelling: 'If you don't follow the commands, you mother f***** should go home'. The man then kneed the student on his backside despite the fact that the pupil kept begging 'that is enough'. The furious man went on attacking four other male students, slapping each of them twice in the face. The video was widely shared after it was uploaded to Chinese social media platform WeChat. An internet user, who called himself 'dragon', claimed to be one of the victims in the video. 'Dragon' explained that he was too tired and did not want to attend the military drill, which led the teacher to attack him. The man went on hitting four other students, slapping each of them twice in the face However, in a statement issued by Rizhao Maritime College on September 3, the school said the students were punished for being late for the military training. The same statement criticised teacher Zheng for failing to teach his students 'patiently' and for losing his temper. The teacher has been fired by the school. Military training for students was introduced in China back in 1955. Although it's only been mandatory for all secondary school and university students since 2001, it has been 'trialed' across the country since 1985. Training lasts for around two weeks during the summer months although they have been up to a year in the past. Advertisement A 73-year-old grandmother has wowed Chinese social media with her edgy fashionable photos. In the images, the woman, who is billed as the 'coolest grandmother' by Chinese media, can be seen posing on a Harley Davidson in leather clothing and also in stunning traditional Chinese dress, reports the People's Daily Online. Since retiring, the grandmother from Xiamen, China's Fujian province, has been exploring areas of the country that she had dreamed of visiting such as Tibet. Sensational granny: The woman can be seen sitting on top of a Harley Davidson while wearing leather clothing What style she has! She dons a green and metallic coat, teaming it up with large oval sunglasses and cherub earings Pretty: She also posed for more simple images around her hometown of Xiamen such as this one where she rides a bike Joined by a furry friend: In this light-hearted photo, the 73-year-old teams up a beaded red cardigan with a bright headscarf Incredible images show the 73-year-old pensioner, named Huang Yanzhen, posing for photos. She can be seen donning colourful clothing in a coffee shop, posing against a wall in sparkly green coat and funky glasses and taking photos in a park. There are also stunning black and white photos of the grandma Huang Yanzhen settled in Xiamen with her children when they were young. Traveller: Huangyan Zhen says that when she was younger she had to care for her children but now she can explore Making dreams come true: After retiring she fulfilled her dream of finally visiting Tibet and seeing Qinghai lake In this image, she wears a brightly coloured floral dress while wearing giant white sunglasses and chunky jewellery The woman posed for many photos which were taken by Jesse Ding who knew the woman through her godmother She says that after the Qinghai-Tibet railway opened in the 1980s, she had dreamed of seeing the beauty of Tibet but had to stay in her job and work hard for her children. However since retiring she realised she would finally be able to achieve her dream. She walked through the desert parts of Tibet and got to see Qinghai lake. Huangyan attends a half-hour class every day. The photographer Jesse Ding, 31, told MailOnline that he got to know the grandmother through his godmother. He said: 'In the shooting, she was very supportive of me and I am hoping more people can see these photos so that Chinese elderly ladies can be seen as elegant and rich.' Jesse's photos have proved popular on the internet after he did a hipster photoshoot with his grandfather. People have been discussing the images of the grandma on social media site coral.qq.com. One user commented: 'She is a goddess' While another wrote: 'Pretty. What an attractive lady. She dresses decently.' And one user said: 'To grow old gracefully. The photos are very beautiful.' Fashionable lady! The 73-year-old posed for photos in the middle of a street in Xiamen while wearing a funky suit Taking a peek outside the window: The pensioner seems to like silk headscarves showing them off in every single photo Average day on the streets: She was pictured on the streets of Xiamen in a patterned jumpsuit while walking three dogs The Israeli owners of a satellite destroyed when a Falcon 9 rocket exploded last week said they could seek millions in damages from SpaceX. Spacecom said Elon Musk's firm could face a 37m ($50m) bill or have to offer a free launch after its communications satellite was destroyed by an explosion on the launch pad in Florida last week. Officials of the Israeli company said in a conference call with reporters yesterday that Spacecom also could collect 154m ($205m) from Israel Aerospace Industries, which built the AMOS-6 satellite. The AMOS-6 communications satellite was aboard a Falcon 9 rocket which exploded during a test fire in Florida last week, destroying the rocket and its cargo (pictured left to right) SATELLITE FIRM CLAIMING DAMAGES FROM SPACEX The Israeli owners of the destroyed AMOS-6 satellite have reportedly been hard hit by the loss. In a press conference yesterday, Spacecom said it could seek $50m from SpaceX following the explosion on the launch pad last week. AMOS-6 was supposed to provide home internet for Africa and the Middle East. In addition, Facebook had signed a deal with Eutelsat to lease broadband capacity from the satellite as part of its efforts to increase internet connectivity across the African continent. Advertisement The explosion occurred last Thursday during a test in advance of the planned launch from from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, next to NASA's Kennedy Space Center. AMOS-6 was supposed to provide home internet for Africa and the Middle East. But service arrangements had also been agreed with a number of key clients, including Facebook and Eutelsat Communications. The Facebook deal involved the leasing of broadband capacity aboard the satellite as part of its efforts to increase internet connectivity across the African continent. SpaceX told Reuters it does not disclose contract or insurance terms. The company is not public, and it has not said what insurance it had for the rocket or to cover launch pad damages beyond what was required by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), which oversees commercial US launches, for liability and damage to government property. Elon Musk's private space venture could face a bill of 37m following the explosion, however, the private firm has said it will not disclose terms of its contracts or insurance Spacecom said SpaceX could face a 37m ($50m) bill or have to offer a free launch after its communications satellite was destroyed by an explosion on the launch pad in Florida last week. Pictured is a Falcon 9 rocket launching from Cape Canaveral in March this year SpaceX has more than 70 missions on its manifest, worth more than 7.5 billion ($10bn), for commercial and government customers. The space launch company is one of three major transportation and energy enterprises Musk leads. The others are electric car maker Tesla Motors Inc and SolarCity Corp , and Musk faces separate challenges at each of those money losing companies. Spacecom has been hit hard in the aftermath of the Thursday explosion that destroyed the SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket and its payload. > Loss of Falcon vehicle today during propellant fill operation. Originated around upper stage oxygen tank. Cause still unknown. More soon. Elon Musk (@elonmusk) 1 September 2016 The Israeli company said the loss of the satellite would have a significant impact, with its equity expected to decline by 22.5m to 92m ($30m to $123m). Its shares dropped 9 per cent on Thursday, plummeting another 34 per cent when trading resumed on Monday morning. In a conference call with reporters, Spacecom's general counsel Gil Lotan said it was too early to say if the company's planned merger with Beijing Xinwei Technology Group would proceed. Xinwei last month agreed to buy Spacecom for 214m ($285m), saying the deal was contingent on the successful launch and operation of Spacecom's AMOS-6 satellite. 'We hope to continue fruitful communications with the prospective buyer,' Lotan said. The cause of the accident is under investigation. Neither SpaceX, nor the FAA which is overseeing the investigation, have said how much damage the explosion caused at SpaceX's primary launch site at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida. SpaceX said on Friday that it would shift flights to a second launch site in Florida, which is nearing completion and which was last used to launch NASA's space shuttles. Thursday's accident, which occurred as the company was fueling its rocket as part of a routine prelaunch test firing, was the second failed mission for Musk's space company in 14 months. In June 2015, a Falcon 9 rocket exploded about two minutes after liftoff from Florida, destroying a load of cargo headed to the International Space Station. SpaceX returned to flight in December and since then has flown nine times, all successfully. It was scheduled to fly for the 29th time on Saturday. Sex with robots is set to overtake human sex by 2050. But a robotics expert has warned that robot sex could become addictive, and will someday even replace human-human sex entirely. Like many other technologies that have replaced humans, robots could even surpass human technique, to become better lovers, he claims. Scroll down for video Sex with robots is set to overtake human sex by 2050. But a robotics expert has warned that robot sex could become addictive, and will someday even replace human-human sex entirely (stock image used) WILL SEXBOTS STOP CRIME? Many people can see a variety of benefits that sexbots have to offer. Behaviour therapist Nicolas Aujula sees them as a mechanism for helping fetishists explore extreme sexual fantasies, which could help fight sex crime. Mr Aujula said: 'Over the next few years, sex bots I believe could commonly provide a safe and discreet solution for exploring fantasies offering the possibilities of simply having more creative sex, through to satisfying extreme fetish behaviour. Advertisement Speaking to the Daily Star, Joel Snell, a robotics expert from Kirkwood College in Iowa, said: 'Robotic sex may become addictive. 'Sexbots would always be available and could never say no, so addictions would be easy to feed. 'People will rearrange their lives to accommodate their addictions.' As well as being available for sex whenever it is wanted, the robots could even become better at sex than humans. Mr Snell added: 'Because they would be programmable, sexbots would meet each individual user's needs.' While the idea of robots taking over the bedroom could sound daunting, a sex therapist has suggested that it could be healthy for our sex lives. Gurpreet Singh, a sex therapist from Relate, told the Daily Star: 'Who are we to judge people who want to have sex with robots? 'Let people enjoy sex robots they will work in the same way couples introduce a toy into a sexual relationship. And if both parties are agreed, I see nothing wrong.' Like many other technologies that have replaced human endeavors, robots could surpass human technique. Because they would be programmable, sexbots would meet each individual user's needs However, Mr Singh warned that it would not be healthy for robots to replace humans entirely. He added: 'It takes on a whole different meaning if sex robots are used because of a fear of intimacy or because a person wants to be isolated. 'Then the addiction needs to be addressed.' A recent survey was done by VoucherCodesPro, who asked 2,816 sexually active Brits to describe which activities they would carry out with a cyborg. Researchers asked those participants who said they would have sex with a robot why they would do it. A robotics expert has warned that robot sex could become addictive, and could even replace human-human sex. Like many other technologies that have replaced humans, robots such as True Companion Roxxxy (pictured), could even surpass human technique Seventy two per cent said they thought the robots 'would be very good at it' while 28 per cent said it would be a new experience. But sex robots could also lead to changes in the sex industry, replacing prostitutes to help stamp out sexual slavery and trafficking. Dr John Danaher, a lecturer in business at NUI Galway believes that sex robots could be a good substitute for human prostitutes. He told the Daily Star: 'The cyborgs can cater for desire for sexual variety, freedom from constraint and complication and fear of lack of sexual success. 'Technology may become better at developing emotional bonds with their clients. 'They won't need to 'fake it' the same way as human prostitutes.' THE COST OF SEXBOTS REVEALED Neal Slateford, co-owner of online sex toy retailer Lovehoney, sees a future where sexbots are mainstream. 'The technology is developing all the time, and the early robotic toys they have created are still out of the price range of most people - costing around 6,000 ($7777),' he said. 'Prices will inevitably come down, and we envisage selling mass market robotic toys in around three years' time. They could be really brilliant products - and let's face it, it is the safest way to have a threesome with your partner and not end up in the divorce courts.' San Francisco-based RealDoll currently sells realistic sex dolls for around $5,000 (3857) a unit. It recently launched a project harnessing AI to create sexbots that have customisable personalities and can talk to their owners in romantic as well as entraining ways. Advertisement Lasers that use human blood could offer a glimpse into the tiny changes which lead to cancerous tumours. By shining laser light through blood mixed with a fluorescent dye, researchers in the US have been able to monitor molecular activity and changes to cell structure. The group believes the process could enable doctors to measure a patients response to new drugs, ultimately helping them to better tailor treatments for a range of conditions. Researchers in the US found that shining laser light through human blood samples mixed with a fluorescent dye could reveal molecular activity and changes to cell structure. The hope is that the approach could be used to detect tumours in blood and tissue samples LASERS MADE FROM BLOOD In order to make a laser, a gain medium is coaxed into emitting light by exciting the molecules with energy. These excited molecules then emit light (photons) which is focused by mirrors into a directed beam. In this case, the team at Michigan used human blood as the medium. Samples were mixed with a medical dye (which bound to proteins in the blood) and placed in a small reflective chamber. When excited by a conventional laser, the blood sample fluoresced, with the light directed by the mirrors of the chamber. Advertisement Led by Xudong Fan at the University of Michigan, the team set up a small reflective laser cavity filled with a mix of whole blood and the medical dye Indocyanine green (ICG). The dye is used in hospitals for a number of diagnostic medical tests, including measuring the output of the heart and for examining the delicate network of blood vessels in the back of the eye. But the Michigan team says that when ICG is mixed with whole human blood containing blood cells, plasma, sugars and proteins it is able to boost the strength of laser signals. Shining conventional laser light through the sample caused it to emit light, with the team recording the light reflected back out of the cavity. Analysis of this reflected light revealed structural changes to cells as well as any changes in the blood down to the molecular level. According to New Scientist, the team believes that the dye will only glow brightly enough when it binds to proteins in the plasma. Without blood, just ICG, it doesnt work at all, Professor Fan told New Scientist. The advantage of this approach over existing techniques using laser fluorescence is the ability to tweak the light from the sample. Professors Fans team reports that the light could be tuned to cut down on background, making smaller changes easier to spot. The team at the University of Michigan believes that the dye, called Indocyanine green (ICG) will only glow brightly enough when it binds to proteins in the blood plasma As ICG binds to plasma proteins, it should be most visible in areas with high concentrations of blood vessels. This would mean tumours which are fed by networks of new blood vessels would potentially be easier to identify as they would glow brighter compared to other areas. So far, the team has only been able to use the technique on blood samples outside the body, but in future a test could be adapted for use on tissues inside the body. The hope is that, in practice, the approach could be used in surgical applications. Life on this planet has repeatedly nearly been wiped out by huge asteroids crashing through our atmosphere and into the planet's surface. But it seems we may all owe our lives to one of the largest collisions in Earth's history when an embryonic planet similar to Mercury smashed into the Earth. A new study has uncovered evidence that suggests almost all the carbon that forms the basis of life on Earth may have come from this cataclysmic event around 4.4 billion years ago. Geochemists have conducted experiments that suggest a Mercury-sized embryonic planet smashed inot the Earth around 4.4 billion years ago after the iron-rich core had formed, bringing an abundance of carbon to Earth which has been essential to life (illustrated) It suggests the diminutive world around 3,000 miles across merged with our planet after the Earth's core had formed, bringing the ingredients for life and precious crystals like diamonds. SMASH CREATED THE MOON It was a cataclysmic impact that formed the moon around 4.5 billion years ago. But it seems life on Earth owes a great deal more than previously believed to the Mars-sized 'proto-planet' that smacked into our own less than a hundred million years after the solar system formed. A new study has found that some of the water we find on Earth today may have come from this ill-fated planet - known as Theia. Scientists have discovered the two bodies exchanged a great deal of debris in the collision, leading both the Earth and the moon to have almost identical levels of oxygen isotopes. Most theories suggest the moon formed mainly from Theia, but the new study suggests it was actually a mixture of the two planets. The collision that created the moon could also explain why our planet has a hot core. Scientists believe Earth was hit by a body that was the size of Mars - but like Mercury in its composition - early in its life. This likely would have happened about 4.5 billion years ago. The body would have been rich in sulphur but very poor in oxygen - just like Mercury. The collision would have produced radioactive uranium and thorium, generating the heat needed to drive the 'dynamo' of molten iron in Earth's core. Advertisement But if correct, it suggests that the development of life on this planet was reliant upon this chance collision billions of years ago. Exactly how the Earth's mantle and crust came to have so much carbon in it has puzzled geologists for some time. Most of the carbon on our planet after it first formed would have boiled away or been locked away in the planet's core. Dr Rajdeep Dasgupta, a petrologist at Rice University in Houston, Texas, said: 'The challenge is to explain the origin of the volatile elements like carbon that remain outside the core in the mantle portion of this planet. 'We have published several studies that showed even if carbon did not vaporise into space when the planet was largely molten, it would end up in the metallic core of our planet, because the iron rich alloys there have a strong affinity for carbon. 'We thought we definitely needed to break away from the conventional core composition of just iron and nickel and carbon.' The researchers, whose work is published in the journal Nature Geoscience, conducted experiments under huge pressures to examine how sulphur or silicon might alter the affinity of iron for carbon. It revealed that carbon could be excluded from the core and relegated the mantle, which is largely formed of silicate, if the iron alloys in the core were rich in either silicon or sulphur. When the team mapped out the relative concentrations of carbon that would arise under various levels of sulphur and silicon enrichment and compared them to those found in Earth's mantle, a compelling scenario emerged. Dr Dasgupta said: 'One scenario that explains the carbon-to-sulphur ratio and carbon abundance is that an embryonic planet like Mercury, which had already formed a silicon-rich core, collided with and was absorbed by Earth. 'Because it's a massive body, the dynamics could work in a way that the core of that planet would go directly to the core of our planet, and the carbon-rich mantle would mix with Earth's mantle. It is thought a collision between the early Earth and a smaller planet similar to Mercury (artist's impression) created the moon but may also brought the carbon found in the planet's mantle 'In this paper, we focused on carbon and sulphur. 'Much more work will need to be done to reconcile all of the volatile elements, but at least in terms of the carbon-sulphur abundances and the carbon-sulphur ratio, we find this scenario could explain Earth's present carbon and sulphur budgets.' The findings fit with another theory that suggests our Moon formed around 4.5 billion years ago after a planet called Theia collided with Earth. Many scientists have also suggested that life itself, or at least the complex ingredients such as water and amino acids, were brought to Earth from outer space on asteroids and comets. But the new findings suggest that we owe our existence to a much greater collision i in the past. Dr Yuan Li, lead author of the new study and a geochemist at the Chinese Academy of Sciences, said: 'One popular idea has been that volatile elements like carbon, sulphur, nitrogen and hydrogen were added after Earth's core finished forming. 'Any of those elements that fell to Earth in meteorites and comets more than about 100 million years after the solar system formed could have avoided the intense heat of the magma ocean that covered Earth up to that point. 'The problem with that idea is that while it can account for the abundance of many of these elements, there are no known meteorites that would produce the ratio of volatile elements in the silicate portion of our planet.' Is is set to be a terrible year for the pistachio - with global shortages set to hit. The USDA has warned the United States, one of the world's two main pistachio producers, would cut the number of pistachios it harvested by nearly half this year, due mainly to California's punishing drought. Meanwhile in Iran, which produced 250,000 tonnes of the nut last year, has warned its farms are 'being destroyed' by weather. Combined, they will make a massive dent in the world's entire 529,000 ton pistachio crop for this year. Both Iran and the US, the two major suppliers, say drought will decimate the number of nuts farmed this year, cutting the global supply by half. 'Global production is estimated to plunge 86,000 metric tons from the previous year to 529,000 tons,' the USDA said. 'U.S. production is estimated to be down by nearly half from the previous year to just 122,000 tons, the smallest crop harvested in nearly a decade. 'Irans off-year production is estimated to decrease 20,000 tons to 210,000 primarily on lower yield in the top-producing province of Kerman as bearing area for the country remains unchanged. In Iran, harms have been decimated by weather. The pistachio trees at the village in southern Iran are long dead, bleached white by the sun - the underground water reserves sucked dry by decades of over-farming and waste. The last farmers left with their families 10 years ago, and the village has the look of an abandoned Martian colony. The dome-roofed, mud-walled homes are crumbling, once-green fields are now nothing but dirt furrows, and the only sign of life is a couple of drifters camping out in an old storehouse. Pistachios are Iran's biggest export after crude oil, with 250,000 tonnes of the nut produced last year -- a figure only recently topped by the United States. In Kerman province in southern Iran, cities have grown rich from pistachios, but time is running out for the industry as unconstrained farming and climate change take a devastating toll. Near the city of Sirjan, a long line of enormous sinkholes like bomb craters mark the points where an underground aquifer was pumped completely dry, and the ground simply collapsed. Dead pistachio trees are seen in a abandoned village near the southern Iranian city of Sirjan Atta Kenare (AFP) 'Farming is being destroyed,' says Hassan Ali Firouzabadi, who has lived in the nearby village of Izadabad for half a century. His business is barely clinging on. Some of his pistachio trees are old enough to remember the golden age of Shah Abbas in the 17th century, but the leaves have turned yellow-green from the salty water he now dredges up. 'The well was six to 10 metres (deep) when I was a child, but now it's 150, and the water is bitter and salty,' he says. 'This used to be a village full of people. Most have left to become labourers and drivers. Ten more years and there will be nothing left.' Iran faces two key challenges -- dealing with a years-long nationwide drought that shows little sign of abating, and trying to convince farmers to stop the uncontrolled pumping of water. Some 300,000 of Iran's 750,000 water pumps are illegal -- a big reason why the United Nations says Iran is officially transitioning from a state of 'water stress' to 'water scarcity'. In 2013, Iran's chamber of commerce carried out a survey showing that Kerman province was losing about 20,000 hectares (49,400 acres) of pistachio farms every year to desertification. Pistachios are Iran's biggest export after crude oil, with 250,000 tonnes of the nut produced in 2015 Atta Kenare (AFP) For centuries, Iran relied on one of the world's most sophisticated irrigation systems -- a web of underground canals known as 'qanats' that carried water from under mountains to the arid plains. But then came the electric pumps and chaotic politics of the last century. The need to preserve water was little understood and secondary to self-sufficiency in food production -- an attitude that persisted into the sanctions era. 'We are slowly moving past a long-held illusion that we have endless resources,' says Mohsen Nasseri at the National Climate Change Office in Tehran. Hassan Ali Firouzabadi works at his pistachio farm in Izadabad, a village in the southern Iranian Kerman province Atta Kenare (AFP) He says the government is finally looking at financial incentives to encourage water conservation. One scheme offers funding for farmers to buy modern irrigation equipment, but changing ingrained attitudes will take time. 'It's late, but it's happening,' Nasseri says. Some farmers have taken matters into their own hands. The lushly green pistachio trees of Farhad Sharif's farm near Sirjan are an oasis against the flat brown landscape. The family installed a drip-irrigation system eight years ago that carefully controls the amount and quality of water delivered to each plant. 'We get more quality and more quantity from our pistachio trees, and we use 70 percent less water,' says Sharif, who runs the business with his father. They strictly limit the size of the farm to ensure the underground water levels can be replenished naturally. 'Everyone should do it,' he says, but he knows the problem is money. Sharif's family had cash and connections in Tehran that helped them secure a loan for the system, but even their farm cannot avoid the wider problems in the area. Each year, he says, they have to pull up the pipes and shorten them as water tables deplete and the land gradually sinks. 'The problem is more dangerous than people realise. There is just not enough oversight,' Sharif says. Consumer Reports has slammed Samsung for failing to issue an official recall notice for its Galaxy Note7 smartphone following reports of some phones exploding while charging. Samsung said on Friday it had stopped selling the Note7, and would replace models that consumers had already purchased. However, Consumer Reports said 'the company's action was not an official recall, which would have involved the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), and would have made it illegal to sell the phones.' Scroll down for video This Samsung customer displayed a melted Galaxy Note 7 on YouTube, saying it was less than two-weeks old. Samsung, in a statement, said it will take about two weeks to prepare replacement devices for the phones already sold WHAT IS THE ISSUE? Samsung found that a battery cell made by one of its two battery suppliers caused the phone to catch fire. The company refused to name the supplier. 'There was a tiny problem in the manufacturing process, so it was very difficult to figure out,' Koh Dong-jin, president of Samsung's mobile business told reporters at a news conference. 'It will cost us so much it makes my heart ache. Nevertheless, the reason we made this decision is because what is most important is customer safety.' Advertisement Consumer Reports shoppers checked multiple retailers Friday morning, and found the phone for sale at some of them. An official recall also would include clear guidance on next steps for consumers. 'Samsung should immediately initiate an official recall with the Consumer Product Safety Commission given the serious nature of the safety problem it identified with the Galaxy Note7,' said Maria Rerecich, Consumer Reports director of electronics testing. 'We are particularly concerned that phones continue to be available for sale today.' Samsung said last week: 'Because our customers' safety is an absolute priority at Samsung, we have stopped sales of the Galaxy Note7.' Images and videos of burnt handsets were been posted to social media, while Samsung also confirmed it will offer free replacements to pre-order customers who have already received the phone. 'For customers who already have Galaxy Note7 devices, we will voluntarily replace their current device with a new one over the coming weeks. Today it also revealed a battery cell is believed to be the issue. 'In response to recently reported cases of the new Galaxy Note7, we conducted a thorough investigation and found a battery cell issue. A viral video showing a charred Galaxy Note 7 has led Samsung to issue the statement. The video, posted on YouTube Ariel Gonzalez, shows a handset that reportedly caught fire shortly after its charger was unplugged. The problem is believed to be with a flaw in the Galaxy Note 7's battery. Samsung says it is investigating the issue further and will replace all handsets sold. In the video, captured in an unknown location, Mr Gonzalez displays a melted Galaxy Note 7 which he says was around two-weeks old. 'I came home after work, put it to charge for a little bit before a hard class. I went to put it on my waste and it caught fire,' he says. Mr Gonzalez said he was using the official Samsung charger. Other customer reports of scorched phones prompted Samsung to conduct extra quality controlling tests and delay shipments of the Note 7s this week before the recall. South Korean high school teacher Park Soo-Jung said she had rushed to buy the new phone, pre-ordering and then activating it on August 19, its official launch date. The 34-year-old living in the port city of Busan said that she was bruised when she rushed out of bed after her phone burst into flames, filling her bedroom with smoke stinking of chemicals. Several people posted images and videos of charred Samsung Galaxy Note 7s online and said their phones had caught on fire. The firm has now pulled the handest from shelves She's having second thoughts about buying another newly released device, especially after losing all her personal data stored in the destroyed Note 7, she said. 'If the exploded phone had burned near my head, I would not have been able to write this post,' she said in a popular online forum Thursday, where she shared a photo of the scorched Note 7 and described dousing the flames. Samsung found that a battery cell made by one of its two battery suppliers caused the phone to catch fire. Koh Dong-jin, president of Samsung's mobile business refused to name the supplier. Samsung launched the Galaxy Note 7 on August 19 in some markets including South Korea, the US. The launch of the phone has now been delayed in the UK 'There was a tiny problem in the manufacturing process, so it was very difficult to figure out,' Koh told reporters at a news conference. 'It will cost us so much it makes my heart ache. Nevertheless, the reason we made this decision is because what is most important is customer safety.' Shipments have now been halted for quality control testing and an investigation is underway. It has also recalled 2.5 million handsets in 10 countries, including Australia and the US, will issue a replacement. For UK customers who have pre-orded Galaxy Note7 devices, Samsung will replace their current device with a new one over the coming weeks. China is not affected by the sales suspension. The company said it used a battery made by another supplier for the Note 7s sold in China. GALAXY NOTE 7 SPECS 5.7inch curved screen Measures 153.5 x 73.9 x 7.9mm, weighs 169g (5.96 oz) MicroSD card expansion slot that holds up to 256 GB Available in black onyx, silver titanium, gold platinum and blue coral Built with Corning Gorilla Glass 5 Display is a super AMOLED capacitive touchscreen USB-C charger port 64 GB of internal storage, with 4 GB RAM Non-removable Li-Po 3500 3,500 mAh battery Water-resistant phone body and S Pen Advertisement Customers who already bought Note 7s will be able to swap them for new smartphones in about two weeks, said Koh. At a press conference to announce the recall today, Samsung said that 35 cases of the fault have been reported. It estimates the problem affects 24 in a million devices, which is around one for every 42,000 sold. It is unusual for Samsung to confirm a delay in sales of a device. Samsung launched the Galaxy Note 7 on August 19 in some markets including South Korea, the US. The launch of the phone has now been delayed in the UK, sources have told TechRadar. The phone features an iris scanner that lets users unlock the phone by detecting patterns in the eyes. Faults with the new premium flagship device could deal a major blow to the South Korean giant. The firm was counting on the Galaxy Note 7 to maintain its strong mobile earnings momentum against Apple's new iPhones expected to be unveiled next week. The researchers discovered it among limestone tsingy rocks at Ankarana It is a new species of cat-eyed snake, which are found across Madagascar Snake is pale grey and has unusual markings, distinguishing it from others After hiking more than 17 miles in the rain, researchers in Madagascar happened upon an elusive, pale grey snake with markings that had never been seen before. Though just one has been found so far, the team says the ghost snake represents a new species of cat-eyed snake, earning its name based on its appearance and mysterious behaviour. The team had initially set out to find a different species altogether, but instead discovered this unique creature at the grey limestone tsingy rocks at Ankarana Reserve. Researchers in Madagascar have discovered an elusive, pale grey snake with markings that had never been seen before. Though just one has been found so far, the team says the ghost snake represents a new species of cat-eyed snake CAT-EYED SNAKES Cat eyed snakes are known for their vertical pupils. This characteristic is often found among snakes that are active during the evening or night. These types of snakes are found commonly in Madagascar, and are often seen in developed areas and degraded forests. The new 'ghost snake,' however, was found in the isolated tsingy limestone at Ankarana Reserve. Advertisement Cat-eyed snakes are one of the most common types of snakes in Madagascar and have vertical pupils. While theyre often found in developed areas and degraded forests, the species discovered at Ankarana National Park in February 2014 was far more isolated. This specimen is unlike any known cat-eyed snakes, the researchers explain in in a paper published today in the journal Copeia. None of the other snakes in Madagascarophis are as pale and none of them have this distinct pattern, said Sara Ruane, post-doctoral research at the LSU Museum of Natural Science and lead author of the paper. The researchers have given it the name Madagascarophis lolo, meaning ghost in Malagasy, with its closest relative being the Madagascarophis fuschi. I think whats exciting and important about this work is even though the cat-eyed snakes could be considered one of the most common groups of snakes in Madagascar, there are still new species we dont know about because a lot of regions are hard to get to and poorly explored, Ruane says. If this commonly known, wide group of snakes harbors this hidden diversity, what else is out there that we dont know about? The ghost snake was spotted by Malagasy masters student Bernard Randriamahatantsoa during a hike that had extended more than 17 miles in search of a different species. The team had initially set out to find a different species altogether, but instead discovered this unique creature at the grey limestone tsingy rocks at Ankarana Reserve. The site in northern Madagascar is pictured above It was really tough, Ruane says. It was a lot of work, but the payoff was big. Snakes are hard to find under the best of circumstances. They are pretty elusive. As a result of their elusive behaviour, researchers carry out much of their field work during Madagascars rainy season, when snakes and their prey are most active. The team then returned to the US to conduct morphological and genetic analyses, including the tedious work of counting all scales on the snakes belly, back, those touching the eye, and those on the upper and lower lips. They also collected samples from the ghost snake and its close relative, the Madagascarophis fuschi, and compared three genetic markers across the genus to determine the new snakes similarities to known species. According to Ruane, the ghost snake is now considered a species entirely of its own. Visitors arriving to Japan through Tokyos Haneda airport will soon be greeted by a fleet of tiny humanoid robots. Standing just 90 centimetres tall, the humanoid named EMIEW3 will guide users to the proper destination at the terminal and has the ability to communicate in both Japanese and English. Hitachi Ltd began its trials with the robots on Friday, and its hoped that these assistants will be able to perform autonomously as early as December. Scroll down for video Visitors arriving to Japan through Tokyos Haneda airport will soon be greeted by a fleet of tiny humanoid robots. Standing just 90 centimetres tall, the humanoid named EMIEW3 has the ability to communicate in both Japanese and English Trials will run through December at the airports domestic Terminal 2, The Japan Times reports. The small white and red robots will be deployed to designated information centres and will display information in Japanese and English. Demonstrations shed light on some of the robots capabilities, like helping a passenger find the way to a foreign exchange counter. The robot at the information center can call another bot to assist in the task, who will say 'please follow me' before guiding the person to the right location. Demonstrations shed light on some of the robots capabilities, like helping a passenger find the way to a foreign exchange counter. The robot at the information center can call another bot to assist in the task, who will say 'please follow me' before guiding the person EMIEW was first introduced in 2005, and has been expanded upon to bring about the newest design, the EMIEW3, which was unveiled in April. This model has a remote brain that can process images and voices, according to the Japan Times, and multiple robots can be linked through a remote operation system. The firm hopes to add additional languages to the robot in the near future, including Chinese and Korean. Trials will run through December at the airports domestic Terminal 2. The small white and red robots will be deployed to designated information centres and will display information in Japanese and English This model has a remote brain that can process images and voices, according to the Japan Times, and multiple robots can be linked through a remote operation system We are hoping to use EMIEW3 to assist efforts to extend hospitality at Haneda airport through our trial runs, said Hiroshi Sato, senior vice president and executive officer at Hitachi, the Japan Times reports. If all goes well, the robots could be autonomously guiding passengers around the airport around December. EMIEW3 isnt the only humanoid to take on customer service this year; its been a big year for robot-employment in Japan, especially for the humanoid Pepper. Hitachi Ltd began its trials with the robots on Friday, and its hoped that these assistants will be able to perform autonomously as early as December. If all goes well, the robots could soon be autonomously guiding passengers around the airport WILL ROBOTS TAKE YOUR JOB? As robots increasingly make their way into the workforce, some have argued that they will soon be taking over many traditionally human jobs. In an interview with Fox Business, former McDonalds USA CEO Ed Rensi argued that the $15/hour minimum wage raise will bring job loss like you cant believe. He argued that it would be cheaper for companies to instead purchase robotic devices. If you look at the robotic devices that are coming into the restaurant industry -- its cheaper to buy a $35,000 robotic arm than it is to hire an employee whos inefficient making $15 an hour bagging French fries, Rensi said. Foxconn, a supplier for Apple and Samsung, has already reduced its human workforce drastically, The South China Morning Post reports. One factory has now reduced employee strength from 110,000 to 50,000, thanks to the introduction of robots, an official told the Post. And, they predict more companies will soon follow, with up to 600 firms reporting similar plans in a government survey. Advertisement Just last month, it was revealed that the ambitious bot can add life insurance sales to its resume as well, following its employment at Pizza Hut locations in Asia and a partnership with Hondas robot Asimo. Meiji Yasuda Life Insurance Co will be deploying 100 Pepper robots across 80 branches in Japan to help out on the sales floor. According to The Yomiuri Shimbun, Pepper will accompany employees and explain insurance products and services to customers. Along with this, the robot will interact with visitors at insurance seminars and accompany salespeople on promotional visits to other companies. The naturalist John Muir wrote that you should never go to Alaska as a young man because youll never be satisfied with any other place as long as you live. Alaska, the largest state in the American Union, is extraordinary and extraordinarily hard to visit. It is a part of the US, but lies sandwiched uncomfortably between Russia and Canada (in landmass, as any pub quiz enthusiast will tell you, these are the two biggest countries in the world). Whale of a time: See humpbacks breaching in Glacier Bay on an Alaskan cruise (file photo) Following Americas purchase of Alaska from the Russians in 1867 for $7.2million (about the price these days of a modest house in Londons Kensington) for a short while American hopes flourished that British Columbia might opt to throw its lot in with the US so that Alaska would become part of a contiguous United States. Sponsored Link: Rockies & Alaska Cruise Extravaganza with Canadian Affair 'Rockies & Alaska Cruise Extravaganza' This 17 night holiday includes an incredible two-day journey on Rocky Mountaineers First Passage to the West from Banff to Vancouver with a magical cruise along the Inside Passage from Vancouver to Alaska onboard Holland America Line, plus stays in the mountain resort town of Banff and the beautiful city of Vancouver! 17 nights from 2,489 including flights. Find out more here or call 0203 424 6043 Advertisement British Columbia, however, thanks to the decision to build the transcontinental railway through the Rockies, was happy to become part of the Canadian confederation, leaving Alaska suspended in geographical limbo. This isolation is compounded by the heavily broken fjord coast of the American North West. Tracy Arm, a fjord in Alaska near Juneau, is another popular spot for cruise travellers Juneau, Alaskas state capital, is 750 miles from Vancouver as the ship sails but more than twice that distance by road and car ferry. Sponsored Link: Pacific Coast & Alaska Cruise holiday with Canadian Affair 11 nights start from 1,305pp including flights, plus includes a great combination of stops at all of the most popular and lively port towns along the way as well as an unforgettable journey along the Inside Passage, one of the most scenic water passageways in the world! Find out more here or call 0203 424 6754 Advertisement The cruise ship is therefore the perfect way to discover Alaska on a seven-night voyage (the time it takes to sail from Vancouver to Seward, the port that serves Anchorage). While sun-seeking cruises to the Caribbean or the Mediterranean can be seen as relatively low-brow jollies, anyone setting off for Alaska has the look of a keen naturalist. Cruise companies respond to this market by offering smaller vessels, pointing out that these ships have to conform to the strict environmental standards (much of the area they pass through has National Park status). At Hubbard Glacier, tourists have the opportunity to see huge blocks of ice crumbling away One of the foremost operators is the Holland America Line, which is keen to emphasise its roots in Alaska go back nearly 70 years. Sponsored Link: 'Unlimited Adventures' Fly Drive holiday with Canadian Affair 15 nights start from 1,515pp including flights. This is an incredible adventure starting in Alberta, travelling through the Rocky Mountains and finishing at the bustling city of Vancouver where you can visit the Capilano Suspension Bridge, the markets on Granville Island and more! Find out more here or call 0203 424 6755 Advertisement It claims that decades of experience have enabled it to refine its itineraries to ensure the best balance of must-see destinations and hidden treasures, as well as scenic cruising among the regions grandest glaciers and best spots for wildlife viewing. All Holland America cruises include visits to Tracy Arm, Hubbard Glacier or Glacier Bay. Sponsored Link: 'Great Parks of the East' Fly Drive holiday with Canadian Affair This two-week tour really has something for everyone. Your tour circles from Toronto, through the National Parks in Ontario, with a stay in the capital, Ottowa. The trail then leads south through Quebec, stopping in Montreal and of course Niagara Falls! 14 nights from 1,219pp including flights. Find out more here or call 0203 424 6756 Advertisement The company says its elegant mid-size cruise ships were designed not to tower over the scenery, but to bring you closer to Alaskas natural wonders: from calving glaciers to breaching humpback whales. No wonder an Alaskan cruise is on many peoples bucket list. Sponsored Link: Ski Whistler Adventure with Canadian Affair 6 nights starting from just 729pp including flights and hotels. Whistler is consistently ranked North America's number one mountain resort - if you're looking for reliable snowfall, why settle for less? Book with the experts with return transfers from Vancouver airport included. Find out more here or call 0203 424 6757 Advertisement Alongside Alaska Cruise on most peoples must-see Bucket List sits another local tourist staple: the Rocky Mountaineer. Leading Canada specialist Canadian Affair cleverly packages a Rocky Mountaineer trip with a Holland American Alaskan cruise to create the perfect two week holiday. What I liked about the Rocky Mountaineer is that it is short we took the two day trip from Vancouver to Jasper and extremely sweet: fabulous observation cars to take in all the amazing scenery and sublime wildlife, with brilliant on-board catering. She is known for her outgoing personality and crazy expressions on the X Factor judging panel. And Nicole Scherzinger once again proved she was no shrinking violet as she took a thinly veiled swipe at her ex of seven years, Lewis Hamilton. The 38-year-old former Pussycat Doll, who finished her a seven year on-off relationship with racing driver Lewis Hamilton, 31, last year didn't hold back as she listened to the X Factor hopefuls audition on Sunday's episode. Scroll down for video 'I know what that's like!' X Factor's Nicole Scherzinger took a thinly veiled swipe at ex Lewis Hamilton after contestant Matt Terry says he was 'held back by heartache' on Sunday night Cute: And as he launched into his rendition of Stand By Me E King, Nicole noted: 'I hope you don't suck as I like you so much already!' As Matt Terry, who bears a striking resemblance to Louis Tomlinson, introduced himself to the panel, Nicole asked the contestant what his current position is. Sharing a bonding moment with Nicole, he explained how he left his job and moved to a new area after being dumped by his girlfriend of three years. 'It was holding me back', he admitted. It's all over now: Lewis (left) and Nicole dated on and off for seven years 'I know what that's like!' Nicole chimed in, as she made a thinly veiled swipe at ex Lewis Hamilton. And as he launched into his rendition of Stand By Me E King, Nicole noted: 'I hope you don't suck as I like you so much already!' But Matt impressed the panel with his soulful voice, with Simon Cowell enthusing: 'You remind me of when I first met Olly Murs- fun and approachable, I like you', with the panel voting him through unanimously. And despite his recent spot of bad luck, it looks like he has a new fan in Nicole. 'It was holding me back', X Factor hopeful Matt- who bears a striking resemblance to Louis Tomlinson, said . 'I know what that's like!' Nicole chimed in an apparent dig at ex Lewis Hamilton Nicole has a fan! The talented contestant cheekily suggested a double date- with his nan and Simon Cowell being the other couple of choice He looks familiar: Matt is a dead ringer for Louis Tomlinson from One Direction (second from left) Giving her the eye, she giggled back: 'I feel you- it gets hot real fast!', as the talented contestant cheekily suggested a double date- with his nan and Simon Cowell being the other couple of choice. 'His ex must be kicking herself now', Twitter users wrote excitedly at Matt's success Meanwhile Simon found himself hot under the collar on Sunday night's X Factor auditions, as one hopeful took a bit of a shine to him. LA-based Russian model Irina Dedyuk, 28, had her sights set on the judge, describing him as 'hot' before her audition even began. Her appearance on the show comes as Irina denied reports that she is a 60-an-hour dominatrix who goes by the name of Katerina, after starring on an adult website. It's a YES from him: Simon Cowell found himself hot under the collar on Sunday night's X Factor auditions, as sexy Russian model Irina Dedyuk one hopeful took a bit of a shine to him Denial: The appearance comes as Irina told MailOnline she's not a 60-an-hour dominatrix after she starred in a raunchy video on an adult website Appearing in a red dress and sporting a whip in the promo video she said: 'I get a kick out of turning an egotistical man into a completely obedient and submissive pet.' However, Irina told MailOnline: 'The video was just a fun acting project which was used completely out of context. 'I have never been a dominatrix, nor charged money for such a thing. I was simply playing a character.' Meanwhile, Irina made sure all eyes were on her during her vampy audition, which was aired on Sunday night. She told cameras: 'Simon won't have a choice I will try my best to make him like my voice and I'm pretty insistent. He's a king,' the hopeful purred as she strutted towards the auditions room. Wearing skintight leggings and a plunging sheer top showcasing her ample cleavage, she stormed in confidently to see her idol Simon. She knows what she wants: Wearing skintight leggings and a plunging sheer top showcasing her ample cleavage, she stormed in confidently to see her idol Simon He has the X Factor! Russian model Irina Dedyuk, who resides in LA, had her sights set on the judge, describing him as 'hot' before her audition even began As she stood in front of the panel giving Simon the eye, the father-of-one's own eyes almost popped out of his head. Having asked her where she's from, he seemed entranced when she revealed she's from Russia. Giggling at each other while Nicole Scherzinger, Louis Walsh and Sharon Osborne looked on in amusement, the brunette beauty finally launched into an impressive rendition of Simply The Best. And the rest of the panel seemed to be intruding, as Irina gave Simon what appears to be his own performance of the song. Embarrassed, Simon appeared to blush as he stared bashfully at the model-who gave a powerful performance. Only eyes for one man: Giggling at each other while Nicole Scherzinger, Louis Walsh and Sharon Osborne looked on in amusement, the brunette beauty finally launched into an impressive rendition of Simply The Best Powerful: Irina gave a booming performance of Simply the best- singing personally to Simon 'You're slightly scary but I love it', Simon mumbled at the end of her performance as she pouted seductively at him 'You're slightly scary but I love it', Simon mumbled at the end of her performance as she pouted seductively at him. 'You're a Russian tigress and I love it,' Nicole exclaimed, giving her seal of approval. And Sharon proclaimed: 'She's got more front than Selfridges!', before joining the rest of the panel in getting her through to the next round. Bold! Appearing in a red dress and sporting a whip, she says: 'I get a kick out of turning an egotistical man into a completely obedient and submissive pet' Talented: 'She absolutely does not charge any money as a dominatrix. She filmed the video as an acting project' a spokesperson said Meanwhile the night's episode saw a whole host of talented individuals make it through to the next round. Sailing through were adorable couple Tom and Laura, who melted audiences' hearts with their unbreakable bond. As they surprised the panel with their talent, Simon exclaimed: 'Laura you're good but Tom you're great- you should consider going it alone.' Unbreakable: Also sailing through were adorable couple Tom and Laura, who melted audiences' hearts with their unbreakable bond But Tom stayed loyal, responding: 'I wouldn't do that'. Also making it through to the next round was Ryan Wilkins from the Manchester leg of the tour impressing the judges with Rihanna's Yellow Diamonds. And Freddie Parker, 18, won the panel over with his pretty boyband looks as he recited Amy Winehouse's Love is Losing Game in soulful tones, playing the piano. And 17-year-old Chanel wowed the judges with Lauren Hill's Ex Factor, with Simon proclaiming: 'I love you!'. Wowing them! Also making it through to the next round was Ryan Wilkins from the Manchester leg of the tour impressing the judges with Rihanna's Yellow Diamonds Turning heads: Freddie Parker, 18, won the panel over with his pretty boyband looks as he recited Amy Winehouse's Love is Losing Game in soulful tones, playing the piano Talent: And 17-year-old Chanel wowed the judges with Lauren Hill's Ex Factor, with Simon proclaiming: 'I love you!' And X Factor hopeful Marianna Zappi reduced judge Nicole Scherzinger to tears as she revealed her traumatic past. Before her rendition of Bob Marley's Redemption, the 34-year-old campaign coordinator- who is originally Italian, explained why the song was a particularly poignant choice for her. Brave! Marianna Zappi reduced judge Nicole Scherzinger to tears as she revealed her traumatic past 'I'm here with my best friend,' she explained. 'I've been singing for a very long time and my journey came to a stop suddenly as I was in an abusive relationship.' The news was met by a stunned silence by the panel, with Nicole and Sharon Osborne looking particularly struck. Touched: As Marianna explained her past, Nicole became increasingly emotional as she listened to her story And as Marianna explained her past, Nicole became increasingly emotional as she listened to her story. 'It was a hard time in my life but I'm able to stand here in front of you guys today and I'm like yes,' the X Factor hopeful continued. 'I can't even tell you how grateful I am.' Throwing back to her VT, Mariana explained: 'Music is the only thing that kept me going. Personal: Following her rendition of Bob Marley's Redemption, the 34-year-old campaign coordinator- who is originally Italian, explained why the song was a particularly poignant choice for her 'I told myself I wouldn't cry and you made me cry. I think a lot of women can relate to your story.' Nicole said 'After four years I walked out and went to the Woman's Trust. I was very lucky' Marianna explained 'After four years I walked out and went to the Woman's Trust. I was very lucky. 'For someone who was caged for so long freedom is such a blessing. 'These are tears of happiness.' And Marianna launched into a soulful rendition of Bob Marley's hit song, with the panel entranced. It's a yes! Simon Cowell and Louis Walsh gave her the thumbs up, with Simon adding: 'It was beautiful- it meant something, you have passion and you feel real. I loved it' Impressed! Sharon added: 'It was amazing, she'll be a great example to women of her age group' As she continued to sing, Nicole started crying, touched by the brunette's raw performance. 'I love you to bits,' says Nicole. 'I told myself I wouldn't cry and you made me cry. I think a lot of women can relate to your story.' And her bravery paid off, with the panel recognising her talent and each judge voting her through to the next round. Simon Cowell and Louis Walsh gave her the thumbs up, with Simon adding: 'It was beautiful- it meant something, you have passion and you feel real. I loved it'. Sharon added: 'It was amazing, she'll be a great example to women of her age group'. 'The best voice I have heard in the auditions so far. Definitely. An incredible voice you have.' Eagle-eyed viewers will have noticed that new character Caroline Penvenen played by young aristocrat and former Burberry model Gabriella Wilde was never far away from her pet pug. Although the dog features in Winston Graham's original novels, its inclusion in the BBC adaptation became crucial as it was needed to disguise Miss Wilde's ever-increasing baby bump. The 27-year-old actress, who is married to musician Alan Pownall and is best friends with Prince Harry's ex-girlfriend Cressida Bonas, told producers she was pregnant two days after she was cast in the role. Eagle-eyed viewers will have noticed that new character Caroline Penvenen played by young aristocrat and former Burberry model Gabriella Wilde (right) was never far away from her pet pug Although the dog features in Winston Graham's original novels, its inclusion in the BBC adaptation became crucial as it was needed to disguise Miss Wilde's ever-increasing baby bump The 27-year-old actress, who is married to musician Alan Pownall and is best friends with Prince Harry's ex-girlfriend Cressida Bonas, told producers she was pregnant two days after she was cast in the role Executive producer Damian Timmer has spoken of the difficult task of covering the bump during filming, and in several scenes her stomach was covered by her arm as she carried her dog. Speaking at a screening of the episode at the British Film Institute, Timmer explained: 'Caroline has to come in with such power and make such a splash, and that's hard. It was a bit like casting Scarlett O'Hara. 'We looked and looked and looked, and then discovered Gabriella and offered it to her. And then two days later we discovered she was pregnant. 'We persuaded ourselves that we could work around it, which we did, and Gabriella was amazing at coping with our manic schedule and her growing bump.' Debbie Horsfield, the award-winning writer of the adaptation, added: 'It is very well disguised.' Prior to this role in one of the most popular BBC dramas in recent years, Miss Wilde starred in Endless Love, The Three Musketeers and Carrie. Executive producer Damian Timmer has spoken of the difficult task of covering the bump during filming, and in several scenes her stomach was covered by her arm as she carried her dog He is a man of stout heart and impeccable breeding; but his 18th-century rap sheet don't make pleasant reading. Adventurer, seducer, fomenter and wrecker; yet in scene after scene he gets glummer and better. He looks terrific in a tricorn but could use a snood; in his britches and boots he still gives good brood. He is a man of stout heart and impeccable breeding; but his 18th-century rap sheet don't make pleasant reading, writes Jan Moir Should I mention the scar or the curl of his hair? Or the life that doth lurch from joy to despair? Oh, slap me with a pilchard, I'm being so pathetic; but the return of Ross Poldark can turn a woman right poetic. Yes, me hearties. Hang on to your pasties and ready your timbers for a right good shivering. Sixteen long months since he was last seen smouldering and a-galloping across the Cornish cliff tops, Ross Poldark is back. The hit BBC1 series returned last night on cracking form, with an opening episode that replaced topless scything with topless chiselling and also found our bicep-bulging hero on trial for murder at the Bodmin Assizes. In an action-packed, hour-long episode, the valiant Poldark (Aidan Turner) was also called upon to chop wood, wipe tears, mine tin, write love letters, be insolent in court and make love to his wife in a post-watershed but still picturesque, I-might-die-tomorrow, guttering candlelight kind of way. All of which Turner accomplished with the intense elan of a spirited but courteous raptor somehow crossed with Adam Ant. He looks terrific in a tricorn but could use a snood; in his britches and boots he still gives good brood 'Which of us do not secretly adore him?' cried poor, doomed Francis Poldark (Kyle Soller), the milksop cousin who spoke for us all. That was before Francis came to the tragic end that set in motion a chain of events that will define much of the next nine episodes. This second series is adapted from books three and four in Winston Graham's epic series of novels, The Poldark Saga. From now on, the stakes for Captain Poldark are higher, the stories are darker and the intrigues and plots against him are blacker than ever. 'There is a storm coming,' says Ross, gazing at the roaring seascape as Demelza (Eleanor Tomlinson) twirls her hair and looks troubled by his side. As well she might. Before then, some light relief. Especially when Ross goes down the mine 'to do a bit of honest work' and takes off his shirt all the better to hack away at the walls of the tunnel with his hammer and chisel. Bang, bang, bang! The unyielding seam gives nothing away. Bang, bang, bang! In time-honoured tradition, the other miners urge him to desist, for there is no tin left. 'So we give up?' shouts Poldark, all sweat and toil and muscled nobility. No way, chorus the women of Britain. Carry on chiselling, darling Ross! We all saw a glint of tin, just down there in the corner. Keep going, man! Give it another wallop. Bang, bang, bang. Perhaps the show's producers would prefer that not so much was made of the star's physical charms, topless or otherwise, but Poldark taking off his shirt has already become a thing, a tradition. On this show, the Great British Take Off is a sure sign that autumn is here and all is well in the world. Turner is going to have to do it at least once a series from now on or else. Sixteen long months since he was last seen smouldering and a-galloping across the Cornish cliff tops, Ross Poldark is back The story picks up exactly where we left off at the end of series one. Ross has just been arrested by the Red Coats on charges of plundering and murder. Life has been cruel in Cornwall. Poldark's debts are mounting, his baby Julia died of putrid throat, his smelting company has folded and his first love Elizabeth (Heida Reed) is still floating around, swathed in velvet and suppressed passion. The gas effect fire is still roaring away in the hallway at Trenwith, where Aunt Agatha (Caroline Blakiston) still wears a mob cap and sips sherry as her tarot cards speak of death, death and more death. As the charges against Ross mount, will he be forced to exchange those charming muslin neck stocks for a noose? Oh dear, here come the Poldark women, who set out to save his skin in the kind of catastrophic ways that are sure to imperil him further. Elizabeth by inveigling the parvenu banker George Warleggan (Jack Farthing) to help, oblivious to the languid spite behind his hooded gaze. Demelza by arranging a meeting with Bergerac wait, what? No, it is St Austell-born John Nettles in a burgundy frock coat, giving a charming turn as kindly Ray Penvenen. Poldark may take in epic historical themes, but perhaps the most compelling element is the eternal love triangle between Ross, Elizabeth and Demelza, not to mention the sexy romance of the two leads the Cinderella scullery maid who made Prince Poldark fall in love. There are dreamy touches everywhere; their foreheads touch like lovebirds, the imprint of his head on the pillow in the morning, the fact that she worries that she ain't no laydee and 'won't ever be prinked up to the nines with her fizzle powdered'. It is always a joy for parents when their children follow in their footsteps. So no wonder thrilled former model Yolanda Hadid was quick to share a snap of her boy Anwar strutting his stuff on the catwalk in Berlin this weekend. The Real Housewives Of Beverly Hills favourite was overjoyed to post the image of her youngest child functioning as a clothehorse for designer brands during a European fashion show on Saturday Following in mummy's footsteps: Anwar Hadid walked a catwalk in Berlin on Sunday Yolanda, 52, captioned the image: 'Opening for...... @hugoboss #IamHugo #Berlin.' And her 17-year-old boy was almost as pleased as he shared his own image from his big day, which he captioned, 'Smiles on dis side.' He comes from impressive modelling stock, with Yolanda walking the catwalk in storied locations including Paris, Milan, Sydney, Tokyo, New York, and Hamburg. In addition his sisters Gigi, 21, and 19-year-old Bella have also launched careers as professional clotheshorses. The joyful moment will have been a pleasant respite for Yolanda after she endured another difficult week. Her little Boss: She was delighted he was kicking of his career as a clotheshorse for such a prestigious brand Her little apprentice: Yolanda brought her boy to the Victoria's Secret Fashion Show last year In addition his sisters Gigi, 21, and 19-year-old Bella have also launched careers as professional clotheshorses (seen here in October last year) The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills star shared a moving message honouring her late best friend Ellie O'Connell, who lost her battle with ALS this week. The 52-year-old reality star posted a throwback photo of herself and Ellie in their younger years, alongside a heart-wrenching caption. It read: 'R.I.P and fly with the Angels my love @ellieod. Thank you for 16 great years and showing me the meaning of true and loyal friendship until your last breath. 'You are my hero and will live in my heart forever...... #AlsWarrior #MyBestFriend. Bra-vo: Yolanda showing off her fabulous form during her peak years as a model Still going strong: And she shared an image of herself modelling smalls earlier this year He's a family man through and through. And Jack Osbourne looked every inch the doting the father as he stepped out with wife Lisa Stelly, 29, and their two daughters, Pearl and Andy Rose. The family were seen on Sunday enjoying a day at a farmer's market in Los Angeles while bearded Jack enjoyed a healthy juice. Jack's gorgeous girls! Osbourne, 30, stepped out with his stunning wife Lisa Stelly, 29, and their two daughters, Pearl, aged four and Andy Rose, one on Sunday The sun-kissed Lisa slipped into a pair of barely there distressed denims which included a feminine lace hemline. She opted for an effortlessly cool vibe in a graphic vintage tee and wide-brimmed floppy camel-coloured hat. A pair of trendy red-framed dark shades nestled neatly on her nose which concealed the mother-of-two's showstopping looks. As Jack, 30, and his genetically gifted wife enjoyed their family outing at the Farmers Market in Studio City, they appeared to be the epitome of the picture perfect brood. Hot mama! The model and actress made sure to turn heads as she paraded her long bronzed legs in a pair of tiny jean shorts Great jeans! The sun-kissed stunner slipped into a pair of barely there distressed denims which included a feminine lace hemline Along with the son of A-listers Sharon and Ozzy Osbourne, were the couple's little girl Pearl, four, and 15-month-old, Andy Rose. The former MTV star looked handsome with his mane slicked back in a low bun as he opted for comfort in a navy blue plaid shirt with dark denim trousers. Their eldest daughter was dressed darling in a white tutu with pink tee emblazoned with a bunny wearing a sparkly tiara. Laid-back look: The former MTV star looked handsome with his mane slicked back in a low bun as he opted for comfort in a navy blue plaid shirt Little Andy Rose wore a bubblegum pink onesie with cute purple sandals as her doting mom cradled the bundle of joy. On Saturday the foursome attended the annual Malibu Kiwanis Chili Cook-Off. Lisa was unrecognisable in a long black and white printed skirt as she kept hidden behind blue mirrored shades and a large straw hat. The couple - who will celebrate their four-year wedding anniversary next month - tied the knot during an intimate ceremony in Hawaii. Undercover lover: On Saturday the foursome attended the annual Malibu Kiwanis Chili Cook-Off where Lisa was unrecognisable in a long flowing skirt The proud pap posted from his fun filled day at the beach Jackie 'O' Henderson has been branded a 'diva' by a hairdresser who complained the star rudely refused styling during a work trip. Carole Haddad, a Brisbane hairdresser, had an on-air argument with the presenter after claiming to have been turned down by her in a scathing local newspaper article. Unhappy with the way she had been described, Jackie phoned her on Monday during her daily KIIS FM show and the pair traded blows, with Carole labelling the 41-year-old as 'rude' and 'a diva'. Scroll down for video Controversy: Jackie O was branded a 'diva' by a local hairdresser who complained she 'rudely' turned down treatment during a work trip to Brisbane 'A lot of people believe that Kyle is the diva, but I believe it's you Jackie that's the diva. ' 'I believe you are the quietest assassin in Australia. You didn't even turn up to hair and make-up. You didn't even bother to tell us not to come. 'You totally ignored hair and make-up. Not to turn up for hair and make-up I thought that was rude.' A hair-raising rant: Brisbane hairdresser Carole Haddad (pictured here with Carla Zampatti) claims that KIIS FM 106.5 radio presenter Jackie 'O' Henderson is 'the black widow of the TV stations' In an article in The Courier Mail, Carole had earlier said: ' With most high-profile ladies, they need their hair done at the drop of a hat. 'Whilst the majority of my celebrity clients are lovely and humble, one person was a diva. 'Everyone is lovely except for Jackie O. I'm glad I don't have to do her hair regularly.' Outraged by her claims, Jackie fumed on Monday during their on-air row: 'Do you know how embarrassing it is for you in your profession to talk badly about people. 'You won't win this one with me': Jackie attempted to reason with the woman who spoke over her, maintaining her view that the star had not been polite 'Do you know that's the biggest no no?' The hairdresser then spoke over Jackie who attempted to explain, saying: 'You will not win this one with me. 'Sometimes it takes a big person to say I acted stupidly just say it.' The KIIS FM host ended the dispute by simply stating, 'You're crazy... I honestly can't believe that,' before hanging up. She won the acclaimed Gold Logie award for her role on Network Ten drama Offspring. But despite her portrayal of the show's character Nina Proudman earning her the top accolade, Asher Keddie revealed she doesn't memorise her lines easily. Admitting she's 'not an actor who learns lines by rote,' the 42-year-old actress told Nova radio last week: 'It must be godawful working with me, actually!' Scroll down for video Difficult? Asher Keddie revealed she can be 'infuriating' to work with as she admits she doesn't memorise her lines on Offspring Revealing her co-stars might find it frustrating, the Melbourne-based star said: 'I'm probably infuriating to work with, particularly in Offspring, because I'm in pretty much every scene so I need the other actors around me to be able to pull of the spontaneity of that character.' The candid confession comes after reports surfaced of a fierce rivalry between the mother-of-one and her co-star Kat Stewart. According to New Idea magazine, the award-winning actresses don't get along, with an insider quoted as saying: 'The thing everyone is noticing is the strain between Kat and Asher. 'It must be godawful working with me': The 42-year-old said her different acting method could make her a difficult co-star Leading lady: Asher plays much-loved character Dr. Nina Proudman on the drama series 'It's gone to the next level. You can cut the tension with a knife.' The source added: 'It's awkward to say the least... Asher and Kat are always very professional but life on the set is far from perfect.' Asher and Kat, who play siblings on the series, were forced to tackle the claims head-on weeks later during an appearance on The Project to promote the sixth season. Rivalry? Reports surfaced earlier this year of a feud between Asher and her co-star Kat Stewart, with an insider claiming the pair don't get along on-set Defensive: The actresses were forced to face the rumours while appearing on The Project, with both women laughing it off with sarcasm Quizzed about the allegations that they don't get along on-set, Asher said: 'She [Kat] has no filters. That's why she's so difficult to work with.' 'We're actually being quite shocked it's taken so long to come out,' the blonde beauty sarcastically said before questioning Kat: 'I think it's really obvious, don't you?' Kat, 43, was quick to respond, saying: 'It's not chemistry, it's my acting.' Imogen Anthony certainly dared to bare while at the Burning Man festival over the weekend. Taking to Instagram, the 25-year-old girlfriend of shock jock Kyle Sandilands shared a video in which she danced about at Nevada Black Rock Desert while going topless. The model concealed her modesty with her hands placed across her chest, while simply wearing a pair of skimpy black briefs, layered with a shredded skirt. Scroll down for video Topless: Imogen Anthony certainly dared to bare while at the Burning Man festival over the weekend 'TOPS OFF - LIBERTYYYY!! You can walk around nude if you want too, I love it! (sic),' Imogen captioned the snap. In the video she smiled for the camera, saying: 'Where else can you do this? Nowhere. Burning Man, Burning Man'. Imogen has made a habit of stripping down for the popular festival over the weekend. Flashing the flesh: Taking to Instagram, the 25-year-old girlfriend of shock jock Kyle Sandilands shared a video in which she danced about at Nevada Black Rock Desert while going topless She's not shy: The model concealed her modesty with her hands placed across her chest Hours earlier she was dressed in a skimpy black bikini with an elaborate beaded skirt detail. The beading detail was also attached to the tiny triangle top, and draped down her trim torso, making noise when the model shook - something she was only too happy to take advantage of. Asking boyfriend of five years, radio shock jock Kyle Sandilands, to film her, the model was seen dancing provocatively for the camera, with not much around her except decorated RV's. Imogen accessorised her bikini with a black feather mohawk headdress attached to a hat which featured a mosaic of mirrors. Revealing: She was simply wearing a pair of skimpy black briefs, layered with a shredded skirt Good company: Imogen has been enjoying the festival with boyfriend Kyle Sandilands Dancing up a storm: Hours earlier Imogen swapped her racy cutout black bodysuit for an elaborate beaded bikini Cheeky! The tiny bikini did not cover much as Imogen danced provocatively for the camera while long-term boyfriend Kyle Sandilands filmed She added a bandana around her mouth to keep the dust out, and finished off the revealing outfit with a pair of sensible walking boots. Both her and Kyle donned goggles for the event, to keep the dry desert sand from flying into their eyes. During one video, the 45-year-old radio star filmed his girlfriend before entering the frame himself - in a more conservative outfit. 'Found some random music truck next to a giant octopus and couldn't resist a boogie': Imogen has taken every opportunity to show off her trim figure The pair appeared awkward as Kyle was distracted by a passing RV, before they both sing about a 'honka honka Burning Man'. In another, Imogen danced for the camera as Kyle was again distracted by the elaborate decoration of the RV, brought back to attention only after Imogen yelled out. 'Where are you going,' she yelled, with her arms flayed out in exasperation. Where did that come from? Imogen also posted pictures of herself with various structures littered throughout the desert 'I'm trying to get the whole car in,' Kyle meekly explained. The video's caption summed up the Australian couple's experience at Burning Man. 'Found some random music truck next to a giant octopus and couldn't resist a boogie,' Imogen wrote. She is best known for her wild antics during drunken nights out. But it would seem Geordie Shore star Charlotte Crosby enjoys a night in on the sofa - that is when there's one there for her to sit on. The loud-mouthed reality TV star took to Facebook on Sunday to complain to furniture company Natuzzi in Australia, describing its service as 'disgusting' after being sent the wrong couch 'three months late'. Scroll down for video Not happy: Geordie Shore starlet Charlotte Crosby took to social media over the weekend to complain to furniture company Natuzzi in Australia Calling the 'well-established high end company' out, she fumed in a furious post: 'I am absolutely disgusted at the service from Natuzzi in Australia Wow just wow! 'Not only is my order three months late! They have now sent the completely wrong colour sofa!' 'All I have received is terrible service! And the wrong order! I couldn't be more angry (sic).' Is reputation everything? The well-known English reality TV star posted her frustrations on Facebook Wrong order! Charlotte's post came after she waited three months for a couch from Natuzzi in Australia and it arrived but was the wrong colour. Above, another of the brand's pieces Fans supported Charlotte's frustration, commenting beneath her post that 'just because she's famous doesn't mean she doesn't have a right to complain'. One said: 'She's only famous cause it's her job! She's still a normal person not a robot or something.' Another fan said: 'When you're paying big bucks for a couch, yeah you're going to be p***ed. Just because she's a celeb doesn't mean sh*t.' Rise to fame: Charlotte garnered celebrity status after starring in MTV's Geordie Shore and is known for her antics on wild nights out Split: She later joined the cast of Celebs Go Dating after breaking up with on-again-off-again ex-boyfriend Gaz Beadle (above together) Natuzzi did not respond to Daily Mail Australia's request for comment. Charlotte recently attracted criticism from the producers of a British dating show after allegedly finding love while taking part in the show. Producers at Celebs Go Dating are said to have told The Sun of their disappointment after learning she had struck up a relationship with model Ash Harrison before filming even began on the show. New start! Charlotte and Gaz met when they started on MTV's reality show Geordie Shore in 2011. They are seen above in 2015 The two fuelled rumours that they are dating with cosy social media photos. 'Bosses are frustrated to say the least.The whole point of the show was to help her find a man and move on from Gaz but she had someone all along,' an insider claimed to the newspaper. Charlotte and Gaz split again earlier this year after she suffered an ectopic pregnancy. At the time he was filming Ex On The Beach. Gigi Hadid looked effortlessly gorgeous in New York on Sunday. The 21-year-old model headed out of her apartment with her 17-year-old brother Anwar and looked stylish as ever. Gigi put her cleavage on show in a plunging white Flynn Skye bodysuit and cropped frayed jeans. Evening chic: Gigi Hadid looked gorgeous in a plunging Flynn Skye bodysuit and jeans as she headed out in New York on Sunday A silky sheer cardigan kept out the evening chill and she accentuated her long legs in some white stiletto heels. The catwalk star swept her hair into a casual bun but her makeup was nothing short of immaculate with peachy blusher highlighting her cheekbones. Anwar, 17, also a budding model, was spotted heading out in some tartan trousers and a graphic print tank top. Effortless beauty! Gigi showed off her flawless complexion as she swept her long locks back in a bun The teen walked the runway in Berlin on Saturday for Hugo Boss with proud mum Yolanda, 52, sharing photos of the moment on Instagram. It's been a busy few days for Gigi too, who was also in Germany on Friday for the European launch of her new collaboration with designer Tommy Hilfiger, Tommy X Gigi, at the Bread & Butter Trend Show in the Berlin Arena. She posted a snap of herself in a nautical-themed outfit before her trip, captioned: 'It's been over a year since @tommyhilfiger and I began this journey. Coming through: The model covered up in a sheer silk cardigan and sported white heels for the evening out Heading out: Anwar,17, followed closely behind his sister wearing tartan trousers and a graphic tank 'I cant believe it's finally here!!!!! So excited to be headed to BERLIN for the European launch of #tommyxgigi at #breadandbutter16 TOMORROW with @zalando! Can't wait to meet some of you there!' Meanwhile, it seems her love life is back on track. Gigi recently returned from a trip to Tahiti with her British beau Zayn Malik, 23, after a brief split in June. Runs in the family: Anwar walked the runway for Hugo Boss in Berlin earlier in the week Alessandra Ambrosio spent her Sunday afternoon basking on a Malibu beach in a skimpy black bikini. The 35-year-old IMG Model arched her back to better showcase her 5ft9in figure alongside fellow Brazilian, Ludi Delfino. '(No) Labor Day Weekend!' the NBC Olympics correspondent - who boasts 12.8M followers - captioned her series of Snapchats. Scroll down for video '(No) Labor Day Weekend!' Alessandra Ambrosio spent her Sunday afternoon basking on a Malibu beach in a skimpy black bikini 'Malibu dreaming': The 35-year-old IMG Model arched her back to better showcase her 5ft9in figure alongside fellow Brazilian, Ludi Delfino (L), on a colourful Las Bayadas beach blanket The NBC Olympics correspondent - who boasts 12.8M followers - captioned her Snapchats: 'End of summer #foreveronvacation #Malibu...Saying goodbye to summer' 'End of summer ... #foreveronvacation #Malibu...Saying goodbye to summer.' Joining Alessandra during her 'Sunday detox' was her adorable daughter Anja, who celebrated her 8th birthday on August 24. Ambrosio also snapped a picture of her youngest child, four-year-old son Noah, as he spotted something on the horizon. Flower crown filter: Joining Alessandra during her 'Sunday detox' was her adorable daughter Anja, who celebrated her 8th birthday on August 24 Family beach day: Ambrosio also snapped a picture of her youngest child, four-year-old son Noah, as he spotted something on the horizon Privileged pair: Like his big sister before him, little Noah reportedly attends the private Cassidy Preschool in Santa Monica where tuition is said to cost between $13K-18K Saturday lunch at Cafe Habana: Noticeably missing from the sand and surf was the ale by Alessandra designer's fiance of eight years, Re/Done owner Jamie Mazur Like his big sister before him, little Noah reportedly attends the private Cassidy Preschool in Santa Monica where tuition is said to cost between $13K-18K. Noticeably missing from the sand and surf was the ale by Alessandra designer's fiance of eight years, Re/Done owner Jamie Mazur. On August 18, the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles actress filmed the Victoria's Secret 16/17 holiday campaign at the Paris Opera House with director Michael Bay. '#comingsoon!' On August 18, the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles actress filmed the Victoria's Secret 16/17 holiday campaign at the Paris Opera House with director Michael Bay 2015 versus 2001: Impressively, Ambrosio has been modeling for the San Francisco lingerie brand for 15 years The brunette bombshell told Vogue in July: 'I have been working in the modeling industry for almost 20 years. And have done so much, but there is always more I can do and learn. [Right now] I am most excited about new experiences' Impressively, Ambrosio has been modeling for the San Francisco lingerie brand as far back as 2001. 'I have been working in the modeling industry for almost 20 years,' the brunette bombshell told Vogue in July. Sylvester Stallone is a lucky man. On Sunday his wife Jennifer Flavin and daughter Sistine wowed the Venice Film Festival in little black dresses. looking more like sisters than mother and daughter. Former model Jennifer, 48, rocked a very low-cut number with a sheer panel just below the bust, while 18-year-old Sistine looked lovely in a sleeveless mini dress with asymmetrical hem. More like sisters: Sistine Stallone, 18, and her mother Jennifer Flavin, 48, each rocked a little black dress as they attended the Per Sempre screening and party at the Venice Film Festival Sistine, the middle of Sly's three daughters with his wife of almost 20 years, has set her sights on modeling, the career du jour of celebrity offspring. And her shift style dress certainly showcased her model figure to perfection with her lean limbs and flawless complexion. The teen wore her long dark blonde hair loose with a middle parting and added a pair of large diamond stud earrings. Next gen model: Sistine stunned in a black shift-style sleeveless dress with her long dark blonde hair left loose It's in the genes: Sly's wife Jennifer, a former model, posed alongside her lookalike daughter in a very low-cut black dress with a sheer panel under the bust Famous name: The leggy 18-year-old is signed to IMG models and has already posed for several magazines including Teen Vogue and Harper's Bazaar Sistine has been a fixture at the 73rd Venice Film Festival so far and has been walking the red carpet at a number of screenings in a variety of flesh-baring and stunning outfits. She is signed to IMG Models and has posed for Teen Vogue, Harper's Bazaar Kazakhstan and Express. And she has just covered her first magazine - the September issue of Town & Country - shot by photographer Terry Richardson. Surrounded by his girls: Sly, 70, has three daughters with wife Jennifer - from left, Sistine, Scarlet, 14, and Sophia, 20, at the Golden Globes in January She told the magazine about her plans for the future, saying: 'I feel that a smart move would be for me to go to college in New York and continue modeling there. 'My parents would love to keep me near. They're protective, and they want their little girl home.' Sly, 70, and Jennifer also share daughters Sophia, 20, and Scarlet, 14. He welcomed his first child with partner Michelle Bridges, last December. And Steve 'Commando' Willis looked every bit the doting dad, celebrating his first Father's Day since the birth of his son Axel, on Sunday. Joined by Michelle, the family were seen heading to a luxurious boat that waited for them on the Sydney Harbour. Scroll down for video Happy Father's Day: Biggest Loser trainers Michelle Bridges (R) and beau Steve 'Commando' Willis (L) enjoyed Steve's first Father's Day with son Axel in Sydney on Sunday The couple were also joined by Commando's other children from his previous relationships, Brianna, 16, Ella, eight, and Jack, four, as they enjoyed the sunny Spring day out. Michelle had her hair tied back in a neat ponytail combed back over her shoulders and she wore dark sunglasses to shield her eyes. She appeared to be makeup free, but was glowing and appeared to be in happy spirits as she walked with her son, who sat blanketed in a pram before reaching the luxury boat. The Biggest Loser trainer wore minimal accessories, including a thin chain around her neck with a circular pendant and small earrings. Like father, like son: Both Steve and Jack wore wide brimmed hats during the outing She donned a black leather jacket, black top and another layer, which appeared to be white, coupling the outfit with a pair of white sneakers and black jeans. Revealing a myriad of tattoos, a chiselled Steve took turns pushing baby Axel's pram. During the outing, he rocked a similar casual style to his partner. Family bonding: The couple were also joined by Commando's other children from his previous relationships, Brianna, 16, Ella, eight, and Jack, four, as they enjoyed the sunny Spring day out Helping out: Michelle appeared in happy spirits bonding with her son Axel's half brother Jack, who stood close to the pram helping The Biggest Loser trainer He rocked a hat with skull and cross bones emblazoned on the front, a navy shirt over white shorts and walked around barefoot on the sun soaked pavement. Taking a leaf out of his father's book, Jack was also seen wearing a wide brimmed hat while walking close to his half-brother's pram peering in to catch a glimpse of him. When he finally made a brief appearance, Axel was seen wearing a similar cap to his half-brother and father, which shaded most of his face. Casual: donned a black leather jacket, black top and another layer, which appeared to be white, coupling the outfit with a pair of white sneakers and black jeans Leader of the pack: Steve stood in front of the family as they made their way to a luxurious boat New traditions! He kept a close eye on his sons and partner Michelle during their first ever Father's Day outing with Axel, who is only ten months old Playful! Jack was seen wearing Axel's hat on top of his own as he playfully crossed the street Keeping cool: Michelle donned dark shades to shield her from the sun The 10-month-old also donned a cute navy vest and blue stretch pants with navy booties and a white long sleeved shirt. When Michelle lifted him from the pram, Axel was seen smiling at his mother. Michelle then lowered herself onto the boat to join her family. All smiles! Michelle appeared to be in happy spirits walking with her partner and son Axel on the boardwalk Fatherly duties: A barefoot Steve took over pushing the pram from Michelle as he crossed the street with his son Relaxed: Steve flaunted his chiseled muscular physique in a navy T-shirt and white shorts, but opted out of wearing shoes Michelle has certainly been vocal about first-time motherhood, often taking to her social media channels. A 16-minute video post shared to Facebook earlier in the year, saw the personal trainer reveal she hasn't had a full night's sleep since the birth of Axel. First time mother: When Michelle lifted him from the pram, Axel was seen smiling at his mother Proud: Michelle beamed with pride as she pushed her son along in his pram 'I have not slept a full night in seven months,' Michelle revealed. The new mother and fitness fanatic also admitted that she missed her baby bump in another post just four days before Father's Day. Michelle's Instagram is a homage to her new family and she often posts adorable pictures of her son Axel, which lovingly display the youngster through every stage of his life. Looking good! Michelle flaunted her toned physique and slender legs after giving birth in December 2015 Baby on board! Michelle lowered Axel onto the luxurious boat where the family spent their Father's Day Comfortable: Axel seemed comfortable being pushed in his pram and looked super sweet in a baseball cap Not long ago, she also posted a video on her Instagram showing baby Axel and Willis singing a song for Mother's Day in a sweet father/son duet (with mostly Willis singing). The Newcastle born trainer appeared on The Morning Show in July, where she declared work-life balance is a myth. When asked by hosts Kylie Gillies and Larry Emdur what she was cutting out, the Biggest Loser trainer said she was passing on a lot of potential business projects. 'I think when we are trying to juggle all of these different things and we can have work-life balance, I do think it's a myth,' she said. All aboard! The family jumped aboard where they soaked up the sun Going down! Michelle lowered herself onto the vessel with the help of a friend Her candid admission comes after she admitted struggling with her workouts after giving birth to her son Axel six months ago. The first time mother also admitted that life juggling a booming empire with fitness training and being a full-time mum was not as 'put together' as she made it look, calling it 'smoke and mirrors'. 'I wanted to stop this training session a couple of hundred times and then in the end I cried half way through it,' she said, adding with a laugh: 'It was just awful.' When asked by Kylie why she got emotional during the workout session, Michelle explained that it was because she was doing something that she used to do with ease. 'I was literally right in the head-space of where a lot of my contestants or my clients are, so for me it was actually a pretty good place to be,' she said. Steven and Michelle met on Ten's weight-loss series, The Biggest Loser, and welcomed baby Axel on December 19. Samantha Hoopes flaunted her 5ft8in bikini body, as well as her flamboyant patriotism, while frolicking on a beach in Malibu Sunday. The 25-year-old NEXT Model rocked a white string bikini while clutching a towel, two tiny flags, and a pair of sunglasses emblazoned with the States' stars and stripes. The SI Swimsuit stunner's over-the-top Yankee Doodle tribute likely had everything to do with the Labor Day holiday. USA! Samantha Hoopes flaunted her 5ft8in bikini body, as well as her flamboyant patriotism, while frolicking on a beach in Malibu Sunday Hoopes' 926K followers should expect a scantily-clad social media post from herself and Teacup Yorkshire Terrier, Mila, on Monday. The image of Samantha celebrating 'Murica' was reminiscent of her star-spangled advert for the Carl's Jr. Most American Thickburger last year. The Guess girl has followed roughly the same career trajectory as burger bombshells Kate Upton, Charlotte McKinney, Brooklyn Decker, and Emily Ratajkowski. All-American: The 25-year-old NEXT Model rocked a white string bikini while clutching a towel, two tiny flags, and a pair of sunglasses emblazoned with the States' stars and stripes Windy: The SI Swimsuit stunner's over-the-top Yankee Doodle tribute likely had everything to do with the Labor Day holiday Coming soon! Hoopes' 926K followers should expect a scantily-clad social media post from herself and Teacup Yorkshire Terrier, Mila, on Monday On Thursday, Hoopes joined Golden Globe nominee Adam Sandler on the downtown Los Angeles set of his 2017 Netflix comedy Sandy Wexler. The Pennsylvania-born blonde sported crimped pigtails and ill-fitting track pants for the nineties-set flick about a talent manager and his clients. The Frat Packer - who turns 50 on Friday - also cast Oscar winner Jennifer Hudson to play Courtney Clarke, his singing love interest. Take a bite: The image of Samantha celebrating 'Murica' was reminiscent of her star-spangled advert for the Carl's Jr. Most American Thickburger last year Babe: The Guess girl has followed roughly the same career trajectory as burger bombshells Kate Upton, Charlotte McKinney, and Emily Ratajkowski (pictured August 28) Film debut! On Thursday, Hoopes joined Golden Globe nominee Adam Sandler (L) on the downtown Los Angeles set of his 2017 Netflix comedy Sandy Wexler Retro look: The Pennsylvania-born blonde sported crimped pigtails and ill-fitting track pants for the nineties-set flick about a talent manager and his clients Curiously, when Samantha was asked if she wanted to become an actress on the May 19 episode of The Dan Patrick Show, she said no. 'I definitely want to let people know what I like to do and that kind of stuff, but then again, [acting is] like another full-time job, you know?' the Penn State alum explained. 'Sports Illustrated is a full-time job now with all of the web stuff that they do and, you know, appearances that you go to, and events and everything which is awesome.' 'Somebody came to visit me on set': The Frat Packer - who turns 50 on Friday - also cast Oscar winner Jennifer Hudson to play Courtney Clarke, his singing love interest Travis Manawa was faced with the ultimate test for a father on Fear The Walking Dead as his son turned into a stone cold killer. Teen Chris Manawa had already frustrated his father on the hit zombie show by insisting they travel with three young guys who the elder clearly did not trust. But he then pushed him to new heights when he gunned down a farmer who tried to stop them stealing his chickens. Time for a little talk: Travis Manawa was shocked when son Chris killed a farmer in Fear The Walking Dead Travis, played by Chris Curtis, had already begged them to leave the farm before the confrontation - having seen graves for the farmers family - and then insisted more furiously when the farmer approached, shotgun in hand. This is his place, we have to leave, he insisted passionately. We have no right, Chris - we have no right! Outnumbered and speaking only Spanish, the farmer had shot first, hitting one of the guys when he snapped a chickens neck. But with Travis screaming out no! his son then grabbed a gun and shot the farmer, smiling after his cold blooded shooting. Down at the farm: The group had stumbled across what they thought was an abandoned country estate Barnyard animals: The hungry young chaps went off in search of food Hang on a minute: But Travis made a fateful discovery as he walked around outside Cross purposes: He discovered a trio of freshly buried graves Chris - who the strangers had already dubbed Killer Chis after he bragged about having made 17 kills - then reached out a hand to his dad who had kneeled down beside the dying farmer. Instead, Travis looked at him with nothing but disgust - and pointedly refused to take his offered hand at the very end of the episode. Chris, played by Lorenzo James Henrie, had first confronted the three new guys - who later told them they were called Brandon, Derek, Baby James - in an abandoned diner when he stole food and water from them after killing zombies, escaping before they could stop him. When they finally caught up with them, they praised his major badassery, and quickly made peace as Brandon told him: You say you saved my life, I say you stole my shit. Do you want a debate or do you wanna eat? A chicken and egg situation: They discovered a poultry brood living inside Get orf my land: The farmer was understandably not happy at what was transpiring Mexican stand-off: The lads tried to use strong arm tactics to force the farmer to back down Telling them they had been partying when the s**t hit the fan - and admitting they call the zombies the wasted as they look drunk - the said the were trying to get home to San Diego. LAs gone, San Diegos gone, Travis warned them. Saw it burning on the way down here. Everythings destroyed. Yeah well well come back. We always do, Brandon insisted, offering to take the father and son with them as the had run out of gas. Despite only just meeting them, Chris insisted to his dad in private: Theyre good people. Theyre strong people. Can't we just be friends: Travis ran in and tried to calm the situation Bringing a pistol to a shotgun fight: But the angry agriculturalist only spoke Spanish Actions speak louder than words: He showed he was serious by gunning down one of the group But theyre not our people, Travis warned, adding: I think theyre dangerous. Maybe thats what to takes, Chris said, eventually persuading his dad to at least travel with them to the next town in the morning. As the traveled, Chris clearly enjoyed the company of younger guys - while Brandon confused Travis by insisting their new life was awesome. We got no speed limits, no cops, no money, no work, no bills, no bullshit. Were just living, he said. Thighly painful: The sharpshooting farmer shot the chicken stealer in the leg Oh dear: Travis seemed rooted to the spot as things boiled over The Bernard Matthews treatment: The poultry farmer was fatally shot in response Saying the were less than nothing before, he said: But now? The end times made us gods. When they finally found the farm - before they knew it was still home to the farmer - Travis again pleaded with his son to abandon the others and set up camp there. Once they leave we stay. Make this home, he said. We need a group, dad. We need people. They look at me different, he said, catching up with the others and joining in with their joking around. Killer Chris indeed: He lived up to his nickname with his lethal marksmanship Oh boy: His daddy did not look overly pleased with his overzealous behaviour Time for a stern talking to: If only: They had stuck to eating canned goods the tragedy would never have happened The episode had started with dramatic scenes at a wedding during the initial outbreak of the zombie infection. During the first dances, the mother of the bride told the hotel manager where the wedding was being held that they would be cutting short the ceremony as they wanted to flee Mexico. This thing, this sickness theyre reporting - they say its spreading, she said. Theyre talking about closing the border. We want our family north of it before then. Then as the father of the bride danced with his daughter, he suddenly collapsed - and then bit off a chunk of his daughters face as she tried to give him the kiss of life. Meanwhile: There was a rare moment of joy when a wedding took place at the start of the show Father of the bride: The joy continues when her proud parent comes over Oh no: But he suddenly collapses to the floor and turns into a hungry zombie The female manager then left the room and locked them all inside - with the hotel turning out to be the one where Alicia Clark, played by Alycia Debnam Carey, was still holed up and desperately trying to find her mother Madison. Alicia was shown making a dramatic run from her room - having to jump into an empty elevator shaft and grabbing the central rope to avoid zombies who were almost on her - before being saved by the manager, Elena, who had stayed there since the wedding drama. But she quickly turned on her, holding an axe at her chest and accusing her of being one of the guests who had captured her nephew, Hector, to draw her out and get the hotel keys. Bad idea: When she tries to give him the kiss of life he bits her face Bridezilla: She starts screaming in pain after being attacked on her big day Shocked: The hotel manager is beside herself with shock at the bizarre happenings This is a maze and I know how to run it, Elena insisted, with Alicia finally persuading her she was not involved in taking her nephew and that they could find others and make their escape. The s**t my familys been through, six of us is equal to a dozen. We can defend each other, trust me. We do that or we die up here, Alicia told her. They finally ran out and drew the zombies on their floor towards them, with Elena locking the doors behind them and Alicia racing out onto the balcony, getting across to the next door with the help of a bedsheets Elena threw her just seconds before the zombies cracked through the balcony window. They eventually made their way to the ballroom where the wedding had been, with Elena tearing up at the memory of having locked them all in until help could come. Uh oh: It looks like it will be curtains for Alicia as she is attacked by zombies Glass act: The hungry flesh eaters crush against the glass to break through It never did, she added tearfully. There was no one there to save us. People died - and now they hate me. Ive seen worse. Weve done worse, Alicia assured her. I wont let them touch you, I promise. They were finally confronted by some of the guests - including the groom and mother of the bride, who said of Elena: This monster doesnt deserve to live. I want her dead - like my daughter, my husband. I want to break free: But she escapes to the next room with the aid of a sheet Escape: the dynamic duo decide the time has finally come to flee the hotel Elena finally handed them the hotel keys in return for her nephew - and they then opened the door to allow the zombies out to chase them, with Alicia, Elena and her nephew escaping by hiding behind the opened door. As Alicia went about desperately searching for her mother, she thought she found her - but seeing it was a stranger now turned zombie instead stabbed her in the head. But she did finally find her at the very end of the episode - with Madison, played by Kim Dickens, looking worryingly faint and short of breath. Where's my mother? Alicia wants to rescue her mother before heading outside That's not her: But it turns out the person she thought was her parent is a zombie She has suffered through a divorce before finding love in the space of just one year. Yet Millie Mackintosh seems fully prepared to be a bride once more after she was seen avidly diving for the bride's bouquet while attending an idyllic wedding with her beau Hugo Taylor on Sunday. The 26-year-old Made In Chelsea star, whose divorce from Professor Green was granted in May, looked sensational for the big day, in which she sported a billowing yellow gown with a plunging neck and daring split. Millie confirmed her romance with Hugo, who she previously dated during her stint on MIC in 2011, shortly after her divorce and the duo have been inseparable ever since. The couple's latest outing saw them attend a pal's wedding, alongside fellow Made In Chelsea alumni Spencer Matthews, where Millie was dressed to impress in her exquisite yellow gown - ideal for the balmy end of summer sun. The blonde beauty appeared to go braless beneath the strappy top while a key-hole at the chest gave a cheeky hint of cleavage. A risque split extended the length of the yellow and white gown, giving a look at her endless tanned legs, which she ensured were on show when she posed atop a classic car alongside a pal for an Instagram snap. Aisle be there for you? Millie Mackintosh seems fully prepared to be a bride once more after she was seen avidly diving for the bride's bouquet while attending an idyllic wedding with her beau Hugo Taylor on Sunday Battling it out: Millie seemed less than impressed as she ran for the bouquet Loved-up: Millie confirmed her romance with Hugo, who she previously dated during her stint on MIC in 2011, shortly after her divorce and the duo have been inseparable ever since Both Millie and Hugo, who boast 1.2million and 195,000 Instagram followers respectively, were littering their social media feeds with stunning images of the idyllic day. One standout post was undoubtedly Hugo's clip of the moment the stunning bride threw her bouquet, a video shot in slow-motion, which better caught Millie's avid dive for the flower arrangement. In long-lasting wedding tradition, a bride throws her bouquet to a vying crowd of female guests with the captor being tipped to walk up the aisle next. Romance: The 26-year-old Made In Chelsea star, whose divorce from Professor Green was granted in May, looked sensational for the big day, in which she sported a billowing yellow gown with a plunging neck and daring split Raunchy: A risque split extended the length of the yellow and white gown, giving a look at her endless tanned legs, which she ensured were on show when she posed atop a classic car alongside a pal for an Instagram snap The happy couple! Both Millie and Hugo, who boast 1.2million and 195,000 Instagram followers respectively, were littering their social media feeds with stunning images of the idyllic day While the majority of the guests stood expectantly, Millie appeared the most driven as she expertly lunged across the neat line of fellow revellers in a bid to catch the flowers, although she was sadly pipped to the post. Hugo appeared tickled by the situation as he added a caption on the image reading: 'next time my love @milliemackintoshofficial #fingertips'. Aside from her energetic reach for the bouquet, Millie and Hugo underwent their typical onslaught of romantic snaps including a shot while staring into each other's eyes. The pair also seemed to have a third member of their group in the form of Spencer who wangled a presence in a number of their shots. Dashing: Millie was not the only guest to pose on the classic car as Hugo popped in also Third wheel? The pair also seemed to have a third member of their group in the form of Spencer who wangled a presence in a number of their shots Millie and Professor Green, real name Stephen Manderson, had their two and a half year marriage dissolved in just 30 seconds, following the announcement of their separation three months earlier. They were granted a decree nisi at Central London Family Court with Millie citing 'unreasonable behaviour' as the reason for their split. Just days later, Hugo and Millie went public with their romance, sharing a public kiss during a trip to Monaco. Having soared to fame in 2011 alongside Millie on the E4 reality show, sunglasses designer Hugo bowed out of the spotlight to a degree, yet his resurrected romance has hurtled him back into the limelight. Yay! Millie could not hide her joy as she flew for the bouquet No holds barred: It seems all grace had flown out the window as she fought for the flowers That was then... Millie and Professor Green, real name Stephen Manderson, had their two and a half year marriage dissolved in just 30 seconds, following the announcement of their separation three months earlier The pair were first romantically linked again in March after they were spotted looking cosy at the British Polo Day in Dubai - five weeks after Millie announced her impending divorce. The wealthy reality stars originally dated for six months in 2011, but Millie dumped Hugo after finding out he had cheated with her best pal Rosie Fortescue They just enjoyed a lazy afternoon basking in the sun and surf in Malibu. And Alessandra Ambrosio looked to be in a playful mood as she took her adorable daughter Anja to the Soho House for some lunch after their relaxing beach day. While waiting outside of the exclusive establishment the duo put on a playful display as eight-year-old Anja made a giddy grab for her mom's cowboy hat. Scroll down for video Gimme that! Alessandra Ambrosio looked to be in a playful mood as she took her adorable daughter Anja to the Soho House for some lunch after their relaxing beach day The model looked completely besotted with her cute daughter as her little one sported an apron. While Alessandra wore a clingy black dress which she cinched at the waist while opting for casual sandals. Mommy's helper: The model looked completely besotted with her cute daughter as her little one sported an apron While waiting outside of the exclusive establishment the duo put on a playful display as eight-year-old Anja made a giddy grab for her mom's cowboy hat Stylish: Alessandra wore a clingy black dress which she cinched at the waist while opting for casual sandals Meanwhile, the 35-year-old IMG Model took to social media that same day alongside fellow Brazilian, Ludi Delfino. '(No) Labor Day Weekend!' the NBC Olympics correspondent - who boasts 12.8M followers - captioned her series of Snapchats. '(No) Labor Day Weekend!' Alessandra spent her Sunday afternoon basking on a Malibu beach in a skimpy black bikini 'Malibu dreaming': The 35-year-old IMG Model arched her back to better showcase her 5ft9in figure alongside fellow Brazilian, Ludi Delfino (L) The NBC Olympics correspondent - who boasts 12.8M followers - captioned her Snapchats: 'End of summer #foreveronvacation #Malibu...Saying goodbye to summer' 'End of summer ... #foreveronvacation #Malibu...Saying goodbye to summer.' Joining Alessandra during her 'Sunday detox' was her adorable daughter Anja, who celebrated her 8th birthday on August 24. Ambrosio also snapped a picture of her youngest child, four-year-old son Noah, as he spotted something on the horizon. Flower crown filter: Joining Alessandra during her 'Sunday detox' was her adorable daughter Anja, who celebrated her 8th birthday on August 24 Family beach day: Ambrosio also snapped a picture of her youngest child, four-year-old son Noah, as he spotted something on the horizon Privileged pair: Like his big sister before him, little Noah reportedly attends the private Cassidy Preschool in Santa Monica where tuition is said to cost between $13K-18K Saturday lunch at Cafe Habana: Noticeably missing from the sand and surf was the ale by Alessandra designer's fiance of eight years, Re/Done owner Jamie Mazur Like his big sister before him, little Noah reportedly attends the private Cassidy Preschool in Santa Monica where tuition is said to cost between $13K-18K. Noticeably missing from the sand and surf was the ale by Alessandra designer's fiance of eight years, Re/Done owner Jamie Mazur. On August 18, the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles actress filmed the Victoria's Secret 16/17 holiday campaign at the Paris Opera House with director Michael Bay. '#comingsoon!' On August 18, the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles actress filmed the Victoria's Secret 16/17 holiday campaign at the Paris Opera House with director Michael Bay 2015 versus 2001: Impressively, Ambrosio has been modeling for the San Francisco lingerie brand for 15 years The brunette bombshell told Vogue in July: 'I have been working in the modeling industry for almost 20 years. And have done so much, but there is always more I can do and learn. [Right now] I am most excited about new experiences' Impressively, Ambrosio has been modeling for the San Francisco lingerie brand as far back as 2001. 'I have been working in the modeling industry for almost 20 years,' the brunette bombshell told Vogue in July. She's soaking up the sun on a lavish holiday in Crete with her co-star boyfriend James Dunmore. And Made In Chelsea's Lucy Watson made sure she had her man's attention as she posed for a series of smouldering poolside snaps at the couple's private villa at Daios Luxury Resort on the Greek island over the weekend. Posing up a storm against the backdrop of a stunning infinity pool, the reality star, 25, displayed her toned and tanned abs in a tiny leopard print two-piece. Scroll down for video Wild thing: Made In Chelsea's Lucy Watson posed for a series of smouldering poolside snaps at the couple's private villa at Daios Luxury Resort in Crete over the weekend She's got his attention! Posing up a storm against the backdrop of a stunning infinity pool, the reality star, 25, displayed her peachy posterior in an eye-watering white thong bikini Another racy short saw Lucy display her peachy posterior in an eye-watering white thong bikini as smitten James, 26, looked on in amazement. James seemed to be having a blast on the couple's late-summer trip, posting sweet shots of the couple posing for a selfie in their private pool and of him enjoying a swim in the crystal clear turquoise waters of Crete. The hunky reality star displayed his buff body and bulging biceps as he went shirtless while posing for another envy-inducing snap in the infinity pool. The genetically-blessed couple have been dating since early 2015 after meeting on the E4 reality show. Hunky: James, 26, displayed his buff body and bulging biceps as he went shirtless while posing for another envy-inducing snap in the infinity pool Fun in the sun: The genetically-blessed couple have been dating since early 2015 after meeting on the E4 reality show Water baby: James seemed to be having a blast on the couple's late-summer trip, posting a snap of him enjoying a swim in the crystal clear turquoise waters of the Greek island On Friday, Lucy was enjoying some well-earned 'me time' after completing her bridesmaid duties for best friend Carly Rothman the previous week. The Made In Chelsea star, 25, slipped into a barely-there aqua blue number as she spent the day in the picturesque coastal town of Aghios Nikolaos. The outspoken reality TV personality seemed to be treating herself to a pool day in the snap as she posed against a lush green backdrop. Proud girlfriend: Lucy posted a snap of James posing on his sun lounger as the couple enjoyed a relaxing beach day Feeling peckish? The reality TV star was chewing on his finger in one funny shot, despite having just polished off a plate of delicious Greek food Idyllic: Lucy has been treating her Instagram followers to numerous envy-inducing snaps from her relaxing Greek holiday Lucy wore her raven locks loose around her shoulders and sheltered her eyes from the Grecian sun with a pair of chic tortoiseshell shades. On Thursday, the star posted an envy-inducing snap of her private villa at Daios Luxury Resort, complete with a dramatic infinity pool and breathtaking sea views. While Lucy delighted her followers with her bikini snap, James no doubt impressed his fans by posting a shirtless shot of him surrounded by cactus plants. Bikini babe: Lucy posed for a sexy snap as she soaked up the Grecian sun in the picturesque coastal town of Aghios Nikolaos, Crete, on Friday Last weekend, Lucy and James attended the wedding of the brunette's former co-star and best friend, Carly Rothman, where she took on the supporting role of bridesmaid. Taking to Instagram on Monday, Lucy looked absolutely thrilled to be included in her friend's wedding plans as she shared a multitude of sweet snaps of the big day. Sharing a snap of herself and Carly's sister Jordan in a hotel room before the ceremony, the reality star could an be seen beaming with pride. Looking the picture of demure chic, Lucy and her friend were wearing matching satin lilac gowns. Hunky: James no doubt impressed his fans by posting a shirtless shot of him surrounded by cactus plants Heavenly! On Thursday, Lucy posted an envy-inducing snap of her private villa at Daios Luxury Resort, complete with a dramatic infinity pool and breathtaking sea views The MIC favourite had been kitted out with the a high-necked, fitted number which highlighted her slim figure. Wearing her dark locks pulled back into a severe bun, the pretty star's striking features were left framed by a few carefully teased waves of hair. The stunning Sloaney wore a simple and natural make-up palette, choosing to complement her pale complexion whilst defining her lips and eyes. In another shot from the big day, Lucy could be seen enjoying the festivities with her boyfriend James. A supporting role: Lucy enjoyed a magical few days as bridesmaid at her best friend's wedding last month Is it you two next? The reality star looked thrilled to be included in her friend's wedding plans as she shared some sweet snaps - including one of her and boyfriend James It's her big day! While Lucy is undoubtedly a star in the hi E4 reality series now, it was her best-friend and former co-star, Carly Rothman (right), who had the starring role on the day Posing for a picture with his girlfriend and co-star, James certainly cut a dapper figure in a dark navy suit, white shirt and maroon tie. But while Lucy is undoubtedly a star in the hit E4 reality series now, it was her best-friend and former co-star, Carly, who had the starring role on the day. The bride and her best friend both started out on the show together in 2012 in the fourth series. The two girls first chanced upon Jamie Laing in the fifth episode of the show, and while Lucy went on to become an integral part of the cast very quickly Carly left the show after the first episode of series five. Since then Carly has found love with Jack Neave, a shipbroker in Dubai, and has gone on to launch her own healthy-living blog, Lean Living Girl. Lindsay Lohan is getting 'very serious' with Dennis Papageorgiou, the 'man who saved her' from an explosive beach row with former fiance earlier this summer. The actress, 30 - who called time on her troubled relationship with Egor Tarabasov, 23, in July after a series of public rows - is said to have met her new beau at her 30th birthday celebrations in Mykonos when she was still with Egor. And after being spotted together on the Greek island last week, Lindsay and the restaurant owner are said to be 'taking things seriously' as they progress from friendship to romance, reports The Sun. Scroll down for video New romance? Lindsay Lohan is said to be getting 'very serious' with Dennis Papageorgiou, the 'man who saved her' from an explosive beach row with former fiance earlier this summer A source told the publication: 'Egor showed his true colours in a series of blazing rows, and Dennis did too with how he stepped in to help. 'Lindsay says they are very serious and she's been referring to him as the man who saved her from Egor. 'It's a weird scenario to meet in but they're taking things seriously. Lindsay is hoping this is a start of a more healthy relationship.' The newspaper claims Dennis has even split from his long-term model girlfriend Noelle Koutra to be with her. Moving on: The actress, 30, (pictured with Dennis last week) is said to have met her new beau at her 30th birthday celebrations in Mykonos when she was still with Egor MailOnline has contacted a representative for Lindsay Lohan for comment. Lindsay and Egor began dating last year and got engaged in April. But things had turned sour by July, when police were called to the Mean Girls star's London home to reports of a raging argument. Lindsay previously accused her former fiance of being abusive towards her and claims she is scared of him. Close: After being spotted together on the Greek island last week, Lindsay and the restaurant owner are said to be 'taking things seriously' as they progress from friendship to romance She told the Mail On Sunday: 'I realise now you can't stay in a relationship just for love. 'No woman can be hit and stay with that person if that person isn't prepared to say sorry.' It was during a holiday to Mykonos last month that things took a turn for the worse for Lindsay and Egor, with pictures surfacing of the pair having a fight on the beach. The couple got into a rough tussle after they argued in a black 4x4. In happier times: Lindsay and Egor, 23, (pictured at the Butterfly Ball in London in June) called time on their year-long relationship in July after a series of very public rows The former child star hurled his mobile phone on the sand and fled the car. He chased her, grabbed her roughly from behind in an attempt to grab the handset back and twisted her arm behind her back. Lindsay and Egor were said to have been together for a year before calling it quits, with the star posting to Snapchat in July: 'I guess I was the same at 23 S***ty time-it changes at 26/27 @e2505t thanks for not coming home tonight. Fame changes people.' Lindsay then accused Egor of cheating on her with a hooker, as she posted a video of the star partying, according to E! At the end of the month, following the couple's public fights, she posted an update on Instagram, writing: 'Dear friends. I'm good and well. #ATM I am taking time for myself with good friends. Maybe things can be fixed... Maybe not.. I hope they can.' Renee Zellweger has revealed that wearing a prosthetic bump in Bridget Jones's Baby has made her yearn for motherhood. The actress, 47 - who plays the hugely-popular titular character - explained seeing her alter-ego go through the trials and tribulations of being an expectant mother hasn't put her off the prospect of pregnancy. Joining Kate Garraway in the Good Moring Britain gallery on Monday ahead of the premiere of the third movie in the franchise, Renee described parenthood as 'an adventure'. Scroll down for videos Mum's the word: Renee Zellweger has revealed that wearing a prosthetic bump in Bridget Jones's Baby has made her yearn for motherhood When asked by Kate whether wearing the bump made her fancy it for real, Renee was in no doubt, quickly answering: 'Of course, what an adventure! 'Kudos to the real mums out there who cant take it off at the end of the day its quite a load.' Before the film went into production, and despite her acting success, Renee had taken a six-year break away from the silver screen. Plenty to smile about: The actress, 47 explained seeing her alter-ego go through the trials and tribulations of being an expectant mother hasn't put her off the prospect of pregnancy Round of applause: No stranger to Good Morning Britain, Renee came to visit GMB gallery this time last year as work experience for her new role Exciting! Joining Kate Garraway in the Good Moring Britain gallery on Monday ahead of the premiere of the third movie in the franchise, Renee described parenthood as 'an adventure' Traveling to Liberia for a womens charity, and spending time with her family, Renee explained the reasoning behind her decision to take some time away from the limelight. She added during her Good Morning Britain interview: '[I wanted ] to have a little bit of normalcy. Learn some things that werent about researching a character. A different kind of life experience thats all.' The film catches up with Bridget who is now working a news producer, with awards under her belt and a more balanced approach to life than in the previous two movies. Time out: Before the film went into production, and despite her acting success, Renee had taken a six-year break away from the screen However, her life is about to be turned upside down once again, as she discovers she's pregnant. And Bridget is unsure whether the father of the child is the faithful Mark Darcy, (Colin Firth), or the dashing American Jack Qwant, played by Greys Anatomys Doctor McDreamy (Patrick Dempsey). No stranger to Good Morning Britain, Renee came to visit GMB gallery this time last year as 'work experience' for her new role. Changing it up: Traveling to Liberia for a womens charity, and spending time with her family, Renee explained the reasoning behind her decision to take some time away Doing well: The film catches up with Bridget who is now working a news producer, with awards under her belt and a more balanced approach to life She explained: 'Everyone in the gallery was very generous to let us come in among the controlled chaos, and there is so much, I had no idea the potential for extraordinary disaster at every moment.' In fact the breakfast show's crew made such a good impression on the film's producers, they even made a cameo in the film. When asked why we all love the character Bridget so much, Renee was in no doubt, telling Kate: Because of her humanity, shes insecure and were privy to her anxieties. Behind the scenes: Everyone in the gallery was very generous to let us come in among the controlled chaos... I had no idea the potential for extraordinary disaster at every moment Breaking Hollywood: The breakfast show's crew made such a good impression on the film's producers, they even made a cameo 'We all relate to being the face of escalating disaster and not being able to do anything about it. It gives us all permission to be imperfect as well. Its inspiring.' Two years ago, Renee raised eyebrows on the red carpet of Elle magazines Women In Hollywood Awards, by turning up with an apparently thinner face and wider, open eyes. She has adamantly denied she had plastic surgery for the event, and last week explained her altered appearance was down, not to any artificial procedure, but to simple preoccupation. Chic: Renee dressed appropriately for the British autumn in a chic navy blue belted mac and stylish tan stiletto heels New look? Two years ago, Renee raised eyebrows on the red carpet of Elle magazines Women In Hollywood Awards, by turning up with an apparently thinner face and wider, open eyes She said: 'Id been staying with a friend in Los Angeles and the month before shed been diagnosed with ALS [a neurological disease]. 'The reason I went to that event was that she wanted me to go, so she could be on the red carpet with me and prove to herself she wasnt being defeated by this terrible disease. 'And thats what I was thinking about that day. I wasnt thinking about what I looked like or what people thought. I was thinking about my friend.' Bridget is back! The Bridget Jones's Baby world premiere is taking place in London's Leicester Square on Monday night She said the idea of ageing has never held any fears for her. Renee explained: 'I think a woman only gets more interesting as she gets older. Youth and superficial beauty have their place and that is, understandably, celebrated to a degree. But thats so fleeting and its only for a moment in your life. 'As you mature, youre not just getting older, youre becoming more of who you are supposed to be, and becoming the best version of yourself, better and more interesting. 'Its a more powerful beauty and its a more valuable beauty. Besides I dont want to stay the same! Im curious about what comes next!' Whose the daddy? In the third installment, Bridget is pregnant and shes unsure whether the father of the child is the faithful Mark Darcy or new fling Jack Qwant Renee's co-star Patrick Dempsey spent Monday morning chatting to Lorraine Kelly on her ITV morning show. The actor, 50, is k nown to millions of fans as McDreamy, after spending 11 years playing as neurosurgeon Dr. Derek 'McDreamy' Shepherd in the hit US drama Grey's Anatomy. In the much anticipated film, Patrick plays Jack Qwant, Bridget's new American fling, but doesn't know whether he is the baby's father or not. Dashing: Renee's co-star Patrick Dempsey, spent Monday morning chatting to Lorraine in the comfy chair Well known: The 50-year-old actor is known to millions of fans as McDreamy, after spending 11 years playing as neurosurgeon Dr. Derek 'McDreamy' Shepherd in US drama Grey's Anatomy Cliff hanger: In the much anticipated film Patrick plays Jack Qwant, Bridget's new American fling, but doesn't know whether he is the baby's father or not Patrick looked equally as dashing as his smooth talking character, wearing a charcoal grey suit and black and white spotted to talk about the film. He then stopped by the This Morning studios alongside co-star Colin Firth to chat to hosts Phillip Schofield and Holly Willoughby about the film. Patrick said: 'I was a little nervous [about joining the franchise] because you don't know how you're going to fit in, but everyone was very accommodating. 'Enough time had passed so that it allowed us to get to know each other. Colin and I have a great connection, a great sense of humour. The chemistry came along.' Colin added: 'We all felt like new boys and girls. We were supposed to slip back into it but I'd forgotten about it.' The first time Patrick heard Renee's American voice was when she started doing press for the film, which he admitted confused him 'greatly' because he had thought of her as having a British accent like Bridget. Premiere: Both Renee and Patrick will be appearing on the red-carpet later on Monday as they attend the premiere in the West End He joked: 'Renee's Texas accent confused me greatly. She's supposed to be from Croydon or Oxfordshire or somewhere. She keeps the accent on set throughout and she never breaks character. '[Renee and I] have kept in touch but we live 6,000 miles apart. We've seen each other but we're not like a rock band, who tour - we have our lives. Coming back together was lovely. It was like a rather dysfunctional family reunion.' And the actor heaped praise on Renee for carting round her prosthetic baby bump throughout filming. He said: 'Renee doesn't really weigh very much but she took off the bump and said "Look, this is what you've been carrying".' Renee, Colin and Patrick will be appearing on the red-carpet later on Monday as they attend the world premiere of Bridget Jones's Baby in London's West End. Bridget Jones's Baby is in UK cinemas on Friday. Kim Kardashian paid tribute to the Queen Bey on Sunday, as she has lead birthday tributes to Beyonce. The reality TV star was transformed into a beautiful bumble bee with big eyes and yellow stripes as she sang happy birthday to her musician friend on Snapchat. Lemonade hitmaker Beyonce turned 35 this weekend and the Keeping Up With The Kardashians star was one of the first of many stars to wish her a happy day. Scroll down for video Keeping buzz-y! Kim Kardashian paid tribute to Beyonce on Sunday, as she celebrated her friend's birthday Not only channeling the icon as her namesake, Kim also put her vocal chords to the test and tunefully sang the age old theme. The duo were last seen hanging out together, along with their husbands Jay Z and Kanye West, after the MTV Video Music Awards. Kim and Beyonce's husbands have been close friends for many years but Kim recently admitted to feeling intimidated by the music icon, during an episode of Keeping Up With The Kardashians. How sweet: The brunette was sending a special well wishing to her friend Beyonce Hanging out: Kim and Beyonce were last seen hanging out together after the MTV Video Music Awards She said: 'My biggest fear was during [Kanye and Jay Z's 2011 tour] Watch the Throne that if I sit next to Beyonce, she dances and she's up, like, you know. 'So, the last night of the tour, she came to dressing room and was like, "Hey, do you want to sit together?"' Then, she wanted to go in the mosh pit and I was like, 'What do we do in the mosh pit?' She's like, 'Dance! Just let loose. Just dance!' And I was like, 'My life is over!'" Beyonce and her husband Jay Z - whose real name is Shawn Carter - marked her special occasion at the Made In America festival. Laugh out loud: As well as channelling her BFF, Kim put her vocal talents to the test A number of artists who performed at the Philadelphia music were similarly keen to acknowledge the event. Before performing, Chance the Rapper told the crowd: 'Auntie it's your birthday, happy birthday 'Yonce.' The power couple were seated at the front of the event, a prime position to witness well-wishings from Coldplay, Kelly Rowland, La La Anthony and Carmelo Anthony. Coldplay's Chris Martin - who Beyonce teamed up with on Hymn For The Weekend - told the crowd: 'We want to say happy birthday to Mrs. Carter who is out here somewhere.' Old friends: Kim and Beyonce's (here in February 2015) are close friends Gwyneth Paltrow's ex-husband then cheekily quipped: 'Can you believe she is 107 years old? Happy birthday Bey.' Mariah Carey also took to social media to wish 'the beautiful Queen Bey' well on her big day. Along with the lemon, crown and bee emojis, the 46-year-old 'Hero' hitmaker wrote on Twitter: 'Happy birthday to the beautiful Queen Bey! Lots of love and respect always, Mariah (sic)' Elsewhere, DJ Khaled - who joined Beyonce on her 'Formation World Tour' earlier his - wrote: 'Happy bday beyonce. BLESS UP !!! (sic)' They go way back: The women have become close since Kanye (left) and Jay Z (right) toured together in 2011 Laverne Cox declared it 'Happy Bey Day' and said is addicted to her song Freedom. She wrote: '#HappyBeyDay Happy Birthday @Beyonce I have been singing #Freedom all week. It just feels like we need this song right now. (sic)' Jennifer Hudson also took to Instagram to share a picture of Beyonce on Instagram. Alongside the picture, she wrote: 'What better day to post this throw back , then on your bday ! Happy birthday beyonce from one...(sic)' Nicki Minaj wrote: 'And happy BEY day to her excellence (sic)' Beyonce - who has four-year-old daughter Blue Ivy with her 45-year-old rapper husband - marked the special day by sharing a video for her song 'Hold Up'. with her fans. She has been dubbed the competition favourite. But on Monday night's episode of Zumbo's Just Desserts, contestant Ali narrowly avoided being sent home after she failed to complete her Arnott's Biscuits dessert challenge. The insurance broker had a complete tantrum when her Monte Carlo biscuit inspired dessert did not go to plan, prompting her to fall to the floor and hide underneath her work station. Scroll down for video Meltdown: Zumbo's Just Dessert's Ali King is seen having a complete meltdown when her raspberry dessert doesn't go to plan during Monday night's episode 'It's not going to happen, it's not going to happen,' the blonde said as tears began to stream down her face, before dramatically dropping to the ground. 'I'm loosing control and I can't seem to get anything together. I don't think I'm going to get everything on the plate. 'I'm giving up. I'm giving up. It's not happening,' she continued to add while attempting to wipe the tears from her eyes with her hands. Freaking out: The blonde favourite is seen raising her hands to her head in anguish Pressure cooker: Ali can't handle the heat in the kitchen Favourite: Ali is one of the favourites to win the show and it seems that she was just having an off day, telling news.com.au that she 'was just having a bit of a bad day' After seeing the normally clam and collective 28-year-old in a fit of hysterics, fellow competitors Amie and Ashley ran over to calm the cake maker down with positive comments and a warm hug. 'You are amazing at what you do and you're not defined for the one thing you do,' Aime told Ali while rubbing her back in comfort. 'We love you,' she added. Next to showcase their dessert was mother-of-one and self-titled 'sweet tooth', Bragen. Digging in: The judges tasted all the Arnott's biscuits inspired desserts Smiles: Was flattered with positive comments from the judges on her growth on the show Winner: Aime's Lemon Crisp Baked Cheesecake that took top spot in the challenge The 22-year-old made a Monte Carlo Cheesecake which received praise from both judges, Rachel Khoo and Adrian Zumbo. 'Bragen, I must say you've come along hugely with your balance of sweetness with other flavours. It's definitely a huge progression since the beginning,' famed British chef and judge on the Channel Seven series Rachel told the brunette. Adrian echoed similar sentiments. 'I think you've done a good job with the cheesecake cream and I think you've done that well,' he said, before adding: 'The fresh raspberries were delicious. For me, it very must tasted like a Monte Carlo.' But it was Aime's Lemon Crisp Baked Cheesecake that took top spot in the challenge and the administration assistant was awarded Dessert Of The Day. Teary eyed: Despite the praises given to Ali by her fellow competitors, the positive comments weren't enough to save her from being sent to the elimination round Crumbs! Ali's biscuits kept breaking as she pierced a hole through the thin pastry layer using a metal cylinder Despite the praises given to Ali by her fellow competitors, the positive comments weren't enough to save her from being sent to the elimination round. 'You can see that you've got into at a panic at some,' Rachel told the dessert loving beauty. 'What you did present was lovely. I'm sure it would have been stunning. The base was buttery.' Taste testing: Adrian Zumbo took a bite into one of the competitors desserts Tough challenge: Ali and Ashley had to whip up six of Adrian's delicious cookies Adrian echoed similar commentary. 'What you did put up was good,' he said. 'You've got to pick yourself up and move onto the next one.' Ashley's Kensington Biscuit inspired tart also failed to impress judges and he was also sent to the elimination round. Meanwhile, Ali was determined to win the Zumbo Biscuit Challenge and stay on the show. Positive goals: Ali was determined to win the Zumbo Biscuit Challenge and stay on the show Evaluating everything: Ali measured her pastry to make sure she had it perfect Too much to handle: Her positive affirmations didn't last long after she allowed time to get the better of her once again as she attempted to recreate six Adrian Zumbo biscuits But her positive affirmations didn't last long after she allowed time to get the better of her once again as she attempted to recreate six Adrian Zumbo biscuits. 'I am feeling the pressure,' The Savour Chocolate & Patisserie School in Melbourne graduate said. 'I've got stuff here, there and everywhere and it's really important that I don't spiral out of control. 'I'm working on so many things and that's why I feel so crazy right now.' And the panic didn't end just there. Ali's biscuits kept breaking as she pierced a hole through the thin pastry layer using a metal cylinder. Nerves: The two contestants nervously watched on as the judges read out their scores Winner grinner: The dessert favourite managed to plate all six biscuits within the allocated time and win the challenge But in the end, the dessert favourite managed to plate all six biscuits within the allocated time and win the challenge. 'I feel over the moon that I avoided elimination. Not by that much, but I avoided elimination,' she said. 'It's been a day of tears. 'I love being here, being in my element and making awesome stuff,' she told judges. Meanwhile, Ashley was proud of his efforts to make it to the final six. 'A competition as stiff as this is a huge achievement. It's something that I should be proud of,' he said. She has been travelling Australia alongside her husband Adam Garcia as he tours as the star of hit musical Singin' in the Rain. But Nathalia Chubin says her time down under was tainted by racist jibes. The 31-year-old took to Twitter to express her disappointment at being called a 'wog' upon her return home to London, reported the Herald Sun. Scroll down for video Glad to be home: Nathalia Chubiin took to Twitter to express her disappointment at being labelled a 'wog' while travelling in Australia with husband Adam Garcia 'Sorry Aussies, I love your beautiful country,' she wrote. 'But I'm glad to be back home where I'm probably not going to be called a wog anytime soon. 'Maybe I shouldn't have broadcasted that, maybe I should. Upset: The former Playstation marketing manager says she was made to feel like an 'other' during her trip 'Because isn't silence/tolerance part of the problem?' The former Playstation marketing manager said creating a world she wanted her one-year-old daughter Arya to grow up in was a big part of the reasoning behind her outburst. 'For the sake of my educated past, and for the sake of my new daughter, I can't tolerate being made to feel "other",' she tweeted. 'Not on my watch': Nathalia says she had to speak up for the sake of her one-year-old daughter Arya (pictured) 'Not on my watch.' The young family had spent time in Melbourne Sydney so Adam could perform, but returned home after the 43-year-old realised a calf injury he sustained on stage in Melbourne would not heal in time for him to rejoin the Australian tour. Adam was playing the lead role of Don Lockwood, and earlier told the Herald Sun it was the 'role of a lifetime'. Family ties: Nathalia and her daughter had joined Adam, who was performing the lead role in Singin in the Rain as it toured in Australia - something he described as the 'role of a lifetime' The word disappointed does not begin to convey how Im feeling with having to step away from this dream role and the fantastic cast and crew I was having so much fun with,' the actor said in a statement released by Singin' in the Rain. 'The injury sustained has proven to be more extensive and complicated than initially diagnosed. 'The length of the recovery time and the risk of recurrence has made it impossible for me to continue in the production.' This Morning viewers flooded social media with praise for the return of Holly Willoughby and Phillip Schofield on Monday morning. But they weren't expecting the gorgeous new addition to the ITV family, when Holly and Phil welcomed a fluffy new Labradoodle. The 10-week-old Guide Dog puppy - who is the half sister of resident This Morning puppy Clover - was named Luna by viewers and seemed to help brighten the back to school and end of summer woes. Scroll down for video They're back! Holly Willoughby (right) and Phillip Schofield (left) were back on This Morning on Monday and the viewers couldn't have been more pleased 'Holly and Phil are back on This Morning and everything is right with the world,' said one Twitter user. 'Cannot explain how happy I am,' said another, while one fan added: 'I've missed Holly and Phillip so much.' It seemed like some viewers were deliberately tuning back in to the breakfast show, to mark the return of the on-screen double act, who have been on holiday for seven weeks. A new addition: They weren't the only ones taking the limelight though, as the duo welcomed a 10-week-old Guide Dog puppy called Luna So cute: Luna took an instant liking to Holly that morning Affectionate: Holly even suggested that they name the dog 'Licky' Giddy: Viewers were absolutely delighted to start September with Holly and Phil 'Lowkey glad Holly and Phillip are back...' said one fan. 'Can get my daily TM fix again' Like reuniting with old friends, another said: 'Turning over to This Morning just because Holly and Phillip are back! Happy girl :) Missed you guys!' This week will see children all over the UK returning to school and Holly and Phil appeared to be offering a little light relief for the big occasion. Checking on her priorities, one viewer said: 'I squealed so loud at Holly and Phil back on This Morning that Dad thought I'd got some news about Third Year #proirities' Making friends: Presenter Rylan Clarke got straight in with the selfies Too cute: Luna is the half sister of resident puppy Clover A new name: The Labradoodle puppy was named by the ITV audience Another lamented: 'My youngest starts college tomorrow.. thankfully I have Holly and Phil to help pass the time @thismorning' And while others couldn't make it into the classroom, Holly and Phil were a nice surprise for the morning. 'So glad Holly and Phil are back on @thismorning making my sick day so much better.' Holly and Phil were on top form, too, sharing giggles over little Luna, shirtless celebrity chef Gino D'Acampo and their summer holiday memories. Missed them: Twitter was flooded with positive responses from the viewers On top form: The duo were closer than ever after a summer spent actually together Jokers: The duo have not actually been spending their summer apart, it seems 'The highlight of my day is when Holly and Phil fall about in fits of laughter on This Morning,' said one enthusiastic viewer. After all, the duo have barely been apart all summer, having accompanied their individual families on a joint holiday. At the start of the show, Holly said to Phil: 'I know you've had a good summer - I spent most it with you.' In August, Holly and Phil paid tribute to lovebirds Taylor Swift and Tom Hiddleston when they shared a playful photograph in 'I [HEART] P.S' and 'I [HEART] H.W' T-shirts. 'They were a present from Martin, our editor. It was our little nod to Taylor Swift and we thought we'd recreate that moment.' Also on the show: Rylan Clark was also back, this time with X Factor actor Ottavio and Bradley One big happy family: The pair introduced their 'new baby' on the show She's lived through a divorce and the dramas of dating in her Sixties during her decade on Loose Women. So an emotional Sherrie Hewson felt like she had lifelong friends - not only on the panel but also the ITV audience at home - to thank for getting her through 'some very, very bad times' on Monday; her final ever episode. Bidding farewell to the programme after almost 14 years, the 65-year-old broke down during a string of surprises, including special guests, tributes and montages. Scroll down for video Emotional farewell: Sherrie Hewson bid an emotional farewell to Loose Women after 14 years, on Monday's show 'Thank you to these girls,' she began. 'They've got me through everything. [To the audience] it's been absolutely amazing. 'Thank you for supporting me, it's been amazing and you mean the whole world.' Dubbed the most 'Bonkers Loose Woman' of all time, Sherrie made her first appearance on the panel show in 2003. It was during an episode of the show, in 2011, that Sherrie announced that she was leaving cheating husband Ken Boyd, after 28 years of marriage. Goodbye, my friend: Kaye Adams paid a special visit to do 'This is your Loose Life' Breaking down: She was tearful when she reflected on a hard 14 years, which have included her divorce A special show: (From left) Andrea McLean, Coleen Nolann and Nadia Sawalha made sure it was a very special send off She continued on Monday: 'My fourteen years have got me though those very, very bad times. 'To the audience, who has cared about me and cared about my family. These girls are what it's all about. This is the most wonderful show to be a part of.' Sherrie shared her final show with Andrea McLean, Coleen Nolan and Nadia Sawalha on the day, but they had plenty of faces ready to surprise Sherrie, too. Benidorm star Sherrie was most surprised to see co-star Jake Canuso in the studio that afternoon. Emotional farewell: Sherrie Hewson (right, here in 20911 with Jenny Eclair) has bid farewell to Loose Women after 14 years Throwback: She has shared the panel with (from left) Sally Lindsay, Michelle Collins, Denise Welch (here in December 2011) since first appearing in 2003 Bonkers: Her panellists affectionately called her the most 'bonkers' Loose Woman (here in November 2010, with Carol McGiffin Giving him a ticking off for lying, she revealed that he had sent her a text that morning with a picture of that showed him sunbathing in Spain. Sherrie will leave the show to work closer with Jake on the drama, as well as parts in Are You Being Served? and also Aladdin, the pantomine, with John Thompson. John was just one of the familiar friends paying tribute to Sherrie on the show to coincide with the return of ITV drama Cold Feet. Also on the show, Sherrie was reunited with her Coronation Street lover Curly Watts, played by actor Kevin Kennedy. Jokers: The panel made light of her divorce from Ken Boyd, by giving her a Ken doll Accidentally on purpose? She laughed out loud when she accidentally snapped the doll's neck Spoiled rotten: The actress was given a very special collection of gifts How special: She was gifted a montage of photos from her time on the show In her honour: She was also given a dog named Diva, who she has sponsored 'I've slept with him!' She declared as Kevin rounded the corner into the studio, met by rapturous applauds. On filming with Sherrie, he told the audience: 'She's very unpredictable. We were playing this love scene and we had this clinch and at the end she just jumped on me with her knee first in the unmentionables.' 'If you can trip over it, she will fall over it. I just thought she's going to be trouble but we have some great memories. Gifts galore: The actress was given a huge, beautiful bouquet of flowers She will be missed: The women will say goodbye to Sherrie after a long old stint Especially for you: Coleen gave a musical tribute to her friend Thank you for being a friend: Coleen sung a special tribute to her friend Tributes were also paid by This Morning presenters Eammon Holmes and Ruth Langsford, as well as some of Loose Women Sherrie has worked with over the years, including June Sarpong, Stacey Solomon and Linda Robson. Celebrity Big Brother winner Stephen Bear, exposing his chest in a sexy postman's costume, was also invited along to the party to share special messages. But it was a video message from her two beloved granddaughters that gave Sherrie a lump in her throat, as she was missing them going back to school that morning. Reunited: Sherrie was reunited with her Coronation Street lover Kevin Kennedy Special memories: The duo shared many on-screen moments Surprise! Celebrity Big Brother winner Stephen Bear was also invited to read messages Cheeky monkey: The opportunist planted a kiss on panellist Andrea straight away Working together: She is due to share the stage with John Thompson later this year The well-wishings were also bolstered by presenters for the Loose Women veteran, whose special moments were captured on a special collage of photos. Since she will resume filming in Spain after her time in London, dog-lover Sherrie was gifted a disability assistance dog named Diva. Diva was sponsored in Sherrie's name by the Loose Women because she cant have a dog in Spain. To close the show, the actress was treated to a special live performance by musician Coleen Nolan, singing Thank You For Being A Friend. The interlude saw Coleen similarly break down mid-song. So sweet: She received plenty of hugs on what was to be an emotional afternoon Hugs: There were plenty of hugs to go around for the actress She is the devoted mother of three young children. But Kourtney Kardashian enjoyed some girl time on Sunday as she spent a relaxing day out with her sweet daughter while on holiday in Italy. The 37-year-old reality star and her 4-year-old Penelope headed out to explore the rustic fishing village of Portofino together - with her mother Kris Jenner and her new man Corey Gamble in tow. Scroll down for video Girls' day: Kourtney Kardashian, 37, and her 4-year-old Penelope headed out to explore the rustic town of Portofino, Italy together - with her mother Kris and her new man in tow Kool: Dressing her face with some mirrored cat-eye sunglasses, Kourtney looked every inch a cool mum as she headed to town with her girl Like mother like daughter: Penelope meanwhile kept cool but as stylish as her mother in a frilly pastel pink sundress Sporting a micro-mini black playsuit, the brunette showcased her slim legs and incredible figure as a mum-of-three. Featuring a ruched bardot neckline, Kourtney flashed the gorgeous golden tan inevitably picked up from their recent beach trip to the isle of Capri on Saturday. The chic star added a chunky black belt to cinch in her petite waist, and paired the look with comfy black gladiator sandals. Hot mama! Sporting a micro-mini black playsuit, the brunette showcased her incredible figure and slim legs as a mum-of-three Trendy: Pulling her hair into two adorable top knots, the daughter of Kourtney and estranged ex Scott Disick looked as glamorous as her mother as the stylish pair walked side by side Dressing her face with some mirrored cat-eye sunglasses, Kourtney looked every inch a cool mum as she headed to town with her girl. Penelope meanwhile kept cool in the blazing sunshine in a frilly pastel pink sundress. Clearly taking style tips from her mum in her tender 4 years of age, the youngster paired the frock with a chic pink clutch bag decorated with a furry cartoon face. Pulling her hair into two adorable top knots, the daughter of Kourtney and estranged ex Scott Disick looked as glamorous as her mother as the stylish pair walked side by side. Leggy: Featuring a ruched bardot neckline, Kourtney flashed her gorgeous golden tan picked up from the getaway as she explored the town Stylish pair: Clearly taking style tips from her mum in her tender 4 years of age, Penelope looked cute in a baby pink frilled dress Accompanied by 'momager' Kris, 60, and her boyfriend of two-years Corey, 35, the mother and daughter duo wandered the streets of the beautiful Italian town. With the sun shining down on the cobbled streets, Kourtney did not hestitate to document the gorgeous moment on film. Whipping out her camera, Kourtney smiled as her little girl posed in her outfit and danced around playfully on the streets. Alongside Kris and Corey the group then headed to a beautiful garden restaurant for a tasty al-fresco lunch. Act natural! Kourtney did not hestitate to document the gorgeous moment on film Say cheese: Kourtney smiled as her little girl posed in her outfit and danced around playfully on the streets Relaxed: The mother and daughter duo wandered the streets of the beautiful Italian town Alongside Kris and Corey the group then headed to a beautiful garden restaurant for a tasty al-fresco lunch Quality time: Kris sweetly cooed over her sweet grandchild as they headed for a bite to eat Kourtney and Penelope looked closer than ever as the brunette swept her little girl up into her arms, where Kris cooed over her sweet grandchild. Penelope was even treated to an ice-cream during their break from exploring, before they embarked on a spot shopping. The clan browsed both market stalls and upmarket designer shops during their trip, including a luxury leather goods store. Having worn themselves out however, the family then headed to the luxurious Sealyon Douglas yacht to continue their relaxing afternoon. I'll carry you: Kourtney and Penelope looked closer than ever as the brunette swept her little girl up into her arms Two for a pound! The pair browsed the local market stalls to see what authentic goods were on offer Retail therapy: Kourtney browsed a luxurious Italian leather goods shop at one point to see if any handbags took her fancy Tanning time: Having worn themselves out after the spot of shopping, the family then headed to the luxurious Sealyon Douglas yacht Let's go faster! Boarding the extravagant 62m vessel, Kourtney and Penelope excitedly clambered onto a smaller boat for a ride around the bay Boarding the extravagant 62m vessel, Penelope excitedly clambered onto a smaller boat with her mum and grandmother for an exciting ride around the bay. The pair looked utterly relaxed as they soaked up the sun on their sea cruise, marking just one of many fun days out during their Italian getaway. The happy family, alongside Kourtney's two sons - Mason, 6 and Reign, 20 months - were spotted playing around on a water slide aboard another yacht off the coast of Capri on Saturday. All aboard! Kourtney helped her young daughter as she excitedly clambered on board Leggy: Kourtney showed off her tanned and toned legs as she boarded the boat Kourtney and her kids arrived in Italy for their European adventure last week - but without the children's father Scott Disick in tow. Having ended their nine-year relationship last year, Kourtney recently revealed that she and Scott 'definitely tried for a long time' to make it work. 'The idea of having my family together is amazing, but it's not the way things ended up,' she told Cosmopolitan, but then added: 'They may end up there. I'm not sure.' He's the former doctor and once prosperous businessman known for his spontaneous marriages to busty blondes. But the now bankrupt Geoffrey Edelsten cut a lonely figure as he represented himself at a Melbourne court on Monday. The 73-year-old, who fronted Melbourne's Federal Court for an ongoing financial dispute, apologised for not having a lawyer. Scroll down for video Bankrupt: Geoffrey Edelsten cut a lonely figure as he represented himself at a Melbourne court on Monday (stock image) 'Excuse me for not being represented,' he said, according to The Herald Sun. The matter relates to $1million being held in an NAB trust fund by Edelstens former lawyers, which the US Backruptcy Court is fighting to recover, according to the publication. As he left court, the usually camera-friendly former businessman objected to having his photo taken, and attempted to grab the photographer's camera, the Herald Sun reported. Fall from grace: The 73-year-old apologised to the court for not being represented (stock) The former multimillionaire filed for bankruptcy in the US in 2014 - and so began his spectacular fall from grace. Shortly after declaring himself broke, he split with wife Brynne Edelsten, who he claimed he spent a fortune on during their four-year marriage. 'In the four years we were married, she's had a total of, if not more than, $4million from me in clothes, jewellery and travel,' Geoffrey told Daily Mail Australia. Divorce: He split with wife Brynne Edelsten in 2014, who he claimed he spent a fortune on during their four-year marriage 'I bought her designer dresses...she was dripping in jewellery I bought her...she had it all,' the 73-year-old continued. The former doctor, who was de-registered in the late 1980s, then married US model and DJ Gabi Grecko. The pair are alleged to have met through dating website SugarDaddy.com late in 2014. Sugar daddy: Geoffrey married US model and DJ Gabi Grecko in 2015 They enjoyed a brief marriage in 2015, with the pair tying the knot in June before breaking up five months later. It later emerged Gabi was paid to perform sex acts on now-disgraced New York Police officers. 'I can't believe I married a prostitute,' the 73-year-old businessman told Daily Mail Australia in June. Unhappy: The pair were briefly married in 2015 and Geoffrey went on to tell Daily Mail Australia 'I'm disgusted by the lies Gabi told me. I asked her if she was ever involved in prostitution and she always said no' 'She deceived me and made herself out to be something she isn't. 'I'm disgusted by the lies Gabi told me. I asked her if she was ever involved in prostitution and she always said no.' He will return to Melbourne Federal Court next month. An unlikely friendship blossomed between contestants while they fought viciously for Richie Strahan's heart on the Bachelor season four. And more than three months after the show finished filming, bachelorettes Megan Marx and Tiffany Scanlon hold no ill feelings towards each other. In fact, the stunning Bachelor babes recently snapped a loved-up picture together, which has resulted in fans questioning the nature of their relationship. Scroll down for video Showing off: The Western Australian stunners flaunted their ample assets and slim waists as they shared a plate of spaghetti in an Instagram post One fan wrote alongside Megan's Instagram post: 'Lovers'. Another added: 'Oh are you gay?' While others celebrated the reality TV stars and their unlikely friendship which was formed through the reality TV series. 'This makes me happy! I watched you both whilst I was in Aus and now I'm back home to the UK I'm so happy to see this! Beautiful!,' a social media user typed. Another said: 'You guys are actually the cutest!! So lucky to have each other.' 'Sunset porn': On Wednesday, the exhibitionists put on a very naked display as they posed together in nothing but sneakers and headphones The picture depicts the Western Australian natives, who were both wearing cropped shirts, looking deep into each other's eyes, while Tiffany wrapped one hand around the health promotions officer's slender waist. Megan continued to add hype to the post with a cryptic message, writing: 'There are many things I love, but here is one. 'She's able to cop the unwelcome, contaminated streams from the world, without becoming impure; because she is like the sea. Cryptic post: Megan add hype to the post, writing a poetic message to Tiffany 'I needed a little pick me up': The 29-year-old fitness fanatic thanked her friend for the endearing social media post 'Her heart is full of deep ocean minerals that splinter and disintegrate all the bad tastes, the hurtful mass ideas, and the ways of living that kill simple joys,' she concluded. Tiffany added to the comments, saying that the 27-year-old brightened up her day with the endearing post. 'Thanks hun, i needed a little pick me up and this has made my day!!! Love you xxx,' the 29-year-old wrote. Megan had previously uploaded racy images of the pair to her Instagram account on numerous occasions, which have also been deleted from her account. Beach babes: Megan is snapped holding onto Tiffany after taking a dip in the ocean One fan commented about their friendship: 'Lovers' Another added: 'Are you gay? ' In one picture, the besties were depicted giggling while gulping down single strands of spaghetti 'The spaghetti was fairly good tonight,' the sea loving blonde simply wrote alonsgide the picture. At the time, Tiffany also shared a parodied version of her and Megan's controversial photo, in which Will McMahon and Woody Whitelawof radio show Hit929 recreated the scene. The image has since been deleted from Tiffany's page. Megan and Tiffany have also erased recent photos of themselves posing naked aside from their sneakers as they posed on wooden chairs in the Chapman Valley, Western Australia. Close-up: Tiffany shared a picture of herself flaunting her cleavage for the camera Adding to the list of deleted social media posts is an Instagram update that Megan shared weeks earlier, in which she compared Richie Strahan to a 'Barbie boyfriend' while claiming that The Bachelor was like a 'prison'. The sassy stunner posted an image of herself enjoying a date with Richie, taken during her time in The Bachelor, accompanied with the caption: 'When I had long hair and a barbie boyfriend. Ohhhh how life changes. Hahaha.' Adding insult to injury, Megan also tagged her location as being: 'Bachelor Prison', before promptly deleting the entire post less than a day later. She put on a glamorous red carpet display at the Venice Film Festival on Sunday night. And Teresa Palmer also turned heads when she strolled to the airport on Monday with her baby bump on display in horizontal stripes. The Australian actress, 30, looked relaxed in a grey stripy round neck top, layered underneath a navy blazer. Blooming: Teresa Palmer turned heads when she strolled to the airport on Monday after Venice Film Festival And she completed her laidback look with some light wash charcoal jeans, and silver open-toed sandals. The Love and Honour star - who is already a mother with two-year-old Bodhi Rain - accessorised with some funky mirrored shades and a brown fedora hat. Her trademark blonde locks flowed in the breeze as she let her natural beauty shine through with minimal makeup. She boasted a beaming smile as she walked to the airport to catch her flight out of the Italian destination, where stars have gathered for the 73rd film event. Cool customer: The Australian actress, 30, looked relaxed in a grey stripy round neck layered under a navy blazer Fashionista: And she completed her laid back look with some navy slacks and silver open-toed sandals Funky: The Love and Honour star accessorised with some suave mirrored shades and a brown top hat All smiles: Her trademark blonde locks flowed in the breeze as she let her natural beauty shine through with minimal makeup On Sunday night, Teresa had been just one of those notable celebrities to grace the red carpet. She looked incredible in a heavily embellished pink gown as she arrived at the Hacksaw Ridge premiere alongside co-star Mel Gibson on Sunday. The actress, who is married to fellow screen star Marc Webber, glowed as she brought her glamour to the dazzling event. The satin gown featured diamante and bead detailing and cap sleeves showing off her toned arms. Yummy mummy: Pregnant Teresa Palmer showed off her blooming baby bump in an embellished pink gown at the Hacksaw Ridge premiere on Sunday Wearing her blonde hair in a chic up-do, she kept her jewellery to minimal diamond earrings. In a full-length pale pink gown that accentuated her bump, Teresa caressed her belly lovingly as she posed for pictures. And showing off her flawless complexion and stunning bone structure, she went for minimal make up. Teresa plays Dorothy Schutte in the new WWII American army film, which also stars Andrew Garfield. The 2016 film reportedly received a 10-minute standing ovation when it premiered at the festival on Sunday night. Glamorous: The satin gown featured diamante and bead detailing and cap sleeves showing off her toned arms She's been spotted on the Venice red carpet in an array of glamorous ensembles over the past week. But Gemma Arterton proved she can do low-key glamour just as well as she turned heads while wandering through the Italian city on Sunday during the 73rd Film Festival. The British actress, 30, showcased her svelte physique in a striped powder blue summer dress with a plunging neckline. Effortlessly chic: Gemma Arterton proved she can do low-key glamour just as well as red carpet as she wandered through Venice, Italy, on Sunday during the 73rd Film Festival The screen star completed her summery look with ribboned flip flops as she strolled with actress Nina Hoss and producer Alex Silva. With her brunette locks tied back in a chic chignon, Gemma accessorised with golden earrings and a bangle on her forearm. Nina also looked relaxed in a pink V neck, rolled-up chinos and a pair of funky shades, while Alex rocked the casual look with a blue polo and jacket combination. On Saturday night, the British actress pulled out all the stops in a dazzling black and sheer gown complete with two sheer splits at the side Effortless elegance: The British actress, 30, showcased her svelte physique in a striped powder blue summer dress with a plunging neckline Chic: The screen star completed her summery look with ribboned flip flops as she strolled with actress Nina Hoss and producer Alex Silva Looking stunning, Gemma arrived at the premiere of Jude Law film The Young Pope in the sleeveless number which featured sheer panels along the sides and a double thigh-high split. The star teamed her ensemble with a pair of skyscraper black stilettos and subtle earrings. Her hair was pulled up into a simple side updo, while she she wore smoky brown eye make-up and subtle pink lipstick. Gemma has clearly been enjoying watching the best of what Venice has to offer, tweeting earlier this week: 'Opening Night. Now I'm looking forward to sitting and back and watching some wonderful films...' Sheer daring: On Saturday night, the British actress pulled out all the stops in a dazzling black and sheer gown complete with two sheer splits at the side Leggy lady: Gemma arrived at the premiere of Jude Law film The Young Pope in the sleeveless number which featured sheer panels along the sides and a double thigh-high split Gemma's fellow judges include: Italian director Giancarlo De Cataldo, French actress Chiara Mastroianni, US artist Laurie Anderson, Venezuelan director Lorenzo Vigas; German actress Nina Hoss, director and president of the jury Sam Mendes, Chinese actress Zhao Wei and US director Joshua Oppenheimer. Fortunately, Gemma will know not to be too critical of any talent. In a recent interview, Gemma admitted she didn't read reviews after her performance in West End show Made In Dagenham last year. She told the Radio Times: 'I was really damaged by reviews last year when I did Made in Dagenham. Classy: Her hair was pulled up into a simple side updo while she she wore smoky brown eye make-up and subtle pink lipstick 'It was a huge project for me and we got really good ones and REALLY bad ones. 'They picked on me, which is fine, but its hard when youve got to go on stage again that night, and the next night, for four months after that so when I started in Nell Gwynn, I decided not to read any.' Earlier this year, Gemma received rave reviews for her three-month run in Nell Gwynn at the Apollo Theatre in London's West End. She was even nominated for an Olivier Award, but lost out to Denise Gough. He's one of Hollywood's hottest actors. And now James Franco, 38, has been honoured with a career tribute at the 42nd Deauville American Film Festival on Monday. The star looked dapper in a tailored black suit, a far cry from his usually laid back vibe. Leading man: James Franco, 38, has been honoured with a career tribute at the 42nd Deauville American Film Festival on Monday The Spider-Man actor went for a classically suave look with a fitted blazer, crisp white shirt and navy blue tie. Those who have left an indelible mark on cinema audiences are rewarded with a private beach cabin Deauvilles Promenade des Planches. Sporting his signature moustache and overgrown curly locks, James couldn't hide his delight at the recognition. Poser: The star looked dapper in a tailored black suit, a far cry from his usually laid back vibe Honoured: Sporting his signature moustache and overgrown curly locks, James couldn't hide his delight at the reward The actor joins Michael Moore in being honored by the French festival with a career tribute and a screening. He proudly grinned and posed alongside his newly unveiled cabin accompanied by fellow US producers Vince Jolivette and Scott Reed. James' second directorial debut effort, In Dubious Battle, will be screened at the festival, which premiered in Venice last week. Actor-turned-director: James joins Michael Moore in being honored by the French festival with a career tribute and a screening The film, which also stars Selena Gomez, Bryan Cranston, Ashley Greene, Josh Hutcherson is an onscreen adaptation of the 1936 novel by John Steinbeck. Set during the Great Depression, the film is about migrant apple pickers in California who are in a dispute with the local growers association. James' character Jim Nolan is a labor activist who learns what it means to work in the fields. She's a big Hollywood star, but Ariel Winter isn't too posh to push. A smiling Ariel Winter was spotted taking charge of a trolley full of carrier bags out of a Wholefoods supermarket in Los Angeles on Sunday. The 18-year-old was at the upscale store with her actress sister Shanelle Workman, 38, and a pal. Rolling and strolling: Modern Family star Ariel Winter pushed a trolley as she left a Wholefoods supermarket with her actress sister Shanelle Workman and a pal in Los Angeles on Sunday And they all laughed and chatted as they made their way back to their car. The Modern Family star looked cute in a taupe minidress with long sleeves and narrow horizontal lace stripes plus brown thong sandals. She centre-parted her long raven hair and left it free to flow over her shoulders, keeping it off her face by tucking it behind her ears. Shanelle. a brunette, was much more casually dressed in a black V-neck T-shirt with the words 'I'm Not Interested' on the front plus sweat pants and flip flops. Fashion forward: The 18-year-old looked cute in a taupe minidress with long sleeves and narrow horizontal lace stripes plus brown thong sandals Their pal flashed her tummy in a white cotton vest with spaghetti-string staps that she tied plus ripped skinny jeans. The sisters chatted as they walked along together. Shanelle has a special interest in Ariel's welfare. She became her court-ordered guardian in October 2012 following allegations that their mother, Chrisoula Workman, was physically and emotionally abusing the teenager. Ariel revealed that she had been officially emancipated from the guardianship via Twitter in May 2015. Looking out for her little sister: Shanelle, 38, who wore a T-shirt with the words 'I'm not interested' on the front, was Ariel's court-ordered guardian from October 2012 to May 2015 Meanwhile, the teenager has a busy time ahead. She is filming season eight of ABC's hit comedy Modern Family and she is working on Dog Years with Burt Reynolds and Chevy Chase about an aging, former movie star whose glory days are far behind him. Ariel is also due to start her first year at UCLA in the fall, revealing her choice of college on Instagram in April. The actress, who has been home schooled since the second grade, told E! News in May 2015 that she planned to become a lawyer. 'I would love to continue acting but it's definitely important, I think, to go and do something else as well,' she explained. 'You never know if something's not going to work out.' Heidi Klum has been letting her hair down at Burning Man. The America's Got Talent judge and her boyfriend Vito Schnabel, 30, hit the quirky festival in Nevada Black Rock Desert over the long weekend and shared some photos on Instagram. Heidi shared a photo of the couple holding hands as they rode their bikes into the sunset, which she captioned 'ILY,' for 'I love you.' Scroll down for video Burners: Heidi Klum shared a photo of herself holding hands with boyfriend Vito Schnabel, which she captioned 'IYL', as they attended the Burning Man Festival over the weekend 'Burning man... wow,' the model captioned another snap, adding 'Incredible.' And she posted a photo of her shirtless art curator beau posing next to a giant ride, adding a heart emoji. The 43-year-old also shared a video of a giant bonfire blazing away in front of a seated audience, captioning it 'magic.' Heidi is not the only celebrity attending the festival, with Katy Perry, Paris Hilton, Cara Delevingne and Scott Eastwood also sharing photos from the event. The festival is know for its unique art installations, and the German-born beauty shared some photos of a giant snake sculpture and large floats. 'Wow:' The America's Got Talent host shared a photo of the duo riding their bikes under a red sunset Love it: Heidi shared a photo of Vito posing by one of the festival's unique rides Burning Man: Heidi shared photos of the artwork, including this giant snake sculpture, with fans on Instagram on Monday Quirky: The famous festival takes place in Nevada Black Rock Desert Up in smoke: The America's Got Talent judge shared video of a giant bonfire as crowds looked on Red hot: The 43-year-old, seen at AGT in Hollywood on Tuesday, has been sharing her Burning Man experience with fans She also posted a video of a giant gold dragon vehicle gliding across the desert, one of the intricate floats created for the alternative festival. Also sharing photos from Burning Man was act Scott Eastwood, who posed with Suicide Squad costar Cara on Sunday. 'Look at this little gem I found at the Burn,' the 30-year-old wrote. 'Incredible': Heidi shared video of a giant dragon float coasting across the desert 'I had an amazing time there. I recommend it to anyone who want a life changing cultural experience.' The 30th festival attracted 70,000 Burners and ended on Sunday with the burning of the giant temple. This year's Burning Man has been hit by controversy when over the weekend, reports surfaced that a controversial 'plug and play' area, founded by a Russian billionaire's son, was targeted by 'hooligans'. Having fun: Actor Scott Eastwood caught up with Suicide Squad costar Cara Delevingne at the festival, which he said was 'a life changing cultural experience' White Ocean Camp, which holds nightly parties featuring famous techno DJs throughout the week-long event in Black Rock City, Nevada, says its campsite was attacked on Wednesday night. The alleged vandalism took place during what the group calls its biggest bash of the week, 'the white party'. The luxury camp was set up by Timur Sardarov - the son of oil magnate Rashid Sardarov - DJ Paul Oakenfold and entrepreneur Oliver Ripley in 2013. She gave birth to her and Sam Claflin's first child in December. But it seems that Laura Haddock is ready to throw herself back into career with aplomb, as the actress stepped out in London to shoot her latest project. Filming scenes for Transformers: The Last Knight on Monday, the actress, 30, slipped into a skin-tight dress which allowed her to flaunt her incredible post-baby body. Silver screen siren: It seems that Laura Haddock is ready to throw herself back into career with aplomb, as the actress stepped out in London to shoot her latest project The British actress, who is most famous for her role in FX's Da Vinci's Demons, certainly looked every inch the screen siren as she shot some street scenes. Laura, who stars alongside the returning Mark Wahlberg in the latest of Michael Bay's robot rumbles, had been kitted out with a figure-flaunting number. Slipping into a navy midi dress, which featured an extremely low-cut neckline, the actress flashed a tantalizing amount of skin whilst also showcasing her trim and toned form. British beauty: Filming scenes for Transformers: The Last Knight on Monday, the actress, 30, slipped into a skin-tight dress which allowed her to flaunt her incredible post-baby body. Adding a pair of matching suede stilettos to the dress, the Londoner's lithe legs were equally thrust into the spotlight while further highlighting her phenomenal figure. Wearing a dainty set of silver necklaces and a matching ring, the actress' look was for the scene was rather minimalistic. With her light brown locks immaculately styled into cascading waves around her shoulders, the star certainly looked ready for the red carpet or the catwalk - let alone the film set. Flaunting her figure: Laura, who stars alongside the returning Mark Wahlberg in the latest of Michael Bay's robot rumbles, had been kitted out with a figure-flaunting number Chic: Slipping into a navy midi dress, which featured an extremely low-cut neckline, the actress flashed a tantalizing amount of skin whilst also showcasing her trim and toned form Skyscraper heels: Adding a pair of matching suede stilettos to the dress, the Londoner's lithe legs were equally thrust into the spotlight while further highlighting her phenomenal figure Brunette beauty: With her light brown locks immaculately styled into cascading waves around her shoulders, the star certainly looked ready for the red carpet or the catwalk Later on in the day the actress changed into a white blazer and blouse, which she paired with skinny jeans and high-heeled boots. With a serious look etched onto her face as she emerged from a building, it looked as though she was filming some intense scenes. But it seems that she wasn't being thrust right into the action just yet, as there was no sign of any of the films titular mechanical monsters on the set (though they can hide in plain sight). Laura was given the task of driving a Chevrolet Camero onto the set, possibly indicating she is the Autobot Bumblebee's latest human companion. Famously given an overhaul from his appearance in the '80s cartoon - in which he transformed into a VW Beetle - in Bey's first film about the robtos, 2007's Transformers, Bumblebee now takes on the form of the iconic mussel car. Bumblebee's new bird? Laura was given the task of driving a Chevrolet Camero onto the set, possibly indicating she is the Autobot Bumblebee's latest human companion Yellow's her colour? Given an overhaul from his appearance in the '80s cartoon in Bey's first Transformers outing, Bumblebee now takes on the form of the iconic mussel car A quick change: Later on in the day the actress changed into a white blazer and blouse, which she paired with skinny jeans and high-heeled boots Why so serious? With a serious look etched onto her face as she emerged from a building, it looked as though she was filming some intense scenes Bumblebee's last faithful companion was Shia LeBouf's Sam Witwicky, although he did join forces with Mark Whalberg in 2014's Age of Extinction to save his leader Optimus Prime. The actress was joined on set by the 45-year-old Ted star, who cut a low-key figure in a navy turtle neck and charcoal trousers and boots. Wearing his hair slicked back off of his face, the actor cut a rugged figure as he reprised the role of Cade Yeager. Ready for action? The actress was joined on set by the 45-year-old co-star Mark Wahlberg, who cut a low-key figure in a navy turtle neck and charcoal trousers and boots As a Loose Women panellist, Katie Price is no doubt crossing her fingers for a win at the TV Choice Awards. And the 38-year-old certainly looked the part in a semi-sheer Valentino gown that beautifully hugged her slim figure ahead of the event on Monday. The blonde beauty pouted as she showed off a hint of her ample cleavage in the floor-skimming creation. Glowing: Katie Price looked uncharacteristically demure in a semi-sheer Valentino gown on Tuesday evening ahead of the TV Choice Awards The ethereal gown featured a Victoriana-style high neck and long sleeves, but made up for the demure detailing with a plunging neckline and sheer hem. Her golden blonde tresses were styled in uncharacteristically loose waves that framed her face and fell down her back. The mother-of-five highlighted her cheekbones with a dash of shimmer and plumped her pout with a nude lipstick. She injected a dose of colour to the outfit with lilac-blue nail polish and added some height with some killer embellished Louboutin stilettos. Sunkissed: The mother-of-five shared a close-up selfie of her expertly applied make-up Throwback shot! She shared a sweet flashback with three of her brood from years ago Clearly aware she was straying from her normal look, she captioned the shot: 'So this is one of this evenings dress options for #tvchoiceawards... 'What do you guys think? Is it me?? #valentino #Louboutin #UndoneGlam' Loose Women is nominated for Best Daytime Show at the awards - but is facing stiff compmetition from ITV's The Chase, BBC1's Pointless and ITV's This Morning. The best family drama category is also dominated by BBC productions, with Call The Midwife, Casualty and Doctor Who going up against ITV's drama The Durrells, starring Keeley Hawes. Just horsing around: Katie looked in her element as she posed alongside her new horse Samson The talent show category will be hotly contested by BBC's Strictly Come Dancing and The Great British Bake Off, which launched to record viewing figures of 11.2 million last month, alongside ITV juggernauts The X Factor and Britain's Got Talent. In the soaps, EastEnders' hardmen Danny Dyer and Steve McFadden will be going head-to-head in the best soap actor category for their roles as Mick Carter and Phil Mitchell. The shortlist is completed by Emmerdale's Danny Miller, as Aaron Dingle, and Jack P Shepherd, as Coronation Street's David Platt. The movie will be her first mainstream release since 2010 The Hollywood star reprises her role as Bridget Jones for first time in 12 years She was joined by supportive boyfriend Doyle Bramhall II Advertisement It was the film that defined a genre, and Bridget Jones was back and as popular as ever on Monday evening as Renee Zellweger led the glamour at the London premiere of Bridget Jones's Baby. Joined by musician boyfriend Doyle Bramhall II, the actress, 47, made a dazzling appearance on Leicester Square, where fans had gathered for a glimpse of the Hollywood star ahead of the romantic comedy's official launch. She was celebrating a rapturous return as hapless Jones, 12-years after last playing the character, and Renee stunned in a one-shoulder satin dress as she posed for photos shortly after making her way onto the appropriately pink carpet. Scroll down for video Stunning: It was the film that defined a genre, but Bridget Jones was back and as popular as ever on Monday evening as Renee Zellweger led the glamour at the London premiere of new film Bridget Jones's Baby Her leading man: Renee was joined by co-stars an onscreen love rivals Patrick Dempsey and Colin Firth The fitted design served to accentuate Renee's slender frame, while a striking tiger brooch gave the look a sophisticated flourish. The veteran star kept her willowy hair tied back, revealing a youthful complexion enhanced by a subtle hint of make-up. Hand in hand with boyfriend Doyle, Renee was in high spirits as she made her way into Leicester Square Odeon ahead of the film's first British screening. Dazzling: Renee was a vision as she made her way across the pink carpet Glamorous display: She was celebrating a rapturous return as hapless Jones, 12-years after last playing the character in, and Renee stunned in a one-shoulder satin dress as she posed for photos shortly after making her way onto the appropriately pink carpet Perfect protagonist: All eyes were on the beautiful lady who plays the very true to life Bridget Jones herself Her own Mr. Darcy: Renee's musician partner Doyle Bramhall II was on hand to support the actress All mine: Doyle gave his special lady a lingering kiss shortly after arriving at the central London event Looking good: The veteran star kept her willowy hair tied back, revealing a youthful complexion enhanced by a subtle hint of naturally toned make-up Monday's event marked a triumphant return to mainstream cinema for the actress, whose forthcoming third appearance as Jones is only her second role in six-years following a comparatively low-key appearance in low-budget road movie My Own Love Song. But she was as popular as ever while indulging fans with a series of selfies and autographs. The actress was joined by co-stars and onscreen love rivals Patrick Dempsey,and Colin Firth, who looked dapper in a sharp, tailored suits as they posed for photos alongside the actress. The Thompson girls: Emma Thompson arrived at the premiere with her daughter Gaia Romilly Wise The look of love: Livia gazed adoringly at her husband Colin Firth as they made their way across the pink carpet Famous faces: Veteran actress Celia Imrie rocked a jazzy look, while Jo Wood channelled the heady days of the '70s and '80s in a catsuit and jacket It's not even a Saturday! Una Healey put on a leggy display in a black gown as she stepped out on the pink carpet Patrick also used the opportunity to show off his twin nine-year-old sons Sullivan and Darby and his daughter Tallula, 14. The Grey's Anatomy star looked distinguished with salt and pepper hair and a hint of stubble. He posed alongside his gorgeous other half Jillian, who stunned in an elegant black column gown that skimmed her slim figure. Upbeat: The Hollywood star was in high spirits as she made her way across the pink carpet outside Leicester Square Odeon on Monday evening Centre of attention: Renee was as popular as ever while indulging fans with a series of selfies and autographs Sign here: The actress indulged fans with a series of selfies and autographs ahead of the film's official launch All eyes on me: The Hollywood veteran was centre of attention as she greeted her fans Meanwhile Colin was hand in hand with Italian wife Livia Giuggioli, who offered her Oscar winning husband adoring glances as they made their way towards Leicester Square Odeon. Colin cut a very slick figure in his suit jacket and trousers, which were tailored to perfection. Keeping it classic with a crisp white shirt underneath, the renowned actor jazzed things up with a monochrome spotty tie as he promoted the new blockbuster. Close: Doyle, best known for his work with Eric Clapton and Roger Waters, held Renee's hand during her big night on Leicester Square Revealing: The actress flashed a nicely toned leg as she posed for photos at the event on Monday evening Coming soon: The new film marks Renee's third appearance as popular screen character Bridget Jones Straightening up: Renee adjusted her fitted dress as prepared for another photo-call on Monday evening Opening up: The actress has previously explained that seeing her alter-ego go through the trials and tribulations of being an expectant mother hasn't put her off the prospect of pregnancy Showing his cool style despite his 55 years, the King's Speech actor sported his favourite retro glasses as he smiled for the cameras. Co-ordinating with her hubby, gorgeous Livia matched his ensemble in a stylish black vest and cigarette trousers. His wife looked incredibly classy in the elegant top, which featured a longer hem at the back and a square neckline. Elsewhere British author Helen Fielding, whose novels inspired the popular film franchise, caught the eye in a thigh-skimming black dress. The 58-year old was in high spirits as she greeted fans before making her way into Leicester Square Odeon - where she enjoyed a happy reunion with leading lady Renee. The pair joined forces with the film's director, Sharon Maguire, and Renee's co-star Sally Field - who sported a cumbersome leg brace after suffering an unexplained accident. In good company: Renee was accompanied by her man as they made their way into the Odeon ahead of its first British screening Say cheese: The pair were in high spirits as they posed for photos in the foyer, with Doyle placing a hand around his partner's waist Co-stars: Renee was accompanied by leading men and onscreen love rivals Patrick Dempsey and Colin Firth, who brought along respective wives Jillian Fink and Livia Giuggioli Good looking family: Patrick looked dapper in a sharp, tailored suit as he proudly showed off his twin nine-year-old sons Sullivan and Darby and his daughter Tallula, 14 Elsewhere Ellie Goulding - rocking Harry Winston diamond rings and bracelets - looked positively glowing as she attended the world premiere in a thigh-skimming backless dress. The risque number revealed a hint of side-boob, and was cut low on her back. Featuring a full miniskirt which flaunted her long lean legs, the dress was cinched in at the waist showing off her toned midriff. And adding a splash of colour the ensemble starred a lilac feather halterneck top with sheer panels flashing a glimpse of cleavage. It's all about the fans: The actor ensured those who had patiently waited for a glimpse of the cast got what they came for Pen in hand: Colin patiently made his way down a lengthy line of autograph hunters ahead of the screening Dapper: Keeping it classic with a crisp white shirt underneath, the renowned actor jazzed things up with a monochrome spotty tie as he promoted the new blockbuster But while Ellie exposed plenty of flesh, fellow singer Rebecca Ferguson covered up in a floor length feathered dress. The former X Factor contestant opted for limited accessories on the night, with a simple neck chain providing a focal point as she greeted fans. Fresh off the back of a controversial appearance on reality show Love Island, Zara Holland commanded attention in a rather more daring ensemble. The former Miss Great Britain stunned in a blue semi-sheer blue that partially revealed her voluptuous frame. Vibrant red lipstick added an extra splash of colour, while her tousled blonde hair was conventionally styled with a simple centre parting. Here she comes: Helen Fielding, whose books inspired the popular film franchise, oped for a thigh-skimming black dress Sign here: The novelist was on hand to greet fans of the book and film franchise Back together at last: Helen enjoyed a happy reunion with Hollywood star Renee on Monday evening Three's company: (L-R) Novelist Helen Fielding, actress Renee Zellweger and director Sharon Maguire joined forces inside Leicester Square Odeon Lady in red: Emma Thompson rocked a slightly off the wall but stylish look in a red trouser suit and nude heels Pixie perfect: The actress wore he blonde locks in a choppy pixie cut, which framed her famous features Her special night: All eyes were on Renee as she made her comeback following six years away from the limelight It's been a while: Monday's event marked a triumphant return to mainstream cinema for the actress, whose forthcoming third appearance as Jones is only her second role in six-years following a comparatively low-key appearance in low-budget road movie My Own Love Song Fancy meeting you here: The star enjoyed an animated chat with British co-star Sally Phillips Painful: Actress and comedienne Sally sported a cumbersome leg brace at the premiere after suffering an unexplained injury helping hand: An assistant was close by as Sally gingerly adjusted her leg brace on the pink carpet Elsewhere Jamelia looked chic in an elegant black jumpsuit as she posed up a storm for photographers on Monday evening. The singer and presenter teased her hair into a tight bun, while chandelier earrings proved to be a tasteful addition to her ensemble. Marvin and Rochelle Humes also didn't disappoint as they attended the world premiere on Monday. They stylish duo looked every inch the chic power couple as they put in an appearance for the long-awaited third installment of the hit film. Rochelle showed off her long lithe legs in a thigh-skimming high neck dress featuring a feather print and lace sleeves. Coordinating with the sheer look, the former Saturdays star wore knee-high lace- up sandals. Racy: Ellie Goulding showed plenty of skin, walking the red carpet in a thigh-skimming backless dress Looking good: Featuring a full miniskirt which flaunted her long lean legs, the dress was cinched in at the waist showing off her toned midriff Spicing it up: Adding a splash of colour the ensemble starred a lilac feather halterneck top with sheer panels flashing a glimpse of cleavage Stunning: Ellie - rocking Harry Winston diamond rings and bracelets - flashed her legs as she crossed the pink carpet in a pair of black stiletto heels The mother-of-one wore her ombre hair in loose shoulder-length waves and showed off her natural beauty under minimal make-up. Bridget Jones' Baby catches up with Bridget who is now working a news producer, with awards under her belt and a more balanced approach to life than in the previous two movies. However, her life is about to be turned upside down once again, as she discovers she's pregnant. And Bridget is unsure whether the father of the child is the faithful Mark Darcy, (Colin Firth), or the dashing American Jack Qwant, played by Greys Anatomys Doctor McDreamy (Patrick Dempsey). And before attending the premiere on Monday evening, Renee appeared on Good Morning Britain ahead of the premiere and revealed that wearing a prosthetic bump for her role made her yearn for motherhood. Celebrity guest: Singer Rebecca Ferguson made her presence felt at the London premiere on Monday evening No one's ruffling her feathers: The former X factor star opted for a floor length feathered evening dress for her appearance at the event Keeping it simple: Limited accessories ensured the ensemble stood out as she posed for snaps The actress explained seeing her alter-ego go through the trials and tribulations of being an expectant mother hasn't put her off the prospect of pregnancy. Joining Kate Garraway in the Good Moring Britain gallery on Monday ahead of the premiere of the third movie in the franchise, Renee described parenthood as 'an adventure'. When asked by Kate whether wearing the bump made her fancy it for real, Renee was in no doubt, quickly answering: 'Of course, what an adventure! 'Kudos to the real mums out there who cant take it off at the end of the day its quite a load.' Before the film went into production, and despite her acting success, Renee had taken a six-year break away from the silver screen Traveling to Liberia for a womens charity, and spending time with her family, Renee explained the reasoning behind her decision to take some time away from the limelight. Sweeping statement: Zara Holland stunned in a blue semi-sheer gown at the London premiere on Monday evening Eye-catching: The busty ensemble ensured the former Miss Great Britain was hard to miss Picture perfect: The blonde model was a glamorous sight as she greeted photographers at the event Tasteful: Red lipstick and subdued foundation and blusher complimented the striking look She added during her Good Morning Britain interview: '[I wanted ] to have a little bit of normalcy. Learn some things that werent about researching a character. A different kind of life experience thats all.' No stranger to Good Morning Britain, Renee came to visit GMB gallery this time last year as 'work experience' for her new role. She explained: 'Everyone in the gallery was very generous to let us come in among the controlled chaos, and there is so much, I had no idea the potential for extraordinary disaster at every moment.' In fact the breakfast show's crew made such a good impression on the film's producers, they even made a cameo in the film. When asked why we all love the character Bridget so much, Renee was in no doubt, telling Kate: Because of her humanity, shes insecure and were privy to her anxieties. 'We all relate to being the face of escalating disaster and not being able to do anything about it. It gives us all permission to be imperfect as well. Its inspiring.' All loved-up: Marvin and Rochelle Humes arrived at the premiere looking happier than ever Cosy couple: The former Saturdays singer and her pop star beau were all smiles Two years ago, Renee raised eyebrows on the red carpet of Elle magazines Women In Hollywood Awards, by turning up with an apparently thinner face and wider, open eyes. She has adamantly denied she had plastic surgery for the event, and last week explained her altered appearance was down, not to any artificial procedure, but to simple preoccupation. She said: 'Id been staying with a friend in Los Angeles and the month before shed been diagnosed with ALS [a neurological disease]. 'The reason I went to that event was that she wanted me to go, so she could be on the red carpet with me and prove to herself she wasnt being defeated by this terrible disease. 'And thats what I was thinking about that day. I wasnt thinking about what I looked like or what people thought. I was thinking about my friend.' She said the idea of ageing has never held any fears for her. She's a Superstar: Singer and Loose Women panellist Jamelia looked typically sassy in a cinched black jumpsuit Red alert: Bold lipstick added a splash of colour to her cool, sophisticated look Stunning in silver: Supermodel Laura Bailey was an eye catching sight on the pink carpet He's a fan: Olympian diver Tom Daley looked sartorially impressive as he walked the pink carpet A little sheepish? Christopher Biggins made an appearance after he was recently axed from CBB for 'Nazi joke' Renee explained: 'I think a woman only gets more interesting as she gets older. Youth and superficial beauty have their place and that is, understandably, celebrated to a degree. But thats so fleeting and its only for a moment in your life. 'As you mature, youre not just getting older, youre becoming more of who you are supposed to be, and becoming the best version of yourself, better and more interesting. 'Its a more powerful beauty and its a more valuable beauty. Besides I dont want to stay the same! Im curious about what comes next!' She wouldn't miss it for the world: While the return of Cold Feet screened on national televisions, Fay Ripley was at the movie premiere They look good together: Former weather girl Tania Bryer arrived with her husband of two months, hedge fund manager Rod Barker Jewel: She wore an emerald green satin suit over a plunging lace bodysuit as she arrived She's got something she wants to say: Actress Sarah Solemani used her moment in the spotlight to petition for creches on film sets All in black: Former Pussycat Doll Kimberly Wyatt took a night off from mommy duty to check out the movie Renee's co-star Patrick Dempsey spent Monday morning chatting to Lorraine Kelly on her ITV morning show. The actor, 50, is k nown to millions of fans as McDreamy, after spending 11 years playing as neurosurgeon Dr. Derek 'McDreamy' Shepherd in the hit US drama Grey's Anatomy. In the much anticipated film, Patrick plays Jack Qwant, Bridget's new American fling, but doesn't know whether he is the baby's father or not. Patrick looked equally as dashing as his smooth talking character, wearing a charcoal grey suit and black and white spotted to talk about the film. Breaking Hollywood: The breakfast show's crew made such a good impression on the film's producers, they even made a cameo She's one lucky lady: She enjoys a smooch with Patrick Dempsey in one scene in the upcoming flick He then stopped by the This Morning studios alongside co-star Colin Firth to chat to hosts Phillip Schofield and Holly Willoughby about the film. Patrick said: 'I was a little nervous [about joining the franchise] because you don't know how you're going to fit in, but everyone was very accommodating. 'Enough time had passed so that it allowed us to get to know each other. Colin and I have a great connection, a great sense of humour. The chemistry came along.' Colin added: 'We all felt like new boys and girls. We were supposed to slip back into it but I'd forgotten about it.' The first time Patrick heard Renee's American voice was when she started doing press for the film, which he admitted confused him 'greatly' because he had thought of her as having a British accent like Bridget. He joked: 'Renee's Texas accent confused me greatly. She's supposed to be from Croydon or Oxfordshire or somewhere. She keeps the accent on set throughout and she never breaks character. '[Renee and I] have kept in touch but we live 6,000 miles apart. We've seen each other but we're not like a rock band, who tour - we have our lives. Coming back together was lovely. It was like a rather dysfunctional family reunion.' And the actor heaped praise on Renee for carting round her prosthetic baby bump throughout filming. He said: 'Renee doesn't really weigh very much but she took off the bump and said "Look, this is what you've been carrying".' Bridget Jones's Baby is in UK cinemas on Friday. They never put a fashion foot wrong. And Marvin and Rochelle Humes didn't disappoint as they attended the world premiere of Bridget Jones' Baby in London on Monday. They stylish duo looked every inch the chic power couple as they put in an appearance for the long-awaited third installment of the hit film. Scroll down for video Stylish duo: Marvin and Rochelle Humes didn't disappoint as they attended the world premiere of Bridget Jones' Baby in London on Monday Rochelle, 27, showed off her long lithe legs in a thigh-skimming high neck dress featuring a feather print and lace sleeves. Coordinating with the sheer look, the former Saturdays star wore knee-high lace- up sandals. The mother-of-one wore her ombre hair in loose shoulder-length waves and showed off her natural beauty under minimal make-up. Power couple: They stylish duo looked every inch the chic power couple as they put in an appearance for the long-awaited third installment of the hit film Lacy lady: Rochelle, 27, showed off her long lithe legs in a thigh-skimming high neck dress featuring a feather print and lace sleeves Going for defined brows, a touch of highlighter and lipgloss, the brunette put on an elegant appearance. And her 31-year-old husband looked equally handsome in black skinny jeans and a matching shirt with a white collar. Adding a casual twist with a burgundy bomber, the radio DJ put on a handsome display. And lady of the moment Renee Zellweger also put in a stylish appearance, attending the premiere in a navy off-the-shoulder pencil dress. Elegant: Lady of the moment Renee Zellweger also put in a stylish appearance, attending the premiere in a navy off-the-shoulder pencil dress Accessorizing with a stylish brooch and delicate sandals, the 47-year-old actress wore her hair in a simple up-do. And a suited Patrick Dempsey made the night a family affair, turning up with his wife and three children. The film catches up with Bridget who is now working a news producer, with awards under her belt and a more balanced approach to life than in the previous two movies. However, her life is about to be turned upside down once again, as she discovers she's pregnant. And Bridget is unsure whether the father of the child is the faithful Mark Darcy, (Colin Firth), or the dashing American Jack Qwant, played by Greys Anatomys Doctor McDreamy (Patrick Dempsey). Chic: Accessorizing with a stylish brooch and delicate sandals, the 47-year-old actress wore her hair in a simple up-do Suave: A suited Patrick Dempsey made the night a family affair, turning up with his wife and three children Earlier in the day Renee revealed that wearing a prosthetic bump in Bridget Jones's Baby has made her yearn for motherhood. The actress who plays the hugely-popular titular character - explained seeing her alter-ego go through the trials and tribulations of being an expectant mother hasn't put her off the prospect of pregnancy. Joining Kate Garraway in the Good Moring Britain gallery on Monday ahead of the premiere of the third movie in the franchise, Renee described parenthood as 'an adventure'. Mum's the word: Renee has revealed that wearing a prosthetic bump in Bridget Jones's Baby has made her yearn for motherhood When asked by Kate whether wearing the bump made her fancy it for real, Renee was in no doubt, quickly answering: 'Of course, what an adventure! 'Kudos to the real mums out there who cant take it off at the end of the day its quite a load.' Before the film went into production, and despite her acting success, Renee had taken a six-year break away from the silver screen. Plenty to smile about: The actress explained seeing her alter-ego go through the trials and tribulations of being an expectant mother hasn't put her off the prospect of pregnancy Round of applause: No stranger to Good Morning Britain, Renee came to visit GMB gallery this time last year as work experience for her new role Exciting! Joining Kate Garraway in the Good Moring Britain gallery on Monday ahead of the premiere of the third movie in the franchise, Renee described parenthood as 'an adventure' Traveling to Liberia for a womens charity, and spending time with her family, Renee explained the reasoning behind her decision to take some time away from the limelight. She added during her Good Morning Britain interview: '[I wanted ] to have a little bit of normalcy. Learn some things that werent about researching a character. A different kind of life experience thats all.' No stranger to Good Morning Britain, Renee came to visit GMB gallery this time last year as 'work experience' for her new role. Time out: Before the film went into production, and despite her acting success, Renee had taken a six-year break away from the screen Changing it up: Traveling to Liberia for a womens charity, and spending time with her family, Renee explained the reasoning behind her decision to take some time away Doing well: The film catches up with Bridget who is now working a news producer, with awards under her belt and a more balanced approach to life She explained: 'Everyone in the gallery was very generous to let us come in among the controlled chaos, and there is so much, I had no idea the potential for extraordinary disaster at every moment.' In fact the breakfast show's crew made such a good impression on the film's producers, they even made a cameo in the film. When asked why we all love the character Bridget so much, Renee was in no doubt, telling Kate: Because of her humanity, shes insecure and were privy to her anxieties. Behind the scenes: Everyone in the gallery was very generous to let us come in among the controlled chaos... I had no idea the potential for extraordinary disaster at every moment Breaking Hollywood: The breakfast show's crew made such a good impression on the film's producers, they even made a cameo 'We all relate to being the face of escalating disaster and not being able to do anything about it. It gives us all permission to be imperfect as well. Its inspiring.' Two years ago, Renee raised eyebrows on the red carpet of Elle magazines Women In Hollywood Awards, by turning up with an apparently thinner face and wider, open eyes. She has adamantly denied she had plastic surgery for the event, and last week explained her altered appearance was down, not to any artificial procedure, but to simple preoccupation. Chic: Renee dressed appropriately for the British autumn in a chic navy blue belted mac and stylish tan stiletto heels New look? Two years ago, Renee raised eyebrows on the red carpet of Elle magazines Women In Hollywood Awards, by turning up with an apparently thinner face and wider, open eyes She said: 'Id been staying with a friend in Los Angeles and the month before shed been diagnosed with ALS [a neurological disease]. 'The reason I went to that event was that she wanted me to go, so she could be on the red carpet with me and prove to herself she wasnt being defeated by this terrible disease. 'And thats what I was thinking about that day. I wasnt thinking about what I looked like or what people thought. I was thinking about my friend.' Bridget is back! The Bridget Jones's Baby world premiere is taking place in London's Leicester Square on Monday night She said the idea of ageing has never held any fears for her. Renee explained: 'I think a woman only gets more interesting as she gets older. Youth and superficial beauty have their place and that is, understandably, celebrated to a degree. But thats so fleeting and its only for a moment in your life. 'As you mature, youre not just getting older, youre becoming more of who you are supposed to be, and becoming the best version of yourself, better and more interesting. 'Its a more powerful beauty and its a more valuable beauty. Besides I dont want to stay the same! Im curious about what comes next!' Whose the daddy? In the third installment, Bridget is pregnant and shes unsure whether the father of the child is the faithful Mark Darcy or new fling Jack Qwant Renee's co-star Patrick Dempsey spent Monday morning chatting to Lorraine Kelly on her ITV morning show. The actor, 50, is k nown to millions of fans as McDreamy, after spending 11 years playing as neurosurgeon Dr. Derek 'McDreamy' Shepherd in the hit US drama Grey's Anatomy. In the much anticipated film, Patrick plays Jack Qwant, Bridget's new American fling, but doesn't know whether he is the baby's father or not. Dashing: Renee's co-star Patrick Dempsey, spent Monday morning chatting to Lorraine in the comfy chair Well known: The 50-year-old actor is known to millions of fans as McDreamy, after spending 11 years playing as neurosurgeon Dr. Derek 'McDreamy' Shepherd in US drama Grey's Anatomy Cliff hanger: In the much anticipated film Patrick plays Jack Qwant, Bridget's new American fling, but doesn't know whether he is the baby's father or not Patrick looked equally as dashing as his smooth talking character, wearing a charcoal grey suit and black and white spotted to talk about the film. He then stopped by the This Morning studios alongside co-star Colin Firth to chat to hosts Phillip Schofield and Holly Willoughby about the film. Patrick said: 'I was a little nervous [about joining the franchise] because you don't know how you're going to fit in, but everyone was very accommodating. 'Enough time had passed so that it allowed us to get to know each other. Colin and I have a great connection, a great sense of humour. The chemistry came along.' Colin added: 'We all felt like new boys and girls. We were supposed to slip back into it but I'd forgotten about it.' The first time Patrick heard Renee's American voice was when she started doing press for the film, which he admitted confused him 'greatly' because he had thought of her as having a British accent like Bridget. Premiere: Both Renee and Patrick will be appearing on the red-carpet later on Monday as they attend the premiere in the West End He joked: 'Renee's Texas accent confused me greatly. She's supposed to be from Croydon or Oxfordshire or somewhere. She keeps the accent on set throughout and she never breaks character. '[Renee and I] have kept in touch but we live 6,000 miles apart. We've seen each other but we're not like a rock band, who tour - we have our lives. Coming back together was lovely. It was like a rather dysfunctional family reunion.' And the actor heaped praise on Renee for carting round her prosthetic baby bump throughout filming. He said: 'Renee doesn't really weigh very much but she took off the bump and said "Look, this is what you've been carrying".' Bridget Jones's Baby is in UK cinemas on Friday. She's no stranger to walking the red carpet. So it was no surprise to see This Morning's Holly Willoughby pulling out a sassy sartorial look for her arrival at Monday's TV Choice Awards in London. Hitting the red carpet at the Dorchester Hotel in Mayfair, the 35-year-old put flaunted her tanned and toned legs, thanks to her flirty white mini dress. Scroll down for video Sassy and chic: This Morning's Holly Willoughby pulling out a sassy sartorial look for her arrival at Monday's TV Choice Awards in London Arriving solo at the event, Holly flashed a hint of cleavage thanks to the thigh-grazing dress' dipping neckline - though she obscured her bossom with a long silk scarf. Adding a pair of towering black stilettos to the mix, the Brighton-born star ensured her pins were firmly in the limelight. Wearing her trademark blonde locks coiffed into shoulder-length waves, Holly chose to accentuate her plump pout with a slick of ruby red lipstick. She kept her look simple and chic by choosing to go without a multitude of accessories. Flirty fashion: Hitting the red carpet at the Dorchester Hotel in Mayfair, the 35-year-old put flaunted her tanned and toned legs, thanks to her flirty white mini dress Clearly looking forward to the event, the bubbly presenter couldn't help but flash a beaming smile as she made her entrance at the hotel. The presenter was rewarded for all her hard work alongside Phillip Schofield on This Morning, as the show scooped The Best Daytime show award later on in the evening. Though they face steep competition from Loose Women, The Chase and Pointless. Earlier on in the day This Morning viewers flooded social media with praise for the return of Holly and her co-star Phillip Schofield. A hint of skin: Arriving solo at the event, Holly flashed a hint of cleavage thanks to the thigh-grazing dress' dipping neckline - though she obscured her decolletage with a long silk scarf Adding a pair of towering black stilettos to the mix, the Brighton-born star ensured her pins were firmly in the limelight. But they weren't expecting the gorgeous new addition to the ITV family, when Holly and Phil welcomed a fluffy new Labradoodle. The 10-week-old Guide Dog puppy - who is the half sister of resident This Morning puppy Clover - was named Luna by viewers and seemed to help brighten the back to school and end of summer woes. 'Holly and Phil are back on This Morning and everything is right with the world,' said one Twitter user. 'Cannot explain how happy I am,' said another, while one fan added: 'I've missed Holly and Phillip so much.' NOMINATIONS FOR THE TV CHOICE AWARDS Best Drama Series Nominated: Downton Abbey ITV Happy Valley BBC1 Line Of Duty BBC2 Peaky Blinders BBC2 Best Daytime Show Nominated: The Chase ITV Loose Women ITV Pointless BBC1 This Morning ITV Best International Show Nominated: The Big Bang Theory E4 Game Of Thrones Sky Atlantic Outlander Amazon Prime Video The Walking Dead Fox Best Comedy Nominated: Benidorm ITV Birds Of A Feather ITV Russell Howard's Good News BBC2 Stella Sky1 Best actor Nominations: Peter Capaldi (Dr Who) Jim Carter (Downton Abbey) Tom Hiddleston (The Night Manager) Cillian Murphy (Peaky Blinders) Best soap newcomer Nominations: Gemma Atkinson, Carly Hope (Emmerdale) Riley Carter Millington, Kyle Slater (EastEnders) Isobel Steele, Liv Flaherty (Emmerdale) Shayne Ward, Aidan Connor (Coronation Street) Best New Drama Nominated: Doctor Foster BBC1 Marcella ITV The Night Manager BBC1 War & Peace BBC1 Best Entertainment Show Nominated: 8 Out Of 10 Cats Does Countdown C4 Ant & Dec's Saturday Night Takeaway ITV Celebrity Juice ITV2, The Graham Norton Show BBC1 Best Reality Show Nominated: Bear Grylls: Mission Survive ITV Celebrity Big Brother C5, I'm a Celebrity Get Me Out Of Here! ITV The Only Way Is Essex ITVBe Best Lifestyle Show Nominated: Antiques Roadshow BBC1 DIY SOS: The Big Build BBC1 Gogglebox C4 Tattoo Fixers E4 Best soap actress Nominations: Paula Lane, Kylie Platt (Coronation Street) Jennifer Metcalfe, Mercedes McQueen (Hollyoaks) Lucy Pargeter, Chas Dingle (Emmerdale) Lacey Turner, Stacey Fowler (EastEnders) Best Soap Nominated: Coronation Street ITV EastEnders BBC1 Emmerdale ITV Hollyoaks C4 Advertisement They're back! Holly Willoughby (right) and Phillip Schofield (left) were back on This Morning on Monday and the viewers couldn't have been more pleased A new addition: They weren't the only ones taking the limelight though, as the duo welcomed a 10-week-old Guide Dog puppy called Luna So cute: Luna took an instant liking to Holly that morning Affectionate: Holly even suggested that they name the dog 'Licky' Giddy: Viewers were absolutely delighted to start September with Holly and Phil It seemed like some viewers were deliberately tuning back in to the breakfast show, to mark the return of the on-screen double act, who have been on holiday for seven weeks. 'Lowkey glad Holly and Phillip are back...' said one fan. 'Can get my daily TM fix again' Like reuniting with old friends, another said: 'Turning over to This Morning just because Holly and Phillip are back! Happy girl :) Missed you guys!' This week will see children all over the UK returning to school and Holly and Phil appeared to be offering a little light relief for the big occasion. Checking on her priorities, one viewer said: 'I squealed so loud at Holly and Phil back on This Morning that Dad thought I'd got some news about Third Year #proirities' Making friends: Presenter Rylan Clarke got straight in with the selfies Too cute: Luna is the half sister of resident puppy Clover A new name: The Labradoodle puppy was named by the ITV audience Another lamented: 'My youngest starts college tomorrow.. thankfully I have Holly and Phil to help pass the time @thismorning' And while others couldn't make it into the classroom, Holly and Phil were a nice surprise for the morning. 'So glad Holly and Phil are back on @thismorning making my sick day so much better.' Holly and Phil were on top form, too, sharing giggles over little Luna, shirtless celebrity chef Gino D'Acampo and their summer holiday memories. Missed them: Twitter was flooded with positive responses from the viewers On top form: The duo were closer than ever after a summer spent actually together Jokers: The duo have not actually been spending their summer apart, it seems 'The highlight of my day is when Holly and Phil fall about in fits of laughter on This Morning,' said one enthusiastic viewer. After all, the duo have barely been apart all summer, having accompanied their individual families on a joint holiday. At the start of the show, Holly said to Phil: 'I know you've had a good summer - I spent most it with you.' In August, Holly and Phil paid tribute to lovebirds Taylor Swift and Tom Hiddleston when they shared a playful photograph in 'I [HEART] P.S' and 'I [HEART] H.W' T-shirts. 'They were a present from Martin, our editor. It was our little nod to Taylor Swift and we thought we'd recreate that moment.' Also on the show: Rylan Clark was also back, this time with X Factor actor Ottavio and Bradley One big happy family: The pair introduced their 'new baby' on the show Cold Feet Rating: Some things dont change. Its been 13 years, but Pete still hero-worships Adam. Clever Karen is still too nice for her own good. And Cold Feet (ITV) back for an eight-part relaunch is still the best in its class, a silly romantic comedy thats shot through with pain and grief. American TV has been excelling at these lightweight, ensemble dramas for years, ever since Thirtysomething in the Eighties, but Mike Bullens show set in Manchester and debuting in 1997 was the first time that British television got the format just right. Moving on: James Nesbitt as Adam with his younger fiancee Angela in Cold Feet Reunited: The cast of Cold Feet back for a new eight-part series on ITV, launching tonight Largely thats due to perfect casting. Charmer Adam is a selfish pain-in-the-bottom, and James Nesbitt still plays him as though he doesnt even have to act. Bumbling Pete forever expects and accepts the worst, rather like actor John Thomson, the forgotten man of The Fast Show, who admits he was on his way to audition for panto when he heard Cold Feet was coming back. Posh Hermione Norris is utterly believable as supercilious, soft-hearted Karen, while her ex David is played by Robert Bathurst, a man so born for dimwit aristo roles that even his name sounds like a stately home. Then theres Fay Ripley, who has been playing hospital matrons and police inspectors since leaving Cold Feet in 2001 just the sort of competent, bossy jobs youd expect her character Jenny to do. Theyre all older, of course, and mostly in their fifties now, but not so very different. Their children, on the other hand, are unrecognisable the toddlers of the original series are teens now, smoking dope and fancying each other at weddings. Old friends: From left to right, Robert Bathurst, Hermoine Norris, James Nesbitt, Helen Baxendale, John Thomson and Faye Ripley, in the original series three of Cold Feet The ageing process gives Bullen a chance to weave a melancholic thread through the narrative, which had widower Adam returning from Singapore with a fiancee whos 18 years his junior. Over cheap lager and prawn balls on his stag night, the self-styled Three Amigos, the elderly lads of Cold Feet, reflected glumly on their mid-life disappointments. Im not happy, David confessed. I have little fleeting moments ... maybe in middle age thats the best we can hope for. One of the great pleasures of being fiftysomething, of course, is feeling sorry for yourself. Its so much less exhausting than being cheerful. But the story didnt stay downbeat for long. There were typical bursts of knockabout comedy, like the moment when Adam, in the minicab he has borrowed from taxi driver Pete, is mistaken for a cabbie. His fare, naturally, turns out to be his new landlady, who lives across the hall Adam might be engaged, but he can never be surrounded by too many smitten women. Growing up: Fay Ripley, John Thomson, Hermione Norris and Robert Bathurst in Cold Feet The plot sometimes strayed into sheer fantasy. Angela (Karen David) was the daughter of an Asian billionaire, a Muslim businessman who seemed entirely happy to see his daughter, and her fortune, spliced to an English neer-do-well almost twice her age. He didnt even object when the ceremony was hurriedly held in a half-empty church with none of his own family or associates there. Who knew Far East oligarchs were so laid back? This kind of whimsy was a trait of the original show, but it feels naive now perhaps because lost innocence is one of the debits of ageing. We ceased long ago to believe in Father Christmas and Asian billionaires. It's been three months since his shock split from Taylor Swift, but it looks like Calvin Harris has moved on. The 32-year-old was spotted walking arm-in-arm with Mexican actress Eiza Gonzalez as he left a party in Los Angeles on Sunday. And a source for Us Weekly reported: 'They recently started hanging out, and it's very new.' Taylor, who? Calvin Harris seems to have moved on from ex-girlfriend Swift as he was spotted walking arm-in-arm with Mexican actress Eiza Gonzalez on Sunday in Los Angeles 'They both really wanted to keep it low-key for a while, but once these photos came out, they knew that wasn't going to happen. They're both happy and just seeing where things go for now,' the source added. The 26-year-old actress certainly looked happy as she flashed a wide grin while walking with Calvin, both dressed in all-black ensembles. Eiza wore a plunging, sheer black jumpsuit with a cut-out along the front, as her long, brunette tresses cascaded over her shoulders. Moving on: Calvin and the From Dusk Till Dawn star are said to be 'hanging out' following his split from Taylor She showed off a dark pedicure, and carried a black leather jacket as well as a small, black clutch with one hand, while the other held onto Calvin. Calvin coordinated in a long-sleeved black shirt, fitted, black trousers, and matching sneakers. The tactile shot comes three months after Calvin's split from Taylor, with the DJ confirming the split via Twitter on June 2. Case of the ex: The DJ dated ex Taylor for 15 months, but confirmed their split on Twitter this past June (pictured at the 2015 Billboard Music Awards) 'The only truth here is that a relationship came to an end & what remains is a huge amount of love and respect,' he had tweeted, before the amicable split got a bit messier the following month with drama surrounding who penned his hit single This Is What You Came For. Calvin has recently been linked to Tinashe, who he collaborated with on the song Dollar Signs. But she insisted nothing serious was going on between them, telling E!: 'I mean, I'm still definitely single, so that's all that we're at right now.' Since her split from Calvin, Taylor has begun a relationship with 35-year-old The Avengers star Tom Hiddleston. Meanwhile, Eiza's love life had previously made headlines as she was spotted kissing Miley Cyrus's ex Liam Hemsworth not long after the actor had ended his engagement with the Wrecking Ball star in 2013. Hard at work: Eiza, who is also the face of Neutrogena, plays Santanico Pandemonium on From Dusk Till Dawn, which also stars Wilmer Valderrama The fling was short-lived, and Liam has since reunited with Miley. Most recently Eiza was linked to From Dusk Till Dawn co-star D.J. Cotrona, with the pair confirming their relationship after Labor Day Weekend in 2014. The duo last shared romantic photos of each other on Instagram in February of 2015, and were spotted on the beach together in Miami in November of that year. She's known for her incredible figure as one of Australia's up-and-coming models. And on Tuesday, Megan Blake Irwin showed off her impressive physique in a tiny red and white bikini. Going makeup free, the rumoured ex of Scott Disick shared a snap of herself relaxing in a sun chair poolside. Scroll down for video Red hot! Scott Disick's rumoured ex Megan Blake Irwin showed off her flawless figure in a tiny Solid & Striped bikini on Tuesday Flaunting her soft golden tan, the 22-year-old blonde reclined on her side for the sultry snap. The statuesque stunner held one hand to her hair as she played with her messy tresses. She covered her face with a pair of gold-tinted aviator sunglasses and wore a gold ring on her finger. Going places: The blonde is one of Australia's up-and-coming models Megan - who is believe to be back in New York after a short trip to Australia - captioned the snap: 'What Hurricane Storm!? #WeekendAway #PoolSide #Reflection @SolidAndStriped,' adding a love heart emoticon. It comes after Megan wished fellow Australian model Montana Cox a happy birthday two days ago. Taking to Instagram, she shared a snap of the pair cuddling as Montana wore love heart sunglasses and a happy birthday tiara. Pals: Megan wished fellow Australian model Montana Cox a happy birthday just two days ago Megan wrote online: 'Monty my love, Happy Birthday.. I love you more than smashed avo! @MontanaCox1 #HappyBirthday #LoveYaFace #AfterDinnerMints.' Megan has recently been in Australia to serve as an ambassador for this year's Sydney Spring Carnival. At an event last week, she stunned in a lilac and brown lace dress and pink star crown as she posed by a flower wall. Megan has recently been linked to Kourtney Kardashian's ex Scott Disick, 33. Pretty as a picture: Megan has recently been in Australia to serve as an ambassador for this year's Sydney Spring Carnival She had been spotted partying with the father of three in Los Angeles several times this year. But she refused to confirm if she is dating the 32-year-old father-of-three during an interview on The Morning Show last month. 'I do know Scott, we're friends, but I've made a lot of great new friends in LA and New York,' she said, before clarifying: 'Not just him, a bunch of people.' She has since been spotted kissing a new mystery man in New York, who is believed to be her new boyfriend. According to recent reports she is planning a secret wedding with her toyboy boyfriend Nikolai von Bismarck, 29. And Kate Moss looked happy and relaxed as she was spotted running errands in North London. The 42-year-old supermodel worked rock chic in a bomber and legging combo. Scroll down for video Rock chick: Kate Moss looked happy and relaxed as she was spotted running errands in North London wearing a varsity jacket by Coach Showing off her long lithe legs she rocked black fitted leggings. And making the most of her statuesque figure she wore matching killer heel boots. Adding a splash of colour the mother-of-one wore an oversized orange bomber with leather sleeves, emblazoned with the Princeton logo. Looking every inch the uber-chic model, she accessorised with a low slung satchel bag and dark sunglasses. Stylish: The 42-year-old supermodel worked rock chic in a bomber and legging combo Model credentials: Showing off her long lithe legs she rocked black fitted leggings And posing up a storm she showed off her outfit from every angle, flaunting the dinosaur patch on the back. Meanwhile it's rumoured she's planning a low-key wedding to Nikolai. She chose the Cotswolds for her 2011 wedding with Jamie Hince. But according to a new report Kate has very different plans when it comes to tying the knot with her boyfriend of one year Nikolai von Bismarck. The Sun claim that the model and Nikolai have started making plans to have a low-key wedding in Greece after falling in love with the country during a summer break. Bright display! Adding a splash of colour the mother-of-one wore an oversized orange bomber with leather sleeves, emblazoned with the Princeton logo Ready to wed? Kate and boyfriend Nikolai von Bismarck have started making plans to have a low-key wedding in Greece according to a new report The report claims that Kate and her beau scouted venues while holidaying in Hydra for nearly a month this summer, where they were joined by pals including the Duchess of York and Kate's ex Jefferson Hack. The couple are reportedly hoping to tie the knot before Christmas, but Kate wants to wait until her divorce from Jamie Hince is finalised before sending out invites. 'They fell in love with Greece after jetting there last month and got the ball rolling by planning the wedding while out there,' an insider claims, adding that unlike her traditional white wedding to Jamie, Kate wants a more intimate do. 'Both want a low key ceremony with a handful of friends and family. The plan is to head back to London to celebrate with a larger group.' Making plans: The Sun claims that Kate and her beau scouted venues while holidaying in Hydra for nearly a month this summer Greece is one of Kate's favourite destinations, with the top model spending part of her 2011 honeymoon on a yacht off the coast of Kefalonia. A representative for Kate has been contacted by MailOnline for comment. The star fuelled speculation she was heading down the aisle for a second time as she flashed a a large sapphire and diamond ring on her engagement finger last month. The Mirror Online reports that the couple were enjoying a romantic meal together in Venice this summer, before Nikolai was seen 'on one knee' exclaiming 'I love you' in Italian. White wedding: Unlike her traditional white wedding in the Cotswolds to Jamie Hince in 2011, Kate wants a more intimate do in Greece Restaurant owner Giovanni Fracassi told the website: 'He shouted out ti amo, and then went down on his knee. It was very romantic. 'He took out a ring and it was funny because he said its for after she is divorced. They were very much in love and she seemed so happy, I never saw her so happy before.' If Kate is engaged, the star will have to wait a while before tying the knot, as she is still legally married to The Kills guitarist Jamie. The Vogue covergirl - who has a daughter Lila Grace, 13, with ex-partner, publisher Jefferson Hack - married Jamie in 2011, but the couple separated last year. Theres nothing more depressing than the last day of your summer holiday. Unless it was the farewell episode about the gangs sojourn in Cannes on Made In Chelsea: South Of France. Its like the end of an era ! lamented Louise, as if the experience had been Historic - on a par with Brexit or the death of David Bowie (only entirely meaningless). The end of an error more like. Farewell to friends? The farewell episode about the Made In Chelsea gangs sojourn in Cannes left fans wondering if Alex Mytton and Jamie Laing's bromance was dead and buried The deeply tedious six weeks had been even more vacuous than the usual series at home, mostly because the drama was based around three insipid, absurd, romances involving Francis & Olivia, Jess & Maxence, and Jamie & Frankie. Louises supposed dalliance with Ryan was so fleeting it made the others look like Tolstoy, while the significance of Binkys holiday hooking up was hard to judge because we didnt see it or discover who it was with. The fact that the scriptwriters couldnt even be bothered to script the scene showing her kissing a man who wasnt JP would have been the highlight of the series and our summer. Or maybe it didnt happen at all... Instead we were reduced to watching the coming together of two families in the shape of a jovial encounter between the Thompsons mum and the Watsons dad: hardly Game Of Thrones. The travails or happiness of Francis Boule was a complete waste of time because a) hes not really in the show any more as his departure for Ghana confirmed and b) the sight of two women (Olivia and Toff) fighting over him was no more interesting or convincing than one given hes no Spencer Matthews. Is she really that evil? The only vaguely engaging point of interest was the mutually poisonous alliance that was Jamie Laing and Frankie Gaff The only vaguely engaging point of interest was the mutually poisonous alliance that was Jamie Laing and Frankie Gaff. The aptly-named Gaff was a previously anonymous blonde who lied and manipulated her way through the series in order to claim Jamie for her own at the expense of his best bruv Alex Mytton. She thereby used the SOF spin-off to soar past the likes of Stephanie and Victoria and seize the fiercely contested title of Most Unpleasant Person on Made In Chelsea. Even Binky noticed. Gaff by name... The aptly-named Gaff was a previously anonymous blonde who lied and manipulated her way through the series in order to claim Jamie for her own Shocked? Even Binky noticed this For the first time ever someones doing to Jamie what hes done to hundreds of girls, she observed when Frankie gave her number to some poor waiter in order to inflame Jamies jealousy and get him back for his own misdemeanours with two girls before she arrived. Not a great foundation for a relationship... Why would you invite some stranger to your house? Jamie demanded. Why would you invite some stranger to your bed?! Frankie retaliated. The fact that Alex had revealed Frankie also drunkenly propositioned him, telling Jamies bruv she liked him more than her boyfriend was....complicated. Too complicated for Jamie anyway, which isnt hard. Not so happy now! The fact that Alex had revealed Frankie also drunkenly propositioned him, telling Jamies bruv she liked him more than her boyfriend was....complicated He refused to take his mates word for it and Frankie (predictably) strenuously refused Alexs suggestion that she just admit to it and move forward. After all, whether she had told Alex she liked him more than her boyfriend not was of little significance (or interest) given that nothing had happened anyway. It was just a shame that, again, the incident wasnt filmed by any of the MiC: SOF cameras that are supposedly to be following their lives. No. No, no, no. Im not going to do that ! insisted Frankie to Alex, as if her life depended on it. Youre blaming this situation on me and this is not my fault. This is your fault! Virtually conclusive proof that it was her fault... Poor Jamie was stuck in the middle especially when Alex wanted him to come to the farewell pardy he was throwing. Frankie took great exception to the notion (by Alex) that she was forbidding Jamie to go to it (even though Jamie still felt about parties the way a four year-old does) - even though she was. Poor Jamie was stuck in the middle especially when Alex wanted him to come to the farewell pardy he was throwing She's evil! After managing to break up the bros, she purred evilly: Its one-nil to Frankie ! Against Mytton' Were not going by the way, she told Jamie. Youre not going. Its a party. I love a party ! countered Jamie, trying to persuade her with what he thought were puppy dog eyes. I am not going and neither are you ! Frankie barked, reiterating youre not going ! as if she were talking to a child (which she was). Frankie, you cant demand ! he objected, trying to assert his authority. Yes I can. If you go, Ill break up with you, she smiled meanly. You cant do that! he teased, thinking he still had a chance to charm her round. Yes I can ! she cheered joylessly. Later he found she had poured them champagne. Why? he asked, simply (like a simpleton). Its one-nil to Frankie ! she purred evilly. Against Mytton. There is no game here, Jamie suggested naively before wisely stopping and giving in when he realised how sinister and serious Frankie was as she answered: Yeah there is. Seeing she had succeeded in crushing Jamies resistance was the only time she looked happy even when he told her I love you. Then she just looked depressed. So Frankie was (easily) the winner of the Most Unpleasant Person in MIC: SOF Award. Here are my other Top Ten awards from the final episode. Rhetorical Question of the Week Award: Does this mean hes never going to come to anything again? Alex on Jamie missing his pardy. Unlikely 1. Dumbest Cast Member Award Oh my God ! I forgot ! Im left-handed ! Thats why I havent been able to do it properly. Ive been using my right hand ! Louise Thompson explains away her abysmal attempts at doing graffiti art. Or tries to. 2. Rhetorical Question of the Week Award Does this mean hes never going to come to anything again? Alex on Jamie missing his pardy. Unlikely. 3. Blatant Lie of the Week We havent had a single argument since weve been here Lucy Watsons sister to her father and the Thompsons mum, conveniently forgetting the time Sam told her he felt he still had a little bit of bachelor left in me. 4. Fashion Faux Pas of the Week At least were not matching ! Jess to Maxence on their appalling faded denim jackets. Runner-up: Jamie and Frankies matching dungarees like an annoying couple on Eurovision. 5. Bad Idea of the Week How about we all customise your t-shirt and then you can sell it for loads? graffiti artist Louise ruins Lukas t-shirt. 6. Bad News of the Week Guess who messaged me? JP Binky to Ollie, confirming we havent got rid of the boring plank yet. 7. Good Point of the Week Its so much better without JP in your life. Thats what all of us are saying Ollie to Binky, speaking for the viewers too. Easy Dilemma of the Week: It kind of sucks that I have to go back to Africa Francis Boule, torn between Ghana and Olivia 8. Easy Dilemma of the Week It kind of sucks that I have to go back to Africa Francis Boule, torn between Ghana and Olivia. 9. Smooth-talking Devil of the Week Award Here we are again in a perfect romantic couple setting. Maybe we should have done this when we were together ! - Alex Mytton to Binky, reminding us and her what she was missing (or not). 10. Stupid Question of the Week Award Advertisement She's been enjoying a fun getaway in Italy with her children and mom Kris Jenner. And Kourtney Kardashian showed off her fit figure in another sexy one-piece as the family spent the day on a luxury yacht off Portofino on Monday. The reality star, 37, wore a black swimsuit with a tan design as she played in the water with daughter Penelope, 4, and son Mason, 6, as son Reign, 20 months, looked on. Italy trip: Kourtney Kardashian showed off her toned figure in a black one-piece swimsuit with a nude 'Y' front design while out on the water in Portofino on Wednesday Kourtney has been vacationing in Italy with mom Kris Jenner,60, and her boyfriend Corey Gamble, this week. And the group looked like they were having a blast as they jumped off the side of their yacht and splashed around in the water, before heading back to dry land for some shopping. Kourtney showed off her amazing figure in a dark bathing suit featured a scoop-necked design, a high-cut leg and a nude 'Y' design. The stylish reality star added oversized, futuristic sunglasses and gold bangles as they enjoyed some fun out on the water. Fitness fan: The mother-of-three showed off the results of her dedicated workout schedule Family trip: Kourtney's daughter Penelope wore a cute striped swimsuit with ruffles Helping hand: The doting mom kept a tight grip on the four-year-old as they descended the steps of their luxury yacht Hot mama: The 37-year-old looked great as she donned another sexy one-piece All smiles: Kourtney helped Penelope into the water as son Reign looked on Water babies: The four-year-old kept a grip on her mom as she ventured into the water The doting mother-of-three kept a close grip on three-year-old Penelope, carefully carrying her daughter down the steps of their yacht and easing her into the water once her life vest was secure. The three-year-old wore a cute stripped swimsuit with ruffles and a halter neck, and smiled as she ventured into the waves. Kourtney showed them how it's done, yelling with delight as she jumped off the deck and splashed into the water. There she goes! The reality star let out a yell as she plunged into the water Tough landing: Kourtney made a big splash as she leaped into the ocean Kardashian kurves: The E! star put her figure on show in a dark swimsuit while on vacation in Italy with mom Kris and her children Yacht life: Kourtney adjusted her bathing suit after climbing out of the water Kourtney then coaxed son Mason, who stayed safe with a bright blue life vest, into joining her in the water. He was helped off the yacht by grandmother Kris, who also wore a black one-piece and covered up with a pretty pink wrap while on the deck. Once in the water, Kris wrapped a dark towel around her waist as she guided Mason down the steps. The six-year-old then joined his mom as they played with small jet skis and floated in the water. You can do it! Kourtney gave Mason some reassurance as they tackled the water together Grandma time: Kris Jenner, 60, also wore a dark one-piece and covered up in a dark towel Swim time: Mason wore a bright blue life vest as he joined Kourtney in the water Chilling: The KUWTK star showed off her floating skills Having fun: Mason was all smiles as they tackled some jet skis Always stylish: Kourtney kept her oversized sunglasses on as they frolicked in the water Big kick: The reality star appeared to be having a blast on some small jet skis Side by side: Kourtney kept an eye on Mason as they played in the water on Monday Vacation style: Kris, 60, covered up in a pretty pink wrap Toweling off: Kris' boyfriend Corey Gamble handed her a towel as she headed into the water Having fun: The reality TV matriarch chatted with Corey as he went for a swim with his shirt on Kris' tour manager boyfriend Corey also went for a dip, keeping his white shirt on as he joined the momager in the sea. After going for a swim, the group were then spotted browsing some local stores along the waterfront. Kourtney continued the nautical theme with a cute cap, which she paired with an off-the-shoulder blouse with flowing sleeves. The KUWTK star added tight black bike shorts and black loafers with a gold buckle. She left her dark hair down and added mirrored sunglasses and a gold Chanel necklace. Gorgeous: Kourtney shared a snap of another sexy swimsuit The day before the mother of three wore a one strap swimming costume for a some fun on yacht La dolce vita: Kourtney kept up the nautical theme with a cute cap once back on dry land Family fun: The 37-year-old wore an off-the-shoulder top with black bike shorts Vacation: Kourtney added black flats and a gold Chanel necklace Doting grandma: Kris wore a stylish zebra-print maxi dress as they strolled along the water Kourtney slung a small black handbag over her shoulder and added frosted peach lipstick. The group looked relaxed as they strolled along the water's edge and then browsed a local clothing store for some Italian fashion. Little Penelope looked sweet in a pink floral dress with a ruffled hem, and carried her own red handbag. Reality matriarch Kris wore a floor-length, zebra-print coverall over black leggings as she held hands with her granddaughter. Looking for bargains? The KUWTK stars stopped into a local store to check out some Italian fashion Off-the-shoulder: Kourtney paired her flowing top with tight black bike shorts Too cute: Kourtney shared a photo of Penelope as they vacationed in Italy on Monday Gorgeous: The reality star shared some scenic shots of the area with fans on Instagram Not bad: Kourtney showed off their amazing view as the family dined in Portofino The 60-year-old added large silver earrings and oversized sunglasses, and held her granddaughter's hand as they checked out the sights. Absent from the fun was Kourtney's ex and the father of her children, Scott Disick. And the self-styled 'Lord Disick' shared a photo of himself stretched out under a blanket as he complained about traveling alone. Tough life: Meanwhile, her ex Scott Disick shared an Instagram snap about the difficulties of traveling alone 'Hate traveling alone especially with poor people,' he tweeted as he shared the post on Instagram. 'Always a hard day traveling with my friend,' he added. The 33-year-old and Kourtney split last summer, after nine years together. Break time: Penelope wore a cute ruffled dress with a red poppy design and matching red sneakers Relaxing: Kourtney and the kids stopped for a breather as they visited the scenic spot She lost her Miss Great Britain title after having sex on television - but Zara Holland looked like she didn't have a care in the world when she stepped out on Monday. The 21-year-old struggled to contain her ample assets when she walked the rest carpet at the Bridget Jones' Baby premiere at London's Leicester Square. The full-length number was lace in design and flattered her curves perfectly as she made sure all eyes were on her. Scroll down for video Wow thing: Zara Holland looked stunning in a blue lace dress at the Bridget Jones' Baby movie premiere in London on Monday night Easy does it: The 21-year-old struggled to contain her ample assets when she walked the red carpet at the star-studded event She added some further colour to her look with a slick of ruby red lipstick, wearing her blonde locks in delicate layers. Smiling for the cameras, she kept her accessories minimal, save for a gold bangle and a couple of rings. No doubt Zara was keen to be one of the first to see the new movie, released 12 years after the last. Girls' just wanna have fun: She added some further colour to her look with a slick of ruby red lipstick, wearing her blonde locks in delicate layers All in the details: Smiling for the cameras, she kept her accessories minimal, save for a gold bangle and a couple of rings Bridget Jones' Baby catches up with Bridget who is now working a news producer, with awards under her belt and a more balanced approach to life than in the previous two movies. However, her life is about to be turned upside down once again, as she discovers she's pregnant. And Bridget is unsure whether the father of the child is the faithful Mark Darcy, (Colin Firth). Wow: Bridget Jones' Baby catches up with Bridget who is now working a news producer, with awards under her belt and a more balanced approach to life than in the previous two movies Also in the running is the dashing American Jack Qwant, played by Greys Anatomys Doctor McDreamy (Patrick Dempsey). Zara was in good company on the night as she was joined by Renee Zellweger herself, and her co-stars Patrick Dempsey and Colin Firth. Bridget Jones's Baby is due for UK release on September 16. There were more than a few questions left unanswered when Cold Feet finished 13 years ago. And it certainly didn't disappoint on Monday night when the beloved show - which first began in 1997 - returned for a sixth series. Flocking to Twitter in their droves as the show returned to ITV, fans declared it was like seeing a group of old friends again, admitting 'It's like they've never been away'. Scroll down for video 'It's like they've never been away!': Cold Feet certainly didn't disappoint on Monday night when the beloved show returned for a sixth series after 13 years As James Nesbitt, Robert Bathurst, Fay Ripley, Karen David, James Nesbitt, Hermione Norris and John Thomson made their return fans couldn't contain their joy. Taking to social media in their droves, fans of the rom-com drama made the show the top trending topic in the UK - beating the Bridget Jones movie premiere. One fan, Richard Hughes, summed up the mood, writing: 'Loved cold feet, the characters dropped straight back into how they were. It's like they've never been away, so glad it's back #cold feet.' Another said: 'Watching #ColdFeet was like being reacquainted with an old friend after 19 years, where everything is easy & nicely fits back into place.' 'So glad': Fans flocked to Twitter in their droves as the show rolled on - driving it to the top of UK trends list They miss them: Fans declared it was like seeing a group of old friends again, admitting 'It's like they've never been away' Thank goodness: Many were worried that it would ruin their memories of the drama, but it was agreed that the comeback did not disappoint The nostalgia had others gripped, saying: 'Cold feet - what a great reunion. Nostalgia done right #ColdFeet' 'What's the verdict on new #ColdFeet? I felt it was like putting on a comfy pair of slippers,' another added. As episode one of Cold Feet saw the gang reunited when Adam (Nesbitt) announced his impending marriage to Angela (Karen David), fans couldn't believe how good it was to have the gang back. Another fan, @nigelbywater, wrote: 'Cold Feet: My Monday's are complete. Perfect drama.' 'Absolutely loved cold feet!' Exclaimed @jillbaxendale, with the fan adding: 'A massive well done to all the amazing actors, crew & itv! It's like you've never been away!' They're back! As James Nesbitt, Robert Bathurst, Fay Ripley, Karen David, James Nesbitt, Hermione Norris and John Thomson made their return fans cried out in delight 'Perfect': One fan, @nigelbywater, wrote: 'Cold Feet: My Monday's are complete. Perfect drama.' 'Absolutely loved cold feet!': @jillbaxendale chirped: 'A massive well done to all the amazing actors, crew & itv! It's like you've never been away!' And indeed it appeared that Adam's return to England - and many a life problem - ticked all the boxes with the programmes loyal fan base. @SamWhite1978 declared: 'That didn't disappoint. Can't wait for the next #ColdFeet Brilliant to have it back on our screens @ITV [sic].' Others were delighted that the return brought both old and new stars to the mix, with @joanneos writing: 'I love Cold Feet, so happy it's back on! Even better with @jackharper_98 in it.' 'That didn't disappoint': it appeared that Adam's return to England - and many a life problem - ticked all the boxes with the programmes loyal fan base Loving it! Others were delighted that the return brought both old and new stars to the mix And it seems that the world of showbiz was sitting down and tuning in too, as Nathan Sykes of The Wanted praised the production. The pop star tweeted with anticipation: 'Just sitting down to watch brand new #ColdFeet starring my little bro @celspellman!!' There was one character notably missing though - 'Just caught up with last nights #ColdFeet wow! Good to see the gang back together. Who else miss Rachel?' Fans will remember that Helen Braxdale's character died in a road crash in the fifth series of the show so, unlike the others, she was not back for the new series. And indeed 21-year-old Cel, who plays Adam's 15-year-old son Matthew was an instant fan favourite. A new star on the rise? Cel Spleeman, who plays Adam's 15-year-old son Matthew was an instant fan favourite Famous fans: And it seems that the world of showbiz was sitting down and tuning in too, as Nathan Sykes of The Wanted praised the production There were high expectations for the show and most were hoping that it wouldn't ruin their fond memories of the show, but most agreed that it didn't disappoint. One said: 'Thank goodness #ColdFeet didn't disappoint , loved every moment and still have a big crush on #JamesNesbitt' 'Welcome back #ColdFeet. Been watching the old series online at #ITV to get back in the mood and last night didn't disappoint. Welcome back!' 'I was sceptical but #ColdFeet was blooming marvellous.' Being a wet September day, the reunion brought some brightness to a Monday for most. '#coldfeet has put a spring in my step for the start of the week. Roll on Mondays! Nice one @itvcoldfeet,' said one fan. He's still the same Adam! The premiere saw Adam returning to Manchester after years of working abroad, planning a wedding 'Loved #ColdFeet last night, that's what you call proper tv!' The premiere saw Adam returning to Manchester after years of working abroad, planning a wedding. He hoped to chivvy his friends together to attend his wedding but not everyone was as excited as he was. Though as the bride arrived, Karen (Hermione Norris) took Adam aside to tell him his son, Matt (Cel Spellman), had turned up on her doorstep and things at school were much worse than they all thought. The message being Matt needs his dad. But as usual Adam went the other way and uttered the words 'I do', though he looked to immediately regret. What we've been waiting for: Fans have clamoured for a reunion since the final episode was broadcast following Rachel's death, when Adam started to bring up their son on his own The Manchester-based series ran for five series between 1997 and 2003, with more than 10 million viewers tuning in for the emotional finale. His first marriage ended in tragedy when his wife Rachel - portrayed by Friends actress Helen - passed away. The Bafta-winning show, which was created by Mike Bullen, has been broadcast in more than 30 countries, and remade for US, Italian, Czech Republic and Polish audiences. The series started in 1997 with couples Adam and Rachel, Pete and Jenny, and Karen and David. Fans have clamoured for a reunion since the final episode was broadcast following Rachel's death, when Adam started to bring up their son on his own. Cold Feet was the best of the recent TV revivals but would have been even better without James Nesbitt as the star of the show, by Jim Shelley Cold Feet didnt start well. It began its first episode for thirteen years with the sight of James Nesbitt as Adam, returning to Manchester from Singapore looking more smug than ever. This was despite the fact that he had never looked more ridiculous thanks to the new head of hair he appeared to have had sprayed on, making him resemble a haggard human Action Man. Whether the star of the show was meant to be such an unbearably self-centred twerp or Nesbitt just made him seem that way was hard to say. Probably both. Adam had flown home to tell his old gang of friends that 14 years after the death of his beloved wife Rachel and a decade of playing the field, he was getting married to Andrea Zubayr, a beautiful bio-medical engineer who he had met only six months ago, whose father was worth 300million, and who was 18 years younger than him. Hey it could happen... Well we were asked to believe it could, presumably on the grounds Adam was so irresistibly charming. To be honest, what Andrea saw in him was hard to say. Admittedly the other characters (David, Karen, Pete, and Jenny) were still in his thrall even after all these years and despite him living abroad. The last 14 years Ive lived all over the world: Hong Kong, Dubai, Seattle, now here in Singapore, we saw him telling some poor stranger/commuter on the bus. Sounds glamorous eh? But the exotic becomes the mundane, the adventure the daily grind. I want a life where the novelty never wears off. Why do I always get the nutter? the woman muttered. The Mancunian who rented Adam her flat on Airbnb had formed an equally low opinion, declaring he sounded like a banker-w*nker and a bit of a tosser. Please find attached my itinerary, she quoted. Who speaks like that? Who indeed? Then there was the way Adam treated his son, sticking him in boarding school while he jetted off round the world. He hadnt even told Matthew he was getting married, choosing to introduce him to Andrea on the touchline while Matthew was playing rugby at school. No wonder the boy insisted he wouldnt be attending because he was performing as Bill Sykes girlfriend Nancy in the school play. (It was a boys school.) Its a good part. I get to die, he argued. Its my wedding! Its a big thing for me! protested Adam. Well it isnt for me! When his son stormed off, Adam threatened to stop paying the school fees. Very mature... Luckily this was all balanced out because we were meant to feel sorry for him because he was still traumatised by the death of his first wife Rachel at the end of the fifth series. He had panic attacks when he heard the name Rachel or thought he saw her face and seemed to crowbar her and her demise into the conversation in a manner that was almost creepy. I was just thinking about my first wife... Adam mentioned to his landlady, who he had only just met. Do you know what they all had in common? he explained of his previous girlfriends. None of them were Rachel. None of them came close. But Angela... Youll see when you meet her. Maybe it will work, maybe it wont. But while it does Ill feel alive and after Rachel I never thought I would again. Can you just move on! you felt like saying but he was obsessed. I wish your mum could see you now, Adam told Matthew later, when they had mysteriously bonded after all. I think of her every day you know - still miss her. She was magnificent. The others couldnt forget Rachel either. Every time I see you I see your mum! Karen gushed to Rachel and Adams son Matthew a greeting guaranteed to make any teenage boy uncomfortable or upset. Karen even went as far as objecting to the wedding: Dont you think Rachel would want us to say something? You know deep inside that Rachel wouldnt give this marriage her blessing, Jenny concurred. Yes inevitably (understandably) David (Robert Bathhurst), Karen (Hermione Norris), Pete (John Thomson), and Jenny (Fay Ripley) had their doubts about Adam marrying Angela. He is making a terrible mistake and he knows it, Jenny said, several times. Eventually outside the church before he was about to get married, even Adam asked Pete: do you think Jenny might be right - that my sub-conscious knows that the wedding is wrong? Make your mind up... It was a shame the plot was all about Adam and James Nesbitt, even though he was clearly the main character and now the biggest actor. The others were so much warmer and more human Cold Feet could not only have returned without Adam but arguably have been better. Thompson and Ripley were particularly convincing as Pete and Jenny the couple who had hit on such hard times when he had been laid off that he had two jobs just to get by. David and Karen were divorced and more successful but their lives were appealingly empty the most obvious symbols of where the 30 Something generation of the 90s and the Blair era was now. I am not happy, announced David dolefully. I have moments but thats all they are. Little fleeting glimpses. Maybe in middle age thats the most we can hope for. I miss my future being ahead of me, sighed Pete feeling washed up at 50. I miss...Karen, David returned. Great stag do ! cried Adam with a hollow cheer, turning attention back to himself. Even the way the first of the eight episodes ended up with great pathos made him seem weak. We learnt that Matthew had tearfully confided in Karen he was about to be expelled from school for smoking weed and was being bullied. I dont have any friends. I dont fit in. I never have. Ive always hated it! he cried. Karen chose to tell Adam just as he was about to get married, dragging him outside and informing him his son was miserable. Hes a lost soul. Your son desperately needs his dad. Earlier, during one of his improbably emotive speeches, Adam had told his son: My greatest regret is youve never known what it is to have a family not properly. I know it cant be the same but when you come to stay with us in Singapore I want you to feel like youre coming home. A bit difficult as hed never been there but still.. Now Adam seemed to realise where his real responsibilities lay and as he stood at the altar he spun into such a daze of indecision (choosing between Andrea and Matthew) that he missed the moment he had actually got married anyway. Maybe this was really why we found the characters in Cold Feet so compelling that we had wanted to see them again after all this time. Not because we liked them so much but because they were so awful. A wave of warmth at seeing old friends 13 years on: CHRISTOPHER STEVENS reviews the relaunch of Cold Feet, says Christopher Stevens Rating: Some things dont change. Its been 13 years, but Pete still hero-worships Adam. Clever Karen is still too nice for her own good. And Cold Feet (ITV) back for an eight-part relaunch is still the best in its class, a silly romantic comedy thats shot through with pain and grief. American TV has been excelling at these lightweight, ensemble dramas for years, ever since Thirtysomething in the Eighties, but Mike Bullens show set in Manchester and debuting in 1997 was the first time that British television got the format just right. Moving on: James Nesbitt as Adam with his younger fiancee Angela in Cold Feet Reunited: The cast of Cold Feet back for a new eight-part series on ITV, launching tonight Largely thats due to perfect casting. Charmer Adam is a selfish pain-in-the-bottom, and James Nesbitt still plays him as though he doesnt even have to act. Bumbling Pete forever expects and accepts the worst, rather like actor John Thomson, the forgotten man of The Fast Show, who admits he was on his way to audition for panto when he heard Cold Feet was coming back. Posh Hermione Norris is utterly believable as supercilious, soft-hearted Karen, while her ex David is played by Robert Bathurst, a man so born for dimwit aristo roles that even his name sounds like a stately home. Then theres Fay Ripley, who has been playing hospital matrons and police inspectors since leaving Cold Feet in 2001 just the sort of competent, bossy jobs youd expect her character Jenny to do. Theyre all older, of course, and mostly in their fifties now, but not so very different. Their children, on the other hand, are unrecognisable the toddlers of the original series are teens now, smoking dope and fancying each other at weddings. Old friends: From left to right, Robert Bathurst, Hermoine Norris, James Nesbitt, Helen Baxendale, John Thomson and Faye Ripley, in the original series three of Cold Feet The ageing process gives Bullen a chance to weave a melancholic thread through the narrative, which had widower Adam returning from Singapore with a fiancee whos 18 years his junior. Over cheap lager and prawn balls on his stag night, the self-styled Three Amigos, the elderly lads of Cold Feet, reflected glumly on their mid-life disappointments. Im not happy, David confessed. I have little fleeting moments ... maybe in middle age thats the best we can hope for. One of the great pleasures of being fiftysomething, of course, is feeling sorry for yourself. Its so much less exhausting than being cheerful. But the story didnt stay downbeat for long. There were typical bursts of knockabout comedy, like the moment when Adam, in the minicab he has borrowed from taxi driver Pete, is mistaken for a cabbie. His fare, naturally, turns out to be his new landlady, who lives across the hall Adam might be engaged, but he can never be surrounded by too many smitten women. Growing up: Fay Ripley, John Thomson, Hermione Norris and Robert Bathurst in Cold Feet The plot sometimes strayed into sheer fantasy. Angela (Karen David) was the daughter of an Asian billionaire, a Muslim businessman who seemed entirely happy to see his daughter, and her fortune, spliced to an English neer-do-well almost twice her age. He didnt even object when the ceremony was hurriedly held in a half-empty church with none of his own family or associates there. Who knew Far East oligarchs were so laid back? This kind of whimsy was a trait of the original show, but it feels naive now perhaps because lost innocence is one of the debits of ageing. We ceased long ago to believe in Father Christmas and Asian billionaires. It was a night of merriment enjoyed by the UK's most loved TV stars. Yet TOWIE's Chloe Sims seemed to take the festivities a step further than the rest as she threw herself into the party at the TV Choice Awards on Monday night. The 33-year-old mother-of-one narrowly avoided a major wardrobe malfunction as she stooped to sign an autograph while leaving The Dorchester hotel before getting extremely close to a fellow party guest in a doorway. Scroll down for video Up close and personal: TOWIE's Chloe Sims seemed to take the merriment as step further than the rest as she threw herself into the party at the TV Choice Awards on Monday night After stepping on the red carpet in her incredibly busty ensemble, Chloe later threw herself into the fun night - later escalating into a steamy exchange with a fellow guest. The handsome mystery man, looking dashing in a tuxedo with his long hair scraped into a ponytail, certainly seemed taken with Chloe who draped herself over him. The duo enjoyed a close hug before Chloe seemed to go in for a kiss with the good-looking gentleman who appeared more than obliging. Chloe was locked in deep conversation with the man who she seemed to greet like an old pal, yet it was uncertain if he was a new acquaintance or an old friend. Awkward: The 33-year-old mother-of-one narrowly avoided a major wardrobe malfunction as she stooped to sign an autograph while leaving The Dorchester hotel before getting extremely close to a fellow party guest in a doorway Come on in: Chloe was embracing her pal in a close clinch Come here you! After stepping on the red carpet in her incredibly busty ensemble, Chloe later threw herself into the fun night - later escalating into a steamy exchange with a fellow guest Keen to not be seen? Chloe's companion covered his face in a bid for anonymity although Chloe was more than happy to be seen Shortly before her close exchange, Chloe winced as she tried to protect her modesty while greeting fans outside of the lavish London hotel. The dress' wrap style meant Chloe had to remain alert at all times, as she risked another malfunction while exiting a car. Pouting and smiling for the cameras, the blonde beauty seemed unfazed by her skimpy attire. She later took to the street to enjoy an impromptu dance, waving her hands around her head with her eyes closed before stumbling into a cab. Hands up: Chloe was engaged in intense conversation Having it large! She later took to the street to enjoy an impromptu dance, waving her hands around her head with her eyes closed before stumbling into a cab Time for bed? It seemed Chloe needed to get home as she later jumped in a taxi Chloe turned the heads of everyone in an all-over sequinned dress, featuring a jaw-dropping V-neckline. Extending down across her chest, the star put on a seriously busty display as she threatened to spill out of the revealing frock. Formed of of shimmery rose gold sequins all over, the dress remained somewhat demure in its lower half, falling to her mid-calf. Kisses for all! After a kiss with Chloe, her pal went on to blow a kiss into the air Come closer... Chloe and the gentleman were certainly closer than most Perilously plunging: Pouting and smiling for the cameras, the blonde beauty seemed unfazed by her skimpy attire Next up was Ferne dressed in a sparkling black gown, which gorgeously hugged her womanly figure from head to toe. Featuring a saucy slit at the front, the 26-year-old flashed a hint of her slender, tanned legs as she posed fiercely for the cameras. She added a pair of black strappy sandals and slicked her hair into a slick side parting, adding to her glamorous look. Aver your eyes! The dress' wrap style meant Chloe had to remain alert at all times, as she risked another malfunction while exiting a car Going for gold: Chloe turned the heads of everyone in an all-over sequinned dress, featuring a jaw-dropping V-neckline Reunion! TOWIE's Chloe Sims, Ferne McCann, Danielle Armstrong and Jessica Wright all reunited on Monday as they attended the TV Choice Awards at the Dorchester Hotel in London Having left TOWIE back in February to pursue a career in TV presenting, the event was exciting in more ways than one for Ferne, who was reunited with current stars Danielle Armstrong and Lydia Bright at the bash. Danielle Armstrong showed off her incredible figure in a tight-fitting scarlet fishtail gown. The one-shouldered dress clung to her frame before spilling out gracefully to the floor at her knee. The reality star, 28, made a statement in the dress with its sharp asymmetric neckline and metallic gold belt. All that glitters! Chloe ensured all eyes were on her as she took to the carpet in a sequin-covered plunging midi dress Fit to bust! Extending down across her chest, the star put on a seriously busty display as she threatened to spill out of the revealing frock Easy does it: Chloe turned heads in her all-over sequinned dress, featuring a jaw-dropping V-neckline Styling her hair into soft curls, Danielle looked every inch a blonde bombshell as she arrived alongside her TOWIE gal pals. Jessica Wright, who quit TOWIE in February alongside Ferne after five years on the show was also present at the event, in a slinky black gown. Showing off a golden tan from her recently holiday to LA, the star opted for a spaghetti strap gown, with a plunging neckline to flaunt her ample bust. Chic: Ferne added a pair of black strappy sandals and slicked her hair into a slick side parting, adding to her glamorous look Shine on: She looked elegant in the metallic floor-length gown Working it: Danielle epitomised the blonde bombshell image as she posed sexily with her back to the camera Bold: The blonde made a statement in the dress with its sharp asymmetric neckline and metallic gold belt Sophisticated: Jessica Wright, who quit TOWIE in February alongside Ferne after five years on the show was also present at the event, in a slinky black gown Glamour puss: The star opted for a spaghetti strap gown, with a plunging neckline to flaunt her ample bust Wrapping around at the waist before gracefully falling to the floor, the dress emphasised her toned waist and flashed her slender legs through its slit. Keeping the look classic Jess, the sister of TV personality Mark Wright, added black heeled sandals and a sophisticated Yves Saint-Laurent nude clutch bag as she smiled for the cameras. Next of the Essex babes to arrive was Lydia Bright, who contrasted her co-stars in a bright white frock. Lydia looked positively angelic in the ensemble, which featured alternating plain and lace panels. Heavenly: Lydia looked positively angelic in the ensemble, which featured alternating plain and lace panels Glowing: Like her co-star Danielle, Lydia left her trademark locks in loose waves and opted dewy, highlighted make-up to show off her clear complexion Each cut out panel was formed of delicate embroidered flowers, dressed with tiny white beads. Like her co-star Danielle, Lydia left her trademark locks in loose waves and opted dewy, highlighted make-up to show off her glowing complexion. Featuring a high-neck, the look was incredibly classy for the formal event, as Lydia and her peers anticipate the result of the Best Reality Show award - which their show TOWIE is nominated for. Because of the nomination, many other current TOWIE stars also arrived at the event - including Megan McKenna and her beau Pete Wicks. Power couple: Because of their Best Reality Show nomination, many other current TOWIE stars also arrived at the event - including Megan McKenna and her beau Pete Wicks Megan, 23, looked a vixen in a super-short LBD, with a chic suit jacket layered on top. The dress was decorated with satin stripes and a gold chain belt, cinching in the reality star's tiny frame. Opting for a smoky eye and voluminous bouffant hairstyle, the TOWIE babe looked incredibly sexy as she stood proudly beside her man. Megan, evidently enjoying the glamorous evening, was keen to share her and her friends' outfits and antics with fans on Instagram. Vixen: Opting for a smoky eye and voluminous bouffant hairstyle, the TOWIE babe looked incredibly sexy as she posed at the event Having a ball: Megan took to Instagram to document the glamorous evening with her friends for fans Posting a photo of herself alongside Chloe, Danielle and boyfriend Pete, Megan smouldered in the sophisticated shot which she captioned: 'TV Choice Awards' accompanied by a cocktail emoji. Pete looked equally as stylish as his girl in a green and black checked three-piece suit. Covering his famously tattooed body, the star sported a crisp white shirt underneath which he matched with a white pocket square. Pete looked incredibly clean cut for the event as he slicked his trademark long tresses back off his face. Pretty in pleats: Essex girl and TOWIE voiceover star Denise Van Outen channeled the famous Essex glamour in a metallic gold pleated midi skirt and chiffon lace top Not forgetting those behind the scenes Denise Van Outen, who provides the voice over for the show, also headed to the award show alongside the stars she narrates. The West End star channeled the famous Essex glamour in a metallic gold pleated midi skirt and chiffon lace top. Showing her natural flair for fashion, the blonde added a stylish lace choker and a pair of jazzy textured leopard print heels. She's a bit of all-white! Courtney Green followed in a busty white dress, flashed a hint of her ample cleavage with an alluring mesh panel across her chest Courtney Green also attended the event alongside her TOWIE co-stars in a tight white mini dress, flashing more leg than most of the others. The busty dress flashed a hint of her ample cleavage, cutting low and featuring an alluring mesh panel across her chest. Detailed with gold embellishments at the waist and on the sleeves, Courtney added trademark Essex glitz to her look and accessorised with a sophisticated Yves Saint-Laurent black clutch bag. She completed her look with classy nude peep-toe heels. Raunchy: Chloe Meadows' neckline plunged daringly low to show off her plentiful assets, which she allured to even more by adding a drop necklace Best friend Chloe Meadows made an equally busty display soon after in a black lace mini dress. Featuring an embellished lace top section, the neckline plunged daringly low to show off her plentiful assets. Making the look even sexier, Chloe allured to her chest even more by adding a delicate long necklace which fell upon her cleavage. She added a festival-chic braid to her hair to soften the look, and adding a bit of bling with her high-shine heels. She's the Academy Award-winning actress best known for playing Queen Elizabeth II both on-screen and on-stage. Now, Dame Helen Mirren is set to make the first horror flick of her career according to The Sydney Morning Herald, with the movie to be filmed in Australia early next year. This will mark the 71-year-old's return Down Under for the first time in 50 years for a film, after working on Australian movie The Age Of Consent in 1968. Scroll down for video Shock horror! Dame Helen Mirren is set to make the first horror flick of her career, with the movie Winchester to be filmed in Melbourne in March next year The iconic star will play Sarah Winchester in the movie titled Winchester, which is set to roll cameras in Melbourne's Docklands Studios in March 2017. Post-production will then take place in Queensland, another popular movie destination for Hollywood at the moment, with Thor and Pirates of The Caribbean recently made in the Sunshine State. The news also comes hot on the heels of confirmation James Cordon and Rose Byrne will be filming the live-action movie Peter Rabbit in Sydney. The movie will be directed by German-born Australian twin brothers Peter and Michael Spierig, with the Queensland-based writer-director team best known for Ethan Hawke's sci-fi mystery Predestination and Australian horror movie Undead. Returning Down Under: This will mark the 71-year-old's return Down Under for the first time in 50 years for a film, after working on Australian movie The Age Of Consent in 1968 (pictured) Change of pace: The Oscar-winning actress best known for playing Queen Elizabeth II both on-screen and on-stage but will play haunted heiress Sarah Winchester in the upcoming movie In a statement announcing the news The Spierig Brothers said: 'Sarah Winchester was an eccentric pioneer, an inventor, a woman plagued by her family's legacy, we couldn't be more thrilled to have Helen Mirren bring this fascinating character to life.' The tale follows the real life story of late-1800s millionaire heiress Sarah Winchester who, after the loss of her husband and child, believes she is haunted by the souls killed by the Winchester repeating rifle. She works to construct a 160-room mansion, surrounded by hedges, to keep the spirits at bay. 'We couldn't be more thrilled to have Helen Mirren bring this fascinating character to life': Queensland-based director-director twin team The Spierig Brothers are thrilled with their casting True story: The movie follows millionaire heiress Sarah Winchester who, after the loss of her husband and child, believes she is haunted by the souls killed by the Winchester repeating rifle Keeping herself safe: The heiress works to construct a 160-room mansion, surrounded by hedges, to keep the spirits at bay A San Francisco-based psychiatrist Eric Price is sent to evaluate the heiress's state of mind 'only to discover that Sarah's obsession may not be all that insane'. The real mansion, located in San Jose, will also be used in filming after the bulk of production is done in Melbourne. Winchester Mystery House is still considered one of the most haunted properties in the world. The film does not have a release date as yet but is expected late 2017 at this stage. She got her big break as a teenager on Channel Ten's now defunct Search For a Supermodel. But Kate Peck isn't a fan of all modelling reality shows, with the blonde beauty telling Yahoo Be this week that shows like Australia Next Top Model pit girls against each other. 'Some of the stuff on there is bulls**t, and some of it is reality,' the 28-year-old explained. 'Some of the stuff on there is bulls**t, and some of it is reality:' Kate Peck says she feels like certain modelling shows, such as Australia's Next Top Model, pit girls against each other Kate Peck has had considerable success since her reality TV days. She previously worked as a VJ for MTV, and later became an ambassador for Myer. However, the stunner parted ways with the retail giant earlier this year. Business: The 28-year-old used to work alongside ANTM host and judge Jennifer Hawkins as ambassadors for Myer, but Kate parted ways with the retail giant in January Her big break: Kate entered the modelling industry through Channel Ten's now defunct reality show, Search For a Supermodel Daily Telegraph reported that Kate's edgy style may have been too much for the mainstream Myer, which is known for being represented by former beauty pageant contestants like Rachael Finch and Jennifer Hawkins. While Kate isn't a big fan of Australia Next Top Model, the enduring reality series is set to return later this month for its tenth season. Kate's former Myer co-worker Jennifer Hawkins will be back to serve as both host and head judge. Too edgy? The Daily Telegraph and Kate herself have speculated that the blonde beauty was fired from Myer for being too wild for the conservative fashion retailer The former Miss Universe will be joined at the judges' table by designer Alex Perry and model Megan Gale. Meanwhile Cheyenne Tozzi and the Stenmark twins will serve as mentors. Australia's Next Top Model, cycle 10, returns September 20 on Fox8. Pouille stuns Nadal to reach US Open quarter-finals Fourteen-time Grand Slam champion Rafael Nadal was sent crashing out of the US Open on Sunday, falling in a five-set thriller to 22-year-old Frenchman Lucas Pouille. Pouille, ranked 25th in the world, reached the quarter-finals with a 6-1, 2-6, 6-4, 3-6, 7-6 (8/6) triumph and will meet compatriot Gael Monfils for a place in the semi-finals. Fourth-seeded Nadal, forced out of the French Open third round by a wrist injury that also kept him out of Wimbledon, hasn't reached a major quarter-final since Roland Garros last year. Lucas Pouille of France celebrates defeating Rafael Nadal of Spain at the US Open on September 4, 2016 Eduardo Munoz Alvarez (AFP) Down 3-6 in the fifth-set tiebreaker Nadal saved three match points -- the third on Pouille's serve. But the Spaniard's error from the baseline gave Pouille another chance and he seized it with a forehand winner. "At 6-3, I was thinking OK, you're going to win this one. At six-all it was not the same," said Pouille, who said his major takeaway from the scintillating duel was "it's never over until the last point." After breaking Pouille in the opening game of the fifth Nadal appeared to have things in hand, not facing a break point until the eighth game, when he may have been rattled by a time violation before serving at 30-all. He surrendered the next point, and after saving one break point Pouille gave himself another with a sharp volley, and leveled the set at 4-4 when Nadal sailed a forehand well out. Nadal was unable to convert a break point in the next game and they carried on to the tiebreaker -- where Pouille wrapped it up after four hours and seven minutes on Arthur Ashe stadium court. Pouille, who has yet to win his first ATP title, came out firing and ripped through the first set in 28 minutes. Nadal responded in kind in the second, breaking Pouille in the second game en route to a 3-0 lead, holding off four break points in the fifth game and breaking again to level the match at a set apiece. It was Pouille who gained a break in the first game of the third and made it stand up. In the fourth, Nadal broke Pouille for a 4-2 lead, launching an exchange of three straight breaks that left the Spaniard to serve it out and force the decider. Clinton kicks off autumn campaign, with press in tow Hillary Clinton embarks on a campaign swing across battleground states, bringing traveling press aboard her plane for the first time as she seeks to regain momentum against her White House rival Donald Trump. Clinton, the Democratic nominee, will attend events with working families in Cleveland, Ohio and Hampton, Illinois celebrating Labor Day, the US holiday that traditionally kicks off the autumn campaign season and the fast-paced, two-month sprint to the November presidential election. She then flies to Tampa Tuesday for a campaign rally at the University of South Florida, before traveling Thursday to Charlotte, North Carolina. Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton will visit working families in Cleveland, Ohio and Hampton, Illinois as she starts her autumn campaign this week Justin Sullivan (Getty/AFP/File) Florida and North Carolina, like Ohio, are critical battlegrounds in the 2016 race. Republican flagbearer Trump, 70, trails in polling but dominated the week's political messaging and imagery, with his surprise trip to Mexico, a fiery immigration speech in which he embraced a hardline position on the issue, and his closely watched visit to an African-American church in Detroit. And while Sunday's CBS News Battleground Tracker shows Clinton, 68, leading Trump in two key states -- by eight points in Pennsylvania and four points in North Carolina -- recent polls show the race tightening nationally. "The polls are close so Crooked Hillary is getting out of bed and will campaign tomorrow," Trump taunted Sunday on Twitter. With just three weeks before the first of three presidential debates that are expected to be the most watched moments of the election, Clinton will seek to reassert herself Monday with multiple events. She has been under sustained pressure to provide more access for journalists seeking to cover her every move, resisting the typical arrangement of a substantial traveling press corps sharing the same plane with a presidential hopeful. But Clinton aides have said that beginning Monday she will debut a larger campaign jet, and that reporters will be along for the ride. Also hitting the road are her running mate Tim Kaine and current Vice President Joe Biden, who stumped for Hillary in Pennsylvania, and her husband, former Bill Clinton, who attends events in Michigan and Ohio. - 'Hiding Hillary' - Trump to date has also avoided having the press corps travel on his plane. The provocative billionaire often takes questions from assembled journalists and is hammering away at his rival for failing to do the same. On Sunday Trump's campaign blasted out an email, stating "it has been 274 days since Clinton has held a press conference," as part of a daily "Hiding Hillary" email series aimed at highlighting the Democrat's aversion to pressers. Trump and his running mate Mike Pence, Indiana's governor, have stressed for months that Clinton should face journalists directly about her use of a private email account while she was secretary of state, a scandal which has dogged her for more than a year. New revelations from notes released by the FBI from its July interview with Clinton about her email use showed that she said she did not recall specific training about how to handle classified information, and that she was unaware that confidential material was marked with a "C." The FBI notes prompted Trump surrogate Rudy Giuliani, the former New York mayor, to accuse Clinton of acting with "criminal intent" with regard to her emails. "Either she was the dumbest secretary of state in American history or a bald-faced liar," Giuliani said in a statement released by Trump's campaign. Clinton for her part jabbed at Trump, after the Republican refused to answer questions on Philadelphia's WPVI television about whether he regretted leading the "birther" movement that falsely claimed President Barack Obama was born outside the country. "Astonishing that the Republican nominee still refuses to acknowledge that @POTUS was born in the United States," Clinton tweeted Sunday. With just three weeks before the first of three presidential debates that are expected to be the most watched moments of the election, Hillary Clinton is seeking to reassert herself with multiple events Josh Edelson (AFP/File) Gazans, NGO question Israeli charges against aid worker His company is accused of helping to divert millions of dollars in funds to Hamas, but Gaza businessman Saqer Alatar insists he barely knows the NGO worker at the centre of the storm. "I only know what he looks like. Maybe I wished him good morning once," Alatar said at his Gaza offices as a tractor lifted potatoes into a pickup truck nearby. "I don't even have his number on my cellphone." A Palestinian girl stands at the entrance of club for children set up by the Christian charity World Vision, in Beit Lahia, in the northern Gaza Strip, on August, 16 2016 Mohammed Abed (AFP) 'He' is Mohammed al-Halabi, the head of the Gaza office of Christian charity World Vision who is facing trial in Israel for working for its enemy Hamas, the Islamist movement that runs the Gaza Strip. But various people involved with aid programmes in Gaza, including Alatar, as well as the US-based charity and those who know Halabi have told AFP the allegations against him -- at least those made public -- do not add up. Calls have mounted for Israel to try Halabi in public, with proceedings so far held in secret due to what Israel calls sensitive security information. The dramatic claim that Halabi siphoned off $7.2 million per year to Hamas is not in the official charge sheet and it is unclear if Israel has backed away from it. "The place in which evidence is presented and weighed is the court, not the media," Israeli foreign ministry spokesman Emmanuel Nahshon told AFP. Israeli authorities say Halabi's case and another involving a United Nations staffer in Gaza show Hamas systematically exploits aid programmes. "It's like when you catch a serial killer. The question of whether he killed 50 people or 25 people is not really relevant is it?" Nahshon said earlier to Australia's ABC network. - 'Humanitarian hero' - Halabi's family is well known in the Gaza Strip, the Palestinian enclave of 1.9 million people. His father Khalil is a former Gaza head of education for the UN agency responsible for Palestinian refugees, UNRWA, and has met with UN chief Ban Ki-moon and John Kerry, the family said. In 2014, the younger Halabi featured in a UN campaign on "humanitarian heroes". He travelled the world for World Vision and speaks near-perfect English. In one picture on Facebook, he appears grinning in the Australian parliament. But on August 4, when they announced Halabi's arrest, Israeli authorities said he had diverted $7.2 million of the NGO's budget each year since 2010 to Hamas, including its military wing. The Islamist group, declared a terrorist organisation by the United States and the European Union, has fought three wars against Israel since 2008. Halabi's first pre-trial hearing was held Tuesday in a closed court, with no journalists or even World Vision staff allowed to attend. His lawyer told AFP she could be jailed for discussing the allegations. The NGO has questioned the charges, saying it has rigorous mechanisms to prevent such abuse. A World Vision source said an external investigator was brought in after one of its accountants fired in 2015 made allegations against Halabi, including Hamas links. The probe found no evidence of wrongdoing, the source said. Halabi's family believes the accountant, who has left Gaza, is now acting as a witness in the Israeli case. World Vision's global chief Kevin Jenkins told AFP the scale of the allegations was "very difficult to reconcile" with reality. Any payment over $80 needed two signatures, with anything over $15,000 signed off by the national office in Jerusalem, World Vision said. The German and Australian governments, as donors, have additional mechanisms including external audits and they have found no major concerns. World Vision's projects aided nearly 40,000 children in Gaza last year, according to the NGO, with efforts ranging from agricultural development to summer schools. - Purchasing power - One of the main allegations in the charge sheet is that Halabi rigged World Vision's purchasing system so "bids for the execution of nearly all projects would be won by one of two companies," including Alatar's agricultural business. The companies overcharged World Vision and gave the money back to Halabi for Hamas, it says. Asked by AFP journalists who visited his factory in northern Gaza about the allegations, Alatar reached for a cigarette and said he was unaware of them. He argued the charges did not make sense and said he had negotiated agreements with the office in Jerusalem, not Gaza. "Of all the international organisations in Gaza, maybe I deal with World Vision the least," said Alatar, who has not been charged in the case. His company's annual contracts from World Vision were never worth more than $70,000 at most and some years far less, he said. They have contracts worth far more with the United Nations and other NGOs, he added. World Vision told AFP its contracts with Alatar were worth $330,000 over 10 years, and with the other firm, Arcoma, $400,000 a five year period. The charge sheet also alleges Halabi recruited an aid worker with Save the Children in Gaza to join Hamas -- a claim the NGO said it was investigating. But friends of the employee told AFP that his sister, sister-in-law and three other family members were killed in a 2009 assault by Hamas on a Salafist mosque and that he is hostile to the group. Another charge alleges that Halabi's brother Dia, a nurse with UNRWA, works for Hamas -- an allegation the family denies. In northern Gaza, aid beneficiaries said Halabi was very hands-on and described a thorough auditing process. "The committee member would be there and the supervising engineer," said Ayman Suboh, a farmer near the border with Israel who received aid after his fields were destroyed in the 2014 war. "My hair would turn white as they inspected the corners, plastic sheets, one by one," he said as he tended his strawberries barely a mile away from Hamas fighters visible on a military base. Palestinian children hold posters of Mohammed Halabi (L), the Gaza director of World Vision, a major US-based Christian NGO, in Rafah town in the Gaza Strip on August 29, 2016 Said Khatib (AFP) The office of the US-based Christian NGO, World Vision, in Gaza City Mohammed Abed (AFP/File) Teen jailed in Australia over foiled beheading plot A teenager who plotted to run down and behead a police officer in an Anzac Day terrorist attack in Australia after being "corrupted by lunatic clerics" was on Monday sentenced to 10 years in jail. Sevdet Besim, 19, pleaded guilty to "doing an act in preparation, or planning for, a terrorist act" over the 2015 plan to attack commemorations in Melbourne honouring soldiers who fought and died for Australia. The Victorian Supreme Court had previously heard that Besim discussed the plot in encrypted messages with a British boy, who was 14 at the time. Serving and former military servicemen march past the Shrine of Remembrance as they take part in Anzac Day marches around the country, in Melbourne William West (AFP/File) The boy, who cannot be named for legal reasons, masterminded the foiled plot from his bedroom in Lancashire, northern England and was jailed for five years last October. Justice Michael Croucher said Besim's proposed "putrid act" was aimed at advancing violent jihad, intimidating the government and striking fear into the wider community. "To the vast majority of the community, it's unfathomable an 18-year-old boy planned to kill a law enforcement officer, to crash into him with a car and then behead him with a knife," Croucher said. "As part of his planning for this putrid act, Mr Besim conducted internet searches on Anzac Day and places where there might be memorials. "He had a knife, he had a car, he had a jihad flag, he had the encouragement of S (the British boy), and a mind corrupted by lunatic clerics. "That was all he needed to commit this atrocity, and he was prepared to die trying." The court heard that Besim, who was arrested a week before Anzac Day, was an associate of Numan Haider, who was shot and killed by counter-terrorism forces in 2014 in Melbourne after stabbing two police officers. Croucher said Besim wanted to go to the Middle East and join the so-called Islamic State, but he was refused a passport and when Haider was killed decided "that he must take up the fight here in Melbourne". "Fortunately, however, Mr Besim's plot was foiled," he added in sentencing him to 10 years in prison. Australia raised its threat level to high in September 2014 and has since carried out a series of counter-terrorism raids, with alarm fuelled by the departure of dozens of its nationals to Iraq and Syria to fight with jihadists. Tax-exempt NATO, Afghan military fuel sold on open market Tax-exempt military fuel imported into Afghanistan is being sold on the open market, industry officials and a new anti-corruption report reveal, causing the government huge revenue losses as Kabul struggles to wean itself off foreign aid. An AFP team witnessed first-hand evidence hinting at how duty-free fuel destined for NATO and local forces is being sold commercially when an Afghan energy official swooped unannounced on a Kabul oil depot last week. Flanked by a gaggle of assistants and bodyguards, the official examined a sheaf of customs documents from visibly nervous fuel tanker drivers, scouring the fine print for any trace of the illicit practice that traders have long claimed is crippling the industry. A million tons of fuel has been imported into Afghanistan over the past 12 months Wakil Kohsar (AFP/File) Among the documents from one driver was a "maafinama" - a tax-exemption certificate for military fuel that cuts costs by around $200 a ton - showing fuel imported from Turkmenistan in the name of the Afghan interior ministry. Only fuel bound for foreign troops as well as the defence and interior ministries - responsible for Afghan military and police - is exempted from custom duty, following a security agreement between the government and NATO. "What is this fuel doing in this market?" asked the official, standing near huge cylindrical reservoirs in the depot that supplies fuel to commercial traders and fuel stations. "That's the big question," he continued as he snapped pictures of the document and truck, pledging a full investigation. He allowed AFP to accompany him during the inspection but requested that his name be withheld for safety reasons. - 'Misuse' - No commodity is as vital to the reconstruction effort in war-ravaged Afghanistan as fuel - and none is more at risk of being stolen, smuggled or wasted in a country bedevilled by corruption, observers say. Last year more than one million tons of internationally funded military fuel was imported into Afghanistan, the finance ministry said, with its uncharged customs duty estimated to be around $100 million. "The custom duty exemption mechanism... (for) international forces has led to abuse by fuel traders which allows them to illegally profit," said a new report by the Independent Joint Anti-Corruption Monitoring and Evaluation Committee (MEC), which was seen by AFP. The report, due to be released on Tuesday, said 20 commercial companies were issued tax-exemption certificates last year. The process to obtain "maafinamas" involves a tightly bureaucratic application system that goes through the US military, NATO and the Afghan finance and foreign ministries - but the document remains prone to "misuse". - 'Contaminated' - "Companies that possess legitimate exemption forms have been known to sell the original to other companies," the report said, explaining how military fuel was ending up in the commercial market. "(Also) after the customs department process the exemption paperwork, the companies that have been granted exemption forms re-sell the fuel." NATO's Combined Security Transition Command (CSTC-A) said it was "not aware" of any specific allegations of illegally sold fuel. Shafiq Qarizada, deputy minister for customs, told AFP he "cannot confirm nor deny" whether exempted fuel is washing up in the commercial market. The comments come ahead of a crucial conference in Brussels in October, where donor countries are expected to reaffirm civilian aid funding for Afghanistan over the next four years. Afghanistan is battling what observers label "donor fatigue" as efforts to replace its huge foreign aid dependency with self-sufficiency are thwarted by corruption and criminal networks imperilling the already weak economy. Misuse of fuel exemptions is killing local businesses in a country that is heavily dependent upon imports to meet its energy needs, two private traders told AFP. The exemption waives 12 percent off customs duty among other charges, officials say. "Maafinamas have contaminated the commercial market," said the official who carried out the inspection. "How can a trader who dutifully pays taxes compete with cheaper maafinama fuel? This is suffocating lawful businesses and encouraging smuggling of fuel... and resulting in custom revenue losses worth millions." The misuse also has potential military implications. In May last year 17 Afghan policemen were killed when the Taliban stormed their remote base in the mountainous province of Badakhshan. Officials at the time said the policemen were unable to escape because they lacked adequate fuel for their vehicles, raising concern that military fuel was not reaching its intended destination. There are ongoing discussions for a memorandum of understanding between NATO and the finance ministry to curb the misuse of maafinamas, multiple sources including Qarizada told AFP. Among various reforms being discussed is a suggestion to levy customs duty on all military fuel and reimburse payments for actual deliveries. "MEC understands from interviews with both (NATO) and (finance ministry) that this reform is strongly supported but it is still not implemented," the MEC report said. "Why not? Is the reason for the delay perhaps another instance of corruption?" An AFP team witnessed first-hand evidence hinting at how duty-free fuel destined for NATO and local forces is being sold commercially when an Afghan energy official swooped unannounced on a Kabul oil depot Wakil Kohsar (AFP/File) An Afghan official and head of fuel and liquid gas enterprise shows documents during an interview with AFP at a oil depot on the outskirts of Kabul Wakil Kohsar (AFP/File) North Korea test-fires three ballistic missiles: Seoul North Korea test-fired three ballistic missiles into the sea Monday, South Korea said, in a new show of force as world leaders meet at the G20 summit in China. The missiles were fired into the Sea of Japan (East Sea) from the North's Hwangju county at around 0300 GMT, a spokesman for Seoul's defence ministry said. The sabre-rattling follows the North's submarine-launched ballistic missile test some two weeks ago. North Korea is barred under UN resolutions from any use of ballistic missile technology, but Pyongyang has carried out several launches following its fourth nuclear test in January "They are speculated to be Rodong missiles with a range of 1,000 kilometres (620 miles) and were fired without navigational warning to Japan," the spokesman said in a statement. "North Korea's ballistic missile launch is a direct violation of UN Security Council resolutions, aimed at showing off its nuclear and missile capabilities during the G20 summit," he added. The defence ministry in Tokyo said the three missiles are estimated to have fallen into Japan's maritime Exclusive Economic Zone. "The ministry expresses serious concern over the missile launches as they pose a grave threat to Japan's national security," a ministry statement said. The North's latest tests sparked strong protests from senior Japanese and US officials. The launches "are a grave security provocation and can never be permitted", Japanese Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida told reporters in Tokyo. "We have lodged a strong protest against North Korea." A senior US administration official at the G20 in Hangzhou also condemned the launches as a threat to its allies and to civilian air travel, and vowed diplomatic action against the Pyongyang regime. "Todays reckless launches by North Korea pose threats to civil aviation and maritime commerce in the region," the official said. Washington would try to "bolster international resolve to hold the DPRK (North Korea) accountable for its provocative actions". Monday's missile launches came hours after South Korean President Park Geun-Hye and Chinese President Xi Jinping met on the sidelines of the summit in Hangzhou. Ties between South Korea and China have been frosty since Seoul announced plans to deploy a US anti-missile system in July to counter growing nuclear and missile threats from the North. During the summit, Xi reiterated Beijing's opposition to Seoul's planned deployment of the Terminal High Altitude Area Defence (THAAD) system, arguing that "mishandling" the issue could "intensify disputes" in the region, China's state-run Xinhua news agency said. Park labelled North Korea's continued provocations as a "challenge" to Seoul-Beijing ties, adding that security threats from Pyongyang were at an "unprecedented level", South Korea's Yonhap news agency said. North Korea has conducted a series of missile tests this year in defiance of UN sanctions imposed after its fourth nuclear test in January. The most recent was a submarine-launched ballistic missile last month. That missile, fired from off the northeastern port of Sinpo, flew 500 kilometres (around 300 miles) towards Japan, far exceeding the range of the North's previous sub-launched missiles. The country's leader Kim Jong-Un described the August test as the "greatest success" and said it put the US mainland within striking range. The launch was widely condemned by the US and other major powers but analysts saw it as a clear step forward for North Korea's nuclear strike ambitions. A proven submarine-launched ballistic missile system would allow deployment far beyond the Korean peninsula and a "second-strike" capability in the event of an attack on the North's military bases. North Korea missile launch -, - (AFP Graphic) Jerusalem police kill Palestinian would-be attacker A Palestinian would-be attacker who tried to ram a car into a group of Israeli border guards in a refugee camp in occupied east Jerusalem was killed by police Monday. Officers opened fire on the car as it sped towards the guards in the Shuafat refugee camp, killing one of the men in the car and seriously injuring another, the police said. The attack took place after the Israeli border guard had completed an operation in the camp, the police added without providing further details. A wave of violence since October has killed 223 Palestinians, 34 Israelis, two Americans, an Eritrean and a Sudanese, according to an AFP tally Jaafar Ashtiyeh (AFP/File) From 'Umbrella Revolution' leader to lawmaker: Nathan Law Nathan Law, a student leader of Hong Kong's mass 'Umbrella Revolution' democracy rallies two years ago, is now at the forefront of a new guard of young lawmakers pushing for autonomy from China. In the biggest polls since the 2014 protests made Law a household name in Hong Kong, the 23-year-old entered the legislature with a convincing victory, gaining more than 50,000 votes. He becomes the youngest lawmaker in the Legislative Council (LegCo). Nathan Law, a student leader of Hong Kong's mass 'Umbrella Revolution' democracy rallies two years ago, is now at the forefront of a new guard of young lawmakers Anthony Wallace (AFP) Law was representing new party Demosisto -- which he founded with fellow Umbrella Movement leader Joshua Wong -- calling for Hong Kong people to have the right to vote in a referendum on independence from Beijing. Britain in 1997 handed the city back to China under a "one country, two systems" agreement, with its rights and freedoms guaranteed for 50 years under a semi-autonomous system. But fears are growing that Beijing is tightening its grip and that those liberties are being eroded. Law has pledged to push his party's self-determination message from the start in LegCo, the city's lawmaking body. "People are voting (for) a new way and a new future for the democratic movement," he said after his win. "I'm bearing the trust and support of many people. It motivates me to do better." In an interview with AFP, Law cast himself as a bridge to unite the factions of the democratic camp, which is split between established parties wary of a pro-independence message and new activists who want more autonomy. University student Law, who is reading cultural studies, rose to prominence during the 2014 rallies, delivering speeches to tens of thousands who protested on the streets and meeting government officials in what were ultimately fruitless negotiations. After the failure of the Umbrella Movement to win political reform, morale in the pro-democracy camp waned, with Law and Wong in and out of court on protest-related charges. Law was last month convicted of inciting people to join an unlawful assembly, but escaped jail time with a community service sentence. His election is a validation of the 2014 rallies, says Law, one of at least four young campaigners who are calling for more distance from Beijing to win a LegCo seat. "There are a lot more people coming out to vote because they see new choice," Law said. "We inherited some spirit from the (Umbrella) Movement and I hope that that can continue in the future." Rich, poor are all targets in drug war: Philippines top cop The Philippines police chief warned on Monday that his officers were prepared to kill anyone, even rich and influential politicians, as they wage President Rodrigo Duterte's deadly war on drugs. Since Duterte took office just over two months ago, the government said more than 2,400 people have been killed in his anti-crime crusade, an increasingly controversial campaign that has drawn UN condemnation. Police said they themselves killed 1,011 drug suspects with 1,391 others listed as "deaths under investigation". Since Rodrigo Duterte took Philippine Presidential office just over two months ago, more than 2,400 people have been killed in his anti-crime crusade, an increasingly controversial campaign that has drawn UN condemnation Noel Celis (AFP/File) "If they fight back... they will die. Rest assured, we do not discriminate," national police chief Ronald De la Rosa told a news conference. "All of them, the rich, the poor, police, civilians... even if you are a politician, you will die if you are into drugs and you fight back," he warned. The dominant Catholic church, human rights groups and even UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon have criticised Duterte for his apparent support of extrajudicial killings. Critics have also charged that the police are mainly killing poor people in the slums while wealthy and influential suspects have been spared. Duterte was elected by a landslide in May after vowing to end crime in six months by killing tens of thousands of criminals. De la Rosa, who has been Duterte's main enforcer in the campaign, stressed that police would be more merciless towards corrupt policemen involved in illegal drugs. "We even prefer to kill our fellows who have betrayed our cause... they have turned traitor," he added. Duterte and other officials have insisted that police only kill suspects in self-defence, and have said others were murdered by crime gangs trying to silence them. However Duterte has also openly called for the killing of drug suspects, even urging their neighbours to murder them. Concern over Duterte's anti-crime crackdown increased further after he declared a "state of lawlessness" following a bombing in his hometown of Davao last Friday that left 14 dead and about 70 injured. The declaration allows the president to use the military in law enforcement operations once limited to the police. Opposition legislators have said this action was unnecessary and could result in further breaches of human rights. De la Rosa, playing down such concerns, said: "Rest assured that we will implement this without violating human rights." Iran's Khamenei blasts Saudi management of holy sites With Iranians blocked from this month's hajj pilgrimage, their supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei issued a furious rebuke Monday to rival Saudi Arabia, saying the Muslim world should challenge its management of Islam's holiest sites. "Saudi rulers... who have blocked the proud and faithful Iranian pilgrims' path to the Beloved's House, are disgraced and misguided people who think their survival on the throne of oppression is dependent on defending the arrogant powers of the world, on alliances with Zionism and the US," Khamenei said. He accused Saudi Arabia's ruling family, who are the custodians of Islam's holiest sites in Mecca and Medina, of politicising the annual hajj pilgrimage, due to start at the end of the week, turning themselves into "small and puny Satans who tremble for fear of jeopardising the interests of the Great Satan (the United States)". Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei accused Saudi Arabia's ruling family of politicising the hajj pilgrimage - (KHAMENEI.IR/AFP/File) For the first time in almost three decades, Iranians have been effectively barred from participating in this year's pilgrimage to Mecca after talks on logistics and security fell apart. But even by recent standards, with relations between the rival Middle Eastern powers at an all-time low, the language was tough. "Because of Saudi rulers' oppressive behaviour towards God's guests, the world of Islam must fundamentally reconsider the management of the two holy places and the issue of hajj," Khamenei wrote in a statement on his website. He reserved some of his harshest words for Riyadh's response to a deadly stampede during last year's hajj that killed some 2,300 foreign pilgrims, including an estimated 464 Iranians. "Instead of apology and remorse and judicial prosecution of those who were directly at fault in that horrifying event, Saudi rulers -- with utmost shamelessness and insolence -- refused to allow the formation of an international Islamic fact-finding committee," he said. "The hesitation and failure to rescue the half-dead and injured people... is also obvious and incontrovertible," he added. "They murdered them." - 'Blasphemous, faithless' - As the two leading powers in the Middle East, Shiite Iran and predominantly Sunni Saudi Arabia are at odds over a raft of regional issues, notably the conflicts in Syria and Yemen in which they support opposing sides. Riyadh-Tehran ties were severed for four years after more than 400 people were killed in Mecca during clashes between Iranian pilgrims staging an anti-US protest and Saudi security forces in 1987. Iran is particularly opposed to the Saudi monarchy's close relationship with Washington and Israel. "The world of Islam, including Muslim governments and peoples, must familiarise themselves with the Saudi rulers and correctly understand their blasphemous, faithless, dependent and materialistic nature," Khamenei wrote. "They have placed pilgrims from the participating countries under unprecedented surveillance with the help of the spy agencies of US and the Zionist regime. They have made the divine sanctuary unsafe for everybody," he charged. In January, relations were severed again after Iranian demonstrators torched Saudi Arabia's embassy and a consulate following the kingdom's execution of a prominent Shiite cleric. Some 60,000 Iranians took part in last year's hajj, but it was announced in May that they would not be permitted to take part this year after the two countries failed to agree the hajj memorandum of understanding that is signed annually with more than 70 countries. Two rounds of talks led to agreements in some areas, including to use electronic visas which could be printed out by Iranian pilgrims, as Saudi diplomatic missions remain shut in Iran. But Riyadh said Tehran had made "unacceptable" demands, including the right to organise demonstrations "that would cause chaos". The kingdom's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Nayef reiterated those concerns on Monday night after reviewing a parade of hajj security forces. He said Iran was making "efforts to politicise hajj and convert it into an occasion to violate the teachings of Islam, through shouting slogans and disturbing the security of pilgrims", according to the official Saudi Press Agency. Saudi Arabia's ruling family are the custodians of Islam's holiest sites in Mecca and Medina Khaled Desouki (AFP/File) India to swap pellet guns for chilli shells in Kashmir Police and troops in Indian Kashmir will use chilli-based shells instead of pellet guns to quell protests, a minister said Monday, after hundreds of civilians sustained serious eye injuries in weeks of unrest. The government has been coming under growing pressure over the level of casualties in Kashmir during protests against Indian rule since the death of a popular rebel leader on July 8 in a gunbattle with soldiers. More than 70 civilians have been killed and thousands injured in the worst violence to hit the Muslim-majority territory since 2010, with many sustaining injuries from metal pellets fired from pump-action shotguns. Kashmiri muslim protestors throw stones at Indian security forces in Srinagar on August 29, 2016 Sajjad Hussain (AFP) Speaking on a visit to the state capital Srinagar, Home Minister Rajnath Singh said an expert panel had recommended the use of Pelargonic Acid Vanillylamide (PAVA) shells as an alternative to the mainly lead-based pellets. "The expert panel suggested the use of PAVA shells and I understand that no one can die from it," Singh told reporters as fresh violence erupted in parts of the territory. "Since yesterday, 1,000 shells have already reached Kashmir," he added. PAVA, also called Nonivamide, is present in chillis and is commonly used to make pepper spray. The pellet guns are meant to minimise fatalities in protests although the law gives the armed forces a relatively free hand to use lethal force, especially against suspected militants. But although they rarely result in deaths, the birdshot from the pellets can often blind victims if the fragments hit them in the eye. Hospitals say they have treated around 600 patients with eye injuries in the last two months, many of whom will never recover full vision. Authorities lifted a curfew in most parts of the territory late last month, but schools, shops and many banks remain closed while residents struggle with a communications blackout. Fresh clashes were reported at protests in large parts of Kashmir on Sunday, with sources putting the number of injured in three figures. "We have not the actual count of the injured but it is certain that a considerable number of forces personnel are also among them," a senior police official told AFP on condition of anonymity. Kashmir has been divided between India and Pakistan since the two gained independence from British rule in 1947. Both claim the territory in full. Several rebel groups have for decades fought Indian soldiers -- currently numbering around 500,000 -- deployed in the territory. They demand independence for the region or its merger with rival Pakistan. Tens of thousands of people, mostly civilians, have died in the fighting. Building collapse in Tel Aviv kills two, five trapped The collapse of a building in Israel's commercial capital Tel Aviv killed at least two people and injured 23 others Monday, as rescuers tried to reach five people believed trapped under the rubble. The accident occurred at a multi-floor underground car park at a construction site that was filled with twisted metal, dirt and rubble after the collapse. Surveillance video at the time of the collapse showed the area quickly enveloped by thick clouds of dirt and rubble. Israeli medics carry a wounded person away on a stretcher after an underground car park collapsed in the Ramat Hahayal neighbourhood of Tel Aviv, on September 5, 2016 Gil Cohen-Magen (AFP) Medics could be seen walking across rubble as they carried a wounded person away on a stretcher. Other medics with stretchers as well as ambulances waited nearby on standby. Search-and-rescue dogs were also at the scene. Police confirmed at least two killed and 23 wounded, while the army said it was searching for five people who were still trapped under the rubble. "Rescue forces and (Israeli) soldiers have extracted five civilians from the building which collapsed in Tel Aviv earlier today," the army said in a statement. "The forces are operating to extract five additional trapped civilians," it said, adding that more than 300 soldiers from the search-and-rescue battalion were taking part in the operation. Avi Marcus, a medic with United Hatzalah rescue service who arrived shortly after the collapse, told AFP at the scene that "it is about four to five stories down under the surface." "It was only construction workers. There weren't any other people. I provided medical care to some of the injured people... They say some movement shook the building," he said. Palestinian labour minister Mamoun Abu Shahla said the dead and wounded may have included Palestinians, but Israeli had not commented. Some 58,000 Palestinians hold permits to work in Israel, and thousands more cross illegally for jobs. - Cause unclear - United Hatzalah said "firefighters and rescue teams are working to extricate" those believed missing. "It appeared to me that the roof of a parking garage had collapsed in the building site," United Hatzalah quoted another of its medics as saying. "While members of our ambu-cycle unit who arrived first on scene were treating the injured, reports came in of other people who were unaccounted for and likely still trapped inside." The collapse occurred in Tel Aviv's Ramat Hahayal neighbourhood at the construction site that appeared to be around half-finished. Ramat Hahayal, an upmarket neighbourhood on the outskirts of Tel Aviv, is home to a number of high-tech offices in Israel's booming technology industry, based around the city of more than 400,000 people. The cause of the collapse was not yet clear. The Israel-based Africa Israel firm won the tender for the project, the Tel Aviv mayor's office said. Israel has seen an unusually high number of construction accidents in comparison to the developed world. Haaretz newspaper reported in May that 480 people were killed in construction accidents between 2000 and 2015. The survey placed Israel third from the bottom in a list that included the United States and 20 European nations, ahead of Cyprus and Portugal, Haaretz said, citing a report from the economy ministry and National Insurance Institute. The economy ministry said in response that it would focus on enforcing construction industry regulations. The underground car park collapse in Tel Aviv came as Israel witnessed an unusually high number of construction accidents in comparison to the developed world Gil Cohen-Magen (AFP) An Israeli sniffer dog is seen at the site where a building collapse on September 5, 2016 in the Ramat Hahayal neighbourhood in Tel Aviv Gil Cohen-Magen (AFP) Russia, Saudi agree cooperation on oil price but not freeze The world's two biggest oil producers Saudi Arabia and Russia said Monday they had agreed to "act together" to try to stabilise oil prices, but failed to make headway on a production freeze. The two nations "noted the particular importance of constructive dialogue and close cooperation between the largest oil-producing countries." This should have "the goal of supporting the stability of the oil market and ensuring a stable level of investment in the long term," the energy ministers from both countries said. The price of oil has nose-dived from all-time highs of $100 a barrel in mid-2014 Spencer Platt (Getty/AFP/File) Their comments came in a joint statement after a meeting at the G20 summit in China. "To this end the ministers agreed to act together or in cooperation with other oil producers," the statement said, adding they had agreed to set up a "joint monitoring group" to offer recommendations aimed at preventing price fluctuations. Russia's Energy Minister Alexander Novak described the announcement as marking a "new era" in cooperation between Russia and Saudi Arabia and insisted it would have a "critical significance" for oil markets, news agency Interfax reported. But there were no details on any agreement to freeze oil output, just weeks before Moscow and OPEC meet in Algeria to discuss the crisis. The globe's major oil producers have been unable to strike a deal on freezing output, due mainly to a dispute between fierce regional rivals Saudi Arabia and Iran over Tehran's desire to raise production levels after the lifting of sanctions. Novak said Moscow and Riyadh were discussing "concrete parameters" to halt price fluctuations but repeated that Iran should be allowed to return its output to pre-sanction levels. But Saudi Energy Minister Khaled al-Falih told Al-Arabiya television channel there was "currently no need to freeze production" after meeting Novak. "A freeze is one of the preferred options but it is not needed for the moment," he said. Russian President Vladimir Putin met Saudi Deputy Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman on the sidelines of the G20 on Sunday and said they would work to address a global glut and overproduction that has hammered prices for the past two years. In an interview ahead of the meeting Putin -- whose economy slumped into recession on the back of oil price falls -- said that a freeze was "the right decision" and called for "compromise". Philippines' Duterte calls Obama 'son of a whore' Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte called Barack Obama a "son of a whore" on Monday as he vowed not to be lectured by the US leader on human rights when they meet in Laos. The acid-tongued Duterte bristled at warnings he would face questioning by the US president over a war against drugs in the Philippines that has claimed more than 2,400 lives in just over two months. "You must be respectful. Do not just throw away questions and statements. Son of a whore, I will curse you in that forum," Duterte told a news conference shortly before flying to Laos to attend a summit. US President Barack Obama (left) and Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte Saul Loeb, Manman Dejeto (AFP) "We will be wallowing in the mud like pigs if you do that to me." Duterte was due to hold a bilateral meeting with Obama on Tuesday afternoon on the sidelines of a gathering of global leaders hosted by the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) in Vientiane, the Lao capital. But shortly after Duterte spoke, Obama appeared to cast doubt on whether such a meeting could take place. Calling Duterte "a colourful guy", the US president said was asking his staff to find out whether a meeting would be useful. "I always want to make sure if I'm having a meeting that it's actually productive and we're getting something done," he told reporters. Duterte, 71, was elected in May after a promise to wage an unprecedented war on illegal drugs that would see tens of thousands of suspects killed. Official figures released Sunday show that, since he took office on June 30, over 2,400 people have been killed in police anti-drug operations and by suspected vigilantes. Speaking on the sidelines of the G20 summit in the Chinese city of Hangzhou, Obama said Washington recognised that drugs were a significant problem for the Philippines. But he insisted that he would not shy away from raising concerns about the way the issue was being handled under the new administration. "The issue of how we approach fighting crime and drug trafficking is a serious one for all of us. We've got to do it the right way," he said. "Undoubtedly, if and when we have a meeting, this is something that's going to be brought up. And my expectation, my hope is that it could be dealt with constructively." Duterte has angrily rejected criticism from the Catholic Church, human rights groups, legislators and the United Nations. And he vowed Monday the bloodbath would continue as he pursued his goal of eradicating illegal narcotics in the Philippines. "More people will be killed, plenty will be killed until the last pusher is out of the streets. Until the (last) drug manufacturer is killed, we will continue and I will continue," he said. Duterte insisted he would not take orders from the United States, a former colonial ruler of the Philippines, and did not care about how he was perceived. Duterte has quickly earned a reputation for making offensive comments about his critics, or others he does not like. He has also branded Pope Francis and the US ambassador to Manila sons of whores. In South Sudan, dreams of freedom end in rape and murder "We women, we dare not go out at night because we risk being raped by soldiers," says Catherine Atanasyo. "For men, it's no better: death awaits them." Like 25,000 other South Sudanese people in and around the northwestern town of Wau, Atanasyo took refuge in a UN camp two months ago when violence tore through this part of the country, in yet another spasm of tribal violence driven by the desire for power and property. "My house is close by, but it's safer here because of the UN soldiers," she says. Around her are countless makeshift shelters made from bamboo canes and dust-reddened white tarpaulins. As so often in South Sudan's battles, no one knows the number killed, but at the UN camp for internally displaced people (IDPs) in Wau, there are many who say they lost people close to them Albert Gonzalez Farran (AFP/File) "You can go out in the day, it's possible -- that's how I know my house was looted -- but the night is out of the question, there is too much danger." Among the alleys of this squalid camp stories like Atanasyo's are everywhere. There is the 13-year-old girl raped on her way to school, the brothers killed in the fighting, the child born without a father. South Sudan won its independence in 2011 after decades of war with Sudan, to the north. But two years later a new war started, pitting the president, who is from the Dinka ethnic group, against his former deputy, who is from the rival Nuer, and splitting the new nation along roughly tribal lines in a conflict characterised by massacres, rape, attacks on civilians and the use of child soldiers. Tens of thousands have been killed since December 2013 and 2.5 million have fled their homes. Twice that number rely on food handouts to survive, with the UN calling the levels of food insecurity "unprecedented". - Toxic tribal politics - "Independence was a bad idea," says Atanasyo, who blames South Sudan's toxic tribal politics for the mess her country is in. "Only one tribe benefited, the Dinka." The core conflict is between President Salva Kiir's largely Dinka soldiers and Riek Machar's mostly Nuer rebels, but the fight has stoked other ethnic tensions across the country. Around Wau, people from the Fertit tribe accuse the Dinka of marginalising them. Tensions began in 2012, skirmishes followed last year then the town exploded into violence in late June. As so often in South Sudan's battles, no one knows the number killed, but at the UN camp, there are many who say they lost people close to them. "The soldiers came on June 24. They killed my brother who was a police officer and looted everything, my motorbike, our cooking pots, our beds," says 32-year-old Adam Umong. He lives with his remaining brother, George, who was shot in the leg during the attack. He has not spoken since "because of the shock," Umong says. - 'I want to kill them' - "This is not the independence we dreamt of," he said. "The current leaders must go: they led the country to ruin. Salva Kiir is not our president and Machar is no better." Some hope the proposed deployment of 4,000 additional UN peacekeepers might improve security for civilians, allowing them to return to their homes. "We do not choose to live here," says another camp resident, 27-year-old Christine Elia. Sickly-looking dogs wander between the nearby tents, while clothes dry on the camp's barbed wire fence. Barefoot children play in the dirt, shooting each other with homemade toy rifles fashioned from folded grass and rubber strips. "It is the Dinka have done this to us, who forced us to leave our homes," says a soft-spoken 10-year-old called Martin, who fiddles with his faded and torn t-shirt. Twin Taliban blasts in Kabul kill 24, injure 91 At least 24 people were killed and 91 wounded Monday in a Taliban double bombing near the defence ministry in central Kabul during rush hour, the latest assault on the Afghan capital. High-level officials, including an army general, were among those killed in the carnage, as the Taliban ramp up their nationwide offensive against the US-backed government. A suicide bomber struck the area just minutes after the first explosion, in an assault apparently aimed at inflicting mass casualties as officials left the ministry after work. Security personnel investigate the site of a deadly twin suicide bombing near the Ministry of Defence in Kabul on September 5, 2016 Wakil Kohsar (AFP) "The first explosion occurred on a bridge near the defence ministry. The second struck just as soldiers, policemen and civilians hurried to help the victims," defence ministry spokesman Mohammad Radmanish told AFP. Ambulances rushed to the scene, littered with disfigured bodies and charred debris. But there were so many bodies that some had to be taken to hospitals in car boots and the back of police pickup trucks. Firemen, meanwhile, raced to retrieve some bodies thrown into the Kabul River by the intensity of the first blast on the bridge. Health ministry spokesman Waheed Majroh said the attack left 24 people dead and 91 others wounded, some of them seriously, adding the casualties could rise still further. The Italian-run Emergency Hospital in Kabul, which was overwhelmed with wounded patients, tweeted that four people died on arrival. The interior ministry initially said the attack was carried out by two suicide bombers on foot. But officials later said the first bomb was detonated remotely while the second was triggered by a suicide bomber. - Rising insecurity - Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said on Twitter that the defence ministry was the object of the first attack, while police were targeted in the second. President Ashraf Ghani strongly condemned the carnage and offered condolences to the families of the victims. "The enemies of Afghanistan have lost their ability to fight the security and defence forces of the country," Ghani said in a statement. "That is why they are attacking highways, cities, mosques, schools and common people." The attack took place more than a week after 16 people were killed when militants stormed the American University of Afghanistan in Kabul, in a nearly 10-hour raid that prompted anguished pleas for help from trapped students. Explosions and gunfire rocked the campus in that attack, which came just weeks after two university professors -- an American and an Australian -- were kidnapped at gunpoint near the school. Their whereabouts are still unknown and no group so far has publicly claimed responsibility for the abductions. The uptick in violence in the capital comes as the Taliban escalate nationwide attacks, underscoring the worsening security situation since NATO forces ended their combat mission at the end of 2014. Afghan forces backed by US troops are seeking to head off a potential Taliban takeover of Lashkar Gah, the capital of the southern opium-rich province of Helmand. The Taliban have also closed in on Kunduz -- the northern city they briefly seized last year in their biggest military victory since the 2001 US invasion -- leaving Afghan forces stretched on multiple fronts. But NATO coalition forces have insisted that neither Kunduz nor Lashkar Gah are at risk of falling to the insurgents. Map of Kabul locating the suicide bombings in the centre Monday Anuj Chopra (AFP) Xi tells Abe that China, Japan should 'put aside disruptions' Chinese President Xi Jinping offered Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe an olive branch at their first meeting in over a year on Monday, Beijing's official news agency Xinhua reported. The Asian giants have been at loggerheads over territorial disputes and historical animosity, but Xi said they should "put aside disruptions" in their relationship and return to normal development, Xinhua said. For his part Abe said that Tokyo wanted to "manage difficult issues" and promote win-win cooperation, Japan's Kyodo news agency reported. Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe (left) shakes hands with China's President Xi Jinping in Hangzhou, China, on September 4, 2016 Greg Baker (AFP) The relationship between the two powers -- the world's second and third-largest economies -- is crucial to regional stability but they have a longstanding dispute over islands in the East China Sea controlled by Japan, which knows them as Senkaku, and claimed by China, which calls them Diaoyu. The comments after a G20 summit in Hangzhou were in marked contrast to the last time the two met on Chinese soil, on the sidelines of an APEC summit in 2014, when they could barely conceal their mutual distaste. Ties later thawed, but tensions have been rising again in recent months as Japan weighs in on another Chinese territorial dispute in the South China Sea, where Beijing has built artificial islands capable of supporting military facilities. Gabon's justice minister resigns as Ping calls for strike Gabon's justice minister resigned on Monday, in the first high-level defection after days of violence following incumbent Ali Bongo's disputed re-election, as the opposition leader called for a general strike to "topple the tyrant". Despite Jean Ping's appeal for an economic blockage, the centre of the capital Libreville was its usual bustling self on Monday as France said several of its dual citizens were "unaccounted for" following clashes and mass arrests. After being shuttered for days over the post-election violence, banks and shops were re-opened in the seaside city and taxis were returning to the streets. Gabonese police officers patrol near a barricade in the streets of Libreville on September 2, 2016 Marco Longari (AFP/File) According to an AFP count, post-election chaos has claimed at least seven lives in the oil-rich central African nation, ruled by the Bongo family since 1967. Gabonese authorities, however, said Monday the toll was three killed and 105 wounded, with the government saying some deaths had previously been incorrectly attributed to the clashes. Bongo's rival Ping, a veteran diplomat who has held a top African Union job and served as foreign minister, has vowed to challenge the election results. "We cannot accept that our people will be killed like animals without reacting," Ping said on Facebook. "I propose to cease all activity and begin a general strike," he wrote. "We must use all means of resistance to topple this tyrant and believe me, he is on the verge of falling." Bongo was declared victorious by a razor-thin margin of just under 6,000 votes, but Ping has insisted the vote was rigged and on Friday claimed victory for himself. In the first high-level defection since the vote, Justice Minister and second deputy prime minister Seraphin Moundounga on Monday announced his resignation and demanded "a recount of the votes, polling station by polling station, and registry by registry". Ping too is calling for a recount -- something the Gabonese authorities have so far refused to do. Speculation has mounted that he could launch an appeal for a recount at the Constitutional Court. Ping's supporters say fraud was rampant, notably in the Bongo fiefdom of Haut-Ogooue in the east. It is one of the country's nine provinces and turnout there, according to official figures, crossed 99 percent with 95 percent voting for the president. - International concern - Meanwhile, a high-level African Union delegation including "African heads of state" is ready to be dispatched to Libreville to help calm the situation, AU chairman and Chad President Idriss Deby said. The violence after the announcement of the results on Wednesday has sparked international concern with top diplomats calling for restraint as rights groups raised alarm over the use of excessive force. Some 800 people have been arrested in recent days in the capital, with the authorities accusing them of looting, while lawyers say they are being held in "deplorable" conditions. "Arrests have been carried out in recent days. Several French compatriots are unaccounted for," according to a statement from French Foreign Affairs Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault. They are believed to be roughly 10 dual French-Gabonese nationals who cannot be located, according to a diplomatic source. Anxious family members crowded before the court house in Libreville, hoping to catch a glimpse of loved ones missing since the rioting. - 'Lull before the storm' - Several prisoners on Monday told AFP they had been beaten, denied food and water or questioned harshly by authorities. "There were no toilets. We slept in our pee," said a man who asked that his name be given as Matthieu to protect his identity. "I asked for water. A guard put some water in a lid and told me 'Three lids, no more,'" he said. UN chief Ban Ki-moon spoke to both Bongo and Ping on Sunday and "deplored the loss of life", a UN statement said, adding that he "called for an immediate end to all acts of violence." Tensions remained high in the economic capital Port-Gentil and Total workers turned up for the first since Tuesday, a management source in the French oil giant told AFP. A Total worker said there had been gunshots heard in the city overnight. Gabon's sole refinery remains closed. The troubles have also caused prices to rocket. "Four chillies now cost 1,000 CFA francs (1.5 euros, $1.6) against 200 to 300 CFA francs earlier," said Andre, a resident from Lalala-a-gauche, a working class area in Libreville. "This is the lull before the storm," said a fruit and vegetable wholesaler, speaking from the central town of Lambarene. The internet was shutdown again Monday following a brief resumption after being cut off since Wednesday. The country had previously enjoyed relative political stability, mainly because former colonial power France helped Omar Bongo rule for 41 years. After he died in June 2009, his son Ali won an election but opposition media claimed he had essentially been installed by France. Gabon shaken by election violence Paz Pizarro, Alain Bommenel, Jonathan Jacobsen (AFP) Gabonese opposition leader Jean Ping gives a press conference at his residence in Libreville on September 2, 2016 Steve Jordan (AFP/File) Post-election unrest has claimed at least seven lives in oil-rich Gabon, ruled by the Bongo family since 1967 Marco Longari (AFP/File) US envoy visits Kurds in Syria amid Turkey tensions Washington dispatched a top envoy to meet with allied Kurdish forces inside Syria last week, a State Department official said Monday, following tensions after Turkey began operations in the war-torn country. Washington found itself trapped between two key allies who are bitter foes -- NATO partner Turkey, and the Syrian Kurdish YPG militia, also taking part in the war against the Islamic State jihadist group but considered a "terrorist" group by Ankara. A State Department spokesman told AFP that Brett McGurk, the special presidential envoy to the US-led coalition fighting IS, met with forces from the Kurdish-Arab Syrian Democratic Forces alliance. Brett McGurk, the special presidential envoy to the US-led coalition fighting IS, met with forces from the Kurdish-Arab Syrian Democratic Forces alliance in Syria Mandel Ngan (AFP/File) The alliance is led by the YPG, and recently captured the town of Manbij from IS, prompting alarm in Ankara and demands that Kurdish forces withdraw east of the Euphrates river. Ankara fears the Kurds will create a contiguous autonomous zone in northern Syria, emboldening Kurdish separatists inside Turkey. The spokesman said McGurk pledged "ongoing US support for the SDF in the fight against ISIL (IS), while emphasising the need for strict adherence to prior commitments", a reference to demands the SDF withdraw east of the Euphrates. "In all of his meetings, he encouraged unity of effort and de-confliction between all forces fighting ISIL in northern Syria," the spokesman said. Last week, the Pentagon was forced to call on Turkey and Kurdish forces to avoid fighting each other, after clashes in northern Syria following the launch of Ankara's operation "Euphrates Shield", which is targeting both IS and the YPG. McGurk also held talks last week in Turkey, the spokesman said. "He met with senior Turkish officials to discuss US support for efforts to clear ISIL entirely from the border region... (and) also discussed planning for the Mosul campaign in Iraq, and closer US and Turkish cooperation to accelerate ISIL's ultimate defeat." On Sunday, Turkish forces and allied Syrian rebels expelled IS from the last part of the Syrian-Turkish border under their control. Britain, Iran announce first ambassadors in 5 years Iran and Britain appointed new ambassadors to each other's countries on Monday for the first time since a mob ransacked the British embassy in Tehran in 2011. Hamid Baeidinejad, 53, was named as Tehran's envoy to London, ISNA state news agency reported. He played a crucial role in the negotiations with world powers that led to last year's nuclear accord and the lifting of international sanctions. Security forces stand guard outside the British embassy in Tehran as journalists arrive to cover Britain's Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond's visit on August 23, 2015 Atta Kenare (AFP/File) Britain appointed Nicholas Hopton -- the current charge d'affairs in Tehran -- as its first ambassador to Iran since relations were severed following the storming of the embassy by students in five years ago. "The upgrade in diplomatic relations gives us the opportunity to develop our discussions on a range of issues, including our consular cases about which I am deeply concerned," British Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson said in a statement, referring to the ongoing detention of dual nationals in Iran. "I hope this will mark the start of more productive cooperation between our countries, enabling us to discuss more directly issues such as human rights and Irans role in the region, as well as ongoing implementation of the nuclear deal and the expansion of the trading relationship between both our countries," said Johnson. The 2011 attack on the embassy saw a mob rampage for hours through the compound, tearing down the British flag, ripping up pictures of Queen Elizabeth II and trashing offices. The incident followed a vote by lawmakers to expel Britain's ambassador and reduce trade relations in retaliation for nuclear-related sanctions, but the violence was later condemned by Iran's supreme leader and other politicians. The British embassy was reopened in August 2015, a month after the signing of the nuclear accord, during a visit by Johnson's predecessor Philip Hammond. Baeidinejad worked as an expert on disarmament and represented Iran in several roles at the United Nations, including as ambassador between 2008 and 2011. Iran maintains a deep historical distrust of Britain, dating back to the early 20th century when London meddled frequently in Iranian politics in order to secure cheap access to oil for the Anglo-Iranian Oil Company (which later became BP). One former MP claimed the fashion items were part of a 'evil' western plot New fashion for women's coats, known as 'manteau', has caused a panic Iranian police have closed more than 800 clothes shops in a clampdown Iranian police have closed more than 800 clothes shops to stop them selling 'unconventional' women's coats. A further 3,000 shops have been sent warnings, the IRNA state news agency reported. A fashion for women's coats - known as 'manteau' - with English phrases printed on the back has worried the authorities, who passed new regulations in July. The coats in question tend to have nonsensical phrases such as 'Keep Calm I'm the Queen' written on them, but they also have short arms and no buttons in the front The coats in question tend to have nonsensical phrases such as 'Keep Calm I'm the Queen' written on them, short arms and no buttons in the front. These seemingly innocent fashion items have caused outrage among some authority figures. MP Zohreh Tabibzadeh even claimed the innocent fashion items were part of a 'calculated plan' to subvert traditional values. She said on July 11: 'I have seen girls and boys wearing clothes that have the word 'Queen' on them. Under Iranian law, women must wear a manteau, or similar item, that loosely covers the whole body from the neck down to the knee 'This is an ugly manifestation of a Western trend that has entered our country with evil intentions devised behind the scenes.' Minoo Aslani, of the hardline Women's Basij Organization, added: 'The spread of these kinds of products are against public morality and indicate a lack of attention by the officials in charge of cultural matters.' Mozambique shows 3 new pieces of suspected MH370 debris Mozambique authorities on Monday exhibited three new pieces of aircraft that washed up along its coast and are suspected of belonging to the missing flight MH370. The largest item is a triangular shaped piece which is red and white on one side and metallic on the other. It was picked up late last month by a South African hotelier off the waters of Mozambique's southern province of Inhambane. Joao de Abreu (right), President of Mozambique's Civil Aviation Institute (IACM), and a marshal display pieces of suspected aircraft wreckage found off the east African coast of Mozambique, in Maputo on September 5, 2016 Adrien Barbier (AFP) Joao de Abreu, director of Mozambique's aviation authority said it was the first time a coloured piece had been found. At a news conference, he said the piece could be "an aileron, a flap,(or) an elevator." On the inside, "we can see a label which will make it much easier to identify which aircraft it belongs to," he said. The other two pieces are smaller and were picked up by the son of a European Union diplomat near the southern resort of Xai Xai and handed to the authorities last month, he said, giving no further details. The items will be sent to Malaysia for examination. Malaysia Airlines jet MH370 vanished in March 2014 with 239 people onboard as it was flying from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing. Australia, which is leading the search, has determined that the five pieces of debris examined so far -- found in Mozambique, South Africa and Mauritius -- almost certainly came from the plane. In Turkey, Kurds begin hunger strike over jailed leader A group of 50 Kurdish activists, including MPs, on Monday began a hunger strike to protest the lack of news about the welfare of jailed Kurdish leader Abdullah Ocalan. The protesters, wearing T-shirts with bearing Ocalan's image, said they had received no update about him for several months. "We haven't received any objective information about Ocalan's state of health and security," said the group's spokeswoman Sabahat Tuncel in the Kurdish-majority city of Diyarbakir in the southeast. People wearing T-shirts featuring jailed PKK leader Abdullah Ocalan applaud during a speech by Turkey's pro-Kurdish People's Democratic Party co-chair Sebahat Tuncel speech on September 5, 2016 in Diyarbakir before starting a hunger strike Ilyas Akengin (AFP) "We, as 50 volunteers, are beginning a hunger strike for an unspecified period of time until a meeting is secured between Mr Ocalan and his lawyers, his family or a political delegation." Ocalan, who heads the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) which is blacklisted as a terror group by Turkey and its Western allies, is serving life for treason at an island prison near Istanbul. Since the collapse in July 2015 of a fragile ceasefire between the PKK and the Turkish state, he has not been permitted visits by lawyers or supporters. "We joined this (hunger) strike voluntarily and will continue till the end," Ferhat Encu, MP for the pro-Kurdish Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP), told AFP. He confirmed that there was no scheduled end date for the protesters' action. Fellow HDP lawmaker Dilek Ocalan, a niece of the jailed PKK leader, said their protest should not be interpreted as a sign of weakness. "It is the minimum demand of people who call for peace and settlement," she added. - 'False information' - Justice Minister Bekir Bozdag on Sunday dismissed claims there were any problems with Ocalan's health or his security, in a statement carried by state-run Anadolu news agency. "On the subject of Abdullah Ocalan, the subject is constantly exploited by the separatist terror organisation (PKK) and the public receives false information," he said. "To mobilise the public and for their own objectives, they spread unfounded information about (his) health and safety," he added. The hunger strike comes as Turkey's military steps up its campaign against PKK rebels in the southeast. Turkish war jets on Sunday bombed PKK bases in northern Iraq, Anadolu reported, citing the army, and "neutralised 30 terrorists including those from the leadership cadres of the separatist organisation," it added, referring to the PKK. At the weekend, Turkish warplanes also bombed four PKK targets in the Cukurca region near the Iraqi border after 22 soldiers and a village guard were killed in clashes and an attack blamed on the rebel group. Prime Minister Binali Yildirim visited Diyarbakir on Sunday in a bid to boost investment in areas "damaged by PKK terror." He said that 1.9 billion lira ($645 million/577 million euros) would be invested in the city's historic Sur district, which has been ravaged by renewed violence. Tunis hosts UN-brokered Libya talks Libyan politicians began Monday two days of UN-brokered talks in Tunis to discuss power struggles and jihadist threats that are undermining stability in the oil-rich country. The members of the Libyan Political Dialogue signed in December 2015 a political agreement that established the UN-backed Government of National Accord (GNA). But nine months on, the GNA led by Fayez al-Sarraj is still struggling to fully impose its legitimacy across the North African nation and facing rejection by Libya's parliament. Members of the forces loyal to Libya's UN-backed Government of National Accord (GNA) fire their weapons at enemy positions in the coastal city of Sirte Mahmud Turkia (AFP/File) The internationally recognised legislature has repeatedly refused to give the GNA the vote of confidence it needs in order to formally take office. On August 22, it again voted no confidence in the GNA and gave a nine-member presidential council headed by Sarraj a "final chance" to propose a new cabinet. Monday's talks also come as forces loyal to the GNA were facing stiff resistance from Islamic State group holdouts in the coastal city of Sirte. The pro-government forces launched an offensive in May to retake Sirte from IS jihadists, who had seized the hometown of slain dictator Moamer Kadhafi in June 2015. The capture of Sirte by IS sparked fears the jihadists would use the city as a springboard for attacks on Europe. National support for the GNA is seen as crucial to restoring stability and to tackling IS, which took advantage of the chaos that has gripped Libya since the 2011 uprising that ousted Kadhafi to take a foothold in the country. Jamel Achour, one of the participants at the Tunis talks, said the meeting was aimed at trying to "find urgent solutions to the stifling climate facing the country". Turkey's Erdogan proposes Syria 'no-fly zone' to US, Russia Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Monday he proposed, to the US and Russia, the setting up of a no-fly zone in northern Syria, after Ankara-backed fighters pushed the Islamic State group from the border area. "We are working for this region to be declared no-fly zone," Erdogan said at the G20 meeting in China, referring to the land extending from Jarabulus to Azaz in northern Syria seized from IS jihadists. "This is my proposal to Mr Putin and Mr Obama. This can be done with coalition forces," he added in televised comments. Turkish forces have expelled Islamic State fighters from the Syrian-Turkish border Nazeer al-Khatib (AFP) Turkey launched an ambitious operation inside Syria on August 24, sending tanks and special forces in to back opposition fighters. On Sunday, IS jihadists were expelled from their last positions along the Turkish-Syrian border depriving the group of a key transit point for recruits and supplies. Ankara has often called for a safe-zone inside Syria, backed up with a no-fly zone, as it is currently hosting more than 2.5 million refugees who fled the over five-year civil war. In China, Erdogan said he told all world leaders at the Antalya summit last year that "in Syria a safe zone could be set up... and we could solve the refugee crisis." He added: "Now in this summit, to all of our friends, we have brought up this issue and told them this." The Turkish president also said his country was cooperating with Russia for a ceasefire to be declared in the Aleppo region before the Eid al-Adha Muslim holiday, which is due around September 12. China, Japan seek to improve ties as Xi, Abe meet China's leader Xi Jinping and Japan's Shinzo Abe sought to reset their countries' troubled relationship Monday at their first meeting in over a year, with the Japanese prime minister calling China an "important friend". The Asian giants have been at loggerheads over territorial disputes and historical animosity, but Xi said they should "put aside disruptions", the official news agency Xinhua said. Their ties were "troubled by complications at times", it cited the Chinese president as saying, but they should seek to return to normal development for the sake of regional peace and stability. Chinese President Xi Jinping (L) said his nation and Japan should "put aside disruptions" Etienne Oliveau (Pool/AFP) For his part Abe described China as "an important friend of Japan's since long ago". "We need to look at the big picture and work to improve relations," he told reporters after the meeting. The tone of the two leaders' comments after a G20 summit in Hangzhou was a marked improvement on the last time they met on Chinese soil, on the sidelines of an APEC gathering in 2014, when they could barely conceal their mutual distaste. Ties later thawed, but tensions have been rising again in recent months. The relationship between the two powers is crucial to Asian stability, and Abe said they were "both responsible for the region's peace and prosperity as well as the global economy". But they have a longstanding dispute over islands in the East China Sea controlled by Japan, which knows them as Senkaku, and claimed by China, which calls them Diaoyu. Just weeks before the summit, hundreds of Chinese fishing boats, accompanied by government ships, flooded into nearby waters, infuriating Tokyo and raising questions about Beijing's intentions for the relationship. - Oil on troubled waters - In a substantive breakthrough, the leaders agreed that they would restart talks later this month on a deal to jointly develop resources in the region. Japan and China agreed in June 2008 to cooperate over oil and gas resources in area, but negotiations stopped two years later amid rising tensions. Meanwhile, Japan has weighed in on another Chinese territorial dispute in the South China Sea, where Beijing has built artificial islands capable of supporting military facilities. Abe has vocally criticised China for rejecting a July ruling by an international tribunal that said its extensive claims to the strategically vital waters had no legal basis. Monday's rapprochement only went so far. Xi told Abe that Japan should "exercise caution in its words and deeds" on the issue, Xinhua said. And Abe reiterated his stance, saying: "Any dispute has to be solved peacefully and diplomatically under international law, not through power or intimidation." "Since we are neighbours, we have a variety of problems," he said. "So therefore, it is important to have dialogue." The two agreed to accelerate talks on an air and sea communications hotline between their defence ministries, he added. Last week Japan's defence ministry requested a record budget, including funds for an anti-ship missile system to defend the East China Sea islands. Beijing has the world's largest military at its disposal and the tensions have at times raised fears of clashes between them. Putin says 'some alignment' with US on Syria after Obama talks Russian President Vladimir Putin said Monday that there had been some "alignment" with US counterpart Barack Obama over Syria after talks in China, insisting the two sides could reach a deal soon. "Despite everything, we have some alignment of positions and an understanding of what we could do to de-escalate the situation in Syria," he told a press conference following the G20 summit in China. "I believe that we are on the right track and could, at least for some period of time, agree to carry out mutual energetic attempts to make the situation in Syria more healthy," he said. Russian President Vladimir Putin (left) meets Barack Obama on the sidelines of the G20 summit in Hangzhou, China, on September 5, 2016 Alexei Druzhinin (Sputnik/AFP) Putin insisted he believed a deal with Washington could be firmed up in the "coming days" but refused to give concrete details, saying that US and Russian officials are still "working out some of our preliminary agreements." "We can say that our mutual work with the US in fighting terrorist organisations, including in Syria, will be significantly improved and intensified." Obama earlier called the talks with Putin on Syria, which lasted about 90 minutes, "productive". Moscow and Washington support different sides in Syria's festering conflict that has left 290,000 dead, with Russia backing President Bashar al-Assad while the United States supports rebel groups fighting him. "Both US and Russia are interested in fighting terrorism," Putin said at the conference. "The US President is absolutely sincere in striving for a resolution of the Syrian conflict," also calling the US a "key partner" on security issues. Abbas accepts Russia plan to meet Netanyahu: envoy Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas has agreed on a Russian proposal for him to meet Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as part of a new peace push, an official said Monday. Netanyahu has said he is open to such a meeting together with Russian President Vladimir Putin. But the Palestinians have questioned Israel's commitment to the initiative and disagreements have derailed previous attempts to arrange talks. Palestinian leader Mahmud Abbas will meet with Israely President Benjamin Netanyahu in Moscow Ashraf Shazly (AFP/File) "We told the Russian side today that president Abbas accepted the Russian initiative about the meeting of Abbas and Netanyahu with President Putin in Moscow," said Abed al-Hafeez Nofal, the Palestinian ambassador to Moscow. "But it is clear for us that the Israelis are evading the requirements of the meeting," he told AFP by phone, without providing further details. Abbas is currently travelling in Poland and his entourage could not immediately be reached for comment. Netanyahu earlier Monday discussed the proposal with Putin's Middle East envoy Mikhail Bogdanov in Jerusalem. They "discussed President Putin's proposal to host a face-to-face meeting between the prime minister and president Abbas in Moscow," Netanyahu's office said in a statement. "The prime minister presented Israel's position that he is always ready to meet with president Abbas directly and without preconditions. He is therefore reviewing the Russian president's proposal and the timing of a possible meeting." Bogdanov was expected in Ramallah for talks with Palestinian officials on Tuesday. The Palestinian ambassador also told Russian news agency Interfax that Bogdanov had met Abbas in Jordan three weeks ago and "received his agreement to participate in such a meeting". The ambassador said the Palestinian side "had planned for the meeting to take place on September 9." But he said the talks had been postponed indefinitely "after Israel's decision to take a pause and have a think about agreeing." Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi said recently Putin wanted to host an Israeli-Palestinian summit to revive peace talks. Abbas's office has said previously that the Palestinians are ready to participate in any peace initiative aimed at a "comprehensive and fair solution". But Palestinian leaders also say years of negotiations with the Israelis have not ended the occupation of the West Bank, and they have more recently pursued an international strategy. They have previously said an Abbas-Netanyahu meeting would lead nowhere without a freeze on Israeli settlement building, the release of Palestinian prisoners and a deadline for an end to the occupation. Peace efforts have been at a standstill since a US-led initiative collapsed in April 2014. The last substantial public meeting between Abbas and Netanyahu is thought to have been in 2010, though there have been unconfirmed reports of secret meetings since then. Libya air academy turned jet base in battle against IS Yellow-and-blue fighter jets sit neatly lined up on the tarmac at the air force academy in Libya's Misrata, no longer awaiting students but orders for strikes against the Islamic State group. The military college has been transformed into a major base in the battle against the jihadists since they gained ground in the country in the turmoil that followed the 2011 uprising. For a year and half its planes -- flown mainly by former instructors in their 40s and 50s -- have been carrying out strikes against IS, and for several months they have been targeting what was their main stronghold in North Africa. Aero L-39 Albatros fighter jets of the Libyan Air Force sit on the tarmac at the Air College in the coastal city of Misrata on September 4, 2016 Mahmud Turkia (AFP) IS took over Sirte some 250 kilometres (150 miles) east of Misrata in June last year, sparking fears the jihadists would use the Mediterranean city as a launchpad for attacks in Europe. Forces loyal to the UN-backed government this June fought their way into Sirte and have since pushed back IS fighters into one last district of the city. At the air force academy in Misrata, two pilots board a fighter jet don their helmets and wait for the signal to fly off on a reconnaissance mission of IS targets. "We know this terrorist organisation operates worldwide," Brigadier-General Rajab Abdaraheem says, referring to IS. - 'Defending the world' - "When I'm up in the air about to hit an IS target, I feel like I'm defending my country and the world," says the 57-year-old pilot who has been flying since he graduated in 1982. Since it opened in 1975, more than 30 classes of around 1,000 trainee pilots have graduated from the academy. The school trained officers from Libya and other countries in the Arab world until the 2011 uprising that toppled and killed longtime dictator Moamer Kadhafi. The academy saw heavy fighting between the rebels and fighters loyal to Kadhafi and was damaged in NATO strikes backing the opposition who retook the area. The door of the main maintenance hangar at the academy is still peppered with bullet holes. After 2011 "we renovated the facilities... but when the situation in Libya didn't stabilise the academy became a (military) base," says Brigadier-General Abderahman Mohammad. Officers -- most of whom had graduated for the academy in the 1980s and 1990s -- transformed the college's training aircraft into warplanes, equipping them with rockets and missiles, they say. The aircraft date mainly from the Kadhafi era and include some two dozen ageing jets including Russian-made MiG-23s, Yugoslav Soko G-2 Galebs and Czech L-39s, as well as helicopters. Beyond the tarmac, dozens of empty wooden boxes that used to contain missiles lie empty in the dust. The base's forces "quashed any fantasy IS might have had, prevented it from expanding and limited the movements of its members," says Mohammad Qanono, a spokesman at the airfield. - 1,400 sorties - Since March last year -- when the first jet took off from the base on a mission against IS -- until Sunday, the academy's planes had carried out 1,400 sorties on missions to survey and strike IS targets, he says. Around 600 of those missions have been logged since May and were mostly against IS positions in Sirte and in the desert to the south of the city. Since the battle for Sirte began on May 12, pilots at the base have also been tasked with ferrying out wounded loyalist fighters in helicopters to the Misrata hospital. More than 400 fighters loyal to the Tripoli-based government have been killed and about 2,500 wounded since the start of the offensive. And since the start of last month, forces backing the Government of National Accord have also been supported by US air strikes. On Friday, the United States Africa Command said that since the US campaign began on August 1, US drones, helicopters and bombers had carried out a total of 108 air strikes against the jihadists in Sirte. "We asked for... US air strikes because the US air force is very precise," says Qanono. South Sudan peace possible without rebel chief: diplomat The absence of South Sudan's rebel leader Riek Machar should not delay the implementation of a peace deal, an envoy to the UN Security Council said on Monday. Former vice president and rebel leader Machar is undergoing medical treatment in Khartoum after being chased from South Sudan's capital in July by forces loyal to President Salva Kiir. Machar has since been replaced by former ally Taban Deng Gai. "Taban Deng is serving as vice president and he will stay in that position until the return, if there is a return, of Riek Machar," Alexis Lamek, France's deputy UN ambassador told AFP after meeting the African Union's Peace and Security Council in the Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa. South Sudanese rebel leader Riek Machar left the country following violent clashes last month and is now in a "safe" country in the region, his aides say Zacharias Abubeker (AFP/File) "For us, what is certain is that this issue should not delay implementation of the peace agreement. It is necessary to move forward," he said. The Security Council was in Addis Ababa at the end of a four-day visit to the region to push for peace in South Sudan, the world's youngest nation which has been wracked by war since 2013. Machar's appointment as vice president was a key provision of a year-old peace deal that has so far failed to end the fighting in South Sudan which began with a dispute between Kiir and Machar in December 2013. Since Machar's flight from Juba he has been sidelined domestically and internationally. Last month, US Secretary of State John Kerry signalled Machar's waning importance saying, "there is an allowance for the replacement of personnel and that has been effected with the appointment of a new vice president." In Addis Ababa, UN and African diplomats also discussed a proposed 4,000-strong UN protection force for South Sudan. Which countries will contribute troops, when they will arrive and what their mandate will be are still under discussion despite South Sudan agreeing in principle to the deployment at the weekend. Lamek, who spent three days in South Sudan prior to arriving in Ethiopia, said the protection force is necessary because the situation in South Sudan is "more alarming that we imagined". Aside from the tens of thousands of people killed, the United Nations has reported shocking levels of brutality including gang-rapes and the wholesale burning of villages. Clinton, Trump kick off their race to election finish Rivals Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump sprinted out of the campaign blocks to begin their two-month dash to the US presidential election, descending on Ohio as ground zero of their 2016 battle. The candidates used Labor Day -- the traditional launch of the home stretch of the presidential campaign -- to push their arguments that they would be best for working-class Americans. Democrat Clinton maintains an edge over Trump in national polls, has dramatically deeper ground operations in swing states, and trounced Trump in August fundraising. US Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton speaks during an event at Illiniwek Campground in Hampton, Illinois, on September 5, 2016 Brendan Smialowski (AFP) But the Republican flagbearer's unorthodox White House bid, including his campaign's apparent imperviousness to criticism about his harsh rhetoric, assures a tight contest for the next 64 days. "I'm not taking anybody, anywhere for granted," Clinton told a crowd of more than 1,000 at a picnic in Cleveland. Highlighting the intensity of the fight for battleground states like Ohio, Trump was already on the ground in Cleveland for his own campaign events when Clinton landed, their planes parking about two football fields apart on the tarmac. "I'm ready. I'm more than ready," she said of the intense two-month battle ahead as she attempts to become the first female US commander in chief. But after a few days of rest from campaigning, Clinton coughed her way through portions of her Cleveland remarks. Suffering one of her worst coughing bouts of the race, she paused to sip water, her voice reduced to a crackling whisper at times. That's sure to fuel critics' claims that Clinton, 68, has serious health problems. Clinton dismissed such "conspiracy theories," saying her coughing was just from seasonal allergies. Clinton debuted her new campaign plane -- with the slogan "Stronger Together" emblazoned on the side -- and brought the press corps aboard her jet for the first time. Under extensive criticism from her rival and journalists for not holding a full press conference in nine months, she answered questions for more than 22 minutes on several topics, including tensions with Russia over accusations of cyber-espionage. Clinton expressed "grave" concern about reports that Russia has been interfering in the US electoral process through invasive cyber attacks on the Democratic Party and an apparent attack on voter registration systems in Arizona. And she implied Moscow was trying to help get Trump elected. "I think it's quite intriguing that this activity has happened around the time Trump became the nominee," she said. - Republican messenger - On Monday, Trump followed Clinton's lead, inviting some journalists aboard his private jet where he discussed his immigration platform. Just a week after traveling to Mexico for his first international trip as the nominee, and then returning across the US border to deliver a nativist immigration speech, he assailed Clinton for having "no plan" on immigration. "What her real plan is, she has total amnesty" and a pathway to citizenship, he said, reiterating his opposition to such a legalization process without undocumented immigrants leaving the country first. Under Clinton, "people can pour across the border and it doesn't matter who the people are." Clinton shot back by recalling Trump's meeting with Mexico's President Enrique Pena Nieto and their clash over Trump's plan to have Mexico pay for a border wall. Trump "can't even go to a friendly foreign country without getting into a fight," she said during a campaign stop in Hampton, Illinois. Trump, who visited a Cleveland diner to meet with union members, is seeking to capitalize on simmering frustration among blue-collar workers over jobs and wages. He and his running mate Mike Pence also dropped in on the Canfield County Fair in working class eastern Ohio, where several attendees clapped and chanted Trump's name. "I love you Donald!" a teenage boy shouted. Trump, 70, dominated last week's political messaging and imagery that included his visit to an African-American church in Detroit. And while Sunday's CBS News Battleground Tracker shows Clinton, 68, leading Trump in two key states -- by eight points in Pennsylvania and four points in North Carolina -- recent polls show the race tightening nationally. - On the road - The first of three presidential debates that are expected to be the most watched moments of the election is just three weeks away. After hinting last month that he might not participate in all of them, Trump told reporters he was on board. "I expect to do all three," Trump told reporters. Clinton and Trump were each joined by their running mates in Ohio, a signal of the importance each campaign places on the Buckeye State. Democratic Senator Sherrod Brown of Ohio said there was "more pressure on Trump" than Clinton to win there. "If Trump loses Ohio he loses the race," Brown told AFP. "Hillary can lose Ohio and still win because she's going to win Virginia, North Carolina, Colorado," and other swing states, Brown added. On Tuesday, Clinton flies to Tampa, Florida to attend a voter registration rally in a state that like Ohio is considered one of the key swing states of the election. Key dates in the life and career of Democratic US presidential contender Hillary Clinton Simon Malfatto, Laurence Saubadu (AFP) Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump unveils his 10-point plan to crack down on illegal immigration on August 31, 2016 in Phoenix, Arizona David Cruz (Digital/AFP/File) A plane belonging to US Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump (L) is seen on the tarmac close to Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton's plane, at Cleveland Hopkins International Airport in Ohio, on September 5, 2016 Brendan Smialowski (AFP) Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump trails in polling but dominated the week's political messaging and imagery Aaron P. Bernstein (Getty/AFP/File) Fighting in Yemen oil region kills 26 At least 26 fighters were killed in clashes on Monday between pro-government troops and rebels over control of an oil-rich region east of the Yemeni capital, military sources said. "Pro-government forces launched a military operation today to retake Sarwah," a loyalist military source said of the only part of Marib province still held by the rebels who have controlled nearby Sanaa since September 2014. Clashes and air raids by the Saudi-led coalition backing Yemen's internationally recognised government "killed 16 rebels and left dozens wounded", the source said. Yemeni fighters loyal to exiled President Abedrabbo Mansour Hadi wait next to their pick-up truck in Marib province on April 9, 2016 Nabil Hassan (AFP/File) Ten pro-government soldiers were killed and 12 wounded in the fighting, he added. Loyalist forces recaptured hills overlooking Sarwah, military sources said. Marib province has seen fierce battles between forces loyal to President Abedrabbo Mansour Hadi and Shiite Huthi rebels and their allies. If they controlled Marib, loyalist forces could advance from the east towards Sanaa. A Saudi-led coalition which intervened in March last year against the Iran-backed rebels has forces based in Marib to support the loyalists. It has intensified operations since the suspension in early August of UN-brokered peace talks. The United Arab Emirates, which plays a key role in coalition operations, said Monday one of its soldiers had been killed in Yemen, in an armed forces statement published by the official WAM news agency. The Yemeni government's sabanew.net said the Emirati soldier was killed during the Marib operation. More than 6,600 people have been killed in the Yemeni conflict since March 2015, according to the United Nations. France warns IS fighters could flee Libya to Tunisia, Egypt Islamic State group fighters could flee to Egypt or Tunisia after being flushed from their former Libyan stronghold of Sirte, French Defence Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian warned Monday. "We should begin to look seriously at the question of the spread of the terrorists once Sirte... (is) emptied of the terrorists," Le Drian told a defence conference in Paris. "They don't disappear. There's a new risk that appears," he said, adding: "Indirectly this will pose new risks for Tunisia and Egypt." Forces loyal to Libya's Government of National Accord hold a position in the area known as District Three in the west of the coastal city of Sirte on September 3, 2016 Mahmud Turkia (AFP/File) He said it was a "shame, perhaps political reasons prevent it, that all the neighbouring states of Libya don't meet" over the issue. Le Drian's Tunisian counterpart Farhat Horchani also called for effective regional coordination. "We have a large number of foreign fighters who arrived from Sirte, or from Syria. I can see no strategy, no cooperation between the states," to deal with the problem, said Horchani who attended the same defence conference in Paris. Backed by weeks of US air strikes, forces loyal to Libya's Government of National Accord (GNA) have recaptured nearly all of what had been the jihadists' main stronghold in north Africa. Pro-GNA forces launched a new attack on Saturday against IS in Sirte, saying Sunday it could take several days to gain full control of the city. The Sunni extremists took advantage of the chaos in oil-rich Libya after the 2011 uprising to seize Sirte in June 2015, hoisting their black flag above the city. The capture of Sirte by IS last year sparked fears the jihadists would use it as a springboard for attacks on Europe. National support for the GNA is seen as crucial to restoring stability and to tackling IS, which took advantage of the chaos that has gripped Libya since the 2011 uprising that ousted dictator Moamer Kadhafi to take a foothold in the country. While the loss of Sirte is a reversal for Islamic State fighters, between 5,000 and 7,000 of the jihadists remain in Libya, according to French and US figures. Many "have evaporated in the south of the country," a French security source told AFP. Le Drian warned that the Libyan crisis would only be solved "if the Libyans themselves secure real political and military coherence." France wants to see the GNA consolidating its power and becoming recognised by everyone, he added. Halep solves Suarez to reach US Open quarter-finals Simona Halep punched her ticket to the US Open quarter-finals on Monday, where the fifth-ranked Romanian will likely find world number one Serena Williams waiting. Halep, a former French Open finalist who has won three WTA titles in 2016, defeated Spain's Carla Suarez Navarro 6-2, 7-5 -- edging ahead in a rivalry that had seen them split their previous 10 matches 5-5. "I just gave everything I had," said Halep, who sailed through the first set and gained an early break in the second before Suarez put the brakes on. Simona Halep of Romania returns a shot against Carla Suarez Navarro of Spain on September 5, 2016 Timothy A. Clary (AFP) Serving for the match at 5-4, Halep was broken, but she broke back immediately and made no mistake with her second chance. "I'm really happy I could win this match," said Halep, who was already looking forward to a probably clash with Williams. "The next round will be a very tough one, so I want to enjoy this victory today," she said. Williams, gunning for a seventh US Open title and 23rd Grand Slam crown -- both of which would be Open Era records -- was the star attraction Monday taking on 52nd-ranked Yaroslava Shvedova. Williams has won all four of her prior meetings with the Kazakh and even though she's still receiving treatment on a balky right shoulder she has reached the round of 16 without dropping a set. A victory over Shvedova would not only put her into the last eight, it would take her to 308 Grand slam match wins -- past Roger Federer for the most by anyone in the Open Era. Although she seems to rack up a Grand Slam record any time she steps on the court, Williams' reign atop the world rankings is under pressure, with quarter-finalist Angelique Kerber now poised to topple her if the American doesn't reach the final. Fourth-seeded Agnieszka Radwanska, who also has an outside chance of seizing the number one ranking, faces a tricky battle for a quarter-final berth against Ana Konjuh. Poland's Radwanska had to save three match points to get past the 18-year-old Croatian in the second-round at Wimbledon this year. In the fourth round of a Grand Slam for the first time, Konjuh will be out to prevent Radwanska from advancing in the only major in which she has never reached the quarters. Sixth-seeded Venus Williams was also in action, taking on hard-hitting Czech Karolina Pliskova for a place in the last eight. The other quarter-finals have already been set, with two-time runner-up Caroline Wozniacki to face Latvia's Anastasija Sevastova in a battle of comeback kids and Kerber taking on seventh-seeded Roberta Vinci, the Italian who shocked Serena last year en route to the 2015 final, where she was beaten by compatriot Flavia Pennetta. Five charged in Madagascar over murder of French pair Five people were charged and remanded in custody Monday over the murder in August of two young French volunteers on an island off Madagascar, a police official told AFP. "Five people, including a French national, were charged with murder. Four other suspects have been released," said Elien Rajaonson, who heads the police criminal investigation division. All nine of the original suspects were brought before a judge on Monday in Tamatave, the capital of the island of Sainte Marie. A cordoned section of a beach were two French people were found dead, on August 21, 2016 in Sainte Marie Island Sarah Tetaud (AFP/File) On August 21, the bodies of the two French citizens, a man and a woman in their 20s, were found on a beach of the island of Sainte Marie with head injuries. They had been volunteering at Cetamada, a local environmental non-profit organisation working to protect ocean mammals. Among those remanded in custody in connection with the crime was the French boyfriend of one of the victims, who lived on the island. According to authorities on Sainte Marie, an island famous for eco-tourism, it is the first time French citizens have been murdered there. In 2012, a French couple was found dead on a beach in southern Madagascar. Five things to take away from the G20 summit This year's most exclusive and closely-watched diplomatic party - the G20 summit - saw presidents and prime ministers from countries representing 85 percent of the global economy gather in the Chinese city of Hangzhou. How did the first China-hosted G20 go? While analysts correctly foresaw little prospect of big economic breakthroughs, there were some notable moments - and notable flops. As heads of state bid farewell to the scenic city, which authorities emptied of residents to ensure a smooth summit, here are some of the memorable takeaways. Hangzhou was emptied of residents to ensure a smooth G20 summit Wang Zhao (AFP) Globalisation Facing populist ire at home, heads of state at the G20 tried to walk a fine line by acknowledging anti-globalisation anger while arguing that ever more liberal trade was the cure for sluggish economies. In their communique they promised to "reject protectionism" and "promote global trade". But they also pledged to ensure that growth "serves the needs of everyone and benefits all countries and all people". It should generate "more quality jobs" address inequalities and eradicate poverty "so that no one is left behind", they said. During the gathering leaders repeatedly admitted that many citizens feel the global trade system has failed them. US President Obama's parting words on the G20 meeting - his last - were a poignant admission that these are "turbulent times" with "volatile politics" where people don't believe leadership is capable of "making sure the international economy is working for everybody". Syria Heading into the meeting, diplomats were hopeful that the US and Russia would reach a deal to ease fighting in Syria, but talks failed Monday despite the efforts of Secretary of State John Kerry and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov. The American side accused Russia of backtracking on already agreed issues which Washington refused to revisit, but the talks seemed to have been overtaken by developments on the ground, after government troops encircled rebel-held parts of Aleppo. Maritime disputes While China was eager to put on a show of concord in Hangzhou, tensions over the South China Sea have risen sharply, putting the Asian giant at odds with many neighbours over its expansive claims to nearly all of the strategic and resource-rich waterway. Beijing was eager to avoid the contentious topic, but Obama took the opportunity to chide China Saturday, telling it to abide by international law, drawing a rebuke from Xi Jinping. Japan has longstanding territorial disputes of its own with China but Xi's tone with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe was warmer than previously. At their first meeting in over a year Xi said the two powers should "put aside disruptions" in their relationship, and Abe described China to reporters as "an important friend of Japan's since long ago". Brexit New British leader Theresa May came on her first prime ministerial visit to China in hopes of shaping her country's post-EU access to world markets, but faced a Japanese warning over the fallout from Brexit while the US said London was not its priority. In the wake of its vote to leave the European Union, Britain must renegotiate its access to world markets -- a huge task for the world's fifth biggest economy. European Commission chief Jean-Claude Juncker said he did not like the idea of Britain holding trade talks while still part of the EU. But Britain has already had discussions on the issue with Australia, and May said after the summit that India, Mexico, South Korea and Singapore all said they would "welcome" talks on removing barriers. US-China diplomacy Ceremonial niceties matter at the G20, and things got off to a bad start when Barack Obama exited from the rear of Air Force One on folding stairs, a marked contrast to other leaders who descended down a large red-carpeted staircase. But furious speculation claiming it was a deliberate snub by China, fuelled in part by a tarmac stand-off between travel press and a Chinese agent, seems to have been misplaced, as US sources told AFP the incident came about because Washington refused to use a Chinese staircase in favour of the plane's built-in steps. Chinese authorities imposed unusually tight security on the event, with vast swaths of the city closed to normal traffic, but Obama himself downplayed the incident, leading China's nationalist Global Times newspaper to claim in a Sunday editorial that the hype was due to Western media, which often makes a fuss over trifling issues. US President Barack Obama speaks during a press conference following the conclusion of the G20 summit in Hangzhou on September 5, 2016 Saul Loeb (AFP) US and Russia could not reach a deal to ease fighting in Syria despite the efforts of Secretary of State John Kerry and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov Wang Zhao (Pool/AFP) Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe (L) shakes hands with China's President Xi Jinping in Hangzhou on September 4, 2016 Greg Baker (AFP) Britain's Prime Minister Theresa May came on her first prime ministerial visit to China in hopes of shaping her country's post-EU access to world markets Greg Baker (AFP) Security Council to meet after latest NKorea missile test The UN Security Council will convene Tuesday to discuss North Korea after the isolated communist state test-fired three ballistic missiles into the sea during the G20 summit in China, sparking condemnation from a senior US official at the meeting. The discussion -- requested by council members Japan and the United States -- is slated to begin at 11:30 am local time (1530 GMT) in New York, where the council will consider a response to the latest missile launches. North Korea test-fired three ballistic missiles into the sea Monday, South Korea said, in a new show of force as world leaders met in Hangzhou, China. Visitors walk past replicas of North Korean Scud-B missile (C back) and South Korean Hawk surface-to-air missiles (L front) at the Korean War Memorial in Seoul on September 5, 2016 Jung Yeon-Je (AFP) The missiles were fired into the Sea of Japan (East Sea) from the North's Hwangju county at around 0300 GMT, a spokesman for Seoul's defence ministry said. The sabre-rattling follows the North's submarine-launched ballistic missile test some two weeks ago. "They are speculated to be Rodong missiles with a range of 1,000 kilometres (620 miles) and were fired without navigational warning to Japan," the spokesman said in a statement. "North Korea's ballistic missile launch is a direct violation of UN Security Council resolutions, aimed at showing off its nuclear and missile capabilities during the G20 summit," he added. The defence ministry in Tokyo said the three missiles were estimated to have fallen into Japan's maritime Exclusive Economic Zone. "The ministry expresses serious concern over the missile launches as they pose a grave threat to Japan's national security," a ministry statement said. The North's latest tests sparked strong protests from senior Japanese and US officials. The launches "are a grave security provocation and can never be permitted", Japanese Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida told reporters in Tokyo. "We have lodged a strong protest against North Korea." A senior US administration official at the G20 also condemned the launches as a threat to its allies and to civilian air travel, and vowed diplomatic action against the Pyongyang regime. "Today's reckless launches by North Korea pose threats to civil aviation and maritime commerce in the region," the official said. Washington would try to "bolster international resolve to hold the DPRK (North Korea) accountable for its provocative actions". - Series of missile tests - North Korea has conducted a series of missile tests this year in defiance of UN sanctions imposed after its fourth nuclear test in January. Monday's missile launches came hours after South Korean President Park Geun-Hye and Chinese President Xi Jinping met on the sidelines of the summit in Hangzhou. Ties between South Korea and China have been frosty since Seoul announced plans to deploy a US anti-missile system in July to counter growing nuclear and missile threats from the North. During the summit, Xi reiterated Beijing's opposition to Seoul's planned deployment of the Terminal High Altitude Area Defence (THAAD) system, arguing that "mishandling" the issue could "intensify disputes" in the region, China's state-run Xinhua news agency said. Park labelled North Korea's continued provocations as a "challenge" to Seoul-Beijing ties, adding that security threats from Pyongyang were at an "unprecedented level", South Korea's Yonhap news agency said. Another test was a submarine-launched ballistic missile last month. That missile, fired from off the northeastern port of Sinpo, flew 500 kilometres (around 300 miles) towards Japan, far exceeding the range of the North's previous sub-launched missiles. The country's leader Kim Jong-Un described the August test as the "greatest success" and said it put the US mainland within striking range. The launch was widely condemned by the US and other major powers but analysts saw it as a clear step forward for North Korea's nuclear strike ambitions. A proven submarine-launched ballistic missile system would allow deployment far beyond the Korean peninsula and a "second-strike" capability in the event of an attack on the North's military bases. Trump says he expects to do all 3 presidential debates Republican Donald Trump said Monday he was committed to participating in the three official presidential debates with rival Hillary Clinton, barring some unforeseen "natural disaster" like a hurricane. "I expect to do all three," Trump told reporters aboard his campaign plane in Ohio, where he and Clinton were hosting dueling campaign events as they wooed voters in the critical swing state. Trump last month expressed doubt about participating in all three debates, the first of which will be held September 26 at Hofstra University in New York. Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump said he "enjoyed the debating process" during the Republican primaries Ralph Freso (Getty/AFP/File) For a first-time debater, this cauldron of presidential political theater could present a daunting challenge, especially against a savvy political veteran like Clinton. But Trump said he "enjoyed the debating process" during the Republican primaries, when he tussled with several party rivals including former Florida governor Jeb Bush and New Jersey Governor Chris Christie. "I think I'm preparing somewhat like I prepared for the other debates," Trump said. "As of this moment," he will join Clinton for all three debates, he added. Unless, he stressed, a natural disaster like a hurricane interferes. The second debate occurs October 9 in St Louis, Missouri, while the final clash takes place October 19 in Las Vegas. Clinton has suggested that Trump could be an unpredictable adversary in the debates, and that she was preparing for "wacky stuff" from the Republican candidate. Clinton, the Democratic nominee, kicked off the home stretch of the race Monday, traveling aboard a new campaign plane that carried members of the press corps with her for the first time. Obama becomes first sitting US president to visit Laos Barack Obama became the first US president to visit Laos in office, touching down in Vientiane Monday for a summit of East and South East Asian leaders. Obama arrived in the capital, where the tropical rain did not prevent a large number of airport workers coming out to greet him and cheering -- before being hushed by an official. The outgoing president's visit comes decades after the United States launched a massive and secret bombing campaign in the country that lasted from 1964 to 1973. US President Barack Obama walks through an honor guard upon arrival on Air Force One at Wattay International Airport in Vientiane, Laos Saul Loeb (AFP) More than two million tonnes of bombs were dropped. About 30 percent did not explode and are still causing casualties today. During the trip Obama is expected to announce the ramping up of a US programme to clear unexploded devices, echoing similar moves Washington took in Vietnam as relations between the two former foes blossomed. "Symbolically, it is important," Obama said of hours before his visit. "At the outset, as were trying to build trust, a lot of work can be done around war legacy issues. For the Lao, that involves dealing with unexploded ordnance, which is still plaguing big chunks of the countryside." "We should help." Obama's visit to Laos will be the final trip to east Asia of his eight-year presidency, during which he has sought to refocus American military, political and economic resources on the region. Third blast after 24 killed in Kabul carnage A third massive explosion jolted central Kabul late Monday, hours after a Taliban double bombing killed at least 24 people and left 91 others wounded, in another day of carnage in the Afghan capital. Confusion reigned over the location of the third blast, which was followed by a brief spell of gunfire, with the interior ministry saying the target was unclear but local media suggested a guest house had come under attack. It shook the capital just hours after high-level officials, including an army general, were killed in the twin blasts near the defence ministry, as the Taliban ramp up their nationwide offensive against the US-backed government. An Afghan policeman stand guard overlooking the site of a twin suicide bombing near the Ministry of Defense in Kabul on September 5, 2016 Wakil Kohsar (AFP) A suicide bomber struck the area just minutes after the first explosion, in an assault apparently aimed at inflicting mass casualties as officials left the ministry after work. "The first explosion occurred on a bridge near the defence ministry. The second struck just as soldiers, policemen and civilians hurried to help the victims," defence ministry spokesman Mohammad Radmanish told AFP. Ambulances rushed to the scene, littered with disfigured bodies and charred debris. But there were so many bodies that some had to be taken to hospitals in car boots and the back of police pickup trucks. Firemen, meanwhile, raced to retrieve some bodies thrown into the Kabul River by the intensity of the first blast on the bridge. Health ministry spokesman Waheed Majroh said the attack left 24 people dead and 91 others wounded, some of them seriously, adding the casualties could rise still further. The Italian-run Emergency Hospital in Kabul, which was overwhelmed with wounded patients, tweeted that four people died on arrival. There was no immediate word on any casualties from the third explosion. The violence highlights the deteriorating security situation in the country, which has taken a heavy toll on civilians. - Rising insecurity - "The enemies of Afghanistan have lost their ability to fight the security and defence forces of the country," President Ashraf Ghani said, condemning the carnage. "That is why they are attacking highways, cities, mosques, schools and common people." Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said on Twitter that the defence ministry was the object of the first attack, while police were targeted in the second. The violence comes more than a week after 16 people were killed when militants stormed the American University in Kabul, in a nearly 10-hour raid that prompted anguished pleas for help from trapped students. Explosions and gunfire rocked the campus in that attack, which came just weeks after two university professors -- an American and an Australian -- were kidnapped at gunpoint near the school. Their whereabouts are still unknown and no group so far has publicly claimed responsibility for the abductions. The uptick in violence in the capital comes as the Taliban escalate nationwide attacks, underscoring the worsening security situation since NATO forces ended their combat mission at the end of 2014. Afghan forces backed by US troops are seeking to head off a potential Taliban takeover of Lashkar Gah, the capital of the southern opium-rich province of Helmand. The Taliban have also closed in on Kunduz -- the northern city they briefly seized last year in their biggest military victory since the 2001 US invasion -- leaving Afghan forces stretched on multiple fronts. Kim Jong-Un stresses need to bolster nuclear arms: KCNA North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un called on his military to continue building up Pyongyang's nuclear force after issuing orders for the latest test-firing of ballistic missiles, the North's state media said Tuesday. North Korea test-fired three missiles into the sea Monday, Seoul said, in a new show of force as world leaders met for the G20 summit in China. "He stressed the need to continue making miraculous achievements in bolstering up the nuclear force one after another in this historic year," the official KCNA news agency said. North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un ordered the test-firing of three ballistic missiles Kim was guiding a fire drill of his military aimed at checking the "capabilities of the units" and the accuracy of the "improved ballistic rockets deployed for action," it added. Describing the combat performance of the rockets as "perfect", KCNA said Kim expressed "great satisfaction over the successful successive firing drill of ballistic rockets". South Korea's defense ministry said the missiles were speculated to be Rodong missiles with a range of 1,000 kilometres (620 miles), and that they were fired without navigational warning to Japan. "North Korea's ballistic missile launch is a direct violation of UN Security Council resolutions, aimed at showing off its nuclear and missile capabilities during the G20 summit," a ministry spokesman said in a statement. The defence ministry in Tokyo said the three missiles were estimated to have fallen into Japan's maritime Exclusive Economic Zone. "The ministry expresses serious concern over the missile launches as they pose a grave threat to Japan's national security," a ministry statement said. The United States and Japan lodged a protest against Monday's test-firing and requested a meeting of the UN Security Council in New York. The 15-member body will convene Tuesday and discuss whether the council will consider a response to the latest missile launches. North Korea has conducted a series of missile tests this year in defiance of UN sanctions imposed after its fourth nuclear test in January. Last month, it fired a submarine-launched ballistic missile from the northeastern port of Sinpo. That missile flew 500 kilometres towards Japan, far exceeding the range of the North's previous sub-launched missiles. Leader Kim Jong-Un described the August test as the "greatest success" and said it put the US mainland within striking range. The launch was widely condemned by the US and other major powers, but analysts saw it as a clear step forward for North Korea's nuclear strike ambitions. Obama scraps meeting with Philippine leader: White House US President Barack Obama has cancelled a planned meeting with Philippines leader Rodrigo Duterte, the White House said Monday, after his Asian ally launched a foul-mouthed tirade against him. Duterte called Obama a "son of a whore" hours earlier, vowing he would not allow the American leader to lecture him on human rights. "President Obama will not be holding a bilateral meeting with President Duterte of the Philippines this afternoon," National Security Council spokesman Ned Price said. US President Barack Obama (L) and Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte are not meeting in Laos as previously scheduled Saul Loeb, Manman Dejeto (AFP) "Instead, he will meet with President Park (Geun-hye) of the Republic of Korea." Obama had been set for a showdown with firebrand Duterte on Tuesday as a regional summit gets underway in Asia, and amid tensions over China's growing territorial ambitions. The pair were scheduled to meet in Laos at a gathering organised by the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, an annual event meant to foster harmony that often instead highlights regional rows. However, shortly before flying to the capital Vientiane, Duterte launched a tirade at Obama. "Son of a whore, I will curse you in that forum," Duterte told reporters when asked about Obama's plans to raise concerns over a war on crime in the Philippines that has seen more than 2,400 people killed. The focus was meant to be on the surprising spat between the two longtime allies that have seen relations plunge under a barrage of foul-mouthed insults from Duterte since he came to office on June 30. Duterte has previously also branded the US ambassador to Manila a "son of a whore" -- a term the acid-tongued former prosecutor commonly uses -- and criticised the US over its own track record of police killings. - Crucial time - The setback in relations between the United States and the Philippines comes at a crucial time in the region, with China seeking to cement control over the contested South China Sea. The Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia, Brunei and Taiwan also have competing claims to the strategically vital waters, but have watched China expand its presence by building artificial islands in key locations. An international tribunal ruled in July that Beijing's claims to the waters -- through which $5 trillion in global shipping trade passes -- had no legal basis. The ruling was widely seen as a sweeping victory for the Philippines, which filed the suit under the previous administration of Benigno Aquino. But China has vowed to ignore the tribunal's decision. Obama's aides had previously said he wanted to discuss the South China Sea issue with Duterte. Under Aquino, the Philippines had forged closer military ties with the United States to deal with the China threat. But Duterte has cast doubt on that strategy. He has also sought to heal relations with China rather than inflame them by pressing the tribunal's ruling. Nevertheless, the South China Sea issue is expected to once again be discussed at the three days of meetings hosted by ASEAN. The gathering will see the 10 members of ASEAN meet among themselves, then with leaders from China, Japan, South Korea and the US. Other leaders to come for an East Asia summit on Thursday include from Australia, India and New Zealand. Obama's time in Laos will be the final trip to Asia of his eight-year presidency, during which he has sought to refocus American military, political and economic resources on the region. In one of the last acts of his so-called "pivot" to Asia, Obama is expected to announce greater help in clearing bombs dropped by US forces on Laos during the Vietnam War. Obama will then travel to the ancient capital of Luang Prabang on Wednesday, visiting a historic temple and meeting with students at a university growing up in a tightly controlled communist nation. What If: Could Clinton win it before Election Day? WASHINGTON (AP) Election Day isn't what it used to be. The presidential winner may be all but known by then, thanks to early voting. Beginning Friday, residents in North Carolina can submit absentee mail-in ballots the first of 37 states and the District Columbia to vote by mail or at polling sites before Nov. 8. Four years ago, about 45.6 million people or 35 percent of the electorate attracted by its convenience voted early, and that number is expected to spike in 2016. That's where Hillary Clinton's ground game at least double the size of Donald Trump's could make a difference. ADVANCE FOR MONDAY, SEPT. 5 AND THEREAFTER - FILE - In this Nov. 5, 2012 file photo, then-Republican presidential candidate, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney gestures as he speaks at a campaign rally in Fairfax, Va. Nine weeks out from Election Day, the electoral math favors Democrat Hillary Clinton. But both Clinton and GOP rival Donald Trump know there are countless ways the trajectory of this uncommonly volatile presidential campaign still could shift in unexpected ways. (AP Photo/Charles Dharapak, File) In seven states being targeted by both campaigns Colorado, Florida, Iowa, Nevada, North Carolina, Arizona and Georgia early votes are expected to make up 45 to 75 percent or more, based on 2012 numbers. All but Colorado are must-win for Trump. No votes will be counted until Nov. 8. However, many states report the party affiliation of people who have cast ballots, offering solid clues. "We could see so many votes banked that it becomes nearly impossible to catch up," said Michael McDonald, a University of Florida professor and expert in election statistics. In 2008, Barack Obama made early voting a priority, amassing such big leads with blacks, Hispanics and first-time voters that he pulled out wins in Florida, Iowa, North Carolina and Colorado despite losing the Election Day vote there, according to elections data compiled by The Associated Press. In 2012, he did it again in Florida and Iowa. Hoping to replicate that success, Clinton is spending millions of dollars on a get-out-the vote effort put into place in the spring. It taps into a detailed database to identify likely voters statewide and down to the neighborhood level, using thousands of employees and sending 50,000-some volunteers door to door to register and educate voters. Trump, relying heavily on the Republican National Committee, has 133 field offices nationwide and plans to open 24 more over the next two weeks. That's compared with "hundreds" for Clinton. Trump's people have been slow to recruit volunteers in battlegrounds such as Iowa. At this point in 2012, Republican nominee Mitt Romney had a full field staff working intensely with the RNC to identify and reach out to early voters. RNC officials say they have 1,000 employees and 5,000-plus trained organizers and other volunteers in 11 states assigned to mobilize voters. Heavy focus is on boosting absentee mail-in balloting in Florida, North Carolina, Ohio and Iowa, using the RNC's own data analytics program. What if: Hacks, email leaks could sway election weeks away WASHINGTON (AP) Brace for a stream of digital leaks and shenanigans by Election Day. Whether it's newly disclosed Democratic Party emails or someone tampering with voting machines, this year's presidential election could come with hacking intrigue like none before it. Consider messages stolen from the Democrats by suspected Russian-linked hackers and posted online in the summer by the self-described persona Guccifer 2.0. That trove led to so much outrage from fellow Democrats that the party's chairwoman, Debbie Wasserman Schultz, was forced to resign. FILE - In this Aug. 30, 2016 file photo, a voter casts his primary vote in Hialeah, Fla. Hacking attempts of voting machines and leaked emails could alter the trajectory of the presidential campaign in its final weeks. These prospects worry people in both campaigns. (AP Photo/Alan Diaz, File) Beyond partisan embarrassment from those leaks, security risks to electronic voting machines have the potential to do even more damage. Compromised machines, producing faulty vote tallies, would raise questions about the very integrity of the political process. "Election administrators are trained to run elections, not defend computer systems," said Joe Hall, chief technologist for the Washington-based Center for Democracy and Technology. "The voting systems we use in many cases don't keep the kind of evidence one would need to detect an attack, let alone recover from it, without disruption or loss of votes." Donald Trump has already suggested trouble is ahead, saying in early August he's "afraid the election is going to be rigged." He didn't provide specific evidence. He asked volunteers on his website to sign up to be poll monitors in November. Foreign state-sponsored hacking of the machines or even voter-registration records would also have practical implications, like delayed results or hiccups in allowing citizens to cast a ballot. "The biggest potential surprise in 2016 comes from the internet, and the potential for state-sponsored or hacker-instigated data dumps and turbulence that are disconnected from the campaigns," said Princeton historian Julian Zelizer. Federal officials are becoming increasingly concerned about the possibility that hackers, particularly those working for Russia or another country, will make mischief. Two U.S. cybersecurity firms have said their analysis of computer breaches at the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee showed detailed evidence that the intrusions were probably linked to Russian hackers. The internet domains and registrants used in the breach of computers used by the committee tied back to a Russian hacking group linked to that nation's intelligence services. That same hacking group, known as "Fancy Bear," was previously connected to the cyber breach at the Democratic National Committee. Brazilian police clash with protesters rejecting new leader SAO PAULO (AP) Police in Brazil's biggest city clashed with protesters who marched to reject the new president Sunday, five days after Dilma Rousseff was ousted as leader of South America's biggest nation. Sao Paulo authorities said they were forced to use tear gas, stun grenades and water cannons to stop vandalism after an "initially peaceful" demonstration against President Michel Temer. In a statement, the public safety department said a group became violent at a subway station, destroying turnstiles and throwing rocks at anti-riot police after the demonstration ended. A man holds a sign that reads "Elections now" during a protest against President Michel Temer in Sao Paulo, Brazil, Sunday, Sept. 4, 2016. Temer was sworn in as Brazil's new leader on Wednesday following the ouster of President Dilma Rousseff. (AP Photo/Nelson Antoine) Earlier in the day, people gathered on the Copacabana promenade in Rio de Janeiro to demand Temer's removal and call for new elections. Rousseff has vowed to form a strong opposition against Temer, who was her vice president. She is appealing her impeachment to Brazil's Supreme Court, but legal experts say it is unlikely to succeed as several appeals during the months-long impeachment process were rejected. In comments with foreign media Friday, Rousseff said she would raise her voice if Temer's administration tried to suppress protests. In the days leading up to her ouster and afterward, a handful of small anti-Temer demonstrations were broken up by police. At a news conference during the Group of 20 meeting in China before the Sao Paulo protest, Temer said demonstrators who damaged property would be punished. "Causing destruction is a crime. That's not a demonstration," he said. New elections could come if Temer resigned before year end, was impeached himself or was disqualified by electoral authorities for alleged campaign violations in 2014. Demonstrators burn a poster with a photo of Brazil's President Michel Temer during a protest in Sao Paulo, Brazil, Sunday, Sept. 4, 2016. Temer was sworn in as Brazil's new leader on Wednesday following the ouster of Dilma Rousseff. (AP Photo/Nelson Antoine) A woman shouts slogans during a protest against President Michel Temer in Sao Paulo, Brazil, Sunday, Sept. 4, 2016. Temer was sworn in as Brazil's new leader on Wednesday following the ouster of President Dilma Rousseff. (AP Photo/Nelson Antoine) A supporter of former President Dilma Rousseff holds a Brazilian flag during a protest against President Michel Temer in Sao Paulo, Brazil, Sunday, Sept. 4, 2016. Temer was sworn in as Brazil's new leader on Wednesday following the ouster of Rousseff. (AP Photo/Nelson Antoine) Demonstrators march during a protest against President Michel Temer in Sao Paulo, Brazil, Sunday, Sept. 4, 2016. Temer was sworn in as Brazil's new leader on Wednesday following the ouster of President Dilma Rousseff. (AP Photo/Nelson Antoine) Demonstrators burn a coffin with a photo of Brazil's President Michel Temer during a protest in Sao Paulo, Brazil, Sunday, Sept. 4, 2016. Temer was sworn in as Brazil's new leader on Wednesday following the ouster of Dilma Rousseff. (AP Photo/Nelson Antoine) A child holds a sign that reads "Temer Out" during a protest against Brazil's President Michel Temer on Copacabana beach, in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Sunday, Sept. 4, 2016. Temer was sworn in as Brazil's new leader on Wednesday following the ouster of President Dilma Rousseff. (AP Photo/Silvia Izquierdo) Australian teen jailed over Islamic State-inspired plot MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) A teenager who plotted to run over and behead a police officer as part of an Islamic State movement-inspired attack on an Australian Veterans' Day ceremony was sentenced on Monday to 10 years in prison. Sevdet Besim, 19, had faced a maximum sentence of life in prison after pleaded guilty in Victoria state's Supreme Court in June to one count of planning for a terrorist act. On Monday, the court instead ordered Besim to serve a 10-year prison term, with the possibility of parole after 7 years. Prosecutors said Besim was involved in a plot to attack last year's services in Melbourne or the neighboring city of Dandenong marking ANZAC Day, the annual commemoration of the 1915 Gallipoli landings in Turkey. The campaign was the first major military action fought by the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps during World War I and hundreds of thousands of people attend commemoration services around Australia. Police said Besim was motivated by an extremist ideology and had expressed support for the Islamic State group. In court documents, prosecutors said that Besim and a British accomplice had also discussed packing a kangaroo with explosives and painting it with the Islamic State symbol before setting it loose on Australian police officers. The documents don't suggest the alleged kangaroo plot was linked to the ANZAC Day plot. Officer critical after shooting near casino garage ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. (AP) A police officer remains in critical condition, but is showing signs of improvement, and a suspect is dead after two officers saw a robbery being committed outside an Atlantic City casino garage and exchanged gunfire. The shooting happened around 2:30 a.m. Saturday after the officers saw three men trying to rob three others near a parking garage at Caesars casino, said acting Atlantic County Prosecutor Diane Ruberton. The wounded officer was shot and injured as he exited his vehicle. The second officer returned fire and struck one of the suspects, who was found dead a short distance away. A police officer stands guard near the scene of a shooting on Saturday, Sept. 3, 2016 in Atlantic City, N.J. Authorities say a New Jersey police officer remains in critical condition after he was shot during an exchange of gunfire outside an Atlantic City casino. Acting Atlantic County Prosecutor Diane Ruberton said that the officer underwent surgery Saturday morning after the shooting that left one suspect dead. (Ben Fogletto /The Press of Atlantic City via AP) Police arrested two men Saturday night in connection with the shooting. Martell Chisholm, 19, of Millville, and Demetrius Cross, 28, of Bridgeton, each were being held on two counts of attempted murder, three counts of robbery and weapons offenses, Ruberton said. It was not immediately known if they were represented by lawyers. The dead suspect was identified as Jerome Damon, 25, of Camden. Ruberton said local, county, state and federal law enforcement agencies "worked tirelessly" on Saturday to identify and locate the suspects. The three victims also cooperated with police. The wounded officer, whose name was not immediately released, was taken to nearby AtlantiCare Regional Medical Center. He underwent surgery Saturday morning and remained in critical condition Sunday afternoon, but is improving, state union delegate Keith Bennett told The Press of Atlantic City. "We're getting reports that it's improving slightly and he's showing positive signs, which makes everybody extremely happy," said Bennett, of PBA Local 24. During a news conference on Sunday to discuss the city's storm preparations, Atlantic City Mayor Don Guardian said the officer is "doing remarkably well." Authorities had released video late Saturday afternoon showing six men they said were "persons of interest" in the case. They sought the public's help in identifying the men, who in the video are seen walking along a sidewalk in two separate groups of three people. The New Jersey State Policemen's Benevolent Association offered a $20,000 reward for information on the suspects. "We ask for prayers for the officer, his family and the Atlantic City Police Department," said Patrick Colligan, the association's president. A police officer stands guard near the scene of a shooting on Saturday, Sept. 3, 2016 in Atlantic City, N.J. Authorities say a New Jersey police officer remains in critical condition after he was shot during an exchange of gunfire outside an Atlantic City casino. Acting Atlantic County Prosecutor Diane Ruberton said that the officer underwent surgery Saturday morning after the shooting that left one suspect dead. (Ben Fogletto /The Press of Atlantic City via AP) Police investigate at the scene of a shooting on Saturday, Sept. 3, 2016 in Atlantic City, N.J. Authorities say a New Jersey police officer remains in critical condition after he was shot during an exchange of gunfire outside an Atlantic City casino. Acting Atlantic County Prosecutor Diane Ruberton said that the officer underwent surgery Saturday morning after the shooting that left one suspect dead. (Ben Fogletto /The Press of Atlantic City via AP) Police investigate the scene of a shooting on Saturday, Sept. 3, 2016 in Atlantic City, N.J. Authorities say a New Jersey police officer remains in critical condition after he was shot during an exchange of gunfire outside an Atlantic City casino. Acting Atlantic County Prosecutor Diane Ruberton said that the officer underwent surgery Saturday morning after the shooting that left one suspect dead. (Ben Fogletto /The Press of Atlantic City via AP Rare focus on little-known Laos as it hosts major summit VIENTIANE, Laos (AP) The light was fading over Vientiane on a cool December evening when a Jeep was stopped at a traffic light. CCTV video later showed the occupant of the car being pulled out and taken away in a pickup truck, never to be seen again. The disappearance of Sombath Somphone nearly four years ago is a reminder of the dismal human rights record of the authoritarian government of Laos, which prepares to host President Barack Obama and Asian leaders at a regional summit starting Tuesday. The government says it is investigating but has provided no leads into Sombath's whereabouts, and no arrests have been made, leading critics of Laos' communist government to believe that his disappearance was state-orchestrated. Buddhist monks pose for pictures standing in front of Patuxary Victory Gate in Vientiane, Laos, Sunday, Sep 4, 2016. The coming week will see a series of meetings of the member countries of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and their key dialogue partners scheduled to begin in Vientiane on September 6, 2016 .(AP Photo/ Gemunu Amarasinghe) "It's a test case for Obama. If he mentions it publicly it would make it much more difficult for Laos to sweep it under the carpet. The fact that the most powerful man on the planet cares about Sombath will count for something," said Phil Robertson, the deputy Asia director of Human Rights Watch. The three-day summit of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations is a rare opportunity to put the spotlight on the landlocked nation of Laos, which usually stays under the radar. Along with Brunei, it is the most under reported and under-scrutinized country in the 10-nation ASEAN. Unlike fellow communist country Vietnam, the country of 6.2 million people is no economic beehive of activity. Nor does it have a democracy icon like Aung San Suu Kyi in Myanmar. Tourism, which has made Thailand a household name around the world, remains nascent; and it is not a U.S. ally like the Philippines, Singapore or Malaysia. Nor is it the world's biggest Muslim nation by population like Indonesia to give it prominence. Little wonder then that what goes on in Laos, largely stays in Laos. But by virtue of taking on the rotating chairmanship of ASEAN this year, it has suddenly sprung into limelight. It's the first time a U.S. president will visit Laos. Sombath's disappearance on Dec. 15, 2012, was captured on a traffic CCTV video, in which he is seen stopped at a police outpost and asked to step out of his Jeep, according to Amnesty International. Within a few minutes a man on a motorcycle arrives, drives away Sombath's vehicle and a pickup truck takes Sombath away with armed people riding a motorcycle leading the way. The passenger on the motorcycle fires a gunshot in the air, said Amnesty. "More than three years have passed since Sombath Somphone was last seen. We have no alternative but to conclude that the authorities are either directly responsible for his disappearance, or have failed miserably to take all necessary measures to get to the bottom of what happened," said Rafendi Djamin, Amnesty International's director for South East Asia and the Pacific. Sombath's wife, Shui Meng Ng, was driving her car ahead of Sombath. She thought she had lost him in the traffic and didn't see the drama happening behind her. "I am sorry to say I have no new information to share, except that the Lao Government has continued to stonewall any queries to his whereabouts. The government continues to maintain that 'the state is not involved and the police are still investigating,'" said Ng, a Singaporean and a former U.N. official. If Sombath was taken away by the government he was an unlikely target. The U.S.-educated activist mostly worked in rural development, showing farmers how to use more creative ways to raise fish and make handicrafts. But he was also vocal about land deals that had left thousands of villagers homeless without compensation, sparking rare political protests. And he had international connections. Sombath is not the only one to be a possible victim of a government crackdown. In 2015, an ethnic Lao who is a Polish citizen disappeared while visiting Laos, according to his Polish wife, allegedly for posting critical comments on Facebook. He was subsequently charged in court and sentenced to prison for 4 years and 9 months. In March this year, three young Lao migrant workers who returned to Laos to renew their passports vanished, and reappeared on state TV in prison uniform to "confess" to using the internet to "defame the government." They have not been charged and their parents have not been allowed to visit them. Another dissident, Ka Yang, who had fled to Thailand was deported to Laos in 2011 and was imprisoned. Most Laotians are unaware of such events because of the government's watertight control over the media, the security forces and the judiciary. Those who know are too fearful to talk about it. "Laos has now become one of the most rights-repressing countries in ASEAN: leaders in the region and from around the world must stop looking the other way, and demand Vientiane end its asphyxiation of independent civil society," said Walden Bello, a former member of the Philippines Congress and vice chair of ASEAN Parliamentarians for Human Rights. Most of Laos' top leaders are from the first generation of revolutionary fighters, and even those who have retired retain influence over the Communist Party and the government. But the leadership is passing on to a younger generation slowly, as seen in the party congress held this year. While the top two posts party secretary and president are held by an old guard, former Gen. Bounhyang Vorachit, the cabinet has many young ministers, including Prime Minister Thongloune Sisoulith, the second-highest ranking person in the Politburo. There is hope that this transition will lead to change in Laos. Thongloune has acknowledged corruption in the government and has taken action to halt timber and illegal wildlife trade. Still, many problems remain, such as environmental degradation, forced evictions and illegal land concessions. Also, Laos wants to improve its economy and the life of its people by attracting more foreign investments, especially from its ASEAN neighbors. It also wants to forge closer ties to the U.S. as a counterbalance to China, which has a massive economic influence here. "I believe that the ASEAN Summit provides some opportunities for world leaders like President Obama ... to engage the Lao," said Ng. "Such dialogue ... may not lead to any immediate change but they can at least remind the Lao that improving its human rights record and relaxing control on civil society will in fact lead to real dividends for improved economic and social development in the long run." Journalist recounts years as Syrian prisoner in documentary BOSTON (AP) In 2012, freelance journalist Theo Padnos slipped into Syria to cover its unfolding civil war and was promptly kidnapped by members of an al-Qaida branch. Convinced he was a CIA agent because he spoke Arabic, the group held the Massachusetts native for nearly two years before releasing him in August 2014. Now, Padnos is retracing his journey in "Theo Who Lived," a documentary being screened Sept. 30 in Cambridge. Its theatrical premiere is in New York City on Oct. 7, followed by a wider release. In this photo taken Tuesday Aug. 30, 2016, Theo Padnos poses at the family's house in remote Reading, Vt. In 2012, journalist, Padnos slipped into Syria to cover its unfolding civil war and was promptly kidnapped by members of an al-Qaida branch. Padnos retraces his journey in "Theo Who Lived," a new documentary screening Sept. 30 in Cambridge, Mass. Its theatrical premiere is in New York City on Oct. 7. (AP Photo/Jim Cole) Padnos, 47, who has been living in Paris and Vermont, tells the Associated Press he's grateful to have survived. The ordeal not only changed his outlook on life but also gave him perspective on the Syrian conflict that he feels is important to share. Padnos is working on a nonfiction book, a play and a novel drawing on his experience. He wrote about his captivity for the New York Times Magazine shortly after his release and is trying to continue writing about the region as a journalist. "I had a real spiritual voyage, which was terrifying for me and my family at the time," Padnos said from his family's vacation home in Vermont. "But looking back, this is what life gave me and I'd like to take what I learned and turn it into some positive benefit." The film follows Padnos as he returns to places in Turkey and Israel that figured prominently in his 22-month capture. The film crew never set foot in Syria. Padnos reflects on his captivity on sets emulating his tiny prison cell and the room he was subjected to torture and beatings. Along the Turkey-Syria border, he recalls the moment when his travelling companions instruct him to dash across the field and hop the razor wire fence separating them from Syria. It's a moment Padnos says he'd replay in his mind for months after. The trio of men had claimed they were providing supplies to the Free Syrian Army and offered to take him across the border with them. But they were actually affiliated with al-Qaida. They staged a fake interview, beat him and took him hostage shortly after crossing the border. "This is where I threw my life away. It's like a precipice that I walked up to and I actually jumped," Padnos says in the film. "Now I'm back in a safe place and I'm thinking why did I ever jump?" Padnos also details a series of failed escapes, including one in which cellmate and American photojournalist Matthew Schrier managed to sneak out through a narrow prison window but Padnos could not. Padnos' mother, Nancy Curtis, who is interviewed in the documentary, says she still has mixed emotions about her son's release. During the ordeal, she became close to the parents of other Americans kidnapped by extremists overseas. Many of them were not as fortunate as her family, she says. Curtis and other family members, working with the U.S. and Qatari governments, successfully arranged for Padnos' release just days after the Islamic State beheaded New Hampshire journalist James Foley in a video. The family maintains that no ransom was paid. "I always clung to the hope that he'd come home," Curtis said. "But I also don't feel great joy and happiness. Probably anyone who has had a solider in the war who came home but knows others that didn't have similar emotions." Director David Schisgall says Padnos' story is a rare eyewitness account of life inside a jihadi group by an outsider with a deep understanding of the region's language and culture. Having spent years prior studying Arabic and Islam in Yemen and Syria, Padnos was able to build trust and friendships with some of his captors. Near the end of his captivity, he was given greater freedoms and even travelled personally with the then-high commander of al-Nusra Front, an al-Qaida affiliate in Syria. "The real intimacy he developed with his captors was remarkable," Schisgall said. "It's a very important message for Americans to see these people fighting as complicated individuals who are both very dangerous but also very human." ___ Follow Philip Marcelo at twitter.com/philmarcelo. His work can be found at http://bigstory.ap.org/journalist/philip-marcelo In this photo taken Tuesday Aug. 30, 2016, Theo Padnos poses at the family's house in remote Reading, Vt. In 2012, journalist, Padnos slipped into Syria to cover its unfolding civil war and was promptly kidnapped by members of an al-Qaida branch. Convinced he was a CIA agent because he spoke fluent Arabic, the group held the Massachusetts native for nearly two years before releasing him in August 2014. Padnos retraces his journey in "Theo Who Lived," a new documentary screening Sept. 30 in Cambridge, Mass. Its theatrical premiere is in New York City on Oct. 7. (AP Photo/Jim Cole) Merkel appeals to Russia to enable Syria cease-fire HANGZHOU, China (AP) The Latest on the G-20 summit in China (all times local): 8:30 p.m. German Chancellor Angela Merkel is renewing an appeal to Russia to enable a cease-fire in Syria and humanitarian access to the city of Aleppo. Russian President Vladimir Putin, left, speaks with German Chancellor Angela Merkel, center, while British Prime Minister Theresa May talks, center second row, during a group photo session for the G-20 Summit at Xizi Hotel in Hangzhou in eastern China's Zhejiang province, Sunday, Sept. 4, 2016. (Konstantin Zavrazhin/Sputnik, Kremlin Pool Photo via AP) Merkel said Monday that "this is of extreme urgency." She said she had made that clear during a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin Sunday night on the sidelines of the Group of 20 summit. Putin and President Barack Obama agreed on the summit's sidelines to keep up negotiations over a cease-fire agreement for Syria. Merkel said: "I hope that these negotiations soon reach a result, but we need a longer cease-fire to put in place the basic structure for humanitarian supply." ___ 8:00 p.m. China's official Xinhua News Agency says President Xi Jinping has told Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe that their countries should "put aside disruptions" and propel their relations back to a normal track as soon as possible. Xi's statement appeared to mark a further improvement in ties between the two neighbors that went into deep freeze following Japan's 2012 nationalization of unoccupied islands in the East China Sea which it controls but China claims. Earlier at the G-20 meeting in Hangzhou, Xi appeared to greet Abe with a smile and warm handshake, a vast improvement over the awkward interactions between the two at a 2014 international gathering in Beijing when they first began edging toward ending the frostiness between them. ___ 7:30 p.m. British Prime Minister Theresa May says countries including India and Mexico have signaled they are open to removing trade barriers with Britain following Brexit. She said the Australian trade minister would visit Britain this week for exploratory talks on the shape of a Britain-Australia trade deal. Australia was the first country to signal it wanted to discuss a free trade deal after May became prime minister in July. She said leaders from India, Mexico, South Korea and Singapore said they would "welcome talks on removing the barriers to trade between our countries." ___ 7:10 p.m. Chinese President Xi Jinping has announced the close of the G-20 summit in the eastern city of Hangzhou, saying it contributed to encouraging new progress in boosting global growth. Xi said agreements had been reached on reforms to global financial institutions, combating international tax evasion practices and fighting corruption. In a statement to international media at the summit's close on Monday evening, Xi said that under future cooperation guidelines, those who have committed economic crimes will have nowhere to hide. He said the summit would also go down as a milestone in transitioning the G-20 from a crisis-management mechanism to one geared toward aiding in the long-term management of the global economy. ___ 3:45 p.m. President Barack Obama and Russian President Vladimir Putin have agreed to keep up negotiations over a cease-fire agreement for Syria. That's according to a senior Obama administration official who would not be named discussing the private talks. The official says Obama and Putin met for 90 minutes on Monday on the sidelines of the Group of 20 economic summit in Hangzhou, China. Their discussion came hours after top U.S. and Russian diplomats failed to seal a deal aimed at providing access to humanitarian aid for thousands of civilians in the war-torn country. The plan would forge an unlikely U.S.-Russian militarily partnership against extremist groups operating in Syria. The official says Obama and Putin clarified the remaining gaps in the talks, which largely involve how the deal would be implemented. The official says the two leaders directed their teams to meet again quickly, possible as soon as later this week. Reporting by Josh Lederman, ___ 2:45 p.m. The United States is condemning North Korea's firing of three ballistic missiles off its east coast during the Group of 20 economic summit in China. The U.S. says the tests and other recent ones like it violate U.N. Security Council resolutions, and also pose a threat to aircraft and commercial ships in the region. American officials say they're consulting with allies on the proper response and plan to raise concerns at the U.N. The U.S. also plans to bring up the issue during the East Asia summit in Laos this week. President Barack Obama heads to Laos on Monday evening. ___ 2:30 p.m. President Barack Obama and Russian President Vladimir Putin are meeting informally on the sidelines of the Group of 20 economic summit in China. White House spokesman Ned Price says more details about the meeting will be released later in the day. The meeting is taking place in private. Obama's meeting with Putin comes as the U.S. and Russia are negotiating to try to reach an agreement to end the violence in Syria's long-running civil war. Top diplomats for both countries have thus far been unable to reach an agreement. Another likely topic is Ukraine. The U.S. has been concerned about growing tensions between Russia and Ukraine. ___ 2:15 p.m. The latest round of talks about curbing the violence in Syria have ended without a deal. A senior State Department official says Secretary of State John Kerry and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov failed to overcome differences at a morning meeting. The diplomats have been trying to broker a cease-fire between Syrian President Bashar Assad's government and moderate rebels that would expand access to humanitarian aid for hundreds of thousands of civilians caught in the crossfire. The strategy has hinged on an unlikely U.S.-Russian militarily partnership against extremist groups operating in Syria. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to discuss the private negotiations. The diplomatic failure comes as President Barack Obama and Russian President Vladimir Putin are due to meet Monday on the margins of the G-20 summit. Reporting by Bradley Klapper. ___ 1 p.m. The leaders of the U.S., France and Germany are taking a time away for economic talks in China to discuss the situation in Ukraine. The White House says President Barack Obama, French President Francois Hollande and German Chancellor Angela Merkel are meeting on the sidelines of the G-20 summit to review the status of the conflict. After weeks of intensifying fighting between government forces and Russian-backed rebels in eastern Ukraine, a new cease-fire took effect last week and has been holding. Reporters covering the summit had no access to the private meeting between the leaders. The White House said it would release more details on the talk later Monday. ___ 10:30 a.m. Chinese President Xi Jinping has told his South Korean counterpart that China is opposed to the deployment of a powerful U.S. anti-missile system in her country. During their bilateral meeting on Monday's final day of the G-20 meeting, Xi warned that "mishandling the issue is not conducive to strategic stability in the region, and could intensify disputes." China has responded angrily to Seoul's decision to base the U.S. Terminal High Altitude Area Defense, or THAAD, system south of the South Korean capital, Seoul. While Seoul and Washington say the system is intended solely to defend against North Korea's missile threat, Beijing says it will allow the U.S. military to peer deeply into northeastern China. Beijing's reaction has also stoked public outrage, threatening everything from tourism exchanges to appearances by K-pop stars in China. ___ 9 a.m. Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull said his country is determined to provide its great friend and ally Britain with "all the support and assistance" it needs as it negotiates its exit from the EU. Turnbull spoke ahead of a formal meeting with British Prime Minister Theresa May on the sidelines of the G-20 economic summit in China. May said she was grateful to Turnbull who had offered to discuss a free-trade agreement with Britain shortly after she became leader in July after the British people narrowly voted to leave the EU in a referendum. May said she didn't want Britain to become inward looking. "We want to be even more outward looking around the whole of the world, and Australia, with our long standing ties and our close relationship, will be one of the first countries we will be looking to." ___ 1:45 a.m. Russian President Vladimir Putin and Turkish leader Recep Tayypip Erdogan have met on the sidelines of the G-20 summit to discuss both Syria and improving their countries' frayed relations. Russian news agencies on Sunday cited Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov as saying that both countries' delegations met and then the meeting continued between the leaders one-on-one with their foreign ministers present. Russia and Turkey suffered a roughly seven-month rupture in relations after Turkey shot down a Russian bomber on its border with Syria in November just as tensions mounted over Syria, where Moscow and Ankara back opposing sides in the conflict. Relations began improving in late June after Erdogan apologized for the plane's downing. Russian and Turkish officials discussed the outlook for lifting Russia's ban on Turkish food imports as part of their rapprochement process on Sunday, Peskov said. ___ 10:50 p.m. French President Francois Hollande says he wants other world leaders to better regulate the global economy to protect workers and the environment. In a Facebook post laying out his goals at the Group of 20 summit in China, Hollande said Sunday that "France's role is to contribute to regulating the planet." The socialist leader, whose country is known for its extensive labor rules, continued, "Our country refuses a globalization without rules, where social models are pit against each other and dragged downward, where inequalities grow and intellectual property rights, and therefore cultural diversity, are threatened." Hollande argued against trade deals that don't respect worker rights. He hailed the U.S. and China for approving the Paris climate accord and said he would champion "green" treasury bonds at the G-20 to support environmentally sustainable investment. ___ 7:35 p.m. German Chancellor Angela Merkel says she sees the possibility of a "positive outcome" to negotiations between Turkey and the European Union on a visa waiver for Turks, but that it will still take weeks of work. The offer to scrap visas for Turks entering the EU was one incentive for Turkey to agree to a deal to curb the flow of migrants across the Aegean Sea. But it's conditional on, among other things, Turkey modifying its definition of terrorism and what constitutes a terror act to ensure that journalists and academics aren't arrested. Ankara has refused to make changes. Merkel said after meeting Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan Sunday at the G-20 summit that they didn't discuss a precise time frame but "we agreed that there is still work to do." ___ 6:40 p.m. German Chancellor Angela Merkel says she's hopeful after meeting the Turkish president that Turkey will soon lift a ban on German lawmakers visiting their country's military personnel at a Turkish air base. Merkel met President Recep Tayyip Erdogan Sunday at the Group of 20 summit in China. German-Turkish relations have been strained since the German Parliament voted in June to label as genocide the killings of Armenians by Ottoman Turks a century ago. Turkey has refused to allow German lawmakers to visit personnel stationed at its Incirlik air base with aircraft supporting the campaign against the Islamic State group. German news agency dpa reported that Merkel said she expects "positive news" on that front in the coming days. On Friday, the German government stressed the parliamentary resolution isn't legally binding. ___ 6:40 p.m. U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry says the United States will not rush into a deal with Russia to try to end Syria's civil war. Kerry has been negotiating with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov in China on the sidelines of the G-20 summit. They are discussing a cease-fire between Syria's government and moderate rebels, and a possible U.S.-Russian military partnership against extremist groups. Kerry says they've worked out many technical issues but others are unresolved. Kerry says he and Lavrov plan to meet again Monday. He says the U.S. will take the time needed to ensure the agreement has the best chance for success. Several previous U.S.-Russia deals on Syria have failed to halt the violence. ___ 3:55 p.m. Chinese President Xi Jinping has officially opened a two-day summit of the world's major economies, saying the Group of 20 should adopt new measures to generate growth momentum and avoid protectionism. The 11th G-20 economic forum takes place in the eastern Chinese city of Hangzhou. Xi shook hands and posed for photos Sunday afternoon with leaders including President Barack Obama, German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Russian President Vladimir Putin with a G-20 backdrop. The leaders then traveled up several flights of stairs to a summit conference room. In opening remarks, Xi said the world economy is recovering but faces multiple challenges in finance, trade and investment. He said the summit will discuss innovation-driven growth and more efficient global economic and financial governance. ___ 3:35 p.m. In their first meeting together, British Prime Minister Theresa May has told Russian President Vladimir Putin that she wants a "frank and open relationship" with Moscow despite their differences. Bilateral relations have been strained in recent years by the fighting in Ukraine, Russia's backing of Syrian President Bashar Assad and the poisoning death of ex-Russian spy Alexander Litvinenko in London. At their meeting on the sidelines of the G-20 summit in China, May told Putin the world faces many challenges today. She said: "And while I recognize there will be some differences between us, there are some complex and serious areas of concern and issues to discuss, I hope we will be able to have a frank and open relationship and dialogue." ___ 2:15 p.m. Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan says there should be no distinction between "good terrorists" and bad ones. Erdogan is meeting with President Barack Obama on the sidelines of the Group of 20 economic summit in Hangzhou, China. Erdogan says all terrorism is bad. He says the U.S. and Turkey must adopt a common attitude against terrorism. Turkey and the U.S. have been at odds over the role of Kurdish forces in fighting the Islamic State group in Syria. U.S.-backed Syrian Kurds have been the most effective fighting force against IS, but Turkey worries they are seeking a contiguous and autonomous zone along Turkey's border. ___ 2:10 p.m. President Barack Obama is reassuring Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan that the U.S. will work to ensure those responsible for a failed coup are brought to justice. Obama is holding his first meeting with Erdogan since this summer's coup attempt. Obama says he condemns the attempted overthrow. The U.S. president also says it's critical to "finish the job" of securing Turkey's border with Syria. That's where Islamic State fighters have flooded into Turkey and would-be recruits into Syria. Obama also says Turkey mustn't carry alone the burden of addressing the Syrian refugee crisis. The leaders met on the sidelines of the Group of 20 economic summit in Hangzhou, China. ___ 12:45 p.m. European Council President Donald Tusk says there will be no negotiations with Britain on the terms of its departure from the European Union until London formally invokes the two-year leaving process. Speaking ahead of the G-20 summit in Hangzhou, China, Tusk said such pre-negotiations are not in the interests of the remaining 27 EU members. Tusk says: "We need to protect the interests of the members of the EU that want to stay together, not the one which wants to leave." Speaking earlier Sunday, British Prime Minister Theresa May said: "There will be no second referendum, no attempt to turn the clock back or get out of this. (Britain) will be leaving the European Union." The U.K. has to invoke Article 50, the EU treaty clause that sets up the departure of a nation from the current 28-member bloc. The Brexit, as it's known, is one of the main topics of concern at the economic forum. ___ 12:15 p.m. President Barack Obama says he doesn't think disputes over media access during his trip to China reflect trouble in the U.S.-China relationship. Obama says tensions always arise when the White House negotiated how much access the U.S. press will get to the president and foreign leaders overseas. The White House doesn't apologize for pushing to press access because "we don't leave our values and our ideals behind when we take those trips." But Obama says he wouldn't "overcrank" the significance of a shouting match that broke out between White House and Chinese officials as he arrived in China Saturday. ___ 12 noon British Prime Minister Theresa May says there will be "no second referendum" in the U.K. on exiting the European Union. She says the U.K. will be leaving the EU. May is meeting with President Barack Obama in China. She says the U.K. plans to continue pursuing an aggressive trade relationship with the U.S. despite the decision to leave the EU. May and Obama are downplaying concerns that Britain becomes a lower trading priority for the U.S. by leaving the European bloc. The U.S. has been negotiating a broad EU trade deal and said ahead of the Brexit vote that Britain would go to the back of a line for a two-country deal if it left the EU. Obama says he never said Britain would be punished. But he says it wouldn't make sense for the U.S. to lose focus on its European trade talks. He says the first priority for Britain now that it's leaving is to figure out its new trading relationship with its European neighbors. ___ 11:55 a.m. President Barack Obama says U.S. and Russian negotiators are working "around the clock" to try to strike a deal to reduce violence in Syria but says "we're not there yet." Obama is addressing the Syria crisis during a meeting with British Prime Minister Theresa May on the sidelines of the Group of 20 summit in China. Obama says the U.S. is skeptical given the fact that previous cessations of hostilities have failed to hold. He says the negotiations are difficult and the U.S. and Russia have "grave differences." But Obama says it's "worth trying" given Russia's role in supporting Syrian President Bashar Assad. ___ 11:45 a.m. President Barack Obama says the U.S. and the U.K. will continue strengthening their "special relationship" even as Britain pursues its exit from the European Union. Obama is holding his first meeting with new British Prime Minister Theresa May since she took over. He says the U.S. doesn't have a stronger partner in the world. Obama says the two countries will keep cooperating closely on cyber security, terrorism and trade despite the "turbulence" of recent political events. He's referring to the British vote to exit the EU, or Brexit. May says the U.K. and the U.S. will "pursue the opportunities that Brexit presents." She says they'll "make a success of it." Chinese President Xi Jinping, right, and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe shake hands before their bilateral meeting, on the sideline of the G-20 Summit in Hangzhou, China, Monday, Sept. 5, 2016. (Kyodo News via AP) In this Sunday, Sept. 4, 2016 photo, U.S. President Barack Obama arrives at the Hangzhou Exhibition Center to participate in G-20 Summit in Hangzhou, China. (Etienne Oliveau/Pool Photo via AP) Protesters, seeking migrant camp closure, block Calais roads CALAIS, France (AP) Truckers, farmers, dock workers and merchants angry at the disruption caused by thousands of migrants in their midst in the northern French city of Calais blocked the main access route to Britain on Monday to press authorities to set the date to raze an overcrowded makeshift camp. The action appeared to pay off and, despite tensions among protesters, blockades were being lifted 12 hours later after the region's top state official reassured the huge, makeshift camp would be dismantled and funds made available for struggling businesses. The action with several hundred big rigs and tractors on a main access route was the first major protest of its kind in the city, for decades a magnet for migrants trying to cross the English Channel, hopping Britain-bound trucks and trains to get across. Authorities have poured in police about 2,000 to guard roadways, and built high barbed-wire fences to protect the Eurotunnel freight trains, the port and highway, but desperate migrants are using increasingly dangerous tactics to slow trucks and hitch a ride. A farmer walks as others drive their tractors to block the highway leading to Calais and the Channel tunnel in Calais, northern France, Monday, Sept. 5, 2016. Hundreds of truckers in big rigs, farmers in tractors and dockers and merchants on foot blocked a major highway in northern France on Monday to demand the closure of the Calais migrant camp known as the "jungle.". Banner reads: 2012, me President, (referring to Francois Hollande), 2016, 10.000 migrants. (AP Photo/Michel Spingler) The state says some 7,000 migrants are living in the camp, known as "the jungle," while aid groups have put the number at more than 9,000. All are living in a drastically downsized camp after half was razed in March. For the protesters, the migrants from Africa, the Middle East and beyond are an economic drain on Calais and a stain on its image. "We are truckers, not migrant traffickers. Let's liberate Calais together," read a sign on the front of some big rigs. "They damage the trucks, they break the windshield, they cut the truck sides, they climb in the truck and destroy the merchandise," said Bertrand Wyfolscki, a trucker from St. Omer, near Calais. His list of complaints did not include the heavy fines truckers must pay if migrants are caught inside their vehicles. Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve announced Friday that the government would dismantle the camp "in a controlled operation" as soon as possible, but did not say when. He also promised financial compensation for businesses losing money due to migrants, but gave no details. Representatives of farmers, truckers and merchants came away from a meeting with the state representative of the region, Fabienne Buccio, with a new commitment but no date that the camp would be completely dismantled "in a single step." Buccio also said a special fund to help businesses in need would be activated and more than 230 extra members of security forces brought in, bringing the total to more than 2,000. Christian Salome, head of the aid group Auberge des Migrants, which has long worked with migrants arriving in Calais, said camp dwellers were also victims. "Refugees are the first victims of the blockading of the border," he said, a reference to a 2003 French-British accord that effectively puts the British border in Calais, where they are stopped from entering Britain, and puts the onus of the migrant plight on France. Salome noted that 11 migrants have died this year seven on the highways "and the goal of the refugees is exactly the same as the goal of the truckers: put an end to this situation." Hundreds of big rigs, tractors and dockers and merchants on foot blocked the main highway to the Eurotunnel and port. "We are fed up with the migrant situation in Calais. They are increasingly aggressive," said French trucker Blaise Paccou. "We leave in the morning. We don't know how we're going to return in the evening because of the rocks and metal bars being thrown at us." Calais Mayor Natacha Bouchart, holding an "I love Calais" T-shirt as she walked with merchants, criticized the Socialist government for failing to provide a global plan to end the crisis. Aid groups warn that a hasty shutdown of the camp would scatter the migrants, aggravate the city's troubles and worsen the humanitarian drama. While the camp conditions are dismal, migrants have access to food distribution and showers. Cazeneuve refused again Monday to provide a date for closing the camp because of "the need for a method." "We need to provide shelters," he said. The Calais region has drawn migrants for some two decades, with refugees from the war in Kosovo streaming in in the late 1990s, followed by Afghans fleeing war. A huge Red Cross camp in nearby Sangatte was leveled in 2002 and the migrants pushed into Calais. "We should not be misunderstood. We have nothing against migrants," said Frederic Van Gansbeke, who helped organize the protest. Anger, he said, was directed at the government. ___ Elaine Ganley reported from Paris. Chris Den Hond in Calais and Oleg Cetinic in Paris contributed to this report. ___ This story has been corrected to show that the day of the week in the first paragraph is Monday, not Friday. Truckers and farmers block the highway near Calais, northern France, Monday Sept. 5, 2016. Hundreds of truckers in big rigs, farmers in tractors and dockers and merchants on foot blocked a major highway in northern France on Monday to demand the closure of the Calais migrant camp known as the "jungle." (AP Photo/Thibault Camus) A crowd cheers with French flags a trucker blocking the highway near Calais, northern France, Monday Sept. 5, 2016. Hundreds of truckers in big rigs, farmers in tractors and dockers and merchants on foot blocked a major highway in northern France on Monday to demand the closure of the Calais migrant camp known as the "jungle." (AP Photo/Thibault Camus) A crowd supports truckers blocking the highway near Calais, northern France, Monday Sept. 5, 2016. Hundreds of truckers in big rigs, farmers in tractors and dockers and merchants on foot blocked a major highway in northern France on Monday to demand the closure of the Calais migrant camp known as the "jungle." (AP Photo/Thibault Camus) Truckers block the highway near Calais, northern France, Monday Sept. 5, 2016. Hundreds of truckers in big rigs, farmers in tractors and dockers and merchants on foot blocked a major highway in northern France on Monday to demand the closure of the Calais migrant camp known as the "jungle." (AP Photo/Thibault Camus) People demonstrate with a banner reading "My port is beautiful, my city beautiful" in Calais, northern France, Monday, Sept. 5, 2016. Truckers, dock workers, farmers and merchants are blocking a major highway in northern France to demand the closure of the Calais migrant camp known as the "jungle," as its population surges and tensions rise. (AP Photo/Michel Spingler) People demonstrate in Calais, northern France, Monday, Sept. 5, 2016. Truckers, dock workers, farmers and merchants are blocking a major highway in northern France to demand the closure of the Calais migrant camp known as the "jungle," as its population surges and tensions rise. (AP Photo/Michel Spingler) Trump transition team led by Christie insiders TRENTON, N.J. (AP) Donald Trump is pledging that the government he appoints will bring sweeping change to Washington's culture. So far, that promise comes with a heavy New Jersey accent. Despite being passed over for the job of Trump's running mate, New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie and an entourage of his closest allies could leave a lasting mark on a Trump administration, should he win in November. As chairman of Trump's transition team, Christie is building a coalition of advisers who will staff key federal government agencies and execute new policy prescriptions if Trump wins the general election. Among them, are two of his longtime aides, Rich Bagger, a lobbyist who helped lead Christie's gubernatorial transition team and Bill Palatucci, a top Christie adviser whose law firm has been showered with government legal work. FILE - In this Aug. 29, 2016 file photo, New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie laughs at a question from the media after speaking in Trenton, N.J. Donald Trump is pledging that the government he appoints will bring sweeping change to Washingtons culture. So far, that promise comes with a heavy New Jersey accent. (AP Photo/Mel Evans, File) "The chairman is the public face, sets the tone and ensures the transition has good connectivity with the candidate," said Clay Johnson, who served as executive director of George W. Bush's transition team in 2000. The team also includes Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner a New Jersey native along with some experienced government officials such as Jaime Burke, who was the personnel director for the Romney transition team in 2012 and a White House liaison to Health and Human Services under George W. Bush. Christie is also hosting a transition team fundraiser in New Jersey later this month, promising to give an inside look at the team for $5,000 a person. Presidential transition teams lay the groundwork early since the winner is ultimately faced with the daunting task of readying the new administration in the two and a half months between Election Day and the inauguration. "You have to be proactive," Johnson added. "We didn't know how fast warp speed was but a transition goes faster than that. It's a mind boggling challenge." As a former presidential contender, Christie has taken some very public swings at his opponent-turned-ally. He's called the New York businessman "thin-skinned," and said Trump's proposed Syria policies are "painfully naive." Also Christie, like a number of Trump's closest advisers, brings his own share of baggage to the campaign. The embattled governor is still grappling with the fallout from a scandal back home, after lanes were closed on the George Washington bridge for political retribution. Lawyers for former Christie appointee Bill Baroni recently revealed text messages sent from an administration staffer to a campaign staffer that Christie "flat out lied" about his knowledge of the scandal. Christie, who has not been charged and denies wrongdoing, disputed the remarks and called them "ridiculous." The criminal trial against Baroni and another former Christie aide is scheduled to begin Sept. 19. Personal relationships have counted for a lot in previous presidential transition teams: George W. Bush tapped his longtime appointments director and chief of staff Johnson along with Dick Cheney, who chaired the effort, and Barack Obama's close adviser and friend Valerie Jarrett co-chaired his 2008 transition. In Trump's case, however, it appears to be Christie's relationships that count. Palatucci, a good friend of Christie's and a longtime adviser, is serving as the transition team's counsel and Bagger, Christie's first chief of staff who is now an executive at a biopharmaceutical firm with close ties to his administration, was hired as executive director. A former law partner and Republican political player, Palatucci is a longtime lobbyist for Community Education Centers and helped the company get contracts to house convicted criminals in privatized halfway houses. In late 2012, Palatucci left that job to join the law firm Gibbons, P.C. which has been one of the biggest recipients of state contracts for outside legal work since Palatucci was hired. That includes more than $3 million to defend the state in a whistleblower suit involving an investigation of a Christie donor who received a fake law enforcement ID badge. That donor founded Celgene, the New Jersey biotech firm Bagger left the Christie administration to work for. As part of his lobbying job for the company, Bagger also accompanied Christie on international economic policy trips that many saw as precursors to his presidential campaign. They were funded by a nonprofit called Choose New Jersey, which is financed by business contributions from Celgene and other businesses. FILE- In this Thursday, Dec. 22, 2011 file photograph, New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, right, and Jeff Chiesa, listen to Christie's Chief of Staff Richard Bagger at the Statehouse in Trenton, N.J. Despite being passed over for the job of Trump's running mate, New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie and an entourage of his closest allies could leave a lasting mark on a Trump administration, should he win in November. As chairman of Trump's transition team, Christie is building a coalition of advisers who will staff key federal government agencies and execute new policy prescriptions if Trump wins the general election. Among them, are two of his longtime aides, Bagger, a lobbyist who helped lead Christie's gubernatorial transition team and Bill Palatucci, a top Christie adviser whose law firm has been showered with government legal work. (AP Photo/Mel Evans, File) Israeli police: Palestinian car attacker shot dead JERUSALEM (AP) Israeli police say their forces have shot dead a Palestinian who tried to ram his car into them in east Jerusalem. Police spokeswoman Luba Samri says the officers were concluding a patrol in the Shuafat refugee camp Monday when a vehicle sped toward them and tried to run them over. After warning the vehicle to stop, she said the forces opened fire and killed the driver. A passenger in the vehicle was lightly wounded. Since September, Palestinians have killed 34 Israelis and two visiting Americans in attacks. Some 208 Palestinians have been killed in that time, most of them identified as attackers by Israel. China tamps down South China Sea talk at summits BANGKOK (AP) A look at recent developments in the South China Sea, where China is pitted against smaller neighbors in multiple disputes over islands, coral reefs and lagoons in waters crucial for global commerce and rich in fish and potential gas and oil reserves: ___ EDITOR'S NOTE: This is a weekly look at the latest key developments in the South China Sea, home to several territorial conflicts that have raised tensions in the region. FILE - In this undated file photo released by Xinhua News Agency, a Chinese H-6K bomber patrols the islands and reefs in the South China Sea. China is pitted against smaller neighbors in multiple disputes over islands, coral reefs and lagoons in waters crucial for global commerce and rich in fish and potential gas and oil reserves in the South China Sea. (Liu Rui/Xinhua via AP, File) ___ CHINA PUSHES MARITIME DISPUTES INTO BACK SEAT AT REGIONAL TALKS China opposes raising its maritime disputes at international meetings, including the G-20 summit ending Monday in Hangzhou and subsequent meetings of Southeast Asian leaders and their partners in Laos. To Beijing's pleasure, Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte said he will not raise the subject of China's compliance with an international tribunal's ruling that invalidated Beijing's territorial claims in the South China Sea. Preferring a quiet diplomacy, Duterte last month sent his special envoy, former President Fidel Ramos, to meet with Chinese officials and they agreed on the need to reduce tensions through talks. "We will not raise hell now because of the judgment, but there will come a time that we have to do some reckoning about this," Duterte said. He said the Philippines can take only so much, with China insisting it owns the contested islands and refusing to recognize the arbitration ruling. "You cannot be slapped everyday with those kinds of words," Duterte said. China has relied on its ally Cambodia to block any overt mention of tensions in the South China Sea in communiques following meetings of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, because it doesn't want to be confronted by a united bloc. President Barack Obama was more forthcoming in expressing his concerns over China's behavior. He said ahead of his meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping in Hangzhou that the U.S. has been "very firm" in response to Chinese military assertiveness. "We've indicated to them that there will be consequences," he told CNN. Xi told Obama that China will continue to "unswervingly safeguard" its territorial sovereignty and maritime rights and interests in the South China Sea, according to state-run Xinhua News Agency. ___ BEIJING'S NEXT BIG MOVE MAY COME AFTER G-20 OR U.S. ELECTIONS There has been speculation that China might make even more assertive moves in the South China Sea after the G-20 meeting, including possibly launching reclamation projects in new areas or declaring an air defense identification zone over the crucial waterbody. Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte said the Philippine coast guard had observed Chinese barges at Scarborough Shoal, a tiny reef China seized from the Philippines in 2012. The vessels may indicate that Beijing is planning new construction that could ratchet up tensions. Michael Green, a senior vice president at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, said building at Scarborough Shoal before the G-20 or the U.S. presidential election in November would be "very self-defeating" for Beijing. China also plans joint naval exercises with Russia in the South China Sea Sept. 11-19, a move criticized by the U.S. as harming regional stability. According to the Russian government's Tass news agency, warships from Russia's Pacific Fleet, including the anti-submarine vessels Admiral Tributs and Admiral Vinogradov, will take part. ___ U.S. OFFICIAL WANTS MORE ACTIVE AUSTRALIAN ENGAGEMENT U.S. Army Assistant Chief of Staff Col. Tom Hanson urged Australia to take a stronger position against China's assertiveness in the South China Sea. "It's very difficult to walk this fine line between balancing the alliance with the United States and the economic engagement with China," Hanson told Australia's Radio National. "At some point there is going to have to be a decision about which one becomes more of a vital national interest for Australia, in my opinion." Hanson wrote an opinion piece for the Australian Security and Policy Institute in May in which he argued for a "more visible and unqualified stance against Chinese territorial aggrandizement." "I think the Australians need to make a declaratory statement and some visible action that shows their concern and commitment to upholding a rules-based international order," he said in the radio interview. "Clearly China believes they have an opportunity and they feel empowered to flout that, so a demonstration by Australia would be welcome." Australia has been supportive of the U.S. freedom of navigation exercises in the South China Sea, and has regularly sent its own air force patrols over the region, drawing anger from Beijing. Yet Australian public opinion remains strongly in favor of close ties with China. "We are balancing relationships between our largest strategic ally and our largest trading partner with deft diplomacy, consistency and pragmatism," Australian Foreign Minister Julie Bishop said in a statement. ___ Associated Press writers Christopher Bodeen in Hangzhou, China, Jim Gomez in Manila, Philippines, and Kristen Gelineau in Sydney contributed to this report. ___ Follow Hrvoje Hranjski at www.twitter.com/hatbangkok FILE - In this Aug. 29, 2016, file photo, Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte gestures while addressing guests following a wreath-laying ceremony in observance of National Heroes Day at the Heroes Cemetery in suburban Taguig city, east of Manila, Philippines. China opposed raising its maritime disputes with neighbors at international meetings, two of which are taking place on Sunday, Sept. 4, 2016. To Beijings pleasure, Duterte said he will not raise the subject of Chinas compliance with an international tribunals ruling that invalidated Beijings territorial claims in the South China Sea. (AP Photo/Bullit Marquez, File) FILE - In this Aug. 9, 2016, file photo, former Philippine President Fidel Ramos holds up what he says are photos of Chinese President Xi Jinping when he visited the Philippines in his youth during a press briefing at the Philippines consular office in Hong Kong. China has opposed raising its maritime disputes with neighbors at international meetings, two of which are taking place on Sunday, Sept. 4, 2016. To Beijings pleasure, Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte said he will not raise the subject of Chinas compliance with an international tribunals ruling that invalidated Beijings territorial claims in the South China Sea. Preferring a quiet diplomacy, Duterte in August sent his special envoy Ramos to meet with Chinese officials and they agreed on the need to reduce tensions through talks. (AP Photo/Ng Han Guan, File) Student activists have been the big winners in Hong Kong elections, just two years after they led pro-democracy protests against Chinese rule that stunned Beijing. A record turnout in Sunday's vote helped sweep the newcomers into office, most notably Nathan Law, a 23-year-old who was said to have been behind the protests in 2014. He garnered the second-highest number of votes in his six-seat Hong Kong Island constituency. Nathan Law, a 23-year-old who was behind the pro-democracy protests in Hong Kong two years ago, celebrates after winning a seat on Hong Kong's legislative council during elections Law, a former student, garnered the second-highest number of votes in his six-seat Hong Kong Island constituency Mr Law's party, Demosisto, founded earlier this year with fellow teen protest leader Joshua Wong, advocates a referendum on 'self-determination' on the future status of Hong Kong, which is in the middle of a 50-year transition period to Chinese rule. When asked about his victory, Mr Law said: 'It shows how Hong Kong people want change. 'People are voting for a new way and new future of our democractic movement.' In another surprising result, Yau Wai-Ching, 25, of Youngspiration, which was formed during the 2014 protests and proposes a similar plan as Demosisto, secured a seat in the Legislative Council. The group's other candidate, 30-year-old Sixtus Leung, also appeared to be headed for a win, according to incomplete results for his constituency. Radical activist candidates from the Youngspiration group, from left, Yau Wai-ching, Kenny Wong and Henry Wong celebrate after Yau won a seat on the legislative council in elections in Hong Kong Radical activist candidate Eddie Chu Hoi-dick, right, celebrates after winning a seat at the legislative council elections in Hong Kong The newcomers pulled off their startling victories by riding a rising tide of anti-China sentiment as they challenged formidably resourced pro-Beijing rivals. They were part of a broader wave of radical activists who campaigned for Hong Kong's complete autonomy or even independence from China, highlighting fears that Beijing is eroding the city's high autonomy, as well as frustration over the failure of the 2014 protests to win genuine elections for Hong Kong's top leader. That represents a break with the established mainstream 'pan-democrat' parties, who have demanded voters be able to elect more lawmakers as well as the city's top leader, or chief executive currently chosen by a panel of pro-Beijing elites but never challenge the idea that Hong Kong is part of China. About 2.2 million people, or 58 per cent of registered voters, cast ballots for lawmakers in the Legislative Council, the highest turnout since the city's 1997 handover from Britain. Electoral officers count ballots at the central ballot counting station. The election came as the newcomers pulled off their startling victories by riding a rising tide of anti-China sentiment as they challenged formidably resourced pro-Beijing rivals Another rookie, 38-year-old land reform campaigner Eddie Chu, won 84,121 votes, the highest number of votes garnered by any of the more than 200 candidates competing for 35 seats in geographic constituencies. Another 30 seats are taken by members representing business and trade groups such as accounting, finance, medicine and fisheries, most of which support Beijing because their members have close ties to China's communist elite on the mainland. At stake is the power to keep Hong Kong's widely unpopular Beijing-backed chief executive, Leung Chun-ying, and his government in check. Hermine lingers offshore, brings rough waves, rip currents PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP) Hermine twisted hundreds of miles offshore in the Atlantic Ocean on Monday, creating large waves in some southern New England beach waters that lured in surfers despite the rough surf and rip currents that kept most beachgoers away on the last day of the holiday weekend. "These are more seasoned surfers who live for the thrill of these waves," said Kim Buttrick, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Taunton, Massachusetts. Hermine's position Monday southeast of Nantucket created 20-foot waves and wind gusts of up to 50 kph about 55 miles southeast of the island, Buttrick said. Hermine was expected to stall over the water before weakening again. A beachgoer stands at the edge of the water, Sunday, Sept. 4, 2016, in Bridgehampton, N.Y., on the southeastern shore of Long Island, where the effects of storm system Hermine could be seen in the rough surf and a ban on swimming. Hermine spun away from the U.S. East Coast on Sunday, removing the threat of heavy rain but maintaining enough power to churn dangerous waves and currents and keep beaches off-limits to disappointed swimmers and surfers during the holiday weekend. (AP Photo/Jennifer Peltz) Even as Hermine weakens, wind gusts of 30 to 50 mph were expected across southern Rhode Island and southeastern Massachusetts on Monday, Buttrick said. Governors along the Eastern Seaboard announced emergency preparations. A tropical storm warning was in effect from New York's Long Island to Massachusetts. New York officials extended beach closures beyond Labor Day because of continued deadly rip currents. The New York Post said police issued $80 tickets to at least four surfers at the Rockaway Beach surf spot. An emergency worker who dived into the Atlantic Ocean at Coney Island to save a swimmer who violated the ban told the Post the current felt like a "300-pound guy pulling me back out to sea." Whipping winds didn't keep some beach seekers from walking along the New Jersey shore, but Labor Day vacationers quickly took to boardwalks as an aggressive high tide moved into the area. The waves eroded some of the shore, creating sand dune cliffs where kids climbed. Warnings of potentially dangerous riptides temporarily cleared the water Monday, but a couple of dozen beachgoers and a handful of surfers returned to the water in Atlantic City by the afternoon. A rougher surf cleared portions of the beachfront. MD Mahabub Khan has worked as a taxi cart pusher at the shore for 27 years and said he still attracted some business over the weekend, but the smaller crowds were noticeable. "People from New York and New Jersey are kind of stuck here (during bad weather), so they can still come," if forecasts don't play out as predicted, Khan said. Hermine rose over the Gulf of Mexico and hit Florida on Friday as a Category 1 hurricane before weakening to a tropical storm across Georgia. It has caused at least three deaths, inflicted widespread property damage and knocked out power to hundreds of thousands of people from Florida to Virginia. Since sea levels have risen to a foot because of global warming, the storm surges pushed by Hermine could be even more damaging, climate scientists say. "We are already experiencing more and more flooding due to climate change in every storm," said Michael Oppenheimer, a geosciences professor at Princeton University. "And it's only the beginning." Michael Mann, at Pennsylvania State University, said the 1-foot rise that New York City has experienced over the past century caused an additional 25 square miles and several billions of dollars of damage with Superstorm Sandy in 2012. No flooding or other damage had been reported as of Monday afternoon in some of the worst Sandy-hit areas, including Point Pleasant Beach, Bay Head, Mantoloking and Brick. On Saturday, high winds tipped over an 18-wheeler, killing its driver and shutting down a bridge in North Carolina's Outer Banks. In Florida, a homeless man in Marion County was hit by a falling tree and was killed. And a man trying to remove a tree that fell on a highway near Cottageville, South Carolina, on Friday was struck by a car and died on Saturday. ___ Associated Press writers Megan Trimble and Wayne Parry in Atlantic City, New Jersey, contributed to this report. ___ This story has been corrected to show New York has experienced a 1-foot rise in the past century, not in this century. Beachgoers walk away from big waves and rough surf caused by Hermine, Sunday, Sept. 4, 2016, in Bradley Beach,N.J. No swimming was allowed because of the passing storm. (Noah K. Murray/The Asbury Park Press via AP) Chloe Riffle, 7, watches as she is surrounded by water on Sunday, Sept. 4, 2016 in the Ocean View section of Norfolk, Va. Storm system Hermine spun away from the U.S. East Coast on Sunday, removing the threat of heavy rain but maintaining enough power to churn dangerous waves and currents and keep beaches off-limits to disappointed swimmers and surfers during the holiday weekend. (Vicki Cronis-Nohe /The Virginian-Pilot via AP) People sit at the beach in Ocean City, N.J., on Sunday, Sept. 4, 2016. Storm system Hermine spun away from the U.S. East Coast on Sunday, removing the threat of heavy rain but maintaining enough power to churn dangerous waves and currents and keep beaches off-limits to disappointed swimmers and surfers during the holiday weekend. (Viviana Pernot /The Press of Atlantic City via AP) Beachgoers stand at the edge of the water, Sunday, Sept. 4, 2016, in Bridgehampton, N.Y., on the southeastern shore of Long Island, where the effects of storm system Hermine could be seen in the rough surf and a ban on swimming. Hermine spun away from the U.S. East Coast on Sunday, removing the threat of heavy rain but maintaining enough power to churn dangerous waves and currents and keep beaches off-limits to disappointed swimmers and surfers during the holiday weekend. (AP Photo/Jennifer Peltz) New Jersey Lt. Governor Kim Guadagno, second from right, meets with New Jersey DEP Commissioner Bob Martin, right, and Congressman Frank LoBiondo , on Sunday Sept. 4, 2016, at the Cape May County Office of Emergency Management in Cape May Court House, N.J. Storm system Hermine spun away from the U.S. East Coast on Sunday, removing the threat of heavy rain but maintaining enough power to churn dangerous waves and currents and keep beaches off-limits to disappointed swimmers and surfers during the holiday weekend. (Michael Miller /The Press of Atlantic City via AP) Beachgoers stand at the edge of the water, Sunday, Sept. 4, 2016, in Bridgehampton, N.Y., on the southeastern shore of Long Island, where the effects of storm system Hermine could be seen in the rough surf and a ban on swimming. Hermine spun away from the U.S. East Coast on Sunday, removing the threat of heavy rain but maintaining enough power to churn dangerous waves and currents and keep beaches off-limits to disappointed swimmers and surfers during the holiday weekend. (AP Photo/Jennifer Peltz) Marco Cardone put on dry socks and boots after wading through the flood waters on Sunday, Sept. 4, 2016 in the Ocean View section of Norfolk, Va. Storm system Hermine spun away from the U.S. East Coast on Sunday, removing the threat of heavy rain but maintaining enough power to churn dangerous waves and currents and keep beaches off-limits to disappointed swimmers and surfers during the holiday weekend. (Vicki Cronis-Nohe /The Virginian-Pilot via AP) Cormac Worrall, 6, left, helps his father remove tree debris from their yard in Virginia Beach, Va, on Sunday, Sept. 4, 2016, Storm system Hermine spun away from the U.S. East Coast on Sunday, removing the threat of heavy rain but maintaining enough power to churn dangerous waves and currents and keep beaches off-limits to disappointed swimmers and surfers during the holiday weekend. (Vicki Cronis-Nohe /The Virginian-Pilot via AP) This NOAA satellite image taken Sunday, Sept. 4, 2016 at 9:45 AM EDT shows Post Tropical Cyclone Hermine spinning roughly 300 miles east of the Jersey Shore. Hermine is packing winds of 70 miles an hour and has moved further east than originally forecasted. So far this has kept the worst of the impacts offshore from the Mid-Atlantic. A northward turn is still expected over the next day which will bring some rainy and windy weather into southern New England. The remainder of the eastern half of the Untied States is under the influence of a ridge of high pressure. Under this ridge mostly sunny skies and dry conditions will prevail. (Weather Underground via AP) Clinton blasts Russia, Trump softens immigration stance CLEVELAND (AP) Setting the stage on Labor Day for a critical month in their testy presidential campaign, Donald Trump softened his stance on immigration while Hillary Clinton blasted Russia for its suspected tampering in the U.S. electoral process. In a rare news conference aboard her new campaign plane, Clinton said she is concerned about "credible reports about Russian government interference in our elections." "We are going to have to take those threats and attacks seriously," Clinton told reporters traveling with her from Ohio to Illinois. Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton pauses to drink water after coughing as she speaks at the 11th Congressional District Labor Day festival at Luke Easter Park in Cleveland, Ohio, Monday, Sept. 5, 2016. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik) Clinton's comments follow reports that the Russian government may have been involved in the hacking of Democratic National Committee emails just days before the party's national convention. The emails, later revealed by WikiLeaks, showed some DNC officials favoring Clinton over her primary opponent, Bernie Sanders who has since endorsed Clinton for president. She said Russian President Vladimir Putin appears "quite satisfied with himself" and said Trump "has generally parroted what is a Putin-Kremlin line." Meanwhile, Trump extended a rare invitation to journalists to accompany him on his private plane from Cleveland to Youngstown, Ohio. The billionaire businessman appeared to pivot away from his hard-line position on immigration, saying, "I'm all about jobs now." Any immigrants who want full citizenship must return to their countries of origin and get in line, he told reporters but he would not rule out a pathway to legal status for the millions living in the U.S. illegally, as he did in a long-awaited policy speech last week. "We're going to make that decision into the future," Trump said. Clinton powered through a coughing fit at a Labor Day festival at a Cleveland park, sharply criticizing Trump's recent trip to Mexico as "an embarrassing international incident." Unwilling to allow Trump to modify his immigration stances, she said his address later that night in Arizona amounted to a "doubling down on his absurd plan to send a deportation force to round up 16 million people." "He can try to fool voters into thinking somehow he's not as harsh and inhumane as he seems, but it's too late," Clinton said. Clinton's 25-minute question-and-answer session was her first extensive availability with reporters since early December. Beyond Russia, she answered questions about the ongoing controversy surrounding her use of a private email server while secretary of state, which Trump has used to cast doubt over her ability to protect classified information. "I take classification seriously," she said. Trump told reporters Monday that "on occasion," he will invite journalists to travel with him. The two campaigns arrived in Cleveland within hours of each other, underscoring Ohio's quadrennial role in presidential campaigns. No Republican has won the White House without carrying the state, and the airport offered vivid imagery of that crucial role. The airplanes of Trump and his running mate, Mike Pence, were parked on the tarmac as Clinton and her vice presidential pick, Tim Kaine, arrived in separate planes. It was a near-encounter that even forced the Trump press corps to the side of the road as Clinton's motorcade whizzed by. "It's kind of interesting to have all the planes here on the same tarmac," Kaine said after he and Clinton greeted supporters. "Just shows you how important Ohio is. We're going to be here a lot." While Labor Day has traditionally been the kickoff to the fall campaign, both Clinton and Trump have been locked in an intense back-and-forth throughout the summer. The start of full-fledged campaigning opens a pivotal month, culminating in the first presidential debate Sept. 26 at Hofstra University in Hempstead, New York. Polls show Trump trailing Clinton in a series of must-win battleground states, meaning the debates could be his best chance at reorienting the race. Trump told reporters he does plan to take part in all three presidential debates, joking that only a "hurricane" or "natural disaster" would prevent him from attending. Clinton will have millions of dollars at her disposal this fall to air television advertising and power a sophisticated get-out-the vote operation in key states. The former secretary of state raised a combined $143 million in August for her campaign, the Democratic National Committee and state parties her best month yet. She began September with more than $68 million in her campaign's bank account to use against Trump, who has not yet released initial fundraising totals for August. Trump followed through with his vow to spend some $10 million on commercials in key states over the past week. ___ Peoples reported from aboard Trump's private jet over Ohio. Kathleen Ronayne in Cleveland and David Eggert in Detroit contributed to this report. ___ There's plenty that can happen between Labor Day and Election Day in the 2016 race for president. Check out the "what ifs" between Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump at: http://apne.ws/2c676Rq Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump walks to speak with members of the press, Monday, Sept. 5, 2016, aboard his campaign plane, while flying over Ohio. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci) Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton, right, accompanied by Democratic vice presidential candidate, Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va., left, arrives at Cleveland Hopkins International Airport in Cleveland, Ohio, Monday, Sept. 5, 2016, after traveling from Westchester County Airport in White Plains, N.Y. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik) Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump shakes hands during a visit to Goody's Restaurant, Monday, Sept. 5, 2016, in Brook Park, Ohio. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci) Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton speaks to members of the media on her first flight on a new campaign plane before taking off at the Westchester County Airport in White Plains, N.Y., Monday, Sept. 5, 2016, to travel to Cleveland Hopkins International Airport for Labor Day events. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik) Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump shakes hands as he arrives to a roundtable discussion with labor leaders and union members at American Legion Post 610, Monday, Sept. 5, 2016, in Brook Park, Ohio. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci) Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton walks back to speak to reporters on her first flight on a new campaign plane before taking off at the Westchester County Airport in White Plains, N.Y., Monday, Sept. 5, 2016, to travel to Cleveland Hopkins International Airport for Labor Day events. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik) Brook Park Mayor Tom Coyne, left, and vice presidential candidate Gov. Mike Pence, R-Ind., right, look on as Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump speaks during a roundtable discussion with labor leaders and union members at American Legion Post 610, Monday, Sept. 5, 2016, in Brook Park, Ohio. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci) Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton arrives to board a new campaign plane at the Westchester County Airport in White Plains, N.Y., Monday, Sept. 5, 2016, to travel to Cleveland Hopkins International Airport for Labor Day events. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik) Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton boards a new campaign plane at the Westchester County Airport in White Plains, N.Y., Monday, Sept. 5, 2016, to travel to Cleveland Hopkins International Airport for Labor Day events. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik) Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump talks with patrons during a visit to Goody's Restaurant, Monday, Sept. 5, 2016, in Brook Park, Ohio. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci) Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump talks with patrons during a visit to Goody's Restaurant, Monday, Sept. 5, 2016, in Brook Park, Ohio. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci) Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump, right, talks with his campaign manager Kellyanne Conway during a visit to Goody's Restaurant, Monday, Sept. 5, 2016, in Brook Park, Ohio. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci) Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump shakes hands during a visit to Goody's Restaurant, Monday, Sept. 5, 2016, in Brook Park, Ohio. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci) Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton, center, and Democratic vice presidential candidate, Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va., foreground left, greet members of a crowd as Clinton arrives at Cleveland Hopkins International Airport in Cleveland, Ohio, Monday, Sept. 5, 2016, after traveling from Westchester County Airport in White Plains, N.Y. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik) Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton, center, and Democratic vice presidential candidate, Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va., foreground, greet members of a crowd as Clinton arrives at Cleveland Hopkins International Airport in Cleveland, Ohio, Monday, Sept. 5, 2016, after traveling from Westchester County Airport in White Plains, N.Y. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik) Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump speaks with members of the press, Monday, Sept. 5, 2016, aboard his campaign plane, while flying over Ohio. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci) Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump talks with the press, Monday, Sept. 5, 2016, as he flies on board his campaign plane, as Vice presidential candidate Gov. Mike Pence, R-Ind., left, looks on. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci) Former President Bill Clinton greets United Auto Workers at Solidarity House after the annual Labor Day parade, Monday, Sept. 5, 2016 in Detroit. His visit to the city comes two days after his wife's opponent, Donald Trump, visited a predominantly black church in the city. The parade's theme is "Your Vote is Your Voice" and is expected to draw prominent Michigan Democrats and thousands of unionized workers. (AP Photo/Carlos Osorio) Former President Bill Clinton addresses United Auto Workers at Solidarity House after the annual Labor Day parade, Monday, Sept. 5, 2016 in Detroit. His visit to the city comes two days after his wife's opponent, Donald Trump, visited a predominantly black church in the city. The parade's theme is "Your Vote is Your Voice" and is expected to draw prominent Michigan Democrats and thousands of unionized workers. (AP Photo/Carlos Osorio) Former President Bill Clinton shakes hands as he marches with union members in the annual Labor Day parade, Monday, Sept. 5, 2016 in Detroit. His visit to the city comes two days after his wife's opponent, Donald Trump, visited a predominantly black church in the city. The parade's theme is "Your Vote is Your Voice" and is expected to draw prominent Michigan Democrats and thousands of unionized workers. (AP Photo/Carlos Osorio) Former President Bill Clinton joins union members in their annual Labor Day parade, Monday, Sept. 5, 2016 in Detroit. His visit to the city Monday comes two days after his wife's opponent, Donald Trump, visited a predominantly black church in the city. The parade's theme is "Your Vote is Your Voice" and is expected to draw prominent Michigan Democrats and thousands of unionized workers. (AP Photo/Carlos Osorio) Former President Bill Clinton takes a selfie as he marches with union members in their annual Labor Day parade, Monday, Sept. 5, 2016 in Detroit. His visit to the city comes two days after his wife's opponent, Donald Trump, visited a predominantly black church in the city. The parade's theme is "Your Vote is Your Voice" and is expected to draw prominent Michigan Democrats and thousands of unionized workers. (AP Photo/Carlos Osorio) Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton, accompanied by Democratic vice presidential candidate, Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va., right, arrives to speak at the 11th Congressional District Labor Day festival at Luke Easter Park in Cleveland, Ohio, Monday, Sept. 5, 2016. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik) Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton pauses to drink water after coughing as she speaks at the 11th Congressional District Labor Day festival at Luke Easter Park in Cleveland, Ohio, Monday, Sept. 5, 2016. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik) Obama cancels meeting with new Philippine president VIENTIANE, Laos (AP) President Barack Obama called off a planned meeting Tuesday with new Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte, seeking distance from a U.S. ally's leader during a diplomatic tour that's put Obama in close quarters with a cast of contentious world figures. It's unusual for one president to tell another what to say or not say, and much rarer to call the other a "son of a bitch." Duterte managed to do both just before flying to Laos for a regional summit, warning Obama not to challenge him over extrajudicial killings in the Philippines. "Clearly, he's a colorful guy," Obama said. "What I've instructed my team to do is talk to their Philippine counterparts to find out is this in fact a time where we can have some constructive, productive conversations." U.S. President Barack Obama waves before getting into his motorcade vehicle as he arrives on Air Force One to Wattay International Airport in Vientiane, Laos, Monday, Sept. 5, 2016. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster) Early Tuesday, National Security Council spokesman Ned Price said the meeting with Duterte was off. Duterte has been under intense global scrutiny over the more than 2,000 suspected drug dealers and users killed since he took office. Obama had said he planned to raise the issue in his first meeting with Duterte, but the Philippine leader insisted he was only listening to his own country's people. "You must be respectful," Duterte said of Obama. "Do not just throw questions." Using the Tagalog phrase for "son of a bitch," he said, "Putang ina I will swear at you in that forum." He made the comment in a televised news conference in southern Davao City. Eager to show he wouldn't yield, Obama said he would "undoubtedly" still bring up human rights and due process concerns "if and when" the two do meet. A public break with the Philippines would put Obama in a tough position, given the Southeast Asian nation's status as a longtime U.S. treaty ally. A key part of Obama's signature policy of engagement with Asia has been stronger military ties to Manila, including a defense pact the two allies signed in 2014 allowing U.S. forces to be based temporarily in designated Philippine military camps. Yet when it comes to Duterte, the Obama administration has sought to compartmentalize. Obama administration officials said they were confident military and other cooperation with the Philippines won't be jeopardized despite misgivings about the country's new leader. The bizarre rift with Duterte was the most glaring example of how Obama has frequently found himself bound to foreign countries and leaders whose ties to the U.S. are critical even if their values sharply diverge. In Hangzhou this week, Obama's first stop in Asia, he heaped praise on Chinese President Xi Jinping for hosting the Group of 20 economic summit in his country, an authoritarian state long accused of human rights violations. Upon Obama's arrival, social media exploded with speculation China had slighted Obama after there was no staircase awaiting him on the tarmac, forcing the president to deplane through a set of internal stairs he rarely uses. That prompted Donald Trump, the Republican presidential nominee, to say he would have refused to meet with Chinese officials if he were treated that way, calling it "such a sign of disrespect." But U.S. officials said the incident actually stemmed more from a mix-up over finding a driver for the staircase-on-wheels who could communicate in English with the U.S. Secret Service. The officials requested anonymity to describe private diplomatic arrangements. Obama's next stop was another one-party communist country with a dismal rights record: Laos, where mysterious disappearances have fueled concerns about a government crackdown. And sitting down with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Obama made no mention in public of the roughly 35,000 people Erdogan's government detained following the summer's failed coup in Turkey. Instead, he worked to reassure the NATO ally the U.S. would help bring to justice whoever was responsible for plotting the coup. Obama also spent about 90 minutes Monday with Russian President Vladimir Putin, another leader whose fate seems intertwined with Obama's in all the wrong ways. On opposing sides of many global issues, the U.S. and Russia are nonetheless trying to broker a deal to address the Syrian civil war and perhaps even partner militarily there. "President Putin's less colorful," Obama said, comparing him with Duterte. "But typically the tone of our meetings is candid, blunt, businesslike." Managing Duterte has become a worsening headache for Obama since the Filipino took office on June 30, pledging his foreign policy wouldn't be constricted by reliance on the U.S. Washington has tried largely to look the other way as Duterte has pursued closer relations with China, a marked shift for the Philippines considering recent tensions over Beijing's aspirations in the South China Sea. This isn't the first time Duterte's penchant for eyebrow-raising comments has triggered diplomatic disputes. Last month, Duterte said he didn't mind Secretary of State John Kerry but "had a feud with his gay ambassador - son of a bitch, I'm annoyed with that guy." He applied the same moniker to an Australian missionary who was gang-raped and killed, and even to Pope Francis, even though the Philippines is a heavily Catholic nation. He later apologized. With a reputation as a tough-on-crime former mayor, Duterte has alarmed human rights groups with his deadly campaign against drugs, which Duterte has described as a harsh war. He has said the battle doesn't amount to genocide but has vowed to go to jail if needed to defend police and military members carrying out his orders. ___ Associated Press writer Teresa Cerojano in Manila, Philippines, contributed to this report. ___ Reach Josh Lederman on Twitter at http://twitter.com/joshledermanAP and Kathleen Hennessey at http://twitter.com/khennessey Russian President Vladimir Putin, left, shakes hands with U.S. President Barack Obama in Hangzhou in eastern China's Zhejiang province, Monday, Sept. 5, 2016. (Alexei Druzhinin, Sputnik, Kremlin Pool Photo via AP) UK lawmakers to debate second EU membership referendum LONDON (AP) British lawmakers will debate a public petition on whether to hold a second referendum on the country's membership in the European Union. The debate follows a petition that urged the government to hold another vote since turnout was below 75 percent and fewer than 60 percent of voters backed the decision to leave the bloc. The government has already ruled out a second referendum, but lawmakers are obliged to debate any petition that receives 100,000 signatures and this one garnered 4.1 million. Group: Renewed Turkey-Kurds conflict has killed nearly 2,000 ISTANBUL (AP) Two Turkish soldiers were killed in clashes with Kurdish insurgents in the volatile southeast Monday as rights groups said nearly 2,000 people have died since fighting between the two sides resumed last year. Turkey's state-run Anadolu news agency reported that 157 "terrorists" belonging to the Kurdistan Workers' Party, or PKK, were killed or wounded in the latest offensive over the weekend meant to quash the outlawed group that has been waging a 30-year-war against the Turkish state. The governor's office of Hakkari province said 12 soldiers were killed and 26 wounded in the same period. Turkish Prime Minister Binali Yildirim visited a military unit in Hakkari Sunday and outlined a "new roadmap for combatting terror." "We will not be in defense but offense," Anadolu quoted him as saying. The clashes between Turkish forces and the PKK have killed an estimated 40,000 people since 1984 and a fragile two-and-a-half year ceasefire collapsed last summer. International Crisis Group, a non-governmental organization, tracked the deaths in the resumed conflict until the beginning of September. It said at least 1,958 people, including 676 state security force members, 733 PKK militants, 219 youth of unknown affiliation, and 330 civilians have been killed. The group said at least 40 per cent of the victims died in the so-called "urban curfew zones." According to the Human Rights Foundation of Turkey, another non-governmental organization, there were "at least 111 officially confirmed, open-ended, and round-the-clock curfews" in districts of nine predominantly Kurdish provinces until August 2016. Clashes in urban centers between security forces and militants have caused major destruction. Diyarbakir's Sur, a UNESCO world heritage site, has been one scene of the fighting, where thousands have been displaced and the historic district ruined. 1,000 in Myanmar protest Annan's role on Rohingya commission SITTWE, Myanmar (AP) More than 1,000 Buddhists in a Myanmar state wracked by religious and ethnic strife protested Tuesday's arrival of former U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan, saying the Ghanaian is meddling in the country's affairs by leading a government-appointed commission to find solutions to the conflict. The Southeast Asian country set up the commission last month to help find solutions to "protracted issues" in western Rakhine state, where human rights groups have documented widespread abuses by majority Rakhine Buddhists against minority Rohingya Muslims. The state's dominant Arakan National Party and the Rakhine Women Network led the protest about 300 meters (yards) from the airport in Sittwe, the Rakhine capital, where Annan and other members of the Rakhine Advisory Commission arrived Tuesday morning. As Annan's car passed, the crowd shouted, "Dismiss the Kofi Annan-led Rakhine Advisory Commission now." Hundreds of demonstrators hold banners and shout slogans in protest of the arrival of former United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan, outside of the airport, in Sittwe, Rakhine State, Myanmar. About 1,000 Buddhists in a Myanmar state wracked by religious and ethnic strife protested Tuesdays arrival of Annan, saying the Ghanaian is meddling in the countrys affairs by leading a government-appointed commission to find solutions to the conflict. (AP Photo/Esther Htusan) "We came here because we don't want that foreigner coming to our state," said May Phyu, a local Rakhine Buddhist resident. "I don't know exactly what this group is and what they are doing, but I came here to protest as I don't like them to come here. "I cannot accept them talking about the Rakhine and kalar case in our state," said protester Soe Thein. "Kalar" is a derogatory word used in Myanmar to refer to Muslims. Many Buddhists in Rakhine and across Myanmar consider Rohingya to be Bangladeshis living in the country illegally, though the ethnic group has been in Myanmar for generations. Hundreds of Rohingya were killed and tens of thousands forced to flee their homes in 2012 unrest in Rakhine state, and many continue to be confined to squalid camps there. Before Myanmar leader Aung San Suu Kyi's government created the commission, her international reputation as a Nobel Peace Prize-winning democracy icon had been diminished by what some have viewed as her inaction on the Rohingya issue. Her government still does not even use the word "Rohingya." "You will see for yourself all the problems on the ground now," Suu Kyi, officially Myanmar state counselor and foreign minister, told Annan and other commission members at a news conference Monday. "You will be able to assess for yourself the roots of the problems itself, not in one day, not in one week. But I am confident that you will get there, that you will find the answers because you are truly intent on looking for them." The commission is to address human rights, ensuring humanitarian assistance, rights and reconciliation, establishing basic infrastructure and promoting long-term development plans. Annan said Monday he is "confident that we can assist the people of Rakhine to chart the common path to the peaceful and prosperous future." During their six-day Rakhine trip, the commission they will visit the Rohingya camps and meet members of political and religious groups. But the Arakan National Party said it will not meet or work with the commission. "Rakhine state is in Myanmar and our country has its own sovereignty and there is no way we can accept a commission that is formed by foreigners," ANP official Aung Than Wai said Tuesday. Hundreds of demonstrators hold banners and shout slogans in protest of the arrival of former United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan, outside of the airport, in Sittwe, Rakhine State, Myanmar. About 1,000 Buddhists in a Myanmar state wracked by religious and ethnic strife protested Tuesdays arrival of Annan, saying the Ghanaian is meddling in the countrys affairs by leading a government-appointed commission to find solutions to the conflict. (AP Photo/Esther Htusan) Hundreds of demonstrators hold banners and shout slogans in protest of the arrival of former United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan, outside of the airport, in Sittwe, Rakhine State, Myanmar. About 1,000 Buddhists in a Myanmar state wracked by religious and ethnic strife protested Tuesdays arrival of Annan, saying the Ghanaian is meddling in the countrys affairs by leading a government-appointed commission to find solutions to the conflict. (AP Photo/Esther Htusan) Hundreds of demonstrators hold banners and shout slogans in protest of the arrival of former United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan, outside of the airport in Sittwe, Rakhine State, Myanmar. About 1,000 Buddhists in a Myanmar state wracked by religious and ethnic strife protested Tuesdays arrival of Annan, saying the Ghanaian is meddling in the countrys affairs by leading a government-appointed commission to find solutions to the conflict. (AP Photo/Esther Htusan) Merkel takes blame for German vote defeat, but holds course BERLIN (AP) Chancellor Angela Merkel took responsibility for her party's election defeat in the German state where she has her political base, but strongly defended her migrant policy on Monday even as she vowed to win back voters' trust. A year before an expected national election, a nationalist, anti-immigration party's second-place finish Sunday ahead of Merkel's conservatives was a jolt that will likely increase tensions in Germany's governing coalition. However, the result didn't pose any immediate threat to Merkel, 62, Germany's leader since 2005. Merkel's Christian Democratic Union finished third in the election for Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania's state legislature, behind the three-year-old Alternative for Germany, or AfD. It was held exactly a year after she decided to let in migrants stuck in Hungary, triggering the peak of last year's influx. Merkel conceded the outcome was "almost entirely about federal political issues." German Chancellor Angela Merkel listens to Chinese President Xi Jinping's speech during the opening ceremony of the G20 Leaders Summit in Hangzhou Sunday, Sept. 4, 2016. (Nicolas Asfouri/Pool Photo via AP) The center-left Social Democrats, Merkel's partners in Germany's national government, remained the strongest party in Mecklenburg. They have led the regional government for a decade with the CDU as junior partner, a coalition they can continue if they choose. The region is sparsely populated, but the vote was symbolically significant because Merkel's parliamentary constituency is there. It was the first of five regional ballots before a national election a year away. The next is Sept. 18 in Berlin, where local issues are likely to feature more strongly. Mecklenburg is home to few foreigners, but Merkel acknowledged that migrant policy was a dominant theme. New arrivals have slowed drastically after more than 1 million people were registered as asylum-seekers in 2015, and asylum policies have been tightened. Still, New Year's Eve robberies and sexual assaults blamed largely on foreigners, and two attacks in July carried out by asylum-seekers and claimed by the Islamic State group, have fed tensions. "We must all consider how we can now win back trust, me first and foremost," Merkel told reporters on the sidelines of the Group of 20 summit in China. "I am the party leader, I am the chancellor you can't separate those in people's eyes, so I am of course responsible too" for the result, Merkel said. "However, I believe the decisions that have been made were right, and now we must continue working." She added that "the issue of integration will play a huge role in that, and the question of the repatriation of refugees who have no residence permit here." Merkel's critics have faulted her for sticking to her mantra that "we will manage" the refugee crisis. Sunday's result may make it tougher to smooth over a dispute with the Christian Social Union, her conservative Union bloc's Bavarian arm, which criticized her welcoming approach from the start and wants an annual migrant cap. CSU leader Horst Seehofer, Bavaria's governor, told the daily Sueddeutsche Zeitung that the situation for the conservatives is "highly threatening." He was quoted as complaining that his "repeated demand for a change of course" on migrant policy hadn't been heeded and said Sunday's "disastrous" result was a consequence. Meanwhile, Vice Chancellor Sigmar Gabriel, the Social Democrats' leader and a likely challenger to Merkel next year, underlined his party's increasing distance from the chancellor as it eyes the national election. He accused her conservatives of being too slow to respond to the migrant crisis. "We have wasted a great deal of time with unnecessary arguments," he said, arguing that Merkel had been guilty of "simply repeating 'we will manage it' without doing it as well." Although Merkel already adjusted migrant policies over the past year, she can't make a clean break from her overall approach because "that wouldn't be credible," political science professor Klaus Schroeder told N24 television. "So the quarrels between the CDU and CSU will continue, and the Social Democrats will turn even more strongly against the Union to have a chance in the national election campaign." Merkel's bloc leads national polls, although her own popularity ratings have dropped from stellar to respectable. She hasn't yet declared whether she will seek a fourth term next year, but there's no obvious alternative. AfD polls between 11 and 14 percent nationally and appears strongest in the ex-communist east. It basked Monday in its latest success. Leader Frauke Petry attacked Merkel's party for saying that "they haven't done anything wrong. They just didn't explain their policies." "This ignorance is exemplary," she said. "It is not just ignorance. What we see here is the continuing arrogance of power." Petry, whose party has no prospect of going into government in the foreseeable future, complained that its rivals "still think they can label AfD as an undemocratic party." On Sunday, AfD won support from across the spectrum to take 20.8 percent of votes, its second-best result yet. That helped push the far-right National Democratic Party out of its last state legislature. Germany's Central Council of Jews voiced satisfaction at that development, but also concern about AfD. AfD "was unfortunately successful with its tactic of feeding prejudice against minorities and offering slogans instead of solutions," said the council's head, Josef Schuster. "Apparently it is not clear to many voters, or they accept this, that AfD doesn't distance itself clearly from the far-right spectrum either in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania or nationally." Social Democratic Party , SPD, chairman Sigmar Gabriel speaks about the results of the state elections in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, Sunday Sept. 4, 2016. The center-left Social Democrats, who lead the outgoing state government, were expected to be the strongest party with about 30 percent support. ( Britta Pedersen/dpa via AP) Workers remove an election poster of German Chancellor Angela Merkel's CDU top candidate Lorenz Caffier for the election in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, Monday, Sept. 5, 2016. The nationalist, anti-immigration party Alternative for Germnany, AfD, has performed strongly in the state election Sunday in the region where Merkel has her political base, overtaking her conservatives to take second place amid discontent with her migrant policies. (Christian Charisius/dpa via AP) Frauke Petry, chairwoman of the German right-populist AfD (Alternative for Germany) party, attends a press conference about yesterday's elections in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, in Berlin, Germany, Monday, Sept. 5, 2016. Word in the background reads 'winner' and is part of the slogan : "That's How Winners Look Like" The nationalist, anti-immigration party performed strongly in a state election Sunday in the region where German Chancellor Angela Merkel has her political base, overtaking her conservatives to take second place amid discontent with her migrant policies. (AP Photo/Michael Sohn) Frauke Petry, chairwoman of the German right-populist AfD (Alternative for Germany) party, stands with closed eyes after a news conference about yesterday's state election in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania in Berlin, Germany, Monday, Sept. 5, 2016. The nationalist, anti-immigration party performed strongly in a state election Sunday in the region where German Chancellor Angela Merkel has her political base, overtaking her conservatives to take second place amid discontent with her migrant policies. (AP Photo/Michael Sohn) Seoul says North Korea fires 3 medium-range missiles SEOUL, South Korea (AP) North Korea on Monday fired three medium-range missiles that traveled about 1,000 kilometers (620 miles) and landed near Japan in an apparent show of force timed to coincide with the Group of 20 economic summit in China, South Korean officials said. North Korea has staged a series of recent missile tests with increasing range, part of a program that aims to eventually build long-range nuclear missiles capable of striking the U.S. mainland. Such tests are fairly common when international attention is turned to Northeast Asia, and this one came as world leaders gathered in eastern China for the G-20 summit of advanced and emerging economies. China is North Korea's only major ally, but ties between the neighbors have frayed amid a string of North Korean nuclear and missile tests and what many outsiders see as other provocations in recent years. A man watches a TV news program showing a file image of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un while reporting about the North's missile launch, at the Seoul Train Station in Seoul, South Korea, Monday, Sept. 5, 2016. North Korea fired three ballistic missiles off its east coast Monday, South Korea's military said, in a show of force timed to the G-20 economic summit in China. The letters on the screen read: "North Korea fired three ballistic missiles." (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man) South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff said that the three ballistic missiles, all believed to be Rodongs, were launched from the western North Korean town of Hwangju and flew across the country before splashing into the sea. A Joint Chiefs of Staff statement described the launches as an "armed protest" meant to demonstrate North Korea's military capability on the occasion of the G-20 summit and days before the North Korean government's 68th anniversary. The U.S. State Department said Monday's launch and other previous launches violate multiple United Nations Security Council resolutions prohibiting North Korea from launches using ballistic missile technology. "We will raise our concerns at the UN about the threat posed to international security by these programs," said spokesperson John Kirby in a statement. The Security Council, meanwhile, scheduled a closed emergency meeting on the latest launches for Tuesday morning. In early August, another Rodong missile fired by North Korea also traveled about 1,000 kilometers (620 miles), the longest-ever flight by that missile. All three missiles Monday fell in Japan's exclusive economic zone, the 200-nautical mile offshore area where a nation has sovereign rights for exploring and exploiting resources, according to Tokyo's Defense Ministry. Defense Minister Tomomi Inada said they fell off the northwestern coast of Hokkaido. "All three were launched almost simultaneously and fell around the same spot, which shows North Korea's missile capability has been steadily improving," Inada said, expressing serious concern. Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga called the launches a "serious threat" to Japanese security and said that Tokyo protested to North Korea via the Japanese Embassy in Beijing. The United States also condemned the launches, saying it was discussing with allies the proper response and plans to raise concerns at the U.N. The U.S. also plans to bring up the issue during the East Asia summit in Laos this week. President Barack Obama was to head to Laos on Monday evening. Before Monday's launch, South Korean President Park Geun-hye met her Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping on the sidelines of the G-20 summit and criticized the North for what she called repeated missile provocations that are threatening to hurt Seoul-Beijing ties. Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe approached Park during a coffee break at the G-20 and agreed to cooperate closely, according to Japan's Foreign Ministry. The latest firing won't help the push by Xi to get Park to scrap the planned deployment of a powerful U.S. anti-missile system in the South. During their meeting, Xi warned Park that "mishandling the issue is not conducive to strategic stability in the region, and could intensify disputes." China says the U.S. Terminal High Altitude Area Defense, or THAAD, system is meant to spy on China, while Seoul and Washington say the system is intended solely to defend against North Korea's missile threat. Last month, worries about the North's weapons programs deepened after a missile from a North Korean submarine flew about 500 kilometers (310 miles), the longest distance achieved by the North for such a weapon. Submarine-based missiles are harder to detect before launch than land-based ones like Rodongs. In June, after a string of failures, North Korea sent an intermediate Musudan missile more than 1,400 kilometers (870 miles) high in a test launch that outside analysts said showed progress in efforts to acquire the ability to strike U.S. forces in the region. The U.N. Security Council in late August strongly condemned four North Korean ballistic missile launches in July and August. It called them "grave violations" of a ban on all ballistic missile activity. ___ Associated Press writers Mari Yamaguchi in Tokyo and Josh Lederman in Hangzhou, China, contributed to this report. People watch a TV news program reporting about North Korea's missile launch, at the Seoul Train Station in Seoul, South Korea, Monday, Sept. 5, 2016. North Korea fired three ballistic missiles off its east coast Monday, South Korea's military said, in a show of force timed to the G-20 economic summit in China. The letters on the screen read: "North Korea fired three ballistic missiles." (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man) Duterte tells Obama not to question him about killings MANILA, Philippines (AP) Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte warned President Barack Obama on Monday not to question him about extrajudicial killings, or "son of a bitch I will swear at you" when they meet in Laos during a regional summit. Duterte said before flying to Laos that he is a leader of a sovereign country and is answerable only to the Filipino people. He was answering a reporter's question about how he intends to explain the extrajudicial killings to Obama. More than 2,000 suspected drug pushers and users have been killed since Duterte launched a war on drugs after taking office on June 30. In his typical foul-mouthed style, Duterte responded: "I am a president of a sovereign state and we have long ceased to be a colony. I do not have any master except the Filipino people, nobody but nobody. You must be respectful. Do not just throw questions. Putang ina I will swear at you in that forum," he said, using the Tagalog phrase for son of a bitch. FILE - In this Aug. 31, 2016, file photo, Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte gestures as he addresses Overseas Filipino Workers who were repatriated back to the country at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport in Pasay city, south of Manila, Philippines. Duterte, who disparaged the pope and others who controvert his worldview, warns U.S. President Barack Obama on Monday, Sept. 5, 2016, not to question him about extrajudicial killings. (AP Photo/Bullit Marquez, File) Duterte has earlier cursed the pope and U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon. It isn't clear whether Obama planned to raise the issue of extrajudicial killings with Duterte during a scheduled meeting on the sidelines of the summit of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations. Asked at a news conference in Hangzhou, China, whether he still intends to meet with Duterte and raise the issue of extrajudicial killings, Obama said he had instructed his aides to assess whether it is still possible for the two leaders to have a constructive meeting in Laos. "I always want to make sure that if I'm having a meeting that it's actually productive, and that we're getting something done," Obama said. "We recognize the significant burden that the drug trade plays not just in the Philippines but around the world, and fighting narco-trafficking is tough. But we will always assert the need to have due process and to engage in that fight against drugs in a way that's consistent with basic international norms. And so, undoubtedly, if and when we have a meeting this is something that is going to be brought up," said Obama, who has been attending a meeting of the Group of 20 nations. "Who is he to confront me?" Duterte said in his remarks, adding that the Philippines had not received an apology from the United States for misdeeds committed during its colonization of the Philippines. He pointed to the killing of Muslim Moros more than a century ago during a U.S. pacification campaign in the southern Philippines, blaming the wounds of the past as "the reason why (the south) continues to boil" with separatist insurgencies. Last week, Duterte said he was ready to defend his bloody crackdown on illegal drugs, which has sparked concern from the U.S. and other countries. Duterte said he would demand that Obama allow him to first explain the context of his crackdown before engaging the U.S. president in a discussion of the deaths. ___ Iran's top leader says Saudis 'murdered' hajj pilgrims TEHRAN, Iran (AP) Iran's supreme leader on Monday said Saudi Arabian authorities "murdered" Muslim pilgrims who were injured during last year's hajj stampede. "The heartless and murderous Saudis locked up the injured with the dead in containers instead of providing medical treatment and helping them or at least quenching their thirst. They murdered them," Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said in a statement on his website marking the anniversary of the disaster. He offered no evidence to support the allegations. Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince and Interior Minister Mohammed bin Nayef said Iran was attempting to "politicize" the hajj. In comments published later Monday by the Saudi Press Agency, he said Iran had decided not to send its citizens to the pilgrimage this year for domestic purposes. Iran accuses Saudi Arabia of sabotaging negotiations that took place earlier this year regarding the security of pilgrims. FILE - In this Sept. 24, 2015, file photo, a Muslim pilgrim walks through the site where dead bodies are gathered after a stampede during the annual hajj pilgrimage, in Mina, Saudi Arabia. The website of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei quotes him on Monday, Sept. 5, 2016, accusing Saudi Arabia of causing the death of injured pilgrims in last year's hajj stampede saying, "The ruthless and criminal Saudi men locked half-alive injured people up along with the dead in tightly closed containers and martyred them." (AP Photo, File) The September 2015 stampede and crush of pilgrims killed at least 2,426 people, according to an Associated Press count. Tehran has said 464 of the dead were Iranian and blamed the catastrophe on Saudi mismanagement of the annual pilgrimage. Khamenei has also blamed Saudi Arabia for an earlier crane collapse in Mecca that killed 111 people, and said the kingdom's rulers had "reduced the hajj to a religious-tourist trip" while accusing Iran of "politicizing" the pilgrimage. A top Saudi official said Khamenei's accusations reflect "a new low". "These accusations are not only unfounded, but also timed to only serve their unethical, failing propaganda," said Abdulmohsen Alyas, the Saudi undersecretary for international communications and media at the Ministry of Culture and Information. "Saudi Arabia stands ready to serve the pilgrims and ensure their safety and comfort," Alyas told The Associated Press. Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Bahram Ghasemi said the ministry has formed a committee to investigate the issue and pursue it in international forums, without elaborating. The hajj stampede caused a new flare-up in tensions between Iran and Saudi Arabia, regional rivals that back opposite sides in the civil wars in Syria and Yemen. The two countries severed diplomatic relations in January after Saudi Arabia executed a prominent Shiite cleric and angry Iranian crowds overran Saudi diplomatic missions. Saudi authorities have not released the findings of their investigation into the hajj disaster. Preliminary statements suggested the crush was caused when at least two large crowds intersected. ___ Associated Press writer Aya Batrawy in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, contributed to this report. 7 hurt in refugee camp fight on Greek island of Lesbos ATHENS, Greece (AP) Greek authorities say seven people have been injured in a brawl at a camp for refugees and other migrants on the island of Lesbos, where overcrowding and a slow asylum process has fueled tension. Police say five teenagers and two adults required treatment for light injuries. The violence between Syrian and Pakistani teenagers, in which adults became involved, started early Monday at the Moria camp, where more than 3,000 people live. No arrests were reported. About 5,400 people live in Lesbos' camps, which were designed for 3,500. The island is very close to Turkey and a main destination for migrants seeking a better life in Europe. Russia, Saudi Arabia pledge to stabilize oil output MOSCOW (AP) The world's two largest oil producers, Russia and Saudi Arabia, on Monday agreed to act together to stabilize global oil output, though it's unclear what that might entail. Energy ministers Alexander Novak and Minister Khalid al-Falih met Monday on the sidelines of the Group of 20 nations' summit in China. A joint statement released by Russia said both ministers "recognized the need to restrain an excessive volatility of the oil market" and agreed to act together "in order to stabilize the oil market." Novak and al-Fatih said they would chair the first Russia-Saudi task force on oil and gas in October. Russian President Vladimir Putin meets with German Chancellor Angela Merkel in Hangzhou in eastern China's Zhejiang province, Sunday, Sept. 4, 2016. (Alexei Druzhinin/Sputnik, Kremlin Pool Photo via AP) Russia, which is not a member of the oil producing nations' group OPEC, this year supported calls to freeze production, but the efforts fell through after OPEC member Iran opposed the plan. It was not clear from the joint statement what exactly Russia and Saudi Arabia would be prepared to do to help prop up the markets but the Russian minister mentioned a production freeze. "We believe that the market right now is taking too long to balance out, it's been two years, and joint steps which were considered earlier this year including a production freeze could be a great help in helping to balance the markets as soon as possible," Russian news agencies quoted Novak as saying. Speaking to reporters after the meeting, al-Falih, the Saudi minister, said in comments carried by the Interfax news agency that the freeze "is not the only solution" but refused to elaborate. Giant panda is no longer endangered, experts say BEIJING (AP) A leading international group has taken the giant panda off its endangered list thanks to decades of conservation efforts, but China's government discounted the move on Monday, saying it did not view the status of the country's beloved symbol as any less serious. The International Union for Conservation of Nature said in a report released Sunday that the panda is now classified as a "vulnerable" instead of "endangered" species, reflecting its growing numbers in the wild in southern China. It said the wild panda population jumped to 1,864 in 2014 from 1,596 in 2004, the result of work by Chinese agencies to enforce poaching bans and expand forest reserves. The report warned, however, that although better forest protection has helped increase panda numbers, climate change is predicted to eliminate more than 35 percent of its natural bamboo habitat in the next 80 years, potentially leading to another decline. FILE - In this Aug. 28, 2014 file photo, two of the one month old Panda triples receive a body check at the Chimelong Safari Park in Guangzhou in south China's Guangdong province. The giant panda, one of the symbols of China, is off the endangered list thanks to aggressive conservation efforts. The International Union for Conservation of Nature said in a report released Sunday, Sept. 4, 2016 that the panda is now classified as "vulnerable" instead of "endangered," reflecting its growing numbers in the wild in southern China. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung, File) In a statement to The Associated Press, China's State Forestry Administration said Monday that it disputed the classification change because pandas' natural habitats have been splintered by natural and human causes. The animals live in small, isolated groups of as few as 10 pandas that struggle to reproduce and face the risk of disappearing altogether, the agency said. "If we downgrade their conservation status, or neglect or relax our conservation work, the populations and habitats of giant pandas could still suffer irreversible loss and our achievements would be quickly lost," the forestry administration said. "Therefore, we're not being alarmist by continuing to emphasize the panda species' endangered status." Still, animal groups hailed the recovery of the bamboo-gobbling, black-and-white bear that has long been a symbol of China and the global conservation movement. The panda population reached an estimated low of less than 1,000 in the 1980s due to poaching and deforestation until Beijing threw its full weight behind preserving the animal, which has been sent to zoos around the world as a gesture of Chinese diplomatic goodwill. The Chinese government and the World Wildlife Fund first established the Wolong National Nature Reserve in Sichuan province in 1980. Wild panda numbers have slowly rebounded as China cracked down on the skin trade and gradually expanded its protected forest areas to now cover 1.4 million hectares (5,400 square miles). International groups and the Chinese government have worked to save wild pandas and breed them at enormous cost, attracting criticism that the money could be better spent saving other animals facing extinction. The IUCN drew attention on Sunday to the 70 percent decline in the eastern gorilla population over the past 20 years. But the WWF, whose logo has been a panda since 1961, celebrated the panda's re-classification, saying it proved that aggressive investment does pay off "when science, political will and engagement of local communities come together." ___ German authorities say boy, 9, rescues brother from pool BERLIN (AP) German authorities are lauding a 9-year-old boy as a hero after he followed first-aid instructions over the phone and revived his 2-year-old brother who had fallen into a swimming pool. Kassel police say the toddler, Rudolf, was briefly left by his grandmother in the living room Saturday as she went to the bathroom to get a fresh diaper, and he ran outside and fell into the pool. The older brother, Markus, pulled the motionless body from the pool and called for help because his grandmother understands little German. When rescue crews arrived, Markus already had his brother's breathing restored. Rudolf received hospital treatment and is out of danger. The Latest: Obama meets with Laotian president VIENTIANE, Laos (AP) The Latest on President Barack Obama's trip to Asia (all times local): 10:30 a.m. President Barack Obama is meeting with Laotian President Bounnhang Vorachit on the first visit to the Southeast Asian country by a sitting American president. U.S. President Barack Obama speaks during a news conference at the conclusion of the G-20 in Hangzhou in eastern China's Zhejiang province, Monday, Sept. 5, 2016.(AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster) Obama arrived at the Presidential Palace in Vientiane in the pouring rain Tuesday. He is acknowledging "the challenging history" between the two countries and hoping his talks will "focus on the future." A military band greeted Obama and the two presidents inspected troops before entering the sprawling pale gray compound with ornate gold trim. The leaders' meeting is taking place in a stunning room with chandeliers and a wall-size mural of rolling green hills ___ 3 a.m. The White House now says President Barack Obama will not meet with Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte at a gathering in Laos of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations. Obama and Duterte had been scheduled to meet Tuesday on the summit's sidelines. The Philippine leader has been under intense global scrutiny over the more than 2,000 suspected drug dealers and users killed since he took office, and Obama has said he planned to raise the issue. But Duterte said if Obama questioned him about extrajudicial killings, he would swear at him. Duterte also used the Tagalog phrase for "son of a bitch." National Security Council spokesman Ned Price says Obama will meet instead with President Park Geun-hye of South Korea. ___ 8:10 p.m. President Barack Obama says the NFL quarterback who is refusing to stand for the national anthem is the latest in a long line of professional athletes who have exercised their constitutional right to make a statement about social issues. The president was asked at a news conference Monday about Colin Kaepernick's protest gesture. Obama said he has no doubt that the San Francisco 49ers player is sincere and "cares about some real, legitimate issues." Kaepernick has been heavily criticized since starting his silent protest. He's said it's not an anti-American gesture but a means to bring attention to racial injustice. Obama says he hasn't paid close attention to the matter. But he adds approvingly that Kaepernick has generated more national conversation about "issues that need to be talked about." ___ 8 p.m. President Barack Obama says there is symbolic value to his coming visit to Laos. Obama notes at his news conference before leaving China that he will be the first U.S. president to visit the southeast Asian country. The president says he hopes to make progress in accounting for missing U.S. servicemen from the Vietnam war. Obama says "we have deep commitments" to account for those lost during the war. He also expects the U.S. will provide help to Laos in dealing with unexploded munitions that remain in the Laotian countryside from the war. ___ 7:50 p.m. President Barack Obama says he has asked his staff to assess whether it would be productive for him to meet with Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte. This, after Duterte warned Obama not to question him about extrajudicial killings in his country. Obama was asked at a news conference in China on Monday whether he intends to meet Duterte, as planned, at a gathering in Laos this week of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations. Duterte said Obama should not question him about extrajudicial killings, or, as he put it, "son of a bitch, I will swear at you" when they meet in Laos. Obama said he had heard about the comment and instructed his aides to determine whether it would still be productive to hold the face-to-face meeting. FILE - In this Thursday, Sept. 1, 2016 file photo, San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick, middle, kneels during the national anthem before the team's NFL preseason football game against the San Diego Chargers, in San Diego. The Santa Clara police chief has vowed to continue providing a safe environment at San Francisco home games after the union representing his officers threatened to boycott policing the stadium if the 49ers don't discipline Kaepernick for criticizing police and refusing to stand during the national anthem. Chief Michael Sellers said in a statement Saturday, Sept. 3, 2016, that he will urge union leadership to put citizens' safety first. (AP Photo/Chris Carlson, File) U.S. President Barack Obama pauses as he speaks during a news conference at the conclusion of the G-20 Summit in Hangzhou in eastern China's Zhejiang province, Monday, Sept. 5, 2016.(AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster) Clinton says she won't go to Mexico before Election Day WASHINGTON (AP) The Latest on campaign 2016 (all times Eastern): 10 p.m. Hillary Clinton says she won't be going to Mexico before Election Day. FILE - In this Wednesday, Aug. 31, 2016, file photo, Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump speaks during a campaign rally at the Phoenix Convention Center in Phoenix. Trump and Hillary Clinton are making competing Labor Day pitches in Ohio, setting the stage for a critical month in their testy presidential campaign. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin, File) ABC News' David Muir asked Clinton Monday if she would accept Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto's invitation to visit, as Republican rival Donald Trump did last week. Clinton responded, "No." The Democrat says she's "going to continue to focus on what we're doing to create jobs here at home." At a rally earlier Monday in Cleveland, Clinton called Trump's meeting with Pena Nieto "an embarrassing international incident." ___ 8:30 p.m. Donald Trump is praising Phyllis Schlafly, the conservative activist who died Monday at 92, as "a patriot, a champion for women and a symbol of strength." Trump says Schlafly was "a conservative icon who led millions to action, reshaped the conservative movement and fearlessly battled globalism and the 'kingmakers' on behalf of America's workers and families." Schlafly helped defeat the Equal Rights Amendment in the 1970s and founded the right-wing Eagle Forum. Trump says in a statement released Monday night, "She fought every day right to the end for America First." Schlafly endorsed Trump at a rally in St. Louis in March, and she co-authored a book called "The Conservative Case for Trump" that is being released Tuesday. Trump says he was "honored to spend time with her." ___ 5:50 p.m. Hillary Clinton says the U.S. has shown "great restraint" to a series of cyberattacks by state and non-state actors. But Clinton told reporters traveling with her on her new campaign plane that "we are going to have to take those threats and attacks seriously." The Democratic nominee said that a Russian attack on the U.S. election system is "almost unthinkable." She said that Russian President Vladimir Putin appears "quite satisfied with himself" and the U.S. needs to "make clear that we're not going to let anyone interfere with the decisions of the American people." Clinton's comments follow reports that the Russian government may have been involved in the hacking of Democratic National Committee emails just days before the party's national convention. The emails, later revealed by WikiLeaks, showed that DNC officials had their finger on the scale favoring Clinton over her opponent Bernie Sanders. ___ 5:43 p.m. Hillary Clinton says she is concerned about "credible reports about Russian government interference in our elections." "We are facing a very serious concern," Clinton told reporters traveling with her to Illinois Monday, adding that the U.S. has never had a foreign power get involved in electoral system like the recent hacking of Democratic National Committee emails. She added that there has also never been a candidate who urges a country to hack more, alluding to comments made by her opponent Donald Trump who said in a July news conference: "Russia, if you're listening, I hope you're able to find the 30,000 emails that are missing." He later said he was being sarcastic. The Democratic nominee told reporters Monday that recent accusations that Russia is behind the DNC's hacked emails "raises some grave questions about potential Russian interference with our electoral process." ___ 4:35 p.m. Sen. Bernie Sanders is urging voters to remember that this election has never been about the people running for office, but about the voters. Campaigning on behalf of his former rival, Hillary Clinton, on Labor Day, Sanders told a crowd of supporters that the election is "about you and your needs and the needs of the American people." For that reason, he said, Clinton is the best choice. Despite a handful of protesters with the die hard "Bernie or Bust" movement and supporters of Green Party candidate Jill Stein, Sanders' speech largely stuck to the major points of intersection between himself and the Democratic nominee. He pointed how that both he and Clinton will fight for increased funding for sustainable and renewable energy, a higher minimum wage, a Supreme Court nominee who supports overturning Citizen's United, and increased infrastructure spending in order to create more jobs. ___ 4:00 p.m. Hillary Clinton is calling Donald Trump's trip to Mexico last week an "embarrassing international incident." She said on Monday that Trump's immigration speech in Arizona last week was one of his most "hate-filled, hard-line speech yet." She suggested that he's already set his position in stone when it comes to deporting everyone living in the country illegally, even as he continues to shift his language. Clinton said Trump would "double down" on his "absurd plan" to use a deportation force to round up people living here illegally. Trump told reporters Monday that immigrants living here illegally may not need to return to their countries of origin to obtain legal status. His position on what to do with people living in the United States illegally continues to be unclear. ___ 3:30 p.m. Hillary Clinton and Tim Kaine are letting Ohio voters know they're important while campaigning in Cleveland on Labor Day. Kaine, the Democratic vice presidential nominee, asked at crowd at a Labor Day festival Monday if they felt "battle-tested and ready for the home stretch." Labor Day typically marks the final and most intense period of presidential campaigning. Ohio is a critical swing state. No Republican has won the White House without capturing the state in modern campaigns. He says Ohio voters know how to work the grassroots to win on Election Day. Clinton, meanwhile, said Ohioans know firsthand the importance of selecting a president, noting President Barack Obama's bailout of the auto industry that saved jobs in the state. "I'm not taking anything for granted, that's why we're here today." ___ 3:20 p.m. Hillary Clinton is having a rough start to her Labor Day rally, battling a stubborn cough. The Democratic nominee took the stage in Cleveland coughing uncontrollably, before turning it into a joke about her opponent, Donald Trump: "Every time I think about Trump I get allergic." Several people in the crowd began shouting "get her some water." She battled through the cough and delivered her speech with some difficulty. Both Clinton and Trump are in Ohio courting voters in this critical swing state. ___ 3:00 p.m. Former President Bill Clinton says the Clinton Foundation is doing good work around the world and says his wife's political opponents are trying to distract voters from the issues by raising questions about the organization. Clinton spoke Monday to the annual AFL-CIO Labor Day picnic at the Coney Island amusement park near Cincinnati. Based on the records released so far, the AP found that more than half the people outside the government who met or spoke by telephone with Hillary Clinton during her tenure as a Cabinet secretary had given money either personally or through companies or groups to the Clinton Foundation. The AP's analysis focused on people with private interests and excluded her meetings or calls with U.S. federal employees or foreign government representatives. Bill Clinton gave examples of Clinton Foundation partner projects, including with Cincinnati-based consumer products company Procter & Gamble Co. He says P&G's clean water initiative has provided billions of water-purifying packets to help give safe drinking water in poor countries. He asked: "Is there something wrong with that?" ___ 1:25 p.m. Donald Trump's immigration speech in Arizona last week may have gotten mixed reviews, but Trump says it was the "enthusiasm of the crowd" that inspired him. Speaking to reporters on his private plane in Ohio Monday, Trump said of his tough talk on immigration, "Some people loved it; A lot of people loved it." The Republican nominee has come under heavy criticism for flip-flopping on the issue of immigration. Some Hispanic leaders who have been advising his campaign also said they feel betrayed after his long-awaited immigration speech that definitively ruled out a pathway to legal status for people living in the country illegally. Trump said Monday, "We had a very big crowd. It was unbelievably enthusiastic." The speech was delivered on the heels of his visit to Mexico, where he held a joint press conference with Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto. The two said they discussed a number of issues on that visit, but not Trump's controversial proposal to have Mexico pay for a border wall along the U.S. border with Mexico. ___ 1:20 p.m. Donald Trump says he plans to take part in all three presidential debates against rival Hillary Clinton. The Republican nominee was rumored to be considering skipping at least one of the debates. But he told journalists aboard his private plan in Ohio on Monday that only something along the lines of a hurricane or natural disaster would keep him from participating. "I look forward to the debates," Trump told reporters, saying he regards them as "an important element of what we're doing." As for preparation, Trump says he does not believe in doing mock debates, as is tradition for many candidates, saying, "I've seen people do so much prep work that when they get out there they can't speak." The first debate between the Republican and Democratic presidential nominees is scheduled to take place on Monday Sept. 26. ___ 1:20 p.m. Donald Trump has allowed a handful of journalists on his private airplane on the same day that his rival Hillary Clinton invited journalist to join her on her new campaign plane for the first time. Trump spoke with journalists Monday in Ohio before leaving his morning stop in Cleveland for Youngstown. The Cleveland Airport offered a glimpse of how critical the fight for Ohio has become in the lead-up to the general election, as airplanes for both party nominees and their running mates were parked on the tarmac Monday morning. Trump told reporters that he is open to inviting them on his plane more often. The billionaire businessman has repeatedly criticized Clinton for not holding a news conference since last year. ___ 1:00 p.m. Donald Trump's campaign manager says there is a "very organized" effort underway to target Democrats in Ohio and beyond. Kellyanne Conway said Monday that "voters who traditionally have not voted Republican or haven't even voted in a very long time seem to be coming out to support" Trump and his message. Trump was in Cleveland on Labor Day with Democratic Mayor Tom Coyne, of Brook Park, Ohio, who said he supported Trump in this spring's Republican primary and would vote for him this fall. Conway said Coyne's support for Trump is "just one example of what's happening across this country." ___ 12:25 p.m. Former President Bill Clinton is warning organized labor that Donald Trump's economic policies would cause millions of Americans to lose their jobs. Clinton campaigned Monday for his wife, Hillary Clinton, at a United Auto Workers picnic in Detroit after walking in a Labor Day parade. He said that when the country last adopted Republican policies that cut taxes on the rich and raised the debt, "it didn't work out too well for us." Bill Clinton says his wife's economic plan would create 10.5 million jobs while Trump's would cut 3.5 million jobs. He is urging union members to support Hillary Clinton "because she has the best ideas." He questions Trump's leadership and says his visit last week to Mexico "damaged America in every serious country in the world." He says Trump played nice only to return home "to dump on them" for his own political benefit. ___ 12:05 p.m. Donald Trump says he would have refused to meet with Chinese officials if they treated him like they treated President Barack Obama over the weekend. The Republican presidential highlighted the issue as he met with labor leaders Monday in suburban Cleveland. Trump noted that Obama couldn't use his traditional staircase to exit Air Force One when he arrived in China over the weekend. The president used an alternative exit instead, something Trump described as "a metal staircase in the back of the plane." Trump called it "a sign of such disrespect." "If that were me," Trump said, "I'd say, 'You know what folks, I respect you a lot, let's close the doors, let's get out of here.'" Obama has downplayed the issue. ___ 11:55 a.m. Donald Trump says America's manufacturing jobs are "going to hell." The Republican presidential nominee blamed the Obama administration for allowing companies to move jobs to Mexico. He also lashed out at the proposed Trans-Pacific Partnership as "a catastrophe." The New York billionaire made the comments during a Monday round table discussion with labor leaders in suburban Cleveland. He's spending Labor Day campaigning alongside running mate Mike Pence in battleground Ohio. The pair met with about a dozen current and retired union members, including teamsters, steelworkers, plumbers, police patrolmen and firefighters. Trump noted that he's often best known for immigration, but he's also focused on jobs and the economy. "We're going to stop companies from leaving," Trump vowed. He said it's going to be "so easy." ___ 9:55 a.m. Vice President Joe Biden says there's still work to be done to revive the American economy. Campaigning in Pittsburgh Monday alongside vice presidential hopeful Tim Kaine, Biden told a crowd of union workers that the policies of President George W. Bush deeply hurt the economy and crippled job growth. He said the Obama administration "got the truck outta the ditch," but that it's still not going as fast as it could be. ___ 9:45 a.m. Vice President Joe Biden is praising Tim Kaine, his possible successor, as a man who is highly qualified for the job and capable of handling any challenge that Hillary Clinton may throw his way. Biden joined Kaine in Pittsburgh for a Labor Day event Monday, where they addressed several hundred union workers. He said, "Hillary is really going to need him...because the plate is so full." Biden said Kaine has more experience that any vice presidential nominee in the past, something Democrats frequently say about Clinton in her quest for the presidency. He said he expects Clinton and Kaine to build a partnership similar to the one he's built with President Barack Obama, if they are elected. Biden also described Kaine as a strong friend of organized labor, saying "no one has to tell Tim who built this country." ___ 9:20 a.m. Tim Kaine is making Labor Day personal as he campaigns alongside Vice President Joe Biden, the man he hopes to replace in the White House. Speaking to a crowd of several hundred in Pittsburgh Monday, Kaine shared the story of his father's iron-welding business in Kansas City. He told supporters his father built a "partnership" with his employees, teaching Kaine and his brothers the value of shared prosperity. He said Democrats believe in management and unions working together, not against each other. Hillary Clinton's father also ran a small business. Kaine said that as the children of business owners, both he and Clinton have a unique perspective toward the value of labor. He said, "We haven't been sitting in an ivory tower." Biden is also expected to speak at the Pittsburgh rally. ___ 8:00 a.m. Hillary Clinton is traveling aboard a new Boeing 737 campaign plane for the first time this Labor Day. Clinton was flying to events in Ohio and Illinois on Monday in a light blue-and-white campaign plane with her press corps. The plane has Clinton's slogan "Stronger Together" on the side and her "H'' logo on the tail. Clinton has traveled mostly by private jet during the campaign and has not held a formal news conference with journalists since December 2015 in Iowa. ___ 3:30 a.m. Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton are making competing Labor Day pitches in Ohio, setting the stage for a critical month in their testy presidential campaign. The Republican real estate mogul is joining running mate Mike Pence at a morning round-table discussion with union members in Cleveland. The Democratic nominee plans to arrive in the city for a Labor Day festival with union leaders and workers. Trump is also expected to campaign at a fair in Youngstown, Ohio, in a nod to the state's role as a make-or-break proving ground for Republican presidential candidates. Labor Day has traditionally been the kickoff to the fall campaign. Both Clinton and Trump have been locked in an intense back-and-forth throughout the summer. Workers address finishing touches on a new campaign plane for Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton as it sits on the tarmac at the Westchester County Airport in White Plains, N.Y., Monday, Sept. 5, 2016. Clinton will travel to Cleveland and Illinois for Labor Day events. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik) A new campaign plane for Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton sits on the tarmac at the Westchester County Airport in White Plains, N.Y., Monday, Sept. 5, 2016. Clinton will travel to Cleveland and Illinois for Labor Day events. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik) Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump speaks with members of the press, Monday, Sept. 5, 2016, aboard his campaign plane, while flying over Ohio. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci) Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump walks to speak with members of the press, Monday, Sept. 5, 2016, aboard his campaign plane, while flying over Ohio. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci) Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump walks to speak with members of the press, Monday, Sept. 5, 2016, aboard his campaign plane, while flying over Ohio. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci) Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump talks with the press, Monday, Sept. 5, 2016, as he flies on board his campaign plane, as Vice presidential candidate Gov. Mike Pence, R-Ind., left, looks on. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci) Former President Bill Clinton greets United Auto Workers at Solidarity House after the annual Labor Day parade, Monday, Sept. 5, 2016 in Detroit. His visit to the city comes two days after his wife's opponent, Donald Trump, visited a predominantly black church in the city. The parade's theme is "Your Vote is Your Voice" and is expected to draw prominent Michigan Democrats and thousands of unionized workers. (AP Photo/Carlos Osorio) Former President Bill Clinton addresses United Auto Workers at Solidarity House after the annual Labor Day parade, Monday, Sept. 5, 2016 in Detroit. His visit to the city comes two days after his wife's opponent, Donald Trump, visited a predominantly black church in the city. The parade's theme is "Your Vote is Your Voice" and is expected to draw prominent Michigan Democrats and thousands of unionized workers. (AP Photo/Carlos Osorio) Vice President Joe Biden, left, and Democratic vice presidential candidate, Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va., right, speak to a crowd of union workers before the annual Labor Day Parade, Monday, Sept. 5, 2016, in Pittsburgh, Pa. (AP Photo/John Heller) South Sudan puts sharp limits on new peacekeeping force JUBA, South Sudan (AP) South Sudan on Monday announced dramatic limits on a 4,000-strong new peacekeeping force a day after accepting its deployment, saying anyone who enters without consent is an "invader." The statement challenges the agreement reached by the visiting U.N. Security Council, which has threatened an arms embargo if turbulent South Sudan doesn't comply. The council met President Salva Kiir on Sunday and emerged with a joint statement accepting the new U.N.-mandated force. But on Monday, Cabinet Minister Martin Elia Lomuro told reporters the government must agree on the number of troops, the countries they come from and the arms they carry. South Sudan's President Salva Kiir, left, takes members of the UN Security Council, including U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Samantha Power, right, on a tour outside the presidential compound in the capital Juba, South Sudan, Sunday, Sept. 4, 2016. South Sudan has agreed to the deployment of a 4,000-strong regional protection force approved by the U.N. Security Council after first rejecting the peacekeepers as a violation of its sovereignty. (AP Photo/Justin Lynch) Minister of Information Michael Makuei said there will be no force if the conditions are not met. "4,000 is the ceiling, but we are not duty-bound. We can even agree on 10," Makuei said. South Sudan, devastated by civil war, has said the force violates its sovereignty. The U.N. already has 12,000 peacekeepers in the country, and South Sudan has been wary of giving it more authority. U.S. Ambassador Samantha Power on Sunday said details needed to be worked through but called that normal for a peacekeeping deployment. The new force has a focus on protecting civilians. When fighting erupted in the capital, Juba, in July, hundreds were killed and residents feared a return to civil war in the already devastated country. Both civilians and foreigners, including aid workers, were targeted in the chaos by South Sudanese soldiers who raped women and girls, conducted mock executions and forced people at one hotel compound to watch a local journalist be shot dead. The visiting Security Council diplomats met with civilians who pleaded for the new protection force. India to swap chili shells for some pellet guns in Kashmir NEW DELHI (AP) Indian government troops will begin using some chili-filled shells instead of shotgun pellets to control angry crowds in the Indian-administered portion of Kashmir, Home Minister Rajnath Singh said Monday. Singh was in Srinagar with a group of federal lawmakers to try to break the latest cycle of violence hitting the region. Kashmir has experienced some of its biggest displays of anti-India anger in recent history after Indian troops killed a hugely popular rebel commander on July 8. Troops have used live ammunition and pellet guns to control rock-throwing crowds, killing more than 70 people and leaving thousands of others injured. FILE- In this July 13, 2016 file photo, Mohammad Imran Parray, who got wounded after being hit by pellets during a protest recovers at a hospital in Srinagar, Indian controlled Kashmir. Indian Home Minister Rajnath Singh said Monday that government troops will begin using some chili-filled shells instead of shotgun pellets to control angry crowds in the Indian-administered portion of Kashmir. According to local officials and doctors, the use of pellet guns has killed at least four people and left more than 100 partially or completely blind. (AP Photo/Dar Yasin, File) According to local officials and doctors, the use of pellet guns has killed at least four people and left more than 100 partially or completely blind. The new chili-filled shells are said to severely irritate and temporarily immobilize their targets. Singh said the government had asked experts to suggest replacements for the pellet guns and their recommendation was PAVA shells, which are filled with the same compound found in chili peppers. "I understand that no one will lose their life due to the use of PAVA," Singh said. He said that 1,000 shells had reached Kashmir on Sunday. Despite an almost continuous curfew in most parts of the troubled Himalayan region since the July killing of rebel commander Burhan Wani, thousands of people have defied government troops and poured into the streets on an almost daily basis. Kashmir is divided between India and Pakistan and claimed by both. Most Kashmiris want an end to Indian rule and favor independence or a merger with Pakistan. May says Britain still inspires confidence post-Brexit HANGZHOU, China (AP) Britain can become a global leader in free trade as it leaves the European Union, Prime Minister Theresa May said Monday, insisting that the country still inspires economic confidence despite the Brexit vote. Following meetings with various world leaders on the sidelines of the G-20 summit, May told reporters that India, Mexico, South Korea and Singapore said they would "welcome talks on removing the barriers to trade between our countries." She said the Australian trade minister would visit Britain this week for exploratory talks on the shape of a British-Australian trade deal. Australia said it wanted to discuss a free trade deal soon after May became prime minister in July, and Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull told May on Monday that Australia was determined to give Britain "all the support and assistance" it needs as it negotiates its exit from the EU. British Prime Minister Theresa May speaks at a press conference held at the end of the G-20 summit in Hangzhou in eastern China's Zhejiang province, Monday, Sept. 5, 2016. (AP Photo/Ng Han Guan) The United States, however, was less accommodating to its ally, despite the vaunted "special relationship." President Barack Obama said on Sunday that the U.S. remains focused on finishing trade deals with Asia-Pacific and the European Union, before turning its attention to a new, separate trade deal with Britain. The EU, Britain's biggest trading partner, is refusing to negotiate with Britain on the terms of its exit until it formally invokes the two-year leaving process. Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe told May that he wanted her to provide more "predictability" about her plans for a post-Brexit Britain, after his government issued a 15-page dossier listing Japan's concerns for its car manufacturers and other businesses. Japan's ambassador to Britain has warned that Japanese companies could move out of Britain if it becomes a less profitable place to do business. Speaking at a news conference following the conclusion of the two-day meeting of the world's leading economies in the eastern Chinese city of Hangzhou, May said she and Abe had agreed to work together to maintain and build on their countries' relationship. She added that the proposal by Japanese technology company SoftBank to buy Britain's ARM Holdings for $32 billion was "the single biggest vote of confidence we have had in (Britain) in terms of inward investment since the referendum." British Prime Minister Theresa May, right, meets Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull during their bilateral meeting on the sidelines of the G-20 economic summit in Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province, China Monday, Sept. 5, 2016. (Aly Song/Pool Photo via AP) British Prime Minister Theresa May speaks at a press conference held at the end of the G-20 summit in Hangzhou in eastern China's Zhejiang province, Monday, Sept. 5, 2016. (AP Photo/Ng Han Guan) The Latest: Suicide bombing hits residential area in Kabul KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) The Latest on twin bombings near Afghanistan's Defense Ministry (all times local): 12:50 a.m. An Afghan official says a suicide car bomber has targeted a residential area in Kabul late at night. An explosion rocked the neighborhood of Shar-e Now, or New City, area around 11 p.m. on Monday, followed by gunfire that is still underway. Sediq Sediqqi, the spokesman for the Ministry of Interior says the target of the attack was not immediately clear. He says that after the explosion, two more attackers entered one of the buildings in the area. Sediqqi says the police believe it is one of the guest houses in the neighborhood, which houses foreigners and diplomats. There was no immediate word on casualties. All major roads in the area have been blocked by police. ____ 5:30 p.m. Afghan officials say the death toll from twin bombings near the Defense Ministry has climbed to 24. Public Health Ministry spokesman Ismail Kawasi says another 91 people were wounded in Monday's attack, which was claimed by the Taliban. Deputy Defense Ministry spokesman Mohammad Radmanish says the second bombing was caused by a suicide attacker who struck the area of the first blast after security forces gathered there. ___ 4:45 p.m. Afghan officials say twin bombings near the Defense Ministry in the capital have killed at least five people. Deputy Defense Ministry spokesman Mohammad Radmanish says the second bombing on Monday was caused by a suicide attacker who struck the area of the first blast after security forces gathered there. Public Health Ministry spokesman Ismail Kawasi says five people were killed and another 15 were wounded in the attack, which took place as ministry employees were leaving their offices. Britain, Iran name ambassador as their relations improve LONDON (AP) Britain and Iran have named their respective ambassadors for the first time since 2011 as relations between the two countries continue to improve. British officials on Monday named Nicholas Hopton as ambassador to Tehran, upgrading his diplomatic role. He had previously been serving in a lower position at the British Embassy in Tehran. Hopton also previously served as Britain's ambassador to Yemen and Qatar. In Iran, the state TV on Sunday reported that the Islamic Republic appointed its envoy to London. The report said Hamid Baeedinejad, who has served on the Iranian team to the nuclear talks in Geneva that resulted in the landmark agreement between Tehran and world powers last year, presented his credentials to Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson. Following Hopton's appointment, Johnson said he hopes the decision to name an ambassador will allow the two countries to talk "more directly" about human rights and other concerns, including the implementation of a nuclear deal between Iran and world powers. The exchange of ambassadors follows the resumption of direct British Airways flights between London and Tehran last week. Dubai port operator DP World inks deal for Somaliland port DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) Dubai port operator DP World says it has secured a 30-year deal to develop and manage a cargo port on Somalia's semi-autonomous region of Somaliland. The company said on Monday that it will set up a joint venture with the Somaliland government and control 65 percent of the project in the port of Berbera. An investment of up to $442 million will include a quay and yard expansion as well as cargo cranes. The concession includes an automatic 10-year extension. Somaliland seeks international recognition for its claim of independence from the rest of Somalia. It broke away in 1991 after the overthrow of Somali dictator Siad Barre. Thai police seize marijuana said destined for Australia BANGKOK (AP) Thai police said they have arrested two men from Thailand and Taiwan suspected of smuggling more than 3 tons of marijuana from Laos for shipment to Australia. Border Patrol Police official Prapan Chan-em announced that police seized 3,155 kilograms (6,940 pounds) of marijuana on Sunday from a warehouse in Chonburi, 60 kilometers (40 miles) southeast of Bangkok. He said Monday that police were tipped off last month that the marijuana was being smuggled into northeastern Thailand from Laos to be sent to the warehouse, where it would be vacuum-sealed and sent to Australia labeled as rubber gloves. Prapan said a 44-year-old Thai and a 64-year-old Taiwanese were arrested at the warehouse, which he said had been operating for nine years as a front for drug smuggling. He said the business was jointly run by Thais and Taiwanese. Possession of more than 10 kilograms (22 pounds) of marijuana is defined as intent to sell and is punishable by two to 15 years in prison and a fine of up to 1.5 million baht ($42,860). Police estimated the value of the seized marijuana at 100 million baht ($2.9 million) in Thailand, and 309 million baht ($8.8 million) in overseas markets. Despite more police, West Indian Day events marred by deaths NEW YORK (AP) Revelers in costumes danced as the sounds of steel drums filled the air Monday at the city's annual West Indian Day Parade, but despite an expanded police presence violence again marred the event, with two people shot to death at pre-dawn festivities. A 17-year-old, Tyreke Borel, was shot in the chest at around 3:50 a.m. in Brooklyn during J'ouvert, a celebration that fills the streets with music hours before the parade steps off. Police said a 72-year-old woman was shot in the arm at the same location and was hospitalized in stable condition. Soon after, a 22-year-old woman, Tiarah Poyau, was shot in the head just a block away, police said. Borel and Poyau died, and police said they were investigating whether the shootings were related. The New York Police Department had doubled the number of officers at J'ouvert and the West Indian Day Parade, which are overseen by different organizations. They also added security cameras and more light towers. Mayor Bill de Blasio waves to revelers as he marches in the West Indian Day Parade in the Brooklyn borough of New York on Monday, Sept. 5, 2016. Right center is Chirlane McCray, de Blasio's wife. (AP Photo/Craig Ruttle) The changes came a year after lawyer Carey Gabay, who had worked for Democratic Gov. Andrew Cuomo and was deputy counsel of the state's economic development agency, was shot in the head and killed as two street gangs exchanged gunshots during J'ouvert festivities. Separately, a Bronx man, Denentro Josiah, was stabbed to death. Despite the early violence, parade-goers celebrated their Caribbean heritage Monday. Onlookers along the parade route waved the flags of Caribbean nations. Dancers in brightly colored costumes and feathered crowns shimmied their way along as steel drum bands played music in the streets. "It's amazing, like absolutely beautiful, to see so many different cultures," Kalaysia Green said. "It's gorgeous." Another reveler, Bassem Ashew, said people were focusing on the positive. "Everyone is just coming together," she said. "It is so beautiful." Cuomo, among the raft of state and local elected officials marching in the parade, connected the shootings to illegal guns. "NYPD doubled the number of police they had on duty," he said. "I don't know what else they could've done, and I think the lesson is it's not just about more police. It's going to take all of us working together to make a difference." He continued: "We have to stop the violence, stop the shooting, stop the killing, and we have to do something about the insanity of illegal guns in this country." J'ouvert brings an estimated 250,000 people to the streets, and the parade attracts more than 1 million. The route goes through a major Brooklyn roadway, in neighborhoods that have a strong Caribbean presence. ___ This story has been corrected to show police say the injured woman is 72, not 66. Crime scene investigators with the New York Police Department work at the scene where multiple people were killed and others injured in a shooting during J'ouvert festivities in the Brooklyn borough of New York on Monday, Sept. 5, 2016. (AP Photo/Craig Ruttle) Crime scene investigators with the New York Police Department work at the scene where multiple people were killed and others injured in a shooting during J'ouvert festivities in the Brooklyn borough of New York on Monday, Sept. 5, 2016. (AP Photo/Craig Ruttle) Mayor Bill de Blasio greets revelers as he marches in the West Indian Day Parade in the Brooklyn borough of New York on Monday, Sept. 5, 2016. (AP Photo/Craig Ruttle) Crime scene investigators with the New York Police Department work at the scene where multiple people were killed and others injured in a shooting during J'ouvert festivities in the Brooklyn borough of New York on Monday, Sept. 5, 2016. (AP Photo/Craig Ruttle) Scarce targets curb Dem hopes for House gains, despite Trump WASHINGTON (AP) In a taste of ads to come, House Democrats have run national TV spots in which actors recount Donald Trump's derogatory remarks about immigrants, women and veterans and one asks, "How can Republican members of Congress support that?" The commercials, by the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, underscore the party's hopes for an Election Day bumper crop of new House seats, fueled by the GOP presidential candidate's disparaging verbal assaults and poor showing in most polls. Outnumbered by Republicans 247-188 and with two vacancies in districts they're certain to win Democrats seem likely to bolster their ranks in November. Yet gaining the 30 seats needed to capture a House majority appears elusive. FILE - In this Nov. 5, 2012 file photo, Rep. Bob Dold R-Ill. campaigns in Chicago. Badly outnumbered by House Republicans, Democrats seem likely to bolster their numbers in November. Yet while gaining the 30 seats theyd need to capture the chambers majority isnt completely implausible, it appears highly unlikely. (AP Photo/Charles Rex Arbogast, File) ___ DAUNTING FIGURES Of the House's 435 seats, only around 40 from California to Maine seem clearly up for grabs, though that could change. Redistricting, along with Democrats' tendency to be concentrated in urban and coastal areas, has given both parties' incumbents such sturdy protection that on Election Day 2014, just 13 of 388 lawmakers seeking re-election lost. Of the 435 House members elected, 377 won by a decisive 10 percentage points or more or were unopposed. Democrats would have to sweep 35 of the 40 competitive contests and lose only five for a 30-seat pickup, a significant challenge. In the 17 presidential election years since World War II, a party has gained 30 House seats just three times, most recently in 1980. Democrats' predictions have been tempered. Rep. Ben Ray Lujan, D-N.M., who heads House Democrats' campaign committee, says, "Democrats are on offense and we'll pick up seats." ___ OTHER HURDLES Democrats failed to recruit strong candidates in districts where they might have competed. The Democratic challenger against well-financed freshman Rep. Tom MacArthur in central New Jersey, Frederick LaVergne, has reported $600 cash on hand. The party has had problems fielding candidates in the Philadelphia suburbs, eastern Ohio, central Illinois and west of Detroit. "They haven't put seats in play they needed to put in play," said Rep. Steve Stivers, R-Ohio, a top member of the National Republican Congressional Committee. Democrats want to pry Republicans out of suburban districts where TV advertising is often expensive, especially with a competitive presidential or Senate race in the state. A week of commercials can cost hundreds of thousands of dollars in Denver; Orlando, Florida; and Las Vegas, and can be prohibitively expensive for House candidates in New York, Los Angeles and Chicago. In addition, Democrats seem certain to lose a newly redrawn district in north Florida and face challenges keeping seats around Omaha, Nebraska; Sacramento and California's central coast; and Florida's Palm Beach. ___ GOP DANGER SIGNS Republicans hold about three in four battleground House seats, leaving them more at risk. Nevada, Maine and Minnesota are places where the GOP faces tough defensive fights. Thanks to strong off-year elections in 2010 and 2014, the GOP's 247 seats are its high-water mark since Herbert Hoover's presidency 86 years ago. The party holds districts in New York, New Hampshire and Iowa that it will struggle to retain this presidential election year, when Democratic turnout should increase. While 26 House Republicans were elected in 2014 in districts that backed President Barack Obama in 2012, just five Democrats serve in districts carried by 2012 GOP presidential nominee Mitt Romney. That means more Republicans are at a disadvantage. Among them, Rep. Robert Dold is clinging to a Chicago-area district that gave Obama 58 percent of its vote, more than in any other Republican-held seat. __ TRUMP FACTOR Trump is unpopular among women, minorities and college-educated voters. This spells trouble for Republicans representing suburbs and districts with many Hispanic voters, and many candidates have criticized his remarks, though few have abandoned him outright. Freshman GOP Rep. Carlos Curbelo is fighting to survive in a South Florida district that is two-thirds Hispanic. He's said he won't support Trump and has run a Spanish-language radio ad in which former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush says, "I know Carlos and I know he will continue representing us with integrity in Washington." Republican Rep. Mike Coffman, whose suburban Denver district is one-fifth Hispanic, says of Trump in one spot, "Honestly, I don't care for him much." Trump's problems with crucial voters and Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton's modest but distinct advantage in most polls have emboldened Democrats to hunt for additional GOP seats. They've already spent against conservative Rep. Scott Garrett in New Jersey suburbs of New York City and have hopes of grabbing seats around Minneapolis, Orlando and central New York. They envision benefiting from diminished voter turnout by Republican moderates appalled at Trump and conservatives who distrust him. "Our biggest concern is turnout," but it's also a problem for Democrats, said Mike Shields, top aide for the Congressional Leadership Fund and the American Action Network, which back House GOP candidates. ___ COUNTER-CURRENTS Republicans argue that Clinton poses problems, too. Polls find much dislike for her, too, and Republicans are hoping for lower turnout by young liberals who preferred Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, Clinton's Democratic presidential rival, and by blacks no longer drawn to vote by Obama. Should Trump's defeat appear inevitable, House Republicans could cast themselves as a brake on a Clinton administration. So far they've used that sparingly. One GOP fundraising email signed by House Speaker Paul Ryan, R-Wis., says, "I worry about what will happen if Hillary Clinton is elected president." FILE - In this July 7, 2016 file photo, House Speaker Paul Ryan of Wis. meets with reporters on Capitol Hill in Washington. Badly outnumbered by House Republicans, Democrats seem likely to bolster their numbers in November. Yet while gaining the 30 seats theyd need to capture the chambers majority isnt completely implausible, it appears highly unlikely. (AP Photo/Cliff Owen, File) Puerto Rico agriculture sector to receive $4M federal boost SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) One of Puerto Rico's largest universities is receiving $4 million from the National Science Foundation to help boost the U.S. territory's agriculture sector. The University of Puerto Rico in Mayaguez said Monday that it will use the money in part to recycle biomass to improve soil conditions and create biodegradable plastic. Officials said they will also seek ways to improve the soil's ability to retain water. Local officials will receive help from the University of South Carolina. Bahrain activist charged after letter in New York Times MANAMA, Bahrain (AP) A Bahraini watchdog says the country's leading activist, Nabeel Rajab, has been charged with publishing "false news and statements and malicious rumors that undermine the prestige of the kingdom," a day after his letter appeared in The New York Times. The Bahrain Institute for Rights and Democracy reported the charges on Monday. Rajab's "Letter from a Bahraini Jail" was published on Sunday in which he accuses Bahrain of subjecting "its people to imprisonment, torture and even death for daring to desire democracy." Rajab has been detained since mid-June over his criticism of Saudi Arabia's war in Yemen and the condition of detainees at Bahrain's Jaw prison. Study: Typhoons that slam Asia getting much stronger WASHINGTON (AP) Typhoons that slam into land in the northwestern Pacific especially the biggest tropical cyclones of the bunch have gotten considerably stronger since the 1970s, a new study concludes. Overall, landfalling Asian typhoon intensity has increased by about 12 percent in nearly four decades. But the change is most noticeable for storms with winds of 209 kilometers per hour or more (130 mph), those in categories 4 and 5. Since 1977, they've gone from a once-a-year occurrence to four times a year, according to a study Monday in the journal Nature Geoscience. These are storms like Lionrock that in August killed at least 17 people, about half of them elderly residents of a Japanese nursing home, and Haiyan one of the strongest storms on record, killing more than 6,000 people in the Philippines in 2013. FILE - In this Aug. 26, 2016 file photo, commuters and motorists go on their way as heavy monsoon rains inundate low-lying areas in Manila, Philippines. Typhoons that slam into land in the northwestern Pacific _ especially the biggest tropical cyclones of the bunch _ have gotten considerably stronger since the 1970s, a new study concludes. (AP Photo/Bullit Marquez, File) Study lead author Wei Mei, a climate scientist at the University of North Carolina, connects the strengthening of these storms to warmer seawater near the coasts. That provides more fuel for the typhoons. Along much of the Asian coast, water has warmed by nearly 0.8 degrees (1.4 degrees Fahrenheit) since the late 1970s. Mei didn't study why the water is warming, but says it is probably due to a combination of natural local weather phenomena and warming from the burning of fossil fuels. Mei and two other outside scientists say it is too early to say precisely that the increased intensity is from man-made climate change. But as the world warms more in the future, stronger storms are likely to get even more intense, especially north of 20 degrees North latitude, where eastern China, Taiwan, Korea and Japan are located, Mei says. Colorado State University hurricane researcher Phil Klotzbach says the study makes sense and raises interesting questions, but adds that some of the storms before 1987 might have had their wind speeds under-estimated. Mei said he thinks that time period actually had better measurements because planes were then flying into storms to gauge their strength. Mei didn't study tropical cyclone intensification in other parts of the world. ___ Online: Nature Geoscience: http://www.nature.com/ngeo/index.html ___ Follow Seth Borenstein at http://twitter.com/borenbears and his work can be found at http://bigstory.ap.org/content/seth-borenstein London model set ablaze to mark Great Fire anniversary LONDON (AP) A large wooden model of 17th-century London has been set ablaze to mark the 350th anniversary of the Great Fire of London that ripped through the city in 1666. The unusual 120-meter-long (390-foot-long) model was set on fire Sunday night on the River Thames, producing spectacular flames against the backdrop of the city skyline. The burning marked the finale of a festival marking the epic four-day fire that destroyed much of the walled city in 1666. About 13,000 homes and businesses were destroyed in the calamity. A 120-metre long sculpture of the 17th-century London skyline is set alight in a retelling of the story of the Great Fire of London in 1666, in London, Sunday, Sept. 4, 2016. The event was part of a collaboration between American 'burn' artist David Best and Artichoke, commemorating the Great Fire of London in 1666. (AP Photo/Frank Augstein) The event was part of a collaboration between American artist David Best and Artichoke, which organized a six-day retelling of the story of the Great Fire that included art installations, performances, guided tours and lectures. People watch as a 120-metre long sculpture of the 17th-century London skyline was set alight in a retelling of the story of the Great Fire of London in 1666, in London, Sunday, Sept. 4, 2016. The event was part of a collaboration between American 'burn' artist David Best and Artichoke, commemorating the Great Fire of London in 1666. (AP Photo/Frank Augstein) Poland's ministers in Britain to discuss safety of Poles WARSAW, Poland (AP) Poland's foreign and interior ministers arrived in Britain Monday for talks about the security of hundreds of thousands of Poles there, following two recent attacks that left one Pole dead and three others injured. Foreign Minister Witold Waszczykowski called the trip "an urgent visit," and said he believed that less protection was being offered to Poles in Britain than to other nationals. "Following a number of attacks, we want to check whether British services are doing their job and whether the Poles are under proper protection," Waszczykowski said. Since Britain's June vote to leave the European Union, there has been an increase in reports of hostile acts against Poles. Waszczykowski, traveling with Interior Minister Mariusz Blaszczak for talks with their British counterparts, will be seeking information about the investigation into last week's death of a 40-year-old Pole, identified by British authorities as Arkadiusz Jozwik, who was beaten by teenagers in Harlow, about 50 kilometers (30 miles) north of London. The man was a Harlow resident since 2012 and worked at a meat processing factory. Six teenagers were arrested on suspicion of murder following the attack. Two other Poles were beaten in Harlow Sunday, following a march in protest of Jozwik's death. Essex Police said they were investigating the killing and the subsequent assault in Harlow as potential hate crimes, but were looking at other possible motives. Poland's ministers plan to meet with Polish communities in London and Harlow to reassure them of the government's concern. Poland's Embassy in London said that its consuls intervened in 15 recent incidents of xenophobia that included "arson, physical assault, hateful graffiti, and intimidation." In some places notes have been put through doors urging Poles to leave and a shed belonging to a Polish family was set on fire in Plymouth. A spokesman in the British prime minister's office said the Polish ministers will "receive reassurances from the Home Secretary and Foreign Secretary about how seriously we take the situation." Florida governor cancels Zika trip to Washington after storm TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) Florida Gov. Rick Scott has canceled a trip to Washington, where he was to meet with congressional leaders about funding for the Zika virus. Spokeswoman Jackie Schutz says that Scott will remain in Florida to monitor response efforts to Hurricane Hermine. The state has seen a rise in the number of cases of the mosquito-borne disease over the past month. Young whites divide on handling violence by, against police WASHINGTON (AP) Young people across racial and ethnic lines are more likely to say they trust Hillary Clinton than Donald Trump to handle instances of police violence against African-Americans. But young whites are more likely to say they trust Trump to handle violence committed against the police. That's according to a new GenForward poll of young adults age 18 to 30. The poll is conducted by the Black Youth Project at the University of Chicago with the Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research. The first-of-its-kind poll pays special attention to the voices of young adults of color, highlighting how race and ethnicity shape the opinions of a new generation. The poll also suggests most young adults think requiring police to wear body cameras would help reduce violence by police. Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton, left, and Republican presidential candidate Donal Trump in these 2016 file photos. Young people across racial and ethnic lines are more likely to say they trust Hillary Clinton than Donald Trump to handle instances of police violence against African-Americans. But young whites are more likely to say they trust Trump to handle violence committed against the police. (AP Photo) Things to know from the poll about young Americans' views about police and the Black Lives Matter movement: ___ POLICE VIOLENCE AND VIOLENCE AGAINST THE POLICE About 6 in 10 young adults overall say violence by the police and violence against the police both are very or extremely serious problems in the United States. But views vary among those of different racial and ethnic backgrounds. Ninety-one percent of young African-Americans, 71 percent of Hispanics, 63 percent of Asian-Americans and just 43 percent of whites call killings of black people by police a very or extremely serious problem. Among young whites, more call violence against the police a serious problem, 63 percent. In addition, 60 percent of young blacks, 65 percent of young Hispanics, and 54 percent of young Asian-Americans consider violence against police an extremely or very serious problem. Thinking specifically about recent killings of black people by the police, 72 percent of African-American young people, 61 percent of Asian-Americans, 51 percent of Latinos and 40 percent of whites say they consider them part of a larger pattern, rather than isolated. ___ WHAT WOULD HELP Seven in 10 young Americans say they think requiring on-duty police officers to wear body cameras would help reduce violence by police against civilians. But young African-Americans are somewhat less enthusiastic about the idea, with just over 6 in 10 saying that it would be effective. On the other hand, both African-Americans (68 percent) and Latinos (66 percent) are more likely than whites (51 percent) to say requiring a special prosecutor to investigate cases where police kill or seriously injure civilians would be effective at preventing such deaths. Overall, 57 percent of young people think so. Fifty-six percent of all young people say setting stricter criteria for police use of deadly force would be effective at reducing instances of violence by the police, including 68 percent of blacks and Hispanics, 61 percent of Asian-Americans and just 48 percent of whites. ___ WHO DO YOU TRUST? Young Americans across racial and ethnic groups are more likely to trust Clinton than Trump to handle police violence against African-Americans. That's by a 61 percent-to-5 percent margin among young blacks, 58 percent to 6 percent among young Latinos, 56 percent to 8 percent among Asian-Americans, and 44 percent to 20 percent among young whites. About a quarter in each group don't trust either candidate to handle the issue well. But among young whites, more trust Trump than Clinton to handle attacks against the police, 45 percent to 28 percent. Young African-Americans (54 percent to 12 percent), Latinos (45 percent to 15 percent) and Asian-Americans (45 percent to 20 percent) are more likely to trust Clinton than Trump on this. ___ BLACK LIVES MATTER Majorities of young people across racial and ethnic lines say they support the Black Lives Matter movement, including 85 percent of African-Americans, 67 percent of Asian-Americans, 62 percent of Latinos and 51 percent of whites. That's an increase in support among young whites over the past few months, after 41 percent of them said they supported Black Lives Matter in June. But among young whites in particular, and among significant minorities of young Asian-Americans and Latinos, there are feelings that the rhetoric of the movement encourages violence against the police more than 6 in 10 whites, more than 4 in 10 Asian-Americans and Latinos and just 2 in 10 African-Americans think the movement's rhetoric encourages violence against the police. ___ The poll of 1,958 adults age 18-30 was conducted Aug. 1-14 using a sample drawn from the probability-based GenForward panel, which is designed to be representative of the U.S. young adult population. The margin of sampling error for all respondents is plus or minus 3.9 percentage points. The survey was paid for by the Black Youth Project at the University of Chicago, using grants from the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation and the Ford Foundation. Respondents were first selected randomly using address-based sampling methods, and later interviewed online or by phone. ___ Online: GenForward polls: http://www.genforwardsurvey.com/ Black Youth Project: http://blackyouthproject.com/ Britain's junior doctors suspend planned 5-day strike LONDON (AP) Junior doctors in Britain have suspended plans for a five-day strike that had been set to begin next week. The British Medical Association the doctors' union said Monday the strike will not go ahead, but warned of planned strikes in October, November and December. Junior doctors, who have up to 10 years of experience, have been in a protracted dispute with the government over weekend shifts and pay. Dr. Ellen McCourt, chairman of the junior doctors' committee, said the strike was called off out of concern for patient safety. Obama meets Laotian president in first US presidential visit VIENTIANE, Laos (AP) Barack Obama on Monday became the first sitting U.S. president to step foot in the isolated Southeast Asian nation of Laos, opening a three-day visit meant to rebuild trust and close a dark chapter in the shared history between the two countries. Obama is one of several world leaders coming to the country of nearly 7 million people, where the one-party communist state tightly controls public expression but is using its moment in the spotlight as host of the annual meeting of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations to open up to outsiders. Under a steady, tropical rain, Obama arrived late Monday and began a full day of ceremony and diplomacy Tuesday morning with a meeting with Laotian President Bounnhang Vorachit. The president was greeted by a military band and a display of the troops at the presidential palace. U.S. President Barack Obama waves upon his arrival at Wattay International Airport in Vientiane, Laos, Monday, Sep 5, 2016. Obama will be meeting the leaders of the Association of Southern Asian Nations (ASEAN) at a summit aimed at strengthening the U.S.- ASEAN strategic partnership. (AP Photo/ Gemunu Amarasinghe) The visit comes during what is probably Obama's final trip as president to Southeast Asia, a region that has enjoyed intense attention from the U.S. during his tenure. Obama's frequent visits to oft-ignored corners of the Asia Pacific have been central to his strategy for countering China's growing dominance in the region. By bolstering diplomatic ties in Vietnam, Cambodia and Myanmar, the Obama administration has declared it wants to compete for influence and market access in China's backyard. In Laos, Obama will wrestle with the ghosts of past U.S. policies. In the 1960s and 1970s, the U.S. rained bombs on Laotian villages and the countryside as America's war with Vietnam spilled across the border. The Laotian government estimates that more than 2 million tons of ordnance were released during more than 500,000 missions one bomb every eight minutes for nine years. An estimated 80 million cluster bombs did not explode, leaving tennis ball-sized "bombies" littering the impoverished countryside to wound and kill unsuspecting people. In his meeting with Vorachit, Obama quickly acknowledged the "challenging history." He is expected to announce additional aid to clean up unexploded ordnance, while the Laotian government is expected to offer help in accounting for missing and dead U.S. service members. Obama said Monday in China, before he departed for Laos, that diplomatic work on war legacy issues will be "a show of good faith on the part of the country and a way for us to move into a next phase of a relationship." He cited Vietnam as the model. Aides said Obama's visit will probably echo a stop in Hanoi, Vietnam, in May, when the president declared he was "mindful of the past, mindful of our difficult history, but focused on the future." In both countries, Obama benefits from not carrying baggage that might have complicated his message. Too young to have served in the Vietnam war, Obama serves as a generational page turner eager to speak directly to those too young to remember the troubled past. In Laos, as he has across Southeast Asia, he'll hold a town-hall-style event for young people. The White House said he'll encourage Laos' slow political opening and budding entrepreneurial culture. Obama will be speaking to people like 33-year-old Anysay Keola, who remembers his mother's stories of running and hiding from the bombs and of memorizing a phrase roughly translating to: "The U.S. dropped the bomb on us." But Keola, an entrepreneur and filmmaker and part of Vientiane's growing creative class, also grew up on American music and fashion. The war's ill will faded long ago, and his friends are excited about Obama's arrival but not necessarily for political reasons. "He is perceived as like a celebrity," Keola said. "It's just on the surface: 'Ooh, Obama's coming. Ooh, big plane.' Or things like that. Or his Cadillac car is here. Those are the things that people share and talk about." While the U.S. is known as a rich country with an outsized cultural influence, China, by contrast, is seen as the huge neighbor helping to spur this small nation's robust growth. Massive Vientiane construction sites come adorned with Mandarin script. China has committed to financing a $7 billion high-speed railroad to bisect the country. Though Vorachit is seen as edging closer to Vietnam than to China, the country has managed a diplomatic two-step this year. As chair of the Southeast Asian nations' group, it has projected neutrality in other countries' disputes with China over the South China Sea. ___ Associated Press writer Daniel Malloy in Luang Prabang, Laos, contributed to this report. U.S. President Barack Obama is greeted by an honor guard as he arrives on Air Force One at Wattay International Airport in Vientiane, Laos, Monday, Sept. 5, 2016. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster) The Latest: West Indian Day Parade's music, spirit praised NEW YORK (AP) The Latest on New York City's annual West Indian Day Parade (all times local): 5:45 p.m. People who attended New York City's West Indian Day Parade have lauded the event despite a spate of violence preceding it. Crime scene investigators with the New York Police Department work at the scene where multiple people were killed and others injured in a shooting during J'ouvert festivities in the Brooklyn borough of New York on Monday, Sept. 5, 2016. (AP Photo/Craig Ruttle) Archly Mathieu says the music was the best part of Monday's Caribbean celebration in Brooklyn. Her friend Bassem Ashew says she most enjoys seeing everyone come together. Onlookers along the parade route waved the flags of Caribbean nations. Dancers in brightly colored costumes and feathered crowns shimmied their way along as steel drum bands played music in the streets. Earlier, two people were fatally shot during pre-dawn festivities leading up to the start of the parade. ___ 2:50 p.m. Authorities have identified two people shot and killed in separate incidents during a pre-dawn Caribbean festival hours before New York City's West Indian Day Parade. Police say 17-year-old Tyreke Borel was shot in the chest around 4 a.m. Monday and 22-year-old Tiarah Poyau was shot in the face a short distance away around 4:15 a.m. No arrests have been made. The shootings took place in the area of J'ouvert (joo-VAY'), which celebrates Caribbean culture and takes place in the early morning hours on Labor Day before the parade. Both events have been marred by violence in recent years. The police presence was increased this year because of safety concerns. ___ 12:30 p.m. The celebration of all things Caribbean has brought costumed revelers and steel drum bands to the streets of New York City for the annual West Indian Day Parade. Democratic Mayor Bill de Blasio and a slew of other state and city officials are among the marchers in Brooklyn. Onlookers have crowded along the parade route, carrying the flags of the different Caribbean nations. Police presence has been significant at the parade and the pre-dawn festival that precedes it, J'ouvert (joo-VAY'), both of which have been marred by violence. Two people were shot to death in the streets around the area Monday as J'ouvert was going on. Last year, an aide to the governor was shot and killed during J'ouvert festivities. ___ 6:25 a.m. New York City police say two people have been shot to death during a carnival in the hours before the West Indian Day Parade. Police say a male in his late teens or early 20s was shot in the chest at around 3:50 a.m. Monday in Brooklyn. He died at a hospital. Police say about 25 minutes later, a 22-year-old woman was shot in the head just a block away and died at a hospital. Police are investigating whether the shootings are related. Brexit chief says UK gov't will not be rushed LONDON (AP) The chief of Britain's new Brexit department said Monday the government will not be rushed as it develops detailed plans for leaving the European Union, as Prime Minister Theresa May backed away from proposals to use a point-based system to manage immigration. David Davis told Parliament his new ministry already has 180 staffers backed by 120 more working in Brussels. In China for the G-20 summit, May said she is not in favor of a point-based immigration system that had been backed by Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson and Nigel Farage, key leaders of the pro-Brexit campaign. She said the Australian-style system would not give Britain sufficient control of who enters the country, as sought by Brexit backers. Farage, who has stepped down as leader of the pro-Brexit UK Independence Party, accused May of backsliding. Prince Harry to make 1st official visit to Caribbean islands GEORGETOWN, Guyana (AP) Officials say Prince Harry will make his first official visit to several Caribbean nations later this year when some of them will be celebrating the anniversaries of their independence from the United Kingdom. Guyana British High Commissioner Greg Quinn says the prince will travel to that country, which is Britain's largest former colony in the Caribbean. Kensington Palace said in a statement Monday that Harry also will visit Antigua, Barbados, Grenada, St. Kitts, St. Lucia and St. Vincent on his trip in late fall. Iran police shut 800 clothes shops for 'inappropriate' goods TEHRAN, Iran (AP) Iran's state TV says police have shut down more than 800 clothing stores across the country for selling "unconventional and inappropriate" attire believed to mean Western-style outfits and women's clothing that doesn't meet strict Islamic requirements. Monday's report says the raids took place over a 10-day span after authorities first sent official warnings to merchants in more than 3,600 shops. Iranian police and state TV have in recent weeks campaigned against selling second-hand clothes, which are considered "unhygienic," as well as clothes with English language print on them. The Latest: Beach closures extended because of storm Hermine COTTAGEVILLE, S.C. (AP) The Latest on Tropical Storm Hermine's path along the East coast (all times local): 6:30 p.m. New York City officials have extended beach closures beyond Labor Day because of continued deadly rip currents caused by storm system Hermine. Beachgoers walk away from big waves and rough surf caused by Hermine, Sunday, Sept. 4, 2016, in Bradley Beach,N.J. No swimming was allowed because of the passing storm. (Noah K. Murray/The Asbury Park Press via AP) Parks officials say beaches will be closed to swimming, bathing and surfing on Tuesday. The New York Post reports police issued $80 tickets to at least four surfers at the famed summertime Rockaway Beach surf spot. An emergency worker who dived into the Atlantic Ocean at Coney Island to save a swimmer who violated the ban tells the newspaper the current felt like a "300-pound guy" pulling him back out to sea." At least three deaths associated with Hermine have been reported as the storm moves along the East Coast. ___ 2 p.m. A third death associated with Tropical Storm Hermine has been reported as the storm moves along the East Coast. Authorities say 30-year-old Michael Woodrum was trying to remove a tree that fell on U.S. Highway 17-A near Cottageville, South Carolina, on Friday when he was struck by a car. Officials say Woodrum died at a hospital on Saturday. High winds tipped over an 18-wheeler on Saturday, killing its driver and shutting down the U.S. 64 bridge in North Carolina's Outer Banks. Earlier in Florida, a homeless man was killed by a falling tree. Hermine rose over the Gulf of Mexico and hit Florida on Friday as a Category 1 hurricane before weakening to a tropical storm as it moved across Georgia. ___ 3:15 a.m. Hermine (her-MEEN) will continue to twist hundreds of miles off shore in the Atlantic Ocean and keep swimmers and surfers out of beach waters because of its dangerous waves and rip currents on the last day of the long holiday weekend. Dennis Feltgen of the National Hurricane Center said Sunday "We're not looking at a landfall," adding Hermine is just sitting and pushing the water up along the coast making storm surge a great concern. It's expected to stall over the water before weakening again. Hermine rose up over the Gulf of Mexico and hit Florida on Friday as a Category 1 hurricane before weakening to a tropical storm as it moved across Georgia. A beachgoer stands at the edge of the water, Sunday, Sept. 4, 2016, in Bridgehampton, N.Y., on the southeastern shore of Long Island, where the effects of storm system Hermine could be seen in the rough surf and a ban on swimming. Hermine spun away from the U.S. East Coast on Sunday, removing the threat of heavy rain but maintaining enough power to churn dangerous waves and currents and keep beaches off-limits to disappointed swimmers and surfers during the holiday weekend. (AP Photo/Jennifer Peltz) Chloe Riffle, 7, watches as she is surrounded by water on Sunday, Sept. 4, 2016 in the Ocean View section of Norfolk, Va. Storm system Hermine spun away from the U.S. East Coast on Sunday, removing the threat of heavy rain but maintaining enough power to churn dangerous waves and currents and keep beaches off-limits to disappointed swimmers and surfers during the holiday weekend. (Vicki Cronis-Nohe /The Virginian-Pilot via AP) People sit at the beach in Ocean City, N.J., on Sunday, Sept. 4, 2016. Storm system Hermine spun away from the U.S. East Coast on Sunday, removing the threat of heavy rain but maintaining enough power to churn dangerous waves and currents and keep beaches off-limits to disappointed swimmers and surfers during the holiday weekend. (Viviana Pernot /The Press of Atlantic City via AP) Beachgoers stand at the edge of the water, Sunday, Sept. 4, 2016, in Bridgehampton, N.Y., on the southeastern shore of Long Island, where the effects of storm system Hermine could be seen in the rough surf and a ban on swimming. Hermine spun away from the U.S. East Coast on Sunday, removing the threat of heavy rain but maintaining enough power to churn dangerous waves and currents and keep beaches off-limits to disappointed swimmers and surfers during the holiday weekend. (AP Photo/Jennifer Peltz) New Jersey Lt. Governor Kim Guadagno, second from right, meets with New Jersey DEP Commissioner Bob Martin, right, and Congressman Frank LoBiondo , on Sunday Sept. 4, 2016, at the Cape May County Office of Emergency Management in Cape May Court House, N.J. Storm system Hermine spun away from the U.S. East Coast on Sunday, removing the threat of heavy rain but maintaining enough power to churn dangerous waves and currents and keep beaches off-limits to disappointed swimmers and surfers during the holiday weekend. (Michael Miller /The Press of Atlantic City via AP) Beachgoers stand at the edge of the water, Sunday, Sept. 4, 2016, in Bridgehampton, N.Y., on the southeastern shore of Long Island, where the effects of storm system Hermine could be seen in the rough surf and a ban on swimming. Hermine spun away from the U.S. East Coast on Sunday, removing the threat of heavy rain but maintaining enough power to churn dangerous waves and currents and keep beaches off-limits to disappointed swimmers and surfers during the holiday weekend. (AP Photo/Jennifer Peltz) Marco Cardone put on dry socks and boots after wading through the flood waters on Sunday, Sept. 4, 2016 in the Ocean View section of Norfolk, Va. Storm system Hermine spun away from the U.S. East Coast on Sunday, removing the threat of heavy rain but maintaining enough power to churn dangerous waves and currents and keep beaches off-limits to disappointed swimmers and surfers during the holiday weekend. (Vicki Cronis-Nohe /The Virginian-Pilot via AP) Cormac Worrall, 6, left, helps his father remove tree debris from their yard in Virginia Beach, Va, on Sunday, Sept. 4, 2016, Storm system Hermine spun away from the U.S. East Coast on Sunday, removing the threat of heavy rain but maintaining enough power to churn dangerous waves and currents and keep beaches off-limits to disappointed swimmers and surfers during the holiday weekend. (Vicki Cronis-Nohe /The Virginian-Pilot via AP) This NOAA satellite image taken Sunday, Sept. 4, 2016 at 9:45 AM EDT shows Post Tropical Cyclone Hermine spinning roughly 300 miles east of the Jersey Shore. Hermine is packing winds of 70 miles an hour and has moved further east than originally forecasted. So far this has kept the worst of the impacts offshore from the Mid-Atlantic. A northward turn is still expected over the next day which will bring some rainy and windy weather into southern New England. The remainder of the eastern half of the Untied States is under the influence of a ridge of high pressure. Under this ridge mostly sunny skies and dry conditions will prevail. (Weather Underground via AP) Mexico catches alleged drug money launderer sought in US MEXICO CITY (AP) Mexican authorities say they have captured an alleged drug trafficker and money launderer wanted in the United States. Mexico's National Security Commission says the suspect identified only as "Martin Guadencio" was captured Friday near the western city of Guadalajara. In 2011, The U.S. Treasury Department named Martin Guadencio Avendano Ojeda as the director of a money-laundering and drug distribution network based in Culiacan, Mexico. It said it was supplied by the Sinaloa cartel and facilitated the smuggling of drugs into the United States. Armed officers placed at jail where shooting occurred FRESNO, Calif. (AP) An armed deputy and an armed correctional officer have been stationed in the lobby of the central California jail where an ex-convict opened fire and critically wounded two unarmed officers, a sheriff's spokesman said Monday. Fresno County Sheriff Margaret Mims assigned the armed officers in response to Saturday's shooting of officers Juanita Davila, 51, and Toamalama Scanlan, 40, spokesman Tony Botti said. Scanlan remained in critical condition and Davila was critical, but stable, he said. This photo provided by Fresno County Sheriff shows Thong Vang Two unarmed officers were critically injured after being shot by Vang, a visitor in the lobby of a central California jail, authorities said Saturday, Sept. 3, 2016. (Fresno County Sheriff via AP) Unarmed officers previously guarded the facility and visitors went through metal detectors leading to secure areas. Visiting hours resumed Sunday evening when the Fresno County jail lobby reopened. Thong Vang, 37, is accused of shooting the officers in the head and neck areas during a struggle and has been booked into the same jail where the shootings took place on suspicion of attempted murder, possessing a handgun as a felon and bringing drugs into a jail. He was being held without bail because both parole and immigration holds were placed on him, jail records showed. Vang was released from prison in 2014 after serving 16 years for raping three girls aged 14 and under, Mims said. He had no criminal violations since his release. Botti said he didn't know if Vang had an attorney who could comment on his behalf. Scanlan, who has 10 years of experience, and Davila, an 18-year veteran, approached Vang after he tried to cut to the front of the visitors' line and began pacing near a secure area of the jail. The officers were trying to get him to sit down when shots rang out. About 15 people, including small children, ran to safety. Officers inside the jail ran to the lobby, where a lieutenant shot at Vang, who returned fire, Botti said. No one was hit. Officers tried to subdue Vang with a stun gun, but he ran to the hallway of the jail records area, authorities said. When confronted by sheriff's deputies and a Fresno police officer, Vang dropped his weapon and told authorities he wanted to be arrested, Botti said. The injured officers were dragged out of the lobby and taken to the hospital to undergo surgery. Vang was taken to the hospital for minor scrapes and cuts. Eulalio Gomez, president of the Fresno County Public Safety Association, said he had worked with Scanlan in an anti-gang unit. "He's a warrior," Gomez told the Fresno Bee. "He's the first guy to be there when there's an emergency and the first guy to be there at home when you need him." Gomez said Scanlan's family is coming from American Samoa, where he was raised, to be by his side. Davila has two daughers in college and her mother is at her bedside, Gomez said. He said Davila is very religious and always offering prayers for her fellow officers. "She will always give you words of encouragement," Gomez said. "She has a heart of gold." This undated photo provided by the Fresno County Sheriff's Office shows corrections officer Toamalama Scanlan. He was one of two unarmed officers critically injured after a man opened fire in the main lobby of the Fresno County Jail in downtown Fresno, Calif., Saturday, Sept. 3, 2016. Authorities said officers from the secured areas inside the jail ran to the lobby, where a lieutenant fired shots at the gunman, identified as 37-year-old Thong Vang, who was taken into custody. The injured officers were dragged out of the lobby and taken to the hospital to undergo surgery. (Fresno County Sheriff's Office via AP) This undated photo provided by the Fresno County Sheriff's Office shows corrections officer Juanita Davila. She was one of two unarmed officers critically injured after a man opened fire in the main lobby of the Fresno County Jail in downtown Fresno, Calif., Saturday, Sept. 3, 2016. Authorities said officers from the secured areas inside the jail ran to the lobby, where a lieutenant fired shots at the gunman, identified as 37-year-old Thong Vang, who was taken into custody. The injured officers were dragged out of the lobby and taken to the hospital to undergo surgery. (Fresno County Sheriff's Office via AP) Fresno County sheriff's deputies and Fresno police officers stand on the scene after reports of an active shooter in the main lobby of the Fresno County Jail in downtown Fresno, Calif., Saturday, Sept. 3, 2016. Two unarmed officers were critically injured after being shot by a visitor in the lobby of a central California jail, authorities said Saturday. Authorities said officers from the secured areas inside the jail ran to the lobby, where a lieutenant fired shots at the gunman, identified as 37-year-old Thong Vang. Vang was taken into custody and taken to the hospital for minor scrapes and cuts. (Silvia Flores/The Fresno Bee via AP) Law enforcement officials and others are seen outside the lobby of the Fresno County Jail after reports of an active shooter in the main lobby of the jail in downtown Fresno, Calif., Saturday, Sept. 3, 2016. Two unarmed officers were critically injured after being shot by a visitor in the lobby of the central California jail, authorities said Saturday. Authorities said officers from the secured areas inside the jail ran to the lobby, where a lieutenant fired shots at the gunman, identified as 37-year-old Thong Vang, who was taken into custody. (Silvia Flores/The Fresno Bee via AP) A law enforcement officer patrols a street after reports of an active shooter in the main lobby of the Fresno County Jail in downtown Fresno, Calif., Saturday, Sept. 3, 2016. Two unarmed officers were critically injured after being shot by a visitor in the lobby of the central California jail, authorities said Saturday. Officers from the secured areas inside the jail ran to the lobby, where a lieutenant fired shots at the gunman, identified as 37-year-old Thong Vang, who was taken into custody. The injured officers were dragged out of the lobby and taken to the hospital to undergo surgery. (Troy Pope/The Fresno Bee via AP) Bill to shield retired miners divides coal-state Republicans WASHINGTON (AP) An election-year bill to fulfill a 70-year-old government promise and protect health-care and pension benefits for retired miners is dividing coal-state Republicans, pitting endangered incumbents against GOP leaders wary of bailing out union workers. Retirement and health-care funds currently support about 120,000 former miners and their families nationwide. But account balances have dwindled amid continued layoffs and bankruptcy filings as the coal industry struggles against competition from cheaper natural gas and tightening environmental regulations. The bill would ensure that retired miners receive hundreds of millions of dollars in benefits now at risk amid the industry's steep decline. Without congressional intervention, some of the funds could run out of cash by next year, according to the United Mine Workers of America. FILE -In this Dec. 17, 2014 file photo, Sen. Mitch McConnell, R-Ky. speaks on Capitol Hill in Washington. An election-year bill that would protect health-care and pension benefits for more than 100,000 retired coal miners is dividing coal-state Republicans. Thousands of miners are expected to gather at the Capitol to push for the measure, which they describe as life-saving and fulfilling a promise the government made in 1946. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite, File) "These folks spent their whole lives going underground and mining the coal that made this country what it is today. They energized this nation for decades and through today," said Phil Smith, a spokesman for the UMW, which has pushed for the bill. In 1946, President Harry S. Truman brokered an agreement to guarantee miners' lifetime health and retirement benefits, a move that averted a lengthy strike. Thousands of retired miners and their supporters are expected to gather at the Capitol Thursday to push for the bill, which they describe as a life-saving measure that honors the pact made by the federal government. The bill would affect more than 30,000 retired miners in West Virginia, and tens of thousands more in Pennsylvania, Kentucky, Ohio, Illinois, Indiana, Virginia and Alabama. Republican Sens. Rob Portman of Ohio and Mark Kirk of Illinois both in tough re-elections in two months back the legislation, but face resistance from Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky. McConnell, a staunch defender of his home state's coal industry, blocked the pension measure last year and says he's not going to fast-track a plan that some Republicans warn amounts to a bailout. "There are hundreds of private-sector pension plans in critical, endangered or declining status throughout America today," Sen. Mike Enzi, R-Wyo., chairman of the Senate Budget Committee, said earlier this year. "So I'm not sure how Congress would help the United Mine Workers and not the others. Where do we draw the line?" Wyoming is the nation's top coal producer mainly from non-union plants and Enzi said the bill would "do absolutely nothing for miners who are not members" of the UMW. Nearly 11,000 coal workers have lost jobs in the last year, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, and the pension bill "wouldn't help put those folks back to work," Enzi said. Portman calls the bill a matter of fairness. "These are people who not just power our country but power their communities," said Portman, who has been endorsed by the mine workers union as he faces a challenge from former Democratic Gov. Ted Strickland. In Pennsylvania, Sen. Pat Toomey, another endangered Republican, declined to comment, although his Democratic challenger, Katie McGinty, supports the bill. "Our nation owes every single coal miner a debt of gratitude for staring down risks and helping meet our energy needs," McGinty said. She called on Congress to ensure "America's coal miners get the dignified, secure retirement they deserve." A spokesman for McConnell said the senator "has been and remains committed to helping ensure the retirement security of our nation's retirees, including coal miners." McConnell "continues to believe this issue deserves an open, transparent debate through regular order," spokesman Robert Steurer said, noting that the Senate Finance Committee is expected to vote on the bill later this month. At least nine Senate Republicans, including Finance Chairman Orrin Hatch of Utah, support the bill, along with nearly all Senate Democrats. Sen. Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, said McConnell has blocked the bill "because he doesn't like the United Mine Workers union," which endorsed McConnell's Democratic opponent, Alison Grimes, in the 2014 election. Don Stewart, another McConnell spokesman, denied that and said McConnell met with the union earlier this year and laid out criteria for the bill to be considered, including a hearing and vote by the Finance panel. "There are a lot of different opinions. We'll see what kind of bill comes out of the committee," Stewart said. Portman, who has lobbied McConnell on the issue, said he was pleased backers secured a vote in the Finance panel. "We think it actually is going to save money over time," Portman told reporters. "Because if we don't provide for these coal miners now with some sort of an immediate stop-gap measure it's very possible you could see ... taxpayers generally having to step in and do some kind of a bailout" to prevent a collapse of the pension fund. The pension measure is paid for in part through a fund used to clean up abandoned mines. ___ Associated Press writer Ann Sanner in Columbus, Ohio, contributed to this story. ___ Follow Matthew Daly: https://twitter.com/MatthewDalyWDC FILE - In this March 10, 2006 file photo, Ohio coal miners head into the mine for a shift inside the Hopedale Mine near Cadiz, Ohio. An election-year bill that would protect health-care and pension benefits for more than 100,000 retired coal miners is dividing coal-state Republicans. Thousands of miners are expected to gather at the Capitol to push for the measure, which they describe as life-saving and fulfilling a promise the government made in 1946. (AP Photo/Joe Maiorana, File) Police: Report of shots fired at mall happened outside CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) Police say a report of shots fired inside a North Carolina mall were actually noises heard outside the building. Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police said in a news release that officers were called to Northlake Mall at 3:15 p.m. Monday, but found no victims or suspects. Police say they have determined if any shots were fired they were outside of the mall and allowed stores to remain open. Officers will increase patrols in the area. Charlotte Medic said in a news release that no one was injured. Dominican court orders ex-Ukrainian official held amid probe SANTO DOMINGO, Dominican Republic (AP) A court has ordered three months detention for a former Ukrainian government official during an investigation into accusations he kidnapped a fellow countryman at a popular tourist spot in the Dominican Republic. An alleged accomplice from Bulgaria also is being held. Volodymyr Vasiliovich Saldo, 60, was arrested in late August along with the Bulgarian man after both were accused of kidnapping and torturing a 33-year-old Ukrainian man who allegedly owed them some $334,000 (300,000 euros), defense attorney Manuel Moquete said Monday. Dominican authorities identified the alleged victim as Denys Paschenko and said he escaped after being held 50 days against his will. They said he arrived at a police station via taxi about two weeks ago with his hands and feet still shackled. Paschenko was previously detained in Greece in 2015 by Interpol following accusations of bank fraud. Moquete told The Associated Press that his client was actually the one kidnapped when he arrived in the Dominican Republic in June following an invitation by Paschenko to settle the debt. He said Vasiliovich opted not to contact police. Vasiliovich served as a Ukrainian legislator from 2012 to 2014 and as mayor of the town of Kherson from 2002 to 2012. Surgeon helps save heart attack victim in car crash NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) A Vanderbilt University trauma surgeon sprang into action after witnessing a woman's car crash at a Nashville intersection. The Tennessean (http://tnne.ws/2bSLlEa ) reports Dr. Rick Miller and others got Ruth Root out of her car after she suffered a heart attack and crashed into a light pole Friday. Root met Miller in her hospital room Monday at Vanderbilt University Medical Center. Miller told Root that she "might not have survived" if Miller and others weren't there. The team administered CPR and used a cardiac defibrillator to help her regain consciousness. Root had been having heart problems since February and was driving to her cardiologist when the crash occurred. The 73-year-old Root suffered 12 cracked ribs. She granted Miller's request for a hug at the hospital, adding, "just not a tight one." ___ Friend says ex-Guantanamo detainee weak from hunger strike MONTEVIDEO, Uruguay (AP) Former Guantanamo detainee Abu Wa'el Dhiab is weak from a hunger strike and could need to be hospitalized, a friend said Monday. Dhiab, who suffers health problems related to his hunger strikes and forced feedings while in U.S. custody, has repeatedly said he is unhappy in Uruguay, which took him and five other former Guantanamo prisoners in for resettlement in 2014. He has been demanding that he be allowed to leave the South American country. It's not clear when Dhiab began his hunger strike, but a friend, Jorge Voituret, said the former prisoner stopped drinking water Friday. FILE - In this June 5, 2015, file photo, former Guantanamo detainee Abu Wa'el Dhiab from Syria, right, holds out the hand of fellow ex-prisoner Adel bin Muhammad El Ouerghi of Tunisia, showing off his wedding band in Montevideo, Uruguay. A friend said Monday, Sept. 5, 2016, that Dhiab is weak from a hunger strike and could need to be hospitalized. Dhiab is demanding that he be allowed to leave Uruguay. (AP Photo/Matilde Campodonico, File) "He's very weak and it's possible that in the next hours he'll have to be treated at a hospital," said Voituret, who works for Uruguay's Memory Museum, an organization that documents human rights violations committed during the country's 1973-1985 military dictatorship. Dhiab, a Syrian, went missing from Uruguay for several weeks earlier this year, alarming officials in neighboring countries and setting off recriminations from U.S. lawmakers before he resurfaced in Venezuela. The Uruguayan Foreign Ministry has said that while he was in Caracas, Dhiab tried to get help to reunite with his family in Turkey or another country before he was deported back to Uruguay last week. Dhiab's liaison with Uruguay's government announced Thursday that Dhiab planned to go on a hunger strike in hopes of being allowed to go elsewhere. Since his return to Montevideo, Dhiab has grown frustrated with a Uruguayan government-appointed NGO that owes him three months of aid, Voituret said. "He planned to use the money to buy a telephone and a stove. He's living in an apartment with no heating, and it gets really cold these days," the friend said about the Southern Hemisphere's winter months. Gabriela Cortina, an official at the Ecumenical Services for the Human Dignity, said the NGO would not comment. Former President Jose Mujica invited Dhiab and the other former detainees three other Syrians, a Tunisian and a Palestinian to resettle in Uruguay. They had been detained in 2002 for suspected ties to al-Qaida and held without charge like hundreds of others at the U.S. military's Guantanamo Bay base before American officials cleared them for release. Uruguay's government has provided social services and financial support. But the men have struggled to adjust and have protested they don't get enough help. Clinton and Trump hold competing news conferences YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio (AP) Presidential rivals Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton competed for the media's attention more than usual on Monday, holding dueling news conferences aboard their campaign planes. Trump extended a rare invitation to a handful of reporters to join him on his private jet between campaign stops, while Clinton debuted her new campaign plane, riding with reporters for the first time since launching her 2016 bid for the White House. A look at the many topics discussed by both the nominees on their Labor Day jaunts around Ohio and Illinois. Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton takes a question from a member of the media on her campaign plane while traveling to Quad Cities International Airport in Moline, Ill., Monday, Sept. 5, 2016. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik) ___ ON IMMIGRATION: Trump softened his language on immigration when pressed by reporters. Immigrants in the country illegally may not need to return to their countries or origin to obtain legal status, Trump said a position many conservatives would consider "amnesty." He insisted that, as president, he would prioritize deportation of criminal immigrants and build a massive wall along the Mexican border. Any immigrants who want full citizenship must return to their countries of origin and get in line, he said. But of the millions more living in the country illegally, he would not rule out a pathway to legal status. "We're going to make that decision into the future," Trump told reporters in his most extensive comments on immigration since last week's policy speech. The statement conflicts with a line in last week's address, when he declared: "For those here illegally today, who are seeking legal status, they will have one route and one route only. To return home and apply for re-entry." ___ ON RUSSIA AND THE DNC EMAIL HACKING: Clinton said she was concerned about "credible reports about Russian government interference in our elections," telling reporters traveling with her from Ohio to Illinois that "we are facing a very serious concern." She told reporters, "We are going to have to take those threats and attacks seriously." Clinton's comments follow reports that the Russian government may have been involved in the hacking of Democratic National Committee emails just days before the party's national convention. The emails, later revealed by WikiLeaks, showed some DNC officials favoring Clinton over her primary opponent, Bernie Sanders. She added that there has also never been a candidate who urged a country to hack into American computer networks. She was alluding to comments made by Trump at a July news conference, when he said, "Russia, if you're listening, I hope you're able to find the 30,000 emails that are missing." He later said he was being sarcastic. ___ ON PAM BONDI AND POLITICAL CONTRIBUTIONS: Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi personally solicited a political contribution from Trump around the same time her office deliberated joining an investigation of alleged fraud at Trump University and its affiliates. The disclosure from Bondi's spokesman to The Associated Press in June provided additional details around the unusual circumstances of Trump's $25,000 donation to Bondi. The money came from a Trump family foundation in apparent violation of rules surrounding political activities by charities. "She's a fine person," Trump said Monday, adding he "never spoke to her about it at all." "Many of the attorney generals turned that case down 'cause I'll win that case in court," he said. Clinton said she was "quite taken aback" by the Trump Foundation's political contribution to Bondi just as she was considering an investigation into Trump University. ___ TO DEBATE OR NOT TO DEBATE: Trump said he plans to take part in all three presidential debates against rival Hillary Clinton. The Republican nominee was rumored to be considering skipping at least one of the debates. But he told journalists Monday that only something along the lines of a "hurricane" or "natural disaster" would keep him from participating. "I look forward to the debates," Trump told reporters, saying he regards them as "an important element of what we're doing. I think you have an obligation to do the debates." As for preparation, Trump said he does not believe in doing mock debates, as is tradition for many candidates. "I've seen people do so much prep work that when they get out there they can't speak." The first debate between Trump and Clinton is scheduled for Sept. 26. ___ ON HILLARY'S ENERGY LEVEL: Hillary Clinton's message this Labor Day was that she would bring back jobs if elected, but Trump said: "She can't. She doesn't have a clue." "She doesn't have the energy to bring 'em back," he told reporters. "You need energy, man. And she doesn't have the energy or the stamina to bring 'em back. It is a grueling process. You're fighting a lot of different forces." Clinton pushed back against rumors that her health might hurt her ability to serve as president. "I'm not concerned about the conspiracy theories. There are so many of them that I've lost track of them," she said. Clinton battled a persistent cough during her speech in Ohio, which later flared up before reporters on the plane. She reminded them, "One thing you know from my doctor's letter is I have seasonal allergies." ___ GUANTANAMO PRISON Clinton said closing the detention center at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, "should remain the goal of the next president," adding that it "became a symbol of a lot of the problems that were started under the Bush administration which have not served us well in terms of relations around the world." Clinton noted a "legislative blockade problem" but said the next administration should try to shutter the U.S. prison. President Barack Obama has tried to close the detention center amid opposition from Congress, which has prohibited transferring detainees to the U.S. for any reason. The administration has been working with other countries to resettle detainees who have been cleared for transfer. Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump talks with press, Monday, Sept. 5, 2016, aboard his campaign plane, while flying over Ohio, as Vice presidential candidate Gov. Mike Pence, R-Ind., left, looks on. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci) Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump speaks with members of the press, Monday, Sept. 5, 2016, aboard his campaign plane, while flying over Ohio. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci) Mexico's Baja battens down as Hurricane Newton approaches CABO SAN LUCAS, Mexico (AP) Hurricane Newton soaked Mexico's western Pacific coast with heavy rain Monday and took aim at Baja California's twin resorts of Los Cabos, where residents nailed plywood over windows and pulled in fishing boats while preparing for a possible direct hit two years after being slammed by a major storm. Newton's maximum sustained winds increased to 90 mph (150 kph) by Monday night, according to the U.S. National Hurricane Center in Miami. The Category 1 storm was centered about 125 miles (200 kilometers) south-southeast of Cabo San Lucas and San Jose del Cabo and was moving northwest at 16 mph (26 kph) on a forecast path that would bring it near or over the area Tuesday morning. Officials opened 18 shelters at schools in the two resorts and 38 more in other parts of Baja California Sur state, while warning people against panic buying. Residents tow a boat out of the water as they prepare for the arrival of Hurricane Newton in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico, Monday Sept. 5, 2016. Authorities at the southern end of Mexico's Baja California peninsula ordered schools closed and set up emergency shelters as Hurricane Newton gained strength while bearing down on the twin resorts of Los Cabos for a predicted arrival Tuesday morning. (AP Photo/Eduardo Verdugo) "There is no need for mass buying," Los Cabos Mayor Arturo de la Rosa Escalante said. "There is enough food and fuel for the next 20 days." Los Cabos police were stationed at shopping malls to guard against the kind of looting that occurred after Hurricane Odile struck the area in 2014 as a Category 3 storm, with 125 mph (205 kph) winds. Foreign tourists were still walking the streets of Cabo San Lucas even as workers began boarding over windows of businesses. Some boat owners took their small fishing boats out of the water. Earlier Monday, as a tropical storm, Newton dumped torrential rains that prompted some 100 people to evacuate their homes and damaged residences in Uruapan in the Pacific coast state of Michoacan, the city government reported. Some roads were blocked by flooding and mudslides in the neighboring state of Guerrero, where some people were evacuated by helicopter. No deaths were reported in either state. A hurricane warning was in effect for Cabo San Lucas and the nearby coastline. Coastal portions of five Mexican states could see 5 to 10 inches of rain, with isolated maximums of 15 inches, the hurricane center said. Newton was expected to move up the peninsula and enter the Gulf of California by Tuesday night. The hurricane center said the storm was likely to continue north and cross into southern Arizona as a tropical depression Wednesday night. Workers board over a store front in preparation for Hurricane Newton, in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico, Monday Sept. 5, 2016. Authorities at the southern end of Mexico's Baja California peninsula ordered schools closed and set up emergency shelters as Hurricane Newton gained strength while bearing down on the twin resorts of Los Cabos for a predicted arrival Tuesday morning. (AP Photo/Eduardo Verdugo) EU observers note anomaly in Gabon voter turnout results LIBREVILLE, Gabon (AP) The European Union observation mission in Gabon said Tuesday it noted an anomaly in voting results from the president's stronghold province that pushed him over the edge to win re-election by a slim margin. Election commission results showed President Ali Bongo Ondimba beat opposition contender Jean Ping in Gabon's Aug. 27 presidential vote by 1.57 percentage points. Clashes quickly broke out in this oil-rich Central African country after the results were announced last week, with opposition supporters claiming fraud and burning buildings and looting stores. Ping on Friday declared himself the rightful winner of the vote. FILE - In this Thursday Sept. 1, 2016 file photo, Gabonese Police stand guard on a barricade following an election protest in Libreville, Gabon. Post election violence in Gabon has killed between 50 and 100 people, the opposition presidential candidate said Tuesday, Sept. 6, 2016, a toll much higher than the government's count of three in days of violent demonstrations against the president's re-election. ( AP Photo/Joel Bouopda, File) The EU observer commission said in addition to not having full access to all districts within Bongo's stronghold Haut-Ogooue province, voter turnout there appeared inflated. According to the electoral commission, there was a 99.93 percent turnout in that province, with 95 percent voting in favor of Bongo. The EU noted that such a number means only 47 people in the area wouldn't have voted. "An analysis of the number of non-voters and blank and spoiled ballots reveals an obvious anomaly in the final results," it said, adding that confidence in the results is compromised. Other provinces showed on average a 48 percent voter turnout, it said. "In order to restore the confidence of Gabon, I reiterate my call on the Gabonese authorities to publish the poll results by polling station," said EU observation chief Mariya Gabriel. The opposition party must legally file any complaints by Thursday, eight days after the announcement of the results. There is worry that could also be a flashpoint for the oil-rich country. Post-election violence in Gabon has killed between 50 and 100 people, the opposition presidential candidate said Tuesday, a toll much higher than the government's count of three in days of violent demonstrations against the president's re-election. It is difficult to independently verify reports of deaths, as the internet has been shut off since Aug. 31. International pressure is growing on Gabon's government to show transparency in the vote results, with French Prime Minister Manuel Valls on Tuesday telling RTL radio that "common sense would command a recount of the ballots. " U.S. and France have also called on the government to publish results by individual polling stations. Gabon's justice minister resigned Monday over the government's refusal to recount the ballots, as Ping has demanded. The African Union has offered to help find a solution to the crisis. On Tuesday, Ping told France 24 the death toll was far higher than the three that Interior Minister Pacome Moubelet Boubeya mentioned Monday. Boubeya also said 105 were injured in the postelection violence, with security forces detaining 800 people in the capital, Libreville, and 400 in other areas. The opposition's estimate of 50 to 100 killed in the protests is based on reports from residents around the country, Ping's spokesman, Jean Gaspard Ntoutoume Ayi, told The Associated Press. "It is clear that the government is hiding the true toll," Ntoutoume Ayi said. Bongo's re-election would extend a family dynasty in power since the 1960s. He was elected in 2009 after the death of his father, longtime ruler Omar Bongo, and protests followed. ___ Security officer for USVI governor accused of drug smuggling CHARLOTTE AMALIE, U.S. Virgin Islands (AP) A security officer for the governor of the U.S. Virgin Islands has been charged with attempting to smuggle 21 kilograms (48 pounds) of cocaine aboard a commercial plane bound for South Florida. The local U.S. Attorney's Office said Monday that 37-year-old Neal Chesterfield used his credentials to bypass screening as he prepared to board a flight Saturday from St. Thomas. Officials said that they found the drugs in his carry-on luggage and that they also seized more than $26,000 in cash from his computer bag. Police: 3 people found slain inside S. Florida house LAUDERHILL, Fla. (AP) Police are investigating the deaths of three people found slain inside a South Florida house. Lauderhill Lt. Greg Solowsky told the Sun-Sentinel (http://bit.ly/2c7mTPY) that a 911 call reporting the triple homicide came in at 3:08 p.m. Monday. He said it was unclear how long the bodies had been in the home. Police did not release the victims' names, ages or genders or the manners in which they were killed. Solowsky says police have not determined how many suspects are involved or the motive for "this heinous act." Police are expected to remain at the crime scene into the night. Lauderhill is located about 6 miles northwest of Fort Lauderdale. ___ Eastern gorillas listed as one step from extinction Eastern gorillas are sliding towards extinction, conservationists have warned as the primates were classed as critically endangered. The gorillas found in East Africa have seen their fortunes worsen as a result of illegal hunting, with their status on the latest global Red List of Threatened Species changed from endangered to critically endangered - just one step away from extinction. It means four out of the world's six great apes - humans' nearest relatives - are now critically endangered, according to the Red List produced by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). Eastern gorillas are sliding towards extinction, conservationists have warned (IUCN) Plains zebras have also declined by almost a quarter in the past 14 years as a result of illegal hunting and are now "near threatened" on the latest Red List update. But there is better news elsewhere in the animal kingdom with one of the flagship species of conservation, giant pandas, seeing their status improve from "endangered" to "vulnerable", a lower category of risk. The population has grown as a result of Chinese government efforts to conserve the species, with effective measures to protect and recreate forests, the IUCN said. But it warned climate change was predicted to wipe out more than a third (35%) of the panda's bamboo habitat, which could reverse the gains made in the last two decades. Populations of eastern gorillas, found in Rwanda, Uganda, and eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), have nosedived in the past 20 years by more than 70%. One of the two subspecies, the Grauer's gorilla which is only found in eastern DRC, has lost 77% of its population since 1994, with numbers falling from 16,900 to just 3,800 in 2015, the conservationists said. The key threat to Grauer's gorillas is hunting, even though killing or capture of great apes is illegal. The second subspecies, the mountain gorilla, which is found in the volcanic mountains which border Rwanda, Uganda and DRC and in a nearby area southwestern Uganda, has fared better and its numbers have increased to around 880 individuals. Inger Andersen, IUCN director general, said: "To see the eastern gorilla - one of our closest cousins - slide towards extinction is truly distressing. "We live in a time of tremendous change and each IUCN Red List update makes us realise just how quickly the global extinction crisis is escalating. "Conservation action does work and we have increasing evidence of it. It is our responsibility to enhance our efforts to turn the tide and protect the future of our planet." Among the great apes, the eastern gorilla, western gorilla, Bornean orangutan and Sumatran orangutan are now listed as critically endangered, while the chimpanzee and bonobo are both endangered. Elsewhere on the Red List, 87% of the 415 plants only found in Hawaii which have been assessed for the Red List so far are endangered, while Vietnam's psychedelic rock gecko has been listed as endangered. Along with the giant panda, conservation successes include boosting populations of Tibetan antelopes, and the fortunes of the greater stick-nest rat and the bridled nailtail wallaby which are both found in Australia. Conservation charity WWF, whose symbol is the giant panda, described the results for the animals as "hugely encouraging". Glyn Davies, executive director of global programmes at WWF-UK, said: "It is a significant conservation success following years of enormous efforts on the part of the Chinese Government, communities and NGOs. "This is a cause for celebration and proves that a united approach can bring a substantial difference to threatened species, even at a time of great economic growth in China." But he warned the success needed to be placed in the wider context of a 52% average decline in populations of mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians and fish around the globe between 1970 and 2010. "We ignore the decline of species at our peril - as they are the barometer that reveals the impact we are having on the planet that sustains us. "We need urgent action to ensure that global temperature rises caused by human activity are limited to well below 2 degrees C, that natural habitats are protected and that we consume only as many resources as the Earth can replenish," he said. Rafael Nadal dumped out of US Open by Lucas Pouille in five-set thriller Rafael Nadal crashed out of the US Open as the Spaniard lost a five-set thriller to France's Lucas Pouille in the fourth round at Flushing Meadows. Nadal saved three match points in a pulsating final-set tie-break, but could not avert the fourth as Pouille triumphed 6-1 2-6 6-4 3-6 7-6 (8/6). The 14-time major champion has now failed to go past the fourth round in his last five grand slams, while Pouille advances to meet fellow Frenchman Gael Monfils in the quarter-finals. Rafael Nadal was knocked out of the US Open by Lucas Pouille on Sunday night (AP) Nadal led by 4-2 and a break in the deciding set in Arthur Ashe Stadium but Pouille broke back, winning four out of the next six games to force a tie-break. The 22-year-old then pulled 6-3 clear to open up three match points but, while Nadal saved them all, he then missed a simple forehand and Pouille pounced to snatch a momentous victory. "It took everything," Pouille said on court afterwards. "It is my first match on the centre court against Rafa. I couldn't dream better than this. "With three match points I thought, 'you are going to win this one'. At 6-6, I was not the same. Honestly I am the most happy in this tournament. "It is never over until the last point. I was a break down in the fifth, I came back. It is never finished until the last point is over." For Nadal, this is another crushing blow given the world number five arrived in New York buoyed after an impressive run at the Olympics. A niggling wrist problem, however, had not completely healed in Rio and his elusive 15th major title, to add to the last he won at the 2014 French Open, appears ever further away. The 30-year-old also fell victim to an inspired Pouille performance, the talented world number 25 unleashing a relentless display of power to record the biggest win of his career. "I need something else," Nadal said. "I need something more that was not there today. I'm going to keep working to try to find. "But, yes, it was a very, very close match where anything could happen. I just congratulate the opponent that probably he played with better decisions than me the last couple of points. "Mental or physical doesn't matter. I am out of the tournament. Physical, for sure, no. I fight till the end. Of course it was not a physical thing. "It was not a mental thing. It was sport and in sport you lose or you win. The opponent wants to win the same, like you." Nadal has enjoyed greater success away from the grand slams this year but he rejected the suggestion he is struggling to cope with the pressure. "After winning 14 and being in semi-finals a lot of times, you feel that's pressure?" Nadal said. "I'm 30 years old. After having the career that I have, it is not a question of pressure." Pouille has now won three five-set matches in a row at the US Open after coming from behind to beat both Spain's Roberto Bautista Agut and Swiss qualifier Marco Chiudinelli. The Frenchman also revealed how a recent practice session with Nadal helped him adjust his tactics ahead of the match. "During the practice it was 6-1 6-3 for him. I was not confident before the match." Pouille said. "He was playing very close to the baseline during the practice. If my return was not perfect, then he was going with the forehand and almost did only winners. "So today I decided to be far from the baseline to hit the ball hard and try to then come closer. I think that was the good choice." Novak Djokovic booked his place in the quarter-finals with a straight-sets win over Britain's Kyle Edmund. Djokovic will now face France's Jo-Wilfried Tsonga. Schoolgirl Paige Doherty, 15, murdered in 'frenzied' attack by deli owner A sandwich shop owner is facing a life sentence after carrying out a "frenzied" knife attack on a teenage customer. Paige Doherty, 15, had stopped for a breakfast roll on the way to her hairdressing job when she was stabbed repeatedly by John Leathem in Clydebank, West Dunbartonshire, on March 19. First offender Leathem, 32, carried out the attack in the back office of Delicious Deli on the town's Fleming Avenue, apparently after a short exchange about a job. The body of Paige Doherty, 15, was found in Clydebank in March (PA/Police Scotland) CCTV footage showed him carrying Paige's body out of the shop in a bin bag and putting it in the boot of his car. Two days later a member of the public discovered her remains dumped in nearby woodland. A post-mortem examination recorded 61 stab wounds, mainly to her head and neck, and 85 further cuts the teenager is thought to have suffered as she tried to fight off her attacker. Leathem admitted murder at the High Court in Glasgow, where judge Lady Rae told the married father-of-two: "This was a savage, frenzied attack on a child." Paige, described by her grandmother as a "kind and selfless person and all-round good girl", was employed part-time at a hairdressers in Kirkintilloch, East Dunbartonshire. She was last seen entering Delicious Deli at 8.21am, where a friend she stayed with the night before said she planned to pick up a roll before getting the bus to work. Ten minutes later neighbouring business owners noticed the shop's shutters were down - something they described as "highly unusual". Leathem was later captured on CCTV leaving his shop to buy anti-bacterial wipes, bin bags and bleach, and collect his car from his nearby home, in a bid to cover up the crime. He is understood to have stored Paige's body in a shed at his nearby home over the weekend before driving to a wooded area off the A82 and dumping her body on the morning of Monday March 21. The shop owner said he knew of Paige through her mother, who had told him that her daughter was unhappy with her work placement at the hairdresser's. Leathem claims he told the teenager that he was looking for an assistant to help in the shop and the pair went into the office so he could take some details from her. Because she was a month shy of her 16th birthday, he said he told her he would have to speak to her mother, and also explained there were other candidates for the job. Leathem claims Paige responded: "I thought I was getting a job" before adding "I'll just say you touched me", the court heard. Defence counsel Ian Duguid QC, setting out the shop owner's version of events, said he stood up suddenly and knocked the chair he was sitting on backwards to the floor. Paige is said to have stood up and started screaming, and the shop owner responded by grabbing a knife from the top of a nearby cabinet and stabbing her. The killing was described as a " spontaneous, gross overreaction" by Mr Duguid, who said there had been some discussion about whether it could be linked to events involving a close relative of Leathem. The court heard the relation had faced difficulties such as finding a job after being convicted of a sexual offence a number of years ago. Before Paige's murder, Mr Duguid said Leathem had been "an ordinary member of the community". Paige's family said they will never get over what happened to the teenager. The court heard how her mother Pamela Munro hears her daughter's screams in her nightmares and s tepfather Andrew said they could not get out of their heads "the terror that she must have experienced". Detective Superintendent Duncan Sloan said: " Paige's untimely death shocked a community to its core, particularly as the man responsible was one of them. "The support from the local community has been much appreciated and I hope that Paige's family can take some comfort from the result of the court proceedings." Ex-Manchester United steward accused of imam's murder denies supporting IS A former Manchester United steward accused of murdering an imam has told a jury he is not an IS supporter. Mohammed Hussain Syeedy, 21, is said to have played a key role in helping another man to bludgeon to death Jalal Uddin, 71, because they considered he was practising black magic. The pair allegedly developed a hatred of Mr Uddin because he used a form of healing involving amulets, known as taweez, which are said to bring good fortune. Mohammed Hussain Syeedy is accused of playing a key role in helping another man murder Jalal Uddin, 71 (Greater Manchester Police/PA) Manchester Crown Court has heard that IS disapprove of the practice and believe those who regularly engage in it should be killed. Giving evidence, Syeedy, who had worked part-time at Old Trafford, said he did not hold any political views and was not a follower of IS. He said: "I certainly do not sympathise with Isis. I do not support any of their ideologies or their ways and their actions. "I think what they are doing is absolutely wrong, I don't agree with innocent people dying. "I don't agree with what Isis are doing all around the world. " The Rochdale-born engineering student explained he was involved in various charities to help needy people worldwide and had travelled to Syria as part of a convoy to deliver ambulances and medical aid. He said he was also a member of a number of local youth groups and had delivered food parcels to deprived refugees in the area. The Crown said Syeedy intentionally assisted and encouraged Mohammed Kadir, 24, to attack Mr Uddin in a children's play area in Rochdale, Greater Manchester, on the evening of February 18. Mr Uddin suffered multiple injuries to his head and face in the attack, thought to have involved a hammer, in South Street, after he visited the nearby Jalalia Mosque for evening prayers and a friend's house for a meal. Kadir, of Chamber Road, Oldham, boarded a flight three days later from Manchester to Copenhagen in Denmark followed by a connecting flight to Istanbul. His whereabouts are unknown although it is thought he could have travelled to Syria, the jury has previously been told. Syeedy agreed with his barrister, Icah Peart QC, that on the evidence it appeared Kadir was responsible for the murder. He told the jury that he did not consider him a friend but "just a guy I worked with". He learned that Kadir had some "wacky ideologies" and colleagues at the Rochdale takeway where they worked would "take the mick". Syeedy said: "They were saying that he supports Isis and he had weird images and videos on his Facebook page. "He would never share his views. He would never openly say anything." He explained he was driving the pair around Rochdale on the night of the murder after he arranged to meet up with Kadir to find out why he was not regularly attending a study circle that Syeedy had help set up. Syeedy said: "It looked like he got his views from the internet so I thought that if he could come to the class he would get more of an idea what Islam is about. He would get a better picture of Islam, not just how Isis portray Islam." Syeedy, of Ramsay Street, Rochdale, denies murder. In August 2015, Syeedy said he became aware that Mr Uddin was practising Ruqya healing in which taweez were given to members of the community. He said he did not agree with its use but would not take the law into his own hands to stop someone practising. Syeedy said: "It is up to God to punish the person and if they are doing right it is up to God to reward them." He said his younger brother had found a book of taweez while cleaning at the Jalalia Mosque and it had been passed to his friend, who later ripped it up and then threw it in a river because it was considered potentially dangerous. He said the book, which had Mr Uddin's name on the front, contained images which he thought were "inappropriate" and not in accordance with the teachings of Islam. Among the images were private parts with attached eyes, hands and legs, he said. He said he agreed with a plan hatched among his friends to try to deport Mr Uddin, who was an illegal overstayer in the UK. One of his friends rang the Immigration Service to report him but was told they needed a photograph and address of the person, which they did not have, he said. Syeedy said he was told to "keep an eye" on Mr Uddin to see where he lived. A further idea was to hold a seminar to inform the community about what Mr Uddin was practising, said the defendant. He said: "We wanted to make the community aware. That was my main focus. "I was kind of looking forward to organising a seminar so at least people are aware and know what was happening with this taweez, and they can make their own judgment as to whether they wanted to use it or not." Asked if he felt the need to resort to physical violence against Mr Uddin, he told his barrister: "I would never use aggression or violence. I have never spoken to any member of the public in a bad manner, never mind violence." Polish in UK 'deserve to be protected', Warsaw ministers tell counterparts Hardworking Poles living in the UK must be protected from hate crimes, Polish foreign minister Witold Waszczykowski said after meeting with senior cabinet members in response to a wave of post-Brexit violence. Mr Waszczykowski and Poland's home affairs minister Mariusz Blaszczak met their British counterparts Boris Johnson and Amber Rudd following the series of "unjustified attacks" against people of Polish origin in the UK after the "very heated" campaign preceding the country's vote to leave the European Union (EU). These include the killing of Polish man Arkadiusz Jozwik in Harlow, Essex, and the physical assault of two Polish men within hours of a vigil for Mr Jozwik. People attend a vigil in Harlow after the death of a Polish man in a possible hate crime The Polish Embassy in London said its consuls have intervened 15 times in recent weeks over reports of xenophobic incidents. Mr Waszczykowski said: "Once again I would like to reiterate: the Polish community, the overwhelming majority of them are people who are hardworking, intelligent, smart. "They are contributing to the society, to the community, to the economy, they are paying taxes - they deserve to be protected." In a meeting on Monday evening which lasted over one hour, the ministers discussed the steps that need to be taken to provide security for Poles living in the UK. The Polish ministers said they were grateful that Prime Minister Theresa May, Mr Johnson and Ms Rudd had condemned the attacks. They added they were confident the recent spate of violence was "an original phenomenon" that would not be repeated. There will be a meeting on Tuesday between the Polish and Essex police in Essex, they said. During the meeting, Mr Johnson and Ms Rudd said they would be looking very closely at the incidents, "which we treat as a very good sign for the future", Mr Blaszczak said. The Polish ministers offered help from Polish police to assist UK officers in communicating with Polish communities, and suggested educational programmes about the contributions of Polish migrants. Mr Blaszczak said: "What we want to achieve is to make sure that that investigation is effective and perpetrators of that tragedy are brought to justice." Mr Waszczykowski said: "We are here not to criticise, not to blame, not to accuse. We are here to find the facts, to find the reasons why it happened and we are here to better solve the problems." Asked if the Polish government regretted its role during the renegotiation over Britain's place in the EU, he said: " The deal which was accepted by the British side in February, it was satisfactory, so we shouldn't be blamed for this. "The result of the referendum was a great surprise for the whole of society and of course the government, so once again, we shouldn't be blamed, we Europeans, for the lack of good result in the referendum." A Foreign Office spokeswoman said: "The Foreign Secretary, Boris Johnson, offered his condolences for the tragic death of Arkadiusz Jozwik. Brexit Secretary's EU border controls comments 'his view' says No 10 Theresa May has distanced herself from Brexit Secretary David Davis's suggestion that it is "very improbable" the UK can regain control over its own borders while remaining part of the European single market. Despite the comment being made on Monday from the despatch box in the Commons - where ministers are expected to speak on behalf of the Government - the Prime Minister's spokeswoman said Mr Davis was expressing a personal opinion rather than official policy. And she said Mrs May maintained an "open mind" about what could be secured from negotiations with the remaining 27 member states under Article 50 of the European Union treaties, and planned to be "ambitious" in her stance. Theresa May ruled out the points-based immigration policy championed by Brexit campaigners The spokeswoman also played down reports that EU migrants will need to secure a job before they are allowed to move to Britain under post-Brexit arrangements, insisting that the Government was looking at "various" options for imposing additional controls. In his first update to the House of Commons on progress in preparing for withdrawal from the EU, Mr Davis was asked whether the UK could remain a member of the single market - something which is regarded as vital by many members of the business community, who fear tariffs on exported goods and services if Britain is excluded. He responded: "This Government is looking at every option. The simple truth is, if a requirement of membership is giving up control of our borders, I think that makes it very improbable." Asked at a regular Westminster media briefing whether Mrs May agreed with Mr Davis's assessment, the PM's spokeswoman said: "He is setting out his view - his view - that it is improbable. The work on this is ongoing. "The PM wants to have the work under way. She recognises that people have differing views. That's why we need to do the work that there is. All of this is going to have to be negotiated with our European partners, but we should go after the best deal we can." Asked whether the fact that Mr Davis was speaking at the despatch box meant his comments reflected Government policy, the spokeswoman said: "Saying something is probable or improbable I don't think is necessarily a policy." The spokeswoman said that, in a press conference in China on Monday, Mrs May had made clear that she was approaching the negotiations "with an open mind and with a view that we shouldn't be taking a model off the shelf, we should be working through what the issues are for Britain, what we want from this relationship and addressing it". Mrs May made clear the UK will be "ambitious" in negotiations, said the spokeswoman, adding: "This is a negotiation. It's not always the right approach to start putting all your cards on the table at the start." During her visit to China, the Prime Minister ruled out the introduction of an Australian-style points-based system for immigration policy, saying it was ''not a silver bullet'' to reduce the numbers coming to the UK. But her spokeswoman poured cold water on suggestions that she has instead plumped for a work permit system which would require EU nationals to secure a job offer before coming to settle in the UK. Asked about the reports, the spokeswoman said: "I would point you to what the Prime Minister has said, which is that a clear message from the referendum was that British people want to have the ability to control migration from the EU into the UK, that there are various ways in which you can do that, and it's something that the Government is looking at at the moment and will be coming forward in due course with proposals. "Work is under way at the moment to look at various ways." Immigration was not on the agenda at a meeting of Cabinet which Mrs May chaired in 10 Downing Street immediately after returning from China early on Tuesday morning. Labour MP Pat McFadden, commenting on behalf of the Open Britain campaign, said: "David Davis's statement didn't look good yesterday and it looks even worse today. "It is right that Number 10 should not give up on membership of the single market and no surprise that they had to slap down Mr Davis after his first public outing yesterday. "These negotiations should not begin by voluntarily giving up membership of the single market which, as we have seen in statements from the Japanese Government this week, helps secure valuable investment and jobs in the UK. "The Government must not let their immigration policy dictate their economic and trade policy - both must be considered together in the upcoming talks with the EU." Scottish National Party Europe spokesman Stephen Gethins said that the Government was " descending into farce" over Brexit and called for ministers urgently to provide "a clear and concise plan". "It is ridiculous that after a full two months waiting to get even the barest bones of what their Brexit plans are, ministers are still 'just expressing opinions'," said Mr Gethins. "If the Brexit Secretary doesn't know what Government policy on Brexit is, then who does? ''There is clearly utter confusion at the heart of the UK Government and on a matter so desperately important - with businesses and people across the UK as a whole looking for some degree of clarity - that is deeply worrying." Meanwhile, International Trade Secretary Liam Fox announced the creation of a UK-Australia working group to focus on "scoping out" a free trade agreement (FTA) between the two countries. It comes after Australian prime minister Malcolm Turnbull called for a trade deal to be set up as a matter of urgency. In a joint statement with Australian trade minister Steven Ciobo, Dr Fox said the working group of senior officials will meet twice a year, with the first meeting in early 2017 in Australia. Its agenda will also include "trade policy issues of mutual interest" such as World Trade Organisation processes and potential new trade blocs including other countries. Under-fire Universal Credit reform could now be 'on right track', says report Universal Credit has been "turned around from the brink of disaster" and "may eventually work", according to a new report. The Government's flagship welfare reform policy which aims to replace a series of individual benefits with a single monthly payment has been widely criticised over its delayed roll out and cost. But a report from the Institute for Government (IFG) concludes that the programme is now on the right track. DWP office in London Universal Credit was savaged by the National Audit Office in 2013. It said the programme had suffered from weak management and poor governance. IFG senior research fellow Nicholas Timmins argues that it is now heading in the right direction. "It is far too soon to tell whether Universal Credit will finally do the business," he said. "There are elements of the policy that are still not entirely clear and others that may well need changing. "Huge challenges remain - not just taking on new claims but transferring the many millions on existing benefits and tax credits, including some of the most vulnerable on Employment and Support Allowance. Its generosity has repeatedly been cut. "But the lessons from how it has been turned around from the brink of disaster to something that may eventually work could prove valuable for other government projects. "And crucially, it now has a timetable that may finally prove realistic." Thousands of people are now receiving Universal Credit but the transfer of all existing benefits claimants on to the new system is not expected to be completed until 2022 - later than originally planned. Emma Norris, IFG programme director, said the Universal Credit programme "underlines the importance of thorough planning". She said: "It also demonstrates the importance of having enough capacity to deliver - when Universal Credit began, the Department for Work and Pensions had 12 other major change programmes on its books and staff numbers were being reduced. "And finally, it shows the importance of policy, operational and technical people working together from the very start. Policies can't be created in a vacuum." Minister for welfare reform Lord Freud said: "As this report acknowledges, the old welfare system was failing too many people. That's why we introduced Universal Credit - it's a transformational reform, which is fundamentally changing welfare for the better. Embattled Keith Vaz quits Commons committee role after 'escort' scandal Keith Vaz has quit as head of one of the most influential House of Commons committees after becoming embroiled in a rent boy scandal. The high profile MP said "those who hold others to account must themselves be accountable" as he announced his resignation. Mr Vaz had come under increasing pressure following claims that he paid two male escorts he met at a flat he owns near his family home in north London last month. Keith Vaz has quit as chairman of the House of Commons Home Affairs Select Committee The 59-year-old Leicester East MP has said he has referred the allegations to his solicitor as he stood down as chairman of the Home Affairs committee. He said: "It is in the best interest of the Home Affairs Select Committee that its important work can be conducted without any distractions whatsoever. I am genuinely sorry that recent events make it impossible for this to happen if I remain chair. "I have always been passionate about select committees, having served as either chair or member for half of my time in Parliament. The integrity of the select committee system matters to me. Those who hold others to account, must themselves be accountable." He insisted he was "immeasurably proud" of the work the committee has carried out over the last nine years, adding that he is "privileged to have been the longest serving chair of this committee". The announcement came after the Mirror newspaper published new transcripts of a recording of the MP talking with the two escorts, which it said scotched suggestions that he was the victim of a "press sting". According to the paper, the tape showed Mr Vaz telling one of the men to treat the other as his "bitch" and discussing having sex. Mr Vaz said the decision to resign and stand aside immediately from the committee's business was "my decision, and mine alone" and "my first consideration has been the effect of recent events on my family". He had faced claims that the committee's investigations into issues like prostitution or drugs could be undermined if he remained as chairman. Mr Vaz was reported as saying that he is not intending to leave his post on Labour's National Executive Committee. Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn said the MP's future on the party's ruling body would be discussed when it meets. He said: "He's made his decision because he felt that to carry on in the circumstances that he is now involved in would detract from the work of the Home Affairs Committee and so he has made that decision for himself." Conservative Tim Loughton, who takes over as interim leader of the committee, said Mr Vaz gave a "very frank" account to members about what had happened. "The committee listened, I think, in sadness to what Keith had to say and with a good deal of respect," he said. "Keith has clearly acted in the best interests of the Home Affairs Select Committee and the important work that we do. "With sadness we all accepted that that was the appropriate course of action that he has taken and we also appreciate the many challenges facing him personally and his family." Asked whether the Prime Minister thought he had done the right thing, Theresa May's official spokeswoman said: "It is a decision for him." Speaker John Bercow was seen giving Mr Vaz a heartfelt pat on the back during a chat in the Commons. The pair spoke for a few minutes during a division next to the speaker's chair, with Mr Bercow leaning over to squeeze Mr Vaz's wrist. The MP will formally hand in his notice as chairman of the Home Affairs Select Committee to Mr Bercow. Take students out of immigration figures, says think-tank Students should be excluded from the Government's immigration target, according to a think-tank. The Institute for Public Policy Research said the number of students coming to the UK is falling in part because of efforts to cut net migration to the tens of thousands. It called for ministers to split the net migration target into individual components, such as workers and family migrants, and set aims for each flow. Long-term immigration to the UK for study has fallen to the lowest estimated level since 2007 Students should be classed as temporary rather than permanent migrants, and should not be subject to a target, according to the IPPR. The think-tank also claimed data suggests the Government could be relying on an overestimate of the number of non-EU students who stay on in the UK after completing their studies to inform policy. Its report said: "This means that Government policy could be focused on driving out tens of thousands of people who may no longer be in the UK. The estimate the Government uses is not reliable enough to guide policy." Marley Morris, research fellow at the IPPR, said: "Our research suggests that many of the students they are targeting may be phantom students who are no longer in the country. "Following the Brexit vote the Government should be doing all it can to secure investment in the UK. "But its current self-destructive policy is deterring genuine international students and putting the billions they bring to the UK at real risk." The IPPR also recommended that the Government draw up a 10-year plan for expanding the international education sector, and appoint a minister for international education. Figures released last month showed that, in the year ending in March, long-term immigration to the UK for study fell to the lowest estimated level since 2007. A Home Office spokesman said: "We continue to welcome the brightest and best to our world-class institutions. Canada open to tweaking rules to spur China investment -government MP TORONTO, Sept 4 (Reuters) - Canada's Liberal government is open to the idea of fostering better trade ties with China by easing foreign investment restrictions, a senior legislator said on a national political talk show broadcast on Sunday. "It's something we would consider amongst a number of different things," David Lametti, parliamentary secretary to International Trade Minister Chrystia Freeland, said on CTV's "Question Period." Canada's former Conservative government clamped down on takeover bids for energy companies by foreign state-owned enterprises. The restriction came after China's CNOOC Ltd made a bid for Calgary-based Nexen in 2012, prompting fears of external control of the country's oil reserves. Lametti said the government has not formally explored changing the rules, but is open to all proposals that might enhance trade. He did not give details or a timeline, but said Canada needs to rebuild its relationship with China before starting to consider trade matters. Global Affairs Canada, a government department which oversees international trade, did not immediately respond to a request for comment. CNOOC's bid for Nexen had prompted unrest among legislators in former Prime Minister Stephen Harper's Conservative Party. While it was approved, the Canadian government then placed heavy restrictions on foreign investment, saying takeover bids will in the future be approved only on an "exceptional basis." Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau made an official visit to China last week, seeking deeper ties with the country. His government announced the signing of 56 deals with China worth more than C$1.2 billion ($915 million). South Sudan agrees to more U.N. troops in bid to avoid arms embargo By Michelle Nichols JUBA, Sept 4 (Reuters) - The government of South Sudan agreed on Sunday to accept 4,000 extra peacekeepers in a bid to avoid an arms embargo threatened by the United Nations Security Council, but said the details of the deployment were still being discussed. The announcement came after a meeting in the South Sudanese capital, Juba, between President Salva Kiir and the U.N. Security Council, led by U.S. Ambassador Samantha Power. The 15-member council last month authorized the deployment of a 4,000-strong regional protection force as part of the U.N. peacekeeping mission already on the ground, known as UNMISS. It threatened to consider an arms embargo if Kiir's government did not cooperate. "To improve the security situation the Transitional Government of National Unity gave its consent to the deployment, as part of UNMISS, of the regional protection force," the South Sudanese government and the Security Council said in a joint communique. The countries contributing troops to the force, UNMISS and the government would "continue to work through the modalities of deployment," the statement said. East African regional bloc IGAD pushed for a regional protection force and has pledged to provide the troops. South Sudan Minister of Cabinet Affairs, Martin Elia Lomoro, said the government had no objection to who contributes soldiers. The council authorized the new force following several days of heavy fighting involving tanks and helicopters in Juba in July between troops loyal to Kiir and those backing former Vice President Riek Machar. The violence raised fears of a return to full scale civil war in the world's newest nation. In the resolution, the council pledged to discuss imposing a possible arms embargo on South Sudan if U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon reports back in mid-September that the government was not cooperating on the force and was obstructing the work of peacekeepers on the ground. "The Transitional Government of National Unity commits to permit free movement to UNMISS in conformity with its mandate, including to protect civilians," according to the statement on Sunday. The government and the peacekeeping force will come up with "concrete steps to remove impediments to UNMISS' ability to implement its mandate." U.N. peacekeepers have been deployed in South Sudan since 2011, when the country gained independence from Sudan. Political rivalry between Kiir and Machar sparked a civil war in 2013, but while the pair signed a shaky peace deal a year ago, fighting has continued and Machar fled the country after the eruption of violence in July. "The challenge now is to make sure that a piece of paper becomes operationalized," Power told reporters after meeting Kiir. "Now we have to turn it into steps to improve life for people in great need." Philippines worried, says more Chinese boats spotted at disputed shoal By Manuel Mogato VIENTIANE, Sept 4 (Reuters) - The Philippines expressed "grave concern" on Sunday and demanded an explanation from China's ambassador over what it said was an increasing number of Chinese boats near the disputed Scarborough Shoal in the South China Sea. A Philippines air force plane flew over the rocky outcrop on Saturday and spotted more boats than usual in a flotilla China has maintained since seizing the shoal after a tense standoff in 2012, Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana said. "There were four Chinese coastguard ships and six other vessels, including blue-coloured barges, around Scarborough Shoal," he said in a text message sent to reporters. "The presence of many ships other than coastguard in the area is a cause of grave concern." China's embassy in Manila could not be reached for comment. Although the shoal is merely a few rocks poking above the sea, it is important to the Philippines because of its tranquil waters and rich stocks of fish. Manila says China's blockade of the shoal is a violation of international law. The dispute has become more significant since the Permanent Court of Arbitration ruled on July 12 that no one country had sovereign rights over activity in the Scarborough Shoal, a traditional fishing ground for Chinese, Filipino and Vietnamese. China has refused to recognise the ruling and the latest comment from the Philippines could cause a stir ahead of a regional summit in Laos starting on Tuesday, where leaders of Southeast Asian states as well as China, Japan and United States will meet. Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte wants China to abide by the ruling but has pledged not to raise the issue during the summit. He wants to smooth the way for bilateral negotiations and last month sent former President Fidel Ramos as his special envoy to meet Chinese representatives in Hong Kong. Lorenzana said Beijing had earlier this year tried to send dredging barges to the shoal, but there was no sign of any reclamation activity so far. China previously used barges to dredge sand for its seven man-made islands in the Spratlys. "We don't know yet if those barges are precursors of future dredging operations," he said. "If they try to construct anything in Scarborough it will have far-reaching adverse effect on the security situation." China maintains claims to almost the entire South China Sea, which is a vital waterway for global trade. Malaysia, the Philippines, Taiwan, Brunei and Vietnam have competing jurisdictional claims. A U.S. State Department spokesman said on Sunday the United States was monitoring the situation and encouraged "all sides to exercise restraint and take practical steps to lower tensions." U.S. President Barack Obama pressed his Chinese counterpart, Xi Jinping, on Saturday on territorial disputes in the South China Sea, urging Beijing to uphold its legal obligations and stressing the United States' commitments to its regional allies. China's Henan to close 62.5 mln T of coal capacity by 2018 -Xinhua SHANGHAI, Sept 5 (Reuters) - Central China's Henan province will cut annual coal capacity by 62.54 million tonnes and crude steel by 2.4 million tonnes over the 2016-2018 period as part of efforts to tackle nationwide supply gluts in the sectors, Xinhua news agency reported. China has vowed to bring total coal capacity down by as much as 500 million tonnes in the coming three to five years, and also plans to close 100-150 million tonnes of steel production by the end of 2020 in a bid to prop up prices and curb widespread losses in the two industries. The Henan provincial government said in an overcapacity "roadmap" that it would work to dispose of "zombie enterprises", promote industry restructuring and "improve the effective supply capability and overall competitiveness of the steel and coal sectors", Xinhua reported at the weekend. China is estimated to have a coal capacity surplus of around 2 billion tonnes and a steel capacity surplus of 300 million tonnes. Henan province produced 135.5 million tonnes of coal in 2015, down 8 percent on the year and accounting for 3.7 percent of the country's total output. Provincial steel output reached 28.97 million tonnes, up 0.5 percent on the year and amounting to 3.6 percent of the national total. South Korea says N.Korea's nuclear test, missiles pose challenge to China ties SEOUL, Sept 5 (Reuters) - South Korean President Park Geun-hye said at a summit meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping on Monday that North Korea's fourth nuclear test and missile launches posed a challenge to the South's ties with China, Yonhap news agency reported. Park said North Korea's provocations gravely damaged peace and stability on the Korean peninsula and in Northeast Asia, Yonhap said after her meeting with Xi on the sidelines of the Group of 20 major economies leaders' meeting in Hangzhou, China. China is reclusive North Korea's lone major ally. Saudi state fund plans stake in big industrial zone-source By Hadeel Al Sayegh and Andrew Torchia DUBAI, Sept 4 (Reuters) - Saudi Arabia's top sovereign wealth fund is negotiating to buy a stake in one of the kingdom's most ambitious real estate projects as Riyadh restructures the economy to cope with low oil prices, a source familiar with the plan said. The Public Investment Fund aims to invest in King Abdullah Economic City (KAEC) on the Red Sea coast near Jeddah, the source said. That would inject capital into the business zone, now being developed by Emaar the Economic City (EEC), a Saudi consortium affiliated with Dubai's Emaar Properties Group , developer of the Burj Khalifa, the world's tallest building. Launched in 2005, KAEC had a population of only about 5,000 people and 120 industrial tenants at the end of last year, but says it plans to grow swiftly into a full-blown metropolis. The chief executive of the city, Fahd Al Rasheed, told Reuters in January its population was projected to hit 50,000 by 2020, with an ultimate target of 2 million around 2035. Tenants now include French pharmaceutical maker Sanofi , a venture involving U.S. battery maker Johnson Controls and producers of building materials. But with economic growth slowing sharply because of cheap oil, the government wants such zones to expand much faster and focus more on industries such as tourism, medical care and education to diversify the economy beyond oil and create jobs. Under economic reforms announced in April, the government said it would work with companies developing major business zones to "revamp" them; KAEC may be the first of those cases. "What they can do is inject cash. It's no secret KAEC needs a lot of equity for this project," the source said of the PIF's plan. KAEC, EEC and the PIF declined to comment. The source, speaking on condition of anonymity because the matter is not yet public, said the PIF could either buy a stake directly in KAEC and serve as a partner to develop the project along with EEC, or take a stake in EEC itself. EEC obtained a 5 billion riyal ($1.33 billion) loan from the Saudi Ministry of Finance in 2011, which has been extended until 2026, and the source said the company had a similar amount of debt to commercial banks. An investment by the PIF in the economic city would be a step in the fund's development as one of the most important institutions in the Saudi economy, using its financial power to push projects which the government considers vital. Under the economic reforms, the government has said it will expand the PIF from 600 billion riyals to over 7 trillion riyals, by giving it assets such as ownership of state oil giant Saudi Aramco. That would make the PIF the world's biggest sovereign fund by far, on paper though not necessarily in terms of the cash it had available for investment. The PIF will invest abroad - in June, it bought a stake in U.S. ride-hailing firm Uber for $3.5 billion - but it will focus much of its money and management attention on domestic projects designed to reduce Saudi Arabia's reliance on oil exports. For example, the PIF will take over Riyadh's floundering King Abdullah Financial District and restructure the project, sources have told Reuters. It is also expected to get involved in developing a Saudi shipbuilding industry and in restructuring state firms such as utility Saudi Electricity Co. Japan's Cosmo Oil plans to triple fuel trade volume in Singapore By Florence Tan SINGAPORE, Sept 5 - Japan's Cosmo Oil expects to triple the volume of oil products it trades out of Singapore in 2016 from a year ago, pushing to expand its business beyond its tepid domestic market. Japanese refiners have increasingly been turning abroad as local appetite for oil products falters on an upsurge in fuel-efficient vehicles and as the country's population rapidly ages. Rising Japanese exports come as neighbouring China ships record volumes of oil products, feeding a glut in Asia and intensifying competition for market share among refiners. "Product trading is expected to triple against the result of 2015," Cosmo Oil President Hisashi Kobayashi told Reuters, although he declined to give the volume for last year. The company's refining operations are based in Japan, while trading is conducted through its Singapore hub. Other Cosmo Oil executives said the firm currently exports and trades a total of about 40,000 barrels per day of fuel, mainly diesel to Australia. They did not break down that figure. The glut in supply of oil products in Asia helped drive regional refining margins to five-year lows earlier this year in a blow to refiners. But Kobayashi said that cheaper prices for products churned out in Asia has stoked interest from buyers elsewhere, opening up so-called "arbitrage routes" to the Americas. "We are a refiner and a trader of products. We see arbitrage not as a threat but an opportunity," Kobayashi said in an interview ahead of an energy conference in Singapore. "We've already contacted some of the teapots in China to see if we can trade their products," he said, although he added that logistics bottlenecks may cap fuel exports from such independent refineries. The unit of Cosmo Energy Holdings is looking for storage opportunities in Asia to blend fuel and could branch out in its trading to gasoline and fuel oil in the future, executives said. The company is also considering monetizing its knowledge of refining by providing technical services to refiners internationally, they added. CAPACITY CUT Cosmo Oil operates refineries with a total crude processing capacity of 452,000 barrels per day in Japan, but that will fall to 400,000 bpd by the end of March 2017, Kobayashi said, following a government mandate to reduce excess capacity. Cosmo's No.1 crude distillation unit at its Chiba refinery will be shut in fiscal year 2018 once a pipeline to link the facility to a plant operated by TonenGeneral is complete, he said. The company expects to decide soon which of the two CDUs at its Yokkaichi plant will be shut. N.Korea missiles were medium-range, flew 1,000 km into Japan's air defence zone SEOUL, Sept 5 (Reuters) - All three ballistic missiles launched by North Korea on Monday were medium-range Rodong-class and flew about 1,000 km (600 miles), South Korea's military said. At least one of the missiles fell into Japan's Air Defence Identification Zone, a South Korean military official said by telephone. N.Korea fires three ballistic missiles as G20 leaders meet in China By Ju-min Park SEOUL, Sept 5 (Reuters) - North Korea fired three ballistic missiles into the sea off its east coast on Monday, the South Korean and U.S. militaries said, as the leaders of the Group of 20 major economies held a summit in China, the North's main diplomatic ally. The missiles were fired from a region south of the capital Pyongyang just after noon (0300 GMT) and flew about 1,000 km (600 miles), hitting Japan's air defence identification zone, South Korea's Office of the Joint Chiefs of Staff said. "We are still analysing details but this is a grave threat to our nation's security, and we express deep concern," the Japan Defence Ministry said in a statement. The launches drew immediate condemnation from the United States, which described them as "reckless," and diplomats said the U.N. Security Council will discuss them behind closed doors on Tuesday at Washington's and Tokyo's requests. The missile launches were the latest in a series by the isolated North this year in violation of U.N. Security Council resolutions, supported by China, that ban all ballistic missile-related activities by the North. Pyongyang rejects the ban as infringing its sovereign right to pursue a space programme and self defence. Shortly after the missile launches, South Korean President Park Geun-hye and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe met on the sidelines of the G20 summit and agreed to cooperate on monitoring the situation, a Japanese statement said. The South's military said the missiles were medium-range Rodong-class, launched as a show of force timed to coincide with the G20 summit. The U.S. Strategic Command said in a statement that two of the three were presumed to be "intermediate range" ballistic missiles and that the third was still being assessed. In 2014, the North fired two Rodong medium-range missiles just as Park and Abe were meeting U.S. President Barack Obama at the Hague to discuss responding to the North's arms programme. The latest missiles were launched from a region called Hwangju and came just hours after the leaders of South Korea and China met on the sidelines of the G20 summit in Hangzhou, China. South Korea's Park told Chinese President Xi Jinping that the North's fourth nuclear test and its ballistic missile launches this year threatened regional peace and posed a challenge to South Korea's ties with China, Yonhap news agency reported earlier. During the meeting, Xi reaffirmed China's commitment to realising the denuclearisation of the Korean peninsula, China's state news agency Xinhua reported on Monday. Xi also told Park that Beijing opposed the proposed deployment of a THAAD anti-missile system in South Korea, which Seoul and the United States have said is designed to counter an increasing missile threat from North Korea. Park said that a THAAD deployment would not threaten any other country's security interests and would not be needed if the North's nuclear issue was resolved, Yonhap news agency said. The United States "strongly" condemned the latest missile launches and called on North Korea to refrain from actions and rhetoric that raise tensions in the region, U.S. State Department spokesman John Kirby said in a statement. "Today's reckless launches by North Korea threaten civil aviation and maritime commerce in the region," Kirby said, saying the United States would raise its concerns at the United Nations as well as at this week's East Asia Summit in Laos. "Our commitment to the defense of our allies in the face of these threats remains ironclad," Kirby added in a reference to U.S. treaty allies South Korea and Japan. Poland - Factors to Watch Sept 5 Following are news stories, press reports and events to watch that may affect Poland's financial markets on Monday. ALL TIMES GMT (Poland: GMT + 2 hours): FINMIN ON BUDGET, RATING There will be no increases in taxes in 2017, but value added tax rates will not fall, Finance Minister Pawel Szalamacha told TVN24 private broadcaster, adding that rising tax revenues and a good situation on the labour market speak against a reduction in Poland's rating. Szalamacha said he was confident budget revenues will rise by 10 billion zlotys next year, as planned in the draft budget. FINMIN ON PEKAO The Polish government favours a purchase of UniCredit's Polish lender Bank Pekao by domestic insurer PZU but the price must be fair and has to include a premium for control, the finance minister said on Saturday. INFRASTRUCTURE TENDERS The government plans to launch tenders for the construction of railways and roads worth over 10 billion zlotys in the coming months, Rzeczpospolita daily reported without citing its sources. P4 Shareholders at Poland's No.2 mobile telecom P4 want to sell the company which is likely worth 12 billion zlotys ($3.07 billion), Puls Biznesu daily said without naming it's source. The company is co-owned by Island-based fund Novator and Greek company Olympia. P4 declined to comment. TAURON Utility Tauron is unlikely to recommend paying out a dividend in the years from 2016 until 2019 due to its investment plans, the company's Chief Executive Remigiusz Nowakowski told Parkiet newspaper. ****Reuters has not verified these stories and does not vouch for their accuracy.**** North Korean missiles likely landed 200-250 km west of Hokkaido - Japan sources TOKYO, Sept 5 (Reuters) - Three North Korean missiles launched on Monday likely landed in the sea 200 to 250 km (120-160 miles) west of Hokkaido, Japan's northern-most main island, sources at Japan's defence ministry said. They were likely to have been either Scud or Rodong-class missiles, the sources said. G20 promises to coordinate on economy, but little in way of concrete steps By Kevin Yao and Michael Martina HANGZHOU, China, Sept 6 (Reuters) - Leaders from the world's top economies broadly agreed at a summit in China on Monday to coordinate macroeconomic policies, but few concrete proposals emerged to meet growing challenges to globalisation and free trade. At the two-day gathering in the scenic Chinese city of Hangzhou, the world's most powerful leaders also agreed to oppose protectionism, with Chinese President Xi Jinping urging major economies to drive growth through innovation, not just fiscal and monetary measures. "We aim to revive growth engines of international trade and investment," Xi said in a closing statement. "We will support multilateral trade mechanisms and oppose protectionism to reverse declines in global trade." Discussions at the meeting were distracted by North Korea test-firing three medium-range ballistic missiles in a defiant reminder of the risks to global security. North Korea has tested missiles at sensitive times in the past to draw attention to its military might. But Monday's launch risked embarrassing its main ally Beijing, which has gone to extraordinary lengths to ensure a smooth summit meeting. Beijing said it hoped relevant parties would avoid taking any actions that would escalate tensions. The United States called the launch reckless, while Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe told U.S. President Barack Obama that it was unforgivable. On other fronts, the United States tried but failed to finalise a deal with Russia for a ceasefire in Syria on the sidelines of the summit. Obama and Russian President Vladimir Putin had a longer-than-expected discussion about whether, and how, they could agree on a deal, a senior U.S. administration official said. But in talks earlier on Monday, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov were unable to come to terms on a ceasefire for the second time in two weeks, although they will meet again this week. The G20 called for the formation of a global forum to take steps to address steel excess capacity and encourage adjustments, the White House said in a statement, one of the controversial issues discussed at the summit. China produces half the world's annual output of 1.6 billion tonnes of steel and has struggled to decrease its estimated 300 million tonne overcapacity, and rising prices have given companies there an incentive to boost production for export. ISOLATIONIST TREND With the summit taking place after Britain's vote in June to exit the European Union and before the U.S. presidential election in November, G20 leaders had been expected to mount a defence of free trade and globalisation and warn against isolationism. Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump, who supports protectionist trade policies, has pulled into an effective tie with Democratic rival Hillary Clinton, erasing a substantial deficit. In Germany, Chancellor Angela Merkel's party was relegated to third place behind an anti-immigrant party in a regional election on Sunday. "I'm very unsatisfied with the outcome of the election," Merkel told reporters in Hangzhou. "Obviously it has something to do with the refugee question. But I nevertheless believe the decisions made were right and we have to continue to work on them." One of the few areas where there was progress was in protecting the environment. China and the United States ratified the Paris agreement on cutting climate-warming emissions on the eve of the G20 summit, setting the stage for other countries to follow suit. In a communique issued several hours after the close of the summit, the G20 leaders warned that global growth was weaker than anticipated, with downside risks continuing, and repeated the acknowledgement that monetary policy alone could not create balanced growth. It said new challenges including terrorism and immigration complicated the global economic outlook, and that the G20 agreed use all policy tools available to drive strong and sustainable growth. For the full text of the communique, click: For highlights of leaders' comments at the summit, click: British Prime Minister Theresa May, attending her first G20 summit, said governments needed to "do more to ensure that working people really benefit from the opportunities created by free trade." "This discussion goes to the heart of how we build an economy that works for everyone." International Monetary Fund Managing Director Christine Lagarde, speaking after the summit, also said more inclusive growth was a priority in the global economy. "We need increased growth, but it must be better balanced, more sustainable, and inclusive so as to benefit all people," she said. It was the last time that Obama attended a G20 summit. His visit to Hangzhou got off to a chaotic start. There was no rolling staircase provided for Air Force One when it landed and Obama had to disembark from an exit in the plane's belly. Then, a Chinese security official blocked National Security Adviser Susan Rice on the tarmac and yelled at another U.S. official trying to help journalists get closer to Obama. China levelled responsibility at the United States and journalists for the fracas. Obama told reporters he "wouldn't over-crank the significance" of the airport events. Australian teenager gets ten years for ANZAC Day terror plot By Matt Siegel SYDNEY, Sept 5 (Reuters) - An Australian teenager who planned a terror attack which involved beheading a policeman and attaching explosives to a kangaroo at commemorations of the World War One ANZAC landings at Gallipoli was sentenced on Monday to ten years in prison. Sevdet Ramadan Besim, 19, had planned to attack police at the Melbourne ANZAC Day parade on April 25, 2015, but his scheme was uncovered when police in Britain discovered phone messages between Besim and a 15-year-old British boy. Victoria Supreme Court Justice Michael Croucher said that Besim's decision to plead guilty was a major factor in his decision to impose a ten-year, rather than 15-year, sentence. Croucher said that he had sought in his ruling to balance the need to protect the community from Besim's "evil" and "terrifying" plans against the young man's age, contrition and prospects of rehabilitation. "I accept that Mr Besim's youth and immaturity are significant mitigating factors. He was just 18 at the time of the offending and is now only 19," Croucher said, according to a transcript of the proceedings. Australia, a staunch U.S. ally, has been on heightened alert for attacks by home-grown Islamist radicals since 2014 and authorities say they have thwarted a number of plots. About 100 people have left Australia for Syria to fight alongside organisations such as Islamic State, Australia's Immigration Minister said this year. There have been several "lone wolf" assaults in Australia, including a 2014 cafe siege in Sydney that left two hostages and the gunman dead. Also in 2014, police shot dead a Melbourne teenager after he stabbed two counter-terrorism officers. Besim's sentence may have seemed harsh just a handful of years ago, but must now been understood in view of recent mass casualty attacks in Europe and the United States, said Greg Barton, a terrorism expert at Deakin University. "It has to be seen in the context of realised and attempted low-fi, lone-wolf attacks in the last two years that are fairly unprecedented," Barton told Reuters. Indonesia environment team threatened with death investigating haze By Bernadette Christina Munthe JAKARTA, Sept 5 (Reuters) - Dozens of Indonesian men, suspected of being hired by an oil palm plantation company, threatened to kill environmental investigators checking on fires on Sumatra island, the environment ministry said. The incident illustrates the difficulties Indonesia faces tackling the illegal burning of vegetation to clear land for palm oil and pulp and paper plantations that causes clouds of smoke every dry season, which at times blanket the region, raising fears for public health and air travel. The ministry said a group of up to 100 men detained seven investigators for about 12 hours on the weekend and threatened to burn them alive and dump their bodies in a river at an oil palm plantation in Rokan Hulu, Riau province. The team was following up on satellite images showing "hot spots", or suspected fires, in a concession of PT Andika Permata Sawit Lestari (APSL) oil palm plantation company. There were "strong indications" the mob was deployed by the company, the ministry said in a statement. "With this incident, the investigation of PT APSL will become our top priority," Environment Minister Siti Nurbaya said in the statement, referring to both suspected forest encroachment by the company and the detention of the team. "The environment ministry will investigate this and take strict action in accordance with the law," she said. A company official, contacted by Reuters on Monday, declined to comment. The team was released only after lengthy negotiations involving police and after they agreed to delete photographic evidence and to leave behind two vehicles and equipment. The equipment and vehicles were recovered the next day. The investigators, however, managed to retrieve video footage shot by a drone showing thousands of hectares of forest had been burned illegally in and around the APSL concession. "As far as the eye can see, an area that was once peatland has been converted into oil palm plantation," Nurbaya said. Plantation companies drain swampy peatland before planting their crops and the dried-out peat is particularly flammable and often catches fire when companies set fires to clear vegetation. More than 450 individuals have been arrested in connection with land and forest fires this year. Under Indonesian law, companies found guilty of clearing land by burning can be fined up to 10 billion rupiah ($735,000), and the management faces up to 10 years in jail. Companies that fail to control fires started elsewhere but which spread into their concession land also face punishment. Smoke from fires in Riau often drifts over nearby Singapore and Malaysia. Air pollution in Singapore rose to "unhealthy" levels late last month after a spike in fires in the area. Japan PM Abe calls for structural reforms to address steel overcapacity HANGZHOU, China, Sept 5 (Reuters) - Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe told the G20 summit on Monday that the issue of steel overcapacity should be addressed by pressing ahead with structural reforms based on market mechanisms, a senior Japanese government spokesman said. "Regarding overcapacity of steel and others, market distortion by subsidies and export credit is the fundamental problem... I would like to urge structural reforms based on market mechanisms, while maintaining transparency," Abe was quoted by Japanese Deputy Chief Cabinet Secretary Koichi Hagiuda as saying. Islamic State claims Syria blasts that kill dozens By Lisa Barrington BEIRUT, Sept 5 (Reuters) - Six explosions claimed by the Islamic State group hit government-controlled areas and a province held by a Kurdish militia in Syria on Monday, killing dozens of people, state media and a monitor said. The blasts took place in the morning in the cities of Homs and Tartous and at the entrance to a town west of Damascus, all held by the government, and in Kurdish-held areas in Qamishli and Hasaka in northeastern Syria. Islamic State's media outlet Amaq said the attacks were suicide operations targeting the Syrian government and a Kurdish security force. It issued separate statements naming some of the bombers. Syria's cabinet said the attacks were a response to the recapture on Sunday by the army and its allies of a district of Aleppo that insurgents had seized last month, reinstating a siege on rebel-held parts of the city. Islamic State is not present in Aleppo, insurgent sources say, but mainstream rebels and hardline Islamist factions both are, including Jabhat Fateh al-Sham, formally affiliated to al Qaeda until it severed ties with the jihadist movement in July. State television also reported that government jets had struck Islamic State targets near Deir al-Zor, in an area northeast of Damascus and in Suweida province, but without connecting the strikes to the morning's blasts. The turmoil underlined the complexity of a five-year civil war that has cut Syria into a patchwork of territories held by the state and an often competing array of armed factions and sectarian groups. Two explosions hit the Arzouna bridge area at the entrance to Tartous, killing 35 people, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said, a death toll that was confirmed by the head of a city hospital. Syrian state television said the first explosion was a car bomb and the second was a suicide belt detonated as rescue workers came to the scene of the first incident. A car bomb struck the city of Homs at the Bab Tadmur roundabout at the entrance to the al-Zahra neighbourhood, killing three people, state media said. The Observatory said the Homs explosion hit an army checkpoint, killing four officers. West of Damascus, there was an explosion at the entrance to the town of al Saboura, along a road which leads onto the Beirut-Damascus highway, killing one person and injuring three, according to a police commander quoted on state television. A local police chief told state media three men were stopped in a car by security forces. "The driver was killed and the two others got out of the car and detonated their suicide belts, killing one person," he said. The Observatory said three people died in the Saboura blast. A motorbike also exploded in the centre of the northeastern city of Hasaka, killing five people including three members of the YPG-affiliated security force known as the Asayish, said the Observatory. The Kurdish YPG militia, a critical part of the U.S.-backed campaign against Islamic State, took near complete control of Hasaka city in late August after a week of fighting with the government. The YPG already controls swathes of northern Syria where Kurdish groups have established de facto autonomy since the start of the Syrian war in 2011. Political? Mais oui, of course, EU insiders say of Apple case By Alastair Macdonald and Foo Yun Chee BRUSSELS, Sept 3 (Reuters) - The European Commission denies that its shock demand that Apple Inc. hand 13 billion euros in back taxes to Ireland is, in the pungent phrase of Apple CEO Tim Cook, "total political crap". But, say senior EU officials involved, the decision certainly has a strong political element, even if Competition Commissioner Margrethe Vestager says she is confident her case will stand up to Cook's appeal on its legal merits alone. Brussels' political target is less corporate America than eurosceptics at home who threaten to pull the EU apart if it fails to show alienated voters it can act in their interests. "Being political should not be confused with politicised," said a spokeswoman for Commission chief Jean-Claude Juncker. For him, fighting tax avoidance had been a "top priority" since before he took over the EU executive two years ago, she said. "The drive towards fairer taxation is in President Juncker's political guidelines," she said. At the same time, Vestager is an "entirely independent" enforcer of EU competition law, she added. Efforts under way, including in the United States, to clamp down on tax avoidance are political in the sense that all states, with budgets under strain, face pressure from voters to claw back cash from other people, preferably wealthy companies, tax experts and government officials say. For European Union institutions, the struggle is less for money -- Apple's cash will go to Ireland if Vestager wins her case. What Brussels is fighting for is the EU's very survival against eurosceptics like the Brexiteers who persuaded Britons to quit the bloc in June. Those populists, on left and right, from the UK Independence Party to France's National Front or 5-Star in Italy, have scored with voters by accusing the EU and the executive Commission of cosying up to big, global business against the little people. "Apple shows how you fight against populism," a senior EU official familiar with the Commission chief's thinking told Reuters, describing a two-pronged strategy directed by Juncker. One part of the strategy is a push for new global tax rules, led by EU Commissioner for Economic Affairs Pierre Moscovici, a French Socialist former finance minister. The other part rests on punishing the worst past abusers to deter others. Vestager says the goal is to change corporate culture so that businesses anxious for their reputation stop trying to pay as little tax as possible and choose to pay "the right amount". On Juncker's political goal, he won government backing in Paris and Berlin. And many European media also welcomed the Apple move. Le Monde, leftish voice of establishment France and critic of Juncker's low-tax policies when he was premier of Luxembourg, said he had shown "the zeal of the newly converted". "Europe is changing," it wrote. "Bravo, Monsieur Juncker." SHOWING VOTERS EU CARES "(A) question that is ... critical if we want to restore our citizens' trust in the global economy is fair taxation," Juncker said at the weekend's G20 leaders meeting in China. Insisting the Apple decision was taken "without bias", he added: "All companies must pay their fair shares of taxes in the countries where they make their profits." The $14.5-billion demand which angered the United States and worried Apple's peers was engineered for shock and awe, the EU official said. Juncker sees Vestager as what the EU president calls his "Rottweiler", he added. Apple and the Irish government say Vestager is rewriting the iPhone maker's quarter-century of history in Ireland. Apple denies that Dublin gave it tax breaks amounting to illegal state aid. What has changed is the politics. The financial crisis has impoverished Western governments just as footloose young tech firms became hugely rich without paying much tax anywhere. U.S. Senate revelations about Apple in 2013 fuelled public anger and, with some irony, prompted the EU to start inquiries. Juncker's own history has also played a part. A conservative prime minister of Luxembourg for 19 years, he helped transform it from industrial rustbowl to a financial hub its bigger neighbours saw as helping businesses deprive them of revenues. Weeks after taking over the Commission in late 2014, he faced calls to resign when deals between Luxembourg and global corporates were splashed in world media as the LuxLeaks affair. He denied involvement but, aides say, the uproar helped galvanise Juncker for a tax crackdown he had already promised. Driving his pledge to run a "political Commission" to reconnect with voters alienated by out-of-touch, technocratic elites in Brussels was a fear that his five-year term was, in his words, the "last chance" to save the Union from break-up. LEGAL UNDERPINNINGS "It's political in the sense that, if the Commission is prioritising the allocation of its resources, then clearly tax evasion and tax avoidance are very high on the political agenda everywhere," said Sophie in 't Veld, deputy leader of the centrist group in the European Parliament. "This is something that citizens are rightly and understandably concerned about." That political approach, Brussels officials stress, does not mean capricious or lacking legal basis. Vestager is clear she must win in court on some untested points of law against the best tax attorneys Silicon Valley and Washington can buy, and against EU member state Ireland. Asked about Cook's comments to an Irish newspaper about the EU's "political" motives, she said: "I don't think the courts will hear any kind of political opinions or feelings or what's in your stomach or whatever. They want the facts of the case." LISTEN, THEN BITE Some EU officials think the anger of Cook and U.S. officials at the historic scale of the tax demand may partly stem from underestimating Vestager's uncompromising character. Tall, courteous and soft-spoken, she is a woman who takes trouble to greet captains of industry by the lift and escort them back to her office, often then serving them coffee herself. It may wrong-foot those used to more confrontational politicians and executives. She is a listener rather than a talker. "There are some people who are very loud ... but ... it is very important to have a very, very, very open ear to those who are not loud," the former economy minister and liberal party leader told Reuters on taking office two years ago. People who work with her say she listens closely to career officials on her staff -- much more than did her Spanish predecessor Joaquin Almunia, a professional economist. One U.S. tech giant to feel a change of approach after 2014 was Google, with whom Almunia worked for years to reach a compromise over concerns about its market dominance. Since last year, Vestager has hit Google with three separate charges. She also put an end to hesitation in Brussels by launching a price fixing case against Russian gas giant Gazprom last year. Most current state aid tax cases, including Apple, were launched by Almunia but competition experts question whether he would have come to Vestager's radical conclusion. Almunia's own predecessor Neelie Kroes, now at another Silicon Valley darling Uber, said this week the Dane had gone too far against Apple. Some observers believe Vestager, a professional politician since her student days, may be tempted to use cases to raise her profile and further greater ambitions. She says not. Predecessors have also taken on Washington, among them Mario Monti, later Italy's prime minister, who blocked a mega-merger between GE and Honeywell in 2001 despite U.S. support for it, and Kroes, who slapped heavy fines on Microsoft in 2008. There may be more to come, Vestager says. Her 800 staff are looking at about 1,000 inquiries where firms may have gained an edge by cutting tax deals with governments seeking investment. Hong Kong shares gains on further capital inflows from China Sept 5 (Reuters) - Hong Kong shares climbed more than 1 percent on Monday, booking the best day in nearly two months, supported by continuous fresh capital inflows from mainland China. The Hang Seng index rose 1.7 percent to 23,649.55 points, its biggest percentage gain since July 12, while the China Enterprises Index gained 1.5 percent to 9,830.57. The market's robust upward momentum has been fuelled by a flood of money from the mainland, where investors are actively hunting for better yields and also seeking to front-run a cross-border investment link between Shenzhen and Hong Kong that is expected to be launched in November. Financial shares listed on the Hong Kong market were among the biggest beneficiaries, with the subindex rising 1.5 percent on Monday. The technology sector was another top gainer on Monday with the subindex rising 3.4 percent. Tencent Holdings advanced 4.2 percent. European aviation industry calls for stricter regulation of drone users FRANKFURT, Sept 5 (Reuters) - Aviation associations representing airlines, pilots and airports across Europe called on Monday for mandatory registration and training of drone users following a number of near-misses between the unmanned devices and aircraft. Drones are increasingly being used in areas such as agriculture, filming, for recreational use and for monitoring power plants and oil facilities. That has led to a rise in the number of near-misses with aircraft as reported by pilots, especially on approach to landing, one of the most critical phases of flight. Britain's Civil Aviation Authority, for example, issued a warning last year after seven incidents in less than 12 months in which drones had flown near planes at different British airports. There have been more incidents this year. There are currently no harmonised regulations across Europe for drones, although Europe's aviation safety agency is working on a set of rules. In a joint statement on Monday, European aviation associations called for the registration of all drones at the point of purchase and resale, mandatory training for drone users and the installation of technology to stop them from going too high, too far or into restricted areas near airports. "Drones are such an appealing technology that many of the drone users are tempted to use them to the limits - or even beyond," Dirk Polloczek, president of the European Cockpit Association said, adding more users were employing modifications to extend drones' flight distance. Highlighting their popularity, Paris held a drone festival at the weekend, allowing users to race their devices within an enclosed course on the Champs-Elysees. Major drone maker DJI of China has built geofencing into apps controlling its drones, preventing them from flying into sensitive areas. It has also introduced a feature to override the geofencing feature in some instances, but only if users first register their details so they can be more easily identified. The joint statement also calls for more to be done to educate users on the risks of flying too high or close to aircraft and for research into what would happen should a drone collide with a plane. Modern aircraft are tested to ensure they can withstand bird strikes for example, but little is known about what would happen were a drone to be sucked into an aircraft engine. Obama throws planned meeting with Philippines leader into doubt By Roberta Rampton and Manuel Mogato HANGZHOU, China/VIENTIANE, Sept 5 (Reuters) - U.S. President Barack Obama said on Monday he was considering whether or not to meet his Filipino counterpart, Rodrigo Duterte, as planned, amid alarm over the latter's campaign against illegal drugs in which thousands of people have died. Earlier in the day, the plain-talking Duterte had told reporters he would swear at Obama if he tried to question him about extrajudicial killings, using a Filipino phrase for "son of a bitch" to describe the U.S. president. Speaking at a G20 meeting in China, and before travelling to Laos for a summit where he was due to hold talks with Duterte, Obama said he had asked his team to find out if "constructive, productive conversations" were possible. "Obviously the Filipino people are some of our closest friends and allies and the Philippines is a treaty ally of ours. But I always want to make sure that if I'm having a meeting that it's actually productive and we're getting something done," he told reporters in the eastern Chinese city of Hangzhou. "I'm going to make an assessment ... What is certainly true is that the issues of how we approach fighting crime and drug trafficking is a serious one for all of us, and we've got to do it the right way." Earlier, Duterte made it clear he would not be lectured on human rights by Obama, adding that "plenty will be killed" before the end of a crackdown that has led to the deaths of about 2,400 people since he became president two months ago. "I am a president of a sovereign state and we have long ceased to be a colony," Duterte told reporters before setting off for Laos, when asked about his planned meeting with Obama. "Who is he to confront me? As a matter of fact, America has one too many to answer for," he said. "Everybody has a terrible record of extrajudicial killings." Asked after arriving in the Laos capital of Vientiane whether the meeting would go ahead, Duterte replied: "Maybe, if I feel good. I don't want to quarrel with him. He's the most powerful president ... on the planet." Duterte added that he did not believe the subject of extrajudicial killings should be raised at such a summit. "It is rude." The former crime-busting mayor of southern Davao city won the presidency in May promising to suppress crime and wipe out drugs and drug dealers. While his campaign has won popular support, the killings have alarmed rights groups and brought expressions of concern from the United States, a former colonial power and a close Philippine ally, and the United Nations. ASEAN SUMMIT The frank public exchanges threaten to overshadow the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and East Asia Summits in Laos from Tuesday to Thursday. There the 10-member ASEAN will meet leaders of other regional powers: China, Japan, South Korea, Australia, India, Russia and the United States. The Philippines has been a key U.S. ally in its dispute with China over the South China Sea, where Washington blames Beijing for militarising a vital global trade route and jeopardising freedom of movement at sea and in the air. China rejects those accusations, and in turn blames the United States for ratcheting up tensions unnecessarily. 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. An arbitration court in The Hague invalidated China's vast territorial claims to the waterway after a case was brought by the Philippines, though Beijing refuses to recognise that July ruling. Since then, the Philippines has sent mixed signals to China. Duterte said last month he expected all ASEAN members to support the arbitration court's ruling, but that the Philippines would not raise the issue in Laos. On Monday, he showed no signs of backing down in his anti-drug campaign. "Plenty will be killed until the last pusher is out of the streets. Until the (last) drug manufacturer is killed we will continue," he said. Police say about 900 of those killed died in police operations, and the rest were "deaths under investigation", a term human rights activists say is a euphemism for vigilante and extrajudicial killings. Duterte earlier lambasted the United Nations after it criticised the surge in killings and he turned down a meeting with U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon in Laos. In response to a bombing last week that killed 14 people in Duterte's hometown, his government on Monday signed a declaration of a "state of lawlessness", a term that has left many Filipinos concerned that it might be draconian and open to abuse by security forces. Iran suggests Saudi should not run Muslim pilgrimage DUBAI, Sept 5 (Reuters) - Iranian supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei renewed criticism of Saudi Arabia over how it runs the haj after a crush last year killed hundreds of pilgrims, and suggested Muslim countries think about ending Riyadh's control of the annual pilgrimage. "Because of these (Saudi) rulers' oppressive behaviour towards God's guests (pilgrims), the world of Islam must fundamentally reconsider the management of the two holy places and the issue of haj," Khamenei said in a message carried by his Website and Iran's state media. "They must not let those rulers escape responsibility for the crimes they have caused throughout the world of Islam," Khamenei said, listing Saudi Arabia's involvement in conflicts in areas including Iraq, Yemen and Syria on the side of forces Iran opposes. Custodian of Islam's most revered places in Mecca and Medina, Saudi Arabia stakes its reputation on organising haj, one of the five pillars of Islam which every able-bodied Muslim who can afford to is obliged to undertake at least once. Its prestige was damaged by the 2015 disaster, in which Riyadh said 769 pilgrims were killed - the highest haj death toll since a crush in 1990. Counts of fatalities by countries who repatriated bodies showed that over 2,000 people may have died in the crush, more than 400 of them Iranians. Iran, Saudi Arabia's main regional rival, blamed the disaster on organisers' incompetence. Pilgrims from Iran will be unable to attend haj, which starts on Sept. 11, this year after talks between the two countries on arrangements broke down in May. An official Saudi inquiry has yet to be published, but authorities suggested at the time some pilgrims ignored crowd control rules. EUROPE POWER-Prompt up on rising consumption, low wind FRANKFURT, Sept 5 (Reuters) - European spot power prices rose on Monday on rising demand and a continued warm period that brought sunny but calm weather with low wind power production. Wind power output in Germany will fall to 1.8 gigawatts (GW) on Tuesday from 6.7 GW on Monday, while solar supply will rise to 6.6 GW from 4.1 GW in the same period, according to Thomson Reuters data showing 24-hour daily averages. "Daytime solar peaks of 20 to 25 GW are possible this week," one German trader said. Further ahead, temperatures in Germany will likely stay at around 17 degrees well into next week. France, which over the past fortnight saw very hot weather boosting air conditioning demand, will see its current levels of around 21 degrees fall to 19 degrees by next week. German baseload power for Tuesday delivery rose 3.1 euros to 35.6 euros ($39.74) a megawatt hour (MWh) compared with the price paid for Monday. The equivalent French contract traded at 41.5 euros compared with a bid/ask price of 36.5/37.5 euros/MWh quoted for Monday. Power demand in both markets put together is forecast to rise by 2 GW between Monday and Tuesday. Prices on the forward power curve went up along with those of oil and coal. The German Cal'17 baseload power contract gained 30 cents to 26.25 euros/MWh, while the equivalent French contract edged 40 cents higher to 32 euros/MWh. European coal prices for 2017 rose 2.4 percent to $59.85 a tonne. Oil futures rose sharply amid renewed speculation that major producers including Saudi Arabia and Russia could cooperate to tackle weak prices and oversupply. Front-year EU carbon allowances fell 1 percent to 4.04 euros a tonne, having posted heavy losses in the previous session. In eastern European power, the Czech year-ahead position was untraded at 26.85-27.25 euros, having closed at 26.65 euros/MWh. The Czech spot price for Tuesday was up 4.1 euros at 36 euros/MWh. Japan, Israel upgrade relations as Arab oil influence wanes By Tova Cohen TEL AVIV, Sept 5 (Reuters) - Japanese executives say they are increasingly drawn to investments in Israel as the price of oil falls and, with it, the influence Arab oil suppliers have on Japan's decision-making. Over the past two years, Japan and Israel have strengthened business ties, signing a series of economic agreements on the back of a visit by Prime Minister Shinzo Abe to Israel in 2015 and Benjamin Netanyahu's trip to Tokyo in 2014. "Abe had a good impression; he liked Netanyahu's mentality," Yoshimitsu Kobayashi, chairman of Mitsubishi Chemical Holdings , told Reuters when he led a delegation from Keizai Doyukai, the Japanese business lobby, to Israel in May. For years, trade between the two was minimal - Japan was reluctant to upset its oil suppliers, many of whom belong to the Arab League, which has long backed a boycott of Israel. "Geopolitics is changing in the Middle East and as oil prices come down, strategically it's not as important," said Kobayashi. "Japan is changing its mind." Israel's prowess in Internet, biotech, and automotive technologies is particularly attractive, Kobayashi said. This is not to say Japan has given up on the Arab world. Isamu Nakashima, chief researcher at the Middle East Institute of Japan, said Japan's need for oil will always trump its need for anything Israel can offer, though past worries that trade with Israel could annoy Arab nations have mostly faded. "But for things to really improve a lot, there needs to be a peace settlement (between Israel and the Palestinians)," Nakashima said. Bilateral trade in goods in the first seven months of 2016 rose to $1.4 billion from $1.1 billion, making Japan Israel's fourth-largest market in Asia. It is part of a growing shift in focus as Asia overtakes the United States to become Israel's largest trading partner after Europe. BUILDING FROM A LOW BASE The deal that put Israel on Japan's business map was the $900 million acquisition of chat app Viber by Japanese e-commerce giant Rakuten Inc in 2014. Viber has a big user base in Asia and was approached by Rakuten while doing business there, said Michael Shmilov, Viber's chief operating officer. "There are strong cultural differences but at the same time, Rakuten is a global company where English is the official language and we are working closely to reduce the impact of these differences," he said. The biggest obstacle, he said, is the lack of direct airline flights, something Israel wants to change. The Viber acquisition was followed by several others, including the $212 million purchase of Israel's Altair Semiconductor by Sony Corp this year. Net investment by Japanese firms in Israel, after subtracting Israeli investment in Japan, nearly doubled in 2015 to 5.2 billion yen ($50 million), according to the Japan External Trade Organisation, citing Bank of Japan data. "The last two years ... we've seen a great expansion of Japanese activities, many large corporations are coming here, setting up R&D centres and investment flows are rising," said Avi Hasson, Israel's chief scientist. Seven Japanese companies - including Panasonic, NEC and Ricoh - have joined his office's multinational R&D programme, creating 12 projects with Israeli companies. Gilad Majerowicz, head of the Japan desk at Israeli law firm Herzog Fox & Neeman, said several large Japanese companies planned to set up R&D centres in Israel. For Israel, Japan offers a large market and a source of capital at a time of growing calls by some activist groups in Europe and the United States for a boycott of Israel because of its policies towards the Palestinians. They seek a state on land captured by Israel in a 1967 war. The most recent peace talks between the two fizzled in 2014. Israeli mobile advertising analytics firm AppsFlyer opened an office in Tokyo last year and has over 100 Japanese clients. "People who are tech savvy really respect Israeli companies," said Naoya Otsuba, AppsFlyer's manager in Japan. An area where Japan is a particularly attractive market is in defence and cyber security, a sector that faces restrictions when it comes to China. Health is another key area as Japan's aging population seeks affordable medication. Indonesia police break up online prostitution ring involving boys - report JAKARTA, Sept 5 (Reuters) - Indonesian police said on Monday they had broken up an online male prostitution ring and identified nearly 150 young men and boys, at least one as young as 13, offering sexual services. There are no reliable statistics on sex crime in Indonesia but the government has said it faces a "child sex abuse emergency". President Joko Widodo recently signed a regulation allowing for harsher punishments for child molesters and rapists, including chemical castration and the death penalty. Agung Setya, chief of police criminal investigations, said many of the 148 people offering services were underage with the youngest was 13 and the oldest 23. "We have identified 148 more victims, and as many as 45 are boys," he said, according to the Kompas daily. At least seven of the victims had been taken to government counselling and rehabilitation facilities, he said. Three men were arrested last week in connection with the case, including a pimp, and a customer believed to be foreign, police have said, though they have not given details. BRIEF-Russian energy minister's comments on joint statement with S.Arabia Sept 5 (Reuters) - Russian Energy Minister Alexander Novak says: * Iran should be given right to reach pre-sanctions oil output level, Interfax news agency quoted Novak as saying. * Russia-Saudi Arabia statement is historical moment in relations between OPEC members and non-OPEC nations, Interfax quoted Novak as saying. * Oil market rebalancing took too long, oil output freeze would have helped, Interfax quoted Novak as saying. * Russia is ready to join an oil output freeze deal if such decision taken, oil output freeze would help oil markets, TASS news agency quoted Novak as saying. * A high level of trust between Russia, Saudi Arabia allow to jointly address global challenges, RIA news agency quoted Novak as saying. * Novak, Saudi Arabia Energy Minister Khalid al-Falih to meet in Algeria in September, then in October, in Vienna in November, Russian energy ministry said in a statement. * Russia, Saudi Arabia move to a strategic energy partnership; to set up a working group to monitor oil market, work out recommendations to ensure its stability, Interfax quoted Novak as saying. Germany says optimistic lawmakers will visit air base in Turkey BERLIN, Sept 5 (Reuters) - A spokesman for the German Foreign Ministry on Monday said he was optimistic that Turkey would end its ban on German lawmakers visiting German troops working at a NATO air base in Turkey, but said no specific response had yet been received from Ankara. Spokesman Martin Schaefer said there had been intense discussions between German and Turkish officials about the issue, which had threatened to jeopardise German participation in the U.S.-led coalition fighting Islamic State. "We are optimistic and hope and expect that all the desired visits by German lawmakers for Incirlik or other sites will be approved by Turkish officials," Schaefer told a regular government news conference. "But we don't know that yet for certain." Gabon opposition chief calls for general strike after disputed election LIBREVILLE, Sept 5 (Reuters) - Gabon's opposition leader Jean Ping called on Monday for a general strike to protest against what he said was a fraudulent re-election victory by President Ali Bongo. Ping, who says he is now the leader of the Central African nation, said in a statement on his website that his fight was not over, even as calm returned to the capital following deadly riots last week. Zambia's Lungu to be sworn on Sept. 13 following election win LUSAKA, Sept 5 (Reuters) - Zambia's incumbent President Edgar Lungu will be sworn into office for a new five-year term on Tuesday next week, a government official said on Monday. Singapore says will no longer isolate Zika patients SINGAPORE, Sept 5 (Reuters) - Singapore will no longer isolate people who test positive for Zika or are suspected of carrying it as the number of cases of the mosquito-borne virus increases across the city-state, the health ministry said on Monday. Tropical Singapore, a global financial and transit hub, has reported just over 240 Zika cases since the first locally infected case was detected on Aug. 27, and media has quoted the deputy health minister as saying the virus was "here to stay". In a statement, the health ministry said the presence of the Aedes mosquitoes that carry the virus, as well as the fact that most people do not display symptoms, meant isolating patients already infected would have limited effect. "Over time, we expect Zika cases to emerge in more areas given the presence of the Aedes mosquitoes here," the ministry said. "As the cases of Zika in Singapore have been mild so far, confirmed cases will no longer need to be hospitalised unless medically indicated." The government will also pay for the cost of Zika tests for Singaporeans with symptoms of the virus, the ministry added. Most people who are infected with Zika have mild symptoms but infections in pregnant women have been shown to cause microcephaly - a severe birth defect in which the head and brain are undersized - as well as other brain abnormalities. The connection between Zika and microcephaly first came to light last fall in Brazil, which has since confirmed more than 1,800 cases of microcephaly. In adults, Zika infections have also been linked to a rare neurological syndrome known as Guillain-Barre, as well as other neurological disorders. Neighbouring Malaysia has reported at least one case of locally transmitted Zika. Experts and officials say both countries will struggle to contain the virus because of the spread of the Aedes mosquitoes, which also carry dengue, a potentially fatal virus that Singapore and Malaysia have been battling for years. JBS CEO ordered to step aside in Brazil pension fund probe By Cesar Raizer BRASILIA, Sept 5 (Reuters) - Brazilian police launched an investigation of fraud at state-run companies' pension funds on Monday, as a judge ordered dozens of senior financiers and executives away from their firms, including the chief executive of the world's biggest beef exporter. Police carried out five arrests, more than two dozen interrogations and over 100 search warrants, seizing jewels, luxury vehicles, artwork and an airplane in an asset freeze to cover up to 8 billion reais ($2.5 billion) in alleged damages. The federal judge overseeing the case, Vallisney De Souza Oliveira, ordered the chief executive of meat packer JBS SA and 39 others under investigation to suspend their corporate roles, avoid all capital market activity and forfeit their passports in order to avoid jail. JBS shares fell 10 percent, the biggest drop in six months, at the prospect of billionaire brothers Wesley and Joesley Batista, who run JBS and their family's holding company J&F Investimentos, respectively, from serving at the group's firms. The probe of the pension funds is the latest in a string of investigations into corruption at the vast overlap of Brazilian business and politics, rattling Latin America's largest economy and feeding political instability. The four pension funds under investigation, which controlled about 280 billion reais in assets last year, have been an important source of investment in Brazil's credit-starved economy, but political connections at the state-run firms have raised questions about influence in their decisions. The pension funds caught up in Monday's investigation are those of state-run banks Caixa Economica Federal and Banco do Brasil, postal service Correios and oil giant Petroleo Brasileiro SA, the company known as Petrobras which has been ground zero of the graft investigations roiling the nation. Yet police said their investigation focused on losses to pensioners from reckless or fraudulent investments throughout the Brazilian economy. Other executives mentioned in the judge's search and seizure order included the chief executive of wood pulp maker Eldorado Brasil Celulose SA, also controlled by the Batista family, Jose Carlos Grubisich; and Denise Pavarina, the head of the asset management unit at lender Banco Bradesco SA. Neither executive was ordered to step away from their companies. Press representatives for J&F and Eldorado said their executives were collaborating with the investigation. JBS referred comment to J&F. Bradesco said its asset management units "follow the regulations in funds under management and rules by regulators" and that the bank is cooperating with authorities. Pension funds Previ, Petros and Funcef said they were collaborating with police. Petros added that the investigation involved decisions made in 2011. Postalis did not immediately respond to a request for comment Caixa, Bradesco, Banco Santander Brasil and fund manager Rio Bravo Investimentos Ltda confirmed that their asset management units were also targeted by the operation. In a statement, Caixa said the bank already had an internal investigation about "possible irregularities" involving the employees pension fund's investments. Santander Brasil said the federal police asked for documents related to investments by the pension funds in the rig lessor Sete Brasil, which is under bankruptcy protection, and in a fund called Global Equity. Gabon opposition leader urges general strike after disputed election By Gerauds Wilfried Obangome LIBREVILLE, Sept 5 (Reuters) - Gabon's opposition leader appealed on Monday for a general strike in response to what he said was a fraudulent re-election of President Ali Bongo, while the justice minister resigned over the government's failure to organise a recount. Their protests undermined Bongo's attempts to project stability following the election's violent aftermath, though few citizens in the capital Libreville appeared to heed his defeated rival Jean Ping's strike call as economic activity picked back up. Ping, a former African Union Commission chairman who declared himself Gabon's leader, said his fight was not over. "I ask you from today onward not to use violence but to resist by blocking the country's economy," he said in a statement to all Gabonese. "I propose to cease all activity and begin a general strike." At least six people were killed and more than 1,000 arrested in violence after Wednesday's announcement of a slim victory for Bongo. His family has run the oil-producing central African country - where the only refinery resumed operations on Monday - for half a century. An adviser to the interior minister told Reuters on Sunday that several dozen people had been released, but several Libreville residents said that they had not seen or heard from family members since the riots. Former colonial power France also expressed concern about the safety of several of its nationals whom, Foreign Affairs Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault said in a statement, French authorities have not had news of in recent days. Home to around 14,000 French citizens and a military base with 450 French troops, Gabon is statistically one of Africa's richest countries with a GDP per capita of $10,000 a year. But oil wealth has flowed mostly to the elite, breeding widespread discontent. The Bongos have long relied on patronage to buy off dissent. But falling oil prices and production, dominated by Total and Shell, have led to budget cuts. WARY ATMOSPHERE The United States, European Union and France last week urged the government to release polling station results for greater transparency, and its refusal to do so on Monday led Justice Minister Seraphin Moundounga to resign. "In the absence of (a recount), the country has swung into violence," Moundounga, who also served as second vice-prime minister, told Radio France Internationale. "Peace is gravely threatened in our country." In the main cities, life showed signs of returning to normal. Traffic in Libreville resumed along the main boulevards as many people returned to work, though some stayed home for fear of renewed violence. "Jean Ping doesn't have to tell me (not to go to work). While the situation is sensitive I'll stay home," said Hortense Toulangoye, a state worker. Another employee said he had not heard about the strike. The internet was operational again, five days after it was shut down in an apparent bid by the government to quell unrest, but access to social media was still limited. The oil refinery in the economic capital Port Gentil resumed operations after a five-day outage because of the post-electoral violence, Sylvain Mayabi, secretary-general of the National Organization of Petrol Employees, told Reuters. Total owns a 43.8 percent stake in the refinery, which processes 21,000 barrels of oil per day. Gabon produces 200,000 barrels per day, according to the International Energy Agency, and its output is in decline. It rejoined OPEC in July after two decades. During more than four decades in power, late president Omar Bongo cultivated close relations with a succession of French presidents, but his son's ties to Paris have been more tenuous. Gabon recalled its ambassador to Paris in January after France's Prime Minister Manuel Valls appeared to question the legitimacy of Ali Bongo's 2009 election. Malaysia's Mahathir and bitter foe Anwar shake hands in first meeting after 18 years KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 5 (Reuters) - Former Malaysian premier Mahathir Mohamad on Monday met Anwar Ibrahim, the jailed de facto leader of the opposition alliance, for the first time in 18 years, signalling growing unity among opponents of scandal-tainted Prime Minister Najib Razak. Malaysia's political landscape has been shaped for nearly two decades by a bitter feud between Anwar and Mahathir, whose decision to sack Anwar as his deputy sparked an opposition movement, Reformasi, or Reform, in 1998. But in July, Anwar endorsed a political compact spearheaded by Mahathir, as ruling party rebels and the opposition joined hands to fight against Najib. The new coalition poses potentially the biggest political threat to Najib, who has been facing calls to step down over multi-billion dollar graft allegations tied to a state-owned investment fund he oversaw, 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB). On Monday, social media was flooded with pictures of the two men shaking hands and chatting cordially in a high court in the capital, Kuala Lumpur, where Anwar had sought an injunction to stop implementation of the National Security Council (NSC) Act. "He showed his preparedness to come and pledged his support for the court application, and wished me well and success. And I presume, therefore, that he supports the reform agenda," Anwar said outside the courtroom in a video on social media. In a separate video, Mahathir said he endorsed his former deputy's court action against the legislation, but added that he was "not making peace with him". He gave no further details. The legislation took effect from August 1, giving Najib sweeping powers to designate any area as a "security area" and deploy forces to search any individual, vehicle or premises without a warrant. It also allows investigators to dispense with formal inquests into killings by the police or armed forces in those areas. Monday's encounter was the two leaders' "first meeting after 18 years, 2 days," Anwar's wife, Wan Azizah Wan Ismail, who is the president of the People's Justice Party (PKR), said in a brief message on social network Twitter. Anwar was sentenced to five years' jail in 2013 for sodomy, on a charge he and his supporters call politically motivated. U.S., Russia work on Syria truce, as Islamic State blasts kill dozens By Lisa Barrington and Roberta Rampton BEIRUT/HANGZHOU, China, Sept 5 (Reuters) - The United States and Russia will work in the next few days on a deal to curb fighting in Syria and build cooperation in the fight against terrorism, their leaders said on Monday, as blasts claimed by Islamic State killed dozens across the Arab nation. The former Cold War enemies have been trying to broker a new truce after a ceasefire agreed in February unravelled in weeks, with Washington accusing Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's forces - which are backed by Russia - of violating the pact. U.S. President Barack Obama described talks with Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin as tough but productive after their meeting at the G20 summit in China. Putin said the two men had understood each other and an agreement on ways to significantly reduce the violence in Syria could be reached in days. "We have had some productive conversations about what a real cessation of hostilities would look like, that would allow us both, the United States and Russia, to focus our attention on common enemies, like ISIL and Nusra," Obama said, referring to Islamic State and the hardline Nusra Front. "We haven't yet closed the gaps in a way where we think it would actually work," he said, but added that U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry and Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov would "keep working at it over the next several days". Putin told journalists there was a convergence of views between Russia and the United States. He said it was premature to give details about the terms of an agreement, but that the two nations would strengthen cooperation on fighting terrorism. Truce talks were complicated on Sunday as government forces and their allies laid siege to the rebel-held eastern side of Aleppo, Syria's largest city before the war which Assad is determined to fully recapture. His gains have relied heavily on Russian air support since September last year. Adding to the carnage, six blasts on Monday hit west of Damascus and the government-held cities of Homs and Tartous, as well as the Kurdish-controlled northeastern province of Hasaka, state media and a monitoring group said. Islamic State fighters carried the out suicide attacks, its Amaq news agency said on Monday. CONFLICTING AGENDAS More than five years of civil war have cut Syria into a patchwork of territories held by the government and an often competing array of armed factions, including Kurdish militia fighters, a loose coalition of rebels groups, and Islamic State. Obama and Putin discussed getting humanitarian aid into the country, reducing violence, and cooperating on combating militant groups, the U.S. administration official said. Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan said he was working with the U.S.-led coalition and Russia to try to establish a ceasefire in Aleppo before the Eid al-Adha religious holiday expected to start around Sept. 11. But in talks earlier on Monday, Kerry and Lavrov were unable to come to terms on a truce for the second time in two weeks, with U.S. officials stressing they would walk away if a pact could not be reached soon. Russia says it cannot agree to a deal unless opposition fighters, backed by the United States and Middle East allies, are separated from al Qaeda-linked militants they overlap with in some areas. For Washington, the priority is stabilising Syria so as to destroy Islamic State. NATO Turkey ally on Sunday said rebels it was backing had gained control of all areas on its border that had been held by the jihadists, depriving the ultra-hardline Islamist group of its main route to the outside world. The announcement came some 10 days after Turkey launched its first major military incursion into Syria since the start of the war in 2011, an operation aimed as much at preventing further Kurdish territorial gains as at driving back Islamic State. "Syrian citizens in our country and those would want to migrate from Syria can now live more peacefully in their own land," Erdogan said, adding the Turkish incursion posed no threat to Syria's territorial integrity. He renewed calls for an internationally-policed "no-fly zone" to protect displaced civilians and help stem refugee flows. But the idea, which he also raised at a G20 summit in Turkey a year ago, has failed to gain traction with Western allies who fear it would mean a deeper military commitment. DOZENS KILLED Two of the explosions on Monday hit the Arzouna bridge area at the entrance to the Mediterranean city of Tartous, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights and state news agency SANA said. The Observatory and a city hospital put the death toll at 35. Syrian state television said the first explosion was a car bomb and the second a suicide belt detonated as rescue workers arrived. The blasts hit during a summer festival at Tartous, whose beaches recently featured in a government tourism video. A car bomb meanwhile struck the city of Homs, around 80 km (50 miles) east of Tartous. The Observatory said the explosion hit an army checkpoint and four officers were killed. West of Damascus, there was an explosion near the town of al Saboura, killing one person and injuring three, according to a police commander quoted by state media. A motorbike also exploded in the centre of the northeastern city of Hasaka, which is controlled by the Kurdish YPG militia. The Observatory said the blast killed three members of a YPG-affiliated security force and that a percussion bomb also went off in the province's Qamishli city. The Kurdish YPG militia, a critical part of the U.S.-backed campaign against Islamic State, took almost complete control of Hasaka city in late August after a week of fighting with the government. The YPG controls swathes of northern Syria where Kurdish groups have established de facto autonomy since the start of the Syrian war, much to the alarm of neighbouring Turkey, which fears the creation of a Kurdish enclave in northern Syria would fuel Kurdish separatist ambitions at home. Philippines confirms first case of Zika virus this year - ministry MANILA, Sept 5 (Reuters) - The Philippines confirmed on Monday its first case of the Zika virus this year and said it was "highly likely" it had been locally transmitted, and it expected more cases after stepping up surveillance. A 45-year old woman who lives in Iloilo city in the central Philippines has the virus, Dr Eric Tayag, spokesman at the health ministry, told a media briefing. The woman is not pregnant, he said, and was recovering at her home. It was considered "highly likely" she had contracted the virus locally as she had no history of travel to any affected country in the past two weeks, Tayag said. The Philippines reported its first case of Zika in 2012, that of a teenaged boy in Cebu island in the central Philippines. Four subsequent cases were foreigners. A Zika outbreak is affecting large parts of Latin America and the Caribbean, with Brazil the hardest hit, but cases have been cropping up in Asia. Singapore has reported more than 240 Zika cases since the first locally infected case was detected on Aug. 27 and neighbouring Malaysia has reported one such case. Zika infections in pregnant women have been shown to cause microcephaly - a severe birth defect in which the head and brain are undersized - as well as other brain abnormalities. The connection between Zika and microcephaly first came to light last fall in Brazil, which has since confirmed more than 1,800 cases of microcephaly. In adults, Zika infections have also been linked to a rare neurological syndrome known as Guillain-Barre, as well as other neurological disorders. There is no vaccine or treatment for Zika, which is a close cousin of dengue and chikungunya and causes mild fever, rash and red eyes. EU seeks to coordinate consumer action against VW over Dieselgate BRUSSELS/FRANKFURT, Sept 5 (Reuters) - The European Commission will meet consumer groups this week to make sure they are doing enough to seek compensation for European drivers affected by Volkswagen's cheating of diesel emissions tests. Consumer Commissioner Vera Jourova told a news conference on Monday the "Dieselgate" scandal was a pan-European Union challenge and the Commission was assessing whether there had been breaches of two sets of rules that apply across the bloc. They are the Consumer Sales and Guarantees Directive - which prohibits companies from touting exaggerated environmental claims in their sales pitches - and the Unfair Commercial Practises Directive, both of which apply across the EU. "(They) set high standards for all the member states to enforce in case these rules are breached. It seems to be the case in so-called Dieselgate," Jourova said. Consumer groups and national authorities gave feedback in recent weeks showing that Volkswagen had not provided sufficient information to consumers, she said. Volkswagen said it considered the allegations of the EU Consumer Commissioner unfounded and rejected them. "Notwithstanding, in the meantime we are in regular and constructive dialogue with the Brussels authorities and institutions," Volkswagen said in a statement. Jourova plans to meet consumer associations this Thursday and national protection agencies on Sept. 29, as well as Volkswagen on an unspecified date. "It is not my intention to come with strong action without fair communication with the company," she said. "I cannot say I am going to take a stricter approach. I want them to look at the valid legislation and see what they have to do." Jourova did not say what that "strong action" might be. The Commission has said it is for national organisations and authorities to pursue Volkswagen as they see fit. But it is also keen to ensure EU rules are enforced to the full, and has shown with its huge demand for back taxes from Apple that it will take on multinationals itself when it feels it can and it is necessary. Jourova has been working with consumer groups to pressure Volkswagen to voluntarily compensate customers in Europe for its diesel emissions test cheating, as it has in the United States. Dutch police arrest Erdogan backer for threats after failed Turkish coup AMSTERDAM, Sept 5 (Reuters) - Dutch police on Monday detained a 42-year-old Dutchman of Turkish descent for alleged death threats and hate speech after the failed Turkish coup in July, which has ratcheted up tension among Turks in the Netherlands. Turkey's government has accused U.S.-based cleric Fethullah Gulen and his supporters of orchestrating the July 15 attempt to overthrow Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan. Gulen denies this. The arrested man is an Erdogan supporter and he is suspected of having threatened Gulen backers online and in person, a Dutch official said on condition of anonymity. In a statement, Dutch police said they had investigated 150 complaints related to the aftermath of Turkey's coup since mid-July, roughly half of them for threats and intimidation appearing on social media. Investigations into the complaints resulted in the man's arrest, the statement said. No details were provided about the suspect, but prosecutors said more arrests were likely. Turkey's post-coup fall-out has spilled over into Turkish immigrant neighbourhoods in the Netherlands, with lists of purported Gulen supporters circulating on social media, exposing families and school children to death threats. "We aim to de-escalate, but if necessary we will take action," said Peter Slort, a regional police chief. Too costly for Indonesia to thoroughly test for Zika - health official By Kanupriya Kapoor and Glenys Kirana JAKARTA, Sept 5 (Reuters) - Indonesia can not afford to thoroughly check for a possible Zika outbreak, a health ministry official said, as Southeast Asia's most populous country must focus on fighting dengue, a potentially fatal virus also carried by mosquitoes. The World Health Organisation (WHO) lists Indonesia among Asian countries with possible endemic transmission of, or evidence of, local Zika infections, but authorities in the sprawling nation of 250 million people have yet to report any recent infections. Both dengue and Zika are spread by the Aedes aegypti mosquito, which is common across Southeast Asia. Neighbouring Singapore has over the past week said it detected more than 240 Zika cases while Malaysia reported its first locally transmitted infection on Saturday. The Philippines confirmed on Monday its first case of Zika this year and said it was "highly likely" it had been locally transmitted. "At the moment we cannot go out there and test everybody or every suspected case for Zika because it is too costly," Muhamad Subuh, director general for disease prevention and control at Indonesia's health ministry, told Reuters. "There are other priorities like dengue fever, which is more prevalent and more dangerous, and we have to allocate our resources accordingly." Like many of its neighbours, Indonesia records thousands of dengue infections a year. Indonesia is Southeast Asia's biggest economy but the World Bank estimates the government spends 5.7 percent of its gross domestic product on public health, which works out to $99 per person per year, compared with $459 in Malaysia, the region's third largest economy. Subuh said the ministry was actively monitoring for Zika, but experts said authorities would struggle to identify patients as few hospitals offered Zika testing, and those that did expected patients to pay more than $150 for a test, putting it out of reach of many ordinary Indonesians "The biggest challenge right now is that we may miss Zika-infected patients because of lack of facilities and testing," said Tedjo Sasmono, a scientist at Jakarta's Eijkman Institute, one of only two facilities in Indonesia capable of diagnosing Zika. The institute receives no government funding specifically for Zika and relies on funds from private hospitals, he said. Most people who are infected with Zika have mild symptoms but infections in pregnant women have been shown to cause microcephaly - a severe birth defect in which the head and brain are undersized - as well as other brain abnormalities. In adults, Zika infections have also been linked to a rare neurological syndrome known as Guillain-Barre, as well as other neurological disorders. Protesters urge S.Africa's Zuma, top ANC leaders to quit party posts By James Macharia JOHANNESBURG, Sept 5 (Reuters) - Members of South Africa's ANC chanted slogans outside its headquarters on Monday demanding President Jacob Zuma step down in a rare public show of anger in the ruling party after its worst election performance since the end of apartheid in 1994. The demonstrators argue that Zuma, whose rule has been tainted by scandal, is responsible for the African National Congress (ANC) losing control of three major urban centres in local elections last month by mismanagement of the economy that is now teetering on the edge of recession. Though the protesters numbered fewer than 100, the demonstration kept political tension high in Africa's most industrialised country, where markets have been rocked by a police investigation into Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan. Political analysts say Gordhan is the target of an ANC faction allied to Zuma. The president's office has denied claims Zuma was warring with Gordhan. Camouflage-clad veterans of the ANC's now-disbanded Umkhonto we Sizwe (MK) military wing, its Youth League and police with armoured vehicles ringed the party's Luthuli House building in downtown Johannesburg, causing a stand-off with the protesters. Some of the protesters carried placards, with one emblazoned: "Resign with immediate effect: ANC NEC and Jacob Zuma", referring to the party's National Executive Committee of Zuma and five other party leaders. A placard by rival Zuma supporters read: "Don't try this at Luthuli House". Critics of Zuma say he is also badly compromised by his relationship with the Guptas, a family of wealthy Indian businessmen with interests ranging from media and meining, who the opposition says exerts undue political influence over the president. Outnumbered on the streets, the protesters gave a list of their grievances to Secretary-General Gwede Mantashe. "There was a big hullabaloo in the media that there was going to be a big movement to occupy Luthuli House. There is not such a movement. It's a grouping - small," Mantashe said. Although the ANC won the most votes overall in the Aug. 3 local polls, its reputation was badly bruised by its loss of support mainly in major cities. Analysts said more internal squabbles were likely following the election losses, but would only bring change if they were led by senior party figures. Azerbaijan's SOCAR wants lower price for Greek gas grid deal BAKU, Sept 5 (Reuters) - Azerbaijan's state energy company SOCAR plans to go ahead with a deal to buy Greek natural gas pipelines operator DESFA, but says that its price should be reduced, SOCAR's president said on Monday. In 2013 SOCAR agreed to buy a 66 percent stake in the crisis-hit gas supply grid operator for 400 million euros ($446.3 million). But the acquisition stalled after SOCAR was ordered to sell 17 percent of DESFA to a third party to satisfy EU competition authorities. Complicating the sale further, Greece passed a law in July which raised DESFA's gas tariffs from next year by a much lower amount than expected. "The Greek side has taken some steps which violate the tender process ... That's why DESFA's price should be now half its initial value," Rovnag Abdullayev told reporters. "SOCAR does not intend to pull out of the deal," he said and added that SOCAR was expecting explanations from the Greek government. Abdullayev said that Italian gas grid operator Snam was still interested in buying a 17 percent stake in DESFA from SOCAR. DESFA's sale is part of a privatisation programme required under Greece's three international bailouts since 2010 and is expected to raise 188 million euros for state coffers this year, helping the country meet a 2.5 billion-euro target for state asset sales. Zambia's Lungu to be sworn in; opposition misses deadline for election challenge By Chris Mfula LUSAKA, Sept 5 (Reuters) - Zambia will press on with swearing in its president, Edgar Lungu, for another five-year-term next week, after the opposition missed a deadline to challenge his re-election, a senior official said on Monday. Opposition leader Hakainde Hichilema had filed a petition in constitutional court last month, saying the Aug. 11 vote was rigged and Lungu's victory should be annulled. But he missed a Friday deadline to present evidence to back up his charge, and the top court ruled on Monday not to extend the time limit. Hichilema's UPND party said it rejected the ruling. "We wish to put it on record that we have not lost an election, neither have we lost the petition which was before the Constitutional Court," the party said in a statement. "We have rejected the court ruling in that the judgment was passed on an application from the respondents without allowing us to respond," it said, without outlining its next move. Lungu, who won 50.35 percent of the vote according to the official results, will take the oath of office on Tuesday next week, later than the original Aug. 23 date, cabinet secretary Roland Msiska said. Lungu has been the head of the ruling Patriotic Front since its leader, Michael Sata, died in 2014. He won the presidency the following year, defeating Hichilema in their first electoral confrontation. Brazil's Taurus sold arms to trafficker for Yemen war, prosecutors allege By Lisandra Paraguassu PORTO ALEGRE, Brazil, Sept 5 (Reuters) - Brazil's Forjas Taurus SA, the largest weapons manufacturer in Latin America, sold guns to a known Yemeni arms trafficker who funneled them into his nation's civil war in violation of international sanctions, according to charges in court documents reviewed by Reuters. Federal prosecutors in southern Brazil charged two former executives of Forjas Taurus in May with shipping 8,000 handguns in 2013 to Fares Mohammed Hassan Mana'a, an arms smuggler active around the Horn of Africa for over a decade according to the United Nations. The handguns were allegedly shipped by Taurus to Djibouti and redirected to Yemen by Mana'a, according to court documents. Alexandre Wunderlich, a lawyer for the two former Taurus export executives, Eduardo Pezzuol and Leonardo Sperry, said the accusations in the sealed indictment "do not reflect the facts of the matter." Yemen has been consumed since early last year by a brutal civil war killing thousands of people as Iran-backed Houthi rebels challenge a Saudi-allied government. Mana'a, who served from 2011 to 2014 as governor of Sa'dah, a Houthi stronghold, could not be reached for comment. A Brazilian court issued a public summons for Mana'a in May as part of a case citing him, Sperry and Pezzuol as defendants. Taurus declined to answer detailed questions on the weapons case due to legal confidentiality but said it was "helping the courts to clarify the facts." The case, currently sealed by a judge in the southern city of Porto Alegre, near Taurus' headquarters, may draw legal scrutiny to the company, a major supplier of firearms to Brazil's police and military and one of the top five makers of handguns in the U.S. market, where it sells nearly three-quarters of its production. Brazil is the world's fourth-largest exporter of small arms. Prosecutors say the two former Taurus executives were negotiating another shipment of 11,000 guns with Mana'a last year when police uncovered the plot and raided the company's offices in November. Prosecutors have not brought charges against Taurus but said evidence seized in the raid included dozens of emails showing it knew of U.N. sanctions against trading arms with Mana'a and Yemen but sought ways to skirt them. "Taurus clearly made use of a notorious international arms trafficker to triangulate its merchandise to other countries, especially Yemen," the documents said. "There is no way Taurus and its employees can claim to be unfamiliar with acts attributed to Mana'a, since Leonardo Sperry testified it is standard for Taurus to do an internet search on people they invite to Brazil," they said. Sperry and Pezzuol gave testimony to federal police in October 2015 as the investigation got underway. The executives left Taurus late last year, according to their LinkedIn resumes. "All of the acts covered in the case were carried out entirely within the company and within legal limits," their lawyer said in an email. He declined to answer other questions, citing the confidentiality of the case. FUELING WAR Prosecutors said ties between Taurus and Mana'a stretch back to 2007, without elaborating in the court documents. They said the relationship went quiet for a couple of years after the U.N. Security Council leveled sanctions against Mana'a in 2010 for violating an arms embargo in Somalia. The U.N. sanctions banned any weapons sales or financing for Mana'a, and ordered an asset freeze and travel ban for him and others suspected of selling arms in Somalia's civil war. U.S. President Barack Obama also named Mana'a and ten others in a 2010 executive order banning business with individuals and groups accused of contributing to unrest in Somalia. Yet prosecutors said the sanctions did not stop Taurus from re-engaging with Mana'a as violence broke out in Yemen. Yemen's 18-month old conflict has drawn in regional powers and killed at least 10,000 people, including nearly 4,000 civilians, according to the United Nations. In an undated email cited by prosecutors, who did not name the recipients, Pezzuol wrote that "if Taurus decides to sell to Yemen, the path appears to be through Mohamad Manaa," adding that he had set up a route through Djibouti, just across the Mandeb Strait from Yemen. Taurus got authorization from Brazil's army in October 2013 to ship 8,000 weapons to Djibouti's defense ministry but prosecutors say in documents that Mana'a redirected the arms to Yemen using companies such as Al Sharq Fishing and Fish. Mana'a paid Taurus $2 million for the weapons, according to court documents, which cite regular payments from the Yemeni to the company since 2013. The documents did not indicate who had received the arms in Yemen. "Djibouti was a false way point for exportation," prosecutors wrote in their charges. "They made use of fraud to disguise the real destination of the weapons and to hide the involvement of Fares Mana'a." Prosecutors say the fraud extended to the identity of Mana'a, who came to Brazil in January 2015 to visit the Taurus factory despite the U.N. travel ban. On behalf of the company, Sperry and Pezzuol asked Brazil's foreign ministry to extend a formal invitation to the arms dealer, but the request was denied on the grounds of economic restrictions with Yemen. The executives then discouraged Mana'a from traveling to Brazil under his own name and tried unsuccessfully to obtain a passport from Djibouti for his use, according to prosecutors. They said Mana'a eventually entered Brazil on a passport with a false name and birth date. Just two months later, Mana'a and Taurus were arranging for another shipment of guns through Djibouti, according to the charges, disregarding the U.N. arms embargo for Yemen passed in April 2015. Prosecutors say that shipment of 11,000 handguns would have gone through to Yemen if police had not broken up the scheme. Afterwards Sperry wrote an email to Mana'a suspending the shipment "due to recent contact with Brazilian authorities." In May, a federal judge overseeing the case called for the notification of Brazil's foreign ministry, along with Interpol, the United Nations and the Saudi Arabian, Egyptian and U.S. embassies in Brasilia, court documents showed. G20 pledges to tackle global steel glut, quell China tensions By William James and Kiyoshi Takenaka HANGZHOU, China Sept 5 (Reuters) - G20 leaders have pledged to work together to address excess steel capacity that has punished the global industry with low metal prices for years while raising tensions between China and other major producers. A statement from the White House said that leaders at the G20 summit in Hangzhou, eastern China, on Monday accepted that overcapacity in steel and other industries is a global issue that requires a collective response. Proposals for the formation of a global forum that would seek a global solution and report back to the G20 next year underscore the growing resolve to support a sector that has long been grappling with chronic oversupply and sluggish demand. Global steel production fell last year for the first time since 2009, dipping 2.8 percent to 1.6 billion tonnes, with China accounting for half of the total. But there is a long way to go if the industry is to make a serious dent in the 700 million tonnes of excess capacity. Such a forum would be the first concrete action by world leaders to try to stem output, revive producers and end a trade brawl between China and other major steel producers, including the United States. Speaking at the summit, British Prime Minister Theresa May said the G20 had decided to do more to tackle excess output, while Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe urged leaders to address the issue. European and U.S. leaders have pressed China to accelerate capacity cuts, blaming its big exports on slumping prices and accusing it of dumping cheap metal in foreign markets. They have threatened sanctions or anti-dumping taxes on Chinese steel imports and criticised Beijing for providing subsidies, such as interest-free loans, to prop up state-owned companies. China has promised to cut steel capacity by 45 million tonnes this year, though it said last month that it was behind on that target. The steel industry welcomed the G20's pledge of support but remained cautious, with executives in Europe and India agreeing that any taskforce requires China's buy-in. "Its success will depend on (China's) attitude," said Jindal Steel & Power's Chief Executive Ravi Uppal, adding that global production needs to be about 800 million tonnes. "Anything more than that is going to create crisis." Indian steelmakers have lobbied for protectionist measures to prevent cheap overseas steel from undercutting local mills and squeezing margins. European steel body Eurofer said it was "prudently positive" about the plan. Germany says optimistic Turkey will end ban on German lawmaker visits BERLIN, Sept 5 (Reuters) - Germany said on Monday it was optimistic Turkey would lift a ban on German lawmakers visiting German troops working at a NATO air base in the country though Ankara had not yet taken a specific stance after intense talks on the matter. Turkey banned German MPs from visiting the Incirlik base near the Syrian border in June after they passed a resolution declaring the 1915 massacre of Armenians by Ottoman Turkish forces a genocide. German lawmakers in turn threatened to end Germany's military mission in fellow NATO state Turkey. German Foreign Ministry spokesman Martin Schaefer said there had been intense German-Turkish discussions about the dispute, which could jeopardise German participation in the U.S.-led coalition fighting Islamic State insurgents. "We are optimistic and hope and expect that all the desired visits by German lawmakers for Incirlik or other sites will be approved," Schaefer told a regular government news conference. "But we don't know that yet for certain." German Chancellor Angela Merkel struck an upbeat tone after meeting Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan in China on Sunday, saying she expected progress on both the Incirlik dispute and visa-free travel for Turks to Europe. Both Germany and the EU, which depend on Ankara to keep a lid on the movement of migrants to the bloc, are trying to ease tensions with Turkey after criticising Erdogan's crackdown on opponents following the failed coup in July. Schaefer said a decision by Turkey to approve the lawmaker visits would be a "good and important step forward" in repairing ties strained by the Armenia resolution and Ankara's concerns about Germany's response to the putsch attempt. At G20 meeting, Turkey pushes plan for "safe zone" in Syria By Humeyra Pamuk and Seda Sezer ISTANBUL, Sept 5 (Reuters) - Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan said on Monday he had urged world powers at a G20 meeting to set up a "safe zone" in Syria where there would be no fighting and which could help stem migrant flows from the Arab nation. Speaking in China, Erdogan said he had repeated a proposal for a "no-fly zone" in Syria during his talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin and U.S. President Barack Obama. Turkey, which hosts 3 million Syrian refugees, has long pushed for a safe zone to protect civilians but has found little appetite among Western allies, who fear such a move would involve a deeper military commitment. In a bid to protect its border, Turkey launched an incursion into northern Syria almost two weeks ago, and has since cleared Islamic State and Kurdish militia fighters from a 90-km (56-mile) stretch of territory. Ankara, fighting a Kurdish insurgency at home, calls both groups terrorist organisations. "The Syrian citizens in our country and those would want to migrate from Syria can now find the opportunity to live more peacefully in their own land and their own houses," Erdogan said of the area cleared of militants. "A no-fly zone could be set up there, and that was my suggestion to both Obama and Putin. This could be achieved with the coalition forces. We are in an effort to take this step," he told a news conference. Turkey proposed such a "safe zone", which would stretch roughly 40 km deep into Syria, at last year's G20 meeting in the Turkish city of Antalya, but without success. An internationally-policed no-fly zone would be needed to protect the area from aerial bombardment. "At the Antalya summit, we persistently told all leaders that we could solve the migrant crisis by setting up a safe zone," Erdogan said in China. "Now at this summit too, we have brought up this issue with all our friends." The Turkish president also said he was working with U.S.-led coalition forces and Russia to establish a ceasefire in the northern Syrian city of Aleppo before the Eid al-Adha religious holiday expected to start around Sept. 11. TEXT-Saudi-Russian joint statement on oil market cooperation LONDON, Sept 5 (Reuters) - Saudi Arabia and Russia agreed on Monday to cooperate in oil markets, saying they will not act immediately but could limit output in future. Below is a text of the statement: Joint Statement of the Minister of Energy, Industry and Mineral Resources of Saudi Arabia Khalid A. Al-Falih and Minister of Energy of the Russian Federation Alexander Novak: The Minister of Energy, Industry and Mineral Resources of Saudi Arabia Khalid A. Al-Falih and the Minister of Energy of the Russian Federation Alexander V. Novak met in Hangzhou, China on the sidelines of the G20 Summit. In their meeting, the Ministers recognised the importance of maintaining their ongoing dialogue about current developments in oil and gas markets and indicated their mutual desire to further expand their bilateral relations in energy. This stems from the fact that the two countries currently shoulder the responsibility of producing more than 2I -percent of global oil demand which is required to fuel global economic growth, improve standards of living and help achieve the Millennium Development Goals. 1. The Ministers recognizer the current challenges in the supply side of the global oil market, including major contraction of capital investments in oil extraction on a global scale, particularly in exploration, as well as mass deferrals of investment projects, which made the market, as a whole, more volatile and therefore unsustainable to both producers and consumers in the long term. There is an imperative to mitigate excessive volatility harmful to global economic stability and growth. In this regard, the Ministers noted that constructive dialogue and close cooperation among major oil producing countries is crucial to oil market stability to ensure sustainable levels of investment for the long term. Therefore, the Ministers agreed to act jointly or with other producers. In addition, the Ministers agreed to continue consultations on market conditions by establishing a joint monitoring task force to continuously review the oil market fundamentals and recommend measures and joint actions aimed at securing oil market stability and predictability. 2. The Ministers agreed to promote cooperation between the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the Russian Federation in the oil and gas industry, including deployment of new technologies, exchange of information and expertise to raise the level of technology applications in production, refining, storage, transport and distribution, as well as equipment production, support services such as engineering, manufacturing and research activities, along with collaboration in power generation and renewable energy. 3. The Ministers committed to explore the possibility of creating a joint database on advanced energy technologies, along with feasibility assessments of their deployment, utilization, and financing through sovereign funds of both countries. 4. The Ministers decided that the first meeting of the Saudi -Russia Working Group on oil and gas cooperation established according to Article 4 of the Cooperation Agreement between the Government of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the Government of the Russian Federation on oil and gas cooperation dated the 2nd of September 2003 and the Execution Program of the agreement dated the 18th of June 2015, shall be held during October 2016, to enhance the cooperation, and implementation of what has been agreed upon. Furthermore, the Ministers will meet again on the sidelines of the upcoming meetings of IEF in Algeria and OPEC's November meeting in Vienna. The Joint Statement was signed in Hangzhou on the 5th of September 2016. The Russian Federation The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia A. Novak Khalid A. Al-Falih Minister of Energy, Industry Minister of Energy and Mineral Israel maintains wary eye on Syria as conflict turns to 'balagan' By Luke Baker JERUSALEM, Sept 5 (Reuters) - The Syrian conflict is entering a highly unpredictable phase, the former head of the Israeli domestic security agency said on Monday, adding that the Iranian-backed militia Hezbollah posed a growing threat to Israel despite losing many fighters. As Syria has descended into seemingly intractable fighting over the past five years, Israel has largely stayed on the sidelines, keeping watch over the Golan Heights frontier that divides them and occasionally carrying out airstrikes or returning mortar fire if there is a specific threat. Israel, with historical enemies on its borders, maintains close intelligence on its neighbours and a special channel of communication with Russia to remain informed on Syria. Avi Dichter, the former director of Shin Bet and now chair of parliament's foreign affairs and defence committee, said Israel, like all Western and Arab intelligence agencies, had failed to predict most of what had unfolded, including thinking Syrian President Bashar al-Assad would be toppled quickly. With Russia carrying out airstrikes from Iranian bases, and Turkish forces engaged in a ground assault against Islamic State in the north, Israeli officials see the conflict moving into an even more chaotic, unpredictable phase. "There is a debate about whether we are at the beginning of the end or just the end of the beginning," Dichter told foreign reporters, saying tectonic shifts had produced a regional earthquake that was "at least nine on the Dichter scale". "I know chaos is a better word for describing what is going on, but really it is 'balagan'," he said, using a Hebrew word with Russian roots that means total mess. "With chaos, you know when it is going to stabilise. 'Balagan' is something that no one really knows when it is going to be stable." The civil war that broke out in 2011 has cut Syria into a patchwork of territories held by the government and an often competing array of armed factions, including Kurdish militia fighters, a loose coalition of rebels groups, and Islamic State. World powers are backing opposing sides in the civil war, with the United States and Turkey supporting rebels seeking to oust Assad, while Russia and Iran back the Syrian president. All of them also say they are fighting Islamic State, but their efforts are not coordinated. COMPETING INTERESTS Amid the unrest, Some Israeli officials have sought to highlight potential positives, seeing in it a reshaping of the Middle East, a century after Britain and France drew up many of the region's borders, that could benefit Israel by weakening its traditional enemies, including Syria, Lebanon and Iran. "We're in a situation where the more divided things become, the weaker the threat is for us," one Israeli diplomatic official said last week. But the situation also raises new unpredictables, including how Russia and Turkey - both Israeli allies who have their own interests in Syria - will act. For example, both Moscow and Ankara have indicated that they would support Assad remaining in power in some capacity, an outcome unpalatable to Israel. Dichter said that while Turkey, Russia and Iran may have competing priorities, "we don't see any intention (on their part) to use Syria as a platform against Israel". The exception to that, though, is Hezbollah, the Iranian-backed Lebanese militia that is fighting on behalf of Assad's forces and has confronted Israel repeatedly in the past. It battled Israel for nearly 20 years during the Israeli occupation of southern Lebanon from 1982, and they fought a war in 2006. Hezbollah has lost about 1,600 fighters in the Syrian conflict, Dichter said, with an estimated 5,000-6,000 wounded. "More Hezbollah terrorists have been killed in Syria than in clashes with Israel in 30 years," he said, calling it "good news" and a concern for Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah. The bad news for Israel, he said, was that Hezbollah was learning to fight in bigger groups with advanced weaponry. "It's not anymore just a set of terrorists, it's battalions, with sophisticated weapons, with artillery," he said, calling Syria a "very good training ground". China, Japan seek better ties even as they remain apart on isles By Kiyoshi Takenaka HANGZHOU, China, Sept 5 (Reuters) - China and Japan agreed on Monday to improve relations but still lectured each other over maritime rows that remains a recurrent flashpoint. Ties between the two countries, which have Asia's largest economies, have long been overshadowed by arguments over their painful wartime history and a territorial dispute in the East China Sea. "We must make efforts with China to improve relations from a big-picture perspective," Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said after meeting Chinese President Xi Jinping, who was hosting a summit of the Group of 20 big economies in Hangzhou, China. Xi told Abe that the two neighbours should "put aside disruptions" and bring their relations back on the normal track as soon as possible, as ties are still "troubled by complications at times", according to China's state-run Xinhua news agency. "Both sides should bolster their sense of responsibility and crisis awareness, and work to build on the positive elements of bilateral ties while putting a lid on negative ones, in order to ensure stable improvement of relations," Xi said. The two agreed to accelerate talks on a communications mechanism between their militaries, Abe told a news conference. But both leaders stuck to their positions over the dispute over tiny isles in the East China Sea, controlled by Japan, which calls them the Senkaku, but claimed by Beijing as the Diaoyu. Abe called recent incursions by Chinese vessels near the isles "regrettable," said Japanese Deputy Chief Cabinet Secretary Koichi Hagiuda. "There are various problems between us because we are neighbours," Abe said. "That makes it all the more important to have dialogue. I will seek stability in the East China Sea situation through dialogue and consultation and work with China to make it a sea of peace, cooperation and friendship in the true sense." Xi said China and Japan should properly handle the East China Sea issue via dialogue and consultation to "jointly safeguard peace and stability in the region", according to Xinhua. The Chinese host also told Abe to exercise caution on the issue of the South China Sea, where China has refused to recognise a July ruling by an arbitration court in The Hague invalidating China's vast claims to the waters. Beijing has accused Tokyo of interfering in the South China Sea, where China and several Southeast Asian nations are embroiled in an argument over ownership. Grass guns, rape, hunger and hate replace school in S.Sudan's Wau By Michelle Nichols WAU, South Sudan, Sept 5 (Reuters) - Dressed in a ripped T-shirt and shorts, 10-year-old Martin Andrea raises a toy AK-47 assault rifle made of long grass reeds to his shoulder and takes aim at no-one in particular on a red dirt road in Wau in northwestern South Sudan. "I want to kill Dinkas because they make life difficult for us," he said, speaking through a translator. Nearly three years ago political rivalry between South Sudanese President Salva Kiir, an ethnic Dinka, and his former deputy Riek Machar, a Nuer, sparked a civil war that has often followed ethnic lines. The pair signed a shaky peace deal a year ago but fighting continues and Machar fled the country. For several months, Martin has been living in a tarpaulin shelter with his mother, Terbi, seven brothers and two sisters in an area protected by U.N. peacekeepers after fleeing their home amid an eruption of violence between government forces and different ethnic groups. The family are among some 24,000 civilians sheltering at the site. Around South Sudan U.N. peacekeepers are protecting nearly 200,000 people at six compounds. The U.N. Security Council visited Wau on Sunday during a three-day visit to South Sudan. U.S. Ambassador Samantha Power became visibly emotional recounting a meeting with two girls aged 12 and 13 at the camp in Wau. Both had been raped, one on her way to school. "Even though she had lost her home, her father had been killed and she ended up in a POC (protection of civilians) site, she wanted to keep going to school," Power told reporters. The United Nations said the conflict in Wau has been marked by grave human rights violations, including killings and rapes. Adam Luciano Umong, 32, fled with his family to the U.N. protected camp in June after he said government troops killed his policeman brother, wounded his 21-year-old brother, George, and stole his motorbike, which he used to provide a taxi service. "The government is the one killing people, killing civilians ... Salva Kiir is not president, he's not a responsible man," Umong said. "I don't want Riek, I don't want Salva ... These people are destroying the country." Half of the 12 million people in South Sudan, which gained independence from Sudan in 2011, are going hungry due to the conflict, poor rains and a battered economy. "What we expected of independence was not like this," said Christine Elia, 27, as she cooked porridge for her four children. "My house was looted and two of my brothers were killed ... It was really dangerous but we managed to escape and then we went to the bush." She said that although she arrived at the camp 45 days ago she does not yet have a shelter to live under. "When it is raining, it rains on us ... there is no food for us," she said, speaking through a translator. Madeline Luis, 38, is about to give birth any day to her 12th child. She already has six boys and five girls and they have been living at the Wau camp for several months. Speaking through a translator, Luis said she did not see a future as her children were in the camp instead of in school. Spain's Socialists seek talks but third election still looks likely By Angus Berwick MADRID, Sept 5 (Reuters) - The leader of Spain's Socialists said on Monday he would seek coalition talks with smaller parties, as the country lurches towards its third election in a year following several failed attempts to form a government. Pedro Sanchez, whose party finished second in an inconclusive national election in June, said he wanted to discuss options with two newcomer parties, anti-austerity Podemos ("We Can") and centrist Ciudadanos ("Citizens"). He was also willing to talk to the conservative People's Party (PP), which won the most votes. But he said he would continue to oppose a PP government, ruling out the alliance that many analysts view as the only feasible option for averting a third election. The Socialists' opposition last week in two parliamentary confidence votes doomed to failure an attempt by PP leader and acting prime minister Mariano Rajoy to form a coalition. That extended a political stalemate that has held the country in its grip since December when an earlier national ballot also ended without a clear winner, frustrating Spaniards who are beginning to enjoy the fruits of recovery after a long recession. Parties now have two months to put aside their differences and form an administration. Failing that new elections will be called, probably in late December. "Let's begin a round of talks to see what solution we find," Sanchez told a news conference on Monday. Sanchez failed to form a government with backing from the smaller parties in March, with Ciudadanos and Podemos refusing to support each other. The two smaller parties remain deeply divided on issues including economic policy and a referendum on independence for the Catalonia region. Assuming they do not bridge their differences and Sanchez remains opposed to Rajoy, the latter would need to persuade the smaller parties to back him to win any further confidence vote. "My intentions can be summarized in one word: persevere," Rajoy told a news conference at the G20 gathering in Hangzhou, China. King Felipe, who acts as broker between party leaders, said on Monday he would not for now hold a fresh round of formal consultations. Spain's economic recovery has so far held up well amid the political uncertainty, underpinned by a thriving tourism industry and low oil prices. But challenges are mounting, ratings agency Moody's said in a report on Monday, citing a poor outlook for tax revenue and decribing last week's failed confidence votes as credit-negative. Syrian army aims to hit militants south, west of Aleppo-source BEIRUT, Sept 5 (Reuters) - The Syrian army and its allies aim to strike insurgents to the south and west of Aleppo after encircling the rebel-held half of the city, blocking rebels from sending reinforcements from their stronghold in Idlib, a Syrian military source said on on Monday. Backed by Russian air strikes, the Syrian army and allied militia blocked off the last route into the insurgent-held areas of eastern Aleppo on Sunday, a long-held goal in the five-year-long conflict. "The army wants to complete and expand its control around the city in general," the source said. "All positions where terrorists are located to the west of Aleppo and south of it are being attacked because this area is a priority for the the army, given that Idlib is the human resources store (for the rebels)." The army and its allies were working to widen their control near a complex of military colleges captured from the rebels on Sunday, the source added. "Now the army's belt of control is being widened in the area of the colleges and nearby areas to the south and west," a Syrian military source told Reuters. "This expansion is very necessary because this is the direction that secures passage for the terrorists from the Idlib countryside." Russia's Putin says to visit Uzbekistan on Tuesday after leader's death HANGZHOU, China, Sept 5 (Reuters) - Russian President Vladimir Putin said he would visit Uzbekistan on Tuesday to honour the memory of President Islam Karimov, who died last week after suffering a stroke. Addressing a news conference at the G20 in China, Putin said he hoped the Central Asian's country new leadership would be able to preserve stability. Karimov had ruled the mainly Muslim ex-Soviet nation for 27 years. He was 78. "One can make different judgements about what he did for his country, one can view various moments in Uzbekistan's modern history differently, but he preserved stability in the country, he preserved its steady development," said Putin. "New people will come ... I hope very much that they will be able to preserve this stability. For a country like Uzbekistan, it's extremely important, it's just indispensable for its self-preservation and further steady development." Gabon's Sogara oil refinery shut due to post-election violence DAKAR, Sept 5 (Reuters) - Gabon's sole oil refinery in Port Gentil has been shut since last Wednesday because of violence following the disputed Aug. 27 presidential elections, a union official told Reuters on Monday. It was not clear when the Sogara refinery, which processes 21,000 barrels of oil per day, would be back online, said Sylvain Mayabi, secretary-general of the National Organization of Petrol Employees. Unrest in Ethiopia delays aid to malnourished children - U.N. By Katy Migiro NAIROBI, Sept 5 (Thomson Reuters Foundation) - Political violence in Ethiopia has delayed the distribution of aid to four million people hit by drought and floods, including malnourished children, the United Nations said on Monday. Anti-government protests over disputed provincial boundaries and allegations of human rights violations have riven Ethiopia's north-central Amhara province and central Oromiya province over the past three months. "The ongoing situation in Oromiya and Amhara has slowed down dispatches and distributions of targeted supplementary feeding commodities from the Government's main warehouse in Nazareth, Oromiya," the U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said in its latest update. "The situation also affects dispatches and distributions in Afar, as a large proportion of the commodities allocated to the region are dispatched from the WFP (World Food Programme) warehouse in Kombolcha, Amhara." Children under five and pregnant and nursing women with moderate acute malnutrition receive specialised nutritious foods for about six months, or until they return to health. Those with life-threatening severe acute malnutrition were not affected, the U.N. said, as there were sufficient stocks in health posts. Ethiopia was hit in 2015 by one of the worst droughts in decades, with 10 million requiring emergency aid, which ended when the spring rains arrived in March. The rains have brought flooding, which has displaced hundreds of thousands of people, while others fled their homes due to communal conflict in Oromiya and Somali regions. In June, Human Rights Watch said security forces killed at least 400 people in Oromiya protesting at government plans to allocate land surrounding the regional capital for development. Authorities scrapped the scheme in January, but protests flared again over the continued detention of opposition demonstrators. In Amhara, residents said police fired live bullets at demonstrators in August during protests in the city of Bahir Dar over the status of Wolkayt district, which protesters say was illegally incorporated into neighbouring Tigray region. Azerbaijan's SOCAR wants lower price for Greek gas grid deal BAKU, Sept 5 (Reuters) - Azerbaijan's state energy company SOCAR plans to go ahead with a deal to buy Greek natural gas pipelines operator DESFA, but says that its price should be reduced, SOCAR's president said on Monday. In 2013 SOCAR agreed to buy a 66 percent stake in the crisis-hit gas supply grid operator for 400 million euros ($446.3 million). But the acquisition stalled after SOCAR was ordered to sell 17 percent of DESFA to a third party to satisfy EU competition authorities. Complicating the sale further, Greece passed a law in July which raised DESFA's gas tariffs from next year by a much lower amount than expected. "The Greek side has taken some steps which violate the tender process ... That's why DESFA's price should be now half its initial value," Rovnag Abdullayev told reporters. "SOCAR does not intend to pull out of the deal," he said and added that SOCAR was expecting explanations from the Greek government. Abdullayev said Italian gas grid operator Snam was still interested in buying a 17 percent stake in DESFA from SOCAR. A senior official in the Greek Energy Ministry said SOCAR should take into consideration subdued demand for gas in Greece. "Regulations on the tariffs...are based on (gas) consumption estimates. Obviously, the Azeris are only looking at the financial part and not at the other aspect, which is plunging (gas) consumption in the country," the official said on condition of anonymity. He added that SOCAR did not have a say in the tariff hikes since the company would be a passive shareholder in DESFA. DESFA's sale is part of a privatisation programme required under Greece's three international bailouts since 2010 and is expected to raise 188 million euros for state coffers this year, helping the country meet a 2.5 billion-euro target for state asset sales. Turkish military says 30 Kurdish militants killed in air strikes in northern Iraq ANKARA, Sept 5 (Reuters) - The Turkish military said on Monday it had killed 30 Kurdish militants, including some senior figures, in air strikes a day earlier in northern Iraq based on tip-offs and information from drones and reconnaissance vehicles. Turkish warplanes have repeatedly carried out air strikes in northern Iraq targeting the bases of Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) militants in the Qandil mountains after a ceasefire between the state and the group broke down last summer. Cash crunch at Saudi firm casts shadow over Lebanon's Hariris By Tom Perry BEIRUT, Sept 5 (Reuters) - The Hariri family's pre-eminent role in Lebanese politics is being shaken by a financial crisis at its Saudi construction firm, a development that could dilute Sunni influence in the country and leave Iran's allies even more firmly in control. The troubles at Saudi Oger have led to a cash crunch and layoffs in Lebanon's Future Movement, the political party built with Saudi backing by the late statesman Rafik al-Hariri and now led by his son, Saad. The party's woes have led many analysts in Lebanon to ask whether Riyadh may be cutting its losses in a country increasingly dominated by the Iran-backed Shi'ite Hezbollah despite enormous Saudi efforts to counter it over the years. "We can't deny the existence of a financial crisis, which is a reflection of another one that has nothing to do with the organisation. It has an indirect link to the crisis of Saudi Oger," said Rashed Fayed, a Future Movement official who is a member of its policy-making office. The financial engine behind the Hariri family's political network, Saudi Oger has been hit hard recently by a slowdown in the Saudi construction sector linked to the drop in oil prices and resulting state spending cuts. Wage payments to thousands of its workers have been delayed for months, according to Saudi media and the workers themselves. The company has declined to speak publicly about its finances. Many employees of Hariri-owned organisations in Lebanon also say they have not been paid in months. Sources in the Future Movement said some staff were laid off last week. One source, who declined to be named, said the layoffs aimed to cut costs across the movement to safeguard continued operations. The situation may reflect a bigger shift in Saudi policy as other countries become more important in its titanic struggle with Iran, notably Syria, Yemen, and Bahrain, analysts say. Lebanon is one of the places where that conflict first flared: with Saudi support, Hariri spearheaded a political confrontation with Hezbollah following his father's assassination in 2005. "Is Hariri part of the past in Saudi, the present, or the future? This is the biggest question surrounding him," said commentator Jihad el-Zein. Although his party has deep roots in Lebanon's Sunni community built over decades, "we can't imagine a political history or presence for it without Saudi Arabia". A BIGGER SHIFT Despite Saudi efforts, Hezbollah's influence in Lebanon has grown only stronger. Riyadh cancelled a $4 billion aid package to the Lebanese army and security forces in February over perceived Hezbollah influence on Lebanese foreign policy. The Saudi foreign minister said in March the group had "hijacked" government decisions. While Hezbollah built its legitimacy in the Shi'ite community on the fight to drive Israel from southern Lebanon, Rafik al-Hariri was building his by rebuilding Lebanon from its civil war. He became more powerful than any of a number of Sunni families that had historically led the community. An international tribunal has indicted five members of Hezbollah over his assassination. The group denies any role. Saad followed in his father's footsteps, becoming prime minister in 2009 until his unity government was toppled in 2011 by the resignation of Hezbollah and its allies. He then spent years outside the country, making only short visits until earlier this year when he returned permanently. The Hariri family's network includes media outlets and charitable foundations as well as the Future Movement's party bureaucracy, a large staff of advisors and regional offices. Future Movement MP Ahmad Fatfat said financial difficulties were first felt in 2009 "but in the last year it has become more acute". Public services including health support offered by the party have been cut back, he told Reuters. "Nothing has been halted completely, but nothing is at the previous level," he said. Fatfat was confident the Future Movement would remain politically dominant, however, "because people realise that we defend their real interests, the state, Sunni moderation and coexistence". AN OPPORTUNITY FOR REFORM? Hariri's opponents see his financial problems as a harbinger of his political demise. The pro-Hezbollah al-Akhbar newspaper declared on the frontpage of its Friday edition that a "massacre" of Future Movement employees was underway. The big test will be parliamentary elections expected to be held next year for the first time since 2009, in which Hariri will face a growing challenge from Ashraf Rifi, a former ally who beat established Sunni politicians in local elections in the predominantly Sunni city of Tripoli in May. Rifi's tough rhetoric has struck a chord with Sunnis who are hostile to Iran and Hezbollah. Hariri is equally scathing in his public remarks, but his party's continued participation in government alongside Hezbollah has exposed him to criticism from hawks in the Sunni community. Rifi resigned from his post as justice minister in February in protest at what he saw as Hezbollah's domination in the unity government, which is widely seen as a guarantor of political stability. He also criticised Hariri for nominating a Hezbollah ally, Suleiman Franjieh, for the vacant presidency last year. For its part, Hezbollah is deeply suspicious of Rifi. Its refusal to consent to the extension of his term as chief of police contributed to the collapse of the government in 2013. While Rifi's politics have won him admirers in Saudi Arabia, where some see him as a potentially more effective ally than Hariri, he does not have the kind of countrywide presence built by the Hariris over nearly two decades. The Future Movement is due to convene a conference in October. Fayed, the Future Movement official, said the financial crisis was an opportunity for reform. A Future activist, who declined to be identified, said Hariri faced a struggle to redefine the movement, forecasting that his dominance would steadily diminish as other Sunni politicians gain ground. "Harirism was built on pillars -- financial capabilities and Arab Gulf backing. In 2016, political Harirism has neither of these," the activist said. Nabil Boumonsef, a commentator in An-Nahar newspaper, said it was too early to say how the crisis would play out for Hariri, who remains the strongest Sunni leader for now. But he warned against him being weakened. European parliament committee backs visa-free travel for Georgia BRUSSELS, Sept 5 (Reuters) - A European Parliament committee voted on Monday to grant visa-free travel to the European Union from the former Soviet republic of Georgia, after worries over immigration to the bloc delayed the process earlier in the summer. The committee voted 44 in favour versus five against for liberalisation, although the decision must still be approved in more negotiations between the parliament and EU states. Germany was among those to have voiced strong reservations. Brussels says that the country of 3 million had met the criteria for visa-free travel but, to Tbilisi's frustration, the EU, shaken by a mass influx of migrants and refugees in 2015, put a brake on easing travel requirements for third countries before the summer. For Georgia and Ukraine, which is also seeking visa-free travel to the EU, the issue is part of a geopolitical tussle with Russia over ex-Soviet states with Western aspirations that Moscow still sees as its own backyard. TIMELINE-Egypt's on again, off again relationship with ergot ABU DHABI/CAIRO, Sept 19 (Reuters) - Egypt's ability to import one of its most essential commodities, wheat, has been thrown into question amid repeated failed tenders, a result of suppliers shunning the world's top buyer because of its strict policy on the ergot fungus. Over the past year Egypt has flip-flopped on its policy towards the common grain fungus, which can lead to hallucinations but is considered harmless at minor levels. Last month's decree reinstating zero tolerance for ergot rattled world grain markets and threatened to disrupt Egypt's bread subsidy programme, on which tens of millions of the country's poorest rely. Below is a timeline of the controversy: December 2015: A 63,000-tonne shipment of French wheat sold by Bunge to Egypt's state grain buyer, the General Authority for Supply Commodities (GASC), is rejected by the agriculture quarantine authority for containing trace levels of ergot. Jan. 6, 2016: Egypt's quarantine head, Saad Moussa, says the authority is applying a zero-tolerance ergot policy despite the supplies ministry and GASC stipulating 0.05 percent tolerance. Jan. 14, 2016: The supplies ministry insists it will keep its 0.05 percent tolerance level for ergot. Jan. 31, 2016: GASC confirms Bunge's French wheat shipment has been rejected, saying it contained an ergot level higher than 0.05 percent. Bunge denies this. Feb. 3, 2016: Egypt's agriculture ministry says it will accept 0.05 percent ergot in wheat shipments, while the quarantine authority, an agency that falls under it, says anything above zero will be turned away. Feb. 7, 2016: After two GASC purchase tenders are cancelled due to low turnout, Egypt seeks to reassure the global market. The supplies and agriculture ministries stress they will adhere to a 0.05 percent ergot level. Feb. 9, 2016: Bunge launches legal proceedings against GASC. Feb. 17, 2016: Under mounting pressure from trader boycotts of its purchase tenders, GASC distributes a letter to suppliers from the agriculture ministry stating it will adhere to a 0.05 percent tolerance level. March 2, 2016: Reuters reveals agricultural quarantine continues to apply zero tolerance in part because of an old decree governing it that calls for zero ergot. That is at odds with a separate regulation, used by GASC, that allows 0.05 percent. March 6, 2016: Egypt replaces Moussa, the head of the agriculture quarantine authority and the man who strictly applied the zero-tolerance policy. Ibrahim Imbaby replaces him. March 7, 2016: Egypt's agriculture ministry says it has assigned an expert from the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations to conduct a risk assessment on ergot in order to bring the country's laws into harmony. March 8, 2016: Imbaby says he will, like his predecessor, apply a zero-tolerance policy until a new law is passed. July 4, 2016: A decree is passed by the agriculture ministry allowing quarantine to accept 0.05 percent ergot. July 13, 2016: The agriculture ministry reveals that an FAO study concluded ergot is not a threat to Egyptian crops, but says the decision can be amended if future studies indicate harm. Aug. 25, 2016: Egypt's supplies minister, Khaled Hanafi, who had defended the 0.05 percent policy, resigns on the back of a wheat corruption scandal. Aug. 28, 2016: Egypt's agriculture ministry imposes a new decree reinstating the total ban on ergot. The ministry cites a locally conducted follow-up study that finds the fungus to be a threat to Egyptian crops. Aug. 31, 2016: GASC changes its tender specifications, bringing them in line with quarantine's zero-tolerance policy on ergot for the first time. Global suppliers stage a boycott and GASC is forced to cancel a tender. Sept. 5, 2016: Egypt's health ministry adopts a zero-ergot stance, bringing all three ministries that oversee the policy in line for the first time and making it harder for GASC to backtrack. Sept. 7-9, 2016: Egyptian inspectors reject a 63,000-tonne Romanian wheat shipment at its port of origin for trace levels of ergot even though the cargo had been contracted under the old ergot rules. It is the first cargo rejected at its port of origin. Sept. 16, 2016: GASC cancels its second consecutive wheat tender after failing to receive any offers and as a 60,000-tonne Russian wheat shipment is rejected at Novorossiisk after weeks of inspection. Sept. 16, 2016: Russia says it will ban imports of fruit and vegetables from Egypt from Sept. 22, apparently in retaliation for held-up shipments of Russian wheat. Health ministry decision makes zero ergot Egypt's new normal By Maha El Dahan and Eric Knecht ABU DHABI/CAIRO, Sept 5 (Reuters) - Egypt's health ministry banned wheat with any ergot fungus on Monday, a decision traders said signals the zero tolerance policy that wreaked havoc on the country's grain purchases earlier this year is back to stay. The decree, seen by Reuters, brings the ministry in line with an agriculture ministry decree issued last week reinstating the ergot ban, a policy that previously hampered the world's largest wheat buyer's ability to import grain. The health ministry's decision is the latest in a back and forth battle over the highly contentious wheat import regulation that has halted state grain tenders, raised prices, and been the subject of debate between and within ministries that have often advocated policies at odds with one another. Ergot, a common grains fungus that can cause hallucinations in large amounts, is considered harmless in low quantities and more common international standards allow a 0.05 percent tolerance level. Traders, who say it is nearly impossible to guarantee zero ergot, said Monday's decree was significant as it brings all three ministries that oversee the policy - supply, health and agriculture - in line for the first time and leaves little room for the state grain buyer to relax the rules if need be. "It's almost impossible now to change the decree, it's like they want to force the zero ergot and think that everyone should abide by it," one Cairo-based trader said. FULL CIRCLE When Egypt's agriculture quarantine authority began rejecting shipments containing trace levels of ergot last year, it was the lone advocate of a stringent zero tolerance policy, on the margins of a debate over quality control. At the time, the quarantine authority's own ministry, the agriculture ministry, publicly claimed to follow the tolerance level of up to 0.05 percent. In recent weeks, however, and following an agriculture ministry-led study that concluded ergot could pose a threat to plant life, the quarantine's strict position has been formally adopted by every major institution overseeing the ergot rules. The impact on imports is already being seen. Last week, at the first tender state grain buyer GASC (General Authority for Supply Commodities) has held with zero ergot stipulated in its tender booklet, only one supplier made an offer. GASC was forced to cancel the tender, underscoring the difficulty the country may face sustaining a massive bread subsidy programme while also demanding standards suppliers say are unattainable. Traders said the health ministry decree will now make it harder for GASC, a long time proponent of the more tolerant 0.05 standard, to ease the rules should it continue to face low turnout at tenders. "GASC used to base their 0.05 percent policy on the basis of the health ministry's position, so now that they've changed that it means the decision is likely final," another Cairo trader said. Egypt's agricultural quarantine authority has argued that even trace amounts of ergot can contaminate plant life and give the fungus a foothold to flourish where it does not exist now. The unified stance on ergot also comes amid what traders have said are heightened inspection measures at ports of origin in recent weeks, implemented to guarantee zero ergot. Traders say the measures, which include re-inspecting and replacing wheat suspected of containing even single grains infected with ergot, have held up shipments at ports and added to the cost of doing business with Egypt. "Everything is a mess in Egypt and in the ports of Constanta and Novorossiysk," said one trader, referring to wheat shipments that have been held up in Romania and Russia. Colombia's Cano Limon pipeline hit by leftist ELN rebel attack BOGOTA, Sept 5 (Reuters) - A leftist rebel bomb attack has halted pumping operations along Colombia's second most important oil pipeline, the Cano-Limon Covenas, state oil company Ecopetrol said on Monday. The attack by National Liberation Army (ELN) guerrillas occurred on Saturday in a rural area of northern Norte de Santander province, close to the border with Venezuela, the company said. The incident did not halt production or exports. The 485-mile (780 km) pipeline has the capacity to transport up to 210,000 barrels of crude daily from oil fields operated by U.S.-based Occidental Petroleum to the Caribbean port of Covenas. Attacks on oil installations by the ELN, a group of about 1,500 combatants, have been a frequent occurrence during a conflict that has taken more than 220,000 lives and displaced millions over the past 52 years. President Juan Manuel Santos sought to begin peace talks with the ELN in March, but negotiations have stalled until the group frees all its hostages. The Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), the biggest rebel group in the South American country, agreed to a peace accord with the government on Aug. 24. Gunfire kills two at New York Caribbean street party By Laila Kearney NEW YORK, Sept 5 (Reuters) - Two people were shot dead at a pre-dawn Caribbean heritage celebration in New York despite ramped-up efforts by police and community activists to prevent the violence that has plagued the annual event, authorities said on Monday. Gunfire erupted in three separate incidents during J'Ouvert, a street party tied to the Caribbean Carnival that draws tens of thousands of revelers in the borough of Brooklyn over the Labor Day Weekend. Two other people were wounded, police said. At the same event last year, two people were killed, including a top aide to New York Governor Andrew Cuomo. "Last night, we had unfortunate tragedy once again affect this event," New York City Police Commissioner Bill Bratton said at a news conference. Two men, aged 18 and 22, were killed in shootings at about 3:45 a.m. and 4:15 a.m. a.m. A 72-year-old woman was injured in the first shooting and a 20-year-old man was shot in the leg in a third shooting at about 6:45 a.m. Only one of the victims, who were not publicly identified, was believed to have been targeted, police said. No arrests have been made. J'Ouvert takes its name from a word in the French Creole languages of the Caribbean that means "daybreak." The party is followed by the West Indian Day Parade, which attracts some one million people. Last year, Carey Gabay, 43, a Harvard-educated attorney who was formerly an aide to the state's governor, was struck and killed by a stray bullet during pre-parade festivities and another person was fatally stabbed. In the past decade, more than a dozen people have been either killed or wounded in shootings and stabbings at parade-associated events, according to media reports. The New York Police Department assigned 3,400 officers to the event this year, compared with 1,700 last year. In addition, 45 surveillance cameras were installed along the parade route, 250 light towers were erected to illuminate streets and community activists and clergy reached out to gangs leading up to the event. Police conducted a gun buy-back the Friday before the festivities. Mayor Bill De Blasio, who declined on Monday to say whether he would consider cancelling the parade in future years, said the city would need to continue strengthening its security of the event. Gabon's Sogara oil refinery restarts after 5-day outage KINSHASA, Sept 5 (Reuters) - Gabon's sole oil refinery in Port Gentil reopened on Monday after a five-day outage because of violence following the disputed Aug. 27 presidential elections, Sylvain Mayabi, secretary-general of the National Organization of Petrol Employees, told Reuters. Bahrain brings new charges against man believed to be top democracy activist DUBAI, Sept 5 (Reuters) - Bahrain prosecutors on Monday filed new charges against a man believed by rights activists to be the Gulf state's most prominent jailed democracy campaigner, Nabeel Rajab, after the New York Times published an op-ed under his byline. The prosecutor of the Gulf state's northern region, Mohammed Salah, said a man had been questioned over a complaint from the cybercrime unit accusing him of "publishing a column in a foreign newspaper in which he deliberately broadcast news, statements and false rumours that undermine the kingdom's prestige and stature". Salah did not identify the man or name the newspaper, but a rights group and a lawyer said the statement clearly referred to Rajab, who had been in jail since June on charges related to anti-government tweets published last year, including one accusing the security forces of torturing detainees. Rajab was a leading figure in a 2011 pro-democracy uprising led by Bahrain's Shi'ite Muslim majority and he has been repeatedly detained. In the New York Times column, published on Sunday, Rajab addressed readers in the first person, saying he was writing from a "Bahraini jail cell where I have been detained, largely in isolation, since the beginning of summer". The column said Bahrain was a country "that has subjected its people to imprisonment, torture and even death for daring to desire democracy". Bahrain denies any systematic abuse by police and says it has installed cameras at interrogation centers to guard against wrongdoing by security personnel. The Sunni-led government accuses the opposition of stirring sectarian hatred in the kingdom and of serving the interests of its rival, Shi'ite Iran. The prosecutor's statement said the suspect had denied the new charges. It reported the unidentified man as saying he could not have made any comments to any party since he was in jail. Law enforcement authorities in Bahrain, as in other Gulf Arab states, sometimes issue statements about investigations or indictments in security cases without naming the accused. The Bahrain Institute for Rights and Democracy said in a statement that Rajab's lawyer had been refused access to attend the interrogation of his client. EU moves closer to visa-free travel for Georgia, Ukraine may follow By Gabriela Baczynska BRUSSELS, Sept 5 (Reuters) - A European Parliament committee on Monday backed visa-free travel to the European Union for Georgia and moved towards granting another ex-Soviet republic, Ukraine, the same right, after migration worries delayed the process before the summer. The committee voted 44 in favour versus five against for the Georgian liberalisation, although the decision must still be approved in the so-called 'trilogue' negotiations between the parliament, EU states and the executive European Commission. EU states held off an expected decision to ease travel rules for Georgia in June as Germany and other countries voiced reservations, saying any new visa waivers should be delayed until the bloc agreed easier rules to suspend visa-free travel. That process is now also awaiting trilogue talks. Ahead of an expected vote by the committee later this month, Mariya Gabriel, a Bulgarian lawmaker with the parliament's largest faction, the European People's Party, told Monday's session that travel rules should also be relaxed for Ukraine. "Politically and strategically it is very important that we deliver visa-liberalisation for Ukraine," said another member of European Parliament, Portugal's Ana Gomes of the Socialists. Like Georgia, Ukraine sees visa-free travel to the EU as part of a geopolitical tussle with Russia over the ex-Soviet states' Western aspirations, which Moscow opposes. The issue of fostering closer ties with the EU was at the heart of mass street protests in Kiev that toppled a Moscow-allied president there in early 2014. Moscow responded by annexing Crimea from Kiev that March and unrest then spread to eastern Ukraine, where Russia-backed militias took up arms against Kiev government troops in a conflict that killed more than 9,500 and remains unresolved. The EU, as well as the United States, slapped sanctions on Russia over the turmoil in Ukraine. While a growing number of EU states now speak of the need to re-engage with Russia, the lawmakers on Monday stressed the EU stood by Ukraine. Georgia was at the heart of international tensions in 2008 when a five-day war between Tbilisi and Moscow in August led to the previous sharp decline in ties between Russia and the West. The south Caucasus country of 3 million is due to hold parliamentary elections in October. In a sign that the European Parliament wanted another hopeful, Kosovo, to do more before it is given visa-free travel, the lawmakers endorsed a corresponding proposal, but did not give their negotiators mandate to open the trilogue talks. The EU says Kosovo must ratify a border deal with Montenegro before it can get more relaxed travel rules to the bloc. But the frontier deal is controversial in Kosovo and final parliamentary approval has been delayed. The EU is also in uneasy talks on granting visa-free travel to Turkey, though both Ankara and Brussels now admit that will be delayed from a previous target date of October. France expresses concern for safety of nationals in Gabon PARIS, Sept 5 (Reuters) - France expressed concern on Monday about the safety of several of its nationals following violence in its former colony Gabon triggered by a disputed presidential election. Fighting erupted in Gabon last week after the announcement of a slim victory for incumbent President Ali Bongo. At least six people have been killed and more than 1,000 arrested during the unrest. "Arrests have taken place in the past few days. France is without news about several of its compatriots," Foreign Affairs Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault said in a statement. Ayrault welcomed the African Union's offer to help the feuding sides resolve the dispute and called on the Gabonese authorities to work with a heads of state mission that hopes to visit the country soon. France has had a military base in Gabon since independence in 1960. Gabon is also home to 14,000 French citizens and many French companies have commercial interests there, including in the oil industry. Cuba government filtering mobile text messages, dissidents say By Marc Frank HAVANA, Sept 5 (Reuters) - Cuba's Communist government is filtering mobile phone text messages for key words such as "democracy" and "human rights" and then blocking them, dissidents said on Monday. An investigative report by blogger Yoani Sanchez and journalist Reinaldo Escobar concluded that text messages failed to reach their destinations if they contained Spanish words for democracy, human rights or hunger strike, among others, as well as the names of some dissidents. Eliecer Avila, head of opposition youth group Somos Mas, which participated in the investigation, said 30 key words that triggered the blocking had been identified but there could be more. "We always thought texts were vanishing because the provider is so incompetent, then we decided to check using words that bothered the government," he said. "We discovered not just us but the entire country is being censored," he said. "It just shows how insecure and paranoid the government is." It was not clear for how long the filter had been in place. The full report was published by Sanchez's online newspaper, 14YMedio.com. State telecommunications monopoly ETECSA could not be reached for comment. Cuba has repeatedly charged that the United States wants to use telecommunications to subvert the government and brands Sanchez and other opponents as mercenaries working with Washington. Reuters on Monday unsuccessfully tried to send messages containing the words "democracy," "human rights," "Somos Mas" and Yoani Sanchez. Other messages containing the Spanish word for "protest" went through. The messages that did not reach their destinations appeared as "sent" on the users' telephone. Cuba arrived late to modern telecommunications, authorizing mobile phones in 2008 and Wi-Fi internet access only last year. Online, it blocks dissident websites and media it believes to be funded by the United States, but permits the websites of critical newspapers such as El Nuevo Herald and El Pais. There currently are about 3 million mobile telephone accounts with local provider CubaCell, which is part of ETECSA. Despite efforts by the Obama administration to link U.S. internet providers with the country as part of a detente begun in December 2014, Cuban authorities appear more interested in working with Russia on cyber-security, while China provides most of the Caribbean island's communications technology. Experts estimate that between 25 percent and 30 percent of Cuba's 11.2 million residents has some Internet access, mainly through Wi-Fi, though it is sparsely used because of high rates. EMBARGOED-Global warming disrupts oceans, seen lingering in the depths OSLO, Sept 5 (Reuters) - Global warming is disrupting ocean life from plankton to whales and the heat may linger in the depths for centuries even if man-made greenhouse gas emissions are halted, an international study said on Monday. Rising temperatures in the seas were also having wider knock-on effects such as by disrupting rainfall patterns over land, spurring extreme weather events and aiding a spread of water-borne diseases, it said. "Ocean warming may well turn out to be the greatest hidden challenge of our generation," according to a 460-page study by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), which includes scientists, governments and activists. "The impacts are already being felt," it said of the findings by 80 scientists in 12 nations. The oceans have absorbed more than 90 percent of the heat trapped by man-made greenhouse gas emissions since the 1970s, it said. Warming is driving marine life such as plankton, jellyfish, fish and turtles towards the poles, according to the study released during an IUCN congress in Hawaii. "The speed of change in the ocean, such as the poleward range shifts in marine systems, is happening between 1.5 and 5 times faster than on land. Such range shifts are potentially irreversible," it said. Some migrants, such as whales, were arriving at the wrong time to feed in traditional breeding grounds. Some seabirds, such as those nesting on traditional sites in the North Atlantic, were now in the wrong place to catch fish. And warming would penetrate ever more into the deep ocean, below 700 metres (2,300 ft). "The effects will continue to be experienced there for decades, if not centuries, even if a complete cessation of carbon dioxide emissions were possible," it said. China and the United States, the top two emitters, said on Saturday that they had ratified a 2015 global deal to combat climate change. The pact aims to phase out emissions in the second half of this century. Overall, warming would cause a "cocktail of negative effects" in the oceans, despite a few positive impacts, the study said. This year is likely to be the warmest since records began in the 19th century, ahead of 2015. Blast kills 20 Yemeni government troops, six Qaeda militants dies in drone hit SANAA, Sept 5 (Reuters) - At least 20 Yemeni soldiers loyal to exiled President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi's government were killed in a bomb blast east of the capital Sanaa on Monday, officials said. Two officials said the bomb went off at the entrance of a Yemeni army camp in central Marib province, which is mainly under the control of Hadi's government. Several other soldiers were wounded in the blast, the officials said, adding that the number of casualties could rise as some of those injured were in serious condition. It was not immediately clear if the bomb blast was a result of a deliberate attack or if it was an accident. Hadi's government, backed by a Saudi-led Arab coalition, has been waging an offensive against Iran-allied Houthi fighters and supporters of former President Ali Abdullah Saleh since March last year. The Houthis hold the capital. On Sunday, residents reported that a drone believed to be operated by the United States attacked a house in the Wadi Obeida tribal area in Marib province, killing six suspected al Qaeda militants. Washington has kept up a campaign of drone strikes against militants who have exploited the 18-month-old civil war. The Yemen conflict has split the security forces and allowed Islamist militants to flourish. The United States has for years launched drone strikes against al Qaeda's powerful Yemen branch, which planned several foiled bombing attempts on Western-bound airliners and claimed responsibility for the 2015 attack at the Charlie Hebdo magazine's offices in Paris. Iran, Saudi spar over running of haj pilgrimage DUBAI, Sept 5 (Reuters) - Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei renewed criticism of Saudi Arabia over how it runs the haj after a crush last year killed hundreds of pilgrims, and suggested Muslim countries think about ending Riyadh's control of the annual pilgrimage. Saudi Arabia accused Iran, its main regional rival, of seeking to politicise this month's event, saying in turn on Monday that Iran was compromising safety with its actions. "The Iranian authorities are the ones who don't want the Iranian pilgrims to come here for reasons concerning the Iranians themselves and in light of them seeking to politicise haj and turn it into rituals against Islam's teachings and that compromise the safety of haj," the state news agency SPA quoted Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Nayef as saying. He was reviewing preparations the pilgrimage that starts on Sept. 11. Custodian of Islam's most revered places in Mecca and Medina, Saudi Arabia stakes its reputation on organising haj, one of the five pillars of Islam which every able-bodied Muslim who can afford to is obliged to undertake at least once. Riyadh said 769 pilgrims were killed in the 2015 disaster - the highest haj death toll since a crush in 1990. Counts of fatalities by countries who repatriated bodies showed that over 2,000 people may have died in the crush, more than 400 of them Iranians. "Because of these (Saudi) rulers' oppressive behaviour towards God's guests (pilgrims), the world of Islam must fundamentally reconsider the management of the two holy places and the issue of haj," Khamenei said in a message carried by his website and Iran's state media. "They must not let those rulers escape responsibility for the crimes they have caused throughout the world of Islam," Khamenei said, listing Saudi Arabia's involvement in conflicts in areas including Iraq, Yemen and Syria on the side of forces Iran opposes. Riyadh accuses Tehran in turn of destabilising Arab states and spreading sectarianism by backing militias in Syria, Lebanon, Iraq and Yemen and fomenting unrest in Bahrain and Saudi Arabia. Iran denies those charges. Iran blamed the 2015 disaster on organisers' incompetence. Pilgrims from Iran will be unable to attend haj, which starts on Sept. 11, this year after talks between the two countries on arrangements broke down in May. "What Iranian media and some Iranian officials are raising is not objective and they know before anyone else that the kingdom has given the Iranian pilgrims what it gave others," Prince Nayef said. Gabon justice minister resigns over disputed presidential election KINSHASA, Sept 5 (Reuters) - Gabon's justice minister, Seraphin Moundounga, resigned on Monday in protest over the re-election of President Ali Bongo, which has triggered accusations of fraud and streets riots that have killed at least six people. France plans 1 bln euro income tax cut ahead of election - Les Echos PARIS, Sept 5 (Reuters) - France's Socialist government is examining trimming income taxes by 1 billion euros ($1.11 billion) seven months ahead of a presidential election, Les Echos reported on Monday. The tax cut under consideration is smaller than flagged by President Francois Hollande earlier this summer and is likely to reflect France's sluggish economic recovery and battle to haul down its fiscal deficit to below 3 percent by the end of 2017. Hollande, who is deeply unpopular and has not confirmed if he will run for a second term in April's presidential poll, had said in June that households would see tax cuts worth a total 2 billion euros if growth was to hit 1.7 percent next year. The tax cut is due to be discussed by Hollande and his prime minister, Manuel Valls, at a meeting on Thursday, Les Echos reported, before the draft 2017 budget is delivered to the Conseil d'Etat, the country's highest administrative court. Journalist charged in Venezuela after anti-Maduro protest By Girish Gupta CARACAS, Sept 5 (Reuters) - A prominent journalist and lawyer jailed on Venezuela's Margarita island was charged on Monday with money laundering, according to family and a rights group, following his arrest after publicizing a protest against President Nicolas Maduro. Videos published by activists, purportedly from the locality of Villa Rosa, showed scores of people banging pots and pans and jeering the socialist leader as he visited the island on Friday evening. More than 30 people were briefly detained, activists said on Saturday. The incident came as the opposition has been stepping up its campaign for a referendum to recall Maduro, who says a coup is being planned against him. All those held in Margarita were released after a few hours except Braulio Jatar, 58, who was picked up on Saturday morning on his way to host his regular morning radio show, according to his family. They knew nothing about his whereabouts until hours later when intelligence agents came to the family home and searched it, allowing them to send him clothes, according to his sister, Boston-based Ana Julia Jatar, 60. Jatar was born in Chile, where Foreign Minister Heraldo Munoz expressed concern over Jatar's arrest and the charges against him. "As a Chilean, he has the right to be protected by the state of Chile and we will take all the steps necessary on his behalf," Munoz told reporters. On Thursday, hundreds of thousands of people marched peacefully through Caracas to demand the right to vote on a recall of Maduro, the successor to Hugo Chavez, whose popularity has plummeted due to a brutal economic crisis. Of 163 people detained in relation to Thursday's protests, 29 remain behind bars, according to local rights group Penal Forum. Five of them have been formally charged. That brings the total of political prisoners in Venezuela to 93, said Alfredo Romero, the director of Penal Forum. Both Romero and Jatar's sister confirmed the charge of money laundering. They offered no details, saying only that they had been told he would remain under arrest for the time being. The Ministry of Information did not immediately respond to requests for comment on Jatar's case or other arrests. Government officials have sought to downplay the incident on Margarita, saying videos had been "manipulated" by pro-opposition media. Showing video clips of their own, they say Maduro was cheered by supporters on his visit to the island. Democracy in Pakistan has been subject to the perennially constant factor of "security first", and building democratic institutions later, to use an oft-repeated cliche, in use for well over six decades in the country. Traditionally speaking, the overreach albeit ever-increasing since the 1950s of the unelected institutions, that is, the military, higher judiciary and civil bureaucracy (historically beholden to the military establishments virtual monopoly of the decision-making powers in key areas such as foreign policy and defence to name a few) have collectively dealt severe body blows to Muhammad Ali Jinnahs vision of a pluralistic, progressive and democratic Pakistan. His August 11, 1947 speech delivered to the Constituent Assembly is something that liberals tend to fall back on when confronted with the theocratic state that Pakistan has threatened to transform into on different occasions in history. Some would argue that the damage that all that has wrought is irreparable, and hence, fatal considering how the idea of Pakistan unravelled in 1971. However, despite the odds, the country has precariously lurched from one autocratic rule to another, but has managed to survive with, but not necessarily due to, intermittent bouts of democracy in between. The watershed moment perhaps came in 2013 when transition of power from one elected government to another took place peacefully, via popular vote when the Pakistan People's Party (PPP) was voted out paving way for Nawaz Sharifs Pakistan Muslim League (PMLN) forming the next government. Raza Rumi in latest book, The Fractious Path: Pakistans Democratic Transition, offers a critical analysis of the dynamics of Pakistani politics in a scholarly fashion, especially with respect to its peoples democratic aspirations and lessons learnt from the past. The Fractious Path, Pakistan's Democratic Transition is a compilation of articles and essays written by the Raza Rumi between 2008 and 2013 published by Harper Collins India. The problem, according to Rumi, lies with the historical role (which still continues but in newer, more fancy and palatable notions) of Pakistans unelected institutions, viz the military, the judiciary and now the media. All these institutions and sections of society under their influence perpetuate the myth that democracy is dangerous, and once elected, the political leaders are prone to compromising the countrys sovereignty, as opposed to military autocrats who are painted as the only patriotic and balanced option that the country can offer. According to Rumi, the Lawyers Movement of 2007 started against a dictator but increasingly came to be known and owned by the conservative Right. The Zardari governments prevarication post the Benazir Bhutto assassination in restoring the judges fired by Pervez Musharraf added a new chapter of complete stalemate, but this time with different protagonists, that is, the elected government and the meddlesome judiciary. Although the 2008-2013 PPP administration staggered from one crisis to another, almost all artificially engineered, the voters faith in democracy did not waver as was hoped by those harbouring anti-democratic designs. The net result of the above war of attrition meant that the Supreme Court, while fortifying itself against, what it perceived, an usurpation of its powers by Parliament of all institutions, it bizarrely and in a strange and perhaps unintended twist, seemed to be pandering to the wishes of the military establishment by embarking upon an anti-Parliament crusade with vengeance. Unlike in any democratic society with a popularly elected chamber of deputies (National Assembly in Pakistans case), the Supreme Court in an unprecedented and bewildering move arrogated to itself the right to hold which parts of the 18th Amendment violated the so-called "basic structure" of the 1973 Constitution. The net result: an unnecessary and thoroughly demeaning diminution and erosion of powers and, above all, dignity of an elected Parliament at the hands of an unelected Supreme Court. Needless to mention that the 18th Amendment was passed unanimously by Parliament which could well be described as another watershed moment in the political and constitutional history of Pakistan, especially with respect to the abolition of concurrent legislative list giving more powers to the federating units, as originally envisioned by the framers of the 1973 Constitution. As far as Pakistans foreign policy is concerned, notwithstanding its traditional India-centric policy, there have been signs of the realisation on this side of the border that friendly relations with its neighbours, especially India, have to be established but major groundwork still needs to be done. It would not be out of place to say that Indias emerging status as an economic power and the consequent policy of its elected elites to isolate Pakistan fuels the vicious cycle that has prevented elites of both countries from addressing the seriousness of the situation elected elite on the Indian side and unelected elite on the Pakistani side. False and hubristic nationalism espoused by the same elites serves to lend credibility to the extremist fringe in both India and Pakistan which needs to be avoided. Threats of waging a war in the context of the 2008 Mumbai attacks, according to Raza Rumi, will only strengthen the forces in Pakistan that have cherished confrontation, and silence the majority that wants peace with India. On the surface, Pakistans nascent electronic media seems free and vibrant like in any democratic society, furtive, news hungry, sensationalist and eager to lay the story threadbare without any fear or favour. Scratch the surface and you will find a mindset at work that has no regrets in invoking military interventions to keep Parliament under check. So where is Pakistan headed? According to a number of commentators including Rumi, despite the military establishment jealously guarding its territory in the national decision-making process - not least vis-a-vis foreign policy and defence - and occasionally wresting back the role an arbiter during political fueds, Pakistan is well on its path to becoming a pluralistic and progressive society. As Prime Minister Narendra Modi held his first bilateral meeting ahead of the G20 Summit with President Xi Jinping of China, he red-flagged the crucial issue of decisively increased Chinese presence in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir as well as Beijings growing bonhomie with Islamabad, despite the terror menace in South Asia. In Hangzhou on Sunday, September 4, PM Modi asked Beijing to "respect" and be "sensitive" to New Delhis rising worries regarding the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) which passes through PoK, despite major terror threats emanating from that zone of acute instability. Read in the context of Chinas recent anti-India positions stalling New Delhis bid for the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) membership and also vetoing Indias bid get the United Nations to officially declare Masood Azhar, the Jaish-e-Mohammad chief, as a terrorist PM Modis tough talk is both timely and expected. New Delhis new aggressive posturing and raising of the Balochistan bogey may have riled both Beijing and Islamabad, but in this climate of tit-for-tat sabre-rattling, genuine talks on anti-terror cooperation stand little chance if China isnt a party to them. While Modi has tried to court Xi a number of times during his two years in office, including the latters much hyped India visit and the "swing diplomacy" on the banks of Sabarmati, India-China relations have not significantly improved, with a number of incursions across the Line of Actual Control. Despite Modi's swing diplomacy" on the banks of Sabarmati, India-China relations have not significantly improved. (Photo: PTI) However, a tougher Modi, backed now by a sterner United States signing crucial defence deals such as LEMOA with India, may influence Xi to do a rethink on Chinas accelerating involvement in Pakistan and PoK. After all, the terrorist attack on the Chinese embassy in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan may only be the beginning of more sustained, low-scale assaults on Chinese assets in the region. Chinas bid to fill in the geopolitical void created in Pakistan/PoK, with Washingtons growing misgivings over Islamabad and openly siding with New Delhi at various global summits, may quickly backfire. With too many rival factions that are out of control, arming and funding them the way the US had done through the last quarter of 20th century will not exactly give China a stable economic corridor for a peaceful and prosperous Asia. Because the CPEC will link the Kashgar city of China with Gwadar port in Balochistan, creating an oil, gas and freight superhighway on either directions, its passing through PoK is an enormous burden on India as long as the terror threats loom large on Jammu and Kashmir, in particular, and South Asia in general. PM Modi has recently stated that PoK is firmly a part of Jammu and Kashmir, which is an Indian state, despite having a special status under Article 370. In this light, the CPEC is violative of Indias territorial and geostrategic integrity because it bypasses New Delhi altogether. With Chinese militarys covert presence in Gilgit-Baltistan since the 1963 Sino-Pakistan agreement, as well as the new, overt economic understandings between Beijing and Islamabad, things are not looking up for India at this point. Modi has urged that economic considerations mustnt be over and above principles of standing together against global terror. However, a fuel and logistics superhighway running parallel to the Line of Control and cutting through PoK impacts India negatively as it further bolsters a completely unstable and unpredictable Pakistan. Given the current mess in Kashmir valley, and an all-party talk having had a rough start with the Hurriyat Conference backing out, mutual hostilities are likely to only go up and not come down. But can PM Modi increase pressure on China through forums like BRICS, G20 and the UN General Assembly? The decision to send an all-party delegation to Kashmir to assess the ground situation is a welcome step by the government, even if it came two months after the protests began in the Valley. It is a step in the right direction which will help in arriving at a political solution to the impasse. The 27-member delegation should meaningfully address the unrest that has already taken 73 lives and will build the road to sustainable peace in the Valley. If we see the timeline of the Kashmir problem since July 8, when militant commander Burhan Wani was killed by the security forces, we will find serious inconsistencies and contradictions in the government's response in handling of the protests in the state. There is a palpable sense of policy confusion. After Prime Minister Narendra Modi spoke of political outreach and dialogue with the protesters, Union home minister Rajnath Singh invited non-Kashmiri Muslim leaders to consult with them on the path to be taken in Kashmir, thus, trying to project a community-based solution to the problem. The Union finance minister, on the other hand, spoke in an altogether different voice. There is an obvious ambivalence in the utterances of the Central leadership and between the Central and the state leadership in Srinagar about the resolution of the problem. Prime Minister Narendra Modi. (Photo: Reuters) A coherent framework is missing in the process. Confusing signals are making it difficult to bring about sustainable peace in the Valley. Secondly, the words of the government are not yielding any result because they are not backed by genuine action on the ground. So far as strategy is concerned, the Modi government is banking on the 2002 Vajpayee formula of "Insaniyat, Jamhooriyat and Kashmiriyat". But the problem is deep-rooted this time around. So, out of the box thinking is required which is nowhere to be seen either in New Delhi or Srinagar at present. There is much that the Modi government and the Mehbooba Mufti government can do in Kashmir. Hoping that normalcy will return to the Valley after the youth get exhausted and that the protests will lose momentum is not a strategy but symptomatic of lack of ideas and political will. So what is the solution? The path to sustainable peace in Kashmir lies in a separate but integrated plan of action for the people of Jammu and Kashmir, the separatists and for Pakistan and the action plan must be followed by courage for serious action on the ground. When we are talking about dialogue, we will have to have a dialogue in a democratic way. The contours of dialogue must be defined. We should have dialogue with an open heart but not without exercising our minds; otherwise the consequence will be similar to that achieved by the home minister during his last visit to Srinagar. An open invitation for talks was sent on Twitter when there was no internet in the Valley. He himself was not clear about the parameters of the talks. Violence continued unabated even during the visit of the home minister. The people of Jammu and Kashmir are looking for a permanent and lasting solution. Ordinary Kashmiris, prisoners in their own houses, are sandwiched between the terrorists, separatists and security forces. They are facing the worst economic crisis ever. But what needs to be understood is that the depth and intensity of alienation among the youth of Kashmir is real and enduring. The challenge is to engage the youth in the Valley through confidence-building measures. Their psychological integration with the Union of India is the lasting solution to the problem. And for that, we need to first understand what their aspirations are. The trust deficit between New Delhi and Srinagar should be made so strong that it is not cracked by the centrifugal forces. We have to abandon preconceived notions and prejudice, and have to collectively overcome the "we versus them" syndrome in the Valley. During the UPA government, a series of round table discussions were held as confidence-building measures among the people of Jammu, Kashmir and Ladakh regions. Revival of such strategies would help to strike a psychological cord with the people of Jammu and Kashmir. The formula for political solution should be accompanied by measures for economic development of the state for real time effectiveness of such a solution. The government ought to keep in mind that the youth of Kashmir are unlikely to respond to economic packages until a political solution is reached. Like in any other state, the people of Jammu and Kashmir are sensitive to the incidents and utterances in other parts of the country. So the domestic policy of the Central government should be in sync with its Jammu and Kashmir policy. There is every probability that a conciliatory approach towards the Valley will be negated by a polarisation strategy in other states. Rather, it will deepen the crisis. Pakistan's meddling in the internal affairs of India, particularly in Jammu and Kashmir, is an open secret. By appointing parliamentarians as special envoys "for fighting the Kashmir cause in different parts of the world", Pakistan has reignited the agenda of portraying Kashmir as an international issue and to impress upon the United Nations, through its well-wishers, for its intervention in Jammu and Kashmir. But Pakistan should remember that the UN Resolution of 1948 has specifically stated that Pakistan should withdraw its troops from Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK). Therefore, by refusing to withdraw its troops from PoK, Pakistan has violated the UN resolution. Then how to deal with Pakistan? The Pakistan policy of the Modi government is marred by confusion and inconsistencies. The comprehensive dialogue process now appears to be in dead water. Till now, the Modi government is yet to effectively utilise back channel diplomacy for talks. Central Virginia Genealogical Association hosts Bill Henry of the Blue Ridge Heritage Project presenting The Human Side of Shenandoah National Park from 1:30 to 3:30 p.m. Saturday at Church of Latter-Day Saints on Airport Road. cvga.avenue.org. (434) 962-4697. Ivy Creek Natural Area holds its Ivy Talks series with Steve Thompson and Dede Smith presenting Waterworks: A History of the Local Water Supply at 2 p.m. Sunday. 1780 Earlysville Road. (434) 973-7772. The Lodge at Old Trail Third Thursday lecture series hosts Paul Cantrell, chair of the Albemarle Blue Ridge Heritage Project, presenting Honoring Albemarle Residents Displaced to Create Shenandoah National Park at 5:30 p.m. Sept. 15 at 330 Claremont Lane in Crozet. Reservations are encouraged at (434) 823-9100. Miller Center offers the American Forum with Nicole Hemmer presenting Messengers of the Right: Conservative Media and the Transformation of American Politics at 11 a.m. Wednesday at 2201 Old Ivy Road. (434) 924-7236. Sierra Club hosts climate scientist Michael Mann speaking about his new book, The Madhouse Effect, at 6 p.m. Sept. 15 in Charlottesville City Council Chambers. (434) 973-0373. Thomas Jefferson Foundation at Monticello presents the Capstone Public Summit on Race and the Legacy of Slavery as part of the National Endowment for the Humanities 50th Anniversary Celebration from 10 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Sept. 17 on the West Lawn of Monticello. Details and list of speakers are available at monticello.org/NEH. (434) 984-9800. United Nations Association Blue Ridge Chapter hosts Robert Toplin speaking on the connection between possible solutions for current world refugees and Herbert Hoovers solutions as director of food relief before and after World War I at 3 p.m. Sept. 18 at Thomas Jefferson Memorial Church at 717 Rugby Road. (434) 409-0264. University of Virginia Department of Religion presents a lecture and panel discussion on religious liberty, led by Alan Taylor, at 7 p.m. Thursday in the Caplin Pavilion at the UVa Law School and at 7 p.m. Friday at the UVa Small Library Auditorium. mormonstudies.as.virginia.edu/events. (434) 973-8407. A small English pointer named Doobert has been living in Troy with a foster mom for about two weeks now. Hes deaf, but that hasnt seemed to restrain his zest for life. He traveled more than 1,000 miles to find a loving home in Virginia. Not even 3 months old, Doobert was in rough shape when he arrived at an animal rescue in Kansas. Irresponsible breeding by his owner left Doobert deaf and severely underweight. He didnt even have a name. Fortunately, that previous owner did reach out to Deaf Dogs Rock, an educational site and referral service for owners of deaf dogs. That organization then got in touch with Troy-based Green Dogs Unleashed, a nonprofit that both rescues special-needs animals and trains pups to become therapy dogs. Then came the tricky part transporting the tiny pup almost 1,100 miles from Savonburg, Kansas, to Fluvanna County. Lucky for Doobert, an entire network of dedicated organizations and individuals was ready to make his long journey possible. For years now, Myra Alexander has worked independently as a transport coordinator for animal rescues. It can be grueling work Green Dogs Unleashed founder Erika Proctor calls Alexander a miracle-worker who tirelessly coordinates sometimes seemingly impossible transports. Quite honestly, in the 16 years I have been involved in rescue, I have never seen anything like the things she manages to pull off, Proctor said. Alexander creates run sheets that map out the legs of a trip required to get an animal from point A to B. Once the journey has been mapped out, volunteers sign up for one or more of those legs, which usually last an hour or two. Alexander then connects the legs of the trip with volunteers on Facebook or, more recently, an app called, well, Doobert. To be fair, the app claimed the name first. Doobert is a software platform with mobile apps on both iOS and Android that connects rescues and shelters to volunteers. Doobert.com founder Chris Roy likened the app to a combination of Open-Table and Uber. Rescues and shelters are like restaurants and they need patrons, or in our case, volunteers, Roy said. Doobert helps connect the rescues and shelters with photographers, foster homes and other types of volunteers. Roy said rescues and shelters often need to move animals from overpopulated, high-kill areas to regions with higher demand for pet adoption. In the past, that process has been prohibitively complex sometimes, as Alexander can attest. With Doobert, the transport routes are easy to plan, volunteers are automatically notified if they are near a leg of the trip, and the logistics of who is covering what leg, where to meet [and] how to find another are smoothed out, Roy said. Roy, who is developing the software as quickly as his day job can fund things, named the app after his cat. But when an unknowing volunteer read the name in an email on his leg to Virginia, with a little nameless pupper in tow, he assumed Doobert was the dogs name. Other volunteers thought it was more than fitting, and thus, the pup took on the name of the service that helped save him. It took 19 drivers in total to complete Dooberts two-day journey to Troy. The last leg was driven by Keith Batt, a volunteer who brought his son along for the short drive from Staunton to Troy. According to Batt, Doobert curled up with his son for the entire trip, happy as he could be. Even though he was a puppy who had been abused, you can tell when a dog has a zest for life, and I think thats what makes Doobert special to all of us, Batt said. It kind of leaves us scratching our heads as to why anyone would do this to a dog, referring to Dooberts poor breeding. When he arrived in Troy, Doobert was handed over to his foster mom, Julie Walters, who will take care of him while he undergoes treatment from Green Dogs Unleashed. Proctor said that when new dogs arrive, they have to be vetted by one of their specialists and then spayed or neutered before being put up for adoption. Proctor said Doobert also will get some basic command training using hand signals, and that because of his very, very small size, Green Dogs is letting him get a bit bigger before having him neutered. While Dooberts story seems to have a happy almost-ending, it was only made possible through selfless volunteerism. Alexander estimates she coordinated transports for about 25 dogs in the month of August alone, mostly using her weekends to do so. And thats just me personally, she said. There are big transport groups out there that are running constantly. No matter how big or small the networks, Alexander said they can never have enough volunteers. Long-haul truckers, pilots and even flight attendants on commercial airlines sometimes volunteer their long-distance travel routes to get animals to loving homes, but anyone can join in Alexander personally recommends the free Doobert app to anyone who wants to lend a hand. It doesnt take much of their time, she said. Its just a small way to help. As for Doobert the dog, Walters said the pup has been doing great, gaining some weight, playing lots of catch and sleeping every night with his two foster brothers. I can just tell he feels safe and at home, Walters said. As much as it may hurt to see him go Every foster dog leaves with a little piece of my heart, she said Walters will be taking Doobert to his first adoption fair Tuesday. The event, at Custom Ink in Charlottesville, runs from 12:30 to 2:30 p.m. With those precious puppy-dog eyes, his first adoption fair might very well be his last. The Cure Starts Now and Graeters team up once again this September for their annual Cones for the Cure campaign. The campaign will take place September 8-18 at participating Cincinnati, Dayton, Cleveland, Chicago, Columbus, Indianapolis, Lexington, Louisville and Pittsburgh Graeter's locations to help spread the word about The Cure Starts Now and its mission to find the homerun cure for cancer by focusing on pediatric brain cancer. As part of their continued support for The Cure Starts Now, Graeter's will be giving away free scoops of Elenas Blueberry Pie ice cream (available at specific locations only) to customers two times during the campaign period. Elenas Blueberry Pie is a special flavor that was created in honor of 6-year-old Elena Desserich, the inspiration behind The Cure Starts Now. In many ways, this is where it started, says Chip Graeter of Graeters. Almost nine years ago we joined the charity with the creation of this special flavor and have been committed to the cause ever since. And this time we want to do even more. During Cones for the Cure, guests that visit a Graeters store during the campaign period have the opportunity to donate a $1 or $5 Cone for the Cure. Graeters will also offer a $20 savings booklet for every donation of $5 or more to The Cure Starts Now. The element of surpise is what makes this such a great campaign as the two free ice cream days will randomly be announced with the help of media outlets, bloggers and social media. Be sure to "like" the Cones for the Cure Facebook page at www.facebook.com/conesforthecure for the latest news about the campaign. Returning for the 2016 campaign is the social media photo contest where ice cream lovers can upload a selfie with their Graeters ice cream for the chance to be named the Ultimate Graeters Fan as well as a Graeters Ultimate Party Pack. In 2015, over 50,000 people participated in the campaign which generated nearly $100,000 for The Cure Starts Now. To date, over $320,000 has been raised through the campaign to fund homerun cure research. Since 2007, The Cure Starts Now has funded over $6.7 million in groundbreaking research. To learn more about Cones for the Cure or The Cure Starts Now, please visit the website at www.conesforthecure.org. It may be the very best way to make a difference while treating yourself to the best ice cream around, says Graeter. However, the Jeep compact SUV will be priced at a slight premium compared to these already existing models. After launching the Jeep Grand Cherokee and the Jeep Wrangler at steep prices of Rs. 71.59 lakhs going up to Rs. 1.14 crore (ex-showroom, New Delhi), Fiat Chrysler Automobiles India confirms that Jeep has been developing SUVs priced in the Rs. 10 lakh to Rs. 20 lakh range. Unlike the Jeep Grand Cherokee and the Jeep Wrangler, which are being brought to India as CBUs, hence commanding a heavily steep price, the new SUVs will be almost fully localized to keep the price as low as Rs. 10-20 lakhs. So, the Jeep is clearly aiming at a big market share in India through high volume sales. The SUV in development, in the C-segment, has been codenamed 556, can be expected to launch by August 2017. The new SUV is expected to pip the BMW X1, in terms of equipment, features and specifications. With All-Wheel Drive (AWD) as an option, besides launching in India, it will also be exported to a lot of other international markets. The move to introduce heavy-priced luxury models before launching the locally-built models is to create the luxury car brand image to help drive high-volume sales. Jeep India could not have done the opposite, as it would make it hard for the American-born manufacturer to attain a luxury car brand image. Besides the 556, Jeep is also developing a B-segment sub-4meter, compact SUV, codenamed 526, whose price is expected to begin from Rs. 10 lakh. This price point will pit the Maruti Vitara Brezza and the Ford EcoSport as rivals to the compact SUV from Jeep. However, the Jeep compact SUV will be priced at a slight premium compared to these already existing models. It will even boast of additional equipment to keep the Jeeps upmarket image alive as a premium brand. After the launch of the Jeep brand in India, FCA also expects to export Jeep models from India, manufacturing them from its Ranjangaon facility, where it has invested a huge $280 million. It also expects to achieve a huge localization that will come as a surprise to both its rivals and buyers. There already are plans to open 10 new dealerships covering nine cities before 2016 draws to an end. While the Ahmedabad dealership has begun its operations, the Mumbai dealership is expected to showcase both Fiat and Jeep products under one roof. Earlier today, Tata Group said it has approached a London court seeking setting aside of an ex-parte order obtained by the Japanese firm. New Delhi: Japanese telecom major DoCoMo today accused its estranged Indian partner Tata Group of attempting to 're-litigate arguments' that were already fully considered and rejected by the panel of London arbitrators appointed by the two companies. "Instead of cooperating, and contrary to its publicly stated desire to pay, Tata used its court filing on September 2, to seek the Delhi court's assistance to block the enforcement of the award in India. In doing so, it appears that Tata is attempting to re-litigate arguments that already were fully considered and rejected by the panel of distinguished LCIA arbitrators appointed by both Tata and DoCoMo," the DoCoMo statement said. DoCoMo further said it is in the company's own interest to take all appropriate steps to enable Tatas to fulfil its payment obligations in India, and therefore "DoCoMo is open to any discussion with Tata and the Indian Government to enable this". Earlier today, Tata Group said it has approached a London court seeking setting aside of an ex-parte order obtained by the Japanese firm for enforcement of the arbitral award against the Indian company. "Tata Sons has today filed an application to set aside an ex-parte order obtained by NTT DoCoMo from London's commercial Court on July 25th, 2016," Tata Sons said. However, sources in DoCoMo told PTI, that while the application had indeed been filed by Tatas in London's Commercial Court, the Indian company had not filed justification of evidence to support the application. Tatas, claimed DoCoMo sources, have time till September 30 to file evidence in support of its application. Meanwhile, the statement by DoCoMo further said that while it did not wish to revisit its discussions with Tata in public, it has throughout sought Tata's cooperation to facilitate the payment of the award in line with the London Court of International Arbitration or LCIA tribunal's ruling. "Docomo had hoped that Tata would join it to seek confirmation from the Delhi High Court that enforcement of the LCIA award in India would not contravene Indian law. This clarity would have smoothed the path to payment of the award in India," DoCoMo said. In June this year, LCIA tribunal ordered Tata Sons to pay DoCoMo, a sum of USD 1.17 billion in compensation for breaching an agreement on India joint venture - Tata Teleservices. The Japanese firm has filed a plea in the Delhi High Court seeking enforcement of the arbitration ruling. Tata Sons has deposited the entire amount of USD 1.17 billion with the registrar of the Delhi High Court which is hearing the matter. Last month, the government had set up the committee to look into all issues, including foreign direct investment norms, pertaining to the e-commerce industry. New Delhi: The e-commerce committee headed by NITI Aayog CEO Amitabh Kant today held its first meeting to deliberate on issues related with the sector. In the meeting, the Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP) and IT body NASSCOM gave detailed presentations to the members on fast the growing e-commerce sector, an official said. Last month, the government had set up the committee to look into all issues, including foreign direct investment norms, pertaining to the e-commerce industry. Members in the panel include officials from Ministry of Commerce and Industry and Department of Electronics and Information Technology, among others. Representatives from six states including Maharashtra, Karnataka, Assam, Punjab and Madhya Pradesh are also attending the meeting as some e-commerce firms are facing taxation related issues in few states. As per the current policy, 100 per cent FDI is allowed via automatic route in the marketplace format of e-commerce. However, FDI has not been permitted in the inventory-based model of e-commerce. By the next month, the commerce ministry will complete the anti-dumping investigations on the 66 steel products on which MIP has been imposed and extended till October 4. New Delhi: Government is unlikely to further extend the minimum import price (MIP) on certain steel products beyond October 4 as these items could be covered under anti-dumping duty, an official on September 5 said. By the next month, the commerce ministry will complete the anti-dumping investigations on the 66 steel products on which MIP has been imposed and extended till October 4. "Anti-dumping duties would cover those 66 items. After imposition of the anti-dumping duty, MIP is likely to be removed as MIP is a temporary measure," the official said. The commerce ministry believes that WTO-compliant measures like anti-dumping duty should be used to overcome the issue of cheap imports of commodities like steel. Last month, the government extended the MIP on only 66 steel products for two months as against 173 items earlier. The 66 products include semi-finished ones of iron or non-alloyed steel, flat-rolled products of different widths, bars and rods. Growing imports from steel surplus countries like China, Japan and Korea with predatory prices have been a major concern for the domestic industry since September 2014. Steel Minister Chaudhary Birendra Singh had said the government is working on bringing steel products that have been excluded from the minimum import price net under other safeguard measures, including anti-dumping duty. The commerce ministry's Directorate General of Anti- Dumping & Allied Duties (DGAD) is probing dumping of certain steel products, including certain hot-and cold-rolled stainless steel flat products from China. Mumbai: Ajay Devgn has announced the domestic release date of his upcoming production Parched. The film, which had recently got itself mired in a huge controversy after nude scenes of lead actress Radhika Apte from the film were leaked online, has already been a critical success internationally, with multiple awards in its kitty. Ajay, who also is gearing up for the grand release of his ambitious self-starring directorial Shivaay, also divulged that the trailer of the film will be released on September 9. Parched, directed by Leena Yadav, who also had directed the Sanjay Dutt- Aishwarya Rai Bachchan starrer Shabd, will release on 23 September. Ajay Devgn, who himself got embroiled in an ugly controversy involving Karan Johar, whos helming Ae Dil Hai Mushkil and self styled actor-film critic Kamaal R. Khan, over 'Shivaay's scheduled titanic clash with Karan's Ranbir Kapoor-Aishwarya Rai Bachchan-Anushka Sharma starrer 'Ae Dil Hai Mushkil,' seems to be a content man with the international response to Parched being unanimously positive and the hype and anticipation surrounding Shivaay being mind-blowing. Ajay took to his Twitter and Facebook feeds to announce the arrival of the film. Presenting PARCHED...18Awards, 24 Intl. film festivals across continents. Releasing 23rd Sep Trailer on 9th Sep. pic.twitter.com/tsxiU778qE Ajay Devgn (@ajaydevgn) September 4, 2016 Parched also stars Tannishtha Chatterjee, Surveen chawla and Adil Hussain. Touted to be the king of sequels, Emraan Hashmi is working on yet another movie in the Raaz franchise. With Raaz Reboot, Emraan hopes that the movie will change the face of the genre of horror in India. In a quick chat, the actor talks about his affinity for horror movies and more... Excerpts: Do you feel the pressure of carrying the Raaz legacy forward? Its not that stressful for me. However, I feel things come with their own responsibilities. Theres always a kind of anxiety about my films be it solo or ensemble ones. You put in a lot of hard work and you want to succeed. I feel I have become used to it, having been a part of the industry for so many years now. Raaz Reboot looks like a textbook Bhatt film. Whats the USP of the movie? I feel this time were rebooting the horror genre. The way possession scenes have been treated in the movie, it goes with the intelligence of the audience. Its very important these days, since the audience has been exposed to a lot over these years. Also, if there are layers of secrets in the film and the audience has guessed it in the beginning, it fails. So, we have to keep all these things in mind while making the film; the writing of the film is very taut. Do you believe that horror is underrated in Bollywood? I feel that horror is underrated even in Hollywood; we dont see any horror films winning the Oscars. I guess thats because a lot of directors dont handle the genre properly. In our country, only Vikram Bhatt makes horror films since no one really understands it. In a way, its a good thing since he tends to monopolise it. Also, we dont have budgets for horror films in India, compared to Hollywood, but there are a few Indian films that are culturally rich and which Hollywood cant compare with. So, you believe horror is a saleable genre in India? Weve made Rs 84 crore with Raaz 3, which is big money. How was your experience working with newcomers? Gaurav is a very hardworking boy. We shot in cold that ran into minus degrees in Romania. Both Kriti and Gaurav are amazing actors. With a series of flops in the past, was it hard for you to get through the low phase? I feel one has to come prepared for such kind of a phase in life. Its foolish to expect to experience a constant high. I believe that low phases are real testing times, so you can prove your worth to the world. I believe that with the same amount of hard work, after a couple of films, youre able to achieve success. Its a matter of luck. Its not the first time Ive gone through a low phase; I still have the attitude I had during my previous rough patches; its just a matter of time. I dont listen to background noise in the industry that things are not working out for me. How has life changed post your book The Kiss of Life? Its the same, but its just that weve gotten out of the danger zone with my son. We went through what seemed like hell for about a year-and-a-half. Ive also put that experience in the book. Im also creating awareness about cancer among general public. Hyderabad: With Zika virus cases being reported in Singapore, Indian Medical Association has asked all those who visited the island nation to wait for eight weeks before trying to conceive, if they were planning to have a child. They have asked these travellers to use condoms for eight weeks so that the women do not get pregnant and the virus is not transmitted from one person to another. Dr S.S. Agarwal, national president of the Indian Medical Association, said, This is important because the virus will die within the body as it is self-limiting. Sexual transmission of Zika virus is also possible as such cases have been reported in Hawaii. For this reason Indian travellers to Singapore have been advised to use protection or have no sex at all. Symptoms of zika virus are low grade fever, rashes and joint pains. In 80 per cent of the cases the virus dies out on its own. Only in pregnant women the zika infection results in loss of the baby or damage to the brain in the womb or babies born with abnormally small head and brain. The biggest fear is developing Guillain Barre syndrome in men and women which causes muscle weakness and paralysis and requires months of treatment. Recent analysis has shown that many patients do not show symptoms and the sickness is usually mild like low-grade fever, red eyes, joint pain and rashes but it lasts for several days. Dr Rajendra Sharma, senior general physician with IMA Hyderabad, said, If travellers from Singapore develops a fever with rash, joint pain and red eyes they must visit a doctor. Take paracetamol for fever and body pain. Do not take aspirin or any product containing aspirin or anti-inflammatory drugs such as ibuprofen. The person must take lots of rest and drink plenty of fluids. Washington: Childhood bullying inflicts the same long-term psychological trauma on girls as severe physical or sexual abuse, and its detrimental effects may linger for years, a new study suggests. The study, which involved 480 college freshmen through seniors, suggests that the negative effects of bullying may negatively affect victims' mental health well into young adulthood. Participants in the study by Dorothy Espelage at University of Illinois in the US were surveyed about their exposure to a variety of traumatic experiences - including bullying, cyberbullying and crimes such as robbery, sexual assault, and domestic and community violence - from birth through age 17. Students also reported on their psychological functioning and symptoms of depression, anxiety and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). The students who experienced bullying as children reported significantly greater levels of mental health problems than their peers, according to the study. Experiencing bullying was the strongest predictor of PTSD symptoms among the college students who participated in the survey, surpassing other types of trauma such as exposure to community violence or being abused or neglected by adults, Espelage found. Females in particular struggled with the emotional damage inflicted by bullying, reporting significantly greater levels of depression, anxiety and PTSD than their male peers. "Bullying victimisation significantly predicted students' current levels of depression and anxiety - over and above other childhood victimisation experiences," Espelage said. "This research suggests that college students' psychological distress may be connected in part to their perceptions of past childhood bullying victimisation experiences," she said. Students who experienced one interpersonal trauma were at the greatest risk of being victimised in other ways and of developing PTSD, researchers said. They suggested that practitioners in college mental health centres need to be aware that students who request psychological help are likely to have experienced multiple forms of trauma that need to be assessed. Practitioners should routinely collect information about the various types of trauma students may have experienced to identify those people at greatest risk of experiencing PTSD, the researchers said. The study was published in the journal Social Psychology of Education. London: Muslim women who are young and educated choose to wear the veil as it is their means to integrate into modern society, according to a latest study conducted in 25 Islamic nations. The study, done by researchers from Oxford University and European University Institute published in the journal 'European Sociological Review' last week, tested earlier mathematical models to see how the intensity of wearing the veil varied according to the women's education, employment, urbanisation and contact with non-Muslims. The study, 'Behind the Veil: The Strategic Use of Religious Garb', includes the wearing of headscarves, the turban or hijab, the chador, the burqa (which covers the face too), and no head covering at all. "A veil is seen as a genuine expression of a woman's religiosity. Paradoxically, it is the women who are engaging with the modern world who appear to rely on the veil to signal to others that they will not succumb to the temptations of modern urban life," explained Dr Ozan Aksoy, the study's author from the Department of Sociology at the University of Oxford. The study drew on data of thousands of women living in Belgium, Turkey and 25 Muslim countries. Study co-author Professor Diego Gambetta, Official Fellow of Nuffield College, Oxford, and Professor of Social Theory at the European University Institute, noted: "Contrary to the populist cant that seems now dominant in Europe, veiling could be a sign of more rather than less integration. Highly religious women who have more native friends and live in areas dominated by natives use the veil to keep their pious reputation while being integrated. "Banning or shunning veiling would deprive them of a means that allow them more opportunity for integration rather than marking their differences." Chennai: Anthony Raj (28), arrested for making a threat call to actress Radha posing as history sheeter Vairam from Puzhal prison, was the driver of film producer Munivel, with whom the actress had a relationship. Because Munivel's wife used to cry and rant about her husband's extramarital relationship, he decided to make a threatening call to Radha thinking a phone call would make actress stay away from his employer, the police said on Sunday, a day after arresting Anthony Raj. Radhas disclosure on August 21 in a complaint to the police saying she received a call from a criminal lodged in the jail had forced the jail officials to conduct raids in all nine central prisons in the state. Since then raids have led to at least six mobile phones being seized from inmates in Puzhal prison. Jail officials had, however, revealed that they did not find any phone in the possession of Vairam who is spending a year of his Goondas Act term in jail. Based on the phone number provided by Radha from which she said she received the call, the police had been saying that the call was not made from Puzhal but from somewhere else. Radha had recorded the conversation and had also released it to the media. Anthony Raj used the phone belonging to a woman in Neelakarai known to him to make call thinking the police would not be able to trace him, the police said. Radha, who acted as heroine in Tamil movie called Sundara travels, had been saying that Munivel's wife was behind the threat call. But Vairams wife in her complaint to the police had said that her husband was innocent and Radha had been dragging his name unnecessarily. With the Chengalpet resident Anthony Raj's arrest and confession, it is now clear that the actress had received a threat call and the caller had only used the criminal's name. Chennai: Police are on the lookout for an employee of jewellery shop in Ayanavaram after he reportedly vanished with 9 kg gold worth over Rs 2.25 crore and Rs 2 lakh in cash on Saturday. Police said they are hunting for the employee Deepak who is absconding since Saturday night. We suspect the hand of Deepak in the crime. It is not easy to escapee from the city with so much gold. We are summoning his friends to question, said an investigating officer. The shop Balaji thangamaligai, belonging to Goparam is situated on Somasundaram street. It is on ground floor while the first and second floors are used as his residence. The incident came to light on Sunday morning when Goparam came to open the jewellery shop. On Saturday evening, Goparam closed the shop and went to visit a Jain temple in Vepery along with his family. Deepak, son of Goparam's friend, was also staying in the same building. Deepak stayed back home saying he was not well while all others went to the temple. The Rajasthan native Goparam had been running the shop for more than 15 years on the street and had employed Deepak for the last three years and he was living in the same building. It appears Deepak went to the shop after Goparam left for the temple with family. He knew the place where the key is usually kept. He had damaged the CCTV system installed in the shop. Neighbouring shopkeepers had seen Deepak going in and coming out with another person. But nobody suspected anything fishy because Deepak usually opens the shop and closes it, police said. When Goparam returned home, Deepak was not there. He thought Deepak might have gone to visit his friends. Only when he opened the shop on Sunday morning did he link the Deepak's disappearance to the missing gold and cash. Preliminary investigations revealed that Deepak's girlfriend was missing since last week. Police believe that that the theft was a well planned operation. Kumily: Three college students were arrested in Keralas Idukki district after they were found to be smuggling marijuana in their mobile phones. According to reports, the students, two of them minors, were apprehended by the Kerala Excise officers during a routine check up at the Kumily check post on Saturday, when they found 230 grams of the banned substance stuffed in the battery slot of their mobile phones. During questioning, the student confessed that they sourced the marijuana from kambam in Tamil Nadu. The police also found some tablets that were used as intoxicants. The officers revealed that they decided to check the trio thoroughly after their behaviour was found suspicious. We did not expect ganja inside mobile phones. When we checked their phones they were not working. So we got suspicious and checked inside, and found marijuana, an officer reportedly said. Bhopal: A three-year-old girl was allegedly raped by her stepfather and dumped near a railway station here, following which he was arrested, police said on Monday. Rampal Verma (32), a labourer, has been arrested for abducting and raping his step-daughter on August 30, Government Railway Police's Bhopal Inspector General (IG) A K Singh told reporters. The minor was found dumped near a bridge the next day. Singh said that after quizzing 800 people, they zeroed in on Verma. He said that Verma gave contradictory statements and tried to dodge the police after they got some circumstantial evidence suggesting that he was behind the rape. The accused has finally admitted his crime, the IG said. "The minor, who lives with her parents in a slum near a railway station, had gone missing on the night of August 30 night and was found crying near the bridge - Pul Patra close to railway station under Aishbagh police station area the next morning by people, who alerted the police," the officer said. She was admitted to Sultania hospital in a critical condition where the doctors treated her and confirmed that she had been raped. The accused was booked under IPC sections 376 (rape) and 363 (kidnap) and under the Protection Of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act. Women aged between 18 years and 30 years were victims in 458 rape cases, while in 107 cases women aged between 30 and 45 years were the victims, as per the statistics. Bengaluru: In a disturbing trend, the recently released National Crime Record Bureau (NCRB) data has revealed that in 97.1 percent rape cases reported in Karnataka, the offenders knew the survivors. The trend is similar across the country as the percentage of survivors knowing the offenders in rape cases is 95.5. With a total of 589 rape cases, Karnataka is in the 16th position out of the 29 states. Out of 589 cases registered across the state, Bengaluru alone has registered 112 cases. Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra and Rajasthan top the chart with MP registering 4,391 rape cases while Maharashtra and Rajasthan have registered 4,144 and 3,644 cases respectively. Out of 589 cases registered in Karnataka, in 572 cases offenders were known to the victims. In these cases, 13 accused were either grand father or father or brother or son, while 24 were close family members. While relatives were involved in 30 cases, employer or co workers committed the offence in 32 cases. In 219 cases the known accused had promised to marry the victims. While neighbours were the accused in 155 cases, other known persons committed the offence in 93 cases. Only in 17 cases, the offenders were not identified by the victims. Women aged between 18 years and 30 years were victims in 458 rape cases, while in 107 cases women aged between 30 and 45 years were the victims, as per the statistics. The trend remains the same even in POCSO cases. Of the 1,073 such cases reported in Karnataka, in 1,045 cases (97.4 percent) the victims knew the offenders. Neighbours were involved in 390 cases, while other known persons were involved in 253 cases. Only in 28 cases, the victims could not identify the offenders. New Delhi: Wife of sacked Delhi Minister Sandeep Kumar, who was arrested on rape charges, on Sunday came out in support of her husband, claiming that he was "falsely implicated" in the scandal. "My husband is innocent, I stand by him. Rape charges against my husband are wrong," Ritu Kumar told a news channel here. The embattled ex-minister's wife said that the charges were part of a "political conspiracy against her innocent husband" and that her entire family was with Sandeep at this hour. Read: Sacked AAP MLA demanded sex in exchange for ration card, claims woman The MLA from Sultanpur Majra was arrested on Saturday on rape and other charges following a complaint by a woman, who purportedly figured in an "objectionable" CD with him. He was also suspended from AAP after the scandal came to light. Sandeep, who is being interrogated by the police, has claimed innocence in the matter. The former women and child development minister has been booked on charges of rape, transmission of material containing sexually explicit act and taking illegal gratification. In her complaint, the woman alleged that around 11 months ago, she was raped by Kumar when she had gone to his office in outer Delhi's Sultanpuri seeking help to obtain a ration card. Kumar was removed from the AAP government on August 31 by Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal after the CD purportedly showing him in compromising position with the woman surfaced. Srinagar: A day after Hurriyat leaders snubbed members of the all-party delegation who reached out to them, Home Minister Rajnath Singh on Sunday said the behaviour of the separatists shows they do not believe in 'Kashmiriyat', 'Insaniyat' and 'Jamhooriyat'. Addressing a press conference on the second day of the delegation's visit, Singh said he was confident that peace will be restored in the state and the members had interacted with 30 delegations representing various sections of the society. "As far as talks are concerned, our doors to everyone who wants peace and normalcy. Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti also wrote letters. Read: Separatists reject Opposition MPs talks bid, shut doors on Owaisi too "I want to clarify that some members of the delegation had gone to meet Hurriyat leaders yesterday. Neither had we said yes nor no. Whatever happened you know about it. I do not wish to go into the details. "But whatever information those friends gave us upon their return, it can be said it was not 'Kashmiriyat'. It cannot be called as Insaniyat (humanity). When someone goes for talks and they reject it, it is not jamhooriyat (democracy) as well. We are ready to talk to everyone who wants peace and normalcy," he said. Singh said Jammu and Kashmir "was, is and will always be integral part of India". The Minister said during his last visit concerns were raised about the use of pellet guns for which non-lethal replacement shells PAVA have been recommended. "The shells will not take lives. About 1000 shells have arrived here," he said. The Minister, who is leading an all-party delegation on a two-day visit to assuage the volatile situation in the Valley, said the entire country and Parliament are pained by the situation in Kashmir. On a question whether India plans to talk to Pakistan on Kashmir, Singh said, "First let us talk to Indians." When asked whether the Centre is willing to go the extra mile on the demands of autonomy raised by PDP and National Conference from time to time, he said, "We are not concerned with whatever one had said in the past. We have taken everyone's view and cooperation to improve the situation in Kashmir in the delegation-level talks." To a query on track-2 channel talks, Singh said he did not wish to enter in the debate of "track-one, track-two or track-three." The Minister said to address concerns of Kashmiri youths living in different parts of the country the Ministry has appointed Dr Sanjay Rai as nodal officer who can be approached on phone number 011-23092923, 23092885. Singh said Parliament, which is supreme "panchayat" of the country, is very serious about the situation in Kashmir and hence decided to send a delegation of its members for talks. He said 26 Members of Parliament belonging to 20 parties have come here for talks as part of the delegation. More than 30 delegations comprising 300 members from political parties, civil society, University teachers, fruit growers, students and intellectuals have presented their view before the delegation, he said. "Everyone wants that the situation must improve. The delegation spoke to these people, the Governor and the Chief Minister of State and also officials of the state government. I am fully confident that the situation will improve which people also want," he said. He said the Centre is giving full support to the state government which is also trying to bring improvement in the situation. Srinagar/Jammu: An all-party delegation seeking to end turbulence in Kashmir concluded its two-day visit with no breakthrough, but Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh saw some positives even as he lashed out at the separatists for their refusal to meet the MPs. Visibly unhappy at the stubborn refusal of Hurriyat leaders to meet some MPs who had literally knocked at their doors in Srinagar yesterday, Singh said that their conduct was against democracy, humanity or even 'Kashmiriyat' (Kashmiri ethos). Singh led the delegation of 26 MPs from 20 parties which stayed overnight in Srinagar before stopping over in Jammu this afternoon. After spending a few hours in Jammu, it returned to Delhi. The Home Minister disagreed with the view that the mission was a failure and said the delegation had "very good interactions" with individuals and groups. The delegation would meet in Delhi and discuss the future action plan. Before winding up the Kashmir leg of the visit, Singh sent out a clear message to separatists, asserting that the state will "always" remain an integral part of India. "There should be no doubt that Jammu and Kashmir was, is and will always be integral part of India," he said at a press conference in Srinagar. "As far as talks are concerned, our doors are open to everyone who wants peace and normalcy. Not only doors, even our ventilators are open for talks," Singh said. He said he was aware that Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti had written letters to separatist leaders inviting them for talks with the delegation. "I want to clarify that some members of the delegation had gone to meet Hurriyat leaders yesterday. Neither had we said 'yes' nor 'no' (to their meetings). Whatever happened you know about it. I do not wish to go into the details. "But whatever information those friends gave us upon their return, it can be said it was not 'Kashmiriyat'. It cannot be called as Insaniyat (humanity). When someone goes for talks and they reject it, it is not 'jamhooriyat' (democracy) as well," he said. Talking about the motive behind the visit, the Home Minister said Parliament, which is the supreme "panchayat" of the country, is very serious about the situation in Kashmir and hence decided to send a delegation of its members for talks. The entire country and Parliament are pained by the situation in Kashmir and want early restoration of peace, he said. Asked whether India plans to talk to Pakistan on Kashmir, Singh shot back, "First let us talk to Indians." When asked whether the Centre is willing to go the extra mile on the demands of autonomy raised by PDP and National Conference from time to time, he said, "We are not concerned with whatever one had said in the past. We have taken everyone's view and cooperation to improve the situation in Kashmir in the delegation-level talks." To a query about possibility of 'Track-2' talks on Kashmir, Singh said he did not wish to enter into a debate about "track-one, track-two or track-three." The Minister said during his previous visit last month, concerns had been raised over the use of pellet guns and regarding this, non-lethal PAVA shells have been recommended as a replacement. "The shells will not take lives. About 1000 shells have arrived here," he said. More than 30 delegations comprising 300 members from political parties, civil society, University teachers, fruit growers, students and intellectuals have presented their view before the delegation, he said. "Everyone wants that the situation must improve. The delegation spoke to these people, the Governor and the Chief Minister of state and also officials of the state government. I am fully confident that the situation will improve which people also want," he said. He said the Centre is giving full support to the state government which is also trying to bring improvement in the situation. Meanwhile, justifying the refusal of separatist leaders to hold talks with the all-party delegation, hardline Hurriyat Conference said they were not invited officially as New Delhi is "scared" of any meaningful dialogue with them and Pakistan to address the issue. Later while addressing a brief press conference in Jammu, Singh was asked by a reporter whether the visit was a failure. He disagreed, saying it cannot be described as a failure. The delegation, he said, had "very good interactions" with individuals and groups during its visit to Kashmir and Jammu and heard their views on different issues. Many members of the delegation had little knowledge about Jammu and Kashmir and the visit helped them to understand the ground situation of the state, the Home Minister added. "I hope that whenever any discussion on Jammu and Kashmir takes place in Parliament, we will get full cooperation from them," he said. Singh said the delegation will meet in New Delhi after its return and will chalk out the future course of action. "The all-party delegation will meet in Delhi after its return and decide the action plan for the future," he said. Singh said the delegation would like to visit Ladakh also in the near future as the region too is a part of Jammu and Kashmir state and it is important to listen to the voice of the people there. The Minister said to address concerns of Kashmiri youths living in different parts of the country the Ministry has appointed Dr Sanjay Rai as nodal officer who can be approached on phone number 011-23092923, 23092885. The delegation comprised 26 MPs from 20 parties. Apart from the Home Minister, the delegation also included Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, Minister of State in PMO Jitendra Singh, Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha Ghulam Nabi Azad, his Lok Sabha colleague Mallikarjun Kharge, senior Congress leader Ambika Soni, Union Minister Ram Vilas Paswan (of LJP), JD(U) leader Sharad Yadav, CPI(M) general secretary Sitaram Yechury and CPI leader D Raja. NCP's Tariq Anwar and Trinamool Congress' Saugata Roy, Shiv Sena's Sanjay Raut and Anandrao Adsul, TDP's Thota Narasimham, Shiromani Akali Dal's Prem Singh Chandumajra, BJD's Dilip Tirkey, AIMIM's Asaduddin Owaisi, AIUDF's Badaruddin Ajmal and Muslim League's E Ahamed were also part of the delegation. TRS' Jitendra Reddy, N K Premchandran (RSP), P Venugopal (AIADMK), Tiruchi Siva (DMK), Y B Subba (YSR-Cong), Jaiprakash Yadav (RJD), Dharamveer Gandhi (AAP) and Dushyant Chautala (RLD) are also in the team. New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Monday said that harassment could have led to the suicide of 20-year-old Sushant Rohilla, who was student at Amity University. According to an NDTV report, the top court observed that the suicide has "an element of suspicion about whether it was due to harassment" and appointed top lawyer Fali Nariman to help in the case. The Supreme Court direction comes after it took suomotu cognisance of a letter written by a friend of the Amity law student. Rohilla, a 4th year student of BA-LLB course in the college, had last month committed suicide at his residence in south Delhi's Sarojini Nagar area. Family members and friends of a 20-year-old Amity Law School student, had staged a protest outside the college last month, alleging foul play on the part of its authorities. Amity University, however, has denied of having any role in Rohilla's death and expressed grief over the incident. The Supreme Court has directed the University to present all facts in the case before it and ensure that such an incident does not happen again in the future. The deceased, who was son of a joint secretary-level official in the Rajya Sabha Secretariat, was debarred from appearing in the sixth semester exams in May due to "shortage of attendance". According to his family, Sushant and 19 other students, who were not permitted to take the exams, were promised that they will be allowed to take the exams and promoted to the next semester. The court did not issue notice to Amity Law School, which is affiliated to the Guru Govind Singh Indraprastha University. It, however, asked senior advocate Siddharth Luthra, who appeared for the institute, to file a response to the PIL which was instituted after taking note of the letter written to the CJI by one Raghav Sharma, a close friend of the deceased and a 4th year law student. It has been claimed that 20-year old Rohilla, who could not attend classes for quite some time due reasons including his physical health, was depressed over the prospect of not being allowed to take the examination by the college because of lack of attendance. The letter has blamed the Amity authorities for Rohilla's suicide on August 10 at his residence. Alleging harassment by his teachers, his classmates had taken to the social media and launched protests on campus after his death to demand action against his professors, two of whom have resigned. The letter to the CJI has sought that the apex court should take congnisance of the incident and order probe by an independent committee into such matters. It also referred to the letter written by the student before taking the extreme step that he "might not mentally survive" the debarment. The college said the student had 43 per cent attendance, whereas the attendance requirement of the University was 75 per cent. New Delhi: The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Monday warned Hizbul Mujahideen chief Syed Salahuddin that he would meet the same end as Burhan Wani if he tries to spread violence in Kashmir. Any kind of threat suggesting that they will turn Kashmir into a graveyard, they better be aware because the repercussions could be that of what happened to Wani, BJP spokesperson Shaina NC said. Read: 'Will send suicide bombers to turn Kashmir into graveyard': Hizbul chief She added that the Hizbul Mujahideen needs to realise that the Central Government is not incompetent and that Prime Minister Narendra Modi has the political will and conviction to take on separatists. The Hizbul Mujahideen, as an organisation, and Salahuddin need to realise that this is not an incompetent government that is in power at the Centre in New Delhi. Our Prime Minister has the political will and conviction to take on separatists, she said. Salahuddin had said he will turn entire Kashmir into a graveyard for the Indian armed forces. In an interview with a leading English daily, Salahuddin, disregarding the all-party meet, said talks would be futile and the only answer to the issue of Kashmir was militancy. While the all-party meet is an attempt to assuage the situation in the Valley, Salahuddin has warned of his might, threatening to take the entire region into [militancys] fold. He also said that the militancy movement took a sharp turn after the Hizbul militant Burhan Wani was killed on July 8, the daily reported. Calling the Valley a concentration camp, he said use of more force by the army will only strengthen the militancy movement. Kashmir has been on the boil since the killing of Hizbul Mujahideen commander Burhan Wani on July 8 with curfew continuing in parts of the valley for the 58th day today. President Pranab Mukherjee teaching students in a class at a Government School on the occasion of Teacher's Day in New Delhi. (Photo: PTI) New Delhi: President Pranab Mukherjee on Monday said India is substantially free from the globally witnessed menace of homegrown terrorism as citizens possess "ethnicity in mind and have faith in pluralism". Mukherjee, while teaching students in the school inside the President's Estate as part of the second edition of his 'Pranab Sir's class', also spoke about the worrisome development of "political assassinations" in India and its neighbourhood adding that despite these instances "we have had a stable political regime". The special session was held to observe 'Teachers Day' with students of Class XI of the Delhi government-run Dr Rajendra Prasad Sarvodaya Vidyalaya during which Mukherjee said "secularism is part of the life" for Indians. India has suffered the brunt of terrorism, including that of the cross-border variety, he said. The President said it was the credit and success of India's policy and acumen of the administration that incidents of homegrown terrorism, the biggest menace to international peace and community, has kept India "substantially free" from its tentacles. "It is we who are attacked and we are the victims of cross-border attacks. But not so much of homegrown terror," he said, adding this was because of the "ethinicity of mind, belief and faith in pluralism, huge diversity in language, religion, food, almost in everything." We all belong to the same system, the President said, adding that this quality was "unique". Talking for about 50 minutes to the students on the subject of 'Politics in India since Independence', he recounted the evolution of the democratic process in India post Independence, the building up of the electoral process and participation of Indians in the constitutional democracy. The President, who has worked as a teacher before he took the political plunge, also taught the students about theformation of political parties including the creation of the BJP from Jansangh and the advent of coalition politics in the country. He remembered the "formation" of states by the State Reorganisation of Commission as an "important development" in India's history. Mukherjee called the partition of the country as a "psychological trauma" for the people who were extricated from their homes adding creation of communal tension was an aftermath of this but our political leaders and statesmen controlled these issues. New Delhi: A trial court, which has sentenced two convicts in the 2009 Jigisha Ghosh murder case to death, has sent the case file to the Delhi High Court for confirmation of the capital punishment. Additional Sessions Judge Sandeep Yadav has sent the case record relating to the conviction and death sentence of Ravi Kapoor and Amit Shukla to the high court, court sources said. It is mandatory for the trial court to refer a death penalty case to a high court for confirmation of sentence within 30 days of the pronouncement of the verdict. Mr Yadav had on July 14 held the duo guilty on various counts, including the murder of 28-year-old IT executive Jigisha Ghosh. The court while sentencing the two to death in New Delhi on August 22, said the girl was killed in a "cold-blooded, inhuman and cruel manner" and "brutally mauled to death". It had said the magnitude and brutality exhibited by the convicts made the case 'rarest of rare', warranting capital punishment for Kapoor and Shukla. The third offender Baljeet Malik was given reprieve from the gallows for his good conduct in jail. The two have not yet challenged the trial court judgement. However, Malik through his counsel Amit Kumar, has moved the high court challenging his conviction and sentence of life imprisonment by the trial court. Malik in his appeal, has stated that the trial court has "failed to appreciate that there has been contradictions and discrepancies in the depositions of the prosecution witnesses (PWs) and, therefore conviction and the sentence awarded to him is liable to be set aside". "The trial court has failed to appreciate that the prosecution has planted PW-2... as a last seen witness with intent to falsely proving the presence of the appellant in the company of deceased (Ms Ghosh) at about 4.45 AM on March 18, 2009 at SBI ATM at Mahipalpur. "The presence of PW-2, who has been falsely shown as a last seen witness, is extremely improbable and doubtful, and, therefore his deposition with regard to being last seen witness cannot be considered credible and probable evidence." the appeal has said. The court had also imposed varying fines on the convicts, with Kapoor being slapped with a fine of Rs. 1.2 lakh due to his incapacity to pay, while Shukla and Malik were directed to pay Rs. 2.8 lakh and Rs. 5.8 lakh respectively as the pre-sentencing report suggested they were financially stronger. The trio are also facing trial for the murder of TV journalist Soumya Viswanathan, killed a year before Ms Ghosh. The court had said leniency cannot be shown to these convicts as there was a rise of gruesome crimes against women which needed to be dealt with in an appropriate sentence. It had also directed that out of the total fine of Rs. 9.8 lakh, Rs. Six lakh be paid to the parents of the victim, and an adequate compensation amount be decided by the District Legal Service Authority (South). It had on July 14 convicted the three men, saying it was "abundantly clear" that they had committed the crime. It had held the three men guilty under several sections of IPC, including 302 (murder), 364 (abducting for murder), 201 (destruction of evidence), 394 (voluntarily causing hurt in committing robbery), 468 (forgery for purpose of cheating) and 471 (using as genuine a forged document). The additional sessions judge, however, held that the charge of criminal conspiracy (120-B of IPC) could not be proved against them. The police had filed the charge sheet in the case in June 2009, stating that Ms Ghosh 's post-mortem report revealed that she was killed by smothering. The trial in the case began in April 2010. Recovery of the weapon allegedly used in Ms Ghosh's murder had led to cracking of the murder case of Soumya Vishwanathan, who was a journalist with a news channel. Soumya was shot dead on September 30, 2008 while she was returning home in her car from office in the wee hours. The police had claimed robbery as the motive behind the killings of both Ms Ghosh and Soumya. Devotees carry the Ganesha idols to the pandals ahead of Ganesh festival in Mumbai on Sunday. (Photo: PTI) Mumbai: Mumbaikars on Monday welcomed the God of good luck and prosperity--Lord Ganesha into their homes and community pandals, kick-starting 10-day-long Ganesh Chaturthi celebrations with zeal and fervour. The festival commenced with devotees installing colourfully-crafted idols of their most beloved and venerated deity, Ganesha, in their homes and beautifully decorated pandals across the city. The mood was full of gaiety and devotion, with chants of 'Ganpati Bappa Morya' reverberating across- as devotees took part in 'aarti' at several temples, including the famous Siddhivinayak Temple at Prabhadevi in South Mumbai. This year, even megastar Amitabh Bachchan has lent his voice for an 'aarti' at Siddhivinayak Temple. The 73-year-old actor has recorded the aarti in his voice and tweeted that it is a "blessing" for him to be given this "divine honour". Several popular Ganesh Mandals were thronged by devotees since early morning, with the popular Lalbaugcha Raja kick-starting the prayers at 4 am, followed by darshan for devotees at 6 am. The Ganesh idol here resides on a throne shaped like an Owl. Other prominent Ganesh mandals like GSB Seva Mandal in Kings circle, has a 14-feet long idol made of clay while Wadala GSB Mandal has designed its pandal like the famous Tirupati Balaji Temple. These pandals witnessed a sea of people waiting to get darshan of the elephant-headed God. Bollywood personalities like Salman Khan, Jeetendra, Nana Patekar, Akshay Kumar, Hritik Roshan, Shilpa Shetty, Suresh Wadekar, Govinda and a host of Marathi film and theatre actors are prominent among the celebrities who celebrate Ganesh Chaturthi at their homes. Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis also installed a Ganesh idol at his residence and took to Twitter to share the same. New Delhi: Calling the teachers to imbibe technology in imparting education, President Pranab Mukherjee on Monday said they should instill in children civilisational values of sacrifice, tolerance, pluralism, understanding and compassion. Greeting the teachers on the occasion of Teachers' Day, Mukherjee, who started his career as a teacher, said this is an occasion when "we recognise the dedicated services of the teachers of our nation". In a series of messages on twitter, Mukherjee said a sound education system is the bedrock of an enlightened society. "Inspired teachers are the building blocks of a good education system. An inspired teacher links the individual goals of the students to the societal and national goals," he said in the message. He said teachers need to imbibe technology and new methodologies to create modern and effective approaches to teaching and learning and extended good wishes to entire teaching community for their dedication and commitment to the great cause of educating country's youth. Teachers' Day is celebrated on the birth anniversary of second President of the country Dr Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan, a revered educationist, philosopher and recipient of highest civilian honour of the country Bharat Ratna. A scholar of comparative religion and proponant of Advaita Vendanata who countered western criticism of Hinduism, Radhakrishnan held the King George fifth Chair of Mental and Moral Science at the University of Calcutta between 1921 and 1932 and was Spalding Professor of Eastern Religion and Ethics at University of Oxford between 1936 and 1952. New Delhi: In an interim order which may ameliorate the plight of Tamil Nadu farmers to some extent, Supreme Court on Monday asked Karnataka to release 15,000 cusecs of Cauvery water daily for the next 10 days to its neighbouring state. The apex court also directed Tamil Nadu to approach the Supervisory Committee, set up to implement award of Cauvery Water Disputes Tribunal (CWDT), within three days for the release of Cauvery water as per the final order of Tribunal. "The Supervisory Committee shall pass appropriate direction in this regard within four days from the date of filing of the reference, keeping in view the language employed in the final order of the Tribunal. Be it clarified, the Supervisory Committee is bound by the language used in the order passed by the Tribunal... "Coming to the immediate arrangement, keeping in view the gesture shown by the State of Karnataka and the plight that has been projected with agony by Mr Naphade, we think it appropriate to direct that 15,000 cusecs of water per day be released at Biligundulu by the State of Karnataka for ten days," a bench comprising Justices Dipak Misra and U U Lalit said. It also directed Tamil Nadu to release water to the Union Territory of Puducherry proportionately as per its interim arrangement, while posting the matter for further hearing on September 16. The order came after senior advocate Fali S Nariman, appearing for Karnataka, said as a "goodwill gesture" the state government was ready to ensure flow of 10,000 cusecs (about 0.86 TMC) per day from September 7 to 12. However, Tamil Nadu sought release of 20,000 cusecs of water per day instead of 10,000 cusecs of water in the interest of the farmers of the state. During the hearing, senior advocate Shekhar Naphade, appearing for Tamil Nadu, contended that Karnataka has not been complying with the Tribunal's directions in the final order and there has been flagrant violation of the same. He said that if the water is not released by Karnataka, the 'samba' crops will be damaged, which will lead to disastrous consequences for the farmers of Tamil Nadu. On September 2, the Supreme Court had made an emotional appeal to Karnataka saying 'live and let live', after Tamil Nadu brought to the notice of the court that the Karnataka CM has said that not a drop of water will be released to it. In a recent plea, Tamil Nadu had sought a direction to Karnataka to release 50.52 tmc feet of Cauvery water to save 40,000 acres of samba crops this season. The apex court had earlier refused to give an urgent hearing to Tamil Nadu's plea for setting up of Cauvery Management Board for implementation of the CWDT award. At the directions of the apex court, the Centre, in 2013, had notified the final award of the CWDT on sharing of water of the Cauvery system among the basin states of Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Kerala and union territory of Puducherry. The CWDT had recommended the setting up of a Cauvery Management Board/Authority on the lines of the Bhakra Beas Management Board for implementation of the order. The board, in turn, would constitute a Cauvery Water Regulation Committee for assistance. The Tribunal, in a unanimous decision in 2007, had determined the total availability of water in the Cauvery basin at 740 thousand million cubic (tmc) feet at the Lower Coleroon Anicut site, including 14 tmcft for environmental protection and seepage into the sea. The final award made an annual allocation of 419 tmcft to Tamil Nadu in the entire Cauvery basin, 270 tmcft to Karnataka, 30 tmcft to Kerala and 7 tmcft to Puducherry. MPs Sitaram Yechury and D. Raja wait outside the house of Syed Ali Shah Geelani, chairman of the hardline faction of the Hurriyat Conference in Srinagar on Sunday.(Photo: PTI) SRINAGAR: Kashmiri separatist leaders on Sunday refused to talk to five Opposition members of the All-Party Delegation saying no such engagement was possible in prevailing circumstances and that it was time for them and others to read the writing on the wall. The 26-member delegation headed by home minister Rajnath Singh arrived here on a two-day visit to meet and hold talks with individuals and political and other groups in an attempt to reach out to the people of the Valley which has been caught in worst crises of many years in the aftermath of the killing of militant commander Burhan Wani eight weeks ago. As the government had indicated that members of the delegation will be free to meet any leader including separatists, CPM general secretary Sitaram Yechury, CPI leader D. Raja, JD(U) leader Sharad Yadav, RJDs Jay Prakash Narayan, and AIMIM president Asaduddin Owaisi broke away from the group in the afternoon and after splitting into three groups went to meet the key separatist leaders in their attempts to break some ice but found them too cold. While Syed Ali Shah Geelani turned the MPs away from the entrance to his besieged residence at Hyderpora here, Mirwaiz Umar Farooq, Muhammad Yasin Malik, Prof. Abdul Gani Butt and Shabir Ahmed Shah met them briefly but refused to talk on Kashmir or the prevailing situation. Kashmirs separatists shut doors on Owaisi The three MPs CPM general secretary Sitaram Yechury, CPI leader D. Raja and JD(U) leader Sharad Yadav were received with slogans outside Mr Geelanis residence whose gate was not opened for them. The octogenarian leader who has been under house arrest for past many months saw them from the window but refused to meet them. Mr Yadav on being asked about it said, It is our effort to show that we are ready to talk to anyone whether they agree to meet or not. Witnesses said that the MPs waited for 8-10 minutes outside Mr Geelanis door but in vain. Mr Yechury said, We had come to hold talks and listen to his viewpoint. But he didnt open the door. He added, Only through talks we can move forward. The MPs said it was an effort to reach out the separatists in their personal capacity. Before setting out to meet Mr Geelani and others, they had said, Let Hurriyat reject us but we must try. The group earlier also went to meet Jammu Kashmir Liberation Front (JKLF) chief Muhammad Yasin Malik at a police mess at Humama near the Srinagar Airport where he was shifted from the Central Jail here ahead of the APD visit. But he, too, refused to talk to it. He reportedly told the MPs that they should see the situation outside. He asked Mr Yadav, What can we talk about in such situation and when Indian home minister has categorically stated that talks have to be held within the ambit of Indian Constitution? A JKLF spokesman said that the MPs were taken directly to the room in which its leader Mr Malik has been lodged. But he refused to meet and talk to the parliamentarians and told them that they are part of larger delegation and were being headed by Indian home minister who before coming to Kashmir has categorically said that India parliamentarian delegation will meet and talk to people under the preview of Indian Constitution, the spokesman said. Mr Malik also told the opposition MPs: Our stated policy is that we will not talk to anyone under Indian Constitution. The group then tried to meet former Hurriyat Conference chairman Prof. Abdul Gani Bhat who told them, In deference to the collective decision we may not be talking to you. We do feel for you but we cant help it. Mr. Bhat said, We gave them the respect they deserved but we did not talk to them. He also termed the delegation visit a futile exercise. Mr Owaisi after coming out of the sub-jail at Chashmashahi in the foothills of Zabarwan here where the Mirwaiz is lodged for the past 10 days said he refused to meet with him. The AIMM leader was accompanied by anther MP but he entered the sub-jail alone. Within minutes he came out and told reporters that the Mirwaiz said to him the resistance leadership has decided against meeting them in such situation. New Delhi: Sacked Delhi Minister and AAP MLA Sandeep Kumar, arrested on rape charges on the complaint of a woman, was on Monday remanded to three-day police custody by a court here. Kumar, 36, was produced before Special Judge Poonam Chaudhry on expiry of one day police custody. The Delhi Police on Monday detained Kumar's personal assistant after the AAP leader alleged that he was "blackmailing" him and "threatening to destroy his public image". Praveen Kumar, who is Kumar's PA, was detained from Delhi Secretariat this morning, police said. "As of now, we have detained him for questioning from Delhi Secretariat," said DCP(Outer) Vikramjeet Singh. During questioning by police, Sandeep had claimed innocence alleging that Praveen had "tried to blackmail" him and "threatened to harm his public image". Read: Sacked AAP MLA demanded sex in exchange for ration card, claims woman On Sunday, a magisterial court in Rohini here had sent him to police custody till Monday on a Delhi Police plea for remand to quiz him in the case. The former minister was arrested on Saturday night after a woman approached Sultanpuri police station in north Delhi with a complaint of sexual harassment against the former social welfare and women and child development minister following which a case was filed. The police have booked him under section 376 (rape), 328 (causing hurt by means of poison with intent to commit an offence) of IPC, under section 67A of IT Act (punishment for publishing or transmitting of material containing sexually explicit act) and Section 7 of the Prevention of Corruption Act (public servant taking gratification other than legal remuneration for an official act). In her complaint, the woman alleged that around 11 months ago she was raped by Kumar when she had gone to his office in Outer Delhi's Sultanpuri seeking help to obtain a ration card. She alleged that Kumar had offered her a spiked drink and when she fell unconscious, she was taken to his house adjacent to the office and raped. The woman alleged that Kumar had told her that he will get a ration card for her and also ensure jobs for her children. Kumar was removed from the AAP government on August 31 by Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal after the CD purportedly showing him in a compromising position with the woman surfaced. The MLA from Sultanpur Majra had surrendered before the investigators at the office of DCP (Outer) in Pitampura where his statement was recorded, police officials had said. Soon after the controversy, the MLA had defended himself, saying he has been targeted. Kumar's wife has also come out in support of her husband, claiming that he was "falsely implicated" in the scandal. Chennai: With its move to rename the Madras High Court to reflect the current name of the metropolis virtually in limbo, the Narendra Modi Government is set to begin a dialogue with the Tamil Nadu Government which wants the judicial institution to be named after the state. Law Minister Ravishankar Prasad is likely to hold talks with the top brass of the Tamil Nadu Government since acceding to the demands of the state would require an amendment to the High Courts (Alternation of Names) Bill, 2016, which has been introduced in Parliament. We will talk to the state government (on the issue of renaming the Madras High Court as Tamil Nadu High Court). We will have a dialogue with and see what emerges out of the meeting, a senior official of the Union Law Ministry said. The Union Cabinet had on July 5 approved the Bill that seeks to rename the Madras, Bombay and Calcutta High Courts to reflect the current names of the cities they are located and subsequently tabled the Bill in Parliament. But, in a new twist to the issue, the Tamil Nadu Assembly had on August 1 passed a unanimous resolution that the Madras High Court be renamed as Tamil Nadu High Court and not as High Court of Chennai. Chief Minister J. Jayalalithaa also wrote a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi demanding that the High Court be renamed as Tamil Nadu High Court. And the Government did not take up the Bill for discussion and subsequent passing in the session.After a detailed discussion, the Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly unanimously passed a resolution (today), to call upon the Government of India to move necessary amendments to the Bill introduced in the Lok Sabha so as to rename the High Court of Madras as the High Court of TN, the Chief Minister had said in her letter. Sources said since the opinion of people is overwhelmingly in favour of renaming the High Court as Tamil Nadu High Court, the Centre will go through the dialogue process before taking any decision. Though it has been decided to hold talks with the TN government, the level at which the dialogue will be launched is yet to be decided, the source said. ALAPPUZHA: Teaching jobs are still attractive for Keralites despite the information communication technology (ICT) revolutionising the way pupils learn. The profession draws a lot of respect in the Kerala society. Some 22,173 job-seekers in the state have posted their resumes on job portals aspiring to become a teacher. They believe the profession acts as a catalyst in moulding a child and the students always have a special respect for their gurus. In 2016, a thousand new vacancies will arise for teachers. Both Union and state governments will issue recruitment notifications," writes R. Raghu on the Sarkari Naukri. Other recruiters also ensure a bright future for them. They say new opportunities in the government and private sectors are opening up. Monu Gopinath of Connecting2Work HR Solutions says in the ICT era highly capable trainers are much sought after. The corporates call them trainers. We get at least 20 to 30 percent resumes in every 100 seeking these jobs. And Malayalis are much in demand in metros like Mumbai, Bengaluru and Delhi, he told DC on the eve of the Teachers Day. Every Indian school has a teacher from Kerala," he says, "and there are two reasons for this: the way they teach especially math and low salary compared to metros." Countries like Maldives, Qatar, the UAE and South Africa also lure them with high wages. In 2012, Maldives did a statewide recruitment drive picking up 90 teachers. "Many are still making their way to Maldives," says Athira Mohan of Chingoli near Haripad, a government school teacher. Thiruvananthapuram; KPCC president V. M. Sudheeran remained silent for the second consecutive day on the vigilance raid at former excise minister K. Babu's residence at Thripunithura. His reaction that he would comment later has not gone down well with Mr Babu and his loyalists. They are peeved with him as he has made his voice heard loud and clear without uttering a word. He was in Kozhikode on Sunday where he visited 20-year-old slain Muslim League worker Aslams house at Nadapuram. He also visited the Chakkittapara mining centre before proceeding to Kottayam. When reporters tried to get his reaction to the vigilance raid at Babus home, he neither supported nor talked against him. He said, I will comment later. It should be recalled that former Chief Minister Oommen Chandy and KPCC vice-president M. M. Hassan came out against the LDF governments move. Mr Chandy had stated that it was nothing but a personal vendetta to tarnish his image. He had also warned that if such steps continue, voters will react. But what has upset the A camp, where Babu belongs, is that Mr Chennithala who leads the I camp had lashed out at the raid and asserted that there was no need to disbelieve Mr Babu, and there is nothing wrong in moving against the LDF government legally. But two top leaders who are loyalists of Mr Sudheeran told DC that Mr Babu would pay for his sins. While Mr Sudheeran was firm against giving a seat to Mr Babu to contest the Assembly elections, Mr Chandy ensured his candidature in Tripunithura where he had won five times in a row. Mr Sudheeran had to succumb to the demands of the AICC leadership and Mr Chandy. But Mr Babu tasted defeat for the first time when he lost to DYFI secretary M. Swaraj by 4,467 votes. Veteran CPM leader V. S. Achuthanandan had kept mum on various occasions. Similarly, Mr Sudheeran has also decided not to react now. He will respond later at an appropriate stage, said a leader close to him. The high-power Political Affairs Committee formed by the AICC will hold its first meeting on Sep 24 at KPCC office. KOCHI: The team of Vigilance and Anti-corruption Bureau officials involved in raiding the residence of former minister K. Babu and his relatives is expected to conduct scrutiny of over 100 documents seized during the raids. The documents would be first submitted to the Vigilance Court in Muvattupuzha and then the probe team would seek the custody of the documents that needed for further examination. Sources said VACB officials have recovered more than 100 documents during the raids including 30 from the residence of Mr. Babu, 85 from his relatives, and from suspected business associates. The officials are also likely to summon two persons, Baburam and Mohanan, suspected to be benamis of the former minister for questioning in the next two days. The probe team has also taken steps to freeze five bank accounts in the name of Mr. Babu and his children. The former minister meanwhile has completely refuted the charges. Agra: Dayashankar Singh, who was expelled from the BJP after he stirred a huge controversy by likening BSP supremo Mayawati to a prostitute, has allegedly insulted her yet again, this time, by comparing her to a dog. According to a report, the former Uttar Pradesh BJP vice-president accused Mayawati of running her after money and compared her to a dog. "She is a greedy woman and is like a dog that chases speeding motorcycle in lanes, but steps back when the vehicle stops," he was quoted saying in the report. He levelled allegation of corruption against Mayawati and claimed that her family members were making a lot of money by dabbling in dubious deals. Singh however, later, denied making any new allegations against the UP leader. Dayashankar was expelled from the BJP in July after a video clip in which he was seen making derogatory remarks against BSP president went viral on social media. Singh had labelled Mayawati 'worse than a prostitute', claiming that she sold poll tickets to the highest bidder. He was arrested over his remarks after the BSP filed a police complaint against him and was released from Mau jail in August after a local court granted him bail. The UP Special Task Force with the help of Bihar Police from Buxar had nabbed Dayashankar on July 29 after he was on the run for nine days. Even after his release, he had reiterated that Mayawati sold party tickets. Srinagar: Justifying the refusal of separatist leaders to hold talks with the all-party delegation of MPs, hardline Hurriyat Conference on Monday said they were not invited officially as New Delhi is "scared" of any meaningful dialogue with them and Pakistan to address the issue. "They never officially invited us (separatists) and at the same time (they) blame us for rejecting it. It is not only shameful but speaks volumes about their truthfulness, sincerity and clarity... India is scared of any meaningful dialogue with Hurriyat and Pakistan," hardline Hurriyat said in a statement here. Reacting to the statement of Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh that separatists did not believe in humanity, democracy or even Kashmiriyat, the amalgam said, "as always, this press conference (of Singh) is full of lies, deceit, denial and contradictions". The statement said, "We don't need lectures and sermons on democracy and humanity...They tried to play a game of 'win only' for them as they just wanted to discredit us as whether we accept their offer of dialogue which never came or we ignore their casual personal gestures." It said, "The sole intention of the delegation was to act as firefighting just to derail and fizzle the current movement out through these age old tactics, as they have been doing whenever Kashmiris stood up for their basic rights." Meanwhile, moderate Hurriyat Conference led by Mirwaiz Umar Farooq rejected the Home Minister's assertion that Kashmir is an integral part of India, contending that it is an "internationally-accepted dispute since 1947". "Government of India (GoI) should give up its adamant stance, which is devoid of facts and ground realities. It should instead become serious in finding a peaceful and long-lasting solution to the vexed Kashmir issue and initiate steps for its resolution, which would not only help in restoring peace in Kashmir but also create an environment for development and prosperity in entire South Asia," it said in a statement here. It also gave reasons for refusal of Mirwaiz to hold talks with three members of all party delegation. "As the delegation did not have the mandate to talk outside the Indian Constitution and did not acknowledge the disputed nature of Kashmir but instead considered it an integral part of India, joint resistance leadership had decided that it was futile to engage with it as it could not in any way address the people's will and aspirations, for which people are striving and greatly sacrificing," the Hurriyat said. The spokesman said similar decision of no talks was conveyed to the delegation, who later went to meet executive member Prof Abdul Ghani Bhat at his residence. Lenovo is expected to launch its affordable smartphone Moto E3 in India on September 19. The device, which was officially announced in the UK in July, is expected to retail in India between Rs 7,000-Rs 10,000. The handset features a 5-inch HD 720x1280 pixel resolution and is powered by a 1.0GHz MediaTek quad-core processor along with 1GB RAM. It runs on Android Marshmallow. In terms of storage, the E3 equips 8GB internal storage, which can be updated to 32GB via external microSD card. The smartphone has an 8MP rear camera and a 5MP front snapper for clicking images. The whole unit is backed up by a 2,800mAh battery and is equipped with all connectivity options including 4G. Lenovo has launched a couple of other phones at this year at the international tech fair IFA, going on in Berlin. It has launched new phones under the K6 series, the A Plus, and P2. While the pricing of the K6 series phones have not yet been disclosed, the A Plus will be available for approximately Rs 5,200 and P2 for roughly Rs 18,500. Click on Deccan Chronicle Technology and Science for the latest news and reviews. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter. Washington: A tarmac tiff between US and Chinese officials as President Barack Obama arrived in the city of Hangzhou prompted the posting and prompt deleting of an uncharacteristically sarcastic tweet by a US spy agency. Classy as always China, read the Defence Intelligence Agency tweet, which linked to a New York Times article about the incident. The post was quickly deleted but not before the Wall Street Journal noticed the snark. ASEAN would skip mention of a July 12 arbitration ruling that shot down China's expansive territorial claims. (Photo: AFP) Vientiane, Laos: The draft of a declaration at a Southeast Asian summit reveals that the region's leaders would skip mention of a July 12 arbitration ruling that shot down China's expansive territorial claims. The omission is being seen as a victory for Beijing's diplomatic clout. But the draft also contains strongly voiced concern over Beijing's aggressive island construction in the South China Sea, which Southeast Asian countries fear could destabilise the region. The draft, obtained on Monday by The Associated Press, after more deliberations will be released Thursday at the end of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations summit. Officials say Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte plans to ask the Chinese premier at a separate meeting if China is trying to develop another disputed reef, the Scarborough Shoal, off his country's northwestern coast. The two bombers blew themselves up in rapid succession, in an attack apparently aimed at inflicting mass casualties as government workers left the ministry after work. (Photo: Twitter/ANI)) Kabul: The death toll from Monday's Taliban double suicide bombing in the Afghan capital Kabul jumped to 24 with 91 wounded, the health ministry said. "The attack killed 24 people and left 91 others wounded, some of them seriously," ministry spokesman Waheed Majroh told AFP, warning that the toll could rise further. The two bombers blew themselves up in rapid succession, in an attack apparently aimed at inflicting mass casualties as government workers left the ministry after work. "The first explosion occurred on a bridge near the defence ministry. When soldiers, policemen and civilians rushed to the scene, there was the second explosion," defence ministry spokesman Mohammad Radmanish told AFP. The Italian-run Emergency Hospital in Kabul tweeted that it had so far received 10 injured people, with more expected to arrive. President Ashraf Ghani strongly condemned the attack. "The enemies of Afghanistan are losing the fight in the ground battle with security forces," Ghani said in a statement. "That is why they are attacking, highways, cities, mosques, schools and ordinary people." Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said on Twitter that the defence ministry was the object of the first attack, while police were targeted in the second. The attack took place more than a week after 16 people were killed when militants stormed the American University of Afghanistan in Kabul, in a nearly 10-hour raid that prompted anguished pleas for help from trapped students. Explosions and gunfire rocked the campus in that attack, which came just weeks after two university professors -- an American and an Australian -- were kidnapped at gunpoint near the school. Their whereabouts are still unknown and no group so far has publicly claimed responsibility for the abductions, the latest in a series of kidnappings in the conflict-torn country. The uptick in violence in the capital comes as the Taliban escalate nationwide attacks, underscoring the worsening security situation since NATO forces ended their combat mission at the end of 2014. Afghan forces backed by US troops are seeking to head off a potential Taliban takeover of Lashkar Gah, the capital of the southern opium-rich province of Helmand. The Taliban have also closed in on Kunduz -- the northern city they briefly seized last year in their biggest military victory since the 2001 US invasion -- leaving Afghan forces stretched on multiple fronts. But NATO coalition forces have insisted that neither Kunduz nor Lashkar Gah are at risk of falling to the insurgents. Manila: The Philippines expressed "grave concern" on Sunday and demanded an explanation from China's ambassador over what it said was an increasing number of Chinese boats near the disputed Scarborough Shoal in the South China Sea (SCS). A Philippines air force plane flew over the rocky outcrop on Saturday and spotted more boats than usual in a flotilla China has maintained since seizing the shoal after a tense standoff in 2012, Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana said. "There were four Chinese coastguard ships and six other vessels, including blue-coloured barges, around Scarborough Shoal," he said in a text message sent to reporters. "The presence of many ships other than coastguard in the area is a cause of grave concern." China's embassy in Manila could not be reached for comment. Although the shoal is merely a few rocks poking above the sea, it is important to the Philippines because of its tranquil waters and rich stocks of fish. Manila says China's blockade of the shoal is a violation of international law. The dispute has become more significant since the Permanent Court of Arbitration ruled on July 12 that no one country had sovereign rights over activity in the Scarborough Shoal, a traditional fishing ground for Chinese, Filipino and Vietnamese. China has refused to recognise the ruling and the latest comment from the Philippines could cause a stir ahead of a regional summit in Laos starting on Tuesday, where leaders of Southeast Asian states as well as China, Japan and United States (US) will meet. Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte wants China to abide by the ruling but has pledged not to raise the issue during the summit. He wants to smooth the way for bilateral negotiations and last month sent former President Fidel Ramos as his special envoy to meet Chinese representatives in Hong Kong. Lorenzana said Beijing had earlier this year tried to send dredging barges to the shoal, but there was no sign of any reclamation activity so far. China previously used barges to dredge sand for its seven man-made islands in the Spratlys. "We don't know yet if those barges are precursors of future dredging operations," he said. "If they try to construct anything in Scarborough it will have far-reaching adverse effect on the security situation." China maintains claims to almost the entire South China Sea, which is a vital waterway for global trade. Malaysia, the Philippines, Taiwan, Brunei and Vietnam have competing jurisdictional claims. A US State Department spokesman said on Sunday the United States was monitoring the situation and encouraged "all sides to exercise restraint and take practical steps to lower tensions." US President Barack Obama pressed his Chinese counterpart, Xi Jinping, on Saturday on territorial disputes in the South China Sea, urging Beijing to uphold its legal obligations and stressing the United States' commitments to its regional allies. Tensions over the disputed waters between China and its neighbours were expected to hang over the G20 summit, which opened in the eastern Chinese city of Hangzhou on Sunday. Manila: The Philippines police chief warned on Monday that his officers were prepared to kill anyone, even rich and influential politicians, as they wage President Rodrigo Duterte's deadly war on drugs. Since Duterte took office just over two months ago, the government said more than 2,400 people have been killed in his anti-crime crusade, an increasingly controversial campaign that has drawn UN condemnation. Police said they themselves killed 1,011 drug suspects with 1,391 others listed as "deaths under investigation". "If they fight back, they will die. Rest assured, we do not discriminate," national police chief Ronald De la Rosa told a news conference. "All of them, the rich, the poor, police, civilians, even if you are a politician, you will die if you are into drugs and you fight back," he warned. The dominant Catholic church, human rights groups and even UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon have criticised Duterte for his apparent support of extrajudicial killings. Critics have also charged that the police are mainly killing poor people in the slums while wealthy and influential suspects have been spared. Duterte was elected by a landslide in May after vowing to end crime in six months by killing tens of thousands of criminals. De la Rosa, who has been Duterte's main enforcer in the campaign, stressed that police would be more merciless towards corrupt policemen involved in illegal drugs. "We even prefer to kill our fellows who have betrayed our cause, they have turned traitor," he added. Duterte and other officials have insisted that police only kill suspects in self-defence, and have said others were murdered by crime gangs trying to silence them. However Duterte has also openly called for the killing of drug suspects, even urging their neighbours to murder them. Concern over Duterte's anti-crime crackdown increased further after he declared a "state of lawlessness" following a bombing in his hometown of Davao last Friday that left 14 dead and about 70 injured. The declaration allows the president to use the military in law enforcement operations once limited to the police. Opposition legislators have said this action was unnecessary and could result in further breaches of human rights. De la Rosa, playing down such concerns, said, "Rest assured that we will implement this without violating human rights." Sevdet Besim, 19, had faced a maximum sentence of life in prison after pleaded guilty in Victoria state's Supreme Court in June to one count of planning for a terrorist act. (Representational Image) Melbourne, Australia: A teenager who plotted to run over and behead a police officer as part of an Islamic State movement-inspired attack on an Australian Veterans' Day ceremony was sentenced on Monday to 10 years in prison. Sevdet Besim, 19, had faced a maximum sentence of life in prison after pleaded guilty in Victoria state's Supreme Court in June to one count of planning for a terrorist act. On Monday, the court instead ordered Besim to serve a 10-year prison term, with the possibility of parole after 7 years. Prosecutors said Besim was involved in a plot to attack last year's services in Melbourne or the neighboring city of Dandenong marking ANZAC Day, the annual commemoration of the 1915 Gallipoli landings in Turkey. The campaign was the first major military action fought by the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps during World War I and hundreds of thousands of people attend commemoration services around Australia. Police said Besim was motivated by an extremist ideology and had expressed support for the Islamic State group. In court documents, prosecutors said that Besim and a British accomplice had also discussed packing a kangaroo with explosives and painting it with the Islamic State symbol before setting it loose on Australian police officers. The documents don't suggest the alleged kangaroo plot was linked to the ANZAC Day plot. Last year, a British court sentenced a 15-year-old boy from Blackburn, in northwestern England, for his role in the plot. Paris: A French prosecutor has requested former President Nicolas Sarkozy be sent to trial over suspected illegal overspending on his failed 2012 re-election campaign. The Paris prosecutor's office said Monday it has asked investigating judges to send Sarkozy and 13 others to court in the criminal case. It's now up to the judges to decide whether Sarkozy must stand trial. Sarkozy announced his bid for next year's presidential election last month and faces a primary in November against a dozen other conservative candidates. His lawyer, Thierry Herzog, denounced the prosecutor's request as "gross political maneuvering." He noted that the move falls on the day the trial opened for Jerome Cahuzac, a former budget minister under Socialist President Francois Hollande forced to resign and charged with allegedly hiding part of his wealth in overseas tax havens. If the investigating judges eventually decide to send Sarkozy to court, it's unlikely any trial could be held before the April-May presidential election. If Sarkozy was elected next year, he would be granted immunity as president and would not be able to stand trial in the case before the end of the five-year term. In February, the judges handed Sarkozy preliminary charges of alleged illegal campaign financing over an invoice system his party and a company named Bygmalion allegedly used to conceal unauthorized overspending. France had a ceiling on presidential campaign funding in 2012 of 22.5 million euros ($25 million). The conservative Sarkozy, who was president from 2007-2012 and lost that year's election to Socialist Francois Hollande, is accused of spending 17 million euros ($19 million) over that limit. Sarkozy's party was then called UMP but has since renamed itself the Republicans. He quit as party leader when he announced his presidential bid two weeks ago. Several people close to Sarkozy are among those requested to stand trial in the case. The former president has already paid back 364,000 euros ($407,000) for overspending in the campaign. "We are absolutely serene about the fact that all this will end up in a dismissed case," said Daniel Fasquelle, the treasurer of the Republicans. "I'm also surprised that this news is being announced today as Nicolas Sarkozy just started his campaign." The so-called "Bygmalion case" is one of several legal cases in which his name has surfaced. In a separate case, Sarkozy was handed preliminary charges of corruption and influence-peddling based on information gleaned from phone taps about an alleged bid to get information from a judge ahead of a decision. Preliminary charges mean magistrates have strong reason to believe a crime was committed but give them more time to investigate before deciding whether to send suspects to trial. Sarkozy has not been convicted of any wrongdoing or gone to trial. London: Britain's longest serving Indian-origin MP who was caught in a sex scandal, had introduced himself as a washing machine salesman to the young boys he had paid for sex. Keith had hidden his identity from the prostitutes and had introduced himself as 'Jim'. He also discussed drugs, unprotected sex and money with the boys. But little did he know that his conversation was being secretly recorded. The Labour MP from Leicester since 1987, who is a married father of two, paid for men to visit him one evening last month at a flat he owns in London, the 'Sunday Mirror' claimed. Vaz allegedly paid for sex with two male prostitutes and offered to pay for a class A or banned drug, according to the newspaper report, which is accompanied by a video. He is said to have added: "I want a good time please." Vaz is accused of asking the young men to bring poppers to the flat, as well as allegedly joking about being a "pimp". As the talk ranged from sex to pets, Vaz eventually said: "We need to get this party started". He also spoke about having had unprotected sex. And ahead of the meeting he had sent a series of texts in which he jokingly called himself one of the men's "pimp" and "bank manager". Following the sex scandal, Vaz received a lot of criticism, with many people demanding his resignation. It is understood that Vaz has not resigned completely but temporarily as he speaks to his lawyer and other members of the committee. The death toll on the route from North Africa to Italy has jumped to one migrant for every 42 making the crossing, compared to one in every 52 last year, a UNHCR spokesman said last week. (Photo: Representational Image/AP) Rome: The Italian navy rescued nearly 500 boat migrants off the coast of Libya on Monday and recovered the bodies of six people who fell out of a leaking rubber vessel. Squads on two patrol boats and two helicopters were still searching for survivors and any other victims, the Navy said. Europe's worst migrant crisis since World War Two is now focused on Italy, at Europe's southern frontier, where some 115,000 people had arrived by the end of August, according to the United Nations refugee agency (UNHCR). The death toll on the route from North Africa to Italy has jumped to one migrant for every 42 making the crossing, compared to one in every 52 last year, a UNHCR spokesman said last week. The helicopters used in Monday's rescue are based on the Italian aircraft carrier Garibaldi, the flagship of the European Union's anti people-trafficking mission in the Mediterranean. Sao Paulo: Tens of thousands took to Brazilian streets Sunday to support sacked leader Dilma Rousseff and protest the new government of Michel Temer, who has taken power and downplayed the protests. Demonstration organizers -- who have rejected Temer's ascendancy as a "coup" -- said some 100,000 protestors filled the major artery Paulista Avenue, many holding banners that read "Out with Temer!" and "Direct elections now!" The Senate voted Wednesday to convict Rousseff on charges of having illegally manipulated government accounts, stripping her of her office and replacing her with Temer, her bitter enemy and former vice president. The protest ended with clashes between demonstrators and police, who fired gas bombs, according to the news website G1. Temer, who after being sworn in promptly traveled to China for the G20 summit, said the protests were done by "small groups and predators." "These are small groups ... I don't have it numerically, but they are 40, 50, 100 people. It's nothing more than that. Out of 204 million Brazilians, I don't think it means much," media outlets quoted Temer as saying. The opposition dismissed the president's figures: "The coup president of Brazil said that our demonstration would have 40 people. Here are those 40 people -- we're already almost 100,000 on Paulista Avenue," said Guilherme Boulos, a member of one of the opposition groups that organized the protest. The demonstration was held in the late afternoon so as not to interfere with the passing of the torch from the Paralympic Games, a Rio event due to start within three days -- where another 2,000 people had demonstrated. Rousseff was Brazil's first woman president. Indian priests conduct a thanks giving mass upon the sainthood on Mother Teresa at Nirmal Hriday, a destitute home run by the Missionaries of Charity in New Delhi, India. (Photo: AP) Vatican City: The canonization of Mother Teresa of Calcutta marked the culmination of a process - sometimes called "the saint-making machine" - that is long, complex, expensive, opaque and often contentious. The Catholic Church posthumously confers sainthood on people considered so holy during their lives that they are now believed to be with God and can intercede with him to perform miracles. Such is the status of the nun acclaimed for her work in the slums of the Indian city now known as Kolkata, who Pope Francis on Sunday declared a saint in front of an estimated 120,000 pilgrims. But the path to sainthood is often more bureaucratic than beatific. Mother Teresa died in 1997 and the late Pope John Paul, who met her often, bent Vatican rules to grant a dispensation allowing the procedure to establish her case for sainthood to be launched two years after her death instead of the usual five. He had even considered making her a saint immediately but cardinals convinced him that it would set a dangerous precedent for the future, even though in the early Church people were acclaimed saints upon their death. The current process, known as a "cause", begins at the local level when a diocese believes that someone in their community lived a saintly life. When it is formally opened, he or she gets the title "Servant of God." The postulator, in this case Canadian priest Father Brian Kolodiejchuk, sends voluminous documentation to the Vatican, where its Congregation for the Causes of Saints assigns it to a "relator". The relator oversees it, and together with theologians, recommends if it is worthy enough to continue. If it does, the candidate gets the title "venerable". The next step is beatification. This requires a miracle, which is usually the inexplicable curing of a sick person. The first miracle attributed to Mother Teresa, and which allowed the Church to beatify her, concerned an Indian woman, Monica Bersa, whose stomach tumor is said to have disappeared after she and others prayed to the nun in 1998, a year after Mother Teresa died. A medical commission working with the Vatican reviews each case to decide if there is any known medical explanation for the healing. Miracle or Medicine? Critics, such as the late atheist writer Christopher Hitchens, who made a documentary called "Hell's Angel" on Mother Teresa, say the system is flawed. One of the doctors who treated Bersa at the time, Ranjan Mustafi, told Indian media the healing was a result of treatment. After beatification, which for Mother Teresa was in 2003, a second miracle is required in order for the cause to move on to sainthood. This involved Brazilian Marcilio Andrino, who the Church says unexpectedly recovered from a severe brain infection in 2008 after his family prayed to Mother Teresa. The saint-making process has not been immune to corruption and mismanagement, with accusations that the system allowed for favoritism for causes with rich backers. The conservative Opus Dei group was accused of using its considerable financial clout to push for the canonization of its founder, Father Josemaria Escriva de Balaguer, who was declared a saint in 2002. In 2015, a commission looking into Vatican finances found that the Vatican's saint-making office had little or no documentation of funds used by postulators. According to a Vatican source, the Vatican bank in 2014 froze about a million euros in suspect funds held by postulators. Kolodiejchuk said the cost of Mother Teresa's sainthood cause - gathering documentation, interviewing witness, paying lawyers - came to less than $100,000 - very low compared to the cost of some canonizations in the past. He said it was covered mostly by a single anonymous donation, that costs were contained because member of the Missionaries of Charity worked for free and that no contributions destined for the poor were diverted Last year, Pope Francis made key changes to the financial side of saint-making with a decree ordering new controls on its costs and demanding more vigilance and transparency at each stage. It stipulates that contributions from the faithful and groups must go into an account managed by an administrator who must "scrupulously respect the intentions" of contributors, keep detailed documentation, and present budgets to a superior. The temperature in the area was forecast to reach 36 degrees Celsius (96.8 Fahrenheit), but officials were hoping a stiff wind that has fanned the flames would drop. (Photo: AFP) Madrid: Spanish firefighters are still working to bring under control a forest blaze near Valencia that forced the evacuation of around 1,000 people. Authorities said more than 200 firefighters with 65 vehicles were deployed Monday to the wildfire some 350 kilometers (220 miles) southeast of Madrid. The temperature in the area was forecast to reach 36 degrees Celsius (96.8 Fahrenheit), but officials were hoping a stiff wind that has fanned the flames would drop. Emergency services said they almost brought the blaze under control on Sunday, but when water-dumping aircraft stood down after sunset the fire surged again and compelled the evacuations. London: A 33-year-old man who carried out a "sadistic and violent" attack on a vulnerable woman, forcing her to eat food containing his excrement, has been jailed by a UK court for 11 years. Attar Khan, thought to be of South Asian origin, admitted attacking the woman, who he knew, on January six at her flat in Watford. The victim, who has mental health issues, was stabbed and beaten over several hours, St Albans Crown Court was told. She went to police after he sent her to buy tobacco the next day. He was jailed for 11 years last Friday, the BBC reported today. Khan subjected the woman to the "ferocious" assault when he was "full of whisky, full of hate", Judge John Plumstead said. His victim was stabbed and cut as she tried to defend herself against the attack which left her with a swollen and bruised face, and multiple "gaping" lacerations. During the prolonged assault Khan filmed her eating food he had contaminated with his own faeces, and brushing her teeth with a toothbrush similarly contaminated. At one point he made her get on her knees and beg for forgiveness, the court heard. The woman went to police when her attacker allowed her to leave her home to get tobacco for him. Khan pleaded guilty to assaulting the woman, causing actual bodily harm and wounding her with intent to cause her serious harm. The court was told unemployed Khan had 18 previous convictions and spent his time drinking and taking drugs. Sentencing him to 11 years in jail and a further four years on licence, Judge Plumstead told Khan: "It was a ferocious, sadistic and violent attack. "You were brutal towards this young woman. She suffered really serious harm at your hands. You battered her." The child was discovered dead by the accused's husband, who then informed the police. (Representational Image) Basque, Labourd: French police have arrested a mother for allegedly suffocating her five-month-old baby to death. The accused, whose mental condition seems to have been affected, has been admitted to a psychiatric asylum. According to a report in the Daily Mail, the child was discovered dead by the accused's husband when he woke up in the morning, who then informed the police. The incident took place at the accused's holiday home in Saint-Pee-sur-Nivelle, a village in the Basque province of Labourd. During investigation, police questioned the entire family, including the 42-year-old accused, whose identity has been withheld for legal reasons. The initial inquiry led police to believe that the mother might be guilty, following which they launched a probe. When the accused did not give satisfactory answers and behaved in a weird manner, police suggested taking her to a doctor for checkup. Medical reports of the accused stated that she needed to be admitted to the hospital. Police said that it was difficult for them to say whether the accused intentionally suffocated her baby or not, due to her mental instability. An autopsy of the baby is scheduled for next week. Manama, Bahrain: A Bahraini watchdog says the country's leading activist, Nabeel Rajab, has been charged with publishing "false news and statements and malicious rumors that undermine the prestige of the kingdom," a day after his letter appeared in The New York Times. The Bahrain Institute for Rights and Democracy reported the charges on Monday. Rajab's "Letter from a Bahraini Jail" was published on Sunday in which he accuses Bahrain of subjecting "its people to imprisonment, torture and even death for daring to desire democracy." Rajab has been detained since mid-June over his criticism of Saudi Arabia's war in Yemen and the condition of detainees at Bahrain's Jaw prison. The state-run Bahrain News Agency reported the charges but said "the accused" denied any relation with what was published under his name during interrogation. Tehran: Iran and Britain appointed new ambassadors to each other's countries on Monday for the first time since a mob ransacked the British embassy in Tehran in 2011. Hamid Baeidinejad, 53, was named as Tehran's envoy to London, ISNA state news agency reported. He played a crucial role in the negotiations with world powers that led to last year's nuclear accord and the lifting of international sanctions. Britain appointed Nicholas Hopton -- the current charge d'affairs in Tehran -- as its first ambassador to Iran since relations were severed following the storming of the embassy by students in five years ago. "The upgrade in diplomatic relations gives us the opportunity to develop our discussions on a range of issues, including our consular cases about which I am deeply concerned," British Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson said in a statement, referring to the ongoing detention of dual nationals in Iran. "I hope this will mark the start of more productive cooperation between our countries, enabling us to discuss more directly issues such as human rights and Iran's role in the region, as well as ongoing implementation of the nuclear deal and the expansion of the trading relationship between both our countries," said Johnson. The 2011 attack on the embassy saw a mob rampage for hours through the compound, tearing down the British flag, ripping up pictures of Queen Elizabeth II and trashing offices. The incident followed a vote by lawmakers to expel Britain's ambassador and reduce trade relations in retaliation for nuclear-related sanctions, but the violence was later condemned by Iran's supreme leader and other politicians. The British embassy was reopened in August 2015, a month after the signing of the nuclear accord, during a visit by Johnson's predecessor Philip Hammond. Baeidinejad worked as an expert on disarmament and represented Iran in several roles at the United Nations, including as ambassador between 2008 and 2011. Iran maintains a deep historical distrust of Britain, dating back to the early 20th century when London meddled frequently in Iranian politics in order to secure cheap access to oil for the Anglo-Iranian Oil Company (which later became BP). Britain played a key role in prodding the Central Intelligence Agency into carrying out a coup in 1953, toppling the hugely popular prime minister Mohammad Mosaddegh who had called for Iran's oil to be nationalised. Before the 2011 uprising that ousted longtime autocrat Hosni Mubarak, Egypt had a total of 43 prisons. (Photo: file) Cairo: An Egyptian rights group says Egypt has built over a dozen new prisons following the military's 2013 ouster of Islamist President Mohammed Morsi, increasing the total number of prisons in the country in by a third. The Arabic Network for Human Rights Information says 13 new prisons have been built and three are still under construction. It says Egypt now has 504 places to keep those in detention - including jails and police stations. Before the 2011 uprising that ousted longtime autocrat Hosni Mubarak, Egypt had a total of 43 prisons. The group's head, Gamal Eid, says the capacity of at least two of the new prisons reached 15,000 inmates. The group says the "increase in the number of prisons means a rise in the deprivation of freedom" in Egypt. The world's largest annual Muslim gathering, bringing some two million to Islam's most sacred sites in Mecca, will also be a focus of concerns about terrorist violence after a suicide bomber killed four soldiers in early July in the nearby city of Medina, Islam's second holiest. Riyadh: A year after the worst haj disaster in a generation, Saudi Arabia is issuing pilgrims with electronic bracelets and using more surveillance cameras to avoid a repeat of a crush that killed hundreds and damaged already strained ties with Iran. The world's largest annual Muslim gathering, bringing some two million to Islam's most sacred sites in Mecca, will also be a focus of concerns about terrorist violence after a suicide bomber killed four soldiers in early July in the nearby city of Medina, Islam's second holiest. Custodian of Islam's most revered places, Saudi Arabia stakes its reputation on organising haj, one of the five pillars of Islam which every able-bodied Muslim who can afford to is obliged to undertake at least once. Its prestige was damaged by the 2015 disaster, in which Riyadh said 769 pilgrims were killed - the highest haj death toll since a crush in 1990. Counts of fatalities by countries who repatriated bodies showed that over 2,000 people may have died in the crush, more than 400 of them Iranians. Iran, Saudi Arabia's main regional rival, blamed the disaster on organisers' incompetence. An official Saudi inquiry has yet to be published, but authorities suggested at the time some pilgrims ignored crowd control rules. This year, efforts are being made to strengthen crowd management. Thousands of civil servants, security personnel and medics have been conducting drills in preparation for the pilgrimage, which officially starts this week. The kingdom says it is deploying extra staff and increasing coordination with haj missions from pilgrims' home countries to ensure worshippers comply with agreed schedules to perform various rituals. Hundreds of new surveillance cameras had been installed at the Grand Mosque. "The scheduling programme is the most important part of the operational programme," Interior Ministry spokesman Major General Mansour Turki told Reuters. "This is the area we have to concentrate on, to make sure pilgrims ...comply with it once they get there." Saudi-owned newspaper Asharq al-Awsat said last month the Mecca Development Authority had set up electronic paths and gates to manage crowds heading to Jamarat, the symbolic stoning of the devil where many previous disasters have occurred. The kingdom also is kitting pilgrims out with electronic wristbands to enable authorities to track the flow of people and get early warnings of crowd build-ups. Relations between Shia Iran and Sunni Saudi Arabia, which back opposing sides in Syria and other conflicts, plummeted after the 2015 crush. Riyadh then broke diplomatic ties when its Tehran embassy was stormed in January over the Saudi execution of a Shia cleric. Wary that some pilgrims may seek to use haj for ideological purposes, Saudi Arabia said it would not tolerate any attempt to politicise haj - remarks widely seen as referring to Iran. Iran said in May its pilgrims would not attend, blaming Riyadh for "sabotage" and failing to guarantee their safety. Saudi Arabia blamed Iran, saying it had demanded the right to hold demonstrations that would have created chaos. But Saudi Arabia is worried that Iranian pilgrims coming from abroad or pro-Iranian pilgrims from other countries could still exploit the gathering to spread anti-Saudi messages. Khamenei accused Saudi Arabia's ruling family, who are the custodians of Islam's holiest sites, of politicising the pilgrimage, and turning themselves into "small and puny Satans who tremble for fear of jeopardising the interests of the Great Satan (the United States)." (Photo: AP) Tehran: Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei issued an angry rebuke to "blasphemous" regional rival Saudi Arabia today, calling on the Muslim world to question its management of Islam's holiest sites. "Because of Saudi rulers' oppressive behaviour towards God's guests, the world of Islam must fundamentally reconsider the management of the two holy places and the issue of hajj," Khamenei said in a statement published on his website, referring to Mecca and Medina. He published the comments ahead of this month's annual hajj pilgrimage to Mecca in Saudi Arabia. Some 60,000 Iranians took part last year, but have been effectively barred from this year's event after negotiations between the two countries fell apart. Khamenei accused Saudi Arabia's ruling family, who are the custodians of Islam's holiest sites, of politicising the pilgrimage, and turning themselves into "small and puny Satans who tremble for fear of jeopardising the interests of the Great Satan (the United States)." "Saudi rulers... who have blocked the proud and faithful Iranian pilgrims' path to the Beloved's House, are disgraced and misguided people who think their survival on the throne of oppression is dependent on defending the arrogant powers of the world, on alliances with Zionism and the US and on fulfilling their demands," he wrote. This month's hajj will be the first time in almost three decades that Iranian pilgrims have not participated. Khamenei was also fiercely critical of the Saudi response to a deadly stampede during last year's hajj, which killed some 2,300 foreign pilgrims, including an estimated 464 Iranians. "Instead of apology and remorse and judicial prosecution of those who were directly at fault in that horrifying event, Saudi rulers -- with utmost shamelessness and insolence -- refused to allow the formation of an international Islamic fact-finding committee," he said. Tehran: Iran's supreme leader on Monday said Saudi Arabian authorities "murdered" Muslim pilgrims who were injured during last year's hajj stampede. "The heartless and murderous Saudis locked up the injured with the dead in containers - instead of providing medical treatment and helping them or at least quenching their thirst. They murdered them," Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said in a statement on his website marking the anniversary of the disaster. He offered no evidence to support the allegations. The September 2015 stampede and crush of pilgrims killed at least 2,426 people, according to an Associated Press count. Tehran has said 464 of the dead were Iranian and blamed the catastrophe on Saudi mismanagement of the annual pilgrimage. Khamenei has also blamed Saudi Arabia for an earlier crane collapse in Mecca that killed 111 people. Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Bahram Ghasemi said the ministry has formed a committee to investigate the issue and pursue it in international forums, without elaborating. The hajj stampede caused a new flare-up in tensions between Iran and Saudi Arabia, regional rivals that back opposite sides in the civil wars in Syria and Yemen. The two countries severed diplomatic relations in January after Saudi Arabia executed a prominent Shiite cleric and angry Iranian crowds overran Saudi diplomatic missions. Saudi authorities have not released the findings of their investigation into the hajj disaster. Preliminary statements suggested the crush was caused when at least two large crowds intersected. Security agencies have arrested dozens of JMB militants with officials calling some of them as masterminds of the outfit as a nationwide anti-militant security clampdown is underway since the July 1 attack. (Photo: Representational Image/AFP) Dhaka: At least four women terrorists of the outlawed militant outfit Jamaat-ul-Mujahideen were arrested on Monday in Bangladesh, weeks after similar arrests were made in Dhaka as part of nation-wide crackdown following the country's worst terror attack on an upscale cafe here. "We carried out the pre-dawn raid acting on a secret tip off, it was a rented house from where these women were conducting drives in recruiting other women in the name of preaching Islam," Sirajganj's district police superintendent Miraz Uddin Ahmed said. Police also seized a large quantity of bomb-making materials, six improvised bombs, nine Jihadi books, four grenade shells and electrical equipment from the then, he said. All the four arrested women are married and aged between 18 and 30. They are being questioned by police ahead of subsequent legal procedures. Earlier on August 16, elite anti-crime Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) arrested three women students of a private university and a woman intern at the Dhaka Medical College Hospital for their alleged links with Jamaat-ul-Mujahideen (JMB), blamed for the terror attack on an upscale cafe in Dhaka that killed 22 people, including an Indian girl. JMB is known for its ideological inclination to ISIS. This is the third such major incident of arresting women militants since July when seven women JMB activists, three of them members of its suicide squad, were arrested from Tangail. Security agencies have arrested dozens of JMB militants with officials calling some of them as masterminds of the outfit as a nationwide anti-militant security clampdown is underway since the July 1 attack. Police call the arrested operatives as neo-JMB activists because of their inclination towards the Islamic State terrorist group, which initially claimed the cafe attack. But authorities have denied presence of ISIS in Bangladesh. China and Japan have been at loggerheads over territorial disputes and historical animosity. (Photo: AP) Hangzhou: Chinese President Xi Jinping offered Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe an olive branch at their first meeting in over a year on Monday, Beijing's official news agency Xinhua reported. The Asian giants have been at loggerheads over territorial disputes and historical animosity, but Xi said they should "put aside disruptions" in their relationship and return to normal development, Xinhua said. For his part Abe said that Tokyo wanted to "manage difficult issues" and promote win-win cooperation, Japan's Kyodo news agency reported. The relationship between the two powers -- the world's second- and third-largest economies -- is crucial to regional stability but they have a longstanding dispute over islands in the East China Sea controlled by Japan, which knows them as Senkaku, and claimed by China, which calls them Diaoyu. The comments after a G20 summit in Hangzhou were in marked contrast to the last time the two met on Chinese soil, on the sidelines of an APEC summit in 2014, when they could barely conceal their mutual distaste. Ties later thawed, but tensions have been rising again in recent months as Japan weighs in on another Chinese territorial dispute in the South China Sea, where Beijing has built artificial islands capable of supporting military facilities. Abe has vocally criticised China for rejecting a July ruling by an international tribunal that said extensive claims to the strategically vital waters had no legal basis. Narendra Modi with his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping in Hangzhou, China on the sidelines of the G20 summit. (Photo: PTI) Hangzhou: As India resisted pressure from the US and China, who are responsible for around 40 per cent of the world's carbon emissions, to ratify the Paris climate deal this year, Chinese official media said it is high time India showed it means "business" in limiting climate change effects. The US and China's ratification of the Paris climate deal have set an example for "other emerging and industrialised economies", an oped article in the state-run Global Times today said. "It is high time that the EU and India, the third and the fourth-largest emitters, also show they mean business when it comes to limiting the effects of climate change," it said. India warded off pressure from China and the US at the G20 summit when the US and China tried to set 2016 as a deadline to ratify the climate deal after they both ratified the pact and handed over the instruments to the UN. India and several other countries believe they cannot ratify the deal due to various legal impediments, said NITI (National Institution for Transforming India) Aayog's chief Aravind Panagariya, India's Sherpa at the Summit, on Saturday. "There is no deadline to my mind but we will make submissions of progress," Panagariya has said. Today's article said the US and China signing the deal is an "incredibly significant act towards the treaty coming into force, as it requires at least 55 countries that together account for at least 55 per cent of global emissions. With China and the US, 26 countries have ratified, accounting for 39.06 per cent of global emissions," it said. "It's fair to say that India has realised the importance of emissions reduction and has made some efforts. Before the Paris climate conference in December 2015, New Delhi submitted a long-term plan to reduce its emissions, pledging to cut fossil fuel emissions intensity by up to 35 per cent by 2030, compared with the 2005 level", it said. In June, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had said in a joint statement with US President Barack Obama that India had begun the processes to enable the Paris deal to enter into force, it said. "But while (UN Secretary General) Ban Ki-moon was 'hopeful and optimistic' that the agreement can be brought into force by the end of this year, Indian officials don't seem to think this way. After all, New Delhi has a dilemma to address," the article said. "China has gone through a similar development stage to India and it still has made significant commitment towards curbing global warming. India has striven to become a world power and to have a bigger say in international affairs, hence it needs to shoulder its due responsibilities and take actions, regardless of the difficulties, to help save the planet," it said. "In this process, China can be a reliable partner. In its proposal last year, India pledged to aggressively ramp up its production of clean energy like solar power, hydropower and wind energy. This entails the transfer of proper technologies from other countries and China can provide a lot of useful technologies and experiences," it said. Tokyo: Even as China continues to oppose India's entry into the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG), Japan on Sunday, said that if India joins the elite 48-nation group, it will help promote non-proliferation. According to a report, Yasuhisa Kawamura, the Director-General of Press and Public Diplomacy in Japan's ministry of foreign affairs, said that India's NSG membership will help promote non-proliferation and that the country would continue to work with India to make its entry possible. India's entry into NSG hit a roadblock after China scuttled its entry bid at the NSG plenary in Seoul meeting earlier this year. China had opposed Indias bid on the grounds that India was not a signatory to the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) and that procedural issues were not addressed. Read: No problems with Pak joining NSG if due process followed, says India Although, China was opposed to India's NSG membership, countries including United States, Australia and Japan have expressed positive support. Kawamura said that Tokyo has never allowed India's non-signatory status to come in the way of its entry into the elite nuclear group. Expressing his opinion about Pakistan entry into the nuke club, the official said that some countries need to put in more efforts. Along with India, China has also been opposing Pakistan's entry into the nuclear group stating that it has also not signed the NPT agreement. Commenting on its close ally Pakistan's entry into NSG, Narendra Modi at the G20 summit said that India has no problems with Pakistan becoming a member of the Nuclear Suppliers Group, provided that due process is followed. Beijing in the past has insisted on consensus over the entry of new members into grouping after majority of the nuclear trading club backed India's case. In his meeting with Erdogan,Modi discussed the issue of India's membership of the 48-member Nuclear Suppliers Group, External Affairs Ministry Spokesperson Vikas Swarup said. (Photo: Twitter) Hangzhou: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday discussed India's NSG membership with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and also raised the issue of the confidential data leak of the Indian Scorpene Class submarines with French President Francois Hollande on the sidelines of the G20 Summit. On the second and final day of the summit in this east Chinese city, Modi met Erdogan and Hollande in separate "pull-aside" meetings. Prior to that, he met Britain's new Prime Minister Theresa May and held discussions on "building opportunities" in the aftermath of UK's decision to exit the European Union. Read: Japan pushes for India's NSG bid, says it will promote non-proliferation In his meeting with Erdogan, the prime minister discussed the issue of India's membership of the 48-member Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG), External Affairs Ministry Spokesperson Vikas Swarup told reporters. The discussion with Erdogan on NSG was significant as Turkey was among the few countries - along with China which had stalled India's bid to join the elite grouping at its plenary meeting in June in Seoul. Read: No problems with Pak joining NSG if due process followed, says India China had then raised objection saying India was not a signatory to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT). Turkey too raised its concern over the presence of supporters of dissident Muslim cleric Fethullah Gulen, who it accuses of masterminding the failed July coup attempt, in India. Swarup said enhancing civil aviation with Turkey also figured during the discussions. In his bilateral meeting with Hollande, Modi raised the leak of sensitive data related to Scorpene Class submarines. "This isues has also figured," Swarup said. Over 22,000 pages of secret data on the capabilities of six highly-advanced submarines being built for the Indian Navy in Mumbai in collaboration with French defence company DCNS were leaked. The data leak reportedly happened overseas. With May, the prime minister underlined that even after UK's exit from the EU, "Britain remains an important partner" for India. "May also referred to the recent passage of GST (bill) which would further boost trade and investment ties with the UK. She supported PM's reform agenda and the UK is keen to participate in Make in India, Smart city and Skill India initiatives," he said. The two leaders discussed further enhancing of the defence partnership and Modi invited UK firms to India. They also talked about the challenges of terrorism, calling it "the biggest threat and danger to the world with no boundaries," Swarup said. Modi and May also discussed enhancing counter-terrorism cooperation between India and the UK, the spokesperson said. May, UK's second woman prime minister after Margaret Thatcher, also underlined the importance Britain attaches to the Indian diaspora in the UK. Modi had congratulated May, who succeded David Cameron after he quit following UK's decision to exit the 28-member world's largest single market EU, on her assumption of the new responsibility on July 27 and had affirmed India's commitment to further strengthen the strategic bilateral partnership. In his final bilateral meeting here, Modi held talks with Argetine President Mauricio Macri. Modi was accompanied by National Security Advisor Ajit Doval and Foreign Secretary S Jaishankar during the brief meeting with the French president. Modi on Sunday briefly interacted with US President Barack Obama and had a bilateral with Chinese President Xi Jinping. He also had separate meetings with Australian Prime Minister Malcom Turnbull and Saudi Deputy Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman on Sunday. Narendra Modi said India appreciates the G20's initiative on combating the financing of terrorism and asserted that all countries should meet the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) standards. (Photo: PTI) Hangzhou: In a sharp attack on Pakistan at the G20 summit, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday said "one single nation" in South Asia is spreading "agents of terror" as he asserted that those who sponsor the menace must be sanctioned and isolated, not rewarded. "Indeed one single nation in South Asia is spreading these agents of terror in countries of our region," Prime Minister Modi said in an apparent reference to Pakistan. Read: Modi raises NSG bid with Turkey Prez; submarine leak with Hollande "We expect the international community to speak and act in unity, and to respond with urgency to fight this menace. Those who sponsor and support terrorism must be isolated and sanctioned, not rewarded," Modi said in his intervention during the concluding session of the meeting of the world's 20 strong economies. The Prime Minister said India appreciates the G20's initiative on combating the financing of terrorism and asserted that all countries should meet the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) standards. Read: No problems with Pak joining NSG if due process followed, says India "Growing forces of violence and terror pose a fundamental challenge. There are some nations that use it as an instrument of state policy. India has a policy of zero tolerance to terrorism. Because anything less than that is not enough," Modi said. "For us a terrorist is a terrorist," he asserted. Modi's remarks came a day after India called on other BRICS members to intensify joint efforts to combat terrorism. Modi, in an apparent reference to Pakistan, had yesterday demanded "coordinated actions" by the grouping to "isolate supporters and sponsors of terror". Read: Japan pushes for India's NSG bid, says it will promote non-proliferation The Prime Minister, in his address to the Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa (BRICS) Leaders Meeting here, had said "terrorists in South Asia, or anywhere for that matter, do not own banks or weapons factories". "Clearly, someone funds and arms them and BRICS must intensify joint efforts not just to fight terror but to coordinate actions to isolate those who are supporters and sponsors of terror," he had said, without naming Pakistan. But the reference was clearly aimed at Islamabad a close ally of China. Modi's comments at G20 come against the backdrop of escalating war of words between India and Pakistan in the aftermath of the continuing unrest in the Kashmir Valley that broke out on July 8 after Hizbul Commander Burhan Wani was killed by security forces. Modi told May that the recent meeting of India-UK joint group on counter-terrorism was very useful and called for greater collaboration in cyber-security, intelligence sharing and information gathering. Modi sought May's suggestions on further strengthening the partnership particularly trade and investment ties. In this context, he referred to the recent launch of the HSBC Corporate Rupee bond on the London Stock Exchange which has been very successful, Swarup said. Both leaders also looked forward to an early visit by Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar to UK, Swarup said. May said she was very keen to support Modi's vision for India including the broader strategic partnership, the spokesperson said. She underlined the importance Britain attaches to India and Indian diaspora and refereed to the recent visits paid by three UK ministers Preeti Patel, Alok Sharma and Greig Clark to India. In his last bilateral meeting of the day, Modi met Argentine President Mauricio Macri and invited him to India. Modi said he would like to personally take him to the birth place of Mahatma Gandhi, for whom President Macri has always had a special place in his heart, Swarup said. Thanking Modi for the invitation, Macri recalled his two previous visits to India, as a tourist and as a Mayor. Modi thanked Macri for Argentina's strong support for India's NSG membership and said it was important in the context of India's clean energy needs, Swarup said. Macri said Argentina was keen to support India's nuclear energy needs and stressed on the need to diversify Argentina's exports to India while inviting Indian companies to participate in the exploration of shale gas reserves in Argentina. They also discussed India's draft for a Bilateral Investment Treaty and agreed to expand cooperation in areas such as agriculture, solar energy, mining and hydro carbons. Modi also congratulated Argentina on being the next host of G20 summit. Hangzhou: New British leader Theresa May sought to start shaping her country's post-EU access to world markets on Monday, but faced a Japanese warning over the fallout from Brexit and the US saying it was not its first priority. In the wake of its vote to leave the European Union, Britain must renegotiate its access to world markets, an issue currently handled by Brussels. It is a huge task for the world's fifth biggest economy. May met Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull on the sidelines of a G20 summit in China, saying that Australia had "already been engaged in discussions with you about what the free trade agreements may look like", following Britain's EU exit. That could upset European leaders, after EU commission chief Jean-Claude Juncker said he opposes trade talks between Britain and other economies while it remains part of the European Union. "I don't like the idea that member states of the EU, including those who are still a member state of the European Union, are negotiating free trade agreements," he said on Sunday. Such discussions were an "exclusive matter" for the European Union on behalf of its members and "we are sticking to it", he told reporters. According to EU officials, formal negotiations with Brussels itself cannot start until London triggers Article 50, the treaty provision governing its up to two-year-long departure from the grouping. The uncertainty is weighing on businesses and investors, and when May met her Japanese counterpart Shinzo Abe on the sidelines of the summit he asked for her ensure the environment for Japanese companies remained as "transparent and predictable as possible", a Japanese official told AFP. The comments came after Tokyo delivered a strong warning about Brexit. More than 1,000 Japanese companies do business in Britain, employing some 140,000 local people, many of them lured by the access the country offered to the EU and its single market of hundreds of millions of consumers. Some of Japan's best-known companies, including Toyota, Hitachi and investment bank Nomura, were re-assessing their investments after the shock referendum result in June, the government said. "We strongly request that the UK will consider this fact seriously and respond in a responsible manner to minimise any harmful effects on these businesses," it added. Japan's direct investment in the country has topped 10 trillion yen ($96 billion) to date. Not a priority Australia will help Britain conduct trade talks, Turnbull said on Sunday, as London has not had to hammer out its own deals since joining the EU and lacks experienced negotiators. Britain maintains a close relationship with its resource-rich former colony, and May said she was grateful for Turnbull's offer of trade discussions. Australia would be "one of the first countries we will be looking to", she said, in what would be among the first such negotiations following the Brexit vote. "We will be looking to establish new trading relationships around the globe," she said. But US President Barack Obama warned that ahead of British talks, Washington's priority would be on putting its Trans Pacific Partnership trade agreement into effect and settling negotiations on a transatlantic deal with the European Union known as TTIP. "Those negotiations are proceeding, and so it would not make sense for us to put these efforts aside," he said. The two countries aimed to "ensure that we don't see adverse effects" in their commercial ties. But Before the referendum vote Obama warned Britain would be at "the back of the queue" in negotiating a trade deal with the US. Hangzhou: After meeting with other world leaders during the G-20 summit, British Prime Minister Theresa May says her country still inspires economic confidence despite its decision to leave the European Union. She said the Australian trade minister would visit Britain this week for exploratory talks on a trade deal. She also told reporters Monday that India, Mexico, South Korea and Singapore had said they would welcome talks on removing trade barriers. But Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe told May that he wanted her to provide more "predictability" about her plans for a post-Brexit Britain, after his government said it was concerned about the future profitability of Japanese companies. May said Japanese technology company SoftBank's $32 billion offer to buy Britain's ARM Holdings was a massive vote of confidence in Britain. Meeting on the sidelines of the G20 Summit, the two Prime Ministers also discussed further enhancement of bilateral defence partnership. (Photo: PTI) Hangzhou: Britain's new visa policy could have a "negative impact" on Indian working professionals' short term business visits to the UK, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday told his British counterpart Theresa May during their first meeting after she became Premier. Meeting on the sidelines of the G20 Summit, the two Prime Ministers also discussed further enhancement of bilateral defence partnership, External Affairs Ministry Spokesperson Vikas Swarup said. "Prime Minister also touched on UK's visa policy. In particular, he said that the new UK regulations could have negative impact on Indian working professionals wishing to visit UK for short term business visits," Swarup said. The Prime Minister invited British firms to 'Make in India' as both leaders also looked forward to an early visit by Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar to the UK, he said. During the meeting, Modi also spoke about challenges of terrorism, which he said is the "biggest threat to the world and knows no boundaries". He alluded to May's previous stint as Home Secretary and said she was well aware of the dangers of terrorism, Swarup said. In this context, the two leaders discussed counter terrorism cooperation. Modi said that the recent meeting of the India-UK joint group on counter terrorism was very useful and called for greater collaboration in cyber security and intelligence sharing besides information gathering. May said she was very keen to support Modi's vision for India and the broader strategic partnership including the decisions taken during his successful visit to Britain last November. She also underlined the importance Britain attaches to the Indian diaspora. This was their first face-to-face meeting between the two leaders after May took over as the Prime Minister following the resignation of David Cameron after Britain's exit from the European Union. The fact that she had deputed three Ministers to India ? Preeti Patel, Alok Sharma, and Greg Clarke showed the priority she attached to India, Swarup said. "The Prime Minister underlined that even after the Brexit, the UK remained as important to India as before," he said. Modi also sought the British Prime Minister's suggestions on further strengthening the partnership particularly trade and investment ties. In this context, he referred to the recent launch of the HSBC Corporate Rupee bond on the London Stock Exchange which has been very successful. India, Modi said, also needed more UK participation in 'Make in India'. The Prime Minister also referred to passage of GST bill, which he said would further boost trade and investment ties with UK, Swarup said Modi also invited May to visit India in her new capacity. May accepted the invitation and said she would like to make as early a visit to India as possible. The all-party delegation today held discussions with the members of civil society on the second day of its visit to Jammu and Kashmir after efforts of some members to bring the separatists to dialogue table failed. The separatists rebuffed the offer of talks made by some parliamentarians who broke from regular meetings yesterday and reached out to convince them to present their point of view before the delegation. CPM General Secretary Sitaram Yechury, who was one of the parliamentarians who tried to meet the separatists, today said they must enter an unconditional dialogue with the delegation. Congress leader Mallikarjun Kharge said the decision to reach out to separatists was individual decision of some Members of Parliament and not that of government or the delegation. The delegation will leave for Jammu today where they are likely to meet the representatives of Kashmiri Pandits among other civil society members. Yesterday, the delegation met about 300 members in about 30 delegations from various sections of society to find a common solution for restoring peace in Jammu and Kashmir which faced violent protests since the killing of Hizbul militant Burhan Wani on July 8. Warning China of "consequences" due to its aggressive behaviour, US President Barack Obama has asked the Communist nation to restrain itself from worrying its neighbours in the disputed South China Sea region. "Part of what I've talked to communicate to President Xi (Jinping) is that the United States arrives at its power, in part, by restraining itself," Obama said. "You know, when we bind ourselves to a bunch of international norms and rules, it's not because we have to, it's because we recognise that, over the long-term, building a strong international order is in our interests. And, I think, over the long-term, it will be in China's interests, as well," he told CNN in an interview recorded before he left for China to attend the G20 Summit. "So where we see them violating international rules and norms, as we have seen in some cases in the South China Sea or in some of their behaviour when it comes to economic policy, we've been very firm. And we've indicated to them that there will be consequences," Obama said. What the US has tried to emphasise to China is that if it is working within international rules and international norms, then they should be partners, he asserted. "There is no reason that China and the US cannot be friendly competitors on the commercial side and important partners when it comes to dealing with the many international problems that threaten the two countries," Obama said. Obama noted China has been run during his lifetime by a Communist party that has been "much more anti-Western" in the past. "We went through a period over the course of 20 years, in the '90s and on through maybe the onset of my presidency, where, because state-sponsored capitalism and an export-driven model was very successful, China was less interested in making waves," Obama said. "But, you know, you've got over a billion people, one of the largest economies now in the world. And so it's to be expected that they will want a bigger seat at the table when it comes to international affairs. And what we've said consistently is we welcome the peaceful rise of China, consistent with international norms. That's good for everybody. An impoverished and collapsing China would be dangerous for everybody," Obama said. Prime Minister Narendra Modi today discussed India's NSG membership with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and also raised the issue of the confidential data leak of the Indian Scorpene Class submarines with French President Francois Holland on the sidelines of the G20 Summit. On the second and final day of the summit in this east Chinese city, Modi met Erdogan and Hollande in separate "pull-aside" meetings. Prior to that, he met Britain's new Prime Minister Theresa May and held discussions on "building opportunities" in the aftermath of UK's decision to exit the European Union. In his meeting with Erdogan, the prime minister discussed the issue of India's membership of the 48-member Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG), External Affairs Ministry Spokesperson Vikas Swarup told reporters. The discussion with Erdogan on NSG was significant as Turkey was among the few countries - along with China - which had stalled India's bid to join the elite grouping at its plenary meeting in June in Seoul. China had then raised objection saying India was not a signatory to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT). Turkey too raised its concern over the presence of supporters of dissident Muslim cleric Fethullah Gulen, who it accusses of masterminding the failed July coup attempt, in India. Swarup said enhancing civil aviation with Turkey also figured during the discusions.In his bilateral meeting with Hollande, Modi raised the leak of sensitive data related to Scorpene Class submarines. "This isues has also figured," Swarup said. Over 22,000 pages of secret data on the capabilities of six highly-advanced submarines being built for the Indian Navy in Mumbai in collaboration with French defence company DCNS were leaked. The data leak reportedly happened overseas. With May, the prime minister underlined that even after UK's exit from the EU, "Britain remains an important partner" for India. "May also referred to the recent passage of GST (bill) which would further boost trade and investment ties with the UK. She supported PM's reform agenda and the UK is keen to participate in Make in India, Smartcity and Skill India initiatives," he said. The two leaders discussed further enhancing of the defence partnership and Modi invited UK firms to India. They also talked about the challenges of terrorism, calling it "the biggest threat and danger to the world with no boundaries," Swarup said. Modi and May also discussed enhancing counter-terrorism cooperation between India and the UK, the spokesperson said. May, UK's second woman prime minister after Margaret Thatcher, also underlined the importance Britain attaches to the Indian diaspora in the UK. Modi had congratulated May, who succeded David Cameron after he quit following UK's decision to exit the 28-member world's largest single market EU, on her assumption of the new responsibility on July 27 and had affirmed India's commitment to further strengthen the strategic bilateral partnership. In his final bilateral meeting here, Modi held talks with Argetine President Mauricio Macri. Modi was accompanied by National Security Advisor Ajit Doval and Foreign Secretary S Jaishankar during the brief meeting with the French president. Modi yesterday briefly interacted with US President Barack Obama and had a bilateral with Chinese President Xi Jinping. He also had separate meetings with Australian Prime Minister Malcom Turnbull and Saudi Deputy Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman yesterday. Two persons including a juvenile have been arrested in connection with Wednesdays theft of diamonds worth Rs 2 crore from the car of a commission agent in east Delhi, the police said on Sunday. Stolen jewellery along with motor cycle and other equipments used in committing the offence were recovered from their possession. On August 31 diamond dealer Vijay Gupta was robbed of diamonds worth Rs. two crore when he got out of his car to look for a mechanic to fix the punctured tyre. Two men came and broke the window of the car and took a bag full of diamond jewellery when Gupta was not near his car. Police had prepared a sketch of robbers based on Gupta's memory which was used in their investigation. Police arrested Vinay, a resident of JJ camp Madangir. His accomplice, a juvenile was apprehended and sent to judicial custody, said police. Vinay disclosed that he along with his juvenile friend was on a motor cycle near Karkardooma Court when they saw Gupta going in his car with a bag kept on the seat and they started following him. When Gupta reached Karkari More red light, he punctured the rear tyre of Guptas car. Calling upon the teachers to imbibe technology in imparting education, President Pranab Mukherjee today said they should instill in children civilisational values of sacrifice, tolerance, pluralism, understanding and compassion. Greeting the teachers on the occasion of Teachers' Day, Mukherjee, who started his career as a teacher, said this is an occasion when "we recognise the dedicated services of the teachers of our nation". In a series of messages on twitter, Mukherjee said a sound education system is the bedrock of an enlightened society. "Inspired teachers are the building blocks of a good education system. An inspired teacher links the individual goals of the students to the societal and national goals," he said in the message. He said teachers need to imbibe technology and new methodologies to create modern and effective approaches to teaching and learning and extended good wishes to entire teaching community for their dedication and commitment to the great cause of educating country's youth. Teachers' Day is celebrated on the birth anniversary of second President of the country Dr Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan, a revered educationist, philosopher and recipient of highest civilian honour of the country Bharat Ratna. A scholar of comparative religion and proponent of Advaita Vendanata who countered western criticism of Hinduism, Radhakrishnan held the King George fifth Chair of Mental and Moral Science at the University of Calcutta between 1921 and 1932 and was Spalding Professor of Eastern Religion and Ethics at University of Oxford between 1936 and 1952. He went on to praise the strength of the Indian economy saying it was steady despite eight years of international slowing down of ecomony as he hoped that the country's economy would grow not less than 7.5 per cent in the days to come. The students also asked some questions to 'Pranab Sir' including if it would be good to hold all elections in the country in one go. The President said India has "proved the mettle" in successfully implementing political democracy and the Election Commission can "put its mind" in changing the Code of Conduct so that it does not disturb the polls, adding "all participants of the political spectrum" can brainstrom how to tackle this issue. On being asked what should the country do to improve the economy and its medal tally in the Olympics, the President said India's requirement is to have "growth with equity" and also overall creation of better physical, educational and health infrastructure which are the requirements of a healthy society. Later, while making a speech to mark the event, the President said the need of the hour was to have "inspired teachers" who can keep the trait of curiosity and that of asking questions alive in children. "We have to build up scientific temper... We must also inculcate in the minds of teachers the spirit of innovation," he said. The President also expressed his worry over a recent news item that many school children in Delhi were not able to read their textbooks and sought corrective measures. During the event, Manish Sisodia, Delhi's Education Minister said his government was working to enhance the confidence of people in government schools so that they can send their children to study in these institutions. Protesters staged demonstrations at various places along the Bengaluru-Mysuru highway crippling traffic, following the Supreme Courts direction to Karnataka to release 15,000 cusecs of Cauvery water per day to Tamil Nadu for the next 10 days. Farmers burnt effigies of Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Jayalalitaa and urged Chief Minister Siddaramaiah not to discharge water as the State is reeling under a severe drought. The Karnataka Rajya Raitha Sangha (KRRS) members staged a Jal Satyagraha at the Cauvery river near Srirangapatna. After the special meeting Chief Minister Siddaramaiah said an all-party meeting will be held on Tuesday to discuss the situation and further actions. The Chief Minister also appealed people to calm and not to get emotional. BJP State President B S Yeddyurappa asked to call for special assembly to discuss the issue. President of Cauvery Hitharakshana Samithi G Madegowda said he would speak to Siddaramaiah and decide on the next course of action. At least 24 people were killed and 91 wounded today in a Taliban double suicide bombing in central Kabul during late afternoon rush hour, the latest assault on the Afghan capital. The carnage near the defence ministry came as the Taliban ramp up their nationwide summer offensive against the US-backed government. The two bombers on foot blew themselves up in rapid succession, in an assault apparently aimed at inflicting mass casualties as government employees left the ministry after work. "The first explosion occurred on a bridge near the defence ministry. When soldiers, policemen and civilians rushed to the scene, there was the second explosion," defence ministry spokesman Mohammad Radmanish told AFP. Health ministry spokesman Waheed Majroh said the attack left 24 people dead and 91 others wounded, some of them seriously. "The casualties could rise still further," Majroh said. The Italian-run Emergency Hospital in Kabul tweeted that it had so far received 21 injured people, four of whom died on arrival. President Ashraf Ghani strongly condemned the attack and offered condolences to the families of the victims. "The enemies of Afghanistan have lost their ability to fight the Security and Defense Forces of the country," Ghani said in a statement. "That is why they are attacking highways, cities, mosques, schools and common people." Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said on Twitter that the defence ministry was the object of the first attack, while police were targeted in the second. The attack took place more than a week after 16 people were killed when militants stormed the American University of Afghanistan in Kabul, in a nearly 10-hour raid that prompted anguished pleas for help from trapped students. Explosions and gunfire rocked the campus in that attack, which came just weeks after two university professors -- an American and an Australian -- were kidnapped at gunpoint near the school. Their whereabouts are still unknown and no group so far has publicly claimed responsibility for the abductions, the latest in a series of kidnappings in the conflict-torn country. The uptick in violence in the capital comes as the Taliban escalate nationwide attacks, underscoring the worsening security situation since NATO forces ended their combat mission at the end of 2014. Afghan forces backed by US troops are seeking to head off a potential Taliban takeover of Lashkar Gah, the capital of the southern opium-rich province of Helmand. The Taliban have also closed in on Kunduz -- the northern city they briefly seized last year in their biggest military victory since the 2001 US invasion -- leaving Afghan forces stretched on multiple fronts. By Rhett A. Butler 3 September 2016 (mongabay.com) Newly released data suggest that rainforest destruction in the Brazilian Amazon has reached the highest level since 2009. In the past week, Brazils National Space Research Institute (INPE) and Imazon, a Brazilian NGO, have independently released data from their near-real-time deforestation monitoring programs. Both show a steep rise in forest clearing relative to this time last year, putting deforestation near decade-level highs. INPE, which last year stopped reporting deforestation on a monthly basis, released numbers for April through July 2016 showing that its alert system detected 2,953 square kilometers of clearing in the Amazon rainforest. That represents a 25 percent increase over the year earlier period. For the twelve months ending July 31, the area amounted to 5,971 square kilometers the highest 12-month total dating back to March 2009. 8 August 2016 (NASA) Coastal waters and near-shore groundwater supplies along more than a fifth of coastlines in the contiguous United States are vulnerable to contamination from previously hidden underground transfers of water between the oceans and land, finds a new study by researchers at The Ohio State University, Columbus, and NASAs Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, California. The study, published online Aug. 4 in the journal Science, offers the first-ever map of the underground flows that connect fresh groundwater beneath the contiguous United States and seawater in the surrounding oceans. The map highlights areas most vulnerable to degraded water quality from these flows now and in the future. The researchers combined U.S. topographic data and NASA climate models to identify key inland regions that contribute groundwater and contaminants to the coast. They examined rainfall, evaporation rates, and the amount of known surface runoff to calculate the missing portion of water that was running out below ground, then melded those results with terrain and land-use data to identify where the water ended up. The team was able to learn more about the previously hidden water exchanges via computer analyses, without extensive and costly field surveys. Audrey Sawyer, assistant professor of Earth Sciences at The Ohio State University and leader of the study, said that while scientists have long known that freshwater and seawater mix unseen below ground, until now they hadnt been able to pinpoint exactly where it was happening, or how much, except in limited locations. Were all pretty familiar with the idea that rain falls on land and flows out to the ocean in rivers, but theres another, hidden component of rainfall that infiltrates the ground near the coast and spills into the ocean below sea level, Sawyer said. Its known as submarine groundwater discharge. Freshwater flows out to sea, and vice versa. Urbanization, agricultural development, climate, and topography all affect how much water flows in either direction, and the exchange has a big impact on both onshore groundwater that we drink and offshore seawater where we swim and fish. What areas are most vulnerable? The study identified 12 percent of the contiguous U.S. coastline including the northern Gulf Coast from Mississippi to the Florida Panhandle, northern Atlantic Coast and Pacific Northwest as areas where once-hidden drainage systems make the ocean most susceptible to contamination from septic tanks and fertilizer in freshwater. There, excess nutrients in the water can cause harmful algal blooms to form, which remove vital oxygen from the water. This contamination from land to sea endangers fisheries and coral reefs, as well as water recreation and tourism. In contrast, the team found that another 9 percent of coastline including confirmed locations such as Southeastern Florida, Southern California and Long Island, New York are especially susceptible to the opposite threat: contamination from sea to land. In these areas, saltwater intrudes inland and infiltrates the fresh groundwater supply. It takes only a small amount of salt water to render drinking water non-potable, so saltwater invasion is a big concern for water resource management in coastal areas, Sawyer said. The study found Los Angeles and San Francisco are vulnerable to both ocean contamination and saltwater intrusion. How much water is involved? Overall, the study calculates that more than 15 billion tons of freshwater flow through invisible underground networks into the ocean along the contiguous U.S. coastline every year. That sounds like a lot of water, but its less than 1 percent of the total amount that flows from the contiguous United States into the ocean, said study co-author Cedric David of JPL. The other 99 percent comes from rivers and surface runoff. Still, David explained, the study is significant because it provides the first contiguous-scale, high-resolution estimate of that 1 percent a portion which, when compared to the other 99 percent, can be particularly rich in nutrients and other contaminants. This Ohio State-JPL collaboration has removed the cloak from hidden groundwater transfers between land and sea, he said. For example, the amount of yearly precipitation is similar in the Pacific Northwest and the mid-Atlantic regions, but the study found that underground drainage rates into the ocean were approximately 50 percent higher in the Pacific Northwest because the steep terrain there carries more groundwater to the coastline. The researchers found that land use was critical to discharge in Florida. Sawyer said that she was surprised by the big effect that canals had there. Since the early 20th century, Floridians have constructed thousands of miles of canals along the states coasts for transportation, irrigation and recreation. The study found that the canals may capture water that would otherwise flow underground and out to sea. The researchers commented that increased urbanization and the extensive pavement that goes along with it will also decrease groundwater recharge and ultimate drainage to coastal regions where the population is growing, increasing the likelihood of saltwater intrusion. Thats why we hope others will use our analysis to better plan strategies for coastal land development and groundwater management that help preserve water quality, Sawyer said. Right now, weve created a map of American coastlines that highlights some previously known as well as unknown areas of vulnerability along the U.S. coastline, but we hope to be able to do it for the world shortly, as data become available. Model data for the study came from the enhanced National Hydrography Dataset NHDPlus, originally built by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and U.S. Geological Survey, and now developed by Horizon Systems Corporation in Herndon, Virginia; the North American Land Data Assimilation System from NASAs Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Maryland; the Variable Infiltration Capacity Macroscale Hydrologic Model from the University of Washington; the 2011 National Land Cover Database from the Multi-Resolution Land Characteristics Consortium; and the United States 2010 Census. The research was funded by NASA, the National Science Foundation and The Ohio State University. For more information about NASAs Earth science activities, visit: http://www.nasa.gov/earth Contact Alan Buis Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif. 818-354-0474 Alan.buis@jpl.nasa.gov Pam Frost Gorder The Ohio State University, Columbus 614-292-9475 Gorder.1@osu.edu Here's How SRK Not Being The 'King Khan' Anymore is Actually A Good Thing Researchers from the University Medical Centre of Groningen in the Netherlands have found that decreased gut microbial diversity is strongly associated with three risk factors for metabolic syndromen, and therefore diabetes. These risk factors are high body mass index (BMI) and triglyceride levels, as well as a low level of high-density lipoproteins (HDL). The study, published in the online journal Circulation Research, is the first large human population research to shed light on how the gut microbiome relates to body weight and blood lipids. The findings link 34 intestinal bacteria with BMI and lipids, and the composition of gut microbiota was found to explain up to six per cent of the variation in lipid levels, independently of age, gender and genetics. The lead investigator of the study, Jingyuan Fu, and her colleagues knew from previous research that the bacterial community in our gut is associated with an individuals susceptibility to many diseases, including cardiovascular diseases and, other studies have suggested, obesity. But very little was known until now about the extent to which the gut microbiome contributes to the risk associated with blood lipids or BMI, and which bacteria are involved. This lack of data stems from the fact that less than 30% of bacteria in the human gut can be cultured. It has only recently been made possible to use sequencing technology to identify the bacteria and determine their effects on markers like blood lipid levels. In this study, researchers examined the gut microbiomen, BMI, and blood lipids in 893 human subjects from the project Dutch LifeLines-DEEP, which aims to investigate universal risk factors contributing to chronic diseases. The participants had a wide range of BMIs (between 16.9 and 44.9) and lipid levels. Patients on lipid-lowering or antibiotic medication were excluded from the experiment to prevent bias. The results revealed that healthy lipid levels tend to be associated with increased microbial diversity with 34 novel microbial species especially associated with BMI and blood lipids. The researchers also investigated how much of the variation in blood lipids or BMI could be explained by the gut microbiome. They found that up to 25.9 per cent of HDL variance was due to differences in gut microbiome. In addition to that, 4.5 per cent of the variance in BMI as well as 6 per cent of the variation in triglycerides levels were explained by the microbiota. In terms of the bacteria identified within the microbiomen, at least three low-BMI-associated bacteria are also associated with lower levels of triglycerides and higher levels of protective HDL, which tend to suggest that certain gut bacteria play an important role in human metabolism. Raul Guillermo Rodriguez Castro,alias "El Cangrejo" ("The Crab"), grandson of President/General Raul Castro, has just been named Personal Security Chief, replacing General Humberto Omar Francis Pardo, one of the few holdovers from the old guard at the Ministry of the Interior (MININT). "The Crab" is the son of Debora Castro Espin and Luis Alberto Rodriguez Lopez-Callejas, considered one of the economic czars of Armed Forces (FAR), and president of GAESA (the FAR's Business Administration Group), and director of the El Mariel Special Economic Zone. The position of Personal Security Chief is quite low-profile in terms of its public visibility, nor does it figure prominently in the Party and Governments hierarchy at least officially. But any expert or scholar who knows how Cuba really works is aware that, under Fidel's model, characterized by despotism and nepotism, it is actually a post of the greatest significance, even more important than being a member of the Political Bureau, the secretary of a Province, the head of a department of the Central Committee, or the commanding general of one of the three armies. He will head up the apparatus responsible for guaranteeing the life, security and comfort of the Cuban Government's top leaders; or, as they call themselves, "the historical leadership," and their close relatives in Cuba and abroad. Some in the US believe that it is analogous to the Presidential Secret Service, charged with the security of the president, his family and former presidents. However, in the two countries the positions strategic importance to the system is decidedly different. In the US a failure by the Secret Service that costs the life of the president or vice president would not mean the collapse of the entire American empire, because the president and his vice, while key and top-ranking figures in the political system, are not intrinsic or essential components of it, and far less are they pivotal to the economic system, which would remain intact. However, in Cuba an event of this magnitude would have different implications, due to the leader's close identification with the country's history for over the past 60 years, and its political and economic system, and the absolute role played by the caudillo, whose cult of personality has permeated the nation and its national symbols. In Cuba, the Communist Party (PCC), the National Assembly of Popular Power and the country's major institutions, including the Constitution itself, called "socialist," constitute a kind of Holy Trinity, gods amongst the people, as the Party-Government-State serves exclusively the interests of the legendary leader and his determination to wield all power, perpetually. It should come as no surprise that the commander-in-chief was the first secretary of the PCC, president of the Council of Ministers and president of the State Council as long as his health allowed, and only when this faltered did he turn over all his self-appointed positions to his brother, save for that of commander-in-chief. And it was he, despite his old age, who closed the last congress of the PCC, where all the regime's bigwigs gathered, so as to leave no doubts about who was in control over the entire political-economic governmental apparatus. Everything in Cuba has been made in his image and likeness, and in accordance with his interests and considerations, from his momentous decision to install nuclear missiles in Cuba, to the color of school uniforms, to his macro and micro economic plans and social experiments, their costs being recorded and tracked in nothing but his mind. Let us not forget the leader's extreme measures and their implications for all of Cuban society when he felt threatened by the potential joining of two lower-ranking figures back in 1989: General Ochoa, who was to take command of the Western Army, and Interior Minister Jose Abrantes. The former boasted great prestige and power within the FAR, while the latter was "contaminated" with the ideas of perestroika, going so far as to publicly state that Cuba ought to start thinking about implementing some sort of glasnost. An authentic witch hunt of reform sympathizers was unleashed, lasting several years, marginalizing, sacking or assigning to "other important tasks" thousands of officers, officials and specialists at the PCC, the Cuban Foreign Ministry, the MININT and MINFAR. This was a purification process worthy of Stalin; less strident and more "diplomatic," but no less effective. Let nobody forget either the national commotion when the leader fell seriously ill in 2006, and its subsequent aftermath. Here the leaders disappearance would be devastating to Cuba's entire political-economic and social framework, which is structured based on his interests and absurd, megalomaniacal aspirations to dominate not just a country, or a region, but an entire age. All Cubas high-ranking yes men, who have spent more than half a century praising him, subordinated to and defending fidelismo, know that without him there will be no way to sustain the whole scheme, propped up on pillars of voluntarism, populism, foreign aid and his imagination. These processes and appointments of family members and loyal lackeys to important positions , violating established mechanisms and rights, simply evidence the absence of any institutional maturity in Castro's Cuba, where the only way to be assigned important functions is through subordination and unconditional loyalty to the Boss, convincing him or one of his cohorts that one is useful. This "cadre policy" has not changed under Raul. And this is the cause of the overconcentration of power amassed in the hands of the FAR's generals, apparently controlled by the General and President, those closest to power, and up-and-comers loyal to Castro. This is not the kind of normal generational transition that occurs in any democratic society, in which established institutions, a balance of power between parties, and the popular vote determine who holds public positions. The perpetual replenishment of powerful posts, along with a shift from State-based monopolistic capitalism to corporate and private capitalism, under the guise of "modernization," is the plot the elite have devised to avert their eventual collapse and to maintain the "royal" family and its cronies in power after the historic leader's passing. But such appointments, like that of "The Crab," or that of Alejandro Castro Espin, to centrally control the intelligence of all Cuba's special agencies, like a sort of National Security Council, this entailing a greater concentration of power, evidences how the contradictions inherent to Fidels model are growing more and more egregious. Now in its terminal phase, it is a structure that continues to exclude many other actors from the process. The Samsung Galaxy Note 7 has been recalled, after 35 reports of a battery cell issue, which lead to devices blowing up. Samsung recalled its units of the Galaxy Note 7 citing consumer safety, after users reported battery issues on the device. The recall for the Galaxy Note 7 may be the biggest such incident ever in the smartphone market. After a statement from Samsungs global team, the India unit has now sent out a similar statement. In it, Samsung acknowledges that the delay in shipping will cause issues, but given that no units had been delivered, theres obviously no need for replacements here. Samsung India is currently waiting to hear from its global counterpart to confirm when it will resume sales for the Galaxy Note 7 in India. Heres Samsungs statement: Samsung is committed to producing the highest quality products and we take every incident report from our valued customers very seriously. In response to recently reported cases of the new Galaxy Note7, we conducted a thorough investigation and found a battery cell issue. To date (as of September 1) there have been 35 cases that have been reported globally and we are currently conducting a thorough inspection with our suppliers to identify possible affected batteries in the market. However, because our customers safety is an absolute priority at Samsung, we have delayed sales of the Galaxy Note7 in India. We acknowledge the inconvenience this may cause in the market but this is to ensure that Samsung continues to deliver the highest quality products to our customers. The Samsung Galaxy Note 7 was launched in India recently, at Rs. 59,990. The device carries Samsungs new Iris Scanner, and specifications similar to the Galaxy S7 Edge. It is arguably Samsungs most important device of the year, and the recall of course affects Samsungs business. However, the company seems to be trying its best at reassuring consumers on the quality of its products. The entry of Reliance Jio in the Indian telecom market caused ripples across the industry and the nation alike. Never have we heard of free voice calls for life, and data rates more affordable than a rickshaw ride. But, not all is well as the new network provider enters the market. For starters, we at Digit, went around Delhis Connaught Place trying to get a sense of what people know about Jio. The general sentiment pointed to the fact that many are still unaware of Jios services and offers. Those that were aware of Jios plans to offer the cheapest data rates in the country were also skeptical of the connectivity quality of their services, mainly because of the Rcom hangover of call-drops, poor customer services and inflated bills. AVAILABILITY CONUNDRUM We also visited a few Reliance Digital stores and authorised Jio SIM sellers, only to find out that application forms for both the SIM card, as well as, the Jio LTE WiPod are running out at most stores. The ones we visited were unable to provide us with application forms, even though they had the the SIMs and Wi-Fi devices available with them. THE WAIT FOR ACTIVATION At the Reliance Jio AGM, Chairman and MD of RIL, Mukesh Ambani had announced that every Jio customer will be able to walk into a Jio store with their Aadhar cards and get their new connection within 15 minutes, with activation promised within 5 minutes of walking out the store. Sadly, these tall claims were put to rest by Jios own employees at the Reliance Digital stores we visited. Activation can take upto a week, or even longer, because servers have too much load, a Reliance Digital employee told Digit. The employee also told us that not all Reliance Digital outlets carry Jio SIM cards, Wi-Fi boxes. Take a look at this Twitter users conversation with a Jio Care Facebook page. Although the page is unofficial, the user highlighted an issue about his SIM activation. In fact, the Jio page owner also admits to facing similar issues, and highlights that Jio exclusive stores are yet to open in the country. The aggrieved customer then contacted Digit and a few other publication on Twitter, in hopes of finding a resolution. Is it just another corporate fraud in offing@Airtel_Presence @VodafoneIN -now i feel how it felt gud dealing with u pic.twitter.com/xCCqdX8MJm MITHUN R (@mithunindia) September 2, 2016 LOOPHOLES IN TARIFF PLANS Reliance Jios free lifetime calling plan, and unlimited internet welcome offers also come with their own caveats, hidden away in the terms and conditions of the usage policy. Firstly, as promised by Ambani, the introductory offer for Jio was supposed to give users free, unlimited data timm December 31. Turns out the catch is that users will only get 4GB of free LTE data daily, with the speed reducing to 128 Kbps after that. Unlimited free internet usage after midnight is also not a reality. The unlimited free data is only available from 2AM to 5AM, for 3 hours, during the wee hours of the morning. Theres also a catch when it comes to free calls over the Jio network. While voice calls will remian free as promised, video calls will attract data charges separately. Click here to know more about how calling works on Reliance Jio. If you are a Jio user, feel free to tell us about your experiences with the network in our comments section below. So, Reliance Jios network is live and as the telecom war heats up, there are a lot of questions on peoples minds. A curious thing about Jios network is that not only is it an all data network, its also an all 4G network. So, even your calls would be routed over 4G. Reliance has promised that you wont be charged for voice calls, meaning the data used for calling will not be counted as part of your data usage. But how exactly do such calls work? Read More: All Reliance Jio tarriffs To understand, we have to talk about the much touted VoLTE technology. VoLTE stands for Voice Over LTE, meaning your call is treated like all other data that goes in and out of your phone. VoLTE promises HD call quality, faster calls, and better use of data. So, unlike right now, your network wont drop to 2G or 3G when youre making a call. A VoLTE enabled phone can handle calling and other data-based activities simultaneously. To understand how VoLTE works, we need to understand how networks themselves work. Read More: All you need to know about Reliance Jio Circuit-Switching Networks Traditional voice networks use a technology called circuit-switching. In this, an actual circuit is dedicated to voice calls. A signal has to go through various switches in order to connect to the final receiver. In telecom, a switch is a device that takes the input signal from your phone and outputs it to the appropriate destination. Telcos have over the years laid out numerous switches, so as to enable calling from one point to the other. The problem is, switches cant be used for any traffic, except the call they connected, while the call is still on. Also, a call must travel over a fixed path, through switches, in such a network. Circuit-switched networks have traditionally been used only for voice calls only, because they arent suited for data. Packet-Switching Networks Data, on the other hand, cant be managed the same way. On VoLTE networks, data is exactly what calls are. When you make a call, your voice is broken up into tiny packets of data. These packets then travel over a packet-switched network from sender to receiver. While circuit-switched networks need calls to pass through a fixed path, data doesnt work that way. In a packet switched network, those tiny data packets your voice was broken into, take different paths. So, while one packet may travel from Delhi to Mumbai and then to the destination, the other may go to Kolkata. All these packets, though, end up at the same destination where theyre decoded and your voice is transmitted to the listener. Also, unlike circuit-switched networks, the packet-switching is done wholly using computer servers. A packet switched network is made using optical fibre, over copper cables that circuit switched networks use. It is this packet-switching IP-based network that Reliance Jio employs for making calls work on its network. Fun fact: Packet-switching networks were first developed during the Cold War. VoLTE and smartphones VoLTE technology has actually been available for a while, but its only now that its coming to the fore. VoLTE has been marketed by all OEMs in their recent launches, but in a market full of nearly a billion phones, less than half are smartphones, and even fewer are VoLTE enabled phones. This is why Reliance has brought its own LYF branded phones. If you want to make a VoLTE call, you need a VoLTE enabled phone. Not only that, you need the receiver to also have a phone that supports VoLTE. Further, both phones must be on a 4G network, and if either one drops out of the network, calls may drop. So, even if Jios 4G connectivity is incredible, another telcos network could lead to call drops. In the early days of Voice over LTE, network interoperability was also an issue. So VoLTE calls could only happen within a particular telcos network. However, while this isnt an issue anymore, network interoperability is still something Indian telcos are working on. Interoperability Interconnect points, the physical point where telcos networks intersect, are the root of all evil in the Jio vs Telcos debacle. When Mukesh Ambani said over 5 crore Jio calls had been dropped, he was accusing other telcos of not providing enough interconnect points. The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) has been pushing IP-based networks for a while now, but its yet to happen. Telecom licenses in India currently allow interconnection between circuit-switched networks, and between circuit-switched and packet-switched networks. Interconnectivity between IP-based networks, though, is yet to be started, even though many do have such networks. So, Reliance is currently connecting to Airtel, Vodafone, Idea etc, through their circuit-switched networks. Hence, a call made over data from your Jio phone will eventually be connected to a circuit-switched network. Jio Join This is where the JioJoin app comes in. If youre on a Jio-powered network, this app will essentially become your dialler. It allows calls made over data to be connected to those other networks. It is essentially the software interface needed for the hardware that Jio has employed, to work with all phones. Jio to jio calls, of course dont need the app, but calls to any other telco (and that may cover most of your calls, initially) will need the JioJoin app. Also, the JioJoin app will provide for phones that arent VoLTE enabled. Its unclear how non-VoLTE phones will communicate, but a regular VoIP call should be made. This is the technology WhatsApp and Skype use, and if youre satisfied with calls on those apps, then you shouldnt have much to worry about. In our experience, the lag and call quality still need improvement on WhatsApp, and often even Skype. RJios web page states you can use your phones dialler to call through the Jio Join app, but this will most likely be valid only for Android phones, where such a link is easily done. We arent sure how this will work on iPhones yet, since the Jio SIM we have wasn't working on iPhones when this was written. The app also allows sending texts, files, photos, and even conference calls. Sounds like WhatsApp or Skype, doesnt it? These services are called Rich Communication Services (RCS), which is an advantage of having VoLTE networks. Jio has an advantage here, since WhatsApp and others do not have a telecom license. It is worth noting that having a VoLTE network means you can make calls over any Internet connection. With the Jio app on your phone, you can make a call over your WiFi connection, when connected. However, calls made over a non-Jio WiFi, may be counted as data on your bill. Popular questions So, now that you understand how calls on the Jio network will work, lets answer a few of the most popular questions. Are all calls on the Reliance Jio network, VoLTE calls? No. While all calls are made over a VoLTE capable network, only calls from Jio customers to other Jio customers will be VoLTE enabled. Whenever calls are made to non-VoLTE smartphones, or a circuit-switched network (legacy carriers, like Airtel, Vodafone, Idea, Telenor etc), they will not be VoLTE. Can I call from a Jio network to other networks? Of course you can, but it will only be a VoLTE HD call if your phone, the receivers phone, and the network allow VoLTE. So, if you call a friend on Airtel, Vodafone etc. through your Jio number, the call will eventually pass through an interconnect point, where itll go from an IP-based network to a circuit-switched network. This will make it non-HD. What does free voice calling mean? Free voice calling is applicable in the following cases: If you have a VoLTE enabled phone, regular calls, made from your dialler, will not be charged. Further, on a non-VoLTE phone, calls made through JioJoin will not be charged. However, if a call is made over WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger or other such OTT services, then the call will be counted as data used. How will video calling be treated? Only the video part of a video call will be charged to your data, irrespective of what app it is made from. So, you can use Skype, Facetime or even JioJoin, and only the video data from the call will be charged against your data limit. The voice part is still free. When is the JioJoin app needed? The JioJoin app is needed only if your phone is a non-VoLTE enabled phone, or if youre using a non-Jio device to make calls through the Jio network, using the Jio MiFi device. On a VoLTE enabled phone on the Jio network, you will not need the JioJoin app. Read More: Reliance Jio Wi-Pod review How will you get calls from a non-VoLTE network? Anyone can call you from their non-VoLTE enabled phone or network. Jios network infrastructure converts all calls to conform with the IP-based Jio network. They wont be HD calls, but youll get a call the way you usually do. On non-VoLTE devices, the JioJoin app will take charge again. Will I seriously get HD calls? HD calls apply only to VoLTE calls made from VoLTE phones to other VoLTE phones, to VoLTE enabled networks. A call converted from a packet-switched network to circuit-switched network or vice versa, will not be an HD call. Can I roam on Reliance Jio? While it all seems pretty, its worth noting that international roaming is currently not possible on Reliance Jio. Common sense suggests that the company will establish networks for the same in future, but as of now, you can roam on Jio. In fact, an answer on Jios FAQ page clarifies the same. This, however, does not mean that you can't make ISD calls from the Jio network. Those will still work. Can I turn off mobile data on a Reliance Jio phone? No. Not if you want to receive calls at least. Also, the Reliance Jio connections will only work on VoLTE powered devices. Australian oil and gas company 88 Energy has revised the design for its Alaskan Icewine-2 well and now intends to drill vertically, rather than laterally, to reduce costs and risks. AIM-listed 88 Energy, along with its joint-venture partner Burgundy Xplorartion, found that a vertical well with multi-stage stimulation would save about $5m and would decrease drilling risks compared to the more complex lateral well. Significantly, 88 Energy would now be able to fully fund the well from its existing cash position. It will also increase the availability of suitable rigs to the onshore well at the North Slope of Alaska, and result in a more competitive tender process. Interpretation of the inline/crossline 2D seismic data covering the Franklin Bluffs area was at an early stage, but was progressing well thanks to the excellent quality of the data, the company said in a statement. Further interpretation and analysis was required to evaluate the exploration potential. The company had also nearly completed the processing of the 2D seismic data covering nearly two thirds of the Project Icewine acreage. 88 Energy continued to expect interpretation of the Icewine 2D data to begin in September 2016, with results following several weeks later. Managing director Dave Wall, said: "The revision to the well design has resulted in a best of both worlds scenario for 88 Energy and its shareholders. We now have a more efficient, lower cost outcome that optimises achievement of the operational objectives targeted by the Icewine 2 well. Additionally, we are highly encouraged by the initial results from the 2D seismic at this very early stage of interpretation." Shares in 88 Energy were down 19.85% to 2.64p at 0951 BST. Hydrocarbon developer Union Jack Oil said it remained debt free and was trading satisfactorily following the acquisition of three licenses in the first half of the year. During the six months ended 30 June the company bought three licences, a 7.5% interest in the PEDL143, which incorporated the drill-ready Holmwood prospect from Europe Oil & Gas, a 10% interest in PEDL209 from Egdon Resources, which contains the Laughton prospect and an 8.33% interest in PEDL182 also from Egdon and containing the Broughton North prospect. The AIM-listed oil company said the licences will provide additional exposure and potential production, development and appraisal. The company was currently debt free, holding in excess of 2m in cash as of 5 September. The company highlighted that it remained fully funded for the current drill programme at its licenses, including the low-cost UK onshore Wressle development. Egdon, the operator at Wressle, said the project was in the midst of a field development programme and production should start in the last quarter of 2016. That would have a "material impact" on Union Jacks cash flow generation, chairman David Bramahill. Union Jacks supplementary tax rate fell from 20% to 10% as a result of the March 2016 Budget, which would have a constructive and positive impact on the economics of onshore hydrocarbon projects. Going forward, this would reduce the effective tax rate from 50% to 40%, the company said in a statement. Full cycle costs associated with UK onshore production, development and exploration remain highly attractive even at current oil prices as "the nadir has been tested", Union Jack said. Executive chairman David Bramhill said: "Union Jack is well placed with a number of development, appraisal and drilling projects underway that are fully funded from our available cash resources. We are not deviating from our strategy and we are continuing to see an escalation of the rewards of that focus. Shares in Union Jack Oil were down 2.35% to 0.166p at 0955 BST. Company-specific drivers were the reason for the European Aerospace and Defence sectors outperformance year-to-date, but in the remainder of 2016 and in 2017 companies ability to 'execute' would be the deciding factor, analysts at Goldman Sachs said. In civilian aerospace, several large programmes were ramping-up production, including LEAP, GTF, A320neo, A350 and Trent XWB. On the defence side of the quation, meanwhile, Goldman Sachs expected US military spending to improve and in the UK there was greater visibility on large programmes, such as for submarines. BAE Systems was best-positioned to benefit from those tailwinds, Goldman said. "The stock trades at a deep discount to US peers and our European coverage despite improving profit growth and free-cash-flow conversion," the broker said in a research note published on 2 September. Goldman also had some good words for French engine-maker Safran, pointing out how it was trading at a 13% discount to its coverage in terms of its 2018 EV/EBIT multiple yet offered a superior earnings outlook. Airbus also offered meaningful value, but concerns about cycle-phasing kept the broker from ascribing a higher multiple to its future earnings. The pan-European aerospace giant was trading at a 2018 price-to-earnings multiple of nine versus Boeing at 16. Quinetiq on the other hand was entering a period of lower margins and cash flows due to price pressures from the Ministry of Defence and working capital headwinds. Thus far in 2016, the sector had fallen by 1.54% versus the 7.1% drop in the Stoxx 600 despite analysts having cut their earnings forecasts for the firms in the space by almost twice as much as the broader benchmark (by -11.5% compared to -5.9%). In the case of the London-listed companies within the sector, the main drivers of their better relative performance had been M&A speculation at Meggitt, stabilisation at Rolls Royce and end-improvement at BAE Systems. The head of the Eurozone's finance ministers has strongly criticised the actions of US tech giant Apple in the aftermath of the EU's decision to order the company to pay Ireland 13bn in back taxes. Eurogroup president Jeroen Dijsselbloem said that Apple was out of touch with the public outcry surrounding the decision. Apple were told to repay the sum to the Irish state following an investigation by the EU Commission into its tax practices in the country, a decision which is set to be appealed by both the company and Ireland. CEO Tim Cook referred to the ruling as "political crap" amid a flurry of protestations about the result of the investigation. "The Apple response shows that they dont grasp whats going on in society and they do not grasp whats going on in the public debate," said Dijsselbloem at the Ambrosetti forum of business leaders in Italy. "This is a very strong moral issue and large companies, even if theyre this large, cant say 'this is not about us, theres no problem here.'" While the money is a drop in the ocean in comparison with Apple's fortune, much of the public in Ireland is in uproar at the refusal of the Irish government to accept the money, which is equivalent to its annual healthcare budget. "American companies or any company that uses all these different tax plans and at the end of the day pays no tax, thats not fair," Dijsselbloem added. European stocks edged higher on Monday, helped by strength in the basic resources and energy sectors as oil prices advanced. At midday, the benchmark Stoxx Europe 600 index was up 0.2%, Germanys DAX was 0.3% higher and Frances CAC 40 was up 0.4%. At the same time, oil prices pushed higher on reports that Russia and Saudi Arabia had agreed to cooperate to stabilise prices. In a statement at the Group of 20 meeting in China, the oil producers said they would set up a working group to monitor the market and draft recommendations to ensure its stability. West Texas Intermediate was up 2.9% to $45.71 a barrel and Brent crude was 2.9% firmer at $48.19. The Stoxx 600 oil and gas index gained 1.3%. IGs Chris Beauchamp said: Although the US is out of the picture for Labor Day, that has not led to a particularly quiet morning for oil. Saudi Arabia and Russia hinted at an impending statement that raises hopes of a production freeze. Eager oil traders took the chance to buy the commodity once again, with the result that more than half of the losses of the previous two weeks were recovered in the space of a few hours. Better-than-expected data out of China was also helping to underpin the mood somewhat. The Caixin services purchasing managers index nudged up to 52.1 in August from 51.7 in July. This helped to boost the mining sector, pushing the Stoxx 600 basic resources index up 1.3%. In corporate news, Zodiac Aerospace was under the cosh after a profit warning, while Hugo Boss slumped as UBS downgraded the stock to sell. Altice was in the red after the telecoms group made an offer for the outstanding 22.25% shares of SFR it does not already own. Retailer Marks & Spencer edged lower after it announced proposals to cut around 925 jobs as it looks to make savings following a detailed review. GlaxoSmithKline nudged up after tests of one of its respiratory drugs found a statistically significant reduction in the rate of attacks suffered by chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) patients compared to when they receive the standard treatment. On the data front, business activity in the eurozone slipped in August, according to data released on Monday. Markits final composite purchasing managers index which combines the services and manufacturing sectors fell to 52.9 in August from 53.2 in July and was down a touch from the flash estimate of 53.3. The services PMI fell to 52.8 from Julys 52.9 and the flash estimate of 53.1. Market said the slowdown was centred on Germany, where output growth fell to its weakest pace in over three years. However, France, Italy, Spain and Ireland all saw rates of increase accelerate since July. Chris Williamson, chief economist at Markit, said: Its clearly disappointing to see the final PMI has come in weaker than the initial flash estimate. While the overall picture is one of steady but sluggish 0.3% growth in the third quarter, the revised figures indicate that the economy is losing rather than gaining momentum. Elsewhere, retail sales in the 19 countries that share the euro rose more than expected in July. Retail sales were up 1.1% on the month following a 0.1% drop in June. On the year, retail sales were up 2.9%. Sales of automotive fuel were up 1.8% in the eurozone, while sales of food, drinks and tobacco increased 1.1% and non-food products sales were up 0.4%. On the year, sales of non-food products were 3.2% firmer, while automotive fuel sales were 2.2% higher and food, drinks and tobacco sales were up 1.8%. London stocks were expected to open higher on Monday following an upbeat session in Asia, as investors eye the release of UK services data. The FTSE 100 was set to open 24 points firmer than Fridays close at 6,918. CMC Markets Jasper Lawler said: A theme of lower rates for long is helping setup European markets for a higher open on Monday. Chief Japanese central banker Kurodas suggestion overnight that there is ample room for further rate cuts has added to the sense that central banks will continue to backstop asset prices. The comments come after US unemployment figures released on Friday meant the Federal Reserve will probably refrain from raising rates at its September meeting. "The G20 doesnt look like it will throw up any stingers for global markets. Political leaders are focusing on trying to achieve inclusive globalisation in order to fend-off a popular uprising against a global system that has seen wealth inequality widen. On the data front, UK services PMI is at 0930 BST. US markets will be closed for the Labour Day holiday. In corporate news, tests of a GlaxoSmithKline respiratory drug have found a statistically significant reduction in the rate of attacks suffered by chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) patients compared to when they receive the standard treatment. The pioneering Salford Lung Study into the effectiveness and safety of GSK's drug also showed a similar improvement against patients who were taking a medicine in the same class as Relvar Ellipta. LondonMetric Property announced on Monday that it has sold a retail park in Warrington for 6.6m, at a net initial yield of 5.4%, and acquired an 89,000 sq ft distribution warehouse in Hemel Hempstead for 8.3m, at a NIY 6.4%. The firm said the Fordton retail park in Warrington comprises 20,200 sq ft and is let to Aldi, Greggs, Betfred, Barnardo's and Costa. In Hemel Hempstead, the recently refurbished distribution warehouse is let to ITAB, the shop concept company, at a rent of 6.24 per square foot and with an unexpired lease term of 8.3 years. Construction and maintenance company Carillion extended its partnership with utility firm Centrica for a further five years to deliver facilities management and project services, in a deal worth 90m. The service is to start in December and builds on the companys existing decade-long, management service for Centricas British Gas business and will now include total facilities management. Theresa May needs to reassure British businesses and existing European Union workers on their residency rights, following the countrys decision to leave the trading block, an industry body said on Monday. The British Chambers of Commerce (BCC) survey found that more than two fifths of companies polled said their employees have expressed concern over their future in the country as some have already resigned in the wake of the Brexit vote. BCC acting director general Adam Marshall, said: Since the referendum many firms have expressed concern over the future status of their existing EU workforce. These hardworking people are absolutely vital to the success of businesses, and must be retained we cannot afford to lose talented and skilled workers. Theresa May should reassure them as soon as possible that they will have the right to remain in the UK, to provide much-needed certainty both for EU employees and UK employers. The survey, carried out a month after Junes referendum, found that 41% of companies that employ EU workers say their staff have expressed uncertainty over their residency status in the UK. About 5% of businesses that employ EU workers have seen them resign following the Brexit vote and 10% of businesses said their EU employees have said they intend to leave. Of the 800 businesses surveyed, 60% think residency guarantees for EU workers would have a positive impact on their business, 28% said it would have none and 9% said they did not know. Marshall said the government needs to clarify how new EU hires will be treated, as many businesses have also said they are uncertain about the people they want to recruit and if they will be able to continue working with them in the future. He said that a sensible immigration policy is needed which allows businesses to plug the skills gap and that there should also be sustained investment in training of British workers. Marshall added: Guaranteeing the rights of EU workers is just one of the major issues that the new government needs to make, and quickly. Decisions on airport and rail expansion are long overdue, which along with action on infrastructure investment will be crucial to solidifying business confidence and laying the foundations for UK growth in the coming years. The Prime Minister told the BBCs Andrew Marr on Sunday, she expected the status of British citizens in other EU countries to be guaranteed as she would guarantee the status of the EU citizens living here. Sources told Sky News that Santander UK is looking to make a formal bid for MBNA next week at the deadline for offers. Santander UK is said to be mulling the acquisition as a way of strengthening the balance sheet to deal with tough new industry reforms due to be implemented in 2019. The government reforms are designed to protect taxpayers and savers against a future financial crisis. A takeover of MBNA could cast doubt on Santanders interest in buying a separate set of assets from Royal Bank of Scotland. Santander and RBS are in negotiations over the sale of hundreds of branches and a big chunk of the personal current account and small business banking market. MBNA has already attracted interest from Lloyds Banking Group, which is looking to grow its credit card business. While Lloyds is seen as the most likely buyer, some analysts believe such a substantial purchase could prevent the bank from paying a special dividend at the end of the year. A Chinese firm is to construct Europe's tallest residential building in London's Canary Wharf, with sales of apartments in the 800m tower set to begin in October. Greenland Group are developing the project in the capital, and it is said to comprise 67 storeys and 861 apartments. The tower will feature a number of amenities such as spas, swimming pools, gyms and cinema rooms. The tower is rumoured to have a so-called "poor door", in which tenants at the lower end of the price scale will enter the building from a different point to those on the super-rich higher flats. UK managing director of Greenland Group, Wenhao Qian, has dismissed concerns that London's luxury property market has peaked. "This important launch reflects the confidence that Greenland Group continues to have in both the London economy and the London property market," Qian said. "We believe that there is always a demand for 'best in class' property assets that offer a high quality, bespoke, designed and unique product in a prime location. In our view Spire London fulfils these criteria, and we believe there will be significant demand for the apartments within this tower from both the UK and overseas." Construction of the tower has already begun, and is scheduled to be completed by 2020. The FTSE 250 was trading just above the line on Monday afternoon, as sterling strengthened after better-than-expected UK services data. Leading the risers was Zoopla Property Group, as it pared the last of its post-Brexit losses on the back of an upgrade from Barclays. The primary reason cited by the bank for the upgrade is its expectation of a strong performance from price comparison website uSwitch, rather than any real anticipation for real estate strength. We see an excellent standalone business in uSwitch, which the market is now more aware of (but doesnt yet fully appreciate in our view). And we understand the logic behind Property Software Group. But in our view, the market is not pricing in synergies between the businesses and doesnt fully appreciate the long-term vision the management team has for putting it all together. We see the investor day as an opportunity to increase understanding here, and a refresh for how people value the business, Barclays said. Another winner was Dechra Pharmaceuticals, after it reported a jump in underlying profit for the year as revenue grew following a number of acquisitions. In its preliminary results for the year ended 30 June, the veterinary pharmaceutical business said underlying operating profit came in at 52.9m from 44.4 the year before, on revenue of 247.6m, up from 203.5m. Dechra said it continues to outperform in the majority of therapeutic areas and markets in which it trades, especially in the US. Leading the losers was Virgin Money, amid a more muted mood in the banking sector after Deutsche Bank downgraded two of the big boys. Analysts at the bank downgraded both Lloyds Bank and Royal Bank of Scotland to adjust for what it described as a lower-for-longer environment. DB pointed out that UK bank shares have been particularly volatile since the UK voted to leave the European Union, with RBS, Barclays and Lloyds all down 30-40% since pre-Brexit levels at one point. FTSE 250 - Risers Zoopla Property Group (WI) (ZPLA) 326.70p 6.76% Dechra Pharmaceuticals (DPH) 1,374.00p 5.69% Evraz (EVR) 133.80p 4.61% Acacia Mining (ACA) 503.00p 3.93% Kaz Minerals (KAZ) 185.00p 3.87% Carillion (CLLN) 268.80p 2.95% Cobham (COB) 169.30p 2.86% Tullow Oil (TLW) 232.50p 2.74% Vedanta Resources (VED) 512.00p 2.54% Centamin (DI) (CEY) 158.00p 2.46% FTSE 250 - Fallers Virgin Money Holdings (UK) (VM.) 306.40p -3.53% Redefine International (RDI) 42.23p -3.01% Brown (N.) Group (BWNG) 210.70p -2.59% Ibstock (IBST) 169.10p -2.54% Hastings Group Holdings (HSTG) 220.80p -2.47% Tritax Big Box Reit (BBOX) 144.50p -2.43% Debenhams (DEB) 60.60p -2.18% Countrywide (CWD) 261.70p -2.10% St. Modwen Properties (SMP) 285.20p -1.82% Workspace Group (WKP) 705.50p -1.74% Where does 'College GameDay' have Ohio State in the first CFP rankings? The Rector of Drumholm, Kilbarron and Rossnowlagh, the Rev Brian Russell, has been installed as a Canon of St Eunans Cathedral, Raphoe at a service conducted by the Dean of Raphoe, the Very Reverend Arthur Barrett. Members of Canon Russells family and parishioners from south Donegal were in St Eunans to see him take the stall of the prebendary of Drumholm, which had become vacant following the retirement of Canon John Deane. The preacher at the Service was the Rector of Ballymore, Reverend Christopher Pierce, who has known Canon Russell for a number of years, having relieved him of the honour of being the youngest clergyman in the Diocese. In his sermon, Rev Pierce asked the congregation to pray for Canon Russell and for all the Canons of the Cathedral and all the clergy of the Diocese. The Preacher said we were living in a time of great fluidity but that there was also the reality that the word of God had not changed. Rev Pierce drew attention to the Epistle Reading from the Letter of Jude (Jude 1-4) in which Christians were urged to contend for the faith that was once for all entrusted to Gods holy people. Jude warned about those who had secretly slipped in among them and perverted the grace of God. That sounds exactly like what we read in the newspaper, Rev Pierce said, people who profess the Christian faith and yet want us to change the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ. When Jesus was sending the disciples out at Galilee he didnt give them a general power of attorney and say Go and in my name teach whatever you wish to teach. He told them to teach everything that he had commanded them. He called them to do exactly what he said, not to freelance. The members of the Chapter, the clergy of the Diocese are given that responsibility of contending for the faith, and maintaining the faith, Rev Pierce said. To say that something isnt sinful when the Lord calls it sinful is one of the highest forms of idolatry. Because what a person does when they say such is that theyre saying I know better than God. Thats a dodgy place to be at best and it certainly isnt faithful. Here at this ancient building, on this ancient Christian site, we are gathered together to be present for the Installation of a new Canon and a member of the Cathedral Chapter. These men are charged with being faithful. We should pray for them that they will be faithful. We should encourage them to contend for the faith. Following the Service in which the Bishop of Derry and Raphoe, Ken Good, also participated the congregation moved to the nearby Cathedral Hall for refreshments which had been prepared by ladies from Canon Russells parish group. There, Bishop Good revealed that he had known the new Canon since he was a member of the Youth Group in Willowfield Parish in East Belfast, when the Bishop was a curate there. He was a talented musician. He played the organ in church. He worked hard (he was a student at university at that time) and we could see the potential that he had as a youth leader at that time. I have followed his progress with interest all the more so since coming to this Diocese as Bishop and I am delighted now that he is a Canon of the Cathedral of St Eunans. There was a huge community turnout at todays official opening of Mullantiboyle Bridge in Glenties. The official opening, by Cathaoirleach of Donegal County Council, Cllr. Terence Slowey was a special day for the people of Glenties. The new bridge is a 24 metre single span structure which is 6m wide incorporating a 5m wide road and crosses the Owenea River providing an alternative access route around Glenties Town. Cllr. Slowey, no stranger to Glenties, having attended secondary school there, gave a brief summary of the project and of the many challenges and obstacles that were overcome by the community working in close collaboration with both the elected members and Council officials. Following a collapse of one of the two spans of the old bridge in 2010, it was concluded that the structure was beyond repair and various interim solutions were considered by the Council in consultation with the Local Mullantiboyle Bridge Group including a pedestrian bridge. However, the local group were determined to wait for a Roadbridge and when we look at the new bridge here today, it is clear to me that this was the correct decision. There were many design complexities including varying ground conditions and freshwater pearl mussels and these were carefully considered and a design decision was taken to ensure the best possible outcome, he said. Cllr Slowey thanked everyone involved in the construction of the new bridge including the Council engineers, design consultants Roughan & ODonovan, the Office of Public Works, the National Parks & Wildlife Service, Inland Fisheries Ireland and Ward & Burke Construction Ltd, the appointed contractors. He thanked Brendan McFadden, Area Roads Manager for Glenties Municipal District. From the time when the bridge first collapsed right through to the completion of the works in recent days, Brendan has continued to spearhead the project from the Councils perspective and I would like to thank him for his ongoing commitment and dedication to get this project completed, he added. He thanked the former Minister for Transport, Paschal Donohoe, for providing the funding for the is project via the Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport (DTTAS). Cllr. Marie Therese Gallagher, speaking on behalf of the elected members of Glenties Municipal District, paid tribute to the people of Glenties for their commitment in seeing this project through. It is great to see the people of Glenties here today, because without you this bridge would never have been replaced. It was a bridge that fell down on a back road but you kept the pressure on and even though there were many obstacles in your way your determination win through. This project was led by the people of Glenties and we dont often see this type of turn out at official openings. It is clear that this is about a community coming together to acknowledge that Mullantiboyle bridge is a vital piece of infrastructure that connects the people of this town. Joe McHugh, T.D. Minister of State for the Diaspora acknowledged the great work done by everyone: This type of infrastructure is vital to communities and I would like to acknowledge the great work done by everyone involved, from the local community representatives, to the elected members, to the Council Officials, the design consultants and indeed the contractors. This bridge will be here for many generations to come and will continue to be an important part of the fabric of the community allowing access for local residents and farmers as well as visitors to the area. Pictured: Mullantiboyle Bridge at Glenties was officially opened on Monday by the Cathaoirleach of Donegal County Council Cllr. Terence Slowey. Included in this photo are local councillors, members of the Oireachtas, county council officials and staff and a great cross section of the local community who attended the opening. Photo Clive Wasson The National Youth Council of Ireland (NYCI) has called for measures to reduce youth unemployment in County Donegal and nationwide. Data from the Department of Social Protection shows that the number of young people in Donegal in receipt of Jobseekers Allowance or Benefit is 2,137. This number is still far too high and investment to tackle the continued high level of youth unemployment are needed, according to James Doorley, deputy director at the National Youth Council of Ireland (NYCI), which represents youth organisations working with over 380,000 young people nationwide. As part of its pre-budget submission published recently, the NYCI is calling for an investment of 30m in a renewed Youth Guarantee scheme and asking Government to incentivise education, training and work experience for young people by reversing the cuts in payments to young people on these schemes. Mr Doorley said: While youth unemployment has declined from the crisis levels of the 2009 to 2013 period, the most recent figures indicate that we have almost 40,000** young people on the live register - of whom 16,000*** have been on the register for one year or more. In Donegal alone there are 2137 young people in receipt of Jobseekers payments. We need action now to support these young people on the path to employment. The NYCI Pre-Budget Submission Youth Rising can be found here:http://www.youth.ie/sites/youth.ie/files/NYCI-Pre-Budget-2017-Submission.pdf Live Register CSO statistical release, 1st September 2016 http://www.cso.ie/en/releasesandpublications/er/lr/liveregisteraugust2016/ Media center The media library provides access to images, as well as TV footage files and video clips, infographics and documents related to Deutsche Post DHL Group and its corporate divisions. THEY say you cant teach an old dog new tricks but that will not be the case for Major if his owner Katie has anything to do with it. Badly disabled dog Major, a German Shepard Collie mix, was recently rescued from the local pound by dog lover Katie Morgan who has now made it her mission to get him mobile, with the aid of dog mobility wheels. Katie is now appealing for help to get Major mobile, so he can live the rest with some level of comfort, These carts are available online and if Major was to get one it would be the difference between enjoying a few good years or being put to sleep when he no longer has the power to drag himself around on his back legs, he is otherwise a healthy and happy dog. At 13 years of age and disabled from an old and untreated injury, presumably a car accident, Major didn't stand a chance of being rehomed. We dont how long he has had to drag himself around for but judging by the bad scaring on his rear legs it must have been for years. Katie and Ken who foster for Dundalk Dog Rescue saw his plea on Facebook and took him in. After a Vet check with Healthy Pets he was passed fit other than his injuries and has been put on anti-inflammatories for the rest of his life. Whilst his heart and mind are strong his back legs are weak from the old injury he is missing three toes on one paw and most of the time walks on his knuckles. Major will be on medication for the rest of his life and thats why donations are so greatly appreciated. But most importantly we are appealing for donations towards a doggy wheelchair which will give Major that much needed mobility to live out the rest of his golden years in comfort and make up for all those years of neglect. To read more about Majors story or to make a donation just visit www.gofundme.com and search appeal for dog mobility wheels. Dredging company Van Oord completed a ground improvement project for client Kuwait National Petroleum Company (KNPC) on the 1,320 ha reclaimed land where the Al-Zour refinery will be build. The project started in 2014 with the reclamation of 65 million cubic metres of sand, raising the natural ground level by 7 meters. Compact ground Van Oord used two jumbo trailing suction hopper dredgers with a 15,000 kw booster and a 5,000 kw land-booster. This boosters were required to pump the dredged material over 12 kilometres distances. To prepare the soil for building the refinery Van Oord has now also completed the compacting. Dynamic compaction and high-energy impact compaction increased the density of the soil and stabilized the ground layers. Upon completion the Al-Zour Refinery will produce 615,000 barrels per day and has a strategic goal of supplying low-sulphur fuel. It will be one of the largest oil refining plants in the Middle East. Original salt plain The refinery will be constructed on the reclaimed land in a sabkha area, a salt plain near the coast, 30 kilometres north of the Saudi border. The reclamation project, executed by Van Oord, was the first phase of KNPCs investment programme for this new refinery. Van Oord continues to work for KNPC in Kuwait. The project also comprises land reclamation for the construction of a port and the first phase of a LNG import facility. This news item was originally published on the website of Van Oord. Read also on this website Van Oord awarded several contracts in Caspian Sea, 9 December 2015 Van Oord's largest hopper dredger started off dredging artificial island Pluit City, Jakarta, Indonesia, 30 October 2015 New Suez Canal project finished with record-breaking dredge production, 6 August 2015 Van Oord awarded 500 million euro dredging contract in Kuwait, 12 March 2014 More information Van Oord Rotterdam, the Netherlands +31 88 826 00 00 www.vanoord.com Impression of the land reclamation and soil compacting for the Kuwait National Petroleum Company, Kuwait. In order to reap the benefits of offshoring non-core competencies, SMBs must effectively communicate the process to onshore staff while ensuring there is cultural transference, according to Scott Stavretis, the CEO of Acquire BPO, Australias largest outsourcer to the Philippines. Stavretis recently spoke to Dynamic Business about offshoring including the advantages for businesses, his predictions for the next five years and the key HR and legal considerations. Why should businesses consider offshoring? There are a number of business benefits to offshoring. Critically, it frees up fiscal and human capital allowing SMBs to reinvest in their business, expand quickly and drive sustainable and scalable solutions whilst focusing on their core competencies. In addition, by not having to worry about what can be considered the burden of recruiting and training staff, businesses can scale without delaying their key objectivities. Weve seen businesses reduce operating costs by over 60% and then reinvest those savings into providing customers with the best products and services possible. Who is offshoring today and who will in the future? Over the last five years, we have seen an increase in various roles going offshore. Typically, it has been customer service and sales functions. Nowadays, however, we are seeing a huge rise in finance and accounting services and even social media roles being shifted offshore. Over the next five years, we will see a shift in the roles being outsourced. We will start to see core positions such as engineering design, for example, infrastructure and product development, full management accounting, data science/analytics and even various types of marketing services, not just digital marketing and sales lead generation, but a lot more around social engagement. What are the HR and legal considerations? A properly managed offshoring approach can ensure a seamless, high quality and compliant transition. From an HR perspective, there are two points to consider and manage. First is ensuring that the organisations corporate culture is embedded into the new offshore team. Second is understanding the different cultures of people in different locations. Getting the balance correct is very important and not a one-size-fits-all approach. At the end of the day, its important that the companys DNA is maintained. This ensures the onshore and offshore teams can truly act as one and meet both performance and value-driven goals. Offshoring work has to be communicated properly to the internal team to minimise speculation about their onshore roles. Time and again we see that all issues can be easily addressed as long as there is an authentic communication plan. Treating the team with respect, answering all their queries and laying out any planned roadmap is critical. We find that employees appreciate transparency; they come to understand the benefits of offshoring and are happy to be a part of the journey. From a legal perspective, offshoring to a reputable business process outsourcer that has experience in the market can lead to improved compliance, as a result of having a strong, independent compliance framework in place. Many clients quickly find this a surprising benefit to offshoring. How do SMBs ensure offshore candidates are a good fit? An important step in the process is ensuring the new offshore team has a deep understanding of the clients culture. Culture is what can make or break a company. The team needs to have a strong understanding and belief in the clients vision, mission and values and must also understand the operational mechanics of the businessthis comes from a good mix of experience and training. We call this culture transfer. The staff needs to be trained in the clients ways of working so that this is replicated within the contact centre. There is no one-size-fits-all with offshoringevery company is different and to ensure the process is successful, a custom-fit solution for a particular companys needs must be created. Why should businesses consider the Philippines? With just a two-hour time difference from the east coast of Australia, the Philippines is an ideal location for offshoring. Not only is the timing convenient, more than 90 per cent of the country speak fluent English, making it one of the worlds highest English-speaking populations. While in some cultures working in a contact centre is seen as an in- between role, in the Philippines it is a legitimate career path. Filipinos, many of whom have college degrees in other areas, pursue full careers in contact centres, making them more committed and highly skilled within this arena. SEO is an art form that requires businesses to apply the Goldilocks Principle: every factor has to be just right for their website to have a chance of vying for top positions for any particular search term. With over 200 factors affecting your organic rankings, it can be very easy to miss the mark in a few areas. Failing to meet Googles brutally discerning expectations can have consequences varying in severity from a lack of ranking improvements, to warnings in Search Console, and the dreaded manual penalties that could have you wiped from the SERPs. Things that may even seem small could really be holding you back from an SEO win. The following guide could help you to identify and correct some of the most common SEO mistakes hopefully before it has a negative impact on your business! Going for Quantity over Quality Quantity was a strong approach to backlinking in the early years of SEO. However, todays more advanced Search Algorithms demand quality over quantity. In fact, a quantity of poor quality incoming links may see you slapped with a manual penalty or the best case scenario is that you will see no change at all. Ensure that backlinks are contextually relevant to the subject matter of your website and that they are from authoritative sources. Not Measuring Performance As the famous saying goes, Half the money I spend on advertising is wasted; the trouble is I dont know which half. By correctly configuring Google Analytics and Google Search Console, you can easily track which keywords and landing pages are working for your SEO campaign. By vigilantly monitoring and measuring your success, you can see exactly which areas of your SEO are paying dividends and adjust accordingly. Digital marketing without analytics is like proceeding with a blindfold on. Keyword Stuffing Another favourite with SEO newbies is to stuff content with the keywords that you want to rank for. This mistake will really put the brakes on your SEO campaign because Google is smart enough to understand that youre trying to trick the system and will deliver your poor rankings accordingly. Back in SEO renaissance, keyword stuffing was a perfectly valid and effective technique. But as algorithms have been updated, a focus on keyword density has gone the way of the fax machine. In 2016, you have to optimise for topics not keywords. Googles heuristics are skilled at picking up synonyms and even the intention of a page. For example, it can identify if the intention of the page is to sell, inform, compare or entertain. Broken Links Got links on your website that lead to a 404 error? This kind of mistake is one that makes a big red flag go up in Googles books. Broken links are a signal of a dilapidating or poorly built website in many cases. Getting these kinds of things right will mean that your onsite SEO is spot on. Duplicate Content Duplicate content is a topic that has a vast array of opinions throughout the SEO industry. However, through my experience, and backed up by Googles Search Quality Guidelines, a page simply requires a decent quantity of unique content. Some content may be identical across a range of pages, however, as long as there is a chunk of content that makes a page unique from the others on your website, it will have no troubles with ranking. In the context of duplicate content from other websites, be much more cautious. Non-descriptive Meta-titles and Descriptions So often you may see a page ranking in the SERPs that has a title to the effect of [Business Name] Home. Underneath it will be a description that Google forms from excerpts of content from the page. Not only are you not making the most of the keyword targeting powers that your meta-title and description offer, but youre not making a very compelling case for a user to click on your page instead of the other results. Carefully craft your meta-titles and meta-descriptions with great care so that they clearly explain your product, service or subject matter in a way that will tempt users to enter your website. Well-executed titles and descriptions can result in an increase in your rankings and in some cases may double your click-through-rates! Website Set to NoIndex Its not too common, however, having your website set to noindex will completely discourage search engines from showing your website. The effect of this would be like your car not starting because you dont have the keys in. Not Mobile Rresponsive Particularly in searches on mobile, having a responsive website is essential. As mobile usage overtakes desktop, you might be missing out on as many as 50% of your potential clicks due to a lack of presence in the mobile search results. Slow to Load Page load speed is an important factor for search engines and users. You could miss out on 25% or more of your traffic if your web page takes more than 4 seconds to load. This is due to the lack of patience of the modern internet user who will bounce back to the search results to find a faster loading page. Aside from the effect on users, Googles aim is to help provide a quality browsing experience for users and will reduce your visibility if it sees that your pages are loading too slow. Each of these points will have different weightings in Googles algorithm and we cant know exactly which components are the most important. However, all of these percentage gains can add up to a monolithic impact on your bottom line. There are a wide range of other factors to consider, so if youve tried all of these and you still cant gain traction, think about getting an SEO audit completed on your website to see what might be holding you back. About the author Thoughts are running through my head while I sip my cup of coffee in this beautiful balcony. While I feel at ease and relaxed at this comforting view, my head is wandering off about my country and my countrymen. My friends and relatives who are not in the Philippines are very much worried for me and my familys safety. All the news getting to them makes them very nervous about whats happening and how bad the situation is. I dont know if I console them at all by saying, I am safe for now! I say that because honestly, I dont know for how long this feeling of security I have for myself and my family will last because things could just change in a moment. What the people in our government and law interpretations said about the declaration of the state of lawless violence a.k.a. state of lawlessness by our new President Rodrigo Duterte is that its a simple matter of military intervention or involvement in police matters or incidences. Just like the recent bombing in Davao City night market you will not just see police around the area but military as well. In Metro Manila where I am based, there are a lot of checkpoints happening everywhere. This is making the already bad traffic worse, the usual 30 minute drive turned 4 hours! But people are tolerating it because it is for their safety. It doesnt matter if they are gonna be late for their work, appointment, date, operation, flight or whatever, people lately are like sheeps here. The state of lawless violence is a little close to martial law but not just there yet, when push comes to shove we will know what happens next. For now my friends, please pray for the Philippines, pray for the World that there may be peace on Earth and goodwill to men. Such a cliche call but it is what we need. Of course we all need love. Love is all we need to end the hate. If we love life that much none of these nonsense would have happened. Tools What I wore: Long backless dress: ZAFUL Taken at Azalea Hotel & Residences Boracay Yes, turning a fashion post into social issue post because we can always turn our attention into something else , sort of escapism. Stay safe and gorgeous everyone! Zubr Capital Fund I to concentrate on domestic private businesses The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) has become an anchor investor in Zubr Capital Fund I, the first Belarus-focused institutional private equity fund managed by an experienced, locally based team of investment professionals, which will support domestic small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). By committing US$12.5 million to the fund which raised US$ 50 million in its first closing, the EBRD is supporting the emergence of a strong private equity player, which could eventually become an important source of alternative financing for local SMEs. Strengthening local private companies is one of the EBRDs key goals under its current strategic priorities. These are defined as strengthening resilience, promoting integration and addressing global and regional challenges. The fund, established by the local private equity firm Zubr Capital, is planning to make long-term investments into promising companies in the IT, retail and fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) sectors. It is expected that after the first successful closing Zubr Capital Fund I will continue fund raising and may attract additional investors, subject to favourable market conditions and business appetite. The fund is set to become a specialised private equity player dedicated to the development of small and medium-sized Belarusian enterprises. It will provide them with growth financing that often remains unavailable otherwise in the country. It will also equip domestic businesses with modern financial skills and techniques needed to successfully compete domestically and on international markets. The launch of the fund is an important event not only for Zubr Capital but also for the financial market of Belarus as a whole as it will help demonstrate the attractiveness of the country as a destination for investments. It represents a milestone in the development of the local private sector financing. Since the start of its operations in Belarus, the EBRD has invested almost 1.8 billion in some 70 projects in various sectors of the country's economy. (Photo: Church of Scotland)Rev. Sarah Brown and her Church of Scotland congregation hold a cutting the ribbon ceremony to celebrate the opening of Castlemilk's new church on Sept. 4, 2016. Churches can make big strides in helping their communities often with gestures that do not look huge, as a church in Scotland's biggest city shows. A newly opened church in Glasgow has suspended its foodbank in favor of providing regular community meals with the aid of a Scottish Government grant. Rev. Sarah Brown and the congregation held a cutting the ribbon ceremony to celebrate the opening of Castlemilk's new church. The new Church of Scotland church opened its doors in Castlemilk, often viewed as a socially deprived area in the city. More than 400 people drawn from throughout the local community who were joined by well-wishers from as far away as Stornoway and St Andrews attended the opening service at the weekend. Brown says the new program of community meals the Presbyterian church will provide is central to its future mission as a resource for the community in Castlemilk. "We were providing an emergency foodbank for essential overnight supplies at our old church, but we've suspended that because we think helping people build relationships in the community is better than giving handouts. "We want to restore people's dignity and see them leaving full after a good meal, rather than eating until the bag is empty. Thanks to the Scottish Government grant we can give the community meals the best chance to succeed over the next 18 months." The government gave the church a grant of 30,000 British pounds ($40,000). The new church has a modern art cafe which it hopes will cater to up to 100 people at regular community meals The church held its first community meal on the evening of Sept. 2. SOUP, PIZAA AND PAVLOVA Some 35 people were treated to soup, pizza and pavlova prepared by members of the congregation in the building's new kitchen, as well as enjoying live music while they were eating. Brown says the meals will now be a regular fixture. "We're going to hold them on the first and third Fridays each month. We hope to make them weekly, and if they're successful maybe more than that. "Thanks to the grant we have the equipment, crockery and supplies to cater for up to 100 people at each sitting. The meals are for everyone in the community to attend, and we hope people will get behind them." The community meals are modelled on the Table Grace Cafe movement which Brown says has already been successful in the United States. Diners are asked to donate what they can afford, be that a little, a lot, or just help with clearing up afterwards. "I really believe in a hand up, rather than a hand out. Most of the supplies from foodbanks are tinned goods and I know if you're struggling to afford to buy food, then heating it up is also an issue. "We're working in partnership with foodbanks in the area. I think the meals will grow through word of mouth because it takes a personal connection to bring people along rather than posters or leaflets." Date: 04/09/2016 ESDM trade fair: Electronica and Productronica India 2016 on Sept 21-23 in Bengaluru Electronica India 2016 and Productronica India 2016 are not-to-miss trade fairs for electronics manufacturing technologies and sourcing electronic components. Both are scheduled to take place at Bangalore International Exhibition Centre (BIEC) in Bangalore from September 21-23, 2016. The biggest trade fairs in ESDM sector to have over 400 exhibitors representing 650 companies from 16 countries such as Japan, France, Korea, Malaysia, Switzerland and others .The trade fairs will also see country pavilions from six countries namely Germany, UK, China, Taiwan, Singapore and Hong Kong. The electronics companies are keen on participating in the industrial event of electronica India 2016 and productronica India 2016. Some of the multinational and local companies to participate include Murata, Rohm, STMicroelectronics, Texas Instruments, Bosch, NXP, Master Instruments Corporation, Juki India, NMTronics, Panasonic India, Samsung, Maxim SMT, Kaynes Technologies, Sahasra, Transtec, Mycronic, Komax, Atotech, Leaptech, SGS Tekniks, and others. The trade fairs includes various conferences, a buyer-seller forum, a B2G (business to government) forum, and exclusive pavilions from IPC India and CLIK (Consortium of Electronic Industries of Karnataka). Visitors at the trade fairs can also visit state wise pavilions from states such as Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh, Haryana, Jharkhand, Odisha, Madhya Pradesh and others . Invest India a CEO forum where the attractive investment opportunities in the Electronics System Design & Manufacturing (ESDM) space to domestic as well as global manufacturing firms are jointly organized by ELCINA and Messe Munchen. According to ELCINAs research, the PCB industry in India is expected to grow up to USD 6 billion by 2020. Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) supports trade fair along with National and International associations such as Electronic Industries Association of India (ELCINA), India Electronics & Semiconductor Association (IESA), National Small Industries Corporation (NSIC), Consumer Electronics and Appliances Manufacturers Association (CEAMA), the Consortium of Electronic Industries in Karnataka (CLIK), the German Electrical and Electronic Manufacturers Association (ZVEI) and others. Electronica India and Productronica India have been promoting electronics manufacturing in India by attracting the leading electronic companies from across the globe to showcase their latest technologies in the Indian market and partner with the domestic manufacturing companies. This year, we have reached an important milestone by being the biggest ever edition and to ensure return on our exhibitors investments, we will be organizing the largest ever buyer-seller forum wherein Indias largest manufacturing companies from various segments viz. EMS, automotive, consumer electronics, defense and aerospace, industrial electronics etc. will make their sourcing decisions. Considering Indian Governments Make in India initiative to encourage domestic manufacturing and to invite the investors, we are organizing the biggest ever investor summit in the ESDM segment with the participation from 10 states, creating tremendous business opportunities for the stakeholders says Mr. Bhupinder Singh, CEO, Messe Munchen India. Electronica India and Productronica India 2016 will showcase latest products in various categories such as semiconductor and display manufacturing, soldering technology, PCB and other circuit-carrier manufacturing, test and measurement, quality assurance, Electronic Manufacturing Services (EMS), production materials/equipment, environmental technology and clean-room technology, organic and printed electronics etc with exhibitors from across the industry. The trade fairs will be held in conjunction with LASER World of PHOTONICS INDIA 2016 to create attractive synergies so as to add value for visitors. Tweet Follow @eeherald 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. 14:55, 28 OCT 2022 Manx abortion law is 'rational' says new campaign group Manx abortion law is some of the most 'relatively enlightened' and 'rational' examples of legislation in the world. That's the message from the Humanity and Equality in Abortion Reform group which launched a new campaign on the Isle of Man last week. HEAR - which describes itself as a coalition founded on feminist, humanist and liberal principles - said it wants to secure the best for women on the Island and their children in the womb. It says it wants to put forward both sides of the debate - spokeswoman Hannah Grove says the group does believe further change is needed: Media Hannah Grove Don't bee-lieve the latest bee-pocalypse scare By Paul Driessen As stubborn facts ruin their narrative that neonicotinoid pesticides are causing a honeybee-pocalypse, environmental pressure groups are shifting to new scares to justify their demands for "neonic" bans. Honeybee populations and colony numbers in the United States, Canada, Europe, Australia and elsewhere are growing. It is also becoming increasingly clear that the actual cause of bee die-offs and "colony collapse disorders" is not neonics, but a toxic mix of predatory mites, stomach fungi, other microscopic pests, and assorted chemicals employed by beekeepers trying to control the beehive infestations. Naturally, anti-pesticide activists have seized on a recent study purporting to show that wild bee deaths in Britain have been correlated with neonic use in oil seed rape fields (canola is a type of OSR). In a saga that has become all too common in the environmental arena, their claims were amplified by news media outlets that share many activist beliefs and biases and want to sell more subscriptions and advertising. (Honeybees represent a small number of species that humans have domesticated and keep in hives, to produce honey and pollinate crops. Many are repeatedly trucked long distances, to pollinate almond and other crops as they flower. By contrast, thousands of species of native or wild bees also flourish across the continents, pollinating plants with no human assistance.) The recent Center for Ecology and Hydrology study examined wild bee population trends over an 18-year period that ended in 2011. It concluded that there was a strong correlation between population and distribution numbers for multiple species of British wild bees and what study authors called their "measure of neonic dose" resulting from the pesticide, which is used as a seed coating for canola crops. The study is deeply flawed, at every stage making its analysis and conclusions meaningless. For example, bee data were collected by amateur volunteers, few of whom were likely able to distinguish among some 250 species of UK wild bees. But if even one bee of any species was identified in a 1-by-1 kilometer area during at least two of the study period's 18 years, the area was included in the CEH study. This patchy, inconsistent approach means the database that formed the very foundation for the entire study was neither systematic nor reliable, nor scientific. Some species may have dwindled or disappeared in certain areas due to natural causes, or volunteers may simply have missed them. We can never know. There is no evidence that the CEH authors ever actually measured neonic levels on bees or in pollen collected from OSR fields that the British wild bees could theoretically have visited. Equally relevant, by the time neonics on seeds are absorbed into growing plant tissue, and finally expressed on flecks of pollen, the levels are extremely low: 1.33.0 parts per billion, the equivalent of 13 seconds in 33 years. (Coating seeds ensures that pesticides are incorporated directly into plant tissue and target only harmful pests that feed on the crops. It reduces or eliminates the need to spray crops, which can kill birds, bats and beneficial insects that are in the fields or impacted by accidental "over-sprays." Indeed, numerous field studies on two continents have found no adverse effects from neonics on honeybees at the hive level.) A preliminary U.S. Environmental Protection Agency risk assessment for one common neonic sets the safe level for residues on pollen at 25 ppb. Any observable effects on honeybee colonies are unlikely below that. Perhaps wild bees are more susceptible. However, at least two wild bee species (alfalfa leaf cutters and miner bees) are thriving in areas where OSR/canola fields are widespread, and the CEH study found reduced numbers of certain wild bees that do not collect pollen from oil seed rape. Perhaps most important, the CEH authors appear to have assumed that any declines in wild bee numbers were due to neonicotinoid pesticides in OSR fields, even at very low doses. They discounted or ignored other factors, such as bee diseases, weather and land use changes. For instance, scientists now know that parasitic Varroa destructor mites and phorid flies severely affect honeybees; so do the Nosema ceranae gut fungus, tobacco ringspot virus and deformed wing virus. Under certain circumstances, those diseases are known to spread to bumblebees and other wild bees. Significant land development and habitat losses occurred in many parts of Britain from 1930 to 1990, causing wild bee populations to decline dramatically. Thankfully, they have since rebounded during the same period that neonic use was rising rapidly, replacing older insecticides that clearly are toxic to bees! The CEH team also failed to address those facts. To compensate for these shortcomings (or perhaps to mask them), the CEH researchers created a sophisticated computer model that supposedly describes and explains the 18 years of wild bee data. However, as any statistician or modeler knows, models and output are only as good as the assumptions behind them and data fed into them. Garbage in/Garbage out (GIGO) remains the fundamental rule. Greater sophistication simply means more refined refuse, and faster computers simply generate faulty, misleading results more rapidly. They also enable emotional fear-mongering to trump real science. The CEH models are essentially "black boxes." Key components of their analytical methodologies and algorithms have not been made public and thus cannot be verified by independent reviewers. However, the flawed data gathering, unjustified assumptions about neonic impacts, and failure to consider the likely effects of multiple bee diseases and parasites make it clear that the CEH model and conclusions are essentially worthless and should not be used to drive or justify pesticide policies and regulations. As Prime Minister Jim Hacker quipped in the theatrical version of the British comedy series Yes, Prime Minister: "Computer models are no different from fashion models. They're seductive, unreliable, easily corrupted, and they lead sensible people to make fools of themselves." And yet studies like this constantly make headlines. That's hardly surprising. Anti-pesticide campaigners have enormous funding and marvelous PR instincts. Researchers know their influence and next grant can depend on issuing studies that garner alarmist headlines and reflect prevailing news themes and imminent government actions. The news media want to sell ads and papers, and help drive public policy-making. The bottom line is fundamental: correlation does not equal causation. Traffic lights are present at many intersections where accidents occur; but that does not mean the lights caused most or all of the accidents. The CEH authors simply do not demonstrate that a neonic-wild bee cause-effect relationship exists. The price to society includes not just the countless dollars invested in useless research, but tens of billions in costs inflicted by laws and regulations based on or justified by that research. Above all, it can lead to "cures" that are worse than the alleged diseases: in this case, neonic bans would cause major crop losses and force growers to resort to older pesticides that clearly are harmful to bees. There is yet another reason why anti-pesticide forces are focusing now on wild bees. In sharp contrast to the situation with honeybees, where we have extensive data and centuries of beekeeper experience, we know very little about the thousands of wild bee species: where they live and forage, what risks they face, even how many there really are. That makes them a perfect poster child for anti-neonic activists. They can present all kinds of apocalyptic scenarios, knowing even far-fetched claims cannot be disproven easily, certainly not in time to address new public unease amid discussions about a regulatory proposal. The Center for Ecology and Hydrology study involved seriously defective data gathering and analytical methodologies. More troubling, it appears to have been released in a time and manner calculated to influence a European Union decision on whether to continue or rescind a ban on neonicotinoid pesticides. Sloppy or junk science is bad enough in and of itself. To use it deliberately, to pressure lawmakers or regulators to issue cures that may be worse than alleged diseases, is an intolerable travesty. Paul Driessen is senior policy analyst for the Committee For A Constructive Tomorrow (www.CFACT.org) and author of Eco-Imperialism: Green power - Black death and other books on the environment. Home The genius of Trump's foreign policy By Dr. Peter Morici The Republican Party foreign policy establishment has joined Democrats in roundly criticizing Donald Trump's background and undiplomatic temperament. Nevertheless, Mr. Trump has laid bare flaws in policies of recent presidents that have undermined U.S. security interests and American prosperity. For example, President Clinton consented to China's membership in the World Trade Organization in exchange for an agreement to open its markets to U.S. exports and investmenta promise that is yet to be fulfilled. Beijing still maintains much higher tariffs on U.S. products than are imposed on Chinese products here, subsidizes manufacturing by rolling over state bank loans to money-losing state enterprises, and suppresses the value of its currency to keep its exports cheap and American-made products expensive in China. American consumers do enjoy artificially-inexpensive coffee makers at Wal-Mart but at a terrible hidden cost. Free trade destroys jobs when it admits additional imports but fails to create a comparable amount of new sales for American goods and services abroad. Campaigning for president in 2008, Mr. Obama promised to get tough with China and redress the trade imbalance but once elected, he put no teeth in that policy. During his tenure, the trade deficit with China has increased more than $100 billion, costing American workers some 800 thousand jobs directly and 1.2 million jobs counting in those lost from workers not spending lost wages domestically. Mr. Trump's proposed tariff on imports to force China to revalue its currency and renegotiate its trade practices is hardly reckless. Similar measures have been proposed by liberal New York Times columnist Paul Krugman and Mitt Romney running for president in 2012. Mr. Obama has failed to adequately challenge China's construction of an artificial island with significant military potential in the South China Sea, and not adequately support American allies in the Pacific when bullied by Beijing. Whereas Mr. Trump advocates beefing up US military assets in the region and confronting Beijing's territorial claims from a position of strength, Mrs. Clinton describes the Sino-American relationship as "positive, cooperative and comprehensive." Illegal immigration at our southern border has vexed American presidents for generations, but the Mexican government has generally refused to cooperate in stemming the flow. It may not be acceptable to say in the neatly pressed society of American foreign policy elites, but Mexico has one of the most corrupt governments among members of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Developmentthe club of western industrialized countries. The weight of graft keeps Mexico City from providing its citizens with clean air and water, adequate social services and opportunities for decent wages,and those drive its citizens north in search of a better life. In turn, many Mexicans employed in the United States send sizeable remittances to relatives back home and that helps prop up a wanton regime. Many advocates of NAFTA, including this author, anticipated a more open commercial relationship with the United States and Canada would help propel political reform but that has not happened. Mr. Trump will not likely persuade the Mexican government to erect a wall along the border, however, cutting off remittances, as he advocates, would motivate it to adopt a more cooperative posture regarding border enforcement. President Putin is asserting Russian power and extending its influence in Eastern Europe and the Middle East by among other things violating Ukrainian territorial sovereignty and supporting Syrian strongman Bashar al-Assad. American options for dealing with Russia and ISIS are limited by twin realities. Europeans, led by Germany, are unwilling to put ground troops into harm's way to help defend freedom in Eastern Europe or to combat ISIS. Without such a European commitment, the American public would surely not countenance substantially greater commitments of U.S. forces to face down Russia or to destroy ISIS. In the war against ISIS, Mrs. Clinton generally shuns cooperation with Russiacharacterizing President Vladimir Putin a man without a soul. Instead, she advocates establishing a no-fly zone over Syria whose purpose is vague but would put the United States in direct confrontation with Russia more than ISIS. The next best option is similar to the one chosen by President Truman when faced by Stalin after World War II. No matter how distasteful, cut a deal with Russia to circumscribe Russian influence in Eastern Europe and the Middle East and more effectively combat ISIS. Foreign policy experts in both political parties have staked their careers on simplistic assumptions and flawed policy prescriptions that have often undermined American interests. Dealing with the world as we find it, not as we wish it would be, is hardly the inclinations of a reckless fool. Trump's rhetoric may be clumsy and alarming, but his instincts are spot on. Dr. Peter Morici is an economist and business professor at the University of Maryland, and a national columnist. He tweets @pmorici1 Home PROVIDENCE, R.I. [Brown University] -- In rare cases -- for instance, among siblings in two families from Pakistan and Oman described in a new study -- children have been born with an unnamed neurological disorder. Now researchers have not only identified the genetic mutations involved, but also replicated them in lab cultures and mouse models to produce an initial understanding of how the mutations cause the disease. The study in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences highlights both new medical and scientific opportunities, said Dr. Eric Morrow, associate professor of biology and of psychiatry and human behavior in the Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University. "This is a clear, new neurogenetic disorder due to mutations in GPT2," said Morrow, who also sees patients at Bradley Hospital and is affiliated with the Brown Institute for Brain Science. "In addition to the relevance this has to the diagnosis of developmental disorders, and potentially therapeutics, it is also a window into how the brain develops and how the brain functions." The paper reveals specific findings of basic neurodevelopment, Morrow said. The gene at issue, GPT2, is expressed in the nucleus of cells, but the enzyme it generates appears vital to metabolic pathways in the mitochondria, organelles which provide energy and biosynthetic building blocks to cells. The consequences of the mutations appear to be in leaving developing brains without biosynthetic abilities to grow properly, and to deficits in metabolites that could help prevent degeneration. Moreover, the G in the gene name stands for glutamate, an important neurotransmitter that governs how brain cells, or neurons, connect and interact. "To find a glutamate metabolizing enzyme that is associated with a brain disease is an opportunity to understand how that neurotransmitter might work or be modulated," Morrow said. Morrow is co-corresponding author along with collaborators David Housman at Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Ganeshwaran Mochida at Boston Children's Hospital. The study's co-lead authors are Brown investigator Qing Ouyang and Boston Children's Hospital researcher Tojo Nakayama. The second author, Ozan Baytas, is a Ph.D. candidate in Brown's neuroscience graduate training program. An unnamed disorder The team, which also includes collaborators in Pakistan and Oman, began the investigation more than five years ago when they were studying two families in those countries with children whose symptoms included below-normal postnatal brain growth, intellectual disability and progressively worsening motor problems. The children, 14 in all across the two large families, typically were able to walk by age 3, yet a majority lost that ability later as motor control diminished in their legs, as a condition called spastic paraplegia emerged. Spastic paraplegia is generally considered to involve a neurodegenerative cause, Morrow said. The team traced a genetic mutation to chromosome 16, and as next-generation sequencing technology became available, they were able to find two specific mutations in GPT2. In the interim, a few other research groups had also linked GPT2 mutations to neurological disease in other families, including a family in the U.S. Taken together, Morrow said, the studies provide strong evidence that the gene is relevant to neurological disease. Modeling a mitochondrial mechanism With gene mutations identified, Morrow and his collaborators went much further to learn how the mutations could cause the disease. To do that the team created models in which the mutations were induced in human cells and also in mice. Like the children with GPT2 mutations, developing mice with the mutations also showed reduced neural and brain growth. In these lab models the researchers were able to study in detail the different biochemistry at play with and without the mutations. In the human cells they saw that mutations led to reduced enzyme activity. They also determined that the protein locates in the mitochondria. Mutant mice engineered with a GPT2 enzyme deficiency showed abnormal brain metabolism. For example, some of the differences undermined a process called the TCA cycle, which is important for producing energy and generating building blocks for cells. While these metabolic pathways have been well studied in rapidly dividing cells such as in cancer, Morrow said, they have not been as thoroughly studied in differentiating neurons growing extensions and connections during early childhood. To do that, Morrow and colleagues teamed up with experts in cancer metabolism, Ralph DeBerardinis at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center and Shawn Davidson and David Housman at MIT, to develop experiments pertinent to GPT2 and brain. When the researchers looked at the neurons of developing mice, they found that ones with the GPT2 mutations produced fewer synapses, the connections between neurons that make up brain circuits. The researchers conducted large-scale profiling of metabolites in the brains of the mutant mice. They found in the GPT2 mutant mice abnormal metabolite levels related to amino acid metabolism, TCA and pathways required for protecting neuron health. The deficiencies in these neuroprotective metabolites, Morrow said, might explain why the disease appears to have a degenerative course. Future hope Morrow's team at Brown is now developing new hypotheses and testing them in the mouse model they developed. Not only are they seeking to refine and deepen their understanding of how those metabolic pathways regulate brain disease and function, but also, they are eager to test potential ways to rescue development and prevent disease progression. "I believe there is hope that if these children were identified early as having this genetic condition, there may be an intervention that could prevent the progression," Morrow said. The researchers are also interested to learn more about how these mitochondrial metabolic pathways play key roles in the developing brain and how these pathways may contribute to brain health. Several public and private organizations helped to support the research. ### Stanford, CA--One of the world's longest-running, most comprehensive climate change experiments produced some surprising results. The extensive experiment subjected grassland ecosystems to sixteen possible future climates and measured many aspects of ecosystem performance and sustainability. This study, appearing in the September 5, 2016, Early Online Edition of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, reports on 17 years of plant growth, an important bellwether of ecosystem health. Plant growth varied tremendously from year to year, reaching a peak under conditions near the average over the last several decades. As conditions move away from the averages, as happens with climate change, plant growth fell. The findings are from the Jasper Ridge Global Change Experiment, which is directed by Chris Field, the founding director of Carnegie's Department of Global Ecology. Unlike most climate-change experiments that altered one or maybe two aspects of the environment, the Jasper Ridge Global Change Experiment altered four aspects of climate change--temperature, precipitation, atmospheric composition (carbon dioxide concentration), and atmospheric deposition (nitrogen pollution). With all possible combinations of ambient and elevated levels of the four factors, the study explored ecosystem responses to sixteen different possible futures. The study ecosystem, a typical California grassland, is ideal for this kind of experiment because it has many species, even small plots express a wide range of ecosystem processes, and the short lifetime of most species means that an experiment can encompass many generations of the most important organisms. "Plant growth varied by more than three times over the years and the range of treatments," remarked lead author Kai Zhu who was at Carnegie and Stanford when the work was conducted and is now at Rice University. "Good conditions tend to look like the recent past, and bad conditions look more common in a world of climate change. But we did not see progressive effects, meaning that we did not see that one bad year makes the next year bad as well. We think year-to-year variability acts as a reset button." Field said, "For understanding impacts of climate change and options for dealing with it, one important result was the absence of a strong response to elevated atmospheric carbon dioxide. Data from some ecosystems indicate that elevated atmospheric carbon dioxide might compensate for negative effects of warming or drought, sustaining ecosystem health and potentially removing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. The absence of such compensation in this long-term, comprehensive experiment emphasizes that solving the carbon dioxide problem will require cutting emissions and planting forests. We can't count on a free helping hand from nature." Analysis of the impacts of individual factors showed that warming had negative effects on plant growth. Plant growth peaked when precipitation was close to historic averages. There was no consistent response to elevated atmospheric carbon dioxide. Nitrogen pollution led to a 23% increase in plant growth, a typical response in nitrogen-limited ecosystems. Scenarios with combined factors mostly resulted in this same pattern, but with a few surprises. Specifically, the response to combined warming and increased precipitation was larger than the sum of the individual responses when they happened in isolation. But the response of plant growth to warming and nitrogen pollution was smaller than the sum of each individual effect occurring alone. The maximum plant growth occurred when both temperature and precipitation were at levels typical of average conditions over the last several decades. Plant growth declined with rising temperature and with precipitation either lower or higher than long-term averages. Field commented, "In Jasper Ridge grasslands, we see an ecosystem finely adapted to historic conditions. Providing a chance for places like this will require ambitiously tackling climate change so that we stabilize warming at the low end of the possible range. That is our challenge for the future." ### Caption for Picture Participants in the Jasper Ridge Global Change Experiment sampled plots of the grassland ecosystem for 17 years. Image courtesy Nona Chiariello Authors on this paper are Kai Zhu, Nona Chiariello, Todd Tobeck, Tadashi Fukami, and Christopher Field. This work was supported by the National Science Foundation, the Department of Energy, the Packard Foundation, the Morgan Family Foundation, the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation, Stanford University and the Carnegie Institution for Science. The Department of Global Ecology was established in 2002 to help build the scientific foundations for a sustainable future. A unit of the Carnegie Institution for Science, the department is located on the campus of Stanford University. Its scientists conduct basic research on a wide range of large-scale environmental issues, including climate change, ocean acidification, biological invasions, and changes in biodiversity. Stanford's Jasper Ridge Biological Preserve is on the university's main campus in coastal central California. The Carnegie Institution for Science (carnegiescience.edu) is a private, nonprofit organization headquartered in Washington, D.C., with six research departments throughout the U.S. Since its founding in 1902, the Carnegie Institution has been a pioneering force in basic scientific research. Carnegie scientists are leaders in plant biology, developmental biology, astronomy, materials science, global ecology, and Earth and planetary science. Honolulu, Hawai?i, 5 September (IUCN) - Ocean warming is affecting humans in direct ways and the impacts are already being felt, including effects on fish stocks and crop yields, more extreme weather events and increased risk from water-borne diseases, according to what has been called the most comprehensive review available on the issue, launched today by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) at the IUCN World Conservation Congress in Hawai'i. The report, Explaining ocean warming: Causes, scale, effects and consequences, reviews the effects of ocean warming on species, ecosystems and on the benefits oceans provide to humans. Compiled by 80 scientists from 12 countries, it highlights detectable scientific evidence of impacts on marine life, from microorganisms to mammals, which are likely to increase significantly even under a low emissions scenario. "Ocean warming is one of this generation's greatest hidden challenges - and one for which we are completely unprepared," says IUCN Director General Inger Andersen. "The only way to preserve the rich diversity of marine life, and to safeguard the protection and resources the ocean provides us with, is to cut greenhouse gas emissions rapidly and substantially." Ocean warming is already affecting ecosystems from polar to tropical regions, driving entire groups of species such as plankton, jellyfish, turtles and seabirds up to 10 degrees of latitude towards the poles, causing the loss of breeding grounds for turtles and seabirds, and affecting the breeding success of marine mammals, according to the report. By damaging fish habitats and causing fish species to move to cooler waters, warming oceans are affecting fish stocks in some areas and are expected to lead to reduced catches in tropical regions, the report states. In East Africa and the Western Indian Ocean, for example, ocean warming has reduced the abundance of some fish species by killing parts of the coral reefs they depend on, adding to losses caused by overfishing and destructive fishing techniques. In South-East Asia, harvests from marine fisheries are expected to fall by between 10% and 30% by 2050 relative to 1970-2000, as the distributions of fish species shift, under a high 'business as usual' greenhouse gas emission scenario, the report states. "Most of the heat from human-induced warming since the 1970s - a staggering 93% - has been absorbed by the ocean, which acts as a buffer against climate change, but this comes at a price. We were astounded by the scale and extent of ocean warming effects on entire ecosystems made clear by this report," says Dan Laffoley, Marine Vice Chair of the World Commission on Protected Areas at IUCN, and one of the lead authors. The report also highlights evidence that ocean warming is causing increased disease in plant and animal populations, and impacting human health as pathogens spread more easily in warmer waters, including cholera-bearing bacteria and harmful algal blooms that cause neurological diseases like ciguatera. Warming oceans are also affecting the weather, with a range of knock-on effects on humans. The number of severe hurricanes has increased at a rate of around 25-30% per degree of global warming, the report states. Ocean warming has led to increased rainfall in mid-latitudes and monsoon areas, and less rain in various sub-tropical regions. These changes will have impacts on crop yields in important food-producing regions such as North America and India, according to the report. The protection against climate change offered to us by oceans and their ecosystems - such as absorbing large amounts of CO2 and sheltering us from storms and erosion - is also likely to reduce as the ocean warms, according to the report. The report's recommendations include recognising the severity of ocean warming impacts on ocean ecosystems and the benefits they provide to humans, expanding marine protected areas, introducing legal protection for the high seas, better evaluating the social and economic risks associated with warming oceans and continuing to fill gaps in scientific knowledge, as well as cutting greenhouse gas emissions rapidly and substantially. Ocean conservation is one of the major themes addressed by the ongoing IUCN Congress, where IUCN Members will vote on motions related to protecting the high seas and protected areas in Antarctica among many others. ### For more information, please contact: (In Hawaii) Ewa Magiera, IUCN Media Relations, m +1 8086751459 / m +41 76 505 33 78, e-mail ewa.magiera@iucn.org IUCN Congress Media Team, e-mail: congressmedia@iucn.org About IUCN IUCN, International Union for Conservation of Nature, helps the world find pragmatic solutions to our most pressing environment and development challenges. IUCN's work focusses on valuing and conserving nature, ensuring effective and equitable governance of its use, and deploying nature-based solutions to global challenges in climate, food and development. IUCN supports scientific research, manages field projects all over the world, and brings governments, NGOs, the UN and companies together to develop policy, laws and best practice. IUCN is the world's oldest and largest global environmental organisation, with almost 1,300 government and NGO Members and more than 15,000 volunteer experts in 185 countries. IUCN's work is supported by almost 1,000 staff in 45 offices and hundreds of partners in public, NGO and private sectors around the world. http://www.iucn.org HOUSTON -- (Sept. 5, 2016) -- Results from one of the longest-running and most extensive experiments to examine how climate change will affect agricultural productivity show that California grasslands will become less productive if the temperature or precipitation increases substantially above average conditions from the past 40 years. That's one conclusion from a new study in this week's Early Edition of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences by researchers from Rice University, Stanford University and the Carnegie Institution for Science. The research team analyzed data from the Jasper Ridge Global Change Experiment, which has run continuously since 1998. The experiment simulates the effect of warmer temperatures, increased atmospheric carbon dioxide, increased nitrogen pollution and increased rainfall on a 1.8-acre tract at Stanford's Jasper Ridge Biological Preserve. "There's been some hope that changing climate conditions would lead to increased productivity of grasses and other plants that draw down carbon dioxide from the atmosphere," said study lead author Kai Zhu, a global ecologist and data scientist at Rice "In northern California, it was hypothesized that net grassland productivity might increase under the warmer, wetter conditions that are predicted by most long-term climate models. Our evidence disproves that idea." The Jasper Ridge experiment involves 136 test plots where scientists can study how grass will grow under conditions that are predicted to occur later this century due to climate change. The experiment allows scientists to test four variables: higher temperatures, increased precipitation, increased atmospheric CO 2 levels and increased nitrogen levels. The plots are configured in such a way that scientists can test each of the variables independently and in combination. "Global change is quite complicated," said Zhu, who spent almost two years analyzing Jasper Ridge data during a postdoctoral fellowship at Stanford and the Carnegie Institution for Science from 2014 to 2016. "It does not just mean change in temperature. There are also changes in rainfall, atmospheric CO 2 , nitrogen and many other things. If we want to get a comprehensive understanding of everything, it is important to have experiments like Jasper Ridge, which manipulate more than one variable, both singly and in combination." One clear finding from the data is that increased levels of CO 2 did not increase grass production. Instead, the amount of grass grown at sites with elevated CO 2 remained flat, even at CO 2 levels almost twice the present atmospheric concentration. "The nonresponse to CO 2 is as important as any of our other findings," Zhu said. "That finding may surprise people because a lot have said that if you have more CO 2 in the atmosphere, you'll get better growth because CO 2 is a resource for plants. That's a popular hypothesis." By examining data from all the test plots, including those where CO 2 increased in conjunction with higher temperature, rainfall and nitrogen levels, and incorporating more than 40 years of climate records from the Jasper Ridge site, Zhu was able to deduce the optimal temperature and moisture levels for production under all conditions. His analysis showed that average conditions from the past 40 years are near optimal for grass production, and any significant deviation toward warmer or wetter conditions will cause the land to be less productive. "Experiments like Jasper Ridge are designed to examine the interactive and unexpected effects that are likely to arise from global environmental change," said study co-author Chris Field, the founding director of the Carnegie Institution's Department of Global Ecology and the Melvin and Joan Lane Professor for Interdisciplinary Environmental Studies at Stanford University. "The nonlinear, interactive effects of temperature and precipitation on grassland primary production revealed by this analysis highlight the value of this experimental approach and suggest that it could be useful in studying how global change will affect other types of ecosystems." ### Additional co-authors include Nona Chiariello and Tadashi Fukami, both of Stanford, and Todd Tobeck of the Carnegie Institution. The research was supported by the National Science Foundation, the Department of Energy, the Packard Foundation, the Morgan Family Foundation, the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation, Stanford University and the Carnegie Institution for Science. High-resolution IMAGES are available for download at: http://news.rice.edu/files/2016/08/0822_GRASSLAND-jasper-lg-qr1xs4.jpg CAPTION: Grassland at Stanford University's Jasper Ridge Biological Preserve. An examination of 17 years of experimental data from the preserve is helping scientists from Rice University, Stanford and the Carnegie Institution for Science better understand how ecosystems will respond to climate change. (Photo courtesy of Daniel J. Quinn/Stanford University) http://news.rice.edu/files/2016/08/0822_GRASSLAND-samp-lg-2gvb9tg.jpg CAPTION: Researchers sampling grassland plots at the Jasper Ridge Global Change Experiment. (Image courtesy of Nona Chiariello/Stanford University) http://news.rice.edu/files/2016/02/0229_REEF-zhu88-lg-1o6c39t.jpg CAPTION: Kai Zhu (Photo by Jeff Fitlow/Rice University) The DOI of the PNAS paper is: 10.1073/pnas.1606734113 A copy of the paper is available at: http://www.pnas.org/cgi/doi/10.1073/pnas.1606734113 More information is available at: Kai Zhu home page Related research from Rice: Study: Ocean acidification already slowing coral reef growth -- Feb. 25, 2016 Located on a 300-acre forested campus in Houston, Rice University is consistently ranked among the nation's top 20 universities by U.S. News & World Report. Rice has highly respected schools of Architecture, Business, Continuing Studies, Engineering, Humanities, Music, Natural Sciences and Social Sciences and is home to the Baker Institute for Public Policy. With 3,910 undergraduates and 2,809 graduate students, Rice's undergraduate student-to-faculty ratio is 6-to-1. Its residential college system builds close-knit communities and lifelong friendships, just one reason why Rice is ranked No. 1 for best quality of life and for lots of race/class interaction by the Princeton Review. Rice is also rated as a best value among private universities by Kiplinger's Personal Finance. To read "What they're saying about Rice," go to http://tinyurl.com/RiceUniversityoverview. Written by ACM *Strasbourg/PMC/Angelo Marcopolo/- While preparations are currently Intensifying to the forthcoming Bratislava EU-27 Heads of State/Government Summit, the 1st without the UK and Focused on the Future shape of Europe, expected to revive projects for the creation of an EU Security and Defense Policy, as recently both the 3 Biggest EU Countries' Leaders, of Germany, France and Italy, proposed, as well as the "Visegrad Group" 4 Central-Eastern EU Countries supported, (Poland, Hungary, Czech Republic and Slovakia (the current holder of EU Council's rotating Presidency for the period of July - December 2016), Today, the Chief of EUROCORPS, Spanish General Alfredo Ramirez from Spain, speaking to "Eurofora", ensured that the Strasbourg-based European MultiNational and Multi-Modal Army Heads of Staff body, is "Ready to Go !". EU Parliament, which holds its Summer Return full Plenary Session between 12 - 15 September in Strasbourg, i.e.just at the Eve of that Exceptional Bratislava EU Summit, scheduled for September 16, has Repeatedly Supported, in a Series of Resolutions, the Development of EUROCORPS' potential role as the Backbone of a Future EU Defense policy that a large Majority of MEPs welcomes, (Comp. also ChristianDemocrat/EPP party's President, experienced former Long-time MEP, Joseph Daul's relevant Statements, during a recent event, co-organized by the European Movement and the University of Strasbourg, at: http://www.eurofora.net/newsflashes/news/eppheaddauloneuexternalborders.html). -"But it all Depends on the Decisions that might take the Heads of (EU Member) States/Governments", pointed out to "Eurofora", in this regard, EUROCORPS' Commander Ramirez, whose Mandate durates also for more than a Year Time in the Future. ++ Meanwhile, General Ramirez is Soon due to visit personaly "the Central African Republic", where "we (EUROCORPS) are already present, since some Time ago, in the Context of an EU operation", as he furthermore anounced to "Eurofora". EUROCOPS Senior Officers have already Served, in Active Duty at the recent Past, also in Kosovo, later in Afghanistan, (where its Commander Headed the International Force as Chief of Staff), etc. , and has recently made Mlitary Exercises in order to Develop its "Inter-Modal" Capabilities, (i.e. to Coordinate Air - Sea - Land comlex operations), while it had also been conceived, almost from the Start, as Destinated to Serve not only strictly Military, but even "Dual" Missions, including, f.ex., additional Civic Protection Missions, f.ex. in case of Natural or Man-made Catastrophes, Epidemics, Massive irregular Migrants' influx Crisis, etc. - In Recent Years, to its Inital 5 "Founding Nations", (i.e. France, Germany, Spain, the Netherlands Belgium and Luxembourg), EUROCORPS Added also Poland, "which has already send more than 120 Officers and Soldiers to Strasbourg"'s HQ of the European "Etat Major", as Ramirez reminded to "Eurofora". + But, naturaly, in view of the possible Creation of a fully-fledged European Defense policy, "it would really be good if Italy also joined us", something to which Rome would be probably interested, EUROCORPS Commander agreed with "Eurofora", as far as the foreseable Future is concerned. Italy, (as well as several Other EU Member Countries, as f.ex. Greece, etc), already has "Liaison Officers" at EUROCORPS Headquarters in Strasbourg. (../..) Lest anyone think that discussion of what Doug Axe calls the universal design intuition dates back only as far as the modern ID movement, James Gallant supplies some relevant historical references (Modernity and metaphysics). He writes in The Fortnightly Review: The New Series a quaint and scholarly blog attempting to revive the famous 19th-century English magazine. The publication is rather what you would expect of several hoary-haired professors sitting around in overstuffed leather chairs, smoking cigars, and pontificating. Gallants article is no exception. From Etienne Gilson to Alfred North Whitehead to Immanuel Kant, he catalogues a series of arguments for design in nature. Although quite a few of his citations are to the writings of natural theologians (and thus to a divine designer), many talk simply about mind and thus overlap with ID, which cannot determine whether design is from a natural or supernatural source. Gallant writes: In natural theological musings, the purposive workings of the Divine Mind are likened to those of the human mind. The character Philo in David Humes eighteenth century Dialogue on Natural Religion complains about this, since human ideas reach no further than our experience, and we have no experience of divine attributes and operations. Philo grants that the universe probably did arise from something like design, but to say more than that on the subject would require the utmost license of fancy. But Neo-Thomist Etienne Gilson asks in God and Philosophy (1941) why we should assume that a projection of our own designing, purposive mentality onto Nature is erroneous since our mentality is itself in Nature. Why suppose that it exists to mislead understanding rather than guide it? For anyone not predisposed to skepticism there is a good deal in Nature to suggest design. Alfred North Whitehead in Modes of Thought (1938) notes, as Plato and Aristotle had, the large-scale preservation of identities amid minor changes people, squirrels, seeds, bananas, apple trees, stones. Swedenborg in The Soul, or Rational Psychology remarked that that there is no entity and no substance in the universe without form; that it is anything, and that it is such as it is, is owing wholly to form. The existence and perpetuation of distinct forms, and the relations among them, suggests intelligent design. Kant and Darwin had both observed that when one studies the relationships of parts to wholes in living beings, one inevitably thinks in terms of design and purpose. As far as they were concerned that was just the way the human mind works, not a revelation of metaphysical reality. Darwin, though, had his metaphysical moments. The Duke of Argyll once remarked to him that he found it impossible to contemplate certain wonderful contrivances for certain purposes in Nature without envisioning them as expressions of Mind. Darwin responded with a haunted look before saying, Well, that often comes over me with overwhelming force, but at other times he shook his head vaguely it goes away. Interestingly, this conversation with the Duke of Argyll took place in the last year of Darwins life. Gallant correctly explains that we deduce design because nature exhibits properties we know to come only from intelligence, and because species possess distinct forms. The latter we would not necessarily expect from biology if it arose just from blind shuffling. However, he misses that the design inference is scientific. But there is really no way to get from science to natural theology or to metaphysics of any kind without taking seriously questions scientists, qua scientists, have no occasion to ask, and for which there are no empirical answers. [Phillip] Clayton [professor at Claremont School of Theology] describes many of the currently fashionable arguments against theism advanced by scientist-atheists like Richard Dawkins as disappointing, even embarrassing, to those who know anything of the philosophical literature. Alternatives to the idea of cosmic design popular among scientists have been principles like blind force, chance, and sudden variation. Gilson saw these as revealing only a preference for a complete absence of intelligibility tononscientific intelligibility and what might seem unintelligible if only scientific explanations are allowed will not necessarily seem that way otherwise. But if one clings to the idea that only scientific explanations are acceptable, even the hypothesis of an aboriginal Big Bang for which there is a scientific basis, and which the Catholic Church has assimilated to the dogma of Creation may not seem a particularly solemn or mysterious event. The flippancy of the term Big Bang suggests accident rather than design, maybe even a practical joke. When Sky and Telescope magazine asked its readers in 1978 to propose other names for the hypothesized universe-generating explosion, among the entries was, What Happens If I Press This Button? [brackets added] In The Mysterious Universe (a popular book of the 1930s), Sir James Jeans mentions the speculation first advanced in the eighteenth century that the solar system originated when a wandering star approached the sun closely enough to raise a great tidal wave on its surface. Fragments of the sun that split away cooled to form planets. What bothered Gilson was what Jeans, after describing this speculation, went on to say: unlikely as it might seem that life would have emerged on planet Earth, into such a universe we have stumbled, if not exactly by mistake, at least as the result of what may properly be described as an accident. This was the surprising manner in which, so far as science can at present inform us, we came into being. That would certainly be surprising, Gilson agreed, but Jeans remark seemed an egregious example of the scientific preference for a complete absence of intelligibility tononscientific intelligibility, and as a speculation about how life forms emerged on earth less plausible, a priori, than supposing the operation of Mind. Intelligent design, true, has both philosophical and scientific aspects (as does Darwinian evolution). In his new book, Undeniable, Douglas Axe defines the universal design intuition this way: Tasks that we would need knowledge to accomplish can be accomplished only by someone who has that knowledge. Now, this is just an intuition but it is backed up by data. So how does the science work? Intelligent design theorists utilize the scientific method to come to their conclusions: Scientists begin by observing what human intelligence creates namely, information that is both complex (unlikely) and specified (matches a given pattern). Next, these scientists analyze natural objects to see if they contain these elements. Those objects suspected to exhibit design are subjected to tests to see if they really do contain complex and specified information (for example, genetic knockout tests demonstrate the irreducibly complexity of the bacterial flagellum). Finally, scientists conclude that items displaying specified complexity are products of intelligent design. These investigations have resulted in numerous scientific articles in favor of intelligent design. Intelligent design proponents often point to DNA as a product of design. They note examples of human-created code computer code, for instance which are extremely complex and yet convey a specific message. Finding this same type of digital code (nucleotide bases coding for a sequence of amino acids for a specific three-dimensional, functional protein) in the cell, scientists infer design. Douglas Axe has shown that only about one in 1074 amino acid sequences produces a functional protein fold, demonstrating that DNA code is extremely specified. Though this science is new, the argument for intelligent design is not. In fact, Cicero wrote, Can any sane person believe that all this array of stars and this vast celestial adornment could have been created out of atoms rushing to and fro fortuitously and at random? Or could any other being devoid of intelligence and reason have created them? Darwin himself sought to overcome his own design intuition. A century and a half later, the evidence confirming that intuition keeps getting stronger. Image: Cicero Denounces Catiline, by Cesare Maccari [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons. Today, Mother Teresa of Calcutta will be declared a saint by the Catholic Church. The Albanian nun, who died in 1997, founded the Missionaries of Charity, a religious congregation of five thousand sisters (and affiliated brothers) devoted to caring for the sick and dying poor. She was known in Calcutta as the Saint of the Gutters because she and her sisters would scour the roadsides in and around Calcutta for destitute people who were ill or dying, bring them to a home, and provide food, clothing, shelter, medical care, and when necessary hospice care for them. She often promised that if she couldnt heal them she would at least make sure they didnt die alone. She and her sisters make solemn vows of chastity, poverty, obedience, and wholehearted free service to the poorest of the poor. The Missionaries of Charity today work in 133 countries and run hospices and clinics to treat AIDS, tuberculosis, leprosy, and other afflictions of the destitute poor. Mother Teresa was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1980, and she was beatified in 2003. She will be canonized in St. Peters Square. Writing at Why Evolution Is True, evolutionary biologist Jerry Coyne is not OK with this. We all know by now what a fraud Agnes Bojaxhiu was. She courted dictators and took money from them, she used her homes to convert the sick and dying rather than help them, she was slippery in managing her funds. If you have doubts, read Christopher Hitchenss The Missionary Position, an attack on Mother Teresa that has never been refuted, or (if you read French) the critical paper Les cotes tenebreux de Mere Teresa (The dark side of Mother Teresa), which is free online. Readers may recall that Coyne, on a visit to Kentucky, posted a picture of himself hugging the grave of John Scopes, the defendant in the Scopes Monkey Trial in 1925 who admitted (and then admitted lying about or forgetting about) teaching human evolution from a eugenicist and racist biology textbook. Coyne adores the guy, and honors his memory. Coyne is copacetic with Scopes, but not so much with Mother Teresa. Coyne is obsessed, as was Christopher Hitchens, with Mother Teresas dark side. Hitchens, between sips of Scotch, found time to cut the diminutive nun down to size with the cleverly titled The Missionary Position: Mother Teresa in Theory and Practice. Hitchens, who spent years on his back for atheism and Trotsky, strips the bark off the Missionaries of Charitys founder, accusing her of accepting donations for the poor from rich and even unsavory people, of embracing suffering, of not distributing contraceptives, and of holding political views unlike those of Hitchens. The Catholic Church, ever forgiving, used Hitchenss testimony as its Devils Advocate in the canonization process, thereby signaling the dearth of credible challenges to her sanctity. Like Hitchens, Jerry Coyne has disdain not only for the nuns who devote their lives to charity, but, as you might expect, for the Catholic Church itself: And, of course, the whole procedure for determining sainthood is just as bogus, with a devils advocate (Hitchens was one in this case!) who argues against the case for sainthood but is ignored, and specious proof that the saint in statu nascendi brought about two miracles. In Faith Versus Fact and on this site, I wrote about those miracles. I dont know much about the second, but the first one wasnt a miracle at all. Coyne, who believes that everything came from nothing for no reason, life popped out of mud and evolved because survivors survived, and that purposes in nature and free will are an illusion, is skeptical of crazy ideas like miracles. Yet Coyne has resigned himself to the inevitable: But her sainthood was always a fait accompli, for the legend of Agnes Bojaxhiu is impervious to fact, just as Catholicism itself is impervious to fact. And so, on Sunday, another person joins the pantheon of the two-thousand-odd existing saints who, by being canonized by the Vatican, now have special access to God, and special powers if you pray for themWe may pride ourselves on being the rational animal, but thats the final thing thats bogus. How rational is Catholicism, and how rational is this phony, cooked-up way of declaring that some person gets a special telephone line to God? Im not sure about the telephone line to God thats not quite the Beatific Vision, which is what Catholics believe each person in Heaven gets without paying a cent to Verizon. In Catholic theology we are each called to sanctity. Mother Teresa simply answered the call with particular alacrity, despite the venom and lewd slander from the likes of Coyne and Hitchens. Perhaps her sanctity is the reason for the hate and slander her life is an acted parable of love for God and man, and of respect for human dignity. Like their founder, the sisters of the Missionaries of Charity endure hardship and calumny patiently. They set aside their own comfort and safety and they work in the gutters alongside the forgotten poor. So please, if youre inclined, say a prayer for Mother Teresa and for the thousands of living saints who are carrying out her work in hospices and orphanages and clinics and gutters. In a suffering and fallen world, its nice from time to time to be reminded of grace. Photo credit: Manfredo Ferrari (Own work) [CC BY-SA 4.0], via Wikimedia Commons. Something went wrong, please try again later. Invalid email Something went wrong, please try again later. Sign up for our Exeter newsletter and you'll never miss a big story again To those working in the industry in Exeter, the life of a sex worker is far from a laughing matter. Websites VivaStreet and Find-Prostitutes.com both return dozens of people who are living in the city and operating as escorts. Their profiles, often attached with pictures, outline their charges and services as well as personal details such as dress size/ shoe size and sexual preferences. While the profession may seem challenging to some, escort Naomi, 60, said at the end of 2016 it is just another way of making a living. Speaking to DevonLive, Naomi joins two others - Robyn, 45, and Greg, 27, who are sharing their stories in the hope of educating the wider public about what it is really like to be selling sex in exchange for money in Devon. Greg's story By day he works as a painter but by night 27-year-old Greg works as an escort, and charges 75 an hour for either women or men to have sex with him. "I come alive at night time," he joked, "It can be awkward when you first meet people, especially if you're unsure if you're not attracted to them but I do enjoy sex and I thought if I liked it, then why not get paid for it." Greg, who is from the South East originally, said his clientele is mainly professionals and upper-class people from across Exeter. "I don't drink on the job," he said, "You need to have your guard up. If you drink you relax and that's when you could get yourself into a bad situation." But close friends know where he is, he said, but he hasn't told his family about his job. "My mum wouldn't have a problem, she has come from that kind of background herself where things have been tough, but as long as I'm taking safety precautions I think she'd be okay," he said. Greg said, "It's not the best job in the world but it is up to the person, if you don't want to do it you wouldn't physically be able to go ahead with it, I wouldn't say it's a good idea to ban it, I think people should just be left to get on with it." Robyn's story Robyn* whose name has been changed to protect her identity used to be an escort in the Dawlish and wider Devon area. She said: "I've met loads of people through my door, people who are suited and booted and people who say they are lawyers or police, its people's choice. "When society sees prostitution they only see drugs, but there are so many reasons people decide to work in this industry." Physically born a male and now living as a woman, Robyn said her journey to escorting came about after advertising to meet people online for sex. Robyn, 45, explains: "Born in the wrong body, I wanted to feel what it would be like to be with a man as a woman. It is hard to meet people in real life so I turned online." And one day when Robyn was struggling for food, someone offered her the chance to have sex for cash. "Someone offered me some money for food and that was that," she said, "I don't do it all the time, I get bored of meeting people from these sites." One thing that bothers her, she said, is the fact the majority of people she comes into contact with are married men. "They are not out there looking for relationships but the most time they just want to know what it's like to be with a man or a transgender woman," she said. And competition, Robyn adds, is fierce. "You have to be completely stunning to make any real money from it and there is far too much competition." The downsides of escorting and meeting men through online are occasionally feeling unsafe, she said. Naomi's story Similarly to Robyn, Naomi, 60, from Exeter, got into sex work after finding herself in need of money. After the break down of a relationship where her ex-partner fleeced money from her, Naomi said she was left in 145,000 worth of debt. "I couldn't prove he had that money so it was either go bankrupt or do something about it," she said, "I've always enjoyed sex so I didn't see it as a problem." Now charging 50 per half an hour and up to 400 for four hours, Naomi said she will have to work for another five years to become debt-free. Safety is a concern, Naomi said, but she explains she tries to treat it as though it "won't happen to me". "I did have one guy who frightened me to death," she said, "It can be very scary. Another time I had a guy book in and I saw on my CCTV that he had brought another many with him, that made me nervous." poll loading Do you think prostitution should be illegal? 1000+ VOTES SO FAR Yes No I'm not sure In terms of the type of clients, Naomi said she sees a mix of working class and professionals. On one occasion, Naomi said a client appeared to be a prince from abroad. "He had his body guard with him, who had his back to us the whole time, it was very strange. But he was travelling the country and wanted to enjoy things, then he returned to his country and to an arranged marriage." But the most common clients of all, Naomi said, is married men estimating that up to 90 per cent of her clients have a ring on their finger or are in long-term relationships. "The reason they come and see me is they are more than happy with everything and at home but they are no longer having sex, one man said to be he loved his wife dearly and he couldn't find a better business partner, wife and friend but two years ago she told him she didn't want to have sex anymore because she didn't enjoy it," she said. Naomi said she feels if they tried to ban prostitution and escorting there would be uproar. "There would be huge problems if that ever was the case," she said, "So many rely on it and so many do see escorts and prostitutes. To most men it is just a business transaction; I try to treat them like they are the best thing since sliced bread. They are paying me for it so I want to give a good service." Naomi, who works in a village near Exeter, said currently business is quiet. "Today I've only seen one client," she said, "But it does depend on the time of year." What is the law on prostitution? In Great Britain (England, Wales and Scotland), prostitution itself (the exchange of sexual services for money) is legal, but a number of related activities, including soliciting in a public place, kerb crawling, owning or managing a brothel, pimping and pandering, are crimes. This means the activities of Robyn, Greg and Naomi are all legally sound. Monday, September 5, 2016 In Tomaydo-Tomahhdo LLC et al. v. Vozary et al., an Ohio restaurateur appealed to the Sixth Circuit arguing that her recipes deserve copyright protection. She argued unsuccessfully that her former business partner had copied her creative compilation of dishes, not merely used her recipes. The former business partner argued that she was seeking a monopoly on serving basic items. She responded that she wasnt aiming to lock up individual recipes only a creative arrangement of 50 dishes in a menu that the former business partner allegedly stole in its entirety. Her argument was interesting, acknowledging that the recipes themselves arent worthy of copyright protection, but the compilation is a creative work not only for the order of the menu items (arrangement), but for the fact that the menu items exist on the menu at all (their selection), or for the reason that they were included in combination with the others (coordination). The court disagreed, finding that since the recipes themselves are not copyrightable and thus, any use of the recipes is not infringement. The decision leaves open the question of whether proprietary food and beverage items names (such as the Volcano roll (sushi) of Death By Chocolate (cake or ice cream)) are protectable. 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 Twitter: @TJLawFirm LinkedIn: Tracy Jong Tracy Jong Law Firm This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate Texas police reported shooting 159 people in the first year that the state has tracked such cases under a ground-breaking new law. Houston recorded 31 shootings the most in the state compared with eight in San Antonio and Dallas, and five apiece in Fort Worth and Austin. Officers statewide reported killing 71 people and injuring 88 since the law took effect last September. The data shows 28 percent of those shot were African American, though African Americans make up only about 12 percent of Texas population. Of the rest, 28 percent were Hispanic and 43 were Anglo, according to reports filed by police. During the same period, 21 law enforcement officers were reported shot by civilians. At least six were killed five died in Dallas after an African American sniper opened fire just after a peaceful Black Lives Matter march. The shooter, an Afghanistan war veteran, was killed too. Those reported to have shot law enforcement officers were predominantly minorities, too: five were identified as African American, four were Hispanic, four were Anglo, and three were of an unknown race. More Information See More Collapse One of the shootings in San Antonio occurred in February, when San Antonio Police Officer John Lee shot and killed Antroine Scott as he got out of his car holding a cell phone on a warrant stop. Police said Lee asked Scott to show his hands before firing a fatal shot as Scotts wife watched from inside the car. The officer thought Scott was holding a gun. Lee wasnt prosecuted, but a civil rights lawsuit has been filed against the city on behalf of Scotts wife. Many shootings reported to the state involved armed clashes between civilians and police. But some of the most troubling episodes revealed in the new Texas records involved officers shooting juveniles or killing unarmed adults suffering a mental health crisis. Statewide, 20 percent of those shot in the last year were unarmed. David Joseph, 17, was naked when he charged at an Austin police officer who shot and killed him. One of Houstons unarmed cases involved Peter Matthew Gaines, an African American whom a city police officer reported seeing in a mental crisis - hitting a sign on the Eastex Freeway and mumbling to himself. The policeman, whod been on the force only four years, later said he told Gaines to stop, but claimed said Gaines ignored him and kept coming. The officer shot Gaines twice with a Taser stun gun, but Gaines ripped the prongs out of his chest and was killed just outside a Burger King. Each incident should be examined separately and no conclusions should be drawn from the numbers alone, said former Houston Police Chief McClelland, whose former agency was involved in most Houston cases. Police agencies differ in patrol strategies, policies and frequency of violent arrests and the data should prompt further study of the actions of officers and suspects alike, he said. All of us in law enforcement and the media must get this right for the public, he said. A departments entire reputation and relationship with its community may rest on this single issue. For a decade, Texas has seen a steady increase of deaths in police custody. In 2005, 41 people died during police encounters, including deaths caused by shootings, struggles or even natural causes, before being booked into a jail or prison. That number reached an 11-year peak in 2015, with 102 such deaths reported to the Texas attorney general. In 2015, state Rep. Eric Johnson, an African American Democrat from Dallas, was so troubled by the debate over disproportionate use of force against minorities that he championed a reform to gather more information about all officer-involved shootings both fatal and non-fatal. Johnson sought to pass a law because of his own experiences as an African American male who notices that we have an interesting - statistically speaking - relationship with law enforcement. He initially sought to collect more data, but later agreed to omit identifying information about officers and to also require reports when police are shot by civilians. If youre going to collect data on shootings, then be fair, said Charley Wilkison, executive director of the Combined Law Enforcement Associations of Texas. Did the officer believe the person had a gun? Was the officer in a struggle? We didnt want this to turn into a gotcha aimed directly at officers. Despite the revelations in the new Texas reports, details of officer-involved shootings remain shrouded in secrecy. The Fort Worth Police Department has repeatedly refused to provide information about an incident during which an officer shot an unarmed 12-year-old. The department filed its one-page report in July, two months after the incident occurred, but indicated only that it happened as a result of a vehicle pursuit, foot pursuit, (or) resisting arrest. The timing violated requirements to report incidents within 30 days, but Johnsons law has no teeth to punish late reporting. The agency subsequently refused to release more in response to a Texas Public Information Act request, claiming the data can be legally withheld due to the injured boys age. Most departments investigate their own officers to determine whether policies or laws were violated, though a few send cases to a neighboring agency or the Texas Rangers. Most agencies release basic public information like address, time, names of those involved and a short summary. But even that is under dispute by the Irving Police Department, which has refused to name a SWAT officer whose bullet accidentally injured another officer at a shooting range during a September training exercise. To learn more about how Texas departments respond to officer-involved shootings, 25 departments were asked to provide policies on use of force for this story. Three Freeport, Saginaw and Conroe refused to release even that much. Police advocates argue that the worst shootings involve a few bad apples who deliberately ignore standards or policies. They say many encounters could be avoided if the public had more respect for law enforcement and followed officers instructions. Said Wilkison: The police dont want to keep dying, and no one wants to kill a citizen, thats not the goal. But people have to comply with the police. Its their job to protect you. Experts argue that some shootings could be prevented by boosting training on use of force, how to de-escalate conflicts or how to respond to mental health calls. Several recent cases, including the killing of Scott, involving the unarmed hinged on an officers split second mistake, like a misfired bullet or mistaking another object for a gun. In Texas, minimum training and licensing requirements are set by state lawmakers and implemented by the Texas Commission on Law Enforcement. Some Texas departments require more training and typically set their own use-of-force policies, though about 31 agencies follow standards set by the Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement, or CALEA a standard bearer for best practices. CALEA doesnt stipulate how agencies investigate shootings, but suggests that agencies require annual use-of-force training and emphasize de-escalation tactics, regional program manager Vince Dauro said. Johnson said he wants to look harder at the roles both race and mental health play in police shootings, particularly of the unarmed. He said he hopes to amend his law next year to ensure agencies comply and to encourage the state to analyze the data. Folks are right to ask whether race and gender played into such shootings - whether society views some of us as inherently more dangerous than others - and what should be done to remedy this potentially lethal form of bias that might even be subconscious, he said. Eva Ruth Moravec is a graduate student at the University of Texas at Austin and a former Express-News criminal justice reporter. Her project on police shootings is supported by a grant from the Charles Koch Foundation, which underwrites a wide range of academic research. The European Rural Development Conference has commenced today (5 September) and will ultimately draft what will be known as the Cork declaration. The declaration will reflect the new challenges facing the farming sector in the 21st century. Speaking in Brussels, EU agri-cooperative Copa and Cogeca Secretary-General Pekka Pesonen said farmers are currently facing a "very difficult" market situation. "It will be vital for policy to evolve to ensure a sustainable, competitive and economically viable sector in the future," Mr Pesonen said. "This is particularly important given the crucial role the EU farming community makes to enhancing rural economies and to biodiversity & contributing to climate change mitigation and sustainable rural areas. "We need more support for generation renewal, for supporting young farmers in embracing this challenging job. European Conference on Rural Development in Cork on 5-6 September 2016 "Farmers need enhancing entrepreneurship to create stronger links between rural businesses and also with the urban areas." Fair income for farmers Outlining key points, Sofia Bjornsson, Chairwoman of Copa and Cogeca Rural Development said: "To maximize our potential, the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) must have the right tools in place to enable farmers to deliver goods and services to society whilst ensuring a fair income for them. She said rural development policy must continue to focus on making sure farmers are "viable", as they are the "backbone of rural economies." "Investment measures should continue to be the main instrument of EU rural development policy to achieve its objectives," Miss Bjornsson said. "Investment is crucial in helping farmers to improve their economic and environmental performance, to support the modernisation of farms and to help the farming sector in implementing smart technologies that contribute to an efficient use of resources. Simplified and no red tape Miss Bjoynsson said policy must be simplified and for red tape to be cut. "Advisory and training services and rural networks activities need to be prioritized in our upcoming policy to enable farmers to better respond to the new challenges. "Financial instruments that are flexible and adapted to the challenges facing farmers need to be developed to boost sustainable investment in rural areas. "Tools to help protect farmers against risk meanwhile must be efficient", Bjornsson said. "Strengthening farmers positioning in the food chain is also important. "One way of doing this is through cooperatives which enable farmers to join forces and better respond to markets and increased volatility. "This should be encouraged more in some member states. In addition, farmers play a vital role in innovation and it needs to be better adapted to their needs," added Pesonen. Welsh farming union NFU Cymru has launched a new initiative urging shoppers to #Buy5 items of Welsh produce and support real Welsh farm businesses. In recent weeks NFU Cymru has been working to highlight retailers use of fake farm brands that can confuse or mislead shoppers about the country of origin of the food products they are buying. The new #Buy5 campaign encourages shoppers to support real life Welsh farms and prioritise Welsh produce by buying five items of Welsh food and drink when they visit the shops, local market, farmers market or butcher. Shoppers are asked to take a photo of five Welsh food and drink items they have purchased and share the image on social media using the #Buy5 and #BackWelshFarming hashtags. All qualifying entries will be automatically entered into a prize draw and the winner, selected at random, will receive a hamper filled with Welsh produce. #BackWelshFarming big bale sticker The competition will run for five weeks from Monday 5th September to Sunday 2nd October. NFU Cymru is encouraging shoppers to download the Its Time to Back Welsh Farming Buying Guide to support them in their quest to #Buy5 over the next five weeks. NFU Cymru Deputy President John Davies has been a passionate campaigner against retailers use of fake farm brands and brought the issue to the attention of a prime time audience when he raised the topic on Countryfile last night (Sunday 4th September). He said the #Buy5 campaign was a great way to support real Welsh farm businesses. Supporting real working farms "Since the roll-out of our #BackWelshFarming bale sticker campaign NFU Cymru has been inundated with requests from the Welsh public wanting to find how they can get involved and support the farming industry. "At this time when fake farm brands are a hot topic, our new #Buy5 social media drive provides the ideal opportunity to support real working farms in Wales and the families who work so hard to provide that good quality produce we all know and love. "This new campaign is an easy way to support Welsh farmers, raise the profile of Welsh produce and be in with the chance of winning a prize, too. "A lot of Welsh produce, such as PGI Welsh lamb, for example, is hitting its seasonal best and we want to demonstrate that theres a real demand and appetite from consumers to purchase Welsh food and drink. "Whether youre picking up Welsh lamb, beef, milk, yoghurt, cheese, cider, Pembrokeshire Early potatoes, Halen Mon salt or other Welsh produce, send us your snaps and show your support for the industry." The UK farming industry is uniting to support Red Tractor Week this September as an autumn campaign dedicated to promoting Great British food gets underway. Now in its fifth year, Red Tractor Week (12 to 18 September) includes a huge programme of activity designed to promote the provenance of Red Tractor food to shoppers and remind them of the stringent standards that are used to produce them. Farmers will be taking part in events at major supermarkets up and down the country to talk to the public about how British food is produced, backed up by a huge on-pack sticker promotion. This year the event kick starts the Celebrate Great British Food campaign which runs throughout the autumn. Announced in April and backed by UK Government the programme of activity sees a whole range of farming organisations coming together with a clear message to consumers to look for the Red Tractor logo when they buy their food. Events include the NFUs Back British Farming Day on Wednesday 14 September, and British Food Fortnight, which starts on 17 September. British food - world renowned The campaign sees the farming industry uniting in a concerted effort to educate consumers Defra Secretary of State, Andrea Leadsom MP, said: "Whether its beef from the hills and pastures of the West Country or Yorkshires famed Wensleydale cheese, British food is renowned around the globe for its quality, innovation and tradition. "The Red Tractor logo is an iconic symbol of this assuring shoppers that their food is traceable, safe to eat and produced responsibly. "It is wonderful to see our world-leading food and farming industry joining forces to encourage everyone to shop smart and support British farmers." The campaign sees the farming industry uniting in a concerted effort to educate consumers and raise the profile of British food. Minette Batters, Deputy President of the NFU added: "With the help of our members well be flying the flag for the British farmers and growers. "They produce the raw ingredients that are the bedrock of the food and drink industry the UKs largest manufacturing sector worth 108 billion and employing 1 in 8 people across the country, in cities and villages alike. "Well be inviting MPs to show their support by signing our post-EU referendum pledge and wearing a special edition Back British Farming pin when they take part in that days Prime Ministers Questions (PMQs)." Mobilisation of farming organisations The NFU and Ladies in Pigs have mobilised their members to ensure a strong presence at in-store retailer events up and down the country during Red Tractor Week. While the AHDB will feature the on-pack sticker promotion in television advertising during its four-week beef and lamb mini-roast campaign, starting in mid-October. Further support is being provided by the National Federation of Young Farmers Clubs, National Pig Association, Ladies in Beef and the National Sheep Association. Andrew Blenkiron, Suffolk farmer and vice-chairman of Assured Food Standards, said: "Everyone has played their part to make sure that the farming industry is united behind a single, simple message to consumer which is to support Red Tractor food. "This autumns coordinated campaign of consumer activity gives the farming and food industry a huge opportunity to communicate the values of British food. "People will be able to get an even better understanding of the great standards that British farming adheres to, further increasing consumer loyalty and purchasing of Red Tractor labelled products." Farmers are encouraged to get involved in events running throughout the week at major supermarket stores across the UK, where farmers will be talking to shoppers about Red Tractor and what it means. The more information available when selling cattle through livestock markets the more value that can be added, according to the Livestock Auctioneers Association. Encouraging UK farmers to enrol on schemes such as BVD free England for example, allows individual animal health information to be openly disclosed before committing to purchase, said Chris Dodds, executive secretary of the Livestock Auctioneers Association. "We believe that the more animal health information we can display in the sale ring at the time of sale the better informed prospective purchasers will be when making that decision to bid, giving them greater confidence and therefore better value," he added. "By announcing at the point of sale in auction markets the disease status of potentially every animal demonstrates the strength of selling through livestock markets. "There is already evidence of cattle selling at a premium price if they are confirmed to have been tested BVD free" "This highlights the growing importance of participating in such schemes, which is very often rewarded by improved prices." Mr Dodds said the association will continue to promote "best practice" in the industry, which is the cornerstone to scheme participation. He said it will help add value to both the vendor and the purchaser by helping them articulate as much information on animals as possible. Mr Dodds reiterated that in doing so it boosts "overall confidence" in the selling method. Identifying infection "With a Bovine viral diarrhoea virus (BVDV) animal for example it is the Persistent Infected (PI) animal in the herd that needs identifying, so that purchasers do not bring them back to farms to infect the rest of the herd," explained Mr Dodds. "There is already evidence of cattle selling at a premium price if they are confirmed to have been tested BVD free and there are clear economic implications of removing PI animals off farms across the industry. Mr Dodds said the farming industry's participation is needed in this eradication scheme for the "true benefits" to be seen. "We need an effective database so that the correct health status information can be electronically displayed within auction market sale rings, for everyone to see. "There is a vital role for markets to play in helping buyers and sellers recognise the value of identification of health status in cattle. "We need to reward them by not just getting potentially improved prices but by having a healthier herd at home too, until the database is in place we are relying on manual checking," he concluded. Science is key to help give our farmers and agri-food industry a competitive edge in demanding markets, Agriculture Minister Michelle McIlveen told an international conference today. Opening the 67th Annual Meeting of the European Federation of Animal Science (EAAP) at the Waterfront Hall, Belfast, the Minister told the 1,400 delegates she has ambitious hopes for the local livestock sector and was looking to science to help support policy and innovation. "In Northern Ireland we are fortunate to have highly skilled and internationally renowned researchers at AFBI, QUB and UU and dedicated educational and advisory services at CAFRE. Northern Ireland's Agriculture Minister Michelle McIlveen "In areas where scientists, advisors and local industry partners work together, we create an uninterrupted flow of knowledge and innovation from the research laboratory to the farmyard. "That gives us a strong edge in competitive global markets," she explained to the audience at Europes largest animal science conference, which include representatives from 66 countries. Create opportunities for the next generation The Minister noted the vital role of science in seeding new innovations for the agri-food sector, in particular the new and exciting possibilities arising from big data, which allows extremely large amounts of information to be analysed, to underpin new livestock genetic evaluations and benchmarking information. "In Northern Ireland the livestock sector is moving closer to being a world-leader thanks to the use of the latest research, technology and genetic testing. These aspects give us a cutting-edge when it comes to improved production and use of resources as well as enhanced animal welfare,she added. Minister McIlveen concluded: I have no doubt that the science developments raised at this conference will help create opportunities for our next generation of farmers to work in a modern, information-driven and advanced sector." Years of tireless work for the National Sheep Association (NSA) have been recognised with Sue Martyn of Launceston, Cornwall, being named as the recipient of the Bob Payne Memorial Award for NSA Unsung Hero. This award is only given when an exception individual is identified, and Sue joins a very short list of NSA volunteers and office holders who have been singled out over the years. She was selected for her previous roles as NSA South West Regional Manager in 1999 and NSA Sheep South West Organiser in 2001, which she continues to do alongside a trusted team. Sues ongoing service to the NSA South West Region Ram Sale is also recognised. The award comes with an engraved cut glass vase, which was presented to Sue by Dave Gregory, fellow NSA South West Committee member and NSA Honorary Treasurer. They are pictured at North Devon Show, as Sues efforts for NSA are in addition to a busy calendar of showing quality stock at a number of events in South West England and beyond. Dave has worked alongside Sue on many NSA Sheep South West events, seeing her hard work result in the technical show growing and growing. He says: "Sue has been the face of NSA in the South West and I have been privileged to work with her as NSA Sheep South West Chairman. "She gets the job done every time and more than deserves this award to recognise the hours of work she puts in that are often unseen. "Her enthusiasm for NSA and for sheep is infectious and it is wonderful to know she is now passing on her skills and teaching her grandchildren to present and show sheep." A farmer, broadcaster and a scientist will join The Oxford Farming Conference board (OFC) as its new directors in January 2017. Matthew Naylor, Anna Hill and Professor Nigel Scollan will be appointed for a three-year term until January 2020. Anna Hill is a journalist who has been a member of the BBC Radio 4 Farming Today team since 1995. Since then, she has covered all the major stories affecting the farming industry from BSE to Bovine TB to Black Grass. Anna has also travelled and reported on farming issues from Kosovo for Countryfile, and South Africa, Bolivia, Brazil and the Falkland Islands for the World Service; she has also been the announcer of the flagship Radio 4 Shipping Forecast. Anna Hill Matthew is the managing director of Naylor Flowers Ltd, a Lincolnshire-based company that supplies 40 million British flowers each year to leading UK supermarkets. He also runs a property and renewable energy company from the farm. Matthew has written an opinion column in the Farmers Weekly since 2005 and has been a keen supporter of Farm Africa for many years. Professor Scollan has been recently appointed as the Director of Queens University Belfasts Institute for Global Food Security. He is an animal science graduate from the University of Edinburgh, where he also undertook his PhD. Professor Scollan then undertook a two-year postdoctoral at University of Guelph. Matthew Naylor Most recently, Nigel was Waitrose Professor of Sustainable Agriculture and Director of Enterprise at IBERS. Our new directors have a wealth of experience and very strong networks across a wide range of farming and scientific sectors, explains Martin Davies, OFCs 2017 Chairman. We were looking for directors who have passion, competence and a deep understanding of the agri-food sector - and we certainly have that in the new team. Anna, Matthew and Nigel will take up their three-year directorships at the OFC's 2017 AGM on 3 January. Commenting on his appointment, Matthew Naylor said: I am thrilled to be joining the Oxford board, just as British agriculture faces a new dawn. The OFC has always shaped the vision for the UK farming industry by stimulating thought and provoking civilised discussion. Never was this role more necessary as UK farmers battle through the uncertainty to redefine their position in the global market. I look forward to being a part of that process. The OFC Council consists of a group of 10 people who are committed to, and active within, the agricultural industry. Each Directors role is to work with the rest of the team to deliver the Conference programme, speakers and the extended activities including an extensive international scholars programme, the Summer Arable Conference at the Cereals Event and an annual Science and Innovation Award. The team is supported by a professional secretariat, Farm Smart Events and a marketing consultancy, Jane Craigie Marketing. The other directors on the board are: John Gilliland, Alan Laidlaw, Robert Lasseter, Julie Robinson, Tom Allen-Stevens, Charlotte Smith and Will Surman. The treasurer is David Turner. Caroline Millar, a farmer and tourism business owner, will take over as the 2018 OFC Chairman in January 2017. The vast majority of livestock produced in England and Wales are slaughtered in abattoirs with CCTV cameras, new figures suggest. 102 out of 207 red meat slaughterhouses (49.3 per cent) and 50 out of 71 white meat slaughterhouses (70.4 per cent) have some form of CCTV in use for animal welfare purposes. This is similar to the 2015 survey, which showed 105 out of 215 red meat slaughterhouses (48.8 per cent) and 51 out of 72 white meat slaughterhouses (70.8 per cent) had some form of CCTV. FSA estimate that in England and Wales 92 per cent of cattle, 96 per cent of pigs, 88 per cent of sheep and 99 cent of poultry throughput comes from premises with some form of CCTV in use. 'Monitoring and protecting animal welfare' The FSA said the support of CCTV by business operators is part of the system for monitoring and protecting animal welfare. "It does not replace direct oversight by management, or checks by officials, but it can improve their effectiveness," the FSA said. "Whilst we have been encouraged by increase in use of CCTV in recent years the latest survey results appear to suggest that uptake may have plateaued. "However, the FSA is well placed to continue to work with industry and Government partners to encourage further uptake." The National Pig Association said the results are "encouraging" as they show the vast majority of pigs in the UK are slaughtered in premises with CCTV. "This can only reassure the public about how the animals are treated in abattoirs," the organisation said. A young farmer has spoken of his devestation after being the latest victim of a dog attack on his flock. 33 of the lambs in his flock of 56 were killed by two dogs. Thomas Hadley received the bad news via telephone on Friday to say two dogs were attacking his sheep in Risbury, Leominster. Mr Hadley, 23, said when he arrived the field was "scattered" with dead and injured lambs and the dogs were still attacking other sheep. "I haven't slept at all," he said. "We are still missing 11 lambs and these could be fatally injured lying somewhere and we have searched a two-mile radius of this place and haven't found them." Mr Hadley estimates the cost of the attack at 10,000. Police sent armed officers and seized the dogs, and a 64-year-old man has been arrested and bailed. The man, from Leominster, has been bailed until October on suspicion of allowing a dog to be out of control and allowing a dog to kill or maim livestock. A police spokesman said the firearms officers were deployed as a "matter of precaution". West Mercia Police said a proactive investigation involving specialist resources is now under way. "The GIWA Barley Council volunteers more than 400 hours a year towards pre-competitive industry planning and communications around malting accreditation, barley variety rationalisation, grain protection and residue management, and in 2015/16 collectively spent at least that amount of time again reviewing the barley receival standards in WA to make sure they were fit for purpose for export requirements," he said. To date they already have a total of 24 lambs on the ground this season, with a further four ewes still to lamb as of last week. The future for the Escholar Suffolk stud is expansion, with the aim to purchase some more rams in the coming years. That faint gobble, gobble youre hearing in the distance can only mean one thing: Thanksgiving is near! Both ACTS and SERVE are gearing up for their holiday programs, and your help is needed. As hurricanes worsen, can Lumbee Tribe learn to live with water? The Native American tribe was saved by the swamp. Now, like so many people in the South, flooding threatens to drive them away. Amazon I am a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for me to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites. Michael Jackson fans believe he is still alive - after claiming he can be seen in the background of a selfie take by his daughter Paris Jackson. Paris Jackson's selfie (c) Instagram The King of Pop was declared dead in June 2009 at the age of 50 due to acute Propofol and benzodiazepine intoxication. However, fans have now taken to social media to declare their hero lives after claiming they spotted him sat in the backseat of 18-year-old Paris' car in a photograph she posted on her Instagram account back in May. The photo is captioned: "If you give a little love, you get a little love of your own." Although the shadow in the background is supposed to be a pile of clothes fans are speculating it is in fact the 'Thriller' hitmaker in disguise, due to his trademark hat that is clearly visible. One fan has even created a YouTube video to highlight exactly where in the photo they claim to have seen the musician. The video was posted by YouTube user BeLIEve, who often posts videos claiming that the 'Bad' musician is still alive. Michael died shortly before he was due to take to the stage at The O2 in London for his 'This Is It' concert residency. His personal physician Conrad Murray was jailed for the involuntary manslaughter of the music legend after administering a fatal dose of anaesthetic Propofol. Murray has now written a book entitled 'This Is It! The Secret lives of Dr. Conrad Murray and Michael Jackson' and he is adamant the conviction was unfair because Michael was a serious drug abuser and he was not aware he was using the painkiller Demerol and sleeping aid Midazolam when he was under his care, which were a major contribution factor to his passing. Conrad, 63, insists if he had known the true extent of Michael's drug use he would never have given him Propofol which he pleaded for to help him sleep as the stress of rehearsing for his booked concerts became too much for him to cope with. Instead he would have got him into a drug rehab facility. The medical expert told BANG Showbiz: "I was very disappointed in Michael and hurt because he did not tell me the truth (about his drug use). Had he told me I would have wanted to rehab him. I would have helped him, in the same way I am interested in helping other human beings. "I learnt more about Michael's drug abuse after he passed away ... I think that the Demerol thing may have started with the Pepsi commercial, the day he burnt his head and was injured. It is very easy to give someone a narcotic and the next thing they are hooked ... I have had patients who came in with broken bones after a motor vehicle accident and you use Demerol for the pain. We gave them anywhere from an average of 25 to 75 milligrams of Demerol based upon their weight and that patient's pain would be totally resolved and they would be relaxed, even with broken bones. Now, if you look at the records that were published in the trial, and it's also on my website, Doctor Murray Talks, you will see Michael was taking upwards of 975 milligrams of Demerol daily in addition to Midazolam." We are just days away from the start of the 2016 Toronto International Film Festival and we are going to be treated to another fantastic programme of movies. The Magnificent Seven It doesn't seem five minutes since we were picking out the 2015 films not to miss and which movies could feature during the awards season. And there's a whole host of terrific films that are not to be missed and we take a look at some that we are really excited about. - The Magnificent Seven The Magnificent Seven is the opening night movie and is set to kick the 2016 festival off in fine style. The movie is a remake of the 1960 classic, which was a remake of Seven Samurai, and marks the return of Antoine Fuqua to the director's chair. Fuqua has brought us films such as Training Day and Olympus Has Fallen in recent years and this is his first feature since Southpaw last year. Not only does The Magnificent Seven see Fuqua back in the director's chair, it also sees the filmmaker reunite with Denzel Washington for their third film together. The duo has already worked on Training Day and The Equalizer and I cannot wait to see them tackle the Western for the first time. Washington is set to take on the central role of Sam Chisolm and will lead an all-star cast. Chris Pratt, Vincent D'Onofrio, Byung-hun Lee, Manuel Garcia-Rulfo, Martin Sensmeier complete the Magnificent Seven as gambler Josh Farraday, trapper Jack Horne, assassin Billy Rocks, outlaw Vasquez, and Comanche warrior Red Harvest. Peter Sarsgaard, Haley Bennett, Matt Bomer, and Luke Grimes are also on board. With the sleepy town of Rose Creek under the deadly control of industrialist Bartholomew Bogue (Sarsgaard), the desperate townspeople employ protection from seven outlaws, bounty hunters, gamblers and hired guns - Sam Chisolm (Washington), Josh Farraday (Pratt), Goodnight Robicheaux (Hawke), Jack Horne (D'Onofrio), Billy Rocks (Lee), Vasquez (Garcia-Rulfo), and Red Harvest (Sensmeier). As they prepare the town for the violent showdown that they know is coming, these seven mercenaries find themselves fighting for more than money. Fuqua has always been an exciting filmmaker and I cannot wait to see him put his own stamp on this well-known tale. We haven't had too many Westerns hit the big screen in 2016 but it has been great to see this genre making a comeback in recent years. - La La Land La La Land is a movie that is already being tipped as a potential early Oscar contender and marks the return of Damien Chazelle to the director's chair. La La Land is only the third feature film of Chazelle's filmmaking career and his first movie since he enjoyed critical, commercial, and awards success with the fantastic Whiplash. He really is one of the best new filmmakers around and I am already excited to see what he delivers with this new film. As well as being in the director's chair, Chazelle has also penned the film's screenplay. La La Land is set to mix elements of comedy, drama, and musical as the filmmaker teams up with Emma Stone and Ryan Gosling for the first time. The movie sees the actors take on the roles of Mia and Sebastian as they reunite for the first time since Gangster Squad in 2013. The movie also sees Chazelle work with J.K. Simmons again - he won the Best Supporting Actor Oscar for his performance in Whiplash. John Legend, Rosemarie DeWitt, Finn Wittrock, Callie Hernandez, Sonoya Mizuno, Jessica Rothe, Tom Everett Scott, and Josh Pence complete the impressive and very talented cast list. La La Land tells the story of Mia (Stone), an aspiring actress, and Sebastian (Gosling), a dedicated jazz musician, who are struggling to make ends meet in a city known for crushing hopes and breaking hearts. Set in modern day Los Angeles, this original musical about everyday life explores the joy and pain of pursuing your dreams. There's already a lot of hype building around La La Land and it is promising to be one of the standout films on the festival circuit this autumn. - Arrival Denis Villeneuve has already brought us movies such as Prisoners and Sicario in recent years - both of which were fantastic - and now he is back with Arrival. Arrival sees the filmmaker tackle the science fiction genre as he turns short tale Story of Your Life by Ted Chiang into a feature film; Eric Heisserer has penned the screenplay. We have already been treated to the first trailer for the film and it is one of the autumn movies that I am looking forward to the most. I am a big fan of sci-fi and this is going to be another edge of your seat ride. The film sees Amy Adams take on the central role of linguist Dr. Louise Banks and is joined on the cast list by Jeremy Renner, Forest Whitaker, and Michael Stuhlbarg. When mysterious spacecraft touch down across the globe, an elite team -led by expert linguist Louise Banks (Adams) - is brought together to investigate. As mankind teeters on the verge of global war, Banks and the team race against time for answers - and to find them, she will take a chance that could threaten her life, and quite possibly humanity. Villeneuve has proved he is one of the most versatile filmmakers around as he has jumped from film genre to film genre - I really cannot wait to see him take on sci-fi with Arrival. Sci-fi has been one of the most exciting film genres in recent years with the likes of Gravity and Interstellar and Arrival is promising to be another film that you cannot afford to miss. - The Birth of a Nation Another earlier Oscar contender comes in the form of Birth of a Nation and it returns to the festival circuit, after premiering at the Sundance Film festival earlier this year. The Birth of a Nation is already being hotly tipped to be in the running of Best Picture next year and sees Nate Parker make his feature film directorial debut. He has brought us shorts such as #AmeriCan and J.A.W. and I cannot wait to see him make the leap into features for the first time. As well as being in the director's chair Parker has penned the screenplay ad will take on the central role of Nat Turner, a literate slave and preacher. Parker is joined on the cast list by Armie Hammer, Mark Boone Junior, Colman Domingo, Aunjanue Ellis, Aja Naomi King, Esther Scott, Gabrielle Union and Jackie Earle Haley. Set against the antebellum South, The Birth Of A Nation follows Nat Turner (Parker), a literate slave and preacher, whose financially strained owner, Samuel Turner (Hammer), accepts an offer to use Nat's preaching to subdue unruly slaves. As he witnesses countless atrocities - against himself and his fellow slaves - Nat orchestrates an uprising in the hopes of leading his people to freedom. The Birth of a Nation is promising to be an evocative and powerful film and looks set to be one of the early must-see films of 2017. The Birth of a Nation won the Audience Award and Grand Jury Prize at Sundance and has Oscar contender written all over it. - Snowden Snowden is a movie that we have been talking about for quite some time here at FemaleFirst and it is finally set to hit the big screen later this year. The movie tells the story of NSA employee and now wanted man, Edward Snowden. The film sees Oliver Stone back in the director's chair for another biopic film project. He has brought us the likes of W and Nixon over the years. Stone has also teamed up Kieran Fitzgerald to pen the screenplay, which is inspired by the book The Snowden Files by Anatoly Kucherena and Luke Harding. This is the first live-action feature film for Stone since Savages back in 2012. Joseph Gordon-Levitt - who is one of the best actors around - is set to play the title role and is joined on the cast list by Shailene Woodley, Scott Eastwood, Melissa Leo, Zachary Quinto, and Tom Wilkinson - Stone really has brought together another terrific cast list. The movie follows Snowden who leaked classified information from the NSA to The Guardian back in 2013. Some called him unpatriotic and a terrorist while other believe that he was a hero for his actions. Snowden played a Comic-Con earlier this summer and is set to be one of the highlights of the Toronto Film Festival programme. - Loving Jeff Nichols is one of the busiest directors around and is set to return with his latest film Loving, which will be released in the UK in January 2017. Nichols has brought us films such as Midnight Special and Mud in recent years and Loving is already being whispered about as a potential Oscar contender - it really would be great to see it in the mix as I love Nichols as a storyteller. As will all of his movie projects to date, Nichols has also penned the screenplay as well as being in the director's chair. The movie sees Joel Edgerton and Ruth Negga take on the central roles of Richard and Mildred Loving. It is a second project between Nichols and Edgerton; who worked together on Midnight Special. Michael Shannon - Nichols' long-time collaborator - Marton Csokas, Nick Kroll, Bill Camp, and Alano Miller complete the cast list. Loving, celebrates the real-life courage and commitment of an interracial couple, Richard and Mildred Loving, who married and then spent the next nine years fighting for the right to live as a family in their hometown. Nichols has delivered some fantastic character driven movies during his filmmaking career, and Loving looks set to continue that fine tradition. - Manchester By The Sea Kenneth Lonergan is back in the director's chair with his new film Manchester By The Sea and comes after You Can Count on Me and Margaret. As well as being in the director's chair, Lonergan shows off his writing skills having penned the screenplay. The movie sees Kyle Chandler and Casey Affleck star as they play brothers Joe and Lee Chandler. Michelle Williams, Matthew Broderick, Gretchen Mol, and Kara Hayward complete the cast list. Manchester on the Sea marks the first time that Lonergan has teamed up with Affleck as the actor leads a great cast, which includes Michelle Williams, Gretchen Mol, Kyle Chandler, and Kara Hayward. The movie follows Lee Chandler (Affleck) who has been named the legal guardian of his nephew after the sudden death of his older brother. Lee returns to the community where he was born and raised to take care of the teenage boy. Affleck is one of the best character actors around and Manchester by the Sea is set to be a powerful drama about family, community, and tragedy. It looks set to be one of the movies that's not to be missed. The movie won't hit the big screen here in the UK until the beginning of next year. - A Monster Calls One of the January 2017 films I am already looking forward to is A Monster Calls and it will receive its world premiere at the festival. The first trailer for A Monster Calls promises much as J.A. Bayona returns to the director's chair with what is the third feature film of his career. Bayona has already brought us The Orphanage and The Impossible - both of which were terrific - and this new film will mix elements of drama and fantasy. The movie is based on the 2011 novel of the same name by Patrick Ness and the author has adapted his own book into a screenplay. Lewis MacDougal is set to take on the central role of Conor O'Malley and is joined on the cast list by Sigourney Weaver, Felicity Jones, Toby Kebbell, and Liam Neeson. 12-year-old Conor (MacDougall) attempts to deal with his mother's (Jones) illness and the bullying of his classmates by escaping into a fantastical world of monsters and fairy tales that explore courage, loss, and faith. Bayona is one of the most visionary filmmakers out there at the moment and I really cannot wait to see him put his own stamp on this tale. - The Edge of Seventeen The Edge of Seventeen is the movie that will close the 2017 Toronto International Film Festival, where it will get its world premiere. The movie marks the feature film directorial debut for Kelly Fremon, who is best known for writing the screenplay for Post Grad back in 2009. As well as being in the director's chair, Fremon has also penned the script for The Edge of Seventeen. Oscar-nominated actress Hailee Steinfeld takes on the central role of Nadine Byrd in the coming of age drama and is joined on the cast list by Woody Harrelson, Kyra Sedgwick, Haley Lu Richardson, Blake Jenner, and Hayden Szeto. Everyone knows that growing up is hard, and life is no easier for high school junior Nadine (Steinfeld), who is already at peak awkwardness when her all-star older brother Darian (Jenner) starts dating her best friend Krista (Richardson). All at once, Nadine feels more alone than ever, until the unexpected friendship of a thoughtful boy (Szeto) gives her a glimmer of hope that things just might not be so terrible after all. Steinfeld is one of the most exciting young actresses around and it is great to see her back on the big screen. She really is going to be one to keep an eye on over the next couple of years. The Toronto International Film Festival runs from 8th - 18th September. by Helen Earnshaw for www.femalefirst.co.uk find me on and follow me on Prince William is following Princess Diana's "legacy". Prince William and Duchess Catherine The 34-year-old royal and his wife, Duchess Catherine, are like his mother in that they are "anything but traditional". Royal expert Ingrid Seward told PEOPLE magazine: "Traditionally, royalty has had a stiff upper lip. But these two - and Prince Harry - are anything but traditional. William has often gone out on a limb. "He is following Diana - and that is further proof of her legacy. They can't promote the idea that people should talk openly without talking openly themselves." Meanwhile, etiquette expert William Hanson previously claimed the Royal Family have become "too normal". He wrote: "The Royal Family have become too normal. Not all of them, of course, there are still a good handful who get the balance right. It's the younger generation who need to be careful. If the future of our monarchy is William, Harry and Catherine then heaven help us. On a weekly basis we seem to be getting more and more stories and pictures of them behaving like our friends from a grammar school. "At the end of last week we saw a new image of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, released together with a kind note of thanks to those who had written to congratulate them on their fifth wedding anniversary. Catherine looked fine, but her royal husband, quite brazenly, had his left hand tucked in to his pocket, standing as if he waiting to give us all a presentation on telesales. Not a very royal image, really?" Stacey Solomon, Martine McCutcheon and Lisa Riley are set to become full-time panellists on 'Loose Women'. Stacey Solomon The celebrity trio have been making frequent appearances on the daytime ITV talk show in recent months and TV bosses have now decided to make them permanent members of the panel in light of their success. Stacey - who rose to fame on the sixth series of 'The X Factor' - wrote on Twitter: "So proud to be a part of the @loosewomen family! Here's to more laughs and surprises! Yaaaaaaay!! (sic)" Lisa, meanwhile, revealed her dramatic weight loss on the programme earlier this year, explaining to viewers that she had dropped from a size 30 to a size 14. Martine, on the other hand, has teamed up with Stacey to film their own version of Carpool Karaoke for the show - an idea made famous by James Corden on 'The Late Late Show' in the US. Their appointments come as Sherrie Hewson prepares to make her last appearance on the show today (05.09.16). The former 'Coronation Street' star, who has enjoyed a 14-year stint on the programme, recently revealed she was quitting 'Loose Women' to pursue her ambition of making it in Hollywood. She previously shared: "I had a chance to go to Hollywood early in my career but I turned it down and I always wondered whether I'd done the right thing. "I have a friend who's a casting director in LA and he sent me an email saying I'd be perfect for work over there now. "He said they love British actresses who are older as we can still move our faces. "Acting has always been my passion and I take it really seriously, so I think it's time for me to go back to that full time. "I look at people like Betty White from 'The Golden Girls', still working at 94. She's still out there, she's proof we can all do it. "How exciting is that at my age to think I could still be having a Hollywood adventure?" Since Saturday evening, Salman Khan has been living it up with local families, in particular the kids, in Manali, flaunting a `Kullu' cap gifted to him by a local at Bhuntar airport."Welcoming a guest with a Kullu cap is a sign of love and respect in Himachal. Salman who knew this, accepted the gift, and invited the fans who'd danced to a local song with dhols and percussion instruments at the airport, to join him for lunch too," a source from the sets informed Mirror. The following day, another large group of fans landed on the sets of Kabir Khan's Tubelight and the actor greeted them warmly, changing into the Himachali attire they'd got him and accepting a handmade white shawl graciously.He even made his director and crew dress up in pahadi wear. Salman had been welcomed in Kashmir the same way when he'd arrived in 2014 for Bajrangi Bhaijaan. He'd mingled with the locals, promoted the state on social media and adopted an entire village. That was the plan for his Kashmir schedule this time too. The unit was to film extensively over one-long schedule in the Valley since Kabir Khan's historical-drama unfolds during the 1962 SinoIndian war and marks the Bollywood debut of Chinese actress Zhu Zhu. But the constant curfews and unrest in Kashmir over the last four months led to a change of plans for the filmmaker. After the first 20-day schedule wrapped up in Leh-Ladakh on August 14, the unit has shifted to Manali where the second schedule kicked off on September 3. During the next four weeks they'll be filming in Naggar, Lahaul-Spiti valley, Rohtang Pass and Solang Nullah. Buzz is, the last schedule will be shot in Kashmir. Interestingly, Salman's younger sister, Arpita, is married into one of the richest families of Mandi, 108 kms from Manali. Last May, Salman and the Khandaan visited Mandi to meet Aayush Sharma's family and attend Dham, a community feast organised by the State Rural Development Minister Anil Sharma, Ayush's father. There, the family had met Member of Parliament, Sukhram, former telecom minister and Ayush's granddad too. Meanwhile, back at Sallu's sea-facing Bandra home, Ganpati Bappa arrived a day ear lier, so that the actor could per form the pooja with his family before taking off to the mountains. Brothers Sohail and Arbaaz, and parents, Salim and Salma, have invited all of B-town to join in the festivities at their home.And Katrina Kaif, Sonam Kapoor and Daisy Shah have already RSVPed `yes'. Next Story : Not Your Average Gift: Our Handpicked Thoughtful Diwali Gifts In July, airline authorities at Mumbai airport made it clear that there wouldn't be any starry exceptions to the rules when it came to boarding flights. Earlier, Salman Khan who strolled in late for a morning flight to Delhi was told off by the authorities. His entourage and he had to wait at the airport lounge for the next flight, later that day. On Thursday evening, another Bollywood celebrity, found herself in a similar spot. Katrina was running late and arrived at the airport just 30 minutes before her flight to Indore was to take off. She was travelling with co-star Sidharth Malhotra, who had arrived muchearlier. The 33-year-old-actress jumped out of her car and ran to the entrance where an airline representative was waiting for her.(Thank God for running shoes!) "Kat was told she'd have to make a 15-minute dash to the boarding gate if she wanted to catch the flight. And it was a sight to behold!" exclaimed an eyewitness. "As onlookers watched and wondered what was happening, the actress and the airline rep started sprinting down the airport. Some thought it was a shot, a few fans began to run alongside the actress," added the source. And Kat didn't seem to mind! She smiled and waved as she raced down and made it just minutes before the gates closed. Pays to be fighting fit, right Kat?" Next Story : Not Your Average Gift: Our Handpicked Thoughtful Diwali Gifts Mirror (June 10) had earlier reported that Shraddha Kapoor has been finalised to play underworld queen Haseena Parkar in filmmaker Apoorva Lakhia's next, while elder brother Siddhanth will take on the character of Dawood Ibrahim. Siddhanth has already begun his prep and sis will join him after she wraps up Mohit Suri's Half Girlfriend with Arjun Kapoor. "Besides watching films set against the background of Mumbai's underworld, including Shootout at Lokhandwala, Once Upon a Time Mumbaai and Black Friday, Siddhanth is reading S Hussain Zaidi's crime saga Dongri to Dubai to understand his character and the scene better. He will then pass on the book to Shraddha," informs a source. The duo will be spending two hours every day from October on readings and action workshops. The film will touch Haseena's dealings with slum redevelopment authorities, negotiating overseas rights of Hindi films, the Hawala racket and the territorial wars among cable operators. Her character ages from 15 to 42, while Siddhanth's will span 19 to 45 years. "Besides using prosthetics, they will also have to gain weight and perfect the Bombaiya accent," says the source. Siddhanth recently visited Nagpada, once home to Dawood.He will start shooting from October in Thailand, Mumbai and Pune. Shraddha will join him by early December. The closeness Haseena and Dawood shared will be reflected in the film. Siddhanth has revealed that the siblings biggest ace is their understanding of each other."We're extremely close, more like best friends. Shra's my person," he had told Mirror earlier. Next Story : Not Your Average Gift: Our Handpicked Thoughtful Diwali Gifts The battle to outlive life and peek into the world beyond has been an area of great fascination. From ages, this unknown, unattainable stage has drawn the attention of thinkers and the results have spanned the entire continuum of credibility and flimsiness. DeLillo's Zero K sits somewhere on this scale. The novel follows Jeffrey Lockhart, who is invited by his wealthy father, Ross Lockhart, to witness the final days of his ailing wife, Artis, at an isolated compound, in one of the remotest corners of Russia. But the compound isn't any ordinary brick and mortar structure; it is a highly advanced, scientifically augmented laboratory where living men and women surrender their bodies to be preserved in cryogenic pods and whereupon, a series of radical and cutting-edge innovative methods are applied to them with an objective to bring them to life in much more robust, transcendent and resilient human forms. The amount of time this transformation might take? No one quite tells us that. Jeffrey, after seeing Artis, slips into the other world, returns to his daily humdrum at New York and continues living a normal life, albeit with occasional flashes from his Russian detour, until one day, it is Ross' turn to embrace the pod and he is summoned again. The amount of time that has lapsed between the two trips? Two years. As a premise, this book holds promise and DeLillo doesn't disappoint us there. The erection of the controlled environment within which passionate, eclectic ideas collide and thrive is deftly done. The amount of background work is apparent and the patient, illustrative narrative of the author indicates his desire to create a solid foundation for those uninitiated on the scientific realms. But most of these explanations happen as long conversations or pep talks to the lab inhabitants which essentially becomes commonplace after a while. This excess ends up robbing off the empathy that one might have showered on Artis, Ross or Jeffrey for their sacrifices, separation and longing to reunite that runs as a key theme underneath the more visible props. I found it interesting to view the work as an approach to securing love. Ross maintains that the entire idea of investing in the biomedical experiment was to find a way to extend his time with Artis, much after the existing body had failed her. On the other hand, Jeffrey is depicted as having a starkly detached approach towards Emma; he is committed to her by all emotional means but finds no necessity to marry or stay with her in order to impart validation to his relationship. There are instances where physical distances befall suddenly upon them but they don't disturb him much; as if, finding love within one-self is more than sufficient to walk into the grave, happy. This book subtly asks few questions on life, love and death and the extent to which we are willing to travel to find their answers. But the fragmented structure and long stretches of flat tone sap a part of their pertinence. Depending on your acquaintance with DeLillo, this book can range from a decent read to good one. (By Seemita Das) Next Story : Not Your Average Gift: Our Handpicked Thoughtful Diwali Gifts Yarn producer Mozambique Cotton Manufacturers (MCM) is planning to forward integrate by investing around $35 million to set up weaving, dyeing, stitching and other support facilities. MCM is a partnership between one Mozambican and three Portuguese companies and will export these textile goods to newer export markets on the African continent.Stakes in MCM are held by Intelec Holdings from Mozambique and Mundotextil, Mundifios and Crispim Abreu all from Portugal, which had earlier invested $20 to set up the yarn production unit, Mozambican media reported. Yarn producer Mozambique Cotton Manufacturers (MCM) is planning to forward integrate by investing around $35 million to set up weaving, dyeing, stitching and other support facilities. MCM is a partnership between one Mozambican and three Portuguese companies and will export these textile goods to newer export markets on the African continent.# MCM is currently exporting 100 per cent of its output to South Africa and also Portugal, and will now export to countries of the Southern African Development Community (SADC), including the US. (AR) Fibre2Fashion News Desk India Excerpts From Big B's Letter "Both your pardadajis gave your present surnames celebrated fame, dignity and recognition. Both of you may be a Nanda or a Bachchan, but you are also girls... women." "When People Will Tell You How To Behave" "And because you are women people, will force their thinking, their boundaries on you. They will tell you how to dress, how to behave, who you can meet and where you can go." "Make Your Own Choices" "Don't live in the shadows of people's judgement. Make your own choices in the light of your own wisdom. Don't let anyone make you believe that the length of your skirt is a measure of your character." "Get Married When YOU Want To" "Don't let anyone's opinion of who you should be friends with, dictate who you will be friends with. Don't get married for any other reason other than you want to get married." "Never Worry About Log Kya Kahenge" "People will talk. They shall say some terrible things. But that doesn't mean you have to listen to everyone. Never ever worry about - log kya kahenge." "Don't Let Others Make Your Decision For You" "At the end of the day, you are the only one who will face the consequences of your actions, so don't let other people make your decisions for you." For Navya.. "Navya - the privilege your name, your surname offers you, will not protect you from the difficulties you will face because you're a woman." For Aaradhya.. "Aaradhya - by the time you see and understand this, I may well not be around. But I think what I am saying today shall still be relevant." "Be The Change" "This may be a difficult, difficult world to be a woman. But I believe that it is women like you that will change that." "Set An Example For Others" "It may not be easy, setting your own boundaries, making your own choices, rising above peoples judgement. But you, you can set an example for women everywhere." The Last Lines Of Big B's Letter "Do this and you would have done more than I have ever done, and it will be my honour to be known not as Amitabh Bachchan, but as your grandfather." MACAU, CHINA -- (Marketwired) -- 09/04/16 -- Gaming Laboratories International's (GLI) Director, Lottery and Gaming Practice Thomas Bierbach had the honor of presenting at the 2016 Welfare Lottery Industry Information Security Training Conference in Hohhot, The People's Republic of China recently. The training conference, organized by the Technology and Research Centre (TRC) of China Welfare Lottery Issuance and Management Centre, was attended by about 100 lottery delegates from all over China. GLI was invited to speak with attendees as a result of recent exchanges with TRC since they also have a laboratory. Bierbach's presentation featured important topics such as information security frameworks for lotteries; ISO 27001:2013 and WLA SCS: 2012; electronic draw systems and RNG security risks; and lottery player protection and retail network security. GLI Asia Limited's General Manager Client Services Marina Wong said, "It was a great pleasure to attend this important event, and we were honored to have the opportunity to introduce GLI to the conference delegates. We were happy to share information with and also learn from the group who extended the warmest hospitality to GLI." Bierbach said, "We quickly found common ground on current lottery topics within the Chinese lottery industry and were able to identify several areas where GLI can assist the China Welfare Lottery in achieving their objectives. This connection will be of great mutual benefit, where GLI will add value to the China lottery industry through excellent expert services and by extending GLI's market reach as a truly global lottery expert." Following the conference, Bierbach, on behalf of GLI, presented a gift to the Technology & Research Centre. Bierbach selected an Inukshuk sculpture. The sculpture is a small replica of a human-made stone landmark used by the Inuit (and other peoples of the Arctic region of North America) for communication and survival. The traditional meaning of Inukshuk is "someone was here" or "you are on the right path." About Gaming Laboratories International Gaming Laboratories International, LLC delivers the highest quality land-based, lottery and iGaming testing and assessment services. GLI's laboratory locations are found on six continents, and the company holds U.S. and international accreditations for compliance with ISO/IEC 17025, 17020, and 17065 standards for technical competence in the gaming, wagering and lottery industries. For more information, visit www.gaminglabs.com. Contact: Christie Eickelman Vice President of Worldwide Marketing +1 (702) 914-220 Email Contact BEIJING, Sept. 5, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Another Me in the World (European Season), the first-of-its-kind motorcycle travel show in China, premiered on iQIYI, the nation's largest video streaming platform, on Aug. 17 and has gained high popularity among Chinese audience. The program tells the story about Yang Fan, a 26-year-old Chinese motorcyclist, who travels across Europe to look for someone born exactly on the same day as him. In the show, he started from Lithuania and visited 12 countries in Europe to find "another me in the world". Among the 16 youngsters he met are entrepreneurs, artists, athletes, new immigrants, exchange students as well as peers born in super-rich families. Together with Yang, they achieved one goal and did something meaningful together. This show has drawn high attention from iQIYI's audience, with the total clicks reaching 30 million so far. Yang's experience is unique and different from most Chinese young people of his age. When he was 13 years old, Yang quit from middle school as agreed by his father and thus started his extraordinary journey to explore the world. His first trip was to Lhasa of Tibet, which was 2,000 kilometers away from his home. During that period of time, he came up with the idea of "looking for another me in the world." In the new season, Yang had bad luck at the very beginning as he ran into a serious traffic accident. His motorcycle was ruined and his right arm was fractured. This was really a catastrophe to him, but the physical injury did not make Yang give up his motor ride. "The whole course of recovery was like a war inside my body," Yang said. Despite the injury in his arm, Yang and his friends get prepared for the journey and started his "European travel" on time. In the first episode, Yang met Tadas, who was also born on October 5th, 1990. Tadas presented his extraordinary youth in the first episode. As a practical guy, Tadas began to earn money when he was 12 years old. Currently, Tadas has already owned a program called "birthday surprise", selling creative birthday experiences. Among the team of the reality show, there're also photographers from Germany and France and music producers from Belgium. With the support of iQIYI, it is now regarded as a "film-like variety show". EQS-News / 05/09/2016 / 14:21 UTC+8 *[Group News]* *China Regenerative Medicine International Limited* *(Stock Code: 8158.HK)* *CRMI Attends the 11th Medical Fair Asia in Singapore * *Accelerates Entering the Southeast Asia Market* (5 September, 2016 - Hong Kong) - *China Regenerative Medicine International Limited* ("CRMI" or the "Company," stock code: 8158.HK, together with its subsidiaries, collectively the "Group") attended the 11th Medical Fair Asia in Singapore (the "Trade Fair"). The Group's products were presented at the Trade Fair to further explore the Southeast Asia and overseas markets. As Southeast Asia's leading showcase for innovative medical technology, equipment and devices, the Medical Fair Asia is organized by Messe Dusseldorf ASIA every two years. Around over 5000 exhibitors and buyers from South East Asia have participated in this Trade Fair. Since October 2015, the Group has entered into a distributor agreement with the Philippines and initiated overseas marketing, "Acornea", as a world-leading, pioneering bio-engineered cornea, became the Group's key product in the development of overseas markets. Recently, "Acornea" has entered the European market. Besides, "Acornea" was listed as one of the "five key science Revolutions in China" by BBC, and also covered by CBS News. As a result, Acornea has been gradually drawing attentions from the international society. In Southeast Asia countries however, there is only very limited numbers of human donated corneas due to their religious belief, which created an enormous market for "Acornea" to concentrate as its significant market. In addition, the other three top biomedical products presented on the fair, "Gegreen", calcined bovine bone, "Asiunin", acellular anal fistula repair stroma, and "3DFlo(R) cell culture system", three-dimensional cell infusion type training, have brought surprises and grabbed the eyes among the peers in the industry. The Trade Fair allows CRMI to quickly explore more reliable overseas partners, as well as to enhance the awareness of the Group's products and technologies within the industry, to cultivate and develop overseas target markets. Meanwhile, the Group will continue to attract investments worldwide and cooperate with other professional marketing teams to jointly contribute to the industry development. Overseas development email: marketing-oversea@crmi.cn -End- *About CRMI (8158.HK)* China Regenerative Medicine International Limited ("CRMI"), listed on The Stock Exchange of Hong Kong Limited on 18 July 2001 (Stock Code: 8158.HK), is a leading enterprise in tissue engineering and regenerative medicine field. CRMI has obtained more than 70 independent intellectual property rights and undertaken various national pivotal projects including the "863 High-Tech Program," and the "973 High-Tech Program," etc. The Company has presided over the development of the industry standards on two occasions, and also received many awards including the First Class Award of the National Science and Technology Award. In 2014, CRMI collaborated with the University of Oxford in the UK to establish the "CRMI Technology Centre at the University of Oxford," which became the core R&D hub of the Company. On 21 October 2015, CRMI, as the only tissue engineering company that visited the UK along with Chinese President Xi Jinping, entered into a memorandum of understanding (the "MOU") with CCB International (Holdings) Limited ("CCBI", a wholly-owned subsidiary of China Construction Bank Corporation) and the Chancellor, Masters and Scholars of the University of Oxford (the "University of Oxford") regarding the joint establishment of strategic platform for industrialisation of biomedical research. This is also one of the 28 cooperation achievements introduced during the State Visit to the United Kingdom by President Xi. CRMI has classified its business into three segments, i.e. tissue engineering, biotechnology as well as cosmetics. Among which, "ActivSkin" , the only tissue-engineered skin with living cells that was approved by CFDA in China; "Acornea", the world's first tissue engineered cornea in the market that has completed all the necessary clinical trials and obtained its product certificate approved by the China Food and Drug Administration; "Gegreen", the Calcined Bovine Bone; Asiunin ,the Acellular Anal Fistula Repair Stroma; CS-ACI, the Cell Sheet-Autologous Chondrocyte Implantation; "Megreen"; Biological Membrane for guided Tissue Regeneration. Utilizing growth factors from the production of tissue engineering, the group launched bio-medical active cosmetics - "AMYbio", and collaborated with Mila D'Opiz Group in Switzerland to jointly develop the renowned Swiss skincare brand "Ascara". *About "Acornea"* The tissue engineered cornea product "Acornea", developed by CRMI after over ten years of research effort, with ownership of the intellectual property rights, is a state-of-art breakthrough in the field of applied Regenerative Medicine. Clinical trial data shows an overall transplantation efficacy of 94.44%, with recovery rates very similar to that of human donated corneas. We received Acornea's product certificate issued by CFDA on 28 April 2015. As the world's first tissue engineered cornea that has completed all the necessary clinical trials and obtained its product certificate. The commercial production and sale of this product commenced in 23 May 2015. - Awarded as one of the "2015 China Top Ten Advances in Pharmaceutical Biotechnology" - Awarded by Chinese Medical Association Ophthalmology Branch as "2015 China top ten ophthalmic achievements." - Awarded by China Hi-Tech Fair as "Outstanding Product"; - Awarded by BBC as ""one of China's five major scientific and technological revolutionS" *About "Gegreen"* Gegreen is the first dental implant material developed in China. The product is produced through low temperature calcination and is used to promote bone regeneration after dental surgeries. Major clinical applications of Gegreen include treatment of periodontitis and other periodontal bone defects. Gegreen provides an excellent alternative to other dental implant materials such as Bio-Oss. *About "Asiunin"* Asiunin (Acellular Anal Fistula Repair Stroma) received production registration certificate from CFDA on October 2015 for treating anal fistula. The product utilizes the natural structure of stroma as 3D scaffold, which facilities the repair of anal sphincter tissue. Compare with routine treatment method of anal fistula, application of Asiunin reduces damage to anal sphincter tissue, promotes tissue repair, and shortens hospital stay. It is a significant improvement in the treatment of anal fistula. *About "3DFlo(R) Cell Culture System"* The 3DFlo(R) cell culture system aims to provide a state-of-art perfusion cell culture system for research institutions and pharmaceutical companies. 3DFlo(R) is capable to achieve continuous cell culture, control of cell differentiation, and real-time monitoring of culture environment. Through combination with different biomaterials and scaffolds, 3DFlo(R) mimics a more in vivo-like cell culturing environment, which allows more precise and reliable detection of drug cytotoxicity. As a result, 3DFlo(R) can reduce late stage clinical trials failures by first identifying unsafe drugs and through selection of the most efficacious candidates earlier in the drug development process. Document: http://n.eqs.com/c/fncls.ssp?u=SHQCGIWTIM [1] Document title: CRMI Attends the 11th Medical Fair Asia in Singapore Accelerates Entering the Southeast Asia Market Key word(s): Miscellaneous 05/09/2016 Dissemination of a Press Release, transmitted by EQS Group. The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement. Media archive at www.todayir.com 498743 05/09/2016 1: http://public-cockpit.eqs.com/cgi-bin/fncls.ssp?fn=redirect&url=24a44073ddd1a63f1796bf121965be42&application_id=498743&site_id=vwd&application_name=news (END) Dow Jones Newswires September 05, 2016 02:22 ET (06:22 GMT) Aabenraa, Denmark, 2016-09-05 09:11 CEST (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- On 24 February 2016 Sydbank announced a share buyback programme of DKK 350m. The share buyback commenced on 29 February 2016 and will be completed by 31 December 2016.The purpose of the share buyback programme is to reduce the share capital of Sydbank and the programme is executed in compliance with the provisions of the European Commission's Regulation No 2273/2003 of 22 December 2003, known as the Safe Harbour Regulation.The following transactions have been made under the share buyback programme:Number of VWAP Gross value (DKK) shares Accumulated, most 1,485,625 267,075,195.25 recent announcement 29 August 2016 1,500 1,800 204.14 205.52 306,210.00 369,936.00 30 August 2016 1,200 1,000 211.93 214.54 254,316.00 214,540.00 31 August 2016 1,000 213.06 213,060.00 01 September 2016 02 September 2016 Total over week 35 6,500 1,358,062.00 Total accumulated 1,492,125 268,433,257.25 during the share buyback programmeAll transactions were made under ISIN DK 0010311471 and effected by Danske Bank A/S on behalf of Sydbank A/S.Further information about the transactions, cf Article 5 of Regulation (EU) No 596/2014 of the European Parliament and of the Council on market abuse and the Commission delegated regulation, is available in the attachment.Following the above transactions, Sydbank holds a total of 2,288,582 own shares, equal to 3.17% of the Bank's share capital.Attachment:https://cns.omxgroup.com/cds/DisclosureAttachmentServlet?messageAttachmentId=585293 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. TEANECK, NJ--(Marketwired - September 05, 2016) - The 10th Anniversary Pharma ChemOutsourcing show, slated to take place September 19-21, 2016 in Parsippany, NJ, will be the best-attended event in its ten year history. According to its President, Mark Alexay, the jump in attendance is due primarily to increasing numbers of exhibitors and innovator pharmaceutical company customers. The annual New Jersey event attracts pharmaceutical ingredient buyers and sellers from 30 countries. The number of exhibitors from Japan, France and Germany, particularly, is on the rise. 60% are US-based. Innovator biopharmaceutical companies from the major hubs, San Francisco, Cambridge, New Jersey, Maryland, and San Diego, will be on hand. "It's encouraging to witness the event grow with increasing numbers of suppliers of API development and manufacturing services turning up every year. They come to meet their pharma customers. We spend a lot of our time building close relationships with the pharmaceutical companies. They attend every year to meet their suppliers, and also, their peers. The globalizing supply chain of pharmaceutical ingredients has turned the show into a world event." Alexay went on to add, "The pharmaceutical and chemical industries are healthy and productive. Lots of investment capital is flowing in to support the heavy R&D, especially among the legions of small biopharmaceutical companies our economy spawns. This shot of investor confidence in the sector is driving new drug discovery and development. It's no longer just Big Pharma." Alexay continued, "The FDA has been approving 30-45 new medicines annually over the last 5 years. Between our academic research universities and major scientific breakthroughs, like the Human Genome Project, The United States is the leader in pharmaceutical innovation. I can't wait to see what medicines the next round of discoveries will yield!" The inaugural ChemOutsourcing event took place in 2007. Originally a drug discovery and early clinical stage development chemistry sourcing trade show, it has evolved to now encompass commercial API manufacturing, clinical supply, and generics. Packaging, formulation and drug product will be added in 2017. "In 2016," Alexay concluded, "pharmaceutical chemists and engineers from all the biopharmaceutical hotspots will be attending the show. Our hundreds of biopharmaceutical drug companies are the future of the industry and a source of economic growth. It's only going to get more exciting!" ChemOutsourcing info@chemoutsourcing.com Bollywood superstar Salman Khan on Saturday reached Manali in Himachal Pradesh for the shooting of Kabir Khan's movie Tubelight. Besides shooting at Naggar, known for its quaint old houses, the film will have scenes of the majestic Rohtang Pass, the gateway to Lahaul-Spiti, and Solang Nullah, a government official told IANS. He said the film crew would stay here for four weeks. Salman needs to complete his shoot before he begins hosting Bigg Boss 10 in October. In the photos shared by the superstar's fans on social media, we spotted Khan wearing the traditional cap in the midst of locals. Salman Khan @BeingSalmanKhan on the sets of Tubelight in Manali pic.twitter.com/B7FfwIZpDK Salman Khan Universe (@salmanuniv) September 4, 2016 All coming together for our second schedule for #Tubelight couldn't ask for more beautiful weather #shootdiaries pic.twitter.com/ThvhhRsSA3 leepakshi ellawadi (@lipstickjunkbox) September 4, 2016 Earlier, the second schedule of Tubelight was to begin in the Kashmir Valley, but it was deferred owing to prevailing unrest there, an insider said. In July, the film was shot in Ladakh in Jammu and Kashmir. A large crowd gathered at Bhuntar airport near Kullu town to receive Salman, who was wearing a Himachali cap. The film is said to be a historical drama based on the 1962 India-China War. With inputs from IANS The air cargo markets deceleration this year had a greater impact on third-quarter cargo revenues at American Airlines than its primary rivals, Delta and United Airlines. But the best revenue quarter in company history and a $483 million profit painted a positive financial picture that could be replicated in the final quarter thanks to resilient [] New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Monday took suo motu cognisance of a letter written by a friend of Amity law student Sushant Rohilla, who committed suicide, saying it would examine whether there was an "element of suspicion" that the incident took place due to "harassment". A bench of Chief Justice TS Thakur and Justice DY Chandrachud also appointed senior advocate and jurist FS Nariman as an amicus curiae to assist it in the alleged suicide case and said it may consider laying down some guidelines. "We would examine as to whether there was an element of suspicion about whether it (the suicide) was due to harassment," the bench said. The court did not issue notice to Amity Law School, which is affiliated to the Guru Govind Singh Indraprastha University. It, however, asked senior advocate Siddharth Luthra, who appeared for the institute, to file a response to the PIL which was instituted after taking note of the letter written to the CJI by one Raghav Sharma, a close friend of the deceased and a 4th year law student. It has been claimed that 20-year old Rohilla, who could not attend classes for quite some time due reasons including his physical health, was depressed over the prospect of not being allowed to take the examination by the college because of lack of attendance. The letter has blamed the Amity authorities for Rohilla's suicide on 10 August at his residence. Alleging harassment by his teachers, his classmates had taken to the social media and launched protests on campus after his death to demand action against his professors, two of whom have resigned. The letter to the CJI has sought that the apex court should take congnisance of the incident and order probe by an independent committee into such matters. It also referred to the letter written by the student before taking the extreme step that he "might not mentally survive" the debarment. The college said the student had 43 percent attendance, whereas the attendance requirement of the University was 75 percent. The refusal of separatists to engage in talks with All Party Parliamentarian Delegation has given rise to fears in Kashmir that the present phase of political uncertainty and turmoil will drag on. Although there was no hope of any major breakthrough or announcement from the delegation, the delegates were expected to break the ice with the Hurriyat and calm tempers in the valley. But with separatists hardening their stand and Home Minister Rajnath Singh accusing them of going against the ethos of Kashmiryat, insaniyat and even jhamooriyat, the hardening of the posters from both sides is a warning sign for a Kashmir reeling under unabated curfew. The Home Minister announced that parliamentary delegation leaders who met the Hurriyat leaders did so in their individual capacities, thereby distancing himself from Chief Minister Mehbooba Muftis overtures towards the separatists. This has further weakened Mehboobas position as a leader in Kashmir. Mehbooba had written a letter to the separatists to come forward and engage with the parliamentary delegation. This development will further complicate problems for the ruling alliance of the PDP-BJP led by Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti. That the BJP was not on board Mehboobas decision to invite Hurriyat for talks was reinforced by Home Minister Rajnath Singh's statement that Mehbooba had approached the separatists in her individual capacity. For people like Umar Wani, a resident of Rajbagh area of Srinagar, the failure to initiate talks is a big disappointment. BJPs Ram Madhav says Kashmir can ask for the moon within the Indian Constitution. Then why doesnt the BJP leadership offer the same to Hurriyat? If they reject, the blame will come on them, Wani told Firstpost after Home Minister Singhs press conference. But right now, they are offering nothing. Why should the Hurriyat talk to them? There has to be a starting point for talks. I fear the situation will worsen now, he added. Hurriyat leader Abdul Gani Bhat told Firstpost that said that unless India and Pakistan do not engage in a sustained meaningful dialogue on Kashmir, the issue will never be resolved. They have to listen to the heartbeats of Kashmir. We got honored guests from Delhi and met them and later saw them off very gracefully. We were not against insaniyat. We had taken a collective decision not to meet them because they had no mandate, Bhat told Firstpost. Kashmir is unlikely to see the return of the normalcy any time soon and the cycle of violence is likely to prolong following the failure of the central government to break the ice. More than 70 people have been killed in the past 58 days, triggered by the killing of Hizbul Mujahideen commander Burhan Wani. There is no ray of hope that the unrest is turning weak, but with every new killing, injury or arrest, the people are getting angrier. Dr Peer GN Suhail, director of Centre for Research and Development Policy (CRDP), a policy think tank based in Srinagar, said that there is no harm in talking to anyone but the dialogue has to be result-oriented and not just for photo-op. Since the parliament delegation did not have any mandate and there recommendations would not have been binding on the Government of India, talking to the delegation would have yielded results, Suhail told Firstpost. Despite all this, the situation in Kashmir will return to normalcy because as the Darbar shifts to Jammu and winter sets in, the chill automatically will calm the temperatures. But this will be temporary, because the seeds of angst buried under snow often sprout in summers in the form of another summer agitation. New Delhi: The Delhi High Court on Monday directed Tihar Jail authorities to produce before it the two death row convicts in Jigisha Ghosh murder case on the trial court reference for confirmation of capital punishment given to them. A division bench of Justice Gita Mittal and Justice RK Gauba issued production warrant to convicts Ravi Kapoor and Amit Shukla for 15 September. The trial court has to refer each death penalty case to a high court for confirmation of sentence within 30 days of the pronouncement of the verdict. On 22 August, while sentencing the convicts to death, the trial court had referred the case to high court for confirmation of sentence. The high court issued production warrants to convicts so that it can ask them if they will file an appeal against the trial court's order which convicted them and sentenced them to death. Sentencing Kapoor and Shukla to death for kidnapping and killing Jigisha Ghosh in 2009 after convicting them and Baljit Singh Malik on 14 July, the trial court had said that the magnitude and brutality of the crime made it "a rarest of rare cases". Malik was sentenced to life imprisonment. Jigisha, 28, who was working with Hewitt Associates Pvt Ltd as an operations manager, was kidnapped and killed on 18 March, 2009, after her office cab dropped her near home in south Delhi's Vasant Vihar around 4 am. Her body was recovered on 20 March, 2009, near Surajkund in Haryana. Police later arrested Kapoor, Shukla and Malik for the crime. On Sunday evening CPM leader Sitaram Yechurys car was the first one to arrive outside Syed Ali Shah Geelanis house, who heads a faction of separatist amalgam Hurriyat Conference. As he emerged from a white ambassador car, visibly shaken, he waited for a minute, trying to hear slogans reverberating from a nearby mosque. And then he waited for around eight minutes outside Geelanis residence, but no one opened the door. Last time he offered us tea. It was a meaningful interaction but since the door is locked we are returning. There should be dialogue and that is only way forward, Yechury told Firstpost, outside house number five, Geelani's residence in Hyderpora. In September 2010, Yechury, along with four member delegation Assaduddin Owaisi, TR Baalu and NN Rao, called on Geelani besides moderate Hurriyat leader Mirwaiz Umar Farooq and JKLF chairman Mohammad Yasin Malik at their residences to break the logjam and open the channels of communication. They had succeeded. Geelani shook hands with the visiting delegation and offered them a cup of tea. The interaction, under full media glare, lasted for half an hour but everyone stuck to their stated respective positions on Kashmir issue. But that meeting had an immediate effect. It helped in calming down tempers on the streets. When Firstpost asked Yechury if the door being shut had dejected him, he said, We have been urging government of India to hold unconditional talks with the separatist leaders. That should be the way forward." He walked towards the waiting car, after talking to a hoard of reporters, visibly upset. Kashmir has seen 73 deaths in the past 58 days, triggered by the killing of militant commander Burhan Wani. There is no ray of hope that the unrest is turning weak, but with every new killing, injury or arrest, the people are getting angrier. In past also, such delegations and teams of interlocutors have failed to address the main issue of Kashmir, which the separatists say should be discussed outside the ambit of Indian constitution. What happened to the interlocutors report, who were appointed by UPA government and the countless others, Tawseef Ahmad, a student who participated in the protests outside Geelanis residence, said. With this delegation, people's anger has intensified as they see it just another delegation whose recommendations will not be taken seriously by the parliament. In 2010, a parliamentarian delegation had requested Geelani to give peace a chance. Give a chance for peace and normalcy that is all what we want from you. That is why we have come to appeal you, Yechury had told Geelani in 2010. Six years on, the situation has completely changed. Cynicism has replaced camaraderie; distrust has replaced hope. When CPM leader D Raja, Janta Dal (united) leader Sharad Yadav, and Yechury appeared outside Geelanis house on Sunday, a huge graffiti Go India Go Back written by Hurriyat hawk Geelani on his outer wall greeted the All Party Delegation (APD). Despite repeated knocks at Hurriyat hawks door, they failed to manage an entry. Before they left, a group of residents stopped JDU leader Sharad Yadav and asked him, How do you expect people to hold talks with leaders when you have jailed them?" Bashir Ahmad, a resident of Hyderpora locality, stopped Yadav for ten minutes outside Geelani's house and told the visiting parliamentarian: Kashmiri culture does not allow to behave like this with guests but you have left no reason for us to believe you." The first thing you should do is meet the children blinded by your forces in these 57 days, then you should think of a dialogue, Ahmad told Yadav, as a group of agitated youth started raising pro-freedom slogans. Yadav listened keenly to the people outside Geelanis residency for 25 minutes and his only response was: "Dialogue is the only solution." Ghulam Hassan Kutchi, a lawyer by profession, who stood outside Geelanis residency told Yadav, "how do you expect our leaders to have dialogue with you when you dont have an authority from Government to hold, as you have come on your own initiative". The three main separatist leaders in the region Syed Ali Geelani, Mirwaiz Umar Farooq and Yasin Malik refused to meet with the members of the delegation who had attempted to reach out to them. Earlier in the day, the three key separatist leaders issued a joint statement and said the deceitful method of crisis management through parliamentary delegations prolong the sufferings of the people. The separatists said delegations cannot replace a genuine transparent agenda-based dialogue. "Such delegations have not yielded any results to bring back complete normalcy to Kashmir, where people's sentiments are for the resolution of the dispute," said Fahad Shah, journalist and editor of The Kashmir Walla. "It is for Indian government to decide whether such tensions should continued happening in Kashmir or a once for all solution should be found. People are out on streets demonstrating that they have been tired of promises, someone should listen to their genuine demands and try to find a way of talking where both sides agree." Shah believes that the arrogance of local government or the central government, shown in last two months, will only cause more violence, if not immediately but in coming years. As the day came to an end, close to 200 hundred people were injured in clashes with government forces through out south Kashmir. Patna: Suspected Maoists torched half a dozen vehicles and machines of a private construction company on Monday in Bihar's Gaya district, police said. "A group of armed Maoists attacked the camp of SP Malik Company Private Limited near Paimar river on Gaya-Wazirganj road... They torched six vehicles, including their machines - a JCB, crane and Poklane - for not paying levy demanded by the outfit," a district police official said. According to police officials, Maoists also assaulted employees of the construction company, which is engaged in construction of a railway overbridge here. Maoists in rural areas across Bihar are paid levy by private construction companies, contractors, traders, businessmen and even government officials. Police have lodged a case on the basis of the statements of the company staff and started investigation. Gaya is considered to be a Maoist stronghold. In an incident that brings to light a dangerous pattern in India, a tribal in Madhya Pradesh had to gather waste paper, tyres, twigs and plastic bags to cremate his wife after he was turned away from a crematorium because he could not afford to pay for it. According to The Times of India, Jagdeesh Bhil, from Ratangarh village in Neemuch district, spent three hours collecting garbage for the pyre last Friday after he was spurned by the crematorium. The report added that someone even suggested that he throw his wife in the river instead. "My wife, Nozibai, died early on Friday morning. We went to the Ratangarh village panchayat to arrange for logs for the cremation. But the (village) heads claimed that they couldn't do anything because we did not have enough money to get the 'parchi', which costs Rs 2,500," the report quoted him as saying. Incidents of neglect like the one Bhil had to face are being reported very frequently in our country. On Sunday, in yet another heart-rending incident, a woman in Meerut, Uttar Pradesh, ran from one hospital to another with her daughter's body and was forced to spend a night outside the emergency wing of the district hospital with the dead child after ambulance drivers allegedly refused to take them to their village as it was in another district. The incident in Meerut comes just days after the disturbing incident reflecting hospital apathy in Kanpur, where a man was allegedly made to take his ailing son on his shoulders from one department to another by the doctors and the child finally died. In August, a tribal in Odisha called Dana Majhi had to walk 10 km with his wife's corpse on his shoulder after he was denied a vehicle from a government hospital. Earlier in August, a Dalit man in Madhya Pradesh's Morena district had cremated the body of his wife in front of his house, claiming he was not allowed to use the cremation ground by upper caste people. The man, identified as Bablu, had claimed that the cremation ground has been encroached upon by "upper caste" people. However, the local administration says the land was illegally occupied by the Dalits. The incident had taken place in Garhi village of Morena's Ambah town. When Bablu arrived at the cremation ground with his wife Pooja's body, he was told he cannot cremate the body as the land belongs to the so-called upper caste people. Dalit villagers have been quoted saying they all face the same problem as the "upper castes" have started farming on the land meant for cremation. With inputs from agencies What is the definition of a good wife? One who stands by her husband even or, rather, particularly when hes been caught out being naughty with another woman/women. Not just because a popular American TV serial says so but because this is what we see in real life too. By that reckoning, Ritu Kumar, wife of sacked Delhi Women and Child Development Minister Sandeep Kumar, apparently seen on video in compromising positions and now accused of rape, is a very good wife indeed. My husband is innocent, I stand by him, she has been quoted in an interview to India Today. There is, it seems, no question of her husband having misinterpreted, somewhat too broadly, his ministrys brief. No, he has, according to his dutiful wife, been falsely implicated. The charges were part of a political conspiracy against her innocent husband. Thus spoke actor Shiney Ahujas wife Anupam when her husband was accused of raping their maid. It is a frame up, she had declared to the media. My man is innocent. He has been framed. Of course, both wives were specifically denying the charge of rape levelled against their respective spouses, which only a court of law can prove or disprove. In Shiney Ahujas case, the court did find him guilty but his wife still insists on his innocence. Maybe he is, maybe not. Courts are not infallible. Maybe Sandeep Kumar, too, is not guilty of rape, whatever the court findings. But it is not the court of law the wives are addressing by their public declarations of support. Rather, they are appealing to the court of public opinion by generously handing out character certificates to their questionable husbands. He can never do such a thing, says Mrs Sandeep Kumar, echoing exactly what Mrs Shiney Ahuja had said a few years ago. Because they are good husbands too. According to India Today, Last year on International Womens Day, March 8, the AAP minister thanked his wife Ritu for sacrifices she made for him and added, Main roz subah inke pair chhoota hoon [I touch her feet every morning]. This statement of his received a thunderous applause from the audience in the Delhi Secretariat auditorium. While Anupam Ahuja told The Times of India after her husband had got bail and they were appealing his guilty verdict, I was in New York for three years... When there were articles in magazines about our break-up, I was breaking karva chauth via a webcam with Shiney. Even today, on my birthday and my daughters, he does a nirjal vrat [water-less fast]. Thats the kind of husband and father he is. If that does not make them model husbands, then what will? But, amidst all the various facts, rumours, gossip, innuendoes, statements, evidence that swirl around such cases, rape or not, one thing does come through. Some extramarital sexual act did occur. And both wives are readily condoning that, at least in public. Of course, they are not the only ones to do so. Many women find that zero tolerance about marital infidelity sounds good on paper but not so realistic in practice. They may admire Lady Sarah Graham-Moon who slashed her philandering husbands suits to pieces and distributed bottles of his expensive Chateu Latour wine on neighbours doorsteps in London, but when it comes to their own, more wives forgive their errant husbands than otherwise. Marriages have their ups and downs, it is said, you cant only think of yourself, there are the children to consider, you have to take a holistic approach, see whether the pros outweigh the cons, look inwards, affairs are a symptom not a cause, men wouldnt stray if everything in the marriage was ok the reasons for not breaking up are high-sounding, endless and, usually, demeaning to women. Yet, forgiving seems to come naturally to females. Even when the entire torrid mess is played out openly, in the glare of the media. Even when the wives are perfectly capable of leading a full life without their significant others. Former IMF boss and French politician Dominique Strauss-Kahns very accomplished, very rich wife stood solidly by him, making sure he wanted for nothing, when he was accused of rape by a maid in a New York hotel. It took Hillary Clintons closest aide Huma Abedins husband to be publicly shamed three times for kinky sex before Abedin could bring herself, this 30 August, to kick him out, at long last. Even while the latest issue of Vogue, in which she portrays her husband as a devoted father and their marriage as a true partnership, was hitting the stands. As for Hillary Clinton, well, few women have been more publicly humiliated than her by her husbands peccadilloes, yet she has stood solidly by her man and is now such a feminist icon that stellar feminists like Gloria Steinem are saying it is the moral duty of all American women to vote for her and strike a strong blow for women. True, how husbands and wives work out their problems, or dont, is none of our business. A woman has every right to forgive her cheating husband if she wants to even if we are unable to fathom why. Let them have it out behind closed doors and well be none the wiser. But sticking it out and seeing it through is one thing. Its the public utterances, the press conferences, the fire-spitting defences on TV, thats so bewildering. Could it be that the wives of these public personalities see the public agony as one more role for them to play in the great charade of a happy marriage, that it is their public duty to do so? How wonderful it would be if one of the wronged wives of these larger-than-life characters would just tell her erring spouse he was on his own? The parade of shame was just on him. That she could be a good wife without defending him in public come what may. Better still, someone should tell them, the best way to get rid of a problem is to get rid of the problem. That being a bad wife for a change is good for them and all women everywhere. It's 5 September, a day of celebration. But Ganesh Chaturthi is not the only thing being celebrated today. Lest you forget amidst the rapturous kaleidoscope of music, colours and sound, it's also Teacher's Day: A day to celebrate individuals who work day in and day out to lift millions of spirits (and minds) and actually make the world a better place. Across India, the day will be marked in acknowledgement and celebration of countless individuals who have shaped (and continue to) the the minds and course of the nation. "Mukherjee Sir", none other than the country's first citizen, will yet again chart the evolution of Indian politics this Teachers' Day at a school in the President's Estate. For the second year in a row, President Pranab Mukherjee will don the hat of a teacher on this occasion as requested by the Delhi government. He will also felicitate 13 teachers from Madhya Pradesh for their outstanding contribution in the field of education. Several prominent personalities from different fields, including Bollywood, will be a part of a different event in the capital to felicitate teachers to encourage them towards leadership. In Tamil Nadu, acting Governor Chennamaneni Vidyasagar Rao, Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa and DMK Chief M Karunanidhi extended their greetings to teachers. "On the occasion of Teacher's Day, the birthday of former President Dr Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan, I extend my warm greetings and best wishes to all teachers across the country," Rao said. "Let us show our gratitude and respect to our teachers for making us what we are today. I appeal to the teaching fraternity to reorient themselves and evolve new methodologies for laying a strong foundation in students to make Indiaa global leader," he said. In her message, Jayalalithaa said she has issued orders to hike the cash prize given to teachers receiving the Best Teacher Award, instituted by the state government from the existing Rs 5,000 cash prize to Rs 10,000. Many, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi, took to Twitter to extend their greetings. My greetings and felicitations to teachers throughout the country on the occasion of Teachers Day #PresidentMukherjee President of India (@RashtrapatiBhvn) September 5, 2016 Teachers Day is an occasion when we recognise the dedicated services of the teachers of our nation #PresidentMukherjee President of India (@RashtrapatiBhvn) September 5, 2016 A sound education system is the bedrock of an enlightened society #PresidentMukherjee President of India (@RashtrapatiBhvn) September 5, 2016 Inspired teachers are the building blocks of a good education system #PresidentMukherjee President of India (@RashtrapatiBhvn) September 5, 2016 Teachers should instill in children civilizational values of sacrifice, tolerance, pluralism, understanding & compassion #PresidentMukherjee President of India (@RashtrapatiBhvn) September 5, 2016 Good wishes to entire teaching community for their dedication & commitment to the great cause of educating our youth #PresidentMukherjee President of India (@RashtrapatiBhvn) September 5, 2016 Happy Teachers Day! India salutes the dedication & commitment of all teachers, whose role in nation building is paramount. Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) September 5, 2016 Tributes to Dr. S Radhakrishnan, a scholar, statesman & a respected teacher who shaped many minds & served India. https://t.co/def2x8xwIR Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) September 5, 2016 Happy Teacher's Day! Today we celebrate the teachers, mentors & guides who dedicate their lives to shaping young minds Office of RG (@OfficeOfRG) September 5, 2016 TEACHER - a flame, a light, a hope and a fragrance for the entire humanity is a pilgrim of knowledge. Greetings on #TeachersDay Vijay Rupani (@vijayrupanibjp) September 5, 2016 Teachers inspires, empowers and shape us for a lifetime. Wishing a very Happy #TeachersDay to them for their valuable contributions M Venkaiah Naidu (@MVenkaiahNaidu) September 5, 2016 Happy teachers day! Can we celebrate our teachers 365 days and not just for a token one day? Better salaries, more respect please? Rajdeep Sardesai (@sardesairajdeep) September 5, 2016 On #TeachersDay, my humble tribute to teacher extraordinaire & a great philosopher revered Dr. S. Radhakrishnan. pic.twitter.com/u4hk8W89y3 ShivrajSingh Chouhan (@ChouhanShivraj) September 5, 2016 Thank You, Ustaad Ji...the little I learnt or achieved was because of you #Respect #HappyTeachersDay pic.twitter.com/AasZWdXqgL Aakash Chopra (@cricketaakash) September 5, 2016 #HappyTeachersDay to all those who taught me good, wise and imparted values to become a better human being. Birender Singh (@ChBirenderSingh) September 5, 2016 Am grateful to my teachers, my parents, friends, Polo + shooting intructors etc who've imparted knowledge to me. #HappyTeachersDay Naveen Jindal (@MPNaveenJindal) September 5, 2016 Meanwhile, the Puducherry government has decided to celebrate Teachers' Day on 9 September on account of Genesh Chaturthi. With inputs from agencies Visuals can often carry messages that words simply cannot. That is exactly what can be said about the visual of UP police chief S Javeed Ahmad bearing the brunt of a Taser gun that is used to fire a dart to immobilise criminals. Ahmad chose himself as a test subject to demonstrate the guns efficacy. And it was clear that he found the weapon to be quite useful, given the summarisation of his own experience: Tare dikhai diye (saw stars). Though it was not a false sense of bravado that inspired Ahmad to puff up his chest and bear the dart. Far from it, the DGPs actions were motivated by his desire to empathise with fellow citizens. In his own way, he quietly challenged the stereotype of police bureaucracy which is safely ensconced in a cocoon and seen cosying up to political masters. Contrast this with the image of a certain police chief of Uttar Pradesh, who was seen dancing in a birthday bash of a chief minister, in Lucknow. For the past two decades, the post of the DGP in the countrys largest state has often been filled by persons with pliable backbones. Once a powerful DGP office at Lucknow, where stalwarts like NS Saksena, JN Chaturvedi, Prakash Singh ran the police administration without fear and favour, the place over the years has been reduced to the status of a mere post office. The decisions of transfers and postings were shifted to the chief ministers office. The decline began when Vir Bahadur Singh became the chief minister and allowed a group of middle-men, belonging to his caste, to meddle with the policing. In ND Tiwaris time, a coterie of Brahmin middle-men emerged that often dictated the police administration in a very discreet manner. This was around the time when one of the finest reserve police (provincial armed constabulary) force of the state got communalised, following a spate of riots across the state. The inexorable decline of the UP police in fact began in Mulayam Singh Yadavs regime when powerful station house officers (SHOs) pulled the strings through their political masters. In some cases, these SHOs didn't hesitate to act as henchmen for politicians, as they found loyalty to a political party more rewarding than to their duties. The DGPs position became an ornamental post without any control over the police. For the first time, it was heard that IPS officers in the state were used to extort money from their lucrative postings. In Mayawatis time, those managing the affairs harnessed their skills of running the government by taking the corruption to the police station level. Police officers in the state talked in hushed tones about the rates of the police stations that were open to auction. None of the DGPs could muster enough courage to put an end to this practice. It would be naive to believe that Javeed Ahmad alone could check the malignancy that has afflicted the UP police for so long. But there is little doubt that he has been sending all the right signals to the countrys largest police force, which stands much-maligned on account of political corruption and religious prejudices. Needless to say, in the decadent political culture of the state officers like Javeed Ahmad stand out as a ray of hope for the UP police to break the stereotype and assume a pro-people character. I was born in 1956 in Madison, Tennessee, while my parents were attending Madison College. I grew up along the Front Range in Colorado, attending schools in Longmont, Brighton, Boulder and Loveland, Colorado. Two years after graduating from Campion Academy, I married my sweetheart, Regina. We lived in Loveland, Colorado for six years before moving to Mena in western Arkansas. I love the people of Mena and the friendly easy going way of life here. I have owned and operated my own business since moving to Mena. I enjoy the natural beauty of western Arkansas and being out of doors. At a time when Hindu-Dalits are discovering the philosophy and importance of Dr BR Ambedkar as their path of liberation against casteist ill-treatment as manifested at Una in Gujarat, in his home state of Maharashtra where Buddhist-Dalit militancy has spearheaded the movement against casteism in recent times, caste tempers are rising. The powerful Maratha community is flexing its muscles in different parts of Maharashtra, to oppose the Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act 1989. The Marathas have started organising silent morchas, which are evoking a massive response. The protest marches appear leaderless and are organised without any political banner, but have attracted political attention. Nationalist Congress Party president Sharad Pawar has expressed his concern over the misuse of the Atrocities Act, Maharashtra Navnirman Sena chief Raj Thackeray has called for the scrapping of the Act as well as the caste-based quota. The Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray on Saturday demanded that a special session of legislature be convened to discuss the issue. Besides, the incident has also prompted several dignitaries like veteran social worker Anna Hazare (who called for the formation of Gram Rakshak Dals), and Godman Bhaiyyu Maharaj. Interestingly, Dalit leaders Ramdas Athavale (minister of state for social justice in the Modi cabinet) and Prakash Ambedkar (BR Ambedkars grandson and chief of Bharip Bahujan Mahasangh) who wanted to visit Kopardi, were persuaded by the law and order machinery to refrain from visiting the village, to prevent any law and order problems. The trigger for the outrage among Marathas is the gangrape and murder of a teenage Maratha girl in Kopardi village in Ahmednagar district, allegedly by some Dalit youths. Although the gangrape and murder took place at Kopardi on 13 July, the first morcha was taken out on 9 August in Aurangabad, followed by Osmanabad, Jalgaon, Beed and the latest was in Parbhani on 3 September. There is also a misconceived feeling that the recent Marathi blockbuster Sairat (gone wild), in which a Dalit boy elopes with a Maratha girl and the couple is eventually killed by the girls family, has emboldened Dalit boys. Interestingly, the flexing of muscles by the community has originated in the Marathwada region (Aurangabad, Osmanabad, Beed, Parbhani), where the Shiv Sena gained strength through anti-Dalit polarisation during the riots in 1970s to oppose the renaming of Marathwada University after BR Ambedkar. The Ahmednagar district, where the girl was raped and killed, has also witnessed caste hostilities in the past. In 2014, a teenage Dalit boy Nitin Aghe was murdered over an affair with an upper caste girl in Kharda village. Last year, a Dalit youth Sagar Shejwal was hacked to death in Shirdi for playing a song on his mobile that praised BR Ambedkar. In January this year, three Dalits were killed and dumped in a septic tank in Sonai village, as one of them was in love with an upper caste girl. Elsewhere, a Dalit teenager Swapnil Sonawane was killed in Nerul, Navi Mumbai last year, for being in a relationship with an upper caste girl. Besides, it was in the Shirdi Lok Sabha constituency in Ahmednagar district that Athavale was defeated in the 2009 polls. Athavale had blamed Maratha leaders of the Congress and NCP for the defeat, despite his party being their ally. The debacle made him break his alliance and tie-up initially with the Shiv Sena, and later, with the BJP. Nevertheless, the anger of the Maratha community, coupled with the possibility of similar demand (to scrap the Atrocities Act) in other states (which is a Central Act, as pointed out by Pawar in Mumbai recently), has the potential of a caste flareup at a time when the country is celebrating the 125th birth anniversary of BR Ambedkar. Narendra Modi has a new chum. His name is HD Deve Gowda. Modis interview to Network18 Group Editor Rahul Joshi reveals yet another hidden facet of the Prime Minister: He is a modern-day Dale Carnegie. He knows best 'How To Win Friends and Influence People'. Is it any wonder then that the list of Modis fans is growing by the hour? Consider the way Modi altered the chemistry between him and the Karnataka leader with just a few words in the interview. Gowda, who had once vowed to take political sanyas if Modi became the Prime Minister, is mighty pleased after the interview. Watch the full interview here. This is not the first time Modi has waved his magic wand of friendship with good results. Dont forget Barack Obama. And dont forget that Modi is now a strategic ally of a country that once denied him visa. And Firstpost Executive Editor Ajay Singh tells us in this piece the fascinating story of how Modis concern for Sonia Gandhis health last month a civility rare in todays dog-eat-dog politics helped remove the Congress roadblocks for the passage of the historic GST Bill. Earlier in March, the Prime Ministers fulsome praise for Nitish Kumar for successfully implementing the rural electrification project swept the Bihar Chief Minister and his bitter rival off his feet. According to media reports, Modi routinely opens doors for MPs and leaders of all parties. Perhaps there are a thousand untold stories of foes metamorphosing into friends and frowns into smiles. Deve Gowda is the latest of Modis foes-turned-friends. This is what Gowda said on 12 April, 2014: I will take political sanyas and leave Karnataka if Modi becomes PM. His colourful attire, style, NRI funds and gimmicks wont help him. BJPs ideology is aimed at destroying the unity and harmony in the country. Only six weeks later, Gowda began to scowl less at the mention of Modis name. After Modi became the PM and called Gowda over for a cup of tea, this is what the Karnataka leader said on 29 May, 2014: ... Modi gives respect to former Prime Ministers ... even though I was Prime Minister for only 10 months. It feels good. If the chai par charcha was a handshake that made the former Prime Minister smile, the CNN-News18 interview was a hug that swamped him with joy. Answering a question from Rahul Joshi about Lutyens Delhi not liking him, Modi said it was not a question of (only) Modi. The Prime Minister said: ... What happened with Deve Gowda? A farmers son became the PM, yet they (Lutyens Delhi) said he only sleeps ... Modi positioned Gowda in the august company of Sardar Patel, Morarji Desai, Ambedkar and Charan Singh who, he said, Lutyens crowd had thumbed their noses at. Later, an overjoyed Gowda told News18.com: I wholly agree with what he (Modi) has said. During my prime ministership, the elite and powerful eco-system of Lutyens Delhi was hostile to me just because I am from a humble farming background. I thank the PM for exposing this despicable culture. Modis words were a balm that soothed Gowdas wound, inflicted by Lutyens politicians and editors, the same swish set that laughed at Abdul Kalams hairstyle when he became the President. They poked fun at the dhoti that Gowda wore, at the ragi mudde (millet ball) he ate and at his English diction. And when he once said by a slip of the tongue dont screw us at the World Economic Forum meeting at Davos, it shook the capital like a Richter-9 earthquake. Then they claimed he dozed off at meetings. Despite all this, Gowda had never spouted venom and vitriol on opponents. His criticism was always subtle, delivered in short and staccato sentences. He would only raise eyebrows and brush aside his critics as nagarada janaru (Kannada for city people) and slap his hand on his thigh. Was Gowda really a sleeping Buddha? Well, a man must sleep sometimes. Wasnt Rahul Gandhi caught napping in Parliament in July during a discussion on Dalits? But many wondered at that time whether the Congress vice-president had merely shut his eyes, in deep contemplation about the many troubles that plagued India. This benefit of doubt had never been bestowed on Karnatakas mannina maga (son of the soil). When he was Karnatakas Chief Minister, Gowda was also accused of turning up late at every meeting. Torn by the criticism, he once asked me to spend a day with him and see for myself if he was wasting time. I agreed. So one day, I walked into his room at 7 am. He was behind a heap of files so high that I had trouble finding him. He was busy reading and making calls. And at 10.59 am, he announced he would have a bath since he had called a Cabinet meeting which, an official whispered to me, was to begin at 11 am. The day went on like this, everything behind schedule. But unlike the members of Delhis nobility who retire at dusk with a product of Scotland in hand, Gowda toils from dawn to midnight. You could say Gowdas time-management goes awry. You could accuse him of reducing his Janata Dal (Secular) into a family enterprise, accuse him of corruption, accuse him of opportunism that has landed him in the political mess that he is in today. But to say that he sleeps on the job amounts to travesty of truth of a gross kind that only the capitals creme de la creme is capable of. What Narendra Modi was hinting to Rahul Joshi and what he didnt say and what the Delhis Club Class must realise is this: Delhi is not India. Its only the capital. Author tweets @sprasadindia Whoever said that the Hurriyat leaders were dying to meet the all-party delegation in Kashmir? While the country has been debating furiously whether separatists should be engaged in the process to cool tempers in the Valley, amid nationalist grandstanding and telling flip-flop from certain parties, the question whether the Hurriyat leaders, some of whom are under house arrest, gave a hoot about such a meeting perhaps escaped everybodys attention. No, this is not meant to be a piece on the wisdom involved in inviting the separatist conglomerate for a dialogue; its to point out the apparent lack of clear thinking on the process. There was no open-arms welcome to the members of delegation on Sunday. In fact, some embarrassment was in store for members of the all-party delegation to Kashmir when Hurriyat leaders evinced little interest in talking to them on the current situation. Senior JD(U) leader Sharad Yadav and Left leaders D Raja and Sitaram Yechury were booed away from Syed Ali Shah Geelanis house; MIM leader Asaduddin Owaisi was cold shouldered by Mirwaiz Farooq and Shabir Shah. Perhaps they should have anticipated this reception. There have been no confidence-building moves releasing the leaders from house arrest could have been one or even placatory noises in the run-up to delegations visit. Chief Minister Mehbooba Muftis blow-hot blow-cold approach prior to the political teams visit has certainly confused matters. Its curious that she would invite them to talks as the leader of the PDP and not the chief minister of the state. Former chief minister Omar Abdullah was appropriately sarcastic when he tweeted: As CM she arrests them & as @jkpdp president she invites them to talk and then we wonder why Kashmir burns!!!! pic.twitter.com/3RyYBSmmKY Omar Abdullah (@abdullah_omar) September 3, 2016 Its possible it was her way of snubbing the Hurriyat, which as the nature of the ongoing agitation suggests, may not be in control of the new generation Kashmiri agitationist. With the most powerful players in the entire equation the BJP government at the Centre and the PDP-BJP government in state disinclined to entertain the Hurriyat, it made little sense for delegation members from other parties to extend the olive branch to the separatists on their own. The Centre has made no secret of its antipathy for the Hurriyat since it took over. It wants to keep the latter out of any future roadmap for Kashmir. The PDPs predicament stems from the fact that it is in existential crisis after entering an alliance with the BJP. It stands alienated it from the common Kashmiri. Its only option is to do Delhis bidding. As experiments go, keeping the separatists away from the Kashmir discourse is not a bad one. Between 2010 and 2016, there has been no change in their position. In fact, they can be credited with being consistent on their demand while regional parties sing different tunes depending on when they rule the state. While they have little reason to be respectful to mainstream parties, the urgency with which some seek to engage them appears a bit odd. However, this position oversimplifies the complex Kashmir ground reality. Theres no real assessment of their pull among the ordinary Kashmiris and the fact that they emerge as the focal point of discussion every time trouble erupts reveals that there could be popular heft behind them. If there is a consensus to render them redundant, then why not convey it clearly? Of course, the delegation has sent no formal invite to the Hurriyat, but the attempts by some leaders to meet them on a personal level reflects the lack of a well thought-out plan. It sends out conflicting messages. The over-emphasis on the Hurriyat obfuscates the fact that the dialogue process is over-hyped and nothing more than tokenism. With positions hardened on all sides, was it really expected to achieve anything substantial? The Valley continues to simmer even as the delegation talks peace. Perhaps the governments and parties have failed to acknowledge that there are other forces than the Hurriyat at work. Engaging them would be a brighter idea. London: British Prime Minister Theresa May has committed to cracking down on immigration from the European Union, while casting doubts on introducing a points-based system, according to her comments released. May's plans for immigration policy in the wake of Britain's decision to leave the EU remained a key discussion point as she travelled to the eastern Chinese city of Hangzhou to attend the G20 summit. "They (voters) wanted to see an ability to be able to control the movement of people from the European Union. And obviously that's what I say, not free movement as it has been in the past," she told journalists on Saturday. The 23 June referendum saw Britain vote by 52 percent to leave the EU, following a campaign which was dominated by immigration. May was appointed after her predecessor David Cameron resigned following the vote and - although she campaigned to remain in the EU - she has promised to forge ahead with Brexit. Since the result, the new government has grappled with how Britain could restrict migration from the remaining 27 EU nations, and thus violate a core EU principle, without losing access to the bloc's single market. Foreign Minister Boris Johnson - one of the leaders of the Brexit campaign - has said such a combination can be achieved with a points-based immigration system similar to the Australian model. But May cast doubt on such an approach, while recalling her expertise as Britain's former interior minister. "One of the issues is whether or not points-based systems do work but what I'm saying is, the British people... didn't want the free movement to continue as it has in the past. We will be going out there to deliver on that," she said. During the discussion en-route to China, May said she did not want to "give away any sort of part of our negotiating hand" ahead of formal talks with the EU. She said there was no "single silver bullet" which could provide an answer to dealing with immigration. "You have to look across the board, you have to look at the whole range of issues. "And obviously dealing with people if they're discovered here illegally," the Prime Minister said. May reiterated that there would be no change in the status of EU citizens currently living in the UK before Britain leaves the bloc, which would follow two years of negotiations sparked by the government triggering the Article 50 mechanism. "I expect to be able to guarantee their status. The only circumstances in which that wouldn't be possible, is if other EU countries don't guarantee the status of British citizens who are living in other EU countries," she said. The Prime Minister has repeatedly expressed her intentions to be ambitious in EU negotiations, adopting an upbeat tone echoed by Brexit minister David Davis. Hangzhou (China): Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday for the first time met new British Premier Theresa May here and held discussions on enhancing bilateral ties in the aftermath of UK's decision to exit the 28-member European Union. Building opportunities with the United Kingdom. PM @narendramodi meets PM @theresa_may for their first bilateral pic.twitter.com/fRf7ZvUL9i Vikas Swarup (@MEAIndia) September 5, 2016 Both the leaders held discussions on the sidelines of the G20 summit here on "building opportunities" after the UK voted to leave the EU- the world's single largest market. "Building opportunities with the United Kingdom. PM @narendramodi meets PM @theresa_may for their first bilateral," External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Vikas Swarup tweeted. May was sworn in as Prime Minister on 13 July, succeeding David Cameron who resigned after the country voted in favour of exiting the EU. May, 59, is UK's second woman Prime Minister after Margaret Thatcher, also known as Iron Lady, with whom May is often compared. Modi had congratulated May on her assumption of new responsibility on 27 July and had affirmed India's commitment to further strengthen the strategic bilateral partnership. Thanking Modi, May had during the telephonic conversation said she looked forward to work closely with India to develop stronger ties and enhance cooperation. Modi earlier today said fighting corruption, black money, and tax evasion were central to effective financial governance. He also said, "We need to act to eliminate safe havens for economic offenders, track down and unconditionally extradite money launderers." Three years ago, on Republic Day, Huma Abedin, Hillary Clintons trusted aide in the State Department (now a co-chair of her campaign to become President of the United States), sent an email to a colleague: Have you been going over calls with her for tomorrow? asked Abedin. So she knows Singh is at 8? The Singh referred to in the exchange is then Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, to whom the then US Secretary of State was scheduled to make a call. The colleague answered Clinton had been in bed for a nap, but would go over the matter later. Very imp to do that, Abedin responded, adding, Shes often confused. Clinton had suffered a concussion the previous December, and just five days after these emails, completed her tenure as Secretary of State. She has made her career beyond her stint as First Lady, as a policy wonk, even if many of those stands have proven wonky. More importantly, her state of confusion appears to persist, or at least the ongoing saga of her use of a private email account and server while Secretary, points in that direction. The Federal Bureau of Investigation or FBI released its version of an interview with her on those pesky emails. The commonest refrain through that document is Clinton did not recall many matters that went to the heart of the investigation, like any briefing or training by the State Department related to retention of federal records or handling of classified information. The Departments Office of Inspector General had earlier noted no evidence of her seeking approval for using personal email or server despite her obligation to do so. Clinton had repeatedly argued she had turned over all work-related emails from her private server; the FBI has since recovered several that had not been previously disclosed. She had also maintained there was no classified information on those emails. The FBI discovered 68 email chains that remain classified; eight were Top Secret. There was more confusion here as Clinton told FBI interrogators that when she saw a C (for Confidential), she could only speculate it was referencing paragraphs marked in alphabetical order. Meanwhile, she used as many as 13 devices during the period, but her legal team wasnt able to locate most of them. In speaking to the FBI, Clinton probably was confronted between choosing to contradict her earlier assertions or appear clueless. She may have opted for the latter. One celebratory online meme once showed Clinton, in dark glasses, staring at her phone. The legend that ought to accompany that image now should be delete, delete, delete. As the The Washington Post commented: Clinton deleted more emails than she turned over. It said the essence of Clinton's argument regarding this email-sorting process was: Trust me. Trust, though, is at the core of this case. Clinton appears to want everyone else to believe her but is unable to rely on others. There probably hasnt been such paranoia in American politics since Richard Nixon was the president of the country. So, curiously enough, the chief diplomat of a global power claimed to have never discussed any matter of global import by email during her four years heading the State Department. Instead, she apparently relied on receiving classified documents through diplomatic pouch via courier, secure phone call or secure fax. All this, of course, during a period when the Middle East was in turmoil, a US Ambassador was killed in Benghazi, and the US Af-Pak policy was going south. No one seems to have been as neurotic about messaging since Osama bin Laden was eliminated in his safe house in Abbottabad. Clinton can thank the Republican Party for gifting her competition in the form of Trump. Clinton hasnt been charged by the FBI, though the agencys director, while announcing that decision did add, this is not to suggest that in similar circumstances, a person who engaged in this activity would face no consequences. As the announcement came days after the US Attorney General, the FBIs overall boss, attempted to secretly meet former President Bill Clinton, and after President Barack Obama had already endorsed Hillary Clinton, critics could argue that the system had been gamed. Clinton can thank the Republican Party for gifting her competition in the form of Trump. Against another nominee, this evidence of brash bad behaviour would have been central to the campaign rather than a filler between Trump firestorms. Hangzhou: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday raised with French President Francois Hollande the leak of confidential data on the Indian Scorpene Class submarines being built in Mumbai in collaboration with French defence company DCNS on the sidelines of the G20 Summit in Hangzhou. On the second and final day of the summit in this east Chinese city, Modi held separate "pull-aside" meetings with Hollande and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan with whom he discussed India's NSG membership. Prior to those meetings, Modi met Britain's new Prime Minister Theresa May and held discussions on "building opportunities" in the aftermath of UK's decision to exit the European Union. In his meeting with Hollande, Modi raised the leak of sensitive data related to Scorpene Class submarines. "This issue has also figured (in the talks)," External Affairs Ministry Spokesperson Vikas Swarup told reporters. Over 22,000 pages of secret data on the capabilities of six highly-advanced submarines being built for the Indian Navy in Mumbai in collaboration with French defence company DCNS were leaked. The data leak reportedly happened overseas. In his meeting with Erdogan, the Prime Minister discussed the issue of India's membership of the 48-member Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG), Swarup said. The discussion with Erdogan on NSG was significant as Turkey was among the few countries along with China which had stalled India's bid to join the elite grouping at its plenary meeting in June in Seoul. China had then raised objection saying India was not a signatory to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT). Turkey too raised its concern over the presence of supporters of dissident Muslim cleric Fethullah Gulen in India. Turkey accuses Gulen of masterminding the failed July coup attempt. Swarup said enhancing civil aviation cooperation with Turkey also figured during the discussions. With May, the Prime Minister underlined that even after UK's exit from the EU, "Britain remains an important partner" for India. "May also referred to the recent passage of GST (bill) which would further boost trade and investment ties with the UK. She supported PM's reform agenda and the UK is keen to participate in Make in India, Smartcity and Skill India initiatives," he said. The two leaders discussed further enhancing of the defence partnership and Modi invited UK firms to India. They also talked about the challenges of terrorism, calling it "the biggest threat and danger to the world with no boundaries," Swarup said. Modi also invited May to visit India in her new capacity. May accepted the invitation and said would like to make as early a visit to India as possible, he said. "Modi also touched upon UK's visa policy. In particular he said that the new UK regulations could have negative impact on Indian working professionals wishing to visit UK for short term business visits," Swarup said. The visit of Facebooks CEO, Mark Zuckerberg , to Nigeria has created so much buzz around the country and even the world. Nigerians have posted so many memes and comments on the social media, and we at Jumia travel have kept our ears on the ground. Read on to discover 5 lessons we have learned from the legendary visit. Lagos is undoubtedly the heartbeat of Nigeria Since Abuja became the Federal Capital Territory of Nigeria, there have been arguments over which of the two cities -Abuja and Lagos- is the actual heartbeat of the Nation. For those who are still in doubt, the visit of the famous CEO of Facebook, Mark Zuckerberg, to Lagos has proved that the city is indeed the core of our nation. The social media genius could have visited to any other part of the country, but he picked Lagos. Of course, he visited Abuja later on, but that visit seemed more like an afterthought. Nigerias Jollof rice reigns supreme What more is there to say? Mark Zuckerberg, a well-travelled member of the worlds top class who has probably tasted the best of meals around the world, gushed about Nigerias favorite meal- Jollof rice! That certainly is enough to prove that the meal indeed reigns supreme. There are too many talents in Nigeria In Marks own words: This trip has really blown me away by the talents of young entrepreneurs and developers in this country, and making a difference and making a change. It reminds me of when I wanted to start Facebook. I wasnt starting a company at the time but wanted to build something to see if it would work. And that is what I see people here do, pushing through challenges, building things that you want to see in the world. You are not just going to change Nigeria and the whole of Africa but the whole world. Simplicity should be a core value for any searching for success Even President Buhari commended the simplicity of Zuckerberg as he thanked him for sharing his wealth of knowledge with Nigerian youths, and inspiring a new generation of entrepreneurs. Although Mark is among the worlds richest men, he does not dress lavishly or engage in impulsive spending. In Buharis words: In our culture, we are not used to seeing successful people appear like you. We are not used to seeing successful people jogging and sweating on the streets. We are more used to seeing successful people in air-conditioned places. We are happy you are well-off and simple enough to always share. The future of Nigeria lies in the hands of the youth There have been Memes suggesting that Mark Zuckerberg may have boycotted the older men who play key roles in the Nigerias telecommunication and media industry as he understands that the future can only be driven by young talents. The CEO mentioned that he was blown away by the talent and level of energy of the Nigerian youth that he saw at the Co-creation Hub in Yaba, Lagos, and this surely reaffirms the belief that the future of Nigeria certain lies in the hand of its youths. By Nkem Ndem PR Associate at Jumia Travel Research published in the American Journal of Hypertension has found that patients who drink the occasional cup could be reducing the effect of medication for lowering blood pressure. Also, according to researches presented at European Society of Cardiology(ESC) Congress 2016 on August 29, 2016, eating late at night is putting millions of people in danger of heart attacks and strokes and low socioeconomic status is associated with a higher risk of a second heart attack or stroke. Studies show that caffeinated coffee can acutely increase blood pressure, but decaffeinated coffee does not. Caffeine seems to be a major factor in affecting blood pressure, and experts suggest that as such, it is also a trigger for cardiovascular events. However, people who consume coffee and caffeine regularly are not thought to face such a risk, because they develop a tolerance. This suggests that the intervals at which people drink coffee are of some significance.However, for occasional rather than regular consumers, it might be a different story. How does coffee affect a blood pressure test?A team from Western University and Lawson Health Research Institute in London, Ontario, in Canada, came up with some surprising results when they measured the effect of occasional coffee consumption on blood pressure, and especially how coffee consumption impacts the action of calcium channel blockers. Calcium channel blockers are a type of medication for lowering blood pressure. They are commonly prescribed for patients with hypertension. Calcium channel blockers, such as felodipine, relax and widen the blood vessels, making it easier for blood to flow. In this way, they reduce blood pressure. Led by Dr. David Bailey, a Lawson Scientist and researcher at Westerns Schulich School of Medicine and Dentistry, the team wanted to find out what would happen to the blood pressure if a person abstained from caffeine long enough to eliminate the caffeine from the blood.They expected to see a higher blood pressure the next time a person drank coffee, because eliminating caffeine and then consuming it again could cancel out the pressure-lowering effects of felodipine. Meanwhile, a late-night meal keeps the body on high alert when it should be winding down, researchers found.Heart experts last night advised that adults should never eat within two hours of bedtime and ideally nothing after 7pm.In a healthy person, blood pressure drops by at least 10 per cent when they go to sleep. But the results of a study of more than 700 people with high blood pressure found that eating within two hours of bedtime meant their levels stayed high.Experts think this is because eating releases a rush of stress hormones when the body should be starting to relax.People who do not see their blood pressure fall at night are known as non-dippers and have a much higher rate of heart-related death. Late eaters were nearly three times more likely to be non-dippers, the Turkish researchers found.Meanwhile, the study in nearly 30 000 patients with a prior heart attack found that the risk of a second event was 36 per cent lower for those in the highest income quintile compared to the lowest and increased by 14 per cent in divorced compared to married patients. Lead author Dr. Joel Ohm, a physician at the Karolinska University Hospital and Karolinska Institutet in Stockholm, Sweden, said: Are you rich or poor? Married or divorced? That might affect your risk of a second heart attack or stroke. Advances in prevention and acute treatment have increased survival after heart attack and stroke over the past several decades. The result is that more people live with cardiovascular disease in Sweden almost one fifth of the total population is in this group. Most research on cardiovascular prevention is based on healthy people and it is unclear if the findings apply to patients with established disease. An association between socioeconomic status in healthy individuals and future cardiovascular disease was found in the 1950s. This study investigated the link between socioeconomic status in patients who had survived a first heart attack and the risk of a second heart attack or a stroke. The study included 29 953 patients from the Swedish nationwide registry, Secondary Prevention after Heart Intensive Care Admission (SEPHIA), who had been discharged approximately one year previously from a cardiac intensive care unit after treatment for a first myocardial infarction. Data on outcome over time and socioeconomic status (defined as disposable income, marital status and level of education) was obtained from Statistics Sweden and the National Board of Health and Welfare. During an average follow up of four years, 2405 patients (eight per cent) suffered a heart attack or stroke. After adjusting for age, gender, smoking status, and the defined measures of socioeconomic status, being divorced was independently associated with a 14 per cent greater risk of a second event than being married. There was an independent and linear relationship between disposable income and the risk of a second event, with those in the highest quintile of income having a 36 per cent lower risk than those in the lowest quintile. A higher level of education was associated with a lower risk of events but the association was not significant after adjustment for income. Drinking coffee after a break raises blood pressure To test their theory, they invited 13 people with an average age of 52 with normal blood pressure to participate in an experiment.They carried out three tests on the subjects, separated in time by one week. Before each test, the people consumed no coffee, caffeine-containing products, or other items such as alcohol, grapefruit, marmalade, tobacco, and medications for 48 hours. At intervals of a week, the participants then took the following, and then they had their blood pressure taken: *Two 300 milliliter cups of black coffee *The maximum recommended dose of felodipine (10 mg) *The coffee plus a dose of felodipine. Results showed that, after the participants avoided coffee for only two days, enough caffeine was eliminated from the body so that the next time they drank coffee, their blood pressure rose. After just one cup of coffee, the participants in the coffee-only group experienced the greatest increase in blood pressure. The blood pressure rose within an hour after drinking the coffee, and it lasted for several hours. Combining coffee with felodipine led to higher levels of blood pressure than taking only felodipine. This could be because the caffeine blocks the positive effect of the drug on the blood vessels, the researchers say. They note that a morning cup of coffee could affect the diagnosis and treatment of hypertension, or high blood pressure.Even one cup of coffee containing a relatively low amount of caffeine remarkably compromised the anti-hypertensive effect of this drug at the maximum recommended dose. If you wanted to overcome the effect of the coffee, you had to double the dose of this anti-hypertensive drug which could increase the risk of unwanted excessive drug effects, particularly during the period when coffee is not consumed. Bailey is concerned that if a patient drinks coffee just before visiting their doctor, it could complicate diagnosis and treatment. The acute increase in blood pressure could lead to over-prescription of antihypertensive drugs. He points out that between 15 and 20 percent of people who drink coffee do so only occasionally. People who drink coffee twice a week or less may have an occasional rise in blood pressure. In some people, the rise can be greater than in others.Bailey notes that national and international guidelines regarding high blood pressure do not take into account the impact of coffee, probably because of a lack of evidence. He hopes that further studies will provide more data, and that occasional coffee drinkers will become more aware of the risks they face.Ohm said: Our study shows that in the years following a first myocardial infarction, men and women with low socioeconomic status have a higher risk of suffering another heart attack or stroke. This is a new finding and suggests that socioeconomic status should be included in risk assessment for secondary prevention after a heart attack. Even though health care providers are unlikely to keep track of their patients yearly salary, simple questions about other socioeconomic variables such as marital status and educational level could make a difference. According to the widely used assessment tools for cardiovascular risk, survivors of heart attacks are at the highest possible risk for subsequent events regardless of other risk factors. There is, for example, no difference in estimated risk level between a previously healthy 40-year old female from Spain and a heavily smoking, obese, elderly man with diabetes and high blood pressure from Finland. Ohm said: Risk assessment tools are designed for individuals without previous cardiovascular disease and the calculations may not apply to patients with established cardiovascular disease. Socioeconomic status is perhaps a better marker to assess risk of future events in heart attack patients and more research is needed to determine other factors that could be included, such as occupation or residential area. Researcher Dr Ebru Ozpelit, presenting her results at the speaking at the ESC congress in Rome, said: If we eat late at night, the body essentially remains on high alert as during the day, rather than relaxing for sleep.Stress hormones are secreted, causing blood pressure not to decrease during sleep, which should normally happen. Ozpelit, from Dokuz Eylul University in Turkey, tracked 721 on people diagnosed with high blood pressure, with an average age of 53.She found that those who ate within two hours of going to bed were 2.8 times more likely to retain high blood pressure overnight.People with hypertension are already at a higher risk of heart disease, but if their blood pressure does not fall at night, that risk increases to a far higher level. Ozpelit said: It is more dangerous. If blood pressure doesnt drop by more than 10 per cent this increases cardiovascular risk and these patients have more heart attacks, strokes and chronic disease. But even healthy people with normal blood pressure should take note of the findings, Ozpelit said.How we eat may be as important as what we eat, she said. She advised that people do not skip breakfast, eat lunch, and keep dinner to a small meal.Eating breakfast and lunch is important but dinner must not be later than seven oclock in the evening, she said.The findings add to a growing body of evidence which suggests keeping all meals to within a fixed period of time and fasting at night can have a wide range of health benefits. Previous research has found that an early dinner reduces the risk of breast cancer, lowers blood sugar levels, and helps burn off calories.Experts think part of the reason is that the body evolved to expect meals much earlier in the day because people went to sleep when it got dark.Ozpelit said the invention of electricity changed that introducing erratic eating patterns. With the advent of affordable artificial lighting and industrialization, modern humans began to experience prolonged hours of illumination every day and resultant extended consumption of food, she said. Late night eating and skipping breakfast is such an erratic eating pattern which is becoming more prevalent day by day.Prof. Peter Weissberg, medical director of the British Heart Foundation, said: This research suggests that eating a meal late at night may contribute to the failure of their blood pressure to reduce. It is normal for blood pressure to reduce overnight, even in people with high blood pressure.However, in some their blood pressure remains elevated throughout the night putting them at potentially higher risk of future complications. By Chukwuma Muanya, Assistant Editor at Guardian Newspaper Robert Waldmann | September 5, 2016 2:21 pm David Weigel balances Ballance with non Ballance in this remarkable passage in which he says that public ignorance about candidates policy proposals is and isnt partly Donald Trumps fault Whose fault is that, and whose fault is it swing voters are unsure where Donald Trump stands? Not the medias piles and piles of money are spent to get reporters and cameras to the places where candidates deliver policy speeches. Not the candidatess, though in this particular election Clinton has given exponentially more detail than Trump. (Literally, exponentially. CNNs Brian Stelter points out that there are 9,000 words about policy on Trumps campaign site, and more than 100,000 words on Clintons.) So he asserted that ignorance about Clintons policy proposals is not Clintons fault and that ignorancde about Trumps policy proposals is not Trumps fault. Then (in parentheses) he noted that ignorance about Trumps policy proposals has something to do with the fact that he has slogans not policy proposals. Now Weigel might argue that he didnt want to write another column about how Trump is unfit to serve as President (OK fine). That it is also true that voters blame others for ignorance which are due the votoers laziness (OK fine). He could have illustrated (and proven) his claim by quoting people who complain that they dont know what policy reforms Clinton has proposed and then providing a link to her campaigns issues page https://www.hillaryclinton.com/issues/ . There was no need to even mention Donald Trump. If one wishes to discuss what people could learn, but dont bother to learn, about candidates policy proposals, Donald Trump is as irrelevant as Kim Kardashian, because neither is a candidate for public office with coherent detectable policy proposals. But noooo, he had to bring Trump into it and say that Trump is and isnt to blame. My outraged comment follows. I think a very large part of the problem is journalists who write things which they know are false to achieve Ballance (TM). YOu claim it is not the candidates fault, before noting that no one (especially including Donald Trump) can possible understand Donald Trumps policy proposals, because they dont exist. You note the 9000 words, but fail to try to estimate how many he has contradicted when speaking ad lib (A rough guess would be give or take a few 9000 including and and the). Voters who claim that Clinton hasnt told them what she proposes have no one to blame but themselves (as you note). Voters who claim that Trump hasnt have no one to blame but Trump, because he hasnt. One problem is lazy voters who click click bait rather than doing serious research. Another is spineless journalists who do the research, know the facts and refuse to report them frankly, because the facts have a clear liberal bias. Do you really believe its not the candidates fault ? That means it is not Clintons fault and it is not Trumps fault which implies it is not Trumps fault. Do you believe that ? would you swear under oath that you believe that ? You could have written it is not Clintons fault and it isnt even entirely Trumps fault, voters themselves share the blame with Trump. But you didnt. Because telling the truth would violate the rule that when discussing the candidates you must be Ballanced and so must give Trump one break after another. It is not possible to be fair and Ballanced so you have decided to unfairly deny (and in parentheses admit) what Trump is. Ballance refers both the former representative Jack Ballance and also the Washington Posts tradition of breaking the rules it chose in order to be more than fair to Republicans. http://rjwaldmann.blogspot.it/2008/07/ballance-at-washington-post-i-use-word.html I note that the editor in question was not fired or even publicly named. end comment Here at AngryBear I notice that David Weigel was briefly assigned to report on the conservative movement, the reassigned because his reporting tended to suggest they were nuts and so wasnt Ballanced enough. Hes about as frank and blunt as the MSM gets. The metals and mining industry is an intriguing space to invest in right now. On the one hand, you have stocks like Silver Wheaton Corp. (WPM -0.98%) that are flying through the roof, more than doubling in value year to date. On the other, there are some like Alcoa (AA) that have just barely managed to stay in the green so far this year. The former mines one of the few precious metals in the world, while the other focuses on a common, but vital, mineral. But does that make Silver Wheaton -- whose fortunes ebb and flow with volatile metal prices -- a better buy than Alcoa, a company on the verge of what might be a turnaround? Read along, for the answer might surprise you. The case for Alcoa Alcoa has come a long way from traditional bauxite and aluminum mining to the manufacturing of nickel and titanium specialty parts that serve high-potential industries like automotive and aerospace. The diversification, coupled with Alcoa's restructuring efforts, has helped the company keep its head above water when aluminum prices slumped and hit its upstream mining business. Alcoa is now about to take a huge step forward as it proceeds to split into two this year: Its upstream business will retain the name Alcoa, while its value-add business will be known as Arconic post-split. Logically, separation of its volatile commodity-centric mining business from the higher-margin value-add business should unlock greater value for Alcoa's shareholders in the longer run. There are even better reasons to be bullish about Alcoa right now. Take aluminum, for example. Alumina prices are recovering as demand for the lightweight metal catches up. The multibillion-dollar contracts that Alcoa has been awarded in the past year or two from companies like Boeing, Airbus, and Ford bear testimony to aluminum's growing market. As one of the top five aluminum producers in the world and the biggest in the U.S., Alcoa is poised to benefit tremendously from aluminum's growing appeal. Meanwhile, Alcoa is aggressively slashing costs and reducing debt: Its net income more than doubled during the first half of the year, on the back of 17% lower selling, general, and administrative expenses. Putting it all together, Alcoa looks like a great turnaround play right now in the metals and mining industry. But wait, can it fetch better value for money than Silver Wheaton? The case for Silver Wheaton Unlike Alcoa, Silver Wheaton isn't really a miner as it doesn't own mines or produce metals. Instead, Silver Wheaton enters into "streaming agreements" with other miners -- it finances them up front and secures the right to purchase silver and gold produced from the mines at a low, fixed price. So Silver Wheaton secures bullion streams from miners without incurring any of the costs associated with exploration, operation, and maintenance of mines. That's a huge advantage to have in a capital-intensive industry like mining. That's not all. Silver Wheaton's purchase costs average only about $5 per ounce of silver and $400 per ounce of gold. If you have the slightest idea of the levels the precious metals are currently at -- silver's around $19 per ounce and gold around $1,300 per ounce -- you can imagine the mind-boggling margins that Silver Wheaton enjoys. While it has silver in its name, Silver Wheaton is just as much into gold. Its gold sales volumes climbed 16% year over year in the second quarter to push its gold sales to record highs. Last month, Silver Wheaton bought additional 25% rights in Vale's (VALE -5.46%) Salobo mine for $800 million, taking its total stake in the mine's gold output to 50%. That's a steal deal, coming at a time when gold is heading higher and higher. Not surprisingly, the recent rally in silver and gold sent Silver Wheaton shares flying. Silver Wheaton's unconventional business model gives shareholders exposure to increases in the prices of precious metals at significantly lower risks than traditional miners, making it a great choice in the metals and mining space today. The verdict: Silver Wheaton or Alcoa? By now, you're probably allured by Silver Wheaton's unique business concept, but two things worry me: Silver Wheaton's declining operating cash flows and its ongoing tax dispute with the Canadian government that could cost the company a substantial amount of money if a fine is imposed. Silver Wheaton's operating cash flow declined almost 40% between 2012 and 2015 as its bottom line swung to a loss of $162 million in 2015 from profits of $586 million in 2012. After its recent rally, Silver Wheaton is trading at a steep 22 times cash flow and two times book value. When you consider the growth potential in the company's value-add business going forward, Alcoa is relatively undervalued at 11 times cash flow and a price-to-book value ratio of 1.1. Alcoa has struggled to maintain profits in recent years but has generated relatively stable cash flows. I see Alcoa's profits growing at a faster clip than Silver Wheaton's in coming years, and consider the stock a safer bet than Silver Wheaton today. Answers Africa is one of a kind platform created for Africans both locally and in the diaspora and those seeking for more in-depth information about Africa. We have always focused on creating the highest quality informational contents right from the beginning. We share the most relevant information on the latest and trending news, events, people, and places in Africa. We produce contents across various categories including Politics, People, Love and Romance, Nature, Entertainment, Technology and pretty much everything else that Africans may find relevant. 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When it comes to discussing issues surrounding terrorism, American Counterterrorism and National Security Expert, Phil Mudd, occupies a globally significant position. He has voiced his interest in the fight against terrorism and insecurity on many popular media platforms, both print and broadcast, such as CNN, BBC, CBS, MSNBC, al-Jazeera, ABC, NBC, Fox, The New York Times, ... Jim Hoffer: Biography, Wife Mika Brzezinski, Children and Net Worth Jim Hoffer is an Emmy Award-winning journalist who works as an investigative reporter for Eyewitness News, New York City. In his over two decades of investigative journalism, Hoffer has been at the front lines of several crucial stories from the 9/11 attack to the crash of American Flight 587 to the 2003 Blackout. On top of ... The Ups and Downs of Erin Mcpikes Journalism Career and Other Facts About Her Personal Life Erin McPike is a journalist working for the Independent Journal Review (IJR) as a White House Correspondent but she gained widespread recognition for her coverage of general news. Whether its breaking news or some mainstream story, McPike has a reputation of baring the facts. As a journalist, her work as a White House Correspondent for Independent ... Bert Kreischer Is Married To LeeAnn Kreischer With 2 Kids Meet His Family Those familiar with Bert Kreischer mainly have the image of a large-bellied party man whose college life inspired the National Lampoon film, Van Wilder. It is an image that one would not naturally associate with a wholesome family. The standup comedian still maintains his wild party animal image on stage. But, back at home, he is ... How Brendan Greene Became a Game Designer to Look Out For and Facts About His Failed Marriage The name Brendan Greene may not easily ring a bell in the larger society but for gaming enthusiasts, he is considered a god and this is because of his invention of the video game, Player Unknowns Battlegrounds, also called PUBG. Based on the popular last-man-standing/battle royale concept, Greenes creation has taken the gaming world by ... WFAAs Sonia Azad Bio Does The Reporter Have A Husband Or Boyfriend? Emmy Award-winning journalist and Health & Wellness reporter Sonia Azad is on the news segment News 8 Daybreak for the television station WFAA-TV in Dallas, Texas, a channel which she joined in October of 2015. Besides her time on the news, Azad is also a marathon runner and a certified yoga instructor. She has covered major news ... This Is Everything You Should Know About Caroline Heldman, Her Career Portfolio and Other Facts Love it or hate it, there is no escaping the fact that feminism has come to stay in our world. The movement has continued to garner momentum over the years and this is due to the sustained push by several women, and even men, including the likes of Caroline Heldman. A Professor of Politics at ... Understanding The Enigma That Is Gavin McInnes, The Controversies He Has Stirred and All About His Wife Gavin McInnes is a polemical English-born writer and TV personality, who is best known for his racist and fascist ideologies, as well as his co-ownership of Vice Media and Vice Magazine. He is also an actor a Few companies have performed as well as Colgate-Palmolive (CL 1.93%) has over its nine-decade history, rewarding shareholders along the way with both stock splits and durable dividend payments. At its current $75-per-share price, Colgate stock sits at an all-time high and could mean it's due for a stock split. Yet even with double-digit total return percentages over the past decade, Colgate investors sometimes had to wait long whiles before the personal care products company split its shares. After splitting its stock several times during the 1990s, shareholders suffered a 14-year drought before Colgate split them again in 2013. Now with its stock soaring once more -- up more than 20% over the past year -- investors will want to know how long they'll need to wait before the next split occurs. Date of Split Split Ratio 05/15/2013 2-for-1 06/30/1999 2-for-1 05/15/1997 2-for-1 05/15/1991 2-for-1 05/28/1973 3-for-1 07/12/1965 3-for-2 07/15/1963 5-for-4 05/22/1959 3-for-1 01/07/1953 5% stock 01/08/1952 5% stock 01/09/1951 5% stock A dearth of stock splits There have been times when Colgate hasn't been shy about splitting its stock, and then at other times there have been long dry spells. The last time it split its shares, it didn't provide a rationale behind it, though the stock was trading north of $115 at the time. That was also a period, though, when competitors' stocks were relatively cheap by comparison: Clorox (CLX 3.55%), Procter & Gamble (PG 2.53%), and Unilever (UL 2.33%) were all trading some 30% to 70% lower than Colgate-Palmolive. But that's not the case today, however, as Clorox trades at $130 a share and P&G goes for $87. Only Unilever at $46 a stub is lower. The price of stock splits Of course, the effect of a stock split doesn't really change your ownership stake in a company. While a 2-for-1 split will double your shares, the value of each share will now be half what it was. But it's often considered a bullish indicator by the market that management believes in the strength of their company's business that it will be even better in the future. By lowering the price of a stock, it may also bring in additional smaller investors who might otherwise not be able to buy more than just a few of the pricier stubs. Even so, there is the possibility it will also increase a stock's volatility as smaller investors jump in and out of a position. Colgate-Palmolive is the world leader in certain consumer product categories. For example, it owns 43.8% of the global toothpaste market and 33.5% of the manual toothbrush market. In individual markets and with various brands Colgate's market share runs north of 50% or more. In France, it owns half the fabric conditioner market; in Brazil, it controls nearly three-quarters of all toothpaste share; and in Mexico, its market share runs over 80%. With global brand recognition and a drive to improve its leadership positions in key product categories, Colgate-Palmolive is positioned to continue leading in its core capacity. That should help improve revenue and profit growth rates, though it may not lead to a stock split just yet. A history of higher returns It is able, however, to continue rewarding investors with a nearly unequaled record of dividend payments. It has consistently paid dividends without fail since 1895 and has increased the payout to shareholders annually for 53 years. If Colgate's stock breaches triple digits again, then investors might want to start thinking about a split. In the meantime, though, they should probably be content collecting their quarterly dividends since, if it stays on its current trajectory, it's not likely going to be another 14 years before Colgate-Palmolive splits its stock again. Jack Daniels whiskey has always been a priority at Brown-Forman (BF.B 2.37%), but after selling its third biggest brand -- Southern Comfort -- earlier this year, the distiller really can't afford for its flagship spirit to stumble. Brown-Forman shares have already fallen in the wake of its most recent earnings report. U.S. Market Share of Major Whiskey Brands Brand Distiller U.S. Market Share Jack Daniel's Black Label Brown-Forman 10.47% Crown Royal Regular Blended Diageo 7.62% Fireball Sazerac 7.57% Jim Beam Regular Bourbon Beam Suntory 5.71% Jameson Irish Whiskey Pernod Ricard 4.34% Seagram's 7 Crown Diageo 3.16% Black Velvet Canadian Whisky Constellation Brands 3.04% Maker's Mark Beam Suntory 2.61% Evan Williams Black Label Heaven Hill Distilleries 2.38% Crown Royal Regal Apple Whiskey Diageo 2.36% Jack Daniel's, if you please The Jack Daniel's family of whiskey accounts for 55% of Brown-Forman's depletions, which include shipments sent directly to retail or from distributors to wholesale and retail customers, a metric that is commonly regarded as a proxy for consumer demand. Old No. 7, the original, most popular whiskey that most people call for at bars as simply "Jack", accounts for 55% of all brand depletions and 30% of the company's total portfolio. The next biggest brand is Finlandia vodka, which at just under three million nine-liter cases, represents 7% of Brown-Forman's total portfolio depletions. Southern Comfort was No. 3 with less than 5% of the total, but following its sale to rival Sazerac this past March, the distiller will be relying upon Jack Daniel's even more going forward (ready-to-drink mixes that are made with Brown-Forman's el Jimador brand of tequila account for 14% of depletions). Yet Jack Daniel's strength is also the company's greatest weakness. Jack may be the fourth largest premium spirits brand and the biggest selling brand of American whiskey in the world, but that has also made Brown-Forman essentially a one-trick pony that needs to continuously come up with variations on that family of products. Serving up some heat So far the distiller has proven quite adept at doing so, first introducing its Tennessee Honey in 2011, and then Tennessee Fire in 2014, a cinnamon-flavored whiskey intended to compete with the popular Fireball brand from Sazerac. Last year, Tennessee Honey was identified as the 15th largest premium brand in the world, and together with Tennessee Fire, surpassed one million cases in the U.S. While that has been key for Brown-Forman -- the U.S. market represents nearly half of its total sales volume -- the whiskey market here, even as it has enjoyed some newfound strength in recent years, is mature. At the same time, a number of its other brands are coming under pressure in international markets. In its just-reported fiscal first quarter results, the distiller said emerging markets haven't stabilized as expected with underlying net sales falling 5% year-over-year. Fortunately, developed markets continue to perform well, even if currency exchange rates caused it to report lower profits. Finding comfort in premium whiskey Moreover, the overall market and trends are in the company's favor -- premium and super-premium American whiskeys are in vogue both at home and abroad. The Jack Daniel's family enjoyed a 3% increase in underlying net sales while those of its Woodford Reserve brand of super and ultra-premium whiskeys surged 24% from last year. The brand finally reached 500,000 cases in fiscal 2016, and the distiller is looking to replicate the model with its Slane Irish Whisky that it calls its next big growth label and is expected to launch next spring. Brown-Forman should have no problem growing at above-average rates for the next few years, which means investors shouldn't ignore its dividend, currently yielding about 1.4%. The distiller has maintained a consistent payout ratio over time (the spike in 2012 was the result of a special dividend). Brown-Forman also enjoys good liquidity with comfortable cash balances, the ability to generate stable free cash flow (that is expected to grow in the next few years), and an untapped credit facility. Even with the sale of the Southern Comfort and Tuaca brands, along with the headwinds faced from foreign currency fluctuations, the markets have clearly developed a taste for Jack Daniel's in all its iterations. Brown-Forman stock may have traded down on its earnings, but investors with a thirst for profit may just consider that an opportunity to belly up to the bar. Notices that personal information might have been compromised will be sent to hunting and fishing license holders in Idaho and Oregon following the breach of a vendor's computer system. They likely will be sent in Washington state, too. Officials in Idaho and Oregon said Dallas-based Active Network will mail the notices to people in their states following the computer hack last week that shut down online license sales. Washington officials said they're in contact with the company and expect similar letters to be sent in their state, but that hadn't been finalized Friday. Officials say the number of records exposed could be in the millions. Online license sales have been halted in all three states until the extent of the hack is fully understood. "They've only been able to confirm that it was possible that personal information was accessed," Idaho Department of Fish and Game spokesman Mike Keckler said. "We do not know yet whether or not that actually occurred, and we may not ever know." Hunting and fishing licenses can still be purchased at the states' wildlife offices or at businesses that sell the licenses. It's unclear when online sales might resume. "I don't have an estimate," Bruce Botka of Washington's wildlife agency said. "Our most important concern is ensuring the security of that particular channel." Officials in the three states said only about 20 percent of license sales occur online, with about 80 percent in person at state wildlife offices or businesses that sell the licenses. But that can be a problem for out-of-state hunters or anglers planning trips to the Northwest. Oregon officials have had to resort to processing license applications over the phone, said Rick Hargrave of Oregon's Department of Fish and Wildlife. "Kind of the old-school way," he said. An Active Network spokesman didn't return a call from The Associated Press seeking comment Friday. Brown-Forman has a flavor profile to fit every lover of Jack Daniel's whiskey. Image source: Jack Daniel's. Jack Daniels whiskey has always been a priority atBrown-Forman (NYSE: BF-B), but after selling its third biggest brand -- Southern Comfort -- earlier this year, the distiller really can't afford for its flagship spirit to stumble. Brown-Forman shares have already fallen in the wake of its most recent earnings report. Data source: Statista. Jack Daniel's, if you please The Jack Daniel's family of whiskey accounts for 55% of Brown-Forman's depletions, which include shipments sent directly to retail or from distributors to wholesale and retail customers, a metric that is commonly regarded as a proxy for consumer demand. Old No. 7, the original, most popular whiskey that most people call for at bars as simply "Jack", accounts for 55% of all brand depletions and 30% of the company's total portfolio. The next biggest brand is Finlandia vodka, which at just under three million nine-liter cases, represents 7% of Brown-Forman's total portfolio depletions. Southern Comfort was No. 3 with less than 5% of the total, but followingits saleto rival Sazerac this past March, the distiller will be relying upon Jack Daniel's even more going forward (ready-to-drink mixes that are made with Brown-Forman's el Jimador brand of tequila account for 14% of depletions). Yet Jack Daniel's strength is also the company's greatest weakness. Jack may be the fourth largest premium spirits brand and the biggest selling brand of American whiskey in the world,but that has also made Brown-Forman essentially a one-trick pony that needs to continuously come up with variations on that family of products. Data source: Brown-Forman 10-K filing. Chart by author. Serving up some heat So far the distiller has proven quite adept at doing so, first introducing its Tennessee Honey in 2011, and then Tennessee Fire in 2014, a cinnamon-flavored whiskey intended to compete with the popular Fireball brand fromSazerac. Last year, Tennessee Honey was identified as the 15th largest premium brand in the world, and together with Tennessee Fire, surpassed one million cases in the U.S. While that has been key for Brown-Forman -- the U.S. market represents nearly half of its total sales volume -- the whiskey market here, even as it has enjoyed some newfound strength in recent years, is mature. At the same time, a number of its other brands are coming under pressure in international markets. In its just-reported fiscal first quarter results, the distiller said emerging markets haven't stabilized as expected with underlying net sales falling 5% year-over-year. Fortunately,developed marketscontinue to perform well, even if currency exchange rates caused it to report lower profits. Finding comfort in premium whiskey Moreover, the overall market and trends are in the company's favor -- premium and super-premium American whiskeys are in vogue both at home and abroad. The Jack Daniel's family enjoyed a 3% increase in underlying net sales while those of its Woodford Reserve brand of super and ultra-premium whiskeys surged 24% from last year. The brand finally reached 500,000 cases in fiscal 2016, and the distiller is looking to replicate the model with its Slane Irish Whisky that it calls its next big growth label and is expected to launch next spring. Brown-Forman should have no problem growing at above-average rates for the next few years, which means investors shouldn't ignore its dividend, currently yielding about 1.4%. The distiller has maintained a consistent payout ratio over time (the spike in 2012 was the result of a special dividend). Data by YCharts. Brown-Forman also enjoys good liquidity with comfortable cash balances, the ability to generate stable free cash flow (that is expected to grow in the next few years), and an untapped credit facility. Even with the sale of the Southern Comfort and Tuaca brands, along with the headwinds faced from foreign currency fluctuations, the markets have clearly developed a taste for Jack Daniel's in all its iterations. Brown-Forman stock may have traded down on its earnings, but investors with a thirst for profit may just consider that an opportunity to belly up to the bar. 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. Rich Duprey has no position in any stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool recommends Diageo. 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. Top Trump campaign officials on Sunday expressed optimism about recent poll numbers amid the fallout from Democratic rival Hillary Clintons FBI email investigation and sought to defend the Republican presidential nominee's immigration plan in advance of the White House race intensifying after Labor Day. The polling data that you showed earlier really tells the tale, Trump campaign manager Kellyanne Conway told ABCs This Week. Hillary Clinton is having a hard time being accepted as a truthful and honest candidate vis-a-vis the American people. Clintons poll numbers have dropped in recent weeks amid further revelations about her use of a private email server while secretary of state and connections between Clinton Foundation donors and the State Department during and after her tenure at the agency. The RealClearPolitics polls average showed Clinton leading Donald Trump by as many as 8 percentage points in mid-August, when the first-time candidate made a series of campaign missteps that some political analysts predicted would be too damaging to overcome. However, the RCP average is now at about 4 points, though Trump trails by larger margins in such key battleground states as Ohio and Pennsylvania. We're taking Pennsylvania very seriously, said Conway, acknowledging Democrats have won there in the past six presidential elections but dismissing the argument that the state is do-or-die for Trump. We have several different paths to victory, she said. The Trump campaign also faced repeated questions Sunday about Trumps immigration plan, which critics argue is vague on the issues of deportation for illegal immigrants and whether the United States or Mexico will pay for Trumps proposed wall along the southern U.S. border. GOP vice-presidential nominee Gov. Mike Pence said on NBCs Meet the Press that the plan begins with building the wall for border security and makes a priority of enforcing the laws of this country," including removing criminal aliens and people who've overstayed visas. The Indiana governor also shot back that voters understood the plan, despite repeated questions from some in the media. "What the American people want to see today is to establish the borders of this country, enforce the laws of this country. And Donald Trump has created a road map to do that," said Pence, who bristled at the suggestion that Trump hadn't been definitive enough in explaining his plan. "Some 10,000 people in Arizona last week, it wasn't the way they see it," Pence said. "As I travel across this country campaigning with Donald Trump and for Donald Trump, I think people hear him loud and clear. And he's been completely consistent on this point." Conway faced similar questions -- including one about managing the deportation of millions of people -- after a week in which Trump hinted about a possible softening in his immigration stances, met Wednesday with Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto, then delivered the Arizona speech hours later in which he appeared to return to his hardline positions on immigration. He'll manage it the way it should have been managed all along, by enforcing the law and relying upon those law enforcement officers and those (federal immigration) officers to do their job, Conway said. But at least you have a presidential candidate putting forth a 10-point plan. She also criticized Clinton for failing to hold a full-fledged press conference in 274 days and for staying off the campaign trail for several days to fundraise in such wealthy enclaves as the Hamptons and Marthas Vineyard while campaign spokespeople and surrogates such as running-mate Virginia Gov. Tim Kaine pushed forward in the effort. The Clinton campaign announced Sunday that Clinton would return to the trail Tuesday with an event in Tampa and issued a statement on Trumps immigration plan, saying its an attempt to mislead Americans. Donald Trump has stated very clearly throughout his campaign that he will deport everyone who is undocumented, something that was reinforced in his speech in Arizona, the campaign said. What we saw today is Mike Pence and Trumps top campaign officials attempt to mislead voters about their mass deportation policy by using soft words to describe harsh tactics. Kaine on Sunday brushed off repeated questions about the FBI investigation of Clinton's secret server, saying she requested the public release of her secretary of state emails and the release of the FBI notes from the agencys interview with her last month. The federal investigation found that some emails sent or received by Clinton included classified information. However, no criminal charges were recommended. The reason these materials are being made public is that Hillary Clinton said I want the public to see them, Kaine told ABC. She said it was a mistake. Kaine instead pivoted to Trump's refusal to release his tax returns -- many of which Trump says he can't release because they're under audit -- and statements from Trump that appear to show support for how Russian President Vladimir Putin runs his country. Talk about national security, Kaine said. He has openly encouraged Russia to engage in cyber hacking to try to find more emails or materials, and we know that this cyberattack on the (Democratic National Committee) was likely done by Russia...This is serious business. Hillary Clinton on Monday scheduled two TV interviews and flew for the first time this election cycle on a campaign plane that has press corps accommodations -- amid criticism that she is increasingly avoiding the news media. The Democratic presidential nominees first trip on the aircraft was from an airport outside her upstate New York home to a rally in Cleveland, Ohio. I am so happy to have all of you with me, Clinton, who has not held a full-fledged press conference in 275 days, told reporters upon boarding the plane. I have been just waiting for this moment. No, really. And I'll come back to talk to you. Clintons last campaign event was Wednesday, at the American Legions national convention in Cincinnati, after several days off the trail to fundraise. She has faced increasing calls to take reporters questions following more revelations about the connection between Clinton Foundation donors and the State Department during and after she ran the agency from 2009 to 2013. More recently, the FBI released notes on the agencys interview last month with Clinton about her use of a private server while secretary of state for official emails, including three found to have a least some classified information. Meanwhile, Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump continues to fly on private planes, with his press corps traveling on a separate one, with 63 days remaining before Election Day. The media is very protective of crooked Hillary, Trump said during a business roundtable discussion Monday morning in Cleveland. It is shocking to see what is going on. I sort of enjoy it. People get it. They see what is happening. Upon departing, he took questions from reporters on his plane, saying that job creation will be his big campaign message for the day and that he looks forward to the upcoming debates with Clinton. Theyre an important element in what were doing, said Trump. He also said his plane was not set up to accomodate reporters but that he was open to allowing some onboard as he did Monday. Clinton and Trump's respective planes were on the same tarmac Monday at the same time at a Cleveland airport. The Clinton campaign argues that Clinton has indeed frequently made herself available to reporter questions, citing her taking questions after speaking last month at a National Association of Black Journalists conference in Washington, D.C. Running-mate Virginia Gov. Tim Kaine on Sunday also argued that Clinton has indeed held press conferences throughout the campaign. "Shes had hundreds interviews in the last year," Kaine told ABC, referring to the journalists conference in August. Ive got to push back on the notion that she hasnt done a press conference." Clinton did an interview in Ohio with ABC News that is scheduled to air Tuesday and is scheduled to do one later with a CBS TV affiliate from Des Moines, Iowa. The Clinton campaign says the aircraft is a Boeing 737 with about 100 seats for passengers and crew. The wings and tail have "H" logos. And the words "Stronger Together" are written in blue letter on each side of the craft. HillaryClinton.com is also printed on the sides. The cabin is divided into four sections the first for Clinton and top aides, the second for rest of the campaign team, the third for about a dozen Secret Service agents and the fourth for the press corps. Fox News' Tamara Gitt contributed to this story. The final stretches of the 2016 White House race kicked off Monday with Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump making traditional Labor Day appeals to workers and labor unions across the countrys industrial heartland. Lets have a big round of applause for labor, Democratic vice-presidential nominee Gov. Tim Kaine said at Pittsburghs annual Labor Day parade, sponsored by labor unions. We have to make sure labor is right there with us, Kaine continued. Were going to involve labor in everything we do. And nobody understands team work like organized labor. The Virginia governor was joined on stage later by Vice President Joe Biden. Later in the day, Clinton and Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump will hold separate events in Ohio -- like Pennsylvania a key battle-ground state whose economy relies in large part on manufacturing and where the labor vote is essential toward winning the state. Trump, a wealthy businessman, and running-mate Indiana Gov. Mike Pence will participate in a morning round-table discussion with union members in Cleveland. Trump is also expected to campaign at a fair in Youngstown, Ohio, in a nod to the state's role as a make-or-break proving ground for Republican presidential candidates. No Republican has won the White House without winning Ohio and Trump is trying to overcome some splintering in the state party, which was supportive of Ohio Gov. John Kasich during the presidential primary. Clinton will be in the city later in the day for a Labor Day festival with union leaders and workers. While Labor Day has traditionally been the kickoff to the fall campaign, Clinton and Trump have been locked in an intense back-and-forth throughout the summer. Clinton has questioned Trump's temperament and preparation to serve as commander in chief while seeking to connect the reality television star to the extreme "alt-right" movement within the Republican Party. Trump visited a predominantly black church in Detroit on Saturday in a rare appearance with minority voters, aiming to counter Clinton's argument to moderate and suburban voters that he has allowed a racist fringe to influence his candidacy. The start of full-fledged campaigning opens a pivotal month, culminating in the first presidential debate on Sept. 26 at Hofstra University in Hempstead, New York. Polls show Trump trailing Clinton in a series of must-win battleground states, meaning the debates could be his best chance at reorienting the race. Clinton will have millions of dollars at her disposal this fall to air television advertising and power a sophisticated get-out-the vote operation in key states. The former secretary of state raised a combined $143 million in August for her campaign, the Democratic National Committee and state parties -- her best month yet. She began September with more than $68 million in her campaign's bank account to use against Trump, who has not yet released initial fundraising totals for August. Clinton was expected to attend the Labor Day festival in Cleveland alongside Kaine and AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka. Later in the day, she is scheduled to join with labor leaders in the Quad Cities community of Hampton, Illinois, across the Mississippi River from Iowa, where she is locked in a tight contest with Trump. Democrats were fanning out across battleground states, also dispatching former President Bill Clinton to Detroit and Cincinnati and one-time Clinton primary rival Bernie Sanders to New Hampshire. The destinations in Ohio, Pennsylvania, Michigan and New Hampshire point to Clinton's battleground map of approximately a dozen states that hold the key to the 270 electoral votes needed to claim the presidency. Clinton was arriving in Ohio and Illinois aboard a new blue-and-white Boeing 737 campaign plane emblazoned with her slogan, "Stronger Together." She has mostly traveled by private jet during the primaries and the summer but was being accompanied on the plane by journalists for the first time. Clinton has been pressured by media critics and Republicans alike to hold a news conference for the first time in 2016. She has not held a formal question-and-answer session with reporters since one in Iowa in early December. The Associated Press contributed to this report. Lawmakers return Tuesday to Capitol Hill for a short election-season session in which their main -- though politically daunting -- objective will be providing money to keep the government running, with outside hopes of providing funding to fight the growing, mosquito-borne Zika virus. The House and Senate will have less than four weeks to passing a temporary spending bill, known as a continuing resolution, to keep the entire federal government operating past October 1. Democrats and Republicans, after a seven-week summer recess, are indeed eager to pass such a bill to avoid being blamed for a government shutdown like the one in 2013 -- with control of the White House and Senate at stake, as well as all 435 House seats on the ballot. However, disagreement between the parties and within the GOP will, as in years past, likely result in political wrangling until the deadline. Conservatives, and even Senate Majority Whip John Cornyn, R-Texas, want a package that lasts until next March, which would prevent such negotiations in a so-called lame duck congressional session in November with a newly-elected president and Congress. However, the consensus among leaders in both parties appears to be a temporary measure through December. Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid said last week that he and fellow Democrats in the chamber wont support a spending plan that runs beyond Christmas. "We are not doing anything into next year, and every Republican should be aware of that right now," the Nevada Democrat said. Because the shutdown-prevention measure simply has to pass, it's a tempting target for lawmakers seeking to use it as a vehicle for their preferences. For instance, Sen. Bill Cassidy, R-La., is pressing for emergency grants to help communities in his flood-ravaged state to recover. "I hope we can accomplish that in September," Cassidy said. Lawmakers left Washington in July without resolving a dispute over money for Zika. The virus can cause severe birth defects and is linked to a host of other maladies. The Senate is making the issue its first order of business -- holding a procedural vote on Tuesday. Obama asked Congress in February for $1.9 billion in emergency money, but legislation to partially pay for his proposal collapsed in July amid various fights. Among them was a Republican provision to deny money to Puerto Rican affiliates of Planned Parenthood. Voters in Florida, where the virus is spreading from Puerto Rico, meanwhile, are blaming Republicans for the lack of additional funding and for taking such a long break amid such a major health concern. GOP leaders probably will try to keep the spending bill as free of unrelated additions as possible, especially now. If GOP leaders were to grant Cassidy's request, it would make it more difficult to say no to others, such as Democrats seeking money for fixing the lead-tainted water system of Flint, Michigan. House conservatives also are looking to press ahead with impeaching IRS Commissioner John Koskinen over the destruction of agency emails and misleading testimony on whether the tax agency, before his arrival, improperly scrutinized conservative groups seeking nonprofit status. The impeachment drive is a headache for Republicans who believe that Koskinen's conduct isn't serious enough to warrant impeachment, but who may be reluctant to support the Democratic appointee in such a politically charged environment. In a recent memo, House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., said lawmakers will take up legislation regarding the Obama administration's $400 million payment to Iran in January, made immediately after four U.S. prisoners were released. The payment, for undelivered arms to the shah of Iran, was made on the same day of the prisoner release, and Republicans call it "ransom." The as-yet-unreleased legislation is designed to prevent a repeat, but seems like an election-season messaging effort. In addition, House Republican leaders recently conducted a half-hour conference call with their rank-and-file member about a September game plan. However, sources familiar with the call said the leaders offered few specifics on their strategy on such big issues as Zika, funding the government and the possible Koskinen impeachment effort. It was the least informative call Ive ever been on, groused one Republican lawmaker. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., also wants to advance a popular water-projects measure. But the priority is to simply adjourn the chamber to allow embattled incumbents such as Sens. Kelly Ayotte, R-N.H., Pat Toomey, R-Pa., and Richard Burr, R-NC, to get back home and campaign for re-election against the political headwinds created by Trump. The abbreviated session should give GOP-run committees a final pre-election chance to hold hearings on the Obama administration and other targets such as EpiPen manufacturer Mylan, N.V. That company has come under withering criticism for steep price increases for its life-saving injector, which can stop potentially fatal allergic reactions to insect bites and stings, and foods such as peanuts and eggs. House Republicans are promising hearings on Hillary Clinton's emails. FBI Director James Comey criticized Clinton's use of a homebrew email server to handle sensitive work-related emails as "extremely careless," but said his agency's yearlong investigation found no evidence of criminal wrongdoing. Republicans now are demanding that the Justice Department open a new investigation into whether Clinton lied during testimony last year before the House Benghazi committee. They claim the FBI note may show Clinton provided inconsistent answers to questions about her handling of emails containing classified information. Fox News Chad Pergram and The Associated Press contributed to this report. A "candid, blunt" meeting between President Obama and Russian leader Vladimir Putin failed to yield a deal to end bloodshed between U.S.-backed rebels in Syria and the country's Russian-aligned regime, though the sides vowed to continue negotiations as the G20 summit in China came to a close. Obama and Putin attended the economic summit as pressure mounted to get a deal done, huddling for 90 minutes on the sidelines, according to a senior White House official. The official told the Associated Press that the two sides clarified some of the large gaps in how a deal would be implemented and directed their respective teams to schedule a meeting for some time later this week. Obama stressed the importance of a deal, saying later that the current dynamic in Syria was allowing the regime of President Bashar al-Assad to bomb targets "with impunity" and permitting extremist groups to continue recruiting. "Thats a dangerous dynamic," Obama said. Obama expressed hope the two sides could instead unite behind the common goal of defeating terror groups in the region, namely ISIS. "But given gaps of trust that exist, thats a tough negotiation," Obama said. Secretary of State John Kerry and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov also met, but came out of their meeting without a deal to announce. The two diplomats met for an hour but emerged still at odds on certain issues, a senior State Department official said. The talks culminated several weeks of searching for a cease-fire between Assad's Russian-supported government and so-called moderate, U.S-backed rebels that would expand access for hundreds of thousands of civilians caught in the crossfire. Kerry and Lavrov hoped that a deal could come together and even scheduled a press conference Sunday to announce what they were speaking about, however, those plans were canceled after both parties couldnt reach an agreement. "I've said all along we're not going to rush," said Kerry, who has negotiated several failed truces with Russia in recent months. Kerry said the two sides had worked through many technical issues but said the U.S. didn't want to enter into an illegitimate agreement. In recent days, the State Department has said it only wants a nationwide cease-fire between Assad's military and the rebels, and not another "cessation of hostilities" that is time-limited and only stops fighting in some cities and regions. The talks faltered Sunday when Russia pulled back from agreement on issues the U.S. negotiators believed had been settled, the State Department official said. The Associated Press contributed to this report. The White House has cancelled a scheduled meeting Monday between President Obama and Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte, after the controversial leader warned Obama not to raise human-rights issues and called him a son of a whore. National Security Council spokesman Ned Price gave no explanation for the cancellation of the bilateral meeting at a regional summit in Laos, saying only that Obama will instead meet with President Park of the Republic of Korea. Speaking at the G20 summit in China on Monday morning, Obama said he had heard about Duterte's "colorful" remarks and instructed his staff to see if meetings with Duterte would still be "productive." Duterte said before flying to Laos that he is a leader of a sovereign country and is answerable only to the Filipino people. He was answering a reporter's question about how he intends to explain the extrajudicial killings to Obama. More than 2,000 suspected drug pushers and users have been killed since Duterte launched a war on drugs after taking office on June 30. In his typical foul-mouthed style, Duterte responded: "I am a president of a sovereign state and we have long ceased to be a colony. I do not have any master except the Filipino people, nobody but nobody. You must be respectful. Do not just throw questions. Putang ina I will swear at you in that forum," he said, using the Tagalog phrase for son of a b----. Duterte has earlier cursed the pope and U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon. The cancelled meeting was supposed to take place on the sidelines of the summit of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations. "Who is he to confront me?" Duterte said, adding that the Philippines had not received an apology for misdeeds committed during the U.S. colonization of the Philippines. He pointed to the killing of Muslim Moros more than a century ago during a U.S. pacification campaign in the southern Philippines, blaming the wounds of the past as "the reason why (the south) continues to boil" with separatist insurgencies. Duterte also pointed to human rights problems in the United States. Last week, Duterte said he was ready to defend his bloody crackdown on illegal drugs, which has sparked concern from the U.S. and other countries. Duterte said he would demand that Obama allow him to first explain the context of his crackdown before engaging the U.S. president in a discussion of the deaths. The Associated Press contributed to this story. Today, whether youre out for a day hike, or a once-in-a-lifetime trek to somewhere youve always wanted to go -- like Machu Picchu or Kilimanjaro -- there are companies only too willing to help make your adventurous fantasy a reality. Foursquare, in fact, has a new list of the best hiking trails in each state. Planning an adventurous vacation can take a lot of time and energy and people are finding great value in preplanned trips, explained Wesley Trimble, spokesman for the American Hiking Society, adding thats the case whether its an inexpensive Volunteer Vacation with the American Hiking Society or an over-the-top luxury adventure package with a high end outfitter. Here are 9 excellent options for mountain lovers looking for something special and plenty of bragging rights-- on their next trek: 1. Led your llama take the lead if you're staying at the Four Seasons Resort & Residences in Vail. Just under $500 for two including your picnic lunch and a drink afterward. If you can't part with your pooch, nearby in Beaver Creek, you, your guide and the Ritz-Carlton Bachelor Gulch resident dog can embark on a Canine Adventure hike ($160). For $250 more, add a perfectly-paired picnic, for four, complete with local microbrews. 2. Become an Everest Base Camp regular while trekking through Sherpa villages, climbing Kala Pattar on the way to Base Camp before taking a helicopter back to Kathmanduall in two weeks for just under $4000 with World Expeditions. 3. Go from summit to surf with Infinite Safari Adventures which takes you to the top of Kilimanjaro, then a short safari and on to Zanzibar to kayak, snorkel or dive in the Indian Oceanin 17 days. Approximately $10,000. 4. Gaze into a volcano on the big island of Hawaii as the proximity of Kilauea lava flow is now within hiking distance. Hawaii Forest & Trail has just revived its Kilauea Lava Hike that has been out of reach for several years. Just under $200 per person and afterwards, youre treated to a local dinner in Hilo. Farther from home, hike to Lascar Volcano, Chiles most active, while staying at the unique Tierra Atacama lodge where post-hike youre served up all varieties of ceviche and Piscos sours before dinner. My favorite hike there was to the thermal springseight pools! (All inclusive including guides and excursions $645 per person per night.) 5. Venture deep into Denali where few tourists visit at Camp Denali . Wake up in a cozy cabin with views of the mountain from the adorable outhouse, set off on guided hikes in the trail-less park and come back for gourmet meals. (Call 907-683-2290 for rates and packages, including their sister hotel with indoor plumbing.) Traverse Alaska can arrange other unique hiking adventures in the region while Ascending Path, can take you on Heli-access glacier treks. 6. Forage for dinner - a No Taste Like Home guide will show you how to gather wild food that then will be prepared for you by a local restaurant for dinner in Asheville, N.C. Tickets are $75 for adults; $30 for children age 4-10. 7. Enjoy amazing scenery on the Alpine Haute Route from Chamonix to Zermatt and the Matterhorn in the Swiss Alps, staying at traditional inns in picturesque villages. Stop to visit cheesemakers, local wineries and artisan chocolatiers while your bags are transported inn to inn. Prices for the 12-night trip start at $4595 per person; Alpenwild can also arrange less pricey self-guided trips. 8. Trap a jaguar in Panama for a conservation project with the Legends of the Wild Darien Gap Jaguar Expedition starting Dec. 10 in Central Americas last real wilderness. The idea is to trap the endangered Jaguar, outfit with an electronic collar as part of an ongoing jaguar research program. Cost for the week-long expedition is bout $7,500. 9. Challenge the whole family to a grueling hike between Crested Butte and Aspen in Colorado. It stretches 10.2 miles at over 12,000 feet across the spectacular Maroon Pass, a hike locals love. The trick--besides having enough water in high altitude-- has always been for non backpackers to figure out how to get back in the same day. Now, those with deep pockets dont have to worry as two Aspen area hotelsthe Viceroy Snowmass, and the St. Regis Aspen Resort arrange for transport to the trailhead, a guide, gourmet picnic lunch, snacks (think artisanal cured meats from the Viceroy chef) and a helicopter to whisk you back from Crested Butte To crack Minnesota's biggest cold case the 1989 abduction of 11-year-old Jacob Wetterling authorities went back to the early days of the investigation. They turned a renewed spotlight last year on a man who was questioned soon after Jacob's disappearance but was never charged. That ultimately led to Saturday's announcement that Jacob's remains finally had been found. "On these kinds of cases it's really a tribute to law enforcement that they simply never give up. ... This is what persistence will reveal," Michael Campion, former superintendent of the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension and former commissioner of the state Department of Public Safety, said Sunday. The case has not lain dormant for those 27 years, said Tom Heffelfinger, former U.S. attorney for Minnesota. To the contrary, he said, it's been a top priority for local and federal law enforcement the entire time. When authorities last October announced the arrest of Danny Heinrich, now 53, of Annandale, on child pornography charges, they took the unusual step of calling him a "person of interest" in the Wetterling case, though they were careful to stop short of calling him a suspect. He has not been charged in Jacob's abduction and death. Jacob was riding his bicycle near his home in the central Minnesota community of St. Joseph with his brother and a friend on Oct. 22, 1989, when a masked gunman abducted him and ordered the other boys to run. The case has haunted Minnesota ever since. Jacob's smiling face was burned into the state's collective psyche, appearing on countless posters and billboards seeking clues. Jacob's mother, Patty Wetterling, became a nationally recognized advocate for the cause of missing and exploited children. A 1994 federal law named for Jacob requires states to establish sex offender registries. As part of the fresh look into Jacob's abduction around its 25th anniversary, investigators took another look at the sexual assault of a 12-year-old boy from Cold Spring nine months before Jacob's disappearance. Investigators had long suspected the two cases were connected. Heinrich was arrested in 1990 in the sexual assault case but wasn't charged due to a lack of evidence. While he was questioned extensively about Jacob's kidnapping at the time, he denied any involvement. Using technology that wasn't available back in 1989, investigators found Heinrich's DNA on the 12-year-old's sweatshirt, Richard Thornton, special agent in charge of the FBI's Minneapolis office, said when authorities announced Heinrich's arrest last October. They used that evidence to get a search warrant for Heinrich's home. While they didn't discover anything to firmly tie Heinrich to either Jacob's kidnapping or the assault on the other boy, they found a large collection of child pornography. Heinrich was charged with 25 child pornography counts. At the time of his arrest last year, as he had done since 1989, Heinrich insisted he was innocent in Jacob's disappearance. Heinrich, who has been jailed since his arrest, pleaded not guilty to the child pornography charges and is scheduled to go on trial on those counts in October. A law enforcement official told The Associated Press on Saturday that a person of interest in Jacob's abduction took authorities to a field in central Minnesota the week before. The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because of the ongoing case, said buried remains and other evidence were recovered. "Once they realized they had a strong, legitimate case against Mr. Heinrich for other crimes, in this case child pornography, they aggressively prosecuted him for anything and everything they could get," Heffelfinger said. The Stearns County Sheriff's Office released few details over the weekend about the new developments in the Wetterling case, and no fresh information Sunday, but said that authorities expect to be able to provide more details early this week. Campion said he spent only a little time on the Wetterling investigation in 1989 but was still "at a loss for words" on Sunday, still processing the break in one of Minnesota's most enduring mysteries. "I don't know that I ever thought I'd see that in the headlines," he said. "It's pretty astonishing." Authorities say they are investigating online threats to kill Jewish and Muslim students at a South Carolina high school. Spartanburg School District 5 said in a news release that a Byrnes High School student reported the threats Friday evening. The threats said Byrnes High would be attacked Tuesday and included pictures of a person in a gas mask and a knife with a swastika on the handle. Superintendent Scott Turner says Spartanburg County deputies are patrolling the school the holiday weekend, and there will be security sweeps and extra officers on hand when school returns Tuesday. The sheriff's office says it is investigating the threats, but no arrests have been made. Byrnes High has about 2,300 students and is one of the largest high schools in South Carolina. Police say they are doing extra patrols in a Winston-Salem neighborhood after two children reported seeing a clown trying to lure kids into the woods with treats. Police said in a news release that officers were called to the area around 8:30 p.m. Sunday. The suspect allegedly tried to lure the kids with treats. The suspect was reportedly seen by two children and heard, but not seen, by one adult. The suspect fled the area when officers arrived. This is where clown sighting was reported. @cityofwspolice say he used treats to try & lure kids into woods @myfox8 pic.twitter.com/uN16osd5pK Sarah Krueger (@SarahKruegerTV) September 5, 2016 The "clown" was described as wearing white overalls, white gloves, red shoes with red bushy hair, a white face and a red nose. About four hours later, a caller who refused to give a name reported another sighting about 2 miles away. Police say again they found no evidence of a clown. Several unverified clown sightings in northern South Carolina have been in the news recently. In the Greenville area, multiple law enforcement agencies are investigating a rash of incidents involving clown sightings at apartment complexes and other areas of Greenville and Spartanburg counties according to FoxCarolina.com. Deputies in Greenville County said the clowns were initially seen in wooded areas, where they allegedly tried to entice children to join them, but sightings have now increased with reports that clowns were also knocking on the doors of homes. Investigators said no conclusive photo or video evidence has surfaced. New of the sighting became public after Fox Carolina received a letter that was sent out to residents at the Fleetwood Manor Apartments on August 24th. Click here for more from myFox8.com A judge has ruled that a Milwaukee park at the center of a neighborhood where riots erupted after a police shooting last month can return to its normal hours for now. The ruling came Sunday during a special session held to deal with a dispute between the county's sheriff and top executive. County Executive Chris Abele announced Sherman Park would return to its full operating hours, which had been limited since the fatal shooting of Sylville Smith. Abele also ordered the removal of a fence the sheriff's department had erected. But Sheriff David Clarke ordered deputies to replace the fence and said anyone who refused to leave the park after its earlier closing time would be arrested including Abele. They took the issue to court, where WTMJ-TV reports the judge ruled the park can return to normal hours and the fence must stay down until another hearing Wednesday. Authorities in Nevada searched Sunday for a murder suspect who escaped police custody after being placed in an interview room. The Las Vegas Review-Journal reported that Alonso Perez, 25, was arrested by North Las Vegas police Friday at around 10 a.m. in connection with an Aug. 27 murder. He was then transferred to the departments detective bureau and was placed in an interview room still handcuffed. North Las Vegas police spokesman Aaron Patty said that a detective left the room and Perez was able to turn the handcuffs until he broke free and escaped the building. According to the paper, Perez stole a white 2016 Ford F-250 pickup truck from a business and drove away. No one was injured in the robbery. The Associated Press reported that the vehicle was found Sunday, but Perez was still missing. The Review-Journal reported that Perez was wanted in the shooting death of 31-year-old Mohammed Robinson. Police havent said what links Perez to Robinsons death. Robinsons family expressed outrage about Perezs escape to KSNV-TV. "How can you let him escape? I don't understand it at all, Maggie Robinson, the murder victims sister told the station. You don't have any more security than that. You are interviewing a murder suspect, so you mean you couldn't have another person there? Perez is described as a Hispanic man, about 6-foot-3 and 200 pounds. He has black hair and brown eyes with a goatee. He was last seen wearing dark shorts, black shoes and a white jersey with two stripes on each sleeve. His jersey had the No. 21 printed on the front and the back. Police said he also has an Air Jordan tattoo under his left ear. If located, do not contact Perez as he is considered armed and dangerous, Patty said. The Associated Press contributed to this report. Click for more from the Las Vegas Review-Journal. A police officer remains in critical condition, but is showing signs of improvement, and a suspect is dead after two officers saw a robbery being committed outside an Atlantic City casino garage and exchanged gunfire. The shooting happened around 2:30 a.m. Saturday after the officers saw three men trying to rob three others near a parking garage at Caesars casino, said acting Atlantic County Prosecutor Diane Ruberton. The wounded officer was shot and injured as he exited his vehicle. The second officer returned fire and struck one of the suspects, who was found dead a short distance away. Police arrested two men Saturday night in connection with the shooting. Martell Chisholm, 19, of Millville, and Demetrius Cross, 28, of Bridgeton, each were being held on two counts of attempted murder, three counts of robbery and weapons offenses, Ruberton said. It was not immediately known if they were represented by lawyers. The dead suspect was identified as Jerome Damon, 25, of Camden. Ruberton said local, county, state and federal law enforcement agencies "worked tirelessly" on Saturday to identify and locate the suspects. The three victims also cooperated with police. The wounded officer, whose name was not immediately released, was taken to nearby AtlantiCare Regional Medical Center. He underwent surgery Saturday morning and remained in critical condition Sunday afternoon, but is improving, state union delegate Keith Bennett told The Press of Atlantic City. "We're getting reports that it's improving slightly and he's showing positive signs, which makes everybody extremely happy," said Bennett, of PBA Local 24. During a news conference on Sunday to discuss the city's storm preparations, Atlantic City Mayor Don Guardian said the officer is "doing remarkably well." Authorities had released video late Saturday afternoon showing six men they said were "persons of interest" in the case. They sought the public's help in identifying the men, who in the video are seen walking along a sidewalk in two separate groups of three people. The New Jersey State Policemen's Benevolent Association offered a $20,000 reward for information on the suspects. "We ask for prayers for the officer, his family and the Atlantic City Police Department," said Patrick Colligan, the association's president. Pet cafes (like a Starbucks full of animals) have long been popular in Asia but have run afoul of U.S. health codes. A new breed of entrepreneurs found a loophole: Partner with animal shelters to promote adoption. Related: Finding Your Marketing Competitive Advantage Dogs Case study: Sarah Wolfgang, owner of The Dog Cafe in Los Angeles How it's funded: "Everybody loved the idea, but few people would invest in our crowdfunding campaign. After months, we locked in a private investor who wanted to make a difference in the number of animals being euthanized." Red-tape triumph: "The health department said it would never be approved. I spent months negotiating. I even hired an architect to draw blueprints for our submission. It was a proud moment, right before our opening, when we earned our A grade!" The business model: "It's built on a combination of American cat cafes, which often charge an entrance fee, and Korean dog cafes, which generate revenue like a regular cafe. We sell reservations online, and drinks and merchandise in our cafe." What's next: "It bothers me when people with little to no animal-rescue experience come in asking how they can open up a dog cafe in their city. Our focus is to transform how America views shelter animals and how people meet their future pets, not to start a trend." Related: Become a Pet-Sitter or Dog-Walker Cats Case study: Kristin Eissler, owner of Kawaii Kitty Cafe in Philadelphia How it's funded: "My Indiegogo campaign raised $20,000, but this project was immensely more expensive than I could have imagined. The crowdfunding money covered only the city fees, architect's fees and plan review fees. Construction and design came from personal savings." Red-tape triumph: "Cat cafes fall in a gray area of zoning law, so most of our delays were in acquiring permits. Two were rejected after our first submission, which starts the application time over, plus adds additional fees." The business model: "We allow 10 people at a time in the cafe for one-hour intervals. We don't want the cats to become stressed due to high volumes of people. We'll also be doing bimonthly events -- like cat-and-wine nights and movie nights." What's next: "Animal cafes have changed the way we think about the food service industry. If your business can have animals and food under one roof, anything is possible!" Related: How to Start a Pet Business Birds Case study: Michele and Erik Wolf, owners of The Perch in Colorado Springs How it's funded: "Primarily through savings. We already owned the building, but new signage and awnings, floor, equipment, retail fixtures, inventory, marketing materials, etc., were a considerable cost." Red-tape triumph: "A board of health inspector said we'd have close to zero chance of getting a food service license. The laws allow us to serve hot brewed drinks like tea and coffee, canned and bottled drinks and prepackaged food without a license, so we went that route." The business model: "We sell the cages, play stands, perches, food, toys and treats that bird adopters want. Customers seem happy to give us that business because they know the money helps rescue birds." What's next: "Our long-term sustainability is in building a community and regular customer base. Even though our items can be purchased online, we've found that people love the experience of coming to the store." A string of bombings, including a suicide attack claimed by the Islamic State group, struck in and around several Syrian cities on Monday, killing at least 43 people, mainly in government-controlled areas. The SANA news agency reported blasts around the coastal city of Tartus, the central city of Homs, the suburbs of the capital Damascus, and the northeastern city of Hasakeh. The attacks were timed closely together, but authorities have not determined whether they were linked. ISIS claimed responsibility for the blast in Hasakeh. Areas controlled by President Bashar Assad's forces have seen several bombings and other attacks during the country's five-year civil war, with many claimed by Al Qaeda-linked militant groups. One of Monday's attacks took place in the heavily guarded suburb of Sabbourah, marking a major security breach. SANA said the attack killed one person, while the opposition-run Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said three people were killed. "It's an area that houses officers and their families. Even before the revolution it was carefully guarded," said opposition media activist Yousef al-Boustani, referring to the 2011 uprising against Assad, which began with peaceful protests demanding reform. The Britain-based Observatory, which maintains a network of contacts inside Syria, put the overall death toll at 47. Conflicting casualty figures are common in the Syria war. Attackers detonated two bombs along the international coastal highway to the government stronghold of Tartus, SANA said, killing 35. A car bomb at the Arzoneh bridge was followed by a suicide bomber, who targeted a crowd that was gathering. The city, a stronghold of support for President Bashar Assad, is home to a major Russian naval base. The Observatory said the twin blasts killed 35 people, including an army colonel, and wounded dozens more. A survivor at the al-Bassel Hospital told state TV the blasts occurred near a checkpoint on the highway. "My car caught fire and army soldiers pulled us out of the car," he said. The governor of Homs province said a car bomb struck a military checkpoint in the provincial capital, killing three soldiers and a civilian, and wounding 10 others. The city of Homs, Syria's third largest, is largely under government control, with only one neighborhood still held by rebels. Monday's bomb exploded in the government-held Bab Tadmor district, SANA said. The Observatory said four soldiers were killed. Syrian TV aired footage showing massive damage to the area, with a number of smashed cars and the bloodied body of a guard at the checkpoint. An Islamic State attacker on a motorcycle blew himself up in the northeastern city of Hasakeh, killing eight, SANA said. Government forces withdrew in August after street battles with Kurdish forces, which took control of the city, though the state's police force remained in place. The Observatory said the blast killed three members of the Kurdish police force, the Asayesh, and two civilians. Except for the Hasakeh attack, there has been no immediate claim of responsibility for the blasts. The Islamic State group claimed twin suicide bombings in the neighboring coastal towns of Tartus and Jableh in May that killed over 160 people. Sleepy Guyana has long been one of the hemisphere's poorest places, a sparsely populated nation on South America's northern shoulder that relies heavily on exports of sugar, rice and gold. But these days, there's a surge of excitement about an anticipated windfall from major oil-and-gas deposits found in the deep seabed 120 miles (193 kilometers) off the coast as well as worries about the disruptions and conflicts it might bring. Hopes are high that fuel siphoned in a few years' time from more three miles (more than 5 kilometers) below the sea's surface might be an antidote to entrenched poverty and underdevelopment in the country of 750,000 people. "We will have billions in foreign reserves and our population is going to swell big time," miner Cosmos Santo said from a park bench in the seaside capital of narrow streets and mostly low-rise, wooden buildings. The U.S. Geological Survey had long estimated that offshore Guyana was rich in gas and oil. Now U.S.-based ExxonMobil has announced a "world-class oil discovery" off Guyana after drilling a well that struck oil-bearing sandstone with an estimated 800 million to 1.4 billion oil equivalent barrels. Exxon and partner Hess Corp. haven't yet announced development or investment plans, which could be complicated by low current oil prices and a dispute with neighboring Venezuela. But Guyanese authorities are racing to set up rules and plans to administer the hoped-for new industry while avoiding what is known as the "resource curse." In places like Congo and Nigeria, oil or mineral wealth has fueled conflict instead of development. Guyana only has to look at Venezuela next door to see what can go haywire with an oil-dependent state. South America's biggest energy producer has been in economic freefall since the 2014 crash in prices for the oil that funds nearly all the spending of its socialist government. Guyana's presidential spokesman, Mark Archer, said the administration is determined to avoid the mistakes of Venezuela and other energy-rich nations that have run into hard times. "The plan is not to spend wildly like a drunken sailor but to put in a wealth fund for future generations and ensure we do not neglect agriculture," Archer said. Norway and the U.S. Energy Department are advising Guyana on setting up such a fund as well as a regulatory framework for the industry, Natural Resources Minister Raphael Trotman says. Some of the hoped-for riches would go toward building a 350-mile (565-kilometer) jungle road from the capital to northeastern Brazil, opening up Guyana's rugged, mineral-rich interior. Households would get free cooking gas and cheap gasoline. Guyana's small military would get new aircraft to protect the offshore fields and borders, to provide some "comfort to Exxon and other investors," Archer said. "We must be able to protect our investment," he said. Protection may be necessary because the offshore discoveries have reignited a decades-old territorial dispute between Guyana and far-larger Venezuela. Venezuela has for decades claimed two-thirds of Guyana's territory as its own, arguing that the gold-rich region west of the Essequibo River and the resulting maritime zone where Exxon's find lies was stolen from it by an 1899 agreement with Britain and its then-colony. Venezuela's navy briefly detained a ship carrying five American oil workers in 2013. They were conducting a seismic survey under a Guyana concession at the time. Guyana says it wants the International Court of Justice to settle the border dispute with Venezuela, though the case has not yet reached the court. Diego Moya-Ocampos, analyst with the London-based consulting firm IHS Global Insight, said he believes Venezuela's claim of sovereignty will pose a "major complication" to recovering oil and minerals. Venezuela's government could opt to ban companies operating in Guyana from working in Venezuela's vast oil fields, he said. "We expect strong rhetoric in the coming months. Nevertheless, (Venezuela) is highly unlikely to initiate an armed conflict out of concern over losing support from the English-speaking Caribbean countries," Moya-Ocampos said in an email. Meanwhile, Guyana Geology and Mines Commissioner Newell Dennison said his agency is on "a frenzied mission" to train local petroleum engineers, geologists and lawyers. Exxon officials have told lawmakers that they plan to have supertankers pull up alongside rigs and cart away fuel pumped from the seabed because the wells are too far from the coast to run pipelines. People in Guyana appear to be excited about the prospects, though some are wary. "If mismanaged, we will remain as we are and like the others which have oil and mismanaged it," said Brenda Oudkerk as she took a break from dishing out plates of rice and spicy chicken at her open-air cafe in the capital. ___ Associated Press writer David McFadden in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, contributed to this report. North Korea on Monday fired three suspected medium-range Rodong missiles that traveled about 620 miles and landed near Japan in an apparent show of force timed to the G-20 economic summit in China, Seoul officials said. North Korea has staged a series of recent missile tests with increasing range, part of a program that aims to eventually build long-range nuclear missiles capable of striking the U.S. mainland. Such tests are fairly common when international attention is turned to Northeast Asia, and this one comes as world leaders are gathering for the G-20 summit of advanced and emerging economies in the city of Hangzhou in eastern China. Beijing is the North's only major ally, but ties between the neighbors have frayed amid a string of nuclear and missile tests and what many outsiders see as other provocations in recent years. South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff said that the three missiles, all believed to be Rodongs, were launched from the western North Korean town of Hwangju and flew across the country before splashing in the sea. A Joint Chiefs of Staff statement described the launches as an "armed protest" meant to demonstrate North Korea's military capability on the occasion of the G-20 summit and days before the North Korean government's 68th anniversary. In early August, another Rodong missile fired by North Korea also travelled about 1,000 kilometers, the longest-ever flight distance by that missile. Japan's Kyodo news agency said all three missiles Monday fell in Japan's exclusive economic zone in the Sea of Japan, which the Koreas call the East Sea. Japan's Foreign Ministry says Prime Minister Shinzo Abe approached South Korean President Park Gewn-hye during a coffee break at the G-20 and agreed to cooperate closely. The White House said the United States was closely monitoring what it described as the latest provocation by North Korea. President Barack Obama was in China meeting with the leaders of France and Germany around the time of the launch. Before Monday's launch, on the sidelines of the G-20 summit, Park criticized the North for what she called provocations that are hurting Seoul-Beijing ties. The latest firing won't help the push by Chinese President Xi Jinping to get Park to scrap the planned deployment of a powerful U.S. anti-missile system in the South. During a bilateral meeting on Monday's final day of the G-20, Xi warned Park that "mishandling the issue is not conducive to strategic stability in the region, and could intensify disputes." China says the U.S. Terminal High Altitude Area Defense, or THAAD, system is meant to spy on China, while Seoul and Washington say the system is intended solely to defend against North Korea's missile threat. The launch also comes days after South Korean and U.S. troops ended annual joint summertime military drills, which North Korea regularly describes as a dress rehearsal for invasion. Last month, worries about the North's weapons programs deepened after a missile from a North Korean submarine flew about 500 kilometers (310 miles), the longest distance achieved by the North for such a weapon. In June, after a string of failures, North Korea sent an intermediate Musudan missile more than 1,400 kilometers (870 miles) high in a test launch that outside analysts said showed progress in efforts to acquire the ability to strike U.S. forces in the region. The U.N. Security Council in late August strongly condemned four North Korean ballistic missile launches in July and August. It called them "grave violations" of a ban on all ballistic missile activity. Fortunately for Fredericksburg Hermine has edged east of earlier forecasts. The latter half of the Labor Day weekend looks to be salvageable. Now that Hermine has obligingly trudged along a more easterly path today's Sunday's weather will begin a slow improvement. After a few morning showers in Fredericksburg the clouds will thin and skies will turn partly sunny this afternoon. Temperatures today will climb from pleasant morning lows in the 60s to highs near 80 degrees. Near the 'Burg winds will back off to a gentle northerly breeze while the Northern Neck near the Chesapeake Bay will likely stay breezier and cloudier. The effects of Hermine are diminishing slowly as it hangs around like houseguests overstaying their welcome. The combined surface maps in the graphic indicate the storm's position today at 8:00 am (top) and Tuesday at 8:00 am (bottom). Notice it doesn't move very much over those 48 hours. The storm is morphing into a nor'easter, hence its current designation as a post-tropical cyclone. It will phase - i.e. join forces with a trough that has generated an upper level low pressure center currently atop Virginia. That plus a surface high pressure center over New England will block the storm's forward progress for a couple days. The continued effects of Hermine on Fredericksburg will be minimal. However the Mid-Atlantic coastline is experiencing an extended stretch of high waves and strong surface winds. Hopefully the coastal damage will be minimal for the beach communities. Meanwhile Labor Day Monday looks to start out with some clouds but become sunny by afternoon. Winds will pick up again a bit around Fredericksburg as the storm strengthens. Temperatures will climb into the low 80s, a normal early September level. Enjoy the break from the heat as the 90s will make an unwelcome return later this week! U.S. Rep. Rob Wittman, R1st District, will debate his Democratic challenger, Matt Rowe, next month at the University of Mary Washington. The debate takes place at 7:30 p.m. Oct. 24 at UMWs Dodd Auditorium in Fredericksburg. Wittman, 57, who is seeking the GOP nomination for Virginia governor in 2017, has held the seat since 2007. He previously served as a member of the state House of Delegates and the Westmoreland County Board of Supervisors. Rowe, 35, is a member of the Bowling Green Town Council in Caroline County. The reliably Republican 1st District includes much of the Fredericksburg area. The race mirrors others across the nation in which Democratic candidates have been tying their opponents to controversial Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump. Rowe has called on Wittman to renounce his support for the mogul, whose statements about Muslims, Mexican immigrants and women have drawn accusations of racism and sexism. Rowe wrote Wittman a letterwhich he also emailed to media outletslast month asking him to denounce this dangerous and foolish man. He said Trumps relentless attacks on the family of Capt. Humayun Khan, a Muslim soldier who died in Iraq, show that the candidate does not have the temperament to be president. Khans father, Khizr Khan, criticized Trump at the Democratic National Conventionwith Trump later saying that the mans wife, who stood silently beside her husband at the podium, maybe wasnt allowed to have anything to say. Wittman, who is a member of the House Armed Services Committee, spoke at Trumps recent campaign rally in Fredericksburgtelling a raucous crowd that the businessman would make our military great again. Wittman also said Trump would appoint the right people to the U.S. Supreme Court. We know those justices will stand for good, common-sense conservative principles, the same principles that have made this nation great in the past and the same principles that will make this nation great again, Wittman told the crowd at the Fredericksburg Expo and Conference Center. The debates sponsors include three UMW groups: the College Republicans, Young Democrats and the Legislative Action Committee of the Student Government Association. The Fredericksburg Regional Chamber of Commerce and The Free LanceStar are also co-sponsors. Before he answered the doorbell, Dylan Charnick peeked between the curtains of his front door. He saw a group of 10 teachers and staff from Kate Waller Barrett Elementary at his front door. They didnt need to ring the doorbell. The Charnick family could easily hear Cant Stop the Feeling by Justin Timberlake blasting from the speaker held by one of the teachers. The group bobbed and sang to the song as Dylan alerted his family. Its the Barrett people, the 10-year-old shouted to his mom. When he and his brother emerged with their parents, the staff from the Stafford County school cheered. The boys shyly weaved through the crowd, and gave teachers they recognized hugs. They nodded when asked if they were excited for the epic dance party that was to take place on the first day of school. At the next house, another student danced along with his teachers in the middle of an impromptu dance circle. Its the sort of thing that happens when Barrett teachers visit their students in August in anticipation of the coming school year. At first, we were really surprised, Gail Charnick, Dylans mom, said of the four-year tradition. But now, the boys are excited when they come. They were waiting for them today. This is one of the reasons we havent moved. It was well above 80 degrees when the Barrett teachers traveled to Charnicks neighborhood. Many teachers typically use the last few weeks of no school for last-minute vacations, but Barrett teachers volunteered their free time to crisscross the neighborhoods of about 800 students, hoping to make all of them feel welcomed and excited for the start of school. The big first day is Tuesday. But for a good part of the past month, the teachers and staff took turns knocking on about 40 doors a night until 400 homes had been visited and all staff members had participated. Many of the students are siblings and live in the same house. Its a big deal for the Barrett community, which is designated as a Title I school by the state. Title I schools receive greater state resources because of the number of children from low-income families. In the 2015-16 school year, more than half of Barretts student population was considered economically disadvantaged by the state, according to the Virginia Department of Education. They just know you care about them, said Kathy Evans, a second-grade teacher. Evans said a grateful mother began crying when she realized what was happening. Sometimes, parents will see the crowd of teachers from their windows and run out to the street to visit with them, even though their children arent home. The teachers once enjoyed a dinner of Filipino food, made by a grateful mother who insisted on feeding her childs future educators. The biggest takeaway was how welcoming everyone was, said Nicole Sutton, who teaches fourth grade at Barrett. They hit every neighborhood, sometimes sticking out like sore thumbs. Evans said one concerned man asked them why they were there. Once they explained, he relaxed, saying that he had never seen white people in his neighborhood before, and thanked them for what they were doing. When they come in on the first day of school, which can be nerve-wracking, they already know some familiar faces, Dan Reichard, a fifth-grade teacher, said after visiting two students who had moved to the county only a couple of weeks before. Principal Kim Austin said the benefits of the community-building tradition is reflected in the academic performance of students. Over the past three or so years, staff members at the elementary school have met families by renting an ice cream truck or a limo. This year, they chose a theme based on the recent Olympic games. We have been looking for our best Olympic scholars, and we found them, Austin told the Charnick siblings before handing them their tickets to the first-day dance party. Its only part of the staffs outreach. This month, many teachers will make more in-depth home visits or host family nights to get a better understanding of their students home lives. But in August, it was all about building excitement for the start of school. After receiving his ticket, Dylan Charnick promised Austin he would have it in hand on the first day. Denmark's new claim to part of the Arctic shelf comes into conflict with the interests of Russia, Canada and the United States. Therefore, these countries will discuss possible solutions to this problem, Natural Resources and Environment Minister Sergei Donskoi told the TASS news agency. "Denmark's claims have come into conflict with those of Canada, Russia and the United States after it rephrased its submission. There was nothing of the kind in Denmark's initial claim," Donskoi said. He added that the involved countries would hold talks to settle disputed issues. "The territorial submissions have been discussed by the parties' foreign ministries. We'll work to settle any possible differences. Besides, the UN Commission [on the Limits of the Continental Shelf] will not likely discuss Denmark's submission any sooner than five years, what with the Commission's tight schedule and the procedure for filing claims," the minister said. The subcommission that was established to consider Denmark's claim held its first meeting on August 8-12. According to Donskoi, the next meeting on the submission has been scheduled for this fall. In 2001 Russia filed a claim for the Lomonosov and Mendeleyev ridges, which are rich in hydrocarbons, but its submission was rejected due to insufficient substantiation. Over the next 10 years, Russia sent several expeditions to the North Pole, conducted seismic and geological-geophysical studies in the Arctic Ocean, studied the geology of the Lomonosov and Mendeleyev ridges and made bathymetric (sounding) surveys. The prospective resources of this area have been estimated at 4.9 billion tons of oil equivalent. YEREVAN, SEPTEMBER 5, ARMENPRESS. The Defense Ministry of Nagorno Karabakh says the Azerbaijani forces made over 110 ceasefire violations at Nagorno Karabakh-Azerbaijan line of contact during the weekend. The Ministrys announcement reads: The Azerbaijani side violated the ceasefire regime over 110 times by firing more than 1500 shots from various caliber weapons at the Armenian positions across Nagorno Karabakh-Azerbaijan line of contact during the weekend. The Defense Army forces are in full control of the situation in the frontline and take counter measures only in case of strict necessity. Cheap Press Releases Now the Best Way to Promote Local Businesses Renowned Search Engine Optimization specialist reveals his exact strategy for top Google rankings despite fierce backlash from competition. -- SEODagger.com - a Kelowna based search engine optimization (SEO) company - recently released their exact blueprint for ranking local businesses on the first page of Google. Although criticized heavily by competing SEO firms, Konrad Braun - owner of the company - insists such transparency is critical to his business' success. "There are too many out-of-touch SEO businesses doing who-knows-what to legitimate brick and mortar business websites", Braun said in an interview last Saturday morning. "On one hand, you have local business owners working hard to grow their company. They realize having a strong web presence - especially solid search engine rankings - is a critical factor to staying relevant and successful these days. Then - on the other hand - you have these shady SEO companies taking advantage of them without ever truly delivering results. It's criminal in my opinion!" Mr Braun - who started his own SEO company in Kelowna BC right after the crash of 2009 and quickly grew to become one of the most recognized and trustworthy SEO brands across Canada - explained why one of the first things he recommends offline businesses do to promote their website (and to get it found in the search engines) is press releases. "Most business owners think an ad in the Yellow Pages will make them rich, but they quickly realize it doesn't happen anymore. This is the 21st-century after all." He goes on to say that "Nobody uses Yellow Pages anymore for anything other than a doorstopper. Times have changed. Doing a press release is not only extremely affordable, it is also one of the best ways I know of to get hundreds of sites bragging about you, your company, and your products or services!" Advanced surveys done by an independent American company confirm what Mr. Braun said: 95% of today's workforce uses either their mobile phone or a computer with internet access to research companies they want to hire or buy from. Their reasoning? Unlike phone books, the internet offers actual reviews from previous customers. To learn more about Konrad Braun, his company, or to take a peek at the done for you press release service he so strongly recommends, check out his blog at http://seodagger.com For more information, please visit http://seodagger.com/affordable-press-releases Contact Info: Name: Konrad Braun, Owner Organization: SEO Dagger Address: P.O. Box # 1230, Black Diamond AB Phone: (928) 444-8514 Video URL: https://youtu.be/s0HyggUhjvY Source: http://seodagger.com/ Release ID: 131166 For more information visit r Recent Press Releases By The Same User Agarwood Essential Oil Market Expected to Grow at CAGR 4.2% During 2016 to 2022"> (Fri 2nd Jun 17) Cyber Weapon Market by Type, Product, Application, Region, Outlook and Forecast to 2022 (Fri 2nd Jun 17) Landscaping and Gardening Expert Trevor McClintock Launches New Locally Optimized Website (Fri 2nd Jun 17) Sleep apnea devices Market is Evolving At A CAGR of 7.5% by 2022 (Fri 2nd Jun 17) Agriculture Technology Market 2017 Global Analysis, Opportunities and Forecast to 2022 (Fri 2nd Jun 17) Global VR Helmet Market by Manufacturers, Technology, Type and Application, Forecast to 2022 (Fri 2nd Jun 17) New Certified Posture Expert in Reading, UK ( September 05, 2016 ) Reading, UK -- Dr Andy Green (Doctor of Chiropractic) has completed the certification with the American Posture Institute and is a Certified Posture Expert. The course by the American Posture Institute is the most thorough, up to date and incisive course available on the subjects of posture and posturology due to use of the most relevant research. Dr Andy Green runs Reflex Spinal Health (formerly Reflex Chiropractic) with his wife Laura who is also a chiropractor. The team constantly strive to offer the the most up to date information and care. Dr Green says: 'I have really looked forward to completing this certification as a posture expert as we aim to integrate the latest research into our care plans. There's no point alleviating symptoms fast and efficiently if the root cause of the problem remains. The majority of people would struggle to know exactly what a chiropractor, osteopath or physiotherapist does they do understand about poor posture. Most people are blind to what their posture is really like, and how important posture is to overall health. We are evolving our specific care plans to ensure posture correction is fundamental. As a result will be the recognized posture expert center in Reading.' The Reflex Spinal Health team are currently focusing on children heading back to school. The team are offering FREE Backpack Checks in September. These are for any schoolchild and student which will also include a posture check and spinal scan. As posture expert, Dr Andy Green, says: 'A study by Chueng in 2010, demonstrated that children who carry heavy backpacks present with anterior head carriage. This is directly related to neck pain. Other research demonstrates that school performance and back pain are significantly related. We are offering the backpack checks throughout September.' Children's spines are usually extremely tolerant to strain. Persistent, ongoing, strain distorts young spines into a particular shape because they are malleable. The only normal posture for children is perfect posture! Dr Green says: 'Wherever you live please have the whole family's posture checked! Find a local chiropractor or osteopath because a great practitioner should demonstrate clearly what needs addressing. Ask what care involves and decide on the best course of action because posture is directly related to health.' About Reflex Spinal Health RG47A: Reflex Spinal Health (formerly Reflex Chiropractic) is based in Reading, Berkshire, UK. We are a team of passionate chiropractors and osteopaths. 17 Church Road, Reading, Berkshire RG4 7AA. Phone: 0118 946 2100 For more information visit r Recent Press Releases By The Same User Matteson Partners Taking On New In-House Legal Recruitment Clients (Mon 29th May 17) Huong Nghiep A Au Vocational Guidance School Launches New Major (Thu 25th May 17) FSP unveils new Industrial and Gaming power solutions at COMPUTEX 2017 (Wed 24th May 17) The Best Free Keylogger of 2017 Has Been Announced by the Official Remote Keylogger (Tue 23rd May 17) The Remote Keylogger Development Team Announces An Update to the Official iPhone Keylogger (Thu 11th May 17) CaptureStream Announces its New Streaming Video Recorder and Downloader (Mon 8th May 17) Atkinsons Chartered Accountants Rebrand Website For Online Relaunch Atkinsons Chartered Accountants has successfully helped small businesses with all their accounting needs for years, and has now relaunched its website to attract new clients around the UK. -- Accountancy is an essential part of running any business, whether a single freelancer or a startup employing multiple staff. Keeping on top of the finances is more than just a legal requirement, it's an essential part of ensuring a business is set up to succeed. Atkinsons Chartered Accountants specialize in providing comprehensive accounting services to startups, freelancers and small businesses. The company helps clients get their financial situation in order and make it easier for them to position themselves for strategic growth. They have just undertaken a comprehensive rebrand, with a newly relaunched website designed to attract potential clients searching online for accountancy services. The new website is built within a fully responsive architecture to deliver a seamless experience on any device, whether laptop, tablet or mobile. What's more, the website features a combination of graphical elements, high quality imagery and dynamic content. Together, they offer a compelling description of their available services, experienced team and unique approach. The website has also been fully optimized to naturally attract users searching online for affordable accounting services for small businesses, ensuring the company is exposed to a greater number of potential clients than ever before. This is an important strategic step in advancing their own business aims, as well as helping more businesses than ever achieve theirs. A spokesperson for Atkinsons Chartered Accountants explained, "Atkinson Chartered Accountants is pleased to be able to relaunch the website with a rejuvenated look and feel that better reflects our brand, while at the same time creating a better online experience for potential clients. The website is an essential part of our marketing strategy, and it is important to us that it performs well. The new design will help more people discover our services, so more businesses can get the best accountancy available, and in turn see their businesses prosper. We look forward to speaking with new clients through the website very soon." About Atkinsons Chartered Accountants: Atkinsons Chartered Accountants has been established for over 50 years, and offers all types of accounting services to startups, freelancers and small businesses. The company has a committed team of experienced accountants delivering the best possible services at the best value available, enabling businesses to thrive. For more information, please visit https://www.atkinsonsca.co.uk/about/ Contact Info: Name: PRWhirlWind Organization: PRWhirlWind Phone: 02032897333 Source: http://marketersmedia.com/atkinsons-chartered-accountants-rebrand-website-for-online-relaunch/131179 Release ID: 131179 For more information visit r Recent Press Releases By The Same User Agarwood Essential Oil Market Expected to Grow at CAGR 4.2% During 2016 to 2022"> (Fri 2nd Jun 17) Cyber Weapon Market by Type, Product, Application, Region, Outlook and Forecast to 2022 (Fri 2nd Jun 17) Landscaping and Gardening Expert Trevor McClintock Launches New Locally Optimized Website (Fri 2nd Jun 17) Sleep apnea devices Market is Evolving At A CAGR of 7.5% by 2022 (Fri 2nd Jun 17) Agriculture Technology Market 2017 Global Analysis, Opportunities and Forecast to 2022 (Fri 2nd Jun 17) Global VR Helmet Market by Manufacturers, Technology, Type and Application, Forecast to 2022 (Fri 2nd Jun 17) Global Banknote Market DataPack (2016 Edition) Now Available at MarketReportsOnline.com MarketReportsOnline.com adds "Global Banknote Market DataPack (2016 Edition)" report to its research store. -- The Banknote Industry DataPack provides a unique mix of market information, analysis and estimates based on quantitative and qualitative research. The market figures and industry dynamics are given in order to determine the overall market potential and help the client in gaining a stronger foothold in the marketplace. It presents a reliable assessment of the banknote industry including key industry metrics, regional market analysis, market trends and growth drivers. Complete report now available at http://www.marketreportsonline.com/500210.html. Banknote market also explores the competitive landscape of the respective market with focus on major players. The DataPack serves as a must read for anyone willing to invest in this market and trying to evaluate opportunities. Our success parameter is very simple - impact of our services on our clients' business. We provide high quality, cost effective research and analysis to support decision making processes for industry professionals. Our strength lies in the reliability of our research and on the value added analysis that we provide. We have a team of research analysts who have mastered the skill of preparing flawless market intelligence reports to help clients maximize their productivity and return on investment. Our analysts have great expertise to assess current trends in business practices, product promotion and market competition. Purchase a copy of this report at http://www.marketreportsonline.com/contacts/purchase.php?name=500210. Key Topics Covered in Global Banknote Market Report: 1. Banknote Market: An Overview 2. Banknote Market Analysis 3. Regional Markets 4. Market Dynamics 5. Competitive Landscape 6. Company Profiles Other Related Report on Banknote Market: Global Banknote Market Report: 2016 Edition (http://www.marketreportsonline.com/493613.html) Banknote is a promissory note, made by a bank, which is payable to the bearer on demand. It is also known as a 'bill' or a 'note'. Historically, the banknotes were issued by the commercial bank but now, the production and distribution of new banknotes, and destruction of the unfit banknotes is the responsibility of the central bank of the respective countries. The demand for banknotes and substrate is fulfilled by state print works (SPW), state paper mills (SPM) and handful number of commercial print and paper manufacturers. SPWs and SPMs can also turn in to commercial providers to cater the unmet demand for banknotes. Explore More Latest Banking and Financial Services Market Report at http://www.marketreportsonline.com/cat/banking-services-market-research.html. For more information, please visit http://www.marketreportsonline.com/contacts/purchase.php?name=500210 Contact Info: Name: Ritesh Tiwari Email: sales@marketreportsonline.com Organization: Market Reports Online Phone: + 1 888 391 5441 Source: http://marketersmedia.com/global-banknote-market-datapack-2016-edition-now-available-at-marketreportsonline-com/130944 Release ID: 130944 For more information visit r Recent Press Releases By The Same User Agarwood Essential Oil Market Expected to Grow at CAGR 4.2% During 2016 to 2022"> (Fri 2nd Jun 17) Cyber Weapon Market by Type, Product, Application, Region, Outlook and Forecast to 2022 (Fri 2nd Jun 17) Landscaping and Gardening Expert Trevor McClintock Launches New Locally Optimized Website (Fri 2nd Jun 17) Sleep apnea devices Market is Evolving At A CAGR of 7.5% by 2022 (Fri 2nd Jun 17) Agriculture Technology Market 2017 Global Analysis, Opportunities and Forecast to 2022 (Fri 2nd Jun 17) Global VR Helmet Market by Manufacturers, Technology, Type and Application, Forecast to 2022 (Fri 2nd Jun 17) C Track Launches Two Newly Optimized Websites To Showcase Their Vehicle Tracking Services Online C Track has created not one but two new websites, Vehicle Tracking Systems and Vehicle Tracking Devices, to ensure people can find them no matter what phrase they use to search online. -- Vehicles are an invaluable asset to anyone who owns one. They are essential for individuals and companies alike, and as such, keeping an eye on them is important. Tracking systems allow companies to monitor their fleets. Individuals benefit from location tracking services for vehicles that may be vulnerable to theft. C Track offers some of the best and most technologically advanced tracking systems in the world, and has launched two new websites to help more customers than ever discover their services. The first website (http://ukvehicletrackingdevices.co.uk/) has been created to be optimized for the phrase 'tracking devices', helping those searching for the phrase online to find C Track quickly and easily. The second website (http://ukvehicletrackingsystem.co.uk/) has been optimized for 'tracking system', so those using different terminology will still find the same great service. Both websites have been fully mobile optimized and feature fast, free quote forms on the home page to streamline the process for all enquirers. Both websites feature a full breakdown of the services offered and the way the systems work, as well as tailored solutions for individual cars and vans, or whole fleets. A spokesperson for C Track explained, "We are excited to be able to diversify our web presence in this way. We have a great solution for consumers and businesses alike. The best way to enable more people to find out about us is to use the same terminology those people are using when searching on major engines like Google and Bing. We have done that, and this should greatly increase the number of people who are introduced to these services online. We have already developed a great client list through personal recommendations and referrals, but it is time to broaden out our base to include a wider audience." About C Track: C Track is a vehicle tracking system which helps users to gain control over their mobile assets by offering constant visibility and live monitoring on them. This online system is based in the cloud and extremely easy to use, developed and maintained by professionals, and highly reliable. This opens up new strategic possibilities for clients looking for logistics. For more information, please visit http://vehicletracking-uk.co.uk Contact Info: Name: Karl Taylor Email: contact@vehicletracking-uk.co.uk Organization: Vehicle Tracking UK Address: 23 Hanover Square, London, W1S 1JB Phone: 0800 772 0865 Source: http://marketersmedia.com/c-track-launches-two-newly-optimized-websites-to-showcase-their-vehicle-tracking-services-online/131188 Release ID: 131188 For more information visit r Recent Press Releases By The Same User Agarwood Essential Oil Market Expected to Grow at CAGR 4.2% During 2016 to 2022"> (Fri 2nd Jun 17) Cyber Weapon Market by Type, Product, Application, Region, Outlook and Forecast to 2022 (Fri 2nd Jun 17) Landscaping and Gardening Expert Trevor McClintock Launches New Locally Optimized Website (Fri 2nd Jun 17) Sleep apnea devices Market is Evolving At A CAGR of 7.5% by 2022 (Fri 2nd Jun 17) Agriculture Technology Market 2017 Global Analysis, Opportunities and Forecast to 2022 (Fri 2nd Jun 17) Global VR Helmet Market by Manufacturers, Technology, Type and Application, Forecast to 2022 (Fri 2nd Jun 17) UK GPS Tracker Launches New Second Website To Optimize For Broader Audiences UK GPS Tracker has relaunched their existing website together with an entirely new second presence, UK Car Tracker, to appeal to audiences searching for different things online. -- GPS tracking is more ubiquitous now than ever. Every smartphone has the capability for GPS, but runs through 4G, meaning if signal is poor, GPS capability is lost. Dedicated GPS units are therefore still incredibly useful, and UK GPS Tracker are a leading provider of these products. UK GPS Tracker has relaunched its website with a new focus on personal GPS trackers, while launching a brand new website, UK Car Tracker, to focus on their vehicle tracking devices. This will enable them to hook a larger audience than ever. Personal GPS trackers are useful for dementia sufferers, vulnerable individuals, lone workers, elderly relatives, school trips and gap year travellers. Vehicle GPS trackers can be useful for both covert tracking and security, as well as dynamic fleet management. All trackers are simple to fit hard-wired trackers, fully covert, with long life batteries and ready to use straight out of the pot. By splitting into two, UK GPS Tracker (http://ukgpstracker.co.uk/) and UK Car Tracker (http://ukcartracker.co.uk/), the websites are better able to target individuals looking for specific services. The websites are fully responsive and both include full information on the company, their approach and product offer, together with a free fast quote form for initial enquiries. A spokesperson for UK GPS Tracker explained, "We are very happy to be able to launch two new websites instead of one. When we conferred on our strategy with SEO consultants, it was apparent that there was a large share of the potential audience who were missing out on our services because of the kind of phrases they were using when searching. Our new website takes care of this, and will help us to create the best possible catchment area online. In turn, more people than ever will be able to benefit from our industry leading products and services." About UK GPS Tracker: UK GPS Tracker is a company that provides GPS tracking services to its clients, using GPS devices and applications. Their Mapping Panel is significantly improved with new features, eliminating the need to download software. It promises to be easier to use, with 24/7 access, and can be used for vehicles, fleets or even individual people. For more information, please visit http://ukgpstracker.co.uk/ Contact Info: Name: Holly Tennant Email: contact@ukgpstracker.co.uk Organization: UK GPS Tracker Phone: 0800 246 5952 Source: http://marketersmedia.com/uk-gps-tracker-launches-new-second-website-to-optimize-for-broader-audiences/131194 Release ID: 131194 For more information visit r Recent Press Releases By The Same User Agarwood Essential Oil Market Expected to Grow at CAGR 4.2% During 2016 to 2022"> (Fri 2nd Jun 17) Cyber Weapon Market by Type, Product, Application, Region, Outlook and Forecast to 2022 (Fri 2nd Jun 17) Landscaping and Gardening Expert Trevor McClintock Launches New Locally Optimized Website (Fri 2nd Jun 17) Sleep apnea devices Market is Evolving At A CAGR of 7.5% by 2022 (Fri 2nd Jun 17) Agriculture Technology Market 2017 Global Analysis, Opportunities and Forecast to 2022 (Fri 2nd Jun 17) Global VR Helmet Market by Manufacturers, Technology, Type and Application, Forecast to 2022 (Fri 2nd Jun 17) Security Guard UK Launch Two Newly Optimized Websites To Promote Services Online Security Guard UK has created a new localized London-based website, and another nationally focused website to help more people get the best security services available when searching online. -- Security is an increasingly essential element in ensuring events of all scales proceed as they should. As such, more people than ever are now searching for security companies online. Security Guard UK are one of the UKs leading providers of event security, but have relied on referrals and recommendations for the majority of their business. Now, they have launched not one but two new websites, in order to promote their services more effectively online, and ensure everyone can use the best security services in the UK. The new websites are optimized for different audiences. The first, Security Companies In London (http://securitycompaniesinlondon.uk/) is designed to help those in the capital find the company as a local listing, thanks to their headquarters in the city. The second, UK Event Security (http://ukeventsecurity.uk/), helps people find their event-specific security services nationwide when they are searching on major engines like Google and Bing. Both websites use a fully responsive infrastructure, loading seamlessly on any device. They both have a full accounting of the company's services and approach, as well as profiles on their experienced team of qualified professionals. Both are designed to ensure individuals are as confident as possible in trusting their services. They even have a fast, free quote form on the homepage to encourage enquiries. A spokesperson for Security Guard UK explained, "Security Guard UK is proud to be able to serve the entire country with the security services they need, at every scale of event or private function, or even to help businesses keep their premises and valuables secured. We offer the best security guards the UK has to offer - all highly trained, highly experienced, and highly reliable. What's more, we do this for the best value offered anywhere in the UK. By creating these two new websites, we can diversify the audiences who discover our services, and ensure they see that we can provide the solutions they need." About Security Guard UK: Security Guard UK is one of the best and most efficient security firms in the entire UK. Founded more than 10 years ago, Security Guard UK offers high quality, professional SIA approved protection for several commercial and residential customers - supplying the much needed peace of mind, every single moment to its loyal clienteles. For more information, please visit http://uksecurityguard.com/ Contact Info: Name: Luke Hawker Email: contact@uksecurityguard.com Organization: UK Security Guard Address: Green Park House, 15 Stratton Street, London, W1J 8LQ Phone: 0800 246 5902 Source: http://marketersmedia.com/security-guard-uk-launch-two-newly-optimized-websites-to-promote-services-online/131190 Release ID: 131190 For more information visit r Recent Press Releases By The Same User Agarwood Essential Oil Market Expected to Grow at CAGR 4.2% During 2016 to 2022"> (Fri 2nd Jun 17) Cyber Weapon Market by Type, Product, Application, Region, Outlook and Forecast to 2022 (Fri 2nd Jun 17) Landscaping and Gardening Expert Trevor McClintock Launches New Locally Optimized Website (Fri 2nd Jun 17) Sleep apnea devices Market is Evolving At A CAGR of 7.5% by 2022 (Fri 2nd Jun 17) Agriculture Technology Market 2017 Global Analysis, Opportunities and Forecast to 2022 (Fri 2nd Jun 17) Global VR Helmet Market by Manufacturers, Technology, Type and Application, Forecast to 2022 (Fri 2nd Jun 17) YEREVAN, SEPTEMBER 5, ARMENPRESS. During the 25 years of Armenias Independence Made in Armenia 2016 largest exhibition of products will be held on September 19-22. The Armenian production companies of various sectors will have a chance to be presented to the Armenian consumers, to establish ties with other companies in the market, as well as with foreign businessmen and investors, Director for Exports of Armenia Development Fund Hayk Mirzoyan said in an interview with Armenpress. He said up to September 1 the number of companies who want to take part in the exhibition is more than 300, but they had to limit the list of applications due to place limitations. This year the exhibition is being held within the framework of the 25th anniversary of Armenias Independence, this is perhaps the largest exhibition within 25 years. Over 300 companies have already expressed a wish to participate, including also 15 companies from Nagorno Karabakh, he said. The opening ceremony of Made in Armenia 2016 exhibition is scheduled on September 19 in Meridian center. The next day a conference entitled Armenia as a bridge to large markets will be held with the participation of the representatives of the EAEU states, high ranking officials and businessmen from Iran. On September 22 a fashion exhibition is expected to be held during which companies, as well as individual designers will show their works. Hayk Mirzoyan said a number of industrial sectors are taking part in the exhibition, including also the services field. The organizers have tried not to miss such productions which exist in Armenia. All sectors actively participate, but it depends also on the number of the existing companies operating in that sector in our country. One of our key trends is food industry, beverage production: this, perhaps, is the largest share, he said. He informed that more than 1000 invitations were sent to the officials and businessmen of various states. We expect delegations visits from different states. We will have guests from the EAEU states, Iraq, France, the US. We still wait for confirmations by the other states, he said. These exhibitions are important for the domestic producers to recognize each other, as well as in terms of consumers. We are planning to make unpaid transportation for visitors from the Republican Square to the exhibition center and vice versa, he said. We have a very quality product, we want the Armenian consumers to transfer their attention from what has been imported to the Armenian production, Hayk Mirzoyan said. To the view that many Armenian products are expensive compared to others offered by the market, he said: I dont think the Armenian production is expensive. If we compare it with the low quality product, it is expensive, but it is quite cheap compared to the same production quality standards, Hayk Mirzoyan said. Interview by Ani Nazaryan Best Place To Buy Civet Coffee Product Risks Certified Seller Report Launched Coffee Brewing Methods, a specialist coffee information site, has launched a new report on how civet coffee is made, and the importance of buying from certified sellers. It explains non-certified sellers can often use cruel farming methods. -- A coffee information site has launched a new report on civet coffee, the most expensive coffee in the world. Known as kopi luwak, it gets its name from the harvesting and processing method used to produce it, which can encompass different bean species like Arabica and Robusta and relies on using beans that have been partially digested by the Asian Palm civet. The report covers the history of the coffee and delves into the controversy around the product, as well as how customers can brew their own. More information can be found on the Coffee Brewing Methods website at: http://coffee-brewing-methods.com/coffee-beans-review/kopi-luwak-civet-coffee. Coffee Brewing Methods is a specialist coffee website where interested parties can find detailed reports on coffee history through the ages, as well as different guides on how to brew the best cup of coffee, whether visitors are looking for advice and information on Espresso, Turkish coffee, or any other kind of coffee drink. The new report explains that there is some risk when buying kopi luwak coffee, because there is a limited amount of genuine coffee, which drives the price up. The genuine product is created when the Asian palm civet eats the whole coffee cherries, digests the flesh, and then excretes the beans. Throughout the process, the beans are modified in a subtle way, which gives them a unique flavor. The Coffee Brewing Methods report emphasises that about 70% of civet coffee on the market is not authentic, and could have been made using farms with caged civets living under poor animal welfare. Recent investigations into the industry have shown that it is plagued by cruelty, with people looking for fast profits at the expense of the animals involved. Coffee Brewing Methods launched its report with the aim to help inform coffee lovers about the risk of buying civet coffee, and the importance of ensuring they use a trusted seller for their product. The report also details that the certified producer they recommend is Gayo Kopi, which has been certified through the Indonesian government. Interested parties can find more information about Gayo Kopi and their farming methods in the detailed civet coffee report published by Coffee Brewing Methods, as well as links to the company website. They donate a portion of their proceeds to the World Animal Protection Campaign. For more information, please visit http://coffee-brewing-methods.com/ Contact Info: Name: Peter Stone Organization: Coffee Brewing Methods Release ID: 131087 For more information visit r Recent Press Releases By The Same User Agarwood Essential Oil Market Expected to Grow at CAGR 4.2% During 2016 to 2022"> (Fri 2nd Jun 17) Cyber Weapon Market by Type, Product, Application, Region, Outlook and Forecast to 2022 (Fri 2nd Jun 17) Landscaping and Gardening Expert Trevor McClintock Launches New Locally Optimized Website (Fri 2nd Jun 17) Sleep apnea devices Market is Evolving At A CAGR of 7.5% by 2022 (Fri 2nd Jun 17) Agriculture Technology Market 2017 Global Analysis, Opportunities and Forecast to 2022 (Fri 2nd Jun 17) Global VR Helmet Market by Manufacturers, Technology, Type and Application, Forecast to 2022 (Fri 2nd Jun 17) Free Freightnet Membership List your company in the Freightnet directory. It's Free, it's Easy and your company can be displayed in front of potential freight buyers within 24 hours. YEREVAN, SEPTEMBER 5, ARMENPRESS. Turkish Prime Minister Binali Yildirim said according to their data there are over 14.000 teachers in Turkey having links with the Gulenists, Anadolu reported. He said the investigation will show how many of the suspects are directly associated with the Gulenists. The Turkish PM said they have discussed the issue with the education minister and agreed that all suspicious teachers who have been discovered will be suspended from duty. Official Ankara blames US-based Muslim Cleric Fethullah Gulen on organizing the military coup attempt in Turkey on July 15. From the very start Gulen denied his participation in the coup attempt. Boutique manager Oldfield Partners is to make three of its funds available to the retail market for the first time in a bid to expand its investor base. The Overstone Japanese Equity, European Equity and Smaller Companies offerings, originally launched as qualifying investor funds targeting sophisticated and institutional investors, will be merged into Ucits vehicles, effective from September 13. The fund house said that while qualifying investor vehicles had originally been appropriate for the portfolios and potential investors, Ucits had since become the de facto standard for pooled fund structures in the UK, Europe and beyond. Jamie Carter, chief executive at the firm, said of the Ucits shift: The Ucits structure will give a wider investor base access to these strategies, enabling Oldfield Partners to reduce the funds total expense ratio as the assets grow in each strategy. The firm, which has been active since 2005 and is led by former Mercury Asset Management chief investment officer Richard Oldfield, manages $4bn (3bn) for clients that include high-net-worth individuals, family offices and pension funds. Beyond Japan, Europe and smaller companies, it also focuses on areas such as global equity income. It suffered a blow earlier this summer, however, when St Jamess Place said it would shift a 200m global mandate to US firm Paradice. Oldfield had taken sole responsibility for the High Octane mandate since 2009. Richard Murley has been appointed as new chairman of United Trust Bank, following the retirement of Nicholas Clegg CBE. Previously, Mr Murley was chairman of the University College London Hospitals Foundation Trust since 2010. The trust is one of the most complex NHS trusts in the UK comprising six hospitals with a combined turnover of 934m and more than 8,000 members of staff. Mr Murley is a qualified solicitor and has worked within the City of London for more than 30 years. He started his career at Linklaters & Paines after a law degree from Oxford University, before moving into investment banking with Kleinwort Benson. Between 2003 and 2005 he took up a secondment as director general of The Takeover Panel following which he joined NM Rothschild & Son, where he is an executive vice chairman. Mr Murley is also a trustee of Crisis, the national charity for single homeless people. Mr Murley said: I am delighted to be joining the board of United Trust Bank and Im very much looking forward to assisting Graham and the management team as they move the Bank into the next stage of its successful development. Announcing his appointment, Graham Davin, chief executive officer of United Trust Bank, said: We are all delighted that Richard has agreed to join United Trust Bank as chairman. He arrives at a key juncture where the bank has emerged as a rapidly developing, organic, management controlled organisation, which is transitioning into a larger business with a growing impact and influence on its markets. Richard brings a fresh pair of eyes, risk skills honed in the medical care sector and significant merger and acquisition experience. The defined benefit pension deficit of the UKs 350 largest listed companies increased by 50bn in August to hit a record high of 189bn, figures released by Mercer had revealed. At the end of July, the DB pension schemes of the FTSE 350 companies were 139bn in deficit. On the 31 August, that figure had skyrocketed to 189bn, according to Mercer. Total assets under management increased by 20bn over the month to reach 737bn. Thanks to plummeting gilt and corporate bond yields, however, liabilities increased by 70bn to 926bn. Mercer reported both the deficit and liabilities of FTSE 350 companies were now at the highest they had ever been since Mercer began measuring them. Despite an increase in asset values over the month, August saw the biggest monthly rise in deficits since records began, said Ali Tayyebi, senior partner in Mercers Retirement business. This was largely driven by a further sharp fall in long-dated corporate bond yields. This also means that our reference long-dated corporate bond yield has now fallen below 2 per cent per annum for the first time representing yet another milestone into uncharted territory. Le Roy van Zyl, senior consultant at Mercers Financial Strategy Group, said the seemingly relentless march in pension scheme deficit increases would have to be dealt with. The first key question to address is how much deficit contributions should the sponsor be paying, recognising the security needs of the pension scheme as well as the appropriate alternative uses for this cash, he said. Another key question is how much risk should currently be run; on the one hand, can the scheme and sponsor afford conditions to deteriorate further, but on the other; what is the opportunity cost if risk is reduced now and markets improve from here on out? Mr van Zyl said letting things drift was as dangerous an approach as taking rushed action. Last week, JLT Employee Benefits revealed that just 11 companies in the FTSE 250 companies - the smaller cohort in the FTSE 350 - were contributing more than 5 per cent of employee benefits to DB schemes. The firm predicted accrual would almost completely stop by the end of 2016. On Friday (2 September), retail giant Marks & Spencer told active members of its defined benefit scheme that they will no longer be able to accrue addtitional benefits from April 2017. james.fernyhough@ft.com September marked the introduction of capital adequacy requirements for self-invested personal pension providers, raising the cost of doing businesses for providers offering non-standard investments. FTAdviser contacted a number of providers to find out how the new rules had impacted their fees and charges. Sixteen providers came back with detailed breakdowns of their charging structure. All but two providers - Morgan Lloyd and Sippchoice - said they had not lifted their fees as a result of the cap ad rules. One provider, London Colonial, said a charge was likely to be introduced in the next review. By far the most expensive Sipp on the list was Morgan Lloyds Qualitas product. For an investor holding non-standard investments, in the first year the Qualitas Sipp would cost 2,125, including set-up fees and capital adequacy charges. The second most expensive was MW Pensions, which could cost investors as much as 1,100 in the first year, plus an undisclosed capital adequacy charge for members holding non-standard assets. However, as with a number of providers, MW Pensions Sipp charges differ depending on the complexity of investments, and can cost as little as 275 in the first year. Full Sipps offered by Dentons, London Colonial, Rowanmoor and Sippchoice were next on the list, with costs ranging from 750 to 895. The cheapest Sipp on the list was, potentially AJ Bell, which for customers starting with a pot of more than 25,000, and investing in AJ Bells Funds and Shares product, could have no fees at all. However, for other investors it could cost as much 220 in the first year. Standard Life customers could also potentially pay no fees. Members of a James Hay Sipp with more than 195,000 who set-up online would also pay no fees. However, those set-up with a paper form and who have less than 195,000 would pay 295. Curtis Banks eSipp costs between 100 and 150, with no set-up fee. Liberty Sipp has an annual fee of 150 and no set-up fee. Hargreaves Lansdown, Aviva and Nucleus all charge percentage fees, meaning low balance Sipps would attract very low fees. Those three providers also charge no set-up fee. London Colonial (for its Simple Investments online Sipp), and Rowanmoor (for its Single Investment Sipp) came next on affordability. As for exit charges, the most expensive FTAdviser found was Momentum, which charges a maximum of 500, followed by Morgan Lloyds full Sipp, which charges 450. For low exit fees, Hargreaves Lansdown charged 50, followed by AJ Bell which charged just 75. Of the providers FTAdviser contacted, Mattioli Woods and Suffolk Life did not provide detailed breakdowns of their costs and fees. A spokesperson for Mattioli Woods said: Our initial fees and annual fees vary from client to client. A spokesperson for Suffolk Life made no comment on fees, but said they had not increased them to meet capital adequacy rules. Below is a detailed breakdown of the fees and charges of the Sipps from providers that disclosed the information to FTAdviser. YEREVAN, SEPTEMBER 5, ARMENPRESS. The meeting of Russian and US Presidents Vladimir Putin and Barack Obama went off well and lasted longer than planned. The Syrian issue and Ukraine were discussed first and foremost, Russian presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters following talks on Monday, TASS reported. "The meeting lasted longer than planned. (The two presidents) discussed, above all, Syria and Ukraine. After that Obama and Putin a one-on-one meeting behind closed doors," the Kremlin spokesman said. He added that the meeting went off well. "The work will continue," Peskov said. Samsung Galaxy Note 7 Latest News & Update: Recalled for Battery Problems Halts its Market, Read Samsung's Solution As it turns out, Samsung is heeding the advice of authorities to recall the defective Galaxy Note 7. In a statement released by Samsung, it stated that, they have made the necessary investigation and found out that the battery is the problem. As of September 1, Samsung has recorded at least 35 cases of defective Samsung Galaxy Note 7. because of this, they decided to cease the sales of the device in the global market. Meanwhile, for those who have already bought the Galaxy Note 7, Samsung promised to replace them in the coming weeks. They also acknowledged the inconvenience, the recall is causing, but because their main concern is their customer's safety, the Samsung Galaxy Note 7 recall is a must. Despite the statement, others believe that Samsung is mishandling the recall, saying they have not actually released a formal letter, requesting the cease of the Samsung Galaxy Note 7 sale. Apparently, consumers want to see clear guidelines on the next step after the recall. Currently, consumers who already bought the device will have to wait for Samsung to send them the replacement. Consumer Reports suggest that, once Samsung files an official recall request, the sale of the Samsung Galaxy Note 7 will be illegal, thus preventing the device from getting in the hands of unsuspecting consumers. Whether it's from individual consumers or retailers, the spread of defective Galaxy Note 7 will be prevented. Samsung failed to give more details on the recall process as well as disclose the serial numbers of devices affected by the recall. The Samsung Galaxy Note 7 battery problem is said to have stemmed from the brand's fast charging feature. Make sure to follow us here on GameNGuide to get the latest news and update about the Samsung Galaxy Note 7 recall. Microsoft Surface Phone Latest News & Updates: New Phone to be Announced At IFA 2016, Rumored Specs Leaked! The second generation device lineup for the Microsoft might be officially announced soon. As the IFA conference is approaching, this may be the best occasion for Microsoft to introduce its Surface Phone series. Surface Phone To Be Announced At IFA 2016 There are many speculations that the release of the upcoming Microsoft Surface Phone will be released sometime this year after the first rumors hit online. And as the year is nearly about to end, many rumors going online suggesting that the Microsoft Surface Phone will be unveiled during the IFA 2016. But according to PC Advisor, the new Microsoft Surface Phone is said to be introduced together with the upcoming Surface Pro 5 at the event held by Microsoft this coming October. The Surface Phone is said to be replacing the Lumia 950 and the 950 XL devices which was released last November 2015. The upcoming Microsoft phone will be expected to have more stable Windows 10 Mobile operating system. Fudzilla also added that the enterprise portfolio of the tech company Microsoft included the new Microsoft Surface Phone as a long term project. Tech Times also reported that the Surface Phone will surely cater to the business market according to Kevin Gallo, who is the head of the Windows platform. Rumored Specs & Features iTech Post said in an article that the Microsoft Surface Phone will come with a 5.5 inch AMOLED display screen. But there are three rumoured options for its storage, a 32 GB storage with 3 GB RAM, a 128 GB storage with 6 GB RAM and a 500 GB storage with an 8 GB of RAM. Microsoft Surface Phone processor also has three rumoured versions, some said the device will have either a Snapdragon 821, Snapdragon 830 or an Intel Atom 64-bit CPU. 'Nintendo NX' Release Date, News & Updates: Goodbye Discs; Next Console Will Reportedly Use Cartridges Nintendo NX is currently in development and there are rumors that it will feature cartridges instead of discs, similar to the Nintendo 3DS. Company insiders shared that the Nintendo NX will go retro, which may appeal to classic gamers. The Nintendo 3DS currently relies on cartridges at present. Nintendo NX will most likely showcase smaller cartridges compared to the ones used by Super Nintendo and N64 in the past. GameSpot noted that one of the main issues with cartridges on Nintendo NX is the limited data that these can contain compared to discs. Normally, PlayStation 4 and Xbox One game discs can save up to 50 GB of data and usually require additional installations on the console hard drives. It is still uncertain how much data each Nintendo NX cartridge can contain, or whether the company will provide some enhancements that allows it to store more information. The Wall Street Journal reported that chip-based cartridges are getting much attention again, due to stiff competition among semiconductor creators like Samsung Electronic Co. and Toshiba Corp. These companies are working to develop flash memory that can store more data onto small chips at lower prices. According to industry watchers, the Nintendo NX may benefit from cartridges because the company is targeting a wider range of consumers compared to its competitors. Some of the benefits that Nintendo NX cartridges can provide include more resistance against damage, faster loading times, more difficult to replicate and faster mass production. Some experts agree that cartridges are the best format to distribute games physically. However, a Nintendo spokesman did not comment on whether Nintendo NX will indeed feature cartridges. There are reports that Nintendo NX may be both a handheld device, as well as compatible with a television set. Some say that adopting a cartridge should maintain the device's portability. There are also reports that the Nintendo NX may feature detachable controller modules that attach to both sides of the screen. Nintendo NX will be introduced before the end of 2016. Some speculate that an announcement may happen before the Tokyo Game Show on Sept. 15, 2016. More updates and details are expected soon. Health officials said the local coronavirus outlook remained stable this week, though they continued to warn against a potential winter surge. YEREVAN, SEPTEMBER 5, ARMENPRESS. President of Armenia Serzh Sargsyan attended the opening ceremony of the renovated Music School named after P.I. Tchaikovsky on September 5, press service of the Presidential administration informed Armenpress. Accompanied by Minister of Culture Hasmik Poghosyan, Yerevan Mayor Taron Margaryan, the representatives of Hayastan All Armenian Fund and the Music school, the Armenian President toured the newly opened school, got acquainted with the learning conditions, talked with the school teachers and pupils. Thereafter, the Armenian President listened the pupils performances in the renovated hall. School Director Martun Kostandyan, Executive Director of Hayastan All Armenian Fund Ara Vardanyan and Chairman of Armenia Fund USA, the Hayastan All-Armenian Funds East Coast affiliate Khoren Bandazyan delivered speeches. They said due to the renovation the school status has reached a new level, and now it is possible to organize the study of talented children from the remote regions of the Republic, Nagorno Karabakh, abroad in the school. This in its turn will enable to improve the educational process and reach new achievements. Today more than 600 pupils study in the Music school. Willamette Community Bank, which is based in Albany, needs to keep growing, said CEO and President Dan McDowell, and one rather large step in that direction is creating a new branch office in Salem. To find efficiencies, we need to be bigger than we are, McDowell said. We see this as an opportunity to expand into one of the largest markets in Oregon where we have a proven track record of performance, he added. The downtown Salem location, at 400 Commercial St. S.E., is expected to open in early 2017, and it will be Willamette Community Banks third branch. The bank currently has branches in Albany and Lebanon, and the new Salem branch will replace a loan production office in Salem on Liberty Street. The loan production office we opened in 2014 has already produced good results for us and the market is demanding more than we can deliver through that office, McDowell said. In essence, the loan office led to new bank customers in Salem, and they wanted to be able to talk with someone at a local branch rather than do their banking on the Internet. Willamette Community Bank currently has 25 employees, but that number is expected to expand a bit with the Salem branch. The Salem branch isnt the only bit of recent growth for the local financial institution. At the close of 2015, Willamette Community Bank had $88.3 million in deposits, up $4 million from 2014, according to a shareholder report. The Albany office alone had $72 million in deposits, up from $58 million just three years before and those figures made it the largest single bank branch by deposits in the city, McDowell said. Whats just as important, McDowell added, is that Willamette Community Bank had $72.9 million in outstanding loans in 2015, up $5.4 million from 2014. The money stays here. Youre promoting local enterprise, McDowell said. McDowell credited the recent growth of the bank to a focus on business customers, who typically carry higher balances. About a third of Willamette Community Banks accounts are business accounts. We do things just a little bit differently than a lot of other banks, McDowell said. He said that he hired bankers with broad backgrounds who are able to talk to clients about business models and more. We will tell them the truth about what we think we can do for them and why and, in the process, educate them about a good solution, McDowell said. McDowell, who grew up in Lebanon and Albany, started his banking career in Salem. He joined Willamette Community Bank about three years ago. Willamette Community Bank was created in 2003 as a response to Umpqua Bank purchasing the Linn-Benton Bank. That left Linn County without a locally owned bank. For more information on Willamette Community Bank, call the Albany branch at 541-926-9000 or go to www.willamettecommunitybank.com. Longtime doctors Mike May and John Gotchall wanted to change how the medical community treats patients, so they are opening Sahali Health Clinic in Corvallis in October. The new primary care clinic will focus on patients with multiple complex chronic conditions, and, besides the office space, will offer telemedicine to monitor residents in their homes or elsewhere. Patients will be able to use their smartphones, tablets or computers to send in test results or observations to the clinic and to regularly communicate with medical staff there. A resident with diabetes, for example, would report blood sugar levels daily. We reach out to patients to make sure theyre doing well, said May, the clinic's CEO. That degree of connectivity makes a huge difference to people. We can identify problems before they become disasters, said Gotchall, the chief medical officer for the organization. Sahali Health Clinic is partnered with Kannact Inc., a local telemedicine startup company. Kannacts tools are designed for people who dont necessarily have a lot of experience with technology. The clinic will focus on prevention and early intervention. Patients with long-term medical conditions often end up putting off seeking treatment and then need a hospital stay. On the flip side, they can also get worried and make unnecessary doctor appointments or hospital visits. People are having to decide when they have these serious issues if theyre sick enough to get help, May said. And the remote biometric monitoring and other forms of telemedicine will make it easy for Sahali Health Clinic staff members to intervene. Gotchall said that Sahali Health Clinic will use family members as a resource in checking in with patients, as well. Most people have a little bit of a village we can tap into, he added. Sahali staff also will make sure that medicine or treatments from patients multiple specialists dont clash. A normal primary care physician would have about 2,500 to 4,000 patients, May said. He hopes to eventually serve 4,000 with two doctors and two nurse practitioners. Sahali is starting to develop a list of patients before its October opening. The clinics initial patients will be primarily Medicare-enrolled residents of the mid-Willamette Valley and the central Oregon coast. Medicare is shifting toward the same prevention and early intervention model that Sahali will use, and is directing doctors to address chronic disease management on an outpatient basis. When Medicare moves in a certain direction, other insurance carriers move in that direction, as well, May said. May previously developed and ran the mental health programs at Samaritan Health Services and started Heartspring Wellness Center and the Samaritan psychiatry residence program. Gotchall helped develop the intensive care unit at Good Samaritan Regional Medical Center in Corvallis. Sahali Health Clinic is named after Sahali Falls, which gets its moniker from a Chinook word meaning heavenly or coming from above. Its just a beautiful place and it has healing energy to it. And thats what were creating, May said. Sahali Health Clinic, 2211 N.W. Professional Drive, will have an open house from 2 p.m. to 6 p.m. Sept. 28. For more information, call 1-844-5-SAHALI (1-844-572-4254) or go to info@sahalihealth.com. You think your job has some challenges? It could be worse: You could make a living trying to predict elections. So we read with considerable interest (and more than a bit of sympathy) a story over the weekend in The Washington Post by Dan Balz, one of the paper's crackerjack political reporters. Balz was reporting on this year's meeting of the American Political Science Association, in which some of the nation's top political scientists gathered to offer their predictions about this year's presidential election. (Predictions by a number of the experts will be published soon in an issue of the journal PS: Political Science and Politics.) It must have been tempting for the gathered political scientists just to toss up their hands the way that many voters already seem to have done with the presidential election and say, as one: "We don't know. It's crazy. Wake us up when it's over." But that would have been unprofessional. So these brave academics went ahead and weighed in with their thoughts about how the presidential election would play out. They were not unanimous. Most of them, Balz reported, thought that Hillary Clinton would be the winner. But at least two of the academics thought that Donald Trump would win. All of them emphasized that this has not been a typical election year. With that said, though, some fundamentals come into play in any election, regardless of the candidates, and the academics focus on those fundamentals. (The academics put different amounts of weight on different fundamentals, which explains how you can get different outcomes.) This is an open-seat election, meaning that there is no incumbent. That usually makes for a tighter race. The depth of polarization in the country also points to a tight election, Balz reported. A third factor suggesting a tight election is presidential approval: President Barack Obama's current approval rating is high enough to give Clinton a boost, but not enough to guarantee victory. After that, the crystal balls turn murky: Public opinion polls have tended to give an edge to the Democratic candidate, but the economy's slow growth and the country's sour mood could help the Republican. One forecaster, Alan Abramowitz of Emory University, uses what he calls a Time for Change Forecasting Model. The model doesn't use polling data. Instead, it considers the incumbent president's approval rating at midyear, the growth rate of real gross domestic product in the second quarter of the election year and the length of time the incumbent president's party has held the White House. The model this year predicts a narrow victory for Trump. Abramowitz, for the record, is suggesting that his model could be wrong: "A model like mine that relies entirely on fundamentals is likely to miss the result because Trump is such an atypical candidate," he said. In fact, he told Balz that he was hoping that it would be wrong this year. And so it goes in this oddball election year. One of the political scientists, James E. Campbell of the University of Buffalo, likes to prepare his own campaign paraphernalia for friends. He told Balz that this year's creation is a bumper sticker: The first line says, My candidate is an idiot, he said. The second line is, Your candidate is worse. News Story not available This story has been published on: 2022-10-29. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article. This story is no longer available on our site. YEREVAN, SEPTEMBER 5, ARMENPRESS. A true architectural wonder the worlds longest and highest glass-bottomed bridge which provides visitors with magnificent views of Chinas Zhangjiajie mountains has been closed indefinitely just two weeks after its opening, RT reported. The record-breaking structure which gives even the most robust adrenaline junkies the chills, was closed on Friday just 13 days after its grand opening in China's Zhangjiajie Grand Canyon, authorities said. On Thursday officials posted an announcement on the Chinese microblogging site Weibo, saying the bridge has been closed due to the urgency to improve and update the construction. The officials said no damage had been done to the bridge and it just needed upgrading. Meanwhile a spokesman from the Zhangjiajie Grand Canyon's marketing and sales department told CNN the tourist attraction had been overwhelmed by the volume of visitors. While the bridge is limited to 8,000 people a day, ten times the number of visitors wanted to get onto the skywalk on a daily basis, the official said. The bridges closure prompted disappointment from its would-be-visitors.I have booked everything and now you are saying you are closed ... are you kidding me? one user wrote in response to the authorities announcement. The date for the bridges reopening is yet to be announced. The 430-meter-long (1,400ft) skywalk, which was designed by Israeli architect Haim Dotan, is suspended some 300 meters (985 feet) above the ground. Made of 99 panels of clear glass, it hangs between two mountain cliffs in Zhangjiajie, Hunan province. Not only does the transparent skywalk allows its visitors to enjoy exceptional scenery from a high vantage point, but it also provides the chance to test ones nerves. 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. Heiderhof Center : Five of 15 businesses remain empty Bad Godesberg With a bank soon to close and 5 business spaces unrented, residents and politicians are concerned about the future of the Heiderhof Center. Teilen Teilen Weiterleiten Weiterleiten Tweeten Tweeten Weiterleiten Weiterleiten Drucken The future of the Heiderhof shopping center is of concern for local politicians and residents. Soon, the Sparkasse Bank will close down its branch there and five spaces at the shopping center remain empty. Of the total of 15 businesses, the empty rental spaces are smaller ones. The city doesnt see local shopping on the Heiderhof to be in jeopardy, however. Because of the 600-square meter supermarket, which offers a home delivery service, and other shops, services and gastronomic offers, it feels the area is well-served. Important, says the city, is that residents who live in the area support their local businesses instead of traveling to nearby towns or shopping on the internet for their needs. City council member Christoph Jansen commented that people living in Muffendorf often drive up to the Heiderhof to shop and would be also inclined to go there if high traffic stores such as discounters or drug stores would settle in. The administration wants to meet at the latest in October to discuss a strategy for the future of the shopping center. YEREVAN, SEPTEMBER 5, ARMENPRESS. Artsakh Roots Investments company has carried out over 3.5 million USD investments for the development of agriculture in the NKRs Nor Shahumyan and Kashatagh regions in 2010-2016, representative of the company Benjamin Bchakchyan said to journalists on September 5. He said the company recently initiated a new housing construction project according to which 150 new apartments will be constructed. This is not a charitable organization, rather it is an investment company which aims to provide investments from Diaspora for the economic development and the resettlement of these two regions. The company has been established in 2010. We have started with 16 entrepreneurs, but now already 180 entrepreneurs are part of the organization. They are people from different spheres. They probably do not know even each other, but they are inclined to make investments for that purpose. We have started the major project by giving microloans for agricultural development. We are carrying our these works by signing an agreement with the NKR Government, by their guarantee, as well as by the cooperation with the rural and agricultural development fund. We have not only contributed to improving the living conditions of those families, but also to the economic development of these regions, 20-25% population growth has also been recorded, he said, Armenpress reported. Recently we have initiated a new project which relates to the housing construction. We have Syrian-Armenian brothers who, due to the events in Syria, expressed a wish to move to Nagorno Karabakh and resettle these territories. We have assisted this project which will last three months, he said. He informed that on September 3 already 25 apartments were put into operation. HUH? Ghana Cedis Valuable Than Naira, Currently N500 Is Equivalent To 5 Ghana Cedis kacylee at 5-09-2016 09:14 PM (6 years ago) (f) Some years back ghana's currency was a ridicule,nobody wanted to own a cedi then but as of 17/07/2012 one cedi equals 82 naira. Oil was discovered in ghana some years back but they didn't depend only on oil... Reeno Omokri like other well meaning Nigerians laments on the way the Naira is being ridiculed in the international market.... Which way NIGERIA? Some years back ghana's currency was a ridicule,nobody wanted to own a cedi then but as of 17/07/2012 one cedi equals 82 naira. Oil was discovered in ghana some years back but they didn't depend only on oil... Reeno Omokri like other well meaning Nigerians laments on the way the Naira is being ridiculed in the international market.... Which way NIGERIA? Post Reply I have been reporting for several years now and I am very interested in visual news reportage with strong inclusion of photos and video multimedia. Posted: at 5-09-2016 09:14 PM (6 years ago) | Addicted Hero jeroba1 at 5-09-2016 09:25 PM (6 years ago) (m) na so we c am Posted: at 5-09-2016 09:25 PM (6 years ago) | Gistmaniac na so we c am Reply danielsony at 5-09-2016 09:33 PM (6 years ago) (m) Nigeria jagajaga Posted: at 5-09-2016 09:33 PM (6 years ago) | Gistmaniac Nigeria jagajaga Reply Lilycedar2 at 5-09-2016 09:50 PM (6 years ago) (f) Hmm Posted: at 5-09-2016 09:50 PM (6 years ago) | Upcoming Hmm Reply Slimchery at 5-09-2016 09:51 PM (6 years ago) (m) THE WAY THIS NAIJA DEY GO NOW, I NOR SURE SAY HOPE DEY FOR US AGAIN Posted: at 5-09-2016 09:51 PM (6 years ago) | Gistmaniac THE WAY THIS NAIJA DEY GO NOW, I NOR SURE SAY HOPE DEY FOR US AGAIN Reply Slimchery at 5-09-2016 09:53 PM (6 years ago) (m) THIS IS THE END OF ONCE A GIANT OF AFRICA, NOW NA CROCROACH OF AFRICA Posted: at 5-09-2016 09:53 PM (6 years ago) | Gistmaniac THIS IS THE END OF ONCE A GIANT OF AFRICA, NOW NA CROCROACH OF AFRICA Reply Slimchery at 5-09-2016 09:55 PM (6 years ago) (m) I DEY LOOK D HOPE OF NAIJA NOW LIKE DREAM WEY NOR DEY COME TO REALITY, ALL THOSE KIND DREAM WEY PERSON WEY DEY SLEEP UNDER BRIDGE DEY DREAM SAY HIM DEY SLEEP INSIDE MANSION AND HIM PARK MANY CARS FOR THE COMPOUND Posted: at 5-09-2016 09:55 PM (6 years ago) | Gistmaniac I DEY LOOK D HOPE OF NAIJA NOW LIKE DREAM WEY NOR DEY COME TO REALITY, ALL THOSE KIND DREAM WEY PERSON WEY DEY SLEEP UNDER BRIDGE DEY DREAM SAY HIM DEY SLEEP INSIDE MANSION AND HIM PARK MANY CARS FOR THE COMPOUND Reply Slimchery at 5-09-2016 09:56 PM (6 years ago) (m) I DONE DEY SEE THIS BUHARI NOW AS DEVIL AGENT, DEVIL SEND AM TO COME KILL NAIJA AND CLEARN THE NAME AWAY FROM WORLD MAP BUT YOU NOR GO FIT BECAUSE OUR GOD PASS YOU Posted: at 5-09-2016 09:56 PM (6 years ago) | Gistmaniac I DONE DEY SEE THIS BUHARI NOW AS DEVIL AGENT, DEVIL SEND AM TO COME KILL NAIJA AND CLEARN THE NAME AWAY FROM WORLD MAP BUT YOU NOR GO FIT BECAUSE OUR GOD PASS YOU Reply anitajoseph at 5-09-2016 09:57 PM (6 years ago) (f) Well done Nigeria Shameless country Posted: at 5-09-2016 09:57 PM (6 years ago) | Gistmaniac Well done NigeriaShameless country Reply kison at 5-09-2016 09:57 PM (6 years ago) (m) SOMEBODY WILL STILL FOOLISHLY BLAME THIS ON BUHARIYOU LOONYY'ALL BETTER BE careful, be very very careful, CAREFULLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL. Posted: at 5-09-2016 09:57 PM (6 years ago) | Hero SOMEBODY WILL STILL FOOLISHLY BLAME THIS ON BUHARIYOU LOONYY'ALL BETTER BE careful, be very very careful, CAREFULLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL. Reply Slimchery at 5-09-2016 10:06 PM (6 years ago) (m) CAN ANYBODY GIVE ME HOPE OF A BETTER NIGERIA? Posted: at 5-09-2016 10:06 PM (6 years ago) | Gistmaniac CAN ANYBODY GIVE ME HOPE OF A BETTER NIGERIA? Reply freethinker at 5-09-2016 10:17 PM (6 years ago) (m) BUHARI,,,BUHARI....BUHARI,,, Posted: at 5-09-2016 10:17 PM (6 years ago) | Gistmaniac BUHARI,,,BUHARI....BUHARI,,, Reply senatordee01 at 5-09-2016 10:20 PM (6 years ago) (m) totally ridiculous Posted: at 5-09-2016 10:20 PM (6 years ago) | Gistmaniac totally ridiculous Reply gogoman at 5-09-2016 10:32 PM (6 years ago) (m) NIGERIA FOR LIFE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Posted: at 5-09-2016 10:32 PM (6 years ago) | Addicted Hero NIGERIA FOR LIFE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Reply scotik at 5-09-2016 10:35 PM (6 years ago) (m) This is just the beginning, sai Buhari sai Buhari sai Buhari. This just early morning when is mid morning I really wonder what happen then. In this jet age, a man without a certificate to be in control of a nation like NIGERIA what a shame. I'm only blaming those who voted this man into power out of sentiment now they r suffering Posted: at 5-09-2016 10:35 PM (6 years ago) | Upcoming This is just the beginning, sai Buhari sai Buhari sai Buhari. This just early morning when is mid morning I really wonder what happen then. In this jet age, a man without a certificate to be in control of a nation like NIGERIA what a shame. I'm only blaming those who voted this man into power out of sentiment now they r suffering Reply emytex74 at 5-09-2016 11:16 PM (6 years ago) (m) Na change na dey neva grand beans moimoi don dey smell nkaa ka bu mbido Posted: at 5-09-2016 11:16 PM (6 years ago) | Gistmaniac Na change na dey neva grand beans moimoi don dey smell nkaa ka bu mbido Reply okatee at 5-09-2016 11:33 PM (6 years ago) (m) I'M NT SURPRISE, WE ARE IN D ERA OF CHANGE, BABA BUGARI Posted: at 5-09-2016 11:33 PM (6 years ago) | Gistmaniac I'M NT SURPRISE, WE ARE IN D ERA OF CHANGE, BABA BUGARI Reply benosky4 at 5-09-2016 11:34 PM (6 years ago) (m) Worst case scenario #MyVerdict. Posted: at 5-09-2016 11:34 PM (6 years ago) | Gistmaniac Worst case scenario Reply sandler at 5-09-2016 11:41 PM (6 years ago) (m) wasted generation Posted: at 5-09-2016 11:41 PM (6 years ago) | Gistmaniac wasted generation Reply Xiaomi MIUI 8: Top 5 Hidden Tips and Tricks Which You May Like Tips Tricks oi -Vigneshwar Recently, Xiaomi has rolled out its latest MIUI update in India recently to all its devices. While some devices, including Redmi 1S, Mi 2/2S, Mi 4i, Redmi Note 3G, Redmi Note 4G got the software update, other devices will receive the update gradually. The MIUI 8 comes with new colors in system app UI including Phone, Dialer, Calendar, Contacts. The company has changed the notification bar as well the drop down bar in the white background similar to iOS. If you have already installed the MIUI 8, you can try the below tricks to make the most out of it. SEE ALSO: List of All 4G Smartphones Compatible With Reliance Jio Service Hide your apps If you want to keep some of your apps private from others, this trick is going to help you for sure. All you need to do is to go to beta features in the additional settings and head on to the option called app invisible. Select the app you want to hide! Shake it to arrange it! Sometimes we all get irritated, when there are lots of apps on the display screen getting arranged randomly after installation. Now arrange the apps just by few shakes. SEE ALSO: Here's How to Get and Activate a Reliance Jio SIM Card Two finger notification swipe This works well when you just want to sneak on the notification. All you need to do is to just swipe your fingers to expand the notifications. Moreover, there is an option to reply directly as well. Tap and hold notification toggles The latest MIUI update comes with a whole new notification panel with white shades, where the options/toggle are arranged in a line similar to iPhone. If you want to access the page of the toggle just press and hold on to the notification toggle for 3 to 4 seconds to access the full setting of the page. Protect your messages and files The MIUI 8 has a private messaging and hidden file feature integrated within its default app. Now it gives you the option to set the password to prevent your data. In order to do this, head on to the apps and swipe the screen downwards till the private section appears. Follow the steps thereafter! Best Mobiles in India Microsoft, Google sign up for EU-US Privacy Shield News oi -GizBot Bureau American tech giants Microsoft, Google and Salesforce have officially adopted the EU-US Privacy Shield framework, enabling them to receive personal data from the European Union (EU) in compliance with the new standards. They are now among the 103 companies -- out of the 5,526 signatories -- that have so far signed up to replace the defunct Safe Harbour framework. SEE ALSO: How to Get 1 GB at Re. 1 with BSNL's New Broadband Plan Facebook, Apple and Twitter are yet to adopt Privacy Shield, Britain-based Ars Technica website reported. The European Commission adopted the Privacy Shield in July to facilitate the transfer of personal data from the EU to the US. Privacy Shield is a voluntary scheme, whereby companies promise to treat European citizens' personal data in compliance with European Union data rules. Those pledges are then enforced by the US Department of Commerce. According to the EU, the arrangement was necessary because the US does not meet the data protection standards required by Europe. The European Court of Justice annulled the previous law in October 2015. Since its introduction in 2000, the previous agreement had come to be relied on by 4,400 businesses, including internet giants such as Facebook, Google and Amazon. But an Austrian law student argued that since Facebook data was subjected to mass surveillance by US intelligence agencies, it did not offer an adequate level of protection. The student lodged a complaint with the Irish supervisory authority, in the light of the revelations made in 2013 by American whistleblower Edward Snowden concerning the activities of the US intelligence services, in particular the National Security Agency (NSA). The case was later transferred to the European court. After investigation, European Court of Justice concluded the agreement invalid, saying "the transfer of the data of Facebook's European subscribers to the US should be suspended." SEE ALSO: Acer Predator 21 X Gaming Laptop with Curved Display Launched: Is It Worth the Price? Recently, in a setback to US tech giant Apple, the European Commission announced that Ireland must demand 13 billion Euros in taxes from the Cupertino, San Francisco-based company. The White House has termed the order for tech giant Apple as unfair. Source IANS Best Mobiles in India Facebook, To stay updated with latest technology news & gadget reviews, follow GizBot on Twitter YouTube and also subscribe to our notification. Allow Notifications U.S., Coalition Continue Strikes Against ISIL in Syria, Iraq From a Combined Joint Task Force Operation Inherent Resolve News Release SOUTHWEST ASIA, Sept. 4, 2016 U.S. and coalition military forces continued to attack Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant terrorists in Syria and Iraq yesterday, Combined Joint Task Force Operation Inherent Resolve officials reported today. Officials reported details of yesterday's strikes, noting that assessments of results are based on initial reports. Strikes in Syria Attack, fighter, and remotely piloted aircraft conducted 11 strikes in Syria: -- Near Raqqah, a strike destroyed three ISIL cranes. -- Near Dayr Az Zawr, a strike destroyed an ISIL tanker truck. -- Near Manbij, eight strikes engaged seven ISIL tactical units and destroyed two fighting positions, a logistical hub, a vehicle bomb, an anti-air artillery system, and two vehicles. -- Near Mar'a, a strike engaged an ISIL tactical unit. Strikes in Iraq Coalition military forces used rocket artillery and fighter and remotely piloted aircraft to conduct eight strikes, coordinated with and in support of the Iraqi government: -- Near Hit, a strike destroyed two ISIL buildings and two vehicles. -- Near Mosul, two strikes engaged an ISIL tactical unit and a financial storage center, and destroyed an assembly area, a command and control node, a rocket system, five rocket rails, two fighting positions, a bulldozer, and a vehicle. -- Near Ramadi, two strikes engaged two separate ISIL tactical units and destroyed three buildings, two mortar caches, a vehicle, and a mortar system. -- Near Sultan Abdallah, two strikes engaged an ISIL weapons cache and a building. -- Near Tal Afar, a strike produced inconclusive results. 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 a 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, the region, 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, Denmark, France, Jordan, the Netherlands, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, the United Arab Emirates, and the United Kingdom. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Israeli jets attack Syrian government positions in Golan Heights Iran Press TV Sun Sep 4, 2016 8:11PM Israel says that it has targeted Syrian military positions after mortar fire landed in an open area in the occupied Golan Heights. On Sunday, Tel Aviv released a statement claiming that it had struck Syrian "cannons" during an airstrike in Syria's Golan Heights after "mortar fire" hit an unpopulated area. Following the incident, Israeli military spokesman Peter Lerner tweeted that the Syrian government must be held accountable for the shelling. Tel Aviv has targeted the region several times in recent years. On August 22, Israeli jets carried out an airstrike in the area, again claiming that the attack was in retaliation for stray fire from Syrian fighting factions that landed inside Israel. Syria says Israel and its Western and regional allies are aiding Takfiri militant groups operating inside the Arab country. Moreover, the Syrian army has repeatedly seized huge quantities of Israeli-made weapons and advanced military equipment from the foreign-backed militants inside Syria. Israel seized the Golan Heights from Syria after the 1967 Six-Day War and later occupied it in a move that has never been recognized by the international community. The regime has built tens of illegal settlements in the area ever since and has used the region to carry out a number of military operations against the Syrian government. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address YEREVAN, SEPTEMBER 5, ARMENPRESS.Hundreds of children who came to the UK as refugees have gone missing, prompting fears that they are being sexually exploited or have been sold by human traffickers, according to government data revealed by The Independent, reports RT. UK authorities have no information about 360 refugee children, according to the figures obtained by the paper from the Home Office under the Freedom of Information Act. A total number of 9,287 children have arrived to the UK as unaccompanied minors over the past five years. Eighty-one of the 360 vanished children have been missing for five years, a further 77 disappeared four years ago and 87 others disappeared off the radar three years ago. The government has failed to ensure the safety of the minors who arrived unaccompanied to the UK, and they are being let down by a system which is meant to keep them safe, campaigners and MPs say, according to The Independent. Refugee children in the UK are most commonly sent to childrens homes or are placed with a foster family. Social workers are obliged to constantly check on them by arranging meetings and making phone calls. Unfortunately, the problem is not uncommon in Europe. Its been revealed earlier that 10,000 child refugees have gone missing across Europe since they registered with local authorities, Europol's chief of staff told the Observer newspaper in January. Italy has 5,000 missing refugee children, while in Sweden this number has reached 1,000, he added. In Germany, at least 8,991 refugee children under 17 were no longer in contact with authorities as of July 1, German daily Neue Osnabrucker Zeitung recently revealed, citing figures received from Germany's Federal Criminal Police Office (BKA). The figure has doubled since January, with most of the missing children being under 13 years of age. A spokeswoman for the BKA said that not all of the missing children are necessarily in danger. In many cases, these childrens disappearances are not haphazard, some of them are traveling to visit their parents, relatives or friends in other German cities or even in other European countries, the spokeswoman told the newspaper, adding that upon their return their families often forget to inform authorities, and so the names of the missing children remain in the database. Israel military fires shells on Gaza Strip, wounding 3 people Iran Press TV Sun Sep 4, 2016 2:57PM The Israeli military has fired a volley of shells on the northern Gaza Strip, wounding at least three people, in yet another act of aggression against the besieged Palestinian enclave. Some of the shells hit a post of Ezzedeen al-Qassam Brigades, which is the military wing of the Palestinian resistance movement, Hamas, in Beit Lahia during the early hours of Sunday, the Jerusalem Post reported, citing Palestinian security sources. The Israeli military claimed that the overnight assault was in retaliation for an alleged gunfire by Hamas aimed at its forces along the border between the Palestinian enclave and Israel. The Israeli shells also inflicted damage on a storage tank in the town of Beit Hanoun in the same area. Last month, the Israeli regime also conducted dozens of strikes in Gaza in response to alleged rocket fire by Hamas, a far larger response than usual. Israel launched its latest war on the Gaza Strip in early July 2014. The 50-day military aggression, which ended on August 26, 2014, killed nearly 2,200 Palestinians, including 577 children. Over 11,100 others, including 3,374 children, 2,088 women and 410 elderly people, were also wounded in the war. Israel continues to carry out attacks on the Palestinian enclave from time to time. Israeli fighter jets also frequently bomb Gaza. The Israeli military also uses drones over the impoverished region either to monitor and photograph Palestinian military units in the blockaded coastal enclave, or launch aerial attacks against targets. Gaza has been under an Israeli siege since June 2007. The blockade has caused a decline in the standard of living as well as unprecedented levels of unemployment and unrelenting poverty. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Nigerian officers sell arms to Boko Haram: Report Iran Press TV Sun Sep 4, 2016 12:57PM A new report suggests that the Boko Haram Takfiri terrorist group is receiving some of its arms and ammunition from corrupt army officers in Nigeria. The report published on Sunday by the Associated Press revealed that several top-ranking military commanders were being secretly investigated in Nigeria for offenses related to the fight against Boko Haram, including the theft and sale of ammunition. Military authorities confirmed on Thursday that some soldiers were selling arms and ammunition to Boko Haram, calling it a betrayal of the Nigerian people. Major General Lucky Irabor, the theater commander in northeastern Nigeria, would not provide more details during his briefing. The AP report quoted a soldier on the frontline of the fight as saying that his brigade commander is among officers standing trial in a northeastern city. He said the investigation is concentrated on the fate of 21 anti-aircraft guns assigned this year to the artillery brigade of the commander in question. The unnamed soldier added that the brigade only received one gun. The military said three weeks ago that 16 officers and troops had been charged in the case by a military tribunal. Other reports have suggested that the military is also investigating a group of retired and current officers for misappropriating hundreds of millions of dollars, which was assigned to the army for the fight against Boko Haram. Alex Badeh, a four-star general and Nigeria's former chief of defense staff, is one of the main suspects. According to witness accounts, Badeh, who was sacked last year, built a shopping mall in the capital, Abuja, after reportedly stealing the equivalent of USD 24 million budgeted for salaries in 2013. The current chief of army staff, Lieutenant General Tukur Buratai, is also under pressure as civil society groups are demanding an investigation into his procurement of two properties worth USD 1.5 million in Dubai. More than 20,000 people have been killed since a militancy began seven years ago by Boko Haram, a terrorist group which is mostly based in northern Nigeria and neighboring countries. The militants have pledged allegiance to Daesh, a group mainly based in the Middle East. Many Nigerian soldiers ran away during a blitz by Boko Haram in 2014, allowing the group to seize control of a large swath of land northeast of the country. The soldiers said that the militants were better armed and equipped during the battle and that their high-ranking officers stole parts of their salaries and allowances. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Riyadh warplanes attack Yemen 80 times, kill more civilians Iran Press TV Sun Sep 4, 2016 10:24AM Several Yemeni civilians, including a child, have been killed as Saudi warplanes carried out more than 80 airstrikes on different areas across its southern neighbor. According to Yemen's al-Masirah television, Saudi military aircraft targeted residential areas in the Yemeni provinces of Sana'a, Ta'izz, Hajjah, Mahwit, Omran and Hudaydah around 50 times in the early hours of Sunday. Riyadh's air raids on the al-Sabain district of Sana'a Province killed one child and wounded over 20 others. An unspecified number of civilians also lost their lives when Saudi fighter jets attacked residential areas north of the Ta'izz airport. The Saudi air force also bombed the districts of Midi and Haraz in Hajjah Province some 30 times, with no immediate reports of casualties. Meanwhile, the death toll from a Saturday airstrikes on residential neighborhoods in Baqim district, south of Sana'a, reached nine. In response, Yemeni forces also fired missiles on Saudi military vehicles in the kingdom's border region of Jizan. The Tawal-Harad border crossing was also hit by Yemeni mortar shells. Reports say a Saudi soldier was killed in the retaliatory attack. Several Saudi forces also sustained in similar Yemeni raids on Saudi Arabia's Najran Province. Saudi Arabia has been incessantly pounding Yemen since March 2015, with the UN putting the death toll from the military aggression at about 10,000. The offensive was launched in an attempt to reinstate Abd Rabbuh Mansur Hadi, a Saudi ally who has resigned as president in 2014 and fled to Riyadh. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Bangladesh hangs tycoon for 'war crimes' Iran Press TV Sun Sep 4, 2016 7:45AM Bangladesh has hanged a prominent businessman and top financier of the Jamaat-e-Islami Party in the country over a series of alleged war crimes dating back to 1971. Mir Quasem Ali, 63, was executed late Saturday at the Kashimpur high-security jail in Gazipur, some 40 kilometers (25 miles) north of the capital, Dhaka. The business mogul, who had been in custody since 2012, was convicted in November 2014 by the International Crimes Tribunal, which had been set up to investigate cases originating from Bangladesh's war of independence from Pakistan in 1971. The sentence was carried out after the highest court in the country, the Supreme Court of Bangladesh, on Tuesday rejected Ali's final appeal against the penalty by approving the legality of the proceedings. After the Supreme Court ruling, Ali's last chance was to appeal to the prime minister for pardon. The businessman, however, who claimed to be innocent, declined to ask for pardon, which required for him to confess to being guilty. 'Unfair trial' The domestic war crimes tribunal has been criticized by rights organizations for its "irregular" legal proceedings. Last week, a group of United Nations (UN) rights experts examining the proceedings demanded a moratorium on Ali's death sentence and a retrial. Champa Patel, Amnesty International's South Asia director, had also said, "The execution of Mir Quasem Ali, following a trial whose fairness was questioned by the UN, will not deliver justice to the people of Bangladesh." Brad Adams, the executive director of Human Rights Watch's Asia Division, had said, "Allowing the death sentence in a case with such fundamental doubts about the evidence is unthinkable." Prosecutors said Ali had spent millions of dollars of the fortune he acquired in businesses, including shipping, banking and real estate, to hire international lobbyists to derail the war crime trials. They said Ali was a key commander of the notorious pro-Pakistan militia in the southern port city of Chittagong during the independence war. Meanwhile, people in Dhaka and Chittagong held impromptu street celebrations after the news of Ali's execution was broadcast live on television. The wealthy tycoon had been a financier and the de facto treasurer of the Jamaat-e-Islami Party, which is banned from participating in elections. Ali was the fifth and the last prominent Jamaat-linked figure to be handed an execution sentence by the special war crimes tribunal. The supporters of Jamaat claim the government has been eliminating their leaders. The country is presently on high alert over fears of violence by Jamaat supporters after Ali's execution. Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan has warned them against any "unruly" activities. In 2013, Jamaat supporters staged violent protests, leaving some 500 people dead. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Some 100 protesters injured in Kashmir clashes Iran Press TV Sun Sep 4, 2016 4:7PM Around 100 people have been injured when Indian troops fired tear gas and shotgun pellets to break up a massive protest in the disputed Himalayan region of Kashmir. Violent clashes broke out between the troops and thousands of stone-pelting protesters in Shopian district in southern Kashmir on Sunday. The angry protesters also torched a government office in the district, which is located 70 kilometers (45 miles) south of Srinagar, the main city in the disputed valley. The latest rally came in response to a call from separatist groups challenging India's rule over the Muslim-majority region. Meanwhile, key Kashmiri pro-independence leaders, Syed Ali Shah Geelani, Mirwaiz Umar Farooq and Yasin Malik, have refused to meet with a group of Indian lawmakers who came from New Delhi. The administration of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has made efforts to restore calm in the violence-wracked region. In a joint statement, the leaders demanded that the New Delhi government address the "core issue of the peoples' right to self-determination in Jammu-Kashmir." Violence erupted in Indian-controlled Kashmir on July 8, when people protested against the killing of Burhan Wani, a popular pro-independence fighter, by Indian forces. Over 70 people in Kashmir have been killed and thousands more injured. A prolonged curfew, communication blackouts and a tightening crackdown have failed to stop some of the largest protests against the Indian rule across the region in recent years. There are an estimated 500,000 Indian troops currently deployed in the restive territory. India and Pakistan have claimed Kashmir in full since they won independence from the British rule in 1947, but they only have partial control over it. Thousands of people have been killed in the unrest in Kashmir since early 1990s. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Crisis Looms As Clock Winds Down On Afghan 'Unity Government' Deal September 04, 2016 by Frud Bezhan Two years after a contentious, fraud-marred presidential election pushed Afghanistan to the brink of another bloody civil war, the country is once again staring into the abyss. The compromise power deal signed by political rivals Ashraf Ghani and Abdullah Abdullah to avert that crisis expires at the end of this month, threatening to upend the beleaguered South Asian state's governing order with no clear alternative at hand. The so-called national unity government (NUG) effectively installing President Ghani and Chief Executive Abdullah in September 2014 was a temporary solution to pave the way for an overhaul of the political system within two years. But as the U.S.-brokered deal nears its conclusion, Afghanistan's leadership has failed to live up to many of its commitments under the agreement. By now, Afghanistan was meant to hold parliamentary elections, push through sweeping electoral reforms, and amend the 2004 constitution to create the position of prime minister. The impasse has led to an escalating feud between Ghani and Abdullah, rising tensions among the country's long-warring ethnic groups and factions, and mounting calls from a vocal opposition for the dissolution of the government. That has raised the specter of a protracted power battle that could give way to a coup d'etat or parallel government by key national players, or even to rekindled ethnic and factional warfare not seen there since the civil war of the 1990s. The political crisis has been accompanied by the deteriorating security situation in the country, with a resurgent Taliban now holding more Afghan territory than in any year since 2001. With Ghani forced to concentrate on security, his economic plans have stalled and the country remains entrenched in economic distress sparked by the withdrawal of international combat troops in 2014. Personal Feud The NUG has been severely strained by a personal feud between Ghani and Abdullah, bitter rivals who both claimed victory in the 2014 election. Under the power-sharing deal, Abdullah reluctantly accepted the temporary, secondary role of chief executive, comparable to the post of prime minister. In exchange, a Constitutional Loya Jirga -- a gathering of the country's political, ethnic, and religious leaders with the authority to amend the constitution -- would consider the post of an executive prime minister. The two leaders would wield power together until then, although ultimate power would rest with the president. But Abdullah has long accused Ghani of marginalizing him, making major appointments and decisions without his counsel, and snubbing his calls for reform. His frustrations boiled over recently when he angrily denounced his governing partner as unfit to govern. Although the two leaders have since met, their first meetings in three months, their personal disputes look far from being resolved. "Abdullah is known among his colleagues as someone who believes in teamwork and has a lot of patience to listen and engage in critical thinking, whilst Ghani is known to have little patience for deliberations and given his background as an expressive lecturer, acts more professorial than politician," says Omar Samad, a former Abdullah adviser and ex-Afghan ambassador to France and Canada. "Abdullah spends many hours, sometimes till late at night, meeting provincial representatives from across Afghanistan, while Ghani is more comfortable spending that time in his residence reading a book or report and meeting only key yes-men." Ghani's allies say the former World Bank official is disdainful of small talk and lengthy, frequently inconclusive meetings. Instead, they paint him as a feverish worker who spends most waking hours devising lengthy, concrete plans to build up the country's budding institutions and alleviate Afghans' woeful economic conditions. Afghanistan's leadership is hoping for a vote of confidence from an international donors conference scheduled for October 5, at which friendly countries are expected to pledge their continued political and financial support for the government. New Power Structure At the heart of the current standoff is a fundamental disagreement over the distribution of power in Afghanistan. Abdullah, who has widespread support among the country's ethnic Tajik community, and Ghani, a Pashtun, embody opposing sides of the divide. Pashtuns, the largest ethnic group in Afghanistan, are generally seen to support a centralized state that guarantees their control of the state, and to oppose decentralization because it might lead to ethnic or regional groups seeking autonomy, possibly with the help of their ethnic brethren in neighboring countries. Non-Pashtuns, especially Tajiks, are seen to believe the current system suffers from being too centralized, with too much power of the state left in the hands of one individual, and to support decentralization because it would enshrine a more inclusive and equitable distribution of power. The power-sharing agreement Abdullah and Ghani signed commits to replacing the current presidential system, forged from the American model, with a French-style parliamentary system in which the president's role would be checked by that of an empowered prime minister. But over the past two years, the sides have yet to realize their vision for a new political framework. If parliamentary elections are not held and the constitution is not changed, Ghani and Abdullah could annul the NUG agreement and renegotiate a new deal. "The political system we will see for a while is the current one, bogged down in an adjourned game with no easy and constitutional way out in sight," says Thomas Ruttig, co-director of the Afghanistan Analysts Network, an independent think tank in Kabul. "This, of course, is very dangerous for the stability of the country." Growing Opposition Opposition political groups have been piling pressure on the government for failing to hold parliamentary elections originally scheduled for June. Former President Hamid Karzai, one of the most outspoken critics of the government, has even demanded that a Loya Jirga, a consultative body whose decisions are not legally binding, be convened to weigh in on the government's legitimacy. Karzai's critics accuse him of trying to destabilize the government as he eyes a return to power. "The extra-constitutional shortcuts suggested by some also do not guarantee that things improve -- as this comes from sectors of the same elites who maneuvered the country into this situation," Ruttig notes. Key allies of Abdullah, including former warlords and top regional powerbrokers, have threatened to withdraw their support for the government unless Ghani meets their demands by the expiration of the power-sharing deal. The opposition has also increasingly taken an ethnically charged line. A new protest movement has emerged north of Kabul calling for the government to organize an official state burial and gravesite for former Afghan King Habibullah Kalakani, the country's only ethnic Tajik monarch. The movement is supported by some prominent ethnic Tajik lawmakers and former militia commanders who have long been skeptical of Ghani. Meanwhile, Ghani has also been confronted by street protests named the Enlightenment Movement, in which minority Hazaras have accused his government of systematic discrimination. "While Afghanistan is not an ethnically divided country, ethnicity becomes more pronounced in politics when any one side attempts to unjustly usurp power, impose its will over others, ignore or denigrate other stakeholders, or renege on its pledges," Samad says. "It is dangerous when seen as part and fabric of the leadership mind-set." Source: http://www.rferl.org/content/afghanistan- crisis-looms-expiring-unity- government-deal/27966465.html Copyright (c) 2016. RFE/RL, Inc. Reprinted with the permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 1201 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Washington DC 20036. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address The Sun Sets On The House Of Karimov September 04, 2016 by Bruce Pannier During Uzbekistan's 25 years of independence its first family, the Karimovs, were powerful and greatly feared by the local population. Those days are coming to an end now that President Islam Karimov has died. That could leave some members of his immediate family in precarious positions, at least if they entertain any thoughts of staying in Uzbekistan now that Karimov is no longer president. The problem is the daughters -- Gulnara, the eldest, and Lola. It's difficult to believe Karimov's wife Tatyana Akbarovna Karimova (his second wife, actually) would face any problems. She has remained largely out of the public eye. More importantly, her family is influential; in fact, it's doubtful Islam Karimov could have risen to the post he attained without help from his wife's relatives. Karimov was an orphan -- in fact he was more of an abandoned child. (Qishloq Ovozi has covered his early years already.) Through his wife's family he was able to meet people who guided him up the ladder of the Communist Party when Uzbekistan was a Soviet republic, but Tatyana Karimova is an elderly woman now. It's difficult to imagine anyone would equate her with her husband's policies. People in Uzbekistan are aware that the two daughters have been living extravagant lives. For most people in Uzbekistan the average wage is somewhere between $200 and $300 per month. The Karimova sisters owned property in Switzerland, according to Switzerland's Bilan magazine. On its 2009 list of the top 300 wealthiest people in Switzerland, Bilan ranked Gulnara ninth on the women's list, with assets estimated at between $570 million to $665 million. In 2011, Bilan estimated the two sisters' combined wealth at around $1 billion. Lola and her husband, Timur Tillyaev, sued Bilan for that. Uzbekistan's people probably knew very little about Bilan's rankings. It certainly is not a topic Uzbek state media would ever cover. And if both the Karimova sisters had kept a low profile in Uzbekistan it might never have been an issue among Uzbekistan's people. Gulnara, however, craved the spotlight. She not only had vast holdings outside Uzbekistan, she also owned some businesses and enterprises inside the country, including television channels. Her Forum television channel, for instance, featured youth-oriented films produced in Uzbekistan but was heavy on coverage of events that involved Gulnara. Charity concerts she organized were shown on Forum with plenty of footage of her mingling with the people in attendance. Gulnara attended a fashion school in the United States and Forum aired her fashion shows in Uzbekistan, again with ample coverage of Gulnara at the events. A cartoon filler shown between programs featured a girl with a clear resemblance to Gulnara wandering the flower-filled meadow, ascending a mountain toward the sun, all the while accompanied by soothing music. Her music videos were also regularly aired on the channel. One of the best known WikiLeaks cables about Uzbekistan referred to Gulnara as being "the most hated person in Uzbekistan." Forum TV provided evidence of this one day. A film crew followed a well-dressed Gulnara as she essentially crashed a wedding party. The initial images shown of carefree guests dancing and enjoying themselves quickly turned to people with nervous smiles and stiff postures as Gulnara weaved through the crowd to get a picture with the bride and groom, whom of course she had clearly never met. Gulnara's shady financial dealings abroad proved her downfall and she is currently connected to several foreign companies accused of paying bribes for contracts in Uzbekistan. Gulnara was put under unofficial house arrest in 2014 after tirades against top Uzbek government officials and later against her sister and mother. However, she has not been seen or heard from in months, did not attend her father's funeral in Samarkand on September 3, and there are unconfirmed reports that Gulnara is now outside Uzbekistan. She likely won't be coming back soon, if ever. Her sister Lola has been Uzbekistan's ambassador to UNESCO since 2008, a position she probably will lose once a new president comes to power. For more than a decade Lola has funded two charities: You Are Not Alone, which helps orphanages and children with disabilities, and the National Center for the Social Adaptation of Children, which helps provide education and medical help for children with disabilities. She appears to have helped her reputation in Uzbekistan through funding these two charities. As mentioned, Bilan magazine claimed Lola has assets worth millions of dollars and as recently as 2014 estimated her and her husband's assets at between $100 million and $200 million. Lola has called that figure greatly exaggerated. An article in the U.K. newspaper The Daily Mail, and a later one in The New York Times, reported Lola and her husband bought a mansion in Hollywood worth $58 million. The Daily Mail also cited The Real Estalker blog as reporting the Tillyaevs bought "a $41 million estate in Geneva" in 2010, the article in The New York Times said the mansion in Hollywood was one of several properties Lola and her husband were connected to in the area. And of course Lola has a flat in Paris where she lives when acting in her capacity as UNESCO ambassador. Lola credits her husband for having all the money in their family. Lola and her husband have been living outside Uzbekistan for many years. Lola was at her father's funeral in Samarkand, but given her lifestyle abroad it's difficult to imagine she would return to the uncertainty of an Uzbekistan without her father in charge. There's always the example of her estranged older sister's house arrest. So Uzbekistan's future without Islam Karimov also probably means a future without his daughters. Probably few inside Uzbekistan would be disappointed at this prospect. Karimov's estranged son from his first marriage, Pyotr, reportedly lives in Russia and may not have ever been in Uzbekistan since it became independent in 1991. Karimov also has siblings, at least one sister and brother. His parents kept and raised them while Islam Karimov was given to an orphanage. Perhaps understandably, Karimov seems to have rarely been in contact with them and did nothing as his sister's son Jamshed was forcibly confined to a psychiatric hospital after writing critical articles about the Uzbek government for independent media outlets. Source: http://www.rferl.org/content/qishloq-ovozi- sun-sets-on-karimovs/27966332.html Copyright (c) 2016. RFE/RL, Inc. Reprinted with the permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 1201 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Washington DC 20036. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address US Air Force to Acquire 250 Next Generation Air-Launched, Precision Glide Bombs Sputnik News 21:49 04.09.2016(updated 04:49 05.09.2016) Raytheon Missile Systems nears completion of its second production lot of the GBU-52/B Small Diameter Bomb II with the advanced weapons system awaiting its final flight test. The US Air Force is slated to purchase a batch of 250 units of the GBU-53/B Small Diameter Bomb II (SDBs), a sophisticated precision guided bomb that zips towards its targets at breathtaking speeds through the use of advanced glide technology. The 250 pound (110kg) glide bomb allows US Air Force aircraft to carry a higher number of the highly accurate bombs with four bundled SDBs set to replace a single 2,000 pound (907kg) bomb on a number of American warplanes. The SDB-II possesses a tri-mode seeker system merging radar, infrared and laser guidance technology together for the first time with the GPS guidance used in previous precision-guided bombs. "No other weapon system in the world employs an advanced tri-mode seeker to eliminate moving and stationary targets in the battlespace," explained Raytheon's SDB-II program direction Jim Sweetman. "The most recent round of SDB-II flight testing verifies the weapon system's maturity. The program continues to progress toward the next phase of government confidence testing and operational testing." The precision guided bomb possesses an elite standoff range of more than 45 miles (72.5km) even against moving targets traversing at a speed up to 50 miles per hour (80km/h) allowing for calculated strikes against crucial targets without unnecessarily imperiling the safety of the pilot or resulting in undue collateral damage. The original version of the system, the SBD-I, is currently integrated in the F-15E with future integration planned for the F-16, F-22, F-35 fighter jets as well as the entire nuclear bomber triad the B-1 Lancer, B-2 Spirit, and the B-52 Statofortress. Sputnik NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Saudi Armed Forces Repel Attack of Yemeni Houthi Militants Near Border Sputnik News 12:32 04.09.2016 The Armed Forces of Saudi Arabia on Sunday repelled the attack of Yemeni Houthi militants near the border between the two states, media reported. MOSCOW (Sputnik) The Al Arabiya broadcaster reported that the militants launched an offensive in direction of the Saudi border region of Tawal, but their plans were disrupted by the Saudi Air Force and artillery. According to the media outlet, at least 40 militants were killed, and several pieces of Houthis' military hardware were destroyed in the attack. Yemen has been engulfed in a military conflict between the government headed by Abd Rabbuh Mansur Hadi and the Houthis, the country's main opposition force. Since March 2015, the Saudi-led coalition of mostly Persian Gulf countries have been carrying out airstrikes against the Houthi rebels at Hadi's request. In the course of Riyadh's campaign, Yemeni militants have repeatedly attempted to attack the Saudi territory. Sputnik NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Hyundai Selected to Supply Philippine Navy With Two Battleships Sputnik News 03:39 04.09.2016(updated 03:40 04.09.2016) South Korean shipbuilder Hyundai Heavy Industries (HHI) has won a $337 million contract to build two modern warships for the Philippine Navy. The Philippine Department of National Defense (DND) initiated the acquisition of the two battleships nearly three years ago to prompt the upgrade of the country's territorial defense capabilities. Having studied the documents presented by the companies eying the project, the country's Navy selected HHI's HDF-3000 multipurpose frigate design. The company was awarded a notice, signed by Philippines' Secretary of National Defense Delfin Lorenzana, on Thursday. The actual contract is expected to be signed on September 12. HDF-3000 class frigates constructed by HHI are about 115 meters long and 14 meters wide boasting a max speed of 35 miles per hour (56kmh). The ships are able to carry about 3,251 tons making it ideal to accommodate engines in combined diesel or gas machinery arrangements. To incorporate the specified requirements of the Philippines Navy, HHI has made the necessary adjustments on its HDF-3000 design. The new ships will be armed with a variety of sensors and weapons capable of detecting and neutralizing air, surface and submarine threats, including a main 76mm gun, anti-ship and anti-aircraft missiles and ship-launched lightweight torpedoes. The Philippine Navy's future battleship is expected to be showcased in the upcoming Asian Defence, Security & Crisis Management Exhibition & Conference from September 28 to 30, 2016. Sputnik NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address YEREVAN, SEPTEMBER 5, ARMENPRESS. More than 170 companies will take part in the 12nd annual DigiTech Expo which is going to be held from September 30 to October 2 in Yerevan Expo center. The Expo is expected to host more than 60.000 visitors, Deputy Economy Minister of Armenia Emil Tarasyan said, reports Armenpress. Year by year DigiTech gets a new impetus, includes new formats. Last year more than 150 organizations took part, more than 40.000 visitors were registered which was unprecedented. As you know, such events are a great opportunity to enhance the countrys image, he said. The Deputy Minister said the community is united across the Expo, the companies are getting a chance to establish new contacts. The investors interest is being satisfied in that Expo when they immediately get acquainted with the product and establish ties with the representatives of the organizations, he said. Executive Director of the Union of Information Technology Enterprises Karen Vardanyan said after the April events all the ceremonies, including also the 12nd DigiTech will bear the consequences of that events. Many companies will present such technologies which will raise Armenias defense. As you know, we have announced an engineering sector mobilization in April, and I want to inform that during these four months a number of works have been conducted. Various technological parts of those works will be presented which will serve basis for the creation of new weapons and arms in Armenia, Karen Vardanyan said. Vardanyan said today already Russian, German, Indian, US companies have confirmed their participation in the DigiTech. These companies will not only take part in the Expo, but also they will hold important events for Armenia. For instance, one of the Russian companies will hold a conference for the newly established Armenian companies, those, who will make proposals on smartcity idea, will be selected and financed, Karen Vardanyan said. Armat laboratories will be presented in the Expo. Currently they are already installed in 133 schools of the Republic, this number will be reached to 150 until DigiTech, he said. Director of Marketing and Communication at Ucom Tigran Safaryan said DigiTech is one of most important exhibitions of Armenia. He said Ucom has always given importance to the technology development since the technological solutions are the basis of any economy. This year is special for us since it is the first year we are going to be presented as a mobile operator. We will offer new services which will be presented in-detail in our booth, Tigran Safaryan said. UN report urges Somalia to ensure freedom of expression as it is critical to political transition 4 September 2016 A United Nations report on freedom of expression in Somalia released today describes progress in state-building in Somalia, but shows the very challenging environment that continues to confront journalists, human rights defenders and political leaders, including numerous killings, arrests, intimidation and closure of critical media outlets. "The trend of arrest and detention of journalists and other media workers seems to indicate an intention to intimidate or harass journalists and media owners which inevitably leads to self-censorship or to media workers eventually leaving the profession," says the report produced jointly by the UN Assistance Mission in Somalia (UNSOM) and the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR). "Somalia has made great progress in recent years, after decades of conflict and violence," said Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General for Somalia and head of UNSOM, Michael Keating, in an OHCHR news release. "But Somalis continue to suffer multiple human rights deficits. They need and deserve accountable institutions." "Strong, independent and critical journalism is a vital element of any democratic State," said UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Ra'ad Al Hussein. "Attacks against individual journalists and media organizations have a deeply corrosive impact on democracy, with profoundly negative repercussions on freedom of expression and human rights in general." The UN human rights chief urged the Somali authorities, both at the Federal and State levels, to take prompt action and ensure that all violations of the right to freedom of expression, including the various serious attacks perpetrated against media workers, are fully investigated, irrespective of the identity of the perpetrators. The report says that 2016 represents a "critical juncture in Somalia's political transition," and highlights the encouraging progress towards more inclusive elections and accountable government since 2012, including the rebuilding of State institutions and the adoption of important new laws, including one on political parties and one on the creation of an independent National Human Rights Commission. The report, however, states that freedom of expression, which plays a central role in the building of democratic States, especially in times of political transformation, remains significantly limited, documenting 120 cases of arbitrary arrest and detention of media workers between January 2014 and July 2016. Despite the "vibrant media culture" in Somalia which hosts more than 90 media outlets and scores of websites and blogs numerous violations aimed at journalists and political leaders are documented, including killings, attacks, arbitrary arrests and detention, intimidation, harassment, closure of media outlets, confiscation of equipment and blocking of websites. 30 journalists killed between August 2012 and June 2016 The dangers facing media workers and public figures are illustrated by the killing, between August 2012 and June 2016, of a total of 30 journalists and 18 parliamentarians in Somalia. Al-Shabaab has prohibited all media to operate in areas under its control and has been targeting media workers across the country, the report says. But federal and state-level security forces, including the National Army, the Police and the National Intelligence and Security Agency, are main perpetrators of violations against media workers and political activists. Radio Shabelle has been particularly targeted, with five serious incidents between 2013 and 2015. The report states that the authorities have made very limited efforts to investigate and prosecute such violations. The report stresses, among other things, the need to strengthen the justice system to better protect freedom of expression. Since January 2015, only ten of the 48 journalists and media workers who have been arrested have been brought before a court, it states. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address S. Sudan Agrees to New UN-Backed Peacekeeping Force By Lou Lorscheider September 04, 2016 Facing intense international pressure, war-ravaged South Sudan on Sunday agreed to the deployment of a 4,000-member regional protection force approved last month by the United Nations Security Council. Sunday's decision by President Salva Kiir, who in August rejected more peacekeepers, came a day after the 15-member Security Council visited the capital, Juba, to press senior officials for approval of the new force. Details of Sunday's agreement were not immediately released, and no timetable for the new deployment was announced. The new force, designed to protect civilians in the capital, would bolster the more than 12,000 peacekeepers already in the region. The visiting Security Council envoys on Saturday also toured a U.N. refugee camp in the capital, where tens of thousands of civilians have lived in squalor and fear during nearly three years of fighting between forces loyal to Kiir and rebels trying to drive him from power. Afterward, U.S. Ambassador Samantha Power called the Security Council visit "extremely important...because it's our chance to see the human consequences of the failure of political leaders to bring peace back to their country." Fighting erupted in South Sudan in December 2013, when government forces loyal to President Kiir began fighting rebels led by the president's former deputy, Riek Machar. The two sides signed a peace deal in August 2015 that elevated Machar to first vice president. But the shaky accord broke apart in July, when Kiir loyalists and fighters backing Machar fought a four-day battle in Juba that killed at least 300 people and wounded hundreds more -- most of them civilians. Machar has since fled the country. But analysts say his civilian supporters continue to be targeted, along with what Ambassador Power described Saturday as "a huge surge in sexual violence against women" who leave the crowded Juba refugee camp to gather firewood or other family necessities. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Remarks by President Obama and President Erdogan of Turkey After Bilateral Meeting at G20 Summit The White House Office of the Press Secretary For Immediate Release September 04, 2016 JW Marriott Hotel Hangzhou, China 1:56 P.M. CST PRESIDENT OBAMA: This is the first opportunity that I've had to meet face to face with President Erdogan since the terrible attempted coup that took place in July. By taking to the streets to resist the coup attempt, the Turkish people once again affirmed their commitment to democracy, and the strength and resilience of the democratic institutions inside of Turkey. I indicated at the time the unequivocal condemnation of these actions, and spoke personally to President Erdogan to offer any support that we might be able to provide in both ending the attempted coup, but also in investigating and bringing the perpetrators of these illegal actions to justice. And I've assured him that our Justice Department and my national security team will continue to cooperate with Turkish authorities to determine how we can make sure that those who carried out these activities are brought to justice, and reaffirm our strong support for the Turkish people and Turkish institutions. I also had the opportunity to express my deepest condolences for those killed and wounded by recent terrorist attacks in Turkey, which sadly have become too common an occurrence, just as they have all around the world. And in the face of these savage attacks, not only do we stand with Turkey and the people of Turkey and express our sympathy for them, but, more importantly, we want to take actions to ensure that together, we are defeating the scourge of terrorism. Turkey is a strong NATO ally, a critical member of the coalition against ISIL. Our military, our law enforcement and intelligence cooperation has helped push ISIL back, especially along the Syrian-Turkish border, but we now need to finish the job. And we discussed ways in which we can further cooperate in that regard. President Erdogan and I also agreed to continue pursuing a peaceful political transition in Syria, which is the only lasting way to end the terrible civil war there. And together, we'll keep working to ease the humanitarian suffering, make sure that Syrian civilians can once again live in security, and that we can stabilize the region as a whole. Finally, Tayyip, I want to thank you personally, as well as your government and the people of Turkey for your exceptional humanitarian support of refugees. Turkey hosts more refugees than any country in the world, and it has been a key partner in providing aid and assistance to vulnerable citizens that have poured out of Syria as well as Iraq. We look forward to doing even more when we host a U.N. refugee summit in -- later, at the margins of the U.N. General Assembly. And as I indicated to President Erdogan, this is not an issue in which Turkey should be carrying the burden alone. It needs support from all of us, and we intend to provide it. So, Tayyip, once again, it's good to see you. We're glad you're here, safe, and that we are able to continue to work together to build on the strong alliance and partnership that we've established during the course of my presidency. PRESIDENT ERDOGAN: (As interpreted.) President Obama, thank you. Barack, thank you. First, it's a pleasure for me to get together with you within the framework of the G20 Summit here in Hangzhou. In the aftermath of July the 15th failed coup, we've had a telephone conversation and this is the first time we got together in order to see each other face to face. And I would like to thank you for your support against this coup attempt. Of course, Turkey and the United States have been a strategic partner and a very close ally. And with you, under your leadership, the alliance between our countries became a model partnership. And the relations between our countries are very special and they are getting stronger as time goes by, especially the terrorist attacks and the failed coup followed one another, and it's a very meaningful time that we're going through. And against all of the terrorist attacks around the world, as NATO members, we have to embrace a common attitude. It is impossible for us to remain silent, vis-a-vis these attacks, and we have to embrace the same stance against all terrorist organizations around the world. All forms of terrorism is bad. All forms of terrorism is evil. There is no good terrorist or a bad terrorist; every terrorist is condemned. Every terrorist organization is doomed. And our stance against terrorism is quite obvious. And against these, especially the developments in Syria and Iraq are very concerning. Our fight against Daesh terrorist organization and other terrorist organizations, PYD, YPG, and our fight against these terrorist organizations will continue as committed as they have ever been. I hope and pray that -- which is -- our hope is never to see a belt of terrorism, a corridor of terrorism emerging in or around our region. And in order for that to be eliminated, Turkey will forge a very close cooperation and a solidarity with the coalition forces, and we will prevail out of this cooperation and we will be very victorious. And at the same time, with regards to the Fethullahist terrorist organization, our operations are underway within the framework of the rule of law. Against this terrorist, before the coup attempt, we had put together some documentation, amassed some evidence, which we have submitted to the United States. And the post-coup-attempt-related documentation and evidence therein will be amassed and they will be submitted to our friends in the United States. The efforts are still underway. We had welcomed a delegation from the American ministry of justice and a similar delegation from the Turkish ministry of justice will go to the United States. Our minister of justice and minister of interior will travel together to the United States whereby they will concentrate their efforts on the elaboration of this evidence. And with this opportunity, I would like to underline once again that our solidarity and cooperation is most welcome, and this summit may be very auspicious for us all. Thank you. END 2:04 P.M. CST NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Remarks by President Obama and Prime Minister May of the United Kingdom After Bilateral Meeting at the G20 Summit The White House Office of the Press Secretary For Immediate Release September 04, 2016 JW Marriott Hotel Hangzhou, China 11:36 A.M. CST PRESIDENT OBAMA: Good morning, everybody. I want to begin by saying what a pleasure it was for me to meet with Prime Minister May and congratulate her on becoming Prime Minister. We've had occasion to be together before in other settings, but this is the first time that I had a chance to address her as Madam Prime Minister. I'm glad that Theresa and I could meet early in her tenure. The Prime Minister continues to be a steadying influence during a time of transition. It was a wide-ranging conversation, but it began with the basic premise that even as the UK pursues an orderly exit from the EU, together, we reaffirm the very special relationship between the United States and the United Kingdom. It will not simply endure, but it will continue to grow stronger with time. The vibrant economic partnership between our countries will continue as the UK gains further clarity on its new relationship with the EU. Our two countries will be discussing ways in which we continue to sustain and strengthen our trade and investment ties. Here at the G20, we will continue to pursue an agenda of inclusive and sustainable growth. When it comes to security issues, under Prime Minister May, the UK has reaffirmed its strong commitment to the transatlantic architecture. We are NATO Allies. We see the world in the same way. We will continue to oppose Russian aggression in Ukraine. We will continue to counter cyber threats. We will continue to work diligently to root out terrorist networks, and we'll work to destroy ISIL. At a time when the international order is under strain, I also emphasized the degree to which United Kingdom's leadership on the world stage is essential. We are grateful for the UK's indispensable role in achieving landmark agreements on climate change, on issues of energy security and global development. We will continue to count on being able to stand together, stand strong with our British friends to make sure that international norms and rules are enforced and are maintained. The bottom line is, is that we don't have a stronger partner anywhere in the world than the United Kingdom. And despite the turbulence of political events over the last several months, we have every intention to making sure that that continues. And so I look forward to our partnership. This is my last G20, Theresa's first. But the continuity of the relationship between the United States and the United Kingdom, that stretches back many decades and it will continue for many decades to come. Theresa. PRIME MINISTER MAY: Thank you. Thank you very much. And I'm very pleased to be here at my first G20 Summit, and pleased to have had the opportunity to meet you, Barack. And, as you say, the United States is a special partner for the United Kingdom, a longstanding ally and a close friend. We share the same values of freedom, openness and tolerance. We share intelligence and technology. Our troops train, fight and recuperate together. And together, we do more together than any other two countries in the world. And I think that's as true now as it has ever been. And our discussions today have been wide-ranging. We focused on Brexit, on the threat from Daesh, the situation in Syria, and on the need to do more to solve the migration crisis. I'd just like to say a few words on each of those. First, we have talked about Britain's decision to leave the European Union -- the process now and what Brexit means for the UK's relationships with our European friends, but with other countries, too. The UK has always been a strong partner for the U.S., and that will remain the case. We have a thriving economic relationship. British businesses export twice as much to the United States as they do to our next-largest market, and the United States is the largest inward investor in Britain, with total American investments providing more than one million jobs. We need to build on that strong foundation as the UK leaves the EU. We're both strong supporters of free trade, and today, we discussed how to take forward consultations to ensure that the UK and the U.S. have the strongest possible trading relationship. And this reinforces my belief that as we forge a new global role for the UK, we can and will seize the opportunities that Brexit presents, and make a success of it. We've also discussed the threat from Islamist terrorism. The UK and the U.S. have been at the forefront of efforts to defeat Daesh in Iraq and Syria, and it's vital that we take action to degrade Daesh abroad to help keep the streets of Britain safe. And the coalition is making progress -- Daesh is losing territory in Iraq and Syria. Its finances have been hit. Its leaders are being killed, and fighters are deserting. And in recent weeks, thanks the U.S. efforts, Daesh in Libya have been forced backwards too. But we must not be complacent. We know these terrorists are intent on destroying our way of life, and the threat in the UK remains severe. So as we drive Daesh out of one area, we must be alert to the risk they will seek a safe haven't elsewhere, and we must work internationally to defeat their ideology of hatred and murder. And we need to support other countries in the region, helping to protect them from the threat of Daesh, and thereby protecting people home in Britain, too. We must also continue to strive for a political situation in Syria. The goal remains a negotiated settlement which delivers stability for all Syrians, and a government with whom we can work to defeat the terrorists. We welcome U.S. efforts to broker an end to the violence and to help protect moderate opposition forces. It's vital that humanitarian supplies get to innocent Syrians who are in desperate need. And this afternoon, I will urge President Putin to do all he can to get the aid convoys in and to end the indiscriminate bombing of civilians. And next week, the Foreign Secretary plans to host the moderate Syrian opposition in London as we continue to support their hopes for a democratic, peaceful and inclusive Syria. And finally, we discussed the global migration crisis. Across the world, there are now over 244 million migrants, 65 million displaced people, and over 20 million refugees. This growing crisis cannot be solved by the actions of one country alone. We need an international approach, which better identifies those refugees who most need support, deals more effectively with economic migrants, and does more to address the root causes of migration. This issue will be top of the agenda at the U.N. General Assembly later this month, and I hope we can make concrete progress to stem the flow of migration and help people in their home countries and regions. So we've had a productive meeting. It's been an opportunity to discuss how we respond to some of the great challenges we face. And I look forward to continuing our discussions at the summit, particularly on the global economy. We understand that many of our citizens are frustrated by the pace of globalization and feel they're not experiencing the benefits of international trade. We both believe this is an issue that we as G20 leaders cannot afford to ignore. Instead, we must all work together to spur economic growth, to boost free trade and build a fairer economy that truly works for all. PRESIDENT OBAMA: So we're going to take a couple of questions, starting with Andrew Beatty of AFP. Q I had a question on Syria, first of all. It seems like there is a deal with the Russians within reach. I was wondering, do you not think there's a risk that there's another short-lived agreement that doesn't end the war, but which allows the Russians to deflect criticism at the G20 here and at the U.N. General Assembly? And secondly, what do you make of the kerfuffle yesterday at the airport? And for the Prime Minister, you said that Brexit means Brexit, but I wonder if you could be a bit more specific. Could you categorically rule out the UK staying within the EU? Thank you. PRESIDENT OBAMA: With respect to Syria, we have long been interested in finding a way to reduce the violence, improve humanitarian access on the ground as a precursor for a political transition inside of Syria. Now, it is a very complicated piece of business. You have the Assad regime, which has been killing its own citizens with impunity, supported by the Russians and the Iranians. You have a moderate opposition that has continuously tried to consolidate a position that would lead to an inclusive and representative government, but is often out-gunned. Then you have ISIL and you have al Qaeda in the form of Nusra on the ground as well, and a range of other players from the Turks and the Gulf states to the Kurds -- trying to corral all of those different forces into a coherent structure for negotiations is difficult. But our conversations with the Russians are key, because if it were not for the Russians, then Assad and the regime would not be able to sustain its offensive. And these are difficult negotiations. We have grave differences with the Russians in terms of both the parties we support, but also the process that's required to bring about peace in Syria. But if we do not get some buy-in from the Russians on reducing the violence and easing the humanitarian crisis, then it's difficult to see how we get to the next phase. So John Kerry and his counterpart, Sergey Lavrov, have been working around the clock, as well as a number of other negotiators, to see what would a real cessation of hostilities look like that could provide that humanitarian access and provide people in places like Aleppo relief. We're not there yet. And, understandably, given the previous failures of cessations of hostilities to hold, we approach it with some skepticism. But it is worth trying. To the extent that there are children and women and innocent civilians who can get food and medical supplies and get some relief from the constant terror of bombings, that's worth the effort. And I think it's premature for us to say that there is a clear path forward, but there is the possibility at least for us to make some progress on that front. In addition, I should point out that the U.N. Special Rep, Staffan de Mistura, has been also coming up with a longer-term structure for a political transition. We are supporting his efforts as well. And those two things hopefully can operate in tandem. And the last point I would make is that none of this is slowing down our very aggressive efforts against ISIL. As we've seen in recent weeks, not only have we been able to clear out ISIL from additional territory inside of Syria as well as Iraq, but we continue to systematically go after their leadership, including their head of external operations and probably the second-most prominent person in the ISIL infrastructure. So none of this is slowing down a very aggressive effort to go after what I think we all consider to be the principal threat that's emanating out of Syria. And with respect to our visit here, so far it's been extraordinarily productive. It is true that, not for the first time, when we come here there ends up being issues around security and press access. And part of the reason is, is because we insist on a certain approach to our press pool, for example, that other countries may not insist on. We think it's important that the press have access to the work that we're doing, that they have the ability to answer questions. And we don't leave our values and ideals behind when we take these trips. It can cause some friction. It's not the first time it's happened. It doesn't just happen in China, it happens in other countries where we travel. I think this time maybe this -- Josh put it -- the seams are showing a little more than usual in terms of some of the negotiations and jostling that takes place behind the scenes. And, in fairness, when delegations travel to the United States, sometimes there are issues about our security procedures and protocols that they're aggravated with but don't always get reported on. But none of this detracts from the broader scope of the relationship. As we saw yesterday, President Xi and I continued what has been a historic joint project to elevate climate change issues. The bilateral discussions that we had yesterday were extremely productive and continue to point to big areas of cooperation. When I bring up issues like human rights, there are some tensions there that perhaps don't take place when President Xi meets with other leaders, but that's part of our job, that's part of what we do. And so I wouldn't over-crank the significance of it, because, as I said, this is not the first time that these things happened. And it doesn't just happen here. It happens in a lot of places, including, by the way, sometimes, our allies. Part of it is we also have a much bigger footprint than a lot of other countries. And we've got a lot of planes and a lot of helicopters and a lot of cars and a lot of guys, and if you're a host country, sometimes it may feel a little bit much. You notice some chortling among the Brits -- they probably find it a little overwhelming as well. (Laughter.) But the one thing I will say is we don't make apologies for pushing a little bit harder when it comes to press access, and that's been the case from my very first state visit here. And we don't always get everything that we'd like to see, but we think it's important for us to at least stand up for those values. PRIME MINISTER MAY: On the question you asked me about Brexit -- yes, Brexit does indeed mean Brexit. On the 23rd of June, the people in the UK voted for the UK to leave the European Union. The government respects that decision. We respect the wishes of the people, and we will put that into practice. So there will be no second referendum, no attempt to turn the clock back, no attempt to try and get out of this. The UK will be leaving the European Union. I think we have a question from Jason Groves from the Daily Mail. Q Yes, Jason Groves from the Daily Mail. Mr. President, you came to London earlier this year and urged the British people not to vote for Brexit, and warned them that they'd be at the back of the queue for a trade deal if they did. Do you guys think you got it wrong on Brexit? And do you regret making that threat, or are you really going to punish us for taking a democratic decision? And could I ask, just quickly -- PRESIDENT OBAMA: (Inaudible.) Q I work for the Daily Mail. (Laughter.) PRESIDENT OBAMA: (Inaudible.) Q And could I ask just quickly whether you've got any advice for the Prime Minister this autumn, when she's got the pleasure of hosting Donald Trump in London? Prime Minister, can I ask whether you've had any trade reassurances from the President about your place in his queue? And could I also ask you quickly about Hinkley Point, which you'll be discussing with President Xi tomorrow? You've said you'll look at all the evidence. Does that include getting the national security council to look at the potential security implications? PRIME MINISTER MAY: On the first point that you raised, Jason, I mean, we've had discussions about the importance of the trading relationship between the United Kingdom and the United States. As you know, I've been very clear that, following Brexit, we will be looking to establish new trading relationships around the globe. I think there are real opportunities for the United Kingdom -- we will be going out and seizing those opportunities. But we have a very strong -- as I indicated in my own statement with some of the figures that I gave, we have a very strong trading relationship with the United States, and we will be looking to ensure that we can maintain that strongest possible relationship into the future. And on the question that you ask about Hinkley Point, I will be doing exactly as you've said, indeed, in your question, Jason, which is -- as you know, I'll be looking at all the evidence around this issue. The way I work is that I don't just take an instant decision; I actually look at the evidence, take the advice, consider it properly, and then come to a decision. And I've been very clear that I will be doing that and will be taking a decision sometime this month. PRESIDENT OBAMA: It is absolutely true that I believed pre-Brexit vote and continue to believe post-Brexit vote that the world benefitted enormously from the United Kingdom's participation in the EU. But I also said at the time that, ultimately, this was a decision for the British people, and the British people made that decision. And I never suggested that we would "punish" Great Britain. As you will recall, if you were at that press conference, I was asked about the viability of immediately negotiating a separate trade agreement between the United States and the United Kingdom, because I think the notion was that the consequences of Brexit would be minimal and we would just go ahead and start lining up a whole bunch of free trade agreements separate and apart from the EU relationship. And my simple point was, is that we've put great priority on, first, the Trans-Pacific Partnership, which, now that we have an agreement, we want to put into force, but we are also negotiating effectively with the entire EU around the transatlantic trade agreement, or T-TIP, and those negotiations are proceeding. And so it would not make sense for us to put those efforts aside, particularly at a time when my working assumption was, is that if, in fact, the people of the United Kingdom decided to leave the European Union, their first priority would be to renegotiate terms of trade with the economic unit that they sell half of their goods to. So that, in fact, is I think the approach that the Prime Minister is wisely taking -- that in a prudent, well-informed fashion with consultations with businesses and stakeholders, as well as her counterparts across the channel, that the Prime Minister makes a determination about when to invoke Article 50, how those negotiations should proceed. And we are fully supportive of a process that is as little disruptive as possible, so that not just the people of the United Kingdom but people around the world can benefit from continued recovery and economic growth. And what I committed to Theresa is, is that we will consult closely with her as she and her government move forward with the Brexit negotiations to ensure that we don't see adverse effects in the trading and commercial relationships between the United States and the United Kingdom. Obviously, we have an enormous amount of trade that already takes place. We have a lot of investment between British companies in the United States and U.S. companies in the United Kingdom, and that's not going to stop. And we're going to do everything we can to make sure that the consequences of the decision don't end up unraveling what is already a very strong and robust economic relationship that can become even stronger in the future. But first things first. And the first task is going to be figuring out what Brexit mean with respect to Europe. And our first task is making sure that we get, first, TPP done, but also that we move forward on the T-TIP negotiations in which we've already invested a lot of time and effort. Okay? Thank you very much, everybody. END 12:02 P.M. CST NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address South Sudan agrees to 4,000 more UN peacekeepers Iran Press TV Mon Sep 5, 2016 1:5AM South Sudan's President Salva Kiir has agreed to the deployment of 4,000 additional UN peacekeepers after initially rejecting the regional protection force as a breach of its sovereignty. Kiir made the announcement on Sunday following a meeting with the UN Security Council in the capital Juba. "The transitional government of national unity gives its consent for the deployment of the regional force," read a joint statement released by the UN and the government. Juba initially rejected the proposal, which was offered earlier in the month, stating that it lends the United Nations the ability to govern and "seriously undermines" South Sudan's sovereignty. South Sudan has witnessed a new wave of conflict since July 8, when gunfire erupted near the state house in Juba as Kiir and then Vice President Riek Machar were holding a meeting. More than 300 people were killed in the clashes. The country gained independence from Sudan in 2011. It has gone through turmoil ever since. The US envoy to the UNSC, Samantha Power, praised the additional deployment but noted that it was now time for action. "What we need to do now is move from those very important high-level commitments into working up the modalities in an operational way," she said. The conflict in South Sudan has exposed deep ethnic divisions. It erupted after a power struggle between President Kiir, a member of the Dinka ethnic group, and rebel leader Machar, a member of the Nuer ethnic group. "Fundamentally, it's going to be the tribes themselves and the political leadership of this country that are going to have to come together," added Power. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Philippines 'Gravely Concerned' China is Starting to Invade Scarborough Shoal Sputnik News 02:40 05.09.2016(updated 04:49 05.09.2016) The Philippines demanded an explanation from China's ambassador over the "increasing number" of Chinese military vessels near the disputed Scarborough Shoal in the South China Sea. Earlier this year the Obama administration issued a "red line" declaration to China warning that there would be severe consequences if Beijing sought to reclaim the Scarborough Shoal from the Philippines despite a number of defense analysts predicting that Xi Jinping's government planned to do just that in the heart of the US election season when politics would be placed above international affairs. The disputed shoal sits at the heart of the South China Sea territorial dispute between China and the Philippines who sought a declaration from The Hague international tribunal to invalidate Beijing's longstanding claim to the territory and much of the surrounding waters. The basis of that decision, in large part, was Manila's control of the shoal and the decision, which China has denounced, would rip waters from Beijing's control through which 40% of the world's shipborne trade transits through. On Sunday, the Philippines rang the alarm over what they perceive as a move by China to begin the process of reclaiming the shoal while the world is distracted with the G-20 Summit after Filipino surveillance aircraft spotted an increasing number of Chinese vessels much more than Beijing has maintained since seizing the shoal after a 2012 standoff according to Philippines Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana. "There were four Chinese coastguard ships and six other vessels, including blue-colored barges, around Scarborough Shoal," he said in a text message to reporters. "The presence of many ships other than coastguard in the area is a cause of grave concern." Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte has demanded that China abide by the international tribunal ruling, but also said that he would not raise the issue during the G-20 summit. The bombastic Filipino leader has said that if China were to invade the shoal that his country was prepared to engage in a "bloody conflict" against the Chinese in order to secure his country's sovereignty. If the Philippines were to engage in an armed conflict against China then the United States would immediately be drawn into the conflict pursuant to the mutual defense treaty signed by the two countries nearly six decades ago considerably raising the stakes over what is actually nothing more than a few rocks that are sticking up out of the Pacific Ocean waters. Lorenzana expressed his grave concern over the buildup of Chinese ships, but also urged caution. "We don't know yet if those barges are precursors of future dredging operations," he said. "If they try to construct anything in Scarborough it will have a far-reaching adverse effect on the security situation." The US State Department said on Sunday that the United States continues to monitor the escalating situation in the South China Sea and encouraged "all sides to exercise restraint and take practical steps to lower tensions." Sputnik NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Mugabe Succession Robert Mugabe resigned as president of Zimbabwe on 21 November 2017, ending almost four decades of rule. The announcement came as parliament began an impeachment process to remove the 93-year-old from power. Mugabe was confined to his residence late 14 November 2017 as soldiers took up positions at strategic points across Harare and senior officers commandeered state television. Powerless, disempowered. Mugabe only had to negotiate a deal for his family and sign an agreement to resign. Mugabe had survived by pitting one faction against the other. He would elevate one faction, but discard it at the time as it began to feel comfortable, and prop up another one. Beijing has long been a close ally, and Zimbabwe's top brass recently paid a visit to leaders in Beijing. During the Cold War in the 1960s and 70s, Zimbabwe's independence movement enjoyed Chinese support. As with so many other African liberation struggles, China provided arms, training and its Maoist ideology to Robert Mugabe and his Zimbabwe African National Union, today's ZANU-PF. In 2015, China became Zimbabwe's largest trading partner. That same year, Harare adopted the Chinese yuan as one of its currencies in a bid to cancel a $40 million debt. Mugabe stressed he was still in power in a much-awaited address to the nation, defying a call by the countrys ruling party to resign. In an address broadcast live on the state-run ZBC TV, Mugabe pledged to preside over the ZANU-PF party congress next month even though the party had removed him as its leader hours earlier. On 19 November 2017, the ruling ZANU-PF party sacked Mugabe as leader. Its Central Committee said he must resign as president by noon Monday or impeachment proceedings will start. The party also announced that it had appointed Emmerson Mnangagwa in his place. Mnangagwa's history as state security chief during the so-called Gukurahundi crackdown, when an estimated 20,000 people were killed by the North Korean-trained Fifth Brigade in Matabeleland in the early 1980s, suggested that quick, sweeping change was unlikely. Mugabe's deeply unpopular wife, Grace, was also tossed out of the party. It was alleged that the military would prefer Mugabe to voluntarily resign for the sake of creating a veneer of legality in the leadership handover. Several high-level party members close to the first lady, who had formed the backbone of her "G40" political faction, were also told to resign or face impeachment. Those expelled include minister of higher education Jonathan Moyo, finance minister Ignatious Chombo, Mugabe's nephew Patrick Zhuwao, as well as foreign affairs minister Walter Mzembi and several other top ZANU-PF members who were associated with the first lady. Zimbabwe soldiers blocked thousands of protesters as they tried to march on embattled President Robert Mugabes official residence in Harare on 18 November 2017. The demonstrators, participating in nationwide protests calling for the 93-year-old veteran leader to step aside after the army took power earlier this week, staged a sit-down protest in the road after being halted by the troops. The crowd got within 200 meters of the gates to the complex that had been the nerve centre of Mugabes authoritarian rule, as large protests swept through the capital. The Mugabe had been under house arrest in his lavish Blue Roof compound in Harare. On 17 November 2017 high-ranking members of Mugabe's own ZANU-PF party called for his ouster. All ten of ZANU-PF's provincials passed votes of no confidence in Mugabe. In a rare show of defiance, the provincial branches' move was carried by Zimbabwe's state broadcaster ZBC. the provinces also demanded the reversal of former Vice President Emmerson Mnangagwa's expulsion from the party. They also removed their endorsements of First Lady Grace Mugabe and demanded she step down from her post as first secretary of the party's Women's League. Leaders of Zimbabwes ruling ZANU-PF party met to draft a resolution to dismiss President Robert Mugabe and laid the ground for his impeachment if he refused to stand down. Mugabe had never faced a no-confidence vote or a similar collective leadership challenge since his election as ZANU-PF's leader in 1977 during the liberation struggle. Mugabe insisted 16 November 2017 he remained Zimbabwes only legitimate ruler, and resisted mediation by Fidelis Mukonori, a Catholic priest to allow the 93-year-old former guerrilla a graceful exit after a military coup. Reports suggested that former security chief Emmerson Mnangagwa, who was ousted as vice-president on 06 November 2017, had been mapping out a post-Mugabe vision with the military and opposition for more than a year. Fuelling speculation that such a plan might be rolling into action, opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai, who had been receiving cancer treatment in Britain and South Africa, returned to Harare. Mnangagwa, 75, is a veteran of the country's 1970s liberation struggle and popular with the Zimbabwean military. Known as the "Crocodile," he was picked by Mugabe as vice president in late 2014. He had been expected to succeed the aging president before he and around 100 of his allies were fired in early November 2017. Mnangagwa fled the country, only to return after the military takeover. Mnangagwa had the tacit support of the armed forces, which viewed 52-year-old First Lady Grace Mugabe -- a political novice -- with derision. Zimbabwes Army Commander, General Constantino Chiwenga, visited Beijing on 10 November 2017, where he met with Chinese Defense Minister Chang Wanquan. General Chiwenga issued a hard-hitting statement 13 November 2017 calling for the purges of war veterans to stop and for the counter revolutionaries to be fished out. Many saw this as the military throwing its weight behind Mnangagwa. The party responded by accusing the general of "treasonable conduct." Vice President Emmerson Mnangagwa was approached on the topic of who will succeed Mugabe during a visit to Beijing as early as June 2015. Mnangagwa was urged to ensure that Zimbabwe maintain an investment-friendly climate and that Chinese interests and property rights remained secure. Grace Mugabe, 52, had made no secret of her wish to succeed her husband, who she married in 1996. She publically called for the dismissal of Vice President Mnangagwa and pushed for the ruling ZANU-PF party to reserve party leadership for a woman. After Mnangagwa was ousted in early November, she said: "If you see yourself going against the chosen leadership, you are gone and finished." Kudzai Chipanga, the 35-year-old leader of ZANU-PF's youth wing had supported Grace Mugabe's bid for power. After General Chiwenga's threatened intervention, Chipanga fired back, saying: "We in our millions will not let an individual military man interfere with the leader of the party and legitimately voted president of the country." He added "Defending the revolution and our leader and president is an ideal we live for and if need be it is a principle we are prepared to die for". Chipanga was also reportedly detained. Chipanga publicly apologised for opposing the army 16 November 2017 after being marched into the state television headquarters to read out a statement. The Zimbabwe war veterans association called for the creation of a transitional government. Zimbabwe is a militarized state. Former members of the military head parastatals amd large sections of the mining sector pay directly into army coffers. Veterans from the liberation struggle are everywhere. Issuing a "stark warning", Zimbabwe's influential war veterans on said Mugabe, the patron of their 35,000-strong association, should not be allowed to stay any longer in power. "If he doesn't leave, we are going to settle the score," Chris Mutsvangwa, the war veterans' leader, told a press conference in Zimbabwe's capital, Harare. "There is no going back about Mugabe - he must leave," added Mutsvangwa. Mugabe Succession - Background The first lady of Zimbabwe said 17 February 2017 President Robert Mugabe, who turned 93, would be a candidate in the 2018 elections even if he died. Addressing a rally of the ruling ZANU-PF party, Grace Mugabe said, "Even if the president dies before the election, millions of Zimbabweans will vote for his corpse next year. Zimbabwe's 92-year-old leader returned home 03 September 2016 amid rumors his health is failing. Said Mugabe on return: "Yes, I was dead. Its true I was dead. I resurrected like I always do. Once I get back to my country, I am real. ...I dont know how many times I die but nobody has ever talked about my resurrection. ... I suppose they dont want to, because it would mean they would mention my resurrection several times and that would be quite divine, an achievement for an individual who is not divine. Jesus died once, and resurrected only once, and poor Mugabe several times." The ruling party faction, that goes by the moniker Generation 40 (G40), backs Grace Mugabe and is rabidly opposed to Vice President Emmerson Mnangagwa succeeding Mugabe. On the other hand, many war veterans, who are said to be in the opposing Team Lacoste group (Mnangagwa faction) assert that the VP should succeed Mugabe and have even gone on record to warn that if the Midlands godfather is overlooked, blood could be shed in the country. Rumors about Mugabe's health are common. Robert Mugabe's plane touched down at the main airport in the capital, Harare, after Mugabe, Africa's oldest leader, went to Dubai to seek medical attention. Zimbabweans were growing increasingly frustrated with Mugabe and his failure to fix the economy. Mugabe, who was a leader in the independence movement, had been in power since 1980. It is a criminal offence in Zimbabwe to make any derogatory or insulting comments about President Mugabe. Any person making such comments is liable to arrest and prosecution. Distributing or displaying books published by banned authors or displaying any form of political allegiance, slogans or images from Zimbabwean political parties may attract strict penalties including arrest, detention or deportation. Mugabe's 18 April 2003 Independence Day speech, in which he encouraged open discussion of the succession issue within ZANU-PF councils, opened the floodgates of speculation. Politburo members and ZANU-PF party members long known to harbor latent presidential ambitions suddenly stampeded to the fore. Competing succession scenarios and successor lists have appeared in local media, and different timelines were presented. In the final analysis, however, there appears to be no heir apparent that does not suffer some disqualifying flaw, and no clear-cut scenario for when, or under what terms, Mugabe might actually step aside. As usual, and barring unforeseen actuarial developments, the decision on where Mugabe goes remained squarely with Mugabe himself. Robert Mugabe and the ZANU-PF leadership sent out ambiguous messages for most of a year about their willingness to embark on a genuine transition process. Their willingness to contemplate such a transition waxed and waned depending on the degree of pressure that the Government has been under, particularly from their African colleagues. His continued evasions about succession suggested his unease about any successor's ability to hold the party together and "protect his legacy." Most in the party's upper echelons knew their future with Mugabe was limited, whether they fall victim to Mugabe's expected cabinet dismissals or simply lost their place in a crumbling patronage system. Free and fair elections or a transitional government of national unity do not figure into any scenario that ZANU-PF insiders or government-owned newspapers have conjured up. In ZANU-PF logic, ZANU-PF succession is a given. Politburo discussions of the succession issue reportedly concluded that any successor to Mugabe must meet two basic requirements: enjoy significant acceptance in all provinces, and be acceptable to the Ndebele in the South. The ruling ZANU-PF party probably temporarily deferred succession tensions within its ranks by tapping Minister of Water Resources and Infrastructural Development Joyce Mujuru, the wife of retired General Solomon Mujuru, as its second Vice-President at party provincial meetings on 21 November 2004. Mujuru was the choice of six of ten provincial councils, edging out Speaker of the Parliament and Party Secretary for Administration Emmerson Mnangagwa. Mugabe in 2006 promised he would step down as president in 2008. But he appears determined to die in office and it is unlikely that he will provide any clues to succession. Determining a successor to Mugabe is therefore speculative. In April 2016 Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe accused potential successors for wishing him dead and told ruling ZANU-PF supporters to unite against foreign enemies he said wanted to destroy the Southern African nation. Mugabe told a meeting of about 10,000 veterans of Zimbabwe's 1970s independence war that his frequent trips to Malaysia and Singapore had fed newspaper reports that he was ill and sometimes dying, stoking succession fights in ZANU-PF. As the succession battle involving Mugabe deepened, Vice President Emmerson Mnangagwa emerged as a frontrunner in the unofficial race. Mnangagwa as State Security Minister played a key role in the Gukurahundi Massacres that saw over 20 000 civilians butchered to death in the Matabeleland and Midlands provinces. It was again Mnangagwa as head of the Joint Operations Command (JOC) that violently kept Mugabe in power following his humiliating defeat in the 2008 presidential elections. Because of his involvement in the Matebeleland massacres of the 1980s, Emmerson Mnangagwa cannot pass muster with the Ndebele. In addition, he is feared and mistrusted by many ZANU-PF insiders, including his arch-rival (and former ZAN/ZANLA Commander) Solomon Mujuru, for his ruthlessness. Mnangagwa had done a lot of dirty work for President Robert Mugabe both as State Security Minister, Defence Minister, Justice Minister and chairman of the Joint Operations Command (JOC). With the Tsholotsho Declaration of 2004, a group aligned to Mnangagwa hatched a succession plan for the late vice president Simon Muzenda that involved the elevation of Mnangagwa as Muzendas successor. The plan was, however, foiled by the elevation of Joice Mujuru, who was expelled in 2014 for allegedly plotting to unconstitutionally remove President Mugabe from power. By September 2016 Mnangagwa faced mounting pressure from Zanu PF members to resign on allegations that he is plotting to stampede Mugabes ouster, with some openly attacking him. Mnangagwa enjoyed the support of the military and from the stance of the war veterans, the militarys support for Mugabe was tenuous. Mnangagwa remained a trusted alternative. Grace Mugabe made political advances of her own. As of 2007 Grace's primary personal interest appeared to be shopping; she reportedly spent large amounts of forex on her infrequent trips to Asia. Initially Grace Mugabe was not active or well-liked within ZANU-PF circles and she had no close relationships with cabinet members. Grace's relationship with President Mugabe appeared stable. In the past she was rumored to have had affairs, but there were no recent rumors. Grace Mugabe acted as a kind of gatekeeper, often controlling who sees him, and what information gets to him. She became the head of the women's league in the ruling ZANU-PF party. There was no good reason for Mugabe to not want his wife, Grace to take over as President. What he does know however is that his wife remains divisive and unpopular within the party. President Robert Mugabe believed his wife is strong-headed and he does not challenge most of her decisions for the sake of peace at home. In December 2014, she was appointed by her husband to head the Women's League of the ruling ZANU-PF party after becoming instrumental in the downfall of former Vice President Joice Mujuru. She used a string of political rallies to publicly accuse Mujuru of corruption, power mongering and vowed to get her husband to fire the VP for attempting to usurp power. Grace has been identified as one of the people causing factionalism that threatened to destroy Zanu PF. After Grace made her entry into politics, the veteran ruler was forced to dump some of his long-time allies such as Joice Mujuru and Didymus Mutasa. This came after Grace organised rallies across the country demanding their ejection from the party and government. One Cabinet minister, Chris Mutsvangwa, faced suspension after he hinted in a privately-owned newspaper that Grace Mugabe owed her political rise to her marriage to the president. His predecessor, Jabulani Sibanda, was kicked out of the party in 2014 and faced criminal charges after describing Grace Mugabe's swift political rise as a bedroom coup. Grace spent the year 2015 crisscrossing the country, addressing supporters in the blazing sun in remote areas. She handed out food parcels, clothing and farming equipment, most paid for by the government and some by her family. She told farmers that they should be loyal to her. She is referred to as Mother, and cars and T-shirts are covered with her image and the slogan, Everyone Belongs to Mother. Most of these events and speeches are duly carried live on state television, magnifying their impact, to the dismay of the opposition which accuses the country's sole television broadcaster of partisan reporting. In December 2015, she claimed seniority over Vice President Emmerson Mnangagwa. He has more experience in politics than me, she conceded at a rally attended by thousands of villagers in south-eastern Zimbabwe, but then added: It does not mean the first lady is below the VP. On 10 July 2016 Grace told a Zanu PF Harare inter-district meeting that Zimbabweans must learn from countries such as Libya and Iraq and stop entertaining forces that might lead to chaos. Let us not be hoodwinked by our detractors because we know there are some governments that dont like us and they will give money to sponsor a stay away, she claimed. If we embark on a stay-way they would be busy manufacturing and their economies prospering yet things will halt in our country. If we calculate how much we lost through the stay away you will be surprised how much we lost. ZANU-PF, according to most analysts, is not ready to accept a woman as president. Simba Makoni was the darling of the donors, popular with the more liberal-minded, and acceptable to many in the MDC. However, he comes from Manicaland and lacks a broad constituency base in Mashonaland rural areas and is anathema to pro-Mugabe hard-liners for his commitment to reform and his conciliatory political views. The Zanu PF politburo member broke ranks with Mugabe in 2007 to form MKD - Mavambo/Kusile/Dawn. Zimbabwe presidential hopeful Simba Makoni held his first rallies in March 2008, vowing to reform the economy and end the system of patronage that marked President Robert Mugabe's 28 years in power. Some Zanu-PF heavyweights, and some war veterans, said they were supporting Mr. Makoni rather than Mr. Mugabe in the March 29 election. Simba Makoni's rally in Harare, in Shona, was a long attack on Mr. Mugabe's economic policies and his system of political patronage. For approximately 3,000 to 4,000 mostly young men who attended the Harare rally Sunday, it was a revelation. They laughed out loud and clapped and cheered when Mr. Makoni reeled off a list of economic problems faced by Zimbabweans. He said many put their hard-earned cash in the bank, but were then not allowed to draw it out when they wanted, and had to wait for days to get access to their money. He said there was chaos on Zimbabwe's farmland, in a country which has for decades been dependent on agricultural exports. He also said there was a gross abuse of state resources, which were used along partisan lines. On 25 April 2016 (MKD) leader Simba Makoni said a grand coalition of progressive forces including opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirais MDC, disgruntled Zanu PF stalwarts led by former Vice President Joice Mujuru and Dumiso Dabengwas Zapu would defeat President Robert Mugabe and Zanu PF in the 2018 elections. He said that that consultations were under way between various opposition leaders, with a view to form a broad front that would challenge Mugabe. We have ongoing communications with the so-called Gamatoxes (disgruntled former Zanu PF stalwarts), the renewal team (MDC breakaway faction), and the MDC for the purpose of building national consensus and to search for common ground so that we can engage in effective common action, Makoni said. Other potential successors mentioned included Defense Minister Sidney Sekeremayi, who had considerable Politburo support, and retired Army General Solomon Mujuru. The former suffers from a reputation for personal weakness, while the latter is widely considered too rough-edged and uneducated to handle the job. In Mujuru's case, he seems more interested in being kingmaker than the king. The very ambitious Minister of Information Jonathan Moyo, an Ndebele, is widely disliked in party circles. His dependence upon the patronage of Mugabe is such that he appears determined to block or delay any moves toward Mugabe's departure, since Moyo himself is an unlikely dauphin. Like Mugabe, Minister of Local Government Ignatius Chombo is from the Zezeru sub-clan of the Shona, and his nomination would spark fierce opposition from the competing Karanga and Manyica sub-clans. Other candidates included Minister of Special Affairs in the President,s Office John Nkomo, whose Ndebele bloodlines and ZAPU origins might qualify him for a prime ministerial or custodial role, but certainly not a strong presidential one. Lesser candidates included Minister of Home Affairs Kembo Mohadi, Minister of State for National Security Nicholas Goche, Minister of Social Welfare July Moyo, and Minister of Foreign Affairs Stan Mudenge. Most are not serious contenders for ethnic/clan reasons, or for a lack of political traction with party elders. The generation of ZANU-PF heavyweights from the liberation era must ultimately second Mugabe's choice. Many of these old-timers in their 70s and 80s, and can be expected to resist mightily any change from the effective one-party system they have known so long. Less entrenched and ideological insiders would like to see reform, but only ZANU-PF reform, and fear that the party has not prepared for succession and would be extremely vulnerable in the post-Mugabe period. For different reasons, many within the party would prefer to still the winds of change. From the ZANU-PF perspective, the path to the Presidency of the Republic clearly goes through the ZANU-PF presidency. Mugabe held this position since 1987. The ZANU-PF party Constitution provides a clear framework for electing party leadership. The National People's Congress, which is held once every five years, elects the President, two vice-presidents, and the National Chairman of the party directly, upon nomination by at least six provincial executive councils of the party, meeting separately, in special session called for that purpose. If more than one candidate is presented, then the candidate having the highest number of votes stands as the nominee. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Polls open in Hong Kong's key legislative elections Iran Press TV Sun Sep 4, 2016 5:12AM Voters have started going to the polls in Hong Kong to choose lawmakers for the independent legislative body of the special administrative region of China. The polls opened in the Legislative Council elections on Sunday morning and will close at 10:30 pm (0230 GMT). Voters will directly choose 40 lawmakers for the 70-member body. The other 30 lawmakers for the region, which is home to multinational business firms, are from trade-based functional constituencies and are indirectly elected by different professional interest groups. Vote counting will begin shortly after the polls are closed. A survey by the University of Hong Kong showed that pro-Beijing lawmakers would gain the majority of the seats in the legislative body, which is tasked with establishing laws, overseeing budget, and supervising the local government's work. Anti-Beijing candidates are also participating in the elections. The vote is the most important political event since 2014, when anti-Beijing rallies and strikes by protesters demanding political reform were held in the semi-autonomous Hong Kong. Currently, anti-establishment candidates belonging to the so-called localist or "pro-democracy" movements are demanding a chance to determine the future of Hong Kong by holding a referendum for independence from China. On the eve of the elections, five candidates from the anti-Beijing camp dropped out of the political race in an effort to increase chances for their fellow candidates. Hong Kong's legislative, executive and judiciary bodies are separate and independent from China, and Beijing only maintains authority in defense and foreign affairs. The city, which has a population of around seven million people, was under British rule for over a century until Beijing regained sovereignty over the territory in 1997. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Major Election in Hong Kong With Calls for Independence By VOA News September 04, 2016 Hong Kong voted in its first major elections Sunday since the mass pro-democracy protests in 2014, with calls for independence and anti-China sentiment running high among some groups of younger voters. Voters chose members for the territory's 70-seat Legislative Council, in which the pro-democracy opposition is hoping to maintain at least one third of the seats to have veto power to block the pro-Beijing government attempts to enact unpopular legislation. A small group of protesters demanded the resignation of Beijing-backed leader, Leung Chun-ying, outside the polling station where he voted, while some others expressed their intention to just keep his government in check. Turnout was reported to be above average and election results are expected early Monday. Most established pro-democracy politicians do not support the notion of independence and may lose seats to voters who support more radical new groups. "Pan-democrat" lawmakers currently control 27 of 70 seats, compared with 43 held by lawmakers friendly to Beijing. Hong Kong has been the scene of increasingly bitter political turmoil since the last legislative election in 2012 that led to pro-democracy protests in 2014. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Obama: China Needs to Adopt More Responsible Role on International Stage By Ken Bredemeier September 04, 2016 U.S. President Barack Obama is telling China it needs to adopt a more responsible role on the world stage and adhere to international norms. Before heading to the G-20 summit in China, Obama told CNN in an interview broadcast Sunday that Beijing needs to show restraint in its relations with smaller countries, especially as it deals with territorial disputes in the South China Sea. The American leader said that "with increasing power comes increasing responsibilities." Obama said the U.S. has urged China to accept international rules that build a strong world-wide order. South China Sea China, which is a signatory to the U.N. Convention on the Law of the Sea, recently lost an arbitration dispute at a court in the Hague over the South China Sea, but rejected the ruling. The court ruled China had violated Manila's sovereign rights by interfering with Philippine fishing and oil exploration activities in the area. "If you sign a treaty that calls for international arbitration around maritime issues, the fact that you're bigger than the Philippines or Vietnam or other countries... is not a reason for you to go around and flex your muscles," Obama said. "You've got to abide by international law." Obama said that where the U.S. has seen China "violating international rules and norms, as we have seen in some cases in the South China Sea or in some of their behavior when it comes to economic policy, we've been very firm. And we've indicated to them that there will be consequences." Trade issues He said China cannot expect to "pursue mercantilist policies that just advantage" itself now that China has become a more affluent, middle-income country. "Even though you still have a lot of poor people, you know, you can't just export problems. You've got to have fair trade and not just free trade. You have to open up your markets if you expect other people to open up their markets." Obama added, "Part of what I've tried to communicate to President Xi [Jinping] is that the United States arrives at its power, in part, by restraining itself. You know, when we bind ourselves to a bunch of international norms and rules it's not because we have to, it's because we recognize that over the long term, building a strong international order is in our interests." NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address YEREVAN, SEPTEMBER 5, ARMENPRESS. Private entrepreneur N. T. acquired 5 tons of psychotropic substance used in manufacture of paints called Toluene in the Russian Federation and illegally imported to Armenia on 25.07.16 without relevant license. As Armenpress was informed from the press service of the Special Investigation Service of Armenia, investigation revealed that importing the mentioned psychotropic substance, the documents were submitted to the customs officers of Bagratashen subdivision of the State Revenue Committee of Armenia who allowed the entrepreneur to import the substance. The Special Investigations Service has initiated a criminal case against the customs officers for displaying negligent attitude towards their duties. Preliminary investigation is underway. North Korea Fires Three Ballistic Missiles Off Eastern Coast By VOA News September 05, 2016 South Korea's military says North Korea has fired three ballistic missiles into the waters off its eastern coast. The Joint Chiefs of Staff issued a statement Monday saying the missiles were fired from the North's Hwanghae province around midday local time. South Korea's Yonhap news agency says it is unknown what type of missiles were fired, and how far they traveled. Monday's missile firings come as world leaders met in the eastern Chinese city of Hangzhou for the two-day summit of G-20 of advanced and emerging economies. South Korean President Park Geun-hye and Chinese President Xi Jinping met on the sidelines of the summit just hours before the missile launches. According to Yonhap, President Park warned the Chinese leader that Pyongyang's increasing provocations, including a series of nuclear weapons and ballistic missile tests, have "seriously undermined peace in this region and posed a challenge" to Seoul-Beijing relations. Meanwhile, China's Xinhua news agency says President Xi told his South Korean counterpart that Beijing opposes deployment of the U.S.-built THAAD (Terminal High Altitude Area Defense) anti-missile system in South Korea. Seoul says the THAAD system is aimed at countering possible missile attacks from North Korea. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Iraqis stage mass strike against corruption Iran Press TV Sun Sep 4, 2016 10:39AM Thousands of people in Iraq, including government employees, have staged a two-day walkout along with a hunger strike in protest at the Baghdad government's inability to fight state corruption. The strike was launched on Sunday in different governmental organizations in the Iraqi capital of Bagdad as well as Karbala, Najaf and other major cities, following a statement that had been issued by prominent Iraqi cleric Muqtada al-Sadr two days earlier calling for the protest action. Sadr has also called on all Iraqi people to go on hunger strike inside mosques, churches and other houses of worship, as well as in cultural and social institutions from September 9 until the morning of September 11. Over the past few months, hundreds of Iraqis have been gathering at Tahrir (Liberation) Square in the Iraqi capital, Baghdad, and elsewhere in the country every Friday, urging the containment of corruption and also the formation of a technocrat government in the country. The establishment of such a government has been stalled by persisting differences among various Iraqi political factions. Baghdad witnessed uproarious protests in July, when demonstrators, mostly the supporters of Sadr, rallied against what was described as rampant corruption within the country's ruling structure. A large number of people were killed or injured during the rallies. Earlier in May, Sadr's followers broke into the parliament compound inside the capital's fortified Green Zone, protesting a stalled vote to endorse Abadi's ministerial nominees in the chamber. Later, however, they stormed Abadi's own office building, also in the Green Zone, apparently in protest at government corruption. On May 20, Abadi called on the nation to set aside political differences and unite against the Takfiri Daesh terrorist group, which has been ravaging the country since June 2014. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Russia Interested in Resumption of Previous Military Programs With NATO Sputnik News 21:08 04.09.2016(updated 21:09 04.09.2016) Russia is interested in carrying out a non-politicized review of the previously active NATO-Russia joint military programs and their further resumption, Russian Deputy Defense Minister Anatoly Antonov said. MOSCOW (Sputnik) Russia also wants to exchange information with the alliance on the terrorist threat in Europe, he said. "The Russian side is interested in organizing a non-politicized review of previously existing military programs in the format of Russia-NATO Council for the purpose of resumption of their implementation, as well as the exchange of information and assessment of the current terrorist threat in Europe, in particular, to counter Daesh," Antonov told the Russian newspaper Nezavisimaya Gazeta. The NATO-Russia Council was created in 2002 as a consultative mechanism. NATO suspended all practical civilian and military cooperation with Russia after the Ukraine crisis broke out in April 2014. The first Russia-NATO Council meeting since the relations deterioration, held at the level of permanent envoys, took place on April 20 but failed to yield any significant results due to the sides' disagreement on a number of geopolitical issues. One more meeting of the Council at the ambassadorial level was held in the Belgian capital of Brussels on July 13. Sputnik NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Obama: US, Russia deeply divided over Syria ISNA - Iranian Students' News Agency Sun / 4 September 2016 / 14:29 TEHRAN (ISNA)- US President Barack Obama said the US and Russia remain deeply divided over the Syria crisis, adding it is difficult to "get to the next phase." "We have grave differences with the Russians in terms of both the parties we support but also the process that is required to bring about peace in Syria," Obama said in a joint press conference with UK Prime Minister Theresa May in Hangzhou, China, on the sidelines of the Group of 20 economic summit. "We're not there yet," he said. "I think it's premature for us to say there's a clear path forward, but there's the possibility at least for us to make some progress." His remarks come as US Secretary of State John Kerry and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov are negotiating a deal to boost military cooperation between the two countries in the fight against Daesh in Syria. According to a senior US State Department official, Washington is close to a deal with Russia, but some issues remain to be resolved, presstv reported. The inability to achieve a deal will bring another missed deadline for the UN special envoy for Syria, Staffan de Mistura, to get the Syrian government and "moderate" militants back to the negotiating table. Moscow maintains its airstrikes have targeted "legitimate" terrorist targets, while Washington says they have hit "moderate" US-backed militants. During the press conference, Obama said the US and the UK must cooperate to ensure that their ongoing trade links do not unravel after Britain leaves the European Union. "I've committed to Theresa that we will consult closely with her as she and her government move forward on Brexit negotiations to make sure we don't see adverse effects in our trading and commercial relationship." Trade "is not going to stop," Obama said. "We're going to do everything we can to make sure that the consequences of the (Brexit) decision don't end up unraveling what is already a very strong and robust economic relationship." "But first things first. The first task is figuring out what Brexit means with respect to Europe." The UK prime minister said she had used her first meeting with Obama to discuss the Brexit process and what it meant to the UK's relationships with the US and European countries. "The UK has always been a strong partner for the US and that will remain to be the case. We have a thriving economic relationship," May said. Nearly 52 percent of British voters opted to leave the EU in a referendum on June 23, in hopes of taking back control over their borders and having more economic freedom. End Item NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Syrian forces advance on southern Aleppo, retake armament academy Iran Press TV Sun Sep 4, 2016 1:16PM Syrian government forces are advancing further on Aleppo amid an offensive to gain control over parts of the northwestern city that are held by Takfiri terrorists. Syria's official news agency, SANA, said on Sunday that the government troops backed by volunteer fighters captured Aleppo's armament academy in the south of the city. SANA said the army has total control of the academy and it has also "expanded its control in the area of military academies to the south of Aleppo city." A Syrian military source confirmed that the government troops had already recaptured the air force academy and terrorists were "besieged in the artillery academy." In Aleppo countryside, the source added, the Syrian air force conducted a series of airstrikes against the hideouts of Jaish al-Fatah terrorists. The so-called Syrian Observatory for Human Rights also confirmed the capture of the armament academy. Rami Abdel Rahman, the director of the group, said it was now likely that the government forces "easily take Ramussa, a suburb south of Aleppo." Terrorist shelling kills 2 women on Aleppo suburbs Separately, at least two women lost their lives in rocket attacks by militants on the towns of Nubul and al-Zahraa northwest of Aleppo. SANA quoted an unnamed source at Aleppo Police Command as saying on Sunday that terrorists positioned in Byanoun town fired rocket shells on Nubul and al-Zahraa, claiming the lives of two women and injuring 8 other civilians. The source added that the terrorist attacks caused material damage to several houses and to the private and public properties. Aleppo has been divided between government forces in the west and the Takfiri terrorists in the east over the past few years. The Syrian army has vowed to press ahead with its counter-terror operations and drive terrorists out of their major positions. The Takfiri militants operating in Syria have suffered major setbacks over the past few months as the Syrian army has managed to liberate more areas. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address US says it has failed to reach deal with Russia over Syria truce Iran Press TV Sun Sep 4, 2016 11:57AM The United States says it had not yet struck an agreement with Russia on ending the years-long conflict in Syria, blaming Moscow for reversing its position on issues it thought were settled. The US State Department said Sunday a deal was close and could be announced by Secretary of State John Kerry and his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov, but hours later acknowledged they had failed to reach a deal for now. "Russians walked back on some of the areas we thought we were agreed on, so we are going back to capitals to consult," a senior State Department official said. Kerry and Lavrov will meet again on Monday in Hangzhou, China, where G-20 leaders are gathered, he added. US President Barack Obama had said earlier that the two sides were working hard on the sidelines of the G-20 summit in China to reach a deal on a cessation of hostilities in Syria. Obama was speaking at a joint press conference with British Prime Minister Theresa May on the sidelines of the G-20 summit. Obama noted that the US and Russia have deep differences with regard to the parties they support in Syria as well as the process to bring peace there. Yet, Obama said the Russian-American talks are key for efforts to reduce violence in the Arab state. The US president said talks on the situation in Syria are difficult, because trying to corral all forces on the ground into a coherent structure for negotiations is difficult. Washington and Moscow have sought for weeks to secure a cease-fire between Syrian President Bashar Assad's government and extremist groups operating in Syria. Syria has been gripped by foreign-backed militancy since March 2011. United Nations Special Envoy for Syria Staffan de Mistura estimates that over 400,000 people have been killed in the conflict. The Takfiri terrorists operating in the Middle Eastern state have suffered major setbacks over the past few months as the Syrian army has managed to liberate many key areas. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Russia, U.S. Say Close To Reaching Cease-Fire Deal On Syria September 04, 2016 by RFE/RL Both Moscow and Washington say they are close to reaching a cease-fire deal on Syria but still require more time. Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov said on September 4 that "We are close to the deal.... But the art of diplomacy requires time to implementation." He added, "I think we have no reason to expect that talks will collapse." He was speaking to media on the sidelines of the Group of 20 economic summit in the Chinese city of Hangzhou. Earlier in the day, U.S. President Barack Obama said in Hangzhou that talks with Russia will be key in reaching any deal to end hostilities in Syria but negotiations are difficult. "We have grave differences with the Russians in terms of both the parties we support but also the process that is required to bring about peace in Syria," Obama said. "We're not there yet," he added. "I think it's premature for us to say there's a clear path forward, but there's the possibility at least for us to make some progress." U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov have been deep in talks for weeks over a deal to boost U.S. and Russian military cooperation to fight the Islamic State group and other extremists in Syria. Speaking to reporters on September 4 after meeting with Lavrov, Kerry said a couple of tough issues still remained, adding that the two sides would meet again on September 5. "It's fair to say that out of the review I think there are a couple of tough issues that we talked about today," Kerry said, declining to give details. "We will meet tomorrow morning and see whether or not it is possible to bridge the gap and come to a conclusion on these couple of issues," Kerry added. He added that the United States will not rush into a deal with Russia to end the civil war in Syria. A possible deal could include provisions to ensure aid can reach besieged areas of Syria and steps to prevent Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's government from bombing areas where U.S.-backed rebels are operating. Washington's Syria envoy, Michael Ratney, has said the deal would also require the withdrawal of Damascus's forces from a key supply route north of Aleppo, according to a letter from Ratney to the Syrian armed opposition seen by Reuters and dated September. 3. In return, the United States would coordinate with Russia against Al-Qaeda, the letter said, without elaborating. The civil war has killed more than 250,000 people and displaced 11 million, causing a refugee crisis in the Middle East and Europe, and contributing to a rise in militant Islamist groups. Russia has backed Assad, but the United States has worked with moderate opposition forces fighting Assad. With reporting by AFP, AP, and Reuters Source: http://www.rferl.org/content/syria-russia-us-say- close-to-ceasefire-deal/27966277.html Copyright (c) 2016. RFE/RL, Inc. Reprinted with the permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 1201 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Washington DC 20036. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Obama Tells Erdogan Important To Secure Border With Syria September 04, 2016 U.S. President Barack Obama has told Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan that it's critical to "finish the job" of securing Turkey's border with Syria. The two leaders met on September 4 on the sidelines of the Group of 20 economic summit in Hangzhou, China. Obama said securing the Turkish border was important because that is where would-be recruits to the Islamic State (IS) extremist group enter Syria. Obama also said Turkey must not carry alone the burden of addressing the Syrian refugee crisis. Meanwhile, Obama said talks with Russia would be key in reaching any deal to end hostilities in Syria but negotiations were difficult. Obama told a news conference in Hangzhou that grave differences remained between Washington and Moscow. "We're not there yet," Obama said. "I think it's premature for us to say there's a clear path forward, but there's the possibility at least for us to make some progress." U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov have been deep in talks for weeks over a deal to boost U.S. and Russian military cooperation to fight IS and other extremists in Syria. A possible deal could also include provisions to ensure aid can reach besieged areas of Syria and steps to prevent Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's government from bombing areas where U.S.-backed rebels are operating. Obama's meeting with Erdogan was their first since this summer's coup attempt. The U.S. president said he condemned the attempted overthrow and would work with Turkey to help ensure that those responsible for an attempted coup are brought to justice. Based on reporting by AFP, AP, and Reuters Source: http://www.rferl.org/content/us-turkey-obama- erdogan-meeting/27966082.html Copyright (c) 2016. RFE/RL, Inc. Reprinted with the permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 1201 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Washington DC 20036. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Turkey Says Syrian Border Completely Cleared Of IS September 04, 2016 Turkish Prime Minister Binali Yildirim says his country's forces and Syrian rebels have expelled the extremist group Islamic State (IS) from the last areas of the Syrian-Turkish border under its control. "From Azaz to Jarabulus, our 91-kilometer border has been completely secured. All terrorist organizations have been repulsed and they have gone," Yildirim said on September 4 during a televised speech while visiting the southeastern city of Diyarbakir. The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said IS "has lost its link with the outside world after losing all border areas" with Turkey. The monitoring group said that "rebels and Islamist factions backed by Turkish tanks and warplanes" had taken several villages on the border "after IS withdrew from them, ending IS's presence...on the border." The advance comes after Turkey launched an operation on August 24 designed to drive IS away from the border and also prevent the advance of Kurdish fighters. Yildirim on September 4 defended his country's intervention in Syria, pointing to their long shared border. "We are there to protect our borders, ensure the safety of our citizens' lives and property, and to protect the territorial integrity of Syria," Yildirim said in Diyarbakir. "We will never allow the formation of an artificial state in the north of Syria," he said. Based on reporting by Reuters, AP and AFP Source: http://www.rferl.org/content/turkey-say-syria- border-free-of-islamic-state/27966646.html Copyright (c) 2016. RFE/RL, Inc. Reprinted with the permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 1201 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Washington DC 20036. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Syrian Army Retakes Control Over Military Academies in Southwest Aleppo Sputnik News 19:24 04.09.2016(updated 21:32 04.09.2016) Syrian forces and militias loyal to Damascus took military academies in the southwestern district of the Aleppo city under their full control on Sunday. ALEPPO (Sputnik) In the morning, Syrian troops recaptured a school belonging to the Syrian Air Force and an institution that provided training in support services for the military. "Any militants that could be still holed up on the artillery school grounds have been isolated in just two buildings. The rest of the militants tried to break out to Ramuse an hour ago," a group leader with the Syrian Army told a RIA Novosti correspondent in Aleppo. Hardly any gunshots could be heard in the area, which is home to numerous military academies, as government troops combed the grounds and searched every single building. According to the correspondent, the Syrian army has tightened its grip on the militant-held eastern districts of northern Syria's Aleppo and could be soon storming their positions in Ramuse, in Aleppo's southwest. Sputnik NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address YEREVAN, SEPTEMBER 5, ARMENPRESS. The sophisticated ISIS network that plots foreign strikes had planned for the carnage in the November 2015 Paris attacks to be far worse, to occur in other European countries as well and, investigators believe, had planned to follow them up with strikes in several locations. Armenpress reports CNN has obtained thousands of pages of documents and photos from internal European investigations and gathered information from sources close to the Paris investigation that together provide new details about the highly organized terror group intent on attacking overseas targets. These documents reveal new information about two captured operatives who investigators believe intended to attack France. They also point, chillingly, to the existence of another suspected terrorist -- never before named publicly -- who authorities claim is linked to the Paris terror cell and was on the loose in Europe for months after that attack. That man, identified by authorities as Abid Tabaouni, was only arrested in July. A senior European counter-terrorism official who spoke to CNN said that according to investigations into the network that carried out the Paris attacks, they were a slimmed-down version of an even more ambitious plan to hit Europe. After interrogating suspects and gathering intelligence, European investigators now believe that ISIS initially planned for the operatives it sent last year to also attack the Netherlands, as well as other targets in France including shopping areas and possibly a supermarket in Paris, the official said. In addition, recently obtained intelligence indicates that ISIS has stepped up efforts to infiltrate operatives into the UK to launch attacks there. Europe's security agencies have had important successes, though. One major breakthrough was the capture of two men who authorities believe intended to travel to France alongside the two suicide bombers who eventually blew themselves up outside a Paris stadium. Those two suspected ISIS operatives are identified in the documents as Algerian-born Adel Haddadi and his Pakistani travel partner, Muhammad Usman. Russian Air Campaign Helped Syria Maintain Statehood - Putin Sputnik News 14:10 04.09.2016(updated 15:07 04.09.2016) Russian President Vladimir Putin said Sunday that the support of the Russian aviation helped Syria maintain statehood, as well as dealt a blow to terrorists in the war-torn country. HANGZHOU (Sputnik) He added that Moscow could not leave Damascus' request for help without response as the terror threat in Syria had been very high. "The actions of the Russian Aerospace Forces helped to seriously damage terrorists, their infrastructure, as well as [helped] save the Syrian state, that is the most important thing in my opinion," Putin said, speaking at the informal meeting of the leaders of the BRICS Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa on the sidelines of the G20 summit in the eastern Chinese city of Hangzhou. On September 30, 2015, Russia began its anti-terror campaign in Syria on Damascus' request, and started to to conduct airstrikes against terrorist groups. In March, Putin ordered to withdraw most of the country's military contingent after accomplishing its objectives. The final settlement of the crisis in Syria can only be achieved through political means, Putin said. "The conflicts of this kind can be decisively solved only by political means," the Russian president said. Putin also stressed that the real response to terrorist threat was "possible to achieve only by combining the efforts of all interested parties." Sputnik NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Syrian Army Liberates Strategic Areas of Military Academies in Aleppo Sputnik News 12:37 04.09.2016 Syrian Army troops along with militias completely liberated from terrorists the territory of the Air Force school and logistics support college in the south of Aleppo, a RIA Novosti correspondent reported from the scene. ALEPPO (Sputnik) Another stage of the military assault in the areas of higher military institutions began on Sunday night. At the moment, only a part of the artillery school remains under the control of terrorists. "Air Force school and logistics support college are [under] our [control]. It is necessary to clean up the artillery [school]. This is an important and strategic step for the liberation of the entire city of Aleppo from terrorists," a brigade commander of a militia group told RIA Novosti. Syria has been mired in civil war since 2011, with government forces loyal to President Bashar Assad fighting numerous opposition factions and extremist groups. On February 27, a US-Russia brokered ceasefire came into force in Syria. Terrorist groups, which maintain a heavy presence in Aleppo, are not part of the deal. Sputnik NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address US, Russia Have Great Differences Over Peace Process in Syria Sputnik News 07:22 04.09.2016(updated 13:58 04.09.2016) The United States and Russia continue to support different sides in war torn Syria and have differences over the peace process in this country, US President Barack Obama said Sunday. HANGZHOU (Sputnik) On Saturday, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov said that a meeting between Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and US State Secretary John Kerry on the sidelines of the G20 summit in China was possible if the United States officially made a distinction between terrorists and opposition groups in Syria. "We have great differences in terms of both the parties we support but also the process that is required to bring about peace in Syria. But if we do not get succumbing from the Russians on reducing the violence and easing the humanitarian crisis then it is difficult to see how we get to the next phase [of the Syrian settlement]," Obama said at a joint press conference with UK Prime Minister Theresa May on the sidelines of the G20 summit in China. At the same time, Obama noted that "the conversations with Russians are key" in reaching the solution of the Syrian crisis. Sputnik NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address US-Russia Set to Complete a Major Military Alliance Agreement in Syria Sputnik News 03:19 04.09.2016(updated 08:49 04.09.2016) The deal would call for full-coordination between US and Russian military and intelligence forces in Syria in exchange for Moscow forcing Assad to ground the Syrian Air Force. The United States and Russia inch closer to completing a major agreement calling for military and intelligence cooperation in Syria in exchange for Russia agreeing to pressure President Bashar al-Assad to refrain from targeting civilian dense areas and allowing for both food and medical aid to flow into impacted areas according to reports from CBS News correspondent Margaret Brennan. Pursuant to the proposed arrangement, the US and Russia would coordinate airstrikes against Daesh (ISIS) as well as al Qaeda-linked terrorists including the former al-Nusra Front. While the United States and Russia would jointly takeover the aerial campaign against jihadists in Syria, Assad's Syrian Arab Army Air Force would be grounded in a bid to prevent unnecessary collateral damage against civilians and US-backed rebels. The measure looks to rectify a major point of contention between the United States and Russia with many of the so-called 'moderate' rebels now finding themselves embedded with the freshly rebranded al-Qaeda affiliate formerly known as al-Nusra Front under the umbrella group known as The Army of Conquest. Russian airstrikes against al-Nusra targets have often come under scrutiny due to the interwoven nature of the anti-Assad alliance. Washington appears to have a desire to prevent the conflict in Syria from taking on any additional fronts after Turkey entered into the Syrian conflict with a full-throttled air and ground campaign against US-backed YPG Kurdish rebels a group with which US Special Forces are embedded with creating a severe danger of unintentional friendly fire between the allied countries. The Obama administration has also found itself facing split allegiances in its bid to prop up anti-Assad rebels while fighting against Daesh (ISIS) militants with al-Nusra occupying a space within the coalition against the Syrian President that awkwardly bridges these forces with Daesh. While the United States considers al-Nusra to be a terrorist organization and does not provide weapons to the former al-Qaeda affiliate, the jihadists are often times derivative beneficiaries of US aid to the rebels. While aligning with the anti-Assad rebels, the United States has also engaged in fierce bombing campaigns against al-Nusra objectives despite the group serving as the vanguard in the rebel effort to break the siege of Aleppo. The complex war zone environment in Syria has left many sides wondering who they are fighting and with somewhat unimaginable alliances of opportunity forming between different parties in the struggle. The negotiations are a final salvo by the Obama administration to prevent the surge in deaths in Syria and to stem the flow of refugees into Europe at a time when the conflict nears a breaking point. Efforts at diplomacy appear to be led by a move dovish wing in the State Department including Secretary John Kerry who garnered a greater appreciation for Russia's role in Syria after Putin helped Obama walk back from the "red-line" while leaders in the Pentagon are reportedly calling for the US to "walk out." The deal, if completed "would also put Russian President Vladimir Putin back at global player status" according to CBS News analysis of the pending deal which they described as "groundbreaking." Sputnik NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Obstacles Remain as US, Russia Work to Finalize Syria Cease-Fire Deal By William Ide September 04, 2016 9:01 AM The United States and Russia are working to finalize a cease-fire deal for Syria that would allow more humanitarian aid into the war-ravaged country, as world leaders meet in Hangzhou China for the Group of 20 Nations Leaders Summit. The two countries appeared to be closing in a possible deal, but obstacles remain. There are hopes that U.S. President Barack Obama and Russia's Vladimir Putin will have a chance to talk informally on the sidelines of the G-20 meetings. But so far, nothing has been arranged. "We have grave differences with the Russians in terms of both the parties we support but also the process that is required to bring about peace in Syria," Obama told reporters Sunday. A State Department official said Russia walked back on some of the areas the U.S. thought were agreed on by both parties. Russian President Putin is quoted as saying the Syrian conflict can only be resolved through political means. Moscow has backed Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, but the United States has worked with moderate opposition forces fighting Assad. "But if we do not get some buy-in from the Russians on reducing the violence and easing the humanitarian crisis, then it's difficult to see how we get to the next phase," said Obama. Kerry-Lavrov meeting U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry met with his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov to discuss Syria Sunday and the two will meet again Monday. "It's fair to say that out of the review I think there are a couple of tough issues that we talked about today," Kerry told reporters after the meeting, but declined to give details. "We will meet tomorrow morning and see whether or not it is possible to bridge the gap and come to a conclusion on these couple of issues." Russia's Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov said the two sides are close to a deal and that they are talking about the most serious issues of implementing a cease-fire. "The most intense work is continuing," Ryabkov said. "Until we lay the last brick... We can't say that the results have been achieved." The civil war in Syria has killed more than 250,000 people, displaced 11 million and led to a refugee crisis in the Middle East and Europe. The conflict is also contributing to a rise in militant Islamist groups. U.S. and Russian military officials have been meeting for weeks to try and work out the terms of the deal. Previous cease-fire agreements have failed to last for long as both back opposite sides in the five-year war. State Deparment correpondent Steve Herman contributed to this report. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Washington's stance on Taiwan unchanged: U.S. official ROC Central News Agency 2016/09/04 13:01:29 Washington, Sept. 3 (CNA) A U.S. official on Saturday reaffirmed the United States' stance toward Taiwan, after a Chinese state-owned news agency reported that U.S. President Barack Obama expressed the U.S.' "opposition" to "Taiwan independence" in a meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping in China Saturday. "Our position is consistent and longstanding ... We remain firmly committed to our 'one China' policy based on the three Joint Communiques and the Taiwan Relations Act," Myles Caggins, a spokesman for the White House National Security Council, said in an e-mailed statement on Taiwan and the U.S. policy toward Taiwan/China. Caggins was responding to CNA's question as to whether the U.S.' stance toward Taiwan has changed. In past statements, U.S. officials have always said "the U.S. does not support Taiwan independence," but in Obama's latest comment, according to the Chinese Xinhua news agency, he stated that the U.S. "opposes" all attempts aimed at seeking Taiwan independence. Xinhua reported Saturday that in a meeting with Obama in the eastern city of Hangzhou on the eve of a G20 summit, Xi urged the U.S. to honor its commitment to the one-China policy, the principle of the three joint communiques, and safeguard peaceful development of cross-Strait ties and the overall interests of Sino-U.S. cooperation with actual deeds. Obama, meanwhile, said the U.S. opposes all attempts aimed at seeking Taiwan independence, and reaffirmed that Tibet belongs to China, according to the report. In the e-mail to CNA, Caggins, who accompanied Obama in China, said: "Our fundamental interest is in peaceful and stable cross-Strait relations." "We believe that cross-Strait issues should be resolved peacefully in a manner, pace, and scope acceptable to people on both sides of the Strait," Caggins added. However, Caggins was unwilling to reveal details of the Obama-Xi meeting. Earlier this year, Daniel Kritenbrink, senior director for Asian Affairs at the National Security Council, told the CNA that Chinese officials would often mention the Taiwan issue during meetings with their U.S. counterparts, and if U.S. officials touch on the issue, they would usually make the statement "We do not support Taiwan independence." (By Rita Cheng and Evelyn Kao) Enditem/cs NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Putin: A lot must be done before ties with Turkey fully normalized ISNA - Iranian Students' News Agency Sun / 4 September 2016 / 10:21 TEHRAN (ISNA)- Russian President Vladimir Putin said a lot of ground must be covered until relations between Moscow and Ankara are fully healed. Relations between Russia and Turkey soured after Turkey downed a Russian jet close to the Syrian border in 2015. "There is still a lot to do in order to completely re-establish cooperation in all areas," said Putin following a bilateral meeting with his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan in the southern Chinese city of Hangzhou on Saturday ahead of a G20 summit. "We see that Turkey is going through hard times; we are pleased that the political situation is returning to normal. We are aware that the country is fighting against terror and facing serious threats," he added. Turkey has been plagued by a series of terrorist attacks over the last few years and recently foiled a coup attempt. It has also launched an incursion into the Syrian territory, where it claims is battling the Daesh terrorist group and Kurdish militants, presstv reported. Putin went on to stress that "once the normalization is fully achieved, we will be able to move forward more quickly." On November 24, Turkey shot down a Russian Su-24 bomber claiming that had entered Turkish airspace. At the time Putin referred to the incident as a "stab in the back" and imposed a series of economic sanctions on Ankara. Relations started to pick up after Erdogan apologized, "issuing deep regret." In his turn, Erdogan noted that "certain measures" would be carried by both countries to forward normalization of ties. End Item NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Turkey will never allow artificial state in northern Syria: Yildirim Iran Press TV Sun Sep 4, 2016 5:47PM Prime Minister Binali Yildirim says Turkey will never allow the formation of an "artificial state" of Kurdish militants near its border in northern Syria. Yildirim said on Sunday that Ankara would not ever permit the US-backed militants of the Kurdish People's Protection Units (YPG) to establish a "synthetic state" close to its border. "We will never allow the formation of an artificial state in the north of Syria," Yildirim said in a speech in the Kurdish city of Diyarbakir in southeastern Turkey, adding, "We are there with Euphrates Shield, we are there to protect our border, to provide for our citizens safety of life and property, and to ensure Syria's integrity." Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan recently told a press briefing on the sidelines of the G20 gathering of world leaders in China that his country would never permit the establishment of a "terror corridor" in northern Syria. "Nobody should expect that we'll agree to the establishment of a terror corridor along our southern border in northern Syria," Erdogan said on September 1. Erdogan also dismissed claims by the United States that Kurdish militants had retreated to the east of the Euphrates River in northern Syria, saying, "Right now, people say they have gone to the east but we say no, they haven't crossed." The Turkish president was reacting to comments by a US military official who said on August 29 that Kurdish forces had "all" moved east of the Euphrates, more than a week after Ankara launched an incursion into northern Syria. Top Turkish officials have stressed that the offensive in Syria will continue until the YPG and its affiliate Democratic Union Party (PYD) withdraw. The Turkish military is supporting a ground offensive by hundreds of pro-Ankara militants in Syria, who managed to enter the Syrian border town of Jarablus in a lightening advance after meeting little resistance from the Takfiri Daesh terrorists there. The so-called Operation Euphrates Shield, which began on August 24, involves the Turkish air force and special ground forces. Ankara says the incursion is aimed at Daesh terrorists and Kurdish militants. Meanwhile, YPG forces say they have already withdrawn to the east of the Euphrates River in line with demands by Ankara and Washington. A spokesman for the YPG recently criticized Turkey, saying its claims of fighting the group west of the Euphrates River are a pretext to widen its occupation of the Syrian territory. The Syrian government has also strongly denounced Turkey's incursion as a violation of its sovereignty. Analysts say Turkey is using the fight against Daesh as a cover for its real mission, which is purging Syrian border areas of Kurdish militants. Ankara regards the YPG and PYD as allies of the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), which has been fighting for an autonomous Kurdish region inside Turkey since the 1980s. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Turkish warplanes bomb PKK positions Iran Press TV Sun Sep 4, 2016 1:53PM Turkish warplanes have conducted fresh airstrikes against the positions of the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) militant group in the east and south. Turkish security sources told the state-run Anadolu news agency on Sunday that fighter jets bombarded four PKK targets in Cukurca district of the southeastern province of Hakkari between 8:42 p.m. and 9:07 p.m. local time (1742-1807 GMT) Saturday evening. The warplanes also pounded six other PKK positions in Mount Tendurek region between the eastern provinces of Agri and Van from 12:08 a.m. to 12:27 a.m. local time Sunday (2108-2127 GMT overnight Saturday), the sources added. According to the sources, a senior PKK figure called Hakan Yeni, code-named "Mahir," was killed in the airstrikes. Mahir was reportedly responsible for Caldiran-Tendurek region. Along with him, a number of other militants were also killed, the sources added, without specifying the number of casualties. The fresh wave of airstrikes against PKK militants comes after two bloody days of clashes between the two sides, in which at least 22 Turkish soldiers and a village guardsman were killed in the restive southeast. According to a statement released by the Turkish military on Saturday, at least 100 PKK militants were also killed or injured during the clashes. The casualty toll from Saturday's clashes was one of the highest in a single day of the conflict in recent years. The new anti-PKK operation, which started four days ago, still goes on. The Turkish military has been carrying out ground operations as well as aerial assaults against PKK positions in Turkey's troubled southeastern border region and Iraq's semi-autonomous Kurdistan region over the past year. The government claims the military operation in Kurdish-dominated southeast has killed over 7,000 militants. Rights groups and pro-Kurdish political parties say most of those killed have been civilians. The campaign began following the July 2015 bombing in the southern Turkish town of Suruc, which claimed more than 30 civilian lives. Turkish officials held the Daesh Takfiri terrorist group responsible for the act of terror. PKK militants, who accuse Ankara of supporting Daesh, launched a string of supposed reprisal attacks against Turkish security forces after the bomb attack, in turn prompting the Turkish military operations. The PKK launched its insurgency more than three decades ago, and according to some reports, over 40,000 people, most of them Kurds, have lost their lives ever since. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Obama says US to help Turkey bring coup plotters to justice Iran Press TV Sun Sep 4, 2016 9:17AM US President Barack Obama says his administration will help Turkey bring to justice those who attempted to overthrow the government of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. Obama made the remarks in a meeting with Erdogan on Sunday in Hangzhou, China, on the sidelines of the Group of 20 economic summit. "We will make sure that those who carried out these activities are brought to justice," Obama said. Ankara has accused US-based cleric Fethullah Gulen of orchestrating the failed coup of July 15, and asked Washington to extradite him. However, the US has so far refused to do so, saying it needs evidence of Gulen's involvement in the coup organized by an army faction. Over 40,000 people were detained in connection with the abortive coup, of whom 20,355 were formally arrested. A number of 79,900 people were removed from public duty in the military, police, civil service and judiciary. On August 10, Erdogan said Washington must make a choice between Turkey and the so-called Fethullah Terror Organization (FETO). "Sooner or later, the United States will make a choice. Either Turkey or FETO. They will either choose the putschist terrorist FETO or Turkey, the democratic country. They need to make a choice." He said that Turkey had sent "eighty five boxes of files" to Washington to prove Gulen's alleged role in the failed coup. Obama asks Erdogan to secure border with Syria In his meeting with the Turkish president, Obama also talked about Turkey's military operation in Syria, saying that it was important to "finish the job" of securing the country's border with Syria. Turkey has been striking Kurdish positions in northern Syria, including groups Washington sees as integral to the fight against Daesh. Erdogan told Obama that Turkey and the US "should adopt a shared attitude against all terrorist organizations as NATO member countries." "There is no good terrorist or bad terrorist; every kind of terrorism is bad," he said. "We do not want the formation of a terror corridor on our southern [border]." Meanwhile, US officials said Saturday that American forces hit Daesh targets along Syria's border with Turkey using a "newly deployed" mobile rocket system. A US Army High Mobility Artillery Rocket System (HIMARS) conducted a successful strike Friday on a tactical unit and building owned by the Takfiri group, Major Josh Jacques, a spokesman for US Central Command, told AFP. The detachment, which allows the US to strike a target "with a high degree of accuracy and a significantly greater range," was deployed to Turkey, Jacques said. "HIMARS is unique in reducing the potential collateral damage as it impacts a target at a high angle, has a relatively small blast radius for the effect achieved, and functions in all weather conditions," he added. "HIMARS is a complementary asset and involves US troops operating artillery from the soil of a NATO ally," he noted. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address YEREVAN, SEPTEMBER 5, ARMENPRESS. President of Armenia Serzh Sargsyan received on September 5 the Executive Director of the United Nations World Food Programme Ertharin Cousin and the participants of the 18th Global Child Nutrition forum. As Armenpress was informed from the press service of the Armenian Presidents Office, President Sargsyan greeted the members of the delegations from over 6 dozens of countries who have come to Armenia to participate in the forum and expressed gratitude to the organizers of this very important event that is held in the region for the first time, and particularly to the Executive Director of the United Nations World Food Programme Ertharin Cousin. It was mentioned with mutual satisfaction that Armenia has recorded significant progress in ensuring school nutrition and has gathered quite a lot of experience, which, in the words of the organizers, became the reason for holding the forum in Armenia. The President highly appreciated the cooperation between the Armenian Government and the World Food Programme and the Sustainable School Nutrition project implemented thanks to that cooperation. Due to that project nearly 83 thousand children in 10 provinces of Armenia are provided with school nutrition. The Armenian President assured that the project will be continuous in Armenia and works are underway to establish Sustainable School Nutrition Foundation. President Sargsyan highlighted the implementation of the UNs 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, part of its 17 goals refers to the healthy life of mothers and children and improvement of nutrition. The participants of the meeting expressed gratitude for hosting the forum in Armenia at a high level and expressed readiness to continue close cooperation with Armenia. US Assures Turkey of Effort to Find Perpetrators of Failed Coup By Ken Bredemeier September 04, 2016 U.S. President Barack Obama assured Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Sunday that Washington is committed to bring the perpetrators of the failed July coup against his government to justice, but stopped short of saying the U.S. would extradite the Muslim cleric that Ankara blames. "We will make sure that those who carried out these activities are brought to justice," Obama told the Turkish leader as they met on the sidelines of the G-20 summit in the Chinese city of Hangzhou. Turkey contends that 75-year-old Fethullah Gulen, living in self-imposed exile since 1999 in the eastern U.S. state of Pennsylvania, orchestrated the putsch, although he adamantly has denied any involvement. Turkey has pleaded with the U.S. to send Gulen back to Turkey, but American officials say that Ankara has yet to provide them with any evidence linking him to the failed plot to overthrow Erdogan's government, only information about his past activities. The U.S. says that any extradition attempt would have to be approved in the U.S. court system. Obama on aborted coup Obama, meeting with Erdogan for the first time face-to-face since the aborted coup, described it as "terrible." "By taking to the streets to resist the coup attempt, the Turkish people once again affirmed their commitment to democracy and the strength and resilience of democratic institutions inside of Turkey," Obama said. "I indicated at the time [of the coup attempt] the unequivocal condemnation of these actions and spoke personally to President Erdogan to offer any support that we might be able to provide in both ending the attempted coup, but also in investigating and bringing perpetrators of these illegal actions to justice," Obama said. The Turkish leader said justice officials from the two countries would corroborate in their efforts hold the perpetrators accountable. "The post attempted-coup documentation and evidence therein will be amassed and they will be submitted to our friends in the United States," Erdogan said. "The efforts are still under way. We had welcomed a delegation from the American Justice Department and a similar delegation from the Turkish Ministry of Justice will go to the United States. Our minister of justice and minister of interior will travel together to the United States whereby they will concentrate their efforts on the elaboration of this evidence." Since July, Turkey has ousted 80,000 civil servants, teachers, judges and other workers believed to be Gulen sympathizers or somehow involved in the failed coup, arresting many of them. Syria Aside from the Gulen extradition request, tensions between Turkey and United States, two NATO allies, have been strained over the fight to oust Islamic State jihadists from Syrian strongholds south of the Turkish border. While Washington and Ankara both have carried out the campaign against Islamic State fighters, Turkey also has bombed Kurdish positions, accusing the Syrian Kurds of being allied with the Kurdistan Workers Party, Kurdish fighters who have claimed responsibility for deadly attacks inside Turkey. The U.S. considers the Syrian Kurds to be staunch fighters against Islamic State and has sought to curb Ankara's attacks on them. Erdogan says there should be no distinction between "good terrorists" and bad ones. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address YEREVAN, SEPTEMBER 5, ARMENPRESS. There are no Armenians among the victims of the terror act in Syrias Tartous city, Armenpress reports, Arevelk informs. Reportedly, the city has already passed to its natural life. The explosions occurred quite far away from the city, claiming lives of 40 and injuring nearly 50. Islamic State terrorist organizations has claimed responsibility for Tartous blasts. Danny Davis, of Ringgold, loves to grab an armful of his fishing rods, load them onto one of his boats and head for Dan River or any other body of water, near or far for a day of fishing. But about 20 years ago, Davis decided that one of the annoying things about fishing was the inflexibility of the bases made for rod holders. There were and still are a lot of different rod holders on the market, but the bases that held them attached to boats could only hold them horizontally, were permanently placed and had to be mounted to a flat surface. So Davis started thinking about the perfect base one that could be easily moved along the track system inside most boats, could hold rods at any angle and, at the end of the day, be folded out of the way. Boats come with a track system, but nobody built a base system would fit in the track, Davis said. To top that off, Davis said, in those days he had a small boat and the tips of his rods were always be in the water with the bases that were available. I started working on this to stop that, Davis said. So Davis spend years fooling with different ideas and in 2012 got serious about it, getting friends and family to help him create the perfect base, one that would hold any rod holder and could easily be moved along the track to where he wanted it and would lock into position for fishing but be easy to fold out of the way. Finally, he was happy with the design and outfitted his boats with his own fishing rod holder bases. Friends noticed and wanted some; strangers out fishing would notice his rods were all well positioned and ask him how he did it. Soon, he was making more and more of them. Laid Back Fishing Innovations LLC was born. As it became apparent that his invention was gaining in popularity and stores ranging from Hughes Marine in Danville and several tackle shops in North Carolina to SeaArk Boats, which stocked them in its more than 100 locations in the U.S. and Canada, were selling them. They can also be ordered online, at eBay, Amazon and Daviss website, laidbackfishing.com. Davis said his daughter Tina Sissy Dixon talked him into finding out what it would take to patent the invention. That began an almost three-year process of finding a patent lawyer to walk him through the process. We found one in Charlotte, North Carolina; there wasnt a patent lawyer near here, Davis said. Countless trips to Charlotte later and repeated re-submittals of his application to the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office to answer questions they had Davis was awarded his patent on Dec. 29, 2015. We had to rewrite it so many times, Davis said. Theyre so hard to get. His wife, Linda, laughed. Dannys really worked hard on this he didnt think getting a patent would be a big deal, Linda said. Her job with the young company is bookkeeping. Other family and friends have helped along the way. Lindas son, Hunter Thompson, handles merchandising, advertising and deals with the website, while Daviss daughter, Amanda Harris is always willing to run errands and his son, Danny Jr., helped make the prototypes. Daviss best friend, Jerry Murray, goes to boat shows with him and helped make the bases, which are now manufactured at Speedwell Machine Works in Gastonia, North Carolina. So far, Davis said, there has been no negative feedback from anyone who has tried them theyll stand up to the biggest catfish without failing and a friend recently won first and third place in a fishing tournament with Laid Back Fishing Innovation fishing rod holder bases on board. The lightweight, aluminum fishing rod holder bases that are simple to adjust are selling well, Davis said. Its done better than I thought it would do, Davis said, with a smile and shrug. But its not going to make me a millionaire. Linda laughed and added, But it might pay the light bill some day. PERTH, WESTERN AUSTRALIA--(Marketwired - Sept. 4, 2016) - NOT FOR DISTRIBUTION TO UNITED STATES NEWSWIRE SERVICES OR FOR DISSEMINATION IN THE UNITED STATES West African gold producer Perseus Mining Ltd. (TSX:PRU)(ASX:PRU) ("Perseus") advises that two further milestones have been achieved on the path to implementing its strategy of transforming Perseus into a multi-jurisdictional, multi-mine producer of in excess of 500,000 ounces of gold per year by 2021. Credit Approval of Project Debt Facility for the Sissingue Gold Project ("Sissingue") Full credit committee approval of a US$60 million project debt facility has been received by Macquarie Bank Limited and BNP Paribas, the prospective lenders to Sissingue. Final documentation and satisfaction of conditions precedent for the facilities are due for completion in the December 2016 quarter at which time funds should be available for draw down. In the interim, development work at Sissingue, funded from the proceeds of a recent equity offering by Perseus, has advanced and the project is on schedule for the production of first gold in the December 2017 quarter. Appointment of a Chief Operating Officer In anticipation of the expansion of its operating activities to include both the Edikan Gold Mine in Ghana and Sissingue by the end of 2017, and with the prospect of developing a third mine at Yaoure within several years, Perseus has appointed Mr. Chris Woodall to the role of Chief Operating Officer ("COO"). Chris is a Australian mining professional who comes to Perseus equipped with a large amount of highly relevant operating experience needed to successfully perform the COO role for Perseus, having most recently held the positions of Senior Vice President Operations (Canada and US) for Goldcorp Inc. and immediately prior to that the role of Global Director Mining - Operations Support for Barrick Gold Corp.. Reporting to the CEO, Chris will be based out of Perseus's corporate office in Perth but will necessarily spend a significant proportion of his time in West Africa overseeing the growth of Perseus's gold mining operations. Perseus Managing Director, Jeff Quartermaine Comments: "The steady progress that continues to be made by Perseus towards the implementation of our corporate growth strategy is very encouraging. Not only is our Edikan Gold Mine in Ghana performing very well and on track to achieve production and cost guidance for the current Half Year, but sound progress is also being made with the financing and development of our second mine at Sissingue in Cote d'Ivoire. A key determinant of our ability to continue to successfully implement our plans is the ongoing performance of our people and on that basis the retention of the services of a mining professional of the caliber of Chris Woodall to perform the role of Chief Operating Officer is a major step forward for Perseus. I am looking forward to welcoming Chris into our Executive Management Team and working very closely with him to ensure our success continues in implementing our plans to generate materially improved returns for our shareholders." Caution Regarding Forward Looking Information: This report contains forward-looking information which is based on the assumptions, estimates, analysis and opinions of management made in light of its experience and its perception of trends, current conditions and expected developments, as well as other factors that management of the Company believes to be relevant and reasonable in the circumstances at the date that such statements are made, but which may prove to be incorrect. Assumptions have been made by the Company regarding, among other things: the price of gold, continuing commercial production at the Edikan Gold Mine without any major disruption, development of a mine at Sissingue and/or Yaoure, the receipt of required governmental approvals, the accuracy of capital and operating cost estimates, the ability of the Company to operate in a safe, efficient and effective manner and the ability of the Company to obtain financing as and when required and on reasonable terms. Readers are cautioned that the foregoing list is not exhaustive of all factors and assumptions which may have been used by the Company. Although management believes that the assumptions made by the Company and the expectations represented by such information are reasonable, there can be no assurance that the forward-looking information will prove to be accurate. Forward-looking information involves known and unknown risks, uncertainties, and other factors which may cause the actual results, performance or achievements of the Company to be materially different from any anticipated future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking information. Such factors include, among others, the actual market price of gold, the actual results of current exploration, the actual results of future exploration, changes in project parameters as plans continue to be evaluated, as well as those factors disclosed in the Company's publicly filed documents. The Company believes that the assumptions and expectations reflected in the forward-looking information are reasonable. Assumptions have been made regarding, among other things, the Company's ability to carry on its exploration and development activities, the timely receipt of required approvals, the price of gold, the ability of the Company to operate in a safe, efficient and effective manner and the ability of the Company to obtain financing as and when required and on reasonable terms. Readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking information. Perseus does not undertake to update any forward-looking information, except in accordance with applicable securities laws. This Oct. 19, 2015 photo provided the Museum of Arts and Design, shows works from artist Katsuyo Aoki's Predictive Dream series in an installation view of the exhibit, "Japanese Kogei: Future Forward," in New York. (Jenna Bascom/Museum of Arts and Design via AP) SHARE This Oct. 19, 2015 photo provided by courtesy of the Museum of Arts and Design, shows people visiting the exhibit, "Japanese Kogei: Future Forward," in New York. (Jenna Bascom Museum of Arts and Design via AP) This 2015 photo provided by Museum of Arts and Design shows the yellow green-slipped gold Kairagi Shino bowl, 2012, by Takuro Kuwata, included in the exhibit, "Japanese Kogei: Future Forward," in New York. The bowl is from the 21st Century Museum of Contemporary Art, Kanazawa. (Taku Saiki/Museum of Arts and Design via AP) This 2011 photo provided by the Museum of Arts and Design shows, the Drop Bowl, 2011, by Yuri Takemura, included in the exhibit, "Japanese Kogei: Future Forward," in New York. The bowl is from the 21st Century Museum of Contemporary Art, Kanazawa. (Mareo Suemasa/Museum of Arts and Design via AP) This 2011 photo provided by the Museum of Arts and Design shows, the White Raku Tea Bowl Made With Clay from Colorado, 2005, by Toshio Ohi, included in the exhibit, "Japanese Kogei: Future Forward," in New York. The bowl is from the 21st Century Museum of Contemporary Art, Kanazawa. (Osamu Watanabe/Museum of Arts and Design via AP) By KATHERINE ROTH, Associated Press NEW YORK (AP) Traditional Japanese crafts like tea ceremony bowls, statuary, ornate lacquerware and precious dolls are given an edgy, individualistic update in an exhibit at the Museum of Arts and Design here. Twelve masters of these ancient crafts or kogei take them in new directions, inspired by contemporary design, Japanese manga, anime and other modern art forms. "There is a technical ability inherent in kogei that has the capacity to unleash intense, future-oriented visual imagery," curator Yuji Akimoto, director of Japan's 21st Century Museum of Contemporary Art, says in the accompanying catalog. The show, "Japanese Kogei: Future Forward," was first shown at that museum in Kanazawa, Japan, and is now on view in New York through Feb. 7. The ancient crafts' "own special, original richness and beauty ... give voice to the concerns of our time," Akimoto says. For instance, inspired in part by Japanese horror films, Kutsuyo Aoki's ceramics combine rococo elements with spooky skeletal forms that "might perhaps be viewed as prayers or exorcisms, with the power to dispel the indefinable feelings of anxiety that proliferate in contemporary society," Akimoto says. Yuki Hayama's painstakingly precise works in ceramic reflect a haunting blend of manga, dystopian vision and ancient myth. The work is so detailed it requires ultra-high definition 8k technology a screen image allowing for a resolution of about 33 million pixels, 16 times higher than current HD broadcasts to fully appreciate. Tea bowls in the show are boldly graphic, sometimes shown upside down (Yuri Takemura), in bright colors featuring contrasting drippy dots of color (Takuro Kuwata), or made with an eye to transcending physical and cultural boundaries by incorporating clays and techniques from around the world, as in works by Toshio Ohi. Kohei Nakamura's works in porcelain and iron reference science fiction or apocalyptic scenarios. And Kuwata's enormous vessels feature chunky, glitzy glazes that appear to be breaking apart and descending from his vessels, with decorative elements resembling scraps of demolished buildings. Other artists take new approaches to the ancient crafts of figurative sculpture or kutaniyaki (a style of glazed pottery from the Edo period). Two lacquer artists are also featured in the exhibit. Shin'ya Yamamura balances fine lacquer techniques with new forms using unusual materials, while Tatsuo Kitamura and his studio use newly rediscovered lacquer techniques and apply them to atypical forms, including ornate wooden eggs and Jewish and Christian religious items. The exhibit, with wall texts in Japanese and English, features a brief biography of each artist and, in some cases, videos showing them at work. Many of the artists lead aesthetic double lives, pursuing both traditional-style crafts and these more daring and controversial contemporary works. Shinkyo Nakamura situates his work in a Japanese doll-making tradition that began in the 17th century. But he takes the craft in a new direction with highly stylized representations of Japanese courtiers in European costume, exploring the boundaries of traditional craft and contemporary sculpture. "The strong sense of individualism found in these works link them equally to art as to traditional craft," said Ronald T. Labaco, a curator at the Museum of Arts and Design who coordinated the New York show with Samantha De Tillo. "They extend the vitality of kogei into the 21st century." The exhibit is accompanied by a catalog written by Akimoto and published by the 21st Century Museum of Contemporary Art. The book, "Art Crafting Towards the Future," is named for the original title of the exhibit. SHARE By Michelle Gaitan of the San Angelo Standard-Times West Texas Counseling and Guidance is breaking through the darkness with its first Shine-a-Light benefit, which puts the focus on suicide prevention in the Concho Valley. The benefit will take place Sept. 10 to highlight World Suicide Prevention Day. "We're working with SOS team Survivors of Suicide a weekly support group for people who have lost a loved one or more to suicide," said Tiffany Talley, director of development and community relations at WTXCG. "They have such a unique grief," she said. "It's complicated. So they wanted to do something to remember their loved ones and bring awareness to the community, and we were certainly on the same page. It was something we wanted to do as well." The benefit will help raise funds for SOS and for the center's other local suicide prevention initiatives such as the LOSS Team of the Concho Valley. The LOSS Team is a group of trained survivors who partner with the Tom Green Crisis Intervention Unit and go to the scenes of suicides to offer support and share resources to those who have lost a loved one. A team consists of one survivor and two Crisis Intervention workers. "We know that without the LOSS Team and without the efforts of this important initiative, it usually takes about 4 years for someone to reach out and get help," she said. "And by then we know that suicide is in their own wheelhouse, and that's how we really want to prevent future deaths." Dusty McCoy, executive director of WTXCG, said these initiatives are provided at no cost and aid in their goal to lowering the rate of suicides in Tom Green County. "Every year since 2000 we've been higher than the state average," McCoy said. "West Texas as a whole has a higher rate than the state average, but we are the only ones that year after year after year have been above average since 2000." The state average suicide rate is 10.7 per 100,000. The local suicide rate has exceeded the statewide rate in every year since 2000 by an average of 3.7 cases per 100,000 residents, McCoy said, citing information collected by the Department of State Health Services and from Community Development Initiatives at the Angelo State University Center for Community Wellness, Engagement and Development. There were 18 suicides in Tom Green County during 2011, which translates to a rate of 16.1 suicides per 100,000 county residents. In 2013 the county had 19 suicides, McCoy said. The Shine a Light benefit will start at 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. with a barbecue, a collaborative art project and live music from local band Fair Tides. Guest speaker will be Father Jared Houze. Around 8:15 p.m. attendees will take a mile stroll along the Concho River path, which will be lit with luminaries in memory of those who died, Talley said. All this will take place outside the Visitors Center, 418 W. Ave B., and the center will hand out T-shirts and special different color bracelets to honor lost loved ones, she said. "The American Psychiatric Association ranks the trauma of losing a loved one to suicide as 'catastrophic' on par with that of a concentration camp experience, and on average, survivors of suicide do not receive mental health support for 4.5 years," McCoy said. SHARE By Rashda Khan, Rashda.Khan@gosanangelo.com/@rashda_SAST The San Angelo City Council is considering regulating payday and automobile title lenders at its meeting Tuesday. Starting with Dallas in June 2011, the list of Texas cities passing similar ordinances has been growing and now stands at 35. The aim of these ordinances is to curb predatory lending practices. The issue was added to the agenda by Councilman Bill Richardson, who recently returned from Texas Municipal League training. "It seemed like an item we should discuss," said Richardson, adding that he has a young son, nephews and nieces and is concerned about people without much financial experience getting into a bad situation. The U.S. Consumer Financial Protection Bureau defines payday loans as small, short-term loans that generally come due on the borrower's next payday. Title loans operate similarly, using the borrower's vehicle title as collateral. The finance rate on these loans can be very high. According to the bureau's website, a typical two-week payday loan with a $15 per $100 fee equates to an annual percentage rate of almost 400 percent. By comparison, APRs on credit cards typically range from 12 percent to 30 percent. Texas' laws on these lenders are considered lenient when compared with other states, as the APR can be 500 percent or higher, according to Texas Appleseed, an Austin-based advocacy group. The Yellow Pages lists more than a dozen businesses offering such short-term loans in San Angelo. In other business, the council will consider: Amending the city's ordinance so residents who have received a notice of violation about trash or weeds in their yard can choose to have their case heard by municipal court before the city's code enforcement abating the property and charging them related fees. Changing the "Weeds & vegetation" portion of city ordinances to relax the mowing and upkeep requirements based on the size of a property and its distance from other buildings and the street. Matters related to the fiscal year 2016-2017 operating budget, including the first public hearing of an ordinance approving and adopting the budget for the fiscal year beginning October 1, and recording a vote to ratify the property tax revenue increase reflected in the budget. At the recent meeting between city officials and San Angelo Police Department representatives about raises, officers were invited to come to the council meeting and participate in the public comments section. First public hearing of an ordinance levying property taxes for the city of San Angelo for the 2016 tax year. Amending a contract with Alan Plummer Associates for the Direct Potable Reuse Pilot Project to incorporate $300,000 in grant funding from the Bureau of Reclamation WaterSMART Title XVI Water Reclamation and Reuse Program. This will allow the company to conduct additional studies requested by the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality on behalf of the city. These studies a radium-related study, which is unique to San Angelo because of the Hickory groundwater, a water corrosion study and more would be funded by the grant. Discussion and possible action regarding the rehabilitation and financing of the city's water infrastructure. The City Council meeting will start at 8:30 a.m. Tuesday at the McNease Convention Center, 501 Rio Concho Drive. SHARE By John Moritz, USA Today Network Austin Bureau AUSTIN Attempts were made during the three most recent legislative sessions to put statewide restrictions on payday lenders that mirror many of the local ordinances that are on the books or being considered by several Texas municipalities. The Austin faith-based nonprofit film company Deidox has produced a 30-minute video called "The Ordinance" about efforts to pass local restrictions on payday and auto title lending. It features remarks from state Rep. Tom Craddick, a Midland Republican who has made three attempts to pass statewide payday lending legislation. Also appearing in the video is former state Sen. Wendy Davis, the 2014 Democratic nominee for governor, who was an ally of Craddick in the unsuccessful effort. Craddick said he intends to file similar legislation when lawmakers return to Austin in January. "There continues to be overwhelming evidence that these payday loan businesses hurt Texas families' stability, drain charitable resources and have negative consequences on local economies," Craddick said. "Efforts to address payday loan issues must continue at the local, state and federal level." Ann Baddour, with the Austin think tank Texas Appleseed, said that while efforts to pass statewide regulations have languished, several locally driven efforts have succeeded. "We work to keep the products honest," Baddour, director of the Fair Financial Services Project, an organization that serves vulnerable Texans. She said she's worked with San Angelo faith-based groups and other organizations on an effort to push an ordinance to the City Council. Baddour said her organization and others felt their efforts were validated early this year when the Texas Supreme Court effectively upheld a local ordinance in Denton to place restrictions on payday and auto title lenders. The Denton measure was challenged in state district court by Ace Cash Express, which argued that the local ordinance violated the Texas Constitution. The trial court ruled in the city's favor, and that ruling was upheld by the Texas 2nd Court of Appeals last year. In February, after reviewing briefs on the case, the Texas Supreme Court declined to hear Ace's appeal. The 35 Texas cities that have imposed regulations on payday lending have used nearly identical language in their ordinances, and Baddour said the high court's action means further challenges are unlikely. In June the U.S. Consumer Finance Protection Bureau unveiled rules aimed at making sure lenders don't issue loans they know borrowers are unable to repay. "The proposed rule would also cut off repeated debit attempts that rack up fees," according to a statement by the agency. "These strong proposed protections would cover payday loans, auto title loans, deposit advance products, and certain high-cost installment and open-end loans." The agency will accept public comment through Sept. 14 at regulations.gov. The Defense Ministry of Nagorno Karabakh says the Azerbaijani forces made over 110 ceasefire violations at Nagorno Karabakh-Azerbaijan line of contact during the weekend. September 5, 2016, 10:17 Azerbaijan fires more than 1500 shots across Nagorno Karabakh line of contact STEPANAKERT, SEPTEMBER 5, ARTSAKHPRESS: The Ministrys announcement reads: The Azerbaijani side violated the ceasefire regime over 110 times by firing more than 1500 shots from various caliber weapons at the Armenian positions across Nagorno Karabakh-Azerbaijan line of contact during the weekend. SHARE The Case IH autonomous concept vehicle looks like a grown up toy. It is a cab-free Magnum robot tractor. The operator can control the machine from a desktop computer or from a tablet in the field. According to a news release, the machine is controlled through a range of sensors that govern ignition, acceleration and deceleration, engine speed, steering angle, transmission controls, rear linkage raise/lower, front linkage raise/lower, plus engagement of locking differentials and horn operation. Although the tractor will not be available for another year or so, it was the headliner at the Farm Progress Show in Boone, Iowa last week. The nation's largest outdoor farm show, known as the world's fair of farming, the Farm Progress Show is staged in a venue with paved roads, parking, underground electricity, telephone lines and drainage, the week before Labor Day weekend every year. The show rotates between Boone, Iowa and Decatur, Illinois. Progress Show 2016 showcased a wide range of products and services related to the farm and ranch sector from the leading exhibitors such as agricultural machinery, soil conditioning equipment, transplanting equipment, harvesting equipment, agricultural vehicles, agricultural utilities, parts, attachments and accessories, breeders, breeding facilities and equipment, hatching facilities and equipment. Also, insemination, incubation, humidifiers and temperature control, pharmaceuticals, biologicals, vaccines, veterinary medicines, veterinary instruments and equipment, animal housing, feed, feed additives, feed ingredients, feed storage, fertilizer, fertilizer spreaders, growth stimulators, pesticides, pest control equipment, spraying equipment, milking systems, milking facilities, milking equipment, seeds, slaughtering and meat handling, soil conditioners, and more. Remembering the 1990s when the farm progress show was staged in Lubbock, I walked the many acres with a television camera doing interviews at the many outdoor booths and watching the field demonstrations. Those were the days before all the latest technology. I enjoyed spending time with the antique tractor displays. The sounds of the "Popping Johnny" (John Deere) tractors highlighted my video stories. According to my farm broadcaster colleagues, the 2016 show was all about the latest technology. "It totally changes the face of agriculture by revolutionizing farming," said Orion Samuelson, radio and television farm broadcaster for WGN in Chicago. Even though the Case tractor of the future has no platform or cab and is driverless, other tractor manufactures have their own lines that are robotic too. New Holland T8 tractor is outfitted with the autonomous package, developed in cooperation with Automated Systems Inc., and about 90 percent of the machine's functions are already automated. However, the New Holland concept does retain an operator cab. In 2003, Joey Henderson told me to meet him in a field near Veribest where he demonstrated the newest state of art John Deere. It could plow a row, operated from a computer with no driver in the cab. This year, Deere is adding a new head to the 600 series with the 608FC 8-row folding corn head. The 2017 model combines also includes operator comfort upgrades like an operator foot rest, upgraded Bluetooth for hands free communication and a low sidewall tire option. In addition, there will be a factory installed camera harness setup that will allow the operator to connect up to three cameras to the combine to increase overall visibility. "The new Massey Ferguson 5700 and 6700 Series tractors provide more value than ever before and have been engineered from the ground up for smart, versatile, long-lasting operation," said Willie Vogt, executive director for the Penton Farm Progress Group. "These heavy-duty 100-130 HP tractors are uniquely designed to pull larger, heavier implements through the toughest jobs." The world's largest tractor, the Challenger, was also available for demonstrations. The Challenger comes with 4-wheel drive and/or a track series. The new AGCO Challenger 1000 Series includes a 500+ horse power fixed-frame tractor. Thousands of farmers and folks with agriculture interest attended the three- day Farm Progress Show. The new generation of farmers is challenged to embrace the latest technology. The growing population will require farmers to produce more food on the same amount of land. It's ultimately technology that will make the difference in meeting that goal. SHARE By The Associated Press AUSTIN Prosecutors in the most populated areas of Texas have in recent years dismissed a significantly larger number of marijuana offenses involving smaller amounts of the drug, according to a newspaper analysis. In the five most populous counties Bexar, Dallas, Harris, Tarrant and Travis the rate of dismissals has risen since 2011, according to the review by the Austin American-Statesman. Data kept by the Texas Office of Court Administration shows dismissals are increasing fastest in North Texas. Just 9 percent of cases were dismissed in Tarrant County five years ago, but last year about a quarter of them were dropped. In Dallas County, the percentage of dismissals rose from 18 percent to 41 percent over the same period. Statistics show there appears to be a similar trend occurring statewide. But that trend doesn't necessarily reflect an easing of enforcement measures; the number of new misdemeanor marijuana cases filed statewide has stayed largely the same. Authorities in Travis County say they've decided to prioritize more serious crimes instead of using resources to prosecute lower-level cases of marijuana possession. "Jurors would look at us like we are crazy," Travis County prosecutor Dan Hamre told the newspaper. " 'You are spending your time, our time and the court's time on a small amount of personal marijuana?' " Officials in various parts of the state say a reason for the rising number of dismissals are programs similar to one in Harris County where cases are resolved without prosecution if defendants complete anti-drug classes. "Nobody goes through three years of law school and becomes prosecutors so they can rap the knuckles of someone for smoking a joint," said Shannon Edmonds, who's in charge of governmental relations at the Texas District and County Attorney's Association. "It's not what draws them to the profession or gets them excited about doing justice." The change in approach appears to have drawn few critics. Lawmakers agree that authorities must decide how to manage caseloads. "Whatever kind of case we are talking about, we expect law enforcement and prosecutors to use discretion and put the resources in the best place," Republican state Rep. Bryan Hughes said. Pope Francis (L) waves to faithful as he leaves after a Holy Mass and the canonization of Mother Teresa of Kolkata, on Saint Peter square in the Vatican, on September 4, 2016. Mother Teresa, the nun whose work with the dying and destitute of Kolkata made her a global icon of Christian charity, was made a saint on September 4, 2016. Her elevation to Roman Catholicism's celestial pantheon came in a canonization mass in St Peter's square in the Vatican that was presided over by Pope Francis in the presence of 100,000 pilgrims. / AFP PHOTO / ANDREAS SOLAROANDREAS SOLARO/AFP/Getty Images SHARE Nuns of the Missionary of Charity, the religious order founded by Mother Teresa of Kolkata, carry the mother's relics, as the Pope leads a holy mass for her canonization, in Saint Peter square at the Vatican, on September 4, 2016. Mother Teresa, the celebrated nun whose work with the poor of Kolkata made her an instantly recognizable global figure, will be proclaimed a saint on September 4, 2016. Pope Francis will preside over a solemn canonization mass in the presence of 100,000 pilgrims and with a giant haloed portrait of Teresa smiling down from St Peter's Basilica. / AFP PHOTO / ANDREAS SOLAROANDREAS SOLARO/AFP/Getty Images Pope Francis (C) leads the canonization of Mother Teresa of Kolkata under her tapestry portrait on Saint Peter square in the Vatican, on September 4, 2016. Mother Teresa, the nun whose work with the dying and destitute of Kolkata made her a global icon of Christian charity, was made a saint on September 4, 2016. Her elevation to Roman Catholicism's celestial pantheon came in a canonization mass in St Peter's square in the Vatican that was presided over by Pope Francis in the presence of 100,000 pilgrims. / AFP PHOTO / VINCENZO PINTOVINCENZO PINTO/AFP/Getty Images Pope Francis (2nd-L) celebrates a Holy Mass during the canonization of Mother Teresa of Kolkata, on Saint Peter square in the Vatican, on September 4, 2016. Mother Teresa, the nun whose work with the dying and destitute of Kolkata made her a global icon of Christian charity, was made a saint on September 4, 2016. Her elevation to Roman Catholicism's celestial pantheon came in a canonization mass in St Peter's square in the Vatican that was presided over by Pope Francis in the presence of 100,000 pilgrims. / AFP PHOTO / ANDREAS SOLAROANDREAS SOLARO/AFP/Getty Images By Eric J. Lyman, Special for USA TODAY VATICAN CITY Mother Teresa, the diminutive Albanian nun whose work to feed the hungry and comfort the dying in India became the foundation of a new religious order and earned her a Nobel Peace Prize, was named a saint on Sunday by Pope Francis. Tens of thousands of Roman Catholic faithful gathered for the canonization ceremony under a cloudless sky and amid tight security. Francis declared Mother Teresa -- now to be called Saint Teresa of Kolkata -- someone who taught us to contemplate and adore Jesus every day, and to recognize Him and serve Him as well as to recognize and serve our brothers in need. Francis, who has declared 2016 as a Jubilee Year of Mercy, said he shared Mother Teresas ideal of a church as a kind of field hospital for the souls of the worlds poorest and most desperate. "She bowed down before those who were spent, left to die on the side of the road, seeing in them their God-given dignity," Francis said. "She made her voice heard before the powers of this world, so that they might recognize their guilt for the crime of poverty they created." Its so beautiful, said a crying Sister Anna Maria Mendez, 56, one of the nearly 5,000 members of the Missionaries of Charity religious order Mother Teresa founded in 1950. Mendez was in Saint Peters Square in a group of around a dozen fellow nuns, all dressed in the white saris with blue trim Mother Teresa made famous. I was moved by Mother Teresas works, and moved by this ceremony. Its so wonderful to see her honored in this way, she said. Carla OBrien, a 66-year-old store manager from Trenton, N.J., traveled from a family vacation spot near Florence for the ceremony. Pope Francis, Pope John Paul II and Mother Teresa are the church figures I admire and love most and in some way all three are here today, OBrien said. I am vacationing with family and some friends in Tuscany and when I read about this ceremony I left for the day so I could be here. There were no official estimates for the size of the crowd on hand, but the Vatican said 100,000 tickets were issued, and police said they were told to brace for as many as 200,000 faithful, including many in standing-room-only sections. The crowd included 13 heads of state or government and dozens of cardinals, bishops, and other church leaders. Hundreds of people in the crowds held up signs showing support for the nun born Anjeze Gonxhe Bojaxhiu in the Ottoman Empire near the border between modern-day Albania and Macedonia before beginning her missionary work in India. Always a saint in our hearts, now a saint for all the world, one Italian-language sign read. Flags from dozens of countries -- including many from India and Albania -- were on display, and when Francis declared the woman already known as the saint of the gutters an official saint, a roar of applause and cheers rattled across St. Peters Square. Many in the crowd cheered, Santa Teresa! Santa Teresa! in unison. Associated Press file Lawmakers return to Washington on Tuesday for an abbreviated election-season session to prevent the government from shutting down and, with any luck, finally providing money for the government's battle against the mosquito-borne Zika virus. SHARE By Andrew Taylor, Associated Press WASHINGTON Lawmakers return to Washington this week for an abbreviated election-season session in which they will likely do what they do best: the bare minimum. All Congress must do this month is keep the government from shutting down on Oct. 1 and, with any luck, finally provide money for the fight against the mosquito-borne Zika virus. Republicans controlling Congress promise they won't stumble now, but the weeks ahead could prove tricky. A chief motivation for the September session, especially for Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., is allowing lawmakers to return to campaigning as soon as possible. Republicans are scrambling to hold onto their Senate edge as GOP presidential nominee Donald Trump lags in the polls. The short-term spending measure is sure to pass. The alternative is that Republicans would get the blame for a government shutdown, as they did in 2013. But it's a complicated path for the temporary spending bill. Some House conservatives say the measure should last into next year, when there is a new president and a new Congress, and that would block any chance for a session after the Nov. 8 election. Leaders in both parties feel otherwise as does President Barack Obama and a temporary measure until December seems to be the consensus. "We are not doing anything into next year, and every Republican should be aware of that right now," said Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev. Lawmakers left Washington seven weeks ago without resolving a dispute over money for Zika. The virus can cause severe birth defects and is linked to a host of other maladies. Obama asked Congress in February for $1.9 billion in emergency money, but legislation to partially pay for his proposal collapsed in July amid various fights. Among them was a Republican provision to deny money to Puerto Rican affiliates of Planned Parenthood. SHARE The following editorial appeared in Wednesday's Houston Chronicle: While the U.S. Congress has been lying on its collective beach towel and soaking up the rays during its seven-week recess, the Zika virus has been busy causing harm. The sheer numbers of those who have been infected in Puerto Rico are staggering. The U.S. territory has recorded more than 10,000 cases of Zika. Florida has experienced 29 cases of locally transmitted Zika, and the United States has seen more than 2,500 travel-related and home-grown cases, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention website. There have been seven cases in the U.S. of Guillain-Barre Syndrome, a rare autoimmune disorder associated with Zika. Not only are the numbers of infected pregnant women growing daily, so are the casualties. This month, a mother in Harris County gave birth to a girl with microcephaly who died soon after delivery. In contrast to our vacationing Congress, scientists around the world have been working on overdrive to try to pinpoint the extent of Zika's reach. Italian doctors have reported detecting the virus in the sperm of a man six months after he showed symptoms of Zika, perhaps pointing to a lengthening of the period of possible sexual transmission. Other scientists are examining the extent of Zika's damage. A study published in the journal, "Radiology," reports that scans of Brazilian babies found cavities of the Zika-infected brains of these babies so full of fluid that "they blow up like a balloon" and could pop, causing the brain to "collapse upon itself," as quoted in an article by New York Times writer Pam Belluck. Perhaps even more frightening, the authors of the study identified additional areas of the brain that had been damaged by Zika, suggesting that even babies who are asymptomatic at birth might be vulnerable to difficulties as they grow. In addition, scientists at research centers around the nation have been working hard on vaccine creation, as described in an article in The New Yorker magazine written by Siddhartha Mukherjee. The early phase development of vaccines was estimated in the article to take between four and six years. Yet a team in Boston and in Maryland, along with collaborators, has managed in the area of Zika to "take a little-known virus and develop an investigational vaccine in a hundred and eighty days." The need to create a vaccine is particularly acute as years of testing will be required to show that it is safe for use in the highest-risk population women who are pregnant or might be, according to Peter Hotez, dean of the National School of Tropical Medicine at Baylor College of Medicine and Texas Children's Hospital. Scientists around the world seem to understand the urgency. Yet Congress has not yet been willing to sacrifice few days of vacation to find a permanent source of funding for research and prevention of this disease with such horrific consequences. Scientists have been complaining for months that a lack of funding was going to slow down the preparation of a vaccine. President Barack Obama in February asked for $1.9 billion to fight Zika. Congress failed to pass a $1.1 billion measure before recess, with each party accusing the other of politicizing this crisis. Earlier this month, the Obama administration said it would transfer $81 million from biomedical research and anti-poverty programs to pay for development of a Zika vaccine. It's ridiculous that political leadership is reduced to shifting money from pot to pot to find reliable funding for this public health emergency. That our elected leaders have gone on vacation amid this growing catastrophe says something about the character of a political body and its values: Nero fiddles as Rome burns. Our nation should never be in this situation again. "Congress managed to time their recess almost precisely at the time when arboviruses (mosquito-transmitted viruses) typically peak in the southern U.S. They abdicated their responsibility to pregnant women living on the Gulf Coast and Florida at the worst possible time," according to Hotez. When Congress reconvenes, it should act quickly to create a rapid response fund for infectious diseases, which public health officials can tap for future emergencies without having to wait on suntanned members of Congress to return. On Friday, in the morning, His Excellency the Honourable Paul de Jersey AC and Mrs Kaye de Jersey returned to Brisbane from an official visit to Japan, and the Honourable Justice Margaret McMurdo AC ceased duty as Acting Governor of Queensland. On Sunday, in the morning, His Excellency the Honourable Paul de Jersey AC with Mrs Kaye de Jersey attended Eucharist at St Thomas Anglican Church of Toowong. In the evening, at the Lyric Theatre, Queensland Performing Arts Centre (QPAC), as part of part of the QPAC International Series 2016 and Brisbane Festival 2016, the Governor and Mrs de Jersey attended Ballet Preljocajs performance of Snow White and then attended the post-performance reception. Description GIS 05 September, 2016 : The Protection from Domestic Violence (Amendment) Act, which was proclaimed on 1st September 2016, will definitely prove to be a deterrent to domestic violence, but this precious piece of legislation is only the beginning, said the Minister of Gender Equality, Child Development and Family Welfare, Mrs Marie-Joyce Perraud on September 2, 2016. In a speech at the closing ceremony of a Working Session on Domestic Violence at the National Women Development Centre in Phoenix, the Minister underscored the importance of strengthening the legislative framework to fight domestic violence. The working session was jointly organised by the Ministry of Gender Equality, Child Development and Family Welfare and the Australian High Commission. Participants comprised key stakeholders namely the Police Family Protection Unit, the Child Development Unit, the Attorney Generals Office, the Law Reform Commission, the Mauritius Police Force, the Mauritius Prisons Service, the Women in Uniform network and non-governmental organisations (NGOs). The Minister expressed concern over the increasing cases of domestic violence in Mauritius, and the impacts on victims and their families, on children, on the working environment, on the communities and on the country. Statistics on cases of domestic violence show that from January to June this year, a total number of 1,175 cases has been reported, 123 males and 1,052 female victims, at the Family Support Bureaux of the Ministry. At the level of the Police Family Protection Unit, a total of 3,776 cases has been reported for the same period, among which 578 male and 3,178 female victims. Referring to the cultural heritage and socialisation process which have confined womenfolk into specific stereotypes and roles and made it difficult for victims to withdraw, even at the expense of their safety, the Minister pointed that mentality is a huge barrier to progress. A long and sustained awareness campaign is crucial to bring changes in mentality and it will take years, maybe decades, but we have already set the ball rolling, she said. Also present at the working session, the Australian High Commissioner, Ms Susan Coles, highlighted that, in the light of the strengthening of the law on domestic violence, the next challenge will be the implementation of the new legislation. Mrs Coles briefly recapitulated the various recommendations voiced out by participants during the working session. These include specialised training on the new provisions of the Domestic Violence (Amendment) Act 2016 for magistrates, State Law Officers, Probation officers, and law enforcers; the setting up of a dedicated division to treat domestic violence cases at the Family Court; establishment of a one stop shop at community Police stations for victims of domestic violence; channelling of Corporate Social Responsibility funds to NGOs and other services supporting victims of domestic violence; a review of the application of Protection orders, Occupation orders and Tenancy orders; and psychological support and counselling for perpetrators of domestic violence. Dr Helmut Marko has hit back at rumours Red Bull junior Pierre Gasly is set to take over Daniil Kvyat's Toro Rosso seat with immediate effect. At Monza on Sunday, French GP2 driver Gasly reportedly told Spanish television Movistar that he looks set to make his debut in Singapore. "I hope that's true," he said, "but first I would need to see with Helmut Marko. I know that he expects the GP2 title from me, and I'm working on it." A variation of the rumour is that Russian Kvyat could subsequently be loaned to Renault, in exchange for a better deal for Toro Rosso's 2017 engines. "I don't care about rumours, I'm just doing my job and whatever will be decided will be decided," Kvyat said after the Italian grand prix. Red Bull driver manager Marko, however, hit back at the rumours. "It's the first time I hear it," said the Austrian. "Believe me, I'll call him (Gasly) immediately. But I don't believe he's stupid enough to have said that." Marko said Kvyat, who was demoted from Red Bull's senior team earlier this year, needs more time to recover before a decision about the future is made. "All of the problems at the moment are on his car," he said. "It would be unfair to blame him. "When we have enough information, we will made a decision." As for the rumours of a deal with Renault involving Kvyat, Marko added: "We have a valid contract with him, and we may at any time use the option. So I don't understand what it's all about." Finally, 20-year-old Gasly distanced himself from the rumours as well. "Better to make it clear now," he wrote on Twitter. "(I) never said I would replace Daniil in Singapore, (I) just said I hope to get my opportunity in F1 asap." (GMM) Jacques Villeneuve says he is no longer a critic of Kimi Raikkonen. Earlier, the 1997 world champion regularly hit out at the performance and questionable motivation of the Ferrari driver. But Villeneuve said at Monza: "I have become a Kimi fan. "I'm very surprised by how much Kimi has improved, and how well he is currently driving," the French Canadian said of the 2007 world champion. "He seems to be more concentrated than ever before," Villeneuve told the Finnish newspaper Turun Sanomat. "A couple of years ago, Kimi seemed bored, as if he was only there because he had a contract. But now everything is different. "Kimi seems to be happy, he speaks a lot with the press, he is highly motivated and clearly he is enjoying his driving. "I think his happiness has come from his family life with his wife and son. It's like everything in Kimi's life is in balance," Villeneuve added. (GMM) As big rumours swirl about the sale of F1's commercial rights, Bernie Ecclestone has named a potential successor as chief executive. At Monza, speculation swirled in the paddock that owner CVC had agreed an $8.5 billion sale deal with Liberty Media, headed by US media tycoon John Malone. Multiple authoritative publications predicted that Ecclestone would only stay in charge for a transitionary phase, while F1 pundit Eddie Jordan claimed the 85-year-old would be gone by the time of the next race in Singapore. Jordan told the German newspaper Bild: "I assume Bernie will announce his retirement in the next few days." Ecclestone, having earlier confirmed the reports in the German press, dismissed the talk. "You know what deals are like," he said. "Until the money is in the bank it's all nonsense." It is rumoured Ecclestone prefers selling to another interested party because it will guarantee his ongoing role at the top. However, speaking to the German newspaper Bild, Ecclestone was then asked if he thinks Mercedes team boss Toto Wolff is the right man for the job. "Absolutely," he answered. "He has the skills to do the job." Ecclestone also said the shares that he controls - almost 14 per cent - are "not for sale". It has been said the sale to a major US enterprise could ramp up F1's impact in the crucial American market, but Ecclestone insisted: "I think you would need 10 races for that. "A lot of hamburgers would be sold, the prices would go down, and it would no longer be formula one." When Wolff was asked about the swirling stories, he answered: "Honestly, I don't know. The details of the deal are not known to me. "Over the past 50 years, Bernie has done a great job to make formula one as we know it today, and we all recognise his contribution. "Only the future will reveal what opportunities there are to improve it further, but I would not like to speculate," Wolff added. (GMM) Warning: May contain traces of soy, wheat, lecithin and tree nuts. That you are here strongly suggests that you are either omnivorous, or a glutton. And that you might like cheese-doodles. Please form a caseophilic line to the right. Thank you. Oops! There was a problem! Sorry, but we can't find what you were looking for right now. The content may have been removed, or is temporarily unavailable. 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If you have any questions or concerns about a published article, please send us email at venkat@greatandhra.com . We will review your request and article will be removed immediatly. GEDDES Silo Food Truck of Ovid was the big winner in the New York State Fair's second annual Taste NY Food Truck Competition Sunday. The food truck, which operates in Ithaca, won over judges with its Telekinetic Chicken. The dish featured a fried chicken drumstick served on coconut sticky rice and topped with house-made Asian quick pickles. Dan Eaton, who hosts "Cooking at Home" on Time Warner Cable News and seved as one of the judges in the competition, was impressed with Silo's entry. "The presentation was wonderful and the use of New York ingredients was undeniable," Eaton said. Silo Food Truck beat out 16 other submissions for the honor. In the people's choice competition, The Meatball Truck of Rochester won for its Meatball in a Cup entry. The same dish won second place in the people's choice category during the inaugural state fair food truck competition in 2015. Lady Bug Lunch Box of Syracuse won runner-up honors in the people's choice competition for its Cajun chicken sandwich. There were more than 2,500 votes cast in the people's choice category. Fairgoers who tried samples from all 17 food trucks were entered in a drawing to win lifetime passes to the fair. The winners of the passes are Paul Davis, Alfred Emery, Teirra Howe, Karen Oakes and Lorinda O'Brien. Sept. 5, 1976 North Carolina farmers are facing disastrous losses as they try to eke out a living during one of the worst droughts in the states history. Thousands of Tar Heel farmers face up to a 50 percent loss in crop yield, financial disaster and even the loss of their farms. Agriculture Commissioner Jim Graham said Friday that he is terribly concerned with the worsening situation and said he will ask Farmers Home Administration in Washington, D.C., to provide low-interest loans to farmers in at least 20 of the hardest-hit counties in North Carolina. Most of these counties are in the Piedmont. DANBURY A woman convicted of drowning her newborn baby shortly after birth will ask members of the state pardons board to vacate the remainder of her sentence during a hearing Wednesday. Panna Krom was just 17 years old when she drowned her newborn baby in a toilet on Dec. 28, 2006. She was initially charged with murder, but pleaded guilty to a reduced charge of first-degree manslaughter as part of a plea deal in 2008, and was sentenced to 18 years in prison. Krom was 16 when she became pregnant. She hid the pregnancy from her parents, who are Cambodian refugees, because she believed they would not approve a pregnancy out of wedlock, given their cultural and religious beliefs, court documents state. She was arrested by police several days after her mother found the baby, posthumously named Angel, wrapped in a sweatshirt in Kroms bedroom closet. Kroms attorney, Vicki Hutchinson, has argued that the sentence was excessive because the crime she committed, sometimes called neonaticide, often results in much shorter prison terms. Among five other cases of neonaticide by Connecticut teenagers, two resulted in prison terms under two years, one ended without a prison sentence and two never led to criminal charges at all, according to data compiled by Hutchinson. Krom said that at the time of the crime she was not aware of the Safe Haven law, which allows a mother to anonymously drop off a child at a hospitals or other safe haven with no repercussions or threats of prosecution. She now wants to educate young women on those laws to prevent them from committing the same crime. Krom, who has completed about half of her original sentence, will ask the Connecticut Board of Pardons and Paroles to vacant the remainder of her sentence during a hearing at the JB Gates Correctional Institute in Niantic. Hutchinson is asking to replace the remainder of the sentence with five years probation. Danbury States Attorney Stephen J. Sedensky III said earlier this year that he plans to oppose a reduction in Kroms sentence, noting that her original charge was murder. Many of these things were addressed at the time of disposition, he said. She was already given tremendous consideration... You have to remember that she drowned a newborn baby girl. dperrefort@newstimes.com GREENWICH Joe DeLuca, 87 retired developer, author of Episodes from the 19th Hole, artist and amateur piano player was visiting someone at Greenwich Hospital when a family member of the patient suggested he have a go at the gleaming Steinway piano in the lobby. After asking permission from a hospital employee, DeLuca plunked out an oldie or two, and soon found he had fans. A Syracuse man is facing drunk driving charges after driving his vehicle into the New York State Fairgrounds Sunday. Glenn A. Krisak, of 416 Mackay Ave., Syracuse, has been charged with aggravated driving while intoxicated and first-degree aggravated unlicensed operation, both class E felonies. He's also been charged with drinking alcohol in a motor vehicle on a highway and failure to obey a traffic control device. According to the New York State Police, Krisak allegedly drove his 2016 Pontiac Grand Prix into a section of the New York State Fairgrounds during the fair Sunday. An investigation revealed that Krisak was driving drunk. His blood alcohol level was .30 nearly four times the legal limit. Krisak was arraigned in Solvay town court and remanded to the Onondaga County Justice Center without bail. LG is making the V20 official at an event in San Francisco tomorrow, so by now you'd expect us to have found out everything there is to know about it through dozens of leaks and rumors. Well, yes and no. We've had plenty of supposed sightings of the V20 (the latest in what seems to be a leaked promo video), so its looks aren't that much of a mystery anymore. The situation is different when it comes to specs. Sure, it's clear that it will have high-end innards, and LG itself has teased its audio capabilities, but what about everything else? Thankfully, a rumor out of China now comes to answer that question, a mere day before the phone's announcement. According to one Weibo leaker, the V20 should sport a 5.7-inch QHD main screen, a 16 MP dual camera arrangement on the back, Qualcomm's Snapdragon 820 at the helm, 4GB of RAM, as well as a big 4,000 mAh battery. As Google has told us, the V20 will run Android 7.0 Nougat from day one, being the first smartphone to do so. We also expect it to have a small secondary display above the main one, akin to the component that was part of the V10, this device's predecessor from last year. Now of course you shouldn't have taken this without a trace of salt, because it is just an unconfirmed rumor after all. The good news is that we'll find out the V20's definitive spec list in just over 24 hours. Via These are the best offers from our affiliate partners. We may get a commission from qualifying sales. Effects test draft bill proposed The Australian Federal Government has today released its draft bill to change the Competition and Consumer Act and introduce the controversial effects test. Prime Minister Malcom Turnbull announced in March 2016 that his government would be introducing the effects test, changing Section 46 of the Competition and Consumer Act which addresses misuse of market power by big businesses acting alone. Under the current legislation, Section 46 stipulates that to be found guilty of misuse of power, a business with substantive market power must have planned and acted in a way to misuse its power in an anti-competitive manner. Under the effects test the Australian Consumer and Competition Commission (ACCC) will only be required to prove the large business acted in an anti-competitive manner. It will not have to prove intention. Since the effects test was first proposed, a number of organisations and individuals have spoken out against the effects test including the Productivity Commission and ex-ACCC Chairman Graeme Samuel who thinks it will limit access to cheap groceries. ACCC responds The ACCC has responded to the draft bill by releasing guidelines proposing how it intends to approach the legislation changes. Chairman of the ACCC, Rod Sims, is calling for feedback on the proposed guidelines. In particular, the ACCC is inviting feedback from consumers, businesses, and other stakeholders about the issues and topics the ACCC can provide guidance on to assist them understand how the amended misuse of market power prohibition, and the prohibition on anti-competitive concerted practices are likely to operate and how well approach those provisions, Sims said. The proposed frameworks can be viewed on the ACCCs website. Feedback closes 3 October 2016. Haiti - Back to School : Message by Privert On the occasion of the Back to School of the academic year 2016-2017, this Monday, September 5, 2016, the de facto President, Jocelerme Privert delivered a message to parents, teachers, labor inspectors, students and pupils... Message by Jocelerme Privert : Dear parents, school principals, inspectors, teachers, unions, students and pupils, Haitian people! Near of the new school year 2016 - 2017, I want to send a message of solidarity, of support and congratulations. The societies worth what worth their schools! Education remains the only safe path to progress and the only launching pad to social mobility. It is education that allows citizens o gain respect, to be useful to themselves and their families and to occupy a prominent place in their communities and in society. Thus, I invite all players in the chain of education to work with all seriousness, dedication and determinationthat the nation knows you, to guarantee that back to school and have a successful school year. Dear parents, teachers, principals, unions, Thus, with the Prime Minister, all members of the government and especially the Minister of National Education and Vocational Training, we have carefully prepared the return and made all the arrangements to ease the burden of parents, in these times of great economic difficulty. Do not drop our guard. You are the architects and guardians of Haiti of tomorrow, that it concerns us to build together and to bequeath to our children. We have, in this sense, no other choice that join forces and work together for a more just society through universal education, responsibility and of quality. Manman ak papa pitit, Pandan nap mobilize tout resous nou pou nou reponn a misyon esensyel nou ki se fe eleksyon pou peyi a rive jwen estabilite'l, e pran wout devlopman ak travay, nou vle pwofite nan okazyon rantre lekol ane sa a, pou nou salye tout akte ak tout ajan edikatif yo pou angajman yo ak kolaborasyon yo ki pemet rantre lekol la rive posib nan dat 5 septanm nan. Mwen konnen sa pafasil ak gwo difikilte ekonomik pou fanmi yo. Men mwen konnen tou pagen sakrifis ki enposib pou edikasyon timoun yo, pou pemet yo ale lekol e rive itil tet yo demen. Nan sans sa a, Mwen vle salye espesyalman tout paran alawonnbade kipa janm sispann goumen pou pitit yo rive al lekol e pemet yo reyalize rev yo. Chapoba pou nou ! Mesi anpil pou tout lot Manman ak papa k ap mete men pou ouve pot lekol pou pitit yo e ede yo vanse pi devan. Gouvenman an, bokote pal, ap kontinye bay bourad pou soulaje manman ak papa pitit pou rantre lekol la menm si pagen anpil mwayen. Minis edukasyon ap bay popilasyon tout enfomasyon sou jefo sa yo. Moman an difisil se vre, men se men nan men nap rive chanje sa, chak sitwayen dwe pote kontribisyon pal pou nou rive chanje eskanp figi edikasyon an nan peyi a. Dear Compatriots, The start of school opens unquestionably an exceptional period in which the State support must address in the manner the clearest possible for the most needy parent despite the harsh political and economic realities of the country. However, despite our limited means, true to our commitment to serve you with respect and dignity while safeguarding your confidence in the future, we decided to make strategic choices and priorities. After several meetings related to the pre back to school spent formal instructions to all ministries and all State bodies concerned to work together in synergy to fulfill their missions in the most efficient manner and as efficiently as possible for the benefit of all students, in the country. Dear teachers, You are the pillars of the education system, you are the controllers of education that accompany our children on the path of knowledge. The Government rely, once again, on your daily support to guide our youth in classroom and contribute to the revitalization of the education sector. We know and understand the difficulties faced by your sector and we are committed to move toward their final resolutions Dear principals, You have a key role to play in improving the academic performance of your institution. I rely on you to fully assume your responsibility for the revitalization and excellence of your school of the Haitian school. Dear inspectors, I rely on your dedication and commitment to the cause of education for a successful mission to provide a quality school accessible to all. Thank you to continue to give the best of yourselves despite difficult working conditions on the ground. Dear students, Be on the expectations of your parents and your teachers bytaking advantage of every minute of your time. Learn, listen, read, do research, be attentive and applied. You have your future in your hands. We are in a globalized world and very competitive. Only the best can take their game and be successful. I urge you to be the best! To all stakeholders and partners of the education sector, I renew the Executive's commitment to continue efforts to continuous improvement of public education services as well as the actions taken to reform the sector. An n mete men pou yon lot kalite lekol nan entere timoun nou yo e nan entere peyi-a. Welcome back to all ! See also : https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-18524-haiti-education-d-1-back-to-school-and-accompanying-measures-of-the-government.html https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-18461-haiti-education-550-million-gourdes-to-facilitate-the-back-to-school.html https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-18433-haiti-education-transfer-of-private-school-children-to-public-schools.html https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-18390-haiti-education-new-meeting-around-the-new-school-year.html https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-18273-haiti-politic-summit-meeting-around-the-back-to-school.html https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-18233-haiti-flash-reduction-of-school-subsidies-for-families.html HL/ HaitiLibre Bluegrass cum Christian country veteran Ricky Skaggs will receive the ASCAP Founders Award at the 54th annual ASCAP Country Music Awards. The exclusive, invitation-only gala, which celebrates the songwriters and publishers of ASCAP's most performed country songs of 2015, will take place at the historic Ryman Auditorium in downtown Nashville, Tennessee on October 31st. ASCAP President Paul Williams said, "For more than four decades, Ricky Skaggs has been a musical force in bluegrass and country music. His incredible gifts as a musician combined with his boundless creativity and energy continue to fuel a passion for American roots music around the world. A national treasure, he has influenced generations of fellow music creators and we are honored to present him with the ASCAP Founders Award." The Founders Award is one of ASCAP's "highest honors and is presented to songwriters and composers who have made pioneering contributions to music by inspiring and influencing their fellow music creators," a press release said Previous recipients include George Strait, Alan Jackson, Jackson Browne, Emmylou Harris, Garth Brooks, Bob Dylan, Tom Petty, Melissa Etheridge and Neil Young. The 54th annual ASCAP Country Music Awards will include the announcements of the ASCAP Country Music Songwriter of the Year, Song of the Year and Publisher of the Year. Tags : ricky skaggs ricky skaggs ascap ricky skaggs news 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. 06:00, 29 OCT 2022 PHOENIX -- Arizona's laws to lock up sex offenders for failing to register after they've completed their sentence are valid because they're not meant to punish, a federal appeals court ruled Friday. The Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals rejected arguments by the attorney for David B. Clark that it was unfair and illegal to arrest and imprison him for 3 1/2 years for failing to register. Sandra Slaton argued that locking her client up amounted to an additional punishment after he had completed his four years of probation. And Slaton said this was particularly unfair to Clark since the law requiring sex offenders to register did not exist at the time he pleaded guilty in 1982. But the appellate judges did not see it that way. According to court documents, Clark pleaded guilty in 1982 to sexual misconduct with a 14-year-old when he was 18. The following year state lawmakers adopted a statute requiring sex offenders to register. In 2009 Clark was arrested in Cochise County for failing to comply. He pleaded guilty and was sentenced to 3 1/2 years in prison. Slaton filed a federal appeal, claiming it was illegal to subject her client to a law that did not exist when he was first sentenced in 1982. But in doing that, she also had to argue that Clark was being punished. Appellate Judge Susan Graber, writing for the unanimous three-judge panel, disagreed. She said the 1983 law was not intended to be punitive but instead provide information about sex offenders to the public. And she said Arizona courts have found the purpose of the law was "to protect communities, not punish sex offenders.'' Graber acknowledged that at one time the Arizona Supreme Court had held that sex offender registration was a "traditional form of punishment.'' But she said that contention was undermined by a subsequent ruling by the state Court of Appeals which he that "dissemination of truthful information in furtherance of a legitimate governmental interest (is not) punishment.'' The appellate judges also rebuffed Slaton's argument that the Arizona law goes beyond simply disseminating factual information about someone's record and is more akin to public shaming. She cited the increased use of the Internet and that the Arizona statute requires online identifiers. That, Slaton said will likely lead to harassment of registered sex offenders. Graber said disagreed, saying the fact there is widespread public access to the information that might lead to humiliation is a "collateral consequence of a valid regulation.'' Slaton said she is considering an appeal to the full appellate court. She said the ruling is based on the contention that registration as a sex offender is not punishment. "How can you say that someone who went to prison for 3 1/2 years was not punished?'' she asked. WASHINGTON Arizonans have been relatively stingy with their presidential donations this year, contributing $8.4 million as of August, well off the 2012 pace when residents forked over $21.9 million by the end of the presidential campaign. Despite the gap, experts said there is still time for the numbers to rebound with just 10 weeks until Election Day. But they said the drop also reflects a national trend, with donors seemingly reluctant to fund presidential nominees with low appeal. Both major-party candidates have high negatives associated with them, said Fred Solop, a political science professor at Northern Arizona University. Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton reported receiving $2.2 million in contributions from Arizona in her July 31 filing with the Federal Election Commission. Republican nominee Donald Trump, who only recently started fundraising in earnest, reported getting $1.2 million from the state in the same period. Most of the presidential donations from the state went to candidates in the primary, including Sen. Bernie Sanders, D-Vermont, who reported raising $1.6 million, and Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, whose $959,616 topped the crowded field of 16 Republican hopefuls. In contrast, 2012 Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney had raised more than $13 million from Arizona by the end of his unsuccessful campaign. But Rodolfo Espino, an Arizona State University political science professor, said Romney and Sen. John McCain, the 2008 GOP presidential nominee, enjoyed ties to Arizona the the current nominees dont have. Those ties helped the earlier candidates with their fundraising in the state. To Arizona in particular, you would have the native son effect, Espino said. McCain has decades of history as an elected official from Arizona while Romney had strong support from the states Mormon community. Compared to that, Espino asked, How can we connect with Donald Trump? Solop also said there has been a significant difference between candidate fundraising styles in this election and prior years. We are also engaged in a Senate campaign with McCain, and he has shown no support for Trump, Solop said. But the money does not seem to be flowing down to smaller races at least not yet. The National Institute on Money in State Politics reported on its website, FollowTheMoney.org, that Arizona had contributed $36.4 million to all political campaigns except the presidential race so far this year, compared to $42.5 million at this time in the 2012 election cycle. By the end of the 2012 elections, Arizonans had contributed $66.2 million to those down-ticket races, the site said. But with 10 weeks left to Election Day, and months left in the reporting cycle, theres still time for campaign donations to catch up to previous years, experts said. The money isnt vanishing, said Josh Stewart, a spokesman for the Sunlight Foundation. You never know what is going to happen. Espino said that even though we are in new territory with this election, he wouldnt be surprised to see a spike in spending in fourth-quarter FEC reports. I dont have a crystal ball, he said. But I anticipate a lot of last-minute donors. of Australians largest employer groups has said it will fight any union push to renegotiate new pay deals in the wake of the controversial Coles pay deal.The Australian Industry Group (Ai Group) has denied members will have to rethink how they approach enterprise bargaining after the Fair Work Commission rejected the supermarket giants prior enterprise agreement. The FWC shot down the deal, saying it failed the better off overall test (BOOT).Ai Group was reacting to the Shop Distributive and Allied Employees Association the main union for the retail sector which is seeking to renegotiate a number of deals. The move comes after the union dropped its traditional practice of trading penalty rates for higher base wages for staff working Monday to Friday.Stephen Smith, the Ai Groups head of national workplace relations policy, told The Australian that he had yet to hear of any firms keen on rewriting their enterprise agreements.We think they will resist, he said. Not only will the employers resist it, the vast majority of employees are likely to resist a change to the existing arrangements because those arrangements are benefitting the employees as well as the businesses.Smith also denied there had been a substantial underpayment of employees.These agreements have been assessed by the commission and found to leave employees better off overall, he said.The Coles situation related to one employee who challenged an agreement. We dont think this is a widespread problem at all, and we think the whole thing is being blown out of proportion.If similar agreements are proposed in the future, there was no indication that there would be a problem, he added, saying that predictions of massive changes were very unlikely to occur.Although HC approached the Ai Group for further comment, they failed to respond in time for publication. Compiled by Jesse Wood Watauga County Board of Commissioners will meet on Tuesday, Sept. 6, at 8:30 a.m. for its regular monthly meeting at the Administration Building on King Street. WCS Matters Watauga County Schools Finance Director Ly Marze will request funds from the Capital Improvement Plan Reserve Fund ($486,500) and the Education Lottery Fund ($337,500). See a list of the projects below. Also, WCS Supt. Scott Elliott will present a general update on school matters before the board. Veterans Memorial Request John Alley and George Brudzinski of the High Country Chapter of the Military Officers Association of America will request funds from Watauga County for the construction of a veterans memorial. The memorials proposed location is in downtown Boone, adjacent to Town Hall. Groundbreaking for the project is expected in the spring. The fundraising campaign for the memorial is already in full swing and is estimated to conclude Nov. 1. Food Hub Update Ms. Carol Coulter, Blue Ridge Women in Agriculture (BRWIA), and Mr. Jim Hamilton, Cooperative Extension Director, will provide an update on the Food Hub. The report is for information only; therefore, no action is required. Planning Board Report on Mountain View Speedway Planning Board Chairman Ric Mattar will update the Board regarding the review of the countys Noise Ordinance. The Board requested the Planning Board consider the potential use of decibel meters in the enforcement of the ordinance. The Planning Board reviewed the Noise Ordinance and at this time is recommending no changes. Mr. Mattar will be present to answer questions from the commissioners and staff. County Property for Sale Watauga County Finance Director Margaret Pierce will request the commissioners approve the auctioning off of property thats been foreclosed by the county because of unpaid taxes. Brief descriptors of the property follow: Maggies Lane, Lot EE33 Mill Ridge, and Lot 15. The Board must declare the properties surplus and adopt a resolution to start the sale process. The minimum bid request for the properties will be the current expenses owed to the County. Vehicle Bids The commissioners will also approve vehicle bids for multiple departments. View the entire agenda and meeting packet here. Share this: Twitter Facebook LinkedIn Reddit Pocket Approximately 14,000 asylum seekers, including 2,500 children accompanied by one or both of their parents, are currently in reception centres waiting for a decision on their application, according to a press release from Migri . The Finnish Immigration Service (Migri) expects to be able to clear the backlog of asylum applications that built up during the course of last year by year-end. With the exception of some individual cases, we believe that the asylum seekers who arrived in Finland in 2015 will receive their decisions by the end of the year, says Esko Repo, the head of asylum affairs at Migri. Finland received a total of 32,500 asylum applications in 2015 and has received an additional 4,200 thus far in 2016. The Ministry of the Interior sanctioned the recruitment of an additional 500 immigration officials, signalling a more than six-fold increase from the previous 75, late last year in order to eliminate the backlog of asylum applications by the end of last month. Meeting the objective would have necessitated an increase of 70 per cent in the number of decisions per man-year and a weekly rate of around 1,000 decisions. The current rate is roughly 700 decisions per week, according to Migri. Migri also reveals that it has granted the applications of roughly 6,000 asylum seekers and turned down those of roughly 9,000 since the beginning of last year. An additional 7,000 applications, meanwhile, have expired either due the asylum seeker abandoning the process or being in absentia for two months. Roughly 3,000 applications have also been rejected on grounds that they fall within the remit of another member state of the European Union. The press release illustrates that the share of negative decisions has jumped from 16 per cent of a total of 7,466 decisions in 2015 to 44 per cent of a total of 17,468 decisions in 2016, while that of positive decisions has remained at 25 per cent. Iraqis remain the largest nationality group among asylum seekers in Finland, accounting for 21,000 of the applicants who entered the country last year and for 900 of those who entered the country this year. Other common countries of origin among the asylum seekers include Afghanistan, Somalia and Syria. Migri says it has recently recorded an increase in the number of applicants from both Syria and Turkey, the former as a result of transfers within the European Union and the latter possibly as a result of the volatile political situation in Turkey. We have not yet conducted asylum interviews with the asylum seekers from Turkey, but it is entirely possible that among them are persons who have left the country due to recent events, says Repo. The Ministry of the Interior forecasts that roughly 10,000 asylum seekers will arrive in Finland in both 2016 and 2017. The number of future applicants is extremely hard to predict, but the indication nevertheless is that the number of asylum seekers arriving in Finland may have permanently settled at a higher level than before, states Repo. Aleksi Teivainen HT Photo: Mikko Stig Lehtikuva Temple Bar got the top marks in the survey Dublin city centre has returned its best-ever result in a litter survey that highlights the best - and grubbiest - areas of the country. The business group Irish Business Against Litter (IBAL) has released its annual survey ranking the cleanest areas in the country. In a summer in which the 1916 Centenary was celebrated, Dublin City Centre also returned its best-ever result, with Temple Bar, Grafton and O'Connell streets and Christ Church among the areas to receive top marks. "Dublin City Council has done a fine job in presenting the capital at its best in what was an important summer for tourism," said IBAL's Conor Horgan. Dumping "This job was complemented by the roads around Dublin Airport being exceptionally clean. At the same time, Ballymun and the north inner city were littered, so we're not near to solving the capital's litter problem yet." Ballymun was let down by the prevalence of cigarette butts, broken glass and dumping in several sites surveyed. The Dublin Airport area was the only Dublin area to rank "cleaner than European norms". The city centre and Stillorgan were listed as "clean to European norms", matching standards around the continent. The north inner city and Ballymun were described as "littered", which is the second worst category on the IBAL scale. The problem of litter is most acute in cities. Among the littered city areas were Farranree in Cork, which was again a litter blackspot, and Galvone in Limerick City, which was seriously littered. Mahon in Cork was also littered, while Galway City and the area of Ballybane were deemed "moderately littered". In contrast, more than 90pc of the 25 towns inspected were found to be clean, with almost half judged to be cleaner than European norms. IBAL said its inclusion of more city areas in its rankings was recognition of the fact that litter was now largely found in neglected pockets of cities. Neglect "These survey findings bear out our contention that while our city centres are generally well maintained, disadvantaged areas continue to be the source of much of the litter in our country," Mr Horgan said. According to IBAL, litter is a symptom of social neglect, and councils need to look at a community-wide response. While litter is subsiding, dumping is rising. The business group agrees with the introduction of the pay-by-weight waste collection system, but fears it may lead to more dumping. "We would be especially concerned that the experience of this summer will set the public against the charges when they come in next year. This can only be harmful to our environment," Mr Horgan added. Sweet papers are the most common form of litter, followed by fast-food wrappers, cigarette butts and chewing gum. Safety concerns have again been raised by the Irish Airline Pilots Association over a planned expansion at Dublin Airport. The Dublin Airport Authority (DAA) has strongly rejected what it called "false claims" by the pilot's association, which has lodged a second appeal to An Bord Pleanala over a new transfer facility at the airport. In their appeal, Irish Airline Pilots Association (IALPA), which represents some 1,200 pilots, says plans to add a new transfer facility at Terminal 2 (T2) will "compromise" the safety of transit facilities. The plan does not "adequately protect staff and passenger safety", IALPA told An Bord Pleanala. The pilots' association also raised concerns about the development of Dublin Airport, saying that because T2 was "an infrastructural wedge into the south-eastern corner on the eastern campus" it has limited scope to expand "apron space". Apron space area refers to where aircraft are parked, loaded and unloaded, refuelled, and boarded. "It's [our] view that this proposed transfer facility is in the wrong location and disrupts current apron operation," the objection reads. "The solution lies with a westerly extension to the existing T2 transfer facility. It's both practical and logical because it centralises passenger transfer from T1 and T2," the association added. Passengers Responding to the claims, a Dublin Airport spokesman told the Herald that "the safety and security of passengers and staff is Dublin Airport's key priority at all times". "We completely reject IALPA's false claims in relation to this development," he added. It is IALPA's second appeal on the DAA's proposed expansion at Dublin Airport, which has been approved by Fingal County Council. Last month, the pilots' union claimed that a plan to introduce remote stands at T2, allowing passengers to be bussed to aircraft positioned away from T2 was "fraught with safety compromises". A truck stuck under a railway bridge in Dublin city. There have been 68 bridge strikes so far this year Rail bosses have hit out at "dumb truckers" who are causing traffic and rail mayhem by striking bridges. In a bid to reduce the number of incidents Irish Rail have released footage of truck drivers getting stuck under height-restricted bridges. The "basic intelligence and competence" of drivers who strike bridges should be question, according to a spokesperson for the company. This year there have already been 68 "bridge strikes" on the network. In 2015, there were only 85. The Dart network has been affected the most by the increase, with 25 bridge strikes taking place already this year. This compares to 12 by this time in 2016. The south city has had a higher incidence of bridge strikes. On top of being a nuisance for commuters, bridge strikes are "one of the greatest safety risks" that Irish Rail face, according to the company. Last Thursday, two separate bridges in the Grand Canal area were hit by two different vehicles within two hours, delaying trains and causing traffic mayhem. "Despite improved signage and a downloadable map that can be accessed by anyone wishing to check bridge heights the problem has increased," Irish Rail said. "From a low of 72 bridge strikes nationally in 2012, the increase in bridge strikes is worrying. "The increase may be explained by an increase in construction traffic, but it is still not acceptable that truck drivers in many instances do not know the height of the vehicle they are driving. Intelligence "The basic intelligence and competence of drivers involved in these incidents must now be called into question. "We have endeavoured to inform and educate drivers, we have advertised, we have improved our signage, we have seen prosecutions and we have introduced new technologies - the message has to get through. It is basic safety for truckers to know the height of their vehicles and the bridges on their routes," the company added in a statement. "Bridge strikes can cause significant delays to both rail and road services, as Iarnrod Eireann must carry out a structural assessment of the bridge before allowing trains to pass over following a hit, and road traffic can be backed up. Iarnrod Eireann works closely with the Irish Road Haulage Association and local authorities to educate and inform, but one bridge strike is one too many. "Furthermore, Iarnrod Eireann regard bridge strikes as the single most likely cause of a serious rail safety incident on the network." Penalty points can be handed out to drivers who do not obey the height restrictions in place at bridges. Irish Rail has produced a video which contains CCTV clips of truck drivers getting into difficulty. It is hoped that the video will act as a deterrent to this type of action. Two members of hospital staff are assaulted every day - with nurses and midwives the most at-risk group, the Herald can reveal. Almost 3,500 staff have been physically attacked in Irish hospitals over the last five years. Shocking figures released by the HSE showed that every day in Ireland, two members of staff are physically attacked at acute statutory hospitals across the country. In total 3,462 workers have been attacked between January 2011 and May 2016. Nurses and midwives have been the most targeted members of staff, with 2,261 assaulted in the given period of time, which is 66pc of the overall number. The information was released to the Herald by the HSE under a Freedom of Information request, and highlights the scale of violence that hospital staff face every day. Harassment Some 521 attendants and 289 care workers have been assaulted at hospitals across the State since 2011, while 50 catering employees have also been the victim of a physical attack. There were also 49 physical harassment incidents recorded during the period. The National Incident Management System (NIMS) - which records assaults on staff reported at HSE acute hospitals - only began collating information on the attacks in June 2015 after the recording system was revamped. Since the information became available on NIMS last year, it has been found that the majority of assaults were by a service user. Seven attacks involved members of the public, while four members of staff were responsible for attacking or assaulting a colleague. Meanwhile, a family member or relative was involved in three incidents. In the last two years, only one incident involving a prisoner being treated at an Irish hospital has been recorded. The figures do not include assaults at the three health facilities within the Children's Hospital Group. Unions representing hospital staff as well as the Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation are currently in the process of Workplace Relations Commission talks with the HSE where, among a host of other concerns and issues among staff, security protocols and arrangements are being discussed. "Work-related aggression and violence is an issue which the HSE takes very seriously as it can negatively affect the quality of working life for staff, compromise organisational effectiveness and impact negatively on the provision of care services," a spokeswoman for the HSE said. "The HSE has in place a comprehensive employee well-being process which includes Occupational Health Services, Employee Assistance Services and Critical Incident Stress Management supports which are available to staff. "Progress has been made, particularly as the HSE HR National Health and Safety Function is developed, in the areas of training, support networks and risk management," the spokeswoman added. The health organisation also said that every incident of verbal abuse would not be recorded by staff and that such incidents are managed and evaluated on an individual basis. "It is important to keep in mind that patients and families are in some cases experiencing life-changing events. "Even in situations with positive outcomes, patients - including mothers and/or their families - can become more emotional than usual. "Patients are under the influence of medication. Sadly, in some cases, a family is grieving. "In these circumstances, unless the threat is judged to be serious, staff would not normally record every instance of verbal abuse, as they evaluate and manage individual situations, in context, as part of their work," the HSE said. Fianna Fail spokesman on health Billy Kelleher said that every incident of this type must be taken seriously. Stress The TD expressed his shock at the numbers and said "any assault on frontline staff is something that should be viewed very seriously". He said the threat of violence faced by staff contributes to the "stress and pressure that nurses work under in our emergency departments and across our health system". He said that gardai must be notified of any attacks on health workers immediately and ensure that there are prosecutions. Mr Kelleher called on the HSE to continually monitor the situation to ensure that there isn't an escalation in the number of attacks. "Our emergency departments are under huge pressure around the country but that's no excuse for anybody to assault a nurse who's there to help and assist. "Any assault on them must be treated very seriously," he said. The thugs who murdered criminal Philip Finnegan tried to set his body on fire after stabbing him to death, the Herald has learned. Finnegan (24) is believed to have been killed by former associates, who are members of the gang that was led by Brian Rattigan. His body was discovered by walkers in woodland near Carbury, Co Kildare, on Friday night. It was in a shallow grave and his clothes had been burnt. Details of the post-mortem have not been released, but it is understood that Finnegan, from the south inner city, was stabbed to death and suffered multiple wounds. Weapon His body was hidden in undergrowth and covered over with soil but was found by a dog that had been taken for a walk by its owners. "It looks like they either panicked or were amateur in what they were doing because the body was only partially buried and was always going to be found," said a source. A major hunt is now under way to find the murder weapon. Finnegan was reported missing from his home at Mary Aikenhead House in James Street on August 10. Gardai believe he was murdered shortly after his disappearance. Sources said he had become a target for the gang following a cash dispute and had been threatened by a number of criminals only days before he went missing. It is not yet clear whether he was kidnapped by his killers or lured to Rahin woods, near Carbury, by people he trusted. Officers said Finnegan, who had a criminal conviction for assault, had previously been attacked and shot at. He narrowly escaped death when a gunman opened fire on him and his friend, Owen Gaffney (26), of Lower Basin Street in a drive-by shooting in July 2013. Five shots were fired, but neither man was injured. Both refused to co-operate with the garda investigation. In December 2013, Finnegan was caught up in a bloody brawl when two rival groups met by accident in a Dublin fast-food outlet. A hatchet was thrown through the window of Finnegan's home afterward, but the incident was not reported to gardai. Toys Last year, Finnegan was acquitted of firearms possession after a semi-automatic handgun capable of firing blanks was found during a raid on his home. He was known to be associated with serious criminals in the south inner city and had been warned about "substantial or severe threats" to his life. In January last year, Finnegan was cleared of firearms charges at Dublin Circuit Court after a judge ruled that gardai had used a threat of arresting other people to induce him to confess to being the owner of a firearm found in his bedroom. He had pleaded not guilty to unlawful possession of a blank firing pistol at his home on March 14, 2013. Gardai found the gun in a box that also contained toys and video games in a bedroom Finnegan shared with his three younger brothers. The remote location where his body was found is on the Kildare-Meath border, about 8km outside Edenderry. Please Donate In order to maintain this blog I have to pay for its upkeep including a hosting company, support services, virus and other malicious hackers. If you appreciate what I write please make a donation. Racist PayPal Tries to Close Down My Blog As you can see from this article PayPal have removed my blog. I would therefore ask people to make any future donations to the following: Name of Account: Brighton and Hove Unemployed Workers Centre Account No: 04094107 Sort Code: 09-01-50 Reference: Web donations (function() { (function(){function b(g){this.t={};this.tick=function(h,m,f){var n=void 0!=f?f:(new Date).getTime();this.t[h]=[n,m];if(void 0==f)try{window.console.timeStamp("CSI/"+h)}catch(q){}};this.getStartTickTime=function(){return this.t.start[0]};this.tick("start",null,g)}var a;if(window.performance)var e=(a=window.performance.timing)&&a.responseStart;var p=0 =c&&(window.jstiming.srt=e-c)}if(a){var d=window.jstiming.load; 0 =c&&(d.tick("_wtsrt",void 0,c),d.tick("wtsrt_","_wtsrt",e),d.tick("tbsd_","wtsrt_"))}try{a=null,window.chrome&&window.chrome.csi&&(a=Math.floor(window.chrome.csi().pageT),d&&0 =b&&window.jstiming.load.tick("aft")};var k=!1;function l(){k||(k=!0,window.jstiming.load.tick("firstScrollTime"))}window.addEventListener?window.addEventListener("scroll",l,!1):window.attachEvent("onscroll",l); })(); M. Bakri Musa Seeing Malaysia My Way About Me Name: M. Bakri Musa Location: Morgan Hill, California, United States Malaysian-born Bakri Musa writes frequently on issues affecting his native land. His essays have appeared in the Far Eastern Economic Review, Asiaweek, International Herald Tribune, Education Quarterly, SIngapore's Straits Times, and The New Straits Times. His commentary has aired on National Public Radio's Marketplace. His regular column Seeing It My Way appears in Malaysiakini. Bakri is also a regular contributor to th eSun (Malaysia). He has previously written "The Malay Dilemma Revisited: Race Dynamics in Modern Malaysia" as well as "Malaysia in the Era of Globalization," "An Education System Worthy of Malaysia," "Seeing Malaysia My Way," and "With Love, From Malaysia." Bakri's day job (and frequently night time too!) is as a surgeon in private practice in Silicon Valley, California. He and his wife Karen live on a ranch in Morgan Hill. This website is updated twice a week on Sundays and Wednesdays at 5 PM California time. View my complete profile Devolution and the Rise of Sarawak's Adenan Setam The Hyenas, Vultures and Maggots of 1MDB 1MDB - Malaysia's Enron and Watergate Combined Lowering The Bar on Najib's Already Mediocre Leade... 1MDB Not An Overnight Monster; Likewise Malaysian ... The Malay Shame and Tragedy That Is 1MDB The Noose Tightens on 1MDB Cast From The Herd. Memories of Matriarchal Malaysia Inspiration From The Koran: Command Good and Forb... Reflections on Ramadan: Beyond The Fast Courtesy of Syed Azidi Aziz of kickdefella.wordpress.com Luqman Al-Hikmah Versus Najib Al-Kebas Luqman Al-Hikmah Versus Najib Al-Kebas M. Bakri Musa www.bakrimusa.com Luqman Al-Hikmah (Luqman The Wise) is revered in Islam. There is a Surah (31) in the Koran named after him, chronicling his sage advice to his son. Those are wise words for anyone, anytime, and anywhere. Legend has it that once as a slave, his master ordered him to slaughter a sheep and bring its best and worst parts to him. Luqman did, and brought the animals heart and tongue. Intrigued, the next day the master asked him to do the same thing but this time to bring the worst parts. Luqman brought him again the heart and tongue. When asked, Luqman explained that when a sheep is halal, the heart and tongue are the sweetest parts. When it is haram, the two are the worst. Likewise with leaders; halal leaders words (the consequence of their tongue) and deeds (heart) inspire and bring out the best in their followers. They in turn make the world better. In contrast, the words and deeds of a Hitler agitate his followers and bring out the worst in them. They in turn wreck the world, theirs and ours. Brandishing a ketchup-soaked keris and stretching out a stiff-arm salute are but different deeds from the same heart. With individuals, the same attribute may be venerated in a pious person but detested in the corrupt. Prime Minister Najib values loyalty above everything else in his staff and ministers. Loyalty is the finest attribute you can heap upon a leader, but only when he is halal, meaning honest, competent, and does not betray the faith and trust you have in him. When he is not, then that loyalty is not only misplaced but also your most hideous attribute. You betray not only yourself and your values but also your fellow citizens and theirs. Hang Jebat put it best, Raja adil raja di sembah; Raja zalim raja di sanggah. Najib is confused about loyalty and what it stands for. His staff, ministers and supporters too are confused on whether their loyalty is to the country and its enshrined principles, or to a leader and his unbounded avarice. Had UMNO members been loyal to the person of Datuk Onn as leader back in 1951, Malaysia would still be a British colony today. Although he fought against and prevailed over the Malayan Union, Onn opposed merdeka. As Prime Minister, Najib should be loyal not to his party, ministers or supporters but to the oath of office he took in front of the King, and to the constitution he swore to uphold and defend. Loyalty to anyone or anything else is misplaced, even treasonous. In defending his hideous corrupt act with 1MDB, Najib points with pride to the BR1M grants to the poor. Caliph Bakar gave every man, woman and child twenty durham annually, long before economists advocated guaranteed minimum income. Credit Najib for implementing a good idea. However, lest it be forgotten he has also burdened Malaysians with the Goods and Services Tax. GST is the least progressive of taxes, meaning, the poor bears a disproportionate burden. The 2016 budget for BR1M is RM4.9 billion; the government estimates raking in RM5.6 with GST. The ledger does not favor the rakyat, especially the poor. If 1MDB funded BR1M, as Najib intimated, consider that the American DOJ alleges an estimated over US$3 billion (in excess of RM12B) have been corruptly siphoned off from that sovereign fund. Thus while Najib gives away RM4.9B in BR1M, Malaysian Official 1 has kebas (swiped off) over RM12B from 1MDB. The ledger again favors him to the tune in excess of RM7B. So unlike Luqman Al-Hikmah, we have Najib Al-Kebas. Loyalty to Al-Kebas would be the worst attribute in a Malaysian. Najib fessed up to swiping off hundreds of millions into his personal bank account. It was a gift from a Saudi sheikh, he claimed. For Malays, anything from the Holy Land is halal, even its flies and maggots. Would Najib have received the gift had he not been Prime Minister? Obviously not. Which means that the donation was to his office. Najib admitted as much when he said it was in appreciation for Malaysias fight against ISIS. Najib did not fight ISIS alone, Malaysians did. Thus the money should have gone to Treasury, not his personal account. Even in the days of generous foreign aid no nation ever received such a windfall, except Israel from America. When Najibs explanation did not sell even to UMNO members, he concocted yet another spin. It was a political donation. That satisfied UMNO wise ones, the likes of Shahril Samad and Ahmad Maslan with their MBAs, chartered accountant Wahid Omar, and lawyers Nazri and Azalina. Shahril and Maslan admitted to receiving a million or two from Najib. Crumbs really, but that satisfied them. Wahid was rewarded with the PNB chairmanship. Nazri and Azlina are still ministers. For these characters, loyalty is but a commodity with a price tag. Rather cheap, fitting their characters. Ponder this. Today Saudis can buy Malaysian elections by financing the party they favor. Tomorrow, Americans to Pakatan? How about China or Singapore to DAP? UMNO is Saudis current favored flavor. Tomorrow, PAS? Why not put up Malaysian elections to the highest bidder? That would simplify things and remove the charade. It would also be clean and transparent, with the rakyat benefitting from the cash. Do likewise with UMNO elections and distribute the loot to the members. At least they would get something. Right now Najib kebas (swiped) all, with only the crumbs falling to the lesser chiefs. Ordinary members are still waiting for the leftovers, if any. Legend also has it Luqman advised his son to be wary of women with heavy makeup. In todays parlance, those who resort to plastic surgery and anti-ageing potions. They will end up spending everything you have, he cautioned. When Luqman died, his son ignored that advice. He partied and chased women with heavy makeup. Within a year he was bankrupt. If as Najib says that he fears only Allah, then heed His advice as revealed through Lukman Al-Hikmah. I risk flattering Najib and his supporters by mentioning him in the same breath with Luqman Al-Hikmah. Najib Al-Kebas has more in common with Luqmans son. If Malaysians were to be spared the fate that befell Luqmans son, then they ought to get rid of Al-Kebas. Luqman Al-Hikmah Versus Najib Al-KebasM. Bakri Musawww.bakrimusa.comLuqman Al-Hikmah (Luqman The Wise) is revered in Islam. There is a Surah (31) in the Koran named after him, chronicling his sage advice to his son. Those are wise words for anyone, anytime, and anywhere.Legend has it that once as a slave, his master ordered him to slaughter a sheep and bring its best and worst parts to him. Luqman did, and brought the animals heart and tongue. Intrigued, the next day the master asked him to do the same thing but this time to bring the worst parts. Luqman brought him again the heart and tongue.When asked, Luqman explained that when a sheep is halal, the heart and tongue are the sweetest parts. When it is haram, the two are the worst. Likewise with leaders; halal leaders words (the consequence of their tongue) and deeds (heart) inspire and bring out the best in their followers. They in turn make the world better. In contrast, the words and deeds of a Hitler agitate his followers and bring out the worst in them. They in turn wreck the world, theirs and ours. Brandishing a ketchup-soaked keris and stretching out a stiff-arm salute are but different deeds from the same heart.With individuals, the same attribute may be venerated in a pious person but detested in the corrupt. Prime Minister Najib values loyalty above everything else in his staff and ministers. Loyalty is the finest attribute you can heap upon a leader, but only when he is halal, meaning honest, competent, and does not betray the faith and trust you have in him. When he is not, then that loyalty is not only misplaced but also your most hideous attribute. You betray not only yourself and your values but also your fellow citizens and theirs.Hang Jebat put it best, Raja adil raja di sembah; Raja zalim raja di sanggah.Najib is confused about loyalty and what it stands for. His staff, ministers and supporters too are confused on whether their loyalty is to the country and its enshrined principles, or to a leader and his unbounded avarice. Had UMNO members been loyal to the person of Datuk Onn as leader back in 1951, Malaysia would still be a British colony today. Although he fought against and prevailed over the Malayan Union, Onn opposed merdeka.As Prime Minister, Najib should be loyal not to his party, ministers or supporters but to the oath of office he took in front of the King, and to the constitution he swore to uphold and defend. Loyalty to anyone or anything else is misplaced, even treasonous.In defending his hideous corrupt act with 1MDB, Najib points with pride to the BR1M grants to the poor. Caliph Bakar gave every man, woman and child twenty durham annually, long before economists advocated guaranteed minimum income. Credit Najib for implementing a good idea. However, lest it be forgotten he has also burdened Malaysians with the Goods and Services Tax. GST is the least progressive of taxes, meaning, the poor bears a disproportionate burden.The 2016 budget for BR1M is RM4.9 billion; the government estimates raking in RM5.6 with GST. The ledger does not favor the rakyat, especially the poor.If 1MDB funded BR1M, as Najib intimated, consider that the American DOJ alleges an estimated over US$3 billion (in excess of RM12B) have been corruptly siphoned off from that sovereign fund. Thus while Najib gives away RM4.9B in BR1M, Malaysian Official 1 has kebas (swiped off) over RM12B from 1MDB. The ledger again favors him to the tune in excess of RM7B.So unlike Luqman Al-Hikmah, we have Najib Al-Kebas. Loyalty to Al-Kebas would be the worst attribute in a Malaysian.Najib fessed up to swiping off hundreds of millions into his personal bank account. It was a gift from a Saudi sheikh, he claimed. For Malays, anything from the Holy Land is halal, even its flies and maggots.Would Najib have received the gift had he not been Prime Minister? Obviously not. Which means that the donation was to his office. Najib admitted as much when he said it was in appreciation for Malaysias fight against ISIS. Najib did not fight ISIS alone, Malaysians did. Thus the money should have gone to Treasury, not his personal account.Even in the days of generous foreign aid no nation ever received such a windfall, except Israel from America.When Najibs explanation did not sell even to UMNO members, he concocted yet another spin. It was a political donation. That satisfied UMNO wise ones, the likes of Shahril Samad and Ahmad Maslan with their MBAs, chartered accountant Wahid Omar, and lawyers Nazri and Azalina. Shahril and Maslan admitted to receiving a million or two from Najib. Crumbs really, but that satisfied them. Wahid was rewarded with the PNB chairmanship. Nazri and Azlina are still ministers. For these characters, loyalty is but a commodity with a price tag. Rather cheap, fitting their characters.Ponder this. Today Saudis can buy Malaysian elections by financing the party they favor. Tomorrow, Americans to Pakatan? How about China or Singapore to DAP? UMNO is Saudis current favored flavor. Tomorrow, PAS?Why not put up Malaysian elections to the highest bidder? That would simplify things and remove the charade. It would also be clean and transparent, with the rakyat benefitting from the cash. Do likewise with UMNO elections and distribute the loot to the members. At least they would get something. Right now Najib kebas (swiped) all, with only the crumbs falling to the lesser chiefs. Ordinary members are still waiting for the leftovers, if any.Legend also has it Luqman advised his son to be wary of women with heavy makeup. In todays parlance, those who resort to plastic surgery and anti-ageing potions. They will end up spending everything you have, he cautioned. When Luqman died, his son ignored that advice. He partied and chased women with heavy makeup. Within a year he was bankrupt.If as Najib says that he fears only Allah, then heed His advice as revealed through Lukman Al-Hikmah.I risk flattering Najib and his supporters by mentioning him in the same breath with Luqman Al-Hikmah. Najib Al-Kebas has more in common with Luqmans son. If Malaysians were to be spared the fate that befell Luqmans son, then they ought to get rid of Al-Kebas. Halloween is coming! Here's when to trick or treat in your town lifestyle Vote for love, not war Neither Hillary, nor Trump shows for love, for peace for our future. We, the voters, gotta choose for love, not war. Why? Facts: "When Moammar Gadhafi was killed in the field after the fall of his government she laughed with a reporter: We came, we saw, he died." As for Donald Trump, he is usually equally aggressive in speaking of potential U.S. military actions, "nuke them!" He said many times. Now, what can we do? Lesser of two evils? The third choice? does it exist? You tell me! ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~` With the campaign proper about to begin, on Labor Day, a last August thought, a very simple one: War is terrible. It is my impression our candidates for president dont really know this. They never say it, not in formal speeches or in thinking aloud, in reveries in friendly interviews. I would say of most of Americas political class that they have their heads all screwed up about war, that they approach the subject coolly, as a political and geopolitical matter, and that they see it through prisms of personal political need and ideological gain. They are missing the central fact of itthat it is terrible. Before the election is over it would be good if someone said it. The thought arises most recently from the harrowing photo and videotape of the 5-year-old boy in Aleppo, Syria. You have seen one or both. His name is Omran Daqneesh and he lived with his parents and three siblings in the rebel-held Qaterji neighborhood, which late Wednesday night last week either Russian or Syrian forces targeted in a brutal airstrike. Omran was pulled from the rubble. He was placed on a seat in the back of an ambulance. The left side of his head was covered in blood. His thick dark hair was stiff from smoke and dust. His legs were marked by soot and what looked like bruises. One report said hed been in the rubble an hour before they dug him out. They wouldnt let the ambulance go until it was full. There was room for more children, and they came. But Omran is the one you cant stop watching. He stares mutely, like a shocked old man. Photojournalists make flashes of light as they take his picture. No one hasor takesa moment to call any comfort to him, to the 5-year-old boy as he stares ahead. He cant fully see out of his left eye, which seems damaged. Tentatively, calling no attention to himself, he brings his left hand up to his head and touches around for the wound. He seems to find it, then puts his hand down on his legs, as if not to call attention to his wounds. Watching the videotape, posted on YouTube by an anti-Assad group, you see what is most harrowing. It isnt only his youth, his aloneness, the bloodits that he isnt crying. Children, by nature and instinct, cry when they are infants. But as they grow older, 3 and 4 and 5, crying is sometimes more of a decision. Children who know theyre cared for cry in the expectation that someone will comfort them. If by 3 or 4 you havent had that, or havent had that enoughif circumstances were harsh enough that you couldnt rely on help or comfortthen you might not cry. Because it wont bring the help you need, or may in fact bring negative responses. For all 5 years of his life, Omran Daqneesh lived in a country wracked by civil war, surrounded by the tension, fear and hardship war brings. Anyway, he didnt cry. He was taken to a local underground hospital called M10, treated for head wounds and released. There are reports his older brother has since died. War is terrible. It abuses the innocent and takes their lives, it wastes all kinds of treasure, it kills generations and whole cultures. It strikes me as rather mad that our candidates for commander in chief of the most powerful armed forces in the world dont ever simply think aloud about this. About 18 months ago I asked a potential Republican presidential candidate, in conversation, if he hated war. He got the dart-eyed look politicians get when they sense a trick question. This startled me. How do you not know the answer? After a few seconds I said, This is not a trick question. I explained I was thinking of Franklin D. Roosevelt, who said, I hate war, roughly five years before prosecuting one with unambivalent vigor. The potential candidate then stuttered that of course he doesnt like war, but sometimes its necessary. Well, yes, sometimes it is. But why would you fear stating that war is hell, and hell aint where we want to be? Afterward, and again this week, I went back to FDRs famous speech, delivered at Chautauqua, N.Y., Aug. 14, 193680 years ago this month. He was less cheerful, he admitted, about world events than domestic onesthis at the depth of the Depression. What happens in the world may have an impact on the United States, but we can serve the cause of peace by setting an example and following the policy of the good neighborthe neighbor who resolutely respects himself and, because he does so, respects the rights of others. Because of this practice the whole world now knows that the United States cherishes no predatory ambitions. We are strong; but less powerful nations know that they need not fear our strength. He observed that the noblest monument to peace . . . in all the world is not a monument . . . but the boundary which unites the United States and Canada3,000 miles of friendship. Still, so long as war exists there is danger of being drawn into one. That grieves him, he said, because I have seen war. I have seen war on land and sea. . . . I have seen cities destroyed. . . . I hate war. Its quite a speech, a deep and persuasive exposing of thoughts on the most essential of human and governmental subjects. But what really surprised me on rereading it was that I dont think a Republican or Democratic candidate would feel free to speak like that anymore. Theyd fear being called soft. That isnt good, or even practical. FDR after all was pretty good at waging war. It only made him more powerful, made his decisions more convincing, that hed laid down the predicate that hed never wanted it and in fact hated it. Unless Im missing something neither candidate for president appears to have an informed or deeply felt sense of the tragedy of war. Hillary Clinton was subjected, in the primaries, to sharp criticism from the left that she was too bellicose, was wrong to go all in on Iraq, wrong to support regime change in Libya, wrong to be so temperamentally activist in this area. When Moammar Gadhafi was killed in the field after the fall of his government she laughed with a reporter: We came, we saw, he died. As for Donald Trump, he is usually equally aggressive in speaking of potential U.S. military actions, though its clear he hates war at least for himself. He did not serve and famously told Howard Stern that dodging incoming STDs was his personal Vietnam. Our leaders are shallow on the subject of war. No, worse than shallowtheyre silent. Which is one reason they will likely not be fully trusted should they make rough decisions down the road on Syria, or Iran, or elsewhere. War is terrible. That should be said over and over, not because its a box you ought to check on the way to the presidency but because youre human and have a brain. You should hate war. A 5-year-old knows that. This domain has expired. If you owned this domain, contact your domain registration service provider for further assistance. If you need help identifying your provider, visit https://www.tucowsdomains.com/ He was confirmed at the American Lutheran Church on April 7, 1963 in Adam, and later married Pamela Conkel. He began farming at the age of 11 and did so until May 2016, when he was forced to quit due to his illness. He joined the Adams Volunteer Fire Department in 1975, and served in such capacity until 2010. Edward also served as fire chief of the department for several years. He was elected as a member of the Adams Town Board in 1982, and served in that capacity for several years. He enjoyed hunting and fishing, especially with his sons and grandchildren. He started teaching Hunter Safety Education classes in 1988 and Bow Hunter Safety Education classes in 1994 for the Nebraska Game and Parks Commission, as a volunteer for 25 years. Eds greatest joy in life was spending time with his family. His four grandchildren meant the world to him and he often said, They are what make life worth living. They are my world. He will be greatly missed by all and will forever be cherished and remembered in the hearts of those that love him. The BJP has two choices today. Either make this visit about separatist rejection and let the social media trolls have their day. Or it can recognise that Opposition leaders have taken risks to try and salvage something for Delhi and take the separatist refusal as a sign of deep disaffection, and make a gesture that Kashmiris can relate to. The all-party delegation to Kashmir which included leaders like Sitaram Yechury, D Raja, Sharad Yadav and Asaduddin Owaisi attempted to meet separatist leaders Syed Ali Shah Geelani, Mirwaiz Umar Farooq and Yasin Malik during their ongoing visit to the Valley. The separatists, unsurprisingly, refused to meet them and the debate in television studios and on social media quickly turned into a discussion on why the mainstream leaders should never have tried engaging the leaders in the first place. Policymakers need to understand the method behind the Left-liberal outreach to separatists in the first place. The Left leaders pitched it as a way to hear what the separatists have to say about the current situation. Frankly, those like Yechury, D Raja and Owaisi have been acquainted with Kashmir for years and there is extensive media coverage on Kashmir to be able to discern conditions in the Valley without actually meeting the separatists. What they were essentially doing on behalf of the BJP and the Indian state, which currently has no access to aggrieved Kashmiris, was to check if the separatists had any ideas on the way forward. Yechury and the others will have known in advance (based in part on their 2010 all-party delegation experience) that the separatists would reject the offer, given the extent of bloodshed since July and absence of remorse from the Modi government about the use of excessive force. Analysis| Why remorse must be the first step in Narendra Modis Kashmir policy The opposition leaders had two choices prior to this visit. They could have insisted that the BJP first announce concessions before the visit, about prosecuting those guilty of excessive violence and announcing a roadmap that addresses political questions, like restoring Jammu and Kashmirs autonomy. Or they could have tried to be a part of the separatist outreach to begin with. They have gone through the latter knowing fully well it would fail in the hope that it would offer an opening to the Centre to make substantive announcements. Read| Kashmir unrest due to Delhis refusal to undo wrongs of history: NC The BJP has two choices today. Either make this a visit about separatist rejection and let the social media trolls have their day. Or it can recognise that Opposition leaders have taken risks to try and salvage something for Delhi and take the separatist refusal and the refusal of other political actors like trader associations, lawyers, civil society groups and youth on the street to engage with the Centre as a sign of deep, widespread disaffection, and make a compelling gesture that Kashmiris can relate to. The Centres options in this regard are limited. It has refused to ban pellet guns. It will not relax the use of the Armed Forces Special Powers Act. The BJP has no interest in restoring Jammu and Kashmirs autonomy. It is also yet to firmly indicate that it empathises with Kashmirs suffering, which is paramount now in the minds of those in the Valley. PM Modis messaging and Rajnath Singhs pronouncements on the loss of life in Kashmir have been weak, ambivalent and unconvincing. It is impossible to move ahead if the Centre does not make amends in this regard and get its messaging right on Kashmir. Read| When Azadi slogans greeted leaders of all-party team at Geelanis house (The views expressed are personal. The author tweets at @SushilAaron ) Heres a short take on the sound and images from Srinagar: The Centres invite for talks with stakeholders was in the nature of a public notice; the PDPs letter to separatists a wobbly one-legged outreach and the Oppositions beeline to Hurriyat an overture without the force of mandate. This isnt a defence of the separatists refusal to meet parliamentarians. Its about real politik. The Centre refused to give Hurriyat primacy among stakeholders; the latter set preconditions that New Delhi demilitarise and accept Kashmir as a dispute for dialogue to open. Even before the all-party delegation set foot in Srinagar, it was obvious that neither the separatists nor the parties in power at the Centre and in the state were inclined to spare each other a face-saver. The scorched earth positioning obviated all chances of a thaw, leave alone a breakthrough. Caught in the cleft stick was the Opposition rump that tried reaching out to the separatists. The CPM, CPI, RJD, JD(U) and the AIMIMs valiant bid was a non-starter. One reason for that was their lack of legislative presence in the Valleyunlike the PDP, BJP, Congress and the NC who didnt go knocking at Hurriyats doors. In some parts it seemed a photo-op. The result of the half-hearted exercise could be deeper distrust of the Centre and the coalition in power in the state. Mehbooba Muftis missive to Hurriyat, not as chief minister but as PDP chief, exposed a debilitating hiatus over the coalitions agenda for governance that is unequivocal about talks with Hurriyat and Pakistan. The chasm was evident as much in Rajnath Singhs cryptic replies to questions on Mehboobas letter and discussing Kashmir with Pakistan. Yes, Im aware of such a letter, he remarked. The home minister termed Kashmir an internal matter and was laconic as much on Pakistan: Im speaking to my countrymen. No need to drag in outsiders. On the positive side, the Centre has, albeit indirectly, accepted Hurriyat as a stakeholder. That should help when another effort is made to start a dialogue, said Rajiv Vora of the Swaraj Peeth Trust that has been active in the Valley. The BJP might perceive the Hurriyat as evil.but its a necessary evil. Theres no escape from it in todays Kashmir, noted another pro-talks Kashmir watcher. He felt the Centres decision to abandon pellet guns should be followed up with the release of separatists. To reduce tension, the Centre should make suo motu announcements for compensation and high-end medical care for pellet gun victims and the families of dead. The reality is that theres less support in the Valley for talks with the Centre. Conversely, separatists are a red rag among the middle classes of northern and western India who mostly support the party. Its a gingerly walk ahead amid pitfalls and political landmines. Neither side can afford to blink without a good bargain. For conflicting reasons, Kashmirs the raison detre of both. The writer is Political Editor, Hindustan Times. Democracy expects openness and openness is concomitant of a free society. Sunlight is the best disinfectant, the Supreme Court said in 1997 in Dinesh Trivedi versus Union of India. In the Union of India versus Association for Democratic Reforms (2002) and Peoples Union for Civil Liberties versus Union of India (2003) two landmark cases the Supreme Court ordered that candidates contesting elections must declare their assets, liabilities, educational qualifications and criminal record if any at the time of filing nomination papers. Having advocated transparency for others, the Supreme Court cant really shun this yardstick in its own matters. Read | Chief Justice to look into issue of opaque system of judges appointment Justice J Chelameswars refusal to participate in meetings of the Supreme Court collegium, citing lack of transparency, is quite in tune with the courts own pronouncements on transparency in the last few decades. After all, Justice Chelameswar has only asked for openness in the appointment of judges, demanding that the process be transparent at every stage, in a letter addressed to Chief Justice of India TS Thakur last week. He sought recording of reasons for rejecting or recommending a candidate for appointment as judge. Under the collegium system created by a judicial order in 1993, the chief justice along with other senior judges of the Supreme Court appoint judges to the top court as well as high courts. It is also responsible for transferring high court judges. Read | Revolt in SC collegium: Senior judge boycotts meet over lack of transparency The collegium system has long been dubbed as an extra-constitutional system under which judges appoint judges. The process is shrouded in secrecy. Former Union law minister HR Bhardwaj had described it as a judicial appointment system based on give and take between the judiciary and government. Justice Chelameswar who has also objected to some recent transfers expressed his unwillingness to attend the meetings as no record of the discussion among the top five judges in the collegium was maintained. No purpose would be served in attending such meetings. Certainly, there is merit in his suggestion that the collegiums agenda should be circulated to members in advance. Notably, Justice Chelameswar was the lone dissenting judge in the five-judge constitution bench that in October last struck down the National Judicial Appointments Commission (NJAC), which gave some say to the executive in judges appointment. He, however, had signed the unanimous order requiring the government to make changes in the Memorandum of Procedure (MoP) in consultation with collegium laying down fresh guidelines for judges appointments. Read | Centre mulls screening panel to assist SC collegium in judges appointment But there is a stalemate on the issue of MoP as the government and collegium have failed to reach a consensus on the contentious issue. There are allegations that the government wants to add certain clauses that can potentially impinge judicial independence the ground that was used to strike down NJAC. But what is equally true is the collegiums reluctance to introduce transparency in its functioning in terms of the December 16, 2015 constitution bench verdict. Judiciary as an institution is facing a crisis of credibility which is a challenge from within. We have great challenges in future and we need to get ready to meet those challenges. Judiciary as an institution, as we all know, is always under public gaze and has challenges not only from within but from outside also. Challenges from outside do not disturb us so much. We all face them well but we need to look after and what need to be aware of are challenges from within, said CJI Thakur at a function in March to celebrate 150th anniversary of the Allahabad High Court. and when I speak about challenges from within I am referring to the crisis of credibility that we face in the country today. Judges need to be conscientious of in their discharge of duties, punctuality, judicial retribute and effort to do the best is what is the need of the hour, Justice Thakur had said. Ideally, the Supreme Court should have given a chance to the NJAC which was a sort of expanded the collegium with the participation of two eminent persons and the law minister. But now that the collegium system has been revived, the top court is duty-bound to make it transparent as per the December 16, 2015 constitution bench verdict. Reluctance to follow the path of transparency can seriously erode its hard-earned credibility as an institution. Author tweets at @satyastp_satya Sri Lanka was certified malaria-free by the World Health Organisation at its 69th Regional Committee session in Colombo, making it the second country in the region, after Maldives, to be free of the parasitic infection spread by the anopheles mosquito. The last locally-transmitted case of malaria in Sri Lanka was in October 2012, shows data from the Sri Lankan Anti-Malarial Campaign (AMC), which launched an intensive campaign that brought down malaria from 264,549 cases in 1999 to zero in November 2012. Malaria has been rampant in tropical countries in Asia and Africa for centuries. Its symptoms, including fever, headache, chills and vomiting, appear between 10 and 15 days after the mosquito bite. Without prompt treatment, it can also lead to death. Read | Sri Lanka certified malaria free: How country won war against the disease Despite free and rapid diagnostic tests and anti-malarial drugs being provided to all states in India, more than 47,000 malaria cases and 119 deaths have been recorded till July 1 this year. In 2015, malaria infected more than 112,000 and killed 287. Sri Lanka has fought a long and hard battle against malaria. After a devastating epidemic in 1935, when malaria infected 1.5 million and killed 80,000 in the country, intensive malaria-control measures started in the 40s and 50s brought down cases to 17 in 1963. This, however, led to the government shifting funds and focus to other public health emergencies, which led to a sharp malaria resurgence to over half a million cases in 1969. Sri Lanka used conventional malaria control measures and some more. Apart from indoor residual spraying and larvae control, regular surveys of mosquitoes and larvae in endemic areas was done to monitor insecticide resistance. Case detection was increased through blood film testing (parasitological surveillance) to stop the spread of the parasite. Read | Mutating parasite may foil Indias plans to be malaria free by 2030 Real-time web-based surveillance was used to test all fever cases of malaria and each case was notified with the AMC. People with a travel history to countries with malaria transmission were closely tracked for symptoms. To ensure not a single case was missed, anti-malarial medicines were only available with the AMC, which forced the private sector to register all cases. Once malaria cases fell sharply, it was no longer profitable for the private sector to stock anti-malarial medicines. A major shift was the change from vector-control (mosquito control) to parasite control strategies to contain the infection. From 1999 onwards, cases have steadily declined, and by 2008, less than 1,000 cases were being reported per year. The war is far from over as the threat of re-infection from travellers to and from Asia and Africa is still very real. Sri Lanka has now installed surveillance systems, made multi-sector engagements, rapid follow-up and treatment a critical part of the programme. The target is to stop the spread of isolated infections. Read | India aims for total malaria elimination after dip in deaths The WHOs Global Technical Strategy for Malaria, adopted by the World Health Assembly in 2015, sets the target of reducing global malaria cases and deaths by at least 90% by 2030. For India to meet this target, it needs to heavily borrow from Sri Lankas public health policy that provide universal health coverage to all. And, like Sri Lanka, not lose focus on goals when programmes are on track. SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON The modernity of Czech author Franz Kafkas writing has fascinated generations. Now, a city-based theatre group, The Phoenix Players, is set to premiere a play, Upsidedownside, which is based on Kafkas selected works, including short stories such as Investigations Of A Dog and A Report To An Academy, and the novella The Metamorphosis. The shows will be staged on September 8 and 9 at Prithvi Theatre, Juhu. The play has been directed by theatre veteran Salim Ghouse. When asked why he decided to adapt Kafkas works, Ghouse says, I grew up reading Kafka. The kind of alienation he talks about in his stories is interesting, and has been an essential part of our growth. Kafka was, in a way, the precursor to the Theatre of the Absurd, which came about after World War II when everybody thought humanity had gone for a toss. Kafka wrote about mans disenchantment with life, and that is the focal point of our play. Watch an excerpt of Salim Ghouses earlier work: TROUBADOUR : A Collage on Film from The Phoenix Players on Vimeo. The 70-minute act features theatre actors Aaryama Salim and KC Shankar. Talking about how his association with the writer began, Ghouse reminisces, In 2007, when I first performed at the Prague Fringe Festival, I visited the Franz Kafka Museum, in Prague (Czech Republic). I was standing there, and reading a little newspaper clipping. Kafkas parents had written to the editor of a paper that their son had passed away. He died very young, just like American writer Edgar Allan Poe. The day he passed away was June 3. I was standing in the museum on that same date. Thats when I decided to delve deeper into his works. Ghouse claims that the play aims to define the word Kafkaesque in the present-day context. The easiest explanation of the word Kafkaesque is this: the world out of sync. Few people actually read or think. They are not open to any point of view. Anybody who has a different point of view is looked down upon, and is called offensive names. A man gets lynched by a mob in the Muzaffarnagar district of Uttar Pradesh. The cops, instead of trying to find out who killed the man, try to look for what meat was in his house. Incidents like these are beyond Kafkaesque. Everything is upside down, and no one is aware of it, he says. An excerpt from Ghouses play Shakespearewallah: SHAKESPEAREWALLAH from The Phoenix Players on Vimeo. Ghouse pairs Kafkas absurdism and existentialism with dark humour, and with a keen insight into modern society. Without giving away anything from the plot, he adds, The play will follow the journey of Gregor Samsa, the protagonist in The Metamorphosis, who wakes up to discover that he has transformed into a giant insect, and much more. Humour is a rarity today. But it is also the acme of intelligence. So, theres a lot of black humour with a subtle message for the audience. SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON Sanam Re actor Pulkit Samrat threatened that he will delete his Twitter account after a big rant against reports related to his personal life on Sunday. The account, however, still exists. The 32-year-old has lately been in news for his separation from wife Shweta Rohira and his rumoured closeness to actress Yami Gautam. Pulkit and Shweta in happier times. I care a DAMN! D A M N samjhe! DAMN. The day we stop entertaining we are strong else we are weak. No more tweets! Am done! Thank you for all your love and support. This virtual world was good but not good enough! he wrote in his final post. Reports of Pulkit and Yamis romance surfaced while they were shooting for Divya Khosla Kumars, Sanam Re. The pair went on to star together in Junooniyat again. Pulkit and Yami in a still from Junooniyat. Both the actors have maintained their silence on the relationship status, but Pulkits estranged wife, Salman Khans rakhi sister, claimed in the past that the reason of their separation was his closeness with Yami. Pulkit and Shweta tied the knot in 2014 and parted ways next year. Follow @htshowbiz for more On Ganesh Chaturthi on Monday, we talk to a few Bollywood stars who have been celebrating the festival over the years. Read: Shalmali Kholgade has a problem with high volume music at Ganpati pandals Shilpa Shettty Kundra I will continue the practice of getting Ganpati home for as long as I can. Im a huge believer in Lalbag Ka Raja.So I get a miniature version of Him at home. My mom has always been obsessed with Ganpati idols. As kids, we would visit all the big pandals at night. My parents would take us to at least five pandals. We looked forward to eating the modaks. Actress Shilpa Shetty was seen at Juhu during Ganesh Visarjan - Freelance Photo by Yogen Shah (Yogen Shah) Raveena Tandon I started bringing Ganpatiji home from the year when my son was born. It means a lot to me. All these years The name of Ganesha is auspicious for every new beginning. He has certainly been lucky for me. We stopped immersing the idol long ago. Instead we bathe Him symbolically and do the traditional aarti. Raveena doesnt immerse the Ganesh idol. Sonu Sood Ive been bringing Ganpati idol home for over 15 years. I started doing this ever since I landed in Mumbai from Moga, Punjab, to pursue a career in acting. Ganesha will help me achieve my goals faster. Sonu Sood has been celebrating Ganesh Chaturthi for over 15 years now. Read: Ganesh mandals want jetty, boats at Girgaum Chowpatty for idol immersion Sanjay Leela Bhansali This is the festive season that I love the most. Every year we bring Ganpati home. During that time my otherwise-secluded home is thrown open for guests. Sanjay Leela Bhansali entertains a lot of guests at his house during Ganesh Chaturthi Juhi Chawla We celebrate Ganesh Mohotsava every year. But only on the first day. Every year we have a pooja and havan at home. Our panditjis come home to conduct the poojas. And the entire family participates. But we dont bring an idol home. Actor - Juhi Chawla organises a havan at her home. For actor Tannishtha Chatterjee, who is known for her roles in offbeat Indian and foreign projects, would also consider working in Bollywood. At the Lonavla International Film Festival India (LIFFI), where two of her films -- Rough Book and the recently released UnIndian are being screened -- Tannishtha spoke about her projects and plans in a question and answer session. Read: Island city review by Sarit Ray: Step inside the Matrix When asked why she has not done a typical Bollywood film yet, she said Its just that when I started, I got work and I kept doing that work. Perhaps, I also didnt go and ask people for work. A lot of times I was travelling or didnt have dates... But its not like Bollywood will not happen. It might happen with roles that I can do justice to as an actor and with roles that do justice to my acting. Having worked in films like Brick Lane, Road, Movie, Dekhi Indian Circus, Anna Karenina, Gulab Gang, Angry Indian Goddesses and more, she says she has seen exciting times in her career with different roles in movies of varied genres. Read: UnIndian: I wasnt a Brett Lee fan, says Tannishtha Ive worked in British, French, American films, Hindi films and Marathi too...Now I also have a biopic in hand. So, its great, said the acclaimed actor, whos upcoming film is a biopic on the first woman doctor in the country, Dr Rakhmabai. Read: Radhika Aptes controversial movie Parched to release on Sept 23 After UnIndian and Island City, Tannishtha will be next seen in Parched, co-starring Radhika Apte. Presenting PARCHED...18Awards, 24 Intl. film festivals across continents. Releasing 23rd Sep Trailer on 9th Sep. pic.twitter.com/tsxiU778qE Ajay Devgn (@ajaydevgn) September 4, 2016 Follow @htshowbiz for more Ganesh Chaturthi, or what is commonly called Ganpati in Maharashtra, is a festival that is celebrated across the nation. But the passion and fervour with which the annual event is observed in Mumbai is unmatched. When Sushant Singh Rajput moved to the city around a decade back, he, too, was taken aback by the intensity of the celebrations in Mumbai. As Ganesh Chaturthi starts today (September 5), Hindustan Times catches up with the Bollywood actor for an exclusive photo shoot and a quick chat. Read: I never had a godfather, saysSushant Singh Rajput What are your earliest memories of Ganesh Chaturthi, especially since you moved to Mumbai? I saw the processions for the first time around 10 years back. I had an idea of how it was going to be because of the Bollywood films I had seen (smiles). But watching it happen in front of my eyes was surreal, especially the visarjan. There is a lot of passion and happiness on the streets, and it really is infectious. Would you call yourself a religious person? I am more spiritual than religious. But, at the same time, it cant be denied that my religion has conditioned my life strongly. For Sushant Singh Rajput, lord Ganesha symbolises prosperity and success. (Satish Bate/HT Photo) Since you dont belong to Maharashtra, were you surprised by the fervour with which the festival is celebrated? Yes, I was surprised to see the passion and love [people have] for Ganpati. I had seen Durga Puja celebrations before, so I had a slight idea of how passionate it could be. But nothing comes close to Ganpati celebrations. What does this festival mean to you? It signifies many things. Every time you seek blessings, especially when you start something new, you pray to the lord. Ganpati symbolises prosperity and success. However, now that I live in Mumbai, the festival also signifies heavy rains and a lot of traffic (laughs). Sushant Singh Rajput says that since a lot of his friends are having Ganpati at their places so he would probably visit them. (Satish Bate/HT Photo) Is the festival more special for you as your movie is releasing this month? Absolutely, the release of my most important film in the same month could only be a good sign. I pray to Lord Ganesha that during this festive season, the reel Dhoni, too, hits a century and wins everyones hearts. Read: Sushant Singh Rajputs ode to MS Dhoni in new song Besabriyan How do you plan to celebrate the festival this year? A lot of my friends will be bringing Ganpati home, so I will probably visit them. It is a great way to catch up with them. I visit different pandals every year. This year too, I will visit Lalbaugcha Raja and other places across the city. A friends mother prepares amazing modaks. I am patiently waiting for those (smiles). SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON I never was a huge Rekha fan. She wasnt high up in the pecking order of Bollywood stars for a child of the 1980s. But I am intrigued, even moved, by her: Rekha seems wracked by loneliness and sadness, but it wasnt always this way. Something drastic happened around 1990 that fundamentally changed her. Rekha went from being the Kim Kardashian of the 1970s and 80s attention-seeking, exuberant and sexually frank to a degree not seen in India even today to a Greta Garbo-esqe figure, tragic and reclusive. So what happened to make Rekha clam up? The exhaustion, and the trauma, of years of combating vicious sexist attacks by colleagues in the film industry and the press, at a scale unimaginable today, had finally caught up with her. Had Bollywood ultimately managed to break Rekha? It all started when she was born in 1954. Bhanurekha was the illegitimate and unacknowledged daughter of the polygamous Tamil film star Gemini Ganesan. She was unrelentingly teased in school as a lotta, Tamil for bastard. Such cruelty was to be her fate for years to come. When she was pulled out of school and hustled into films in her early teens she was even beaten by her brother when she refused Rekha discovered that acting came with a generous dose of sexual harassment. And when she moved from Madras to Bombay in 1969 to support her bankrupt mother, Rekha was jeopardized by the absence of a father or a godfather. In the male-dominated world of Bollywood, this gave licence to lecherous directors and producers. In her own words, It was one of the most frightening phases of my life Guys did try and take advantage of my vulnerability. Gold Spot advertisement (1969). Before any of Rekhas Bollywood films were out, she modelled for ads to earn extra money. This one was shot by Shyam Benegal. (Shyam Benegal; source: Shahid Mansoori) Perhaps the most egregious example of the harassment assault, really that Rekha had to endure took place on a film set when she was fourteen. At a shoot for Anjana Safar, later renamed Do Shikari, producer Kuljeet Pal, director Raja Nawathe and lead actor Biswajeet conspired to force Rekha into a kissing scene. When the director called action, Biswajeet grabbed Rekha and forced himself on her while the camera was rolling. The director didnt call cut for five long minutes. Rekha couldnt protest for fear of the consequences; and rather than being damned and proceeded against by the law, the producer was celebrated for the discovery of a bold sex kitten, that most obnoxious of phrases. If this wasnt outrageous enough, consider the harrowing body-shaming Rekha was subjected to. Her 33-inch waist was a source of mirth and much commented on, as was the colour of her skin. For instance, when Kuljeet Pal cast Rekha for his film, the actor Raaj Kumar, of Mother India and Waqt fame, reportedly remarked to the Nairobi-based Pal, Youre from Africa. No wonder you like black girls! Similarly, when Navin Nischol found out that Rekha had been signed as his co-star for Sawan Bhadon, he complained to the producer: From where did you pick out this namoona [character]? Itni kaali-kalooti [So dark and ugly]! Even the great Shashi Kapoor, who was later a good friend to Rekha, harshly remarked at the premier of one of her early films, How is this dark, plump and gauche actress ever going to make it? Poster of Ram Balram (1980). Starring both Rekha and Amitabh, the film didnt do well and marked a low point in Amitabhs career. The press had begun to write him off. That Rekha seems lost in public memory; she underwent a dramatic makeover and weight-loss in the years after she met Amitabh Bachchan. But during those days of humiliation, Rekha put up a brave front. She withstood the shaming and ridicule, and even the demeaning body-painting to make her skin lighter in films. She later said that though she felt deeply hurt at the time, it also steeled her resolve to make it big. Indeed, Rekha was irrepressible. And this, perhaps, unsettled people even more. How dare she be so unaffected? Rekhas sexual openness, too, was revolutionary, even by modern standards, and won her yet more ire. It is impossible to imagine a young starlet today saying some of the things Rekha said four decades ago: You cant come close, really close, to a man without making love, It is sheer fluke that I have never got pregnant so far and Premarital sex is very natural. And all those prudes who say that a single woman should have sex only on her suhaag raat are talking bull! Rekha was totally open about being sexual and about her boyfriends. But the backlash for her candour and sexual independence was immense, and painful. Read more: Aditya Roy Kapur better actor after working with Rekha for 3 days Rekhas reported first marriage to Vinod Mehra in the early 70s ended and the humiliating details were splashed all over the press with a violent confrontation with her mother-in-law on the landing outside Vinods apartment, before Rekha could even cross the threshold. Mrs Mehra, in Rekhas words, couldnt stand her rotten past and reputation for being a sex maniac. In typically sexist style, the film industry and the press repeatedly singled out Rekha and maligned her, never her partners, for her supposed relationships. After reports of affairs with Jeetendra, Dharmendra, Sunil Dutt and Amitabh Bachchan, among others, Rekha was projected as a woman who posed a threat to the happiness of married couples in Bollywood. The press uninventively called her a man eater and a nymphomaniac. Even someone of Nargis Dutts stature unwisely pitched in: She gives the impression to men that she is easily available... Ive worked with a lot of children with a lot of psychological problems in my time. Shes lost. She needs a strong man. Dimple Kapadia was pithy and direct: Stay away from my husband, she said, as if her husband Rajesh Khanna had no agency in the matter. Even with no one seemingly on her side, Rekha went on to become a superstar, and the highest paid actress of her time. Rekha and Mukesh Agarwal at their friend Neeraj Kumars house in Delhi in 1990. Mukesh was a businessman who was known to mount an enormous stallion to receive guests at his farmhouse in Delhi. To everybodys shock, Rekha married Mukesh on 4 March 1990 in Bombay. (Mala Kumar) But perhaps the most devastating blow, the proverbial last straw, was the reaction to the suicide, in 1990, of Mukesh Agarwal, Rekhas estranged husband of a few months who had been clinically depressed for years. In spite of Rekha having worked in Bollywood for two decades by that time, Shashi Kapoor was the only industry insider who condoled with her. The rest were either coldly silent or nastily and baselessly blamed Rekha for the suicide. Subhash Ghai railed: Rekha has put such a blot on the face of the film industry... No conscientious director will work with her ever again. A prominent male co-star thundered: Shes become the national vamp. Professionally and personally, I think its curtains for her. I mean I dont know how will I react to her if I come face to face with her. Film magazines tried to implicate Rekha using flimsy and unverified trivia like that Mukesh hanged himself using her dupatta, and ran irresponsible and scurrilous headlines like The Black Widow and How Rekha drove Mukesh to Attempt Suicide. Her film that was playing at that time, Sheshnaag, was boycotted, and vandals blackened her face on its posters. Author Yasser Usman (Picture courtesy the author) Watch: An interview with Yasser Usman on Rekhas life and times Rekha, understandably, withdrew deep into a shell after this witch-hunt. And who could blame her? Her shocking story seems without parallel. Bollywood just couldnt stomach the idea of an outspoken, sexually independent and successful woman. And so they chipped away at her till she clammed up and became the recluse we know today. Order was restored once again: that troublesome and vulgar woman was nowhere to be seen. Rekha had finally been subdued and broken. Robert V. Plank, 85, of Redlands, Calif. passed away Aug. 21, 2016 at his home. His parents were Rexford and Caroline Plank of Beatrice. He was preceded in death by his brother, Clarence Plank, his first wife Suzanne Plank and sister-in-law Betty Kampfe. He graduated from high school in Beatrice in 1949 and furthered his education at the Naval Academy, Annapolis, M.D., graduating in 1953. This was followed by a career in the Air Force. He served in Vietnam from 1971-72, and had assignments at Wright-Patterson, Chanute, Moffett, Holloman, Norton Air Force Bases and retired from Vanderberg Air Force Base and returned to Redlands to live and work for TRW in the Ballistic Missiles Division. He earned a master's degree from Stanford in engineering and was a member San Bernardino Masonic Lodge, a 50-year member of Nebraska Masonic Lodge, Scottish Rite 33 degree, National Sojourners, Al Malaikah Shrine Club and several engineering organizations. He is survived by his wife, Nancy-Gould Plank, daughter Barbara Long and husband Charles from Boulder City, Nev., granddaughters Shannon and Kaitlyn of Henderson, Nev. a niece Peggy Hesse and husband Jim of Virginia and a grandniece and grandnephew along with great grandchildren. He will be missed by those lives he touched and whose lives touched him. Services are in California on Sept. 9, 2016 11 a.m. at Emmerson Bartlett Memorial Chapel followed by military interment at Riverside National Cemetery at 1 p.m. Twenty years ago, when a team of researchers announced the birth of Dolly the sheep, the first biologically cloned mammal, cloning was a word found only in the dictionary. Dolly had a short life six years, from 1997-2003. She is currently housed in the National Museum of Edinburgh as a testament to Scotlands scientific achievements. But what lingered on was cloning, which has since crossed its biological boundaries to step into the virtual world under a new name cyber theft. The World Wide Web has come a long way since it was opened up to the public 25 years ago. However, somewhere, it is still in its infancy. With the introduction of new technologies, innovation has outpaced security. Facebook, Twitter and other social media and chat applications are the biggest phishing grounds. In most cases, your profile picture and publicly available information is stolen, and used later to hack financial data, morph pictures to distribute pornographic content, and to carry out terrorism activities. Delhi-based homemaker Tavishi Trivedi is one such victim of a Facebook scam. Her profile pictures were copied and used to create a cloned account to befriend people. I do not know who did this and for what purpose, but I warned all my friends about the cloned account, says Trivedi. For Sangita Sen, a private tutor in Ranchi, a fake Facebook account of a dear friend based in the UK cost her 7,00,000. The fake profile chatted with Sen for over a month, before sending her a box of valuables, for which Sen had to pay taxes and courier fees. Soon enough, Sen started getting calls from a fake RBI official in Hyderabad. She transferred the money to him. In 2012, the worlds largest social networking company, Facebook, revealed around 83 million fake profiles. Eventually, it put in place the real-name policy, which doesnt allow anyone to create a profile without revealing real names and identities. But still, the cloned profiles are growing, making India one of the top destinations for cyber attacks, according to the National Investigation Agency (NIA). Every sixth social media user in India is a victim of online fraud, and 16% of online frauds are social media scams, says Alok Mittal, inspector general at NIA. According to data from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), 11,997 cases related to ATM, credit and debit cards as well as Net banking frauds were reported by banks in 2015-16. If one takes into account the number of unreported cases as well, the actual numbers will be quite higher. Cyber crimes, including phishing, scanning and malicious code, rose 20% last year, compared to 2014, and a 2,400% increase over the last decade, the recent report from the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) show. New social media users are more prone to scams. Palak Kaur, a college student from Chandigarh, started accepting friend requests on Facebook because she thought she was popular, but was soon alarmed to see unwarranted posts on her timeline. I was taken aback I tried resetting my password, but it didnt help, says Kaur, who finally shut down the account. According to NIAs Mittal, most people ignore such incidents since these cloned accounts look ordinary and harmless. These accounts can be used by perpetrators for nefarious activities. Social media is the most potent weapon in the hands of terrorists. Facebook, however, remains defensive on fake profiles. Our authentic name policy is designed to create a safe space for people... That makes it difficult for terrorist organisations to hide behind fake profiles, or for anyone else to use an anonymous name to bully, scam or engage in criminal behaviour, says a Facebook spokesperson. And its not only in India. In January, the Obama administration sent top US officials, including White House chief of staff Denis McDonough and secretary of homeland security Jeh Johnson, to a summit to woo top Silicon Valley companies, such as Apple, Google, Facebook and Twitter, to join the fight against terrorism. In another instance, cyber thieves recently who pulled off one of the biggest robberies in history when they raided the Bangladesh central bank in February. The hackers sent 35 fake orders from Bangladesh Bank via Swift, the financial transaction system that has about 11,000 banks worldwide as its customers, to the central banks account at the Federal Reserve in New York. The transfers totalled $951 million, but the thieves managed to get away with $81 million by sending money in four tranches to different accounts in the Philippines. In February, Twitter said that it had shut down 125,000 Salafi jihadist militant group ISIS-related accounts. ISIS later developed an app called Alrawi for its communication, after being kicked out of platforms, including WhatsApp, Telegram and Twitter. It is a cat and mouse game the pressure to introduce new products by technology companies are so high that bugs come in, says Sanchit Vir Gogia, chief analyst and chief executive of Greyhound Research. Its easier to take a Facebook profile picture and morph over a nude picture It is more prevalent on the mobile. Meanwhile, Facebook has built automated systems over the years, which use machine learning and other scientific techniques to address scams, spam, phishing and malicious accounts, including profiles that might be impersonating someone else. When a fake account is reported, Facebook runs its automated system against the reported account. It also asks the person to confirm her identity as the true account owner within a specified time period through one of the several methods, including registering and confirming the mobile phone number. If the person cant do this or doesnt respond, the account is disabled, the company spokesperson said. Meanwhile, down south, Christow Saji, administrator and lead of Kerala Cyber Warrios is helping netizens deal with social media and internet scams. Recently, he helped three social media scam victims, between 18 and 25 Dheeraj Chandramohan, Atul Chandran and Jit Thomas to recover their accounts. They were troubled deeply when their social media profiles were compromised, says Saji. The cost of cyber crime globally will top $6 tn annually by 2021, from $3 tn in 2015, according to a report by research firm Cybersecurity Ventures An EU ruling that Apple Inc must pay a huge tax bill to Ireland was clearly based on facts and existing rules and was not a decision aimed against the United States, European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker said on Sunday. Last week, European Union antitrust regulators ordered Apple to pay up to 13 billion euros ($14.5 billion) in taxes to the Irish government after ruling that a special scheme to route profits through Ireland was illegal state aid. Apples Chief Executive Tim Cook last week described the ruling as total political crap, but France and Germany have come out to back Brussels on the decision. Juncker said EU Commission investigations on taxation had mainly targeted European companies. Read more: EU hits Apple with $14.5 billion tax bill. But what is this tax? The decision comes amidst a coordinated global initiative to crack down on tax evasion by multinational companies, spearheaded by the Paris-based Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). The ruling against Apple has pushed the issue into the limelight and raised the risk of significant push-back from the United States, analysts say, where some lawmakers are saying the result represents a European encroachment on the U.S. potential tax base. In separate comments to Reuters on the sidelines of the G20 on Saturday, Pascal Saint-Amans, director of the OECD Center for Tax Policy and Administration, called Apples tax planning outrageous but, like Juncker, said the decision was based on enforcing current regulations. Saint-Amans said he believed it would be unlikely to serve as a precedent for enforcement on future income earned by multinationals. Read more: EU orders Apple to pay record 13 bn euros over Irish tax deal Junckers remarks appeared designed to reassure U.S. lawmakers, who have bickered for years over the treatment of off-shore income but now fear that the European Commission move would mean more profits earned by U.S. corporations flowing into European tax coffers. This is not a decision against the United States of America, said Juncker. ($1 = 0.8966 euros) Is the hoopla around student-entrepreneurs passe? Business school graduates are moving away from entrepreneurship. Spiraling concerns over the risks related to launching ones own venture, tough questions from investors and increasing entry barriers in the market are probably holding back students from trying their entrepreneurial skills. Data from the leading business schools, including the Indian Institutes of Management (IIM), the Indian School of Business (ISB), IMT Ghaziabad and IMT Dubai show the number of students picking entrepreneurship has declined in last two years. Colleges including Xavier School of Management (XLRI) and IIM Bangalore denied sharing the data. At IIM Ahmadabad, in 2013, only five students from the batch of 373 opted for entrepreneurship. This increased phenomenally to 13 students from the batch of 388 in 2014. Last year, it fell marginally to 11 students out of 377 opting for entrepreneurship. This year, however, the number plunged to eight from the batch of 383 students. Similarly, at ISB Hyderabad, 33 students out of 767 opted for entrepreneurship in 2013. The number fell to 15 last year and further to seven this year in the batch of 812 students. Other business schools show a similar trend. Colleges did not offer insights on the trend. The IIM-A said its spokesperson is traveling and unavailable for comments, and ISB sited similar reasons. However, the colleges explained that students opting for entrepreneurship depends largely on their business idea materialising. It is generally observed that if the entire business plan pans out well and the business is able to garner funding to launch its products, students opt out of the campus placement process to start their own businesses. But if the business plan needs more planning or research (like availability of funds, shape of the idea), students generally opt for campus placements only to defer launching their entrepreneurial venture, said Vishal Goyal, group head, IMT Ghaziabad and Dubai. The dearth of funding avenues might push students to sit for placements rather than to opt for their own ventures. A research by India Ratings and Research (Ind-Ra) says startups, specifically e-tailers, have had les luck this year, with muted deals during January to April. After the brouhaha, investors are now looking for companies with a robust and proven unit economics which might prevent new entrepreneurs from entering the market easily. Capitalists are now asking tough questions on spending and valuations. Investors want details of every penny the firm spends. Deals will take longer to close because of the increased scrutiny now, and probably half of them will get cancelled. This will definitely make the aspiring entrepreneurs shy, said Vinod Murali, managing director of Innoven Capital. The Ind-Ra report cited above estimated that funding by private equity firms has slowed down, which would result in higher entry barriers. Established players will enjoy the first-mover advantage as they have limited operating expenses compared to the large capital expenditure that new entrants in the e-commerce space will need. Moreover, headhunters said the dip is also because several start-up failures have made headlines in the last one year. About 18 start-ups have shut shop in the first half of this year. These include several familiar names such as Tiny Owl, Fashionara, PepperTap, Intelligent Interfaces and Delivree King. It started with a hoopla, but the saturation point has come after the stories of failed start-ups made headlines in the last two years. The high-risk-high-gain image of start-ups has been dented and now it is more about just high risk, as we havent seen new unicorns like Ola and Flipkart coming up in the last two years, said Kamal Karanth, MD at US-based staffing firm Kelly Services. The year 2015 saw the launch of three to four start-ups a day, which helped India secure the third position in the world in the number of startups with more than 4,200. This year, Indias largest e-commerce company, Flipkart, took another devaluation blow, its fifth in a series of investor write-downs, and the second by Morgan Stanley. The only exception to the trend of fewer students opting for entrepreneurship was the Delhi-based Faculty of Management Studies, whose data showed a rise in students turning entrepreneurship. SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON Reliance Jio SIM cards are now available across retail outlets Xpress, Xpress Mini stores and Reliance Digital stores. As consumers queue up, HT tells you how to avail the service (which offers free voice calling and data roaming, among others), and get your hand on a working SIM card. How to get the SIM? Initially they are available only at Reliance outlets. Visit one of them, but be prepared to spend a little more than 15 minutes promised by Reliance, it can take up a considerable part of your day. What documents do you need? If you want the SIM to be activated immediately, carry a Aadhaar from the same state the store is in. If your Aadhaar is from a different state, then you will have to go through the normal activation process, which will at least take two-three days. Other documents, which you can give include driving licences, PAN card, voter ID card, along with two photographs. The SIM activation will be delayed in such cases as well. You can use your e-Aadhaar card as well (at least officially) Activating the card on your own After you receive the SIM card, you will be prompted to follow the steps sent by the company to your registered email address. Since the activation and billing process is entirely online, you will get the receipts through email and SMS. The company will tele-verify your phone number to complete the entire activation and verification process. VoLTE activation To activate VoLTE, the way you make voice calls on the RelJio network, youll need to call 1977. Tele-verification process will be carried out on the same call. Keep your Jio SIM purchase bill and other documents handy. Whats in an e-aadhaar? A lot it seems Officially, an e-Aadhaar can help you get a RelJio SIM. But unofficially the picture looks different, at least initially When an HT reporter went to a Reliance Digital Xpress store, posing as a customer with a print out of her e-Aadhaar card, she was not allowed to enter. When asked for a clarification, a store operator said: The machine is not accepting the e-Aadhaar card. You can go to any other store. You can go to V3S Mall. You will get a connection from there with your e-Aadhaar Card. Another store operator confirmed that there are four systems at V3S Mall in east Delhi and it might be easy to get a SIM card there with the e-Aadhaar card. But there was no clarity on how many days it would take for the SIM to get activated, if one applies with an e-Aadhaar, and is not a resident of the same city. NEW DELHI: A 20-year-old woman was attacked with a knife allegedly by a youth who had been stalking her for past some months. The crime took place on Saturday at a crowded market in outer Delhis Budh Vihar. The attacker managed to flee the crime scene but was later caught and booked under relevant sections of IPC. The youth told the police that he was angry with the woman as she had been rejecting his love proposals. Police said the stalker earlier lived at the womans house as a tenant. He was evicted from the house after the family learnt that he had been following and sexually harassing their daughter. They had also filed a molestation case against him after which police arrested him. He was sent to jail from where he was later released on bail. On Saturday, the woman was walking towards a nearby market with her sister when the youth arrived on a white scooty and blocked their way. They entered into an altercation over some issue during which the youth took out a knife and attacked her in full public view. Before locals could rush for help, the attacker fled on his scooter. We recorded the womans statement and then filed a case. The suspect arrested later in the evening, said the officer. NEW DELHI: To make Delhi streets safer for women and ensure quick response to those in distress, five all-women police patrol vans will be flagged off on Friday. An average of a dozen women complain of being stalked every 24 hours in Delhi, shows data by the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB). In 2014, there were 4,700 complaints of stalking, 674 relating to voyeurism and 6,400 assaults to disrobe women, the data showed. There were 22,000 other complaints relating to sexual harassment at workplace, streets, public transport and elsewhere. Police said the objective of having special patrol officers is to make women feel comfortable while approaching the police for help and discuss their problems. Police Control Room (PCR) van officials are considered the first responders to any crime, officials said. The move will encourage women to seek police assistance in resolving their issues, said a senior police officer associated with the initiative. Delhi Police statistics show that 2,199 cases of rape and 5,367 molestation cases were registered in 2015. This year till August 15, 1,397 rapes and 2,725 molestations were reported. As many as 627 cases of eve-teasing have also been registered this year. Apart from sex crimes, women are also most vulnerable to street criminals such as snatchers. The all-women patrol vans will have three women personnel a driver, in-charge and an armed woman commando. These vans will patrol streets frequented by women and areas falling under the territorial jurisdictions of the 44 police stations from where maximum number of women-related crimes are reported. The police identified 44 police station areas last year during a crime mapping exercise from were maximum cases of crime against women were recorded. Twenty women, including four assistant sub-inspectors (ASIs), six head constables (HCs) and 10 constables, are being training in musketry and firing. They are being trained to handle sophisticated MP5 assault rifles, Glock and 9mm pistols at the police control rooms (PCR) training centre in north Delhis Model Town. A majority of them have been trained as women commandos in the past. Their commando training would help them combat criminals on streets. They can fight fire with fire and use self-defence techniques as well, said the officer. In addition, nine women constables have been trained to drive PCR vans. Each one of them has undergone training for 120 hours 60 classes of two-hour duration. Those who will act as in-charge of these vans are serving women personnel, who are well versed with the law and their nature of duties. After the pilot project is over, more such vans will be deployed on roads across the city. NEW DELHI: The Shiromani Akali Dal-led government in Punjab has put the Centre in a fix over a request to upgrade the security cover for three important members of the states ruling first family the Badals. The problem is how to go from the highest security, which is Z-Plus, for the countrys VIPs to the next level. For, chief minister Parkash Singh Badal, his son and deputy chief minister, Sukhbir Badal, and a key minister, Bikram Singh Majithia, are already getting Z-Plus security. Revenue minister Majithia is the brother-in-law of Sukhbir Badal. A central government official said the request came last week and the Union home ministry has not been able to decide what security upgrade can be granted to someone getting the highest cover already. The elite commandos of the National Security Guard protect the 88-year-old chief minister, while the junior Badal and his brother-in-law get round-the-clock protection from the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF). Around 30 to 40 central security personnel guard VIPs under Z-Plus protection; and they get two escort vehicles as well. The home ministry is likely to assure the state government the trios security is not lax, but is as tight as it should be under Z-Plus. The Akali government said the Badals face threats from militants. It argued that a security upgrade is necessary in the light of an attack on an RSS leader in the state. Retired Brigadier Jagdish Gagneja, the RSSs deputy chief in Punjab, was shot at by two men on a motorcycle in August. Terrorists are suspected be behind the attack on Gagneja; and the state passed the investigation to the CBI. On the political front, the Akalis are battling an anti-incumbency mood and a hard push by Delhi chief minister and Aam Aadmi Party leader Arvind Kejriwal to offer an alternative to Punjab voters who have been voting the Akali-BJP coalition partners or the Congress all along. SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON NEW DELHI: A four-year-old girl from Iraq, born with her face split down the middle, got her smile and life back in a complex 12-hour reconstructive surgery at Max Superspeciality Hospital, Saket. Zainab Hayder Mohammed was born with a rare facial split that ran down her nose and made her right eyeball and brain tissue pop out of her skull. The condition, called Bifid craniofacial dysrhaphia, caused severe disfigurement and made her blind in the right eye. Zainabs condition is extremely rare and the surgery involved splitting the face into two halves, taking out the excess bone separating the eyes and then rejoining both halves, said Dr Sunil Choudhary, director and chief of plastic surgery, Max Super Speciality Hospital, Saket, who led the surgery. It was a complex and potentially life-threatening surgery as the skull, eye sockets, nose jaw and tongue were all reconstructed, he said. The human face takes shape between six and eight weeks of gestation, when the two halves of the face combine. Clefts happen when this process gets arrested for some reason, which may include viral infections, folic acid deficiency, drugs such as steroids and anti- convulsants, and external factors such as environmental toxins. The surgery was essential because apart from the disfigurement, a part of her brain was exposed that made it vulnerable to injury. This meant someone poking her forehead could damage her brain, Dr Choudhary said. The biggest challenge was operating in sections of her face where surgeons had to go blind, like while chiseling the orbit (eye socket) while making sure we didnt touch the optic nerve. I used my fingers to feel and use the 3 mm chisel to ensure there was no damage to the delicate optic nerve, said Dr Choudhary. Because of her disfigurement, Zainab spent almost all her life indoors, where she drew pictures and watched Shahid Kapoor films. She talked and ate normally, but didnt go out to play since the children teased her, said her father Hayder Mohammed, who works as a schoolteacher in Muthanna, Iraq. Zainab is the second of four children, the other three are boys. Im happy the surgery was done before she starts school, which begins at age 6 in Iraq. She is very bright, said her father, who is in Delhi for his daughters surgery. He spent $20,000 for the surgery and travel to India. We got one surgery done in Iraq, but then people said India was best bet for surgery and people raised money to fund her treatment. Now all of Iraq is waiting for us to return home from India, said Hayder Mohammed, the happy father. The grafts will all merge and her face will grow into shape as she grows older. She will need another reconstruction for her eye she will eventually get a glass eye which we plan to do before she starts school, said Dr Choudhary. Its a one in a million condition, and her disfigurement was very severe, but she will just have minor scars to show for it in a few years. SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON HANGZHOU: Building international opinion on countering terrorism and isolating Pakistan was on top of Prime Minister Narendra Modis agenda during his meetings with world leaders, including a crucial talk with President Xi Jinping on the sidelines of the 11th G20 Summit in Hangzhou on Sunday. Modi emphatically brought up the issue of terrorism emanating from south Asia during his bilateral meetings with Xi and Australian PM Malcolm Turnbull and in his speech at an informal meeting of the Brics (Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa) leaders ahead of the G20 Summit. But Chinas official statement did not mention any of the concerns Modi raised. Instead, it said it wants to maintain the hard-won sound relations with India and work on deepening synergy and handling bilateral differences In his 35-minute meeting with Xi, Modi said, To ensure development of bilateral ties and their steady development, it is of paramount importance that we respect each others aspirations, concerns and strategic interests. Economic Corridor (CPEC) which passes through PakistanOccupied-Kashmir (PoK) was brought up during the meeting. The mention of Indias aspirations would have included the New Delhis entry to the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG). Swarup indicated that Modi brought up Chinas decision to block New Delhi from becoming a member of the group with access to sensitive nuclear technology. But terrorism was the central theme of Modis talks through Sunday. While Modi made his anti-terror pitch, the Chinese state media in a markedly toned down version of the bilateral meeting between Modi and Xi, quoted the President as saying, Both sides had seen healthy, stable and speedy development of their relationship, and that as neighbours and developing countries they should continue high-level exchanges. The official news agency, Xinhua, did not mention any of the issues brought up by Modi during their meeting like terrorism, China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) or for that matter the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) issue. Instead, the official statement used the rare phrase hard-won sound relations to describe what Xi thinks of the bilateral ties. It was possibly used to indicate that both countries were working hard to maintain steady ties despite differences. The only indication that problems plaguing the relations could have been discussed was the line that Xi was quoted as saying, China and India should respect and care for each other on issues of major concern, and handle differences in a constructive way. China and India should continue dialogues at various levels and in various areas, and frequently exchange views on major issues of common interest to enhance understanding and trust, Xi said. SRINAGAR: The Kashmiri separatist leadership was cold on Sunday to advances of a breakaway group from an all-party delegation, which tried to meet and speak to them at their homes and in prisons. The snub reaffirmed their remarks that the 30-member political team, led by Union home minister Rajnath Singh, from New Delhi was in the Valley for a photo-op, and not to solve the crisis. Hurriyat hardliner Syed Ali Shah Geelani turned back CPI(M) s Sitaram Yechury, JD(U)s Sharad Yadav, D Raja of the CPI, Jaiprakash Narayan Yadav of the RJD all leaders of opposition parties at the Centre from the gates of his Hyderpora home in Srinagar. The octogenarian Geelani, who is under house arrest, sent a message that he doesnt want to meet the politicians through a small opening in the locked gate. The group called on former Hurriyat head Abdul Ghani Bhat at his home in Jawahar Nagar, JKLF leader Yasin Malik at Humhama jail, and Mirwaiz Umar Farooq and Shabir Shah at Cheshma Shahi guest-house, which is a temporary prison. Separately, AIMIM leader Asaduddin Owaisi met the Mirwaiz, the Valleys chief cleric and a moderate Hurriyat leader, Shah and Bhat. The response for the politicos was cold all along, and the separatists refused to discuss the Kashmir situation. The state has been on the edge as 73 people have died in clashes with security forces since the killing of a militant leader on July 8. The all-party delegation reached the Valley for a two-day visit to review the situation and look for ways to end the unrest, which has drawn comparison to the crisis in 2010. The separatists denounced the delegations visit, saying such measures will prolong peoples sufferings in the troubled state. They didnt spare chief minister Mehbooba Mufti either. The sickness of her mind touched a new low when she recently tried to justify Indian brutalities, saying Kashmiri boys dont go out to camps with milk and toffees; that seemed to even embarrass her Indian boss sitting beside, a statement said. For her part, Mufti invited the separatist leadership for talks with the all-party team. She, however, insisted the invitation was in her capacity as the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) chief, indicating coalition partner BJP was not keen on talks with separatists. National Conference leader and former chief minister Omar Abdullah was skeptical about the team. Efforts like this have lost credibility as there was no follow-up of the previous visit in 2010, he said. More than 100 people were killed in the 2010 uprising and the separatists met a breakaway delegation afterwards. Kashmir-based trade associations decided not to meet the delegation. In 2010, we met them and gave our feedback; they went to Delhi and forgot everything. Some members of the current delegation were here last time as well, said Mushtaq Ahmad Wani, the president of the Kashmir Chamber of Commerce and Industry. The Michael King Writers Centre invites applications from New Zealand writers for four supported residencies in 2017, with stipends ranging from $8,000 to $30,000. The residencies are at the Michael King Writers Centre, based in the Signalmans House, a heritage villa on Takarunga Mt Victoria in Devonport. The residency programme aims to support New Zealand writers and promote the development of high-quality New Zealand writing. Projects can be in a wide range of genres, including non-fiction, fiction, drama and poetry. Previous resident writers include Man Booker prize-winner Eleanor Catton, who wrote the final draft of her novel The Luminaries at the centre and Rachel Barrowman, David Eggleton, and Roger Horrocks were amongst the finalists for the 2016 Ockham New Zealand Book Awards. NEW DELHI: The enforcement directorate (ED) may begin hunting for liquor baron Vijay Mallyas hidden properties to further tighten screws on the industrialist whose now-defunct airline owes thousands of crores to multiple lenders. ED last week attached the largest-yet clutch of assets belonging to Mallya, who is said to have diverted the credits taken in the name of his Kingfisher Airlines to purchase properties abroad. Mallya may be owning much more (properties and assets) which are not directly in his name... that needs to be ascertained too and the authorities are expected to now focus on that, a senior official at the State Bank of India told HT. The countrys biggest lender is co-ordinating with ED in its investigation against Mallya. SBI is leading the 17-member consortium of lenders that gave loans to Kingfisher Airlines and has been has been pushing for more stringent action against Mallya, who is in the United Kingdom and has ignored multiple summons from courts in India. KFA owes about Rs 7,000 crore. ED has been pursuing the recoveries under the prevention of Money Laundering Act since the funds were obtained from banks by resorting to a criminal activity of cheating, Manoj Kumar, legal expert and managing partner Hammurabi and Solomon, added. SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON KOLKATA: More than 7,000 km away from the Vatican, in a remote village of South Dinajpur, excitement gripped family members as they sat tight before the television set to watch Mother Teresa s canonisation on Sunday. A prolonged power cut, however, dashed their hopes. Monica Besra, 50, on whom Mother had performed a miracle to cure her of ovarian tumour, had waited for this day all her life. The outage was a spoiler. She hoped to catch on the repeat telecast in the evening. Nakor, the modest North Bengal village that boasts of a chapel named after the Albanian nun, organised a special prayer service in the morning, hours before Mother Teresa was canonised in Rome. Besra celebrated the rest of the day with her sons and other residents of the village. What can I say? I am so happy today. But I missed watching the event live on TV. For me, seeing it was a life ambition, she told HT over phone. Now I have to wait till the evening for a repeat telecast, said Besra, mother of five children. The family which owns five bighas of land will not hit the fields on Sunday. Instead they planned to travel to Raiganj with the local church priest to attend an evening service for Mother. Besra was all praise for the Missionaries of Charity, which Mother Teresa founded in Kolkata in 1950. In October 2003, when the nun was beatified six years after her death, at age 87, a team of the Missionaries of Charity took Besra as well to the Italian capital. We spent 22 days in Rome. It was an amazing place, recalled Besra. I enjoyed it a lot. The tribal woman from West Bengal, became an overnight sensation in September 1998 when she claimed that a picture and a medallion of the worlds most famous Roman Catholic nun had cured her ovarian tumour. It was Mother who cured my tumour. I could walk properly and eat rice after she cured me, added Besra, who believes Mother Teresa gave her a new lease of life. It was on September 5, 1998 exactly a year after Mother Teresas deaththat nuns placed a tiny aluminium medallion on Besras stomach and prayed for her. Two sisters carried me to the church since I was too weak to even stand, she said. As soon as I entered (the church), a blinding, divine light emitted from Mothers photo and enveloped me. I closed my eyes and almost fainted. The next day the pain was gone. Besras claim was contested by doctors and rationalists alike. Countering her claim in 1998, doctors at the district hospital stated the patient was cured by medicines since her disease( malignant ovarian tumour) was detected at an early stage. The Pope, last year, recognised a second miracle attributed to Mother Teresathe 2008 recovery of a Brazilian man suffering from multiple brain tumours, paving the way for her canonisation. SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON LONDON: Keith Vaz, the senior-most British MP of Indian origin, announced his resignation as chairman of a key parliamentary committee after he was caught in a sting operation with male prostitutes in his London flat, details of which were splashed across tabloids on Sunday. The mass-circulation Sunday Mirror reported that Vaz, who is chairman of the influential Home Affairs Committee of the parliament, paid for the services of four male escorts in August. A long-time Labour MP from Leicester East, Vaz, 59, is a married father of two children. The tabloids went to town with photographs from the sting operation, his remarks during the encounter as well as his purported text messages to the male escorts, reported to be European. After the story broke, Cambridge-educated Vaz suggested that the Sunday Mirror may have paid the male escorts involved in the sting operation. The committee he chairs has been examining the issue of laws related to prostitution in Britain. In a statement reported by the Mail on Sunday, Vaz said: I am genuinely sorry for the hurt and distress that has been caused by my actions, in particular to my wife and children. SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON The National Crime Record Bureau data for 2015 released last week was shocking but not surprising. Delhi continued to be the sex crime capital where the chances of women getting raped were four times the national average. And yet, the women were not Delhis most vulnerable. Going by the data, children were seven times more likely to face abuse if they lived in the national capital. In 2015, 928 child rapes were reported in the city. In 95% of these cases, the perpetrator was known to the child. Again, shocking but not surprising. Last week, in three cases of sexual assault on children reported between August 31 and September 2, we have an uncle who raped and stubbed cigarettes on a three-year-old girls body in Govindpuri, a neighbour who abducted and raped an 11-month-old infant in a slum in Vikaspuri, and a 19-year-old man who molested his one-and-half year old cousin in Paharganj. Our authorities have for long taken refuge in such stats. With relatives, acquaintances and neighbours involved, police apparently cant do much to prevent such crime because these are, as successive police chiefs have put it, opportunist crimes committed in private spaces. Read: Serious crime dips across nation but Capital still most unsafe for women, kids By the same logic, police should not be expected to do much about murder because every second killing in Delhi is triggered by either property/family disputes, extramarital affairs or business rivalries. Thankfully, following that fatal gang rape in December 2012, the police are not turning away victims to make their record books look good. Reporting of rape has reached an all-time high. That also explains the sudden spurt in sexual crime on record in Delhi. But rapes and molestation behind closed doors are still the most under-reported crime in India. Reporting sexual assault, especially when the abuser is not a stranger, or worse, when he is from the family requires remarkable courage because most often the victims are emotionally and financially dependent on their abusers. Last year, HT studied all 103 First Information Reports in rape cases registered in the three Delhi neighbourhoods where reporting of sex crime was the highest. In all cases, the men accused of rapes were known to the survivors. In 42 cases, they were men from the neighbourhood. In 30 cases, they were family members. It usually started with inappropriate touching and groping, said a number of victims. Some were too scared to speak up. Others told their mothers and female relatives but were advised not to talk about it. Emboldened, these men committed rapes. Experts say that a support system can make it easier to detect such crime and assist victims requiring help. Under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act, teachers and school counsellors are required by law to report child abuse, if they get to know about one. But in most schools, teachers have little time and sensitisation to engage with students individually. Read: 22,000 children went missing in Delhi in last 3 yrs, 9,000 still untraced Besides, thousands of children are not enrolled in schools. The children of poor working parents are vulnerable because they are left home alone or under the supervision of a relative or a neighbour who often turns out to be the abuser. The capital keeps no record of abuse among street children, underage labourers, beggars and the destitute. Delhi does have child welfare committees and counselling desks at police stations. But there are geared to provide help only after major violence has happened. But there is hardly any help available to those who have reasons to fear the worst. Last year, shaken by a series of child sex abuse revelations in the UK, then PM David Cameron upgraded child sexual abuse to a national threat and at par with organised crime. Increased efforts by social and health workers, teachers and police officers have led to even adults disclosing historic child sexual abuse. For three cases of child rape recorded every day, many more never make it to any crime register in the national capital. Yet, far from being outraged, Delhi refuses to even acknowledge the crisis. Social and health workers, teachers, police officers and local community leaders we need all hands on the deck to protect our children. As the African proverb goes, it takes a village to raise a child we may add in Delhi unscarred. SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON NEW DELHI: Safety of women students on the campus tops the agenda of parties contesting the Delhi University Students Union (DUSU) election this year. The left-leaning All India Students Association (AISA) Communist Party of Indias (CPI Marxist Leninst) youth wing released its manifesto on Sunday. The outfit demanded constitution of sexual harassment committees with students representation. It has fielded three women candidates for the DUSU panel. We also demand the formation of a committee against racial discrimination in every college, and holding regular sensitisation programmes in DU against sexual harassment, said Kawalpreet Kaur, AISAs presidential candidate. Presidential nominees of National Students Union of India (NSUI), Nikhil Yadav said, There is a need to ensure that the campus is safe for girls by installing CCTV cameras throughout. NSUI is the Congress student wing. Parties are also highlighting issues of accommodation and construction of more hostels. We have already started a campaign a Room of my Own demanding accommodation. We will continue our struggle for implementation of Room Rent Control and house rent allowance, said Kaur. Like every year, providing university-special buses is another major poll promise. AISA said they will demand Metro passes for students and special buses for girls. NSUI attacked the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP), student wing of Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), for reducing university-special buses from 20 to two in their tenure. The ABVP, which has won the DUSU polls for the past three years, hasnt released a manifesto. The NSUI and AISA also attacked the BJP-run Centre. Ever since the BJP came to power, they have increased the fees of various universities making education unaffordable for people like me. I will fight their anti-poor policies, said Vinita Dhaka, NSUIs secretary candidate. DUSU election is to be held on September 9. The police have registered a complaint against AAP leader Ashutosh for his blog in defence of sacked AAP minister Sandeep Kumar, who was arrested on charges of rape. Ashutosh in a blog had referred to the reported relationships of Mahatma Gandhi and Jawaharlal Nehru with women to defend Kumar over the objectionable CD showing him in a compromising position with two women. Ashutosh claimed that he was sacked as a minister for perception management. The complaint against Ashutosh, AAPs spokesperson, was registered at northeast Delhis Jyoti Nagar police station. Earlier, a complaint was filed against him at the Sakinaka police station in Mumbai on Sunday by Akhilesh Tiwari for insulting people of the country by referring to icons like Mahatma Gandhi and Jawaharlal Nehru while defending Kumar. Read: Womens panel summons Ashutosh for defending AAP minister sacked over sex clip The latest complaint was filed by Subodh Jain, an RTI activist and former journalist. Jain has requested police to send Ashutosh for a mental check up and register a case against him under relevant sections of law. We have received the complaint against Ashutosh and it is being looked into for further action. No case has been registered so far, said a senior police officer. Late Monday evening, another complaint was filed against Ashutosh, a former journalist, at the Khajuri Khas police station. The complaint, filed by a BJP worker, accused Ashutosh of defaming Mahatma Gandhi and former Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee. NCW summons The National Commission for Women (NCW), mandated under law to protect and promote the interest of women across India, has summoned Ashutosh to its office on September 8 for defending Sandeep Kumar, caught in an objectionable CD, in his blog. NCW chairperson Lalita Kumaramangalam has called Ashutoshs blog as demeaning and reprehensible and said the commission has summoned him on September 8. We have taken note in the larger interest because we feel that as a spokesperson of a party, which governs Delhi and a party whose members have been accused of many incidents of violence against women, he should not be writing a blog like this which reeks of patriarchy and misogyny, Kumaramangalam said. The NCW chairperson said that despite the police taking cognizance of the incident immediately, it was reprehensible that Ashutosh jumped the gun to defend Kumar. There was no shroud on what action the police had taken. Jumping the gun is also a sign of patriarchy in our country, she said. Read: Ex-AAP minister Sandeep Kumars secy held for circulating sex clip Former Delhi minister Sandeep Kumars private secretary was detained on Monday on the suspicion that he circulated a sex clip involving the politician. Vikramjit Singh, deputy commissioner of police (outer), said Praveen Kumar was taken into custody from the Delhi Secretariat. He will be questioned in the case, said Singh. Sandeep was arrested on Saturday night for allegedly raping a woman with whom he was seen in the purported sex tape, leading to his removal from the AAP government in Delhi. He was remanded to three-day police custody on Monday. Sandeep, who was the only Dalit face in the Arvind Kejriwal government, was seen in the clip with two women. His primary membership of the AAP was suspended over the sex scandal that has divided party leaders. The AAP has yet to take a decision on removing him from the party. Sandeeps wife has said the CD scandal is a conspiracy against the politician. Sandeep too has said that he has been targeted because he is a Dalit. A police officer said the former minister told interrogators that he suspected Praveens role in leaking the objectionable CD. The officer said it appeared that Sandeep shot the video and shared it with Praveen, who may have leaked it. We will question Praveen to establish his alleged role in the entire controversy. If found guilty, he may be booked under relevant sections... the officer said. The former minister will be produced in Rohini Court later in the afternoon. Police will seek his custody for questioning. Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal will undergo a throat surgery in Bengaluru on September 13. Officials said Kejriwal will undergo surgery at Narayana Hospital in Bengaluru and is likely to stay in the city for about ten days post-surgery. Kejriwal suffers from a chronic cough problem. Before going to Bengaluru, Kejriwal will be on a four-day visit to Punjab, starting September 8. Read: Kejriwal to get naturopathy treatment for diabetes, cough The AAP state unit has been facing problems after Suchha Singh Chhotepur was removed from state conveners post. The chief minister will meet party leaders and address public gatherings in Punjab. Then he will leave for Bengaluru on September 12 and undergo surgery the next day. He is expected to return to Delhi on September 22, said a senior government official. In his absence, deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia will look after chief ministerial works. Sisodia will visit Goa on September 6 to meet transporters and party workers. Along with Punjab, assembly elections are due in Goa early next year. The National Commission for Women has summoned Aam Aadmi Party spokesperson Ashutosh for his controversial blog in which he had defended sacked Delhi minister Sandeep Kumar over an objectionable CD, saying it was a consensual act and that he had done no wrong. We have asked him to come on September 8. This is in response to what we feel is a very reprehensible and demeaning blog Ashutosh wrote, where he defended a man accused of rape, NCW chairperson Lalitha Kumaramangalam said. ...The Commission has taken a note in the larger interest because we feel that as a spokesperson of a party that governs Delhi and a party whose members have been accused of many incidents of violence against women he should not be writing a blog like this which reeks of patriarchy and misogyny, she said. Read: Ex-AAP minister Sandeep Kumars secy held for circulating sex clip The NCW chairperson also said Ashutosh jumped the gun in terming the incident as an act among two consenting adults when a criminal investigation is underway. Why did he jump the gun. The police had taken cognizance immediately and there was no shroud on what action the police had taken. Jumping the gun is also a sign of patriarchy in our country. This is not a blog especially the spokesperson of a party, whose minister committed the crime, should be allowed to get away with, Kumaramangalam said. ...also, Ashutosh says that because Mao Zedong did it, its okay. Because other people did it, its okay. When you are in public life there are standards of rectitude that everybody is supposed to adhere to, man or woman, she said. In his blog on NDTV website Ashutosh had written, This video encompasses pictures of a man and woman indulging in a sexual act. The video clearly establishes that both individuals knew each other and consented to sex in a private space away from the public glare. The question then is that if two consenting adults are physically involved with each other, is it a crime? Kumar was arrested on Saturday night after a woman seen in a video with him in a compromising position complained that she had been drugged and raped a year ago. Haryana chief minister ML Khattar on Monday had a first-hand experience of the dismal condition of education in Haryana. Class 9 and 10 students couldnt spell the word picture, when asked by the CM to do so. The chief minister was at a government school in Chakkarpur village near DLF Phase-1 in Gurgaon to inaugurate a robotics skill centre as part of Teachers Day celebrations. Khattar was left shocked on seeing the learning level of students in a city that has a chain of upmarket schools, many with International Baccalaureate (IB) curriculum. During an interaction with the students at the Government Senior Secondary School, Khattar asked them questions related to mathematics, computer, English and science. One of the students spelt the word as pitchere, while another one spelt it as picetery. The students will soon be sitting for board examinations. Out of 60 students, only three raised their hands to answer. When the students were asked to explain what are row and column in Microsoft Excel, many failed to answer. The chief minister then tried explaining Excel. Anshu Singla, principal of the school, said efforts were on to work on the learning levels of the students. We are trying to start computer education in the school but have not yet succeeded completely. Also, we are working on the language skills as well, Singla said.T The students were excited about the new DLF Robotics Skill Centre and said that the new skills will help them explore their imagination and creativity, along with a sense of logic to perform various tasks. Sher Ali, student of Class 10, said, I believe this is a baby step and soon we will be able to learn both language and technical skills. Six other robotic skills centres were inaugurated by Khattar digitally with an aim to impart training to over 20,000 students at the Government schools of Dundahera, Carterpuri, Sarhaul, Wazirabad, Nathupur, Chakkarpur and Gurgaon village in the district of Gurgaon. They will be learn to make robots and small-battery robots. SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON The closure of Holden's manufacturing headquarters in 2017 (following the closure of the New Zealand assembly plants earlier) means the end of the Australasian motor industry as we've known it for nearly 120 years. But it's also the end of the road for the dreamers, designers, engineers and passionate car people who made the hundreds of Holden models inspired by this big, tough land. For all the international car brands on our streets today no one ever displaced Holden as the Australian and New Zealand car. Former Delhi minister Sandeep Kumar has reportedly told the police that his private secretary was allegedly blackmailing him with a sex CD that showed the minister in a compromising position with two women. Kumar, Delhis women and child development minister, was sacked by chief minister Arvind Kejriwal on Twitter after news channels showed the tape. Kumar described the tape as a conspiracy against him by his rival who were targeting him because he was a Dalit. Police picked up Kumars personal secretary, Praveen Kumar, from the Delhi Secretariat around 10am on Monday for questioning. Praveen was interrogated for nearly seven hours at the Sultanpuri police station. The police questioned him in presence of Kumar, who was arrested on Saturday, to connect the dots. Praveen is likely to be arrested for circulating the video tape, sources said. Investigating officers said Kumar confessed that Praveen was in the possession of the CD. Praveen, police said, is very close to the sacked minister and his family. Recently, Praveen had reportedly stayed over a month in New York with Kumar and his wife. The couple had reportedly travelled to the US in May for Kumars wifes delivery. They returned in mid -July after the birth of Kumars son at a New York hospital. Read: Ex-AAP minister Sandeep Kumars secy held for circulating sex clip During interrogation on Sunday evening, Kumar reportedly told the police that Praveen had access to his phone and laptop and that is how he got the video. Sources said Praveen was blackmailing Kumar in order to get the post of officer on special duty. Kumar told police Praveen had once threatened to make the CD public, if he was not given the post. Praveen is denying his role and said many others knew about Kumars sex tapes. We are verifying their statements, an officer said. No senior police officer came on record to confirm it. Police said they had seized Kumars phone and laptop for forensic examination. Kumar had reportedly saved the video on his laptop. The video was deleted after the case grabbed headlines. We have seized Kumars laptop and phone, said an investigating officer. Police sources said they are gathering evidence to connect Praveen to the leaked tapes. Three-day custody Kumar was on Monday remanded to three-day police custody by a local court. Kumar, 36, was produced before Special Judge Poonam Chaudhry on expiry of one-day police custody. The former minister was arrested on September 3 after a woman approached Sultanpuri police station in north Delhi with a complaint of sexual harassment against the former minister. The woman had figured in the objectionable video with him. In her complaint, the woman alleged that around 11 months ago she was raped by Kumar when she had gone to his office in Outer Delhis Sultanpuri seeking help to obtain a ration card. Objectionable posters in Goa The AAP in Goa on Monday threatened to file a police complaint after objectionable posters showing sacked Delhi minister Sandeep Kumar came up across the state with the party election symbol on it. Kumars posters were put up in Panaji, Margao, Ponda, Vasco and Mapusa markets besides other prominent places in Goa with AAP for Women Empowerment written on it. The picture of broom, which is AAPs symbol, has also been displayed on the posters. I suspect the BJPs hand behind such acts. The BJP rules and governs the state (Goa). They should see to it that proper inquiry is conducted into such acts, AAP Goa convener Walmiki Naik told reporters in Panaji. The party will file a formal police complaint, Naik said. AAP condemns such cheap tactics. We wont mind people criticising our work or policies but someone stooping down to such a level is unexpected, he said. (With PTI inputs) Delhi Police is probing other cases of alleged sexual assault against sacked Delhi minister Sandeep Kumar after he disclosed that he had been involved in similar acts with many other women in the past and recorded them too. Kumar was arrested on Saturday following a complaint by one of the woman who figured in a sex tape that was leaked to media last week. Kumar was presented at the Tis Hazari courts complex on Monday before special Judge Poonam Chaudhary remanded him to three-day police custody during in-camera proceedings. Police told the court in its plea seeking custody of Kumar that he has disclosed that he has committed sexual assault with the woman and recorded this act as well. He has disclosed that he has done such similar acts with many other girls, which needs further investigation, they stated. Police sought four-day custody of Kumar on the grounds that it needed to conduct sustained interrogation to find out various other facts about the women whose clips and pictures were telecast by news channels, to recover the case properties, arrest other co-accused and find out the places of incident. Read | He has tarnished my image: Woman who appeared in Sandeep Kumar sex tape The woman who filed the complaint against Kumar alleged that the former minister had invited her to his office-cum-residence in Sultanpuri after she approached him for assistance in acquiring a ration card. It was at this meeting that he allegedly drugged her, forced himself on her and filmed the whole incident. Police said Kumar told the woman that he would provide her a ration card and job to her sons, and offered her a cold drink, consumption of which left the woman dizzy. Taking advantage of her, Kumar committed the sexual assault, police added. Read | Ex-AAP minister Sandeep Kumars secy held for circulating sex clip Co-accused Parveen, who is Kumars childhood friend, has also been detained. Kumar apparently did not cooperate with the police in giving them Parveens address. The proceeding, which was to take place before a magistrate court in Rohini courts, was changed to Tis Hazari after Delhi Police booked Kumar under section 7 (public servant taking gratification other than legal remuneration in respect of an official act) of Prevention of Corruption Act, which can be tried by a special court dealing with corruption cases. Kumar is booked for punishment for rape, causing hurt by means of poison and with intent to commit an offence under the pertinent sections of the Indian Penal Code. He was also charged under the Information Technology Act for punishment for publishing or transmitting of material containing sexually explicit content in electric form. Kumar was sacked on Wednesday after the sex tape was made public. However, Kumar claimed he had resigned on his own and alleged that he was being targeted for being a Dalit. His wife Ritu Kumar also came out in his support. Read | Sacked Delhi mins wife says he is innocent despite rape charge, sex tape The Supreme Court will look into the suicide of Amit law student Sushant Rohilla to examine if he took the extreme step due to any harassment by the college authorities or teachers. A bench headed by Chief justice TS Thakur requested senior advocate Fali S Nariman to assist the court in the matter. When Amitys counsel, senior advocate Siddhartha Luthra, tried to defend the college, the bench, also comprising Justice YV Chandrachud, said: There are allegations that he was deliberately withheld, as the teacher was not pleased with him. The court issued the order after taking cognisance of a letter written to the CJI by Rohillas friends, who alleged the college authorities drove the 19-year-old to hang himself. Luthra said Rohilla did not have the mandatory 75 per cent attendance as per Bar Council of India rules. He had only 43%. This included the extra 15% given because he participated in various programmes on behalf of the college. Still he was short of attendance, Luthra added. On August 10, Rohilla committed suicide at his Delhi house after his college reportedly denied him permission to write his exams. His friends and family members protested against his death and held the college responsible. Read: Amity teachers resign over students suicide in Noida Luthra blamed the parents for Rohillas alleged indiscipline. Repeated e-mails were sent to the father that he had not attended classes and was short of attendance. He was aware of it and did not care, the senior counsel said. The bench said the boy was an adult and wondered if the parents could do anything in the given situation. Luthra informed the court that 18 students were not given their hall tickets, besides Rohilla. They all have been asked to join the next year, he said. Senior advocate Rajeev Dhavan, who was present in court for another matter, said institutions had forgotten to be kind. There is an obligation on institutions to be kind, he remarked. But the CJI observed: A hypersensitive person may commit suicide and another might just shrug it off. SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON Two months after violence broke out in Kashmir, the first steps towards restoring normalcy were finally taken on Sunday when Union home minister Rajnath Singh led an all-party team to the Valley to meet the stakeholders. Unfortunately, the beginning was not exactly what Mr Singh may have hoped for: The Hurriyat Conference leaders refused to meet the delegation. This response, however, was not unexpected. Nonetheless, the home minister should have desisted from saying that the separatists dont believe in Kashmirs jamhooriyat, insaniyat, Kashmiriyat. It is important and imperative to remember that the invitation was a half-hearted attempt to get the separatists to the table. It was neither issued by him as the head of the delegation, nor did it go on behalf of the government of Jammu and Kashmir, of which the BJP is a coalition partner. Read | Kashmir needs a solution: Reach out to all On the contrary, the BJP made every effort to distance itself from the invitation by ensuring that chief minister Mehbooba Mufti wrote to the separatists not as the CM of the state but as president of the Peoples Democratic Party. Moreover, some of the members of the all-party team went to meet the separatists in their individual capacity in the hope that their outreach would help open doors. But the truth is that Kashmiris have lost faith in the all-party mechanism. Many are even questioning the credibility of this individual effort, which Mr Singh said the Centre neither approved nor disapproved. Read | Kashmir separatists defy insaniyat, Kashmiriyat, says Rajnath If Delhi dislikes engaging with the separatists then what is the point of taking this road? Surely the Centre knows that the same was done in 2010 when the interlocutors group was formed. Some separatists had opened their doors then, but there was no follow-up on the interlocutors report. Still the jailed separatists should have used the opportunity to engage and put forth their point of view. By shutting the door on talks so vital at this juncture they are once again playing into New Delhis hands and increasing the hardship for the ordinary Kashmiris, all of whom are not stone pelters. The mistakes of 2010 have made it harder for Delhi to bridge the trust deficit; Kashmir needs a sustained and long-term effort to end the current round of unrest. Read | Talks or no talks? After meeting Modi, Mufti puts ball in separatists court The separatists are not the only stakeholders; neither can they alone bring peace. The Centre and the state must start several confidence-building measures such as easing the repressive security measures and setting up a team to assess areas from where Armed Forces Special Powers Act can be partially withdrawn. These steps dont require the consent of separatists or their participation. Once all these measures ease the tension, the government can then start a sustained political dialogue and look at proposals that are already on the table such as the question of autonomy or the PDP-scripted self-rule document. The road ahead is tough and any peace overture will take time to fructify. Kashmir needs ongoing engagement, not just tokenism. Continuing commitment to the restoration of peace in Kashmir is the only way forward. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has raised, and normally led with, the issue of terrorism at every bilateral meeting he has held in and around the G-20 summit in Hangzhou. This has been par for the course with New Delhi in every diplomatic event as it is seen as necessary to placate domestic concerns. In addition, relations with Pakistan are entering a rocky patch even as Kashmir has come to a boil again often a precursor to problems on the border and terror attacks inside the country. In a more perfect world, New Delhi would have been playing a different tune. The G-20, though struggling, is the worlds most important economic gathering and its agenda is to tackle the worlds considerable economic problems. Modi did contribute to this in the actual gathering of G-20 leaders, saying there was a need for a concerted global effort to carry out structural reforms and move away from the present dependence on loose monetary policy. Read | Eliminate safe havens for economic offenders: Modi tells G20 India is among the few major economies actually carrying out such reforms; Modi among the few world leaders taking on the political risks that such reforms often entail. United States President Barack Obama underlined this, praising the Indian prime minister for, among other things, passing the Good and Services Tax constitutional amendment. In a world of paralysed governments, overworked central banks and slowing economic growth, that India is actually stepping on the accelerator when it comes to deep reforms is a source of the diplomatic equivalent of envy. Read | Eye on Pak, Modi urges China to unite against terror at G20, meets Obama Which is all the more reason why it is unfortunate India continues to struggle to shake off the millstone of Pakistan. This is a failing state whose most famous global export is Islamicist terror and primary economic strategy is to blackmail other governments with the threat of domestic collapse. Indias future trajectory is may be unclear, but it has pulled itself clear from that of Pakistans decades ago. In a few years its economic fortunes may credibly be compared to that of Chinas or the earlier Asian tigers. India has called upon other governments to de-hyphenate it from Pakistan. This is happening, but in a jerky, slow-motion fashion where the actual forward movement is so minute as to be ignored. India has been given an exemption from the Nuclear Suppliers Group sanctions, it is a serious contender for a United Nations Security Council and it is one of the largest recipients of foreign capital among the emerging economies. Pakistan aspires to the first, runs interference with the second and its FDI targets are on par with those of Rwanda. India will be eligible to host the G-20 in a few years time. It should make it a point to not utter the T word to show how far it has come and how far behind its western neighbour is. September 5th is celebrated as Teachers day in India, marking the birthday of the second President of the country, Dr. Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan, both a teacher and a distinguished scholar of comparative religion and philosophy. Once venerated as gurus and the sole repositories of knowledge, teachers today seem to have lost this status, despite the fact that they are arguably the most important factor in delivering quality education, especially in the elementary years of schooling. No education system in the world has excelled without making a significant investment in building a cadre of quality teachers. Yet, teacher education is one of the weakest links in the education system. As the government of India (GoI) frames the New Education Policy (NEP), it will be critical to focus on teachers and teacher education to ensure quality education. Taare Zameen Par to Black: Films where teachers meant everything to students Key challenges that need to be addressed relate both to a shortage of teachers and their training. For instance, as on March 2016, 5 lakh sanctioned teaching posts are vacant country-wide. As a result, several schools have pupil-to-teacher ratio of 80:1 and single-teacher schools account for 8 per cent of elementary schools in the country. The other pressing issue relates to teacher education, both pre-service and in-service. A recent report reveals that 6.6 lakh teachers currently in the system lack the requisite qualifications, and only 1% of teachers nationally passed the Teachers Eligibility Test (TET) conducted in 2012. There is a great need for professional standards and regulation of pre-service teacher training institutes, 90% of which are in the private sector and are largely sub-standard and unregulated. Even the state-run institutes suffer from multiple deficiencies and most of them are far from being effective. Thus, developing institutional mechanisms for periodic monitoring of teacher training institutes and strict adherence to quality parameters is vital. Additionally, clear selection criteria for testing aptitude needs to be in place before accepting students into teacher training colleges. The framing of the NEP provides us with an opportunity to review and redesign the current teacher education programmes. Teachers need to be viewed as professionals who require multiple skills to do their job, and accordingly professional standards need to be built into all teacher education programmes. These programmes must focus both on building an essential knowledge base, as well as skill sets required for making a difference in the classroom. Importantly, they must locate the professional development of teachers within the larger socio-cultural, economic and political context of contemporary India. How a teacher brings love and meaning to a students life Teachers, especially those who serve in the poorest of urban and rural areas need to be well trained and prepared to deal with extremely diverse classrooms of mostly first generation learners. 50 years ago, school going children were mostly from the elite and middle income groups. Today, with the success of SSA and the RTE, classrooms are often diverse and many students are first generation learners who may not have any academic support system at home. Teachers need to factor in the socio- economic backgrounds of children, for instance a hungry or an abused child will not be able to learn effectively. Programmes must guide teachers on how to nurture and develop this set of children. The more a teacher knows about a student, the better they will be able to support their learning and progress. Teachers need to be made more accountable through enhanced involvement of the school management committees, recognising the need for supportive supervision and incentives to ensure teacher performance and accountability, as well as use of technology to monitor teacher attendance and curb abseeintism. Since its inception in 1912, the Tata Trusts have prioritised education as a key driver of economic and social development. In todays time of rapid technological advances, we aim to make sure that technology is integrated into education. Our experience has shown us that while technology is critical, it cannot supplement the teacher. Rather, it should be seen as an aid in the teaching--learning process. This is arguably more so in todays age of ICT where children can access information at the click of a button. However, information in itself is not what children go to school for, equally important is thinking, discussing and analysing it, and it is here that a teachers role is critical. To be able to guide and facilitate this process, teachers should help children build skills such as critical thinking, analysis as well as social values and behaviours. These could range from punctuality, to cleanliness, to non - violence and teaching children to respecting one another. While learning outcomes are important, we are in danger of thinking that all of education is about learning outcomes . Reading and writing are of course the bare minimum that a child should get by going to the school. But the learning is as much about the how as it is about what. There is a need therefore to develop centres of excellence and establish new exemplary elementary and secondary pre-service teacher education programmes. Teaching standards and assessment should also therefore include areas such as behaviour management and subject knowledge. More than ever, the future of our country lies in the hands of those who teach our children in the classrooms. Radhakrishnan believed that teachers should be the best minds in the country, and that a guru is someone who teaches specific types of knowledge, but also help mold values and experiential knowledge as well as specific knowledge; an exemplar in life. As we celebrate Teachers Day this year, and the government develops a new education policy, let us recall this definition and not overlook the central role of teachers and teacher education in ensuring quality education. (The author is head policy and advocacy, Tata Trusts. The views expressed are personal.) In April, Pramod Mishra was a happy man. His son was admitted to class 11 in a school run by the Delhi government. But by August, both father and son were angry and frustrated -- the youngster had allegedly learnt very little in the first five months of his commerce course. Last month, Mishra decided to pull out his son and will now send him to a public school. Even if it means paying more for the education. The reason for this is not too far too seek. Most schools run by the Delhi government are suffering from an acute shortage of teachers, one of the several reasons that make state-run educational institutions less attractive for parents and students in India. Read| Overcrowded classrooms to filthy toilets: Delhis govt schools need urgent fixing When the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government organised a parent teachers meeting recently in the 1,000-odd schools, the most common complaint from guardians was about the shortage in teaching staff. The Right to Education Act mandates one teacher for 30 children. In the Delhi schools, each teacher has to look after 80-90 students on an average, official data show. On paper, however, there is one teacher for every 42 students in Delhi government schools. I will have to work extra and pay for the fees in a public school But I cannot leave him like this. The school does not have teachers(The) government should do something otherwise what will the children write in the boards (exams), said Mishra who owns a shop in Molarband on the Delhi-Faridabad border. When the government recently created 9,000 more teachers posts to fill the gap, the move raised eyebrows. For, the government is yet to fill vacancies in about 30,000 posts lying vacant for many years out of a sanctioned strength of 64,000. In effect, Delhi has only 33,000 permanent teachers to look after more than 15 lakh students between classes 1 to 12. Add to that, 17,000 guest teachers working on a daily stipend of Rs 800 per day, just a little over what daily wagers earn. Teachers say the problem needs to be fixed at the earliest. Quality education cannot happen without giving schools the required number of teachers, said Ajay Veer Yadav, representative of the Government School Teachers Association. The situation gets worse in the Outer District where one teacher has to look after a class of at least 50 students. There are also schools with as many as 150 students in one class. Officials attribute this to an uneven distribution of teachers across schools. It is a known fact that teachers do not want to go to schools in the Outer DistrictIf this uneven distribution can be taken care of then the ratio will be fine, said Khagesh Jha, an advocate and member of Social Jurists, an NGO that works in the field of education. For example, at the Sarvodaya Bal Vidyalaya in Molarbandh, there are 48 teachers for 3,000 students, which means one teacher per 62 students. A teacher who handles many students in Mubarakpur said, Out of the 40-45 minutes time for one class, almost 15 minutes go in taking attendance. The remaining time I am trying to maintain silence in the class so that I can teach. But the AAP government is confident that by the next academic session, 5,000 vacant positions will be filled. There was a gap much before we came to the government, said Atishi Marlena, advisor to education minister Manish Sisodia. She said 2500 posts will be filled this year. With the new 9,000 posts that have been created the shortage issue will be solved, said Marlena. However, Lieutenant Governor Najeeb Jung is yet to approve the new posts. Officials said the proposal was rejected as the L-G did not agree to the recruitment rules that gave extra points to guest teachers. As a temporary measure, the government is looking at a practice followed by Kendriya Vidyalayas (KV), schools under the jurisdiction of the central government. KVs employ ad-hoc teachers for three months. We will also allow the principal and school managing committee to locally hire teachers till the long-term plan is implemented, said Marlena. Click here for other stories in the series With priorities as diverse as administering iron tablets to girl students and responding to RTI queries, teachers in Delhi government schools are left with little time to focus on their core function teach. As the government fails to fill up over 700 posts, of the total 900, of lower and upper division clerks, teachers have been burdened with most of the administrative duties. Nearly 90% of the government schools do not have administrative staff, said CP Singh, president of the Government School Teachers Association (GSTA). The Elementary Education in India report by the National University of Educational Planning and Administration (NEUPA) show that 12.05% teachers were involved in non-teaching assignments in 2014-15. It was just from 1.48% in 2013-14. A teacher has to distribute scholarship money, file reply to RTI queries, distribute give iron tablets to students and update students information online, said Hari Om Sharma, who teaches English at a school in Molarbandh. He said teachers also have to record students attendance, evaluate answer sheets and prepare results. This takes up most of the time and keeps teachers away from academics, said Sharma. Read| 1 teacher for 80 students: Delhi govt schools slip on numbers Students in Delhi government schools have a massive learning gap. Most mid-level students were not even able to read their text books, prompting the AAP government to launch a mission to correct the discrepancy. Absence of teachers from the classes adds to the problem. At the senior level, Delhi schools are nearly 3,000 teachers short. To add to the burden of the existing strength, several are deputed with the education department and the Vidhan Sabha as assistants. I know a postgraduate teacher (PGT) who is working with the directorate of education since 2002. He has never taught in a school, said Ajay Veer Yadav, general secretary of GSTA. The government recently appointed one computer assistant in each school to help teachers update students information online. But teachers said one assistant was not enough. For a school having over 2,500 students, one computer operator is not enough. So, teachers have to do it themselves, said a guest faculty at a Delhi school, who did not want to be named. Government officials said estate managers and ministerial staff are being appointed in schools as a temporary measure to take the administrative burden off the teachers. We have hired estate managers on one-year contract. Two managers have been appointed for schools with student strength under 700. For those having more than 700 students, three managers are hired, said an education department official. Absence of teachers from classes has also adversely affected discipline in the classroom. A teacher who has taught in four schools in the last 21 years said, These days children have no respect for their teachers. You cant even scold the students. You never know what they might do, he said. Over 17,000 guest teachers are demanding regularization of job. They often complain of irregular wages and have protested several times to press their demands. An official said the government has done its bit and the file is yet to get L-Gs approval. Click here for full coverage Use of school education departments M-Shiksha Mitra application in Indore and Bhopal districts is much lower than smaller districts, according to the latest survey conducted by the state government. The application was launched in September last year for school teachers and other staff of state-run schools. Statistics released by the department on its official website showed that Burhanpur with 49.58% of usage topped the list of 51 districts followed by Rajgarh with 43.21%. Indore is ranked third with 23.98% while the state capital is at 42nd position with 01.31%. The application has been built to provide school teachers and staff a smooth experience in various activities such as marking their daily attendance, applying for leave, checking pay slips and registering complaints. Anurag Jaiswal, Indore district education officer, told HT: The problem with bigger districts is that we (the officials) are not able to hold direct one-to-one discussion with teachers in regard to the app. He said, Smaller districts have lesser area and staff to cover. In smaller districts, one-on-one interaction happens at a faster scale. It is compulsory for teachers and other school staff to mark their attendance through the application. The statistics showed that not many people are using the app. To this, Jaiswal said, They either forget or in case they come late to work, they mark their attendance manually. We are trying to sort this out by monitoring. Another problem is that pay slips are still not available on the app. It will take some time, Jaiswal told HT. Calling the teachers to imbibe technology in imparting education, President Pranab Mukherjee on Monday said they should instill in children civilisational values of sacrifice, tolerance, pluralism, understanding and compassion. Greeting the teachers on the occasion of Teachers Day, Mukherjee, who started his career as a teacher, said this is an occasion when we recognise the dedicated services of the teachers of our nation. In a series of messages on twitter, Mukherjee said a sound education system is the bedrock of an enlightened society. Inspired teachers are the building blocks of a good education system. An inspired teacher links the individual goals of the students to the societal and national goals, he said in the message. Read more: UPs single-teacher schools have students doubling up as masters He said teachers need to imbibe technology and new methodologies to create modern and effective approaches to teaching and learning and extended good wishes to entire teaching community for their dedication and commitment to the great cause of educating countrys youth. Teachers Day is celebrated on the birth anniversary of second President of the country Dr Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan, a revered educationist, philosopher and recipient of highest civilian honour of the country Bharat Ratna. Read more: 13 MP teachers to be felicitated by President A scholar of comparative religion and proponant of Advaita Vendanata who countered western criticism of Hinduism, Radhakrishnan held the King George fifth Chair of Mental and Moral Science at the University of Calcutta between 1921 and 1932 and was Spalding Professor of Eastern Religion and Ethics at University of Oxford between 1936 and 1952. 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." Paying tributes to the second President of the country Dr Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday asked people to share their anecdotes about their teachers. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has saluted the dedication and commitment of all the teachers on Teachers Day. Prime Minister has also paid his tributes to Dr. Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan, the Former President of India, whose birth anniversary is celebrated as Teachers Day across India, an official statement said. Read more | Teachers Day: President urges teachers to imbibe technology The Prime Minister, who is in Hangzhou, China, for the G20 meet, tweeted, Happy Teachers Day! India salutes the dedication and commitment of all teachers, whose role in nation building is paramount. Tributes to Dr S Radhakrishnan, a scholar, statesman and a respected teacher who shaped many minds and served India. How has your teacher influenced you? Share your anecdote and read what many others have written about their teachers, the Prime Minister said. Read more: UPs single-teacher schools have students doubling up as masters Teachers Day is celebrated on the birth anniversary of Radhakrishnan. Freezing ones eggs to delay pregnancy is very popular with women in the West. However, there are very few takers in India. Barely five per cent of working women in India prefer egg freezing as compared to 30-40 per cent in the West. City doctors say avail the technique to say good bye to the biological clock. Apart from the lack of proper awareness, social stigma plays a huge role in the adoption of new reproduction medical technology. IVF Expert at city based Indira IVF, Sagarika Agarwal, said: Egg freezing could be a boon for the working women in India. But social stigma and a lack of confidence in new advanced technologies have prevented it from becoming popular here although a large number of working women use it abroad. Agarwal explained the procedure for egg freezing which is similar to IVF. Egg freezing procedure is is similar to IVF, say doctors. (Shutterstock) She said: Patient is injected with hormonal drugs for 10 to 12 days to stimulate her ovaries to produce more eggs than normal. During which she could experience menopause-like symptoms. So doctors monitor to ensure that her ovaries are not dangerously overstimulated. The eggs are then retrieved under sedation or general anaesthesia using an ultrasound-guided needle that sucks the eggs from each follicle and are stored. When the woman is ready to use her frozen eggs, they are warmed up, injected with sperm and left to fertilise on a petri dish. Doctors says early egg preservation is beneficial. (Shutterstock) If successful zygotes are formed, then two to three of these are transferred to her uterus with the hope that would impregnate, said Agarwal. Naina Raichand, a gynaecologist at Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital, advised egg freezing as the best alternative for working women to ensure pregnancy even above the 35 years age group. Raichand said: If a couple is not financially stable and prefer to attain some monitory comfort before welcoming a new member then this technique is best. She also said that early egg preservation is beneficial. Age is important because eggs start growing old in the 30s. Also, fertility declines with age. Cautioning women that eggs cannot be frozen just before menopause, Raichand said if women delay the process then good quality eggs could not be guaranteed, since women cross their prime by then. Shunning myths, Raichand observed that the success rate of pregnancy achieved through frozen eggs was at par with those achieved using fresh eggs. She said: Many MNCs are now encouraging their female employees to freeze their eggs so that they would not have to compromise for either their career or in attaining motherhood. Over the years, storage techniques have also been refined. Therefore, success rate, too, has improved. In future, motherhood will soon be truly independent of the biological clock, Raichand added. Hollywood star Joseph Gordon-Levitt has revealed he travelled to Russia to meet US political exile Edward Snowden before playing him in the upcoming biopic directed by Oliver Stone. The 35-year-old actor stars as the controversial former CIA employee, who leaked classified information in 2013, in a new Oliver Stone-directed movie, and has recalled his experience of meeting the US political exile, reported People magazine. Read Snowden trailer: Watch Joseph Gordon-Levitt in this spy thriller Levitt, whose visits were arranged by Snowdens attorneys in the US and Russia, where he lives in exile, shared, A few months before shooting the movie, I did have a chance to sit with him in person. It was honestly not as crazy as you would imagine. I flew to Moscow and went and met him at an office. JGL, who stars in the movie alongside Shailene Woodley, admitted he relished the chance to study Snowden in person and learn more about his character. Read: Edward Snowden publicly endorses the Snowden movie at Comic Con Actors Joseph Gordon Levitt, Shailene Woodley and Zachary Quinto attend the Snowden Press Line during Comic-Con International 2016. (AFP) One of the first things I noticed actually was, hes got really good manners. Hes sort of old-fashioned, in a way. You dont necessarily expect that in todays world, or when you think of someone whos really good at computers. You dont necessarily equate that with someone whos got a lot of social grace. But what can I say? Hes from North Carolina. I think they put a lot more emphasis on good manners there than they do where Im from in Southern California. I really noticed that. I wanted to incorporate it into my performance of him. Follow @htshowbiz for more The Kashmiri separatists refusal to meet the all-party delegation puts the onus on the Centre and state government to come up with new ways to restore calm in the Valley where 73 people have died in the two-month long unrest. Political analysts blame both the governments for the failure of the home minister Rajnath Singh-led delegation to break the ice in the Valley and say immediate confidence-building measures should be taken to end the violence. This was bound to happen. No ground work was done before the delegation landed in Srinagar, said Prof Gull Mohammad Wani of Kashmir University. In the past, proper homework was done before undertaking such an exercise. The team of politicians arrived in Kashmir on Sunday to assess the ground situation and look for ways to end violent street protests. With the Hurriyat leaders dismissing it as a futile exercise, the visit that ends Monday is unlikely to yield much. Sources in the Jammu and Kashmir government said the separatist camp had signalled a few weeks ago that they be allowed to hold rallies and meetings across Kashmir to enable the people to vent their anger. But the central government had serious reservations about such a move, a government official said on the condition of anonymity. The PDP-BJP government is now hoping that good sense will prevail upon the protesters in view of Eid-ul-Zuha next week. But the dominant view is that the onus of restoring peace is on the state government. As a goodwill gesture, the state government should lift curfew from all parts of Kashmir to enable people to prepare for Eid, senior Congress leader GN Monga said. This cycle of violence somehow has to end. That is very important. In two months of unrest, the entire Valley was curfew-free for barely few hours before clashes forced the government to bring back the restrictions in some places, including parts of Srinagar. Members of civil society stress long-term measures to address the Kashmir problem. Institutionalised dialogue process is imperative for that, said Dr Farooq Ahmad Kaloo, who is associated with several social organisations. There has never been any follow-up of the previous dialogues. That was what former chief minister and National Conference leader Omar Abdullah told the delegation on Sunday. All such initiatives have lost credibility as there has been no follow-up of similar efforts in the past, he said. The political class has a mammoth task to revive faith in such processes. The government will have to take confidence-building measures (CBMs) to win over the hearts and minds of the people. The government, said Kaloo, should desist from cruel crowd-control methods such as pellet guns and PAVA shells. Use of pellet guns, which have caused eyes injuries, has fuelled the anger against security forces, who find themselves battling stone-throwing crowds every day. The security forces need to have a humane approach towards these young boys. The iron-fist policy doesnt work all the time, he said. Monga agrees. The state government should have released the separatist leaders much in advance to enable them to draw up a strategy for the all-party delegations visit, he said. Instead the CM invites them for talks just on the eve of the visit, he said, adding the state government lacked direction and was clueless on controlling the situation. Wani said the Centre should display more seriousness and focus on Kashmir. There is a need for serious and structured dialogue with all stakeholders, he said. The suggestion in the last months all-party meeting that the protesters would tire themselves out has no takers. You cant tire out agitators and crush agitation, Abdullah said. Kaloo said the argument was silly. There are no signs of any fatigue on the ground. SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON A day after highlighting the scourge of terrorism and Pakistans role in liberally spreading it, Prime Minister Narendra Modi will be ready to meet more world leaders to exchange bilateral thoughts on Monday, the last day of the 11th G20 Summit in Hangzhou. On his meeting schedule for Monday are UK Prime Minister Theresa May who he will meet for the first since she took charge, Argentinian President Mauricio Macri and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. After the bilateral meetings and the participating in G20-related events, Modi flies out of Hangzhou for New Delhi in the evening. Modis Sunday meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping was the eighth meeting between the two and their second meeting in three months following the SCO summit meeting in June 23 in Uzbekistan. The meeting lasted for about 35 minutes, and the two were known to have touched upon all major issues that currently define the tenuous bilateral relations. Modi told Xi that India has worked to make closer developmental partnership with China. He highlighted that we have been successful in maintaining peace and tranquility on the border. Modi said he always had a strategic vision for Sino-India relations. The partnership is not only important for the two countries but for the entire region and the world. As a matter of principle, both countries would have to be sensitive to each others strategic interests. In order to promote positive convergences, we would also need to prevent the growth of negative perceptions. For this, specific actions by both countries play a major role, Modi was quoted as having told the Chinese President by Vikas Swarup, the spokesperson of the ministry of external affairs. Prime Minister Narendra Modi with Chinese President Xi Jinping before a bilateral meeting in Hangzhou, China on Sunday. (PTI) For his part, Xi said China wants to maintain hard-won sound relations with India, work on deepening synergy and handling bilateral differences. Official news agency Xinhua quoted Xi as saying: Both sides had seen healthy, stable and speedy development of their relationship, and that as neighbors and developing countries, they should continue high-level exchanges. Xinhua, however, did not mention any of the issues brought up by Modi during their meeting like terrorism, China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) or the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) issue. Instead, the official statement used the phrase hard-won ties to describe what Xi thinks of the bilateral ties. In the statement, the only indication that problems plaguing the relations of the two countries could have been discussed was Xi telling Modi: China and India should respect and care for each other on issues of major concern, and handle differences in a constructive way. Xi added: Two countries should seek synergy between their development strategies and discuss the implementation of pragmatic cooperation in large projects in infrastructure construction and production capacity. What is the current status of Sino-India relations? Will the new and prickly problems be resolved? Mao Siwei, the former Chinese consul general to Kolkata, thinks relations might take time to unfreeze. The strategic contradiction between China and India is obvious. The two countries will have to demonstrate their strategic intentions in the long run with the chance of Hangzhou G20 summit. The structural contradictions might not be easily solved with just one meeting. The BRICS meeting in India will provide another chance for both leaders. We have to observe the future direction of Sino-Indian relations after taking the two meetings into consideration, Mao told state media. On the CPEC (China-Pakistan Economic Corridor), Mao said differences will exist. India holds disagreements on building the corridor, mainly because the corridor passes through the Pakistan-controlled Kashmir region, and the Kashmir issue is a key problem between India and Pakistan. India thinks it has to demonstrate its opposition concerning its core interests. Personally, I think India has the inevitability for its stance, and China will avoid large-scale programmes in the Pakistan-controlled Kashmir region concerning the set strategies of the Kashmir problem. However, India has no reason to oppose to Chinas programs such as electrical cooperation and economic parks on the China Pakistan Economic Corridor, Mao said. Uttar Pradesh chief minister Akhilesh Yadav, on Monday, announced a scheme to provide the poor with free smartphones. However, speaking at the inauguration of Ala Hazrat Haj House at Mohan Nagar, he added that smartphones will be delivered only when the Samajwadi Party (SP) government comes back to power after the Vidhan Sabha elections in 2017. Taking a dig at Prime Minister Narendra Modis Digital India scheme, Yadav said it was the SP government that had distributed a maximum number of free laptops. Worlds largest free laptop distribution scheme was started by us. Over 18 lakh laptops were distributed. Now, we promise to distribute free smartphones if we come back to power, the CM said. A statement released by the UP government said that online registration for the scheme will start within a month. The beneficiaries of the scheme will be those who work in the private sector and whose annual income is less than Rs 2 lakh. Those whose parents have government jobs are not eligible. The selection process will be transparent and the smartphone will be delivered at the beneficiarys doorstep, the statement said. The beneficiary should be 18 years or above on January 1, 2017 and a resident of UP. The statement said that the registration process has been made online to prevent corruption. Smartphones will be delivered on first-come-first-serve basis and the only a high school certificate is required. In his speech, Yadav, also said that there will be no discrimination in distribution. People accuse us of vote bank politics. They can check the data of our laptop distribution scheme and they will find that we have never discriminated against any caste or religion. Moreover, the selection process has been transparent. Same will be followed in the smartphone scheme, he said. According to the statement released by the government, the smartphone will be a medium for two way communication between the government and the public. It will be equipped with all the latest mobile applications that will be of use for the rural population, youth, students and small time businessmen. SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON An all-party delegation led by Union home minister Rajnath Singh met a range of leaders in Jammu on Monday and later told the media that the team of parliamentarians will chalk out an action plan to resolve the logjam over peace talks in Kashmir. The 26 MPs from 20 political parties stayed in Jammu for a few hours and returned to the national capital after their Sunday visit to Kashmir failed in finding a breakthrough on ending violence in the Valley after the July 8 killing of militant Burhan Wani. Singh, at a brief press conference, said the Kashmir visit could not be described as a failure. We had very good interactions with individuals and groups, he added. The minister said the Kashmir visit taught many members of the delegation understand the states ground situation. In future, the government hoped to get full cooperation from them whenever there is any discussion on Jammu and Kashmir in Parliament, he said. Singh spoke of the delegation formulating an action plan, but did not reveal details. We will meet in Delhi after our return and will chalk out our future course, was all he said. The minister said the all-party delegation met over 200 delegates from 18 delegations in Jammu. They included trade lobbies, lawyers, hospitality industrialists and Kashmiri migrant Pandits. All of them expressed concern over the prevailing circumstances in Kashmir and hoped for early return of peace, he added. Singh said he will try to visit Ladakh, saying the view of its people, too, merited listening. Nowsheras BJP legislator Reminder Raina lambasted the delegation for seeking to meet separatists in Srinagar, saying hardline Hurriyat leaders were touts of Pakistan. Pawan Gupta, independent MLA from Udhampur, described the delegations tour as face saving. Abhinav Sharma, president of the J&K High Court Bar Association of Jammu, it was unnecessary to talk to those who do not believe in the Indian Constitution. Jammu Chamber of Commerce and Industry sought action against Kashmir mosques that call for to attack on security forces. Traders should get incentives, said its head Rakesh Gupta. SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON Rohtak MLA and newly inducted minister of state for urban local bodies Manish Grover on Sunday vacated the Rangshala building in the city, which was encroached by him to set up his private office, only to move into another municipal corporation (MC) building, right next to the Rangshala. On Sunday, the labourers were seen shifting Grovers office furniture out of the Rangshala building into a house which belongs to the municipal corporation. A team was deployed at the house that was working to set up his office. When contacted, they confirmed that the house was going to be used by the minister for his private office. Sources close to Grover, too, admitted that the minister had finalised the MC house for his office and it was being set up for him. Hindustan Times had last week published a report on Grovers occupying a portion of Rangshala building meant for artistes to set up his private office. The city-based artistes and activists were upset over the encroachment of space meant for promotion of cultural activities by the minister. Following the report, Congress MLAs created a ruckus in the state assembly session and demanded a reply from the minister. However, he had hit back, saying that the Congress MLAs had a history of carrying out encroachments and thats what they had done for 10 years. However, all the hoopla seems to have had no impact on Grover. The house that has been made Grovers office was allotted to the executive officer (EO) of municipal corporation, VP Sangwan. He was asked to move out of the house a few days ago so that the minister could set up his office. Three months are left for my retirement. Why are you asking me such questions? said Sangwan, when contacted. Rohtak mayor Renu Dabla and MC joint commissioner Ajay Chopra confirmed that the said house belonged to the municipal corporation. However, both of them denied having any information that the minister had occupied it. Despite HTs repeated attempts, Grover was not accessible. His personal assistant (PA) Vikram picked up the phone thrice and said the minister was busy and could not talk. Rohtak deputy commissioner Atul Kumar, who had earlier said that the minister had occupied the Rangshala building because there was an infrastructure crunch in the city, did not respond to HTs calls and texts. SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON President Pranab Mukherjee said on Monday that the Election Commission can put in their idea and efforts on holding the polls together. During an interaction with students at Dr Rajendra Prasad Sarvodaya Vidyalaya in Presidents Estate on the occasion of Teachers Day, Mukherjee spoke about holding simulataneous electionsa long-debated issue in the political circles. On being asked by a student if the country should have simultaneous elections to the Lok Sabha and the state assemblies, he said that there was an emerging idea within the political parties that the elections should be held together. India choosing to be a parliamentary democracy and drafting its own Constitution were a major development that the country got to witness after Independence from British in 1947, President Pranab Mukherjee said on Monday. He said Indias diversity is its strength and the Constitution helped it maintain all thorough. (Maintaining) diversity has been possible because of our Constitution, he told the students of Classes 11 and 12 of the school. Speaking on politics in India since Independence, the President underlined the challenges the country was facing during those early days of Indian nation. Communal harmony was a major challenge, he said, adding that people were troubled because of Partition and hence communal tension built up. Mukherjee, however, said that political leaders managed to maintain harmony among the people and expressed satisfaction that secularism was a part of life in India. Yes, there has been terror attacks (in the country) but thankfully it (terror) is not home grown. We are attacked from outside. We are victim of cross-border terrorism, the President said. We certainly face attack but from cross-border terrorism. Success of our governance and administration lies in ensuring that home grown terrorism, which is the worlds biggest menace today, is not yet there in India, he said, and added that secularism is part of our life and it is still unfolding. Touching upon economic aspect of the country, the President emphasised on social performance for economic growth of India. Overall social performance should grow, which includes health infrastructure, social infrastructure among others, which is the requirement. Social distribution and growth with equity is also required, he said. Mukherjee apprised the students of development of various political parties and fronts after Independence. He said that various groups went out of the Congress, which was a common front before the Independence, and floated many political outfits. In India, September 5 is celebrated as Teachers Day, which is the birth anniversary of Indias second President Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan (September 5, 1888). The Election Commission(EC) will put in place a mechanism to check the use of money during elections for Rajya Sabha and legislative councils. There is currently no ceiling on lawful spending in these polls. The EC has mandated the state election officers to draw up measures in compliance with the existing norms on expenditure during state and general election. In a directive to all state election commissions, the EC has mentioned that nodal officials in liaison with police and income tax officers can put in place mechanisms for checking ostentatious displays of money power and bribing of electors. It has also asked for a 24x7 control room to be set up for notifying rules of the election from the date of notification of polls. All complaints, but not restricted to undue influence by offering cash or kind to a voter with a view to getting his or her vote, any type of threats, coercion to voters in the free exercise of franchise, misuse of the state machinery for electoral gains, partisan attitude or unbecoming conduct of connected election or police officer, adversely affecting the fairness of the polls must be received and disposed on a daily-basis, the EC has said in a communique. This past week, the EC announced that a special violet pen, manufactured by Mysore Lac and paints will be used to mark votes for Rajya Sabha elections. The pen will be provided by the election official to the voters instead of being left tied inside the voting booths. This comes in the wake of recent transgressions such as cash-for-votes and using the wrong ink to mark votes during polls for the Upper House of Parliament. In June this year, the EC decided against countermanding polls in wake of sting operations showing MLAs accepting money to vote in Karnataka for the biennial elections, but a CBI probe was ordered. A report on the use of wrong ink during election to the Upper House in Haryana is still being examined by the EC. SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON Would academic political science benefit from more viewpoint diversity? Let's start with the good news, which is that political science isn't nearly the worst-off discipline on campus.This is not because its intellectual demographics are so great. Surveys, such as this one , of faculty members' voter registration data suggest that poli sci does not contain nearly as large a share of conservative and libertarian professors as the more intellectually diverse fields of economics and law. Democrats outnumber Republicans among political science professors by over 7 to 1.Political science may contain no more diversity on this score than un-diverse fields such as comparative literature, anthropology, religious studies, sociology, and social psychology. If poli sci is better than most, it's because the frameworks of thinking, research, and teaching that dominate it are, ironically, less politicized than in many other disciplines.In fields like literature and anthropology, research agendas so thoroughly reflect liberal and progressive assumptions and interests that in many cases it is unclear how the occasional conservative can contribute to major debates. Political science contains some areas of study like this, driven by the left's beliefs about what topics are salient and how they should be studied.Political science is also populated by large research agendas motivated by mainstream concerns. These focus, for example, on the causes of voting behavior, the outbreak of war and peace, and the broad contours of international political economy. These sorts of topics would play a central role even in a much more intellectually diverse political science.That still leaves a lot of room for improvement. Simply put, many topics that reflect conservative assumptions and interpretations go un-researched and un-taught because conservatives make up such a small share of faculties.Let me provide two examples.First, religion and politics have obviously interacted in profound ways for millennia. I say "obviously," yet the study of that interaction-of the effects of religion on politics and the effects of politics on religion-is at best a fringe topic in political science, a fact noted and lamented by the few scholars (of any political stripe) who study it.That neglect probably occurs because large numbers of political scientists either do not believe religion is an important cause or effect, or do not find religion intrinsically interesting for other reasons. This would likely be a significant research area if the discipline had more viewpoint diversity.A second example concerns the study of the left and the right. In brief, there are many studies of leftist political parties and movements (unions, progressive social movements and activist groups) for every one of the right. And what study of the right there is, tends to focus on the most extreme or controversial groups.In the study of modern French politics, for instance, there are numerous studies in political science (and political history and political sociology) of the Socialist and Communist parties, the modern Green movement, and other left-of-center groups. There are also many studies of the National Front, focused on that party's nativism, xenophobia, and bigotry.By contrast, the moderate center-right is the subject of a tiny number of monographs. This is not because that sector is objectively less important. The mainstream center-right has arguably been the dominant force in French politics for the past 60 years.This is roughly being replicated across the region, as long-standing study of Europe's socialist, social democratic, and labor parties has recently been rivaled by fascination with extreme-right groups. All the while, study of Europe's influential moderate conservatives, classical liberals, and Christian Democrats is an academic backwater.Consider two other examples specific to political science sub-fields:International relations. This is probably the least distorted by academia's political tilt. Most obviously, the deterrence or peace-through-strength assumptions that are shared by many conservatives have remained a robust presence in international relations theorizing, especially in the form of the neo-realist school of thought.That said, many questions that conservatives would logically ask go under-studied.At the height of the Cold War, for example, America's liberals and conservatives were sharply divided by disagreements over Soviet conduct, events in developing countries, and the wisdom of different possible U.S. policies. Researchers have had some access to Communist-regime archival material since the fall of the USSR, and a window is now closing for interviews to be done on many questions, as Soviet-era officials pass from the scene.Political scientists should be furiously asking questions like: What role did the Soviet Union play in Western European terrorism? Did the USSR encourage certain wars? How did they perceive some controversial Reagan policies? Answers have the ability to shape how we think about the recent past and how we choose policies in the future.Yet, while a few historians have tackled some of these Cold War issues, political scientists do far too little work on them. A political science populated by more conservatives might proceed very differently.Comparative politics. This covers everything from constitutional dynamics across countries to election behavior, political economy, and transitions to democracy. One large literature asks why generous welfare states arose in most of Western Europe while a relatively slimmed-down counterpart developed in the United States. But there's been little research into the performance of these (and other) government programs. That might be explained by liberals' assumption that welfare and entitlement programs (like regulatory policies, affirmative action programs, and other policies) straightforwardly have precisely the effects they were intended to have.Conservatives are more prone to treating the connection between the goals and the effects of policies as problematic. They are more likely to investigate, for instance, the ratio of intended to unintended consequences of redistributive policies. For example, have tax, regulatory, and welfare policy regimes contributed to persistently high unemployment?Similarly, we have had to look more to maverick economists than to political scientists to ask whether aid and development policies have undermined growth in developing countries, in the process condemning hundreds of millions of people to malnutrition, poor health, and shortened lifespans. Those are natural questions for political scientists, but too few have shown much interest in them.These examples help us see a political science that is biased, in terms of what its current practitioners find interesting and believe important, and allow us to imagine ways in which it would be different if it were more intellectually diverse.In this case, like in others, a call for greater diversity is not a push for the study of fewer topics but for the enriching study of more topics.Political science, students, and the country would be better off for it. Prime Minister Narendra Modi today emphasised that effective financial governance requires elimination of safe havens for economic offenders and full commitment to act against the corrupt as he called on G20 members to break down the web of excessive banking secrecy. In his intervention on the second day of the G20 Summit in Hangzhou, Modi said fighting corruption, black money and tax-evasion were central to effective financial governance. To achieve that, he said, we need to act to eliminate safe havens for economic offenders, track down and unconditionally extradite money launderers and break down the web of complex international regulations and excessive banking secrecy that hide the corrupt and their deeds. Read | After meeting with Xi, Modis G20 schedule features UKs May, Turkeys Erdogan The Prime Minister said that a stable global economic and financial system is imperative for growth as it promotes inclusive and sustainable growth. He called for further strengthening of the global financial safety net. We need regular dialogue between the IMF, Regional Financial Arrangements and Bilateral Swap Arrangements. Important mechanisms like financial stability board should stick to their core mandate, External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Vikas Swarup quoted the Prime Minister as saying in a series of tweets. PM @narendramodi : Fighting corruption,black money & tax evasion central to effective financial governance pic.twitter.com/6z8Ux7QYO1 Vikas Swarup (@MEAIndia) September 5, 2016 IMF should remain a quota-based institution and not depend on borrowed resources, Modi said emphasising that the long-delayed 15th General Review of Quotas must be completed by 2017 Annual Meetings. The Prime Minister also said that India needs energy to support its development. A balanced mix of nuclear, renewal energy and fossil fuels are at the core of our policy. The G20 member states represent 85 per cent of the worlds GDP. Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, South Korea, Turkey, the UK, the US and the European Union make the G20. Read | PM Modi meets Chinas Xi, raises terrorism emanating from Pakistan Before an all-party delegation left for Kashmir, the government had informed it that one of the major challenges before them was the unidentifiable leadership of the protests and the growing radicalisation of local youths. A note circulated among the members of the team also admitted that infiltration attempts from Pakistan continued to take place and that in as many as 63 protests anti-India and pro-Pakisatn slogans were raised. The unrest in the Valley has claimed lives of 73 civilians and two security forces personnel. The first week of the turmoil registered maximum number of casualties when 33 civilians and one security personnel were killed. The government has told the all-party delegation that social media and rumours have been used as a tool to instigate the youth to lead and mobilise violent mobs. Parts of Kashmir have witnessed radicalised youth pelting stones at security forces, the government told the delegation members. It claimed that armed militants were also mixing with the protesters and using the opportunity to address rallies. Militants (area) using cover of such agitating mobs. (They) Have sometimes been firing at security forces and lobbing grenades thereby provoking them to retaliate, the note says. From July 8 to September 2, 1,649 incidents were reported that deteriorated the law and order situation in the Valley. During the turmoil, 6,298 civilians were wounded out of which 6,181 have been treated and discharged, while 117 are still in hospitals. Six people have lost complete vision as an outcome of pellet injuries. As many as 5,365 security personnel were injured in the clashes and 31 government establishments were set on fire. SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON First Bangladeshi vehicle with imported consignment rolled into a customs depot in New Delhi as part of an accord that has done away with trans shipment of goods from one countrys truck to another at international border, a time consuming and costly process. Senior customs officials said that this is yet another measure in a series of trade facilitation initiatives taken by the government recently to help businesses cut transaction costs. It is a very big day that marks ease of doing business. The entry of Bangladeshs cargo vehicles to India and ours to their territory will help in saving of days and transaction cost. It will further trade between the two countries, Chief Commissioner of customs Vivek Johri told PTI. He said the compulsion to tranship goods at the borders with neighbouring countries has been a major and longstanding pain point hindering free flow of trade. It has been made possible under the Bangladesh-Bhutan -India-Nepal (BBIN) Motor Vehicles Agreement, which was signed in June last year. The pact allows vehicles to enter each others territory and does away with trans shipment of goods from one countrys truck to another at the border. There was no provision to allow trucks registered in India to enter Bangladesh and vice versa until the accord was signed last year. Johri said the measure would not only cut cost and time but also allow the BBIN region to fully exploit its potential for integration through trade. The truck had left Dhaka on August 27 and entered India through Petrapole land border in West Bengal. It reached Inland Container Depot (ICD), Patparganj, this morning. The vehicle, which was carrying goods for Marks and Spencers, London, was fitted with a Global Positioning System (GPS) to help officials track its movement and help them ensure hassle free entry into the national capital via various states. It is a historic event for both the countries, said Vinayak Azaad, Additional Commissioner of customs. Officials from Bangladeshs High Commission and Ministries of External Affairs and Road Transport and Highways were present during a function organised at the ICD. The event will help in increasing trade between Bangladesh and India. It also shows that trust exists between the two countries, said Zahid-Ul-Islam, Counsellor, Bangladesh High Commission. Drivers of the truck -- Motiur Islam (32) and Md Rasel (28) -- were enthusiastic over their first visit to India. It is a proud moment for us. I enjoyed driving on the India roads, said Rasel. Motiur, who could barely speak in Hindi, was happy to be part of this historic event. This teachers day we offer you a peek into the lives of few men and women in the capital city who have taken up the cudgels to educate those who dont have the means. A man from Jamia Nagar who helps school dropouts get back on track or a 33-year-old woman who is making sure the kids of Janata Colony near Pragati Maidan know how to read and write. A 17-year-old motor mechanic apprentice by day and tutor by night, an octogenarian teacher or an East Delhi grocer, who has been educating little ones under a Metro bridge for over a decade. Mohammad Nadeem Akhtar, Shikhar Girls School, Batla House Mohammad Nadeem Akhtar has been running the Shikhar Girls School in Jamia Nagar since 2004. The school caters mainly to women who dropped out of traditional schooling for some reason. (Raj K Raj/HT PHOTO) Mohammad Nadeem Akhtar has been running the Shikhar Girls School at Batla House in Jamia Nagar since 2004. Primarily catering to dropouts, the school, which runs on funding from Essel Social Welfare Foundation, charges only Rs 900 as registration fee from those who can afford it. A masters degree holder in Sociology from Jamia Millia Islamia, Akhtar started this school after seeing the abysmal situation of girls education in rural and urban India. There are 354 students at present in the school in classes 9th to 12th, who are prepared to sit for board exams as private candidates. Till date, around 6,000 students have passed out from the school. Thirty-nine-year-old Tanzeem Irshad attends a class at Shikhar Girls School. The school charges only Rs 900 as registration fee. (Raj K Raj/HT PHOTO) Neetu Singh, Pragati Maidan Right next to Pragati Maidan Gate number 1, adjacent to the Shiv Hanuman Panchvati Mandir, an impromptu school comes up on the sidewalk six days a week. Neetu Singh gathers 30-odd kids of the neighbouring slums from 3.30pm to 5 pm in the afternoon and tries to teach them to be able to read and write at least. With zero financial aid, no source of income and interference from local goons, the 33-year-old is struggling on a daily basis. These kids are from very poor families. How can I ask them for money? I take Re 1 daily from those who can afford it. To try and sustain this initiative, she says. Neetu Singh teaches about 30 students every afternoon at her impromptu school on a sidewalk near Pragati Maidans gate number 1, adjacent to the Shiv Hanuman Panchvati Mandir. (Raj K Raj/HT PHOTO) With zero financial aid, no source of income and interference from local goons, the 33-year-old Neetu struggles to keep her school going. These kids are from very poor families. How can I ask them for money? she asks. (Raj K Raj/HT PHOTO) Vimla Kaul, Guldasta, Sarita Vihar Even at 82, Vimla Kaul beams every time she hears a chorus of good morning maam at Guldasta, a school for under-privileged children located in a narrow lane at Dairy Farm of Sarita Vihar. Most of them have never been to schools. A few of them go to government schools, where they do not get quality education. Some of them are studying in Class X, but cannot read or write properly. We are here to give them the education and training they need, Kaul says. From 9.30-11 am, it is computer classes, while from 11-1.30 pm, it is school time for little ones in KG to Class III. People with jobs or business do not have time to do social work. But what about retired people? They have lot of free time that can be used in doing something that benefits under-privileged people around them. That is what I am doing, she says. Eighty-two-year old Vimla Kaul says retired people can use their time to help others. This is why she started Guldasta, a school for the underprivileged in Sarita Vihar. (Raj K Raj/HT PHOTO) From 9.30-11 am, the school runs computer classes while from 11 am to 1.30 pm, students from kindergarten till class 3 learn to read and write. (Raj K Raj/HT PHOTO) Akshay Verma, Gyan Sandhya School, Pitampura At 9 in the morning, 17-year-old Akshay Verma reaches his workplace a motor mechanics garage where he is on unpaid training. At 5, however, he reaches Gyan Sandhya School in Pitampura to teach Science and Mathematics. His love for the subjects and teaching, is what propels this recent Class XII graduate to take classes even after a gruelling day. But there is another compelling reason. I want to help my mother out. She has been working as a maid and raising me alone ever since my father passed away when I was a kid. Rs 100 per day is a lot of money, Akshay says. Recent class 12th pass out , 17-year-old Akshay Verma teaches at the Gyan Sandhya School in Pitampura after his shift ends at a garage. (Raj K Raj/HT PHOTO) Akshay is driven by his love for teaching as well as the desire to help his mother who works as a maid (Raj K Raj/HT PHOTO) Rajesh Gupta, Free School: Under the Bridge, Yamuna Bank With four teachers and a few university student volunteers, Rajesh Gupta arrives every morning at Free School: Under the Bridge and teaches hundreds of poor children who live in the shanties and hutments dotting the banks of the Yamuna. Underneath the Yamuna Bank metro bridge in east Delhis Shakarpur area, over 270 students, from class 1 to 11 attend lessons. However, there are daily hurdles for this 46-year-old grocer. For food and water, there is a daily expenditure of over Rs 1,000. The teachers are working without any salary. It gets difficult at home as family finances get disturbed. But they (his family members) understand. Hopefully some aid will come and help my cause, says Gupta, a Mayur Vihar Phase III resident. Rajesh Gupta and his team of volunteers teach poor kids under the Yamuna Bank metro bridge in east Delhi. The school, which draws a steady stream of students from the hutments that dot the banks of the Yamuna, is called Free School: Under the Bridge. (Raj K Raj/HT PHOTO) Gupta is a grocer by profession, and at times, spends out of his own pocket to meet daily expenditure of food and water. Teachers work without salary at this ad-hoc school. Hopefully some aid will come and help my cause, says Gupta. (Raj K Raj/HT PHOTO) Actress Sunny Leones official website, catering adult content, is now on the radar of right wing outfit Hindu Janjagruti Samiti (HJS) that wants a complete ban on the portal. The organisation is headquartered in Goa. HJS volunteers will launch a national campaign against the website on September 10 from Kashi. Volunteers said that Kashi was chosen as its the cultural capital of India. HJS activists plan to stage a demonstration at Shashtri Ghat. The regional coordinator of the organisation, Nilesh Singbal, along with some volunteers, is presently engaged in seeking support of locals for the campaign. Interacting with the HT, Singbal said, Kashi is known as the cultural capital of India. We have chosen it to launch the campaign against this obscene website to send a clear message that such portals are a threat to the Indian culture and values. He also stressed that the government should place a complete ban on Sunny Leones website as it was widely engaged in spreading obscenity. Asked why HJS was calling for a ban only on Sunny Leones website, Singbal gave an interesting reason. In India, people are not much aware about names of other porn stars. Her growing popularity has become a threat to the Indian culture, said Singbal, adding that he had been told that Leones name was widely used by people while searching for adult content on the internet. The activist also advocated imposing a ban on other such websites too. He said that HJS had a big plan to create awareness among people about the ill-impact of porn websites on the minds of people. SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON In order to tighten the flow of foreign funds to controversial TV evangelist Zakir Naiks NGO Islamic Research Foundation (IRF), the government has decided to vet all donations it gets from abroad before they are deposited to its accounts. Under the Foreign Contribution Regulation Act (FCRA), the law that governs foreign funding of NGOs, the government can put them in prior permission (PP) category wherein the home ministry vets all funding. Whenever any foreign donation is received by the NGO under the PP category, banks are asked to seek clearance from the ministry before transferring it into the NGOs account. This is first step to choke foreign funding of NGOs under the government scanner for violation of FCRA norms. The process to move the IRF to the PP category is on, said a home ministry official on the condition of anonymity. Sources said this process was initiated by then joint secretary in-charge of the foreigners division, GK Dwivedi, who was later suspended by the government when it came to light that despite an inquiry pending against IRF, its foreign funding licence was renewed by the home ministry. The process was initiated following an inspection of accounts of the NGO in late 2014. The ministry found certain irregularities in the books of the IRF. There were a few unexplained donations and non-reporting of funds, said the official. The official added that around Rs 1.79 crore was not reported and there was also an unexplained fixed deposit of around Rs 10 crore in which some foreign funding was parked. Naik and his NGOs came back on the radar of Indian law enforcement agencies after some of the gunmen who attacked a bakery in Bangladeshs capital, Dhaka, were found to be influenced by his TV sermons. Following the revelation, the government prepared a multi-pronged plan for a clampdown on Naiks activities. (Ends) SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON Union home minister Rajnath Singh went after Kashmiri separatist leaders on Monday, saying their behaviour towards members of an all-party delegation that reached out to them over peace talks in the violence-hit region defied the spirit of Kashmiriyat and insaniyat. The minister, who led a 26-member delegation of politicians to the violence-scarred Valley, distanced himself from attempts of chief minister Mehbooba Mufti and other leaders to persuade the separatists for talks. He was visibly disappointed with the opposition leaders attempt to go on their own to meet the separatist leaders. I want to clarify that some members of the delegation had gone to meet Hurriyat leaders yesterday in their individual capacity, he told reporters before leaving Srinagar with the all-party team. Whatever information those friends gave us upon their return, it can be said it was not Kashmiriyat. It cannot be called insaniyat (humanity). When someone goes for talks and they reject it, it is not jamhooriyat (democracy) as well. We are ready to talk to everyone who wants peace, he said. Read | Whats the point: Kashmiri separatists refuse to meet all-party delegates CPI(M) general secretary Sitaram Yechury and three fellow politicians from the delegation tried to meet and speak to separatist leaders on Sunday, but they met with a cold response. Octogenarian Hurriyat hardliner Syed Ali Shah Geelani turned back the politicians from the gates of his home, while former Hurriyat head Abdul Ghani Bhat, JKLF leader Yasin Malik, moderate separatist Mirwaiz Umar Farooq and Shabir Shah gave the team an audience. But no one was willing to discuss the situation in Kashmir, where 73 people have died in clashes with security forces over the killing of a young Hizbul Mujahideen militant leader on July 8. The all-party team was in the Valley to find an amicable path for normality to return to the Valley. Read | Kashmirs disturbing new reality The delegation made no visible headway as the situation in the Valley continued to be tense, with recurring street protests. Singh had invited people for talks in a tweet last month during a visit to Srinagar. He reiterated his stand on Monday, saying: Not only doors, but our window ventilations are also open for anyone willing to talk to us for peace and normality in the state. We all are of the view that things in Kashmir need to improve, the minister said, promising chilli grenades to replace pellet guns in mob control, and a hotline to Delhi dedicated to the people. Read | Separatists shut doors on Kashmir all-party team, criticise CM Mufti CPI(M) leader Yechury was not disappointed despite the rebuff from the separatists, but maintained that a single visit of an all-party delegation serves no purpose. Unconditional dialogue with all stakeholders should follow, he said, and recalled how former prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee followed up his peace mantra for Kashmir Kashmiriyat, insaniyat and jamhooriyat with concrete steps. He even initiated a dialogue with the militant group, Hizbul Mujahideen. Senior PDP leader and state finance minister Haseeb Ahmed Drabu was the first to criticise the separatists for snubbing the politicians. Not opening the door was against the very sentiment the separatist were fighting for the separatist response hurt Kashmiriyat, he told a news channel. For her part, chief minister Mufti had invited the separatist leadership for talks, but insisted the invitation was in her capacity as the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) chief, which triggered speculation that coalition partner BJP was not on board. Home minister Singh refused to get drawn into talk of a BJP-PDP difference of opinion over Muftis move. He said: She wrote the letter, thats it. He refused to comment on the PDPs self-rule formula and the autonomy idea of the National Conference for the state, saying he wants to make a fresh start. Read more | Kashmir needs a solution: Reach out to all SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON Prime Minister Narendra Modi discussed Indias NSG membership bid with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and raised the issue of Scorpene submarine data leak with French President Francois Holland on the sidelines of the G20 summit on Monday. On the second and final day of the summit in Chinas Hangzhou, Modi met Erdogan and Hollande in separate pull-aside meetings. Modi also raised the issues of black money and tax evasion, urging member countries to take action against financial corruption. India is assessing the vulnerability of the mainstay of its future submarine fleet after the leak of the cache of secret documents detailing the combat capabilities of the French-designed submarines. The discussion with Erdogan on the Nuclear Suppliers Group was significant as Turkey was among the few countries along with China that stalled Indias bid to join the elite grouping at its plenary meeting in Seoul. China had then raised objection saying India was not a signatory to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT). Modi earlier met his British counterpart Theresa May and told her that Indias relations with the UK will remain strong despite the Brexit vote. This was Modis first bilateral with May who succeeded David Cameron after he stepped down following UKs decision to exit the European Union in June. Modi met the world leaders to exchange bilateral thoughts at the 11th G20 Summit a day after highlighting the scourge of terrorism and Pakistans role in liberally spreading it. After the bilateral meetings and the participating in G20-related events, he will fly out of Hangzhou for New Delhi in the evening. Modis Sunday meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping was the eighth meeting between the two and their second meeting in three months following the SCO summit meeting in June 23 in Uzbekistan. The meeting lasted for about 35 minutes, and the two were known to have touched upon all major issues that currently define the tenuous bilateral relations. Modi told Xi that India has worked to make closer developmental partnership with China. He highlighted that we have been successful in maintaining peace and tranquility on the border. Modi said he always had a strategic vision for India-China relations. The partnership is not only important for the two countries but for the entire region and the world. As a matter of principle, both countries would have to be sensitive to each others strategic interests. In order to promote positive convergences, we would also need to prevent the growth of negative perceptions. For this, specific actions by both countries play a major role, Modi was quoted as having told the Chinese President by Vikas Swarup, the spokesperson of the ministry of external affairs. With inputs from agencies Prime Minister Narendra Modi left Hangzhou on Monday after attending the two-day G20 Summit on the sidelines of which he met Chinese President Xi Jinping and a host of other world leaders. Discussions at G20 Summit were extensive & wide-ranging. I thank Chinese people & government for the great hospitality during the Summit, Modi tweeted before emplaning for Delhi. Goodbye in Hangzhou. See you in Goa. PM Narendra Modi bids adieu to President Xi, external affairs spokesperson Vikas Swarup tweeted. Its curtains down on another Summit for this critical global forum, he said. Modi, who came here from his first visit to Vietnam, met Xi and held talks on a host of issues, including bilateral tensions between the two countries. On the sidelines of the summit, Modi also met Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull, deputy crown prince of Saudi Arabia Mohammad bin Salman, UK Prime Minister Theresa May, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Argentine President Mauricio Macri and held talks with them on key bilateral issues. He also informally met US President Barack Obama and French President Francois Hollande during the summit. Before the G20, Modi presided over the BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa) leaders meeting to finalise their stand on the G20 summit. The BRICS leaders are due to attend the summit to be held in Goa next month. The Supreme Court on Monday refused to entertain a petition that asked it to direct all the police chiefs to examine all reported sedition instances before registering a case to ensure that the law is not misused. The court disposed of the public interest litigation (PIL) filed by non-profit organisation (NGO) Common Cause and anti-nuclear activist SP Uday Kumar, who wanted the Supreme Court to lay down guidelines to prevent the increasing misuse of sedition law in the country. The apex court noted that the guidelines under which the sedition law can be invoked have already been laid down. Someone making a statement to criticize the government does not invoke an offence under sedition or defamation law. We have made it clear that invoking of section 124(A) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) (sedition) requires certain guidelines to be followed as per the earlier judgement of the SC, the bench of Justice Dipak Misra and Justice UU Lalit said. The petitioners cited the recent incident of Amnesty India getting slapped with harsh sections after anti-India slogans were raised during one of its events in Bengaluru as an example of the sedition law being abused. Quoting official statistics, the petitioners complained that 58 persons were arrested in 2014 and 47 cases of sedition were booked in the country. Common Cause and Kumar wanted a direction from the apex court to make it mandatory for the concerned authority to produce an order from the director general of police (DGP) or police commissioner, certifying that a seditious act could either incite violence or had the intention of creating disorder, before registering a case or arresting an individual. September 2 A man in Odishas Malkangiri district walked 6 km with his seven-year-old daughters body as the ambulance transporting them to the hospital left them midway after learning that the girl has died. August 30 A man lost his ailing 12-year-old son on his shoulder after the state-run Lala Lajpat Rai Hospital in Kanpur sent him to a childrens hospital, 250 metres away, without providing an ambulance, stretcher or wheelchair. August 27 A man was forced off a bus with his five-day-old baby and mother-in-law, after his ailing wife died in the vehicle in MPs Damoh district. August 25 With his sobbing daughter in tow, a tribal man in Odishas Kalahandi district carried his dead wife for more than 10km because he had no money for transport and the government hospital, where she died, refused him an ambulance. The plight of these families underscores human apathy and a basic failure the breakdown of public healthcare in India. Successive governments promised to transform the healthcare system, including PM Narendra Modis announcement of a Rs 24,000-crore national health protection scheme. But little has changed on the ground. Since health is a state subject, wide disparities exist in delivery and access between states, rural and urban population. Health allocation has risen marginally or remained stagnant over the past six years across states average of 4.4% of the annual health spending of Indias 17 largest states. Delhi remains Indias best performing state, where the average spending is 10.1% of its total spending since 2010-11. The national capital and Rajasthan are the only two states where health outlay has increased by 2% or more of their total spending since 2011. Most states feel there is no need to allocate more. Bihar health secretary Jitendra Srivastava said increasing health spending from 3.3% in 2011 to 4.1% in 2015-16 considerably improved delivery. The average daily patient footfall in the out-patient departments (OPD) of government-run hospitals is 10,408 in 2016 to date, compared to 39 in 2005, Srivastava said. The highest OPD footfall across Bihar hospitals was 11,418 in 2013-14, which fell to 9,102 in 2015 after drug availability plummeted in government facilities because of a scam in the purchase of medicines in 2014. Populism vs rationale Increasing outlay is not enough if spending is determined by populism and less by need. Dr K SrinathReddy, the president of the Public Health Foundation of India, said: In the overall process of political prioritisation, health gets the short shrift since needs and grievances are wrongly perceived to be individual. The Madhya Pradesh health outlay has shot up from `1,831 crore in 2010-11 to Rs 5,644 crore in 2016-17, but there has been no significant improvement in the delivery. Cases of medical negligence that end in deaths make national news each month. In May, two infants were given nitrous oxide instead of oxygen in Indores government-run Maharaja Yeshwantrao Hospital died. The previous month, Gwalior police busted a racket of abandoned babies being sold with the help of government-paid ASHA workers. In March, a tribal woman was found carrying her dead child in a bag in Sagar district because she had no money for transport. The Damoh government hospital made news in June when district collector Srinivas Sharmas mother died because she couldnt get timely treatment. Doctor shortage India had around 740,000 registered doctors in 2014. But the country of 1.252 billion people has a doctor-population ratio of 1:1,674, against the recommended 1:1,000. Shortage apart, absenteeism remains high even in facilities where doctors, nurses and health workers are posted. In Madhya Pradesh, against the sanctioned 7,000 posts for doctors, the total shortfall is 4,000 in 51 district hospitals, 66 civil hospitals, 335 community health centres, 1,170 primary health centres, 9,192 health sub-centres and 49,864 village health centres. There is severe shortage of doctors in MP, especially in government hospitals. Specialists are not available at all, state health minister Rustam Singh said. We are trying to recruit through public service commission, hire doctors on contract and invite homoeopathic and ayurvedic doctors under AYUSH to address the shortage. The shortage is increasing out-of-pocket spending, with people seeking care from private clinics and doctors with little or no training. In the absence of regulation to determine accountability and quality standards, quacks run a flourishing trade. Only one in five doctors in rural India are qualified, says a WHO report on Indias healthcare workforce, highlighting the problem of quackery. The report found close to one-third of those calling themselves allopathic doctors educated only up to class 12. Also, 57% of the practitioners did not have any medical qualification. Solution The anonymity of prevention beneficiaries are faceless and nameless leads to neglect of public health. Low visibility of primary healthcare services leads to their neglect by politicians as well as medicos. Yet, these are the basic foundations of a good health system, said Dr Reddy. With the private sector providing 80% of outpatient and 60% of inpatient care and patents pushing up the cost of medicines, out-of-pocket spending on health is steadily growing, pushing people into poverty. Dr Vikram Patel from the Public Health Foundation of India wrote in The Lancet, a medical journal, that as much as increased resources, what is needed is a radically new architecture for Indias healthcare system. This system must address acute as well as chronic healthcare needs, offer choice of care that is rational, accessible, and of good quality, support cashless service at point of delivery, and ensure accountability through governance by a robust regulatory framework, he said. Everyone talks about the right to health, but with more than 30 million pending cases before courts, ailing people denied healthcare in overcrowded hospitals are unlikely to queue up to get justice. (With Neeraj Santoshi in Bhopal and Ruchir Kumar in Patna) SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON If everything goes as planned, some of the unwilling land losers of Singur will get their compensation before or on the day of chief minister Mamata Banerjees visit to the spot on September 14. This will be her first visit after the historic supreme court verdict to return the land to the farmers. Some farmers will get back their land even before the pujas. The Durga Puja, the biggest annual celebration of the Bengalis, is going to be held in the second week of October this year. Read: SC scraps Singur land deal for Nano plant, asks Bengal govt to take possession Mamata will address a victory rally in Singur on September 14. It will be held on the Durgapur Expressway (NH-2), in front of the Nano plant, where she sat on a 16-day dharna in August-September 2008 that ultimately forced the Tatas to move the project out of Singur. Sources claimed the chief minister wants some farmers who have received the money to be on the dais. File photo of police using force to disperse agitators in front of the Nano plant. The Singur victory came to the farmers after a long battle during which they had to face police lathis on numerous occasions. (HT Photo) Working on a war footing, the land acquisition department of Hooghly district opened a camp office at Beraberi village, many of whose residents gave up their land, on Sunday, to receive applications from unwilling land losers for the compensation that they did not accept so long. The compensation cheques will be disbursed after a verification of the ownership claims. On Sunday more than 100 villagers submitted their claims supported by documents. Read: Govt will return Singur land to farmers in cultivable condition, announces Mamata The urgency of releasing the payments before the chief ministers visit prompted us to open the camp office on Sunday. More camps will be opened over the next couple of days for speedy disposal of the claims, a top official of Hooghly told HT on Sunday. Sources in the district administration said that they have been instructed by the state secretariat to ensure that some plots of land are handed over to the original owners by the first week of October. State government official (in white shirt) carrying small drone to Singur to speed up the land survey process. (Ashok Nath Dey) It is not possible to let the original owners take physical possession of the entire land after restoring it to a cultivable state, that too within the stipulated time. However, we have been asked to ensure that some of the plots unaffected by construction work are handed over before Durga Puja, a senior officer said. Read: Nano trouble over, Durga rides back to Singur At the abandoned Nano plant compound, several hundred officials and workers from various government departments in Hooghly and Kolkata are working round-the-clock to ensure Mamatas wish is fulfilled. The surveyors are using small drones for aerial mapping and the differential global positioning system for accurate identification of the plots of land. Such equipment as combined harvester, cranes, excavators and JCB machines have arrived at the abandoned factory compound to clear the jungles and level the land. Bulldozers will arrive shortly to tear down the factory sheds. The Supreme Court ruling says all the land losers must get their land back. While those who had willingly parted with their land have already received compensation, the compensation awarded to the unwilling land losers is still lying with the district administration. SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON Taking up cudgels against the sale of acid in open market, acid attack survivors have decided to check the menace themselves. A Shoot Acid campaign has been launched from Uttar Pradesh, which is home to a large number of acid attack survivors. As part of the campaign, the survivors are visiting various general stores where acid is being openly sold. They are collecting video evidences of the sale, to be submitted to the district magistrates. Uttar Pradesh is a state that has taken a lead in ensuring rehabilitation and free medical aid for survivors. Sale of acid is something that has remained unchecked. I have written to the chief minister and have requested him to support our campaign. We are collecting evidences and expect action from the government, said Laxmi, an acid attack survivor who is leading the campaign. Through their Facebook page, survivors are inviting people to share videos or pictures exposing the free sale of acid in their areas. It has been three days now that the campaign has started and we have over 15 evidences of free sale of acid in various residential and market areas. There seems to be no check at all on the sale of acid, said Alok Dixit, Laxmis partner and leading member of the campaign. To begin with, the campaign has kicked off in Kanpur and would gradually be expanded to other parts of the state. We talked to the district magistrate regarding our campaign in Kanpur and it was welcomed. The DM has promised us that action would be taken. All the samples and evidences that we collect will be submitted to the district magistrate to ensure that action is taken against the shopkeepers who sell acid. This would create fear in the minds of shopkeepers and result in check on free sale, said Alok. According to a Supreme Court order of 2013, sale of acid is allowed only by a licensed trader and it should not be sold to a person below 18 years. As per norms, the seller is also required to ascertain before selling any poison, the name, telephone and address of the purchaser and the purpose for which the poison is purchased. All stocks of acid must be declared by the seller with the sub-divisional magistrate (SDM) concerned within 15 days. In case of undeclared stock of acid, it will be open to the SDM concerned to confiscate it and suitably impose a fine on such seller which could be up to Rs 50,000. The SDM concerned may impose a fine up to Rs 50,000 on any person who commits breach of any of the above directions. However, none of the norms were being followed, alleged Alok and his team members. UPs DUBIOUS DISTINCTION As per the latest data from the national crime record bureau (NCRB), acid attack cases have witnessed a rise of over 9% in the country, in the last one year. The maximum cases were reported in Uttar Pradesh. According to NCRB, a total of 222 incidents were reported in the country, out of which 55 were reported in UP alone. This second place in this list of shame has been bagged by West Bengal, where 39 incidents were reported. New Delhi stood third with 21 incidents in 2015. While the total number of acid attacks was marginally lower in 2014, the ranking of states remains the same. According to the 2014 report, 203 acid attacks were reported and UP took the lead with 42 incidents, followed by West Bengal, which saw 39 cases. In Delhi, 20 incidents were reported in 2014, as per the report. As expected, many of these attacks affected more than a single person. In 2015, while 222 incidents were reported, there were 249 victims. In addition, 46 attempted acid attacks also happened in the same year. In UP, where 55 incidents impacted 61 lives, 11 attempted acid attacks were reported. The trend of acid attack has certainly witnessed a rise. A look at incidents across the country highlights that these attacks are not just limited to women attacked by jilted lovers and husbands. Acid is being used among men to settle personal rivalries too, said Alok Dixit, a leading member of Stop Acid Attack a countrywide campaign. As per NCRB, 15 acid attacks were reported in Bihar, 14 each in Andhra Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh, 10 in Haryana, seven each in Kerala and Maharashtra, eight each in Odisha and Tamil Nadu, four each in Tripura and Gujarat, three in Assam and one each in Telangana and Rajasthan. Pleasantly, there are several places in the country where no incidents were reported in 2015. SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON Senior Uttar Pradesh minister Azam Khans 27-year-old engineer son, Abdullah Azam Khan, is all set to take the electoral plunge when the state goes to the polls in 2017. Another son rise will open the Samajwadi Party to more criticism over nepotism and dynastic politics but Abdullah is not too worried. the constituency from where I am hopeful of contesting hasnt been a party stronghold. So, I am planning to start my political innings from a difficult constituency, he said. Abdullah is likely to contest from Suar Tanda. Abdullah is Azam Khans youngest son. His mother, Tazeen Fatima, represents the party in the Rajya Sabha and Azam Khan, who wields considerable clout in the state, is an eight-time MLA from Rampur. Abdullah is also the CEO of Jauhar University in Rampur. His father Azam, who on Saturday named him the Suar Tanda candidate, is the lifetime chancellor and Fatima the pro vice-chancellor. SP chief Mulayam Singh Yadav, whose nod is a must for Abdullah to contest the election, is the university visitor. Abdullah says he wants to continue the familys 40-year-old political rivalry with the nawabs of Rampur. Nawab Kazim Ali Khan represents Suar Tanda is the Uttar Pradesh assembly. The four-time lawmaker won the 2012 state election as a Congress candidate but recently switched sides to former chief minister Mayawati-led Bahujan Samaj Party that is looking to dislodge the SP. Kazim has also had a brief but successful association with SP. It was he who won Suar Tanda for the party for the first time in 2007. Now, that he has joined the BSP, Abdullah says he wants to end the political hold of the nawabs that has been declining over the years. Abdullah addressed his first political rally in April 2014 in the run-up to the Lok Sabha poll after the election commission (EC) banned his father from campaigning for his inflammatory speeches. Abdullahs speech reportedly impressed chief minister Akhilesh Yadav. Abdullah spoke about alleged discrimination against Muslims and even took on the EC for banning his father from campaigning. Certain things are gods gifts. I never prepare my speeches and usually speak extempore, he said when asked about his famed oratory skills. Rampur-based old Azam loyalist Fasahat Shanoo said Abdullah had an instant connect with audience. You wont believe it but people have been writing letters with blood demanding Abdullahs candidature, he said. The Samajwadi Party did poorly in the 2014 Lok Sabha polls but Akhilesh Yadav is trying a last-minute image makeover, emphasising on development and looking to play down the caste and religious equations. SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON A day after Hindustan Times reported that Ganpati mandals in the city were clueless about relaxation of noise rules for the 11-day festival, the Mumbai city collectorate released a notification on Monday morning and submitted it to the Brihanmumbai Sarvajanik Ganeshotsav Samanvay Samiti (BSGSS). According to the notification, noise rules will be relaxed on the four immersion days September 6, 9, 10 and 15 with loudspeakers being allowed till midnight. As per the Environment Protection Act, 1986, and Noise Pollution (Regulation and Control) Rules, 2000, the use of loudspeakers or public address systems is banned from 10pm to 6am, except 15 days in a year, mostly during festivals. On Monday, HT reported that Ganpati mandals were not aware about the days when they would be permitted to use loudspeakers beyond 10 pm. While the state environment department said the collector was supposed to issue an order, the latter cited a Bombay high court order and said it was the state governments job. Read: Ganesh mandals clueless about noise relaxation rules Thanks to the report in Hindustan Times, the city collectorate swung into action and sent us a backdated letter highlighting the noise relaxation days, said Naresh Dahibhavkar, president, BSGSS. Even officials from the suburban collectorate called up on Monday and assured us that a notification from their end will be released by Tuesday. Now mandals have clarity and violation of noise pollution rules can be curbed. Officials from the state environment department had told HT that individual collectors from every district were supposed to issue the notification since different districts have different immersion days. Read: 10 Ganpatis we recommend you must visit in Mumbai Environmentalists said this was a lapse in communication from the state government too. As per the Supreme Court ruling in 2005 and a recent Bombay high court order, the state government should have communicated the relaxation of three out of four days during the beginning of the year and one day closer to the festival, said Sumaira Abdulali, convener, Awaaz Foundation. To not create confusion, the HC, in its latest order also read out that the relaxation needs to be the same at every district across the state and the state government is in-charge of the same. What the law says The Environment Protection Act, 1986 and Noise Pollution (Regulation and Control) Rules, 2000 bans the use of loudspeakers or public address system from 10pm to 6am. The Government of Maharashtra can extend the deadline up to midnight on 15 days during a year Ganpati Festival (4 days) Navaratri Festvial Ashtami and Navami (2 days) Christmas (1 day) Diwali Danatrayodashi and Laxmi Punjan (2 days) Eid-e-milad (1 day) Shivajayanti (1 day) Dr Ambedkar Jayanti (1 day) The remaining three days are reserved by the government for essential reasons. The Penalty: A person not adhering to the restrictions put in place by the Maharashtra government can be punished under section 15 of the Environment (Protection) Act, 1986, for a maximum period of five years in jail and a maximum fine of Rs1 lakh. If the offence is repeated frequently, a fine of Rs5, 000 a day can be imposed. SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON Around 40,000 more homes in Mumbai will host Ganpati this year, taking the tally of household Ganeshas to 2.25 lakh in the city, according to data from the Brihanmumbai Sarvajanik Ganeshotsav Samanvay Samiti (BSGSS). The city will also play host to 250 big Ganesh pandals, the data said. Last year, the city saw 1.86 lakh household idols during the 10-day festival and 11,556 Sarvajanik Ganesh pandals. The fact that there are more household idols means citizens have decided to focus more on celebrating a simple festival this year, said BSGSS president Naresh Dahibhavkar, adding that the demand for small clay idols this year saw a 100% rise. There is also more awareness among the masses to celebrate an eco-friendly festival and save the city from beach litter. Read: Demand for eco-friendly Ganesh idols up by 100% Dahibhavkar said specific guidelines have been provided to all Sarvajanik mandals. Three main highlights this year are as follows no dispute in caste or religion-related matters, no violation of environmental laws, especially those related to noise and beach pollution and the safety of women across the city, he said, adding that the mandals need to strictly follow these rules that were decided in consultation with chief minister Devendra Fadnavis. The Mumbai city collectorate released a notification on Monday morning and submitted it to the BSGSS, saying noise rules will be relaxed on the four immersion days with loudspeakers being allowed till midnight. As per the Environment Protection Act, 1986, and Noise Pollution (Regulation and Control) Rules, 2000, the use of loudspeakers or public address systems is banned from 10pm to 6am, except 15 days in a year, mostly during festivals. On Monday, HT reported that Ganpati mandals were not aware about the days when they would be permitted to use loudspeakers beyond 10 pm. While the state environment department said the collector was supposed to issue an order, the latter cited a Bombay high court order and said it was the state governments job. Artists gives finishing touches to the idol of Lord Ganapati made of Mentos Chocolates, ahead of Ganesh festival in Mumbai. (PTI) Read: Guess what is breeding inside these Ganesh idols There are four immersion days September 6, 9, 10 and 15 --- and idols will be immersed at beaches such as Girgaum chowpatty, Juhu, Versova, Aksa and Dadar. This time, the city has 26 artificial ponds for mostly household idol immersions. Wards A,B, C and D do not have any artificial immersions sites, said Dahibhavkar. A month before the festival, we had asked the chief minister and civic body to look into the matter. However, nothing happened this year. Last year, more than two lakh idols were immersed, leaving 3,059 metric tonnes of waste on the citys beaches roughly the amount of garbage sent to the Deonar dumping ground daily. As millions of people take the streets on Monday, popular mandals at Lalbaug and Ganesh Gali are expecting 1.3 crore people over the next 11 days, while the richest mandal, GSB Kings Circle and the oldest mandal Keshavji Naik Chawl, Girgaum, are expecting more than 70 lakh people this year. Read: From chocolate to cow dung, Ganpati to come in all forms this time SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON A team of the Haryana health department raided a private clinic here after alleged sex-determination test reports following which, police arrested five people from the clinic. However, the police now say that they are still verifying to ascertain whether the test was performed or not. The move is being seen to give a clean chit to a woman doctor, who was indicted by the health department and even the police booked her in the case. A three-member team, led by Ambala civil surgeon Dr Vinod Gupta, had raided the Amanpreet Hospital and allegedly found a lady doctor performing a sex-determination test on a woman. Following information, Kapurthala health officials, led by then Sultanpur Lodhi senior medical officer (SMO) Harpreet Kaur, also reached the spot. On Kapurthala health departments complaint , the police booked seven people, including Dr Sandeep Kaur, the duty doctor of the Amanpreet Hospital, under Sections 420 (fraud), 120B (criminal conspiracy) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and Pre-Conception and Prenatal Diagnostic Techniques (PCPNDT) Act, 1994. While five people have been arrested, two, including Dr Sandeep Kaur, are on the run. Dr Sandeep is the wife of Amanpreet Singh, who is the owner of the hospital. But the police have not mentioned it in the FIR (first information report)or investigated it. On Wednesday, the complainant and a witness in the case from Haryana recorded their statements before the local police, after they were asked to join the investigation. Civil surgeon HS Kahlon said that machines were sealed for conducting the sex test. For reopening it, we have to take permission of the court that will take at least a month. When asked about the arrest of the hospital owner as per PCPNDT Act, Kahlon said, We have submitted our reports and its up to the police to make an inquiry. Station house officer (SHO) Harpreet Singh said that the investigating was still on and the remaining two persons in the case are yet to be arrested. It is not clear whether the sex test was held at the Amanpreet Hospital or not. We are locating the mobile locations and machine records to verify it, the station house officer said. SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON The city police arrested Kamalpreet alias Sunny of Model House on Sunday into the murderous attack on property dealer Lal Chand Lalli (32) of Guru Hargobind Nagar on August 31. The police also recovered .315 bore pistol and a sharp-edged weapon (sickle) from his possession. Must read | Property dealer attacked with swords, sickles on busy Jalandhar road In a press conference, assistant commissioner of police (ACP) (North) BIS Kahlon, SHO police station-8 Bimal Kant added that before the attack on Lalli, he along with accused Hardeep Singh Shota Kala of Chhoti Baradari (arrested on August 31), Bablu of Boota Mandi and others held a meeting at his office and orchestrated the crime. The ACP said that Kamalpreet is already facing five different criminal cases and is on bail. He told that a group of car-borne men had attacked Lalli with swords and sickles in full public view at Lamba Pind Chowk on the busy Kishanpura road in Santokhpura. The victim, who also owns a tavern at Lamba Pind Chowk, was jailed in an attempt to murder case in 2014, before getting bail in December 2015. His wife Kuldeep Kaur said Kala, who was also in jail at that time, had a scuffle with her husband. Lalli reportedly slapped him in front of other inmates. Kuldeep said Kala had been threatening her husband after coming out of the jail recently. When Lalli was on his way to the court for a hearing on August 31, Kala, Kamalpreet, and his aides allegedly waylaid him. Witnesses said Lalli fell off his bike after one of the two cars of the assailants hit him. A case had been booked under Sections 307 (attempt to murder), 148 (rioting, armed with deadly weapon) and 149 (every member of unlawful assembly guilty of an offence committed in prosecution of common object) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC). Cops under fire as Jalandhar becoming a hotbed of crime Bishops and pastors of Pentecostal and para church organisations of Punjab said here on Saturday that the census, which is conducted by the government after a decade, did not tell the actual number of the Christians residing in Punjab. While interacting with mediapersons on the sidelines of the state-level assembly of the Christian leaders, organised at Virsa Vihar here, a Christian leader Imanul Rehmat Masih said, In reality, our population is 7 to 10% in the state, but the latest census shows us less than 1% under a deep-rooted conspiracy against the fast emerging religion. Despite our sizeable population in Punjab, no political party has given us representation in the state legislative assembly, Parliament and executive since the country got Independence, which is injustice with us, he said. He further alleged that the successive governments had never addressed demands of our community, nor given them the rights they deserved for. Even, we are being deprived of the reservation under backward classes. When, any member of the Christian community applies for a reservation certificate, he is asked to produce conversion certificate which is impossible generally, he added. He also criticised the state government for not allotting him a ground for performing last rites of the dead as per Christian tenets. When asked about their support to any political party in the upcoming assembly elections of 2017, the leaders said they would support a party that accepts their conditions. Commenting on the alleged obstacles being created by the Rashtriya Swayamsewak Sangh (RSS) in the propagation of their religion, they said the constitution has given right to every citizen of the country to adopt any religion, according to his will and no direct and indirect restriction can be imposed on anyone. They also formed a state-level united front of the bishops and pastors to fight for their rights. Masih was elected the fronts chairman, while Ulfat Raj was appointed president. Former vice-chancellor of Punjabi University, Patiala, HK Manmohan Singh died on Sunday after a prolonged illness. He was 89. HK Manmohan Singh, who served as the university V-C from 1989 to 1993, earned a big name in the field of economics, both at the national and international level. He started his career as a non-teaching employee after Partition and secured first position in MA economics from Panjab University, Chandigarh. He later joined Kapurthala Government College as a lecturer. He completed his PhD in economics with distinction from the London School of Economics. He also got Ricardo scholarship for distinction in political economy in 1955-56. He joined the university as head of the economics department in 1964, the position on which he remained till 1982. After his retirement in 1987 from Punjabi University, he was conferred the title of Professor Emeritus. The Punjab government appointed him as a member of Public Service Commission from 1987 to 1989, following which he was appointed universitys V-C. Expressing grief over his demise, vice-chancellor Jaspal Singh said a condolence meeting would be held on the university campus on Tuesday. SUKHBIR MOURNS DEATH Punjab deputy chief minister Sukhbir Singh Badal has mourned the death of HK Manmohan Singh. In his condolence message, Sukhbir said that country and has lost a leading economist whose views found resonance at international level in the economic sector. Stuck in India with broken ribs after a brawl at Manikaran in Himachal Pradesh, Germanys Holgar Misch (44) says he wouldnt have survived without the shelter and support he received at gurdwaras. Since Himachal Pradesh Police released him on bail after keeping his passport, he has been denied help at many places, including the German embassy. He has now approached external affairs minister Sushma Swaraj on Twitter. In July, a group of local boys in Himachal Pardesh attacked me, he said at a gurdwara in Beas. I fought them in self-defence. Even I got injured in the fight but nobody listened to me. My embassy didnt support me and theres no reply even from the Union minister. With broken ribs and no money, it was tough for me to survive without the help for which I want to thank the Sikh community. They give me food, a place to live, and unconditional love. When I get back to Germany, I will tell my people about it. (Gurpreet Singh/HT Photo ) Misch claims he was denied treatment. I kept asking the hospital for my original X-ray showing the broken ribs but they kept it from me, he said. With broken ribs and no money, it was tough for me to survive without the help for which I want to thank the Sikh community. They give me food, a place to live, and unconditional love. When I get back to Germany, I will tell my people about it. From Beas, Misch plans to move to the Golden Temple in Amritsar to beg for survival. I am collecting money for my medical scans to prove that I had my ribs broken in the fight. It will take that report to the court and my embassy. Beas gurdwara granthi (Sikh priest) Daya Singh said: He is free to stay here as long as he wants. We will provide him with food. Also read | Worlds largest single rooftop solar plant opened at Beas dera Regular visitor Prabhjit Singh of Raiyya is trying to find him help on the mobile internet. I will find an NGO (non-government organisation) to gather money for his treatment and scans. I have posted to them on the social media, he said. As for what Misch wants, its only justice and a quick trial, so that I can return to my country. I request the Indian government to help me. SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON Despite a bloody clash taking place between Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) workers in Malout, during rally of AAPs Sangrur MP Bhagwant Mann, resulting in injuries to at least six persons, the police have registered a daily diary report (DDR) on injured AAP volunteers complaint but no first information report (FIR) is filed. The police have registered a DDR under section 323 of Indian Penal code (IPC) on statement of Sukhjinder Singh, who suffered a head injury in the clash. The cops say that they acted on the basis of medico legal report (MLR) of the injured and according to the nature of injury; only a DDR was required. Read more | 6 AAP workers hurt in clash as Akalis gatecrash Bhagwants Malout rally We found that it is not required to register a formal case as per the medical report, said senior superintendent of police (SSP), Muktsar Gurpreet Singh Gill. He said that those injured from other group are not in a position to record the statement yet. Meanwhile, AAPs Sangrur MP Bhagwant Mann and Faridkot MP Sadhu Singh met the injured party workers at Muktsar civil hospital on Sunday. Mann alleged that police is trying to play down the incident which is reflected from the fact that only a DDR has been registered in this connection instead of formal FIR against the SAD workers. He said, Despite the fact that SAD workers were sitting in the rally for which AAP had taken permission, and attacked AAP volunteers, police was not willing to register a case. Mann said that a delegation of AAP leaders will meet the director general of police Suresh Arora on Monday, demanding a case against the accused. He said that if police fails to register a case, AAP workers will resort to state-wide agitation. At least six persons were injured in a clash during the rally of Bhagwant Mann in Malout on Saturday, after SAD workers gate-crashed into the AAP rally. Both groups indulged in stone pelting and throwing chairs at each other. Capt flays violence Chandigarh: Punjab Congress president Captain Amarinder Singh condemned the violence and intimidation resorted to by workers of the ruling Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) during an Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) rally in Malout. Such tendencies should be nipped in the bud as the electoral violence will be the worst thing that can happen to Punjab, he said on Sunday after Saturdays violence. Punjab goes to polls early next year. I am sure this was done at the behest of the CM, who was in the same district around the time, Amarinder alleged. PTI Though the municipal corporation had claimed to recommend to the finance & contract committee to act against the parking lots contractor on Ferozepur Road last month, it came to the notice that the same was done only on Sunday after HT asked MC commissioner for the action taken. MC commissioner, Ghan-shyam Thori, informed that they have sent the case to finance and contract committee for cancellation of the contract of parking lots on Ferozepur Road. MC superintendent in his report states that the parking contractor has not started e-ticketing at the parking sites and the staff is overcharging from the visitors. The report states that the superintendent has recommended for cancellation of the contract, which was awarded to Sachin Sharma in July 2016 for one year. The visitors to the areas continue to face harassment. Instead of giving the mandatory e-ticketing, the contractor is issuing manual slips and overcharging. Sharing his experience on Sunday, Simran Dhaliwal, owner of Dreamworld Immigration, alleged that the parking staff demanded Rs 30 for parking of his car for only 40 minutes, against the parking fee of `10 per hour at the parking lot near Ansal Plaza. The employee concerned issued him a manual slip instead of e-ticket. I had a verbal spat with them on the same issue, he said. When I went to Silver Arc Mall, the parking staff demanded Rs 40 and issued half-torn manual slip at the parking lot outside the mall on Sunday. It is sheer harassment for us. What are the MC officials doing? No helpline signage were displayed there, he further added. Commuters are being fooled as Rs 10 imprint is torn off from the side of the ticket to hide the price of parking of four-wheeler for less than 1 hour. The visitors told that the parking staff started arguing with them if they asked the reason of overcharging. Despite highlighting the issue several times, MC has failed to form the monitoring committee to keep check on the violations at the parking lots. Sources said MC officials are hand-in-glove with the parking contractors who are backed by some political leaders. Though the fleecing is not being stopped at the existing parking lots, MC is going to hold auction to hand over new parking lots on September 7. Will MLA take up the issue? Congress Legislature Party (CLP) deputy leader in Punjab Assembly, Bharat Bhushan Ashu, who is MLA from Ludhiana West, said, The parking mafia is active in the city and it is being run under the nose of the administration. The license of the contractors who are fleecing the visitors should be cancelled. FIR should be registered against the erring contractors. The matter was raised in the house meeting of MC. Now, I will take up this issue, he said. SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON Around 40 farmers were injured after police resorted to a lathicharge on a group that intended to go to Chandigarh for a pakka morcha (indefinite protest), near Patti, around 25km from district headquarters Tarn Taran, on Monday evening. Police also fired gunshots in the air to disperse the agitators. Around 300 agitating farmers associated with Kisan Sangharsh Committee (faction of Kanwalpreet Singh Pannu), who have been demanding farm reforms for long, were coming from Valtoha on tractor-trolleys around noon, and were stopped at the outskirts of the town. Police reportedly asked them to go back, but they stuck to their resolve to move ahead. Around 4pm, police carried out the lathicharge and also detained some farmers. A protester who identified himself as Mukhtyar Singh said the police also damaged their vehicles. A farmer, Buta Singh, said around 300 protesters told the police that they are going to a nearby gurdwara where they would stay and would not move ahead till their leaders direct them. A damaged tractor of the protesting farmers. (HT Photo) However, police officials said the protesters were moving towards Harike to block the bridge. We didnt allow them to move towards the Harike bridge as it is a main link between the Majha and Malwa belts, said a police official. The police force led by superintendent of Police (detection) Jagmohan Singh and deputy superintendent of police Gurcharan Singh tried to convince the protesters, but to no avail. The SP said they used the force as the protesting farmers attacked the police, leaving eight cops injured. They have been hospitalised. The farmers have been demanding loan waiver, compensation of Rs 5 lakh to the family of farm suicide victims, fresh survey to ascertain the actual number of farmer suicides due to debt, government job to a member of the victims family and a tubewell power connection at the government cost. Meanwhile, farmer organisations have condemned the police action. Its an attack on the democratic rights. The farmers were holding a peaceful protest, said state president of the Kisan Sangharsh Committee Satnam Singh Pannu. Kisan union members block the national highway in Amritsar on Monday. (Gurpreet Singh/HT Photo) 100 FARMERS DETAINED IN AMRITSAR Amritsar: Police detained more than 100 agitating farmers who blocked the Amritsar-Delhi national highway for around five hours after they were stopped on way to Chandigarh at Manawala village. A farmer leader said police raided residences of farmer activists in Amritsar and surrounding areas to detain them. MARCH STALLED IN BATHINDA BATHINDA: The police also stopped the protesting farmers at Jethuke, Tungwali and Dhipali villages in the district. Senior vice-president of the BKU (Ekta- Jhanda Singh Jethuke said a large posse of police was deployed in villages to stop farmers even from gathering at one place. Bathinda senior superintendent of police (SSP) Swapan Sharma said that police didnt stop any farmers rather the farmers themselves didnt come out of the Jethuke gurdwara while those in Tungwali and Dhipali also went back. He said 12 protesters were detained and were set free later. Meanwhile, police also detained over 100 farmers near Mehal Kalan village in Moga and 50 protesters in Mansa district. However, farmers from Barnala started their indefinite protest at the Fatehgarh Chhanna gurdwara. They were always there working for their parties, but it is only in the last two years that main parties have started recognising the woman quotient in student politics of Panjab University where they comprise close to 70%. Two years ago, Students For Society (SFS) had fielded a girl, Amandeep Kaur, for presidents post. This year, National Students Union of India (NSUI) has become the first main party to declare a woman, Siya Minocha, as its presidential candidate for the Panjab University Campus Student Council elections. Read more | PU polls 2016: Its final! Seven for presidents post Many other women candidates are also contesting, seeking to break stereotypes. They are realising that they cannot be just voters all the time. Siya has finished her 5-year-law course and is now enrolled in LLM first year with the University Institute of Legal Studies (UILS). She has been actively associated with the student politics since 2011. When asked if the role of women in PU elections has changed, she said, It has definitely changed. Earlier everybody used to take us as voters and not as leaders who could get votes for the party. I think this attitude has changed and we (NSUI) are the leaders in changing this perception. Somewhere, male ego has to be suppressed. I am not trying to be feminist but it is important when we see the whole scenario. But she is also facing a tough time. Rumours are being spread; people are saying things about my character, they are bad mouthing me, and unfortunately, all this is being done by girls. It is a risk that I am taking, she said. I believe girls will see their representative in me to raise their issues. We will grow together, says Siya. Jyoti Ahlawat, who is contesting for the post of general secretary from NSUI alliance, said earlier girls were only used as posers in the elections and were never given important roles in elections. I wanted to change this perception, hence entered the politics, said Jyoti, a gold medallist in graduation. Must read | PU polls 2016: Who Lyngdoh? Guidelines go for a toss as voting day draws closer I had noticed that girls are only used in elections. Ladki shorts pehan kar chalegi toh votes aise hi mil jaenge was the perception. And the political parties never thought that girls should be given important positions, she said. Sabhyaa Jaswal, who is fighting for the post of vice-president from SOI alliance, said, Being a woman, my priority will be to highlight the issues of girl students on the campus. Nearly 70% of students in PU are women, but there is hardly any representation. Hostels, sanitation and hygiene will be the top priority. Manvi Gandhi, contesting for joint secretarys post from Students Organisation of India (SOI) alliance, says, More and more women are entering into politics and they should get into the council to improve the facilities for themselves. However, Avneet Kaur of NSUI Students Front, who is contesting for the post of vice-president, has a different take. She believes that the presidential post of the party is a very crucial post and women might not be able to do justice to it. In our party, women and men are always given equal chances, she says. When asked, why there was no woman presidential candidate, she says, Though men and women are equal, but the women cannot handle the responsibility of the presidents post, they have other daily chores to do. May be, we never came across a woman, who can beat a male presidential candidate. Keeping tabs on power politics in Punjab, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh and Jammu and Kashmir: Sukhbir & Cos Sharjah tour to cost exchequer Rs 12 lakh Punjab deputy chief minister Sukhbir singh Badal-led delegations two-day round trip to Sharjah on the first international flight from Chandigarh will cost the exchequer Rs 12 lakh. The 10-member delegation will take the Air India Express flight on September 15 and attend a four-hour meeting with investors in Dubai the next day. The trip cost will come from the investment promotion campaign fund. The Outreach Visit is aimed at attracting investment from the United Arab Emirates (UAE) in infrastructure development, information technology and food-processing. The delegation will have four ministers, five officers and seven Akali MLAs. Initially, the delegation was bigger and included some BJP leaders such as industry minister Madan Mohan Mittal and MLAs KD Bhandari and Som Parkash, but they were dropped. I am not aware of any delegation and no one even consulted me. If they are only taking SAD MLAs, it is their sweet will is all Som Parkash was willing to say. Blessing in disguise for Chhotepur! Being removed from a post by a political party is usually seen as a setback for a politician. But for Sucha Singh Chhotepur, his removal as convener of the Aam Aadmi Party has resurrected him. Just 10 days ago, his house in Mohali wore a deserted look. He would barely have a few visitors. But ever since he landed in the cash video sting controversy for which he was removed from the post, his house is buzzing with people. All rooms are packed with supporters waiting to see him. His phone has not stopped ringing since. NRI Punjabis are openly pledging support on social media. As they say, for politicians no news is bad news. When Shergill fumbled for answers Aam Aam Party (AAP) leader Himmat Singh Shergill held a press conference in the backyard of his Sector 16 house at Chandigarh the other day to refute Sucha Singh Chhotepurs allegations that national convener and Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal is anti-Sikhi. Donning a black waistcoat over kurta pyjama, he tried to rebut the charge, but landed in a controversy instead. He could not answer the queries convincingly. Then, he, while trying to justify his partys stand on the sting on Chhotepur, took names of journalists sitting in the front row and asked: What if you face a charge and theres no option to prove it? So, it is best to do a sting. AAP, rocked by a series of crises, needs a better performance. Jakhar vs Soni vs Channi In last years rejig, the Congress appointed Ambika Soni as the campaign committee head after working out its caste and religion poll math. Its other Hindu face, Sunil Jakhar, lost his post as CLP leader to partys Dalit pick, Charanjit Singh Channi. But a lobby within Congress close to poll strategist Prashant Kishor now wants to replace Soni with Sunil Jakhar as the Hindu face. The logic is to appease angry Jakhar and get someone who can raise issues and do the running around. That very much explains Jakhars over-activism in recent times and Sonis discomfort with it. Call it divide Hindus and rule policy! Jakhar doesnt have lust for chair Punjab Congress leader Sunil Jakhar sat among the journalists at a press conference of state unit chief Capt Amarinder Singh on Thursday. The reason: he found all the four chairs kept for leaders hurriedly occupied by his colleagues eager to sit beside the former chief minister. When Amarinder noticed this, he asked Jakhar to join him. But Jakhar replied: I am fine here with my journalist bhai log (brothers). He later mocked those who had grabbed the chairs, citing lust for chair. Hoarding gaffe lands Chawla in wrong house When Union finance minister Arun Jaitley visited Amritsar recently, BJP veteran leader Laxmi Kanta Chawla went to meet him. But she was deceived by a welcome hoarding and went into a house adjacent to the ministers residence. Chawla went in hoping to find Jaitley, but was told by journalists and party workers that she had entered the wrong house. Kinni waddi galti hai. Naal de ghar hi hoarding laa dita, she said before heading for Jaitleys house. Politicians and their deft moves The dilly-dallying by suspended SAD MLA Pargat Singh to join AAP fuelled speculations about his joining the Congress. The news was enough to ruffle the feathers of former MLA and Jalandhar (rural) Congress Committee president Jagbir Singh Brar, who had contested as partys nominee in 2012 state elections. Soon, there was news of Brar likely to join SAD along with his rebuttal in a newspaper considered close to the Badals. Punjab Congress president Captain Amarinder Singh was quick to appoint Brar as one of the five members of the manifesto committee. Many in Congress were amused by the news. Even politicians now know how to plant stories, one of the Congress leaders quipped. Polls are near, so are youth camps Months before Punjab goes to the polls, some lucky youths get a chance to enjoy the climes of hills at the expense of the Punjab government. This has happened thrice in 2006, 2011 and 2016. Some of the participants, who attended the 10-day Naggar camp near Manali that concluded on Friday, said they appreciated the initiative of deputy chief minister Sukhbir Badal, but were also aware why this is happening at this time. Have they spotted a trend? Haryana Cong leaders face heat, literally Congress leaders, led by former Haryana chief minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda held a short protest march against Prime Ministers Fasal Bima Yojana in CM Manohar Lal Khattars constituency Karnal the other day. While they boasted that they would continue their fight for the rights of farmers, several of them could not bear the scorching heat. After Hooda and others reached the mini secretariat on a tractor, the first thing several of them did was to search for space inside the secretariat building for shade to protect themselves from the searing heat. Gannaur MLA and former assembly speaker Kuldeep Sharma, who was holding the mike and lavishing praise on Hooda, also looked uncomfortable. After the ex-CM started his speech, a party worker noticed Sharma and took him to the SDMs office. All for a cause! KU V-Cs media management Kurukshetra University vice-chancellor Dr Kailash Chandra Sharma had to face uncomfortable questions at his first press conference recently. The VC, who met journalists at the universitys international guest house, did not seem to like their questions, but handled them tactfully. He seemed upset over the negative reports by a section of media on the institution. Jab koi choti si galat news hoti hai to aap 5 column with photo chap dete ho, or positive news ko highlight nahi karte, he said, on being asked about the executive councils decision to reappoint an assistant professor held guilty of sexual harassment of girl students. When the journalists objected to his statement, Sharma also directed the public relations department of the university to provide regular feed to them, especially positive stories. Kejriwal of Haryana: Capt Abhimanyus take on Dalal Congress MLA Karan Dalal made news last week by alleging that finance minister Capt Abhimanyu had financial stakes in a stone mine in Bhiwani which was allowed monopoly by the state government. But how Abhimanyu trashed them also created a buzz. After Dalals press conference where he demanded a CBI inquiry, the FM also quickly called journalists for his side of the story. Terming the charges false and mischievous, he said Dalal was the Kejriwal of Haryana Congress. Inki naam raishi bhi ek hi hai, he added, meaning that their names begin with the same alphabet. Abhimanyu said the allegations were a ridiculous attempt by Dalal to divert public attention from the privilege motion admitted against him by the state assembly. A true Virbhadra aide Shimla superintendent of police DW Negi does not miss any opportunity to show his loyalty to chief minister Virbhadra Singh. He had a long stint as in-charge of the CMs security and even served him in Delhi when Virbhadra was in the steel ministry. Negi took a special 10-day leave recently, as the CM was scheduled to visit his (the officers) native village Rarang in Kinnaur district. The officers elder brother TG Negi, who retired as additional chief secretary, is also currently re-employed as principal secretary to chief minister. Himachal CM shows tribals his dance moves Chief minister Virbhadra Singhs fondness for tribals of Kinnaur district is well-known across the state. He frequently visits the area that that was once a part of his erstwhile princely state Bushahr. His media managers also try their best to give maximum publicity to his visits. When the octogenarian CM visited Kinnaur recently, they released pictures of him being hugged by aged women. But what caught everyones attention were photos showing him dancing with a group of locals. (Contributed by Hillary Victor, Chitleen K Sethi, Sukhdeep Kaur, Aseem Bassi, Gurpreet Singh Nibber, Prabhjit Singh, Neeraj Mohan, Rajesh Moudgil, Gaurav Bisht) Actor Amy Jackson will be shooting for some action sequences for the Tamil science-fiction action drama 2.o from Monday in Chennai. She joined the sets back on Saturday. In the latest schedule, the makers will shoot some action scenes featuring Amy Jackson and Rajinikanth. One of the most important portions of the film will be shot in the following weeks, said a source. An elated Amy shared the news on her twitter page, Landed up in Chennai! Shooting my action packed scenes for @shankarshanmugh Robot 2.0. Landed up in Chennai! Shooting my action packed scenes for @shankarshanmugh #Robot2.0 Amy Jackson (@iamAmyJackson) September 2, 2016 Being helmed by S Shankar, the film also stars Akshay Kumar as the antagonist, Sudhanshu Pandey and Adil Hussain. Tipped to be produced on a budget of Rs 350 crore, the film which is being bankrolled by Lyca Productions, will hit the screens in the summer of 2017. Double Oscar-winning composer AR Rahman is composing the films tunes. ott:10:ht-entertainment_listing-desktop Director Raam Reddys Kannada-language drama film Thithi, which won a National Award this year, was screened at the 1st BRICS Film Festival in New Delhi on Saturday. Speaking at the fest, the director said all the countries present at the fest were so diverse that the hinterland and their uniqueness needed to be explored. The 1st BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa) Film Festival, which is part of the special events planned in the run-up to the 8th BRICS Summit to be held in India next month, kick-off here at Siri Fort Auditorium Complex on Friday. And on the second day, at a panel discussion titled Stories From Hinterland, Going Global, Reddy opined that there is an immense amount of raw talent in the small unexplored lands that are wanting to tell something unique. Realism is a style, its something in India that captivated me. Diverse and interesting in so many ways. In hinterlands if you are collaborating with people, they are natural, Reddy said, adding that he also collaborated with people from the villages, behind the camera. Reddy is best known for his National Award-winning film Thithi, but has also impressed many with his short films including Ika -- a Telugu short film. The countries that have come together for this festival are so diverse, with so much of diversity within each of their own countries that we need to go into the hinterlands. We need to start exploring the real heroes, he said. Raam Reddy with Shyam Benegal. (Raam.reddy/Facebook) Reddy also finds the common man interesting, and has had a number of real life people portraying themselves. I found the common man very cinematic and wanted them to be on the screen. I also like to work with people whom I know in some way. In Ika, children from a slum community who were attending a school that my mother runs... I knew them personally. They were so interesting and full of life and dynamic, and had so much to tell, he said. The discussion had three panelists including Brazilian producer Ana Stella de Almeida Quesado and Mandla Dube, director from South Africa. The festival will end on September 6 with the screening of Jackie Chans Skiptrace. ott:10:ht-entertainment_listing-desktop Actor Abir Chatterjee, who is being praised for his toned body, has been shooting for his new Byomkesh Bakshi film, Byomkesh Pawrbo, without a break. But that doesnt mean he is not missing playing Feluda. Abir, who played Satyajit Rays iconic creation, Feluda, in Sandip Rays Badshahi Angti (2014), has been replaced by Sabyasachi Chakraborty in Rays upcoming double Feluda film. Abir, who is excited about reprising the role of the dhoti-clad Bengali detective Byomkesh Bakshi in Arindam Sils next Byomkesh Pawrbo, says, I am missing Feluda. Its a great franchise. But as a mature individual, I know how to let go. It was a learning experience. Sabyasachi, who has earlier portrayed the detective in several Feluda films, returns as the new Feluda as Ray thought there will be an identity crisis since Abir was playing both Feluda and Byomkesh on celluloid. Filmmaker Arindam Sil and actor Abir Chatterjee at the mahurat of Byomkesh Pawrbo, which is being shot in north Bengal. (Twitter) Abir informs that Rays family is very dear to him and theres no bad blood between them. I have met Babu da (as Sandip Ray is fondly known in the Bengali film industry) and our personal relationship is just fine. He is family to me. It was a technical decision and we have spoken about it, smiles Abir. Just before starting shooting for the new Byomkesh film, Abir had wrapped up the shooting of Anindya Ghoshs new film, Thammar Boyfriend, starring veteran actress Sabitri Chatterjee. The film, essentially a comedy, also carries a strong social message about the elderly. Abir says he is fortunate to have shared screen space with yesteryear actress Sabitri Chatterjee, who has acted in superhit films such as Nishi Padma, Dhanyee Meye and Bhrantibilas. Read: Bitten by the Byomkesh bug Everyone know about Sabudis (Sabitri Chatterjee is affectionately addressed as Sabudi in Tollywood) comic timing. Generation after generation has witnessed her impeccable comic timing. I never thought I would be acting alongside her. She is very friendly, he says. Interestingly, at a time when Abir is working with senior directors like Srijit Mukherji, Kaushik Ganguly, Atanu Ghosh and Arindam Sil, he is also working with young directors like Manoj Michigan, Anindya and Abir Sengupta. I think this is a good balance. This way, I am getting to play interesting characters. Also, the interpretations of the various directors are helping me brush my acting skills, he says as he flashes his trademark dimple smile. ott:10:ht-entertainment_listing-desktop SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON Ganesh Chaturthi is a festival that is celebrated in a rather grand manner in Maharasthra. Most cities like Mumbai and Pune, play gracious hosts to Ganpati and bid him a memorable farewell, every year. The spirit of this festival has been represented in popular culture, such as in television and films. Bollywood ventures Don, Agneepath starring Shah Rukh Khan and Hrithik Roshan, have paid a tribute to Lord Ganesha with their foot-tapping tracks such as Morya Morya and Deva Shree Ganesha. Read: Court, Lai Bhaari and more. The rise and rise of Marathi cinema The essence of Ganesh Chaturthi has been displayed aptly in Marathi cinema as well. With this festival being so dear to most Maharasthrians, it is but natural to find representations of Lord Ganesha in several Marathi films such as Katyar Karjat Ghusli and Dagdi Chaawl. On the occasion of Ganesh Chaturthi, we list the 5 best Ganesha songs in Marathi movies: Read: Idol makers get busy ahead of Ganesh Chaturthi Sur Nigas Ho- Katyar Karjat Ghusli Sung by Shankar Mahadevan and Anandi Joshi, this soulful track makes for a great listen on the occasion of Ganesh Chaturthi. The vibrant visuals of this number, perfectly encompass the spirit of this festival and Mahadevan does justice to the track, with his heartfelt act. Watch: Sur Nigas Ho from Katyar Karjat Ghusli Prathan Tula Vandito- Ashtvinayak Sung by Anuradha Paudwal and Vasantrao Deshpande, this Ganesh bhajan from the film is melodious and makes for a soothing listen. The video showcases the actors singing and praying to Lord Ganesha. Watch: Prathan Tula Vandito from Ashtvinayak Panchantund Nararundmaladhar- Balgandharv This number is sung by Anand Bhate and is a simple yet heartwarming Ganesha number. The video showcases a group of people singing the track on stage. Watch: Panchantund Nararundmaladhar from Balgandharv Morya- Daagdi Chaawl Unlike other soulful Ganesha songs, Morya is an out and out upbeat number, sung by Adasrh Shinde. Starring Marathi actor Ankush Chaudhary, this foot-tapping number would make up want to get and dance! Watch: Morya from Daagdi Chaawl Deva Shree Morya- Govinda Another upbeat track, this one sung by Shankar Mahadevan has a rather catchy tune as well as beats. The video features popular Marathi actor Swwapnil Joshi, who does justice to the track with his energetic and spirited form. Watch: Deva Shree Morya from Govinda ott:10:ht-entertainment_listing-desktop A steady downpour diminished crowds but didnt stop 432 soggy sheep from taking over the streets of Reed Point on Sunday for the Great Montana Sheep Drive. I usually come out for the people and the street dance, said Bud Howard, who has attended the event for the past several years. The rain kinda put a kibosh to that one. The water killed the street dance and log sawing competition, but other events of the day went on as planned. Howard and a couple of his friends competed in a round bale rolling contest and topped the limited field. He said hes entered the contest the past three years. Typically a half dozen teams enter to push a hay bale down a side street in a bid for the best time. This year only two teams entered. The 1,700 pound round bale weighed even more after it became water logged, and Howards group was the only one to complete the course. They walked away with half of the $40 pot. Howard said the trip to Reed Point from his hometown of Columbus was worth it despite fewer vendors and attendees this year. He stuck through the rain with his fiance, Bobbi Abel, until the sheep ran their course just after 4 p.m. to end this years event. Attendance at the Sheep Drive has hovered around 4,000 to 5,000 the past few years, but this year about 2,500 braved the weather to catch the spectacle. Considering the conditions, it was a good turnout, said Diana Hahn, one of the events organizers. Hahn said the event has only been rained out once since it began in 1989 as a tongue-in-cheek competitor to the centennial cattle drive that took place in Roundup that year. The rain started trickling down at about noon, and by the time the sheep were released more than half the crowd had already left without a street dance to look forward to. It was too wet for the band and pretty much too wet for the people, she said. Despite the damper it put on Reed Points signature shindig, Hahn said its hard to complain about a little moisture in an agriculture town behind in rainfall. All pregnant women with or without fever must be screened for Zika virus if they live in or have travelled to countries with localised infection, says the World Health Organisation. Zika, a mosquito-borne virus, causes mild symptoms of fever, rash, conjunctivitis, fatigue and joint pain for two days to a week in most people, but pregnant women with the infection risk having babies with microcephaly, a condition in which babies are born with abnormally small heads and brains. The threat of microcephaly makes it vital for all pregnant women to be screened for Zika in countries with local transmission, said Dr Poonam Khetrapal Singh, regional director, WHO South East Asia. In February, WHO declared Zika a global emergency after establishing its link with microcephaly in babies. Till September 163 countries have reported active transmission and 20 have confirmed cases of microcephaly and the Guillain-Barre syndrome, which can lead to nervous system problems, weakness and paralysis. With 26 million babies born in India every year and 80% of people infected not developing symptoms, the risk is great for lakhs of pregnant women and their unborn babies. The good news is that five pregnant women with Zika infection in Thailand have had healthy babies, said Singh. Thailand has confirmed 97 cases, and Indonesia five, including a pregnant woman. Singapore is the only country in Asia with active local transmission, with cases shooting up from zero to 242, raising concerns about a potential rapid surge across Asia. Thirteen of those infected in Singapore are Indians. Last week, a study published in The Lancet journal put several countries including India, Pakistan, China and Bangladesh in Asia at high risk of Zika based on an analysis of travel, climate and mosquito patterns. These are all countries with high density of the Aedes aegypti mosquito that spreads Zika along with other infections such dengue, chikungunya and yellow fever. To stop potential outbreaks, countries need high vector surveillance and case detection so that infection doesn't reach the community," said Singh. Though mosquitoes are the main vector, Zika can also be spread through sexual contact and blood transfusions. There is no treatment or vaccine for Zika infection. SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON This years Venice Film Festival seems like a great comeback -- a return to the good old days of cinema, when it was simple and uncomplicated, when directors and writers believed in giving their audiences a good time. They were not expected to look at abstracts or break their heads over puzzling storylines or climaxes. We saw this trend with the opening movie, La La Land, which transported us to the days of melodious Hollywood musicals. Mel Gibsons Out of Competition war film, Hacksaw Ridge, at the ongoing festival is a conventional, old-world story about a war hero that one has seen in a work like Von Ryans Express -- where Ryan is played by that great actor we called Frank Sinatra. There have been other movies like The Dirty Dozen, Battle of the Bulge and Where Eagles Dare, which spoke about the heroic exploits of the Allied forces during World War II. Gibson -- after his rough times that included his anti-semitic outbursts -- made a comeback after 10 years on Saturday with Hacksaw Ridge -- which talks about the fierce battle that American troops fought after Pearl Harbour -- a do-or-die battle to capture Okinawa which would have ensured their victory over Japan. In the kind of troubled times which America is passing through, Hacksaw Ridge tells us how easy it once was to be defined as a patriot. During the war, the Pacific region was a scene of devastation and destruction that saw hundreds of thousands of men dead in bloody battles. The push for Okinawa alone in 1945 saw 82,000 men killed. And Gibsons work captures this conflict as no other film has. John Woos Windtalkers in 2002 and Terrance Malicks The Thin Red Line earlier in 1998 pale in comparison to Hacksaw Ridge. The battle scenes here are mind-blowing, and look so eerily real that one felt that one was watching the actual war from a stand high above. Andrew Garfield plays a soldier called Desmond Doss in Hacksaw Ridge. (Venice Film Festival) Andrew Garfield -- who plays the hero, Desmond Doss -- is brilliant in a role that is gripped by a moral question. He is poorly educated, a Seventh-Day Adventist, who will not work on a Sunday even if the enemy were to be peering into his bunker. Hailing from rural Virginia, his principle is clear--he is okay with war, but not killing, and so he would not so much as touch a rifle. That would go against his faith. But he is prepared to go into the war zone as a medic -- never mind the humiliation and the prejudice he has to endure from his regiment. But Gibson shows us how Doss even while refusing to handle a gun, goes into the field, saving 75 men single handedly in what became a heroic record. Doss was extraordinarily brave -- belying his regiments dig of he being a coward. There is, of course, a story about why he becomes anti-killing. As a boy, he nearly kills his brother, and later his own father--turning points in his life that see Doss become a man of peace. The actual Doss died only in 2006. Hacksaw Ridge is a true story, and Gibson says that without flinching, in the movies opening credits. Gibson also weaves in a love story. Doss falls for a pretty nurse, Dorothy (Teresa Palmer), and this hardly ever distracts the primary plot, which is quite clearly the tale of Doss strange courage that takes him to the war front, the only man who goes there without a weapon. Watch trailer of Hacksaw Ridge here: Gibson, the Oscar-winning director of Braveheart, told a press conference soon after his Hacksaw Ridge was shown: Doss struggle is singular. He is in the worst situation possible. He goes into the struggle with faith and conviction. He does something supernatural. That inspired me. As storytellers we want to tell those stories... To go into a battle zone like that. I think the Japanese called it a steel rain, with the artillery and the lead that was flying around, to go into that armed with only your faith, your faith has to be strong indeed... Thats an undeniable part of the story that I just find really inspiring. Doss just conquers everything. Gibson also felt that much more needed to be done to stop suicides by soldiers returning from wars. I hate wars. But you have to love the warrior and give him homage and honour Our warriors need some love and understanding. I hope this film imparts that message. (Gautaman Bhaskaran is covering the Venice Film Festival.) ott:10:ht-entertainment_listing-desktop Iran and Britain appointed new ambassadors to each others countries on Monday for the first time since a mob ransacked the British embassy in Tehran in 2011. Hamid Baeidinejad, 53, was named as Tehrans envoy to London, ISNA state news agency reported. He played a crucial role in the negotiations with world powers that led to last years nuclear accord and the lifting of international sanctions. Britain appointed Nicholas Hopton -- the current charge daffairs in Tehran -- as its first ambassador to Iran since relations were severed following the storming of the embassy by students in five years ago. The upgrade in diplomatic relations gives us the opportunity to develop our discussions on a range of issues, including our consular cases about which I am deeply concerned, British foreign secretary Boris Johnson said in a statement, referring to the ongoing detention of dual nationals in Iran. I hope this will mark the start of more productive cooperation between our countries, enabling us to discuss more directly issues such as human rights and Irans role in the region, as well as ongoing implementation of the nuclear deal and the expansion of the trading relationship between both our countries, said Johnson. The 2011 attack on the embassy saw a mob rampage for hours through the compound, tearing down the British flag, ripping up pictures of Queen Elizabeth II and trashing offices. The incident followed a vote by lawmakers to expel Britains ambassador and reduce trade relations in retaliation for nuclear-related sanctions, but the violence was later condemned by Irans supreme leader and other politicians. The British embassy was reopened in August 2015, a month after the signing of the nuclear accord, during a visit by Johnsons predecessor Philip Hammond. Baeidinejad worked as an expert on disarmament and represented Iran in several roles at the United Nations, including as ambassador between 2008 and 2011. Iran maintains a deep historical distrust of Britain, dating back to the early 20th century when London meddled frequently in Iranian politics in order to secure cheap access to oil for the Anglo-Iranian Oil Company (which later became BP). Britain played a key role in prodding the Central Intelligence Agency into carrying out a coup in 1953, toppling the hugely popular prime minister Mohammad Mosaddegh who had called for Irans oil to be nationalised. Senior Labour MP Keith Vaz is likely to face an inquiry by the parliamentary standards commissioner after he reportedly paid male prostitutes to visit him at his London flat, putting a question mark over his high-profile political career. Indian-origin Vaz, who is chairman of the influential home affairs committee, is expected to formally announce his resignation from the panel after meeting its members on Tuesday. The Charity Commission is also examining reports that a Vaz-related diabetes charity, Silver Star, paid the male escorts. Speaking in China where she is attending the G20 Summit, Prime Minister Theresa May said it was "important people have confidence in their politicians", but added that "what Keith does is a matter for him". Conservative MP Andrew Bridgen said he was urging parliamentary standards commissioner Kathryn Hudson to investigate Vaz. Bridgen told BBC Vaz's position as the home affairs committees chairman was "completely untenable". While people have the right to a private life, there was a "conflict of interest" in his role on the panel, which examines and reports on matters such as policing and prostitution. He added: "His position is completely untenable...he should do the decent thing and resign." A Charity Commission spokesman said the organisation was aware of allegations made regarding an individual linked to the charity Silver Star. The commission has asked journalists to forward any details and evidence they have in order to determine whether there is a regulatory role for the commission," he said. Silver Star was set up by Vaz in 2007 after he learnt he had Type 2 diabetes. Vaz is the patron of the charity, which operates in Britain and India to raise awareness about the disease. Vaz said in a statement: It is deeply disturbing that a national newspaper should have paid individuals to have acted in this way. I have referred these allegations to my solicitor who will consider them carefully and advise me accordingly. At this time I do not want there to be any distraction from the important work the home affairs select committee undertakes so well. Parliamentary committees do vital work in holding the government and others to account, Vaz added. I will of course inform committee members first of my plans when we meet on Tuesday. My decision has been based entirely on what is in the best interests of the committee which I have had the privilege of chairing for the last nine years, he added. British tabloids reported on Sunday that Vaz, a married father of two, allegedly paid the male prostitutes. The home affairs committee that he chairs is looking into a shake-up of prostitution laws and also investigates vice and drugs. SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON Hong Kong voted on Sunday in its first major election since pro-democracy protests in 2014 and one of its most contentious, with a push for independence among disaffected younger candidates and voters stoking tension with Chinas government. The vote is for a 70-seat legislative council in which Hong Kongs pro-democracy opposition is hoping to maintain a one-third veto bloc in the face of better mobilised and funded pro-Beijing and pro-establishment rivals. The former British colony was handed back to China in 1997 under a one country, two systems agreement that promised to maintain the global financial hubs freedoms and separate laws for at least 50 years, but gave ultimate control to Beijing. Long queues formed outside some polling stations as voters flocked to cast ballots for a record number of candidates who fanned out across the city of seven million on election day. Much attention focused on a group of about 20 pro-democracy localists pushing a more radical, anti-China agenda who could become a fledgling new force in the legislature. A growing yearning for independence and animosity towards Beijing in the southern coastal city pose one of the central governments most pressing domestic political issues. Hong Kong is really chaotic now. I want to do something to help, said 28-year-old Maicy Leung, who was in a snaking queue of several hundred. Its to help the next generation and to help myself. The stakes for Beijing are particularly high this weekend as G20 leaders gather in the eastern city of Hangzhou for a summit. Hong Kongs opposition now controls 27 of the legislatures 70 seats, giving it a one-third veto bloc to oppose funding and various legislative bills including those it sees as eroding freedoms. Over 50 percent of eligible voters cast ballots, with the results due early on Monday. It will give an indication of anti-China sentiment some two years after tens of thousands took to Hong Kong streets to demand full democracy from Chinas Communist Party leaders. A younger generation of activists who joined those protests is openly advocating independence - a push some people warn could jeopardize Hong Kongs economic and political future, but which seems to be gaining traction. A recent Chinese University of Hong Kong poll found around one in six people now support a separation from China. Chinas stability-obsessed leaders have categorically rejected any possibility of independence. Hong Kong officials are generally supportive of Beijing and keen to preserve one country, two systems, though confidence in Chinas commitment to the formula has been shaken by recent incidents including the abduction of several Hong Kong booksellers by Chinese agents. Beijing campaign Many residents see the 79 days of student-led Umbrella Revolution protests in 2014 as a turning point in the citys politics even though Beijing gave no ground. Since then, many disaffected youngsters have decried what they see as increasing Beijing interference to stifle dissent and civil liberties, leading to a radicalisation of the political scene and occasional violent protests and a riot. In July, six pro-democracy election candidates were disqualified from the election by the Hong Kong government on the grounds that they supported independence, even after some were forced to sign a pledge that Hong Kong is an inalienable part of China We dont want our next generation to be slaves of the Chinese Communist Party, said Edward Leung, one of those disqualified who campaigned for a replacement candidate in an open top bus and addressed cheering crowds of with a loudhailer. Its a revolution of this era, shouted Baggio Leung of Youngspiration, who was running on Leungs vacated ticket. China has launched a multi-pronged campaign to try to sway the vote through its channels of influence including state companies and grassroots patriotic associations.. It is an open secret that they ... pull strings, they make threats, they plant votes, said Anson Chan, a former senior Hong Kong official. The citys Beijing-backed leader, Leung Chun-ying, rejected any suggestion of interference. Our election is a democratic one, Leung told reporters after casting his vote, when an activist threw a tuna fish sandwich at him. Voters have their own free choice and dont need anyone to tell them how to vote. Iranian supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei renewed criticism of Saudi Arabia over how it runs the Haj after a crush last year killed hundreds of pilgrims, and suggested Muslim countries think about ending Riyadhs control of the annual pilgrimage. Because of these (Saudi) rulers oppressive behaviour towards Gods guests (pilgrims), the world of Islam must fundamentally reconsider the management of the two holy places and the issue of Haj, Khamenei said in a message carried by his Website and Irans state media. They must not let those rulers escape responsibility for the crimes they have caused throughout the world of Islam, Khamenei said, listing Saudi Arabias involvement in conflicts in areas including Iraq, Yemen and Syria on the side of forces Iran opposes. In this Sept. 24, 2015, file photo, a Muslim pilgrim walks through the site where dead bodies are gathered after a stampede during the annual hajj pilgrimage, in Mina, Saudi Arabia. (AP) Custodian of Islams most revered places in Mecca and Medina, Saudi Arabia stakes its reputation on organising Haj, one of the five pillars of Islam which every able-bodied Muslim who can afford to is obliged to undertake at least once. Its prestige was damaged by the 2015 disaster, in which Riyadh said 769 pilgrims were killed -- the highest Haj death toll since a crush in 1990. Counts of fatalities by countries who repatriated bodies showed that over 2,000 people may have died in the crush, more than 400 of them Iranians. Iran, Saudi Arabias main regional rival, blamed the disaster on organisers incompetence. Pilgrims from Iran will be unable to attend Haj, which starts on September 11, this year after talks between the two countries on arrangements broke down in May. An official Saudi inquiry has yet to be published, but authorities suggested at the time some pilgrims ignored crowd control rules. Riyadh accuses Tehran of destabilising Arab states and spreading sectarianism by backing militias in Syria, Lebanon, Iraq and Yemen and fomenting unrest in Bahrain and Saudi Arabia. Iran denies those charges. The Islamic State had planned for more carnage during last years Paris attacks and wanted to follow up the assault with strikes against more targets in France and the Netherlands, CCN reported on Monday. Among the fighters dispatched by the IS for the attacks in Paris were two men Pakistani national Muhammad Usman and Algeria-born Adel Haddadi who were unable to reach the French capital in time and were later arrested by security agencies in Austria. Usman is a suspected bomb-maker for the Lashkar-e-Taiba. Citing 90,000 pages of documents and photos from investigations across Europe and sources close to the probe into the Paris attacks, which killed 130 people, CNN reported that the carnage in the French capital was a slimmed-down version of an even more ambitious plan to hit Europe European investigators now believe the IS planned for the operatives it sent last year to hit other targets in France, including shopping areas and possibly a supermarket in Paris, and also attack the Netherlands, an unnamed European counter-terror official was quoted as saying. Intelligence inputs also indicated the ISIS has stepped up efforts to infiltrate operatives into Britain to launch attacks there, another official said. The European counter-terrorism official said security services were uncovering more and more ISIS operatives in continental Europe. These operatives have taken advantage of encryption, especially the Telegram messenger app, for secure communications and this is frustrating European security services. Muhammad Usman and Adel Haddadi, whose capture has been described as a major breakthrough, set off for France along with two suicide bombers who later blew themselves up outside a Paris stadium last November. The duo set out from Raqqa in Syria, the capital of the IS caliphate, six weeks before the Paris attacks. The men crossed into Turkey from Syria in early October and headed for the Turkish coast. Their journey was directed by a shadowy IS leader known only as Abu Ahmad, who connected them with smugglers and cars for transport, provided pre-programmed mobile phones and got them fake Syrian passports. He also wired them money and communicated using encrypted apps. After getting into Greece in a boat filled with refugees, they were intercepted by the Greek Navy. Greek authorities discovered Haddadi and Usmans fake Syrian passports and they were arrested and held for nearly a month. As a result, they could not become part of the Paris attacks. After Haddadi and Usman were released in late October, they continued along the refugee route. The men arrived in Salzburg, Austria, on November 14, the day after the Paris attacks, and applied for asylum. They then settled in a refugee centre, where they waited for weeks before they were arrested by Austrian authorities. During their journey, Usman, who speaks only Urdu, was preoccupied with a strikingly un-Islamic hobby using his phone to browse two dozen X-rated sites, including sexxx lahur and Pakistani Lahore college girls...ImakeSex. After Haddadi and Usman failed to participate in the Paris attacks, were planning another strike in Europe, investigators concluded. The documents also shed light on the highly organised IS branch responsible for plotting attacks inside Europe. The documents, including interrogation reports, investigative findings and data pulled from cell phones offered insight into the external operations wing known as the Amn al-Kharji. ISIS is increasing its international attack planning, said Paul Cruickshank, editor of CTC Sentinel, a publication issued by the Combating Terrorism Center at West Point. Its increasingly sophisticated in the way it does this. Its set up an intricate, logistical support system for these terrorists...to launch these terrorist attacks. Haddadi and Usman were extradited to France, where they face terrorism charges. Every photograph might not be worth a thousand words but the G20 Summit group photo could throw up a thousand interpretations about where each leader stands in the hierarchy of power. At least, according to what China thinks. The photo features the 36 leaders who gathered in Hangzhou for the 11th G20 Summit, including 21 heads of state or government, seven representatives of international organisations and eight leaders from guest countries. According to an analysis by a top international expert from the prestigious Renmin University in Beijing, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modis positioning in the group shows his stature and power in the eyes of China. Wang Yizhi, director of the Institute of International Affairs at the university, explained to Zhejiang Online why he thought so. Read | Two years, two pictures: How a G20 photo indicates a shift in world politics According to the rules, the order usually followed from the front row to the row behind for group photos taken at international meetings is heads of the state (presidents and kings), governmental leader (prime ministers, chancellors) and representatives of international organisations. Prime Minister Narendra Modi with other G20 leaders and their spouses in a group photo during the G20 Summit in Hangzhou, China on Sunday. (PTI) In each row, the leaders would be positioned from the centre to the sides according to the time they took office, Wang said. Prime Minister Modi has also been arranged in the first row, together with 13 leaders, including 11 heads of state and (Angela) Merkel, Chancellor of the next host country, Germany, the website reported. Positioning the Indian Prime Minister in the first row has demonstrated Chinas attention to India as a developing country and a rising power, Wang said. Read | One nation spreading terror: Modi takes swipe at Pakistan in G20 speech Modis positioning also shows what China feels about how the participation of developing and emerging countries has helped G20s transformation into a long-term mechanism. Wang said: In the future if you look back, the Hangzhou G20 summit is bound to be a historical watershed. The arrangement of leaders standing near the host also shows the intimacy among nations, Wang said. Host countries could make some autonomous arrangements under the general framework, he added. In Wangs view, the group photo was thoughtfully arranged. He said putting the troika leaders in the centre has ensured the transformation of the G20 from a mechanism focussing on short-term policies and emergencies to a long-term policy and system. As the leader of the next host country of the G20 Summit, Merkel stands at the right side of President Xi Jinping, and at Xis left hand side is Turkish President Erdogan, the leader of the last G20 host country. This is the first time the leaders of the troika stood together. Read | Eye on Pak, Modi urges China to unite against terror at G20, meets Obama Prime Minister Narendra Modi took a swipe at Pakistan on Monday, telling leaders of the worlds top economies that they must isolate and sanction the one single nation in South Asia that is spreading agents of terror in the region. Without naming Indias nuclear-armed foe, Modi told the concluding session of a G20 summit that his government appreciated the steps to combat the financing of terrorism, which was being used by some nations as an instrument of state policy. Indeed one single nation in South Asia is spreading these agents of terror in countries of our region, Modi said in one of his interventions. We expect the international community to speak and act in unity, and to respond with urgency to fight this menace. Those who sponsor and support terrorism must be isolated and sanctioned, not rewarded For us a terrorist is a terrorist. Modi tried to revive ties with Pakistan since coming to power two years ago, but those efforts have floundered, especially after an attack on an Indian air force base in Pathankot in January. Relations further nosedived after a new round of street protests in Kashmir, triggered by the killing of a militant commander by security forces, but which New Delhi says were being instigated by Islamabad. Modis remarks are also seen as a message to China and its close relations with Pakistan. Beijing has shown a consistent reluctance to allow a UN ban on Jaish-e-Mohammed chief Masood Azhar, the alleged mastermind of the Pathankot attack. The comments came a day after he sought to forge international opinion on isolating Pakistan in his meetings with Chinese President Xi Jinping, Russian President Vladimir Putin and Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull. Prime Minister Narendra Modi with his British counterpart Theresa May during a bilateral meeting on the sidelines of the G20 Summit in Hangzhou, China, on Monday. (PTI) Earlier in the day, Modi called for the elimination of safe havens for economic offenders and full commitment from global powers to act against the corrupt and to disrupt excessive banking secrecy. He also held bilateral meetings with the leaders of Britain, France and Turkey. The Prime Minister also said a stable global economic and financial system was imperative for growth. He called for further strengthening of the global financial safety net. We need regular dialogue between the IMF, Regional Financial Arrangements and Bilateral Swap Arrangements, external affairs ministry spokesperson Vikas Swarup quoted the Prime Minister as saying in a series of tweets. Important mechanisms like financial stability board should stick to their core mandate. In his bilateral meeting with British prime minister Theresa May, Modi brought up the issue of terrorism and that the two countries should work together to tackle the menace. With Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Modi raised the issue of Ankara blocking New Delhis entry into the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG). Swarup didnt share details of the discussion on NSG beyond saying: The NSG issue did come up. Ending federal mineral extraction would cost Wyoming almost $900 million in annual revenues, according to a recent report from the U.S Chamber of Commerce. The report, from the U.S. Chambers Institute for 21st Century Energy, examines what a complete cessation of oil, natural gas and coal development would mean for state and federal coffers, as well as the impact to the current industry workforce. However, some say the report's stark projections are unlikely to come true. Under the report's scenario, Wyoming could lose 32,500 jobs and $886 million a year from mineral royalties, according to the report. In terms of the states GDP, the effect would be about $9 billion. The financial impact study is a response to a growing "keep it in the ground" movement, which supports ending or phasing out mineral extraction on all federal lands and waters. Some proponents of the idea recently filed a lawsuit challenging almost 400 leases in Wyoming and neighboring states. Similarly, a congressional bill sent to committee in November would end offshore drilling and coal leasing on federal lands. A second lawsuit filed recently in Colorado accuses the Bureau of Land Management of failing to hold quarterly lease sales in a number of states, including Wyoming. In an effort to appeal to the keep it in the ground movement, a number of prominent politicians have proposed ending energy production on federal lands, said Karen Harbert, president and CEO of the institute in a statement. Their proposals will have a devastating effect on Wyomings economy and quality of life. In the last fiscal year, the state used $471 million from federal royalties to fund education, and another $316 million to fund state operations. If these politicians get their way, Wyoming will lose 20 percent of its budget and be in an immediate crisis. However, the likelihood of the reports scenarios coming true, either a complete end to federal extraction or a gradual decline in leases, is slim in the near future, said Charles Mason, professor of petroleum and natural gas economics at the University of Wyoming. The report has some validity in terms of a cautionary tale for Wyoming, he said. Some states have large areas of natural gas and oil production on private lands, making them immune the dramatic impact of an end to federal extraction. That is not the case in Wyoming, where a bulk of development is on federal lands. The figures in the report come as no surprise in a state that relies on its mineral riches to cover everything from legislative paychecks to school buildings. In the first quarter of 2016, the state lost 5,500 mining jobs due to the decline in oil, gas and coal markets, according to the Wyoming Economic Analysis Division. Jobs in construction, transportation and utilities also saw significant declines due to the falling prices of those commodities. Moreover, Wyoming has experienced a number of government cuts this year, including a contentious $45 million from K-12 education. Despite the visible effect of the economic downturn, Wyoming still received the highest amount of federal royalties from mineral extraction of all states last year. Eighty percent of coal mined on public lands comes from Wyoming, along with 40 percent of onshore natural gas, and 18 percent of onshore oil the bulk of the nations federal oil is offshore, according to the report. Western and southern states stand to lose the most in the what if scenario. New Mexico, Colorado, Texas and Louisiana would lose heavily, both in revenue and jobs. Nationally, the report states, a sudden end to federal mineral extraction would result in a loss of $11.3 billion per year. "Production on federal lands and waters still accounts for a quarter of all oil, natural gas and coal produced across the country, Harbert said. If that were to end, it would hit Western and Gulf Coast states particularly hard, and could result in production moving overseas, which would harm our national security and impact prices. Aside from the "keep it in the ground" movement, the institute attributes a dip in national energy produced on federal lands since 2010 during President Barack Obamas administration and an uptick in regulations. The report also includes data on a second "what if" scenario, in which all existing leases are left alone but new leasing opportunities are reduced. That scenario would cost the country $6 billion in lost revenues over the next 15 years and 270,000 jobs, according to the report. However, the report ignores the reality that demand for energy must be met and a move in the direction of renewable fuels actual stokes a natural gas market, Mason said. The reason is not political, it's pragmatic. "Its well known that renewable sources suffer from what is called an intermittency problem. There is something of a mismatch of when stuff is produced and when it is used. Until we get to a point where we have excellent battery storage which is not in the near future something has to back that up," he said. "My personal feeling is that natural gas has a relatively important role to play for a while. I think that bodes well. Wyoming historically has been in that echelon not quite as high up as Texas and Pennsylvania, but important. And I dont think that is going away." French Prime Minister Manuel Valls on Monday slammed a New York Times article prompted by the debate over the burkini swimsuit in which French Muslim women complained of discrimination and even persecution. The article, which appeared on Friday, painted an unacceptable image of France because it is false, Valls wrote in the French-language online edition of the Huffington Post. New York Times reporter Lillie Dremaux solicited the views of European Muslim women on the burkini debate, distilling more than 1,000 comments for the article. One respondent said she was afraid of having to wear a yellow crescent on my clothes one day, like the Star of David for Jews not so long ago. Another said: French Muslim women would be justified to request asylum in the United States... given how many persecutions we are subjected to. Valls objected with the greatest vigour... that the journalist quotes women of the Muslim faith suggesting that their voices are muzzled, to depict France as oppressing them. The Socialist Prime Minister, who came under fire for saying last month that the burkini was based notably on the enslavement of women, reiterated his stance in the Huffington Post piece. Blasting foreign media for accusing secular France of seeking to undermine Muslims freedom to practise their faith, he said: It is precisely for freedom that we are fighting. Valls saw an incredible reversal in comments that he said presented the burkini as an instrument of womens liberation, citing one respondent who said her sister could finally play with her children on the beach instead of sitting in the shadow. Another said wearing the veil does not mean being enslaved by a man... it means reappropriating the body and femininity. These womens assertions suggest complete acceptance of male domination, Valls wrote. In France, we consider to the contrary that... women cannot be the subject of the slightest domination. And the idea that women should be removed from the public arena is indeed male domination, he added. The Prime Minister linked the promotion of the burkini to Islamist proselytising. Its not an anodine swimming costume. Its a provocation (of) radical Islamism that is on the rise and wants to impose itself in the public arena, Valls wrote. He said the great majority of Muslims... do not recognise themselves in this proselytising minority that is exploiting their religion. In France, which counts a population of five million Muslims, burkinis are extremely rare and only a minority of Muslim women remain covered on beaches. Valls said France was proud that Islam is the countrys second religion. Millions of citizens of the Muslim faith or culture respect their duties perfectly and fully enjoy their duties. The burkini debate came as France has been rocked by a string of deadly attacks claimed by Islamic State militants. The US and Russia failed to make a breakthrough on a ceasefire in war-ravaged Syria during a meeting between President Barack Obama and his counterpart Vladimir Putin on the sidelines on the G20 Summit here on Monday. The meeting went on longer than planned but the two leaders were unable to thrash out an agreement to stop the fighting in Syria. US secretary of state John Kerry and Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov, who met on Sunday to discuss Syria, held a fresh round of negotiations on Monday morning but this too ended without an agreement, Chinas official Xinhua news agency reported. An US official was quoted by Reuters as saying that Obama and Putin did not get into the finer details of a deal, but made progress on clarifying "the remaining gaps". They directed Kerry and Lavrov to meet as early as this week to keep working on a deal, the official said. If an agreement can be reached, we want to do so urgently, because of the humanitarian situation. However, we must ensure that it is an effective agreement, the official said. The US and Russia have been trying to reach a deal on Syria, where rebel forces have been locked in a long and vicious war with forces loyal to President Bashar al-Assad. The situation has been complicated by the presence of the Islamic State. Thousands of civilians and fighters have died in the fighting, with the US and Russia taking opposite sides. US state department officials, according to Reuters, declined to elaborate on the sticking points preventing a deal, though the American official said remaining differences revolved around how a plan to end the fighting will be implemented. Russia has insisted that it cannot agree to a deal unless opposition fighters, backed by the US and Middle East allies, are separated from al Qaeda linked militants they overlap with in some areas, the report said. Warning China of consequences due to its aggressive behaviour, US President Barack Obama has asked the communist nation to restrain itself from worrying its neighbours in the disputed South China Sea region. China is locked in disputes in the South China Sea with the Philippines, Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, Taiwan and Vietnam. A UN-backed international court in July ruled that China never had historic rights over islands in the South China Sea, in a verdict that was snubbed by Beijing. Part of what Ive talked to communicate to President Xi (Jinping) is that the United States arrives at its power, in part, by restraining itself, Obama said. You know, when we bind ourselves to a bunch of international norms and rules, its not because we have to, its because we recognise that, over the long-term, building a strong international order is in our interests. And, I think, over the long-term, it will be in Chinas interests, as well, he told CNN in an interview recorded before he left for China to attend the G20 Summit. So where we see them violating international rules and norms, as we have seen in some cases in the South China Sea or in some of their behaviour when it comes to economic policy, weve been very firm. And weve indicated to them that there will be consequences, Obama said. Read: This is our country: Chinese official shouts as Obama lands for G20 summit What the US has tried to emphasise to China is that if it is working within international rules and international norms, then they should be partners, he asserted. There is no reason that China and the US cannot be friendly competitors on the commercial side and important partners when it comes to dealing with the many international problems that threaten the two countries, Obama said. Obama noted China has been run during his lifetime by a Communist party that has been much more anti-Western in the past. We went through a period over the course of 20 years, in the 90s and on through maybe the onset of my presidency, where, because state-sponsored capitalism and an export-driven model was very successful, China was less interested in making waves, Obama said. But, you know, youve got over a billion people, one of the largest economies now in the world. And so its to be expected that they will want a bigger seat at the table when it comes to international affairs. And what weve said consistently is we welcome the peaceful rise of China, consistent with international norms. Thats good for everybody. An impoverished and collapsing China would be dangerous for everybody, Obama said. Read: Airport tiff shows value gap: US prez Obama on Chinese officials outburst Sri Lanka was declared malaria-free on Monday and will get a certificate from the World Health Organization on September 6. It is the second country to eradicate malaria in the region after Maldives, which has been free of the disease since 1984. The last locally-transmitted case in Sri Lanka was in October 2012, with the island nation bringing down malaria from 264,549 cases cases in 1999 to zero in November 2012. The certification will done at the 69th session of Regional Committee For South East Asia in Colombo. Malaria is a parasitic disease transmitted to people through the bite of infected female anopheles mosquitoes. Symptoms include fever, headache, chills and vomiting. How Sri Lanka won the war against malaria Web-based surveillance: All fever cases were tested for malaria and each case notified with the Anti Malaria Campaign at the ministry of health. People with a travel history to countries with malaria transmission were closely tracked for symptoms, as were people in the armed forces on peacekeeping missions, immigrants, emigrants, tourists and pilgrims. Rationing medicines: Anti-malarial medicines were only available with the AMC, which compelled the private health sector to notify all cases. With malaria cases sharply falling, it soon became unprofitable for the private sector to stock anti-malarial medicines. 24x7 hotline: AMC ran a 24-hour hotline to notify, track and treat the patient in isolation to stop further spread of infection. Parasite-control strategy: In the early1990s, the AMC changed from vector-control (mosquito control) to parasite control strategy to contain infection. From 1999 onwards, cases have steadily declined and by 2008, less than 1,000 cases were being reported per year. Health access: A strong public health system, sanitation and roads lowered mosquito breeding and took treatment to people in the remotest of places. Early diagnosis and prompt treatment by trained health workers with focus on high-risk areas lowered disease and deaths. Stakeholder partnerships: Intensive disease surveillance, integrated vector management, rigorous community engagement and research increased social, technical and financial support for eradication. SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON The Islamic State group launched a series of suicide bombings and other attacks across Syria on Monday, killing at least 48 people as it targeted government-held areas and Kurdish forces. The wave of attacks came as the extremist group has steadily lost ground in both Syria and Iraq in recent months. This week Turkish troops and Syrian rebels drove IS back from the last stretch of Syrias northern border under its control, severing key supply lines to the extremist groups self-styled caliphate. The IS-run Aamaq news agency said the group was behind the simultaneous attacks in Syria, which included six suicide bombings and a remotely-detonated bomb. The attacks were timed to coincide with the morning rush hour. Syrian state TV said 48 people were killed in blasts around the coastal city of Tartus in the west, the central city of Homs, the suburbs of the capital, Damascus, and the northeastern city of Hasakeh. IS said it also carried out an attack in Qamishli, in Hasakeh province. The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, which maintains a network of contacts inside Syria, put the overall death toll at 53. Conflicting casualty figures are common in the Syria war. One of Mondays attacks took place in the heavily guarded Damascus suburb of Sabbourah, marking a major security breach. SANA said the attack killed one person, while the opposition-run Observatory said three people were killed. IS said a suicide car bomb targeted a military checkpoint in the area west of Damascus. Its an area that houses officers and their families. Even before the revolution it was carefully guarded, said opposition media activist Yousef al-Boustani, referring to the 2011 uprising against President Bashar Assad, which began with peaceful protests. A car bomb struck a bridge on the international coastal highway leading to the government stronghold of Tartus. A suicide bomber then struck the crowd that had gathered there, according to SANA, which said 35 people were killed. The bombing caused the brief closure of the Tartus-Homs highway, according to state TV. The Observatory said the target was a security checkpoint at the southern entrance of the coastal city, a government stronghold that is home to a large Russian naval base. It said the twin blasts killed 38 people, including an army colonel, and wounded dozens more. A survivor at the al-Bassel Hospital told state TV the blasts occurred near a checkpoint. My car caught fire and army soldiers pulled us out of the car, he said. Back in May, the Islamic State group claimed twin suicide bombings in Tartus and neighboring Jableh that killed over 160 people. The governor of Homs province said a car bomb struck a military checkpoint in the provincial capital, killing three soldiers and a civilian, and wounding 10 others. The city of Homs, Syrias third largest, is largely under government control, with only one neighborhood still held by rebels. Mondays bomb exploded in the government-held Bab Tadmor district, SANA said. The Observatory said four soldiers were killed. Syrian TV aired footage showing massive damage to the area, with a number of smashed cars and the bloodied body of a guard at the checkpoint. In the northeastern city of Hasakeh, a suicide bomber on a motorcycle killed eight people, SANA said. The IS news agency said the attack was carried out by a suicide bomber targeting a checkpoint manned by Kurdish forces. Government forces withdrew from Hasakeh in August after street battles with Kurdish forces, which took control of the city, though the states police force remained in place. The Observatory said the blast killed five members of the Kurdish police force, the Asayesh, and three civilians. The Islamic State group said it also detonated an explosive device in Qamishli, another northeastern city, targeting a group of Kurdish fighters. The Observatory confirmed an explosive device went off but had no casualty figures. A gathering of the leaders of the worlds top 20 economies can never be short of drama. The two-day G20 conference in Chinas Hangzhou had quite a start after the tarmac dust-up between the US side and Chinese officials over President Barack Obamas arrival. On Monday, too, G20 was making the rounds on social media. This time some Twitter users are talking about a picture that captures the shift in the world order. Standing for a group photo, Obama is seen craning his neck to look at Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan who is intently listening to his new-found friend and Russian strongman Vladimir Putin. Go back to 2015 and it is a picture in contrast. The US President is smack in the middle of the picture and Erdogan, the host president, is smiling at him and cheering him on as Putin looks on from the margins. Read | Modis position in G20 group photo shows hes important in Chinas eyes: Expert Jenan Moussa, a reporter for Arabic Al Aan TV who reports on West Asia, posted a combination photo on Twitter. A combination of the two pictures below was posted on Twitter by Jenan Moussa (@jenanmoussa) Some of the replies to Jean Moussas post: And, what a shift it has been. Turkeys relations with Europe and the United States are in a freefall after the purge undertaken by Erdogan following a failed coup in July. Erdogan and his supporters are angry with their Western allies for red-flagging the post-coup crackdown. Turkey, which continues to be a Nato member, seems to have found a willing partner in Putin and two countries are on a fast track to mend ties damaged by Ankaras shooting down of a Russian warplane last year. A lame duck President he may be, but things are not half as bad for Obama. Dilma Rousseff, standing next to him in the 2015 G20 photograph, was kicked out of her job last week, impeached over charges of corruption. A year is truly a long time in politics. What a difference a year makes #Syria pic.twitter.com/tQ0JhZN7GR Nour Samaha (@Nour_Samaha) September 4, 2016 (with agency inputs) SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON Muslim women who wear the veil to cover their heads often do so because they are engaging with a modern, secular world, according to a new study of thousands of women in Belgium, Turkey and 25 Muslim countries. Researchers at the University of Oxford and the European University Institute studied why young, highly educated Muslim women who live in modern urban environments may be choosing to wear the veil and uncovered a paradox. The study said that in social situations in which they mix with non-Muslim friends, work outside the home or interact with strangers, the women may wear the veil as a signal to others in their community that mixing with others does not compromise their religious piety. The veil may also be used to strengthen their own sense of commitment to their faith and its values in a secular world, the paper said. The study, published in the journal European Sociological Review, is said to be the first empirical study into why wearing the veil should increase in line with modernisation, a statement from the University of Oxford said. The researchers tested earlier mathematical models to see how the intensity of wearing the veil varied according to the womens education, employment, urbanisation and contact with non-Muslims. Through statistical modelling, researchers found that the tendency for veil-wearing decreased among young, highly educated women when they were exposed to modern influences if they were averagely religious Muslim women. However, Muslim women who are 'highly religious' tend to increase their wearing of religious head coverings and use more conservative styles as the level of modernisation, or 'risks' they are exposed to, increase, the statement added. Study author Ozan Aksoy, from the department of sociology at the University of Oxford, said: There are important implications for policymakers as if the option of wearing a veil is taken away from Muslim women, they fall on costlier ways of proving their piety. A veil is seen as a genuine expression of a womans religiosity. Paradoxically, it is the women who are engaging with the modern world who appear to rely on the veil to signal to others that they will not succumb to the temptations of modern urban life. SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON Whatever Donald Trump has done in recent days, or not done he basically kept out of troubleis working: the race for the White House, which entered what is generally called the final stretch on Monday, has tightened. The Republican nominee has not only slashed Hillary Clintons lead substantially from 7.7 in early August to 4 points in the RealClearPolitics average of polls, but also overtaken her in some. He leads her by 2 points in a daily tracker run by LA Times and by 1 point in a poll by Reuters/Ipsos released last Friday. Clintons lead gone, Trump ahead in another national #poll. Happy #LaborDay weekend! Trump campaign manager Kellyanne Conway tweeted, citing the Reuters poll. Americans celebrate Labor Day on the first Monday of September, the 5th this time, unlike the rest of the world that goes with May 1, the International Workers Day. In an election year, Labor Day, a holiday, means more than just a long weekend. It marks the beginning of the final stretch of the race, with poll numbers losing their post-convention bump and settling down into a more stable pattern. This is not to say Clintons four-point lead in the average of polls will hold till Election Day, November 8, but pundits dont expect to see it dip by much unless she tanks in the debates, the first of which takes place on September 26. Or, she is hit by something called the October surprise, a race-changing setback suffered so close to polls candidates have no or little time to recover. But for now, the Trump campaign is clearly both relieved and thrilled to see their candidate cut Clintons lead that had begun to look insurmountable, and even overtake her. The ground has truly shifted, Trumps communications director Jason Miller told The Wall Street Journal, referring to him getting more support among Republicans, which has pushed up his numbers. This is a jump ball. Coming out of his convention, the Republican nominee saw his two-point lead disappear in a week after Clintons convention, through self-inflicted wounds. He criticised Khizr and Ghazala Khan, parents of a fallen Muslim soldier; refused to endorse senior party leaders election bids; and dog-whistled violence against Clinton over gun control. Trump has turned since then. He revamped his campaign team, second time in as many months, and, most significantly for his aides and allies, gave up his freewheeling style of campaigning. He read from notes, used a teleprompter, stopped ad-libbing and began reaching out, in recent days, to minorities he had antagonised earlier in the campaign, such as Hispanics by visiting Mexico to meet the president and African Americans. Trump may have also benefited from Clintons own troubles about her use of a private email server as secretary of state and a persisting perception that the family-run Clinton Foundation may have profited from her term at state. She goes into the final stretch with a four-point lead, but can she hold on to it? WASHINGTON: Donald Trump shut his eyes and swayed ever so gently to the beat of a gospel song at a church for African Americans in Detroitthe Republican nominees first such visit as part of a larger effort to court a community that has been deeply hostile to him. Our nation is too divided, Trump said after the service on Saturday, reading from a script. The septuagenarian spoke softly in a measured tone devoid of his usual bombast. We talk past each other, not to each other. And those who seek office do not do enough to step into the community and learn whats going on. They dont know. They have no clue. At Michigan states most populous city, the presidential candidate spoke for nearly 10 minutes short by his standard; invoked his partys icon Abraham Lincoln who ended slavery; and called for a civil rights agenda our time. But Trump did not use the you dont have anything to lose line he has deployed lately to ask Blacks to give him a chance, arguing Democrats have only taken advantage of their support. African Americans have voted mostly Democratic for decades now and overwhelmingly since 2008 when President Barack Obama first ran for the White House. His Republican rivals John McCain (2008) and Mitt Romney (2012) managed only 4% and 6% of Black votes respectively. Trump will do even worse if his current numbers hold he managed only 1% in a recent poll to rival Hillary Clintons 91%. Trump cannot win the White House without expanding his support among African Americans and Hispanics, the two largest ethnic minorities in the country. And he is struggling with both. Trump started out with the Hispanic community on the wrong foot, describing illegal immigrants, most of whom are of Hispanic, as rapists and criminals. He proceeded to compound his problems questioning the impartiality of a federal judge overseeing cases against Trump University because he was of Mexican descent. The 70-year-old nominees problems with African Americans run deeper, and for much longer. His company was once accused of discriminating against African Americans who wanted to rent housing structures it constructed. Trump also became a leading member a section of conservatives called birthers who questioned President Obamas fitness to be president fanning conspiracy theories about him being born outside the US. KANDHAR: At least 35 people were killed on Sunday when a passenger bus collided with a fuel tanker and burst into flames in southern Afghanistan, in the latest road accident in the war-torn country. Many of the victims, including women and children, were burned beyond recognition in the accident in Zabul province, one of the areas worst affected by the Taliban insurgency. The passenger bus was on its way from Kandahar to Kabul when it collided with a fuel tanker in Jildak area of Zabul, provincial governor Bismillah Afghanmal told AFP. In the accident, 35 people were killed and more than 20 others were wounded. Some of the injured were rushed to hospitals in provincial capital Qalat as well as neighbouring Kandahar province, said Ghulam Jilani Farahi, deputy Zabul police chief. The Kabul-Kandahar highway passes through militancy-prone areas and many bus drivers are known to drive recklessly at top speeds so as not to get caught in insurgent activity. Afghanistan has some of the worlds most dangerous roads, often in dilapidated condition and traffic rules are seldom enforced. Many in the country rely on old and rickety passenger vehicles, meaning that high casualty road traffic accidents are common. The World Bank had signed off a $250 million grant to upgrade roads crossing Hindu Kush mountains. People tend to associate Wyoming with cowboys rather than culture. But according to a recent study, when it comes to the arts, Wyomingites are more cultured than most. The National Endowment for the Arts released statistics recently on American participation in the arts. The research details how Americans utilize the arts, from attending performances to reading to staging or creating artwork. The Cowboy State is ranked near the top in every category. In 2015, about 43 percent of Wyoming residents said they attended live music, theater or dance performances the third-highest rate in the country. They were fifth in the country for the percentage of adults who attend visual or performing arts events or go to the movies (76.6 percent), and in 2014, tied for seventh in the country for the highest percentage of adults who personally perform or create art (58.7 percent). "Weve known for a very long time that the creative sector helps drive the economy in Wyoming," said Michael Lange, executive director of the Wyoming Arts Council. "The piece (of data) we did not have was how many folks are in the creative sector doing this for their personal enjoyment and how many are doing it for a social aspect. (More than 58 percent) thats a huge number. This shows that more than half the people in the state are performing or creating artwork." One of those artists is Eric Wimmer. He's the curator at The Nicolaysen Art Museum in Casper and a local artist. He wasn't surprised by the NEA's findings. "We have the fewest amount of people living here, but the artists we have living here on average work on a more professional level," Wimmer said. "The art world is a tough place. But when you come to Wyoming, you have the support of other artists. Its just one big family up here. (Unlike a big city), you dont have to sacrifice that side thats just crammed in with so many people all trying to stand out. I think you can be more of an individual here, and have a more flourishing art career." Lange was excited by the data. It reveals that the money the state is putting into the arts is having a positive effect on the population. "I think theres some strong correlations and associations made in the study that make a lot of sense for Wyoming," Lange said, "and speak highly about whats going on with the arts in this state." HANGZHOU: Besides about 300 Indians who live and work here and three Indian restaurants, this eastern Chinese city famous for its tea and the West Lake has an e-connection with India Chinas e-commerce giant Alibaba which is rapidly expanding its virtual footprint in the Indian market is headquartered here. Besides investing in Paytm, an e-payment platform in India, the company plans to invest in two logistic companies specialising in deliveries for online retail companies. The company has been highlighted by the local media as one of the great success stories of Chinese entrepreneurship to have emerged from Hangzhou, which is hosting the G20 summit. In the first quarter this year, Paytm has become the fourth largest wallet worldwide. It is a third-party payment company in India invested by Ant Financial, which is the sister company of e-commerce giant Alibaba. The number of users of Paytm has been 135 million, 5 times last year when the Ant Financial began its strategic cooperation with it, state-run China Radio International (CRI) said in a report. Alipay, which is Alibabas third-party payment application has over 450 million registered users. Yang Xinyun, from the international business department of Ant Financial, told CRI: Paytm has provided Indian users various services including money transfer, tuition payment, utility fees payment and offline payments in places such as gas stations, beverage shops and coffee shops. According to Yang, Paytm has been able to bring financial services to Indian users whom traditional financial institutions were unable to reach. With the smart phone and the internet costs lowering, the inclusive finance has already been equipped with the hardware needed. What we need to do is just to enrich and develop the condition to put it into use, concerning not only the payment but also the financial services, Yang added. HANGZHOU: Leaders of the worlds biggest powers met on Sunday to try to revive the sluggish world economy, with their host Chinese President Xi Jinping urging them to avoid empty talk. Xi welcomed each president and prime minister to the Group of 20 summit with a handshake and had an extended clasp with Barack Obama, with both men smiling despite protocol stumbles around the US leaders visit. In a circular conference hall in Hangzhou -- the scenic eastern city left deserted by a vast security operation -- Xi told them the G20 should work with real action, with no empty talk. Xi said the global economy still faces multiple risks and challenges including a lack of growth momentum and consumption, turbulent financial markets, receding global trade and investment. We hope the Hangzhou summit will come up with a prescription for the world economy and lead it back to the road of strong, balanced, comprehensive and sustainable growth. NO DEAL ON SYRIA The summit was preceded by a flurry of diplomatic activity on issues ranging from climate change and the war in Syria to international trade. There had been hopes for another breakthrough, on the long war in Syria, after the US said it was close to a deal with Russia on stemming the violence. But negotiations between Secretary of State John Kerry and his counterpart Sergei Lavrov yielded only an agreement to convene again on Monday, with Russia accused of walking back on key issues. Moscow and Washington support opposite sides in the conflict, which erupted in March 2011 after President Bashar al-Assad unleashed a brutal crackdown against a pro-democracy revolt. Successive rounds of international negotiations have failed to end a conflict that has left more than 290,000 people dead and forced millions to flee, a key contributor to migrant flows into Europe. EU President Donald Tusk said Europe was close to limits on its ability to accept new waves of refugees. LAHORE: A 28-year-old Pakistani-origin British woman, who was murdered for honour in Punjab province, was raped by her former husband before he and her father allegedly killed her, according to a medical report. Samia Shahid, a resident of Dhok Pandori village, some 230 km from Lahore, had come to Pakistan from Dubai on July 15 to see her ailing father and was found dead on July 20. Her father had claimed she died of cardiac arrest. British MP Naz Shah had written a letter to Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, alerting him that it could be a case of honour killing. A high-level inquiry headed by Deputy Inspector General (DIG) Abu Bakar Khuda Bakhsh concluded that she was murdered. Bakhsh has told Dawn newspaper that the forensic report has confirmed rape and the DNA report of her former husband matched the sperm. Samias former husband Shakil and her father Chaudhry Shahid are in police custody for her alleged murder. Police sources have said Shakil confessed to strangling her to death as she married another man of her choice. Samias murder came over a week after social media celebrity Qandeel Baloch was strangled by her brother for disgracing their family honour. The incident sparked international uproar over increasing honour killing cases in Pakistan, forcing the government to announce introducing strict legislation against those involved in the case. A beauty therapist from Bradford, Samia divorced Shakil in May 2014. She then married Syed Mukhtar Kazim. Clyde Barrow knew Eastham prison farm well, and considered it to be a hell hole. With some of his partners in crime, including Bonnie Parker, the ex-convict hatched a plan to gain a measure of revenge against the hated facility. by John Neal Phillips Bonnie Parker and Clyde Barrow sat in their Ford V-8 coupe on a quiet Texas country road on Saturday evening, January 13, 1934. They were waiting for Floyd Hamilton and an ex-convict named Jimmy Mullens to return. The two men had slipped through the barbed wire perimeter surrounding Eastham prison farm, part of the Texas Prison System, to hide an old inner tube beneath a drainage culvert near the prisons camp 1. Inside the tube were two Colt .45 automatics and several clips of ammunition, placed there in preparation for a jailbreak planned for January 16. At one point the camp dogs started howling and barking in their kennels, but the guards paid no attention. Hamilton and Mullens rejoined Bonnie and Clyde a few minutes later. Barrow then drove to Dallas and dropped off Hamilton, but he kept Mullens in the car so he could keep an eye on him. He didnt trust Mullens. Floyd Hamilton returned to Eastham the following day for his regular biweekly visit with his younger brother, Raymond, who was serving 266 years in prison for auto theft, armed robbery, and murder. During that visit, Floyd filled Raymond in on the details of the proposed prison break. On Monday, an inmate named Aubrey Skelley set out to retrieve the weapons. Skelley was a building tender, a trusty position that allowed him to move about the prison with a certain amount of freedom. He managed to smuggle the inner tube into the camp 1 dormitory and deliver it to Joe Palmer. Palmer, serving 25 years for robbery, hid the inner tube and its contents in his mattress. (Other sources swear the guns were hidden in one of the brush piles Eastham work squads would clear the next day.) Word that the break would take place the following morning reached the two other prisoners who would take partHenry Methvin, serving 10 years for robbery and attempted murder, and a killer named Hilton Bybee. Tuesday January 16 dawned damp and chilly. A thick fog rising from the nearby Trinity River blanketed the countryside. South of camp 1, Parker, Barrow, and Mullens waited in a thickly wooded area on the edge of a country road. By the dim filtered light of early morning, they could see a clearing in the trees to the north, just beyond a creek that cut across the road. Barrow and Mullens got out of the car and walked toward the clearing. Parker stayed in the vehicle. Barrow carried a Browning automatic rifle capable of firing a 20-round clip of 30.06 armor-piercing shells in less than three seconds. The two men crouched along the creek bank and waited. Through the morning haze, they detected movement, followed by voices and the sounds of tools and horses. Two work crews of prisoners, combined because of staff shortages, slowly moved toward Barrow and Mullens, spreading out and getting down to the business of clearing the brush piles in preparation for spring planting and cutting wood to stoke the camp stoves. Among the workers were Hamilton and Palmer, both of them armed and dangerous, and both of them aware of who was waiting not far awayBonnie and Clyde. In the span of 18 months, starting in the summer of 1932, Bonnie and Clyde had become inseparable and somewhat legendarynot for their robberies, which were mainly petty thefts involving grocery stores and filling stations, but as dangerously tenacious and wily fugitives. By the time the couple arrived at Eastham on that January morning in 1934, Barrow had shot his way out of numerous confrontations and had been linked to the deaths of five lawmen and several civilians. Texan Clyde Barrow was born near Telico in 1910, according to the Barrow family Bible. Bonnie Parker was born the same year in Rowena, Texas. The pair met in early 1930 at the home of a mutual friend in West Dallas. Bonnie blue-eyed, small, and slim with reddish-blond hair and a good sense of humorimmediately caught Clydes eye. Bonnie, in turn, was attracted to the 5 6, dark-haired, headstrong young man. They began seeing each other regularly. Barrow was already heavily involved in an interstate crime ring, and within a few weeks police arrested him at Bonnies home. He was subsequently sentenced to 14 years in the Texas State Penitentiary for two counts of burglary and five counts of auto theft. After a few months in Huntsville prison, Barrow was transferred to the 13,040-acre Eastham prison on the Trinity River 20 miles north of Huntsville. Barrow called Eastham that hell hole, and for good reason. He saw prisoners beaten by guards, stuffed in tin sweat boxes under the blazing sun, and murdered, sometimes for the $25 reward for the capture of escaped prisoners, other times for revenge. It made Barrow so angry that he immediately began conspiring with another prisoner, 19-year-old Ralph Fults, to one day get out of prison, raise a gang, and return to Eastham. Id like to shoot all these damned guards and turn everybody loose, he told Fults. Along the way, the two men decided to break out buddies Palmer and Methvin, who were also housed in Eastham. Bybee, who arrived later at Eastham, was added to the conspiracy as a favor to Fults. Raymond Hamilton wasnt even in the picture initially. But that would soon change. Due to prison overcrowding, Fults and Barrow received conditional pardons, in August 1931 and February 1932 respectively. They met up again in West Dallas and began recruiting a gang for the prison raid, first approaching a friend of Barrows, 18-year-old fugitive Raymond Hamilton. At first he agreed to take part, but after the men staged several successful robberies to finance the raid, Hamilton took his cut and backed out. I dont care about no cons on no prison farm, he said. On April 19, 1932, Fults was shot and captured during a gun battle in Kaufman County, Texas. Bonnie Parker was captured too, but Barrow escaped. Fults pleaded guilty to auto theft and armed robbery in exchange for Bonnies release. Bonnie, still an unknown, was set free and quickly rejoined Clyde. Fults once again returned to prison. That summer Raymond Hamilton briefly rejoined Barrow. He was arrested in December and began serving a lengthy prison term at Eastham. Barrow held a grudge against Hamilton for backing out of the proposed Eastham raid, and the irony of Hamiltons incarceration there no doubt struck the sometimes laconic Clyde as funny. Several others floated in and out of the so-called Barrow gang throughout 1933, most notably Clydes older brother Buck, Bucks wife, Blanche, and another character named W.D. Jones. Between April and July the five outlaws were involved in a number of widely publicized incidents, including four gun battles that resulted in the deaths of three police officers. Then Buck and Blanche were captured in Iowa, and Buck died just a few days later from wounds received in a previous gunfight. Jones left the Barrow gang in August, and police arrested him a few weeks later near Houston. As Christmas came and went, Barrows thoughts turned again to the idea of raiding Eastham. Someone else was thinking about the raid tooEastham inmate Raymond Hamilton. A 48-year-old eight-time loser named Jimmy Mullens, about to finish a three-year sentence for burglary, bunked next to Hamilton at Eastham. Raymond promised Mullens $1,000, payable after his escape, if he would find Barrow and arrange to have a number of weapons planted in the prison farm compound. Once released on January 10, 1934, Mullens went immediately to Floyd Hamiltons West Dallas home to ask for help locating Barrow. Floyd had a clean record at the time, but he listened to the plan. Later that same day he took Mullens to meet with Bonnie and Clyde. Barrow hesitated about getting involved. Something bothered himJimmy Mullens. Barrow had known Mullens in prison and remembered him as an unreliable and unpredictable drug addict and stool pigeon. Looking at Mullens, Barrow could think of only one thinghe was being led into a trap. Finally he agreed to help with the raidbut only if Mullens took part. Ill help you out, but I want Mullens to plant the guns himself, Barrow declared. Mullens stiffened. Im not doing it alone, he said. Turning to Floyd, he demanded, Youre coming with me. Floyd reluctantly agreed. Then late in the evening of January 13, 1934, Bonnie and Clyde dropped off Hamilton and a trembling Mullens less than a mile from the main prison compound of Easthams camp 1. Three days later Barrow and Mullens were waiting in the early morning fog for the prison break to begin. The routine at Eastham was that a group of guards collectively called the shotgun ring oversaw each work squad, while a long arm man, a guard on horseback armed with a high-powered rifle, positioned himself at a distance from the detail. According to the instructions of Colonel Lee Simmons, general manager of the Texas Prison System, the mounted guard had no duty except to stay well clear of the convicts and be in the background ready with his Winchester in case of excitement. Should a convict break past the shotgun ring, the long arm man would pick him off. Thats the way it was supposed to work. Prisoners Raymond Hamilton and Joe Palmer knew that one of Easthams more notorious long arm men, Major Crowson (Major was his given name, not a title), routinely disregarded the policy. Crowson had a reputation for leaving his post to beat prisoners. In fact, Palmer had once received a severe beating from Crowson. On the morning of the break, Raymond Hamilton jumped squads, meaning he left his 16-man work crew and joined the crew that included Palmer, Bybee, and Methvin. Guard Olan Bozeman, assigned to Palmers squad, noticed Hamiltons presence even before the inmates started for the fields from camp 1. Hamilton and Palmer suspected that would happen but figured Bozeman would delay taking any action until he was in the field. Once there, out of earshot of the main camp, he would probably summon Crowson to help him deal with Hamilton. Sure enough, Bozeman called Crowson over as soon as the work crews arrived in the field. As the two guards conversed, Palmer strolled up to them as if he wanted to ask a question. Instead, he pulled out a weapon. Dont you boys try to do anything, he said. There are conflicting reports about what happened next. Some witnesses said Palmer deliberately shot Crowson for revenge; others claimed Crowson fired the first shot. Another source quoted Palmer as saying, I told the guards to sit still. Dont move and there wont be no shooting. I really thought the guards would stick their hands up. Regardless, at some point Palmer shot Crowson in the stomach. Mortally wounded, the guard turned his horse around and rode back to camp 1 to sound the alarm. Palmer then fired at Bozeman but missed. Bozeman pulled a pistol and returned fire, but his bullet only creased Palmers temple. Palmer fired again. This time the bullet struck Bozemans holstered shotgun and sliced deep into his hip. Bozeman and his mangled weapon fell to the ground. Meanwhile, Raymond Hamilton was fumbling around in the mud. In the excitement he had accidentally ejected the clip from his own weapon. At that point Clyde Barrow, still concealed in the nearby creek, stood up and fired a volley from his automatic rifle over the heads of everyone in the field. Guards and prisoners alike dived for cover. Back in the car, Bonnie Parker leaned on the horn to signal the escaping men. Palmer, Hamilton, Methvin, and Bybee began running south toward the sound. Two guards ran away, completely deserting their posts and Bozeman. They were found hiding 500 yards from their squads. Only one guard, Bobbie Bullard, stood his ground, perhaps preventing a mass escape. The first man to raise his head will have it blown clear off! he shouted. Nevertheless, one other convict managed to flee. J.B. French, serving time for robbery, attempted murder, and auto theft, ducked into the underbrush until things quieted down, then slipped into the woods. Guards recaptured him shortly after midnight. French knew nothing of the escape plan and didnt even meet those responsible for his brief taste of freedom. Police later recovered the escape car from a ravine 10 miles northeast of Hugo, Oklahoma, shortly after the robbery of a nearby filling station. By then, Crowson had died from his wound, and state officials were publicly questioning the prudence of placing convicts like Raymond Hamilton and the other escapees on a prison farm so accessible to the likes of Bonnie and Clyde. Lee Simmons, profoundly embarrassed by the raid, responded by firing the two Eastham guards who fled under fire. He also told the dying Major Crowson that he would be resettling accounts . . . . Those fellows had their day. Well have ours. I promise I wont let them get away with it. It didnt take officials long to decide that Bonnie and Clyde were behind the break. It is just a natural conclusion that [it was] his [Raymond Hamiltons] former partner, said Simmons. And if Barrow was there, then Bonnie could not have been far away. And, of course, he was right. Hilton Bybee was recaptured on January 30, 1934, two weeks after the break. In 1937, he escaped again from Eastham. Later that year an Arkansas posse shot and killed him. Raymond Hamilton and Joe Palmer were recaptured separately and returned to prison. Palmer was tried and convicted of the murder of Major Crowson. Hamilton was tried as a habitual criminal. Both men were sentenced to death. Jimmy Mullens was the states key witness against Palmer and Hamilton and received immunity from prosecution. But in 1938, a judge sentenced him to 75 years in prison for a $36 holdup. On July 22, 1934, Hamilton and Palmer escaped from Huntsvilles death house, creating nationwide headlines and further embarrassing Lee Simmons and the Texas Prison System. The embarrassment was short-lived, however, for both fugitives were soon recaptured and returned to Huntsville. On May 10, 1935, they died in the electric chair. Floyd Hamilton received two years in Leavenworth prison for harboring Bonnie and Clyde. After his release, he embarked on a bank-robbing spree, and in 1938 police captured him in Dallas. Floyd was tried, convicted, and sentenced to 55 years in prison. In 1940, he was transferred to Alcatraz, where he tried to escape. The attempted jailbreak cost him nine years in solitary confinement. In 1958, after being incarcerated for 20 years, Hamilton was released from prison. For Bonnie and Clyde, the Eastham break meant the beginning of the end. On February 1, 1934, 17 days after Crowsons death, Simmons met with Frank Hamer, a tough 49-year-old retired Texas Ranger. I want you to put Clyde and Bonnie on the spot and then shoot everyone in sight, he told Hamer. Simmons then told the ex-lawman he had been commissioned as a state highway patrolman. Hamer took to the road within 10 days. Before long he was on his way to Bienville Parish, Louisiana, where Henry Methvins parents lived. There, Hamer met with the local sheriff, Henderson Jordan. The sheriff told Hamer that an intermediary named John Joyner had approached him on or about March 1 to let him know that, in exchange for a pardon from the state of Texas, Henry Methvin would deliver Bonnie and Clyde to the authorities. Sheriff Jordan soon delivered a pardon agreement to Joyner. On May 21 Joyner contacted Hamer with the ambush details. Henry Methvin would find some pretext to part company with Bonnie and Clyde, knowing that the outlaws would plan to rejoin him at his parents home. Hamer and five other law enforcement officers would hide by the side of the graded road leading to the Methvins house and wait for Bonnie and Clyde to drive up. After two days of waitingon May 23, 1934, at about 9:10 a.m.Hamers team heard the steady roar of a rapidly moving vehicle. They knew that only Clyde Barrow would hurtle along a country road at such speed. As the tan Ford V-8 sedan approached, Bob Alcorn, the only officer who could identify Barrow on sight, called out quietly, Its him, boys. This is itits Clyde. As added insurance, Henrys father also signaled his recognition of the fugitives. The officers opened up with a deadly fusillade. When the shooting stopped, Bonnie and Clyde were dead. Both had been shot more than 50 times. An Oklahoma court later tried and sentenced Methvin to death for the killing of police officer Cal Campbell, a murder Methvin committed after making the pardon agreement. The court commuted his sentence to life, however, when officials disclosed Methvins part in the Bonnie and Clyde ambush. In April 1949, after Methvins release from prison, an unknown person knocked him unconscious and placed him on a Louisiana railroad track. A passing train cut the informer in half. With the ambush of Bonnie and Clyde and the execution of Raymond Hamilton and Joe Palmer, Colonel Lee Simmons had fulfilled his promise to the dying Major Crowson. He had indeed resettled accounts. John Neal Phillips is the author of Running with Bonnie and Clyde: The Ten Fast Years of Ralph Fults, University of Oklahoma Press, 1996. Gerd Kramer known as F1's "puppet master" and former Mercedes sport marketing head and Schumacher's first sponsor was quoted sharing the latest health status of his pal. He reportledy claimed that the 47-year-old German F1 racing legend will definitely need a miracle to make a comeback on the racing scene or merely be seen on public. Kramer also confirmed that the seven-time F1 champion's family continues to be on total guard now that Schumacher is said to be "in a more than difficult situation." The statements provided by Kramer immediately gained significance since it came a few weeks after former-Ferrari Chairman Luca Cordero di Montezemolo gave a statement, claiming that Schumacher was "reacting" well to treatment. The former champ's family and longtime manager Sabine Kehm were not yet able to release an official medical bulletin regarding the latest health conditions and recovery update of Michael Schumacher. However, it is noted that the F1 racing legend is still unable to speak, experiencing memory problems and remains paralyzed. In addition to that, the 35-year-old Brazilian racer Felipe Massa on August 29 announced his F1 racing retirement as soon as current season ends at the Italian Grand Prix. An article published by USA Today claimed that Massa's decision to announce his retirement at the Italian Grand Prix since Schumacher did the same 10 years ago. A BBC report hinted that Massa was very grateful to Michael Schumacher because when the latter decided to retire a decade ago, the move gave him the opportunity to stay and continue his racing career. Due to his announcement, Massa's 15-year racing career is expected to end with his 250th race in Abu Dhabi. @ 2022 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. In August, the billionaire has pledged that his Slovenian wife Melania will answer questions on a personal aspect with regards to her immigration status. However, a forth coming news conference remains to be seen. Melania Trump has come under frequent scrutiny when the New York Times published nude photos of her. Observers have cited that the pictures were taken in 1995. This is where the initial complication emerged. Based on her statement, Melania arrived in the U.S. in 1996 with a visa. If this is true, then her declarations may be in conflict with the date of her bare images. It does not actually help her cause when she issues a response reiterating her full compliance with America's immigration laws or when she blamed inaccurate reporting and misinformation. In Harper's Bazaar, the former model and jewelry designer pointed out that she would return home from New York to renew her visa every few months until such time that she finally applied and got her green card in 2001. A second confusion may have surfaced. According to David Leopold, an immigration lawyer from Cleveland and former president of the American Immigration Lawyers Association, shuttling from Slovenia to the U.S. and vice versa will mean that Melania is on a visitor visa, which does not concur employment. If she actually did work then her stay in the U.S. can be fraudulent. Before inquiries started to pile up about Trump's real status, her website has been closed. Revelations soon emerged that she has claimed obtaining a degree in design and architecture at a university in Slovenia. Many are clueless about her post but on a closer look, her claim may be associated with getting a green card considering that it helps to have a degree when applying for citizenship. In yet another snag, news domain Univision has published a claim that an immigration attorney working for the Trump organization said that Melania acquired her card based on marriage. Trump's wife has claimed on Larry King Live that she was never married before she met the billionaire businessman. It is also interesting to note that Michael Wildes, who handled legal processes related to visas and green cards during the Miss Universe pageant, said in an interview that he could not comment on how Trump became a permanent citizen. @ 2022 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. NASA's satellite showed that the hurricane is already heading towards Eastern U.S. The NOAA's GOES-east satellite showed that the hurricane contains a combination of large wind-field and tropical-storm force winds. The satellite has been supplying imagery and location updates of Hermine since its progression into a hurricane on Sept. 3. Satellite video also showed that the hurricane alters from tropical to post-tropical storm as it makes its way to the eastern coast. It covers the direction the storm takes from Sept. 2 at 8:45 EDT to Sept. 4 at 8:55 a.am. EDT. Meanwhile, the National Hurricane Center released Advisory #32 as of 0500 AM AST Monday, Sept. 5, saying that the post-tropical cyclone has maximum sustained winds of 60 knots and 70 mph. It maintains its minimum central pressure of 997 mb. Its current location is at 37.7 N, 68.3W and continues to move towards north at 3 knots and 3 mph. The tropical storm condition continues to bring havoc in the warning areas along the Atlantic coast where some areas could experience multiple tropical storms in the following days. Moreover, the areas near the coast will be flooded by waters caused by the hurricane's storm surge. The large and dangerous waves will also threaten the immediate coastline from Chincoteague, Virginia, to Sandy Hook, New Jersey in the subsequent 36 hours. Weather forecasters warned boaters as well as swimmers to refrain from their activities to avoid risks and life-threatening incidents. @ 2022 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. The number of people suffering from the deadly Zika virus in Singapore increased to 242 a week after its detection in the country. The rapid surge of Zika cases in the island city-state greatly places the rest of Asia at risk. CNN reported that around 2.6 billion people in Asia and Africa could contract Zika. The virus has since been found to be the main cause of microcephaly, which causes abnormalities in fetuses characterized by smaller heads and underdeveloped brains. Experts have yet to determine the main cause of Zika's spread in Singapore, although transmission by the local Aedes aegypti mosquito has been referred to as the culprit in several cases. The first internationally-transmitted case reported on May 13 involved a man who came from a trip to Sao Paolo, Brazil. Malaysia reported its first Zika case on September 1 when a 58-year-old woman visiting from Singapore was found to have been infected by the virus. The first local transmission in the country was reported in September 3, prompting authorities to prepare against the virus' further spread. Singapore's high population density, coupled by year-round humid weather conditions, makes it an ideal place for Zika-infected Aedes aegypti mosquitoes to thrive. With several of Asia's megacities reaching daytime populations beyond 10 million, many of them are vulnerable to the virus' onslaught. More importantly, the Singaporean government's $72-million worth of efforts to curtail the spread of dengue fever - a disease also carried by Aedes aegypti mosquitoes, hasn't translated to further success in terms of stopping Zika from spreading. Such prompted officials to think of new ways to control the virus. Other nations in Asia are touted for their vulnerability to Zika's potential spread in the continent. Asian megacities - many of which are suffering from overpopulation and poor sanitation, are particularly exposed to the virus' dangerous effects. @ 2022 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. The latest case was from the Philippines, where a 45-year-old woman was tested positive for Zika virus. The country's health department said this was the first confirmed transmission in the area. Health officials pointed out that the case was most likely due to local transmission since the carrier was no history of travel to any affected country in the past two weeks. On Sunday, Malaysian health officials reported of the two patients who were tested positive for Zika infections. The first reported case was a 65-year-old woman living near Kuala Lumpur who possibly contracted the virus during a visit to Singapore. The second case was a 61-year-old man in Kota Kinabalu. "The confirmation of the second case of Zika in Kota Kinabalu suggests that the virus is already present within our communities," according to Malaysian Health Minister Subramaniam Sathasivam. In Singapore, the number of people suffering from the deadly Zika virus increased to 242. Singapore's high population density, coupled by year-round humid weather conditions, makes it an ideal place for Zika mosquitoes to thrive. Following these reports, Thailand has speed up its campaign against Zika through the eradication of possible breeding sources of carrier mosquitoes. With several of Asia's megacities reaching daytime populations beyond 10 million, many of them are vulnerable to the virus' onslaught. CNN reported that around 2.6 billion people in Asia and Africa could contract Zika. @ 2022 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. The increasing coverage of the Dakota Access pipeline has led many national news outlets to travel to North Dakota. Unfortunately, too much of that press coverage has focused on a narrow sliver of the Great Plains populace. There are others here who are worried that our voices are not being heard I am one of them. Throughout the Midwest and country there is an opportunity to embrace energy independence and chart our own path toward economic growth. By constructing the Dakota Access Pipeline the states of North Dakota, South Dakota, Iowa, and Illinois gain as many as 12,000 local jobs, $129 million in tax revenues, and access to an invaluable American-produced natural resource. It was the benefits of this project to millions of people throughout our region, and throughout the country that gave the North Dakota Public Service Commission, South Dakota Public Utilities Commission, Iowa Utilities Board, and Illinois Commerce Commission rationale to approve this project and legally allow it to be constructed. But now the future of this project is jeopardized by national environmental groups that have latched onto a Native American protest as a last-ditch effort to stop a project that they could not prevent through a regular, orderly review process. These actions attempt to disrupt the very rule of law that was established by these state regulatory organizations. In North Dakota, and now Washington, D.C., Native American groups and their environmental activist allies are attempting to roll back progress of the pipeline through illegal occupation of construction sites, intimidating and threatening law enforcement and construction workers, shutting down public highways, and demonstrating in front of public buildings. Despite the fact that these groups did not take part in the review process of the project, including three public hearings held in North Dakota by the Public Service Commission, there is now a halt to construction at the pipeline site crossing the Missouri River. The North Dakota Petroleum Council fully supports projects like Dakota Access, which will greatly contribute to our energy independence. Increasing access to American-produced crude oil has already done much to lower energy prices in North Dakota and across the country, reducing overhead costs for many businesses and decreasing reliance on foreign energy products. However, we need to examine all methods available when it comes to transporting our domestic resources pipelines included. Opposition to Dakota Access, then, is no longer simply opposition to an energy project. Because it has been approved by both state and federal regulators, these groups are disrupting construction after having failed to stop the project under the standard regulatory process. Further, this project is anything but dangerous. This is a state-of-the-art infrastructure project that is arguably the biggest North Dakota infrastructure project since the Garrison Dam. It will have the latest technologies and monitoring systems to help prevent releases and will be constructed 90 feet below the riverbed to ensure nothing may reach the river far above and beyond whats required by federal regulations. Protesters and parties to the lawsuits have effectively declared that the laws of their states and the United States do not work for them, and are now attempting to assert themselves against those laws both in the courtroom and in public protest. There was a time and a place to discuss the merits of this pipeline project. The rules matter. It is beyond time to allow construction to continue. Accordingly, this is the first time in history that Google published a Labor Day doodle for American industry workers. The artwork depicts men and women performing industrial trade work. Clicking the doodle leads to a search for "Labor Day." "I don't think in Google's history, at least that I can remember, has Google ever posted a Doodle, a Google logo, for Labor Day. They have posted small American flags but nothing more. Even dating back to 2004 and 2005, Google didn't post a Labor Day logo," said Barry Schwartz in a Search Engine Roundtable forum. "That all changed today with this Doodle. Google didn't comment or add any details around who made the Doodle, but it is indeed live. Which to me was a bit of a shock," he pointed out. The U.S. Department of Labor said Labor Day, the first Monday in September, is a creation of the labor movement and is dedicated to the social and economic achievements of American workers. It constitutes a yearly national tribute to the contributions workers have made to the strength, prosperity, and well-being of our country. "So while you are enjoying this day off from work, take a moment to reflect on those workers who fought for many of the employment benefits many of us take for granted," said Steven Musil of CNET. The U.S. Department of Labor said Labor Day was originally celebrated in New York City on Tuesday, September 5, 1882, but the first state law making it an official holiday wasn't passed until five years later in Oregon. By 1894, more than 30 states had made it a holiday, including the District of Columbia. @ 2022 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. This after Duterte used foul words when asked how he would answer Obama if he will raise clarifications on the reported extrajudicial killings in the Philippines. Earlier, the ABC News quoted President Obama saying, "If and when we have a meeting, this is something that's going to be brought up." He added that he would certainly address the need to approach the drug trafficking war in a "way that is consistent with basic international norms." But Duterte said Obama must refrain himself from intervening in the affairs of his country, highlighting the sovereignty of the Philippines and its people especially on domestic issues. "Putang ina, I will swear at you in that forum," said Duterte referring to the U.S. President. Putang ina is a Tagalog phrase meaning "mother f---." Hours after the sour remark, U.S. National Security Council spokesman Ned Price said Obama would no longer meet with Duterte. The two leaders are supposed to meet Tuesday. "Obama will not be holding a bilateral meeting with President Duterte of the Philippines this afternoon. Instead, he will meet with President Park of the Republic of Korea," said Price in a statement. The Philippine President was known for his notorious outbursts, including labelling the US ambassador to Manila a "gay son of a whore", telling the Catholic church "don't fuck with me", and accusing the UN of issuing "shitting" statements about his anti-drugs policies, according to The Guardian. @ 2022 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. It looks like you've reached a page that doesnt exist (anymore). Please use the navigation or search above to find content on Hospitality Net. Go back to home Following the announcement of the re-opening of LUX* South Ari Atoll on the 1st September 2016 and the development of the new island LUX* North Male Atoll, LUX* Resorts &Hotels has appointed former Regional Director Dominik Ruhl to his new role as Chief Operating Officer for the Group. He is responsible for the groups properties in the Indian Ocean, Europe and in the Middle East. Passionate hotelier at heart, Dominik Ruhl spent the last 25 years in hospitality across the globe, but it was in the Maldives where his career path led him to his first General Manager role. I believe that adding value to the time our guests choose to spend in our resorts is vital to create not only memories, but trust says Dominik Ruhl that is why we continue to focus on our service culture both in the Maldives and across all the LUX* properties. Originally from Germany, Dominik Ruhl left his home country after his hotel studies and started his career in the United Sates, where he spent several years with Ritz Carlton, first in Cleveland and soon after at the Ritz Carlton Kapalua, Hawaii. He then joined the Four Seasons Resort, Punta Mita in Mexico before moving to the Maldives in 2000 where he lead the management teams of 5-star properties such as Hilton Maldives (now Conrad), Mirihi and the Anantara Resort to name a few. Dominik joined LUX* Resorts & Hotels as General Manager in 2010. In 2014 he progressed to the role of Regional Director overseeing Maldives, Middle East and Greater China before being appointed Chief Operating Officer in 2016. The state has no plans to send additional law enforcement officers to the protest site where there was a clash Saturday between private security officers hired to oversee the Dakota Access Pipeline and those opposing it. Standing Rock Sioux Chairman Dave Archambault II said he will continue to promote peace at the worksites. Three private security guards were reported injured after around 300 protesters entered the worksite Saturday afternoon. One guard was transported to a Bismarck hospital, but refused treatment, according to Donnell Preskey, spokeswoman for the Morton County Sheriff's Office. Vicki Anderson Granado, a spokeswoman for Energy Transfer Partners, the company in charge of the pipeline, said in an email that there were 14 security personnel on site Saturday. In a statement Sunday, the American Civil Liberties Union accused Dakota Access private security of using violent tactics against men, women and children. No one was arrested after the incident that occurred Saturday, and the Morton County Sheriff's Department and the Bureau of Criminal Investigation are investigating. Preskey said the sheriffs department isnt planning to send additional officers to the construction site after what happened Saturday, but they will go out there if similar incidents were to arise. "We are working with law enforcement to ensure that all offenders are arrested and prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law," Grenado Anderson said in a statement. The security officers were protecting workers and the companys assets, she said, and safety is ETP's top priority and the company is committed to having the appropriate safety measures in place. The company will continue with its construction plan. Gov. Jack Dalrymple's office released this statement Sunday: We urge all protesters to participate only in peaceful and lawful activities, Dalrymple said. Our primary focus as a state is to maintain public safety for protesters, workers and the general public. On Friday, the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe submitted documents in court, identifying areas along the path of the pipeline that are home to Native American artifacts and sacred sites. The next day, workers with the Dakota Access Pipeline brought in bulldozers on the land, which prompted protesters stationed at a camp on U.S. Army Corps of Engineers land to move to where the construction was taking place on a piece of property on the west side of Highway 1806. Standing Rock Chairman Dave Archambault said Dakota Access Pipeline deliberately provoked Saturdays confrontation between its hired security guards and protesters by coming onto a part of the pipeline route that had been recently found to contain graves and sacred sites. Archambault said at least a half-dozen people were maced and pepper sprayed and several people were bitten by the security guards dogs one woman bitten on her breast after protesters entered the construction zone. He said the equipment moved at least 15 miles to get onto the site where a private company, with the consent of the landowner, had found graves and sacred sites and could see the features extended onto the easement. The tribe planned to use the archaeological information to amend its court filings and to file a report with the North Dakota State Historic Preservation Office. They wanted to destroy the proof and evidence; the company knew those sites were there. They dont normally work on Saturday and Sunday; we know because weve been watching them. They desecrated all the land where the landowner gave us permission to look, he said. The company halted construction of the pipeline on Aug. 16 due to safety concerns, and after arrests were occurring almost daily. Since the beginning, Archambault said his message has been about non-violence and promoting peace. And it continues to be my message, but somebody has to put the Dakota Access Pipeline in check as well. Theyre the ones who provoke violence, theyre the ones who are trying to make this more about violence, and tribal leaders around the country are coming here expecting the same thing being a peaceful, prayerful demonstration, but, when the company does things to provoke it, and the security company provokes it, theyre trying to say that were doing it. But weve maintained that message (of non-violence) all along. Another tribal chairman is calling on members of his tribe to avoid traveling to Bismarck-Mandan after the clash Saturday. Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe, S.D., Chairman Harold Frazier said in a news release that many of his tribal members were pepper sprayed by the security officers and attacked by dogs after they went onto the construction site Saturday afternoon. "I am calling on all members of the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe to avoid traveling to or doing business in the Mandan-Bismarck area until this crisis is resolved," Frazier said. "I fear for my people's safety." Hundreds of people across the country have joined the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe to protest the oil pipeline that is planned to cross below the Missouri River just north of the Standing Rock Indian Reservation. U.S. District Judge James Boasberg will rule by Friday on an injunction to stop construction of the Dakota Access Pipeline as requested by the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe. Tribune reporter Lauren Donovan contributed to this story. Sean Mosher Named General Manager for the Four Seasons Resort Chiang Mai: From the sandy beaches of Samui to the ve https://t.co/sW2Gf2K2nF Jordan Brand still has some surprises in store for sneakerheads this year, including this crazy look pair of Air Jordan 13s which serve as a nod to Chinas Singles Day. Singles Day is a widespread festival among young Chinese people in which they celebrate the fact that theyre not in a relationship. The date it is celebrated on, 11/11, was chosen because the number 1 resembles an individual that is alone. Now that we know about the inspiration behind these new 13s, we can get into the actual sneakers. The red mens pair features a wear-away panda camo overlay, similar to the Wings Air Jordan 12 that dropped earlier this year. Only a few pics have surfaced but judging from the insole shown in the gallery, we can assume thats the design the sneaker will take on once these 13s are worn to the bone. In celebration of the unique holiday, this special pair of Air Jordan 13s, as well as a minty green GS version, will be dropping on November 11th, though its unclear if theyll be a China exclusive or a widespread release in The States as well. Well update this post once more information is revealed but in the meantime let us know what you think about the special edition What Is Love Air Jordan 13 Pack. Chinese Singles Day AJ 13 First gaining prominence last November when they released their single 'Alison Stewart', named after Bono's wife, now the band are going to be taking part in the celebrations this September to mark 40 years of U2. U2 have cited the 25th of September as being the date the four musicians came together in Larry Mullens kitchen on Rosemount Avenue and formed the band that would go on to be one of the most successful in music history. To celebrate the 40th anniversary of this occasion, two concerts will be held on the 24 and 25th of this month in the Grand Social Venue. Well known U2 cover band, The Joshua Tree, will also be at the event. There is speculation that U2's forthcoming album Songs of Experience will be released close to their 40th anniversary. Scott Pattison, guitarist with December, said: "Its an honour to be invited to play at this event. We wouldnt be songwriters or musicians at all but for U2. Dublin has a special place in our hearts because of their legacy and the great welcome we recently received there. We are looking forward to going back and meeting fellow U2 fans and musicians from all over the world." Decembers single Alison Stewart is still available on iTunes and all proceeds will go to Chernobyl Children International a charity dear to U2 and Bonos wife Alison Hewson who serves on the board. BBC Radio Ulster tonight celebrates 30 years of the hugely influential rock programme Across The Line with a gig in the Ulster Hall that boasts a star-studded bill. Villagers, Neil Hannon, Soak and Therapy? are among the acts currently limbering up for what will be a very special show in the Ulster Hall tonight. The star-studded gig is to celebrate the 30th Anniversary of the highly influential BBC Radio Ulster alternative rock programme, Across The Line. "In September 1986, a new programme called The Bottom Line made its debut on BBC Radio, a BBC spokesperson told Hot Press. "The programme was an early champion of new music from Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland, often giving bands their first radio play and bringing listeners the latest sounds from the local music scene." It did all of that and whole lot more besides. Fast-forward to September 2016 and the programme is now known as Across The Line and it remains BBC Radio Ulsters home for new alternative local music. There is no over-stating the importance of Across The Line to Irish music, Hot Press editor Niall Stokes said. It is really vital for the genuinely committed and creative Irish artists and bands to have a platform on radio where their music can be heard and heard consistently. Across The Line has provided that platform in a unique and wonderfully supportive way, over a sustained period. In the process the programme has successfully helped to open audiences up to brilliant new artists also enabling musicians to forge careers that might otherwise have foundered. The entire Irish music community owes everyone involved in the programme not least its founder and guiding spirit Mike Edgar a huge debt of gratitude. Long may it run. Advertisement Among the acts confirmed for the birthday bash are Neil Hannon of The Divine Comedy, the critically-acclaimed Soak (who will perform with her band), Dublin favourites Villagers (who will perform an acoustic set), veterans of rock, Therapy?, and Newry band The 4 Of Us, all of whom the programme has supported since their early days. Also performing are up and coming ATL favourites, Belfast five-piece R51, and duo Saint Sister. The concert will be broadcast live on BBC Radio Ulster from 8pm-10pm and streamed live at bbc.co.uk/radioulster. It is also being filmed for future television broadcast. Over the past year in the run up to the anniversary, the programmes frontman Rigsy and Stuart Bailie have been revisiting ATLs enviable back catalogue of live performances and interviews and looking back at some historical musical moments in Northern Ireland. "The programme was originally broadcast on BBC Radio Five and BBC Radio Ulster and despite a brief break and a name change, 30 years later the ethos remains the same, the spokesperson told Hot Press, and that is to champion the best emerging and established alternative music from Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland, giving many bands their first radio play and first media interview. Among the acts to be long-terms friends of the programme are Therapy?, Ash, And So I Watch You From Afar, Snow Patrol, Duke Special, U2 and Villagers. The programme also supports local music producers, events and festivals. Presenters of the programme over the years have included Mike Edgar, Donna Legge, Paul Hamill, Paul McClean, Barry McIlheny, Rory McConnell, Davy Sims, Mickey Bradley and John Kelly while Radiohead were among the programmes many guest presenters. Contributors have included Ralph McLean, Colin Murray, Joe Lindsay, Phil Taggart, the late Uaneen Fitzsimons and Mark Carruthers among many, many more. The programme also made the leap to television, with the series Beyond the Line, followed on by ATL TV, ATL Vital and ATL Rockschool the latter of which featured a young band who would go on to become Two Door Cinema Club, and was an early adopter of online content and coverage of local musicians and festivals. The prolific music manager suffered a heart attack while driving, resulting in a car crash. It is not currently known whether it was the crash or the heart attack that killed him. Jerry Heller rose to prominence as a music manager when he brought Elton John and Pink Floyd to the United States for their first American tours. He also represented popular rock acts, such as The Who, Grand Funk Railroad, Creedence Clearwater Revival, Black Sabbath, as well as many others. In the eighties, he involved himself with east coast rap and hip hop music, most notably as the cofounder of Ruthless Records with Eazy-E. The group discovered and signed N.W.A., The D.O.C., The Black Eyed Peas, Above the Law, and Bone Thugs-N-Harmony. Rappers Ice Cube and Dr. Dre fell left N.W.A. in 1991. The two blamed Jerry's management of the group drove the rappers apart. They would go on to make albums independent of Jerry, writing diss tracks aimed at the manager. Advertisement Jerry Heller's name returned to prominence in the public eye after the release of Straight Outta Compton, a biopic chronicling the rise and fall of N.W.A. Heller was played by acclaimed actor Paul Giamatti, and the portrayal is notably unflattering, particularly in the way he manages the finances of artists he signed. The real Jerry filed a lawsuit against against several members of N.W.A., NBCUniversal, and several others who worked on the movie, for defamation. The producers, including Dr. Dre and Ice Cube, filed a countersuit. Most of the charges were thrown out by the judge. The music producer passed away following a heart attack which resulted in a car crash. The date of passing was 2 September in Thousand Oaks, California. According to his attorney, Mickey Shapiro, it was the film that killed him, leaving him heart broken. Whether on not this is true, Heller had a history of heart problems. Once thought excised from continuity, the popular Star Wars Expanded Universe villain will make his triumphant return. For those who have not seen it, Star Wars Rebels, is set five years before A New Hope, chronicling the adventures of a rebel cell and their fight against the Empire. The main characters include Kanan Jarrus, a Jedi padawan veteran of the clone wars who was forced to into hiding, and Ezra Bridger, the first new Jedi trainee in an era where Jedi are hunted for extermination. In the first two seasons, the heroes fight against the Inquisitors, dark force users trained by Darth Vader to hunt down Jedi who escaped the purge seen in Revenge of the Sith. After the rebels manage repeatedly to confound the efforts of the Inquisitors, Moff Tarkin decides to send in one of the best Imperial agents to destroy the nascent Rebellion once and for all. Advertisement Admiral Thrawn was a fan favorite of readers of the old Expanded Universe, which covered content outside of the films. The character featured as the main antagonist of his own series of novels, where he seized control of the fractured Empire to become a serious threat to the fledgling New Republic. When the old Expanded Universe was rendered non canon with the new sequel trilogy, fans feared Thrawn doomed to non canon. This is no longer the case, and viewers can look forward to Thrawn's second debut, this time in season 3 of Star Wars Rebels. Texas police reported shooting 159 people in the first year that the state tracked such cases under a groundbreaking new law. Officers in Houston shot 31 of them - compared to eight in San Antonio and Dallas and five apiece in Fort Worth and Austin. Houston's share of officer-involved shootings has been disproportionate - even when considering its size as the state's largest city - compared to other Texas police departments. The last year of incidents here involved dozens of tragic scenarios, from shootouts with heavily armed criminals to shootings of unarmed civilians. An unarmed man was shot after he was pushed into an off-duty HPD officer working security at a bar. A man with a gun who his wife later said had gone out to "look for his horse" was shot and killed by two Houston officers. A mentally ill veteran who opened fire on a neighborhood on Memorial Day weekend and shot seven was killed by a Houston SWAT sniper. Each incident should be examined separately and no conclusions should be drawn from numbers alone, said former Houston Police Chief Charles McClelland, whose former agency was involved in most Houston cases. Police agencies differ in patrol strategies, policies and frequency of violent arrests, and the data should prompt further study of the actions of officers and suspects alike, he said. "All of us in law enforcement and the media must get this right for the public," he said. "A department's entire reputation and relationship with its community may rest on this single issue." While many shootings involved armed clashes between civilians and police, some of the most troubling episodes revealed in the new Texas records involved officers shooting juveniles or killing unarmed adults suffering a mental health crisis. Statewide, 20 percent of those shot in the last year were unarmed. David Joseph, 17, was naked when he charged at an Austin police officer who shot and killed him. One of Houston's unarmed cases involved Peter Matthew Gaines, an African American whom a city police officer reported seeing in a "mental crisis" - hitting a sign on the Eastex Freeway and mumbling to himself. The policeman, who'd been on the force only four years, later said he told Gaines to stop but claimed Gaines ignored him and kept coming. The officer shot Gaines twice with a stun gun, but Gaines ripped the prongs out of his chest and was killed just outside a Burger King. For a decade, Texas has seen a steady increase of deaths in police custody. In 2005, 41 people died during police encounters, including deaths caused by shootings, struggles or even natural causes, before being booked into a jail or prison. That number reached an 11-year peak in 2015, with 102 such deaths reported to the Texas attorney general. In 2015, Rep. Eric Johnson, an African-American Democrat from Dallas, was so troubled by the debate over disproportionate use of force against minorities that he championed a reform to gather more information about all officer-involved shootings. Johnson sought to pass a law because of his own experiences "as an African-American male who notices that we have an interesting - statistically speaking - relationship with law enforcement." He initially sought to collect more data but later agreed to omit identifying information about officers and to require reports when police are shot by civilians. "If you're going to collect data on shootings, then be fair," said Charley Wilkison, executive director of the Combined Law Enforcement Associations of Texas. "Did the officer believe the person had a gun? Was the officer in a struggle? We didn't want this to turn into a 'gotcha' aimed directly at officers." Racial disparities Officers reported killing 71 people and injuring 88 in the first year. And that data already shows that something Johnson suspected is true: 28 percent of those shot were African-American, though African- Americans make up only about 12 percent of Texas' population. Of the rest, 28 percent were Hispanic and 43 were Anglo, according to reports filed by police. During the same period, 21 law enforcement officers were reported shot by civilians, and the fatal shootings of two other officers went unreported to the state. Including those two, at least seven were killed - five died in Dallas after an African-American sniper opened fire just after a peaceful Black Lives Matter march in Johnson's hometown. The shooter, an Afghanistan war veteran, was killed too. Racial disparities also show up in the state's in-custody death reports. According to research by Amanda Woog at the University of Texas, 27 percent of the 1,118 people who died in police custody in Texas from 2005-2015 were African-American. "While this data cannot tell us why these numbers have increased so drastically, it does alert us to the problem of increasing fatalities in police encounters in Texas," Woog said. "Without such data, the national conversation around people dying in police custody - in particular black people - has been largely anecdotal. This data helps inform the conversation, revealing an alarming trend." Despite the revelations in the new reports, details of officer-involved shootings remain shrouded in secrecy. The Fort Worth Police Department has repeatedly refused to provide information about an incident during which an officer shot an unarmed 12-year-old. The department filed its one-page report in July, two months after the incident occurred, but indicated only that it happened as a result of a "vehicle pursuit, foot pursuit, (or) resisting arrest." The timing violated requirements to report incidents within 30 days, but Johnson's law has no teeth to punish late reporting. The agency subsequently refused to release more in response to a Texas Public Information Act request, claiming the data can be legally withheld due to the injured boy's age. Most departments investigate their own officers to determine whether policies or laws were violated, though a few send cases to a neighboring agency or the Texas Rangers. Most agencies release basic public information like address, time, names of those involved and a summary. But even that is under dispute by the Irving Police Department, which has refused to name a SWAT officer whose bullet accidentally injured another officer at a shooting range during a training exercise. To learn more about how Texas departments respond to officer-involved shootings, 25 departments were asked to provide policies on use of force for this project. Three - Freeport, Saginaw and Conroe - refused to release even that much. Police advocates argue that the worst shootings involve a few bad apples who deliberately ignore standards or policies. They say many encounters could be avoided if the public had more respect for law enforcement and followed officers' instructions. Said Wilkison: "The police don't want to keep dying, and no one wants to kill a citizen, that's not the goal. But people have to comply with the police. It's their job to protect you." Training requirements Experts argue that some shootings could be prevented by boosting training on use of force, how to de-escalate conflicts or how to respond to mental health calls. Several recent cases involving the unarmed hinged on an officer's split second mistake, like a misfired bullet or mistaking another object for a gun. That appears to have been the case in San Antonio in February, when Antroine Jerral Scott got out of his car with a cellphone in his hand as an officer approached him to serve a warrant. According to police, the officer asked Scott to show his hands before firing a fatal shot as Scott's wife watched from inside the car. In Texas, minimum training and licensing requirements are set by state lawmakers and implemented by the Texas Commission on Law Enforcement. Some Texas departments require more training and typically set their own use-of-force policies, though about 31 agencies follow standards set by the Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement - a standard bearer for best practices. The commission doesn't stipulate how agencies investigate shootings but suggests that agencies require annual use-of-force training and emphasize "de-escalation" tactics, regional program manager Vince Dauro said. Johnson said he wants to look harder at the roles race and mental health play in police shootings, particularly of the unarmed. He said he hopes to amend his law next session to ensure agencies comply and to encourage the state to analyze the data. "Folks are right to ask whether race and gender played into such shootings - whether society views some of us as inherently more dangerous than others - and what should be done to remedy this potentially lethal form of bias that might even be subconscious," he said. -This is part of a year-long series of stories called Point of Impact. For more information on the cases and additional data visit http://pointofimpacttx.com/ The project was made possible by a grant from the Charles Koch Foundation. DICKINSON -- A three-story building meant to provide off-campus housing to Dickinson State University students is sitting empty this semester, and neighborhood residents are trying to keep it that way. Blue Hawk Square, located two blocks south of the university on West Villard Street, became another casualty of the DSU Foundations dissolution in June when Dacotah Bank acquired the property from a deed in lieu of foreclosure. Now, the bank is working with DSU and the city to get students back in the 44-unit apartment building as early as the spring semester. However, residents of the neighborhood around Blue Hawk Square are urging city officials to deny the bank a variance that would allow students to live in the building and park on campus, thereby keeping it from obtaining a certificate of occupancy. That building ruined this neighborhood, said Lloyd Lindbo, who lives across the street from the building on 10th Avenue West. Lindbo and other neighborhood property owners passionately spoke out against the parking variance and the problems created by Blue Hawk Square for more than an hour at the citys Board of Adjustment meeting on Aug. 8. The board eventually denied Dacotah Bank Market President Jeff Moores parking variance request, but the matter will go before the Dickinson Planning and Zoning Commission at 7:30 a.m. Monday, Sept. 12. Leonard Schwindt, Dickinsons city building official, said no one can move into Blue Hawk Square or live there until the parking is secured. Lindbo, standing in his yard and looking at the structure that towers over the residential neighborhood, said on Saturday morning that he and others wont quit fighting to keep the building from ever being occupied by students again. He said he constantly had problems with students blocking his driveway with their cars, or using that area to turn around. Others, he said, would walk through his property to get to other side streets or alleyways where they parked their cars. He pointed to bushes outside of Blue Hawk Square, where theres trash and discarded letters from the buildings nearby mailbox. He asked the Board of Adjustment to consider how and where the students parked when Blue Hawk Square was occupied during the 2014-15 and 2015-16 school years. There should be residential parking only (on the street), and if they cant walk across the street to a parking lot, what makes you think theyre going to walk to the college to park three blocks away? Lindbo asked. Theyre not. If they cant park right next to the building, theyre not going to use it (the parking lots). Parking and legal issues Moore, speaking to the Board of Adjustment, called Blue Hawk Square a good project for the university. He said he doesnt want to see residents parking on the neighborhood streets either, which is why he wants the city to allow those who live in Blue Hawk Square to park on DSUs campus. Shel Thompson owns both the Oasis Motel, which is attached to Blue Hawk Square, and the parking lot the DSU Foundation leased for the property across Villard Street to the south. Moore told the Board of Adjustment the bank asked Thompson to renegotiate the deal hed made with the foundation but the two parties couldnt come to an agreement. The foundation was paying Thompson $36,000 a year, but Moore said the foundation had not paid him for at least a year. Thompson said the bank wanted to pay him less than that, and he wasnt going to make that deal. Moore said the bank doesnt want to use the parking lot at that price, because few students parked there when the building was occupied. The students didnt care to park over there so much because of the security and because of crossing Villard, Moore told The Press. Ive had parents tell me that they dont want their children to live in that facility if they have to park there. Thompson said he had a 10-year contract in place with the DSU Foundation to lease a parking lot, with seven years remaining, and believes Dacotah Bank should fulfill that contract. We have an asphalt ocean with a whole lot of problems, Thompson said. Its not good for the city. Thompson argues that students would have been forced to use the parking lot and not park on the streets had the foundation, as property owner, hired a full-time residential manager for Blue Hawk Square to enforce parking rules. The foundation never did that, which also prevented them from obtaining a permanent certificate of occupancy. Dickinson City Administrator Shawn Kessel said Blue Hawk Square always operated under a temporary certificate of occupancy. He said it was always was an issue. Never could clear it. Building needs work DSU President Thomas Mitzel, sitting mostly on the sidelines and waiting for the Blue Hawk Square issues to be resolved by the city, said he wants to see students back in the property as soon as possible -- he called spring semester is an ideal time frame -- and wants to see it run similar to on-campus residence halls. Wed have an RA in the building, theyd have to go under the same rules and regulations as a residence hall on campus, Mitzel said. For me, that keeps the students safe. But the parking lot isnt the only problem with Blue Hawk Square. The building was built as a modular construction outside of North Dakota -- several states away, Kessel said -- and had some unique design elements, which he said contributed to the foundation never gaining a permanent certificate of occupancy. Theyre required to get a third-party inspection once its being constructed, Kessel said. That wasnt done. It made it very difficult for us as a city to issue a building permit. The walls were in. When it arrives, we cant see the plumbing, electrical, whats behind those walls. While Mitzel said Blue Hawk Square is a nice facility, it needed a little work. While no one will go into specific detail about what aspects of the building need to be fixed, a work crew was at the site Saturday. Moore said theres nothing wrong with Blue Hawk Square structurally, but that certain aspects are being modified and remodeled, including relocating washers and dryer units, which were located near showers. Dacotah Bank has hired Roers as its property manager for the facility, Moore said. We have a financial interest to get it fixed, because it has no marketability as it stands right now, Moore told the Board of Adjustment. We want to be a good neighbor. We dont want those residents parking in the streets. Its just a better piece of property with some better parking, and were working on getting that. Make it right Lindbo said neighborhood residents wont stop fighting unless the university and the city can assure them no resident of Blue Hawk Square will be able to park on the city streets -- an admittedly lofty request. Youve got to make it right from day one, because it wasnt done right to begin with, he told the Board of Adjustment. Do something for the community, for this neighborhood, so people want to live here. Moore told the board the bank is working to acquire lots with houses on the same block as Blue Hawk Square, which could eventually be used as on-site parking. But, with the building able to house 108 residents, Lindbo and others dont believe that size of parking space would make much of a difference. Moore said that if the bank can acquire on-campus parking for next semester, thered likely be stipulations in residents lease agreements that state they couldnt park on the street. If they continue to violate that, that could be grounds for termination, he said. Moore said the bank can only hold the property for five years, and it intends to sell it eventually. Thompson said Moore has said in their conversations that the bank cant guarantee itll always be student housing and he believes the city should force Dacotah Bank and potential future property owners to ensure Blue Hawk Square is only occupied by DSU students. If that building could go on record as being never anything but student housing, thats one thing. But to the bank, its strictly a pawn, a chip theyve got to get rid of it, Thompson told the Board of Adjustment. So theyll get rid of it to anybody. That violates the entire development of that property. That violates all of our contracts. That violates all of the good faith we did. Thompson, who lives in California but spends summers in North Dakota, said the city needs to have as much involvement as possible in ensuring all of Blue Hawk Squares issues -- including its potentially flawed construction -- are resolved. He called the property hastily constructed, and said its still not done. We could bring this whole thing together to make a really good plan, but to do this temporary thing -- just so they can get open, just so they can sell it -- is a bad plan, Thompson said. Youre going to be right back here down the road on a lot of other issues. Lets do it the smart way now, and lets take into consideration all the other issues. DALTON, Ga.- When Mike Pence campaigned in Georgia last week, the Republican vice-presidential nominee carved out time for a private meeting with commentator Erick Erickson, a card-carrying member of the GOP's Never Trump faction. When Pence passed through Arizona last month, he paid a personal visit to another loud Donald Trump resister, Sen. Jeff Flake, who had scolded Trump for his incendiary statements during a meeting between the presidential nominee and Republican senators. Pence's message to both was the same: Whatever your problems with Trump, the presidential election is a binary choice, and Trump is better than Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton. As Pence barnstorms the country rallying voters and raising money, the Indiana governor simultaneously is waging another campaign out of public view. He is trying to personally persuade Republican elected officials, business executives and others who view Trump with trepidation or outright hostility to come aboard, or at least soften their objections. So far, he has been able to tamp down some of the opposition - if not win many converts. "There are some of us who simply can't go for the top of the ticket and are very concerned about the implications if we embrace this Trumpism in all its forms," Flake said in an interview. "He's not able to get some of us. But he's giving it the old college try." Seven weeks into his role on the national ticket, Pence has emerged as Trump's evangelist, emissary and explainer to exasperated Republicans. A governor and former House leader with deep establishment connections, Pence serves as a bridge between the GOP's old order and the populist outsider campaign that has overtaken the party. Huddling in hotel suites and private airport lounges, and often with his wife, Karen, by his side, Pence tries to assuage concerns about Trump's character by relating his personal encounters with the Trump family. To erase doubts about Trump's readiness, Pence lays out what their administration would accomplish on Day One. And to calm worries about Trump's electability, Pence describes their campaign as a historic and unstoppable movement. "I see my role as just helping to tell the story," Pence said in an interview last week aboard his campaign plane. "I've had a lot of those conversations. ... I just like to share with people our belief that this good man would be a great president, and I just share the experience that we've had with them and their family." Trump is not the sole beneficiary of Pence's storytelling. Pence is helping himself, too, protecting his reputation by explaining to powerful Republicans who might look down on him for serving as Trump's running mate why he has so eagerly done so. He also is cultivating and expanding his national network, which would give him an advantage over other Republicans if Trump loses and Pence seeks the presidential nomination in 2020. Although Pence did not win over Flake or Erickson, he has made some establishment Republicans more comfortable. "I have had a number of people come up to me and tell me that they feel very good about this ticket because Mike is on it," Nebraska Gov. Pete Ricketts said. "As traditional Republicans, and Donald Trump not being an orthodox Republican, they were concerned, but they believe that Mike brings that Midwestern stabilizing force." The reaction has been similar in Iowa, where Gov. Terry Branstad recently showed Pence around the Iowa State Fair and introduced him to establishment donors. "Mike Pence is a good go-between," Branstad said. Republicans who refuse to back Trump have embraced Pence. Sen. Mike Lee, Utah, who led a protest of Trump's nomination at the Republican National Convention, invited Pence to Salt Lake City last Thursday to address his policy summit. Last month in Aspen, Colorado, Pence met privately with New Mexico Gov. Susana Martinez, the nation's first Latina governor, whom Trump attackedthis year after she declined to support him. The visit, at the sidelines of a Republican Governors Association retreat, was described by Pence aides as productive, although Martinez, the RGA's chairwoman, has yet to formally endorse Trump. Her spokesman did not respond to multiple requests for an interview. A few hours later, however, Pence jetted to Albuquerque and awkwardly saw diplomacy's limits. He was booed by supporters when he praised Martinez as a "dear friend" and "great governor" at a campaign rally. Since the rocky rollout of his selection by Trump, Pence has quickly found his place in Trump's orbit and settled into his own rhythms as a campaigner. The two men talk daily, often in early morning or late-night check-in calls. "He's always very interested in where we were, what the response was from people," Pence said. ". . . I think he's as much interested in what my sense is of the enthusiasm and just what we're hearing and seeing." In an interview last month, Trump described his relationship with Pence as "phenomenal" and "beyond good." There is virtually no micromanaging of Pence by Trump or his top aides, in part because the Trump campaign is often preoccupied putting out its own fires. Pence is effectively running his own campaign, traveling where he sees fit and delivering a stump speech he crafted with his longtime advisers. Trump campaign officials have so much faith in Pence that their instructions to him are to "ask for forgiveness, not permission," said Trump campaign manager Kellyanne Conway, who has advised Pence for years. "Pence has been perfection," Conway said. "He's unflappable, he's practiced, he's polished, yet he comes across as authentic." Describing Pence's independence within the campaign, she added, "He's not just Donald Trump's running mate. He's free to be Governor Pence and Congressman Pence, to draw upon all of his insights in his life." This is a departure from traditional campaigns, in which the presidential nominee and his or her team exert tight control over the vice-presidential nominee. Sen. Timothy Kaine, Va., sticks to talking points and makes appearances that are scripted and choreographed at Clinton headquarters to complement Clinton's message. Still, Pence again and again has done his duty defending Trump. He is routinely asked in media interviews to respond to Trump's latest controversy, and he generally does so calmly and without incident. "Mike is a consummate team player," said Marc Short, a senior Pence adviser. He does often strain to change the subject, howevever. On NBC's "Meet the Press" on Sunday, he struggled to explain Trump's mass-deportation proposals and refused to get into specifics. He also said he would release his tax returns within "the next week," but defended Trump's decision not to do so until after an audit was complete - which could be after the election. Voters have confronted Pence with some of the conspiracy theories that surround Trump's campaign, such as a young man at a town-hall meeting here in Dalton who asked Pence about unfounded claims of Clinton's "deteriorating health." Pence responded: "I'm less concerned about her bad health than I am about her bad ideas." When a woman explained her "grave fear" that the election would be "rigged," as Trump has often suggested, Pence replied, "I think your skepticism is well founded, but the response ought to be action" to help turn out more voters for Trump. Asked in the interview how he navigates Trump's controversies, Pence said, "They pop up. . . . But I really try to stay focused on talking about the issues that people are really concerned about." He cited the economy, national security and illegal immigration. "He's very even-keel. He doesn't get shook up or excited," Branstad said about Pence. "I think he's helping reassure some people that maybe had some doubts about an unconventional candidate." But some of Pence's friends voiced sympathy for his role as Trump's explainer. "It's a difficult job and I know that he's a different type of person than Donald Trump," Flake said. "He's often left to explain what Donald Trump may have meant, and he's obviously very diplomatic. He needs to be. He's loyal to a fault." Although Trump is a ratings-proven performer thanks to his years on reality television, Pence is a more traditional political communicator. His presentation is more crisp and focused, and his attacks on Clinton are sharper, if less cunning, than Trump's. In his speeches, Pence praises Trump as a fun-loving and fearless fighter. "He's the genuine article," Pence said here in Dalton. "Shoots straight from the hip. ... when he does his talking, he doesn't go tip-toeing around those thousands of rules of political correctness." Pence employs self-deprecating humor in contrasting himself with Trump: "Other than a whole bunch of zeroes, we really have a lot in common. I mean a bunch of zeroes." He also reliably gets laughs when he describes joining the ticket: "Late night, 11 o'clock in the governor's residence, the telephone rang and I heard that familiar voice on the phone and he said, 'Mike, it's gonna be great!' " Pence's routine has won the boss' approval. Trump tells his aides that picking Pence was "the best move I've made." "He's never going to outshine - and I say that in a very respectful way - take the stage away from the main player here," former Texas governor and Republican presidential candidate Rick Perry said of Pence. "People see him as a thoughtful, solid, straight-shooter." The spotlight on Trump is so disproportionately bright that Pence is unrecognizable to many Americans. Taking his entourage and press corps to watch him get his hair cut recently in Pennsylvania, Pence got up from the chair to shake his barber's hand, and the man said, "Your name was - ?" "Mike Pence," the candidate replied. "I'm the governor of Indiana, and I'm running for vice president of the United States." The following are excerpts from reports generated by the Houston Police Department: Randy G. Harris, 33, of 120 Brook St. No. 14, in Licking, was arrested Sept. 1 for having an active Houston municipal warrant for no operators license. An officer made the arrest at the state probation and parole office after being advised Harris was there. He was taken to the Texas County Jail where he posted $100 bond and was released. Gina M. Dodson, 32, of 902 Hiett St. in Houston, was cited for driving while revoked after a traffic stop on Lilly Road at about 5 p.m. Aug. 12. Subscribing to our services is a three step process. 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IT IS VERY IMPORTANT TO USE THE NUMBER OFF OF THE MOST RECENT ISSUE OR ANYTHING AFTER JANUARY 28, 2019 TO GAIN ACCESS! OLD ACCOUNT NUMBERS WILL NOT WORK The account number and zip code are easily available on your most recent issue of the High Plains Journal or Midwest Ag Journal in the address fields as is shown here. Sometimes the account number has extra zero's in front of it, just ignore those. gapore has received the grim honour of being the least happy and optimistic workforce in Asia. In JobStreet.coms 2016 Happiness Index Report, Singaporean workers clocked in with the lowest average job satisfaction rating at 5.09 out of 10. Filipinos, on the other hand, said they were the most satisfied with an average rating of 6.25. It appears that Singaporeans are also the most pessimistic about the future, with workers from the city state posting the lowest prediction of how satisfied they will be in six months time. Indonesian workers were the most optimistic. Seven Asian countries were surveyed for this report including Hong Kong, Vietnam, Thailand, and Malaysia with respondents ranging from fresh graduates to top management. Employees cited salary, benefits, leadership, career development, job security, culture, corporate values, trainings, work schedule, and immediate superior as the biggest factors in their job satisfaction. Meanwhile, uninspiring leadership, insufficient salary, lack of benefits, and lack of trainings remain the most cited reasons causing dissatisfaction in workers. While the national results might look grim, there are many employers in Singapore that are pushing the boundaries to listen to their staff feedback and provide an excellent employee experience. Jason Ho, head of group HR at OCBC Bank previously spoke to HRD about why OCBC has such high employee satisfaction ratings. "Our brand index improved from 84% in 2014 to 86% in 2015, above Aon Hewitts Best Employers average of 85%, while our overall employee engagement score has been increasing every year from 60% in 2010 to 79% in 2015" he said. Ho spoke about the importance of listening to employees. "We conduct an annual employee engagement survey to measure how well the employer brand is delivered to our employees, and find out how they feel about their jobs and work environment" said Ho. The five things you need to know on Monday September 5, 2016 1) THE IMM-MAY-GRATION GAME The hot news from China is that Theresa May has cast doubt on the idea of introducing a points-based immigration system a system advocated by many of her Cabinet colleagues during the EU referendum campaign. The PMs words were on the plane to reporters on her way out to the G20, but this was not a case of her sitting back, kicking off her heels and being indiscreet over a glass of in-flight fizz. Advertisement It was in fact all part of her default-setting as the longest serving Home Secretary of modern times. You really dont want to ask a former Home Secretary about the intricacies of a points-based system she told hacks, before referring to its complexities and the fact it wasnt a silver bullet. Does this necessarily conflict with the Cabinets decision last week that Brexit must mean controls on the numbers of people who come to Britain from Europe? Well, that word controls is elastic, for a start. And when May says Brexit means Brexit shes really only sending the message that the UK will definitely no longer be a member of the EU (unlike Owen Smith, for example). Crucially, she also wants maximum flexibility over what Brexit will look like. Whats notable is that Eurosceps are not kicking off over they points-based remarks, with Bernard Jenkin telling Westminster Hour she was right to reduce expectations about how quickly migration control could be delivered. Some on the Right have long criticised the points-based idea as overly bureaucratic (the fact that Yvette Cooper backed a version of it has not endeared it to Mrs May either). It may well be May is pointing to EU nationals having to get work and travel visas, though the details are unclear. It wasnt an easy start to the summit for May, with Obama stressing his priorities are a trans-pacific and US-EU trade deal before any UK-US deal. There was a lovely moment in the presser where the Mails Jason Groves asked the Prez if he regretted making his back of the queue threat, or are you really going to punish us for taking a democratic decision? Obama said That's quite an editorial question Quick as a flash, and to laughter, Groves explained, deadpan: I work for the Daily Mail. Advertisement With the Japanese also setting out their own worries about Brexit, there was some good news from the Australian PM that he wanted a swift bilateral trade deal (though trade with Australia isnt quite in the same league as some others). The real contrast is between Mays warning on Marr that it wont be plain sailing, and David Davis overnight statement that Brexit isn't about making the best of a bad job. It is about seizing the huge and exciting opportunities that will flow from a new place for Britain in the world. DD has his big Parliamentary moment today with a Commons statement on his summer work on Brexit. Meanwhile a new ComRes poll for BBC 5 Live has found that while 9/10 Leavers were optimistic about Brexit, upto 43% of young people have thought about emigrating. 2) NUCLEAR FISHIN The big question for Mays premiership is whether she can avoid the fate of another previous incumbent who was feted for their performance in a big department before realising No10 is a different ballgame: yes, one Gordon Brown. Like Gordo, May loves a bit of micromanagement. And just as GB tried to turn the G20 into being all about the economy, May was stressing this G20 should take on more duties on the security and counter-terrorism front. Security is certainly the big theme on the vexed decision about Hinkley Points planned new nuclear reactor. No.10 makes clear a decision is coming at the end of the month, which makes for an interesting bilateral with Chinas President Xi this morning. The Chinese are famously sticklers for protocol so the fact that this one-on-one meeting will come after the G20 finishes may suggest to some we are already in the sin bin over Hinkley. But May didnt exactly quash the talk awash in Whitehall that our spooks have deep misgivings about letting the Chinese anywhere near sensitive installations like nuclear power plants. In her presser yesterday, she was asked directly if she was getting the National Security Council to assess the security implications, and replied: Ill be looking at ALL the evidence around this issue. The way I work is that I dont just take an instant decision; I actually look at the evidence, take the advice, consider it properly, and then come to a decision.. Will Emily Thornberry point out to DD today that thats exactly what May did during the referendum campaign and came out on the side of Remain? Advertisement Osbornes golden era of new relations with the Chinese may well sour if Hickley is off (and some MPs point out the plans for a Chinese role in a new Essex nuke plant are just as contentious). When asked on the plane directly if she trusts the Chinese Government, the PM simply replied: Of course we have a relationship with them. Of course, relationships and trust dont always go together. 3) SHADOW BOXING Monday night is usually Fight Night between the PLP and Jeremy Corbyn. Tonight, the PLP will discuss Clive Betts plan to bring back Shadow Cabinet elections (axed by Ed Miliband) as a way of healing the party after the leadership election. Corbyn and Owen Smith wont be present as they will be at the Labour Womens Hustings at 7pm (where some in team Corbyn expect hostile questions as they believe Progress has a big role). Several former Shadow Cabinet ministers are weighing up just whether to make a return once JC wins (and many assume he will). Some Corbyn supporters detected a note of conciliation from Keir Starmer, for example, on Sky yesterday (though Kerry McCarthy ruled it out on 5Live). Giving the PLP a vote on who should be in the Shad Cab is one way to deliver the unity Corbyn clearly wants. Some close to him are not opposed to the idea, but there are caveats. First, the leader will be able to choose who gets which job, as used to be traditional, and the 50-50 gender split is politically very desirable. But secondly, Corbyn allies tell me they will want the NEC to look at expanding the Shad Cab election to beyond MPs and included members in a ballot too. Should this just be one group of people in SW1A or should it be opened to the whole membership? one asks. Smith continued his campaign this morning with warnings that the Tories will push through deeper cuts post-Brexit. Corbyn laid out plans for a 300m US-style 'Advanced Research Agency' for energy science and climate change. Both wings of the party seem to agree on tax transparency these days. Rebecca Long-Bailey, the Shadow Chief Secretary, blogs for us on the topic and Caroline Flint explains why shes tabled her amendment to the Finance Bill on country-by-country reporting. Watch for possible Tory rebels on this and other votes this week. Advertisement BECAUSE YOUVE READ THIS FAR In case you missed it, watch this glorious gif of Ed Balls dad-dancing on Strictly 4) VAZ WASHES WHITER This summer, Keith Vaz told Jeremy Corbyn that many regard the Chakrabarti Report as a whitewash, pointing to the lack of figures and evidence not taken from Ken Livingstone. Today, Westminster is getting used to the idea that Vazs has been telling male escorts that hes a washing machine salesman called Jim. (Vaz being Vaz, he apparently sold not any old washing machines but industrial ones). The Home Affairs Select Committee chairman was the subject of a classic tabloid story yesterday as the Sunday Mirror released footage of him paying for sex and offering to pay for drugs. At first he suggested he would step aside as chairman, but later issued a more considered statement that he would announce on Tuesday just what his next move would be. Many people couldnt give two hoots about Vazs private life, but the paper justifies its story on the grounds of a possible conflict of interest in that the Committee has been investigating prostitution as well as drugs. Peter Tatchell told Today that Vaz he has not broken any laws and has a strong record of supporting gay rightsand decriminalisation of sex work and cannot be accused of hypocrisy. Andrew Marr during his paper review yesterday added I cannot see much hypocrisy. Vaz was one of just three incumbent select committee chairs to face re-election last year and saw off a challenge from Fiona McTaggart. While his fellow committee members may not want to be seen kicking him while hes down, they may not (in Vazs own words) want any distraction from the committees important work. Reports in to anti-semitism and FGM are due in coming days. Vaz's political allegiances in the leadership have sometimes confused colleagues. He came out for Owen Smith at a campaign event. But at a key NEC meeting this year he said he'd nominate Corbyn to get on the ballot, saying 'if my leader asks me to support him, I will'. Advertisement 5) NHS PRIORITIES Junior doctors are facing a fresh warning that that their strike plans may be a step too far. The GMC, which oversees disciplinary action, sounds more hardball than Jeremy Hunt, stating that it will act to protect patients. Niall Dickson, who used to be the BBCs health reporter but has since gone through a range of health think tank jobs and is now chief exec of the watchdog, cited the 1983 Medical Act and said doctors could face sanctions if their behaviour has fallen consistently or seriously below the standards required. Where we are presented with evidence that a doctors actions may have directly led to a patient or patients coming to significant harm, we would be obliged to investigate and if necessary take appropriate action. The Times, meanwhile, has a neat story adding up all the payouts to NHS bosses since 2010. Almost 2 billion has been paid to NHS managers in redundancy settlements. More than 3,000 health bosses have been given payouts of more than 100,000, with almost 500 paid above 200,000. Yes, you read that right. If youre reading this on the web, sign-up HERE to get the WaughZone delivered to your inbox. FARGO Like anyone who wants to understand North Dakota politics, Nick Bauroth tried to follow the money. The North Dakota State University political scientist wanted to tally up campaign contributions to find out which interest groups and individuals seek to influence state policies. When I started trying to do that, I found that with statewide elections, with legislative elections, there are some real big holes there in terms of the information that's available, he said. Relative to other states, North Dakota has a high threshold for campaign contributions that must be reported by candidates. In the last three election years, about a third of legislative candidates didnt need to report contributions, according to a recent study by Bauroth, who is director of Midwest Center on Public Policy. Either these candidates used only their own money or theyre getting contributions that fall below the threshold. Bauroth found evidence that suggests corporations routinely make such contributions and that such contributions can add up quickly. But getting a more complete picture of political financing isnt just important to political scientists. The study argues that the extent to which citizens can follow the flow of money through the electoral process helps determine their ability to make informed decisions at the ballot box. Mystery money In North Dakota, when an individual or group gives a candidate less than $200, the candidate doesnt need to report who gave the money. A candidate for statewide office, such as the governors office, must at least report the total of those sub-$200 donations, but not a candidate for the state Legislature. When candidates dont report contributions, its possible they just spent their own money, but, as the study found, political action committees routinely make donations of less than $200. Bauroth said corporate PACs sometimes report donations to investors, providing a glimpse into how they help favored candidates. Johnson & Johnsons PAC, for example, gave 20 North Dakota legislative candidates each $150 in 2010. Tesoros PAC gave 32 legislative candidates each $100 in 2014. Its also possible that sub-$200 donations dont add up to much candidates who dont have reportable contributions are often running unopposed but they sometimes add up to a lot. Statewide candidates who must report the total of such donations have disclosed in recent years that they make up 10 to 29 percent of all donations the candidates received. That kind of money doesnt go far in states where campaign costs are high, such as in New York, Bauroth said. But in North Dakota, its something, particularly if you're trying to gauge if certain industries, oil industry, agriculture or individual citizens have some sort of outsized influence or at least attempt to. Its possible there really isnt a problem. This report in some ways is an exercise in frustration in that, well, I don't even know what I dont know, Bauroth said. I don't know if this is a big deal or if this is just a minor thing. What other states do The remedy is to lower the threshold below $200, the study suggests. North Dakotas threshold is higher than that of all but 46 states, according to data from the Campaign Finance Institute in Washington, D.C. Mississippis reporting threshold is $200, Nebraskas is $250 and New Jerseys is $250. Among North Dakotas neighbors, Minnesotas and South Dakotas are $100 and Montanas is $35. Eight states have zero thresholds, meaning all contributions must be reported, including rural states such as New Mexico and West Virginia. Bauroth said hes sent his study to state lawmakers, but hasnt heard from any. He hopes some of them will consider changing the threshold. On the Web: To read Bauroths study, go to https://www.ndsu.edu/centers/publicpolicy/studies_and_reports. On 2nd September, a year will have passed since the tragic story of Alan Kurdi. The body of the three-year-old was found washed upon the Turkish beach opposite the Mediterranean Sea. Its discovery caused widespread international outrage. Not only because the chilling photo that emerged from it but because it was symbolic of the West's failure to deal with the mounting refugee crisis. However his death did have a bittersweet ending. The conditions for refugees in Europe improved significantly since his lifetime. Yet our sudden sympathy towards refugees and asylum seekers suggests an uncomfortable truth, one which most commentators have failed to mention. It suggests that the only way to get our attention is by feeding us the most graphic and disturbing images. It suggests that the only thing that we respond to is shock therapy. It is hard not to stress how detrimental Alan's death was in the shift in the worldwide attitude towards refugees. The months preceding his death oversaw a growth in xenophobic rhetoric against Europe's new arrivals. Some media outlets were showing little sympathy to their plight, while others actively sought to demonise them. This was also in the context of a hardening rhetoric from the far-right in Britain and in Europe, which only began to fall on more receptive ears. The anti-Islamic movement Pegida was gaining traction in Germany, particularly in Dresden where many asylum-seekers were rehabilitated. Not only did they reject calls for greater acceptance of refugees in European countries, some also argued that the refugees should be selected in terms of religion. Slovakia stated that it would only accept Christians, a move that was backed by our very own Nigel Farage. Advertisement Those on the political fringes were not the only ones supporting a tough response to the refugee crisis. Many of Europe's political leaders were not willing to budge either. This included included our ex-Prime Minister David Cameron, who at one point had referred to the refugees in Calais as a 'swarm'. Britain even withdrew its rescue missions in the Mediterranean Sea on the basis that it was encouraging more people to take the risk. Germany's Angela Merkel followed a similar line when she failed to comfort a Palestinian girl whose family faced deportation on camera. Like Britain, she defended her position by stating that accepting more refugees would encourage others to make the journey and that Germany could not handle anymore. Thus before 2nd September, there was very little hope for refugees making their journeys in to Europe, in spite of the record number of deaths occurring at the Mediterranean Sea. All that changed once the world saw Alan's lifeless body on the beach. Suddenly, the refugees were not just a statistic: they were given a story. Alan Kurdi had humanized them. Major media outlets published the image on their front page the next day. Almost overnight, the Daily Mail reversed its position as it wrote a headline titled 'Tiny victim of a human catastrophe', when its language prior to the tragedy was anything but sympathetic. Other platforms became more vociferous in their support for taking in more refugees, such as The Independent and Guardian, and perhaps more surprisingly The Times. Within a few days, the mood had completely turned. Advertisement The shift was not only confined to the press. The day after, David Cameron softened his tone, claiming that that the photos had 'deeply moved him'. Four days later, he pledged to take in 20,000 more refugees in Britain by 2020. He was not the only one. The fact that the Canadian government rejected the Kurdi family's application for asylum made the whole affair an emotive issue. Steven Harper, the Prime Minister at the time, had to answer for the government's failure in prevent Alan's death. Unsurprisingly, the winning party was the one that pledged the most adequate response to the crisis. Prime Minister Trudaeu promised to take 25,000 refugees and even went to welcome the refugees from the airport. Yet the clearest response came from Merkel who decided to take a lead on issue. Alongside Austria, Germany opened its borders with Hungary for unregistered asylum seekers at 5th September. Such a bold move was unprecedented, especially in the EU where all other member states were dithering in how to respond. Though Merkel went on to moderate her support of refugees (she did impose border controls again at 13th September), Germany still led by example in how to deal with the migrant crisis by accepting the largest number of refugees. All these manoeuvres took place in different political environments. Yet they were all dependent on one thing: Alan Kurdi's death and the public sympathy that followed it. One wonders darkly: what would have happened if Alan Kurdi survived? From the looks of it, very little. The story of Alan Kurdi is one of many 'martyr' narratives rampant in the media. It follows a process of blind indifference until a point where a grave tragedy occurs. Only then does the media decide to zone in on the issue, when the damage is already done. The same process is occurring with the Syrian humanitarian crisis. Over the past year, coverage on the hardship of civilian life in Syria had plateaued as the Syrian war entered its fifth year. But recently, the disturbing video of Omar Daqneesh, a child recovered from the rubble in Aleppo, has sparked discussion on the issue. Like Alan, he has humanized the civilians in Syria still suffering. His unsettling stillness has projected the true cost of the war. And like Alan, it was too late. The war has already taken its toll on him. As in personal life, the need for an all-weather friend in the global polity can never be overstated in the scenario of one having to restart a journey away from the comfort zone - irrespective of the reasons behind the loss of the cosy corner. The United Kingdom has always had the United States for every such possibility. But in the ever-changing global order, and amid diminishing global power, the UK - especially the post-Brexit UK - could do well to more such friends. Luckily, there is one significant one in the east - India, the jewel in the crown of the erstwhile British Raj. As per a report released by UK's Department for International Trade on August 30, the US remained the biggest source of Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in the 2015/16 financial year with 570 projects; followed by China with 156 projects. Advertisement India, significantly, retained its position as the third largest investor in Britain with 140 projects - out of a total of 2,213 projects in investments by a record 79 countries. Simultaneously, UK is the largest G20 investor into India, contributing around 8% of India's FDI. Mr. Liam Fox, UK's International Trade Secretary, on his visit to New Delhi and Mumbai, India's political and financial capitals, on August 30 said that Bilateral relationship between the UK and India has the potential to become a stronger partnership, particularly in trade and investment. Speaking during his first visit to India since taking up his role, Mr. Fox said: I wanted to come here early in my time as Secretary of State for International Trade to show how important the new government views our trade partnership with India. This partnership lies at the very heart of the strategic relationship between our two nations, a relationship that has never been more important than it is today. Mr. Fox, apart from meeting leaders of India's leading industry bodies like the Confederation of Indian Industries (CII), also attended the soft launch of the India-UK TECH Summit. The UK is the country partner for the TECH Summit which showcases British expertise in innovation, technology, and skills to Indian businesses. Advertisement Importantly, the visit also served as a preparation for his visit to India later this year to attend the Joint Economic and Trade Committee (JETCO). Addressing the CII, he further said: "The India-UK Tech Summit in November will be a further celebration of this partnership, where sector experts ranging from smart cities, healthcare, agri-tech and others will come together to boost trade, R&D as well as academic ties between the UK and India." With his visit, where he also met India's Minister for Finance, Mr. Arun Jaitley, there is a renewed enthusiasm about the proposal for an India-U.K. Free Trade Agreement (FTA). The UK currently has High Commission offices in New Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai and Kolkata and trade Offices in Bangalore, Hyderabad and Ahmedabad. The Department for International Development (DfID) works with the state governments of West Bengal, Andhra Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh and Orissa. Aiding the trade bodies is the British Council, which has offices and libraries in eleven cities stretching from Thiruvananthapuram in the south of India to Chandigarh in the north and Ahmedabad in the west to Kolkata in the east. Advertisement The thrust on India is not misplaced. India is currently the third largest economy in the world (based on purchasing power parity) and is expected to become the second largest by 2050 when the economy would be 30 times the current size. A British Council report late in 2015 says, "As its economy is transformed, its political, military and cultural power is also likely to increase, elevating India to a 21st Century superpower". Former chairman of Goldman Sachs Asset Management and current Conservative government minister Mr. Jim O'Neill, the British economist who had coined the acronym BRICS, has often said that "India will soon be 'one of the biggest influences on the world'. It is looking for new partners in the global race. This represents a great opportunity for the UK". The opportunity would, however, need to be actively tapped by the UK (and indeed by India). The British Council report advises the UK to "continue to up its game if it is to take advantage of India's rise". Currently, Indians account for more than half of UK's total 93,935 skilled work visas granted, much ahead of the US, which accounted for around 11 percent. Advertisement As per a BBC report on the 'India UK Links', Indian companies are playing an increasingly important role in the UK economy. "Tata Group, for example, is one of the UK's largest manufacturing employers, with some 65,000 employees in the UK." Nearly 1.5 million citizens of Indian origin make up the UK population, making it the largest ethnic minority group in the UK and the seventh greatest Indian diaspora in the world. Half a million Indians tourists visit the UK every year, while nearly the same (400,000) Britons visit India. Age-old overlap of culture, history, and language with India already give the UK a reliable foundation upon which future relations between the two nations can be permanently deepened. India's burgeoning English-speaking middles class offers the most friendly opening for the UK to become India's partner of choice for diplomatic, trade, cultural, and education relations. Before the Indian story is courted by other nations, those factors can add to the opportunity for the UK to make inroads into India's civil society, research, education, and the creative sector. Most importantly, quite like the US, the Indo-UK partnership can rest assured on the very concrete edifice of both being thriving, liberal, and multi-cultural democracies. That means that the relationship cannot be marred by the whims and fancies of a closed system like, for example, that of China. Advertisement There is a "new" Mexico on the rise, one that sees its capital city thriving with new gallery openings, restaurants, and coworking spaces. This has contributed to an increase of international attention, making Mexico City a desirable innovation hub. Furthermore, the country is also seeing a rise in new infrastructure, new factories, and foreign investment, which is resulting in a more stable economy. However, there is a group of people who are still being marginalised and will not be part of the "new" Mexico. They are the indigenous or native people, who for decades have had to endure the consequences of a weak economic system and corrupt government. They have also been historically denied full access to democracy and civil rights, but that is all changing, thanks to digital technologies. Since 2006 parts of Mexico have endured interminable violence which only seems to escalate; 85,000 people have perished since 2006. It is not an easy or linear problem, it is a complex web that has its origins dating back to the conquest of the Americas. Weaving in other difficult challenges such as corruption and a thriving drug trade one can start to see the complexity Mexico faces. The most prominent producers of violence are the cartels, who thrive partly due to the support of seemingly corrupt government institutions. The escalation of threat and corruption has reached a point where cartels fund their own political campaigns to obtain protection. This was the case of the former mayor of Iguala, Jose Luis Abarca, and his wife, Maria de los Angeles Pineda Villa, members of a drug trafficking clan that has operated in Guerrero and Morelos for more than a decade. The corruption of this group has gone as far as being blamed for the assassination and disappearance of the students of Ayotzinapa. This case has not yet been resolved, many suspecting the lack of interest from the government is because the majority of the students are indigenous people. Advertisement The good new is that we are witnessing new phenomena; marginalised communities are using digital technologies to reinforce democracy, create awareness for a specific social injustice, and drive change. We have seen this through movements like Arab Spring and Black Lives Matter. These communities are able to disseminate information faster, publicly question authority, and create change through drawing international attention. Now it's the turn of the indigenous people of Mexico. The case of the Ayotzinapa students is heart wrenching as it to date there has been no justice as the current government doesn't represent or protect them. However, their parents and community have galvanised a movement to bring justice and answers to the case. They have organised protests, which have moved the wider Mexican population to come out in force both on the streets and in social media. The Twitter hashtag "yamecanse" which means "I've had enough" was tweeted more than 3.8 times. In consequences, this created a global solidarity with protests being organised in Canada, New York, and London. Now, many mainstream news outlets are calling it the start of "Mexico's Spring". However, what is unique to Mexico is that the use of social media is not only for big movements they are also using it for survival as well. The threat of violence due to the drug war, lack of policing and lack of reliable media reporting has meant that civilians have had to take control of their security and information. Rogue journalists are using social media outlets like twitter, Facebook and blogs to create citizen-led news hubs to share information about crime in specific areas. In this case, it is not about inciting political change it is about getting reliable information to stay safe. A recent study highlighted that blogs like Blog del Narco, who stays anonymous and keeps the information anonymous make Mexican citizens more confident about reporting "events happening in their neighbourhood, creating overlapping interaction and consensus pertinent to the public sphere." Advertisement Among the artistic events co-ordinated by the Artichoke company for their current London's Burning festival to commemorate the 350th anniversary of the Great Fire of London is one focusing on statistics. Dry and boring you might think. So, to make it interesting, they commissioned the performance group Stan's Cafe (named after the venue in Birmingham in which the company was conceived) to bring stats to life by visually representing them through grains of rice, something they've been doing across Europe on various themes for 13 years. The result is a succession of neat piles of rice of various sizes placed on white paper on the floor of the hall at the Inner Temple under the watchful, stern portraits of four of the five Fire Judges appointed by King Charles II to adjudicate on compensation claims after the Fire. Advertisement Each grain of rice represents one person and among the single grains featured is that of Thomas Farriner whose bakery on Pudding Lane was the source of the blaze on 2 September 1666. Another tiny pile, of six grains, represents the official death toll of the fire though the organisers might have added a pinch of salt as official records did not include the poor. Neither would they have included the foreign victims of lynch mobs who believed the rumours that the fire was a plot to overthrow the country. We were at war with the Dutch at the time. Advertisement Much bigger piles denote the population of the City of London (ie within the old Roman walls) at the time around 80,000, a sixth of London's inhabitants and nearby a similarly-sized pile representing the 70,000 who were displaced. This would accrue to some two million people in today's terms. The Great Fire's savage progress over four days was made easier not only by the predominance of wooden structures but also by the highly inflammable oil, tar and other combustibles to be found everywhere on the wharfs. Most of the victims were allowed to set up temporary shelters in fields owned by the City of London Corporation in Highbury, Islington and in Moorfields. The wretched conditions were exacerbated by profiteers who saw a chance to sell their goods to the desperate at inflated prices. No change there then. King Charles II, another one grainer, was worried that the displaced might rise up in rebellion since it was not long ago that London had supported Cromwell during the civil war that cost the King's father his head. The installation does not, however, restrict its visual statistics to the Great Fire but seeks parallels with more contemporary events. Advertisement One of the biggest piles denotes the number of refugees in the world, defined by the UNHCR as those who have crossed borders. Stan's Cafe would have liked to have made a pile representing the world's internally displaced people i.e. those who have not crossed a border. But as associate artist Jack Trow explained, "at 65 million people it was too much rice for the load limit of the Inner Temple Hall". A chilling thought. The artwork contains two tons of rice. If they were to include a grain to represent its title, they's require 120 tons. The biggest pile of rice on show here represents the number of people who voted in the recent EU referendum. A pile about half the size represented those who didn't. The work is full of random items. A large pile denotes the number of people who watched episode 1, series 7 of The Great British Bake Off. Equally current is a not too small pile entitled Newly qualified primary school teachers in Ireland who could be paid for one year with back taxes owed by Apple. Advertisement The installation is a performance art in that the brown-coated artists will act on suggestions by members of the public for certain statistics, and, once verified, will carefully create a new pile of rice. The installation thus evolves. The problem with it as a whole is that, thought-provoking though it might be, statistics whether visually presented or not, require context. The number of soldiers killed on the first day of the Battle of the Somme makes a tiny pile compared to the number of people employed by the NHS and so the impact is lost. However, there's a certain aesthetic quality about the rice piles placed simply in an ornate setting, one that managed to survive the ravages of the Great Fire. Christopher Furlong via Getty Images When Parliament returns today, the Commons will get its teeth into the Finance Bill one last time. And the big question of the day will be multinationals and the taxes they pay - or don't pay. Last week, the European Commission made the ground shake, when it handed a 13billion tax bill to Apple, having calculated that the tech giant paid just 0.005 per cent taxes on its European profits in 2014. Advertisement Earlier this year, as a member of the Public Accounts Committee, I questioned HMRC and Google over their 130million deal over a decade's worth of unpaid back-taxes. Was this good value for the taxpayer? Perhaps we will never know, as the details, like Google's business, is shrouded in mystery. Secrecy and complexity are the weapons of the wealthiest multinationals. They create shell companies and internal company transactions shifting money around the world. This allows them to report or shelter their profits in low or no tax dominions. The effect is to minimise the tax contribution in the very countries where they have most employees, apparently doing the most business. But Governments are not powerless. Yes, they will have to work together, with the EU, with the G20, to share and coordinate their response. But that can only come after the first big step. Transparency. If every business with a substantial presence in the UK, had a light shone on their revenues, employment numbers, and taxes paid, this would be a game changer. Advertisement They have to report this data to HMRC already. But publishing it, well that would tilt the scales away from secrecy and help Governments both here and elsewhere. In June, I proposed to take the headline information about where multinational companies do business and where they pay their taxes and put it in the public domain. The Government did not want to move ahead with this alone. But the Government supports the principle, and recognises the growing support for transparency. In June, The measure had the backing of almost the entire membership of the cross party Public Accounts Committee. Eight parliamentary parties, and some Conservatives MPS backed the measure too. International development charities including Oxfam, Action Aid and Christian Aid - it is the poorest countries that lose the most to profit shifting - and transparency organisations such as Global Witness and Tax Justice Network all pledged their support. There is even a business-led lobby FairTaxMark that rejects using tax havens, and backs corporate social responsibility - paying fair taxes for the general good. Isn't one of the biggest problems here is that homegrown companies play by one set of rules while the multinationals play by another? Advertisement But with the UK economy coping with uncertainty arising from the EU referendum, Ministers are cautious and I recognise that. If the UK faces short term economic turbulence, no one in parliament wants to make things worse. So the new proposal before the Commons has taken on board Government concerns. The proposal gives the Minister the clear power to require this information to be published, but doesn't force their hand over when. The power to introduce public country-by-country reporting would be established. The principle agreed. And Government would have a new weapon in its armoury against the tax avoiders. I hope the Government see this amendment as a positive, pro-business measure, accept it, and allow all sides of the Commons to come together with one voice. Parliament will send a clear message to the business community. The UK will become a leader in the campaign to shine a light into the dark corners of multinational profit shifting, shell companies and tax avoidance. Advertisement Parliament will be standing up for fair taxes. For all companies to pay responsible tax and to play by the same set of rules. If Parliament steps up, we won't be the last country to do so. But the UK will be at the front of the pack. Right where we should be. It wasn't much of a surprise that the 73rd Venice Film Festival cancelled its opening night party on the Lido in deference to the victims of the Italian earthquake victims. The oldest, most venerable festival in the world invariably makes sure it has valid connections to the world at large. After all, it was invented by Mussolini not just to show good films from all over the world but to headline Italian movies he didn't object to. Nowadays the festival is decidedly left of centre, thanks largely to its director Alberto Barbera, who studiously tries to be fair to all political persuasions but clearly likes the radical part of the show best. This year, however, he offered a rare Hollywood musical as his opener -- the eagerly awaited Ryan Gosling and Emma Stone La La Land. Gosling and Stone have worked together before and with writer-director Damien Chazelle too. But after the highly successful Whiplash no one expected Chazelle to make a musical. It is, though, pretty unorthodox stuff, bursting into song and dance when you least expect but mainly concentrating on two things. These are the drama itself between the two leads and a semi-satire of the musical conventions of the past. Does the mix work? Not entirely. But it is lively enough to keep most audiences happy, especially at a time when fun in the cinema usually involves vast expenditure of special effects, and heroes rather bigger than life. Here they are not. Stone is an aspiring actress in LA but temperamentally too vulnerable to deal with the savagery of a series of unsuccessful auditions and screen tests. He is an aspiring jazz piano player who believes in the good old days when jazz was not a watered down branch of pop and rock. They fall for each other and, one way or another,get through their career dilemmas with some elan. She at last has a success as an actress, and he gives up a well-paid job with a successful group who don't play proper jazz to become the owner of a small club which does. Advertisement Stephen Lam / Reuters Brock Turner is a free man again. Released from jail after three measly months. I say measly because it really was when you consider the seriousness of his crime. I would call him a rapist but technically that would be wrong, under Californian law he is not a rapist. According to the law he sexually assaulted his victim. He violated her behind the bins; he penetrated the unconscious woman with an unknown object, but he did not have intercourse with her. Therefore, it can't be classed as rape. In the words of Brock's victim "You don't know me, but you've been inside me, and that's why we're here today." After three months he has been released. He can now get back to enjoying those rib-eye steaks that he was so fond of. In the meantime his victim will never be free. She will never forget what Brock Turner did to her. Another thing she won't be allowed to forget is that Brock was a swimmer with a promising future. Just as she will always be labelled the victim, Brock will always be defined by his social standing, "former Stanford swimmer." Nearly every report I have read of this case has started with the words - " former Stanford University swimmer". In one news report we were reminded throughout the article of Brock's talent: Advertisement " the one time Stanford swimming star" "the former Olympic hopeful" The media seems shocked that athletes might rape or sexually violate people behind dumpsters. Yes, Brock can swim but that doesn't make him less likely to be a rapist. Sadly, we often never know who is capable of rape until it happens. Rapists don't walk around with rapist tattooed on their forehead: there is no one defining feature of a rapist. They could be the helpful man you chat to at the gym, your friendly neighbour or maybe even your hardworking Dr. You never know. A rapist looks like everyone else. A rapist may have a position of authority, they might be an athlete, it could even be your boyfriend. Approximately 90% of those who are raped know the perpetrator prior to the offence. I am not suggesting that we go around thinking that every man has the potential to rape. However, I am suggesting that the media changes the way it chooses to report rape. It needs to stop humanising the rapists, telling us what lovely law-abiding people they were previously. It needs to stop telling us how talented and hardworking they are. I don't care if they once helped an old granny across the road, to me they are now rapists. The word rapist tells me everything I need to know about them. When they choose to rape they lose their right to be considered as an individual. The way the media has chosen to report the Brock Turner case is disturbing. The persistent focus on the fact he was once a talented swimmer and the almost mourning over the fact that he no longer has a bright future. Yes, he no longer has a bright future, so what? It was his decision to do what he did that night. On the other hand his victim didn't ask to be sexually assaulted. In the reporting of domestic and sexual violence the women are often silenced. However, this time the female refused to be silenced. Her eloquent and powerful 7,000 word letter ensured that everyone listened to her. We now know that the survivor is an incredibly brave and intelligent woman. Advertisement "For a while, I believed that that was all I was. I had to force myself to relearn my real name, my identity. To relearn that this is not all that I am. That I am not just a drunk victim at a frat party found behind a dumpster, while you are the All American swimmer at a top university, innocent until proven guilty, with so much at stake. I am a human being who has been irreversibly hurt, my life was put on hold for over a year, waiting to figure out if I was worth something." A lot of women are affected by rape. A lot of women will be carrying around the secret of rape. Women that are sisters, daughters and mothers. Women that are teachers, cashiers and office workers. Anyone can become a victim of rape. To be raped you don't need to be drunk or wearing provocative clothing. The victims of rape weren't asking for it: they were not the ones at fault. A third of people believe women who flirt are partially responsible for being raped (Amnesty, 2005) The media needs to stop normalising rape and pushing blame onto the victim. Secret survivors of rape are everywhere. This burden will always be with them. We need to make it easier for survivors of rape to talk about what has happened; we need to make it easier for survivors to come forward. The media needs to stop with its crude reporting of rape. Approximately 85,000 of woman are raped every year in the UK Only around 15% of those who experience sexual violence choose to report it to the police It takes strength to talk about rape. I want to see the media empowering women to report these crimes. Rape Crisis London has launched #breakthesilence, a series of films for young survivors Advertisement We need to be supporting survivors of rape. We need to break the silence. Campaigners for greater transparency and justice in international trade and taxation don't often have much to celebrate, but the news that the Transnational Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) talks look to be floundering, and the EU's imposition of a 13 billion tax bill on Apple, should be seen important victories with wide ranging ramifications. In the latter of these two cases an EU investigation has found that between 2004 and 2014 technology giant Apple benefited unfairly from a sweetheart deal with the Irish government which allowed it to largely avoid paying taxes on profits generated outside the US. According to the EU competition commissioner Margrethe Vestager, Apple, whose non-US operations are headquartered in Ireland, should have paid Ireland's corporate tax rate of 12.5% on its overseas sales, but found that the company paid less than 2% tax on these profits. The Commission argued that the super-low tax rate came about as a result of direct negotiations between the US multinational and the Irish revenue service about how much the company should be taxed, and that this was in breach of competition rules because the rates applied only to Apple and could be construed as state aid. Surprisingly, Dublin shot back and declared it would appeal the Commission's ruling - essentially refusing to collect a sum that is equal to one year's worth of health spending. Advertisement While the ruling raises interesting questions about where taxes of multinationals should be levied: in the country of sale, as Ireland argues, or in the country in which the company is headquartered, as the Commission's ruling avers, it is not on these finer points that opposition to the ruling turns. Rather, US trade officials right up to the Secretary of the Treasury, Jack Lew, are protesting the decision on the facile and factually inaccurate grounds that the EU is targeting US companies for political reasons. For its part, the Commission contends that the ruling is not political and it is merely applying the law as it has done against numerous European companies in the past. Indeed, Vestager levied a 2.9 billion fine on six of Europe's largest truck makers which stand accused of price collusion and delaying the introduction of new emissions technology. Similarly, the Commissioner has also ruled against Belgium's system of corporate tax breaks, which the EU found to be anti-competitive. If anything, Vestager has proven herself to be intrepid in her pursuit of cases no matter what the political pressures against her may be, going after Russian energy company Gazprom for allegedly inflating prices, at a time when relations between the EU and Russia remain tense. Accusations of political motivations aside, the sight of the Irish and US governments lining up to support Apple to the detriment of ordinary taxpayers speaks volumes about the ideological mind-set shared by the corporate and government elite. The thinking in such neoliberal circles is that the soft touch regulation of big companies spurs more investment and that bigger returns for shareholders will eventually trickle down into the real economy. But as has become abundantly clear through the release of the Panama Papers and the Lux Leaks scandal, a huge amount of the wealth created at the top never does trickle down but gets siphoned off along the way and ends up in offshore tax havens. If the EU can hold-out against the appeal due to be launched by both Apple and the Irish government and force the latter to collect the 13 billion it would come as some succour to a beleaguered citizenry to know that there is at least one major institution out there that is fighting on its behalf. Advertisement However, one would be very much mistaken to think that the European Commission is abandoning its neoliberal ways. The EU's executive is still pushing hard for the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) even though opposition to one of its most despised provisions, the Investor State Dispute Settlement (ISDS) clause, has been so intense that it could scupper the deal altogether. Thanks to work by a broad campaign opposing TTIP, the shadowy world of ISDS has been brought to light. Originally devised as a way of protecting the profits of companies who might, for example, lose their assets or have their operations unfairly disrupted by a government reneging on its contracts, it has since become an industry in itself, spawning legions of lawyers specialised in bringing cases against governments on behalf of corporations for such ethically dubious reasons as passing tougher environmental legislation or banning tobacco advertising. An investigation by Buzzfeed into the misuse of ISDS highlights one case in which factory owners in Nicaragua, accused of poisoning a village's water supply with lead were able to get the charges dropped by way of an ISDS, and another in which an Emirati real estate mogul, convicted of swindling the Egyptian people out of hundreds of millions of dollars, had his prison sentence overturned after his lawyers successfully appealed the ruling in an ISDS court. Or consider the case of Veolia, a French waste and water services provider, who is suing Lithuania for $100 million in lost profits after gas subsidies were scrapped by the government. The action came just six months after a local investigation uncovered that Veolia had used mob-like practices and violence to win contracts in Vilnius and is further evidence of how ISDS cases are being used to intimidate governments into backing away from prosecuting companies for malfeasance. You might assume that using the right terminology to describe someone's politics shouldn't be too difficult, especially within a British context. Of course, the two party system that dominated our parliamentary democracy for decades has long been in decline. Many have speculated that proportional representation is the only real long term solution to the dilemmas we currently face. It's a logical conclusion to come to: traditional binary voting splits between old and young, rich and poor, urban and rural, religious and secular, socially conservative and liberal, and left and right, increasingly make less sense in today's demographically and constitutionally fragmented Britain. True modernisation would reflect these wide-ranging changes. The internet obviously plays a role here, too, given that far more young people get their news from online sources. If my own social media networks, for example, reflected real life then Jeremy Corbyn would be heading for a landslide in the next general election. Conversely, Corbyn's polling amongst older generations could hardly get any worse. The trouble is that, as I recently argued in a piece about the Labour leader, it's the 'old media' that still set the agenda. Advertisement In the words of many newspapers, Corbyn represents the 'hard left' in British politics. The narrative goes that he's too radical to ever be prime minister, socialism doesn't speak to enough people and that his policies are 'too' left wing. Of course, the fact that the Overton window has shifted to the right is partly to blame for this attitude, but it's an argument also employed by many in his own party. In recent months, Corbyn's supporters have been described as 'thugs' and 'extremists' while rival leadership contender Owen Smith disgracefully called Corbyn a 'lunatic'. Elsewhere, the word 'Trotskyist' has been used as a smear again and again by sensible commentators who should really know better. There are two important points to make here. Firstly, the implication that Corbyn's supporters are extremists, or that they somehow mirror the xenophobic 'hard right', is offensive and wrong. If democratically campaigning for mass redistribution of wealth, investment in public services and a world full of destructive nuclear weapons, is extremist then there are a hell of a lot of extremists in the UK. In spite of (bizarrely) Labour's best efforts, the party now have over half a million members, the majority of whom having joined for Corbyn, that dangerous extremist, himself. I'd be a surprised if even half these members know anything about Russian revolutionary Leon Trotsky other than his name. Advertisement Secondly, and more importantly, this movement reflect a wider societal hunger for something new. Many commentators issue warnings about Labour harking back to the Militant days, a time of 'infiltration' and 'intimidation'. Yet the hundreds of thousands of new members aren't Trotskyist agitators. Like in Spain, Greece and, most recently, America, these are everyday working people who have been let down by failed neo-liberal economics and are desperate for change. Of course, many will point to Corbyn's poor personal approval ratings and Labour's disastrous recent polling (which are down to a multitude of factors, it must be said), but simply dismissing these new converts as a hard left minority is a huge mistake. People are understandably sceptical about Corbyn's managerial competence and leadership credentials, but fear of his policies are less grounded in reality. Flagship policies such as renationalisation of the railways, heavier taxation on corporations and the wealthy, placing greater emphasis on mental health in the NHS, and protecting the NHS from all private influence are hugely popular. In an interesting piece last week, the BBC found that when the factor of the public's perception of Corbyn, Labour and the left as a whole was stripped away, they were broadly sympathetic or even supportive. Naturally, there are many on the left who will think that much of this rings true but are still unwilling to support Corbyn because of X, Y, Z, and that's fair enough. However, the stigmatisation of socialists as 'hard' left supporters of extremism, totalitarianism and terrorism should be challenged at every opportunity. Critics of this movement point to examples of intimidation and aggression against those that disagree, which is horrendous but a sad by-product of most 21st century political movements that are driven by a desperate desire to shake up the system. It'd be a mistake to associate such behaviour with the swathes of people across this country that dream of a more egalitarian system. Advertisement AkiraIto via Getty Images Newly-elected Green Party leader Caroline Lucas has said that a Labour commitment to proportional representation would be a 'red line' in any discussions about electoral pacts. Lucas made the comments as figures from Labour, the Lib Dems and the Greens came together at the Green Party's Autumn Conference for a discussion on the prospect of a 'progressive alliance' for the next General Election - a key plank of the Brighton Pavilion MP and Jonathan Bartley's leadership bid. Advertisement Labour-supporting Compass chair Neal Lawson, newly-elected Green Party co-leader Caroline Lucas, left-wing Labour MP Lisa Nandy and GreenHouse think tank chair Rupert Read spoke on the same platform to launch GreenHouse's new report on progressive alliances - and to discuss the basis of any pact for the next General Election. Beginning the discussion, Compass' Neal Lawson argued that 'the old ways of operating aren't working' - pitching left-wing parties against left-wing parties. 'If we had a PR system we wouldn't have to do this'. However, he sounded a word of caution about the idea behind any pact: 'This cannot be a coalition of the losers...The electoral system cheats us but we have to have a positive message'. In a session that often returned to Britain's winner-takes-all voting system, Rupert Read argued 'there is no prospect of saving the planet under First Past the Post, or securing the crucial constitutional changes we need: federalism, Lords reform and PR' Advertisement Read said that any path to PR must rule out a referendum: 'There need to be manifesto commitments - the last thing we need is a referendum'. But a precondition for any alliance is 'a manifesto commitment to electoral reform [from Labour]'. Lisa Nandy MP was the most cautious about the practicalities of any electoral pact. She ruled out the idea of formal pacts, or open primaries, in favour of more cooperative, collaborative working. 'By listening and working together we get much better answers. We can either see pluralism in this country as a threat and try to stop it or see it as a strength and use it to make this country and fairer and better place'. Calling for a proportional voting system, Nandy said 'One of the biggest restraints in this country is our electoral system'. Caroline Lucas MP said the need for a progressive alliance was built on the fact that the climate crisis and need for democratic reform is 'urgent'. 'Labour took their eyes off Kemptown in 2015 to fight me - and they lost it'. However, reflecting unease within the party about the practicalities of any pact, she said 'This is something from the ground up - not being imposed from the top down'. Advertisement Lucas outlined a number of options for any alliance. 'It could mean open primaries, or could mean one party just spending less than usual - there are different ways of doing this. We don't do it by stitching up agreements behind closed doors or imposing anything from the centre - decisions have to made at the local level.' At the heart of it is the fact that 'No one party has a monopoly of wisdom on every single issue', while harking to the Brexit mood: 'This whole agenda is about 'taking back control'' Journalist and former Lib Dem candidate Chris Bowers said the remit of an alliance needed to be about more than PR. 'If we make cooperation solely for electoral reform it just looks like a selfish lunge for power. We're not going to get hope with some technocratic fix - we need ideas.' The Labour debate on PR Compass' Neal Lawson said that the Labour Party is shifting on PR: 'the glacier is melting. There is real movement in the labour movement and the Labour Party towards PR.' He praised the SNP for continuing to back reform: 'It's amazing that the SNP back the campaign for PR given much FPTP benefits them in Westminster.' But Read reiterated a key Green position on any alliance: 'If Labour move on PR, we have something here. If they don't, we probably don't.' Advertisement Lisa Nandy said Labour 'can't afford to carry on putting party first' - and that fellow new MPs were more open to alliances than more traditional Labour MPs: 'this Labour shift comes from a generational shift - politicians who've come in at the same time a me.' Reiterating her opposition to electoral pacts, Nandy said 'Anger at devolution in Manchester was about deals done behind closed doors. People are against politicians who seem to be compromising all the time.' Green unease - and hope There was some Green unease about whether an alliance was even desirable - including a heckler arguing against deals with Labour, while there was sympathy with another member saying 'Why should we work with a Labour party that doesn't even let its members vote?' Another audience member added 'there are a lot of green parties who would not be comfortable with standing down without an open primary.' However, Caroline Lucas said an alliance was needed nonetheless. 'When I joined thirty years ago I thought we'd have more than one MP by now. The climate crisis is urgent, inequality is urgent. Electoral reform is a red line. An MOU that parked the issue of nuclear is still worth fighting for because this is urgent.' Advertisement Lawson finished the fringe on a positive note about the importance of working together: 'We need to prefigure the kind of world we want - let's build the world we want to live in now.' This is based on the panel 'Progressive Alliances: The case for cross-party working and why it could be a game-changer for the Green Party' at the party's Autumn Conference What is the role of referendums in our democracy? For some, referendums are a means for demagogues to undermine parliamentary sovereignty. For others, they are a vital exercise in engaging citizens on crucial constitutional issues that cannot be settled by parties alone. Yet referendums are not good or bad in themselves; they are a democratic tool with positives and negatives. The quality of information and debate can vary enormously. It is partly because referendums are not ever a pure exercise confined to the 'exam question'. There is always a proxy element: voters often choose to cast judgement about the government of the day, or to opt for one of the many de facto mini-manifestos that lie behind each side. Advertisement Nowhere have we seen these issues more clearly reflected than during the European Union referendum. As passionate believers in democracy, the Electoral Reform Society wanted to see the best possible referendum debate. We chose to play an active role in the EU referendum by trying to ensure the debate was as high quality as possible, and learn important lessons in how good deliberation can be stimulated in living rooms, community centres and workplaces across the country. Our Better Referendum online toolkit organised with university partners, took advantage of digital technology to enable free, deliberative discussion to be a part of the EU referendum. It was a great start, but we couldn't do it all ourselves. And after the vote, we noticed something. Many people felt as if this was the first vote they had ever cast where they knew it would count. No safe seats, no tactical voting, no electoral quagmires. Unlike First Past the Post general elections, this was a vote where the public felt empowered - and they turned out in large numbers. At the ERS we have seen a membership surge on the back of this, with people signing up to say that votes should count in all elections, not just referendums. Nonetheless, many also felt the campaign failed to provide the public with the best possible debate, in contrast to what is widely viewed as a vibrant Scottish referendum vote. There were a large range of problems with the referendum campaign, many of which are explored in this report. Among them is the short length of the campaign - political anoraks felt the campaign had been going on forever before most people had woken up to its existence. Moreover, the failure to give 16- and 17-year-olds the vote, unlike in the Scottish referendum, was a huge missed opportunity to invigorate the debate. However, we know that referendums are rarely the end of the matter. And neither should they be. This vote showed there is a huge appetite out there for the public to engage in crucial constitutional issues - and that appetite has not gone away simply because 23 June 2016 has been and gone. Advertisement The context of a referendum is everything. If they are simply snapshots of public opinion, taken without any real effort to engage the public properly in the issues, then all sorts of problems can arise. But if they take place within a wider process of informed debate and active citizenship, they can be the catalyst for real political engagement and good democracy. We now need to keep the conversation going after the referendum and ensure that the public have a say in what comes next. Democracy should not end after polling day - voters clearly had a strong appetite for expressing their views on this issue. Now it's essential to ensure the fullest possible public involvement in the Brexit negotiations. All of this is why we've just published our report on the EU campaign and the future of referendums in the United Kingdom. 'It's Good to Talk: Doing Referendums Differently After the EU Vote' draws on the ERS' extensive polling, conducted by BMG Research throughout the referendum, spanning from the very start of the campaign in February to a week before voters went to the ballot boxes. We assess voters' perceptions of the referendum debate, but more than that - we use it to see where we should go from here to ensure that in the future, voters get the referendums they deserve. Taiwan, Malta and Ecuador top the list of the best places to live abroad in the third annual InterNations Expat Insider 2016 survey. With more than 14,000 respondents, it is one of the most extensive studies ever conducted to explore the general living situation of expatriates. Independent of Brexit, the United Kingdom did not make it among the favorite expat destinations, placing at a mediocre 33rd place out of 67 countries. The prosperous economy and great career prospects are some perks of moving to the UK. However, the high cost of living and lack of political stability are viewed as big setbacks by many expats, according to the survey, which InterNations conducted prior to the EU Referendum. United Kingdom: Economy Good, Political Stability Bad As the United Kingdom stands on the brink of the unknown, the impact that Brexit will have on expat life in the UK is still unclear. Before moving to the UK, 64 percent of expats questioned (who filled in the survey prior to the Brexit vote) considered the economy and labor market one of the top potential benefits of their destination. Furthermore, the survey shows that expats in the UK are generally satisfied with the state of the economy: 77 percent view it favorably, which is a notably higher percentage than the global average of 56 percent. The UK also provides expats with a satisfactory level of job security: The country ranks 16th out of 67 in this subcategory, and another 73 percent rate their career prospects positively as well. Advertisement Even prior to the upheaval following in the wake of the referendum result, the political stability of the country has been on a slight downward trend. With 77 percent rating the UK's political stability positively in 2016, the number has noticeably decreased from last year's 86 percent. The positive ratings for peacefulness are also not as high as they used to be: 74 percent rate this factor favorably, which is twelve percentage points lower than last year. Friendly Locals but at a High Cost Despite the recent increase in hate crimes across the UK, the pre-Brexit respondents tend to see the Brits as a generally friendly nation. In fact, 70 percent rate the general friendliness of the population positively, and 63 percent even appreciate the friendly attitude towards foreign residents. Moreover, 81 percent rate the population's attitude towards families with children favorably, too. Additionally, 62 percent say that they are satisfied with their ability to make new friends in the UK. Thus, before the recent referendum, survey participants still felt cautiously optimistic about being welcome in the UK. On the other side of the spectrum, the cost of living in the UK has never been viewed favorably: 51 percent considered this to be a potential disadvantage even prior to moving to the UK, which is more than double the global average of 24 percent. The UK ranks 53rd out of 67 in the Cost of Living Index: The majority of expats (54 percent) report that the cost of living is generally high, which is 22 percentage points more than the global average. It is yet to be seen if the looming Brexit will have an impact on the cost of living in the United Kingdom as well. Brits Abroad: Moving to the Mainland With Brexit and the resulting rise in hate crime; more Black deaths in police custody and French Burkini bans - not to mention Trump - there recently seems to have been a simultaneous global surge to the right. At times like these, it's even more important than usual to have a variety of voices making sense of events. The diversification of online media has started to see a wider range of journalists, bloggers and social commentators developing their voices. But we need diverse artists too, to help us re-examine the past, question the present and imagine the future. Is it as easy to democratise the arts as it is the media? When Talawa Theatre Company was set up thirty years ago, the mission was to get Black actors playing roles they would never ordinarily get. Those arguments are still happening today, but there's a bigger question at hand - who decides what's put on stage? Advertisement Making theatre is an intensive task. It is hard to squeeze in between classes, shifts at work, or while caring for family members. Our industry seems predicated on people being financially self-supporting at the start of their careers. It is no surprise, therefore, that a recent review by the Equality and Human Rights Commission found Black and ethnic minority people in Britain still face entrenched race inequality in many areas. While Black graduates earn on average 23.1% less than white ones, it is no wonder that lots of artists have to drop out of the arts due to personal circumstances including: family pressures, work commitments or financial difficulties. As a regular Talawa writer recently said to me: "I simply haven't got the time to work on [my play] because I have to prioritise my time on projects that bring an income into my household. My household is entirely dependent on my income." For this reason, we continue to shape, change, contribute to and challenge the dominant narrative by supporting and developing Black artists, reimagining the classics and producing new Black British work. When talking to young Black actors, writers and directors, conversations quickly turn to the frustration of having to wait for someone to open a door for them; to allow them to make and share their art. Advertisement For me, one of the big questions facing our industry today is: How do we give talented young artists of all ethnicities, genders, socio-economic statuses and abilities the space to hold a mirror up to our society? Talawa's solution for the past 21 years has been our TYPT programme, where we develop and nurture the next generation of Black theatre makers. This year's company have developed Hatch, a dystopian vision of a London divided by 'cleansing' operations. I am overjoyed that programmes like TYPT can allow young artists to develop their artistic voices, and in rehearsals their hunger for self-expression is immediately apparent. Yet it truly saddens me that their explorations into self-expression can conjure up such harrowing visions of the future. The fictions within Hatch are compelling. But like all good stories of dystopia, it stems from concerns that permeate all aspects of their lives in the present. Namely, what does it mean to be Black in Britain after generations of discrimination? I hope that we move towards a future far removed from the dystopia imagined in Hatch. But for that hope to become a reality, we need companies and organisations like ours to be empowered to support emerging artists, for there to be opportunities for careers in theatre and for there to be a far wider range of stories being told on our stages. Advertisement By Amel Yacef and Michael Privot, Chair and Director of the European Network Against racism (ENAR) France has been in the spotlight this summer, starting with a number of mayors banning burkinis from beaches in their towns and escalating into women simply wearing a headscarf on the beach being forced to undress by policemen or be fined. All this in the name of a certain vision of secularism, women's rights and the fight against terrorism. The rule of law seems to have gone down the drain with the political hysteria around the burkini. French local authorities and administrative courts have put forward arguments that violate fundamental rights in upholding the bans in various coastal cities of France. Legal arguments no longer seem to work for authorities and part of public opinion. Although the Council of State, France's highest administrative court, recently ordered the suspension of the ban in the city of Villeneuve-Loubet, stating that the decrees led to illegal infringements on fundamental freedoms, mayors are now refusing to respect this decision. The burkini bans and subsequent abuses in enforcing them are symptomatic of the very real and disproportionate impact of Islamophobia on Muslim women. Discrimination and violence are a daily reality for Muslim women, not only in France but across Europe, as our recent "Forgotten women" report has shown. Muslim women are more likely to be victims of hate crime and of discrimination than either white women, or ethnic minority or Muslim men. In both employment discrimination and hate crime, the headscarf (or other clothing such as long skirts) acts as a trigger, because it is perceived as a visible marker of Muslim and women's identity. Advertisement Our report also shows that prejudices and stereotypical representations about Muslim women are spread by media and public discourse. This negative attention to Muslim women contributes to creating a fertile ground for discriminatory practices and violence on the ground and creates structural inequalities. The latest burkini bans are a blatant illustration of this. They effectively prevent all Muslim women wearing a burkini - or a headscarf as recent arrests have shown - from going to the beach, a public space. This is a clearly discriminatory measure - both on the grounds of religion and of gender. The bans do nothing to actually empower or "emancipate" women, despite their purported goal according to defenders of the decrees. These bans are also dangerous insofar as they are conveyed as a way to combat terrorism, insidiously linking Muslim women wearing religious clothing to terrorism. They are serving to further stigmatise the Muslim community, and Muslim women in particular, and exacerbate tensions between communities - exactly what Daesh is striving to achieve. If women's rights and emancipation are truly a concern for French authorities, excluding and stigmatising women is hardly the way to go about it. Instead, measures could include mandatory training sessions for all citizens and residents on the principles of non-violence, gender equality and mutual respect. They could also include supporting projects by feminist organisations, allocating sufficient means to fight gender-based violence and sexism, developing women's empowerment programmes, imposing quotas where necessary, sanctioning sexual harassment, etc. Muslim community organisations should also play a role by adopting concrete measures to denounce domestic violence, forced or arranged marriages and sexual abuse, and to provide support to victims. Advertisement The multiple discrimination and intersectional discrimination faced by Muslim women must also be addressed in national and EU laws and policies, acknowledging the combined effects of discrimination on the grounds of gender, ethnicity and religion. This will require political courage, perseverance and the will to have a long-term perspective and vision. Something France's and Europe's politicians urgently need to address current challenges. Neil Hall/PA Wire Following a week in which tax has once again dominated the headlines - this time after Apple was presented with a 13 billion bill in unpaid taxes by the European Union - the subject remains firmly on the global agenda. It is with this in mind that G20 leaders gathered in China at the weekend, to discuss the implementation of the organisation's proposed international tax reforms. The event was attended by Britain's new Prime Minister Theresa May, and offered her a chance to set out the UK's future global approach to tax. Given Theresa May's statement on the steps of Downing Street that she wants to create an economy that works for the majority and not just the privileged few, she now had an opportunity to show the world what this looks like. Advertisement And there is a lot at stake. Developing countries lose hundreds of billions of dollars every year to corporate tax avoidance. Healthcare, schools and other key public services are left starved of resources as they are deprived of tax revenues, often hitting women and girls hardest. And while tax policy can often feel remote and complex, it has real implications for millions of people living in poverty. Angom Grace in Uganda / ActionAid This includes people like 35-year-old Angom Grace in Uganda who twice a week has to walk 30km to her nearest health centre in order to receive basic paracetamol drugs for pain relief. Raising tax revenue by preventing tax avoidance offers an important way of funding improved health services across the country and creating long term solutions to poverty. It also includes people like Jane Irungu, a school teacher in Kenya who teaches a class of up to 80 pupils with as few as 25 books between them. Even a small improvement in tax revenue spent on education could potentially yield big results. Advertisement Jane Irungu in Kenya / ActionAid Prime Minister May has the chance at the G20 to use Britain's influence to lead the way on global tax reform, ushering in an era of co-operation and not competition. To be effective this would mean tackling the tax-cutting race to the bottom among countries. Poor countries are big losers in this downward spiral as they are particularly dependent on corporation tax, relying on it for about 16% of their revenue, as opposed to an average of 8% in developed countries. As IMF director Christine Lagarde said, "the problem with a race to the bottom is that everyone ends up at the bottom". As tax revenue means money for poverty fighting public services, the last place we want to end up is at the bottom with no corporate tax being paid. Effectiveness would also mean backing the implementation of public country-by-country reporting to create greater transparency and make it harder to avoid tax. Finally it would mean making sure developing countries had an equal seat at the table when discussing global tax reform and ensuring the UK's tax policy does not harm developing countries. For some time now people have been portraying the EU referendum as a model of democracy. In his resignation speech, for example, David Cameron said that "the country has taken part in a giant democratic exercise, perhaps the biggest in our history", a view that was echoed by Andrew Marr, who described the referendum as "this country's single biggest democratic act in modern times". During the referendum campaign it struck me that what we were witnessing wasn't so much an exercise in democracy as a gargantuan and protracted carnival - a pageant of unruly forces that had lain dormant for many years, but which had burst forth, invading the body politic and catching everyone off guard. Carnivals are found all round the globe. Although they come in various shapes and sizes, there are several fundamental features that they have in common. One is that carnivals only last for a limited period, during which time the official world, with its trappings of respectability and convention, gives way to an unofficial, festive world of extravagant costumes, music, laughter, feasting, drinking and revelry. While the official world is founded on respect for rank, and on restraint and responsibility, the temporary and unofficial world of the carnival is dedicated to license, excess and abandonment. Where everyday life is serious and deferential, carnivals are playful and mocking. Their purpose is not to uphold the status quo, but rather to expose and undermine it - to celebrate the forces of renewal and regeneration rather than those of orthodoxy and stability. This feature of carnivals is sometimes called "inversion" or "reversal", a reference to the topsy-turvy character of carnivals in which rulers are replaced by their subjects, solemnity by ribaldry, and caution by recklessness. Advertisement European carnivals can be traced back to the Roman Saturnalia, which was a religious holiday devoted to the worship of the deity Saturn. Like the carnivals that appeared much later, the Saturnalia involved feasting, drunkenness, carousing and the reversal of everyday relationships. Master and servant would often swap roles, for example, with the slaves of the household being treated to a lavish banquet before a similar meal was served to the masters. During this festive period, each community appointed a master of ceremonies who was thoroughly indulged. His task was to parody the authorities and to entertain the people by issuing ridiculous commands. At the end of the Saturnalia he was cruelly dispatched - a ritualised way of killing off the old in order to make way for the new. In medieval times a similar role was often performed by a peasant who assumed the title, "The Lord of Misrule". He presided over the "Feast of Fools" and issued commands, the more whimsical and preposterous the better. When the carnival ended he too lost his position, often being burned in effigy. Advertisement Wiki Commons. Detail from Fete des fous, grave par Pieter Van der Heyden.en 1559, d'apres Brueghel Fools and clowns were an integral part of the medieval carnival. Their job was to poke fun at everyone - at the rulers, the church, citizens, even themselves. In keeping with the customary suspension of normal conventions, they were allowed to say whatever they wanted. It's worth noting that, historically, the word "fool" did not have the pejorative meaning that it does today, and that it referred instead to someone who possessed the necessary talents to be amusing and provocative. Far from it being the case that fools were idiots, they were usually chosen for their superior acting skills and their ability to improvise and be entertaining. While it's true to say that the referendum didn't involve any carnivalesque feasting, carousing or drunkenness - unless of course we include those photo ops of politicians quaffing beer in pubs round the country - there were unusually high levels of ridicule and derision. And it was flying in both directions. Like carnival fools mocking the established order, the Leavers lampooned the Remainers, who in turn did everything in their power to make the Leavers look stupid and irresponsible. There are at least three identifiable features of carnival humour. One is its reliance on the grotesque, which is evident in the bizarre and misshapen costumes worn by the revellers, and which was equally apparent in the garish accusations that Leavers and Remainers levelled at each other. Hyperbole is another feature of carnival humour, and there was certainly a lot of that around recently - like David Cameron's suggestion that Brexit might lead to the Third World War, or the Leavers' insistence that Brexit would make an extra 350 million pounds available to the NHS every week! Carnivals provide a temporary resolution of the age-old power struggle between opposing social forces by setting aside a limited period during which the unofficial society of the streets can take over from the official society of the establishment. In the process of mocking the establishment, carnival fools would automatically paint a fantasian picture of everything that the carnival had to offer. Exactly the same utopian themes have emerged in the upbeat futures offered by the Brexiteers. As soon as we get out of the EU, they assured us, we'll reach the sunny uplands - we'll be able to control our borders, pass our own laws, limit immigration, dispense with red tape and choose whoever we want as our trading partners. After Brexit we'll have it all! Advertisement There was a widespread disregard for the truth during the referendum, and it was much more pronounced than during the last General Election. While several commentators were horrified by the factual distortions and downright lies that were concocted during the campaign, they shouldn't really have been surprised, because if there's one guiding principle that governs carnivals it's the idea that participants can say exactly what they want and not be held to account for expressing an opinion, however tenuous its links to reality. After all, everyone taking part in a carnival knows that what you do and say during the celebrations doesn't count. That's because your actions and utterances exist in another world, which is completely separate from the one to which everyone returns when the carnival is finished. Every carnival needs people who are prepared to play the part of the fool, and the Brexit Carnival was no exception. If you were casting director for the Brexit Carnival, you couldn't have done better than to select Boris Johnson, Nigel Farage and Michael Gove - the perfect candidates for the "Lords of Misrule". Nigel Farage, with his foreign-sounding surname, his jovial disposition and his stentorian delivery, loves to wind people up and taunt his fellow MEPs. Boris is well known for his wit, his indiscretions and his ability to extemporize. During the referendum campaign, crowds would gather whenever Boris was in town - not so much to hear his arguments as to witness his buffoonery and his talented comic turns. Michael Gove has also shown signs of comic potential, but since assaulting Boris on stage with a rubber knife, he's been cast in the role of pantomime villain. The remark that Michael Gove made during the closing stages of the campaign - that "people in this country have had enough of experts" - was deeply anti-intellectual, but it was perfectly in tune with the spirit of carnival because it appealed to people who want to reject authority. The referendum campaign displayed several other carnivalesque features. Firstly, carnivals typically involve everyone. In this respect they're very different from festive events like the Mardi Gras, where a colourful procession is watched by people who don't actually take part in the proceedings. In a carnival proper most if not all of the adult population gets involved. Officials who are normally in charge join the throng, blending into the crowd, just like everyone else. As we saw, the referendum was equally inclusive and egalitarian, inviting everyone who was old enough to take part. Advertisement Because carnivals are so inclusive, people from different backgrounds are thrown together. In his study of carnivals, the Russian philosopher Mikhail Bakhtin pointed out that they encourage what he calls "misalliances" - improbable partnerships between individuals who wouldn't typically have anything to do with each other. There were numerous cases of misalliance during the referendum campaign - like the time that Labour's London mayor, Sadiq Khan, joined forces with the Leader of the Scottish Conservatives, Ruth Davidson, to argue the case for Remain, or the occasion when the former party leaders, Paddy Ashdown and Neil Kinnock, took part in a campaign phone-in alongside David Cameron. But the oddest sight of all was the spectacle of George Galloway campaigning with Nigel Farage! Like carnivals, referendums make strange bedfellows of individuals who wouldn't ordinarily be seen together. Rex/Shutterstock When a carnival draws to a close, all the clowns return home, hang up their costumes and resume their normal everyday existence. On this basis alone one should have foreseen that the three main Brexit clowns would also absent themselves from the scene. And that's precisely what they did - Boris Johnson withdrew from the race to become the next Conservative Party leader, Nigel Farage resigned as leader of UKIP, and Michael Gove disappeared to spend more time with his family. When their services to comedy were no longer required, they all made a rather sudden exit - which, of course, is exactly what a carnivalesque reading of events would have predicted. It would also have predicted that, as it drew to a close, the carnival would require a symbolic sacrifice, even if it involved the then Prime Minister. Finally it would lead us to expect that, because carnivals conclude by reinstating normality, the most likely person to become Prime Minister after Cameron would be someone from the Remain rather than the Leave camp, and definitely not one of the clowns! While in several respects the Brexit carnival has been put to bed, there's also a very strong sense in which it continues to live on. Typically, when a carnival is over, everything that was associated with it is dismantled and disappears. But that hasn't happened with Brexit - instead of the unofficial world of the carnival giving way to the official world of normality, it's actually invaded the official world, and it will continue to do so for many years to come. Maybe that's why so many people still feel disoriented in the aftermath of the referendum, and why an appreciable number of those who voted to leave are now having second thoughts. Deep down they expected their actions during the Brexit carnival to be contained, and not to continue to dominate their lives after the carnival was over. During the referendum campaign lots of people were surprised to discover just how well the Leave Camp was doing. They were hoping that the people who were attracted to Brexit would come to their senses before casting their vote, and that reason would prevail. What they failed to recognise, however, was that the carnivalesque aspect of the referendum made the Leave Camp inherently more appealing. Carnivals are unruly, energetic, inspiring and cathartic. They're about vitality, renewal, excitement and fun. So when one side of a referendum becomes infused with the spirit of carnival, it's bound to garner a lot more support than the prospect of things remaining unchanged. Given the choice between a Rabelaisian world of laughter on the one hand and a humdrum world of austerity and officialdom on the other, it's easy to see what people are going to choose. In recent days we've been reminded that certain former Prime Ministers were extremely suspicious of referendums. Quoting Clement Attlee, Margaret Thatcher famously described them as a "device of dictators and demagogues". Did her aversion to referendums arise, not so much from the association with despots, but from an instinctive recognition of the uncontrollable and unpredictable forces that referendums can unleash - forces that threaten to undermine the delicate social contract between voters and the government, if they're not properly contained? When David Cameron agreed to offer the British public a referendum on the EU, did he ever consider the possibility that it might turn into a carnival that refused to go away after it was over? Maybe somebody should have warned him. Riccardo Lennart Niels Mayer via Getty Images As the market research keeps telling us, millennials are all about experiences. And when it comes to life-enriching experiences, there's nothing more fulfilling than volunteering in an orphanage in a developing country, right? Fulfilling for the volunteer, maybe. There's a mounting pile of evidence which suggests that an influx of affluent but unskilled visitors can stunt long-term economic development. Which, sorry to say, kind of ruins the idea that going to Kenya for a month is the same as being a real-life superhero. Advertisement And often, it's not even about the volunteering itself, but about fleshing out a resume or university application. There is a "persistent vogue among students for so-called service that's sometimes about little more than a faraway adventure and a few lines or paragraphs on their applications to selective colleges," writes Frank Bruni. "It turns developing world hardship into a prose-ready opportunity for growth, empathy into an extracurricular activity." In some cases, this means wealthy parents going so far as to fund or even buy orphanages and AIDS clinics in developing countries, in order to give their child a "cause" for their summer holiday. Which feeds into a bigger problem; orphanages are being run like businesses, and voluntourism from first world do-gooders is actually creating a demand for these institutions, leading to the emergence of the so-called "orphanage industry." Save The Children UK published a report earlier this year explaining exactly why the charity doesn't support orphanage volunteering. Research shows that the institutionalisation of children aged three or under can have a severe impact on their brain development, not to mention that orphanages rarely have the resources to provide optimal care and security that children need, both physically and emotionally. Advertisement On average, 80 per cent of children in orphanages have at least one living parent, often along with extended family. "They're incredible care networks," the report says, "but instead of getting support, they're being pulled apart and disempowered by the establishment and over-reliance on orphanages -- often funded by visitors who just want to help." Naive and well-meaning volunteers often share a single bad habit; they view the communities they are visiting as primitive and in need of civilising -- misconceptions that are perpetuated, perhaps accidentally, by the companies which sell "volunteering experiences" to teens seeking to help the less fortunate while travelling the world. "Part of it is our instant gratification, fast food, everything with a click of the button culture," says Mark Weber, co-producer of the documentary Poverty, Inc. "We expect everything to be easy so we resist doing our own due diligence." But thanks to the internet, this kind of "poverty porn" is more open to criticism than ever before; like when the Telegraph published actress Louise Linton's account of her gap year in Zambia. Taken from her ghost-written memoir, the outlandish and patronising tale of orphans and warlords was torn to shreds by Zambians online, with many poking holes in the historical and geographical details, and some decrying it as nothing more than a work of fiction. Linton's tale is representative of a widespread perception of developing countries as mere backdrops for the humbling adventures of first world teens on their gap years, where the children they are ostensibly there to help are mere pawns in an 'Eat Pray Love'-style narrative of personal fulfilment. This entitled, self-perceived benevolence is expertly parodied by 'Saviour Barbie' on Instagram, which skewers the vanity and outdated colonialism of such a worldview. Advertisement "The idea that you, as an unskilled worker, have got anything really useful that you can add is slightly arrogant and sort of imperialistic in some ways -- white people going out to Africa to help the Africans," says Mark Watson, director of the charity Tourism Concern. "What Africa has quite a lot of is unskilled labour; there are a lot of people out there who can dig wells." It would be nice if all of the world's problems could be solved in the space of a single summer abroad. As things are, international development will take a little longer. But the faster we drop the stereotypes and misconceptions about orphanages and developing communities, the sooner we can actually start truly helping. ASSOCIATED PRESS In the Mel Brooks's film The Producers, hapless film producer Max Bialystock meets down-at-heel accountant, Leopold Bloom. Max spends his time milking investments from a series of rich widows to fund films which always lose money. Leopold has the idea that Max could make a fortune if he could be sure that his films would lose money. He could simply raise the money and make a poor film on the cheap (while writing it up in the books as having been expensive). Then he would not need to pay his investors anything because the film made a loss, while keeping all of the original investments for himself. This sort of nonsense is what tax advisors do when building tax avoidance schemes. There are even tax avoidance schemes in the real world which involve British films. They rely on the generous reliefs which are given to British film-makers. Some of them are so brazen that they would make Max Bialystock blush. Advertisement It sounds like a game - The Producers is a comedy classic - but there is nothing funny about tax avoidance. We lose approximately 25billion each year through tax dodging of various kinds. Even at his worst, when George Osborne was inflicting his disastrous austerity cuts on us all, the cuts were 40billion. If he had directed his attention to cutting tax avoidance then he could have saved jobs, businesses and misery for millions. So, what have the Tories done to fight tax avoidance? It introduced a rule - called the General Anti-Avoidance Rule - in 2013. However, this rule is far too narrow. It only deals with 'abusive' avoidance schemes which are not done for 'reasonable' purposes. It does not even start to address the problem. Even the Tories did not think it would make an impact at the time they created it. By contrast, Labour is proposing a root-and-branch public inquiry into tax avoidance. We will examine all of the ways tax is lost. Money is lost to the public finances through money being paid through offshore tax havens, as the Panama Papers have shown. Money is also lost by multinationals transferring money between subsidiaries in different countries. Advertisement The scams are childishly convoluted. A coffee chain buys its coffee from Colombia. It sells that coffee to its subsidiary in Luxembourg. Then, entirely coincidentally, the UK subsidiary is charged exactly the same amount for its coffee by the Luxembourg subsidiary as the UK subsidiary makes in profit that year. Sounds complicated? It is supposed to sound complicated so that we cannot follow what they are doing. The end result is that no tax is currently paid in the UK. The feeble Tory anti-avoidance rule has done nothing to combat these sorts of scheme. What is lacking is a real desire to fight tax avoidance. Perhaps that is not surprising from a government whose last Prime Minister benefited from a tax avoidance scheme created by his father with Mossack Fonseca. Even the Osborne's family business was found by Channel 4 News to have benefited from another tax avoidance scheme. Like the upper crust Soames Forsyte in The Forsyte Saga, this Tory ruling class seems to be 'jealous of intrusions on their property'. Perhaps that is why they don't just pay their taxes like everyone else. After all David Cameron dismissed the 30,000 he saved thanks to Mossack Fonseca as being a piddling amount of money. Of course it is more than the average annual wage in the UK. The Tory anti-avoidance rule has been surpassed by the work done by the judges. In the 1980s it was the judges who created a principle which allowed them to ignore the artificiality in tax avoidance schemes so that they could be taxed as if the artificiality had never been there. While some later decisions weakened this approach, there are signs in recent decisions that the judges have understood the need for clever tax schemes to be prevented. Of course, it should have been Parliament which led the charge in this context. Advertisement The next Labour government will scrap the weak Tory anti-avoidance rule. We will replace it with a broader anti-avoidance principle which will empower the courts to neuter tax avoidance schemes. As experts have found, a broader principle is difficult to avoid precisely because it is so flexible. Our complicated tax code must be rewritten. The use of too many narrow 'rules' means that it becomes too easy to avoid those rules. There is an old Peanuts cartoon in which Linus says: 'I love the rules. Once you know the rules, you can cheat.' Tax lawyers feel the same way. Rules are written in words. And words can have several meanings. That is all tax lawyers think they need to avoid those rules. The better way to draft tax statutes is to base them on general principles which can be used to interpret those rules proactively. In 2013, Labour supported the original rule because it was better to have something than to have nothing. Now it is clear that the Tories are only ever going to go inch-by-painful inch in each year's Finance Bill in making tiny, narrow changes. All the time trying to convince us all that they are determined to make a difference. In reality, unless we change the rules completely, the tax avoidance industry will carry on the same way in the huge London law firms, the multinational accountancy firms and the investment banks. The Tories are prepared to let tax avoidance run rampant. They never believed that their anti-avoidance policy would make inroads into the 25billion being lost each year. They even hobbled their own rule, just to make sure. They set it up so that the use of the rule has to be approved by a panel of tax avoidance experts before it can be put to work. This is like asking a panel of turkeys what they want to be on the menu for Christmas lunch. Advertisement Tax experts are much more tolerant of tax avoidance than everyone else. They will not fight as many tax schemes as you or I would. The appalling part of creating this panel is that it means tax avoidance becomes a game. The government is acknowledging that some dodging will go on and that it will not be too astute in fighting it. We need to recoup as much of that 25billion as we can. The Revenue need to be empowered to fight tax avoidance in all its forms. In 2013, it was found that there were only four staff at the Revenue employed to chase the 125 most serious tax evaders. We must resource the Revenue with reinforcements who are trained in combating tax dodgers. The Financial Conduct Authority showed how it could fight criminality in financial markets once it had the will to do so and enough staff to do the work. Every penny brought in by the Revenue helps to build another hospital and to refurbish another classroom. We also need to stop talking about all tax avoidance as being 'legal'. Tax evasion, where someone deliberately lies to the Revenue or files a false return, is a criminal act. Beyond that, we cannot be sure that everything is lawful. Most so-called tax avoidance schemes are simply disingenuous devices which mean that a super-wealthy individual or multinational company pretends that they do not need to pay tax. There situations in which the tax statutes deliberately countenance that no tax will be payable - for example, in inheritance tax law when a spouse leaves property to the other spouse in her will. The super-wealthy will go to all sorts of lengths to avoid paying tax. They organise to spend the right number of days outside the jurisdiction - timing their jets to take off at exactly the right time - so they can claim not to be permanently resident in the UK under the current, rigid rules. They often camp out in the Isle of Man or somewhere similar until they know they have saved their money. Some companies create crooked charities to pay public school fees for the children of their directors. It needs a lot of investigators to find out how these charities are being run. Advertisement Some banks have paid their traders in coffee or peanuts in Switzerland. The law used to say that they did not have to pay National Insurance Contributions if they were paid in commodities like peanuts. Those traders were not being paid peanuts in any other sense. They did not have to take delivery of the coffee or nuts. Instead, the banks arranged complicated derivatives so that they could turn their coffee mountains into cash. That cash was then deposited in accounts in Switzerland. All of this trouble to avoid paying their fair share of the taxes that maintained the infrastructure which kept their banks working. The electricity they need for their phones and computer screens; the transport infrastructure to get everyone to work; the sewers to take all the stink away, and so on. Instead of playing this tax avoidance game, we have to call tax avoidance what it is: tax dodging. It is wrong. At a time of deep economic insecurity after years of austerity economics, ensuring that enough tax is raised is a matter of national security. There is nothing more community-spirited than paying your taxes. Our taxes keep our communities working. A Corbyn-led Labour government will make the changes that are necessary to make a difference. The 'Centres for Reinsertion and Citizenship' could turn into a "jihad academies", warn former deradicalisation advisers. Getty Images On Thursday, 1st September, a redeveloped chateau in Beaumont-en-Veron, a quiet neighbourhood of north-east France, became the nation's first Centre of Reinsertion and Citizenship, otherwise known as a "Deradicalisation Centre". Advertisement Ten individuals will be housed in the centre for the next few weeks - outnumbered by 25 staff members. Ultimately, the number of inmates will increase to 30, and the process of deradicalisation will begin in earnest. Each inmate has been identified by the French government as someone susceptible to radicalisation. The majority of individuals will be young males, between the ages of 18 and 30. They will be subject to military discipline and order: uniforms will be worn and they will be expected to sing the national anthem. The government has said that it wants inmates to be educated in the values of the French Republic, and that "separation work" will take place to distance the group from radical influences. According to a government report released in January 2016, there are roughly 8,000 radicalised individuals living in France - twice as many as in January 2015. The government is afraid that any of these people could be poised to commit an atrocity against its citizens. Indeed, a series of devastating terrorist strikes, epitomised by the Paris attack of November 2015, has shown just how vulnerable France is to the actions of radicals. Consequently, the French government intends to open 12 deradicalisation boot camps, one in each region of France, as part of a 40 million action plan against radicalisation and terrorism. The centres are designed to tackle Islamist recruitment by encouraging those on the fringes of society to renounce terror and assimilate into French culture. Advertisement Yet, former advisers to the French government believe that the centres are likely to fail their purpose. Milena Uhlmann, an Associate Fellow at the International Centre for the Study of Radicalisation and Political Violence, is an international expert on radicalisation - having worked on the subject for over ten years. She advised the French government on deradicalisation strategies in 2015. Speaking to me from her office in Germany, Milena expressed profound concerns regarding the centres and their method of collective deradicalisation. "There will be 10 to 30 young, semi-radicalised people interacting with each other on a daily basis - exchanging thoughts and ideas. It will only take one charismatic inmate to turn the place into a jihad academy." The buildings that are being used for the first deradicalisation centre. FranceBLEU Milena believes the French government has adopted an authoritarian approach, rather than learning from the successful strategies of other European nations. "Collective deradicalisation is common in countries like Saudi Arabia, where the goal is to assimilate the individuals into an authoritarian society and teach another rigid interpretation of Islam - one advocated by the government. Authoritarian strategies will fail if they're transferred to liberal, democratic countries like France, because the goal is integration, not indoctrination. "The most promising approaches rely on individualised strategies, like those in Denmark, Britain and Germany. After all, this makes sense, as every path into extremism is a unique one. Radicalised individuals need to have one-on-one mentorship; they need to trust the people working with them." Advertisement Milena is not alone in this view. Asiem El Difraoui, who co-authored a study on the issue of deradicalisation for the French government, is concerned by the decision to create collective deradicalisation centres. "The French government ignored the advice they were given. Collective deradicalisation is a silly idea - you have to work on an individual basis to break the collective ideology of jihadism before you can deradicalise someone," he told me. Given the French public's concern with terrorism, Asiem says that the issue is now a political battleground, especially ahead of the 2017 Presidential election. "The politicians aren't really listening to experts because they're basically in an electoral campaign. They need to make it seem as though they're doing something drastic to deal with terrorism. But in the end it could backfire." With the far-right National Front recording high polling figures, and controversial, Islam orientated legislation dominating national debate, it seems as though French politicians have been swept along in a reactionary fervour. However, even though the government is courting an unproven approach to deradicalisation, Milena recognises that something has to be done. After the Paris attacks, the government was "forced to face the phenomenon of home-grown terrorism," she says. Although, she adds that ministers were compelled to formulate ideas quickly "not least because they had been ignoring the problem for a long time." After the events of this summer, another period plagued with deadly terrorist incidents, there is no doubt that France needs to act with haste to quell any future threats. Whether deradicalisation centres will diminish the ability of terrorist groups to hook new recruits is yet to be seen. If the scheme is successful, the French government will have defied its own experts. But, if it is unsuccessful, the government can't say it wasn't warned. Advertisement We all watch TV, we all watch films, we listen to music and many of us may go to see a live show but how many of us notice the lack of diversity in our Creative Industries? I have noticed a real surge in the performing arts world where leading actors, performers, directors, writers and critics have all come forward voicing their views on a lack of diversity in our booming industry. It is amazing to see the large contribution made by the many creative voices within the sector, that are continuing to work and make the creative world a colourful place. But this isn't just the people that are on our screens and stages making the noise for diversity. It is also the people in education who want to make change, the new generation of graduated talent or soon to be graduated talent. And this year, a new non-profit campaign organisation was set up to address the under representation and diversity in UK Drama Schools: Advertisement The Diversity School Initiative. Our team is made up of students still training to graduates and staff members of drama schools who have come on board wanting to make change. I am a student at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland and was brought on by a chance email with Steven Kavuma from Central. I am the new Cultural Diversity officer of the Students' Union and only this year in May, during my 1st year, I held a Diversity in the Arts conference, where we had actress Cherrelle Skeete as our Keynote Speaker. Cherrelle is best known for playing Hermione Granger's daughter in the West End Harry Potter and the Cursed Child. And it was a first for Scotland to have such an arts conference. Steven held a similar conference at the Royal Central School of Speech and Drama, an event called "Dear White People", which was about challenging race and diversity at Central. From one email, I knew instantly that Steven was a student in the arts who was speaking my language of diversity and race in the arts world. With this Initiative we hope to change: How and where drama schools do their outreach and recruit students/staff What is being taught and who is teaching it Encourage an equality of presence of BAME (Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic) students and lecturers, students and lecturers from working-class backgrounds, students and lecturers with a disability or learning difficulty in drama schools that reflects the wider society. Advertisement We want to help hold drama schools accountable for their decisions concerning diversity and to support students who report feeling underrepresented at drama schools. We believe that everyone should be given a fair and equal opportunity to train, to learn, to experiment and to fulfill their potential regardless of gender, ability, ethnicity, social status, nationality, faith, sexuality or sexual orientation. As members, we will challenge UK Drama Schools to develop a more inclusive curriculum, faculty and student body, in order to be more reflective of the world around us. As well as this, we will support students affected by these issues by providing a mentorship scheme and a network. The ways in which we will make our mission happen and come alive is: The team will meet with senior members of drama schools on a regular basis to discuss matters of diversity and what they can do together to achieve better representation. We will work with existing organisations with the aim of sharing knowledge and experience. We will monitor and publish information relating to diversity at drama schools, in order to make this research clearer, accessible and visible. We will document our interactions with drama schools and publish our challenges and achievements. We will celebrate drama schools with best practice and by our actions hold those with poor practice to account. Advertisement And I truly am excited to see this come alive, because it shouldn't just be the voices of the people in the industry talking and wishing to make more diversity, it should also be those coming through the ranks and about to join the industry. When I was the National Union of Students Scotland Black Students Officer, representing all African Caribbean Arab and Asian students, I made sure that the creative argument for more diversity was the top of my agenda. It was the black students who fully supported and wanted to make the change. And its bodies like Equity's Student Membership which boosts up the voices of students, and how it is important this initiative is taken forward. I am not here to just do my degree and go, I want to have a real say on what my drama school is doing regarding issues around race and diversity, I want to hold the people at the top accountable on what they are doing. I hope to see many changes to come and this is just the start. I can't say enough how exciting this is but also how inspired I am to meet other students who share the same vision of diversity and change in our drama and performing arts schools. "Accessibility to training - to education is so important regardless of who you are or where you come from, you should be able to train and at the moment, that isn't happening. Furthermore, the content that's being taught at drama schools, how diverse is it? What are you learning and who's teaching? This Initiative puts those students and lecturers who are underrepresented centre-stage. Let's hold our drama schools accountable together!" - Steven Kavuma, founder of The Diversity School Initiative. Advertisement Facebook: https://m.facebook.com/diverseschool/ Twitter: https://mobile.twitter.com/DiverseSchool stevanovicigor via Getty Images The Labour Party had my first vote in 1997 when (What's The Story) Morning Glory was still ringing across the nation and Noel Gallagher was partying with Tony Blair in No. 10. It felt like a heady time in British politics. Labour swept to power and we were going to change the world. Back then I was a single parent, signing on the dole, living in a flat in Wrexham. The benefit system was a depressing, Kafkaesque hell-hole but Labour's new Family Tax Credits made it possible for me to pay a childminder and go out to work full-time. Politics was working for me for a change. I began to believe I could shake the stigma of being 'a drain on society' and create a decent future for my daughter - nobody gives birth to a child just to get a council house or the weekly pittance of child benefit. Advertisement Labour got my vote again in 2001 but I soon became disillusioned. An increase in Big Brother activities and the invasion of Iraq were the final prompts to jump ship and I joined the Liberal Democrat party. That didn't last too long as Nick Clegg's embarrassing backtracking of election promises throughout the 2010 coalition was enough to finally drill home that I could no longer be a staunch supporter of any one party or politician because they switch allegiances and policies to suit their own agenda with no sense of loyalty to those who voted for them. What I've learned from these politicians (as well as rich party donors like Lord Sainsbury who bestows money upon both Labour and the Lib Dems) is that I can also switch allegiances to suit my own agenda, and I can support more than one party at once. I am in favour of social justice so began voting for whoever had the strongest progressive socialist policies. Right now, in Wales, that's Plaid Cymru. I'm also an environmentalist and support the majority of Green party initiatives. To be quite honest I'd have a coalition of Nicola Sturgeon, Leanne Wood & Caroline Lucas (backed by Mhairi Black) in Number 10 tomorrow if that were possible, but the thought I might consider listening to the Labour party again never crossed my mind. Advertisement Ed Milliband's most important reform was the Labour electoral system. His vision of mobilising the masses and creating collective community action worked, especially when combined with the rise of Jeremy Corbyn. Thousands of disillusioned voters have returned to politics for the first time in decades and Labour membership continues to swell to unprecedented numbers. Milliband should be proud of this achievement. I paid 3 and voted for Jeremy Corbyn in the first leadership election because his socialist agenda, anti-war, anti-Trident stance and his care for people and the environment resonate with me. (As an aside, I want to point out that I am trying to use any voting power I have to influence who is in Westminster because Wales does not yet have independence so Westminster people and policies have a massive effect on us in Wales.) Jeremy Corbyn is a politician in England who I believe in, which is why I then paid the extortionate and exclusive fee of 25 to vote in the second leadership election. This time I received a letter from Iain McNicol, General Secretary of The Labour Party, explaining, 'A panel of the National Executive Committee (NEC) has considered your application, and has decided to reject it on the grounds that you tweeted in support of the Green Party on 8th May 2015'. The Labour Party needs more voters to win a future election. These voters will have to come from other parties. Only a radical change of policy can achieve this. Jeremy Corbyn is doing it. I wanted to vote for him. Voting for one socialist person or policy shouldn't then exclude me for supporting other people, parties or policies on The Left elsewhere. Our biggest problem on The Left is that instead of fighting neoliberalism, the Tories, or the behemoth of rampant capitalism, we descend into a farcical Pythonesque 'we're not the Judean People's Front - we're the People's Front of Judea' scenario. Advertisement The social media response that followed posting McNicol's letter online was unexpected. My Tweets usually elicit a few shares or likes. Facebook can feel like it actively seeks to increase narcissism and discourage political engagement by giving 100+ likes for a selfie and only five responses for a politically charged article. But the letter went viral, or as viral as an obscure(ish) Welsh poet squirrelled away in Wrexham is likely to get. The vast majority of people were supportive and I'm very grateful to everyone who sent positive messages. The main argument in favour of the NEC is that I don't support Labour so shouldn't be allowed to vote. Given Labour's current state I can't see how anybody knows what Labour stands for - what am I not supporting? I fully back Jeremy Corbyn's vision for a socialist Britain with Trident scrapped, the NHS properly nationalised, the railways returned to public ownership and care for the environment properly advocated. I absolutely believe he could win the next election on this platform so I'm confused as to why the NEC would ban a socialist from voting for their democratically elected leader. Originally I'd planned to appeal this decision but in all honesty I feel drained by the whole experience. One 'Welsh politico' even stooped so low as to hurl personal insults, Tweeting that I am 'dense' and a 'naive fool'. What a charming man. That doesn't exactly encourage me to get more involved with politics - and yet these same politicos will be the ones lamenting the apathy of the masses. Jeremy Corbyn has galvanised my support for Labour in a way I never thought possible a few years ago, but that is being blocked by people who have their own agenda. This bullying behaviour is the kind of thing I'd expect from the likes of the EDL, not a truly progressive socialist party that began as a coalition of 'working people, trade unions and socialists, united by the goal of changing the British Parliament to represent the interests of everybody'. Hi, my name's Sturla and I'm addicted to heroin. Attentive Influence readers might remember me as that Norwegian guy who made a speech at the United Nations in New York earlier this year about the amazing potential of people who use drugs. I am perhaps the most functional "addict" you can imagine. I work successfully as a journalist, I advocate for better drug laws. The other part of my life might be harder for you to imagine. In bad times, I might take the subway several a times a week down to the center of Oslo, where I live, and buy heroin. I'll melt it on a sheet of aluminium foil using a lighter and suck it in. Advertisement I continue despite the fact that by doing so, I risk losing jobs, friends, my girlfriend and my family. I'll put on a pair of sunglasses or a hoodie as I ride the subway and let it rip. "I'm not a hypocrite," I tell myself. "I did not deny that the urge to get high was still a daily struggle for me when I was asked about it on the radio. No reason to be ashamed!" Yet I'm ashamed something rotten. As I type these words, I tremble with shame. What will people think? I participate in public debate, and then straight afterwards I'll go into the city and score. It is junkie behaviour. I know that I have been seen doing it. That people talk about it. "He was supposed to be a role model, now he's fucking up again." "I actually think he might just like it. He doesn't even want to get clean! " And it's true. I, and thousands of others like me, either like the high or dislike its absence so much that we do not stop. We either don't want or are unable to be completely abstinent. That's how the world is; that's how I am. Advertisement I've wanted to try, and I have. Part of me desires to be like everyone else. And every time I fail, I feel the social rejection, the shame. I know that my fellow drug-users feel it too - this sense that we have betrayed you. That is why we hide in toilets, getting high alone. If you notice us in public bathrooms, we get afraid and angry at ourselves. It is the worst feeling of all - like getting caught with your pants down. We always hear that we are not trying hard enough. You need to have more willpower and motivation - those are the kind of addicts Norway embraces! And if you can be, or at least appear to be, totally drug-free, you are warmly welcomed into public life! Just as long as you make clear how much you deplore your previous life. But the 90 percent of us who fail to achieve or don't want to achieve total abstinence? We'd better stay in the background. Advertisement But what if us drug users can propose something positive for once? Is it possible to imagine a future where I sit in a multipurpose room where drugs can be used openly and more safely, smoking my heroin before I write my contributions to public debate? Is it possible to imagine a world where my friend, who is addicted to amphetamines, can use this facility before he goes around town to sell you Red Cross membership or a new electricity supplier? Is it reality absurd to imagine a world where people who are addicted, or who use drugs for any reason, can stand up straight and contribute to society, without having to sneak into toilets or parking lots to take their drugs? Drugs are an inevitable part of our world - but does the shame many of us are made to feel have to be? Let me tell you a little secret. In one way, the future I imagined is already here. Many of the politicians, teachers and economists - yes, even judges, policewomen and lawyers - who govern and care in our community do so with a regular supply of illicit drugs in their blood. Advertisement Many of them have the strength, determination and ability to make vital contributions to the running of our society and the creation of a better one--even if they don't have the "willpower" to cut getting high 100 percent out of their lives. In another way though, the future is as far away as ever. In contrast to the idea of an inclusive and honest society, these people who contribute so much cannot be open or live with the dignity they deserve. In one way or another, we all sit behind closed toilet doors with a voice of shame in our head. The harsh reality, too, is that literally sitting behind closed toilet doors, or in other lonely places, to do drugs is a major reason our fellow citizens die. The need for secrecy and the attendant shame kills lawyers and unemployed people, magazine sellers, rock stars and sex workers. When we use alone, there is no one to rescue us if we take too strong a dose, or if we use drugs that (thanks to prohibition) are not what we thought they were. Advertisement In my country and others, we impose so much deadly shame on people who use drugs. It comes as no surprise to me the most popular and relevant TV drama about the generation growing up in Norway today is simply called Shame. Yet if we look at the sheer number of people who use drugs, it seems absurd that it should be that way. Whatever we contribute, there's no reason we should have to feel ashamed because we are different, whether we merely choose to change our consciousness with illicit drugs or because we feel compelled. Those drug consumption rooms I mentioned are an achievable goal--they exist already in many parts of the world. We even have one--but just one!--right here in Oslo. But more than that, let's build a society where everyone can be judged on their personal merits and their contribution, not on what we shoot into our blood or draw into our lungs. This article is part of my contribution to trying to get there. In 2016 there should be no reason for anybody to lock themselves into a toilet alone to do drugs, to experience that feeling of shame, or to risk deadly consequences. Advertisement Sturla Haugsgjerd is a Norwegian journalist and activist addicted to opiates, benzo and alcohol - an addiction he has been battling for over a decade. He is a board member and spokesperson for addicts and dependants in Association for a Safer Drug Policy, board member for Normal, writer and columnist at Morgenbladet Dubai is by no means a budget destination. It's the playground of the rich and famous, and it's the land of 7 star hotels, award winning restaurants plus endless designer shopping. So if you're trying to be frugal, it won't be easy - but it's still doable once you have the know-how. Here are nine top tips to help you discover the best of Dubai on a budget! 1. Travel by Metro The most affordable way to travel around is by the City Metro. A day pass is a mere 14 AED and will see you through unlimited journeys in a 24 hour period. This makes sightseeing extremely cost effective and it's so simple to navigate too. Advertisement Image provided by pixabay.com under CC0 1.0 Universal 2. Get a Good Brunch Deal Some brunches can be extortionately expensive whilst others are actually great value for money. Some start from as little as 150 AED, which may cover all you can eat deals or a brilliant food and drinks package that will help you save a few pennies. Image provided by pixabay.com under CC0 1.0 Universal 3. Stay in the Al Barsha Area Hotels aren't cheap in Dubai but if you want to save money, try finding accommodation in the Al Barsha neighbourhood. Some hotels start from as little as 280 AED and if you're travelling in a group or as a family, it may be more cost effective to stay in a private apartment. Advertisement "Al Barsha Mall Route" by Krista is licensed under CC BY 2.0 4. Go to Ladies Night Girls are in luck because every Tuesday evening is Ladies Night in many of Dubai's best bars and restaurants. So you can enjoy free drinks in places such as The Westin, Carters, Boudoir, Double Decker, Longs Bar and Rock Bottom. Some bars now extend their Ladies Night offer to Wednesday evening too so make sure you check out what deals are on before you plan your nights out. Image provided by pixabay.com under CC0 1.0 Universal 5. Spend Time at the Beach Spending time on the beach is free.....well, almost! There are small beach access fees for some of the city's best beaches but once you're in there, you'll have full use of the facilities and drinks, refreshments and ice cream on site can be much more affordable than on the high street. Image provided by pixabay.com under CC0 1.0 Universal 6. Discover Different Neighbourhoods There are a few places which are geared at budget travellers so don't always beeline for the most popular tourist spots. Hang out in neighbourhoods such as Karama, Satwa or Bur Dubai and you'll find some cheap and cheerful places to eat or shop. Advertisement "Bur Dubai" by Isabell Schulz is licensed under CC BY 2.0 7. Eat Indian Some of the best value restaurants are Indian or Pakistani, so if you love South Asian cuisine such as curries, rice and naan, you're in luck! You'll find some amazing and authentic places to eat that are surprisingly dirt cheap. Image provided by pixabay.com under CC0 1.0 Universal 8. Make Your Own Picnics Dining out all adds up when you're travelling in Dubai. Skip your lunch out and opt for a picnic instead. If you visit local supermarkets such as the Lulu Centre, Carrefour or Geant, you'll find the lowest prices. Drinks such as cans of Coca Cola start from 1 AED and large bottled water around 2 AED which is much cheaper than in bars and cafes. Advertisement Image provided by pixabay.com under CC0 1.0 Universal 9. Shop at Karama Centre Go to Karama Shopping Centre for your retail therapy if you've come on holiday with a strict budget. It's best known for its knock-off designer goods, fake labels and amazing clothing bargains. It's also a fab place to shop around for gifts and souvenirs to take back home. Two weeks ago I had surgery on the NHS. They performed abdominal and pelvic surgery to excise endometriosis, scar tissue and adhesions (caused by endo) and to unstick my bowel from my left ovary (but that's another story). On arriving at the hospital I was told the ward I was meant to be on had closed due to lack of staff (everyone had gone off sick), they had rearranged myself and the other admits to go to different wards so the surgery could go ahead like planned. All of a sudden the ward I had been reassigned to had a full house as opposed to the eight patients they had been taking care of. The staff never moaned once, settled us in, did their preoperative checks and were as sweet as they possibly could be - that was 7.30am. By 6.30pm I was fully around from a three hour surgery and was being looked after by the same nurses and health care assistants that had admitted me that morning. Chatting to the lead nurse I discovered she hadn't had a break, she seemed relieved that at some point she 'managed to grab some water', she had even been dragged off her position of duty and put into theatre for a short while to help out. My consultant couldn't come to see me post surgery to discuss how it had gone because he was going to be in theatre late into the evening. Advertisement These people are medical professionals that can't stop when it's home time, they have to take care of their patients and if there is an emergency they put their own lives on hold and they stay. They don't just save lives medically and mentally, they listen, they counsel, they stretch themselves thin, they hold their bladder, they go without breaks, they cry for us, they get abused and are rarely thanked. As good as they are, the staff are still human and cannot be expected to work like robots. So why aren't we cherishing these people? Why are budgets getting cut? There are staff shortages, stress related absences are up, it's no wonder people are getting sick and it's no wonder mistakes are made. Junior Doctors are having to strike because they are not being listened to - desperate times call for desperate measures. Staff are underpaid, undervalued and overworked. As members of general public we are all concerned as individuals as we want the best care because for ourselves and our loved ones, we own the NHS - it is what makes Britain 'Great'. So with all this in mind the Government want to squeeze these people even tighter? It's almost like they want the NHS to implode so they can, ya know, maybe privatise it, give jobs to their friends? Take care of the rich and screw the poor? Just a thought... Please Britain, wake up and make a stand, take care of the people who take care of us. The future would look very bleak without the NHS. View of the currents of caused by the rains in the Melchor de Mencos municipality, Peten departament, in the border with Belize, 587 km northeast of Guatemala City, on August 4, 2016.Hurricane Earl was downgraded to a tropical storm Thursday after hitting Central America with 130 kilometer (80 mile) per hour winds, but fears of flooding lingered as heavy rain lashed the region. / AFP / JOHAN ORDONEZ (Photo credit should read JOHAN ORDONEZ/AFP/Getty Images) For the past few weeks, national nightly news broadcasts have been leading with weather stories. California and Florida have been burning out of control, a tornado two miles in diameter wiped one Kansas town off the face of the map, and agrarian Missouri has been flooding. Fires and tornadoes, although extraordinarily dangerous and deadly, move fast and decisively, cutting a swath through all natural and manmade objects with reckless abandon. Advertisement Floods, on the other hand, make a victim languish with fettered hope. As rivers meticulously rise in their man-modified basins, those living in or along the river bottoms holistically cling to the hope that somehow, the earthen levees will hold; that in some way, their lives and livelihoods will be saved. But as Mark Twain wrote in Life On The Mississippi over a century ago: "One who knows the Mississippi will promptly aver--not aloud, but to himself--that ten thousand River Commissions, with the mines of the world at their back, cannot tame that lawless stream, cannot curb it or confine it, cannot say to it, Go here, or Go there, and make it obey; cannot save a shore which it has sentenced; cannot bar its path with an obstruction which it will not tear down, dance over, and laugh at." Twain's literary prophecy proved true on May 8. More than 450 homes were flooded in Big Lake, Missouri, and the Missouri River continued to cast a pall over other towns in the northwestern corridor of the Show Me State. Moreover, as most of the rivers that meander through the Midwest ultimately culminate in the Mississippi River, thousands of residents and businesses are bracing themselves for the worst -- they are steeling themselves should the various streams rise and overtop or blow out their levees, creating lakes not found on state maps. Indeed, it's only May, and the flood season will last for another two months at least, but Midwesterners are well-aware of how precautionary measures save property and lives: They know this certainty inasmuch as they know that a runaway river can wipe out any hints of civilization within a matter of hours. That's because they've seen it before. Advertisement For the last 14 years, nary a flood story has run without mention of the Great Flood. The 500-year flood. The flood of 1993. In the summer of 1993, heavy rains raised the Mississippi River to historic levels, creating a vicious current that blew out levees from Iowa to Missouri and southern Illinois and caused an estimated $12 billion in damage. More than 500 counties were inundated and 20 million acres were destroyed. And while the current climate has the same hoof prints as the Great Flood (which is why every news outlet mentions 1993 when the topic arises) one news bastion from that era has been washed away with the retreating tide, as it were. Remember James R. Scott from Quincy, Illinois? Or perhaps you recognize him by his newer name, #1001364, an inmate at the maximum security Jefferson City (Missouri) Correctional Center? You'll most likely remember him as the man who broke a levee in July 1993 to strand his wife in Missouri so he could party in Illinois without her. James Scott remains the only man in Missouri history to be arrested, charged, tried, convicted and sentenced of Intentionally Causing a Catastrophe, a Class A Felony. Nobody died when the levee at West Quincy, Missouri, broke and submerged 14,000 acres of prime farmland, yet Scott was convicted on circumstantial evidence for causing the breach, and he was sentenced to life in prison, the maximum penalty under the statute. He was tried twice and convicted twice, first in 1994, but that case was overturned because of prosecutorial misconduct. At his second trial in 1998, a Hannibal, Missouri, court -- a town that was also claimed by the Great Flood -- found him guilty again. Much was made of the case at the time. The overriding question was whether James Scott caused one levee to fail (even though more than 1,000 levees ultimately failed during the Great Flood), or whether he was merely an easy scapegoat for a community raging at its devastation. The case of the West Quincy levee breaker will not be touted in contemporary media circles when the question arises of whether the floods of 2007 will be another Great Flood. Even in the wake of Hurricane Katrina and the breeching of the 17th Street Canal's levee. The likely story will be how every 500 years (or 14 years in this case), America's rivers remind us that Mark Twain was right. But the story should be that 14 years later, most levees have not been made any stronger than when they were built by farmers in the 1920s, even though they could be: It's the law. In 1936, Congress passed the Flood Control Act, which put levees under the supervision of the Army Corps of Engineers. They could affectively be called upon to help make improvements in some of the more rural areas of American ecosystems. But the reality is that the Corps defers all maters of levee construction and maintenance to locally managed and grossly under-funded drainage districts. Unless some serious federal money is poured into levees on the front end, even more will be spent in the cleanup efforts when they do burst. That is, of course, unless another James Scott arises, a person for whom residents can point to and say the levees broke because of his vandalism, not because of an Act of God. Some insurance companies in the Midwest still haven't recovered from this dubious qualification. Advertisement Undoubtedly, the resolve of Midwesterners will be put to the test again, and unquestionably, volunteers from across the country will hear the midsection's cry for help and descend upon floodplains to fill and stack sandbags. Such is the spirit of the American people. And some river warriors will fight the good fight and emerge victorious against Mother Nature, who can be a formidable adversary. This reality will play itself out on television in the coming months. When it does, expect to hear in extremis about the Great Flood of 1993 and the 17th Street Canal. But don't expect to hear the name of James Scott batted around. To many in the Midwest, whether or not inmate #1001356 broke the West Quincy levee is immaterial: It's much easier to blame a man for a flood than to blame Mother Nature, and to admit that sandbagging efforts -- heroic though they are -- are sometimes all for naught. ** For the last few months, members of North Dakota's Standing Rock Sioux tribe and allies from numerous other Native American tribes have protested the construction of the Dakota Access Pipeline, a multi-billion dollar oil pipeline that would span four Western states and affect native communities and land in many ways. The community of protesters represents the largest gathering of Native Americans in more than a century, yet it has been largely ignored by the mainstream American media. (The protest's significant social media presence might make it seem to some of us as if it's receiving such attention, but outside of that bubble of insiders there has been shockingly little national coverage.) The absence of Standing Rock from our collective conversations is troubling on its own terms, as this is a huge and compelling American story. It's also a story that links to many other significant issues: from debates over energy policy to the movement against police brutality, the history of Native American sovereignty and land rights to 21st century social media and hashtag activism. Advertisement Yet by minimizing and ignoring the protests, we're also replicating longstanding national narratives of native communities as "vanishing Americans," tragic victims of oppression with no real voice, agency, or presence. And we're likewise forgetting the alternative, vital histories of Native American resistance, protest, and activism through which native communities have responded to and often changed those darkest histories. Both of those troubling trends can be traced back to the early 19th century era of President Andrew Jackson's Indian Removal policy. The horrific Trail of Tears that was that policy's most destructive result is perhaps the most frequently taught and remembered Native American history. Yet far less well remembered are the 1829 and 1830 Cherokee Memorials, collaboratively authored texts addressed directly to Congress through which the tribe responded to the removal policy with a stunning combination of legal and constitutional, historical and political, and rhetorical and emotional appeals. While the Memorials did not succeed in halting the tribe's removal, they nonetheless comprise a vital moment and model of American protest and activism. The same era also witnessed an equally inspiring and more successful moment of resistance: the Mashpee Revolt of 1833-1834. The Cape Cod (Massachusetts) tribe had been dealing with its own version of illegal white intrusions and settlements on their land, and with the help of the fiery native preacher, orator, and activist William Apess, the Mashpee fought back. Apess and tribal leaders drafted a formal resolution of protest, one quite parallel to (and perhaps even partially inspired by) the Cherokee Memorials; the document and the tribe's subsequent protests gained the attention of Boston abolitionist William Lloyd Garrison and other sympathetic allies, and aided by their advocacy the tribe secured the state's recognition of its right to self-governance within a new "Indian District of Mashpee." Our collective memories of Native Americans in the late 19th century, when they exist at all, similarly tend to focus on the most destructive and tragic histories: the Indian Wars and the final surrenders of leaders such as Geronimo and Chief Joseph; the horrors of the Wounded Knee massacre; the rise of the interconnected reservation and reform school systems. Those dark American histories certainly demand even fuller remembrance and engagement than we've yet given them. Advertisement Yet this was the same period in which Ponca chief Standing Bear and other members of the Nebraska tribe took part in an extensive speaking tour to argue for their tribal rights, culminating in Standing Bear's stunning legal victory in 1879's Standing Bear v. Crook, a case which established Native American personhood under the law. This was also the period in which Paiute chief and author Sarah Winnemucca resisted her tribe's removal through a combination of legal petitions, written activism, and land occupation, helping return many Paiutes to their Oregon homelands. The legacies of the Cherokees and Apess, of Standing Bear and Winnemucca, echo into our present moment. The construction of pipelines on native land can and must be read as yet another oppressive, destructive history unfolding against native communities. Yet once again those dark histories have produced inspiring acts of resistance and protest. When the Senate voted against authorizing construction of the Keystone Pipeline in November 2014, Lakota activist Grey Graycloud led a chant of celebration, a singular moment that illustrates the ongoing efforts by tribes in both the U.S. and Canada to protest and stop the pipeline. Hillary Clinton, 2016 Democratic presidential nominee, speaks at a campaign event during The American Legion National Convention at the Duke Energy Convention Center in Cincinnati, Ohio, U.S., on Wednesday, Aug. 31, 2016. Clinton told a veterans group that U.S. leadership is vital to the world and, drawing a contrast with Republican Donald Trump, said that means the White House is no place for a leader who insults allies or threatens to shrink from that role. Photographer: Ty Wright/Bloomberg via Getty Images Don't count on a landslide. As the presidential campaign enters the final stretch, two things are becoming clear. One is that Hillary Clinton is almost certain to win. Donald Trump suffers from sheer implausibility. It becomes more apparent every day that he is not qualified to be President by knowledge, experience or temperament. The other is that the election will be fairly close. Trump can win only if something unexpected happens. Like another financial crash. Or criminal charges against Hillary Clinton. Or a sensational terrorist attack (both Russian President Vladimir Putin and ISIS have indicated a preference for Trump). Advertisement Democrats hoping for a landslide -- like 1964, when Lyndon Johnson beat Barry Goldwater by 23 points -- are likely to be disappointed. Hillary Clinton rarely breaks 50 percent in the polls. And the polls have been narrowing as her convention bounce has faded. As of Labor Day, she had a four-point lead in the RealClearPolitics polling average, 46 to 42 percent. Clinton is losing a lot of young voters for whom she has never had much appeal. She lost young voters big time to Bernie Sanders in the Democratic primaries. While young voters don't trust Clinton, they are strongly opposed to Trump. Right now, third-party candidates are pulling about a quarter of the youth vote. Sooner or later many young voters will realize that by voting for a third-party candidate, they are helping Trump. They need to be reminded of how Green candidate Ralph Nader elected George W. Bush in Florida in 2000. There are other reasons why the outcome is likely to be close. It's an open race. There's no incumbent President or Vice President on the ballot. That's only happened twice since 1950 (1952 and 2008). The relevant incumbent this year is President Obama, and his approval ratings are hovering at just over 50 percent. The increasing polarization of the electorate means that Republicans and Democrats will stick with their party. Polls show roughly 80 percent of partisans doing just that, with Independents closely divided. Advertisement Then there's the "time for a change'' factor. After a party has been in office for eight years, voters usually want change. The only exception since 1950 was in 1988, when voters elected George H.W. Bush because they wanted a third term for Ronald Reagan. Expect Republicans to repeat incessantly that a vote for Hillary Clinton is a vote for a third term for Obama. Clinton has become the status quo candidate. She's linked to eight years of Barack Obama and, before that, eight years of Bill Clinton. The prevailing sentiment is, elect Clinton and nothing will change. That puts her in a marginally better position than Trump. Voters believe if they elect Trump, things will change for the worse. Clinton's biggest problem is that she is a charter member of the political establishment. She's the elitist, while Trump is the complete populist. He speaks the language of the disgruntled white working class. He says "notsupposedtas'' -- things his supporters believe but establishment politicians are "not supposed to'' say. Like foreign trade is a rip-off and immigration is a threat and torture is O.K. Trump's hostility to foreign trade and immigration and military intervention are pure populism. Hillary Clinton supports immigration reform. She favors foreign trade (though she has shifted her position on the pending Trans-Pacific Partnership and now opposes what she once called the "gold standard'' of trade deals). She has a record of supporting military interventions. Pure elitism. Back in the 2008 Democratic primaries, Clinton was the populist. Obama was the elitist. Remember how he criticized economically disgruntled small-town voters who "cling to guns or religion . . . or anti-immigrant or anti-trade sentiment''? Obama mocked Clinton as "Annie Oakley'' because she boasted about how her father took her out behind the cottage her grandfather built in Pennsylvania and taught her how to shoot. Advertisement Obama is still the elitist. He has always been the prince of education. Mitt Romney, his 2012 opponent, was the prince of wealth. They represented two bitterly competitive elites. Neither has a populist bone in his body. Obama's elitism gave us Donald Trump, the populist un-Obama. Which leaves Hillary Clinton in the awkward position of defending Washington, the political establishment and the status quo. Her handling of government emails, her Wall Street payoffs and her hobnobbing with ultra-rich donors re-enforce the impression of privilege and elitism. It made her vulnerable to a surprisingly strong challenge from Bernie Sanders, an economic populist. And it's creating a alarming amount of support for Trump, a social populist who has scandalized the Republican establishment by embracing economic and foreign policy populism. Bill Clinton tried his best to redefine his wife as the candidate of change. Speaking at the Democratic convention in July, he called Hillary Clinton "the best darn change-maker I have ever met in my entire life.'' Nice try. But Trump will never concede the change issue, and Clinton is not in a good position to claim it. Could it have been any clearer when John Ellison, dean of students at the University of Chicago, wrote the following to incoming freshmen? Ellison wrote: "Our commitment to academic freedom means that we do not support so-called trigger warnings, we do not cancel invited speakers because their topics might prove controversial, and we do not condone the creation of intellectual 'safe spaces' where individuals can retreat from ideas and perspectives at odds with their own." To many in the class of 2020, these words may have felt like being dashed with a bucket of ice water on a cold Chicago morning. Assuming that one accepts the definition of political correctness as the avoidance of forms of expression or action that are perceived to exclude, marginalize or insult certain groups of people, I can easily see how some would applaud the university's actions, while others would bemoan them in disgust. Advertisement On its face, reaction to Ellison's words may depend greatly on whether one holistically adopts a conservative or liberal orthodoxy. But to do so misses the point of the university's message. Political correctness, however defined, if left unexamined, can quickly morph into a slippery slope of stale pabulum. While there are certain terms that are unaccepted universally in the public discourse, what should be the penalty for such infractions? And who should adjudicate what is unacceptable? Isn't that too subjective? I take a backseat to no one in my opposition in the run-up of the preemptive strike and occupation of the sovereign nation known as Iraq, but was disappointed by the churlish behavior of students at Rutgers University who protested former secretary of state Condoleezza Rice being the commencement speaker in 2014. President Obama, shortly after the Rice kerfuffle, accurately summed up the larger issues involved: "I don't think it's a secret that I disagree with many of the policies of Dr. Rice and the previous administration. But the notion that this community or this country would be better served by not hearing a former secretary of state or not hearing what she had to say -- I believe that's misguided." Advertisement How can any university boast of preparing the best and brightest minds to contribute to the fabric of America if those minds only have room for the thoughts that correspond with their own? My grandmother would often tell me as a child, "What I don't know could start another world." That is true for all. Ironically, is it not contrarian thought that serves as our best ally when it comes to crystallizing what we believe? Hasn't the opposite been proven true by right-wing (not to be confused with conservative) think tanks, talk show host, and bloggers that eschew all things liberal? It is easy to assume how political correctness is viewed, especially on university and college campuses, would depend on where one fell on the baby boomer to millennial age continuum. But according to a recent Gallup poll, 78 percent of college students preferred to attend a college or university "where students are exposed to all types of speech and viewpoints." This would include a campus that allows offensive speech over a campus that institutes prohibitions. It is to operate in the comforting but erroneous belief that difference equates to deficiency. This is where political correctness can take on the ethos of arrogance and certainty. The "I'm right, therefore you're wrong" thinking is counterintuitive. E pluribus unum (out of many, one) is not a clarion call for homogenized thinking. It is instead the recognition that we require myriad voices in order to comprise and sustain the American experiment. While advocates of political correctness may believe such thinking is aligned with a genealogy that goes back to the Enlightenment, it can be detrimental to our public discourse. If allowed to run amok, political correctness in its present form can evolve into an idiosyncratic morass of anti-intellectualism. Advertisement When Ellison wrote: "We do not condone the creation of intellectual 'safe spaces' where individuals can retreat from ideas and perspectives at odds with their own," is that not the essence of education? Maybe, as some critics have espoused, the letter by the University of Chicago was to pacify donors, but are not students the ultimate beneficiaries? There will always be speech that offends, that is an affront to someone's sensibilities. Is arbitrary censorship the answer? Or should our institutions of higher learning follow the University of Chicago's example and others by embracing a philosophy that speech in all its forms is better for the culture? Catholics must honor labor. This has been a steady teaching of the Popes for at least the last century and a quarter. Catholicism, after all, rejects the nasty individualism that characterizes so much of the modern world, in favor of a philosophy of the common good. Catholics realize that we as individuals prosper only when everyone prospers. Catholics understand that the economy only thrives when all of its constituent parts succeed. And Catholics know in their hearts that when some persons suffer, all are diminished. This awareness can be traced back at least as far as Pope Leo XIII (reigned 1878 to 1903). Leo became Pope at a difficult moment in Church history. His immediate predecessor, Pius IX, had fought a losing battle to maintain control of the Papal States. As a result, Leo's temporal realm no longer extended over much of central Italy, but was now encompassed within the walls of Vatican City. Faced with new circumstances, Leo chose to reinvent the papacy as a voice of morality and conscience to the world. And the issue he chose to make his own was the rights of labor. Advertisement 1891 was a dangerous year. Europe was governed by reactionary forces. Monarchy had overstayed its welcome, but it still pressed heavy upon society. The Industrial Revolution, meanwhile, concentrated great wealth in a few hands while impoverishing millions. A hint of violent revolution was in the air. Assassination was even seen by some as a means of legitimate resistance. Leo XIII responded to this moment of crisis with his encyclical Rerum Novarum. Its Latin title -- Rerum Novarum translated means "On Revolution" -- captured the mood. The Pope did not wish to side with the revolutionaries. Still, he spoke movingly of the plight of the working classes. "Relations" between workers and employers, he wrote, had changed, resulting in "the utter poverty of the masses." Leo did not wish to deny the right of private property. On the contrary, he sought to create the conditions in which all might enjoy that natural right. All who labored had a right to just remuneration, sufficient to support a family, to provide for savings, and to take time away from work. And a principal means for achieving this goal was labor unions. Leo praised "workingmen's associations" and encouraged them to aim to attain improvements in "body, soul, and property" (para. 57). Unions, furthermore, were obliged not just to seek a just wage for their active members, but to ensure the well-being of those members now too old, too ill, or too badly injured to work (para. 58). Advertisement Succeeding generations of Popes have built on Leo's sturdy foundation. The circumstances of 1931 were every bit as grim as those of forty years before. It was the heart of the Great Depression. The market had failed, the world's financial order lay in ruins, poverty and unemployment were endemic, and revolutionary movements of the right and left -- Fascism and Communism -- were on the march. Pope Pius XI in his encyclical Quadragesimo Anno -- "On the Fortieth Anniversary" -- responded to the crisis by once again urging economic justice. And, once again, organized labor was seen as a necessary part of the remedy. Pius XI praised the efforts of the "workers associations" that had sought to improve the lives of their members, and had special words of praise for the clergy who assisted "to bring Leo's program to full realization" (para. 33). Even while he discouraged labor unions from associating with Communism, he urged them to work ceaselessly to achieve a fairer distribution of economic resources. Saint John XXIII revisited these themes in 1961 in his encyclical Mater et Magistra. The world was once again confronting danger. The Cold War hung heavy like a choking fog. Still, in the West, a relative degree of economic stability might be found. Good Pope John wished to stir Catholics out of their complacency. He stressed the universality of humankind, and spoke of Catholic obligations to the betterment of the entire world. Surveying the global scene, John XXIII expressed solidarity with the "millions of workers in many lands and entire continents condemned through the inadequacy of their wages to live with their families in utterly subhuman conditions" (para. 68). Even in developed countries, John added, many workers continue to receive "a rate of pay inadequate to meet the basic needs of life" (para. 70). He called for a reduction of inequality. He even recommended that employers share ownership of their workplaces with their workers in partnership arrangements (para. 75). Advertisement In 1981, Saint John Paul II offered his first response to Leo's summons on behalf of social justice in his encyclical Laborem Exercens. He stressed the centrality of work to the very essence of what it means to be human. Human beings are meant to work, but this did not mean that humans should suffer in unremitting toil. Work should be a means of achieving fulfillment, a way of developing one's skills and gifts, even a form of self-expression. Every type of labor, furthermore, is worthy of dignity and should be regarded and treated as such. Portions of Laborem Exercens might even shock a contemporary capitalist audience. Labor, he announced, enjoyed "priority" over capital (para. 12). "Rigid capitalism" had "to be reformed from the point of view of human rights" (para. 14). And the rights of labor, he insisted, constituted a category of the "fundamental rights of the person" (para. 16). In this context, John Paul II warmly endorsed labor unions. "They are indeed a mouthpiece for the struggle for social justice" (para. 20). Ten years later, following the fall of the Soviet Union and the conclusion of the Cold War, John Paul II returned to these themes in Centesimus Annus (1991). Like his predecessor John XXIII, John Paul II urged wealthy Catholics to take account of the laboring poor, both in their home countries and around the world. Poverty and marginalization, he feared, presented grave threats, blighting the lives of millions and endangering world order in new ways. John Paul II, furthermore, urged his audience to "struggle against" "an economic system" that "upholds the absolute predominance of capital" (para. 35). He spoke against both unfettered capitalism and state socialism, and recommended instead a system marked by social justice and a solicitude for even its humblest members. Most recently, Pope Francis has addressed these themes in his Apostolic Exhortation Evangelii Gaudium (2013). The unbridled quest for wealth and riches, he warned, constituted a form of "idolatry" (para. 55). In today's economy, Pope Francis observed, human beings have become expendable. They have worth only insofar as they produce economic goods and services. Today's economy, Francis admonished, not only oppresses and exploits (para. 53), but it does something even worse. It renders disposable whole classes of persons -- the elderly and the vulnerable. Advertisement Humans, Pope Francis declared, were not made for the market, but the market was made for humankind. It should seek to be inclusive and to promote human flourishing. It must never become an economy that "kills." Militants of fronts "Popular Brazil" and "People without Fear" organized act repudiation of President Michel Temer, on Paulista Avenue in downtown SAo Paulo, on Sunday afternoon. September 4, 2016. (Photo by Fabio Vieira/FotoRua/NurPhoto via Getty Images) SAO PAULO -- On August 31st, President Dilma Rousseff was impeached by the Brazilian Senate. After five long days of debate 61 senators out of 81, far more than the two thirds majority required to remove a president, condemned her for fiscal and budgetary crimes. Her supporters alleged that the president was the victim of a 'parliamentary coup'. A person elected by 54 million votes, innocent of any crime, had been unjustly overthrown. In Latin America this contention was echoed by paragons of democracy and rule of law such as Cuba, Venezuela, Bolivia and Ecuador. Advertisement Needless to say this is untrue. The facts, as usual, speak for themselves. The impeachment process was both judicial and political. The procedure established by the Brazilian Constitution was followed a la lettre. Both the lower and upper houses of Congress voted overwhelmingly first to prosecute and ultimately to condemn. The trial in the Senate was presided over by the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court. Time and again the highest court in the land reaffirmed the legitimacy of the process. The facts speak for themselves. The impeachment process was both judicial and political. But it is true that at stake was much more than the misdeeds of a person. The driving force behind the impeachment was the conviction affirmed in the streets by millions of Brazilians that the power system established by former president Lula and the Worker's Party was guilty of plunging Brazil in to the most profound economic, political and moral crisis since the restoration of democracy in 1985. In her personal defense in the Senate trial the president emotionally reiterated her innocence ("I did not steal, I do not have illegal bank accounts abroad...). She withstood hours of unflinching questioning. In a poignant moment she invoked her armed resistance to the military dictatorship and the torture she suffered for her engagement. Even if the young guerrillera of the past was not as democratic as she claims, I respect her fighting spirit. Then and now she proved to be a warrior. Her pugnacity, however, does not justify nor absolve her fiscal irresponsibility -- the billions of dollars illegally transferred to private and foreign corporations, nor her incapacity, while president of Petrobras' Board of Governors, to prevent the sacking of the largest Brazilian company for the benefit of the Worker"s Party and the arc of parties supporting her government. My sense is that Brazil has turned a sad page in its history. I would have much preferred that Dilma Rousseff had proved the political and administrative capacity to complete her mandate. Unfortunately the crime of responsibility was compounded by the collapse in her overall ability to govern. Advertisement What are we left with? Surely with the lost illusions of the many who believed in the promises of the Workers Party. But also with an economy in recession, beset by massive unemployment. And with a society torn apart by an unprecedented wave of corruption scandals and a pervasive sense of disenchantment. Unfortunately, the crime of responsibility was compounded by the collapse in her overall ability to govern. If the president was not the author of the corruption schemes that have been exposed by an independent media and fearless judges, she profited politically from them. The politicians under prosecution include so many political parties that it is the "political class" as a whole that stands indicted in the eyes of a vigilant public opinion. The collapse of the Worker's Party system of government led to the crumbling of the political system in its entirety. Brazil's former president, Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva talks with Brazil President Dilma Rousseff. (Getty) And yet not all is bleak. Brazilian democracy has proven resilient. Millions of citizens took repeatedly to the streets calling for decency in public life, efficiency and equity in the economy, and for safeguarding of civic rights and freedoms in society. A Crisis of Representative Democracy Advertisement We are indeed witnessing in Brazil - as in the traditional democracies of the West - the impact of great economic and technological transformations. National states are weakened by globalization, societies are increasingly structurally fragmented by a new division of labor and exposed to the tensions and imbalances of growing cultural diversity. All this leads to anxiety and fear about the future, with uncertainty over how to preserve social cohesion, ensure jobs and reduce inequality. In democracies in crisis, the class differences mix up with other forms of social identity. Established political parties are bound to lose space. Narratives that seek to connect with and address the grievances of disempowered masses fill the void left by the demise of representative democracy. We see this also with Donald Trump in the U.S. and the rise of xenophobia in Europe. This is a situation fraught with risk. In the regions where it is more deeply rooted -- the Americas and Europe -- representative democracy is in crisis. At the core of this crisis is the widening gap between people's aspirations and the capacity of political institutions to respond to the demands of society. It is one of the ironies of our age that this deficit of trust in political institutions coexists with the rise of citizens capable of making the choices that shape their lives and influence the future of their societies. In the regions where it is more deeply rooted -- the Americas and Europe -- representative democracy is in crisis. Citizen action and public opinion have transformative power. But institutions are necessary. There is no democracy without political parties. Structures provide the field of possibilities for human agency, but it is the will of individuals and segments of society, driven by values and interests, that create the opening for change. Advertisement Brazil, in all its cultural diversity, is always in a state of flux. We are less overburdened with the past and more open to innovation. Either we prove ourselves capable of reinventing the sense and direction of politics or public discontent will again take to the streets, railing against who knows whom and in favor of what. To put in a nutshell, our challenge is to bridge the gap between demos and res publica, between people and the public interest, reweaving the threads that may reconnect the political system with the demands of society. Earlier on WorldPost: Movie Review- Jackie K Cooper "The Light Between Oceans" (DreamWorks) "The Light Between Oceans" is a movie based upon a best selling novel and therefore has a built in audience. The question is whether or not those who have not read the book will find it in theaters. It helps that Michael Fassbender and Alicia Vikander are the stars of the movie and they have chemistry aplenty. They bring every nook and cranny of the plot into the light and make audiences' hearts swell with the tragedy that unfolds. The first part of the film deals with the love story of Tom (Fassbender) and Isabel (Vikander). He is the lone occupant of an island which houses the Janus Rock lighthouse. Tom is a veteran of World War I and he has seen enough death and sorrow to last him a lifetime. The solitude of Janus Rock suits his mood and his manner. Then he meets Isabel while on a trip to the small Australian town in which she lives. They are instantly drawn to each other and after a few months of corresponding by letters they marry. Isabel is more than willing to leave her family behind and live alone with Tom on "their" island. But soon the realities of life come into play and serious situations arise that threaten their happiness. Tom is desperate to do whatever it takes to make Isabel happy and this leads to a situation that could have a long term horrible effect on their lives. Advertisement Fassbender fully portrays the conflicts that go on within Tom's soul. The pain of his choices flit across his eyes and reside in the lines on his face. It is an amazing performance that is only heightened by Vikander's own brilliant portrayal of Isabel. This actress has to create a woman who is the heroine and the villain of the story, and this is not an easy thing to do. Still for the story to succeed the audience has to be in her corner at one moment and against her in the next. Some may argue the story is too slow at the start but I had no problem with the pacing. Every scene was necessary to make the portrait of the couple and the turmoil that they face complete. To have short changed any of the detail would have made the movie less effective. The film is rated PG-13 for mild profanity and violence. "The Light Between Oceans" has one of those plots that will not turn you loose after the movie ends. It will haunt your mind for days to come as you replay the love story of Tom and Isabel. There were so many pivotal points in their lives where things could have ended up much better or ended up much worse. I scored "The Light Between Oceans" a brightly shining 7 out of 10. Just a few days after Trump's "historic" trip to Mexico, I proudly present to you the "exclusive world premier" of the video to my song, "America Back." The video, featuring tuba and mariachi, as well as stoner and copulating marionettes, re-tells the history of immigration and anti-immigration sentiment in the US of A. The song is the first single from the soon to be released all-star album, Monster Protest Jamz... Volume 1. It is just one of the fab offerings from my project, "My Song Is My Weapon" -- an online town square where artists gather to create, collaborate, and voice their stories and concerns in song, art, video, etc. I hope you enjoy it. Please share this with family, friends and even those whose politics are diametrically opposed to your own. Advertisement Photo Credit: Getty Images, courtesy of 90sFest Grab your slammer and get those pogs flying because the 90sFest is returning to New York City on September 10th. After captivating the Throwback Thursday generation last year in Brooklyn, the festival is coming to Governor's Island and will take concert goers to a simpler era where Pokemon couldn't be caught using cellphones. Pauly Shore will be the master of ceremonies and is looking forward to the event. Shore, best known for being the king of MTV in the 1990s, told me in an exclusive interview that he is ready to return as the host of the ultimate gathering that proudly celebrates nostalgia. "I like the energy. I did it last year when we did Brooklyn and that's why I'm coming back. It's a really cool environment. And the '90s were a really fun time for me, before the internet obviously. People didn't care as much. People were just having fun," he said. Pauly Shore is no stranger to being a man that shows people a good time. The former on-air MTV VJ was infamous for throwing the annual MTV Spring Break celebration that would get the whole world buzzing for weeks on end. He told me, "At the time MTV was the biggest thing in the world. Bigger than Saturday Night Live. Bigger than pretty much anything. I was the face of MTV for a while. I would go on tour and the tours were crazy because I was a stand up comic to get people to come to my shows. They would just be standing. And then I would do songs and they thought I was almost like a rockstar." Shore was cutting edge and very different from what was being presented on television at the time. He was the perfect fit for MTV as the network was looking for someone who could put a unique touch on the already exciting channel. "It was cool because for me I was kind of like the West Coast version of MTV. At the time MTV was very East Coast and then I came on the scene. I was the first person to really take the cameras out to America. It would be me and the camera just bopping around. There hasn't been anything like it," he told me. Advertisement This year the 90sFest will feature acts such as Sugar Ray, C&C Music Factory, Sister Hazel and Bone Thugs N Harmony. When Shore was asked what fans can expect when he takes the stage this Saturday, he told me, "I'm the kind of host that figures out what's going on and adapts to the situation. I don't go out there with a big plan. My style even back when I used to host MTV was always unscripted. I like to have fun and riff with people. Maybe I'll dance on stage with the bands. Last year I danced with Salt-N-Pepa. That was great." He also expects the talent to get in on the action as well. He followed up by saying, "A lot of these bands did MTV Spring Break with me back in the day and they remember that's what we used to do." Photo Credit: Getty Images, courtesy of 90sFest The bands aren't the only guests invited to the party. The 90sFest has partnered with The Splat which will bring festival attendees a totally immersive experience. Fans of the '90s can look forward to activities featuring Nickelodeon's hit game shows including Legends of the Hidden Temple, GUTS and Double Dare. When Pauly Shore was asked if any beloved Nickelodeon cartoon characters will make surprise appearances, he said with a wide smile, "I know we had the Rugrats running around last year. That was hilarious." People are expected to look fresh to death in their flyest '90s outfits they can scavenge together. Shore had a very distinct interest in a couple of particular fashion accessories that just screamed that they came from the best decade ever. "It's really about the scarf for me. And the knit tops. It was kind of like a cross between Steven Tyler, my mom and me. It was a combo with a whole bunch of influences," he calmly stated. Advertisement It's quite possible that Pauly Shore's extensive scarf collection might turn green by the end of the night. Slime will play a big part of the event. When asked if he expects to get slimed, Shore nodded. "I think so. I think that's part of my deal. As long as Anthony Weiner is not around." A truck drives past rolls of steel inside the China Steel Corporation factory, in Kaohsiung, southern Taiwan August 26, 2016. REUTERS/Tyrone Siu China is gorging itself on steelmaking. It is forging so much steel that the entire world doesnt need that much steel. Companies in the United States and Europe, and unions like mine, the United Steelworkers, have spent untold millions of dollars to secure tariffs on imports of this improperly government-subsidized steel. Still China wont stop. Diplomats have elicited promises from Chinese officials that no new mills will be constructed. Still they are. Chinese federal officials have written repeated five-year plans in which new mills are banned. Yet they are built. Advertisement All of the dog-eared methods for dealing with this global crisis in steel have failed. So American steel executives and steelworkers and hundreds of thousands of other workers whose jobs depend on steel must hope that President Barack Obama used his private meeting with Chinas President XI Jinping Saturday to press for a novel solution. Because on this Labor Day, 14,500 American steelworkers and approximately 91,000 workers whose jobs depend on steel are out of work because China wont stop making too much steel. A new report on the crisis, titled Overcapacity in Steel, Chinas Role in a Global Problem, by the Duke University Center on Globalization, Governance & Competitiveness flatly concludes that existing policies to stop China from building excessive steel capacity have failed. Since 2007, China has added 552 million metric tons of steel capacity an amount that is equivalent to seven times the total U.S. steel production in 2015. China did this while repeatedly promising to cut production. China did this while the United States actually did cut production, partly because China exported to the United States illegitimately subsidized, and therefore underpriced, steel. That forced the closure or partial closure of U.S. mills, the layoffs of thousands of skilled American workers, the destruction of communities tax bases and the threat to national security as U.S. steelmaking capacity contracted. Advertisement Although China, the worlds largest net exporter of steel, knows it makes too much steel and has repeatedly pledged to cut back, it plans to add another 41 million metric tons of capacity by 2017, with mills that will provide 28 million metric tons already under construction. None of this would make sense in a capitalist, market-driven system. But thats not the system Chinese steel companies operate in. Chinese mills dont have to make a profit. Many are small, inefficient and highly polluting. They receive massive subsidies from the federal and local governments in the form of low or no-interest loans, free land, cash grants, tax reductions and exemptions and preferential access to raw materials including below market prices. Thats all fine if the steel is sold within China. But those subsidies violate international trade rules when the steel is exported. These are the kinds of improper subsidies that enable American and European companies to get tariffs imposed. But securing those penalties requires companies and unions to pay millions to trade law experts and to provide proof that companies have lost profits and workers have lost jobs. So Americans must bleed both red and green before they might see limited relief. The Duke report suggests that part of the problem is that market economies like those in the United States and Europe are dealing with a massive non-market economy like China and expecting the rules to be the same. They just arent. Advertisement Simply declaring that China is a market economy, which is what China wants, would weaken Americas and Europes ability to combat the problems of overcapacity. For example, the declaration would complicate securing tariffs, the tool American steel companies need to continue to compete when Chinese companies receive improper subsidies. The Duke report authors recommend instead delaying action on Chinas request for market economy status until Chinas economic behavior is demonstrably consistent with market principles. The authors of the Duke report also suggest international trade officials consider new tools for dealing with trade disputes because the old ones have proved futile in resolving the global conflict with China over its unrelenting overcapacity in steel, aluminum and other commodities. For example, under the current regime, steel companies or unions must prove serious injury to receive relief. The report suggests: changing the burden of proof upon a finding by the World Trade Organization (WTO) dispute settlement panel of a prohibited trade-related practice, or non-compliance with previous rulings by the WTO. It also proposes multilateral environmental agreements with strict pollution limits. Under these deals, companies in places like the United States and Europe that must comply with strong pollution standards would not be placed at an international disadvantage as a result, and the environment would benefit as well. Advertisement In addition to the family-supporting steelworker jobs across this country that would be saved by innovative intervention to solve this crisis, at stake as well are many other jobs and the quality of jobs. The Congressional Steel Caucus wrote President Obama before he left last week on his trip to Hangzhou for the G-20 Summit asking that he secure the cooperation of China and pointing out the large number of downstream jobs that are dependent on steel. Also last week, the Economic Policy Institute issued a report titled Union Decline Lowers Wages of Nonunion Workers. It explained that the ability of union workers to boost nonunion workers pay weakened as the percentage of private-sector workers in unions fell from about 33 percent in the 1950s to about 5 percent today. The EPI researchers found that nonunion private sector men with a high school diploma or less education would receive weekly wages approximately 9 percent higher if union density had remained at 1979 levels. Thats an extra $3,172 a year. Many steelworkers are union workers. If those jobs disappear, that would mean fewer family-supporting private sector union jobs. And that would mean an even weaker lift to everyone elses wages. Advertisement French Prime Minister Manuel Valls speaks to media after a security meeting at the Elysee Palace, in Paris, Friday, July 15, 2016. Prime Minister Valls said the government is declaring three days of national mourning after the attack in Nice. Speaking after an emergency meeting, Valls said the national mourning would begin Saturday. (AP Photo/Thibault Camus) I am eager to respond to the article "'The Way People Look at Us Has Changed': Muslim Women on Life in Europe" that appeared in the pages of the New York Times on September 2, and which paints an intolerable picture, as it is false, of France, the country of lights and of liberties. France, as all countries, knows racism. And I am in no way ignoring xenophobia, anti-Muslim acts that can occur in my country. It is not an exception. These evils, as well as anti semitism -- in the United States, many know my fight against this plague -- and anti-Christian acts, are hitting Europe as well as America. France fights these relentlessly. Advertisement What I argue here vigorously is that the New York Times article, giving the floor to women of Muslim faith, claims that their voice would be smothered in France, so as to portray a France that oppresses them. This article also does not explain what the republican principles are: liberty, equality, fraternity, and the secularism of the French. Through its history, its geography, its location on the Mediterranean basin and so close to the African continent, and through its immigration, France has a very strong connection with Islam. The accounts in the article follow one another, describing a France where "the yellow moon" stitched on the clothes of Muslims will be the next phase, as there was a yellow star to designate the Jews under Nazi occupation. A France where Muslims would be "viewed less positively than dogs." A France with a regime of apartheid that forces Muslims to leave their country to study, find work, make a career. Through its history, its geography, its location on the Mediterranean basin and so close to the African continent, and through its immigration, France has a very strong connection with Islam. It prides itself in Islam being the second religion of the country. Millions of citizens of Muslim faith or culture who live here respect their duties, and fully enjoy their rights. Advertisement The Muslim women whom this article has given voice to express only one point of view. They are free to express it. But the New York Times journalist should also have been required to interview the vast majority of Muslim women who do not identify with an ultra-vigorous vision of Islam. This is not a field survey, allowing for different perspectives or nuance in the analysis. These accounts were for the most part obtained following a scandalous event organized in France: a "decolonization summer camp." A camp that -- and this information has its own importance -- was banned, I quote, to "people with white skin." Its goal was to bring together all the supporters of communalism, all those opposed to the mixture of "white" and "non-white" people, all those who seek, I quote again, to denounce the "philo-semitism" of which France would be a victim. This initiative, far from being an isolated case, puts in plain sight the proselyte contestation that is taking place in France. They seek to defy two of the fundamental principles of our country. Come on! It is precisely for freedom that we are fighting. The first principle is the equality of women and men. We must have open eyes to the growing influence of salafism, which contends that women are inferior and impure and that they must be sidelined. This was the question, absolutely not anecdotal, that was at the center of the debate around the burkini and the burqa. It is not an insignificant bathing suit. It is a provocation of radical Islam, which is emerging and wants to impose itself in the public space! Constantly reading the international press, I have seen how a large number among them have hastily concluded that this is stigmatization, and an act against the freedom of Muslims to practice their religion. But come on! It is precisely for freedom that we are fighting. Advertisement We are fighting for the freedom of women who should not have to live under the yoke of a chauvinist order. The female body is neither pure nor impure; it is the female body. It does not need to be hidden to protect against some kind of temptation. See the unbelievable reversal: in the cited accounts, the burkini is presented as a tool of women's liberation! We can read the following there: "When the burkini appeared, I was happy for my sister, who was on vacation and could finally play on the beach with her children rather than needing to stay in the shadows." For another, to wear the veil signifies: "the reappropriation of the body and its femininity..." It's masculine domination that has been completely integrated here! Secularism is the right of each person to believe or not to believe: the freedom to practice their religion on the condition not to impose its practices or beliefs on others. In France, we consider that a woman who wants to swim should not remain in the shadows. That women cannot be the object of any domination. And there is certainly masculine domination when it is judged that a woman's body should be removed from the public space. We fight for the freedom of the majority of Muslims who do not identify with this proselyte minority who manipulate their religion. It is for this reason that the state should not yield an inch to radical Islam. The second principle -- and it is connected -- is that of secularism. I know that this French singularity is not well understood outside of France. Therefore I want to explain, again, what it is. Advertisement Secularism is the right of each person to believe or not to believe: the freedom to practice their religion on the condition that it does not impose its practices or beliefs on others. Secularism is not the negation of religion. It simply imposes a very clear separation between what belongs to the worldly and the spiritual. What does it mean with respect to justice? That the state and its civil servants are strictly neutral, that they do not identify with, finance, or privilege any religion. France has its heart set on harboring modern Islam, true to its message of openness and tolerance. In the course of its long history, France has known religious hatred, it tore the country apart in atrocious wars. The Republic and secularism put an end to centuries of conflict. Secularism is that balance requiring mutual respect. A balance that is the guarantor of the cohesion of our society. The enemies of secularism seek to portray it as an instrument of discrimination and humiliation. Nothing could be more false. The banning of wearing of conspicuous religious symbols in public schools concerns the kippa as much as the headscarf or the Catholic cross. Muslim women can wear the veil in their daily life. But when they are civil servants, they must remove it while doing their work. The conviction on which the French nation is based is that to have free and equal citizens, religion must fall under the private sphere. France, in this respect, different than other countries, does not see itself as a juxtaposition of communities with each having their own autonomous process. To say it in another way: We do not view the French identity as something ethnic. The French identity is a bond to want to share the same destiny. It is for this reason that radical Islam attacked us, in Paris, Nice, or Saint-Etienne-du-Rouvray. Advertisement France will always defend reason and freedom of conscience in the face of dogma. Because we know that otherwise there is fundamentalism and intolerance would prevail. France has its heart set on harboring modern Islam, true to its message of openness and tolerance. We protect our Muslim citizens against those who want to make scapegoats of them. Where the extreme right wants to see Muslims as second rate citizens, we want, on the contrary, to make it resoundingly clear that Islam is totally compatible with democracy, secularism, and the equality of men and women. It is the most stinging blow that we can deliver to radical Islam, which aspires to only one thing: to set all of us against one another. Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump speaks during a campaign event in Wilmington, Ohio, U.S., September 1, 2016. REUTERS/Carlo Allegri Donald Trump is many things -- a petty tyrant, a thug, a sociopath -- and, a con artist, a confidence trickster that is a large part of his persona. His campaign has reflected his life, one con job after another. He says, e.g., that he, and he alone, will bring back jobs from overseas. Yet, he cannot even bring his own jobs back from overseas, where he has absolute control. He says global warming is a hoax invented by China, but claims he needs government assistance in Ireland because global warming is causing rising seas. Advertisement He claims Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama are responsible for the troubles in the world and that he, Trump, opposed the Iraq War, the Libyan intervention, and the troop pullout from Iraq. But, he supported each and every one of them. His business life has been one con job after another -- witness the astounding 3500 lawsuits with which he has been involved. That is one every three days, weekends and holidays included, for 30 years. Think of it. Tax returns provide a con artist with a ready-made opportunity to fake it. All he need do is hire accountants to fill in the forms, making "adjustments" from reality where they help. Since the IRS cannot, by law, utter a peep about their authenticity, it is rather simple. Hence, rather than take the flak for refusing to show his tax returns, he can just fake it. Dr. Bornstein must have counterparts in the accounting field. Advertisement Thus, Trump should not be credited with releasing his tax returns if he does it himself. The only release that counts is Trump giving permission to IRS to release them. Hillary, of course, would do the same. She would have no problem with that. Otherwise, any returns released by Trump or his campaign should be given the same credence as everything else he has said or done. American families should look for the union label when buying items for their Labor Day party or cookout. Over many years, America's workers battled for the right to have a voice at work. Labor Day should be a celebration of the labor movement's accomplishments -- the weekend, an end to child labor, the eight-hour day, Medicare and safer workplaces, among them -- and a reminder that there are still workers struggling to improve life for their families, communities and society. How you spend your money can make a difference for our country, our communities, our families and our friends. By purchasing union-made goods and services made by companies that provide fair wages, safe working conditions and access to health care, conscientious consumers help protect and grow America's middle class. You also have the security of knowing that your money is buying quality goods made in ethical shops. Advertisement Fortunately, two union-sponsored website, Union Label and Labor411, help consumers identify union-made products. Need a new grill for your cookout? Both Weber and Thermador grills are made with union hands. Need something to grill on your new union made Weber or Thermador? Look for: Butterball burgers and franks Wenzel's sausage Smithfield sausage Oscar Meyer hot dogs Boars Head hot dogs Ball Park Franks Hebrew National franks Foster Farms fresh chicken Hormel Red Franks Nathan's Ball Park hot dogs How about a bun? Buy: Alfred Nickles Bakery Sunbeam Maier's Stroehmann Arnold Francisco Need toppings? Try these: Heinz Ketchup Open Pit French's Gulden's Mustard Frank's Red Hot Vlasic brand pickles Something on the side? Burnham and Morrill Baked Beans Suddenly Salad Pace Salsa Rold Gold Frito-Lay Doritos Chex Mixes Lays Chips and French Onion Dip Sun Chips UTZ Pretzels Pirate Booty Bugles Cheez-It Something to wash it down with? Try these union-made beers: American Lager Camo Black Ice Hamm's Miller beer Shock Top Budweiser/ Bud Light Alexander Keiths Coors/ Coors Light Genesee Cream Ale Moosehead Micky's Malt Red Stripe Iron City Mad River Michelob Leinenkugel's Icehouse Red Dog Steelhead Fine Ale Stegmaier Lionshead Not a beer drinker? Try these beverages: Welch's Juices Minute Maid Hawaiian Punch Mott's V8 Sprite Mountain Dew Pepsi, Diet Pepsi Coke, Diet Coke Canada Dry 7-UP A&W Root Beer Orange Crush RC Cola Barq's Blumers Old Philadelphia Want dessert? Satisfy your sweet tooth with these union made products: S'mores made with Keebler Graham Crackers, Hershey's Chocolate Bars, and Campfire Marshmallows Tastykake Entenmann's Sara Lee (frozen) Happy Labor Day! World Vision 1980 This weekend, Mother Teresa was canonized as a saint by the Catholic Church. It is remarkable that this humble woman who stood barely 5 feet tall became a global celebrity, sought out by heads of state and venerated by just about everyone on the planet. What attracted people to her was the quality of her character and her remarkable ability to love the unloved. And yet, the Christian faith that Mother Teresa so embodied has become increasingly scorned by non-religious Americans in the 21st century. In his recent column in The New York Times, Nicholas Kristof asked a very provocative question: "What Religion Would Jesus Belong To?" Kristof contrasts the cultural and political battles that Christians have been known for over the past several decades with the character of Jesus, and opined that if only Christians would seek to be more like Jesus, they would inspire and attract a watching world. Kristof writes that he finds nothing inspiring in the trappings and rituals of religion, but the selfless believers sacrificially serving others in the world's toughest places "fill me with an almost holy sense of awe." He adds, "Now that's religion." Advertisement He makes a good point. Christians today in America are more often known for harsh judging, stridently enforcing doctrines, and seeking political power to legislate Christian values. All the things Jesus wasn't about. No wonder the world celebrates Mother Teresa. She was beloved by people of all faiths -- Hindus, Jews, Muslims, and her fellow Christians -- as well as rock stars, politicians, and atheists. She was admired universally for her unselfish concern for the poor. When someone was in need, Mother Teresa didn't see race, gender, creed, or economic status; she saw a brother or sister to help and love. She never judged people. She wasn't even trying to change society. Her compassion for the destitute and dying launched the Missionaries of Charity, now active in 139 countries, but her focus was on individual action -- a smile, a kind word. "We can do no great things," she said, "only small things with great love." If all Christians, or even most Christians, acted like Mother Teresa, letting their love and the character of their lives demonstrate their beliefs, our Christian faith would be more attractive and compelling. Advertisement I'm not saying we all join religious orders and move to the slums. But there's plenty of room for improvement in how Christians resemble Jesus, the source of love and proof of love, who never judged or labelled people and never allowed himself to be dragged into the politics and power plays of his day. While continually speaking about his Father's love, Jesus healed, included, and encouraged the "lost sheep" -- no matter what kind of lives they had lived. The key is simply to more deliberately imitate Jesus. We need to be better at love -- especially loving those who may not seem worthy of our love. If Christians were to embody the verse 1 John 4:19, "We love because he first loved us," how different would our communities and world look? A lesson from Mother Teresa is that there is a constant need for "small things with great love" in our daily lives. This can start with being kind to the retail clerk and the coffee barista or serving in a soup kitchen or women's shelter just across town. It can extend to giving to support children and families living in extreme poverty around the world. Loving like Jesus starts with seeing every person as made in the image of God and precious to the Creator. Just that -- leaving our biases, fears, and politics aside. And it is practiced by following Jesus' straightforward directions in Matthew 25: feeding the hungry, giving the thirsty something to drink, welcoming the stranger, clothing the naked, visiting the prisoner. Mother Teresa saw Jesus "in the distressing disguise of the poor," and we can also see him in the refugee, the former child soldier, the AIDS sufferer. International economic integration often takes place in tiny increments, but every now and then there is a big jolt that forces everyone to reconsider the foundational principles of the system. Brexit is such an event. If Brexit goes forward, the UK will have to rethink the carefully constructed balance of the economic relationships it currently has with the EU and with the rest of the world. Brexit will force the UK to consider exactly how much economic integration it wants with each, in two main areas: Tariffs on trade in goods, and regulatory barriers that affect both goods and services trade. Tariffs are mostly about economics, and in this case they involve the classic debate over customs unions versus free trade areas, and how deeper integration with a small group of countries compares to shallower integration with a large group. Regulatory trade barriers, in contrast, are more complex and contentious, as they have important political implications and involve the delicate balance between economic efficiency and sovereignty / regulatory autonomy. Starting with tariffs, the UK is currently part of a customs union with the EU, meaning that all internal tariffs between the UK and the EU have been eliminated. In addition, there is a common external tariff to be applied to non-EU trading partners. This common tariff takes away any UK discretion to set its own tariff rates on its external trade. Beyond the tariffs themselves, a customs union also eliminates burdensome customs procedures between the members, with the importing process vastly simplified. Imports from outside the customs union, by contrast, face burdensome procedures that look into the nature of the product, its value, and its origin, among other things, upon importation. Advertisement With Brexit, the UK will be faced with two related questions on tariffs. First, what kind of tariff relationship should it have with the EU? The answer to this first question has an impact on the second question, which is, what kind of tariff relationship should the UK have with the rest of the world? As to the relationship with the EU, the debate is over whether to maintain a customs union, and, if not, what tariffs to adopt as part of an FTA. A customs union is the most liberalizing option for trade within the EU, but, as noted, it limits the UK's options for trade arrangements with the rest of the world. If a free trade area with the EU is chosen instead of a customs union, the UK can then negotiate with the rest of the world on its own. At that point, it can decide what external trade arrangements it would like. Should it focus on multilateral trade liberalization at the WTO? Should it participate in "mega-regional" trade agreements such as the TPP or TTIP? Or should it pursue bilateral FTAs, and, if so, with which countries? Most economists agree that tariffs should be as close to zero as possible. Tariffs are bad economics, leading to inefficient production patterns and imposing costs on consumers. And they are bad international relations, as discrimination against foreigners can lead to escalating tensions. The UK's situation is difficult, as there is a tradeoff between tariff policy towards the EU and tariff policy towards the rest of the world. While there are benefits to being part of the EU customs union, in terms of reduced customs procedures and the avoidance of complicated "rules of origin," being part of a customs union would, unfortunately, constrain the ability of the UK to lower tariffs on its trade with non-EU countries. Therefore, what makes the most sense is a zero tariff arrangement with the EU, but through a free trade area rather than a customs union; and then a series of FTAs with the rest of the world, which could be bilateral, regional or multilateral (although in the current environment of trade negotiations, bilateral trade deals might be the most promising). In this way, the UK can maximize its tariff-free trade. Advertisement Regulatory issues are much more complicated. They affect both goods and services, and generate a great deal of criticism and skepticism from groups -- on both the left and the right -- who worry about sovereignty or regulatory autonomy. The EU's "single market" is generally considered to be a form of deep integration that eliminates many of the impediments to internal trade caused by the regulations of EU member states. But single markets, including even domestic ones such as the United States or Canada, tend to be partial rather than full, with various exceptions thrown in. The EU single market has gone quite far with its integration, but there are still limits. (And it is important to note that integration related to regulatory trade barriers also exists at the WTO and in bilateral and regional trade agreements.) The UK benefits greatly from being part of the EU single market. As things stand now, EU rules on non-discrimination and mutual recognition, as well as supra-national EU regulations, allow most UK producers of goods and services to sell directly to EU customers without having to navigate through additional domestic government regulations. The rules are broad and have a strong enforcement mechanism. Generally speaking, if UK companies comply with domestic regulations, they may sell in the rest of the EU (as noted, with a few exceptions). But while there is clear value here, there is also controversy. It is in the area of regulation that sovereignty and autonomy concerns arise. While the motives for the Brexit vote vary, and immigration and financial contributions to the EU probably played a bigger role, clearly one factor has been the idea that the UK has lost some amount of control over its domestic policy-making as a result of EU rules that affect domestic regulation. Thus, the value of the single market needs to be considered carefully, and compared to alternatives. In this regard, in terms of their substance, EU rules that require regulations to be non-discriminatory are fairly similar to those of the WTO. On the other hand, the EU goes much further with principles such as mutual recognition and harmonization, and covers more areas of services regulation than does the WTO. And EU rules are easier to enforce. Advertisement Clearly, there will be something lost by leaving the EU. However, as noted, international rules on regulatory trade barriers do exist at the WTO, and could be supplemented with an FTA. Thus, where particular regulations are an important issue, such as financial services and "passporting," the UK can negotiate rules through an FTA. The degree of lost economic benefits due to the shift from deep EU integration to shallower WTO/FTA integration is difficult to measure, but could be substantial. The problem, however, is that with regulatory trade barriers, politics is as important as economics. The economic benefits of integration need to be balanced with the feelings of lost sovereignty and autonomy that come with constraints on domestic regulation. It may be more efficient, for example, to have one EU-wide rule on tobacco regulation. But in doing so, deep integration imposes greater constraints on domestic policy-making, and some people feel like choices have been taken away from them. You can call this a sovereignty or an autonomy or a democracy consideration. Whatever it is, it is almost certainly a motivating factor in resentments against international institutions. For this reason, the UK should consider not being part of the EU single market as it relates to the regulation of goods and services, and rely instead on the alternative that already exists in the WTO, and which could be developed further in a negotiated FTA with the EU. In general terms, this alternative would focus on less intrusive non-discrimination and mutual recognition rules, and avoid more sensitive harmonization efforts. There will still be an impact on domestic regulation, but in a more limited way. This September, as they start the school year, French children aged 14 years old and upwards are going to get lessons on how to deal with a terrorism attack on their school. Meanwhile, the debate over the ban on wearing burkinis and whether they are, in the words of France's prime minister, "a political sign of religious proselytising" continues. The big question, however is this: Why are we seeing a rash of these attacks in Europe and especially in France, and are such measures effective in countering them? What have we learned from the horrors of the Charlie Hebdo shooting, the murder of 130 people in and around Paris last November, the Bastille Day truck attack in Nice and the killing of an 85-year-old priest inside of a church in Normandy? Advertisement Examining the reactions of French authorities, we can conclude there are only limited actions that can be taken to prevent such atrocities. Security can been heightened by extending the state of emergency that it declared last November. Intelligence efforts can be redoubled. Such efforts are raising concern about civil liberties being curtailed. But the Nice attack is also a dire warning that these measures aren't effective as a means of protecting citizens from continued attacks. Pascal Rossignol/Reuters The point is that none of the above policies could have prevented Mohamed Lahouaiej Bouhlel and Abdelmalik Petitjean from carrying out their violent actions. Thousands if not millions of people living in Europe have similar profiles. Tunisian or Algerian descent and French citizenship are not enough to tip off authorities that a person could run over 84 people with a truck or slit the throat of a priest. Advertisement So how can we hope to prevent future attacks? We need to change our focus, in my opinion, to examining these perpetrators' "sense of belonging" rather than looking for reasons to detain or expel them because they don't belong. A Canadian case study A number of years ago, while working at the National Institute for Scientific Research in Montreal, I was invited to join a research team studying the integration of refugees and immigrants into Quebec society. This led me to work on research projects that looked at a broad range of questions - from why people claim refugee status to how immigrants use storytelling to talk about their displacement and assimilation into Canada. My first project was focused upon immigrant literary works - especially novels and short stories - that were a largely untapped source of information to help officials understand the complex process of integrating into Quebec society, and in particular, as a way to understand relationships between immigrants and individuals from the host country. There's a pretty large body of so-called immigrant literature in Quebec. Interestingly, many of these narratives include graphic and sometimes even pornographic descriptions of encounters between native-born and immigrant protagonists. Advertisement A broad reading of these stories made me realize that developing relationships with friends and lovers contributed to the migrant's "sense of belonging." They helped him or her to forget their country of origin and forge a new beginning in the host society. In fact, I came to believe that these immigrants' ability to adapt had something to do with the very process of exchange. Or, put another way, the many acts of giving and receiving that they committed each day helped them to feel connected to society. Measuring belonging In order to evaluate this process of adaptation, I turned to work by French biblical scholars called the Groupe d'Entrevernes, which focuses upon how narratives "make sense": that is, how a story creates meaning in the context of the text, but also in regards to the world to which it refers. This approach focuses on looking for meaning by analyzing particular actions, notably "who does what to whom where." So in the case of immigrant literature, a group of us looked in minute detail at the complex interactions between characters, with special focus upon how relationships begin and end, and what is gained in the process. We also assessed characters' attitudes prior to and after each interaction, with an eye to understanding the effect of the exchange. Our goal was to assess which specific actions help foster a sense of belonging, in a new country and which alienate the character from his or her society. Advertisement The signing of a lease, the acquisition of immigrant status (whether a work visa or a green card) or being hired for a job all foster a sense of belonging. Being kicked out of an apartment, divorced or deported are all examples of loss of belonging. Implications for policymakers The advantage of research like this for a case like Nice is that it forces the investigator to examine all of the concrete details of the perpetrators' lives leading up to the horrific event, rather than just focusing upon the act of violence. It's not sufficient to know that Mohamed Lahouaiej Bouhlel had a violent relationship with his wife, or that Abdelmalik Petitjean visited Turkey just prior to entering a church in Normandy. What's more important is to understand what they wanted for themselves in the longer term. As difficult as it now seems in light of their murderous actions, we would gain a lot by undertaking meticulous investigations into these individuals' sense that they didn't belong in France, and that they had to destroy what it represents. By creating concrete conditions for different communities to feel they belong, policymakers can help their diverse populations feel connected to, and thus protective of, their societies. Advertisement Many of the analyses of recent terrorist events have focused upon the "lone-wolf" quality of the perpetrators. These lone wolves are difficult to predict, because they are acting independently, and without any contact with extremist organizations or individuals. The work of policymakers, then, is to figure out how to prevent these individuals from acting impulsively, on the basis of some unpredictable trigger. My sense is that the only way to do this is to build a sense of belonging that will prevent them from feeling destructive. If they feel alienated from their society and feel they don't belong there, then they can also feel that other people deserve to suffer or die. Following the logic of this approach, we can try to figure out which actions serve to reinforce belonging and which hinder it and then develop policies that build on the positive rather than the purely negative. Our research in Quebec indicated that most of these actions are quite simple and achievable. They range from providing federal funds for ethnic celebrations and translations for pamphlets about available social services to encouraging local tolerance for so-called "foreign" customs such as the wearing of burkinis (something that has not happened in France) or Sikh turbans. In the Quebec example, our reading of the literature also indicated that undue bureaucratic wrangling that hinders the process of procuring basic necessities, like a driver's license, or that made access to social services such as health care or daycare difficult, can become sources of frustration and alienation. At the same time, it is crucial to explain which of these customs can lead to severe punishment in the host country. Such actions as Latin Americans shooting off guns during parties or immigrants from Africa and the Middle East sending children abroad for female genital mutilation can become grounds for serous punishments. Advertisement Most importantly, our research suggested that successful integration generally occurs through individual incentive and personal relationships, fostered, whenever possible, by the community or the government. The 1988 Canadian Multiculturalism Act formalized a policy to encourage multicultural diversity and develop a sense of tolerance through recognition and understanding. One result of our own research was to help contribute to a higher profile for the Ministry of Immigration and Cultural Communities and to support their championing of diversity and inclusion. Eric Gaillard/Reuters I may have traveled to Nice this summer with my family in order to celebrate Bastille Day, because it's a beautiful setting, a city where we dream of the passion, luxury and the sultry pleasures of the French Riviera. Mohamed Lahouaiej Bouhlel may have decided to target those same celebrations for exactly the same reasons, because while we might feel like sharing in that sense of belonging, he most certainly didn't. Robert F. Barsky, Professor of English and French Literatures, and Professor of Law, Vanderbilt University Will Howard starts at QB for K-State Will Howard started at quarterback for Kansas State on Saturday against Oklahoma State. The content you are trying to view is exclusive to our subscribers. To unlock this article: Priced at Php 1,999 only, the DocuPrint P115w from Fuji Xerox is the most affordable laser printer in the market today. The DocuPrint P115w is perfectly designed to meet your school and work printing needs. It offers reliable and cost-efficient printing solution with the reliability and advantage of wireless connectivity. An easy-to-use printer you can depend on anytime, Fuji Xerox DocuPrint P115w is at a cost that doesnt break the bank. Quick Facts Print speed up to 20 ppm 200 MHz processor Print resolution up to 2400 x 600 dpi Input tray holds 150 sheets Affordable & efficient printing - low cost hardware and toner save mode Mobile printing made easy Connect with a touch of a button - effortless Wi-Fi set up (WPS 2.0) Contact MSI-ECS at (02) 688-3512 for details and purchasing queries. Back to top Imperial Valley News Center Mexican national sentenced to 2 years in federal prison for racketeering Beaumont, Texas - A Mexican national was sentenced Thursday to two years in federal prison for drug trafficking-related crimes. The sentence was announced by U.S. Attorney John M. Bales, Eastern District of Texas. This investigation was conducted by the Beaumont Police Department (BPD), and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcements (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI). Hugo Alberto Macias-Garcia, 44, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Ron Clark to 24 months in federal prison for interstate transportation in aid of racketeering. Garcia was also ordered to forfeit about $47,000 cash. He pleaded guilty to the charges May 23. According to court information, on July 12, 2015, Garcia was stopped by BPD patrol officers for traffic violations while traveling westbound on Interstate Highway 10 in Beaumont. A search of the vehicle revealed about $52,000 cash hidden inside a tool box. The cash was separated into bundles and stored in plastic bags consistent with methods used in drug trafficking organizations. Garcia was indicted by a federal grand jury in January 2016 and charged with drug trafficking violations. Garcia was ordered to be deported from the United States upon release from federal prison. Assistant U.S. Attorney Robert L. Rawls, Eastern District of Texas, prosecuted this case. Border Patrol Finds Cocaine Hidden in Rocker Panels Niland, California - El Centro Sector Border Patrol agents assigned to the Indio Station working at the Highway 111 checkpoint, arrested a woman suspected of drug smuggling after they discovered packages of cocaine hidden in her vehicle on Wednesday. The incident occurred at approximately 4 p.m., after a woman driving a recent model BMW 328i approached the checkpoint. A Border Patrol detection canine alerted to the vehicle during a pre-primary inspection. Agents referred the woman to the secondary inspection area for a closer examination. After an intensive search, agents discovered 28 bundles of cocaine hidden in the vehicles rocker panels. The cocaine had a combined weight of 70.1 pounds with an estimated street value of $841,200. This seizure not only denies Transnational Criminal Organizations the money and resources needed to continue their illicit activities but also helps keep our communities safe, said Patrol Agent in Charge Scott Garrett of the Indio Station. The woman, a 30-year-old United States citizen, the vehicle, and narcotics were turned over to the Drug Enforcement Administration for further investigation. So far for fiscal year 2016, El Centro Sector has seized more than 148 pounds of cocaine. Former station chief for international air carrier charged with smuggling, obstruction of justice and wire fraud New York - A Queens woman was charged in a superseding indictment Wednesday for her alleged role in smuggling packages on flights from John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK) to the Peoples Republic of China (PRC) on behalf of PRC military personnel. The initial arrest stems from a joint investigation by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcements (ICE) Homeland Security Investigation (HSI) in New York, the United States Department of Justice and the FBI with assistance from the Transportation Security Administration (TSA). A grand jury returned a superseding indictment Wednesday, adding charges against Ying Lin, a former station chief for an international air carrier (the Air Carrier), for smuggling, obstruction of justice and wire fraud. The superseding indictment also includes an earlier charge of structuring financial transactions. Lin allegedly used her position at an international air carrier to smuggle packages onto planes headed to China in return for favors such as discounted liquor and electronics. These illicit actions created a potential safety issue to the planes and passengers onboard, said HSI New York Special Agent in Charge Angel M. Melendez. HSI will remain steadfast in its commitment to ensuring the integrity of our international airports so they are not used for criminal activities. The defendant repeatedly acted in direct contravention of rules and regulations providing for the safety of flights in the United States in order to reap personal benefits such as free contracting work and tax-free liquor and electronics, stated Robert L. Capers, United States attorney for the Eastern District of New York. The defendant also engaged in obstructive conduct even after she had been arrested in this case. She will now be held to account. Lin worked as a counter agent for the Air Carrier at JFK and later as station chief for the Air Carrier at Newark Liberty International Airport. Allegedly, Lin received certain packages from military officers of the PRC who were stationed at the Permanent Mission of the Peoples Republic of China to the United Nations (the PRC Mission) and from other employees of the PRC Consulate in New York. Lin then smuggled these packages onto Air Carrier flights departing JFK Airport for the PRC, in violation of applicable TSA rules and regulations and Air Carrier policies, which require that checked baggage be accepted only from ticketed passengers. In return, Lin received various benefits from PRC employees, including discounted liquor purchased from diplomatic duty-free shops and tax-exempt purchases of electronic devices, as well as free contracting work at her personal residence performed by PRC construction workers. Lin continued to engage in smuggling activities after her initial arrest in August 2015. In addition, Lin also helped a PRC national that she believed was a target of a federal inquiry escape to the PRC aboard an Air Carrier flight from JFK Airport. This case is being prosecuted by Eastern District of New Yorks National Security & Cybercrime Section, with assistance provided by the Departments Counterintelligence and Export Control Section. The charges in the superseding indictment are merely allegations, and the defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty. Justice Department Requires Divestitures in Order for Nexstar to Proceed with Media General Acquisition Washington, DC - The Department of Justice announced that it will require Nexstar Broadcasting Group to divest seven broadcast television stations in order to proceed with its $4.6 billion acquisition of Media General Corporation. The department said that without the required divestitures, the prices for broadcast television spot advertising and the fees charged to multichannel video programming distributors (MVPDs) - such as cable and satellite providers - for the retransmission of broadcast television programming to MVPD subscribers would likely increase in six designated market areas (DMAs) located across the United States. The Justice Departments Antitrust Division filed a civil antitrust lawsuit today in the U.S. District Court of the District of Columbia to block the proposed transaction and simultaneously filed a proposed settlement that, if approved by the court, would resolve the competitive harm alleged in the lawsuit. As originally structured, this transaction would have given Nexstar the power to impose higher prices on local and national advertisers and to demand higher retransmission fees from cable and satellite companies in six markets, said Acting Assistant Attorney General Renata Hesse of the Justice Departments Antitrust Division. Todays settlement will protect advertisers, MVPDs and consumers who ultimately would have borne many of these increased costs by ensuring that Nexstar does not obtain undue bargaining leverage when negotiating broadcast television spot advertising prices and retransmission fees. The departments complaint alleges that the proposed transaction would lessen competition in the sale of broadcast television spot advertising and the licensing of broadcast television programming to MVPDs for retransmission to MVPD subscribers in the following DMAs: Roanoke-Lynchburg, Virginia; Terre Haute, Indiana; Fort Wayne, Indiana; Green Bay-Appleton, Wisconsin; Lafayette, Louisiana; and Davenport, Iowa/Rock Island-Moline, Illinois (Quad Cities). As a result of the acquisition, Nexstar would control between 41 and 100 percent of the broadcast television station gross advertising revenues in these six DMAs and at least two broadcast television stations affiliated with the four major national television networks. Under the terms of the proposed settlement, Nexstar must divest the following television stations to the following acquirers or other acquirers approved by the United States: WBAY-TV, in Green Bay, to Gray Television Inc.; WSLS-TV, in Roanoke-Lynchburg, to Graham Holdings Company; KADN-TV and KLAF-LD, in Lafayette, to Bayou City Broadcasting Lafayette Inc.; WTHI-TV, in Terre Haute, to USA Television MidAmerica Holdings Inc.; WFFT-TV, in Fort Wayne, to USA Television; and KWQC-TV, in Quad Cities, to Gray Television. Nexstar is a Delaware corporation with its headquarters in Irving, Texas. Nexstar owns, operates or services broadcast television stations in 62 metropolitan areas. Nexstar reported net operating revenues of over $890 million in 2015. Media General is a Virginia corporation with its headquarters in Richmond, Virginia. Media General owns, operates or services broadcast television stations in 48 metropolitan areas. Media General reported net operating revenues of $1.3 billion in 2015. As required by the Tunney Act, the proposed settlement, along with the departments competitive impact statement, will be published in the Federal Register. Any person may submit written comments concerning the proposed settlement during a 60-day comment period to Owen Kendler, Assistant Chief, Litigation III Section, Antitrust Division, U.S. Department of Justice, 450 Fifth Street, N.W., Fourth Floor, Washington, D.C. 20530. At the conclusion of the 60-day comment period, the court may enter the final judgment upon a finding that it serves the public interest. Watch: Man's Fire Stunt Goes Horribly Wrong, Beard Up in Flames BLACK REPUBLICAN BLOG - The Republican Party is the party of civil rights and the four Fs: faith, family, freedom and fairness. The Democratic Party is the party of the four Ss: slavery, secession, segregation and socialism (Quote By Author Michael Scheuer). When Women Gather . . . Throughout history women have been gathering together. Its what we do. Is someone getting married? Well throw a bridal shower. Is someone having a baby? Well throw a baby shower. If we dont have an excuse for getting together, well find one. How about the park? Moms and kids and strollers. Well call it a play date. Its the same at work too. Do you have some papers to grade? Well meet in the library after school and grade papers together. What about the office? Well do lunch. What about after work? Well call it Girls Night Out and have dinner. In different seasons of my life, Ive enjoyed all of the above. But the most memorable gatherings Ive experienced have centered around the Word whether its Tuesday evening in the churchs sanctuary or Saturday morning in a friends living room. When women gather to grow deeper in their relationship with God, something happens. Hearts connect. Friendships form. Bonds deepen. And lives are changed. The book of Philippians is a prime example of this truth. In the city of Philippi, there wasnt a synagogue in town, which meant there probably werent enough Jewish men in the area for a synagogue. Yet every Sabbath a few women would gather at the river to pray and sing and worship. Something about this small band of women caught Gods eye, too, for He stopped the Apostle Paul from traveling any farther into Asia. In a dream, He beckoned Paul to visit the province of Macedonia part of what we call Greece which is where Philippi was located. Paul obeyed Gods command at once, and when he reached the city of Philippi, he heard about the women who gathered by the river. So he met them at the river and preached the cross of Christ. Lydia, a wealthy woman who sold purple linen, listened with rapt attention, her heart wide open to Truth. Lydia and her whole household were baptized that day. And the first church in Europe began. This church would eventually grow to become a core group of believers, influencing the entire region for Christ {Acts 16:9-15}. Thats what can happen when women gather. Years later, while sitting in chains and waiting for his trial in Rome, Paul wrote a letter to his dear friends in Philippi. The church then shared his letter with everyone. In time, this personal letter from their mentor would be inducted into the canon of Holy Scripture. The book of Philippians is the subsequent fruit born of a few women. Lydia and her friends serve as beautiful examples of what can happen when women gather to pray and study the Scriptures. Thats my prayer for us today. The world may be a different place, but our God is the same. And when women gather in His name, forgiveness is found and lives are changed, hurts are healed and our purpose is revealed. Word Writers: Philippians is a new Bible study that invites women to gather and study Gods Word. Its an Inductive-Plus Bible Study that makes the Bible the primary source. A traditional Inductive Bible Study uses three key approaches to Gods Word: observation, interpretation, and application. Word Writers adds a fourth dimension to the Bible study experience: saturation the opportunity to write the Word. Writing the Word is a powerful way to strengthen our spirits and quiet our souls. When we write it, we remember it. And when were saturating our hearts and minds in Gods Word, we open wide the door to our soul and say to our Savior, Come, Lord Jesus, come. Women are gathering still today, this hour, around the Living Water. And Youre invited to join us as we read through the book of Philippians together, diving deeper into the truth and beauty of who God is. You can learn more about our online Bible study here. So grab a few girlfriends and get together for some tea and conversation and Word writing! When women gather, He sees, He knows, and I dare say, He smiles. Giveaway The team at Harvest House is generously giving away 5 copies of Word Writers: Philippians! To enter to win a free copy, simply follow the instructions in the giveaway box below: Log in with your email or your Facebook account, and then leave a comment! {Open to US mailing addresses only.} a Rafflecopter giveaway Denise is the host of the Deeper Waters Retreat, where women can gather and grow deeper in Gods Word. Shes the author of the new Bible study series Word Writers and is leading an online Bible study on Philippians and Ephesians. Denise enjoys serving as the Editorial Coordinator at (in)courage, and she blogs at Embracing Grace and Truth, where she writes about faith, motherhood, and writing. When shes not teaching in the classroom or at conferences, shes trying to find shade in Southern California while sharing life with her husband and three kids. Excerpted and adapted from Word Writers: Philippians, Harvest House Publishers Sept. 2016. Sign up to our free IndyArts newsletter for all the latest entertainment news and reviews Sign up to our free IndyArts newsletter Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the IndyArts email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }} An ex-Strictly Come Dancing regular and Celebrity Big Brother contestant has enflamed a 'fix row' after claiming on Twitter that celebrities with past dancing experience are often paired with the best professional dancers on the BBC One show. During the 2016 series launch show, James Jordan asked his followers: Did anyone notice some pro's always get celebs that have had loads of dance training. Will Youngs pairing with Karen Clifton and Louise Redknapps with Kevin Clifton were highlighted by the dancer, the bookies having previously announced the two couples as their favourites. Young previously studied both ballet and contemporary dance, and is experienced on treading the boards, while Redknapp was once a judge on So You Think You Can Dance. The producers have been trying for years to get one of them to win, Jordan wrote, referring to the Cliftons. A BBC spokesman responded to the claims calling them complete and utter rubbish. The continued: Pairing of celebrities with the professional dancers is based on many factors and designed to give the celebrities the best possible experience on the show. Its the public who decides the winner, not the producers. Meanwhile, the Daily Star published a report calling Jordan bitter and twisted after leaving the BBC One show following the 2013 series. Strictly Come Dancing contestants line-up 2016 Show all 15 1 /15 Strictly Come Dancing contestants line-up 2016 Strictly Come Dancing contestants line-up 2016 Ed Balls The former Labour MP, who held the position of Shadow Chancellor from 2011 to 2015, has now turned to writing; contributing to the Guardian and working on his upcoming book. None of which compares to the notoriety gained from that one time he tweeted his own name. BBC Strictly Come Dancing contestants line-up 2016 Will Young The first ever winner of Pop Idol, Young's career has long outlasted the show's own run; having won two Brits and two Ivor Novellos for his work, alongside an Olivier nomination for his role as Emcee in 2013's West End production of Cabaret. BBC Strictly Come Dancing contestants line-up 2016 Laura Whitmore The Irish DJ and presenter has co-hosted I'm a Celebrity... Get Me Out Of Here Now for the past five years; alongside presenting spots at the BRITs, the BAFTAs, the MTV Movie Awards, and the London 2012 Olympics. BBC Strictly Come Dancing contestants line-up 2016 Ore Oduba A presenter on BBC Breakfast and Radio 5 Live; the sports expert has been busy reporting from Rio for the 2016 Olympics. BBC Strictly Come Dancing contestants line-up 2016 Melvin Odoom The TV and radio presenter can be heard on the Kiss FM Breakfast show, alongside stints at MTV, 4Music, T4, and The Box. BBC Strictly Come Dancing contestants line-up 2016 Louise Redknapp The former pop star enjoyed success both as a member of group Eternal and in her own solo career, before transitioning to presenting as a judge on So You Think You Can Dance. BBC Strictly Come Dancing contestants line-up 2016 Danny Mac The Hollyoaks actor is known for playing wheeler-dealer Dodger Savage, though he has roots in musical theatre; starring in productions of Wicked and Les Miserables. BBC Strictly Come Dancing contestants line-up 2016 Daisy Lowe The model has walked for the likes of Tommy Hilfiger, Dolce & Gabbana, Marc Jacobs, and Vivienne Westwood; though she's also starred in the likes of Confine and the upcoming Tulip Fever, alongside a cameo in the Absolutely Fabulous movie. BBC Strictly Come Dancing contestants line-up 2016 Naga Munchetty The BBC Breakfast presenter has also worked for Reuters, Bloomberg, and Channel 4. BBC Strictly Come Dancing contestants line-up 2016 Anastacia The singer is best known for tracks "I'm Outta Love", "Sick & Tired", "One Day In Your Life", and "Left Outside Alone". BBC Strictly Come Dancing contestants line-up 2016 Claudia Fragapane The 18-year-old gymnast is fresh from the Rio Olympics, having already won four gold medals at the Commonweath Games in Glasgow in 2014. BBC Strictly Come Dancing contestants line-up 2016 Tameka Empson The actress and comedian is best known for her work on Eastenders and comedy series 3 Non Blondes. BBC Strictly Come Dancing contestants line-up 2016 Judge Rinder The star of the ITV series which sees him preside over televised legal cases, launching an arsenal of quips and putdowns. BBC Strictly Come Dancing contestants line-up 2016 Lesley Joseph Best known for her role as Dorien Green in Birds of a Feather, the 70-year-old is the oldest contestant this series. BBC Strictly Come Dancing contestants line-up 2016 Greg Rutherford The long-jumper won gold at the 2012 London Olympics, and nabbed bronze at this year's Rio Olympics. BBC Jordans wide, Ola Jordan, who was also once a dancer on the show, claimed earlier this year that the judges scores are fixed, saying people over-mark and under-mark. Sign up to the Independent Climate email for the latest advice on saving the planet Get our free Climate email Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Independent Climate email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }} The warming of the oceans may become the greatest hidden challenge of our generation, a major new report has warned. The 456-page document, published by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), describes the effects of the huge amount of energy that has been absorbed by the sea in recent decades. The scale of the changes is potentially huge affecting marine life from viruses, bacteria and plankton, fish and seabirds to the climate, weather and human health. A vast amount of heat and carbon dioxide has been absorbed from the atmosphere by the oceans and there are fears of devastating consequences for the marine ecosystem and, in particular a decline in fish stocks at a time when the worlds population is growing dramatically. There is already evidence that plankton species, fish and other creatures are on the move in search of cooler temperatures. Inger Anderson, the IUCNs director general, said: Ocean warming is one of this generations greatest hidden challenges and one for which we are completely unprepared. The only way to preserve the rich diversity of marine life, and to safeguard the protection and resources the ocean provides us with, is to cut greenhouse gas emissions rapidly and substantially. Her warning was echoed by Sir David King, the UK Foreign Secretarys special representative on climate change. After several thousand years we have arrived at a critical turning point in our development, he wrote in the foreword to the report. Scientific analyses of the global climate system have provided us with the ability to understand the challenges created by rising greenhouse gas levels in the atmosphere, but despite the remarkable level of understanding achieved to date, there is much more work to be done. It is hoped that the challenges to the benefits we receive from the ocean ecosystems will lead to a renewed interest amongst the political and social communities in the state of our oceans. Recommended Read more The amazing plants of these most beautiful islands are being wiped out To manage the risks will require both urgent actions and a quest for deeper scientific understanding. We will need this to protect the Earths ecosystems through sustainable living. The report says the oceans average temperature is expected to rise by between one and four degrees Celsius, with the most warming taking place in the Southern Hemisphere. Whilst rising carbon dioxide levels and increasing warming can occasionally have positive effects, the overwhelming evidence and predictions shown in this report are for a cocktail of negative effects, which we are only just starting to understand, but about which we know enough to be very concerned, it says. The warming signs are clear to see, not only the current prevalence of bleaching of coral reefs around the world, but the increasing confidence of predictions that all coral reefs will be so affected by 2050, unless we change our ways, and quickly. Ocean warming and climate change are ultimately contributing to global homogenization of biodiversity, as vulnerable species become extinct and non-native species from different biogeographic regions spread, overlap, and become established across the worlds ocean. The heat content of the upper 700m of the worlds oceans has vastly increased in 20 years by the equivalent of 240 times the total amount of energy used by humans worldwide in 2013. The average global ocean temperature is expected to rise by between one and four degrees Celsius by 2100, but the figure is expected to be higher in the north and south poles. Since the 1990s the atmosphere in the polar regions has been warming at about twice the average rate of global warming, the report says. There is likely to be Arctic warming and ice loss, and possibly the essential removal, in some years, of the summer Arctic sea ice within the next few decades. In the Antarctic the extent of the sea ice has been growing at a rate of about 1.3 per cent per decade, although there is strong inter-annual variability. The last two decades has seen changes and an intensification of the El Nino weather events, the report adds. Animals in decline Show all 8 1 /8 Animals in decline Animals in decline Harbour seal (Phoca vitulina) Where: Orkney Islands. What: Between 2001-2006, numbers in Orkney declined by 40 per cent. Why: epidemics of the phocine distemper virus are thought to have caused major declines, but the killing of seals in the Moray Firth to protect salmon farms may have an impact. Alamy Animals in decline African lion (Panthera leo) Where: Ghana. What: In Ghanas Mole National Park, lion numbers have declined by more than 90 per cent in 40 years. Why: local conflicts are thought to have contributed to the slaughter of lions and are a worrying example of the status of the animal in Western and Central Africa. Animals in decline Leatherback turtle (Dermochelys coriacea) Where: Indonesia, Malaysia, Mexico, Costa Rica. What: Numbers are down in both the Atlantic and Pacific. It declined by 95 per cent between 1989-2002 in Costa Rica. Why: mainly due to them being caught as bycatch, but theyve also been affected by local developments. Alamy Animals in decline Wandering albatross (Diomedea exulans) Where: South Atlantic. What: A rapid decline. One population, from Bird Island, South Georgia, declined by 50 per cent between 1972-2010, according to the British Antarctic Survey. Why: being caught in various commercial longline fisheries. Alamy Animals in decline Saiga Antelope (Saiga tatarica) Where: Kazakhstan, Mongolia, Russia, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan. What: fall in populations has been dramatic. In the early 1990s numbers were over a million, but are now estimated to be around 50,000. Why: the break up of the former USSR led to uncontrolled hunting. Increased rural poverty means the species is hunted for its meat Animals in decline Swordfish (Xiphias gladius) Where: found worldwide in tropical, subtropical and temperate seas. Why: at risk from overfishing and as a target in recreational fishing. A significant number of swordfish are also caught by illegal driftnet fisheries in the Mediterranean Animals in decline Argali Sheep (Ovis mammon) Where: Central and Southern Asian mountains,usually at 3,000-5,000 metres altitude. Why: domesticated herds of sheep competing for grazing grounds. Over-hunting and poaching. Animals in decline Humphead Wrasse (Cheilinus undulatus) Where: the Indo-Pacific, from the Red Sea to South Africa and to the Tuamoto Islands (Polynesia), north to the Ryukyu Islands (south-west Japan), and south to New Caledonia. Why: Illegal, Unregulated and Unreported (IUU) fishing and trading of the species The warming of the ocean is one way the world could reach a tipping point, which would send temperatures higher and higher. There is a vast amount of frozen methane hydrate a much more potent greenhouse gas than carbon dioxide on the sea floor. Increasing water temperature could release this source of carbon into the ocean and ultimately into the atmosphere, the report warns. The experts pointed to a warning made in 1956 by the meteorologist Carl-Gustav Rossby. Nature can be vengeful, he said. We should have a great deal of respect for the planet on which we live. Sign up to our free Brexit and beyond email for the latest headlines on what Brexit is meaning for the UK Sign up to our Brexit email for the latest insight Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Brexit and beyond email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }} Oh dear. The latest Markit CIPS numbers on services are out, and they provide further evidence of a post-Brexit bounce back following last weeks manufacturing release. Why the oh dear, I hear you ask? Well, it comes shortly after the Japanese issued an unprecedented 15-page warning to the UK at the G20. This country gets about half of Japans investment in the EU. Companies including Honda, Nissan, and Mitsubishi all make their homes here, as do many other big Japanese businesses. Japanese businesses with their European headquarters in the UK may decide to transfer their head-office function to continental Europe if EU laws cease to be applicable in the UK after its withdrawal, the report warned. Ouch. And then along came those numbers, proving fodder for the false argument of Brexit backers that its all going to be ok after all and all those dire warnings about the consequence of quitting the EU were just so much tosh put about by Remainers like me. Japanese misgivings? Pfah, were alright Jack! It doesnt matter how many times you repeat it, people still wilfully ignore that the impact of Brexit will only truly be felt over the long term. If there is a Brexit, and guess what, it seems all those plans for a points-based immigration system have been binned. That might provide some cheer to corporates, which have been wondering from where theyre going to get the people they need in future (ditto the NHS for that matter). But theres no reason to celebrate. That Japanese warning should be headed. Just as its car companies employ thousands of people in skilled roles that pay decent money in places where that isnt easy to find. It isnt just the car plants. They all have supply chains, employing still more people. Those employees' spending power sustains still more jobs. Imagine if those car plants suddenly closed their doors. If their owners decided in a fit of pique that they were walking out of the door. Like the UK, in a fit of pique, decided it would walk out the door of the European Union. It probably wont happen like that. More likely is a steady decline in their size and the number of people they employ. The City of London faces a similar situation. Unless, that is, the UK remains in the single market. And yet, the reaction of some commentators in response to Japan's report was almost surreal. One opined that Japans economy is faltering and that it needs us. Others pooh poohed its concerns. Another suggested it might be no more than a veiled warning not to cosy up to China, as the UK has been doing. All that madness along with the default response of the Brexiteers when anyone from overseas ventures to suggest that leaving the EU might not be such a good idea, and that there will be damaging consequences: deny, deny deny. Or to throw the toys out of the cot and indulge in a tantrum. Were the British Empire dont you know! They need us. No. They dont. And were not an empire. The creation of the one we did have was a criminal undertaking, unless you think waltzing into other peoples countries and taking them over is a good idea. These days we tend to wag our fingers when other countries indulge in that sort of behaviour. Business news: In pictures Show all 13 1 /13 Business news: In pictures Business news: In pictures Flybe collapses Airline Flybe has collapsed. All future flights on the Exeter-based airline have been cancelled leaving more than 2,300 staff facing an uncertain future, and wrecking the travel plans of hundreds of thousands of passengers. The chief executive, Mark Anderson, said: Europes largest independent regional airline has been unable to overcome significant funding challenges to its business. AFP via Getty Business news: In pictures Future product placement will be 'tailored to individual viewers' Marketing executives say that product placement in films and televison shows on streaming services such as Netflix may be tailored to individuals in future. For instance, if data shows that a viewer is a fan of pepsi, a billboard in the background of a shot would host an advert for pepsi, while for a viewer known to have different tastes it could be for Coca-Cola Paramount Business news: In pictures Corbyn wishes Amazon a happy birthday In a card sent to Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos on the company's 25th birthday, Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn writes: "You owe the British people millions in taxes that pay for the public services that we all rely on. Please pay your fair share" Business news: In pictures No deal, no tariffs The government has announced that it would slash almost all tariffs in the event of a no-deal Brexit. Notable exceptions include cars and meat, which will see tariffs in place to protect British farmers Getty Business news: In pictures Fingerprint payment NatWest is trialling a new bank card that will allow people to touch their hand to the card when paying rather than typing in a PIN number. The card will work by recognising the user's fingerprint NatWest/PA Wire Business news: In pictures Mahabis bust High-end slipper retailer Mahabis has gone into administration. 2 Jan 2019 Mahabis Business news: In pictures Costa Cola Coca-Cola has paid 3.9bn for Costa Coffee. A cafe chain is a new venture for the global soft drinks giant PA Business news: In pictures RIP Payday Loans A funeral procession for payday loans was held in London on September 2. The future of pay day lenders is in doubt after Wonga, Britain's biggest, went into administration on August 30 PA Business news: In pictures Musk irks investors and directors Elon Musk has concluded that Tesla will remain public. Investors and company directors were angry at Musk for tweeting unexpectedly that he was considering taking Tesla private and share prices had taken a tumble in the following weeks Getty Business news: In pictures Jaguar warning Iconic British car maker Jaguar Land Rover warned on July 5, 2018 that a "bad" Brexit deal could jeopardise planned investment of more than $100 billion, upping corporate pressure as the government heads into crucial talks AFP/Getty Business news: In pictures Spotif-IPO Spotify traded publically for the first time on the New York Stock Exchange on Tuesday. However, the company isn't issuing shares, but rather, shares held by Spotify's private investors will be sold AFP/Getty Business news: In pictures French blue passports The deadline to award a contract to make blue British passports after Brexit has been extended by two weeks following a request by bidder De La Rue. The move comes after anger at the announcement British passports would be produced by Franco-Dutch firm Gemalto when De La Rues contract ends in July. The British firm said Gemalto was chosen only because it undercut the competition, but the UK company also admitted that it was not the cheapest choice in the tendering process. Business news: In pictures Beast from the east economic impact The Beast from the East wiped 4m off of Flybes revenues due to flight cancellations, airport closures and delays, according to the budget airlines estimates. Flybe said it cancelled 994 flights in the three months to 31 March, compared to 372 in the same period last year. In the EU were a mid ranking power, with an ok economy, that needs to cultivate good relations with our trading partners to ensure it stays that way. Outside of it were in a mess, and we desperately need our trading partners to play nice, even if they dont have much reason to do so. Theyll have even less if we ignore their concerns in favour of being rude about and to them. It wont just be Japanese that will say sayonara either. When our friends speak to us we should listen, just as we expect them to listen to us when we raise concerns with them. Thats how grown-up, sensible people conduct business. Sadly, it seems, there arent many of them in the commentariat. Worryingly, it seems that there arent many of them in Westminster either. For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Breaking News email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }} As the vote to leave the European Union and Ed Milibands overwhelming defeat in 2015 proved, the art of political polling is not an easy one. Perhaps for this reason, one member of Donald Trump's camp is now looking away from raw data and towards the heavens for any hint of the outcome of the forthcoming US election. In an apparent attempt to predict the outcome of election night in November, the Republican presidential candidates lawyer Michael Cohen appears to have indulged in a spot of cloud divination (the belief pictures glimpsed in the clouds represent portents for the future, for anyone wondering). In turn, he has drawn attention to a cloud which he thinks resembles Mr Trump and claimed it is proof God wants him to be President. Naked Donald Trump Statue Appears Across The States Show all 11 1 /11 Naked Donald Trump Statue Appears Across The States Naked Donald Trump Statue Appears Across The States SAN FRANCISCO, CA - AUGUST 18: A passerby kisses a statue depicting republican presidential nominee Donald Trump in the nude on August 18, 2016 in San Francisco, United States. Anarchist collective INDECLINE has created five statues depicting Donald Trump in the nude and placed them in five U.S. cities on Thursday morning. The statues are in San Francisco, New York, Los Angeles, Cleveland and Seattle. (Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images) Getty Images Naked Donald Trump Statue Appears Across The States SAN FRANCISCO, CA - AUGUST 18: A passerby looks at a statue depicting republican presidential nominee Donald Trump in the nude on August 18, 2016 in San Francisco, United States. Anarchist collective INDECLINE has created five statues depicting Donald Trump in the nude and placed them in five U.S. cities on Thursday morning. The statues are in San Francisco, New York, Los Angeles, Cleveland and Seattle. (Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images) Getty Images Naked Donald Trump Statue Appears Across The States SAN FRANCISCO, CA - AUGUST 18: A passerby takes a picture of a statue depicting republican presidential nominee Donald Trump in the nude on August 18, 2016 in San Francisco, United States. Anarchist collective INDECLINE has created five statues depicting Donald Trump in the nude and placed them in five U.S. cities on Thursday morning. The statues are in San Francisco, New York, Los Angeles, Cleveland and Seattle. (Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images) Getty Images Naked Donald Trump Statue Appears Across The States SAN FRANCISCO, CA - AUGUST 18: People gather around a statue depicting republican presidential nominee Donald Trump in the nude on August 18, 2016 in San Francisco, United States. Anarchist collective INDECLINE has created five statues depicting Donald Trump in the nude and placed them in five U.S. cities on Thursday morning. The statues are in San Francisco, New York, Los Angeles, Cleveland and Seattle. (Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images) Getty Images Naked Donald Trump Statue Appears Across The States SAN FRANCISCO, CA - AUGUST 18: People gather around a statue depicting republican presidential nominee Donald Trump in the nude on August 18, 2016 in San Francisco, United States. Anarchist collective INDECLINE has created five statues depicting Donald Trump in the nude and placed them in five U.S. cities on Thursday morning. The statues are in San Francisco, New York, Los Angeles, Cleveland and Seattle. (Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images) Getty Images Naked Donald Trump Statue Appears Across The States SAN FRANCISCO, CA - AUGUST 18: A passerby hugs a statue depicting republican presidential nominee Donald Trump in the nude on August 18, 2016 in San Francisco, United States. Anarchist collective INDECLINE has created five statues depicting Donald Trump in the nude and placed them in five U.S. cities on Thursday morning. The statues are in San Francisco, New York, Los Angeles, Cleveland and Seattle.(Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images) Getty Images Naked Donald Trump Statue Appears Across The States SAN FRANCISCO, CA - AUGUST 18: A passerby has a picture taken with a statue depicting republican presidential nominee Donald Trump in the nude on August 18, 2016 in San Francisco, United States. Anarchist collective INDECLINE has created five statues depicting Donald Trump in the nude and placed them in five U.S. cities on Thursday morning. The statues are in San Francisco, New York, Los Angeles, Cleveland and Seattle. (Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images) Getty Images Naked Donald Trump Statue Appears Across The States SAN FRANCISCO, CA - AUGUST 18: A passerby has a picture taken with a statue depicting republican presidential nominee Donald Trump in the nude on August 18, 2016 in San Francisco, United States. Anarchist collective INDECLINE has created five statues depicting Donald Trump in the nude and placed them in five U.S. cities on Thursday morning. The statues are in San Francisco, New York, Los Angeles, Cleveland and Seattle. (Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images) Getty Images Naked Donald Trump Statue Appears Across The States NEW YORK, NY - AUGUST 18: Park authorities haul away a statue of a naked GOP presidential candidate Donald Trump that appeared in Union Square Park this morning on August 18, 2016 in New York City. The illegally placed statue drew hundreds of curious onlookers, who took selfie picture with the statue, which was signed "Ginger." A published report attributed the work to the anarchist collective INDECLINE, which titled the project "The Emperor Has No B--s." (Photo by Spencer Platt/Getty Images) Getty Images Naked Donald Trump Statue Appears Across The States NEW YORK, NY - AUGUST 18: A molded foot is all that remains of a statue of naked GOP presidential candidate Donald Trump that appeared in Union Square Park this morning on August 18, 2016 in New York City. The illegally placed statue drew hundreds of curious onlookers, who took selfie picture with the statue, which was signed "Ginger." A published report attributed the work to the anarchist collective INDECLINE, which titled the project "The Emperor Has No B--s." (Photo by Spencer Platt/Getty Images) Getty Images Naked Donald Trump Statue Appears Across The States NEW YORK, NY - AUGUST 18: Park authorities haul away a statue of a naked GOP presidential candidate Donald Trump that appeared in Union Square Park this morning on August 18, 2016 in New York City. The illegally placed statue drew hundreds of curious onlookers, who took selfie picture with the statue, which was signed "Ginger." A published report attributed the work to the anarchist collective INDECLINE, which titled the project "The Emperor Has No B--s." (Photo by Spencer Platt/Getty Images) Getty Images In case anyone is unsure as to who will be our next #POTUS, the Lord has chosen the people's messenger, he wrote on Twitter alongside a photo of a fluffy white cloud to verify his claim. It seems the pollsters may be out of work. Sold into slavery, Joseph is put in charge of Potiphars household. Potiphar entrusted to his care everything he owned. From the time he put him in charge of his household and of all that he owned, the Lord blessed the household of the Egyptian because of Joseph (Genesis 39:4-5 [NIV]).You may not recognize it, but this is one of the first mentions of both stewardship and economy in Scripture. The word stewardship comes from the Greek word oikonomia, which refers to someone who manages a household and is the root of the English word economy. Joseph began by controlling a household and would eventually control the entire economy of Egypt. In all of history, there have been few stewards who gained the status and power of Joseph. Stewardship is an important concept in the Bible, since we are stewards in Gods household, his economy of all things. Here are three things we should know about stewardship: God made humans stewards over creation God has made humans rulers over the works of his hands (Psalm 8:5-6). Were entrusted with the resources of the Earth not for our own exploitation but for the cultivation of its use for the good of ourselves, our neighbors, and for those who come after us. Stewardship is about all of life Too often we tend to think of stewardship only in relation to finances (e.g., a churchs stewardship committee) or the environment (e.g., creation care). While both of these are important parts of Gods economy, Biblical stewardship is much broader. As Stephen Grabill explains, stewardship is a form of whole-life discipleship that embraces every legitimate vocation and calling to fulfill Gods mission in the world. And as Hugh Whelchel adds, Stewardship is not one more thing we have to do, but a way of seeing everything we already do in a very different light. The basic form of stewardship is daily work Work is the primary way in which we serve our neighbor. As Rev. Robert Sirico has said, The Scripture provides an insight into our nature: We are all, man and woman, called into this life to find our vocation, the work that is uniquely ours and contributes to the flourishing of the wider community. This is an excerpt from Joe Carters new work, the NIV Lifehacks Bible: Practical Tools for Successful Spiritual Habits (Zondervan, 2016). For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Breaking News email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }} An "obsessed" former university friend of BBC presenter and journalist Emily Maitlis has been jailed for repeatedly breaching a restraining order. Edward Vines, who read English at Cambridge University's Queen's College while Newsnight host Ms Maitlis was an undergraduate, spent 25 years bombarding her and her family with letters. He was convicted of harassment in 2002, Ms Maitlis raising the alarm following the murder of fellow television presenter Jill Dando in 1999, and Vines was subsequently issued with a restraining order in 2009. But he continued to "plague" Ms Maitlis with letters, demanding to know why their friendship crumbled, months after he declared his love for her. He was found guilty at Oxford Crown Court on Monday of two counts of breaching the order, having previously pleaded guilty to two further breaches. Sentencing Vines, 46, to three years in jail, judge Peter Ross said: "Putting it bluntly, you've never had any reasonable case to contact Ms Maitlis following the order. "You have what appears to me a completely unshakable obsession, underpinned by a couple delusion with regards to the relationship that had existed between you and Ms Maitlis. That's absolutely clear in the letters you have written to her." He added: "You have known for 25 years that this woman wants nothing to do with you. You've plagued her life and the life of her family." Jurors took less than an hour to find Vines guilty of both counts. He showed no emotion as the jury foreman returned the verdicts. In a witness statement, Ms Maitlis said she was worried for her family's safety after receiving a letter from Vines, who she said developed an "obsession" with her when she spurned his advances at university. Vines sent two letters to the journalist and emails and letters to her mother Marion Maitlis between May 10 and June 26 last year, contrary to the 2009 restraining order. The subject of the letters centred on Vines's belief that Ms Maitlis had acted "scornfully" towards him after he had told her he was in love with her and had a "sexual attraction" to her while they were studying in 1990. In the first letter, sent to BBC Newsnight in May 2015, he accused her of making up allegations of harassment, an offence for which he was jailed for four months in 2002. Ms Maitlis' statement, read to the court by prosecutor Julian Lynch, said: "I was at the BBC, going through my post when I noticed an envelope addressed to me. I opened it and straight away saw the name Edward Vines. "I did not read the contents of the letter and handed it straight to security. "When Edward Vines contacts me it causes me considerable stress and makes me worry about my safety and that of my family." Vines, whose address was given as Grosvenor Road, in Oxford, pleaded for a reply from Ms Maitlis, saying: "I need to speak to you if I'm to live my life in peace." He also added he was seeing a psychotherapist, who he claimed had told him he was not suffering any mental health problem or obsession relating to the presenter. Sentencing, the judge added: "I can understand why it was the murder of Jill Dando that caused her (Ms Maitlis) to go to the police. That was a shocking event. 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. "You've caused misery to Ms Maitlis and her family - that's what makes this so serious." Giving mitigation in person, and having dispensed with his counsel Greg Foxsmith ahead of sentencing, Vines said he wanted a "fair and just trial". Asked by the judge if he would stand by a commitment he made during the short trial that he would not contact the Maitlis family - who were not in court - if convicted by a jury, Vines said: "I will not write to Emily Maitlis or her mother, most likely ever again. It's early days, Your Honour." Asked by the judge to clarify, Vines said: "I will never contact them again if I'm defeated rationally in court - and I cannot say I have been today." The judge replied: "That is not the unambiguous assurance I was seeking." Vines added that he had no qualms with the jury's verdict, and added: "If I was on the panel, I would agree based on the way the case was presented by my defence." Press Association For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Breaking News email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }} Peter Tatchell has said the Labour MP Keith Vaz has not broken any laws and should not resign from his position as chairman of the Commons Home Affairs Committee. Mr Vaz, the MP for Leicester East, is facing mounting pressure to resign following allegations he paid for the services of two male escorts at his London flat. The Sunday Mirror reported the married father-of-two met two Eastern European escorts at his property in north London and boasted about having unprotected sex. The 59-year-old allegedly offered to cover the cost of cocaine if it were brought to the flat but refused to have any himself during the encounter. According to the paper, Mr Vaz asked one of the men in a text message sent before the meeting to bring poppers, the sex-enhancing legal high drug used by gay men, to the meeting. 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. Tatchell, a human rights and LGBT campaigner, said he could not see any public interest in infringing upon Mr Vaz' privacy and publishing the story because there was no allegation of hypocrisy. As far as I can see he has not broken any laws, or caused anyone any harm and theres no allegation of hypocrisy, buying sex in this country is lawful, Tatchell told Radio 4s Today Programme on Monday. Keith Vaz has a strong record of supporting gay rights. He has never gone tub-thumping in terms of supporting family values so what is the public interest in publishing this story. Keith Vaz stands down as Home Affairs Select Committee chairman Whatever you think about Keith Vaz behaviour and some people might take the view that it was irresponsible and wrong, I dont think its a resigning matter. I dont think there is a serious conflict of interest there. Tatchell argued Mr Vaz had always supported the decriminalisation of sex work and the efforts of gay rights and had therefore displayed no double standards in his actions. He also suggested the politician may have been entrapped by the paper and argued it appeared to be a classic tabloid sting. Its a throwback to the sensationalist tabloid style of the 1980s. Its not something youd expect to see in 2016. Peter Tatchell speaking at a Green Party rally (Chip Somodevilla) In a statement released after the allegations emerged, Mr Vaz claimed he was the victim of a deeply disturbing newspaper sting operation and would be referring the allegations to his solicitor. He issued an apology for his actions and indicated he would inform the Commons Home Affairs Committee whether he plans to resign on Tuesday. Although a number of reports suggest Mr Vaz is expected to stand down as a committee chair they have yet to be confirmed. The Home Affairs Select Committee is currently overseeing an inquiry into prostitution laws. An interim report published in July recommended significant changes to existing laws so that soliciting and brothel-keeping are decriminalised. A spokesperson for The Sunday Mirror told The Independent they "stood by the story". Mr Vaz' statement in full: "It is deeply troubling that a national newspaper should have paid individuals who have acted in this way. "I have referred these allegations to my solicitor Mark Stephens of Howard Kennedy who will consider them carefully and advise me accordingly. "At this time I do not want there to be any distraction from the important work the Home Affairs Select Committee undertakes so well. "Select committees do vital work in holding the government and others to account. We are due to publish two reports, one into anti-Semitism and the other into FGM in the next few days, in addition we have a number of key witnesses. "I will of course inform committee members first of my plans when we meet on Tuesday. "My decision has been based entirely on what is in the best interests of the committee which I have had the privilege of chairing for the last nine years." For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Breaking News email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }} Piers Morgan has challenged a 12-year-old girl on trophy hunting by asking how she would feel if he "slaughtered" her pet cat. Aryanna Gourdin appeared on Good Morning Britain alongside her father amid a row over photos she has posted of giraffes, deer and other animals they have hunted on her Facebook page. Both were wearing stand up to anti-hunter bullying T-shirts for the interview. Morgan questioned the juxtaposition of these images next to other ones on her Facebook page of her cuddling her pet cat at the family home in Utah. 12-year-old Aryanna Gourdin posing with a dead giraffe (Facebook) Appearing puzzled, she replied: Im not allowed pets because I hunt? How would you feel if I came and killed your pet cat and I posted pictures of me celebrating the killing, Morgan repeated. Trophy hunting has become an increasingly controversial practice after criticism of high-profile hunters such as Rebecca Francis and the killing of Cecil, one of Zimbabwe's most beloved lions. Aryannas Facebook posts have been met with an angry backlash and she says she has even received death threats. The most controversial animal killings Show all 6 1 /6 The most controversial animal killings The most controversial animal killings Cincinnati Zoo worker shots and kills Harambe, the 17-year-old gorilla Harambe, a 17-year-old gorilla was shot and killed by a Cincinnati Zoo worker after a three-year-old boy climbed into a gorilla enclosure and was grabbed and dragged by Harambe. The incident was recorded on video and received broad international coverage and commentary, including controversy over the choice to kill Harambe. A number of primatologists and conservationists wrote later that the zoo had no other choice under the circumstances, and that it highlighted the danger of zoo animals in close proximity to humans and the need for better standards of care Cincinnati Zoo & Botanical Garden The most controversial animal killings Walt Palmer (left), from Minnesota, who killed Cecil, the Zimbabwean lion (pictured here with another lion shot in Africa) Walter James Palmer has been named by Zimbabwe Conservation Task Force as the shooter of Cecil, a 13-year-old prized lion. He is now wanted by Zimbabwe officials on poaching charges. The lion was protected and the subject of a decade long study by the Wildlife Unit of Oxford University in the UK. He was outfitted with a GPS collar and was killed in Hwange National Park. The Zimbabwe National Parks and Wildlife Authority and the Safari Operators Association said that two men were charged with poaching in connection to Mr Palmer The most controversial animal killings Kendall Jones hunting images Kendall Jones, a 19-year-old Texas Tech university student, has provoked worldwide fury after posting pictures of herself smiling next to animals she hunted, including a lion, rhinoceros, antelope, leopard, elephant, zebra and hippopotamus The most controversial animal killings Rebecca Francis hunting images Rebecca Francis, a huntress who has killed dozens of wild animals has been sent death wishes by furious social media users after a picture showing her lying down next to a dead giraffe was circulated. Rebecca Francis has a website and Facebook page dedicated to the animals she has killed in hunts across Africa and America. Francis, a prolific hunter who has also co-hosted the television show Eye of the Hunter, regularly posts pictures of herself posing next to dead bears, giraffes, buffaloes and zebras, among other animals. She uses a bow and arrow to kill her prey The most controversial animal killings The slaughter of Marius, an 18-month-old healthy giraffe in Copenhagen Zoo Copenhagen Zoo made the controversial decision to euthanise a healthy giraffe named Marius, which was later dissected and fed to lions as visitors watched. The slaughter sparked a furious backlash from social media users and zoo staff have received death threats by phone and email. Soon after the incident, Copenhagen Zoo faced an international outcry once again after four healthy lions were put down The most controversial animal killings Swiss Dahlholzli zoo kills healthy brown bear cub A Switzerland zoo faced heavy criticism from animal rights groups, after keepers put down a healthy brown bear cub to spare it from being bullied by its dominant male father. The 360 kg male bear Misha had already killed one of his 11-week old cubs in public and was bullying the second, staff at the zoo said, because he was jealous of the attention the cubs were receiving from their mother, Masha. Both adult brown bears had been donated to Berns Dahlholzli zoo in 2009. Campaigners condemned staff there for not separating the cubs, who are being referred to as Baby Bear Two and Baby Bear Three, and their mother from Misha after their birth in January Facebook I'm very upset that people would value an animal's life over another persons, she added. I try to ignore most of the comments I get but I do read some by accident. I just try to not let them get to me. It won't stop me hunting," she continued. "I will always hunt. It's something that thousands of people do and it's never going to stop. Her father has also defended their hunts, saying a giraffe was offered as a target because it was a problem animal and the meat was donated to the local village. Aryanna has given a number of interviews since her pictures prompted outrage and insists she and her father are animal lovers who also love hunting. In separate interviews, her father said they will never apologise for being hunters. Advocates of trophy hunting argue it is legal and supports conservation, an argument supported by the Duke of Cambridge who in March claimed commercial hunting could save some endangered species in Africa. There is a place for commercial hunting in Africa as there is around the world, he said. Its not everyones cup of tea, but the arguments for regulated, properly controlled commercial hunting is that the money that goes from shooting a very old infirm animal goes back into the protection of the other species. For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Breaking News email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }} Ruth Davidson has mocked a newspapers decision to categorise her and other successful female politicians as childless. The Scottish Conservative Leader was responding to an article in the Sunday Times about Nicola Sturgeon's experience of miscarriage. The piece has been sharply criticised for including a side bar about childless politicians and for introducing Ms Sturgeon in the piece as the childless 46-year-old SNP leader. Women on the "childless politicians" list included British Prime Minister Theresa May, Labour MP Angela Eagle and the German Chancellor Angela Merkel. Forbes top 20 most powerful women in the world Show all 20 1 /20 Forbes top 20 most powerful women in the world Forbes top 20 most powerful women in the world Angela Merkel German Chancellor AFP/Getty Images Forbes top 20 most powerful women in the world Hillary Clinton U.S. Democratic presidential candidate Reuters Forbes top 20 most powerful women in the world Janet Yellen Federal Reserve Chair Getty Images Forbes top 20 most powerful women in the world Melinda Gates Co-founder of The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation AFP/Getty Images Forbes top 20 most powerful women in the world Mary Barra General Motors Co. Chairman and CEO Getty Images Forbes top 20 most powerful women in the world Christine Lagarde Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund Getty Images Forbes top 20 most powerful women in the world Sheryl Sandbert COO of Facebook Getty Images Forbes top 20 most powerful women in the world Susan Wojcicki CEO of YouTube Getty Images for GLAAD Forbes top 20 most powerful women in the world Meg Whitman Hewlett Packard Enterprise CEO Getty Images Forbes top 20 most powerful women in the world Ana Patricia Botin Santander Bank's president AFP/Getty Images Forbes top 20 most powerful women in the world Ginni Rometty IBM Chairman, President and CEO Getty Images Forbes top 20 most powerful women in the world Park Geun-Hye President of South Korea Getty Images Forbes top 20 most powerful women in the world Michelle Obama U.S. first lady Getty Images Forbes top 20 most powerful women in the world Indra Nooyi Chairperson and CEO of PepsiCo Getty Images Forbes top 20 most powerful women in the world Angela Ahrendts Apple senior vice president Getty Images Forbes top 20 most powerful women in the world Abigail Johnson President and CEO of Fidelity Investments and chairman of Fidelity International Forbes top 20 most powerful women in the world Tsai Ing-wen Taiwan President AFP/Getty Images Forbes top 20 most powerful women in the world Michelle Bachelet Chile President AFP/Getty Images Forbes top 20 most powerful women in the world Federica Mogherini High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy AFP/Getty Images Forbes top 20 most powerful women in the world Safra Catz Oracle president Getty Images There were no men featured in the sidebar panel. Women 50:50, a campaign launched by Kezia Dugdale, Lothians MSP for Scottish Labour, and Alison Johnstone, Lothians MSP for the Scottish Green Party, which calls for equal representation of women in Parliament, responded by tweeting a panel of male politicians who also do not have children. This was re-shared by Davidson, who added: "Oh, I do SO enjoy when I'm categorised as a 'childless politician'." Ms Davidson also joked about the panel in a playful exchange with Labour MP Stella Creasy, saying she was off to Mothercare to stare mournfully at the cribs. Talat Yaqoob, the founder of Women 50:50, told the Independent: Nicola Sturgeon was telling her story of miscarriage and in her own words hoping to erase the taboo associated with being public about it. To then add a picture of 'childless politicians' was crass and utterly distasteful, if anything, the picture added to the taboo - these politicians were not included in the article, no context of their lives were given, they were judged on the whether they were parents and it is shameful. Recommended Read more Nicola Sturgeon opens heart on miscarriage at 40 "Women leaders' personal lives are constantly under the spotlight - if they have children, their ability to have a career and be a good parent is questioned. If they don't have children, they are criticised for putting their career first - this simply does not happen to the same extent to men. It is time this double standard and sexism was erased. The Sunday Times also drew anger by referring to the Scottish First Ministers miscarriage as a tantalising secret on the front page of the paper, a description Ms Davidson branded really, really off and terrible. Responding to the criticism, a spokesperson for the Sunday Times said: We felt our piece highlighted sympathetically the treatment of women politicians and the subject of miscarriage but on reflection we could have presented the sidebar more sensitively. The article comes a year after a New Statesman cover depicting Ms Sturgeon and three other female politicians around a crib containing a ballot -box underneath the headline: The motherhood trap why are so many successful women childless? The cover and accompanying piece were dismissed as cringe-worthy by Ms Sturgeon, while Ms Davidson responded with a more direct, Oh, do sod right off. Get the free Morning Headlines email for news from our reporters across the world Sign up to our free Morning Headlines email Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Morning Headlines email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }} The first year of Britains newest railway has been characterised by delays and disruption blamed largely on poor planning for the 300m line. Trains started running on the Borders Railway, which extends for 35 miles from Tweedbank to Edinburgh, on 6 September 2015. Three days later, the Queen officially opened the line, on the day she became Britains longest-serving monarch. But Britains shortest-serving railway has had an annus horribilis ever since. Even during the best weeks performance, in March, fewer than half the trains arrived on time at Waverley station in the Scottish capital. In the worst week, in December 2015, only one in eight trains arrived punctually in Edinburgh. On more than half the days, at least one train has been cancelled, with one in six services axed during a week in early July. The research was carried out by a campaigner for the line, Bill Jamieson. He has monitored the service from October until this week. According to his data, the main cause of serious disruption on 18 days is failures by the train stock used, known as Class 158. During warm weather, when delivering full power on steep climbs, one engine can shut down due to overheating. Its not as though weve had a warm summer here, said Mr Jamieson. The units were, if not failing, at least having serious problems at Falahill Summit, the highest point on the line. Banners in Edinburgh announce the opening Nine days of serious disruption are blamed on signalling failures. Andrew Roden of Rail magazine believes that the main cause is water leaking into the axle counters, which relay information about trains passing. He said: A fault with a telecommunications link was also amplified when the automated fault-finding system that should detect the locations [of the failure] also failed. Most of the line is single-track. As a result, a small issue can quickly trigger significant disruption. The original Carlisle-Edinburgh line was double-track throughout. It closed on the recommendation of the Beeching report in 1969, leaving the Borders as the only region of Britain without a rail service. The issues have been exacerbated by the unexpectedly high numbers of travellers on the route, making dwell time on the platform longer than planned. Despite the poor timekeeping, many more passengers have used the line than were predicted during the planning process. The Scottish Borders Council said that demand at Galashiels and Tweedbank stations had exceeded expectations by more than 600 per cent. Overall, around 22 per cent more travellers than anticipated are using the line. David Spaven, a railway consultant and campaigner, said: The largely single-track Borders Railway has proved to be a classic penny-wise, pound-foolish project. Ludicrously pessimistic traffic forecasts for the three Borders stations contributed to a supposedly poor business case which in turn led to Transport Scotland cutting back the double-track requirement for the railway from 16 miles to just 9.5 miles. We are now reaping the whirlwind in terms of unreliability. British rail travel through the ages Show all 30 1 /30 British rail travel through the ages British rail travel through the ages 1875 The general view of St Pancras station in London British rail travel through the ages 1880 The locomotive which plunged off the Tay Rail Bridge into the Firth of Tay after its recovery from the estuary. The disaster occurred when a section collapsed during a storm in 1879 and 75 passengers were killed British rail travel through the ages 1885 An East Coast Express train at King's Cross Great Northern Railway, London British rail travel through the ages 1890 A porter directing a passenger on the platform of a station on the outskirts of Liverpool British rail travel through the ages 1900 Passengers sitting in the observation car on the Llandudno to Llanberis line in Wales British rail travel through the ages 1910 A London and North Western Railway worker in the slip-coach of a train, which detaches at a station that the rest of the train is not stopping at British rail travel through the ages 1914 French people leaving Victoria Station in London on the boat train to Paris, at the start of World War I British rail travel through the ages 1916 A female guard on the Metropolitan railway with her emergency lantern British rail travel through the ages 1925 Holiday crowds at King's Cross railway station, London Getty Images British rail travel through the ages 1928 A young Easter holiday maker tries to reach up to the ticket office window to buy his ticket British rail travel through the ages 1928 The luxurious first class lounge on board a London Midland and Scottish Royal Scot train. Known as the travelling hotel the train has a lounge, bar and private boudoir British rail travel through the ages 1929 Two young women pushing their luggage on a trolley at Paddington station during the holiday rush out of London British rail travel through the ages 1930 A worker sitting astride a locomotive whilst cleaning the boiler British rail travel through the ages 1930 A third class Southern Railway carriage being hoisted at Southampton Docks in Hampshire British rail travel through the ages 1930 The Bennie railplane being demonstrated at Glasgow, Scotland. It consisted of self-propelled passenger cars driven by air screws, suspended from a steel girder British rail travel through the ages 1930 Seven of the new King Class steam locomotives Getty Images British rail travel through the ages 1930 Passengers on the Bennie Railplane in Glasgow; the inventor George Bennie stands at the end of the carriage British rail travel through the ages 1930 Port of London Authority workers unloading a shipment of bananas from a train British rail travel through the ages 1931 London and North-Eastern Railway petrol train in Yorkshire British rail travel through the ages 1931 Railway workers turning the LNER 'Hush Hush' locomotive No. 100000 on a manually operated turntable while a man films the operation with a hand cranked camera British rail travel through the ages 1931 On the Great Western Railway, a film crew film the automatical train control in action British rail travel through the ages 1931 Racing driver Lord Howe driving his Mercedes sports car onto the float at Dover, ready to be hoisted on board the Southern Railway's cross-channel steamer 'Autocarrier' British rail travel through the ages 1933 Passengers making enquiries at one of the new Southern Railway information points on Waterloo concourse British rail travel through the ages 1933 Fireman Blackett of the LMS railway saying farewell to his workmates and officials at Carlisle before finishing duty. He was off to America to assist on the Royal Scot which is touring the USA after appearing at the Chicago World Fair British rail travel through the ages 1935 A steam train crossing the Darwood Viaduct, Cornwall British rail travel through the ages 1937 A group of schoolboys examining a streamlined Coronation Class locomotive of the London, Midland and Scottish Railway (LMS) at Euston Station Getty Images British rail travel through the ages 1938 A member of the Berkhampstead Riding School tests her riding prowess against the Carlisle Express in a field that adjoins the LMS railway at Tring, Hertfordshire British rail travel through the ages 1956 Women seeing off loved ones on a troop train at Woolwich railway station in south London. The men, of the Royal Artillery, are bound for Salisbury Plain for retraining because of the Suez crisis British rail travel through the ages 1968 The 'Flying Scotsman' steam locomotive leaves a station to travel to Edinburgh Getty Images British rail travel through the ages 1972 The Brighton Belle train leaving Victoria Station, central London Mr Spaven, who is the author of Waverley Route: the battle for the Borders Railway, is demanding an inquiry to identify exactly why we ended up with such a sub-optimal railway specification, based on hopelessly inadequate patronage forecasts. The familiar problem of staff shortage is blamed for severe disruption on 14 days. To run the full schedule requires train crews to work overtime, and fewer than expected have volunteered. In addition, staff sickness has been higher than anticipated. A spokesperson for ScotRail Alliance said, Borders Railway has been an extraordinary success. We are now providing people with an alternative way of travelling to work, to visit friends and family and to use for leisure. There have been some challenges and were determined to find the solutions that overcome them and see even more customers travelling on the line in year two and beyond. A scoping exercise is exploring the prospect of extending the Borders Railway to Carlisle, where it would join the West Coast main line. It would resurrect the entire line, and create the most direct link between Edinburgh and London. Councillor David Parker, leader of Scottish Borders Council, said the passenger figures would provide a boost to the business case for extending the line to Carlisle. Get the free Morning Headlines email for news from our reporters across the world Sign up to our free Morning Headlines email Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Morning Headlines email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }} Britain is now the second biggest arms dealer in the world, official government figures show with most of the weapons fuelling deadly conflicts in the Middle East. Since 2010 Britain has also sold arms to 39 of the 51 countries ranked not free on the Freedom House "Freedom in the world" report, and 22 of the 30 countries on the UK Governments own human rights watch list. A full two-thirds of UK weapons over this period were sold to Middle Eastern countries, where instability has fed into increased risk of terror threats to Britain and across the West. Meanwhile statistics collated by UK Trade and Investment, a government body that promotes British exports abroad, show the UK has sold more arms than Russia, China, or France on average over the last 10 years. Only the United States is a bigger exporter. The UK is one of the worlds most successful defence exporters, averaging second place in the global rankings on a rolling ten-year basis, making it Europes leading defence exporter in the period, the body boasted in a report released this summer. Ministers, who must sign-off all arms export licences, say the current system is robust and that they have revoked permission to export defence equipment in the past for example in Russia and Ukraine. But the Government has also ignored calls to stop selling weapons to repressive regimes, including Saudi Arabia, which has been accused by UN bodies of potentially committing war crimes in its military operation in Yemen against Houthi rebels. Both the European Parliament and the House of Commons International Development Committee have called for exports to the autocracy to stop, but the Government says it has not seen evidence of Saudi war crimes. Cameron on arms trading with Saudi Arabia.mp4 The Saudi-led coalition has bombed multiple international hospitals run by the charity Medecins Sans Frontieres, as well as schools and wedding parties. Food factories have also been hit, as Yemen faces severe food shortages. Human rights groups say there is evidence civilian targets are being deliberately hit. The coalition has opened investigations into a number of incidents and has repeatedly claimed in statements that the coalition "is committed to full respect for international humanitarian law in the conduct of our operations in Yemen". A joint analysis conducted by the Independent and Campaign Against the Arms Trade found 10bn in arms licences were issued 2010-2015 to regimes designated unfree by Freedom House, including China, Oman, Turkmenistan and UAE. Meanwhile 7.9bn worth of arms were sold to countries on the human rights priority countries list, which is maintained by the Foreign Office and includes countries judged by the FCO to have the worst, or greatest number of, human rights violations. Customers on this list included Saudi Arabia, which was sold bombs, missiles, and fighter jets, Israel, which was sold drone components and targeting equipment, and Bahrain, which was sold machine guns. Assault rifles and pistols were sent to the Maldives, while Turkmenistan was sold guns and ammunition. Andrew Smith of Campaign Against Arms Trade warned that the dependence of British exporters on unsavory regimes could make the UK less likely to intervene against human rights violators. These terrible figures expose the hypocrisy at the heart of UK foreign policy. The government is always telling us that it acts to promote human rights and democracy, but it is arming and supporting some of the most repressive regimes in the world. The impact of UK arms sales is clear in Yemen, where British fighter jets and bombs have been central to the Saudi-led destruction, he told The Independent. These regimes aren't just buying weapons, they're also buying political support and legitimacy. How likely is the UK to act against human rights violations in these countries when it is also profiting from them? There is no such thing as arms control in a war zone and there is no way of knowing how these weapons will be used. The fact that so many weapons were sold to Russia and Libya is a reminder that the shelf-life of weapons is often longer than the governments and situations they were sold to. 10 examples of Saudi Arabia's human rights abuses Show all 10 1 /10 10 examples of Saudi Arabia's human rights abuses 10 examples of Saudi Arabia's human rights abuses In October 2014, three lawyers, Dr Abdulrahman al-Subaihi, Bander al-Nogaithan and Abdulrahman al-Rumaih , were sentenced to up to eight years in prison for using Twitter to criticize the Ministry of Justice. AFP/Getty Images 10 examples of Saudi Arabia's human rights abuses In March 2015, Yemens Sunni President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi was forced into exile after a Shia-led insurgency. A Saudi Arabia-led coalition has responded with air strikes in order to reinstate Mr Hadi. It has since been accused of committing war crimes in the country. Getty Images 10 examples of Saudi Arabia's human rights abuses Women who supported the Women2Drive campaign, launched in 2011 to challenge the ban on women driving vehicles, faced harassment and intimidation by the authorities. The government warned that women drivers would face arrest. Getty Images 10 examples of Saudi Arabia's human rights abuses Members of the Kingdoms Shia minority, most of whom live in the oil-rich Eastern Province, continue to face discrimination that limits their access to government services and employment. Activists have received death sentences or long prison terms for their alleged participation in protests in 2011 and 2012. Getty Images 10 examples of Saudi Arabia's human rights abuses All public gatherings are prohibited under an order issued by the Interior Ministry in 2011. Those defy the ban face arrest, prosecution and imprisonment on charges such as inciting people against the authorities. Getty Images 10 examples of Saudi Arabia's human rights abuses In March 2014, the Interior Ministry stated that authorities had deported over 370,000 foreign migrants and that 18,000 others were in detention. Thousands of workers were returned to Somalia and other states where they were at risk of human rights abuses, with large numbers also returned to Yemen, in order to open more jobs to Saudi Arabians. Many migrants reported that prior to their deportation they had been packed into overcrowded makeshift detention facilities where they received little food and water and were abused by guards. Getty Images 10 examples of Saudi Arabia's human rights abuses The Saudi Arabian authorities continue to deny access to independent human rights organisations like Amnesty International, and they have been known to take punitive action, including through the courts, against activists and family members of victims who contact Amnesty. Getty Images 10 examples of Saudi Arabia's human rights abuses Raif Badawi was sentenced to 1000 lashes and 10 years in prison for using his liberal blog to criticise Saudi Arabias clerics. He has already received 50 lashes, which have reportedly left him in poor health. Carsten Koall/Getty Images 10 examples of Saudi Arabia's human rights abuses Dawood al-Marhoon was arrested aged 17 for participating in an anti-government protest. After refusing to spy on his fellow protestors, he was tortured and forced to sign a blank document that would later contain his confession. At Dawoods trial, the prosecution requested death by crucifixion while refusing him a lawyer. Getty Images 10 examples of Saudi Arabia's human rights abuses Ali Mohammed al-Nimr was arrested in 2012 aged either 16 or 17 for participating in protests during the Arab spring. His sentence includes beheading and crucifixion. The international community has spoken out against the punishment and has called on Saudi Arabia to stop. He is the nephew of a prominent government dissident. Getty A Government spokesperson said its approach to arms export control was sufficiently tough. The Government takes its arms export control responsibilities very seriously and operates one of the most robust regimes in the world. We rigorously examine every brokering application on a pre-licensing case-by-case basis against the Consolidated EU and National Arms Export Licensing Criteria. Export licensing requires us to consider how the equipment will be used by the end-user and risks around human rights abuses are a key part of our assessment. We consider this approach to be sufficiently tough but where there is evidence of a need for further action we have the powers to do so under existing legislation. Get the free Morning Headlines email for news from our reporters across the world Sign up to our free Morning Headlines email Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Morning Headlines email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }} A gay couple have alleged they were forced off a London bus after the driver shouted homophobic remarks at them. Theatre director Omar Okai, 51, and his partner said the incident occurred after an evening out in central London. Mr Okai said they were "shocked and disgusted" when the driver shouted an innuedo-laden remark to them after they boarded the bus using the rear entrance. They claim the driver said: "I bet you like it in the backdoor" during the alleged incident near Tottenham Court Road station. Mr Okai and his partner have filed a formal complaint with Transport for London (TfL) and the police, The Evening Standard reports. In a letter to TfL, he wrote: "I would like an explanation, not just an apology, as I will be taking it further. This kind of behaviour is not acceptable in any shape or form in Great Britain and as a British citizen born here, I am not accepting it. "My partner and I were humiliated and intimidated, being made to leave the bus." BBC tennis commentator accused of homophobia Transport for London have said they are investigating what occured. A spokesman said: "We are concerned to hear of this incident and are investigating it with Tower Transit, the operator of the 25 bus route. We expect the highest standard of public service from bus drivers." The Independent have contacted Tower Transit for comment Get the free Morning Headlines email for news from our reporters across the world Sign up to our free Morning Headlines email Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Morning Headlines email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }} One man has been left dead after a dinghy capsized off the Orkney Islands. A second man is in hospital after the incident near the Isle of Sanday. The men were able to make it ashore at Otterswick, in the north of the islands, and contact the emergency services after their vessel overturned. Recommended Read more Katie Hopkins reported to Twitter by police over Camber Sands poll One man was taken to the Balfour hospital on Kirkwall, on Orkney, but was pronounced dead. The survivor, whose condition is not believed to be life threatening, was taken by coastguard helicopter to Gilbert Bain Hospital in Lerwick on the Shetland Islands. A spokesman from the Maritime and Coastguard Agency said: "A 999 call was received by the UK Coastguard at 7.30 pm on Sunday September 4 reporting that a dinghy had capsized and that two dinghy sailors had made it to shore at Otters Wick, Sanday, Orkney Islands. UK news in pictures Show all 50 1 /50 UK news in pictures UK news in pictures 26 October 2022 A meerkat explores a pumpkin in the enclosure at Wild Place, Bristol, where some of the animals are having pumpkin treats as part of their environmental enrichment PA UK news in pictures 25 October 2022 King Charles III welcomes Rishi Sunak during an audience at Buckingham Palace, where he invited the newly elected leader of the Conservative Party to become Prime Minister and form a new government PA UK news in pictures 24 October 2022 Rishi Sunak celebrates with Tory MPs outside the Conservative Campaign Headquarters after becoming the new leader of the Conservative Party Reuters UK news in pictures 23 October 2022 The Green Man at October Plenty, Borough Market's annual Autumn Harvest festival, in London, which returns for the first time post pandemic PA UK news in pictures 21 October 2022 Sculptor Peter McKenna puts the finishing touches to a pumpkin that will form part of the Planet A Hebden Bridge Pumpkin Trail in the West Yorkshire town PA UK news in pictures 20 October 2022 Britains Prime Minister Liz Truss delivers a speech outside of 10 Downing Street in central London to announce her resignation AFP/Getty UK news in pictures 19 October 2022 Salmon leap up Stainforth Force on the River Ribble in the Yorkshire Dales as they swim upriver to their spawning grounds during the annual Salmon migration PA UK news in pictures 18 October 2022 Just Stop Oil protesters continue their protest for a second day on the Queen Elizabeth II Bridge, which links Kent and Essex and which remains closed for traffic, after it was scaled by two climbers from the group PA UK news in pictures 17 October 2022 Hundreds of students take part in the traditional Raisin Monday foam fight on St Salvator's Lower College Lawn at the University of St Andrews in Fife PA UK news in pictures 16 October 2022 A protester holds a placard during a march into central London at a demonstration by the climate change protest group Extinction Rebellion AFP/Getty UK news in pictures 15 October 2022 A member of the public drags an activist who is blocking the road during a "Just Stop Oil" protest, in London, Britain REUTERS UK news in pictures 14 October 2022 Germanys Womens double skulls during day one of the World Rowing Beach Sprint Finals at Saundersfoot beach, Pembrokeshire PA UK news in pictures 13 October 2022 Family and mourners arrive at St Michael's Church, in Creeslough, for the funeral mass of 49-year-old mother of four Martina Martin, who died following an explosion at the Applegreen service station in the village of Creeslough in Co Donegal on Friday PA UK news in pictures 12 October 2022 Motorists in Coventry pass trees showing autumnal colour PA UK news in pictures 11 October 2022 A woman and her dog in the the North Sea at Tynemouth Longsands beach before sunrise PA UK news in pictures 10 October 2022 Police officers remove a campaigner from a Just Stop Oil protest on The Mall, near Buckingham Palace, London PA UK news in pictures 9 October 2022 A drummer plays during the Diwali on the Square celebration, in Trafalgar Square, London PA UK news in pictures 8 October 2022 Timothee Chalamet attending the UK premiere of Bones and All during the BFI London Film Festival 2022 at the Royal Festival Hall, Southbank Centre, London PA UK news in pictures 7 October 2022 Two young male fallow deer lock antlers in Dublins Phoenix park as rutting season begins PA UK news in pictures 6 October 2022 The Princess of Wales during a cocktail making competition during a visit to Trademarket, a new outdoor street-food and retail market situated in Belfast city centre, as part of the royal visit to Northern Ireland PA UK news in pictures 5 October 2022 Greenpeace protesters interrupt Prime Minister Liz Truss as she delivers her keynote speech to the Conservative Party annual conference PA UK news in pictures 4 October 2022 Prime Minister Liz Truss and Britains Chancellor of the Exchequer Kwasi Kwarteng wearing hard hats and hi-vis jackets, visit a construction site for a medical innovation campus in Birmingham AFP/Getty UK news in pictures 3 October 2022 British artist Sam Cox, aka Mr Doodle, reveals the Doodle House, a twelve-room mansion at Tenterden, in Kent, which has been covered, inside and out in the artist's trademark monochrome, cartoonish hand-drawn doodles PA UK news in pictures 2 October 2022 Erling Haaland celebrates after scoring Manchester City's second goal against Manchester United at Etihad Stadium. Haaland went on to score a hattrick, his third of the season in the Premier League. City beat United 6-3. Manchester City FC/Getty UK news in pictures 1 October 2022 Protesters hold up flags and placards at a protest in London. A variety of protest groups including Enough is Enough, Don't Pay and Just Stop Oil all demonstrated on the day AFP/Getty UK news in pictures 30 September 2022 British Prime Minister Liz Truss, who has not been seen in days, leaves the back of Downing Street after a meeting with Office For Budget Responsibility following the release of her governments mini-budget Getty UK news in pictures 29 September 2022 The Virginia creeper foliage on the Tu Hwnt i'r Bont (Beyond the Bridge) Llanwrst, Conwy North Wales, has changed colour from green to red in at the start of Autumn. The building was built in 1480 as a residential dwelling but has been a tearoom for over 50 years PA UK news in pictures 28 September 2022 Criminal barristers from the Criminal Bar Association (CBA), demonstrates outside the Royal Courts of Justice in London, as part of their ongoing pay row with the Government PA UK news in pictures 27 September 2022 David White, Garter King of Arms, poses with an envelope franked with the new cypher of King Charles III 'CIIIR', after it was printed in the Court Post Office at Buckingham Palace in central London AFP/Getty UK news in pictures 26 September 2022 A gallery staff member poses next to a painting by Lucian Freud - Self-portrait (Fragment), 1956 - on show at a photocall for the Credit Suisse exhibition - Lucian Freud: New Perspectives at the National Gallery in London PA UK news in pictures 25 September 2022 Labour leader, Sir Keir Starmer is interviewed by Laura Kuenssberg in Liverpool before the start of the Labour Party annual Conference which he opened with a tribute to Queen Elizabeth II and sang the national anthem PA UK news in pictures 24 September 2022 Handout photo issued by Buckingham Palace of the ledger stone at the King George VI Memorial Chapel, St George's Chapel, Windsor Castle PA UK news in pictures 23 September 2022 A climate change activist protests against UK private jets while lighting his right arm on fire during the Laver Cup tennis tournament at the O2 Arena in London EPA UK news in pictures 22 September 2022 Woody Woodmansey, Lee Bennett, Kevin Armstrong, Nick Moran and Clifford Slapper attend the unveiling of a stone for David Bowie on the Music Walk of Fame at Camden, north London PA UK news in pictures 21 September 2022 A flock of birds in the sky as the sun rises over Dungeness in Kent PA UK news in pictures 20 September 2022 Flowers which were laid by members of the public in tribute to Queen Elizabeth II at Hillsborough Castle in Northern Ireland are collected by the Hillsborough Gardening Team and volunteers to be replanted for those that can be saved or composted PA UK news in pictures 19 September 2022 The ceremonial procession of the coffin of Queen Elizabeth II travels down the long walk as it arrives at Windsor Castle for the committal service at St Georges Chapel AFP/Getty UK news in pictures 18 September 2022 A man stands among campers on The Mall ahead of the Queens funeral Reuters UK news in pictures 17 September 2022 Wolverhampton Wanderers Nathan Collins fouls Manchester Citys Jack Grealish leading to a red card. City went on to win the match at Molineux Stadium three goals to nil. Action Images/Reuters UK news in pictures 16 September 2022 Members of the public stand in the queue near Tower Bridge, and opposite the Tower of London, as they wait in line to pay their respects to the late Queen Elizabeth II, in London AFP via Getty Images UK news in pictures 15 September 2022 Members of the public in the queue on in Potters Fields Park, central London, as they wait to view Queen Elizabeth II lying in state ahead of her funeral on Monday PA UK news in pictures 14 September 2022 The first members of the public pay their respects as the vigil begins around the coffin of Queen Elizabeth II in Westminster Hall, London, where it will lie in state ahead of her funeral on Monday PA UK news in pictures 13 September 2022 Crowds cheer as King Charles III and Camilla, Queen Consort arrive for a visit to Hillsborough Castle Getty UK news in pictures 12 September 2022 Crowds line the Royal Mile, Edinburgh, as King Charles III joins a procession from the Palace of Holyroodhouse to St Giles Cathedral following the coffin of Queen Elizabeth II Katielee Arrowsmith/SWNS UK news in pictures 11 September 2022 Members of the Public pay their respects as the hearse carrying the coffin of Queen Elizabeth II, draped in the Royal Standard of Scotland, is driven through Ballater AFP/Getty UK news in pictures 10 September 2022 Britain's Prince William, Prince of Wales, Britain's Catherine, Princess of Wales, Britain's Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex, Britain's Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, wave at well-wishers on the Long walk at Windsor Castle AFP/Getty UK news in pictures 9 September 2022 King Charles III and Camilla, Queen Consort wave after viewing floral tributes to the late Queen Elizabeth II outside Buckingham Palace Getty UK news in pictures 8 September 2022 A screen commemorating Britain's Queen Elizabeth II in Piccadilly Circus, London Britain EPA UK news in pictures 7 September 2022 Police officers stand guard after Animal Rebellion activists threw paint on the walls and road outside the Houses of Parliament in protest, in London, Britain Reuters UK news in pictures 6 September 2022 Queen Elizabeth II welcomes Liz Truss during an audience at Balmoral, Scotland, where she invited the newly elected leader of the Conservative party to become Prime Minister and form a new government PA "Sanday Coastguard Rescue Team were sent to the scene and located and assessed the two dinghy sailors. "The Coastguard helicopter based at Sumburgh was scrambled and airlifted the two men to hospital." Get the free Morning Headlines email for news from our reporters across the world Sign up to our free Morning Headlines email Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Morning Headlines email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }} The biggest property developer in Shanghai is set to begin sales in its 800 million east London tower, with prices for a one-bedroom apartment starting at 595,000. Spire London, due to be built near Canary Wharf in the London Docklands, will stand at 235m (771ft) high, making it the tallest building in Western Europe. Developer Greenland Group have promised the towers 67 floors will provide five-star lifestyle amenities, including a 35th floor Spa with 465sqm swimming pool, gym and fitness studio, cocktail bar and cinema room. (Greenland Group ) (Greenland Group) The "resi-skyscraper" will offer 765 apartments for private sale, including luxurious suites and three bedroom duplex penthouses. Sales will begin in October with its one, two and three bed apartments starting at 595,000. As part of a planning agreement with Tower Hamlets Council the developer is required to assure 30 per cent of all properties in the complex are affordable. (Greenland Group (Greenland Group) Out of a total of 861 apartments in the developments main Hertsmere House site, 72 will be available at affordable rent and 24 at intermediate rent, according to council documents. A further 60 units will be located off-site on Dalgleish Street in Limehouse, with 27 of these affordably rented, 26 socially rented and seven available for shared ownership. These properties will be managed by a housing association, which is yet to be appointed. The developers have said all residents living in affordable housing will have access to communal facilities on the third floor, including a creche, and musical/learning/cultural space. Wenhao Qian, Managing Director of Greenland (UK) Investment Ltd said: This important launch reflects the confidence that Greenland Group continues to have in both the London economy and the London property market. We believe that there is always a demand for best in class property assets that offer a high quality, bespoke, designed and unique product in a prime location. (Greenland Group (Greenland Group) In our view Spire London fulfills these criteria, and we believe there will be significant demand for the apartments within this tower from both the UK and overseas. The construction of Spire London is currently underway, with the tower scheduled to reach the halfway point in height during the summer of 2018. Build completion is scheduled for 2020. Along with Spire London, Greenland Group is building four of the 10 tallest buildings in the world. Get the free Morning Headlines email for news from our reporters across the world Sign up to our free Morning Headlines email Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Morning Headlines email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }} Two officers who were cleared of wrongdoing after controversial arrests during the student protests in 2010 have had their disciplinary proceedings permanently stayed. PC Calvin Lindsay and PC Thomas Barnes put through an application to the Metropolitan Police claiming to continue would be an abuse of process. Both officers were found not guilty of perverting the course of justice in 2015 in relation to an incident where a student had part of his teeth knocked out during the anti-tuition fees protests in 2010. PC Andrew Ott was given a custodial sentence for his role in the incident and PC Lindsay and PC Barnes were accused of perverting the course of justice after accusations they tried to cover up the incident. The officers were accused of allowing a male to be detained, interviewed and bailed for an offence they knew he didnt commit. This behaviour let to accusations of a breach of Standards of Professional Behaviour, in respect of Honesty and Integrity, and Discreditable Conduct. A misconduct panel argued the officers had been cleared of the crimes and there had been no new evidence to suggest the need for further disciplinary proceedings. UK news in pictures Show all 50 1 /50 UK news in pictures UK news in pictures 28 October 2022 A cosplayer attends the MCM Comic Con London 2022 at the ExCel Centre in London Reuters 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 There was also the argument the incident had occurred long ago and hadnt been met in a timely manner. The alleged incident happened five years and nine months before the misconduct hearing and the officers recollection of the events would not be as sharp as if the matter had been dealt with in a timely manner, Scotland Yard said in a statement. Both officers will now return to their full duties. AFP Misleads on Gaza 'Food Shortages' | Main | New York Times Covers Anti-Coptic Violence Admirably September 05, 2016 AFP Misleads Again, This Time About World Vision In an article today about doubts in Gaza regarding Israel's case against World Vision's Mohammed al-Halabi, charged with diverting tens of millions of dollars in aide to Hamas, Agence France Presse claims ("Gazans, NGO question Israeli charges against aid worker"): The German and Australian governments, as donors, have additional mechanisms including external audits and they have found no major concerns. Both the German and Australian governments have suspended their aid to World Vision, a rather unusual response for those who have allegedly cleared the aid organization of significant wrongdoing. While AFP itself noted on Aug. 11 that "Germany and Australia have suspended aid to World Vision," today's story completely omits this fact, leaving readers with the impression that Germany and Australia have cleared the organization. CAMERA was not able to independently verify the claim that the two governments carried out audits which revealed no significant wrongdoing on the part of World Vision. CAMERA has requested that AFP either substantiate the claim, or correct. In addition, the fact that Germany and Australia cut off aid to World Vision should be added to the story. In a separate AFP article today ("Jerusalem police kill Palestinian would-be attacker"), the influential wire agency deviates from its standard formulation regarding Palestinian fatalities. Today's article omits the key point that the majority of those Palestinians killed were carrying out attacks against Israelis. The incomplete passage is: Violence has surged in the Palestinian Territories and Israel since October 2015, costing the lives of 223 Palestinians, 34 Israelis, two Americans and one Eritrean and Sudanese respectively, according to a tally by AFP. This article omits the following critical information which appears in other AFP articles: Most of the Palestinians killed were carrying out knife, gun or car-ramming attacks, according to Israeli authorities. CAMERA has contacted editors to request that they add this key information. See also from today: "AFP Misleads on Gaza 'Food Shortages'" Posted by TS at September 5, 2016 07:31 AM Does Agence France-Presse (AFP) have no shame? AFP's main reporter about Israel for the last 10 years is a Fatah Arafat apologist named Abu Baker. Camera exposes this liar and the fact AFP is using Abu Baker to report about Israel is a travesty. Here is the article about this. http://www.algemeiner.com/2016/07/04/watchdog-calls-out-major-news-org-over-palestinian-journalists-conflict-of-interest/ Posted by: Barry Meridian at September 8, 2016 01:16 AM To truly see the Palestinian terrorist apologists AFP are, just read this. Here's their article from June after a Palestinian terrorist hacked to death 13 year old Israeli girl Hallel Yaffe Ariel while sleeping in her bed. The article is in French but i had it translated into English from Google Translate. AFP wrote the article for Lefigaro http://www.lefigaro.fr/flash-actu/2016/06/30/97001-20160630FILWWW00073-attaque-en-cisjordanie-2-blesses-graves.php West Bank attack: 2 seriously injured By Lefigaro.fr with AFP 06/30/2016 Two people were seriously injured today in an occupied West Bank settlement in an attack whose author was killed, according to Israeli rescue services and the military. The wounded are civilians, a girl aged 15 and a man 30 years, according to rescue services. Here are 3 posts after the article responding to this sickening AFP article. commentator warned This is not an "attack" but a heinous murder, a barbaric terrorist act was to kill a girl of 13 years in bed Shame on the Curb and European media practice such misinformation! -------------------------- One victim is a 13 year old girl cowardly murdered in his bed Another "nice" act of "resistance" of Palestinian terrorists that Europe will not penalize the contrary. -------------------------- The presentation of the facts foul by AFP and finds an echo in this stupid information which appears in the Figaro will not change the truth: an Arab terrorist of 17, that is to say "young", has entered an apartment Kiryat Arba near Hebron in the West Bank and cowardly murdered a granddaughter of 13 1/2 who was in his room. The antiphon worn threadbare from '' West Bank settlement "just" explain "to readers that given Israel 'occupies' the West Bank, which is the historical cradle of Israel, the murder of a granddaughter by a '' Palestine "is" understandable "," normal ", whether in Kiryat Arba Jewish city since 3800 years, or anywhere else in Israel. This lie can not hide the truth you do not have the courage to say: Islamic terrorism that strikes Israel is the same one that strikes in France, USA, Syria, Lebanon, Iraq, Turkey, etc ... Regarding Israel, Western Europe adopted the invention by the Soviet KGB in 1970 narrative of a so-called people "Palestinian" Arab, after Israel invaded the country in the early twentieth century would allegedly robbed of his' legitimate rights "in the country of the Jews, Israel. But will you have the courage to publish these lines? Posted by: Barry Meridian at September 8, 2016 01:49 AM Guidelines for posting This is a moderated blog. We will not post comments that include racism, bigotry, threats, or factually inaccurate material. Post a comment Get the free Morning Headlines email for news from our reporters across the world Sign up to our free Morning Headlines email Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Morning Headlines email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }} A wooden sculpture of 17th century London has been set alight on the River Thames to mark the 350th anniversary of the Great Fire. The blaze, which raged for four days, was a catastrophe that changed the face of the capital in 1666, devastating thousands of homes and other buildings. The Great Fire of London spread from Pudding Lane to the areas surrounding St Paul's Cathedral and Fleet Street from just after midnight on September 2 to September 5 - but remarkably only six deaths were officially recorded. (Hannah McKay/PA (Hannah McKay/PA) Sunday night saw a 120-metre long sculpture of the 17th-century London skyline burn in a dramatic retelling of the story of the Great Fire. It was the finale of the London's Burning festival - a programme of free art events - is taking place at locations including St Paul's, the Tate Modern and the National Theatre. (Hannah McKay/PA (Hannah McKay/PA) Helen Marriage, director of Artichoke the who spearheaded the festival, said before it began: London's Burning brings a unique contemporary perspective to the Great Fire, exploring the challenges and issues faced by major world cities today, our relationship to catastrophe and crisis and our ability to adapt, adjust and rebuild. It is an artistic response that addresses the impact of the Great Fire of London on the City, its inhabitants and buildings, and how it emerged from the ashes and evolved to the resilient world city it is today. Press Association For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Breaking News email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }} Patients will suffer as a result of the impending doctors' strike, the medical regulator has warned as it urged junior doctors to seriously consider whether or not to take part in the action. In a new guidance for junior doctors ahead of the strike scheduled for next week, the General Medical Council (GMC) said that in order to avoid patient harm the right option may be not to take action that results in the withdrawal of services. The GMC also said that any doctor found putting patients at risk of significant harm could face sanctions - including the possibility of being struck off. The rolling action - the first of its kind in the history of the NHS - will see junior medics withdraw labour, including emergency care, for a week each month until the end of the year. But the GMC said the scale of the action at such short notice cannot be justified. Medics will stage strikes from September 12 to 16, on October 5, 6, 7, 10 and 11, November 14 to 18 and December 5 to 9, withdrawing from labour between the hours of 8am and 5pm, in the ongoing dispute over a controversial new contract. The Government and British Medical Association (BMA) remain at loggerheads over the contract, which the Department for Health says will provide a seven-day NHS. The GMC guidance states: Given the scale and repeated nature of what is proposed, we believe that, despite everyone's best efforts, patients will suffer. In light of this, the right option may be not to take action that results in the withdrawal of services for patients. It is a doctor's responsibility to put their patients first and protect them from harm, GMC chief executive Niall Dickson said. In pictures: Junior doctors first all-out strike Show all 10 1 /10 In pictures: Junior doctors first all-out strike In pictures: Junior doctors first all-out strike Doctor in acute medicine, Melissa Haskins, holds up a 'I ain't afraid of no Hunt' sign whilst striking with other junior doctors outside her hospital, St Thomas' Hospital in London Getty Images In pictures: Junior doctors first all-out strike Accident and emergency junior doctor, Jennifer Hulse, holds a homemade placard outside St Thomas' Hospital as she strikes with colleagues in London Getty Images In pictures: Junior doctors first all-out strike Demonstrators and Junior doctors hold placards as they protest outside the Basingstoke and North Hampshire Hospital, in Basingstoke during a strike by junior doctors Getty Images In pictures: Junior doctors first all-out strike Demonstrators and Junior doctors hold placards as they protest outside the Basingstoke and North Hampshire Hospital, in Basingstoke during a strike by junior doctors Getty Images In pictures: Junior doctors first all-out strike A supporter displays a slogan on her bag during a junior doctors' strike outside St Thomas' Hospital in London Reuters In pictures: Junior doctors first all-out strike The picket line outside King's College Hospital in London PA In pictures: Junior doctors first all-out strike The picket line outside King's College Hospital in London, as thousands of junior doctors begun the first all-out strike in the history of the NHS after the Health Secretary said the Government would not be "blackmailed" into dropping its manifesto pledge for a seven-day health service PA In pictures: Junior doctors first all-out strike Junior doctors and supporters take part in a strike outside the Royal United Hospital in Bath Getty Images In pictures: Junior doctors first all-out strike Doctor in acute medicine, Melissa Haskins, holds up a 'I ain't afraid of no Hunt' sign whilst striking with other junior doctors outside her hospital, St Thomas' Hospital in London Getty Images In pictures: Junior doctors first all-out strike Dave Prentis, UNISON general secretary visits a British Medical Association picket line at Royal Sussex County Hospital in Brighton, to show support for striking junior doctors on the second day of the union's annual health conference PA Mr Dickson added: Parliament has not fettered the right of doctors to take industrial action, unlike some other professions and occupations. Doctors therefore have a right to strike and take industrial action. The question each doctor must ask, however, before taking action is whether what they are proposing to do is likely to cause significant harm to patients under his or her care or who otherwise would have come under his or her care. This is a matter of professional duty and we expect each doctor to comply with it. This advice is issued under the authority of the 1983 Medical Act which governs the behaviour of all doctors practising in the UK. The Act and the accompanying guidance require doctors to exercise their professional responsibilities in the interests of their patients, to put their patients first and protect them from harm. The GMC has powers under the Act to investigate and apply sanctions to any doctor whose behaviour has fallen consistently or seriously below the standards required. Where we are presented with evidence that a doctor's actions may have directly led to a patient or patients coming to significant harm, we would be obliged to investigate and if necessary take appropriate action. Professor Terence Stephenson, chairman of the GMC, said he was extremely concerned about the impact which this prolonged campaign of industrial action will have on patients' care and on the public's trust in doctors. Theresa May accuses junior doctors of 'playing politics' He added: The BMA's announcement marks a substantial escalation of the previous industrial action in that it involves: the removal of emergency care (as well as routine appointments); a rolling programme of action of indefinite duration; the removal of junior doctors' services for five days of each month (rather than one-off days of action); and much shorter notice to NHS employers of the first bout of action which leaves little time to prepare. The health service is under huge pressure. During previous industrial action all doctors went to considerable lengths to make sure that patients continued to receive a good and safe level of care. We know that doctors will again want to do their utmost to reduce the risk of harm and suffering to patients. However, for the reasons given above, it is hard to see how this can be avoided this time around. To suggest otherwise would be a disservice to the enormous contribution made by doctors in training to the care and treatment of NHS patients every day. We therefore do not believe that the scale of action planned at such short notice can be justified and we are now calling on every doctor in training to pause and consider the implications for patients. The advice for doctors contemplating industrial action adds that doctors must take reasonable steps to satisfy themselves about the arrangements made to cover their shifts while taking action. During the strikes, if medics are asked to return to work in good faith by their employers they must do so. But in separate guidance to doctors in leadership roles, it says that striking doctors should only be asked to return to work if there are genuine and significant concerns about patient safety. Six strikes have already taken place across England during the lengthy dispute, causing disruption to hundreds of thousands of patients who have had appointments and operations cancelled. In May it looked as though a breakthrough had been reached in the dispute after both sides agreed to a new deal. Then in July, the Government announced that it would impose a new contract after junior doctors and medical students voted to reject the contract brokered between health leaders and the BMA. The BMA said it will call off the strikes if the Government agrees to stop the imposition. A BMA spokesman said: Patient safety remains doctors' priority and since the announcement last week of further action, the BMA has been liaising with NHS leaders so that plans can be put in place swiftly to minimise disruption for patients. This action is still avoidable. The BMA has said it will call off next week's action if the Government puts a halt to plans to force junior doctors to work under a contract they have rejected because they don't believe it is good for the future of patient care or the profession. Press Association Sign up to our free Brexit and beyond email for the latest headlines on what Brexit is meaning for the UK Sign up to our Brexit email for the latest insight Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Brexit and beyond email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }} Japanese companies will consider pulling investment out of the UK if their requests are not met in the Brexit deal, the countrys ambassador warned today. Koji Tsuruoka further stoked fears about the prospects for 140,000 people employed by Japanese firms including giants such as Nissan, Hitachi, Fujitsu - if access to the vital EU market is lost. The ambassador stressed that Japan wants Brexit to be a success and that its business leaders all agree the UK is the best place to do business in Europe at present. But, asked if they could pull out if Brexit goes wrong, he warned: Thats an open question yet to be answered, because we do not know of course, all options are available to the private sector Their duty is to produce profits if the way Brexit ends up does not provide companies with a prospect of making sufficient profits to continue operating in the UK, of course theres no option they cannot choose all options are open. At the weekend, on the eve of the G20 summit in China, Japan issued a memo listing demands, including continued trade with no customs duties and harmonised regulations and standards between the UK and the EU. Barack Obama: The US won't 'punish' UK over Brexit Speaking to BBC Radio 4, Mr Tsuruoka added: There is a negotiation that will have to be conducted. If there are variations, if those requests are not met, it will be up to the industry to decide what to do. It was very difficult to imagine that Japanese companies would pull out in totality from the UK, he said. The Ambassador praised the cautious approach taken by Theresa May so far, which had included holding talks with the Japanese prime minister. Brexit reactions in pictures Show all 10 1 /10 Brexit reactions in pictures Brexit reactions in pictures Supporters of the Stronger In campaign look at their phones after hearing results in the EU referendum at London's Royal Festival Hall AP Brexit reactions in pictures Leave supporters cheer results at a Leave.eu party after polling stations closed in the Referendum on the European Union in London Reuters Brexit reactions in pictures Mr Cameron announces his resignation to supporters Getty Brexit reactions in pictures Donald Tusk proposes that the 27 remaining EU member states start a wider reflection on the future of our union Getty Brexit reactions in pictures Ukip leader Nigel Farage greets his supporters on College Green in Westminster, after Britain voted to leave the European Union PA Brexit reactions in pictures Supporters of the Stronger In Campaign react as referendum results are announced today Getty Brexit reactions in pictures Boris Johnson leaves his home today to discover a crowd of waiting journalists and police officers Getty Brexit reactions in pictures Leave EU supporters celebrate as they watch the British EU Referendum results being televised at Millbank Tower in London Rex Brexit reactions in pictures Supporters of the Stronger In Campaign react as results of the EU referendum are announced at the Royal Festival Hall Reuters Brexit reactions in pictures Supporters of the Stronger In campaign react after hearing results in the EU referendum at London's Royal Festival Hall PA Many Japanese firms have viewed the UK as the gateway to Europe, with almost half of all the countrys foreign investment coming here. But the weekend memo, posted online, entitled Japans Message to the UK and EU spelt out the clear worries about the post-Brexit trading future. Japan accepted that Brexit will happen, as a democratic decision of the British people, Mr Tsuruoka said. Sign up to our free Brexit and beyond email for the latest headlines on what Brexit is meaning for the UK Sign up to our Brexit email for the latest insight Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Brexit and beyond email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }} The Australian Prime Minister has given Theresa May a boost at the G20 summit by saying he wants a "very strong, very open" trade deal with the UK. Malcom Turnbull made the comments after a bilateral meeting with Mrs May, following which she confirmed Australia would be among the first nations the UK would seek a trade agreement with. It comes as Mrs May has a crucial meeting with President Xi of China, when she will have to explain delays to the 18 billion Hinkley nuclear power station scheme in which the Chinese are heavily invested, and after President Obama signalled the UK was still at "the back of the queue" for US trade talks. The Prime Minister has also had a difficult meeting with Vladimir Putin in which she is said to have rebuffed Russian overtures for improvements in trade relations with the United Kingdom. After this morning's bilateral, Australian leader Mr Turnbull said the talks had been about, "getting in to deal with the British early and making sure we can negotiate a very strong, very open trade agreement once they are out of the Euroepan Union." Mrs May said afterwards: "We want to be even more outward looking around the whole of the world. And, obviously, Australia, with our longstanding ties and our close relationship will be one of the first countries we'll be looking to." Australia is also providing technical assistance and advice to the UK in how to manage trade talks with other countries. Theresa May warns that Brexit won't be plain sailing It is unlikely that much of the UK's new know-how will be employed with the US after Barack Obama said that both the EU TTIP talks and Pacific focused TPP agreement will take precedence over any new UK deal. The Indepenedent understands that Pesident Putin of Russia used a bilateral with Mrs May to test the ground for a thawing in the trade relationship with the UK, but was told it was unlikely while the situation in Syria remained poor. Mr Putin has been a crucial backer of Bashar Assad's regime in the war-torn country, where government forces were recently accused by the UN of deploying deadly chemical weapons. On Sunday it was confirmed that security is one of the issues concerning officials reviewing the agreement around the Hinkley nuclear power project. China is providing some 6 billion for the two-reactor French led scheme, which could then lead to a further Chinese designed reactor being built at Bradwell, Essex. One of Mrs May's most senior advisors, Nick Timothy, has previously raised concerns about Chinese investment in infrastructure projects of strategic significance. A decision on Hinkley is expected later this month. Sign up to the Inside Politics email for your free daily briefing on the biggest stories in UK politics Get our free Inside Politics email Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Inside Politics email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }} Theresa May has said the UKs relations with China are about more than Hinkley as speculation mounted that the Prime Minister could pull back from the symbolically important 18bn nuclear scheme. Ms May made the comments as she prepared for a meeting with Xi Jingpin, in which the Chinese President relieved a little pressure on her by saying he was willing to have patience in allowing her time to work out what she plans to do with the scheme his government has committed 6bn to. The half-hour meeting that took place at the end of the G20 Summit in Hangzhou also saw Mr Xi say China would be open to bilateral trade arrangement. A Chinese project at Hinkley power station is undergoing a security review (Getty) It has already emerged that security around the planned nuclear power initiative at Hinkley is an issue officials are reviewing, and that at least one senior member of Mrs Mays team has serious reservations about the project. Under the current deal which is yet to be signed, the Chinese would contribute funds towards building two reactors at Hinkley Point in a scheme led by French firm EDF, but it could then in turn lead to a further Chinese-designed power station at Bradwell in Essex. The delay in finalising the agreement has threatened to overshadow Mrs Mays first major international summit, also her first visit to China. In Hangzhou, she and her team tried to move the story on UK/China relations off the Hinkley Point project and on to other areas. At a G20 press conference, Mrs May said: Ive been clear that a decision about Hinkley will be taken later this month. But our relationship with China is about more than Hinkley, and if you look at the investment that there has been from China, in various other parts of the United Kingdom, other infrastructure and so forth in the UK, we have built a global strategic partnership with China. Ive been clear we will be continuing that global strategic partnership with China. It is a golden era of relations between China and the UK. Downing Street officials highlighted data showing there has been 1.5bn of Chinese investment in the UK in recent months, including a 750m regeneration project in Sheffield and the 76m takeover of Aston Villa by Dr Tony Xia. The new nuclear power stations in UK Show all 4 1 /4 The new nuclear power stations in UK The new nuclear power stations in UK 260428.bin Getty Images The new nuclear power stations in UK 260429.bin Reuters The new nuclear power stations in UK 260430.bin Getty Images The new nuclear power stations in UK 260432.bin Getty Images They also pointed out that 500,000 Chinese tourists come to Britain every year, that more Jaguar Land Rover cars are sold to China than anywhere else and that a quarter of all sales of Burberry products go to Chinese customers. But the hesitation over Hinkley has become symbolic of whether the UK can take a further step in relations with China, from thinking of the country as a trading partner to considering it trustworthy with security issues. After their bilateral meeting, a Downing Street official said: [Mr Xi] said that he recognised the new Government would need to take some time for reaching decisions on some agreements pushed by the last Government. President Xi said that they had the patience to wait for a resolution on those issues. Hinkley was not directly named during the meeting, but it was understood by the Downing Street team that Mr Xi was referring to the nuclear power project. In a bid to show, perhaps, what could be gained from a positive outcome to Hinkley, Mr Xi also said that they wanted to look at how we could strengthen our trading and economic relationship and that China was open to a bilateral trade arrangement with the UK. It is already known that Mrs Mays senior advisor Nick Timothy has raised concerns over the idea of allowing the Chinese a part in such a crucial part of the UKs national infrastructure as nuclear power. Before Mrs May arrived in Downing Street he wrote a web-post noting concerns that the Chinese could use their role to build weaknesses into computer systems which will allow them to shut down Britains energy production at will. Sign up to the Inside Politics email for your free daily briefing on the biggest stories in UK politics Get our free Inside Politics email Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Inside Politics email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }} Theresa May has raised concerns over the conflict in Yemen with Saudi Arabian leaders, despite British firms continuing to sell a huge amount of military hardware to the regime. Sources said the Prime Minister broached the subject along with that of human rights more widely during a bilateral meeting at the G20 in Hangzhou, China. The Yemen conflict, where British munitions are in use, has seen schools and hospitals flattened during intense bombing from Saudi forces. Recommended Read more Britain is now the second biggest arms dealer in the world The Independent has reported that the UK is now the second biggest arms dealer in the world with two thirds of the sales going to the Middle East. In Yemen, the Saudi-led coalition has bombed multiple international hospitals run by the charity Medecins Sans Frontieres, as well as schools and wedding parties. Food factories have also been hit, as Yemen faces severe food shortages. Human rights groups say there is evidence civilian targets are being deliberately hit. Sources said Mrs May was able to raise her concerns over the conflict because the UK has "a close and strong relationship" with the Kingdom. But the news will do little to placate campaigners who want the UK to halt arms sales to Saudi. Saudi-led coalition resumes air strikes in Yemen The Government has so far ignored calls to stop selling weapons to repressive regimes, including Saudi Arabia, claiming that its systems for granting licences is robust. Both the European Parliament and the House of Commons International Development Committee have called for exports to the autocracy to stop, but the Government says it has not seen evidence of Saudi war crimes. Sign up to the Inside Politics email for your free daily briefing on the biggest stories in UK politics Get our free Inside Politics email Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Inside Politics email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }} Theresa May piled fresh pressure on Keith Vaz over allegations he met male escorts, suggesting he should consider his position as an MP. The veteran Labour MP will stand down temporarily as chairman of the Home Affairs Select Committee after the Sunday Mirror reported he met two Eastern European escorts at his London flat. It was claimed that 59-year-old Mr Vaz boasted about having unprotected sex and offered to cover the cost of cocaine if it were brought to the flat, but refused to have any himself. Asked, in China, if Mr Vaz had fallen below the standards required of an MP, the Prime Minister said: I have always been clear throughout my political career that what is important for people is that they feel they are able to have confidence in their politicians. And thats what I think we all have a duty to provide to those who elect us. What Keith does is for Keith, and any decisions he wishes to make are for him. But I think overall what people look for is confidence in their politicians. The comments were immediately seen as the Prime Minister putting Mr Vazs position in deeper jeopardy, ahead of a crucial meeting with Home Affairs Committee members on Tuesday. He has indicated he will stand aside after publicly apologising to his wife and children for the hurt and distress he caused them. After laying low for 24 hours, he surprised colleagues on Monday afternoon by appearing in the Commons chamber for Home Affairs Questions. The Leicester East MP is also facing a possible investigation by Commons sleaze watchdogs, having been reported by a Conservative backbencher. MPs involved in sex scandals Show all 9 1 /9 MPs involved in sex scandals MPs involved in sex scandals Mark Oaten Mark Oaten resigned as a senior member of the Liberal Democrats in 2006 after the News of the World revealed he had paid rent boys to perform sexual activities on him. He openly spoke about the affect it had on his family life and career in his book 'Screwing Up' Rex Features MPs involved in sex scandals Simon Danczuk He admitted to sending inappropriate texts to a 17-year-old Sophena Houlihan and calls are being made for him to resign from his role as Labour's Rochdale MP. He reportedly blamed a drinking problem on his sexually explicit messages Reuters MPs involved in sex scandals Brooks Newmark Brooks Newmark resigned form his role as a Conservative member of parliament for Braintree, Essex in 2014 after being caught sending explicit photos, involving paisley pyjamas, to an undercover journalist Rex MPs involved in sex scandals Lord Lambton Lord Lambton, a Conservative MP, was pictured in bed with two prostitutes and smoking a joint in 1973, the same year he resigned. He initially denied it, but later said he had a multitude of affairs after he was bored with his job Rex Features MPs involved in sex scandals Bob Blackman Robert Blackman, a Conservative MP had an 11 year affair with another Conservative councillor, which came out after he said marriage can only work between one man and one woman Rex Features MPs involved in sex scandals Nigel Griffiths Nigel Griffiths, former MP for Edinburgh South, admitted cheating on his wife of 30 years with an un-named woman after a Sunday tabloid produced photographs of the affair on a sofa in his Parliamentary office Rex Features MPs involved in sex scandals John Major Former Prime Minister John Major and former MP Edwina Curries four year affair began in 1984 and lasted four years. The affair came out in 2002 when Ms Currie serialised her diaries in The Times BBC News/Getty Images MPs involved in sex scandals John Prescott The then deputy Prime Minster to Tony Blair had a two year affair with his appointments secretary, Tracey Temple 43, came to light in 2006. He said: "I did have a relationship with her which I regret. It ended some time ago" Getty MPs involved in sex scandals Paddy Ashdown Paddy Ashdown, former leader of the Liberal Democrats, was nicknamed "Paddy Pantsdown" in 1992 after he was forced to disclose a five year affair with his secretary, Tricia Howard. He admitted the affair to his wife BBC Text messages published by the newspaper allegedly show Mr Vaz asking for the legal high poppers to be brought to the meeting. The substance is used as a sex-enhancing drug. Voice recordings of a 90-minute meeting on 27 August, also purport to show Mr Vaz examining pictures of men on the gay dating app Grindr. The Sunday Mirror also claimed that money was paid into an account used by one of the escorts by a man linked to a charity set up by the MP. The Charity Commission said the regulator would consider becoming involved in the matter if it felt such action was needed. A spokesman told the Press Association: The Charity Commission is aware of the allegations made regarding an individual linked to the charity Silver Star. "The commission has asked journalists to forward any details and evidence they have in order to determine whether there is a regulatory role for the commission. There is no suggestion in the newspaper report that the charity's money was used in the affair. Ms May has repeatedly clashed with Mr Vaz in appearances before his committee during her time as Home Secretary. Sign up to the Inside Politics email for your free daily briefing on the biggest stories in UK politics Get our free Inside Politics email Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Inside Politics email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }} The points-based immigration system used by Australia and championed by a series of prominent politicians for the UK appears to have been dismissed by Theresa May. Heres everything you need to know about the controversial policy. What is an Australian-style, points-based immigration system? Introduced in the late 1980s, it selects migrants allowed into Australia on the basis of their likely contribution to society, allocating visas to skilled workers and those sponsored by employers. Skilled-workers are required to score at least 60 points, which are awarded for factors including age, recognised qualifications and previous experience working abroad. For example, skilled employment earns up to 20 points and 25 to 32-year-olds automatically get 30. Doesnt a similar system exist in the UK already? Yes but only for people moving to the UK from outside the European Union, because of freedom of movement across the EU for workers. It was introduced by Gordon Browns Government in February 2008, classing people into four broad tiers. However, Tier 3 - intended to be a pathway for unskilled immigrants was never brought in (because it was deemed not to be needed) and was removed by the Coalition, which made other changes widely seen as moving away from an Australian-style system. How did it feature in the EU referendum debate? It was the centrepiece of the Vote Leave campaign, supported by Boris Johnson, Michael Gove and other leading Brexit-supporters who hinted it would - finally - allow the Tories to meet their manifesto pledge to cut annual net migration to the tens of thousands. The former Mayor of London said it would allow the UK to take back control of a system that is, at the moment, completely out of control and that it would neutralise the extremists on the toxic issue of immigration. So is the idea dead, as a replacement for freedom of movement after Brexit? Yes we learned from comments made by Theresa May, on the plane to plane to the G20 summit in China. The prime minister said it wasnt a silver bullet, telling journalists: You really dont want to ask a former Home Secretary about the intricacies of a points-based system In London, a No.10 spokesman removed any doubt, toughening up that stance by stating: A points-based system will not work and is not an option. Why is Theresa May against it? At her press conference, later, she said it did not give the control over immigration that was required, referring to the abuses she became aware of as Home Secretary in particular, large numbers of students who met the criteria, but did not speak English or have courses to go to. A points-based system has also been criticised as unsuitable for the UK because it wants to cut migration while Australia (and Canada and New Zealand) use it to expand their smaller populations. Migration Watch described it as thoroughly unsuitable for the UK, which needed a low cap, a visa system and proper border checks. UK news in pictures Show all 50 1 /50 UK news in pictures UK news in pictures 28 October 2022 A cosplayer attends the MCM Comic Con London 2022 at the ExCel Centre in London Reuters 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 What is the reaction of the Brexit supporters? Muted so far. Nigel Farage was out of the blocks fast - saying it would be totally unacceptable to give EU citizens priority in post-Brexit migration rules but leading Conservatives held their fire. Iain Duncan Smith said there were other ways to cut immigration. No.10 stressed that the decision to had full Cabinet support, which would mean that Boris Johnson has dropped the Vote Leave pledge. What system will be introduced instead? We dont know. Mrs May said only that there were various ways to curb immigration, adding: We will be coming forward in due course with those proposals. She went on to refer to securing an element of control which would fall far short of those Vote Leave promises. The most likely alternative is some form of work permits, which could be more restrictive than a points-based system, some argue. Employers would make applications and the Government would decide, presumably on a case-by-case basis. Or an emergency brake could trigger a temporary halt in EU migration in particular jobs or locations where wages are being undercut. What is Labours position? Andy Burnham, the Shadow Home Secretary, criticised confusion and a lack of leadership, saying: A number of members of the Cabinet made this pledge and voters will be surprised to see the Prime Minister rip it up without any consultation. However, Mr Burnham did not state Labours view. Some senior Labour figures believe the party has no option but to listen to many if its traditional supports who want an end to freedom of movement but Jeremy Corbyn supports it. Sign up to the Inside Politics email for your free daily briefing on the biggest stories in UK politics Get our free Inside Politics email Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Inside Politics email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }} Downing Street has stamped out any remaining suggestion that Theresa May will consider an Australian-style points-based immigration system saying it is "not an option". The idea was promised by key Leave campaigners, including Boris Johnson and other members of Mrs May's cabinet, as the answer to lowering the immigration. Recommended Read more Japan issues dire warning for consequences of Brexit on eve of G20 But Mrs May has long been sceptical of the system and told reporters on the way to the G20 in Hangzhou this week that it is not certain a PBS would work, risking Cabinet divisions over the issue. Officials have said that a PBS leaves a decision on who comes to the country down to regulation, while Mrs May is hunting for solution that allows the Government to determine the volume of people coming in. A Number 10 spokesman said: "One of the opportunities of Brexit is that we will be able to control the number of people coming to Britain from the EU. "The precise way in which the Government will control the movement of EU nationals to Britain after Brexit is yet to be determined. However, as the PM has said many times in the past, a PBS will not work and is not an option. "When Labour introduced a PBS, the numbers went straight up. In Australia, they have a PBS, and they have higher immigration per capita than Britain. A PBS would give foreign nationals the right to come to Britain if they meet certain criteria. "An immigration system that works for Britain would ensure that the right to decide who comes to the country resides with the Government." Brexit protest: Thousands march in London Show all 12 1 /12 Brexit protest: Thousands march in London Brexit protest: Thousands march in London A woman poses with a home-made European Union flag as Remain supporters gather on Park Lane in London to show their support for the EU in the wake of Brexit PA Brexit protest: Thousands march in London Remain supporters demonstrate in Parliament Square PA Brexit protest: Thousands march in London Tens of thousands of people gathered to protest the result of the EU referendum PA Brexit protest: Thousands march in London A majority of people in the capital voted to remain in the European Union Reuters Brexit protest: Thousands march in London Protesters chanted: What do we want to do? Stay in the EU PA Brexit protest: Thousands march in London The march follows a similar rally in Trafalgar Square that was cancelled due to heavy rain but which tens of thousands of people turned up to anyway Reuters Brexit protest: Thousands march in London Britain voted to leave the European Union in a referendum by 52 per cent to 48 per cent Reuters Brexit protest: Thousands march in London But support for the Leave campaign in urban areas and among young people was significantly lower Rex features Brexit protest: Thousands march in London Marchers gathered at Park Lane at 11am and marched towards Parliament Square PA Brexit protest: Thousands march in London Some protesters held up baguettes in a display of affection for our continental neighbours PA Brexit protest: Thousands march in London The disparity between different parts of the country has promoted a four million signature petition calling for a second referendum and even a renewed push for Scotland to cede from the UK PA Brexit protest: Thousands march in London The events organiser, Kings College graduate Kieran MacDermott, wrote: We can prevent Brexit by refusing to accept the referendum as the final say and take our finger off the self-destruct button" Reuters Mr Johnson, now Mrs Mays Foreign Secretary, regularly expressed support for a PBS as he travelled the UK on the Brexit campaign bus. International Trade Secretary Mr Fox made the system one of the first policies of his Tory leadership bid. International Development Secretary Priti Patel, Transport Secretary Chris Grayling and Environment Secretary Andrea Leadsom have all said such a system could help the UK better manage the inflow of people. Sign up to the Inside Politics email for your free daily briefing on the biggest stories in UK politics Get our free Inside Politics email Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Inside Politics email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }} Owen Smith has outright rejected the idea of a universal basic income for all citizens in Britain, claiming it demonstrates John McDonnells lack of economic credibility. It comes after Mr McDonnell, the shadow chancellor, told The Independent last week he believed he could win the argument on a basic income, which is not currently Labour party policy. The idea a radical redesign of the welfare state would involve ditching a means-tested benefits system in favour of an unconditional flat-rate payment to all citizens irrespective of their employment status. When asked whether he would fight the next general election on a platform that advocates the radical policy, Mr McDonnell, who is also chairing Jeremy Corbyns campaign to remain Labour leader, responded: I think weve got a long way to go in developing the proposal and the argument but I think we can win the argument on it. But the Welsh MP Mr Smith dismissed the idea completely at a news conference in central London. Asked whether he could see himself adopting the radical policy, the former shadow worker and pensions secretary replied: Honestly, no. Ive looked at the arithmetic and I cannot see that this works. Ive looked at three or four reports its a lovely sounding policy but its another example of John, and Jeremy Im afraid, not being credible on economic policies. I think there have been many examples during this campaign, which Ive sketched out serious which we could rebuild Britain the 200 billion New Deal that Ive talked about. John by contrast has talked about a 500 billion investment programme. I dont think talking about universal basic income, however attractive an idea it is, is the answer. After a rally last week Mr McDonnell added that he would make sure we take into account the experiments that are going on at the moment, developing the ideas that the Fabian society have put forward, before campaigning on the issue. What people are anxious about at the moment is around levels of poverty increasing, levels of inequality and at the same time people not being able to get some of the basics in life and thats why there are large numbers of people turning up at foodbanks, he added. Labour leadership contest: Jeremy Corbyn vs Owen Smith Show all 8 1 /8 Labour leadership contest: Jeremy Corbyn vs Owen Smith Labour leadership contest: Jeremy Corbyn vs Owen Smith Jeremy Corbyn and Owen Smith clash at a leadership hustings in Gateshead, where Mr Smith was scarcely able to answer a question without being booed by Mr Corbyns supporters PA Labour leadership contest: Jeremy Corbyn vs Owen Smith Jeremy himself admitted he was seven out of 10 in terms of his faith in the European Union. He said it, said Mr Smith during his second live debate with Jeremy Corbyn Getty Labour leadership contest: Jeremy Corbyn vs Owen Smith Ballot papers are currently due to be sent out on 22 August and returned a month later, with the result being announced at a special Labour conference on 24 September Getty Labour leadership contest: Jeremy Corbyn vs Owen Smith Jeremy Corbyn supporters cheer and wave placards as the Labour Leader addresses thousands of supporters in in Liverpool, England Getty Labour leadership contest: Jeremy Corbyn vs Owen Smith Labour Party leadership candidate Owen Smith poses for a picture with supporters during a picnic for young members in London Fields, Hackney in London Getty Labour leadership contest: Jeremy Corbyn vs Owen Smith The Labour leader has a spring in his step at a leadership rally in Sunderland Screenshot Labour leadership contest: Jeremy Corbyn vs Owen Smith Labour leadership contender Owen Smith delivers a speech at the Open University in Milton Keynes, where he promised to reverse Conservative cuts set to leave millions of low paid workers thousands of pounds a year worse off PA Labour leadership contest: Jeremy Corbyn vs Owen Smith Shadow Chancellor John McDonnell has urged Owen Smith to distance himself from those saying they want to split the Labour party Getty During the news conference on Monday Mr Smiths team also released a mock-up of the Conservative Party Manifesto 2020 suggesting what Theresa May could run a future election on and implement in government if Labour continues to fail to form a credible opposition. It featured public spending reductions, tax cuts for the wealthy, reduced workplace rights, increased selection in schools, charges for NHS services and the abandonment of Britain's 0.7% overseas aid target. Mr Smith who added: "It's eminently foreseeable that without a strong opposition to the Conservative Party, this sort of radical right-wing agenda would be the one they would seek to apply to Britain - and it's an ugly vision of what Britain could become without a Labour opposition," said Mr Smith, who is trailing Mr Corbyn in the polls for the leadership contest ending on September 24. "I think Britain would be unrecognisable at the end of that era. I think they could have transformed this country for the worse. "All of us - Jeremy, myself, everybody in the Labour Party - has got a pressing duty to think hard about what we are doing. We cannot mistake the mass rallies that Jeremy has gathered for the mass movement we need to gather of 12 or 13 million people voting Labour in order to stop this becoming reality." The team from Charity Navigator, the nation's largest independent charity evaluator and leading donor advocate, shares their thoughts on emerging nonprofit-sector issues and offers tips to better inform your intelligent giving decisions. Return to Main Site | Find a Charity | Receive Email Updates | Support Charity Navigator For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Breaking News email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }} After a reported health scare which had ordinary Zimbabweans tentatively contemplating what life would be like without him, President Robert Mugabe has returned to his country and made a series of comments to suggest he is as authoritative as ever. Addressing a meeting of his ruling partys Zanu PF Youth League upon his return to Harare, Mugabe hit out angrily at judges for permitting a string of protests which turned violent in late August. High Court judges were negligent and paid reckless disregard for the peace of this country when they allowed members of the opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) to stage protests in Harare on 26 August, he said, when demonstrations in the week beforehand had already turned violent. And in an implicit criticism of the social media protest movement #ThisFlag, started by the pastor Evan Mawarire in April, Mugabe said it was the responsibility of all Zimbabweans to promote brand Zimbabwe, the image of Zimbabwe, a Zimbabwe that is democratic, hardworking and peaceful. At the end of last week, the government imposed a two-week ban on all demonstrations in the capital following an assessment by the Harare police commander. That order was made in Mugabes absence. On Tuesday, he was reported to have fallen ill and taken an emergency flight for treatment in Singapore. Flight trackers then observed his jet took a sharp turn towards Dubai, halfway to South-east Asia. But on Saturday he re-emerged, joking to reporters at Harare airport that he had been resurrected, and justifying the trip as a visit to his son, Robert Jr, who is at university in the United Arab Emirates. Referring to the clashes in Harare last month, Mugabe said so-called protesters were responsible for burning property, and looting, and engaging in acts of violence. Recommended Read more Mugabe eats giant birthday cake in town beset by drought We cant allow that to continue, to have these violent demonstrations unimpeded, he said. Enough is enough. It is not just we the ordinary people who should have the understanding of the need for peace. Our courts, our justice system, our judges should be the ones who understand even better than the ordinary citizens. To give permission again when with the full knowledge that it is going to be violent or there is a probability that there is going to be violence is to pay reckless disregard to the peace of this country. I hope they have learnt their lesson. Zimbabwe is considering new laws that will outlaw abuse on social media. The law is expected to involve measures whereby citizens deemed to have posted negative comments online risk having their phones and computers impounded. World news in pictures Show all 50 1 /50 World news in pictures World news in pictures 30 September 2020 Pope Francis prays with priests at the end of a limited public audience at the San Damaso courtyard in The Vatican AFP via Getty World news in pictures 29 September 2020 A girl's silhouette is seen from behind a fabric in a tent along a beach by Beit Lahia in the northern Gaza Strip AFP via Getty World news in pictures 28 September 2020 A Chinese woman takes a photo of herself in front of a flower display dedicated to frontline health care workers during the COVID-19 pandemic in Beijing, China. China will celebrate national day marking the founding of the People's Republic of China on October 1st Getty World news in pictures 27 September 2020 The Glass Mountain Inn burns as the Glass Fire moves through the area in St. Helena, California. The fast moving Glass fire has burned over 1,000 acres and has destroyed homes Getty World news in pictures 26 September 2020 A villager along with a child offers prayers next to a carcass of a wild elephant that officials say was electrocuted in Rani Reserve Forest on the outskirts of Guwahati, India AFP via Getty World news in pictures 25 September 2020 The casket of late Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg is seen in Statuary Hall in the US Capitol to lie in state in Washington, DC AFP via Getty World news in pictures 24 September 2020 An anti-government protester holds up an image of a pro-democracy commemorative plaque at a rally outside Thailand's parliament in Bangkok, as activists gathered to demand a new constitution AFP via Getty World news in pictures 23 September 2020 A whale stranded on a beach in Macquarie Harbour on the rugged west coast of Tasmania, as hundreds of pilot whales have died in a mass stranding in southern Australia despite efforts to save them, with rescuers racing to free a few dozen survivors The Mercury/AFP via Getty World news in pictures 22 September 2020 State civil employee candidates wearing face masks and shields take a test in Surabaya AFP via Getty World news in pictures 21 September 2020 A man sweeps at the Taj Mahal monument on the day of its reopening after being closed for more than six months due to the coronavirus pandemic AP World news in pictures 20 September 2020 A deer looks for food in a burnt area, caused by the Bobcat fire, in Pearblossom, California EPA World news in pictures 19 September 2020 Anti-government protesters hold their mobile phones aloft as they take part in a pro-democracy rally in Bangkok. Tens of thousands of pro-democracy protesters massed close to Thailand's royal palace, in a huge rally calling for PM Prayut Chan-O-Cha to step down and demanding reforms to the monarchy AFP via Getty World news in pictures 18 September 2020 Supporters of Iraqi Shi'ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr maintain social distancing as they attend Friday prayers after the coronavirus disease restrictions were eased, in Kufa mosque, near Najaf, Iraq Reuters World news in pictures 17 September 2020 A protester climbs on The Triumph of the Republic at 'the Place de la Nation' as thousands of protesters take part in a demonstration during a national day strike called by labor unions asking for better salary and against jobs cut in Paris, France EPA World news in pictures 16 September 2020 A fire raging near the Lazzaretto of Ancona in Italy. The huge blaze broke out overnight at the port of Ancona. Firefighters have brought the fire under control but they expected to keep working through the day EPA World news in pictures 15 September 2020 Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny posing for a selfie with his family at Berlin's Charite hospital. In an Instagram post he said he could now breathe independently following his suspected poisoning last month Alexei Navalny/Instagram/AFP World news in pictures 14 September 2020 Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga, former Defense Minister Shigeru Ishiba and former Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida celebrate after Suga was elected as new head of the ruling party at the Liberal Democratic Party's leadership election in Tokyo Reuters World news in pictures 13 September 2020 A man stands behind a burning barricade during the fifth straight day of protests against police brutality in Bogota AFP via Getty World news in pictures 12 September 2020 Police officers block and detain protesters during an opposition rally to protest the official presidential election results in Minsk, Belarus. Daily protests calling for the authoritarian president's resignation are now in their second month AP World news in pictures 11 September 2020 Members of 'Omnium Cultural' celebrate the 20th 'Festa per la llibertat' ('Fiesta for the freedom') to mark the Day of Catalonia in Barcelona. Omnion Cultural fights for the independence of Catalonia EPA World news in pictures 10 September 2020 The Moria refugee camp, two days after Greece's biggest migrant camp, was destroyed by fire. Thousands of asylum seekers on the island of Lesbos are now homeless AFP via Getty World news in pictures 9 September 2020 Pope Francis takes off his face mask as he arrives by car to hold a limited public audience at the San Damaso courtyard in The Vatican AFP via Getty World news in pictures 8 September 2020 A home is engulfed in flames during the "Creek Fire" in the Tollhouse area of California AFP via Getty World news in pictures 7 September 2020 A couple take photos along a sea wall of the waves brought by Typhoon Haishen in the eastern port city of Sokcho AFP via Getty World news in pictures 6 September 2020 Novak Djokovic and a tournament official tends to a linesperson who was struck with a ball by Djokovic during his match against Pablo Carreno Busta at the US Open USA Today Sports/Reuters World news in pictures 5 September 2020 Protesters confront police at the Shrine of Remembrance in Melbourne, Australia, during an anti-lockdown rally AFP via Getty World news in pictures 4 September 2020 A woman looks on from a rooftop as rescue workers dig through the rubble of a damaged building in Beirut. A search began for possible survivors after a scanner detected a pulse one month after the mega-blast at the adjacent port AFP via Getty World news in pictures 3 September 2020 A full moon next to the Virgen del Panecillo statue in Quito, Ecuador EPA World news in pictures 2 September 2020 A Palestinian woman reacts as Israeli forces demolish her animal shed near Hebron in the Israeli-occupied West Bank Reuters World news in pictures 1 September 2020 Students protest against presidential elections results in Minsk TUT.BY/AFP via Getty World news in pictures 31 August 2020 The pack rides during the 3rd stage of the Tour de France between Nice and Sisteron AFP via Getty World news in pictures 30 August 2020 Law enforcement officers block a street during a rally of opposition supporters protesting against presidential election results in Minsk, Belarus Reuters World news in pictures 29 August 2020 A woman holding a placard reading "Stop Censorship - Yes to the Freedom of Expression" shouts in a megaphone during a protest against the mandatory wearing of face masks in Paris. Masks, which were already compulsory on public transport, in enclosed public spaces, and outdoors in Paris in certain high-congestion areas around tourist sites, were made mandatory outdoors citywide on August 28 to fight the rising coronavirus infections AFP via Getty World news in pictures 28 August 2020 Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe bows to the national flag at the start of a press conference at the prime minister official residence in Tokyo. Abe announced he will resign over health problems, in a bombshell development that kicks off a leadership contest in the world's third-largest economy AFP via Getty World news in pictures 27 August 2020 Residents take cover behind a tree trunk from rubber bullets fired by South African Police Service (SAPS) in Eldorado Park, near Johannesburg, during a protest by community members after a 16-year old boy was reported dead AFP via Getty World news in pictures 26 August 2020 People scatter rose petals on a statue of Mother Teresa marking her 110th birth anniversary in Ahmedabad AFP via Getty World news in pictures 25 August 2020 An aerial view shows beach-goers standing on salt formations in the Dead Sea near Ein Bokeq, Israel Reuters World news in pictures 24 August 2020 Health workers use a fingertip pulse oximeter and check the body temperature of a fisherwoman inside the Dharavi slum during a door-to-door Covid-19 coronavirus screening in Mumbai AFP via Getty World news in pictures 23 August 2020 People carry an idol of the Hindu god Ganesh, the deity of prosperity, to immerse it off the coast of the Arabian sea during the Ganesh Chaturthi festival in Mumbai, India Reuters World news in pictures 22 August 2020 Firefighters watch as flames from the LNU Lightning Complex fires approach a home in Napa County, California AP World news in pictures 21 August 2020 Members of the Israeli security forces arrest a Palestinian demonstrator during a rally to protest against Israel's plan to annex parts of the occupied West Bank AFP via Getty World news in pictures 20 August 2020 A man pushes his bicycle through a deserted road after prohibitory orders were imposed by district officials for a week to contain the spread of the Covid-19 in Kathmandu AFP via Getty World news in pictures 19 August 2020 A car burns while parked at a residence in Vacaville, California. Dozens of fires are burning out of control throughout Northern California as fire resources are spread thin AFP via Getty World news in pictures 18 August 2020 Students use their mobile phones as flashlights at an anti-government rally at Mahidol University in Nakhon Pathom. Thailand has seen near-daily protests in recent weeks by students demanding the resignation of Prime Minister Prayut Chan-O-Cha AFP via Getty World news in pictures 17 August 2020 Members of the Kayapo tribe block the BR163 highway during a protest outside Novo Progresso in Para state, Brazil. Indigenous protesters blocked a major transamazonian highway to protest against the lack of governmental support during the COVID-19 novel coronavirus pandemic and illegal deforestation in and around their territories AFP via Getty World news in pictures 16 August 2020 Lightning forks over the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge as a storm passes over Oakland AP World news in pictures 15 August 2020 Belarus opposition supporters gather near the Pushkinskaya metro station where Alexander Taraikovsky, a 34-year-old protester died on August 10, during their protest rally in central Minsk AFP via Getty World news in pictures 14 August 2020 AlphaTauri's driver Daniil Kvyat takes part in the second practice session at the Circuit de Catalunya in Montmelo near Barcelona ahead of the Spanish F1 Grand Prix AFP via Getty World news in pictures 13 August 2020 Soldiers of the Brazilian Armed Forces during a disinfection of the Christ The Redeemer statue at the Corcovado mountain prior to the opening of the touristic attraction in Rio AFP via Getty World news in pictures 12 August 2020 Young elephant bulls tussle playfully on World Elephant Day at the Amboseli National Park in Kenya AFP via Getty What would entail abuse is less clear. But Mr Mugabe said he believed Zimbabwe could learn from China, Cuba and Russia that economic success stories have resulted from proper and constructive use of IT. Social media should never be used negatively, he added. You have quarrelled with someone and you want to take it up on the internet? Get out of it we should remain clean. Sign up to our Evening Headlines email for your daily guide to the latest news Sign up to our free US Evening Headlines email Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Evening Headlines email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }} An influx of millionaire festival-goers at Nevadas desert festival, Burning Man, have been targeted by hooligans" amid complaints the mega-rich are corrupting the ethos of the annual event. Organisers of Burning Man call the festival an annual experiment in temporary community that promotes radical self-expression and radical self-reliance. But the festivals increasing popularity among Silicon Valley elites has led to luxury campsites popping up in various spots in the sun-bleached landscape. Dubbed plug-n-play camps, the new sites feature hired staff such as cooks, builders and security and have a reputation for being hostile to outsiders. Police are investigating after vandals allegedly looted and trashed one such site, called the White Ocean camp. The camp was set up by celebrity DJ Paul Oakenfold and Timur Sardarov, the son of oil magnate Rashid Sardarov. It a techno-music stage that stays open until the early hours. A message on the camps Facebook page said electrical wires were cut, the site was flooded and trailer doors were glued shut during the raid. A band of hooligans raided our camp, stole from us, pulled and sliced all of our electrical lines leaving us with no refrigeration and wasting our food and glued our trailer doors shut, vandalized most of our camping infrastructure, dumped 200 gallons of potable water flooding our camp. "This year has been quite the challenge for our camp. We have felt like we've been sabotaged from every angle, but last night's chain of events, while we were all out enjoying our beautiful home, was an absolute and definitive confirmation that some feel we are not deserving of Burning Man. We actually had someone from the [Burning Man] organization tell us that in paraphrase it makes sense that you have been sabotaged as you are a closed camp and not welcoming. World news in pictures Show all 50 1 /50 World news in pictures World news in pictures 30 September 2020 Pope Francis prays with priests at the end of a limited public audience at the San Damaso courtyard in The Vatican AFP via Getty World news in pictures 29 September 2020 A girl's silhouette is seen from behind a fabric in a tent along a beach by Beit Lahia in the northern Gaza Strip AFP via Getty World news in pictures 28 September 2020 A Chinese woman takes a photo of herself in front of a flower display dedicated to frontline health care workers during the COVID-19 pandemic in Beijing, China. China will celebrate national day marking the founding of the People's Republic of China on October 1st Getty World news in pictures 27 September 2020 The Glass Mountain Inn burns as the Glass Fire moves through the area in St. Helena, California. The fast moving Glass fire has burned over 1,000 acres and has destroyed homes Getty World news in pictures 26 September 2020 A villager along with a child offers prayers next to a carcass of a wild elephant that officials say was electrocuted in Rani Reserve Forest on the outskirts of Guwahati, India AFP via Getty World news in pictures 25 September 2020 The casket of late Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg is seen in Statuary Hall in the US Capitol to lie in state in Washington, DC AFP via Getty World news in pictures 24 September 2020 An anti-government protester holds up an image of a pro-democracy commemorative plaque at a rally outside Thailand's parliament in Bangkok, as activists gathered to demand a new constitution AFP via Getty World news in pictures 23 September 2020 A whale stranded on a beach in Macquarie Harbour on the rugged west coast of Tasmania, as hundreds of pilot whales have died in a mass stranding in southern Australia despite efforts to save them, with rescuers racing to free a few dozen survivors The Mercury/AFP via Getty World news in pictures 22 September 2020 State civil employee candidates wearing face masks and shields take a test in Surabaya AFP via Getty World news in pictures 21 September 2020 A man sweeps at the Taj Mahal monument on the day of its reopening after being closed for more than six months due to the coronavirus pandemic AP World news in pictures 20 September 2020 A deer looks for food in a burnt area, caused by the Bobcat fire, in Pearblossom, California EPA World news in pictures 19 September 2020 Anti-government protesters hold their mobile phones aloft as they take part in a pro-democracy rally in Bangkok. Tens of thousands of pro-democracy protesters massed close to Thailand's royal palace, in a huge rally calling for PM Prayut Chan-O-Cha to step down and demanding reforms to the monarchy AFP via Getty World news in pictures 18 September 2020 Supporters of Iraqi Shi'ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr maintain social distancing as they attend Friday prayers after the coronavirus disease restrictions were eased, in Kufa mosque, near Najaf, Iraq Reuters World news in pictures 17 September 2020 A protester climbs on The Triumph of the Republic at 'the Place de la Nation' as thousands of protesters take part in a demonstration during a national day strike called by labor unions asking for better salary and against jobs cut in Paris, France EPA World news in pictures 16 September 2020 A fire raging near the Lazzaretto of Ancona in Italy. The huge blaze broke out overnight at the port of Ancona. Firefighters have brought the fire under control but they expected to keep working through the day EPA World news in pictures 15 September 2020 Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny posing for a selfie with his family at Berlin's Charite hospital. In an Instagram post he said he could now breathe independently following his suspected poisoning last month Alexei Navalny/Instagram/AFP World news in pictures 14 September 2020 Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga, former Defense Minister Shigeru Ishiba and former Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida celebrate after Suga was elected as new head of the ruling party at the Liberal Democratic Party's leadership election in Tokyo Reuters World news in pictures 13 September 2020 A man stands behind a burning barricade during the fifth straight day of protests against police brutality in Bogota AFP via Getty World news in pictures 12 September 2020 Police officers block and detain protesters during an opposition rally to protest the official presidential election results in Minsk, Belarus. Daily protests calling for the authoritarian president's resignation are now in their second month AP World news in pictures 11 September 2020 Members of 'Omnium Cultural' celebrate the 20th 'Festa per la llibertat' ('Fiesta for the freedom') to mark the Day of Catalonia in Barcelona. Omnion Cultural fights for the independence of Catalonia EPA World news in pictures 10 September 2020 The Moria refugee camp, two days after Greece's biggest migrant camp, was destroyed by fire. Thousands of asylum seekers on the island of Lesbos are now homeless AFP via Getty World news in pictures 9 September 2020 Pope Francis takes off his face mask as he arrives by car to hold a limited public audience at the San Damaso courtyard in The Vatican AFP via Getty World news in pictures 8 September 2020 A home is engulfed in flames during the "Creek Fire" in the Tollhouse area of California AFP via Getty World news in pictures 7 September 2020 A couple take photos along a sea wall of the waves brought by Typhoon Haishen in the eastern port city of Sokcho AFP via Getty World news in pictures 6 September 2020 Novak Djokovic and a tournament official tends to a linesperson who was struck with a ball by Djokovic during his match against Pablo Carreno Busta at the US Open USA Today Sports/Reuters World news in pictures 5 September 2020 Protesters confront police at the Shrine of Remembrance in Melbourne, Australia, during an anti-lockdown rally AFP via Getty World news in pictures 4 September 2020 A woman looks on from a rooftop as rescue workers dig through the rubble of a damaged building in Beirut. A search began for possible survivors after a scanner detected a pulse one month after the mega-blast at the adjacent port AFP via Getty World news in pictures 3 September 2020 A full moon next to the Virgen del Panecillo statue in Quito, Ecuador EPA World news in pictures 2 September 2020 A Palestinian woman reacts as Israeli forces demolish her animal shed near Hebron in the Israeli-occupied West Bank Reuters World news in pictures 1 September 2020 Students protest against presidential elections results in Minsk TUT.BY/AFP via Getty World news in pictures 31 August 2020 The pack rides during the 3rd stage of the Tour de France between Nice and Sisteron AFP via Getty World news in pictures 30 August 2020 Law enforcement officers block a street during a rally of opposition supporters protesting against presidential election results in Minsk, Belarus Reuters World news in pictures 29 August 2020 A woman holding a placard reading "Stop Censorship - Yes to the Freedom of Expression" shouts in a megaphone during a protest against the mandatory wearing of face masks in Paris. Masks, which were already compulsory on public transport, in enclosed public spaces, and outdoors in Paris in certain high-congestion areas around tourist sites, were made mandatory outdoors citywide on August 28 to fight the rising coronavirus infections AFP via Getty World news in pictures 28 August 2020 Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe bows to the national flag at the start of a press conference at the prime minister official residence in Tokyo. Abe announced he will resign over health problems, in a bombshell development that kicks off a leadership contest in the world's third-largest economy AFP via Getty World news in pictures 27 August 2020 Residents take cover behind a tree trunk from rubber bullets fired by South African Police Service (SAPS) in Eldorado Park, near Johannesburg, during a protest by community members after a 16-year old boy was reported dead AFP via Getty World news in pictures 26 August 2020 People scatter rose petals on a statue of Mother Teresa marking her 110th birth anniversary in Ahmedabad AFP via Getty World news in pictures 25 August 2020 An aerial view shows beach-goers standing on salt formations in the Dead Sea near Ein Bokeq, Israel Reuters World news in pictures 24 August 2020 Health workers use a fingertip pulse oximeter and check the body temperature of a fisherwoman inside the Dharavi slum during a door-to-door Covid-19 coronavirus screening in Mumbai AFP via Getty World news in pictures 23 August 2020 People carry an idol of the Hindu god Ganesh, the deity of prosperity, to immerse it off the coast of the Arabian sea during the Ganesh Chaturthi festival in Mumbai, India Reuters World news in pictures 22 August 2020 Firefighters watch as flames from the LNU Lightning Complex fires approach a home in Napa County, California AP World news in pictures 21 August 2020 Members of the Israeli security forces arrest a Palestinian demonstrator during a rally to protest against Israel's plan to annex parts of the occupied West Bank AFP via Getty World news in pictures 20 August 2020 A man pushes his bicycle through a deserted road after prohibitory orders were imposed by district officials for a week to contain the spread of the Covid-19 in Kathmandu AFP via Getty World news in pictures 19 August 2020 A car burns while parked at a residence in Vacaville, California. Dozens of fires are burning out of control throughout Northern California as fire resources are spread thin AFP via Getty World news in pictures 18 August 2020 Students use their mobile phones as flashlights at an anti-government rally at Mahidol University in Nakhon Pathom. Thailand has seen near-daily protests in recent weeks by students demanding the resignation of Prime Minister Prayut Chan-O-Cha AFP via Getty World news in pictures 17 August 2020 Members of the Kayapo tribe block the BR163 highway during a protest outside Novo Progresso in Para state, Brazil. Indigenous protesters blocked a major transamazonian highway to protest against the lack of governmental support during the COVID-19 novel coronavirus pandemic and illegal deforestation in and around their territories AFP via Getty World news in pictures 16 August 2020 Lightning forks over the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge as a storm passes over Oakland AP World news in pictures 15 August 2020 Belarus opposition supporters gather near the Pushkinskaya metro station where Alexander Taraikovsky, a 34-year-old protester died on August 10, during their protest rally in central Minsk AFP via Getty World news in pictures 14 August 2020 AlphaTauri's driver Daniil Kvyat takes part in the second practice session at the Circuit de Catalunya in Montmelo near Barcelona ahead of the Spanish F1 Grand Prix AFP via Getty World news in pictures 13 August 2020 Soldiers of the Brazilian Armed Forces during a disinfection of the Christ The Redeemer statue at the Corcovado mountain prior to the opening of the touristic attraction in Rio AFP via Getty World news in pictures 12 August 2020 Young elephant bulls tussle playfully on World Elephant Day at the Amboseli National Park in Kenya AFP via Getty Many Burners have requested the festival regulate the luxury camps, which they have made some effort to do. While many festival-goers are tolerant of the new luxury sites, others say the raid is the beginning of a revolution against the the parasite class. One Burner, Tony Wichowski, told The Telegraph "And so the revolution has begun. Taking Burning Man back from the parasite class, back from the electronic dance music tourists. Taking Burning Man back for the people. This wasn't much but it's a great start." Sign up to our Evening Headlines email for your daily guide to the latest news Sign up to our free US Evening Headlines email Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Evening Headlines email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }} A murder suspect has been recaptured after escaping a Las Vegas police station last week by twisting free of his handcuffs when he was left alone in an interrogation room. Alonso Perez, 25, had been arrested following the fatal shooting of 31-year-old Mohammed Robinson outside a McDonalds, shortly before midnight on 27 August. The shooting apparently happened after Robinson failed to hold the door open for a woman who was allegedly at the restaurant with Perez, leading to an argument. Perez was arrested by North Las Vegas police last Friday morning and questioned by detectives, but when an investigator left him alone in the interrogation room at around 12.45pm, he twisted his handcuffs until they snapped, climbed onto a chair and pulled himself up through a loose ceiling tile. He then dropped down into a nearby corridor, still wearing ankle chains, with the cuffs dangling from one wrist. Police did not notice he was gone for approximately 40 minutes. After fleeing the police station, Perez reportedly stole a white pickup truck, which was recovered on Saturday. Police appealed to the public for help in finding the murder suspect, a 6ft 3in tall Hispanic man with a tattoo of the Nike Air Jordan symbol on his neck. He was finally re-arrested on Tuesday, five days after his escape, at an apartment close to where the truck had been abandoned. Perez, who is 6ft 3in tall, has a tattoo of the Nike Air Jordan logo behind his ear (North Las Vegas PD) ((North Las Vegas PD)) The victims sister, Maggie Robinson, said last week that she was stunned by Perezs escape. I dont understand it at all, she said. Las Vegas Police Chief Alexander Perez told reporters that an internal investigation was being conducted into the embarrassing incident. "The police are simply not perfect," he said. "However, we will learn from our mistakes so they are not repeated and that's the goal." Sign up to our Evening Headlines email for your daily guide to the latest news Sign up to our free US Evening Headlines email Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Evening Headlines email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }} Barack Obama has cancelled a scheduled meeting with Rodrigo Duterte, after the new Filipino president appeared to describe the US leader as a son of a whore. Mr Duterte, known to some as The Punisher for his brutal approach to crime, delivered his profanity-laced broadside in a Monday address, after Mr Obama had criticised his controversial crackdown on the drugs trade in the Philippines. The two presidents were due to meet in Laos later this week, where both are attending a meeting of Southeast Asian leaders. Mr Obama had said he would raise the question of Mr Dutertes ruthless war on drugs, which has led to a spate of police and vigilante killings. Mr Duterte, however, warned the US president not to challenge him on the issue. Who does he think he is? I am no American puppet. I am the president of a sovereign country and I am not answerable to anyone except the Filipino people, Mr Duterte said, adding: Son of a whore, I will swear at you. Dave Brown on Barack Obama Show all 7 1 /7 Dave Brown on Barack Obama Dave Brown on Barack Obama 13 January 2016 Obama's executive actions on gun control laws Dave Brown on Barack Obama 10 December 2014 Senate Intelligence Committee report on torture is published Dave Brown on Barack Obama 6 November 2014 Republican gains in the mid-terms leave Obama looking like a lame duck Dave Brown on Barack Obama 19 September 2014 Obamas strategy on Isis is criticized as confused Dave Brown on Barack Obama 23 August 2014 Obama steps up air strikes against Isis in Iraq Dave Brown on Barack Obama 13 August 2014 Obama authorises renewed military action in Iraq. Meanwhile tributes abound after the death of Robin Williams Dave Brown on Barack Obama 25 May 2013 Obama sets out new legal framework for use of drones More than 2,000 alleged drug dealers and addicts are thought to have been killed in the Philippines since Mr Duterte took office on 30 June, pledging to rid the country of its rampant drugs trade. At least 700 of those deaths reportedly occurred during police operations. Obama responds to being called a 'son of a bitch' by Rodrigo Duterte Mr Duterte has promised medals to any member of the public who shoots a drug dealer, and threatened to take the country out of the United Nations after facing criticism from the organisation over the human rights implications of his anti-crime campaign. Speaking at a news conference on Monday, Mr Obama described his Filipino counterpart as a colourful guy and said he had asked his staff to assess whether a meeting between the two leaders would be productive in light of Mr Dutertes comments. Later, the White House announced that Mr Obama would instead meet with President Park Geun-hye of South Korea. Sign up to our Evening Headlines email for your daily guide to the latest news Sign up to our free US Evening Headlines email Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Evening Headlines email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }} Donald Trump has established a slight lead over Hillary Clinton in the US presidential election race, according to new opinion polls. The Republican candidate had been lagging behind, but may have crept ahead of the Democratic nominee in the last week, the surveys suggested. However, forecasters say Mr Trump's lead was still within the polls error margins and experts emphasised it was too soon to call the election outcome. Survey data released by American polling company Rasmussen Reports showed the lead Ms Clinton had enjoyed for most of the contest had disappeared, and put her behind Mr Trump for the first time since mid-July. The latest weekly White House Watch report by the group, which targets likely voters by telephone and online survey, showed Mr Trump to have the support of 40 per cent of the US electorate, versus 39 per cent who said they supported Ms Clinton. The results are very different to the previous week's report, which put Ms Clinton at 42% and Mr Trump at 38%. On Friday, Reuters reported the Republican candidate had pulled into a tie with his Democratic rival, based on their latest national tracking poll, produced in collaboration with Ipsos. 10 of the scariest things Donald Trump has ever said The poll showed the same results as the Rasmussen Reports data for the week beginning 26 August. The news agency reported that Mr Trump has erased a substantial deficit and consolidated support among his party's likely voters in recent weeks. Mr Trump's support among Republican voters increased six percentage points in the past fortnight, Reuters/Ipsos found, to about 78 per cent. Naked Donald Trump Statue Appears Across The States Show all 11 1 /11 Naked Donald Trump Statue Appears Across The States Naked Donald Trump Statue Appears Across The States SAN FRANCISCO, CA - AUGUST 18: A passerby kisses a statue depicting republican presidential nominee Donald Trump in the nude on August 18, 2016 in San Francisco, United States. Anarchist collective INDECLINE has created five statues depicting Donald Trump in the nude and placed them in five U.S. cities on Thursday morning. The statues are in San Francisco, New York, Los Angeles, Cleveland and Seattle. (Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images) Getty Images Naked Donald Trump Statue Appears Across The States SAN FRANCISCO, CA - AUGUST 18: A passerby looks at a statue depicting republican presidential nominee Donald Trump in the nude on August 18, 2016 in San Francisco, United States. Anarchist collective INDECLINE has created five statues depicting Donald Trump in the nude and placed them in five U.S. cities on Thursday morning. The statues are in San Francisco, New York, Los Angeles, Cleveland and Seattle. (Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images) Getty Images Naked Donald Trump Statue Appears Across The States SAN FRANCISCO, CA - AUGUST 18: A passerby takes a picture of a statue depicting republican presidential nominee Donald Trump in the nude on August 18, 2016 in San Francisco, United States. Anarchist collective INDECLINE has created five statues depicting Donald Trump in the nude and placed them in five U.S. cities on Thursday morning. The statues are in San Francisco, New York, Los Angeles, Cleveland and Seattle. (Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images) Getty Images Naked Donald Trump Statue Appears Across The States SAN FRANCISCO, CA - AUGUST 18: People gather around a statue depicting republican presidential nominee Donald Trump in the nude on August 18, 2016 in San Francisco, United States. Anarchist collective INDECLINE has created five statues depicting Donald Trump in the nude and placed them in five U.S. cities on Thursday morning. The statues are in San Francisco, New York, Los Angeles, Cleveland and Seattle. (Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images) Getty Images Naked Donald Trump Statue Appears Across The States SAN FRANCISCO, CA - AUGUST 18: People gather around a statue depicting republican presidential nominee Donald Trump in the nude on August 18, 2016 in San Francisco, United States. Anarchist collective INDECLINE has created five statues depicting Donald Trump in the nude and placed them in five U.S. cities on Thursday morning. The statues are in San Francisco, New York, Los Angeles, Cleveland and Seattle. (Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images) Getty Images Naked Donald Trump Statue Appears Across The States SAN FRANCISCO, CA - AUGUST 18: A passerby hugs a statue depicting republican presidential nominee Donald Trump in the nude on August 18, 2016 in San Francisco, United States. Anarchist collective INDECLINE has created five statues depicting Donald Trump in the nude and placed them in five U.S. cities on Thursday morning. The statues are in San Francisco, New York, Los Angeles, Cleveland and Seattle.(Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images) Getty Images Naked Donald Trump Statue Appears Across The States SAN FRANCISCO, CA - AUGUST 18: A passerby has a picture taken with a statue depicting republican presidential nominee Donald Trump in the nude on August 18, 2016 in San Francisco, United States. Anarchist collective INDECLINE has created five statues depicting Donald Trump in the nude and placed them in five U.S. cities on Thursday morning. The statues are in San Francisco, New York, Los Angeles, Cleveland and Seattle. (Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images) Getty Images Naked Donald Trump Statue Appears Across The States SAN FRANCISCO, CA - AUGUST 18: A passerby has a picture taken with a statue depicting republican presidential nominee Donald Trump in the nude on August 18, 2016 in San Francisco, United States. Anarchist collective INDECLINE has created five statues depicting Donald Trump in the nude and placed them in five U.S. cities on Thursday morning. The statues are in San Francisco, New York, Los Angeles, Cleveland and Seattle. (Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images) Getty Images Naked Donald Trump Statue Appears Across The States NEW YORK, NY - AUGUST 18: Park authorities haul away a statue of a naked GOP presidential candidate Donald Trump that appeared in Union Square Park this morning on August 18, 2016 in New York City. The illegally placed statue drew hundreds of curious onlookers, who took selfie picture with the statue, which was signed "Ginger." A published report attributed the work to the anarchist collective INDECLINE, which titled the project "The Emperor Has No B--s." (Photo by Spencer Platt/Getty Images) Getty Images Naked Donald Trump Statue Appears Across The States NEW YORK, NY - AUGUST 18: A molded foot is all that remains of a statue of naked GOP presidential candidate Donald Trump that appeared in Union Square Park this morning on August 18, 2016 in New York City. The illegally placed statue drew hundreds of curious onlookers, who took selfie picture with the statue, which was signed "Ginger." A published report attributed the work to the anarchist collective INDECLINE, which titled the project "The Emperor Has No B--s." (Photo by Spencer Platt/Getty Images) Getty Images Naked Donald Trump Statue Appears Across The States NEW YORK, NY - AUGUST 18: Park authorities haul away a statue of a naked GOP presidential candidate Donald Trump that appeared in Union Square Park this morning on August 18, 2016 in New York City. The illegally placed statue drew hundreds of curious onlookers, who took selfie picture with the statue, which was signed "Ginger." A published report attributed the work to the anarchist collective INDECLINE, which titled the project "The Emperor Has No B--s." (Photo by Spencer Platt/Getty Images) Getty Images Meanwhile Ms Clinton has faced renewed criticism over her handling of classified information while serving as US secretary of state, and her family's charitable foundation has come under intense scrutiny over donations it accepted. Polling aggregators, which calculate averages of major polls, have shown that Ms Clintons lead has been shrinking for the past few weeks. But in contradiction to the two new surveys, those averages still put her ahead of Mr Trump by between three and six percentage points. Larry Sabato, director of the University of Virginia Center for Politics, said he remained convinced Ms Clinton was ahead. There has been a closing thats completely natural, Mr Sabato said. US election: Trump in Detroit to woo black voters Every four years, you have two national party conventions that produce a bounce of varying sizes. Clinton got a substantial bounce this year that lasted for a full month. Its usually gone around Labor Day, and by then well be where we should be, which is right around four to five points [lead for Ms Clinton] Mr Trump has performed better this year in online or automated polls than in ones conducted by people. Commentators say this could be because of 'shy' Trump voters who are ashamed to say they support the controversial candidate, but will turn out to vote for him on the day. "We think there's a big hidden Trump vote in this country," campaign manager Kellyanne Conway told NBC last week. Sign up for the daily Inside Washington email for exclusive US coverage and analysis sent to your inbox Get our free Inside Washington email Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Inside Washington email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }} Donald Trump has committed to taking part in all three scheduled presidential debates with Hillary Clinton, as the two candidates sought even more media exposure to make their case to American voters. On the same day that the Democratic nominee debuted a campaign plane that included space for the media that travels with her, Mr Trump also for the first time invited a small group of reporters for a question-and-answer session on his private jet as he departed Cleveland, Ohio. I expect to do all three debates, Mr Trump said, according to Bloomberg News. I think its an important element of what were doing. Mr Trump invited reporters on his jet for the first time The New York tycoon, who has claimed he fears the election could be rigged, had previously refused to commit to taking part in all three events, saying he would not be sure the moderators would treat him fairly. The first is due to take place on September 26 at Hofstra University on Long Island, New York. Ms Clinton also headed to Ohio, considerable a battleground state, and for the first time welcome reporters aboard her plane. The candidates planes even crossed path at Hopkins International Airport. It is a move that will provide the media with greater access to Ms Clinton, who has not held a formal press conference since last December and has only once taken questions from the media. I am so happy to have all of you with me, she said. The Associated Press said that Ms Clinton powered through a coughing fit at a Labor Day festival at a Cleveland park, sharply criticising Mr Trump's recent trip to Mexico as an embarrassing international incident. He can try to fool voters into thinking somehow hes not as harsh and inhumane as he seems but it's too late, Ms Clinton said. Ms Clinton has held a consistent lead over Trump in national and battleground polls since the Democratic convention in July, though it has narrowed in recent weeks after reports about her use of private e-mail and about the Clinton family foundation. One poll published last week, put Mr Trump one point ahead. The debate may determine whether Mr Trump can overcome Ms Clintons wide advantage in fundraising and organisation, and close in on her in the final weeks of the race. Mr Trump also appeared to pivot away from his hard-line position on immigration, saying: Im all about jobs now. The Republican real estate mogul said immigrants in the country illegally may not need to return to their countries or origin to obtain legal status, appearing to contradict his past positions. Any immigrants who want full citizenship must return to their countries of origin and get in line, he told reporters. Were going to make that decision into the future, Mr Trump said in his most extensive comments on immigration since last Wednesdays speech in Phoenix on immigration. Mr Trump was in Cleveland with his running mate, Indiana Governor Mike Pence. Ms Clinton's surrogates were out in force as well, with vice presidential nominee Tim Kaine joining her in Cleveland after appearing with Vice President Joe Biden in Pittsburgh. Former President Bill Clinton campaigned for his wife in Detroit and later in Cincinnati, Ohio. Sign up to our Evening Headlines email for your daily guide to the latest news Sign up to our free US Evening Headlines email Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Evening Headlines email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }} US intelligence agencies are investigating Russian attempts to disrupt the November elections with cyber-attacks designed to damage American political institutions and foster public distrust in the political process, it has been reported. According to a report by the Washington Post, the FBI, CIA, NSA and Department of Homeland Security are all involved in the probe of what officials say is an ambitious Russian cyber-operation to influence both national and local politics in the US. A top intelligence official told the newspaper that the agencies do not yet purport to have definitive proof of Russian interference. But even the hint of something impacting the security of our election system would be of significant concern, the unnamed official said. Despite previous allegations of ties between Donald Trumps campaign and the Kremlin, officials said the objective of the Russian operation is not necessarily to sway the presidential election in the Republicans favour. Rather, they suggested, the Russians would like to sow chaos and confusion sufficient to dent American global leadership, disrupting US efforts to spread democracy and western influence, specifically in Eastern Europe and the countries of the former Soviet Union. The effort is not confined to the US, but seems to be a global campaign, a congressional aide told the Post. The recent hack of the Democratic National Committee (DNC), which experts blamed on Russian government hackers, led to the release of some 20,000 DNC emails by Wikileaks and the subsequent resignation of DNC Chairwoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz. The Republican party is also said to have been targeted by hackers, while the FBI is reportedly investigating attempts to hack digital election systems in US states including Arizona and Illinois. The director of US national intelligence, James Clapper, is overseeing the multi-agency probe. The Obama administration has so far declined to accuse Russia publicly, despite the entreaties of representatives from both political parties. On Monday, Mr Obama and Russian leader Vladimir Putin met privately on the side-lines of the G20 conference in Hangzhou, China, for discussions that the US president described afterwards as candid, blunt [and] business-like." Mr Obama said afterwards that the US had had problems with cyber intrusions from Russia in the past but declined to comment on specific investigations that are still live and active Nonetheless, he cautioned against allowing the web to become the wild, wild west, where countries that have significant cyber capacity start engaging in unhealthy competition or conflict through these means. And in an apparent warning to the Kremlin, Mr Obama added that the US has more capacity than anybody, both offensively and defensively, in the cyber realm. For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Breaking News email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }} At least twenty-four people have been killed and 91 injured following two explosions in Kabul. The blasts took place close to the defence ministry buildings as workers were finishing their shifts on Monday. People running to help victims of the first explosion in the Afghan capital were hurt as a second blast went off. Recommended Read more Photographer describes being inside terrifying Kabul attack "The second explosion was so strong, and many people, including security officials, were killed and wounded," said eyewitness Ashuqullah. "The first explosion occurred on a bridge near the defence ministry, Mohammad Radmanish, spokesman for the ministry, said to AFP. When soldiers, policemen and civilians rushed to the scene, there was the second explosion." Interior Ministry spokesman Sediq Sediqqi said a district police chief and five other police officers were among those killed. The casualty toll could rise, according to officials. The Taliban claimed responsibility for the bombing, which it said killed 58 officers and commanders. The militant group have stepped up their campaign against the Western-backed government in recent weeks, following a brief lull after the death of their former leader, Mullah Akhtar Mansour, World news in pictures Show all 50 1 /50 World news in pictures World news in pictures 30 September 2020 Pope Francis prays with priests at the end of a limited public audience at the San Damaso courtyard in The Vatican AFP via Getty World news in pictures 29 September 2020 A girl's silhouette is seen from behind a fabric in a tent along a beach by Beit Lahia in the northern Gaza Strip AFP via Getty World news in pictures 28 September 2020 A Chinese woman takes a photo of herself in front of a flower display dedicated to frontline health care workers during the COVID-19 pandemic in Beijing, China. China will celebrate national day marking the founding of the People's Republic of China on October 1st Getty World news in pictures 27 September 2020 The Glass Mountain Inn burns as the Glass Fire moves through the area in St. Helena, California. The fast moving Glass fire has burned over 1,000 acres and has destroyed homes Getty World news in pictures 26 September 2020 A villager along with a child offers prayers next to a carcass of a wild elephant that officials say was electrocuted in Rani Reserve Forest on the outskirts of Guwahati, India AFP via Getty World news in pictures 25 September 2020 The casket of late Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg is seen in Statuary Hall in the US Capitol to lie in state in Washington, DC AFP via Getty World news in pictures 24 September 2020 An anti-government protester holds up an image of a pro-democracy commemorative plaque at a rally outside Thailand's parliament in Bangkok, as activists gathered to demand a new constitution AFP via Getty World news in pictures 23 September 2020 A whale stranded on a beach in Macquarie Harbour on the rugged west coast of Tasmania, as hundreds of pilot whales have died in a mass stranding in southern Australia despite efforts to save them, with rescuers racing to free a few dozen survivors The Mercury/AFP via Getty World news in pictures 22 September 2020 State civil employee candidates wearing face masks and shields take a test in Surabaya AFP via Getty World news in pictures 21 September 2020 A man sweeps at the Taj Mahal monument on the day of its reopening after being closed for more than six months due to the coronavirus pandemic AP World news in pictures 20 September 2020 A deer looks for food in a burnt area, caused by the Bobcat fire, in Pearblossom, California EPA World news in pictures 19 September 2020 Anti-government protesters hold their mobile phones aloft as they take part in a pro-democracy rally in Bangkok. Tens of thousands of pro-democracy protesters massed close to Thailand's royal palace, in a huge rally calling for PM Prayut Chan-O-Cha to step down and demanding reforms to the monarchy AFP via Getty World news in pictures 18 September 2020 Supporters of Iraqi Shi'ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr maintain social distancing as they attend Friday prayers after the coronavirus disease restrictions were eased, in Kufa mosque, near Najaf, Iraq Reuters World news in pictures 17 September 2020 A protester climbs on The Triumph of the Republic at 'the Place de la Nation' as thousands of protesters take part in a demonstration during a national day strike called by labor unions asking for better salary and against jobs cut in Paris, France EPA World news in pictures 16 September 2020 A fire raging near the Lazzaretto of Ancona in Italy. The huge blaze broke out overnight at the port of Ancona. Firefighters have brought the fire under control but they expected to keep working through the day EPA World news in pictures 15 September 2020 Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny posing for a selfie with his family at Berlin's Charite hospital. In an Instagram post he said he could now breathe independently following his suspected poisoning last month Alexei Navalny/Instagram/AFP World news in pictures 14 September 2020 Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga, former Defense Minister Shigeru Ishiba and former Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida celebrate after Suga was elected as new head of the ruling party at the Liberal Democratic Party's leadership election in Tokyo Reuters World news in pictures 13 September 2020 A man stands behind a burning barricade during the fifth straight day of protests against police brutality in Bogota AFP via Getty World news in pictures 12 September 2020 Police officers block and detain protesters during an opposition rally to protest the official presidential election results in Minsk, Belarus. Daily protests calling for the authoritarian president's resignation are now in their second month AP World news in pictures 11 September 2020 Members of 'Omnium Cultural' celebrate the 20th 'Festa per la llibertat' ('Fiesta for the freedom') to mark the Day of Catalonia in Barcelona. Omnion Cultural fights for the independence of Catalonia EPA World news in pictures 10 September 2020 The Moria refugee camp, two days after Greece's biggest migrant camp, was destroyed by fire. Thousands of asylum seekers on the island of Lesbos are now homeless AFP via Getty World news in pictures 9 September 2020 Pope Francis takes off his face mask as he arrives by car to hold a limited public audience at the San Damaso courtyard in The Vatican AFP via Getty World news in pictures 8 September 2020 A home is engulfed in flames during the "Creek Fire" in the Tollhouse area of California AFP via Getty World news in pictures 7 September 2020 A couple take photos along a sea wall of the waves brought by Typhoon Haishen in the eastern port city of Sokcho AFP via Getty World news in pictures 6 September 2020 Novak Djokovic and a tournament official tends to a linesperson who was struck with a ball by Djokovic during his match against Pablo Carreno Busta at the US Open USA Today Sports/Reuters World news in pictures 5 September 2020 Protesters confront police at the Shrine of Remembrance in Melbourne, Australia, during an anti-lockdown rally AFP via Getty World news in pictures 4 September 2020 A woman looks on from a rooftop as rescue workers dig through the rubble of a damaged building in Beirut. A search began for possible survivors after a scanner detected a pulse one month after the mega-blast at the adjacent port AFP via Getty World news in pictures 3 September 2020 A full moon next to the Virgen del Panecillo statue in Quito, Ecuador EPA World news in pictures 2 September 2020 A Palestinian woman reacts as Israeli forces demolish her animal shed near Hebron in the Israeli-occupied West Bank Reuters World news in pictures 1 September 2020 Students protest against presidential elections results in Minsk TUT.BY/AFP via Getty World news in pictures 31 August 2020 The pack rides during the 3rd stage of the Tour de France between Nice and Sisteron AFP via Getty World news in pictures 30 August 2020 Law enforcement officers block a street during a rally of opposition supporters protesting against presidential election results in Minsk, Belarus Reuters World news in pictures 29 August 2020 A woman holding a placard reading "Stop Censorship - Yes to the Freedom of Expression" shouts in a megaphone during a protest against the mandatory wearing of face masks in Paris. Masks, which were already compulsory on public transport, in enclosed public spaces, and outdoors in Paris in certain high-congestion areas around tourist sites, were made mandatory outdoors citywide on August 28 to fight the rising coronavirus infections AFP via Getty World news in pictures 28 August 2020 Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe bows to the national flag at the start of a press conference at the prime minister official residence in Tokyo. Abe announced he will resign over health problems, in a bombshell development that kicks off a leadership contest in the world's third-largest economy AFP via Getty World news in pictures 27 August 2020 Residents take cover behind a tree trunk from rubber bullets fired by South African Police Service (SAPS) in Eldorado Park, near Johannesburg, during a protest by community members after a 16-year old boy was reported dead AFP via Getty World news in pictures 26 August 2020 People scatter rose petals on a statue of Mother Teresa marking her 110th birth anniversary in Ahmedabad AFP via Getty World news in pictures 25 August 2020 An aerial view shows beach-goers standing on salt formations in the Dead Sea near Ein Bokeq, Israel Reuters World news in pictures 24 August 2020 Health workers use a fingertip pulse oximeter and check the body temperature of a fisherwoman inside the Dharavi slum during a door-to-door Covid-19 coronavirus screening in Mumbai AFP via Getty World news in pictures 23 August 2020 People carry an idol of the Hindu god Ganesh, the deity of prosperity, to immerse it off the coast of the Arabian sea during the Ganesh Chaturthi festival in Mumbai, India Reuters World news in pictures 22 August 2020 Firefighters watch as flames from the LNU Lightning Complex fires approach a home in Napa County, California AP World news in pictures 21 August 2020 Members of the Israeli security forces arrest a Palestinian demonstrator during a rally to protest against Israel's plan to annex parts of the occupied West Bank AFP via Getty World news in pictures 20 August 2020 A man pushes his bicycle through a deserted road after prohibitory orders were imposed by district officials for a week to contain the spread of the Covid-19 in Kathmandu AFP via Getty World news in pictures 19 August 2020 A car burns while parked at a residence in Vacaville, California. Dozens of fires are burning out of control throughout Northern California as fire resources are spread thin AFP via Getty World news in pictures 18 August 2020 Students use their mobile phones as flashlights at an anti-government rally at Mahidol University in Nakhon Pathom. Thailand has seen near-daily protests in recent weeks by students demanding the resignation of Prime Minister Prayut Chan-O-Cha AFP via Getty World news in pictures 17 August 2020 Members of the Kayapo tribe block the BR163 highway during a protest outside Novo Progresso in Para state, Brazil. Indigenous protesters blocked a major transamazonian highway to protest against the lack of governmental support during the COVID-19 novel coronavirus pandemic and illegal deforestation in and around their territories AFP via Getty World news in pictures 16 August 2020 Lightning forks over the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge as a storm passes over Oakland AP World news in pictures 15 August 2020 Belarus opposition supporters gather near the Pushkinskaya metro station where Alexander Taraikovsky, a 34-year-old protester died on August 10, during their protest rally in central Minsk AFP via Getty World news in pictures 14 August 2020 AlphaTauri's driver Daniil Kvyat takes part in the second practice session at the Circuit de Catalunya in Montmelo near Barcelona ahead of the Spanish F1 Grand Prix AFP via Getty World news in pictures 13 August 2020 Soldiers of the Brazilian Armed Forces during a disinfection of the Christ The Redeemer statue at the Corcovado mountain prior to the opening of the touristic attraction in Rio AFP via Getty World news in pictures 12 August 2020 Young elephant bulls tussle playfully on World Elephant Day at the Amboseli National Park in Kenya AFP via Getty Ashraf Ghani, President of Afghanistan, released a statement condemning the attack: A number of innocent Afghans were wounded and martyred as a result of one explosion and one suicide attack carried out by the enemies of Afghanistan this afternoon in Kabul city. By carrying out the attacks, they showed once again that they are the enemies of progress and development of our beloved country. President Mohammad Ashraf Ghani said that terrorist groups attempt to reach their ominous goals by spreading fear and carrying out terrorist attacks. He added that the enemies of Afghanistan have lost their ability to fight the security and defence forces of the country and thus attack highways, cities, mosques, schools and common people. The president offers his sympathies and condolences to the families of those martyred, wishes quick recovery to those wounded and prays to the Almighty Allah to grant the highest place in paradise to those martyred today. The double bombing came less than two weeks after gunmen attacked the American University in Kabul, killing 13 people. It was the deadliest attack in Kabul since at least 80 people were killed by a suicide bomber who targeted a demonstration on July 23. That assault was claimed by Isis. Government officials have been preparing for a conference in Brussels next month at which foreign donors, concerned about the ability of the Afghan security forces to withstand Taliban violence, are expected to pledge continuing support over coming years. Agencies For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Breaking News email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }} North Korea has fired three ballistic missiles off its east coast, in a show of power coinciding with the G20 economic summit in China. The South Korean military joint chiefs of staff said missiles were fired from the North Hwanghae province and landed in the Sea of Japan. The totalitarian state regularly tests rockets and missiles, especially when international attention is turned to northeast Asia. World leaders are gathering for the G20 summit of advanced and emerging economies in the city of Hangzhou in eastern China. The missiles were launched just hours Chinese president, Xi Jinping, said he opposed the US deployment of an advanced anti-missile system in Korea, despite increasing international concern about the isolationist state's advances in missile technology. Beijing is the North's only major ally, but ties between the neighbours have frayed following a series of nuclear and missile tests and other perceived acts of aggression. South Korea's joint chiefs of staff said the three missiles, launched from the western North Korean town of Hwangju, flew across the country before landing in the waters off its east coast, but did not describe the range of the missiles. Before the firing on Monday on the sidelines of the G20 summit, South Korean President Park Geun-hye criticised the North for what she called 'provocations' that are hurting Seoul-Beijing ties. North Korea launch short range projectiles Show all 6 1 /6 North Korea launch short range projectiles North Korea launch short range projectiles A man watches a TV news program showing a file footage of the missile launch conducted by North Korea, at Seoul Railway Station in Seoul, South Korea, AP North Korea launch short range projectiles North Korean leader Kim Jong-un speaking during a ceremony for the scientists, technicians, workers and officials who worked on the recent successful launch of a satellite EPA North Korea launch short range projectiles People watch a TV news program showing a file footage of the missile launch conducted by North Korea, at Seoul Railway Station in Seoul, South Korea, AP North Korea launch short range projectiles North Korean soldiers guard the truce village of Panmunjom at the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) which separates the two Koreas, in Panmunjom, North Korea AP North Korea launch short range projectiles People watch a TV news program showing North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, at Seoul Railway Station in Seoul, South Korea AP North Korea launch short range projectiles An undated file picture released by the Rodong Sinmun, the newspaper of the North Korean ruling Workers Party EPA The launch comes four days before the 68th anniversary of the founding of North Korea's government and days after South Korean and US troops ended annual joint summertime military drills, which North Korea regularly describes as a dress rehearsal for invasion. Last month, worries about the North's weapons programmes deepened after a missile from a North Korean submarine flew 500 kilometers (310 miles), the longest distance achieved by the North for such a weapon. Missiles launched under water are causing concern to neighbouring countries because they are harder to detect in advance than weapons on land. The development of submarine missiles is a key step towards North Korea having nuclear capabilities. The UN Security Council has strongly condemned four North Korean ballistic missile launches in July and August. It called them "grave violations" of a ban on all ballistic missile activity. Successful missile tests in North Korea have previously been celebrated by mass dancing exhibitions and concerts in the country. North Korea has a "Military First" national holiday, where it rejoices in its miltary strength. Additional reporting by Associated Press For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Breaking News email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }} Controversial Filipino President Rodrigo Duterte has labelled US counterpart Barack Obama a son of a bitch and warned him not to question his policy of extrajudicial killings. Since gaining power in June, Mr Duterte has engaged in a vicious war on drugs, which has seen around 2,400 people killed with impunity by hit squads, drawing international criticism. But before heading to Laos for the ASEAN Summit on Monday, Mr Duterte said he was a leader of a sovereign country and answerable only to the Filipino people. Recommended Read more Photos of Filipino jail show prisoners packed like sardines He said Mr Obama should be respectful and refrain from throwing questions at him about the killings, "[or] son of a bitch, I will swear at you in that forum." Mr Duterte was answering a reporter's question about how he intends to explain recent events in the Philippines to Mr Obama. He continued: "Who is he to confront me? As a matter of fact, America has one too many to answer for. "Everybody has a terrible record of extrajudicial killings." The most controversial quotes from Rodrigo Duterte Show all 9 1 /9 The most controversial quotes from Rodrigo Duterte The most controversial quotes from Rodrigo Duterte On killing drug addicts These sons of whores are destroying our children. I warn you, dont go into that, even if youre a policeman, because I will really kill you. If you know of any addicts, go ahead and kill them yourself as getting their parents to do it would be too painful The most controversial quotes from Rodrigo Duterte Message to China I will go there on my own with a Jet Ski, bringing along with me a [Phillipino] flag and a pole, and once I disembark, I will plant the flag on the runway and tell the Chinese authorities, Kill me AP The most controversial quotes from Rodrigo Duterte Christmas message to law-breakers If you do not want to stop, and just continue committing crimes, then this would be your last Merry Christmas AP The most controversial quotes from Rodrigo Duterte On sex life I was separated from my wife. Im not impotent. What am I supposed to do? Let this hang forever? When I take Viagra, it stands up AFP/Getty Images The most controversial quotes from Rodrigo Duterte On the drugs trade None of my children are into illegal drugs. But my order is, even if it is a member of my family, kill him'" AP The most controversial quotes from Rodrigo Duterte Insulting the Pope We were affected by the traffic. It took us five hours. I asked why, they said it was closed. I asked who is coming. They answered, the pope. I wanted to call him: Pope, son of a wh**e, go home. Do not visit us again AFP/Getty Images The most controversial quotes from Rodrigo Duterte Joke about rape I saw her face and I thought, 'What a pity... they raped her, they all lined up. I was mad she was raped but she was so beautiful. I thought, the mayor should have been first AFP/Getty The most controversial quotes from Rodrigo Duterte Insulting Barack Obama "Mr Obama should be respectful and refrain from throwing questions at me about the killings, or son of a bitch, I will swear at you in that forum" REUTERS The most controversial quotes from Rodrigo Duterte On Abu Sayyaf Islamic militants "If I have to face them, you know I can eat humans. I will really open up your body. Just give me vinegar and salt, and I will eat you. If you annoy me to the fullest... I will eat you alive. Raw" EPA The strongman president made his name as a tough law enforcer and has advocated the killing of drug users and suppliers, offering his protection to police officers who do his bidding. Around 900 of the dead were killed in police operations, while the remainder are deaths under investigation a term human rights campaigners say is a euphemism for vigilante murders. At the same conference, Mr Duterte told journalists: "Plenty [of drug dealers] will be killed until the last pusher is out of the streets. Until the [last] drug manufacturer is killed we will continue. Mr Obama is not the only world leader to have felt the sharp end of Mr Dutertes tongue, with Mr Duterte having used the same insult towards the United Nations following criticism of his policies. Maybe well just have to decide to separate from the United Nations, Mr Duterte said in late August. If you are that disrespectful, son of a bitch, then I will just leave you. He later retracted the comment, saying it was a joke, but also refused a meeting with UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon in Laos, saying his schedule did not allow for it. For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Breaking News email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }} An Australian teenager who planned to run over and behead a police officer in an attack on an Australian Veterans' Day ceremony has been sentenced to ten years on prison. Sevdet Ramadan Besim, 19, planned to attack police at the Anzac Day parade in Melbourne or the neighbouring city of Dandenong, on April 25, 2015. Besim's scheme was uncovered when police in Britain discovered phone messages between Besim and a 15-year-old British boy. Police said he was motivated by an extremist ideology and had expressed support for Isis. Screenshot image taken from the 15-year-old British boy's phone that police said showed him plotting the Anzac Day attack (Greater Manchester Police) In court documents, prosecutors said Besim and the British boy discussed packing a kangaroo with explosives and painting it with the Isis symbol before setting it loose on Australian police officers. Victoria Supreme Court Justice Michael Croucher said Besim's decision to plead guilty was a major factor in his decision to impose a ten-year, rather than 15-year, sentence. A wallpaper on the 15-year-old British boy's phone, discovered hidden under his mattress by police, showing Isis propaganda (Greater Manchester Police) Mr Croucher said he had sought in his ruling to balance the need to protect the community from Besim's "evil" and "terrifying" plans against the young man's age, contrition and prospects of rehabilitation. "I accept that Mr Besim's youth and immaturity are significant mitigating factors. He was just 18 at the time of the offending and is now only 19," Croucher said, according to a transcript of the proceedings. The annual Anzac Day service commemorates the 1915 Gallipoli landings in Turkey, the first major military action fought by the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps during the FIrst World War. Hundreds of thousands of people attend the commemorative services around Australia. Last year, a British court sentenced a 15-year-old boy from Blackburn to life in prison for his role in the plot. ANZAC Day in pictures Show all 12 1 /12 ANZAC Day in pictures ANZAC Day in pictures Anzac-Day2-ap.jpg AP ANZAC Day in pictures Anzac-Day7-gt.jpg Getty Images ANZAC Day in pictures Anzac-Day18-gt.jpg Getty Images ANZAC Day in pictures Anzac-Day1-gt.jpg Getty Images ANZAC Day in pictures Anzac-Day4-afp.jpg AFP/Getty Images ANZAC Day in pictures Anzac-Day3-gt.jpg Getty Images ANZAC Day in pictures Anzac-Day5-afp.jpg AFP/Getty Images ANZAC Day in pictures Anzac-Day9-gt.jpg Getty Images ANZAC Day in pictures Anzac-Day8-gt_1.jpg Getty Images ANZAC Day in pictures Anzac-Day6-afp.jpg AFP/Getty Images ANZAC Day in pictures Anzac-Day17-ap.jpg AP ANZAC Day in pictures Anzac-Day16-gt.jpg Getty Images Australia, a staunch US ally, has been on heightened alert for attacks by home-grown Islamist radicals since 2014 and authorities say they have thwarted a number of plots. About 100 people have left Australia for Syria to fight alongside organisations such as Isis, Australia's Immigration Minister said this year. There have been several "lone wolf" assaults in Australia, including a 2014 cafe siege in Sydney that left two hostages and the gunman dead. Also in 2014, police shot dead a Melbourne teenager after he stabbed two counter-terrorism officers. Besim's sentence may have seemed harsh just a handful of years ago, but must now been understood in view of recent mass casualty attacks in Europe and the United States, Greg Barton, a terrorism expert at Deakin University, told Reuters. "It has to be seen in the context of realised and attempted low-fi, lone-wolf attacks in the last two years that are fairly unprecedented," Mr Barton added. "Every month or two there's some development which makes the unimaginable suddenly very concrete." Additional reporting by agencies For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Breaking News email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }} Stories of insurance companies refusing to pay out have existed for about as long as insurance companies themselves. Yet few can be as surprising, elaborate, or involve as many bizarre details as the case of British expat Christopher Robinson and the fire that destroyed his $1.6 million mansion in New Zealand. Mr Robinson, in his late sixties, moved to a remote part of North Island near Kerikeri with his wife and two children in 2005. On 9 September 2011, the couple drove 400km from home to visit Hamilton. That night, shortly before midnight, neighbours in Kerikeri phoned the emergency services to say the Robinson home was going up in flames. It, along with Mr Robinsons E-class Mercedes, was reduced to cinders. Yet almost five years later to the day, the family has not received a penny from insurance giant IAG. World news in pictures Show all 50 1 /50 World news in pictures World news in pictures 30 September 2020 Pope Francis prays with priests at the end of a limited public audience at the San Damaso courtyard in The Vatican AFP via Getty World news in pictures 29 September 2020 A girl's silhouette is seen from behind a fabric in a tent along a beach by Beit Lahia in the northern Gaza Strip AFP via Getty World news in pictures 28 September 2020 A Chinese woman takes a photo of herself in front of a flower display dedicated to frontline health care workers during the COVID-19 pandemic in Beijing, China. China will celebrate national day marking the founding of the People's Republic of China on October 1st Getty World news in pictures 27 September 2020 The Glass Mountain Inn burns as the Glass Fire moves through the area in St. Helena, California. The fast moving Glass fire has burned over 1,000 acres and has destroyed homes Getty World news in pictures 26 September 2020 A villager along with a child offers prayers next to a carcass of a wild elephant that officials say was electrocuted in Rani Reserve Forest on the outskirts of Guwahati, India AFP via Getty World news in pictures 25 September 2020 The casket of late Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg is seen in Statuary Hall in the US Capitol to lie in state in Washington, DC AFP via Getty World news in pictures 24 September 2020 An anti-government protester holds up an image of a pro-democracy commemorative plaque at a rally outside Thailand's parliament in Bangkok, as activists gathered to demand a new constitution AFP via Getty World news in pictures 23 September 2020 A whale stranded on a beach in Macquarie Harbour on the rugged west coast of Tasmania, as hundreds of pilot whales have died in a mass stranding in southern Australia despite efforts to save them, with rescuers racing to free a few dozen survivors The Mercury/AFP via Getty World news in pictures 22 September 2020 State civil employee candidates wearing face masks and shields take a test in Surabaya AFP via Getty World news in pictures 21 September 2020 A man sweeps at the Taj Mahal monument on the day of its reopening after being closed for more than six months due to the coronavirus pandemic AP World news in pictures 20 September 2020 A deer looks for food in a burnt area, caused by the Bobcat fire, in Pearblossom, California EPA World news in pictures 19 September 2020 Anti-government protesters hold their mobile phones aloft as they take part in a pro-democracy rally in Bangkok. Tens of thousands of pro-democracy protesters massed close to Thailand's royal palace, in a huge rally calling for PM Prayut Chan-O-Cha to step down and demanding reforms to the monarchy AFP via Getty World news in pictures 18 September 2020 Supporters of Iraqi Shi'ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr maintain social distancing as they attend Friday prayers after the coronavirus disease restrictions were eased, in Kufa mosque, near Najaf, Iraq Reuters World news in pictures 17 September 2020 A protester climbs on The Triumph of the Republic at 'the Place de la Nation' as thousands of protesters take part in a demonstration during a national day strike called by labor unions asking for better salary and against jobs cut in Paris, France EPA World news in pictures 16 September 2020 A fire raging near the Lazzaretto of Ancona in Italy. The huge blaze broke out overnight at the port of Ancona. Firefighters have brought the fire under control but they expected to keep working through the day EPA World news in pictures 15 September 2020 Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny posing for a selfie with his family at Berlin's Charite hospital. In an Instagram post he said he could now breathe independently following his suspected poisoning last month Alexei Navalny/Instagram/AFP World news in pictures 14 September 2020 Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga, former Defense Minister Shigeru Ishiba and former Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida celebrate after Suga was elected as new head of the ruling party at the Liberal Democratic Party's leadership election in Tokyo Reuters World news in pictures 13 September 2020 A man stands behind a burning barricade during the fifth straight day of protests against police brutality in Bogota AFP via Getty World news in pictures 12 September 2020 Police officers block and detain protesters during an opposition rally to protest the official presidential election results in Minsk, Belarus. Daily protests calling for the authoritarian president's resignation are now in their second month AP World news in pictures 11 September 2020 Members of 'Omnium Cultural' celebrate the 20th 'Festa per la llibertat' ('Fiesta for the freedom') to mark the Day of Catalonia in Barcelona. Omnion Cultural fights for the independence of Catalonia EPA World news in pictures 10 September 2020 The Moria refugee camp, two days after Greece's biggest migrant camp, was destroyed by fire. Thousands of asylum seekers on the island of Lesbos are now homeless AFP via Getty World news in pictures 9 September 2020 Pope Francis takes off his face mask as he arrives by car to hold a limited public audience at the San Damaso courtyard in The Vatican AFP via Getty World news in pictures 8 September 2020 A home is engulfed in flames during the "Creek Fire" in the Tollhouse area of California AFP via Getty World news in pictures 7 September 2020 A couple take photos along a sea wall of the waves brought by Typhoon Haishen in the eastern port city of Sokcho AFP via Getty World news in pictures 6 September 2020 Novak Djokovic and a tournament official tends to a linesperson who was struck with a ball by Djokovic during his match against Pablo Carreno Busta at the US Open USA Today Sports/Reuters World news in pictures 5 September 2020 Protesters confront police at the Shrine of Remembrance in Melbourne, Australia, during an anti-lockdown rally AFP via Getty World news in pictures 4 September 2020 A woman looks on from a rooftop as rescue workers dig through the rubble of a damaged building in Beirut. A search began for possible survivors after a scanner detected a pulse one month after the mega-blast at the adjacent port AFP via Getty World news in pictures 3 September 2020 A full moon next to the Virgen del Panecillo statue in Quito, Ecuador EPA World news in pictures 2 September 2020 A Palestinian woman reacts as Israeli forces demolish her animal shed near Hebron in the Israeli-occupied West Bank Reuters World news in pictures 1 September 2020 Students protest against presidential elections results in Minsk TUT.BY/AFP via Getty World news in pictures 31 August 2020 The pack rides during the 3rd stage of the Tour de France between Nice and Sisteron AFP via Getty World news in pictures 30 August 2020 Law enforcement officers block a street during a rally of opposition supporters protesting against presidential election results in Minsk, Belarus Reuters World news in pictures 29 August 2020 A woman holding a placard reading "Stop Censorship - Yes to the Freedom of Expression" shouts in a megaphone during a protest against the mandatory wearing of face masks in Paris. Masks, which were already compulsory on public transport, in enclosed public spaces, and outdoors in Paris in certain high-congestion areas around tourist sites, were made mandatory outdoors citywide on August 28 to fight the rising coronavirus infections AFP via Getty World news in pictures 28 August 2020 Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe bows to the national flag at the start of a press conference at the prime minister official residence in Tokyo. Abe announced he will resign over health problems, in a bombshell development that kicks off a leadership contest in the world's third-largest economy AFP via Getty World news in pictures 27 August 2020 Residents take cover behind a tree trunk from rubber bullets fired by South African Police Service (SAPS) in Eldorado Park, near Johannesburg, during a protest by community members after a 16-year old boy was reported dead AFP via Getty World news in pictures 26 August 2020 People scatter rose petals on a statue of Mother Teresa marking her 110th birth anniversary in Ahmedabad AFP via Getty World news in pictures 25 August 2020 An aerial view shows beach-goers standing on salt formations in the Dead Sea near Ein Bokeq, Israel Reuters World news in pictures 24 August 2020 Health workers use a fingertip pulse oximeter and check the body temperature of a fisherwoman inside the Dharavi slum during a door-to-door Covid-19 coronavirus screening in Mumbai AFP via Getty World news in pictures 23 August 2020 People carry an idol of the Hindu god Ganesh, the deity of prosperity, to immerse it off the coast of the Arabian sea during the Ganesh Chaturthi festival in Mumbai, India Reuters World news in pictures 22 August 2020 Firefighters watch as flames from the LNU Lightning Complex fires approach a home in Napa County, California AP World news in pictures 21 August 2020 Members of the Israeli security forces arrest a Palestinian demonstrator during a rally to protest against Israel's plan to annex parts of the occupied West Bank AFP via Getty World news in pictures 20 August 2020 A man pushes his bicycle through a deserted road after prohibitory orders were imposed by district officials for a week to contain the spread of the Covid-19 in Kathmandu AFP via Getty World news in pictures 19 August 2020 A car burns while parked at a residence in Vacaville, California. Dozens of fires are burning out of control throughout Northern California as fire resources are spread thin AFP via Getty World news in pictures 18 August 2020 Students use their mobile phones as flashlights at an anti-government rally at Mahidol University in Nakhon Pathom. Thailand has seen near-daily protests in recent weeks by students demanding the resignation of Prime Minister Prayut Chan-O-Cha AFP via Getty World news in pictures 17 August 2020 Members of the Kayapo tribe block the BR163 highway during a protest outside Novo Progresso in Para state, Brazil. Indigenous protesters blocked a major transamazonian highway to protest against the lack of governmental support during the COVID-19 novel coronavirus pandemic and illegal deforestation in and around their territories AFP via Getty World news in pictures 16 August 2020 Lightning forks over the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge as a storm passes over Oakland AP World news in pictures 15 August 2020 Belarus opposition supporters gather near the Pushkinskaya metro station where Alexander Taraikovsky, a 34-year-old protester died on August 10, during their protest rally in central Minsk AFP via Getty World news in pictures 14 August 2020 AlphaTauri's driver Daniil Kvyat takes part in the second practice session at the Circuit de Catalunya in Montmelo near Barcelona ahead of the Spanish F1 Grand Prix AFP via Getty World news in pictures 13 August 2020 Soldiers of the Brazilian Armed Forces during a disinfection of the Christ The Redeemer statue at the Corcovado mountain prior to the opening of the touristic attraction in Rio AFP via Getty World news in pictures 12 August 2020 Young elephant bulls tussle playfully on World Elephant Day at the Amboseli National Park in Kenya AFP via Getty Thats because, according to a lengthy account of the proceedings in New Zealands Stuff magazine, IAGs fire investigators believe Mr Robinson set the fire himself - from remote. Sifting through the remains of the home, they found an Acer desktop computer which, forensic tests showed, had been remotely accessed on the night of the fire. They also found the burned-out remains of two printers, which were connected to the Acer, and tell-tale burn marks to suggest the fire had involved the use of an accelerant such as petrol. The investigators theory, according to Stuff, is that Mr Robinson used his Macbook Pro in Hamilton to log in to the Acer remotely. The Acer then (according to the theory) sent a command to the printer, which pulled through a piece of paper, which pulled a piece of string, which was attached to a switch. The switch would then turn on a 12V battery, heating an element that would light a match, setting alight a flammable liquid and, finally, bringing down the whole house. The theory may sound farfetched, but the evidence of remote access on the Acer in particular was enough for police to take it seriously, and Mr Robinson was charged with arson and making a fraudulent insurance claim. According to a New Zealand Herald report from earlier this year, the insurance companys theory collapsed when prosecutors could not prove that a print command had actually been sent, despite extensive forensic work on all the computer equipment in question. Yet IAG still insists the fire was started deliberately, and refuses to pay out. A civil case on that front is still pending. For his part, Mr Robinson told Stuff he believes the fire was started by intruders. The idea he would use an elaborate Rube-Goldberg (or Heath-Robinson) machine was nonsense, he said. Why would you use such a system rather than just plugging a cheap time-switch into the wall-socket? The plot thickened further, if possible, when Mr Robinson emailed IAG executives and their lawyers threatening to discredit the company online if they didnt pay up. In May this year, he was found guilty of blackmail, the Herald reports, and sentenced in June to nine months home detention. With everything invested in the Kerikeri mansion, Mr Robinson is now formally bankrupt - a status which is making it difficult for him to chase IAG for his pay-out. IAG, meanwhile, say the failure of the criminal case against Mr Robinson changes nothing about their view that is was a deliberate fire. The Independent has contacted IAG for comment. Meanwhile, the bizarre saga continues. For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Breaking News email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }} Germany's anti-migrant party, Alternative fur Deutschland (AfD), has won almost a quarter of the vote in parts of the country. A map, created by Statista for The Independent, has revealed how the right-wing populist movement is gaining ground in Germany, with more than 10 per cent of the vote in six regions. AfD beat Angela Merkel's ruling CDU party into third place in the Chancellor's constituency following elections in the northern state of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania. The right-wing populist party, formed in 2013 with the initial objective of opposing Germanys European Union membership, won 20.8 per cent of the vote in the state election, while Ms Merkel's Christian Democrats polled 19 per cent, their worst result yet in the state. The AfD has also won 24.3 per cent of the vote in Sachsen-Anhalt and 20.8 per cent in the northern state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern. It has gained 15.1 per cent and 12.6 per cent of the vote in Baden-Wurttemberg and Rheinland-Palatinate respectively. The party has less support in the smaller northern cities, winning 6.6 per cent of the vote in Hamburg and 5.5 per cent in Bremen. Refugees settle in Germany Show all 12 1 /12 Refugees settle in Germany Refugees settle in Germany Germany Mohamed Zayat, a refugee from Syria, plays with his daughter Ranim, who is nearly 3, in the one room they and Mohamed's wife Laloosh call home at an asylum-seekers' shelter in Vossberg village on October 9, 2015 in Letschin, Germany. The Zayats arrived approximately two months ago after trekking through Turkey, Greece and the Balkans and are now waiting for local authorities to process their asylum application, after which they will be allowed to live independently and settle elsewhere in Germany. Approximately 60 asylum-seekers, mostly from Syria, Chechnya and Somalia, live at the Vossberg shelter, which is run by the Arbeiter-Samariter Bund (ASB) charity 2015 Getty Images Refugees settle in Germany Germany A refugee child Amnat Musayeva points to a star with her photo and name that decorates the door to her classroom as teacher Martina Fischer looks on at the local kindergarten Amnat and her siblings attend on October 9, 2015 in Letschin, Germany. The children live with their family at an asylum-seekers' shelter in nearby Vossberg village and are waiting for local authorities to process their asylum applications. Approximately 60 asylum-seekers, mostly from Syria, Chechnya and Somalia, live at the Vossberg shelter, which is run by the Arbeiter-Samariter Bund (ASB) charity Getty Images Refugees settle in Germany Germany Kurdish Syrian asylum-applicant Mohamed Ali Hussein (R), 19, and fellow applicant Autur, from Latvia, load benches onto a truckbed while performing community service, for which they receive a small allowance, in Wilhelmsaue village on October 9, 2015 near Letschin, Germany. Mohamed and Autur live at an asylum-applicants' shelter in nearby Vossberg village. Approximately 60 asylum-seekers, mostly from Syria, Chechnya and Somalia, live at the Vossberg shelter, which is run by the Arbeiter-Samariter Bund (ASB) charity Getty Images Refugees settle in Germany Germany Mohamed Ali Hussein ((L), 19, and his cousin Sinjar Hussein, 34, sweep leaves at a cemetery in Gieshof village, for which they receive a small allowance, near Letschin Getty Images Refugees settle in Germany Germany Mohamed Zayat, a refugee from Syria, looks among donated clothing in the basement of the asylum-seekers' shelter that is home to Mohamed, his wife Laloosh and their daughter Ranim as residents' laundry dries behind in Vossberg village on October 9, 2015 in Letschin, Germany. The Zayats arrived approximately two months ago after trekking through Turkey, Greece and the Balkans and are now waiting for local authorities to process their asylum application, after which they will be allowed to live independently and settle elsewhere in Germany Getty Images Refugees settle in Germany Germany Asya Sugaipova (L), Mohza Mukayeva and Khadra Zhukova prepare food in the communal kitchen at the asylum-seekers' shelter that is their home in Vossberg village in Letschin Getty Images Refugees settle in Germany Germany Efrah Abdullahi Ahmed looks down from the communal kitchen window at her daughter Sumaya, 10, who had just returned from school, at the asylum-seekers' shelter that is their home in Vossberg Getty Images Refugees settle in Germany Germany Asylum-applicants, including Syrians Mohamed Ali Hussein (C-R, in black jacket) and Fadi Almasalmeh (C), return from grocery shopping with other refugees to the asylum-applicants' shelter that is their home in Vossberg village in Letschin Getty Images Refugees settle in Germany Germany Mohamed Zayat (2nd from L), a refugee from Syria, smokes a cigarette after shopping for groceries with his daughter Ranim, who is nearly 3, and fellow-Syrian refugees Mohamed Ali Hussein (C) and Fadi Almasalmeh (L) at a local supermarket on October 9, 2015 in Letschin, Germany. All of them live at an asylum-seekers' shelter in nearby Vossberg village and are waiting for local authorities to process their asylum applications, after which they will be allowed to live independently and settle elsewhere in Germany 2015 Getty Images Refugees settle in Germany Germany Kurdish Syrian refugees Leila, 9, carries her sister Avin, 1, in the backyard at the asylum-seekers' shelter that is home to them and their family in Vossberg village in Letschin Getty Images Refugees settle in Germany Germany Somali refugees and husband and wife Said Ahmed Gure (R) and Ayaan Gure pose with their infant son Muzammili, who was born in Germany, in the room they share at an asylum-seekers' shelter in Vossberg village on October 9, 2015 in Letschin, Germany. Approximately 60 asylum-seekers, mostly from Syria, Chechnya and Somalia, live at the Vossberg shelter, which is run by the Arbeiter-Samariter Bund (ASB) charity, and are waiting for authorities to process their application for asylum 2015 Getty Images Refugees settle in Germany Germany German Chancellor Angela Merkel pauses for a selfie with a refugee after she visited the AWO Refugium Askanierring shelter for refugees in Berlin Getty Images Ms Merkel's approval rating has fallen to a five-year low of 45 percent, down from 67 percent a year ago, when the Germany Government accepted thousands of refugees stranded at Budapest train station. The centre-left Social Democrats, who led the outgoing state government in a coalition with the conservatives, remained the strongest party with 30.6 per cent of the vote. The AfD is now represented in nine of Germany's 16 state legislatures and hopes to enter the national Parliament next year, but there's no realistic prospect at present of the party going into government because other parties will not tolerate it. For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Breaking News email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }} Hundreds of people have been evacuated from villas along the east coast of Spain after a huge fire raged through tourist areas in Alicante. More than 40 firefighters have been sent out by Spains Military Emergency Unit to tackle the blaze, which began on Sunday evening and quickly spread through the Costa Blanca resort of Javea. At least 20 homes have been destroyed in the flames, Spanish broadcaster RTVE said, and evacuees have been moved to schools, restaurants and hostels in nearby Denia and Benidorm. Firefighters worked throughout the night to control the flames, which spanned 7km, according to The Local. It was initially thought the blaze had been brought under control on Sunday; however, new outbreaks started later in the evening fuelled by strong winds and some of the areas hottest temperatures of the year. El Mundo newspaper reports that at least three outbreaks occurred in various areas of Javea. Police said villas in Bentatxell, Tossalet and Cansalades had also been evacuated. Police are investigating the cause of the fire and are reportedly treating it as suspicious. Jose Maria Angel, the director general of the agency for safety and emergency response, has reportedly suggested the fire could be an arson attack, El Mundo reports. Andrea Viguer, a spokesman for the Red Cross in the Alicante province told The Spain Report that a team was sent out to the fire at about 8:30pm on Sunday and it soon became out of control. She said the Red Cross had prepared for an all-night effort and 50 volunteers had been brought in to help with evacuations. The first aircraft arrived at the scene on Monday morning and it is expected that at least 16 helicopters and seaplanes will be brought in tackle the fires which continue to burn. For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Breaking News email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }} Security services are examining plans for how to deal with thousands of Western jihadists who would seek to return to Europe as Isis continues to lose territory in its caliphate and suffer severe losses from pounding air strikes by the US-led coalition and Russia. Although the Islamist group has suffered increasingly from desertion, very few of the foreign fighters who have left its ranks have returned to Europe in recent times. The numbers coming to Britain for instance, The Independent has learned, have been in no more than single figures for the last eight months. These extremists, radicalised, armed and trained, will present a severe threat in the near future, a ticking time bomb as they try to break out of the region, say security officials, who stress that a coordinated policy is needed to confront the impending crisis. Turkish military opens up new front against ISIL in Syria The problem has been compounded by a dramatic increase in the use of children, including those of Western parentage, by Isis to carry out executions of prisoners and other acts of extreme violence. A photo appeared last week of a young boy, said to be British, in the act of shooting Kurdish fighters captured by Isis. The 11-year-old, it has been claimed, was the son of Sally Jones, a British woman who had converted to Islam and joined Isis in Syria. Isis is believed to have around 1,500 child fighters in its ranks. The vast majority are Syrian and Iraqi, with Yemen and Morocco supplying most from Arab countries. There are also around 50 children from Britain are currently in the self-declared Islamic State, along with smaller numbers from France and Australia, among Western countries. What one does with these children need to be considered, said a senior British security official. Some of them have who have been used to carry out these criminal acts are below the age of criminal responsibility in many countries in Europe. We know of children from the West who had been taken to Syria, but there are also children who have been born there to European parents. As we know Daesh [Isis] are now bringing five-year-olds into their jihad. But the real problem would be with the thousands of adults. A number of states are liaising on this, but the policies will depend to an extent on political and legal considerations in individual states. Women and children celebrating after being freed from Isis in Manbij, one of the latest Syrian cities to be retaken from the group (Reuters) For the UK there is the further complication over intelligence sharing with European allies states following the referendum vote on European Union membership and what happens with such matters as the European arrest warrant. The negotiations for Brexit, addressing these issues, are expected to begin as the problem with the jihadists is likely to become increasingly urgent. Around 27,000 foreign fighters are believed to have joined Isis since the start of Syrias civil war five years ago, with between 5,000 and 7,000 of them arriving from Europe to join the group and other hardline rebel organisations such as Jabhat al-Nusra, an al-Qaeda affiliate. Just under 800 have travelled from the UK. One key reason for jihadists not returning to Europe is that Western European states have a policy of bringing criminal charges against those who had fought for alongside extremists. Denmark, which has a programme of rehabilitating returning jihadists, is the exception to this. Isis has also been taking vengeance against foreign fighters who have attempted to leave. Samra Kesinovic, a 17-year-old Austrian schoolgirl who was beaten to death last November was one high-profile victim of this, and there have been mass executions of deserters. Earlier this year The Independent was contacted at the Turkish border with Syria by 11 foreign fighters who were seeking to flee through Syrias Idlib province. They failed after their escape route, organised by a moderate rebel group, was cut off by Isis. Jihadists have been using the Turkish border to get in and out of Syria, sometimes with the connivance, it has been claimed, of the Erdogan government. But the Turks are now carrying out military operations against Isis, and its militants have now lost control of points they had occupied in the area. Timeline: The emergence of Isis Show all 40 1 /40 Timeline: The emergence of Isis Timeline: The emergence of Isis 2000 Abu Musab al-Zarqawi (pictured here) forms an al-Qaeda splinter group in Iraq, al-Qaeda in Iraq. Its brutality from the beginning alienates Iraqis and many al-Qaeda leaders. Timeline: The emergence of Isis 2006 Al-Zarqawi is killed in a U.S. strike. Al-Zarqawis successor, Abu Ayyub al-Masri, announces the creation of the Islamic State in Iraq (ISI). Reuters Timeline: The emergence of Isis 2009 Still al-Qaeda-linked ISI claims responsibility for suicide bombings that killed 155 in Baghdad, as well as attacks in August and October killing 240, as President Obama announces troop withdrawal from Iraq in March. Getty Images Timeline: The emergence of Isis 2010 Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi becomes head of ISI, at lowest ebb of Islamist militancy in Iraq, which sees last U.S. combat brigade depart. Timeline: The emergence of Isis 2012 In Syria, protests (pictured here starting in Daree) have morphed into what president Assad labelled a real war with emergence of a coalition of forces opposed to Assads regime. Syria group Jabhat al-Nusra are among rebel groups who refuse to join, denouncing it as a conspiracy. Bombings targeting Shia areas, killing more than 500 people, spark fears of new sectarian conflict. Sunni Muslims stage protests across country against what they see as increasingly marginalisation by Shia-led government. AP Timeline: The emergence of Isis 2013 Al-Baghdadi renames ISI as the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria, or Isis, as the group absorbs Syrian al-Nusra, gaining a foothold in Syria. In response, al-Qaeda chief Ayman al-Zawahiri (Bin Ladens successor) concerned about Isis expansion orders that Isis be dissolved and ISI operations should be confined to Iraq. This order is rejected by al-Baghdadi. AFP Timeline: The emergence of Isis 2014 - January Isis fighters capture the Iraqi cities of Fallujah and Ramadi, giving them base to launch slew of attacks further south. AP Timeline: The emergence of Isis 2014 - June Isis declares itself the Caliphate, calling itself Islamic State (IS). The group captures Mosul, Iraqs second largest city; Tal Afar, just 93 miles from Syrian border; and the central Iraqi city of Tikrit. These advances sent shockwaves around the world. Timeline: The emergence of Isis 2014 - June Around the same time Isis releases a video calling for western Muslims to join the Caliphate and fight, prompting new evaluations of extremists groups social media understanding. Timeline: The emergence of Isis 2014 - June Isis take Baiji oil fields in Iraq - giving them access to huge amounts of possible revenue. EPA Timeline: The emergence of Isis 2014 - August James Foley is executed by the group as concerns grow for second American prisoner, fellow reporter Steven Sotloff. AP Timeline: The emergence of Isis 2014 - August Obama authorises U.S. airstrikes in Iraq, helping to stall Isis along with action by Kurdish forces following the deaths of hundreds of Yazidi people on Mount Sinjar. Timeline: The emergence of Isis 2014 - September Isis release video showing Steven Sotloffs murder prompting Western speculation his executioner is same man who killed Mr Foley. EPA Timeline: The emergence of Isis 2014 - September Obama tells us that America will hunt down terrorists who threaten our country EPA Timeline: The emergence of Isis 2014 - September Isis release a video appearing to show David Haines, who was captured by militants in Syria in 2013, wearing an orange jumpsuit and kneeling in the desert while he reads a pre-prepared script. It later shows what appears to be the aid worker's body. Rex Timeline: The emergence of Isis 2014 - September Peshmerga fighters scrabble to hold positions in the Diyala province (a gateway to Baghdad) as Isis fighters continue to advance on Iraqi capital. AFP Timeline: The emergence of Isis 2014 - October Aid worker Alan Henning is killed. Self-imposed media blackout refuses to show images of him in final moments, instead focuses upon humanitarian care. AP Timeline: The emergence of Isis 2014 - October Isis raise their flag in Kobani, which had been strongly defended by Kurdish troops. The victory goes against hopeful western analysis Isis had overextended itself, while alienating much of the Muslim population through the murder of Henning. Victory causes fresh waves of Kurdish refugees arriving in Turkey. Timeline: The emergence of Isis 2014 - November American hostage, who embarced values of Islam, Peter Kassig and 14 Syrian soldiers are shown meeting the same fate as other captives. But intelligence agencies will be poring over the apparently significant discrepancies between this and previous films. Seramedig.org.uk Timeline: The emergence of Isis 2015 - February Isis has released a video revealing the murder by burning to death of a Jordanian pilot held by the group since the end of December 2014. Reuters Timeline: The emergence of Isis 2015 - February Isis militants have released videos which appear to show the beheading of Japanese hostages Haruna Yukawa and Kenji Goto. Timeline: The emergence of Isis 2015 - February American aid worker, Kayla Mueller was the last American hostage known to be held by Isis. She died, according to her captors, in an airstrike by the Jordanian air force on the city of Raqqa in Syria, though US authorities disputed this. AP Timeline: The emergence of Isis 2015 - February Isis militants have posted a gruesome video online in which they force 21 Egyptian Coptic Christian hostages to kneel on a beach in Libya before beheading them. Egypt vowed to avenge the beheading and launched air strikes on Isis positions. AP Timeline: The emergence of Isis 2015 - February The British Isis militant suspected of appearing in videos showing the beheading of Western hostages has been named in reports as Mohammed Emwazi from London. Rex Features Timeline: The emergence of Isis 2015 - March Isis triple suicide attack has killed more than 100 worshippers and hundreds of others were injured after the group members targeted two mosques in the Yemeni capital of Sanaa. AP Timeline: The emergence of Isis 2015 - April Iraqi forces have claimed victory over Isis in battle for Tikrit and raised the flag in the city. EPA/STR Timeline: The emergence of Isis 2015 - April Isis has claimed responsibility for a suicide bomb attack in Afghanistan that killed at least 35 people queuing to collect their wages and injured 100 more. EPA Timeline: The emergence of Isis 2015 - April Isis media arm released a 29-minute video purporting to show militants executing Ethiopian Christians captives. The footage bore the extremist groups al-Furqan media logo and showed the destruction of churches and desecration of religious symbols. A masked fighter made a statement threatening Christians who did not convert to Islam or pay a special tax. Timeline: The emergence of Isis 2015 - May Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, the leader of Isis has been "incapacitated" by a spinal injuries sustained in a US air strike in Iraq. He is being treated in a hideout by two doctors from Isis stronghold of Mosul who are said to be "strong ideological supporters of the group". Timeline: The emergence of Isis 2015 - May Isis has also claimed responsibility for killing 300 of Yazidi captives, including women, children and elderly people in Iraq AP Timeline: The emergence of Isis 2015 - May Isis attack on Prophet Mohamed cartoon contest in Texas was its first action on US soil. Two gunmen were shot and killed after launching the attack at the exhibition. Elton Simpson and Nadir Soofi have been named as the attackers at the Curtis Culwell Centre arena in Garland. Timeline: The emergence of Isis 2015 - May Isiss deputy leader, Abu Alaa Afri, a former physics teacher who was thought to have taken charge of the deadly terrorist group, has been killed in a US-led coalition airstrike. Timeline: The emergence of Isis 2015 - May US special forces have killed a senior Isis leader named as Abu Sayyaf in an operation aiming to capture him and his wife in Syria. Getty Images Timeline: The emergence of Isis 2015 - May Iran-backed militias are sent to Ramadi by the Iraqi government to fight Isis militants who completed their capture of the city. Government soldiers and civilians were reportedly massacred by extremists as they took control and the army fled. Charred bodies were left littering the city streets as troops clung on to trucks speeding away from the city. Ramadi is the latest government stronghold to fall to the so-called Islamic State, despite air strikes by a US-led international coalition aiming to stop its advance in Iraq and Syria. AFP Timeline: The emergence of Isis 2015 - May Isis rounded up civilians trapped in Palmyra and forced them to watch 20 people being executed in the historic citys ancient amphitheatre. The Unesco World Heritage site was overrun by militants, threatening the future of 2,000 year-old monuments and ruins. Thousands of Palmyras residents fled but many are still living within the city walls, while the UN human rights office in Geneva said it had received reports of Syrian government forces preventing people from leaving until they retreated from the city. Getty Timeline: The emergence of Isis 2015 - May A group of Isis-affiliated fighters have captured a key airport in central Libya. The militants took control of the al-Qardabiya airbase in Sirte after a local militia tasked with defending the facility withdrew from their positions. Affiliates of Isis, already control large parts of Sirte, the birthplace of former Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi and a former stronghold of his supporters. Timeline: The emergence of Isis 2015 - June The US Air Force has destroyed an Isis stronghold after an extremist let slip their location on social media. According the Air Force Times, General Herbert "Hawk" Carlisle, commander of Air Combat Command, said that Airmen at Hulburt Field, Florida, used images shared by jihadists to track the location of their headquarters before destroying it in an airstrike. Reuters Timeline: The emergence of Isis 2015 - June Kurdish forces captured a key military base in a significant victory in Raqqa as well as town of Tell Abyad. YPG fighters, backed by US-led airstrikes and other rebels, consolidated their gains, when they seized the key town on the Syria-Turkey border. They are now just 30 miles to the north of Raqqa and have cut off a major supply route deep inside Isis-held territory. Ahmet Silk/Getty Timeline: The emergence of Isis 2015 - June Isis has released gruesome footage claiming to show the murder of more than a dozen men by drowning, decapitation and using a rocket-propelled grenade as it seeks to boost morale among its fanatical supporters. Timeline: The emergence of Isis 2015 - June Isis has begun carrying out its threat to destroy structures in the ancient Syrian city of Palmyra, blowing up at least two monuments at the Unesco-protected site as Syrian government troops made advances on the Islamists positions. AFP Around half the British Muslim volunteers who had travelled to Syria and Iraq about 400 are believed to have returned. Fifty-five of them have been subsequently convicted of fighting for or aiding extremist groups. There have been claims that Islamist extremists have been infiltrating back into Europe, using, among other channels, the flow of refugees from Syria and other Muslim countries. However, the numbers are relatively small and although some of those involved in the attacks in France and Belgium have fought in Syria, the vast majority of terror plots in the continent have involved those who had not undertaken the jihadi journey and have been indoctrinated through other means. Security officials hold that there had been a degree of misinformation about just how many fighters from Europe have returned from Syria and Iraq. The British head of Europol has accused Nigel Farage of making the false and alarmist statement the European Unions migration and refugee policies have allowed 5,000 terrorists to get into Europe. In fact, explained Rob Wainwright, Europol believed 5,000 European Muslims have gone to Syria and Iraq but by no means had all of them returned to Europe. The senior British security official said making claims of thousands of jihadists already back in Europe obscures the real problem which lies ahead. Isis will face big losses over the next year. Some of the foreign fighters will killed, some captured, but the others will try to flee, many back to Europe. Its a real witchs brew, quite a big problem: one which will not go away. For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Breaking News email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }} A patient pet dog has finally been reunited with her owner after waiting outside a hospital door in Spain for six days. Maya, a two-year-old Akita Inu, waited patiently for her owner Sandra Iniesta, 22, to be discharged from Elda hospital near Alicante for almost a week, after Ms Iniesta's appendix ruptured. Ms Iniesta began feeling intense pain in her abdomen as she and Maya were travelling with her father to their Barcelona home by car after a holiday. They made an emergency stop at Elda hospital, where Ms Iniesta had emergency surgery. The dog refused to leave the grounds while her owner was recovering, even when Ms Iniestas father attempted to lure her into his car with treats. Shes a fully paid-up member of the family, Mr Iniesta told a local newspaper. I think she knows what is happening and she is showing that she can be patient," he said. Maya became popular with hospital staff who posted her photograph on their Facebook page. The story quickly went viral on social media and fans began to visit with gifts. Emerging from hospital on Saturday, Ms Iniesta was shocked to find her dog had become famous. She just did what she does at home in Barcelona, which is wait at the door of a place until I return, Ms Iniesta said. After days of not seeing my girl Maya, the kiss and happiness at seeing me and her is priceless, she added, in a post on Twitter. The dogs from Instagram Show all 6 1 /6 The dogs from Instagram The dogs from Instagram Noodle the Dachshund is just over a year old and comes with her own hashtag (#OodlesOfNoodle) The dogs from Instagram Three-year-old Staffie Ramsey was malnourished when he was adopted as a puppy but is now big and boisterous with ripped muscles and a cheeky grin The dogs from Instagram Winny the Welsh Corgi has been credited with the breed's upsurge in popularity The dogs from Instagram Bruno the miniature Dachshund has 66,700 followers The dogs from Instagram Mika the Husky has 58,900 followers The dogs from Instagram Elle the French Bulldog has 8,868 followers Akita Inus, which originate in a mountainous region of northern Japan, are well-known for their loyalty. An Akita named Hachiko owned by a professor at the University of Tokyo became famous in the 1920s for spending years waiting in vain for his dead master to return to Shibuya Station. Every day Hachiko met his master after work until, in 1925, the professor suffered a fatal brain hemorrhage. Hachiko waited so long at the station that he became famous worldwide and a Hollywood film starring Richard Gere was made about his story. For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Breaking News email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }} A French prosecutor has requested that former president Nicolas Sarkozy now campaigning for a second term be sent to trial over suspected illegal overspending on his failed 2012 re-election campaign. The Paris prosecutor's office said on Monday it has asked investigating judges to send Mr Sarkozy and 13 others to court in the criminal case. It is now up to the judges to decide whether Mr Sarkozy must stand trial. Two weeks ago, the conservative leader made headlines when he announced his decision to be a candidate in the 2017 presidential election in a book that immediately became a best-seller in France. Legally, nothing prevents him from seeking office. He faces a primary in November against an array of other conservative candidates. His name has surfaced in several legal cases in recent years, yet Mr Sarkozy still enjoys high popularity among right-wing voters and is widely considered by political experts as a one of the few serious contenders for the presidency. Mr Sarkozy has not been convicted of any wrongdoing or gone to trial. Recent polls show his main competitor in the conservative party, former prime minister Alain Juppe, is still the favourite of the primary but Mr Sarkozy, in second position, is getting closer. Mr Juppe said on Monday he won't comment on Mr Sarkozy's case. Accordingly to the code of good conduct that I value very much, I want to refrain myself from making personal attacks, Mr Juppe said. Mr Juppe was convicted in 2004 of having taken illegal advantage of public funds for the benefit of his party while he was head of the conservative party in the 1990s. He served a 14-month suspended jail sentence and was deprived of the right to run for political office for one year. Another conservative competitor, Mr Sarkozy's former prime minister Francois Fillon, criticised Mr Sarkozy's situation in a speech few days ago. Those who don't respect the laws of the republic should not be allowed to run. There's no point in talking about authority when one's not beyond reproach. Who can imagine for a moment general De Gaulle being under criminal investigation? Fillon said. Mr Sarkozy's lawyer, Thierry Herzog, denounced the prosecutor's request as gross political manoeuvering. He noted that the move falls on the day the trial opened for Jerome Cahuzac, a former budget minister under Socialist President Francois Hollande forced to resign and charged with allegedly hiding part of his wealth in overseas tax havens. The lawyer noted that Mr Sarkozy had already personally paid a financial penalty of 363,615 (304,502) for breaching campaign spending ceilings in 2012. Funding irregularities carry a penalty of up to one year in prison and a fine of 3,750. Several people close to Mr Sarkozy are among those requested to stand trial in the case. If the investigating judges eventually decide to send Mr Sarkozy to court, it is unlikely any trial could be held before the April-May presidential election. If Mr Sarkozy was elected next year, he would be granted immunity as president and would not be able to stand trial in the case before the end of the five-year term. In February, the judges handed Mr Sarkozy preliminary charges of alleged illegal campaign financing over an invoice system his party and a company named Bygmalion allegedly used to conceal unauthorised overspending. France had a ceiling on presidential campaign funding in 2012 of 22.5m. The conservative Mr Sarkozy, who was president from 2007 to 2012 and lost that year's election to Mr Hollande, is accused of spending 17m over that limit. Mr Sarkozy's party was then called UMP but has since renamed itself the Republicans. He quit as party leader when he announced his presidential bid two weeks ago. We are absolutely serene about the fact that all this will end up in a dismissed case, said Daniel Fasquelle, the treasurer of the Republicans. I'm also surprised that this news is being announced today ... as Nicolas Sarkozy just started his campaign. In a separate case, Mr Sarkozy was handed preliminary charges of corruption and influence-peddling based on information gleaned from phone taps about an alleged bid to get information from a judge ahead of a decision. Preliminary charges mean magistrates have strong reason to believe a crime was committed but give them more time to investigate before deciding whether to send suspects to trial. Associated Press For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Breaking News email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }} A delegation from the International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague will be allowed to visit Israel to assess whether the country could be put on trial for alleged war crimes during the 2014 Gaza War, the Israeli Foreign Ministry has confirmed. More than 2,200 Palestinians, including 490 children, were killed in the 51-day Operation Protective Edge, which began on 8 July 2014. Israeli losses totalled 64 soldiers and six civilians, including a four-year-old boy. The ICC launched a preliminary investigation in May this year, shortly after the West Bank Palestinian Authority (PA) was approved as a member. The PA filed evidence on both the 2014 conflict and other more recent violent incidents. Smoke rises after an airstrike by Israeli forces in the south of Gaza City in July 2014 (EPA) (EPA/MOHAMMED SABER) Israeli Foreign Ministry spokesperson Emmanuel Nahshon told media on Friday that the ICC would be permitted to visit, but how and when is yet to be discussed. The Palestinian leadership has provided the ICC with documentation relating to apartheid, illegal settlements in [the] West Bank and East Jerusalem, and crimes associated with the settlement regime, Palestinian human rights organisation Al-Haq said in a statement. There are 23 counts in all, including seven war crimes relating to last years Gaza war. The PAs case is understood to centre around complaints about arson attacks on Palestinian homes and the shelling of a hospital, Gazas main power plant and a UN school being used as a shelter. Israel denies all allegations of war crimes by its forces during the 2014 conflict, accusing Hamas, which controls the Gaza Strip, of using civilians as human shields in order to carry out rocket attacks on Israeli towns. The decision to allow ICC investigators into the country is unprecedented, since Israel usually refuses to co-operate with external investigators. A United Nations delegation tasked with investigating military operations was refused entry to Gaza in 2009, and again in 2014. The ICC would only be able to open an inquiry which could take years if the preliminary visit from prosecutors concludes that Israel is unwilling or unable to effectively conduct its own investigations. The Israeli Foreign Ministry has stressed that the ICC has been invited to visit in order to prove that we have nothing to hide, adding that The Hague has no jurisdiction or authority to conduct an investigation on Israeli soil. Last month the Israeli Defense Forces cleared itself of any wrong doing in 13 cases bought by Palestinians over the 2014 war, including the shelling of the United Nations school in Rafah that killed ten civilians. Another 80 complaints were not investigated, prompting UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon to criticize Israel's low rate of investigations... into these serious allegations. A representative from the Israeli Foreign Ministry could not be immediately reached. For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Breaking News email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }} Isis has lost a staggering number of jihadists and has only killed three US troops in return, making the US-to-Isis "kill ratio" 15,000-to-one. Earlier this year, President Barack Obama declared the group had lost swathes of territory and said its fighters "realise their cause is lost". The US president said the so-called Islamic State had lost 40 per cent of its "caliphate" in Iraq and 10 per cent in Syria, and had suffered numerous financial setbacks. In pictures: Civilians freed from Isis in Manbij Show all 11 1 /11 In pictures: Civilians freed from Isis in Manbij In pictures: Civilians freed from Isis in Manbij Women and children celebrating after being freed from Isis in Manbij, Syria, on 12 August Reuters In pictures: Civilians freed from Isis in Manbij A man cuts the beard of a civilian who was freed from Isis by the SDF in Manbij on 12 August Reuters In pictures: Civilians freed from Isis in Manbij Women carry newborn babies while running after being freed from Isis in Manbij, Syria, on 12 August Reuters In pictures: Civilians freed from Isis in Manbij A woman freed from Isis hugs an SDF fighter in Manbij on 12 August Reuters In pictures: Civilians freed from Isis in Manbij A woman adding her veil to a pile of niqabs burning in Manbij, Syria, after being freed from Isis on 12 August Reuters In pictures: Civilians freed from Isis in Manbij Children celebrating on top of a lorry after being freed from Isis in Manbij, Syria, on 12 August Reuters In pictures: Civilians freed from Isis in Manbij A man and child freed from Isis by the SDF in Manbij on 12 August Reuters In pictures: Civilians freed from Isis in Manbij A woman carrying her children walks towards SDF fighters after being freed from Isis in Manbij, Syria, on 12 August Reuters In pictures: Civilians freed from Isis in Manbij A woman and child freed from Isis in Manbij, Syria, on 12 August Reuters In pictures: Civilians freed from Isis in Manbij An SDF fighter kisses a crying man who was freed from Isis in Manbij, Syria, on 12 August Reuters In pictures: Civilians freed from Isis in Manbij Hundreds of civilians freed from Isis in Manbij, Syria, on 12 August Reuters The number of Isis militants killed in US strikes has increased from 6,000 in January 2015 to 45,000 in July 2016, Time reports. Isis has recently lost control of its last territories on the border with Turkey, isolating it from the rest of the world and strangling its ability to bring in new recruits. The area previously controlled by Isis has been taken by the rebel Free Syrian Army, backed by a Turkish ground offensive that began at the town of Jarablus on 24 August. On Saturday, more Turkish tanks rolled over the border into Al-Rai, a town some 55km (34 miles) west of Jarablus, and over the weekend a pincer Turkish-rebel offensive has closed the gap between the two. Advances by Iraq's army and allied militia towards its most important possession of Mosul have put the group under renewed pressure. Baghdad could retake Mosul by the end of the year, Joseph Votel, the head of the US military's Central Command said on Tuesday. Turkish-backed rebels have been closing in on Isis on two sides from Jarablus (circled in NE) and Al-Rai (circled to W), leaving only a tiny stretch still connecting Isis with the rest of the world. It became apparent Isis was losing control of the border area when the key town of Manbij (circled, SE) fell in early August One of the terror group's most senior figureheads was killed in Syria last month. Abu Muhammed al-Adnani was martyred while surveying the operations to repel the military campaigns against Aleppo [province], the group's Amaq news agency said, without providing further details. Syrian women burn burkas to celebrate liberation from Isis A US defence official told Reuters the United States targeted Adnani in a strike on a vehicle travelling in the Syrian town of al-Bab. The official stopped short of confirming Adnani's death, however. Adnani was believed to be the second most important leader of Isis after Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi and was one of the group's longest-serving members. The group said his death would not harm it and said his killers would face "torment" in a statement in their al-Naba newspaper, according to the Site Intelligence monitoring group. "Today, they rejoice for the killing ... and then they will cry much when Allah will overpower them, with His permission, with affliction of the worst torment by the soldiers of Abu Muhammad and his brothers," the statement said. Among senior Isis officials killed in air strikes this year are Abu Ali al-Anbari, Baghdadi's formal deputy, and the group's "minister of war", Abu Omar al-Shishani. Additional reporting by agencies For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Breaking News email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }} A third explosion has rocked Kabul just hours after a twin suicide attack left at least 24 people dead. Witnesses said they heard gunfire following the blast in Shar-e-Now district of the Afghan capital shortly before 11.15pm local time (7.45pm BST). Afghan television network Tolo News reported that a guest house was under attack following the explosion in Flower Street, near the Ministry of Interior headquarters. All major roads in the area were blocked by police amid continuing gunfire believed to be linked to the blast. Sediq Sediqqi, a spokesperson for the Ministry of Interior said the target of the attack was not immediately clear but that two attackers entered a nearby building after the explosion. Police believe it is a guest house, possibly accomodating foreigners and diplomats who frequent the district. Officials said a suicide bomber driving a car laden with explosives was reponsible for the blast but no group immediately claimed responsibility for the attack and the number of casualties was unclear. It came just hours after a Taliban suicide attack near the defence ministry killed at least 24 people, including an army general and police commanders, and wounded 91 others. Two blasts in quick succession hit a crowded area of the city near government buildings, a market and a main intersection. Troops, police and civilians rushing to help victims of the first explosion were targeted by the second bomber who blew himself up minutes later. When the first explosion happened people crowded to the site and then the second blast occurred, which was really powerful and killed lots of people, said Samiullah Safi, who witnessed the attack. Aftermath of bomb in Kabul Officials feared the death toll could rise as recovery work continued at the scene. The Taliban claimed responsibility for the attack, as it steps up its bloody campaign against Afghanistan's Western-backed government. There was a brief lull after the death of the Islamist group's former leader, Mullah Akhtar Mansour, but analysts say the group is seeking to re-assert itself following the rise of Isis and al-Qaeda in Afghanistan. Monday's bombings came less than two weeks after gunmen attacked the American University in Kabul, killing 13 people. It was the deadliest attack in Kabul since at least 80 people were killed by an Isis suicide bomber who targeted a demonstration on 23 July. Government officials have been preparing for a conference in Brussels next month at which foreign donors, concerned about the ability of the Afghan security forces to withstand Taliban violence, are expected to pledge continuing support. Additional reporting by agencies For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Breaking News email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }} The body language suggested anything but friendship. Yet Barack Obama and Vladimir Putin both claimed to have had firm and productive talks about ending the civil war in Syria and focussing their military assets against Isis. Mr Putin even claimed a deal could be reached within days. The US and Russia are on opposing sides of a five-year conflict that has killed 500,000 people, and displaced up to 12 million. Russia is acting to support the continued rule of President Bashar Al-Assad, while the US is supporting and arming rebels dedicated to his overthrow. The two leaders are on opposing sides of Syria's conflict (AP) Speaking in China where he attended his final G20 summit, Mr Obama said that he had spoken with Mr Putin for 90 minutes and raised with him the humanitarian situation in the country. He said his talks had been candid, blunt and businesslike. We had some productive talks about what a cessation of hostilities would look like for Russia and the US to focus on our common enemies, he said. But given the gap of trust that exists, that is a tough negotiation and we have not closed the gap yet. Syria war: Airstrikes in Hama kill 25 people, says monitor Secretary of State John Kerry and Russian foreign minister Sergey Lavrov have for weeks been trying to broker a deal that would curb the violence between the Mr Assads government forces and rebels backed by the US. The deal depends on the two sides agreeing to closer military co-ordination against extremist groups operating in Syria, something the Russians have long sought and the US resisted. Mr Obama did not detail the trouble spots, although he suggested the US has concerns about Russia holding up its end of the bargain and enforcing the terms. Any deal would depend on Moscow using its influence to persuade the Syrian leader to ground planes and stop the assault on opposition forces, the Associated Press said. Mr Obama said the aim was to reach meaningful, serious, verifiable cessations of hostilities in Syria. Mr Obamas meeting with Mr Putin came as the Russia leader is at the centre of controversy surrounding the US presidential election. US officials blame Russian intelligence for a hack on the Democratic National Committee that resulted in a leak of emails damaging to its presidential nominee, Hillary Clinton. Mr Putin has denied his government was involved, but cheered the release of the information. On Monday, it was reported that US intelligence agencies are probing what they believe are Russian efforts to influence the vote. Reuters said that Mr Putin said on Monday that an agreement with the US on finding a way to significantly reduce the death toll in Syria could be reached in the next few days. Speaking to reporters in the Chinese city of Hangzhou, he said it was premature to give details about the terms of the agreement, but that Russia would strengthen co-operation with the United States on fighting terrorism. Mr Obama and Mr Putin also discussed the conflict in Ukraine, where Russian-backed separatists have been fighting the government, and the implementation of the agreement to stop the violence. Mr Obama met earlier with French President Francois Hollande and German Chancellor Angela Merkel on the same issue. For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Breaking News email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }} A court in Saudi Arabia has sentenced a man to 15 years in prison and 1,500 lashes for smuggling drugs into prison using a drone. A Lebanese national who lived in Saudi Arabia was also convicted of selling the drone, and sentenced to 10 years in prison, 1,000 lashes and deportation upon his release. Investigators said he had sold at least 13 similar aircraft for up to SR,5000 (around 1,000) each. Recommended Read more Calls for stricter drone regulations after international crash study The prosecuting attorney general protested the sentences, saying they were too lenient and that the mean should have received the death penalty. In an incident which took place over two years ago, the unnamed Saudi citizen smuggled 115 grams of cannabis and nearly 2,000 stimulant pills on to the roof of the main prison in Jeddah, according to the Saudi Gazette. A 45cm-by-45cm drone with four propellers was used to transport the drugs to barracks seven and eight of Briman prison. A report submitted to the court said the drone took off from a supermarket roof close to the prison and was operated by the brother of the convict. The document also said the drugs were intended to be distributed in the jail by one prisoner, who would transfer the profits to a bank account connected to the convict. 10 examples of Saudi Arabia's human rights abuses Show all 10 1 /10 10 examples of Saudi Arabia's human rights abuses 10 examples of Saudi Arabia's human rights abuses In October 2014, three lawyers, Dr Abdulrahman al-Subaihi, Bander al-Nogaithan and Abdulrahman al-Rumaih , were sentenced to up to eight years in prison for using Twitter to criticize the Ministry of Justice. AFP/Getty Images 10 examples of Saudi Arabia's human rights abuses In March 2015, Yemens Sunni President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi was forced into exile after a Shia-led insurgency. A Saudi Arabia-led coalition has responded with air strikes in order to reinstate Mr Hadi. It has since been accused of committing war crimes in the country. Getty Images 10 examples of Saudi Arabia's human rights abuses Women who supported the Women2Drive campaign, launched in 2011 to challenge the ban on women driving vehicles, faced harassment and intimidation by the authorities. The government warned that women drivers would face arrest. Getty Images 10 examples of Saudi Arabia's human rights abuses Members of the Kingdoms Shia minority, most of whom live in the oil-rich Eastern Province, continue to face discrimination that limits their access to government services and employment. Activists have received death sentences or long prison terms for their alleged participation in protests in 2011 and 2012. Getty Images 10 examples of Saudi Arabia's human rights abuses All public gatherings are prohibited under an order issued by the Interior Ministry in 2011. Those defy the ban face arrest, prosecution and imprisonment on charges such as inciting people against the authorities. Getty Images 10 examples of Saudi Arabia's human rights abuses In March 2014, the Interior Ministry stated that authorities had deported over 370,000 foreign migrants and that 18,000 others were in detention. Thousands of workers were returned to Somalia and other states where they were at risk of human rights abuses, with large numbers also returned to Yemen, in order to open more jobs to Saudi Arabians. Many migrants reported that prior to their deportation they had been packed into overcrowded makeshift detention facilities where they received little food and water and were abused by guards. Getty Images 10 examples of Saudi Arabia's human rights abuses The Saudi Arabian authorities continue to deny access to independent human rights organisations like Amnesty International, and they have been known to take punitive action, including through the courts, against activists and family members of victims who contact Amnesty. Getty Images 10 examples of Saudi Arabia's human rights abuses Raif Badawi was sentenced to 1000 lashes and 10 years in prison for using his liberal blog to criticise Saudi Arabias clerics. He has already received 50 lashes, which have reportedly left him in poor health. Carsten Koall/Getty Images 10 examples of Saudi Arabia's human rights abuses Dawood al-Marhoon was arrested aged 17 for participating in an anti-government protest. After refusing to spy on his fellow protestors, he was tortured and forced to sign a blank document that would later contain his confession. At Dawoods trial, the prosecution requested death by crucifixion while refusing him a lawyer. Getty Images 10 examples of Saudi Arabia's human rights abuses Ali Mohammed al-Nimr was arrested in 2012 aged either 16 or 17 for participating in protests during the Arab spring. His sentence includes beheading and crucifixion. The international community has spoken out against the punishment and has called on Saudi Arabia to stop. He is the nephew of a prominent government dissident. Getty Around SR200,000 (nearly 40,000) was found on members of the gang. Several oif his accomplices were also handed sentences ranging from three to 10 years. In August, police in London seized two drones attempting to smuggle items into Pentonville prison. The packages were found to contain a substantial amount of Class B drugs, legal highs and a large quantity of mobile phones, according to police. For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Breaking News email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }} Isis has claimed five suicide bombings across Syria that have killed at least 43 people. Four explosions hit the government controlled cities of Tartous, Homs and in the countryside outside the capital Damascus, while a fifth explosion hit the Kurdish-held city of Hasaka. Isis claimed responsibility for the suicide attacks through its Amaq news agency. The UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights which maintains a network of contacts inside the country, put the death toll at 47. In pictures: Syria air strikes (2014) Show all 20 1 /20 In pictures: Syria air strikes (2014) In pictures: Syria air strikes (2014) Syria Syrian citizens check a damaged house that targeted by the coalition airstrikes, in the village of Kfar Derian, a base for the al-Qaida-linked Nusra Front, a rival of the Isis group, between the northern province of Aleppo and Idlib In pictures: Syria air strikes (2014) Syria A Syrian boy (L) looking at a destroyed car that activists say was targeted by the coalition airstrikes, in the village of Kfar Derian, a base for the al-Qaida-linked Nusra Front, a rival of the Islamic State group, between the northern province of Aleppo and Idlib In pictures: Syria air strikes (2014) Syria Parts of a missile that activists say was fired by coalition airstrikes, in the village of Kfar Derian, a base for the al-Qaida-linked Nusra Front, a rival of the Isis group, between the northern province of Aleppo and Idlib In pictures: Syria air strikes (2014) Syria Tthe guided-missile destroyer USS Arleigh Burke (DDG 51) launching Tomahawk cruise missiles against Isis targets In pictures: Syria air strikes (2014) Syria The USS Arleigh Burke (DDG 51) launches a Tomahawk cruise missiles in the Red Sea, to conduct strike missions against Isis group targets in Syria In pictures: Syria air strikes (2014) Syria The guided-missile cruiser USS Philippine Sea (CG 58) launching a Tomahawk cruise missile against Isis targets in Syria, as seen from the aircraft carrier USS George H.W. Bush (CVN 77) in the Arabian Gulf In pictures: Syria air strikes (2014) Syria US navy sailors standing watch on the bridge while Tomahawk cruise missiles are launched against Isis targets in Syria, aboard the guided-missile cruiser USS Philippine Sea (CG 58), in the Arabian Gulf In pictures: Syria air strikes (2014) Syria An F/A-18C Hornet, attached to Strike Fighter Squadron (VFA) 87 prepares to launch from the flight deck of the aircraft carrier USS George H.W. Bush (CVN 77) in the Arabian Gulf, to conduct strike missions against Isis group targets AFP/Robert Burck In pictures: Syria air strikes (2014) Syria The US-led airstrikes in Syria against Isis targets in and around the city of Raqqa In pictures: Syria air strikes (2014) Syria A fighter from the Isis group holds a piece of what the IS is saying is a US drone that crashed into a communications tower in the Syrian city of Raqqa In pictures: Syria air strikes (2014) Syria Fighters from the Isis organisation pray at the spot where the jihadist group said a US drone crashed into a communications tower in the Syrian city of Raqqa In pictures: Syria air strikes (2014) Syria Fighters from the Isis group load a van with parts that they said was a US drone that crashed into a communications tower in the Syrian city of Raqqa In pictures: Syria air strikes (2014) Syria Fighters from the Isis group load a van with parts that they said was a US drone that crashed into a communications tower in Raqqa In pictures: Syria air strikes (2014) Syria Fighters from the Isis group gesture as they load a van with parts that they said was a US drone that crashed into a communications tower in Raqqa. A US-led coalition on carried out its first air strikes and missile attacks against jihadist positions in Syria, with Damascus saying it had been informed by Washington before the operation began In pictures: Syria air strikes (2014) Syria A Syrian man rides his bike past a communications tower that was destroyed after a US drone crashed into it, according to fighters with the Isis group, in the Syrian city of Raqqa In pictures: Syria air strikes (2014) Syria People inspect a shop damaged after what Isis militants say was a U.S. drone crashed into a communication station nearby in Raqqa In pictures: Syria air strikes (2014) Syria A man holds the remains of what Isis militants say was a U.S. drone which crashed in Raqqa In pictures: Syria air strikes (2014) Syria Resident gather in the back of a van the remains of what Isis militants say was a drone which crashed in Raqqa In pictures: Syria air strikes (2014) Syria A man inspects the remains of what Isismilitants say was a U.S. drone which crashed into a communication tower in Raqqa In pictures: Syria air strikes (2014) Syria A man inspects the remains of what Isis militants say was a U.S. drone which crashed in Raqqa Two violent explosions hit the Arzouna bridge area at the entrance to the northwestern coastal city of Tartous, the Observatory and state news agency Sana said. The Observatory put the death toll at 35, including members of the Syrian military and an army colonel, and said the number was likely to rise. The head of a Tartous hospital told Sana 35 people were killed and 45 wounded. Syrian state television said the first explosion was a car bomb and the second was a suicide belt detonated as rescue workers came to the scene of the first incident. A car bomb struck the city of Homs at the entrance to the Bab Tadmur neighbourhood, Sana said. The governor of Homs province said a car bomb struck a military checkpoint in the provincial capital, Homs, killing three soldiers and a civilian and injuring 10 others. A motor bike exploded in the centre of the northeastern city of Hasaka, which is under the control of the Kurdish YPG militia, killing eight, Sana said.. The Observatory said the blast killed three members of the Kurdish security force, known as the Asayish, and two civilians. Sana also reported an explosion in the Sabbourah suburb in the capital Damacus, killing one. The Observatory said three were killed. Isis claimed twin suicide bombings that killed over 160 people in the neighbouring coastal towns of Tartus and Jableh in May. Additional reporting by agencies For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Breaking News email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }} Je suis Syrienne, a thin little girl in downtown Beirut says in French, gesturing, eating with one hand while holding the other out for donations. When given some coins and asked what her name is, she runs away, sandals too big for her feet clapping against the pavement. Refugee children like her whether selling gum, roses or offering to shine shoes are an increasingly visual phenomenon on the streets of the Lebanese capital. There are so many, and even then its hard to grasp the scale of the problem. The past five years have been tragic, says Arveen Iskandarian, who works at childrens charity Jabid. Charities and rights groups are worried that begging is just the tip of the iceberg: organised gangs target vulnerable Syrian children for sex work and other criminal activity, says Maher Tabarani, the director of Home of Hope, the only Beirut organisation dedicated to helping children on the street. Almost all the kids who come to us have been sexually abused, trafficked, and some have even been destined for organ trafficking. It's shocking what they've been through at such a young age. The abandoned children who end up at Home of Hope have no rights 85 per cent dont even have ID and don't legally exist (Bethan McKernan) Since haunting pictures of the body of three-year-old Alan Kurdi on a Turkish beach appeared a year ago, the worlds focus has shifted from the refugee crisis in Europe to a photograph of Omran Daqneesh, a distressed five-year-old sitting in an ambulance in the aftermath of an airstrike on Aleppo. Less attention is paid to how the brunt of the fallout from Syria's civil war is still being felt by its neighbours Turkey, Jordan and Lebanon where conditions for refugees are often abysmal. [The image of Alan Kurdi] has become iconic, while media coverage of millions of other Syrian children going through the same suffering as he did has since dwindled, said Tanya Chapuisat, the Unicef Country Representative in Lebanon. Families of hundreds of thousands of children still live in conditions like the ones Alans family was fleeing, and are still forced to take the same decisions as his family did on matters of life and death. Alan's family, like 2.7 million other Syrians, tried to make a life for themselves in Turkey before attempting to reach the Greek island of Kos across the Aegean Sea. An estimated 1.3 million Syrians have gone to Jordan, but more than 1.5 million people have fled to Lebanon since the 2011 uprising against Bashar al-Assad began making one in four people in the tiny country a refugee, and Lebanon the worlds biggest host of refugees per capita. Lebanon has a long history of welcoming refugees, opening its arms to Armenians, Iraqis and Palestinians in the past century. And while the Lebanese remembering how Syria took their people in during their own civil war between 1975-90 initially welcomed Syrians into their communities, the past five years have taken an unprecedented economic toll on the country. As a result, Syrians are often the target of hostility and discrimination. The usual image associated with refugees is one of camps filled with row upon row of white tents, but in reality most of Lebanons Syrian population live in towns and cities. There are no official camps run by the government, so Syrian families move into rented farmsteads, or derelict or abandoned buildings, often in already overcrowded Palestinian areas. There are so many Syrian refugee children in Lebanon its hard to grasp the scale of the problem (Getty) There has been a significant Palestinian presence in Lebanon since the 1948 Arab-Israeli war, but to this day they are not allowed citizenship and are unable to seek work on the same terms as Lebanese citizens. The situation now faced by Syrians is similar: many work illegally to make ends meet, but undocumented Syrians are vulnerable to exploitation by landlords and loan sharks. UNHCR says that recent visa restrictions bought in by the Lebanese government are likely to drive many more into abject poverty. While a 2015 report from Unicef estimates there are at least 400,000 Syrian children in Lebanon, the already financially crippled school system has only been able to accommodate around half. One in ten Syrian children is now working for a living instead, and that figure is expected to rise as the impact of stricter visa rules are felt. In areas like the Beka Valley, boys and girls as young as ten are working on farms for as little as $4 a day, according to Save the Children. Some have to work to support their families, and some are forced to because theyre on their own. It is these children who are particularly at risk of abuse, Unicef says and the problem is getting worse, thanks to the cost of caring for a growing refugee population, which is not matched with increased funding. Unicef's funding was 123 times bigger than in 2011 [but] the needs are unprecedented. It's never enough, Chapuisat says. The 75 children at Home of Hope, a Christian home for abandoned and disadvantaged children located in a quiet hillside suburb, were all picked up off the streets by police and placed in the home's care by court order. These kids have no rights, Tabarani says. I'd say 85 per cent of them don't even have ID. They legally don't exist, so it's no wonder they fall through the cracks. Tabarani himself knows how that feels. As the child of a Palestinian refugee father and Lebanese mother, he was not allowed to apply for Lebanese citizenship on the maternal side. I wanted to be a paediatrician, he says. But it was never possible for me to go to medical school here I wasn't allowed the right licences. Just this week, Home of Hope took in two Syrian three-year-olds who were found in a dumpster, and an abandoned two-year-old Sudanese girl who is now the youngest resident. The other children have named her Sasha. Sitting in the canteen of her new home at lunchtime the toddler is quiet, but smiles at the care worker helping her eat. In the five years Tabarani has worked at the home, he's seen the number of children in their care nearly double from 40 to 75. But they are the lucky ones. We never turn a child away from our door, he says. We help all children in need, regardless of their background. The question is: how do we stop them becoming in need in the first place? For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Breaking News email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }} At least two people have died after a crane collapsed onto a nearby structure in Tel Aviv, Israel. Police said four people were still missing and believed trapped under the debris. Twenty people were treated for injuries after rescue teams were called on Monday to a four-storey car park under construction in the Ramat Hachayal district. Officials are still trying to determine the cause of the incident but a fire brigade spokesperson said part of the three-storey structure had initially collapsed, causing a crane to fall and bring down more of the partially-completed parking building. World news in pictures Show all 50 1 /50 World news in pictures World news in pictures 30 September 2020 Pope Francis prays with priests at the end of a limited public audience at the San Damaso courtyard in The Vatican AFP via Getty World news in pictures 29 September 2020 A girl's silhouette is seen from behind a fabric in a tent along a beach by Beit Lahia in the northern Gaza Strip AFP via Getty World news in pictures 28 September 2020 A Chinese woman takes a photo of herself in front of a flower display dedicated to frontline health care workers during the COVID-19 pandemic in Beijing, China. China will celebrate national day marking the founding of the People's Republic of China on October 1st Getty World news in pictures 27 September 2020 The Glass Mountain Inn burns as the Glass Fire moves through the area in St. Helena, California. The fast moving Glass fire has burned over 1,000 acres and has destroyed homes Getty World news in pictures 26 September 2020 A villager along with a child offers prayers next to a carcass of a wild elephant that officials say was electrocuted in Rani Reserve Forest on the outskirts of Guwahati, India AFP via Getty World news in pictures 25 September 2020 The casket of late Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg is seen in Statuary Hall in the US Capitol to lie in state in Washington, DC AFP via Getty World news in pictures 24 September 2020 An anti-government protester holds up an image of a pro-democracy commemorative plaque at a rally outside Thailand's parliament in Bangkok, as activists gathered to demand a new constitution AFP via Getty World news in pictures 23 September 2020 A whale stranded on a beach in Macquarie Harbour on the rugged west coast of Tasmania, as hundreds of pilot whales have died in a mass stranding in southern Australia despite efforts to save them, with rescuers racing to free a few dozen survivors The Mercury/AFP via Getty World news in pictures 22 September 2020 State civil employee candidates wearing face masks and shields take a test in Surabaya AFP via Getty World news in pictures 21 September 2020 A man sweeps at the Taj Mahal monument on the day of its reopening after being closed for more than six months due to the coronavirus pandemic AP World news in pictures 20 September 2020 A deer looks for food in a burnt area, caused by the Bobcat fire, in Pearblossom, California EPA World news in pictures 19 September 2020 Anti-government protesters hold their mobile phones aloft as they take part in a pro-democracy rally in Bangkok. Tens of thousands of pro-democracy protesters massed close to Thailand's royal palace, in a huge rally calling for PM Prayut Chan-O-Cha to step down and demanding reforms to the monarchy AFP via Getty World news in pictures 18 September 2020 Supporters of Iraqi Shi'ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr maintain social distancing as they attend Friday prayers after the coronavirus disease restrictions were eased, in Kufa mosque, near Najaf, Iraq Reuters World news in pictures 17 September 2020 A protester climbs on The Triumph of the Republic at 'the Place de la Nation' as thousands of protesters take part in a demonstration during a national day strike called by labor unions asking for better salary and against jobs cut in Paris, France EPA World news in pictures 16 September 2020 A fire raging near the Lazzaretto of Ancona in Italy. The huge blaze broke out overnight at the port of Ancona. Firefighters have brought the fire under control but they expected to keep working through the day EPA World news in pictures 15 September 2020 Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny posing for a selfie with his family at Berlin's Charite hospital. In an Instagram post he said he could now breathe independently following his suspected poisoning last month Alexei Navalny/Instagram/AFP World news in pictures 14 September 2020 Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga, former Defense Minister Shigeru Ishiba and former Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida celebrate after Suga was elected as new head of the ruling party at the Liberal Democratic Party's leadership election in Tokyo Reuters World news in pictures 13 September 2020 A man stands behind a burning barricade during the fifth straight day of protests against police brutality in Bogota AFP via Getty World news in pictures 12 September 2020 Police officers block and detain protesters during an opposition rally to protest the official presidential election results in Minsk, Belarus. Daily protests calling for the authoritarian president's resignation are now in their second month AP World news in pictures 11 September 2020 Members of 'Omnium Cultural' celebrate the 20th 'Festa per la llibertat' ('Fiesta for the freedom') to mark the Day of Catalonia in Barcelona. Omnion Cultural fights for the independence of Catalonia EPA World news in pictures 10 September 2020 The Moria refugee camp, two days after Greece's biggest migrant camp, was destroyed by fire. Thousands of asylum seekers on the island of Lesbos are now homeless AFP via Getty World news in pictures 9 September 2020 Pope Francis takes off his face mask as he arrives by car to hold a limited public audience at the San Damaso courtyard in The Vatican AFP via Getty World news in pictures 8 September 2020 A home is engulfed in flames during the "Creek Fire" in the Tollhouse area of California AFP via Getty World news in pictures 7 September 2020 A couple take photos along a sea wall of the waves brought by Typhoon Haishen in the eastern port city of Sokcho AFP via Getty World news in pictures 6 September 2020 Novak Djokovic and a tournament official tends to a linesperson who was struck with a ball by Djokovic during his match against Pablo Carreno Busta at the US Open USA Today Sports/Reuters World news in pictures 5 September 2020 Protesters confront police at the Shrine of Remembrance in Melbourne, Australia, during an anti-lockdown rally AFP via Getty World news in pictures 4 September 2020 A woman looks on from a rooftop as rescue workers dig through the rubble of a damaged building in Beirut. A search began for possible survivors after a scanner detected a pulse one month after the mega-blast at the adjacent port AFP via Getty World news in pictures 3 September 2020 A full moon next to the Virgen del Panecillo statue in Quito, Ecuador EPA World news in pictures 2 September 2020 A Palestinian woman reacts as Israeli forces demolish her animal shed near Hebron in the Israeli-occupied West Bank Reuters World news in pictures 1 September 2020 Students protest against presidential elections results in Minsk TUT.BY/AFP via Getty World news in pictures 31 August 2020 The pack rides during the 3rd stage of the Tour de France between Nice and Sisteron AFP via Getty World news in pictures 30 August 2020 Law enforcement officers block a street during a rally of opposition supporters protesting against presidential election results in Minsk, Belarus Reuters World news in pictures 29 August 2020 A woman holding a placard reading "Stop Censorship - Yes to the Freedom of Expression" shouts in a megaphone during a protest against the mandatory wearing of face masks in Paris. Masks, which were already compulsory on public transport, in enclosed public spaces, and outdoors in Paris in certain high-congestion areas around tourist sites, were made mandatory outdoors citywide on August 28 to fight the rising coronavirus infections AFP via Getty World news in pictures 28 August 2020 Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe bows to the national flag at the start of a press conference at the prime minister official residence in Tokyo. Abe announced he will resign over health problems, in a bombshell development that kicks off a leadership contest in the world's third-largest economy AFP via Getty World news in pictures 27 August 2020 Residents take cover behind a tree trunk from rubber bullets fired by South African Police Service (SAPS) in Eldorado Park, near Johannesburg, during a protest by community members after a 16-year old boy was reported dead AFP via Getty World news in pictures 26 August 2020 People scatter rose petals on a statue of Mother Teresa marking her 110th birth anniversary in Ahmedabad AFP via Getty World news in pictures 25 August 2020 An aerial view shows beach-goers standing on salt formations in the Dead Sea near Ein Bokeq, Israel Reuters World news in pictures 24 August 2020 Health workers use a fingertip pulse oximeter and check the body temperature of a fisherwoman inside the Dharavi slum during a door-to-door Covid-19 coronavirus screening in Mumbai AFP via Getty World news in pictures 23 August 2020 People carry an idol of the Hindu god Ganesh, the deity of prosperity, to immerse it off the coast of the Arabian sea during the Ganesh Chaturthi festival in Mumbai, India Reuters World news in pictures 22 August 2020 Firefighters watch as flames from the LNU Lightning Complex fires approach a home in Napa County, California AP World news in pictures 21 August 2020 Members of the Israeli security forces arrest a Palestinian demonstrator during a rally to protest against Israel's plan to annex parts of the occupied West Bank AFP via Getty World news in pictures 20 August 2020 A man pushes his bicycle through a deserted road after prohibitory orders were imposed by district officials for a week to contain the spread of the Covid-19 in Kathmandu AFP via Getty World news in pictures 19 August 2020 A car burns while parked at a residence in Vacaville, California. Dozens of fires are burning out of control throughout Northern California as fire resources are spread thin AFP via Getty World news in pictures 18 August 2020 Students use their mobile phones as flashlights at an anti-government rally at Mahidol University in Nakhon Pathom. Thailand has seen near-daily protests in recent weeks by students demanding the resignation of Prime Minister Prayut Chan-O-Cha AFP via Getty World news in pictures 17 August 2020 Members of the Kayapo tribe block the BR163 highway during a protest outside Novo Progresso in Para state, Brazil. Indigenous protesters blocked a major transamazonian highway to protest against the lack of governmental support during the COVID-19 novel coronavirus pandemic and illegal deforestation in and around their territories AFP via Getty World news in pictures 16 August 2020 Lightning forks over the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge as a storm passes over Oakland AP World news in pictures 15 August 2020 Belarus opposition supporters gather near the Pushkinskaya metro station where Alexander Taraikovsky, a 34-year-old protester died on August 10, during their protest rally in central Minsk AFP via Getty World news in pictures 14 August 2020 AlphaTauri's driver Daniil Kvyat takes part in the second practice session at the Circuit de Catalunya in Montmelo near Barcelona ahead of the Spanish F1 Grand Prix AFP via Getty World news in pictures 13 August 2020 Soldiers of the Brazilian Armed Forces during a disinfection of the Christ The Redeemer statue at the Corcovado mountain prior to the opening of the touristic attraction in Rio AFP via Getty World news in pictures 12 August 2020 Young elephant bulls tussle playfully on World Elephant Day at the Amboseli National Park in Kenya AFP via Getty "When I arrived at the scene I encountered injured people who had extricated themselves from the construction site, where a roof apparently collapsed on top of a parking lot," Moshe Levy, a volunteer paramedic told Haaretz. "While we were administering first aid we received reports there were still people trapped inside." Local politician Eli Alalouf, chairman of the Knesset Labour Committe, said: "I am shocked at the reports of the difficult incident at the Tel Aviv construction site. We have cautioned against such nightmares as that unfolding before our eyes," The neighbourhood is home to many hi-tech businesses, restaurants and a hospital. For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Breaking News email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }} The UNs human rights chief has compared controversial Dutch politician Geert Wilders to Donald Trump, Nigel Farage and Isis, in a hard-hitting speech at The Hague. Zeid Raad al-Hussein, who has held the position for two years, called for action to confront European and US politicians who breed an atmosphere thick with hate, as he fears it may descend into violence. The speech was primarily focused on Mr Wilders, who recently said he wants to fight Islam and ban all mosques. Dutch Right Wing Politician Geert Wilders Rails Against Islam and Endorses Trump Mr Wilders, who is the leader of the most popular party in the Netherlands, released a 11-point plan pledging to ban expressions of faith considered contrary to the countrys order and says mosques, Islamic schools and asylum centres will be closed. Mr al-Hussein described the plans as grotesque and said populists use "half-truths and over-simplifications". "What Mr. Wilders shares in common with Mr Trump, Mr Orban, Mr Zeman, Mr Hofer, Mr Fico, Madame Le Pen, Mr Farage, he also shares with Daesh [Isis]," he said. All seek in varying degrees to recover a past, halcyon and so pure in form, where sunlit fields are settled by peoples united by ethnicity or religion living peacefully in isolation, pilots of their fate, free of crime, foreign influence and war, he said. The formula is therefore simple: make people, already nervous, feel terrible, and then emphasise its all because of a group, lying within, foreign and menacing. The 52-year-old, who is the son of Prince Ra'ad bin Zeid, Lord Chamberlain of Jordan and previously served as Jordans mbassador to the US, was sure to clarify his position on Isis, describing them as monstrous and sickening. Donald Trump's most controversial quotes Show all 14 1 /14 Donald Trump's most controversial quotes Donald Trump's most controversial quotes On Isis: "Some of the candidates, they went in and didnt know the air conditioner didnt work and sweated like dogs, and they didnt know the room was too big because they didnt have anybody there. How are they going to beat ISIS?" Getty Donald Trump's most controversial quotes On immigration: "I will build a great wall and nobody builds walls better than me, believe me and Ill build them very inexpensively. I will build a great, great wall on our southern border, and I will make Mexico pay for that wall. Mark my words." Reuters Donald Trump's most controversial quotes On Free Trade: "Free trade is terrible. Free trade can be wonderful if you have smart people. But we have stupid people." PAUL J. RICHARDS | AFP | Getty Images Donald Trump's most controversial quotes On Mexicans: "When Mexico sends its people, theyre not sending their best. Theyre sending people that have lots of problems. Theyre bringing drugs. Theyre bringing crime. Theyre rapists." Getty Donald Trump's most controversial quotes On China: "I just sold an apartment for $15 million to somebody from China. Am I supposed to dislike them?... I love China. The biggest bank in the world is from China. You know where their United States headquarters is located? In this building, in Trump Tower." Getty Images Donald Trump's most controversial quotes On work: "If you're interested in 'balancing' work and pleasure, stop trying to balance them. Instead make your work more pleasurable." AP Donald Trump's most controversial quotes On success: "What separates the winners from the losers is how a person reacts to each new twist of fate." Donald Trump's most controversial quotes On life: "Everything in life is luck." AFP Donald Trump's most controversial quotes On ambition: "You have to think anyway, so why not think big?" Getty Images Donald Trump's most controversial quotes On his opponents: "Bush is totally in favour of Common Core. I don't see how he can possibly get the nomination. He's weak on immigration. He's in favour of Common Core. How the hell can you vote for this guy? You just can't do it." Reuters Donald Trump's most controversial quotes On Obamacare: "You have to be hit by a tractor, literally, a tractor, to use it, because the deductibles are so high. It's virtually useless. And remember the $5 billion web site?... I have so many web sites, I have them all over the place. I hire people, they do a web site. It costs me $3." Getty Images Donald Trump's most controversial quotes On Barack Obama: "Obama is going to be out playing golf. He might be on one of my courses. I would invite him. I have the best courses in the world. I have one right next to the White House." PA Donald Trump's most controversial quotes On himself: "Love him or hate him, Trump is a man who is certain about what he wants and sets out to get it, no holds barred. Women find his power almost as much of a turn-on as his money." Getty Images Donald Trump's most controversial quotes On America: "The American Dream is dead. But if I get elected president I will bring it back bigger and better and stronger than ever before and we will make America great again." GETTY Make no mistake, I certainly do not equate the actions of nationalist demagogues with those of Daesh, which are monstrous, sickening; Daesh must be brought to justice. But in its mode of communication, its use of half-truths and oversimplification, the propaganda of Daesh uses tactics similar to those of the populists. He finished the speech with a rallying call, warning everyone not be led by the deception and asking people to speak out and up and to speak the truth. The speech in full: "Dear Friends, I wish to address this short statement to Mr. Geert Wilders, his acolytes, indeed to all those like him the populists, demagogues and political fantasists. To them, I must be a sort of nightmare. I am the global voice on human rights, universal rights; elected by all governments, and now critic of almost all governments. I defend and promote the human rights of each individual, everywhere: the rights of migrants, asylum seekers and immigrants; the rights of the LGBTi community; the rights of women and children in all countries; minorities; indigenous persons; people with disabilities, and any and all who are discriminated against, disadvantaged, persecuted or tortured whether by governments, political movements or by terrorists. I am a Muslim, who is, confusingly to racists, also white-skinned; whose mother is European and father, Arab. And I am angry, too. Because of Mr. Wilders lies and half-truths, manipulations and peddling of fear. You see, twenty years ago I served in the UN peacekeeping force during the Balkan wars wars so cruel, so devastating, which flowed from this same factory of deceit, bigotry and ethnic nationalism. Geert Wilders released his grotesque eleven-point manifesto only days ago, and a month ago he spoke along similar lines in Cleveland, in the United States. I will not repeat what he has said, but there are many who will, and his party is expected to do well in the elections in March. Dutch politician Gert Wilders on the convention floor in Cleveland (Getty) And yet what Mr. Wilders shares in common with Mr. Trump, Mr. Orban, Mr. Zeman, Mr. Hofer, Mr. Fico, Madame Le Pen, Mr. Farage, he also shares with Daesh. All seek in varying degrees to recover a past, halcyon and so pure in form, where sunlit fields are settled by peoples united by ethnicity or religion living peacefully in isolation, pilots of their fate, free of crime, foreign influence and war. A past that most certainly, in reality, did not exist anywhere, ever. Europes past, as we all know, was for centuries anything but that. The proposition of recovering a supposedly perfect past is fiction; its merchants are cheats. Clever cheats. Populists use half-truths and oversimplification -- the two scalpels of the arch propagandist, and here the internet and social media are a perfect rail for them, by reducing thought into the smallest packages: sound-bites; tweets. Paint half a picture in the mind of an anxious individual, exposed as they may be to economic hardship and through the media to the horrors of terrorism. Prop this picture up by some half-truth here and there and allow the natural prejudice of people to fill in the rest. Add drama, emphasizing its all the fault of a clear-cut group, so the speakers lobbing this verbal artillery, and their followers, can feel somehow blameless. The formula is therefore simple: make people, already nervous, feel terrible, and then emphasize its all because of a group, lying within, foreign and menacing. Then make your target audience feel good by offering up what is a fantasy to them, but a horrendous injustice to others. Inflame and quench, repeat many times over, until anxiety has been hardened into hatred. Make no mistake, I certainly do not equate the actions of nationalist demagogues with those of Da'esh, which are monstrous, sickening; Daesh must be brought to justice. But in its mode of communication, its use of half-truths and oversimplification, the propaganda of Daesh uses tactics similar to those of the populists. And both sides of this equation benefit from each other indeed would not expand in influence without each others' actions. Wilders' party would shut down all mosques in the Netherlands. Pictured: the Mevlana Mosque in Rotterdam (AFP/Getty Images) The humiliating racial and religious prejudice fanned by the likes of Mr. Wilders has become in some countries municipal or even national policy. We hear of accelerating discrimination in workplaces. Children are being shamed and shunned for their ethnic and religious origins whatever their passports, they are told they are not "really" European, not "really" French, or British, or Hungarian. Entire communities are being smeared with suspicion of collusion with terrorists. History has perhaps taught Mr. Wilders and his ilk how effectively xenophobia and bigotry can be weaponized. Communities will barricade themselves into fearful, hostile camps, with populists like them, and the extremists, as the commandants. The atmosphere will become thick with hate; at this point it can descend rapidly into colossal violence. We must pull back from this trajectory. My friends, are we doing enough to counter this cross-border bonding of demagogues? A decade ago, Geert Wilders manifesto and Cleveland speech would have created a world-wide furore. Now? Now, they are met with little more than a shrug, and, outside the Netherlands, his words and pernicious plans were barely noticed. Are we going to continue to stand by and watch this banalization of bigotry, until it reaches its logical conclusion? Ultimately, it is the law that will safeguard our societies human rights law, binding law which is the distillation of human experience, of generations of human suffering, the screams of the victims of past crimes and hate. We must guard this law passionately, and be guided by it. Do not, my friends, be led by the deceiver. It is only by pursuing the entire truth, and acting wisely, that humanity can ever survive. So draw the line and speak. Speak out and up, speak the truth and do so compassionately, speak for your children, for those you care about, for the rights of all, and be sure to say clearly: stop! We will not be bullied by you the bully, nor fooled by you the deceiver, not again, no more; because we, not you, will steer our collective fate. And we, not you, will write and sculpt this coming century. Draw the line!" Sign up to Simon Calders free travel email for weekly expert advice and money-saving discounts Get Simon Calders Travel email Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Simon Calders Travel email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }} Brexit has been blamed for the latest travel closure: the suspension of the business-class-only route from Luton to New York's Newark airport. La Compagnie, based in Paris, said it would end the link later this month because of a new economic climate in Europe, fuelled by Brexit. The route began in April 2015. After some initial technical issues the low-cost business offering has been generally well received. Between June and August 77 per cent of seats were filled. But the airline said the "route economics remained fragile. The aircraft will be moved to the French capital, where it will be used to double frequency on the Paris-New York route. In a statement, the airlines chief executive, Frantz Yvelin, said: The result of the EU referendum has created an unprecedented level of legal and economic uncertainty for airlines that service Great Britain. The aviation consultant Malcolm Ginsberg described the Brexit claim as rubbish. He said: Their big problem was the wrong airport, poor marketing and a failure to offer a daily service. The last outbound flight will depart from the Bedfordshire airport on 24 September, with the return trip landing the following day. Travellers with bookings beyond that date are being offered either a full refund or being re-routed to or from New York via Paris. But passengers rights rules, known as EC261, suggest that they may be able to demand business-class seats on other airlines at La Compagnies expense. Three previous business-class-only ventures between London and New York have failed: Silverjet, Maxjet and Eos. British Airways set to resumes direct flights to Tehran British Airways continues to fly a business-class-only link from London City to New York, but last week announced that the present twice-daily operation would halve. A spokesperson for BA said: "We constantly evaluate the commercial performance of our entire global network and will increase or reduce our schedules as we feel appropriate. "Any customers affected by the changes will be rebooked on to an alternative flight or offered a full refund. Sign up to our free Brexit and beyond email for the latest headlines on what Brexit is meaning for the UK Sign up to our Brexit email for the latest insight Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the Brexit and beyond email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }} If we adopted an Australian points-based system (PBS), we wouldnt be having this problem with migrants, goes the refrain to pretty much every conversation about migration, as if a points-based system measuring the ability of a migrant to contribute to society would be the panacea for all of our immigration woes. No Polish workers stealing much-needed jobs from Britons and no feckless Syrian refugees determined to rinse the welfare state. As a result, there was a collective throwing up of arms and cries of backsliding from enthusiastic Brexiteers this week, who had been promised this one-size-fits-all solution to taking back control, as Theresa May quashed their Little Englander dreams by saying that a PBS was not an option. They may not be outraged for too long, however, as the former Home Secretarys vague roadmap for Britains post-Brexit immigration system is far more restrictive than any PBS they could have dreamed of. Number 10 has come out against the system on the grounds that PBS allows a set criteria, rather than a fixed number, to determine who can and cannot enter the UK. In other words, PBS concentrates on quality and doesnt restrict quantity. If you are a highly educated, upstanding citizen of the world, youre in. Tories quote the fact that under Labour and its British version of PBS, currently applicable to non-EU nationals, immigration numbers went up. Australia is cited not as an exemplar of a rational migration policy, but rather as having higher immigration per capita than Britain. This goes to show how far advocates of lower immigration really researched their views on the topic. Then again, there is nothing new about those who voted out not thinking something all the way through. Indeed, if they are so keen on the PBS system on the basis that it allows the UK to sift through migrants and refugees based on their merit, then they would have to admit that they disagree with Theresa Mays new plans and that we should let more non-UK nationals take up residence in the country. The most scaremongering arguments for Brexit Show all 7 1 /7 The most scaremongering arguments for Brexit The most scaremongering arguments for Brexit 22 May 2015 In his regular column in The Express Nigel Farage utilised the concerns over Putin and the EU to deliver a tongue in cheek conclusion. With friends like these, who needs enemies? PA The most scaremongering arguments for Brexit 13 November 2015 UKIP MEP for Yorkshire and North Lincolnshire Mike Hookem, was one of several political figures who took no time to harness the toxic atmosphere just moments after Paris attacks to push an agenda. Cameron says were safer in the EU. Well Im in the centre of the EU and it doesnt feel very safe. Getty Images The most scaremongering arguments for Brexit 19 April 2016 In an article written for The Guardian, Michael Gove attempts to bolster his argument with a highly charged metaphor in which he likens UK remaining in the EU to a hostage situation. Were voting to be hostages locked in the back of the car and driven headlong towards deeper EU integration. Rex The most scaremongering arguments for Brexit 26 April 2016 In a move that is hard to decipher, let alone understand, Mike Hookem stuck it to Obama re-tweeting a UKIP advertisement that utilises a quote from the film: Love Actually to dishonour the US stance on the EU. A friend who bullies us is no longer a friend The most scaremongering arguments for Brexit 10 May 2016 During a speech in London former work and pensions secretary Ian Duncan Smith said that EU migration would cause an increasing divide between people who benefit from immigration and people who couldnt not find work because of uncontrolled migration. The European Union is a force for social injustice which backs the haves rather than the have-nots. EPA The most scaremongering arguments for Brexit 15 May 2016 Cartoon character Boris Johnson made the news again over controversial comments that the EU had the same goal as Hitler in trying to create a political super state. Napoleon, Hitler, various people tried this out, and it ends tragically. The EU is an attempt to do this by different methods. PA The most scaremongering arguments for Brexit 16 May 2016 During a tour of the womens clothing manufacturer David Nieper, Boris had ample time to cook up a new metaphor, arguably eclipsing Goves in which he compares the EU to badly designed undergarments. So I just say to all those who prophecy doom and gloom for the British Business, I say their pants are on fire. Lets say knickers to the pessimists, knickers to all those who talk Britain down. Getty Images Under the Australian system, any applicant between 25 and 32 automatically starts with half of the required points and those between the ages of 45 and 49 start at zero; all applicants are given points for their level of English; and the rest of the points are allocated based upon the applicants qualifications, employment history and occupations. The country also has a character test designed to weed out anyone with a criminal record or who is deemed a risk to the community. Such a PBS would negatively affect a lot of EU workers on the basis of occupation. According to research carried out by Oxford universitys Migration Observatory, 96 per cent of EU workers employed on farms, 94 per cent in hotels and restaurants, 66 per cent in the financial service sector, and two thirds of the workers in construction, manufacturing, energy and transport would not be eligible for a visa under such a system. Only 11 per cent in skilled trades and professional occupations would be able to stay. This sounds like a success for those advocating for the tighter immigration controls. However, the picture isnt the same when we turn to non-EU nationals, especially those refugees who are out there in Calais apparently causing havoc for French farmers and truckers. According to a census carried out by Help Refugees and LAuberge des Migrants, out of the 5,188 people living in the refugee camp, 10 per cent are high-skilled workers and 8 per cent specialised workers. The Jungle holds 55 professions in total, including doctors, nurses, lawyers, architects and carpenters. 5 of the worst things Nigel Farage has said about immigration When I visited the camp just over 12 months ago with several other volunteers, we met one doctor, two lawyers and three engineers. All of these professions are included in the Australian immigration Skilled Occupation List. Each of these refugees spoke impeccable English, was between the ages of 25 and 49 and had a university education all eligible for UK visas under a PBS. This is not an unusual cross section: most people who reach Europe have paid a large amount of money to human traffickers to do so, often because they are middle class, high salaried people in their home countries with good professions. And when it comes to character? During our visit, heavy rains flooded my friends tents, and despite coming to the camp with the aim of providing aid, in an ironic twist they found themselves being supported by a group of refugees who took them in for the night. If coming to the rescue of some well-meaning but ill-prepared aid workers isnt community spirit, I dont know what is. If these arent the people advocates of such a system want in our country, who is eligible? An Australian style points-based system wont keep people out and if that stops you supporting it, then maybe the reason youre really calling for stricter immigration controls is because of plain old prejudice. The Jobs Minister is expected to meet officials in Brussels later to discuss the impact of Brexit. Mary Mitchell O'Connor has said she will stress the importance of avoiding the introduction of customs or trade barriers during the discussions at the European Parliament. The Fine Gael TD said: "It is crucial that the EU institutions at the highest levels fully appreciate the potential impacts for Ireland at the earliest stage, before any detailed negotiation process, that will prepare the terms for the UK's departure and its future relationship with the Union." Ms Mitchell O'Connor will take part in a series of meetings with Elzbieta Bienkowska, European Commissioner for Internal Market, Industry, Entrepreneurship and SMEs, Cecelia Malmstrom, European Commissioner for Trade, and Vicky Ford, MEP, chair of the Internal Market (IMCO) Committee of the European Parliament. She added: "(I will) emphasise the importance of the Brexit negotiations taking full account of the impact on Ireland in relation to the economic and employment context, our desire to avoid the introduction of customs or trade barriers, the competitiveness challenge, and our ability to sustain engagement in research cooperation, including under EU funding programmes." The Common Travel Area (CTA) allows free movement of people between Ireland and the UK. During a visit to Northern Ireland last week, The UK's Brexit minister David Davis said the UK and Ireland wanted to retain an open border. Britain's Northern Ireland secretary James Brokenshire has also said there is a strong will from both governments to ensure that there was no return to the borders of the past while Foreign Affairs Minister Charlie Flanagan has insisted the two countries must keep the "invisible" border that exists at present after Brexit. Meanwhile, trade and single market issues including progress on the EU-US trade negotiations (TTIP), the EU-Canada trade agreement (CETA), and the Commission's initiatives to achieve progress on strengthening Europe's Single Market will also be on the minister's agenda. Ms Mitchell O'Connor is expected to underline Irish support for the EU's trade agenda in order to ensure that Irish exporters gain greater market share in existing markets and improved terms of entry to new markets, while urging progress on the EU's trade negotiations which have yet to be implemented (Canada) or completed (Japan and USA). Barack Obama has said he believes that Britain was wrong to vote to leave the EU and suggested it could still be at the "back of the queue" for a new trade deal. The US President used a joint press conference with Theresa May at the G20 summit in Hangzhou, China to warn that while he does not want to "punish" Britain, there is a risk that the trading relationship between the two countries could "unravel". Mr Obama also said he "continues to believe" that the world would be more prosperous if Britain remained a member of the EU. The British Prime Minister today faces a potentially tense meeting with President Xi Jinping of China over Hinkley Point nuclear power station in Somerset. She will refuse to give Mr Xi assurances about the project and will not reach a decision until later this month. There are mounting indications that Mrs May is poised to block Hinkley Point amid security concerns about China's substantial investment. Read more: UK's May stands firm on pledge to leave EU Earlier, Mr Obama said: "It is absolutely true that I believed pre-Brexit vote, and continue to believe post-Brexit vote, that the world benefited enormously from the United Kingdom's participation in the EU. "But I also said at the time that ultimately this was a decision for the British people and the British people made that decision." He defended his warning at the height of the EU referendum campaign that Britain would go to the "back of the queue" for trade deals. He said it would "not make sense" to put existing negotiations "aside". "We are fully supportive of a process that is as little disruptive as possible, so that people around the world can continue to benefit from economic growth. "What I have committed to Theresa is that we will consult closely with her as she and her government move forward with Brexit negotiations to ensure that we don't see adverse affects in trade and commercial relationships. "We're going to do everything we can to make sure that the consequences of the decision don't end up unravelling what is already a very strong and robust economic relationship that can become even stronger in the future." Meanwhile, Japan warned Britain that its banks, car manufacturers and pharmaceutical companies may leave the UK for Europe if Brexit leads to the loss of tariff-free trade. A Japanese government task-force has published a 15-page list of demands from companies and warned that Britain may become an increasingly "unattractive" place for business. It suggested that the UK should enable workers to move easily between the UK and Europe. ( Daily Telegraph, London) Telegraph Media Group Limited [2022] This is the scene just moments after a farmer rescued his pet dogs just in time as they collapsed after being overcome by slurry mix fumes. The pets, Jake and Ruby, can be seen lying lifeless on the ground struggling to get up or move. At one point as one of the pups eventually managed to get up, it slowly moves over to the other in a bid to help it up. It stands guard while the other dog remains lifeless on the ground. Father-of-five Emmett Gildernew had began mixing the slurry as it was a good day with plenty of wind. After about 15 minutes he walked 150 yards to the hen house and was straight back in a couple of minutes. When he returned he was met with the sight of his passed out pets. Once the farmer discovered what had happened he then risked his own life by stopping the pump and going in to bring them out to fresh air. He said: "I stopped the tractor. I thought they were dead but when I saw they were moving or trying to move. "So rightly or wrongly I ran in." He lifted them both to safety in to the fresh air. He said: "They were both conscious but just paralysed couldn't move and just gasping for air. So I was talking to the vet and he said there is no point you coming here, they will recover or die by the time you get here. "So there is nothing more you can do. " Emmett said he then took the video in a bid to show his children and family the dangers of mixing slurry. The farmer said while he was always aware of the dangers but that he had never seen how quickly it can take hold of you until he saw the impact on his pets. Thankfully the dogs have recovered just fine but Emmett hopes the video will serve as a message in a bid to prevent any other tragedies on the farm. Independent minister John Halligan has said criticisms of Cabinet indecision on the Apple ruling and claims that the minority Government is unstable are "very unfair". The Fine Gael-led minority Government took three days to agree that the EU's ruling should be appealed. A number of Independents, including Mr Halligan, have expressed reservations on the plan. Junior Skills and Training Minister Mr Halligan said of the criticism: "I think it's very unfair. It's been extremely difficult for some of us. We've come under horrendous attack in our own constituencies for going into government." He added: "The easiest thing for us to do would have been to sit back in opposition and criticise... but we made a decision that somebody had to do it (form a government)." Mr Halligan pointed out that he had ideological differences with Fine Gael and backing the Government over issues such as Irish Water and Apple had been difficult for him and his supporters. But he had been "honourable" with the Government and expected the same when it comes to his demand that cardiac services at his local hospital be improved. He added: "I think we should give this Government some time." The left-wing TD secured a commitment in the Programme for Government that there would be an independent clinical review of a second catheterisation laboratory at Waterford Regional Hospital. He expected the review to be concluded as early as this week. A report in a Sunday newspaper quoted a letter sent to the HSE by Galway cardiac consultant Professor Kieran Daly, in which he said that Mr Halligan was wrong to compare the needs in Waterford to the Mater and St James's hospitals in Dublin. Prof Daly said each hospital had "at least twice the activity of Waterford". Mr Halligan last night insisted that the 500,000 population in the south-east meant that 24-hour cardiac services and a second catheterisation lab were necessary. "All the facts and figures are there for Waterford. There's no question," he said, adding that his view was supported by consultants in his home city. Mr Halligan is to meet health minister Simon Harris to discuss the matter this week. German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schauble has come out strongly in favour of the 13bn Apple tax ruling in a blow to his Irish counterpart, who once counted him as a key ally. During the bailout, Michael Noonan insiste that Mr Schauble was "a friend" and would not do anything to damage Ireland. But Mr Schauble has now launched a broadside against Ireland and multinational firms - insisting the European Commission needs to strictly enforce EU competition rules. It comes as EU Commission president Jean Claude Juncker told the G20 Summit in China that the Apple ruling must be followed. "Our rules on state aid have always been clear," said Mr Junker. "National authorities cannot give tax benefits to some companies and not to others. This is the level playing field that the Commission is always working to defend. "All companies must pay their fair shares of taxes in the countries where they make their profits." Meanwhile, Mr Schauble told the 'Bild am Sonntag' newspaper that individual states should not give "undue advantage" to companies. Mr Schauble said he fully backed EU Competition Commissioner Margrethe Vestager, who took on Apple and may soon begin a fresh investigation into tax rulings offered by Luxembourg. Mr Schauble added that he did not expect the EU Commission's decision on Apple to have direct consequences for Germany. His views contrast markedly with those of German Chancellor Angela Merkel, who last week backed Ireland and warned that the ruling could hurt investment in Europe. But Vice-Chancellor Sigmar Gabriel took a similar view to Mr Schauble, welcoming the Commission's decision. And in a pointed remark, he warned against giant tech companies being seen to choose "tax havens" to conduct their business. The head of the largest group in the European Parliament, Manfred Weber, also rowed into the debate. "It cannot be that the deep-pocketed internet companies are subsidised by the taxpayers," he said. Junior finance minister Eoghan Murphy responded to the latest remarks, saying: "I think it's in the interests of all member states that we appeal this case and that we win it. Amid the ongoing row, Jobs Minister Mary Mitchell O'Connor is today travelling to Brussels to meet internal market commissioner Elzbieta Bienkowska and trade commissioner Cecilia Malmstrom. The Irish services industry continued to expand in August, however new business in the sector is expanding at the slowest rate since February 2014, new figures have shown. According to the Investec Services Purchasing Managers' Index, the rate of expansion in new exports slipped to a five-month low with a number of parties reporting lower amounts of new orders from the UK. This dip in UK orders was in part down to the strength of the euro against the sterling after Britain voted to leave the European Union. The headline figure for the month of August stood at 59.7, up slightly on July's 59.5 outturn. Business outstanding continued to expand last month despite a slowdown in client demand, however a number of companies say this was down to an increase in staff shortages. In a move to curb this firms will continue to look to add to their headcoutns. Investec chief economist Philip O'Sullivan said: "Notwithstanding the softer growth in new orders, companies continue to exhibit a positive outlook, with the business activity: expected levels in 12 Months Time index strengthening to a three month high as nearly 17 times as many firms expect to see a rise in activity over the coming year against those who forecast a fall. "Data for the sub-components of the Services sector that are covered in this survey (Financial Services, Business Services, TMT and Transport & Leisure) show that firms across all four segments expect to see growth over the coming year, as they have for 51 successive months now." Fianna Fail leader Micheal Martin has said "it's regrettable and it's wrong" that the European Commission's ruling on Apple won't be published in full ahead of Wednesday's Dail debate on the matter. Labour's Joan Burton has said that without the full 150-page ruling being published the debate will be "a sham exercise". Expand Close Joan Burton: debate will be a sham without the full ruling. Photo: Tom Burke / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Joan Burton: debate will be a sham without the full ruling. Photo: Tom Burke Green Party leader Eamon Ryan noted that TDs will be "debating in the dark". The Government has taken the decision to appeal the ruling that the State seek 13bn in back taxes from the tech giant, rejecting the Commission's finding that Apple's tax arrangements had amounted to illegal State aid. Both the State and Apple have denied any wrongdoing. While Cabinet can make the decision to appeal without a Dail vote, a full debate on the matter was a condition sought by Independent ministers to back Finance Minister Michael Noonan's plan to fight the Commission. However, his spokesman last night confirmed that the full ruling would not be made available to TDs ahead of the debate, saying: "It's not our document to give." Junior finance minister Eoghan Murphy elaborated further, telling the Irish Independent: "The decision is a European Commission document and contains information of a confidential and commercially sensitive nature relating to Apple." Though supporting an appeal, Mr Martin said that it was "incredible" that the Commission announced its ruling on the Apple case without publishing the document in full. "I think that's a weakness and we should have access by now." He doesn't expect to see the report's contents before Wednesday's debate, adding: "I think that's very regrettable and it's wrong." Read more: 'Intentionally misleading' EC ruling ignored tax data - Cook Read more: Novel EC ruling won't scare away international businesses but has reignited debate on how to tax them Labour finance spokeswoman Ms Burton said: "The Dail is being recalled to debate a 150-page ruling that only members of the Government have had the opportunity to read. "In advance of this debate, it is essential that all opposition parties are given access to this ruling, on a confidential basis if necessary. Otherwise, the entire debate will be a sham exercise." Mr Ryan, whose party is opposed to an appeal, expressed his disappointment that the full ruling won't be provided to TDs. "A lot of the debate is being done without real knowledge of the actual nitty-gritty of the decision," he said. "Not being able to see the judgment means that we're slightly debating in the dark. I think that's a real problem." He called on Mr Noonan to provide as much detail as possible on what is in the document ahead of the debate. Sinn Fein's Pearse Doherty, - whose party is opposed to a State appeal - has also called on the Government to publish the report in full. While the Finance Department did not last night release the wording of the government motion, a spokesman said TDs would be asked to debate four main points. They are: To ask that TDs support the Government's plan to appeal the European Commission's ruling. To reaffirm that no individual or company should get preferential treatment from the Irish tax system. That Ireland's tax system is operated to the highest international standard. And to reaffirm Ireland's 12.5pc corporate tax rate, the Research and Development tax credit and an international tax measure known as the Knowledge Development Box. The motion will also reaffirm that taxation policy is a power retained by EU member states. Labour has supported the Government's plan to appeal the Commission's ruling. However, Ms Burton said that her party would table amendments to the Government's motion. Among the proposed changes are a demand that more be done to close down remaining loopholes in tax law and that minimum effective tax rate for all companies be introduced in the Budget. It's a year this month since the State received a 335m windfall from for the sale of its stake in Aer Lingus, but not one cent of the money has yet been allocated from a so-called 'Connectivity Fund' that was established to distribute the proceeds to projects around the country. But the Ireland Strategic Investment Fund - the State-owned vehicle - insists that there's now a pipeline of potential projects that could benefit from the money. The State received the Aer Lingus proceeds a year ago this month after agreeing in May 2015 to sell its 25.1pc stake in the airline to British Airways owner IAG. Then Transport Minister Paschal Donohoe revealed in May last year that the 335m the State would receive was earmarked for a special connectivity fund that would be administered by the Ireland Strategic Investment Fund (ISIF). That was to see the Aer Lingus proceeds diverted to a broad range of commercial projects - anything from port improvements to energy development. The expenditure would not be counted as government spending. The 1.36bn sale of Aer Lingus to IAG closed on September 2 last year, with the State receiving its proceeds from the transaction the same month. Ryanair owned just under 30pc of Aer Lingus and in September last year announced that it would share the 398m in proceeds from the sale with its own shareholders, and distributed the funds before the end of last year. But the money the State received for its Aer Lingus stake has now been languishing unused in its coffers for a year. But a spokesman for ISIF said the team has an "active pipeline of opportunities" which may qualify for investment by the connectivity fund. "These investment opportunities fall under two broad asset types, each of which will benefit Ireland as an island nation," he said. "Some are transport-based assets which will enhance the physical connectivity of Ireland. "The pipeline also includes digital and fibre optic-based assets which will enhance the virtual connectivity of Ireland supporting, in particular, technology-based foreign direct investment." He added that the connectivity fund will be deployed and invested in a manner that is entirely consistent with the mandate of the ISIF and following normal ISIF governance procedures. "By their nature, the development and financing of these large-scale assets takes time and any announcement will be made in due course," he added. The 335m that's sitting in the ISIF Connectivity Fund would be sufficient, when leveraged with additional funds from commercial enterprises, to bankroll a large number of infrastructure projects. Ireland has a growing infrastructure deficit that could weigh on the country's ability to lure foreign direct investment, for instance. Here are the main business stories from this morning's papers: Irish Independent * It's a year this month since the State received a 335m windfall from for the sale of its stake in Aer Lingus, but not one cent of the money has yet been allocated from a so-called 'Connectivity Fund' that was established to distribute the proceeds to projects around the country. But the Ireland Strategic Investment Fund - the State-owned vehicle - insists that there's now a pipeline of potential projects that could benefit from the money. * Hard-pressed motorists are now paying close to 11,000 a year to run a car due to exorbitant increases in car insurance, according to the AA. The average family is now forking out an average of 10,849.42 to run a car an increase of 255.82 over last year, shocking new figures reveal. * Apple boss Tim Cook has accused the European Commission of having "ignored" Apple tax data to reach "intentionally misleading" tax conclusions that led to a 13bn back tax ruling. In an interview with the Sunday Independent, the Apple CEO said that the European Commission cast aside critical tax considerations to come up with factually wrong decisions about the rate of tax Apple pays in Ireland. The Irish Times * European Union president Jean Claude Juncker has said the European Commission's ruling on Apple's tax activities in Ireland was made without bias. Mr Juncker described the ruling as a landmark decision and said Apple will repay the 13bn in back taxes to the Irish state. * Independent News and Media has acquires six regional titles including The Anglo Celt, the Connaught Telegraph, and the Meath Chronicle. The deal will bring the firm's total number of regional up to 20. * Bank of Ireland has become the first bank in the country to start using Snapchat to engage with its younger customers. The firm will use its channel over the coming weeks to discuss ways for students to save money. Irish Examiner * The Irish Exporters Association has identified soaring insurance costs and the effects of the slump in sterling as issues that need to be addressed by Government. The association also highlighted the shortage of housing as an area that needs addressing in the upcoming budget. * European Central Bank president Mario Draghi is widely tipped to extend the quantitative easing programme for a second time. The extension would bring the asset-buying programme up to after March of next year and beyond its original target of 1.7 trillion. * European Union president Jean Claude Juncker has told Ireland the Apple ruling has been based on facts and the multi-national company will have to pay the country 13bn in back taxes. Mr Juncker was speaking at the G20 summit in China where he was responding to the Government's decision to appeal. Apple will attempt to reboot sales of the iPhone this week after an unprecedented recent decline that has left the tech giant grappling with falling revenue for the first time in over a decade. The company is seeking to entice consumers with a new version of the popular device that features a high-powered camera as its key selling point amid fears that the smartphone market has reached saturation. The iPhone 7 is unlikely to come with the radical design changes that have defined the handset since Steve Jobs shook up the telecoms world with the first model almost a decade ago. Instead, Apple will make several tweaks to the phone that it hopes will maintain the companys reputation for invention when it is unveiled in San Francisco on Wednesday, less than one week after a long-running tax row with Brussels erupted into a public war of words after the European Commission ordered Ireland to recoup 13bn (11bn) in taxes from the company. Apple, which last month marked five years since chief executive Tim Cook replaced Mr Jobs, is struggling to stem the rare slide in revenue, with the sale of new products such as last years Apple Watch. Its share price has fallen by a fifth since its peak in 2015. The iPhone 7 is expected to include a new dual-lens camera system capable of taking photographs that can rival those of high-end cameras, and the removal of the traditional headphone port in favour of wireless headphones. The company is aiming to encourage regular upgrades of its phones as well as focus on making more from the more than one billion devices running its software by selling services such as music subscriptions and online storage as well as peripherals such as the Apple Watch and headphones. I think youll see more focus on the software and services; they need to take their loyal user base and drive revenue in different places, said Ben Wood, an analyst at CCS Insight. Mr Wood said that Wednesdays event could include a heavy focus on music, with the removal of the headphone jack a staple of the iPhone since it was first launched being used as an opportunity to sell higher-margin headphones and a more expensive high-quality version of its Apple Music streaming service. Apples $3bn (2.3bn) purchase of Beats, the headphones and music streaming company founded by rapper Dr Dre, in 2014 has so far been used mainly as a springboard for Apple Music, with Apples glitzy launch events featuring little mention of the high-end headphones division, but analysts believe there could be potential for greater cross-selling. You can almost guarantee theyll introduce a portfolio of headphones for the new [iPhone] experience, Mr Wood said. This week, Mr Cook is also expected to unveil a new version of the Apple Watch with a faster processor and location technology. Although the device has outsold its competition since it was released last year, sales have still been muted in comparison to those of Apples other hit products. Apple has not revealed how many Apple Watches it has sold to date, but analysts pin the figure at around 15m roughly the number of iPhones sold in a month. Telegraph Media Group Limited [2022] He may be the host of First Dates Ireland, but Mateo Saina has said he would only go on a blind date as a joke. The reality TV series has won over the hearts of the viewing public, with its first series drawing in massive ratings. The show is set to return later this year with 12-episodes. However, Mateo (32) has admitted even if he was not the host of First Dates, he would not have any interest in auditioning for a date. "No. I prefer old fashioned [dating]. I see somebody in front of me and we have a drink and so on," he told the Herald. "Blind dates? Maybe just as a joke. I wouldn't put my hopes into it." Like any reality series, some suspect that many of the daters on the show may really only be after their 15 minutes of fame, but Mateo remains optimistic that their intentions are pure. "I would like to believe they are. Nobody can claim they're not because they're not going to say that to us," he said. "I really hope they are because that's what it's made for, to find love." While the first series failed to produce a lasting relationship, the TV host hopes they will have better luck this time around. "Hopefully, we will have more success with season two and find somebody hooking up for long-term," he said. The series, which is filmed in Dublin's Gibson Hotel, shoots over the course of one week. Mateo said the schedule was quite intense, with the cast and crew often having gruelling 12-hour days. Video of the Day "We film for seven days in a row. It's hardcore," he said. "It's work, but it's not work. You're looking at people and their facial expressions and the drama, it's cool." The Croat works in Marselles on Merrion Row and said he is more alert at work since being on TV. "You have to be more aware of what you say and what you're doing," he said. Ever since Ross Poldark removed his shirt, took his mighty scythe in his hand and swung it, audiences in both Ireland and the UK have been hooked on the goings-on in 18th century Cornwall. Thanks to Turner and his mighty steed, Poldark is appointment TV. Fans and critics were also waiting with bated breath to see whether Ross would bare his chest again after the topless scything scene of series one. It did not take long. One fan said on Twitter: "Twenty minutes until #poldark gets his top off, frankly I'm disappointed it took that long!" Did #Poldark take his top off again? Coz my internet just broke. Aletta (@Lettybird) September 4, 2016 Christ... on a bike.. #Poldark down the mine.... *sets as tablet wallpaper* pic.twitter.com/LgXsNQWNUp Paul Dunphy Esquire (@pauldunphy) September 4, 2016 Twenty minutes until #poldark gets his top off, frankly I'm disappointed it took that long andrew jarman-norris (@ditasplaything) September 4, 2016 Christ... on a bike.. #Poldark down the mine.... *sets as tablet wallpaper* pic.twitter.com/LgXsNQWNUp Paul Dunphy Esquire (@pauldunphy) September 4, 2016 "Did #Poldark take his top off again? Coz my internet just broke," another said. Meanwhile, critics breathed a sigh of relief after Poldark's second series kicked off in fine form, with a cliffhanger. The BBC series picked up where it left off, with Ross Poldark (Turner) arrested for "wrecking, inciting a riot, murder", and Demelza (Eleanor Tomlinson) left bereft on a cliff-top, with the threat of the death penalty hanging over her husband. Sam Wollaston wrote in the Guardian: "There it is, not scything but mining this time, and it's hot down there, in that mineshaft, hammering away, all senses of hot." "Turner fanatics can at least console themselves with a glimpse of the fabled Aidan torso when he went to his mine for 'an honest day's work' and took his shirt off for a bit of 'hot hewing' down below," wrote Ben Dowell in the Radio Times. He noted that the camera "lingered on his bare upper body as he wielded a pick axe" Ian Hyland joked in The Mirror: "There was so much flesh that when Poldark's lawyer said he'd need to see evidence of his client's 'assets' I'm surprised Poldark didn't just whip off his smock and say, 'There you go, mate'." Critics agreed that the show's fast-paced return was very welcome. Video of the Day Wollaston wrote: "Weekends, with the nights beginning to close in, are better places with Poldark back." "Poldark's return is pacey, breathless and matches anything that has came before," Cameron K McEwan said in Digital Spy, forgiving Debbie Horsfield for a script that was "a little too on the nose at times." Gerard O'Donovan agreed in The Telegraph, writing: "There were no signs here of nerves or second album syndrome. Picking up from exactly where we left off... Poldark came out all guns blazing." The episode's end left critics shocked, as Ross's cousin Francis Poldark (Kyle Soller) shot himself in an apparent suicide - although viewers will have to wait until episode two to find out if he is gone for good. McEwan wrote: "Those final moments are heartbreaking and we can only hope, somehow, that his apparent suicide is a ruse. Poldark needs Francis's heart." Stephen Nolan has laughed off suggestions that he is enduring the holiday from hell in Florida after a series of tweets slamming the US hotspot. The BBC presenter had given his fans back home the impression that his trip to Miami has been more nightmare than paradise, he even went so far as to slam the city - one of the world's most popular tourist destinations - and saying he will never return again. A later post included a photo of Nolan looking fed up, accompanied with the message: "Now my hotel is being evacuated - I'll need a bloody holiday after this." It prompted fears he had been caught up in tropical storm Hermine, which is currently pummelling the US east coast. However, it appears as though it was the broadcaster having a long-distance laugh at our expense. Nolan's critique was a tongue-in-cheek response to a post by his long-suffering radio sidekick, Vinny Hurrell, who had enquired about his holiday on Twitter. The message was accompanied by footage of a scene from sitcom Friends, where Ross Geller went for a spray tan, and the query: "Anyone heard from @StephenNolan & his Miami adventure? Is he OK? Just workin' on his tan?" But speaking to the Belfast Telegraph yesterday, Nolan revealed: "I'm having a great time. "I'm lying on the beach in sunny Key West. I'm enjoying myself." I HATE Miami -never again. https://t.co/cP4iTrZd0Y Stephen Nolan (@StephenNolan) September 3, 2016 Now my hotel is being evacuated - I'll need a bloody holiday after this ! pic.twitter.com/quDDX7uCYG Stephen Nolan (@StephenNolan) September 3, 2016 Moved from dreadful Miami to beautiful Key West . It's stunning , but there's too much ice cream for a fat man ! pic.twitter.com/kE6nfosc7A Stephen Nolan (@StephenNolan) September 4, 2016 Do you think I suit my new hat pic.twitter.com/8Vefm1BTam Stephen Nolan (@StephenNolan) September 4, 2016 Nolan followed up his comments with a series of reassuring tweets. In keeping with the banter of his recent posts, he bemoaned the amount of ice cream on offer. "Moved from dreadful Miami to beautiful Key West. It's stunning, but there's too much ice cream for a fat man!" he joked. A second post showed a smiling Nolan posing in a straw hat and wearing a Miami Beach T-shirt. The Radio 5 Live broadcaster and self-confessed workaholic rarely takes time off from his presenting duties - but when he does he tries to find time to travel to America. His preferred destination is sunny Santa Monica in California and he planned 15 trips to the States in 2015. One of his journeys to the States last year was work-related, however, when he travelled to Las Vegas as part of a documentary looking at people's eating habits. Video of the Day During the programme, which saw him visit the Heart Attack Grill, he admitted his passion for junk food was killing him. A 17 year old girl who is at high risk of being subjected to domestic violence requires to be placed in a secure unit for trouble teens, the High Court has head. At the High Court Ms Justice Mary Faherty, after being informed of the Child and Family Agency's very serious concern about the teen's welfare, made orders placing the girl at the secure facility in Dublin, well away from her current location. The judge heard the girl, who cannot be identified for legal reasons, has a difficult family background and had been in various care placements which had not worked out. She has been in the care of the CFA for some time. Recently, she had come under the controlling influence of an older male who the court heard had assaulted her on several occasions. She had also been abusing alcohol and drugs, the court heard. Arising out of fears for her wellbeing the CFA, represented by Barry O'Donnell Bl, secured a temporary High Court order allowing it to place the young woman at a secure unit for troubled teens in Dublin. The order was secured on an ex-parte basis. At the centre, the teen will be given access to the care and counselling services she requires, counsel said. Also it would allow her to escape from the influence of the violent older male, counsel said. The judge also made an order appointing a legal guardian to the teen. Counsel said a number of parties that had come into contact with the girl, including the Gardai, had expressed their concerns about the girl's welfare. Counsel said the teen had disengaged from services some time ago. She had also in recent months left her non secure placement and had been staying at various locations, including at the older male's residence. She had been violently assaulted by the male, had suffered injuries requiring medical treatment, and needed to get away from him, which she has been unable to do. Despite being assaulted by him, she had returned to him. Counsel said the male was using emotional blackmail to ensure she would not leave him. The judge, who said she was satisfied to make the orders sought by the CFA, adjourned the case until to September 22nd. Two young men were robbed in the early hours by a thief brandishing an iron bar. The incident occurred on Langton Park, Green Road in Newbridge at around 4.45am on Monday morning. The mugger demanded that the two men hand over their mobile phones before fleeing the scene. Gardai searched the area after being alerted and arrested a 19-year-old suspect. The stolen property was also recovered. He was taken to Newbridge Garda station and later charged and bailed to appear before Naas District Court on September 22. Member of the Garda Traffic Corps pictured at the scene where a lady was struck Picture: Frank Mc Grath Members of the Garda Traffic Corps pictured at the scene where a lady was struck Picture Credit : Frank Mc Grath A Member of the Garda Traffic Corps pictured at the scene where a lady was struck. Picture Credit : Frank Mc Grath Members of the Garda Traffic Corps pictured at the scene where a lady was struck Picture Credit : Frank Mc Grath Gardai are appealing for witnesses following the road death of a 92-year-old female pedestrian on Dublin's northside. The crash happened along the Navan Road at around 8.15am yesterday near the Maxol petrol station, close to the Nephin Road and Baggot Road junctions. The woman has been named locally as Maureen Creaner and it is understood that she was struck by the vehicle as she left an early mass at Our Lady Help of Christians. Emergency services rushed to the scene but Ms Creaner, who was well known in the Cabra area, later passed away in the Mater Hospital. The 39-year-old driver of the car was arrested at the scene and was taken to Finglas Garda Station were he was questioned before being released. A garda spokesman said a file is being prepared for the Director of Public Prosecutions. Expand Close Member of the Garda Traffic Corps pictured at the scene where a lady was struck Picture: Frank Mc Grath / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Member of the Garda Traffic Corps pictured at the scene where a lady was struck Picture: Frank Mc Grath The scene of the accident was sealed off for a technical and forensic examination and the road was reopened later in the afternoon. There is a 50kph speed limit along the road. It is understood that Ms Creaner has three children, and that her husband Francis passed away four years ago. A file is now being prepared for the Director of Public Prosecutions. Brendan Carr, Lord Mayor of Dublin, said he lives a few yards from the scene of the accident, and expressed his condolences to the family of the victim. "This is not a part of the road where speeding takes place," he told the Herald. Meanwhile, Sinn Fein Councillor Seamas McGrattan said the local community was shocked by the death. "It's the first time I've heard about an accident happening along that road," he said. Fatalities "The speed is slow in the area. I think it's only 50kph and there are traffic lights along it," he said. This weekend's crash adds to an increase in road fatalities in 2016. In a review of fatal accidents in the first seven months of this year, the Road Safety Authority found that there had been 16 pedestrian fatalities. Pedestrians aged 66 and older were deemed to be the most at risk in this group, with five fatalities recorded so far this year. They were followed by those aged 36 to 45, and those between the ages of 56 and 65. Five pedestrians were killed on roads with a 50kph speed limit and two on roads with a 60kph speed limit. Meanwhile, four deaths were on roads with speed limits of 80kph, and five in places with 100kph limits. Anyone with information about yesterday morning's crash has been asked to contact Cabra Garda Station on 01 6667400 or the garda confidential line. Almost two-thirds of the country's secondary schools are facing chaos this term as a teachers' union threatens industrial action. Around 450 schools could be brought to a standstill by the end of October or early November as the Association of Secondary Teachers' Ireland (ASTI) ratchets up its dispute with the Government. Education Minister Richard Bruton said it was regrettable that the ASTI "seem determined to pursue a route of confrontation rather than dialogue". As the prospect of school closures looms closer, school managers called for "meaningful discussions to take place as soon as possible", with a view to bringing about a resolution of the various issues. John Curtis, general secretary of the Joint Managerial Body (JMB), which represents around 370 schools where the ASTI is the sole union representing teachers, said they were very concerned about disruption to schools. Much of the ASTI campaign is on pay-related matters, following its rejection of the Lansdowne Road Agreement (LRA) on pay and productivity in the public service. Read more: ASTI schools face strike closure in row over payment for supervision Already, ASTI members are refusing to co-operate with a range of day-to-day school activities, such as participating in the so-called Croke Park hours school planning meetings, which, while not closing schools, is causing considerable disruption. It could affect parent-teacher meetings. But now following a meeting of the union's 180-member central executive committee at the weekend, two separate ballots of the 18,000 members were announced. The results are due in mid-October; any move to take action requires seven days' notice. One ballot is seeking a mandate for strike on the issue of two-tier pay scales, which has left new teachers without qualifications allowances worth about 5,000 a year. The union had set August 31 as a deadline for agreement on a deal to restore qualifications allowances and so remove two-tier pay scales. Talks are progressing between Government officials and teacher unions about this issue, but no agreement has yet been reached. Separately, the ASTI is seeking members' support for a withdrawal from supervision and substitution duties - which would force schools to close because of lack of cover. The union's rejection of the LRA means its members are not benefiting from partial restoration of pay cuts introduced in the austerity era, which has triggered the ballot on supervision and substitution. Among the ongoing losses to members are payment for supervision and substitution work in schools and a continuing freeze on increments, which has been lifted for members of the TUI and the Irish National Teachers' Organisation (INTO), which have accepted the LRA. The ASTI takes the view that if members are not being paid for supervision and substitution work, why should they do it. The union executive is also planning a lunchtime protest in schools as part of its ongoing resistance to junior cycle reform. The junior cycle changes are going ahead in about one-third of schools, where the TUI is the sole or dominant union. The ASTI's continuing lack of co-operation on junior cycle is now creating a two-tier system, with pupils in ASTI schools at risk of losing marks in their assessment because of teachers' lack of co-operation. The family of Martin ORourke, who was shot dead in a case of mistaken identity on Sheriff Street last April, said that they are finding it difficult to hide news of killings from his children. Larry Power, the father of O'Rourke's fiancee Angelina, told Joe Duffy on RTE Radio Ones Liveline that the day-to-day life of the family has changed drastically. Angelina had three children with O'Rourke and was expecting a fourth when he was fatally shot. Mr Power said: The eldest just started school Im thinking about not even having a TV in the house because of the kids. [News of the killings] is everywhere. They would have heard it and they would have heard it in the schools and that. They heard a couple of weeks ago that something happened in Crumlin. Mr Power was speaking in the aftermath of the attempted shooting of Johnny Hutch on Friday last. Inner city Councillor Nial Ring added that the ongoing Kinahan-Hutch feud is affecting the everyday life of many people in the north part of the city. He said: "We can't have the children desensitised to a world where shootings and check points become a part of everyday life." Health officials have urged people to practice safe sex, as a new report shows an increase in sexually-transmitted diseases. The spike in STIs comes ahead of the Christmas party season, which is traditionally peak transmission period. The sexually-transmitted infection (STI) detection rate has jumped by almost 14pc with chlamydia, gonorrhoea, herpes, syphilis and HIV all on the increase. Traditionally, Ireland records the greatest increases in sexually-transmitted disease detections between January and March which has been linked to sexual activity over the festive party season. Ireland has recorded 6,975 cases of STIs so far this year. That represents an increase of 847, or 13.8pc, over 2015. HIV is the greatest concern in 2015 there was a 30pc hike in detections compared to 2014. So far this year, there have been 326 new cases 71 more than last year. Eight new HIV cases were reported in one week alone last month across the country. Over the first three months of 2016, HIV infections showed an alarming 75pc hike. The figures from the Health Protection Surveillance Centre come despite major public health campaigns by the Health Service Executive (HSE). Syphilis, which had been reduced to negligible levels in the 1980s and 1990s, is now beginning to re-appear. There was a 22pc hike in the number of people treated for it last year. It is also thought that new cases of the disease, one of the most feared infections of the Middle Ages and Victorian eras, will continue to present this year. The advanced stages of the illness are very serious. However, the main STI cases in Ireland involve chlamydia, herpes and gonorrhoea. Chlamydia remains Irelands main STI in terms of overall case detections. To date this year, a total of 4,271 cases of chlamydia have been treated with almost 140 being reported in one week alone last month. The greatest concern with chlamydia is that, in its early stages, the patient may not realise they have the infection. By the time symptoms develop to the point where the patient seeks medical help, the infection may already have caused damage to the persons reproductive system. Herpes detections are also up, while gonorrhoea has recorded the biggest single rate of increase in 2016. There were 406 more cases of gonorrhoea in the first eight months of 2016 than in the comparable period last year. Sexual health centres across Ireland are now increasing their screening hours and urged people concerned about possible infections to get checked as soon as possible. Included in the report was a warning from public health officials appealing to people to follow safe-sex guidelines, including the use of protection and regular testing. Anyone concerned about a possible infection should cease all sexual activity until they are fully tested. Public health experts warned that early detection is the key to more effective treatment and the avoidance of potentially serious long-term health consequences. The Irish ticketing executive at the heart of the Olympic touting investigation on Monday night refused to answer questions in any interview with police in Brazil, the detective leading the probe said. Kevin James Mallon (36) was quizzed for 40 minutes by detectives probing the three million euro scandal that saw the arrest of Olympic Council of Ireland president Patrick Hickey. As he is already indicted he has the constitutional right to remain silent, detective Ricardo Barboza de Souza said. He preferred to remain silent, but either way the questions were put to him." Mallon, an executive of hospitality firm THG Sports, was first arrested on August 5 at a hotel in Rio de Janeiro, with 823 high-end tickets in his possession. Like Hickey he has since been released from the Bangu 10 jail while criminal proceedings continue. Expand Close Kevin Mallon has been called in for questioning / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Kevin Mallon has been called in for questioning Arriving at the interview at the headquarters of Rio de Janeiros Civil Police with his Brazilian lawyer Franklin Gomes on Monday, Mallon told reporters: I have nothing to say. He continued to refuse to answer questions once inside the interview room, police said. Barboza, the detective leading the investigation, added: It does not bother the police because we have other forms of proof witness testimony, documents, analysis of seized material. So the fact that he did not speak does not invalidate and does not hinder the other evidence we have already collected. "He has been charged with facilitating ticket touting, illegal marketing and forming a criminal cartel. He had already been interviewed as he was arrested on the day of the opening ceremony. But since then the police have made several enquiries, searches, seizures, important material was collected. Based on the content of this material, we identified the need for him to be interviewed again. Police will interview Hickey (71) on Tuesday and said their investigations will conclude on Thursday. "We already have extensive documentary evidence and analysis of the seized material was of great relevance to the investigation. On Thursday, this investigation will be complete and all the facts will be presented to the court." Both Mallon and Hickey have had their passports confiscated and police said they were keen that they remain in Brazil for the duration of proceedings, though Barboza accepted this would ultimately be a matter for the courts to decide. Last Monday, a judge ordered Hickeys release from prison, citing his critical health condition. Mallon had been released from the same jail a few days earlier. Both are staying at apartments in the city while the investigation continues. I will now stay in Rio and my lawyers will proceed to have the charges laid against me set aside as there is no substantive proof of any wrong doing on my part, Hickey said in a statement after his release from prison. I would like to thank the prison authorities for their kindness they have shown to me. Due to my medical condition, I will be making no further statements. Hickey was arrested on August 17 at his five-star hotel near the Olympic Park. After spending a night in hospital, he was remanded to the notorious Bangu 10 jail. Police arrested him after discovering that many of the 823 tickets seized from a Mallon had originated from Irish Olympic authorities. The pair are accused of facilitating touting, which carries a sentence of two to four years, forming a criminal cartel, which has a sentence of between one and three, and illicit marketing, which carries a sentence of six months to one year. A mother-of-three who suffered horrific injuries after she was attacked by a cow in Co Fermanagh remains in a stable condition in hospital. Caroline Somerville, who works as a librarian at the Belfast Bible College, had been visiting Devenish Island with family members when the freak incident occurred. Friends at the Bible College had been praying for her recovery. Ms Somerville, who is aged in her 40s and from south Belfast, had been walking her dog when the attack happened on the island in Lower Lough Erne last weekend. It is believed she went to the aid of the family pet when the cow attacked. The dog was taken to a vet, but later died from its injuries. The mother-of-three was initially airlifted to the South West Acute Hospital in Enniskillen in a critical condition. Expand Close Mum-of-three Caroline Somerville / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Mum-of-three Caroline Somerville Read More She was later transferred to the Royal Victoria Hospital in Belfast. It is believed she had surgery on her colon and back. A spokesman for the Belfast Health Trust last night described her condition as stable. A spokesman from the Belfast Bible College described Ms Somerville as a popular member of staff and said many students had been left distressed by the news that she was so badly injured. He said she was an invaluable asset for the students who attend the college. An undercover investigation has discovered that a pregnancy counselling centre - based in Dublin - is advising that abortion increases a woman's risk of breast cancer. Women are also being told that abortion can turn them into child abusers in later life, a secret recording at the clinic taken by an undercover London Times journalist reveals. That doesnt mean that women get their kids and knock the head off them. It means that they have been known to neglect their children or over-protect them. Its a psychological thing. Like a bereavement, said a woman who claimed she was a counsellor. An advertisement for The Womens Centre on Berkeley Street in Dublin 7 describes the clinic - which is unregulated under Irish law - as a source of impartial advice for pregnant women who wish to travel abroad for an abortion. According to The London Times, however, the clinic has direct links to a Catholic anti-abortion group. It also claims to have clinics in at least three other locations in Ireland. While attending the clinic undercover, the reporter's mental state was called into question by the counsellor. The reporter was shown also pictures of aborted foetuses and asked if she thought it was fair on the foetus to have an abortion. If youre going to have children in the future, itll all rest on this. If you get breast cancer, youre a beautiful 26 year old, quite intelligent, your whole life ahead of you, if you make a mistake, you know . . . The London Times journalist was then advised to attend the clinic's sister centre in London as attending other abortion clinics would result in infection. A woman injured after a rampaging cow attacked her and killed her dog at a lakeland beauty spot was last night in a critical condition in hospital. The victim suffered serious back injuries in the freak incident on Devenish Island in Fermanagh. The identity of the woman remains unknown, but she was airlifted to hospital from the Lough Erne island after the incident earlier this week. It is believed she is a tourist who had moored a private hire cruiser at the scenic ecclesiastical heritage site. She was said to be exploring the island with her son and their dog when the cow attacked on Sunday. The family pet later died as a result of injuries. One local man said: "It's possible that the woman's dog spooked the cow. "And if it had a calf, it might have been acting protectively if it believed the pet dog was a threat." An RNLI spokesman said: "Enniskillen RNLI and Rescue Water Craft attended the helicopter evacuation of an injured lady on Devenish Island. "The volunteer crew, who were training at the time, were tasked by Belfast Coastguard and proceeded to the island. "One of the crew stayed with the lady who had suffered back injuries while paramedics were transferred by the boat from the mainland. "The Irish Coast Guard helicopter (Rescue 118) was tasked from Sligo and they airlifted the lady to the nearby South West Acute Hospital." Last night ,none of the local representatives contacted by the Belfast Telegraph were aware of the identity of the injured woman, but all expressed their horror at the attack and offered their sympathies to the victim. Erne DUP councillor Raymond Farrell said: "This seems to have been a lady who had moored her cruiser at Devenish to tour the island with her dog, and then this tragic incident occurred." Fermanagh and South Tyrone MP Tom Elliot of the Ulster Unionist Party described the attack as "dreadful" and said his thoughts were with the injured lady. SDLP councillor Patricia Rodgers said she had read about the attack in her local paper. "I hope that the poor lady makes a good recovery," she added. Enniskillen UUP representative Keith Elliot, who lives close to Devenish, said: "I heard the rescue helicopter flying over my house on its way to airlift the victim to hospital after the incident happened." But he heard nothing about the identity of he victim, leading him to think that she was not from the Fermanagh area. "If she was a local person, it would have been the talk of the town," the councillor said. A petrol station owner beaten with batons during a terrifying gang robbery was back at work today vowing to carry on. James Bradley and his wife Brid suffered head injuries during their ordeal and had to be treated in hospital for cuts and concussion. Gardai and the PSNI have launched a joint investigation into the attack which took place as the couple were closing their family-run shop on the outskirts of Fahan on Donegals Inishowen peninsula. The three-man gang fled with a small sum of money and are believed to have driven to Derry. The whole thing was absolutely terrifying, said 58-year-old James. It lasted a couple of minutes but seemed a lot longer. Three men came in. They were wearing hoodies. They smashed the till. I was hit on the head with a retractable baton and my wife was cut by flying glass as they smashed the place up. Mr Bradley praised gardai and paramedics who were on the scene of the incident within minutes. They (the gang) got away with just a few pounds and some cigarettes but it was a terrible ordeal, said James who lives with his wife next door to their family shop and petrol station. The guards and ambulance staff were brilliant, they were here very quickly and we were taken to Letterkenny hospital for treatment. But were back at work now. We wont let this stop us serving the local community and keeping our business going. Gardai spent several hours yesterday downloading CCTV footage of the attack. They also have footage going back several weeks checking to see if the gang members had been in or around the petrol station prior to the pre-planned raid. Garda Insp David Murphy said the suspects wore hoodies and scarves and carried retractable batons. He said the gang smashed a window as the Bradleys were locking up for the night. They assaulted the owner a second time as they fled the premises, said Ins Murphy. He said gardai are trying to trace a grey Nissan car seen in the area just before the attack. All those involved were male in their late teens or early 20s. Even if Anthony had a year to analyze and dissect each piece...(he couldn't tell if it would)... stand the harsh light of public exposure. WUWT insider Willis Eschenbach tells you all you need to know about Anthony Watts and his blog, WattsUpWithThat (WUWT). As part of his scathing commentary , Wondering Willis accuses Anthony Watts of being clueless about the blog articles he posts. To paraphrase: Click here to read more. Ministers have been allocated extra staff to help liaise with opposition TDs in the Dail. Tanaiste Frances Fitzgerald, Health Minister Simon Harris and Housing Minister Simon Coveney have all been assigned additional staff in their private offices for parliamentary liaison purposes. The staff were allocated to them under a change in the rules for staffing of ministerial offices in response to the results of the General Election, which led to a fragmented Dail and a minority Government. Department of Public Expenditure guidelines now allow for 10 staff members in a senior minister's private office - up from eight - if the volume of parliamentary liaison work required warrants such an increase. Requests for extra staff are approved by the secretary general in the departments. A Public Expenditure spokeswoman said any extra staff were civil servants and not extra advisers. She added that requests for extra staff were met from within existing departmental allocations and did not incur extra cost to the Exchequer. A Justice spokesman explained the allocation of the two extra staff to Ms Fitzgerald's office, saying that she had "a very wide area of responsibility" and that she "frequently" spoke on behalf of the Government in the Dail. Mr Harris has been assigned two extra staff at clerical officer level. A spokeswoman said the minister's office requested the extra staff due to an increase in activity since the formation of the new Government and the large volume of correspondence being received every day. Mr Coveney has had one extra staff member - at principal officer level - assigned to his office. A spokesman said the official had "a programme management role, given the breadth of high priority business to be led by the minister/department, particularly in the areas of housing and water". Renua is the "only party in Ireland that doesn't want a general election" as it continues to receive 250,000 annual State funding for the lifetime of this Government. The fledgling party was an 'also-ran' in February but with money in the bank and a new leader, it is now set for a second role of the dice. Offaly councillor John Leahy, who took over the leadership at the weekend, clearly believes that there is life after Lucinda. He knows he can't rewrite history but in his first interview says the remaining three councillors can reimagine the party. "We were portrayed as right-wing and as Fine Gael-lite. It was never designed that way and I never got into a party whereby I felt it was Fine Gael-lite or Fianna Fail-lite, I felt I was getting involved in a new political party," he told the Irish Independent. "I could never get my head around why we were branded that way. But I can see now it was because of Lucinda." Although they failed to get any TDs elected, their 26 candidates did manage to collect more than 2pc of the national vote, meaning they qualify for State funding for the first time. "It's 250,000 a year for every year that the Government lasts, so we're the only political party that doesn't want a General Election. We want to find our feet a bit," he said. From that money, the party has approved a salary of 65,000 for Leahy to work as a full-time politician, who will travel the country and build a base in as many constituencies as possible. Their target audience is the "squeezed middle" who Leahy believes "just don't have enough". "We're going to be thinking differently, we're going to be acting differently and we're going to be brave. Salary "We were brave with the flat tax because we felt it was about rewarding work. We will continue to go down that line," he says. The membership, which still includes around 15 general election candidates, will sit down over the next two months to draw up new policies but a form of its controversial flat tax plan is likely to remain. Wicklow TD Stephen Donnelly has quit the Social Democrats, saying "some partnerships simply don't work". The second-term TD was co-leader of the fledgling party along with Catherine Murphy and Roisin Shortall. He has confirmed he has quit the party - but said he will now take some time to consider going forward as an Independent or joining another party. His departure will come as a major blow the party which performed well in the General Election but failed to add to their three Dail members. Mr Donnelly said that some partnerships simply dont work no matter how hard all of the parties try to make it success. He said that if the Social Democrats are to achieve its potential as a party of significant influence and scale, despite the many obstacles new parties face, one critical component is that the leadership team must function very well together as a team. I have concluded that our partnership did not have that. I further believe that this would be the case whether the leadership had continued to be shared or was vested in one person, which was not something I or anyone else had sought. Despite this Mr Donnelly said he was leaving the party with great sadness, having vested so much together with my parliamentary colleagues, Catherine and Roisin, a small core team and many volunteers across the country, into the establishment of the Social Democrats over the last 20 months. He said he entered politics in 2011 because he saw an urgent need for new thinking and approaches to steering Ireland through turbulent times and into a new era of opportunity and equality. He now intends to consult with his supports in Wicklow before deciding his next move. I will continue to work hard on the issues I am championing, including stopping tax avoidance by vulture funds, improving public services, resolving the mortgage crisis; responsible fiscal management, promoting high quality job creation and reducing the costs of living and doing business, his statement concluded. Speaking this evening on RTE Radio One's Drivetime, Mr Donnelly said it was a "sad" decision to make. He also said he was not sure what step he would take next - and he was keeping both working as an Independent or joining another party as options. "Today's decision is a sad one for me personally, I've thought about it long and hard. "I've been working on this for nearly two years, it's been a privilege to work alongside Catherine and Roisin. "First and foremost for me, this is a sad day, we have all invested a lot in the party. "To your question, I think it's an unfortunate line they're taking. "Nobody who starts a new political party is work-shy. "Nobody has accused me of being work shy. "We have all worked very hard on this. "I conclude sadly that, after two years, it wasn't working well enough and it just wasn't working well enough for me. "Anyone listening will understand, from being on a sports team or business, you come together with a good group of people and then you realise it's not the right thing for me to be doing." The Social Democrats party released a statement which read: We are disappointed that he has decided to walk away from the project, we undertook, to establish and build the Party." The Executive Committee of the Party has reaffirmed its commitment to the vision of a strong economy, fair society and honest politics. We are fully committed to the project and will endeavour to develop the Party into an exciting force for change in Irish Politics. The Social Democrats said the defence of social democratic values is not dependent on one personality or politician. Since the Social Democrats were first founded, in July 2015, we have worked to build the party brick-by-brick. This is a long term project which requires dedication, hard work, long hours and a major commitment from all involved including our elected representatives. The party statement added: The levels of dedication required for such a major undertaking can be overwhelming for some. However our elected Councillors, our staff team and our volunteers are passionate about our project and we will now get on with the job of building our party. It concluded: We wish Stephen the best in his future endeavours and look forward, with excitement, to the future development of the Social Democrats. Speaking later, Mr Donnelly's colleague Catherine Murphy said he had been "disengaged" recently. "It's very disappointing," TD Murphy said, confirming the party leaders spoke yesterday. "We all entered this in good faith. We're very sorry it hasn't worked out. "No party will be down to one individual. There are a lot of capable people determined to make this work, we've had supporters on to us all day." Ms Murphy also said the two deputies remaining will continue to work as co-leaders. The family of a great-grandmother in her 90s who was killed when she was hit by a car on a Dublin Road have said she was a woman who always kept planning for the future despite her age. Maureen Creaner (92) was rushed to the Mater Hospital after being struck by a car crossing the Navan Road very close to her home at around 8.15am on Sunday morning. But she died later from her extensive injuries. She had been walking back from the local shop at a filling station after buying a newspaper when she was struck by the car. She was a lovely lady who had such wonderful positivity, her son David said. We are all devastated at the suddenness of her passing. She was always planning for the future even though she was in her 90s, he added. Expand Close Maureen Creaner (92) / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Maureen Creaner (92) Maureen was a grandmother to six and had five great-grandchildren. Family, friends and neighbours today gathered at Maureen's house close to the site where she was knocked down as news of her death spread. Expand Close Members of the Garda Traffic Corps pictured at the scene where a lady was struck by a car on the Navan Road in Dublin. The lady later died. Picture Credit : Frank McGrath / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Members of the Garda Traffic Corps pictured at the scene where a lady was struck by a car on the Navan Road in Dublin. The lady later died. Picture Credit : Frank McGrath Read More The close-knit neighbourhood were also shocked and saddened at her death. Maureens husband Francis had died in 2012. The couple lived on the Navan Road for more than 50 years and brought up their three children there. Gardai are appealing for witnesses to the incident to contact them. The crash happened along the Navan Road at around 8.15am close to the Nephin Road and Baggot Road junctions. The 39-year-old driver of the car was arrested at the scene and was taken to Finglas Garda Station where he was questioned before being released. A garda spokesman said a file is being prepared for the Director of Public Prosecutions. A 12-year-old Traveller who was refused a place in a local school, will meet with the school tomorrow with a view of him being offered a place. Paddy Flynn, from Ballyfermot, was the only child in his class at De La Salle National School refused a place at the local secondary school, St John's De La Salle. The secondary school said they refused Paddy's application because it was late. His parents said they did not know they had to apply, as neither can read or write. Read More De La Salle accepted 38 first year students this year, having accepted 67 last year. The school told RTE that it will meet Paddy's parents tomorrow, with a view to offering him a place. His family have welcomed the news. His aunt told RTE News that none of this should ever have happened. She added that Paddy was "on cloud nine" this evening and that his mother Ann was also "over the moon". Earlier today it was announced that Paddy would be offered private tuition by the Department of Education. Read More The private tuition offered by the Department of Education would have been nine hours a week in a community centre in Ballyfermot, according to RTE. The Flynn family were also approached by a benefactor who offered to pay for private school for Paddy, but his parents believe he would be better served in a local school alongside his friends. A quarter of samples of chicken from major supermarket chains were found to contain antibiotic-resistant E.coli, a study found. The superbug was discovered in packs of meat sold from Tesco, Sainsbury's, Asda, Aldi, Waitrose, the Co-op and Morrisons. Scientists tested products such as whole roasting chickens, diced breast meat and packets of legs, thighs and drumsticks, detecting E.coli on 22 of 92 samples, the Daily Mail said. They found 24% of chicken tested positive for ESBL E.coli, which is resistant to certain types of antibiotics used in medicine. And 51% of all chicken and pork samples were resistant to the antibiotic trimethoprim, which is used to treat lower urinary-tract infections. Dr Mark Holmes, from the University of Cambridge, studied 189 chicken and pork samples. He told the newspaper: "The levels of resistant E.coli that we have found are worrying. Every time someone falls ill, instead of just getting a food poisoning bug they might also be getting a bug that is antibiotic resistant." People developing urinary tract infections may discover that the bug they have is resistant to a first-choice antibiotic, and by the time a suitable one is found the bug could be "out of control", potentially leading to death. Dr Holmes said: "I am concerned that insufficient resources are being put into the surveillance of antibiotic resistance in farm animals and retail meat. These results highlight the need for improvements in antibiotic stewardship in veterinary medicine." The study was commissioned by campaigners Save Our Antibiotics. Symptoms of E.coli normally include a fever leading to sickness and diarrhoea. Precautions which can be taken to reduce the risk of infection include washing hands after contact with possible sources such as raw food. They're back! Tonight marks the return of two of Ireland's greatest living exports to a telly box near you. Yes, Aidan Turner rides again on Seamus the Horse. Poldark returns! Ever since Ross Poldark removed his shirt, took his mighty scythe in his hand and swung it, audiences in both Ireland and the UK have been hooked on the goings-on in 18th century Cornwall. Thanks to Turner (left) and his mighty steed, Poldark is appointment TV. Sure, the plots are full of cliches, men who look like Toby Jugs (Turner and Adam Ant are the only people in history to look good in a Tricorn hat) and people on cliffs staring moodily into the distance, but we don't care! The BBC could have saved a fortune on period costumes and just put Turner on the screen for an hour reading aloud from the phone book. Sitting on Seamus, obviously. You don't have to be mad to live in Ireland, but it helps Expand Close Michael O'Leary / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Michael O'Leary The Apple tax row is the final proof we've all been looking for that the country has gone stark raving mad. Did #Poldark take his top off again? Coz my internet just broke. Aletta (@Lettybird) September 4, 2016 Christ... on a bike.. #Poldark down the mine.... *sets as tablet wallpaper* pic.twitter.com/LgXsNQWNUp Paul Dunphy Esquire (@pauldunphy) September 4, 2016 Twenty minutes until #poldark gets his top off, frankly I'm disappointed it took that long andrew jarman-norris (@ditasplaything) September 4, 2016 Christ... on a bike.. #Poldark down the mine.... *sets as tablet wallpaper* pic.twitter.com/LgXsNQWNUp Paul Dunphy Esquire (@pauldunphy) September 4, 2016 Politicians are now competing on the airwaves to tell us how they'd spend billions of euros of imaginary money that we're very unlikely to ever get anyway. The EU is furious that we gave special treatment to US corporations who didn't cause the crash, while demanding that we give billions to banks who did. Those who hate the EU have suddenly decided that the Eurocrats are heroes for standing up to Apple. Those who said we had to do everything the EU ordered are now fighting the EU when it wants to give us lots of free money. As for Ryanair boss Michael O'Leary (above), urging the government to tell Europe to "f*** off" only weeks after saying the Brits would be mad to do the same - well, it's why we love him. At this point, it's looking very much as if there's not a single person in the country who has a clue what's going on, or who really knows which side is right or wrong - but they're all afraid to admit it. Since when did 'it's complicated - both sides probably have a good point' become so hard to say? Trump and his best friends Pat Fitzpatrick Video of the Day We're not sure why Donald Trump went to Mexico on Wednesday. Maybe he was trying to show the locals the benefit of a wall to stop transit between the two countries. ("It isn't just for rapists and murderers, folks, it will make sure that incredibly rude megalomaniacs stay at home as well!") Or maybe he couldn't resist the opportunity to stand in front of a press conference while there and say: "Some of my best friends are Mexicans." (He actually did that. It's hard to think of a funnier person in the world right now.) Whatever the reason for his visit, it didn't work. The Mexican president reminded him he wouldn't pay for the wall. Donald flew home and told a rally in Arizona that he would build the wall and deport all illegal immigrants. Take that, Mexico. You know what this means? A visit to Ireland. If events this week showed anything, it's that Ireland has a special welcome for filthy-rich Americans. Come on over, Donald, we're all about red carpets, harps and nudge-nudge tax deals. We're also pretty sure we could get you a slot on one of the newly returned chat shows. It would be so hilarious. Laura with single mother Sitha Adhikari in the temporary shelther the mum of two has been living in for over a year. Photo: Matthieu Chardon @Matthieufilms National Campaign Ambassador for #Emergency Lessons, Laura Whitmore in Kathmandu, Nepal at the beginning of her field trip with Unicef to assess the devastation the 2015 earthquake caused to schools there. Photo: Matthieu Chardon @Matthieufilms Two things have defined my life so far - hard work and opportunity. It's difficult to know which of those things has been the more important. For the young people I met in Nepal this summer, opportunities are hard to come by, and the detrimental effect that will have on their future is all too clear. Long before Strictly Come Dancing, or I'm a Celebrity; way back before the Brits, the Baftas and MTV, I remember being absolutely certain that I could carve a career for myself in television. Initially, I had wanted to study acting, and I then contemplated journalism. Convincing my dad that a job in the creative industry was a legitimate career was another thing, and studying for a BA in journalism at DCU was a happy medium. But that education was just a jumping- off point. What has really brought me to where I am today is dedication and commitment. Yet having that springboard of knowledge has really stood to me. I've always believed that if I worked hard enough to follow my dream, I could make it happen. My recent trip to visit earthquake survivors in Nepal, with Unicef and the EU's emergency humanitarian fund Echo, forced me to confront another truth - it wasn't just dedication and commitment that helped me achieve my dream, it was also good fortune. What I learned when I went back to school in Nepal was that my life has been hugely influenced by where I was born. When an earthquake struck Nepal in April, 2015, over 8,000 schools were wiped out in 45 seconds. That's all the schools in Ireland: gone, twice over. The effect of that is overwhelming, especially for a country that is already struggling. All of the research suggests that if children affected by emergencies, such as natural disaster or conflict, fall out of education, they are more likely to be recruited as child soldiers, to be married off as child brides, or to end up in forced labour. That's before we even talk about the impact of never reaching their full potential has for them personally, and for their communities and economies. Expand Close Laura chats to members of the Shrijanshil Child Club in Melamchi, Sindhupalchowk District, Nepal. Photo: Matthieu Chardon @Matthieufilms / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Laura chats to members of the Shrijanshil Child Club in Melamchi, Sindhupalchowk District, Nepal. Photo: Matthieu Chardon @Matthieufilms The teenagers I met in Nepal were all ambitious. They all want careers. They saw world-class professionals in action as their country tried to deal with the trauma of natural disaster. Now they dream of becoming doctors, civil engineers, social workers and aid workers. But I will never forget the silence that fell over a room in a Kathmandu slum when 16-year-old Kopila broke down in front of me and a group of her friends, admitting that, because of where she lives, she will likely never achieve her dream of becoming a doctor. As I sat there and tried to motivate her and her classmates, telling them that any dream is possible, I felt sick in my stomach. Kopila was right; she doesn't have the same opportunities that I had, because of something she had no control over - the country in which she was born. Everything I saw in Nepal underlined for me the importance of prioritising education for children who become caught up in emergencies. We are used to thinking about providing water, shelter and medicine in crises, but putting education at the top of that list is going to require a mind shift. Currently, only 2pc of humanitarian aid goes to crisis education. The EU spends 4pc on education in emergencies, and would like to see others do the same. Nepal has always faced challenges, some not too dissimilar to challenges faced in Ireland - domestic abuse, alcoholism and forced labour are common themes I heard about as I travelled through Sindhupalchowk District, one of the areas worst affected by the earthquake. Those challenges are caused by poverty and the difficulty of living in 'a vertical country'. And while this beautiful country, rich in natural resources but poor in economic terms, is doing its best to modernise, that development was kicked back several years by disaster. It was well over a year on from the 2015 earthquake when I arrived in Nepal, but what I realised pretty quickly was that this emergency is far from over. One-third of the 9,000 people who lost their lives were children. Homes, health posts and schools were ruined; millions of people were forced from their homes. That situation was exacerbated by political tensions in the region and a winter of petrol and gas shortages, which forced even more people from their homes. Expand Close Laura with single mother Sitha Adhikari in the temporary shelther the mum of two has been living in for over a year. Photo: Matthieu Chardon @Matthieufilms / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Laura with single mother Sitha Adhikari in the temporary shelther the mum of two has been living in for over a year. Photo: Matthieu Chardon @Matthieufilms Parts of the country remain at high risk of another earthquake. Unicef has been working in Nepal for 40 years. They view the threat to be so real, the first thing the team did at the airport was to give me a whistle to carry in my pocket. At first, I laughed. The situation was so alien to me. But it was no joke. I was instructed to use it to call for help, in the event of a quake. That might seem over-the-top, but in fact I did experience an aftershock while I was in Nepal. Fortunately for me, I was making my way up a really bad mountain road at the time, and I didn't even feel it. For the locals, it was just the latest in dozens of tremors they have all lived through. Children in Nepal have risen to the challenges presented by emergency, embracing the new changes and becoming community activists. The first and absolute best example of that came right at the start of my visit. It was day one, and I was about to experience the reality of road travel in Nepal, which has made me appreciate the ease of the winding roads to Dingle. We drove five hours out of Kathmandu to visit the Srijanshil Child Club in Melamchi, and I was shocked to be told we had only covered about 60 kilometres. I was visiting during the monsoon, when roads are regularly flooded - and since many of the roads are only dirt to begin with, you can imagine what torrential rain does to them. In the village I was going to, 85pc of homes were destroyed in the earthquake. At the Child Club, I saw hard evidence of the benefits of bringing teenagers together. The group performed a play they had written about child marriage. I was stunned by their hard-core depiction of drunken adults and domestic violence. Afterwards, they told me the story of how they had managed to stop an underage girl from a nearby village from being married off by her family. They said they'd pulled it off simply by approaching the girl's father to remind him that regardless of tradition, it is against the law in Nepal for children to be married. They encouraged him to keep his daughter in school instead. Guess what? The parents changed their minds. Expand Close Laura gets some tips on dancing from the girls at Shakti-Samuha group in a Kathamandu slum. Photo: Matthieu Chardon @Matthieufilms / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Laura gets some tips on dancing from the girls at Shakti-Samuha group in a Kathamandu slum. Photo: Matthieu Chardon @Matthieufilms Srijanshil Child Club regularly goes into communities and puts on plays about common issues such as this one, and child labour, in the hopes of bringing about change. All of these children were affected by the earthquake. So they are playwrights, actors, psycho-social counsellors and activists - what next, I wondered. But lesson one had made its impact: school isn't just about learning. For kids traumatised by something such as an earthquake - seeing loved ones crushed, unable to find their families for days/weeks, no shelter, no food or water - it's where they will find psycho-social support. Unicef and the EU help provide psychology training for teachers, but it is often the children themselves who take that learning and provide the support. As I passed through the village, middle-aged woman Sitha Adhikari invited me to come into her home. I was apprehensive going in, as I didn't want her to feel any anxiety about having strangers with cameras enter her home and ask her personal questions. But she was warm and welcoming, and really wanted to share her story. Sitha is a single mother who has been living with her two sons in a temporary shelter since her home was destroyed in the earthquake. One of her sons is 13, and still in school, the other is fully grown, and has come home to help her rebuild. To support her family, Sitha runs a shop from her home. Her makeshift home is dark and damp, with only a tin roof to protect her from monsoon season. In the Nepalese heat, the small space is stuffy and almost unbearable to stay in. She has smudged photographs of her family and dead husband stuck up on the wall - she managed to salvage them after her house was destroyed by the earthquake. All of the people I met in Nepal shared one characteristic: they were all more worried about their neighbours than they were about themselves. Over and over, we saw that resilience. 'I'm OK. We're coping, but really you would want to see the village down the road'. Not too different to how we Irish react to personal trauma. In a rare and raw moment, Sitha was brave enough to let me see her vulnerability. She became very upset as she described the difficulty of living in a shack for a year. As she sobbed, I wondered if I should give her some privacy, but she wanted us to stay. To understand. I could feel her emotions, her anger, her sadness piercing through her skin, and the tears came trickling down my cheeks. This moment made everything so real. At a nearby transit home, we were warned we would have to put our cameras away. Photographs are not allowed here, for reasons of child protection. So I can't show you a picture of beautiful 14-year-old Sitevhu, who sang a song for me. Transit homes like this one exist so that children who have become separated from their families have a safe place to go, while trained agencies like the group that runs this home work to reunite families. Expand Close One of the little girls who attends Ainselukharka High School, 'The School in the Clouds', during a morning exercise session. Photo: Matthieu Chardon @Matthieufilms / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp One of the little girls who attends Ainselukharka High School, 'The School in the Clouds', during a morning exercise session. Photo: Matthieu Chardon @Matthieufilms The corrugated-iron shed where I met Sitevhu was divided into two rooms. Three local women look after about 20 children in these two small rooms. The children eat, sleep, study and socialise in the tiny space. As I sat cross-legged on the damp floor, it started to rain outside. Remember how I said it was monsoon? The noise of the downpour was deafening. Someone ran to rescue the shoes we had left on the doorstep, while one small boy jumped up to grab a bucket for the leak from the roof. Sitevhu's song described her dreams for her country. My translator told me the words spoke of the importance of school, and she said something beautiful; she said, 'School is our common home'. The teenager told me she was worried about going home, because she doesn't want to miss out on the opportunity to go to school. Sitevhu's family are very poor. To help them survive, she had, in the past, been put out to work minding cattle and goats. She told me all children should go to school, because they are tomorrow's leaders. She is right. Young people in communities devastated by the natural disaster now have big dreams for their futures. They saw the professionals in action after the earthquake, and they were inspired by them. In that way, the earthquake opened up a universe of possibilities. I met 15-year-old Sushan Shrestra at Ainselukharka High School on the hills outside Melamchi. I christened this 'the school in the clouds'. But though it might seem idyllic, it certainly has issues - one of them is overcrowding. The 326 students come to school in two shifts. You can expect to see up to 72 kids sharing a classroom. Lessons start at 6am, after some of the students have walked for up to two hours to get to school. Since the earthquake, classes are held in temporary classrooms made of bamboo and metal sheeting. Eventually they will be replaced with permanent structures, but funding has yet to come through. When I sat down with Sushan, he told me he wants to make his nation proud on a world stage. He dreams of becoming an aid worker. Sushan has managed to stay top of his class during a year in which he lost all of his school supplies, and his family had to leave their home and build a shelter to live in. He says he wants to travel and help end all the pain in the world. He made me smile when he said, "It's important to be a good human being in the future. Education empowers us; it makes our community stronger and it raises our nation up". Sushan's hopes for the future were on my mind when I met a group of girls with huge aspirations and also a huge understanding of the challenges they face in a slum along a riverbed back in Kathmandu city. The Shakti-Samuha group for adolescents works to protect girls from exploitation by educating them about the risks they face. Expand Close Laura watches assembly at Ainselukharka High School in Sindhupalchowk District. Photo: Matthieu Chardon @Matthieufilms / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Laura watches assembly at Ainselukharka High School in Sindhupalchowk District. Photo: Matthieu Chardon @Matthieufilms Let me talk about 16-year-old Kopila again. She told me: "There are no opportunities in this country, no jobs. The government needs to create opportunities for people." In the course of our conversation, Kopila got very upset. What followed was a lively discussion about equal rights. We promised Kopila we would take her story back to Ireland and try to explain to people exactly what education means to her, and how we need to help her get it, and also appreciate what we have here. But it wasn't at all a depressing conclusion to my visit. That group was so inspiring. We talked about all the things we had in common, and all the things that separate us. We talked about gender rights, and the girls told me they didn't expect to be able to marry, have a family and hold down a career as well. When I explained that was a very normal ambition in Ireland, and, in fact, my own ambition, you could see their excitement. The girls walked us back out to the road and our cars. As we passed through the slum, the group linked arms and pointed out all the different fruits and sweets in the street-side stalls, asking me what the names were in English. When we got to the edge of the slum, Kopila leaned forward to give me a hug. "Don't forget us," she whispered in my ear. I won't. I still can't think about that moment without having to blink back tears. But I don't doubt for a second how bright Nepal's future is, with young people like Kopila to benefit it. The children I met will help build their country back to be even stronger than it was before. Where once there were sub-standard schools, there will eventually be strong and safe structures, and where once there was child trafficking and forced labour, there will be engineers, social workers, doctors and aid workers. Rebuilding homes and schools is just one aspect of recovery, however, and as we saw, huge work is also being done to change communities and fight old challenges such as domestic abuse and alcoholism. All the children we met had dreams; they deserve to reach their potential and to contribute to their communities - and to the world - in a way that benefits all of us. Unless we commit to investing in education in the same way that we invest in healthcare, water, sanitation and housing, we risk leaving them behind, and the cost will be immeasurable. I've travelled the world, and I've seen the same problems in many of the places I've visited. In the Philippines, in Africa, even in Ireland. Education is the solution. The best thing we can do for any child is give them the chance to lay the groundwork for their own future. Laura Whitmore travelled to Nepal with Unicef and Echo, the EU's emergency humanitarian fund, to highlight the importance of education in emergency. To read more and see messages from Unicef Goodwill Ambassador Tom Hiddleston and Irish teen actor Ferdia Walsh-Peelo of 'Sing Street' fame, see emergencylessons.ie, or search for #EmergencyLessons on social media. Share your stories about school to support the movement. The EU-Unicef partnership provides education and protection for children in countries such as Cameroon, Guinea, Ukraine, Pakistan, Chad, Kenya and South Sudan You might hate Monday, but you'll love our hand-picked selection of special offers... fresh every week. 54.25pp: Cruise and stay in Killarney SuperBreak.ie is a short break specialist that often packages activities with accommodation. This Tuesday, September 20, it has one night at the Holiday Inn Killarney a lake cruise on Lough Leane from 54.25pp. 01 695-0000; superbreak.ie. 120pp: A week in the Algarve Yep, it can be done. GoHop.ie has Ryanair flights plus a week at the 3-star Vilanova Resort in Portugal's Algarve from just 120pp, departing Tuesday, November 3. Transfers are not included. 01 241-2389; gohop.ie. 158pp: Three nights in Rome ClickandGo.com has flights from Dublin plus three nights' B&B at the 4-star Delle Province Hotel in Rome from just 158pp, departing Tuesday, November 22 or Saturday, November 26. 01 539-7777; clickandgo.com. 535pp: Orlando early bird offer Sunway has Orlando on sale for 2017 - a family offer including flights and accommodation at the Rosen Inn at Pointe Orlando starts from 535pp in May, based on four sharing (Ref: 95432). 01 231-1800; sunway.ie. 889pp: Eight nights in Thailand Travelmood has return flights from Dublin, transfers and eight nights at the Centara Seaview Resort in Khao Lak from 889pp. A Thai cooking class is included too. Book by September 24 for travel in October. Ref: 1044357. 01 960-9260; travelmood.ie. NB: All travel deals subject to availability/change. Lesson #3: In court, if you have a lawyer, let him speak for you. Do not speak for yourself. On that fateful day, my sister told me she wanted to play with the sterotypes of American people. Do you know that Americans like to see Asian females dressed in red? Yes, RED. She wore a red top. She also pulled her hair into a conservative style. She wore heels. She looked very much like a pretty sterotype Asian female that Americans like to see on that day. Other people turned their heads at her in court, as though, you look so good, why are you here (I imagined). The judge also paid attention to her. After all, my sister can be charming when she wants to. Now, my sister had listened to bad advice before that court day. Worst of all, she had followed upon the bad advice. My advice to you: LISTEN TO YOUR LAWYER! Before she consulted the lawyer, she had filed an internal investigation report against the officer with the police department. BAD BAD move! The officer would not want to drop the case at all! This is why you have to listen to your lawyer and be careful. Fortunately, my sister likes to listen to Pope. One day Pope was on TV and had preached this message: Do to others as you would others do unto you. My sister thought about it. She thought how much trouble this police officer had brought on her. How she had become so depressed. She decided not to do the same to the officer. She wrote an email to the internal investigator officer at the police department and withdrew her complaint and investigation before her court date. This turned out to be a critical move. Since the officer was unwilling to drop the charge, what helped was my sister's email to withdraw the investigation. The email was retrieved over the phone and was shown to the police officer, who then was willing to drop his charge. So at the court, the lawyer did not want my sister to open her big mouth and say something stupid. In fact, both the judge and the lawyer, and the prosecutor and the officer think that my sister was incompetent in the language and in the cultural understanding. My sister played along by first of all, dressing in red, and second of all, by speaking poor English. So the lawyer read on my sister's behald, the email and my sister apologize on tape that she was sorry. She was then ready to open her big mouth and say something stupid. The lawyer hurried to bring her off the stand and thanked the judge. The black judge looked at my sister, and was quite sorry that he did not get to hear the story because he was curious too. This was my sister's birthday. It was a gift from God to have her load removed. Thank you Jesus. Lesson #3: In court, if you have a lawyer, let him speak for you. Do not speak for yourself. Premium John Downing Opinion New British prime minister Rishi Sunaks succession proves an important milestone in British political inclusivity There is an old saying in British politics that goes: The right looks for converts while the left seeks out traitors. It comes to mind when one reflects upon the election of Rishi Sunak as the UKs first non-white prime minister in a party traditionally seen as most opposed to mass immigration and the dilution of national identity via multiculturalism. Scarcely a week ago, Junior Minister Sean Canney of the Independent Alliance called for a two-term limit for TDs in office. Under the proposed limit, the maximum time any elected representative could serve would be 10 years. This move - made all the more bizarre by the fact that it is being suggested by a sitting politician - is yet another one designed to discredit politics and play to public cynicism towards politicians. It is a ridiculous suggestion. In what other profession would experience be sniffed at in favour of greenness, and expertise thrown to one side? Can we imagine a surgeon being asked to lay down his tools after 10 years, or a university lecturer with years of wisdom being asked to step to one side in favour of a junior colleague? As a patient or student, who would be satisfied with that? Canney's rationale, it appears, is that TDs in office for more than 10 years might experience a 'divine right' to the job. And well they might. But luckily it is not up to them whether that right is realised. TDs - unlike others - face a rigorous job interview every five years and it is up to voters whether they are reappointed to their post. Canney is also concerned that TDs' "enthusiasm might wane" and that those of more than 10 years standing won't bring a "fresh approach". He might have a point. Those in the job for a while might not be quite fresh but often what they bring instead - experience, expertise, insight, resilience, worldliness - is of enormous value. Is not the beauty of our Dail that it is a mix of older and younger, experienced TDs and novices? It is one of the few places where those with little experience and those with lots sit alongside one another as equals in the chamber, at committee and in their engagement with media and constituents. What Canney misses is that politics is a job like any other: it requires certain skills that are built up over time. Many first-time TDs will talk about the initial years spent learning on the job - to navigate their party, realise the nuances of working within Leinster House, understand the policy and legislative processes, establish good constituency practices, build relationships with party and committee colleagues and grow and nurture a team. Add to that the expertise gathered during that time, policy-based through committee work and the harder skills - like negotiation - learned and practised through hours spent representing constituency and voter interests. Reaching the top can - and should - take years; careers that start on the Council move to the Dail, then to the Cabinet table and then, often, to EU level. The experienced politician is an asset to voters, he or she can negotiate the best outcome locally for their constituents, nationally for voters and, at international level, for Ireland. It is worth asking what might have been lost had this 10-year limit been in play to date. Taoisigh, like Sean Lemass, Liam Cosgrave and Jack Lynch - three of the longest-serving politicians in our history with 44 years, 38 years and 33 years respectively - may never have held the highest office, nor would Bertie Ahern, John Bruton or Enda Kenny. Mary Harney would never had led the PDs. Leaving political preferences aside, it is fair to say that time spent by these men and women within the system and honing their political skills played a huge part in their ability to lead. The move from an agricultural to a knowledge-based economy, Ireland's entry to the EU, the Peace Process, our exit from the EU-IMF programme and so many other policy milestones were carefully negotiated by people of experience. Could we expect such precision from people learning on the job? Let me be clear, this is not a one-sided defence of politicians. On the contrary, it is an attempt to demonstrate what is most valuable to us, voters, in selecting those who represent us. Aside from denying voters valuable experience, a move to 10-year limits undermines the democratic process by removing an element of voter choice: forcing even popular and effective politicians to stand down for no reason other than their time in office. It hands power to civil servants, the unelected bureaucracy, who will know too well the short-term tenure of their masters and relish their inability to scrutinise and challenge to maximum effect, and it takes opportunity away from those who genuinely and competently seek to serve their constituents and their country. There was a fleeting moment this summer - brought about by the tragic murder of Jo Cox, the British Labour MP - where cynicism towards politics and politicians was suspended and difference that one person, true to their values, can make in public office recognised. Sadly, this moment was brief and - judging by Canney's call to arms - we are back to the same old. What's even sadder is that the charge is being led by someone who should know better. Strictly Come Dancing contestant Ed Balls admitted that watching himself on the dancefloor was more traumatic than he expected. The former shadow chancellor, speaking as he arrived at the TV Choice Awards, said it was difficult to look at his moves as he prepares for the first live show. Arriving at the awards ceremony with his dancing partner Katya Jones, he said: " I found watching it on the TV really traumatic. I knew it was going to be a bit dad dancing, but it was worse than I thought. "All the family loved it but I found it pretty traumatic. But the good thing is from now on its only live shows, which means I don't have to watch it any more, I can just do it." Jones revealed she had recently watched her partner attempt some line dancing and said: "T here's promise, I think. He was better than some pensioners." She told him: " And you've got the rhythm from the group dance that we did - he picked up the moves straight away and he's got dedication." However, Mr Balls said he will not be checking Twitter to see the verdict of the viewing public, admitting: " I think it may not be wise." He added: " I think if we get through the first vote, that'll be a triumph - I'd love to get to Blackpool but I think that might be hard for me. At the moment out there it's not clear that people think I'm going to manage that. And we'll just do our best and see, won't we? We'll just try, give it a go." The stars of Hollyoaks were the first to arrive on the red carpet with Jennifer Metcalfe, nominated for best soap actress, sporting a gold two-piece of a tied top and flared trousers alongside co-stars Kieron Richardson and Amrit Maghera. Asked whether she had seen co-star Danny Mac, who is competing against Balls on Strictly Come Dancing yet, Metcalfe said: "No, I haven't! Video of the Day "But I messaged him saying good luck and everything so I'm sure he'll be fab. I think he's got a good little two-step." Asked if Strictly was something she would like to do in the future, the actress said: "Maybe. I do love dancing and I've danced since I was a little girl. "So I wouldn't rule that one out!" Birds Of A Feather star Lesley Joseph arrived with her co-star Linda Robson for the ceremony at The Dorchester hotel. Joseph will be competing against Balls and Mac in Strictly Come Dancing and Robson, who will be watching in the audience each week, said her friend will surprise people. She said: "She's amazing, honestly. They don't believe what a mover she is." However, Robson said she was not keen to get kitted out in the lycra and sequins herself adding: "I can't dance. I would be the joke one swinging around in lycra or something. You have to know your capabilities, and that's not one of mine!" This Morning's Holly Willoughby said she would not be reprising her all night partying stint after the ceremony. She and co-host Phillip Schofield arrived to present the popular ITV breakfast show in January after an all-night celebratory party for the National Television Awards. Willoughby was wearing the white dress from the award show and Schofield was still in his suit from the night before. The pair pretended to fall asleep on the This Morning couch and admitted they had been up all night celebrating at an after-party held by Ant McPartlin. The TV presenter said she "doubted" this evening would end the same way. She said: "I don't think so. I mean, I didn't plan to do that last time. I doubt it, I doubt it very much." The presenting duo returned to work today after a few weeks off for the annual holiday. However, Sherrie Hewson joked that she was going to party all night after appearing on her last episode of Loose Women today. Nadia Sawalha said the Loose Women would not be out too late as they had the show in the morning, but Hewson said: "Apart from me! I'm out until three!" Hewson said there had been a lot of tears as she bid farewell to the ITV daytime programme after 14 years. She said: "It was an emotional day. It was lovely. It was a fantastic day and I haven't really taken it in yet, what happened. "Maybe I will tomorrow." Coronation Street star Shayne Ward was also on the red carpet, where he revealed that he is planning to return to music. The actor won The X Factor in 2005 but failed to make a big splash and was dropped by his label. He said: "Cath Tyldesley is going to be releasing an album soon and I had the good fortune of listening to some of it yesterday and she sounds amazing. "So knowing that she's releasing an album, I've been thinking about it and dipping my foot in the water next year and just doing maybe an EP or something." He went on: "For me, when I first joined Corrie I thought it was either one or the other. "But without a shadow of a doubt I'm missing doing the music too so I will release something next year, hopefully." She impressed the organisers so much that they allowed her to enter the competition late, and now Dubliner Jasmine Gerhardt is hoping to follow in her mother's Miss Ireland footsteps. The Blanchardstown beauty (18), who's representing Dublin West, also wants to be a high-flying lawyer like her idol, Amal Clooney. Jasmine's family are no strangers to the catwalk - her mum, Sharon O'Sullivan Gerhardt, competed in Miss Ireland and came in the top eight. "My mam, who's a huge inspiration to me, was a Miss Ireland finalist 30 years ago," Jasmine told the Herald. Expand Close Jasmine Gerhardt / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Jasmine Gerhardt "I've always been interested in the competition and what it stands for. Miss Ireland would give me a platform to help charities and further my career and represent young women in my country." Sharon hopes the competition will bring Jasmine out of her shell. Expand Close Miss Ireland contestants: Miss Meath: Aisling O'Reilly, Dublin West: Jasmine Gerhardt, Miss Tipperary: Niamh Kennedy, Miss Laois: Eileen Moore and Miss Tralee: Blathin Griffin in Sligo / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Miss Ireland contestants: Miss Meath: Aisling O'Reilly, Dublin West: Jasmine Gerhardt, Miss Tipperary: Niamh Kennedy, Miss Laois: Eileen Moore and Miss Tralee: Blathin Griffin in Sligo "I said to her, 'You've just done your Leaving Cert, so why don't you go for it?' She's a bit shy, so I said this would be good for her to bring her out of herself," she said. "If nothing else, it definitely makes you more confident." Read More Jasmine applied to be a wildcard contestant but missed the deadline. However, the organisers decided to waive the deadline and allow her to compete. Video of the Day Sharon said Jasmine hopes to study law as her idol is George Clooney's barrister wife Amal, who specialises in human rights legislation. "Every mother thinks their child will win, but if she did she would be a great ambassador for young women," said Sharon. "She loves Amal Clooney. She says, 'I'm gonna study law and I want to be like her'. "Jasmine loves the underdog. If she walks into a room, she'll gravitate to the person that needs her. "She's a very caring kid. If she won, she would be the happiest girl in the world." Jasmine will compete alongside two other Dubs, Dublin South contestant Emma Doher-ty and Dublin North's Carolyn Reilly in Dublin's Crowne Plaza Hotel on September 23. Sinead, from Roscommon, and John, from Limerick, met the good old-fashioned way - on Ladies Day at the Galway races in the Radisson Blu hotel, Galway. "I was celebrating my winnings when he danced his way into my life. We got chatting and the rest is history," says Sinead. John proposed to Sinead atop Croagh Patrick on one of the couple's regular climbs there. Expand Close Photography by Ros of Couple Photography, visit couple.ie / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Photography by Ros of Couple Photography, visit couple.ie "When we reached the top, we discovered the little church was open. We had been there many times before and it was always closed. John told me to get my phone to take a picture of us and when I turned around there he was on one knee," recalls Sinead. The pair held their ceremony in the local church in Maree in Galway, where friends and neighbours helped them prepare in the days coming up to the wedding. And when it came to reception venues there was only one option for this couple - the hotel where they met five years ago. Expand Close Photography by Ros of Couple Photography, visit couple.ie / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Photography by Ros of Couple Photography, visit couple.ie The couple chose to use a purple colour scheme for their big day, matching everything from the bridesmaid's dresses to the balloons. And as a last minute touch the day before the wedding, Sinead and John organised for ice-cream to be served outside the church after the ceremony, knowing it was likely to be a hot day. After the wedding Sinead and John took a few days to relax in Lyrath Estate, Co Kilkenny, but they will soon be jetting off for their all-American honeymoon where they'll travel to New York, Boston, Florida and Las Vegas. Expand Close Photography by Ros of Couple Photography, visit couple.ie / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Photography by Ros of Couple Photography, visit couple.ie * Words by Dee Finnerty. Photography by Ros of Couple Photography, visit couple.ie If you would like your wedding featured here, email weddings@independent.ie North Korea has fired three ballistic missiles off its east coast in a show of force timed to coincide with the G20 summit in China, Seoul has said. North Korea regularly engages in missile and rocket tests, especially when the world's eyes are turned to Northeast Asia. World leaders have gathered for the G20 summit of advanced and emerging economies in the city of Hangzhou in eastern China, which is the North's only major ally. On Monday on the sidelines of the summit, South Korean President Park Geun-hye criticised the North for what she called provocations that are hurting Seoul-Beijing ties. South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff said the three missiles, launched from the western North Korean town of Hwangju, flew across the country before splashing in the waters off its east coast, but officials did not describe the range of the missiles. The launch comes four days before the 68th anniversary of the founding of North Korea's government, and days after South Korean and US troops ended annual joint summer military drills, which North Korea regularly describes as a dress rehearsal for invasion. Last month, worries about the North's weapons programmes deepened after a missile from a North Korean submarine flew about 310 miles, the longest distance achieved by the North for such a weapon. The UN Security Council in late August strongly condemned four North Korean ballistic missile launches in July and August. It called them "grave violations" of a ban on all ballistic missile activity. Afghan police inspect at the site of suicide attack near the Afghan Defence Ministry in Kabul (AP) Twin bombings near the Afghan Defence Ministry have killed at least 24 people, including two security force generals, in an attack claimed by the Taliban. Public Health Ministry spokesman Ismail Kawasi says another 91 people were wounded in Monday's attack in central Kabul. Interior Ministry spokesman Sediq Sediqqi said a district police chief and five other police officers were among those killed. Deputy Defence Ministry spokesman Mohammad Radmanish said the second bombing was caused by a suicide attacker who struck the area of the first blast after security forces gathered there. He said the attack took place as ministry employees were leaving their offices for the day. Senior police investigator Faredoon Obiadi said the suicide attacker was wearing a military uniform. A district police chief and an army general were among those killed in the attack, three officials said. Dozens of ambulances raced to the scene after the blasts, and security forces blocked off roads leading to the area. Ashuqullah, 34, who like many Afghans has no surname, described the scene of chaos he witnessed. "The second explosion was so strong, and many people, including security officials, were killed and wounded," he said. President Ashraf Ghani condemned the attack in a statement, saying "the enemies of Afghanistan have lost their ability to fight the Security and Defence Forces of the country and thus attack highways, cities, mosques, schools and common people". Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said his group had carried out the attack. The insurgents have been fighting to overthrow the US-backed government for 15 years, and frequently target Afghan security forces. AP Richard Neville, who founded the 1960s counterculture magazine Oz, has died in Australia aged 74. His wife Julie Clarke Neville said said she and their daughters Lucy and Angelica were with him when he died on Sunday night in the east coast town of Byron Bay. She did not say what he died of, but Australian Broadcasting Corporation reported he had Alzheimer's disease. Born in Sydney in 1941, Neville railed against the long era of conservative rule in Australia that lasted from 1949 until 1972. He was editor of the University of New South NSW student magazine when he collaborated with Richard Walsh, editor of the Sydney University student newspaper, and artist Martin Sharp to found anti-establishment magazine Oz. The magazine, first published on April Fool's Day in 1963, mocked hypocrisy in Australian society and took on taboo subjects including abortion, homosexuality, sexism, racism and censorship. Neville was among editors charged with breaching obscenity laws and became locked in a two-year court battle before being cleared on appeal. The public profile of Oz grew when the editors moved to the more permissive society of London. In 1971, Neville and two of his co-editors Felix Denis and James Anderson were charged in Britain with corrupting the morals of children through an obscene publication. They were jailed but later won the case on appeal. The last Oz was published in 1973. "It was a stroke of luck, the obscenity (trial) because it made the magazine quite famous," Oz cartoonist Peter Kingston told ABC on Monday. He said Neville became a life-long friend who was motivated by a strong social conscience and a confrontational nature. Neville met journalist Julie Clarke in 1974 and the pair wrote The Life And Crimes Of Charles Sobhraj, a biography published in 1979 of the French serial killer who preyed on Western tourists in Southeast Asia in the 1970s. The couple married in 1980. Neville published his explanation of the international counterculture Play Power in 1970 and his memoir of London in the 1960s Hippie Hippie Shake in 1995. It was adapted into a film of the same title in 2010. "Our wonderful Richard has gone on to his next adventure," Clarke Neville posted on Facebook. Sir Peter Cosgrove (2nd L), Governor-General of the commonwealth of Australia waves as he poses with Austarlian soldiers during the dawn service to mark the ANZAC (Australian and New Zealand Army Corps) commemoration ceremony at the Australian National Memorial in Villers-Bretonneux, France, April 25, 2016. REUTERS/Pascal Rossignol The Governor-General of the Commonwealth of Australia, Sir Peter Cosgrove, center, talks with visitors after the wreath-laying ceremonies at the Australian National Memorial in Villers-Bretonneux, northern France, on Anzac Day, Monday, April 25, 2016 A teenager who plotted to run over and behead a police officer as part of an Islamic State movement-inspired attack on an Australian Veterans' Day ceremony was sentenced to 10 years in prison. Sevdet Besim, 19, had faced a maximum sentence of life in prison after pleaded guilty in Victoria state's Supreme Court in June to one count of planning for a terrorist act. On Monday, the court instead ordered Besim to serve a 10-year prison term. Prosecutors said Besim was involved in a plot to attack last year's services in Melbourne or the neighbouring city of Dandenong marking Anzac Day, the annual commemoration of the 1915 Gallipoli landings in Turkey. The campaign was the first major military action fought by the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps during the First World War and hundreds of thousands of people attend commemoration services around Australia. Police said Besim was motivated by an extremist ideology and had expressed support for the Islamic State group. In court documents, prosecutors said that Besim and a British accomplice had also discussed packing a kangaroo with explosives and painting it with the IS symbol before setting it loose on Australian police officers. The documents do not suggest the alleged kangaroo plot was linked to the Anzac Day plot. Last year, a British court sentenced a 15-year-old boy from Blackburn, in north-western England, for his role in the plot. A teenager who plotted to run over and behead a police officer as part of an Islamic State movement-inspired attack on an Australian Veterans' Day ceremony was sentenced to 10 years in prison. Sevdet Besim, 19, had faced a maximum sentence of life in prison after pleaded guilty in Victoria state's Supreme Court in June to one count of planning for a terrorist act. On Monday, the court instead ordered Besim to serve a 10-year prison term. Prosecutors said Besim was involved in a plot to attack last year's services in Melbourne or the neighbouring city of Dandenong marking Anzac Day, the annual commemoration of the 1915 Gallipoli landings in Turkey. The campaign was the first major military action fought by the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps during the First World War and hundreds of thousands of people attend commemoration services around Australia. Police said Besim was motivated by an extremist ideology and had expressed support for the Islamic State group. In court documents, prosecutors said that Besim and a British accomplice had also discussed packing a kangaroo with explosives and painting it with the IS symbol before setting it loose on Australian police officers. The documents do not suggest the alleged kangaroo plot was linked to the Anzac Day plot. Last year, a British court sentenced a 15-year-old boy from Blackburn, in north-western England, for his role in the plot. Fires raged around Spain's eastern Costa Blanca resorts on Sunday and Monday, forcing more than 1,000 residents and tourists to flee, emergency services said. Authorities said they believed people had started three blazes that ripped through vegetation and destroyed buildings in the town of Javea and other areas up the coast from the popular holiday spot of Benidorm. "The hand of man again was involved in a very precise way, choosing the hottest day of the year," Jose Maria Angel, the head of the Valencia region's emergency services, told Spanish radio. Temperatures soared to 42 Celsius (108 Fahrenheit) on Sunday in Javea, where foreigners make up almost half of residents. The fires broke out on Sunday afternoon and spread quickly, fuelled by strong winds and dry conditions. More than 300 people lodged in local schools and shelters, said emergency services who fought the flames through the night, backed by aircraft and military units. British Labour MP Keith Vaz is poised to stand down as chairman of the influential Commons Home Affairs committee after a newspaper alleged that he paid for the services of male escorts. Britain's 'Sunday Mirror' tabloid alleged Mr Vaz met the men at his flat in north west London on August 27. In a statement, Mr Vaz said: "It is deeply disturbing that a national newspaper should have paid individuals to have acted in this way. "I have referred these allegations to my solicitor, who will consider them carefully and advise me accordingly. "At this time, I do not want there to be any distraction from the important work the Home Affairs Select Committee undertakes so well. I will of course inform committee members first of my plans when we meet on Tuesday. "My decision has been based entirely on what is in the best interests of the committee, which I have had the privilege of chairing for the last nine years." In another statement, the Leicester East MP said: "I am genuinely sorry for the hurt and distress caused by my actions, in particular to my wife and children. "I will be informing the committee of my intention to stand aside from chairing the sessions of the committee with immediate effect." Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn insisted that the claims were a private matter. "He is going to meet the Home Affairs Select Committee and discuss with them what his role will be in the future. I'm not sure what that decision will be. "I leave it to him to decide on that," he said. Asked whether he was happy for Mr Vaz to remain in the Labour Party, Mr Corbyn said: "Well, he hasn't committed any crime that I know of. As far as I'm aware it is a private matter and I will obviously be talking to Keith." The Home Affairs Committee is currently probing a review of prostitution laws. Mr Vaz is married with two children. A "fearless" police dog has received an award for helping track down and catch a knife-wielding robber. German Shepherd, JJ, who assists West Midlands Police, was honoured for his devotion to duty by the PDSA vet charity. JJ managed to sniff out a phone thief hiding in bushes after a 15-year-old girl had been robbed of her iPhone at knifepoint in Saltley, Birmingham, last December. PC Wayne Mellings and his canine companion set off in pursuit of the teenage suspect as other officers comforted the victim. Expand Close PDSA vet Rebecca Thorne and dog handler PC Wayne Mellings with JJ Photo: West Midlands Police / PDSA / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp PDSA vet Rebecca Thorne and dog handler PC Wayne Mellings with JJ Photo: West Midlands Police / PDSA PC Mellings said: This was typical of JJ: he is fearless and has a real nose for sniffing out evidence and catching criminals. JJ managed to follow the scent to a commercial estate then lead us to some bushes where the suspect was hiding in the undergrowth. He was still holding the young girls mobile phone. JJ played a vital role in catching the offender and recovering the stolen phone; he fully deserves this recognition. The canine was presented with the PDSA Commendation as part of the charitys Animal Awards Programme. Rebecca Thorne, Senior Vet at the charitys Aston Pet Hospital, said: PDSA has a long tradition of honouring animals and JJs story really epitomises the value that animals bring to our lives. The work of police dogs across the country is absolutely vital; their skills help to solve crimes and take dangerous criminals off the streets. JJs story serves as a reminder of just how lucky we are to have these dogs serving among us. Telegraph Media Group Limited [2022] Keith Vaz is facing a possible investigation by Commons sleaze watchdogs as the fall-out from reports he paid two male escorts for their services threatens to overwhelm his career. The high-profile Labour MP indicated he will stand aside as chairman of the powerful Commons Home Affairs Committee at a meeting on Tuesday after publicly apologising to his wife and children for the "hurt and distress" he caused them. Mr Vaz met the escorts at a flat he owns near his family home in North London last month, according to reports in the Sunday Mirror. Tory MP Andrew Bridgen told the Press Association he would write to the Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards regarding Mr Vaz's conduct. The Sunday Mirror also claimed money was paid into an account used by one of the escorts by a man linked to a charity set up by the MP. The Charity Commission said the regulator would consider becoming involved in the matter if it felt such action was needed. A spokesman told the Press Association: "The Charity Commission is aware of the allegations made regarding an individual linked to the charity Silver Star. "The commission has asked journalists to forward any details and evidence they have in order to determine whether there is a regulatory role for the commission." Expand Close Keith Vaz / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Keith Vaz There is no suggestion in the newspaper report that the charity's money was used in the affair. The Sunday Mirror also claimed that Mr Vaz had a conversation regarding cocaine with one of the escorts in which the MP said he did not want to use the drug, but indicated he would pay for it for the other man at a later date. Mr Vaz also asked the escort to bring party drug poppers with him for the encounter, according to the report. Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn indicated there was no need for Mr Vaz to stand down from the Labour Party, stating: "Well, he hasn't committed any crime that I know of. As far as I'm aware it is a private matter, and I will obviously be talking to Keith." In a statement, Mr Vaz said: "It is deeply disturbing that a national newspaper should have paid individuals to have acted in this way. I have referred these allegations to my solicitor Mark Stephens of Howard Kennedy who will consider them carefully and advise me accordingly. "At this time I do not want there to be any distraction from the important work the Home Affairs Select Committee undertakes so well. "Select committees do vital work in holding the government and others to account. We are due to publish two reports, one into anti-Semitism and the other into FGM (female genital mutilation) in the next few days, in addition we have a number of key witnesses. "I will of course inform committee members first of my plans when we meet on Tuesday. My decision has been based entirely on what is in the best interests of the committee which I have had the privilege of chairing for the last nine years." In an earlier statement issued to the Mail on Sunday, the Leicester East MP said: "I am genuinely sorry for the hurt and distress that has been caused by my actions, in particular to my wife and children. "I will be informing the committee on Tuesday of my intention to stand aside from chairing the sessions of the committee with immediate effect." Naz Shah, a member of the Home Affairs Committee, told Sky News she had spoken to Mr Vaz, adding "he has done the right thing" by standing aside. Undated handout photo issued by Police Scotland of John Leathem, 32, who has pleaded guilty at the High Court in Glasgow to murdering 15-year-old Clydebank schoolgirl Paige Doherty. Police Scotland/PA Wire Paige Doherty, as John Leathem, 32, has pleaded guilty at the High Court in Glasgow to murdering the 15-year-old Clydebank schoolgirl Credit: Police Scotland/PA Wire Paige Doherty (15) as John Leathem, 32, has pleaded guilty at the High Court in Glasgow to murdering the Clydebank schoolgir Credit: Police Scotland/PA Wire A shop owner murdered a teenager in a "frenzied" knife attack after she went to buy a breakfast roll on her way to her hairdressing job. John Leathem inflicted more than 140 stab wounds and cuts on 15-year-old Paige Doherty in Clydebank, West Dunbartonshire, on March 19. At the High Court in Glasgow, Leathem, 32, admitted murdering Paige in the back office at Delicious Deli in the town's Fleming Avenue before dumping her body in nearby woodland. He grabbed a knife and stabbed the teenager during a brief discussion about a job at the shop, when he claims Paige told him; "I'll just say you touched me" if she was not offered the role, according to his defence counsel. Expand Close 15-year-old Paige Doherty. Photo: Police Scotland/PA Wire / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp 15-year-old Paige Doherty. Photo: Police Scotland/PA Wire Family and friends of the schoolgirl gasped and stifled cries as CCTV footage was shown to the court of Leathem carrying her body in a bin liner to the boot of his car after murdering her within 10 minutes of her entering the shop that Saturday morning. Judge Lady Rae told the married father of two, a first offender: "This was a savage, frenzied attack on a child." Expand Close John Leathem, 32, who has pleaded guilty at the High Court in Glasgow to murdering 15-year-old Clydebank schoolgirl Paige Doherty Credit: Police Scotland/PA Wire / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp John Leathem, 32, who has pleaded guilty at the High Court in Glasgow to murdering 15-year-old Clydebank schoolgirl Paige Doherty Credit: Police Scotland/PA Wire Disappearance Paige disappeared from Clydebank, West Dunbartonshire, on the morning of Saturday March 19 and her body was found in bushes by a roadside two days later. Expand Close Police officer at a cordon outside the Delicious Deli in Clydebank, West Dunbartonshire, where murdered teenager Paige Doherty was last seen, as John Leathem, 32, has pleaded guilty at the High Court in Glasgow to murdering the 15-year-old schoolgirl. Danny Lawson/PA Wire / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Police officer at a cordon outside the Delicious Deli in Clydebank, West Dunbartonshire, where murdered teenager Paige Doherty was last seen, as John Leathem, 32, has pleaded guilty at the High Court in Glasgow to murdering the 15-year-old schoolgirl. Danny Lawson/PA Wire John Leathem, 32, pleaded guilty to her murder during an appearance at the High Court in Glasgow on Monday. The search for Paige, of Clydebank, began after she failed to arrive at her weekend hairdressing job in Kirkintilloch, East Dunbartonshire, about 12 miles away. Expand Close Police forensic officer at the site where the body of Paige Doherty was found near Great Western Road in Clydebank, as John Leathem, 32, has pleaded guilty at the High Court in Glasgow to murdering the 15-year-old schoolgirl. Danny Lawson/PA Wire / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Police forensic officer at the site where the body of Paige Doherty was found near Great Western Road in Clydebank, as John Leathem, 32, has pleaded guilty at the High Court in Glasgow to murdering the 15-year-old schoolgirl. Danny Lawson/PA Wire Her disappearance sparked intense police activity in the areas where she was last seen and where her body was eventually found. Specialist forensic officers narrowed down their search to the Delicious Deli in Clydebank's Fleming Avenue, the premises where the teenager was last spotted after leaving a friend's house. Paige's body was found on March 21 in a wooded area behind a path off Great Western Road, a busy route connecting Clydebank and Glasgow. Shop owner Leathem was arrested three days later over the death - a killing which stunned the community and wider public. In a statement released at the time, Paige's mother Pamela Munro said: "We are absolutely devastated that we have lost our beautiful little girl." Days after her life was taken away, hundreds of people, many carrying pink balloons, turned out at a local park to remember the popular teenager. The memorial event at Whitecrook Park was arranged by friends of the girl, who would now have been 16. The landmark Titan Crane in Clydebank was lit up in pink one evening in memory of the teenager and as a gesture of support for everyone affected by the crime. Following the girl's death, people including Scotland's First Minister Nicola Sturgeon showed the family support by posting pictures of themselves pouting with the hashtag PoutforPaige. Two fundraising pages to help the family meet funeral costs and other expenses collected thousands of pounds within days of being set up. Paige's mother told mourners at the service to turn their anger at her death in to cherishing the memory of her ''beautiful smiling girl''. Ms Munro told 600 brightly-clad people at St Margaret's Church in Clydebank that her daughter's ''infectious personality'' would always be with them. Police Scotland Detective Superintendent Duncan Sloan said: "Paige's whole future lay ahead of her and her life has been brutally cut short by the vicious actions of one man. "What started as a missing person inquiry quickly escalated to a murder investigation after Paige's body was found. "It was evident from the outset that Paige's body had been abandoned where she was found and detectives from the major investigations team worked closely with local community policing officers and search specialists to track her movements, which led to the final sighting of her at the Clydebank shop two days earlier. "CCTV has been vital throughout this inquiry and officers painstakingly reviewed hours of footage which ultimately revealed that Paige walked into that shop but didn't leave. "This, coupled with extensive forensic examinations of the crime scenes, helped to establish what happened to Paige and who was responsible. I am sure that the sheer weight of this evidence has led to the guilty plea at court today." He added: "These type of incidents are very rare in Scotland and Paige's untimely death shocked a community to its core, particularly as the man responsible was one of them. "The support from the local community has been much appreciated and I hope that Paige's family can take some comfort from the result of the court proceedings today." One man has died and another is in hospital after their dinghy capsized. The pair managed to reach the shore of the island of Sanday after the incident off Orkney and called emergency services at about 7.30pm on Sunday. A Coastguard helicopter was sent to the scene and airlifted one man to Balfour Hospital in Orkney, where he later died. The other was flown to Gilbert Bain Hospital in Shetland, where his condition is not thought to be life-threatening. Italy's prime minister poured cold water on a campaign promoted by his health minister aimed at convincing couples to have more children. "I don't know of any of my friends who had kids after they saw an advertisement," Matteo Renzi said in a radio interview. He was speaking a day after the ministry announced it would host meetings in four cities to encourage couples to have children. Italy has an ageing population and the fertility rate in Italy last year was 1.35 children per woman, compared with an EU average of 1.6. In 2015, fewer babies were born in Italy than in any year since the modern state was founded 154 years ago, and the population shrank for the first time in three decades. "If you want to create a society that invests in its future and has children, you have to make sure the underlying conditions are there," such as making sure the parents have stable jobs and day-care services, Renzi said. Health Minister Beatrice Lorenzin launched the campaign on Wednesday with the @FertilityDay Twitter handle and a series of online ads. One pictured a woman holding an hourglass next to the words: "Beauty has no age limit. Fertility does." Another pictured a man holding a half-burned cigarette. "Don't let your sperm go up in smoke," it said. The Fertility Day campaign also set off criticism on social media for appearing to blame women for putting off child-bearing, and for appearing not to understand the real causes for Italy's low birth rate. "Before bringing children into the world, women responsibly consider the future," lawmakers from the opposition 5-Star Movement said in a statement. "There's no work. People aren't having kids because it's not possible." Lorenzin is a member of a centrist bloc, considered close to the Catholic Church, that is allied with Renzi's Democratic Party. The cities of Rome, Padua, Bologna and Catania will hold public meetings on Sept. 22 - or Fertility Day - where "Fertility Villages" will be set up to host experts, associations and scientific companies who will offer advice and screening. The largest primate on Earth the eastern gorilla is now critically endangered, it has been officially announced after a staggering decline in their population in just 20 years. The decision by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) means that four out of the six great apes both types of gorilla and both types of orangutan are feared to be on the brink of extinction. It would perhaps not be surprising if they were to die out. Of more than 82,000 species assessed by the IUCN, nearly 30 per cent are facing that fate almost entirely because of the actions of humans. Geologists are currently considering reclassifying the Earths present geological epoch as the Anthropocene a name that reflects the extent of our impact on the planet partly because of what some scientists are already calling the sixth mass extinction of life on Earth. If they are correct, it is a slaughter comparable to the disappearance of the dinosaurs 66 million years ago, when a massive asteroid is thought to have hit what is now Mexico, sending a blanket of thick smoke around the Earth. The new critically endangered classification for the eastern lowland gorilla, also known as Grauer's gorilla, was announced at the IUCNs World Conservation Congress in Hawaii after researchers found its population had fallen by at least 77 per cent in just two decades. The other type of eastern gorilla, the mountain gorilla, numbers only a few hundred. Inger Andersen, the IUCNs director-general, said: To see the eastern gorilla one of our closest cousins slide towards extinction is truly distressing. We live in a time of tremendous change and each IUCN Red List update makes us realise just how quickly the global extinction crisis is escalating. Conservation action does work and we have increasing evidence of it. It is our responsibility to enhance our efforts to turn the tide and protect the future of our planet. The updated IUCNs Red List now includes 82,954 species of which 23,928 28.8 per cent are threatened with extinction. Other species added to those in trouble include the plains zebra, which has moved from the least concern category to near threatened after a 24 per cent decrease in its population in 14 years from 660,000 to about 500,000, largely because of hunting. Three species of African antelope the bay duiker, white-bellied duiker and yellow-backed duiker were also moved from least concern to near threatened. But it is perhaps the prospect of losing the gorillas that is the most shocking. Mountain gorillas have been critically endangered for 20 years with only about 300 mature individuals left, although recently wildlife tourism has been credited with helping their numbers start to recover. Two decades ago, Grauers gorilla had a relatively healthy population of some 17,000. But the "Great African War" which broke out in the Democratic Republic of Congo in the late 1990s turned the area into one of the most violent places on the planet. Despite the formal end of the conflict in 2003, armed gangs continue to control parts of the forests where the gorillas live largely because of the money to be made from mining for gold, diamonds and metals such as coltan, which is used in mobile phones. People who fall outside this fringe group of perceived misfits may wonder why the school-to-prison pipeline should matter to them. Outside of caring about the quality of life for other individuals, which is something that is not teachable, the school-to-prison pipeline matters in more tangible ways. Each federal prisoner costs taxpayers $28,948 per year based on 2012 statistics, which is about $79 per day. Thats a measurable cost. What isnt measurable is the indirect impact those incarcerations have on the economy regarding those prisoners not contributing to the workforce. Sure, we may pay the salary of prison employees or the CEOs of massive prison privatization corporations, but we are missing out on the positive impact these prisoners could have on our economy. This is an American problem. It hurts everyone. If we want more high school graduates, less crime, and a more robust economy, we have to stop punishing black boys with school removals or discipline effects that dont match the offense. If removal and zero tolerance policies dont help black boy students long term, what is the best way to discipline students when they do misbehave ? The best answer is found long before the moment when training is necessary. Prevention and intervention tactics need a place in all teaching pedagogy, and those tactics must adjust for demographics - and individual students. Schools need to offer robust programs for at-risk students that include mentoring from older students, after-school tutoring, and customized learning. If all of this sounds like a lot of work, thats because it is. Technology is making the customized learning portion much easier though and also allowing teachers to analyze student performance in a streamlined way long before problems arise. And as simple as it sounds, teachers must approach behavior problems with students in the same way they approach academic problems - with an analytical eye that looks for the best solution that will benefit everyone. Notice that I didnt say the easiest or best for all the other students in class. I said the best option for everyone - teacher, peers, and the individual student. The benefits of keeping a child in class, or at least in school, far outweigh emotionally kicking a child out of class or recommending suspension. Educators can certainly strive to reduce suspension and expulsion rates with better intervention and strategy. But what about the students who choose to walk away from their educations when they drop out of high school? Students who are at risk of dropping out of high school or turning to crime need more than a good report card. They need alternative suggestions on living a life that rises above their current circumstances. For a young person to truly have a shot at an honest life, he or she has to believe in the value of an education and its impact on good citizenship. That belief system has to come from direct conversations about making smart choices with trusted adults and peers. If we know how much less a high school dropout makes than peers with a diploma and peers with a college education, then we should tell all high school students that number. Its not enough to imply that dropping out of high school is not a good idea; students should have all the facts. For students who struggle socially or behaviorally in high school, schools should intervene with non-traditional options like online courses. This is also true for students who feel the pressure to start earning a living early. The technology is already in place for all students, regardless of discipline issues or life circumstances, to receive a high school diploma. A college degree is helpful too, of course, but the actual key to ending the school-to-prison pipeline for black boys is keeping them in classrooms instead of removing them and getting them across the stage to receive their high school diplomas. It will take an organized ideology shift, but its possible, even in the next generation of black boy students. The giant panda, one of the best-known symbols of China, is off the endangered list thanks to aggressive conservation efforts. The International Union for Conservation of Nature said in a report that the panda is now classified as a "vulnerable" instead of "endangered" species, reflecting its growing numbers in the wild in southern China. It said the wild panda population jumped to 1,864 in 2014 from 1,596 in 2004, the result of work by Chinese agencies to enforce poaching bans and expand forest reserves. The IUCN report warned that although better forest protection has helped increase panda numbers, climate change is predicted to eliminate more than 35% of its natural bamboo habitat in the next 80 years, potentially leading to another decline. Nevertheless, animal groups hailed the recovery of the black-and-white bear that has long been a symbol of China and the global conservation movement. The panda population reached an estimated low of less than 1,000 in the 1980s due to poaching and deforestation until Beijing threw its full weight behind preserving the animal, which has been sent to zoos around the world as a gesture of Chinese diplomatic goodwill. The Chinese government and the World Wildlife Fund first established the Wolong National Nature Reserve in Sichuan province in 1980. Wild panda numbers have slowly rebounded as China cracked down on the skin trade and gradually expanded its protected forest areas to now cover 5,400 square miles (1.4 million hectares). International groups and the Chinese government have worked to save wild pandas and breed them at enormous cost, attracting criticism that money could be better spent saving other animals facing extinction. But the WWF, whose logo has been a panda since 1961, celebrated the panda's re-classification, saying it proved that aggressive investment does pay off "when science, political will and engagement of local communities come together". AP Chancellor Angela Merkel has pledged to win back voters' trust after a nationalist, anti-immigration party beat her conservatives in a state election in the region where she has her political base. However, the German leader insisted that she is on the right course in how she is handling the migrant crisis. Ms Merkel's Christian Democrats finished third in Sunday's election for the state legislature in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, behind the three-year-old Alternative for Germany (AfD). It was held a year to the day after she decided to let in migrants stuck in Hungary, triggering the peak of last year's influx. The centre-left Social Democrats, Ms Merkel's partners in Germany's national government, remained the strongest party in Mecklenburg. The region is sparsely populated, but the vote was symbolically significant because Ms Merkel has her parliamentary constituency there and it was the first of five regional ballots before a national election expected next September. Ms Merkel acknowledged that it was a bad start, saying she was "very unhappy" with her party's performance. She took responsibility for the outcome, acknowledging that national issues - particularly refugees and their integration - had dominated the campaign. "I am the party leader, I am the chancellor - you can't separate those in people's eyes, so I am of course responsible too" for the result, Ms Merkel told reporters on the sidelines of the Group of 20 summit in China. "However, I believe the decisions that have been made were right, and now we must continue working." "We have to take note of the fact that many people do not at present have sufficient confidence in our ability to resolve these issues," Ms Merkel said, "although we have achieved a great deal as far as reducing the number of refugees arriving is concerned, and with a view to preparing integration and supporting municipalities." Ms Merkel said the party now has to "work intensively on winning back trust, and I am firmly convinced that we can only do that by simply showing that we are solving the problems." That, she said, meant not just refugee issues, but economic issues and questions of "social cohesion" too. AP A general view shows the damage at a site of an explosion in Bab Tadmor in Homs, Syria in this handout picture provided by SANA on September 5, 2016. SANA/Handout via REUTERS ATTENTION Syrian army soldiers stand at a site of an explosion in Bab Tadmor in Homs, Syria in this handout picture provided by SANA on September 5, 2016. SANA/Handout via REUTERS A general view shows the damage at a site of an explosion in Bab Tadmor in Homs, Syria in this handout picture provided by SANA on September 5, 2016. SANA/Handout via REUTERS Syrian army soldiers stand at a site of an explosion in Bab Tadmor in Homs, Syria in this handout picture provided by SANA on September 5, 2016. SANA/Handout via REUTERS At least 12 people have been killed in a string of bombings inside government territory in Syria, according to state media. The Sana news agency reported blasts in the coastal city of Tartus, the central city of Homs, a suburb of the capital Damascus, and the north-eastern city of Hasakeh. Attackers detonated two bombs at the entrance to the government stronghold of Tartus along the international coastal highway, Sana said, killing five. A car bomb at the Arzoneh bridge was followed by a suicide bomber wearing an explosive belt who targeted the gathering crowd. The city, a stronghold of support for President Bashar Assad, is home to a major Russian naval base. The governor of Homs province said a car bomb struck a military checkpoint in the provincial capital, Homs, killing two soldiers and injuring four others, one critically. The city, Syria's third largest, is largely under government control, with only one neighbourhood still under opposition control. Monday's bomb exploded in the government-held Bab Tadmor district, Sana said. An attacker detonated his motorcycle at the Marsho roundabout in the north-eastern city of Hasakeh, killing five, Sana said. Government military forces withdrew from the city in August after street battles with the Kurdish autonomous self-defence force for the region, the YPG. The YPG and its political wing, the PYD, inherited control of the city, though the state's police force remained. Sana also reported an explosion in the Sabbourah suburb of the capital, Damascus. There has been no immediate claim of responsibility for the blasts. The Islamic State group claimed twin suicide bombings in the neighbouring coastal towns of Tartus and Jableh in May in whic more than 160 people were killed. Hundreds of thousands of Muslim pilgrims pray outside Namira mosque in Arafat, on the second day of the annual Hajj pilgrimage near the holy city of Mecca in Saudi Arabia (AP) Iran's supreme leader has said Saudi Arabian authorities "murdered" Muslim pilgrims who were injured during last year's Hajj stampede. Speaking to mark the anniversary of the disaster, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said: "The heartless and murderous Saudis locked up the injured with the dead in containers - instead of providing medical treatment and helping them or at least quenching their thirst. They murdered them." He offered no evidence to support the allegations. A top Saudi official said the criticism reflects "a new low" and is an attempt by Iran to "politicise the Hajj". The September 2015 stampede and crush of pilgrims killed at least 2,426 people. Tehran has said 464 of the dead were Iranian and blamed the catastrophe on Saudi mismanagement of the annual pilgrimage. Khamenei has also blamed Saudi Arabia for an earlier crane collapse in Mecca that killed 111 people, and said the kingdom's rulers had "reduced the Hajj to a religious-tourist trip" while accusing Iran of "politicising" the pilgrimage. "These accusations are not only unfounded, but also timed to only serve their unethical, failing propaganda," said Abdulmohsen Alyas, the Saudi under-secretary for international communications and media at the Ministry of Culture and Information. "Saudi Arabia stands ready to serve the pilgrims and ensure their safety and comfort," he said. Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Bahram Ghasemi said the ministry has formed a committee to investigate the issue and pursue it in international forums, without elaborating. The stampede caused a new flare-up in tensions between Iran and Saudi Arabia, regional rivals that back opposite sides in the civil wars in Syria and Yemen. The two countries severed diplomatic relations in January after Saudi Arabia executed a prominent Shiite cleric and angry Iranian crowds overran Saudi diplomatic missions. Saudi authorities have not released the findings of their investigation into the disaster. Preliminary statements suggested the crush was caused when at least two large crowds intersected. AP Pope Francis waves to faithful as he leaves after a Mass and the canonisation of Mother Teresa of Kolkata, on Saint Peters Square in the Vatican. ANDREAS SOLARO/AFP/Getty Images She was dubbed the "saint of the gutters" after working tirelessly to care for the destitute in the slums of Calcutta. But Mother Teresa became a saint in earnest yesterday after she was canonised by Pope Francis at a ceremony which drew pilgrims to the Vatican in their tens of thousands. Expand Close A member of the Missionaries of Charity carries the relics of Mother Teresa during her Canonisation Mass. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino) / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp A member of the Missionaries of Charity carries the relics of Mother Teresa during her Canonisation Mass. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino) The Albanian-born nun had been fast-tracked through the complex, expensive canonisation process, which saw her elevated to sainthood just 19 years after her death. Speaking in St Peter's Square to an audience of more than 120,000 Catholics - as millions more watched on television - the Pope declared her a saint for "the poorest of the poor." Saint Teresa spent her life "bowing down before those who were spent, left to die on the side of the road, seeing in them their God-given dignity," he told the crowds in and around the Via della Conciliazione. "She made her voice heard before the powers of the world, so that they might recognise their guilt for the crimes of poverty they themselves created," he added. As if to emphasise the point, the Pope repeated the phrase "the crimes of poverty they themselves created". Expand Close A member of the congregation holds a statue of Mother Teresa in St Peters Square. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia) / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp A member of the congregation holds a statue of Mother Teresa in St Peters Square. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia) Let us carry her smile in our hearts and give it to those whom we meet along our journey, especially those who suffer," he said. He delivered the speech while standing under a canvas that showed the late nun wearing her distinctive, blue-hemmed white robes. A huge security operation surrounded proceedings, with more than 3,000 police officers on patrol in the Vatican and the streets of Rome. Read more: 'Saint of the gutters', Mother Teresa canonized 19 years after her death Speaking after the ceremony, Sister Leandra Stupnicka, from Wroclaw in Poland, said she got up at 4am to pay her respects to the new saint. "This mother was simple, very poor and devout and for us she is a testament to serving others," Sister Leandra said. "We pray to be like her." "Everything she did gave an example to the entire world," 17-year-old student Massimiliano D'Aniello said, "little gestures made with so much love are what's important." In an act of compassion, the Pontiff arranged for a pizza lunch to be served to 1,500 needy people after the Mass. They came from shelters run by Mother Teresa's order in Rome, Milan, Bologna, Naples and Florence. The food was cooked in three mobile ovens by 20 chefs from a Naples pizzeria. Saint Teresa's ceremony has proved to be the highlight of the Vatican's Year of Mercy, a special calendar of events decreed by the Pope Francis, who last week described indifference to suffering as a "modern sin". Born Agnes Gonxhe Bojaxhiu on August 26 1910, Teresa went to India in 1929 as a sister of the Loreto order. Unwanted In 1946, she received what she described as a "call within a call" to found a new order dedicated to caring for the most unloved and unwanted, the "poorest of the poor" in the slums of her adopted city, Kolkata (formerly Calcutta). The Missionaries of Charity order went on to become one of the most well-known in the world, with more than 4,000 sisters in their trademark blue-trimmed white saris doing as Teresa instructed "small things with great love". However, a shadow lies over parts of her legacy, with critics accusing her of prolonging the suffering of her patients in the slums of India by withholding painkillers. Indian nationalists accused Saint Teresa of trying to convert vulnerable Hindus in her charge to Christianity. Christopher Hitchens, the late British journalist and author, infamously described her as "a fanatic, a fundamentalist and a fraud" in his book 'The Missionary Position'. In a 2013 study, Canadian academics criticised Mother Teresa's "rather dubious way of caring for the sick, her questionable political contacts, her suspicious management of the enormous sums of money she received, and her overly dogmatic views regarding, in particular, abortion, contraception, and divorce". The Vatican has shrugged off the criticisms, insisting that she embodied the highest standards of Christian self-sacrifice and devotion. ( Daily Telegraph, London) Telegraph Media Group Limited [2022] Imagine custom shirts and shoes at mass production prices with same day delivery; imagine turbine parts produced at the airport where and when they are needed; imagine a new tooth made while youre in the dentist chair. The age of smart local manufacturing is just around the corner. Often called Industry 4.0, this new wave manufacturing incorporated connected devices (internet of things: IoT), cloud computing and machine learning. The term Industry 4.0 originated in 2011 with German government-funded research on advanced manufacturing. Christoph Roser at AllAboutLean.com explains: The first industrial revolution was the Industrial Revolution between 1760 and 1820ish, which brought us steam power and mechanization through spinning mills. The second industrial revolution was mass production, starting around 1870, but best known for the assembly lines of Henry Ford 1913. The third industrial revolution was the introduction of computers and automation in manufacturing from 1950 onward. The fourth industrial revolution is cyber-physical systems. End of the Flight to Cheap Labor Much of the labor intensive manufacturing moved to areas of the world where cheap labor was abundant and had the raw material or the ability to bring them in and ship the product at a reasonable rate, said Charles Speelman, Superintendent of the Tri-Rivers Career Center in Marion Ohio (below). Jimmy Carters inauguration in 1977 marked the peak of US manufacturing employment. Outsourcing really accelerated after Bush (43) took office in 2001. Everyday low prices became a staple Wal-Mart thanks to cheap Chinese labor. But in the last ten years, the rise of the Chinese (and Mexican and Vietnamese) middle class reduced the labor arbitrage. Third wave factories invested in automation reducing labor as a percentage of total costs. Beginning in 2010, US manufacturing employment began to rise with the first hints of onshoring. Car manufacturing is an interesting signal: while parts are made worldwide, Hondas are built in Ohio and Alabama, BMW and Mercedes are made in South Carolina, Toyotas are made in Indiana and Volkswagens are built in Tennessee. Automation is making US products more competitive compared with similar goods sourced from low-cost countries. In a 2015 BCG survey , 71 percent of manufacturers said advanced manufacturing technologies will improve the economics of local production, and 75% said they will continue to invest in fourth wave technology. Speelman added, The United States had the most efficient workforce, but labor intensive and/or our own clean air and water standards made the cost so much cheaper to outsource and ship. The US is still the biggest consumer in the world by a lot. Now with all the automation and robotics the cost of this technology is the same anywhere in the world, thus labor cost is not the highest cost. As a result, manufacturers will locate to where they have abundant shipping options and a trained workforce to operate, maintain, program and install this new highly technical automation equipment. That will be a huge advantage to the U.S. By creating a statewide network of robotics and advanced manufacturing centers (see feature ), Spellman is giving Ohio a leg up in the Fourth revolution. Massive Onshoring For High-Skill Regions Olivier Scalabre heads BCG s Operations Practice for Western Europe, North Africa and South America. He thinks were in the early innings of a fourth manufacturing revolution will promote productive local clean fabrication. This time, robots plus software that gets smarter over time will boost industrial productivity by more than a third according to Scalabre. He sees the chance for a new wave of economic growth. Today in our factories, only 8 percent of the tasks are automated. It will be 25 percent in 10 years, said Scalabre. Robots aided by machine learning are working for us right now, They helped Amazon prepare and ship all the products required for Cyber Monday, the annual peak of online retail, said Scalabre noting the $3 billion spent on electronics that day signals real economic growth. 3D printing has already improved plastic manufacturing and its now making its way through metal, notes Scalabre. Jet engine nozzles are made up of 20 different parts that need to be separately produced and then painstakingly assembled. Aerospace companies are now using 3D printing, which allows them to turn those 20 different parts into just one and resulting in 40 percent more productivity. Factories will be smaller and more nimble. Scale does not matter anymore, flexibility does, predicts Scalabre. Many will operate on a multi-product, made-to-order basis. Weve told our children that manufacturing had no future but We need to reverse that and teach manufacturing again at university, said Scalabre. For regions that skill up for the revolution, that will mean hundreds of small nimble high-tech manufacturing facilities with a few highly trained well-paid staff members. But only the countries that will boldly transform will be able to seize this growth. The technical education demands of advanced manufacturing are going to require a new educational and training model that reflects the flexibility, on-demand requirements of the new norm, said Andy Hepburn, GPS Education Partners . Creating pathways that can accelerate education and training into this higher technical roles will be instrumental in building this new technical workforce. As discussed in Smart Cities , transformation will be regional requiring thick partnerships, sustained leadership, and aligned investment leading. That will enable smart products from smart factories via smart supply chains. Next Steps for EdLeaders The most direct next steps for educators include manufacturing and coding pathways: Visit a RAMTEC site in Ohio and help plan a regional network of advanced manufacturing training centers. Check out Idaho Ptech Network which connects the dots between education and employment in high demand, high-value careers for rural students in Idaho. "Idaho PTECH provides employer-driven pathways to the skills and competencies for a new economy driven by certifications and credentials, rather than seat time and sheepskins," said CEO Alan Millar. (See feature on NY Ptech.) Read about GPS Education Partners in Milwaukee and plan high school programs that promote manufacturing work experience, job certificates, and college credit. Use Project Lead The Way to promote hands-on STEM learning. Support development of makerspace in all of your schools (see 18 part series). For elementary and middle-grade students, support cool out of school maker activities from JAM,Modular Robotics, WonderWorks, LittleBits. Support coding and computer science in schools (see BoardDocs example). Use these career awareness resources. Less obvious is the critical need to support deeper learning experiences to prepare young people to do what AI doesnt do well: give a hug, solve a mystery, tell a story ( NPR ); to solve problems and build relationships (Brookings ); and focus on adding value in novel situations. (Anthony Goldbloom on TED ). For more, see: Thanks the the contracts police unions get from local governments, it's not only hard to get rid of violent, corrupt cops, but investigating them in the first place is made nigh-impossible. They beat, steal and grift with impunity. The New York Times' editorial board says it's time for legislators to rip up these agreements and force the rule of law on those who represent it. Across the country, municipal governments have signed contracts with police unions including provisions that shield officers from punishment for brutal behavior as well as from legitimate complaints by the citizens they are supposed to serve. That may soon change, as public outrage over police killings of civilians is ratcheting up pressure on elected officials to radically revise police contracts that make it almost impossible to bring officers to justice. The most striking case in point is Chicago, which has been roiled by a police scandal stemming from a cover-up in the case of a 17-year-old named Laquan McDonald, who was executed by a police officer nearly two years ago. What's changed? Even old white folks are becoming scared of the cops. If it shows just how bad this problem has gotten, it's also a bitter reminder of what it takes to get something done about it. Nihar Info Global applies for trademark registration for 'ONVO' Nihar Info Global Limited informed to the exchanges that it has successfully applied for Trademark registration of its private label "ONVO" under the 'Trademark Classes 18 and 21. ... October 28, 2022 | 28-10-2022 2:37 pm Rupee rises 4 paisa to 82.29/$ Early on Friday, the rupee strengthened against the US dollar by 4 paise to 82.29, helped by a weak US dollar in the international market and strong local equities. The influx of new fore... October 28, 2022 | 28-10-2022 2:30 pm PNB Housing Finance's net profit increases by 12% PNB Housing Finance announced on Thursday that its September 20222023 quarter net profit increased by 11.7% to Rs 262.63 crore, thanks to a little increase in core income. In the same period... October 28, 2022 | 28-10-2022 2:25 pm Dhanuka Agritech soars ~8% as board to consider buyback Dhanuka Agritechs stock surged as much as 8% in Fridays intraday session and touched a high of Rs742. The company stated in its filing with the exchanges that at its ensuing ge... October 28, 2022 | 28-10-2022 2:18 pm Markets trade flat amid volatility; Nifty below 17,800 dragged by metals Domestic benchmark indices in a volatile session and trading flat after a gap-up opening on Friday. Both the Sensex and Nifty benchmarks are in the green during the afternoon market session ami... October 28, 2022 | 28-10-2022 2:00 pm Former mail carrier Robert J. Taitano of Tacoma, Washington went to prison in July 2015 for assault with sexual motivation and criminal trespass. But if the United States Postal Service had its druthers, Mr. Taitano would still be harassing and fondle women with abandon. Now one of his victims has filed a lawsuit against the USPS. Via KHOU: When a detective investigated, he uncovered USPS complaint files dating back to 2002 in which a salon owner, a store clerk and two apartment managers accused Taitano of harassing and touching them. The suit says USPS managers rarely took action in the face of all the complaints. The suit says USPS did try to fire Taitano in 2004, but a Dispute Resolution Team gave Taitano his job back. Turner's attorney, Kevin Hastings of Pfau Cochran Vertetis Amala, says Taintano was returned a mail route and continued to harass and sexually assault female customers. A federal judge has ordered an emergency hearing after the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe reported the destruction of sacred sites and burial grounds in North Dakota. On Friday, the tribe disclosed several significant cultural finds in the path of the $3.8 billion Dakota Access Pipeline . A day later, security staff working for the project unleashed dogs and employed mace on #NoDAPL resisters, several of whom -- including a pregnant woman and a young girl -- suffered injuries after they asked construction crews to stop working on sacred ground. On Saturday, Dakota Access Pipeline and Energy Transfer Partners brazenly used bulldozers to destroy our burial sites, prayer sites and culturally significant artifacts, Chairman David Archambault II said in a press release on Sunday. They did this on a holiday weekend, one day after we filed court papers identifying these sacred sites. The desecration of these ancient places has already caused the Standing Rock Sioux irreparable harm. Were asking the court to halt this path of destruction. According to the tribe, Dakota Access crews removed topsoil across an area about 150 feet wide that stretched for two miles near the confluence of the Cannonball River and the Missouri River . The work destroyed stone features, including prayer rings and cairns that are used to mark burial grounds. I surveyed this land and we confirmed multiple graves and specific prayer sites, Tim Mentz Sr., the tribe's former longtime historic preservation officer , said in a press release on Saturday. Portions, and possibly complete sites, have been taken out entirely. The destruction -- which Archambault described as "devastating" -- prompted the tribe to file an emergency motion on Sunday for a temporary restraining order against Dakota Access. It asks for work to be halted along the pipeline route pending a ruling on the tribe's request for a preliminary injunction Danny Grassrope was among the #NoDAPL resisters who were part of a confrontation at a Dakota Access Pipeline construction site near Cannon Ball, North Dakota. Photo from Sacred Stone Camp Additionally, the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe , which has been allowed to intervene in the case, filed its own emergency request for a temporary restraining order. It cites the tactics used against the #NoDAPL resisters, about 100 of whom were involved in the confrontation on Saturday. "Site protectors of all ages, outraged at Dakota Accesss clear intent to engage in construction while knowingly destroying sacred sites identified earlier in the week, attempted to halt construction and preserve evidence," the tribe's motion , which was filed on Sunday, states. "In a calculated response, Dakota Access hired a paramilitary security force to attack the site protectors, including women, children, and the elderly with vicious and dangerous breed dogs, such a Pit Bulls and German Shepherds, not trained for security service. Dakota Access paramilitary squad used canisters of tear gas, and pepper spray against the site protectors. A number of the site protectors were injured by the pepper spray and gas, and bitten by the vicious attack dogs." In a statement, Chairman Harold Frazier blamed officials in North Dakota for the escalating tensions. He called on Gov. Jack Dalrymple (R) -- who issued an emergency declaration last month as thousands of tribal citizens gathered at the #NoDAPL resistance camps -- to sit down to a meeting. "State and local law enforcement officials keep telling the media, without proof, that the protesters are committing unlawful acts," Frazier said in his statement on Sunday. "In my opinion unleashing vicious attack dogs on women and children, and spraying dozens of unarmed people simply because they are exercising their constitutional right to assemble, is unlawful." Law enforcement -- mainly Morton County Sheriff Kyle Kirchmeier -- have indeed been labeling the #NoDAPL movement as "unlawful" even though no major charges have been filed against anyone since the Sacred Stone Camp went up in April as the first resistance camp. No one was arrested on Saturday. "Any suggestion that this was a peaceful protest, is false. This was more like a riot than a protest," Kirchmeier said on Sunday . "Individuals crossed onto private property and accosted private security officers with wooden posts and flag poles. While no arrests were made at the scene, we are actively investigating the incident and individuals who organized and participated in this unlawful event." Representatives of the Sacred Stone Camp acknowledged that their efforts to protect sacred sites from destruction preceded the confrontation on Saturday. LaDonna Brave Bull Allard, the Section 106 historic preservation officer for the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe, said the clash occurred on the 153rd anniversary of the 1863 White Stone Hill Massacre , which occurred at a site east of Cannon Ball. "This morning, they told me Dakota Access was constructing. They are going over our culture, our land, our heart," Allard, who founded the Sacred Stone Camp in April, said on Saturday . "Today, on the day we remember those tears and that heartbreak, they are running over Mother Earth. I stood on that ground as the dogs barked and I prayed. During the August 24 hearing in the case, Judge Boasberg said he needed time to rule on the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe's request for the preliminary injunction. At the time, he indicated he would issue a decision sometime this week but that was before the disclosure of the cultural sites along the pipeline path. He also took some solace in knowing that the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers -- the defendant in the lawsuit -- had not yet granted a key easement for the pipeline to cross Lake Oahe at a site near the Standing Rock Sioux Reservation . Without the approval, a crucial portion of the 1,172-mile pipeline Dakota Access Pipeline can't be used to transport oil out of North Dakota. Despite lacking the easement, Dakota Access has continued work along various parts of the pipeline. The path starts in the Bakken oil fields in North Dakota and comes within a half-mile of the Standing Rock Sioux Reservation before it enters South Dakota. From there, it cuts a wide path in Iowa -- where the Iowa Tribe of Kansas and Nebraska and the Meskwaki Tribe have raised objections. It crosses over a burial ground in the northwest part of the state. The route ends in Illinois and it would carry about 470,000 barrels of crude oil a day. It has the capacity to carry up to 570,000 barrels a day, and possibly more, according to Dakota Access. Relevant Documents: Join the Conversation Related Stories: Sarah Sunshine Manning: Dogs attack peaceful #NoDAPL resisters (9/5) LaDonna Brave Bull Allard: We have no choice but to defend water (9/5) Jacqueline Keeler: #NoDAPL resistance is part of something bigger (9/5) Steve Russell: Federal Indian law and the Dakota Access Pipeline (9/5) Standing Rock Sioux Tribe reports cultural finds near pipeline path (9/2) Mark Trahant: #NoDAPL poses test for Hillary Clinton and Tim Kaine (9/2) Native Sun News: Cartoonist brings humor to #NoDAPL movement (9/2) Tribal activists cheer demise of controversial pipeline in Minnesota (9/2) United Nations Forum backs Standing Rock Sioux Tribe on #NoDAPL (9/1) Native Sun News: Northern Cheyenne Tribe joins #NoDAPL efforts (9/1) Jim Kent: The real truth about the #NoDAPL resistance movement (9/1) Mark Trahant: Candidate shows support for #NoDAPL movement (9/1) Lakota Country Times: #NoDAPL roadblock remains a major issue (8/31) Brandon Ecoffey: #NoDAPL resistance is the start of a movement (8/31) Dave Archambault: Struggle unfolds on Standing Rock Sioux land (8/31) Terri Miles: Indian Country unites to stare down the black snake (8/31) Joel Heitkamp: Officials in North Dakota need a lesson in respect (8/31) Standing Rock Sioux Tribe confirms lack of easement for pipeline (8/30) Supplies needed for #NoDAPL Defenders of Sacred Water School (8/30) Lakota Country Times: Students witness history at pipeline camp (8/30) Vi Waln: Media distorts peaceful nature of sacred #NoDAPL camp (8/30) Mike Myers: Historic ties between the Haudenosaunee and Sioux (8/30) Mark Anthony Rolo: Tribes remain at mercy of bad federal policies (8/30) Defenders of the Water School opens at pipeline resistance camp (8/29) Lakota Country Times: Resisters dispute emergency declaration (8/29) Dave Archambault: Stopping the desecration of our Mother Earth (8/29) Mark Trahant: State erects roadblock at peaceful #NoDAPL camp (8/29) Latoya Lonelodge: Witnessing history at Camp of Sacred Stones (8/29) Jon Eagle: Land remains sacred to the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe (8/29) Albert Bender: Tribes join together at Camp of the Sacred Stones (8/29) Steven Newcomb: Law of Christendom at play in #NoDAPL battle (8/29) Arvol Looking Horse: Saving our Earth from energy development (8/29) Tribal Tribune: Unity at Standing Rock Sioux Tribe's #NoDAPL camp (8/26) Winona LaDuke: Corporate interests come to destroy our mother (8/26) Sarah Sunshine Manning: #NoDAPL campaign awakens our people (8/26) Dakota Access Pipeline lacks key approval to build by reservation (8/26) Lummi Nation sends totem pole to #NoDAPL camp in North Dakota (8/26) Dave Archambault: Why the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe is fighting (8/25) Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe chair dispels rumors about camp site (8/25) Sen. Bernie Sanders joining opposition to Dakota Access Pipeline (8/25) Native Sun News: Thousands join #NoDAPL resistance movement (8/25) Standing Rock Sioux Tribe sees strong support at pipeline hearing (8/24) Kayla DeVault: Navajo Nation must take a stand on Dakota Access (8/24) Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe seeks prayers ahead of pipeline hearing (8/23) Lakota Country Times: Oglala Sioux Tribe joins fight against pipeline (8/23) Brandon Ecoffey: The Horse Nations prepare for battle over pipeline (8/23) Simon Moya-Smith: Hillary Clinton remains silent amid pipeline feud (8/23) Steven Newcomb: Standing Rock Sioux Tribe challenges domination (8/23) Sheriff mistook sacred pipes for pipe bombs at pipeline protest site (8/23) Tribes prepare for critical hearing in Dakota Access Pipeline lawsuit (8/22) Mark Trahant: Pipeline fight highlights power of political organizing (8/22) Lakota Country Times: Tribes unite to stop Dakota Access Pipeline (8/22) Vi Waln: Our water system is being threatened by energy pipelines (8/22) Winona LaDuke: Bigger problems ahead for Dakota Access Pipeline (8/22) Dallas Goldtooth: Tribes shut out of Dakota Access Pipeline process (8/22) Native Sun News: Resistance grows against Dakota Access Pipeline (08/18) Harold Frazier: Obama must put a stop to Dakota Access Pipeline (08/15) Tribes and Native youth join forces in campaign to stop oil pipeline (08/11) Democrats embrace tribal sovereignty in platform for convention (07/08) Dakota Access Pipeline to go underneath tribal burial site in Iowa (06/22) Native Sun News: Standing Rock Sioux Tribe battles oil pipeline (06/08) Iowa board approves energy pipeline work amid tribal objections (06/07) Native Sun News: Tribes score big in fights against energy projects (05/26) Standing Rock Sioux Tribe seeks halt to construction of pipeline (05/12) Native Sun News: Youth run 500 miles to protest new oil pipeline (05/11) Native Sun News: Standing Rock Sioux Tribe aims to stop pipeline (04/27) Standing Rock Sioux Tribe and Army Corps to discuss oil pipeline (04/26) Native Sun News: Tribes gaining traction in war against pipelines (04/20) Brandon Ecoffey: Tribes continue battle against energy pipelines (04/19) Standing Rock Sioux Tribe sets up sacred camp to oppose pipeline (04/15) Native Sun News: Tribes organize against Dakota Access Pipeline (04/13) Native Sun News: Tribes organize against Dakota Access Pipeline (4/13) Iowa Tribe joins fight against oil pipeline on aboriginal territory (3/24) Native Sun News: Standing Rock Sioux Tribe battles pipeline plan (3/14) Native Sun News: Tribes fight another pipeline through Great Plains (07/07) Meskwaki Tribe opposes oil pipeline through aboriginal territory (03/17) The world celebrated Mother Teresas canonisation into Saint Teresa yesterday. Thousands of people turned up at Vatican Citys St Peter Square, the church celebrated it by distributing free pizza to the homeless and the atmosphere all-around was festive. But in the thousands of people who gathered to watch Mother Teresa's canonisation, there is one story in particular which is being widely discussed, some have even ambitiously dubbed it Saint Teresa's third miracle. Reuters Amidst the huge crowd, people saw a lady holding her son and weeping. When the story unfolded it made a lot of spectators emotional! Reuters Eighteen years ago, Christina who lives in Barcelona had adopted her son Hannock from Mother Teresa's home in Ethiopia . "I had no idea Mother Teresa was being made a Saint today," she said. Surprisingly, a picture of Mother Teresa hanging from the Vatican caught Christina's eyes and lured her to the canonisation event. "On my 50th birthday, my family gifted me a visit to Rome. I have been here a few days and today we wandered into St Peter's Square and then I saw the portrait of Mother Teresa hanging from the Vatican. This is a miracle. Mother brought me here today," she further revealed. Hannock, the 18-year-old boy, looked a little uncomfortable by his mother's display of emotion. npr.org When asked about it, he smiled and said, "I love my mother and thank you mother Teresa for bringing us together." People of all religions stopped by and stood together to hear Christinas amazing story at St Peters Square. While it took two miracles for mother Teresa to become Saint Teresa, this amazing story of a mother and her son can easily be called the third one. Overcoming all turbulences in their relationship, Virat and Anushka are in love all over again. From twinning their clothes on the streets of London to Virat flying off to Prague to meet Anushka, where she is shooting for Imtiaz Ali's next, internet is loving Virat and Anushka as a couple. This man This pair #viratkohli #viratanushka #viratfansclub A photo posted by Karya (@kanishka.arya) on Jul 2, 2016 at 2:47am PDT According to some recent reports, Virat flew down to Prague specially to meet ladylove Anushka and the pictures are going viral again. While the internet's obsession with Virat and Anushka's pictures and selfies is surely not new, let's do a round-up of their best moments together, where they were caught doing their regular things and looked perfect together. 1. Because couple that travels together, stays together. Twitter 2. When Anushka Sharma chose to go on a cruise in Sydney along with Virat Kohli and Team India ahead of the Test match! (Image: Indian Link Australia Facebook) 3. When their colour coordinated outfits won the internet! 4. And when Virat chose to make his affection for Anushka public Instagram #ViratKohli and #AnushkaSharma were snapped together at dinner date last night Good to see the duo back together #ViratAnushka #BollywoodChatterbox #ViratAnushkaPatchUp A photo posted by Bollywood Chatterbox (@bollywoodchatterbox) on Apr 7, 2016 at 11:54pm PDT (Also read: 13 Pictures That Show Why We Are Obsessed With The Anushka-Virat Love Story) The news of veteran Hollywood star Sylvester Stallones death spread like a wildfire on social media last night. The article which was widely shared on social media announced Stallone is found dead and featured a CNN banner head. Since it was CNN, people believed it and started sending out RIP messages. via Twitter The fabricated article also stated that prescription pills were found at the death scene. However, the 70-year-old Rocky star defied all the death reports by sharing his snapshots on Instagram. "A wonderful quiet dinner with my daughter," Stallone captioned the picture. He was seen with his daughter, Sistine, during a night out. A photo posted by Sly Stallone (@officialslystallone) on Sep 2, 2016 at 7:33pm PDT Stallone did not directly refute the false reports, but his active social media posts are enough to prove that the news was fabricated. According to a recent study, people who are trying to lose weight should hangout more with thin people! The study published in the journal obesity revealed that people who want to lose weight actually tend to have heavier friends over time because hanging with obese or overweight people they experience less prejudice. www.thedailysheeple.com Researchers asked a bunch of people to describe the built of those four people whom they are close to. Then they tracked how their social networks, and their body masses, changed over the course of a year. Researchers found that people who wanted to lose weight often spent more time with people who were also carrying extra pounds. But when participants did spend more time with thinner people over the course of the year, researchers noticed something: Those people were more successful at losing weight. According to the author Matthew Andersson, PhD, an assistant professor of sociology at Baylor University in Waco, Texas, there can be many reasons to why weight loss is contagious especially within social network. According to the researchers habits are quite contagious and if you are around people who exercises everyday and eats healthy food and is quite conscious about health can be a positive impact on the other person. authoritynutrition.com Andersson also encourages people to cultivate ties with a variety of people despite of body type, to be selective of individuals at different times in their lives in order to meet their personal health goals. He also said Individuals probably should simply have heightened awareness of how their friends may be influencing them, he says, and then make friendship decisions from there. Never pick a fight with a coder, you'll never know when you'll find yourself face down in a gutter. In a very hypothetical sense, we hope. These guys will tell you why. 1. Thunderstruck thewalleye.ca If you were to hack into the control system of several nuclear research facilities in Iran, what's the craziest thing you'd do before drawing the line? How about taking a page out of this genius' book? Reported first in 2012, not only did the hacker shut down the monitors and mess up the hardware at will, but at random times in the wee hours of the night the hacker would also activate the workstations just to play "Thunderstruck" by AC/DC at full volume to make Iran rock out like a boss. 2. Cupcakes for Al-Qaeda funnyjunk.com I love British humour. Especially when it's the MI6. In 2011, MI6 took over a radical Muslim preacher's online website. They replaced a tutorial on how to manufacture pipe bombs in your kitchen and replaced it with a collection of cupcake recipes. I know what you're thinking, the answer is no, they weren't original recipes, they were borrowed from the Ellen DeGeneres show. Sorry sonny, had to reschedule the bombings, here's a carrot cake instead. 3. High School Musical Geek Remember Lizard Squad? Quite a nuisance a couple of years back, they were quite the opposite of what Anonymous are. They didn't have a cause, they would just wreak havoc because they could. Having said that, some of their acts were so bizarre that they actually ended up being quite funny. Like in February 2015, Lizard Squad hacked PC manufacturer Lenovo. They took down their website but obviously things didn't end there. They replaced the site with a webcam feed of bored teenagers soundtracked to the tune of "High School Musical". Burn level - 1000. 4. Burger King Imgur Nothing can do damage to a brand as quickly and as effectively as a social media hack. Burger King learnt about this back in 2013 when their Twitter account got hacked. The hacker clearly just wanted to bug a few people off since he changed their display name to "McDonalds" and replaced the display picture with the one with golden arches. Hilariously, the page remained like that for about an hour before the account was suspended. 5. Britney Spears 4.bp.blogspot.com One of the funniest celebrity hacks till date. In 2009, a prankster/hacker took over Britney Spears' twitter account and went full Illuminati on her. The hacker filled her page with pictures of the eye in the pyramid. Even started tweeting random Illuminati nonsense hoping that the New World Order would arrive soon and that saying Britney was apparently "giving herself to Lucifer every day." Glory to Satan. 6. BART pcworld.com Okay, this was more like a revenge hack. The ones Anonymous are famous for. People wanted to protest against the shutting down of the subterranean cellular services by the company. The protests failed after the BART security ended up shooting an unarmed passenger. This was reason enough for Anonymous to take the matter into their own hands and boy, did they have some fun. They gained access to MYBART.org and posted all sensitive details like usernames and passwords of the users on the websites but that obviously wasn't enough for these barts. When Linton Johnson, the company's spokesperson refused to accept the company's mistake, Anonymous just posted naked pictures of Johnson online. Classic. 7. Telegraph Twitter/ iWaste Perhaps the oldest hack story ever reported was long before the computer actually got invented. Back in 1909, some of London's finest minds got together in the Royal Institution's lecture hall to witness the world's first-ever display of the long-distance wireless telegraph designed by Guglielmo Marconi. But things never go as planned, do they? Nevil Maskelyen, a magician and prankster, who also happened to be Marconi's rival at the time, figured out his method and found a way to work around the machine. Result? Instead of sending the messages it was supposed to, the machine started spewing an insulting poem about Marconi "diddling the public". Ever since inception of independent India and Pakistan, there has been hardly any love lost between the two countries. The establishments of two countries don't share any sort of camaraderie and the armies of both nations too are an eye-sour for one another. But exceptions exists and they exist even most hostile of atmospheres. One such exception was Air Commodore (retd) Kaiser Tufail, who was the Director of Operations of the Pakistan Air Force (PAF) during the Kargil war. paffalcons.com "The jawans who had captured me were trying to manhandle me and maybe trying to kill me, because for them, I was just an enemy pilot who had fired on their locations from the air. And on-ground, I was firing at them. Fortunately, the officer who came was very mature. He realised the situation, that I am now a captive and now I need not be handled that way. So he was able to control them, which was a big effort, because they were very aggressive at that stage," told Group Captain K Nachiketa to NDTV who was a Flight Lieutenant then during the Kargil war and his MiG 27 had crashed in POK near Skardu in July 1999. The Jawans of Pakistani Northern Light Infantary who had caught Nachiketa had no intentions to treat him well and his fate was going towards that of Captain Sourav Kalia, who was captured and subjected to gruesome torture before being shot dead. sticknthrottle.com But Tufail came out for his rescue and stopped his men from torturing the Indian Officer. Years later Nachiketa told media that Tufail took him to his room and discussed about his likes and dislikes. Nachiketa also told media years after he returned to India that Tufail discussed about the heart problem of his father and about his sisters marriage as well. The Pakistani also arranged for vegetarian snacks for the Indians and while discussing about the flying strictly told him maintain the cordiality of the room. "I was detailed to talk to Nachiketa and it was a most friendly talk between two gentlemen officers. We had tea and some snacks and we rambled about flying...my mandate was to strictly maintain the cordiality of a crew room and to find out the circumstances of his ejection and the mission he was flying," Tufail was quoted inThe Indian Express in 2009, ten years after the war. BCCL Nachiketa, like a gentleman officer he was, shared peculiarities of their jobs in two countries with Tufail who was his senior in rank. Both officers were amazed that they have so much common between them. "I was so amazed to find that there are so many issues in common. I asked him what he was doing before the mission and he said he had taken leave to help arrange his sister's wedding. It is the same thing that brothers are required to do here," Tufail had told IndianExpress. After eight days of capture and taken as a prisoner of war, the backdoor efforts of Indian Government, made Nachiketa's return to India possible. But it would not have been possible, had Tufail not saved the young Indian pilot from the torture he was destined to get by the hands of Pakistani soldiers. Its a sheer disgust to know that we live in a world full of heartless creeps, who do not think twice before pursuing their revolting actions. A class XI student in North-West Delhis Jahangipuri region was being stalked by her neighbour, who has allegedly threatened to throw acid on her face. The 16-year-old girl reached out to the police about this issue, informing them that the man has claimed to hurt her, fearing rejection to his proposal. For now, a FIR has been lodged against the man by the girls parents and subsequent actions will be taken by the police. indiatoday The man approached her while she was returning from the school, threatening about the acid attack. The girl then rushed to the police station with her parents to lodge a complaint. A case on the similar grounds was filed against this man by the girls family; however, he got bail and started stalking her again. The accused is absconding since and the police is trying to find him. hocalwire A lot of women are victimised by acid attacks every year. In countries like India and Bangladesh, such attacks are relatively common. With mutilated faces, lost identity and palpable will, several survivors are coming ahead to share their horrific stories. For the first time in the year 2013, IPC was modified and tailored to address the grievances of the victims. (Also read: Acid Attack Survivor Reshma Qureshi Is All Set To Walk At New York Fashion Week This Year! ) Card Image Courtsey: IndianExpress Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal and a 6 member cabinet spent over a crore Rupees on tea and snacks entertaining guests in the last 18 months. flickr.com/pulaw From his days as a man on hunger strike, the party's founder has worked up quite an appetite. Kejriwal's bill: Rs 47.29 lakh His bill adds up Rs 22,42,320 (secretariat office) and Rs 24,86,921 (residence camp office). This was the finding from an RTI query filed by Vivek Garg, who sought to know how much Delhi ministers spent on tea and snack. 2. Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia BCCL Second in command, second in spends? Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia spent Rs 11,28,429, combining residence office (Rs 5,66,304), and secretariat office (Rs 5,62,125) 3. Ex-Transport minister Gopal Rai Gopal Rai, fired as transport minister for allegations of corruption, spent over 11 lakh, combining Rs 5,44,856 (secretariat), and Rs 5,61,416 (residential office) 4. Ex-Social welfare minister Sandeep Kumar hindustantimes Recently sacked Delhi social welfare minister, who became notorious after rape allegations and a sex tape, spent over 9 lakh, Rs 4,97,346 (secretariat), and Rs 4,13,833 (residential office). 5. Heath minister Satyendra Jain Jain spent over 9.1 lakh Rupees, combining Rs 3,57,303 (on a camp office bill), and Rs 5,53,008 (expenditure on a pilot vehicle) 6. Tourism Minister Kapil Mishra Mishra spent the least at his home, but almost matched Kejriwal's office spends. Rs 36,232 (residence), and over 5.9 lakh (secretariat). In total, he spent Rs 6,30,090. 7. Minister of Food and Civil Supply Imran Hussain Hussain spent the least, a total just over 5.8 lakh Rupees, combining Rs 1,67,933 (residence) and Rs 4,21,188 (office) Akhilesh Yadav Says His Government Spent Rs 9 Crore On Tea, Samosas And Gulab Jamuns! After their first wave of attack on India's mobile telecom sector, now JIO is planning fiber-based broadband Internet across 900 cities and towns, TelecomTalk reported. Reliance Jio Promises Lowest Data Rates In The World, Spells Trouble For Internet Service Providers The company has reportedly finalised agreements with an ecosystem of companies across technology, infrastructure, devices, and apps. "In addition to 4G wireless services, RJIL (Reliance Jio Infocomm) is rolling out high speed internet services via FTTx in over 900 cities/towns. The high speed fibre connectivity will enable RJIL to provide a wide gamut of digital services across various sectors," RJio had announced last year. techfactslive.com Telecom majors are viewing optical fiber to meet the ever increasing data demands. Upon launch Jio will have the biggest fiber-based broadband network in India. In comparison, Airtel has a fiber based network in 90 cities. Here's Everything You Need To Know About Reliance Jio Services All Your Questions On Reliance Jio - Answered Arrested AAP MLA Sandeep Kumar has exploited not one but many women, Delhi Police claimed in a court on Sunday while seeking a 14-day remand. However, they were allowed only a day's custody as the court asked cops to produce the ousted women and child welfare minister again on Monday. ibnlive.in The probe has revealed that Kumar's friend and personal secretary, Praveen, circulated the video, the police claimed, adding that they are probing if the legislator, who has been suspended from AAP, himself has given it to him. Asked why the Prevention of Corruption Act has been invoked, the police told the court that the minster had misused his office by promising to take care of the women's children and get them a job. intoday.in Cops said they needed to recover the device used to shoot the film and the original clipping, and establish the chain used to circulate the video. "We are suspecting many more people could be behind this," the prosecution said. Kumar's lawyer said his client himself wanted to know the truth and was cooperating in the probe. Claiming that the man in the video seemed in his late twenties, he maintained Kumar's version that he was not in the video. Coming out in Kumar's support on Sunday, his wife Ritu termed the episode a political conspiracy. "I stand by my husband. I am sure he will come out clean. He has been framed." hindustantimes.com The tapes and photographs will be sent for forensic examination while cops are trying to track down the second woman in the photographs. Referring to the FIR in which the woman said the incident took place three months before she sold her house in Sultanpuri, the police claimed that the video was less than a year old. According to the complainant, the house was sold six-seven months ago. intoday.in The FIRa copy of which is with TOI quotes the survivor as saying, "I began to feel dizzy after having the (sedated) drink after which he made physical relations with me and forced me to perform oral sex. I didn't know that he had filmed me. Out of embarrassment, I did not tell anyone about the incident but was recently informed about being in that video." Kumar, who was arrested on Saturday, was taken to his house on Sunday morning and a search was conducted. However, no detail was revealed. Cops have gone through his mobile bills and are analysing call details. Gujarat police have booked two people for selling chicken in the open market in Bhuj town of Kutch district in violation of the order banning sale of non-vegetarian food in municipality areas across the state during the Jain festival, Paryushan. BCCL Last month, the director of municipalities had issued a circular prohibiting killing of animals and birds, and sale of mutton, poultry and fish from August 29 to September 5 during Paryushan as a mark of respect for the religious sentiments of the Jain community. To justify the ban on sale of non-vegetarian food, the state government relies on a Supreme Court order passed in 2008 in which it upheld the Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation's (AMC) decision to close abattoir during Paryushan. On Friday, Bhuj city police booked Abbas Habib Khatki, 42, and Hasan Ali Khatki, 32, under section 188 of the IPC for violation of teh notification issued by police authority. Habib and Hasan Khatki have a chicken shop near Bhuj Mutton Market. Reuters They were allegedly caught selling non-vegetarian food despite the ban on sale of meat. After booking them, they were issued notices instructing them to appear before the authorities concerned whenever they were summoned for the purpose of investigation, police officials said. Meanwhile, the state government's decision prohibiting sale of non-vegetarian food items has been challenged in the Gujarat high court by an Anand-based poultry farm owner. Justice SH Vora sought an explanation from the state government for the prohibitory orders, but shifted the case to regular court. The hearing was supposed to take place before Justice RH Shukla, but it is now adjourned till September 6, a day after the Jain fasting period ends. BCCL In 2012, the state government had asked the municipalities to ban sale of chicken, meat and fish in the market during Paryushan. The Vapi municipality followed the order and restrained sale. The matter reached the high court on September 28, 2012, when a single-judge bench stayed the circular and permitted the sale of meat, fish and chicken. However, the state government immediately challenged the stay order. The hearing lasted before a division bench till late evening in and the high court finally prohibited the sale of meat in Vapi. The Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory (LIGO) India project is all set to take off soon and it will cost anywhere between Rs 1,200 to Rs 1,500 crore. Karan Jani, an astrophysicist who was one of the key researchers in the team that detected gravitational waves, said that the process to set up LIGO India laboratory has begun. LIGO "The process to scout a good piece of land has already started. We need at least 16 square-kilometers of land to set up LIGO laboratory in India. Some sites have been shortlisted and the committee formed for this project will meet soon to take a final decision. It is going to the costliest ever science project in India," Jani, who is a part of the process. He added that they require a site that doesn't witness earthquakes and has no heavy industries as the equipment in LIGO project is very sensitive. Also Read: India Will Be Home To World's Biggest Science Project That Aims To Prove Einstein Wrong! TOI Jani, who is India for week, will be visiting about 10 universities including M S University, Navrachana University, Tata Institute of Fundamental Research (TIFR), Jawaharlal Nehru University, Delhi University and Gujarat Technological University. He will talk about the LIGO project and try to evoke interest of science students in the subject. BCCL "The LIGO project will be jointly funded by Department of Atomic Energy, India and National Science Foundation, USA," Jani said. He shifted from the city to USA in 2007 for further studies and is now doctorate from Georgia Institute of Technology in the US. Recalling his meet with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Jani said that he gave lot of suggestions. "It was a big moment when I met him in the US. I was glad when he said 'Karan maara gaam no che' (Because he belongs to my town) in presence of everyone," Jani said. There's alarm over the outbreak of Brucellosis disease in Kolar district following the detection of Brucella abortus bacterium in 998 cattle, including 258 cows. Also known as 'bangs disease' and `contagious abortion', Brucellosis spreads from the vaginal discharge of an infected cow or from an aborted foetus. It's said to have no treatment and the disease poses a major risk as milk consumed from the infected cows can cause undulant fever among humans. BCCL/Represenatational image Animal husbandry department's deputy director (Kolar) S Channakeshava told TOI, "We have been screening the animals for Brucellosis for the past one year and 258 cows tested positive. We have ordered culling of these cows and directed farm owners to bury the carcasses deep in the soil to prevent contamination." Symptoms of Brucellosis have been reportedly found in animals at Rakshith Farm owned by Kolar MLA Varthur R Prakash. However, the MLA said all 900-plus animals on his farm are healthy and there was no question of any animal being affected with Brucellosis disease. The farm, which commenced operations a year ago at Begli village on the outskirts of Kolar (about 70km from Bengaluru), has over 2,500 cross-bred cows brought from Maharashtra by Prakash. Though animal husbandry staff detected Brucellosis several months ago, they reportedly did not raise a red flag and the issue was kept under wraps for "observation and scientific analysis". In the meantime, according to sources in the animal husbandry department, some cows were either sold to farmers in the region or sent to slaughter houses. Reuters/Represenatational image The issue snowballed into a controversy after some political activists alleged that nearly 7,000 litres of infected milk were supplied to the local milk producers' cooperative society from Rakshith Farm. They also alleged that Prakash was trying to sell the infected cows to farmers. The activists met district in-charge minister K R Ramesh Kumar and briefed him about the issue. This was reportedly communicated to animal husbandry minister A Manju, who ordered his department officials to rush to Prakash's farm and draw blood samples from the cattle. Dr T Jayaram, senior deputy director of the department, said Brucellosis disease is a zoonotic disease, is animal-borne and can be easily transmitted to humans who come in close contact with affected animals. The affected animal would develop various disorders which results in abortion twice in a row and after two abortions though the animal looks good, it would have traces of the bacteria and spread it to other animals.Any human who comes in close contact with the animal will develop various health disorders, including high fever, joint pain and impotency. Reuters/Represenatational image Channakeshava said department personnel were busy collecting samples from the animals. "Drawing blood samples is under way and would continue on Monday. The test reports will be made available on Tuesday and, following this, a decision to cull the animals will be taken." Kolar MLA Varthur R Prakash said his is a model farm and the animals are treated with meticulous care and in hygienic surroundings and any animal being affected with disease is a remote possibility. He said some vested interests are trying to tarnish his image by spreading false rumours about the health of his animals. He added that all animals are being checked on a periodic basis and steps are being taken to shift the affected animals, if any, from the farm. Surat textile merchant Brijkishore Jaiswal, 48, the kidney-failure patient who was arrested as part of the Hiranandani Hospital organ racket that was busted on July 14, has died. He was on the operation table, along with the donor, when the surgery was interrupted by the police. indianexpress.com Jaiswal's lawyers say he died in Varanasi last Wednesday. He was released on interim bail on July 23. The case brought to focus the huge shortage of kidneys in the country, with patients resorting to desperate measures because of unending waitlists. It highlighted the country's poor rate of cadaveric donation, which experts say is probably the only ethical answer to organ shortage. In the Hiranandani case, 14 arrests were made, including of five doctors, the hospital's transplant coordinator and the donor, Shobha Thakur, 42, a Gujarat domestic help. BCCL Jaiswal's lawyers Shahid Elahi and Shabnam Khan told TOI, he was taken to Varanasi over a fortnight ago. "He died at 4 pm on August 31. He was cremated there," the Mira Road-based lawyers said. Senior inspector Bhai Mahadeshwar of the Powai police said,"We will submit the report to the court when the case next comes up for hearing" On July 14, the Powai police stopped Jaiswal's transplant after laying their hands on documents that were forged to show Thakur, a native of Anand in Gujarat, as his wife. Thakur was promised Rs 2 lakh for her kidney. Her rib was cut as part of organ retrieval operation before it was called off midway. She and Jaiswal stayed in hospital for nine more days. Reuters The day he was taken to the government-run JJ Hospital for a health checkup, Jaiswal told TOI he had paid some agents Rs 21 lakh for a new kidney. He made several allegations about the involvement of doctors in the racket. Sources in Hiranandani Hospital said Jaiswal had paid the hospital Rs 4.7 lakh. "There is still Rs 90,000 with us that we will return to his next of kin, whenever they come for it," they said. India's biggest business house Reliance Industries is betting all its telecom might on VoLTE. Wonder what the technology is all about? Here's our ready reckoner What exactly is VoLTE? blogspot.com VoLTE stands for Voice over Long Term Evolution, which is essentially voice over internet protocol or IP-based LTE network. As the name suggests, it allows users to make voice calls over LTE. VoLTE enables what's called high definition (HD) voice calling. It's hard to quantify the quality of these calls, but they surely offer significant improvement over traditional calls (made via cellular networks). Here LTE is referred to as 4G. In theory, LTE should offer data speeds capable of reaching 100-150 megabits per second while on the move, and 1GB per second when stationary. Also Read: BSNL Takes On Reliance Jio, To Launch Unlimited Wireline Broadband Plan At Rs 249 How VoLTE works? eventhelix.com In a VoLTE or 'Voice over LTE' scenario, voice calls, typically, will be provisioned over a 4G LTE data network, instead of the circuit-switched 2G or 3G networks which are commonly used. The VoLTE technology, typically, allows voice to become just another app that rides on an LTE data network. Long-term evolution, or LTE, is the technology standard for delivering high-speed broadband services, popularly known as 4G. Similar to the way that the internet works, VoLTE relies on the IP Multimedia Subsystem (IMS) network. What are the benefits of VoLTE? slidesharecdn.com VoLTE allows an operator to offer both voice and data without switching between bands, with voice being just another application that rides on an LTE data network The implementation of VoLTE offers several other benefits too, both in terms of cost and operation. It provides a more efficient use of spectrum than traditional voice. Further it helps meet the rising demand for richer, more reliable services. VoLTE can be deployed in parallel with video calls over LTE and RCS multimedia services, including video share, multimedia messaging, chat and file transfer. Also Read: Here's Everything You Need To Know About The Reliance Jio's 4G Service Set To Be Launched Today Reliance Jio's VoLTE bet trak.in For Jio, VoLTE will be the base engine for delivering voice service since it has limited 2G and no 3G fallback network of its own. It is banking on tie-ups with RCom if it needs backup voice airwaves. Jio and RCom have a spectrum sharing and trading agreement for 17 circles. RCom has airwaves in the efficient 850 Mhz band in all circles, besides liberalized spectrum in 2100 Mhz in 13 circles, on which it can offer VoLTE services. Jio can offer VoLTE services on 2300 Mhz band, considered less efficient than 850 Mhz, which it has across all circles. VoLTE pioneer globally Singapore Telecommunications Ltd introduced the world's first commercial "full-featured" VoLTE service in May 2014. Smartphones supporting VoLTE gizbot.com There's a wide range of smartphones supporting VoLTE available in the country. Reliance Jio itself offers over 20 VoLTE-supported smartphones under its Lfy brand. The cheapest Lfy smartphone is Reliance Lyf Flame 3 priced at Rs 2,999. VoLTE smartphones also form a part of portfolio of all other global smartphone players like Samsung, HTC, Lenovo, Huawei, Xiaomi etc as well as Indian brands like Micromax, Lava, Karbonn, Intex and others. No additional voice charges digit.in Reliance Jio is offering calls for free. However, otherwise too HD calling does not mean additional cost, as it utilizes the same data network. Also, the networks are smart enough to identify voice traffic and don't club them with data traffic. Also Read: Jio SIMs Are Selling 'In Black' For Rs. 500, Application Forms For Rs. 100! Prime Minister Narendra Modi once again used another global platform to expose Pakistan nefarious plans to spread terror across the South-Asian region. Modi during his speech in the concluding session of G20 Summit in Hangzhou, China, without naming Pakistan once again exposed our neighbour and said that 'single nation'is spreading terror in the region. One single nation in South Asia is spreading agents of terror in countries of our region, he said, addressing top world leaders. there are some nations that use it as an instrument of state policy. AFP Though he didn't name Pakistan but it's an open secret and most of the global power including the US, Russia and Pakistan's all weather friend China knew which country PM Modi hinted at. Those who sponsor and support terrorism must be isolated and sanctioned, not rewarded, said Modi. PM Modi also reiterated India tough stance about terrorism and how India is committed to take stern action the terror plans fabricated and unleashed again her. He added, India has a policy of zero tolerance to terrorism because anything less than that is not enough. For us, a terrorist is a terrorist. His remarks came after Indian PM vociferously asked the global leaders to build international opinion on counter terrorism and isolating Pakistan, world's prime terror exporter. AFP PM Modi also thanked and appreciated the initiatives taken by G20 countries to counter the financing of terrorism. Modi also spoke about challenge of terrorism, which he said is the biggest threat to the world and knows no boundaries. He alluded to Mays previous stint as home secretary and said she was well aware of the dangers of terrorism, external affairs ministry spokesperson Vikas Swarup was told reporters on Monday afternoon. Just last month, this L-plated Maserati GranCabrio - priced at about 100,000 (INR 87 lakh, approx) was pulled over by South West London police after they caught the driver cruising through Kingston without insurance. The Kingston Police was cheeky enough to even tweet about it using '#NoInsuranceNoCar' Gold Maserati with L-Plates seized by Kingston Officers this morning! #NoInsuranceNoCar pic.twitter.com/3Et0FhtCMq Kingston Police (@MPSKingston) August 16, 2016 With the Police's tweet going public, it was only a matter of time before someone tweeted this: How much is the insurance for a learner in a gold plated Maserati convertible ??? pic.twitter.com/azJ4mSUjvB glen88cab (@GlenGoller) August 6, 2016 The unknown driver was apparently even slapped with a minimum 300 fine including the 150 plus cost of towing, and an extra 25 for every 24 hours they held it for him. But how does that amount to anything for someone with a Gold-plated Maserati exactly? Moving on. While his identity at the time was unknown, it has now been revealed that the driver was none other than 19-year-old Pakistani billionaire and his parents' "Golden child," Hamza Sheikh. Evening Standard via tribune.com.pk What was amusing was his response to the incident although he did admit to having "missed" the letter of communication from the insurance company because of his rather "busy lifestyle". Apparently unfazed by the whole debacle, Sheikh told the Evening Standard, I have a Rolls-Royce and a Range Rover. I am just waiting for my new gold Lamborghini to be delivered in the meantime. Since I was young I have been learning to drive in supercars Ive also learnt in a Porsche Panamera, so a Maserati is a piece of cake. He went on to say, No Maserati, Ill just learn to drive in a Rolls-Royce with insurance." Evening Standard via tribune.com.pk Apparently this is the second run in with the law for Sheikh, who is a business management student at Regents University and a property developer. Meet 56-year-old Manoel Pereira Costa or 'Master Manel' as he's lovingly known. He's the man that thousands of children in Rio de Janeiro's favelas (slums), including Rocinha, the biggest slum, are eager to meet. Bruno Kelly/Reuters He's known as the man behind those high energy Brazilian martial arts classes, also known as Capoeira that have been a much-needed channel of expression for troubled youths who, sadly, are all too familiar or have at least heard of truths like violence, drugs and trafficking. Bruno Kelly/Reuters Costa's classes that have been around for three decades now, not only help build a sense of community within these groups but also reinstate in them the concept of tradition and the land they belong to. Up to 300 students have by now signed up for Master Manel's classes, and his project has come to be known as Acorda Capoeira or Awaken Capoeira. Aptly so. Manel's classes hold more relevance now considering Rio recently finished hosting the 2016 Olympics, and this seems to have planted encouragement and ambition in these kids who need it most. Bruno Kelly/Reuters We more than anything want to teach about community, about citizenship, so that kids understand that they are part of something, explained Costa in an interview with independent.co.uk. Manel has made it a point to not charge for his classes, a fact worthy of a standing ovation. He turns, instead to donors for any and all funding that's needed. Bruno Kelly/Reuters The classes include sparring, drum circles and gymnastics. The growing collective spirit is only more evident from the pictures. Even in this community, with our problems, we are part of the world. And the students have to know that they can step out into it, that they can do anything they want, Costa adds. On Saturday 2nd November 2013 a fundraising benefit gig for the family of imprisoned whistleblower Chelsea Manning, organised by WISE Up Action, at The Casa in Liverpool, a pub set up by sacked Liverpool Dockers, suffered multiple violent attacks. The day before the physical and verbal attacks on the anti-war activist organisers and The Casa staff, a statement on Adam Ford's blog, "from a group of activists who will be supporting Chelsea Manning but opposing Ciaron O'Reilly at an event in Liverpool tomorrow" claimed that "Ciaron O'Reilly - a main organiser of tonight's event - does not support Chelsea Manning in the same way that we do" and said that they "intend to protest against that". Ten days before the attack an article opposing the event, published on the blog of a member of the Liverpool Solidarity Federation and reproduced the next day on Libcom, claimed that Ciaron OReilly was a "vile misogynist and transphobic shitbag" and that "OReillys fundraiser in Liverpool will be challenged on the basis of his behaviour towards women and on the basis of his support for Julian Assange." Ciaron OReilly refutes the allegations against him, in response to the accusation that he made some sexist remarks he has said "I am not sure I have" and in response to the charge that that he refers to Chelsea Manning using her previous name of Bradley, he has made it clear that he does "not refuse to use the name Chelsea". On 19th October 2013, outside the Anarchist bookfair in London Ciaron OReilly was physically and verbally assaulted because of his ongoing support and solidarity work for Julian Assange of WikiLeaks who has been sheltering from persecution in the Ecuadorian Embassy in London for over a year. Links: Catholic among the Pigeons | Solidarity gigs/events for US prisoner of conscience Private Manning | Drunk Attack on Chelsea Manning's Family Fundraiser in Liverpool | Weekend of Solidarity with Chelsea Manning's Family - the good news! | Photos and audio from Chelsea Manning's Family Fundraiser in Liverpool Featured Post MNN: 'Mohawk Mothers -- Excavation Stops and Injunction Starts' Post navigation Previous MOHAWK MOTHERS: EXCAVATION STOPS & INJUNCTION STARTS Posted on October 28, 2022 Mohawk Nation News https:/... White Mesa Ute Spiritual March to Shut Down Uranium Mill Mohawk Warrior Society Book Launch Lakota Jean Roach: The True Story of Leonard Peltier Justice for Dad: Taylor Dewey Shares the Harsh Road to Justice Justice Dept Files Lawsuit Against Rapid City Hotel Western Shoshone Ian Zabarte Speaks on Radiation Archive Search This Blog About Censored News Censored News is published by Brenda Norrell. Since 2006, Censored News has received more than 20 million pageviews. As a collective of writers, photographers and broadcasters, we publish news of Indigenous Peoples and human rights. Contact publisher Brenda Norrell: brendanorrell@gmail.com From the publisher Censored News is published by Brenda Norrell, a journalist in Indian country for 40 years. Norrell created Censored News after she was censored and terminated as a staff reporter at Indian Country Today in 2006. She began as a reporter at Navajo Times during the 18 years that she lived on the Navajo Nation. She was a stringer for AP and USA Today and later traveled with the Zapatistas through Mexico. She has been blacklisted by all the mainstream media for 14 years. Contact brendanorrell@gmail.com Translate One of Nigerias most prolific novelists, Professor Isidore Okpewho passed on on Sunday at the age of 74. Here are seven things you should know about him; He was born in Agbor, Delta state on November 9, 1941, and attended St. Patricks college, Asaba. He graduated from the University of Ibadan with a first class honors in Classics He obtained his Ph.D. from the University of Denver, USA In 1976, he won the African Arts Prize for literature In 1993, he also won the Commonwealth Writers Prize He authored four novels; The Victims, The Last Duty, Tides,and Call me by my Rightful Name He is survived by his wife and four children A former Governor of Benue State, George Akume, has called on the people of the state to continue to pray and support the administration of Governor Samuel Ortom to succeed. Akume, who is the senator representing Benue North-West on the platform of the All Progressives Congress (APC), made the call at the weekend at the burial of Mama Sarah Dzeramo, mother of Baver Dzeramo, former lawmaker representing Tarka, who is also deceased. The former governor commended Mr. Ortom for keeping faith with the people through judicious use of scare resources and transparency in governance. Earlier, Gov. Ortom described the deceased as a courageous woman, who raised her children in the fear of the Lord. He also promised the people that the Wannune Tomato Processing Company will begin production before the year 2016 runs out. The governor noted that the massive turn out at the burial was a testimony that the late Baver was a man of the people in his lifetime. Governor Simon Lalong of Plateau state on Monday exonerated President Muhammadu Buhari of blame over the economic recession in the country. Mr. Lalong, who spoke at a ceremony held at the Government House, Rayfield, Jos, for the inauguration of his new aides, expressed confidence that the economy would be fixed. President Buhari is not responsible for the present economic challenges we are facing today in Nigeria, he stated, adding that, as a responsible government, we will fix the situation. We in Plateau state, we have to ensure that we revive our agriculture and mining sectors. We do not have money to give out to politicians but we will provide opportunities for our people to engage in farming and develop our agriculture to provide jobs and food, he added. At the ceremony, Lalong swore-in four special advisers, including a veteran journalist, Daniel Manjang, whom he named Special Adviser on Media and Publicity. Others appointed were Patrick Dariem for Finance and Investment; Nanven Nimfel for Political Affairs and Luka Madaki for Agriculture and Rural Development. The governor tasked the appointees to prove true to your credentials and experience. Speaking on behalf of the appointees, Mr. Manjang assured the governor that they would carry out their duties professionally and effectively. Top government functionaries of the state attended the ceremony. Ahead of the governorship election this Saturday in Edo State, President Muhammadu Buhari has been scheduled to lead members of the All Progressives Congress, APC, to the state tomorrow (Tuesday) for the grand finale of the partys governorship campaign. The Edo APC Chairman, Mr. Anselm Ojezua, disclosed this on Monday in Benin, the state capital, while speaking with journalists. According to Ojezua, Vice President Yemi Osinbajo and all APC governors would be at the grand finale of the Godwin Obaseki governorship campaign, which would take place at the Samuel Ogbemudia Stadium, Benin. The party chair further stated that the National Campaign Council for the election headed by Governor Akinwumi Ambode of Lagos state was already in the state to prepare grounds for the rally. He also said that all arrangements had been concluded to ensure that the event was hitch-free. All logistics to ensure free movement of the visitors and party supporters across the state have also been perfected. Anytime APC is holding rally, there is always mass mobilisation. Once the people know that the president is coming this time around, our people will be so excited to receive him, Ojezua added. The party chairman called on the people, in respective of party affiliation, to come out in their numbers to welcome the president and his entourage to the state. Meanwhile, the Samuel Ogbemudia Stadium is wearing a new look ahead of the event. The stadium witnessed a heavy presence of soldiers and other security operatives, who took charge to ensure adequate security ahead of the event. They were also seen at major roads leading in and out of the stadium. With about six days to the governorship election in Edo State, the candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Godwin Obasekis chances brightened last night, after he gave a good account of himself in a televised debate by candidates. Three other candidates Osagie Ize-Iyamu of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Osaro Onaiwu of All Progressive Grand Alliance (APGA) and Amos Areleogbe, Labour Party (LP) fielded questions from a team of Channels Television interviewers. The debate was organized by Channels TV in collaboration with an NGO, Enough Is Enough (EiE). Some respondents, who watched the 90-minute debate, rated Obaseki ahead in the way he spoke on the economy; how he would tackle the problem of insecurity in the state; plans to diversify and significantly boost the economy; and steps to tackle unemployment and create 200,000 jobs in four years. A student of the University of Benin, Joy Iredia, 21, said: Until now, I did not take much interest in politics. But listening to all the candidates speak, I was drawn in by the candidate of the APC, Mr. Godwin Obaseki, and how kept his focus on the issues and articulated his plans to take Edo State forward, particularly the use of technology as a tool for effective governance and job creation. A civil servant, Mr. Osahon Bello, said, The civil service forms the major workforce in Edo State. I align with Obasekis plan to restructure the civil service for efficiency and productive through robust training strategies to meet the challenges of fostering strong, sustainable and balanced economic growth. Obaseki, a renowned investment banker and wealth management expert of over 30 years, who chairs the Edo Economic Management Team in the Governor Adams Oshiomhole administration, said the economic challenges confronting the nation today are so complex that it takes someone with a full grasp of all the issues, and practical experience in solving complex economic problems, to lead the state on the path to prosperity. Referring to the simple agenda of PDPs Ize-Iyamu, the APC candidate said: Simple solutions cannot solve our complex political problems; they cannot solve our complex economic problems; and can definitely not solve our complex security problems. It is mental indolence to think there are simple solutions to our problems. He assured of better days ahead for Edo people, promising that his will be a people-oriented and inclusive government. The residents of Ugbor community, in Oredo Local Government Area of Edo State, in a peaceful protests carried out over the weekend has called on Governor Adams Oshiomole to help rehabilitate the Ugbor-Amagba road. The residents lamented the deplorable state of the road which is a death trap and has caused untold hardship on motorists and traders. They noted that several vehicles had broken down on the 5.1 kilometre road due to years of neglect. They added that the road has reduced patronage of customers to shops and transportation who claimed that they could no longer access the area. We have actually become internally displaced persons. We think it has come to a time when the government really needs to intervene, one of the protesters said. According to them, residents in some neighbouring communities, through their respective chairmen, had carried out palliative measures. Such efforts, however, did not last for long due to the busy nature of the road. One of the residents and a youth chairman in the area, Joshua Edo, said, Ugbor-Amagba road is worsening every day. I want to use this opportunity to beg the government to assist us with the road. Another resident, who identified himself as Honest described the road as a death trap, adding that the solution was one that could not be provided by the residents alone. The road has become a death trap. The road links us to other communities; it is a major road. We cannot do the road on our own. So, we are appealing fix it for us, he said. The National Youth Service Corps, NYSC, has reiterated the need for corps members taking part in the Edo State Governorship Election as electoral officers, to be adequately protected. The governorship polls is scheduled for Saturday, September 10. The Director-General of the NYSC, Brigadier General Sule Kazaure, made the call when he paid courtesy visits to various security agencies in Benin, the Edo State capital, on Monday. The NYSC boss visited 4 Mechanised Brigade, Police Headquarters and State Security Service offices. Brig.-Gen. Kazaure noted that the use of corps members as INEC ad-hoc staff, which was introduced in 2010, had contributed to the conduct of successful elections. He pointed out that collaboration among various security agencies with the NYSC during elections would go a long way in ensuring credible polls as well as the safety of corps members. We are soliciting for cooperation to ensure the safety of our corps members. We need adequate security for our corps members who will be participating in the process before, during and after the election, he said. In his remarks, Brigadier General Benbella Raji, who is in charge of 4 Mechanised Brigade, assured the NYSC director-general the corps members would be adequately protected. Their safety is paramount to us and we are working very closely with other security outfits to ensure the safety of everyone and peaceful environment during the election, Mr. Raji said. Similarly, the Commissioner of Police, Chris Ejike, also assured the NYSC boss of the security of every person who would participate in the Edo election. The names and addresses of the corps members participating in the election has been submitted to us and we will deploy our men to be on surveillance before, during and after the election. He, however, advised the corps members to shun violence during the poll, saying that anyone involved in electoral malpractices would be prosecuted. (NAN) Human rights lawyer and Senior Advocate of Nigeria, SAN, Mr. Femi Falana, has urged President Muhammadu Buhari to call to order, soldiers who took over a property owned by Robert Azibaola in Abuja. The soldiers had last Saturday sealed off the construction site of Kakarta Civil Engineering Limited, owned by Mr. Azibaola, a cousin to former President Goodluck Jonathan. Although the Nigerian Army is yet to formally react to the sealing off of the site, which shares boundary with the Lungui Barracks along the Kubwa-Asokoro expressway, Abuja, a military source said the move was borne out of security concerns. According to the source who spoke in confidence, the land was allocated to Mr. Azibaola by the last administration on strong recommendations by the Federal Capital Development Authority, FCDA, in spite of security concerns expressed by the military that the construction site, which houses explosives used in blasting rocks, could serve as a launch pad for attacks on the nearby Army Barracks. But Mr. Falana, in a statement on Sunday, described the soldiers occupation of the premises of the construction company, as illegal. The troops, who were reported to have driven away the workers in the premises, have since seized the property without a court order, he said. Sequel to the illegal action of the army of occupation, the innocent workers in the company have been dispatched to the unemployment market, the senior lawyer noted. Mr. Azibaola is currently facing prosecution by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission for the diversion of $40 million through One-Plus Holdings, a sister company of Kakarta Civil Engineering Limited, meant for securing oil pipelines contract. Mr. Azibaola had pleaded not guilty to the charge and is currently on bail. Falana stressed that the implication of the not guilty plea is that the former presidents cousin is presumed innocent until the contrary is proved by the prosecution. Therefore, if the Nigerian military authorities had wanted to dispossess him of the property in question they ought to have applied for a court order. But by taking over the property under the pretext that it constitutes a threat to a nearby military barracks, the military authorities took the law into their hands. The forceful seizure of the property should not be tolerated in a civilized society which operates under the rule of law, the statement said. Mr. Falana, therefore, called on the federal government to stop members of the armed forces from violating the rights of criminal suspects accused of engaging in the looting of the public treasury. By allowing the security forces to adopt Gestapo tactics in the recovery of the loot, the Buhari administration stands the risk of winning undeserved sympathy for the criminal suspects who are standing trial, he said. Indeed, the security forces are unwittingly colluding with corruption to fight back, the SAN added. He also accused the army of usurping the functions of the police to maintain law and order in the society, adding that power drunk military officers now declare civilians wanted. Even under the defunct military junta, the courts never condoned the forceful seizure of the assets of citizens by armed troops, said Mr. Falana. Since the seizure and the illegal occupation of Mr. Azibaolas property cannot be justified in law, the Chief of Army Staff, General Tukur Buratai should order the immediate withdrawal of the armed troops and sanction the officers who have exposed the nation to ridicule in the circumstance. Having regard to the massive infringements of the fundamental rights of the Nigerian people by armed soldiers, President Buhari should order the Army to stop interfering in the police duty of maintaining law and order in the country, Falana stated. Oyo state governor, Abiola Ajimobi, recently became a proud grandfather of twins as his daughter, Jibola and her husband welcomed their first babies together. The excited Governor was pictured holding the babies via a photo shared on Instagram. Their bundle of joy arrived just-in-time for their first wedding anniversary celebration. The Governor had walked his beautiful daughter down the aisle on September 10, 2015, in a wedding dress reported to be worth N23million naira! Ajibola wedded her heartthrob, Ayokunle Ajayi in Beirut, following their grand traditional wedding in Ibadan, Oyo state, Nigeria three weeks earlier. The Ajimobis spared no kobo as the entire household stepped out in grand style for the luxurious wedding that has remained in the memories of guests. A former Chairman of the House of Representatives Committee on Appropriation, Abdulmumin Jibrin, has said transparency and probity in the nations budgeting process, are the only means to avoid manipulations and padding of the document. The member representing Kiru/Bebeji federal constituency of Kano State on the platform of All Progressives Congress made the suggestion in a statement issued in Abuja on Sunday. Mr. Jibrin, who said he had identified solutions that are crucial in tackling individual and systemic corruption in the House, also listed e-parliament, one of the key points on the Legislative Agenda of Speaker Yakubu Dogara, as another effective way of making the budget process responsive. He posited that e-parliament would allow Nigerians to follow the due process. The former appropriation committee chair said the solutions struck him while he was suggesting ideas on how to end budget fraud in the National Assembly to members of the Prof. Itse-Sagay-led Presidential Advisory Committee Against Corruption last Wednesday. He said: The most important reform here is to ensure that budget estimates and details are returned to the floor of the House at the same time for passage. This will check the fraudulent insertions by some standing Committee Chairmen and Principal Officers in the process of budget passage. It is such gap that allowed Speaker Dogara, Lasun, Doguwa, Leo Ogor and few other committee Chairmen to perpetrate such monumental fraud in the 2016 budget. On the mismanagement of the internal budget of the House, the most important reform the House must embark on immediately is to ensure that the internal budget of the House must be circulated to members and made public so that Nigerians can see the expenditure of its elected officials. The running cost of members must be adjusted to a reasonable amount and made public but most importantly, the administration of the running cost must not be exposed to abuses as presently obtained. If these measures are carried out, we will not see such secrecy in running cost and monumental fraud in the management of the finances of the House and award of fraudulent and fictitious contracts under the watch of Speaker Dogara and the Chairman Houses services, Babanle Ila. Mr. Jibrin said the National Assembly could become transparent and efficient if it implements mechanisms that are in tune with modern day realities. On the issue of lack of transparency in the affairs of the House, every Member of the House of Representatives who loves this country must embrace the concept of open House. If we must tell ourselves the truth, the House operates as if it has so much to hide. And indeed it does have! The House must move quickly to implement e-Parliament to include a very functional website that can help track members activities, sitting attendance, movement of bills and motions, voting pattern on issues. There is also the need to activate the House intercom system so that our constituents can call a member straight on his office desk! I am aware many NGOs have offered to build some of these platforms free of charge but the House has refused to accept, Mr. Jibrin said. The lawmaker said he told the anti-graft panel to compel Mr. Dogara to refund the N40 billion proceeds of fraudulent manipulation of the 2016 budget, saying the funds could make an impact at this period. I have also offered to help remedy some of the fraud committed by Speaker Dogara and others in the 2016 budget. I have suggested that the N40 billion stolen can be returned so that it can be equitably distributed to all constituencies, he asserted. The Ooni of Ife, Oba Enitan Ogunwusi, on Sunday advocated the celebration of Yoruba icons and heroes while they were alive. Ogunwusi made the call when the crew of Apreel 1 Events Management visited him in his palace in Ile-Ife, Osun, to herald the 70th birthday of popular juju musician, Mr Sunday Adegeye, popularly known as King Sunny Ade (KSA). He said that KSA, has touched many lives in Yorubaland and the world through his music. Ogunwusi said that Sunny Ades brand of juju music cut across old and new generations, adding that he brought joy and happiness into several households. He said that he decided to support the 70th birthday celebration of KSA as a royal father, fan and to project the Yoruba race. The monarch pledged that he would give all necessary support toward a successful organisation of the anniversary. Earlier, Mr Seyifunmi Odunuga, Chief Executive Officer, Apreel 1 Events Management, gratitude to the monarch for his support of the event. Odunuga called for the celebration of Yoruba icons and heroes while they lived, and commended the traditional ruler for his efforts toward the preservation and projection of Yoruba culture and tradition. The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports Adegeyes birthday celebration would hold on Sept. 28 with a lecture entitled Music Industry: The Way Forward, at Oduduwa Hall, Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile Ife. The celebration would end with a dinner on the same day at the White House, Oonis Palace, Enuwa Square in Ile-Ife. With few days to the election, a middle-aged man was, weekend, arrested with about 25 Permanent Voters Card (PVCs) at Ugo in Orhionmwon Local Government Area of the state. The man was alleged to have been luring people by telling them that whosoever submits his/her PVC would be given a N200,000 empowerment loan. A resident of the area, who was involved in the arrest of the suspect, said: This morning, we got information that one boy was collecting PVCs from some people. We then decided to look for the boy. We were able to locate him as he was tracked to his house and 25 PVCs were found with him. The boy said he was asked to do so by some of his leaders in Ugo. He said he was told that anyone who surrendered his card will be given a loan worth of N200,000. That motivated the people to give out their cards. We then took the boy to the police station at Ugo. They had earlier warned him to stop what he was doing but he did not listen. Edo State Police Commissioner, Mr. Chris Ezike, confirmed the arrest pointing out that the suspect would be moved and the case transferred to the headquarters of the state police command in Benin. He, however, said: The information I received was that he was caught with 10 PVC s. I have instructed that the matter be transferred to the state headquarters. We have advised all to play by the rules Spokesperson for INEC in the state, Mrs. Priscillia Sule, who neither confirmed nor denied the incident, promised to contact the officials in charge of the area for details. Meanwhile, the PDP has written INEC over the identities of those who will conduct the election. Quoting from excerpts of its letter to INEC, PDP Publicity Secretary Chris O Nehikhare, in a statement, said: As part of our preparations for the Edo State gubernatorial election slated for Saturday September 10, 2016 we have formally requested for a meeting with staff (Local Government Collation Officers, Returning Officer for the State, Staff in charge of card readers, E-Collation Officers and members of the ICT team) of INEC assigned to the state to conduct the elections in Edo State. You will be aware that as at today 5/09/2016 (5 days before the elections), the names and identities of these staff have not been made public. Information available to us is that INEC has granted requests made by the APC for a similar meeting with the above mentioned staff. We are reliably informed that members of APC have been granted remote access to INEC servers and INEC e-collation platforms. We are informed that this was done in furtherance of a plan by certain officials of INEC to grant APC real time access to INECs e-collation platforms in a bid to enable them manipulate results on the field at polling stations where they are losing elections or disrupt the electoral process at such locations. We believe that such a meeting will avail us the opportunity to lay our complaints. Source: Vanguard The hardship in the country, under this administration, has really frustrated a lot of people, especially those who can no longer meet their daily needs. It is only in advanced countries where you see millionaires committing suicide due to some issues we count as trivial. Reverse is the case here. Hunger and extreme poverty has made many people take all kind of drastic decisions. Some has resulted into rubbery, kidnapping, rituals and so many other illegal and inhuman means of making money, just to survive. For some, they have taken a far worst decision of taking their own lives. This boy killed himself because no money to pay house rent and feed family. This happened at Aboru, Lagos. Source: Gidi Celeb A man slumped during the visit of Nigerias First Lady, Aisha Buhari to commission a cancer screening centre in Minna, Niger state on Saturday, Sept 3rd. The man was immediately attended to -by emergency officials who were on ground as they administered first aid to him while conveying him to the hospital. See more photos below. Source: National Helm Mr. Joachim Chinakwe, the Ogun State-based trader, who made news headlines when he was arrested last month by the police and charged to court for naming his pet dog Buhari, has outdone himself, this time, he named his newly-born daughter after the wife of the president, Aisha Buhari. The Assistant Inspector-General of Police (AIG) in charge of Zone II, Abdulmajid Ali, had in a statement to dispel speculations that Mr. Chinakwe was arrested on the orders of the Presidency, said the action was a pre-emptive move to prevent likely breach of public peace. Mr. Chinakwe, who regards President Muhammadu Buhari as his role model, may have decided to go a step further by naming his three-day old baby girl Aisha, in recognition of the wife of the president and perhaps, to demonstrate that he had no ill-intentions when he named his pet dog Buhari. Making the announcement yesterday, human rights activist and lawyer, Inibehe Effiong, said Chinakwe gave his newly-born daughter two names Mise and Aisha which she will bear concurrently. Mr. Effiong was Chinakwes lawyer in the case reported to the police by his northern neighbor, Alhaji Halilu Umar, who was offended by the name the trader gave his pet dog. See his tweets below: 1. Joachim Iroko Chinakwe, the man who named his dog 'Buhari' has done it again. He has just called to inform me that he has named his.. Inibehe Effiong (@InibeheEffiong) September 4, 2016 2. newly born baby/daughter after the wife of @NGRPresident. He has given his 3-day-old baby two names; Mise and Aisha. According to him Inibehe Effiong (@InibeheEffiong) September 4, 2016 3. Mise is a native Delta name which means 'I am doing it'. He said that he also named his daughter Aisha, after the wife of @NGRPresident Inibehe Effiong (@InibeheEffiong) September 4, 2016 4. and that she will bear the two names concurrently. Sincerely, I am short of words. I never for once contemplated this. Inibehe Effiong (@InibeheEffiong) September 4, 2016 Hopefully, Mr. Chinakwes latest antics wont land him in any trouble with his northern neighbours or the authorities. The immediate past Commandant of the elite Nigeria Police Staff College (PSC), Jos, Plateau State, retired Assistant Inspector General of Police (AIG) Joseph Mbu, has described the call for state police as an invitation to anarchy. There have been calls for Nigeria to decentralize its Police Force by amending the laws to allow states create, equip and fund their own police to meet the security challenges peculiar to each state. The retired AIG, however, faulted the calls, arguing that it was safer for only the Federal Government to be in control of the police than to have 38 authoritarian people 36 states, FCT and the Presidency. Mbu lamented that the police job was being hijacked by different people, urging those in authority to be aggressive in reclaiming the agencys glory. He spoke at a reception held in his honour by the Nigerian Youth Congress (NYC) in Effraya, Etung Local Government Area of Cross River State at the weekend. He said: The police job is being hijacked now by every Tom, Dick and Harry. Those in authority should know what to do, be aggressive about it and restore the glory of the police. State police is an invitation to anarchy. It is impossible. I say so because I have been best opportuned to serve as Commissioner of Police (CP) in five states and AIG of two zones. It is better for us to have only one person who is authoritarian than to have 38. There will be anarchy. It is better for the Federal Government to remain in control of the police. Then, the allocation that is given to the Governors as security vote should not be looked at as though it is their right. That money is supposed to be utilised effectively by assisting the police and other security agencies in their respective states. If such money get to the local government, the chairmen must use it to support the police. A situation where a local government chairman does not even know the DPO of his place cannot go well. Even at the state level where Governors send their SA on Security to be meeting or discussing with the Commissioner is very wrong. The Governors and the CPs must work together for better security. That is what they should do instead of canvassing splinter groups. Advising young officers to shun bribery, indiscipline, Mbu, whose latter years in the Police Force was marred by controversy, said that they should embrace God and remain committed to doing good. As a human being you must be determined and committed to doing the right thing. You have to do your job with passion and when you do that, God will bless you. If you want to be a courageous policeman, you must be upright. Young officers have heard or read about me and so if they want to be like me, they must shun corruption and indiscipline. You cannot take money and fight crime. Once you take money, you are compromised. But if you remain firm and shun corruption, God has a way of compensating you. God has compensated me and I am very happy with that. I decided to join the police after my NYSC. I was serving in Jos, then, they have not established the academy. I saw them and liked their uniform and that was how I went in. I have no regrets. If given the opportunity to serve again, I will still do the things I did, said Mbu. Governor of Kaduna State, Malam Nasir El-rufai, has visited Dangoma village, where world class nickel was recently discovered in commercial quantities, to assure members of the community of his readiness to provide them with basic social amenities. Gov. El-Rufai, who was represented by the Commissioner of Environment and Natural Resources, Shehu Balarabe, expressed his happiness and congratulated the community for the recent discovery of high-grade nickel in their land. During the visit, Malam Balarabe took samples of the nickel from the community while urging the inhabitants to live in peace with one another for the development of the area, the state and the country at large. Nigerians can now heave a sigh of relief following assurance by the Federal Government on Monday that there is no plan to increase pump price of petrol. There were speculations that the pump price of the product, currently capped at N145 a litre, was set to be reviewed upwards. This fear was further heightened when former Group Managing Directors of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, NNPC, at the weekend, called for an upward review of fuel price, arguing that the current price did not reflect the price-determining mechanisms of the commodity and the fluctuations of the foreign exchange rate. RELATED POST: NNPC To Raise Fuel Prices The Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Ibe Kachikwu and the Group Managing Director of the NNPC, Maikanti Baru, however, denied any plan to increase the pump price of petrol. They gave the assurance after meeting behind closed-doors with President Muhammadu Buhari at the State House in Abuja earlier today. Speaking with State House correspondents, Baru, in response to the question if there were plans to further increase the fuel price, said: There is nothing like that! Go to the Petroleum Products Pricing and Regulatory Agency (PPPRA). Mr. Kachikwu had earlier parried a similar question and directed the journalists to the GMD of the NNPC. But when pressed further on any possible fuel price hike, the minister stated: There is no more to that effect. Kachikwu specifically disclosed that there was no memo before the Federal Government seeking a review of the fuel price. The Superintendent General of the Deeper Christian Life Ministry, Pastor Williams F. Kumuyi, has debunked speculations that Nigeria could be Islamized. Some Nigerians have expressed fears that the unprovoked killings of non-Muslims in the North, lopsided appointments by President Muhammadu Buhari and reign of terror unleashed on communities across the country by suspected Fulani herdsmen, are part of a sinister agenda to Islamize the country. But Pastor Kumuyi, who spoke to journalists at the Margaret Ekpo International Airport, Calabar, when he arrived Cross River State for his churchs three-day revival programme, said the process of turning Nigeria into an Islamic state can be very tedious and cumbersome. He said, Imposing one religion on a country takes a long process and as such, nobody can Islamize or Christianise Nigeria. Reacting to the alleged killing of Christians, the cleric said no religion encourages the killing of others, so the reported killing of Christians in some parts of the country has to be investigated before reaching a conclusion on who carried out the killings. He said, We are passing through a stage though this is one of the worst recessions in the country and we cannot put the blame on one thing or person as the cause of it because different things contributed at different times to the climax we have now. North Korea has fired three medium-range missiles that travelled about 620 miles and landed near Japan in an apparent show of force timed to coincide with the Group of 20 economic summit. North Korea has staged a series of recent missile tests with increasing range, part of a programme that aims to eventually build long-range nuclear missiles capable of striking the US mainland. All three missiles fell in Japans exclusive economic zone, the 200-nautical-mile offshore area where a nation has sovereign rights for exploring and exploiting resources, according to Tokyos Defence Ministry. Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga called the launches a serious threat to Japanese security and said that Tokyo protested to North Korea via the Japanese Embassy in Beijing. The United States also condemned the launches, saying it was discussing with allies about the proper response and plans to raise concerns at the UN. The US also plans to bring up the issue during the East Asia summit in Laos this week. News / Regional by Pamela Shumba THREE people died and one of them was burnt beyond recognition in a horrific accident involving three haulage trucks at the 82km peg along the Bulawayo-Victoria Falls Road in Insuza.The accident occurred on Saturday at about 7PM and by 8PM last night, the road was still closed to traffic and there were fears that a gas tanker that was involved in the accident could explode.Vehicles were using a detour through the bush and the Bulawayo Fire Brigade erected no smoking signs around the accident scene as gas was still leaking from a tanker that was involved in the accident.One of the trucks that was involved in the accident was travelling from Zambia to Bulawayo while the other two were travelling from Bulawayo headed for Zambia.One of the trucks had two people on board while the other two had one person each. The only surviving accident victim was admitted to Mpilo Central Hospital and his legs were crushed.When The Chronicle arrived at the accident scene yesterday at around 2PM, the remains of one of the accident victims could be seen underneath the shell of a truck belonging to Crown Africa Logistics.One of the trucks that was involved in the accident had Zambian registration numbers and was transporting 17 000kg of LPG gas to the neighbouring country.There was a traffic jam as some vehicles, including buses, bogged in the sand at the accident scene.Motorists, passengers and villagers had to help each other to push the vehicles and clear the jam.Bulawayo Fire Brigade divisional officer Mr Danmore Chimbadzwa, who was at the accident scene, said three people died while one sustained serious injuries.He said it was suspected that the truck from Zambia sideswiped with the first truck coming from Bulawayo before colliding head on with the second one, which was also coming from Bulawayo.The accident sparked a fire that burnt one of the drivers beyond recognition."The accident occurred at about 7PM and the Fire Brigade arrived at the scene at about 9PM. One person survived but he was critically injured. He was crushed from the abdomen downwards and he was rushed to Mpilo Central Hospital. Two bodies were found at the scene and they were taken to the mortuary."We later received information from one of the truck owners that there could be another body because one of their workers was missing. This prompted us to search thoroughly and we saw burnt bones under the shell of one of the trucks," said Mr Chimbadzwa."We're waiting for a heavy duty recovery truck to come and retrieve the bones from underneath the shell of the truck."We also need to clear this gas tank before we can open the road to motorists because it's dangerous. The owners of the truck said they're bringing another tanker so that they decant the gas".A villager from the area, Mr Sineni Mathe, who lives about 2km from the accident scene, said they heard a loud noise at about 7PM before they saw a ball of fire from a distance. "We heard a loud noise which sounded like explosives that are used in mines. We then saw fire and we knew something terrible had happened. Unfortunately no one was brave enough to come because there are hyenas around this area," said Mr Mathe.Efforts to get a comment from the police were fruitless last night. US President Obama says an agreement with Russia on ending the violence in Syria is being hampered by gaps of trust between the two governments. Asked by CNNs Michelle Kosinski about his meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin, the President described it as candid and blunt focusing mainly on Syria and Ukraine. Mr. Obama called the discussion on Syria productive about what a real cessation of hostilities would actually look like. We have had some productive conversations about what a real cessation of hostilities would look like that would allow us both to focus our attention on common enemies. Obama added that currently the gaps have not been closed in negotiations between Russia and the US in a way that they think would actually work. Obama urged Kerry and Lavrov to work together in the coming days to get aid to those in need. Obama and his Russian counterpart Putin met Monday as talks between their governments on ending violence in Syria ended without an agreement. The two leaders conversed on the sidelines of the Group of 20 summit here for ninety minutes, a senior US official said, and worked to clarify gaps in negotiations over on the Syrian crisis. The pair also discussed Ukraine and Russias cyber intrusions, the official said. The exchange came after talks between Secretary of State John Kerry and his Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov failed to result in a Syria ceasefire agreement. They had been working to negotiate a plan that would have boosted military cooperation between the two nations in an effort to better target terrorists and prevent civilian deaths. Negotiators failed to work through differences, and the talks have ended for now. Following Obamas meeting with Putin, an official said the leaders indicated a desire for Kerry and Lavrov to reconvene deliberations in the coming days. It was constructive, a US official said after the meeting, noting that all differences were not resolved. The official spoke anonymously to discuss a private conversation. Its clear now what our respective positions are, the official said. And well see in coming days whether on Syria we can reach a near-term agreement. If we cannot get the type of agreement we want, we will walk away from that effort. Differences between the two sides are technical, the official indicated, suggesting the divide was at a level that Obama and Putin wouldnt negotiate themselves. President Obama and President Putin were not going to get down into the weeds of the language of an agreement and the implementation associated with the agreement, the official said. Photos of the session distributed by the Kremlin show the two leaders and aides, including Kerry and US National Security Adviser Susan Rice, seated around a table. The presidents appeared in congenial moods, with one photo showing Putin smiling broadly. Both Russian and US officials said the meeting which was held in a conference room at the G20 summit site here lasted longer than planned, and that leaders spent the bulk of their meeting discussing Syria. Source: CNN Winner of the Ondo State governorship primary election conducted by the All Progressives Congress, APC, Oluwarotimi Akeredolu (SAN), has described Senator Bola Tinubu as the partys respected leader, whose blessings, he is anticipating. This is just as he denied a report that he said Tinubu would be shocked on the outcome of the result of the primary held at the weekend. Prior to the primary, there were speculations another aspirant, Segun Abraham, had been endorsed by Mr. Tinubu, a national leader of the APC, who wields unrivaled influence in the politics of the Southwest geo-political zone. But that influence appeared to have whittled down a little bit with the defeat of Mr. Abraham, who went into the primary election as favourite to clinch the APC ticket. Mr. Abraham garnered 635 votes to place second behind the partys candidate, who got 669 votes. Speaking with reporters following his announcement as winner of the primary, Mr. Akeredolu, a former National President of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), said he was surprised to read such report credited to him, adding that going through the content of the report, there was nowhere he said the APC leader would be shocked by the outcome of the contest. He reiterated his respect for Tinubu as the partys leader and expressed optimism that the former Lagos Governor will give his blessings to his governorship ambition. He said: I never said so. If you read that interview, you will never see where I used such word. Tinubu is the leader of the party and I have respect for him. He was here in Ondo State during the last governorship election and which I contested as the candidate of the defunct Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN). He spent his money and his time and I am sure this time around, he will also be here to support me. I always believe that he is somebody that I am waiting to see his blessing on who will emerge from free and fair primary and God has endorsed me. The candidate was, however, confident that the APC would go into the poll as a united family. He also hailed the APC Primary Election Committee headed by Jigawa State Governor, Alhaji Muhammad Badaru Abubakar, for providing level playing field for all the contestants. We have witnessed the most transparent, free and fair primary poll. We have been talking about you and your electoral committee. I mean all of us the aspirants particularly your approach to us sir. It is been wonderful. You are respectful and you gave us the opportunity to be part of this primary. You are accommodating and you listen to us and there was no any time you try to force. Today is a great day in the anal of this state. We are 24, who contested in this exercise. They are great men and a woman, and who are eminently qualified to be governor of this state. I want to appreciate all the aspirants for the wonderful relationship we had throughout the campaign. We are looking forward for all of us to work together. I have said it over and over that when politics is on competition for position, it will raise a lot of dust. It is normal but when the dust is settled, we must work as one family and I know all the aspirants are going to work together as one family so that we can win during the poll. We dont need to give any signal to the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) or the incumbent governor. He knows that we have come and on undoubtedly, we will produce the next governor. APC will be united for this campaign, we are going to carry everybody along, Akeredolu said. One of the leading aspirants in the last Saturdays governorship primary election of the All Progressives Congress, APC, in Ondo State, Olusola Oke, has alleged irregularities in the process. Mr. Oke said the governorship primary, which returned a former National President of the Nigerian Bar Association, Rotimi Akeredolu (SAN) as winner, was marred by irregularities. According to him, over 500 illegal delegates were included in the list of delegates, while authentic voters were denied the opportunity to vote. Speaking through his Director of Campaign, Bola Fisayo, in Akure, the state capital on Sunday, Mr. Oke said the illegal delegates were not constitutionally elected as delegates of the party. The illegal delegates voted because the organizers introduced a delegates manifest with which tags were issued and which admitted the delegates into the centre, said Mr. Oke, the candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, in the 2012 governorship election in the state. The aspirant insisted that the list of delegates used deferred from the authentic list, pointing out that some delegates were deliberately omitted and replaced with those who were not elected as officials of the party. Mr. Oke, who had an impressive outing by scoring 576 votes to come third behind Olusegun Abraham despite joining the APC in March, 2015, also alleged that the illegal voters were used to rig the election after they were given multiple ballot papers to vote for a particular candidate. We have made representations to the appeals committee already, hoping that it would look into the process, he said. Mr. Oke was reluctant to congratulate Mr. Akeredolu after the latter was declared winner in the early hours of Sunday, saying he would review the exercise and come out with a position. He also said those insinuating that he would leave the party if he failed to win the primary, were only expressing their personal opinions. In a swift reaction, the Ondo APC spokesman, Omooba Adesanya, said the primary was transparent and devoid of any form of malpractices. He also countered the argument that the list of delegates used was not the authentic one. According to the party spokesman, the list earlier available to aspirants was not authentic because it did not have the names of some elected officials who should be there. For example, the name of the Woman Leader, South, who has been in that position for the past two years was not in that list of delegates, Mr. Adesanya said. These issues were raised and the Appeals Committee made a recommendation, but congress could not implement that list before the 2015 election and so the faulted list continued to be in use. Now that the national body got interested, Kekemeke (state party chairman) had no choice but to submit the authentic list which was used by the organising committee of the primary. The runner up in the Saturdays governorship primary election of All Progressives Congress (APC) in Ondo State, Mr. Segun Abraham, yesterday congratulated the winner, Oluwarotimi Akeredolu, SAN. He promised to work for the partys victory in the November 26 poll. Abraham, who was widely tipped to emerge winner of the keenly contested primary, garnered 635 votes while the eventual winner, Mr. Akeredolu, got 669 votes. Twenty-three aspirants participated in the primary. Speaking in an interview with reporters at his home in Akure, the state capital, the aspirant hailed the partys electoral committee members, led by Jigawa State Governor, Muhammad Abubakar Badaru Abubakar, for being transparent during the exercise. He also praised his supporters for their love and dedication during the campaign. He assured them that their efforts would never be in vain. Mr. Abraham said: I want to thank the people of Ondo State for the love they gave me and I pray that the revival that I prayed for Ondo State, God will bring it back. I want to thank my party, APC, which is the most respected party in West Africa. It is the only party that we can trust all over the world on transparency. I want to thank all the leaders, particularly President Muhammdu Buhari, for sanitising this nation by reducing corruption. As a loyal and dedicated member of APC, I will continue to be loyal and continue to work for the progress of my party. I want to tell the people of Ondo State that you are my people and I am your son. I will not turn my back and I will continue to put your matter before me as one of the priorities in whatever capacity that God allows me to assist this state, especially in the area of industrialisation, area of poverty reduction, area of wealth creation and area of reviving of values. I want to tell you that by Gods grace, Ondo State will be great. I thank God that has made me to be a Nigerian and I thank God that I am an Ikare man from Akoko. I want to thank our fathers and mothers from Akoko for the love and dedication they gave this project. They came out united to ensure that I win the primary, they even prayed and fast and they did all they could so that our state also will develop. I want to thank the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) and Muslim community for their prayers throughout my campaign. I believe that the state must move forward and I believe that APC must take the state from PDP. Pastor of Cherubim and Seraphim Church of Zion at Igando area of Lagos and a mother of seven have been arrested for allegedly keeping guns and preparing food for militants. However, the pastor, who identified himself as Governor Peretun, denied the allegation. According to the police, Peretun used to keep guns for militants. These militants were part of those who, two months ago, repeatedly invaded Ewedogbon community in Igando area of the state and wreaked havoc on residents. The police said: The pastor was aiding the militants in pipeline vandalism. Even the boats, which were used in the Agbara bank robbery operation where a policeman was shot dead, were kept in his custody. The police said that Peretun was arrested along with a 47-year-old mother of seven, Ebimobe JoJo. Police said that Jojo was the one cooking for the militants in the Igando creek area. Peretun said that he was once a fisherman but abandoned that trade after the Holy Spirit directed him to move into the creek and establish a church there. The suspect said he was about to board a bus at Iba Bus Stop, heading to Ondo State, when police detectives arrested him. He said: After I built my church, I opened up the waterways to allow people to start paddling their boats through the routes. After a while, I started buying fuel from the militants. I used to buy 50 litres for N1,000. I would then resell for N1,500, which was how we became friends. They used to visit me and I also usually visit them in the creek. There was a time operatives of Department of State Services (DSS) stormed the creek. I was arrested. After explaining myself to them, I was set free. The DSS men, however, warned me to stop buying from the militants. But I didnt. Stating her own side of the story, JoJo said she used to buy fuel from the militants in the creek. She added: I dont cook food for them, but I used to go with food for them, so that they would sell fuel to me on credit. Anytime I go to buy fuel from the militants, I dont leave early, to avoid being arrested. When they saw that I used to come with food, they told me to be preparing food for them. They said they couldnt come out of the creek. Whenever I go to buy fuel from them, the leader of the militants called TK and his boys are always armed with AK47. They also dressed in military uniform; initially I thought they were soldiers. The police said that Peretuns face was captured while he was hiding the militants guns. The police added that Jojos face was also captured while she was taking food to the militants in the creek. The police said their faces were captured by drone deployed into the coastal area after the militants invaded the community. New Telegraph had reported that the militants on July 24 invaded Ewedogbon and unleashed terror on the residents. The Divisional Police Officer (DPO) was shot in the back, while the Divisional Crime Officer (DCO), sustained gunshot injury while being chased by militants. Source: New Telegraph Ahead of the September 10 governorship election in Edo State, the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, has called on its members to resist arrests by the police unless theres a warrant to such effect. The party said it was issuing the statement because it uncovered an alleged plot by the governor of the state, Comrade Adams Oshiomhole, to use police officers attached to him for harassment and intimidation of its members. In view of the unconstitutionality of this wicked act, the PDP has instructed our members to resist henceforth all police arrests not backed by any relevant warrant of arrest, the party said in a statement by its spokesman in Edo State, Chris Nehikhare. We want to again call on all lovers of peace and democracy to prevail on the governor and his party, the APC to tow the path of sportsmanship and decency in the contest for the office of the governor of Edo State which comes up in a few days, Nehikhare said. The party, therefore, urged the police hierarchy to take steps to forestall outbreak of violence in the state, warning that failure to do so, its members would not be liable for breakdown of peace that may result from this attempt to deny law abiding citizens the freedom to make their choice and exercise their franchise, We call on the Nigerian Inspector-general of Police, the Assistant Inspector-general of Police in charge of Zone 5 to immediately intervene and find urgent ways to reverse this unholy and unwarranted harassments of PDP leaders. This call is necessary because there is a limit to the patience of PDP members and we cannot guarantee their reaction if these unprovoked arrests by Governor Oshiomholes men continue unchecked, the PDP said. The Osun State Government has asked Nigerians to ignore attempts by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the state to water down the laudable achievements of the Rauf Aregbesola administration. The opposition party in the state had accused the Aregbesola administration of misleading President Muhammadu Buhari when he visited the state last week to formally commission the Osogbo High School, as part of activities to mark the 25th anniversary of the creation of Osun State. The Osun PDP chairman, Hon. Soji Adagunodo had in a statement issued last Friday, said the edifice commissioned by the president is not a public school but a fee charging one to be managed commercially until the loan taken to build it is repaid. We want to alert the public and President Muhammadu Buhari that they were deceived as the new school is not a public school as publicly presented at the commissioning. Contrary to reports presented to the president and the public, the school is more or less a business outfit to charge high fees in an impoverished Osun State, Mr. Adagunodo said in the statement. In its reaction, the government, through its Bureau of Communication and Strategy in the Office of the Governor, said the allegation from the PDP was no more than a case of sour grape arising from its shattered expectation that President Buhari would not honor the state with his presence to commission the school. PDP lacks the capacity to comprehend the administrations strategies to make education quality in Osun catch up and surpass what any elite school in Nigeria offers. It said the Aregbesola administration has a comprehensive strategy towards changing the face of education and bringing it to the same level of what any elite schools in Nigeria can offer. The Bureaus statement, signed by its Director, Mr. Semiu Okanlawon, asked Nigerians to demand from the PDP which insights it has into the workings of the Osun Governments various strategies to turn around the fortune of education in the state. The Bureau noted that the opposition partys claim could only be its own imagination arising from its anti-people orientation that whatever is good, modern, spectacular and qualitative is an exclusive preserve of its own class of elite. The Bureaus statement said, We are not like them. This is a case of sour grape on the part of the PPD that wants to disparage the great achievements of the governor. Aregbesolas mission in education is to democratize it and bring it to the poor who could possibly never have been opportune to be educated along children of the affluent in Nigeria. The Bureau said so far, no fewer than 50 of the Osun Governments school projects are already open for use, demanding which one has been changed to high fee paying school. As at today, Osun has completed no fewer than 50 of such mega schools across the state that has already been put to use by Osun pupils without the PDPs imaginary high fees. Which one of the schools such as Anthony Udofia Government Elementary School, Salvation Army Government Middle School, Adventist Government High School, Ede, Ansar-ul-Deen Elementary School, Isale Osun, Osogbo or any other school has become a high fee paying school since their commissioning? the Bureau demanded It said that the Aregbesola administrations refusal to be slowed down in its development agenda has remained a source of a headache to the opposition, adding that none of the claims of the party against the governor has been found to be reliable or true since the PDP embarked on its mission to destroy Osun. But we cannot be bogged down by the emptiness of PDPs ideas and the hollowness of the partys arguments. They said it openly that Buhari would not honor Osun people with his visit. Mr. President came and he was enthusiastically welcome by all the people of Osun. He was pleasantly surprised by the landmark and enviable achievements of Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola in the educational sector through his numerous interventionist initiatives, the Bureau said Stating that those who seek to diminish Aregbesolas achievements are only on a self-immolation mission, the Bureau said PDPs inability to comprehend the current administrations program of changing the fortune of education in the state could only help to sink the party into its abyss of extinction. It is gratifying that Nigerians know the PDP for what it is: a lying party and a dying party, it added. The Bureau noted that since the commissioning of the Osogbo Government High School on Thursday, there have been calls from far and nearby parents, who are under intense pressure from their children who desire to be enrolled in Osun schools. Nothing could be more of a confirmation that Osun has set a laudable example on how Nigerian children should be educated, the Bureau asserted. Concluding its statement, the Bureau said, The PDP is a disillusioned party and when a party is disillusioned, it hallucinates and the outcome of PDPs hallucination is this baseless criticism of Aregbesolas historical and landmark achievements. The party is a rejected party that can never come back to life again in Nigeria. Its soul, to use the words of its former leader, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo, has left it long ago, Okanlawon remarked. Controversial Filipino president, Rodrigo Duerte has reacted aggressively to Americas concern over human rights abuses in the country. Duerte was elected on the back of promises to rid the country of notorious drug cartels which sponsored a booming illicit drug trade. His decision to introduce a shoot to kill mandate to policemen to suspected drug dealers has led to a death toll of almost 2,500 people in just a matter of months. He has been nicknamed The Punisher, for his brutal methods and ahead of a meeting at the Asean conference, Duerte said, referring to President Obama; You must be respectful. Do not just throw away questions and statements. Son of a whore, I will curse you in that forum, We will be wallowing in the mud like pigs if you do that to me, A jealous housewife, Oluwakemi Etu, yesterday morning hacked her husband, Mr. Kehinde Etu, down with machete, leaving him in a coma and pool of blood. The Nation gathered that the woman who attacked the man when he fell asleep shortly after making love to her, also had an argument with him in connection with alleged moves to marry a second wife. The Nation gathered that Oluwakemi had invited the husband over to her residence at the Erinlu area of Ijebu Ode, Ogun State, to spend the weekend with her without suspecting any foul play. It was learnt further that while he was there, he was treated warmly by the woman, luring him into false sense of security only to attack him savagely with machete later, inflicting several deep cuts on his chest, arms, shoulder and lower part of the head in his sleep. The Acting Police Public Relations Officer, Ogun State Police Command, Mr. Abimbola Oyeyemi, who confirmed the incident, said Oluwakemi has been arrested by policemen from the Obalende Divisional Police Headquarters, Ijebu Ode. He added that the woman had quarrelled with her husband earlier by night before carrying out the surprise attack on him with cutlass. The injured husband is currently receiving treatment at the State General Hospital, Ijebu Ode. A source at the hospital told The Nation that the man said he never knew what hit him, having passed out and that it was later he discovered himself on the hospital with deep cuts on his chest and other parts of the body. A source at the hospital told The Nation that Kehinde regained consciousness at the hospital. Source: The Nation The Plateau State chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has said it is expecting a mass defection of its former members from the All Progressives Congress (APC). The party hinged its belief of an impending mass defection to its fold on the widening gulf within the ruling APC and the widespread discontentment from Plateau people over the inability of the government of the day to meet their development aspirations. The Plateau PDP Chairman, Damishi Sango, who made this known in a chat with journalists in Jos, the state capital yesterday, claimed that the party was under pressure to accept those who have indicated their intention to return to their former party. Our people have waited one year plus now to be fed with excuses. They can no longer take excuses from the party that promised solutions. Within the APC, there is growing discontent. The party is alienating members, most of whom, have no idea where the governor and the party structure are heading to. So, we are having pressure to accept people, who are already making indications. We are making arrangements to formally receive them. Our doors are always open, said Sango. He said with three senators, six out of seven House of Representatives members, 10 out of 23 House of Assembly members, the PDP is still a force to reckon with in the state. This means the APC government of Simon Lalong cannot excite anybody to join him in that party, he added. But in a swift reaction, the Publicity Secretary of the Plateau APC, Chindo Dafat, said the APC had won all the rerun elections in the state since 2015. We won all re-run elections. We dont believe in making noise. Our party is busy with issues of governance, trying to clear the mess the PDP handed to us, Dafat said. News / Regional by Staff reporter STATE Security minister, Kembo Mohadi, yesterday broke ranks with the Zanu-PF leadership, when he accused the government of denying national hero status to some deserving war cadres, particularly former-PF-Zapu members.Addressing mourners at the burial of former Zapu official and ex-detainee, Mugibela Phillip Kibi Muleya, who died last week and was declared a liberation war hero, Mohadi said: "To us, he deserved more than this, we wanted him to be declared a national hero and buried at those hills (Heroes' Acre)."But we are not sure how it (hero selection process) is done. We should have been at the national shrine as we speak."President Robert Mugabe has on several occasions declared that the National Heroes Acre was a Zanu-PF members' club only.Many Zimbabweans, particularly from former-PF-Zapu have, albeit with muffled voices, questioned the criteria used in declaring heroes.Mohadi, the Member of Parliament for Beitbridge East, urged his constituents to uphold their Venda culture and shun intrusion by Shonas and Ndebeles."We, the Vendas, are closer to God than they are and we should not allow them to destroy our culture," he said, after giving a brief narration of Beitbridge and his role in the liberation struggle.Mohadi told mourners he fired three bullets before he was arrested and detained in Bulawayo."I was on my mapping assignment when the Rhodesian Special Branch connered us at the High Court. The deceased, Muleya, was our driver and I managed to fire just three rounds," he said.The late Muleya reportedly died a bitter man after being denied the Beitbridge senatorial seat grabbed by Mohadi's wife, Tambudzani.Muleya is survived by his wife, Malaika, and eight children. The Lagos State Police Command said they have arrested a 22-year-old suspected robber, Moses Akpan, who has been terrorizing residents of Oniru, in the Lekki area of the state with toy guns. According to reports, Akpan, who was found in possession of a toy gun following his arrest had successfully dispossessed residents of their valuables on Oniru Market Road around 2pm on Thursday. However, nemesis caught up with the Akwa Ibom State indigene, when operatives of the Maroko Division trailed him to his house and arrested him. Confirming the arrest, the State Police Spokesperson, SP Dolapo Badmos, said a refrigerator among other items were recovered from the suspects house The case is under investigation and the suspect will be charged to court. The suspect has also confessed to the use of a toy gun for robbery, she said. A cousin to former President Goodluck Jonathan is in fresh trouble for alleged security threat. Armed soldiers yesterday sealed off the construction site of Kakarta Civil Engineering Limited owned by Azibaola Robert for sharing a boundary with the Lungui Barracks of the Nigerian Army on the Kubwa/Asokoro Expressway, Abuja. Azibaola, his wife, Stella and their firm are currently on trial over alleged payment of $40million into the bank account of one of their companies, One Plus Holdings Nigeria Limited, by the Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA). The EFCC has traced the source of the $40million to a bank in London. The cash was allegedly wired through Citibank N. A. Canada Square Canary, Wharf London E 145 LB into the account of One Plus Holdings Nigeria Limited. The $40million came from the account of the Special Services Office of the Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF). It was gathered that the Kakarta Civil Engineering Limited site was allocated to Azibaola by the last administration. The company is providing engineering infrastructure for the Maitama Extension District in Abuja. The army, The Nation gathered yesterday, is uncomfortable with the site sitting so close to the Lungui Barracks. The army is said to be particularly worried by the blasting of rocks and crushing of granite near the barracks, claiming that terror sect Boko Haram could take advantage of the site to attack the barracks. Sources said that the administration of ex-President Jonathan ignored the fears raised by the army prior to the allocation of the land to the company and proceeded to give the go ahead following a strong recommendation from the Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA). The new official residences of the Senate President and some principal officers of the National Assembly as well as other highly-placed Nigerians are located in the affected Maitama Extension District in Abuja. The site is being used as a base for the coordination of the provision of services for the owners of plots in the District. Soldiers who were drafted to the site at about 8pm on Friday, sealed off the site yesterday, preventing workers from entering the construction site. The soldiers said they were acting on orders from above. A top military source said: The truth is that the site was actually annexed from the land belonging to the Nigerian Army in violation of the FCT Master Plan. Lungi Barracks is just part of plans for military use of the land. Despite the fact that it is a military zone, the land was allocated to some bigwigs including Azibaolas company (Kakarta Civil Engineering Limited). If you ask the management of the construction company, they will tell you that there had been issues on the site from the onset. For political reasons, the Jonathan administration approved that the site be converted from military use to other purposes. If you go to the site, you will see that it has grave security implications for Lungi Barracks. Each time there is a blast, it affects the military. The incessant blasting of rocks had forced soldiers to mobilise many times as if enemies were around. It was not clear on whose instruction the soldiers took over the site at press time. One of the site workers, Mr. Maxwell Udom, alleged that no eviction notice was served on Kakarta Civil Engineering Limited. Udom said:We closed from work yesterday (Friday) peacefully. We came to work on Saturday to continue with our previous job only to see that the site had been invaded by armed military men. Their leader refused to explain what brought them here. He only warned us not to come close to the gate in our interest. We have no option than to obey the order. As I speak, we are confused on what led to this action. The Public Affairs Manager of Kakarta Civil Engineering Limited! Mr. Austin Ekeinde, admitted that the site was under soldiers siege. He said: I can confirm to you that armed military men have suddenly taken over our site in Maitama and we have asked our workers to go back to their respective homes till further notice, while we try to get clarification from the military on their provocative action. This action has led to huge losses as even asphalt we cooked overnight for laying this morning has been allowed to cake and waste. Source: The Nation The Federal Government on Sunday condemned the letter of a United States Congressman, Tom Marino, which asked his country to withhold security aid to Nigeria. Congressman Marino, in the letter, addressed to the US Secretary of State, John Kerry, alleged infractions on some principles and local and international regulations and conventions by the President Muhammadu Buharis administration. The Congressman was apparently reacting to Kerrys recent visit to Nigeria about two weeks ago, during which he hailed Buharis ongoing war against insurgency and corruption, reiterating his countrys support for the current administration. In its response, the Federal Government described the letter as sadly out of tune with reality. A statement by Mr. Segun Adeyemi, Special Adviser to the Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, said Congressman Marino was poorly informed about the issues he commented on, wondering why he did not take the pains to get first-hand information from the US Embassy in Nigeria or any other credible source before engaging in what it termed nothing but a propaganda of his own imagination. By asking the US to refrain from selling warplanes and other military equipment to Nigeria based on a faulty premise, the minister said Marino has demonstrated a poor understanding of global security issues. Insecurity anywhere is insecurity everywhere. Had Congressman Marino understood this, he would not have made the kind of call he made concerning the US security assistance to Nigeria. The Boko Haram insurgency that Nigeria has decisively dealt with under President Muhammadu Buhari is not just a Nigerian problem but a regional and international crisis, he said. Alhaji Mohammed said the Congressman definitely did not have Nigeria in mind when he wrote that the US should withhold security assistance to Nigeria until President Buhari demonstrates a commitment to inclusive government and the most basic tenets of democracy: freedom to assemble and freedom of speech. According to the minister, an administration that operates purely on the basis of respect for the rule of law and a strict adherence to constitutional order is not one to deny the citizens of their constitutionally-guaranteed rights. This Administration, therefore, does not need the goading of Congressman Marino or anyone for that matter to do what is right, he said. On the claims by the Congressman that the Buhari administration was not running an inclusive government, the statement said had he done his homework properly before dispatching his letter, he would have realized that no part of the country is left out in the distribution of political appointments. It cited the appointment of ministers as an example, pointing out that it was done in accordance with the Constitution that mandates the president to appoint at least one minister from each of the 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory. Had the Congressman sought information from credible sources before engaging in a flight of fancy, he would have been presented with a comprehensive information on the appointment of CEOs for Federal Governments parastatals, agencies and commissions that shows that the appointments were almost evenly matched along the line of the six geo-political zones in the country: With the North West having 51, North Central 46, North East 45, South East 41, South West 45 and South-South 45, he said. The Congressman may wish to note that each geo-political zone comprises 6 states, with the exception of North West (7) and South East (5). The Minister described Congressman Marinos description of the Administrations anti-corruption efforts as selective as a tired argument that clearly shows that the US lawmaker must have appended his signature to someones concocted line. That line was invented by those seeking to cause an unnecessary distraction from the Administrations anti-corruption efforts, and it has been roundly rejected. Congressman Marinos decision to exhume the dead postulation without an iota of proof is a reflection of whose side he has taken in the ongoing efforts to rid Nigeria of corrupt elements. Needless to say that the anti-corruption battle will continue unhindered, irrespective of whose ox is gored. And in this fight, only the guilty needs be afraid, he said. The minister said Nigeria is delighted that Mr. Kerry, to whom the Congressman addressed his letter, is more knowledgeable, better briefed and definitely more hands on concerning Nigerian issues. Investigative journalist, Ahmed Salkida, who was declared wanted along with two others-Ahmed Bolori and Aisha Wakil-by the Nigerian Army over Boko Harams latest video, has been arrested on arrival at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport in Abuja, on Monday. The journalist, who arrived the Airport aboard Emirates flight EK 785 was arrested from the door of the aircraft. A passenger, who had a conversation with him while on-board the flight, told Vanguard, Salkida knew he would be arrested because he had been declared wanted by the State Security Service (SSS). I recognized the journalist from photos posted on the Internet and engaged him in conversation throughout the seven-hour flight, said the passenger who sat next to him during the journey. She said Mr. Salkida told her that he expected to be arrested upon arrival because he was traveling with an Emergency Travel Certificate (ETC) and that the State Security Service (SSS) was aware of his coming. He expressed fear that he would not be given a fair trial and accused the government of pronouncing him guilty without trial. He also said he didnt know the whereabouts of the missing Chibok girls as claimed by the Nigerian army. However, he admitted to receiving two video clips from Boko Haram before they were released to the public. He said Boko Haram had confidence in his objectivity as an investigative journalist, having previously interviewed Mohammed Yusuf, the founding leader of Boko Haram. Recall that barely a day after being declared wanted by the Federal Government for alleged association with Boko Haram terrorists, Ahmad Salkida, has said he should be commended for making sacrifice to free the Chibok girls rather than being labelled an accomplice. Source: Vanguard On Friday we told you how the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) had outlined its disappointment in Co-Op Insurance (see CMA outlines disappointment in Co-op Insurance ) and now the insurer has issued its own reaction.The regulator highlighted that around 1,000 private motor insurance providers are now offering better information on no-claims bonus protection to drivers after it issued an order one month ago. The order obliges all providers brokers and insurers to present existing and prospective customers with information on the costs and benefits of no-claims bonus protection: including what happens if claims are made.However, it named and shamed Co-Op Insurance as the largest insurer yet to do so.Now the insurer has reached out to Insurance Business UK with an official statement in response.At the Co-op Insurance we have made significant steps to improve transparency and respond to customer needs over the last year, becoming one of the first insurers to develop dedicated online tools to explain to customers where their money goes, the statement reads.For 90% of our new business customers, we are fully compliant with this order.However we acknowledge that for a small proportion of customers we are currently unable to be fully compliant with the order. This relates to the provision of specific information on the price of individual customers protected no claims discounts.In this interim period we will be making it clear to affected customers that we are currently unable to supply this information. Additionally for both oral and written offers, we will offer to provide an additional quote excluding no claims discount protection so that our customers can calculate the implied price should they wish.We are currently part way through a major transformation programme, which will see a full migration to new systems, allowing us to provide a best in class service to our members. When the new system is in place, we will fully compliant with the Order.We remain committed to transparency and will be continuing to work and champion to improve this for our customers and members both now and in future. How did the idea come about for your business? Some will see a gap in the market and branch out on their own; for others it will be a lifelong aim.For Meena Wahi, director of Cyber Data Risk Managers, a trip to New York inspired the birth of her specialist cyber business.Wahi, who holds an MBA from Monash University, was working as a consultant around the Privacy Act in 2011 and an unexpected trip to the Big Apple helped her start her own firm.That led me to an insurance broker in New York who was doing privacy insurance work, so I got talking to her. We spoke a few times and she invited me over to New York to spend some time with her and her family, so I went, Wahi told Insurance Business.I got a good understanding of privacy insurance and cyber insurance, as America is obviously ahead of us. In 2013, I set up my own company.Wahis overseas adventures did not end with a trip to New York as she branched out to another mature cyber market to help grow her business.Last year, I decided to go to London myself and make some connections with underwriters there, Wahi continued.I also talked to underwriters who were quite willing to write business from London for the Australian market anyway but, having said that, I am finding that underwriters are reaching out to me here and they are being responsive to some extent, so it is changing.Since the launch of Cyber Data Risk Managers, which also has an office in the United States, Wahi says the cyber market has changed dramatically as more underwriters continue to enter the space.As bigger events hit businesses overseas, such as the attacks on Target and Sony, Wahi said that educating clients is key for the growth of the market, as cyber is more than just insurance.It is educating [people] because cyber is a knowledge product; it is not really an insurance product. Being a knowledge product it forces you to understand business challenges and give value-added advice so it is more than just insurance. News / Regional by Staff reporter President Mugabe has said judges who sanction political demonstrations in the face of strong evidence that the protests will generate into violence are negligent and reckless.Speaking on opposition-led violence that occurred in Harare on August 26, 2016 after the High Court allowed the demonstrators to take to the streets; the President said the judiciary should have treaded carefully following disturbances witnessed two days earlier.On social media abuse, President Mugabe said, "We all have a role to play in promoting brand Zimbabwe, the image of Zimbabwe, a Zimbabwe that is democratic, hardworking and peaceful.Meanwhile, Harare High Court judge, Justice Priscilla Chigumba, today faces an acid test when she presides over an urgent chamber application filed by opposition parties and Harare residents last week challenging the legality of the police ban on all demonstrations in the central business district until September 16.This comes against a background of a strong warning by President Robert Mugabe, who on Saturday described judges as "negligent and reckless" for sanctioning political demonstrations against his Zanu PF government, in the past few weeks.Lawyer and opposition People's Democratic Party leader, Tendai Biti, who filed the legal challenge, accused Mugabe of intimidating the judiciary and violating the Constitution.Human rights defenders and opposition parties yesterday cried foul over President Robert Mugabe's unrestrained attack on the judiciary, saying the move amounted to Executive interference and muzzling of judiciary independence.Respected lawyer and former Harare mayor, Muchadeyi Masunda, said the four pillars of government have been emasculated since 1980 to the point that they were now compromised. Introduction On August 30 2016, the European Commission announced that Ireland had granted illegal state aid to two companies in the Apple group involved in the manufacture of personal computers and sale of Apple products, including iPhones. The Commission held that tax rulings granted by the Irish Revenue to ascertain the profits attributable to the Irish branches of two Irish incorporated but non tax-resident companies did not correspond to the economic reality. Apple had enjoyed an unfair advantage over other businesses and was therefore in receipt of state aid. The Commission's decision will be appealed but irrespective of the outcome of any appeal, the international tax community and businesses face a period of uncertainty. Exactly how much uncertainty will depend on the extent of the precedent that the Apple ruling creates. The Apple decision will not have universal application, however. Irish tax law, transfer pricing analysis and indeed the nature of tax rulings has changed since the Apple rulings with Ireland, but nonetheless these are part of a worrying trend of state aid cases, including Starbucks, Fiat and Amazon. We await publication of the detailed Commission decision which businesses require urgently. The Commission's reasoning raises some alarming concerns that require further explanation. Fundamentally, the Commission appears to have ignored the legal documentation entered into by the non-resident company and imposed a state aid penalty by reference to deeming effectively a tax charge on income from the intellectual property not related to the Irish trade as if it were trading income. It has not sought to apply the Irish legislative tax code to the underlying facts, but sought to charge income from intellectual property as if it were trading profits of a branch. Background The Apple case involves two separate tax rulings agreed between the company and Irish tax authorities, in 1991 and 2007, concerning two stateless Apple companies that conducted trading activities from Irish branches. The major target of the tax rulings appears to be a company conducting sale and procurement operations for Apple's non-US operations. Rulings from Irish Revenue were necessary in order for Apple to obtain certainty in determining the profit attributable to the Irish trade carried on from the branches. While the decision itself will not be published for some time, the Commissions press release and its preliminary assessment published in 2014 provide useful insight into the case. Irish tax law and the facts Under former Irish tax law, it was possible to have an Irish incorporated, but non Irish tax resident, company that was stateless for tax purposes (i.e. not liable to tax anywhere by reason of its tax residence). In such circumstances, the charge to Irish tax was limited to the measure of Irish trading profits from a branch in Ireland. Irish statute provides that "the chargeable profits of a company not resident in the State but carrying on a trade in the State through a branch or agency, shall be a) any trading income arising directly or indirectly through or from the branch or agency, and any income from property or rights used by, or held by or for, the branch or agency " Under Irish tax law, any other income from property or rights not used or held by, or for, the branch is, and indeed was, outside the scope of Irish tax regime (i.e. income from intellectual property not related to the branch activities is not liable to tax under Irish statute). In 1991, the UK had similar tax laws. In its preliminary assessment, the Commission found the 1991 ruling provided for profits to be attributed by reference to a variant of the cost plus model. The profit margins varied from 10% to 65% of the costs attributable to the relevant Irish branch before capital allowances. There was no evidence of any supporting transfer pricing report. The Commission was also concerned that the rulings were issued for an indefinite duration unlike other EU member states' advance pricing agreements. The contents of the ruling requests, transfer pricing mechanism, notes of meetings and any other correspondence appeared to be key factors in the Commission making its finding of state aid. Taxing rights The Commission has invited both the US Internal Revenue Service and indeed other countries to consider taxing the Apple's historic profits. This is a clear challenge to the respected OECD international framework of taxation. The Commissions invitation on taxing rights can be viewed as its way towards introducing a form of the EU common consolidated tax base where each member state can claim taxing rights linked to sales and other activity in that state. Under EU law, the introduction of any such regime requires the consent of all member states. This article was prepared by Mason Hayes & Curran, International Tax Reviews correspondents in Ireland. For further information, please contact John Gulliver: Opinion / Columnist Dear Tsungai, you have given us a very challenging topic indeed: Abortion in Zimbabwe is a much contested topic. At best it should never be spoken. How do I speak about this topic freely without trumping on the bang ions of our most conservative societies without being labelled a witch at best, satanic but last? A country that has such a high rate of rape and abuse of girl children and young women, it is my prudent opinion that abortion in Zimbabwe should be legalised to avoid unwanted children born in their thousands.But because your topic demands expertise with social scientific, psychological, medical knowledge, I am however none of the above, I am using my gut feelings, my stomach to comment on it. I am wholly catholic but my answers are far from the catholic views regarding abortion. Having lived in Germany more than three quarters of my life, let me start by looking at how the German societies view abortion and what have they done, what steps were taken to legalize it.Abortion is not legal in Germany, it is forbidden by law. Only on exceptional cases can a woman be granted permission to terminate her foetus. Again this permission is granted within three months plus three days of pregnancy. The three days is the window given by the law to consult and then after be admitted in any clinic to act on abortion within those three stipulated days. This means that according to the statutory law (paragraph 218) the so-called penal code, permission to abort is in conformity with a list of exceptions. (a) A woman has to qualify for a legal abortion; (b) a pregnant woman must have adequately consulted and received all necessary information regarding abortion and the alternative to abort the foetus. (c) The pregnant woman must have a written document from a recognized consulting centre ever to be allowed for abortion in any clinic and hospital. The reason for abortion should border on health (risk of impairment of mother's health) and criminal reasons, example victims of rape. In Germany there is no such a thing as "Abtreibung auf lust."In Germany abortion are carried out free of charge in any clinic or hospital. The medical aid provides adequate provision for such offers. In 2015 alone 99,200 cases of abortion were reported in the country and 4% were permitted on criminal grounds. The question why so many abortions in such a developed country with the best medical facilities in the world? Anti-baby pills are legal and free of charge, the medical aid takes charge of all costs relating to it. Again sex education is abundantly taught and thoroughly dealt with in schools from the age of 11 years upwards. Still teenagers will get pregnant, 99% of which are unwanted pregnancies. Is it the stubborn nature that defies science that children will be born under any circumstances?Globally and in Zimbabwe too, the reasons why teenage pregnancies occur are to some extent the absence of parents, teenage drinking and wild parties, sexual abuse, rape and peer pressure that compels them to do it also so as to be cool! Girls today mature faster both physically and emotionally making it possible to engage in sexual relationship before the stipulated age of 18. But it is not the teenagers who get unwanted pregnancies but also women across all child bearing ages. Unwanted pregnancies will be referenced to teenagers because they are a vulnerable social group. It can therefore be safely said that as long as a woman follows those stipulated procedures of paragraph 218a, a woman can have abortion in some of German clinics and hospitals. There is no really stigma to those women and teenagers who have had an abortion in Germany except of course in churches.Coming back to your question, Tsungai, why is the word abortion such an abomination to ever utter it in our societies in Zimbabwe? We have to ask what do our societies view and say about abortion in the first place: the culture of the land, the church, the clinical- psychological aspect of abortion. What morals to do they attached to abortion? The church, the culture and the law argue against abortion using the same set of values. They in tandem are agreeable to forbidding abortion altogether: clinical and otherwise.There is a moral dimension with regards to abortion in Zimbabwe and to deal with our conservative profile position about abortion we need a broad philosophical debate country-wide, an outreach that will clearly tackle the existence of this moral problem that presupposes some conflict of values, goals or interest. The fact is that it is a moral problem; it should be placed on the public agenda to talk openly about it mostly to remove silence and guilt related to abortion and sex. By discussing it openly; however polarizing it is, it will assist in de-criminalizing it and deal with it as a social problem that affects most women of all ages.The Catholic Church is against any deliberate abortion defines it as morally a grave sin and it bases its natural law on written word of God. In the early days of Catholic teachings a woman who aborted could easily be excommunicated in the Catholic Church. The Church of England combines strong opposition to abortion with a recognition that there can be strictly conditions under which it may be morally preferable to any available alternative.The Church of England shares the same views with the Roman Catholic views that put it: "In light of our conviction that the foetus has the right to live and develop as a member of the human family, we see abortion, the termination of that life by the act of man as a great moral evil. We do not believe that the right to life as a right pertaining to persons, admits of no exceptions whatever; but the right of innocent to life admits surely of few exceptions indeed." Taken from the Church of England Board of Social Responsibility, 1980.Abortion is in most cases the result of unwanted or unplanned pregnancy. The decision to terminate pregnancy is not simple or casual at all. Such decisions are typically motivated by diverse interrelated reasons. A woman will have looked at all aspects of her life: economically, can she afford yet another child, morally if she is single what will family or the members of her church view her, are they going to accept her, socially; what will the family or society view her, was she forced by the boyfriend to abort, or did the boyfriend abscond when he realised she had become pregnant?When a woman finally takes that final decision; an abortion is terminated, it does not end there as there are emotional and psychological aspects she has to deal with. The emotional consequences of abortion are transient guilt, anxiety, regret, guilt, shame, sense of loss, anger, depression moods, sense of loneliness and isolation, loss of self confidence, insomnia or nightmares, suicidal thoughts and feelings, eating disorders, the list is long. Curiously very few women who have aborted can deal with these side effects effectively, even if it was her decision to do so.These negative effects of post abortion emotional adjustments are a direct response to the societal perception about abortion, the stigma related to it and their reaction to her actions. Such a woman may be denied any support to assist her with her heavy emotional weight she is carrying. The woman will feel she will face disapproval from her family or society or church because she will have broken the social norms: non tolerance to abortion. This is not say all women suffer the same above mentioned post abortion effects these effect are experience differently, vary from one woman to the other.Abortion in some societies is a loss of life, bereavement. To some it is socially unacceptable as a result most women will conceal abortion to protect themselves from shame and fear of severe moral judgement.Abortion is defined as deliberate termination of pregnancy and it falls into a debate always those who say it is right and those who say it is wrong. Argument against those who say it is wrong say abortion is killing an innocent human being because lives start at conception. A foetus is a unique human person that is unique with its genetic code. Killing a foetus is destroying lives and to allow abortion is legalizing killing, reduces respect for life, can lead to euthanasia, genocide and increased murder.The arguments in favour of abortion say a foetus is not a natural person with a right to life unless a collection of human cells have a particular stage of development. A foetus is just a potential human being and do not have the right to life. A woman is the one who has that special relationship with the foetus and therefore she has the right to decide about her body without any moral connotations or interventions.Looking at the emotional consequences of unwanted pregnancies, it will assist the argument related to pro-abortion in view of those children who were actually born. Unwanted pregnancies lead to birth of children with long standing life of distress and disabilities. Such children will have been born by mothers will have been coerced to sex: rape, incest, the list is long. Unwanted children are at high risk of all forms abuse and usually suffer deprivation of quality of life. In Zimbabwe we have thousands of street children we need to ask ourselves why are there so many of them in the street and in all towns and cities? Why would a woman take a child and dump it at the market? Have we not heard of women who threw babies in Blair toilets? What about some young woman who beheaded her son of two years old in Mathebeleland North. Not even three days ago a new born baby was discovered buried in a shallow pit, started crying, alarmed a passerby who rescued it. There are so many examples of unwanted children in our midst. It is in this loaded contest that I am of the opinion that not all children should be born.Globally one third of all pregnancies are accidental, but one cannot quantify the number correctly, some say it's deliberate to force the man to marry the woman. That dimension can never be effectively debated as there are no clear demarcation lines. However, Zimbabwe is just like all other countries, is a sexually active country. Women have become liberated; can determine their destiny easily making it possible to equally seek greater number of partners: JUST LIKE THEM, but resulting in unwanted sex, condom or without!Much as I would have liked to dwell on man woman relations at home in Zimbabwe that are still not equal, we have to this date serious gender issues. Most women do not determine their sexual lives in the bedrooms; it's still the men who determine when he wants it that day. (rape in marriage beds) A woman will just have the children and not that she will have wanted but because the man wanted it. Let us not go that far but leave this topic it for another day.Dear Tsungai, my feedback may be clumsy. I am not a social scientist, I am not a lawyer by profession either, but I do like to take part in such motive issues regarding our Zimbabwe. You are a lawyer dear Tsungai, please allow me to answer two questions. Do we have abortion laws at place in Zimbabwe? Can we put this emotive topic in our "women's manifesto so that it will be deliberated together with other issues bedevilling women in Zimbabwe?We should debate homosexuality: gay/lesbian relations in Zimbabwe. We have read so many situations that suggest that homosexuality is prevalent and it is not a western culture but found in almost all cultures in Zimbabwe. If we have names like Ngochane or Isitapane it simply means that homosexuality is existent and a hidden practice. It will be interesting how you will deal with this legally dear Tsungai.Ayo ndiwo angu mashoko dear Tsungai. In the meantime we are happy that Mrs. Bona Mugabe-Chikowore wished for a baby and she got it. We shall look after it too when our revolution is successful. Revolutionary greetings to you with this #Flag #This Flag #Tajamuka 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. Quasi 10 milioni di italiani si metteranno in viaggio per la Pasqua 2017, con un incremento del 2,3% rispetto allo stesso periodo dello scorso anno. Il 93% scegliera di rimanere in Italia mentre il restante 7% optera per una localita estera. E in crescita anche il giro daffari, che si attesta a quota 3,34 miliardi di euro (+3,6%). Emerge dai dati previsionali di Federalberghi sulle vacanze pasquali degli italiani. Le mete preferite dagli italiani che rimarranno nel Belpaese saranno le localita darte (29,1%), il mare (28,8%), la montagna (21,4%) e i laghi (4,5%). Per chi andra allestero, le grandi capitali europee assorbiranno il 69,5% della domanda, seguito dal 13,8% delle localita marine e crociere. La permanenza media si attestera sulle 3,4 notti (contro le 3,5 notti del 2016) con una spesa media comprensiva di tutte le voci (trasporto, alloggio, cibo e divertimenti) pari a 337 euro (contro i 332 euro del 2016) con un dettaglio di 310 euro per chi restera in Italia e di 679 euro per chi scegliera destinazioni estere. La struttura ricettiva preferita, sara per il 32,5% la casa di parenti e amici, seguita dallalbergo (26,7%), dalla casa di proprieta (14,6%), dai bed and breakfast (10,4%), dallagriturismo (4,4%), dai residence (3,4%) e dallappartamento in affitto (3%). Con questi presupposti, il segnale positivo che ci viene dal mercato consente di analizzare la situazione con moderato ottimismo ha commentato il presidente di Federalberghi, Bernabo Bocca vi e senzaltro da considerare il calendario che questanno colloca le festivita a meta del mese di aprile. E anche se la durata dei pernottamenti sara lievemente inferiore rispetto allo scorso anno, occorre leggere questa lieve flessione nella giusta prospettiva, tenendo conto delle occasioni di vacanza che gli italiani avranno nelle prossime due settimane, con i ponti del 25 aprile e del primo maggio. Le imprese del settore, ha aggiunto, chiedono a gran voce misure concrete volte a contrastare labusivismo, ridurre la pressione fiscale, potenziare le infrastrutture. Ultimo ma non meno importante, a quasi un mese dallabrogazione dei voucher, siamo ancora in attesa dello strumento alternativo che dovra mettere le imprese in condizione di far fronte alle esigenze di flessibilita imposte dal mercato. Its official Apples big iPhone 7 reveal is slated for Wednesday, September 7 in San Francisco at the Bill Graham Civic Center. The invites were sent out last week with the not-so-revealing caption, See you on the 7th . With a date now on the calendar, its time to stop worrying about when the event will be and begin to focus on what the event will be about. Weve combed through the latest crop of rumors and have summarized below what we think Apple will choose to show us next week. iPhone 7 As it has done in the past, Apple will use its September event to focus on the next generation iPhones, the iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus. Rumors suggest the iPhone 7 will keep the same form factor of the existing iPhone 6 hardware with several key modifications under the hood to improve the performance of the handset. Expected changes in the hardware include a faster A10 processor, a higher capacity battery and repositioned antenna lines thatll reduce cellular connectivity interference. To make up for the same design, Apple will offer the new iPhones in two new different shades of black: glossy and dark. The new colors will replace the space gray offering from Apple, though a black iPhone is definitely going to please a lot of people. Apple also may boost the water-proofing on the phone, bumping it up to an IPX7 rating that allows the phone to be submerged in up to 1 meter of water for 30 minutes. Other modifications include the removal of the headphone jack, the addition of a new home button with haptic feedback, a larger camera sensor with a wider aperture for low light photography and the addition of dual cameras to the photo centric iPhone 7 Plus model. Read: iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus Rumors: Everything We Know About Apples Upcoming iPhones Apple Watch 2 The second generation Watch is expected to see several key improvements that address some of the shortcomings of the first generation Watch. The flagship features of the Apple Watch 2 likely will be GPS support which will improve both fitness tracking and navigation, and better waterproofing so owners possibly can wear the Watch while swimming or showering. Other enhancements may include a faster processor and greater battery capacity, which could be boosted by as much as 35 percent due to the inclusion of a 334 mAh battery. The sizing for the Watch 2 (38 and 42 mm) and the form factor is expected to stay the same as the current Apple Watch hardware. Read: Apple Watch 2 Rumors: What to Expect RELATED :Apple Facing a Pair of Class Action Lawsuits Over iPhone 7 Audio Issues iOS 10 Apple typically releases new software along with its latest hardware and this September event should be no different. When the iPhone 7 launches, we expect it will ship with iOS 10 pre-installed. At the same time the iPhone 7 debuts, Apple will release a version of iOS 10 to the public for installation on older iPhone models. Apple already detailed iOS 10 at WWDC earlier this year, so we dont expect the company to unveil any new major features during the September event. The company likely will summarize what was already presented in June, with a few new details on important aspects of the mobile operating system. The most important piece of information it will reveal will be the release date, which likely will be towards the end of September. If you want to learn more about iOS 10, weve created a handy cheat sheet that details many of the new features of iOS 10 for the iPhone. Lightning EarPods and Wireless AirPods One of the of the most significant changes that may debut in the iPhone 7 is the removal of the headphone port on the handset. If Apple does remove the 3.5mm jack from the bottom of the device, then it will have to rework the ear buds it ships with the phone. Instead of the typical 3.5mm headset, rumors suggest Apple may be working on a lightning version of its popular white ear buds that will be bundled with al new iPhone 7 handsets. Its also possible the company may release a wireless version of its ear buds, dubbed Air Pods, that will be available as an optional accessory. iPad Pro Apple is expected to release a second-generation 12.9-inch iPad Pro, but the exact date of its unveiling in unknown. Last year, Apple used its September event to unveil the iPad Pro tablet alongside the iPhone 6 and may choose to do the same thing again this year. Its also possible Apple may use this event to focus on the iPhone 7 and likely will wait to show off the iPad at a separate event. In previous years, Apple has held an October event that detailed its iPad lineup. MacBook Pro Upgrades to the MacBook Pro are long overdue leading many to speculate Apple may use the September event to take the wraps off some new Mac hardware, but Apple guru Jim Dalrymple and others squashed that rumor before it could gain momentum. Writing at Loop Insight, Dalrymple points out that Apple likely will use its September event to focus on the iPhone and iPhone-related products. If there is a distraction, writes Dalrymple, it would be for the release of iOS, which is complementary to the iPhone. Macs dont fit in there at all. macOS Sierra Similar to iOS 10, Apple officially unveiled its desktop operating system, macOS Sierra, during its Worldwide Developers Conference held earlier this year. Because this September event likely will focus on the iPhone and iOS, we do not expect Apple to release any new information about Sierra. These details likely will be revealed when the company refreshes its MacBook Pro or iMac line later this year. Wrap up We expect the event flow to be very similar to previous events, where Tim Cook starts off the event by talking about iPhone numbers, calls up Phil Schiller to announce new products, who in turn calls Craig Federighi to talk about software specific features, if any, followed by a video featuring Jony Ive talking about the new hardware. The event will be concluded by Tim Cook, who summarizes the days announcements and thank everyone for making it for the event. The cost of wine could be costly for Irish Tourism. A report issued by the Irish Wine Association is calling for a reduction in the excise duty placed on alcohol in the upcoming budget, claiming the current rate is bad for jobs, consumers and tourism, as well as creating cash flow issues for importers and distributors. Spanish Wine exporter Sergio Soriano Cano explains how the cost of wine in Ireland could be alienating tourists: "I have a lot of people in Spain who would love to come to Ireland but they know that the wine is very expensive. "The problem is that they think that coming to Ireland is of no good value to money because they take this as an example and they think that everything is going to be as expensive as enjoying a glass of wine in Ireland. "So they prefer to stay in Spain or go to other destinations. The Spaniards, we love Ireland and a lot of people would love to come here on a more regular basis, but once they are here they see that they have to pay a very high price for wine." London bus workers will stage a second 24-hour strike on Tuesday in a row over roster changes. Members of Unite at Tower Transit walked out after peace talks failed to break the deadlock. Opinion / Columnist MR Eddie Cross - the opposition Movement for Democratic Change chief whip - on Friday wrote a lengthy article on his blog in which he blatantly claimed that President Mugabe was incapacitated after allegedly suffering a stroke.Without a shred of evidence, he made startling revelations in which he traced the President's journey from the Sadc summit in Swaziland, a small pit stop in Harare for supposed refuelling and picking up of medical personnel, another stop in Lusaka, Zambia, allegedly forced by Mugabe's deteriorating condition. According to Mr Cross, the President was then rushed to Dubai for further urgent attention and it would be a miracle if he made it back home alive.In a bizarre piece which was seized upon by a number of online publications including ZimEye, Mr Cross was bullish, crass and authoritative in his article. He came across as a credible source of information and fed into the frenzy of speculation and rumours around the President's health. Zimbabwe was in a tailspin last week after President Mugabe cut short his stay at the Sadc summit in Swaziland and flew to Dubai to attend to his son Robert Junior.Of course he needed not announce his visit since it was a private affair but the rumour mill went into overdrive and the likes of Mr Cross a diehard Rhodesian whose disdain for the person of the President is well documented fuelled the rumours by publishing an article full of hogwash and unadulterated crap. Part of the article read:"At the close of the summit (Japan/Africa summit in Kenya) he (Mugabe) flew to Swaziland to attend a meeting of Sadc Heads of State. For a much younger man this would have been a punishing schedule and on the plane to Swaziland he had some sort of medical collapse. He nevertheless tried to attend the meeting on Tuesday but collapsed in the meeting and was given medical treatment and then taken to his plane to fly home early," wrote Mr Cross."The plane flew to Harare where a medical team and fresh crew and fuel were loaded and then they flew out we suspect to his usual medical centre of Singapore. However, in flight, they diverted to Lusaka and then Dubai on the basis of a medical emergency. What was wrong as usual we were told nothing but we hear that the Old Man had a stroke."I do not think he can come back from this and we must now assume that the long awaited transition to a new government and new leadership is at long last about to start. It would have been so much more dignified if he had recognised that his 'sell by' date had arrived and he had retired and handed over to a chosen successor."What now happens is that the Constitutional transition to a new President starts. The Acting President is Emmerson Mnangagwa who will now assume control of all the levers of the State. This phase runs for 90 days and then Zanu-PF must hold an elective conference at which a new leader will be elected who then completes the term of office of Mr Mugabe through to July 2018".At the time of going to print last night, it was not clear if Mr Cross had retracted his misleading and grossly inaccurate article since President Mugabe is fit and healthy and showed no signs of having been incapacitated when he touched down at Harare International Airport on Saturday morning. Laughing off speculation on his health and rumours about his death, the President said: "Yes, I was dead. It's true I was dead. I resurrected like I always do. Once I get back to my country, I am real".This is not the first time that rumours about the President's health have been made. Back in 2010, faced with similar unsubstantiated claims from the private media and opposition parties, Mugabe said: "I don't know how many times I die but nobody has ever talked about my resurrection."I suppose they don't want to, because it would mean they would mention my resurrection several times and that would be quite divine, an achievement for an individual who is not divine. Jesus died once, and resurrected only once, and poor Mugabe several times."We feel it was grossly irresponsible for Mr Cross to spread blatant falsehoods about the Head of State and challenge him to retract his misleading statements and issue an unequivocal apology to President Mugabe.It is very rude to speculate about the health of other people and downright uncouth to revel in the death of a person and the tone of Mr Cross' article betrayed his hatred of the President. We also call on Zimbabweans to be wary of unsubstantiated gossip and rumours spread via social media. Most of the information circulating on these platforms is false. The first year of the one-day event, it brought 1,200 people to Gurteen Agricultural College, Roscrea, Co Tipperary. The event was buoyed by the fact that it was a Department of Agriculture knowledge transfer event and the promise of clear, independent and consistent advice from the myriad of speakers across all the various technology areas. The conference idea was the brain-child of the Tipperary County Council planning section, where they sought to engage the agri-sector as they developed a strategy for renewable energy in the county. The other partners were Teagasc (Teagasc.ie) who are key experts in development of advice, knowledge and research in all agricultural matters and the Tipperary Energy Agency (tippenergy.ie), an agency of the local authority that was established to promote and develop sustainable energy in the county. They sought to showcase the opportunities for farmers to invest in renewable energy production for improvement of profitability of their farms. The conference was held in Gurteen Agricultural College, Roscrea, which, as a venue, was possibly the most appropriate as the college itself underwent a sustainable energy transformation over the last five years with an insulation and lighting upgrade, installation of biomass boilers to feed the campus district heating, and a willow plantation to grow their own fuel. The campus also has a 50kW wind turbine to provide electricity to the campus. The conference demonstrations and talks covered several key technology areas of solar photovoltaics, wind energy, biogas production, biomass (wood/ energy crops) for heating, zero energy pumps and water power. In addition the speakers covered legal, financial, regulatory and technical topics across the whole energy area. The event was established to give impartial, honest and useful advice on all topics including where government supports are and where they are expected in the near future. I had the opportunity of giving a remark at the opening of the event and I took the opportunity to discuss the options for Ireland in decarbonising our energy and agricultural industries. A renewable heat incentive was announced in 2014 by the then Minister for Energy Pat Rabbitte to use a similar scheme to the UK and promote bioenergy from local areas to displace imported fossil fuel. This was ably demonstrated in the college on the day, and in addition is in place at the three Tipperary County Council pools in Tipperary. Since the announcement almost three years ago, the industry has stopped, as no customers are likely to purchase a renewable energy heating system as they are awaiting a subsidy. The low price of fossil fuels and the decreasing in the carbon price has ensured that there is little appetite without the subsidy. I asked Minister Naughton to ensure that the Renewable Heat Incentive is implemented as soon as possible. UK, German lessons I also think, when it comes to renewable electricity, we need to learn some lessons from our neighbours in the UK and Germany. Their farmers supply large amounts of solar, bioenergy and heat energy to their cities and towns, where our farmers, with the small exception of the farmers with wind turbines, are excluded from the production of energy from their lands. Feed-in tariff needed The opportunity is there for Ireland, but we need both the feed-in tariff and a deliberate push from government to both the CER in regulation and ESB networks to implement smart distribution grids to enable this transition to be cost-effective without large amounts of red tape and disincentives for the smaller producer. Large multinational-owned, foreign-funded solar farms without the opportunity for citizens and farmers to participate in the energy transition first, will repeat the mistakes of the wind industry that has fuelled so much divisive opposition. There is clearly an opportunity for use of slurries, agri wastes and energy crops to produce bio-gas through anaerobic digesters. Gas Networks Ireland is supporting a number of pilot projects that use the gas directly for injection into the gas grid and for transport. Clearly an opportunity to support the management of slurries and nitrates while producing a high-value product should be taken. As a final note, I would encourage all readers to re-think the place the Irish agricultural sector has drifted towards on the discussion on climate change. We need to see rural areas and their agricultural industry as part of the solution to climate change, not just a contributor by ensuring that every farmer in Ireland produces energy in the form of electricity and heat and not just food. Margrethe Vestager is a Danish politician who calls it as she sees it. Last week, the Competition Commissioner had Apple and the Irish Government in her sights. The ruling by her directorate general decreed to the effect that the Irish Government by offering special tax arrangements to Apple over a 25-year period broke EU rules governing state-aid rules. The Competition Directorate General went on to instruct Apple to repay the Government a staggering 13bn, plus interest, in back taxes. Soon, some commentators had declared Christmas and started planning how to spend the booty after this Euro lottery win. The Apple spin machine moved into overdrive. In an extended RTE interview, CEO Tim Cook attacked Europes overreach. His core argument, repeated elsewhere: The conversation should be about future taxes, not retroactive taxes. This argument will be at the heart of the Apple appeal against the ruling. Mr Cook talked of the long- term romance between Ireland and Apple, a romance that had not resulted in any sweetheart deals. Fine Gael and Fianna Fail both sang in unison about the need to preserve certainty. Michael Noonan was quick out of the traps to suggest that the Irish Government would be appealing the judgment, while many on the left insisted that no appeal should be lodged. This is all mere political shape-throwing. Apple has already signalled that it will appeal the ruling to European courts and there the matter will rest, along with 13bn in an escrow account, for several years. By Friday, the Cabinet had come round. It could hardly have done otherwise, as to do anything else would be to concede Revenue had acted beyond the law. What is clear is that the business, political and the bureaucratic establishment have been thrown into a bit of a tizzy. The 13bn figure many multiples of what the government led people, itself included to expect caught everyone on the hop. The folks on Merrion Street were like deer caught in the headlights of a juggernaut. Where were Irelands eyes and ears in Brussels, one wonders? Fianna Fails Willie ODea put his finger on it, warning that we faced the loss of our fiscal independence. We would end up as a glorified county council, he warned. Senior officials and politicians have difficulty seeing beyond the post-1960 job creation strategy with its heavy emphasis on tax-based competition. Yet, there is a real sense that the ground is shifting. No one is quite sure in which direction. In truth, we may be in the early stages of a major battle of wills between those, many in Paris, who favour pressing forward with an EU-wide system of corporate taxation where tax revenues from international corporations would flow to member states based on the size of their domestic market. The EUs future should not be left to graduates of the Ecole Nationale dAdministration for whom French interests always come first. These centralising bureaucrats have a vision of Europe at odds with that held by an increasingly large proportion of its citizens, many of whom have grown sick and tired of bossy regulators. But, equally, Ireland cannot line up unthinkingly behind multinational behemoths. We do actually need the EU to remain as a strong organisation prepared to act against transnational corporations which have amassed vast resources. Apple alone has almost 250bn sitting in accounts and awaiting official repatriation to the US. At the same time, it must seek to allay the fears of the many multinationals with investments in this country, not to mention those who might be considering investing here. It is a delicate game. We do not want to be on the wrong side of history, but neither should we permit ourselves to be co-opted into a consolidated corporation tax arrangement of the sort being promoted by the EU Commissioner for the Economy, Frances former finance minister Pierre Moscovici, a clever operator who is lurking like a crocodile waiting to tear away a big chunk of our tax revenues. In January 2015, Ms Vestager and Mr Moscovici published a joint article in the Guardian newspaper which began with a jolly joke: 2014 was the year in which the world discovered that there is no whiskey in a double Irish and no cheese in a Dutch sandwich. The pair warned that unfair tax competition was leading to a race to the bottom, with the losers being the taxpayers, smaller firms and national governments. It is in that context that the EC is committed to reviving its proposal for a common consolidated corporate tax base where the states hosting group subsidiaries would share the tax among them. Unsurprisingly, Ryanair boss Michael O Leary advised the Government to politely tell the EU to take a hike, citing his companys largely successful appeal to the European courts against another ruling. Significantly, one of Ms Vestagers predecessors as competition commissioner, Neelie Kroes, has criticised the ruling, arguing against the retrospective nature of the judgment. Ms Kroes, who took actions against companies like Microsoft, these days is a director of Uber, the online taxi firm. As a Dutch citizen, she may also be conscious of the threat posed to her home country by the ruling. Ms Vestager served as minister of education, economy minister and deputy prime minister. In 2014 she moved to Brussels. Ms Vestager was a model for Birgitte Nyborg, the lead character in Borgen, Danish TVs answer to The West Wing. Actress Sidse Babette Knudsen, who played Nyborg, reportedly shadowed her for several days when prepping for the role. Ms Vestager is a liberal politician, but one who has served under a Social Democrat prime minister, Helle Thorning-Schmidt. Ms Vestager has three daughters, and a husband who teaches maths and philosophy. In Brussels, she had already made her mark, commencing investigations into the tax affairs of Fiat, Starbucks, and Amazon. A major investigation into the activities in eastern Europe of Russias largest company, Gazprom, is at an early stage. She also has speeded up an antitrust investigation into Google over its alleged abuses of its dominant position. She is already seen as a harder nut to crack than her Spanish predecessor, Joaquin Almunia. It may be time for the makers of Borgen to consider setting the next series in Brussels. In its pre-budget submission, the industry group, which represents a wide range of small and large exporters based in Ireland, has also highlighted the shortage of housing. It makes no specific reference to the controversy surrounding the EU ruling that Ireland must collect 13bn in back taxes from Apple, but does call for amendments in R&D tax credits for firms developing intellectual property. On insurance, the IEA wants the Oireachtas to launch a study into the business costs of premiums in the UK and the rest of Europe, and set new limits on payouts of insurance claims. The Government also needs to encourage new insurers to enter the market in the Republic, it says. While welcoming the Governments plans to boost house building, the IEA says a drastic increase in supply and curbs on rent hikes are required to alleviate the pressures from the homes crisis on business competitiveness. Broadband and mobile coverage infrastructure is inadequate across the country, it says. It recommends the setting up by the National Treasury Management Agency of a hedging product to help Irish exporting firms exposed to the sharp fall in the vale of sterling against the euro following the vote by the UK to quit the EU. The fund would be run by the Strategic Banking Corporation of Ireland and commercial lenders. In other measures to ameliorate the fallout from the Brexit vote, the IEA wants more funding for Enterprise Ireland and Bord Bia to promote firms in high-growth export markets, while embassies should be resourced to ensure they are mandated specifically to deal with Irish exporters. It also wants a new role to work with Government in promoting exports. The submission calls for a freezing for three years of the minimum wage until the fallout of the Brexit is better known, warning that the UK is stepping up its game to attract foreign direct investment. THE search for the Young Fishmonger 2017 Awards has started with the publication of a shortlist of eight finalists. They will compete for the Independent Seafood Specialist of the Year and Supermarket Seafood Counter of the Year awards. These will be presented at the inaugural Bord Iascaigh Mhara (BIM) seafood awards in the Clayton Hotel, Dublin, on November 17. BIM chief executive Tara McCarthy said the country needs to celebrate the skills of its seafood industry. The competition highlights one of the stalwarts of the retail sector the fishmonger. It is designed to reward and recognise talent but also to encourage and train new entrants into a sector which has experienced a noticeable revitalisation in recent years. With more than 500 independent and supermarket seafood counters nationwide and domestic sales reaching 234 million this year, seafood has fast become the most on-trend protein in the market, she said. The eight finalists will receive in-depth visits by the judges to assess their knowledge of seafood, their understanding of quality issues, their skills, techniques and customer service. Each fishmonger will be required to fillet and prepare a range of fish and shellfish under time constraints. They will also be asked to discuss their future career plans and ambitions. This will take place in BIMs Seafood Development Centre in Clonakilty. Stephen Hurley, The Fish Shop, Union Hall, Co Cork, is one of the four finalists in the Independent Seafood Specialist category. As a young boy he took a keen interest in the boats at the pier in Union Hall and would be thrilled to see fresh prawns and plaice jumping in the boxes as the fishermen landed their daily catches. Stephen, who worked as a teenager on a boat, hauling shrimp pots, loves stocking locally-caught fish and shellfish in store. On any given day he has upwards of 25 different species in stock. Another finalist, Philip Fitzsimons, Kimmage Road West, Dublin, has worked in the family fish shop since he was 13 years old. His father taught him how to fillet and store fish and educated him on the handling of fresh and frozen seafood. According to Philip, who is due to open his own store in Dun Laoghaire, the seafood business is in a good place and with more people considering their health he believes it will continue to grow in the coming years. Another contender, Peter Roberts, Dalkey, Co Dublin, also grew up living by the sea. He opened his own seafood retail shop in 2011 and has since developed three concession seafood counters in the capital. He plans to develop a range of luxury seafood products across the four retail locations in addition to online sales through the Roberts of Dalkey website. The only woman finalist in this category is Anne Stephens, manager of The Fish Market in Maynooth, Co Kildare. It also has retail outlets in Mullingar and Blanchardstown. She has been involved in seafood retail for eight years. She has a great passion for her job and wants to help people to love fish and understand its qualities and how easy it is to cook and prepare. I have two young kids and I understand the pressures of juggling work and home life and ensuring your children are eating healthy food, she said. Her husband, George Stephens, the current Young Fishmonger of the Year, is to study a range of innovative seafood retail and food service establishments in London, seeking ideas on how to further develop his business. One of the finalists in the Supermarket Seafood Counter category is Katarina Curmova, Dunnes Stores, Longford. She is originally from Slovakia and has lived in Ireland for the last seven years. Katarina enjoys her work as she gets to express her artistic side through her counter displays. She also helps customers with their seafood choices. She believes the counter presentation is very important to drive sales. A well-displayed counter will attract customers as it is a well-known fact that we eat with our eyes, she said. Another contender is Alona Dutchak, Dunnes Stores, Childers Road, Limerick. She is the daughter of a fisherman in her native Latvia and learned a lot about seafood from a young age. Some people come in for a specific type of seafood. But if it is not available, she always offers them a similar product. She encourages them to buy it and try it Alona is passionate about healthy eating. She explains the benefits of fish oils to customers and how to cook seafood so as to retain the maximum nutrition. Anthony Murray, Dunnes Stores, Terryland, Galway, has a lot of experience of the seafood sector, having worked on fishing boats and for fish processors in his native Mayo and in many Galway city restaurants. The Terryland store stocks a wide range of fish from old favourites including mackerel, whiting, salmon, cod and hake to the more adventurous monkfish, tuna and swordfish. We get an older age group of customers in store so they tend to go for the old favourites but I try and encourage them to try different types of fish, he said. In the same category is Eimantas Zvirblis, Donnybrook Fair, Malahide, Co Dublin. He enjoys sharing fish recipes with his customers. It gives me great pride when people come to the store specifically to see me, he said. Eimantas believes in his product and eats fish seven days a week. Many of my colleagues in Donnybrook Fair are now eating more fish and many customers are telling me that they are eating more fish too. I believe that spreading this passion is a very important part of being a fishmonger, he said. www.bim.ie The head of the EU made the comments at the G20 summit in China in the first firm response from the bloc to the Governments decision to appeal the judgement. In a speech to the meeting of world leaders including US president Barack Obama, British prime minister Theresa May, German chancellor Angela Merkel, and others, Mr Juncker moved to quell fears of an economic standoff over the ruling. Philip Finnegan, aged 24, vanished from his inner-city flat on August 10 after a number of run-ins with a criminal gang to whom it is believed he owed money. His partially buried remains were discovered last Friday evening in Rahin Wood on the Kildare-Meath border by people walking in the area. It was immediately clear the victim had suffered a violent death, but gardai said details of the autopsy, completed yesterday, would not be revealed for operational reasons. Mr Finnegans disappearance last month very quickly gave rise to fears for his life, as he was known to have gotten on the wrong side of serious criminals, possibly associated with jailed drugs boss Brian Rattigan, who is serving a life sentence for murder, as well as a 17-year term for heroin importation. He had already been targeted along with another man, Owen Gaffney, in a drive-by shooting in 2013. He escaped without injury, but later had a hatchet put through his window. Mr Finnegan was tried last year for possession of a firearm after a gun was found during a search of his family home, but the case was dismissed when the judge ruled gardai had put pressure on him to take responsibility to spare his younger brothers being arrested. As a teenager, he had given evidence in court in support of Owen Gaffney in the trial of four gardai accused, but later cleared, of assaulting Mr Gaffney. There were also reports that he suffered an assault in Dublin a short time before he was last seen alive. It is thought he was killed within hours of his abduction and gardai had already begun searches in the vicinity of Rahin Wood when his body was found. The scene remains sealed off for forensic examination. The murder investigation is being run from Leixlip Garda Station, where Inspector Paul Dolan said: Investigating gardai are appealing for information and in particular to anyone who visited Rahin Wood near Carbury, Co Kildare, during the month of August to come forward. Opinion / Columnist President Robert Mugabe's condemnation of violent and destructive street protests by the opposition political parties under the National Electoral Reform Agenda (NERA) banner, calls for the application of common sense by the perpetrators as part of the citizenry.Zimbabwe is meanwhile sauntering gradually along the economic recovery path after its subjection to one and a half decade long illegal sanctions imposed by the west. Almost all systems and infrastructure require our combined effort to resuscitate them accordingly as a nation.But alas! Our Kith and Kins are well oiled and motivated to destroy the little that is remaining.This certainly demonstrates an acute deviation from common sense which compels us all to be sound, and apply prudent judgment based on a simple perception of the situation or facts that the nation is going through.How can we re-build Zimbabwe through destroying what we already have? My fellow citizens we need to audit our actions, and review our behaviours to avoid pushing our country to the verges of the cliff. The collapse of Zimbabwe has some unprecedented effects on us all as a people.It's a living fact that peaceful demonstration are a constitutional right as per section 59, but the same section does not warrant looting, destruction of property, violent marches and disruption of business of fellow citizens. All this amounts to gross irresponsibility by the participants. This explains why the state engages heavy handedness through its apparatus.President Mugabe just reminded us all that as citizens we need to re-align our energies towards meaningful issues which take our nation to the next level of development.A united Zimbabwe is fodder for national development.---------Sparkleford Masiyambiri Clodagh Hawes sister Jacqueline turned to poetry to convey the heartache and deep sense of loss that has engulfed two families and a rural community following last weeks murder-suicide. Choking back tears, she told the hundreds of mourners that life would never be the same. You left us peaceful memories. Your love is still our guide. And although we cannot see you. You are always by our sides. Our family chain is broken. And nothing will ever be the same. But as God calls us one by one, the chain will link again. Sleep tight. Hundreds had journeyed to the funeral at St Marys Church in Castlerahan with capacity inside reached long before the service began. Outside, the mourners huddled together sheltering from the early autumnal breeze. As the five hearses swept into the grounds in a slow solemn convoy, silence descended on the large crowd. The only audible sounds were from cattle in nearby fields and crows in the trees. Men, women, and children, some dressed in their school uniforms, who had lined the steep church driveway, wiped away tears as the cortege passed. First came Clodagh her smiling face beaming from a photograph placed in the rear of the hearse. Then the three boys, Liam aged 13, Niall aged 11 and Ryan, 6, each carried in a white coffin. And finally, Alan Hawe, his coffin draped in a red and white GAA jersey. In his homily, Fr Felim Kelly reflected on the popularity of the Hawe family well regarded within the tight-knit parish and beyond. Their loss in such tragic circumstances has rocked the community to the core, the priest said. We are all trying to cope with a tragedy beyond our understanding. Gardai believe that Mr Hawe, a deputy school principal, stabbed his wife and children to death in their home at Oakdene in the townland of Barconey near Ballyjamesduff in Co Cavan, before taking his own life last Monday. However, during the service there were reflections of an idyllic family life. Fr Kelly recalled how they each played an active role in the church and had their own seat at St Marys. Posing the question on many peoples lips, Fr Kelly asked: How so much goodness could be destroyed? How such happiness could be invaded? How? Why? But the parish priest told mourners: It is not for us to seek answers or to surmise about behaviour. Clodagh, Alan, Liam, Niall, and Ryan are at peace. This is the assurance of hope. A HSE review, conducted in the aftermath of the Dr Omar Hassan case in January, revealed a number of systematic shortcomings in regard to recruitment processes within the health service. Dr Hassan worked at three separate HSE hospitals between late 2012 and early 2014, even though his lack of knowledge and skills alarmed colleagues at all three. On January 26, Dr Hassan was found guilty of professional misconduct and poor professional performance on multiple grounds. The medical council then requested his registration remain suspended. Dr Hassan is appealing this, and is due to appear before the High Court in October. Issues identified by that review include the lack of centralised recruitment processes for doctors in service posts, the absence of single HR systems across HSE hospitals and either within or across Hospital Groups, the HSE stated. Another issue included a lack of measures in place to assess a doctors competency to practise medicine prior to the decision of the Medical Council to grant the doctor registration in Ireland. A key issue is how hospitals ascertain where a doctor has worked before within Ireland or outside Ireland if the doctor does not declare that employment, the HSE said. On average, the length of time from when a complaint is made to when the corresponding disciplinary inquiry takes place is six to 12 months, according to the medical council. However, it can often take longer. The hearing into Dr Dawar Siddiqi took place in November and December 2015, although the complaints concerned his time at Bantry General Hospital, where he worked as a locum consultant radiologist between May and September 2013. The role of the regulator is to act in the public interest, and they must ensure that procedures followed are fair and reasonable to all parties concerned, said a spokeswoman for the medical council. The HSE said the rolling out of its new recruitment policy would address the issues raised. The Opposition TD insisted the Coalition had acted correctly in refusing the money and seeking a court battle with Brussels as he said it is essential this country continues to protect key aspects of the economy. Speaking on RTE Radios This Week programme, Mr Martin said he is concerned about the lack of preparation Government showed before last Tuesdays ruling but he believes now is not the time for political infighting. The idea that one small country is singled out by the [European] Commission, in many ways as a Trojan horse to drive through perhaps a wider tax agenda that could damage us, is deeply worrying and unfair in my view, said Mr Martin. It is instructive that, so far, it [the commission] has only taken cases against the smaller European countries Luxembourg, Belgium, Ireland, and the Dutch. I think its inconceivable that they would take such a stance against a larger country, and thats a worry. Mr Martin said that, despite public and Opposition anger, he and his party believe an appeal is essential for the protection of Ireland, and that it would be wrong for the Revenue Commissioners to become collector general for the entire world. Mirroring comments last Friday by Taoiseach Enda Kenny and Finance Minister Michael Noonan, he added that Ireland must not back down amid alleged bullying by Europe of small nations. The comments were echoed by unaligned Independent TD and Communications Minister Denis Naughten, who said he is not aware of any multi-national that is breaching tax rules in this country. Labour finance spokeswoman Joan Burton similarly backed an appeal. However, in a statement yesterday, she said her party wants to move the debate beyond lip service and will be seeking a series of tax justice amendments in the upcoming budget. Ms Burton said these will include the closure of remaining loopholes in tax law, the introduction of minimum effective tax rates for all companies, and the establishment of a standing commission on taxation. Meanwhile, European Commissioner for Competition Margrethe Vestager has said she is planning to open fresh investigations into Luxembourg-based multi-nationals, including Starbucks, McDonalds, and Amazon. The number of calls to emergency services decreased by 13.5% in 2015, according to the annual review of the Emergency Call Answering Service. Figures published by the Department of Communications show a total of 1,860,335 calls were recorded by the ECAS last year. It represents 289,110 fewer emergency calls than were made in 2014. The latest annual decline continues a trend evident over the past seven years, with emergency calls now almost halved over the period. Official figures show such calls in 2015 were 48% below 2009 levels. The Department of Communications said the decrease was primarily due to fewer faulty lines resulting in a reduction in calls to ECAS. Another reason is changes in the design of mobile handsets and the significant increase in the use of smartphones, which make it more difficult to accidentally dial 112 or 999. Previous handset design had caused inadvertent calls to be put through to ECAS, the annual review stated. It claimed the number of calls to ECAS in 2015 categorised as normal calls had remained effectively unchanged since 2011 at around 800,000 42% of last years total. Normal calls are those where a caller directly requests a specific emergency service and is connected to the desired operator. Most other categories of calls have declined in recent years. The biggest decrease is in silent calls where nobody speaks to the operator. There were 864,000 fewer silent calls in 2015 than in 2010. However, they still accounted for 38% of last years total number of calls to ECAS. Around 12% of calls are classified as other which include abandoned calls, misdials, abusive, children playing and those not requiring emergency services. The ECAS deals with all 112 and 999 calls and texts for Garda, fire, ambulance, Coast Guard and Air Traffic Control emergencies. ECAS operators filter out non-emergency calls and free up time and resources of the emergency services to manage genuine requests for assistance. Around half of all calls to ECAS are filtered out annually. Approximately 60% of connected calls go to gardai, 30% to ambulance, 8% to fire, and 1% to the Coast Guard. Emergency calls are free to the caller, while ECAS, which is operated by BT Ireland, is funded through a call-handling fee payable by the telecom service provider on whose network the call originates. The average response time for answering 112 or 999 calls is 0.73 seconds, which is one of the fastest in Europe, according to the European Commission. Comoradh an Riordanaigh takes place in the days leading up to his birth date on December 3, and will be among the highlights of the new season of events at the villages arts centre, Ionad Culturtha an Dochtuir O Loingsigh. O Riordain (1916-1977) was born in a house near the Mills Inn and is buried close by in St Gobnaits cemetery, but despite his national prominence as a poet, this is believed to be the first major commemoration of his life and work in his native place. The celebration will open on December 1 with a national conference organised in collaboration with the University of Limerick and including contemporary poets, academics, and scholars of O Riordains work from Maynooth, UL, and UCC. People before Profit TD Richard Boyd Barrett made the claim after the Government last week agreed to instigate a review of major corporations tax bills as part of its compromise deal to appeal the European Commissions 13bn Apple tax ruling. Mr Boyd Barrett told the Irish Examiner a similar review by the Department of Finance sub-committee on global taxation was hamstrung by a refusal to question major corporations. The cross-party sub- committee was established in summer 2013 in response to a US Senate ruling on companies using countries such as Ireland to create stateless firms to benefit from tax loopholes. On July 3, 2013, the sub-committee met to discuss the terms of reference of the review. However, despite requests from Mr Boyd Barrett and Sinn Fein to include public debates with Apple, Google, and Facebook the plans were voted down. Official sub-committee transcripts available at www.oireachtas.ie confirm Mr Boyd Barrett tabled a formal motion during the meeting to invite into the committee to give testimony and answer questions representatives of multi-national corporations based here in Ireland. The motion said these firms should include representatives of Apple, Google, Facebook, and other such corporations as the sub-committee may deem appropriate. His request was supported by three Sinn Fein TDs Pearse Doherty, Mary Lou McDonald, and Brian Stanley with Mr Doherty warning that to refuse would be like having a bank inquiry without inviting the bank officials. Mr Boyd Barretts motion was voted down by 22 Fine Gael, Fianna Fail, and Labour TDs, among others. They included current ministers Paschal Donohoe, Simon Harris, Michael Creed, Heather Humphreys, and Dara Murphy; Fine Gael chief whip Regina Doherty; Fianna Fail front-benchers Michael McGrath, Timmy Dooley, Thomas Byrne, and Sean Fleming; Labours Aodhan O Riordain and Kevin Humphreys; and former Independent and current Social Democrats TD Stephen Donnelly. Mr Boyd Barrett last night repeated his claim that there was an attempt to block a simple request, while Mr Doherty warned: There is the famous phrase, who fears to speak. We appear paralysed by fear. There were reports yesterday that the European Commission is examining comfort letters given by Revenue to some Irish-based multi-nationals, saying their tax practices would not be affected by 2014 rule changes. The Association of Secondary Teachers Ireland (ASTI) expects the result of two ballots for industrial action of its 18,000 members in mid-October. However, one has the potential to force schools to shut without pickets even being placed at the gates. The ASTIs central executive council decided on Saturday to recommend members vote to withdraw from supervision and substitution work at more than 400 second-level schools where they work. The stance signals anger over the pay restrictions placed on them because of their rejection of the Lansdowne Road Agreement. The majority of teachers who signed up to do work were previously paid for it but that is no longer the case. If ASTI members now refuse to carry out these duties, insurance concerns over a lack of cover for teacher absences from class or to supervise lunch breaks could force schools to shut down unless contingency arrangements are in place. The union said the ballot was prompted by the application of financial emergency laws that have seen ASTI members left outside the benefits felt by other teacher unions that signed up to the Lansdowne Road Agreement. These include phased restoration of salary increments and quicker access to job security for those in non-permanent teaching posts. These measures were imposed by the Department of Education in response to ASTIs directive in June that members stop working 33 extra hours a year that saw parent-teacher meetings and other activities held outside school time for a number of years under the now-lapsed Croke Park agreement. ASTI president Ed Byrne said the departments response was a considerable over-reaction. We must respond to this most serious escalation of this dispute with the department, he said. We must now give a strong message to the Government that this treatment is unacceptable. Education Minister Richard Bruton said he was disappointed by the decision to ballot members for industrial action. He believes that continuing dialogue between his department and the ASTI would be in the best interests of schools, parents, students, and teachers. It is regrettable that ASTI seem determined to pursue a route of confrontation rather than dialogue, he said. He reiterated his departments offer in July to suspend its measures during talks with the ASTI on issues of concern. However, this was conditional on the union suspending its withdrawal from working the Croke Park hours, and has previously been rejected by ASTI leaders. Pressure on the Government is raised by the industrial action threat, up to possible strikes, unless equal pay for newly qualified teachers is restored. The council also recommends a yes vote, with voting to take place in the next few weeks. An agreement on partial restoration, through revised qualifications allowances, is expected to be reached with the Irish National Teachers Organisation and Teachers Union of Ireland within weeks. However, ASTIs annual convention last March mandated the union to ballot members if anything less than full restoration of a common basic pay scale for all teachers was on offer by the end of August. New and recently qualified teachers are not only faced with years of casual short-term contracts, but an inferior rate of pay for doing the exact same work as their colleagues, said ASTI general secretary Kieran Christie. Our goal is simple, we want equal pay for equal work. The message from our central executive council is they are prepared to take strike action on this issue. The Erasmus+ scheme brings 7,200 students to study or work in Ireland annually, including over 2,000 who take part in internships. The figure has risen by 60% in the last seven years from 4,500 in 2007/08, with stays ranging from two months to a year. However, a survey of incoming students for the Higher Education Authority HEA), which manages the Erasmus+ programme in Ireland, reveals economic benefits beyond the spend of the students themselves. It found that 80% of them receive at least one visitor, with the average student having at least four, staying three to 15 days. Based on the average visitors stay of a week, the HEA has used Failte Ireland estimates of tourists spending 540 each per week to value those visits at 14m. The findings reveal an often-overlooked benefit to the wider economy of Irelands participation in Erasmus+, said Gerry OSullivan, HEAs head of international education. International education partnerships of this type drive tourism numbers, the benefits of which are felt nationwide. Just over a third of Erasmus+ students go to Dublin, a third go to Munster colleges or workplaces, followed by the rest of Leinster (18%), and Connacht/ Ulster (12%). Dublin was their visitors top destination, followed by Galway, Cork, Kerry, Kilkenny, Limerick, Belfast, and Derry. Nearly 80% of these visitors come from five countries, with French tourists 38% of the total, followed by Germans (17%), Spanish (12%), Italians (8%), and Dutch (4%). From 2007 to 2013, 30,000 Irish students travelled to another European country as Erasmus+ participants, including nearly 4,400 in 2012-2013. The number of Irish students taking part is projected to rise to 50,000 from 2014 to 2020. The school runs to Saturday and topics will include Irish politics, the US election,and the Brexit result. Garda commissioner Noirin OSullivan will give her first public interview on Friday night when Justice Minister Frances Fitzgerald will also be speaking. As the US presidential election heats up, a number of speakers will provide different angles on the race, such as NUI law lecturer Larry Donnelly who will examine how Donald Trump could win; Stacy Hillard of American Voices International offering a Republican perspective; and Tad Devine who was chief strategist with the Bernie Sanders campaign which gave Hillary Clinton a real fight before she emerged with the Democratic nomination. Twitters vice-president for global public policy and philanthropy Colin Crowell will discuss how the campaign is playing out on the social network. Thursday evenings opening address by ambassador Kevin OMalley will be followed by a reflection on the life and work of US playwright Eugene ONeill, led by keynote lecturer Professor Robert Downing. According to Kennedy Summer School director, barrister and former political adviser Noel Whelan, the three days will feature many compelling and interesting opinions. This years summer school comes at a very dramatic time in both Irish and American politics and indeed at a crucial time in Irish-American relations, he said. Other highlights include the schools keynote address by the former governor of Maryland and Democratic presidential contender, Martin OMalley. On Saturday afternoon a panel discussion on Irish politics will look at Budget, Brexit and Better Politics. Chaired by RTEs Katie Hannon, it will feature Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform Paschal Donohoe; Sinn Fein TD Eoin O Broin and Fianna Fail TD John McGuinness and Independent senator Lynn Ruane. Chef Edward Hayden and baker Catherine Leyden host a tea party in Dunganstown at the Kennedy Homestead with a coffee masterclass by Ray Cullen. There will also be a special screening of Best Picture Oscar winner Spotlight which tells the true story of the Pulitzer Prize-winning Boston Globe investigation into clerical sexual abuse. HES one of the countrys most acclaimed talents, showing his versatility and screen presence in movies like 28 Days Later, Batman Begins and Inception, and as the chilling Thomas Shelby in TVs Peaky Blinders. However, Cillian Murphy has told how he felt like an interloper early in his career, and didnt even conceive the notion that a successful movie career was a possibility. Film? Not at all. I thought if I could get another job in a play, then Id be happy. If I could be a working theatre actor, then that would be a dream. And for a while, that was the dream. I was working for Druid, Corcadorca. I was happy out, he said. However, when asked if there was a sense of confidence among Irish actors at that time, he said: I always felt like I was a complete interloper, I always felt like I was some massive mistake, I was going to be found out any minute. And all the real actors were out there, honing their craft, where I was just this fella that tripped up and fell in the door. Like genuinely, without trying to be all self-deprecating. I genuinely felt that and it took a long time to shake that off, he says. Its a telling observation, an indicator both of Murphys modesty and the sense that he never takes his success for granted. We meet in a Dublin hotel to discuss his new film, Anthropoid. Its an intense historical thriller about Operation Anthropoid, a top-secret mission to assassinate Reinhard Heydrich, a top-ranking Nazi official, in 1942. Murphy and fellow Irishman Jamie Dornan play Jozef Gabcik and Jan Kubis, the two Czech soldiers selected for the audacious mission in Prague, where Heydrich was wreaking havoc. The film deals not only with the mission, but its bloody aftermath. AMAZING STORY Like many, he said he was completely ignorant of this dramatic period in WW2 history, which was researched and made by British director Sean Ellis. I really liked the character, his complexity, the way hes trying to portray one thing but underneath you see that hes actually paralysed with fear. I really liked the simplicity of the writing, I felt that it was quite old-fashioned, in that you got to spend time with the characters. You got to know them, to invest in them, before the major drama happens. The assassination attempt happens midway through the film, which also examines the consequences, and this appealed to the actor. I saw it for the first time last night, and what it feels to me is that its very intimate, almost like a chamber piece, then all of a sudden the story just goes boom boom, and you see the huge might of the Third Reich, and the ramifications of that globally. There was a huge moral dilemma that faced them as men first of all knowing that they have to take a mans life, albeit a man who was heinous. Murphy and Jamie Dornan in Anthropoid "Theyd never done that before. And secondly, knowing the brutality that would be visited on their country if they succeeded. "Theres nothing glorified or gratuitous in this film, everything that you see actually happened. Thats what makes it so chilling, and so affecting. TURNING 40 Murphy, who turned 40 earlier this summer, recalls how 20 years ago this month, he faced a lot of choice and change in his life. We got offered a record deal [for his band, Sons of Mr Green Genes] and then I got offered the part in Disco Pigs, then I failed my exams, and I met my wife. Everything happened in that month. It was a busy month! A formative month. But when youre living through something like that you dont know. Did he feel conflicted by choice between college, music and acting? College was in the bin at that point. It was music and theatre, he says. There were two influential people in his life Corcadorca artistic director Pat Kiernan and playwright Enda Walsh. We were the first transition year the transition year guinea pigs. They had a drama module, and Pat came in and had this workshop with my class, and I developed this big man crush on Pat, I thought he was the coolest guy Id ever met. Then I left school and Id sort of meet him around Cork, in pubs and stuff. Then I saw a production of A Clockwork Orange, and that was it really. I had to do something with this theatre company. I was very curious about theatre. And I just badgered him, and eventually he gave me an audition for Disco Pigs, but it was Enda who auditioned me. And that was it. Change is in the air again. In the last year, Cillian moved back to Ireland with his artist wife Yvonne McGuinness and their boys, Malachy and Aran. He is bemused that when doing press for Anthropoid in the UK, media were curious to know was it because of Brexit. It was not political, although I do feel that we escaped, there, just at the right time. It was more emotional. We were getting to a certain age, we had children who were getting to a certain age. Its a very Irish narrative, isnt it? Of going away and coming back at some point in your life. I was 14 years in London, and the time felt right to come home. It happened organically, we just said: Lets just do it. And its the best decision weve made. It just makes sense to live in Dublin. I lived here a lot in the past. It feels really nice to be back. And we can pop down to Cork whenever, so it feels really good. Was there anything in particular he missed about home, I wonder? He doesnt skip a beat. I just missed Irish people. Theyre just sound, you know? IRISH TALENT He is excited at the current vibrant state of Irish cinema and talent. He recently filmed Christopher Nolans Dunkirk with young Dublin actor Barry Keoghan (Hes flying. Hes working with Colin (Farrell) now. And he deserves it all.) and forthcoming Cork comedy The Young Offenders is on his to-watch list. Im dying to see that. I cant wait. All my friends tell me its amazing. As an avid music lover, he was as devastated as fans worldwide when David Bowie passed away this year. He and the music icon had come to know each other after Bowie became a fan of Peaky Blinders. He even contributed music to the series. Thats very kind of bittersweet and very humbling, really. For him to say nice things and want to give his music to the show, it was very humbling for us all. And then, obviously, devastating when he passed. He affected everybody, he affected me, he made it all right to want to be different, to want to play music and want to be not what everybody else wanted to be. What is bitcoin? Last month, a judge in Florida ruled that bitcoin should not be legally considered money, dismissing charges of money laundering against website designer Michell Espinoza. The court is not an expert in economics; however, it is very clear, even to someone with limited knowledge in the area, the bitcoin has a long way to go before it the equivalent of money, Miami-Dade Circuit Judge Teresa Mary Pooler said in her ruling. If bitcoin is not money, then what exactly is it? The ideas behind bitcoin were first posited in a white paper published in 2008 which described a decentralised digital currency which was not tied to any government, bank or financial institution and using elegant mathematical and cryptographic functions would be completely transparent, trusted, and anonymous. It was a libertarians dream, created by a person or group of people known only as Satoshi Nakamoto. One of the greatest mysteries of the internet age, the search for the creator of bitcoin has raised multiple false flags including at one point 23-year-old Irish student Michael Clear with the latest candidate an Australian entrepreneur called Craig Wright, though many now doubt his claims too. Unlike traditional or fiat currency, bitcoins are something you cannot hold in your hand, but are simply a string of numbers, a completely digital currency. They are created by computers solving increasingly complex mathematical equations in a process which became known as bitcoin mining. While initially possible to solve these equations using desktop PCs and laptops, today the equations are so complex that bitcoin mining is the preserve of huge operations who invest millions in cutting-edge hardware designed specifically to mine bitcoin. Early proponents of the digital currency were able to quickly and easily build up big stores of bitcoin, but at the time these were only worth a fraction of a cent each. One of these early proponents was Laszlo Hanyecz, and in 2010 he managed to talk someone into accepting 10,000 bitcoins he had mined on his computer in exchange for two pizzas. At the time bitcoin was seen as having zero value, so getting someone to swap them for real-world items was a major breakthrough however at todays valuation, those 10,000 bitcoin would be worth over 5.1m. The value of bitcoin is one of the digital currencys most intriguing aspects. From being worth virtually nothing in the early years of its development, bitcoin began to gain some traction in 2013 as people began to investigate its unique features, and by the end of that year one bitcoin was trading on exchanges for over $1000. That bubble quickly burst however, and the price plummeted to as low as $200 before recovering somewhat. Today one bitcoin is trading at around $570, but in the past few months that figure has fluctuated wildly between $450 and $800. While many see bitcoin as an alternative version of gold, as a store of value, many are put off investing in the digital currency exactly because of its wildly fluctuating price. As a currency, bitcoin has a number of limitations. One of those is simply the act of buying bitcoin and spending it, and while it has become much easier to do in recent years, for the vast majority of people, it is still a challenge. Buying bitcoin is relatively simple. Just go to one of the many online exchanges such as the Irish-based Bitex where you can swap bitcoin for euros by using your bank card and download that bitcoin to your bitcoin wallet, a piece of software which you download to your PC or smartphone to store your digital coins. An even easier way to get hold of bitcoin is by using a bitcoin ATM which allows you swap euro notes for bitcoin in a matter of seconds. Unfortunately there is currently just one such machine in central Dublin. While spending bitcoin in major centres like London, New York, and Toyko is relatively easy, doing so in Ireland is still a bit of a challenge.The Bitcoin Foundation of Ireland has a list of businesses who will accept bitcoin in place of traditional currencies on its website. Given its inherently digital nature, lots of online retailers are now also accepting the currency. Given the idea is less than a decade old, is still completely unregulated and the value fluctuates wildly on a daily basis, predicting the future of bitcoin is difficult. Adding to this uncertainty are continuing problems with security surrounding bitcoin exchanges one exchange just last week lost almost 50m of its customers bitcoin in a cyber attack. Despite the large media interest in the cryptocurrency, it is still very much a niche technology that few use. Using bitcoin is simply too difficult . It also remains completely unregulated and viewed with suspicion by banks and governments. While no one really knows if bitcoin will disappear completely or becoming the de facto digital currency standard, the technology which underpins it, known as the blockchain, will certainly have a major impact on all our lives in the coming years. The blockchain is a distributed ledger which means all transactions on it can be verified by all users, making it virtually tamperproof and perfect as a way of independently recording ownership without the need for costly and inefficient third-parties. This technology is being developed by a range of industries and financial services where it could revolutionise remittance and trading and provide proof of provenance for customers, most interestingly in the garment industry. SERIOUS complaints about doctors, those who have promised to do no harm, are concerning for everyone involved the patients, the doctors, colleagues, and the medical profession in general, as well as friends and family members. Apart from the harm that may have been caused, or the severe lack of knowledge that could lead to harm, there is always the issue of broken trust. We trust doctors with our lives; we trust them with our health; we trust them to be knowledgeable in their field, because we need to make choices about our healthcare based on the information they give us. The Medical Council of Ireland, which is based in Dublin 2, between Stephens Green and Merrion Square, takes all complaints against doctors very seriously. Once a complaint is made to the regulator, a committee known as the Preliminary Proceedings Committee (PPC) investigates it further. If they believe the complaint to be serious enough, they then refer the case to the Fitness to Practise Committee, which holds an inquiry. The PPC, in conducting any investigation, is bound by fair procedures and the principles of natural justice, and must fairly evaluate and gather relevant information in relation to any matter being considered, said a spokeswoman for the Medical Council. Equally, the CEO, in presenting allegations of poor professional performance or professional misconduct at a fitness to practise inquiry, must adduce evidence in support of any such allegations, usually to the criminal standard of proof. This is important, as the criminal standard of proof is a higher standard of proof than that in a civil case, and therefore requires that any complaint must be investigated in a robust manner, the spokeswoman added. The Medical Council building in Dublin. The role of the regulator is to act in the public interest. Picture: Gareth Chaney/Collins Thus, while not all allegations made against doctors are proven at these inquiries, the complaints have been deemed serious enough to warrant the disciplinary hearings that are the fitness to practise inquiries. If the allegations are proven, and doctors are found guilty of professional misconduct or of poor professional performance, sanctions will be imposed on them. These can include paying a fine, providing a written apology, or being struck off the register. All these factors mean it is very worrying when a complaint is made against a doctor and they come before an inquiry and it is even more worrying when doctors continue to treat patients even after red flags are raised about their professional practice. Perhaps more worrying still is when a doctor is able to move to another hospital or clinic, different to the one where the incident that gave rise to the complaint took place, even after initial concerns have been raised. When this happens, serious questions about our health care system and the hiring policies within it are raised. These issues were highlighted in January this year, when Dr Omar Hassan who became known to many as the ankle and elbow doctor was the subject of a disciplinary hearing, which ran for over two weeks. Dr Hassan, who was 30 at the time of the inquiry, worked as a junior doctor at the Midlands Regional Hospital in Portlaoise from July 2012 to January 2013; Mayo General Hospital in December 2013; and at University Hospital Galway in January and February 2014. In all three positions, Dr Hassan was placed off-call shortly after he began took up the posts. Colleagues at the Portlaoise hospital raised concerns about Dr Hassan after he had worked two night shifts on July 20 and 23 covering the emergency department. On foot of those concerns, a decision was made to take him off the night shifts in which he covered the emergency department. In October, the hospital decided to relieve Dr Hassan of all his clinical duties. In January this year, Eadaoin Cooke, who works in the HR department in Portlaoise, told the inquiry that a number of colleagues raised concerns regarding Dr Hassan shortly after he took up his post. In this case, the issues arose out of clinical shortfalls with Dr Hassan in performance of his duties, Ms Cooke said. It seemed to be initially clinical but as time went on there seemed to be some personal misunderstandings as well. Several nurses from the hospital told the inquiry that Dr Hassan had acted aggressively towards them, and displayed bizarre behaviour. Dr Hassan then moved on to Mayo General Hospital, where he was hired for a six- week period from November 2013 until January 2014. However, Dr Hassan was removed from his on-call duties at the start of December after concerns were raised regarding his lack of assistance in the resuscitation of an elderly patient. In Galway, Dr Hassan was employed as an orthopaedic senior house officer from January 13, 2014, for six months. However, he was placed on administrative leave on February 21, 2014, following colleagues concerns over patient safety. After Dr Hassans first night on call, two colleagues were so concerned about his apparent lack of clinical abilities that they checked on the Irish medical register to confirm whether he was actually a registered doctor. Consultant orthopaedic and trauma surgeon John McCabe, Dr Hassans senior colleague at Galway, told the inquiry in January that he would have absolute, serious concerns about Dr Hassan working in another hospital. I would never knowingly have Dr Hassan ever work alongside me, he said. Also during the inquiry, consultant orthopaedic surgeon Aiden Devitt, who also works at Galway, said to Dr Hassan during cross-examination: I dont think you know what it means to be a doctor. If you pulled someone off the street they would make a better fist of it than you did. Orthopaedic consultant Mutaz Jadaan told Dr Hassan at the inquiry the following day: Ive never, ever had a concern about a doctor in the way I had concerns about you. Perhaps the most memorable day of the 11-day hearing was when Dr Hassans former colleague at Galway, consultant Odhran Murray, told the inquiry of an instance in which Dr Hassan mistook an x-ray of an ankle for an image of an elbow during a training session with colleagues. Doctors were discussing cases, Mr Murray said, and an image of an ankle was put up. Dr Hassan said it was an image of an elbow and proceeded to tell everyone about the elbow fracture. There was an audible gasp in the room, Mr Murray told the inquiry. In 2014, GUH made a complaint about Dr Hassan to the Medical Council. Following this, his medical registration was suspended by the High Court, following an application by the Medical Council in March 2015. This meant he was not able to practice medicine, pending the outcome of the inquiry. On January 26, Dr Hassan was found guilty of professional misconduct and poor professional performance, on multiple grounds. The Medical Council then decided to request that his registration remain suspended. Dr Hassan is currently appealing this, and is due to appear before the High Court again in October. Dr Hassan has strongly rejected the findings of the fitness to practise committee, and subsequently wrote to the Medical Council: What have taken place will be fully paid for at an extremely bloody price for the people involved worldwide. As it seems that following regulations and putting forward reasonable explanations did not work and do not work, so me and my family will take things into our own hands in the future, as our local culture of fair revenge may extend down generations. On foot of the findings in relation to Dr Hassan in January, then-health minister Leo Varadkar called on the HSE to review its recruitment procedures. The review identified a number of systemic issues, including a lack of centralised recruitment processes for doctors in service posts; an absence of single HR systems across HSE hospitals; and a lack of measures in place to assess a doctors competency to practise medicine, prior to the decision of the Medical Council to grant the doctor registration here in Ireland. The HSE is rolling out a new policy in order to address these concerns and in a bid to prevent similar situations arising again. Although few cases are as dramatic as that of Dr Hassan, a number of other hearings held within the past year have involved doctors who have continued to work after concerns were raised about them, to the Medical Council or within their employment setting. Some of these doctors have worked within the private sector. A lengthy inquiry into consultant gynaecologist Dr Peter Van Geene took place between July and October 2015, although it concerned patients he had treated while working at Aut Even hospital in Kilkenny between 2009 and 2011. The inquiry examined the care he provided to four women Patients A, B, and C, as well as patient Helen Cruise, who was the only person in this case to waive her right to anonymity. Dr Van Geene was found guilty of poor professional performance on only two out of the 15 counts he faced. The two allegations that were found to amount to poor professional performance were in relation to Ms Cruise. These related to the manner in which consent was obtained from Ms Cruise for her operation, and the way in which Dr Van Geene communicated with her during a post-operative conversation specifically, the allegations that Dr Van Geene failed to adequately explain the procedures due to be carried out, as well as the risks involved, amounting to poor professional performance. The committee also found that Dr Van Geene communicated with Ms Cruise in an incorrect or inappropriate manner during a post-operative conversation with her at St Lukes Hospital, where she was transferred. During the inquiry, Ms Cruise said Dr Van Geene told her, after he had performed a hysterectomy on her, that he had thrown her womb into a bucket on the floor. Dr Van Geene has always denied he said this. At the conclusion of the inquiry, Ms Cruise was too upset to make a statement, and her daughter, Aneke Cruise, burst into tears and ran out of the inquiry room. Dr Van Geene continued to practice after the events at Aut Even hospital took place, working at the Whitfield Clinic in Waterford for a period of time. A statement from the clinic confirmed: Mr Van Geene worked at Whitfield Clinic on part-time basis, as his main clinical practice was based in counties Kilkenny and Kildare. He ceased his clinical practice at Whitfield Clinic in October 2013. Although the inquiry into Dr Van Geene concluded a year ago, sanctions have yet to be imposed on him. In an unprecedented move, Medical Protection Society has pulled its medical insurance cover for Dr Van Geene, as well as for Aut Even hospital, the High Court heard last month. At the time, Dr Van Geenes legal representatives, from Matheson solicitors, announced they were applying to come off record, which means they would no longer represent the consultant. This application is due to be heard in October, when it is understood that five civil actions against Dr Van Geene will also come before the court. In June this year, an inquiry began into Dr Emmanuel Gbadebo Alabi, who is based in Cork. The inquiry concerned his time at Mayo General Hospital in Castlebar, where he worked as a senior house officer from January to February 2009. This was his first clinical position in Ireland. Dr Alabi went on to work in Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital in Drogheda in July 2010, and Letterkenny Hospital in Donegal in August-September 2010. It was alleged that Dr Alabi failed to bring an x-ray report to the attention of his superiors at Mayo General Hospital in 2009, in the case of a patient who later died of cancer. Last month, Dr Alabi was cleared of the allegations in relation to this case. However, this was not the only complaint made about Dr Alabi, nor the first time he had been before a fitness to practise inquiry at the Medical Council. In August 2012, Dr Alabi was found guilty of professional misconduct at a Medical Council inquiry in relation to his time at Letterkenny Hospital. In August 2010, Dr Alabi was offered a one-month contract at Letterkenny, which was later extended. He was dismissed at the end of September, when it came to light that he was the subject of a Garda investigation in relation to a laptop. In August 2008, he had convinced a staff member at Argos in Blackpool, Cork, to repay him 599 for the return of the laptop, which was not the one that had originally been purchased. In September 2010, he received a four-month suspended sentence at Cork District Cork in relation to the matter. In 2011, Dr Alabi was found guilty of poor professional performance at yet another fitness to practise inquiry in relation to his time at Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital in Drogheda in July 2010. It was found that he failed to carry out basic duties, including scrubbing up in preparation for a caesarean section, inserting intravenous lines, and recording a patients history. During this inquiry, a consultant obstetrician at Our Ladys admitted she had not contacted Dr Alabis previous employer for a reference because the hospital was in such desperate need of junior doctors. This issue has arisen numerous times during fitness to practice inquiries into junior doctors. While many such doctors remain in Ireland, many others have moved on to work in other countries by the time they come before the fitness to practice committee. This means that even if they are found guilty of professional misconduct or poor professional performance, it is of little consequence to them. Dr Saqib Ahmed worked as a junior registrar in oncology at University Hospital Limerick between July and November 2012. He was not the subject of a fitness to practise inquiry until the summer of 2015, by which time he was had taken up a position in America. In July 2015, Dr Ahmed was cleared of professional misconduct and poor professional performance, despite the fact that many of the allegations against him were found to be factually true. Dr Ahmed faced a total of eight allegations of professional misconduct and/or poor professional performance. While a number of the allegations were proven to be factually true, only a sub-section of one of the claims was proven to amount to poor professional performance. This was in relation to the allegation that Dr Ahmed failed to request basic medical tests for a patient whom he saw on November 6, 2012. Perhaps the most memorable allegation faced by Dr Ahmed was that he used his thumbnail to mark a patients skin for surgery. The Medical Council says that while patient safety is paramount, it has a duty as the regulatory body for the professional to ensure that any complaints are investigated properly and that all doctors receive fair and judicial treatment, and are presumed innocent. The role of the regulator is to act in the public interest, and they must ensure that procedures followed are fair and reasonable to all parties concerned, a Medical Council spokeswoman said. Any regulator is afforded the power and remit to discipline or sanction a member, and so it must ensure it acts responsibly and fairly to all parties concerned in any investigation or inquiry. Investigations vary in scope and timing depending on the circumstances of each complaint. Although Medical Council staff take measures to ensure the process is efficient, a number of factors contribute to delays in holding an inquiry, according to the spokeswoman. These include difficulties in accessing information, accessing expert opinions, and the fact that inquiries often last longer than expected because a number of doctors choose to legally represent themselves. Additionally, the Medical Practitioners Act 2007 restricts the councils ability to streamline processes and timelines, although it is in discussions with the Department of Health in the hope of adding amendments to the act which will address these issues. This, however, might be of little comfort to the patients and doctors who wait years for traumatic, stressful events to come to some kind of resolution. During his inquiry last autumn, Dr Dawar Siddiqi, who worked as a consultant radiologist at Bantry General Hospital in 2013, pleaded with the hearings committee to consider the effect the process had had on his own life. Dr Dawar Siddiqi told an inquiry last autumn that not being able to get a job was affecting his life. Picture: RTE News Does anyone know what Im going through by not getting a job? he asked. Does anybody know how it affects the person? Who is going to think of the doctor? Look at the human side of the doctor. Perhaps patient and mother-of-seven Helen Cruise put things even more succinctly when she described the effect her surgery and experiences with Dr Van Geene had on her: Mentally, Im destroyed. My whole life has been turned upside down. Burkini Fascism might sound like a landlocked country in West Africa, but its much nearer than that. Youve probably seen the shameful photo of that woman lying on a French beach, surrounded by policemen with guns, standing over her, ordering her to publicly disrobe. This same logic, as someone pointed out on Twitter, would have been banning Catholic nuns from wearing their habits during the IRA bombings of the Seventies. Insane, antagonistic, futile. Eye-wateringly misogynistic. And seriously off-target. The beach where I spend every August is bang in the middle of this burkini ban coastline. Although too small and unimportant to register its own ban, it is surrounded on each side by the 30 towns that have decreed the all-in-one swimwear illegal. From Nice to Cassis, municipal cops have been patrolling beaches, scanning for women deemed too covered up. Humiliating and intimidating women they do it in Iran, and now they do it in France. Burma Burma and India to Advance Trade Burmese President U Htin Kyaw shakes hands with Indias Prime Minister Narendra Modi (R) during his ceremonial reception at the forecourt of Indias Rashtrapati Bhavan presidential palace in New Delhi, India on August 29, 2016. / Adnan Abidi / Reuters RANGOON The Indo Myanmar Chamber of Commerce Industries and the Burmese government have agreed to promote cross-border trade and development of Burmas agricultural sector after a meeting on Saturday. Than Myint, Minister of Commerce and Rohinton Engineer, vice president of Indo Myanmar Chambers of Commerce Industriesalong with a team of delegatesmet in Naypyidaw to promote trade through an updated banking system, and to facilitate the allowance of arrival visas in border stations between the two countries. We will promote more trade volume between the two countries. India has agreed to buy more and more beans and pulses from Myanmar every year, Yan Naing Tun, director general of the Department of Trade within the Ministry of Commerce, told the Irrawaddy. He added that India has agreed to buy at least 9 million tons of beans and pulses from Burma, and that the amount will increase annually. India agreed to help us with improving technology for firms dealing in beans and pulses, Yan Naing Tun added. The Indo-Myanmar delegation came to Burma after President U Htin Kyaws visit to India last week. In September 3, the delegates also met with Minister of Industry Khin Maung Cho on behalf of investors eyeing the agricultural sector, through the production of equipment and the sharing of biogas technology, as well as through developing the food and garment industries. Despite being neighbors, Indias total investment in Burma was around US$224 million during the 2015-2016 fiscal yearsignificantly lower than the investments of other regional countries, like China. No new Indian investments were made during the first four months of the 2016-2017 fiscal year. According to the Ministry of Commerce, total trade volume between India and Burma is just over US$1 billion, while Burma-China trade has reached nearly $11 billion. Burma DKBA Splinter Group Clashes with Border Guard Force, Roads Blocked A member of the government-allied Border Guard Force patrols the Asian Highway in Karen State amid conflict in 2015. / Kyaw Kha / The Irrawaddy CHIANG MAI, Thailand Clashes have been reported over the weekend in Karen State between a splinter group of the Democratic Karen Benevolent Army (DKBA) and the Burma Army-aligned Border Guard Force (BGF). The clashes have led to the temporary shutdown of a road connecting Myaing Gyi Nyu village with Mae Tha Waw, a trading village on the border with Thailands Tak Province. Residents of Mae Tha Waw village told The Irrawaddy on Monday that local militias who control checkpoints along the road banned villagers and travelers from the route as on and off fighting continued in Kue Seit village. The road has been shut down, people cant travel on the route, said a local merchant in Mae Tha Waw, who asked for anonymity due to concerns for her safety. It was shut down when the fighting broke out; I dont know how long it will take to reopen the road. The Burma Army and the allied BGF partially controls the route, while the DKBA splinter groupnamed after its late commander, Maj. Na Ma Kyaralso operates in the area. Fighting was reported between the DKBA splinter group and the BGF troops on Sunday evening and Monday morning. Residents of Mae Tha Waw village operate a ferry on the Moei River transporting travelers and goods to and from Thailand. They also run small-scale transportation businesses carrying passengers and Thai goods on the route from Mae Tha Waw to Myaing Gyi Nyu and to other villages nearby. The fighting in the area of Mae Tha Waw came after the DKBA splinter group announced in late August that they would escalate frontline battles if the Burma Army and the BGF kept harassing its troops, after the death of the groups leader Maj. Na Ma Kyar. Two officers in the Na Ma Kyar splinter faction, Maj. Saw San Aung and Lt. Kyaw Thet, are on the same Burma Army wanted list as the deceased Maj. Na Ma Kyar. A video posted on Facebook on Monday shows footage of Lt. Kyaw Thet telling his soldiers that the BGF had joined forces with the Burma Army against their fellow Karen, the DKBA. He urged his soldiers to fight back. They [BGF] joined the enemy [Burma Army] and attacked us. They tried to destroy us. So, if you see them, just fire at them without asking any questions, he says in the video. Local residents of Mae Tha Waw village also said that travelers were banned from visiting the well-known Kyotaw waterfall located nearby. Frequent fighting that broke out on Sunday evening continued on Monday morning. The Na Ma Kyar group is present in rural areas of Kawkareik Township and in the Mae Tha Waw area of Hlaingbwe Township, both in Karen State. The group has exerted control, and collected road tolls, along parts of the Asian Highway, which was built to ease trade and transit between Burma and Thailand via the Myawaddy-Mae Sot border. Burma Farmer Dies in Irrawaddy Division Land Dispute An injured farmer on his way to hospital after a confrontation over land in Labutta Township of Irrawaddy Division. / The Irrawaddy One farmer was killed and four injured when a farmland dispute turned violent in a forest reserve in the area of Shwe Kyun Tha in Labutta Township of Irrawaddy Division on Saturday. The five farmers were rushed to Labutta Township Hospital, one dying the same day. The other four are still receiving medical treatment, U Than Naing of the 88 Generation Peace and Open Society activist group told The Irrawaddy on Monday. The death followed what was only the latest confrontation between farmers who claim to have originally held the farmland in Shwe Kyun Tha, and farmers who now occupy it, in a dispute over land rights that has continued since 2013. In 1992, the Labutta Township Forestry Department confiscated the land from the original farmers in order to plant a mangrove forest. The project was not implemented, and the department handed the land over to another group of farmers. In 2013, after the U Thein Sein administration established committees to resolve historic land disputes, the original Shwe Kyun Tha farmers began to demand their land back. The deceased farmer belonged to the group of new farmers. Following the death, police detained four from the group of original farmers and three from the group of new farmers. Police have since been guarding the houses of the original farmers, after a rumor circulated that the new farmers would mount a revenge attack, said Nyo Seint of the Human Rights Activist Network based in the Irrawaddy Division capital of Pathein. Irrawaddy Division Chief of Police Col Tun Min confirmed that he had dispatched his deputy to supervise the Labutta District Police, to ensure against further clashes. In other events, the Labutta Township Forestry Department in the second week of August sued 12 local farmers for illegally fishing, breeding prawns and felling wood in the same forest reserve. U Chit Than Tun, who heads the department, said that local forest coverage was shrinking: he had sued the farmers as a warning, after receiving instructions from headquarters in Naypyidaw to step up forest conservation efforts. U Tun Tun Oo, who heads the Pathein-based Human Rights Activist Network, said that three of the farmers, who were charged with trespassing in the forest resolve, had illegally been detained beyond the 12-hour limit mandated by the offence. Labutta township court conducted an initial hearing for the farmers on Aug. 29. The second hearing is scheduled for Tuesday. U Aung Moe Win, chairman of the Labutta Farmers Union, said tension is unavoidable if the forestry department continues to sue local farmers for trespassing on the forest reserve. The forestry department did not enforce forestry laws in the past, but now they are applying them without studying the situation on the ground. I would say it is wrong to conserve forests in this way, he said. Burma Former Lt-Gen to Sue Local Journal for Defamation Khin Zaw Oo at a press conference during the Union Peace Conference. / Pyay Kyaw / The Irrawaddy NAYPYIDAW Khin Zaw Oo, a former Lt-Gen in the Burma Army and current member of the new governments peace commission, said he would sue the Myanmar Herald for defamation, after publishing a story that alleged he sought political gain by taking advantage of National League for Democracy (NLD) government officials. The Myanmar Herald stated that Khin Zaw Oos personal intervention in the Union Peace Conference caused inconveniences to attendees. The conference, held from August 31 to September 3, was criticized for mismanagementwith the United Wa State Army (UWSA) delegates leaving the conference on the second day. Im waiting for a response. I will consider forgiving [the Myanmar Herald] if they apologize. Otherwise, we will have to meet in court, said Khin Zaw Oo, who was also a former adjutant general in the Burma Army. Khin Zaw Oo denied allegations that he manipulated NLD officials for political gain. I am not a politician and dont need to take advantage of government officials. I was assigned to chair the work committee and coordinate conference arrangements. I was not directly involved in the conference; my responsibility was just to coordinate requirements, Khin Zaw Oo wrote on his Facebook page. He added that he has a strong case against the weekly journal. The Myanmar Herald did not name its sources, instead only quoting some conference organizers. They might need to explain who those organizers are, he said. Hsan Win Tun, the chief editor of the Myanmar Herald, told The Irrawaddy that the journal had tried to interview Khin Zaw Oo to ensure balanced reporting before publishing the story, but the former Lt-Gen refused to respond and therefore the journal would not apologize to him. We asked, but he refused to answer. We gave him a chance, but he didnt say anything. So, we wont apologize, he said. Burma Kofi Annan Confident in Arakan State Advisory Commissions Mandate Kofi Annan and Daw Aung San Suu Kyi are pictured before the start of the meeting of the Arakan State Advisory Commission on Monday at the National Reconciliation and Peace Center in Rangoon. / Myo Min Soe / The Irrawaddy RANGOON Burmas State Counselor Daw Aung San Suu Kyi said that she believes the Arakan State Advisory Commissionchaired by former UN general secretary Kofi Annanwill bring credible advice in confronting tension in Arakan State. On Monday, the State Counselor and the nine-member commission conducted their initial meeting at National Reconciliation and Peace Centre (NRPC) in Rangoon. Media were allowed access to the opening speeches of the session. All members of the commission will help us to find a way forward, she said. We believe that you will give us fair and valuable advice. I believe that it will be based on goodwill to all our people as well as people all over the world. And based on your advice, we will try the best for our country. The problems in Arakan State, Daw Aung San Suu Kyi explained, not only have relevance for Burma but also the global community. Since anti-Muslim violence broke out in the region in 2012, more than 140,000 people have been displaced in the state and tensions have grown between the Buddhist Arakanese and the Muslim Rohingya. Communal violence is not a recent phenomenon, she continued, adding that the problem has been growing for many years and a historical investigation would contribute to better understanding of the conflict. She also refuted assertions from political parties, such as the Arakan National Party and the Union Solidarity and Development Party, that the formation of the commissionwhich includes three international memberswould interfere with Burmas sovereignty on internal affairs. No one can interfere with our sovereigntysovereignty is owned by all people, not only by the government, Daw Aung San Suu Kyi said. Our problem has been on the international stage for many years and we want to find out why. We want to find out why our problem has become of great importance to humans all over the world. We must try to evaluate the situation. The commissions purpose, she stated, is to investigate the root causes of conflict in Arakan State and to develop a reconciliation process between the two religious communities in the region. Kofi Annan delivered a short statement to the press at the event in which he said that the advisory commission would act rigorously to find ways to address the situation in Arakan State, and work closely with the people of the region, including engaging with community and religious leaders, local administration and members of the State Counselors Office. Although the challenges facing Arakan State are complex and deep-rooted, Mr. Annan said he remains confident that we can assist the people of Rakhine to chart a common path for a peaceful and prosperous future. During the conference, both sides avoided using the term Rohingya, the name with which many Muslims in the region ethnically identify; it is rejected by many Arakanese Buddhists and members of the Burmese public, who describe the group as Bengali, implying they are interlopers from neighboring Bangladesh. The Rohingya are not listed among Burmas 135 officially recognized ethnic groups, contributing to widespread statelessness among the population. The commission itself does not have any Rohingya membersit includes two Muslim representatives, two Arakanese Buddhists and two government representatives, in addition to the three members of the international community. On Tuesday, Mr. Annan will travel to Arakan State, reportedly to introduce himself to locals as the chair of the advisory commission and spend two days in the region. Around 300 Arakanese Buddhist nationalists have already received permission from the local authorities to hold a peaceful protest at the airport in the state capital of Sittwe, according to police official Aye Khin Maung. Locals will protest for two days at the airport, [corresponding with] the arrival and departure times of Mr. Annan, he said. Burma State Counselor to Attend Asean Summit in Laos State Counselor Daw Aung San Suu Kyi attends a meeting of Asean foreign ministers in Vientiane, Laos July 25, 2016. / Jorge Silva / Reuters RANGOON State Counselor Daw Aung San Suu Kyi will travel to Laos to attend the 28th and 29th Asean Summit and related meetings. The meetings will be held in the capital Vientiane from Tuesday until Thursday. Presidents Office spokesperson U Zaw Htay said a statement would be released on Tuesday regarding the visit. It will be the third time the state counselor has visited neighboring Laos since the National League for Democracy government assumed power in late March. On her intial visit in May, she was accompanied by Burmas President U Htin Kyaw. For her second trip, she joined the Asean Foreign Ministers Meeting in Vientiane in July. US President Barack Obama and other world leaders will join the upcoming summit. The state counselor has recently visited Thailand and China. She will travel to Washington DC on September 14-15 to meet with President Obama, US Vice President Joe Biden, members of the US congress and various business leaders. Burma Taunggyi District NLD Party Chairman Protests Verbal Expulsion Order Taunggyi District NLD chairman U Tin Maung Toe. / Tin Maung Toe / Facebook RANGOON U Win Htein, a Central Executive Committee (CEC) member of the National League for Democracy (NLD), gave verbal instructions to sack the party chairman of Taunggyi Districts NLD chapter, U Tin Maung Toe, on Sunday. U Tin Maung Toe said he was verbally sacked by U Win Htein because he wrote on his Facebook page, CEC [member positions] can be bought, but history cant be. The verbal expulsion is not in line with NLD party rules and regulations, U Tin Maung Toe told The Irrawaddy. According to NLD rules and regulations, party members cant be expelled for sharing such things. U Tin Maung Toe said. Whats more, they cant be sacked verbally. If a complaint is filed against a party member, it has to be submitted to disciplinary committees at different levels. Only the central disciplinary committee is authorized to suspend or dismiss membership. He demanded that the partys Union-level CEC release an official order in black and white if he is to be expelled. I didnt break any party rules and regulations. It is U Win Htein who has violated the party regulations. So, I will face this situation according to party rules and regulations, U Tin Maung Toe told The Irrawaddy. Daw Khin Moe Moe, chairwoman of northern Shan States NLD chapter, told The Irrawaddy: The decision to expel a party member can only be made through a CEC meeting. If the decision was made by an individual, it would mean the party is authoritarian. Daw Khin Moe Moe said that U Tin Maung Toe has been a supporter of the NLD since the 1988 pro-democracy movements in Burma. U Win Htein arrived in Taunggyi in September for the election of the new Shan State NLD executive committee; U Tin Maung Toe was not selected for an executive committee posting within the party. When asked by The Irrawaddy, U Nyan Win, CEC member and a member of the NLDs secretary board of senior party leaders, said: I cant answer questions until I know everything about the case. Please call Taunggyi (NLD) since it happened in Taunggyi. Translated from Burmese by Thet Ko Ko. Burma UWSA Criticizes Peace Conference for Poor Management and Discrimination The UWSA delegation pictured on the first day of the 21st Century Panglong peace conference in Naypyidaw. / Wa State News Agency In a statement issued by the United Wa State Army (UWSA) on Sept. 2, the group condemned what it described as poor management and discrimination against ethnic minorities at Burmas Union Peace Conference, after their peace delegations walkout. The UWSA representatives, who left the four-day conference in Naypyidawheld from Aug. 31 to Sept. 3on the second day, said that while the group supports State Counselor Daw Aung San Suu Kyis approach to peacebuilding, the conference was marred by poor management and unequal treatment. There should be consideration for minority groups, and fair treatment from the management, said the statement. We will stand and condemn the use of unfair management to oppress minorities, who they said were at a disadvantage. One of the UWSAs complaints was that they were relegated to an observer role rather than that of a full participanta mistake that the organizers said they would remedy, but that caused the Wa delegation to exit. If the peace conference cannot provide fairness and transparency, how will future peace negotiations grant peace? the group asked in the statement. In another statement on Sept. 5 in Chinese media, the UWSA alleged that the organizing committee for the eventalso known as the 21st Century Panglongwas not upfront about their role in the conference; it was the Tatmadaw (the Burma Army) that had the power to grant an attendee the chance to speak at the event, they said, not the organizing committee, as was originally thought. The Burmese governments conference organizing committee criticized the Wa peace delegation for coming late to the conference, leading to their receiving of cards identifying them as observers, separating them from other ethnic armed organizations present. The UWSA rejected the criticism. We went to take the cards in the afternoon, but we got the cards in the evening, they said of the observer identification, which they said was insufficient. At the core of the delegations dissatisfaction is the fact that they were not able to speak at the conference and present a paper that they had prepared for the event. The UWSA said they grew tired of waiting for a decision to be made on whether their status, and their chance to speak, would be approved. This was an unthinkable incident, different from the message of the [government peace commission], that there were going to be no restrictions from speaking on the issues, the group said in their statement, referring to meetings with the government representatives in Mongla in August. Government peace negotiator Khin Zaw Oo spoke to media and admitted the conference organizing committee had mismanaged the situation by giving observer status to the UWSA peace delegation, and that Thein Zaw, another peace negotiator, had sent them a letter, apologizing for the mistake. Lifestyle Wathann Film Festival Non-Competition Highlights Posters of the Wathann Film Festival seen in Rangoon. / Damien Cloarec / Wathann Film Festival RANGOON As the Wathann Film Festival kicks off with its sixth edition on Tuesday, Rangoons oldest cinema Waziya prepares to host the citys movie buffs. According to the organizers, the film festival will showcase more than 30 local and international independent films: fifteen films have been selected for the local competition, nine for the Southeast Asia competition and about 10 films for non-competitive screenings. All 24 competition films will have two screenings each during the six-day eventfrom Tuesday until Sunday. The organizers provide a second showing of a shortlisted selection over the weekend for those who are unable to make it out on weekdays, while a collection of non-competition screenings offer a rare opportunity for the citys cinephiles. The Irrawaddy lists a collection of non-competition highlights from the festivals line-up for easy reference. South East Asian Shorts (September 7, 3:30 pm to 5:30 pm) Short films from Indonesia, Vietnam, Philippines, Thailand, Singapore and Malaysia. Japanese Cinema (September 8, 3:30pm) Master Class by Nobuhiro Kawanaka and a presentation of the Image Forum Film Festival by Koyo Yamashita. The film festival will host a master class with one of Japans pioneers of experimental film, Nobuhiro Kawanaka. He will present three of his works from the 1970s-2000s. He is also known for the genre of private filma diary or letter in video form, a style not often found in Burmese films. Switchback (1976, 9 min) B Continued (1984, 22 min) Correspondence (2005, 38 min) Cafe Waldluft (79 min) (September 9, 3:30pm to 5:30pm) By Matthias Kobmehl This award-winning German documentary tells the story of a family hotel and cafe that turned into a temporary haven for asylum seekers fleeing from Afghanistan, Syria and Sierra Leone. The Palace On The Sea (15 min) (September 9, 6:00pm to 8:00pm) By Midi Z This 15-minute experimental and expressionist short film was directed by Burmese-born Taiwanese filmmaker Midi Z. It explores the mysterious desire of a Burmese migrant worker in Taiwan who longs to go home. Midi Z is best known for his 2014 feature film Ice Poisona Taiwanese entry selected for the 87th Oscar Awards, featuring two Burmese drug victims in Lashio, Shan State. The award-winning filmmaker will not be able to attend the Wathann Film Festival, but the producer and actor Shin-hong Wang will be available during the Q&A session following the screening. Like Umbrella/Like King (15 min 44 sec) (September 9, 6:00pm to 8:00pm) By Moe Satt This short film features the work of an installation artist, involving umbrellas, zippers and colors. Above And Below (119 min) (September 10, 6:00pm 8:00pm) By Nicolas Steiner This documentary was directed by a Swiss film student. It follows the lives of five individuals who do not fit into modern American society. Film critics acclaimed it as one of 2015s most remarkable cinematic discoveries. Monday, September 5th, 2016 (12:21 am) - Score 1,390 The European Commissions Directorate-General for Competition has opened an investigation into the Aylesbury Vale Broadband project over its use of State Aid to roll-out an ultra-fast FTTH broadband network in rural Buckinghamshire, which is despite the presence of a competing wireless network. The publicly funded effort, which was initially supported by 200,000 from the local Aylesbury Vale District Council (AVDC) and has recently been given another boost of 500,000 to help the network expand, has already made good progress to reach three villages (Granborough, North Marston and Swanbourne) and they hope to cover a total of ten by the end of 2016. Customers of the new Fibre-to-the-Premise (FTTH/P) network usually pay from 30 per month for an unlimited 30Mbps (symmetrical) service, which rises to 38 if you want 100Mbps or 135 for the fastest 300Mbps package. A one-off connection fee of 150 also applies via the self-install method. The Managing Director of AVB, Andrew Mills, explained: AVB is a community driven company a hybrid of Gigaclear and B4RN. We call it community driven for whilst it is a commercial company its primary objective is to expand its fibre network to deliver ultra-fast broadband speeds to all of Aylesbury Vale. To guarantee this objective is kept and the loaned funds are used solely for this purpose, AVDC has received 95% equity in the company. However problems emerged last year after two local fixed wireless ISPs (Village Networks [VN] and Rapid Rural) said they were unhappy at the use of public money, which they claimed had enabled AVB to roll-out into some of the same areas as their own planned superfast broadband capable networks. VN later lodged a formal letter of complaint with AVDC (here). At the time Andrew Mills said, We are also aware that Village Networks has previously met with AVDC to present and discuss their proposal to deliver super-fast broadband to Aylesbury Vale but we understand their proposal was based on a pure grant subsidy rather than a loan or equity model. Mills also said that AVB had consulted closely with the local Government and BT supported Connected Counties scheme on their own roll-out. Nearly a year has now passed since the original dispute erupted and theres finally been a new development. The boss of Village Networks, Roger Carey, informed ISPreview.co.uk over the weekend that the ECs Directorate-General for Competition has found sufficient merit in the case to warrant an investigation. Roger Carey said: AVBs business model calls for network coverage of such scale that it will have to take business from existing self-funded commercial providers which is why, although it claims to be a pure fibre network, with no old technology, and no aerials its now approaching communities already covered by superfast fixed wireless operators, offering to connect them by, er, fixed wireless. Theyre offering something called FTTM, which stands for Fibre To The Mast. AVB claims this is different and better to anyone elses wireless. Other fixed wireless operators find this curious, not least because AVB do not seem to have any masts or towers. The AVB project started out as a decent but heroic attempt to help bring better broadband to rural communities in the Vale. A noble cause which everyone, including us, supports. But that project has acquired some behaviour which can only be described as inappropriate for one owned and operated by a local authority, and it doesnt serve them or their cause in any way. For as long as AVDC and AVB present a publicly subsidised direct threat to existing providers and their subscribers in the Vale of Aylesbury, well take whatever proper and fair steps we can to protect those interests. The EC complaint is a regrettable distraction from our core business, but its what any responsibly-run business would do. At this point its important to remember that the United Kingdom is still beholden to EU State Aid rules, which are designed to prevent EU member states from distorting competition through abuse of public funding etc. Meanwhile the Brexit vote to leave the EU isnt likely to be formally implemented for a few more years (possibly not until around 2020) and even then we might still have to respect some of the same measures. But if AVB are worried about any of this then it doesnt appear to be showing. According to Andrew Mills, AVB has not yet been informed of the ECs decision to investigate, although they suggest that its routine for the Commission to investigate any complaint made to them and they welcome any investigation. Andrew Mills, MD of AVB, told ISPreview.co.uk: We look forward to putting this complaint behind us, so we can continue to focus on delivering ultra-fast fibre broadband to residents of Aylesbury Vale who have little hope of ever receiving super-fast speeds, let alone ultra-fast. Competition investigations by the EC sometimes have a tendency to drag on for quite awhile before reaching a conclusion and as a result we might not learn the outcome of this one for a fair few months. By then AVB will probably have been able to reach its current target of ten villages and many residents, most of whom will be unaware of the dispute, will no doubt continue to welcome the new service. UPDATE 10:17am According to Roger Carey, the earlier claim by Andrew Mills (AVB) that VN submitted a proposal based on grant funding may not be entirely correct. According to reports, there are several digital surveillance firms that make cash from the opportunity to sell governments phone-spy tech that allows spying on citizens' smartphones through backdoor and accessing private data without authorization. Aperture Gamers reports that there are various digital security companies all over the world, ready to access any user's personal data for money. But after a security research group found malware in the iPhone of Ahmed Mansoor, a UAE-based human rights activist, the Israeli spyware firm NSA Group is the company that made it more in the news since last week. According to digital security experts, anything is possible in the digital world. From gathering every sound, keystroke, location and message to invisibly spying on 10 iPhone owners without their knowledge, everything is just a matter of price. With the Israeli company NSO Group that will cost $650,000, plus a $500,000 setup fee. The New York Times reports that the NSO Group took its name from the first initials of each of its three founders. The company is among those that sell surveillance tools allowing to capture any kind of activity on a smartphone, from personal contacts to the user's location. The smartphone can even transform into a secret recording device due to these spy tools. The NSO Group has kept a low profile since it has been founded six years ago. Last month, however, security researchers found spyware created by the NSO Group trying to access the iPhone of a human-rights activist based in the United Arab Emirates. They also discovered a second target of the phone-spy tech made by the NSO Group in the person of a Mexican journalist who wrote about the Mexican government's coruption. The company is just one of the many that operate in the field of offering digital spying tools able of tracking everything a target does on a smartphone. These companies are aggressively marketing their services to law enforcement agencies and governments around the world. The industry argues that this kind of spying is a necessity in order to help making the world a safer place by tracking drug lords, kidnappers and terrorists. However, digital privacy groups certainly have a different opinion. Ever since complaints about the exploding Samsung Galaxy Note 7 were made public, the doubts and questions have not ceased. Many are questioning why the issue has occurred so often on a great number of units. While the reason has been likened to the lithium-ion batteries and Samsung has already started to recall its shipments, US authorities are claiming that the Korean tech-giant refused to follow traditional procedures. What's All The Concern About? According to Recode, typical product recalls are aided by an agency called the US Consumer Product Safety Commission. Typically, the CPSC helps consumers understand the risks in continued use of a recalled product. However, this would also make the sale of the Samsung Galaxy Note 7 illegal. Which is probably why Samsung has opted to replace the purchased units as opposed to simply recalling them completely. A source of the publication, who was dubbed a federal agent, made it known that the US government would like to see Samsung take the traditional recollection route. Meanwhile, CPSC has declined to make an official statement. US Networks are also making a stand themselves, as many have stopped selling the device altogether. However, it can still be found and purchased in other authorized retailers. Currently, Samsung's plan of action is to replace all existing Galaxy Note 7 units. However, the tech company has not advised whether or not users can continue to use units before the replacement is complete. Why Are They Exploding? The exploding of the units is due to the lithium-ion batteries that are found in the Samsung Galaxy Note 7 units. The option to use such batteries, as noted by Stuff.Co, arrose from the pressure to use more powerful and lightweight batteries in smartphones. The appeal of the battery has been evident since the 1990s. "Without Li-ion, there very likely would be no smartphones, tablets, laptops, et cetera," said Jason Croy, a physicist at Argonne National Labs. But while the lithium-ion batteries have existed for quite a while, the risk is really in how much energy is stored in the unit. Croy explains that the more energy dense the battery unit is the more dangerous it becomes. Meanwhile, Samsung has reason that the explosions are from a "battery cell issue." Currently, there have been 35 reported cases. Science fans rejoice! The popular "Mythbusters" trio of Tory Bellici, Kari Byron, and Grant Imahara is heading to Netflix to form a new show set to release on December 9. And it looks like they brought all their gizmos and explosives with them. According to Nerdist, The announcement came via a tweet from DragonCon. The trio's latest reunion in TV land will be called the "White Rabbit Project". The concept of the show would be pretty much like "Mythbusters" except this time, the team would be searching every nook and cranny of the Internet to test various theories and ideas. According to Deadline, the show's topics would range from" jailbreaks, superpower technology, heists and crazy world war 2 weapons". There were plenty of leaks and indications about this show before it was officially announced. The Gazette Review already published a piece that suggests of a new show about "gadgets, science, and destructions galore" in the works. Robotics buff Grant Imahara has also made multiple allusions to the new show via his twitter feed. And with pictures like this, things are looking like they are about to get quite "horrible". The final season of "Mythbusters" was notable for the absence of the trio which was a sad day for Science and Explosion nuts everywhere. The brainy threesome however quickly landed on their feet with Imahara becoming a spokesperson for McDonalds, apparently trying to tell the world about the story of how McNuggets are made. Meanwhile Byron and Belluci will take on a hosting gig on a show called "Thrill Factor" which according to Travel channel, is a show about the "exciting world of thrill rides, waterslides and other heart-pumping experiences," or as I like to call it, TV running out of ideas. And we can all thank Netflix for bringing this trio back! Market and tech analysts believe that the driverless cars will become a common occurrence on our roads by 2020. The Future Of Self-Driving Tech According to Market Watch, Mercedes-Benz luxury brand has recently showed a TV commercial featuring a future autonomous concept car. Ready or not, the future has arrived and the automaker is already working on a concept car that can drive itself. But public safety advocacy groups are warning about the way car companies describe their driverless technologies. Auto makers developing self-driving and automated-driving features need to make consumers aware of the technologies' limitations and avoid giving a false sense of security. This is especially true after the Tesla car's crash while being on Auto Pilot. Consumers have to get educated on the differences between a fully autonomous driving car and assisted driving technologies. Mercedes' Drive Pilot or Tesla's Auto Pilot can initiate a lane change by activating the turn signal. Mercedes' Active Brake Assist, can warn the driver of an imminent collision, as well as braking automatically if the driver fails to act. Mike Nelson, a lawyer at Sutherland Asbill & Brennan LLP focused on liabilities stemming from automated driving said that car maker companies are in a race to get their autonomous driving technology out on the public roads and demonstrate the superior engineering qualities of their own self-driving solutions said. He added that the auto manufacturers are all exposed to consumer-protection laws for falsely advertising capabilities and on duties to warn consumers. However, in these newly emerging industry there is a lot of potential for misunderstanding and misuses. Regulators and car makers say that technologies such as adaptive cruise control, automatic emergency braking and assisted steering offer the potential to cut traffic fatalities due to their safety benefits. But most of the customers still remain skeptical when being assured these technologies are safe and flawless. Meanwhile, General Motors Co. is developing an automated-driving system for Cadillacs, called "Super Cruise." Volvo Car Corp. offers on some of its new cars the "Pilot Assist" that is part of a group of features dubbed "Intellisafe." Google parent Alphabet Inc. is already making tests with autonomous cars that don't require any human interaction. And, according to Business Insider, Tesla is getting closer to its ultimate goal of producing its first AI self-driving enabled, mass-market electric car, the Model 3. The German and Australian governments, as donors, have additional mechanisms including external audits and they have found no major concerns. Violence has surged in the Palestinian Territories and Israel since October 2015, costing the lives of 223 Palestinians, 34 Israelis, two Americans and one Eritrean and Sudanese respectively, according to a tally by AFP. Most of the Palestinians killed were carrying out knife, gun or car-ramming attacks, according to Israeli authorities. Updates throughout the day at http://calevbenyefuneh.blog spot.com. If you enjoy "Love of the Land", please be a subscriber. Just put your email address in the "Subscribe" box on the upper right-hand corner of the page.Twitter updates at LoveoftheLand as well as our Love of the Land page at Facebook which has additional pieces of interest besides that which is posted on the blog. Also check-out This Ongoing War by Frimet and Arnold Roth. An excellent blog, very important work. . ..CAMERA Snapshots..05 September '16..In an article today about doubts in Gaza regarding Israel's case against World Vision's Mohammed al-Halabi, charged with diverting tens of millions of dollars in aide to Hamas, Agence France Presse claims ("Gazans, NGO question Israeli charges against aid worker"):Both the German and Australian governments havetheir aid to World Vision, a rather unusual response for those who have allegedly cleared the aid organization of significant wrongdoing. While AFP itself noted on Aug. 11 that "Germany and Australia have suspended aid to World Vision," today's story completely omits this fact, leaving readers with the impression that Germany and Australia have cleared the organization.CAMERA was not able to independently verify the claim that the two governments carried out audits which revealed no significant wrongdoing on the part of World Vision. CAMERA has requested that AFP either substantiate the claim, or correct. In addition, the fact that Germany and Australia cut off aid to World Vision should be added to the story.In a separate AFP article today (""), the influential wire agency deviates from its standard formulation regarding Palestinian fatalities. Today's article omits the key point that the majority of those Palestinians killed were carrying out attacks against Israelis. The incomplete passage is:This article omits the following critical information which appears in other AFP articles:CAMERA has contacted editors to request that they add this key information.See also from today: " remaining of Thank you for reading! On your next view you will be asked to log in to your subscriber account or create an account and subscribepurchase a subscription to continue reading. Reddit Email 0 Shares By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | As we celebrate American workers (I prefer to honor workers today rather than the abstract labor), lets remember where their future lies. And that is, in part, in the renewable energy sector. The rapid growth of wind, solar and other renewables in the United States is already having a significant impact on the work force. But, as Jigar Shah laments, many journalists and others are clueless about this fast-changing landscape, stuck in a past in which coal miners are the real workers. We geezers grew up on Lava soap commercials, featuring workers who got their hands really dirty, I mean below the epidermis dirty, deep in the cuticles dirty, from manning up and doing manly work. Back in the 50s somebody considered that maybe Lava was limiting its market this way, so they added a bit about how the soap was mild enough for the little lady and the kid, too. But we all knew that only one kind of person needed Lava soap. And that kind of person, the geezers now editing the mass media seem to be convinced, didnt have the time of day for science fiction daydreams like solar energy. But in fact there are three times as many workers in the solar industry in the US as there are working in coal mines. And, it seems clear that coal is not the future, and coal miners need government programs to retrain them for other fields, including green energy installation and maintenance. In other words, solar and wind are not chimeras, hollow dreams of beardless idealist environmentalists blogging in their mothers basement. They are real-world, massive industries that are employing more and more American workers, even as employment in the hydrocarbon sector has been dropping. The people who cant imagine this transformation are kind of like the 1899 newspaper editor who doubted there was a future for the noisy, smelly automobile because it would scare the horses. So here are the facts [pdf], maam, for the hard-nosed Joe Friday types still brought to you by Lava soap. 1. Renewable energy employment in the US grew by 6% in 2015 to reach 769,000. A reminder: there are only 74,931 coal miners in the country, about a tenth the number that work in the renewables sector. Renewable energy workers form about 0.5 % of the US work force. But note that the sector is expanding much faster than the general growth rate of the economy and will become more and more important in coming years. 2. In particular, solar employment grew 22% in 2015, to reach 209,000. In other words, this sector grew 12 times as fast as the job market in general. And, 24% of these jobs were held by women, up from 19% in 2013 a bigger share than in oil and gas employment. Over half of these jobs are in the installation of solar panels. About 15% are in panel manufacturing. About 66% of solar jobs were in residential installation, while a little over a fifth were in utility-scale installation and maintenance. A sixth of these jobs were in the commercial sector (go, IKEA!) Remember that only 187,000 or so workers are employed in oil and gas extraction. Let me just underline that the Chinese may well get ahead of us in the area of manufacturing inexpensive and efficient solar panels, since they are putting billions into R&D in this area. If so, the outcome will be a huge opportunity cost for American workers, since that 15% who work in manufacturing could be a much larger proportion. 3. Wind energy jobs grew 21% in 2015 with 88,000 jobs total in that industry. The US now has 8.6 gigawatts of wind power installed. Note that about a third of Iowas electricity, e.g. now comes from wind. The International Renewable Energy writes, Manufacturing factories employed 21,000 people; construction, project development and transportation accounted for 38,000 jobs, and operation and maintenance for 29,000 jobs 4. Among the best green jobs in the coming decade will be in wind energy fabrication, green farming, forestry, solar panel installation, green building, and conservation biology. Doing any of these jobs will no doubt require washing up at the end of the day with Lava soap. 5. I was giving 2015 statistics above. But 2016 is looking even better. Already since the beginning of this year, the wind energy industry has added 88,000 jobs! Texas leads in such jobs, with 24,000 wind power workers. By 2030, which isnt far off and isnt science fiction, the industry estimates that it will have 380,000 well-paying jobs nationally. One final point. The fuel for solar and wind is free. At some point in the next 50 years, installation will be done or inexpensive, and the fuel will be gratis. The average worker will likely experience the equivalent of a 6% raise as a result. Inexpensive green energy will put money in all our pockets, instead of Saudi Arabia pickpocketing us for expensive and polluting petroleum. So heres to the future of the American worker, a green and prosperous future! VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA / September 5, 2016 / MGX Minerals Inc. (MGX or the Company) (CSE: XMG / FKT: 1MG) is pleased to announce a maiden National Instrument (N.I.) 43-101 compliant mineral resource estimate for its Driftwood Creek magnesium project (Driftwood Creek). Highlights Measured plus Indicated (M+I) mineral resource totaling 8.028 million tonnes grading 43.31% magnesium oxide (MgO) Inferred mineral resource totaling 846,000 tonnes grading 43.20% MgO Bulk of resource is located less than 100 meters from surface Opportunities to expand mineral resource along strike and at depth with additional drilling The resource estimate was prepared by Mr. Allan Reeves. Mr. Reeves is a Professional Geologist and independent Qualified Person (QP) as defined by N.I. 43-101 Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects. He has over 35 years of industry experience and spent 23 years at BHP Billiton where he held senior-level positions at both the Ekati Diamond Mine and Island Copper Mine. Class Tonnes x1000 MgO% Al2O3% CaO% Fe2O3% SiO2% LOI% Measured 2,828 43.34 1.08 0.90 1.39 5.19 47.16 Indicated 5,200 43.29 1.17 0.80 1.35 6.17 46.40 M+I 8,028 43.31 1.14 0.84 1.36 5.82 46.67 Inferred 846 43.20 1.30 0.47 0.51 6.87 45.09 Notes: Mineral Resources are not Mineral Reserves and do not have demonstrated economic viability. There is no certainty that all, or any part of the Mineral Resources estimated will be converted into Mineral Reserves. The LG constrained shell economics used a mining costs of US$6.25, processing costs of US$129.41/tonne and a commodity price of US$400.00/tonne 95%MgO DBM. Mineral resources are reported within the constrained shell, using a cut-off grade of 42.5% MgO (based on 40 years) to determine reasonable prospects for eventual economic extraction. Tonnages are reported to the nearest 1,000 tonnes, and grades are rounded to the nearest two decimal places. Rounding as required by reporting guidelines may result in apparent summation differences between tonnes, grade and contained metal. The resource estimate was prepared in accordance with Canadian Institute of Mining, Metallurgy and Petroleum ("CIM") Standards on Mineral Resources and Mineral Reserves as adopted by the CIM Council. An updated technical report on Driftwood Creek, including the new resource estimate, will be filed on SEDAR within 30 days. Project Background MGX Minerals has the right to acquire a 100% interest in Driftwood Creek. The project is located 164 kilometers north of Cranbrook, British Columbia and is accessible by a network of maintained logging roads. The Company has conducted two rounds of diamond drilling at Driftwood Creek and recently completed a 100-tonne bulk sample program (see press release dated June 9, 2016). MGX received a 20-year Mining Lease for Driftwood Creek in January (see press release dated January 11, 2016). Pilot Plant Mill The Company is in the process of transporting and assembling a pilot plant mill (the Mill) at the current stock-pile location of the recently completed 100-tonne bulk sample (see press release dated June 9, 2016). The Mill equipment includes a jaw crusher, ball mill, flotation cells, cyclone dewatering equipment and a tailings filtration and thickener system. Previously the Mill was utilized to process polymetallic concentrate. MGX intends to process mineralized bulk sample material through the Mill using reverse flotation to produce two products- a high purity magnesite tailing and silica sand float byproduct. The magnesite (MgCO3) material will then be shipped off site to undergo calcination optimization testing to produce magnesium oxide (MgO) as well as thermal and electrolytic analysis to produce magnesium metal (Mg). Metallurgy Extensive metallurgical and process design work was previously completed on mineralized material from Driftwood Creek by SGS Lakefield (SGS). The process design developed by SGS closely follows the current flowsheet plans for the pilot plant mill, inclusive of the reverse flotation and tailings dewatering system, to produce high grade magnesite concentrate. Pilot plant testing will allow the Company to further optimize grinding, milling and flotation elements to develop a finalized process flow. Magnesium Magnesium (Mg) is a non-metallic abundant alkaline earth metal that represents an important material for todays modern lifestyle- smartphones, automobiles, aircrafts, and other everyday essentials all require magnesium. Magnesiums unique characteristics make it 75% lighter than steel and 33% lighter than aluminum while still offering comparable strength-to-weight ratios. Magnesium is the third most used structural metal (behind iron and aluminum) and considered a critical strategic metal by the United States and European Union. China is responsible for approximately 80% of annual worldwide production. There is currently only one magnesium metal producer in the US. Magnesium Oxide (MgO) is a widely used industrial mineral with end uses in fertilizer, animal feed, and environmental water treatment as well as industrial applications primarily as a refractory material in the steel industry. The majority of refractory grade MgO used in the US and Canada is imported from China. Qualified Person The technical portions of this press release have been reviewed by Allan Reeves (P. Geo.) of Tuun Consulting, Inc. and Andris Kikauka (P. Geo.), Vice President of Exploration for MGX Minerals. Cautionary Notes Mineral Resources that are not Mineral Reserves do not have demonstrated economic viability. Mineral Resource estimates do not account for mineability, selectivity, mining loss and dilution. The Mineral Resource estimate stated herein includes Inferred material, which is normally considered too geologically speculative to have economic considerations applied, thereby to enable them to be categorized as Mineral Reserves. There is also no certainty that Inferred material will be converted to either the Indicated or Measured categories of Mineral Resources, through further drilling. Similarly, there is no certainty that Mineral Resources will convert to Mineral Reserves, once economic considerations are applied. Bangladesh executed a member of the Jamaat-e-Islami party on Saturday for war crimes committed during Bangladeshs 1971 war of independence. Mir Quasem Ali was accused [Reuters report] of murder, confinement, torture, and inciting religious hatred. In all, five leaders of the party have been executed [BBC report] for war crimes in the country in recent years. Ali was arrested in 2010 and convicted of eight charges in 2014. He was sentenced to death by the International Crimes Tribunal, Bangladesh (ICTB) [official website] and the sentence was upheld [JURIST report] by the Bangladeshi Supreme Court in March. UN humans rights experts urged [JURIST report] the government of Bangladesh to repeal the death sentence imposed upon Ali for failing to meet international standards on fair trial and due process for the imposition of the death penalty. The ICTB, established in 2009 under the International Crimes Act, is charged with investigating and prosecuting war crimes committed during the 1971 war of independence. During the conflict, more than 3 million people are believed to have died and thousands of women raped, but the Jamaat-e-Islami party insists it did not commit any war crimes. Human rights groups have criticized [JURIST report] death sentences imposed by the ICTB, stating that trials of war criminals have, in the past, failed to meet international standards. Motiur Rahman Nizami was executed [JURIST report] in May for war crimes. Also in May, the ICTB sentenced [JURIST report] four men to death for crimes against humanity committed during Bangladeshs war of independence. Members of the international community have called upon Cuban dissident Guillermo Farinas to end his hunger strike. Several people have pleaded with Farinas [FOX Latino report] to end his hunger strike, a protest begun following government officers brutalizing him earlier in July, saying that he can do more alive than dead for promoting democratic reforms in Cuba. According to Jose Hernandez, the co-founder and president of the Cuban American National Foundation, Farinas refuses to end his hunger strike. The Cuban dissident has expressed his willingness to die in order to push the Castro regime to enact democratic reforms, though Hernandez has expressed his belief to Farinas that the current regime will not react to his death. Farinas has been very open about his displeasure with the United States and the Obama administration for re-opening Cuba-United States relations, which he claims has only further strengthened political suppression by the current government. Cuba has had a history of suppressing political dissent [HRW backgrounder] through the holding of prisoners of conscience or criminal prosecutions. In 2014, AI called for Cuba to release five prisoners [JURIST report] whom the group called prisoners of conscience. In January 2013, various dissident groups, such as the Cuban Commission for Human Rights and National Reconciliation, said that the Cuban government imprisoned more than 6,000 political activists [JURIST report] in 2012. Last August AI called on Cuba to end its harassment [JURIST report] of political opposition. That previous July both AI and the US government criticized [JURIST report] Cuba for how it treated political opposition. Israel agreed to permit officials from the International Criminal Court (ICC) [official website] to visit the country and the occupied territories, according to statements made by an Israeli foreign ministry spokesman on Sunday. However, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu [official profile] has not officially agreed to the visit. Specific details, including the timing of the visit, are still under discussion [Al Jazeera report] with the Israeli government. The ICC requested the visit after receiving complaints of Israels 2014 Operation Protective Edge in Gaza. Senior officials have stated [Haaretz report] the purpose of the visit will be for outreach and education, not to look into the Palestinian complaints. The violence in the ongoing Israel-Palestinian conflict [HRW backgrounder] has created contentious legal and human rights situations. In July, Amnesty International (AI) called upon Palestinian and Israeli officials [JURIST report] in a report to properly address human rights violations committed by their forces. The UN Committee Against Torture (CAT), a body of independent experts, released closing remarks [JURIST report] to its fifty-seventh session in May, expressing concern about the use of excessive force by Israeli forces against Palestinians. An Israeli court in April convicted [JURIST report] Yosef Haim for the 2014 murder of a Palestinian teenager that led to the 50-day war in Gaza. UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Palestinian territories Makarim Wibisono resigned [JURIST report] from his position in January, saying that Israel has not granted him access to the Occupied Palestinian Territory after repeated requests. Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte declared the country in a state of lawlessness on Saturday following a suspected terrorist attack in Davao City on Friday. Duterte expressed his belief that the explosion, which killed 14 people and injured at least 71 more, was an act of terrorism and declared a state of lawlessness [CNN report], which would allow police and military personnel to frisk individuals and search cars. At this time, Duterte had refrained from declaring martial law. Those who perpetrated the attacks have yet to be discovered, but the Philippines National Defense Secretary Delfin N. Lorenzana said he believes the attack was carried out by Abu Sayyaf, an Islamist militant group. Duterte said the attacks could be a reprisal from extremists in response to Dutertes crackdown on drugs and crime. Duterte took the presidential office in May after promising [WSJ report] the Filipino population that he will restore their broken society, redistribute the wealth, and aggressively crackdown on corruption and crime. Since Duterte has taken office, about 400 suspected drug dealers have been killed and 600,000 have surrendered to the police. Earlier this month, Duterte named [JURIST report] 150 serving and former state officials connected to the nations illegal drug trade and ordered them to either surrender to the authorities or risk being hunted down. South Sudan consented [UN News Centre report] to the addition of another 4,000 UN peacekeeping troops to the existing force of 14,000 soldiers, under intense pressure from the UN, US and the rest of the international community. The announcement was made in a joint statement issued Sunday at the end of a meeting between South Sudan President Salva Kiir Mayardit [Britannica profile] and the UN Security Council (UNSC) [official website] delegation led by the Missions of Senegal and the United States. South Sudan Cabinet Affairs Minister Martin Elia Lomoro stated that a plan containing specifics of the deployment is expected by the end of September, and that the plan would include a review of procedures related to movement of [UN Mission in the Republic of South Sudan (UNMISS)] [official website] and streamlining the bureaucratic processes. However, US ambassador and co-leader of the UNSC delegation, Samantha Power [official profile], expressed concerns [NYT report] over criminality in the country as well as existing ethnic, tribal, and political conflicts. Many analysts are also skeptical about any positive difference the additional peacekeeping forces could make pointing out that the troops did not intervene in the ethnic clashes that erupted in late 2011 and 2012 claiming hundreds of victims, including many children, right in their presence. Human rights concerns have been widespread concerning South Sudan. Last month UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Raad Al Hussein [official profile] said that South Sudan government (SPLA) security forces have killed and raped citizens [JURIST report] and looted and destroyed public and private property. In July Chaloka Beyani [official profile], UN Special Rapporteur on the human rights of internally displaced persons (IDPs), condemned [press release] recent attacks on IDPs and civilians [JURIST report] in South Sudan. In June UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon [official website] expressed shock [JURIST report] at the increasing number of children recruited and killed in armed conflicts in several countries, including South Sudan. In May Amnesty International [advocacy website] reported [JURIST report] that dozens of detainees in South Sudan are being held in inhumane conditions. In April six human rights organizations called [JURIST report] for the next UN Secretary-General to do everything he or she can do to protect innocent civilians whose nation faced armed conflict, including South Sudan. In March the UN Human Rights Council decided to investigate [JURIST report] allegations of human rights abuses in South Sudan. Virginia Attorney General Mark Herring [official website] on Friday sent a letter [text] to the US Department of Justice (DOJ) [official website] requesting and investigation into the Hampton Roads Regional Jail [official website] in Portsmouth after the deaths of two inmates60-year-old Henry Stewart and 24-year-old mentally ill Jamycheal Mitchell. Stewart had filled out [AP report] an emergency grievance form at the jail on August 4, saying he had two blackouts in less than 24 hours and was unable to hold down food or water, before succumbing to death two days later. According to the grievance form, a nurse determined Stewarts concerns not to be an emergency. According to the medical examiner, Mitchell died of heart failure accompanied by severe weight loss. Mitchell, who was jailed in April 2015, was ordered to be sent to a mental facility, but he was never sent there because his paperwork was stashed away in a hospital staffs desk drawer. According to a lawsuit filed by Mitchells family, other inmate-witnesses reported that correctional officers physically abused Mitchell and withheld food from him. Herring is urging the DOJ Civil Rights Division to investigate whether systemic constitutional violations are being committed at the jail, either before or after conviction, under the Eighth and Fourteenth [LII backgrounder] Amendments. He stated he is requesting the independent investigation because previous investigations have provided an incomplete picture and hopes the DOJ can shed light on steps that the jail should take to bring about any needed systemic change. The rights of incarcerated individuals are an important and contentious topic worldwide. In the US, the issue is most acutely expressed in the Guantanamo Bay controversy. Late last month Vice President Joe Biden renewed hopes and expectations [JURIST report] that the Guantanamo Bay prison will be closed before President Barack Obama leaves office. A week earlier, the DOJ announced the transfer [JURIST report] of 15 Guantanamo detainees to the United Arab Emirates (UAE) amid protests from US Senator Kelly Ayotte who stated that closing the facility would not be in the best interests [JURIST report] of the country and would pose a safety risk. In June, a report indicated that China harvests [JURIST report] thousands of organs from non-consenting prisoners yearly. In May, over 2000 prisoners were released [JURIST report] from Zimbabwes prison system due to overcrowding and food shortages. Also in May, Amnesty International [advocacy website] reported [JURIST report] that dozens of detainees in South Sudan were being held in inhumane conditions. Daimler's Mercedes-Benz Vans launched its new, locally made mid-size van the Vito in China at the Chengdu motor show. Last March, it launched its mid-size multi-purpose vehicle V-Class there. The first Vito batch came off the production line at Daimler's local joint venture Fujian Benz Automotive in Fuzhou in August and delivery to dealers starts at the end of September. Volker Mornhinweg, head of Mercedes-Benz Vans, said: "With the launch of the new Vito in China, we completed the roll-out of our highly successful mid-size segment in this growing market. This is another milestone of our 'Mercedes-Benz Vans goes global' growth strategy. We have successfully entered numerous markets with the new Vito since its launch in 2014 over 65 in total and we have significantly increased unit sales ever since. We are convinced it will be as compelling to customers in China, too." In the first half of 2016, Mercedes-Benz delivered approximately 46,000 Vito models to customers worlwide (a 40% rise year on year) and 23,300 V-Class models (66%). Total sales increased 21% to approximately 176,200 vehicles a new record. China was the strongest growth market for the vans unit with an increase in sales of 104% to approximately 5,700 units. Alongside the Sprinter, the Vito is now the brand's second 'world van'. Following its introduction in Europe and in other global markets in 2014, the Vito has been available in Latin America, the USA and Canada in both North American markets it is known as the Metris since 2015. The introduction in China completes its global launch. Local production in Fuzhou Fujian Benz Automotive spent around EUR200m for the production of the new mid-size models Vito and V-Class. In addition to increasing the localisation of components and features for these new models, the spend improved the preparation and modernisation of the body shell and assembly sections as well as providing for staff training. All global mid-size production sites in the US and Argentina, in addition to China cooperate closely with the mother plant in Vitoria. This plant, with very high capacity utilisation, supplies all other global markets with the V-Class and together with the plants in Argentina and the US all other global markets with the Vito. Experts in Spain coordinate international production from tooling strategy to logistics and quality management. Numerous employees from China have undergone intensive training in Vitoria, while their Spanish colleages were on hand to assist the Chinese with the ramp-up of production on-site. Frank Klein, head of Mercedes-Benz Vans operations, said: "The high flexibility of our production of the Vito 'Made in China, for China' enables us to adapt it specifically to our customers' needs." Vans expanded its plant in Fuzhou in the south-east of China with its first ever research and development centre outside Germany in 2013. The centre focuses on models that are locally produced and marketed. In the development process of the new Vito it was thus possible to take full account of the market and requirements in China. How the law surrounding the reprivatization of properties in Warsaw is being exploited. By Jakub Dymek As with many conflicts in a country that is obsessing over its history and almost never reaches a binding conclusion as to who was right and when, the latest scandal that might blow up in the face of the Polish political class is also rooted in history. Here is how it began, what it lead to and how it might possibly end. At the dawn of the accession of one-party rule in 1945, Warsaw was razed to the ground becoming a city of ruins. One of the most intensive efforts of the Stalin-backed Polish Workers Party was then to rebuild it; a cause which was important for more than just propaganda purposes. There was a dire need for housing, edifices for newly established institutions and basic infrastructure. The whole nation builds its capital was the slogan, and the whole nation built it indeed. Additionally, at the expense of the Poles and foreigners alike who owned property, all land in Warsaw was nationalised by the decree of the then president, Bolesaw Bierut. There is no unanimnity as to the legitimacy of such a move, but its legacy is still felt: Warsaw was rebuilt as planned, but in the process many came to feel like the victims of violent misappropriation. For decades there was little to no chance of proving that ones land was taken illegally at least that was the case until the 90s, a few years later after Poland had bid farewell to the Workers Party. When capitalism took sway, the ideological swing reversed and private property became a sanctity yet again. Then, as if mirroring the previous situation, buildings have started to change hands again and not always legally. The media reported more cases of cleaning houses of (often lifelong) tenants by the means of blackmail, vandalism or disproportionally rising rents soon after the citys magistrate permitted the reprivatization of the building. For years the whole process went more or less unnoticed the municipality of Warsaw gave some buildings back to their pre-war owners or their rightful ancestors. While the topic of so-called reprivatization was not absent from the media, neither was it a front-page issue. The matter was delicate also due to the fact that at least some of the people filing claims to locations scattered throughout city centre were Jewish. Warsaws pre-war Jewish population was numerous and they were forcefully deprived of many a shop or house during the war. It was easy then to stir up the fear of Jews coming back to take away your house there were plenty of right-wingers willing to exploit this anti-Semitic trope to their political gain during the 90s and even later. On the other hand, nobody wanted to advertise the fact of Poland giving away valuable property and often (as it turned out later) was doing so based on dubious or invalid claims of ownership. Events took a really dramatic turn in the early 2010s with the death of an activist, Jolanta Brzeska, who many claim was murdered. Brzeskas charred body was found in a suburban forest in Warsaw an unlikely way to commit suicide. It also surfaced thanks to a terrifying piece by Cezary azarewicz in the weekly Polityka that prior to her death she had complained of threats in connection to the fact the building she lived in had been recently reprivatized. It seemed as if the new owner who didnt have any connections to the actual pre-war owners of the building resorted to unconventional methods of emptying the building of the people who lived there. Brzeska resisted by mobilizing tenants like herself and by raising complaints about the abuse to whoever was willing to listen. The case of Jolanta Brzeska at first only attracted the attention of activist groups, anarchist circles and the local community, but it wasnt long before the next cases of dubious transactions surfaced. Media reported more cases of cleaning houses of (often lifelong) tenants by the means of blackmail, vandalism or disproportionally rising rents soon after the citys magistrate permitted the reprivatization of the building. The plan of many new owners was to evict as many people as soon as possible and find others who would be willing to pay more or to sell the property altogether. Many out of the people who lived there are from the poorer parts of society and rent their flats directly from the city (who were the owners of many of the buildings built on the post-1945 ruins). The law prohibits eviction in such circumstances without the municipality providing an alternative housing option first, however this rule wasnt respected in many instances new owners wanted to use extreme measures to get rid of people, official were not willing or able to provide new places for people otherwise facing homelessness. For years now the Committee for the Defense of Tenants (Komitet Obrony Lokatorow) has provided legal counsel for those who are at risk of losing their flat. It didnt take long for the reprivatizing of buildings in Warsaw to become a lucrative business. If the law would grant the possibility of claiming compensation for land only to direct descendants and will-bearers of pre-war owners (Polish, Jewish and foreign alike) the possibility of abuse would be significantly reduced. That, unfortunately, hasnt been the case here and the law isnt foolproof. Many people successfully reprivatized buildings with very vague proof of actually being in any way connected to the rightful heirs of owners; for example arcane legalities and a lack of official diligence from the side of authorities enabled the reprivatization of a building in the name of a person who would have been over 130 years old at the time. The whole process reeked of corruption. Soon a specialized law firm and a friendly developer company emerged as an extremely successful duo in dealing in such cases. Grounds on which schools, recreational parks and public infrastructure had been built were threatened, which lead many people to protest, fearing that come next year their kids would lose their playgrounds. Names of those in the development business, like Marek Mossakowski and Robert Nowaczyk, attorney at law, have appeared and reappeared in several cases. The latest investigative piece by Iwona Szpala and Magorzata Zubik in the daily Gazeta Wyborcza points to them being connected to cases of acquiring millions in compensations from the city for claims to buildings they previously bought for sums as little as 10 euros from elderly people. Moreover, the article points to the fact that officials who were tasked with dealing with issues of reprivatization, were often beneficiaries of the process themselves and had business ties with other people who had recently acquired buildings, among them the attorney Nowaczyk. It wouldnt be surprising if scandals connected to reprivatization and a 50-year old law would topple the Mayor of Warsaw and deal a deadly blow to her party just a year after they lost the general elections. City council member Jan Spiewak from Miasto jest Nasze (The city is ours), an activist group operating in Warsaw, says that the reprivatization business is no more than a mafia group. He has been saying this for a couple of years now with each new fact validating his theory. Miasto jest Nasze was sued by Mossakowski for a map of reprivatization they put online showing how much real estate is tied to a few beneficiaries of a process originally designed to give buildings back to their owners. In first instance, Spiewak lost and the court ordered the map to be taken down, yet the Court of Appeals dismissed the ruling. The Mayor of Warsaw, Hanna Gronkiewicz-Waltz a the vice-chief of the ex-governing Platforma Obywatelska party (Civic Platform) says theres no problem of wild reprivatization and everything is happening within the law. Shes willing to admit however that the law isnt perfect and that she and her party were fighting to change it. However, in the eyes of many, it took way too much time (the party ruled for 8 years) to be considered a serious effort. After the recent government change, it took Andrzej Duda, the new president of Poland, to finally sign the new regulations into law. His party is a vehement opponent of Hanna Gronkiewicz-Waltz and is pinning the entire problem on her administration by suggesting that shes a corrupted sell-out who is willing to privatize the entire city and give it away to foreign investors. In response she claimed that many of the plans for privatization and investment in real estate in Warsaw were public knowledge for years and nobody, neither from the left nor right, protested about them at the time. The controversial justice minister, Zbigniew Ziobro- who is referred to as a Sheriff by many for his willingness to take the lead in politically loaded cases declared the investigation into the death of Jolanta Brzeska to be reopened. Additionally, the Central Anticorruption Bureau is probing into the affairs of the citys officials. There are voices however that point out to shared responsibility not only the two main parties PiS (Law and Justice) and PO (Civic Platform) are guilty of negligience if not outright bribery, but also the whole of the establishment and elites in the country turned the blind eye to the plight of Warsaw poorest tenants. The crime is not a single mistake here or there, but a more serious one: creation system that enabled the rich getting richer by evicting the poor, taking up their homes and gentryfing citys centre, buying up real estate for dime a dozen, forging identities and exerting pressure on officials. Its deep, endemic and arrogant corruption in every sense of the word. Lawsuits are said to be piling up. It wouldnt be surprising if scandals connected to reprivatization and a 50-year old law would topple the Mayor of Warsaw and deal a deadly blow to her party just a year after they lost the general elections. But again, should this issue be surprising in Warsaw? History affects politics every day here. Many hope however that this prolonged episode of corruption will become a part of history too, once and for all. Jakub Dymek is a Journalist, editor and translator. This article was originally published on Political Critique. For most of the last half century the government of the Andean nation of Colombia has battled a violent insurgency led by leftist rebels who gave no quarter and expected none. The decades-long conflict killed some 220,000 people and drove 5 million more from their homes and into squalid shantytowns circling the countrys major cities a belt of misery and deprivation that fueled the growth of powerful drug cartels, murderous right-wing death squads and a human rights catastrophe of epic proportions. It is the longest war ever fought in the Americas, and until recently it showed no sign of ever ending. That is why the announcement last week that the Colombian government has signed a tentative peace agreement with the largest rebel faction, the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Columbia (FARC), has raised hopes across the region that Colombias long national nightmare may finally be over. The pact calls for a cease fire, a timetable for the rebels to surrender their weapons and a path for former fighters to re-enter civilian life, engage in peaceful political activity and even hold public office. It would also hold fighters on both sides harmless for human rights violations committed during decades of warfare. Colombia President Juan Manuel Santos called the peace deal a historic achievement that opens the door to a new chapter in his countrys history. But hes also acutely aware of the deep divisions in Colombian society the war created and the anger of millions of ordinary citizens who lost their homes, livelihoods and loved ones in the fighting. He has promised to hold a national referendum in October in which voters will be asked to ratify any agreement before it can go into effect. The election could set the stage for what is expected to be a vigorous debate over whether the country can ever forgive those who committed atrocities during the war if theyre not held accountable for their deeds. The agreement is the culmination of years of behind-the-scenes negotiations between the government and rebel forces. The most recent round of secret talks began four years ago in Havana at a time when the government had significantly weakened the armed opposition. But the talks dragged on as the negotiators tackled one hurdle after another, any one of which could have sunk the deal. Yet the proposal that finally emerged offers the best hope yet of turning the page on the countrys violent past. There are still many questions remaining about what will happen even if the pact is ratified by voters. Some have asked whether the countrys smaller rebel factions will accept it as well. Baltimore Sun 1K Shares Share So, will you go get me a bedpan? The bar was fancy, so I let it slide. This was not the first time my response to an occupational query was followed with a statement about bedside toileting; people just dont know what to do when an educated, confident woman says shes a nurse. I smiled tersely, as I have trained myself to. In past years, Id offer varying responses: anger, heated debate. Instead of launching my usual acerbic attack on this mans inference that all nurses do is bring bedpans to patients, I posed him a simple question: Tell me, what, exactly, you think a nurse does during a typical shift? Thanks to Hollywood, most people equate nursing to following doctors orders, making patients comfortable, and giving medications and bedpans. The word assessment, which is the bulk of a nurses responsibility, falls foreign. This man, as charming as he was, had no idea that as a nurse, my work is deeply rooted in my ability to collect, recognize, and act on complex sets of information: The science of nursing care. This disconnect between stereotype and understanding, is, I believe, largely our own professional fault, and until nurses deliberately explain their complex work of care, our professional battles for workplace and workforce improvement and, in direct connection, the quality of care we provide, will continue to remain buried in the graveyard of bad bedpan jokes and unsolved professional problems. In 2014, New York Times health journalist Jane Gross reviewed a collection of nurse stories, edited by long-time medical writer, Lee Gutkind. In it, she tells of how Gutkind had no idea what nurses did until he spent time at the bedsides of hospitalized relatives. His interactions with the doctors, who he knew by name, paled in comparison to how often he saw and spoke to the nurses. In reflection of their nursing work, he was deeply disturbed by his inability to name them, deeming them semi-invisible players in the care his family was receiving. He knew they were working irreplaceably, but he had no idea what defined the work that kept them so busy, or, more importantly, who they were as individual professionals. Perhaps this lack of nurse-led visibility has to do with our inability to quantify the complex nature of our primary skill: the science of care. Physicians, with the central function to diagnose, might have an easy advantage. Diagnostics are largely quantifiable the skill can be easily translated and replicable in research, data, and even conversation. In contrast, care, which is the primary nursing skill, equally complex and patient-specific, remains difficult to quantify. Although it has been studied for decades, nursing cares complexities can often slip between quantifiable parameters, and thus, out of public dialogue. Recently, a friend of mine told me of a patient care experience she facilitated as a nurse in a fast-paced cardiovascular surgical ICU, where her nursing work is largely based on numbers vital signs, lab values, documentable assessment pieces. One patient, deemed ready for transfer to the less acute observation floor, gave her pause. His heart rate was a touch too high, and his blood pressure equally too low, albeit both in the normal range. His blood counts had dropped some over the past day, but not abnormally, considering his recent surgery. He looked on paper, and in person OK to transfer. But there was a nagging alarm in my friends gut, and she told the surgeon, who trusted her intuition and immediately took the patient back to the OR, trumping another surgeons schedule. He found three liters of blood in the patients chest. The timing of the lab draws had masked a slow bleed from one of his stitches, and if undetected, the patient would have decompensated quickly, making intervention impossible. Instead, because of his nurses hunch, he was saved. I asked my friend what made her act on this feeling she had. Why did she trump logic for intuition? What if she had been wrong and the patient was re-opened for nothing? She couldnt say. She couldnt quantify the care that she gave, even though she knew that her patient needed further intervention, without knowing how to describe why. Nurse researcher Patricia Benner, in her seminal book, From Novice to Expert, describes my friends care as expert-level, the pinnacle of nursing experience, while acknowledging its near-impossibility to quantify, a deep understanding of the total situation; the chess master, for instance, when asked why he or she made a particularly masterful move, will just say: Because it felt right. It is this inability to explain our most complex, expert-level work that trips us up in the public eye, but it is also this complexity that demands reform of healthcare systems and nursing requirements of care. A nurse with ten patients cannot learn to think beyond the face-value assessments that she whizzes through. A nurse with fifteen ER patients cant listen for the subtle signs of danger when the bells of half of them are ringing for emesis basins or pain medicine. A nurse without a strong foundation of education cant determine when to think past tasks and into the realm of deep intuition. In their book, From Silence to Voice, journalists Bernice Buresh and Suzanne Gordon speak of the importance, and absence, of nursing voice in the media, the key to undoing nursings invisibility and changing our professional tide: Just as people recognize that it takes someone with education and expertise to do brain surgery, they would know that it takes someone with education and expertise to care for a patient who has just had brain surgery. So, the next time you think of telling a nurse a bedpan joke instead of asking about the details of nursing care, think again. And nurses: Stop passively fielding these nursing jokes. Respond with a detailed description of just how important and elaborate your care actually is. Just make the person asking buys you another drink; it might take awhile. Amanda Anderson is a nurse with a background in intensive care who currently works in health care administration. Image credit: Shutterstock.com A new law is now in effect for Texas. It's called "Kari's Law", and it requires all businesses with multi-line telephone systems to allow callers direct access to dialing 911, without first having to dial an initial number to reach an outside line. The law went into effect last year and was signed by Texas Governor Greg Abbott. The name comes from an east Texas mother, Kari Hunt who was stabbed to death by her husband in a hotel room in 2013. During the death of Kari Hunt, her nine-year-old daughter tried to call 911 four times but was unable to get through. A national version of Kari's Law has passed the house of representatives and is awaiting a vote in the senate. Laredo's largest hotel, La Posada is already in compliance with the new Kari's Law. The hotel has already updated all of their phone systems at the beginning of the year in all 206 guest rooms as well as their offices. Twenty-four more states are considering similar legislation and it could soon become a national law. Kari's Law has also made an impact on big brand hotel chains. Hilton Hotels and Marriott Hotels are now striving to change their telephone systems not only in Texas, but nationwide. To access the waiver or for more information on the law you can click the link below. Businesses that could not comply with the requirement can file for a one-year waiver by going . For more information about Karis Law you can go . A video has surfaced on social media regarding a recent confrontation between Mexican soldiers and members of a criminal organization - which ended with several dead. The video shows the moment the soldiers came across a white truck when the alleged criminals were traveling last Saturday afternoon. This is when soldiers intercepted the vehicle, and shots were fired by both groups. According to several online news outlets, eight were killed during this attack. In a separate attack later in the day, two more were killed. Also, a woman traveling in the area was hit and killed by a stray bullet. The cross section of the CroCo cross conductor is filled with a cross of superconducting tapes. As a result, CroCo reaches high current-carrying capacities. (Photo: KIT) The EU SOFT Innovation Prize for fusion research in the amount of EUR 50,000 is awarded to a team of researchers of Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) and the Swiss Plasma Center (SPC). Scientists of the Institute for Technical Physics of KIT have developed a novel superconducting conductor concept. Thanks to its energy-efficient current transport, it might be used as a basic element in future high-current cables of fusion power plants, industrial facilities, or DC power grids. Today, the prize was awarded at the Symposium on Fusion Technology (SOFT) in Prague. Sustainable energy sources and, above all, the reliable distribution of energy are major elements of the energiewende, Professor Holger Hanselka, President of KIT, says. The prize reflects KITs essential contribution to research, to the transformation of the energy system, and to the viability of our society. Our novel conductor design with a cross-shaped cross section can efficiently transport more current than comparable cables and it is very easy to produce, Dr. Walter Fietz and Dr. Michael Wolf, the developers of the CroCo conductor concept, emphasize. We are highly honored by this EU prize for our concept. This illustrates its high application potential. The cross conductor, briefly called CroCo, developed by KIT consists of high-temperature superconducting (HTS) tapes of two different widths. These tapes are stacked and soldered over their full length, with a cross being formed in the cross section. Additional slight twisting of the tapes optimizes magnetic properties of the conductor. Finally, the conductor is packed into a copper tube, with the gaps between the cross and the tube being filled with solder. In this way, the flat, tape-shaped superconductor is used to build a round cable, the shape of which facilitates further processing with standard processes, Fietz and Wolf explain. The patent application for the prototype production facility for the continuous production of CroCo conductors from superconducting tapes has already been filed. The inner conductor of CroCo consists of flat, superconducting tapes of different widths. (Photo: KIT) High-temperature superconductors are ceramic materials that exhibit advantageous properties, such as resistance-free current transport at temperatures of typically minus 200 degrees Celsius. However, long lengths can only be produced as micrometer-thin coatings on metal tapes. The original idea to wrap flat, superconducting tapes in copper to form a cylinder was developed by the Swiss Plasma Center. Fietz and Wolf picked up this idea and developed the CroCo concept. CroCo contains more superconductor material and can be produced more stably and easily by the prototype production facility. Depending on the cooling temperature, energy transmission cables based on the CroCo concept might carry ten to hundred times more current than uncooled copper cables. In fusion power plants, e.g. ITER, high-current cables for currents of up to 68,000 Ampere will be required for power supply of the superconducting coils generating the plasma-confining magnetic field. Cables with a current-carrying capacity of 10,000 to more than 100,000 Ampere DC are also needed for energy-intensive industries, such as aluminum smelters, computing centers, electrolytic deposition of chemical elements, or energy production in offshore wind parks. In connection with the energiewende, superconducting cables may be used to establish direct voltage grids for transmitting renewable energies from the producer to the consumer without any losses in the future. Superconductors might help minimize material consumption and installation expenditure, space consumption, and transmission losses as well as heat production. The SOFT Innovation Prize honors excellent ideas and developments in fusion research and is awarded at the Symposium on Fusion Technology (SOFT). The main criteria are originality, outstanding achievements, economic relevance, and prospects of success. The prize money is to be used for the further development and commercialization of the technology. The SOFT Innovation Prize is supported by the Horizon2020 Euratom Research and Education Programme 2014 2018. www.soft2016.eu Scientific publications on CroCo: ieeexplore.ieee.org/xpl/articleDetails.jsp?arnumber=7399707 In spring this year, KIT started to coordinate the BMBF-funded consortium ENSURE New Power Grid Structures for the Energy Turnaround within the framework of the Kopernikus projects for the energy turnaround energiewende of the federal government. The projects are aimed at developing and testing efficient and viable grid structures combining centralized and decentralized energy supply. The ENSURE consortium wants to answer the question: What is a technically, economically, and socially reasonable power grid structure and which fractions of centralized and decentralized supply does it comprise? More Information: http://www.kit.edu/kit/english/pi_2016_049_ensure-is-to-condition-grids-for-the-energy-turnaround.php More about the KIT Energy Center: http://www.energy.kit.edu 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. ** Saudi Arabia's state-run oil firm Saudi Aramco willconsider listing on the Tokyo Stock Exchange for its planned IPO , Saudi Arabia's Energy Minister, Khalid al-Falih,told Japan's Nikkei business daily on Sunday ** "I think (it is) a little bit early for selecting whichstock exchange to list, but we've looked at the Tokyo StockExchange," Al-Falih, who is also the chairman of Saudi Aramco,was quoted as saying by the paper ** He said he had received a proposal from Japan on thematter recently ** "Our first priority is to list on the (Saudi StockExchange), and if we need a secondary stock exchange ... we wantto make sure that (the) secondary exchange will attract a lot ofinternational capital. I understand that there is a lot ofinternational capital that today participates in the Tokyo StockExchange, which is very encouraging," he said. ** The state-owned group is in preparations for its IPO. ** Saudi Aramco, which owns 15 percent of Showa Shell SekiyuKK , will continue to hold shares in the Japanese oilrefiner, Al-Falih also told the paper. ** Showa Shell is aiming to merge with Japan's IdemitsuKosan Co , but Idemitsu's founding family has beentrying to block the deal. Further company coverage: (Reporting by Osamu Tsukimori) HANOI, Sept 5 (Reuters) - Here's a snapshot of Vietnamese dong exchangerates in the official market and indicative SJC gold prices in Hanoi at 0118GMT. Sept 5 Sept 1 USD/VND mid-point 21,925 21,920 USD/VND interbank 22,295/22,310 22,301/22,302 SJC gold (mln dong/tael) 35.93/36.22 36.03/36.32 NOTES: As of Jan. 4, 2016 the State Bank of Vietnam has begun setting themid-point rate on daily basis, allowing dollar/dong transactions to move in aband of +/- 3 percent around the mid point. The dong's exchange rate against other currencies is not restricted by aband. Interbank quotes are indicative bid/ask prices. One tael is equivalent to 37.5 grams or 1.21 troy ounces. SJC gold pricesare quoted by state-owned Saigon Jewelry Co, the gold manufacturer. Interbank offered rates are indicative, quoted from market sources. For Vietnam market overview click on: Vietnam's bonds market auctions: Bonds auction results: (Compiled by Hanoi Newsroom) By Lamine Chikhi ALGIERS, Sept 5 (Reuters) - Algeria's energy exportsincreased by 8 percent last month to 71.5 million tonnes of oilequivalent (TOE) versus 65.4 million TOE in August 2015, astatement from state energy firm Sonatrach showed. Over the last year, Algeria has started to reverse a trendof declining production by targeting better output frommore-mature oilfields and planning to bring more gas fieldsonline in its deep southern Sahara. Algeria increased gas exports via its three pipelines by 43percent in August, the statement quoted by official APS newsagency said. "This confirms the good re-positioning targeted by Sonatrachin the European market," Sonatrach said. But oil exports decreased by 8 percent as this volume wasused to refine gasoline and diesel, Sonatrach said. "We have reduced our imports (gasoline, diesel) by 43percent and saved $750 million," the statement said. The North African OPEC state had struggled until last yearwith stagnating energy production after it failed to draw majorforeign investment in its last bidding rounds auctioning oil andgas fields. Some foreign companies see Algeria's contract terms asunattractive or have not been drawn by the fields on offer.Earlier this year, Algeria said Sonatrach would start bilateraldeals directly with companies to speed up and ease bureaucracy. At a May summit, European Union officials and energy firmsurged Algeria to adapt to more competitive markets so as toattract the investment needed to pump more gas north. Algeria is seen as a natural partner for the European Unionas it looks to diversify energy supplies after the Ukraineconflict again exposed the risks of relying on the bloc's topgas supplier, Russia. Algeria is the EU's third-biggest gas supplier behind Russiaand Norway, yet its export capacity through three pipelines andLNG shipments across the Mediterranean has been underused inrecent years. (Writing by Patrick Markey; Editing by Dale Hudson) LONDON, Sept 5 (Reuters) - Prime Minister Theresa May saidon Monday that Britain and China were enjoying a 'golden era'and the strategic partnership would not be derailed by herdecision on whether to back a part-Chinese funded power stationat Hinkley Point. "I have been clear that a decision about Hinkley will betaken later this month, but our relationship with China is aboutmore than Hinkley," May told reporters after a two-day summit ofleaders from G20 nations in China. The British government's surprise decision in July to delaythe $24 billion nuclear plan has upset China, one of the backersof the scheme. "If you look at the investment that there has been fromChina in various other parts of the United Kingdom and otherinfrastructure and so forth in the UK, we have built a globalstrategic partnership with China. "I've been clear we will be continuing that global strategicpartnership with China. It is a golden era of the relationsbetween China and the UK, and I will have an opportunity laterthis evening to take forward those discussions." (Reporting by Willaim James, Writing by Paul Sandle; editing byKate Holton) HANGZHOU, China, Sept 5 (Reuters) - Prime Minister TheresaMay said on Monday that British lawmaker Keith Vaz should makehis own decision about his future political career after claimsin the Sunday Mirror newspaper about his personal life. "What is important for people is that they feel that theyare able to have confidence in their politicians and that's whatwe all have a duty to provide for those who elect us," May saidwhen asked about the report. "What Keith does is for Keith and any decisions he wishes tomake are for him but I think that overall what people look foris confidence in their politicians," she said. Vaz has referred the allegations to his lawyer. (Reporting by William James, editing by Guy Faulconbridge) SHANGHAI, Sept 5 (Reuters) - Unlisted Dongbei Special SteelGroup Co Ltd, having defaulted on several bonds earlier thisyear, said on Monday it would delay the disclosure of itsinterim financial information. The troubled Liaoning province-owned steelmaker wasscheduled to publish its first-half information on August 31. "The company is accelerating debt restructuring, and willaudit and disclose relevant financial information when the finalrestructuring plan is settled," the company said in a statementpublished on website of China's foreign exchange trade platform,or Chinamoney. The troubles of Dongbei Special Steel, whose originaldefault in March helped trigger a broad-based Chinese bondmarket sell-off in April, have sparked a rare public battle inChina between creditors, a local government and a state-ownedcompany even as concerns mount about growing debt levels in theeconomy. (Reporting By Winni Zhou and Nathaniel Taplin; Editing by SimonCameron-Moore) BOGOTA, Sept 5 (Reuters) - A leftist rebel bomb attack hashalted pumping operations along Colombia's second most importantoil pipeline, the Cano-Limon Covenas, state oil companyEcopetrol said on Monday. The attack by National Liberation Army (ELN) guerrillasoccurred on Saturday in a rural area of northern Norte deSantander province, close to the border with Venezuela, thecompany said. The incident did not halt production or exports. The 485-mile (780 km) pipeline has the capacity to transportup to 210,000 barrels of crude daily from oil fields operated byU.S.-based Occidental Petroleum to the Caribbean port ofCovenas. Attacks on oil installations by the ELN, a group of about1,500 combatants, have been a frequent occurrence during aconflict that has taken more than 220,000 lives and displacedmillions over the past 52 years. President Juan Manuel Santos sought to begin peace talkswith the ELN in March, but negotiations have stalled until thegroup frees all its hostages. The Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), thebiggest rebel group in the South American country, agreed to apeace accord with the government on Aug. 24. (Reporting by Luis Jaime Acosta; Writing by Helen Murphy;Editing by Tom Brown) By Alice Gledhill LONDON, Sept 5 (IFR) - Investors are piling into sterlingissues from corporate and financial issuers as they get ahead ofthe Bank of England's corporate bond purchase scheme due tostart later this month. Aviva, the United Kingdom's largest insurer, has attractedover 2.3bn of demand for a 400m 2049 non-call 2029 Tier 2 bondwhile British American Tobacco has lured 1.5bn of interest fora 2052 benchmark. Investors are already fighting for allocations in theEuropean market, with the European Central Bank hooveringhundred of millions of corporates and covered bonds in theprimary market each week. While the Bank of England has yet to say whether it willintervene in the primary sterling market, the struggle to gethold of bonds in secondary is likely to increase as the centralbank gets going with its 10bn programme. This is combined with a generally undersupplied sterlingmarket where issuance slowed before the UK's Brexit vote. Monday's supply is some of the first primary activity allyear in a sterling sub format. Lloyds Banking Group sold thefirst deal in that format in August, a legacy 385m TSB Tier 2bond that was almost twice subscribed. While the BoE will not buy bank or insurance bonds, suchpaper is expected to benefit from trickle-down effects of theprogramme. This gave Aviva, already a well-liked name among thebuyside, the upper hand. Leads Barclays, Citigroup, HSBC, Lloydsand RBC were able to move guidance to 365bp area over Gilts,some 20bp tighter than the wide end of the 380bp-385bp IPTs. The IPTs offered a 25bp to 30bp concession, said a bankeroff the trade. A lead saw Aviva's 400m 5.125% 2050 non-call2030s at Gilts plus 353bp, having priced in May last year at290bp. Bank and insurance sterling subs weakened in line with themarket earlier this year, selling off again in the days afterJune's referendum. Sterling issuers have opted to issue in other currenciesinstead. Prudential for example went to the Reg S dollar marketin May, and will do so again this week. Bonds however have staged a comeback, with Aviva's 400m5.125%s now around 170bp inside February's wides at Gilts plus364bp, according to Eikon. PRIME TIME Sterling investors are willing to stretch beyond the marketstalwarts, and lesser known names have benefited from the morebenign backdrop. Paragon, the UK's largest independent buy-to-let lender, ismarketing a 150m callable 10-year Tier 2 bond (rated BB+ byFitch) via Bank of America Merrill Lynch and UBS. Guidance is7.25%-7.375%, the tight end of the 7.5% area IPTs. The issuer mandated a sterling senior unsecured note lastyear, but choppy markets derailed those plans and it issued a112.5m retail bond instead. The new issue will refinance an oldTier 2 deal. "It feels tricky. 7.5% is a lot of spread," said a bankeroff the mandate. But a lead pointed out it is a small borrower issuing in asmall size, a deal that is not going to interest everyone. Thesize was indicated at 125m to 150m, which can deter someinvestors who prefer larger, more liquid issues. "We had the confidence to put it on screens and we gotdecent feedback last week," he added. (Reporting by Alice Gledhill, editing by Helene Durand, JulianBaker) OSLO, Sept 5 (Reuters) - ** The value of Norwegian seafood exports grew by 32 percentin August from the same month of 2015 and is up 25 percentyear-to-date, the country's state-backed Seafood Council said ina statement on Monday ** Exports of seafood are on track for a record year, itadded ** Currency weakness, supply constraints and high demand forfarmed salmon, Norway's top fish export are key factorssupporting the increase ** Exports rose by 1.7 billion Norwegian crowns ($205.07million) to 7.1 billion in August. Salmon exports stood at 5.3billion ** Poland and France were the biggest buyers of Norwegiansalmon in August. The average price for whole fresh salmon was58.24 crowns per kilo compared with 43.30 crowns in August 2015 ** Year-to-date seafood exports stood at 56.3 billion crownsand 2016 will probably exceed the 2015 record of 74.5 billion,it added ** Norway is the world's top exporter of salmon, withleading producers including Marine Harvest , Salmar , Leroy Seafood , Grieg Seafood andNorway Royal Salmon ($1 = 8.2898 Norwegian crowns) (Reporting by Terje Solsvik, editing by Joachim Dagenborg) HANGZHOU, China, Sept 5 (Reuters) - Prime Minister TheresaMay said she wanted Britain to become a global leader in freetrade as it exits the European Union. "As the UK leaves the EU I've set out our ambition to becomethe global leader in free trade," May told reporters after atwo-day summit of leaders from G20 nations in China. May said there would be no retreat towards protectionism andthat there had been positive reactions from partners aboutsecuring new trade deals. "The leaders from India, Mexico, South Korea and Singaporesaid that they would welcome talks on removing the barriers totrade between our countries," she said. (Reporting by William James, writing by Sarah Young, editing byGuy Faulconbridge) VICENZA, Italy Sept 5 (Reuters) - Italian regional lenderPopolare di Vicenza, which earlier this year was rescued by abank bailout fund, posted a loss of 795 million euros in thefirst half of the year as it set aside more money to cover badloans and possible lawsuits by customers. The bank said the loss was also due, for more than 300million euros, to the decision by shareholder CattolicaAssicurazioni to exit a joint-venture after Popolaredi Vicenza's transformation into a joint stock company. The lender is owned by bank bailout fund Atlante, which hadto step in in April after the bank's 1.5 billion euro ($1.7billion) IPO flopped on the market. Popolare di Vicenza said in a statement its CET 1 ratiostood at 10.75 percent at the end of June, compared with aminimum requirement by the European Central Bank of 10.25percent. ($1 = 0.8973 euros) (Reporting by Valentina Za) Romania sells planned 1 bln lei of one-year T-Bills BUCHAREST, Sept 5 (Reuters) - Romania sold a planned 1billion lei ($251.22 million) worth of one-year treasury billson Monday, with the average accepted yield at 0.56 percent,central bank data showed. Debt managers last sold the one-year paper in August at anaverage yield of 0.55 percent. So far this year, the ministry has sold roughly 34.720billion lei and 775 million euros of domestic bonds, and hastapped foreign markets twice. Series: RO1617CTN0D3 RO1617CTN0C5 Issue date 07/09/2016 29/08/2016 Auction date 05/09/2016 25/08/2016 Maturity 06/09/2017 28/08/2017 Avg.yield (pct) 0.56 0.55 Avg. accepted price 99.4375 99.4389 Highest accepted yield 0.57 0.56 Tail (highest yield minus 0.01 0.01 average yield) Total bids 2.0 bln lei 3.0 bln lei Allotted 1.0 bln lei 800 mln lei Bid-to-cover ratio 2.0 3.75 ($1 = 3.9805 lei) (Reporting by Luiza Ilie; Editing by Radu Marinas) Disclaimer: The views expressed in this article are those of the author and may not reflect those of Kitco Metals Inc. The author has made every effort to ensure accuracy of information provided; however, neither Kitco Metals Inc. nor the author can guarantee such accuracy. This article is strictly for informational purposes only. It is not a solicitation to make any exchange in precious metal products, commodities, securities or other financial instruments. Kitco Metals Inc. and the author of this article do not accept culpability for losses and/ or damages arising from the use of this publication. kitco news JOHANNESBURG, Sept 5 (Reuters) - South Africa's NationalUnion of Mineworkers (NUM) said on Monday more than 1,500members will on Tuesday march against planned retrenchments atSibanye Gold's loss-making Cooke 4 mine. Job cuts are a thorny issue in Africa's most industrialisedcountry where the unemployment rate is near 27 percent, a bigconcern for companies faced with labour disputes. Sibanye began talks with unions for job cuts at the mine inJuly, after failing to stem heavy losses at the operation. Thecompany first broached the subject of job cuts at the mine withunions in November 2014. Since then Cooke 4 has continued to fall short of productiontargets and accumulate losses, which the company said threatenedthe viability of the other three Cooke operations. The NUM, which has the lion's share of membership in thegold sector, called on Sibanye to "surrender the mining licenceto any responsible company that will be willing to mine Cook 4operation" and vowed to fight the closure and job cuts. "This drastic actions by the company will leave hundreds ofmineworkers in a dire situation and the surrounding communitiesin the West Rand," the union said in a statement, adding that850 contract workers would join their march on Tuesday. Sibanye's spokesman James Wellsted said talks with unions,mining ministry officials and other parties were ongoing. "It's a bit puzzling why they are resorting to this ratherthan utilising the Section 189 process," Wellsted said. Section 189 is a legal requirement for companies to consultunions, the government and other stakeholders for up to 90 daysover planned retrenchment process. Sibanye says it employs 1,700 workers at Cooke 4 and about7,000 workers at all its four Cooke operations. (Reporting by Nqobile Dludla; Editing by James Macharia) ZURICH, Sept 5 (Reuters) - The Swiss blue-chip SMI was seen opening 0.1 percent higher at 8,302 points on Monday,according to premarket indications by bank Julius Baer . Here are some of the main factors that could affect Swissstocks: CREDIT SUISSE Credit Suisse appointed Alexandre Zeller, chairman of theSwiss bourse SIX, as chairman of its Swiss universal bank, aportion of which it plans to float in an initial public offeringnext year. For more news, click ABB The company has appointed Guido Jouret as its first chiefdigital officer, a move designed to ramp up the Swiss power andautomation company's efforts in digital technology and theinternet of things. For more news, click SWISS POLITICS Switzerland's biggest party, the right-wing People's Party(SVP), is considering launching a new initiative to end the freemovement of people with the European Union, its Vice PresidentChristoph Blocher told Swiss newspapers NZZ and Tages-Anzeiger. COMPANY STATEMENTS * Novartis said a study showed its UltibroBreezhaler is a more effective option for patients at risk ofchronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) flare-ups thanSeretide. * Britain's vote in June to leave the European Union hasproduced "fantastic results in the UK," Swatch ChiefExecutive Nick Hayek was quoted as saying in the FinancialTimes. * SGS announced the completion of the acquisitionof Compliance Certification Services Inc., Taiwan. * Helvetia said its underlying earnings in thefirst half of 2016 increased by 8 percent to 238 million Swissfrancs. * Novimmune received a milestone payment from acollaboration with Genentech. * Hiag Immobilien Holding posted first-half of 21.6million Swiss francs. ECONOMY * The Swiss National Bank releases sight deposits at 0800GMT. (Reporting by Zurich newsroom) Daily Swiss stock market report in German................ All SMI constituent stocks............................ News on major Swiss stock price moves.................. FTSE Eurotop 300 index................................ DJ STOXX index........................................ Top 10 STOXX sectors............................. Top 10 EUROSTOXX sectors........................ Top 10 Eurotop 300 sectors....................... Top 25 European pct gainers... , losers... Swiss mid-cap index SMI futures Swiss all-share index Market statistics Swiss market digest Sector overview All Swiss news Swiss research news All equity news INTERNET ADDRESSES: Swiss Exchange / Eurex STOXX Ltd SPEED GUIDES: )) Keywords: MARKETS SWISS STOCKS/ TABLE-Norway's NST-34 T-bill auction yields 0.60 pct OSLO, Sept 5 (Reuters) - Norway's central bank gave thefollowing result of an auction for its NST-34 treasury bill onMonday: Allotment Price 99.6920 Yield (percent) 0.60 Allotted Volume (billion crowns) 3.000 Total volume of bids (billion crowns) 2.915 The Norwegian central bank said the allotment rate on thelowest accepted bids was 21 percent. (Reporting by Oslo newsroom) Disclaimer: The views expressed in this article are those of the author and may not reflect those of Kitco Metals Inc. The author has made every effort to ensure accuracy of information provided; however, neither Kitco Metals Inc. nor the author can guarantee such accuracy. This article is strictly for informational purposes only. It is not a solicitation to make any exchange in precious metal products, commodities, securities or other financial instruments. Kitco Metals Inc. and the author of this article do not accept culpability for losses and/ or damages arising from the use of this publication. kitco news * Bank lost 3 bln euros in 2-1/2 years * CEO says little room to withstand further legal charges * Assessing synergies from potential tie-up with VenetoBanca (Recasts with comment from press conference) By Valentina Za VICENZA, Italy Sept 5 (Reuters) - Italy's Banca Popolare diVicenza said on Monday it posted a first-half loss of 795million euro ($886 million) as it continued to set aside moneyagainst loan losses and customer lawsuits after a rescue by bankbailout fund Atlante. The state-sponsored, privately-financed fund took overPopolare Vicenza in May after Italy's eighth-largest bank failedto draw demand for a 1.5 billion euro ($1.7 billion) initialshare offering needed to stave off the risk of being wound down. Popolare Vicenza said a decision by insurer Cattolica to drop out of their partnership had cost it around310 million euros in the period. Popolare Vicenza lost 2.2 billion euros in the period2014-2015 due to a balance sheet clean-up enforced by EuropeanCentral Bank supervisors. It was put under investigation by prosecutors after the ECBuncovered 1 billion euros in loans that were granted tocustomers to finance purchases of the lender's own shares. Claims by clients more than doubled in January-June tonearly 7,000, the bank said, as disgruntled shareholders wholost their savings in the rescue turned to magistrates. The bank said it continued to work with prosecutors andwould consider possible out-of-court settlements. Chief Executive Francesco Iorio, brought in from rival UBIBanca to oversee a restructuring, told a pressconference the bank had so far set aside 230 million euros toface possible legal claims. "Our analyses show that's enough. The bank's ability to bearfurther significant legal charges is very limited given capitallevels," he said. He said the bank's core-capital ratio of 10.75 percentcompared with a minimum requirement by the ECB of 10.25 percent. Loan writedowns totalled nearly 600 million euros in theperiod and took into account the preliminary outcome of an ECB'sinspection. Iorio said some clients were having trouble repaying loansthey used to buy shares in the bank after the price of the stockdropped to just 10 cents in the rescue from 48 euros a yearearlier. Popolare Vicenza lost 1.9 billion euros in direct funding inJanuary-June and cut its customer loans by a similar amount.Revenues dropped by nearly one third and 71 branches were shutdown. Iorio said the next business plan, which could be presentedas early as next month, would contain steeper job cuts than the550 redundancies envisaged previously. "Our cost-income ratio of 92.5 percent is not sustainable,"he said. Italy's government is pushing lenders to merge and cut coststo shore up their profitability after a long recession pushedsoured loans to one fifth of the total. Popolare Vicenza Chairman Gianni Mion confirmed there werepreliminary discussions with rival Veneto Banca, which was alsorescued by Atlante after a failed IPO, to assess synergies for apotential merger. ($1 = 0.8970 euros) (Reporting by Valentina Za; editing by Susan Thomas) (Adds details) JOHANNESBURG, Sept 5 (Reuters) - South Africa's biggestplatinum mine-workers' union and the industry have failed toreach a deal on workers' pay, the union said on Monday, raisingthe prospect of industrial action in the world's top producer ofthe white metal. The Association of Mineworkers and Construction Union(AMCU), which led a crippling five-month strike in 2014, hasbeen in talks with Anglo American Platinum , ImpalaPlatinum and Lonmin since July this year. "To date no progress has been made," AMCU said in astatement. "The union has therefore officially declareddeadlocks with all three companies." The companies were not immediately available to comment. AMCU said it would next week separately meet Impala andAnglo American Platinum to seek a resolution. No meeting withLonmin has been confirmed, it said. Declaration of a dispute is the first step towards launchinga strike and if next week's meetings fail to find a solution,the dispute would be referred to a government mediator in a bidto break the impasse, failing which AMCU could give the industrya 48-hour notice to down tools. AMCU is demanding pay hikes of more than 50 percent for itslowest pad members, who home take around 8,000 rand ($557) amonth, and a 15 percent hike for its higher paid members. The demands are well above inflation at 6 percent. South Africa has the biggest and most lucrative platinumreserves but labour unrest and regulatory uncertainty havedampened investors' enthusiasm. The strike in 2014 hit the industry hard, costing it morethan 20 billion rand in lost output and forcing the companies tocut jobs, shed mines and in some cases seek cash from investors. ($1 = 14.3602 rand) (Reporting by Tiisetso Motsoeneng and Zandi Shabalala inLondon; Editing by Ed Cropley and Mark Potter) * Ping lost election last week to incumbent Ali Bongo * Poll result sparked deadly riots in capital * Most economic activity resumes but oil refinery still shut * Bongo family has ruled African state for half a century (Adds reaction to strike call, prisoner releases, refinery) By Gerauds Wilfried Obangome LIBREVILLE, Sept 5 (Reuters) - Gabon's opposition leaderappealed on Monday for a general strike to protest what he saidwas a fraudulent re-election victory by President Ali Bongo, butfew heeded his call as economic activity picked back up in thecapital Libreville. Jean Ping, a former African Union Commission chairman whosays he is now Gabon's leader, said in a statement that hisfight was not over following deadly riots last week. "I ask you from today onward not to use violence but toresist by blocking the country's economy," he said, addressingall Gabonese. "I propose to cease all activity and begin ageneral strike." At least six people were killed and more than 1,000 arrestedin violence after Wednesday's announcement of a slim victory forBongo, whose family has run the oil-producing central Africancountry for half a century. An adviser to the interior minister told Reuters on Sundaythat several dozen people had already been released. However,several Libreville residents said that they had not seen orheard from family members since the riots. Gabon is statistically one of Africa's richest countrieswith a GDP per capita of $10,000 a year, but oil wealth hasflowed mostly to the elite, breeding widespread discontent inthe former French colony. The Bongos have long relied on patronage to buy off dissent.But falling oil prices and production, long dominated by Total and Shell , have led to budget cuts in acountry where many citizens have not enjoyed the fruits of oilwealth. WARY ATMOSPHERE In the capital Libreville traffic resumed along the mainboulevards as people returned to work on Monday, though somestayed home for fear of renewed violence. "Jean Ping doesn't have to tell me (not to go to work).While the situation is sensitive I'll stay home," said HortenseToulangoye, a state worker. Another employee said he had notheard about the strike. The internet was operational again on Monday, five daysafter it was shut down in an apparent bid by the government toquell unrest, but access to social media was still limited. Some business activity also remained hobbled by securityconcerns. Gabon's sole oil refinery in the economic capital PortGentil has been shut since last Wednesday, according to SylvainMayabi, secretary-general of the National Organization of PetrolEmployees. It was not clear when the Sogara refinery, which processes21,000 barrels of oil per day, would be back online, Mayabi toldReuters. French oil producer Total owns a 43.8 percentstake in the refinery. Total did not respond to requests for comment. Gabon produces 200,000 barrels of oil per day, according tothe International Energy Agency, and its output is in decline.It rejoined OPEC in July after two decades. France has had a military base in Gabon since independencein 1960 and 450 troops are stationed there, according to theFrench Defence Ministry. Gabon is home to 14,000 Frenchcitizens. During more than four decades in power, late president OmarBongo cultivated close relations with a succession of Frenchpresidents, but his son's ties to Paris have been more tenuous. Gabon recalled its ambassador to Paris in January afterFrance's Prime Minister Manuel Valls appeared to question thelegitimacy of Ali Bongo's 2009 election. (Reporting by Gerauds Wilfried Obangome; writing by NelliePeyton and Aaron Ross; editing by Mark Heinrich) * Management, supervisory boards approve planned split-up * No capital hike expected * Consumer electronics group to own 10 pct of food unit * Shares pare initial gains * Pro-forma split planned from Sept. 30 (Recasts to add no plan for capital hike) FRANKFURT, Sept 5 (Reuters) - German retailer Metro AG is proceeding with plans to separate its wholesale andfood business from its consumer electronics chain, predictingboth units can achieve an investment grade rating withoutneeding a capital increase. Metro, Europe's fourth-biggest retailer by sales after thelikes of Carrefour and Tesco , said asupervisory board meeting on Monday had approved the plan. Theconsumer electronics business will keep a 10 percent stake inthe new wholesale and food specialist business to strengthen itscapital base, Metro said in a statement. Some analysts had expected that the retailer, which outlinedthe plan in March, could need to raise as much as 900 millioneuros ($1 billion) in fresh capital to achieve an investmentgrade rating for both businesses. Bernstein analyst Bruno Monteyne said the consumerelectronics business could still decide in future to sell itsstake in the food group, achieving the same result as a capitalhike, but without the need for shareholder approval. "Metro has avoided a rights issue by giving it an option todo one in the future by the backdoor," he said. Shares in Metro initially jumped after the retailer said inits statement that it expected both new units to achieveinvestment grade status without requiring a capital increase.But they later erased gains and were down 0.8 percent at 27.75euros by 1455 GMT. The STOXX Europe 600 Retail index was down 0.1percent. Metro reiterated that the demerger would be complete bymid-2017 and said the group would be split into twoorganisationally separate entities on a pro-forma basis fromSept. 30, 2016. It said almost all of the group's existing financialliabilities would be assumed by the wholesale and food company. Metro has spent several years restructuring and sellingnon-core businesses such as its Kaufhof department stores, tofocus on its Metro cash-and-carry business and Media-Saturnelectronics chain. Under its latest plan, Metro wants to spin off thecash-and-carry business and its struggling Real hypermarketchain, which together have sales of about 38 billion euros,leaving Media-Saturn as the main holding of the core group. Metro proposed that its Chief Finance Officer Mark Freseshould become CFO of the consumer electronics unit, whileChristian Baier, current finance chief of the cash and carryunit, would take over the role at the wholesale and food group. ($1 = 0.8973 euros) (Reporting by Maria Sheahan and Emma Thomasson; Editing byLudwig Burger and Susan Fenton) * PM May says no silver bullet for post-Brexit immigration * May says points-based immigration systems don't givecontrol * Britain wants "some control" over post-Brexit EUimmigration * May tells China's Xi: Golden ties don't depend on HinkleyPoint (Adds May quotes) By William James HANGZHOU, China, Sept 5 (Reuters) - British Prime MinisterTheresa May rejected a "points-based" system to screenimmigrants, setting up a potential conflict with Brexitcampaigners in her government who promised to bring inAustralian-style controls over EU migrants. May, who favoured staying in the European Union but haspledged to deliver on the June 23 referendum vote by steeringBritain out of the bloc, said such systems were difficult tomanage and there was no "silver bullet" on immigration. May has made clear that there will have to be some controlsover immigration but has yet to say how they will work - acrucial issue for employers and for negotiations with the EUover future British access to the European market. "What the British people voted for on the 23rd of June wasto bring some control into the movement of people from theEuropean Union to the UK," she told reporters on Monday after atwo-day summit of leaders from G20 nations in China. "A points-based system does not give you that control," Maysaid. "I want a system where the government is able to decidewho comes into the country. I think that's what the Britishpeople want." Australia vets immigrants according to their occupation,qualifications and other factors but May said that points-basedsystems were open to abuse and did not give the government fullcontrol over who enters the country. May's comments offer the first glimpse into her stance onthe hardest question thrown up by the referendum: how to tightenborder controls with the EU without losing access to its singlemarket. Britain's 27 partners are so far adamant that it cannotenjoy full trade benefits unless it continues to let in EUnationals as before. BREXIT LIGHT? At her first major international summit since becoming primeminister, May gave few details about when the formal Brexitdivorce procedure would begin. "I won't be triggering it before the end of the year. Ihaven't set a date when it is going to be triggered but I amconscious that the British people will want to see us actuallyputting their decision into practice," May said. She believed the process would be a smooth as possible andafter Brexit, Britain would have "some control" over themovement of EU nationals to the UK. In a sign of the extent of international concern over theimpact of Brexit, Japan published a 15-page report setting outdozens of its requests of Britain and the EU includingmaintaining access to workers from the EU and UK. Ahead of a meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping, Maysaid Britain was enjoying a golden era in ties that would not bederailed by her decision to pause a part-Chinese funded $24billion nuclear power station project at Hinkley Point. "Our relationship with China is about more than Hinkley,"May said. "We will be continuing that global strategicpartnership with China. It is a golden era." "SOME CONTROL" May's comments on immigration risk upsetting key members ofthe team she assembled in July to deliver an EU exit thatprotects Britain's global standing and carves out a new role forthe country at the vanguard of global free trade. Foreign minister Boris Johnson and trade minister Liam Foxwere part of a 'Brexit' camp that argued that voting to leavethe European Union would free Britain from the duty to admit allEU nationals who want to live and work here, enabling it to cutimmigration. Speaking in June before he took over the foreign ministry,Johnson - figurehead of the Leave campaign and May's one-timerival for the prime minister's job - said a points-based systemcould bring back democratic control and better meet businesses'needs. May's words will fuel fears among voters and Euroscepticlawmakers that having a pro-Remain prime minister in charge will result in a watered-down version of Brexit that does notrepresent what people voted for. "I'm worried," Nigel Farage, one of the most prominentBrexit campaigners and former head of the UK Independence Party,told BBC radio when asked about May's comments. Farage said British voters had endorsed the idea of apoints-based system of immigration that would ensure Britaintook well- vetted EU immigrants. British lawmakers will on Monday debate a public petitioncalling for a re-run of the EU referendum. While four millionpeople signed the petition, May has said the referendum resultwas clear and that "Brexit means Brexit". "The reason I keep saying Brexit means Brexit is preciselybecause it does," May said. (Writing by Guy Faulconbridge; Additional reporting by SarahYoung; Editing by Mark Trevelyan and Giles Elgood) SHARE By Nathan Pilling, nathan.pilling@kitsapsun.com BREMERTON The body of a man in his late 50s was recovered from Sinclair Inlet near the Bremerton waterfront on Sunday morning. According to Bremerton police, a body was seen floating by Washington State Ferries crew members on the Seattle to Bremerton ferry at about 10:55 a.m. WSF crews recovered the body before docking in Bremerton. Workers on the ferry transported the body to first responders waiting at the ferry terminal. Police described the deceased individual as a male from East Bremerton who was in his late 50s. No further information was available, pending an autopsy by the Kitsap County Coroner's Office. The family of the deceased man was notified Sunday, according to police. The 11:10 sailing from Bremerton was delayed by the incident. SHARE By Brittany Patterson Click here to read more about state law and procedures when a dog bites. July 8 was like any other workday for Bremerton UPS driver Jason Smidt. Smidt, who has been driving his West Bremerton route for about 10 years, said that afternoon around 4 p.m. he pulled up to his next stop and honked his horn a couple of times to see if either a person or dog came outside. He said the garage door was open, so he peered in. Not seeing anyone, he walked to the front door announcing himself. A man and his friend walked out from behind the garage followed close behind by a large dog a shepherd mix, about waist-high and about 100 pounds, Smidt said. Smidt said he began setting the packages down on the ground to back away. A couple of seconds later the dog had its teeth in his neck. I was more stunned than anything and absolutely dumbfounded, he said. Heres this huge dog with its teeth on my throat. Thirteen stitches, a few scans to check for internal damages, and two weeks of desk duty later, Smidt said hes just glad it wasnt worse. My modeling career has been put on the back burner, he joked. BEING PREPARED: TRAINING, TECH Being bitten by a dog is a daily concern for those whose job entails delivering items or services onto peoples private property. Companies such as UPS and the U.S. Postal Service arm their employees with training, and in some cases, technology, to avoid confrontations with dogs. UPS uses a program called CPad, which allows drivers to flag homes they come across that have dogs, said Mike McGuire, Northwest District Health and Safety Manager for UPS. A note pops up on drivers handheld computer device, called a DIAD, which alerts drivers to the presence of a dog. Drivers can classify the nature of the dog, from simply being present to aggressive. When it comes to training, UPS has begun incorporating dog psychology to help drivers understand what makes the animals tick. One thing UPS drivers dont carry is pepper spray or mace. Carrying dog cookies is also discouraged, McGuire said. Postal workers are required to carry a substance called Halt, a cayenne pepper spray. They receive training on dealing with dogs (they can use their mail pouch as a shield) and bite prevention throughout the year, said Ernie Swanson, communications program specialist for the Seattle district of USPS. If a dog is running loose in a neighborhood, USPS policy is to not deliver mail. That can mean an entire street can go without mail if a dog is present and perceived as a threat. If a dog is roaming the street we have an obligation for the safety of our carriers to call animal control, he said. We dont take the chance. LOW NUMBER OF BITES When a bite does occur and the skin is broken, UPS drivers must seek medical attention. On the day Smidt was bitten, he contacted his supervisor. UPS picked him up and he went to the emergency room. The company undertook its own investigation of the incident. Given the number of UPS drivers on the street in the companys northwest region (2,500 daily in Alaska, Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Montana and Wyoming), the rate of dog bites is pretty low, McGuire said. There have been more than 40 this year. They make hundreds of stops a day, he said. We dont have many problems considering how many packages we deliver. Bremerton Postmaster Dale Goforth said his carriers probably have about three dog bites per year over the 60 routes they cover. Nationwide, the postal service reported 5,879 employees attacked by dogs last year. Weve had some very serious dog bites, despite all the training we give our carriers, Swanson said. Swanson said dog owners are responsible for the medical costs for the bitten individual, which is often covered by homeowners insurance. The owner of the dog that bit Smidt, Michael Healy, sprang into action after his dog attacked, grabbing paper towels Smidt used to apply pressure on the wound. State law requires that a dog bite must be reported, either by the owner or the victim. If the bite breaks the skin, the animal must be quarantined for 10 days, during which they are observed for symptoms of rabies. According to the report of the UPS incident filed with animal control, Healy was allowed to voluntarily quarantine the dog, which was up to date on its vaccinations. Animal control listed no previous incidents with the dog. Kitsap Humane Societys Animal Rescue requested Healy place a Beware of dog sign up and gave him a warning. Calls to Healy placed Monday by the Kitsap Sun were not returned. Smidt said he has no intention of pressing charges or seeking legal action. He said he would ask the dogs owners to make sure they create a safe environment for service providers responding to their property. If people could just keep the dogs inside or on a leash until the delivery is completed that would really help reduce or eliminate the possibility of anyone getting hurt, he said. Danyl McL blogs: I have no idea whats happened in Andrew Littles office, or why his Chief of Staff has stepped down. I havent even heard plausible rumours. But I keep reading these takes in which McCarten shifting back to Auckland is somehow good news for Labour or a smart strategic move. It is neither of these things. Being without a Chief of Staff AND a Communications Director less than a year from the start of an election campaign is not smart, or strategic, it is a catastrophically bad position for a political party to be in: a harbinger of doom. And according to Matthew Hooton in the comments two other press secretaries resigned this week, and a third resignation is expected shortly. If correct, this will be very destabilizing. Those senior staffer positions are stressful. People burn out, or get fed up, or just want to do something else with their lives. But the Opposition Leaders Chief of Staff is in line to become the Prime Ministers Chief of Staff, who is one of the most powerful people in the country. It is a position a professional political operative willingly step downs from about as frequently as an Opposition Leader willingly steps down, ie pretty much never. This is basically true. You do not willingly walk away from the opportunity to become the PMs Chief of Staff. Share this: Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Reddit WhatsApp More Pinterest Print Tumblr Shenandoah, IA (51601) Today Partly cloudy skies early will give way to cloudy skies late. Low 41F. Winds light and variable.. Tonight Partly cloudy skies early will give way to cloudy skies late. Low 41F. Winds light and variable. By Laura Ayo, news@knoxvillebiz.com When a patient overcomes illness, Dr. Robert Montgomery considers it a victory. "If you help find out what's wrong with somebody and help them get through it, those are the kinds of things, one-on-one, that are the most memorable in health care," he said. By those standards, Montgomery, 68, an internist with Summit Medical Associates, has amassed countless memories during his 38-year career. "There's one fellow I've seen since March of 1978. There are lots of people I've been seeing for more than 20 years," he said. "I feel very privileged to have people I've enjoyed knowing for that long." The ability to treat patients over the course of their lives drew Montgomery, who earned his medical degree from the University of Tennessee Medical School in Memphis, to internal medicine. "You have the long-term capability to influence people's lives, and hopefully for the better," said Montgomery, who completed an internal medicine residency at UT Memorial Research Hospital and a fellowship at the Cleveland Clinic Foundation in Ohio. He also liked the fact that general medicine would challenge him to solve a variety of problems for his patients. "If you're in general medicine, there's no end to what you might see," he said. "You never know when you're going to see something no one has ever seen before. "When I first started medicine, people would ask, 'What kind of doctor do you want to be?' and the only answer I ever had was, 'A good one,' and I stuck to that." His peers agreed he's motivated by wanting what's best for patients and advocates for them regardless of economic or political circumstances. "He always had the moral compass of doing the right thing," said Dr. David Gerkin, medical director of the Tennessee Valley Eye Center, who has worked with Montgomery over the years through the Knoxville Academy of Medicine. "He typifies what I think a physician should be like." Montgomery is credited with helping colleague Dr. Charlie Barnett launch the Free Flu Shot Saturday program in 1991 as a way to encourage people to get a flu vaccine and educate the community about the health risks associated with the influenza virus. "The first Flu Shot Saturday, we gave 1,000 flu shots away, and he was instrumental in helping pay for it and giving the shots," Barnett said. Since then, more than 220,000 East Tennesseans have been immunized through the program, with physicians, nurses, medical and nursing students, local Rotary clubs and News Sentinel Charities volunteers staffing the annual fall event, which is backed by Summit Medical Group, BlueCross BlueShield of Tennessee and Rotary. Barnett said the program also raises money for the News Sentinel's Empty Stocking Fund, which provides toys and food to disadvantaged East Tennesseans during the holidays. "It just kind of grew into a community thing beyond any one person and lots of different people help us," Montgomery said. "Most importantly, it's a place people can come who otherwise don't get a flu shot. If a certain percentage of people are vaccinated, the likelihood of anyone getting it is less. Over 40 percent in Knox County are immunized every year, which is really high." Peers described Montgomery, who worked at his family's hardware store in Gainesboro as a youth, as "a doctor's doctor." "He is knowledgeable, thorough, caring, kind, compassionate and just sort of the epitome of what a doctor should be," Barnett said. "He just kept small-town values and small-town common sense and small-town humor, and that's always going to be part of his life, which makes him a very caring and hands-on person." When Montgomery became KAM president in 1989, the health care community was "in chaos" as hospitals battled to have trauma patients brought to their facilities for treatment, physicians said. "It had an impact on patient care," Gerkin said. "Bob Montgomery saw this happening and said, 'We need to resolve this because it was not helping anyone.' " Montgomery said he felt the physicians at competing hospitals needed to be the ones to find a solution, so he invited them to work together behind closed doors one day until they found one. The negotiations were heated at times, he said, but they emerged with a patient-focused plan that is still in use, as well as a committee that meets regularly to review trauma care. Montgomery also had quality patient care in mind when he helped establish the KAM Foundation, the philanthropic arm of the medical society which operates Knoxville Area Project Access. KAPA provides access to health care for low-income, uninsured Knox Countians. "He was among the leaders who said we need this, and because of the foundation, many, many people have been served and we continue to do so in record numbers," said former KAM chief executive officer Sonnie Campbell. "He has a very, very kind heart." Montgomery also helped establish a health wellness program for the City of Knoxville's employees. "In the first round of doing screenings, we ran into 35 diabetics who weren't diagnosed," Montgomery said. Some of the newly diagnosed patients began taking medication, thereby reducing the likelihood that they would have a heart attack needing additional medical attention in the near future, he said. "That was really an eye-opener for me and made me a big believer in wellness," he said. Montgomery has spent his entire career with Medical Associates, joining Summit Medical Group in 1995 as a way to continue the hands-on, one-on-one care of patients that he enjoys. "I wanted to be able to go into an exam room and see a patient and not feel like I had an administrative or federal agent telling me what I needed to do," he said. "I wanted to see people with the autonomy and respect they deserve." As more emphasis is placed on wellness programs and the health care industry moves more towards a fee-for-performance model, Montgomery said he expects Summit to continue to be a dynamic leader that looks ahead to adapt in ways that will keep quality patient care a priority. "That really is the only way we can preserve the patient-physician relationship and allow us to continue to see people with the dignity they deserve," he said. For the past seven years, Montgomery has served as director at Avalon Hospice. He said the job has given him a new appreciation for the end-of-life aspect of health care. The families of countless patients have thanked Montgomery in the obituaries of their loved ones, and one Farragut woman wrote a letter to the editor in 1999 to praise the care he gave to her mother at the end of her life. Montgomery said interacting with people is the part of his career that he's found most rewarding. "I think you gain so much from sharing part of people's lives that it makes you a person who wants to share part of your life with them and try to use your skills to improve their situation one way or another, whether it's their end of life or an acute illness or chronic illness or chronic wellness," he said. "I've been doing this 38 years and I still get up every morning and come to work still with the same passion, I think, as when I started. This is what I'm supposed to be doing." By Laura Ayo, news@knoxvillebiz.com Janice McKinley has spent her career as a nurse and nursing administrator working to change the perception that hospitals are unsafe places. "When I see the reduction in numbers of harmful events to our patients, I get very emotional about it," said McKinley, Covenant Health's chief nursing officer and senior vice president of quality, safety and nursing operations. Under her leadership, Covenant's facilities have improved in patient satisfaction scores and clinical quality measures, including the reduction of hospital-acquired pressure ulcers, infections and the number of infants delivered electively before 39 weeks gestation, Covenant leaders said. "Our goal is to go to zero and we're getting close," she said. "Those are the things that make me tick, knowing we are making a difference." John Geppi, Covenant's executive vice president and chief financial officer, said McKinley's drive to "elevate the nurse" within the health care system and her passion for putting patients first have led to those results. "I don't think there's any one thing," he said. "It's just been a constant evolution of improving the quality of care at Covenant. She is at the forefront of nursing care and nursing innovation." McKinley's interest in nursing piqued in high school when, at age 14, she worked as a junior nursing assistant at a local hospital. "It gave me that first view of what nursing was like," she said. "I just fell in love with it." With encouragement from her grandmother, McKinley earned a nursing degree from the University of Tennessee in 1975. "I was in the second graduating class," she said. "At the time, we didn't really have a building. We met in classrooms wherever the university could put us." But McKinley said Sylvia Hart, the founding dean of the nursing program, inspired the students. "We felt like we were going to be something and we were," she said. McKinley went on to become the college's inaugural recipient of the Dr. Sylvia E. Hart Distinguished Alumni Award in 2002, and she has returned the encouragement in kind through her staunch support of tomorrow's nurses. "She's a wonderful mentor to young people," said Integrated Operations for TeamHealth President Barbara Blevins, who has worked with McKinley for much of their careers. "She cares about not just what she can do to influence them, but how she can bring other people into the profession of nursing and administration and provide opportunities for them to learn and create career ladders for them." McKinley began her career as an emergency room nurse at Fort Sanders Sevier Medical Center in 1975 and gained experience in the fields of infection control and acute care that gradually led her to administrative roles, including directing the hospital's patient support services. "I was always eager to learn and I like to take on a new challenge," she said. "Once I got into leadership and started reading leadership books, I really enjoyed it and thought I could impact more people by leading nurses." After the Sevierville hospital became part of Covenant Health when the health care system formed in 1996, McKinley was asked to head up support services at both of its Knoxville hospitals, Fort Sanders Regional and Parkwest medical centers. She oversaw cardiac and specialty services at both facilities and served as vice president and chief operating officer at Parkwest until 2000, when she became the hospital's vice president and chief nursing officer. She held that position until 2011 when Covenant's leaders tapped her to oversee quality, safety and nursing operations at all of the system's facilities. "They had never had a CNO, but one of my tasks was to try to take that and start thinking as a system," she said. "You have to think of the greater whole instead of yourself as a separate entity. To gain consensus is very challenging and, some days, very exciting because you can see the organization grow." McKinley's colleagues credit her with tackling tough issues while taking the time to listen and gather information that informs her decisions. "She has great depth and perspective and the ability to see issues through the 'nursing lens' while understanding the broader business challenges of the health care industry," Debby Saraceni, Covenant's vice president of marketing and physician services, wrote in nominating her. McKinley agreed her experiences as a nurse have influenced the way she works with other nurses and system leaders. "You go into nursing to be a nurse," she said. "Compassion is one of the key things you have to have to be a nurse. When you feel you have to be a business person, or someone who can talk about the business, it's very foreign for many nurses. I had to learn those skills." That's one of the reasons she spearheaded the Covenant Nursing Leadership Series, a first-of-its-kind program in East Tennessee aimed at equipping a new generation of nursing leaders with strategic planning, financial management and other leadership skills so they are better prepared to navigate an ever-changing health care landscape. Fifteen nurses and nursing managers participated over a nine-month period in the first intensive leadership development program, which was created by the UT College of Nursing in conjunction with the College of Business Administration. Twelve completed the program and nine were promoted. Additional intensive leadership development programs are planned for the future. "They learned so much from each other and about themselves as leaders and how to be better prepared in a multi-generational workforce," McKinley said. "I hope they're going to be around to care for us in the future and that we have given them the ability to be more comfortable in the roles they will be assuming in the future." McKinley modeled the program after her own experiences in attending a monthlong Johnson and Johnson/Wharton Fellowship for Nurse Executives at the University of Pennsylvania earlier in her career. "When I see these new, young, up-and-coming people growing and making a difference and creating clinical quality improvements, and we celebrate the accomplishments of those things, that's what really stands out," she said. Blevins said McKinley always has been the type of person who goes above and beyond what is expected of her, seeking certifications and advanced training to become a health care executive and serve as an advocate for the profession of nursing. "She thought that translated, therefore, into better care for patients," Blevins said. Likewise, Blevins said McKinley has always focused on improving care in measurable ways. McKinley said nurses today are directed by guidelines and protocols that didn't exist when she first became a nurse. "A lot of it was more hands-on, gut-feeling assessments that were more intuitive," she said. "Today, we have more evidence and we have protocols. Now, the computerization of health care is so different." Earlier this year, McKinley and her husband, Rudy, established the McMahan-McKinley Endowed Professorship in Gerontology in the UT College of Nursing, where McKinley serves as an advisory board member. The couple decided to create the professorship, which will support a nursing professor's research into caring for older adults, as a tribute to family members who died in recent months, as well as McKinley's grandmother. "I feel like Covenant has met the challenge of being the best for patients in the community so that we can say our programs, from the time before you're born all the way through death, are as good as they can be," McKinley said. By Laura Ayo, news@knoxvillebiz.com Sixteen years ago, Anthony "Tony" Spezia looked at the state of health care in East Tennessee and vowed to make quality patient care his highest priority. When he stepped down as Covenant Health's president and chief executive officer in April, his colleagues praised him for more than delivering on that promise. "I would be hard pressed to say anybody in recent history has improved health care in the Knoxville community more than Tony has," said Dr. Mitch Dickson, an anesthesiologist and Covenant board member. "The quality of the facilities and the quality of care (patients) are getting compared to where he started has really been remarkable." Today, Covenant Health operates as the largest community-owned, not-for-profit health care system in East Tennessee with nine acute care hospitals, a mental health hospital, a rehabilitation center, a cancer survival center and other outpatient and specialty service offerings. Roughly 1,500 physicians and more than 10,000 employees serve more than one million patients and families at its facilities each year. But when Spezia, a native of St. Louis, moved to Knoxville in 1991, Covenant Health didn't exist and he had never worked in the health care industry. "I was born in a hospital and I think I had my tonsils out and that's about it," he said. Knoxville banker Roger Osborne had confidence, however, that Spezia's unique background and business instincts made him the best person to help a struggling Peninsula Health System, the behavioral health arm of what was then the Fort Sanders Health System, obtain financial stability. Spezia, who had earned an accounting degree from Saint Louis University, spent nearly a decade in the 1970s auditing businesses, particularly coal companies, for then accounting giant Arthur Andersen. Those experiences led him to Detroit, where he worked for nearly another decade in the 1980s as an executive vice president for a Fortune 500 coal company. Spezia, who earned a master's degree in business administration from Michigan State University during that time, had been helping start-up businesses as an independent consultant for two years when Osborne reached out to him about coming to Knoxville to become Peninsula's executive vice president. "I really had gotten away from leading people and leading an organization," Spezia said of why he accepted the offer. Under Spezia's leadership, Peninsula's financial situation improved, and Spezia secured a reputation as a steadfast advocate for quality behavioral health services in the community. He transitioned to Covenant Health in 1996 after the Fort Sanders Health System acquired Peninsula and merged with Methodist Medical Center of Oak Ridge to create Covenant Health. With a reputation as a "turn-around guy," Covenant leaders put Spezia in charge of its embattled insurance company, Cariten/PHP. "It was losing a million dollars a week," he said. "It was dragging the whole organization down. It was impacting the ability to invest in the hospitals and grow the hospitals." Spezia lived up to his reputation, eventually leading the entity to a profitable state. In 2000, he beat out more than two dozen candidates during a five-month national search to be appointed the new CEO of the Covenant Health system. "I became CEO against the odds because I had never run or worked in an acute care hospital," he said. "That was a good thing." Spezia believed Covenant's success hinged on improving the health care system's relationship with its physicians. "It took awhile," Dickson said. "It took communication." But Spezia eventually won their trust and support, seeking physician input from the start. "The physicians finally understood he was a man that could be trusted," Dickson said. "Whether you agreed with him or not, you knew where you stood with him and there became a tremendous amount of respect for things Tony did in the market." Spezia, having learned from the mistakes of his previous employers, said he focused on running an ethical business that did "the right thing" for Covenant's patients and employees. An Ethics Award from the Council of Ethical Organizations hangs on the wall in his office as a daily reminder of that belief. "Covenant is nationally recognized for being successful in such a big market," he said. "Our people are in demand, but we don't lose them because we have a good environment for them." That sense of responsibility stemmed from Spezia's parents, who valued hard work, education, family and service to others. "I've never forgotten who I am and where I came from," said Spezia, the oldest of six children and the first to go to college. His colleagues also praised his uncanny ability to anticipate what Covenant needed to do to find long-term success. "He's clearly playing chess when others are playing checkers," Dickson said. "He's able to see the vision, but he's also able to, from a process standpoint, go through the right steps to get us there." Spezia said it only made good business sense to improve quality and make capital improvements at Covenant's existing facilities in the early 2000s before growing the business. "We were not acquiring any hospitals in the first seven years I was the CEO because we weren't doing the best job possible at the hospitals we had," he said. Respectfully disagreeing with people who called him "an outrageous risk-taker," Spezia said he adopted a long-term strategy for success that was based on a series of well-researched, incremental steps. "It's not a risk if you know how it's going to come out," he said. "We committed to investing in communities over time in a rational way." During his tenure, he oversaw a $94 million renovation and expansion of Parkwest Medical Center; a $150 million upgrade of Fort Sanders Regional Medical Center; construction of the $25 million Fort Sanders Loudoun Medical Center and the $50 million Roane Medical Center; a $100 million investment to improve and expand the Morristown-Hamblen Healthcare System; and Sevier County's $110 million Le Conte Medical Center hospital campus, which includes a cancer center and center for women's services. "I'm a big believer in providing service out in the communities and investing in the communities," Spezia said. "But if you do something in a community, it's got to be done at the same level and quality as you can do it in Knoxville." His efforts to improve quality at Covenant also have improved the quality of services offered by other health care providers in the region, his peers said. "If you raise the bar, everybody's got to get up to it," Spezia said. "It's a very difficult health care market, and yet, the quality of health care here is pretty good and you don't have to leave this community to get many things. You can get 99 percent of your health care in Knoxville as good as you can get anywhere else." Spezia said he considers himself fortunate that his career led him to the health care industry. "It's not just a great job, but you also can make a difference that's tangible for people," he said. "Covenant has a really big tent, and we do a lot of things that don't make money and will never make money. To have that big tent, we have to run our business really well. The company's in great shape and 2015 was the best year in our history, even though you can see that health care is not a settled thing." In his new role as CEO emeritus, Spezia will continue to work on statewide and national health policy issues, such as the Medicaid wage index, and advise Covenant's leaders as they plan for the health system's future. "Being the best is a journey, not a one-time thing," said Jim VanderSteeg, now Covenant's president and CEO. "Tony has left an incredible legacy, and he said 'The best days of Covenant are ahead.' He's played a big part that we have a positive and exciting legacy to build on." SHARE David Duggan Cassidy Duckett Britt Robert Burns Bryan Chakoumakos BES Technologies, LLC and City-State, LLC won prestigious Department of Energy Small Business awards for fiscal year 2015 performance. BES Technologies, located in Oak Ridge, was awarded the Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Business of the Year Award. BEST currently performs radioactive laundry, respirator, solid and liquid waste services for the DOE and its contractors. Erik Connard, CEO of BEST, received the award. City-State, LLC, located in Knoxville, was awarded the HUBZone Small Business of the Year Award. City-State provides Environmental Compliance, Waste Management and Transportation support for DOE and its contractors. Jeremy Shoop, president, and Gabe Beck, CFO, received the award for City-State. Blount County judge David R. Duggan has been named the incoming chairman of the Blount County Public Library board of trustees for the 2016-17 term. Bill Beaty is outgoing chairman. K.C. Williams is library director. Other board of trustee members are John McArthur, Cathy Hammon, Susan Schneibel, Mike Crabtree, Ginnae Harley and Meredith Goins. In addition, Ocoee River Regional Library board members representing Blount County are Beaty, chairman of the ORRLB, and Bruce Kerr. INVISION magazine named Blount County Eye Center in Maryville as honorable mention in its 2016 edition of America's Finest Optical Retailers. The contest highlights the best examples of independent eyecare practices and retailers in North America. BCEC also received honorable mention for interior and exterior design. Studio Four Design did all the designs for the new building. Blount Memorial Hospital received the 2016 Gold Recognition Award from the American Heart Association's Mission: Lifeline quality improvement program for outstanding heart attack treatment. Webb School English teacher and writing center director Cassidy Duckett Britt was selected to participate in a prestigious National Endowment for the Humanities Landmarks of American History and Culture teacher workshop, "Inventing America-Lowell and the Industrial Revolution" by the University of Massachusetts Lowell's Tsongas Industrial History Center. Britt was selected from an applicant group of 224 teachers from around the United States. Dr. Robert Burns, P.E., associate dean, University of Tennessee Extension, has been named to the Class of Fellows with the American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers. Burns received the organization's highest honor on July 18 at the annual international ASABE meeting in Orlando, Fla. Burns was honored for his outstanding contributions to improving environmental stewardship of animal production worldwide as an administrator, researcher, Extension engineer and for his 22 years of service to ASABE. Bryan Chakoumakos, a researcher at the Department of Energy's Oak Ridge National Laboratory, has been elected fellow of the American Crystallographic Association. Chakoumakos, who leads the Structure of Matter group in the Quantum Condensed Matter Division, has been recognized by the association for his excellence in research, service and leadership in the world of crystallography. Asbury Inc. board chair Nellie Cole is the recipient of the LeadingAge Tennessee Excellence in Governance award for her leadership of the organization. Nonprofit Asbury Inc. operates Asbury Place continuing care retirement communities in Kingsport and Maryville. The Marymount University (Arlington, Va.) website designed and programmed by FMB Advertising of Knoxville was honored with the Communicator Award of Distinction for the second year in a row for its creativity, functionality, visual design and ease of use. Entrants were judged by the Academy of Interactive and Visual Arts. Cirrus Insight, a company that makes software that connects Gmail with Salesforce, was ranked No. 41 on Inc. Magazine's 5,000 fastest-growing privately held companies list. AtWork Group, a national staffing franchise, was named for the third year in a row, coming in at 2,605. Studio Four Design, a leading architectural and interior design firm, was listed at 4,015. The purchasing department of Knoxville's Community Development Corporation again earned top accreditation by the National Institute of Governmental Purchasing: The Institute for Public Procurement recognized KCDC with Outstanding Agency Accreditation (OA4) status, which recognizes excellence in sound procurement practices and places KCDC in a group of elite procurement organizations. Among the 3,000 governmental agency members in NIGP, only 142 government agencies have attained this distinction. This is the second consecutive three-year accreditation period in which KCDC's purchasing department has received the award. The Knoxville Museum of Art has appointed new board members and elected new board leadership for the 2017 fiscal year, effective July 1, 2016. Richard Jansen, president and owner of Monaco, LLC, remains as KMA board chair for one more year. Chair-elect Allison Lederer, private wealth advisor, Regions Financial Corporation, will become chair after Jansen completes his two-year term. Board members are: Pamela Rayburn Chips, who works for the reliability solutions global group at Emerson Electric; Amelia Daniels, personal stylist with J. Hilburn; Cindy DeBusk, owner of GCS Group, LLC; Diego del-Castillo-Negrete, a senior research scientist at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory; Linda Haynes, a volunteer with several organizations, including the Knoxville Symphony League and the Knoxville Museum of Art Guild; June Heller, KMA board member since 1999; Sandy Lucas, active volunteer with the KMA Guild; Beauvais Lyons, a chancellor's professor at the University of Tennessee; Patricia Brake Rutenberg, a senior lecturer in the Department of History at the University of Tennessee; Sandy Blevins-Steer, a volunteer for the museum since 2013 as Docent and front desk receptionist and also volunteers to assist the Development and Education departments; and Taylor Wortham, an investment manager and financial advisor with Patriot Investment Management. Kim Lauth of Knoxville was elected to the board of directors of the League of Women Voters of the United States at its 52nd biennial national convention on June 19 in Washington, D.C. Lauth has more than 25 years of experience in the nonprofit sector and owns Kim Lauth Consulting, LLC. She is the past president of the League of Women Voters of Knoxville/Knox County and served on the board of directors for the League of Women Voters of Tennessee. Knoxville resident Chris Nicely, CEO of Next Step Networks in Louisville, Ky., is one of 50 national leaders selected for the NeighborWorks Achieving Excellence Program, conducted at the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University. The NeighborWorks Achieving Excellence Program is an 18-month program that equips executives with the skills to advance their organizations' performance. The American Carbon Society recently recognized Cristian I. Contescu, a researcher at the Department of Energy's Oak Ridge National Laboratory, as the 2015-16 George D. Graffin Lecturer. Contescu is a senior staff scientist in ORNL's Materials Science and Technology Division. In addition, the ACS elected Nidia C. Gallego, a researcher at ORNL, as a fellow. Gallego leads the Graphite Development and Performance team in the Materials Science and Technology Division. Radio Systems Corporation was certified as a great workplace by independent analysts at Great Place to Work. The Knoxville-based corporation earned the credential based on extensive ratings provided by its employees in anonymous surveys. PlanPlus announced Rose Swanger of Knoxville as the Americas winner of the 2016 Global Financial Planning Awards. This is the second win for Swanger, who also won in 2014. The Young-Williams Animal Center board of directors has appointed Janet Testerman as interim CEO. Testerman is a longtime supporter of the shelter, serving on the board for nearly five years. SHARE Brandon Bruce, co-founder & COO of Cirrus Insight at their offices Wednesday, August 24, 2016. Cirrus Insight is the first application to connect Gmail with Salesforce. The company is one of the top 50 fastest growing private companies in the country. (MICHAEL PATRICK/NEWS SENTINEL) Brandon Bruce, co-founder & COO of Cirrus Insight in their studio in their offices Wednesday, August 24, 2016. Cirrus Insight is the first application to connect Gmail with Salesforce. The company is one of the top 50 fastest growing private companies in the country. (MICHAEL PATRICK/NEWS SENTINEL) Jason Hubbard, VP of Marketing with Cirrus Insight, works standing at his computer in their offices Wednesday, August 24, 2016. Cirrus Insight is the first application to connect Gmail with Salesforce. The company is one of the top 50 fastest growing private companies in the country. (MICHAEL PATRICK/NEWS SENTINEL) Cirrus Insight team working in their offices Wednesday, August 24, 2016. Cirrus Insight is the first application to connect Gmail with Salesforce. The company is one of the top 50 fastest growing private companies in the country. (MICHAEL PATRICK/NEWS SENTINEL) New Business Spotlight focuses on local businesses that have existed for one to five years. This month's spotlight is on Cirrus Insight. Co-founder and COO Brandon Bruce introduces his company in Q&A form. Q. What is Cirrus Insight and how did the company start? A: In December 2011, we launched Cirrus Insight as the first application to connect Gmail with Salesforce (customer relationship management software). Over the past five years, we've made Cirrus Insight into a platform that meets users where they work the inbox. Today, Cirrus Insight connects Salesforce with Gmail as well as Microsoft Outlook and Office 365 and mobile email on iPad, iPhone and Android. Cirrus Insight has been embraced by over 150,000 users at more than 5,000 organizations. We love working with customers in every geography from Alaska to Australia, in every industry from manufacturing to media, and of every size from mom and pop to multinational. We've helped users save thousands of hours by enabling them to create and update millions of customer records in Salesforce right from the inbox. Q: What were some of the biggest challenges in starting a new company? A: Two of the biggest challenges are staying focused and competing against big money. As a startup, our primary advantage is speed. Despite the temptation to add too many features or attack too many markets, we can only maintain our speed advantage by staying focused. And we're basically a boot-strapped startup with angel investors going up against companies with tens of millions and hundreds of millions of dollars in funding. That means we have to be smart about how we deploy our resources. We can't chase every growth opportunity, but we can get a lot of bang for our buck with targeted marketing campaigns and by staying close to our customers. Q: What has made Cirrus Insight so successful? A: Being located in Knoxville is a big reason for our success. We've been able to attract a talented and dedicated team from Maryville College and University of Tennessee. And we've received tremendous support from the Knoxville Entrepreneur Center, the Knoxville Chamber of Commerce, the Leadership Knoxville program, Teknovation by Tom Ballard, the Anderson Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation at UT, the Knoxville Business Journal, and hundreds of business and community leaders. Q: What do you see as the future of Cirrus Insight? A: We're working to make Cirrus Insight the single most important tool for sales teams. We want Cirrus Insight to serve as "everything-but-the-CRM" for organizations (CRM is customer relationship management software like Salesforce). We'll be bringing several premium features to market later this year and in early 2017. It's hard to predict too far into the future since the software industry moves so fast, but as long as there are salespeople, there will be a place for us to make software that adds value. Last word It's an exciting time at Cirrus Insight. We were just named No. 41 on the Inc. 5000 list of the fastest-growing private companies in the United States. And we recently received our 1,400th customer review making Cirrus Insight the highest-rated sales tool on the Salesforce AppExchange. We want to build on that momentum to have a breakout 2017, and continue to grow our great team here in Knoxville. Rebecca Ellison SHARE When you think of health care heroes, you may immediately think of providers at hospitals, private practices, urgent care clinics, pharmacies or assisted living facilities. While these are important players in the health care system, a critical component is public health. Did you know that public health has been recognized for adding 25 years to the average life expectancy of Americans over the past century? Now that's a health care hero. Most people consider the local health department as a place to obtain immunization records or a copy of your child's birth certificate. However, even if you have never stepped into the health department, you and your community are affected by the activities that are coordinated and implemented by dedicated public health workers. They protect, promote and improve your health on a daily basis by targeting the places you live, eat, work, learn, play and worship. What is public health? Public health focuses on prevention. Rather than treating sick people, public health workers want to prevent people from getting sick. We do this by educating the public on health issues, developing policies that promote and support health, implementing and evaluating health-related programs, enforcing health-promoting laws and regulations, monitoring health status and diseases, and researching innovative strategies to prevent illness and injuries. Historically, the public health workforce focused on preventing and monitoring communicable diseases such as smallpox, measles, polio and diphtheria. Thanks to public health researchers, vaccines have been created so that we no longer worry as much about contracting one of these historical killers. Other major public health accomplishments of the 20th century include the fluoridation of drinking water, the invention of antibiotics, advances in sanitation and hygiene, and the widespread use of contraception. While we play an important role in the prevention of communicable diseases, modern public health workers face additional challenges. The major killers in our society are no longer infectious diseases. Instead, we are concerned about dying from chronic diseases such as heart disease, diabetes, cancer and stroke. We have shifted our energy to prevent modifiable risk factors for these diseases, such as tobacco use, poor nutrition and physical inactivity. Additionally, we target the underlying causes of disease such as poverty, education level, unemployment, limited access to quality health care services, unsafe neighborhoods and environments, limited access to healthy and affordable foods, social norms and attitudes, lack of transportation and limited social support. Who is public health? Public health is not confined to the local health department. Employers influence the physical and mental health of their employees. They determine the environment in which their employees spend most of their time each day. In many cases, employees rely on their employers for health insurance. Employers also provide wages, and income level is highly associated with health status. Elected officials also greatly affect the health of their constituents by influencing policies at the federal, state and local levels. School teachers, religious leaders, firefighters or police officers are among the public health workforce as well. Then, there are more obvious players, such as physicians, nurses, pharmacists, emergency medical responders, mental health providers, home health care workers and other health care providers. The public health system is extensive and includes a variety of people and professions. Likely, you serve a role, so thank you for your dedication to protecting, promoting and improving the health of the people in East Tennessee. You're a health care hero! Steve Trosky The 2016 Health Care Heroes are leaders and have a passion for what they do. Travis Estes was diagnosed with colon cancer, but it didn't stop him from working. And since the Emergency Medical Services director for Priority Ambulance worked while battling cancer, it became much more difficult for his employees to miss work. "Nobody calls in sick anymore," Estes said. Tony Spezia, the CEO emeritus for Covenant Health, has spent recent years mentoring today's leaders of the company. What did he hope they would learn? "Understand what your core principals are and stay true to them," Spezia said. "Don't let yourself be influenced by what you think people want you to do. Make decisions, be decisive. Understand that your decisions impact the lives of many people. Always consider the employees and our patients first when you think about what's the right decision for the organization." A stranger stopped Dr. Robert Montgomery on the street one day. "He said, 'You know that flu shot thing you guys are doing? That's a good thing. That's a good thing,' " said Montgomery, an internist with Summit Medical Associates who helped launch Free Flu Shot Saturday. "And I thought, 'That's what I wanted to happen, was for a complete stranger to recognize someone and say, 'Yes, that's what you need to be doing.' " Janice McKinley and her husband, Rudy, established an endowed professorship of gerontology at the University of Tennessee College of Nursing. "Rudy and I lost three parents in two years. And during that time, we came to realize there was a gap between the current nurse and the aging population," said McKinley, chief nursing officer for Covenant Health. "We wanted to do something where we can see an impact in the future, so we endowed a professorship. ... They're going to prepare future nurses to take care of us one day and to be really, really compassionate." Jerry Askew believes that in order to have a healthy community, everyone has to have access to good health care. "Right now, they simply don't," said Askew, vice president for external relations for Tennova Healthcare. "That has consequences on the individual, obviously. It has consequences on our schools. It has consequences on their ability to be employed. It clearly has consequences on the hospitals who find themselves not being reimbursed for the services that they provide. ... "As much as anything, though, it's about human dignity. People want to be able to pay their bills. People want to be able to be in good health. People want to be able to work. Too often, the consequences are too negative for their family." Dr. John Dougherty, medical director for the Cole Neuroscience Center at University of Tennessee Medical Center, has dedicated his life to battling neurological disorders, including Alzheimer's. "We have so many patients now who need our special effort," Dougherty said. "I'm talking not just about the physician, but the caregiver, the nurses we have here, the social workers we have that make such an important contribution to Alzheimer's disease. It's been one of the driving factors." We're proud to call them heroes. SHARE Tom Humphrey, News Sentinel Nashville reporter. Since launching a crusade five years ago, Tennessee state government has done remarkably well in what a leader of the effort has described as "redomesticating captives from numerous foreign and alien domiciles" while giving the Legislature and the governor much of the credit. The quoted phrase is not a reference to refugee resettlement within the state's borders, a topic that has drawn considerable public attention to the legislation and litigation involved, with Gov. Bill Haslam and legislators holding different viewpoints. Instead, it seems a fair translation to say Michael A. Corbett was politely bragging in a trade publication about stealing captive insurance companies from foreign (other states) or alien (other countries) locations and bringing them to Tennessee. Corbett is director of the Captive Section of the state Department of Commerce and Insurance, a piece of the state bureaucracy that did not exist until the 2011 crusade began, led by Commissioner Julie Mix McPeak with Haslam's backing and generally uniform support from lawmakers. It hasn't attracted much notice in the state's general public arena, but is a hot topic in business lobbying circles. The term "captive insurance" apparently originated in the late 1950s, applied to a form of self-insurance that can save businesses money by avoiding traditional insurance underwriters. For many years, most operations were domiciled in other countries with Bermuda the apparent longtime leader. This avoided some taxes and regulatory requirements imposed by American states. States eventually began changing their tax and regulatory laws to bring the captives home. Tennessee joined in a big way with the wholesale rewrite of relevant laws in 2011 and has been rewriting its laws every year since including some tinkering in the 2016 legislative session to compete in luring captives from other states as well as other nations. "Tennessee must be nimble and forward-looking if we are going to surpass the goals we've established and continue our unprecedented growth," Corbett said in a news release embracing the latest change (HB2402), drafted by the Tennessee Captive Insurance Association and sponsored by Sen. Doug Overbey, R-Maryville, and Rep. Jason Zachary, R-Knoxville. According to a July news release from the Department of Commerce and Insurance reporting success of the effort to capture captives in industry jargon terms: "Tennessee now has 133 captive insurance companies and 321 cell companies for a total of 454 risk-bearing entities." A June department survey further found that captive insurance companies have created an estimated $436 million economic impact through direct and indirect spending while creating "82 full-time high paying jobs." This year's nimble and forward-looking bill includes provisions that grant captives volunteering for capture by Tennessee an opportunity to avoid the state tax on insurance premiums. The captive company must take the year of tax forgiveness in either its first or second year of in-state operations and, if it leaves within five years, the taxes become due again. (The insurance premium tax is 4 percent on the first $20 million in gross premium collections; 3 percent after that.) There's also a provision saying that the state won't try to collect on past taxes that might have been due from captives having captured Tennessee customers prior to its "redomestication" with some conditions. The bill's "fiscal note," prepared by legislative staff and relying on department estimates, says enactment of the bill likely will bring four new captive insurance companies to the state within the next year and that will be repeated in following years. It speculates that the relocating captives will be fairly small operations the focus of recent efforts to capture captives with little, if any, premium tax liability and maybe $45,000 of "foregone revenue" to the state on other taxes that might have been collected for four such small captives. Overbey says there's a continual debate in the Senate Finance Committee over such "foregone revenue" estimates: "Is it really foregone if you never had it anyway?" The senator says captives are an emerging industry that gives businesses not only the possibility of reducing insurance costs, but more of a hand in controlling liability risks. And when the captives move to Tennessee, their capital comes with them and is more apt to be invested within the state. At any rate, the official estimates are that the envisioned four small relocating captives will pay $692,000 per year in premium taxes a couple of years down the road while held in Tennessee and getting past the tax breaks that induce them to come here. And, of course, if there are more captives seeking temporary tax refugee status in Tennessee in subsequent years, as prophesied, state government in their new domicile will see ever-escalating revenue and more captive employees with high-paying jobs. Here's another Corbett quote from his article in Tennessee Captive Insurance, the industry trade publication: "This is just the first verse of our song, and there's plenty more to come." SHARE When I started representing medical practices more than 35 years ago, the biggest financial threat was an uninsured malpractice verdict. Today, with tort reform and more settled insurance markets, malpractice financial risks are more predictable and manageable. However, there are "new plaintiffs," armed with larger budgets and more legal weapons, who pose even greater financial threats to medical practices. Practices are increasingly facing threats from government agencies and private payers that can potentially put them out of business. Here are five areas in which a practice may find itself at significant financial risk: HIPAA Compliance: HIPAA enforcement activities by HHS Office of Civil Rights, which are not only directed at medical practices, should be recognized as a revenue generating program for the government. For example, in a recent enforcement action, an orthopedic clinic in North Carolina paid $750,000 for failure to have a business associate agreement in place. The Phase 2 HIPAA Audit Program is now underway. OCR is reviewing policies and procedures of randomly selected covered entities and business associates across the country. Medicare Audits and Extrapolation: Statistical sampling can be used to audit a relatively small sample of claims, calculate an error rate, and then project that error rate to the total Medicare claims paid over a longer "look back" period. A small overpayment found in the sample quickly becomes extrapolated into a multi-million dollar overpayment. Typically, the extrapolated overpayment must be repaid to Medicare within 30 days. Even if the medical practice appeals the audit findings, Medicare may recoup the entire extrapolated overpayment before a final judgment is rendered by a court. 60-Day Report and Refund Rule: Earlier this year, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services issued its final rule for reporting and returning self-identified Medicare overpayments. The final rule requires providers who receive "credible information" of a potential overpayment to undertake "reasonable diligence" to determine if an overpayment was received. It sounds simple: identify an overpayment and send it back within 60 days. However, failure to comply with the "report and refund" rule may subject the provider to False Claims Act liability, including treble damages and penalties up to $21,563 per false claim. The final rule requires providers to undertake proactive and reactive compliance efforts and states that "no or minimal" activity to monitor Medicare claims would expose a provider to FCA liability. False Claims Act Whistleblower Lawsuits: A person who believes he/she has evidence of fraud against a federal health care program think medical practice employees may bring a "whistleblower" lawsuit against the medical practice on behalf of the government. The Department of Justice is required to inquire into the allegations and may intervene in the lawsuit. Last year, the federal government recovered $1.9 billion from the health care industry for alleged FCA violations. Private Payer Audits: Network participation is crucial to medical practices. Payers may undertake quality review audits that examine whether the provider's patient care complied with the payer's policies and procedures related to patient care. As a result of the audit, the health plan may elect to terminate the provider's participation contract. Termination after a due process review is reportable to the National Practitioner Data Bank. Dr. Philip Kronk is a semiretired Knoxville psychologist. SHARE In my mind, I can hear the cries of the mothers, inconsolable and facing what psychologists know to be the greatest loss possible the death of your child. Newspaper photos have shown devastating pictures of babies born with abnormally small heads, a condition known as microcephaly. But we are only beginning to understand what the Zika virus can do to a developing brain. A recent issue of the journal, Radiology, shares the findings of four radiologists who studied the postmortem brain scans of 45 infants with the Zika virus. The study was of babies from the northeastern area of Brazil, one of the areas hardest hit by the Zika epidemic. Their findings found that Zika can do more than cause a small head. The results should cause concerns over the recent arrival of the Zika virus on the shores of our country. The RNA virus, Zika, was first found in the African forests of Uganda. It is carried by the mosquito, Aedes aegypti, which is striped black-and-white. The mosquito also carries two other related viruses, dengue fever and chikungunya, that have caused great suffering and countless deaths in the world. The United States has not been immune. A 2012 infectious disease journal article reveled three dengue fever outbreaks in this country between 2001 and 2012. The first, a 2001 dengue outbreak in Hawaii, had 122 confirmed cases. Another, in Brownsville, Texas, had 25 confirmed cases. (Across the border, in the neighboring Mexican state, there were 1,252 confirmed cases. That shows the need today for early detection, containment and prevention.) The last dengue outbreak, in Key West, Florida, lasted from 2009 to 2011, seemingly encouraged by standing pools of water and sleeping at night with open windows. Most individuals who are infected by the Zika virus show no symptoms. Headaches, fever and rash may be mild. Rarely, Guillain-Barre syndrome produces a paralysis of the muscles. But what can happen if the Zika virus infects a pregnant woman? What kind of specific brain abnormalities, besides a small head size, did the radiologists find recently in Brazil? The radiologists, in their journal article, noted that ventriculomegaly was present in 94 percent of the babies, who were Zika-confirmed, and in 96 percent of the babies, who were presumed Zika infected. Clear spinal fluid surrounds a brain and protects it. These spaces, called ventricles, can become larger than normal (ventriculomegaly), which inhibits normal brain development. Ninety-four percent of the confirmed Zika-infected babies and 78 percent of the presumed-infected had abnormalities of the corpus callosum, the long bundle of nerve fibers that connects the right and left hemispheres of the brain. Brain "disconnection syndromes," impacting on the integration of language and memory brain areas, can result. One hundred percent of the confirmed and presumed Zika infected babies' brain scans exhibited some form of calcification of the brain. This condition involves calcium accumulating on the soft tissues of the brain. Many important brain areas were affected, including where the brain's gray matter meets the white matter, in the thalamus (which relays sensory and motor brain signals needed for sleep and consciousness), the basal ganglia (needed for a variety of motor functions) and the cortex (where higher brain functions needed for academic success are found.) Abnormalities were also found in the brainstem in areas, such as the pons (needed for basic brain functions, such as sleeping, breathing and swallowing.) What kind of a life would a child have if he or she survived birth with any of these brain conditions? Will we be able to stop the spread of Zika in our country? An article this week in The Wall Street Journal reported that scientists were searching for "potential treatments for the Zika virus by testing 6,000 drugs already commercially available or undergoing clinical trials," Robots will test 80,000 additional compounds. Zika research, however, needs public funding; the search for a Zika vaccine may be the primary focus of such research. Drug research, however, takes time and involves a sequence of approved steps. The initial "preclinical stage" involves animal subjects. "Phase I" then tests the drug on healthy volunteers. Phase II uses patients to establish if the drug is effective. "Phase III" then determines the drug's specific therapeutic effects. The last stage, "phase IV" occurs after the drug has been marketed to the public. It measures long-term effects, including unforeseen negative effects of the drug not previously discovered. American scientists have moved quickly and effectively in trying to find a Zika vaccine. While an initial phase of a vaccine research trial may often take four to six years, our scientists took 180 days for their preliminary Zika animal research (using mice and macaque monkeys), and Phase I trials have recently begun, according to an August article in The New Yorker magazine. In that article, Anthony Fauci, M.D., the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, predicts that phase II studies could begin as early as 2017. Again, this will take additional public funding, but Congress has not yet authorized the emergency Zika funds needed. Are our current citizens too young to remember the past polio epidemic in this country? Toddlers, children, all waking up with stiff necks, soon unable to walk, then unable to breathe. Thousands died from polio. Life for others involved permanent paralysis. Today, Zika contracted in the first three months of pregnancy can devastate a brain. But what can happen if a woman contracts a Zika infection in the last trimester? Even infants, who were born with a Zika infection, can exhibit a daily existence that involves a constant contraction of muscles on one side. My heart breaks each time I remember that picture of a Brazilian mother who found the only way to soothe her baby's daylong cries of suffering was to immerse him in a pot of water. Survival may be more likely for some who are infected with Zika, but will that child have a lifetime ahead of neurological problems, of learning disabilities or of neuropsychological cognitive deficits? Research continues to note the possibility of delayed onset of Zika symptoms for some. If you are a pregnant female, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has a very helpful website, but there can be no substitute for your physician, your medical health care provider or your local public health department. --- Philip Kronk, M.S., Ph.D. is a semiretired Clinical Psychologist and Clinical Neuropsychologist. Dr. Kronk has a doctorate in Clinical Psychology and a post-doctorate degree in Clinical Psychopharmacology (the use of drugs to treat mental disorders.) His yearlong internship in Clinical Psychology was served at the University of Colorado Medical School. Dr. Kronk writes a weekly, online column for the Knoxville News Sentinel's website, knoxnews.com. He can be reached at (865) 330-3633. C. Douglas Jones, a former U.S. attorney who led a team into re-opening the "cold case" of the 1963 bombing of the 16th Street Baptist Church in Birmingham in 1997, will speak Wednesday at the annual Supreme Court dinner sponsored by the Knoxville Bar Association. Jones served as lead trial attorney in the successful prosecutions of two former Ku Klux Klansmen for the murders of four girls killed in the bombing and also coordinated a task force that led to the indictment and conviction of fugitive Eric Robert Rudolph, who ultimately pleaded guilty to four terrorist bombings in Birmingham and the Centennial Olympic Park in Atlanta and is serving a life sentence. Jones was U.S. attorney from 1997-2001. The dinner, held to honor the service of the Supreme Court justices, will be at the Knoxville Convention Center, according to the KBA. A cash bar reception is at 6 p.m. and dinner at 7 p.m. Tickets are $50 each. For more information, go to www.knoxbar.org or call 865-522-6522. SHARES ACCOMPLISHMENTS: Tennessee Supreme Court Justice Sharon Lee, who was chief justice for the past two years, lists the court's continuation of an Access to Justice Initiative at the top of highlights during her term. The program is something the court has focused on since 2009, she said, and recently was ranked ninth in the nation and first in the Southeast, according to the 2016 Justice Index, a nationwide study that ranks states according to their adoption of selected best practices. Lee also was complimentary of a business court docket established in Davidson County to handle complex commercial litigation. Nearly 80 cases have been assigned to the docket, most of them from Davidson County, but the goal is for cases to come from across the state, she said. The court handles cases at the Chancery Court level that are assigned to and agreed to by court officials, Lee said. An indigent representation task force has been charged with determining how legal services could be delivered more effectively and efficiently. The current system costs taxpayers almost $35 million per year, Lee said. The court also is implementing an updated payment software system that will more timely pay attorneys for their work. The University of Tennessee College of Law will honor Lee and her tenure as chief justice at a reception at 5:30 p.m. Sept. 23 at the Howard Baker Center for Public Policy. The new chief justice as if Thursday is Jeff Bivins, who's been on the court since 2014. SHARE By Jamie Satterfield of the Knoxville News Sentinel When "teddybear555" logged onto The Playpen, a "dark web" child-pornography bulletin board, from a home in Rockwood last year, he had no idea his host was the FBI. Neither did the tens of thousands of other users across the U.S. and the world who, in the two weeks the FBI played the role of child pornography purveying host, posted or swapped at least 48,000 images and 200 videos of the sexual abuse of children. The agency called the sting "Operation Pacifier." So far, more than 180 people have been arrested in the U.S., including Thomas Allan Scarbrough, a funeral director at Scarbrough Funeral Home in Rockwood. But the FBI isn't drawing praise for its groundbreaking defeat of technology that affords anonymity to seekers of illicit goods on hidden websites. In court and out, the FBI is taking a beating, with judges across the nation, including in Knoxville, declaring constitutional violations and Internet privacy advocates crying foul. U.S. Magistrate Judge Clifford Shirley has become the latest jurist to deem the FBI's search warrant process in its takeover of The Playpen server as an illegal search and a violation of federal rules of criminal procedure. He issued his opinion late last month in Scarbrough's case and joins at least six other federal judges in the nation to so rule. But Shirley refused to toss out the evidence gleaned as a result of Operation Pacifier, ruling the FBI's method of obtaining incriminating evidence against The Playpen users wasn't nefarious but merely misguided. Shirley is allowing the evidence against Scarbrough to stand under what's known as the federal good faith exception. Shirley's ruling, the FBI's search warrant application and dueling motions filed by Assistant U.S. Attorney Matthew Morris and defense attorney Gregory P. Isaacs describe just how the FBI became one of the most prolific Internet purveyors of child pornography and what went awry with its plans. In late 2014, the FBI got a call from one of its law enforcement colleagues in a foreign country that led to the arrest of a Florida man who was serving as administrator of The Playpen from a server in North Carolina. The Playpen operates on what's known as the dark web, an encrypted network using hidden servers. Site visitors use the anonymous browsing tool Tor, which hides the user's Internet protocol, or IP, address. Launched in August 2014, the site had logged nearly 160,000 members in five months of operation. The FBI took the server and, in a government facility in Virginia, installed a hacking tool called the network investigative technique, or NIT. First, however, the agency went to a federal magistrate judge in the Eastern District of Virginia and got legal permission to use NIT to essentially install malware on The Playpen users' computers. The malware fed the FBI identifying information about the users, including their IP addresses. The agency next legally sought from Internet providers the identities of the customers associated with those IP addresses and then agents across the country secured search warrants in their respective jurisdictions for the homes and computers of those customers. Scarbrough's home and computer was searched via that process in October 2015. The user identified on The Playpen as "teddybear555" and linked to Scarbrough's computer had spent 20 hours on the site in the two-week period of the FBI's sting. A forensic examination of his computer yielded child pornography, the government alleges, and Scarbrough was charged in March with possession and distribution of child pornography. Isaacs joined defense lawyers across the nation in challenging the FBI's search warrant process. The key problem? Federal rules of criminal procedure have not caught up to the pace of technological advances and investigative techniques. Federal magistrate judges do not, under current rules and the constitution, have the power to issue a search warrant for a location outside their jurisdictions. The magistrate judge in Operation Pacifier had jurisdiction only to authorize searches in the Eastern District of Virginia. But The Playpen users' computers were physically located in states across the country. By approving the FBI's use of NIT, the Virginia magistrate judge was essentially giving agents legal power to search computers not located within her jurisdictional reach. And even though the FBI later sought search warrants in each of the locales where the computers were located, its basis was the fruit of the Virginia search warrant. Morris, like federal prosecutors across the nation, argued the FBI did not "violate the spirit of the rule because the officers sought a search warrant from a magistrate judge in the only district with any physical tie to the deployment of the NIT." But Shirley ruled it's not the spirit that counts under the law and deemed the search of Scarbrough's computer flawed as a result. He did not toss out the evidence, though, saying the federal good faith exception applies. Under that exception, if the agents believed they were acting on a valid court order and did nothing underhanded, courts may allow the evidence to be used even when a search violates a defendant's rights. Tennessee has not yet adopted such an exception, so it applies here only to federal agents. Of the nine courts to weigh in on the issue, three have sided with the FBI. Shirley noted a rule change to accommodate the NIT is under consideration, but the split among the courts is setting the stage for a U.S. Supreme Court review. Scarbrough's trial is set for Nov. 2. Isaacs likely will appeal Shirley's decision to Senior U.S. District Judge Leon Jordan. Tennessee State Museum SHARE Victor Ashe Lois Riggins-Ezzell (State of Tennessee) Governor Bill Haslam. Thomas S. Smith, chairman of the Douglas Henry State Museum Commission. (State of Tennessee) By Tom Humphrey of the Knoxville News Sentinel NASHVILLE Though a recent state attorney general opinion says donors to a $40 million fundraising campaign for the Tennessee State Museum can be kept secret, Gov. Bill Haslam who is leading the campaign says the names should be made public, but not the exact amount of each contribution. The governor's position, relayed through spokeswoman Jennifer Donnals, is criticized as "a half-baked disclosure" and likened to "being a little bit pregnant" by Victor Ashe, a former Knoxville mayor and U.S. ambassador to Poland who is a member both of the board overseeing museum operations and the Tennessee Coalition on Open Government, which advocates transparency in governmental operations. It is the latest spinoff in a long-running series of clashes over museum management and tangential issues between Ashe and fellow members of the museum oversight board, officially known as the Douglas Henry State Museum Commission. It does appear to be a first in that Ashe is directly differing with the governor, who is also a former Knoxville mayor. The clashes continue otherwise, though the initial objective of Ashe's two-year crusade on museum matters replacement of Lois Riggins-Ezzell as the museum's executive director was apparently achieved last week. Haslam and the commission's current chairman, Thomas S. Smith of Nashville, announced Thursday the retirement effective Dec. 31 of Riggins-Ezzell, 76, who has served 35 years in the position. Ashe had accused Riggins-Ezzell of mismanagement, favoritism toward friends in acquiring museum exhibits and other faults. Haslam said last week that "Lois has given her heart and soul to telling Tennessee's story and showcasing its rich history" during her tenure, which has seen the museum expand from basement housing with six employees to a 42-employee operation with a $3.8 million annual budget and housing on three floors of the James K. Polk State Office Building, located a block from the state capitol. At Haslam's request, the Legislature has authorized construction of a new $160 million museum in a stand-alone building, scheduled to open in December of 2018. The money will come from $120 million in taxpayer funds with the remaining $40 million to be raised in private donations, with the governor spearheading the fundraising efforts. Fundraising fight The continuing clashes may be divided into two broad categories one involving the choosing a successor to Riggins-Ezzell and the other fundraising efforts. On the fundraising front, Attorney General Herbert Slatery has issued a legal opinion declaring that donations are not covered by the state's "open records" law. PDF: State Attorney General Herbert Slatery's legal opinion on museum donations Basically, the opinion notes that the fundraising is being conducted by the Tennessee State Museum Foundation, which is set up as a separate nonprofit corporation and thus not directly attached to state government. Given that status, the opinion says the foundation could legally keep donations secret. After the opinion was issued, Ashe declared that "I hope Gov. Haslam will insist on transparency" and see that donations are disclosed even without a legal requirement to do so. At this point, nothing has been publicly disclosed on the fundraising campaign results. Donnals, in response to an inquiry, said in an email Friday that Haslam anticipates disclosing "later this fall" a preliminary report on the amount raised, coupled with disclosure of names of donors at that point. "He also expects when the campaign is over that the names will be released along with an amount range," Donnals said. In disclosing "an amount range," donors would be categorized in groups according to the size of their contributions. Though Donnals did not provide the groupings, examples could be "less than $1,000" or "more than $1 million." Ashe said that would be "woefully inadequate" and the specific amounts of each donation should be listed, just as with donations to political campaigns. "Most of the corporations that will give are corporations that have done business with the state or that have an interest in state (regulatory) activity," Ashe said in a telephone interview. In that situation, he said there should be full disclosure of precise amounts when taxpayer dollars are providing most of the funding for a public building. He conceded the "partial disclosure" would be "better than nothing." The attorney general's opinion was requested by state Rep. Steve McDaniel, R-Parkers Crossroads, who is also a member of the commission board. McDaniel proceeded Smith as chairman of the panel, finishing his term earlier this year. Ashe was chairman before McDaniel. McDaniel said he asked for the attorney general's opinion because Ashe had raised the issue during a past commission meeting he chaired. The veteran legislator said that, in his own opinion, disclosure of donor information should be at the option of the donor. While some donors may be eager to have their contribution made public, he said, there may be cases where a person does not wish to be named and, if that leads to more money available for a public cause, the public benefits, he said. Smith, observing that the fundraising is solely under the control of the foundation, not the commission, said he has no opinion on the matter. Ashe said "the truth is they (foundation board members) will do whatever the governor tells them to do." Bob Thomas, a Nashville lawyer who chairs the foundation board, was on an overseas vacation last week and unavailable for comment. Change at the top On Thursday, the same day Riggins-Ezzell's retirement was announced, the state Department of Human Resource issued a formal "request for proposals," inviting executive recruitment firms to seek a state contract for finding and recommending to the commission a successor to the longtime executive director. That was a month after the initial Aug. 1 target date for issuing the RFP and almost a year after the commission first set up a board search committee to explore finding a new executive director. The department previously made an effort to sound out interest in firms conducting a search called a request for information but abandoned the move because of a lack of responses. Ashe said the situation meant that "anyone qualified" for the position would not apply because of the vagueness in lines of responsibility and potential conflicts with Riggins-Ezzell still in a supervisory role. The Nashville Post interviewed three "experts" in management recruitment who offered similar views. Ashe praised Smith and Haslam for "arranging" the departure of Riggins-Ezell. Donnals says the governor had no personal meeting with the longtime museum leader prior to the announcement, though Smith acknowledges regular discussions with her. The chairman, in an email to fellow board members responding to Ashe's questions posed in an email to all members, said that Riggins-Ezzell will have the title of "executive director emeritus," but that the designation will be "completely honorary." "She will have no management role or office, etc. at the museum after she retires. It is to recognize her invaluable past service as was stated," said Smith. "The title would carry no duties or compensation." "What Lois does with her life after she leaves the museum is her personal business and does not come under the purveyance of the DHSMC," he wrote. Ashe, however, speculates that Riggins-Ezzell will wind up in some compensated role, perhaps through the foundation's fundraising. He notes Riggins-Ezzell, who has repeatedly refused comment to media in recent months, included this remark in a retirement statement: "I look forward to supporting ongoing efforts to get the new museum up and running, particularly as it relates to the on-going fund raising effort which Governor Haslam is leading." Ashe said Riggins-Ezzell has so far had "absolutely no role" in fundraising and doubts she would be effective in soliciting donations. Still, he said the foundation board "has shown it is subject to political pressure" and may be inclined to provider her a compensated position. The RFP sets Oct. 20 as the date for signing a contact with a firm that will find a new executive director of the museum. The proposed contract would run for up to four months, but Smith says that "ideally" a recommendation will be ready by early January, or soon thereafter. "As has been repeatedly pointed out to me by others, the University of Tennessee, with an over $2 billion budget, can find a new president via a search in 4 months," said Smith in an email responding to a report's questions after declining a direct interview. "Surely with a professional search firm and the prospect of running a wonderful, brand new museum in Nashville, Tennessee, we can find someone qualified to do the job of running a $3+ million budget organization by then (referring to a previous reference to Jan. 1) or shortly say 2/1/17 thereafter." Ashe has previously and repeatedly criticized the commission for "slow walking" efforts to find a successor to Riggins-Ezzell, often citing the UT leadership search as an example. But now he says the commission may be rushing things now that the executive director has set a Dec. 31 departure date and a startup date for the search beginning Oct. 20. This raises the possibility of an "interim director" serving for some period of time, Ashe says, perhaps someone designated by Riggins-Ezzell. Smith says discussion of an interim director is "pure speculation" at this point and suggests "trying to find a solution for a problem that doesn't exist." In the unlikely event it arises in the future, the matter will be dealt with in appropriate fashion by the board, he said. Battle on the board Ashe contends that questioning of commission policies has led to retaliation from Smith, who did not appoint the former mayor to any committees after becoming chairman. Robert Buchanan, president of the Tennessee Historical Society, was also excluded from committee assignments after raising questions, he said. Smith said Buchanan is an "ex-officio" member of the commission, or one who can attend meetings and comment but cannot vote on issues before the panel, and "therefore I didn't see the need to appoint him to any committees." Ashe notes that Riggins-Ezzell is also an ex-officio member, but was appointed to committees by Smith including the one overseeing the search for her successor. Smith, however, says that Riggins-Ezzells assignment to committee membership is automatic under commission bylaws and he did not make the appointments. "I am sorry if his feelings are hurt," Smith wrote in an email. "As to Commissioner Ashe, he has demonstrated that he won't hesitate to voice his opinions." And Smith added this comment on Ashe's means of voicing his opinions: "Seems like Comm(isioner) Ashe should just come to some of these commission or committee meetings and ask these questions instead of 'pleading his case' via the news media? Just a curious strategy to me." SHARE Rep. Andy Holt, R-Dresden Mary Mancini By Tom Humphrey of the Knoxville News Sentinel NASHVILLE Republican state Rep. Andy Holt of Dresden and the Tennessee Democratic Party have been exchanging barbs over a recent Democratic news release tangentially related to the ouster of a Democratic member of the Sevier County Election Commission. The State Election Commission voted last month to remove Democrat Michael Fitzgibbons from the Sevier County Election Commission after he refused to step down as chairman in compliance with a state law that took effect on July 1. That law requires all county chairs be members of the political party representing a majority of the commission. All county election commissions have a 3-2 Republican majority membership. And everywhere but Sevier County that had meant election of a Republican chairman. In a news release, state Democratic Chair Mary Mancini denounced the law as "just another example of the unrestrained power that Republicans have cultivated in the state Legislature." As another example, the release also said that Holt "had a local Weakley County election administrator fired and then replaced her with his inexperienced friend." Holt promptly sent Mancini and media an email letter declaring the "disgraceful & slanderous accusations are baseless, and serve as a reminder that the modern Democratic Party is wrought with corruption." He included a copy of former Weakley County Election Administrator Barbara Castleman's letter of resignation to show she left of her "own volition." Spencer Bowers, the state Democratic Party's communications director, responded to Holt with a "correction" to the news release acknowledging that Holt did not fire the election administrator, but adding, "What he did was much worse. By recommending the removal and replacement of three members of the 5-member election commission he manipulated the system until he got what he wanted, the job for his inexperienced friend." Bowers referenced a Jackson Sun article, which quotes Castleman as blaming Holt's activities for her decision to quit and avoid "the hassle of the representative (Holt) calling my shots and things" after new election commissioners were appointed. SHARE Is Donald Trump going to be our dictator in chief? I have listened to a lot of what he has said, and I have come to the horrible conclusion that he wants to be a dictator. Trump has waged a campaign based on bigotry, ignorance and resentment. He has no experience as a public servant, and a private record of bankruptcies and exploitation. He regularly circulates falsehoods. He lacks even a passing familiarity with the Constitution. He praised one of the vilest dictators of the 20th century. The Republican National Convention was dominated by hatred of Hillary Clinton because it is the party's only unifying idea right now. People have chosen a candidate who does not believe in the ideology that has inspired Republican leaders for decades free markets and free trade, low taxes, limited government, deregulation, welfare state reform and an expansionist foreign policy. In a breathtaking interview with the New York Times, Trump announced that he might not honor NATO's guarantee of security to the United States' European allies, practically inviting Russian President Vladimir Putin to destabilize Eastern Europe. That is a break not just with seven decades of Republican foreign policy but also with a core American commitment that has kept the peace since 1945. It is the most reckless statement made by a presidential candidate in modern times. Is this a hidden partnership with Putin? Trump says he is smart, but does a smart man read the National Enquirer and consider it truthful? Do we believe that a president who doesn't read books is smart? His combination of extreme neediness and unbridled arrogance is unusual. He is desperate for affirmation but contemptuous of others' views. He also is contemptuous of facts. Like dictators who have full control of government, he says he alone can get things done. Is he mentally ill? Randy Reneau, Corryton SHARE While the Obama administration proposes spending billions more dollars on preparing for human missions to Mars, our earthly needs are suffering. Insufficient funding is causing our infrastructure to fall apart and our national parks to deteriorate. Education has never received all the funding it needs, care of military veterans is inadequate, and Social Security and Medicare have dismal futures at their current funding levels. However, a six-member research team recently emerged from one year of isolation in a Mars simulator on Hawaii's volcanic Mauna Loa Mountain in preparation for a manned mission in the next decade. Two more such experiments are planned, all funded by taxpayers. "NASA is firmly on a journey to Mars," says NASA chief Charles Bolden. Nothing on Mars is of any use to us. If the red planet held any natural resources that we cannot find on Earth, the cost of going there to mine and retrieve them outweighs the potential benefits by magnitudes. Some experts estimate $100 billion for a human Mars mission simply to go there and come back with a box of Mars rocks to complement our collection of moon rocks. Meanwhile, our federal deficit is soaring past $20 trillion. Granted, sending humans to Mars would be a source of tremendous pride for Americans, and knowledge of our solar system and universe is nice to have. But nobody on Earth needs any of it nearly as much as infrastructure, health care and education. The only people benefiting from NASA's missions and experiments are those earning their livings from the space industry. Those missions should be funded by the private sector, and all taxpayer funds should be redirected to Earthly needs. Bill Stack, Knoxville Stocks of Hanjin Shipping, South Korea's top container shipping line and the world's seventh-largest, plunged on Monday after it filed for court protection last week stoking concerns that it may be liquidated on worsening business conditions. Hanjin Shipping stocks were trading at 964 won ($0.9) on the Seoul bourse as of 10:00 a.m., down 22.26 percent from the previous session's close. The trading of the shipper has been halted since Tuesday. On Wednesday, the shipper applied for receivership in South Korea after its creditors, led by the state-run Korea Development Bank rejected its latest self-rescue plan. Since late last month when creditors signaled they would cut off financial help to the beleaguered shipping firm, Hanjin Shipping's vessels have been denied access to ports worldwide as lashing companies and port workers refused to work out of concerns that they would not be paid. Also, some of its ships have been seized by its creditors. Hanjin Shipping has been striving to cut its chartered rates and extend the maturity of debts in the face of worsening financial health stemming from a continued fall in freight rates. According to Hanjin, 68 out of its 141 vessel fleet have been stranded in seas off China, Australia and the United States. A senior executive of retail giant Lotte was summoned Monday as prosecutors accelerated their investigation into the embattled conglomerate after one of its executives was found dead in an apparent suicide late last month. So Jin-sei, a close aide of the group chairman Shin Dong-bin and executive in charge of external affairs, was called in by the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office as a suspect on charges of breach of trust. In mid-August, prosecutors summoned So to gain insight into the investigation, but his status has changed to that of a suspect as they collected more circumstantial evidence against the executive. Prosecutors suspect the 66-year-old committed irregularities in the process of increasing the capital of one of Lotte's affiliates by issuing new stocks between 2010 and 2015. The investigators said they will also question So over his involvement in the group's alleged wrongdoings, including tax evasion and creation of slush funds. The prosecution has been looking into the group since June, after launching full-fledged raids on its headquarters and affiliates. Entering the prosecutors' office, So denied the allegations raised against him. Lotte, which has sprawling businesses in both South Korea and Japan, has been gripped by a series of scandals since last year, including a bitter feud between Shin Dong-bin and his older brother for managerial control. The prolonged family feud virtually came to an end after the founder's second son and incumbent chief won shareholder support in March to tighten his grip on the business group. (Yonhap) Hanjin Newport in the southern port city of Busan / Yonhap By Ko Dong-hwan Hanjin Shipping has filed for bankruptcy in the United States to prevent creditors from seizing its vessels. The move came five days after the world's seventh-biggest shipper filed for court receivership in its home country, South Korea, as creditors decided to end financial support for the cash-strapped company. According to reports, Hanjin filed for court protection under chapter 15 on Friday in Newark, New Jersey. The company's decision comes under U.S. Chapter 15 Bankruptcy Basics, which "provides effective mechanisms for dealing with insolvency cases involving debtors, assets, claimants, and other parties of interest involving more than one country," according to U.S. Courts. By Choi Sung-jin China's foreign trade volume declined 7 percent but its online trade jumped 28 percent last year. On the other hand, Korea _ China's third-largest trading partner in 2015 _ fell to ninth place in online trade. The contrasting figures point to the need for Korea to revitalize online trade with the world's second-largest economy to make up for the fall in offline trade, industry sources said Sunday. Ali Research, the think tank of Alibaba, China's largest e-commerce company, recently released an E-Commerce Connectivity Index (ECI), which measured the level of online trade between China and its 20 major trading partners. Last year it ranked Korea ninth _ the same as Russia _ with an ECI of 32. The ECI included B2C (business-to-consumer) transactions as well as B2B (business-to-business) trades, meaning that direct overseas purchases and reverse purchases can affect it. Considering Korea was China's third-largest trading partner following the U.S. and Japan last year, the nation's online trade ranking falls far short of its overall status as China's counterpart, the sources said. Korea's ECI in China's online imports stood at 25, rising two notches to seventh place but remaining lower than Mexico and Indonesia. China imported from Korea more than any other countries, but Korea failed to be one of the top-five online exporters to China. Likewise, Korea was the third-largest buyer of the Chinese products last year but fell to 12th place among online importers from China. Ali Research estimated China's cross-border e-commerce volume would grow from 4.8 trillion yuan last year to 12 trillion yuan in 2020 with its share in total trade expanding from 19.5 percent to 37.6 percent. China's online trade is focusing on exports with imports remaining at 16.9 percent of the total. However, imports are expected to rise to 25 percent in 2020, meaning China's trading partners will need to carve a larger share of the increasing pie in China's online import market, the experts said. Also growing rapidly is the share of trade in consumer goods. Wholesale trade of capital goods accounts for 84.3 percent of China's online trade, but retail e-commerce trade increased 69 percent to 751.2 billion yuan last year, growing more than twice as fast as the 28-percent growth rate of China's overall online trade. In particular, the increase rate of online retail imports amounted to 92 percent with its portion in China's consumption market rapidly rising from 0.5 percent in 2010 to 3.9 percent last year and an estimated 10.4 percent in 2020. China's online retail imports are expected to grow at an annual average of 43 percent over the next five years to reach 1.5 trillion yuan in 2020. Online retail exports are also estimated to grow 37 percent a year on average to 2.16 trillion yuan in 2020. The retail sector's share in online trade is projected to jump from 15.7 percent in 2015 to 30 percent in 2020. Moreover, China is taking the initiative in establishing an "Internet silk road." Ma Win, Alibaba's founder, called for the creation of an "electronic World Trade Platform (eWTP)," at a Boao Forum for Asia early this year. Later, at the B20 Summit (a meeting of business leaders of the 20 major economies), he also proposed that the G20 establish an eWTP. Ma explained that the eWTP is a new global trade regime that allows up to 3 billion young entrepreneurs and small businesses to sell and buy goods freely on the Internet. He said it would supplement the World Trade Organization system, hoping it would help to turn around the slowdown in global trade. All this explains why Korea's trading system needs to change quickly to meet the new trend in the world's largest trading country, which is rapidly shifting to e-commerce, the industry experts said. By Jhoo Dong-chan A consortium led by Hyundai Engineering has clinched a construction deal worth a total of 5.67 trillion won ($5.13 billion) in Russia, a Hyundai Engineering official said Monday. The consortium, which includes fellow affiliate Hyundai Engineering & Construction (E&C) and Japan's Toyo Engineering, signed a deal Sept. 3 with Russia's Nakhodka Mineral Fertilizers Factory to build fertilizer plants in Kozmino, Nakhodka. Hyundai Engineering has a share of 50.3 percent in the affiliate while Hyundai E&C has 29.4 percent. Their shares are worth $2.58 billion and $1.51 billion respectively while Toyo Engineering also has a 20.3 percent share worth $1.04 billion. Under the deal, the three companies are expected to build two ammonia production plants with a combined daily capacity of 6,600 tons, two urea plants with a combined daily capacity of 6,000 tons and one methanol plant with a daily capacity of 3,000 tons. The construction project is expected to take about 62 months in total. By Jhoo Dong-chan The nation's largest shipping company Hanjin Shipping has filed for bankruptcy protection in the United States to protect its assets from being seized by creditors. According to the Wall Street Journal, Monday (KST), the ailing shipping line filed for protection Friday under Chapter 15, the section of the U.S. bankruptcy code that deals with international insolvency matters, in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court of Newark, New Jersey, days after the company announced its court receivership in Korea, Wednesday. The application for bankruptcy protection in the U.S. was submitted under incumbent CEO Seok Tae-soo, a similar measure to the court receivership that the ailing shipping line submitted in Korea. "If recognized by the U.S. court, the Chapter 15 filing will block creditors in the U.S. from seizing the company's assets or launching other legal action while its foreign bankruptcy proceedings are under way," Wall Street Journal reported. "Hanjin's bankruptcy case is being handled by the law firm Cole Schotz P.C. U.S. Judge John K. Sherwood has been assigned the case. An initial hearing is set for Tuesday afternoon in Newark." By Yoon Ja-young The government adhered to the principle of the market determining the fate of a company regardless of the size by allowing Hanjin Shipping to go under. While the administration made it clear that the "too big to fail" mantra won't work anymore, it is receiving criticism for having been negligent in taking steps to minimize the adverse side-effects from the collapse of the world's seventh largest shipping line. The shipping company is facing a flurry of lawsuits from its customers worldwide for failing to meet delivery deadlines and other contracts. A ship owning affiliate of Singapore-based Eastern Pacific reportedly lodged a lawsuit in a federal court in Los Angeles alleging that the shipper started missing payments on a containership charter in June. Hastay Marine, the registered owner of the Hanjin New Jersey, is seeking to seize Hanjin assets in California to recover unpaid fees, according to U.S. media TradeWinds. Hanjin is also taking legal steps to prevent its vessels from being seized; but it faces rough sailing ahead as many port authorities and service providers are demanding Hanjin pay in cash to work on its ships. Bae Sang-kun, vice president of the Korea Economic Research Institute, said the government overlooked the operations of the shipping industry. "Basically, it is right to look into the financial condition of a business and hand it over to court receivership if necessary," he said. "However, for a shipping company, going under court control means all operations will come to a halt. The government should have thoroughly prepared a backup plan for this." The government estimated that the effect of court receivership on the financial market and employment wouldn't be huge, but the industry now faces the risk of losing around 10,000 jobs. Bae pointed out that the fallout is having a global impact. By Nam Hyun-woo More than 80 percent of individual savings accounts (ISAs) at banks were opened through "incomplete sales," according to watchdog data, Monday. ISAs refer to savings accounts that are used for investments and on which taxes are not imposed on interest earned or from invested gains up to a set amount. Various types of other financial products can also be attached to the account. According to Financial Supervisory Service (FSS) data submitted to Rep. Park Yong-jin of the Minjoo Party of Korea, 11 out of 13 banks that sold ISAs from April to May were graded "poor" in the watchdog's assessment of selling practices. In its assessment, the FSS sent "mystery shoppers" to branches of banks to check whether consumers were informed about the risks of ISAs and were advised properly on the investment purposes. Those banks that scored below 70 out of 100 were graded poor. In separate data from the FSS, more than 297,000 customers opened ISAs at the banks although they did not receive any analysis or advice about their investments. The total amount in their accounts stood at 82.8 billion won. When the FSS was making its assessment, the total amount in ISAs stood at 1.16 trillion won. According to the data, KEB Hana Bank had the most ISA customers at 136,161, followed by NongHyup Bank with 121,939, KB Kookmin Bank with 15,288, Woori Bank with 9,563 and Shinhan Bank with 8,089. Upon introducing ISAs, the government proclaimed they would help "increase the public's wealth," however critics said that ISAs benefit only the rich as the FSS's July data showed that only 26 percent of account holders had annual incomes that stood below 500 million won. To encourage competition between financial firms, the government decided to open an online system by which customers can compare yields between each company's model portfolio. However, when the system opened in late July, the yields of 47 out of 150 model portfolios in the system contained errors. Among them, a portfolio of the Industrial Bank of Korea (IBK) posted 2.05 percent as its yield, which was one of the highest rates of the 150 portfolios. However, the rate was found to contain the yields of those who opened ISAs less than three months ago, though the system mandates banks calculate only the return rates of those who maintained the account for longer than three months. When calculated correctly, the return rate of the portfolio was 0.84 percent, 1.21 percentage points lower than posted. On Monday, Financial Services Commission Chairman Yim Jong-yong said "strict measures will be imposed when there is any illegality involved," pledging the government will initiate inspections of financial firms selling ISA products. Rep. Park said: "The overheated competition between financial firms may damage public wealth. The government should stop aggravating excessive market competition and come up with measures to understand the situation and prevent damage." 'Samsung, LG need to promote Korean culture' Vir Sanghvi By Kim Jae-heun Vir Sanghvi, the youngest managing editor in the history of journalism in India and a resident commentator on CNN News 18, is visiting Korea for the third time and laments that the country is still not well known in India. "We have no visual image of Koreans; we think of Japanese sadly," said Sanghvi during an interview with The Korea Times at the Grand Hyatt Seoul, Saturday. "We know of Samsung, LG, Hyundai and Psy's Gangnam Style which was popular for a year in clubs a few years ago, but Indians have absolutely no image of Korea. "Korean companies in India, like Samsung and LG, do a lot to promote their products but don't promote Korean culture. Toshiba and Sony promote Japanese cuisine and culture. Korean companies are successful in India but still they don't make any efforts to promote Korean culture," said Sanghvi. The journalist first came here in 2003 at the invitation of the Korean government to write about the country during a seven-day stay in Seoul and Jeju Island. He returned home feeling uncomfortable that the people of his homeland knew nothing about Korea. He came back in 2005 to participate in a newspaper conference. During his stay, he had the chance to watch Koreans make kimchi and gochujang, or Korean red pepper paste, which he found interesting. He wrote about them, but Sanghvi received no follow-ups afterwards. This time, Sanghvi, once again, emphasizes the potential of Korean culture to get more attention abroad, which he sees has bigger chance than that of Japan or China. "I think food should be the next cultural aspect of Korea to promote. Korean food is finding respect in the world. Bulgogi would succeed and I think the flavor of Korean food and the fermentation taste have power," said Sanghvi. The journalist will participate in the Culture Communication Forum (CCF) organized by the Corea Image Communication Institute (CICI) led by Choi Jung-wha to discuss the power of communication with 20 cultural representatives from different countries. A man surnamed Oh, 53, was convicted of making a false accusation against actress Lee Young-ae. / Korea Times File By Lee Jin-a A man has been convicted of making false accusations against popular actress Lee Young-ae. Seoul Eastern District Court said Monday it had sentenced the man, surnamed Oh, aged 53, to one year in prison, suspended for two years, for making groundless allegations that the actress stole a pine tree, two wooden pavilions and three bronze statues from his land in Yangpyeong, Gyeonggi Province. Oh was indicted in a countersuit from the actress, who claimed the man labeled her as a "thief" without evidence. The dispute stemmed from a contract signed in October 2012 between Oh and a real estate development company to install facilities, including the disputed pavilions and statues, on Oh's land. The actress was involved as a promotional figure. After finding the pavilions and statue missing, Oh named the actress as a prime suspect. But it was later proven that the pine tree was relocated within Oh's land and that the pavilions and statues were removed by a landscaper surnamed Kim. "Oh seemed to have raised accusation against Lee (Young-ae) without concrete evidence backing up his claim," Lee Heung-joo said in a ruling statement. "But I decided on a suspended jail term after taking into consideration that he has no criminal record." Jeju Special Self-Governing Province Governor Won Hee-ryong poses in an electric vehicle. He has vowed to make Jeju a carbon-free island by 2030. / Courtesy of Jeju Special Self-Governing Province Province to replace gasoline-powered cars with electric ones By Chung Ah-young Electric vehicles (EVs) are gradually gaining popularity worldwide as a growing number of people start to realize the importance of green transportation to the environment. Jeju Island, located off the Korea's southwestern coast, has been spearheading a campaign to popularize EVs and reduce carbon emissions since in 2011, when it was chosen as a test bed for battery-powered cars by the Ministry of Environment. The island is an ideal environment to test EVs because it is small and oval-shaped, making it easier for drivers to travel around the island with a single battery charge. On Jeju, drivers can travel along the 180 kilometers of coastal roads. A fully charged electric car can drive between 100 kilometers and 150 kilometers. Given that most people drive an average of fewer than 100 kilometers daily, the island is the right size for EVs. The island is also a test bed for the smart grid, which aims to raise energy efficiency and implement green-energy infrastructure. Jeju Special Self-Governing Province Gov. Won Hee-ryong is setting an example, driving an EV himself as his official car since August last year. He is the first municipal head in the nation to adopt an EV as an official car to promote the eco-friendly vehicles to Jeju residents. As of November, his car has been driven more than 31,700 kilometers and has consumed some 5,784 kilowatt-hours of electricity at a total cost of 886,330 won to charge. Jeju Island is a test bed for electric vehicles to reduce emissions. Driving an EV is part of his efforts to make the province carbon-free by 2030. Some 50 percent of the total EVs in the nation are currently in Jeju. The island has been taking active steps to turn the region into a zero-car emissions zone. "We will make the island the global base for electric cars while boosting the relevant green energy industry," Won said. Due to the province's efforts, over the last three years, the yearly number of people on the island who have bought EVs has more than sextupled from only 466 in 2013 to 3,319 in 2015, indicating that the islanders are becoming more open to EVs. Until 2020, the province is providing a subsidy for EV buyers to boost adoption of the eco-friendly cars. It currently provides a subsidy of 23 million won per unit and an additional 7 million won for charging facilities, along with other tax incentives. By 2030, it hopes to replace all regular cars on the island, which currently number 377,000, with EVs to reduce carbon emissions and other air pollutants. To achieve this goal, the province will gradually replace regular cars with EVs 29,000 units by 2017, 135,000 by 2020 and 377,000 by 2030. The province said that under the local government's mid-term financial plan, some 211 billion won will be spent in subsidies for 9,500 EVs over the next five years. The province has signed a memorandum of understanding with the Korea Finance Corp. for the further distribution of EVs and charging facilities along with renewable energy. "We will induce EV manufacturers to gradually cut the price to provide more EVs to more people," he said. Starting in 2021, after the subsidies end, the province will provide benefits to those who own low-emission cars and impose penalties on those who own high-emission ones. "By that time, we think the EV market will be able to grow significantly without the government's supports. Then, we think the price of EVs will stabilize and the battery capacity will improve," Won said. "So even after the province's subsidy to boost EV adoption in the early stage ends, the distribution of EVs will accelerate," he said. The governor also said the province will build more charging facilities in apartment complexes and expand the incentives for EV users, as many people are still hesitant to buying the cars because of the high price and maintenance cost. The province will provide 75,000 battery chargers by 2030 all around the island. Currently, Jeju has some 497 charging stations, including 48 fast-charging stations. This means that drivers can use one charging station for every 3.72 square kilometers. In addition to promoting EVs, the province will also encourage people to use car-sharing services to reduce the soaring traffic. According to the Ministry of Environment, a driver of a gasoline-powered car can save up to 2.4 million won a year if they replace it with a battery-powered car. If the driver travels 30 kilometers a day, his or her monthly fuel expenses will likely drop to 50,000 won from 200,000 won or 300,000 won. Won is also emphasizing the plan to replace public transportation, including buses, and taxis with EVs in the long term. So far, the province has introduced 49 electric buses this year and aims to introduce 119 units by 2017. It will gradually replace all 470 of its conventional buses with electric ones. Becoming an eco-platform Jeju aims to become more than an EV test bed it wants to become an "eco-platform," which attracts investment in the island's renewable energy infrastructure and EV industry. To achieve this goal, it has been hosting a variety of marketing events, such as the International Electric Vehicle Expo (IEVE) and Jeju EV Eco Rally, over the last three years. "Starting next year, we will expand the scale of the events in terms of EV manufacturers and related firms, in order to turn them into international events," Won said. The IEVE was held at the International Convention Center in Jeju in March. Both international EV manufacturers and related companies, including battery and charging station makers, attended the event. The participants shared an environmentally friendly vision of building connections between automotive industries and the environment. The IEVE has reaffirmed the island's goal as a green island endowed with natural beauty. Meanwhile, the Jeju EV Eco Rally was held in September across the coastal roads, showcasing various EVs manufactured by local automakers. Although the Korean EV market is still relatively small compared with those of other countries, it is rapidly growing, with sales having surging 65.5 percent year-on-year to 1,183 units last year from 715 units in 2013. The number of people who have stayed beyond their legal visits has been on a continuous increase in South Korea, with the visa-free Jeju Island in particular feared to become the hotbed for such visa violations. The increase has naturally led to a jump in illegal entry and employment. According to the Justice Ministry, the number of so-called overstayers in the country has shown a surging trend in recent years -- 167,780 in 2011, 177,854 in 2012, 183,106 in 2013, 208,778 in 2014 and 214,187 last year. The 2015 figure is more than three times higher than that of Japan, which recorded a relatively humble 62,818 on account of effective strict crackdowns. In 2004, Japan launched a five-year program to halve the number of foreigners who overstay their visas, with major steps including a sharp increase of crackdown workforce and fines on employers who hire them. It even revokes the business licenses of violating employers. South Korea adopted a similar program this year with the goal to bring down the number of immigrants who overstay their visas to below-200,000. But the goal does not seem achievable in the near future due largely to low manpower. According to the ministry, the number of officials in charge of finding overstayers nationwide is only about 150 per immigration office, which means one agent has to track down more than 1,400 people living in the country illegally. Jeju, one of the country's most popular tourist sites, has seen the biggest increase in the number of visa overstayers in recent years. The population of foreign visitors there rose from 1,045,673 in 2011 to 1,681,399 in 2012, 1,812,172 in 2013, 2,859,092 in 2014 and 1,624,260 in 2015. In the 2015 figure, Chinese visitors accounted for a whopping 85.3 percent. The number of foreigners who visited Jeju without a visa also soared from 113,825 in 2011 to 232,929 in 2012, 429,221 in 2013 and 645,301 in 2014 and slightly declined to 629,724 last year decisively on account of the Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) outbreak that hit the nation, killing 36 people. The growth in the number of visa overstayers is noticeable especially since 2013 when the number of foreigners visiting the island crossed the 2-million line. A Jeju government official said the rapid jump stems from the increase of overseas and local brokers who help these foreigners illegally find jobs. The spread of information on the island's favorable economic conditions among Asian nations was also a major contributing factor. In particular, the visa-free system, which the island introduced in 2008 to attract more Chinese tourists is being abused as a channel for illegal entry and employment. Under the Special Act on the Establishment of Jeju Special Self-Governing Province and the Development of a Free International City, all tourists except for nationals from 11 terror-sponsoring countries can enter and stay on the island without a visa for up to 30 days. On the other hand, the average arrest rate for those who overstay on Jeju remained at 29 percent from 2011-2014, with 53 cases in 2011, 147 in 147 in 2012, 172 in 2013 and 602 in 2014. An example of the misuse of the visa-free program happened on Jan. 13, when 59 of 155 Vietnamese tourists on a group tour to Jeju with no visas disappeared from their lodging. There are 23 fugitives still at large. South Korea's anti-corruption commission said Monday the anti-graft law that will go into effect in late September will affect 40,919 organizations, signaling massive changes in gift-exchanging traditions throughout the country. The Kim Young-ran anti-graft law, aims to bring more transparency to workers in certain sectors who should maintain higher ethical standards than ordinary citizens. The Constitutional Court also gave a nod to the law that will be enforced starting on Sept. 28. Under the policy, people working for the government, at media outlets and schools are also banned from receiving meals priced higher than 30,000 won, gifts exceeding 50,000 won, or congratulatory and condolence money over 100,000 won. By Park Si-soo The prosecution issued a subpoena on Monday to question Lotte Group founder Shin Kyuk-ho, who is at the center of a brewing corruption scandal surrounding the company, along with his son and the group's chairman Shin Dong-bin, on Wednesday. The prosecution asked the founder, 91, to appear at the Seoul Central Prosecutors' Office by 10 a.m. for questioning. It is uncertain whether the senile tycoon will comply because he was placed under a court-administrated guardianship last week for his unstable mental state. He is believed to have dementia. Last week, another son, Shin Dong-joo, former Lotte vice chairman, was questioned over alleged embezzlement. The questioning focused on what investigators claimed was a "suspiciously high" payout to him, and other corruption allegations involving his younger brother and father. The prosecution said the founder and the chairman had received a total of 30 billion won a year from the group's affiliates. While Lotte officials claim the money is dividends and pay, prosecutors believe part of the money came from illicit financial transactions among affiliates. It is also alleged that some affiliates were involved in other affiliates' business, especially in dealings with foreign companies. The group is also suspected of having set up paper companies when investing in China, Russia and Vietnam, and creating slush funds. Members of the owner family are also suspected of "cooking the books" by exaggerating profits and unfairly helping relatives' companies win contracts. President Park Geun-hye and her Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping shake hands ahead of their bilateral talks on the sidelines of the G20 summit in Hangzhou, China, Monday. / Yonhap Seoul, Beijing confirm stance against N. Korea provocations By Kang Seung-woo HANGZHOU, China President Park Geun-hye and Chinese President Xi Jinping agreed in bilateral talks, Monday, that North Korea's continued provocations provide a grave challenge to Seoul-Beijing relations. Xi, however, told Park that China continues to oppose the planned deployment of a U.S. anti-missile system in South Korea, saying both sides should respect each other's interests for stable development of bilateral ties. In response, Park renewed calls for China to exert influence on North Korea to stop its nuclear program, saying South Korea would not need the U.S. Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) system without the threats from the North. She voiced her hope that Seoul and Beijing will turn the situation into an opportunity to further strengthen ties, and Xi agreed, according to Cheong Wa Dae. It was their first meeting since Seoul and Washington decided in July to station a THAAD battery on the Korean Peninsula to counter North Korea's nuclear and missile threats. The decision drew a backlash from China and Russia, who argued that the system would undermine their security interests. The meeting was held on the sidelines of the G20 summit in the Chinese eastern city of Hangzhou. Immediately after their summit was over, the Kim Jong-un regime test-fired three ballistic missiles into waters off its east coast, according to the South Korean Joint Chiefs of Staff. "China and South Korea should make efforts to get their bilateral ties back on track toward stable development," Xi said during the meeting with Park, according to China's state-run Xinhua news agency. Describing the two nations as "close neighbors with common interests, he said that they should hold dear the foundation of their political cooperation and get over difficulties and challenges. He claimed that "mishandling the issue is not conducive to strategic stability in the region, and could intensify disputes." The Korean military plans to standardize combat uniforms by measuring incoming soldiers. / Yonhap By Hong Dam-young Korea's military combat uniforms will take on a new aspect through big data analysis. The military will launch a big data research project to develop a "standardized combat uniform" for newly enlisted soldiers. The uniform will be based on data accrued from regularly analyzing and measuring bodies, according to Yonhap news agency. "We will measure every incoming soldier's body sizes regularly from now on, which will provide us with accumulated data to standardize a combat uniform," a military official said on Monday. "The data will also be used for predicting an optimal uniform size for newly enlisted soldiers." The data will yield higher accuracy than manual measurement, because bodies will be examined in three dimensions. "If the results of the project are applicable, we would be able to produce the uniforms in a more efficient way and reduce production costs," the official said. The military also plans to collect data on how much electricity, water and oil are used each. Analyzing the use would enable the military to save money and to develop an optimum model. "We are doing a big-data analysis on the results of practices such as shooting and physical tests that are carried out in the field or at the Korea Combat Training Center (KCTC)," the official said. "A manual might be updated according to the result." The Korean military has been using various computerized systems, but in-depth research about how best to use the data has so far not been carried out. The military plans to finish developing the system by the end of the year and to begin measuring soldiers next year. By Kim Bo-eun The government has pledged to swiftly hand out cash to surviving Korean victims of sexual slavery before and during World War II, following Japan's transfer of 1 billion yen (10.7 billion won) to Korea for a foundation set up for the women last week. The Reconciliation and Healing Foundation, founded by the government to manage the fund, said Monday it would collect opinions from the surviving victims until October and start providing them with cash afterward. Japan transferred the money after Seoul and Tokyo reached a deal on Dec. 28 to put the disputed issue to rest, with Japan providing Korea with funds for victims. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs said last month that surviving victims will receive 100 million won each and families of the deceased, 20 million won, from the fund. "With the transfer of the funds by the Japanese government, we are now able to take follow-up measures to carry out the deal," said foundation head Kim Tae-hyeon. However, the cash provision may not be carried out as planned, because many of the 40 surviving victims have been voicing their opposition to the deal, as the Japanese government did not acknowledge legal responsibility for its atrocities and because the fund is not a form of legal reparations but of humanitarian assistance. Civic groups launched their own foundation for the victims in June the Foundation for Justice and Memory countering the government-led one. People watch a TV news program reporting about North Korea's missile launch, at the Seoul Train Station in Seoul, Monday. North Korea fired three ballistic missiles off its east coast Monday, South Korea's military said, in a show of force timed to coincide with the G20 economic summit in China. / AP-Yonhap By Jun Ji-hye North Korea test-fired three ballistic missiles, believed to be medium-range Rodong missiles, into waters off its east coast, Monday, according to the Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS). The missiles flew about 1,000 kilometers before landing in waters under Japan's Air Defense Identification Zone (JADIZ) in the East Sea. The launch took place soon after President Park Geun-hye and her Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping wrapped up their bilateral talks on the sidelines of the G20 summit in China's Hangzhou. The missile launch also came a few days ahead of the anniversary of the establishment of the North's government on Sept. 9. The South Korean military has been keenly monitoring possible military provocations from the North ahead of the anniversary. The JCS said the latest launch was seen as the isolated state's apparent armed protest aimed at showing off its missile capabilities and keeping up military tensions on the Korean Peninsula. "North Korea fired three ballistic missiles believed to be Rodong missiles from Hwangju County in North Hwanghae Province at around 12:14 p.m.," the JCS said. "The North launched the missiles without declaring a navigational warning." The JCS noted that the total flight distance of the missiles was estimated at 1,000 kilometers, and they flew more than 400 kilometers into the JADIZ. "South Korea and the United States are currently conducting a detailed analysis to glean more information," the JCS said. The latest launch came after Pyongyang successfully test-fired a submarine-launched ballistic missile (SLBM) in waters off its east coast on Aug. 24. The SLBM flew about 500 kilometers before landing in JADIZ waters, showing a significant improvement compared with past launches. At the time, the missile penetrated about 80 kilometers into the JADIZ. On Aug. 3, the North launched two Rodong missiles, with one landing in waters within Japan's exclusive economic zone (EEZ) after flying 1,000 kilometers. The Rodong has a maximum range of 1,300 kilometers and can hit targets on the Japanese mainland and Okinawa. The latest launch is also seen by some observers as the North's protest against Seoul's new North Korea human rights law that went into effect Sunday. Propaganda organs of the repressive state claim that Seoul was "acting blindly," referring to the law. A JCS official noted that the North's provocation is a clear violation of U.N. Security Council resolutions that ban the North from any activity using ballistic missile technology. "We are maintaining a full readiness posture in preparation for additional provocations," the official said. By Kang Seung-woo HANGZHOU, China Chinese President Xi Jinping appears to have adopted a differentiated approach toward South Korea and the United States in handling the deployment of the U.S. anti-missile system in South Korea. President Park Geun-hye and U.S. President Barack Obama are attending the G20 summit in the eastern Chinese city of Hangzhou, but Xi did not treat both leaders in the same manner. Observers believe this dual strategy by China may be aimed at checking the United States. The eighth summit between Park and Xi, held Monday amid tensions over Seoul's plan to base a U.S. Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) battery in South Korea, began with Xi's friendly gesture to Park, noting that the venue city has a very special relationship with South Korea. "South Korea's venerated independence fighter Kim Koo led its independence campaigns in Zhejiang Province in the 1930s against Japan's colonial rule, and the Chinese people provided protection for Kim," Xi said. Park responded, saying that she values the long-standing bilateral relationship between the two countries. In addition, Xi and Park agreed to strengthen strategy dialogue based on mutual respect to advance their bilateral ties. Workers from the Incheon International Airport Corp. sterilize the arrival area of the airport as part of efforts to prevent infectious diseases from coming into the country, Monday. / Yonhap Cholera, Zika virus become new health threat in Korea By Lee Kyung-min An unusually high number of patients have been diagnosed with infectious diseases this year due to the unprecedented heat coupled with an increase in the number of people traveling overseas. Health authorities have been on alert, as some diseases have appeared here for the first time in decades while some coming from other countries are totally new here. As the hotter-than-usual weather is continuing in fall, such diseases may have an influence on the country longer than usual. According to the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (KCDC), a total of four people were confirmed to have contracted cholera, an acute waterborne disease, the first infection on Korean soil since 2001. But health authorities have not yet been able to figure out how and from where the bacterium came, only guessing that the unusually hot temperature this summer was a probable factor in the outbreak. A new disease, Zika, has also affected Koreans, all of whom were infected with the virus during their overseas travels. Currently, the KCDC is conducting tests on a suspected Zika patient, who showed Zika-like symptoms after returning home from a trip to Cambodia between Aug. 31 and Sept. 4, during which he was bitten by mosquitoes many times. The boy, 15, whose identity is being withheld and who lives in Suwon, Gyeonggi Province, said he has been suffering from fever and severe pain in the head and eyes. So far, a total of 11 people were confirmed to have been infected with the Zika virus after traveling to Vietnam, the Philippines, Thailand, Brazil, Puerco Rico, Guatemala and the Dominican Republic. Besides cholera and Zika, a total of 4,643 people suffered from infectious diseases this year as of August, more than double the figure a year earlier, including typhoid fever, enterohemorrhagic E. coli (EHEC), viral hepatitis A, dengue fever, and vibrio vulnificus sepsis, according to the KCDC. Although the summer heat has gone, the KCDC said particular precaution is needed to prevent possible infection of scrub typhus, an acute infectious disease transmitted to humans by mites, ahead of Chuseok holiday when many people visit their ancestors' graves. "More than 90 percent of the insect-borne diseases occur between September and November," a KCDC official said. "As the number of mites in the wild has increased due to the high temperatures this summer, we expect the number of scrub typhus patients will rise," she added. Last month alone, 119 patients were infected with the disease, more than double the figure during the same period a year earlier. As no vaccines are available, scrub typhus is often fatal without treatment. Last year, a total of 11 people died because of the disease. The KCDC advised people to visit hospitals for treatment if they suffer from symptoms including fever, headache, muscle pain, cough, and rashes or scabs on the skin. By Kim Se-jeong The U.S. government's sanctions on North Korean leader Kim Jong-un have found an unexpected victim in Seoul, as a woman with the same name as Kim was prevented from overseas money transactions. On Aug. 10, a 45-year-old woman in Seoul transferred 30 million won ($27,000) to her sister living in South Africa via Shinhan Bank, as her sister was about to purchase a house there and needed the money to complete the payment, according to the bank and Yonhap News Agency, Monday. However, she learned that the money hadn't arrived even after 20 days. As she inquired about it to Shinhan Bank, the bank answered that the money has been locked up in a bank in New York which mediated the money transfer to a South African bank. Because her name sounds the same as the dictator Kim, the South African bank inquired to the New York bank whether the sender could be the dictator, and returned the money to the bank in New York, according to Shinhan Bank. This happened despite that the woman's name sounds the same as the North Korean leader's but is spelled differently in English. Shinhan did not disclose the exact spelling of the woman's name, citing client privacy. "U.S. government officials are now aware that one Korean name can have different English spellings, and they monitor all names that sound similar," a Shinhan official said. The official said using the American bank was necessary for wiring the customer's money to South Africa. "We're not an international bank and we don't have direct business partnerships with banks in South Africa," he said. The New York bank is neither sending the money back to Shinhan Bank, nor to the South African bank, saying it needs to check whether the money belongs to the North Korean leader. It's unclear how long it will take for the money to be released. "We're in communication with the bank," said the official. On July 6, the U.S. Department of the Treasury announced it added Kim Jong-un to its sanctions list, along with other key officials, for human rights violations. All financial institutions operating on U.S. soil are banned from providing financial services to the North Koreans. Crime on Jeju Island has risen sharply in recent years. / Yonhap By Hong Dam-young Jeju Island is in the midst of a foreign crime wave. Until recently, the island has been known as one of Korea's best tourist spots, attracting a growing number of foreigners each year. In June this year, almost 18,000 foreigners were registered as living on the island, of whom 8,400 were illegal immigrants without a visa, according to an immigration office in Jeju. And more than 1.6 million foreigners had visited the island by the end of June. But the number of foreigners is not the only figure rising in Jeju: crimes by foreigners have been rapidly increasing over the past few years. The number has been rising since 2011, from 121 to 393 in 2015, and even more on the way this year, according to Yonhap news agency. By Yi Whan-woo Japan is stepping up its demand to remove a girl statute symbolizing its wartime sexual slavery after approving a plan to offer 1 billion yen ($9.9 million) to assist Korean victims, sources said Friday. The provision of the money is in line with an agreement reached between the two countries, Dec. 28, to settle disputes over Tokyo's wartime sexual slavery. Japanese officials say it is now Seoul's turn to show commitment to the deal by removing the statue across the street from the Japanese Embassy in Seoul, the sources said. For Japan, the removal of the statue has been considered a key issue in implementing the deal because it has irked many conservatives there. They also claimed Foreign Minister Yun Byung-se promised to consult with related parties to settle conflicts about the statue "in a relevant manner" during the Dec. 28 agreement made with Japanese Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida. Seoul has maintained that it cannot meddle in the issue over the statue because it was erected by civic activists and belongs to them. "The ball is now in Korea's court and it will solely depend on Seoul's effort whether the agreement can be kept," a senior Japanese official was quoted as saying by Kyodo News. President Park Geun-hye and her Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping held a summit in Hangzhou, China, on Monday amid strains in their relations over the planned deployment of a U.S. antimissile system in South Korea. The bilateral talks, the eighth between Park and Xi, were held on the sidelines of the summit of the Group of 20 advanced and emerging economies in China's eastern lakeside city. The issue related to the stationing of the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) system on the Korean Peninsula has emerged as a major thorn in the Seoul-Beijing relations as Beijing strongly opposes it, saying it would hurt its security interests. Seoul has defended the move as an "inevitable, self-defense" measure to counter Pyongyang's evolving nuclear and missile threats. In an interview with Russia's state-run news agency, Rossiya Segodnya, last week, Park stressed that if Pyongyang's escalating military threats are eliminated, the need for THAAD will "naturally" dissipate. The United Nations Security Council holds an emergency meeting following North Korea's firing of a submarine-launched ballistic missile on Aug. 24. / Xinhua-Yonhap Muhammad Kamran Akhtar By Yi Whan-woo Pakistan is sensitive to North Korea's nuclear threats posed on the Korean Peninsula and would never undermine South Korea's security interests, according to a senior Pakistani government official. Mohammad Kamran Akhtar, director general of disarmament at Pakistan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, also denied allegations that his country has been selling nuclear materials to North Korea in a recent interview with The Korea Times. The interview took place at the Pakistani Embassy in Seoul during Akhtar's Korea visit as part of Pakistan's bid to join the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG). Khalid Banuri, director general of Pakistan's Arms Control and Disarmament Affairs (ACDA) at the Strategic Plans Division, and Pakistani Ambassador to Korea Zahid Nasrullah Khan also joined the interview. Ambassador Song Young-hwan, a Korean career diplomat, serves as the rotating chair of the 48-member NSG that seeks to contribute to the nonproliferation of nuclear weapons through controlled exports of nuclear materials. Citing that the allegation against Pakistan was first raised by Asian News International (ANI), an Indian news agency, Akhtar claimed that its report was "politically motivated" amid Pakistan's bid to join the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG). India, Pakistan's rival in South Asia, also has sought to become a member of the NSG despite China's objection. Calling South Korea "a close friend," Akhtar said his country has been faithfully implementing U.N. Security Council Resolution 2270, which was imposed in March in response to North Korea's fourth nuclear test in January and rocket launch the following month. He also said Pakistan has relevant details concerning its implementation with South Korea. Concerning the NSG bid, he claimed Pakistan takes nuclear safety and security seriously in line with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) regulations and that it has "declared adherence to NSG guidelines and aligned export controls with the best practices of the NSG." The following is an excerpt from the interview. Q: What is the purpose of your visit to the Republic of Korea? A: Pakistan has applied for membership in the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG). We are visiting to brief the Republic of Korea (ROK) on Pakistan's credentials for NSG membership. The ROK is an important NSG member, a longtime development partner and close friend to Pakistan and also current NSG chair. As such, it is important for us that the ROK fully understands the merits of Pakistan's application. Pakistan has a significant civilian nuclear program, with the capability to produce several items and materials on the NSG Control Lists. We have declared adherence to NSG Guidelines and aligned our export controls with the best practices of the NSG. We take nuclear safety and security seriously and are following IAEA standards and guidance documents. It will be beneficial for the NSG to have a country with extensive nuclear supply capabilities in its fold and is following its export controls and nonproliferation policies and practices. We have briefed our Korean hosts in detail about these aspects of Pakistan's case for joining the NSG. Our meetings have been held in a friendly and cordial atmosphere. Q: Please explain Pakistan's efforts to implement U.N. Security Council Resolution 2270. A: Pakistan has put in place legislative, regulatory and administrative measures to implement U.N. Security Council Resolutions on the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK). This includes steps for enforcing Resolution 2270. There is a high-powered committee chaired by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, which includes all stakeholders including the Ministry of Commerce, Pakistan Customs and other relevant law enforcement agencies, State Bank of Pakistan and financial institutions, Ministries of Aviation and Shipping and Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Resources, to ensure that the sanctions regime is followed in letter and spirit. We have been sharing relevant details with the U.N. Security Council and ROK. We are confident that effective implementation of Security Council Resolution 2270 is being ensured by Pakistan. Q: Despite the Pakistani government's denial, there have been media reports that Pakistan is linked to North Korea's nuclear program. Why do you think those accusations are being made? How would you convince South Koreans that such accusations are false? A: Certain recent reports originated from Asian News International (ANI), which is based in India. The sources of these reports were not mentioned which made them impossible to verify. The reports were timed with the NSG Plenary in Seoul which was scheduled to consider NSG applications of Pakistan and India. As such, these reports were clearly politically motivated. In this age and time, any trade or cooperation between countries can be monitored by various technological means. It is not possible to carry out clandestine operations. More importantly, there is no political or strategic logic for Pakistan to carry out such cooperation. It would be irrational for Pakistan to seek mainstreaming in the global nuclear nonproliferation regime while doing something which can severely tarnish its reputation. Pakistan stands to gain nothing from it. The ROK is an important development partner of Pakistan and we have a history of a very good relationship. We are therefore certain that the South Korean public will fully understand the motivation behind the recent unfounded media reports. Q: Please kindly share your thoughts on whether South Korea should go for nuclear armament to better counter North Korea's weapons of mass destruction. A: Pakistan is fully sensitive to the ROK's security challenges. For that reason we have consistently supported the establishment of a nuclear-weapons-free Korean Peninsula, which, we understand, is an objective to which the ROK fully subscribes. We are of the view that there is a need to pursue the objective through peaceful means in the context of the six-party talks. We hope that the latest measures by the international community will be able to convince the DPRK to also come to the table for restoring peace and stability to the Korean Peninsula. Q: Are there any other messages you would like to underscore? A: We would like to reiterate that Pakistan is a friend of the ROK and its people. We have historically been development partners. ROK businesses are active in Pakistan and we would like to see this partnership flourish further. Pakistan is sensitive to ROK security concerns and we would never do anything which undermines the ROK's security interests. We equally hope that the ROK, as the NSG chair, will play its due role in ensuring a merit based and nondiscriminatory consideration of Pakistan's NSG application. President Park Geun-hye shakes hands with her Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping before a summit in Hangzhou, Monday. /Yonhap Chinese President Xi Jinping made it clear his opposition to the U.S. deployment of THAAD anti-missile system in South Korea during a summit with President Park Geun-hye in Hangzhou, Monday. "Mishandling the issue is not conducive to strategic stability in the region, and could intensify disputes," Xi said during his summit with President Park on the sidelines of the summit of the Group of 20 advanced and emerging economies in China's eastern lakeside city of Hangzhou. Xi reaffirmed China's commitment to realizing denuclearization on the Korean Peninsula, safeguarding peace and stability of the peninsula, and solving relevant issues through dialogue and consultation. The Chinese leader urged adhering to the six-party talks platform, considering the concern of various parties in a comprehensive and balanced way, addressing both symptoms and root, and realizing long-term peace and stability in the Peninsula. During the summit, President Park called North Korea's continued provocations a challenge to relations between South Korea and China, voicing her hope for Seoul and Beijing to turn the situation into an opportunity to further strengthen their bilateral relationship. "This year, North Korea conducted a fourth nuclear test and a ballistic missile provocation, which has seriously undermined peace in this region and posed a challenge to the development of the South Korea-China relations," Park said at the summit. North Korea's propaganda websites on Monday condemned South Korea for implementing a new law aimed at improving Pyongyang's dismal human rights record. The North's propaganda website Uriminjokkiri said that South Korea is not entitled to take issue with North Korea's human rights situation, saying that the implementation of the law is a "sinister" move to undermine Pyongyang's dignity. The South Korean law on North Korea's human rights went into effect on Sunday, allowing the government to establish an archive aimed at compiling the North's human rights abuses and set up a foundation to support relevant civic groups. North Korea has long been labeled one of the worst human rights violators in the world. Pyongyang has bristled at such criticism, calling it a U.S.-led attempt to topple its regime. Dprktoday.com, one of the North Korean propaganda sites for outside online users, cast a similar view. "South Korea's criticism on the North's rights situation is nothing more than a brazen act to hide its crime against humanity and distract angry South Koreans from the truth," it said. Pyongyang does not tolerate dissent, holds hundreds of thousands of people in political prison camps and keeps tight control over outside information. Since taking office in late 2011, North Korean leader Kim Jong-un is believed to have ordered the execution of many high-ranking officials as he seeks to strengthen control over the country through a reign of terror. (Yonhap) By Kim Sun-ae What if one of my family members was on the Sewol ferry that day two years ago? And what if my loved one could not escape from the sinking ship? Naturally I would want to know why it foundered and why so many people couldn't be rescued. I would want to know at least the causes of the tragedy. In July I saw a play "The Voyage of Souls One Hundred Years of Solitude." It was set 100 years after the Sewol ferry disaster on April 16, 2014. The audience boarded a ship as passengers, guided by actors the vessel's manager and crew members. We met three high school students' spirits there who could not leave the sea for 100 years. They were the souls of students who couldn't return from the Sewol that day. This play was participatory theater. The audience answered a journalist who tried to figure out the truth of the Sewol ferry disaster. When our vessel listed, some of us also protested the manager who said to the passengers, "Don't move." As our ship was sinking, eventually all the passengers escaped. If only the passengers on the Sewol, mostly young students, could have escaped too. After the performance, a dialogue with the audience followed. The actors, musicians and production crew put on the play without getting paid, sweating outdoors in the hot summer. Even under difficult circumstances, the artists did their best to talk about the Sewol ferry disaster. One of the spectators began to speak with difficulty. Her friend was one of the victims. She said, "Thank you for talking about the Sewol through this play. I'm afraid it will be forgotten." She finally gave way to her tears and could not speak anymore. Silence ensued for a while. Why the Sewol sank and why the passengers could not be rescued has not been revealed clearly. Last June, however, the government forced the Special Investigation Commission on the 4/16 Sewol Ferry Disaster to end its activities. One of the facts the committee discovered was that the Sewol was overloaded with cargo including steel bars for the construction of the Jeju baval base. The commission promised to continue investigating the accident even after the government stopped supporting it financially. People related to the causes of the sinking and the failed rescue operations have not revealed the truth, which has made the investigation difficult. The committee requested government departments to submit disaster-related materials. Nonetheless, some of them including the Coast Guard did not cooperate in the probe, rejecting the requests. Should the people concerned have disclosed the facts honestly? Of course, they must have been afraid of losing their money, power and so on. Losing those things can be scary although we only have them for a while in our short lives. How painful it is to lose a child. For parents, losing a child may be the biggest pain. We can make a society where we try to understand and cherish each other. During the sinking, the passengers on the Sewol cared for a five-year-old child separated from her parents. Although the young students too must have been afraid, they looked after and eventually saved the crying child. And they escaped together, helping one another. We have a duty to uncover the causes of this tragedy and build a safe society. Therefore, the special committee should continue its investigation of the accident. It is urgent to secure a budget and extend its period of investigation by amending the special law on the Sewol. The writer translates writings about agriculture and rural communities. Her blog address is blog.naver.com/dancinglf. How crazy is this? The European Commission has ruled that Apple received unfair tax breaks from Ireland, and so must pay billions in back taxes even though some top Irish officials insist that they don't want the money. Meanwhile, U.S. officials are angry at the European Commission, arguing that the long-delayed crackdown violated international norms and that Apple's billions should ultimately go to the U.S. Treasury. Apple officials appear to agree with the U.S. position, but they manage their books in a way that keeps the money out of the Treasury's reach. Welcome to the topsy-turvy world of multinational corporate bookkeeping. It's like Hollywood accounting, only instead of stiffing the talent, the object is to stiff the government. In Apple's case, that meant registering two subsidiaries in Ireland essentially to collect revenue from the company's sales outside the U.S. while paying taxes to ... no one. Ireland didn't tax the vast majority of that revenue because it wasn't earned there, and the countries where the sales were made didn't tax it because the money belonged to a company registered in Ireland. Granted, these profits were subject to U.S. taxation at least in theory because the Internal Revenue Service imposes its levies on the global income of U.S. multinationals. By contrast, every other developed nation taxes only the money earned within their borders. The IRS doesn't actually collect taxes on foreign earnings, however, until the money is brought back into the United States. That creates a powerful incentive for companies to park the cash overseas indefinitely, which large U.S. multinationals have done to the tune of $2.4 trillion. Apple's tax avoidance strategy may be entirely legal, but it's outrageous enough to have drawn bipartisan rebukes in Congress. Sadly, lawmakers have paid only lip service to the problem. While Congress has been stuck in endless debates over how to respond, the European Commission has been launching investigations into the strategies used by a number of multinationals many of them U.S.-based and levying penalties. Which is not to say the commission is right; Ireland apparently treated Apple no more favorably than other multinationals. Nor is it fair to Apple to impose 12 years' worth of tax liability ex post facto. The real problem is the country-by-country inconsistency in tax policy that allows companies to stash profits beyond any nation's reach. The situation cries out for a common international approach to recognizing where multinationals earn revenue for example, by agreeing to apportion revenue according to where a company makes sales. Meanwhile, the United States is only encouraging tax gamesmanship by clinging to a unique (and uniquely punitive) approach to taxing multinationals. Surprisingly, a bipartisan consensus is emerging on how to bring the U.S. system more into line with the rest of the world's. The longer it takes for Washington to act, however, the more European authorities will be tempted to grab the money first. This editorial appeared on the Los Angeles Times and was distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC. By Mark Leonard LONDON The most frightening periods in history have often been interregnums moments between the death of one king and the rise of the next. Disorder, war, and even disease can flood into the vacuum when, as Antonio Gramsci put it in his Prison Notebooks , "the old is dying and the new cannot be born." The dislocation and confusion of 2016 do not rival the turmoil of the interwar period, when Gramsci wrote, but they are certainly symptoms of a new interregnum. After the end of the Cold War, the world was held together by an American-policed security order and a European-inspired legal order. Now, however, both are fraying, and no candidates to replace them have yet emerged. Indeed, unlike in 1989, this is not a crisis of a single type of system. Countries as different as Brazil, China, Russia, and Turkey are coming under heightened political and economic pressure. Even if the nightmare of a President Donald Trump is avoided, as appears increasingly likely, the United States can no longer be the world's policeman. Powers such as Russia, Iran, and China are probing US reactions in Ukraine, Syria, and the South China Sea. And US allies like Turkey, Saudi Arabia, Poland, and Japan are forging independent and assertive foreign policies to make up for a US that cannot and will not carry its previous burdens. Meanwhile, the European Union's declining cohesion is undermining its moral authority on the world stage. Many of the global institutions that reflect European values and norms from the World Trade Organization and the International Criminal Court to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change are gridlocked. Regionally, the three strands of the European order are unraveling: the US is seeking to reduce its investment in NATO, the EU is de-emphasizing enlargement, and the chaos in the Middle East and Ukraine is making a mockery of the European Neighborhood Policy. The rise and rapprochement of illiberal forces in Russia and Turkey mean that the EU is no longer the only pole of attraction in the region. Worse, EU integration has gone into reverse, with member states seeking to insulate themselves from the outside world, rather than trying to export their shared values. As a result, the biggest threats to free trade and the open society stem from domestic sources, not external enemies. Even in Germany, which had long seemed immune to such pressures, the interior minister talks of banning burkas (a policy that would affect 300 people), while the vice-chancellor has declared the death of the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) between the EU and the US even before the body is cold. The EU proved over the last few decades that it could be a force for globalization tearing down barriers between peoples and nations. But today its survival depends on showing that it can protect citizens from the very forces it has promoted. Maintaining the four freedoms at the heart of the European project the free movement of people, goods, capital, and services within Europe will be possible only if EU governments have credible policies to protect the most vulnerable in their societies. That will mean improving protection of the EU's external borders, compensating domestic losers from migration and free trade, and soothing public fears about terrorism. The danger is that much of what the EU rightly pushed for during the good times could hasten its unraveling now, during the current interregnum. For example, given so much uncertainty about the future state of Europe and the world, debating enlargement or the TTIP seems pointless or worse, because even opening such discussions is certain to play into the hands of Euroskeptics. The EU needs to distinguish between core and peripheral priorities. For issues such as EU relations with Russia and Turkey (and these two countries' relations with each other), member states need to agree on a policy that recognizes the interests of all. But much greater flexibility is advisable in other areas, including commitments to refugee re-allocation and eurozone rules, where excessive rigidity could cause European unity to buckle and snap. In addition to preventing an alliance between Russia and Ankara, the EU should rethink its goals in its neighborhood. Although the Balkan countries that are outside the EU will remain there for many years, they are in the European security space already, and Europeans should be prepared to intervene militarily if outbreaks of violence recur. Moreover, EU leaders should pursue a broader definition of peace than the absence of war, including political and social stability and preventing radicalization in Bosnia and Kosovo. For Georgia, Ukraine, and Moldova, the goal should be to promote stable and predictable governments. For the next few years, the EU should view them as independent buffer states rather than as member-states-in-waiting. It will be particularly important not to set red lines that the EU is not willing to defend. In the troubled Middle East, the EU cannot hope to be the central actor. But EU countries cannot protect their populations from instability if they are only spectators. Particularly in Syria and Libya, the EU needs to playing a more concerted role with regional powers as well as with the US and Russia to advance political processes that could help reduce violence, provide humanitarian aid, and stem the flow of refugees. One of the EU's main challenges is to define success in a defensive era. During the heyday of enlargement, the goal was to deepen integration and broaden its reach across Europe. Now, however, success means preventing countries from leaving the EU or hollowing out its institutions. History moves in cycles. The interregnum will eventually end and a new order will be born. What is certain is that the survivors and inheritors of the old order will write the rules of the new one. The EU's goal, achievable only with flexibility and courage, must be to remain a viable project and thus be one of the authors. Mark Leonard is director of the European Council on Foreign Relations. Copyright belongs to Project Syndicate. Russians may liken it to looking a gift horse in the mouth but their leader Vladimir Putin's gift to President Park Geun-hye appears somewhere between mischievous and inappropriate. According to the presidential office, Putin gave Park the calligraphy scroll he claimed was written by her father, the late President Park Chung Hee. It contained four Chinese characters, meaning "Together, we go forward," with the date of writing, Park's name and his seal on the side. The late Park made it a rule to practice calligraphy as part of his New Year celebration. Putin's gift was dated 1979, Park's last year in office. In October that year, he was assassinated by his top intelligence official, and his 16-year iron-fisted rule was replaced in another Army general's power grab. The Russian side explained that it was acquired from a U.S. art market, with assurances that the Russian president was positive about its authenticity. The Chosun Ilbo daily newspaper did an online search, turning up an account by an American who claimed he received the scroll from his father, who also received it as a gift from a Korean family that he became acquainted with in 1979. When they moved to New Mexico, they gave it to him, saying that they had to leave Korea after Park was killed. The newspaper could not say that the two Putin's gift and the online account were one and the same or either of the two were the real McCoy. Putin called it a "personal" gift but it could hardly be so because this gift-giving act affected Park, who was his guest in her capacity as head of state for Korea. Since the public has been made aware of it, it has become as official a gift as anything could be. Despite Putin's assurances, Cheong Wa Dae didn't say whether it indeed belonged to the late President. Hence, two issues arise. The first is its authenticity. What if it proved later to be a fake? This would be a big embarrassment to the giver and recipient. A gift "accident" involving Russia has a precedent: as a goodwill gift during his November 1992 visit, then Russian President Boris Yeltsin presented then President Kim Young-sam with the black box of a Korean Air flight the Soviets shot down on its way to Seoul from the U.S. But, when it was opened after Yeltsin left, it was found empty of the flight data recorder, which was pivotal to proving Russia's culpability. Second but more important, the late President's possession may be an emotional gift for the incumbent President, but the legacy of the senior Park remains controversial here a strongman who paid little attention to human rights but laid a foundation for the nation's industrialization. President Putin would have been wiser if he had understood the nation's historical sensitivities before selecting a gift. Hye Ryun Kindergarten in Vanuatu opened on July 11, funded by the bereaved family of Mauna Ocean Resort accident victim. / Courtesy of Hyundai Heavy Industries By Yoon Ja-young A kindergarten opened July 11 on the island of Vanuatu in the South Pacific funded by the family of Go Hye-ryun who died in a widely-publicized tragic accident in 2014. The modern two-story building, which offers five kindergarten classes, is a rare sight on the island. The late Miss Go Hye-ryun was 18 years old when she was accepted to Pusan National University of Foreign Studies to major in Arabic. She went to a welcoming party for the freshmen held at Mauna Ocean Resort in Gyeongju, North Gyeongsang Province. The roof of the auditorium where students had gathered collapsed under the weight of heavy snow, taking 10 young lives and injuring dozens more. The disaster which was caused by poor safety regulations angered many people. The bereaved were offered 600 million won in compensation, but their loved ones will never come back. Hye-ryun's father Go Gye-seog, who works for Hyundai Heavy Industries, decided to donate the compensation after reading Hye-ryun's diary. She wrote about her plan to help the underprivileged after finishing college. Growing up in a devoted Christian family, the young lady wished to become a missionary after she learned the languages of other countries. The family donated 200 million won to Pusan University of Foreign Studies to establish a scholarship fund named after Hye-ryun. The rest was donated to build the kindergarten in Vanuatu. The beautiful country located northeast of Australia has little to invest in education infrastructure as its per capita annual income stands at around $3,000. After meeting the residents from Vanuatu who visited the church that the Go family attends, they decided to build a school there to brighten the life of the Vanuatu children. In addition to funding the construction, the father visited the construction site, taking care of the construction process in detail. The rest of the classrooms in the school building will soon open for elementary, middle and high school students. The family hopes Hye-ryun's dream will come true with the school. By Lee Min-hyung Shares of Samsung SDI continued to plunge Monday amid a report that Samsung Electronics will stop purchasing batteries from the embattled firm following a worldwide recall of the Galaxy Note 7 smartphone. The stock tumbled 2.76 percent, or 3,000 won ($2.71), to close at 105,500 won. They were traded 4.61 percent lower at one point. The stock price has nosedived for seven consecutive days since Aug. 29 when it closed at 117,500 won. The declining stock value reflects SDI's tarnished brand image, with Samsung Electronics officially citing faults in battery cells as the key reason for the fires in the smartphones. The unprecedented recall is expected to deal a severe blow to SDI's weak profitability. The company reported 54.2 billion won in a second-quarter operating loss, the third consecutive loss since the last quarter of 2015. The undermined corporate image will also add to a gloomy outlook for its mid- to large-battery business for electric vehicles (EV). The company has so far failed to win certification as a battery maker for EVs in China. The country's Ministry of Industry and Information Technology previously excluded the company from a list of certified battery suppliers eligible to benefit from subsidies from the local government. Analysts said SDI's stock value is expected to further decline over the short term due to a series of setbacks. These include the recent local report that Samsung Electronics halted battery supplies from Samsung SDI, following the Note 7 quality issue. An SDI spokesman declined to comment, saying nothing official has yet to be confirmed. "Samsung SDI's stock price will remain weak for the time being, as the bulk of the problematic Note 7 batteries were known to have been supplied by SDI," Kevin Lee, an analyst from Korea Investment & Securities, said. "We expect Samsung SDI to bear the burden of 2.5 million batteries recalled following the controversy." "SDI may suffer an additional operating loss of 18 billion won in the third quarter due to the incident," said the analyst. Ha Joon-doo, an analyst at Shinhan Financial Investment, also said SDI's share price will continue to drop, due to the tarnished brand image. "The latest scandal is negative to consumer sentiment. The share price is likely to remain weak for the time being," he said. Small batteries account for more than 40 percent of SDI's annual sales, with the rest coming from mid- to large-sized batteries used for EVs. But critics say the undermined brand image may also halt SDI winning more orders not just from smartphone manufacturers, but also EV makers. By Lee Min-hyung LG Uplus has come under criticism for allegedly collecting customers' location data for its sales activities, according to the main opposition Minjoo Party of Korea (MPK). Rep. Lee Jae-jeong of the MPK said in a statement Monday that some retail stores of the mobile carrier joined hands to win special incentives from the company. They have been helping one store at a time attract as many customers as possible, so that all the stores can benefit from the financial reward. Lee pointed out that the retail stores illegally accessed location information of customers during the sales activities. "LG Uplus has evoked a social controversy over refusing an investigation by the KCC," the lawmaker said in a statement. "The company is deceiving the public at a time when it has to reflect on its wrongdoings." On Jun. 1, the Korea Communications Commission (KCC) launched an investigation into LG Uplus headquarters in Seoul over allegedly offering illegal subsidies, but the company refused to reply to the KCC request for on-site inspections. The KCC fined LG Uplus 7.5 million won over the controversy, which critics called a slap on the wrist for the LG Group affiliate. Samsung chooses customer trust over profits Recall a short-term negative, but long-term blessing in disguise By Kim Tae-gyu Samsung Electronics' decision to recall its Galaxy Note 7s due to overheating battery problems may be a boon for Apple which will release its new iPhone 7 this week. However, how the recall decision will affect Samsung and its rivals over the long-term remains to be seen. It is obviously bad news for Samsung in the short-term. Still, some analysts say the company will be able to maintain customer loyalty as the case shows how responsible it is. Samsung swiftly chose customer trust at the expense of profits in the recall decision, they said. The company decided to recall around 2.5 million of the large-screen handsets, Sept. 2, nine days after the first claim of a battery catching fire while charging. "The Samsung CEO delivered an apology swiftly, while disclosing all the problems and clearly promising compensation," said Kevin Lee, head of local PR consultancy INR. "No doubt Samsung will face some short-term losses in its income. But over the long haul, it will be able to strengthen its brand more as a reliable partner in the global market." Samsung's mobile chief Koh Dong-jin announced the recall while apologizing twice for concerns raised and the inconvenience and to customers. Prof. Kim Chan-souk at Cheongju University said, "In dealing with disasters, the two principles of transparency and promptness are most important. Samsung kept them very well, which is easy to say but hard to do." Kim said Samsung's reaction is comparable to the classic example of best practice carried by Johnson & Johnson, one of the most respected firms in the United States. In 1982, seven people died in Chicago after taking Tylenol capsules made by Johnson & Johnson, which had been tampered with. Police failed to find the culprit but the response of the drug maker was praised. The firm stopped Tylenol production and distributed warnings to hospitals. It shelled out a large amount of money to recall all Tylenol products whose retail value was up to $100 million; and even issued warnings in the media telling people not to use the products. As a result, its market share shrank from 35 percent to less than 10 percent, but the drug manufacturer rebounded soon in a dramatic fashion thanks in no small part to its quick and proactive action. Kim also commended Samsung's top executives, who listened to rank-and-file employees' opinions. Initially, it seems that Samsung thought of just replacing the batteries of the Galaxy Note 7 because the claims of fire incidents were 24 to 1 million. But management changed their mind due to sincere requests from employees. An engineer uploaded a posting in the firm's internal site, saying "Please recall all the devices. I will give up my annual bonus. I am ashamed of this." Around a quarter of staff members read it, leaving hundreds of comments to show their agreement. For Samsung employees, it is a big deal to offer to forfeit their bonuses since the maximum amount is half of their annual salary. In particular, workers at the mobile division usually get generous payouts. In coming up with the unprecedented recall decision, Koh said that Samsung management took the employees' opinion into consideration. Samsung's recent efforts to renovate its corporate culture under the stewardship of Vice Chairman Lee Jae-yong also worked in reaching the conclusion, industry watchers said. Investors seem not to deem the mishap as very negative news as Samsung's share prices remained almost flat on the Seoul bourse Monday, the first trading day after the recall was announced. "Samsung's share prices already factored in the battery issue last week. It will leave a skid mark in Samsung's financial reports for the third quarter but the effect is likely to be just a one-off," said Kim Ji-san, an analyst at Kium Securities. "In other words, investors seem to believe that the Galaxy Note 7 will continue to be popular once sales resume." Koh said that Samsung will restart sales after providing replacements for buyers of the first models that run the risk of catching fire. The model debuted on Aug. 19 in 10 countries including Korea and the United States and its global release was set to begin soon. For the first time, two Sri Lankan undergraduate students participated in the 2016 Summer Student Programme at the European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN) in Geneva, the most prominent particle physics research institute in the world. Mr. Gamage Gihan Lakmal, a graduate from the Faculty of Science of the University of Ruhuna and Mr. Malinda Shiram de Silva, a final year undergraduate from the Faculty of Science of the University of Colombo, completed their two month programme last week. The Sri Lankan students were selected on merit by CERN, following a funding arrangement negotiated by the Permanent Mission, where CERN provides financial assistance for one student and the Government of Sri Lanka (GoSL) funds the other student. This special programme for undergraduate students of physics, computing and engineering, provides a unique experience of joining research teams and participating in experiments at CERN. It has been in operation since 1962 and had students from 104 countries participating. This year 278 students from 87 countries participated in this programme. Sri Lankas Permanent Representative to the UN in Geneva, Ambassador Ravinatha Aryasinha noted that the participation of the two Sri Lankan students in the CERN Summer Student Programme this year is one of the tangible benefits following the formalization of relations between Sri Lanka and the European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN) through the signing of an Expression of Interest (EOI) between GoSL and CERN on 25 June 2015 and the continuing engagement between CERN and the Government of Sri Lanka. During a visit to CERN in May 2016 Minister of Science, Technology & Research, Susil Premajayantha agreed to enhance collaboration between CERN and Sri Lanka, through the development of a network of scientific community of Sri Lankan scientists and researchers, who could remain engaged with the research activity carried out by CERN. At a recent review of the relationship between CERN and Sri Lanka with CERNs Senior Advisor and former Head of International Relations. Dr. Rudiger Voss, Head of Associate Member and Non-Member State Relations Prof. Emmanuel Tsesmelis, the Ambassador and the Ms. Dilini Gunasekera, Second Secretary of the Mission coordinating relations with CERN discussed several proposals in order to increase the number of undergraduates attending the Summer Student programme, to enable participation of Sri Lankan teachers in the CERN High School Teachers Programme, to seek the possibility of a group of Sri Lankan Scientists to visit CERN, to conduct a workshop in Sri Lanka on the topic of cooperation between Sri Lanka and CERN and also to sign an International Cooperation Agreement (ICA) between Sri Lanka and CERN by next year. In September, CERN Senior Advisor Dr. Voss will be visiting Sri Lanka as a Guest of the Government of Sri Lanka and a Resource Person/Speaker at the Science and Technology for Society Forum Sri Lanka 2016 (STS Forum 2016), scheduled to be held from 8-10 September 2016 in Colombo. This will be the second visit of Dr. Voss to Sri Lanka since his visit in 2014, coordinated by the Coordinating Secretariat for Science, Technology and Innovation (COSTI), Ministry of Science, Technology and Research. During his visit, Dr.Voss will engage in discussions with the Sri Lankan scientific community with the view of enhancing further collaborations between Sri Lanka and CERN through the creation of a nucleus of scientists. Mr. Gamage Gihan Lakmal, previously a student of Ananda College and Asoka College, entered Ruhuna University in 2011 and recently graduated with a second class upper division in Bachelor of Science (specialized in Physics). He was the President of the Ruhuna Science Research Circle & the Physics Society in 2015. Also he has won the third place at the invention and innovation exhibition at the University of Ruhuna in 2015 for his final year project on calibration testing and modifying the low cost monochromator for use as an excitation source in future optoelectronic characterization experiments. At CERN he was involved in the research work related to building an immersive, panoramic virtual visit of the CERN Data Centre. Mr. Malinda Shiram de Silva, previously a student of St. Peter's College, entered University in 2012 and is currently following a special degree in Engineering Physics. Being the current President of the Physics Society of the University of Colombo, he has engaged in many discussions on Physics and fields related to Physics in order to educate and inspire others to pursue Physics within the University. At CERN he was involved in the analysis of data of new components to be installed in the Compact Muon Solenoid (CMS) in its upgrade scheduled for 2025. Photo Caption: (from right) Ms. Charlotte L. Warakaulle, Director for International Relations of CERN, Ambassador Ravinatha Aryasinha, Sri Lankas Permanent Representative to the UN in Geneva, Mr. Malinda Shiram de Silva, from the University of Colombo, Mr. Gamage Gihan Lakmal from the University of Ruhuna, Dr. Rudiger Voss, Senior Advisor and former Head of International Relations of CERN and Ms. Dilini Gunasekera, Second Secretary of the Permanent Mission of Sri Lanka to the UN in Geneva Press Release in English Press Release in Sinhala Permanent Mission of Sri Lanka Geneva 27 August 2016 The price of LITRO gas cylinders would be further reduced in the first week of November in accordance with the Read more The SLFP does not condone the continuation of the Emergency Regulations (The Public Security Ordinance) more than a day necessary Read more PRESS RELEASE Lavrov Describes the Dying Western Empire, Blasts Geopolitics Sept. 3, 2016 (EIRNS)Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, in an interview with the Council on Foreign and Defense Policys media outlet on Sept. 2, slammed EU/NATO/U.S. geopolitical policies, contrasting diplomatic and economic developments in the East, centered on China in particular, and the U.S./EU/NATO approach of bureaucracy and military blocs. On the one hand, the world is becoming multipolar, with the rise of new centers of economic growth and financial strength, he said. At the same time, "Europe is curtailing relations with Russia, at U.S. prompting," Lavrov said. "Many European countries are doing this with their eyes wide open, saying that in this case politics (punishing Russia) must take precedence over the economy. This is contrary to what the West did before." With respect to Asian economic development, "Our logic and the policy outlined by President Vladimir Putin are focused on looking for mutually beneficial compromises and mutually acceptable approaches," Lavrov said. He noted that wise governments in Europe and the EU, in Asia and elsewhere should build more bridges and work harder to develop cooperation. "Russia is conveniently located geopolitically and geo-economically to facilitate these processes," he said. " The Greater Eurasia project does not contradict, but rather fits very well the concept of Europe from the Atlantic to the Urals, which Charles de Gaulle advanced decades ago. President Putin has rephrased it as common space from Lisbon to Vladivostok. This remains a topical issue. It is absurd when the political situation in the West, including domestic policies, is allowed to hinder our progress towards this strategic and mutually beneficial objective." Lavrov went on to say that, when it comes to bureaucracies, the EU is much more difficult to work with than NATO, though he didnt spare NATO in his criticisms, either. Attempts to maintain discipline within blocs, Cold War-style, is becoming very difficult to do, because countries are realizing that "there is also such a thing as national interests." The EU, Lavrov said, is a case in point. "Bureaucracy in the Soviet Union dominated the union republics. But the EU has gone further than that, further even than NATO, where discussions are more democratic, despite a Russophobic minority that is shamelessly speculating on the principle of consensus and bloc solidarity. The EU bureaucracy is trying to prohibit the member states from taking independent decisions on issues that have not been delegated to Brussels." There are many examples, he said, which he hopes can be reversed "because we dont want to see the EU torn apart by contradictions. We want it to be a reliable partner, guided in its actions by the economic interests of its member states and not by some geopolitical considerations that have nothing to do with common sense and the economy." As for NATO, Lavrov hit hard at the ideological tendency among some members of the alliance to use the NATO-Russia Councilthe last few times it met was only to discuss Ukrainefor their own ends against Russia. "There are people in NATO who realize that this leads nowhere, and that it is necessary to return to normal, respectful relations, because acting like your logic and approach alone must be adopted by the rest of the world, is a case of colonial thinking," he said. PRESS RELEASE Liberal Interventionism Produces Only Chaos and War Sept. 4, 2016 (EIRNS)Sumantra Maitra, a doctoral researcher at Nottingham University in the United Kingdom, argues in The National Interest, that todays liberal interventionists are really little more than mirror images of the Soviet interventionists during the Cold War. Instead of spreading socialism, as the Soviet interventionists wanted to do, today, its democracy. Maitras particular target is Anne Applebaum, who lamented in an Aug. 28 op-ed in the Washington Post "the consequences of nonintervention" in Syria in 2013. "Needless to say, the analysis is shallow, vacuous and flawed and without any significant alternative policy suggestion, and wouldnt be taken seriously in any academic or policy circle, much less get published in any peer-reviewed journal," writes Maitra. "These argumenta ad passiones, that babies are dying and we have to do something is exactly the kind of policy insobriety that has resulted in the West undertaking misadventure after misadventure in faraway lands where our interests are not deeply implicated. Unfortunately, in the recent past we have tried it all, and none of it has worked." While Maitras identification of the problem, and his solution, may be flawed, he notes correctly that the liberal interventionists never learn. "More importantly, liberal interventionists never provide alternative courses of action, when their theory inevitably fails every time," he writes. PRESS RELEASE At BRICS Meeting before G20 Opening, Putin Lays Out Major Policies Sept. 4, 2016 (EIRNS)A meeting of the BRICS heads of state today, just prior to the official opening of the G20 meeting, was a demonstration of the continuity of the policy of economic development, especially from Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin, of the series of meetings over the past week: the Eastern Economic Forum (EEF) in Vladivostock, Russia (Sept. 1-2), followed by the Business-20 (B-20) in Hangzhou, China (Sept. 3-4), and the G20 meeting that opened on Sunday. The BRICS session seized a major role in setting the stage for the next two days. Xi, host of the G20, opened the meeting calling on BRICS members to promote the reform of the governance structure of the IMF and World Bank and to implement the first batch of projects" that BRICS had defined. Indian Prime Minister Narenda Modi, who will host the 8th Summit meeting of BRICS in Goa, India in mid-October stressed that the bloc has the "shared responsibility to shape the international agenda in a manner that helps developing nations achieve their objectives." Putins pointed policy speech was immediately posted in English on the Kremlin website. He started with reference to last years BRICS summit in Ufa, Russia, stressing that in addition to launching the "new large-scale joint projects" in technology, industrial cooperation, energy, and agribusiness," BRICS will expand into "science, education, culture, on issues of social policy, healthcare and sport." On Syria and Middle East/North Africa crises, Putin put the blame squarely on the Wests instigation of chaos. "Civil wars instigated from abroad, the disintegration of government structures in Iraq, Libya (which President Zuma spoke about with concern) and Yemen, have turned this region into a place of chaos and a foothold for international terrorism which troubles all of us, causing an uncontrollable wave of migration.... "The most dangerous situation is in Syria," Putin said. "This is why we responded to the request of the legitimate, let me stress, the legitimate government (emphasis added) of that country for assistance in the fight against terrorist groups. "The Russian Aerospace Forces have dealt a heavy blow to the terrorists and their infrastructure, and have preserved Syrian statehood, which I think is absolutely vital." "Together with other partners we managed to enforce a ceasefire in some regions of Syria and to launch inter-Syrian talks," Putin stated, and said that now other countries of the world must take initiatives on the global economic situation. On the economy, Putin again took a swipe at Obama, citing the TPP and TTIP as two "private organizations" that are trying to usurp the negotiated terms of the World Trade Organization (WTO). The global economy "has still not overcome the effects of 2008-2009 financial crisis," Putin asserted. "According to forecasts, growth is unlikely to reach the pre-crisis level before 2019 .... Among the limiting factors is the volatility on foreign exchange and commodity markets, the lack of coordination of monetary policies, and the high debt levels in developed economies." As an alternative, Putin cited President Xis planning of the G20 this year, and called on the BRICS nations "to strengthen our countries positions in the global financial system. "I would like to congratulate our Chinese partners on the Special Drawing Right basket being expanded to include the Chinese yuan from October 1, 2016," Putin added. "The BRICS states have already increased their total share in the IMF capital to 14.89 percent, [which is] very close to the blocking threshold of 15 percent. And they certainly need to continue in this direction, advancing the reform of the IMF. "We need to make the BRICS Pool contingent of foreign exchange reserves and the New Development Bank fully operational ... to adopt the banks strategy, to provide loans in local currencies, and to begin financing specific projects." Putin was especially harsh about the Wests efforts to create "various private associations, such as the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) and Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP), [that] are gaining momentum; [and] seek to replace the WTO rather than complement it." They are doing this because the WTO has stalled out. Citing the next step, Putin concluded by congratulating Prime Minister Modi on the upcoming BRICS meeting in Indialooking forward to advancing the BRICS agenda. The costs of the SpaceX rocket explosion Thursday are starting to roll in. The customer whose satellite blew up with the rocket, Space Communication Ltd., based in Israel, said in a conference call Sunday that it could seek $50 million or a free flight, according to a Reuters report. The company also said it could collect $205 million from the satellites builder, Israel Aerospace Industries. Advertisement Asked for comment, SpaceX said it doesnt disclose contract or insurance terms. The cause of the explosion, which destroyed a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket and its payload, is under investigation. Facebook, one of several clients for the satellites services, intended to expand Internet service to areas of Africa lacking modern communications infrastructure. Space Communication had been planning a merger with Chinas Beijing Xinwei Technology Group, but that deal is now on hold. SpaceX is a private company run by entrepreneur Elon Musk, also chief executive at Tesla Motors and chairman at SolarCity. In a series of prepared statements after the explosion, SpaceX called the incident an anomaly and noted it has a 70-mission backlog worth more than $10 billion. russ.mitchell@latimes.com @russ1mitchell ALSO Is Elon Musk trying to do too much too fast? Officials call for action on cargo delivery crisis at Southland ports Our long stagnant-paycheck nightmare may finally be nearing an end UPDATES: 11:25 a.m.: This article was updated with SpaceX comment. Financially troubled Hanjin Shipping Co. will seek stay orders in dozens of countries this week to help minimize disruptions caused by its slide into bankruptcy proceedings, the Financial Services Commission said Monday. Hanjin, South Koreas largest ocean container shipper, will seek bankruptcy protection in 43 countries, including Canada, Germany and Britain, FSC officials said. The measure is aimed at minimizing the cases where Hanjin Shippings vessels are being seized in foreign countries, South Koreas government said in a statement jointly released by several ministries and commissions. Advertisement It said South Korea will ask each country to expedite the Stay Order process. Hanjin sought bankruptcy protection in the U.S. and South Korea last week. With its assets frozen, its ships are being refused permission to offload or take on containers at ports worldwide, out of concern tugboat pilots or stevedores wouldnt be paid. At the ports of Long Beach and Los Angeles, the Hanjin bankruptcy is threatening local jobs and preventing merchants from accepting goods shipped from Asia. As of Sunday, at least three large ships were holding off the local ports. The South Korean giant represents nearly 8% of the trans-Pacific trade volume for the U.S. market, and with Hanjins container ships marooned offshore, major retailers were scrambling to work out contingency plans to get their merchandise into stores. The government said it is preparing to have rival Hyundai Merchant Marine buy out Hanjins vessels. Yim Jong-yong, the Financial Services Commissions chairman, pushed Hanjin to urgently resolve problems over freight stranded at sea, the Yonhap News Agency reported. Whats most desirable, of course, is for Hanjin Shipping to revive itself. But many experts view is that the possibility is low, Yonhap quoted Yim as saying. Hanjins share price plummeted about 30% early Monday, but a flurry of buying erased most of the loss by midday. Global demand and trade have suffered since the 2008 recession, but steamship lines continued to build more and larger vessels. That weaker trade and overcapacity have sent ocean shipping rates plunging in recent years. Hanjin is part of the Seoul-based Hanjin Group, a huge, family-dominated conglomerate, or chaebol, that also includes Korean Air. The shipper, the worlds seventh largest, has struggled with debts and losses for years. Last week, creditors led by the Korea Development Bank rejected a plan by Hanjin Group to spend another $447.2 million to rescue the shipping firm, way short of Hanjin Shippings more than $5.37 billion in debts. In the two years since David Muir took over as anchor of ABC World News Tonight, hes done town hall specials with President Obama and Pope Francis (the latter requiring hours of lessons in conversational Spanish) and moderated primary debates with both the Republican and Democratic presidential candidates. Hes done his evening newscast from San Bernardino; Orlando, Fla.; Paris; and Brussels to report on terrorist attacks, and Dallas, where five policemen were shot dead in July. There are Fridays when Muir signs off and then heads to far-flung locations to do enterprise reporting, such as an upcoming series following the journeys of Syrian refugees to the U.S. While much of the country is enjoying Labor Day barbecues, Muir is in Ohio, where he will conduct an exclusive interview with the Democratic presidential ticket of Hillary Clinton and Sen. Tim Kaine that will air across ABC News programs starting Tuesday. Advertisement If hes overcompensating to counter any notion that the network evening newscast is at risk of becoming a dinosaur in todays media environment where information is available anytime on multiple devices his strategy appears to be working. With around 8.5 million viewers a night, ABC World News Tonight has its largest audience since the 2006-07 season, a time when Oprah Winfreys syndicated talk show was still a potent lead-in on many of the networks affiliates. Its running about 3% behind the ratings leader NBC Nightly News with Lester Holt. The peripatetic and always camera-ready Muir, 42, recently spent some time in his office at ABC News headquarters in Manhattan reflecting on his second anniversary in the job. Here are some excerpts from the conversation. You took over ABC World News Tonight from Diane Sawyer, who was already a big star when she became anchor. What was the biggest difference for you coming in? Im just a kid from Syracuse, N.Y., and I still feel that way. Im the kid who wrote the letter to the local newsman when I was 13 years old and became an intern who was grateful I could ride in the back of the news cruiser. I was grateful then and Im still grateful when I walk every single night to that news desk. Is there any particular stamp youve put on the program since youve taken it over? I have always felt if I could not be the reporter I was before I got this job, that people who got to know me through the reporting Ive done would wonder, What happened to this guy? Last weekend after the [Aug. 19] broadcast, we flew to Amman, Jordan. Weve been following Syrian refugees in America for more than a year now. Weve been all over this country and we went there to see their starting point, and the cultural orientation class they take to see what they learn about America. Then we took a red-eye back on a Monday. I hope that, over time, people will see that thirst and hunger for curiosity is truly what drives me. It fuels me. I hope they see it in this newscast every night. Youve spent a week doing double duty on Good Morning America this summer. Do you ever see yourself doing that show every day? You never say never. But I love doing World News Tonight and I hope to be doing it for a long time. A lot of old timers from ABC News criticize World News Tonight for spending too much time on the weather. Why is it a story that deserves the time you give it? Ill point out that last night NBC Nightly News led with the weather and we did not. Thats not even a criticism of them. In most cases when we talk about weather it affects peoples lives. We had the flood-ravaged South. We had tornadoes outside of Indianapolis in the last 24 hours. Im proud of our team. I stand by our reportingWhen youre standing in those places with utter devastation surrounding you, try telling those families that reporting it wasnt important. You pointed out how much traveling youve done in two years and a lot of those trips have been to cover terror attacks and mass shootings. Is there a danger of getting desensitized to these events because there have been so many of them? I do worry about that. There are moments along the way when I feel it that concern as to whether people are grasping the full amount of human toll here. We were standing in front of that nightclub in Orlando; there are so many young people who were gone in an instant. We were interviewing the friends who survived. Fifty lives lost in a matter of minutes. And I did think the next night, and the next night and the next night - that even though we were continuing to do reporting on that story how are we moving on so quickly with so much loss of life? It felt so wrong. Breaking news situations often require all three anchors get on planes and take off for the same location. Whats the relationship like between the three of you? Lester Holt and I have a shared background in that we spent many years doing the weekend evening news broadcasts. Those teams are much smaller and much more intimate. So I think we have an unspoken bond in that way. But I have a certain amount of respect for both [NBC Nightly News and CBS Evening News with Scott Pelley.] Given that were in the tightest race with NBC Nightly News in over a decade is a sign we have both upped our game. I believe it benefits the viewer. What is the best piece of advice youve received since taking the anchor chair? When I first got the job, [the late ABC News anchor] Peter Jennings wife Kayce came in and she was carrying a little package for me. I wont say what was in the package, but I will say it was deeply personal and extraordinarily kind of her. Was it something that belonged to him? Yes. We had dinner together not long after, and she said that one of the things she would talk about with Peter often is that -- you cant do it all. MORE FROM ENTERTAINMENT Brian Williams will get a late-night news program on MSNBC in September Chris Wallace will be the first presidential debate moderator from Fox News Despite TV ratings drop, NBC says the Rio Games was still a financial success Good morning, it is Monday, Sept. 5. On this sunny Labor Day, we are taking a detour into noir. Theres been quite a bit of true-crime reporting in the Essential California newsletter the past week because of The Times series Framed, about a bizarre incident in Irvine. Wed like to welcome our new readers who have signed up to receive Essential California through Framed, and offer a holiday change-up from our usual format for our many longtime readers, with a special edition of the newsletter devoted to California crime. The traditional Essential California will return Tuesday. Below is a selection of classic true-crime tales published over the years in The Times as well as many other publications. Every story here is tragic in its own way, but each reveals something about the human condition and the state in which we live: Advertisement Nightmare on Elm Drive: The Menendez Brothers. By Dominick Dunne, Vanity Fair The Grim Sleeper and the forgotten serial killer of South L.A. By Christine Pelisek, L.A. Weekly Rape, lies and a nightmare made real. By Christopher Goffard, Los Angeles Times In the footsteps of a prolific California serial killer. By Michelle MacNamara, Los Angeles Magazine Trouble in Lakewood and the spur posse. By Joan Didion, The New Yorker Charles Mansons home on the range. By Gay Talese, GQ/The Daily Beast A group of friends go to the desert. Four dont return. By J.R. Moehringer, Los Angeles Times The man in the woods: A manhunt and a hunt for the truth. By Ashley Powers, California Sunday Four children are murdered, and Koreatown is left asking why. By Mona Gable, Los Angeles Times The Zankou Chicken Murders. By Marx Arax, Los Angeles Magazine The Boy in the Chimney and an unspeakable murder in South L.A. By Hector Becerra, Los Angeles Times Christopher Dorner: A rouge ex-cop goes hunting. By Christopher Goffard, Kurt Streeter, Joel Rubin and Louis Sahagun, Los Angeles Times Who killed the gangsters daughter? Was it Robert Durst? By Lisa DePaulo, New York Magazine Dying young in Watts. By Jocelyn Y. Stewart, Los Angeles Times A son errand, gunshots and a quest for justice in South L.A. Jill Leovy. Los Angeles Times A cold-case murder of a young woman in Valley points to a decorated LAPD cop. By Mathew McGough, The Atlantic Searching for my fathers murderer. By Mark Arax, Los Angeles Times The fake Rockefeller of San Marino. By Mark Seal, Vanity Fair The other school shooting. By Jay Caspian Kang, New York Times Magazine The LAPDs gangster squad battled the mob, at a dear price. By Paul Lieberman, Los Angeles Times A missing persons case in gentrified downtown L.A. By Josh Dean, Medium The endless fall of Suge Knight. By Matt Diehl, Rolling Stone The oddity of dying in Los Angeles. By Ben Ehrenreich, Los Angeles Magazine Finding Marlowe: A detective story takes unexpected twist. By Daniel Miller, Los Angeles Times The Last Ride of Jesse James Hollywood. By Jesse Katz, Los Angeles Magazine The Angel of Death stalks a Glendale hospital. By Paul Lieberman, Los Angeles Times The fractured life of a notorious child killer. By Nora Zamichow, Los Angeles Times Murder in suburbia: Some Dreamers of the Golden Dream. By Joan Didion Longform/Saturday Evening Post A cold case revived, and questions for the LAPD. By Joel Rubin, Los Angeles Times Is this man the most corrupt cop in L.A.?. By Edward Humes, Los Angeles Times The West Hollywood doctor and the (almost) perfect murder. Doug Smith Los Angeles Times The Hollywood murder house. By Jeff Maysh, Medium A witness takes a brave stand, and her mother pays the price. By Scott Glover and Joel Rubin, Los Angeles Times Haunted by a distant verdict: The Bruce Lisker story. By Matt Lait and Scott Glover, Los Angeles Times AND FINALLY If you have questions about the Framed series, reporter Christopher Goffard will take part in a Facebook Live event on Tuesday at noon. Readers can submit questions on the events page or during Tuesdays live stream. 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. The first Fleet Week in Los Angeles is underway at the citys port in San Pedro. Military ships have docked at the port over Labor Day weekend, giving the public a chance to tour naval vessels and meet some of the 1,500 sailors and other military personnel. On Sunday, the U.S. Coast Guard held search-and-rescue demonstrations as the public toured the battleship Iowa, the guided missile destroyer Wayne E. Meyer, and the amphibious assault ship America. Advertisement The free event also includes aerial demonstrations by military aircraft, including the World War II-era Boeing-Stearman Model 75, nicknamed the Yellow Peril. Fleet Week is a tradition for the Navy, Coast Guard and Marines that dates from the 1930s. San Diego, New York, San Francisco and other port cities have long hosted Fleet Weeks. Mayor Eric Garcetti and military officials announced last year that the Port of L.A. would be included in the Navys Fleet Week lineup starting this year. Officials have called it a new end-of-summer tradition for the one of the nations busiest container ports. matt.hamilton@latimes.com Twitter: @MattHjourno. ALSO Marine layer persists, but forecasters warn of fire danger at high elevations Drugs and alcohol werent a factor in Irvine crash that injured 9 concertgoers, police say Santa Ana struggles with increasing homeless population around Civic Center Politicians gathered at the Port of Long Beach on Sunday to call for the flow of cargo to Southern California to resume, days after the bankruptcy of one of the worlds largest shipping lines disrupted the global supply chain. Officials said the collapse of South Koreas Hanjin Shipping Co., which declared bankruptcy Wednesday, threatened local union workers jobs and merchants access to goods at a crucial time, just before the holiday season. Because Hanjin, the worlds seventh-largest shipping line, cannot pay ports and terminals to unload, ships filled with merchandise have sat idle for days. As of Sunday, officials said one massive container ship was still drifting 50 miles south of the Long Beach and Los Angeles ports; another ship was anchored at the Port of Long Beach, inside the breakwater; a third was anchored outside the harbor. Advertisement The stranded goods include auto parts, coffee tables, pillows, lamps, toys and pulp and paper products from the Pacific Northwest, said Brian Bourke, vice president of marketing for Seko Logistics, which helps customers arrange shipment of imports and exports. We have ships just sitting out, their goods spoiling. This is unacceptable, Rep. Alan Lowenthal (D-Long Beach) said at the news conference. We want to make sure that American workers and American consumers are not going to pay an undue cost for mistakes that were made thousands of miles away, Lowenthal said. Rep. Janice Hahn (D-San Pedro) said Hanjins insolvency poses an unprecedented global crisis and called on Secretary of Commerce Penny Sue Pritzker to step into the fray. Leaving these ships stranded with thousands of containers is not the answer, Hahn said. Every day these ships remain outside our ports is another day that our local port workers and truck drivers go without work, and businesses waiting on goods are losing money. Fallout from the companys decline could have particularly acute effects in Southern California because Hanjin owns a majority stake in Total Terminals International, which operates Long Beachs largest terminal. From January to July, Hanjin accounted for about 4% of containerized cargo imported to the Port of Los Angeles and 12% of containerized cargo to the Port of Long Beach, according to Datamyne, which tracks import-export transactions in the Americas. Standing in front of a concrete sign emblazoned Hanjin Terminal, Mark Jurisic, a business agent at International Longshore and Warehouse Union, Local 13, which represents longshore workers, assessed the situation bluntly. The gates have been shut. Nobody is coming to work, he said. Today we would have had 200 to 300 employees here. Officials at the Port of Long Beach have said its terminals are not accepting any new Hanjin imports or exports. Meanwhile, the three stranded ships that officials have been monitoring since Tuesday havent moved, said Capt. J. Kip Louttit, executive director of the Marine Exchange of Southern California. Hanjin is bankrupt, he said, so nobody wants to have the ships come [dock] because theyre not sure that the ship can pay their bills. Mario Cordero, chairman of the Federal Maritime Commission, acknowledged that Hanjins troubles could pose a major crisis. But he also confirmed that Hanjin filed a Chapter 15 proceeding late Friday that will allow it to bring its case into federal Bankruptcy Court in New Jersey. A hearing could occur as soon as Tuesday, which Cordero said could hasten the process of getting the stranded ships to dock. Hanjin and other large shipping lines have struggled with overcapacity brought on by a massive ship-building boom and sluggish demand. Its still unclear exactly how Hanjins situation will be resolved. In a statement Thursday, South Koreas Financial Services Commission said its chairman asked Hanjins lead creditor, the state-owned Korea Development Bank, and competing shipping line Hyundai Merchant Marine to exert their utmost concerted efforts to minimize problems with cargo delivery and shippers in the aftermath of Hanjins filing for bankruptcy protection. The commission said Hyundai will be adding more than 13 ships to routes served by Hanjin as soon as possible, while maintaining freight rates for those routes at an appropriate level. The Long Beach Board of Harbor Commissioners said in a statement Sunday that members were monitoring the Hanjin situation round the clock to ensure that the flow of cargo is as smooth as possible. matt.stevens@latimes.com Twitter: @ByMattStevens Times staff writers Andrew Khouri and James F. Peltz contributed to this report. ALSO Port of Los Angeles hosts first Fleet Week Marine layer persists, but forecasters warn of fire danger at high elevations Santa Ana struggles with increasing homeless population around Civic Center Bonnie and Dennis Smith used to camp out near the Santa Ana Treasury building, only to be told by police to move to the area around the Civic Center. So they settled on a corner at the centers Plaza of the Flags, spending part of each day protecting their space. About 70 other homeless people spread their belongings nearby. Theres always talk that they could move us, Dennis said. That could happen soon if the Santa Ana City Council this week declares the areas homeless encampment a public health crisis. Advertisement Officials said that the homeless population in the area swelled beyond 400 earlier this year. They are worried that the Civic Center complex is unsafe for the areas more than 15,000 government workers, many whom have complained of feces, urine and trash on the sidewalks, including syringes. Ramie Vera, a legal assistant who works for the states workers compensation department at the Civic Center, said he is still shaken from one confrontation. Some guy approached me and asked if I was looking at his girlfriend, he said. I was dumbfounded. I was like, no. And he warned me off. You better not, he told me. Its very scary. So far this year, police have made 54 felony arrests and 281 arrests for misdemeanors and code violations in the area, according to Councilwoman Michele Martinez. Many of the homeless gather in an area between Broadway and Flower Street, bordered by Civic Center Drive and Santa Ana Boulevard. In a draft resolution, Martinez is asking the city to boost policing and code enforcement at the Civic Center, while pressuring the county to step up and offer a health and safety plan in the next 30 days. Council members Roman Reyna and Vincent Sarmiento support the proposal. Instead of a Santa Ana-only problem, it is important to understand that homelessness is a regional problem, Martinez said in an email. The Civic Center in Santa Ana is the countys regional home, so it is a countywide issue and problem. Santa Ana cannot solve the problem in isolation, nor is the solution any one citys responsibility. Homeless for several months now, Marnie Alcaraz finds a little shade under an umbrella at her encampment in the shadow of the Orange County Courthouse. (Mark Boster / Los Angeles Times ) Orange Countys homeless population was estimated at nearly 15,300 people, compared with 12,700 two years earlier, according to a tally from 2-1-1 Orange County, a nonprofit helping to link residents to health and human services. Santa Ana officials said county officials do not understand the urgency of the problem. The citys resolution asks the county to host a summit on homelessness, with participation from all 34 cities. In May, the Board of Supervisors hired a manager to review and organize county services for the homeless and last month set up portable toilets on Ross Street, near the encampment, Supervisor Andrew Do, who represents the first district that includes Santa Ana, said in a statement. Homeless people gather near their campsites in the Santa Ana Civic Center Plaza. (Mark Boster / Los Angeles Times ) Last fall, Do and fellow supervisors gave the go-ahead to convert a warehouse near the 91 Freeway in Anaheim into a 200-bed home, making it the first countywide shelter and one that will include a service center to help citizens find jobs and permanent housing. And last week, Do said the county should transform an old bus terminal in downtown Santa Ana into a permanent shelter. Bonnie Smith, who like her husband is a Santa Ana native, said she was recently ticketed by police for camping out. Theyre telling me to move again, she said. Were trapped. Where else can we go? A homeless person walks past one of the encampments next to the Hall Of Finance in the Civic Center Plaza. (Mark Boster / Los Angeles Times ) Nearby, a woman who identifies herself only as Carmen G. says she has lived in the encampment for a couple of years. The people here have their own community, she said. We look out for each other and this is how it should be as a big family. But Vera, the Civic Center employee, said the number of homeless on the street is growing and that the problem cannot be resolved soon enough. An American flag flies over a homeless encampment in the Civic Center Plaza in Santa Ana. (Mark Boster / Los Angeles Times ) Other workers said they are concerned about drugs, disease, lack of sanitation and violence. I used to see the same old faces, Vera said of those congregating in the area. But now there are new faces plenty of new faces the population has blown up. anh.do@latimes.com Twitter: @newsterrier ALSO Police officers threaten boycott over Colin Kaepernick national anthem flap L.A. archdiocese Mass will celebrate Mother Teresas canonization Dozens of women say that Bill Cosby sexually assaulted them, but the entertainer faces criminal charges in only one case, largely because of legal deadlines. The deadlines, or statutes of limitation, are intended to ensure that cases are investigated promptly and defendants are tried when memories are still fresh and evidence available. But the Cosby accusations already have prompted attempts in at least two states including California to remove barriers to prosecution. Advertisement Gov. Jerry Brown, who has vetoed bills to extend legal deadlines for filing lawsuits over child sex abuse, must now decide whether to abolish time limits for charging someone with rape, sodomy, lewd or lascivious acts, oral copulation, and continuous sex abuse of a child. Most of the crimes now carry a 10-year statute of limitation. The proposal, which passed both houses of the Legislature, follows a new law in Nevada that increases the legal deadline for rape prosecution from four to 20 years. A woman who said Cosby assaulted her in Nevada pushed for the change. Cosby has denied the allegations. No one knows how many additional prosecutions a longer deadline or the abolition of any time limit might bring. Californias bill was not based on any study or systematic research, and allegations of decades-old crimes are often hard to prove and difficult for a defendant to contest. But at least it gives victims an opportunity for law enforcement to really look into this, said San Bernardino County Dist. Atty. Mike Ramos, a co-sponsor of the bill. At least they have their day to sit down and say what happened. The measure would affect only sex crimes that occur next year and or later retroactivity would probably render the proposal unconstitutional and offenses for which the statute of limitations has not expired by Jan. 1. Child molestation charges now may be filed any time before a victim reaches the age of 40. The bill would remove that age limit. Deadlines for bringing criminal charges vary from state to state, but most have statutes of limitation for rape. In California, there is no time limit for filing murder charges or for embezzlement of public funds. A rape that results in serious injury to the victim or that was committed with a weapon or by multiple perpetrators also can be charged at any time, as can crimes that carry life sentences. Some legal analysts expressed skepticism about abolishing time limits for sex crime charges. I have concern whenever we have knee-jerk legislation that seems to follow on a particular case or cause, said Loyola law professor Laurie Levenson, a former prosecutor. The passage of time in such cases makes it more challenging to assess credibility, examine motivations and find corroborating evidence, she said. UC Berkeley law professor Franklin Zimring said the bill could result in questionable prosecutions, including some based on recovered memory. Although prosecutors generally do not file charges without enough evidence to prove them, other factors might come into play, Zimring said. The prosecutor might take cases which have an enormous amount of publicity or an enormously attractive victim or an enormously vulnerable and important defendant, he said. California law used to make it extremely difficult for prosecutors to win rape convictions, said Stanford University law professor Robert Weisberg. Now the tide of public sentiment has turned, and the state in recent years has been extending legal deadlines for filing sex crime charges. Among the legal justifications for statues of limitation, Weisberg noted, is the the principle of repose. Even if a charge might be valid, citizens are simply allowed to get on with their lives at a certain point, he said. The law says they shouldnt have the Sword of Damocles hanging over them forever. Indeed, the law seeks finality in all sorts of contexts, said UCLA Law Professor Beth Colgan. Appeals, even in death penalty cases, cannot be brought once a legal deadline has expired. Current law already allows for flexibility when a DNA links someone to a rape. Prosecutors have a year after the DNA hit to file charges, even if the the 10-year deadline has expired. The new proposal would affect victims without this evidence. USC law professor Susan Estrich, a rape victim and scholar who has written a book about sexual assault, agreed that prosecuting a rape 20 years after it occurred would be challenging. But if you have proof of rape, beyond a reasonable doubt, I would want that proof to be presented and that man to be punished, she said in an email, stressing that she was referring to rape and not the other sex crimes covered by the bill. State Sen. Connie Leyva (D-Chino), who introduced the legislation, cited U.S. Department of Justice statistics that one in six women are raped or have suffered an attempted rape in their lifetimes. The corresponding figure for men is one in 33, she said, and only two of every 100 rapists serve prison time. She said the statistics included reports of spousal and statutory rape. Leyva acknowledged she has no idea how many victims might seek prosecutions under her bill, which is favored by law enforcement and victims groups and the Womens Law Center and opposed by the ACLU and criminal defense lawyers. When the Legislature in 2002 gave victims of child sex abuse an additional year to file lawsuits, 1,000 new complaints were filed. But filing a civil suit is much easier than persuading a prosecutor to bring criminal charges. Years later, Brown rejected two bills that would have allowed for more child abuse lawsuits. In refusing to sign the latter of the bills, Brown said statutes of limitation were about fairness. Brown has until Sept. 30 to act on Leyvas bill. A Senate analysis said it would cost the state $300,000 annually or $13 million over 10 years if 10 additional individuals were sent to prison each year because of it. Also, because the state is under court order to reduce the prison population, more people might have to be paroled, the analysis said. Regardless of how many new prosecutions the bill would spur, Leyva said, it was important to show that we take rape very seriously in California. At least a woman or a man who comes forward isnt going to have the door slammed in their face simply because it has been 10 years and one day, she said. ALSO Gabrielle Union, herself a sexual assault survivor, on playing a woman who is raped in Nate Parkers The Birth of a Nation Officials call for action on cargo delivery crisis at ports Santa Ana struggles with increasing homeless population around Civic Center The U.S. labor movement may have the Republican-led Congress to thank for its biggest victory this year. But it would be a short-term triumph, and one not necessarily in the best interests of American workers. That would be the defeat of the Trans-Pacific Partnership, the free-trade deal that the Obama administration negotiated with 11 other nations on both sides of the Pacific Ocean. Organized labor and their Democratic allies in Congress vehemently oppose the agreement, arguing that it would cause more jobs to flee the U.S. in favor of lower-wage (and less union-friendly) trading partners. The top Republican in the Senate, Majority Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, appeared to hammer the final nail into the TPP coffin last month when he told a breakfast gathering of the Kentucky Farm Bureau that the trade pact will not be acted on this year. McConnell said the TPP can still be massaged by the next administration if it can drum up bipartisan support in Congress, eliding the fact that any changes would have to be negotiated with 11 other nations and that both Democrat Hillary Clinton and Republican Donald Trump have called the pact a bad deal and have pledged to kill it if elected president. Advertisement With time running out in President Obamas term, it looks like five years of delicate negotiations may be rendered moot by the toxic politics of the 2016 elections. Thats a shame, because whatever flaws the TPP has, it is still in the countrys best interests in the near term, and in U.S. workers best interests in the long term. Opponents of the deal have focused on the failings of the 22-year old North American Free Trade Agreement and other trade deals, whose effects on the U.S. economy have been decidedly mixed. U.S. manufacturing jobs in particular have contracted since China was admitted to the World Trade Organization in 2001, cutting tariffs and helping to speed Chinas rise as an exporting superpower. But that transformation was happening anyway, powered by technologies that are shrinking the effective distance between countries and globalizing manufacturing supply chains. The question for policymakers isnt how to reverse the irreversible. Its how to steer globalization toward a set of rules that open markets, raise global standards of living and allow companies in the United States, with its comparatively high wages and regulatory costs, to thrive. Thats the point of the TPP. In exchange for opening the markets wider in highly developed countries such as the United States and Japan, the agreement requires less developed nations such as Vietnam and Malaysia to set higher standards for wages and hours, worker safety and environmental protection, while also mandating more freedom to do business online and more respect for patents, trademarks and copyrights. Some critics contend that the deal does not set the standards high enough, or that it will be too hard to enforce. Those are valid concerns; the United States hasnt been aggressive enough about enforcement in the past. Nor has it done a good job helping U.S. workers and communities adapt to the changes wrought by globalization. Meanwhile, other critics say the standards are too high, particularly when it comes to patents on prescription drugs, potentially threatening the supply of affordable medicines in poor countries. But protecting U.S. drug patents overseas wouldnt necessarily cut off that supply; instead, it would give patent holders more say in who the supplier will be. Another point of the pact is to give Pacific Rim nations more access to markets in Japan and the West so they wont be so dependent on China, which has been actively negotiating bilateral free-trade deals of its own. Unlike the U.S., China isnt pushing its trading partners to adopt minimum-wage laws or cut back on pollution. Letting China define the trading rules for globalized commerce would in no way be good for U.S. workers. Abandoning the TPP now would be a huge blow to U.S. influence in Asia. That point was made clear by Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, who said in a recent visit to Washington, For Americas friends and partners, ratifying TPP is a litmus test of your credibility and seriousness of purpose. The long-term effect of free-trade deals such as the TPP is to spread prosperity and growth, which means more initially to the less developed world than to the United States. Yet, by improving wages and working conditions around the world, they eventually reduce the pressure on U.S. companies to slash their workforce or offshore their manufacturing. Although thats a slow process, it is happening. The TPP would move that process forward, setting higher and more enforceable standards than previous free-trade deals. Rather than punting on TPP, Congress should give Obamas signature trade deal a chance to pass before he leaves office. Follow the Opinion section on Twitter @latimesopinion and Facebook MORE FROM OPINION How Labor Day sprang from state violence Why firing bad teachers isnt nearly as important as creating good ones Props 62 and 66: California voters should end the death penalty, not speed it up Labor Day is an oddly apolitical affair in the United States. Most people treat it primarily as an excuse to barbecue with the family. If we pay homage to workers movements at all, its usually to celebrate the existence of weekends. But Labor Day sprang from state violence. In 1894, employees at the Pullman train car factory outside Chicago went on strike for better wages and conditions. After demonstrations spread to the nations railroads, U.S. marshals and the military were called in to crush the strike, leaving 30 dead. Anger at the violent crackdown led President Cleveland to try to appease the working class by declaring a federal holiday. Weve forgotten the brutal clashes that went into creating the eight-hour workday and the weekend [and that] organizers faced constant police surveillance. He chose the first Monday in September, rather than May 1 already celebrated around the world as International Workers Day because the latter date was too potent a reminder of an even more brutal crackdown on labor agitators. On May 1, 1886, labor organizers called general strikes across the country, demanding that employers institute an eight-hour workday without a reduction in pay. In Chicago, the strikes spread like wildfire, even to previously unorganized workplaces such as McCormick Reaper Works, where on May 3 strikers were shot by Chicago police. In response, Chicagos labor community called a rally at the Haymarket for the next evening. The rally was peaceful; Chicagos mayor attended and remarked that everything seemed fine before he left. But then police moved in to break up the rally, and someone threw a bomb. Police opened fire; three civilians and seven officers were killed, possibly by friendly fire. In the absence of any evidence as to who threw the bomb, the anarchist speakers were still accused and convicted of conspiracy. Four of them were executed. Advertisement Around the world, workers and then national governments adopted May 1 as a day to commemorate the Haymarket affair. Historian James Green, who died this year, wrote: No other event in American history has exerted such a hold on the imaginations of people in other lands, especially on the minds of working people in Europe and the Latin world, where the martyrs of Chicago were annually recalled in the iconography of May Day. But on Labor Day in the U.S., we ignore this violent history. Its almost like it never happened. Weve forgotten the brutal clashes that went into creating the eight-hour workday and the weekend; weve forgotten that labor organizers faced constant police surveillance. This collective forgetting may explain why we often pretend that police violence and working conditions have nothing to do with each other, even though the two threads have been linked for more than a century. The movement for black lives is an exception to the rule. Its organizers have compared the slow violence of poverty, of underfunded schools and low-wage work or underground-economy work selling loose cigarettes like Eric Garner, or CDs like Alton Sterling to the quick violence of the police officers bullet. Activists point out that the same force that extracts fines and fees from arrestees also shows up to rein in strikes more than 130 years after the events at Haymarket. They understand, as Ferguson protester Kennard Williams told me, that every facet of the movement is interconnected. The young black and Latino workers who make up the backbone of the Fight for $15 campaign understand the connections as well. In St. Louis, they held die-ins that evoked not only the amount of time that Michael Browns body lay in the street after a police officer shot him in Ferguson, but also the 1930s sit-down strikes against General Motors. Fast-food-restaurant strikers across the country chanted Hands up, dont shoot when police arrived to protect their stores from their protests. In Chicago, Fight for $15 organizers made the history of Haymarket part of their struggle, visiting the memorial to the executed men. Not everyone in the labor movement gets that police violence pertains to their cause; theyd rather limit their activism to negotiating better deals on a business-by-business or industry-by-industry basis. When the United Federation of Teachers joined a march for Garner, who was killed by a New York Police Department officer in the summer of 2014, a group of teachers reacted by wearing We Support the NYPD shirts to school. When graduate student members of the United Auto Workers called for the AFL-CIO to disaffiliate from police unions, their calls went unheeded. Labor struggles to find its role in the movement for black lives, but the economic inequality they are fighting has always been shaped by police and the state. Sarah Jaffe is the author of Necessary Trouble: Americans in Revolt. Follow the Opinion section on Twitter @latimesopinion and Facebook MORE FROM OPINION Killing the TPP: Not a long-term win for U.S. labor Why firing bad teachers isnt nearly as important as creating good ones The Labor Day wage picture in California. (Conclusion: learn how to deal blackjack) Vergara vs. California, the lawsuit that sought to overthrow teacher tenure and seniority rules, was itself undone in late August. The California Supreme Court let stand a lower court finding that teachers job protections arent necessarily depriving students of their constitutional right to a decent education. Supporters of teacher unions called it a crucial victory for public education; their opponents, who favor a business-style model for public schools, called it a disaster. The truth is, its neither. The Vergara case is mostly a sideshow when it comes to efforts to improve education. However easy or difficult it is to fire truly bad teachers, that alone wont make a crucial difference in how well our kids are educated. Instead, we should be looking for more ways to make the majority of teachers not terrible, not great into excellent educators. Bad teachers, much as they can set a student behind, arent the prevailing experience of most children. Even those who have declared war on tenure estimate that dreadful teachers make up only about 5% of the teaching force. Not surprisingly, the California Teachers Assn. puts the number much lower, at about 1-3%. (Because there is no state-wide evaluation system, there are no hard and fast numbers.) Advertisement Using the higher estimate, and depending on how many electives a student takes in middle and high school, it works out to maybe two depressingly weak teachers in a childs K-12 career. Everybody hates getting a bad teacher but two teachers out of 13 years of schooling? Or, if you up the estimate to 7%, three? That doesnt amount to disastrous public education. Unfortunately, most students and parents cant count many more teachers who in their experience are shining stars of inspiration and knowledge. Instead, schools are populated with good-but-not-great and conscientious-but-middling teachers. These teachers arent candidates for firing. Even in workplaces with no job protections, its a badly run company where employers fire a hefty percentage of their staffs each year. Besides, the theoretically fabulous teachers that would replace those who are let go simply dont exist. There is instead a teacher shortage, a lack of candidates to replace teachers leaving the profession on their own. Yet somehow the conversation about teacher quality is dominated by issues of firing and evaluation. Creating better teachers is more complicated and more expensive than claiming we can drastically improve education with pink slips. But in fact, pretty great teachers can be made. Finland does it, in part, by requiring not one but three levels of practical teaching experience for would-be educators, according to a 2010 Stanford University report, carefully overseen by master educators. (Finland also draws great teaching candidates because the society deeply respects teachers as professionals, on a par with doctors or lawyers.) The Cotsen Foundation for the Art of Teaching is trying to create a similar benefit for Southern California teachers. School by school, it funds great teachers who can then be freed as in completely released from classroom duties to lavish time on the practical training of good teachers. Heres how it works: At schools that apply, five to seven teachers who want to improve their skills are selected for two-year fellowships; one outstanding teacher is selected as their mentor. For two years, the mentor sits in on the other teachers classes every week, helping them see what they do well and how they could do better. The foundation not only supports the mentor teacher, it pays for substitute teachers so that fellows can visit the classrooms of other greats in the profession in order to soak up their secrets. It videotapes the fellows, so they can literally see what theyre doing. And it provides them with experts in the subjects they teach to better their understanding of the subject matter. This intensive mentoring is happening at 23 schools in L.A. and Orange counties this academic year, including a few in L.A. Unified. At least two-thirds of the schools selected to participate have large numbers of low-income students. Cotsen executive director Jerry Harris says assessments of the program show its working long term. Teachers cite gains in test scores among their students and dramatic changes in their classroom technique: Ive made most of my growth as a teacher in the last two years rather than in the last 13, said a Long Beach elementary teacher from Long Beach about her fellowship. That doesnt mean one smallish foundation has found the only answer or the best one to improving schools. But its goal making adequate teachers great is more sensible than an all-out war on tenure and seniority. A single inspiring teacher can change a students life; we cant fire our way to that goal. Karin Klein is a freelance writer based in Southern California who frequently writes about education. Follow the Opinion section on Twitter @latimesopinion and Facebook Lack of trust between the U.S. and Russia is getting in the way of possible cooperation to stop the violence in Syria, President Obama said Monday, adding that he nevertheless plans to keep trying against the odds. Given the gaps of trust that exist, Obama said, thats a tough negotiation. After a 90-minute meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin on the sidelines of a world leaders summit in Hangzhou, China, Obama told reporters that we havent yet closed the gaps between the two sides. Advertisement Talks between Secretary of State John F. Kerry and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov aimed at finding at least a limited agreement on Syria could take several more days, Obama said. The Obama administration is hoping for an agreement that, at minimum, would end the fighting in and around the city of Aleppo, in northern Syria, and allow for humanitarian aid to civilians there. In his own news conference after the meeting, Putin said that he believed the talks between U.S. and Russian diplomats were on the right track and that in the next few days an agreement could be reached. In the meantime, as he headed for Laos, the next stop on his weeklong trip to Asia, Obama canceled a scheduled meeting with the president of the Philippines, after the latter publicly cursed while warning him to not raise questions about reported death squad operations in his country against suspected drug dealers. Earlier in the day, the Philippine leader, Rodrigo Duterte, said during a news conference that if Obama were to raise the issue of extrajudicial killings during their scheduled meeting, son of a bitch, I will swear at you. As the leader of a sovereign country, he is answerable only to the Philippine people, Duterte said. Asked during his own news conference about Dutertes remarks, Obama referred to the Philippine leader as a colorful guy and said he had told his staff to investigate whether a meeting with Duterte would still be productive. Fighting drug trafficking is tough, Obama said, but the U.S. will always assert the need to have due process and to engage in that fight against drugs in a way thats consistent with basic international norms. If and when we have a meeting, Obama said, this is something thats going to be brought up. A few hours later, as Obama reached Laos, National Security Council spokesman Ned Price announced that the meeting with Duterte had been canceled. Obama will, instead, meet with the president of South Korea, Price said. The tiff with Duterte provided a reminder of the unpredictable events that can arise at even the most scripted of international meetings. The protracted talks with the Russians, by contrast, followed a pattern that has become grindingly familiar. In their talks Monday, Obama and Putin clarified the remaining gaps in the negotiations about how they can cooperate to reduce violence in Syria, provide humanitarian assistance and focus on Al Qaeda and the militant group Islamic State in Syria, according to a senior administration official familiar with the talks, who described them to reporters on condition of anonymity. The outstanding gaps, the official said, were technical, having to do with the implementation of the agreement. There was some backsliding from some of the recent discussions in Geneva between Kerry and Lavrov, the official said, adding that on Sunday there was a narrowing back to the positions the parties had taken coming into the meeting. At the news conference, Obama said a dangerous dynamic had taken hold in discussions over Syria in which the Russians sought to delegitimize any group that is fighting their ally, Syrian President Bashar Assad. The U.S. backs some of the rebel groups against Assad, seeing them as relative moderates. Obama and other U.S. officials would like to see Russia focus on what Obama referred to as common enemies, specifically the Islamic State militants and Al Nusra Front, an Al Qaeda affiliate. Russia, however, considers several of the groups the U.S. backs to be terrorist organizations and, therefore, legitimate targets. Times staff writer Tracy Wilkinson in Washington contributed to this report. Follow @cparsons for news about the White House. UPDATES: 2:20 p.m.: This article was updated with additional information on President Obamas trip and Vladimir Putins remarks. The article was originally published at 7:25 a.m. The final sprint of the presidential election began Monday with abundant clarity about what will dominate the next 63 days: defining Donald Trump. Hillary Clintons kickoff event on the day that traditionally has opened the most intense part of the election season was dominated by criticisms of Trump, whom she attacked as unqualified to be president. Speaking in Cleveland before revelers at a holiday picnic, Clinton seemed to accept that the man who has dominated the campaign so far will continue to do so until Americans render a decision on Nov. 8. Advertisement She barely touched on her own proposals, although she displayed to the crowd a new book containing them, focusing instead on her criticism of the Republican. She even jokingly blamed Trump for a hoarse throat that had her struggling through much of her speech. Every time I think of Donald Trump, I get allergic, she quipped. An examination of Hillary Clinton and Donald Trumps convention acceptance speeches and how they line up on several key issues. Full coverage at latimes.com/conventions. Trump, meantime, campaigned southwest and southeast of her and also focused largely on himself. Speaking to reporters, he declined to clear up confusion over his immigration proposals and defended himself against accusations that hed sought to use a campaign contribution to quash an investigation in Florida into Trump University. The joint focus on Trump reflects multiple realities. Both candidates are extremely unpopular among voters, nationally and in key states such as Ohio where the race remains close. Much as Clinton might prefer to spend more time detailing policy positions and crafting a more positive image for herself, the swiftest route to the presidency may be in making the election a referendum on Trump, who many voters believe does not have the background or temperament to serve as president. Moreover, criticism of Trump often has provoked him into making a self-damaging response or, at minimum, miring himself in topics that Clinton and her allies want voters to consider. Trump has regularly tried to put the spotlight on Clinton, often in biting terms, as when he called her clueless about jobs Monday. But he invariably wanders back to focusing on himself. Talking to reporters Monday, Trump mused aloud about whether the 2012 nominee, Mitt Romney, had held as many events and press talks as he had. He boasted repeatedly about new polls showing him ahead in Ohio and New Hampshire, among other states, although the new surveys contradict almost all other polling in those states. Just the day before, he had taken to Twitter his favorite medium to prolong a fight with a Republican senator, Jeff Flake of Arizona, who represents a state he needs to win and has expressed doubts that he can support the partys nominee. Labor Day weekend doesnt possess the political heft it once did, before campaigns aired ads all summer long. But it remains a day that marks the beginning of more intense voter interest in the presidential race. This year, the race has been acrimonious and nasty through the primaries to the present, giving discontented voters even more reason to check out. But with the first debate between the presidential candidates occurring this month, and early voting starting shortly thereafter in some states, the decision suddenly looms, and the options for the candidates to dramatically alter the races contours become more limited. Clintons campaign thrust was evident throughout Monday as she, her vice presidential running mate Tim Kaine, her husband Bill Clinton, Vice President Joe Biden, former opponent Bernie Sanders and a host of labor leaders fanned out across contested states in a unified front. The intent was to marshal volunteers to knock on doors and reach out electronically on behalf of Clinton, who from the start has predicated her campaign on a strategy of grinding out the vote. That strategy relies on turning out the Democratic base President Obama nurtured young voters, African Americans, Latinos, Asians and adding to the ranks Clintons army of women and labor supporters and college-educated moderates turned off by Trump. Clinton supporters took pains to counter any overconfidence. Were going to have to stay on our game, said Cleveland Mayor Frank Jackson. If anyone takes anything for granted, were going to lose. Clinton, who as a public figure has inspired decades of opposition, has not based her campaign on rapturous fealty; she does have rapturous followers, but not enough of them to win. Instead, she is relying more on a shared alliance among many voters over liberal social and economic goals. Donald Trump waves during a visit to the Canfield Fair in Canfield, Ohio, on Monday. (Evan Vucci / Associated Press ) For more on politics But she seemed Monday to have calculated that lengthy descriptions of her many proposals which, she noted, would be published soon in the campaigns new book Stronger Together would not fully serve her purposes. Thus her criticism of Trump cropped up even when she urged her audience to help her craft a mandate. We need to make sure we have an election that validates the kind of confident future that will make life better for the people of Ohio, she said, and empty promises and racist attacks wont do that. It wont get your family a job; it wont keep our troops safe; it wont heal the divides in America. She added specific criticisms of Trumps immigration plans and mocked him for engaging in a war of words with Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto after Trumps visit to Mexico City last week. When you see that he cant even go to another country without getting into a public feud with the president, I think the answer is clear, Clinton said. Imagine him in a real crisis. Trumps campaign has never been of the grind-it-out variety; in all of the key states this year, his campaign lags hugely behind Clinton in terms of the traditional campaign markers: offices to organize volunteers and digital programs to identify and track voters willing to cast ballots. Instead, the Trump campaign has been powered by the candidate himself, a strategy that worked in the primaries before a narrower audience. Campaign officials insist that he will lure those who infrequently or rarely vote but who find kinship in his economic or cultural proposals. Those proposals remain, in many cases, vague. He said Monday, for example, that jobs is the whole thing, but he did not explain to his audience at a suburban Cleveland American Legion post what he would do to bring back those lost to outsourcing or automation. Its going to be so vital in this country to bring back jobs. Our jobs have been taken like Grant took Richmond, Trump said in a Civil War analogy. We have never had a case like this before, and its getting worse and worse and worse. And we passed plant after plant after plant where there were no jobs. Where its just gone, its gone. Then he shifted to talk about his endorsement by the Democratic mayor of Brook Park and how this whole area endorsed Trump. Actually, the states and the nations unemployment rate has fallen since the recession early in Obamas tenure. Much of Trumps conversation Monday was driven by the need to explain himself, which is less helpful to Trump than pressing the economic or anti-Clinton message. He was hit with questions about a $25,000 donation made to a group connected to Florida Atty. Gen. Pam Bondi as her office was considering complaints against Trumps real estate school. The donation was made by Trumps charitable foundation, which is not allowed to make political gifts. Trumps aides claim that the payment by the charity was an error and that he has paid a penalty to the IRS for the improper donation. Bondi eventually decided not to pursue Trump University. The Associated Press reported in June that Bondi, a Trump supporter, had personally solicited the donation. I never spoke to her, first of all, Trump said. Shes a fine person beyond reproach. I never even spoke to her about it at all. He did not say why he had donated the money beyond that. cathleen.decker@latimes.com Twitter: @cathleendecker ALSO In Pennsylvania and nationally, Trumps problems with suburban voters blunt his ascent Can Clinton turn Georgia from red to blue? Its a matter of black and white No more nation of immigrants: Trump plan calls for a major, long-lasting cut in legal entries Updates on California politics Live coverage from the campaign trail UPDATES: 6 p.m.: This article was updated with additional details throughout. This article was originally published at 2:30 p.m. Marie Jeffries has a very firm view of Donald Trump, and she says it wont change in the nine weeks before election day. Hes a wild man. I think he might put us into a war, said Jeffries, who was among hundreds sauntering down Main Street in this southeastern Pennsylvania town on the balmy evening that opened Labor Day weekend. She once was intrigued by Trump, she said, but then he started the shenanigans, and opened his trap. Advertisement Hes a bully, she said. Were trying to get away from it in schools. Why have a bully as president? Her views matter. Jeffries is a 66-year-old woman who lives in the suburbs, in her case Philadelphias. Right now, voters like her stand to cost Trump the presidential contests in key battleground states, starting with Pennsylvania. Trump is caught in a powerful vise of his own making, between those who find him offensive, like Jeffries, and those who find him entrancing. The things he does and says that appeal to that latter group, which is dominated by white men, often alienate the suburban voters, particularly women, he needs if he is to broaden his base enough to win. Mark Shimp is one of those Trump voters. He owns a plumbing company in Newtown, Pa., and calls Hillary Clinton terriblethe only printable description he can offer, he says. If there is a definition in the dictionary of what is wrong in politics, Hillary Clinton is it, he said, standing on his front porch, a Trump campaign sign on the lawn and American and Marine Corps flags flying from a pole nearby. How does she feel the pain of the middle class? In broad strokes, Trump and Clinton supporters are seldom near each other in much of the country. The Republican dominates rural, white America; the Democrat overwhelmingly wins the cities with their higher minority populations. But in this slice of Pennsylvania north and west of Philadelphia, where the suburbs meet the exurbs, the two sides collide. Already, the campaign has left many voters wary. At a farmers market in Bucks County, north of Philadelphia, Christine Passarelli lamented that both candidates are divisive in different ways. Nearby, at a Polish American festival in Doylestown, a woman who was asked about the presidential campaign raised her hands to her face and opened her mouth in a silent scream. A friend standing nearby laughed, shook her head in agreement and refused to talk about Novembers election. Trump has consistently lagged in general election polls here, in a state where he is battling not only distaste with his style, but also demographics that have aligned voters with Democrats in every presidential election since George H. W. Bushs win in 1988. In the last few decades, the population has dropped in the western part of the state and expanded in the east. The manufacturing communities that might be enticed by Trumps trade and cultural arguments have declined in political potency; heightened is the importance of urban areas, particularly Philadelphia, and the diversified economy that has taken hold in the suburban counties that ring it. Between 2000 and 2010, census figures show, Pennsylvania grew by 3.4%. Montgomery County, where Lansdale is located, grew by 6.6%. Next-door Bucks County, home to Doylestown and Newtown, rose 4.6%. Counties in the west, meantime, lost residents. The west-to-east population shift has pushed the state toward moderation even as the Republican Party has become more conservative, setting up the disconnect that has bedeviled the partys nominees in six straight contests. The latest statewide poll, by Franklin & Marshall College, showed Clinton with a 7 point lead among likely voters. That was a smaller gap than in August, but remains larger than President Obamas margin over Republican Mitt Romney in the 2012 election here. Among Pennsylvania women, Clinton held a 10-point lead, whereas men were split between the candidates. Even among white women, a category usually secured by Republicans, Clinton led by 7. She had a striking 21-point margin among college-educated whites, a group that has never sided with a Democratic candidate in modern campaigns. Many of those supporters are planted in the suburbs; in the more densely populated southeastern part of the state outside of Philadelphia, Clinton led by 14 points, offsetting Trumps more substantial margins in less-inhabited areas. Trump has to cut away the Democratic margins in suburban counties where Democrats have had a field day in past elections, which is why they win the state, said G. Terry Madonna, who directed the Franklin & Marshall College poll. The reason its tricky is that hes got to appeal to men on trade. he said, These are not the same interests as in the southeastern part of the state, in suburban Pennsylvania. Democratic pollster Anna Greenberg, who has surveyed extensively in Pennsylvania this year, said the changing economy of the state has helped Clinton. Voters working in healthcare or educationtwo of the big and, relatively, newer employers in southeastern Pennsylvania--dont have the same economic woes that have led manufacturing workers to feel embattled and left behind, she said. They think hes a dolt, she said of the way many suburban voters, particularly the college-educated, see Trump. Not a stupid person, but a caricature, a reality-TV caricature. Trumps campaign dismisses the notion that with his hefty appeals to blue-collar men, Trump is blunting his ascent in the suburbs. I think Mr. Trumps message on increased national security, better schooling for kids, increased economic security, cuts across a wide swath of Pennsylvania voters, said David Urban, a veteran of state political campaigns who is running the Republicans effort here. Mr. Trump is not a traditional politician, as has been evident. I think that inures to our benefit. Urban pointed to large crowds that Trump has drawn at recent events as indicative of an enthusiasm gap over Clinton. That argument was brushed aside by T.J. Rooney, a former Democratic state party chairman and state legislator backing Clinton. When he speaks in Pennsylvania, when his surrogates speak in Pennsylvania, they are speaking to people that should have been locked down three months ago, Rooney said. There is no indication that he has expanded, added to his vote share. Theres nothing to suggest hes making great inroads. What Trump does have is intensity among voters like Shimp, who is a nearly perfect exemplar of Trumps base. Before the 2008 economic crash, he employed eight plumbers driving eight trucks. As business collapsed, he had to lay off his workers and sell his trucks, picking up on his own what jobs he could find. For more on politics He has started to rebuild his business, and now employs three plumbers. But he has been left with a visible distaste for politics as usual. He dislikes everything about ClintonI dont even like listening to her voice, he said. Im just tired of the same old political nonsense in Washington. He cant do any worse than anyone else in D.C., he said of Trump. And what of his candidates more incendiary comments? I love it, he said of Trumps style. Whats wrong with people hearing the truth? Whats wrong with calling a spade a spade? Whats wrong, politically speaking, is the danger posed when that approach turns off the voters Trump needs. Sitting on a rock ledge near a Doylestown farmers market on a sunny Saturday, Passarelli and her daughter Joanna Gianforcaro struggled with the choice ahead in November. Both shrugged at a campaign they found less illuminating than contentious and ruled out either candidate as a slam dunk solution. Gianforcaro said neither Clinton nor Trump had demonstrated the genuineness she was seeking. Bottom line: Im all for a woman president, but I dont think Hillary is that woman, said Gianforcaro. But I dont know if I like the way he has put things either. Its just what comes out of his mouthBlech, her mother replied. cathleen.decker@latimes.com Twitter: @cathleendecker ALSO: In immigration speech, Donald Trump spurns softened tone and threatens Republican future In complicated Ohio, Trump and Clinton swap voters as they vie for a key state Can Clinton turn Georgia from red to blue? Its a matter of black and white Updates on California politics Live coverage from the campaign trail The California Legislature capped its two-year session by passing a load of liberal bills to help poor people, including farmworkers. Thats good, but what about middle-class folks? They were snubbed again. Ignoring the declining middle class has become the norm, both in Sacramento and Washington. Its why Donald Trump, despite being a rude, demagogic dunce, has attracted enough alienated voters to challenge the Democratic establishments presidential offering, Hillary Clinton. Advertisement Its about more than these rebellious voters distrust and dislike of Clinton. Its also about feeling left out especially for non-college educated white males while the Democratic Party, in their view, panders to poor immigrants and wealthy environmentalists. Trump cant carry California in November. Its doubtful any Republican could. But whats uncertain is whether Democratic dominance of this state has become permanent or is just cyclical. It turned deep blue because of fast-changing demographics. Latinos and, to a lesser degree, Asians, migrated here and competed with whites for political power. Democrats welcomed the minorities while Republicans, for too long, harangued them about illegal immigration. Meanwhile, Washington stirred the toxic brew with its inability to enact immigration reform. There now are slightly more Latinos than whites living in the state; 39% of the population compared to 38%, according to a new report by the Public Policy Institute of California. But among people most likely to vote, whites outnumber Latinos by more than 3 to 1, 60% to 18%. Also, although California has arguably the highest poverty rate in the nation because of living costs, 71% of likely voters make more than $40,000 a year; 44% earn in excess of $80,000, according to the report. So its primarily a middle-class electorate, something that seems to escape ruling Democrats in the Legislature as they push through bills lobbied by labor unions representing the poor. The best example of that as the Legislature adjourned last week was passage of a bill greatly expanding overtime pay for Californias 825,000 farmworkers. Their median income is just $14,000 a year. More than 90% are Latino, and more than 80% are immigrants. Another highlight of the session was the enactment of legislation gradually raising the minimum wage to $15 an hour. Workers also were guaranteed unpaid maternity leave. Welfare money was added for diapers. Immigrants here illegally were allowed to buy health insurance through the state exchange. A compromise bill to spend $900 million in cap-and-trade profits from the sale of greenhouse pollution permits was tilted toward low-income communities. Much of that may be wonderful. And undoubtedly there were goodies handed out to the middle class. But thats not where the emphasis was. Where was K-12 school reform, any serious effort to buck the unions and make it easier for principals to fire bad teachers? Gov. Jerry Browns only nod toward improving schools has been to spend more on low-income students and English learners, neglecting middle-class kids. There was no attempt, again, to streamline regulations under the much-abused California Environmental Quality Act. No one argues against the environmental goals. Its just that environmental lawsuits or threats of them can stymie projects for years and render them financially infeasible, discouraging job creation and economic growth. The Legislature did pass a bill to expedite large projects that pay high construction wages and meet clean energy standards. But there should be comprehensive reform for all projects. Lawmakers are still idling on road repairs, unable to agree on how to pump more desperately needed money into fixing Californias highways. Meanwhile, it keeps funneling cap-and-trade funds into Browns pokey bullet train project. There was no effort to substantially reduce college tuitions that have left middle-class families in hock for decades after graduation. There was, however, a bill to help students graduate in four years. If there was any gesture toward small business, we didnt hear much about it. Passage of the landmark farmworkers overtime bill was the inevitable result of rapidly growing Latino power in the Legislature. Both the Senate leader and Assembly speaker are Latinos. Eleven policy committees are led by Latinos. Nearly one in five legislators is a Latino. During the emotional Assembly farmworker debate, Latino after Latino stood and talked about their parents and grandparents toiling in the fields. Republicans argued that crop pickers actually would lose money because their hours would be reduced to avoid overtime. Harvesting would be done in crew shifts, they contended. Maybe. But its an old argument, dusted off whenever theres a proposal to boost any workers pay. Check back in another decade. The bill, by Assemblywoman Lorena Gonzalez (D-San Diego), passed 44 to 32. Following a four-year phase-in, farmworkers would be paid overtime after an eight-hour day. Now its 10 hours. Thered also be a 40-hour standard workweek, then overtime. Brown hasnt committed to signing the measure. But how could he not? During his first gubernatorial tour, the young governor championed the farmworkers union. Its iconic leader, Cesar Chavez, was a political ally. And theres Browns background as a Jesuit seminarian. The union and church have always been tight. But paying overtime certainly will hurt family farmers. This is only going to help California agriculture workers if California agriculture stays in business, warned a supporter, Assemblyman Das Williams (D-Santa Barbara). Its great to help the poor. But too often the Legislature overlooks everyone else everyone, that is, who doesnt contribute to a reelection kitty. george.skelton@latimes.com Follow @LATimesSkelton on Twitter ALSO Californias crumbling roads wont fix themselves. Neither, it seems, will state lawmakers Two years and thousands of bills later, here are the California Legislatures wins and losses Updates from Sacramento Question: I just returned from Yellowstone National Park and was appalled by the miles of healthy trees being chopped down along the roadsides. Why? To widen the road so more tourists can come? To make more money? We think the fox is guarding the henhouse. M. Ryan Westminster Answer: Yellowstone National Park, which has its feet in Idaho, Montana and Wyoming, is the oldest of the 412 National Park Service units. In fact, it predates the park service, an organization that is a comparative youngster: The park service was founded in 1916. Yellowstone was named a national park in 1872, more than four decades before the park service was founded. Advertisement The blame for roadwork doesnt fall on a greedy park service; if the park service were a money-making organization, it wouldnt be asking Congress for nearly $12 billion to address issues of deferred maintenance. Instead, the issue is age. Although the Department of the Interior once banned autos from parks, it loosened that restriction by about 1907, according to a park service history of road development. Within a few years, autos were allowed into Yellowstone, although concern remained about frightening teams of horses. No one anticipated that the trickle of visitors in those early years would eventually grow to 307 million, the number of people who visited U.S. national parks in 2015. (To put that number into perspective, the U.S. Census Bureau estimates our countrys population at 321 million as of 2015.) Yellowstone accounted for about 4 million of those visitors last year, and its having record visitation this year. For this, you can thank the publicity surrounding the park centennial, lower gas prices that encourage travel and the park services Find Your Park program, which helps people choose their park based on geography or the experience (boating, for example, or history) they wish to have, said Morgan Warthin, public affairs officer for Yellowstone. These visitors come to this natural wonder on roads that are, in Warthins words, very old and small. A Honda Civic sedan, for example, is nearly 71 inches wide. Some of the roads are as narrow as 30 inches. Ultimately, Warthin said, it has become a safety issue, especially when tour buses are involved. The road widening from Mammoth Hot Springs to Norris, which Warthin thinks is probably what Ryan saw, also includes some enhancements. Turnouts for wildlife viewing are being added, which could lessen an annoying and dangerous visitor inclination, which is to stop dead in the road when wildlife is spotted. And perhaps most important, some roads are being aligned to better protect geothermal features, Warthin said. Protection of national parks is especially important for a jaw-dropper such as Yellowstone, especially in light of an Associated Press report last week that detailed bad park behavior, and were not talking about the animals, at least not the four-legged kind. In Yellowstone, rangers are recording more wildlife violations, more people treading on sensitive thermal areas and more camping in off-limits areas, the article said. The rule-breaking puts visitors in harms way and can damage resources and displace wildlife, officials said. The flouting of park rules stems from disbelief among visitors that they will get hurt, said Yellowstone superintendent Dan Wenk, AP reported. Our desire to be outdoors and to know nature is a delicate, sometimes awkward dance, as violations of park rules show. More tourists will come unless park visitation is capped, which is one solution. But until that happens, the question is whether those travelers can visit safely. Removing trees to widen roads is done with careful planning, Warthin said. The Yellowstone Center for Resources, created in 1993, reviews any plan that involves any sort of impact to natural or cultural resources, Warthin said. Its a comprehensive planning effort that happens before any tree is removed. Once upon a time, Yellowstone was the Wild West. It was so out of control in the 1880s that poachers and vandals were destroying it, so angering Congress that it brought in the U.S. Army to run it. Safety enhancements and intelligent management of resources must learn to live in harmony, albeit an imperfect one, if Yellowstone is to live to see its 200th birthday. Have a travel dilemma? Write to travel@latimes.com. We regret we cannot answer every inquiry. ALSO Will the next president be an enemy of our national parks? Developers, projects knocking on national park gates Want to hike Point Reyes? Try this four-day backpacking trip Militants set off three bombs in the Afghan capital on Monday and engaged security forces in a gun battle through the night. Twin blasts near the Afghan Defense Ministry killed at least 35 people, including four Afghan soldiers and a deputy brigade commander, according to Gen. Muhammad Radmanish, deputy spokesman for the Afghan Defense Ministry. More than 100 others were injured. The first bomb went off near a collection of government offices the defense ministry, the administrative office of the presidential palace, and district police headquarters at the time when workers would be heading home, witnesses said. Advertisement As people rushed to help the wounded, a suicide bomber set off a second blast. He was wearing an Afghan National Army uniform, said Feraidun Obaydi, head of the Kabul polices criminal investigation department. The Taliban claimed responsibility for the attack, saying it was targeting the ministry of defense. Afghan President Ashraf Ghani condemned the killings. The enemies of Afghanistan have lost their ability to fight the Security and Defense Forces of the country and thus attack highways, cities, mosques, schools and common people, Ghani said in a statement on Monday. Later on Monday evening, a suicide bomber drove a vehicle laden with explosives into a guest house at about 11 p.m. local time, Kabul Police Chief Gen. Rahman Rahimi said. One assailant detonated a car bomb outside a building belonging to CARE, a U.S.-based charity organization, while three others entered the building. Afghan police commandos responded to the attack, rescuing 42 civilians including 10 foreign nationals. Six civilians were wounded, the interior ministry said. The attackers who entered the building were gunned down by police forces. Sabawoon Rasoli, who works in a bank less than 200 feet from the site of the third blast, narrowly escaped both of Mondays attacks. I was going to visit my physician near the ministry of defense, where the blasts took place, and I survived, he said. Later I came back to work, and now another attack! Faizy is a special correspondent. MORE WORLD NEWS Dogs, Deepak Chopra, Instagram weddings and other signs of change among Irans middle class Anti-Beijing forces gain momentum in Hong Kong election Islamic State has lost all territory along the Syria-Turkey border, Turkish news agency says UPDATES: Sept. 6, 2:35 p.m.: This post has been updated throughout. Sept. 6, 1:48 a.m.: This article has been updated with a new death toll and more information. 3:05 p.m.: This post has been updated with comments from a man who was near the scene of all three blasts. 1:25 p.m.: This article has been updated with news of a third bombing. This article was originally published Sept. 5, 8:55 a.m. The movement for greater autonomy from mainland China gained momentum Sunday in the most important election since the 1997 handover of Hong Kong from Britain. Votes were still being tallied Monday morning, but it was already clear that five seats in the Legislative Council were won by young activists who entered politics after the pro-democracy street demonstrations of 2014 and campaigned on promises to stand up to Beijing. A total of 10 ran, not including six who were barred. Voters turned out in record numbers, with 2.2 million people, or 58% of the electorate, casting ballots. Some polling stations remained open a few hours past the 10:30 p.m. closing time to accommodate the crowds. Advertisement They will decide 35 of the 70 seats in the legislature, though about a dozen of those seats were uncontested. The rest of the legislators are chosen by various business interest groups dominated by pro-Beijing loyalists. One winner was 23-year-old Nathan Law, who helped lead the 2014 protests part of the so-called Umbrella Movement with teenage activist Joshua Wong. Their party, Demosisto, calls for a referendum on Hong Kongs future relationship with China, including the possibility of independence. The other young activists who won include a university lecturer who had been arrested in February street protests, an environmentalist who opposes high-speed rail links to the mainland and two members of the upstart political party Youngspiration, which also calls for a referendum. Before the elections, the legislature was divided between pro-Beijing loyalists and the so-called pan-Democratic bloc, whose 27 seats gave it veto power to block legislation. Some voters have turned to the new generation of activists because they believe that the pan-Democratic faction is inadequately defending Hong Kongs interests and autonomy. The activists and pan-Democrats combined appear to have won far more votes than the pro-Beijing faction. It matters less who got elected. This is the way for voters to show after Umbrella Movement theyre turning away from pro-Beijing loyalists, said legislator Leung Kwok-hung of the pan-Democratic camp. Beijing-backed Hong Kong Chief Executive C.Y. Leung has said hell announce whether hell run for a second term after the elections. Under a mini-constitution known as Basic Law, Hong Kong enjoys freedoms that go far beyond those of mainland China. That arrangement is set to expire in 2047, when the former British colony reverts to full Chinese control. Legislators are limited to voting on bills and funding proposals put forth by the government and are not allowed to propose their own. There is no provision for a referendum of any sort. The ban of six pro-independence candidates was based on the notion that their advocacy for independence violated the Basic Law, which states that Hong Kong is an inalienable part of China. This is to show if you go down on the path of advocating independence, there is no return, and youll be blocked by the government, said Ching Cheong, a local political commentator. What the Chinese Communist Party wants is to nip it in the bud, even when pro-Beijing loyalists here know this is impossible in a pluralistic society like Hong Kong. Even as theyre barred from running, their political demands cannot be ignored and their political appeal will only grow, Ching said. One of the banned candidates, Edward Leung, said in July that he might file an election petition with the court to overturn the results. That now seems unlikely, because the candidate he supported, Sixtus Leung of the Youngspiration party, won a seat. There are other signs that their camp is gaining strength. A recent poll by the Chinese University of Hong Kong showed that 40% of people in Hong Kong under the age of 25 support independence, though most think it is impossible. In June 2015, the legislature rejected election rules drafted by Beijing that would have limited candidates for the 2017 election of Hong Kongs high office to two or three Beijing loyalists. Law is a special correspondent. ALSO Crowds rally for end to racist violence in France after Chinese mans death Mother Teresa declared a saint as Pope Francis lauds her in Vatican ceremony Islamic State has lost all territory along the Syria-Turkey border, Turkish news agency says President Obama canceled a meeting with Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte Monday, after the Filipino leader publicly swore while warning him not to raise questions about alleged death squad operations in his country against suspected drug dealers. Earlier in the day, during a news conference before leaving the Philippines for Laos, where both men are to attend a summit of Southeast Asian leaders, Duterte had said that if Obama were to raise the issue during their scheduled meeting, son of a bitch, I will swear at you. He is a leader of a sovereign country and is answerable only to the Filipino people, Duterte said, and Obama must be respectful. Advertisement More than 2,000 alleged drug dealers and users have been killed since Duterte launched a war on drugs after taking office on June 30. Asked later in the day, during his own news conference, about Dutertes remarks, Obama said he had told his staff to investigate whether a meeting with the Philippine president would still be productive. A few hours later, as Obama reached Laos, National Security Council spokesperson Ned Price announced that the meeting with Duterte had been canceled. Obama will, instead, hold a meeting with the president of South Korea, Price said. At the news conference, which took place in China, before Obama left for Laos, the president had described the recently elected Philippines leader as a colorful guy. The Philippines is a U.S. ally and a key strategic partner in U.S. policy in Asia. The U.S. has given the Philippines strong backing in that countrys dispute with China over maritime boundaries. But even when meeting with the leader of an allied country, Obama said at the news conference, I always want to make sure that if I have a meeting, its productive. Fighting drug trafficking is tough, Obama said, but the U.S. will always assert the need to have due process and to engage in that fight against drugs in a way thats consistent with basic international norms. If and when we have a meeting, Obama said, this is something thats going to be brought up. Christi.Parsons@latimes.com Follow me on Twitter: @CParsons ALSO Anti-Beijing forces gain momentum in Hong Kong election Blast in Philippine market leaves 12 dead, at least 24 wounded Obama and Putin come up short on Syria cease-fire negotiations, agree to keep talking UPDATES: 1:03 p.m.: Updated with announcement that the meeting had been canceled. 6:40 a.m.: Updated with additional Obama comments and context. 4:55 a.m.: Updated with Obamas comments This story was posted at 3:40 a.m. Republican activists in Israel are ramping up a multi-city effort to get out the vote for Donald Trump, with a special focus on expatriates living in Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank. The Israeli chapter of Republicans Overseas kicked off the settlement push on Monday in a home in the town of Ginot Shomron, where an 80-year-old rabbi from Illinois will host a voter registration drive in his living room. The group, a locally funded nonprofit, has no formal ties to the Trump campaign or the Republican National Committee though it says it has coordinated with the Trump campaign. It has already opened field offices in three Israeli cities, including Jerusalem and Tel Aviv. A fourth office is planned for the Israeli settlement of Efrat. Advertisement This is a party that has become extremely Zionist, said Abe Katsman, a leader of Republicans Overseas, speaking to reporters in the rabbis home. Behind him were bookshelves of Jewish religious texts, and a poster in Hebrew bearing the phrase Trump the Israeli interest. Within the next few weeks, the voter registration effort will move on from Ginot Shomron to other small settlements in the northern West Bank. American Jewish voters in presidential elections have historically given between 70% to 80% support to Democrats. But Republican activists say that Americans residing in Israel fall the opposite way, after years of clashes between President Obama and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu over the Palestinian peace process and Iran. Democratic Party activists in Israel dispute that characterization, saying theres never been an authoritative political poll of Americans in Israel. The Republican Party platform this year moved to the right on Israel, dropping mention of the creation of a Palestinian state and condemning what it described as the false notion that Israel is an occupying power in the West Bank. Republicans Overseas activists also say that Trump believes the U.S. should not criticize Israel for settlement construction like officials in the current administration have done. To help boost turnout for Trump, the group has enlisted Israeli campaign operative Tzvika Brot, a member of Netanyahus parliamentary campaign team in 2013. Netanyahu last year offered Brot a job as his chief of communications, which he turned down. The pro-Trump effort has more than 100 volunteers who will work the phones, pass out fliers, target voters through social media and advise Americans on voter registration, Brot said. He estimated that as many as one-fourth of U.S. expatriates in Israel reside in the settlements. There are no official figures on the number of American citizens living in Israel; political activists place the number between 150,000 and 300,000. While thats a relatively small group of voters, they could make a crucial difference in the event of a close election. We are working under the assumption that its going to be a close election, and we can make a huge difference, said Katsman. Our party is watching to see whether Israelis turn out. But finding absentee voters from swing states will be a key challenge for the Israeli Trump supporters. Only 16% of the American Jewish population lived in the battleground states of Florida, Ohio and Pennsylvania in 2012, according to a study published by the American Jewish Yearbook. About 60% of American Jews lived in New York, California, New Jersey, Illinois, Massachusetts and Maryland states expected to back Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton by safe margins. Mitnick is a special correspondent. Residents in big cities around the U.S. will celebrate Labor Day 2016 with some of the best events like the annual parade in New York, art festivals in Los Angeles, a history lesson in Washington D.C. and a day at the beach in Miami. What will you choose to do Monday Sept. 5? Labor Day 2016 in New York Many people in New York City will head to the biggest event; the annual Labor Day West Indian-American parade in Brooklyn, New York. The parade is on Monday Sept. 5 from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. beginning at Schenectady Avenue and Eastern Parkway. There are tons of other FREE events in NYC for Labor Day 2016 like the Washington Square Outdoor Art Exhibit where you can browse art work, music and photography from up-and-coming artists. Labor Day 2016 in Los Angeles There is so much to do in Los Angeles, Calif. for Labor Day 2016 and unlike New Yorkers, summer treats Angelenos with better weather. Checkout the Fiesta Hermosa arts festival at Paramount Studios in Hollywood on Sunday Sept. 4. Head over to the Downtown Hermosa Beach right after for the largest Asian food market in the U.S. Food carts, live music, games and more are available until 4 a.m. EST. For a low-key family event, you can go fishing in the L.A. River on Monday. The L.A. River Fish Derby named Off Tha Hook is a FREE event so no need to worry about fishing licensing on Labor Day. For $35, you can compete with other fishers in the FoLARs Catch and Release competition. Labor Day 2016 in Washington DC What about heading to the Nations Capital for Labor Day 2016? You might like watching the Washington Nationals bat against the Atlanta Braves on Monday at 4:05 p.m. EST. Or head to Georgetown to rent a bike or boat for a ride along the Canal National Historical Park or Key Bridge Boathouse. And there is nothing like learning the history of Labor Day with a visit to the National Museum of American History and taking an interactive tour of the American Enterprise exhibit. Labor Day 2016 in Miami If you are taking a trip to the sunshine state, check out a few Miami Labor Day 2016 events for the three-day weekend. Checkout the Labor Day Fashion Event in Miami Beach Monday night at 7 p.m. EST. Ticket prices range from $15 to $300. If you are on a budget, head over to The Bar at 1306 in Miami for a 10-dollar-event Sunday night. Labor Day 2016 marks the 13th annual friends and family Day Beach Bash and Baptism at the Historic Key Beach Park in Miami. This is a charity event, so come as you are and donate what you can. The event starts at 9:30 a.m. EST on Monday. rojo.jpeg Lafayette College professor Juan Rojo announces he will end a hunger strike after he was denied tenure. (Submitted photo) A Lafayette College professor who went on a hunger strike over the college's tenure process now plans to end the protest after several days of just drinking liquids. Juan J. Rojo, 41, an assistant professor of Spanish at the Easton institution, stopped eating Aug. 30 after being denied tenure -- the result, he said, of a flawed system. He was reportedly denied over negative student reviews. The father of two from Hellertown had been documenting the strike and the resulting media coverage on his Facebook page. On Monday, he planned to end the strike and eat his first meal -- a taco -- at Taqueria la Plaza, a Mexican restaurant in Easton, according to his Facebook page. "Deciding to stop the hunger strike was an agonizing decision, more so than the decision to start," Rojo posted. "I still feel good, physically. Emotionally, I feel completely spent, particularly after we made the decision. I hope the attention the larger issue is getting can spark a discussion beyond Lafayette." Rojo goes on to state the college's board of trustees sent him a note Sunday out of concern. He posted, "The faculty and staff are mobilized in ways I have not seen before and I am thankful for their support." Rojo told "The Lafayette," the college's student newspaper, he decided to end the strike to avoid having the board feeling "blackmailed" or "held hostage." Students, he said, supported his decision and provided him with water and Gatorade -- the only drinks he consumed. Rojo has been a Lafayette professor since 2008, and had said he submitted his file for review in August 2015. Rojo had said department and faculty committees recommended he be granted tenure, but college president Alison Byerly rejected it in March. Over the next several months, Rojo had said, there was a back-and-forth about the reasoning before he was officially informed Aug. 2 that tenure would not be granted. Without the tenure, Rojo will have to look for a new job at the end of the school year. He said that will require either uprooting his family or choosing another career. The college issued a response in which it declined to comment on the specifics of the personnel matter, but said all appropriate procedures were followed. "We respect Professor Rojo's right to disagree with the decision," the college said, "but hope he will express his views in a way that does not endanger his health." Below is the day-by-day timeline of Rojo's hunger strike: DAY 1 Rojo announces the strike Aug. 30 with a post repeating a statement he made at a faculty meeting. He said he was ultimately denied tenure after Byerly vetoed the recommendation of two faculty committees. "I cannot stand here and accept this decision that is contrary to the principles of self-governance on which this college and this faculty are founded," he says. "Lafayette should not be a place where the voice of the faculty in the form of a 12-1 vote in support of tenure can ultimately be overturned by the top administrator, especially without just cause." As many of you know, even though I received a 6-0 positive recommendation from my department and a 6-1 positive... Posted by Juan Rojo on Tuesday, August 30, 2016 DAY 2 Rojo thanks those who have expressed support, and says there has so far been no response from administrators. A colleague from Brigham Young University posts online a letter of support for Rojo. Day two of the hunger strike begins. I am touched, brought to tears by all of you who have reached out to me. Thank... Posted by Juan Rojo on Wednesday, August 31, 2016 "So far, so good," Rojo, reached in his office on the second day of the strike, told lehighvalleylive.com. He said he is consuming only water and Gatorade, and plans to continue "until the issue is resolved." "It really is a matter of will power," he said, adding that pursuing legal recourse against the college was not a realistic option for him. "I just don't have the resources to stand up to an institution like Lafayette College in this regard." DAY 3 Rojo says "first contact" with administrators came the night before: "It was brief and cautious." He thanks current and former students for support, but downplays the notion of his "sacrifice." Hunger Strike Day Three begins. Still feeling good. Three students I had not met stopped by yesterday with gifts of... Posted by Juan Rojo on Thursday, September 1, 2016 DAY 4 Rojo describes a "cautious" meeting with President Byerly the day before, in which reform to the tenure system was discussed. "We all acknowledged that the decision rests with the board of trustees," he says. "I was assured that they are deliberating with urgency." He also notes the media coverage, which includes The Washington Post, The New York Daily News and Fox News. A college spokesman on Friday confirmed the meeting, saying the dean of faculty and two of Rojo's colleagues were also present. The sit-down was to "express concern for his health and to give him an opportunity to further share the views he expressed." The college declined further comment. Hunger Strike Day 4: Still feeling good. The messages and gestures from everyone are a tremendous help. Colleagues,... Posted by Juan Rojo on Friday, September 2, 2016 DAY 5 Rojo discusses that the college's Governance Committee met and is preparing "significant advice" to the college president. Rojo states he decided to not attend the meeting. Hunger Strike Day 5: Starting the fifth day feels a little different. I am a bit more tired, perhaps lazy. I'm... Posted by Juan Rojo on Saturday, September 3, 2016 DAY 6 Rojo discusses a physician checking on him and says he is in "good health." He calls the support of colleagues "humbling." Hunger Strike Day 6: Woke up today feeling better than yesterday. Dr Manja dropped by yesterday to check on me. He... Posted by Juan Rojo on Sunday, September 4, 2016 DAY 7 On the seventh day, Rojo posted he would end the strike. "Why did I not stop Saturday night or Sunday morning after I informed the Board and community?," he posts."I wanted to make sure people understood that stopping was a decision consciously made rather than me simply giving up. It is meant to be an act of good faith." Hunger Strike Day 7: I have just a couple of hours now until I begin eating again. Why did I not stop Saturday night or... Posted by Juan Rojo on Monday, September 5, 2016 Reporter Steve Novak contributed to this report. Pamela Sroka-Holzmann may be reached at pholzmann@lehighvalleylive.com. Follow her on Twitter @pamholzmann. Find lehighvalleylive.com on Facebook. A construction van traveling at a high speed struck three parked vehicles early Sunday in front of the Wilson Borough police station. The crash occurred shortly before 2 a.m. in the 2000 block of Butler Street. A white Chevrolet van was headed west and plowed into three vehicles, including a pickup truck parked along Butler Street, police said. The van operator, who was not being identified by police until an investigation is complete, was trapped inside the van and had to be rescued by borough firefighters. Police closed the road for several hours. The van driver was taken to St. Luke's University Hospital in Fountain Hill with injuries that appeared serious, police said. Police said the driver was not working at the time of the crash; alcohol did not appear to be a factor. The crash remains under investigation. Pamela Sroka-Holzmann may be reached at pholzmann@lehighvalleylive.com. Follow her on Twitter @pamholzmann. Find lehighvalleylive.com on Facebook. UPDATE: Motorcyclists killed on Route 33 in freak crash with deer Authorities early Monday investigated a fatal crash on Route 33, north of the Belfast exit in Bushkill Township. It happened about 2 a.m. in the northbound lanes, just south of the Kromer Road overpass. Pennsylvania State Police at Belfast didn't release details but said the highway was reopened after being shut down for hours. The crash involved a tractor-trailer and two fatalities, according to initial reports that were unconfirmed. The Northampton County Coroner's Office was summoned to the scene. Route 33 was reopened after 7 a.m. Jim Deegan may be reached at jdeegan@lehighvalleylive.com. Follow him on Twitter @jim_deegan. Find lehighvalleylive on Facebook. Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump will release his tax returns after the conclusion of an IRS audit, his running mate Mike Pence said Sunday. Pence added that he will release his own tax returns shortly after the Labor Day holiday. "Donald Trump and I are both going to release our tax returns," Pence said on NBC's "Meet the Press." He added: "I'll release mine in the next week." Trump has repeatedly resisted calls to release the documents, saying he is under audit by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). Pence said the returns would be released "at the completion of an audit." It's not clear, however, whether the audit will be concluded in time for the November election, and the IRS has said that there are no laws preventing Trump from releasing them sooner. Pressed by moderator Chuck Todd about whether they'd become available before voters went to the polls, the Indiana governor answered, "Well, we'll see." Late last month, Trump's son and campaign adviser Eric Trump said it would be "foolish" for his father to release his tax returns, because "you would have a bunch of people who know nothing about taxes trying to look through and trying to come up with assumptions on things they know nothing about." Pence recently told ABC Radio that his family had "not become more wealthy as a result of 16 years in public service" insisting, "we're a middle-class family." Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton and her running-mate Gov. Tim Kaine of Virginia released their 2015 returns last month. The Clintons earned $10.6 million in 2015, and paid an effective federal income tax rate of 34.2 percent, and donated 9.8 percent of their adjusted gross income to charity. The Washington Post reported in July that Trump has given nothing to his own charitable foundation since 2008, and gave less than $10,000 of his own money over to charity over the last 7 years. Two people were injured Saturday afternoon when a pickup truck pulling out of a parking lot struck an oncoming car along Route 31 in Washington Township. Township police said the 12:11 p.m. crash occurred when the driver of a Dodge Ram was pulling out of the parking lot of Silver Star Bagels & Deli and didn't see the oncoming Chrysler 200 traveling north. The pickup then struck the Chrysler, causing the Chrysler to strike a utility pole and crash into a ditch near Route 31 and Rymon Road, according to a witness at the scene. A female driver and a male passenger in the Chrysler were injured and taken to St. Luke's University Hospital in Fountain Hill. Two people in the pickup truck weren't injured, police said. Also responding to the scene was the Washington Rescue Squad, Hampton Rescue Squad, Mansfield Rescue Squad, Washington Township Fire Dept. and paramedics from Hunterdon Medical Center in Raritan Township. Pamela Sroka-Holzmann may be reached at pholzmann@lehighvalleylive.com. Follow her on Twitter @pamholzmann. Find lehighvalleylive.com on Facebook. 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The Crowne Plaza Dublin Airport will play host to the inaugural Irish Hair and Beauty Awards which will take place on Sunday September 4. Makeup artist Laura Behan, from Ballybrittas has been shortlisted in the makeup specialist category. Laura is a freelance makeup artist covering the midlands, with bridal makeup being her speciality. Laura will find out if she will be crowned winner at the glamorous ceremony being held in September. The glitzy event endeavours to show appreciation for those in the beauty industry that leave us looking and feeling fantastic; from salons to the talented individuals who work within them. These Awards provide a platform to thank those in the beauty industry, letting them know that their good work doesnt go un-noticed. The event promises to be as glam as the individuals and salons its acknowledging! The glamorous night promises to be the biggest in the Hair and Beauty calendar, with a range of awards up for grabs, ranging from the Stylist of the Year to the much sought after Beauty Salon of the Year. One in three people in Ireland will be diagnosed with cancer in their lifetime and despite huge improvements in survival rates and early detection, the fact remains that the vast majority of those diagnosed must undergo some type of treatment, often in hospitals far away from their home. For those with access to public transport, those close enough to treatment hospitals or those with family or friends who can get the time off work to ensure treatment appointments are met, the process is relatively straight forward. But, if you are one someone who, perhaps, lives alone or doesn't have a ready way of making it to an appointment, there can be significant stress added at an already difficult time. That is where the Irish Cancer Society's Care to Drive service comes in. The service, which began in 2011 has been instrumental in helping thousands of patients undergoing chemotherapy treatments, make it to and from their appointments at hospitals around the country. At its core are the volunteer drivers who use their own vehicles and their own time to bring relative strangers to hospital. But what makes people get involved in Care to Drive? In the case of Dromod man, Shay Hession, personal experience having to travel by train to Dublin for doctor's appointments was part of the inspiration behind his decision to volunteer for Drive to Care. Eight years ago last January Shay was diagnosed with a serious health condition and as a result, had a lung removed. At the time he was living in Meath and he had to travel, while seriously ill, on public transport to and from hospital appointments in Dublin. He remembers just how difficult this was when you are already struggling with ill health. Six years ago, Shay moved to Dromod with his wife and two years ago when his wife came home from an ICA meeting with information on the Care to Drive service, he thought this would be a perfect way to give something back and also help people to make appointments for their treatment. Shay contacted the Irish Cancer Society and attended a meeting in Galway with 50 or so other volunteers where they were informed what the service was, what they would be expected to do and had questions answered. After garda vetting and meeting other criteria, Shay and his fellow volunteers began their work driving patients to appointments. That was two years ago and now each night Shay receives a list of available journeys for the coming days and, if he is available he can apply to complete a drive. If he is approved he finds out about three days before the trip the name and address of the person he will be bringing to the hospital and before the journey he will contact the person, introduce himself as their driver and get directions to their home. Those he collects could be any age, male or female but everyone has one thing in common, they are undergoing treatment and for them, the Care to Drive service is not just invaluable, it is, quite literally, a lifesaving initiative. But even though the service has been running for a number of years, there are still people who are unaware of it and the call is ongoing for volunteers to drive. I was talking to someone about the service the other day and was told that a lot of people still don't know about it, he acknowledged. He said that the reality is that with schools starting back at this time of year, and people finding difficulty in getting time off from work to bring a loved one to a regular hospital appointment for treatment such as chemotherapy, this service is a godsend. Plus, he says, for the volunteers you get to meet all kinds of people. The first thing I do when I pick up someone is turn off the radio, says Shay. It gives people a chance to relax and talk if they want. To date Shay has brought people to appointments in Tullamore, Galway, Ballinasloe, Sligo and Dublin. I enjoy what I do and I hope to continue volunteering for as long as I can. The way that the people you bring and their families feel when you contact them and say you will collect them for their appointment, they are so grateful. You wouln't believe how much such a service is appreciated. I would definitely encourage more people to consider volunteering. I enjoy it and it makes a difference for people at a time when they need help. Last week, Chris Bowers wrote about The Alternative, the book exploring the potential of a progressive alliance he has co-edited with Green co-leader Caroline Lucas and Labour MP Lisa Nandy. I have really enjoyed reading the book. After a referendum campaign filled with divisiveness and nastiness, its good for the soul to read about how progressive ideas on the economy, immigration, public services could improve our society and our democracy. While the book offers a vision of what life could be like, it doesnt, nor does it claim to, provide a roadmap for getting there. Too many barriers and obstacles stand in the way and more work has to be done to overcome them if the political will exists. So, my first question to Chris was basically, how realistic is all of this? Politics is in disrepute so co-operation is paramount and we need to start out on a path of exploration to see what is possible. People didnt vote Tory or for Brexit because of a passion for them. We need to look at ways of making politics more relevant to their lives. He went on to talk about the article written by Uffe Elbk one of the founders of The Alternative movement in Denmark: The Alternative tackled the sterility of politics. They road tested ideas in a totally new way and they were successful. Yes, said I, they got 9 MPs, but the Danes still elected a right wing government. Of course, we did as well, and Chris pointed out that this happened in the UK because the left was split. . He said that there were seats where only one opposition party has a realistic chance of beating the Tories We need to look at common ideas expressed by people who are concerned about creating a caring and compassionate society and offer an alternative force for government The elephant in the room, of course, is Jeremy Corbyn. Even if he were inclined to co-operate, his association with a progressive alliance could be pretty toxic. We saw what the Tories Any association of him would be killed by the Tories, wouldnt it? The project for cross party co-operation is not dependent on one individual. We have to acknowledge that Corbyn represents a political direction supported by a lot of people. That said, he acknowledges that there is an element of the Corbynista that doesnt want to co-operate Bowers thinks that it will defuse lots of tensions if we work more together as parties. That certainly became true during the independence referendum in Scotland, in my experience. The book looks at three examples of Lab/Lib Dem coalition at council level. Why, I asked, did they not include probably the strongest example of Lib Labbery about the Scottish coalition which ran from 1999-2007. That did some transformational stuff including STV for local government, free tuition and free personal care. I was surprised by his answer. Yes, youre right. We probably should have done. Not a hint of defensiveness, which I admired. He had approached the LGA Lib Dem group for examples but hadnt thought beyond local government in England. I asked why the Lib Dem contributors were all male. They were all very good and there was certainly no deliberate attempt to exclude women, but, still, its not a great look for the party thats the least diverse in both Holyrood and Westminster. There were plenty women who could have contributed. Bowers said that they were trying to strike all sorts of balances and there were actually more Lib Dems than Labour in the book. That Lib Dem contribution included two very different articles from Duncan Brack and Andrew George. Brack looks at the lessons of the Blair/Ashdown project and makes the case for more covert co-operation rather than electoral alliances. Andrew George, on the other hand, looks at things like joint selection of candidates. In a world where voters were terrified by a prospect of Labour working with the SNP, is such joint working even possible now? Bowers said that the value of these contributions is that they looked at all the options. He sees the possibility of unofficial 3 seat deals where everyone puts up a candidate but theres a non aggression pact. He gave the example of 3 Sussex seats Lewes where the Lib Dems are the clear challengers to the Conservatives, Kemptown where Labour are in pole position and Brighton Pavilion where Caroline Lucas holds the seat. You have to brainstorm everything because, as Bowers put it, every now and again the unthinkable might become viable. Will Labour give enough away, though? Will they ever agree to PR. Bowers cites Katie Ghoses piece for Labour List in which she says very clearly that its in Labours interests to do so. I asked what he thought about More United, the initiative backed by Paddy Ashdown. He said he like the idea in principle as a good aid agency for the right candidates but he was dubious about the tactics. Nothing Ive sen convinces me that it wouldnt end up supporting two candidates against each other. He wold like to see that tactical awareness rather than just support for individual candidates. By setting out the criteria, though, for joint working, though, he thinks its a welcome step. I mused that all this all has to be the end of equidistance. By working with progressives, we have to say that we arent going to work with the Tories, I dont like equidistance, he said, because it defines us in terms of other parties. Stronger Economy Fairer Society allowed us to be defined like that. In the debate of 7 leasders, you could sum up what 6 of the 7 parties were about in a few words but that wasnt the case for us. Although he admires Nick Clegg, he does think that we lost some of that distinct identity under his leadership. But in 2010, he believes, we had to follow the dictates of the people. He is comfortable that coalition with the Conservatives then was the only option and doesnt rule it out again in the future so long as we are clear about what we stand for. He thinks we may well still get credit for what we did in government. He adds that it might well come down to electoral reform. The Tories wont consider it, but Labour might. He also suggests we dont talk about PR, but about a voting system in which everyones voice is heard. I saw Gordon Brown at the Edinburgh Book Festival the other day. He was talking about a constitutional convention and I was keen to find out Bowers view. He isnt mad about the idea because he feels it sounds too removed from people. Instead, he argues that we need to be getting them excited about politics and give them confidence that the political process can help them. The Alternative, edited by Caroline Lucas, Lisa Nandy and Chris Bowers, is published by Biteback Publishing and can be bought here. * Caron Lindsay is Editor of Liberal Democrat Voice and blogs at Caron's Musings Recently, the Electoral Reform Society published its report on the EU Referendum. Its an interesting read. Its main recommendations include: greater pre-legislative scrutiny of a Referendum Bill a more deliberative approach a body which can rule on the veracity of claims In the immediate aftermath of the referendum, ERS conducted a poll to find out the key influencers of and perceptions about the campaign. This graphic, showing where people got their information from, sums up how well the Leave campaign hit its target market and how completely rubbish the Remain campaign was. The report talks a lot of sense but misses the mark in some crucial ways, though. Scotland wasnt a bunch of roses First of all, the Scottish Referendum comes in for more praise than it perhaps deserves. Until the EU Referendum, I said that the Better Together campaign was the worst campaign in the history of democracy. Perhaps its now been overtaken by both Stronger In and Vote Leave. The Yes campaign in Scotland is often praised but, actually, beyond the illusory froth of inclusiveness, it was searingly negative and became more so as polling day approached. Three weeks from that referendum, commentator David Torrance observed: Yesterday I read of Yes supporters planning to use pens to mark their ballot papers amid fears their pencilled crosses might be altered, and, while that might be an extreme example, its an inevitable by-product of the Yes campaigns negative phase, not just scaremongering over the NHS, potential cuts to the Barnett Formula (what do they think would happen to it after a Yes vote?) and the prospect of government by Boris/Farage/insert political bogeyman here. The Scottish referendum was a divisive experience and shouldnt be held up as an example of how to do things perfectly. In fact, some of the worst lessons from the Scottish referendum were repeated by both sides in the EU Referendum, contributing to the failure of the campaign to properly engage and inform. Theres no mention of thresholds You cant add a person to a toddler group committee, or any other organisation, without, usually, a 2/3 majority. Thats a sensible thing to make sure that youve built a consensus ahead of even slightly small change. Yet roughly half the country can dictate to roughly the other half a course of action that will cause massive problems for everybody for decades to come. That cant possibly be acceptable. You might want to have a look in the ERS report and see the massive spike in Google searches for What does the EU do? on 24th June, the day after the referendum. Do we need to look at a process of making it much more difficult to make these decisions without a greater consensus in the country? That, to me, seems to be a very important part of any future discussion around referenda. You might argue that it should have been around this one. All parliamentarians were caught napping on this, with disastrous consequences. Professor A C Grayling has written extensively on these issues since the referendum, saying here: The poor drafting of the 2015 Referendum Act is a material factor likewise. If there was any risk of it being misunderstood that it was advisory only, a supermajority should have been stipulated. For a massively consequential constitutional change such as Brexit involves, nothing less than a two-thirds majority should be mandatory. The voting age should have been 16, since the younger generations are the most affected. British ex-pats should not have been disenfranchised on the grounds that they had lived abroad for longer than a certain period: that is an assault on their right as nationals. As it was indeed an advisory referendum, there should have been a variety of questions exploring whether further discussion with the EU on key issues would have satisfied some concerns about the nature of membership. In short, the simplistic in-out question and the restricted nature of the permitted constituency represent major problems. Hes arguing for Parliament to stop Brexit. That would, in my view, be extremely problematic, but I am in no doubt that a further mandate should be sought, particularly as the realities hit home. Todays developments from Japan are the tip of the iceberg. Why would people invest here when they can build factories 25 miles across the water and have access to half a billion more people? How do we scrutinise claims made in the heat of a campaign? The Report says that a body, perhaps set up by the Electoral Commission, should rule on whether claims are factual. They cite that the equivalents of the Advertising Standards Agency in other countries do rule on political ads. In this country weve veered away from doing that on the grounds that it may be a very slippery slope. The UK Statistical Authority did say that the 350 million a week claim made by Leave was, basically, hogwash, but nobody listened. What do you think is the best way to stop untrue claims embedding themselves in the minds of the public? * Caron Lindsay is Editor of Liberal Democrat Voice and blogs at Caron's Musings IT was on Christmas morning in 2014 that Sarah Doyle, from Clareview, got the surprise of her life. In front of both families and Sarahs nana Teresa Doyle, her young son Reuben brought in a very special gift for his mum from his dad - a solitaire diamond ring. It was very emotional to say the least," said Sarah Doyle, 32, a primary school teacher in Limerick. She and Damian Daly, 32, Woodview, an IT technician in the University of Limerick, met at a back to school party during Fresher's Week in college. It was their very first night out in college. Some 14 years later - after that wonderful Christmas morning - they tied the knot. They said their vows in St. Johns church in Cratloe, and danced the night away at the Radisson Blu Hotel in Limerick. What made their day extra special was having their three-year-old son Reuben as their page boy, who stole the show. It just added that little something to the day for us. Having my nana, who is 91 years of age, see us get married was very special as well. And also walking down the aisle with my Dad will stand out in my mind forever. One of their favourite parts of the day was having all their family members and friends involved in all of the church music. We had chosen songs that were very special to us and I am still secretly watching the wedding video. At the end of the ceremony we were waiting to walk down the aisle when Damian pulled out a microphone and started singing All I Want is You from the movie Juno. Then my brothers, both our fathers and the bridal party all sang a verse each. Just when I thought it was over, someone else would pop out and sing. My face through the whole thing is priceless. I nearly died. They had all gathered behind us while we were signing the register. The congregation had been given the words of the chorus also. There was even an instrumental verse like in the film Love Actually. To have the whole church singing was so emotional. Damian played a blinder there. I was speechless for once. Would they recommend their venue? Absolutely. Stacey O'Callaghan, the wedding coordinator at the Radisson, went above and beyond to help us and advise us. The service was fantastic on the day and everyone was raving about the food. The hotel had been newly refurbished, which made for some fabulous photos of the day. Like other couples, the best piece of advice they would give to couples getting married is to sneak away for even just five minutes to sit down with each other. The day goes so quickly. I think it was during the first dance we actually got a chance to talk to each other. Like many brides to be, Sarah found that one of the greatest challenges was trying not to over-spend on the website Etsy.com. It's very easy to buy everything you see because you think that will make your wedding even better but at the end of the day nobody remembers those small things. It is your guests that make a wedding. On a couple of occasions, she joked that Damian was forced to take the credit card off her, but praised him as a very hands on groom, who inputted everything into a spreadsheet. The day was everything we could have wished for and more. We are lucky to have such an amazing group of friends and family whose kindness and generosity means the world to us. The essentials: Venue: Radisson Blu Hotel, Limerick Dress: The Attic, Roches Street, Limerick. Orlaith Carroll was so fantastic to deal with and with a few added touches of her own, she gave me my dream wedding dress Hair/make-up: Val O'Dea, Mandy O'Loughlin, Limerick Groom's & groomsmens' suits: Esquire Menswear, Limerick Bridesmaid dresses: TB Dress (online) Photographer: Darren Kirwan, Limerick. His photos are so amazing. Every time I look at them I want to do it all over again! Cake: Clare Ryan from Big Dog Bakery made our cake. She was a finalist in the last Great Irish Bake Off and she teaches with me First dance song: Angels by Robbie Williams Band: For our drinks reception we had the amazing Downtown Dixieland Jazz band from Limerick city, followed by The Pearls, who ensured that the dance floor was never empty Number of guests: 180 Honeymoon: Punta Cana, Dominican Republic, Miami, New York ----------------------------- Your big day: If you would like to see your wedding or a love story dating back decades featured on this page, please e-mail anne.sheridan@limerickleader.ie with some details. Alternatively, if you would like to advertise announcements of engagements, weddings or anniversaries contact the office on 061 214521. SHANNON Rowing Club will celebrate its 150th birthday in nostalgic style at the clubs annual gala dinner, later this month. At the celebratory event, guests will enjoy a taste from history, dining on the menu that featured in the clubs gala dinner in 1906 one year after the clubhouse was built on Sarsfield Bridge. Founded in 1866, the club will host the special event on September 24 at the nearby Savoy Hotel to mark the magnificent anniversary. Speaking at the launch of the gala, club president Dorothy Quinn said that she is honoured to be performing her role during this important year. We've had a great year promoting the club and we're delighted with the growth in membership and we are inviting the people of Limerick who would like to learn how to row to an open evening in our Clubhouse on Thursday, September 8, 7pm, which will be followed by a quiz at 8pm. Shannon Rowing Club is such an important part of Limerick's history and it's great to see that rowing remains popular amongst the younger generations. We had hoped to hold the event in our wonderful clubhouse, but there's been such interest in tickets for the event that we had to relocate to the Savoy Hotel. We're delighted with the response so far. To mark the anniversary, the club will host a range of events throughout the year. Ms Quinn said that they are looking forward to building their new clubhouse in Annacotty, for which they recently received planning permission. It is hoped that the local rowers will be able to avail of the new facility, shortly after Christmas. We are delighted with this move, and this year we will be fundraising for that. Shannon Rowing Club was established by members of the business community in Limerick, including entrepreneur and former Mayor, Sir Peter Tait. Ms Quinn added:I think our club is deeply ingrained in the history of Limerick. I think the people of Limerick have been using the club facilities for 150 years, and it is a very inclusive club, where we have achieved international status. Our club member Tony OConnor has even rowed for the Olympics (Atlanta 1996 and Sydney 2000). He has won numerous international rowing events, she told the guests. Members of all ages attended the press launch, where Mayor of Limerick City and County, Minister of State for Sport, Patrick ODonovan spoke, followed by the presentation of the world indoor rowing medal by Shannon RC man, Ken McDonald to the club. There was also a display of Shannon RC memorabilia on the night. Ticket for the dinner are on sale on Eventbrite and can be purchased from Shannon Rowing Club committee members and the bar, at a cost 65. Further detail on the event will be posted on the club's website www.shannonrowingclub.com. Places are limited, and early booking is advised. Photos: Despite Eclectic Bill, EDM Reigns At North Coast Music Festival By Austin Brown in Arts & Entertainment on Sep 5, 2016 3:45PM Photos by Tyler LaRiviere Ostensibly, North Coast Music Festival finds an unlikely middle ground between hip-hop, rave and jam music, drawing each diverse audience in one place and creating a potpourri of fans and musicians alike. Its supposed to be a dizzying buffet of musical odds and ends, finding the rabid fanbases that exist outside of the oft-plumbed indie rock and alternative pop scenes found at fests like Lollapalooza and Pitchfork. Its an admirable and utopian desire, but in practice, North Coast is something of a hot mess: ravers and PLUR-proselytizing EDM lovers careen into sets filled with prog rock and bluegrass solos; the Chainsmokers Closer is played at least once an hour; and Matt and Kims otherwise bonkers stage antics concerning an inflatable penis and the exhortation to the crowd to use the air from your vaginas to fill up these balloons somehow seem par for the course. In a place like this, its the idiosyncratic artists that stand out, drawing together the curious and inquisitive toward something more oddball. Matt and Kims aforementioned banter framed a set that revamped their plain keyboard + drums setup into a set of rave-ups and spurts of adolescent ecstasy in songs like Daylight and Cameras, albeit ones that felt more asexual than the performers themselves. Meanwhile, Vulfpecks Saturday set was dotted with fodder for those with a trained earfor wound-up funk banger Back Pocket, the crowd was divided up to sing the chorus on different octaves. The collegiate vibe was refreshing, if a little stilted, but it came with a welcome dose of soul upon the entrance of frequent collaborator Antwaun Stanley for their most recognizable slices of slinky soul, Wait for the Moment and Funky Duck. And of course, returning headliners Umphreys McGee continued to lay down their mix of Phish-style jam band aesthetics and proggy, melodic excursions. Its no surprise that this eclecticism doesnt mesh well with some of the more grassroots artists found in Chicago; and local stars Jamila Woods and Ric Wilson, while performing stupendous sets that only justify their growing fame, suffered from early time slots and an audience seemingly unconverted to their charms. And while Lil Durk and Vic Mensa made appearances during Ty Dolla $igns hit-justifying (and, unfortunately, entirely lip-synced) set to represent the city, that whole show lay in the shadow of Juicy Js Friday performance, which eclipsed all the rest of the hip-hop at the festival with a decades-spanning run of banger after banger, going all the way back to his Three 6 Mafia days. Faring best might have been Sundays Chicago house mini-fest in the secluded Heineken house, which benefited from a limited capacity to create a more intimate atmosphere than almost anywhere else in Union Park that weekend. Jesse Saunders, the creator of the first original Chicago house record with On and On, stood out with his interpolations of Fingers, Inc.s Can You Feel It, a pulsing disco edit of Fleetwood Macs Dreams and a stack of old-school house records that managed to keep the walls shaking while paying close attention to history. Of course, all of this was on the margins of the fest: Anyone with eyes could tell you that the bulk of the audience and the marketing for the fest was geared towards its biggest moneymaking venture: EDM, dubstep and whichever of its practitioners have survived past the genres faddish adolescence and subsequent deflation over the last year. Talk to any trendsetter (if you must) and youll hear that EDM qua EDM is in declinepeople are moving towards the Balearic lilt of tropical house or the grinding crunch of Berlin techno, theyll probably saybut you wouldnt be able to tell it from being at North Coast, where the crowd greeted each drop and Chainsmoker chorus with shock and awe. Some of the appeal remains befuddling, even to my earsmy notes on Baauers Friday performance consist entirely of the word skronk, and Zedds festival-closing performance seemed like something Ayn Rand would have enjoyedmusic as a form of power that demands enjoyment and dance, a subjugating force rather than anything transformative. But gems emerged nonetheless: Dutch DJ Sam Feldt in particular offered a surprisingly riveting set, cavalierly throwing together some of the biggest and best bangers of the last six years into a nonstop churn that still managed to let through light (and melody, thank God). His approachat one point sandwiching '90s hip-house classic Ill House You by the Jungle Brothers in between Calvin Harris and LMFAOfelt closer to the hyperactive glee of mash-up culture than any of the self-seriousness of modern EDM. Finally, Odeszas headlining set on Friday might have been the highlight of the weekend, proving their light touch and commitment to their own material a preferable alternative to the mix-and-match strategy of someone like Matoma (who eschewed his entire discography to mix I Like To Move It, now best known for its presence in the soundtrack to Madagascar). The best Odesza songs work not for attempts at subversion or independence, but rather their competence at craft and songwritingSay My Name and All We Need in particular are deceptively effective at casting the shadow of alternate worlds and possibilities, reaffirming dance musics potential to convey a spiritual experience just as well as a sexual one. We and our partners use cookies to Store and/or access information on a device. We and our partners use data for Personalised ads and content, ad and content measurement, audience insights and product development. An example of data being processed may be a unique identifier stored in a cookie. Some of our partners may process your data as a part of their legitimate business interest without asking for consent. To view the purposes they believe they have legitimate interest for, or to object to this data processing use the vendor list link below. The consent submitted will only be used for data processing originating from this website. If you would like to change your settings or withdraw consent at any time, the link to do so is in our privacy policy accessible from our home page. Chinese President Xi Jinping and other leaders of the Group of 20 (G20) members, some guest countries and international organizations pose for a group photo ahead of the opening ceremony of the G20 summit in Hangzhou, capital of east China's Zhejiang Province, Sept. 4, 2016. [Photo/Xinhua] President Xi Jinping used his welcome speech to the leaders assembled for the Hangzhou G20 summit to demonstrate that China is steadily growing into its new role as a leading player in global economic management. He made it very clear that there is no room at a hugely influential forum like the G20 for what he called "empty talk," and that discussions must lead to agreements and agreements to action. This is quite a revolutionary concept in diplomacy. In my twenty years of diplomatic experience it all too often happened that an agreement on a text of a joint communique was seen as an acceptable substitute for an action programme and that the wording of such documents concentrated more on avoiding conflict than on providing a basis for moving forward. President Xi has recognised that this will no longer do, and, what is more, is prepared to make his point publicly. The state of the global economy requires more than warm words, mutual flattery and baseless optimism. The Chinese leader spoke of "a crucial juncture" in the world's affairs. He addressed the issues of persistently slack demand, slowdowns in international trade and investment and dangerously uncontrollable fluctuations in financial markets. And there are no 'magic bullets' in sight: "Growth drivers", he said, "from the previous generation of technological progress are gradually losing strength, while a new round of technological and industrial development has yet to gain momentum." Of course this view fits perfectly with China's domestic economic program, and it is not unlikely that Xi was offering the Chinese approach as a blueprint that other countries might wish to follow - and why not, seeing that China is managing the decline in growth better than most? So, what did President Xi's proposal for G20 nations might look like? In the usual well-ordered Chinese fashion, he set it out in the form of five key points: 1) the macroeconomic policies of G20 members should be more deeply and strongly coordinated, jointly pursuing growth and financial stability (rather than trying to steal a march on each other by seeking short-term advantages): 2) G20 nations should prioritise innovation as a driver of growth, collaborating closely to develop mutually beneficial growth engines: 3) member states should cooperate to improve international economic governance and ensure proper mutual compliance arrangements: 4) all major economic powers should work towards a more open world economy, and make concerted efforts to promote the liberalization and facilitation of trade and investment. (This runs parallel to China's focus on trading infrastructure by means of the One Belt One Road program and recognises that there is still a way to go in the field of trade finance.) 5) all parties should work towards the implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, aimed at ensuring that growth is directed towards positive social and environmental development. This last point is particularly significant in the light of China's decision, in company with the USA, to ratify the Paris Agreement on combating climate change. It was often felt, especially by developing nations, that there was a conflict between the requirement to lower greenhouse gas emissions and legitimate aspirations to industrial development and catching up with the developed world. China has here given a lead, by making a clear commitment to combine development with environmental protection while also with ensuring that growth is fairly distributed among the population, so as to avoid the emergence of socially damaging inequality. Another significant point made by the Chinese president was that it was time for emerging-market economies and developing countries to strengthen their role in international affairs, now that so many of the larger economic powers are mired in economic stagnation. Prominent among the leaders present in Hangzhou were those of the BRICS countries, whom President Xi addressed separately in the margins. The countries of the developing world are rightly concerned about protectionism, which is a constant temptation in times of economic uncertainty, but one which must be resisted. The establishment and entrenchment of an inclusive, rule-based and open world economy - ensuring a level playing field between developed and developing countries - was a key theme of the President's address. Xi also emphasised the need for reform of the governance structure of the IMF and the World Bank to ensure broader-based representation and influence in these central institutions. China cannot, of course, take sole responsibility for saving and supporting the world. But President Xi's address made it clear that the nation's re-emergence as a major world power will be matched by a proportionate assumption of responsibility for the world's future. And it shows that President Xi Jinping is not a person to evade difficult questions, either at home or internationally. Tim Collard is a columnist with China.org.cn. For more information please visit: http://www.china.org.cn/opinion/timcollard.htm Opinion articles reflect the views of their authors, not necessarily those of China.org.cn. Flash Immediately after the Group of 20 (G20) Hangzhou summit on Sept. 4-5, Chinese Premier Li Keqiang will visit Laos from Sept. 6 to 9 to attend the 11th East Asia Summit and pay an official visit to the country. Li's visit is widely considered an important diplomatic action to deepen China-ASEAN relations, and promote cooperation among East Asian countries. UPGRADE CHINA-ASEAN COOPERATION This year marks the 25th anniversary of the establishment of dialogue relations between China and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), and developing ties with ASEAN is a priority of China's peripheral diplomacy. Over the past 25 years, the political, commercial, social and cultural cooperation between China and ASEAN nations has all yielded significant achievements. Now bilateral cooperation has entered into a "period of maturity" and needs to be upgraded. To echo the need, Li will attend the 19th China-ASEAN (10+1) leaders' meeting to plan future development of relations between the two parties on the basis of successes already achieved. Currently, the global economy is still trapped in the quagmire of weak recovery. How to promote economic growth and seek development are major challenges of Southeast Asian countries, yet they also provide opportunities and impetus for China-ASEAN pragmatic cooperation. As ASEAN's most active partner, China has always been offering wisdom and strength for the development of ASEAN nations. In 2013, Chinese President Xi Jinping proposed construction of the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road with ASEAN countries and establish a closer China-ASEAN community of common destiny. In the same year, Premier Li initiated the 2+7 cooperation framework while attending the 16th China-ASEAN leaders' meeting in Brunei, and outlined together with other ASEAN leaders the roadmap of the "diamond decade." According to Professor Wei Ling, Director of the Institute of Asian Studies at China Foreign Affairs University, Southeast Asian nations are very much concerned on how China would support the ASEAN common community building in the future, especially within the framework of the Silk Road Economic Belt and the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road Initiative, also known as the Belt-Road Initiative. China's Vice Foreign Minister Liu Zhenmin mentioned that besides political mutual trust and pragmatic cooperation, China and ASEAN would also build people-to-people exchanges as the third pillar of bilateral relations, which would also serve as a new impetus to bilateral cooperation. INJECT NEW VITALITY INTO EAST ASIA COOPERATION One of the shadows against the upcoming East Asia summit is the recent South China Sea Arbitration farce. In recent years, as the East Asia cooperation and integration process have been hampered by some outside forces, the regional situation has become complicated. Ruan Zongze, executive deputy president of the China Institute of International Studies, said that most of the countries concerned want to cool down the South China Sea issue. Wei said many ASEAN countries have expressed the hope that the East Asia cooperation should refocus on economy and development. The Chinese premier will also attend the 19th ASEAN-China, Japan and Republic of Korea (10+3) leaders' meeting, the main mechanism for building the East Asia economic community and promoting cooperation in various fields. Although there have been twists and turns in the development of relations between China, Japan and South Korea, the 10+3 mechanism has led to the achievement of a series of fruitful results in finance, food security and other areas this year. According to Liu, Li will urge all parties at the meeting to enhance cooperation in areas such as financial security, trade and investment, agriculture and poverty alleviation, inter-connectivity and capacity building. As for the East Asia Summit, Liu said the premier will introduce China's views on the summit's future development as "a strategic forum guided by leaders," and adherence to principles such as leadership by ASEAN, consensus on the basis of consultation, accommodation of the feelings of all sides, and driving by the "two wheels" of economic development and political security. Wei suggested that the East Asia Summit emphasize pragmatic cooperation and regional inter-connectivity, and return to the path of joint cooperation to tackle challenges such as terrorism. CHINA-LAOS TRADITIONAL FRIENDSHIP REFRESHED Premier Li will also pay an official visit to Laos, the first during his term. The visit will surely propel bilateral friendly cooperation to move forward, and promote development of China-Laos comprehensive strategic cooperative partnership. Since the two countries established diplomatic relations 55 years ago, China and Laos have been trusting each other politically, and cooperated fruitfully in trade and infrastructure construction, bringing real benefits to both peoples. Located at a unique geographical position, Laos is China's important partner in building the Silk Road Economic Zone and the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road. The two countries signed a treaty last year on joint construction of the China-Laos railway linking Vientiane to the China-Laos border area in the north and Thailand in the south, which is currently progressing well. The Lao government also expects to develop the country's infrastructure construction with the help of China's Belt-Road Initiative, and invite Chinese companies to participate in the exploration of Laos' rich hydropower resources. European Council President Donald Tusk praised the decision made by China and the U.S. to ratify the Paris agreement, saying, "We are happy that the United States and China, the two biggest global emitters, ratified the agreement." European Council President Donald Tusk speaks at a press conference on Sept. 4. [Zhang Ruomeng/China.org.cn] The statement was made during a press conference on Sept. 4 ahead of the G20 Hangzhou summit, where climate change will be on the agenda. Chinese President Xi Jinping and U.S. President Barack Obama submitted the legal instruments to join the Paris agreement to curb climate-warming emissions on Saturday. Mr. Tusk said: "The ratification by China and the U.S. is for us a hope that we will no longer be alone. With major emitters around the table we need to make sure that our common priority is to implement the Paris agreement early and in a robust manner." China and the U.S. produce a combined 38 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions. "The EU is fully committed to this goal and we want to encourage all G20 members to do the same," he said. "We expect the challenge of climate change to be dealt with in all seriousness by the G20 partners." The Paris deal, signed in December last year, will legally enter into force only after at least 55 countries accounting for at least 55 percent of global emissions agree to it. With China and the U.S. joining the accord, the EU is now several steps behind them. Mr. Tusk asserted that the ratification process is under way in the EU and will be completed as soon as possible. An EU official speaking to China.org.cn on the condition of anonymity said that the EU is unlikely to be able to ratify the accord anytime soon, as it has 28 member states and every member state has its own procedures. The official commended China and the U.S. for their leading role in signing the accord. At COP21 last year, the EU was committed to cutting its total greenhouse gas emissions by at least 40 percent by 2030. "Right now the EU is developing the laws which will allow us to deliver our ambitious target for 2030," Mr. Tusk said. Find not too frequent updates from the Livesay family here 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 The Taliban claimed credit for todays suicide assault near the Afghan Ministry of Defense in Kabul that killed more than 20 people, including Army and police officials. The attack is the latest in a string of deadly assaults in the capital city over the past several months. The attack began as the Taliban detonated a remote-controlled Improvised Explosive Device outside the Ministry of Defense, according to TOLONews. As first responders gathered at the scene of the first bombing, a Taliban suicide bomber who is believed to have been wearing an Afghan National Army uniform detonated his explosives. Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Muhajid claimed the twin bombings on his official Twitter feed and confirmed local press reports that an IED blast was followed by a suicide bomber, or martyr attack. Powerful blast followed by martyr attack hit enemy in gate of MoD [Ministry of Defense] building as they were leaving duties afternoon today, Muhajid claimed. He also said that that 58 Afghan security personnel including Gen. Raziq Panjsheri, PD2 [Kabul Police District 2] commander and his deputy and two guards of President Ashraf Ghani. Afghan officials estimated that 24 people were killed and 91 more were wounded. While the Taliban routinely exaggerate the number of people killed in its attacks, Muhajids account that senior officials were killed was bolstered by press reports. Among the dead are Sayed Zaman, the police chief for PD2, and Razaq, the deputy chief of support for the Afghan National Armys (ANA) Regiment Unit. Also killed were Zamans deputy and the head of the intelligence unit for PD2. A number of other senior police officials are also among the dead, TOLONews reported. Kabul has been the scene of several high-profile attacks over the summer. The last attack, on Aug. 24, took place at American University in Kabul. Two gunmen breached an outer wall after exploding a bomb, and killed seven student and five security personnel before being killed by Afghan commandos. Neither the Taliban nor the Islamic State have claimed responsibility for the attack. On July 23, the Islamic State claimed a double suicide attack that targeted Hazara as they were protesting in the capital. Scores of civilians were killed and more than 200 were wounded in the deadly attack, which was quickly denounced by the Taliban. On June 30, the Taliban claimed credit for an attack in Kabul that was similar to todays assault. A suicide bomber targeted a bus carrying police cadets as it traveled in the capital. As first responders arrived at the scene of the attack, a second suicide bomber detonated his explosives during the rescue effort. Ten days prior, a Taliban suicide bomber targeted a bus in the capital, and killed 23 people, including 14 Nepali security guards. The bus was carrying individuals who worked at the Canadian embassy. The latest attacks in Kabul took place as the Taliban has sustained an offensive in northern, southern, eastern, and western Afghanistan. The Taliban offensive, dubbed Operation Omari after its founder and first emir, Mullah Omar, has strained Afghanistans struggling security forces. Several districts have fallen under Taliban control over the past year. 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. Luton is a large town, borough and unitary authority area of Bedfordshire. Luton and its near neighbours, Dunstable and Houghton Regis, form the Luton/Dunstable Urban Area with a population of about 258,000. Luton is home to Championship team Luton Town Football Club, London Luton Airport and The University of Bedfordshire. You can find us on Facebook and Twitter. For all the latest news from Luton sign up to our newsletter here. The great Gold Rush Music Festival returns to the township of Waihi, with the first nuggets of gold dropping for the highly anticipated return of the 2023 festival. Home > Archives (2006 on) > 2016 > On the Lethality of Pellet Guns I recently wrote the following letter to newspapers: It is deceitful to describe pellet guns as non-lethal. While they may not kill, they have maimed people permanently, specially by causing loss of vision. Breaking up a public gathering by blinding those in it is inhuman. Tear gas is at least as effective and does no long term damage. An English friend reacted thus: I find it outrageous that the situation in India has deteriorated to the point at which you are advocating the use of tear gas. I pointed out that tear gas had been used extensively in India for decades as a form of crowd control and said that he should not compare India and England. My friend responded with: Maybe Im just too naive when I see the use of tear gas condoned as an acceptable form of crowd control. This is no reflection on you, but a comment upon the times in which we live: in many parts of the world protesters expect to be met with water cannon, batons and tear gas.... Minister Rajnath Singh said, during his visit to Kashmir on August 24-25, In the coming few days, we will give an alternative to the pellet guns. These guns were earlier considered non-lethal but some incidents have taken place... We formed an expert committee a month ago which was expected to give report in two months but it will be coming very soon (The Hindu, August 29, 2016). And what is this alternative? The pump action guns from which pellets are fired are here to stay. From now on, the pellets will not be of metal but of soft material like polymer, soft plastic, rubber and even paper. The Ordnance Factory Board, which manufactures the pump action guns, has been asked to produce the other types of pellets as well, said one of the members of the committee (same source). It is a matter of common sense that tightly rolled or crumpled paper becomes hard, and that a projectile of such material which travels at high velocity can cause considerable damage to human tissue. At school in the early 1960s, we boys would fire pieces of rolled up paper at one another with stretched rubber bands. This sport was banned after a boy lost the vision of the eye in which he was hit. It cannot be said that the proposed alternative is any less damaging than metal pellets. I do not know if the pellet guns are ordinary shot-guns (12 bore or other), but even if they are not, they work on the same principle. What we have is guns with cartridges which are ordinarily used to kill birds being used against humans. So much for non-lethal. The author is a writer, editor and photographer. Home > Archives (2006 on) > 2016 > Dalits Emancipation Possible Only when they Leave Humiliating (...) A Dalit Asmita Yatra was taken out in Gujarat between July 31 and August 15, 2016 by the Una Dalit Atyachar Ladat Samiti from Ahmedabad to Una, where the obnoxious incident took place on July 8 when some Dalits were beaten up for skinning dead cows. Symbolically, on Indepen-dence Day the Dalits demanded that they must be freed from the task of disposal of cattle carcasses and instead they should be given land so that they may survive by engaging in agriculture, a more respectable vocation than what they have been traditionally doing. Any landless Dalit is in any case entitled to receive land from the panchayat. Essentially the demand was to implement the provision in law for the Dalits. Even in cases from around the country where Dalits have been given land titles by panchayats, they are not able to take control of their land sometimes. Encroachment over Dalit land is a fairly common problem. The police and administration tend to favour the powerful upper-caste people who encroach upon the land of the Dalits, just like they did in the Una incident. Dr B.R. Ambedkar was for nationalisation of land. As land reforms have not taken place in spite of the implementation of the land ceiling law and the people fear that any surplus land will be given to private corporations rather than landless labourers, it may not be a bad idea to revive the call for nationalisation of land given by Dr Ambedkar. There should be a way of more equitable use of land. This will give Dalits the opportunity to give up vocations which are inhuman. The young convenor of the Samiti, Jignesh Mevani, says that he doesnt want it to just remain a Dalit movement. He would like to invite other progressive forces to join this movement for emancipation of the Dalits. He invokes Shaheed Bhagat Singh also in his speeches. There is an appeal for promoting inter-caste and interfaith marriages and also to strengthen Dalit-Muslim unity as Muslims too have been at the receiving end of the cow protection campaign. In fact, as long as it was only the Muslims getting killed or attacked by cow vigilante groups, the Prime Minister kept quiet. It was only when the Una incident received bad publicity and threatened the electoral prospects of the BJP in the forthcoming elections in Punjab and UP, that Narendra Modi in quite an unexpected about-turn came down heavily upon these groups. However, the PMs outburst doesnt seem to have had any affect on the cow vigilante groups. The Hindu Jagarana Vedike has killed Praveen Poojary, interestingly a BJP worker, who was accused of carrying cattle in a vehicle for the slaughter house. So, it appears that the PMs apparent anger was more for public consumption than actually intended to stop such incidents. In any case the Vishwa Hindu Parishad and other Hindutva groups have condemned the PMs accusation that 80 per cent of the cow vigilantes are anti-social elements by the night. It certianly cannot be denied that they take law into their own hands. The faith seems to be given more importance than our Constitution. The Dalit Asmita Yatra received a good response in Gujarat and gave a platform to the Dalits for assertion of their rights. The method of protest they have chosen, of abandoning the cattle carcasses, reflects the agony of their profession. Earlier Dalits were known to have given up this task in 19 villages of Mehsana district of Gujarat. Unless they give up these menial jobs, their children will not be able to go to schools and generation after generation theyll remain in the same tradition. Now it is up to the class, which is the consumer of leather items, to worry about how they would remove the skin of dead cattle so that it may be used by the leather industry. The cow vigilante groups have also protested against the use of cow leather for making various items. With the Dalits in Gujarat having resolved on a big scale not to skin dead animals, it has already become a problem for the government there. It is thinking of employing machines to perform the task and dispose of the dead cows. The leather industry may be under serious threat because of the misplaced enthusiam of the cow vigilantes and a Right-wing government not too keen to suppress the Hindu sentiment. In any case, a number of humiliating tasks, including getting down into sewer lines to clean them, which are performed by Dalits, should have been mechanised long back. Just as this Yatra was to end in Una, news came in of four people having died in Madhapur in Hyderabad because of suffocation when they had entered a manhole to clean it. It is really shameful that in the era of modernisation when most inhuman tasks involving drudgery are being mechanised, we still make live human beings enter the hell which is the sewer line. This is another task that the Dalits must be freed from. It is only when the Dalits are freed from the inhuman tasks that it will give a chance to the Dalit children to think about a more respectable future for themselves by adopting alternative careers after getting educated. Wherever Dalit families have got a chance, they have left such humiliating professions. But the problem is that most Dalits, engaged in menial tasks, live in conditions of poverty which dont allow them to unshackle themselves from their situation. Even a Free and Compulsory Right to Education Act, which got implemented in the country in 2009, is not able to pull all their children out and get them admitted in schools. When 23 Valmiki (a community which is traditionally involved in sanitation work) children were to be admitted along with another eight Muslim children to the prestigious City Montessori School in Lucknow last year under the RTE, the school opposed their entry tooth and nail. Only by a Court order 13 Valmiki children got admitted to the school in 2015. The school again wanted them out in the current academic year. The Supreme Court has reprimanded it for this. The elite class has made the life of children of sanitation workers miserable, humiliating them at every step. 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. Home > Archives (2006 on) > 2016 > Dalit Uprising and After: Why Hindutva Would Not Be The Same (...) When I was born I was not a child I was a dream, a dream of revolt that my mother, oppressed for thousands of years, dreamt. Still it is untouched in my eyes Covered with wrinkles of thousand years, her face her eyes, two lakes overflowing with tears have watered my body..... Sahil Parmar1 Well-known Gujarati poet Sahil Parmars poem When I Was Born perhaps reverberates these days in Gujarat when we are witnessing a Dalit upsurgethe first of its kind at least in that regions history. It will be a talk of folklore for times to come how the flogging of Dalits in a village in Saurashtra by Hindutva fanatics suddenly erupted into a mass movement of Dalits which could catch the imagination of the people cutting across different sections of society. An attempt is being made here to understand the dynamics of the movement and its likely impact on the future trajectory of Hindutva. I Love Cows, Hate Human Beings? There are moments in the trajectory of any authoritarian/fascist/Right-wing project where one of its closely guarded secrets suddenly tumbles out in the open and then it becomes difficult for it to fix it. The Hindutva brigade today finds itself in a similar situationthanks to the Dalit upsurge in Gujarat which is still unfolding before our eyes. The historic march to Una town of Saurashtra regionunder the banner of Una Atyachar Ladat Samitimight be over; thousands and thousands of Dalits, who had gathered there from different parts of the State and outside, might have returned home but their resolve not to undertake the despicable caste practice of manual scavenging and disposing of cattle carcasses still reverberates all over the State. And their demand before the State Government that within the next one monthby the 15th of Septemberit starts distributing five acres of land to each rural Dalit family for rehabilitation, is reaching far and wide and gathering fresh support. None from the Hindutva fraternity had ever imagined that in their so-called model State itself they would be faced with such a challenge which would put their carefully crafted pan-Hindu social coalition to test. It was beyond their comprehension that Dalitsthe most downtrodden section in the Varna hierarchywho had been slowly roped in down the years in the Hindutva politics and a section amongst them had also become a party to the anti-minority violence in 2002, would one fine morning turn their backs on them and readily join hands with the other demanding a life of human dignity and putting in jeopardy the very raison detre of the project. And, as can be expected in such a situation, they literally floundered when they were asked to react to this uprising. The multiple voices which emerged from the broader Parivar were an indication of their confusion. No doubt talking in multiple tongues has always been a part of their overall strategy but this time it also demonstrated disorientation in their own ranks. The moot question became whether to uphold the perpetratorswho were following the scriptor support the victims. And thus one found the Prime Minister exposing the majority of the cow vigilantes as being anti-social elements and asking the Home Department to prepare a dossier about them and another significant leader of the same family denouncing such characterisation as being anti-Hindu. The confusion was understandable. In fact, it was for the first time in recent times that Hindutva Supremacists are discovering that the more they push one of their key agenda centering around cow politicswhich has served them well till datethe more there is the possibility that their dream of Hindu Unity would see further fissures. (Vidya Subrahmaniam describes it as A reverse Ram Mandir Moment in her article on present situation in UP. http://www.thehindu.com/opinion/lead/its-mayawati-versus-modi-in-up/article9022511.ece? ref=topnavwidget&utm _source=topnavdd&utm_me dium=topnavdropdown widget&utm_campaign= topnavdropdown) Apart from Dalits, who have come under increasing attack at the hands of overzealous cow protectors and are slowly turning against the Parivar itself, a large section of the peasant population is peeved over the fact that politics around the cow has made their life miserable as they are not able to do away with cattles who have become old or have stopped producing milk. One of the couplets by Saint Tulsidas captures Hindutvas plight beautifully: Bhayal Gati Saap Chachunder Jaisi... II Rashtravadi toh hamare saath hain, humein Dalit aur pichchde ko saath lana hai Everybody knows that there was nothing unusualas far as depradations unleashed by Hindutva fanatics under the name of cow protection were concernedabout what happened to Dalits from Mota Samadhiyala village when they were skinning a dead cow. One can recollect that such attacks were common even in those days when the BJP did not have a majority of its own at the Centre. A classic example has been the killing of five Dalits in Dulina (Jhajjar)hardly fifty kilometres away from the national Capitalwho were similarly skinning dead cows, by a cow vigilante mob (2003) before the Dulina Police Station itself with leading officers of the police and administration remaining mute witnesses. A leading Hindutva leader (dead sometime back) even justified the killings by citing reference to ancient Hindu sciptures claiming that in the Puranas cows were more valued than human beings. The killings definitely led to an outrage; there were few symbolic arrests as well but the commotion died down soon and in fact the perpetrators of this massacre were decorated as cow protectors. In fact, most such attacks in recent times had been rather more brutal. To name a few, lynching of two young men after their brutal torture near Latehar, Jharkhand by cow vigilantes; killing an adolescent near Udhampur while he was sleeping in a truck by throwing petrol bomb under the suspicion that the truck was carrying beef; near riot-like situation which emerged in Palwal, Haryana because of the cow vigilantes attack on a truck carrying meat or the way two transporters were fed cowdung laced with urine when they were found transporting cattle for sale near Gurgaon. Scan the internet to watch the valour of these fanatics and you will find scores of such criminal attacks on innocents. Videos after videos are available showing how these self-proclaimed cow protectors brutalised the people for carrying cows from one place to the other or because of suspicion that they were carrying beef and how there was no action against them from the law and order people. But thrashing of Dalits from Mota Samadhiyala village by cow vigilantes, uploading the video of their valour on the social media has proved to be a turning-point. Anybody can see that the Dalit uprising which the Una incident has triggered has inadvertently or so unearthed the well guarded secret behind this exclucivist projectwhere it is clear even to a layperson now that for Hindutva, Dalits or the other marginalised are lesser human beings or the other, whatever might be its claims about the great samrasta it upholds. There is a growing realisation that the formal posturing of Hindutva politics, where it is presented /understood in the form of religious imaginaries where minoritiesmay be Muslim or Christianare portrayed as the other is one thing but essentially the whole idea of a Hindu Rashtra is an attempt to further legitimise the Brahminical project of hegemonising and homogenising the Indian society where the secondary position of Dalits has received religious sanction also. An inkling of how they view Dalits and the backwardswhen they are talking among themselvescan be had from the recent comments by PM Modi when he spoke at length at a meeting which was attended by 400 top leaders of the BJP, at the end of the 15-day patriotism drive. Newspaper reports tell us that he called on his party to continue playing the nationalism card which is central to the BJPs ideology. Perhaps the most telling comment made by him was the following: Rashtravadi toh hamare saath hain, humein Dalit aur pichchde ko saath lana hai. The nationalists are with us, we need to bring Dalits and backward groups. (http://indianexpress.com/article/india/india-news-india/nationalists-are-with-us-lets-reach-out-to-dalits-backwards-pm-modi-to-party-2993281/) Was it just a slip of tongue or an admission of the truth that for the Hindutva non-backwards, non-Dalits, that is, the upper castes, have sole claim over the nation and Dalits as well as backwards outside its purview need to be brought closer. (http://scroll.in/article/814769/the-daily-fix-what-did-modi-mean-when-he-said-there-is-a-chasm-between-dalits-and-nationalists) Perhaps a marker of their continuing indifference or disdain towards the plight of the Dalits (forget those Bollywood-type dialogues Shoot Me but Do Not Shoot My Dalit Brothers) could also be gauged from the fact that when the Dalit upsurge was at its peak in the State, the provocative statement by one of their own MLAs from Telangana who justified the beatings and uploaded a video on facebook did not prompt them to take any action. His words were: Jo Dalit gaye ke maas ko le ja raha tha, jo uski pitai hui hai, woh bohut hi achhi hui hai [Those Dalits who were taking the cow, the cow meat, those who were beaten, it was a very good thing to happen].(http://scroll.in/latest/812903/anyone-who-kills-cows-deserves-to-be-beaten-says-bjp-mla-raja-singh) III Unpacking the Gujarat Model! Recently Jignesh Mewani, the convener of the Una Dalit Atyachar Ladat Samiti which is spearheading this upsurge, was in the Capital to communicate the message of the movement to a broader audience and also garner support for the Rail Roko programme organised by the front from September 15. He underlined the resolve of the Dalits that they are firm in their decision not to clean up other peoples dirt, nor to lift carcasses of dead cattles. He told the audience how twenty thousand Dalits had gathered in their rally in Ahmedabad and have taken an oath not to undertake any such profession which they have been condemned to because of the Varna hierarchy and are further stigmatised because of that. In a tongue-in-cheek comment he added: We (Dalits) are not going to clean up peoples dirt any more. Modiji, now you are welcome to experience the spirituality that is supposed to be there in scavenging. (http://www.telegraphindia.com/1160821/jsp/frontpage/story_103638.jsp#.V74anPl97IU) Jigneshwho is an advocate and an activistwas referring to Karmayog, a collection of Modis speeches to trainee IAS officers, brought out by a Gujarat PSU, in which he had said that scavenging was an experience in spirituality for the Valmikis (a sub-caste of Dalits). (See: https://kafila.org/2014/02/12/modi-and-the-art-of-disappearing-of-untouchability/) Explaining the genesis of the movement and why the flogging incident of Dalits by self-proclaimed cow vigilantes affiliated to a Hindutva organisation triggered the uprising, he shared details of the lives of deprivation and discrimination and atrocities faced by Dalits under the much-talked-about Gujarat Model. According to him, there are thousands of cases of atrocities against Dalits every year; atrocities continued to rise during Mr Modis chief ministership which lasted for 13 years; there are more than 55,000 Dalits who are still engaged in the work of scavenging; one lakh sanitation workers are still not getting minimum wages; Dalits in 119 villages in Gujarat are living under police protection; the rate of conviction in cases of Dalit atrocities is merely three per cent. According to him, a glaring example of denial of justice to Dalits has been the killing of three Dalits by the police with AK 47 rifles as if they were terrorists in Thangarh in Gujarat in the year 2012 and despite the fact that more than a lakh Dalits demonstrated against these killings, there was no action by the government against the accused police personnel. (As we go to press one hears that the Gujarat Government has announced an SIT to look into the killings and has also raised compensation for the affected families.) When someone in the audience posed a question about availability of land in the State, Jignesh shared figures about availability of land under various schemes and how dominant castes/classes have been in actual possession of such land meant for the exploited and the marginalised. According to him, thousands of acres of land with the state that it got during the Bhoodan aandolan have also not been distributed. He further shared lesser known provisions about the SC-ST sub-plan which talks about purchase of land for its distribution to the landless in case of its unavailability. His simple poser which struck a deep chord among the audience was that if under the name of development the state can allocate thousands of acres of land at throwaway prices to the Ambanis, Adanis and the Tatas, why should Dalits be denied their rightful due? He also explained how the recent changes undertaken by the State Government under the Land Acquisition Act have many draconian provisions inherent in it where the consent clause has been deletedmeans if the government wishes to hand over land to the corporates for development work, then it can simply take over the peasants land supposedly for public good, offer some symbolic compensation and need not seek her/his consent. To the poser as to what would happen if Dalits leave their traditional profession which grants them some sort of economic security, he quoted Ambedkar who had asked his followers during the historic Mahad Satyagrah (1927) that they should get ready to die of hunger to live a life of dignity but should never undertake such stigmatised professions. Gujarat Model: Dalit, tribal, OBC landless denied surplus land, Patels received 12 lakh acres Fresh facts have come to light suggesting that in Gujarat there has been extremely questionable progress in the allocation of surplus land to the landless, acquired from big landlords under the Gujarat Agricultural Land Ceiling Act, 1960. Based on RTI applications, the District Registrar of Land Records, Junagadh, has admitted that out of 11 of 16 villages for which information was sought, no survey of surplus land has taken place for the last 24 years; hence there was no allocation. In another instance, in Navsari district, the Gujarat Government declared that between 2006 and 2008, while Modi ruled the State, it had allocated land to 7542 landless beneficiaries; but a year later, it admitted the land titles were yet to be given to 3616 beneficiaries. However, now, on the basis of an RTI reply, we know that things have not changed even in 2015. In an article published in Dalit Adhikar, a Gujarati periodical, Jignesh Mewani says: Information with us suggests that the Gujarat Government, in all, acquired 163,808 acres land under the Gujarat Agricultural Land Ceiling Act, 1960, and we feel most of it has been allocated to the landless only on paper. The landless, mainly Dalits, tribals and belonging to the Other Backward Classes (OBCs), havent yet got actual possession of land. Mewani says: Chief beneficiaries of the land-to-the-tiller policy have been the upper-caste Patels. About 55,000 Patels were allocated 12 lakh acres of land declared mainly in Saurashtra and Kutch regions of Gujarat. But as for Dalit landless agriculturists, they have received not even 12 inches of land. Only a very small section, which is very close to the powers-that-be, has gained. According to Mewani, Let us give a sample of the Gujarat Governments good governance: We made in all 65 RTI applications between 2011 and 2015 to find out facts about allocation of just 6500 acres of land in different villages. Yet, officials are refusing to give copies of land titles which may show that land has been actually handed to the beneficiaries. Associated with the Jan Sangharsh Manch, a Gujarat-based human rights organisation, Mewani says: Of the 163,808 acres of surplus land, 70,000 acres of land is under dispute with the revenue tribunal, Gujarat High Court and the Supreme Court. While this land may not be allocated, there is a need to answer as to why the rest of the land, too, remains unallocated. In fact, says Mewani, there are 15,519 acres of surplus land, on which there is no dispute at all, yet the Gujarat Government is refusing to act..... (http://www.milligazette.com/news/13251-gujarat-model-dalit-tribal-obc-landless-denied-surplus-land-patels-received-12-lakh-acres) Jigneshs claims about continuous denial of justice to Dalits or the great hiatus which exists between claims by the government and the actual situation on the ground is a fact which even earlier reports by the NHRC have admitted. A cursory glance at its 2009 report had declared that Gujarat accounted for 3813 complaints of human rights violation of the total of 94,559 cases from across the country, which was less than only Uttar Pradesh and Delhi. (The Indian Express, March 20, 2009) A 23-page confidential report, submitted by the State Social Justice Department to the State Chief Secretary and legal departments, provides glaring examples of mishandling of cases registered under Prevention of Atrocities Act against SC/STs. (The Indian Express, September 15, 2006). The rate of conviction of cases under the Prevention of Atrocity Act against SC/STs in Gujarat is a mere 2.5 per cent while the rate of acquittal is 97.5 per cent. The report provides details of how cases are not investigated properly by the police and the hostile role played by public prosecutors during the time of trials. The Act clearly stipulates that offences which are registered under this Act cannot be investigated by an officer below the rank of Deputy SP but more than 4000 such cases have been investigated by Police Inspectors or Police Sub-Inspectors. Acquittal of the perpetrator because the victim not identified as a member of the SC or ST community. Reason, not attaching caste certificate of the victim with the case papers. Public prosecutors false claims before the courts that the Act has been modified by the State Government altough it is known that it is a Central Act. Granting of anticipatory bails although there is no such provision in the Act. Interestingly the Parliamentary Committee on SC and ST affairs had also expressed concern over such anticipatory bails granted in atrocity cases in the State of Gujarat. In fact a detailed and systematic study of 400 judgements done by Vajibhai Patel, the Secretary of the Council for Social Justice (March 11, Year 2005, No. 106, http://www.sabrang.com) had compelled the government to work on this 23-page report. It tells us that utterly negligent police investigation at both the higher and lower levels, coupled with a distinctly hostile role played by the public prosecutors, is the main reason for the collapse of cases filed under the Atrocities Act. It is worth noting that he has meticulously documented these judgements delivered under this Act since April 1, 1995 in the Special Atrocity Courts set up in 16 districts of the State. The study also blasts the common perception that the inefficacy of this law is due to false complaints being lodged or compromises between the parties; in actuality it is a complicit State that has rendered the Act toothless. IV Keep Cows Tail With You, And Give Us Our Land On March 20, 1927, Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar led the Mahad satyagrahafor drinking water from the Chavdar tank at Mahad. This was the foundational struggle of the Dalit movement, a movement for waterand for caste annihilation. In his statement at the time, Dr Ambedkar put the movement in the broadest possible context. Why do we fight?he asked. It is not simply for drinking water; drinking the water will not give us very much. It is not even a matter of only of our human rights, though we fight to establish the right to drink water. But our goal is no less than that of the French Revolution... And so Dalits went to drink the water at Mahad. They were met with ferocious repression: attack by the caste Hindus followed. The Dalits retreated, came back several months later on December 25 for a renewed struggle, and since the Collector had given an injunction against any further attempt, Ambedkar decided to honour this and instead burned the Manusmriti. A fitting climax to the first battle of dalit liberation! (https://seekingbegumpura.wordpress.com/2013/03/22/the-mahad-satyagraha/) The Dalit uprising in Gujarat and the manner in which it has rattled the State Government and severely impacted the BJPs well-laid-out plans to consolidate its support-base among the Dalits has been a whiff of fresh air for every peace and justice-loving person in this part of Asia. What has caught the imagination of the people is the key slogan of the movement which says: Keep Cows Tail With You, And Give Us Our Land. It is a single slogan which encapsulates the question of caste discrimination as well as communalism and puts forward a positive demand to fight material deprivationwhich has been an integral part of the sanctified hierarchy of caste. The emphasis of the movement that Dalits leave the stigmatised professionswhich have condemned them to the lowest position on the Varna/Caste hierarchyand wholehearted participation of thousands and thousands of Dalits in it, the militancy it has added to the Dalit movement has broken a new ground in the Dalit movement. No doubt, there was a lot of spontaniety in the movement but the way it moved ahead and added a new edge to Dalit assertion could not have been imagined without the young leadership which took charge. Their inclusive approach also helped them rope in on a common agenda activists of other organisations or attract many such people who are opposed to or uncomfortable with the Hindutva politics. Inclusiveness of the movement was also evident in the fact that Muslimswho have been put in a very miserable condition post-2002 carnagealso joined the Azaadi Kooch to Una. Many welcomed it on the way in large numbers and also travelled to Una in their hundreds for the August 15 Independence Day rally held there. A less discussed aspect of this upsurge is the fact that Dalits are merely seven per cent of the States population and have not had a long history of militant movement but despite these limitations the impact of the movement has been phenomenal. Not only did it compel the BJP to change its Chief Minister for mishandling the movement, but it also disturbed its Dalit outreach plans elsewhere. Remember, barring the historic struggle led by Dadasaheb Gaikwada close comrade of Dr Ambedkarin the late 1950s in Maharashtra where the issue of land was highlighted, rare have been occasions in post-independence times when the issue of material deprivation of Dalits was creatly integrated with socio-cultural discrimination and political marginaliation. Una has changed the picture. It has also raised many unheard of slogans in the Dalit movement. Dalits of the World Unite, Workers of the World Unite or Jai Bhim, Lal Salaam and Jai Savitribai. (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v= 9jqgA75o5PE) Analysts have rightly pointed out it that the Dalit movement in recent times has largely remained limited/focussed on what can be called the issue of identity/asmita but Una marks a new beginning where the issue of existence/astitva has also come to the fore. Possibly gone are the days when victimhood was highlighted or the rhetoric of Brahminism down-down was repeated ad nauseum and a careful silence was maintained about economic issues. As a revolutionary activist shared in his e-mail, [a]n important thing to note is that the Una struggle can also be seen as part of a continuum where a social movement connects itself with anti-systemic struggles. Definitely the Una struggle, which has sent shivers down the spine of the Hindutva Supremacists, cannot be seen in isolation. It is rather a continuation of growing Dalit assertion against Hindutva depradations, especially after the ascendance of the Modi-led regime at the Centre. The realisation has slowly sunk in that not only does it want to attack affirmative action programmes but its economic policiescoupled with its regressive sociocultural agendaare bringing ruin to the Dalits and other marginalised sections of society. It is becoming more and more clear to them that the people in power want a docile/pliable Dalit polity which can dance to their tune. They want Ambedkar but not the real one, only his sanitised version. How much they are scared about the real Ambedkar and his ideas can be seen from a decision of the Anandi Patel-led government: it literally dumped four lakh copies of Ambedkars biography, which it had printed for massive distribution, as the author of the book had also included 22 vows which Ambedkar recited with his followers at the time of conversion to Buddhism. And this realisation has given rise to a tremendous reaction. Ranging from the successful campaign against derecognition of Ambekdar Periyar Study Circle active in Chennai, IIT by the management (https://kafila.org/2015/06/05/no-to-ambedkar-periyar-in-modern-day-agraharam/), or the countrywide movementwhere students and youth were in the forefrontafter the institutional murder of Rohith Vemula (https://kafila.org/2016/01/22/long-live-the-legacy-of-comrade-vemula-rohith-chakravarthy-statement-by-new-socialist-initiative-nsi/), or the massive mass mobilisation against demolition of the Ambedkar Bhavan in Mumbai by the BJP-led government or the Zameen Prapti Movement in Punjab led by the revolutionary Left where Dalits have come together to form collectives etc., one can easily see that such assertion is increasing in its intensity and militancy. In Punjab, the share of the Dalits in the 1,58,000 acres of Panchayat land is 52,667 acres. There are also legal entitlements for them in the Nazool lands. However, the actual possession of these lands has remained with the landlords and rich peasants. As per the agricultural census 2010-11, the SCs in Punjab, who are a third of its population, owned just 6.02 per cent of the land holdings and 3.2 per cent of the land area of the State. Of these operational holdings also a large proportion (nearly 85 per cent) are said to be unviable due to the small size of less than five hectares. Since 2014, the Dalit peasantry, organised under the banner of ZPSC (Zameen Prapti Sangharsh Samiti) and holding firmly aloft its red flag in the blazing sun, has begun to assert their claim over what is rightfully theirs. These lands used to be auctioned to dummy candidates of landlords; a gaushala in Sangrur district has been given land for 30 years at the rate of Rs 7000 an acre by the Akali-BJP Government of the State whereas the price for Dalits is over Rs 20,000 an acre. This struggle, that is spreading in districts of South Punjab, has been met with police and landlord repression, false FIRs against unknowns, but the struggle rages on like a spreading blaze. (https://nbsdelhi.wordpress.com/2016/08/24/hail-the-assertion-by-landless-dalits-of-punjab-and-gujarat-of-their-right-to-land-land-to-the-tiller-key-to-annihilating-caste/) If the unexpected shift of a section of the Dalit massesfor various reasonstowards the BJP was an important factor in the latters ascent to power in the year 2014, this growing assertion of Dalits is a proof that they cannot be hoodwinked anymore. With the real agenda of these Hindutva Supremacists out in the openwhich is witnessed not only in its attacks on the right to life and right to livelihood of every exploited and marginalised section but also in its hurry to co-opt Ambedkar and bulldoze every element of Dalit assertionthe battlelines have been finally drawn. And the unfolding Dalit uprising has added new lustre to it. FOOTNOTE Translated from the original Gujarati by G.K. Vankar. (http://roundtableindia.co.in/lit-blogs/?tag=sahil-parmar) Subhash Gatade is a writer and Left activist who is associated with the New Socialist Initiative. Home > Archives (2006 on) > 2016 > Kalahandi: Reliving the Callous State by Suranjita Ray On August 15, 2016 we celebrated our 70th Independence Day. The least one does is to recollect the great sacrifices of our freedom fighters for the country and for us to see this day. Such celebrations remind us of what independence gave us. For the ruling party it becomes an opportunity to take pride in listing what its political regime has achieved during its tenure in one of the largest democracies of the world. While the anti-colonial struggles widened the inner meanings of Freedom, Right to Life, and Human Dignity, for the majority in contemporary India, experiencing freedom and human dignity remains a constant struggle against the social, economic, political and cultural oppressions and exploitations. For many it is difficult to recover from what they have experienced over the years. Lives of people are embodiments of conflicts that have increased between the state and its people. The state is not only supposed to represent its people but also protect their rights and freedom. From what is continually happening around us, we see that there is an increasing trust deficit between the people and the state. And I fear the widening of this distrust. Incidents of violence against the Dalit community like the one in Una, hanging two Muslim men to death from a tree for cattle trading in a Jharkhand village, killing of Mohammad Akhlaq by a lynch mob in Dadri, the attacks on Narendra Achyut Dabholkar, Govind Pansare, M. M. Kalburgi, Perumal Murugan, and many others to crush the voice of dissent, and several similar living experiences of the people only help us to realise that the callous state is being relived. It is relived in not only denying the right to live with dignity but also in denying dignity to the dead. Humanitarian Catastrophe Dana Majhi, a tribal man in Kalahandi, wrapped his wife Amanga Deis body in old sheets from the bed at the hospital in Bhawanipatna (the district headquarters) when she died from tuberculosis in the early hours of August 24, 2016. He carried his wifes body on his shoulders and started walking to his home in Melghar village in Thuamul Rampur block about 60 kilometres away. The district hospital authorities ostensibly refused to arrange for a van as Dana Majhi had no money. Despite several requests, he was not helped. Left with no option he had to carry his wifes body, as his 12-year-old daughter walked weeping by his side. It was after they had walked for 10 kilometres that some youths, who saw them, alerted the local officials and an ambulance was sent to take the body to Melghar village. This is not the first time that a person had to carry a body in a such manner. Similar incidents have been reported in the past. Recurrence of such tragedies has only reprojected the cruel state which refuses to learn the right lessons from its history. It is unfortunate that Kalahandi continues to be dragged deeper into the quagmire of humanitarian catastrophe. The tribal people in this region are vulnerable to the processes of systemic deprivations, exploitations and violations of human rights. The complete disregard for human life has exposed a brutal state in a way that is impossible to comprehend. The state has become one with which the majority of the poor and deprived can no longer identify. While the state has not cared much about the human sufferings despite its constitutional responsibility that makes it accountable for its actions to the people, can the exploited and oppressed disown the state? Despite the growing distrust between the state and its people, the state is needed even more than ever before. The decision not to provide support to the poor tribal man when he needed it the most shows the failure of the state. Perhaps the authorities did not anticipate the consequences that will follow their decision. This is a serious mistake. Political Mandate Such tragedies spell calamity for the democratic governments. Preventing such crises in future should be a priority for the state. It is vital for the state to look beyond its narrowly defined political mandate as political parties across ideological divides have only campaigned for more funds during the elections to build infrastructures. Two decades after the imple-mentation of the Long Term Action Plan (LTAP) in the KBK (comprising eight districtsKalahandi, Bolangir, Koraput, Nuapada, Nabarangpur, Rayagada, Sonepur and Malkangiri)) region, and huge grants poured into this region, nothing much has changed for the tribal people of Kalahandi. People have to travel 60 kilometres to reach a hospital for treatment without facilities. The Kalahandi experience shows that despite the positive responses of the state to pressures from the peoples rights movements and the fear of defeat of the ruling parties at the polls which brought about development programmes, successive governments for more than two decades have not been able to ameliorate the conditions of destitution and prevent the vulnerability of the tribal people, in particular, to the processes of alienation, deprivation and impoverishment that persist in this region. Though Kalahandi had declared its success in conquering famine (in narrower terms mass mortality), it has failed to prevent the tribal people from becoming vulnerable to the processes of hunger and famishment, which have a complex genealogy, and have been a subject of endless debate in the media, courts, Legislative Assembly, policy research and public forums. They raise larger questions of justice to the citizens in a democratic state. It is imperative to understand the huge gaps between policy reforms and their implications in the context of democracy where the state has its constitutional responsibilities towards its citizens. The construction of structures of dominance and an analysis of the institutions and practices of control reveal that persisting poverty is the result of the cumulative distress that is caused by depriving the tribal people of their access, ownership and control over the resources of livelihood. The dialectical relations between the state and its people explain the process of democratic transitions, but that has not changed the class character of the state. In fact, the state is constrained by its very class character to intervene in the structures and practices of hegemony, which has rather got consolidated in recent years. The history of Kalahandi had seen the subjugation of the tribal people economically, socially, politically and culturally. This raises pertinent questions about the kind of democracy that is practised in the region in particular and elsewhere with similar experiences. The state has made all possible attempts to make the growing conflict invisiblebetween the dominant class and the subordinates, and between the state and its people. It has been successful at times in weaving the conflicts and reworking the strategies that appeal to the vast majority, without annoying the dominant class. The two-pronged strategy of the government to enhance the capability of the poor through its rights-based approach, as well as its alliance with the economically dominant class to privilege the interest of the corporate world have added to the paradoxes. The portrayal of the state as being trapped within the webs of hegemonic forces needs to be questioned as it has been a conscious decision of the democratic state to reinforce such forces for its political gains. The denial of dignity to the dead shows that the state is not an impartial power which is accountable to the people. It not only maintains but also reproduces the inequalities of everyday life by prioritising the interest of the privileged class. Though democratic pressures have compelled the state to intervene and the inclusive society has enhanced the social capital of its citizens, it has not built their political capital, which has remained confined to participation in elections and not effective citizenship. Blame-game Though Kalahandi has always returned to the news to trouble the government officials, it is quite normal for both the ruling and Opposition parties to use such opportunities to claim their respective achievements only as attempts to win the ballots of the people. Bhakta Charan Das, a former MP from Kalahandi, has expressed his anguish that despite its promise of development and better health care for the tribals and Dalits the Naveen Patnaik Govern-ment has done little. He further said that he had arranged two ambulances when he was an MP for the Bhawanipatna hospital... that they should have been of help to the tribals in time of need! (Mohanty, 2016: 11) On the other hand, the Naveen Patnaik Government claimed that the launch of the Mahaparayana scheme in February offered free transportation of bodies from government hospitals to the residences of the deceased. (The Hindu, 2016: 9) However, such claims are rhetorical for the poor tribals of this region who remain vulnerable to the processes of deprivation and exploitation. The democratic state has in practice provided a shield to the symbiotic relationship between the ruling class and the privileged class which is hard to break. While controversies surround such claims, public officials at the higher level continue to defend their positions by putting the blame on the lower officials, who in turn blame the victims, in this case Dana Majhi, for not waiting for the vehicle. The Collector of Kalahandi, Brundha D., claimed that Majhi did not wait for a vehicle to be arranged. But, Majhi said that despite all efforts he could get no help from the hospital authorities. A poor man cannot afford a vehicle...despite repeated requests they said they cannot offer any help..., he said. Brundha D. told The Indian Express that after learning about the incident she has sanctioned Rs 2000 to Majhi from the State Governments funeral assistance scheme and another Rs 10, 000 from the District Red Cross Fund. (Mohanty, 2016: 11) The state officials should learn to be more responsive to build the trust of people and keep promises made during elections. The constitutional responsibility of the democratic state to secure the basic rights to its people shall not become the prerogative of the state. Living Reality Such tragedies should not be viewed in isolation but as part of a spectrum of the irresponsible state that has legitimised itself over the years. The life story of Dana Majhi might find no space in the statistics of the state, but for many of us it illustrates the real living conditions of a majority of the people. The state has no means to assess the continuum of distress beyond the period of extreme conditions of agony. It is high time that the state rethinks its strategies to protect the democratic rights of its people. The image has shaken the peoples conscience provoking strong reactions from around the world. While for many of us it will remain only an image that once caught our attention, it is difficult for Dana Majhi to recover from such an experience. The message from such experiences needs to be rememberedas humans have a right to live with dignity, they also have a right to be respected after death. References Mohanty, Debabrata (2016), The Indian Express, August 25, page 11. The Hindu, (2016), August 25, page 9. Suranjita Ray teaches Political Science in Daulat Ram College, University of Delhi. She can be contacted at e-mail: suranjitaray_66@yahoo.co.in Home > Archives (2006 on) > 2016 > Gujarat Dalits: Torchbearers of a New Horizon There cannot be consistency or uniformity in madness. Instances are aplenty. A British newspaper on August 2, 2016 carried a news item under the caption, Dalit sarpanch pays Rs 10 lakh to build in her Gujarat village a temple. but is banned from entering because of her caste. In the cornerstone of the story lies untouchability, discrimination and prejudice against the Dalits in India. A Dalit woman, Pintooben, a sarpanch of Rahemalpur on the outskirts of the State capital Ahmedabad, has constructed a temple dedicated to the Hindu god Shiva. This has been financed out of her personal funds. The owner of 35 bighas of land, the sarpanch is blessed with sound economic base for sustenance. To meet the spiritual quest of the people of her panchayat, she undertook this unusual scheme, which had ignominy in store for her. Her entry into the temple was banned. This is the story born out of intractable social malice and prejudice of the upper castes against a Dalit woman sarpanch. Indias social perception overshadows every aspect of life, economic, political, spiritual and what not. So the overseas daily took note of the fact: Like numerous other fellow Dalits excluded from religion in Gujarat, Pintooben is not allowed to enter the sanctum of any Hindu house of worship. This is a case that bothers no upper-caste Hindu. The Dalit and tribal communities, who number millions of Indians, are claimed and counted as Hindus merely for the fact that they help swell the demographic strength to establish the superiority of the Hindu community. Illustrations of Rani Rashmoni of Bengal and Pintooben of Gujarat prove India hasnt moved an inch ahead There are illustrious instances of people who were subjected to similar ignominy in the past. The same attitudinal hostility, therefore, continues to operate unabated even now. One prominent illustration from the Bengal of nineteenth century can be cited. A Bengali landlord of the nineteenth century, Rani Rashmoni (1793-1861), had built a Kali temple over 60 acres of land at Dakshineshwar in the suburbs of Calcutta at a cost of Rs 900,000 in 1855. The reputed Mackintosh Company, a British firm, was engaged in execution of the project. In addition, Rani Rashmoni donated a large estate or zamindari at Salbari measuring 449 square miles in Dinajpur district (now in Bangladesh), as debottar for meeting the expenses out of its income on account of maintenance and daily expenses over the rituals of the shrine. The debottar cost her a sum of Rs 2,25,000. On the day of its inauguration, lo and behold, the zamindar was denied entry into the shrine because of her caste, Kaibartta, who are fishermen and agriculturists by traditional occupation. This shrine had propelled its priest, Gadadhar Chattopadhyay, in his spiritual odyssey to become the Paramhansa Ramakrishna whose prominent disciples included, among others, Swami Vivekananda. A spirited zamindar and a widow, she had more than once crossed swords with the British. As the landlord, she blocked shipping trade on a part of the Ganges and compelled the British to abolish the tax imposed on fishing in the river, which threatened the livelihood of poor fishermen. Rani Rashmoni was credited with numerous charitable activities. She had donated generously to the then Imperial Library (now the National Library of India) and Hindu College (Presidency College, now Presidency University, Calcutta). The wealthy zamindar and merchant, Prince Dwarkanath Tagore, grandfather of Rabindra-nath Tagore, had mortgaged a part of his zamindari, situated in the present South 24-Parganas district, to Rani Rashmoni for his passage to England. (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rani_Rashmoni) Romain Rolland observed that saint and seer Ramakrishna Paramhamsa (1836-1886) was very strict in all questions relating to caste. (Romain Rolland, The Life of Ramakrishna, Calcutta, sixth edition, 1960, p. 27) Coming as it does from the French Nobel Laureate, Ramakrishnas strictness in all questions relating to caste assumes great significance and dimension. Rani Rashmoni was not an ordinary person. The seers strictness about all aspects of caste arguably implies that he was endowed with prejudice, orthodoxy and vice against those low in the social hierarchy. Caste furnishes the code for entitlements for all Hindus. Rani Rashmoni, being an untouchable, was not entitled to entry into a temple even though she was its builder. And the norm of caste dictated the ban against her entry in the shrine of the Dakshineshwar Kali temple. And though 161 years have glided by after Rani Rashmoni, India has not moved an inch ahead in matters of caste. Today in 2016 a Gujarati sarpanch has invited humiliation and disgrace on herself by building a temple for the worship of Shiva in the same way as it happened at Dakshineshwar. Bengal had witnessed in the nineteenth century the renaissance which the intellectual class tirelessly lauded as the harbinger of modern outlook and enlightenment through education, philosophy, rationalism, brotherhood etc. But in truth it was limited to a minuscule upper crest of the society. That enlightenment did not embrace the masses at all. Caste in Hinduism empowers anybody higher in hierarchy to humiliate, harass and disgrace any in the ladder below without any rhyme and reason. This is the unique cultural landmark of Indian civilisation. This keeps weakening the social bondage and solidarity. Caste Disgraces India, None to Stop It Rarely do Indian political leaders crown them-selves with the international medias approbation by virtue of their glorious achievement and performance. In 2012 Bhupinder Singh Hooda had thrust himself into the foreign media by his administrative incompetence or connivance in not stamping out atrocities against Dalits in the State though he was at the helm of its affairs. A British newspaper, The Daily Mail, October 7, 2012, ran a banner headline Haryanas rape shame: Registered cases show two women are attacked in State every day. To enlighten its readers, the daily quoted an official information that between January and August (2012), 455 women were raped in Haryana, the equivalent to two each day. Pointing specifically to districts, Daily Mail noted: Hisar police range, with no fewer than 94 rapes, tops Haryanas ignominious list, followed by the Karnal (92), Rewari (89) and Rohtak (87) police range, which covers the home town of Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda. (A.K. Biswas, Is India the Most Dangerous Place (for Dalit Women?, Mainstream, Vol. LI, No 8, February 9, 2013) This time around the most eloquent New York Times, August 3, 2016, has devoted a full 431-word editorial under the caption Modi and Indias Dalits. While the Dalits are unknown to its readers in the US, the Prime Minister is not. The NYT has done a singular service to highlight the vulnerability of Dalit communities of Indian much to the chagrin of their privileged and oppressive countrymen. A protest in the Indian State of Gujarats largest city, Ahmedabad, on Sunday by thousands of Dalitsmembers of Indias lowest casteshas brought to a head the contradiction between Prime Minister Narendra Modis promise of economic opportunity for all and a politics of division driven by the Right-wing Hindu ideology. Thus went the first paragraph of the editorial. Pointing at the reason, it added: The protest was called after four Dalits skinning a dead cowa scorned task relegated to the long-oppressed groupwere set upon by cow-protection vigilantes on July 11 near Una, Gujarat. The gang stripped the Dalits to the waist, chained them to a car, and beat them for hours while the police and others looked on. While elaborating, the editorial incorporated details of some highlights that propelled the Dalits into the protests inviting the NYTs attention to the Indian Prime Minister. Members of Indias low-caste Dalit community protested last month in Gujarat, after four Dalit men were attacked by cow-protection vigilantes. The result is lawless vigilantism. Last September, a Muslim man, whose family was suspected of eating beef, was killed by a mob. In March, two cattle traders were lynched in the State of Jharkhand. What has become a standing shame and disgrace for the country has been detailed in the editorial. Dalits have refused to handle dead animals, whose rotting carcasses are piling up, until they are given assurances that they will not be attacked and that their longstanding oppression will be addressed. Though aspirations and educational levels have risen among Dalits, they still face terrible prejudice. In January, a Dalit Ph.D student committed suicide after caste-based hounding. The ousted HRD Minister too has come for some compliment for her clandestine role in provoking academic communities in India and abroad. Finally it did not forget to note: In 2014, Mr Modi, who ran Gujarat for over 12 years, won Indias national election by a landslide on a promise to transform all of India on the Gujarat model of economic development. Gujarat, little do we say or focus, has a dirty, stinking and obnoxious underbelly. Of course that underbelly has a gloss applied straight from the pages of scriptures which is in no way edifying for human dignity. Pertinently we may note, the US Senate had adopted a concurrent resolution [H. Con. Res. 139: 110th session] in 2007 whereby the august House of Representative had expressed a sense of revulsion over Indias untouchability which is an unmitigated crime against humanity. The elaborate resolution is by and large unknown to the Indians at large as our media found it too embarrassing to publicise or focus on the contents as it is tantamount to a galling indictment of our countrymen. [A.K. Biswas, Letter to President Obama, Mainstream, Vol XLVIII, No 42, October 9, 2010, http://www.mainstreamweekly.net/article2370.html] A similar resolution was also adopted in the European Assembly on Indias untouchability. The author, Dr A.K. Biswas, is a retired IAS officer and former Vice-Chancellor, B.R. Ambedkar University, Muzaffarpur, Bihar. He can be contacted at biswasatulk[at]gmail.com for comments and observations, if any. Home > Archives (2006 on) > 2016 > India, US set to become Logistical Allies This week marks a historic milestone in independent Indias diplomatic history. The Logistics Exchange Memorandum of Agreement (LEMOA) is to be signed in Washington on August 30. The LEMOA provides for the armed forces of the two countries to use the other globally for supplies, spare parts, services and refuelling. Effectively, the US armed forces could operate out of Indian bases on a simple basis. India has never allowed foreign powers to operate out of its military bases. It rejected the bloc mentality and treasured strategic autonomy. Notionally, LEMOA allows India also to operate out of American bases globally, but in reality, though, projection of power in such proportions lies in the womb of time, if at all, for the Indian Navy, which can barely cope with the countrys 7500-kilometre coastline. It is useful for the US to gain access to the tremendous Indian bases without having to build facilities virtually up from the ground. The pivot to Asia and the plans to deploy 60 per cent of its surface ships in the Asia-Pacific, arguably, makes LEMOA a useful platform. However, the US may not really need to operate out of Indian bases. For projection of power into Pakistan, Central Asia, Xinjiang or Iran, American bases in Afghanistan serve the purpose. Besides, US military bases are littered all over the Persian Gulf, which are home, collectively, to hundreds of fighter and other aircraft, dozens of naval ships, including aircraft carriers, and tens of thousands of military personnel. The US keeps a base in Djibouti, too. Then, there is the secretive base at Diego Garcia, which enables the US to keep a close watch on the major trade and energy SLOCs from and to China, and is used to keep watch over South Asia. In the Asia-Pacific also, there are dozens of US military basesSingapore, the Phillipines, Australia, South Korea and Japan. So, what is the raison detre of LEMOA? Why is it that Washington pulled all stops to get the Narendra Modi Government of India to the signing ceremony on August 30? First and foremost, LEMOA is a foundational agreement. It means the US is putting one toe inside the Indian tent. Once inside the tent, life can always be made more comfortable. This is one thing. Second, LEMOA is a key way-station on agreements still to comeCommunications and Information Security Memorandum Agreement (CISMOA) and Basic Exchange and Cooperation Agreement for Geospatial Intelligence (BECA). Simply put, the US and India are navigating their journey through the LEMOA to the ultimate destinationCISMOA and BECA. Once they reach the destination, India can either buy or use cutting-edge American military technology for its Air Force and Navyand the US can sell such technology to India. Indeed, India is one of the worlds biggest buyers of advanced weaponryperhaps, the biggestand the US is the worlds number one vendor of weapons. It is a match made in the heavens. There are several other deals and policies backing up the LEMOAthe US legislating on India being a Major Defence Partner, the US helping India to get on board the Missile Technology Control Regime, etc.all of which ultimately facilitates the trade in top US military technology. India gets top-of-the-line military technology, while the US contractors get a much better launching pad to secure highly lucrative multi-billion dollar contracts in India. Lockheed Martin Corporations offer to shift all of its F-16 manufacturing to India is a case in point. Lockheed will be killing three birds with a single shot. One, its offer of co-production becomes a key selling point in the companys current lobbying to win an Indian order that may exceed 100 fighter jets; two, it suits Lockheed to vacate F-16 production (with the advent of the stealth F-35 warplane); and, three, co-production is a game-changer for US-India defence ties. However, the bottom-line concerns the geopolitics of LEMOA. This needs some explaining. Ever since the Bill Clinton Administration shed in the mid-nineties the Cold-War era prejudices vis-a-vis India, Washington has been nudging New Delhi to jettison its non-aligned policies and harmonise with the US global strategies. Through the past quarter century, the US assembled a local Indian brigade of foot-soldiers to incessantly keep fighting to create an opinion favouring the US-India strategic alliance. Indias so-called think-tankers and mediapersons who take American tutelage played a big part. On the other hand, the Left has greatly shrunk as a political force in India and more recently, the systematic vilification campaign has been let loose on former Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru and everything he stood for in Indias foreign policyespecially, his doctrine of non-alignment. The stunning paradox is that even influential voices within the Hindu nationalist camp, who domestically espouse the ideology of Akhand Bharat (Fortress India), appear to have succumbed to the charms of the lone superpower. Suffice it to say, the Narendra Modi Government is all set to take the leap of faith. Despite the backdrop of a New Cold War, India is shifting away from Russia, its Cold War ally, toward the new alliance with the US. Unsurprisingly, the US is being pragmatic, pandering to the vanities and phobias of the present-day ruling elitescatching-up with India as a military power, undoing the Partition of 1947 leading to the creation of Pakistan, etc. To be sure, Uncle Sam is fixated on promoting highly lucrative arms exports to the Indian bazaar, which is reportedly worth $ 150 billion in a near-term alone. But then, the US cannot be unaware that India is also a bundle of contradictions: at one end, the Modi Government is eager to inherit the Lockheeds phased-out production line for F-16, while at the other end, India can qualify as a failing state. The catching-up with China will in all probability turn out to be a pipe-dream. But the damage will be done during the reign of the starry-eyed Hindu nationalists. The spectre of a US-Indian alliance is goading China and Pakistan to transform their all-weather friend-ship into a regional alliance. Clearly, if the new US-Indian proximity in the mid-nineties was principally about the economic transformation of India with American help, the locus has dramatically shifted. The US is unable to help India with its development agenda. Anywhere around 600-700 million Indians live without a hope on earth. New Delhi is left with no alternative today but to try to undermine Chinas $ 46 billion investment projects in Pakistan as the only way to prevent that country galloping away, shaming Indias economy. The Modi Government is determined to normalise with China and/or Pakistan only from a position of strength. It estimates that the LEMOA opens the door to Indias emergence as a military superpower, riding on the wings of advanced American technology. But this delusionary thinking may only fuel regional tensions. If there is anything Turkey epitomises today, it is the dangerous game the US played by encouraging the ascendancy of political Islam in that country in the post-Cold War era with a view to subsume the secular nationalism that Kemalism represented. Once the genie of religious nationalism gets out of the bottleIslamist or Hindu alikeall the Joe Bidens of the world cannot get control of it again. Ironically, Turkey not only has a 20-year old production plant near Ankara for F-16 jets, but it also set up two years ago an engine factory in Izmir to produce engine parts for the US fighter jet F-35, the worlds most advanced aircraft. (Courtesy: Asia Times) Ambassador M.K. Bhadrakumar served as a career diplomat in the Indian Foreign Service for over 29 years, with postings including Indias ambassador to Uzbekistan (1995-1998) and to Turkey (1998-2001). Home > Archives (2006 on) > 2016 > Mother India Beckons Us All From N.C.s Writings After forty years of the foundation of our independent republic, the Frankenstein has appeared againthe monster that is out to destroy democracy and plunge this nation into civil war that shall rend asunder thousands of towns and villages of this great country. The term communalism does not convey the gravity of the crisis that confronts us todaylet it be bluntly stated that what we face today is the demon of Hindu-Muslim hatred. Over a large part of this land, particularly in the northern States, straddles today this monstrous hatred of the majority Hinduthe Muslim must be subjugated and, if unbending, then liquidated. In response to that, the minority Muslim, in deadly despair, tries to hit back as a means of survival. The map of India today is dotted with bloodstainsbloodstains of brothers fighting brothers. Bhagalpur, Bijnore, Hyderabad, Aligarh and Kanpur have today turned into not only the disgrace points but danger signals for Indias nationhood. The rule of the knife and the bomb has taken over from the so-called guardians of law and order. At every one of these placesand many others like Varanasi and Meerut are also coming under the spotlight of the mediafrenzied hatred has been spread with cynical design to arouse the flames of insensate violence in which neighbours of yesterday have butchered one another and the administration itself got involved in the orgy. It does not require any academic research to point the finger at the agitation over the temple-mosque controversy at Ayodhya for having polluted the political environment in which communal antipathy has become the order of the day. And once the winds of hatred spread, the flames of violence have caught on unimpeded. The BJP leaders plead innocence, that their plea was for the building of the Ram temple only, but they cannot exonerate themselves from the responsibility of having unleashed forces that have taken to murder and loot. Inevitably, the minority community, faced with such a grim situation, has at places hit back, which has only provided impetus for the fundamentalists in their camp. Hence, mutual hatred spread far and wide. The time is over for the ideologues of the BJP to come out with the thesis that Islam does not fit into the national mould. They have to realise that the ponderous labour spent in building up such a thesis is being put to good use by those indulging in killing and looting in the frenzy of communal violence. This has also helped the bigots in the Muslim community in their communal campaign. All the prattle about pseudo-secularism has only added grist to the mill of those who are wielding the long knife in the dark night that has descended over a large stretch of this beautiful land of ours. For leaders of major political parties, too, this is the hour of truth. The hands of many of them can hardly be regarded as clean as they too in the past have sometime or the other indulged in pampering communal urges to secure votes, and quite a few in their respective camps are ready to do so again, once the elections are on the agenda. That is a matter for them to settle with their conscience. What matters today above everything else is that the beast of communal hatred has been let loose and is playing havoc. If this ghastly apparition is allowed to roam about unchecked, there shall be no question of democratic functioning, no elections to legisla-tures and Parliament, no civil liberties, but the drum-beat of communal fury with goose-step marching of the hatchet-gangs out to destroy civilised conduct of public life. The disintegration of this republic of ours threatens us in a manner never seen before. The Valley of Kashmir and the fertile fields of Punjab have virtually come under the grip of secessionists. The political base camp of patriotic elements in Kashmir has been swept away by the avalanche of bitter alienation for which all parties in power in the past have to share equal responsibility. In Punjab, all the official assurances about Khalistani terrorists being on the run, has turned out to be so much poppycock as one finds the terrorist killer literally gagging the media even to the point of silencing the governments radio and television news in Hindi. This threat of imminent disintegration can be rebuffed not just be despatching the Army but, more importantly, by mobilising the entire nation for a determined endeavour to win back the trust and confidence of those alienated. The responsibility for summoning such a national mobilisation rests irrevocably on the wisdom and patriotism of leaders of all political parties. At this crossroads of Indias destiny, we put this question to our leaders of all parties, those in office and those outside: Can you not bury your hatchets and join hands to stir the vast multitude of this great nation so that the fiendish forces of communal hatred are put down and chased out of our public life for good? This is the moment when your patriotism needs to be tested. Let all other differences and squabbles, allergies and misunderstandings, be set aside, and all, really all, together come forward at the call of the nation. For heavens sake, join hands and march shoulder to shoulder to fight the enemy that has entered the gates. Mother India beckons us all. (The Telegraph, December 16, 1990) Home > Archives (2006 on) > 2016 > On SCs Singur Verdict, LEMOA EDITORIAL As we go to press, news has just come that the Supreme Court has scrapped the acquisition of nearly 1000 acres of multi-crop land in West Bengals Singur for the Tata Motors Nano car project. Thus the eight-year-long legal battle between the company and the West Bengal Government run by the Trinamul Congress has been brought to an end. The Apex Court, in its judgment, has directed the State Government to take possession of the land and redistribute it to the original owners, a sizeable number of whom are small and marginal farmers. The land was allotted by the erstwhile CPI-M-led Left Front Government to the Tata Motors for the companys aborted project. The SC declared the entire acquisition process as illegal. The development in Singur (which took place in 2006), followed by a similar happening in Nandigram, triggered widespread protests in the State with the TMC chief, Mamata Banerjee, spearheading the agitation; she also sat on a dharna and led a 26-day hunger strike on the issue in December 2006 insisting that the project be scrapped. Reacting to the verdict, delivered by a two-judge Bench, State CM Mamata Banerjee said: Despite electoral victories, I had only one job leftto return the land to the farmers of Singur. Now I can die in peace. She told journalists at the State Secretariat that she salutes the spirit of the farmers of Singur who faced all odds but did not bow down to injustice. In her own words: This is a landmark victory for me. She reaffirmed her policy that agricultural land should not be forcibly acquired from the farmers and pointed out that the LF Governments acquisition of land in Singur by coercion led to a historical suicide. She promised to abide by the SC decision and return the land to the farmers of Singur. Meanwhile the Singur farmers erupted in jubilation on hearing the news of the SC verdict; they smeared green abir on their faces, blew conch shells and burst into spontaneous slogans holding photographs of the CM and shouting: Mamata Banerjee Zindabad. The two judgesJustices V. Gopala Gowda and Arun Mishraagreed to quash the acquisition process and return the land to thousands of farmers and cultivators but for different reasons. It may be recalled that while on September 28, 2011 the Calcutta High Courts single-judge Bench had upheld the Singur Land Rehabilitation and Development Act, 2011 following the passage of the Bill on the issue in the West Bengal Assembly on June 14, 2011, a Division Bench of the Calcutta High Court had on June 22, 2012 struck down the Bills on an appeal by the Tata Motors. However, today (that is, on August 31, 2016) the SC has set aside the Calcutta HCs January 18, 2008 order upholding the Singur land acquisition (after which the farmers and NGOs had moved the SC challenging the HC order). At the other end the CPI-Ms State leadership has struck a note different from its defiant attitude in the past. Its West Bengal units Secretary, Surya Kanta Mishra, ruled out any apology for the land acquisition from the side of his party, saying: This is not an issue of tendering an apology. We have said it clearly that land cannot be acquired against the wishes of the farmers. This was quite at variance with the tone adopted by the former CM, Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee, when the Singur land was taken by the government to be handed over to the Tata Motors. (Even posters had then been put up by the ruling CPI-M offering red salutes to the Tatas for the Nano plant.) Mishra also claimed that the land acquisition was done as per the Land Acquisition Act of 1894. He added: We were never opposed to returning the land. But it should be returned by following the constitutional norms and laws.... Now the question will be how will the land be returned and in what condition? Todays judgment of the Apex Court doubtless further reinforces the position of CM Mamata Banerjee in the State. This the Opposition parties have to acknowledge regardless of their approach to the State Government. While the SC verdict on Singur is highly significant, on the bilateral Indo-US front the Modi Government signing the Logistic Exchange Memorandum of Agreement (LEMOA) with the US is exceptionally noteworthy. As The Hindu editorially explains, The agreement, which comes after more than a decade of negotiations, puts an automatic approvals process in place for the two militaries to share each others bases for various operations. While Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar has been at pains to explain in Washington that the LEMOA doesnt have anything to do with the setting up of a base, the Opposition parties are not convinced. The Congress feels it would cause serious misgivings, unless explained and justified, among Indias traditional partners and time-tested allies, regionally and globally and has thus called upon South Block to come up with a credible explanation; the CPI-M, on its part, opines that with the signing of the LEMOA India has acquired the formal status of a military ally of the United States. Indeed New Delhis non-aligned character is under the threat of being compromised as a consequence of this accord. At least that is what large sections of our countrymen think. It is for the government to convincingly dispel such thinking. August 31 S.C. SreeNagar: After rejecting Kashmir Chief Minister Mehbhooba Mufti's invitation for talks on Kashmir, Hurriyat leaders Syed Ali Geelani and Mirwaiz Umar Farooq on Sunday refused to meet the leaders of all-party delegation. CPI (M) General secretary Sitharam Yechury, CPI leader D Raja JD(U) leader Sharad Yadhav and RJD's Prakash Narayan left the venue after Geelani refused to meet them. Later, JKLF leader held a separate meeting with Sitharam Yechury and D Raja. Following the unrest in the Kashmir valley over the past few months, the all party delegates reached Kashmir to held talks with the separatists and to restore peace in the valley. South Koreas troubled container shipper Hanjin Shipping Co Ltd has filed for bankruptcy in the United States to protect its vessels from being seized by creditors, the Wall Street Journal reported. Hanjin filed for protection under chapter 15, the section of the U.S. bankruptcy code that deals with international insolvency matters, on Friday to a court in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Newark, New Jersey. The companys filing for rehabilitation, akin to chapter 11 in the U.S., in Seoul has roiled ports in the U.S. and beyond, as creditors seized ships and terminal operators refused to handle cargo. Hanjin's failure would be the largest container-shipping failure in history, dwarfing all previous carrier bankruptcies. Hanjin is currently the largest shipping company in Korea, operating approximately 60 regular lines world-wide, with 140 container or bulk vessels, court papers said. It is ranked as the worlds ninth largest container shipping company, transporting over 100 million tons of cargo a year. Brazil stays in the spotlight - Tanker Research & Consulting department at Poten & Partners takes a look at the tanker market in the country. The Rio Olympics were successfully concluded on August 21. Ten days later, on Wednesday, August 31, Brazils Senate voted 61-20 to remove Dilma Rousseff as president of the most populous country in Latin America. Ms. Rousseff was accused of using illegal bookkeeping maneuvers to cover up a growing budget deficit. Interim president (and former vice president) Michel Temer will finish out her term, which runs through the end of 2018. Brazil remains the oil powerhouse of Latin America, but the problems facing Petrobras have already had a profound impact on both their upstream and downstream oil industry and could influence the tanker market as well. From 2005 through 2015, oil production in Brazil grew from 1.70 to 2.53 million barrels per day (Mb/d), a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 4.1%. Despite this healthy growth rate, Brazil remained a net importer of oil products, as oil consumption increased by 1.0 Mb/d from 2.17 Mb/d to 3.19 Mb/d, although the gap has narrowed again in recent years. Since 2014, Brazils oil consumption growth has stagnated due to the countrys recession, while production continues to push higher. The development of new oil deposits from Brazils deepwater pre-salt layer is forecast to boost production to 2.88 mb/d in 2017. More than 94% of Brazils reserves are located offshore and pre-salt production has seen a dramatic rise in recent years. Brazil has approximately 2.4 Mb/d of crude oil refining capacity at 17 refineries (14 of which are operated by Petrobras). The largest is located in Sao Paolo, the 434,000 b/d Replan refinery. The latest addition to Brazils refining complex is the 115,000 b/d Abreu e Lima refinery, which cost a reported US$20 Billion to build and started up in late 2014. Once fully operational, this refinery will have an ultra-lowsulfur diesel yield of 70%. The start-up of the costly Abreu e Lima facility coincided with a collapse in oil prices. A steep fall in revenues, combined with the widening corruption scandal forced Petrobras to reduce capital spending and cancel a number of refining projects in 2015. As a result, it is expected that the country will remain short light products for the foreseeable future. In 2016 to date Brazil imported about 475,000 b/d of refined products, mostly from the United States. Fewer new refining projects will prolong Brazils reliance on product imports and continue to support the US Gulf Coast as a product export hub. Because many of Brazils refineries have trouble processing heavier grades, the country exports growing volumes of crude: 800,000 b/d in the first half of 2016. At the same time, Brazil needs to import light crude oil (about 235,000 b/d in 2016 to date). Brazils crude oil exports are mostly targeted to the United States, with China and India as the second and third largest destination. Crude oil imports are predominantly sourced from West Africa (Nigeria) and the Middle East. As mentioned earlier, Brazils domestic crude oil production comes predominantly from deepwater offshore fields and a substantial fleet of (mostly Aframax and Suezmax) shuttle tankers is employed to move the crude oil to shore. Demand for these specialized vessels will continue to grow as more pre-salt discoveries are developed. Ironically, it appears that the challenges facing Brazil at the moment could have a silver lining for the tanker market, supporting growing crude oil and product flows well into the future. Class Society builds on long history of developing tools to drive optimization, compliance and safety in the containership sector. ABS released two new tools specifically focused on assisting the containership sector with pressing operational challenges. The Guide for Certification of Container Securing Systems (Container Securing Guide), along with its companion software, and the Guide for Fire-Fighting Systems for On-Deck Cargo Areas of Container Carriers (FOC Guide) each represent significant contributions to safety for the sector. In todays operating environment, containership owners must improve performance while maintaining reliability and safety, said ABS Vice President for Container Ships Matt Tremblay. These cutting-edge tools provide industry leading guidance that optimizes operational capacity and enhances safety for containerships. As containerships become larger, stack weights increase, and new lashing systems are designed, container ship owners and operators are facing increased challenges to optimize the cargo securing systems on their vessels. To help address this concern ABS has updated the Container Securing Guide to address new procedures for twist lock testing. By years end, the guide will introduce significant changes in on-deck container stack load analysis and lashing bridge design load calculations, introducing extensive and dynamic, non-linear methodology to on-deck container stack load analysis to more accurately determine container carrying capabilities. To facilitate efficient application of the significant updates to the Container Securing Guide, ABS has developed a software tool known as C-LASH. The tool provides full non-linear direct calculations for load analysis of on-deck container stacks. This proprietary software will allow operators and designers to better understand the impact of twist lock clearance and lashings to help optimize cargo capacity safely and efficiently. The International Maritime Organization (IMO) requirements for additional container deck firefighting capabilities went into effect in January of this year. Based on experience gained in applying the FOC Guide released in 2013 along with various fire modeling efforts carried out since that time, ABS has updated its FOC Guide to provide arrangements that comply with the new regulations as well as enhancements and clarifications to the basic IMO regulations. The enhanced FOC notation provides additional arrangements that substantially improve capabilities for fighting fires on deck in cargo areas of container carriers. London Offshore Consultants (LOC) has clinched its first ever windfarm project work in the Asia Pacific region. LOC in Korea has been jointly appointed by reinsurers Swiss Re and Korean Re as the marine warranty surveying service provider for the Tamra Wind Farm project. This is the first offshore wind farm project in Korea located off the coast of Jeju Island about 0.5 1.0km from the shore. We are delighted to have a chance to work closely withTamra Offshore Wind Power Co., Ltd., a local developer which is owned by Korea South East Power Co., Ltd., and the respected local manufacturer of wind turbine generators, Doosan Heavy Industries & Construction Co., Ltd., said Jonathan Walker, Regional Director of LOC. LOC continues to win work in new areas of business for the group across several different disciplines and this wind farm project is a first for us. We hope it will be the first of what could be a series of wind farm related project work in which we are able to demonstrate our expertise, he added. The project consists of 10 units of three-megawatts wind turbine generatorswhich are being set on grounded jackets and which are expected to generate 82 gigawatts per year to supply the electricity power to Jeju Island, a popular holiday island, which lies in the Korea Straits. As of now, the developer has completed the installation ofthe subsea cables and seven units of wind turbine generators. Zhoongkeun Kim, Country Manager of LOC in Korea added: The work progress is on schedule and our team will visit the site for surveying purposes towards the end of the project in early September. This is our first wind farm project and we hope to continue expanding our services to more renewable energy related projects. The cost of refrigerant and regulatory compliance in the next five years will become as commercially important to vessel operations as regulations governing sulphur emissions are today, warns Robert Chesters, Managing Director Oceanic Technical Solutions. If shipowners fail to make their plants gas-tight, they could face refrigerant cost increases of up to 20% when stringent EU Regulations on Fluorinated Greenhouse Gases (F-Gas) enter in to force in 2020, he says. From now until 2030 there will be a phased reduction of the amount of virgin ozone-depleting hydrochlorofluorocarbons (HFC) placed onto the market. HFCs with a global warming potential (GWP) of 2,500 or more will be prohibited from January 2020 in new systems and for topping up of existing systems, although recycled refrigerants will be permitted until 2030. Compared to the outlawed R22 refrigerant, which cost around US$3/kg, new refrigerants, such as R404a, can be as much as $25/kg. But this is likely to be dwarfed by the cost of the next generation hydrocarbon-type refrigerants manufacturers are developing to meet the new requirements, making refrigerant a commodity that really should be retained. With a typical Air Conditioning (AC) plant aboard an LNG carrier needing a refrigerant charge of 600kg, refrigerant costs could escalate if the plant is not efficiently maintained. Owners must be aware that refrigerant is not a consumable in the same way as, say, lubricating oil, and should not need to be replaced. If systems are being constantly recharged then theres a problem. Chesters says that for many reasons the refrigeration plant currently falls low on the list of maintenance priorities but this will become a compliance issue within the next few years as owners become mandated to reduce refrigerant leak rates as much as 90% in some cases. This will mean regular leak testing and greater preventative maintenance measures are required. Owners do need to look now at how the F-Gas rules will affect the bottom line. If they are already spending thousands of dollars on refrigerant, then this needless expense will certainly increase by 2020. But if refrigerant loss is not dealt with the cost of compliance will far outweigh the amount owners are currently paying for refrigerant. With the anticipated increase in the cost of refrigerants the only guaranteed way to reduce refrigerant costs is containment. Owners can do a lot to reduce their refrigerant consumption by installing fixed leak detection systems, carrying out routine leak testing onboard and implementing full refrigerant reduction programmes. Chesters went on to highlight that recent marine refrigeration inspections carried out by Oceanic engineers suggests in some cases even basic maintenance is not being carried out. We found that some vessels were experiencing repeat failures and a significant loss of refrigerant to atmosphere due simply to worn valve gaskets and O rings, while other leaks were reoccurring because temporary repairs were being incorrectly regarded as a permanent fix. Chesters also noted that some operators were running their plants with only 50% charge to limit the impact of increased refrigerant loss due to leaks and system faults and reduce costs. But this is a false economy as it results in increased energy consumption, increased cool down time, increased wear on main system components and in some cases premature compressor failure. The UK-based specialist also draws attention to hermetically sealed compressors usually found in packaged AC units. Dave Lloyd, Oceanic Technical Solutions Technical Director, explains: If there is a compressor burn-out, the motor windings will produce an acid which if not cleaned up correctly will attack the internal windings of the new compressor which will result in subsequent compressor failure. We have found this on a number of vessels suffering repeat compressor failures, but this can be avoided with the correct system clean up and burn-out kits. Generally, it is the lack of available time to carry out effective maintenance that is hampering refrigeration plant optimisation and this will become more acute as this part of ship falls under increasing regulatory scrutiny. Chesters attests: The new F-Gas Rules will place marine refrigeration high on the environmental agenda in the same way that MARPOL Annex VI and the Ballast Water Convention has changed the way in which vessels operate. The priority is on containment to carry out full plant inspections and optimise maintenance regimes, but this has to be proactive rather than reactive if owners are to reduce refrigerant consumption, emissions and associated costs. Oceanic Technical Solutions recently carried out extensive inspections of refrigeration plants aboard three NYK-LNG Vessels and 15 MOL LNG operated LNG carriers, and is now planning to carry out remedial modifications for these vessels. According to the Nikkei, Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd. (MHI) has entered negotiations with Imabari Shipbuilding Co., Ltd., Oshima Shipbuilding Co., Ltd. and Namura Shipbuilding Co., Ltd., each first, third, and fourth, respectively, in terms of shipbuilding tonnage, to form an alliance in the area of commercial ships. The plan of the alliance is to pool their resources in efforts to compete more effectively with their Chinese and Korean rivals, reports Korea Herald. If successful, the alliance is expected to create the second-largest tonnages, behind the worlds No.1 shipbuilder Korea's Hyundai Heavy Industries. MHI) said that it "recognizes the need to undertake swift and progressive steps to secure the competitive strength required by Japan's shipbuilding industry in order to compete, and mark sustained growth, in the global marketplace." In addition to cooperating in the areas of shipbuilding R&D and parts procurement, Mitsubishi is looking for ways to outsource shipbuilding jobs to the three junior partners in bids to realize economies of scale and raise cost competitiveness. Hyundai tops the global shipbuilding market with 6.2 million tons of ships in 2015. Hyundais two affiliate dockyards -- Hyundai Samho Heavy Industries and Hyundai Mipo Dockyard -- came in at third and sixth. Daewoo Shipbuilding and Marine Engineering is currently the worlds second largest with 3.6 million tons, while Samsung Heavy Industries came in fourth with 3 million tons. Greek shipping companies Oceanic Illsabe Limited and Oceanfleet Shipping Limited, and two of their employees, were convicted of violating the Act to Prevent Pollution from Ships (APPS), obstruction of justice, false statements, witness tampering and conspiracy, according to the US Department of Justice. Oceanic Illsabe Limited is the owner of the M/V Ocean Hope, a large cargo vessel that was responsible for dumping tons of oily waste into the Pacific Ocean last year. Oceanfleet Shipping Limited was the managing operator of the vessel. Both companies operate out of Greece. Also convicted at trial were two senior engineering officers who worked aboard the vessel, Rustico Ignacio and Cassius Samson. The jury convicted on each of the nine counts in the indictment. The operation of marine vessels, like the M/V Ocean Hope, generates large quantities of oil sludge and oil-contaminated waste water. International and U.S. law require that these vessels use pollution prevention equipment, known as an oil-water separator, to preclude the discharge of these materials. Should any overboard discharges occur, they must be documented in an oil record book, a log that is regularly inspected by the U.S. Coast Guard. The evidence presented to the jury showed that in June 2015, the vessel discharged around ten metric tons of sludge into the ocean. The vessel was also regularly pumping contaminated water directly overboard. None of these discharges were disclosed as required. Our office was pleased to partner with the Department of Justices Environment and Natural Resources Division in this significant case, said U.S. Attorney Bruce. We will continue to vigorously enforce federal laws designed to prevent the pollution of the worlds oceans. The Mabel Tainter Center for the Arts in Menomonie has long been rumored to be haunted. Over the years, workers and volunteers in its Landmark Theater have repeatedly reported ghostly sightings and sensations including the smell of cherry tobacco, rose water, the sound of footsteps or rustling clothing, and even some tampering with lights and equipment. Two different female ghosts dubbed the Lady in White and the Lady in Gray have been sighted. The Reverend Henry Doty Maxson, first pastor of the Unitarian Society which met at the Mabel, has also reportedly made frequent other-worldly appearances. Under wraps These are the kinds of reports that attracted the attention of the Johnsdale Paranormal Group of Minnesota. Several members traveled to Menomonie where they spent Aug. 19 and 20 conducting an investigation of the theater. Their findings will be part of Ghosts of Dunn County, a presentation of these and other local supernatural phenomena will be hosted by the Dunn County Historical Society on Saturday, Oct. 15. Researchers from the Johnsdale group reported seeing random shadows move around the theater. They are hoping to be able to present photographs or other film evidence of these sightings including whether any of the activity was captured on camera or not to be revealed at the October event. Until then, however, details of the investigation will be kept under wraps, but visitors to Ghosts of Dunn County on the Dunn County Historical Societys Facebook page can glean some early snippets of information that correspond to what many who frequent the Mabel Tainter Theater claim to have already experienced. Cautious approach Sean Pallas of Stillwater, Minn., a researcher, with JPG, calls himself a skeptic: Most investigating is us trying to find rational explanations for whatever is happening. Johnsdale Paranormal Group was founded in 2009 by Bill Hill and brothers Justin Miner and Brian Miner. Unlike Pallas, they do not consider themselves skeptics. But they admit they do approach any evidence of paranormal activity with caution. The group formed and began investigating paranormal activities in Onamia, Minn. after sharing a mutual interest in paranormal phenomenon. The trio said they try to run through evidence of normal experiences before believing that something truly ghostly has made contact with them. Not every investigation has led them to paranormal findings. For instance, Pallas said that they were called by parents in a private residence whose son was convinced that there was a ghostly person in his home. Instead, they found out that the parents allowed the son to watch scary movies and advised that they stop letting him do so. From the shadows The first night of investigations at the Mabel Tainter were open to a small group of people who joined in the preliminary investigations, while the second night was closed off to only the group itself. While the investigators were standing on the stage, Brian Miner reported that a shadowy figure appeared and disappeared quickly around a chair in the balcony in front of the stage. Although they used an electromagnetic field detector to try to pick up any energy that might be lingering in that area, they did not find anything. To get to know the building better, the men spent the first night setting up other equipment and cameras to explore the stories and legends that have already been told about the Mabel Tainter Theater, followed by a more intense investigation on the second night. They also filmed Linda Chase, Vickie Eckblad and Jana Reeg-Steidinger all of whom have worked extensively in the building over the years about their experiences of paranormal activity in the Mabel Tainter Center for the Arts. The interviews and JPGs findings from investigation will be presented when the investigators return on Oct. 15. About the work Brian explained that there is some work that does not interest the group. They do not approach an apparition with any intention to help it cross over to the next dimension or try to help it find the light. The group does not approach their work with any particular religious affiliation but always attempts to be respectful of the religious beliefs of the client. He noted that phenomena can happen when energy gets trapped in a place and replays like a movie. For example, limestone is known among paranormal researchers to have the ability to hold and trap emotional moments this way. On Oct. 15, the curious can find out whether the Mabel is among the sites that are home to visitors from another realm. Offshore surveys are a necessary precursor for both Oil & Gas (O&G) and renewable energy installations on the seafloor. Particularly for new projects in remote regions, surveys (oceanographic, geotechnical, geophysical etc.) are critical for successful project design and implementation. However, current market conditions are forcing all parties in the supply chain to rethink their approach. Douglas-Westwood (DW) has engaged with industry experts within the market on future strategy and operator expectations. Feedback includes the obvious outprice competitors, meet highest standards, be flexible to operators needs and specialise but this is tough advice for those who are already attempting to accommodate all of these factors whilst trying to remain afloat. Within the tech-heavy survey sector, however, utilisation of new, innovative technologies is particularly appreciated by technical teams within the offshore client base, and continues to be a source of differentiation in a crowded market place. If widespread automation of offshore assets and survey tools can be accomplished, cost savings will be significant. Autonomous Underwater Vehicle (AUV) developments are therefore likely to play an increasingly important part in the future of the offshore survey market DWs World AUV Market Forecast shows a bright future for AUV demand, both for O&G and renewables. As inertial navigation systems are refined, there is greater scope for exciting new tools to be piloted subsea: the use of technologies such as synthetic aperture sonar, seafloor drills and sea drones is set to rejuvenate operational methods and provide efficiency gains to the wider survey market. Fresh technology could significantly advance offshore survey operations, acting as a differentiator for smaller companies in a difficult market. However, the ability of tech-driven companies to both invest in R&D and successfully commercialise it through the downturn will have a major bearing on their future prospects. The problems that collapsed South Koreas Hanjin Shipping could be just the tip of the iceberg. Its fleet is either stuck in ports or unable to dock, with port authorities fretting that the company will not be able to pay its bills. According to Business Korea, the companys 53 vessels 48 container ships and 5 bulk carriers were stranded indefinitely or blocked from ports at home and abroad. One vessel was seized by the ship owner. Hanjin Shippings 47 containers ships and three bulk carriers are denied access to ports in Sri Lanka and Vietnam, following the U.S., China, Japan and Spain, while two other bulk carriers are stranded on the East Sea and the Mediterranean. These include instances where lashing firms have refused service due to unpaid bills, or where port authorities have refused to enter or leave the port. Hanjin Shipping has failed to purchase oil in some areas due to a shortage of cash. In addition, a container ship called Hanjin Rome was seized at a port in Singapore at the request of the ship owner. Hanjin Shipping is likely to face a series of lawsuits worth US$14 billion (15.6 trillion won) from its customers around the world are spreading. Korea Shipowners Association said that 410,000 TEUs out of 1.2 million cargos operated by Hanjin Shipping were already shipped. A total of 8,281 shippers placed orders which are worth US$14 billion (15.6 trillion won). The first phase in the creation of the Commonwealth Crossing Business Centre is expected to be completed in late October, according to officials with the grading project that began in 2014. They updated the project for area officials and present and past board and staff members of the Harvest Foundation during a recent tour of the site. Allyson Rothrock, president of the Harvest Foundation, said the project represents "hope and opportunity." "Weve never had anything close to this," she said of the 720-acre business center that is designed to attract large-scale industrial projects. She noted that the centers development comes as manufacturing, including that of textiles and furniture, is returning to the United States. "We are going to be able to take advantage of that" revival in domestic manufacturing, with an emphasis on advanced manufacturing, she added. Commonwealth Crossing is a long-term investment in the areas economy, not a short-term fix, Rothrock said. "From the start, we knew it would take at least 10 years for the seeds to grow into flowers" at the business center, she said, "and were seeing really positive opportunity" now. Phase 1 involves grading Lots 1 and 4 at the center, located off U.S. 220 at the Virginia-North Carolina state line. Lot 1 has a 120-acre pad and Lot 4 has a 50-acre pad for mega-projects, defined as investments of $250 million which create 400 jobs, according to Mark Heath, president/CEO of the Martinsville-Henry County Economic Development Corp. (EDC). In contrast, the largest pad at the Patriot Centre at Beaver Creek industrial park in Henry County is 25 acres, according to Tim Pace, director of engineering for Henry County. Lot 1 at Commonwealth Crossing is nearly five times larger, he added. The project, expected to total north of $23 million upon completion, is being funded by Henry County, City of Martinsville, Commonwealth of Virginia, Martinsville-Henry County Economic Development Corporation, Virginia Tobacco Region Revitalization Commission, Virginia Economic Development Partnership, U.S. Economic Development Administration and Harvest, which has invested $10.7 million in the effort. Commonwealth Crossing is being marketed by the EDC, especially targeting suppliers and other companies involved with the growing aerospace industry in the Greensboro, N.C. area, food and plastics, and other industries, Heath said. When the center was granted a grading permit by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, two companies said they would be interested in the location if the business park was developed. Today, one of those companies remains an active prospect; the other project no longer exists, Heath said. "There has been and is serious interest in CCBC," according to Heath, who added in an email that prospects reactions to Commonwealth Crossing have been "very positive." He added, "There are no guarantees and its sometimes a long-term decision process. The worry is creating unrealistic expectations." Commonwealth Crossing competes with similar facilities in Tennessee, North Carolina and Wytheville in Virginia, Heath said. "We know we can compete," he said. "We are talking to people now we wouldnt be talking to without this site." Rothrock said she hopes companies there will create good jobs that pay living wages that not only will help the employees but also grow the areas tax base. "Without a living wage, nothing else matters," she added. "Its not about putting 1,000 people back to work at minimum wage" jobs, she said. "Its never been about that." Interest in the business center "active prospects kicking the tires" is exciting, said Henry County Administrator Tim Hall. He said 1,600 people drive past the Commonwealth Crossing location every day en route to jobs in North Carolina. "I tell prospective industries, Your workforce is driving by every day," he added. He and Heath both said they also expect Commonwealth Crossing to spark new restaurants, gas stations and similar businesses on both sides of the state line when thousands of people are working at the business center. He and Heath said if a company announced today that it wanted to locate at Commonwealth Crossing, it would be two years before the operation could begin. That would give the community time to train a workforce for the business, Rothrock said. Blythe Development Co. of Charlotte, N.C., is moving nearly 4 million cubic yards of material for the project, Pace said. To quantify that, Blythes project manager, Doug Lawrie, said a cubic yard is roughly the size of a washing machine. Blythe has hired about 65 area residents for the project, Lawrie said. Lot 1 runs along a Norfolk Southern railroad line that parallels U.S. 220. The rail line is a major selling point for the business center. Lot 4 is further back on the property. Lot 2 has 80 acres and could be part of Lot 1 if an industry wanted a larger site, Pace said. Lot 3 is across Reservoir Road and includes about 90 acres. By the October anticipated completion of Phase 1 assuming bad weather does not interrupt the work, as it did last winter all infrastructure will be in place on Lots 1 and 4, and the roads will be completed. One of the most visible things at Commonwealth Crossing will be a 150-foot tall, 1-million-gallon water tank needed for fire protection. It will bear the Commonwealth Crossing name and will be visible from U.S. 220. Bids will be sought soon for the tank. The entrance to the business center is off Horsepasture-Price Road in North Carolina. Landscaping work on the entrance will begin next week, and it will look much like the entrance to the Patriot Centre industrial park, Pace said. The road into the business center is paved to the North Carolina state line, and road work continues into the Virginia portion of the center. Once finished, the Virginia Department of Transportation will take over the roads, Pace said. On the left of the entrance road is a pond remaining from the lands past use as a farm, and on the right is a wooded area where a trail system, picnic area and other amenities may be developed, Pace said. The road winds into Lot 1. Another road atop 70 feet of fill created to accommodate the Patterson Branch creek leads to Lot 4. Blasting and excavation of rock is continuing there. The county is working with American Electric Power (AEP) on getting electricity to the center, and Hall said a public hearing will be held, possibly in the new few months, on possible routes for the electric lines. The county also is in talks with Southwestern Virginia Gas on providing natural gas to the site. The recent local government election results represent a decisive shift in the South African political landscape. It comes in the wake of years of ferocious class struggle in which all the contradictions of South African society have come to the surface in an explosive way. The result of these elections provides us with a snapshot into this process in which the collective mood of anger, frustration and disillusionment among the masses are the dominant features. The outcome of the elections has significantly altered the situation. The decline in support for the African National Congress (ANC) has left behind a fractured political terrain. This is reflected in the large number of councils in which no party could receive an outright majority. Significantly, these are situated in the most important economic and political centres. The result of this was the formation of fragile minority councils across the country. Nationally the ANC received 53.9% of the vote which is a decline from the 61.9% it received in the 2011 elections. The biggest bourgeois party, the Democratic Alliance (DA) came in second with 26.9% and the Economic Freedom Fighters came in third with 8.1% of the vote. However this new fractured political terrain is only partially reflected through the elected parties. If we look at the turnout it clearly shows that the majority of the youth do not participate in elections. The turnout for the born free age group of 20-29 year-olds was 48 per cent. Even in the 30-39 category the turnout was only 49 per percent. The total average turnout was at about 58%. In contrast to this, the age group 40-49 the turnout was 61 percent and in all the age groups above this the turnout was above 70 per cent. This phenomenon cannot be ascribed to apathy among the youth as some have suggested. On the contrary, as is shown by the student protest movement, the youth are some of the most politically active layers of society. It is clear evidence that large parts of the class struggle are being waged outside of the formal electoral paths. In order to have a holistic view of the processes playing out in South African society it is necessary to have a look at what is happening both inside and outside of the formal electoral structures. Interesting recent research published on behalf of the Institute for Security Studies found that a majority of the youth perceive protesting and demonstrating as a more effective way of effecting change than through elections. This is a feature which is not confined to the youth, but a general process which is reflected in the voting age population. Out of about 35 million eligible voters, about 15 million people participated in the elections. This means that more than 20 million people, or 58% of eligible voters did not vote in the elections. A shift in the political situation The dominant feature of these elections is the heavy losses incurred by the ANC. A large layer of people saw these elections as equivalent to a referendum on the party. After 22 years of uninterrupted rule on a capitalist basis, these elections will be known as the first in which the party has began to lose power to a significant degree. It lost support in 8 out of the 9 provinces. In Gauteng its support dropped by 14%. If this had been a provincial election then it would have lost its majority in the countrys economic heartland. In the mineral-rich North West province, it lost nearly 20% of the vote, dropping from 74% to 54%. In the Rustenburg municipality it lost its majority in the council, declining by a massive 23%. It is here where the Marikana massacre of 2012 took place, which partially accounts for the sharp fall in the ANC vote. Both wards of Marikana were won by the EFF. The ANC also experienced decline in its major traditional strongholds. In the Eastern Cape it dropped from 71% to 65%; in Mpumalanga from 78% to 71%; in the Free State from 71% to 62% and in Limpopo from 81% to 69%. In the Western Cape, which is the only province which it does not govern, the ANC fell to a new low of 26%. The dynamics in the Western Cape are very different to those of the rest of the country. One of the biggest factors affecting the decline of the ANC in Cape Town is the question of the majority coloured population. The African nationalist outlook of the ANC through policies like Black Economic Empowerment has eroded support for the party to such a degree that it now stands on the verge of being decimated here. The lack of a class alternative has allowed the DA to exploit this situation by providing superior council services to the coloured areas compared to the African areas, effectively dividing the working class and enabling a certain conservatism among coloured workers. In the African townships the DA received less than 10% of the vote. But once again, even in its traditional strongholds the ANC did poorly. The dominant feature, again, is the low voter turnout. For example, in Khayelitsha the turnout dropped from 74% in 2011 to 56% in 2016 and the party received less votes than in 2011. Only in Kwazulu-Natal did its support grow marginally from 56.7% to 57.4%. An optical illusion If we look at the national result at a purely constituency level, then on the face of it the ANC still dominates by far. Out of the 4392 wards, the ANC won 3435, which is 78 % of all wards. It also won 176 councils. It is far more than the 24 of the right wing Democratic Alliance. But this completely masks the real situation. The majority of these councils are situated in the rural backward provinces with little or no economic significance. In the urban areas the scale of the ANCs decline becomes clearer. In the metropolitan areas where nearly two-thirds of the population is located, the ANC received several defeats. Prior to these elections the party governed every metro in the country except Cape Town, which is in the hands of the Democratic Alliance. But now the picture has changed. The party has made huge loses in all the metros. It has lost its majority in all the metros in Gauteng province which account for nearly 40% of the gross economic output. In the province as a whole the party has lost its majority, receiving 45.86% of the vote. In 2006 the party received nearly 62% of the vote. Gauteng is the countrys most populous province. Nearly one-quarter of the population lives here. In Johannesburg the ANC lost its majority, receiving 44.55% of the vote compared to 38.37% received by the DA. The DA then formed a minority government with the help of a number of smaller opposition parties. In the capital city of Tshwane where the internal battles of the ANC spilled onto the streets just prior to the elections, the ANC came in second, receiving 41.25% compared to 43.15% of the DA. It lost its majority in Ekurhuleni but managed to form a minority coalition government with a small regional party. It also lost its majority in Nelson Mandela Bay where the DA formed a minority government with smaller parties. This means that the ANC has lost three major metropolitan areas in the elections. To give an indication of the true implications that the losses in the metros mean, it is enough to look at the size of these municipal budgets compared to the rest of the country. The big metros - Johannesburg, Tshwane, Ekurhuleni, Nelson Mandela Bay, Cape Town and eThekwini - are collectively responsible for 70% of economic output. This is where the bulk of the R287 billion operating budget for municipalities are located. The loss of these big cities together with other big centres like Mogale City means that the ANCs control over operating municipal budgets has declined from 82% in 2011 to less than 42% in 2016. The results of these elections represent a change in the political situation. Nationally the support for the ANC has declined from 61.9 in 2011 % to 53.1 % in 2016. This is the worst result the ANC has ever suffered, since the first local elections in 2000. The results between national and local elections are not really comparable because of the different electoral systems used. The system used in national elections is based strictly on a proportional basis while in local elections a mixed system is used where the result is based on a formula which combines the constituency ward system, a district and metropolitan area council system and votes based on a proportional basis. But if we do this qualified comparison we can see that support for the ANC has declined drastically from an historic high of nearly 70 % in the 2004 national elections to its lowest point of 53.9% in the 2016 local elections. A turn to the right? In three of the big metropolitan areas, Tshwane, Johannesburg, and Nelson Mandela Bay, the Democratic Alliance were able to form minority governments with the help of smaller parties. However, this does not signify a turn to the right. The main feature of the elections is the sharp decline for the ANC, not the rise for the DA. This can be seen in the results. Despite the heavy losses by the ANC, the DA could not manage to win a single metro from the ANC through an outright majority. In fact, the gains of the DA were far lower than the ANCs losses. Out of the 8% drop for the ANC, the DA picked up 3%.The picture becomes even clearer when we look at the shift in the number of council seats. Out of the 468 seats lost by the ANC, the DA gained 221. This is in contrast to the 761 seats which were gained by the EFF. It is true that the DA has increased its support in Gauteng, especially among the black middle class. This has undoubtedly contributed to the gains that it has made. However, the biggest reason for its 3% increase is lower voter turnout for ANC voters and higher turnout in the DA areas. For instance, in Gauteng the turnout in the suburbs like Santon was above 70% while in the proletarian area of Soweto it was 50%. Similarly in Nelson Mandela Bay, which includes the industrial port city of Port Elizabeth, the turnout was down from 2011. The biggest reason for the increase in the share of the vote by the DA was because it managed to rally its base in the Western Cape province. In the City of Cape Town the turnout was higher than in other metros at 64% which has favoured the DA. In the province as a whole it increased its vote to 63.3%. In Cape Town it won a two-thirds majority. The amount of support that the DA receives in the Western Cape becomes apparent by the fact that 20 out of the 24 councils it won outright are located here. A debut for the EFF This is the first time that the Economic Freedom Fighters have participated in local elections. It burst onto the scene in 2014 when it participated in the national and provincial elections as a six-month old party. On that occasion it received more than 1 million votes and 6% representation in the parliament. It also received more votes than the DA in two of the nine provinces. In these local elections it received 8.1% of the vote and received 761 council seats nationally. As we mentioned above, because we are not comparing like-for-like, there are statistical difficulties in comparing national elections to local elections. However this does not in any way prevent us from assessing their performance. The failure of the ANC to maintain its majority in the big councils in Gauteng province has meant that the question of coalitions was raised. To their credit the EFF has refused to form any coalitions with either the ANC or the DA. Had it decided to form an unprincipled coalition with the ANC, all its work of exposing the ANC leadership would have been undone. On the other hand, a coalition with the bourgeois DA would had disastrous consequences. It is no doubt a blow for the ruling class who wanted to water down the militancy and radicalism of the EFF by chaining them in coalitions with the DA. Although the EFF did relatively well for a three year old party, the main question we must ask ourselves is, why did it not do better? Why was the EFF not able to capitalise on the huge radicalisation and the declining authority of the ANC? Why was the party not seen as an alternative to the ANC by the millions who are fed up with Zuma and the rest of the corrupt gang running the party? In spite of the obvious decay of the party, the millions of voters who usually vote ANC decided either keep voting for them or just to stay away from the polls. Here the EFFs approach to ANC is the key. While it was correct to expose the rot which has set in at ANC leadership, it has not made any distinction between the leadership of the party and its ranks. In fact the EFF is often seen as putting the ordinary supporters of the ANC on par with its leadership. But recent events, including the election results shows that there are mass disillusionment in the ranks of the ANC. The fact that the party has lost close to 500,000 members over the last three years is also proof of this. There is a big difference between the leadership on the one side and the ranks and sympathisers on the other. Had the EFF leadership taken a correct approach by appealing directly to the ANC ranks and supporters to unite with it against the capitalist leders of the party, it could have attracted a big share of these layers. Furthermore, when the EFF was formed, it was elected into parliament on a basis of its programme of land expropriation and the nationalisation of mines, banks and key industries. While it is true that it has kept its programme, it was evident that over time and especially during the campaign that the party has shifted its emphasis away from this. Increasingly the focus shifted to criticizing Zuma and the ANC leaders. Instead of emphasising the crisis of South African capitalism and focusing on the daily problems of the masses like jobs and housing, the perceptions were created that essentially it had become an anti-ANC party. Its election manifesto was full of rhetoric, but essentially boiled down to promising to be better councillors and less corrupt than the ANC. Another element is the focus on black nationalist rhetoric rather than class-based rhetoric. This does not appeal to the advanced workers who criticized the same phenomenon in the tripartite alliance.This was on top of a period where the party flirted with the idea of forming some kind of alliance with the DA. This put a barrier between the party and the millions of youth and workers who are looking for a palpable alternative. Aside from the many million youth who stayed home rather than voting for the EFF, the party didnt manage to penetrate the organised working class in any significant way either. For example, in big proletarian areas its support was negligible. In Nelson Mandela Bay which includes the industrial city of Port Elizabeth, it only received 5% of the vote. Even in Soweto, where it campaigned heavily, the biggest feature at the polls was a low turnout rather than a big swing to the EFF. At the same time the other major left formation in the country, NUMSA did not offer an alternative to the ANC either. Aside from keeping a distance from the EFF, thereby dividing the most radical elements of the workers and youth, NUMSA have also not delivered on resolutions at its last national congress to form a party of the working class by 2016. Had it done so then the political landscape could have been completely reshaped. With its huge political authority and organisational capabilities, its huge resources and its base in the organised working class, NUMSA could have outperformed all the achievements of the EFF over the last three years by a long way and could even have challenged the ANC for the leading position. The experience of the EFF shows that the ground is fertile for a mass party of the working class. A qualitative leap Bourgeois elections are an important measure with which to gauge the mood of the masses. The outcome of the local government elections means an acceleration in the general processes in South African society. The already unstable situation has received a leap forward. The new era of unstable minority local governments will add to the general turbulent situation. All the major decisions at local level like the passing of budgets and by-laws requires a majority decision in councils. In many of these councils agreement will have to be sought on every single issue. This level of instability means that many of them could collapse at any time. This will in turn feed into the general instability and turbulence which are already defining features of South African capitalism. We have repeatedly said that there is a deep malaise in South African society. In the past this mood was expressed in different ways. In the runup to the 2007 Polokwane conference it was expressed through the ANC where the big business faction of Thabo Mbeki was removed. Later the mood of the working class was expressed with an explosion of strikes and a dramatic rise in the class struggle. But on both occasions the left wing of the ANC and the alliance failed to provide a socialist programme and a revolutionary way out to the workers. The failure of the left wing at the 2012 Mangaung conference to provide an alternative resulted in a sharp right wing turn in the ANC. The result was mass disillusionment both in the party ranks and and in its support base. This effect was compounded by the crises and splits in the trade union movement. In the ANC it was reflected with the decline of membership from 1.2 million to about 750 000. The loss of support by the African National Congress in the elections represents a qualitative change in the situation. For decades the ANC has virtually monopolised the support of the black population. Generations of people have grown up in its ranks. But now after two decades of capitalist rule large parts of South African society have drawn far reaching conclusions. This is a process which have been reflected in the class struggle. The rise in the class struggle over the last period signified that the advanced workers were looking for a way out. The events surrounding NUMSA and its allies three years ago was a sign of this. What these elections show is that this process is deepening. A major factor over the coming period is the fate of the ANC. Major developments over last few years including the the movement to the left of the party now means that the situation inside the party has been transformed. Already we have an outline of possible future developments. Over the last few months we have seen that the party is now divided between two right wing factions. On the one hand there is the bigger faction around Zuma which lean on the rural areas and the more backward elements in society. This is the more openly corrupt faction which derive their wealth from tenders, state contracts and corruption of state resources. On the other hand there is the big business faction around the Gauteng leadership and the secretary-general, Mantashe. The election result has renewed the hostilities between the two factions. Already there are calls for an early congress of the party. The crisis in the ANC represents a crisis for the bourgeoisie as a whole. For the last two decades the ruling class has relied on the ANC leaders to hold back the masses. The Marikana massacre of 2012 was a major turning point in this regard. It signified a qualitative change in the situation. Since then the party has been rocked by one crisis after the other. Now the collapse of its moral and political authority means that the ruling class can no longer rely on it to hold the masses back It means a general acceleration in the class struggle. BLOOMER Margaret Lucille Lodgaard-Davis, died Saturday, Sept. 3, 2016, at Atrium Care Center in Bloomer. Funeral services will be held at 1 p.m. Wednesday, at Our Saviors Lutheran Church in Bloomer, with visitation from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the church. Interment will be in Bloomer Cemetery. Olson Funeral Home in Bloomer, is assisting the family. WILBRAHAM -- Friendly's, the local icon once nearly consigned along with Howard Johnson's to the ash heap of restaurant history, is growing again, adding new locations for the first time in a decade, putting drive-thrus in existing ones and speeding up service. A Friendly's franchisee opens a new location this week in Medford on Long Island in New York. The company itself will soon open another one in Nashua, New Hampshire, said John Maguire, president and CEO of Friendly's. These follow two other locations in New Jersey, and one in a terminal at Logan International Airport in Boston was opened by a franchisee earlier this year. Plans call for four new restaurants a year in 2017 and 2018, all freestanding and all with the drive-thru service windows Maguire hopes to make standard company-wide. Friendly's has 121 company-owned restaurants and 133 franchised restaurants for a total of 254. "And we are looking for more franchisees," Maguire said. "And we are looking for new franchisees in areas that we have had to pull out from. I'd love to have new operators in Ohio, Chicago, St. Louis." Friendly's is also looking for good locations locally. And doing it all by focusing on ice cream -- despite no longer manufacturing that ice cream itself -- as well as the burgers, fries and melts that made Friendly's co-founders S. Prestley Blake and Curtis Blake successful. "The restaurant business is tough, and its been even tougher this year," Maguire said. "You have fast-casual concepts closing locations." The Ruby Tuesday on Boston Road in Springfield, just down the street from Friendly's Wilbraham headquarters, shut down last month as part of a national belt tightening by the chain. "But do you know what is doing well?" Maguire said. "Burgers and shakes are doing well. Look at the chains that are growing, Shake Shack. Look at Five Guys. What is growing is what Friendly's does best. It's our identity." There won't be a return, Maguire said, to the days of Friendly's offering hundreds of menu items in a misguided effort to appeal to every taste. Executives feared, Maguire said, the car conversation where one person wants chicken, one person wants a burger, one person wants pizza, one seafood. Why not offer a little bit of everything so that car ends up at Friendly's? Because no one comes to a Friendly's for Cajun shrimp, Maguire said. The cooks there don't know how to make it and won't sell enough for it to be worthwhile. "We had no credibility in that product and we had no business selling it," he said. Burgers, fries and ice cream is also the identity of the Johnny Rockets brand, also owned by Sun Capital Partners, the Florida-based investment firm that acquired Friendly's in 2007. Earlier this year Maguire was named CEO of Johnny Rockets and charged with running both brands. Maguire's appointment was part of a summer of transition for Friendly's. In May, Dean Foods, one of the largest milk processors in the county, bought Friendly's ice cream manufacturing and retail distribution business in Wilbraham for $155 million. Before the split, Friendly's had 16,000 employees, including 200 in the Wilbraham plant and 150 "support center" jobs in Wilbraham and at a distribution warehouse in Chicopee. Support center jobs stayed with Friendly's restaurants and Sun. The 200 plant jobs are now with Dean, which operates the ice cream plant and makes ice cream for Friendly's restaurants and retail under a long-term contract. Maguire said the $155 million eliminates Friendly's debt and frees management up to concentrate on the restaurant business. The Blake brothers founded Friendly -- the apostrophe S wasn't added until years later -- in 1935 in Springfield and grew the company quickly in the years following World War II. The brothers sold to Hershey Foods in 1979. The company changed hands a few times before becoming an independent corporation, and Pres Blake fought a long battle against a previous management regime he felt was destroying the brand and its legacy. It was Pres Blake's activism that resulted in his opponents selling the company in 2007 to Sun Capital for $337.2 million. That sale was followed by a trip through bankruptcy in 2011. The bankruptcy wiped away $297 million in debt, ended Friendly's pension plan and closed 100 locations, including nine in the Springfield area. Today, Friendly's has system-wide sales of over $500 million a year. The company had $166 million in net sales of ice cream to supermarkets alone in 2015. For years the manufacturing and wholesale ice cream business was what kept Friendly's going, Maguire said. About a year ago, the company hit a crossroads: Continue to grow that business, possibly by building a second factory in the Midwest, or sell that business. It decided to sell, garnering interest from both within the dairy industry and from investors looking to enter the business. "Dean Foods wants to be in this business. They will grow the business and that means more jobs for this area," Maguire said. The transition also means a new job for Maguire as CEO of the Johnny Rockets chain of 1950s diner-themed restaurants. There are similarities, like a focus on burgers and ice cream. In Johnny Rockets' case, milkshakes are a dessert signature and not the same as Friendly's familiar Fribble. "There are best practices that we can learn from each other," Maguire said. "But we are not going to merge the concepts. There won't be a Johnny Friendly's." For one thing, Johnny Rockets locations are big in malls, on cruise chips and inside theme parks. There is one in Six Flags New England in Agawam, for example. Friendly's, Maguire said, does best with stand-alone locations where it can have a drive-thru. Friendly's once had drive-thru windows and got rid of them before reintroducing them starting in Westfield a few years ago. "It's convenience. When we put in a drive-thru sales go up 25 percent," Maguire said. "And it doesn't hurt the sales inside. It's new business." There are other changes at Friendly's locations. The chain has put in self-service terminals, which look like smartphones, so customers can order their own drinks and appetizers, can pay their bills and print their own receipts from the table. This shaves 6 to 9 minuets from the average service time of a half-hour or so, Maguire said. Getting diners in and out faster is a major goal, answering a persistent criticism leveled against the chain. Also, Friendly's is experimenting with video boards in the place of the freezer full of ice cream half-gallons and ice cream cakes at the front of the restaurant. Customers who want a take-home product they see advertised on the screen can ask for one and have it brought to them from the freezers in back. The idea is that the video screen will give Friendly's the opportunity to advertise a wider variety of offerings, Maguire said. IF YOU GO Event: Screening of documentary "1916 The Irish Rebellion" When: Sept. 28, 7 p.m. Where: Elms College, 291 Springfield St., Chicopee Cost: Free For more info: Call 413-333-4951 or 413-785-5687 CHICOPEE - The documentary "1916 The Irish Rebellion" will get a special screening followed by a panel discussion at Elms College later this month.. Narrated by actor Liam Neeson and produced by the Keough-Naughton Institute for Irish Studies at the University of Notre Dame, the 86-minute film will be shown on Wednesday, Sept. 28, at 7 p.m. "Elms College has a long tradition of supporting Irish studies and is proud to have this opportunity to host a public screening and discussion of a documentary dealing with arguably the most important event in modern Irish history," said Damien J. Murray, an associate professor of history at the college. The documentary tells the story of the 1916 Easter Rising in Ireland in a comprehensive way and places these events in their proper historical, political and cultural context as the precursor to an independent Irish state and the disintegration of colonial empires worldwide. At that time, a small group of Irish rebels-including poets, teachers, actors and workers took on the British Empire. Although defeated militarily, the men and woman of the Easter Rising would soon win a moral victory with their actions leading to the creation of an independent Irish State. "The Easter Rising inspired Irish people to believe that an independent Irish republic, and not just home rule within the British Empire, was attainable," Murray said. The documentary features a combination of rarely seen archival footage, new segments filmed on location worldwide and interviews with leading international experts. "For tens of millions of people of Irish background worldwide, the Easter Rising informs their understanding of what it means to be Irish. The Rising's leaders fought to create an independent Irish republic for a people with a separate culture," Murray said. The Easter Rising was also important because it inspired anti-colonial struggles across the world in places such as India and the United States. "Here in the United States, for example, Marcus Garvey named the headquarters of the United Negro Improvement Association Liberty Hall after the building in Dublin where much of the preparation for the Easter Rising took place," Murray explained. "Ultimately, the Easter Rising was the first major blow against imperialism and the beginning of the end of European rule across the world." The Irish would no longer accept "Home Rule" from the British but sought an Independent Ireland. "Perhaps it is that indomitable spirit of the Irish that we need to celebrate," commented Francis X. Hennessey, chairperson of the 1916 Centenary Celebration of the Irish Rebellion for The Ancient Order of Hibernians of Hampden/Hampshire Counties and the Irish Cultural Center of Western New England. "The signatories [of the proclamation for independence] knew beforehand that their efforts may be doomed, but they dared to dream of an independent Ireland." The Rebels faced tremendous odds: 20,000 British troops and heavy artillery. Dublin was reduced to rubble. The aftermath: 15 rebels were executed; 65 rebels killed; 140 British soldiers were killed; and 300 men, woman and children were killed, and 3,500 people were arrested and sent to prisons, he noted. The public is invited to attend the screening and a panel discussion at Elms College, 291 Springfield St., Chicopee; the auditorium is to be determined. The panel discussion on "Reframing 1916" will follow. The panelist will include: Christopher Fox, executive producer for the documentary and director of the Keough-Naughton Institute for Irish Studies; Briona Nic Dhiarmada, originator, creator and producer of the documentary and professor of film, television and theatre at the University of Notre Dame; Murray; and Amy Martin, professor of English and English Department chair at Mount Holyoke College in South Hadley. Hennessey hopes that people will see the importance of the Proclamation document. "The Proclamation of 1916, penned by Padraig Pearse and others, was the gem of the Rebellion," he said. "The signatories had the vision of freedom as did our Founding Fathers in America in 1776. Terms like equality, self-determination and religious liberty were included." The Elms College event is free and open to the public, however, reservations are required. Go on-line at either of these websites to register and obtain tickets: aoh-holyoke.com or irishcenterwne.org. For more information, call the Irish Cultural Center at 413-333-4951 or Hennessey at 413-785-5687. CONCORD Concord police and the Massachusetts State Police are investigating the single-car crash that killed a 59-year-old woman Saturday. Concord Police Chief Joseph O'Connor told the Fitchburg Sentinel & Enterprise that the woman died when her car ran off the side of the road near 1800 Main Street (Route 62) and struck a tree just before 7:30 a.m. Saturday. The woman was transported to a local hospital where she was later pronounced dead. Police have not released the name of the victim. The incident remains under investigation by Concord Police and the State Police Collision Analysis and Reconstruction Section. Special Masses open to the public will be offered within the Roman Catholic Diocese of Springfield Sept. 11 to commemorate the 15th anniversary of the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001. For the 10th year, the 9/11 Memorial Mass, sponsored for all parishes by the parishes of Chicopee and Ludlow, will be held on Sept. 11 at 5 p.m. at Ste. Rose de Lima Church, at 600 Grattan St. in Chicopee. The commemoration this year falls on a Sunday and because of that the diocese will offer a 10 a.m. liturgy on Sept. 11 celebrated by Bishop Mitchell T. Rozanski at St. Michael's Cathedral that combines the tradition of its annual Blue Mass, held previously in November, in honor of public safety officials. The commemoration, organized by the Rev. Gary Dailey, will be broadcast live from the Springfield cathedral on State Street as part of the diocese's "Chalice of Salvation" program on WWLP-TV 22. Participants - local and state police offices, fire department personnel, EMTs as well as members of the military, and families, are being asked to assemble in the cathedral parking lot at 9:15 a.m. and to wear their Class A uniforms or the equivalent for a procession into the cathedral. Following the liturgy, there will be a procession to the nearby Lyman and Merrie Wood Museum of Springfield History for the city's 9/11 Remembrance Ceremony. The event, which concludes at 2 p.m., includes a 1 p.m. talk by Dawn Siebel, creator of the Better Angels exhibit at the museum through Nov. 6. Rozanski took part in last year's 9/11 Remembrance Center at the Raymond Sullivan Safety Complex. The Chicopee liturgy, first sponsored by eight parishes in 2007, also honors those who died in the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center towers, the Pentagon and in Pennsylvania, in 2001, their families, as well as first responders. It will be celebrated by the Rev. William A. Tourigny, dean of the Hampden Central Deanery and pastor of Ste. Rose de Lima Parish. J. Bruce Broyles, a Chicopee resident and member of the committee that helps organize the liturgy, said Ste. Rose of Lima seats 950 people and when the Memorial Mass was held there a few years ago "there were few empty seats." He sees the Mass as both a remembrance and a reminder of what happened. "There's a whole generation, in this country, and, specifically, in our communities of Chicopee and Ludlow, who were either not born or were too young on 9/11/01 to have any personal recollection of that day," Broyles said. "Most students, below the junior year in high school were, simply not born yet . . . and, even college students were only 4 or 5 years old, at best. I believe that it's important for parents and grandparents to 'tell the story' of that awful day and their presence at this Memorial Mass can serve as an introduction to that conversation." Broyles added that members of veterans groups and current members of the military have been invited as well "to thank them for their service, past and present, and, by their presence, that we may honor the memory of those members of our armed forces who have made the ultimate sacrifice in Iraq and Afghanistan as they responded to the events of 9/11/01." A light reception follows in the parish hall. A free-will donation will be accepted for Lorraine's Soup Kitchen & Pantry. Last year, the Mass was held at St. Anne Church in Chicopee. For more information on this year's liturgy visit the website of Ste. Rose of Lima or call Log on (413) 335-4924/ The Sept. 11 attacks, by 19 members of al-Qaeda, killed nearly 3,000 people from 93 nations. The terrorists hijacked four commercial airlines. Some 2,753 people were killed in the attacks on the North and South towers of the World Trade Center complex in New York; 84 people at the Pentagon in Arlington, Va., and 40 people on Flight 93 that went down in Pennsylvania, not far from Washington, D.C. A number of area families lost loved ones in the attacks, and area volunteers also participated in clean-up efforts in New York. Some 10,000 were injured in New York, where the collapse of the towers resulted in the deaths of many of the first responders who were trying to evacuate them. These included 343 New York City firefighters; 23 New York City police officers and 37 others officers from the city's Port Authority. It was the worst terrorist attack in U.S. history. The attacks on Pearl Harbor by the Japanese on Dec. 7, 1941, which lasted less than two hours, claimed the lives of more than 2,500 people, and wounded 1,000. Bourne Police cruiser accident (Bourne Police | Facebook) BOURNE -- A Bourne Police officer was injured Monday morning after a cruiser was struck by another car in the Sagamore Beach area. Police said the on-duty shift supervisor was driving south on Norris Road in a marked cruiser around 1:40 a.m. when a 23-year-old Sagamore Beach woman struck the vehicle. The woman, who was driving a 2012 Nissan Altima, had been speeding on Harlow Farm Road and she also went through a stop sign, police said. The impact of the crash sent both vehicles spinning into nearby yards. Both drivers were taken to an area hospital with minor injuries and were later released. The female driver, who was not named in a news release, was cited for driving as to endanger, speeding and failure to stop for a stop sign. Police said it does not appear drugs or alcohol played a part in the crash. SPRINGFIELD -- A fire Monday morning at an Indian Orchard duplex that displaced six residents is considered suspicious, according to a Springfield Fire Department spokesman. Dennis Leger, aide to Fire Commissioner Joseph Conant, said the fire started outside in the rear of 1047 Worcester St. and worked its way inside through a first floor window. From there, it spread up through the walls and into the attic, he said. He said the city Arson and Bomb Squad is investigating the cause of the fire. While it is not clear how the fire started, Leger said the ignition point was in a place where there was no reason for a fire to start. From there it spread quickly, he said. The rear of the 2 1/2-story building was heavily charred from the foundation to the roof. Leger said the interior sustained fire, heat, smoke and water damage. The estimated amount of damage was $50,000, he said. No one was injured. The fire was reported at about 11:10 a.m. First-floor resident Melissa Paredes stood across the street carrying her young son as the firefighters walked in and out the building's front door. She said she and her husband have lived in the first-floor apartment for three months. She said she had no idea how the fire started, and but was interested in whether any of their belongings were salvageable. Paredes said she and her husband were not home at the time the fire was reported. The first she heard of the fire was when she got a call on her cellphone from the landlord. The landlord had heard there was a fire and was looking to confirm it with Paredes, she said. She rushed home in time to see firefighters on scene. "When I got here, I couldn't believe it," she said. She said she did not know where they would be staying. Leger said the fire department has contacted the Pioneer Valley chapter of the American Red Cross to provide assistance, including emergency shelter, to the displaced. As Paredes stood across the street comforting her son, a neighbor appeared with a shoebox filled with toys for the boy to play with. Eva Martinez, who lives directly across the street from 1247 Worcester St., said it was a simple gesture to help Parades and her family. "I feel horrible," she said. "It breaks my heart to see." She said she was home at the time and "heard a commotion" out in the street. She thought originally it was a car accident until she stepped outside to see the fire trucks arriving. "I've lived here for six years and never seen anything like this before," she said. Worcester Street, between Oak and Pinevale streets, was blocked off for hours as firetrucks remained on scene. According to Springfield Assessors records, the property is owned by Grace Dias of Ludlow, and has a total assessed value of $105,800 FRAMINGHAM -- A police officer for Framingham State University will head to court Tuesday to face lewd act charges after a recent incident on campus, according to WCVB News. The officer, identified by MetroWest Daily News as Wilter Dormevil, is facing charges stemming from an incident on Saturday. The newspaper reports he was charged with open and gross lewdness, wanton and lascivious conduct and witness intimidation. The college released a statement and said the campus police department's command staff was notified about an incident involving an officer on Saturday. WCVB News reports Dormevil was then placed on administrative leave. The campus police officer has been banned from the schools campus as the case continues. FALMOUTH, Mass. -- A Massachusetts man is facing charges after he slashed another man's face with a knife at a Cape Cod restaurant, police said. Brendan Medeiros, 35, of Falmouth, is facing multiple charges, including assault and battery with a dangerous weapon and mayhem. Medeiros lacerated a 37-year-old Falmouth man on the chin and left cheek. It happened around 11:30 p.m. Saturday at Falmouth Raw Bar, Falmouth police said. The victim's friends took the knife away from Medeiros and held him on the ground until officers arrived, police said. "Upon arrival (by police) the male suspect ... was being restrained on the ground by friends of the male victim," Falmouth police Lt. Brian Kinsella said in a statement, according to Patch.com. "The friends of the victim were able to wrestle the knife away from Mr. Medeiros." The victim was treated at a nearby hospital and released. Medeiros is being held on $5,000 bail. It's unclear if he has a lawyer who could comment. Screen Shot 2016-09-04 at 9.46.02 PM.png Google Maps image of Springfield Public Day High School. (Google Maps) In August the Department of Justice announced they were suing Georgia for "unnecessarily segregating students with disabilities." A similar lawsuit has been going on in Springfield since 2014. On June 27, 2014, a parent of a student at the Springfield Public Day School, a school specifically for children with disabilities, filed a federal class suit against the city of Springfield and the city's school system. The suit claimed the student was being "warehoused in a segregated Springfield school without educational opportunities or therapeutic supports." The case claims the separate facility is in violation of the Americans With Disabilities Act, due to the lack of providing services in integrated settings among typically developing peers. Superintendent of Public Schools Daniel J. Warwick called the complaint "outrageous," according to a previous report by The Republican. He said that the goal of the public day programs is to provide alternative pathways for students with disabilities to be successful within the public school setting. Warwick also said the district's public day programs are fully approved by the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education and have been praised by school districts throughout the state as a model of excellence. Although, the school did run into some problems with the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education the same year as the lawsuit. The 2014 Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education Coordinated Program Review Report claimed the students at Springfield Public Day Middle School and Springfield Public Day High School "do not have equal opportunity to participate in vocational, nonacademic and extracurricular programs" as their peers in other schools. The report also said the schools "are not located in fully accessible facilities" with the example of the high school having "only stairs to the second floor." The case hasn't been without its share of complications. The city attempted to have the case dismissed but a federal judge denied the motion. According to the Center for Public Representation Assistant Director Robert Fleischner, the next step is a hearing in late September or October to treat the case as a class action before proceeding. The similarities between this case and the case in Georgia, though, could prove to be important. Both cases in Springfield and Georgia claim students at the schools are being segregated in violation of the Americans With Disabilities Act, which requires public systems provide services in integrated settings. Both cases talk about the schools being "inferior" and education not being the main priority. "Academic expectations are low. Education is not the primary mission of the Public Day School, and students make little academic progress there," the Springfield class action complaint reads. Physical restraints were also brought up in both claims. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution found that in Georgia's segregated schools, known as Georgia Network for Educational and Therapeutic Support (GNETS), students were restrained nearly five times more than in all of Georgia's other public schools combined. In the case with Springfield Public Day Schools the complaint includes that the school focuses "on behavior control using drastic methods including dangerous physical restraints, forced isolation in padded rooms and repeated arrests and suspensions for minor offenses." The cases claim students in both states could be educated among their typical developing peers. "These are children of great promise," the complaint said. "They could be educated in neighborhood schools and given the same opportunity to progress academically and graduate that is enjoyed by their peers without a disability." Although, there are a few differences. The main being Georgia's schools are a statewide program, while the case is Springfield is specific to one school district. That doesn't mean, however, that there aren't other school districts in Massachusetts operating the same way. But they are not run under one roof and operate individually. Depending on the outcome of the Springfield case, it could have a larger impact, Fleischner said. If Springfield is found in violation of ADA requirements, it could impact how other districts in the state run their special education departments. It could also impact the case in Georgia or vice versa, providing another example of a similar case. "Whichever one is (decided) first will have some impact on the other, I suspect," Fleischner said. The outcome, though, could go beyond these two cases. Other states have similar separate schools for students with disabilities such as Missouri State Schools for the Severely Disabled and Pasadena Unified School District Focus Point Academy in Los Angeles. Emily Suski, an assistant professor at the University of South Carolina School of Law who specializes in education law, told Mother Jones if Georgia is found not complying with the ADA it sets a precedent and other states and school districts will have to reexamine their approaches. The cases are all part of a larger movement to apply ADA more heavily on schools than in the past, Jennifer Mathis, deputy legal director at Judge David L. Bazelon Center for Mental Health Law said. Previously, schools focused on the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, or IDEA, which passed in 1975 and mandated by law that schools must provide a free, appropriate education in a least restrictive environment to all children. The law is left broad, not specifying what is "appropriate" or "least restrictive," allowing states and schools to figure out the best practices for educating children with special needs. But it did not require "inclusion," the integration of students with special needs into the regular education classroom -- something many disability advocates push for. Dr. George Giuliani, executive director at the National Association of Special Education Teachers said during an interview with Columbia, Missouri NPR affiliate KBIA that the concept of "free appropriate public education" was the focus of the 1982 Petitioners v. Amy Rowley court case. While the school felt Amy was doing fine, her parents thought she could do even better with a sign language interpreter. But the court decided that wasn't the expectation of the school. "The standard is we have to provide an appropriate education not a best education," Giuliani said. Although the primary focus for schools has been IDEA, since 1990 they also fall under the ADA -- which has clearer language and requires inclusion. And court cases like the ones in Springfield and Georgia are forcing the courts and schools to look at this requirement. "It always takes time to raise these arguments in different contexts," Mathis said. She continued saying she doesn't think the schools are trying to be harmful "but that doesn't mean it's OK or legal." Mathis said some parents might feel the segregated schools can provide a service the traditional public schools can't, but she said getting those services in integrated settings is an important part of the court case. WORCESTER -- A 44-year-old man was stabbed during an attempted robbery, but police were able to find the suspect they said was responsible for the attack. Officers were called to the area of Compare Foods on Main Street around 11 p.m. Sunday after a man had been stabbed. Police were able to find the victim and learned the suspect was walking up Sycamore Street. The victim told police a man confronted him near Compare Foods. The suspect, identified later as 37-year-old Josue Medina of Worcester, tried to rob the victim, police said. The two men fought and the victim was stabbed in the upper arm. Police were able to find Medina, who was identified by a witness as the man who attacked the victim. Medina was arrested and charged with assault and battery with a dangerous weapon. The victim was treated at a local hospital. Proposals to increase funding for special education in Montana schools are moving forward, but some legislators and advocates say they still fall short. The 16-member School Funding Interim Commission 12 legislators and four members of the public met for the final time Monday, approving all nine bill drafts as well as the commissions draft final report. CHELSEA DAVIS [email protected] Full Story: http://missoulian.com/news/local/montana-interim-commission-proposes-increases-to-special-education-funding/article_97ffd205-2b90-5361-8986-cb3776f422e1.html Last years winner got $250,000 to go to Harvard. Which school will this years winner choose? Its time for the second year of the Breakthrough Junior Challenge https://breakthroughjuniorchallenge.org/ , an offshoot of the Breakthrough Prize, a.k.a. Silicon Valleys Oscars. Last year, more than 2,000 students ages 13 to 18 from 86 countries submitted original videos to explain mathematical or scientific concepts. The video (also below) by the winner, 18-year-old Ryan Chester of Ohio, is called "Some Cool Ways to Understand the Special Theory of Relativity and What It Means About Time." By Levi Sumagaysay Full Story: http://www.siliconbeat.com/2016/08/31/breakthrough-junior-challenge-kids-with-big-idea-in-science-or-math-can-win-250k-scholarship/ home Tech Huawei Mate 9 release date, specs news update: Upcoming smartphone's launch delayed? The popular Chinese tech manufacturer Huawei has been pretty silent about the upcoming release of its new smartphone called Huawei Mate 9. Many people expected the company to announce the highly anticipated device at the IFA 2016 in Berlin. However, new reports have emerged suggesting that Huawei may delay the upcoming launching of Mate 8's successor. Nonetheless, a series of leaked photos online gave fans the idea of what to expect once the new smartphone hits the market. According to a report by Phone Arena, the new Huawei Mate 9 renders from MyDrivers show the device's exterior design. If rumors prove to be true, the upcoming smartphone will carry a dual primary camera set up. What's interesting is that the shooter is located right above the fingerprint scanner of the device. The series of leaked photos have been pretty consistent with its color combination of black and gold. According to several tech observers, not everyone has a positive response with regard to the rumored color combo of the new smartphone. However, its specs and features are definitely something to look forward to. Huawei Mate 9 will run on Kirin 960 chipset paired with a whopping 6 GB of RAM. Although the company has yet to provide specific details of its development, many expect it to come out with impressive specs and features. Meanwhile, Huawei has recently unveiled its new Nova and Nova Plus smartphones. It is the company's latest entry in the mid-range market. The new smartphones are said to run on Snapdragon 625 processor from Qualcomm paired with 3 GB of RAM. It is also expected to carry a 5-inch display along with a 3020mAh battery. According to Deccan Chronicle, the Nova will most likely be priced at $450, while the Nova Plus variant will be available for $480. According to the publication, the two smartphones will be rolled out in several markets across the world in October. home World Virgin Mary statue seen weeping in Honduras church Churchgoers at the Campus Santiago Apostle in Danli, Honduras reportedly saw tears dripping from the eyes of a statue of the Virgin Mary. A priest from a nearby parish, Juan Angel Lopez, did not know what is causing the phenomenon but believed it to be genuine. The strange occurrence was first noticed over the weekend. Video footage showed someone wiping the eyes and face of the statue. A man speaking in Spanish was heard in the background. "I'm not saying it's true, I'm saying it's possible," Lopez said. "In this case, I suspect that there is no falsehood because I know people who run the Campus Santiago Apostle. I know the seriousness of people who have recorded the video and do not think they would fake it," he added. Several cases of strange phenomenon involving religious statues have been reported in the past few months. Last week, a church in Bolivia reported that a statue of the Virgin Mary was crying tears of blood. A priest later reported that the hands of the figure was bleeding. A blood sample was taken to a hospital for analysis. Last June, a video showing a statue of Jesus opening its eyes went viral on the internet. The footage was taken in the Chapel of Saltillo in Mexico. However, church authorities from the Diocese of Saltillo refused to watch it, according to Mirror. A Youtube video released under the account AustralianPhenomena created a frame by frame analysis of the video and suggested that it may have been altered. Last May, a family from Fresno reported that the Virgin Mary statue at their home was weeping. The crew from ABC recounted that the tears were oily and smelled like roses. The caretaker of the statue said that many priests had already come to see the weeping statue and called it a miracle. Chicken will be the best-positioned protein due to its low price position in times of pressure on consumer spending power but rises in production costs and the long-term impact of COVID-19 threaten to disrupt the sector, according to Rabobank. by Sarah Mahoney @mahoney_sarah, September 5, 2016 While what Hispanics will or wont do in voting booths this November may be dominating campaign headlines, Nielsens latest report shows big demographic shifts that offer seismic changes for marketers, too. The new report, From the ballot box to the grocery store, delves deeply into how Latinos are changing the way they interact with marketers. As the group, now 57 million strong, continues to become younger, better educated, and more affluent, they are wielding their buying power, valued at $1.3 trillion in 2015, differently than in the past. Nielsen reports that Hispanic people are expected to account for 24% of the population by 2040, and 29% by 2060. Theyre gaining in affluence, with 48% of U.S. born Hispanic households now earning more than $50,000. And among those born outside the U.S., 38% now earn more than $50,000, up from 26% in 2000. To a degree, the shifts can be measured by language preference, with older people still much more likely to be Spanish-language dominant: Some 35% of those 55 and older prefer to speak and be spoken to in Spanish. Only 14% of those in the 18-to-34 range fit that categorization, and just 4% of those under the age of 18. advertisement advertisement And while 58% of those 34 and under are bilingual, making a case for ads that use both languages, the key insight is that among these younger consumers, there is a true ambiculturalism, which the market research company describes as at once entirely American and entirely of ones culture of origin. Savvy marketers are taking notice and crafting dual-language communications that speak to both the American spirit and the Latino soul, the report says. Target, for example, has named the Hispanic youth market as a key priority for its growth initiatives, last year launching the #SinTraduccion" campaign, which focuses not so much on language (it means "without translation") as addressing cultural concepts that are uniquely Latino. And this year, its run purely Spanish-language style ads, featuring actress Rita Moreno, among others, in English-only programming as well as Spanish TV. The Association of Hispanic Advertising Agencies says Procter & Gamble spends the most on Hispanic advertising, with a budget of $439 million in 2015, followed by L'Oreal, MARS, Wal-Mart, Anheuser-Busch and SABMiller. Political candidates better be taking notes. Nielsen reports that youth will play an especially key role in the election. Of the 27 million Latinos currently eligible to vote, 14% of them are young voters who have come of age since the last presidential throw-down. Overall, 52% of Hispanic voters say they are Democratic, 30% Independent, and 9% Republican. People with the most common type of lung cancer whose disease has spread to the brain could be spared potentially harmful whole brain radiotherapy, according to new research published in The Lancet. The phase 3 randomised trial found that whole brain radiotherapy had no beneficial effect on length or quality of survival over treatment with steroids and other supportive care [1]. Despite its widespread use, until now there has been no robust evidence to determine whether whole brain radiotherapy, which can have substantial side effects (eg, fatigue, nausea, neurotoxicity), is better than best supportive care alone in terms of prolonging life or improving quality of life. The authors say that while whole brain radiotherapy may be beneficial in patients who are younger than 60 years old, it should no longer be considered standard treatment for the majority of patients with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) that has spread to the brain. The findings will be presented at the European Respiratory Society meeting in London on Monday 5th September. More than 1.8 million people will be diagnosed with lung cancer worldwide this year. Up to 30% of NSCLC will eventually spread to the brain and most are inoperable and have a poor prognosis. Secondary brain tumours are usually treated with whole brain radiotherapy along with supportive care including steroids (usually dexamethasone), but with limited success. "Whole brain radiotherapy was widely adopted into clinical practice based on the assumption it improves tumour control in patients with brain metastases. But in our lung cancer clinics, we were not seeing the improvements we had hoped for in our patients. Survival times are poor and have hardly changed since the 1980s. What's more, the technique's toxicity can be substantial and it can damage cognitive function", explains study author Dr Paula Mulvenna, Consultant Clinical Oncologist, Newcastle Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, Newcastle upon Tyne, UK. [2] In order to see if patients could be treated as effectively without whole brain radiotherapy (WBRT), Mulvenna and colleagues designed the non-inferiority Quality of Life after Treatment for Brain Metastases (QUARTZ) trial. They recruited 538 NSCLC patients (aged 18 or older) with brain metastases from 69 centres in the UK and three in Australia between March 2007 and August 2014. Participants were randomly assigned to receive either best supportive care and dexamethasone, or best supportive care and dexamethasone plus whole brain radiotherapy (20 Gy in five daily fractions). As the life expectancy of patients with advanced NSCLC is poor, the benefits of treatment were measured in terms of quality adjusted life years (QALYS) which combines length and quality of life (evaluated during weekly telephone assessments). The researchers decided that a reduction in QALYs of no more than 7 days would convince clinicians and patients that WBRT should no longer be considered as standard care. By October 2015, 536 patients had died (267 in the whole brain radiotherapy group and 269 in the best supportive care alone group). Findings showed that patients in both groups lived a similar length of time after randomisation (average survival 64.4 days whole brain radiotherapy group vs 59.5 days best supportive care alone group ), and experienced a similar quality of life. Having one week of whole brain radiation showed no quality-of-life benefit. Furthermore, the difference between the groups in terms of average QALYs was just 4.7 days (46.4 days in the whole brain radiotherapy group vs 41.7 days in the best supportive care alone group. There were no clear differences in steroid use or the number of serious adverse events reported in both groups, although more episodes of drowsiness, hair loss, nausea, and dry/itchy scalp were reported while patients were receiving WBRT. The authors note that although the patients recruited in this trial had a poorer prognosis than those in previous studies (which provided the basis for the use of whole brain radiotherapy), they are typical of patients in routine clinical practice, of whom very few (3.5% - 7.5%) fall into the better prognosis groups. Dr Mulvenna explains, "Just 30 patients (6%) in our analysis fell into the best prognosis group. Most (301 of 533; 56%) fell into the intermediate group who have previously been thought to benefit most from whole brain radiotherapy, but actually appear to derive no substantial benefit from this treatment."[2] The researchers point to several caveats including the fact that 11% of participants randomised to whole brain radiotherapy were in too poor health or did not live long enough to receive the treatment. Additionally, the quality of life assessment was limited to key measures to avoid overburdening patients. According to Professor Ruth Langley from the Medical Research Council Clinical Trials Unit at University College London, where the study was designed and co-ordinated, "Whole brain radiotherapy cannot be considered as the standard treatment for all patients with brain metastases because it does not extend survival, improve quality of life, or reduce steroid use. Overtime, there's been a shift away from using whole brain radiation in favour of radiosurgery, which has minimal side effects. Our results could further restrict its use. In the future, potential new treatments (whether using drugs or stereotactic radiotherapy techniques) should be assessed in addition to best supportive care rather than in addition to, or in place of, whole brain radiotherapy."[2] Writing in a linked Comment, Dr Cecile Le Pechoux from Gustave Roussy Cancer Campus, Villejuif, France and colleagues discuss whether there is still a place for whole brain radiotherapy in NSCLC patients with brain metastases. They conclude, "This trial might not rule out use of whole brain radiotherapy in all patients with NSCLC and brain metastases...We believe that optimised whole brain radiotherapy, given at the right time to appropriate patients, could lead to more individualised strategies. Both systemic and local treatments of brain metastases need to be discussed with patients, taking into account the results of this trial, classical prognostic factors, and the molecular status." It was already known that genes inherited from ancient retroviruses[1] are essential to the placenta in mammals, a finding to which scientists in the Laboratoire Physiologie et Pathologie Moleculaires des Retrovirus Endogenes et Infectieux (CNRS/Universite Paris-Sud) contributed. Today, the same scientists[2] have revealed a new chapter in this astonishing story: these genes of viral origin may also be responsible for the more developed muscle mass seen in males! Their findings are published on 2 September 2016 in PLOS Genetics. Retroviruses carry proteins on their surface that are able to mediate fusion of their envelope with the membrane of a target cell. Once released inside that cell, their genetic material becomes integrated in the host's chromosomes. In the rare cases where the infected cell is involved in reproduction, the viral genes may be transmitted to progeny. Thus nearly 8% of the mammalian genome is made up of vestiges of retroviruses, or "endogenous" retroviruses. Most of them are inactive, but some remain capable of producing proteins: this is the case of syncytins, proteins that are present in all mammals and encoded by genes inherited from retroviruses "captured" by their ancestors. A little more than five years ago, and thanks to inactivation of these genes in mice, the team led by Thierry Heidmann[3] demonstrated that syncytins contribute to formation of the placenta. Because of their ancestral ability to mediate cell-cell fusion they give rise to the syncytiotrophoblast[4], a tissue formed by the fusion of a large number of cells derived from the embryo, at the fetomaternal interface. Using the same mice, the team has revealed a "collateral" and unexpected effect of these proteins: they endow males with more muscle mass than females! Like the syncytiotrophoblast, muscle mass develops from fused stem cells. In the genetically-modified male mice, these fibers were 20% smaller and displayed 20% fewer nuclei than in standard males; they were then similar to those seen in females, as was their total muscle mass. It therefore appears that the inactivation of syncytins leads to a fusion deficit during muscle growth, but only in males. The scientists observed the same phenomenon in the case of muscle regeneration following a lesion: the male mice incapable of producing syncytins experienced less effective regeneration than the other males, but it was comparable to that seen in females. Furthermore, the regenerating muscle fibers produced syncytin - once again, only in males. If this discovery were to be confirmed in other mammals, it might account for the muscle dimorphism observed between males and females, a difference that is not seen so systematically in egg laying animals. By cultivating muscle stem cells from different mammalian species (mouse, sheep, dog, human), the scientists have advanced some way along the path: they indeed showed that syncytins contributed to the formation of muscle fibers in all the species tested. It is now necessary to demonstrate whether, in these species as well, the action of syncytins is also male-specific. Article: Genetic Evidence That Captured Retroviral Envelope syncytins Contribute to Myoblast Fusion and Muscle Sexual Dimorphism in Mice, Francois Redelsperger, Najat Raddi, Agathe Bacquin, Cecile Vernochet, Virginie Mariot, Vincent Gache, Nicolas Blanchard-Gutton, Stephanie Charrin, Laurent Tiret, Julie Dumonceaux, Anne Dupressoir, Thierry Heidmann, PLOS Genetics, doi : 10.1371/journal.pgen.1006289, published online 2 September 2016. Heparan sulphate occurs as carbohydrate chains which are very important for human body cells both for normal foetal development and during the course of various diseases. All new molecular knowledge concerning these chains is therefore important. Researchers can now show that the same enzyme which determines the charge pattern of the chains also determines their length. "What determines the length of the chains was not known previously and we were surprised when it turned out that the same enzyme which has the ability to control the charge pattern, NDST2, also determines the length of the chains," says Audrey Deligny, lead author and previously a postdoc in professor Lena Kjellen's research group at Uppsala University. Heparan sulphate are negatively-charged carbohydrate chains which affect how cells move, divide or mature. These processes are especially important during foetal development but also, for example when it comes to cancer. The pattern formed by the negative charges and the length of the carbohydrate chains determine how heparan sulphate chains affect their surroundings. Cells produce heparan sulphate chains using enzymes which either join together sugar molecules or contribute the sulphate groups which are the negative charges. The aim of the research is to understand how a cell designs the length and sulphate pattern of its heparan sulphate chains and then how the chains are actually produced. It is hoped that such an understanding could be exploited to control the production of heparan sulphate chains which carry out desirable biological activities. For example, cancer cells with pathologically altered heparan sulphate chains which stimulate cell division might be made to produce heparan sulphate without this activity. In the article, published in the Journal of Biological Chemistry, researchers describe how mice which lack the NDST2 enzyme produce shorter heparan sulphate chains while cells which contain large amounts of the enzyme have longer chains. "In some genetic diseases, cells are not good at breaking down heparan sulphate resulting in damage to both the skeleton and muscles, but most importantly to brain functions. For these patients, it would help if less heparan sulphate was produced. This could be achieved by inhibiting the NDST2 enzyme and is one possible important application for our basic research," says Lena Kjellen, professor of Glycobiology. The study is a result of collaboration between researchers at SciLifeLab at the Department of Medical Biochemistry, Uppsala University and researchers at the Complex Carbohydrate Research Center, University of Georgia, Athens, USA. Article: NDST2 (N-Deacetylase/N-Sulfotransferase-2) Enzyme Regulates Heparan Sulfate Chain Length, Audrey Deligny, Tabea Dierker, Anders Dagalv, Anders Lundequist, Inger Eriksson, Alison V. Nairn, Kelley W. Moremen, Catherine L. R. Merry, Lena Kjellen, JBC On August 2, 2016, Indian State Minister for Home Affairs Hansraj Ahir sought to assure the Lok Sabha, India's lower house of parliament, that the international terrorist organization ISIS has attracted "very few" youths from the country. [1] This statement caused many to wonder whether the government is fully alive to the threat posed by ISIS. Indian State Minister for Home Affairs Hansraj Ahir addressing the Lok Sabha (Image: indiatvnews.com) The "Very Few" ISIS Suspects In reply to a question, the minister admitted that the number of these "very few" ISIS suspects stood at 54, and this included only those misled youths against whom the country's National Investigation Agency, as well as the police in Maharashtra, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Telangana and Tamil Nadu, have filed cases. The minister then deftly introduced an addendum by mentioning nine other cases of "persons [who] have been reported missing from some parts of Kerala, who are suspected to have joined terrorist outfits like ISIS, but their links [to these organizations] have not yet been established." According to some observers, the minister's response seems to have conspicuously overlooked the possibility of ISIS recruitment in the troubled Jammu and Kashmir region and in several other riot-prone states in north India.[2] But even the "very few" cases divulged by the government point to a steady increase in the number of individuals suspected to have been caught in the ISIS radicalization snare, compared to the much smaller number of cases that had been registered by government agencies until late last year.[3] ISIS's Doctrinal Offensive The trend is particularly disconcerting in light of ISIS-related terrorist activities in neighboring Pakistan and Bangladesh, and more importantly in the context of the deliberate ideological campaign that Salafis have been waging in the Urdu and Bangla blogosphere against the Hanafi Deobandi and Barelvi adherents of Sunni Islam in the subcontinent. This intra-Sunni doctrinal debate has been launched so that globalist Salafi-jihadist ideas find greater resonance among non-Salafi Muslims in the subcontinent. Thus, the blogosphere in the subcontinent is abuzz these days with literature against the "muqallid" (jurisprudential conformism) doctrine of the more moderate Deobandis and Barelvi Muslims in the region, a hitherto unknown phenomenon. It should be noted that ISIS follows the "ghair muqallid" brand of Islam, which rejects adherence to the four orthodox Sunni jurisprudential schools - Hanafi, Shafi'i, Maliki and Hanbali- in spite of its Hanbali leanings.[4] This doctrinal dissonance has turned into a turf war, with ISIS trying to unseat the Deobandi Taliban from its position of influence in the AfPak region by weaning away its splinter groups. In the wake of this tug-of-war, the Afghan Taliban sent a direct message to ISIS leader Abu Bakr Al-Baghdadi last year, warning him that his fighters should refrain from encroaching upon the Taliban's insurgent operation.[5] In August that year, the Taliban denounced a video showing ISIS fighters blowing up blindfolded Afghan prisoners with explosives, describing them as "horrific."[6] As a matter of fact, the clash between the Salafi Al-Qaeda/ISIS ideologues and the Deobandi jihadists in the subcontinent is not a recent phenomenon. Its signs were evident even during the Afghan-Arab war against the Soviets in the 1980s. According to Al-Qaeda's most prolific writer, Abu Mus'ab Al-Suri, in the late 1970s the Sunni jihadist movement was "a mixture of Qutbist organizational ideology, the Salafist creed and the Wahhabi call."[7] In his book Call to Global Islamic Resistance, Al-Suri notes with consternation that, in the 1990s, the growing influence of Salafi hardline ideologues within the jihadist fold bred "partisan fanaticism" and led to "bloodshed, conspiracies and internecine fighting." He describes the Arab-Afghan jihadists as being derisive of the "muqallid" doctrinal beliefs of the Taliban and dismissive of Mullah Omar's claim of having established an "Islamic emirate" in Afghanistan. According to Al-Suri, many of the Arab jihadists regarded the Taliban as no more than a "safe haven" from which they could operate freely, and did not regard the so-called Taliban "emirate" as a suitable starting point for launching their cherished dream of a future Islamic Caliphate. He states (pp. 844-845): "One of the astonishing things... is a statement made by one of those extremist Salafi-jihadists. He told me in one of our conversations that jihad must be under the Salafist banner; its leadership, program and religious rulings must also be Salafist...If we accept that non-Salafists participate with us in jihad, we only do so because we need them. However, they should not have any leadership role at all. We should lead them like a herd of cows to perform their duty of jihad."[8] Although Al-Qaeda's top leadership (Bin Laden and now Al-Zawahiri) has always sought to downplay the doctrinal differences within the organization, the emergence of ISIS has brought the internal dissonance to the fore like never before.[9] With the death of Afghan Taliban leader Mullah Omar, ISIS has gained more ground and influence in the region, which poses a new set of challenges for countries in the subcontinent. Recent Increase In ISIS Attacks In The Subcontinent Not surprisingly, the increasing influence of the Salafist brand of Islam has triggered a spurt in terrorist activity in the subcontinent. ISIS is said to have already developed close ties with the Salafi Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT) in Pakistan and Jamaatul Mujahideen in Bangladesh. In late July 2016, the Afghanistan government accused former LeT chief Hafiz Muhammad Saeed of directing ISIS attacks in Afghanistan. In the beginning of the month, ISIS gunmen entered an upscale restaurant in the Bangladeshi capital of Dhaka and held dozens of people hostage for hours, eventually killing 20 of them. In fact, that country has been rattled by a major wave of Islamist violence with a number of targeted killings of secularists, atheists and foreigners since 2013.[10] Then, on July 8, 2016, two policemen and a woman were killed in a terrorist attack on an Eid prayer gathering in the country. [11] Demonstration in wake of terror wave in Bangladesh (Image: News24online.com, July 18, 2016) In issue 13 of the its online English-language magazine Dabiq, released in January 2016, the head of ISIS in Bangladesh, Sheikh Abu Ibrahim al-Hanif, claimed that the group is currently training fighters in Bangladesh and Pakistan to launch simultaneous attacks from the western and eastern borders of India, in order to create chaos in this country. The mouthpiece also said that Kashmir would soon be overrun by ISIS. Indian jihadi groups like the Indian Mujahideen (IM) also have links to the group, with many of their members having joined the ranks of ISIS in Syria and Iraq and some planning their return to India, to enlist more recruits. In fact, the Ansar-ut Tawhid fi Bilad al-Hind (AuT), formed in 2013 by members of IM, ISIS and a Taliban faction, pledged their allegiance to ISIS in September of that year.[12] The Looming ISIS Threat With the number of suspected ISIS members in India and the subcontinent on the rise, as reflected even by the tentative data released by the authorities, the dreadful specter of this insidious monstrosity quickly getting out of control is a clear and present danger to the entire region. First, trained terror recruits returning from ISIS-held territories pose the close-term threat of perpetrating major terrorist operations, as well as the medium-to-long-term danger of establishing clandestine sleeper cells for sustained terrorist campaigns. Meanwhile, there is also the looming specter of home-grown terrorism, wherein jihadist websites provide inspiration and training for non-affiliated individuals or small groups to carry out lone-wolf attacks. ISIS has developed an intricate social media network (as exposed in the Mehdi Biswas aka Shami Witness case in 2014) and has posted guidebooks and manuals for concocting destructive explosives from household materials (as exemplified in the Boston bombings of 2013) and for using readily available means, such as vehicles, as lethal weapons (as manifest in the Nice terror attack this year). In addition, there are many religious organizations and seminaries in the region that continue to be indoctrinated by extremist Salafi-Wahhabi ideologues and to receive funding from extremist donors in the Middle East. There are also millions of South Asian expatriates in Gulf states, who may bring back to their native countries the radical and extremist ideologies currently rampant in that part of the world. Fighting Jihadism And Its Agenda In light of the above, it is important for governments in South Asia to take serious note of the fact that jihadists are increasingly gaining a foothold in their respective countries and devise effective measures to combat the growing menace. In the formulation of any counter-terrorism policy, it is necessary to take into account the collusion and competition between various Deobandi and Salafi jihadist organizations in the Indian subcontinent, as well as the growing Salafi-jihadist subversion by foreign elements of the moderate Sufi Islam practiced by the hitherto peaceable Muslims of the Kashmir valley. The Darul Uloom of Deoband in India (the headquarters of the Deobandi school) should be urged to exhort all renegade Deobandi jihadi organizations in Pakistan to renounce the practice of terrorism, which is condemned by all schools of Islamic jurisprudence. In fact, Darul Uloom Deoband should revive the stance of one of its greatest scholars and spiritual leaders, Maulana Husain Ahmad Madani, who in his celebrated book Al-Shahab Al-Shaqab denounced the Wahhabi doctrine as a "false belief" (aqaid-i-batil), particularly for its use of violence and takfir (the practice of accusing other Muslims of heresy). This Islamic school and its affiliate organizations should also make sure that they do not receive any financial or ideological support for their mosques and seminaries from countries or private patrons espousing Salafi-Wahhabi beliefs. It should be noted here that the Hanafi Darul Uloom of Deoband in India has since its inception worked toward greater communal peace and amity. It voted in favor of a united India at the time of partition and against Pakistan's creation, and in 2009 issued a historic fatwa calling India dar al-aman (a land of peace where jihad is forbidden).[13] *Dr. Adil Rasheed is a distinguished research fellow at the United Service Institution of India, and is the author of the book ISIS: Race to Armageddon. Endnotes: Russia This Week is a weekly review by the MEMRI Russian Media Studies Project, covering the latest Russia-related news and analysis from media in Russia, the Caucasus, Central Asia, and Eastern Europe. Cartoon Of The Week Vk.com/13studiya, August 25, 2016. Putin smashes NATO's newly established strategic positions to Obama's dismay. In The News: G-20 Summit In China On September 3, ahead of the G20 Summit in Hangzhou, China, Russian President Vladimir Putin had a meeting with President of Turkey Recep Tayyip Erdogan to discuss the restoration of full-scale bilateral cooperation. During the meeting, Putin informed his counterpart that accompanying him to the G20 was a "powerful delegation" that included the heads of Russia's leading energy companies - Gazprom, Rosneft and Rosatom - the energy minister, the head of the sovereign investment fund, and the economy and foreign ministers. Kremlin's spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said that the two leaders discussed the Turkish Stream gas pipeline. Meanwhile, charter flights between Russia and Turkey have already resumed. (Kremlin.ru, September 3) Putin met with Chinese President Xi Jinping. The Chinese news agency Xinhua reported that two leaders called for "firm support in each other's efforts to safeguard sovereignty". They also discussed strategic cooperation, and dovetailing China's the Belt and Road Initiative (Economic Belt and Silk Road) with the Eurasian Economic Union championed by Russia. Xi also said that China considers "Russia's prosperity and development," as a boost to China's "own chance to develop." In a friendly note, Putin has brought a box of Russian ice-cream as a gift to the Chinese President, who is a fan of Russian ice-cream. (Xinhua, September 4; Rt.com, September 4; Sputniknews.com, September 4) Presidents Putin and Xi (Source: Sputniknews.com) On September 5, Putin and US President Barack Obama met in a one-on-one meeting behind closed doors. The meeting was longer than planned and focused on Ukraine and the Syrian settlement. (Tass.ru, September 5) On September 4, Putin met with French President Francois Hollande. In the meeting, the French President told Putin: "I think we should discuss the situations in Syria and Ukraine, since we are all involved in addressing these problems. As for Ukraine, we need to discuss further cooperation in the Normandy format. As for Syria, here we need to move towards full-fledged dialogue." (Kremlin.ru, September 4) Putin and German Chancellor Angela Merkel met late at night on September 4 on the sidelines of the G20 summit. The two leaders discussed the situation in Eastern Ukraine and the Syrian settlement. Concerning Ukraine, they focused on the implementation of the Minsk agreements. (Tagesschau.de, September 4) On September 4, Putin met as well with British Prime Minister Theresa May. This was the first time the two leaders met. Putin expressed his wish to take Russia-UK bilateral relations "to a higher level relative to where they are now." May answered that while differences between the two countries exist, there are "some complex and serious areas of concern and issues to discuss." During the meeting, the two leaders reportedly discussed security, counter-terrorism, the Syrian settlement, and aviation safety. The two leaders agreed that a UK Transport Ministry delegation would visit Moscow soon to continue the discussion of aviation safety and that Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov would meet his British counterpart Boris Johnson in New York at the session of the UN General Assembly. (Kremlin.ru, September 4, Sputniknews.com, September 4) On September 4, Putin met with the deputy Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia Mohammad Bin Salman Al Sa'ud, the son of the current Saudi king and the country's defense minister. The two countries are supporting the opposing sides in Syria. Putin stressed that Russia believes that "without Saudi Arabia no serious issue in the region can be resolved," adding that it is important that two parts maintain a regular dialogue. Bin Salman also stressed the importance of Russia-Saudi relations. The Crown Prince said: "For us, the relations between Russia and Saudi Arabia are also of great importance. They are certainly strategic in nature and, therefore, cooperation and coordination between Russia and Saudi Arabia are essential." Bin Salman also stated that Saudi Arabia belives that Russia is not only an important "world player," but also "a great power." He said: "As for our cooperation with Russia, it proceeds on a privileged basis. That is why our work together brings a lot of benefits to the Middle East. We would certainly prefer to avoid any negative scenario in the Middle East, and so would you. We would like to ramp up economic cooperation and want it to not just continue, but to progress faster." (Kremlin.ru, September 4) On September 4, Putin had several meetings. An informal meeting between BRICS leaders (Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa) took place, before the beginning of the G20. During the meeting, Putin stated: " The BRICS states have already increased their total share in the IMF capital to 14.89 percent, very close to the blocking threshold of 15 percent. And they certainly need to continue in this direction, advancing the reform of the IMF." (Kremlin.ru, September 4) The BRICS leaders in a group photo at the summit (Source: Sputniknews.com) Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov said that a meeting between Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and US State Secretary John Kerry on the sidelines of the G20 summit is possible if the US officially differentiates between terrorists and opposition groups in Syria. "At the moment, we do not have the timing set for such contact, but the main point is not the timing, it is the fact that we are doubtful that our American colleagues are able to overcome what is the main obstacle now for reaching the final agreement on Syria - mainly, the long-standing issue of differentiating between Daesh terrorists and those groupings that the US military structures work with. This is the main obstacle for the resolution of [the] Aleppo situation," Ryabkov said. (Sputniknews.com, September 3) Before the start of the G20, the Russian ambassador to China Andrey Denisov gave an interview to CNTV Panview, discussing relations between Russia and China. Speaking on the role played by Sino-Russian cooperation, Desinov said: "Concerted action within the G20 framework is an important factor in the Russia-China strategic partnership. And this is already a pretext for the two countries to play an important role in establishing a reasonable framework for global economic governance." The Russian ambassador also recalled that Putin paid an official visit to China on June 25, adding: "Given the rapid development of the comprehensive strategic partnership of cooperation between the two countries, the leaders have many common tasks and topics to exchange opinions with each other on a regular basis." (Cctv.com, September 2) Eastern Economic Forum in Vladivostok Putin at the plenary session of the Eastern Economic Forum. (Source: Kremlin.ru) The Eastern Economic Forum (EEF) took place in Vladivostok on September 2-3, immediately before the G20 summit began. The EEF was established by a Presidential Executive Order in 2015 to promote the accelerated economic development of the Russian Far East and the expansion of international cooperation in the Asia-Pacific region. At the summit, Putin stressed that the summit means "a growing interest to Russia in the political and business circles of the Asia-Pacific region and other regions; an interest in our Far Eastern agenda in general." He also stated that Russia has to set a "big goal": to make the Far East one of the centers of Russia's social and economic development. Putin also tackled the issue of demography. The Russian President said: "There is the main consolidated and most valuable indicator of ongoing changes in the Far East - the emerging demographic surplus. For the first time in a quarter century, Khabarovsk Territory, Sakhalin, Yakutia and Chukotka have seen an increase in population. For the third year in a row, the birth rate in the Far Eastern Federal District exceeds the death rate, and fewer people are leaving the Far East." Putin also explained that he sees the Far East at the epicenter of dynamic integration processes. In this regard, he mentioned the Russia is working to develop the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) and expand its international ties. In October this year, Moscow will host the second round of talks on a trade and economic cooperation agreement between the EAEU and the People's Republic of China. He then added that the Kremlin supports the initiative of Russian, Japanese, South Korean and Chinese companies to create "an energy super-ring linking our countries as one". Putin said: "We propose setting up an intergovernmental working group in order to move ahead more rapidly and dynamically on this project. Let me note that Russia is ready to offer its Asia-Pacific region partners competitive energy prices and long-term fixed price contracts." (Kremlin.ru, September 3) At the meeting, Putin described relations between Russia and Washington as "frozen," stating that Moscow is not to blame for this situation. However, he added that Russia is "ready to fully unravel our cooperation any second." (Sputniknews.com, September 3) Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said at MGIMO University that Russia looks at developing relations with the Asia Pacific region, stressing the importance of the EAEU in the process of developing Eurasian economic integration. Lavrov stated: "I reiterate that the EU remains our largest partner. But we'd be remiss not to take advantage of the vast opportunities opening up as a result of a rapid growth of economy, logistics and transport in the Asia-Pacific region, especially so, since promoting Eurasian economic integration is among our policy priorities. This is much more than just achieving all the goals set by the leaders of the Eurasian Economic Community. It is also a continuation of integration processes in the open mode. As you know, the President of Russia Vladimir Putin has put forward an initiative for a project, which is tentatively called the Great Eurasian Partnership. The project envisages not just a larger number of EAEU partners willing to establish free trade zones with the EAEU, but also the development of stable systemic ties with the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN)... "We are a Eurasian power by virtue of history, nature, and above all, our great ancestors. Therefore, given our history, we must focus on all areas as we strive to provide the best possible external environment for developing our country and improving our people's living standards." (Mid.ru, September 1) Russia-Japan Relations The meeting in Vladivostock was also an opportunity for Putin to meet with Japanese President Shinzo Abe, and tackle the issue of the Kuril Islands dispute. Concerning Russia-Japan relations, Putin said: "We are natural partners with Japan, absolutely natural partners in the development of trade-economic ties and in the resolution of issues of regional security. And we [Putin and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe] understand this very well." (Sputniknews.com, September 3) Vitaly Podvitsky, Vk.com/13studiya, July 11, 2016. The cartoon refers to the Kuril Islands dispute between Russia and Japan. A Japanese samurai prodded by an American hand: I protest! These are our islands! The Russian bear : He who own the tanks, also owns the islands. On the sidelines of the Eastern Economic Forum, Lavrov said that the talks between Putin and Abe addressed all aspects of the relationship without exception. He added that Russia closely cooperates with Japan at the UN. Lavrov recalled that thanks to Russia's support, Japan became a member of the International Syria Support Group (ISSG). Answering a question about the Kuril Islands, Lavrov said: "we have long urged our Japanese colleagues to address these matters. Some time ago (under the previous cabinet of ministers) the approach toward this was more cautious. Today we feel that our Japanese partners are willing to discuss not only matters concerning joint economic activity on the islands but also exchanges between people and cultural ties. In the course of the consultations that I mentioned, as well as during future rounds, many important aspects of a peace treaty will naturally be addressed." (Mid.ru, September 2) The Japanese newspaper Asahi Shimbun reported that Putin and Abe and their interpreters met behind closed doors for 55 minutes, during which it was decided that the two leaders would meet in December in Japan, in Abe's home prefecture. Putin and Abe will also meet on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Forum summit meeting to be held in November in Peru. (Asahi.com, September 3) In an interview with Bloomberg, in Vladivostok, Putin discussed the Kuril Islands dispute. Putin said: "We do not trade territories although concluding a peace treaty with Japan is certainly a key issue and we would like to find a solution to this problem together with our Japanese friends. Back in 1956, we signed a treaty and surprisingly it was ratified both by the Supreme Soviet of the Soviet Union and the Japanese Parliament. But then Japan refused to implement it and after that the Soviet Union also, so to say, nullified all the agreements reached within the framework of the treaty. "Some years ago our Japanese counterparts asked us to resume the discussions of the issue and so we did meeting them halfway. Over the past couple of years the contacts were practically frozen on the initiative of the Japanese side, not ours. At the same time, presently our partners have expressed their eagerness to resume discussions on this issue. It has nothing to do with any kind of exchange or sale. It is about the search for a solution when neither party would be at a disadvantage, when neither party would perceive itself as conquered or defeated." (Kremlin.ru, September 1) Russia's Demographic Abyss According to the estimates of UN experts, by 2030, Russia's population will decrease by almost 8 million and will total about 138,652,480 (As of January 1, 2016, it stood at 146,544,710, according to Rosstat [the Russian Statistic Service]). Russia's Supervisory Council of the Institute for Demography, Migration and Regional Development, Yuri Krupnov said that the migration "time bomb" is ticking fast and may go off at any moment. Krupnov: "All this is the consequence of a false assumption in the concept of state migration policy - that migration is, allegedly, a blessing. We are constantly assured that the newcomers bring about improvement in economic and demographic indicators. But after 25 years of such pro-migrant policy we are losing both the demographics and the country. The migration lobby, of course, gambles on the fact that migration is a natural and global process. "But in fact, our migration traffic is the direct consequence of the collapse of the USSR, catastrophic de-industrialization, and the country being pushed to the periphery of world economy...We need a full-scale migration reform and a radical change of the state policy on the whole. This is the question of national security, and solving it should start with setting strategic goals. According to experts, there are at least 12 million illegal migrants in the territory of Russia... Additional waves of newcomers await us. Central Asia migrants are almost exhausted as a resource, there are now plans to involve the Chinese - about 10-15 million...Today we hear lots of enthusiastic speeches about demographic growth, but it is only a temporary peak, a warm 'greeting' from the late 1980s. In fact, by 2025 we will find ourselves in another demographic abyss. And it will be deeper than the previous one... "There will be fewer child-bearers, that is, the number of women of childbearing age will decrease. This in turn, is the product of the demographic abyss of the 1990s. The number of newborn babies in 2025 compared with 2012 will decrease by at least 40%. The birth rate will not exceed 1.8 children per woman. The net result is that the economically active population total will decrease by 10 million. In other words, the GDP will fall by 10% for this reason alone. But what are the conclusions drawn? That we must increase migration. In order to keep the number of Russian citizens at the same level - I'm not even talking about increasing it - we must increase the number of multi-child families sevenfold - from 7 to 50% - in the next 20 years. Many will say that it is impossible, it is not serious. Yes, it is a fundamental historical challenge, an unprecedented task. But we will have to do the impossible... "We ourselves are to blame for the fact that a demographic catastrophe exists in Russia. If we placed our bets on migration and are not going to organize a demographic revolution, then by the end of the century there will be only about half of us left, at best. That is why it is necessary to cultivate large multi-generational families as the only way to avoid catastrophe. And a huge flow of benefits, bonuses, etc. should be directed towards families with four children..." (Izvestia.ru, August 9) Russians In The World Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev speaking at the forum "In Unity with Russia" in Moscow. (Rt.com, August 29) Speaking at the international political forum in Moscow, "In Unity with Russia", Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev said: "The protection of the rights and interests of Russian citizens in foreign nations remains among our most important tasks... I want you all, as well as the rest of our country's citizens, to feel every minute that you are backed by the Russian Federation - the country that never leaves its people 'behind the red line.'" (Rt.com, August 29) Vice-Speaker of the Duma Sergey Zheleznyak (Source: Ria.ru) Speaking during the forum "In Unity with Russia", Sergey Zheleznyak, vice-speaker of the Duma, said that it's very important for Russia to support its compatriots abroad who are defending their right to preserve their ethno-cultural identity, language, values and tradition. "Both individual citizens and entire Russian-speaking communities need to have [their] interests protected," said Zheleznyak. (Ria.ru, August 28) Speaking at the same forum, Konstantin Kosachev, who chairs the Federation Council's International Affairs Committee, claimed that the Russian world was encountering unprecedented pressure and this necessitated that Russians the world over and those who consider themselves spiritually and culturally Russians unite in support "for the Russian world as a civilizational basis for the global nation". He added that the concept of the Russian world is not an expansionist but a unifying one. (Ria.ru, August 28) Senator Konstantin Kosachev (Source: Ria.ru) Russia-West Relations: Pushkov: 'The Level Of Fierce Collision...Is Higher Than It Used To Be During The Cold War' Speaking at the international forum "In Unity with Russia", Alexey Pushkov, chair of the Duma's international affairs committee, said: "As for the possibility of American nuclear weapons transfer from Turkey to Romania ...many Eastern European countries discuss that question. In Poland in particular the minister of defense raised the question of deploying US nukes in the country. The Russian position regarding this is quite simple. We have always said that countries which choose to host American nuclear weapons - countries in a close proximity to our borders - naturally increase their degree of vulnerability...Naturally, this will be a part of our operational planning - thus the governments, which make such decisions, bear responsibility for the consequences including [the consequences] for their own security". (Ria.ru, August 28) Head of the Foreign Affairs Committee in the State Duma Alexey Pushkov (Source: Ria.ru) Pushkov added that the current Western demonization of Russia surpasses the Cold War era: "It's not just about 'the Cold War' - though some forms of Western foreign policies do recall the 'Cold War'". He explained that it's not a Cold War per se, since back then there was a collision between economic and political-ideological systems - and this is not happening now. Pushkov then explained: "Nevertheless the level of fierce collision - especially from our Western counterparts' side - is higher than it used to be during the 'Cold War'years...We have never faced such a level of anti-Russia demonization campaign. We have never faced a demonization campaign against Russian leadership at such a level. Things never reached the stage of personal sanctions I would call it 'a campaign of international McCarthyism'". (Ria.ru, August 28) Speaking at the same forum, MP Vyacheslav Tihonov told the audience that the situation is much worse than during the Cold War: "During the Cold War, American units, NATO units were not quartered in Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Romania and Bulgaria. There has never been so thick a flow of lies and disinformation concerning Russia - it's happening not because we are doing something wrong, but because Russia has arisen from its knees". (Ria.ru, August 28) MP Vyacheslav Tihonov (Source: Ria.Ru) Deputy Prime Minister Dmitri Rogozin called Russia "the fist on the West's throat". Rogozin said: "When they say that the sanctions are temporary in nature - that's untrue. Anti-Russian sanctions will be present forever as long as Russia exists - because we are like the fist in their throat with our appraisal of life our independence, huge rich territory and unbreakable people." He went on that the West "always hindered, is hindering and will hinder Russia's power, will and independence." (Ria.ru, August 28) Deputy Prime Minister Dmitri Rogozin (Source: Ria.ru) Russia-Ukraine Relations During the Eastern Economic Forum, Putin said: "We believe that the Minsk agreements should by fully implemented without any restrictions, limitations and substitution of concepts. And we will sincerely strive for that. But we cannot achieve this alone; the Normandy format participants and the United States should to do it with us, because only they have a real influence on the current Kiev authorities. Of course, without the political will of the Ukrainian leadership it is also impossible. And ultimately it depends on them," (Sputniknews.com, September 3) The ceasefire agreement between self-proclaimed Donetsk and Luhansk people's republics in eastern Ukraine and the Kiev authorities comes into force at midnight August 31. (Sputniknews.com, August 31) A Ukrainian court has issued a warrant for the arrest of Russian Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu. (Kommersant.ru, September 1) Special Representative of the OSCE Chairperson-in-Office in Ukraine Martin Sajdik will be in Moscow on a working visit on September 8-9 to meet with Lavrov. (Mid.ru, Aug. 31) The OSCE Minsk Group co-chairs Igor Popov (Russia), James Warlick (US), Pierre Andrieu (France) and Personal Representative of the Chairperson-in-Office Andrzej Kasprzyk will hold consultations in Moscow on September 8. (Mid.ru, Aug. 31) Drills During a snap inspection the Russian Ministry of Defense runs tests in other ministries, the Central Bank as well as in other executive authorities. All the authorities involved are expected to test their ability to function under "war time constrains". The drills involve calling up reserves, and drawing military and heavy equipment from warehouses in the Southern and Central Commands and in the Northern Fleet. (Ria.ru, August 29) During the same snap check over 50 warplanes have delivered a massive air strike against a notional enemy at the Ashuluk training range near Astrakhan in south Russia in a combat readiness check, the press office of Russia's Defense Ministry reported on Tuesday. "The crews of fighter, bomber and attack aircraft of the Southern Military District have accomplished a massive air strike with rockets against ground targets at the Ashuluk training range near Astrakhan in a snap combat readiness check," the ministry said. (Tass.com, August 30) An additional set of drills involves another 14 diverse firing ranges. Ina statement obtained by the Russian nes agency TASS, the Defense Ministry said: "Tactical and special tactics exercises are being conducted at 14 combined-arms training ranges of the Southern Military District with live-fire, the rehearsals of troops'practical actions and training to counter a notional enemy's subversive and reconnaissance groups, control exercises in the training subjects such as driving combat vehicles and tanks, firing, tactical, engineering, technical, medical and airborne drills". At the Kapustin Yar training range near Astrakhan in south Russia, the troops will practice repelling a notional enemy's massive air strike while sailors in the Black and Caspian Seas will destroy a group of enemy warships. Also, marine infantry will practice boarding large amphibious assault ships and landing on unprepared terrain. TASS reported that 4000 personnel and 1500 units of combat equipment are involved in this series of drills. (Tass.com, August 30; Tass.ru, August 29) It has also been reported that during the snap inspection, Russian MIG29 and Su-34 aircraft have located and intercepted targets in the stratosphere at an altitude above 11 kilometers (Tass.ru, August 29) During the same set of drills in the Southern Command, the MOD is conducting a penetration test for the Southern Command's air-defense units. Flying at various altitudes, more than 30 different aircraft - including long range aviation - are simulating the "red team" role. (Tass.ru, August 27; Ria.ru, August 30) Military Cooperation With Uruguay Russia announced that it was preparing a draft military cooperation agreement with Uruguay. The initial draft was compiled by the defense and foreign affairs ministries. Should the draft be adopted by the Uruguayan side, it will be signed immediately. The draft agreement's main objective is the fight against terror and an exchange of information. (Ria.ru, August 29) Russia's Economy Russia needs oil prices for 2017-2019 to stabilize at the level of 50-55$ per barrel otherwise it will prove impossible to balance the federal budget. In case oil prices will be at the 40$ level, all the reserve funds will be quickly depleted: "We will have nothing to eat", says a source in the ministry of economic development." (Vedomosti.ru, August 30) Russia has frozen part of pension payments for 2017. The state was expected to transfer funds on behalf of the pension insurance companies but froze the move for the fourth time running. The freeze effectively means that the state is borrowing money from the future pensions of private citizens. (Vedomosti.ru, August 31) According to the Federal Accountability Office during the last three years more than 36 billion USD were illicitly transferred abroad from Russia. (Vedomosti.ru, August 30) Interview Of The Week As mentioned above, Putin gave an interview to Bloomberg in Vladivostok. In the interview also Kaliningrad enclave was discussed: Q: "...Would you consider giving back Kaliningrad as a tribute?" Putin: "...You have mentioned Kaliningrad." Q: "It was a joke." Putin: "All jokes aside. If someone is willing to reconsider the results of World War II, let us discuss this. But then we will have to discuss not only Kaliningrad, but also the eastern lands of Germany, the city of Lvov, a former part of Poland, and so on, and so forth. There are also Hungary and Romania on the list. If someone wants to open this Pandora's box and deal with it, all right, go for it then." (Kremlin.ru, September 1) Russian President Vladimir Putin during the Bloomberg interview (Source: Kremlin.ru, September 1) Strange But True The French actor Gerard Depardieu, who got Russian citizenship after a dispute with the French government over tax, inaugurated a cultural center named after him. The center was opened in Saransk, the capital city of the republic of Mordovia, a city of 300.000 inhabitants, located at a distance of 600 Km from Moscow, where the actor is officially registered as a resident. "It's a pity that I cannot come here more often. In Mordovia, I feel like being a true Russian. I live in Saransk and I'm going to vote in the next [Duma] elections," - added the movie star. (Leparisien.fr, August 29) In an Iraqi TV interview, Yazidi MP Vian Dakhil defended an earlier statement that Yazidis would not return to Sinjar as they had lost their trust in their neighbors. "Of course there is a lack of trust," she said, adding that when ISIS entered Sinjar, the "tens of thousands [who] flocked to support them" were neighbors, whom we considered closer than brothers. Speaking on Dijlah TV on August 30, Dakhil said that she wanted the government to know that the Yazidis "would not return [to Sinjar] if things remain as they are today." Following are excerpts Interviewer: [You said:] "Even when we defeat ISIS, we will not be able to return to our homes, because we will have lost our trust in the other. Vian Dakhil: Those were my words. Interviewer: The pretext for not returning... I'd like to focus on the question of emigration, because most of the people who oppose you say that you have a hidden agenda - that you want to help people emigrate. Is there really a lack of trust in the other? Who is this "other"? Vian Dakhil: This statement was a warning bell for the government, so that it knows that we will not return (to Sinjar) if things remain as they are today. If the law does not deal with each and every person who... Interviewer: But why can't you return to your homes? Is there really a lack of trust in the other, or do you have an agenda? Vian Dakhil: Of course there is a lack of trust. When ISIS entered Sinjar, how many of them were Afghanis? How many were Pakistanis, Tunisians, or people from neighboring countries? Let's say a thousand. But tens of thousands flocked to support them. Those tens of thousands were our neighbors. They came from neighboring villages and had been our friends. They had lived side by side with us for centuries like brothers. We considered them closer than brothers, although we were from different religions. How could someone who was closer to me than a brother help ISIS, kill my children, and kidnap our daughters? Interviewer: Does this means that you will never return home? Vian Dakhil: We should go back, but gradually. [...] 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. U.S. Rep. Jeff Miller, a Republican from Chumuckla, Florida, is the chairman of the House Committee on Veterans' Affairs. The views expressed in this commentary are his own. In an expletive-laden rant delivered earlier this year, a belligerent American Federation of Government Employees President J. David Cox threatened Department of Veterans Affairs Secretary Bob McDonald with physical violence. Cox was "prepared to whoop Bob McDonald's a--," he said. "He's going to start treating us as the labor partner or we will whoop his a--, I promise you," Cox continued. McDonald's response? Absolutely nothing. The exchange perfectly encapsulates the corrosive influence government union bosses are having on efforts to reform a broken VA. It's a never-ending cycle in which pliant politicians and federal agency leaders bow to the bosses' demands to preserve the dysfunctional status quo of our federal personnel system, which almost guarantees employment for government bureaucrats no matter how egregious their behavior. The problem with union bosses like Cox is that they are more interested in protecting misbehaving VA employees than the veterans the department was created to serve. The problem with VA leaders like McDonald is that, in their perpetual quest to placate big labor's powers that be, the taxpayers and veterans they are charged with serving are paying the price. It's no wonder McDonald was silent after Cox's violent threats. Cox's bellicose behavior is precisely the type of employee conduct VA leaders and union bosses routinely defend. Take the case of a VA Caribbean Healthcare System employee who AFGE helped to keep her job after she participated in an armed robbery. Unwilling to admit the crucial role AFGE union bosses played in helping the criminal keep her job, VA has offered a series of outrageous excuses in order to explain her continued employment. "There was never any indication that the employee posed a risk to Veterans or VA property," VA Under Secretary for Health David Shulkin said, adding that the employee couldn't be terminated for her armed robbery participation because it occurred in her free time. Really? The fact that AFGE routinely defends the indefensible among VA employees is not surprising. After all, the organization's first loyalty is to government workers above everyone else. What's disappointing, however, is VA leaders' refusal to challenge AFGE and its tactics. VA's silence is more proof that the bosses -- both VA and union -- are all part of the same system, which specializes in protecting its own. Consider how VA safeguarded two senior bureaucrats when the department's inspector general caught them orchestrating a scheme to rake in thousands in taxpayer-funded relocation benefits. According to the IG, VA regional office directors Diana Rubens and Kimberly Graves inappropriately used their authority, enabling them to benefit from a total of more than $400,000 in taxpayer-funded relocation payments. Rubens, alone, received more than $274,000 in benefits to make the roughly three-hour move from Washington, D.C., to Philadelphia. That's almost $100,000 per hour of driving. When alerted to Rubens' and Graves' conduct, VA's inspector general made criminal referrals to the Department of Justice, while VA leaders went out of their way to allow them to keep their jobs, as well as the benefits they collected as part of the scheme. VA Deputy Secretary Sloan Gibson even expressed confidence in the pair's leadership abilities and said keeping them on the payroll as regional office directors was "the morally right thing to do." For VA and union bosses, however, it's about more than just protecting their own. They are also actively fighting to protect VA's broken status quo. Case in point is the Veterans First Act, a Senate bill that was ostensibly designed to address the department's number one problem: its widespread and pervasive lack of accountability for misbehaving employees. AFGE union bosses got their hands on an early draft of the legislation and demanded that senators water down the bill in four key areas. After senators made all of the changes the union bosses had dictated, AFGE endorsed the bill. Once the union bosses gave the revised Veterans First Act their stamp of approval, McDonald began rallying support for the legislation. McDonald's sudden support for the Veterans First Act marked a remarkable change of heart for him on the subject of VA accountability. Previously, McDonald's VA had opposed almost every bill that would have attempted to meaningfully help VA solve its accountability problems. Perhaps McDonald only supports accountability reforms that union bosses have had the chance to render toothless. And so it goes at VA, where union and VA bosses fight to maintain a system in which corrupt and incompetent employees have more rights than the veterans they are charged with serving. Meanwhile veterans and taxpayers are paying the price. -- If you would like to submit your own opinion piece or commentary, please send your article to opinions@military.com for consideration. Lincoln High School.jpg Lincoln High School is no longer considered a "priority school." (The Ann Arbor News file) YPSILANTI, MI - Lincoln High School, part of Lincoln Consolidated Schools in Washtenaw County, is one of seven schools across the state that successfully improved its performance enough to be taken off the state's watch list. The School Reform Office released a list Thursday, Sept. 1, of the lowest-achieving public schools, which is defined as those ranked in the bottom 5 percent in the state. Those schools are referred to as "priority schools" and have four years to meet criteria that demonstrates improvement to be taken out of priority status. The SRO also recognized the schools that demonstrated rapid turnaround in student outcomes. "These seven schools provide a great example of how some tough and thoughtful decisions by local leaders can lead to rapid turnaround in academic performance," said School Reform Officer Natasha Baker, in a press release. "It is our goal to assist school leaders in their turnaround efforts and reward them when rapid and sustained improvement is achieved. Our research has shown that schools who sustain two years above the 15th percentile are not likely to return to the bottom 5 percent." Lincoln High School Principal Nicole Holden thanked Lincoln's board of education and the Washtenaw Intermediate School District for their support in turning around the high school. "I am proud to recognize the hard work and dedication of all the students, staff and families that got us to this point," Holden said in a press release. "I'm honored to be part of the Lincoln family and excited about this accomplishment." Multicultural Academy, a PK-8 charter school in Ann Arbor, is among the 124 schools ranked in the bottom 5 percent for 2015. It joins Holmes Elementary Schools, Ypsilanti Community Middle School and New Tech High School as other priority schools in Washtenaw County. The SRO also identified Ypsilanti's Adams STEM Academy as a low-performing school in 2015, but the school closed and will re-open as Ypsilanti International Elementary School for the 2016-17 school year. This 2015 bottom 5 percent ranking will be taken into account along with rankings for 2014 and 2016 as the SRO determines which persistently low-performing schools will be closed by June 2017. "The 2015 bottom 5 percent list is just one of the considerations reviewed by the SRO when making determinations about priority status and schools reviewed for a next level of accountability, but not the sole factor," reads a press release from the Department of Technology, Management and Budget, which oversees the SRO. "The 2016 Top-to-Bottom list is expected to be available later this year, and that updated information will be reviewed before any final determinations are made. Historical data as far back as 15 years also plays a large role in any decisions." DETROIT -- Former President Bill Clinton marched with organized labor, supporters and several Michigan Democratic leaders in the annual Labor Day Parade Monday, Sept. 5. Bill Clinton, who did not deliver remarks, made the trek from Michigan and Trumbull to Hart Plaza. President Barack Obama and Vice President Joe Biden have walked in the Labor Day parade through Detroit in the past. The 42nd President followed dozens of unions, honking trucks and lines of onlookers awaiting for the plaid-wearing Clinton to walk past. Among those spotted walking with Bill Clinton were Mayor Mike Duggan, U.S. Sen. Gary Peters, U.S. Sen. Debbie Stabenow and many others. The swarm surrounding the former president went on for more than a mile through the city, with a continuous barrage of selfie with the parade's headliners. Bill Clinton's march ended near the Cobo Center downtown. One of those supporters in the mix, Ron Maracle, was walking with his union, the Michigan Regional Council of Carpenters Local 687. "I believe in the good fight," he said. "Figured our country was at its best with Clinton in charge, so let's get it back to that way." Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton was with running Tim Kaine in Cleveland for an 11th Congressional District picnic and parade. She was also expected to attend the 49th Annual Salute to Labor in Hampton, Illinois. Kaine was then expected to head to Pittsburgh with Vice President Biden for a Labor Day parade. The day before, Bill Clinton was spotted in Philadelphia where he chatted with Beyonce and Jay-Z at the "Made in America" concert tour. While he was originally expected to deliver remarks about Hillary Clinton's economic plan, he only participated in the walk and did not address the crowd or press. After the parade, the former president spoke at a United Auto Workers picnic and warned of Republican Presidential nominee Donald Trump's economic plan, the Associated Press reports. At the picnic, Clinton reportedly told the crowd that "it didn't work out too well for us" the last time the U.S. cut taxes for the wealthy and raised the debt. A.P. reports that the former president said his wife's plan would create 10.5 million jobs while Trump's economic direction would cut 3.5 million. On Saturday, Trump visited Great Faith Ministries International church in Detroit. It was a private event set before an interview with Bishop Wayne T. Jackson of the Impact Network. First phase of I-75 construction complete with reopening of southbound lanes (David C. Bristow | MLive.com) Cars travel down I-75 South between Hess and Dixie Highway on Tuesday, Nov. 17, 2015. (David C. Bristow | dbristow@mliv) A complete rebuilding project for I-75 that began last month won't be finished until 2030, according to Michigan Department of Transportation officials. MDOT spokesman Rob Morosi said the $1.3 billion project across an 18-mile stretch of highway is separated into eight segments, each needing roughly two years to complete. Construction will run from South Boulevard in Troy to 8 Mile Road in Detroit. The first phase of construction is between Coolidge Highway and South Boulevard, costing $90 million. One of the major changes in the first segment involves moving entry and exit ramps at Square Lake Road from the left side to the right side of northbound I-75. Construction there is expected to end in mid-December and pick up again in spring 2017 before that stretch of highway fully reopens to traffic in November 2017, according to Morosi. "Modernization will make the operation safer by having more up-to-date design features," Morosi said. "We're going to realign the freeway to build two new bridges that will have traffic exiting and entering the freeway from the left lane to the right lane." Additionally, a fourth lane will be added in each direction of the highway to operate as a high occupancy vehicle lane, otherwise known as a carpool lane with two or more people in the car. This effort is to not only improve mobility, but to promote safety and raise capacity of the freeway during rush hour, according to MDOT. Carpool lanes would be open for general use outside of the morning and evening rush hours. "The latest five-year crash data for the 18-mile stretch is over 1,000 crashes per year," Morosi said. "One in five results in some sort of injury, and over 63 percent of these crashes occur in dry conditions." Morosi said the project will take more than a decade because there is no viable alternative route to I-75 that could handle more than 100,000 vehicles and allow a full closure for quicker construction. Also, the expense of the entire project could not be paid at once. "We have congestion when we have all three lanes open. We know it'll increase when we have two lanes," Morosi said. "We cannot take 18 miles of freeway. There would be an issue with local mobility through communities." Morosi said crews will tackle high-crash locations first, then make their way through the rest of the freeway. The next segment will be from 1-696 to 12 Mile Road. For an image of the time and mapping plans, visit the website. Forest Twp, MI -- A 22-year-old Davison woman died Monday after her car was struck by a van at an Forest Township intersection. Forest Township dispatch received a call around 11:27 a.m. Monday, Sept. 5, reporting an accident at the intersection of East Vienna and North Irish roads. The intersection is a two-way stop, and Michigan State Police Trooper Denis McGuckin said the woman failed to yield at the stop to a van towing a camper. The van, McGuckin said, wasn't able to slow down in time before striking the vehicle's driver-side door. The Davison resident was pronounced dead at an area hospital, McGuckin said. The passengers of the van sustained minor injuries, he said. The occupants of the van, a family of five, were returning from a campground, McGuckin said. While police investigated the accident scene, Vienna Road, also known as M-57, was closed between Vassar and Gale roads. Irish Road, between Farrand and Wilson roads, was also blocked to traffic. It is not known at this time if the roads have reopened. Michigan School for the Deaf.JPG Flint Journal file photo of the Michigan School for the Deaf. FLINT, MI - The Michigan School for the Deaf's SAT test scores fell below the state's average score for students with a disability, Michigan Department of Education figures show. After years of making students take the ACT college admission test, more than 100,000 11th graders took the SAT in April. The SAT has two sub-tests - one for reading and writing, and one for math. The top score on each test is 800 and the top total score is 1600. The average score among all Michigan students was 507.5 for English and 493.7 for math. The average total score was 1001.2. Public high schools must test all students, including those with cognitive disabilities and immigrants still learning English, and those scores are included in the averages. That especially can impact the average of schools with a higher concentration of either or both populations. About 9 percent of juniors tested statewide had a disability, and their average total score was 805 compared to 1020 for non-disabled students. About 3 percent of test-takers were coded as "English language learners." Their average SAT score was 837. Students at the Michigan School for the Deaf average on the SAT was 738.9. State education officials said that, "While MSD's scores may be below that state average for the students with disabilities subgroup, they are higher than the same subgroup in several other districts from around the state of various sizes. We would advise that a score of 46 points below that state average on a 1,600 point scale is not as significant as it might seem, especially with a group that has fewer than 10 students," said Michigan Department of Education Spokesman Bill DiSessa in an email to The Flint Journal. "MDE strives to ensure all students, including students with disabilities, have a positive testing experience. Moving forward, we are confident that SAT scores at MSD and around the state will improve next year in our second administration of the SAT statewide." Natalie Grupido took over as principal at the Michigan School for the Deaf in August. "MSD has a core planning team and there are many new strategies and action plans that will be implemented beginning this year," Grupido said in an email to The Flint Journal. "One of our goals is to look at data regarding student achievement and focus on improvement. We are looking at a positive approach to increasing the skills in all areas for our students at MSD." -Staff writer Amanda Emery contributed to this report. HOLLAND, MI - Ottawa County Sheriff's deputies responded to the Holland State Park pier Sunday night when friends and family of 17-year-old drowning victim Christopher Mimis gathered for a sunset vigil that included a balloon release - and spraypainting memorial art on the pier. At the end of the gathering, police were talking to some participants about the spraypainting. It's unclear if anyone was ticketed. Family members and police who handled the response could not be reached for comment. The memorial began around sunset on Sunday, Sept. 4 - four days after Christopher and his friend, Vincent Green, both of the Holland area, went missing underwater near the north pier. The victims were swimming with two other teens in the park's swimming area on Aug. 31 when they began to struggle in rough waters. Some waves were estimated to be 8 feet high at the time, and a red flag was flying on the nearby beach, cautioning swimmers about dangerous conditions. While two of the teens managed to get out of the water, Vincent and Christopher could not. Vincent was last seen by a large rock near the pier. A bystander tried to throw a life ring to Christopher, but the teen went underwater. The initial search involved the U.S. Coast Guard, area firefighters, dive team members and Ottawa County Sheriff's personnel. Vincent's body was found by divers on Thursday. On Saturday, authorities suspended the active water search for Christopher's body, saying deputies would continue to search the shoreline. Sunday at twilight, a group of young people carrying balloons and spraypaint cans walked to the end of Holland's pier to hold a memorial gathering for Christopher. They painted on the pier, incorporating "Flacko" - a name Christopher used on social media. They wanted to leave a permanent reminder of Christopher on the pier, and make it clear they would not stop looking for him. Adults joined the gathering later, including Valarie Milner, Christopher's mother. Three police boats approached the pier, with an officer stepping onto it to talk to those gathered. There was a brief discussion, with Milner asking police why they had stopped the search for her son. The police left and the memorial continued, with balloons being released and prayers being offered for the teen and his family. A short time later, two deputies approached on foot and began to talk to the teens about the spraypainting, telling them it was not allowed. This led to questions from those gathered, who pointed out people for years have used permanent markers to draw on the pier and its structures. At one point during the vigil, a person not related to those gathering for Christoper approached the end of the pier and dove into the water. That caused a little anxiety among the group, as they tried to make sure the diver got out of the water safely. Earlier in the day, there had been a community car wash in Holland to raise money for the victims' families. KALAMAZOO, MI -- In response to June's tragic bicycle crash, Kalamazoo's City Commission will vote on two actions to improve road safety for cyclists. Commissioners will vote to support the creation of a Complete Streets Policy and an ordinance change that would require motorists to provide a minimum distance of 3 feet when overtaking and passing a bicyclist. The vote is scheduled for the next meeting at 7 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 6 in City Hall. Complete Streets is a transportation policy and design approach that requires streets to enable safe travel and access for all users, regardless of their mode of transportation. If supported, a policy would be brought to the City Commission no later than April 2017. The guiding principle of the policy is to build upon the City's 1999 Non-Motorized Plan and 2010 Master Plan. Additional information and community input will be sought through the Imagine Kalamazoo 2025 Strategic Vision and Master Plan update. The Kalamazoo Area Transportation Study, made up of elected officials from every municipality in the Kalamazoo Regional Area, already adopted a Complete Streets Policy in 2014. The second motion, prepared by City Attorney Clyde J. Robinson, is amendment to a Kalamazoo city ordinance would require motorists to provide a minimum distance of 3 feet when overtaking and passing a bicyclist, as long as it is reasonably safe. The change was spearheaded by members of the Kalamazoo Bicycle Club, who pushed for action after the June 7 crash and based on similar measures were passed by other cities in Michigan. The Michigan Vehicle Code does not require a safe passing distance for bicycles. In the absence of a uniform state law, Grand Rapids adopted 5-foot wide passing zone in September 2015, while Battle Creek adopted an ordinance requiring 3 feet of distance in February. "We are incredibly vulnerable out there as bicyclists," said Kalamazoo Bicycle Club newsletter editor and former president Doug Kirk. "(Crashes don't result in) a fender bender or a scratched bumper -- it's the emergency room or maybe the morgue. Cars do not give us enough room." Kirk said he was frustrated that the state legislature has yet to act on House Bill 5003, which would require 5 feet of distance when passing bicycles, since it was introduced and referred to the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure in October 2015. "This an issue that ought to be addressed statewide," he said. "They have their feet stuck in cement; they cant get anything worthwhile done. If you act locally those guys in Lansing will get the idea." Robinson said the ordinance was approved for first reading and will return at the next commission meeting for a second reading and action on Sept. 6. If commissioners want the new ordinance to require 5 feet of separation, the proposal will have to be acted upon at the following meeting on Sept. 19. In a memo submitted to the commission, City Traffic Engineer James Hoekstra said a 5-foot passing distance is simply not possible on some roads, as it would cause vehicles to have to cross a double yellow line into oncoming traffic. He questioned if a larger distance requirement would lead to frustration and aggression by motorists. Thirteen states, including Michigan, have no required standard. There are 25 states and the District of Columbia that enacted a 3-foot wide bicycle-passing zone. No states require a flat 5 feet of separation between bicyclists and passing vehicles, however New Hampshire increases the distance by one foot for every 10 mph more than 30, reaching 5 feet at 50 mph. South Dakota requires 6 feet of separation if the speed limit is more than 35 mph. Ultimately, Kirk said any protection for bicyclists would be better than what the ordinance currently offers. He doesn't expect police to enforce the ordinance with a yardstick; instead the change would make motorists more aware that they should share the road. "Its about educating the public and it's a law where if a car does hit a bicyclist, it should be perfectly clear that the vehicle is liable for that," he said. "No one is expecting police to set up traps." This is an opinion piece from Democratic Presidential candidate Hillary Clinton Labor Day is a time to pause and honor the hard-working Americans who have built our nation's infrastructure, and powered our economy for generations. As a proud granddaughter of a factory worker, I know how important it is to stand with union workers. Over the decades, labor has always been marching at the front of the pack, fighting for fairer wages, safer working conditions, more affordable health care and all the other benefits that working families deserve to build a middle class life. So much of this progress was achieved right here in Michigan, a longtime hub of our nation's manufacturing, and the revving engine of our automobile industry. The story of organized labor in this area could easily have been relegated to our history textbooks - but thanks to President Obama's leadership, it's alive and well today, and powering our 21st century American economy. Don't let anyone tell you we can't "Make it in America" anymore. Michiganders are proving every single day that we can still compete and win in a global economy. You don't need to look any further than the General Motors Detroit-Hamtramck plant. On this high-tech assembly line, United Automobile workers are building the Chevy Volt, the world's first mass-market, low-emission electric vehicle. This effort isn't just supporting hundreds of good-paying union jobs - it's also doubling the number of available shifts. And it's not just the new Chevy Volt that runs clean. GM is using clean energy to power the factory itself. More than half of the facility's energy comes from a source of renewable energy that turns solid waste into process steam to run portions of its operations. And in partnership with a local utility company, the plant also houses Michigan's largest ground-mount solar array to generate solar power. This is the future of the American economy: well-paid union members working in partnership with management to build an innovative, in-demand product, all while addressing the challenge of climate change and strengthening communities. It's all happening right here in Michigan. I know it hasn't always been easy. Workers in this state have faced more than your fair share of attacks. Emergency managers have been empowered to aggressively slash funding, resulting in shortfalls for critical programs that working families depend on. These new guidelines lead to communities like Flint, that have long been neglected, feeling left behind all over again. Meanwhile, Gov. Rick Snyder and the Michigan Legislature are ramming through right-to-work laws that undermine unions and hurt working families. It's clear these laws don't actually boost job growth. Instead, they lower incomes and reduce benefits for union and non-union workers alike, and have been a significant drag on Michigan's economy. Donald Trump doesn't seem to have a problem with any of this. He opposed President Obama's auto rescue that saved millions of manufacturing jobs in the state. He even argued we should move jobs out of Michigan to lower-wage states and force autoworkers to take home less pay. But it shouldn't come as much of a surprise that Trump doesn't appreciate American workers. After all, he made his ties in China, instead of here in Detroit. He made his furniture in Turkey, instead of in Zeeland. He made his shirts in Honduras, instead of in Traverse City. Maybe instead of trying to "make America great again," he should start by actually making things in America again. Trump even personally hired a union-busting firm to try to stop workers at his Las Vegas hotel from organizing. Now he says he'll do to America what he's done to his businesses. That sounds more like a threat than a promise. I have a very different vision. We need to build an economy that works for everyone, not just those at the top. We'll start by making the biggest investment in new, good-paying jobs since World War II. And we'll reject trade deals that aren't up to our standards, like the Trans-Pacific Partnership. We'll create "Make it in America" partnerships to boost manufacturing - the backbone of the American economy. We'll make our manufacturing the cleanest and most competitive in the world with new investments in factories and workforces around the country. We'll build modern energy infrastructure and make America a clean energy superpower. Renewable energy is already the fastest growing source of job creation in the country - and manufacturers like GM are proving it can power our future. If more companies follow their lead, we'll be able to cut our carbon footprint while saving families and businesses money. That's the future I see for our country - one where helping workers and competing in a global economy go hand-in-hand. No matter how much technology evolves, I know that our country's greatest assets are its people. If I'm elected, labor will always have a champion in the White House. holland students.JPG Students gather at Holland Language Academy on the first day of school on Wednesday, Aug. 24, 2016. Wednesday was the first day of school for Holland Public Schools. (Neil Blake | MLive.com) This is the opinion of the MLive Editorial Board. As we prepare to put our kids back on the school bus, it seems like a good time to point out that the post-Labor Day start date isn't just a tradition or custom. The administrators at the schools, in fact, don't even have a say. Starting after Labor Day happens to be a state law, passed to please the tourism industry hoping families squeeze one last vacation in before the autumn chill hits. Schools that want to start earlier are forced to get a waiver each year. This needs to change. School districts should be in charge of determining when kids start, not the state. Districts know what benefits their students. What works in the Upper Peninsula might not work in the Detroit area. David Britten, superintendent of the 1,900-student Godfrey-Lee Public Schools outside of Grand Rapids, said the low-income families in his district are not likely going on vacation. "They're not all jumping in the car to go up to Silver Lake and go camping all weekend," he told MLive. For schools that want to obtain a waiver, filling out all the paperwork can be arduous and burdensome. It's just one more bureaucratic step for educators who should be focused on the kids. And there's no guarantee a waiver will be approved. Last month, we reported that 16 school districts and nine intermediate school districts had their waivers denied. Finally, it isn't clear the law has been helpful to the tourism industry since it was passed in 2006. Making schools start after Labor Day just doesn't make sense. We want the best education options available for our kids here in Michigan, and if that means adjusting a start date to late August, then districts should have that choice. Terry Bowman Terry Bowman is a 20-year UAW-Ford autoworker, the president of Union Conservatives, Inc., and a state wide co-chair of the Michigan Donald Trump campaign. With presidential candidates battling for the blue-collar and union worker vote, Labor Day 2016 in Michigan is shaping up to be very exciting. With only two months left before the election, union executives seem to be desperately pleading to workers that their choice for president is more than just the tiresome and repetitive conjugal embrace of one political party. Fortunately, that sales pitch is falling on fatigued ears. Hillary Clinton has used our government to profit for herself and her political allies. When you have a candidate who will say anything to anybody at any time for votes, money or power, their voice becomes a blur; a meaningless drone of bankrupt promises. With Clinton, there is a growing perception among the working class that she is an unapologetic elitist and has no desire to personally connect with working men and women In contrast, Donald Trump has been on the campaign trail promising the very things that workers have been waiting to hear. His strong stance on China, his rejection of the Obama TPP and Clinton NAFTA, his respect and admiration for America's working men and women and his history of hiring and working side-by-side with laborers, engineers and skilled-trades workers have given him a growing support base within Michigan's blue-collar and union community. Workers in the auto industry recoiled when Clinton said she planned to hold gun manufacturers liable for killings, and they wondered how long until she says the same about auto manufacturers when accidents cause a death. Unlike the view that the Clinton campaign and union executives have of the working-class, we are not just robots that will automatically vote for the candidate we are told to. We are much more than just drone bees in a hive. We are members of our families, our neighborhoods and our places of worship. We are patriots with a deep devotion to America's heritage and we have hopes and dreams of a better future for our children and grandchildren. Our vote is our own, and not owned by any union executive or political party. Union officials and the Clinton campaign however, command that we ignore 99 percent of all that makes us who we are and what makes us Americans, and instead demand we focus on the 1 percent that reflects a union's political and social agenda - an agenda wrongly tied to the misused term of Social Justice. For West Virginia workers, the voting choice of blue-collar and union workers could not be easier. Promising that, "We're going to put a lot of coal miners and coal companies out of business," Clinton proves that it is the "trendiest special-interest" that drives her choices - not the generational pride of the American coal miner or worker. Apparently, social justice for mine workers is not politically valuable for Clinton. Workers see these actions and realize that Clinton can be with you, but only until someone more important comes along and then you are dropped like a hot potato. As someone who has spent time in the Charleston Capitol fighting for additional rights for union workers, I was in awe of the striking and powerful coal miner statue towering over the Capitol grounds. Workers are realizing that Donald Trump would pay tribute to that statue, knowing the blood and sacrifice that generations of coal miners have given to America, while Hillary Clinton would walk by, hoping to snatch votes from the environmental radicals in her party. Police officer unions may have an even more difficult time convincing their membership to support a candidate who continues to pander to a dangerous sect within her party. Our brave men and women in blue have come to realize that voting for Clinton is like a deer voting for hunting season. Donald Trump is connecting with the working class like nothing I have witnessed in my 20 years working in the auto industry. We realize that a President Trump will build the environment that creates jobs and wealth, while in contrast Clinton will create the environment of higher taxes, Wall Street deals and government cronyism. This Labor Day in Michigan is exciting because blue-collar and union workers are taking their future into their own hands by ignoring the voting demands of biased union executives, and voting to make America great again. And that is a very bright future indeed. A number of airports popular with tourists will begin accepting direct international flights after their upgrades are complete over the next decade, the Department of Civil Aviation deputy director general U Ye Htut Aung told The Myanmar Times. Heho Airport in Shan State, Nyaung-U in Mandalay Region, Thandwe in Rakhine State, and Dawei in Tanintharyi Region are examples of the types of airports that may take on flights from other countries, following the upgrades, he said. The improvements, which industry insiders say will be a boon for the tourism sector, will be made in cooperation with the Japan International Cooperation Agency. JICA is tasked with supporting the experts who are drawing up the master plans. After they are complete, the improvements will be made with public funding. Some of the upgrades are scheduled to be complete by 2018 with the longest-term plans expected to be done by 2028, he said. If government budgetary support is strong enough, [international flights could come to these airports] in the near future, U Ye Htut Aung said. Currently, Myanmar has only three international airports - Yangon, Mandalay, and Nay Pyi Taw - that can handle large planes from international destinations, said Myanmar Airways International (MAI) Assistant General Manager Daw Aye Mra Tha. Many of the domestic airports cannot accept these flights, she added, but demand for international carriers is growing at these locations is growing. Many tourists want to take off directly from Heho and Nyaung-U airports - that is often requested - but we cannot land an airbus there given the current condition of airports, she said. That is why they need upgrades. If the domestic airports are improved and begin accepting international flights, the competition will drive prices down and increase the number of flights in those regions, she said. U Ye Htut concurred, noting that it would also raise the service standards of flights. The move would be welcomed by the tourism industry, said Ko Mo Lwin, managing director of the Yangon-based Peak Point Travel & Tours. To upgrade the local airports is needed for our country, he said. Tourists would like to see much more of the country when they come to Myanmar, Ko Mo Lwin said, but most were limited by the time they had taken for a break. Increased international flights at airports would save that time, he said, meaning tourists would get more out of their Myanmar travel. If there were direct flights to every state and division, not only tourists, but also businessmen could then travel to every state and division of Myanmar. It would really be a boost to the tourism sector and also for local business, he said. During the off-season, from the end of April to the beginning of October, domestic flights are in low demand so some airlines reduce the number of flights or stop them altogether, Daw Aye Mra Tha said. We need to attract the international visitors to come year-round, she said. U Ye Htut Aung said he would like to see cooperation between the various domestic airlines. We would like to combine the airlines, then they will provide better service with enough investments ... We had implemented this before but it was not yet a complete success. Currently Myanmar hosts 31 international flights and has 10 domestic airlines. Additional reportingby Tin Yadanar Tun A multi-million-dollar agriculture project designed to upgrade irrigation networks in some of Myanmars driest areas is expected to be approved by the end of the year, aiming to commence construction in the first quarter of 2017, the Asia Development Banks Myanmar country director, Winfried Wicklein, confirmed yesterday. The project, which is expected to benefit close to 28,000 households in Magwe, Mandalay and Sagaing regions, will see improvements to irrigation systems across about 90,000 hectares of farmland, the ADB boss said. The project is in its final stages of approval. It is has been endorsed by Cabinet and is now being reviewed by Parliament, he said in an email. We are targeting the end of November 2016 for approval by ADBs Board. The ADB will loan $75 million to the project, while the French Development Agency will lend an additional 25 million euros ($27.9 million) and the European Union with contribute an extra 20 million euro grant, Mr Wicklein added. The project will promote more effective and efficient water use and delivery to facilitate diversification into more profitable and higher value crops in feasible areas of the systems, he said. Following a meeting last month between the ADB and the new Minister for Agriculture, Livestock and Irrigation, U Aung Thu, a spokesperson said that feasibility studies in the Magwe and Mandalay regions, where the first phase of the project is begin, were well advanced. The project will be about adding value to the agricultural supply chain, upgrading water management and infrastructure, said U Myo Win Than, a deputy secretary at the ministry. Mon, Kayah, Rakhine and Chin states will be supported by the project after Magwe and Mandalay, he said. The ADB began working with the previous government on the project in 2013, saying at the time that agriculture sector was producing well below its potential. A recent report from the World Bank found that just 3 million hectares, or 15 percent of agricultural area, in Myanmar had access to public irrigation. This compares to 30pc of crop area in Thailand and Indonesia, 50pc in China, and 70pc in Vietnam. In its recently released economic policy outline, the new government has pledged to provide farmers with greater access to credit, strengthen land ownership and boost exports. At the moment agricultural productivity is way below potential, Sean Turnell, an economic adviser to the government, said during an interview with The Myanmar Times last month. There are many reasons for that: insecurity of land tenure, also the problems with supply chain, marketing systems, mills, storage facilities, he said. The ADBs Wicklein said that the projects remit included training for farmers to improve crop diversification, instructions on water management to enhance yields, providing market data and links with the private sector to aid market access. The Myanmar Tourism Federation will put at least K80 million (US$66,000) toward repairs to pagodas damaged by an earthquake last month, the chair of the federation, U Yan Win, said at a press conference on September 3. The money will be taken from the cut that the federation takes of the K25,000 entrance fee to the famed archeological site. We are ready to pay more than K80 million, from 4 percent of the zone fees collected, that can be used wherever the Ministry of Religious Affairs and Culture wants, in cooperation with Bagan regional conservation associations, U Yan Win said. The Myanmar Tourism Federation took over collection of the tourism zone fees on March 1. It takes an 8pc cut, while 90pc goes to the Union budget and 2pc is allotted for temple upkeep. It will be K250 million at the end of this year, 4pc of zone fees. This amount [K80 million] is just what had been collected through the end of August, U Yan Win said. Repair efforts in Bagan are currently being funded by donors, according to Daw Ohn Mar Aung of the Ministry of Religious Affairs and Culture. We dont yet have the budget from the government for Bagan pagodas renovation because it [the earthquake] happened very recently, she said of the 6.8-magnitude temblor that hit central Myanmar on August 24. But we are continuously implementing [repairs] with donors money. The UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) has been enlisted to provide technical support, Daw Ohn Mar Aung said. We can decide how we will conserve the pagodas after discussions with local experts and those from UNESCO. But we cant say when it will be finished, she added. It will be a long-term plan but we cant calculate the estimated budget because unexpected circumstances could occur while we are renovating, she said. Ministry of Religious Affairs and Culture said last week that nearly 400 pagodas in Bagan were damaged by the earthquake to some extent. Bagan saw about 250,000 tourists in 2015 and more than 160,000 through the end of August this year, according to the Ministry of Hotels and Tourism. It increased 8 percent compared with last years situation. We expect to reach 300,000 tourists to Bagan by the end of this year, said U Than Htut Khaing, an officer from the Department of Hotels and Tourism in Nyaung-U, the areas principal town. Industry experts have said they do not expect the damage caused by last months earthquake to appreciably dent the tourism industry this year, citing the enduring allure of the hundreds of unaffected pagodas and Bagans undiminished bucolic charm. One year after landslides ravaged northern Chin State, and geologists recommended a relocation of the state capital, little on the ground has changed, residents say. Election promises of resettlement by Christmas were largely unmet, and families eventually moved into the new dwellings continue to lack electricity or water. The rain-triggered landslides that struck in July 2015 swept away 7000 houses and pushed more than 4000 people from Hakha into temporary displacement camps. The state government began rebuilding homes along the Hakha-Falam highway, near the new compound of ministerial houses, soon after the disaster. But despite an estimated completion date of December last year, state authorities have still yet to finalise the planned 732 replacement houses in the state capital, or build the accompanying infrastructure, such as a hospital and schools. Pung Laung Minn Htang, Chin State minister for social welfare, told The Myanmar Times that the project was mostly complete, with almost 700 houses successfully rebuilt so far. He added that between 70 and 100 families continue to need replacement homes. We already demarcated an area and began preparatory groundwork. But the houses have not all been constructed yet. However, we are doing our best to replace everyones homes, he said. Salai KB Thawng, a Hakha-based journalist with the Hakha Post, criticised the new government for not yet implementing the promises made to displaced residents, but encouraged optimism. I think they [the government] cant afford to complete everything that was promised yet because Chin State has many needs and more time is required to meet those needs, he said. But residents at the replacement site are tired of waiting. They point to shoddy workmanship, and more than a year of neglect. The replacement homes cannot be considered permanent, they say, as the structures are not weather-proof, and the neighbourhoods are still short on water, power and connecting roads. Pu Sui Cung, one of the relocated residents, said his replacement home leaks every time it rains, and no drains have been constructed, causing constant floods. Nobody cares about the people living in the replacement area, he said. A year has passed and the residents still do not have a daily job after their farmland was destroyed. The government keeps making promises to do the best it can for those who need resettlement without actually having a proper plan to put into action. Malaysia is keeping its visa requirements for Myanmar citizens in place for the foreseeable future, Malaysian ambassador to Myanmar Mohd Haniff Abd Rahman has confirmed. It is possible that, in future, Myanmar nationals will be granted hurdle-free entry, he told The Myanmar Times last month, but that will not be any time soon because of issues related to illegal migrant workers and national security concerns. We are considering the possibilities but the Malaysian government is facing an overload of migrant workers, especially from Myanmar, he said. We do not want to open up to a flood of illegal workers. Myanmar has already signed visa exemption memoranda of understanding with Singapore, Thailand, Cambodia, Laos, Vietnam, Indonesia, Brunei and the Philippines, making Malaysia the only remaining ASEAN country that still requires Myanmar citizens to pay for a visa application, which is US$57. Starting last month, Malaysia granted 30-day, single-entry visas for a few countries, including Myanmar. ASEAN member states have been discussing a visa-free travel arrangement since 2006, but to little avail. The Myanmar Times reached out to several travel agencies and two of them confirmed that they do not provide tour packages to Malaysia unless customers specifically ask for one because there is already a third-party company providing Malaysian visas. Additionally, the travel rates to other ASEAN countries, like Singapore, are higher than to Malaysia. Granting the e-visa makes it slightly easier for travellers, said 7 Days travel company president Daw Hla Darli Khin, However, we do not provide package services to Malaysia unless people asked for it. Starting in December, Myanmar citizens will be able to travel to Singapore for up to 30 days on a free tourist visa. Anyone looking to travel there for reasons other than tourism, like business or medical treatment, will need to apply for a different visa, according to the deputy director general of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Consular and Legal Affairs Department, U Okkar. A 2016 report on visa restrictions ranked Myanmar 10th from the bottom of the list, tying it with North Korea and Burundi. Human Rights Watch has urged the United States to reconsider any plans to lift remaining sanctions against Myanmar as reports emerged that this could happen as early as next week. HRW released a statement saying the current sanctions regime was vital to deter the Burmese military from derailing democratic reforms. The statement came as Reuters reported on September 2 that US President Barack Obama was considering additional sanctions relief after consultations between his administration and Daw Aung San Suu Kyi. The news wire said an announcement could happen as the state counsellor visits Mr Obama in Washington, DC, on September 14-15. The US embassy in Yangon was unable to provide comment on the matter. Human Rights Watchs Asia advocacy director, John Sifton, said the present sanctions are focused on the Burmese generals and their cronies in order to encourage democratic reforms. The sanctions are crucial for pressing the military to end rights abuses and transfer power to a fully civilian government. They shouldnt be fully lifted until the democratic transition is irreversible. Now that real progress has been made, its crucial to keep up the pressure until those goals have been achieved, Mr Sifton said. A series of US sanctions have been dropped or amended in recent years, with remaining measures including restrictions on business with enterprises tied to the military, along with bans on imports of jade and other gemstones. The US Treasury Department also maintains a list of specially designated nationals with whom Americans cannot do business. On his visit in May, US Secretary of State John Kerry seemed to suggest that all remaining sanctions would not be lifted without changes to Myanmar 2008 constitution. The key to the lifting of the sanctions is really the progress that is made within Myanmar in continuing to move down the road of democratisation Its very difficult to complete that journey in fact, impossible to complete that journey with the current constitution, he said. At a joint press conference with Mr Kerry, Daw Aung San Suu Kyi said that if we [Myanmar] are going along the right path, all sanctions should be lifted in good time. She was a supporter of sanctions as a member of the opposition under the Union Solidarity and Development Partys government, which ceded power to her administration in late March. Last month, a USDP MP submitted a proposal calling on the government to actively lobby for lifting remaining US sanctions. The motion did not pass. Criticism, disputes or bumps along the road are no cause for concern; the only thing to fear is not acknowledging the problem at all, Daw Aung San Suu Kyi said at the close of a landmark peace summit this weekend. Her administrations inaugural bid for peace concluded one day early, saw a major group walkout and involved no breakthroughs. Regardless of the mishaps, the state counsellor nevertheless heralded the event as a successful step toward resolving the countrys entrenched armed conflicts. Government officials, leaders of ethnic armed groups, representatives of the Tatmadaw and third-party observers were all brought to the table at the three-and-a-half-day peace summit in Nay Pyi Taw. Although participants voiced anger over the lack of substantive debate at the conference, with one delegate going so far as to compare it to an unseasoned curry, Daw Aung San Suu Kyi praised what she said was the very first step in a challenging peace process. The most important thing is that we can agree to tackle the issues courageously, she said. In her closing remarks, Daw Aung San Suu Kyi urged all participants to avoid dwelling on past grievances or slights. After listening to the presentations of all groups over the past four days, I know now who is concentrated on past wrongs and who is focused on how to build our future state, the state counsellor said. But there is time yet for those stuck in the past to look forward. Regarding criticism that the peace summit, dubbed the 21st-century Panglong Conference, was rushed, Daw Aung San Suu Kyi said the new government was already late on embarking on the journey toward peace. She added that all participants have a unique opportunity to join the process and help accomplish a great task. In a move Daw Aung San Suu Kyi said was meant to make the process as all-inclusive as possible, the Panglong Conference was broadcast on state television, giving the public a window into the summit. The public must understand that they must take part in this peace process too, said Daw Aung San Suu Kyi. Demands of the ethnic groups The broadcasting allowed a rare public stage for the ethnic groups as they aired their grievances and took shots at the Tatmadaw and each other over the course of the conference. During the four-day event, 73 papers were presented by representatives from the government, the Tatmadaw, political parties and ethnic armed groups. Each were given a 10-minute slot. Most of the speakers focused on their vision for a federal democratic Union, as well as perceived security and defence priorities and the need for greater ethnic equality, sovereignty and right to self-determination. Some called for a decentralisation of the government; many pressed for revising the constitution. After a last-minute change of plans allowed the United Nationalities Federal Council to speak, the alliance of seven ethnic armed groups which did not sign last years nationwide ceasefire agreement proposed reorganising the Unions armed forces. The 10-point agenda focused on bringing the armed forces under civilian administration, and included the stipulation that ethnic minorities must be appointed to helm the revised Union military. The UNFC also proposed reorganising the country into 14 states, with the seven current states preserved, and the seven regions turned into states of nationalities. We suggested simple ways of building the federal democratic Union that might better guarantee a level of equality we dont currently have, said U Naing Han Thar, a member of the UNFC. Meanwhile the Wa and the Red Shan argued that their autonomous areas quasi-fiefdoms in Shan State continue to be recognised as self-governing areas. Representatives of the Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army (MNDAA) urged the government to ensure the future inclusion of the Northern Alliance the Taang National Liberation Army (TNLA), the Arakan Army and the MNDAA, also known as the Kokang group after the three allies were effectively barred from attending the Panglong Conference by the Tatmadaws demands that they surrender their armed stance. The Tatmataw and the 2008 constitution Representatives from the Tatmadaw and the Union Solidarity and Development Party used their slots to reaffirm that the foundation of the Union must continue to be the military-drafted 2008 constitution, as well as the basic principles of the nationwide ceasefire agreement signed last year. When I look at the presentations, some suggestions are simply impossible demands [as they violate the constitution], Lieutenant General Yar Pyae said in his closing remarks. But it does not matter. The most important thing is to find common ground for a future federal Union though a negotiation process, he added. The steadfast insistence on preserving the 2008 constitution was mirrored by an equally staunch faction of ethnic groups pushing for a redrafting of the charter. U Naing Han Thar of the UNFC said no concrete peace agreement or common outlook on the federal Union would ever be achieved if the Tatmadaw continues to necessitate upholding the 2008 constitution, and the key political role it enshrines for the military. Tensions primed below the surface But inequality was both a central problem the conference sought to address and an underlying weakness it fell prey to. Just one day into the summit Myanmars most powerful armed ethnic group, the United Wa State Army, stormed out of the convention centre, citing inequality and discrimination after an organisational error relegated them to observers. The Wa delegates were inadvertently barred from presenting at the conference, a mistake government negotiator U Khin Zaw Oo referred to as a misunderstanding that was going to be corrected. The UWSA delegates were not aware they were supposed to liaise with a lead ethnic armed organisation delegate for their full membership cards, he said. The government sent an official apology to the UWSA headquarters, with Wa leadership set to reconsider attendance at future peace meetings. But organisational mix-ups reflecting potential, if inadvertent, discrimination pervaded the conference. At the governments gala dinner on the evening of the first day, Karen and Kachin ethnic leaders were placed at a second-tier table. When complaints were lodged with the managing staff, the delegates were moved to the first-tier table, causing other participants to be displaced. Some significant delegates retired to their hotel without having a seat, or dinner. A contrast in status was also apparent in how participants were dressed. Representatives criticised the Tatmadaw for attending the conference in military uniforms that included their rank, while officials from the ethnic armed groups wore ethnic dress instead of fatigues. The ethnic delegates nametags were also stripped of their rank, while the Tatmadaw representatives were included. A female facilitator was given a whispered but still audible reprimand by a government official after she announced the name of an ethnic speaker including his military rank. Leader of the Kachin Independence Organisation General NBan La addressed the tension in his opening speech. Im U NBan La, he said. But ethnic armed groups call me General NBan La. Participants were also made furious over viral social media posts of attendees falling asleep at the conference. At a press conference on the third day, Salai Lian Hmung Sakhong, vice chair of the Chin National Front, chastised the media, and requested reporters and photographers refrain from damaging the image of the delegates for the sake of supporting a positive peace process. Yesterday, you [the media] downgraded our dignity, he said, referring to the photos of sleeping delegates. Many blamed former military general and government peace negotiator U Khin Zaw Oo for the hitches in the conference. While the government had convened a preparation committee for staging the Panglong Conference, it was apparent that U Khin Zaw Oo was calling the organisational shots, and even controlling the seating arrangements during photos. However, on his Facebook page, U Khin Zaw Oo denied being a key player. I just did my best to try to make it easier out of goodwill, he said. He also encouraged patience for minor mistakes at such a big event. We had to make arrangements for over 1600 people, he said. Next steps The landmark gathering will now be followed by a six-month recess before a follow-up Panglong Conference is called. In the interim, the Union Peace Dialogue Joint Committee (UPDJC) plans to hold a national-level political dialogue at the state and region levels in order to finalise the dialogue framework. While non-NCA signatory groups were permitted to attend the 21st-century Panglong Conference, they will not be allowed to take part in the national-level peace talks, said UPDJC member Salai Lian Hmung Sakhong. Non-signatory groups must first sign the NCA if they wish to take part in the dialogue phase of the process, with the expectation that more armed groups will join the initial eight signatories in the coming months. Effectively, this means that members of the United Nationalities Federal Council, as well as the MNDAA, the AA and the TNLA, are not included in the coming steps of the peace process. Government officials encouraged ethnic armed groups to find ways to sign the NCA in the interim period. If they cannot sign within this period, it is not yet clear if they will be invited to attend the upcoming second session of the 21st-century Panglong Conference. General Gun Maw from the Kachin Independence Organisation said no one wants to see any groups left behind, and so negotiations over signing the NCA must begin as a matter of urgency. Daw Aung San Suu Kyi said that while the government prioritises making the process as inclusive as possible, it cannot wait indefinitely to start the political dialogue. They [the non-signatories) have to think about it in this coming period. But it is impossible to wait and hold up the process without knowing when they will sign, U Khin Zaw Oo said. The Alliance for Gender Inclusion in the Peace Process (AGIPP) is demanding that a committee be formed to monitor issues of gender equality and womens participation in the peace process, including a coming political dialogue. Calls for implementation of a minimum 30 percent quota for female participants were not heeded for last weeks 21st-century Panglong Conference, which saw an overwhelmingly male roster of attendees gather in Nay Pyi Taw for four days of speeches. In a statement published September 3, AGIPP acknowledged improvement compared with a similar peace conference held in January, but pushed for more womens inclusion. At the 21st-century Panglong Conference, womens participation rose up to 13pc from 7pc at the Union Peace Conference, which was held in January. But it is still necessary to reach for the agreed 30pc quota, said Nang Phyu Phyu Lin, a member of AGIPP who was granted observer status at last weeks conference. AGIPPs proposed committee would provide an equality-focussed gender audit of future peace talks, the group said. As Panglong begins, where are the women? Last week ethnic armed organisations fared best on this front, with women comprising just over 20pc of their 175-member Panglong delegation. A total of 750 delegates were recognised as full-fledged Panglong Conference participants, but the roster swelled to more than 1500 people when observers were added. Yawk Muang, a senior officer with the Restoration Council of Shan State, said more female voices at the negotiating table would be welcomed. Womens participation in the peace process is important. Women are good at negotiation and their participation in peace talks would bring good things. Women have much more confidence and ability in this century, he said, adding, People need to give space and opportunities for women in the peace process. Nang Phyu Phyu Lin said token inclusion of more women would not be enough, stressing the importance of recognising the difference between womens inclusion and meaningful participation. They need to provide space for women and also to agree on dedicated inclusion policies within formal peace process entities that enable women to hold meaningful participatory roles in the peace process, she added. Womens advocacy groups were invited to the Panglong Conference having only been granted observer status. Ma Khin Lay, chair of the Womens Organization Network, said last week she hoped that would change in future. AGIPP was not given a speaking slot at the Panglong Conference, which saw dozens of speeches from representatives of government, the Tatmadaw, political parties and ethnic armed groups. The alliance was instead allowed to submit a paper on issues of gender equality. According to AGIPP, out of 72 papers formally put forward at the conference, 21 made reference to gender equality issues. The Ministry of Social Welfare, Relief and Resettlement was cheered by womens rights groups for highlighting violence and other rights violations perpetrated against women in conflict zones. The ministry also made a call for greater female representation in the peace process. One representative for ethnic armed organisations said gender equality would underpin the envisioned federal Union that groups like his have long fought to establish. The government is planning to sue the Hla Won Htet Tha garment factory again, claiming that the owner has failed to pay his 85 workers, a labour official said. We reported them to the Ministry of Labour in order to file the case, U Khin Maung Cho, director of Hlaing Tharyar townships Labour Relation Department, said on September 2. If they continue not to pay, their factories will be sealed by a warrant. The department sent the factory two letters demanding that the owners pay their workers the partial wages that they are owed, he said. Factory officials sent a mercy letter, asking for permission to pay on September 10, he added. The Korean-owned factory opened in 2013 in the Shwe Lin Ban industrial zone of Hlaing Tharyar. It closed suddenly on June 25, without reaching agreement with any of the 85 workers about unpaid wages and factory-closing compensation. After two protest marches, the factory paid partial compensations and wages on July 17. It agreed to pay the remaining K6 million on August 7. This lawsuit would be the second for the factory in as many months: The owner was issued a K500,000 fine on September 1, after the township court determined that officials broke their labour agreement, which had promised a payment by August 7. The factory owner bought the laws with just K500,000, said labour leader Ma Zinmar Swe. No labour officials stood by our side on our grievances. They are giving the benefit to the factory by prolonging payment times. Labour leaders said that they have been jobless for nearly three months because they have had to wait for their unpaid wages through the dispute process. We have not received any report or instruction from the ministry about that factory, said the townships Factories and General Labour Laws Department director U Chit Paw on September 2. We know the factory appealed for an extension. If we get instruction, we will sue the factory. Hla Won Htet Tha garment factory manager Daw Ei Ei Swe did not respond to The Myanmar Times request for comment. Currently, the Hla Won Htet Tha factorys owner is running two other garment factories in Hlaing Tharyar township, according to the workers. Former UN secretary general Kofi Annan, who chairs the recently created Rakhine State advisory commission, will meet with State Counsellor Daw Aung San Suu Kyi today, after arriving in Yangon on September 3. Mr Annans six-day trip will take him to Sittwe, the Rakhine State capital, on September 6, with a visit to outlying IDP camps the following day, according to members of the commission, which was formed on August 23. He will meet President U Htin Kyaw and Commander-in-Chief Senior General Min Aung Hlaing in Nay Pyi Taw on September 8, when Mr Annan will also hold a press conference in Yangon before departing Myanmar the next day. U Aye Lwin, a member of the advisory body, told The Myanmar Times yesterday that all nine commissioners have been invited to attend the meeting with the state counsellor. The commission will be launched during the meeting. And I think he [Mr Annan] and Daw Suu will meet with journalists after the meeting, U Aye Lwin said. The commission has faced headwinds since its creation last month, with Rakhine nationalists including the states dominant political party criticising the appointment of three foreigners to the panel. Mr Annan, a Ghanaian, is joined by Ghassan Salame of Lebanon and Norwegian Laetitia van den Assum. Opponents of their inclusion contend that problems in Rakhine State which is still grappling with the legacy of Buddhist-Muslim violence in 2012 are an internal affair, and that Myanmars sovereignty could be at stake. The advisory commission has been tasked with finding conflict-prevention measures; ensuring humanitarian assistance, rights and reconciliation; establishing basic infrastructure; and promoting long-term development plans. It has been instructed to submit a report on its findings within one year. U Tun Aung Kyaw, secretary of the Arakan National Party, said yesterday that the party maintained its opposition to the existence of the commission entirely, adding that ANP representatives did not intend to meet Mr Annan when he visits Sittwe. We wont meet with the commission even if they invited us. But we told Rakhine civil society organisations to meet with the commission and to convey the real situation in Rakhine State, he said. The Pyithu Hluttaw is due to discuss today a proposal that calls for removing the three foreigners from the Rakhine State advisory commission and replacing them with Myanmar nationals. U Hla Moe (NLD; Aung Myay Tharzan), secretary of the Pyithu Hluttaw rights committee, said nearly 35 MPs including militarily appointed lawmakers have registered to debate the proposal. Meanwhile, the Sittwe ANP secretary, U Aung Than Wai, said Rakhine community groups had applied for permission from the township administrator to protest Mr Annan during his visit. In my opinion, if it is necessary to form an advisory commission for Rakhine State, the Union government should form it only with Myanmar national experts, he said. We sought permission to protest like that because it is not concerned with the international [community] and our Rakhine people do not want Kofi Annan to lead this commission. Additional reporting by Yee Ywel Myint, translation by Win Thaw Tar Philippines President Rodrigo Dutertes bloody war on drugs has racked up more than 2000 deaths in two months, as well as widespread shock and condemnation worldwide. But the outrage is less prevalent in the Philippines, where the purge is condoned, if not tacitly supported, by most societal and political groups. A widespread apathy drowns out the disapprovals from segments of the Filipino liberal media, civil society and Catholic Church. This apathy bewilders many in the West but needs to be understood in the paradoxical relationship Filipinos have developed with violence. Violence permeates politics in the Philippines, and this goes beyond the ripple effects of Ferdinand Marcos dictatorship. Violence remains an integral part of how politics is contested, especially in the provinces of the country. The 2009 Maguindanao massacre, in which a rival political faction killed 58 people, was the most brutal manifestation of political violence to date, but only a symptom of a larger malaise. One of the root causes is the private armies that most regional politicians have. Beyond rhetorical calls to get rid of them, these armies have been institutionalised through the mutually beneficial relations that bind dynastic families contesting for political power in Manila and their allies in the provinces. The violence that ensues has been normalised in the psyche of the country and its people. At least 50 people, or an average of nearly one person every two days, were killed in the lead-up to Mays presidential elections. Most Filipinos did not bat an eye. Violence is rampant in the Philippines. It is palpable when walking in some neighbourhoods of Manila. It is ubiquitous in some parts of the country where an Islamic and a Maoist insurgency have been simmering for over three decades. And it is tangible in the easy access to weapons throughout the archipelago. When in the Muslim-Christian divided city of Zamboanga, in the southernmost part of the archipelago, a few years back, witnessing church-goers casually put away their guns before serving coffee in their house left me a little more than uneasy. Everyone has a weapon here; it is normal, was their answer to my inquisitive look. Violence also structures society. Poverty is deep-rooted in a system that sees extreme wealth and poverty rubbing shoulders. The pro-market policies of former President Benigno Aquino improved macroeconomic indicators but benefited the elite. During his six-year term, the net worth of the top 40 families in the country tripled while the percentage of people living below the poverty line did not move from about 26 percent. Moreover, while the Philippines has a set of laws that make it among the most gender-fair in the world, domestic violence remains pervasive in the country and hushed under the mantle of machismo beliefs and the indifference of the police. The security apparatus is also trigger-happy, corrupt, only partly accountable and easily politicised. It is worth remembering that the current war on drugs is not an isolated case of state-sanctioned extra-judicial killings. In the early 2000s former President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo authorised the military, and its proxies, to eliminate the support base of the National Democratic Front, the legal umbrella organisation for the Maoist insurgency. At least 1200 left-wing sympathisers, including activists and journalists, were killed. The world rightly condemned the killings. Meanwhile, most Filipinos went on with their lives. Of course, Filipinos do not like violence. Indeed, they are extremely tired of it. But paradoxically, the way in which violence has historically been ingrained in the crevices of Filipino society means that they are prone to accept violent means to contain violence. Mr Duterte, as obnoxious and vulgar as he may be perceived in the West, is the product of such a paradox but he is not its cause. Mr Duterte has been remarkably consistent with his electoral promises, and that is why he currently enjoys huge levels of popular support. A recent survey in the Philippines gave him a support rate greater than 90pc. This Kim Jong-un-esque approval equals a green light for more killings. And the support base for Mr Duterte seems to span across the class spectrum. Many among well-educated, middle-class Filipinos tolerate Mr Dutertes approach, although they are coy to be seen to do so. Two of them have sheepishly told this writer that former leaders, including former presidents Aquino and Arroyo, had promised to curtail the everyday violence that blights the country, but had achieved little. Mr Dutertes approach, they whisper, may just produce the jolt the country needs. Their logic embodies how the paradox perpetuates itself and feeds Mr Duterte. We may sneer at Filipinos, but we also need to understand them and their circumstances. New Mandala Fabio Scarpello is a research fellow at the Asia Research Centre, Murdoch University. This article is a collaboration between The Myanmar Times and New Mandala, a specialist website on Southeast Asias politics and societies based at the ANU Coral Bell School of Asia Pacific Affairs. On his way to East Asia last week, US President Barack Obama travelled to a secluded Hawaiian atoll far from his hometown of Honolulu for a brief and deserved moment of celebration. The US president had announced that he is expanding the Papahanaumokuakea Marine National Monument, making it the largest protected wilderness area in the world. This act follows several other moves the president has taken late in his presidency to preserve wild lands and waters, many of which, including the Papahanaumokuakea expansion, have been controversial. Balancing human needs with the necessity of conservation is always going to be tricky. But as people consider the costs and benefits, it is important to keep in mind that promoting biodiversity is not important simply because it protects cute mammals or beautiful fish. A study published in Science this summer found that more than half of the planets land has biodiversity levels so low they could endanger the human race. The study relies on the concept of planetary boundaries limits on the environmental changes Earth can experience before human safety is at risk. When an ecosystem loses 10 percent or more of its original species abundance, the authors say, it falls below a safe level for biodiversity. Fifty-eight percent of Earths land surface passes or fails that test. That poses a global threat to plant and animal life, and it could also jeopardise human development. Though protecting ecosystems and their flora and fauna is important for its own sake, doing so has utilitarian value as well. The functions unharmed ecosystems perform for humankind such as detoxifying waste, regulating disease-carrying organisms and supporting medical research are worth trillions of dollars in global human welfare. Though the study did not cover sea resources, they are also crucial for recreation, regulating global systems, the food supply and many other things. When ecosystems fail, crucial functions can fail with them: Agriculture, for example, relies on pollination that cannot take place in an unhealthy ecosystem. Biodiversity can also buffer the environment against climate change. The benefit-cost ratio of conserving the wild, scientists estimate, is 100 to 1. A second study, presented in Nature last month, suggests that the biggest threats to biodiversity are over-exploitation logging, fishing and hunting too much as well as agriculture and urban development. Climate change is farther down the list but promises to become an even larger problem as the world warms. Mr Obamas second-term efforts highlight the importance of conservation, set a strong example for others and should ensure at least some environments remain pristine. Yet some of the worst practices are in the developing world; it is harder to order poor people to stop exploiting precious resources and also harder to enforce such orders when they are issued. Part of getting the conservation balance right is considering whether roping off sections of land and water in the United States might simply lead to importing more from countries with worse practices. Encouraging other nations to take conservation seriously is essential, for their own good as well as everyone elses. The Washington Post Joel Howrani Heeres, director of open data and analysis for the City of Detroit Sean Work It's a bright new day for the collection, cataloging, and distribution of public data in Detroit. And you can put the emphasis on "new." Erica Raleigh is the executive director of "You'd go and sit in one of the departmental offices with a little hard drive in back," she says. "You'd sit there all day. 'Please, can we have your data? We're going to do great things with it. We want to make things better.'" Joel Howrani Heeres, director of open data and analysis for the City of Detroit Fortunately, access to data is becoming less of an issue. Last year, the city of Detroit launched its "As a government entity, we should be providing clean [data] for the public, and then the New mentalities at the city Providing comprehensive access to public data in Detroit is a major undertaking, and one that Heeres admits is still coming together. Prior to Heeres coming onboard last August, the data center was populated with what Heeres describes as "low-hanging fruit": previously accessible information like DDOT bus routes and blight violations. "A few departments here and there had initiatives around sharing data, but it was really spotty and not consistent," Heeres says. "So we were really, to a large degree, starting from scratch." In addition to continuing to add new data to the portal, Heeres' work has been focused on refining existing data and presenting it in a useful fashion. That can include tasks like adding parcel IDs to data sets on building and trade permits, or maintaining the City of Detroit's Demolition Tracker, which shows all completed and pending demolitions in the city Heeres also spends time interfacing with citizens and nonprofit organizations to determine what the public most wants to know. "I have to meet the needs of a lot of different levels of users," Heeres says. "There's the grandmother who lives on the block and wants to know about whether the house across the street from her is going to be demoed or not. Then I have to deal with the Data Driven Detroits of the world. Those different needs often require different interventions." Open Data isn't the city's only innovative initiative with regards to data. Kresge Mayor's Fellow Diana Flora Over at the Detroit Police Department (DPD), But she's also been involved in the DPD's participation in the Flora says that's not thanks specifically to her efforts, but to a broad mentality of data transparency throughout the department and city government in general. "I was definitely an addition in support of the things that are already happening, in support of the vision that was already there, which makes my job a lot easier," she says. "It means that there was already an infrastructure to engage with by the time I got here." New mentalities, new initiatives That shift in mindset has caused Raleigh and her colleagues at D3 to reevaluate the way they do things. Erica Raleigh, executive director of Data Driven Detroit "We realized that just putting data out in the world was not really the thing that people need," Raleigh says. "That's not what all people are looking for." After years of concentrating energies on gathering and disseminating public data, D3 has refocused its efforts on helping people understand it. D3 assists individuals and organizations in asking the right questions, finding the right data, analyzing and visualizing it, and then drawing conclusions from that analysis. That's been driven both by increasing transparency at the city and growing partnerships with community organizations like the Kresge Foundation and the Skillman Foundation. The changing Detroit data landscape has also freed D3 up to pursue major new initiatives like its D3's One D Scorecard, which rates and compares performance of U.S. regions in five important data indicators "That is a core data asset at this point which we are trying now to turn into something like a development tracker," Raleigh says. Not all public data projects relate directly to city government or availability of city documents. Jessica McInchak is part of a team of three that manages the "So much of the work just stemmed from this really basic information challenge," McInchak says. "This data is public and there for anyone to use, but it's just not anyone's idea of usable and it's in a non-searchable format." It's an exciting time for McInchak and her colleagues, as the IRS recently made e-filed nonprofit tax returns In other corners of the Detroit open data landscape, exciting possibilities are blossoming as well. Heeres notes that the Open Data Portal, with its accessible API built by government open-data specialists At this point, the main mission for Detroit's data junkies is no longer begging for data, but making the best use of the digital wealth at their disposal. 05.09.2016 LISTEN During their dad's two terms in the White House, first kids Sasha and Malia Obama have transformed from cute tweens to sophisticated fashion icons right before our eyes. Let's take a look back at some of the greatest moments in sister style. 2008: The Democratic National Convention The future first family looked perfectly put together in rich magenta hues at the 2008 Democratic National Convention. This event marked the beginning of the Obama family's presidential journey. At the time, Sasha and Malia were just 7 and 10 years old, respectively, yet they already exhibited the style and grace of seasoned political pros. 2009: President Obama's Inauguration Day For Barack Obama's first presidential inauguration in January 2009, the Obama sisters stepped out in colorful wool coats and winter accessories designed especially for them by J.Crew. Malia, 10, looked stunning in sapphire blue, while Sasha, 7, appeared age-appropriate in tones of orange and pink. Over the years, the first lady and her daughters have frequently turned to this iconic American brand for classic statement pieces. THE PICTURES BELOW TRY TO PORTRAY THE FIRST FAMILY AND THE BEAUTIFUL DAUGHTERS OF THE OBAMAS RIGHT FROM WHEN THEY WERE JUST KIDS TO HOW BEAUTIFULLY AND SOPHISTICATED THEY HAVE GROWN BEFORE OUR EYES. SAVOUR THEIR PICS AS MALIA OBAMA JUST FINISHED HIGH SCHOOL. Leader and Founder of Glorious Waves Church International, Prophet Emmanuel Badu Kobi, has raised the 10,000 dollars needed for Ghanaian veteran actor Jagga Pee to undergo surgical operation at the Korle Bu Teaching Hospital. The veteran actor, Jagga Pee is suffering from rheumatic heart disease with severe aortic valve incompetence and mild to moderate mitral valve regurgitation .In view of this,he needs to undergo an urgent open-heart operation to replace the disease valve with mechanical prosthetic valve. Jagga's surgical operation demanded $20,000 but Ghana Heart Foundation have pledged to pay half of the amount. However,the celebrity Pastor,Badu Kobi during one of his all night services on Monday also pledged that together with his congregation were going to raise the remaining 10,000 dollars during church service on Sunday. Speaking to Reagan Mends of www.razzonline.com , wife of the Veteran actor ,Jagga Pee,Beatrice Nkansah has confirmed that Prophet Kobi together with his congregation have raised the 10,000 dollars during Sunday's church service: "Its a dream come-true_The pastor together with his congregation have truly raised the amount during church service today after pledging to raise the money for my husband to undergo the heart surgery_i was at the church today and i witnessed everything; So yes Pastor Kobi has fulfilled his pledge",Beatrice quipped.to www.razzonline.com According to Beatrice,Pastor Kobi has promised to officially present the money to Jagga Pee during next Sunday's church service. She added that "Though Jagga's situation is getting worst by the day,doctors rescinded their decision to give Jagga Pee a date for the operation so as soon as Pastor Kobi officially presents the money to my husband next week and makes a deposit,they will start the operation". Sounding extremely elated,Beatrice on behalf of her husband thanked the pastor and his congregation for their kind gesture. South Africa-based Ghanaian musician, George William Dickson, has declared his intention to contest the Agona West Constituency parliamentary seat as an independent candidate in the 2016 general election. The president of the Musicians and Dancers Association of Ghana (MUDAG) expressed confidence in winning the parliamentary seat of the area. According to him, even though both the New Patriotic Party (NPP) and National Democratic Congress (NDC) think the constituency is one of their surest bets, he is in the race to cause a big surprise to everyone. His constituency members have declared their support for him, adding that they see him to be more experienced and deserving to represent Agona West in parliament than the two other candidates. Mr Dickson, a former Central Regional Chairman of the Musicians Union Ghana (MUSIGA), said such show of support towards him informed his confidence of securing a famous and memorable win in the December 7 parliamentary election. The aspiring MP for the Agona West Constituency hinted that despite the intimidation, nothing can stop him from contesting and winning the Agona West seat. George Dickson has promised to work tirelessly to improve the living standards of the people in his constituency and musicians in general. He also promised to change the plight of the people, including musicians in the constituency, adding that when elected as the MP for the constituency, he would make conscious efforts to create jobs for the people. The celebrated music icon stated that the current state of the creative industry in Ghana needs the services of competent people to manage the industry in order to create job opportunities for the players in the industry. George Dickson added that he is capable of bringing development that has eluded the area for a long time and advised other politicians, especially those who intend to contest the Agona West Constituency parliamentary seat, to conduct a campaign that would not divide the people. By George Clifford Owusu Police prosecutors are yet to deliver a writ summoning boxer Bukom Banku before the court for attacking a hair dresser in Accra. The controversial boxer is yet to be seen after the court order was issued last week. He failed to appear in court today over the assault charges leveled against him. Background The boxer, whose career is struggling, damaged the victims Nokia phone valued at GHc40. According to the police charge sheet, Bukom Banku entered the shop of the complainant, Martha Nelson, and demanded a kiss from her. After her refusal to kiss him, the boxer allegedly slapped and punched the lady. After the physical assault, he snatched her phone and crashed it on the ground. Bukom Banku subsequently said he would replace her phone with a Samsung Galaxy. South Sudanese rebel leader Riek Machar left the country following violent clashes last month and is now in a "safe" country in the region, his aides say. By Zacharias Abubeker (AFP/File) 05.09.2016 LISTEN Addis Ababa (AFP) - The absence of South Sudan's rebel leader Riek Machar should not delay the implementation of a peace deal, an envoy to the UN Security Council said on Monday. Former vice president and rebel leader Machar is undergoing medical treatment in Khartoum after being chased from South Sudan's capital in July by forces loyal to President Salva Kiir. Machar has since been replaced by former ally Taban Deng Gai. "Taban Deng is serving as vice president and he will stay in that position until the return, if there is a return, of Riek Machar," Alexis Lamek, France's deputy UN ambassador told AFP after meeting the African Union's Peace and Security Council in the Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa. "For us, what is certain is that this issue should not delay implementation of the peace agreement. It is necessary to move forward," he said. The Security Council was in Addis Ababa at the end of a four-day visit to the region to push for peace in South Sudan, the world's youngest nation which has been wracked by war since 2013. Machar's appointment as vice president was a key provision of a year-old peace deal that has so far failed to end the fighting in South Sudan which began with a dispute between Kiir and Machar in December 2013. Since Machar's flight from Juba he has been sidelined domestically and internationally. Last month, US Secretary of State John Kerry signalled Machar's waning importance saying, "there is an allowance for the replacement of personnel and that has been effected with the appointment of a new vice president." In Addis Ababa, UN and African diplomats also discussed a proposed 4,000-strong UN protection force for South Sudan. Which countries will contribute troops, when they will arrive and what their mandate will be are still under discussion despite South Sudan agreeing in principle to the deployment at the weekend. Lamek, who spent three days in South Sudan prior to arriving in Ethiopia, said the protection force is necessary because the situation in South Sudan is "more alarming that we imagined". Aside from the tens of thousands of people killed, the United Nations has reported shocking levels of brutality including gang-rapes and the wholesale burning of villages. An estimated 16,000 children have been recruited by armed groups and the national army in the conflict, and 2.5 million people have been driven from their homes. Global heads of state are continuing to arrive in the eastern Chinese city of Hangzhou for the G20 Summit, which will be held on September 4 and 5. China treats security with the utmost care like not just locking down part of the city but the whole juggernaut. The city [Hangzhou] and China have been preparing for this for MONTHS. Pretty much, this is a security high profile event. Lock down means just that! China started locking down the city two months before the event. How do they do it? They paid locals they see as a risk to leave the city months before the event. They asked all the institutions issuing visas to foreigners to 'adjust'( ensure their clients are out of town). Now, any ordinary foreigner wanting to even network his or her way back in will have to be a "BIG BIG FISH". If Your not invited don't go. It's not really an option. Curfew is everywhere and its been VERY DIFFICULT to move around in the city of Hangzhou. Hangzhou is beautiful and a place to call "home". The theme of the event for this year is "TOWARDS AN INNOVATIVE, INVIGORATED, INTERCONNECTED AND INCLUSIVE WORLD ECONOMY." The President of Argentina Mauricio Macri was the first among G20 world leaders to arrive on Friday morning. He is on his first visit to China since taking office in 2015. Argentina is said to chair the G20 Summit in 2018. Indonesian President Joko Widodo also landed in Hangzhou and met with Chinese President Xi Jinping on Friday. Xi noted that China and Indonesia have always been good neighbors, partners, and friends. The two sides agreed to positively cooperate on the maritime silk roads and Global Maritime Axis to ensure the smooth implementation of the high-speed rail project between Jakarta and Bandung, and to expand cooperation in areas such as infrastructure investment, trade, finance, and e-commerce. The first African head of State to arrive in China for the event was the Senegalese President. Xi has also met with Senegalese President Macky Sall, who arrived in the host city on Thursday night. Xi said China and Senegal should continue to utilize the advantages of their economic complementarity, facilitate the process of industrialization and agricultural modernization, and closely cooperate on international affairs. Macky said he appreciated the invitation to this G20 Summit as the chairman of the New Partnership for African Development (NEPAD), and noted his gratitude for Chinas long-term support to Senegal and the African continent. He also said he believed the G20 Summit will install new energy to the global economy, especially to the economic development of the African continent. South African President Jacob Zuma has also landed in Hangzhou on Friday. As the only permanent African member of the G20, South Africa is expected to raise issues concerning weak economic growth, terrorism and underdevelopment, which all affect the continent and the global South. During his time in Hangzhou, Zuma is set to meet with his Chinese counterpart as well as leaders of the BRICS nations. Meanwhile, the leaders of Chad, Laos, Kazakhstan, Turkey, Singapore as well as the newly-elected Brazilian President Michel Temer have also arrived in the city, among others. The president of Chad has been invited as the current chair of the African Union, with Laos being the ASEAN Chair for 2016. Singapore has also been invited to take part in the summit as a guest country. Other heads of State with likes President Barack Obama of the United States of America arrived yesterday in Hangzhou. By: Nana Kyei Baffour; Bsc MBBS ( Klasik Radio, GA - USA +8615580214166/+14049942294) The Presidential Candidate of the opposition New Patriotic Party (NPP), Nana Akufo Addo, has admonished the people of the Nadowli-Kaloe Constituency in the Upper West Region, to vote out their incumbent Member of Parliament, Alban Bagbin. Nana Addo argued that, Alban Bagbin, who is the current Majority Leader has been in Parliament for too long and must be replaced. Nana Addo was addressing residents of the constituency as part of his campaign in the Upper West Region, when he made the remark. He said the people of Nadowli-Kaleo should instead vote for the NPP's 26-year old candidate, Elvis Bortaa to replace Bagbin. The Member of Parliament, majority leader, Alban Bagbin was in Parliament when I went to Parliament in 1997. He had already served one term. I left Parliament in the year 2008 and Bagbin my good friend is still in Parliament. I think that we will all do Alban Bagbin a good favour if we retire him so that he can go and have a good retirement. Let's work on that and retire him so he can go and have a rest so we push this young man Elvis Bortaa to come in his place, he added. Mr. Bagbin has held the seat since 1992. I'll unseat Alban Bagbin Elvis Botaa, had earlier said he is optimistic of winning the seat come December 7. According to him, the people of Nadowli- Kaleo are hungry for a leader who will spearhead developments in the constituency. I am competent and well-equipped with what it takes to lead the people. All it takes is for you to understand the suffering of the people and to have adequate knowledge of what options you need to make available to salvage the situation. The 26 year old said I would not want to admit that I am too young; the bottom line is that I am bringing to finality the long reign of Alban S.K. Bagbin whose tenure of office in my estimation has not yielded anything too good for the good people of Nadowli. The newly enskinned chief of Salaga in the Northern Region has earned the wrath of some his subjects following his endorsement of opposition New Patriotic Party (NPP) presidential candidate, Nana Akufo-Addo, for the December polls. The unhappy residents say Kpembewura Daari Haruna Bismark appears to be double timing both the presidential candidates of the ruling National Democratic Congress (NDC), John Mahama and the NPP candidate. They say the Kpembuwura recently urged Ghanaians to turn out in their numbers on December 7 to vote for President Mahama when the President paid a courtesy call on him. He is alleged to have cited the numerous infrastructure developments President Mahama has brought to the region as the reason for endorsing the President for re-election then. On Thursday, September 1, 2016, when Nana Akufo-Addo, together with national and regional NPP stalwarts, paid a courtesy call on the Kpembewura at his palace in the Salaga South constituency, he predicted that the NPP will win the elections by a 53% margin. When I look into the crystal ball, I can see victory for the NPP. I want to assure you that I am still a friend, and you can always depend on me. As I said, if God wants to do something, He begins from one. He has done it for me, and He will do it for you, he said. The residents, who have pleaded anonymity say the Kpembewuras endorsement of the NPP flagbearer is not genuine and have vowed to disregard it. Story by Ghana | Myjoyonline.com Fidelity Bank has appointed Jim Baiden as the banks new Managing Director taking over the mantle from Edward Effah. Mr Effah is now the Group CEO of the Fidelity Group and Chairman of the Board of Fidelity Bank, as well as, the other subsidiaries of the Group, namely, Fidelity Asia Bank and Fidelity Securities Limited. Prior to his new role, Jim Baiden for the last ten years has been the Deputy Managing Director of the multiple award winning bank. Speaking in an interview concerning his new role, Mr. Baiden expressed his gratitude to the board of Fidelity Bank for recognizing him as the one to take over from the outgoing MD and Founder, Edward Effah. I am really honored that the board of Fidelity sees me as the right person to take over from Edward. Through the leadership of Edward, Fidelity has become one of the most respected brands in this country. Edward excelled in steering the affairs of this great brand to become the fourth largest bank in the country. Mr. Effahis a visionary leader, a trait many aspire to have. I have a bigger task ahead of me to emulate Edward and continue the great work this bank has seen under his leadership, he said. Edward Effah According to Mr. Edward Effah, Jim Baiden is more than capable for his new role. Jim provides continuity and will push the bank to a new level. Jim has exemplary leadership skills, his passion, and dedication for what he does is unmatched. Working as the Deputy Managing Director of the bank over the past ten years, Jim has always supported me in pursuing the vision for Fidelity Bank. I congratulate him on his new appointment, said Mr Effah. A co-founder of the bank and a member of the Banks Executive team, Jim brings to Fidelity over 25 years of core banking experience and specialist knowledge in Treasury and Commercial Banking. He launched his banking career in the mid-80s at National Investment Bank where he managed various portfolios at the Branch and Head-Office levels. He subsequently joined the start-up team of the then Securities Discount House in 1990 and rose to become the Chief Dealer and established a reputation as one of the best treasury dealers on the Money Markets. Fidelity Bank is the largest privately owned Ghanaian bank in Ghana and the 4th largest in terms of assets and deposits. The bank won 5 awards at the 15th National Banking Awards including Best Bank of the Year, 2016, Trade Deal of the Year, Corporate Social Responsibility and was second runner up for Financial Performance and Customer Care. The bank currently has seventy-five branches and over 114 ATMs nationwide. As the Bank repositions itself to take off in its next growth phase, it has sought to make strategic investments in IT infrastructure and resources to ensure that it is able to deliver service seamlessly, drive efficiencies and deliver an enhanced customer experience through its partnership with IBM. Story by Ghana | Myjoyonline.com Alan Kyerematen In a chat with Nana Addo 05.09.2016 LISTEN By Dr. Michael J.K. Bokor Sunday, Sept. 4, 2016 Folks, Alan Kwadwo Kyerematen is a damaged politician by virtue of the internal wranglings within the NPP and his own lack of traction. He is not a politician, which he must acknowledge and look elsewhere to remain in the public sphere. Whether by design or accident, he has lost grounds in the NPP and shouldnt deceive himself that he will laugh at the right side of his mouth, probably after Akufo-Addo has faded away. I am particularly intrigued by his public posturing having been drafted into the campaign team of Akufo-Addo to sustain the NPPs politics of roguery. And he has already given us a clear message to confirm his place in the Concert Party: Give NPP power and the jobs will come, he is reported as saying, basing all that boast on the phantom One district, one factory promise by Akufo-Addo (See http://www.ghanaweb.com/GhanaHomePage/NewsArchive/Give-NPP-power-and-the-jobs-will-come-Alan-Kyeremanten-466895 ). Beyond that, he is reported to have castigated the Mahama-led administration for priding itself on the innumerable development projects that it has constructed all over the country, claiming that every government does that; so, why the need to claim credit for it in Ghana? I pity him, especially if I consider the failure of previous governments to provide the very projects that the Mahama-led administration is giving the people. And the beneficiaries are all over the place, commending him for bringing their part of the national cake to their doorsteps, even if they are asking for more at other levels. What has made it possible for the Mahama government to provide those projects that its predecessors couldnt? Kyerematen and those thinking like him wont consider such a question as worth their bother because they are either disconnected from reality or scared by the enthusiastic reception given President Mahama during his Accounting to the people tour. Kyerematen particularly has a tattered political record that doesnt even recommend him for the tasks that he has chosen or been designated to perform for Akufo-Addo. Lets take a quick exploratory survey of that record to prove that Kyerematen isnt capable of winning votes for Akufo-Addo. So, why is he shouting himself hoarse? Just for one purpose, which directly evolves from Akufo-Addos attempt to use him to create the impression that all is well as far as factionalism in the NPP is concerned. We know of the Kufuor (Ashanti) faction and the Akufo-Addo (Akyem) faction that have been fingered as the main forces tearing at each other to the NPPs disadvantage. There has also been a so-called Agenda 2020 aimed at ditching Akufo-Addo at Election 2016 to pave the way for Kyerematen at Election 2020. The punitive actions taken against supposed masterminds of the Agenda 2020 (Kwabena Agyei Agyepong, Paul Afoko, etc.) stemmed from such apprehensions on the part of the Akufo-Addo faction. So, pushing Kyerematen on to play a frontline role is just a damage-control manouevre that wont attract any goodwill from the electorate not inclined toward the NPP. It will serve parochial interests to boost Akufo-Addos ego only. Here is what we know about Kyerematens unsuccessful political quests and why he is not credible enough to be relied on for Akufo-Addos good. He has contested the NPPs flagbearer slot with Akufo-Addo and others only to emerge as the most vilified of all. When he narrowly lost his first bid at the partys Legon congress, he graciously bowed out, avoiding a second round of balloting between him and Akufo-Addo. Was he politically correct in doing so? Not all, clearly because it set him up as a target for future mauling, which occurred when he stood against Akufo-Addo again in preparation for Election 2012. Feeling roughed up by the outcome of the Legon congress, Kyerematen stunned the NPP camp and political observers by choosing to resign from the party. We recall how his staunch supporter, Paul Afoko, was brutalized by the Akufo-Addo supporters and the hiccups arising therefrom. Kyerematen felt out-of-place in the NPP and went away from it only to recant. He immediately came across as untrustworthy, which would be his main undoing when he contested Akufo-Addo again. So much mud has been splashed on him as to render him more than useless in the eyes of the public. To date, the mud still sticks. Is this the man now to be used to canvass for votes, having already been damaged that much? What will he say or do to cleanse himself of the scum? Going round with Akufo-Addo and making noise to support him wont undo the harm done him by the Akufo-Addo faction. Kyerematen is not an asset here. As a Minister in the Kufuor regime, Kyerematens performance at the Ministry of Trade and the Presidential Special Initiatives (on starch, etc.) was shoddy. No wonder that the reactivation of the Ayensu starch factory by the Mahama-led administration casts a huge slur on him. Of course, he had earlier served at EMPRETEC too, but cant be praised for any astounding performance. Probably, Kyerematens failure to win the position at the World Trade Organization despite the massive political and moral support given him by the Establishment under President Mahama says a lot more than I can imagine. There might be some underhand or behind-the-scene influences from the international scene against him; but his inability to win that slot says a lot. There are many other issues to recall, but we will settle on what weve raised thus far to prove that Kyerematen has no traction locally or internationally to add any political capital to Akufo-Addos campaign. Any frontline role that he is playing now is only a face-saving stunt to blunt internal factionalism. It must be seen as an after-thought and not a pinpointed from-the-scratch strategy. Akufo-Addo and his die-hard backers know that the mud that they have already splashed on him is ineradicable but are using him to create a semblance of harmony in their ranks. Tweeeeeaaa!! Knowing Kyerematen as he is, I wont be surprised that he will over-reach himself in making utterances just to be seen as playing the role assigned him. Harping on Akufo-Addos promises and adding his own version (e.g., the one concerning the establishment of industrial zones) will only increase the tempo of the Concert Party enactments. Thats how I see his condemnation of the incumbent administrations focus on infrastructural development, which inevitably, has turned out to be its trump-card for Election 2016. While focusing on Kyerematen, we acknowledge that unlike how the NPPs electioneering campaigns were done for previous general elections, what we see this time leaves room for much to be noticed about the absence of prominent personalities who had gingered up the activists. We dont see those faces nor do we hear from them. Why? Your guess could be as good as mine. Interestingly, ex-President Kufuor has chosen to talk about how he won Elections 2000 and 2004 instead of actively contributing to Akufo-Addos efforts. He knows better; not so? After investing so much in Elections 2008 only for Akufo-Addos own lapses to cause his defeat; and after being bad-mouthed as not doing enough for Election 2012, what shouldnt he advise himself on? Probably, by recounting his strategies for winning the elections, he is indirectly telling Akufo-Addo what he is doing wrong so he can make amends. But will he listen? So early in the major electioneering campaign season, it is obvious that political liabilities of Kyerematens kind wont add any capital to Akufo-Addo, no matter how much noise they make or public posturing they put up. Once damaged by their own partys internal detractors, what can they fetch for the very architect of their woes now turning round to use them for political expediency? Such is Kyerematens case. No credibility within his own partys ranks, no credibility in the eyes of the voters. Who will be won over by such damaged goods? Political miscalculation at its best here!! I shall return UK TARGETS RECORD HIGH TRADE WITH GHANA BY 2020 As it sheds its EU membership, the UK is in a frantic search for options that will brace its economy against shocks and this includes a target to achieve record high trade with Ghana by the year 2020. $1.5 BILLION TEMA PORT PROJECT SPARKS LOCAL CONTENT CONCERNS Domestic suppliers, construction and transport companies are edgy they could be side-stepped in the execution of the $1.5 billion Tema Port Expansion project, which is expected to start in the next couple of months. NANA HAS NO CANCER: DOCTOR BREAKS SILENCE The personal doctor of Nana Akufo-Addo has denied reports he has cancer. SPEAKER OKAYS UNION FOR PARLIAMENTARY STAFF The Speaker of Parliament, Edward Doe Adjaho, said the Parliamentary Services Board has resolved all issues pertaining to the unionization of the workers of the House. MODERATOR REJECTS PEACE COUNCIL POST The Moderator of the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church of Ghana, Rev Professor Emmanuel Martey has revealed that some government officials approached him to lobby for the chairmanship position of the National Peace Council which he declined. ECG DEAL: 6 SHORTLISTED FOR CONCESSION DESPITE WORKERS STIFF OPPOSTION Out of the over 60 companies that expressed interest in the Private Sector Participation of the ECG, the Millennium Development Authority has shortlisted six, out of which one will eventually be selected as the concessionaire. 60 SOLAR ENERGY GENERATING COMPANIES TO BE LICENSED The Energy Commission has kick started the process of licensing 60 solar energy generating companies to produce solar energy to augment the energy generation mix of the country. Story by Ghana | Myjoyonline.com Pressure group, OccupyGhana, has announced it will soon wage war against illegal mining popularly referred to as 'galamsey' operators in the country. It is believed that such activities are backed by powerful people in society who buy the products from such expeditions. An inter-ministerial task-force established by government to fight the menace, has also failed to achieve its aim. But speaking on The Big Issue, leading member of Occupy Ghana, Sydney Casely-Hayford, said he and his team are ready to pursue the matter. I am determined together with my team at Occupy; we are going to do something about this. We will enter this galamsey arena and we are going to shake the tree and let those who are culpable and those who are responsible to fall off the tree, he said. Three water treatment plants in parts of the country have been earmarked for shutdown because the sources the plants harvest water from have been polluted by illegal mining activities. Some lands and farms have also been rendered useless due to chemicals used by the illegal miners in extracting gold. We don't have any shame in looking at how bad and how we have allowed pollution to drift all in the name of trying to acquire some gold dust. What we have to ask ourselves is where are we going with this galamsey thing? For how long is it going to be allowed to continue to a point where the river bodies will become so polluted that at the end of the day; we will have to now start looking at how we can move people away from those territories in order for it to regrow, Casely-Hayford questioned. Mr. Sydney Casely-Hayford, has chastised successive governments for failing to deal effectively with illegal mining in the country. According to him, unless a clear strategy is created to deal with 'galamsey' as it is locally known, by the two leading contenders in this year's election, the National Democratic Congress (NDC) and the New Patriotic Party (NPP), neither party deserves to be in power. Anglogold Ashanti sues government AngloGold has dragged the government to the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes because of governments perceived inability to enforce law and order at the Obuasi mine which has been encroached by illegal miners. The mining conglomerate has argued that the encroachment of its Obuasi mine by galamsey operators, is impacting negatively on its operations. Senior Vice President in charge of Investor Relations and Group Communications at AngloGold Ashanti, Stewart Bailey, told Citi News the company had no choice but to drag Ghana to the centre. By: Godwin A. Allotey/citifmonline.com/Ghana Follow @AlloteyGodwin President John Dramani Mahama 05.09.2016 LISTEN Yes, we have deferential regard for politicians who have the heart to make sacrifices. Of course we hold in high esteem the unpretentious politicians who have the wherewithal to do the right thing. And we admire the politicians who have the courage of their aspirations. Yet some politicians would betray the trust we repose in them. Why? Politics in Ghana has indeed become a scoffed profession, not a noble profession it used to be. Currently, the men and women who are in charge of affairs do not know their arses from their elbows. Needless to say, it takes more than good laws and institutions for democracy to thrive. It also takes good peoplegood citizens and leaders to keep politics going. Yet a lot of good people are reluctant to go into politics, for they dislike the toxic levels of partisanship. And more so they hate the intrusive media scrutiny and the unwarranted insults. And they wont pay the high personal costs of the political life. For that reason, we are more often than not presented with lousy plebes, many of whom can only boast of dining hall prefect experience. What would make people scramble for political power then? Actually, the reasons are multifaceted. First, some people claim they go into politics for the love of their nation. Others just see power as an opportunity to unleash their criminalities. While other people also go into politics with a view to enjoying the power and satisfying their egos, others are empowered by the convictions of political ideologies. Whatever their reasons for entering into politics, they, the politicians, more especially, the NDC mountebanks, have lost our respect, for discerning citizens dont trust them anymore. They have Disappointed us, and still taking us for a ride. Yes, once upon a time, anyone elected as president, or gained a seat in parliament was looked up to and respected by all; alas, this is not the case anymore. For it hurts to show deference to incompetent and corrupt politicians like those in the NDC Party. In a nutshell, the NDC government has abhorrently reneged on its promises in the past, and still reneging on its promises. They dont care for the electorates; they only scramble for power in order to pursue their vested interests. Take, for instance, during the electioneering campaign, the NDC apparatchiks go about soliciting votes from the uncritical electorates with vague rhetoric and political crapulence and only to turn their backs on poor constituents when they get to their comfort zones. For me, the NDC politicians are the worse culprits, Yet Mahama and his shameless appointees keep spewing their vague rhetoric and political insobrieties-We care for you; people matter, you matter; we are transforming lives. In actual fact, President Mahama and his derelict appointees are only interested in the power and the massive remunerations that come with the job (e.g. ex gratia). Sadly enough, despite Mahama and his appointees persistent nonfeasance, or dereliction of duty, they have the impertinent boldness to tell discerning Ghanaians that they are actually transforming Ghana. Indeed, it is extremely painful that we have to endure such shenanigans from those shameful opportunists. Despite all the disappointments, we, the electorate, are bizarrely happy to give our votes to the uncaring and non-performing NDC Party, who has failed time and time again to implement expedient policies that would move the nation forward. Meanwhile, they only keep on spurning discerning Ghanaians with their political tipsiness. How pathetic? Thus, in contrast to many electorates expectations, it will, be devilishly suicidal to vote one more time for the incompetent Mahama and his NDC Party, with all their below par performances. Mahama has indeed failed to initiate expedient policies to rectify the failed policies of agriculture, food security, natural resource management, poverty reduction, resource allocation (e.g. in healthcare, education, finance, infrastructure, etc.), supply chain management, humanitarian intervention logistics and security sector planning, amongst others. All the same, the overarching question is: how long can we endure Mahama and his lousy appointees persistent shenanigans? The question again then is: will the day come when political criminals find they have nowhere to hide? For me, Ghanas constitution has to be reviewed and the irrational clauses such as the indemnity clause are expunged accordingly. How on earth can individuals commit unpardonable crimes (gargantuan corruptions) against the state and get away with their misdeeds? Without an iota of doubt, the traditional exemption of heads of state from prosecution despite the evidence of a case to answer is wrong. For if the bribery and corruption (do you remember the Ford expedition bribe by the Burkinabe Contractor?) ; dubious judgment debt payments; stashing of national funds by some greedy opportunists and misappropriation of resources and crude embezzlement by some politicians do not warrant criminal charges, then where are we heading as a nation? How serious are we as a nation when we can only descend heavily on goat, cassava and plantain thieves and let go hard criminals who persistently dip their hands into the national coffers? We are not serious as a nation, are we? K. Badu, UK. 05.09.2016 LISTEN On 25 August 2016, I caused an article to be published on Modernghana.com titled, Captain Smart of Adom FM and the Magical Mosquitoes - Exterminating Electrical Bulbs. It was published under the web link:http://www.modernghana.com/news/714747/captain-smart-of-adom-fm-and-the-magical-mosquitoes-exterm.html Same publication was made on Ghanaweb on Saturday, 3 September 2016 under the web search link:http://www.ghanaweb.com/GhanaHomePage/NewsArchive/Captain-Smart-and-the-magical-electrical-bulbs-467104 In the said publication, I promised to report back to the public after I have conducted a search into the existence of any such bulbs in India, their efficacy and whether or not they are in mass use in the country since the citizens of India suffer from mosquito bites and malaria fever same as Ghanaians in Ghana do. From questioning my Indian work colleagues as promised, it has been established that there are no electric bulbs in mass use in India to combat mosquitoes. As it is in any other country and market, there are a few blue-coloured led bulbs that attract flying insects with mosquitoes inclusive, onto sticky mounted surfaces to kill them. Some of these light bulbs work efficiently when they come in their complete electrical fitting with inbuilt zapping (an electric shock or something similar) effect. The bulb is only there to attract the insects and the fitting which has that shocking effect kills them. Such electrical fittings are mounted on the walls in warehouses, corridors and lounges of hotels but they cannot attract to kill the entire flying insects in the area. For the mosquito-killing bulbs to be used in rooms (domestically) to attain any degree of success, they must have sticky encapsulation so that the insects attracted to the bulb will get stuck and then get killed. However, the woman-monopolist that Captain Smart supports and is ready to advertise her product on his radio programme free of charge, alleges that the bulbs do ward off the mosquitoes. These bulbs are not in mass use anywhere in the world as the woman and Captain Smart seem to impress upon Ghanaians or convince us to believe. Let me point out to readers and the general public that such bulbs and electrical fittings DO ATTRACT the insects to them but NOT REPEL them as the woman alleged on live radio interview. If there were such 100%-proven mosquito-repellent or exterminating bulbs, why are the markets of the tropical countries in the world not flooded with them and their citizens encouraged to use them in their efforts to rid their countries of the deadly malaria disease caused by mosquito bites? The woman claimed once you start using the bulb, you can leave your windows wide open and no mosquito can ever enter your room. This is complete nonsense and tactical misselling. What is misselling, one may want to know? Misselling is the deliberate, reckless, or negligent sale of products or services in circumstances where the contract is either misrepresented, or the product or service is unsuitable for the customer's needs. If that Indian company producing the alleged magical mosquito repellent bulbs is serious and desires to make profit and name out of its product, why will it grant monopoly for the distribution of the product throughout the whole of the West African sub-region to this one Ghanaian woman? I doubt if the company is actually into profit making business by the look of the contract it has committed itself to if the claim by the woman is anything to go by. Has the woman been able to get agents in all the West African countries? How has she gone about advertising them in those countries? Has she been able to get the Food and Drugs (Standard) Boards in those countries to certify the product for sale? I shall advise Ghanaians to continue to use their mosquito net which is currently the best option for fighting against, and preventing yourself from, mosquito bites and malaria fever. There is one sure product that I shall recommend for anyone willing to ward off mosquitoes from their rooms. Many people including me have used it and found it tremendously efficient in repelling mosquitos. It is called, PLUG-IN INDOOR MOSQUITO KILLER or Boots Pharmaceuticals Repel 3 Pin Plug-In Mosquito Killer. (Read more at http://www.boots.com/en/Boots-Pharmaceuticals-Repel-3-Pin-Plug-In-Mosquito-Killer_1793365/#M8oPM3zc5qXQx8Xu.99) It may be a bit expensive for an ordinary person living in Ghana but that is your sure bet against mosquito bites. It can be purchased from certain big supermarkets and pharmacies in Europe and Americas etc. It is better than the light bulbs being suggested by that HAJIA woman of which she is the sole distributor in West Africa and ready to be advertised by Captain Smart. Do not allow anyone seeking to make quick buck deceive you into buying products that are not up to the task they say they do. Finally, be aware that with the catastrophically ongoing dumsor (power outages and load shedding) in Ghana, no mosquito killer bulbs or plug-in liquid mosquito killer devices will be 100% efficient. They will not work when you need them to because there will be no electricity all the time to power them because of the currently business-collapsing dumsor in operation in Ghana. All those who hurriedly approved of the sale of the womans product as being 100% mosquito repellent are not only dodgy but also, markedly incompetent. Rockson Adofo 05.09.2016 LISTEN Ike Amadi is a fiercely passionate and energetic young Nigerian whose vision in life is to inspire others to do something to better themselves and their communities. He is a graduate of computer engineering from the Moscow Power Engineering Institute. Ike has served in several leadership capacities and is currently the leader of The LA Family, a vibrant group charged with encouraging one more person to learn and apply the word of God. He also leads Do Something Club. In this interview, Ike Amadi, now a doctoral candidate in computer engineering, spoke recently to Kester Kenn Klomegah, an independent research writer on Russia-African affairs, about his motivation to begin writing books and the significance of his message to the present generation. Here are interview excerpts: Q:What are the motivational or driving factors to write books? Amadi:Thanks, when I observe something missing in the society especially in my immediate community, I try to address it through my writing; basically to call attention to that malady. It is a way for me to teach and transfer my learning. And thankfully, I find that my thoughts are usually well received, which in turn motivates me to write more and to reach a wider audience. Another important factor is the fact that I am originally a story teller. I love telling stories of the things I have experienced, and the stories I have heard. When these stories are told, they usually help other people find their direction or identify the missing piece in their journey. I believe stories are like maps and that is why I have to keep telling stories good stories, to give direction and also make people lead happier lives. We create happiness for other people by adding value to them. Q:You have written two books while studying at the university, how similar or different are they? Amadi:The two books Do Something! and Do Something Significant! are quite similar in the theme they address in that they are written to inspire action; by content however, they are quite different. Or better put, one is a continuation of the other. Do Something Significant is the continuation of Do Something! If my first book,Do Something! is seen as a beginners manual for someone who wants to do something meaningful with their life; the second one Do Something Significant! is the manual for personal development. That is, that person has already started doing something, but wants to know how he can plan his life and actions better in order to yield better results and gain significance in life. Q:On the other way, what is the key message in both books for readers? Amadi:The key message is Indolence is costly and that the journey to significance starts from within. You must do something, if you want to get something out of your life; and after you have done something, you do something significant! So the first question is how do we get started? Keep asking yourself the right simple questions and make sure you strive to get the right answers. Try to overcome fear and failure! As the saying goes, nothing is given on a platter of gold, so you must do something you have never done; and even if you have done it before, you must work relentlessly towards its improvement and learn to take it by force. You might finally ask, what changes are you making in different stages of your life to become significant to the society? Q:What difficulties did you face while writing these books and how did you overcome them? Amadi:Writing a serious work while studying was not very easy; I had to be able to properly manage my time in order to meet my writing deadlines, as well as not get kicked out of school for poor performance. At that time also, I kept a part-time job, and so time it was a great challenge for me. But I managed by cutting off every time-wasting activity, and by using the night time, nay, every spare time I had very well. I also think because I was all too confident in my message, I was able to put in every effort and more to see that the work was completed. And thank God it was. Q:Can you discuss your vision for future? Amadi:Yes, I certainly can. I am looking forward to and planning for a time when I can do things like these full time, and reach out to more lives especially the young people who are struggling with finding direction for their lives. Right now, I have two social and spiritual projects I am working on The Learn and Apply Family (LA Family), which is an online Bible study platform that encourages people to study the word of God daily; and Do Something Club which mentors young people and helps them understand how life works. It is my desire that we will solidify and institutionalize these platforms so that they can outlive me and my team. This will include setting up some permanent structures for the propagation of the vision and message to the rest of the world. That is the overarching vision for my life. And so I am working on it, and developing myself and building a strong team with people who understand my vision to inspire our generation. Interview by Kester Kenn Klomegah. Nairobi, Kenya September 5th 2016: Airtel, a leading mobile service provider in Kenya has been ranked Africas top social media brand in telecommunication in the latest Africa Brand Index Rankings. The Africa Brand Index is a listing of the top brands on social media, measured by an aggregate score of dozens of social signals. In the new rankings published online on the Africa brand index website, http://africabrandindex.com/#/Africa/Telecommunication , the telecommunication operator has been ranked as the top African telecommunication brand on social media for the month of April and July 2016, having scored the highest in Community growth, content, engagement and sentiments. Airtel beat other African telecommunication brands in the category which included Vodacom, Cell C, MTN and Telkom. The Company is ranks amongst the top 4 African Brands on social media together with Expresso, Pick n Pay and KFC South Africa. Last August, Airtel Kenya was recognized as the top Social Media Brand in Kenya by the Africa Brand Index based on its growth, sentiment, and content and response rate on the rankings provided by the index. The company was also recognized as a global best practice case study by Socialbakers, a global social media analytics firm last year in July for outstanding performance in serving customers online. Social networks especially Facebook and Twitter have become popular gateways for customers seeking help or updates in crisis situations and as a result of this, brands that are committed to their customers and have the capabilities are tapping into them. These social networks have become a better alternative to busy call centers and may inadvertently, through one post, respond to multiple customers sharing the same problem. Airtel Kenya CEO Adil El Youssefi while speaking about this accomplishment said We are honored to receive this recognition once again from the Africa Brand Index. Our exceptional online customer care is redefining customer experience with a world-class touch. Our social media stars Jamo and Caro make us proud by ensuring that all your questions are answered in the quickest turnaround. Their dedication has ensured that Airtel Kenya remains on the socially devoted list from Q2 2014 to date. BRICS leaders discussed the cooperation within the association and the agenda of the upcoming G20 summit. Speech at informal meeting of heads of state and government of BRICS countries President of Russia Vladimir Putin: Mr Modi, Mr Xi Jinping, President Zuma, President Michel Temer, I would like to start with our common strategy. We know that on the basis of the Strategy for BRICS Economic Partnership adopted at the last years BRICS summit in Ufa, Russia, new large-scale joint projects are being prepared for launch, primarily in technology, industrial cooperation, energy, and agribusiness. We intend to expand contacts in other areas as well in science, education, culture, on issues of social policy, healthcare and sport. We support cooperation between our parliaments, regions, trade unions, youth organisations and civil societies. Colleagues, we can see that contradictions in the world are indeed escalating. The rise of inequality between rich and poor nations is growing, the struggle for resources, for access to consumer markets, for control of transport arteries is becoming more intense. This is the backgrounds for the growing potential for conflict, as hotbeds of tension continue to multiply. My Brazilian colleague has just mentioned the long crisis that has engulfed the Middle East and North Africa. Civil wars instigated from abroad, the disintegration of government structures in Iraq, Libya (which President Zuma spoke about with concern) and Yemen, have turned this region into a place of chaos and a foothold for international terrorism which troubles all of us, causing an uncontrollable wave of migration. The expansion of ISIS and extremists of all stripes united under its banners has become a real security challenge for our countries as well, including Russia and its southern borders. The most dangerous situation is in Syria, which has already been discussed here. This is why we responded to the request of the legitimate, let me stress, the legitimate government of that country for assistance in the fight against terrorist groups. The Russian Aerospace Forces have dealt a heavy blow to the terrorists and their infrastructure, and have preserved Syrian statehood, which I think is absolutely vital. Together with other partners we managed to enforce a ceasefire in some regions of Syria and to launch inter-Syrian talks, because ultimately this sort of conflict can only be resolved by political means. We are confident that terrorist threats can only be countered by uniting the efforts of all interested nations. In general, the international community needs to work together to solve other complex problems, including those facing the global economy, as Mr Modi said, and Mr Xi Jinping as well. Unfortunately, the world economy has still not overcome the effects of 20082009 financial crisis, and global growth is still uneven and very fragile. According to forecasts, growth is unlikely to reach the pre-crisis level before 2019. Among the limiting factors is the volatility on foreign exchange and commodity markets, the lack of coordination of monetary policies, and the high debt levels in developed economies. In this regard, we support the priorities of Chinas G20 presidency, aimed at stimulating the global economy especially through the introduction of modern technologies. We welcome Chinese President Xi Jinpings intensive work to prepare this G20 Summit and its substantive package of final documents. It is encouraging that many of them build upon the G20 agreements made in the course of our joint work in St Petersburg, Russia. It is important to strengthen our countries positions in the global financial system. I would like to congratulate our Chinese partners on the Special Drawing Right basket being expanded to include the Chinese yuan from October 1, 2016. The BRICS states have already increased their total share in the IMF capital to 14.89 percent, very close to the blocking threshold of 15 percent. And they certainly need to continue in this direction, advancing the reform of the IMF. We need to make the BRICS Pool contingent of foreign exchange reserves and the New Development Bank fully operational (here I totally agree with my colleagues), to adopt the bank's strategy, to provide loans in local currencies, and to begin financing specific projects. We are greatly concerned about the WTO situation, which was also mentioned here. That organisation is losing credibility, losing its status as the only universal negotiating platform for the development of global trade rules due to the stagnation of the Doha Round. As a result, various private associations, such as the Trans-Pacific Partnership and Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership, are gaining momentum; they seek to replace the WTO rather than complement it. We see this as a response by some of our partners to difficulties they encountered in the course of WTO negotiations. But this is not the best way to solve problems. The best way is to negotiate and reach a compromise. Russia calls for the harmonisation of regional economic formats, based on the WTO rules and principles, the principles of transparency and respect for each other's interests. It is in this spirit that we are shaping the Eurasian Economic Unions activities and negotiating the linkage of the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) and Chinas Silk Road Economic Belt. I am certain that in the future, all of the above will create a grand Eurasian partnership that is open to cooperation with all interested states and integration alliances. We hope to discuss in more detail the prospects for our groups development at the upcoming October 1516 summit in Goa, India. On that note, we wish Mr Modi and all our Indian friends success in preparing that event. Thank you. Raymond Tando 05.09.2016 LISTEN Ashanti Regional Secretariat of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) has formed four committees to supervise the campaign of the party ahead of the December general elections. The committees for the NDC campaign would be coordinated by the Deputy Ashanti Regional Minister, Andy Osei Okrah, with the party's regional chairman, Yaw Obimpeh and regional organizer, Alhaji Sannie, serving as campaign chairman and organiser respectively. Raymond Tando, the NDC Ashanti Regional Secretary, who disclosed this to DAILY GUIDE in an interview, said the committees comprise experienced and energetic young people who would help the party to attain its target of 1 million votes. According to him, they would work hard to obtain 30 percent of the potential total valid votes in the region in order to secure a first round victory for President John Dramani Mahama. He indicated that the committees would be officially inaugurated after the launch of the party's manifesto in Sunyani, capital of the Brong Ahafo Region on September 17. Mr. Tandoh stated that the NDC would highlight infrastructural development to enable President Mahama to retain power. He mentioned that the Mahama administration has constructed hospitals, classroom blocks, roads and provided water to the people of Mampong, Kumawu and the surrounding communities. Meanwhile, the NDC Secretary has stated that the party would adopt a different approach in this year's campaign to win the hearts and minds of floating voters. He called on the party's communicators to project the image of NDC presidential candidate instead of engaging in unnecessary debate with NPP members and the presidential candidate Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo. From Ernest Kofi Adu, Kumasi Ekwow Spio-Garbrah, Minister of Trade & Industry, is said to be busily issuing cement licences to Chinese importers to import substandard cement even before a nine-member committee mandated by Parliament and the Trade Ministry to handle such matters meets on Tuesday, 6th September. One of such permits sighted by BUSINESS GUIDE at the weekend and presented to Fujian Cement Company Limited in Accra, has authorised the Chinese company to import 500,000 metric tonnes of cement, which is more than the manufacturing capacity of the Bui Cement Factory in northern Ghana. Dated 24th August, 2016, the licence would expire on 23rd August, 2017. The Monitoring Committee was put in place to implement and enforce the provisions of the L.I. 2240; advise the Minister on matters in relation to the import of Portland Cement and related matters; make recommendations to the Minister on the pricing of Portland Cement; the quantities of Portland Cement to be imported for commercial purposes; and the local production of Portland Cement, among others. In view of the foregoing, engaging in any deals before the committee meets is unwarranted. Plight of local manufacturers Local cement manufacturers have in recent times bemoaned the unbridled importation of inferior cement products. This has also affected their profit margins which have further hampered their ability to employ more people. Under-declaration of duties L.I. 2240 Export And Import (Restrictions on Importation of Portland Cement) Regulations, 2016 was put together to help check the rise in under-declaration. The committee comprises a nominee from the Customs Division of the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA), Ghana Ports & Habours Authority, Standards Authority, Ministry of Environment, Ghana Real Estate Developers Association, Cement Manufacturers' Association of Ghana, Association of Ghana Industries and Ghana Union of Traders Association. The first meeting of the committee, which is scheduled for Tuesday, 6th September, 2016, has been superseded by the alleged underhand dealings. Reaction In a brief interview with Dr George Dawson-Ahmoah, chairman of the Ghana Cement Manufacturers Association (GCMA) on phone, he doubted the incident but added: I would be very much disappointed if it were true. The representative of the Association of Ghana Industries (AGI) on the Cement Monitoring Committee, in interview, pleaded for more time to do due diligence. BUSINESS GUIDE will focus on the outcome of the investigations into the matter and inform readers accordingly. By Samuel Boadi [email protected] Sionle Yeo, MD (3[SUP]rd[/SUP] left) with some management of the bank 05.09.2016 LISTEN Societe Generale, a leading bank in Ghana, has once again taken the lead in the industry by introducing its loyal programme dubbed the 'Reward Zone.' The programme, which is the first of its kind in the banking industry, is to reward loyal customers for the most frequently performed activities such as subscription of some products, account transactions and usage of cards. The objective of the programme, according to bank, is to reward and appreciate customers for their loyalty. Fred Addy, Head of Marketing Analytics, explaining the rationale behind the programme, said in order to be rewarded, customers need to subscribe to KIT, a product of the bank. After subscribing, customers just have to perform their usual day-to-day banking activities, such as taking loans, saving and buying any of the sound insurance products on offer. No extra subscriptions are required; customers are automatically enrolled on the programme once they have a KIT. All customers who have subscribed to KIT before the launch will be enrolled automatically onto the programme, Mr Addy said. He further stated that as customers go about their daily transactions, they automatically earn points which will be converted into gift vouchers, adding that the points accumulated by customers will be generated and communicated to customers through SMS on a monthly basis. Mr Addy explained that to redeem points for a gift, customers can simply call any of the banks branches nationwide to request to convert their points into gift. Customers also have the option of picking their gifts from any branch of their choice, he added. Francois Marchal, Deputy Managing Director of the Bank, said the introduction of the loyal programme is aimed at implementing the banks strategy to become the best relationship focused bank in Ghana. Our aim is to maintain and attract customers by giving them real solutions to their financial needs and provide a truly diverse range of unique incentives to choose trust and rely on Societe Generale Ghana, he said. By Cephas Larbi [email protected] Information gathered by BUSINESS GUIDE indicates that Fidelity Bank, the largest privately owned indigenous bank in Ghana, is set to lay off 190 of its employees, including 110 permanent and 80 contract staff. The retrenchment exercise, the paper learnt, is already underway and will be completed by end of September 2016. The management cited a number of internal factors, including poor performance as a result of bad economic and political conditions in the country, slower than expected growth registered in deposits mainly due to the poor economic environment and non-performing loans, which have increased across the industry threatening profits. A management member of the bank, who pleaded anonymity, said that the affected workers would be compensated but refused to disclose the package. Staff shocked The staff are surprised that the bank has embarked on the exercise in spite of the successes chalked by the financial institution in recent times. Awards Fidelity Bank was recently adjudged the Bank of the Year 2016 for its outstanding performance in trade financing and strong financial output. At the 15th edition of the Banking Awards which was held in Accra, the indigenous bank won the Best Bank in Trade Deal award and Best Corporate Social Responsibility Bank of the Year award. Growth Performance Fidelity Bank last year increased its profit before tax by 83 percent to GH205.8 million, up from GH112.5 million in 2014. The bank grew its deposits by 69 percent to GH3 billion from GH1.78 billion in 2014. Fidelity Bank's customer growth has been partly attributed to its acquisition and integration of ProCredit and the 'Save for Gold' deposit promotion, which rewarded over 100 customers of the bank with three gold bars and 120 gold coins. Bank Appoints New MD Meanwhile, the bank has appointed Jim Baiden as the its new Managing Director, taking over from Edward Effah, who is now the Group CEO of the Fidelity and Chairman of the Board of Fidelity Bank. Fidelity Asia Bank and Fidelity Securities Limited are subsidiaries of the Group. Jim Baiden served as Deputy Managing Director of the multiple award-winning bank for 10 years. Speaking in an interview, Mr. Baiden expressed his gratitude to the board of Fidelity Bank for reposing confidence in him. Cephas Larbi [email protected] Abubakari Mohammed, 20, and Mohammed Mamudu, 18, have been arrested by residents at Banda Nkwanta in the Bole district of the Northern Region and handed over to the police for robbery. Information available to DAILY GUIDE revealed that on August 30, 2016 at about 10:30am some passengers on board a mini bus from Banda Nkwanta to Dakope junction were robbed at gunpoint by some armed masked men upon reaching a section of the road near Noyiri. The armed robbers succeeded in robbing the passengers mostly market women of undisclosed amounts of money and other valuables like phones and jewelries. DAILY GUIDE gathered that on 31st August, 2016 Abubakari and Mamudu were seen offering a Samsung Galaxy Note 4 phone for sale at the Banda township and in the process of the transaction, the buyer recognized the picture on the phone's screen saver and quickly alerted some persons and they were arrested. Some residents gave the suspected robbers a good beating for creating panic in the township and later handed them over to the Bole police patrol team at the Banda post. The Bole District Police Commander ASP David D. Azumah who confirmed the arrest to DAILY GUIDE said the suspects were in police custody pending further investigations. According to him, police retrieved the stolen phone and an amount of GH 1,000 from a resident who took it from the suspects. ASP David D. Azumah indicated that the suspects mentioned some names who they claimed were their accomplices and the police will do everything to bring them to book. He sent a warning to criminals in the area that the police will continue to be on them till they flash them out of the area. The District Police Commander applauded the residents who arrested the robbers and handed them over to the police and assured them that the police will always be there for them anytime they get any information about criminal activities in the area. FROM Eric Kombat, Bole Drama unfolded at this year's Oguaa Fetu Afehye celebrated by the chiefs and people of Cape Coast in the Central Region over the weekend when the paramount chief of the area, Osaberima Kwesi Atta II appealed to the people to collect and use any money that would be given to them by any political party to influence them in the upcoming general elections. According to him, the money was for the State and that people should not allow politicians to buy their conscience forcing them to vote for the wrong people to handle the affairs of the country. Osaberima Kwesi Atta gave the advice after he had showered praises on the President John Dramani Mahama for undertaking projects for the people of Cape Coast at the Oguaa Fetu Afahye Festival. President Mahama has provided us with Sport Stadium, made all our roads asphalt, provided us with a presidential library, ultra-modern Kotokuraba Market among others and we are very grateful about that, he added He appealed to the people in the area not to allow people to influence them to create unnecessary tension and confusion in the area. We are all Ghanaians with a common destiny so do not let us allow politics to divide us, let unite to ensure peaceful election before, during and after the election he said He emphatically stated that the money that the politicians would be giving to them at that particular time cannot cater for them for the rest of their lives, hence the need to vote wisely. President Mahama in his address underscored the need to do everything possible to assist weak students in the country to enable them achieve a credit mark during examinations. From Sarah Afful, Cape Coast Email:[email protected] Graduates who are preparing to be recruited into the Police service will be required to pay GHC100 for the recruitment process, a statement by the service has announced. The statement also noted that the IGP has directed the regional headquarters in Kumasi and Tamale to establish a special desk for the recruitment process. Applicants will be directed to submit applications at the National Police Headquarters and also the Regional Police Headquarters in Kumasi and Tamale together with a GHC 100.00 GCB bankers draft as specified, a statement issued by COP Ransford Moses Ninson, Director-General of Police Administration said. Some of the professional areas of expertise the Police is looking forward to recruit include doctors, nurses, auditors, communication engineers, public relations practitioners and legal officers. The police have however warned prospective applicants to be cautious with middlemen since they have not engaged the services of any third party in the exercise. Lawrence Amesu, the Director of Amnesty International Ghana, said a lot had been achieved towards ensuring that Ghana gains the status as abolitionist in practice. He said Ghana has not executed anyone over the past 23 years even though the courts continue to sentence people to death, and we have about 137 death row inmates, including three women, in our prisons currently. Speaking at the launch of 'Advocacy Toolkit For Abolition of Death Penalty In West Africa', Mr Amesu mentioned that he believes Amnesty International's submission with support from other civil society organisations and the opinion of the public had contributed to the recommendation that death penalty should be abolished in Ghana. He said though West Africa was leading that progressive forward march, however, the Anglophone countries within the continent were dragging their feet, while the Francophone countries, including Senegal, Ivory Coast, Togo, Benin and Burkina Faso, had either abolished the death penalty or were doubling their steps towards achieving that. Mr Amesu said the toolkit is very useful for the media, civil society organisations and para-institutions which are advocating the abolition of the death penalty in Ghana as well as all government institutions which have a stake in the process. The document will also be very useful for the youth not only as an advocacy tool but also as a knowledge acquisition document because it highlights and explains such terminologies as abolitionist, retentionist, clemency, exoneration, pardon, among others, he added. The document, he said, traces the history and achievements of Amnesty International's journey towards total abolition of the death penalty in the world while focusing a little more on the situation in Africa and West Africa. The toolkit also highlights the international instruments and bodies that support the need for the abolition of the death penalty. Dr Isaac Annan, a Director at CHRAJ, who chaired the function, said Ghana is human rights compliant as it ratified most of the United Nations Conventions & Resolutions, and reiterated the need for the country to abolish the death penalty as a sign of commitment. Ms Sabrina Tucci of Amnesty International Secretariat, London, added that West Africa is a beacon of hope for the whole of Africa and urged civil society organisations to continue the campaign. She called on governments to engage the public in debates on the issue. A house at Kaasi, a densely populated suburb of Kumasi, was gutted by fire on Thursday evening. The ferocious fire destroyed nine rooms, personal belongings and money of occupants numbering about 30 people. The damaged items included television sets, refrigerators, clothing, sound systems, irons, cookers and other materials considered to be combustible by fire officers. The fire which was reported to have been caused by power fluctuation, started in one of the rooms occupied by an octogenarian tenant, Baba Karim at about 6:30 pm. It spread quickly to other adjoining rooms before fire fighters were called to quench it. No one was hurt in the fire that gutted the twin-house belonging to two brothers, Emmanuel Fokuo and David Oduro. Mavis Akosua Kobe, a victim, told DAILY GUIDE that a co-tenant's daughter saw smoke emanating from Baba's room and raised alarm. According to her, shortly after evacuating the elderly man, the fire began to spread to other rooms. She disclosed that it took fire officers about an hour to bring the situation under control, adding that they used three fire tenders to put off the blaze. Bagrviel Bodome, a male tenant who works with Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA), stated that he lost GH500 and other personal belongings. The money was the August salary of his wife. His co-tenant, Abigail Akowuah, also lost an unspecified amount of money in the inferno. The affected rooms were totally destroyed. Looking at the extent of damage, it doesn't appear that they can just be remodelled, one of the landlords, David Oduro declared. From Ernest Kofi Adu, Kumasi The Honourable Marie-Claude Bibeau, Minister of International Development and La Francophonie, concluded a productive four-day official mission to West Africa that took her to three member countries of the International Organisation of La Francophonie: Senegal on August 30 and 31, Mali on September 1 and Burkina Faso today. This was the Ministers first official visit to Africa, and she had the opportunity to express Canadas desire for political engagement in Africa with its West African partners. Yesterday in Mali, the Minister met with Prime Minister Modibo Keita and with Abdoulaye Diop, Minister of Foreign Affairs, International Cooperation and African Integration, with whom she discussed development issues in the context of the countrys current crisis. She also took the opportunity to reaffirm Canadas support for this fragile state, as well as for the Malian people, including women and girls. Minister Bibeau also discussed issues related to the crisis with womens organizations working in the country. She also met with many representatives from Malian and Canadian non-governmental organizations involved in implementing Canadas assistance program in Mali. Also while in Mali, the Minister announced $10 million in funding to support the VITAL project. Implemented by the World Food Programme, this project will help build community resilience to food insecurity in Mali. In Burkina Faso, the Minister met President Roch Marc Christian Kabore to discuss issues related to empowerment of women and girls, as well as the successful relationship of Canada and Burkina Faso. The Minister, who wishes to put women and girls at the heart of Canadas international assistance programs, was eager to learn about their current situation in Burkina Faso. To this end, she met with Alizatou Rosine Sori-Coulibaly, Minister of Economy, Finance and Development, and Laure Zongo Hien, Minister of Women, National Solidarity and the Family. She also visited the team of a project implemented by the Leger Foundation to build agricultural capacity in the town of Ziniare. Quotes The Government of Canada is listening to its African partners. We will get involved in Africa, particularly in West Africa, to assist the region and help it take up the challenges of human development, security and governance. Sustained dialogue with governments in the region and with dynamic groups in civil society, particularly women and girls, is essential to further our common approach toward an inclusive prosperity. - Marie-Claude Bibeau, Minister of International Development and La Francophonie The second session at the G20 Summit, Global Economic and Financial Governance, will focus on ways to strengthen the global financial architecture, modernise tax systems and bank regulation mechanisms, and fight corruption. The third session will address issues of sustainable international trade and investment. The participants will discuss measures to promote the growth of international trade, simplify regulations, reduce the customs burden, facilitate international trade and economic integration and strengthen cooperation in investment policies. The participants at the fourth session, Inclusive and Interconnected Development, will discuss the implementation of the UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, ways to help the least developed countries accelerate their economic industrialisation programmes, create new jobs, reduce unemployment and achieve food security. The fifth session will focus on other issues that affect the global economy, in particular, the threat of terrorism, primarily Islamic State, possible forms of cooperation in the fight against the proliferation of terrorism and extremism in the Middle East and North Africa and solutions to the forced migration of people from zones of hostilities. The participants will also discuss global warming and certain healthcare issues. Johannesburg (AFP) - Activists from rival factions of South Africa's Africa National Congress (ANC) faced off in central Johannesburg on Monday, highlighting deep divisions in the ruling party as pressure grows on President Jacob Zuma. The ANC, which led the struggle to end apartheid, has been rocked by poor recent local election results largely blamed on Zuma's leadership and the country's mounting economic woes. Police surrounded the ANC's Luthuli House headquarters in Johannesburg after some party activists vowed to occupy the building to protest against how the party and government is being run. A small group of about 20 anti-Zuma protesters gathered nearby, while other ANC members loyal to the president pledged to defend the building. "We lost (control of some cities in the local elections) because of corruption of Jacob Zuma," Mary Louw, one frustrated ANC member, told AFP. "We need a leadership who doesn't promote corruption." Plans to march on Luthuli House were dropped due to the threat of violence and the heavy police presence, but the protesters said they would instead hand a petition into the ANC headquarters. "I'm here to defend my president. Who's got the proof that Zuma is corrupt? He's my president until the end of his term," Cecilia Lindiwe Ximba, a Zuma loyalist, told AFP. "They have the right to demonstrate, but they only spread rumours. They must wait until he finishes his term." Zuma, 74, who was jailed on Robben Island with Nelson Mandela during apartheid, retains strong loyalty within the ANC especially in rural areas, but he could step down before the next presidential election in 2019. An unemployment rate of 27 percent and GDP growth at zero percent this year have added to his troubles, as frustration builds among poor black communities seeing few improvements since white-minority rule fell in 1994. 05.09.2016 LISTEN Study to shew thyself approved unto God; a workman that needeth not to be ashamed rightly dividing the word of truth. II Timothy 2:15 Its become a regular trademark what the Bishop says or does is now prevailing against what Gods Word says. Consequently, our society is inundated with all sorts of fellows who parade themselves as people who have received the revelation to preach Gods word. Bishop Daniel Obinim of Gods Way Church has been in the news for one reason or the other. Again, he got in the news for the wrong reason he flogged two teenagers they had fornicated. He flogged them in the full glare of the congregation what style of Church discipline? The purpose: to deter other teenagers or other adults from getting involved. Gods word on fornication is clear; it states, this is the will of God even your sanctification, that ye should abstain from fornication: That everyone of one should know how to possess his vessel in sanctification and honour. I Thessalonians 4: 3-4 Open rebuke style of discipline. Open rebuke can never mean open flogging. The word of God should be the correcting measure for such situations. Galatians 6: 1 -2 brethren, if a man be overtaken in a fault ye which are spiritual, restore such an one in the spirit of meekness; considering thyself, lest thou also be tempted. Commentary on this portion of scripture states, the thought is that of someone running from sin but sin, being faster, overtakes and catches him. But a Christian should restore him or her. The task of restoration is not to be undertaken by fledglings in the faith but by those who are spiritual, that is, the believers who walk by the Spirit and who are mature in the faith. Furthermore, this delicate work must be done gently and with the consciousness that no one is immune from falling into sin. (The Bible Knowledge Commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures by the Dallas Seminary Faculty, New Testament Edition, 1983) Bishop Obinim neednt flog these teenagers. Unfortunately, he did. The congregation looked on ignorantly. They were enjoying the scene, probably aha, yakye won, to wit, theyve been caught. Abuse thrives in the atmosphere of ignorance like Hosea 4:6a, my people are destroyed for lack of knowledge. The members of the church are probably ignorant in the matters of Gods Word and human rights, thus their cheers and laughter as their fellow human beings were humiliated. Ignorance is a disease; however, its antidote the consistent and continuous seek for the appropriate knowledge. Will Rogers, everybody is ignorant, only in different subject. This states that the human race cant be knowledgeable in all things; in one area of life or the other an individual may be ignorant. The Berea Christians in the Book of Acts were unique the Holy Bible describes them in these words, these were more noble than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness of mind, and searched the scriptures daily, whether those things were so Acts 17: 11. Berea is now known as Veria or Veroia a city in Macedonia, in modern day Northern Greece. Its located 511 kilometres north-northwest of the capital Athens and 73 km west-southwest of Thessalonica. Unlike the Bereans of old, Ghanaians have been described in these words: religious but ungodly. Godliness can be achieved through the study of Gods word consistently and prayerfully. The scriptures make us wise; its written by the inspiration of God and its deliberate study can be applied to all aspects of our lives, and this study makes us perfect on a daily basis. Its crucial too, that as Christians we must not limit ourselves to studying only the Bible. It limits our understanding of issues that confront us physically, socially, politically, economically and internationally. Our knowledge of the immediate and remote environment and Gods word affords us the opportunity to take decisions that pleases God and man our utmost desire should be to please God rather than man. Bishop Daniel Obinim and his ilk are flourishing because their followers are men and women who have neglected the most important aspect of Christianity daily study of Gods word. Weve an attitude that refuses to probe further. We hail any individual who comes along with pseudo solutions and accept these solutions hook, line and sinker. And this has permeated all aspects of our national lives. God desires that we seek Him through persistent and consistent study of His Word prayerfully. Our society then will be able to know what God expects and then, we shall overcome the deceit of Bishops. [email protected]/[email protected] A freelance journalist in Wa, Upper West Region. At times when issues like this come up, then we get frustrated and become very angry to an extent that we want to do the unthinkable but when we look at the love we have for mother Ghana, we restrain ourselves but then we keep asking the question whether Ghana Police Service is for some individuals or for Ghanaians as stated by article 200(1) of the 1992 constitution. Does the police service belong to all Ghanaians including the serving police personnel particularly the junior ranks? Some say it's for cronies and I am beginning to believe it. In the military, these policies are clear and people serving in the army are well informed about such policies so they don't generate controversies but in the police service, it is the other way round. In the military you cannot cross over from the junior rank to the senior rank as enlistments and policy guidelines are clear on that and those who wish to cross over to senior rank should prepare to forfeit their entitlements due them whilst they were junior ranks or resign and apply to join the senior ranks. You choose where you want to serve in the military, either in the senior rank or junior rank. Due to this, I have always chosen the police service over the military since we cannot all start from the senior levels because some must start from the scratch and sustain the system for others to come and join from the top but there should be chances of progressing in a fair and free manner. We should not be stifled in growth and development because we started from the junior levels. We are beginning to believe that the police service is for cronies instead of all Ghanaians including we the serving personnel in the junior ranks. What seems to cause an uproar and grumbling probably at the blind side of the police administration are the recent publications about enlisting graduates and professionals outside the police service into the service. Maybe the police administration has heard the rumblings below the structures of the police service. If people continue to rumble and rumble for a very long time, they will burst and that will bring crisis but before then, the administration has every opportunity to engage them to avert such a crisis. Sometimes we still cling to the beliefs that we are in a regimental institution so the people cannot do anything and therefore we take them for granted. They can only complain but can't do anything. I think the world has evolved and we should do away with this kind of wishful thinking. Human beings are unpredictable and it is a proven fact. Nobody is against the police administration enlisting graduates into the police service. It could be government's quota and policy to mop up some of the teeming unemployed graduates on the streets so we are not against it but it should not be done at the expense of those who have sacrificed everything to keep the peace of the nation. The constitution and the service instructions give the head of the police administration the power to do that. However, policies that have the tendency to stifle the growth of junior members of the police service should be looked at critically. Policies that suppress and oppress the development of personnel who have dedicated their lives to serve mother Ghana in the wake of threats and risks one has to go through in every day policing should be put under proper scrutiny. We should consider the ripple effects on the service in particular and that of the nation as a whole now and in the future. Like I have said already, nobody is against the police service enlisting graduates to join the service but it would have been better if the police administration does a cost and benefit analysis of enlisting graduates from outside the police versus internal recruitment. The two should be compared and be contrasted by taking cost cutting into consideration. Human resource experts will always tell you that it is cheaper to do internal recruitment than recruiting from outside your organization. Something is definitely missing in the human resource management and administration of the service and we must all admit it. Currently the police service runs an 8 year study leave policy whereby thousands of police officers have tried all possible means to get study leave but their efforts have proved futile. Just imagine these police officers waking up to hear that despite their unsuccessful efforts to get approved study leave, avenues or opportunities have been given to others outside the service to come with their degrees to join the service at their expense. Is that fair and just? Is the police administration intentionally trying to create a 'society of ignoramuses' among the junior ranks or what? I am yet to believe that. Currently, it is only the police service which seems to be backward in terms of personnel development and growth particularly among the junior ranks. The world is changing and literacy levels among the populace keep rising but the police service is still interested in running the service on the capacities of personnel some of whom are stark illiterates and semi-illiterates popularly known as escorts in police circles. It is considered felonious treason to upgrade yourself in the police service without study leave whilst study leave itself is the most scarce commodity in the police service currently. How do we then meet the growing needs of the vast majority of the Ghanaian population who are growing their intelligence and faculties as far as policing is concerned? This Captain Glover's style of human resource management and administration should be looked at again. With effective human resource management information systems, all the graduates in the police service can be mopped up without much difficulty. Some of us managed to get certificates without being on study leave even though it seems to be a crime in the police service but we are using the same knowledge we acquired at our personal cost to practice better policing. We are clearing the perception that the junior ranks are bunches of ignoramuses and zombies who do not know their left from their right. We have grown in confidence when we meet the lawyers, teachers, nurses, doctors, the professors and whatever personalities you can think of when discharging our duties. We no longer fear personalities and titles which intimidate many police officers when discharging our mandated constitutional duties. We are defending our charges in open courts and speaking impeccable English wherever we find ourselves to the glory of Ghana Police Service and to the admiration of the general public. We are very good at our work now and have become better persons than when we joined the police service. What prevents the police from considering its own first given the cheap cost that it comes with ? In these times, graduate enlistment into the police service without consideration for young and aspiring junior ranks first has the tendency of breeding corruption and perpetuating the heinous crimes that have been bedeviling the police service lately. It also stands the chance of breeding indiscipline and undermining authority in the police service. It has the chance of delaying promotions among both the senior and junior ranks of the service. Already promotion takes 5 to 6 years instead of the statutory 4 years as stated by the C.I 76 based on vacancies available. It seems to be a calculated attempt and grand scheme to ensure that junior ranks of the service who even may get the chance to enter senior officers rank do not rise above Chief Superintendent levels or at most Assistant Commissioner of Police and retire there compared to their counterparts who start from graduate levels and rise to become Commissioners of Police and eventually becomes IGPs. It is a grand scheme that will lead the police service to nowhere other than chaos considering the the number of graduates springing up in the police service every day despite strict regulations to restrain them. It is increasingly becoming obvious that some of us do not have a future in the police service. The service is making itself a stepping stone for many considering the frustration that graduates in the police service are made to go through. As for me, I am warming up to go into politics and should I become the president someday, I will be in position to appoint the IGP. When that time comes, I will overhaul the Ghana Police Service from the top to the bottom. For now, I am ready to bear all punishment, transfers, intimidation and possibly dismissal because I will always talk about the unfairness and the injustices in the Police Service. I am still at Peki and haven't gone anywhere. It's time to biegya!!!!! Ahanta Apemenyimheneba Kwofie III [email protected] #Ahantadiaries2016_09_03 First lady Mrs Lordina Mahama has called for equal opportunities to education for every child. She believes the location of a child should not deprive a child of education saying that there was nothing as important in a childs early life as education. Give a child education and change his or her future she noted. Mrs Mahama was addressing a large gathering of chiefs and queenmothers, both local and international and other dignitaries at a colourful durbar to mark the 7th Annual Covention of the Council of Brong Ahafo Associations of North America (COBAANA) at Worcerter, Massachusetts in the US. She said the development of the country was not for the government alone, but a shared responsibility for all. Mrs Mahama was addressing a large gathering of chiefs and queenmothers, both local and international and other dignitaries at a colourful durbar to mark the 7th Annual Covention of the Council of Brong Ahafo Associations of North America (COBAANA) at Worcerter, Massachusetts in the US today. The convention was under the theme Changing Lives Through Education. The First Lady indicated that children have dreams to go to school, and to realize their full potential, but they need a helping hand to achieve those dreams and that was the reason for the gathering which aims to raise funds to put up a six classroom block at Ayaakomase, near Nsoatre in the Brong Ahafo Region to supplement governments efforts. She said there was nothing as important in a childs early life as education and added that give a child education and change his or her future. There is a direct link between poverty and lack of education. Education is a bridge out of poverty. Mrs Mahama said the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), report in the year 2015, indicated that sub-Saharan Africa remains the home to the largest out of school population of children in the world and although Ghana continue to face its our own challenges, it had achieved universal enrolment of children in primary school. This, she said, had made Ghana a role model for many African countries in the provision of free education and free compulsory universal basic education and free community day Senior High Schools had increased access to education for many vulnerable groups. The First Lady said the policy of progressively free secondary education was being extended to 120,000 boarding students this academic year and by the end of the MDGs in 2015, Ghana had attained over 97% primary school enrolment. And according to UNICEF, the primary school net attendance rate in 2014,was over 70%, and is among the highest on the continent. Ghana has also remarkably attained gender parity in education, where the number of girls in school now matches the boys, and even higher than the boys in some areas of the country. Government is also building and commissioning more Community Day Senior High schools, to increase access and to reduce imbalance in the provision of education across the country. This is the vision of the government; to transform Ghana into a leading education hub, for the West African Sub-region, and it was also building new universities, training colleges and vocational schools across the country. She said the government, since assuming the reigns of governance in 2009, has increased the number of nursing and midwifery schools in Brong Ahafo from 5 to 19. Mrs Mahama indicated that her foundation continues to present working tools to designers, beauticians and artisans to help them start their businesses and only recently, it presented start-up tools to our brothers and sisters in Kenyasi, Kukuom and Sankore among others. Mrs Mahama said her foundation had facilitated the construction of an Ultramodern Community Information Centre, for the Kintampo community and its environs at Ampoma, which would serve as an ICT Hub, for the community and afford schools in the area assess to ICT Lab as well as Internet facilities. For his part, the Mayor of Worcester, Mr Joseph Petty in a goodwill message commended the association for working hard to provide a school building to enable the children in Ghana have access to quality education. The Omanhene of the Dormaa Traditional area, Osagyefo Osadeayo Nana Agyemang advised the people to give praise were it was due and stop unnecessary criticisms which does not help in the development of the nation. He said currently President John Dramani Mahama if for nothing at all had brought water to the people of Ghana and the development projects he has done was there for everyone to see. Ghana Ambassador to the United States, Lft. General Joseph Henry Smith (rtd) said COBAANA has come this far because of commitment and genuine interest to make significant impact on the lives of people and communities back home. Present at the ceremony was the Minister of Tourism and Creative Arts, Mrs Elizabeth Ofosu-Agyare, the Brong Ahafo Regional Minister, Mr Eric Opoku, Deputy Minister for Local Government, Mr Adjei Agyekum, Nana Yaw Kagberese V, President of the Regional House of Chiefs and Paramount chief of the Yeji Traditional area. Nana Ansah Adu-Baah, Omanhene of Yamfo Traditional Area;Odeneho Dr Afram Brempong III Omanhene of Suma Traditional Area; Obrempong Ameyaw Amponsem II, the chief of Anyima; Nana Kwabena Tetteh II, Nifahene of Nkoranza Traditional Area; and a number of queenmothers. Dr Lordina Mahama At The 7th Annual Covention Of The Council Of Brong Ahafo Associations Of North America Dr Lordina Poses For A Slefie With A Young Girl First Lady Acknowledging And Cgeering Some Traditional Dancers First Lady Lordina Mahama Dancing With Ghana's Ambassador The United States, Lft. General Joseph Henry Smith (rtd) The New Patriotic Party (NPP) presidential nominee for the 2016 December polls, Nana Akufo-Addo, has said he is prepared to beg Ghanaians to make him president if that is what he needs to do save the country from decline. Nana Addo noted that, he sees nothing wrong with begging to serve as President despite criticisms by his opponents. I'm prepared to beg the people of Ghana to be president, if that is what is required to be done, he added. Speaking at a rally in Wa in the Upper West Region as part of his campaign tour, Nana Addo urged Ghanaians to vote out the Mahama administration for a more competent government to take over. Nana Addo said some have argued that when you say try me that means you are going to experiment; but the experience of the person who is there now, has been a disastrous experience for our country so what is the purpose of continuity? Are we going to continue the disaster? Is that the right thing to do? We want to get rid of the disaster and bring in a new man with fresh ideas and a fresh direction for our nation. That is what we want to do, the NPP flagbearer added. Audacious campaign promises Nana Addo, who is currently on a campaign trail, has been to five regions telling them about some social intervention policies he intends to implement when given the chance in the December 7 general elections. Some of the programmes he has promised includes; one-factory; one district, one village; one dam; and one million each year for the 275 constituencies in the country. Follow the hashtag #GhElections on Social Media for election related stories By: Godwin A. Allotey/citifmonline.com/Ghana Follow @AlloteyGodwin The General Secretary of the governing National Democratic Congress (NDC), Johnson Asiedu Nketia, has refuted claims that his party is waiting for the New Patriotic Party (NPP) to release its manifesto in order to steal their ideas. Several communicators of the major opposition party have on numerous occasions accused the NDC of plagiarizing its ideas and policies. But speaking at the inauguration of a Campaign Task-force and the commissioning of a new regional office in the Volta Region, Asiedu Nketia said, his party rather acts as pacesetters for others. I have heard so many people say that NDC is waiting for NPP before we release our manifesto. We don't learn from losers. We set the pace. I repeat NDC does not learn from losers. We rather set the pace for them to copy. The NDC General Secretary also urged Ghanaians to desist from comparing the NDC to other political parties as it had its own unique ways of going about activities. Nobody should be comparing us, our timing and programming has nothing to do with the NPP. We go according to our own plan. Follow the hashtag #GhElections on social media for election related stories By: Felicia Osei/citifmonline.com/Ghana Vladimir Putin met with President of the Arab Republic of Egypt Abdel Fattah el-Sisi in Hangzhou. The two presidents discussed bilateral cooperation in various areas. The meeting took place on the sidelines of the G20 summits working sessions. * * * President of Russia Vladimir Putin: Mr President, friends, it is a great pleasure to see you. Mr President, we already had the chance in the corridors yesterday to start discussing our common interests and affairs. I want to start by saying once again that Egypt is a priority partner and Russias longstanding and reliable friend. We have a rich history of cooperation and our bilateral relations have become particularly fruitful over these last years and offer great interest. I value our good and trusting relations, Mr President. I note too that our relations are developing through our government and parliamentary channels, and we have organised cooperation between our security councils and law enforcement agencies. Economic cooperation matters are at the centre of our attention, of course. In short, we have plenty to discuss and we are very pleased with this. I am happy to see you. To be continued. 05.09.2016 LISTEN Motivated by Ms. Mawuena Trebarh, CEO of GIPC, Ghana and Church Member of Glorious Wave Church Int., Ghana Having been a Member of the SPD (Social Democratic Party of Germany) for over 20 years had the privilege to observe many Politicians from various Parties at close range be it Ministers of Parliamentarian. Seeing those going about their daily work was a clear indication that Democracy is corrupting people. Democracy is the best Political System Mankind has come up with until today. As nothing Humans invent is perfect, the faults and weaknesses in Democracy must be exposed after all. Germany was the first country in the world having seen the Green Movement. Anti-Atomic Power Stations, Anti-Environment Destruction, Anti-Capitalism, Anti-Male Dominance, Anti-Imperialism and other demands were in the hearts and minds of Young and Old in the Green Movement which soon spread into Holland, France, Denmark and crossed the English Channel into UKs minds. Alternative behavior in handling the structural and dogmatic challenges of a newly formed Movement where seeing Joshka Fischer, later Minister of Foreign Affairs and Vice-Chancellor, having no extended formal school education but being engaged in street fights against the NATO Double Treaty to take Pershing and Cruise Missiles out from German ground, in Sneakers among Government Ministers while pregnant Delegates knitted at Conventions scarves for the next Winter season and young Mothers openly breastfeeding their newly Born following serious Debates about a much needed change of the World order. Petra Kelly and her Husband to be, General Graf Gerd Bastian, were the Symbols of a new Generation of Politicians to address the needs of many angry about the political Establishment and Destruction of the future of their children. End of 1970s into 1980s Citizen took to the street of Europe in protest for Make Love, not War like it had never been seen before. Rudolf Bahro, Dissident and leftwing Author from East-Germany, had strongly advocated for the Green Movement to be transformed into a Political Party to be effective and capable in regional Parliament (Germany has 16 States) and German Bundestag, for the desired Change to happen. Among the Members of the Green Movement it was a serious and heated debate whether to become a Political Party or stay a Movement as some had voiced their concern about a possible influence of Power on their mindset for it not to be corrupted and to always ask for the Maximum of their Demands instead of having to make compromises. General Graf Gerd Bastian (he later killed his wife Petra Kelly and took his own life after the murder) was seen as the much needed Face of the Establishment to have successfully made the Mind change from a Hardliner on the Hardthoehe (Ministry of Defense in Germany) to a Softy that sees the need for a clean, peaceful and secure environment with peace at heart and love on all lips around the world. Mahadma Gandhi was very much in the mind of the people with the upcoming of Mother Theresa in Calcutta (India) the simple Nun and Saint from Albania. Each State in Germany saw a different Political Party for the same political cause until the time came in the middle of 1980s the Green Party entered into the German Federal Parliament in Bonn, the Bundestag. Being Newcomers on the Political Parquet, CDU/CSU, FDP and SPD took advantage of them by using the Parliament Regulations against them to push their own Agenda through. For two years the Green Party was played around with not winning any ground in the political Arena. SPD listened to the words and demands of the people out in the country. As many were at the political edge of their own ideology, they embraced them and portrayed them as their copyright from the past. MP of the Green Party opposed using the Car Pool of the Bundestag or fly with Lufthansa, insisting to use bikes from Bonn Train Station to Langer Eugen, the Office Building of the Parliament in Bonn and take Train rides to use less Carbon dioxide and protect the environment while using their old stinking Citroens reaching protest sides in the local areas to place their placates before Atomic Power Stations. Before her sudden death Petra Kelly insisted on using the Car Pool of the Bundestag, fly Airplanes for faster reach of her Assignments. All other MP of her Party followed her example defending their change of mind towards their Party Members and the general Public to have done so to optimize their performance of their Duties being elected for. The Green Party Elite had foreseen that for the second time standing to be elected into German Bundestag, old Voters would no longer support them but turn to their back on them. Rudolph Bahro strongly advocated successfully to win over ultra conservative CSU Member that see Acid Rain falling in the Forest of Bavaria being emotional attached to unspoiled Woods. In order to win again, so his Propaganda, certain compromises needed to be made. He knew instinctively, if the Green Party would lose seats in their second attempt to enter German Bundestag, shame and defeat would lie heavily on their political legacy endangering their March forward to ever more Local and Federal Elections victories. Once being Vice-Chancellor, Joschka Fischer took off his Sneakers, was ever more seen in polished shoes and well-chosen suites carrying Statesman words never heard from him before on his lips that made him to be a Professor at Princeton University/USA after ending time in office while having never ever studied himself at a University. An Individual that is incorruptible by character with a good heart for his people performing like a tough teacher to bring out the best his people can be, once a Dictator can never establish a corrupt System. Democracy is a Political System not a Society Concept; the fine, but vital line between those two is often misunderstood by Non-Professionals or In-Experienced Persons and Parties in the political arena. Author: Dipl.-Pol. Karl-Heinz Heerde, Sakumono Estate, Block D10, Aprt. 9, Tema West, Ghana, phone +233(0)265078287, [email protected] , 05.09.2016 The Chiefs and people of the Chakale Traditional Area, in the Wa East constituency of the Upper West Region, have conferred the title Chief of Patience on the 2016 presidential candidate of the New Patriotic Party, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo. The ceremony took place in the palace of the Bulenga Naa yesterday when the NPP flagbearer paid a courtesy call on the Paramount Chief of the Chakale Traditional Area, Bulenga Naa Seidu Nawalogne IV, on the 2nd day of his tour of the Region. Explaining the rationale for the conferment of the title, the Bulenga Naa told the NPP flagbearer that we have listened to you, and we know you very well. There is one good example of your actions, which points to your love for Ghana, and that is what happened in Ghana after the 2013 presidential election petition. According to the Chief, the ruling did not go in your favour, but you came out clearly and told every Ghanaian to take heart. You told the people that if anyone claims to love you, love the NPP and love Ghana, they should forget about whatever has transpired. The Bulenga Naa further noted that Nana Akufo-Addos actions meant that Ghana has been peaceful since then. We are very grateful for your actions. It was against this background that the Bulenga Naa Seidu Nawalogne IV conferred the title Chief of Patience on Nana Akufo-Addo, much to the delight and approval of the hundreds gathered at the Bulenga Naas palace. You (Akufo-Addo) are a person of wisdom, and can effect the change you are telling Ghanaians about. We will also use our minds to do whatever it is we can to make you the next President of Ghana, the chief told Nana Akufo-Addo. Maputo (AFP) - Mozambique authorities on Monday exhibited three new pieces of aircraft that washed up along its coast and are suspected of belonging to the missing flight MH370. The largest item is a triangular shaped piece which is red and white on one side and metallic on the other. It was picked up late last month by a South African hotelier off the waters of Mozambique's southern province of Inhambane. Joao de Abreu, director of Mozambique's aviation authority said it was the first time a coloured piece had been found. At a news conference, he said the piece could be "an aileron, a flap,(or) an elevator." On the inside, "we can see a label which will make it much easier to identify which aircraft it belongs to," he said. The other two pieces are smaller and were picked up by the son of a European Union diplomat near the southern resort of Xai Xai and handed to the authorities last month, he said, giving no further details. The items will be sent to Malaysia for examination. Malaysia Airlines jet MH370 vanished in March 2014 with 239 people onboard as it was flying from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing. Australia, which is leading the search, has determined that the five pieces of debris examined so far -- found in Mozambique, South Africa and Mauritius -- almost certainly came from the plane. The first debris linked to MH370 -- a two-metre-long (almost seven-foot) wing part known as a flaperon -- washed up on the French Indian Ocean island of Reunion a year ago. 05.09.2016 LISTEN Accra. 5th September, 2016. A report released by the NGO Transparency International revealed that the Odebrecht Group, a global organization of Brazilian origin with over 70 years experience and expertise in construction and engineering among other businesses, climbed 47 positions in the best practice ranking for divulging information among the 100 largest companies in emerging markets. In Ghana, Odebrecht is responsible for the construction of Lot 5 & 6 of the Eastern Corridor Road project. The Transparency in corporate reporting: assessing emerging market multinationals research studied practices for disclosing information by 100 of the largest multinationals headquartered in 15 different emerging countries. Together, they operate in more than 185 countries around the world. The report evaluates practices for disclosing information based on three dimensions: anti-corruption programs, organizational structure and divulging financial information by country. Odebrecht climbed 47 positions in the general ranking, compared with the last report in 2013 - rising from 97th to 50th position. In relation to anti-corruption programs in particular, Odebrecht rose from 0% to a 77% assessment, arriving at 22nd place among the 100 companies evaluated. This evolution was recognized by Transparency International as one of the factors which led to a better score by private as opposed to public companies in the anti-corruption program evaluation. Unlike the 2013 results in this item (anti-corruption programs), the private companies evaluated in this study obtained a better average score than state companies. The improved result could principally be attributed to two companies, Mabe and Odebrecht, which have disclosed their anti-corruption programs to the public for the first time, indicates the report. Odebrecht confirmed that it is continuing to improve its compliance system, confident that these changes will be reflected in Transparency Internationals future assessments. According to Danilo Trinchao Rios, in Charge of People, Planning and Finance at the Ghana office of Odebrecht Engineering & Construction International: It gives us great satisfaction that the Odebrecht Group climbed 47 positions in the best practice ranking for divulging information, according to the Transparency International, rising from 97th in 2013 to 50th position. Our anti-corruption program in emerging markets across the world, especially in Ghana, has been lauded by many. We are committed to promoting good corporate governance practices always. The Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) in September 2001 commenced a Bachelor of Science degree in herbal medicine at the Faculty of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences with the aim to train health professionals (Medical Herbalists) who will provide primary healthcare using scientifically validated herbal medicines. Although this was the first of its kind in Africa then and still is, Medical Herbalists were already being trained in countries like New Zealand, United Kingdom (UK), etc for years, with arrangements made in terms of internships, induction ceremony, regulation, in relation to practice after training by institutions that run the programme. This hasnt been the case with KNUST thus the question remains What are the steps needed to be taken by a university/institution in ensuring that new health professionals meet set objectives before, during and after their training? History has it that the then Deans of the School of medical sciences (SMS) and Faculty of Pharmacy were both sent by the academic board to Germany and UK in 2001 to study what was been done there in terms of BSC Herbal medicine as some universities run the programme after the idea to introduce the programme was proposed by a lecturer in the Faculty of Pharmacy. When asked earlier in 2016 in an interview if the programme has had good influence on the society so far?, Professor Merlin Mensah, a senior lecturer at the Department of Herbal medicine KNUST and a major contributor to the introduction of the programme , according to the official mouthpiece of the Ghana Herbal Medical Students Association (GHEMSA) , The Student Phytotherapist magazine (second edition), he responded Yes and no. Before we started the programme, contact was made with the Ministry of Health with the hope that herbal establishments will be created within the ministry for graduates but we heard a rumor 3rd year into the programme that they didnt know our faith so we had to go back again to have formal meetings with stakeholders. They said there was nothing they could do about the situation after the meetings so it was only in 2011 that the ministry agreed to the establishments so a pilot establishment started throughout the regions establishing herbal medicine units in some government hospitals. Till date the ministry has not made any move to access these pilot centres and come out with findings with regards to the patronage at the herbal units. If these had been done, more herbal units would have now been built in state facilities to the benefit of the public The aforementioned response as covered by the students magazine suggests that KNUST indeed made attempts through the Ministry of health, to make provisions for Medical herbalists within the healthcare delivery system before the commencement of the programme in the university but failed. Does this mean KNUST gave up after its attempts proved futile? It should be however noted that the piloting of the services of Medical herbalists in selected government hospitals in Ghana was made possible through an advocacy by the Ghana Association of Medical Herbalists (GAMH) with the support of the Business Advocacy Challenge Fund (BUSAC) in September 2012. The approach to which the attempts were made by KNUST is however unknown. The main approach should have been to call on the Traditional Medicine Directorate (TAMDI) under the Ministry of Health to help amend the already established Traditional Medicine Practice (TMP) Act 2000, which was in place prior to the commencement of BSC Herbal medicine. ACT 575 of the TMP ACT 2000 gives a legal backing for the establishment of a regulatory council known as the Traditional Medicine Practice Council (TMPC) later established in 2010.The council is tasked with regulating and licensing all practices including herbal medicine under the traditional medicine umbrella. The sections in the TMPC ACT 575 are categorized under four main headings; Establishment and Functions of the TMPC, Registration of Practitioners, Licensing of Practices, and Staff, Financial and Miscellaneous Provisions. Governing body of the Council is a Board as outlined in sub-sections under Establishment and Functions of the TMPC, The Board consists of (1) (a) five nominees of the Association at least one of whom is a woman, (b) Two persons nominated by the Minister one of whom is the Director of the Traditional Medicine Services Division of the Ministry, (c) Two representatives from the universities and research institutions one of Who is a pharmacist with an interest in traditional medicine and the other A person with an interest in the preservation of biodiversity, (d) The Director of the Centre for Scientific Research into Plant Medicine, (e) The chief executive of the Food and Drugs Board, and (f) The Registrar appointed under section 29 who shall be the secretary to the Council. (2) The members of the Board shall be appointed by the President in accordance with article 70 of the Constitution. (3) The Board shall have a chairman who shall be elected by secret ballot by the members of the Board from the five members of the Association referred to under para-graph (a) of subsection (1). The Association as seen in paragraph (a) of subsection (1) refers to the Ghana Federation of Traditional Medicine Practitioners Associations (GHAFTRAM). The association/federation was formed in 1999 in response to governments policy of a common representation for all indigenous practitioners in Ghana prior to the enactment of the TMP ACT in 2000. This places other association of any form of practice of Traditional medicine that emerges (whether professional or not) under GHAFTRAM. This has since been the case with the Ghana Association of Medical Herbalists (GAMH). GAMH since its inception have had to work under GHAFTRAM, an unprofessional indigenous practitioners federation. This aspect needs to be amended to give representation to GAMH as a professional body/association on the councils Board with a say in the practice of herbal medicine in Ghana and the training, licensing, and regulation of Medical herbalists. While GAMH has also been partly blamed for not pushing for amendment of the TMP ACT in the article titled Herbal medicine Practice; The Shortcomings of the professional Association (part 1&2), KNUST cannot be overlooked as a contributor to the shortcoming/ ineffective practice by medical herbalists due to its failure to ensure that proper arrangements are made within the ministry of health before commencing the BSC Herbal Medicine programme. It appears there was a rush in the commencement of the programme which is supposed to be a professional one. Professional in the sense that the university is supposed to monitor keenly what happens before graduation, during internship, induction ceremony after professional qualifying exams, and the actual practice. Some people might argue that the TMP ACT was passed in 2000 when there was no BSC Herbal Medicine or Medical Herbalists and so KNUST couldnt have done anything. It is important to note that despite the availability of The Traditional Medicine Practice Act 2000, there wasnt a single policy document on traditional medicine development and so the Ministry of Health (MOH) in 2005 developed a policy on the development of traditional medicine in consultation with stakeholders including the Faculty of Pharmacy of the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) as contained in the policy document;. The single policy document named Policy on Traditional Medicine Development in Ghana was developed, four years after the introduction of the BSC Herbal Medicine programme. The question then is, if KNUST was invited to take part in the development of the single policy document in 2005, that factored in previous policies by government, to give direction to the coordination of activities in the area of traditional medicine (which herbal medicine practice forms part), why wasnt provisions made for Medical Herbalists as professionals?. Para-graph (c) of subsection (1) as outlined in sub-sections under Establishment and Functions of the TMPC also needs to be amended now that there are Medical Herbalists who now work in Universities as lecturers/researchers after post graduate studies. The absence of Medical herbalists on the TMPC board affects the quality of decisions taken by the board in relation to education curricula, and regulation of Medical herbalists. The registrar of TMPC, Torgbui Yaka IV in a meeting organized on Monday 29th August, 2016 at the conference room of the Osu Presby hall to sensitize graduates on expectations of internship stated that no law exists to direct the council on what to do with BSC Herbal Medicine graduates in terms of internship placements and requirements although the council has over the years tried its best monitoring internships. He further express his displeasure at the University (KNUST) and GAMHs inability to request for amendment of the legislation that gives authority to GHAFTRAM with 5 members on the TMPC board. Graduates are to embark on 2 years internship of which the first year is a national service at health institutions that provide herbal medicine services and the 2nd year at the Centre for Plant Medicine Research (CPMR) and Tetteh Quashie Memorial Hospital (TQMH) both at Mampong-Akuapem. It is not clear how the 2 years internship came into being and who instituted it as requirements before writing the professional qualifying exams (PQE) because it seems like a waste of time. The internship should be reduced to 1 year just as other health professions. The reason being that the first year which is now on the National Service Scheme (NSS) is not properly planned in terms of what students are supposed to be taught at the places they are posted. Whiles some are placed in health facilities with herbal units, and herbal clinics/hospitals, others are sent to Food and Drugs Authority (FDA), and KNUST as teaching assistants. How then do those placed at non-health institutions sharpen their clinical skills especially in the practice of herbal medicine as required in the first year of internship?. Its only the second year that is well structured. Even with this, interns are not given allowances and thus have to rely again either on their parents or the little savings from NSS for accommodation and upkeep. Reducing the internship period to a year will now mean that graduates will proceed to TQMH and CPMR and receive monthly allowances through the national service scheme. Moreover herbal institutions who wish to employ graduates they worked with during industrial training will not have to wait after 2 years of internship to do so. There is inadequate information about the programme on KNUSTs website. For instance, Information on the course modules is not available, just a summary of the programme. There have always been loop holes with clinical training and industrial attachment for herbal medical students in the university. Clinical training practical which used to be at the university hospital have now been moved to the Kumasi South Hospital, with no means of transportation offered to students. Students on industrial training are not monitored by KNUST through visits to ensure that they are getting the right exposures. The industrial trainings are not well planned for a typical health profession and as such students are sometimes mistaken for pharmacy attendants/dispensers throughout the training period, in some health facilities with herbal units whiles others are thought to be nurses, medical laboratory scientists, etc. Delays in securing special national service postings for graduates in their first year internship by the herbal medicine department, KNUST recently seems to be the order of the day. The TMPC have had to fight to secure the special posting slots through the national service secretariat after general postings have been released all because KNUST fails to submit the special posting list on time. This was the case in 2015 and now in 2016. Moreover it seems KNUST only monitors induction ceremonies of other health professionals that it trains aside Medical Herbalists (Herbal Doctors). Induction ceremonies have not been organized for different batches of qualified Medical Herbalists lately. The shortcoming of the university in paying full attention to the herbal medicine programme has affected and continues to affect the behavior of students, interns and resulting medical herbalists. The herbal industry is counting on the efforts of KNUST, GAMH, and other stakeholders to ensure that Medical herbalists have the controlling power of practice of herbal medicine to serve public interest. EMMANUEL BENTIL ASARE ADUSEI BSC HERBAL MEDICINE, KNUST INTERN MEDICAL HERBALIST (FIRST YEAR) [email protected] +233546678401 A meaning and nature of a dam, isnt what we have at Akosombo. A dam simply means a "blockage on the course of a river, either natural or artificial, to create a reservoir. With this, a mechanized borehole can be constructed, a channel created for the water from this borehole to flow through, and a blockade mounted in the course of this channel then forms a dam. In this regard, even a vision to create a dam, not in every village, but every neighborhood, is easily achievable. It therefore takes blocked-headed nincompoops as these NDC riff-raffs, to doubt a vision by Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo to create a dam in every village in the three northern regions. On Wednesday,28th August 2016 edition of kokrookoo on Peace-FM,Ametor-Kwame claimed that John Mahama commissioned a huge dam with well-connected asphaltic roads and topnotch agricultural mechanization center, somewhere in the upper west region, during his recent campaign tour of the area. I put in a text message for him to tell us specifically which town, village, cottage or hamlet, where this gargantuan dam is located, but he pretended not to have heard the question. So can anyone of you please help me out with an answer? Blazing the trail Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo went to Western north and the chiefs and people of the area made a passionate plea for a separate region, when by the grace of God, he becomes the President. And respectfully, he responded by saying he will go into the books, and appropriately go ahead with actualization of the request. Now, when this hit the headlines, NDC propagandists went into their usual "it can't be done" nonsense. But when they later realized that the policy has massively caught up with the people of the area, they [NDC], quickly turned round to claim that "the policy is already being considered by them". Again, when Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, in his characteristic visionary style, announced his one-district-one factory concept, the NDC propagandists poopooed it.But after coming to terms with the fact that the masses have bought into the concept, they [NDC], beat a quick retreat with their usual mantra " we are already doing it'. Then came another nouvelle bombshell from Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addos visionary arsenals; the one-village-one-dam policy alternative. Again, the blockheaded NDC riff-raffs said "it was absurd. But when the reality dawn on them [NDC] that the concept has literally caught fire in the hearts of the people of the north, they [NDC], through their agric minister, claimed the concept is "already being implemented" by them. So the point is; if Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo is seeking the people's mandate by proffering original,cogent,realistic,progressive,progressive and visionary policy alternatives which the masses have massively embraced, then, how in God's name would anybody entertain a bunch of damn fictitious rascals whose only claim to fame is lies, thievery, ineptitude and foolish pronouncements? Indeed, the good people of this country will surely embrace originality and throw out-of-the-window, shameless apologists who lack intellectual acumen to come up with original concepts, come 7th December, 2016. The western north region policy Now, a forum organized by IMANI, also peddled obvious lies about Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, in respect of the proposed Western North Region policy, at their IMANIFESTO held at Mensvic Hotel, Shiashe-Accra, on Thursday, 25th August, 2016; and in my official capacity as Aide to the NPP Standard-bearer, I openly challenged them. Now, a day after which was Friday, 26th August, 2016, Franklin Cudjoe repeated the same lies on OK-FM, and shamelessly tried roping me in; and by the ethics of journalism, I was offered the opportunity to set the records straight. Unrepentantly on Saturday, 27th August, 016, Franklin Cudjoe repeated the same lies on Citi FMs 'big issues, which I again swiftly debunked. Now, as an Aide to Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, I have a specific duty to perform in advancing his electoral success on 7th December, 2016; and I do so mostly in feature articles and grassroots canvassing for support. I never venture into radio interviews. But, when I have personally accompanied Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo on a particular trip, seen/heard what the people's needs/concerns were, and what Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo's response was, it would've been grievously irresponsible of me to stand aloof for anybody to peddle total falsehood against him. NDC is running scared After being in government for the past 8years and claiming to have turned Ghana into a paradise, engaging the services of well-qualified and competent professionals to manage our electoral process should have been the delight of a party that claims to have performed miracles in all sectors of the economy.at least, our recent past history where twenty-seven and zero[27&0] was substituted for two-hundred and seventy[270] at the polling stations in 2012,the voluntary service from some of our professional entities who are highly skilled in numeracy, should have been a welcome news to all who seek free,fair,transparent and incident-free election 2016. Now, the Chartered Institute of Accountants-Ghana, Ghana Bar Association and Institute of Statisticians have made an offer to assist EC as returning officers for the 2016 general elections; and this kind gesture has been gladly embraced by EC. However, the NDC, led by Ofosu-Ampofo, the party's director of elections, say they're going to fight tooth-and-nail, to oppose and stop EC from engaging the services of these highly numerate and intellectually savvy patriotic professionals. The argument of the NDC is that, these highly qualified professionals don't have any experience in collating electoral figures. The NDC is therefore demanding that the EC sticks to the services of illiterate people who record 27-and-zero as 270, because such people have supervised elections before, and therefore are experienced. But for me, this move by NDC is very tantamount to saying an illiterate traditional birth attendant, of many years, in a remote village where there is no light, water, health facility etc., is much experience and must therefore be trusted to offer safer delivery to expectant mothers, than a freshly-qualified gyaenacologist. The medical records fiasco Again, as a result of being bereft of ideas, the NDC has now resorted to shameful tactic of attacking the person of Nana Addo, with vile propaganda, uncouth vilification and outright lies. I have taken my time to analyze the so-called medical records of Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, as published by African watch magazine, in my capacity as a professional Medical Radiographer, and here are my observations/conclusions: 1. "He was diagnosed with prostate cancer in June 2013 with an abnormally high Prostate-Specific Antigen (PSA) count of 89.9 when, according to his British doctors, his normal upper limit of PSA should have been 3.72, a whole 86.18 points in the danger zone". My observations/conclusions: (i). A PSA count as high as 89.9 would have resulted in a full-blown aggressive cancer which would have then spread to other vital organs of the body, in what is known in medical terminology as "metastasis, and totally incapacitated the victim. 2. "A chest X-ray taken on January 14, 2014 showed him to have acute kidney injury, which kidney experts say is a serious condition that can leave sufferers in considerable pain". My observation/conclusion (i). Kidneys are not located in the thorax [chest]; they are located in the abdomen so when you want to take a radiograph of the kidneys, it is rather the abdomen which becomes the focal point. (ii). Kidneys are soft tissue organs, unlike bones which are easily visible in ordinary radiographic imaging. (iii). To examine the function of the kidneys by means of radiographic imaging, special dyes are intravenously administered after which images are taken at specified periods to demonstrate how the kidneys are getting rid[secretion] of the dye. 3. "And an examination on January 29, 2014 indicated that the NPP presidential candidates heart is enlarged and there is quite marked coronary artery calcification" Observation/Conclusion (i). the coronary artery supplies oxygenated blood to the heart. And when they describe something as "calcified", it simply means it has become hardened. (Ii). so a hardened coronary artery, as far back as 2014, would have long resulted in asphyxiated-related cardiac accident by now. But for Nana Addo to be moving about briskly on campaign tours across the country, and often speaking on platforms as late as 3am, is an indication that these so-called diagnosis about his health status are nothing but 'kweku ananse' stories which are completely alien in the field of medicine, and must fittingly be thrown into the trash-can with alacrity. As a matter of fact, after setting off at 6am, on 29th August, 2016, during the recent campaign tour of the three regions of the north, the Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo-led NPP team actually returned to their hotel in Walewale at 2:30am, on the dawn of the following day; and yet, all internal organs of Nana Addo are said not to be working? Indeed, the man is now proving to be highly immortal and this is why, as a people desirous of seeing our country's progression, must do whatever is humanly possible, to make him the president of Ghana, come 7th December, 2016. Justice Abeeku Newton-Offei E-mail: [email protected] A 30-year-old father of two has allegedly forced a 16-year-old boy to have anal sex with him at knifepoint. Police are investigating Eric Owusu who lives at Kpobikope in the Ga West District of the Greater Accra Region after the victims mother reported the incident. Joy News Kwetey Nartey who investigated the story reported that little Papa [ not his real name] has been left traumatised by the incident. Listen to audio Little Papa said he trusted Mr Owusu whom he called him uncle and looked up to him for inspiration and source of spiritual growth from the good book the Bible. I gave him respect because he usually advises me...that is why I gave him my number, he said. Thats how the friendship between little Papa and his perpetrator, Eric Owusu, begun. But, little did the 16-year-old know it was a ploy to take advantage of him. On that fateful day, little Papa had a call from Mr Owusu enquiring about where he was. He told Mr Owusu he had been sent by his parents, but, his new friend insisted he saw him before he carried out the errand. When they met, Mr Owusu pleaded with little Papa to escort him home to change his shirt. What happened when they got to the room still remains a nightmare haunting the little boy. He was asking me a lot of questions...when we got to his room, he asked me if I have watched pornography before. I answered no, he said. He again asked if I had watched men having sex with men before, I answered no and explained that our family does not condone such acts, he continued. When he refused to agree to Mr Owusus demand of having anal sex with him, he claims, he was threatened with a knife. When I tried to go he threatened me with a knife lying on the fridge...he later put the knife on the table beside where we were standing...I was scared he would hurt me with the knife, he said. According to the teenager, stricken by fear he agreed to have sex with him only if he would be the one playing the role of a man and his mentor playing the role of a woman. Little Papa was traumatized after the incident. According to his mum, Auntie Pat, she could not hold herself together after her son broke the news to her. I nearly fainted because I was shocked the mother explained to Kwetey Nartey. He was feeling very nervous...the reason was what he saw...he was very frightened. He told me that his penis was paining him, she said. According to doctors, little Papa appeared shocked and traumatized when he reported to the facility for examination. Medical records show he didnt sustain any physical injuries but he was given drugs for post-exposure symptoms and possible retroviral infections. Little Papa dilemma now is the last words his perpetrator left him with whether he knows where his soul will rest after death. He told me I was going to hell, little Papa recalled. Story by Ghana | Myjoyonline.com Economist, and member of the Finance Committee in Parliament, Dr. Anthony Akoto Osei has defended the legislature's decision to cap the Bank of Ghana (BoG) financing of government budget at 5 percent. His defense follows a press statement issued by the IMF over the weekend expressing dissatisfaction at some legislations passed by the House recently. As part of the IMF conditions, government was expected to eliminate central bank's financing from 10 percent to zero, while it removes government's representatives on the Monetary Policy Committee of the BoG. Parliament, however kept the BoG's ability to finance the government budget at 5 percent, while government's representatives on the Monetary Policy Committee of the BoG was scrapped. But speaking to Citi Business News, Dr. Anthony Akoto Osei maintained that even though the IMF can compel the Executive under its agreement, parliament cannot be forced to rubber stamp every government decision, hence parliament's rejected some of the requirements. Parliament is a sovereign body and parliament thought that for the nation Ghana, that was not the best option so parliament kept to that side. If they [IMF] had an agreement with government that parliament did not like, parliament has the right to reject it, he said. He maintained that the executive arm of government cannot dictate to parliament since the house is expected to serve as check on government expenditure. Citing the rigorous procedure that the bill went through in parliament, Dr. Akoto Osei stated that members considered the practicality of the proposals and its effect on the economy before maintaining the central bank's financing of government budget at 5 percent. The executive can go and enter into any form of agreement but for it to binding the peoples' representative must approve it. If parliament disagree with the executive, that will be it. The executive cannot force parliament to do things in a certain way just because it has bonded itself in an agreement with the IMF, he said. He stressed that under no circumstances should the nation Ghana be compelled to take decisions that are contrary to the views of the people. Reacting to a possibility of government coming back to parliament to amend the law, Dr. Akoto Osei stated that the move will be counterproductive and slap in the face of the executive. As far as am concerned, parliament has done it work and it is up to the executive to explain why parliament took that decision to the IMF. They must respect the parliament of Ghana, he said. IMF expresses dissatisfaction A team from the International Monetary Fund (IMF), led by Joel Toujas-Bernate, on a third review of Ghana's programme with the IMF questioned some legislations passed by parliament recently. Acoording to the team, outstanding questions remain with regards to certain elements of the legislations recently passed by Parliament and discussions will continue. Parliament recently passed the Bank of Ghana Amendment Bill which was critical to the IMF conditions in granting the central bank power, as well as eliminate government's budget financing by the BoG to zero percent. The release, which was copied to Citi Business News stated that the team visited Accra from August 29 to September 2, 2016 to continue discussions on the third review of Ghana's financial and economic program supported by the IMF's Extended Credit Facility (ECF) It stated that the team had constructive discussions with the authorities during the week on a few outstanding issues. The discussions focused mainly on updating the macroeconomic projections, firming up the fiscal outlook for 2016, and ascertaining that financial pressures faced by the main State Owned Enterprises (SOEs) in the energy sector will not pose additional risks to the central government budget, it said. The mission met with President John Dramani Mahama; Finance Minister Seth Terkper; Bank of Ghana Governor Dr. Abdul-Nashiri Issahaku; and other senior officials. By: Lawrence Segbefia/citibusinessnews.com/Ghana The Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) has issued new guidelines aimed at checking the rising incidence of fuel smuggling into Ghana. The new guidelines which took effect last week Thursday, September 1, is intended to end the abuse of the export and re-exports regimes of the industry. According to the GRA, any deviations from the new guidelines would constitute prima facia evidence of an attempt to breach Customs Control and would lead to perpetuators being penalized in line with existing legislation. Under the new directive, all traders who are engaged in the petroleum product export and re-export are required to abide by the guidelines for the documentation and removal of their respective consignments from the loading bay. Government is losing huge revenue due to the increasing number of smuggling incidents in the industry, but according to the GRA the new guidelines will end the increasing revenue loses. To reinforce the move, all exporters from the 1st of September 2016, are expected to obtain an export license from the National Petroleum Authority in order to be allowed to lift petroleum products for export/re-export from Ghana. They are also to apply to the Commissioner-General of the GRA for an estimate of the bond sum which shall include the type of products and corresponding quantities intended for export/re-export over a ninety day period which will include the country of export destination. An applicant shall also contact an insurance company to issue the bond and submit the bond to the Commissioner-General for authentication which will be submitted to the Assistant Commissioner of Customs, Tema Oil Refinery (TOR) to commence loading. According to the GRA, its Customs division will seal the loaded Bulk Road Vehicles (BRV) after loading and where an external agency has been contracted to seal the loaded trucks, customs seals shall be added. Drivers of the BRVs shall sign an undertaking with Customs before dispatch as each BRV carrying part of the consignment shall report to all the Customs checkpoints along the route for routine checks to be conducted. At any checkpoint, a checking officer shall record his/her findings on the Ghana Customs Management System (GCMS) or, where there is no GCMS workstation, a Customs Register has been designed for the purpose. Meanwhile the GRA says the guidelines are for strict enforcement and says any implementation difficulties should be addressed to the office of the Commissioner General of the GRA. By: Norvan Acquah-Hayford/citibusinessnews.com/Ghana The USAID Resiliency in Northern Ghana (RING), has deepened its advocacy on breastfeeding in the Northern Region. The organization is unhappy about the low rate at which breastfeeding is practiced in the region. According to the Northern Regional Health Directorate, exclusive breastfeeding in the region remained very low at 64.7%. But the USAID-RING project Nutrition Manager, Kristen Kappos has told Citi News the organization has intensified its advocacy to overturn the situation. She reiterated her call on nursing mothers to religiously practice exclusive stick beast feeding for the first six months of child birth. She said they could thereafter gradually introduce their babies to solid foods. Kristen Kappos said, Breast milk is nutritious and it prevents illnesses such as diarrhea, pneumonia and it helps the baby to grow strong and smart, she underscored. She said the USAID-RING project is fully committed to build stronger ties with relevant stakeholders in the health sector to combat malnutrition in rural Ghana. She thus pleaded with health workers, volunteers and farmers to intensify their advocacy on breastfeeding within their operational zones. The Resiliency in Northern Ghana (RING) project is a 5-year integrated project funded by the USAID Feed the Future (FtF) Initiative. It is designed to contribute to Government of Ghana (GoG) efforts to sustainably reduce poverty and improve the nutritional status of vulnerable populations. The goal of RING is improved livelihoods and nutritional status of households in Ghana. The project is being implemented in Chereponi, East Gonja, East Mamprusi, Karaga, Kpandai, Nanumba South, Saboba, Savelugu and Tolon districts. By: Abdul Karim Naatogmah/citifmonline.com/Ghana The Marketing Manager for Tigo Ghana Jesse Agyepong has resigned his post, StarrFMonline.com has learnt. It is unclear what triggered his resignation but StarrFMonline.com sources close to Agyepong say he has left the post to pursue a long held passion. Speculations are also rife that he has secured a hefty deal with another company within the sub region. Agyepong has played a key role in the transformation of the Tigo brand over the years. His professional career has seen him occupy some middle to senior level positions including Head of SME Business; Head of Enterprise services and Head of Customer Acquisitions. He joined Tigo from Vodafone Ghana where he was the Head of Consumer Marketing with the responsibility of developing and managing the Customer Acquisition roadmap, Data and VAS portfolios. Prior to Vodafone, Jesse worked for other Blue Chip companies including Philips (West-Africa), Airtel Ghana, Diageo (GGBL) and Charterhouse Ghana. A Journalist from the Daily Express Newspaper has been arrested for 'offensive conduct' by officials of the Ghana Police Service, for taking pictures of a policeman who was allegedly requesting a GHC5 bribe from a bus driver around Tesano in Accra. Details available as at press time indicate that Mr. Fred Sarpong, the Daily Express Journalist and his colleague, Raphael Apetorgbor witnessed a police officer demanding a GHC 5 bribe from a bus conductor around Tesano this afternoon and took his picture. Though, the situation that led to the request for a bribe remains unclear, we can confirm that Mr. Sarpong was arrested whisked off to the Tesano Police Station after being accosted and assaulted. He is currently behind bars. The Ghana Police Service is constantly battling extant perception of corruption within its ranks. There has been news of some police officers involved in all manner of crimes and fraudulent behaviours including armed robbery, assaults, bribery and corruption. In an attempt to fight the spate of indiscipline that has rocked the Service, Director General in charge of Police Operations, COP Christian Tetteh Yohonu, while instructing police officers to gun down their colleagues involved in armed robbery attacks recently, went further to admonish them to desist from brutalising innocent civilians. As the December polls are fast approaching, there is a growing anxiety among some journalists on how they would be handled by security agencies while conducting their normal duties, reporting all election-related issues from different parts of the country. In an interview on Adom News this afternoon, Raphael Afetorgbor of Daily Express recounted the episode that ensued and confirmed that Mr. Sarpong remains behind bars at the Tesano Police Station. Tunis (AFP) - Libyan politicians began Monday two days of UN-brokered talks in Tunis to discuss power struggles and jihadist threats that are undermining stability in the oil-rich country. The members of the Libyan Political Dialogue signed in December 2015 a political agreement that established the UN-backed Government of National Accord (GNA). But nine months on, the GNA led by Fayez al-Sarraj is still struggling to fully impose its legitimacy across the North African nation and facing rejection by Libya's parliament. The internationally recognised legislature has repeatedly refused to give the GNA the vote of confidence it needs in order to formally take office. On August 22, it again voted no confidence in the GNA and gave a nine-member presidential council headed by Sarraj a "final chance" to propose a new cabinet. Monday's talks also come as forces loyal to the GNA were facing stiff resistance from Islamic State group holdouts in the coastal city of Sirte. The pro-government forces launched an offensive in May to retake Sirte from IS jihadists, who had seized the hometown of slain dictator Moamer Kadhafi in June 2015. The capture of Sirte by IS sparked fears the jihadists would use the city as a springboard for attacks on Europe. National support for the GNA is seen as crucial to restoring stability and to tackling IS, which took advantage of the chaos that has gripped Libya since the 2011 uprising that ousted Kadhafi to take a foothold in the country. Jamel Achour, one of the participants at the Tunis talks, said the meeting was aimed at trying to "find urgent solutions to the stifling climate facing the country". "The Libyan nation needs the presidential council to take concrete steps... to solve the problems we and our children are facing," he said. Accra, Ghana (September 2,2016) An innovative initiative that will enhance food security and improve the livelihoods of children in orphanages and vulnerable communities across Africa was launch today by the Food for All Africa programme and participants of YALI West Africa cohort 4. The Food4All YALI cohorts Sustainable Farms Fund is aimed at supporting orphanages and vulnerable communities across Africa to have sustainable means of nutrition for their inmates and move away from the culture of depending on benevolent donations to feed their inmates. The fund was launched on 13th August, 2016 by Trigmatic, Goodwill Ambassador of Food for All Africa programme and cohorts 4 of the YALI West Africa RLC after 120 West Africans from Ghana, Nigeria, Liberia, Togo, Ivory Coast, Sierra Leone, Burkina Faso and Cameroun volunteered to recover, feed and support the Accra psychiatric hospital. Chef Elijah Amoo Addo, Founder of Food for All Africa programme indicated that over 95% of vulnerable communities across Ghana are faced with nutritional challenges whiles within the country a lot of food goes waste along the supply chain. This story is the same across the continent. His vision of creating sustainable means of nutrition for vulnerable communities across Africa will be achieved through the fund. Participants of YALI cohort raised an amount of GH1,106 as seed capital for the fund. Speaking on behalf of the cohorts at the presentation, Zakkiyyu Tindanyll indicated his groups willingness to work with Food for All Africa programme and stakeholders within Africas food supply chain to ensure the sustainability of the fund. President Obamas vision of creating the network for youths across Africa to work together in solving the problems that face our continent gave birth to the Young African Leadership Initiative which includes the Mandela Washington Fellowship,YALINetwork and the regional leadership centres.With the programme youths across Africa now believes in the Yes We Can spirit and with that spirit today we are launching the Food4All YALI Cohorts Sustainable Farms Fund to rewrite the nutritional and food security story of Africa by creating sustainable means of nutrition for vulnerable communities across the continent. Food for All is indeed a shared social responsibility.He added Goodwill Ambassador of Food for All Africa programme commended the efforts of the cohorts for not just feeding the beneficiaries of the programme but creating a fund to sustain it.I am very touch by the gesture exhibited by young African leaders like you. Today your names goes into the annals of history for teaching Africas vulnerable how to fish He encouraged Ghanaians and Africans to work together in creating efficiency within our food supply chain and called on all stakeholders to contribute towards the fund. 05.09.2016 LISTEN A journalist has been arrested by police in Tesano for allegedly taking photos of a police officer who was taking a bribe. Fred Sarpong who works for the Daily Express newspaper is alleged to have taken pictures of the police officer when he demanded GHS5 from a bus driver. He is currently behind bars. Narrating the incident to Joy News, a colleague Raphael Apetorgbor, who was at the scene said they witnessed the police officer glaringly demanding the money. He explained they decided to take pictures of the officer in their bid to get him on record. This infuriated the police officer who walked to Mr Sarpong and assaulted him and later whisked him off to the Tesano Police Station. Refresh the page for more... Story by Ghana | Myjoyonline.com A couple of days ago, I came across an article on one of the countrys media websites in which a virulent critic of the outgoing Moderator of the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church of Ghana (GA-PCG) was calling for Prof. Emmanuel Martey to be bumped off the National Peace Council (NPC) as a member representing the Christian Council of Ghana (CCG). The Christian Council is largely composed of the mainline protestant churches. Prof. Martey must have found such call to be very laughable because as he told an audience at the Abetifi Presbyterian University College recently, not only has he turned down the request of his CCG colleagues to represent the entire membership of the Council on the NPC, a deputy ministerial appointee in the Mahama-led government of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) has actually put through a personal phone call urging the Presbyterian prelate to vie for the Chairmanship of the Peace Council to no avail. This time around, however, Prof. Martey decided to take no hostages, in the evergreen words of late United States Republican President Ronald Reagan. Prof. Martey has finally named names, obviously because the issue at stake here appears to be less damning and somewhat less personal than those he has anecdotally narrated publicly that involved bribery and corruption. The common thread here, though, still verges on bribery and corruption. It well appears that somebody had decided that Rev. Martey was mordantly afflicted with an oversized ego and decided to trip the spiritual head of the Presbyterian Church of Ghana on the same. Predictably, here too, the trick and trap woefully misfired. Had Prof. Martey taken the bait, no doubt, it would have been the cheapest and most successful bribery attempt. You see, Christian religious leaders like the outgoing PCG prelate tell these odd-sounding stories in order to shore up the disciplinary will-power of their followers and associates. There is, of course, a striking element of self-glorification here; but such element of self-glorification is more incidental than it is the main focus of the anecdotal narrative. Dr. Martey revealed to his Abetifi audience that the cold-calculating ego-tripping ministerial appointee was none other than the Hon. Mr. James Agalga, Ghanas Deputy Minister of the Interior. According to the erudite narrator, as he was to learn shortly thereafter, Mr. Agalga had deliberated on this strategic tack aimed at buying off his complicit silence at the cheapest of budgetary expenditure with his immediate superior, the substantive Minister of the Interior, prior to an initial call put through to Prof. Martey which met with the absence of its intended target. A second attempt at snagging the human strategic target would come in the form of a text message, confirming the fact that, indeed, it was the deputy Interior ministerial second-bananas who had put through the initial call. In all the preceding, what is important and pertinent to underscore here is the fact that as an outspoken leader of a major Ghanaian church, unarguably one of the most progressive of its kind and size, Prof. Martey had become a thorn in the side of the National Democratic Congress. In those revolutionary bad, old days, the Accra native may well have been abducted in the thick of darkness to dance a Kpanlogo accompaniment to the Adowa and Abomaa dance steps of the three Akan-descended Accra High Court judges savagely abducted from the sacred comfort of their homes and brutally murdered by assigns of the Rawlings-Tsikata regime. We do not make the foregoing observations to imply that, somehow, Prof. Martey is lucky to be living in a more auspicious and enlightened time. It is quite certain that rather than being a passive beneficiary of the times, Prof. Martey could actually be aptly envisaged as one of the beneficent human social forces that have prevented the country from relapsing into the barbaric culture of yesteryear. That he is completely unfazed, rather than determined, to be made a martyr of a godly cause, should the need and occasion arise, is a benevolent trait of Moderator Martey that ought to be unreservedly celebrated in both Ghana and abroad. It is also his dogged determination to hold onto the courage of his convictions that makes Moderator Martey the most dangerous critic of the Mahama-led government of the so-called National Democratic Congress. *Visit my blog at: kwameokoampaahoofe.wordpress.com Ghanaffairs Misrata (Libya) (AFP) - Yellow-and-blue fighter jets sit neatly lined up on the tarmac at the air force academy in Libya's Misrata, no longer awaiting students but orders for strikes against the Islamic State group. The military college has been transformed into a major base in the battle against the jihadists since they gained ground in the country in the turmoil that followed the 2011 uprising. For a year and half its planes -- flown mainly by former instructors in their 40s and 50s -- have been carrying out strikes against IS, and for several months they have been targeting what was their main stronghold in North Africa. IS took over Sirte some 250 kilometres (150 miles) east of Misrata in June last year, sparking fears the jihadists would use the Mediterranean city as a launchpad for attacks in Europe. Forces loyal to the UN-backed government this June fought their way into Sirte and have since pushed back IS fighters into one last district of the city. At the air force academy in Misrata, two pilots board a fighter jet don their helmets and wait for the signal to fly off on a reconnaissance mission of IS targets. "We know this terrorist organisation operates worldwide," Brigadier-General Rajab Abdaraheem says, referring to IS. 'Defending the world' Aero L-39 Albatros (top) and MIG-23 fighter jets (bottom) of the Libyan Air Force sit on the tarmac at the air college in the coastal Libyan city of Misrata on September 4, 2016 "When I'm up in the air about to hit an IS target, I feel like I'm defending my country and the world," says the 57-year-old pilot who has been flying since he graduated in 1982. Since it opened in 1975, more than 30 classes of around 1,000 trainee pilots have graduated from the academy. The school trained officers from Libya and other countries in the Arab world until the 2011 uprising that toppled and killed longtime dictator Moamer Kadhafi. The academy saw heavy fighting between the rebels and fighters loyal to Kadhafi and was damaged in NATO strikes backing the opposition who retook the area. The door of the main maintenance hangar at the academy is still peppered with bullet holes. After 2011 "we renovated the facilities... but when the situation in Libya didn't stabilise the academy became a (military) base," says Brigadier-General Abderahman Mohammad. Officers -- most of whom had graduated for the academy in the 1980s and 1990s -- transformed the college's training aircraft into warplanes, equipping them with rockets and missiles, they say. The aircraft date mainly from the Kadhafi era and include some two dozen ageing jets including Russian-made MiG-23s, Yugoslav Soko G-2 Galebs and Czech L-39s, as well as helicopters. Beyond the tarmac, dozens of empty wooden boxes that used to contain missiles lie empty in the dust. The base's forces "quashed any fantasy IS might have had, prevented it from expanding and limited the movements of its members," says Mohammad Qanono, a spokesman at the airfield. 1,400 sorties Since March last year -- when the first jet took off from the base on a mission against IS -- until Sunday, the academy's planes had carried out 1,400 sorties on missions to survey and strike IS targets, he says. Around 600 of those missions have been logged since May and were mostly against IS positions in Sirte and in the desert to the south of the city. Since the battle for Sirte began on May 12, pilots at the base have also been tasked with ferrying out wounded loyalist fighters in helicopters to the Misrata hospital. More than 400 fighters loyal to the Tripoli-based government have been killed and about 2,500 wounded since the start of the offensive. And since the start of last month, forces backing the Government of National Accord have also been supported by US air strikes. On Friday, the United States Africa Command said that since the US campaign began on August 1, US drones, helicopters and bombers had carried out a total of 108 air strikes against the jihadists in Sirte. "We asked for... US air strikes because the US air force is very precise," says Qanono. Electoral Commission officers at Hohoe in the Volta Region, have been accused of deducting Ghc20 each from allowances of officers contracted for the recent exhibition of voters' register exercise. Citi News' Volta Regional correspondent, Gratham Macintosh, who has been investigating the matter, reports that the officers have threatened to blacklist anyone who refuses to pay the Ghc20. Over 400 people were hired by the Electoral Commission for its exhibition exercise in Hohoe. Exhibition officers are paid GHC600, while verification officers take home GHC550. An officer who spoke to Citi News on condition of anonymity confirmed the deductions. We were invited to come for our money for the exhibition of the voters register. When we got here, we were asked to pay 20 cedis which is illegal. Personally I refused to pay and for that matter they said my name will be deleted. Next time, I won't be invited, and people paid, he said. He added that, those who paid had 20 cedis written against their names. So I asked the man why we are paying 20 cedishe just cancelled the 20 cedis written against my name and asked me to go and I left with my moneyas you can see, this is my money, 550 cedis. I didn't pay a dime. Citi News' effort to speak with the Electoral Commission's Hohoe District officers was fruitless as they refused to grant any interviews. Tamale EC officers threaten to boycott exhibition over allowance Electoral Commission recruits in Tamale in July threatened to boycott the provisional voters' register exhibition exercise if their allowances were not adjusted upwards. They declared their stance in protest against the GHc30 given to them as allowances after undergoing a three-day intensive capacity building workshop ahead of the exercise. By: Eugenia Tenkorang/citifmonline.com/Ghana Follow @eugeniatenkoran Libreville (AFP) - Gabon's failed presidential candidate Jean Ping on Monday called for a general strike after days of violence following incumbent Ali Bongo's disputed re-election, saying an economic blockage would "topple the tyrant." Despite Ping's appeal, the centre of the capital Libreville was its usual bustling self on Monday as France said several of its dual citizens were "unaccounted for" following clashes and mass arrests. After being shuttered for days over the post-election violence, banks and shops were re-opened in the seaside city and taxis were returning to the streets. According to an AFP count, post-election chaos has claimed at least seven lives in the oil-rich central African nation, ruled by the Bongo family since 1967. Gabonese authorities, however, said Monday the toll was three killed and 105 wounded, with the government saying some deaths had previously been incorrectly attributed to the clashes. Bongo's rival Ping, a veteran diplomat who has held a top African Union job and served as foreign minister, has vowed to challenge the election results. Gabon shaken by election violence "We cannot accept that our people will be killed like animals without reacting," Ping said on Facebook. "I propose to cease all activity and begin a general strike," he wrote. "We must use all means of resistance to topple this tyrant and believe me, he is on the verge of falling." Bongo was declared victorious by a razor-thin margin of just under 6,000 votes, but Ping has insisted the vote was rigged and on Friday claimed victory for himself. He is calling for a recount -- something the Gabonese authorities have so far refused to do. Speculation has mounted that Ping could launch an appeal for a recount at the Constitutional Court. However many of his supporters feel this is not a viable option as they question the court's impartiality. They say fraud was rampant, notably in the Bongo fiefdom of Haut-Ogooue in the east. It is one of the country's nine provinces and turnout there, according to official figures, crossed 99 percent with 95 percent voting for the president. International concern Meanwhile, a high-level African Union delegation including "African heads of state" is ready to be dispatched to Libreville to help calm the situation, AU chairman and Chad President Idriss Deby said. Post-election unrest has claimed at least seven lives in oil-rich Gabon, ruled by the Bongo family since 1967 As the turmoil continued, Gabon's justice minister Seraphin Moundounga announced his resignation, the first high-level departure from the government since the unrest began. The violence after the announcement of the results on Wednesday has sparked international concern with top diplomats calling for restraint as rights groups raised alarm over the use of excessive force. Some 800 people have been arrested in recent days in the capital, with the authorities accusing them of looting, while lawyers say they are being held in "deplorable" conditions. "Arrests have been carried out in recent days. Several French compatriots are unaccounted for," according to a statement from French Foreign Affairs Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault. They are believed to be roughly 10 dual French-Gabonese nationals who cannot be located, according to a diplomatic source. Anxious family members crowded before the court house in Libreville, hoping to catch a glimpse of loved ones missing since the rioting. 'Lull before the storm' Several prisoners on Monday told AFP they had been beaten, denied food and water or questioned harshly by authorities. "There were no toilets. We slept in our pee," said a man who asked that his name be given as Matthieu to protect his identity. "I asked for water. A guard put some water in a lid and told me 'Three lids, no more,'" he said. A man holds a placard reading, "Bongo get out!" during a demonstration in support of the Gabonese people, at the Esplanade du Trocadero in Paris, on September 3, 2016 UN chief Ban Ki-moon spoke to both Bongo and Ping on Sunday and "deplored the loss of life", a UN statement said. "He expressed concern about the continuing inflammatory messages being disseminated and called for an immediate end to all acts of violence in the country," it said. Tensions remained high in the economic capital Port-Gentil and Total workers turned up for the first since Tuesday, a management source in the French oil giant told AFP. A Total worker said there had been gunshots heard in the city overnight. Gabon's sole refinery remains closed. The troubles have also caused prices to rocket. "Four chillies now cost 1,000 CFA francs (1.5 euros, $1.6) against 200 to 300 CFA francs earlier," said Andre, a resident from Lalala-a-gauche, a working class area in Libreville. "This is the lull before the storm," said a fruit and vegetable wholesaler, speaking the central town of Lambarene. The country had previously enjoyed relative political stability, mainly because former colonial power France helped Omar Bongo rule for 41 years. After he died in June 2009, his son Ali won an election but opposition media claimed he had essentially been installed by France. The National Democratic Congress (NDC) will release highlights of its manifesto before publishing the full document according to the party's Campaign Coordinator, Kofi Adams. Speaking on the Citi Breakfast Show, he indicated on the September 12 or 13, the NDC will release highlights of the manifesto and subsequently launch the full document a week later. Aside from the Progressive People's Party (PPP), all the other major political parties are yet to launch their manifestos with about three months to the elections raising concern from some stakeholders and civil society groups. The NDC had earlier said that it would launch its manifesto three weeks after its campaign launch on August 14 but the Kofi Adams stated that circumstances beyond our control have affected that launch. Nonetheless, he still reiterated the NDCs assertions that their manifesto has been long ready. According to him, given the schedule of the party flagbearer, President John Mahama, the NDC decided that highlights of the manifesto we could do in a week day, considering the fact that all these activities are being occupied with one major event or the other, let His Excellency the President and Vice President lead the process in doing the highlights of our manifesto which has long been ready, he stated. So, we have proposed 12 or 13 of September for the highlights of our manifesto which will involve people like the media especially who will have to carry that message, Kofi Adams added. By: Delali Adogla-Bessa/citifmonline.com/Ghana Follow the hashtag #GhElections on social media for more election related stories The Public Utilities Regulatory Commission (PURC) has threatened to arrest the Managing Director of the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG) if staff fail to restore services to customers. According to Public Relations Officer of the Commission, Nana Yaa Jantuah, the customers are rather bearing the brunt of their (ECG) agitation over the proposed privatization of ECG. Workers of power distributor, Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG), are continuing their sit down strike Monday to get government to shelve plans to privatise the power company. The workers last week suspended services for three hours of each working day for three days. Customers who went to offices of the ECG to buy recharge units were left disappointed as offices were closed to them. Speaking on Asempa FM's Ekosii Sen programme Monday, Ms. Jantuah said ECG risks being sanctioned if the strike persists. She explained that, the law governing their operations states The Supplier shall ensure that facilities for the purchase of units for prepayment meters are available at all its customer service centers between the hours of 8.00am to 5.00pm each working day, therefore, denying customers the opportunity to buy recharge unites amounts to an illegality. Consumers are queuing at private vending points who have a quota and will be running out of credit. What is ECG doing to address the situation? she quizzed. The PURC PRO was convinced ECG workers have lost public support in their campaign to get government to rescind its decision to privatize the power distribution company. Customers are angry due to the strike and they are now calling for ECG to be privatized because the private vendors are serving them well she stated. She said they have written to the management of ECG to, with immediate effect, restore services to Ghanaians. Rather than declaring strike, Nana Yaa Jantuah advised ECG staff to negotiate with government for an amicable solution to the problem. Meanwhile, out of the over 60 companies that expressed interest in the Private Sector Participation in the ECG, the Millennium Development Authority has shortlisted six, out of which one will eventually be selected as the concessionaire. Two of the companies are consortiums while the remaining four are bidding individually. Barring any last-minute hitches, ECG should be handed over to a concessionaire in January 2017. -Adomonline As Africas most populous country, the Minister highlighted that Nigerias success matters to the UK and to the African continent as a whole: a stable, secure and prosperous Nigeria means economic opportunities for British businesses and a safer, more secure UK. Minister Wharton travelled to Kaduna - a key partner state for the UK and went onto Lagos. He saw how UK support is helping develop the essential building blocks for prosperity. In Abuja, Minister Wharton discussed the ongoing security and humanitarian challenges in the North East, and observed the ways in which emergency aid is being distributed across the region to transform the lives of some of the most vulnerable people. To date, this UK support via the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) has helped provide tens of thousands of people affected by Boko Harams insurgency with medical assistance and access to food and clean water. Minister Wharton said: Nigerias success truly matters to the UK and to Africa as a whole. It is a tragedy that the conflict in the north east of the country has left millions of people in urgent need of shelter, protection, food and emergency health care. On this visit I saw for myself some of the humanitarian aid from the British people going to those in such desperate need. This UK support is helping to improve security and stability. My visit is further evidence that the UK is an outward-looking, globally engaged nation, and I want to deepen the broad range of support and assistance we provide Nigeria, including in health, education and economic reform as part of that. As we move to seize the opportunities presented by leaving the European Union, we are all the more determined to work together on tackling big challenges facing the country which is both in Nigeria and the UKs interests. Looking at a broad range of development assistance, the Minister also signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Kaduna State Government and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation to promote stronger primary health services in poor, rural communities, including maternal and new born health care, immunisation and HIV/AIDS. Nigeria is one of Africas largest economies. As such, Minister Wharton also used his time in the country to promote British business as a key partner in helping Nigeria achieve its huge potential. Paris (AFP) - Islamic State group fighters could flee to Egypt or Tunisia after being flushed from their former Libyan stronghold of Sirte, French Defence Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian warned Monday. "We should begin to look seriously at the question of the spread of the terrorists," Le Drian told a defence conference in Paris after Libyan pro-government forces recaptured most of Sirte from IS. "Indirectly this will pose new risks for Tunisia and Egypt." Akufo-Addo's promise to build 1 dam in each village of the Northern region is an avenue to breed mosquitoes, Dr. Henry Lartey, presidential candidate of the Great Consolidated Popular Party (GCPP), has said. Speaking in an interview with rainbowradioonline.com on the feasibility of the policy promised by the flagbearer of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), the agronomist said, Akufo-Addo should not be trusted because his promises, are deceptive. Dr. Henry Lartey questioned if the NPP had done the needed feasibility study before making the promise of constructing a dam in each village of the Northern region. ''Does Nana Addo want to breed mosquitoes in these villages? Have they put in an infrastructure for feeder roads? Have they put in infrastructure to help farmers? What do they want to grow there? Just because you want to win an election, you are promising 1 village, 1 dam. This is not feasible. It is a hoodwink.'' Dr. Lartey cautioned Ghanaians against the NPP and its policies. To him, if voters want to trust the policies of the NPP, then they should measure their performance when they were in power. The NPP he said had HIPC money yet they failed to use the money judiciously. ''They didn't have to pay any debt. Couldn't they have used the HIPC money to do what they are now promising us?...They shouldn't play politricks with us because Ghanaians are now discerning, very very discerning. They know what is going on. Nana Addo is a good friend. Bawumia is also a good friend, but when you have a policy that do not wash, i will not support you. We want something to help Ghana and our farmers. But what you are saying, is a hoodwinking.'' He added, ''they [NPP] had eight years of HIPC and if they were unable to do what they are now promising, how can they do it today?...Don't say things just to win elections...We want Ghanaians to have jobs and so if you want to help farming and you just go and dig dams, but don't give them all the necessary financing and put in the needed infrastructure, the foods will rot in the bush. And if they don't produce, it is going to create mosquitoes. These dams will create mosquitoes. Has Akufo-Addo thought about that?'' Farmers he said should be helped to get global gap certification to enable them export outside Ghana, while manufactures are also assisted to get ISO certification to help them enter into the global market. Dr. Henry Lartey recommended drip irrigation to the dams promised by Aky=ufo Addo since its cheaper and mosquito free. Drip irrigation is a form of irrigation that saves water and fertilizer by allowing water to drip slowly to the roots of many different plants, either onto the soil surface or directly onto the root zone, through a network of valves, pipes, tubing, and emitters. Nana Addo with one of the Gonja chiefs 05.09.2016 LISTEN Some chiefs in the Gonjaland including the Overlord of the Gonja Traditional Council, Yabgonwura Tutumba Bore Essah I have denied endorsing leader of the main opposition party Nana Addo Danquah Akufo-Addo, at their palaces during his campaign visit. Nana Addo and his running mate Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia as part of a five-day campaign tour of the Northern region extended courtesy calls on prominent chiefs on whose traditional area he visited. The flagbearer on the last leg of the tour of the region went to the palaces of some chiefs in the Gonja traditional area including the Chief of Yapei, Yapeiwura Soale Alhassan and the Jakpa Palace which houses Overlord of Gonja kingdom. At the respective palaces, the chiefs were widely reported to have endorsed Nana Addo to occupy the presidency. The Yagbonwura was alleged to have told Nana Addo We have heard what you are saying to us. We will back you with prayers. The presidency is yours,. The report also suggested that Chief of Yapei described President Mahama as a bad kinsman for failing to provide them good drinking water. But, the Chiefs have slammed the report describing it as machinations and lies. The angry chiefs said the deliberate misrepresentation of their pronouncements is unfortunate and must be withdrawn. I the Yapeiwura, wish to state emphatically and to place on record that, I did not make such a statement when the flagbearer of the NPP visited my palace. I wish to state here that I am very much aware chiefs by law are not supposed to declare open support for or mount any political platform. I therefore find it most unfortunate that these statements are attributed to no less a person than I, the Yapeiwura, Chief of Yapei said in an issued disclaimer. Registrar of the Gonja Traditional Area, Mr. Kapori also speaking to Ultimate News said Yagbonwura Tutumba Bore Essah did not endorsed the opposition leader. Mr. Kapori said the Yagbonwura as an agent for development only shared problems facing his jurisdiction to Nana Addo reminding him not to turn his back against his people if voted to power. Yagbonwura under no circumstances in his palace endorsed anybody that the person is becoming the leader of Ghana, the disclaimer said. The Chiefs are therefore demanding a recant and apology from the NPP or risk being prevented from holding their activities at the Palaces. Meanwhile, NPP has said there was nothing to apologise for, maintaining that the chiefs overtly endorsed the bid of its presidential candidate. The Northern regional deputy secretary Haruna Iddrisu indicated if youre hoping that Nana Addo is giving the flagstaff house and that they have a president coming from the Gonjaland but they dont have a public place of convenience ,they dont have drinking water, they dont have a secondary school, that we termed as an endorsement, they are our chiefs if we have done something wrong we will apologize but Im yet to know what we have done wrong, Haruna added. The outgoing Moderator of the Presbyterian Church of Ghana, Reverend Professor Emmanuel Martey, has hit back at the former Public Relations Officer (PRO) of the church, who accused him of taking a $100,000 bribe from some politicians to silence him. Reverend Martey at a news conference last week claimed that some politicians attempted to bribe him with huge sums of money, a promise to gift him a house and a Four wheel drive to keep mute. A few days later, a former PRO of the church, Emmanuel Osei Akyeampong, accused the outgoing Moderator of collecting the said amount in his presence. But speaking at the Abetifi Presbyterian College of Education over the weekend, Reverend Martey said Emmanuel Osei Acheampong should not be taken serious. This he said is because he was not even available on the days the former PRO claimed the incident occurred. That date also 28th July 2013 was SundayI checked my date, that Sunday I was in one of the presbyteries, I wasn't in Accra. Then the following day he changed and said it was not 2013; but 2012 and that 2012 also fell on Saturday. The devil is a liar, he added. Presby church backs Moderator The Presbyterian Church of Ghana last week hit back at claims made by the former PRO. The Church, in a statement, described the allegations made by Akyeampong as 'malicious lies.' Mr. Akyeampong has resorted to character assassination of some top officials of the Presbyterian Church of Ghana especially the Moderator, Rev. Professor Emmanuel MarteyIt therefore does not make sense that on July 28th, more than one month after his dismissal Professor Emmanuel Martey would invite Mr. Akyeampong to the office of a political party to receive a bribe, the church said in a statement. -Citifmonline Antananarivo (AFP) - Five people were charged and remanded in custody Monday over the murder in August of two young French volunteers on an island off Madagascar, a police official told AFP. "Five people, including a French national, were charged with murder. Four other suspects have been released," said Elien Rajaonson, who heads the police criminal investigation division. All nine of the original suspects were brought before a judge on Monday in Tamatave, the capital of the island of Sainte Marie. On August 21, the bodies of the two French citizens, a man and a woman in their 20s, were found on a beach of the island of Sainte Marie with head injuries. They had been volunteering at Cetamada, a local environmental non-profit organisation working to protect ocean mammals. Among those remanded in custody in connection with the crime was the French boyfriend of one of the victims, who lived on the island. According to authorities on Sainte Marie, an island famous for eco-tourism, it is the first time French citizens have been murdered there. In 2012, a French couple was found dead on a beach in southern Madagascar. A year later two Europeans, suspected of involvement in the death of an eight-year-old local boy, were attacked and killed by a mob on the northwest island of Nosy Be. Paris (AFP) - France said Monday 'several' of its dual citizens are unaccounted for in Gabon after the deadly unrest that followed the contested re-election of President Ali Bongo. "Arrests have been carried out in recent days. Several French compatriots are unaccounted for," according to a statement from French Foreign Affairs Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault. They are believed to be roughly 10 dual French-Gabonese nationals who cannot be located, according to a diplomatic source. Mildred Siabi-Mensah, GNA Takoradi, Sept. 5, GNA - The leadership of the Western and Central offices of the National Peace Council, on Monday, urged the Government to be more responsive towards providing the needs of the Council to enable it to perform creditably. The chairmen of the two regional councils said the lack of vehicles and logistics mostly hindered their work, said at a training programme. 'For example, only five out of the 85 flash points in the Western Region were visited and educated on the need to maintain peace and stability in the Region, the Reverend John Kwofie of the Western Region, explained. Rev. Kwofie said, 'This calls for your support to enable us scale up our activities in the Region'. He said there was the need to deploy different strategies to ensure that the December General Election was also peaceful. 'Although we are under the Ministry of the Interior, we are like babies without parents, therefore, it is making our growth and performance extremely difficult,' said Dr. Kenneth Aikins of the Central Region. The two-day training programme was run at Takoradi for the regions to equip the participants with intelligence skills, especially to operate in violent prone areas, to pick up early warning signals and mitigate them so that they do not degenerate into violence. The training would thus enable the participants, who are members of the Early Warning and Response Groups, to track and respond quickly to emerging issues that would come up in the political discourse. The United Nations Development Programme and United States Agency for International Affairs, sponsored the training programme. The National Peace Council is an independent statutory national peacehttp://mint.gov.gh/peace/index_htm_files/0.gif institution established by the eight hundred and eighteenth (818) Act of Parliament, National Peace Council Act,http://mint.gov.gh/peace/index_htm_files/0.gif 2011. http://mint.gov.gh/peace/index_htm_files/0.gif The core function of the Council is to facilitate and develophttp://mint.gov.gh/peace/index_htm_files/0.gif mechanism to prevent, manage, and resolve conflict and to build sustainablehttp://mint.gov.gh/peace/index_htm_files/0.gif peace in Ghana. GNA Accra, Sept. 5, GNA - Mr Daniel Agyin, National Deputy Director for Gospel Music, of the Musicians Union of Ghana has been appointed as Peace Ambassador. A statement issued in Accra and copied to the Ghana News Agency by Mr Promise Edem Nukunu, Acting Secretary-General of Peace Aid International said Mr Agyin's appointment was because of his dedication and love for peace and a better Africa. The statement said Goldmann would use his portfolio as a musician to promote peace and render philanthropic service to Peace Aid International through advocacy for the right of all and to stand for justice and peace. It said: 'Kikawoho,' an eight track gospel album with five vocals and three instrumentals produced by Goldmann would be launched before the end of 2016. 'Goldmann hopes to use the album to promote peace in Ghana and Africa as part of his responsibilities as the Peace ambassador,' it said. Peace Aid International is a not for profit organisation that promotes peace and justice through advocacy. GNA By Mildred Siabi-Mensah, GNA Takoradi, Sept. 5, GNA - The National Development Planning Commission (NDPC) has held a consultative meeting on the implementation of the 'The Corridor Development for West Africa Growth Ring Master Plan (WAGRIC)' in Takoradi in the Western Region. The WAGRIC is an integrated development of corridor infrastructure and economic sectors along a transport corridor along Ghana, Ivory Coast, Togo and Burkina Faso. Mr Kwaku Adjei-Fosu, Deputy Director of the NDPC said the project has been initiated to help balance economic development between coastal and inland areas in the four areas by utilizing development potentials in countries as well as solving transportation bottlenecks. The target year of the strategic master plan in the long term is 2040. Meanwhile plenary works had been carried out from June 2015 and expected to end by March 2017. The Deputy Director said, the Accra-Ouagadougou stretch would witness development such as agriculture and agro-processing in Bagrepole, manufacturing in Tamale, Kumasi and Ouagadougou and Iron ero in Shieni Dsitrict. The Abidjan-Lagos Corridor would have the coastal belt with large urban accumulations, ports and economic sectors. Mr Adjei-Fosu said the basic approaches to the project would be the integration of development for corridor infrastructure and economic sectors and the combination of private investment and government budgets, adding: ' Both public and private investment are required for promoting this project.' The Deputy Director said by 2040, most trunk roads would be upgraded into high speed way within Tema to tamale though Accra and Kumasi to attract both foreign and local investment to northern areas of Ghana. He said the eastern Corridor and Tema port would be enhanced together with the central corridor in order to compete with Lome-Ouagadougou as well as with Abidjan-Ouagadougou corridor. Mr Adjei-Fosu said there would also be balanced regional development along Eastern, Central and Western Corridors. Some participants during group presentations entreated government and its partners to undertake proper feasibility and research on the affected areas of the projects put in place good mitigation measures to avoid conflict and violence in affected neighborhoods. GNA By Yussif Ibrahim, GNA Nkwanta (Ash), Sept 05, GNA - The Asante-Akim South District Chief Executive (DCE), Mr. De-graft Forkuo, has asked his colleague politicians to be sincere in the election promises they make to voters. He said they should not in their desperation for political power engage in deception - telling people things, they know they could possibly not do. That, he warned, would be costly as it would make the electorate to lose confidence in them. Mr. Forkuo was speaking at the 41st annual conference of the Juaso District Women's Fellowship of the Presbyterian Church of Ghana held at Nkwanta near Juaso. 'The anointing of the Holy Spirit; the role of a woman', was the theme chosen for the event and attended by delegates from across the district. The DCE, who is the governing National Democratic Congress (NDC) parliamentary candidate for the area, underlined the need for all political actors to ensure decent and responsible conduct as the nation inched closer to polls. The election campaign should be on message and not insults and aggressive political rhetoric. He said it was important for everybody to be mindful of their actions and inactions to safeguard the unity, peace and stability of the society. Mr. Forkuo pointed out that since the ultimate goal of the political parties was to help maintain and improve the quality of life of the people, there was absolutely no reason for them to 'see the election as make or break affair'. He urged the leadership of the parties to educate their supporters to be tolerant of views and opinions other than what they held and said that was the beauty of democracy. He also asked that the church took centre stage in efforts at dialing down tension by talking everybody out of violence and recklessness. He encouraged the women not to sit on the sidelines but to join the peace campaign. The Reverend Emmanuel Kwame Nyarko, the District Minister, rallied Christians to pray unceasingly for God's continued gift of peace. GNA By Albert Futukpor, GNA Tamale, Sept 5, GNA - The National Democratic Congress (NDC) has launched its Tamale South Constituency campaign targeting to win not less than 70,000 votes in the constituency in the general election in December. Mr Alban Bagbin, the Majority Leader in Parliament, who led some prominent members of the NDC to address the teeming supporters at the Vittin SHS Park in Tamale, said garnering at least 70,000 votes in the Constituency would help the Party to retain power. Mr Bagbin said the NDC had targeted a two-thirds majority in the next Parliament, and urged the supporters to work hard to achieve that target. He described Mr Haruna Iddrisu, the Member of Parliament (MP) for the area, who is seeking reelection, as a 'valuable person' and told the constituents not to limit the number of terms he (Haruna Iddrisu) would serve as their MP. Dr Edward Omane Boamah, the Minister for Communications, expressed confidence in the constituents to deliver the targeted number of votes to ensure a resounding victory for the NDC. Dr Boamah said Mr Iddrisu had placed the Tamale South Constituency on the political map of the country, adding that the MP had excelled in all his fields of endeavour, including as a student leader and a politician. Alhaji Inusah Fuseini, the Minister for Roads and Highways, said the NDC had the North at its heart hence the numerous development projects delivered in the Region, and urged them to vote massively for the Party. Mr Iddrisu, who is also the Minister for Employment and Labour Relations, assured the constituents of continually working hard to address their challenges. The constituents should also work hard to retain President John Mahama to complete an eight-year tenure, he said. The Tamale South Constituency, a stronghold of the NDC, recorded more than 65,000 votes for the Party in the last general election. GNA Accra, Sept. 5, GNA - Information reaching the Ghana News Agency indicates that there is an uneasy calm at the Customs Division of the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA). This follows the refusal of Management to comply with a Supreme Court judgment in February 2009 that the Officers of the Division cannot unionize. The Supreme Court again in November 2015 ruled that the workers cannot unionize after a staff had petitioned the highest court for the enforcement of its earlier ruling in 2009. The leadership of the Senior Staff and the Junior Staff Association have made a number of requests to the GRA Management to stop deducting Trade Union Dues from the salaries of the personnel, but Management had been adamant to their request. Coming under pressure from the rank and file, the leadership of the Labour groups in the Customs Division (Staff Associations, Public Services Workers Union (PSWU) and the Ghana Revenue Authority Workers Union) petitioned the Office of the Employment and Labour Relations Minister requesting his intervention. After a crucial meeting Management initiated action to resolve the impasse. source told the GNA that a Memorandum written by the Deputy Commissioner of Finance on August 11, 2016, instructing the Head of GRA Pay Roll to stop deductions of Trade Union Dues from the salaries of the Officers of Customs Division with effect from August, this year, suggests that there was an attempt to stop the deductions. However, in a sudden twist, a new Memo from management was forwarded to the Head of Pay Roll to disregard the earlier directive. This angered Officers of the Customs Division, who have vowed to leave no stone unturned at ensuring that the GRA Management complies with the Supreme Court ruling. Speaking under the condition of animosity, a GRA staff, who is not a Customs Officer, told the GNA that the leadership of Customs had back tracked on their earlier instructions to stop the deductions after intense pressure from the leadership of the PSWU of the Domestic Tax Revenue Division and the leadership of their mother union. The investigations further revealed that most Management staff are not happy about the posture of the GRA PSWU leadership. A retired Customs Officer, who was processing his retirement claims expressed worry that without consenting to any union membership, the PSWU Trade |Union Dues was deducted from his monthly salary from April 2011 till his exit this year. He was emphatic that he and some of his retired colleagues will join forces with the labour groups in Customs Division to cite GRA Management for contempt. The source hinted that the Customs Officers may decide to be quite under the circumstance and adopt various tactics that might affect productivity. They were of the view that the Ministry, should as a matter of urgency, have audience with the labour groups in Customs Division to settle the issue before it is too late. GNA Accra, Sept. 5, GNA - Accra Brewery Limited (ABL) has donated GHa 40, 000 towards the 32nd National Farmers Day celebration in furtherance of its commitment to the growth and development of the agricultural sector. ABL also gave out 220 assorted cases of its products valued at GHa 6,440. Additionally, three communities in the Volta, Upper East and Western Regions would each be provided with a mechanised solar powered borehole and a furrow irrigation system at a total cost of GHa 308,000. This brings ABL's total sponsorship for the 2016 Farmers Day celebration to GHa 354,440. Corporate and Legal Affairs Director of ABL, Ms Adjoba Kyiamah, made the presentation at the Ministry of Food and Agriculture. Ms Kyiamah spoke about the company's continuous desire to improve the livelihoods of rural farmers. 'It is our desire to support the creation of a productive world where land is used responsibly, food supply is secure, biodiversity is protected and brewing crops can be accessed at reasonable prices. We appreciate that the crops used to brew beer are an integral part of the food system,' she said. 'Examples in Ghana include cassava, maize and sorghum. These are major staple foods for many across the country and so we want to help both commercial and smallholder farmers increase yields and profitably while reducing environmental impact, to ensure brewing crops are profitable to famers, whilst at the same time measurably improve both food security and resource productivity,' she added. She said sustainable development is a key ambition of the company 'and we believe that the long-term sustainability of our business depends on growing economies, healthy communities and responsible use of scarce natural resources'. In line with this, the company's Eagle Lager is being developed as a 'brand with a purpose' to 'grow economies' through agro-based and social intervention programmes such as the construction of three boreholes and irrigation systems. Last year, we undertook a similar project for a community in the Upper East Region. According to Ms Kyiamah, the three projects are being powered by the Eagle Lager brand, hence, the code name Eagle farmer initiative. 'We are celebrating 85 years of producing quality and refreshing beverages in Ghana and we deem it fit to scale up our contribution to the farming community. Last year we gave a cheque for GHa 20, 000 but we have now increased it to GHa 40,000. Our company does business in a way that improves livelihoods and helps build communities'. The Chairman of the National Farmers Day Planning Committee, Dr Ahmed Yakubu Alhassan who is also the Deputy Minister of Food and Agriculture, expressed government's gratitude to ABL for its unwavering support to farmers in the country since the inception of the awards scheme. The Ministry of Food and Agriculture recently honoured ABL with a certificate in recognition of its outstanding contribution to agriculture in Ghana. ABL currently produces brands that rely heavily on local raw materials such as maize, cassava and sorghum. These brands are namely Eagle Lager (cassava); Chibuku Shake Shake (Sorghum) and Ghana's number one selling beer, Club Premium Lager (maize). GNA By Kodjo Adams, GNA Torkornu (V/R), Sept. 5, GNA - The Government, with the Bank of Ghana, would launch an initiative that would allow banks to give credit facilities to farmers to expand production and increase productivity. The initiative, 'Ghana Incentive-based Risk Sharing Agricultural Lending', is a Ghc100-million-project, budgeted by Bank of Ghana to support farmers from September to December to boost agriculture and enhance food security. Alhaji Mohammed Muniru Limuna, the Minister of Food and Agriculture, announced this over the weekend when he paid a working visit to the Ghana Commercial Agriculture Projects (GCAP) in the Accra plains to interact with farmers on their operations. The Minister visited VEGPRO Ghana Limited in Torgorme, Sugarland at Kotoko, GADCO in Sogakope and Eden Tree, all in the Volta Region. He also visited the Abians Company Limited and Golden Exotic Limited in the Eastern Region. GCAP is a 145 million-dollar project, funded by the World Bank and the United States Aid for International Development, under the Ministry of Food and Agriculture, for the development and expansion of commercial agriculture. The GCAP operates in Accra plains, comprising parts of the Greater Accra, Eastern and Volta regions, the Savannah Ecological Zone comprising the three Northern regions and the Northern part of the Brong Ahafo Region. The Minister said banks were unwilling to lend money to farmers because of the high risk involved in farming, explaining the initiative would enable the Central Bank to insure those high risk to leverage the market for the financial institutions to feel free and give loans to farmer. He explained that under the programme, if a farmer was given money to expand his farm and circumstances beyond his control made that impossible, a team would be sent to investigate the issue. Alhaji Limuna said should it emerge that the limitation was the result of for instance a bush fire or flood, the Bank of Ghana would take up the cost so that the banks would not suffer that risk. Mr Charles Nornoo, the Project Coordinator of GCAP, said the project aimed at improving the investment climate for agri-business and develop Private-Public Partnerships and smallholder linkages towards increasing on-farm productivity and value addition in selected value chains. He said the objective of the project was to increase access to land, private sector finance, input and output markets for small holder farmers from public, private partnership in commercial agriculture in the Accra Plains and the Northern Ecological Zone. Other areas to be tackled under the project, he said, were nucleus out-grower or contract arrangements, he said, adding that the project would benefit both Ghanaian and international investors who would invest in new or expanded opportunities in the appropriate value chains. Mr Jagdish Patel, General Manager of Vegpro Ghana Limited, said the soil and the temperature in the area were good, adding that the Company was planting 'baby-corn', vegetables and flowers. He said the Company was currently irrigating on 64,000 hectares land and envisaged to irrigate another 30,000 hectares of land. GNA The contents of Cockroach Catcher Blog (text and photos) are strictly the copyright of Dr Am Ang Zhang and all rights are reserved. Other bloggers are welcome to quote and use any of the content of the articles on the internet or in their own blogs as long as it is acknowledged. Anyone wishing to use substantial parts or all of any of the articles is asked to contact Dr Am Ang Zhang (cockroachcatcher (at)gmail (dot)com) in advance. By Stephen Asante, GNA Kumasi, Sept. 05, GNA - The Ghana Tourism Authority (GTA) is fashioning out a nationwide training programme to boost the competency of industry players for efficient service delivery. The programme, targeting hotel and restaurant operators, as well as service providers, is part of efforts to inject professionalism in the activities of stakeholders for sustainable tourism development. Mr. Ekow Sampson, the Ashanti Regional Manager of the GTA, said non-adherence to professional ethics and standards, resulting in poor service delivery had been the bane of most tourist facility operators and owners. Addressing the Regional Tourism Awards ceremony at Obuasi, Mr Sampson said the Authority believed in the tourism potentials of the nation. For this reason, it would not relent in upgrading the expertise of industry players to help overcome challenges in their work. This year's awards on the theme; 'Excellence in Service Delivery - a Key to Sustainable Tourism', saw more than 25 individuals and corporate institutions being honoured in recognition of their immense contributions in marketing, promoting and developing the tourism industry. Mr. Kizito Cudjoe, a Reporter of the Business and Financial Times (BFT), emerged the Best Regional Tourism Writer of the Year, while the BFT and UTV were also recognised for their commitment to advancing the cause of tourism. The awardees received certificates and citations for their hard work. Mr. Sampson described domestic tourism in the Region over the years as very encouraging, with visits to the Manhyia Palace Museum, Rattray Park, and other interesting sites. The Museum, for instance, has since last year recorded more than 40, 000 visits with corresponding increase in revenue generated by the facility. In addition, there has been upsurge in hospitality facilities, and this has also created jobs for the people to improve their wellbeing. Mr. Ben Anane-Nsiah, the GTA Officer in-charge of Special Events, advised stakeholders in the industry to endeavour to comply with all regulatory policies and laws governing tourism for their own benefit. These include payment of the one per cent tourism levy, prompt renewal of operational licenses and registration of new facilities to help regularise their activities. Mr. John Alexander Ackon, the Regional Minister, lauded the awardees for their exemplary work, and entreated them to be focused on developing the tourism industry. GNA By Hafsa Obeng, GNA Accra, Sept. 5, GNA - A mason, Daniel Adekpui, was on Monday granted bail by an Accra Circuit Court two years after failure of the prosecution failed to commence trial. He was granted bail of GHa 40,000.00 with two sureties. He is also expected to report the police CID every Friday. The court presided over by Mr Aboagye Tandoh granted him bail after his lawyer told the court that his client had been in custody for the past two years, and the prosecution had failed to gather evidence to commence trial. He said the fact that the prosecution after two years has not been able to start trial, as well as the fact that the accused has been in custody since then, the court's discretion is to grant him bail. He later adjourned the matter to October 3. Earlier the prosecutor, Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) Cletus Abadamlora told the court that the complainants are the Anti-Armed Robbery Squad of the CID Headquarters, while the accused person is a mason. He said on May 10, 2014, the police gathered intelligence that Daniel together with an accomplice at Ablekuma were planning to embark on a robbery expedition within the Greater Accra Region. The prosecution said the police started mounting surveillance on the gang. On May 12, 2014 at about 2100 hours Daniel was sighted boarding a motor bike operated by his accomplice. DSP Abadamlora said the surveillance team saw the accused person holding a swift and brief meeting along the line with two others at a filling station around Agape. The team with the help of informants intercepted Daniel at Lapaz and arrested him. A German made pistol was discovered on him. DSP Abadamlora said Daniel maintained that one Dida and Zenu gave him the weapon to sell and that he engaged the service of the said accomplice as a means of transport. GNA By Godwill Arthur-Mensah, GNA Takoradi, Sept. 05 GNA -- The Ameer and Missionary in-charge of Ahmadiyya Muslim Mission, Ghana, Alhaji Maulvi Mohammed Bin Salih, has challenged Muslim youth worldwide to redeem the negative image of their faith. This should be done by portraying behaviour and attitudes that espouse the true meaning of Islam, which stood for peace, he advised. 'Some Muslims by their individual and collective actions and inactions have succeeded in soiling the image of the Islamic faith, therefore, any time you mention the name of Islam, it sends fears down the spines of many people,' he noted. Maulvi Bin Salih said this at the opening of the 37th Annual National Rally of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Youth Organisation at the Ghana Secondary Technical School (GSTS), in Takoradi, in the Western Region. The three-day event was held under the theme: 'Tolerance - An Indispensable Tool for Peaceful Co-existence'. It brought together more than 3,000 Muslim youth across the country, as well as delegations from La Cote d'Ivoire and Burkina Faso. He urged Muslim youth to take a cue from Hazrat Mirza Masroor Ahmad, the Supreme Head of the Ahmadiyya Community worldwide, who had been clamouring for peaceful co-existence among nations, world leaders and religious organisations. He said there could not be peace without tolerance and therefore, entreated Ahmadis to promote peace, brotherliness and tolerance among people with diverse religious and political beliefs. The Ameer said as the nation was preparing for a general election in December, they must not allow themselves to be used by politicians and political parties to cause mayhem. 'You should not allow those who have outlived their usefulness to use you for their selfish interest, but as future leaders, you must lay a solid foundation for socio-economic development,' he stated. Maulvi Bin Salih charged them to be disciplined, patient and tolerate others views because mankind thrived on consensus. The Western Regional Minister, Mr. Paul Evans Aidoo, in a speech read on his behalf, commended the Ahmadiyya Mission for their enormous contribution to national development. Mr Aidoo said the Mission had made many social interventions including health and educational facilities, and expressed the Government's commitment to continuing partnering religious organisations to develop the nation. The Regional Minister said the Government had demonstrated its support towards the Muslim Community by upgrading the Tamale Airport into international standard that enabled Muslim pilgrims in the three northern regions to travel to Mecca, Saudi Arabia, for their annual Hajj without much difficulty. He urged the youth to use the occasion to build networks, share knowledge and experiences towards strengthening and enhancing their lives. The participants had undertaken a number of activities such as clean-up exercises in various health facilities, donations to orphanages and inmates at the Prisons. They would also organise Q'uran recitations and sporting activities to strengthen their spiritual, moral and physical wellbeing. GNA Libreville (AFP) - Gabon's justice minister resigned on Monday, in the first high-level defection after days of violence following incumbent Ali Bongo's disputed re-election, as the opposition leader called for a general strike to "topple the tyrant". Despite Jean Ping's appeal for an economic blockage, the centre of the capital Libreville was its usual bustling self on Monday as France said several of its dual citizens were "unaccounted for" following clashes and mass arrests. After being shuttered for days over the post-election violence, banks and shops were re-opened in the seaside city and taxis were returning to the streets. According to an AFP count, post-election chaos has claimed at least seven lives in the oil-rich central African nation, ruled by the Bongo family since 1967. Gabonese authorities, however, said Monday the toll was three killed and 105 wounded, with the government saying some deaths had previously been incorrectly attributed to the clashes. Gabon shaken by election violence Bongo's rival Ping, a veteran diplomat who has held a top African Union job and served as foreign minister, has vowed to challenge the election results. "We cannot accept that our people will be killed like animals without reacting," Ping said on Facebook. "I propose to cease all activity and begin a general strike," he wrote. "We must use all means of resistance to topple this tyrant and believe me, he is on the verge of falling." Bongo was declared victorious by a razor-thin margin of just under 6,000 votes, but Ping has insisted the vote was rigged and on Friday claimed victory for himself. Gabonese opposition leader Jean Ping gives a press conference at his residence in Libreville on September 2, 2016 In the first high-level defection since the vote, Justice Minister and second deputy prime minister Seraphin Moundounga on Monday announced his resignation and demanded "a recount of the votes, polling station by polling station, and registry by registry". Ping too is calling for a recount -- something the Gabonese authorities have so far refused to do. Speculation has mounted that he could launch an appeal for a recount at the Constitutional Court. Ping's supporters say fraud was rampant, notably in the Bongo fiefdom of Haut-Ogooue in the east. It is one of the country's nine provinces and turnout there, according to official figures, crossed 99 percent with 95 percent voting for the president. International concern Meanwhile, a high-level African Union delegation including "African heads of state" is ready to be dispatched to Libreville to help calm the situation, AU chairman and Chad President Idriss Deby said. Post-election unrest has claimed at least seven lives in oil-rich Gabon, ruled by the Bongo family since 1967 The violence after the announcement of the results on Wednesday has sparked international concern with top diplomats calling for restraint as rights groups raised alarm over the use of excessive force. Some 800 people have been arrested in recent days in the capital, with the authorities accusing them of looting, while lawyers say they are being held in "deplorable" conditions. "Arrests have been carried out in recent days. Several French compatriots are unaccounted for," according to a statement from French Foreign Affairs Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault. They are believed to be roughly 10 dual French-Gabonese nationals who cannot be located, according to a diplomatic source. Anxious family members crowded before the court house in Libreville, hoping to catch a glimpse of loved ones missing since the rioting. 'Lull before the storm' Several prisoners on Monday told AFP they had been beaten, denied food and water or questioned harshly by authorities. "There were no toilets. We slept in our pee," said a man who asked that his name be given as Matthieu to protect his identity. "I asked for water. A guard put some water in a lid and told me 'Three lids, no more,'" he said. A man holds a placard reading, "Bongo get out!" during a demonstration in support of the Gabonese people, at the Esplanade du Trocadero in Paris, on September 3, 2016 UN chief Ban Ki-moon spoke to both Bongo and Ping on Sunday and "deplored the loss of life", a UN statement said, adding that he "called for an immediate end to all acts of violence." Tensions remained high in the economic capital Port-Gentil and Total workers turned up for the first since Tuesday, a management source in the French oil giant told AFP. A Total worker said there had been gunshots heard in the city overnight. Gabon's sole refinery remains closed. The troubles have also caused prices to rocket. "Four chillies now cost 1,000 CFA francs (1.5 euros, $1.6) against 200 to 300 CFA francs earlier," said Andre, a resident from Lalala-a-gauche, a working class area in Libreville. "This is the lull before the storm," said a fruit and vegetable wholesaler, speaking from the central town of Lambarene. The internet was shutdown again Monday following a brief resumption after being cut off since Wednesday. The country had previously enjoyed relative political stability, mainly because former colonial power France helped Omar Bongo rule for 41 years. After he died in June 2009, his son Ali won an election but opposition media claimed he had essentially been installed by France. It is here. Just in time for the election season, this new book can guide this falls political candidates to the North Carolina eateries where locals gather to eat and exchange information and viewpoints about public affairs. For instance, the book features a barbecue in Concord where Hillary Clinton campaigned in 2008, a downtown cafe in Kings Mountain where the speaker of the North Carolina House eats breakfast, a country buffet in Randolph County where a powerful state representative holds court on weekends surrounded by Richard Petty memorabilia, a famous barbecue in Gastonia where the parents of a top aide to the states attorney general courted, a restaurant in Asheville that serves Barack Obama its tasty ribs, a small restaurant in Pembroke where local politics and Lumbee tribal matters get settled, a barbecue in Henderson where a U.S. congressman eats whenever he is in town, an eatery in Rocky Mount still owned by the family of a former congressman, and one near Smithfield where the owner can tell you how he helped his political party take over the county. All of these places are in a book I have been working on and writing about for years. Although its official launch date is October 3, North Carolinas Roadside Eateries: A Travelers Guide to Local Restaurants, Diners, and Barbecue Joints is already in the bookstores. The book is a good guide for politicians traveling across our state looking for places to meet locals and persuade them to give support. However Eateries was put together with regular travelers in mind, adventuresome people who would rather experience a special or unusual local favorite restaurant at mealtime than eat another quick meal at one of the ubiquitous national chains. I confess that my ventures into politics led me to some of the places in the new book. In fact, in my political campaigns, I was more successful at finding great gathering places for breakfast and lunch with supporters than I was at winning elections. At eateries such as Troutmans in Concord and Hurseys in Burlington, the reminders of visits by famous politicians make them mini-museums as well as good places to eat with the locals. Years ago, I began to write about my favorite country cooking places in this weekly newspaper column. My readers liked those columns better than my usual ones about politics and books. When I invited them to write about their favorite local eating places, I got enough material for more columns and for a series of magazine articles that featured local eateries near the interstates. If you sent a suggestion or two, thanks for being my co-author of the new book. Writing about these treasured eateries presents a special challenge. They do not last forever. They go out of business, or change ownership, or keep chugging until they just run their natural course. So part of the joy is finding new and welcoming places to get sweet tea, stopping at little diners with hushpuppies you never forget, meeting good folks, and watching people settle political differences over a slice of lemon pie. Sometimes I think I have seen and tasted nearly everything. But there will always be more. I love this state and love traveling its roads, finding even more special places and reporting back to you in this column and now in the new book. If what I write inspires you to go a little out of your way to find your own special place, where folks greet you like an old friend, even if it is your first visit, then you will make me very happy. D.G. Martin hosts North Carolina Bookwatch, which airs Sundays at noon and Thursdays at 5 p.m. on UNC-TV. LINCOLN Nebraska prison officials have been trying to overhaul an understaffed, overcrowded prison system for years, but they say violent outbursts by inmates keep hindering their efforts. In the last two years, prisoners have started a deadly riot, escaped from a maximum-medium security facility and assaulted dozens of staff members. Last month, inmates sent nine employees to the hospital and triggered a facility-wide lockdown at the Lincoln Correctional Center. Although some violence is a routine part of prison life, administrators say the repeated incidents require a large amount of time, money and manpower that could otherwise be spent on improvements. "It's really frustrating," Department of Correctional Services Director Scott Frakes said Wednesday after a legislative hearing. "I told the population when I arrived that we're going to change things. We want to make it better. But these acts of violence continue to consume a disproportionate amount of resources." Frakes said last month's assault on Lincoln Correctional Center staff members required a response from hundreds of employees. "Some of them would have been doing the same things they're doing today supervising inmates but many of us would have been focused on moving initiatives forward," he said. On Friday, the department announced that two housing units at the Tecumseh State Correctional Institution were going on lockdown status and two other units would have restrictions placed on them in response to a security threat. Administrators said they had received word of "serious violent attacks" planned against staff members. The May 2015 riot, escape of two sex offenders in June and assault on nine employees last month all led to prison lockdowns, which are even more taxing on staff members. When inmates are restricted to their cells, most of their routine jobs fall to prison employees. Behavioral health specialists sometimes find themselves preparing three meals a day for hundreds of inmates and delivering them to cells one at a time, said Doug Koebernick, inspector general of the Nebraska Correctional System. Inmates who are confined to their cells are also unable to access treatment and programming to help them deal with their problems, Koebernick said. "You have guys who are angry and violent, and you're not doing anything with them," Koebernick said. "It's not like they're going to change while sitting in their cell." Sen. Les Seiler, the chairman of a prisons oversight committee, said staffing shortages and inmate overcrowding are to blame for many of the recent problems. "When you're understaffed the way they are ... it shows a weakness," said Seiler, of Hastings. "Prisoners are taking advantage of that weakness. I don't think there's any doubt that staffing and overcrowding are the root causes." Seiler said state officials need to increase pay and improve working conditions for prison staffers to reduce high turnover and burnout rates among employees, which creates a larger workload for those who remain. State officials on Friday proposed a series of pay raises for corrections employees, ranging from 2.4 percent for mental health professionals to 11.8 percent for prison sergeants. The proposal "is a significant investment in our corrections workforce, and a serious step toward addressing staff and retention," Gov. Pete Ricketts said in a statement. Seiler said legislative reforms are slowly starting to reduce the prison population by ensuring that more inmates have access to treatment and rehabilitation programs. The programs have been shown to reduce recidivism, a major contributor to the overcrowding. 1. U.S. acceptance of coexistence as the only alternative to atomic war. 2. U.S. willingness to capitulate in preference to engaging in atomic war. 3. Develop the illusion that total disarmament of the United States would be a demonstration of moral strength. 4. Permit free trade between all nations regardless of Communist affiliation and regardless of whether or not items could be used for war. 5. Extension of long-term loans to Russia and Soviet satellites. 6. Provide American aid to all nations regardless of Communist domination. 7. Grant recognition of Red China. Admission of Red China to the U.N. 8. Set up East and West Germany as separate states in spite of Khrushchev's promise in 1955 to settle the German question by free elections under supervision of the U.N. 9. Prolong the conferences to ban atomic tests because the United States has agreed to suspend tests as long as negotiations are in progress. 10. Allow all Soviet satellites individual representation in the U.N. 11. Promote the U.N. as the only hope for mankind. If its charter is rewritten, demand that it be set up as a one-world government with its own independent armed forces. (Some Communist leaders believe the world can be taken over as easily by the U.N. as by Moscow. Sometimes these two centers compete with each other as they are now doing in the Congo.) 12. Resist any attempt to outlaw the Communist Party. 13. Do away with all loyalty oaths. 14. Continue giving Russia access to the U.S. Patent Office. 15. Capture one or both of the political parties in the United States. 16. Use technical decisions of the courts to weaken basic American institutions by claiming their activities violate civil rights. 17. Get control of the schools. Use them as transmission belts for socialism and current Communist propaganda. Soften the curriculum. Get control of teachers' associations. Put the party line in textbooks. 18. Gain control of all student newspapers. 19. Use student riots to foment public protests against programs or organizations which are under Communist attack. 20. Infiltrate the press. Get control of book-review assignments, editorial writing, policymaking positions. 21. Gain control of key positions in radio, TV, and motion pictures. 22. Continue discrediting American culture by degrading all forms of artistic expression. An American Communist cell was told to "eliminate all good sculpture from parks and buildings, substitute shapeless, awkward and meaningless forms." 23. Control art critics and directors of art museums. "Our plan is to promote ugliness, repulsive, meaningless art." 24. Eliminate all laws governing obscenity by calling them "censorship" and a violation of free speech and free press. 25. Break down cultural standards of morality by promoting pornography and obscenity in books, magazines, motion pictures, radio, and TV. 26. Present homosexuality, degeneracy and promiscuity as "normal, natural, healthy." 27. Infiltrate the churches and replace revealed religion with "social" religion. Discredit the Bible and emphasize the need for intellectual maturity which does not need a "religious crutch." 28. Eliminate prayer or any phase of religious expression in the schools on the ground that it violates the principle of "separation of church and state." 29. Discredit the American Constitution by calling it inadequate, old-fashioned, out of step with modern needs, a hindrance to cooperation between nations on a worldwide basis. 30. Discredit the American Founding Fathers. Present them as selfish aristocrats who had no concern for the "common man." 31. Belittle all forms of American culture and discourage the teaching of American history on the ground that it was only a minor part of the "big picture." Give more emphasis to Russian history since the Communists took over. 32. Support any socialist movement to give centralized control over any part of the culture--education, social agencies, welfare programs, mental health clinics, etc. 33. Eliminate all laws or procedures which interfere with the operation of the Communist apparatus. 34. Eliminate the House Committee on Un-American Activities. 35. Discredit and eventually dismantle the FBI. 36. Infiltrate and gain control of more unions. 37. Infiltrate and gain control of big business. 38. Transfer some of the powers of arrest from the police to social agencies. Treat all behavioral problems as psychiatric disorders which no one but psychiatrists can understand. 39. Dominate the psychiatric profession and use mental health laws as a means of gaining coercive control over those who oppose Communist goals. 40. Discredit the family as an institution. Encourage promiscuity and easy divorce. 41. Emphasize the need to raise children away from the negative influence of parents. Attribute prejudices, mental blocks and retarding of children to suppressive influence of parents. 42. Create the impression that violence and insurrection are legitimate aspects of the American tradition; that students and special-interest groups should rise up and use united force to solve economic, political or social problems. 43. Overthrow all colonial governments before native populations are ready for self-government. 44. Internationalize the Panama Canal. 45. Repeal the Connally reservation so the United States cannot prevent the World Court from seizing jurisdiction over nations and individuals alike. Maintaining independence and editorial freedom is essential to our mission of empowering investor success. We provide a platform for our authors to report on investments fairly, accurately, and from the investors point of view. We also respect individual opinionsthey represent the unvarnished thinking of our people and exacting analysis of our research processes. Our authors can publish views that we may or may not agree with, but they show their work, distinguish facts from opinions, and make sure their analysis is clear and in no way misleading or deceptive. To further protect the integrity of our editorial content, we keep a strict separation between our sales teams and authors to remove any pressure or influence on our analyses and research. Read our editorial policy to learn more about our process. Welcome to Week 32 of Mystery Mondays. The answer to Week 31s Mystery Photo is: The cupola of the Premier Health Building in Downtown Dayton via the Kettering Towers Dayton Racquet Club. I took this photo on October 23, 2015. Completed in 1989 and designed by the Dayton architectural firm Lorenz & Williams, this 20 floor building was originally known as One Citizens Federal Centre. We congratulate our randomly drawn winner Peter Wine of Dayton! Rapid Fired Pizza certificates are coming your way! We challenge you to tell us where in the Dayton area this photo was taken by filling out the form below. Well do a random drawing from all those with a correct answer and the winner will get 2 pizzas from Rapid Fired Pizza. Enter here: http://goo.gl/forms/dyU55fzc48 Well post the winner next Monday with details about the photo as well as a new photo to challenge your knowledge of the Dayton area. Thanks for playing and good luck! Heres our Mystery Photo for Week 32: Photo by Tom Gilliam of DaytonGram & Tom Gilliam Photography. State regulators say emissions from oil and gas operations are not a major contributor to air pollution in the Dallas-Fort Worth area, calling into question a recent environmental report linking methane leaks to an anticipated rise in asthma attacks. A recent study released by Earthworks and the Clean Air Task Force claimed that unless methane releases from oil and gas operations are reduced by 2025, nearly 145,000 asthma attacks in children and more than 283,000 incidences of adults struggling to breathe would be triggered. But Texas Commission on Environmental Quality data shows that operations associated with the energy industry in Fort Worth and Dallas contribute 1.8 parts per billion to ozone levels on the worst days, from May to September, while planes, trains and automobiles contribute 14.1 parts per billion. Those measurements also were taken during the peak times of the ozone season, agency officials said. David Brymer, the agencys director of air quality, voiced doubts about how Earthworks and the Clean Air Task Force used its computer models to produce the information and then how they analyzed that data. Brymer cautioned that they have insufficient information to entirely evaluate the environmental report. The important part of modeling is what goes into it and how you interpret the result, Brymer said. The report, which was based on an independent analysis by a researcher at Colorado State University, referenced data and models that are used by states to judge compliance with national ozone standards, said Alan Septoff, strategic communications director for Earthworks. The researchers said this was the first study to quantify the health impact in the United States of smog created by pollutants released into the air by the oil and gas industry. It was based on the projected emissions from May to September based on EPA modeling for expected levels by 2025. This is really standard stuff, Septoff said in defending the report. Were not going out on a limb. It is a model used by states to comply with the national clean air standards. We did not make up some method to make the oil and gas industry look bad. In recent months, the Environmental Protection Agency finalized a new set of rules aimed at reducing methane emissions to protect public health and reduce pollution linked to cancer and other serious health problems. The regulations cover future, but not existing, facilities. Texas and other states are suing the EPA over the new regulations, calling it federal overreach. Since nitrogen oxides are the dominant precursors for ozone in Texas, not methane, the state has taken vigorous steps to control it, Brymer and other agency officials said. In 2007, the agency issued rules that resulted in a 93 percent reduction in nitrogen oxide, agency officials said. Those reductions also came at a time when drilling for natural gas in the Barnett Shale in North Texas was booming and the population was booming, Brymer said. In 2000, emissions contributed 102 parts per billion to ozone levels while in 2015 it was at 83 parts per billion, showing that the majority of the monitors showed compliance with the federal 75 parts per billion standard, Brymer said. And that was when the population in the area grew by 35 percent, he said. The Dallas-Fort Worth area has come a long way, Brymer said. This decline also came at a time when, nationwide, the percentage of children suffering from asthma plateaued and even slightly decreased since 2008, said Andrea Morrow, an agency spokeswoman. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, asthma attacks have decreased since 2011 for all age groups, she said. Those statistics were notably missing from the Earthworks report, she said. Industry officials also pointed to a recent, peer-reviewed study by the University of Texas at Arlington that points out that its not the hydraulic fracturing process itself that leads to pollution, but rather operational inefficiencies and faulty machinery. The study looked at drilling pads in the Eagle Ford Shale in South Texas. The study, which monitored for benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene, and xylenes -- volatile organic compounds that are found in petroleum derivatives -- suggests that air contamination can be monitored, controlled and reduced, said Kevin Schug, an analytical chemistry professor. High concentrations of the compounds can be carcinogenic and have harmful effects on the central nervous system. The emissions come from natural gas flaring units, condensation tanks and compressor units, among other things, the study showed. Some of the sites studied were cleaner than others, Schug said. If done exactly right, there shouldnt be a problem ... But they are done on such a massive scale that are going to be some failures in equipment and inefficiencies, Schug said. So, if you can be there to monitor for those failures and correct them immediately, obviously the environmental and health impacts would be lessened or removed. But Schug cautioned that the UTA study should not be used to contradict the Earthworks report since they were measuring for entirely different compounds. He also said that methane is a problem. It is far-fetched that our study had anything to do with contradicting their methane study, Schug said. Our study has no bearing on their results. --- Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC. During their concert in Denver last week, the members of Coldplay paid tribute to Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory star Gene Wilder by performing a rendition of the song "Pure Imagination." The band made the cover just hours after the actor's death. Coldplay was at Colorado's Pepsi Center on Aug. 29 for the group's A Head Full of Dreams tour. While performing the band's 2002 hit "The Scientist" from the album A Rush of Blood to the Head, vocalist Chris Martin inserted the memorable opening lines from "Pure Imagination," a song sung by Wilder while playing the character Willy Wonka in the 1971 musical fantasy film. Following the concert, Coldplay posted a video of the short cover in the group's official Twitter account. In a world of pure imagination... R42 pic.twitter.com/R2KD3kA0RK Coldplay (@coldplay) August 30, 2016 According to The Hollywood Reporter, Wilder died on Aug. 29 at the age of 83 at his home in Stamford, Connecticut. As confirmed by his family, the actor, who appeared in various other films including Young Frankenstein, The Producers and Blazing Saddles, died due to Alzheimer's disease. His nephew Jordan Walker-Pearlman noted that Wilder was diagnosed with the illness three years ago but his family only decided to reveal his condition after his death in order to avoid upsetting his younger fans. "The decision to wait until this time to disclose his condition wasn't vanity," Walker-Pearlman said in a statement to The Hollywood Reporter. "But more so that the countless young children who would smile or call out to him, 'There's Willy Wonka,' would not have to be then exposed to an adult referencing illness or trouble and causing delight to travel to worry, disappointment or confusion." "He simply couldn't bear the ideal of one less smile in the world," the actor's nephew continued. 2015 MusicTimes.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. We won't be seeing the Dance of the Dragons for quite a while. After that epic season one finale, HBO is making sure viewers don't expect a sequel to House of the Dragon in the new year. "Don't expect it in 23, but I think sometime in We have been cursed with leaders ... Sonora City Council Chambers View Photos Sonora, CA Due to the Labor Day holiday, the Sonora City Council is postponing its meeting by one day this week. The Council is set to receive an update on the Tree Mortality Aid Program from Glenn Gotschall of the Highway 108 FireSafe Council. The city will also discuss sending a representative and having a voting delegate at an upcoming League of California Cities Conference next month in Long Beach. In addition, the city will talk about whether to send Mayor Connie Williams to a Silicon Valley Marijuana Awareness Conference to be held later this week in Santa Clara. As California voters will be asked this November whether to legalize the drug for recreational use, the Santa Clara County District Attorneys Office is holding a public symposium to discuss the issue. The city will also vote on closing Washington Street for a brief period on September 30 for the Sonora High Homecoming Parade. Prior to the 5pm open session meeting, the council will also meet in closed session to talk about ongoing negotiations related to the property at the intersection of Mono Way and Greenley Road. On this Labor Day, California Governor Jerry Brown has issued a statewide proclamation. You can read it below: When government and business recognize the intrinsic right of workers to organize and bargain collectively, it is possible to maintain an orderly system of industrial relations, avoiding the chaos and bloodshed that often marked labor disputes in the past. The industrial growth that our nation enjoyed in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries came at a great human cost. While men, women and children suffered under brutal working conditions, their attempts to improve their situation were often met with violence by employers and the government. In response, many workers became radical or violent themselves, leading to a seemingly unbreakable cycle of destruction and terror. There were countless instances of labor actions leading to tragedy during this period. One of the earliest and most infamous of these was the Haymarket Affair of 1886, a bombing and shooting incident during May Day rallies in Chicago that took the lives of seven police officers, four civilians and four anarchists that were hanged for plotting the attacka sentence whose justness is still debated. In 1894, a nationwide wildcat strike against the Pullman Palace Car Company led to a disproportionate response from the federal government. Twelve thousand United States Army troops were deployed to break the strike, killing 13 workers and wounding dozens more. Though unions and craft organizations had begun to hold Labor Day picnics as early as the 1870s, it was not until the aftermath of this tragedy that the observance became an official holiday for all Americans. In that year President Grover Cleveland established the national Labor Day as part of his efforts to heal the nations wounds. However, lacking an orderly system to address labor disputes, the country continued to suffer similar events for several decades after this symbolic act of reconciliation. During a textile workers strike in Lawrence, Massachusetts in 1912, police clubbed women and children attempting to flee the embattled town. In San Francisco, on July 5, 1934, two men participating in a longshoremens strike were killed by police gunfire in an incident that came to be known as Bloody Thursday. The following year, on July 5, 1935, President Roosevelt signed the National Labor Relations Actalso known as the Wagner Actthe foundational law of our modern system of industrial relations. By legitimizing workers organizations as political entities and creating a legal framework for the resolution of workplace disputes, the Wagner Act effectively ended the decades of bloodshed and despair that attended our nations birth as an industrial giant. Today, disagreements between management and labor are typically worked out at the bargaining table with paper and pens, not in the streets with guns and bombs. For this we can all be thankful. This year, as we enjoy traditions ranging from beach outings and barbecues to an annual change in the rules of high fashion, we should remember how much progress has allowed us to celebrate this Labor Day. I urge all Californians to take this opportunity to appreciate not only the vast contribution of labor to our economy, but also the privilege of living under a fair and well-regulated system of industrial relations. NOW THEREFORE I, EDMUND G. BROWN JR., Governor of the State of California, do hereby proclaim September 5, 2016, as Labor Day. IN WITNESS WHEREOF I have hereunto set my hand and caused the Great Seal of the State of California to be affixed this 1st day of September 2016. In these turbulent days when much of the news is awash with controversy that rages beyond ugly, my commentary remains blissfully gentle. Cover up my name, and some readers might think Miss Manners writes it. Still, some folks may race to Wikipedia to verify my assertion that no other county in Texas -- or maybe even the nation -- can match Nolan County in round-ups. For almost six decades, theyve annually rounded-up tens of thousands of rattlesnakes, attracting crowds of up to 30,000 people at the nations largest such event. Not as well known, however -- except for a few folks with teeth longer than their beards -- is that a century earlier, Nolan Countians rounded up jackrabbits. Theres no mention in the records whether any visitors attended, but locals found the drives eradicating jackrabbits to be necessary. Too bad nothing was made of the 1915 round-up of jackrabbits (from the genus Lepus, and not to be confused, I suppose, with cottontails from the genus Hoppus). Anyways, they did a great job of eradicating the jacks. (Men must have been chauvinistic even then; theres nary a mention of any jillrabbits.) Whatever, jacks and cottontails were around in great numbers, these creatures who busied themselves foraging farmers crops. Early settlers killed off the rabbits natural predators -- coyotes, wolves, cougars, foxes and wildcats -- animals that endangered chickens, pets and livestock. Thus, the rabbit population multiplied and multiplied and . . . How about that? Timbers are shivered by the probability that round-ups of both rattlesnakes and jackrabbits may have occurred on the same farms, or no more than mere hops, skips and slithers -- as well as a century, of course -- apart. According to Dr. Edwin Duncan, curator of the Roscoe Historical Museum, each round-up eliminated hundreds of jackrabbits, so many in 1915 that Mayor S. D. Knox sprang into action. He wrote a letter to Fort Worth Mayor R. F. Milam, offering the latter some 500 rabbits for the poor. The Roscoe official said the rabbits would be good to eat for a month or so, and, parboiled and baked . . . are good and wholesome. The intent of both mayors was to provide meat for folks who needed it, and all Fort Worth had to do on its end of the deal was cover the railroad freight charge. Mayor Milam accepted Roscoes offer, setting up a rabbit bureau in the corridor of City Hall, so each unemployed person requesting a rabbit could get one. It might have been better if churches, civic clubs or other entities had administered the program. But, who would have guessed that even then, newspaper reporters, photographers and a newsreel guy would be blamed for fouling up (rabbiting up?) the process? The mayor, happily handing out rabbits to the crowd, noticed some of the takers were neither hungry nor unemployed. Its a sad commentary on things in general, the mayor whimpered. He estimated there were more silk-socked men in the crowd than there were needy. The Fort Worth Star-Telegram carried multiple accounts of the gift, as well as the abusers. As one might guess, there were several rabbit trail pieces to write, including news that the shipment would be delayed by several days. The reason? There was a mumps epidemic in Nolan County, thus pushing back the round-up by a week. (Though my account misses the century mark for this event by one year, it seems justifiable to re-visit the story, so I am.) I think Miss Manners would approve of the manner in which words were chosen to describe this long-ago event. I didnt mention firearms even once. And gory details were passed over. Left for another day, also, are several recipes calling for rabbits as primary ingredients for Sunday dinner back in the day. Neither did I mention whether the City of Fort Worth ever paid the freight bill, cause I dont know. For readers who really want to know, I can put you in touch with Dr. Duncan, or you can check with the railroad. Dr. Don Newbury is a speaker in the Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex. Send inquiries/comments to newbury@speakerdoc.com. First daughter Malia Obama has reportedly turned a new leaf when it comes to smoking, as the 18-year-old wore a shirt at a music festival that read smoking kills. Weeks after allegedly smoking a joint at Lollapalooza, the eldest daughter of President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama attended the 2016 Budweiser Made in America Festival in Philadelphia over the weekend, where she appeared to be having a good time listening to the bands and artists performing there. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate DANBURY Police have identified the three men and two women who were in the triple fatal car accident early Saturday morning. Police said the driver, Raymond Rivera, 31; Waner Nunez, 29; and Nelson Osegueda, 36, all of Danbury, were killed after the Nissan Maxima they were traveling in crashed into a utility pole on Mill Plain Road. The two women in the car Beatriz Grajales, 34 and Elena Albarran, 23, both of Danbury were injured and taken to Danbury Hospital. Following the crash, a memorial was created near the utility pole, where loved ones have gathered to pay their respects to the three men killed in the crash. Mourners brought flowers, balloons and written messages. Thirteen candles were placed on the pavement in the shape of a heart. A candlelight vigil is planned for 8 p.m. on Monday at the parking lot, near where the accident occurred, according to Facebook posts. A GoFundMe page was also started for Rivera, seeking to fundraise $5,000 to pay for his burial costs. As of Monday afternoon, $925 had been raised. As you all know we have lost one of the most beautiful souls that have ever existed ... Just as he would look out for any of us its only right we all do the same, according to a statement on Riveras GoFundMe page. Nunez and Osegueda attended Danbury High School, according to their Facebook pages. The Putnam County, N.Y., Sheriffs Department said at 4:20 a.m. Saturday, an officer saw a Nissan Maxima swerve over the center line about three-quarters of a mile from the state line near Kass Bar and Restaurant in Brewster, N.Y. The officer tried to pull the car over, believing the driver was intoxicated. The driver continued traveling below the speed limit, but sped up a quarter-mile before the border. The officer slowed as he approached Connecticut, and called Danbury police. Seconds later, the car sideswiped the steel pole on the drivers side, according to police. Authorities are determining the speed of the car when it hit the pole and why the driver did not pull over for the officer. The officer averaged about 65 miles per hour during the chase, with top speeds of 80 miles per hour for about 15 seconds, according to the police report. Death leaves a heartache no one can heal. Love leaves a memory no one can steal. Love you Ray, is written in red marker on the pole. RIP Waner. We love you boy, your smile will never be forgotten, is written in brown. For many of the mourners, the loss was too fresh to talk about. One man, who asked to remain anonymous, said he knew Rivera and Nunez from middle school in Danbury. He had lost touch with Rivera for many years, but they reconnected when Rivera got a job at the Cheesecake Factory with him. Rivera had been released from prison, and was now on a great track, the friend said. Theres nothing I can say but rest in peace, he said. The only thing I can do is pray for them, he added. Others shared their condolences on social media. One woman, Leslie Dyana, posted on Facebook that she saw Nunez on Friday night and never thought it would be for the last time. You were sooo full of life, so generous, she wrote. Your smile was by far my favorite and honestly I don't think anyone will ever top your smile, it was my favorite thing about you. Another woman, Heather Marie, wrote RIP Nelson Osegueda our family is deeply sadden over ur loss...its completely heartbreaking to accept that ur gone... This story was updated Monday, Sept. 5, 2016 with the Danbury police providing the names of the people who were inside the car. The Great Lakes Bay Regional Alliance will host its first ever Entrepreneurial Fair on Friday, Sept. 30, at Saginaw Valley State University (SVSU). Mike Finney, president/CEO of Community Ventures Resources and SVSU alumnus, will deliver the keynote address. The fair will take place from 8 a.m.-12:30 p.m. in Curtiss Hall. There will be two panels featuring regional entrepreneurs as well as entrepreneurial programs located within the Great Lakes Bay Region. The event is open to the public and is free of charge. The Great Lakes Bay Region is home to an incredible array of entrepreneurial expertise, said Matthew Felan, president and CEO of the Great Lakes Bay Regional Alliance. We hope that the Entrepreneurial Fair will help link those people in the region who would like to start their own business with programs, funding and resources that are readily available. Various regional institutions will be participating in the fair including the SVSU Dow Entrepreneurship Institute, Central Michigan University Research Corporation, Northwood University, MidMichigan Innovation Center, Small Business Development Centers at Delta College and Mid Michigan Community College, Bay Future, the Midland Business Alliance, Middle Michigan Development Corporation and Saginaw Future. SVSU is committed to community engagement and working with regional employers in many different ways. Having our Dow Entrepreneurship Institute host this Entrepreneurial Fair with the Great Lakes Bay Regional Alliance and other stakeholders is an ideal way to support more economic development in our community, said Anthony Bowrin, interim dean of SVSU College of Business and Management. The Entrepreneurial Fair will also include a 90-minute segment where aspiring entrepreneurs will have time to meet one-on-one with representatives from various regional institutions, to discuss their programs and potential partnerships firsthand. The Entrepreneurial Fair Agenda is as follows: 7:30 a.m. Registration and continental breakfast 8 a.m. Welcome: SVSU President Donald Bachand 8:05 a.m. Opening remarks and keynote introduction: Matthew Felan, GLBRA 8:15 a.m. Keynote: Mike Finney, president/CEO of Community Ventures Resources 9 a.m. Entrepreneur panel (successful business owners/entrepreneurs) 10 a.m. Entrepreneurial program panel (institutions and organizations) 11 a.m. Institution booth visits and networking 12:30 p.m. Closing remarks When New York Fashion Week kicks off Thursday, Houstonian Katie Moore likely will rule the runway. Moore, 19, became the most talked-about model when she opened the Alexander Wang Fall/Winter 2016 collection show for NYFW in February. She had sheared her long blonde hair, and strutted down the runway with a blunt red-orange bob - at the designer's request. Wang called her his muse for the collection. Former Gov. Rick Perry is dancing his way between serious politics and, well, dancing as he simultaneously boosts Donald Trump and gets ready to trip the light fantastic before millions of television viewers. As people were buzzing about the announcement that hell appear on Dancing with the Stars, Perry bounced between fielding questions about that decision and weighing in on Trumps proposed border wall by suggesting the Berlin Wall is instructive. Yes, the wall that divided East and West, communism and capitalism. The wall at which people lost their lives as they sought freedom. The wall that Ronald Reagan demanded be torn down. For Perry, it became an example of how a wall alone is not enough. Theres already a substantial amount of strategic fencing in place on Texas border with Mexico, Perry said on Fox News Radios Kilmeade & Friends. The Berlin Wall was a pretty effective wall, but it was effective because you had boots on the ground. Reminded that meant people were shot if they tried to cross, Perry quickly danced away from the suggestion that hes proposing the same thing. Im not saying thats what we need, he said, but we need boots on the ground, fast response teams, drones and aviation assets looking down 24-7 analyzing whats going on on both sides of the border. When you see someone coming into an area thats historically been used as drug trafficking, you send your quick response team and you intervene, interdict at that particular point in time. And you can secure that border using all of those assets together, he said. Perry also discussed the Republican presidential nominees decision to meet with Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto. The highly touted confab turned into a controversy when the two gave different takes on whether they had gotten into the issue of paying for the wall. Ahead of the meeting, Perry gave Trump points for what he called an effort to reconcile differences, pointing out that he himself had done the same with Trump. During Perrys brief run at the 2016 presidential nod, he had called the moguls candidacy a cancer on conservatism, among other choice descriptions. I think its wise when you stand up and say, Hey listen, lets meet. I have had to reconcile from time to time. I reconciled with Donald Trump. And I think it was a wise thing for me to do in a personal way. I think it was a wise thing to do in a professional way, Perry said on the radio show. In a professional way, Perry has made clear hed like to serve in a Trump administration, perhaps as secretary of veterans affairs. He said hell highlight veterans issues on Dancing with the Stars. In the meantime, he is learning dance steps from his show partner, Emma Slater, and showcasing photos of her near his Round Top home. He has posted Instagram photos of the two of them with cows, at a barbecue restaurant and in front of a Fayette County Gun Club sign. Today Emma teaches me more cha-cha. Tomorrow I teach her to shoot a Ruger rifle!! Perry wrote. On a Fox & Friends television show appearance where talk of his dance plans were once again combined with political shots, the shows Ainsley Earhardt came up with a way to fuse the two, given the sometimes flashy costumes of Dancing with the Stars contestants. I think your costume should be a big wall, she said. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate AUSTIN, Texas (AP) Prosecutors in the most populated areas of Texas have in recent years dismissed a significantly larger number of marijuana offenses involving smaller amounts of the drug, according to a newspaper analysis. In the five most populous counties Bexar, Dallas, Harris, Tarrant and Travis the rate of dismissals has risen since 2011, according to the review by the Austin American-Statesman (http://atxne.ws/2cbSWON ). Data kept by the Texas Office of Court Administration shows dismissals are increasing fastest in North Texas. Just 9 percent of cases were dismissed in Tarrant County five years ago, but last year about a quarter of them were dropped. In Dallas County, the percentage of dismissals rose from 18 percent to 41 percent over the same period. Statistics show there appears to be a similar trend occurring statewide. But that trend doesn't necessarily reflect an easing of enforcement measures; the number of new misdemeanor marijuana cases filed statewide has stayed largely the same. Authorities in Travis County say they've decided to prioritize more serious crimes instead of using resources to prosecute lower-level cases of marijuana possession. "Jurors would look at us like we are crazy," Travis County prosecutor Dan Hamre told the newspaper. "'You are spending your time, our time and the court's time on a small amount of personal marijuana?' " Officials in various parts of the state say a reason for the rising number of dismissals are programs similar to one in Harris County where cases are resolved without prosecution if defendants complete anti-drug classes. "Nobody goes through three years of law school and becomes prosecutors so they can rap the knuckles of someone for smoking a joint," said Shannon Edmonds, who's in charge of governmental relations at the Texas District and County Attorney's Association. "It's not what draws them to the profession or gets them excited about doing justice." The change in approach appears to have drawn few critics. Lawmakers agree that authorities must decide how to manage caseloads. "Whatever kind of case we are talking about, we expect law enforcement and prosecutors to use discretion and put the resources in the best place," Republican state Rep. Bryan Hughes said. ___ Information from: Austin American-Statesman, http://www.statesman.com This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate Market Square has always been the heart of any San Antonio party. Thats according to Patty McDonald, 81, a longtime resident who was strolling with her husband, Lou, 85, through a crowd of tourists, street vendors and musicians at the Labor Day Celebration at Market Square on Monday afternoon. Weve been coming here for 50 years, said McDonald. You couldnt tear us away from this place we love it. The annual Labor Day celebration, which ran Saturday through Monday, is hosted by the City of San Antonio's Center City Development & Operations Department and is one of several open-air, street parties hosted by the venue each year. While Fiesta and the Fourth of July Freedom Fest might get bigger headlines, the Labor Day celebration marks an official end to what seems like a non-stop string of spring and summer festivities. The McDonalds, for their part, were determined to send the summer out with a bang. Margaritas in hand, the pair paused under a shaded overhang to watch a street magician entertain a group of small children. We used to take our two boys to stuff like this, Lou McDonald recalled. They always had the same looks on their faces just bug-eyed. Monica Canejo, 28, and Michael Estrada, 35, made the trip from Austin with their two daughters to visit friends and family over the long weekend. Packed in a slow-moving train of about 18, the group emerged from the Farmers Market food court and settled in to watch some live music on a nearby stage. This is one of the only weekends each year we all get to see each other, Canejo said. Its so hard, you know, to find this kind of time? And when we get together, its great to be able to spend (that time) outside, having a good time, instead of just being inside on our phones all day. Estrada, a San Antonio native who moved to Austin to be with Canejo, said the pair met at Market Square about 12 years ago. This is such a beautiful place, even when its this loud, he said. Youve got the food, the art (vendors), the music everything you need for a date. While party-goers used the weekend-long party as a final summer bash, the event can also be a vital opportunity for vendors and workers to scrape together a bit of hard-earned revenue before the fall arrives. Daniel Espinoza, 21, is a Jefferson High School graduate who pitches in at a kettle corn stand that sets up during most major Market Square celebrations. Hes thinking about working on a community college degree in the future, but for right now, part-time gigs like these can be hard to come by. This town has a lot of tourists, so weve got a lot of people who depend on tourism, too he said. Things kind of die down in the fall, so this is one of the last chances for a lot of these guys that run the stands to earn this much (money) in one weekend. Last chances were on the McDonalds minds, too. When youve been to as many parties as we have, you never know how much longer youll be able to keep getting out the door, said Patty McDonald. We are so blessed to be walking, to be out here and we want to make the most of it. jgerlach@express-news.net WAXAHACHIE, Texas (AP) Authorities south of Dallas say a man walked into a hospital emergency room with a handgun pointed at his infant daughter, prompting a lockdown and standoff with police. The incident generated a broad police response early Saturday evening to Baylor Scott & White Medical Center in Waxahachie. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate Daria Vera carried with her a photo of her 20-year old self, her young face contorted in pain as she lay with others on a bridge in Roma, Texas. It was 1966 and Vera, a Rio Grande City resident who picked cotton for a living, was protesting to increase the minimum wage of her fellow farm workers. I wasnt afraid because I was fighting for my rights. I knew we had to win, Vera said in Spanish on Monday, standing just outside the San Fernando Cathedral in downtown San Antonio. As Labor Day is celebrated across the country today, this years holiday is especially significant to many South Texans. Its the 50th anniversary of the farm workers rights protest and march that started in Rio Grande City in Starr County, with a stop in San Antonio, before finishing in Austin on Labor Day 1966. On Monday, United Farm Workers, La Union del Pueblo Entero and the Cesar Chavez Foundation held a Mass, march and rally to both honor the farm workers who participated in the 1966 protest and to urge for better enforcement of farm workers rights today. About 400 attended the morning Mass at San Fernando Cathedral, many from community organizations, as well as San Antonio residents who remembered the strike. "This opened my eyes. I saw the reality of why we were stuck in poverty," said Louis Martinez, 67. He started picking cotton when he was 5 years old and is now a retired San Antonio Fire Fighter. When the mass finished around 11 a.m., people marched to Milam Park, chanting Si se puede! and Viva San Antonio above the sound of ukuleles and drums. Speaking into microphones inside the park's gazebo, local elected officials urged residents to support the candidates whose platforms included a commitment to increasing the wage of public employees and enforcing laws on living conditions and field sanitation policies. SAN ANTONIO The medical examiners office on Monday released the name of the man whose body was found near a set of railroad tracks last week on the Southwest Side. Roland Pantoja, 34, died from multiple sharp and blunt force injuries and was found around 10 a.m. Tuesday by a passerby near Quintana Road and Southwest Loop 410. His death is being investigated as a homicide, the medical examiners office confirmed. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate SAN ANTONIO A 17-year-old man was arrested Saturday in connection to a drive-by shooting allegedly stemming from disputes involving a love triangle with one of the shooting victims, according to court documents released Monday. Michael Anthony Martin II faces numerous charges, including four second-degree felony counts of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon and a Class A misdemeanor count of unlawful carrying of a weapon. According to online jail records, Martin also faces a second-degree felony charge of burglary of a habitation by force and possession of marijuana, but those charges are not detailed in the court documents. RELATED: Two children, 8 and 15, shot while inside home during drive-by on East Side He remains in custody on a $148,000 bond as of Monday afternoon. The shooting occurred sometime before 8:35 p.m. Wednesday in the 2700 block of East Houston Street. Initially, the Express-News reported of two shooting victims, ages 8 and 15, who suffered non-life-threatening injuries following the shooting and were hospitalized. A 12-year-old family member was also inside the home, but was not injured, according to a previous report. According to the court documents obtained by mySA.com, Martin allegedly sat in the passenger seat of a gray Hyundai while holding an assault rifle and opened fire on two houses in the area. RELATED: Police: Man killed in apparent drive-by shooting near downtown San Antonio A fourth male victim, age 16, who was sitting on the porch with his mother at a second house involved in the shooting, told police he recognized the vehicle and the alleged gunman and fired back at the vehicle in self-defense. Nobody from the second house was injured in the shooting, the affidavit said. A previous mySA.com report states six shell casings were recovered at the scene and four weapons were found in the second home. The 16-year-old boy told police he broke up with his ex-girlfriend a few months ago and she began dating Martin. When the ex-girlfriend broke up with Martin, she reportedly wanted to date the 16-year-old again, which is reportedly why the shooting occurred, according to the arrest document. The teen said Martin had allegedly shot at him a few weeks ago, but the document does not state if the teen filed a police report in connection to that incident. The affidavit does not state if the person driving the vehicle was arrested or charged in connection to the shooting. RELATED: 23-year-old woman hospitalized, 20+ casings found after drive-by shooting on Northwest Side If convicted of the second-degree felony charges, Martin could face up to 20 years in prison for each charge. He could face additional prison time for the other felony and Class A misdemeanor charges, according to the Texas Penal Code. Text "NEWS" to 72727 to sign up for breaking news from mySA twhite@mysa.com Twitter: @tylerlwhite Its no surprise that San Antonios economy is generally solid and, with an unemployment rate below 5 percent, most residents who want to work can find a job. Yet the gap between employers and skilled labor is increasing. Hardly a day passes that I dont hear at least one employer say he or she is having a difficult time hiring enough people to meet demand. This is especially true for skilled labor jobs. Apprenticeship is one approach to solving this problem, which is as much an issue across the country as it is locally. Nationally, more than 448,000 individuals are working as apprentices and developing skills they need to solidify a career and help American companies thrive. Yet Americans hold only 7 percent of the worlds apprenticeships. The goal of ApprenticeshipUSA, a U.S. Department of Labor initiative, is to double the number of Americans in such training by 2019. Why the nationwide push? Apprenticeship programs deliver significant value for employers. Investing in talent is necessary to compete in the rapidly changing global marketplace. For employers, key benefits of apprenticeships include: Increased productivity by hiring those who complete apprenticeships. Theyve already learned a lot about how the company works. Cost-effectiveness. Employers can save on wages through an apprenticeship rather than paying overqualified workers. An apprentices wages can grow as his or her skills grow. A hands-on approach to learning. This allows workers to meet the exact requirements of jobs. By contrast, hiring an outsider might mean trying to fit a job to skills that are not a precise match. Creating longevity in employment, reducing turnover, and building trust between staff and management. Apprenticeships, of course, benefit the worker and the economy as todays apprentice becomes tomorrows middle-class worker, who can afford to buy a home, support local charities and go out to dinner. The average starting wage for registered apprentices nationwide is $16.50 per hour. But apprenticeship graduates earn an average of $59,000 per year. Thats a solid middle-class income with power to elevate a motivated worker several rungs up the economic ladder. The economic changes weve seen the past several years have taught us that not everyone should pursue a four-year degree. Its our duty to encourage young adults to look at apprenticeships as an option. Students benefit from apprenticeships in many ways: Debt-free training that allows students to earn while they learn. A variety of career options in demand occupations. Nationally recognized certifications, enabling the employee to work virtually anywhere. In the San Antonio area, apprenticeships have tremendous potential. Through ApprenticeshipUSA, Workforce Solutions Alamo, or WSA, is working with local industries to link individuals with programs leading to careers. Two new local programs offer apprenticeships for bricklayers and automotive technicians. Both are demand occupations, which means they pay well, employers are in need of these skills, and economic forecasts indicate demand will be strong for years to come. Similar apprenticeship programs for a variety of career fields are in the works. WSA expects such programs to make major contributions to our regions skilled labor pipeline in the months and years ahead. Gail Hathaway is CEO of Workforce Solutions Alamo and serves on the Workforce Development Council of the U.S. Conference of Mayors. Recent news coverage on the increase in maternal mortality in the U.S. has highlighted the spike in deaths among pregnant women in Texas. It went from 19 deaths per 100,000 live births in 2010 to 33 deaths per 100,000 in 2011-12. Although all the reasons for this increase are not clear, one thing is clear: It is partially a consequence of the severe cuts to family planning services by the 2011 Texas Legislature. As a result of reduced access to contraception, some Texas women have been more likely to experience an unplanned pregnancy, with potentially adverse outcomes occurring among women at high risk for pregnancy-related complications. And with the closure of many of the abortion clinics in the state after implementation of Texas House Bill 2, women faced greater challenges accessing abortions if they had an unplanned pregnancy or developed a medical complication during pregnancy. The state abortion statistics for 2014, recently released by the Department of State Health Services, show new evidence that the family planning funding cuts in 2011 made it difficult for low-income women to prevent unplanned pregnancies. In fact, the county-level data show dramatic increases in abortions and demonstrate a connection among cuts to family planning, reductions in contraceptive services and unintended pregnancy. Take Gregg County in East Texas, for example. The federally qualified health center in the county lost more than 60 percent of its family planning funding and, as a result, served fewer clients than in previous years. In 2012, there were 59 abortions among Gregg County residents. In 2014, there were 172, a whopping 191 percent increase. Neighboring counties such as Harrison and Upshur also had considerable increases during the same period. There were also sharp increases in Bowie and Nacogdoches, as well as bordering counties. The increase in the number of abortions in these East Texas counties is in contrast to the overall trend in abortion for the state. According to the 2014 statistics, the number of abortions in Texas decreased by 14 percent since 2013. But this decline was uneven across the state. For instance, in Lubbock and Hidalgo counties, where women had to travel more than 100 miles to reach the nearest health facility, the number of abortions dropped by more than 50 percent between 2012 and 2014. The changes in abortion in these selected counties illustrate the competing forces shaping womens reproductive health in Texas. On one hand, the decrease in access to family planning services increased unintended pregnancy and womens demand for abortion. On the other, women had significantly reduced access to abortion. This was the dominant force operating in the majority of Texas counties where either abortion clinics closed or the distance to the nearest clinic dramatically increased. Since 2013, the Legislature, the Department of State Health Services and the Health and Human Services Commission have attempted to rebuild the safety net for family planning services. Some of the major changes include increasing state funding for services, reorganizing the Family Planning Program, launching the new Healthy Texas Women program, and expanding access to highly effective contraception immediately after delivery for low-income women. These are good steps, but their effectiveness has been limited by excluding Planned Parenthood clinics and by politically motivated grants to less than fully qualified providers. Moving forward, the Texas Legislature must make a long-term and comprehensive investment to restore the family planning infrastructure, and public health leaders need to be committed to ensuring women have timely access to high-quality preventive reproductive health care regardless of their income and where they reside in the state. Joseph E. Potter is a professor of sociology at the University of Texas at Austin. Kari White is an assistant professor of health care organization and policy in the School of Public Health at the University of Alabama at Birmingham. Last week, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration recommended universal Zika testing of all blood donations in the United States and its territories. This recommendation is an important step to safeguard the blood supply by ensuring that Zika-infected blood is not transfused into patients. This measure protects some of the most vulnerable members of our community: pregnant women and their unborn children. In July, anticipating the spread of the disease, the South Texas Blood and Tissue Center, or STBTC, became one of the first three blood banks in the continental U.S. to implement voluntary Zika testing for blood donors. We did this because San Antonios patients and hospitals depend on our blood supply, and we knew that if even one person contracted Zika from infected blood, we would have failed in our mission. U.S. Rep. Lloyd Doggett, D-San Antonio, expressed early concern about the impact on public health of the Zika virus and called for full funding to fight it. He contacted STBTC in the spring with questions about the blood supply. This summer, we asked him if he would reach out to the FDA and encourage other blood banks to implement Zika testing of donations before local transmission occurred. He immediately took up the cause of universal testing and assembled a bipartisan group of members of Congress, who urged the FDA to implement the policy. Doggetts leadership and his coalition of key legislators prompted the decision to recommend universal Zika testing across the United States. This is how government should work Doggett heard our concerns, met with stakeholders and urged San Antonios leadership be followed by communities nationwide. Now, we strongly request that the congressional majority pass a long-overdue bipartisan funding bill that enables the public health communitys ability to prevent the spread of and effects from the Zika virus. Almost daily, researchers all over the world are discovering new details about Zikas mode of transmission, how long it stays active, and the effects on those infected. We now know the virus can be present in the body longer than previously realized and can cause medical issues beyond microcephaly, which affects unborn children, and Guillain-Barre syndrome, which can cause paralysis and death. Universal testing means all donations must be tested for Zika; therefore, beginning Sept. 23, STBTC can no longer accept blood donations from donors who do not consent to the Zika test. Currently, about 12 percent of our donors do not consent to be tested for Zika, which could have a significant impact on the blood supply. We are working to improve that statistic by educating donors about the importance of testing blood for Zika and asking them to carefully consider providing consent. To consent to a Zika test, all a donor needs to do is provide an additional signature. A sample of blood is taken from the donation, just as we already do for HIV, hepatitis and other infectious diseases. Because 80 percent of those infected with Zika do not have symptoms, testing the blood of donors can provide early detection of transmission. Ultimately, STBTC and blood centers across the United States are committed to the safety and availability of the blood supply, but we cannot do it alone. We need our communities to continue to donate blood and consent to the tests needed to keep blood safe and available for patients, and we need a bipartisan bill passed that fully funds additional efforts to combat the virus. Elizabeth Waltman is chief operating officer of the South Texas Blood and Tissue Center. The U.S. Justice Departments decision to phase out its private prisons has prompted the Department of Homeland Security to review its own use of such facilities. This is a welcome move as immigration detention centers have come under some of the same criticism as other private prisons. The Justice Department said it will take this step because of a decline in the federal prison population and also cited a recent report that found the private facilities to be less safe and secure. The department also said that these facilities do not save the government substantial money. We are confident that a review by Homeland Security of its private facilities two in Dilley and Karnes County will result in similar findings. The DOJs decision will affect five privately run facilities in Texas, but the decision did not affect immigration detention facilities or private contracts undertaken by the states. Immigration detention facilities in Dilley and Karnes County have been slammed by immigrant advocates with much the same criticism leveled at the federal governments private prisons. The U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, however, has had to deal with an influx of Central American refugees. A study by the American Civil Liberties Union in 2014 found that private detention centers for immigrants were more crowded than those that were state-run. It found also that detainees had less access to education and quality health care. And state-run facilities are typically managed more transparently for the public. Last year, 2,000 inmates rioted at the privately run Willacy County Correctional Center, an immigrant detention center in Raymondville near the Mexican border. The inmates complained of such conditions as insects swarming the tents and raw sewage from overflowing toilets. This prompted the U.S. Bureau of Prisons to end its contract with the Utah-based Management & Training Corp. The rioting inmates were undocumented immigrants awaiting deportation. They were serving federal criminal sentences, but the federal crime for many was simply entering the U.S. without documents. The South Texas Family Residential Center in Dilley, which opened at the end of 2014, is not as family-friendly as the title indicates, immigrants and their advocates say. It is a prison for immigrants and their children, they say. There has always been a concern over whether profit is synonymous with high standards when it comes to prisons. Congress requires that at least 34,000 people be housed daily in immigrant detention centers. That might be profitable, but how is that efficient? Profit and looking out for shareholders means tamping down costs. State-run facilities should also be cost-conscious, but the public can be reasonably assured that this is tempered with concerns about living conditions. Texas more than 10,000 state offenders are housed in privately run prisons in the state should also take a hard look. 1 Afghan bombings: Twin bombings near the Afghan Defense Ministry in Kabul killed at least 24 people Monday, including two security force generals, in an attack claimed by the Taliban. An additional 91 people were wounded, officials said. The Defense Ministry said the second bombing struck the area of the first blast after security forces gathered there. Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said his group had carried out the attack. The insurgents have been fighting to overthrow the U.S.-backed government for 15 years, and frequently target Afghan security forces. 2 Building collapse: A multilevel parking garage under construction in Tel Aviv collapsed Monday, killing at least two people and injuring at least 17 others, Israeli police and rescuers said. Rescue teams worked frantically to locate as many as seven people believed trapped under the rubble. The victims were not identified but were probably workers at the construction zone. The cause of the collapse is under investigation. The site is located in Ramat Hahayal, a commercial area in northern Tel Aviv. Im surfacing from my holiday to highlight a development in the Brexit negotiations which further undermines the fantasies hope of Leave proponents, in the form of a letter from the Japanese government outlining its expectations to 10 Downing Street. One of the beliefs of the pro-Brexit camp was that the UK was such an important export market to the EU that Britain would have negotiating advantage. Weve thought this belief was misguided, in that the UKs own export sectors were far more vulnerable. The critically important transport industry is almost entirely in foreign hands, and its owners could migrate production to the EU over time if the UK lost access to the single market or for other reasons became a less attractive location than now. Similarly, there is no reason to believe that the dominant players in the EU, Germany and France, each of which has large, influential banks, would let UK banks get passporting rights without making very large concessions on other fronts. As vlade pointed out, another shoe has dropped in the form of the 15 page letter of Brexit demands from the Japanese government. The UK is being exposed as having fewer degrees of freedom in these talks than its leaders assumed by virtue of its deep economic integration with other economies. As the Guardian points out: Above all, the Japanese memo underlines that the UK is not only negotiating bilaterally with the EU commission and council of ministers, but with many other foreign firms that have invested in the UK, each of which is quite capable of upping sticks in the next phase of their investment cycle. And it focused on the issue weve stressed, that the only reason foreign manufacturers were in the UK was to get access to the single market with more favorable labor regulations. Upend that equation and those firms have no reason to stay: The warning in the covering letter to the UK government could not be clearer. It says: Japanese businesses with their European headquarters in the UK may decide to transfer their head-office function to continental Europe if EU laws cease to be applicable in the UK after its withdrawal. In particular, the document emphasises Japanese firms fear for their future potential to export from Britain to third countries because of trade privileges within the EU single market around rules of origin. The Japanese missive also called for the free movement of EU citizens, which is antithetical to pro-Brexit demands for curbs on immigration. Moreover, the Japanese letter is likely to encourage other countries whose companies have a significant presence in the UK to convey their own set of Brexit requirements. Moreover, the Japanese trade negotiators, who ran rings around their US counterparts in the 1980s and appear to have come out very well in the TPP talks (having gotten major concessions independent of the deal getting done) look to have decided to influence the talks while the UKs position was still in flux: The additional difficulty for May is timing. Her government is still far from united in its demands and is playing a long game by remaining studiously vague about the deal she is targeting. Bland reassurance has been Mays strategic goal so far. The Japanese demands blow that strategy apart by being very specific. It says: What Japanese businesses in Europe most wish to avoid is the situation in which they are unable to discern clearly the way the negotiations are going, only grasping the whole picture at the last minute. It is imperative that the outcome is free of unpleasant surprises and reducing the risks emanating from uncertainty. In effect Japan is trying to force the UK to show its hand, something five House of Lords EU select committees will also start to seek to achieve this week when they begin a coordinated grilling of ministers and experts across the whole Brexit field. The Guardian report also says that the UK government was caught out by the publication of the letter in Japan last Friday, even though it had received it earlier, as part of the advance work for a meeting between May and Abe today. The Government had apparently assumed that the Japanese requests would be handled out of the public eye. Oops. The Brexit negotiations are proving the truth of Dani Rodriks policy trilemma: you cannot have national sovereignity, democracy, and deep international economic integration all at the same time. And while some Brexit backers acknowledged the costs that might be incurred, far too many others (as revealed not just in the UK press but in unduly optimistic remarks in NCs comments section) blew them off as scare talk by nay-sayers. We are now seeing that the UK leadership is unprepared, both on an operational and strategic level for handling these negotiations, much the less with managing outcomes. Its not a pretty picture. By Lambert Strether of Corrente. A new wave of scholarship on slavery seems to be breaking, which feels to me like coming full circle to the work I read as a young adult: The Genoveses (The World the Slaveholders Made, The Mind of the Master Class) and Fogel and Engerman (Time on the CrossVery subjectively, however, let me say two topic areas seem new to me, or at least more salient: The first is the globalism of the American Slave Power, and the second is a focus on the lived experience of those who served that Power, or were enslaved by it. (I know that there are many books, even from my time, that treated slaves and masters as subjects and not objects, but these treatments were book-length; what seems new to me is the willingness to shift perspective from object to subject at the paragraph or even the trope level. Story-telling is intermingled with scholarship in a much more granular way.) I propose to excerpt and give brief commentary on material from two books, both appropriate for Labor Day and the current political moment: 1. Karp, Mathew. This Vast Southern Empire: Slaveholders at the Helm of American Foreign Policy. Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 2016; 2. Beckert, Sven and Seth Rockman, eds. Slaverys Capitalism: A New History of American Economic Development. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 2016. (To the publishers: Both books are beautifully typeset and indexed, and I especially appreciate that the running heads for the back-of-the-book notes include page numbers, so that if Im looking for note 3 on page 16 I can skim to the Notes to Pages 16-17). Theres nothing more frustrating than flipping through the notes not being sure which note 3 one has encountered. These books are not crapified! Theyre also reasonably priced, especially for trade hard covers.) This Vast Southern Empire Harvard University Press summarizes Karps thesis: When the United States emerged as a world power in the years before the Civil War, the men who presided over the nations triumphant territorial and economic expansion were largely southern slaveholders. As presidents, cabinet officers, and diplomats, slaveholding leaders controlled the main levers of foreign policy inside an increasingly powerful American state. This Vast Southern Empire explores the international vision and strategic operations of these southerners at the commanding heights of American politics. For proslavery leaders like John C. Calhoun and Jefferson Davis, the nineteenth-century world was torn between two hostile forces: a rising movement against bondage, and an Atlantic plantation system that was larger and more productive than ever before. In this great struggle, southern statesmen saw the United States as slaverys most powerful champion. Overcoming traditional qualms about a strong central government, slaveholding leaders harnessed the power of the state to defend slavery abroad. During the antebellum years, [slaveholding leaders] worked energetically to modernize the U.S. military, while steering American diplomacy to protect slavery in Brazil, Cuba, and the Republic of Texas. Its richly ironic, for example, the Jefferson Davis, when Secretary of War in the Franklin Pierce administration, successfully expanded the Army (after the so-called Fort Laramie Massacre). And not merely to protect slavery, pace HUP as Publishers Weekly urges: Karp further argues that this aggressive approach was a major factor in the Mexican-American War, the secession of the South, and the Civil War, as these leading policy makers were unwilling to relinquish their chance at constructing the global order they envisionedbased on racial hierarchy, coerced labor, and aggressive state power. So now lets talk about 1860. Quoting a great slab of Karp (pp 226-228): The election of 1860 constituted a recvolution in American politics. For the first time in the nations history, a President was elected on the basis of a purely sectional vote. Abraham Lincoln carried virtually every state in the Union where slavery had been outlawed; he lost every state where slavery endured. The national triumph of the Republican Party, a political organization that existed almost entirely in the nonslaveholding North, had no precedent in the history of the United States. The electoral arithmetic alone made the Republicans unique, but their vocal antislavery political platform made them revolutionary. Never in eighty years of American existence had the country been governed by a chief executive who openly opposed black servitude. This revolution of 1860, among its many reversals and disruptions, contained dire implications for the foreign policy of slavery. Throughout the 1840s and 1850s, slaveholding fingerprints remained especially prominent on the levels of executive power that dealt with international relations. In foreign and military affairs southerners could still look forward to a central role in shaping national policy. The incoming presidential administration offered none of these inducements. In fact the organizing principle of Abraham Lincolns entire party was resolute opposition to the fundamental beliefs, interests, an aims of the proslavery South. Certainly, there could be no such thing as a foreign policy of slavery in a Republican administration. Southern elites, understanding themselves as the leading architects and principal stakeholders in U.S. international power for the last three decades, now found themselves cut off from their own creation. Worse yet, the mighty organism that southerners had built now threatened to turn its formidable energies against the institution they held most dear. The crisis of the 1850s, Steven Hahn has written, was no longer a battle between expansive and restricted conceptions of Federal power. It instead unleashed a full-scale struggle over who would control the state itself. But among the many disturbing consequences of Lincolns victory, perhaps the most immediate was the Republican Partys capture of the outward-looking American state. Under President Lincoln, the United States suddenly assumed the shape of an antislavery world power. Slaveholders from Matthew Maury to Jefferson Davis had made heroic efforts to enhance American power in a global context, but now those efforts appeared to have been wasted, or actively misspent. After January 1861 the antebellum Souths most experienced proslavery statesman accepted the dissolution of the republic they had worked so hard to build. Why did these powerful leaders accept a leap into the unknown? They had many reasons, but the future international career of the United States counted among them. The secession crisis involved not only the fate of the existing slave states, but also the vast domain from the California coast to the Amazon Valleyand, given the rising power of the United States, the wider world beyond. The triumph of the Republican Party in 1860 meant that the overarching question of empire could no longer be resolved through a struggle for control of the American state. Slaveholders had lost that battle; they now resumed the contest within the hastily constructed apparatus of a proslavery state of their own. As Karp sums up (page 9): Southern secession was a kind of foreign policy decision. The election of an anti-slavery president snapped the last and strongest bonds connecting the South to the Unionaccess, through the executive branch, to foreign affairs, the army, and the navy. Deprived of any further investment in the United States international clout, southern elites found the appeal of an independent career irresistable. [However, after] Davis and the antebellum master class were long gone, key elements of the global order they envisionedbased on white supremacy, coerced labor, and aggressive state powercontinued to shapre world politics at the turn of the twentieth century Comment: Its fascinating to see the similarities between 1860 and today: A legitimacy crisis, globalization, empire, state power, and white supremacy. (Obama giving Malaysia a free pass on slavery in exchange for their TPP vote might be viewed as an experiment in running an empire without white supremacy). Another similarity is seemingly intractable divisions based on faction that is, on property interest (slavery being a property interest in human beings), with coastal elites participating a vast program of rental extraction based on globalization and control of the rentier state, and the flyover states, well, not. However, the factionalism and fragmentation of the heartland isnt nearly so simple as North vs. South, or the latter-day Red States vs. Blue states; theres nothing so simple as a Mason-Dixon line along which a new approximation of an 1860-style sectional split could take place. Readers may, of course, speculate freely! Slaverys Capitalism Slaverys Capitalism is a collection of essays, of which I will look at two: 1. Martin, Bonnie. Neighbor-to-Neighbor Capitalism: Local Credit Networks and the Mortgaging of Slaves. Slaverys Capitalism, pp. 107-121. 2. Baptist, Edward. Toward a Political Economy of Slave Labor: Hands, Whipping Machines, and Modern Power. Slaverys Capitalism, pp. 31-61. Neighbor-to-Neighbor Capitalism Quoting, once again, a great slab, this time from Bonnie Martin (pp. 108-119): This chapter draws on data collected from more than 10,000 Virginia, South Carolina, and Louisiana loans in which slaves served as collateral. (Martin does focus on individuals as subjects with stories, but Im leaving them out. What I like is the methodology, which not only reminds me of Fogel and Engerman, but of the wonderful work by E.P. Thompson on the London corresponding societies in The Making of the English Working Class and with legal records in Whigs and Hunters.) While the recent research of Edward Baptist has highlighted human collateral in transatlantic financial networks, it was ordinary southerners, not international bankers, who made the most of this fiscal strategy. Data from St. Landry Parish reinforce the activity pattern of the regions creditors, the evidence that lenders were much more likely to be fellow residents that institutions. Credit flowed from neighbor to neighbor in overlapping local and regional webs of borrowing and lending. The data show that the parties to the contracts were individuals acting in a private capacity, not as agents for institutions. In a fifteen-year sample of St. Landry credit relations, banks appeared as parties to purchase moeny and equity mortgages in only 2 percent of the total transactions, and these mortages raised only slightly more than 5 percent of the total capital and accounted for only 10 percent of all the slaves used as collateral. There are similar results for merchants. [S]laves used as collateral. Ponder that. Mortages on slaves were part of the financial fabric across the South in the nineteenth century. Neighbors lending to neighbors kept the flow of credit from completely drying up during the panics of the nineteenth century. Today, we call that resilience. The documentary record shows that community networks remained active throughout the crises of the Panics of 1819, 1837, and 1857, helping to fill voids left by bank closings and tighter lending restrictions. For example, while the Bank of State of South Carolina approved equity loans totaling just over $9 million during the fifteen year sampled in the nineteenth century, accepting 1,120 slaves as collateral, this represented only 9 percent of the slaves that appeared in the sampled South Carolina mortgages, and only 7 percent of the capital raised by loans secured by human property. Loans secured by human property. Martin sums up: The data on local lending networks reveal that perhaps the most consistent credit that allowed the slave economy to grow efficiently and rapidly was the amalgamation of the tens of thousands of quiet transactions between neighbors like Armand Duplantier and Juan Bautista Massi. The continuities in these practices over time are striking. The boom-and-bust decade of the of the 1830s was transformative both for regional and national banking and for international finance. In contrast, local credit networks in the South functioned in highly consistent ways to use slaves to finance their own purchase and that of additional enslaved workers, land, and personal property. Projections from the data support the conclusion that the capital raised using human collateral had a powerful impact on local, regional, and national economies. There is still much to discover about slaverys capitalism, yet all the chapters in this volume share an image of capitalistic sophistication that runs counter to the traditional assumptions about the economy of the South Rather than putting North and South on a sliding scale that is preset to rank the North as a model of complex nineteenth-century capitalism and the South as an inferior replica, it may be more useful to think of northerners and southerners as performing various social and economic experiments in capitalism. Comment: What I found more than a little disturbing in Martins account was that the challenged posed to localism and subsidiarity. From my experience with the economic debacle of the 2008 Crash, Im used to thinking of neighbor-to-neighbor, local credit, and even State banks as unqualifiedly good things. Clearly, thats just vacuous and due for a rethink. Its entirely reasonable, for example, to posit local co-operatives bootstrapping themselves with human collateral (and for all I know, examples exist). Martin also reminds us that its important to focus on local financial flows, besides the sportier flows of international capital. Toward a Political Economy of Slave Labor Baptists essay is beautifully layered and complex (and full of irony and fellow feeling). I am going to focus on one theme: The site where profit is extracted from labor, that, the workplace, in this case the fields. As with Martins contracts, Baptists account books will be central. Im going to pluck out the components of what today we would call workflow, starting with the field itself (pp. 32-51): Pushing men like [Charles] Balls owner deployed several innovative techniques of labor control to fill new fields with ever-greater quantities of cotton. One such technique was that of forcing fast workers like Balls captain, a man named Simon, to carry the fore row to work at top speed, and thus set a pace that the others had to match. By this means, Ball decided, the overseer had nothing to do but keep Simon hard at work, and we was certain that all the others must work equally hard. If not, their slowness would be visible in the line of workers. A good part of our rows are five hundred and fifty yards ong, wrote one Tennessee cotton planter in the 1820s. Not only had he created a kind of space where he could easily identify stragglers, he could also use it a a stage on which to inflict immediate and exemplary punishment in front of a large audience. So you can already see the incentives, which we will get to in more detail. Contrary to much conventional wisdom then and now, the plantation system was very efficient: The amount of cotton enslaved people harvested increased dramatically over time. In 1801, 28 per day per picker was the average in the South Carolina labor camps Labor camps. for which we have records. In 1846, the hands on a Mississippi labor camp averaged 341 pounds each on a good day, and in the next decades averages climbed higher still. A study of planter account books that recorded daily picking totals for individual enslaved peopeke on labor camps across the South finds a growth in daily picking averages of some 400% between 1800 and 1860, or a 2.1 percent growth in productivity each year. But why? Baptist disposes of various explanations, including better strains of cotton, before returning to the workplace: Any persuasive explanation for the rise in picking efficiency must take seriously something that the economists in question admit they never considered. Those who survived the incredible increase in labor efficiency knew that something well, however, and focus on it in the testimony they left for history. Using their testimony, I will explain why picking totals actually rose, and what that meant. A system of measurement, accounting, and torture was used to coerce enslaved people to pick large amounts of cotton. [This incentive system was structured by whip, scale, and ledgerand not only by the existence of thousands of pages of cotton-picking records. [A Natchez doctor describes it. in 1835, After dark, The overseer meets all hands at the scales, with lamp, scales, and whip. Each basket is carefully weighed, and the nett weight of cotton set down on the slate, opposite the name of the picker. The countenance of an idler may be seen to fall, for the penalty for failure to meet his or her quota was coming out of their back. Or, as travelers less friendly to the enslavers report hearing: So many pounds short, cries the overseer, and takes up his whip, exclaiming Step this way, you lazy scoundrel.. . Short pounds, you bitch.' Better yet: Once enslaved people learned how to meeet the quota consistently [picking cotton isnt easy, as Baptist shows] the enslaver erased his chalk and wrote a higher quota on the slate for the next day. Baptist concludes: The whip made cotton. Comment: Im sure this comparison has already occurred to others, but the comparison between the Nazi concentration camps and the Slave Powers labor camps seems reasonably exact, at least if were looking for avatars of evil. However, I find it ever more disconcerting to understand that slavery was profitable, successful as a business. On the left, there seems to be a sort of teleology that holds that feudalism withered away, to be replaced by capitalism, and that slavery, under capitalism, failed to meet wage labors challenge, because slavery was less efficient. Clearly, the story is not so simple. Even more disconcertingly, if the triumph of capitalism as wage labor with the victory of the North was not inevitable, but contingent, that implies that slavery could rise again. Here, as a matter of methodology, I think that Bapists focus on the exact means by which profit is extracted is very important; in todays rentier economy, we might find metaphorical whips not only in the workplace Bapist mentions Amazon in a note but in every transaction from which a rent can be sucked out (including complex societal and multi-decadal systems taking their cues from epigenetics. But that is a topic for another day). Speculate freely! Conclusion I should have a grand conclusion, but I do not. These books are both wonderful works of scholarship, and despite their horrific subject matter, they are a joy to read. I encourage readers to look further into the new wave of scholarship on slavery. Lambert here: Good to see somebody working on the aggregate demand problem By Michael Arria, associate editor at AlterNet and AlterNets labor editor. Originally published at Alternet. Labor Day is regarded as the unofficial end of summer for many Americans, a time for one last cookout party and back-to-school discounts. Its history is all but forgotten but it remains crucial. The holiday was signed into law by President Grover Cleveland in 1894, days after members of the United States Army and the United States Marshall Service had killed 30 workers during the Pullman Strike. The legislation was something of an attempt to win hearts and minds: unions were justifiably skeptical of the government and the holiday was seen as a way to win some support. May 1st was floated out, but people already celebrated International Workers Day on that day, commemorating the workers killed during the Haymarket Affair. Cleveland thought celebrating Labor Day on May 1st would encourage more protests, strikes and riots. The first Monday of September was selected to avoid further unrest. This Labor Day is a particularly great opportunity to remember the holidays history as 2016 has featured some major victories for workers. With the media, and many Americans, focused on the presidential election its possible that theyve slipped under your radar. Heres a roundup: 1.) Overtime Pay Was Given to Millions of Additional Workers In May, the Labor Department announced that it would extend its overtime protections to millions of additional workers by increasing the overtime salary threshold. Formerly, workers who made less than $23,660 were entitled to overtime pay if they worked more than 40 hours. However, the Obama administration doubled the number and brought it up to $47,476. An EPI (Economic Policy Institute) study of the legislation demonstrates that the new rules should impact 12.5 million workers. The chart below shows how many workers would be impacted in each state: 2.) A New Rule Will Hold Contractors Who Cheat Workers Accountable Despite opposition, from the GOP and lobbyists, President Obama implemented the Fair Pay & Safe Workplaces Executive Order, which will punish federal contractors for repeatedly violating worker safety. The new rules will require companies to report previous violations when bidding for new contracts of $500,000 or more. Effectively, this would make it harder for companies that cheat workers to conduct business. The Obama administration actually issued the order in 2014, but was just finalized by the Labor Department and the Federal Acquisition Regulatory Council. The New York Times editorial board has declared that despite Republican objections, the new rule is a big step forward for labor standards. Nancy Zirkin, executive vice president of The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, released a statement on behalf of the organization regarding the order: This is good news for working people and for the entire country. One in five Americans is employed by a federal contractor and this will help protect millions of workers from wage abuse, workplace discrimination, and unsafe working conditions. This measure is a major step forward in ensuring that federal contractors provide fair and safe conditions for their employees. And for businesses that play by the rules, there will be no burden from implementing these new regulations. 3.) NLRB Ruled That Graduate Students at Private Universities May Unionize The National Labor Relations Board just overturned the ruling that denied graduate students collective bargaining rights. The decision was handed down in response to a grad student union bid at Columbia University and it reverses an earlier ruling against a grad student union at Brown University, which had been the law for over a decade. The Service Employees International Union (SEIU) released a statement applauding the decision: Restoring the rights of graduate workers is a critical step in ensuring that those on the front-lines of teaching and researching at colleges and universities have a voice in improving higher education for all of us. Graduate students at Columbia, and other universities, have declared that theyll continue their union drives. At In These Times, David Moberg writes that the ruling could have important ripple effects: It could increase the rights and rewards of an important group of often underpaid workers in a growing sector with significant economic importance. Higher education depends increasingly on a vast infrastructure of contingent employees. In many cases, the declining standards for those lower ranks erode standards for tenured faculty. Together with student unions, these potentially newly-organized forces could pressure schools toward a more democratic American education. Happy Labor Day. WWE Superstar AJ Styles takes on a weekend of NASCAR with Corey LaJoie See the photos from WWE wrestler AJ Styles' weekend at the Charlotte Roval as he gets the full NASCAR experience alongside Corey LaJoie. Huge crowds are expected in Thurles tonight for the homecoming for the Tipperary senior and minor hurling teams. It will be an historic occasion as it's the first time since 1949 that the teams return home with both cups. Tipperary put in the display of the year to overcome holders Kilkenny in the senior decider while the minors justified favouritism to beat Limerick in their showdown. The players are fulfilling traditional duties in Dublin this morning, bringing the cups to hospitals and will later make their return to the Premier County. Gates of Semple Stadium will open at 5pm to allow fans to gather early for what should be a memorable occasion. The teams are travelling by bus and are expected in the Stadium between 7 and 7.30 pm. It is the ideal opportunity for all hurling fans to get out and honour the county's double heroes. The senior hurlers are pictured at the banquet in their honour in Dublin on Sunday night. Since when were infectious diseases, gluten and GMOs a laughing matter? Check the facts that even the CDC posts Big Pharma: you're a hack! Natural ways to boost immunity, improve health (NaturalNews) Doctors used to tell you that cigarettes were good for you. Now it's GMO and vaccines. What a total sham.) used to run ads that said doctors recommended the cigarette brand Camel, and that cigarettes were good for digestion. Today, a great deal of doctors tell you to get the flu shot and that nutrition is not medicine. They urge people to get chemical pharmaceuticals because your body is weak and your immune system is compromised.Should we smoke a cigarette with that flu shot, and double down on the aluminum and other toxic heavy metals that are found in vaccines? Should we swallow some pills that cause side effects that are worse than the effects of smoking? Hey Big Tobacco, we see you wear a new mask that mirrors the face of modern medicine. It's all "smoke and mirrors" for Obamacare, the biggest scam of the 21st century.During the Disneyland measles false flag operation that was staged to push SB 277 into law, a certain hack of a comedian (or staff members) seems to have sat down with Big Pharma to develop a script to deliver inappropriate humor to the masses about vaccines.Yes, the comedian-doctor-wanna-be Jimmy Kimmel has an opinion, but it's not just his; he wants to sell you some vaccines, GMOs and even the ridiculous idea that Hillary Clinton has outstanding grip strength.What he never tells his audience is that when vaccines are administered to children, the virus is not always dead. That's why the scientists use formaldehyde or UV exposure: to "deaden the virus" or deactivate it. Still, MMR jabs are somewhat unpredictable as the viruses may work in tandem, allowing some viral strains to be carried and shed by the vaccinated child (or teen/adult), then spread to others whose immune systems are already weak. Guess who those kids are? The vaccinated ones!After all, the facts show that 98,000,000 Americans were given cancer in their polio vaccines. Want proof? Check the snapshot from the CDC's website.The elderly, pregnant or children may want to stay clear of anyone who has been vaccinated recently. They could be carrying a dormant virus they think they are inoculated against. Maybe all of Jimmy Kimmel's followers and laughing stooge fans should be quarantined, until their flu shots wear off.Health enthusiasts are becoming more "immune" to psychotic rants by science-fiction vaccination indoctrination shills like Kimmel.What this all says is that Western Medicine is itself a hundred-year hack. The faltering health system has been brewing for a while, escalating over the years as nutrition was phased out and Nazi experimental vaccines, GMO, radiation and chemotherapy took over. Here's a free PDF book on all of that research.Chemical medicine is one big joke, and the only people laughing are the ones dishing it out while their bank accounts grow larger. You can turn up a laugh meter as loud as you like during the act, but there's no turning off full-blown cancer or other kinds of permanent vaccine damage.All too often, people experience damaging effects caused by getting too many toxic vaccines at once. Numerous children, for example, have developed a variety of horrific reactions such as severe skin rashes, tissue damage, neurological issues and permanent facial distortions -- all shortly after receiving a vaccination.Want real immunity without getting toxic injections of mercury, aluminum and formaldehyde? Plenty of herbal cures and natural disease prevention methods from around the world exist, so why not turn to them?Such natural health-boosters include green tea, garlic cloves, oil of oregano and ginger. Mushrooms like Reishi, Turkey Tail and Shiitake have also been found to have antimetastatic and healthy properties. Uganda officials want all children vaccinated to prevent pneumonia and diarrhea Parents in Uganda are afraid to vaccinate, and for good reason Vaccines linked to mass deaths among Ugandan children (NaturalNews) The Uganda government is cracking down on what it considers anti-vaccine ideologies. A new law that went into effect in March makes it illegal for parents not to vaccine their children. Failure to comply could result in six months of jail time, according to reports.The law also makes it illegal for citizens to issue "misleading statements" about vaccines in public. Making such statements will be punished more harshly than not vaccinating children as parent could receive up to two years in prison.Uganda's Ministry of Health said the new vaccine mandate is in an effort to reduce child deaths caused by "preventable diseases" such as pneumonia and diarrhea. It says those two conditions are responsible for 38 percent of annual deaths in children under the age of 5."[T]hose health issues could be alleviated with pneumococcal and rotavirus vaccines," the agency stated in a pamphlet.Approximately 50 percent of children in Uganda aged 12 to 23 months have been fully vaccinated, according to data from 2011, the most recent available.Children lacking the required vaccinations will be unable to obtain a birth certificate, said Dr. Kagoro Kaijamurubi, the national coordinator of medical services for the Ministry of Health.Similar to a sweeping vaccine law recently passed in California, Uganda students will be unable to attend school pending proof of a completed immunization card.A teacher in Uganda believes vaccinations could save children's lives, reports the"Even when we rush the child to a clinic for an emergency, the doctor will want to rule out the attack of any of the killer diseases," said Jane Kyakuwa, a senior level teacher at Kisaasi Primary School near Kampala, Uganda's capital city.Some parents in Uganda have expressed unease about vaccinating their children."I have fears for the vaccination drugs. I feel my children get exposed to new infections," said Esperanse Chandiru, a mother of five. "But now that it involves arrest, well, I am left with no choice."Parents have a right to be concerned. It has been said that vaccines given to African children are often more dangerous because they're derived from expired lots and aren't stored properly, which can be hazardous given the nation's hot climate.Numerous vaccine lots in Africa have been recalled because they were determined to have harmed more children than the usual rate and due to parent's reluctance to purchase them.Because destroying expired vaccines is costly for the pharmaceutical industry , the drugs are often administered in "third-world countries like Africa and India under the guise of charity, where people are illiterate and deaths and vaccine injuries are never reported in the media," according toKihura Nkuba, an African radio broadcaster and director of the Pan-African Center for Strategic and International Studies, revealed in speech given at a 2002 conference for the National Vaccine Information Center that Uganda children were dying by the masses as a result of vaccines.Founder of Great African Radio, Nkuba says that after the Ugandan government implemented National Immunization Days in 1996, most of the children who had received vaccines died shortly thereafter.He told the story of a mother who had four children, one of which she hid while taking the other three to be vaccinated. All three children died, while the unvaccinated child survived, said Nkuba, adding that he heard similar stories from thousands of Ugandans.Another incident reported on by theinvolves a mother who says her baby died three days after being vaccinated for measles . From that moment on, Letencia Nahoninye refused to vaccinate her other children."I have grown up without being vaccinated, and I know my children will grow up strong the way I did without the foreign drugs in their bodies," she said.Research shows that vaccines, especially given in third-world countries, are undoubtedly risky. For more information about the adverse health effects caused by vaccines in African children, click here (NaturalNews) It would appear that Big Pharma has joined forces with the mainstream medical industry yet again this time to boost sales of psychiatric drugs in the 20-something population. Dr. Gene Beresin, a psychiatrist and executive director of The Clay Center for Young Healthy Minds at Massachusetts General Hospital, recently claimed that somewhere between 50 and 60 percent of all college students have a "psychiatric disorder."This ridiculous claim includes things like going through a breakup, "academic problems" and "problems with relationships," along with actual conditions such as depression and anxiety. Are breakups difficult? Absolutely. Should 20-year-olds be given heavy-duty drugs because they are sad? Absolutely not!What is really funny about this concept is that Dr. Beresin includes use of substances as part of his list of "psychiatric disorders." Substance abuse is a growing problem in this country there's no doubt about that. However, is it really any wiser to suggest that students medicate themselves with pharmaceuticals every time they feel bad? It may not be illegal, but it is not teaching young adults how to cope with life in an adult manner, and one could argue that it is setting them up for a future of self-medication. Once they graduate with their frou-frou degree in a niche field of study and can't find a job, guess what they'll be doing when they can't afford to buy their prescriptions without mommy and daddy's insurance? They'll be self-medicating that's what they'll be doing.Many college students contend that life in school can be stressful and difficult. And surely, it is. It's often the first time they are living alone and have to choose to be responsible for themselves, and that can be overwhelming. The suicide rate in college students has been exploding; Dr. Beresin states that roughly one college student takes their life every day.Studies have shown that psychotherapy or talk therapy is equal to or better than psychiatric medications when it comes to treating depression. While millions of people believe that their precious pills really do help them, evidence indicates otherwise. A type of therapy known as Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) was tested against nine different types of psychiatric drugs in one of the largest studies conducted on sequential depression treatments meaning that patients were provided different types of therapy if previous treatments failed. The study was called "Sequential Treatment Alternatives to Relieve Depression" (or STAR*D for short). The study began by putting all of the patients on the drug Celexa. In the second phase, all of the patients who didn't improve were given a new psych med or strictly CBT therapy. In the groups who received one of three new medications, only around 25 to 26 percent experienced improvements in their depression. Conversely, 42 percent of the CBT only group experienced improvements in their depression symptoms. The evidence suggests that CBT therapy alone was by far the most effective treatment.Given the propensity for unwanted side effects in most prescription psychiatric drugs, choosing something like CBT would certainly make more sense, especially for young adults. In 2007, the agency updated their black box warning for antidepressant use in children and teens, and extended it to include young adults (aka college students).Perhaps, instead of teaching teens and young adults that Big Pharma can solve all their problems, they would be better served by being educated on how to help themselves. In addition to teaching them how to reach out, helping college students engage in active, healthy lifestyles, learn appropriate ways to decompress and prepare healthy food for themselves on a budget, might also be helpful. However, none of these things tend to generate profits for mainstream medical hacks or Big Pharma reps. Fabrication of GIC containing DMADDM DMADDM was synthesized via a modified Menschutkin reaction method.21 The GIC chosen for the current study was GC Fuji IX (GC Corporation, Tokyo, Japan). The novel material was modified by adding 0, 5% and 10% DMADDM (m/m) to the liquid of the GIC while maintaining the original powder/liquid ratio (3.6:1.0, m/m). Thus, the final mass fractions of DMADDM in GIC were 0, 1.1% and 2.2%. The specimens for the biofilm experiments were prepared using the cover of a sterile 48-well plate (Costar, Corning, Corning, NY, USA) as a mould, as described in a previous study.22 After immersion in distilled water for 24 h, the GIC bars were sterilized in an ethylene oxide sterilizer (Anprolene AN 74i; Andersen, Haw River, NC, USA). Mechanical testing Each GIC bar was manufactured using a plastic spatula on a mixing paper and was loaded into a 25 mm 2 mm 2 mm stainless steel split mould. The GIC bars were then clamped for 10 min at room temperature until they hardened. Thereafter, they were carefully taken out of the moulds. Flexural strength was measured using a three-point flexural test with a 20-mm span at a crosshead speed of 1 mm per min on a computer-controlled Universal Testing Machine (5500R; MTS, Cary, NC, USA). The flexural strength of the material was calculated by where P max is the maximum load on the loaddisplacement curve, L is the flexure span, b is the specimen width and h is the specimen thickness. Charge density The charge density of the quaternary ammonium groups present on the polymer disk surfaces was quantified using a fluorescein dye method as described previously.23 The GIC disks were placed in a 24-well plate. Fluorescein sodium salt (200 L of 10 mgmL1) in deionized (DI) water was added to each well, and the specimens were left for 10 min at room temperature in the dark. After removing the fluorescein solution and rinsing extensively with DI water, each sample was placed in a new well, and 200 L of 0.1% (m/m) of cetyltrimethylammonium chloride (CTMAC) in DI water was added. The samples were shaken for 20 min at room temperature in the dark to absorb the bound dye. The CTMAC solution was supplemented with 10% (V/V) of 100 mgmL1 phosphate buffer at pH 8. Sample absorbance was read at 501 nm using a plate reader (SpectraMax M5; Molecular Devices, Sunnyvale, CA, USA). The fluorescein concentration was calculated using Beers Law and an extinction coefficient of 77 mmolL1cm1. Using a ratio of 1:1 for fluorescein molecules to the accessible quaternary ammonium groups, the surface charge density was calculated as the total molecules of charge per exposed surface area. Six replicates were tested for each group. Atomic force microscope observation An atomic force microscope (AFM; 5500SPM; Agilent, Santa Clara, CA, USA) was used at high resolution with a sharp silicon tip in tapping mode. The surface topography of the GIC was obtained over an area measuring 20 m 20 m and 5 m 5 m. The surface roughness of the samples was provided by systemic software (SPIWIN 2.0; Seiko, Tokyo, Japan), and the Ra data of different groups were compared. Fluoride releasing Fluoride releasing of the GIC was tested according to previous studies.24 Disks (n=6) for each group were placed in the wells of a 24-well plate. Each well was inoculated with 1 mL DI water, which was adjusted at pH 5.5 or 7.0. The disks were transferred from the former well to the next every 24 h from the first to the 21st day. The water in each well was collected on days 17, 14 and 21 for the measurement of fluoride release, using a fluoride ion selective electrode (Orion star series; Thermo Fisher Scientific, Waltham, MA, USA). Before measurement, 1 mL of Total Ionic Strength Adjustment Buffer II with CDTA (Orion 940909; Thermo Electron, Beverly, MA, USA) was added to each well, and the instrument was calibrated with six standard fluoride solutions containing 0.02 106, 0.2 106, 2.0 106, 20.0 106, 50.0 106 and 100.0 106 F. The final fluoride release results are expressed as g per cm2 per day for further analysis. S. mutans inoculation and biofilm formation Fifteen microliters of stock S. mutans bacteria (ATCC UA159; American Type Culture Collection, Manassas, VA, USA) was added to 15 mL of brain heart infusion broth (Becton, Dickinson and Company, Franklin Lakes, NJ, USA) and incubated at 37 C with 5% CO 2 for 16 h. This S. mutans culture was then diluted 10-fold in the growth medium to form the inoculation medium. Each disk was placed in a well of a 24-well plate, inoculated with 1.5 mL of the inoculation medium, and incubated at 5% CO 2 and 37 C for 3 days to form mature biofilms.25 Live/dead bacteria staining and EPS staining After 3 days, the biofilms on the disks were washed three times with PBS and then stained using the BacLight live/dead bacterial viability kit (Molecular Probes, Eugene, OR, USA). The disks were examined using an inverted epifluorescence microscope (Eclipse TE2000-S; Nikon, Melville, NY, USA). An EPS assay was conducted according to previous studies.26, 27 In brief, the bacterial cells were labelled with 2.5 molL1 SYTO 9 green fluorescent nucleic acid stain (480 nm/500 nm; Molecular Probes, Eugene, OR, USA). The polysaccharides were labelled with 2.5 molL1 Alexa Fluor 647-dextran conjugate (Thermo Fisher Scientific, Waltham, MA, USA). The disks with 72-h biofilms were examined using confocal laser scanning microscopy (Leica, Wetzlar, Germany). 3-(4,5-Dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide assays Disks (n=6) with 3-day biofilm in each group were used for the 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide (MTT) assay. One milliliter of MTT dye (0.5 mgmL1 MTT in phosphate-buffered saline (PBS)) was added to each well and incubated at 37 C in 5% CO 2 for 1 h. After 1 h, the disks were transferred to a new 24-well plate, 1 mL of dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) was added to solubilize the formazan crystals and the plate was incubated for 20 min with gentle mixing at room temperature in the dark. After brief mixing via pipetting, 200 L of the DMSO solution from each well was transferred to a 96-well plate, and the absorbance at 540 nm (optical density, OD 540 ) was measured via the microplate reader.28 Lactic acid measurement The disks (n=6) with 3-day biofilms were rinsed in cysteine peptone water. Each disk was placed in a new 24-well plate, with 1.5 mL of buffered peptone water (BPW) supplemented with 0.2% sucrose. Disks with biofilms were incubated at 5% CO 2 and 37 C for 3 h to allow the biofilms to produce acid. Lactate concentrations in the BPW solutions were determined using an enzymatic (lactate dehydrogenase) method.29 A microplate reader (SpectraMax M5; Molecular Devices, Sunnyvale, CA, USA) was used to measure the absorbance at 340 nm for the collected BPW solutions. Standard curves were prepared using a standard lactic acid (Supelco Analytical, Bellefonte, PA, USA). S. mutans gtf gene expression For the quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) assays, the biofilms on the disks were collected by centrifugation,26 and the RNA was immediately stabilized using the RNA protect Bacteria Reagent (Qiagen, Valencia, CA, USA). Total bacterial RNA isolation was performed using an RNA Bacteria Reagent Kit (Qiagen, Valencia, CA, USA). Purification and reverse transcription were performed using a PrimeScript RT reagent Kit with genomic deoxyribose nucleic acid (gDNA) Eraser (TaKaRa, Shiga, Japan). Real-time PCR was performed for the quantification of gtfB, gtfC and gtfD mRNA expression of the S. mutans in the three groups, with 16S rRNA as an internal control. All primers for real-time PCR were obtained commercially from Takara Biotechnology (Dalian, China) and were designed according to methods described in previous studies.26 Real-time PCR amplification was performed on the Bio-Rad CFX96 system (Bio-Rad, Hercules, CA, USA). The reaction mixture (25 L) contained 1 SYBR green PCR Master Mix (TaKaRa, Shiga, Japan), template cDNA, and forward and reverse primers (10 mmolL1 each). Threshold cycle values (CT) were determined, and the data were analyzed using Version 2 (Bio-Rad Laboratories, Hercules, CA, USA) according to the 2-CT method. Statistical analysis One-way analysis of variance was performed to detect the significant effects of the variables. Tukeys multiple comparison test was used to compare the data at with significance noted at P-value of 0.05. It is indeed a wonderful gift to honor U.S. President Barack Obama's endless effort in conserving the environment by naming a newly discovered maroon and gold fish species. The said fish is exclusively found and living only in the waters of Papahanaumokuakea in Hawaii. The new fish belongs to genus Tosanoides and was named after Obama when he announced the expansion the Papahanaumokuakea marine reserve last week, making it the largest protected aquatic heaven. The said marine sanctuary will be almost twice as big as Texas. The Hawaii-born president was presented with a frame plaque of his new namesake marine species when he went to Midway Atoll in Hawaii on Thursday, National Geographic reports. National Geographic Explorer-in-Residence Sylvia Earle, a renowned marine conservationist who has been protecting the marine environment for decades, did the honor of giving the plaque to President Obama. Scientists to name tiny, newly discovered fish after Obama https://t.co/4JNZv4iMew pic.twitter.com/vK3Xm6UXrf HuffPost Hawaii (@HuffPostHawaii) September 3, 2016 The fish species was discovered on June 5, 2016 during a research trip to Kure Atoll, one of the jewels of Papahanaumokuakea in Northwest Hawaii. The area is popularly known for sheltering the highest marine endemism ever recorded in the world, where some 17 genera and 22 species are exclusively found. It was during a dive research 300 feet deep underwater when Hawaii-based marine biologist Richard Pyle first caught glimpse of a new school of orange and pink fishes, which he didn't recognize. The group is composed of tiny fish measuring at only 1.5 inch, according to Tech Times Researchers said that it is the first member of genus Tosanoides found outside the waters of Japan. Found only in the living waters inside Papahanaumokuakea, the fishes are considered "very special." The circular red spot ringed with blue on the dorsal fin of the male fish reminded the scientist of Obama's campaign logo, that's where the idea was formed. "It's very reminiscent of Obama's (campaign) logo," Richard Pyle said, from CNN. "How appropriate that a fish we were thinking about naming after him anyway, just to say thank you for expanding the national monument, happens to have a feature that ties it to the President." This is the second time a fish is named after the president. The first one is an aqua orange speckled freshwater darter endemic found in Tennessee Rivers in 2012 called Etheostoma Obama. Read: Obama to Build World's Largest Marine Reserve off Hawaii to Fight Climate Change How Obama's Oil and Gas Leases are Harming Marine Life, Environment Change of Heart: World's Biggest Polluters China and US Pledge to Turn Paris Agreement Into Reality Nine days after what was once the golden retriever Romeo's home in Amatrice, Italy collapsed on him, his incessant barking alerted firefighters to his presence under the debris and led to his triumphant rescue. Romeo's Survival According to a report from CNN, the rescue workers were passing through the ruins in the town of Amatrice when they suddenly heard a distinct barking from beneath the piles of rubble. It's Romeo, the golden retriever, trapped under his collapsed home. The rescuers eventually pulled the dog out of the destroyed home to cheers from the crowd. A little shaken but healthy and energetic Romeo emerged from the collapsed metal structural beams, which likely shielded him from the brunt of the force and debris of the house. Although a little bit rattled, Romeo was healthy and energetic after coming out of the rubble. The rescue workers gave him some water. Tragic Earthquake in Italy Killed Hundreds Romeo may have come out of the ordeal alive, but plenty of people lost their lives to the natural disaster last week. According to a report from the Washington Post, the disaster killed nearly 300 people, wounded more and destroyed ancient villages. The 6.2 earthquake hit Amatrice,m the worst, with 38 fatalities including two children. Ancient villages and towns fared terribly in the wake of the natural disaster also because the century-old buildings aren't built to withstand such strong forces, according to a report from New York Times. "Even 100 years ago, they didn't know how to build structures to withstand earthquakes," David A. Rothery, a professor of planetary geosciences at the Open University in Milton Keynes, England, pointed out. Although there are laws to build more resilient buildings, reinforcement of old ones haven't been strictly implemented. Furthermore, the Italian earthquake was found to be a shallow one, a kind which Rothery explained tends to be more violent. Read: Wolves are Natural-Born Gamblers than Dogs, Study Reveals Adorably Cute! World's First Ever Art Exhibit for Dogs Held in London Double The Cuteness! World's First Identical Twin Puppies Born In South Africa Though "Star Trek" may be purely fictional, one of its biggest stars, William Shatner, begs to disagree. For Shatner, "Star Trek" is as close to reality and has, in fact, helped NASA scientists in discovering endless possibilities in science and outer space. During the weekend at "Star Trek: Mission to New York," Shatner along with NASA scientists talked about the symbiotic relationship between science fiction and science. The three day panel not only featured Shatner by a few highly-notable individuals namely Jeff Volosin of NASA's Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite, Dan Wertheimer of UC Berkeley's Space Sciences Laboratory, and Bobak Ferdowsi of NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory. "NASA works by science -- it's all mathematical. But science fiction is totally imaginative, it's the exact opposite. All these imaginative exercises of science fiction are food for the imagination of scientists who are actually working with technology," stated Shatner. A big fan of NASA, Shatner has expressed praises for the space agency. The same goes for NASA that had awarded Shatner with the highest award given to a non-government personnel. In 2014, Shatner was given the Distinguished Public Service Medal. "William Shatner has been so generous with his time and energy in encouraging students to study science and math, and for inspiring generations of explorers, including many of the astronauts and engineers who are a part of NASA today," stated David Weaver, the associate administrator at the NASA Headquarters' Office of Communications. This is not the first time Shatner has lent his time for NASA's events. Shatner had spoken his famous lines for the final frontier during a wake-up call for astronauts aboard the STS-133 mission. As for the ties between "Star Trek" and NASA, a film critic for The Guardian, Jordan Hoffman claims that people working at the space agency are fans of the sci-fi series. "People who work in NASA and important tech labs tend to be Star Trek fans. As much as everyone loves Star Wars, that stuff's fantasy. Star Trek comes with the idea that (technological advancement) is possible, and it has influenced so many people to try to bring these things to life that humanity has actually moved forward because of it," says Hoffman. Read: NASA's International Space Station Paves Way for Farther Space Travel, 'Star Trek' Warp Travel Possible? 'Star Trek' Stars Chris Pine and Zachary Quinto Test their NASA Knowledge in a Space Quiz NASA announced that the OSIRIS-Rex mission will launch on schedule on Sept. 8, unaffected by the recent explosion of a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket at a neighboring launch pad. The OSIRIS-Rex (Origins, Spectral Interpretation, Resource Identification, and Security-Regolith Explorer) spacecraft was sitting atop a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket at Cape Canaveral's Space Launch Complex 41 when the Falcon 9 exploded on Thursday at the neighboring Kennedy Space Center, which is less than two km away. The announcement came following concerns that the explosion might have damaged the Atlas V rocket carrying the asteroid-hunting spacecraft. "We remain confident in our commercial partners and firmly stand behind the successful 21st century launch complex that NASA, other federal agencies, and U.S. commercial companies are building on Florida's Space Coast," NASA said in a press release via a Facebook post. "Initial assessments indicate the United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket and OSIRIS-REx spacecraft are healthy and secure in the Vertical Integration Facility at Space Launch Complex-41." NASA is unable to confirm if the explosion will affect missions to the International Space Station (ISS). According to NASA representatives, the situation at Cape Canaveral is under evaluation, and that "it's too early to know whether the incident will affect the schedule for upcoming NASA-related SpaceX launches to the International Space Station." The $800 million OSIRIS-Rex mission is scheduled to launch at 7:05 pm Eastern time on Sept. 8. The spacecraft will collect asteroid components from Bennu when it lands by 2018. The capsule of the spacecraft will return to Earth by 2023 carrying the pristine samples. The samples will enable scientists to study the asteroid's composition and look for traces of organic compounds that might have led to the formation of life on Earth. The explosion of the Falcon 9 rocket happened on Sept. 1 during a routine test firing. According to reports, the explosion happened during the propellant loading of the vehicle. The SpaceX rocket was set to launch on Sept. 3, carrying the Amos-6 communications satellite, the first satellite commissioned by Facebook as part of the company's plan to beam Internet access to poorly connected areas in sub-Saharan Africa. Read: SpaceXs Toughest Rival Will Create Space Trucks SpaceX Rocket Launches Facebook Satellite into Orbit SpaceX Falcon 9 Rocket Exploded in Cape Carnaval, Destroying Facebook Satellite NASA has rescheduled the launch of the InSight mission to May 2018, following an approval by the agencys Science Mission Directorate this week. The InSight (Interior Exploration using Seismic Investigations, Geodesy and Heat Transport) mission was slated to launch in March of this year. However, NASA suspended launch preparations in December because of a vacuum leak in the SEIS (Seismic Experiment for Interior Structure), which is the spacecraft's prime instrument. According to NASA, the mission was capped at a cost of $675 million, which included the construction of the spacecraft, the launch and operations on Mars. The redesign of the instrument and the two-year delay had added $153.8 million to the total cost. NASA said the launch period will begin from May 5, 2018, and a Mars landing will be scheduled for Nov. 26, 2018. The probe needs to be launched during a window, the time when the Earth and Mars are positioned in such a way that the spacecraft can easily reach the Red Planet. "Our robotic scientific explorers such as InSight are paving the way toward an ambitious journey to send humans to the Red Planet," Geoff Yoder, acting associate administrator for NASA's Science Mission Directorate in Washington, said in a statement. "It's gratifying that we are moving forward with this important mission to help us better understand the origins of Mars and all the rocky planets, including Earth." The InSight probe will land on the surface of the Red Planet and stay there for 687 days (one full Mars year). SEIS is one of InSight's two instruments, which will observe Mars' internal geologic activity and internal temperature. The SEIS is designed to measure small ground movements about half the radius of a hydrogen atom. To withstand the harsh conditions on Mars, the instrument requires a perfect vacuum seal around its three main sensors. NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California will be in charge of redesigning, developing and qualifying the parts of the instrument that failed. The French space agency, the Centre National d'etudes Spatiales (CNES)will be in charge of "developing and delivering the key sensors for SEIS, integration of the sensors into the container and the final integration of the instrument onto the spacecraft." Read: NASAs Mars Journey Faces Uncertainties with 2016 Elections NASA: Farthest Galaxy Cluster Discovered in Record-Breaking Distance The European Space Agency's (ESA) Rosetta spacecraft has analyzed dust samples from the comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko for the first time, which could reveal the origins of the solar system. According to the researchers from the Space Research Institute of the Austrian Academy of Sciences in Graz, Austria, the fluffy comet dust particles are a pile of smaller grains stuck loosely together. The structure of the dust grains offers important insights into how comets and other objects in the early solar system were formed, astronomers said. The report, which was published in the journal Nature, includes first results from Rosetta's atomic force microscope called MIDAS (Micro-Imaging Dust Analysis System). The instrument analyzed dust samples around the comet 67P collected by the Rosetta from November 2014 to February 2015, when the space probe moved farther from the comet. "Other instruments could do science during the cruise, during the asteroid flybys and so on, but for us we really needed to get to the comet, and we are designed to look for the really smallest grains," Mark Bentley, MIDA principal investigator at the Space Research Institute in Austria, said in an interview with Space. "The dust grains that are smaller than a human hair, smaller than a red blood cell." According to scientists, space dust is one of the most basic components of planets and other cosmic objects. Since the solar system started forming, comets have stored materials in an almost pristine state. This led the researchers to believe that comets, such as the comet 67P, could offer a rare opportunity to study micro-structures of dust particles, which have remained a mystery until now. The discovered particles varied in size; some are 10 micrometers big while others are only five nanometers small. ESA believes these objects could have created early planetesimals and then created the planets and comets of the solar system. "Until now we were never able to measure the properties of single grains with such high resolution," Mark Bentley, lead author of the study, told Mail Online. "Even the largest dust particle we present is smaller than a human hair, and the smallest is roughly the size of a bacterium." Last week, the Rosetta probe witnessed a dramatic comet eruption caused by a landslide in one area of the comet 67P. Read: Planet Nine Could 'Kill' Solar System WATCH: NASA Spacecraft Observes Rare Double Eclipse Police are searching for a known sex offender who attempted to assault and kidnap two young females in South San Jose in separate incidents last week, according to the San Jose Police Department. David Lee Russell, 56, a transient and convicted sex offender with prior violent assaults against women, first assaulted and attempted to abduct a young female in the area of Meridian and Hamilton avenues at about 5 p.m. Aug. 29, police said. Alesandria Maltese works in the area. "I deliver food, and now I really don't feel safe when someone like that is out there," Maltese said. Then on Sept. 1, about 5 p.m., Russell assaulted and attempted to kidnap a young female in the area of Hillsdale and Narvaez avenues, police said. The incident happened just a few steps from the Silicon Valley Career Technical Education Center. Linda McCowan lives nearby and said she didn't know about the attack until Sunday. "I was home at the time, and that is really frightening," she said. Russell is considered extremely dangerous, police said. He is a transient known to frequent San Jose. "He attacked these women and tried to pull them into his own car," said Sgt. Enrique Garcia, a police spokesman. Russell is described as a white male about 5 feet, 10 inches tall, weighing 200 pounds, with gray or salt-and-pepper hair and goatee, and is believed to be driving a newer model white Nissan Rogue with no plates. But Garcia said it's possible Russell may not be driving the same vehicle and could attempt similar crimes on other locales. "Even though he was seen driving a Rogue, he is an experienced criminal; he could easily dump that car and borrow or steal another car," Garcia said. "The fact is the crimes took place in San Jose, but everyone in the Bay Area should be on the lookout for him because it's quite possible he may have moved on to another county." Alison Kranich, who has a 9-year-old daughter, said she is fearful knowing Russell may still be in the community. "It's very scary," she said. "I am going to keep my daughter right next to me when I am out and even when I am close to home. Especially knowing he attempted these kidnappings and didn't succeed, it makes me very nervous he's gonna keep trying." According to the Megan's Law database, Russell's last known address was an apartment on Bascom Avenue in San Jose. Anyone with information regarding Russells location is asked to contact Detective Michael White of the San Jose Police Department's Robbery Unit at (408) 277-4166. Those wishing to remain anonymous may either call the Crime Stoppers Tip Line, (408) 947-STOP (7867), or click the "Submit a Tip" link. Persons providing information leading to the arrest and conviction of the suspect may be eligible for a cash reward from the Silicon Valley Crime Stoppers. The San Francisco Police Officers Association on Sunday endorsed interim Police Chief Tony Chaplin for the permanent post of police chief as at least 60 applications for the job are reviewed, a statement by president Martin Halloran said on the association's website. Halloran posted the statement at 1:45 p.m. at https://www.facebook.com/SFPOA/. "The SFPOA, which represents over 99 percent of all SFPD officers, is looking for the right leader at the right time, Halloran said. "The POA believes that Tony Chaplin is that candidate." Chaplin was appointed to the interim post after former Chief Greg Suhr resigned in May in the wake of an officer-involved shooting in the Bayview District that killed 29-year-old Jessica Williams. It was third such fatal police shooting in six months. One of those involved Mario Woods, who was shot to death in the same neighborhood as Williams. Suhr had been with the department for 33 years. Chaplin has been with the department for 26 years and is the former head of the department's homicide detail. Ralph Andersen & Associates, a Southern California-based search firm, is conducting the search for a new chief on behalf of city officials. The company is also conducting a search for a new police chief in Oakland. Former Chief Sean Whent left his post abruptly in June as attention grew around a sex scandal involving Oakland police officers. That scandal has grown to include officers from other Bay Area cities. In San Francisco, 11 applicants to the police chief's position are current or former employees of the department, San Francisco Police commissioners said Thursday. Commissioners have been asking residents through a series of meetings what characteristics and experience they would like a new chief to have. Commissioners gathered that information through a series of community and police surveys. The results will be given to recruiters with Ralph Andersen & Associates. The police commission is scheduled to meet in a closed session on Sept. 14 and on future dates to review the information to decide which applicants to interview. After the interviews, the commission will select three finalists for Lee to consider. Two of Donald Trump's most high-profile critics spoke at a convention in a Chicago suburb on Saturday, urging American Muslims to vote for what they believe is right without mentioning the Republican nominee by name. Khizr and Ghazala Khan, the Gold Star parents of fallen U.S. Army Captain Humayun Khan, made national headlines in an emotional speech at the Democratic National Convention this July as Khizr spoke out against Trump's proposal to ban Muslims from entering the country. On Saturday night, both Khizr and Ghazala addressed the Islamic Society of North America's 53rd Annual Convention at Rosemont's Donald E. Stephens Convention Center, imploring activism in the Muslim community. "You are all my children and I feel very close to you because you have shown me lots of love and respect," Ghazala Khan said in her brief remarks. Trump criticized the Khan family following their widely lauded DNC appearance, where Khizr offered to lend his copy of the Constitution to the nominee. "I still carry the Constitution," he noted Saturday, clutching the pocket U.S. Constitution he brandished during his DNC speech. Trump also suggested Ghazala was silent while Khizr spoke because she may not have been allowed to talk during her husbands speech. In response, Ghazala wrote an op-ed in the Washington Post, saying it was too difficult for her to speak because she cannot be in the same room as photos of her son. The backlash against Trump is often credited with knocking him down in the polls after the convention. "May Allah give you a power to fight against yourself, bring all the goodness of your heart out and give to others. You will receive more look at me, I am big example for that," she continued in her remarks Saturday. Secretary of Homeland Security Jeh Johnson also spoke at the event, becoming the first sitting Cabinet member and the highest-ranking U.S. government official to ever address the convention, the largest gathering of Muslims in the United States. Khizr Khan's speech was in part a call to action, as he requested "three favors" of the attendees. "I ask you today to stand up, stand up in the name of your creator to clean that smear of violence from the name of Islam," he said. "And through you, I ask 1.6 billion Muslims that have been quiet today no more, no more, no more, it ended today." [[392305951, C]] He asked those listening to participate in democracy. "This generation, all of us, are banner-bearer of the message of Islam, universal message of Islam, which is peace," he said. "Register, vote, let your voice be heard so that tomorrow, our future generation, our children dont have to hear this ugly political rhetoric that we have heard. Enough." Khan's third request was that everyone protect and care for newly-arriving immigrant families. "Be their mentor, and be their caretaker, and be their brother and sister in time of need," he said. Ghazala described how their lives have changed since the DNC: "Everywhere I go, people's eyes full of tears, and their faces full of love." "We take solace in this, that somehow we have started a conversation for the better of our country, for the better of our nation," Khizr added. An 80-year-old man was found fatally shot in Chicago's South Shore neighborhood early Monday morning. Police said just before 6:30 a.m. the man was found unresponsive with a gunshot wound to the face in the 2800 block of East 77th Street. Witnesses said the shooting happened on a patio of the Senior Suites of Rainbow Beach. Residents reported the victim was a longtime resident at the facility and a former minister. The Cook County Medical Examiner's office confirmed the death but did not release the man's identity. The shooting may have followed a dispute, according to witnesses, but police could not immediately confirm that information. The Senior Suits Rainbow Beach Independent Living Community released a statement Monday confirming that the man killed was a resident. "First and foremost, our thoughts and prayers go out to the deceased and his family and friends," the statement from Area Operations Manager Trinet Coleman read. "While we do not yet know the circumstances that led up to this incident, we are deeply saddened by this event as the health and safety of our [sic] all of our residents is -- and always will be -- our top priority." No one was in custody for the shooting as of Monday morning. Area South detectives were investigating. Check back for details on this developing story. One man was killed and another was seriously injured in a single-vehicle rollover crash early Monday on the Tristate Tollway near southwest suburban Hickory Hills. About 4:12 a.m., the 2006 Ford Crown Victoria was traveling south on I-294 and preparing to exit the tollway to head east on 95th Street, when the driver lost control of the car and drove through a grass median, before the car rolled over on the exit ramp, according to Illinois State Police. A 30-year-old man in the passenger seat was pronounced dead at the scene, police said. The Cook County medical examiners office could not immediately confirm the fatality. The driver, a 29-year-old man, was taken in serious condition to Christ Medical Center in Oak Lawn, police said. Both men are from Texas. State Police Master Sgt. Jerad Klint said the car was likely speeding at the time and alcohol is thought to have played a role in the crash. No other injuries were reported. As of 8:45 a.m., the 95th Street ramp was closed to traffic, police said. Lanes were not expected to reopen until 9:30 a.m. Monday. China agreed to steps toward reducing its politically volatile steel exports but avoided binding limits as leaders of major economies ended a summit Monday with a forceful endorsement of free trade and a crowded agenda that included the Koreas, Syria and refugees. In a joint statement, President Barack Obama and Chinese President Xi Jinping and the leaders of Britain, Japan, Russia and other Group of 20 economies pledged to boost sluggish global growth by promoting innovation and to strengthen the global financial system. In an effort to shore up public support for trade, they promised "inclusive growth" to spread the benefits of closer global integration more widely to millions of people who have been left behind by wrenching change. The pledge reflected a growing recognition that economic strains are fueling political tensions and a growing clamor to protect local industries. Chinese leaders hope the two-day meeting will increase their influence in managing the global economy. They have said they want the G-20, created to respond to the 2008 financial crisis, to take on a longer-term role regulating the global economy. The joint statement reflects that ambition by calling the G-20 the "premier forum" for economic cooperation. Beijing made trade a theme of the gathering in this lakeside city southwest of Shanghai but faces complaints that a flood of low-cost Chinese steel into global markets threatens U.S. and European jobs, propelling the rise of political movements that promise to curb trade. The joint statement calls for formation of a steel forum under the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development to study excess production capacity. In a concession to Beijing, the statement doesn't mention China by name and says excess steel capacity is a global issue, though U.S. and European officials say the vast Chinese state-owned industry, which accounts for half of worldwide output, is the root of the problem. Washington has hiked import duties by 500 percent on Chinese steel to offset what it says are improper subsidies. Beijing promised in January to reduce steel production capacity by 100 to 150 million tons by 2020, a pledge Xi repeated Saturday ahead of the G-20 meeting. But that is half of China's estimated excess capacity of 300 million tons, so deeper cuts would be required to bring it in line with demand. "The market is distorted by subsidies and other support measures, and that is the fundamental problem," said Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, according to broadcaster NHK. The president of the European Union's governing body, Jean-Claude Juncker, called Sunday for the G-20 to take action on steel. He said the trade bloc will look at Beijing's response when deciding whether to grant China market economy status, which would make it harder to bring anti-dumping cases. The creation of the global steel forum could help to ease strains between Beijing and its trading partners, said economist Rajiv Biswas of IHS. "It may help to reassure countries about tangible steps China is taking," he said. Obama, Xi and other leaders called repeatedly during the meeting for governments to defend free trade. "The benefits of trade and open markets must be communicated to the wider public more effectively," said the joint statement. The World Trade Organization is forecasting global trade growth this year at just 2.8 percent its fifth year below 3 percent. The International Monetary Fund has cut its outlook for global economic growth to 3.1 percent. Despite the joint statement's positive language, the G-20 is unlikely to be able to do much to boost trade or economic growth, Biswas said. He noted that talks on Obama's TPP initiative for Asia-Pacific governments and a U.S.-European pact have slowed or stalled, while Britain is wrestling with the effects of its June vote to leave the EU and other economies, including Russia and Nigeria, are in recession. "On the global growth front, I would say it is hard for the G-20 to come up with a coordinated action plan because many of the countries are caught up in domestic issues," Biswas said. The summit was frequently overshadowed by other concerns and got off to a rocky start Saturday when there was no staircase at the airport for Obama to exit his plane. The president used an alternative exit, but quarrels with Chinese officials broke out on the tarmac and at other venues over access by U.S. officials and the traveling press. Heavy security for the event brought Hangzhou, a city of 2.5 million people, to a standstill and left downtown streets deserted. On Monday, North Korea added to the drama by firing three ballistic missiles off its east coast. The U.S. says that and other recent tests violate U.N. Security Council resolutions and pose a threat to aircraft and ships nearby. At about the same time, Xi was in Hangzhou telling his South Korean counterpart, Park Gyun-hye, that China opposes plans to deploy a U.S. anti-missile system in South Korea. China has previously warned against Seoul's decision to base the U.S. Terminal High Altitude Area Defense, or THAAD, system south of the South Korean capital, Seoul. But Monday marked the first time Xi raised the issue directly with Park. Beijing complains the system will allow the U.S. military to peer deep into northeastern China. Another key issue at the meeting was Britain's vote to leave the 28-nation EU trade bloc, seen by some analysts as the first in a wave of moves by governments to withdraw from free trade. British Prime Minister Theresa May, who took office after the referendum, spent much of the summit trying to reassure other governments that Britain was not isolating itself. Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Turkish counterpart, Recep Tayypip Erdogan, met to discuss the conflict in Syria and to try to mend frayed relations. A suspicious brush fire in Lebanon burned acres of land on Monday, fire officials said. "It's suspicious," Chief John Lyon of the Lebanon Fire Department said. "There's no electricity. There was no campfire around in the area." Lyon is asking anyone in the neighborhood who may have seen activity, like a car parked off on the side of the road, to contact the fire department immediately. The brush fire burned about five acres of land but has been contained, Lyon said. Nearly 65 firefighters from Lebanon, Bozrah, Colchester, Columbia and South Windham, all came to battle the fire, the chief said. The fire marshal said no injuries were reported and the fire was knocked down before it could damage the house located nearby. The world's largest living primate has been listed as critically endangered, making four of the six great ape species only one step away from extinction, according to a report released Sunday at the World Conservation Congress in Hawaii. The International Union for the Conservation of Nature, or IUCN, cited illegal hunting in the Democratic Republic of Congo, in downgrading the status of the eastern gorilla on its Red List of Endangered Species. The list contains more than 80,000 species, and almost 24,000 of those are threatened with extinction. "To see the eastern gorilla one of our closest cousins slide toward extinction is truly distressing," Inger Andersen, IUCN director general, said in a statement. "Conservation action does work and we have increasing evidence of it. It is our responsibility to enhance our efforts to turn the tide and protect the future of our planet." The organization said an estimated 5,000 eastern gorillas remain in the wild, a decline of about 70 percent over the past 20 years. Of all the great ape species the eastern gorilla, western gorilla, Bornean orangutan, Sumatran orangutan, chimpanzee and bonobo only the chimpanzee and bonobo are not considered critically endangered. But they are listed as endangered. For the gorillas of the Congo, where the majority of the population lives, conservation will be a struggle because of political instability, said primatologist Russell Mittermeier, executive vice chairman of the Conservation International environmental group and chairman of IUCN's primates specialist group. "There are no simple solutions right now, other than a much greater investment in on-the-ground protection until the region stabilizes, at which time major ecotourism, as is happening in the neighboring countries of Uganda and Rwanda, can take place," Mittermeier said in an email to The Associated Press. In an interview, Catherine Novelli, U.S. undersecretary of state for economic growth, energy and the environment, called the gorilla numbers a man-made tragedy. The research by the Wildlife Conservation Society was accepted by the IUCN, which is made up of private and government entities and is hosting the World Conservation Congress. More than 9,000 delegates from over 180 countries are attending this week's conference in Honolulu, including several heads of state. "Critical endangered status will raise the profile of this gorilla subspecies and bring attention to its plight. It has tended to be the neglected ape in Africa, despite being the largest ape in the world," the study's lead scientist, Andrew Plumptre, said in an email. The IUCN compiles its peer-reviewed Red List alongside partners such as universities and environmental groups within animals' natural habitat. It is the most comprehensive analysis of endangered species and guides government policy around the world, said Cristian Samper, president and CEO of the Wildlife Conservation Society. Other animals on the list fared better than the apes, including the giant panda, which was previously on the endangered list. It is now listed as "vulnerable" after conservation efforts helped protect its habitat. "For over 50 years, the giant panda has been the globe's most beloved conservation icon," said Marco Lambertini, director general of the environmental group World Wildlife Fund. "Knowing that the panda is now a step further from extinction is an exciting moment for everyone committed to conserving the world's wildlife." While threats to the survival of the species are still present, studies show that protection policies put in place by the Chinese Government are working. Experts believe that nearly 2,000 giant pandas now exist in the wild, and believe that a majority of those pandas are adults. Researchers from San Diego Zoo Global had a hand in the initial research that helped the Chinese government set effective conservation policies, according to the Panda Conservationist Committee. Hunting and habitat destruction are taking a toll on animals and plants in variety of areas, the report said. In Hawaii, about 90 percent of native plants are threatened with extinction because of invasive species like rats, pigs and non-native plants, the IUCN said. In Africa, the plains zebra population has declined by a quarter since 2002, according to the group's statement. Bonnie is back home. Someone turned in the missing 92-year-old parrot to police after it was stolen three days earlier, according to police in Seagoville. As NBC DFW first reported on Friday, someone took the bright green bird with yellow markings, along with her cage, from the front porch of her North Texas home. Bonnie's owner, Kathy Gardner, was worried sick. "She's been in the family for many, many years," Gardner said. "These three days [with the parrot missing] has been really hard on us." Seagoville Police Chief Ray Calverley said a person dropped off Bonnie at the Balch Springs Police Department. Officers will look at video footage to try and figure out who left the bird. "I can only imagine how good it feels for the family," Calverley said. Bonnie has "been in this family for generations and I know they're ecstactic to have her back." Gardner said Bonnie talked and sqawked on the way home from the police station. "I'm just thankful that they had it in their heart to do that because she's old and she don't know nobody else but us," Gardner said. The Dallas Police Department said Monday night officers located a missing 78-year-old man. Jack Williams, Jr., was last seen on the 2100 block of Arden Row in Dallas at about 1 p.m. Friday. In an update Monday evening, police said Williams had been located safe and returned home. Christopher Wagner is a decorated Dallas police officer. Elias Portillo was a man with a criminal rap sheet. A week and a half ago, Wagner shot and killed Portillo during a foot chase. Dallas police said Portillo pointed his gun at Wagner. Portillo's family is disputing whether he pointed a gun. "The police can't justify it," said Joaquin Portillo, Elias' older brother. "We don't need a second look, but a third look, fourth, fifth, so on and on." On Aug. 24, police said Wagner pulled over Portillo on West Davis Street. The car had a license plate that appeared to belong to a different vehicle. Police said Portillo ran down Kramer Street, turned and pointed a gun at Wagner. Wagner fired his gun. "He [Portillo] is the type who would run, but he wouldn't pull a gun on nobody," said family friend Monica Galvan. "It doesn't make sense. He would not point a gun, especially when he already knows he's going to be arrested." Two dozen people, including friends, family and members of Mothers Against Police Brutality, attended a vigil for Portillo on Sunday night. "This was a situation of disputed facts. It's also a situation where the police ... may have not been top notch," said John Fullinwider, co-founder of Mothers Against Police Brutality. "The neighbors say he didn't have a gun. He wasn't armed. Police say he was." Wagner is a 19-year police veteran and was recognized by the Dallas Police Association with a Cop's Cop Officer of the Year award in 2013. Israel Torres takes great pride in his work. He's worked with a Dallas area cabinet making company for a little more than a year now. He's even earned a promotion there. Some days he has to pinch himself to make sure it's all real. "I mean going from thinking that you're never going to get out of prison to getting your life back -- it's a blessing," said Torres. In 1998, Torres was convicted on federal consipracy charges for selling cocaine. Although it was his first offense and it did not involve violence, the Dallas native was sentenced to life in prison without parole. After 15 years behind bars, Torres submitted a formal request, asking President Obama to free him. Two years, later the warden called Torres to his office. "He said your clemency was granted," said Torres. "I put my face in my hands and I cried." Torres' sentence was one of 673 commuted by the Obama Administration, more than the past ten Presidents combined. It comes at a time of increased efforts to release prisoners given life sentences for non-violent first offense crimes. Torres told himself then he would not screw up his second chance. Cheri Garcia is helping him keep that promise. "Instead of keeping these guys in a box and telling them what they can and can't do because they can't be trusted, you give them opportunities and tell them you can do whatever you want -- but this is what you're leaving behind if you mess up," said Garcia. Her organization, Cornbread Hustle, helps former inmates find jobs and provides training to help them launch their own businesses. Torres is currently taking classes and dreams of becoming an entrepreneur. "Me being successful at what I've done now has made me proud of myself," said Torres. "But I'm still not done. There's still more to come." A veteran Dallas police officer is under investigation after he was charged with trespassing, according to police. Dallas Police Sergeant Zackary Kerr, a 26-year veteran of the Dallas Police Department, was arrested by Southlake police Monday and charged with criminal trespass, a misdemeanor, according to a police statement. Kerr was placed on administrative leave, pending an internal investigation. Kerr had been assigned to the Dallas' Criminal Intelligence Unit before his arrest, the statement said. No further information was released. The much-maligned cruise ship that was damaged in rough waters earlier this year appears to be sailing near some of the stormiest sections of Hermine Sunday evening. Several vacationers posted videos and photos to social media showing rolling seas and steely gray skies from aboard the Anthem of the Seas on Sunday afternoon. "Ready to get away from Hermine #seasick #stuck in cabin," Louise Hardag tweeted. The Bermuda-bound cruise ship left Bayonne, New Jersey, on Friday and was reported a few hundred miles off the East Coast Sunday night, southeast of Cape Cod, according to ship tracking site Cruisemapper. At least one other cruise ship was also in the area. 19-year-old Ruth Jebet of Bahrain took home gold in the 3000m steeplechase, while Emma Coburn won bronze, the first ever medal in the event for the United States women Robert McHugh of Point Pleasant, New Jersey, posted a video of pounding waves on social media. He's traveling with dozens of family members for a wedding in Bermuda. He said a majority of his relatives were getting motion sickness. "The seas were churning up a little bit," McHugh said in a Skype interview. "There were a lot of people who weren't feeling well." The motion of unsettled sea was rough enough that passengers had to hold onto handrails as they navigated the ship. "When you're walking down the hallway, the ship is lifting up and dropping down," McHugh said. Royal Carribbean, which owns and operates the ship, said in a statement that the boat is safely sailing to Bermuda in winds of about 40 mph the minimum wind speed threshold for a tropical storm and was more than 140 miles from the center of the storm. "Earlier today, our captain informed guests that we had experienced higher winds and gusts for a 2-3 hour period," the cruise liner said. "We'll continue to share weather information with our guests throughout their trip." In an unfortunate twist of fate, passengers Deena Abbate and Steve Matyasovsky were onboard the same ship in February when it encountered a raging tempest. They received a refund and a credit towards their next trip, which happened to be this weekend's cruise during Hermine. "I guess it is pretty funny that here we are again," Abbate said. "We booked this a long time ago, and who knew," Matyasovsky said. While Hermine was downgraded from a hurricane to a tropical storm after it made landfall in Florida, forecasters expected it to strengthen as it went out to sea Sunday night, and it could turn back into a hurricane. Sunday's storm appears to be the latest in a string of incidents involving the ship this year. In June, an 8-year-old boy drowned while in one of the Anthem's pools, and in February, it sailed into another Atlantic storm that tossed passengers and furniture about the vessel. Passengers described that voyage as "a cruise from hell." Beer-themed trails and specialty brewery tours have risen, like so much flavorful foam, from a specialized area of the getaway sector to something many a craft brew buff dreams of doing one day. But actually making the time to reach a favorite brewhouse, and find a place to stay nearby, is another matter in our busy workaday worlds. There is, however, an on-the-road event which brings together bunches of top-notch brewers and heads out to the fans each year, as it has done since 2009. It's the California Beer Festival, and, as is tradition, it made its early-summer start in Northern California, calling upon Marin County and Santa Cruz with dozens of Golden States suds in tow. Now it is Southern California's turn, and the go-to spots are the ones you know from previous years: San Dimas and Ventura. The San Dimas weekend falls on Saturday, Sept. 10 and Sunday, Sept. 11. Frank G. Bonelli Park is the place, the student athlete-backing Gen Giammanco Foundation is the beneficiary, Saturday is the beer sampling day and Sunday is the Sunday Funday family day. Tickets, including your designated driver? Find them here. The Ventura weekend follows a week later, but this one's a three-dayer, from Sept. 16 through the 18th. A food & beer pairing happening, craft beer tastings on Saturday, and a country-themed party on Sunday are on the schedule. Designated driver tickets, deeper info, info on the day's beneficiaries (Downtown Ventura Organization and Gen Giammanco Foundation) and some of the brewhouses set to show? All thisaway. The California Beer Festival is a summer staple, but summer is winding right on down. If you haven't taken the brewery tour trip you wanted to this year, count on this large-scale lagers-and-more to-do to bring your next favorite brew to you, or at least one or two you might like a whole lot. Hugh O'Brian, who shot to fame as Sheriff Wyatt Earp in what was hailed as television's first adult Western, has died. He was 91. A representative from HOBY, a philanthropic organization O'Brian founded, says he died at home Monday in Beverly Hills. Until "The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp" debuted in 1955, most TV Westerns were aimed at preteen boys. "Wyatt Earp" was based on a real-life Western hero, and some of its stories were authentic. It made O'Brian a star. After that show left the air in 1961, O'Brian continued to work in movies, television and theater through the 1990s. He also made his mark in philanthropy in 1958 as founder of the Hugh O'Brian Youth Leadership organization, which continues to bring together promising high school students for leadership seminars. The organization called O'Brian its "founder and inspiration." "It's impossible to put a number on the amount of lives Hugh has touched but we can certainly say anyone who participated in HOBY... are better people because of him," the statement continued. "Hugh literally motivated generations of people around the world. His ripple effect of change, inspiration and leadership will be felt for generations to come. He believed in all of us and we are all the better for it. Hugh OBrian was simply outstanding." Hermine twisted hundreds of miles offshore in the Atlantic Ocean on Monday, creating large waves in some southern New England beach waters that lured in surfers despite the rough surf and rip currents that kept most beachgoers away on the last day of the holiday weekend. "These are more seasoned surfers who live for the thrill of these waves," said Kim Buttrick, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Taunton, Massachusetts. Hermine's position Monday morning about 260 miles southeast of Nantucket created 20-foot waves and wind gusts of up to 50 kph about 55 miles southeast of the island, Buttrick said. Hermine was expected to stall over the water before weakening again. Even as Hermine weakens, wind gusts of 30 to 50 mph were expected across southern Rhode Island and southeastern Massachusetts on Monday, Buttrick said. Governors along the Eastern Seaboard announced emergency preparations. A tropical storm warning was in effect from New York's Long Island to Massachusetts. New York officials extended beach closures beyond Labor Day because of continued deadly rip currents. Whipping winds didn't keep some beach seekers from walking along the New Jersey shore on Monday, but Labor Day vacationers quickly took to boardwalks as an aggressive high tide moved into the area late morning. The waves eroded some of the shore, creating sand dune cliffs where kids climbed. Warnings of potentially dangerous riptides temporarily cleared the water Monday morning, but a couple of dozen beachgoers and a handful of surfers returned to the water in Atlantic City by the afternoon. A rougher surf cleared portions of the beachfront. MD Mahabub Khan has worked as a taxi cart pusher at the shore for 27 years and said he still attracted some business over the weekend, but the smaller crowds were noticeable. "People from New York and New Jersey are kind of stuck here (during bad weather), so they can still come," if forecasts don't play out as predicted, Khan said. New York City closed its beaches Monday because of rip currents, and the ban could extend into Tuesday, depending on weather conditions, officials said. Hermine rose over the Gulf of Mexico and hit Florida on Friday as a Category 1 hurricane before weakening to a tropical storm across Georgia. It has caused three deaths, inflicted widespread property damage and knocked out power to hundreds of thousands of people from Florida to Virginia. Since sea levels have risen to a foot because of global warming, the storm surges pushed by Hermine could be even more damaging, climate scientists say. "We are already experiencing more and more flooding due to climate change in every storm," said Michael Oppenheimer, a geosciences professor at Princeton University. "And it's only the beginning." Michael Mann, at Pennsylvania State University, said the 1-foot rise that New York City has experienced over the past century caused an additional 25 square miles and several billions of dollars of damage with Superstorm Sandy in 2012. No flooding or other damage had been reported as of Monday afternoon in some of the worst Sandy-hit areas, including Point Pleasant Beach, Bay Head, Mantoloking and Brick. On Saturday, high winds tipped over an 18-wheeler, killing its driver and shutting down a bridge in North Carolina's Outer Banks. In Florida, a homeless man in Marion County was hit by a falling tree and was killed. And a man trying to remove a tree that fell on a highway near Cottageville, South Carolina, on Friday was struck by a car and died on Saturday. Turkish troops and allied Syrian rebels expelled the Islamic State group from the last strip of territory it controlled along the Syrian-Turkish border on Sunday, effectively sealing the extremists' self-styled caliphate off from the outside world, Turkey's prime minister and a Syrian opposition group reported. Also on Sunday, Syrian pro-government forces backed by airstrikes launched a wide offensive in the northern city of Aleppo, capturing areas they lost last month and besieging rebel-held neighborhoods, state media and opposition activists said. Turkey-backed Free Syrian Army rebels have cleared the area between the northern Syrian border towns of Azaz and Jarablus, Turkey's prime minister, Binali Yildirim, said. "From Azaz to Jarablus, 91 kilometers (57 miles) of our border has been completely secured. All the terrorist organizations are pushed back, they are gone," Yildirim said, speaking at a dinner with non-government organizations in the southeastern city of Diyarbakir. The FSA's advance shut down key supply lines used by ISIS to bring in foreign fighters, weapons and ammunition. The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said ISIS "has lost its link with the outside world after losing all border areas" with Turkey. It said the last two border villages that ISIS held were Mizab and Qadi Jarablus, which were taken Sunday afternoon. ISIS had occupied the border area even before it declared its self-styled caliphate in June 2014, and it used the Turkish border to bring in fighters from around the world. The extremist group, which controls parts of Syria and Iraq, is now surrounded from all sides by hostile forces. The loss of its territory along the Turkish border follows a series of recent defeats for ISIS, including its expulsion from the central Iraqi city of Fallujah and its defeat in the former stronghold of Manbij in northern Syria. Airstrikes by the U.S.-led coalition have killed a number of the group's most prominent founding members and leaders. In a statement, Turkey's armed forces said the "the Jarablus-Azaz line has been connected." Turkey has long pushed for a safe zone in Syria between these two towns, with a plan to house Syrian refugees there. Turkey hosts an estimated 3 million Syrian refugees, the highest number in the world. Meanwhile, the recapture and return to siege of rebel-held parts of Aleppo dealt a major blow to insurgent groups. They have lost scores of fighters in recent weeks in the battle to open a corridor into the city and lift the government's blockade. After the government laid siege on Aleppo for the first time in July, the United Nations said that nearly 300,000 residents were trapped in rebel-held neighborhoods, making it the largest besieged area in war-torn Syria. The city has been contested since the summer of 2012. Sunday's push follows a month after insurgents captured several military academies south of Aleppo and opened a corridor into opposition-held parts of Syria's largest city and onetime commercial center. Since then, government forces and their allies have been trying to recapture the area. State TV quoted an unnamed military official as saying that troops are now in full control of the military academies south of Aleppo and are "chasing the remnant of terrorists." It added that all roads linking rebel-held eastern Aleppo with opposition areas outside the city "have been cut." The Observatory confirmed these gains. "The (rebel-held) neighborhoods are under siege again," said the Observatory's chief, Rami Abdurrahman, by telephone. "The whole areas are under complete siege." Turkey has launched two incursions into Syria since Aug. 24 in an operation designed to drive ISIS away from the border and prevent the advance of U.S.-backed Kurdish forces, which are also battling the extremist group. Turkish Prime Minister Binali Yildirim on Sunday defended his country's intervention in Syria, pointing to their long shared border. "We are there to protect our borders, ensure the safety of our citizens' lives and property, and to protect the territorial integrity of Syria," Yildirim said in Diyarbakir. Turkey has also said it will not allow Syrian Kurds to unite their "cantons," the regions under their control in northern Syria, which have emerged as autonomous zones during the civil war. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said in a joint press conference with U.S. president Barack Obama in China that "our wish is that a terror corridor does not form on our southern border." Turkey views the Kurds as a threat and the Turkey-backed forces have clashed with them outside Jarablus. In an emailed press statement, Turkey's military said the FSA have taken 20 villages from ISIS, adding that the Turkish army struck 83 Islamic State group targets. Since the Turkish operation began on Aug. 24, the army says it has hit 383 targets with 1,599 rounds. Associated Press writers Albert Aji and Neyran Elden contributed to this report. An anti-gun violence rally will be held Monday for an 8-year-old girl who was fatally shot during a drive-by shooting outside a northwest Miami-Dade home last week. The rally is set to begin at 3 p.m. Monday and will be held at 9485 NW 17th Ave in Miami, according to the Facebook page. Event organizers are anticipating 1,000 participants to "join the fight for justice and freedom for our youth." The event comes following the death Jada Page, who fell victim to the gun violence on in late August, when police say two men pulled up in a black Ford and started shooting. Jada was brain dead and remained on life support until she succumbed to her injuries. Jada's father, 32-year old James Page, was also shot multiple times. "We will not stand silent and allow criminals and thugs to terrorize our communities," event organizers say. Despite the rain, dozens of people stood together at a rally in Miami demanding justice for Jada Page. The 8-year-old was shot in the head on August 28th while standing in the front yard at her father's home near Northwest 101st Street and 25th Avenue. The child initially survived, but died days later at the hospital. "Definitely, we want answers. We want the killers behind bars and we want it done immediately. We don't want to wait," said Jada's godmother, Valencia Gunder. The rally was held at Rockets Grill & Wings Restaurant along Northwest 94th Street and 17th Avenue. Jada's mother, Rosalind Brown, emotionally addressed supporters who turned up to Monday's rally. "We all just need some answers. My baby's birthday is tomorrow, but they say it's not Labor Day, it's Jada's day. So, today is Jada's day," Brown told the crowd. King Carter's parents also showed support. Earlier this year, their 6-year-old son was shot outside of their apartment complex while walking to the store to buy candy. "Me and my wife had to have my son's birthday at a grave yard. We had 5 cakes, balloons and ice cream at a grave yard praying that another family wouldn't have to endure this pain. But, yet we stand here with Jada Page's birthday tomorrow," said Santonio Carter, King Carter's father. Jada's family says they are trying to heal, but can't -- knowing the person or people responsible are still on the run. The main message today: this community won't stand for this senseless violence any longer. "For the dude who pulled that trigger, 9 out of 10, 10 out of 10, I know you and you know me. And, you know how we get out. You know we don't rock like that. So, for the family, bro, turn yourself in," demanded Carter. Detectives are looking for two men seen driving the getaway car. Miami-Dade Police have increased the reward in the case to $25,000. Anyone with information is asked to call Miami-Dade Crime Stoppers at 305-471-TIPS. Setting the stage on Labor Day for a critical month in their testy presidential campaign, Donald Trump softened his stance on immigration while Hillary Clinton blasted Russia for its suspected tampering in the U.S. electoral process. In a rare news conference aboard her new campaign plane, Clinton said she is concerned about "credible reports about Russian government interference in our elections." "We are going to have to take those threats and attacks seriously," Clinton told reporters traveling with her from Ohio to Illinois. Clinton's comments follow reports that the Russian government may have been involved in the hacking of Democratic National Committee emails just days before the party's national convention. The emails, later revealed by WikiLeaks, showed some DNC officials favoring Clinton over her primary opponent, Bernie Sanders who has since endorsed Clinton for president. She said Russian President Vladimir Putin appears "quite satisfied with himself" and said Trump "has generally parroted what is a Putin-Kremlin line." Meanwhile, Trump extended a rare invitation to journalists to accompany him on his private plane from Cleveland to Youngstown, Ohio. The billionaire businessman appeared to pivot away from his hard-line position on immigration, saying, "I'm all about jobs now." Any immigrants who want full citizenship must return to their countries of origin and get in line, he told reporters but he would not rule out a pathway to legal status for the millions living in the U.S. illegally, as he did in a long-awaited policy speech last week. "We're going to make that decision into the future," Trump said. Clinton powered through a coughing fit at a Labor Day festival at a Cleveland park, sharply criticizing Trump's recent trip to Mexico as "an embarrassing international incident." Unwilling to allow Trump to modify his immigration stances, she said his address later that night in Arizona amounted to a "doubling down on his absurd plan to send a deportation force to round up 16 million people." "He can try to fool voters into thinking somehow he's not as harsh and inhumane as he seems, but it's too late," Clinton said. Clinton's 25-minute question-and-answer session was her first extensive availability with reporters since early December. Beyond Russia, she answered questions about the ongoing controversy surrounding her use of a private email server while secretary of state, which Trump has used to cast doubt over her ability to protect classified information. "I take classification seriously," she said. Trump told reporters Monday that "on occasion," he will invite journalists to travel with him. The two campaigns arrived in Cleveland within hours of each other, underscoring Ohio's quadrennial role in presidential campaigns. No Republican has won the White House without carrying the state, and the airport offered vivid imagery of that crucial role. The airplanes of Trump and his running mate, Mike Pence, were parked on the tarmac as Clinton and her vice presidential pick, Tim Kaine, arrived in separate planes. It was a near-encounter that even forced the Trump press corps to the side of the road as Clinton's motorcade whizzed by. "It's kind of interesting to have all the planes here on the same tarmac," Kaine said after he and Clinton greeted supporters. "Just shows you how important Ohio is. We're going to be here a lot." While Labor Day has traditionally been the kickoff to the fall campaign, both Clinton and Trump have been locked in an intense back-and-forth throughout the summer. The start of full-fledged campaigning opens a pivotal month, culminating in the first presidential debate Sept. 26 at Hofstra University in Hempstead, New York. Polls show Trump trailing Clinton in a series of must-win battleground states, meaning the debates could be his best chance at reorienting the race. Trump told reporters he does plan to take part in all three presidential debates, joking that only a "hurricane" or "natural disaster" would prevent him from attending. Clinton will have millions of dollars at her disposal this fall to air television advertising and power a sophisticated get-out-the vote operation in key states. The former secretary of state raised a combined $143 million in August for her campaign, the Democratic National Committee and state parties her best month yet. She began September with more than $68 million in her campaign's bank account to use against Trump, who has not yet released initial fundraising totals for August. Trump followed through with his vow to spend some $10 million on commercials in key states over the past week. Hurricane Newton soaked Mexico's western Pacific coast with heavy rain Monday and took aim at Baja California's twin resorts of Los Cabos, where residents nailed plywood over windows and pulled in fishing boats while preparing for a possible direct hit two years after being slammed by a major storm. Newton's maximum sustained winds increased to 85 mph by early evening, according to the U.S. National Hurricane Center in Miami. The Category 1 storm was centered about 160 miles southeast of Cabo San Lucas and San Jose del Cabo and was moving northwest at 16 mph on a forecast path that would bring it near or over the area Tuesday morning. Officials opened 18 shelters at schools in the two resorts and 38 more in other parts of Southern Baja California state, while warning people against panic buying. "There is no need for mass buying," Los Cabos Mayor Arturo de la Rosa Escalante said. "There is enough food and fuel for the next 20 days." Los Cabos police were stationed at shopping malls to guard against the kind of looting that occurred after Hurricane Odile struck the area in 2014 as a Category 3 storm, with 125 mph (205 kph) winds. Foreign tourists were still walking the streets of Cabo San Lucas even as workers began boarding over windows of businesses. Some boat owners took their small fishing boats out of the water. Earlier Monday, as a tropical storm, Newton dumped torrential rains that prompted some 100 people to evacuate their homes and damaged residences in Uruapan in the Pacific coast state of Michoacan, the city government reported. Some roads were blocked by flooding and mudslides in the neighboring state of Guerrero, where some people were evacuated by helicopter. No deaths were reported in either state. A hurricane warning was in effect for Cabo San Lucas and the nearby coastline. Coastal portions of five Mexican states could see 5 to 10 inches of rain, with isolated maximums of 15 inches, the hurricane center said. Newton was expected to cross over the peninsula and enter the Gulf of California on Wednesday. The hurricane center said the storm was likely to continue north into Arizona as a tropical depression later in the week. A man and a woman were killed and five other people were injured in three shootings and two stabbings during J'Ouvert celebrations along the West Indian Day Parade route in Brooklyn early Monday morning, police say. A man and a woman were shot at Empire Boulevard and Flatbush Avenue during the pre-parade festivities in Crown Heights shortly before 4 a.m. Seventeen-year-old Tyreke Borel, who was shot in his chest, died of his injuries, according to police. A 72-year-old woman, Margaret Peters, was shot in her arms and hands. She recalled to NBC 4 New York: "My sister said, 'Get up, get up!' When I went to get up, I realized I had been shot." "I was trembling, trembling. I keep shaking, shaking, shaking, they tried to keep me calm" said Peters, who was treated and released from Kings County Hospital. A short time later and just a block away at Empire Boulevard and Washington Avenue, Tiarah Poyau, 22, was shot in the head just before 4:15 a.m., according to police. She was transported to Kings County Hospital, where she was pronounced dead. Another 20-year-old man was shot in the leg just before 7 a.m. near the corner of Clarkson Avenue and Rodgers Avenue. He is expected to survive. Police say they doubled their enforcement around J'Ouvert after a stray bullet struck and killed 43-year-old Carey Gabay, an aide to Gov. Andrew Cuomo, at last year's festivities. Around 3,400 officers were assigned to the event Sunday, compared to last year's 1,700. Forty-five cameras were set up, and 250 light towers were deployed. Despite that, "it's hard to determine who fired the shots because everybody runs, not just the shooter," NYPD Chief Powers said at a news conference Mondday. "That's the problem we're dealing with." In addition to the shootings, a 23-year-old woman was also stabbed in the lower back at Ocean Avenue and Empire Boulevard shortly before 4:20 a.m. Police say she refused medical attention. Another person was stabbed in the neck at Eastern Parkway and Classon Avenue around 5:30 a.m. That person was taken to Methodist Hospital in serious condition. Borel, the 17-year-old killed in the shootings, was going to school and working as an auto mechanic, according to his great uncle David Brathwaite. He is survived by his mother and younger brother and sister. His father is a police officer back in their home country of Trinidad, where the teen will most likely be buried. The West Indian Day parade is a rollicking, colorful celebration of Caribbean culture, music, style and food that draws hundreds of thousands of people each year, but it also has been marred by violence in recent years. Mayor de Blasio and NYPD Commissioner Bill Bratton had promised that there would be "the most extensive security ever" at this year's J'Ouvert celebration, a year after Gabay was shot and killed at the overnight festival in Brooklyn, which draws as many as 250,000 people to Prospect Park before the West Indian Day Parade. "In planning these events, we always plan for the worst and hope for the best," said Bratton. "We met repeatedly with the organizers, met with community, business, religious leaders in an effort to ensure a safe event." "Despite these high hopes, we had unfortunate tragedy once again," he said. "That will not deter us or what we'll do next year." Parade-goers said Monday morning that they were glad the police were keeping an eye on things. Safety is a must, we appreciate it, one woman said. Every year its a big celebration, as you can see, and we welcome the presence of the police. "To me, J'Ouvert is not the problem. The problem is the system. I can't blame J'Ouvert for the incident," said Brathwaite, Borel's great uncle. De Blasio also pointed out that the St. Patrick's Day Parade and the Puerto Rican Day Parade also once had reputations for violence until systematic efforts by police tamped down on the perception. An official says a fire that broke out in a suburban New York City college dormitory has been extinguished and there are no reported injuries. SUNY Purchase College spokeswoman Betsy Aldredge says Sunday night all students are accounted for after a fire broke out in the apartment-style dorm. It wasn't immediately clear what sparked the blaze, but Aldredge says two local fire departments and the utility Consolidated Edison are on scene. She says the blaze was contained to one room. Purchase College is among 64 universities that make up the State University of New York system. It's located on 500-acre farm in Westchester County, about 33 miles north of New York City near the Connecticut border. About 4,200 students attend the liberal arts college. A 26-year-old New Jersey woman has mysteriously disappeared after a routine trip to her local coffee shop, her cellphone and laptop left behind in an office building about three miles away, police and family say. Tammy Kim, who has no history of running away, was last seen near the Starbucks on Highway 23 in Franklin Borough at about 10 a.m. Thursday, according to police. The Starbucks cafe was a favorite hangout for Kim, and she often worked on her computer there. Kim, who does not drive, was supposed to be picked up by her parents at around noon last Thursday, her mother told NBC 4 New York Monday. Surveillance images show her apparently walking to a couple of nearby businesses, eventually making a three-mile journey south along Route 23. Her laptop was found abandoned near the Sussex Bank corporate offices -- a mostly empty office building -- on Munsonhurst Road, police said. On the second floor of the building, in a room that's under renovation, police tracked her phone about 12 hours after she disappeared. That's all they found, according to Franklin Borough Police Det. Nevin Mattessich. There was no sign of Kim or any kind of foul play. Because Kim does not drive, two scenarios are dominating the list of possibilities, according to police: She suffered from some sort of medical episode and wandered into the woods in a rural area nearby, or she got into a car with somone. But both are out of character for the aspiring teacher and artist, according to her family, who's now appealing to the public for help. Her mother, Christine Kim, told NBC 4 her daughter is "an intelligent and hard-working and highly educated professional with many talents and a bright future." Tammy has been "suffering from many health issues and side effects of the medications," her worried mother said. "She is just sick and lost, and could be injured somewhere in need of being found," said Christine Kim. Police say Tammy, who has a masters degree in fine art, has friends in New York City and Asbury Park, and that's where they're hoping people will see photos of her and contact police with any information. She was last seen wearing a brown tee shirt and carrying a purse with the cartoon character Felix the Cat on it. Anyone with information about her whereabouts is asked to call the Franklin police at 973-827-7700. Authorities were still searching Sunday for a brazen and possibly murderous escape artist who slipped out of a Nevada interrogation room Friday, NBC News reported. The white Ford pickup that police said Alonso Perez, 25, used once he fled police custody was discovered Saturday without the suspect, leaving the murder victim's sister angrily wondering how such an escape could even happen and the police in a desperate hunt for their man. "I can understand their frustration we're just as frustrated ourselves," North Las Vegas police spokesman Aaron Patty told NBC News. "But the bigger focus is: We have a homicide suspect on the loose." Police apprehended Perez Friday and transported him to an interview room in the department's detective bureau, where he was secured with metal bracelets. After a couple of hours, NBC affiliate KSNV reported, an investigator stepped out, when Perez twisted his handcuffs until they snapped, Patty said. A woman died from her injuries after police say a man intentionally ran into her with his vehicle and then struck her with a shovel in Philadelphia Sunday night. Police say the unidentified man drove into the woman on W. Rockland and N. Franklin streets at 8:23 p.m. He then allegedly grabbed a shovel and assaulted her with it. The man was arrested by responding officers and is currently in custody. The woman was taken to Einstein Hospital where she was pronounced dead at 9:48 p.m. Police have not yet identified the suspect but say he is being questioned by investigators. This story is developing. Check back for updates. For the last five years, some of the best shows in San Diego jazz were held upstairs in the Back Room at 98 Bottles in Little Italy. That tradition came to a sad conclusion on Saturday, Aug. 27 when Gilbert Castellanos held a tribute to the music of Thelonious Monk, featuring pianist Joshua White, bassist Dean Hulett, vocalist Leonard Patton and Los Angeles drummer Kevin Kanner. The evening began with the live wire electricity of 5ll Getcha 10, as Whites relentless ostinato broke into swing time while Castellanos peeled melodic curlicues in wide arcs. Kanner is an explosive drummer who often sparred with the pianist, while Hulett held his ground with the reliability of an atomic clock. But Whites ebullience was not easily tamed, especially when he dug in to stoke the rhythmic flame with incremental repetition and bruising clusters. Castellanos brassy tone was fat enough to require an extra airline seat, and on Think of One, it was strong enough to peel the paint off of the rafters. Pattons elastic soulfulness reminded me of a strange merger between Bobby McFerrin, Bill Withers and a Theremin. White began with extreme minimalism before exploding like a supernova with notes ricocheting across the stage. Hulett brought up the rear with an essay of thick tones that dripped like molasses. The music of Monk, like fellow iconic outsider Ornette Coleman, seems to grow more timeless and essential with each passing year. On Bolivar Blues, White extrapolated a sonic universe that orbited around a pedaled F natural, nurturing it, raising it right, only to witness it careening south into a house of ill repute, where Castellanos revived it with a growling plunger-mute novella that would make Henry Miller blush. Kanner furthered the blues continuum with a stunning solo that combined complete sentences with brutal exclamations. Whites intro to Criss Cross was joyfully atonal, using the nagging tagline like a cat-o-nine tails of splintered rhythms before breaking free with unfettered melodic content pulling the theme apart at the seams and drawing Kanner into a spastic dance of violent choreography. Pattons feature came on a haunting rendition of Round Midnight, where the vocalist explored every possible thematic nuance like an obsessed cartographer, determined to discover the most salient course. Hulett was next, demonstrating a keen ability to strip away artifice, forcing the crowd to lean forward so as not to miss a note. Castellanos and company finished the first set with Evidence, showcasing a prima facie display of whisper-to-roar dynamics, undiluted swing and bristling kinetic energy, which earned the riotous ovation that ensued. And that was it. After five years of making things happen, the owners of 98 Bottles, Steve and Jill Mesaros (who recently became grandparents for the first time), have decided to move on and take some time to smell the roses. Ive seen some great shows there and I will miss the place. Robert Bush is a freelance jazz writer who has been exploring the San Diego improvised music scene for more than 30 years. Follow him on Twitter @robertbushjazz. Visit The World According to Rob. A routine fishing trip for four people on board the boat Sweet Marie quickly turned into a rescue mission. Early Saturday, a sport fishing boat crashed into one of the Coronado Islands off the coast of Mexico. The 63-foot Invicta struck rocks and was taking on water with 21 passengers and crew onboard. Passenger Darian Fox boarded the boat Friday night for an annual fishing trip planned by employees of a San Diego-area plumbing company. The trip came to an abrupt end when the boat crashed into the rocky shore of one of the Coronado Islands. The boat went full on collision with the islands, Fox remembered. It threw everybody and put everybody in a frenzy. Just over a mile away, John Rodriguez was the only person awake on his 35-foot boat Sweet Marie. He and his 3-person crew were on their way to fish tuna when he heard a mayday call and saw a flare light up the sky. The sense of urgency at first for me wasn't that great until I realized how quickly they were sinking, Rodriguez told NBC 7. Sweet Marie arrived moments later to find everyone with life jackets on. But the current was too strong for them to get away from the rocky island on a life raft without help. That's when it really set in, Johns wife Sandy Rodriguez said. It's like 'Oh my gosh.'" "Had we not been there, these people in those rafts would have been smashed into those rocks just like the big boat was. Coast Guard chopper video shows Invicta in pieces. But what you may not be able to see are all of the fishing poles, wallets, keys and other personal belongings that went down with the boat. It's eerie and eye opening to see in how little time things can go bad and I mean real bad, Sandy Rodriguez said. The Rodriguez family loaded all 26 people onto their own boat, making sure to distribute their weight evenly for the next hour or so until the Coast Guard Cutter Sea Otter took over the rescue. The Coast Guard called the Sweet Marie crew a group of Good Samaritans. Not heroes just good Samaritans, said Sandy Rodriguez. In the hope that if we're ever in that situation, someone lends us a hand. When you're on the water you respond. It's just something you do," John Rodriguez explained. The Coast Guard has launched an investigation into the crash, though it could take months. One passenger suffered a back injury, but declined medical treatment. Everyone else was unharmed. NBC 7 reached out to H&M Landing in San Diego, a booking agency for boats. A rep from the Landing told NBC 7 Invicta was one of the boats booked out by the agency. All of the boats that go through the Landing are independently owned and operated, the rep said. The California Highway Patrol (CHP) has released statistics on the number of DUI-related arrests and deaths in San Diego County over the Labor Day weekend, as local police ramp up DUI enforcement. Last year there were 53 DUI arrests in San Diego County. So far there's been 51 DUI arrests during the 2016 Labor Day weekend, CHP officials said. Compared to two DUI fatalities in 2015, there's been zero deaths in San Diego County this year. Statewide, there were 737 DUI arrests and 13 DUI-related deaths across California for the 2015 Labor Day weekend, CHP officials said. This year marks a slight decrease in drunk driving deaths, with 734 DUI arrests and 10 fatalities. There appears to be a slight dip in the numbers since last year, but this may change on Monday. Law enforcement plans to ramp up its presence this holiday weekend to arrest anyone who chooses to drink and drive. El Cajon Police will conduct a DUI checkpoint between the hours of 8:00 p.m. to 3:00 a.m. on Sunday evening and Monday early morning. A Lake Murray man was leaving his apartment for a bike ride on Labor Day when he was stabbed multiple times and robbed for his phone, San Diego Police confirmed. A woman called 911 at 6:36 a.m. to report her boyfriend had been stabbed three times in the parking lot behind their apartment complex on Lake Arrowhead Drive southeast of Lake Murray Boulevard and west of State Route 125. The victim, described as a man in his 20s, was leaving to go on a bike ride when he was approached by a stranger, Sgt. Nicholas Dedonato said. The victim was robbed of his phone and stabbed three times in the chest but was able to walk back to his apartment, police said. "At this time his wounds are superficial, they are not life-threatening," said Dedonato. There have been no arrests. Officers were looking for a man driving a silver Ford Focus. Neighbor Josh Norris found the incident unsettling. "Its eerie especially like I said I leave for work the same time this happened. If someone else can get robbed getting in their car, who's to say that couldnt have been me," Norris said. No other information was immediately available. Two men placed a photo near a San Carlos intersection, marking the spot where a traffic collision took the most important person in their lives. It just rips you apart in disbelief, Dimitri Bialk said Sunday. "There's no other feeling in this world that can describe how painful it is to lose your mother." Marjorie Bialk, 76, taught special education in schools across San Diego for more than 30 years. Described as an endlessly giving woman, she dedicated her life to children and God, her sons said. My mom gave a lot to the community. That was how she got through things. She had a really hard life but she knew if she gave, she felt good inside," Joe Bialk said of his mother. Marjorie Bialk was driving a Toyota Camry north on Park Ridge Boulevard through the intersection at Navajo Park. For some reason, another driver failed to stop at a red light, San Diego Police said. Bialk was later pronounced dead. The other driver, identified by police as Clarina Chu, 88, of San Diego also died from injuries suffered in the crash. Since their deaths, flowers decorate the traffic poles around the intersection showing how big of a loss it is for this community. Along with messages of support proving these brothers are not alone. Two women one in her 70s and the other in her 80s were killed in a crash on Navaja Road in San Carlos Friday. NBC 7s Elena Gomez reports. A vigil was held Monday evening to remember the Grossmont High School student and "Captain America" fan whose visit with his heroes tugged at our hearts earlier this year. Friends and family of 18-year-old Ryan Wilcox remembered the young man who they say did not lose his battle against cancer. "He beat it a long time ago by the way he chose to LIVE," the family posted to Facebook when they announced his death Saturday. Wilcox, a student at Grossmont High School, was so beloved by his classmates that earlier this year they held a school rally in his honor. "He stood in front of the stage and everyone in the audience had an arm up and he posed in front and we were able to get this awesome picture," said Allison Schafer. "And it represented, not only the school but the community coming together." Another student says Wilcox brought separate groups together in the high school after they heard of his battle and strength. Candles formed the words "Ryan Strong" on the stage; words used to describe Wilcox by his friends and peers. "Tonight, it made me realize how strong he made us come together and how our community became powerful through him," said student Kelsey York. The teenager drew strength from the superheroes in the "Captain America" film franchise. So the students asked for Wilcox to receive a visit from his idols, the cast of Captain America. Actor Chris Evans responded with a video that surprised Wilcox at the May 6 rally. Actress Gwyneth Paltrow, who plays Pepper Potts in the franchise, suggested that she, Evans and Robert Downey, Jr. follow up with a visit to the teenager. The trio followed through and stopped by for a visit a few weeks later. Grossmont High School and all of the other schools in the district are asking students to wear red, white, and blue on Tuesday to honor Wilcox. Images: Avengers Stars Visit Ryan Wilcox in San Diego In the United States, drug-resistant gonorrhea is a public health problem of national concern. But untreatable gonorrhea isn't the only STD that has health officials worried, according to an NBC News report. Earlier this week, the World Health Organization released new treatment guidelines for three common sexually transmitted diseases chlamydia, gonorrhea and syphilis in response to increasing antibiotic resistance. Gonorrhea has developed the strongest resistance to drugs, according to the WHO, but the worries about untreatable syphilis and chlamydia come at a time when rates for the three STDs are rising rapidly in the U.S, especially among young people ages 20 to 24. Gonorrhea is even starting to show decreased susceptibility to a "last line" treatment option. This makes this bacterium a multidrug-resistant organism, often called a "superbug." This article is sponsored by AARP Foundation. It does not reflect the work or opinions of NBC Washingtons editorial staff. To register for AARP Foundations Celebration of Service Meal Pack Challenge, visit Mealpackchallenge.org. Its hard to imagine Americans going hungry. But did you know that in this country more than 10 million adults aged 50 and older struggle every day with food insecurity? Often the result of unemployment, a lack of social connections and basic legal rights, food insecurity can have devastating effects on an individuals health. The problem persists in DC, too, where over 20 percent of seniors face food insecurity. Fortunately, we can help. On Sunday, September 11 and Monday, September 12, join AARP Foundation for their second annual Celebration of Service Meal Pack Challenge event on the National Mall. By aiming to recruit 5,000 volunteers to pack 1.5 million healthy meals, the charitable event will honor veterans and all those first responders who came together in such a remarkable way on 9/11. It will also help lift senior poverty out of the shadows and shine a spotlight on the needs of older adults who are struggling to secure the essentials. Both days run from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., and volunteers will work in teams in 90-minute shifts. Once packed, meals will be distributed to seniors in need throughout the DC metro area by the Capital Area Food Bank. Are you up for the challenge? Register here to help make a difference in the lives of those in need by being a part of this life-changing event. AARP Foundation works to ensure that low-income older adults have nutritious food, affordable housing, a steady income and strong and sustaining bonds. They collaborate with individuals and organizations who share their commitment to innovation and their passion for problem solving. Supported by vigorous legal advocacy, AARP Foundation creates and advances effective solutions that help struggling older adults transform their lives. Click here to learn more. A man who allegedly raped a lifeguard at an Alexandria, Virginia, pool is still at large, causing concern for residents who live nearby. On Monday, a male lifeguard was on duty for the final day of swimming at the Hillwood Condominiums and Alexandria police provided an added layer of security nearby. A woman working as a lifeguard at the pool told police a man raped her at gunpoint on Saturday afternoon. Resident Lisa Siglar said she was out shopping Saturday when her neighbor's began to text her. "When I came home, one of my neighbors told me the lifeguard was raped and it was just pretty sad and scary at the same time," Siglar said. According to residents, the victim is a young woman from Bulgaria who had recently started working at the pool on a fill-in basis. "I really feel for her and her family and what she's going through," Siglar said. Other residents told News4 that they are already changing their routines after learning about the attack. "A lot of times I like visiting the back trails with the dogs so, it's like, I can't do that now. I kind of have to stay in the open so people can see me," said Brianna Wyatt, a resident at Hillwood Condominiums. While residents said Hillwood has been very safe for the most part, they said they do see a fair amount of people who cut through the open gates. For Wyatt and Siglar, the biggest concern is that the main building's entrance and the pool house are unlocked with no key card system in place. "Hopefully one of the things they can do next summer is get more secure door system so we have to scan a key card to get in so random people can't just walk in there and do violent acts," Siglar said. A priest stole funds from a Maryland church where he served as pastor, according to an indictment unsealed Thursday. John S. Mattingly, 70, deposited charitable checks from St. Francis Xavier Catholic Church into his own account, then transferred the funds into his personal retirement account, according to the indictment. Hes also accused of writing checks from the Leonardtown churchs account payable to himself and deposited them into his retirement account. "We were shocked. I felt like someone had kicked me in the stomach," said Lynn Delahay, a longtime member of the church. Mattingly served as pastor at the church from 1994 until September 2010. The alleged scheme took place over his last four years at the church, according to the indictment. Mattingly allegedly deposited more than 500 checks written by more than 135 parishioners totaling at least $76,000, according to the indictment. He is charged with 20 counts of bank fraud. Each count carries a maximum sentence of 30 years in prison. Alexandria police said they've canvassed a neighborhood for witnesses after a female lifeguard was raped at a condominium complex's swimming pool on Saturday. A man sexually assaulted the 24-year-old woman at gunpoint about 2 p.m. Saturday, police said. The woman then reported the attack to police. Police said no one else was at the pool during the attack, possibly because of the cooler weather. Police spokeswoman Crystal Nosal said the crime was unusual in that it involved a stranger and occurred in the middle of the day in a public place. Nosal said police may work with the woman to create a composite sketch of her attacker. Authorities will check surveillance cameras for any video of the suspect. Police in Middletown, Rhode Island, say a child died and two other children were injured following an early-morning fire that also sent five police officers to the hospital for smoke inhalation. The fire at 566 East Main Road broke out at midnight. Police were able to rescue two children from the first floor of the building. Firefighters found a third child on the second floor when they arrived, who WJAR says later died at Hasbro Children's Hospital. The children were siblings, ranging from 7 to 17-years-old, according to WJAR. The two children rescued from the first floor were taken to Newport Hospital in unknown condition. Five police officers were treated and released from Newport Hospital for smoke inhalation. The children's parents were not home at the time of the fire. The cause of the fire is under investigation. A Massachusetts man is facing charges after allegedly assaulting officers in Dartmouth over the weekend. Dartmouth police say Daniel Gill, 62, of Fall River Road in Dartmouth was pulled over around 1:30 a.m. Saturday on Cross Road. While he was talking with officers, Gill allegedly became argumentative and aggressive. Police say they tried to take Gill into custody because of his behavior, which is when they say he became physically combative and assaulted them. Gill was eventually arrested and charged with assault and battery on a police officer, resisting arrest, disorderly conduct and threats to commit a crime. It's unclear if he has an attorney. Police say no one, including Gill, was injured. A police officer was hit by a vehicle in East Hampton on Sunday night. Connecticut State Police responded to West High Street (Route 66) to assist East Hampton police after the officer was hit. The officer has been identified as Hardie Burgin, 29. A LifeStar medical helicopter transported Burgin, according to a LifeStar dispatcher. The officer was conscious and alert at Hartford Hospital, though he suffered what appeared to be serious injuries, state police said. As of Tuesday morning, Burgin was listed in good condition. State police said the accident occurred around 8:17 p.m. Burgin was in the road helping an Eversource crew with emergency work when he was struck by a Toyota Rav4, driven by Michael Fraulino, 29, of Portland. Fraulino was not injured. The state police accident reconstruction team is investigating the incident. Police in Oak Bluffs, Massachusetts, arrested a man they say crashed a stolen car, broke into a home and painted a dog Saturday afternoon. Officers arrested Felix Reagan following the incident. They say they received a report around 2:30 p.m. of a stolen vehicle that crashed at the end of Firehouse Lane and that the suspect ran from the scene. Shortly after, they responded to a home on Pinewood Lane, where the homeowner said someone broke into the home, stole items and painted their dog with purple paint. A neighbor told police a male knocked on the door and asked for someone who didn't live there. They provided police a description of the suspect that led officers to believe Reagan was responsible for the incidents. Reagan was arrested on June 3 for breaking and entering, vandalism and being a minor in possession of alcohol. Officers located him on Webaqua Road and took him into custody. He was found with prescription pills, a driver's license and credit card stolen from the home. He also had purple paint on him. Officers said they also received reports of two additional break-ins on Webaqua Road. As Reagan was being transported, he allegedly tried to kick out the cruiser windows and kicked an officer twice. He was charged with breaking and entering in the daytime with the intent to commit a felony, larceny of a motor vehicle, destruction of property, cruelty to animals, possession of a Class A substance, possession of a Class E substance and two counts of assault and battery on a police officer. It's not clear if Reagan has an attorney. An Attleboro woman is facing multiple charges after being accused of driving drunk and hitting a man while on a jog Sunday in Seekonk, Massachusetts. Police said the driver fled the scene following the incident on Route 44, but thanks to Good Samaritans, officers were able to catch up to her. "Witnesses that were operating behind her, followed her into East Providence," said Seekonk Police Sgt. Eric Chalifoux. "Two vehicles were able to position themselves so they blocked her in." The woman, who has not yet been identified, was arrested in East Providence. Police said the jogger, who the suspect struck, is a man in his 50s. "I just heard a very loud thud and I said, 'something is not right,' and ran to the window and that's when I saw the victim laying on the sidewalk," said witness, Paula Pelletier. Pelletier said the jogger hit a telephone pole near Sundaes, a popular ice cream spot. "He was laying on the ground and seemed to be unconscious," Pelletier said. "He was not moving at first. Looked like there was a lot of blood around the head area." The victim was rushed to Rhode Island Hospital in Providence. "He's in critical but serious condition that's all the updates we have," said Sgt. Chalifoux. Neighbors and joggers told necn that the roadway is dangerous. "There's a lot of cars here especially speeders and drunk drivers," said Jaden Arruda, of Seekonk. Residents also say not only is traffic a problem, but so is the landscaping. "The bushes that are coming out makes it a little more challenging to run but we don't normally come on this road for that reason," said Tanya Arruda, of Seekonk. Pelletier said she would also like to see the sidewalks cleared along with more patrols. "It's a risky thing just to cross the street," she said. The suspect in the case is facing multiple charges and is expected in court sometime this week. Massachusetts State Police say a Rhode Island man is facing drunk driving and several gun charges after a motor vehicle crash in West Springfield on Saturday morning. A trooper responded to the crash on Route 91 north at 3 a.m. to find that Nicholas Beard, 25, of Cranston, had crashed his Mazda into a median barrier. Beard was arrested for operating under the influence of liquor (2nd Offense) and negligent operation of a motor vehicle. Upon further investigation, police said the arresting trooper then found a loaded .40 caliber handgun inside the vehicle. Beard was also charged with unlawful possession of a firearm without a license, possession of a firearm while intoxicated, and possession of ammunition without an FID card. Beard is being held on $2,500 bail pending his arraignment Tuesday in Springfield District Court. Sen. Bernie Sanders is urging voters to remember that this election has never been about the people running for office, but about the voters. Campaigning on behalf of his former rival, Hillary Clinton, on Labor Day, Sanders told a crowd of supporters in Lebanon, New Hampshire, that the election is "about you and your needs and the needs of the American people." For that reason, he said, Clinton is the best choice. Sanders also appeared Monday at a breakfast event in Manchester. In Lebanon, Sanders said both he and Clinton will fight for increased funding for sustainable and renewable energy, a higher minimum wage, a Supreme Court nominee who supports overturning Citizen's United, and increased infrastructure spending in order to create more jobs. Norfolk priest recalls meeting with Mother Teresa Norfolk priest recalls meeting with Mother Teresa On the day that Mother Teresa was canonised as a saint by Pope Francis, a Norfolk priest who met her in Calcutta, has spoken of how she found the brief encounter overwhelming. Keith Morris reports. Born in Albania, Mother Teresa founded the Missionaries of Charity, a Catholic religious congregation of over 4,500 sisters, which runs run homes for people dying of HIV/AIDS, leprosy and tuberculosis; soup kitchens; dispensaries and mobile clinics; children's and family counselling programmes; orphanages; and schools. She was made a saint by Pope Francis today (September 4) in a ceremony in front of 100,000 people in St Peters Square in Rome. Known as the saint of the gutters, she won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1979 and died in September 1997 the age of 87. Norfolk Anglican priest Rev Pat Atkinson, from Brundall, has devoted the last 25 years of her own life to reaching out to the untouchables in the slums of India. In February 1997, she was invited to Calcutta to meet Mother Teresa who had heard of Pats work and was interested in how it had involved. I had a fascinating four-day train journey to Calcutta, but when I reached the Mother House, Mother Teresa was too ill to see anyone, said Pat. For the next two days I spent time visiting her projects, with trips back to the Mother House in the hope of meeting her. On the third morning Sister Hyacinth, one of her senior staff, told me Mother is very weak, but wait and see, it may be today. After an hour I was taken to Mother's bedroom. The room was about 8 feet by 5 feet, with just her wooden bed on which she was lying, a spotlessly clean stone floor and a wash bucket. She was clearly still very ill. I went in to her room having to walk sideways, to where she was lying on her bed. She struggled to sit up and patted the bed to indicate that I could sit. I sat on the bed next to her for about a minute, she held my hand and said don't stop loving. She was clearly very weak, I put my arm around her shoulder then she lay down again. I felt totally overwhelmed when l left her. That was it, I spent time later talking to Sister Hyacinth about our work, which she said she would pass on to Mother Teresa, I don't know if she managed to do so as she remained weak until she died, said Pat. I was in back in the south of India for her funeral, and booked myself in to a hotel for the day so I could see it. The whole country came to a standstill, shops closed, streets were deserted, people staying indoors as a mark of respect. Most of the usual television programmes were cancelled and films of her life, and Christian music was played, recalled Pat. Pat, who has received an MBE for her own work in India, now leads the Vidiyal Trust, and will be back in India in November for her 50th trip. The Vidiyal Trust is a hands-on charity which has built and owns a Boys Home, Girls Home and Tuition Centre for over 100 children in Mavelikara, North Kerala. The Trust also has a training and development link with the main Regional Cancer Centre in Kerala funding two ambulances to run clinics and to take palliative care to cancer patients who are too poor or weak to reach hospital. It is also developing a sponsorship scheme for children with cancer in rural Dahlit villages. In Madurai, Tamil Nadu, the Trust has a residential care home for elderly street ladies, and also runs a lunch and care unit in a slum which cares for over 50 elders daily. In the same slum there is a tuition and care centre attended by 150 children. Around 40 people in a nearby leprosy compound are also cared for by The Vidiyal Trust.and a further 130 are helped in a nearby colony. The majority of the work continues to be supported by Norfolk churches and individuals. Pictured top is Mother, now Saint Teresa. Picture copyright of Manfredo Ferrari. Pictured above is Rev Pat Atkinson Anna Price encourages Christians to engage positively with Halloween rather than hide away, on what many see as the darkest night of the year. Anna Price encourages Christians to engage positively with Halloween rather than hide away, on what many see as the darkest night of the year. First service takes place at Norwich church site SOUL Church hosted around 400 people for a special service on the site of their new building on Heartsease Lane. Read more Dereham draws up list of warm places for winter As rising energy prices make it harder to heat homes, churches in Dereham are leading the way in creating warm spaces where people can go. Read more South Norfolk church scoops national award A medieval Anglican church in a tiny hamlet in South Norfolk has won a national award and a 10,000 boost. Read more Dereham churches help people to help themselves A group of churches in Dereham have launched an ambitious project which aims to meet needs in the town, including the provision of food and skills training. Read more Executive assistant and nursery manager jobs SOUL Church is a vibrant, welcoming and growing church in Norwich. They are seeking an organised and versatile Executive Assistant to provide key support to the churchs Senior Pastors, as well as a qualified Nursery Manager to head up SOUL Nursery. Read more Halloween light in Gorleston church On Halloween this year, St Mary Magdalene Church in Gorleston will be preparing to welcome around 200 families to experience their Light on a Dark Night event. Read more An opportunity for Norwich to pray for the nation Rev Nigel Fox, who has served as a Methodist Minister for 15 years in Norwich, shares an open invitation to pray for the nation at a crucial moment. Read more Norwich church seeks musicians Kingdom Ambassadors International Church is appealing for instrumentlists, keyboardists and guitarists to be part of their worship experience. Read more Please keep Rishi in your prayers Andy Bryant urges us to pray for our political leaders, especially the new Prime Minister, and avoid unhelpful judgementalism. Read more Emilys art boosts growing Yarmouth foodbank A pupil at a primary school in Bradwell has been selling her pictures in order to raise money for the Yarmouth and Magdalen Foodbank, which is expanding its capacity and is seeking more volunteers. Read more Patrick Regan helps Norwich to bounce forwards On Saturday St Stephens in Norwich hosted Bouncing Forwards as part of a national tour by the mental health charity Kintsugi Hope. Read more Painting and biblical feasting in Overstrand There will be opportunities to improve your painting skills and indulge in some biblical feasting next month at the Pleasaunce in Overstrand in North Norfolk. Read more Latest Norfolk Christian community events Events of interest to the Norwich and Norfolk Christian community happening over the next few weeks are listed. Read more National award for Dereham Christian bookshop The Green Pastures Christian bookshop in Dereham has won a national award for providing boxes of Christian books to 21 local schools. Read more Norma's care home jigsaw challenge complete A resident at Norwich-based care home Corton House has completed an incredible 70 jigsaw puzzles in celebration of the homes 70th anniversary this year. Read more Norwich charity's appeal to support Palestinian students A Norwich educational charity, set up in memory of a Norwich Anglican priest, to support students from a Palestinian refugee camp, is inviting people to support its Christmas appeal to be launched on November 29. Read more Norfolk drug and alcohol charity pays tribute to its founder Andy Sexton, CEO of the Matthew Project, introduces a series of tributes from the charity to its founder, Peter Farley. Read more Way back, in the mists of time, when we were all much younger and the world was a brighter, happier place almost a year ago I published a piece on Verizons impressively terrible e-mail service: Why Verizon's email service sucks and what to do about it. But wait! Theres more making it even suckier! Reader D C, commenting on the post a few days after publishing, noted that: Verizon also blocks POP access from outside the US. So while I'm traveling, I'm not able to get my personal email. They disclose this nowhere on their site, nor do most of their support people seem to understand this policy. Pretty absurd. Not surprisingly, Verizon has never commented on the original piece nor, as far as I am aware, have they made any substantial changes to their email service, a fact that is backed up by "Paul", another reader, whose recent email to me (not sent from a Verizon account) also commented on the post: I realized this several years ago and I am delighted using gmail. I set up an auto-response to my Verizon email (I actually don't disclose my new email, but say please get in touch through another means), but for several years I've gone back and filtered through the unbelievable amount of spam still coming into my Verizon email account in search of a few random accounts I set up many years ago that most likely won't care (or read) that I've moved on. Part of the reason I do this is because Verizon WON'T LET ME CLOSE the email account, claiming it is tied to my overall account for cable TV (I *love* FIOS) and home phone (I know, I'm a dinosaur). I know you don't run a self-help column, but please tell me that either (1) I can insist that Verizon terminate my account or (2) I just get comfortable NEVER checking it again. Thanks for contributing positively to life on this planet! My advice was: 1. If Verizon won't close the account then you can try insisting but they're like a force of nature; complain all you want but you are, essentially, powerless in the face of a vast, unseeing, indomitable behemoth that doesn't care about you and your puny, human needs at all. 2. If you'd be comfortable with Verizon closing your account then you are saying, in effect, that you don't care about anything that might be sent to that account. Therefore you can just leave it for Verizon to deal with. It'll just sit there, gathering spam and costing them money (though, in reality, not really so much that it's worth them doing anything about it). If you really can't stand the idea of possibly missing something, try forwarding *all* email to your Gmail account and let Google remove the spam; this is an aspect of Gmail that is perhaps the best of its kind in the market. Its pretty weird that Verizon wont allow you to nominate a non-Verizon email address for your Verizon account. I cant imagine a security issue or customer service concern that would justify this policy and running a mail service for hundreds of thousands of what are effectively zombie email accounts has to be expensive. Once again, this raises the big question: Why doesnt Verizon want to have happier customers? I suspect we will never know the answers to these kinds of questions but Im always happy to provide help or, failing that, a shoulder to cry on. If youre wrestling with Verizon or any other vast, unseeing, indomitable behemoth that doesn't care about you and your puny, human needs and wants, connect with me or comment below then follow me on Twitter and Facebook. Chelsea Clinton will be in Carlisle this Wednesday campaigning for her mother and the Democratic nominee for president, Hillary Clinton. The Women for Hillary Carlisle organizing event with Chelsea Clinton is scheduled for 1 p.m. at the campaign office of the Cumberland County Democrats, 25 W. High St. Wednesdays visit will put Carlisle on the map, said Mayor Tim Scott, a member of the Pennsylvania Democratic State Committee. It gives us some national recognition. It means that this area is important to the campaign. Scott added the visit by Chelsea Clinton also gives local Democrats some hope considering Cumberland County has a history of being a Republican stronghold. In her first public campaign events since the Democratic National Convention, Chelsea Clinton will also attend an organizing event in State College on Wednesday and a Women for Hillary event in Scranton on Thursday, according to a posting on www.medium.com. At each event, Chelsea Clinton will talk about how her mother as president will defend and expand womens rights and fight for women and families, the posting reads. Chelsea Clinton will also outline how the campaign of Republican candidate Donald Trump has denigrated women and people of many backgrounds including Latinos, African-Americans and people with disabilities. This show that he is temperamentally unfit to be President, the posting reads. The posting mentions how the Clinton agenda would expand economic opportunities for Pennsylvania women by raising the minimum wage, securing paid family leave and making quality affordable child care a reality for families. Gen. John Armstrong THE HISTORY: Gen. John Armstrong in 1750 coordinated the first plot or plan for the town of Carlisle and was one of its first settlers. He was later appointed surveyor for the newly established Cumberland County. Armstrong was instrumental in capturing Kittanning and developed a great friendship with Col. George Washington during the Battle of Fort Duquesne. Armstrong served many years in the military and was instrumental in helping to push the French from Pennsylvania. In March 1776, according to the journals of Congress, he became a brigadier general. Within a short period of time the Pennsylvania government realized Armstrong was the one officer of the state who was capable of leading, directing and controlling the militia of the state, and he was promoted to major general. Armstrong was a strong supporter of Washington, leading troops alongside him, and he advocated his run for presidency. Armstrong later held such positions as Carlisle school board member, and he became one of the first members of the Board of Trustees for Dickinson College. HOW THEY DIED: Armstrong died in Carlisle, on March 9, 1795. In 1800 when Pennsylvania created a new county at Kittanning, it was named Armstrong County in his honor. GRAVESITE: Old Graveyard, South Bedford and East South streets in Carlisle : - , ' , ' While most holidays are a chance for workers to take time off to remember veterans, the founding of our country, or seasonal remembrances, Labor Day is a day to celebrate us ... the workers. But how did Labor Day come to be? Who were the thinkers behind the movement? According to the United State Department of Labor, "Labor Day, the first Monday in September, is a creation of the labor movement and is dedicated to the social and economic achievements of American workers. It constitutes a yearly national tribute to the contributions workers have made to the strength, prosperity, and well-being of our country." The government website goes on to outline the process: LABOR DAY LEGISLATION "Through the years the nation gave increasing emphasis to Labor Day. The first governmental recognition came through municipal ordinances passed during 1885 and 1886. From these, a movement developed to secure state legislation. The first state bill was introduced into the New York legislature, but the first to become law was passed by Oregon on February 21, 1887. During the year four more states Colorado, Massachusetts, New Jersey, and New York created the Labor Day holiday by legislative enactment. By the end of the decade Connecticut, Nebraska, and Pennsylvania had followed suit. By 1894, 23 other states had adopted the holiday in honor of workers, and on June 28 of that year, Congress passed an act making the first Monday in September of each year a legal holiday in the District of Columbia and the territories. FOUNDER OF LABOR DAY "More than 100 years after the first Labor Day observance, there is still some doubt as to who first proposed the holiday for workers. "Some records show that Peter J. McGuire, general secretary of the Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners and a cofounder of the American Federation of Labor, was first in suggesting a day to honor those "who from rude nature have delved and carved all the grandeur we behold." "But Peter McGuire's place in Labor Day history has not gone unchallenged. Many believe that Matthew Maguire, a machinist, not Peter McGuire, founded the holiday. Recent research seems to support the contention that Matthew Maguire, later the secretary of Local 344 of the International Association of Machinists in Paterson, N.J., proposed the holiday in 1882 while serving as secretary of the Central Labor Union in New York. What is clear is that the Central Labor Union adopted a Labor Day proposal and appointed a committee to plan a demonstration. THE FIRST LABOR DAY "The first Labor Day holiday was celebrated on Tuesday, September 5, 1882, in New York City, in accordance with the plans of the Central Labor Union. The Central Labor Union held its second Labor Day holiday just a year later, on September 5, 1883. "In 1884 the first Monday in September was selected as the holiday, as originally proposed, and the Central Labor Union urged similar organizations in other cities to follow the example of New York and celebrate a "workingmen's holiday" on that date. The idea spread with the growth of labor organizations, and in 1885 Labor Day was celebrated in many industrial centers of the country. A NATIONWIDE HOLIDAY "The form that the observance and celebration of Labor Day should take was outlined in the first proposal of the holiday a street parade to exhibit to the public "the strength and esprit de corps of the trade and labor organizations" of the community, followed by a festival for the recreation and amusement of the workers and their families. This became the pattern for the celebrations of Labor Day. Speeches by prominent men and women were introduced later, as more emphasis was placed upon the economic and civic significance of the holiday. Still later, by a resolution of the American Federation of Labor convention of 1909, the Sunday preceding Labor Day was adopted as Labor Sunday and dedicated to the spiritual and educational aspects of the labor movement. "The character of the Labor Day celebration has undergone a change in recent years, especially in large industrial centers where mass displays and huge parades have proved a problem. This change, however, is more a shift in emphasis and medium of expression. Labor Day addresses by leading union officials, industrialists, educators, clerics and government officials are given wide coverage in newspapers, radio, and television. "The vital force of labor added materially to the highest standard of living and the greatest production the world has ever known and has brought us closer to the realization of our traditional ideals of economic and political democracy. It is appropriate, therefore, that the nation pay tribute on Labor Day to the creator of so much of the nation's strength, freedom, and leadership the American worker." Tuesday Leadwood Board of Alderpersons The Leadwood Board of Alderpersons is holding a special session tonight at 6 p.m. in the Leadwood City Hall located in the basement of the United Methodist Church at 201 Church St. Officials will announce the resignation of an alderman. The meeting is open to the public. Thursday Bismarck Board of Aldermen The Bismarck Board of Aldermen meets in regular session at 7 p.m. in the old train depot on South Main St. The meeting is open to the public. Farmington City Council The Farmington City Council meets in regular session at 6:30 p.m. in council chambers, located at 110 W. Columbia St. The meeting is open to the public. Register for more free articles. Sign up for our newsletter to keep reading. Get Government & Politics updates in your inbox! Stay up-to-date on the latest in local and national government and political topics with our newsletter. Sign up! Already a Subscriber? Already a Subscriber? Sign in Terms of Service Privacy Policy DEAR DOCTOR K: I like my doctor and I trust his judgment, but I don't feel he really listens to me or explains things. What can I do, besides look for another doctor? DEAR READER: Like every doctor, I am a patient as well as a doctor. I think I can see things from both perspectives. Let me respond first as a patient. If you like and trust your doctor, I'd recommend that you put him to the test before looking for another. At your next visit, gently but firmly make certain things clear: Suppose he says something you don't understand. Tell him you're sorry, but you don't understand. Ask him to explain it again. Suppose he recommends a particular diagnostic test or treatment. If you're concerned about the risk, the cost or something else, tell him that, and explain why. If he mentions risks, be sure he tells you how likely the risks are. (Don't expect a precise answer, but ask for a rough estimate: one in 10, one in 100, one in 1,000?) Suppose, after hearing the answer, you don't like the doctor's recommended test or treatment. Then ask him if there are any other options that you both should consider. Suppose you're dealing with a potentially serious illness, or a test or treatment that has serious risks -- a diagnosis of cancer, or a major operation, for example. If you're not sure you agree with the option your doctor has suggested, you can always seek a second opinion. This is not something to do lightly: At least initially, you won't have the same level of trust for another physician, since you won't know him or her as well as you know your doctor. Suppose, despite your gentle prodding, it becomes clear your doctor just isn't interested in having you involved in making decisions about your medical care. It happens. In that case, I'd start looking for another doctor. Now let me respond as a doctor. One of the hardest things for us is finding the time to do everything we need to do during a patient visit, given the time we have. That includes time for listening and explaining. You can help your doctor by making your time with him as efficient as possible. If you have a chronic illness, remember the questions your doctor asks you at most visits. Be ready to answer the same questions at this visit. For example, if you have diabetes, think about whether you have symptoms that could indicate heart problems, such as chest pain or feeling as though you might pass out. If you tend to forget what the doctor said at the visit, consider bringing someone with you -- a spouse, adult child or friend. That person can help make sure certain questions get asked. He or she can also take notes while you speak with your doctor. The time you spend with your doctor is precious to both of you, so come prepared to make the most of your visit. This column ran originally in October 2013. Dr. Komaroff is a physician and professor at Harvard Medical School. To send questions, go to AskDoctorK.com, or write: Ask Doctor K, 10 Shattuck St., Second Floor, Boston, MA 02115 Brent Blackwell, who was deployed five times to Afghanistan while on active duty for the Army, is seen here at the Chez Center in Urbana on Thursday, Aug. 18, 2016. Blackwell, who served as a medic in the 2nd Ranger Battalion, 75th Ranger Regiment during his seven years of active duty, will be a junior at the UI this year. Champaign, IL (61820) Today Partly cloudy skies this evening will become overcast overnight. Low near 45F. Winds light and variable.. Tonight Partly cloudy skies this evening will become overcast overnight. Low near 45F. Winds light and variable. NOTICE: This Consumer Medicine Information (CMI) is intended for persons living in Australia. Consumer Medicine Information (CMI) summary The full CMI on the next page has more details. If you are worried about using this medicine, speak to your doctor or pharmacist. Why am I using Largactil? Ask your doctor if you have any questions about why Largactil has been prescribed for you. Largactil is available only with a doctor's prescription. For more information, see Section Largactil contains the active ingredient chlorpromazine hydrochloride, one of a group of medicines called phenothiazines. Largactil is used to treat several conditions and may be used either for a short time or for a long time.Ask your doctor if you have any questions about why Largactil has been prescribed for you. Largactil is available only with a doctor's prescription. For more information, see Section 1. Why am I using Largactil? in the full CMI. What should I know before I use Largactil? Talk to your doctor if you have any other medical conditions, take any other medicines, or are pregnant or plan to become pregnant or are breastfeeding. For more information, see Section Do not use if you have ever had an allergic reaction to Largactil or any of the ingredients listed at the end of the CMI.For more information, see Section 2. What should I know before I use Largactil? in the full CMI. What if I am taking other medicines? Some medicines may interfere with Largactil and affect how it works. A list of these medicines is in Section 3. What if I am taking other medicines? in the full CMI. How do I use Largactil? Your doctor or pharmacist will tell you how many tablets or how much syrup you will need to take each day. This depends on your condition and whether or not you are taking any other medicines. More instructions can be found in Section 4. How do I use Largactil? in the full CMI. What should I know while using Largactil? Things you should do Remind any doctor, dentist or pharmacist you visit that you are using Largactil. If you become pregnant while taking Largactil, tell your doctor or pharmacist. You should avoid very cold or very hot environments. You should avoid exposure to strong sunlight while you are taking Largactil. Call your doctor straight away if you notice any worm-like movements of the tongue, or other uncontrolled movements of the tongue, mouth, cheeks or jaw. Things you should not do Do not take Largactil to treat any other complaints unless your doctor or pharmacist tells you to. Driving or using machines Be careful before you drive or use any machines or tools until you know how Largactil affects you. Largactil may cause drowsiness in some people. Drinking alcohol Be careful when drinking alcohol while taking Largactil. Combining Largactil and alcohol can make you more sleepy, dizzy or light headed. Looking after your medicine Follow the instructions in the carton on how to take care of your medicine properly. For more information, see Section 5. What should I know while using Largactil? in the full CMI. Are there any side effects? Serious side effects include sore throat, fever or any sign of infection, breathing difficulty, seizures or fits, unwanted muscle movements of the mouth, tongue, jaw, cheeks or arms and legs, uncontrolled bleeding or bruising more easily than usual. For more information, including what to do if you have any side effects, see Section Less serious side effects include dizziness or light headedness, headache, nausea, dry mouth, drowsiness or tiredness, weight gain, constipation, nasal congestion, agitation, skin discolouration, blurred vision, difficulty urinating and impotence.Serious side effects include sore throat, fever or any sign of infection, breathing difficulty, seizures or fits, unwanted muscle movements of the mouth, tongue, jaw, cheeks or arms and legs, uncontrolled bleeding or bruising more easily than usual.For more information, including what to do if you have any side effects, see Section 6. Are there any side effects? in the full CMI. Why am I using Largactil? Largactil contains the active ingredient chlorpromazine hydrochloride, one of a group of medicines called phenothiazines. Largactil is used to treat several conditions and may be used either for a short time or for a long time. Largactil is used to treat various problems such as severe depression or behavioural disturbances. Largactil can also be used to treat nausea, vomiting, severe pain and unstoppable hiccups. Your doctor may have prescribed Largactil for another reason. Ask your doctor if you have any questions about why Largactil has been prescribed for you. What should I know before I use Largactil? Warnings Do not use Largactil if: you have ever had an allergic reaction to Largactil or any of the ingredients listed at the end of the CMI. Always check the ingredients to make sure you can use this medicine. you have taken any other 'phenothiazine' medicine before, which caused your face, lips, tongue, throat, hands or feet to swell up, or made it hard for you to breathe. If you have had an allergic reaction to a phenothiazine before, you may be allergic to Largactil. If you experience an allergic reaction, seek medical help right away. you have circulatory, blood or bone marrow problems, high blood pressure, liver problems, depression of the central nervous system and phaeochromocytoma (a rare tumour of the adrenal gland which sits near the kidney). the packaging is torn or shows signs of tampering or if the tablet, syrup or ampoule doesn't look quite right. Check with your doctor or pharmacist if you: take any medicines for any other condition asthma chronic respiratory disorders kidney or liver disease heart disease blood clots decreased parathyroid activity low blood calcium levels Parkinson's disease prostate problems epilepsy - fits and seizures glaucoma - high pressure in the eye muscle weakness (myasthenia gravis) diabetes dementia have any other medical conditions especially the following: During treatment, you may be at risk of developing certain side effects. It is important you understand these risks and how to monitor for them. See additional information under Section 6. Are there any side effects Use in children Do not use in children less than 1 year of age. Because of the risk of choking, the tablets should be avoided in children who have difficulty swallowing tablets. Pregnancy and breastfeeding Use of Largactil is not recommended during pregnancy. Check with your doctor or pharmacist if you are a woman of childbearing age and not using effective contraception, or if you are pregnant or intend to become pregnant. Babies exposed to antipsychotic medicines including Largactil during the third trimester of pregnancy are at risk of experiencing breathing problems, difficulty in feeding, spasms, restlessness, involuntary movements and/or withdrawal symptoms following delivery. Use of Largactil is not recommended during breastfeeding. Talk to your doctor or pharmacist if you are breastfeeding or intend to breastfeed. Your doctor or pharmacist will discuss the possible risks and benefits of using Largactil during pregnancy and during breastfeeding. What if I am taking other medicines? Tell your doctor or pharmacist if you are taking any other medicines, including any medicines, vitamins or supplements that you buy without a prescription from your pharmacy, supermarket or health food shop. Some medicines may interfere with Largactil and affect how it works. These include: benztropine and levodopa - drugs used to treat Parkinson's disease antimicrobials used to treat infections antacid - used to treat stomach upsets lithium - used to treat mood disorders barbiturates - a group of drugs used as sedatives tricyclic antidepressants benzodiazepines - a group of drugs used to treat anxiety and muscle spasms other antipsychotics medicines that are CYP1A2 inhibitors e.g. ciprofloxacin, fluvoxamine, oral contraceptives, vemurafenib medicines used to treat a fast or irregular heart beat e.g. amiodarone, quinidine, disopyramide medicines that can slow your heart beat e.g. diltiazem, verapamil, propranolol medicines that can reduce potassium levels in the blood e.g. diuretics, laxatives other medicines that can affect your heart rate e.g. methadone, pentamidine anaesthetics opioids - a group of pain killing drugs antidiabetic agents - a group of drugs used to treat diabetes amphetamines anticoagulants anticholinergics guanethidine clonidine thiazides - diuretics (fluid tablets) MAOI - a group of drugs used to treat depression adrenaline suxamethonium, atropine and organophosphorous insecticides anticonvulsants - a group of drugs used to treat epilepsy e.g. phenytoin, valproic acid prochlorperazine - a drug used to treat nausea and vomiting desferrioxamine - a drug used to treat iron poisoning Check with your doctor or pharmacist if you are not sure about what medicines, vitamins or supplements you are taking and if these affect Largactil. How do I use Largactil? How much to take Follow the instructions provided and use Largactil until your doctor tells you to stop. Your doctor or pharmacist will tell you how many tablets or how much syrup you will need to take each day. This depends on your condition and whether or not you are taking any other medicines. Follow all directions given to you by your doctor and pharmacist carefully. If you do not understand the instructions on the pack, ask your doctor or pharmacist for help. When to take Largactil Take Largactil at about the same time each day. Continue taking Largactil until your doctor or pharmacist tells you to stop. Do not stop using it unless your doctor or pharmacist tells you to, even if you feel better. Taking your tablets or syrup at the same time each day will have the best effect. It will also help you remember when to take the tablets or syrup. How to take Largactil Swallow the prescribed dose of Largactil tablets whole with a full glass of water. Do not chew the tablets. Swallow the prescribed dose of Largactil syrup and follow with a glass of water. Largactil may be given as an injection into a muscle or as a slow injection into a vein. Largactil injections should only be given by a doctor, nurse or other trained person. If you forget to use Largactil If you miss a dose, simply continue to take Largactil as advised by your doctor or pharmacist. You do not need to make up for the missed dose. Do not take a double dose to make up for the dose that you missed. This may increase the chance of you getting an unwanted side effect. If you are not sure what to do, ask your doctor or pharmacist. If you have trouble remembering to take your medicine, ask your pharmacist for some hints. If you use too much Largactil If you think that you have used too much Largactil, you may need urgent medical attention. You should immediately: phone the Poisons Information Centre (by calling 13 11 26), or contact your doctor, or go to the Emergency Department at your nearest hospital. You should do this even if there are no signs of discomfort or poisoning. You may need urgent medical attention. If you take too much Largactil, you may experience: drowsiness low body temperature low blood pressure twisting your limbs stiffness shaking unusual heart beats muscle twitching difficulty in swallowing and breathing convulsions loss of consciousness leading to coma What should I know while using Largactil? Things you should do Tell any other doctors, dentists, and pharmacists who are treating you that you are taking Largactil. If you plan to have surgery that needs a general anaesthetic, tell your doctor or dentist that you are taking Largactil. If you become pregnant while taking Largactil, tell your doctor or pharmacist. You should avoid very cold or very hot environments. Largactil may make it difficult for your body to regulate its temperature. You should avoid exposure to strong sunlight while you are taking Largactil. Do not use a sunlamp or tanning bed or booth. Largactil may cause your skin to be much more sensitive to sunlight than it is normally. Exposure to sunlight may cause a skin rash, itching, redness or severe sunburn. If your skin does appear to be burning, tell your doctor. If exposure to strong sunlight is unavoidable, suitable clothing, including a hat, should be worn. A sunscreen with a high level of protection should also be used. All mentions of suicide must be taken seriously. Tell your doctor or a mental health professional immediately if you have any suicidal thoughts or other mental/mood changes. Call your doctor straight away if you: notice any worm-like movements of the tongue, or other uncontrolled movements of the tongue, mouth, cheeks or jaw which may progress to the arms and legs. These are symptoms of a condition called tardive dyskinesia, which may develop in people taking phenothiazine medicines, including Largactil. This condition is more likely to occur during long term treatment with Largactil, especially in elderly women. In very rare cases, this may be permanent. However, if detected early, these symptoms are usually reversible. Things you should not do Do not give Largactil to anyone else, even if they have the same condition as you. Do not take Largactil to treat any other complaints unless your doctor or pharmacist tells you to. Driving or using machines Be careful before you drive or use any machines or tools until you know how Largactil affects you. Largactil may cause drowsiness, dizziness, and blurred vision in some people. Make sure you know how you react to Largactil before you drive a car, operate machinery, or do anything else that could be dangerous if you are dizzy or light-headed. If this occurs, do not drive. If you drink alcohol, dizziness or light-headedness may be worse. If Largactil makes you feel light-headed, dizzy or faint, be careful when getting up from a sitting or lying position. Getting up slowly may help. Drinking alcohol Tell your doctor if you drink alcohol. Be careful when drinking alcohol while taking Largactil. Combining Largactil and alcohol can make you more sleepy, dizzy or light headed. Your doctor may suggest you avoid alcohol while you are being treated with Largactil. Looking after your medicine Follow the instructions in the carton on how to take care of your medicine properly. Store tablets below 30C. Store syrup below 25C. Protect from light. Store ampoules below 25C. Protect from light. Store it in a cool dry place away from moisture, heat or sunlight; for example, do not store it: in the bathroom or near a sink, or in the car or on window sills. Keep it where young children cannot reach it. Getting rid of any unwanted medicine If you no longer need to use this medicine or it is out of date, take it to any pharmacy for safe disposal. Do not use this medicine after the expiry date. Are there any side effects? All medicines can have side effects. If you do experience any side effects, most of them are minor and temporary. However, some side effects may need medical attention. If you are over 65 years of age, you may have an increased chance of getting side effects. See the information below and, if you need to, ask your doctor or pharmacist if you have any further questions about side effects. Less serious side effects Less serious side effects What to do General dizziness or light headedness headache nausea dry mouth drowsiness or tiredness weight gain constipation nasal congestion weakness Nervous System related agitation confusion Skin related skin problems or discolouration Eye related blurred vision Genito-urinary related difficulty in urinating impotence Speak to your doctor if you have any of these less serious side effects and they worry you. Serious side effects Serious side effects What to do General sore throat, fever or any sign of infection hypersensitivity, fever, rash, facial swelling, swollen lymph nodes (which could be symptoms relating to raised levels of infection fighting cells (these could be symptoms relating to eosinophilia) Allergic reaction breathing difficulty, rash, itching, shortness of breath, swelling of throat, face, lips or tongue, clammy skin, palpitations, fainting Nervous system related seizures or fits unwanted muscle movements of the mouth, tongue, jaw, cheeks or arms and legs. hardness or rigidity of the muscles. high fever, muscle cramps or stiffness, severe headache, fast heartbeat, hallucinations, or are sweating a lot (symptoms relating to Neuroleptic malignant syndrome) involuntary movement of tongue, face, mouth or jaw (symptoms relating to Tardive Dyskinesia) high fever, muscle cramps or stiffness, dizziness, severe headache, fast heartbeat, confusion, agitation, hallucinations or if you are sweating a lot (symptoms relating to neuroleptic malignant syndrome) Heart related fast heartbeat alteration of the heart rhythm (electrical activity of the heart). very fast, uneven or forceful heartbeat (palpitations), weakness, fainting (symptoms relating to QT prolongation) Bleeding related uncontrolled bleeding or bruising more easily than usual Liver related yellowing of the skin and/or eyes (jaundice) and urine becomes darker in color Blood related bleeding and bruising (thrombocytopenic purpura) Call your doctor straight away, or go straight to the Emergency Department at your nearest hospital if you notice any of these serious side effects. Tell your doctor or pharmacist if you notice anything else that may be making you feel unwell. Other side effects not listed here may occur in some people. Reporting side effects After you have received medical advice for any side effects you experience, you can report side effects to the Therapeutic Goods Administration online at www.tga.gov.au/reporting-problems . By reporting side effects, you can help provide more information on the safety of this medicine. Always make sure you speak to your doctor or pharmacist before you decide to stop taking any of your medicines. Product details This medicine is only available with a doctor's prescription. What Largactil contains Tablets Active ingredient (main ingredient) chlorpromazine hydrochloride 10mg, 25mg, or 100mg (active ingredient) Other ingredients (inactive ingredients) lactose monohydrate maize starch colloidal anhydrous silica magnesium stearate hypromellose macrogol 200 Potential allergens Contains lactose Syrup Active ingredient (main ingredient) chlorpromazine hydrochloride 25mg/5mL (active ingredient) Other ingredients (inactive ingredients) sucrose caramel citric acid polysorbate 20 peppermint oil spearmint oil sodium citrate dihydrate ascorbic acid sodium sulphite sodium metabisulphite sodium benzoate fruit cup essence purified water Potential allergens Contains benzoates Contains sulfites Ampoules Active ingredient (main ingredient) chlorpromazine hydrochloride 50mg/2mL (active ingredient) Other ingredients (inactive ingredients) sodium sulfite sodium metabisulphite sodium chloride sodium citrate dihydrate water for injections Potential allergens Contains sulfites Do not take this medicine if you are allergic to any of these ingredients. What Largactil looks like Largactil tablets are white film coated tablets with embossing on one side: 10mg tablet: LG / 10 25mg tablet: LG / 25 100mg tablet: LG / 100 Tablets are available in blister packs of 100. Largactil syrup is a dark orange syrupy liquid with the odour of spearmint / peppermint, and is slightly fruity. Syrup is available in an amber glass 100mL bottle with a childproof cap. Largactil for injection is a clear liquid in a 2mL glass ampoule, in a pack of 10 ampoules. The epidemiological rates for Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) vary considerably throughout the world. This is thought to be due to environmental and behavioral changes, in addition to differences in diagnostic criteria used throughout the world. It is more common in boys than in girls. As it is diagnosed in childhood and the symptoms may improve with time, the prevalence is higher in children than in adults. In the United States The incidence of ADHD in school-aged children in the United States (US) is approximately 3-7%, which is around 1 in 20 children affected. The prevalence varies considerably according to the race and ethnic origin of the individual - children of Mexican background appear to be at lower risk. One study that compared children with ADHD from 1998 to 2009 found that the rates of the condition seem to be increasing with time. For example, the number of children diagnosed with the condition rose to 7-9%. Additionally, the prevalence of ADHD in children with family incomes below the poverty level increased to 10-11%. In the United Kingdom The incidence of ADHD in the United Kingdom (UK) is less than 1%, which is considerably less than that in the US. This difference is thought to be associated with both environmental factors and the heterogeneity of the condition itself. Additionally, the diagnostic criteria to be diagnosed with ADHD in the UK may be stricter than those used in the US, which may contribute to the differences in recorded epidemiological rates. Around the World Related Stories Study finds infertility is a modest risk factor for the development of ADHD in childhood The prevalence of ADHD appears to vary considerably throughout different regions of the world. It is highest in South America, North America and Africa whilst lower prevalence rates have been noted in the Middle East, Asia, Australia, and Europe. Importantly, there are various factors that may contribute to the differences in prevalence in these areas. Morbidity and Mortality Children with ADHD appear to be at a higher risk of developing conduct and substance abuse problems in adolescence and adulthood in comparison to children who are not affected. They also may have more difficulty in academic activities, social engagement and finding employment. This has the potential to affect quality of life and may also be associated with a higher risk of suicide, although exact morbidity and mortality rates have not been established. Age and Gender According to the DSM-V diagnostic criteria, ADHD involves the presentation of several inattentive or hyper-impulsive symptoms before the age of 12. Therefore, the age of onset is in childhood and the symptoms may persist or fade after this point. For this reason, the prevalence is higher in children and lower in adults. Approximately 1 in 6 children with ADHD will maintain the full diagnosis with persistent symptoms into adulthood, and most children will continue to experience residual symptoms. ADHD is 3-5 times more common in young boys than girls. However, the sex ratio tends to approach equilibrium in adulthood as the symptoms of more boys than girls usually improve. Girls with ADHD are typically more affected by the inattention type of the condition. References Further Reading Can you please give an introduction to the Cardiff University Brain Research Imaging Centre (CUBRIC)? What was the vision behind this neuroimaging research hub? CUBRIC is one of the top neuroimaging research centres in the UK and has grown rapidly since it opened in 2006. CUBRIC is expected to become an international hub for neuroimaging, unique in Europe. This new 44M facility, brings together world-leading expertise in brain mapping with the very latest in brain imaging and brain stimulation, coupled with clinical research facilities to permit clinical trials and scanning of out-patients for state-of-the-art structural, functional, spectroscopic, angiographic, diffusion (DTI) and other multi-purpose studies. How will MRI systems from Siemens Healthineers aid research at the centre into the causes of neurological and psychiatric conditions such as dementia, schizophrenia and multiple sclerosis? The vision from CUBRIC is to understand brain and behaviour in health and disease through advanced imaging and cognitive methods. The improved sensitivity and diffusion-resolution provided, by way of example with the Siemens CONNECTOM microstructure MRI are rapidly enabling human applications in techniques that were previously possible only for in vitro and animal models on small-bore scanners, thereby creating novel opportunities to map the microstructure of the human brain in health and disease. What level of depth and detail will researchers be able to go down to? Ultra high field (7T) MRI can support neuroscience and clinical research with ultra-deep insights to view anatomical detail at the submillimetre (micron) scale. The CONNECTOM system, currently the only one of its kind in Europe, features 300 mT/m gradient coils which are typically 6 times stronger than those found in conventional MR systems. This advanced technology will allow scientists to study brain cells of 1,000th of a millimetre across. What other techniques will researchers be using alongside MRI to study the brain at the CUBRIC? The CONNECTOMm system in the CUBRIC Microstructure lab is also equipped with a field camera for characterisation of the gradient waveforms to correct the acquisition trajectory and an optical tracking system for the realtime measurement and prospective correction of motion. Genetics & Genomics eBook Compilation of the top interviews, articles, and news in the last year. Download a copy today The Experimental MR lab housing the MAGNETOM Prisma system has concurrent TMS (transcranial magnetic stimulation) and EEG (Electroencephalography), along with eyetracking for congnitive testing and a variety of stimulus presentation equipment for functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging. CUBRIC also use magnetoencephalography (MEG) to detect the magnetic fields generated from the electrical activity within the brain. What impact do you think the CUBRIC will have on the aim to tackle neurological and psychiatric conditions? The centre will play a pivotal role in the global endeavour to better understand the causes of neurological and psychiatric conditions such as dementia, schizophrenia and multiple sclerosis, so as to yield vital clues for the development of better treatments. CUBRIC is set to deliver a step change in understanding the human brain through integrated characterization of brain coupling over multiple domains. This will transform understanding of the working brain and guide approaches aimed at remedial action when normal coupling is disturbed How will Siemens Healthineers be supporting researchers on this journey? We have a team of dedicated scientists in GB&I successfully supporting the ever growing number of Siemens research partner sites. Additionally for CUBRIC we took a joint decision to have a Siemens/CUBRIC scientist based full time within the CUBRIC research community to help foster closer collaborative links between CUBRIC and our research and development teams. What do you think the future holds for neuroimaging and how do Siemens plan to advance MRI technology in this space? One of the exciting prospects with the types of technologies available to research institutions such as CUBRIC is the opportunity to study the brain as a system, with the addition of multi modal imaging systems data biobanking and genomics all leading to a future of personalised medicine Siemens Healthineers is committed to innovation through partnership. We work with our collaboration partners on developing groundbreaking techniques that make the difference in clinical diagnosis and treatment enabling us to gain a better understanding of disease. This comprehensive approach is an integral part of our innovation strategy and a key element of Siemens being a leading Solutions provider. To pioneer any field, one has to be willing to enter unknown territory. Innovation is part of our DNA, both in hardware and software; we continue to set the trends in Neuroimaging. Where can readers find more information? About Dr Craig Buckley, Head of Research and Collaboration at Siemens Healthcare Craig Buckley has held previous posts in academia, and in industry. Over the last 12 years this has been with Siemens Healthineers in engineering, management and various scientific roles supporting Siemens clinical and research sites in Great Britain and Ireland, focussing on industrial partnerships with academia. He has advisory board memberships for the EU ITN Advanced Brain Computations Imaging Training Network and Oxford-Nottingham EPSRC-MRC Centre for Doctoral Training in Biomedical Imaging, PhD co supervision for the Scottish SINAPSE network, project lead for a multi modality imaging Technology Strategy Board funded research programme and a reviewer for the MRC Confidence in Concept panel for the University of Sheffield. One Medicine: how human and veterinary medicine can benefit each other Professor Roberto La Ragione News-Medical speaks to Professor Roberto La Ragione, Chair of Trustees at Humanimal Trust, about the concept of One Medicine and how human and veterinary medicine can collaborate, share knowledge, and initiate research for the benefit of both humans and animals. Hyderabad: A bridegroom who allegedly fired in the air during his own wedding was on Sunday arrested by the city police. Assistant Commissioner of Police (Falaknuma Division) Mohd Abdul Bari said that Mohd Mohsin alias Irfan surrendered before the police and handed over two "dummy" weapons and four bullets. Police lodged a case under the Arms Act on Sunday after the incident, which took place on August 22, came to light. "He confessed that he had opened fire in the air from two dummy weapons during the celebration of his nikah on the night of August 22 and the weapons caused only sound and spark," the ACP said. Irfan told police that a film producer had given him the dummy revolver and pistol with some bullets. Local news-channels had aired footage of a bridegroom on horseback firing in the air. "Both the weapons appear to be a dummy. But we are sending the weapons, bullets and the video footage to FSL," said ACP Bari. 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Ireland United States Minor Outlying Islands United States of America Uruguay, Eastern Republic of Uzbekistan Vanuatu Venezuela, Bolivarian Republic of Viet Nam, Socialist Republic of Wallis and Futuna Islands Western Sahara Yemen Zambia, Republic of Zimbabwe New Delhi: India is unlikely to give French naval contractor DCNS a proposed order for three new submarines, in addition to the six it is already building in the country, following the leak of secret data about its capabilities, Indian defence officials said. Details of the Scorpene submarine were published in the Australian newspaper last month, triggering concerns that it had become vulnerable even before it was ready to enter service. DCNS had offered to build three more submarines to help India replace its ageing Soviet-era fleet, and had held talks over the past year, two Indian sources said. That offer will not now be taken up, according to the officials. "We had an agreement for six, and six it will remain," a defence ministry official briefed on the navy's plans told Reuters, speaking on condition of anonymity. A spokesman of the Indian Navy confirmed that the orders would not be placed for three more submarines. "Indian has ordered only six Scorpene submarines and orders have not been placed for three more as reported by some media. Therefore question of cancellation does not arise," the spokesman said A navy officer said there had been a serious breach of data and the navy's efforts were focused on determining the damage done to the existing submarines. "No order will be signed, nothing is going to happen now," the officer, who is also been briefed on the submarine data leak, said when asked if the government planned to enlarge the order. The Defence Ministry has written to DCNS asking for details about the extent of the leak and how data relating to the Scorpene's intelligence gathering frequencies, diving depth, endurance and weapons specifications had ended up in the public domain, both officials said. A naval group headed by a three-star admiral is looking at altering some features of the submarine, the first of which began sea trials in May for induction later this year, to minimise any damage. The remaining five are in various stages of production at state-run Mazgaon Docks shipyard in Mumbai and they were all due to enter service by 2020. INVESTIGATION An official at Mazgaon Docks said the firm was focused on completing the original order of six Scorpenes and that he was not aware of any plan to build more. A DCNS spokesman said the firm was in close touch with "our key customers like India to keep them informed of the development of our investigation, respond to their questions and mitigate their legitimate worries". "The investigation is still ongoing and one of its objectives is to determine the potential prejudice and minimize its potential consequences," the spokesman said. DCNS is preparing to build a new fleet of submarines in Australia for A$50 billion ($38.13 billion). Australian defence officials have warned the firm to beef up security in the wake of the leak. DCNS has said that the leak, which covered details of the Scorpene-class model and not the vessel currently being designed for the Australian fleet, bore the hallmarks of "economic warfare" carried out by frustrated competitors. Indian officials have pointed to a "non-disclosure of information" clause that was written into the 2005 contract at French insistence, the first defence ministry official briefed on the communication with the DCNS, said. But the official said the government could only invoke that clause if it was established that the data was leaked and not stolen. A French government source has said the firm had apparently been robbed, and it was not a leak, adding it was unlikely classified data was stolen. NOISE SIGNATURE Indian submarine experts say that, while the breach in information security was serious, it does not make the Scorpenes immediately vulnerable to detection. The most vital data about a submarine is its unique "signature" of noise, heat and electro-magnetic emissions, and it is the combination of such signatures that determines the ability to detect them. "If that is gone, then you might as well say goodbye to the submarine. You are exposed," said former vice admiral and submariner AK Singh. Such signatures are assembled in the course of the sea trials of a submarine, and in the case of the Scorpenes that has yet to happen, he said. India's submarine arm is down to 13 vessels, only half of which are operational at any time, and is falling rapidly behind China, which is expanding its maritime presence in the Indian Ocean. Even Pakistan, which operates Agosta submarines also built by DCNS and is in talks with China for a new set of submarines, is drawing close to the operational strength of the Indian navy. The Indian government has approved the acquisition of the next generation of submarines beyond the Scorpene, in an project estimated at $8 billion. DCNS has expressed an interest in that project, as has Russia and Germany's ThyssenKrupp Marine Systems. The first defence official said he did not expect any movement on that project until the investigation into the Scorpene leak was completed and new security measures put in place. Srinagar: A day after Separatists in Jammu and Kashmir rejected talks with the all-party delegation in the Valley, the 35-member contingent will meet in Srinagar on Monday. Even after 59 days of unrest in the Valley since the killing of Hizbul militant Burhan Wani on July 8, a solution to end the logjam continues to elude the State and Central Government. Janata Dal-United leader Sharad Yadav and Communist leaders Sitaram Yechury and D Raja went to meet Syed Ali Shah Geelani but the hardline Hurriyat chairman refused to even let them in and the three MPs left after waiting at his door for about ten minutes. Outside the house, several of Geelani's supporters massed around and angrily shouted slogans as the MPs' cars and security vehicles went past. They chanted "Go India, go back" and "We want freedom". As the MPs landed in Srinagar, more violence erupted across the Kashmir Valley. Police sources said nearly 100 people were injured in clashes between stone-pelting protesters and security forces at various places. At least 40 people were injured as security forces used shotgun pellets to disperse thousands of protesters in south Kashmir's Shopian district. A mob of protesters later set ablaze a multi-story sprawling complex of the district administration. At least 74 persons, including two policemen, have been killed in the weeks of violence. More than 11,500 civilians and security forces have been injured. An official spokesman said the delegation of MPs from all parties met about 200 members from different sections of society in its first day in Srinagar. These include leaders of various political parties, trade unions and students and teachers associations. New Delhi: Two days after Prime Minister Narendra Modi proposed simultaneous elections in an exclusive interview to Network18, President Pranab Mukherjee on Monday backed the idea and said that Election Commission can put its mind in changing the Code of Conduct so that it does not disturb the polls. Addressing a programme on the occasion of Teacher's Day, President Mukherjee agreed with the PM's view on conducting joint elections. He said "India has proved its electoral mettle. Election Commission can change code of conduct. We must brainstorm on implementation of holding simultaneous polls". Modi had said that frequent elections affect the functioning of bureaucracy and there should be simultaneous elections to Panchayat bodies, assemblies and Parliament to save time and money. The Prime Minister also noted that the country unfortunately witnesses elections regularly, because of which everything is linked to polls. Every decision is weighed in the balance of elections. It is time to de-link decisions taken from the elections. The early we do so, the better it is. When the elections come, there will be manifestos. It is the need of the hour to separate politics from work, he said. Modi added that a number of political parties have told him, some openly and some in hush-hush manner that they favour simultaneous elections to the Lok Sabha and state assemblies and that this practice needs to be ended. But it cannot be done by the government or one party alone. When all parties think and decide under the leadership of Election Commission, then only things can happen. Whatever may be my views, but I can't do it as we are in a democracy. But I hope someday there will be comprehensive deliberations and discussions on what is good or bad, he said. Reacting to this former Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Naveen Chawla said "This move if it can be made positively would be a good move for the country. I am very pleased that the President has given his affirmation". The Samajwadi Party (SP) spokesman Gaurav Bhatia said that even though it is a welcome move, dissolution of state Assemblies or Lok Sabha could once again spoil it. He said that there were contradictions in the move. Countering him the BJP spokesman GVL Narasimha Rao backed simultaneous elections says that a Constitutional amendment is needed for this. "Through an amendment the Parliament can have fixed tenure for all. It saves us from frequent elections," Rao added. New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Monday gave the central government four weeks' time to file its response on the right of Muslim women in matrimonial matters relating to divorce, including triple talaq, and maintenance. A bench of Chief Justice T.S. Thakur and Justice D.Y. Chandrachud accepted the request of Solicitor General Ranjit Kumar, who sought time as the government has been asked by the top court to respond to a suo motu writ petition filed on its direction on the issue of the right of Muslim women in matrimonial matters. A bench of Chief Justice Thakur and Justice A.M. Khanwilkar had said on June 29 that they "have to hear all of them and take a call to what extent courts can interfere in the Muslim personal laws if courts find they are in violation of the fundamental rights". The All India Muslim Personal Law Board (AIMPLB) had in its response on September 2 defended both polygamy and triple talaq saying that courts have no jurisdiction to examine the issue as it relates to their religion based on the Quran and Sharia law. A bench of Justice Anil R. Dave and Justice Adarsh Kumar Goel had by their October 16, 2015 order issued notice to Attorney General Mukul Rohatgi Aand the National Legal Service Authority as it directed the separate listing of a PIL addressing the question of the rights of Muslim women. The court is examining the question of gender discrimination in Muslim personal law in the context of fundamental rights. In the hearing on June 29, 2016, senior counsel Indira Jaisinh appearing for two petitioners had contended that the personal laws should be subject to the regime of the fundamental rights and the court should address this question. In the same hearing, interveners Zakia Soman and Noor Jahan had said that triple talaq as is being practised has no sanction of Islam. New Delhi: The bail plea of self-styled sect chief Asaram Bapu in a rape case lodged against him by a Surat based woman in 2013 would be now heard along with a similar petition filed by him in another case lodged in Jodhpur, the Supreme Court said on Monday. "List along with SLP(Criminal)...," a bench of Justices A K Sikri and N V Ramana said while tagging the plea with th other case in Jodhpur. The apex court has already asked the All India Institute Of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) to set up a three-member panel to conduct medical examination on 79-year-old Asaram and file a report before it for disposal of his bail plea in the case registered in the Rajasthan city. In July 2014, Asaram had sought bail on the ground that Gujarat Police had already filed a charge sheet. The 72-year-old religious preacher has maintained the sexual assault case against him had been filed with mala fide intention. Asaram had further said the rape complaint was lodged 12 years after the alleged crime. The bail petition has said that even after the alleged incident in 2001, the victim had stayed in Asaram's ashram till 2007. Two Surat-based sisters had lodged separate complaints against Asaram and his son Narayan Sai, accusing them of rape and illegal confinement, among other charges. The elder sister, in her complaint against Asaram, had accused him of repeated sexual assaults between 2001 and 2006 when she was staying at his ashram near Ahmedabad. The sect leader is currently lodged in a Rajasthan jail after being arrested in September last for allegedly sexually assaulting a minor girl at his Jodhpur ashram. The other case also relates to a rape case filed by a teenage girl who had accused Asaram of sexual assault at his ashram in Manai village near Jodhpur. The girl belonging to Shahjahanpur in Uttar Pradesh was a student at the ashram. A recent report released by an international media rights group Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) is a damning indictment of Indias policy toward protection of journalists in the country. The largest democracy in the world also features in the list of worlds top 14 countries declared unsafe for journalists. Close to 90% of the journalists to have been killed in India since 1992 worked for a print publication and more than half of them indulged in unearthing scams and corruption. In March 2016, Editors Guild an independent body of editors with more than 200 members cutting across local, national newspapers, magazines and electronic media came out with a shocking report. A team of Editors Guild visited Chhattisgarh and found that most of the journalists were working under tremendous pressure from the state establishment and Police. What makes India such a dangerous place for journalists then? The CPJ report enumerates various factors; the most important being the way a case is pursued. Local administration including, the Police try to downplay the role of a journalists work behind his killing and always look for alternative reasons. This is manifest in the fact that majority of the cases dont even end up reaching the state of prosecution. Jagendra Singh, a journalist from Shahjahanpur, Uttar Pradesh was allegedly set ablaze by some local policemen and goons who raided his house on June 1, 2015. Jagendras friends and family called him exceedingly courageous, but at times reckless for being too critical of those in power. His last statement came from a hospital bed where he lay with severe burns on his body to which he succumbed a week later on June 8, 2015.A crying Jagendra, in his last video, appears to be saying Why did they burn me? If the ministers and his goondas had any complaint against me, they could have beaten me instead of pouring kerosene and burning me.The report studied every case to have occurred in India since 1992 and narrowed down to 27 cases of those journalists who were slain out of retaliation for their work.Committee to Protect Journalists report also states that there are at least two dozen more cases under scrutiny to ascertain if any political motivation was behind the journalists assassination.While everything in the Indian TV newsrooms appears hunky-dory, the story is not the same for the rural journalists who are more vulnerable and could end up paying with their lives as the report delineates.Security of Journalists in the states of Uttar Pradesh and Bihar seems to be at the lowest. Rajdeo Rajan, bureau chief of Hindi newspaper, Hindustan a sister concern of English daily, Hindustan Times, was killed in cold blood by a group of five criminals en route to his home on a bike.A detailed scrutiny of aforementioned cases reveals startling facts. Poor law and order situation has since long paved the way for criminals to walk scot-free and none of the criminals in the above mentioned 27 cases were brought to justice except for one where the accused was convicted, but later released on appeal.The CPJs report has surely rung alarm bells now, but Press Council of India in 2015 had shed light on the matter thereby also acknowledging that the culprits are getting away with impunity and the need for a nationwide law protecting journalists. However, the councils demand seems to have fallen on deaf ears and nothing significant has been done by the Narendra Modi government to rid India of this menace.The team also reported that there was a sense of fear, especially among journalists reporting from the restive area of Bastar. It further added that there was pressure from the state establishment and Police to write in their favour and not to write anything that the administration perceives to be hostile. Pressure on journalists also mounts from the Maoists side.Historically, the conflict-ridden areas have not been the safest for the journalists. However, the civil war in Syria and Iraq and the rise of the Islamic State made this region the deadliest and most unsafe in the world. As many as 85 journalists had been killed in Syria till October 2015 when CPJ released its Impunity Index Report since the conflict began in 2011.Alongside Syria and Iraq, the Impunity Index Report features the names of Pakistan, Afghanistan, South Sudan, Brazil, Russia (not in the order of their rankings) as countries where the culprit, in most of the cases, has eluded justice with ease. Shockingly, India and The Philippines are the only two countries to have made their way into the list which are not witnessing any political or economic upheaval, yet the criminals have gotten away easily.Journalists in India cover myriad issues which entail all kinds of repercussions. CPJs report concludes that Politics and Corruption in India are the deadliest beats and most of the journalists, particularly in rural areas who challenge the might of those in power end up paying with their lives.Even after having a robust democratic structure and a powerful and independent judiciary, India fails to curb violence against journalists and lacks impetus for a proper investigation. India holds another abysmal record of having its name next to Afghanistan, Bangladesh and other conflict-affected states such as South Sudan, Somalia and Syria.These countries have failed to provide any updates on investigations into the killings of Journalists to biannual impunity report of the Director General of UNESCO, the U.N. agency mandated to promote freedom of expression.It is high time that India expedited the process of investigation into various killings of journalists and protected the fourth pillar of democracy. At a time when India stands on the cusp of major transformation in economic and technological areas and projects itself as one of the major contenders for a permanent seat at the Security Council, protection of an independent media should be at the top of the agenda. Chinese visitors to the United Arab Emirates will now be granted visas on arrival, the Gulf state's prime minister announced on Sunday, in a new bid to boost tourism. China, the world's second-largest economy, has a burgeoning and increasingly prosperous middle class that is travelling abroad in numbers greater than ever before. "We have approved a decision to grant visas on arrival at the country's airports to visitors from the Republic of China," said Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al-Maktoum, who is also the ruler of Dubai. "Our relations with China are strategic and a priority," he added in remarks published on his official Twitter account. Chinese tourists previously had to obtain visas before travelling to the UAE. The UAE has invested billions of dollars over more than a decade to put itself on the map as a regional business and tourism hub. Among the UAE's seven emirates, Dubai is the most attractive for tourists. More than 14.2 million people visited Dubai in 2015, but the target is 25 million by 2020 when the Gulf emirate hosts the global trade fair Expo 2020. In February, local media quoted Dubai Tourism chief Issam Kazim as saying that 450,000 Chinese visitors made the trip to the emirate in 2015, in a 29 percent increase over the previous year. Apart from citizens of its five Gulf neighbours, nationals of 47 countries -- most of them Westerners -- can obtain a visa on arrival to the UAE. For the first edition of a UN-organized conference on wine tourism, leaders will gather in the cradle of winemaking next week to discuss the burgeoning industry and its importance in local heritage. It's a strategic and significant decision to hold the first edition of the UNWTO Global Conference on Wine Tourism in the South Caucasus country of Georgia instead of bigger and more popular wine tourism destinations like France, Italy, Spain or Australia. By choosing Georgia, organizers are returning to what some experts have described as the birthplace of winemaking. Evidence of winemaking traditions have been traced back 8,000 years among archeological records found in Georgia, well before reaching Western Europe. At the conference, experts and industry leaders will discuss the development of a Wine Tourism Prototype, a model that will focus on the integration of wineries in the local cultural, economic, social and environmental heritage. Sessions will be hosted at different wineries in the Kakheti, Georgia's main wine-producing region. The conference will also invariably help promote Georgian wine and the country's unique winemaking traditions which were inscribed on UNESCO's List of Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity in 2013. Traditional Georgian winemaking entails storing and aging wine in large, egg-shaped clay pots called Qvevri. Likewise, winemaking is a family affair in Georgia, with many households producing their own homemade batch. Knowledge and experience of Qvevri manufacture and wine-making are passed down by families, neighbors, friends and relatives, all of whom join in communal harvesting and winemaking activities, reads a UN profile. Children learn how to tend the vines, press grapes, ferment wine, collect clay and make and fire Qvevris through observing their elders...Wine plays a vital role in everyday life and in the celebration of secular and religious events and rituals. Wine cellars are still considered the holiest place in the family home. The UNWTO Global Conference on Wine Tourism takes place September 7 -9. Rekha has always been the queen of controversies and undivided attention. From her films to her personal life, the mystery around the diva refuses to fade away. Author Yasser Usman is all set to shed light upon the actress' few untold moments with his new book Rekha: The Untold Story.The book brings out a different side of the actress. From what her contemporaries had to say about her to the dark times when the entire world blamed her for her husband Mukesh's suicide, the book covers it all. The book also covers incidents known to few and brings to notice the vulnerable, emotional side of the National Award winning actress.According to the book, during the shooting of Anjana Safar, the director hatched a plan with film's male lead Biswajeet to catch a 15 year old Rekha off guard for a kissing scene. The actress was shocked when Biswajeet caught hold of her and kissed her forcefully for a long time. With the entire crew members watching and hooting at the actress' harassment, the incident earned Rekha the tag of 'sex-kitten'.Later, Biswajeet claimed that incident to be Raja Nawathe's idea. This inappropriate act was termed as a 'director's idea' , scaring the little girl entering the big bad world of Bollywood, for life.The book also covers the time when Rekha got married to Vinod Mehra in Calcutta and returned to Bombay to his house. Vinod's mother Kamla Mehra refused to let the newlywed bride inside her house and humiliated her in front of all the neighbours. Kamla even picked up her slippers to throw at the actress in a fit of rage. She rushed to the lift crying before Vinod consoled her to stay till his mother calms down.Another incident in the book highlights the carefree, controversial side of the actress. At Neetu and Rishi Kapoor's wedding, Rekha walked in wearing a mangalsutra and sindoor dabbed on her head. While the photographers had a field day catching the diva's controversial look, the actress was yearning for someone else's attention. Amitabh Bachchan was also a guest at the wedding along with his wife Jaya Bachchan and his parents. After much delay, Rekha finally walked upto the megastar and the two started chatting formally, however the gazing eyes of the guests told a different story.According to a report in Stardust, "Jaya tried to keep a stoic front for a long time, but eventually she had to bend her head and let the tears roll down."The book covers significant events from Rekha's journey from being a little girl forced into Bollywood to becoming the iconic diva of Bollywood. Yasser Usman has tried to solve the mystery of one of Bollywood's most iconic actresses.(With inputs from Times of India Chennai: Actor Vikram, who awaits the release of forthcoming Tamil action thriller Irumugan, has dubbed in his own voice for one of the two characters he essays in the film's dubbed Telugu version Inkokkadu. In the film, Vikram plays two roles - a RAW agent called Akhil, and an eccentric scientist called Love. "We had originally planned to use the dubbing artist who usually dubs for all Vikram's films in Telugu. However, we had difficulty finding a suitable voice for the character Love, and it's because it's a very different character. Even for the Tamil version, Vikram had to change his voice," film director Anand Shankar told IANS. Since nobody's voice suited the role, Vikram decided to dub in his own voice. "Vikram felt only he could bring the uniqueness to the character with his voice. Hence, he decided to dub for the Telugu version too. You don't find many actors willing to take such an effort," he said. Also starring Nayanthara and Nithya Menen, the film is slated for release in cinemas on Thursday, and a day before outside India. In US, Inkokkadu is being released via popular distribution company CineGalaxy Inc. Gurgaon: Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar on Monday asked why his predecessor Bhupinder Singh Hooda was scared of a CBI probe into the Gurgaon land scandal if he was innocent. Khattar said the Central Bureau of Investigation has been conducting an independent probe into the 400 acre fraud near Manesar. Khattar said Hooda has been challenging in the state assembly any inquiry ordered into the Rs 1,500 crore land scam, calling it politically motivated. Hooda has demanded a judicial inquiry into the matter. Khattar said a judicial inquiry can be ordered if the CBI asks for it and that there was no difference between a judicial or CBI probe. The CBI raided the homes and offices of former Haryana Chief Minister Hooda, two former IAS officers and others on Saturday over alleged irregularities in the purchase of 400 acres of land from farmers. The raids took place in 20 locations in Delhi and Haryana. The land. whose market value then was above Rs 4 crore per acre, totalling about Rs 1,600 crore, was allegedly bought by private builders from land owners for only about Rs 100 crore. The CBI has registered a case of fraud, cheating and corruption against unknown politicians, builders and their agents. New Delhi: The Congress on Monday asked Prime Minister Narendra Modi to apologise "eight times" to people for his false promises over black money. "The Prime Minister during his election campaign repeatedly said that he would bring all the black money back to India within 100 days. It is the 827th day of this government. Where is the black money?" said Congress spokesman Manish Tiwari. Tiwari said that Modi had promised that every person in India would get Rs 15 lakh each of the booty he would get back from foreign banks. "The Prime Minister should apologise to the poor people who have been checking their bank accounts for the promised amount of Rs 15 lakh," he said. The Congress barb came the day Prime Minister Narendra Modi spoke of put a check on black money by eliminating safe havens for economic offenders at the G20 Summit at Hangzhouin in China. Tiwari said that while black money is the favourite topic of Modi, his government has not taken any "visible" action against the high profile persons whose names surfaced in the Panama papers leak. "The Prime Minister's speech on black money is nothing but yet another crude attempt to obfuscate the fact that he and his political party had lied to the country on black money," he said. He said that whatever little black money the government has been able to bring back was a result of 100-odd dual taxation avoidance treaties and tax information exchange agreements signed during the UPA regime between 2008-2014. "We would like to ask from the government as to how many new dual taxation agreements or tax information exchange agreements with countries we don't have agreements with have been initiated by this government and the answer would be negligible," Tiwari said. Srinagar: Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh on Monday hit out at Kashmiri separatist leaders who refused to talk to some MPs from an all-party team, saying their conduct defied the spirit of "Kashmiriyat". The Home Minister, however, made it clear that MPs Sharad Yadav, Sitaram Yechury, D. Raja, Jay Prakash Narayan and Assaduddin Owaisi went to meet the separatist leaders in their individual capacity and not as part of the all-party delegation that was on a two-day trip to Jammu and Kashmir. "Some members of the delegation went to meet Hurriyat leaders. We had neither said 'no' nor 'yes' to their meetings. You know what happened. They had gone there in their individual capacity," he told reporters here before flying to Jammu. He was referring to the attempt by the national opposition leaders from the delegation to hold talks with top Kashmiri separatists on Sunday. While other separatist leaders did meet them briefly but refused to hold talks, hardliner Syed Ali Shah Geelani shut his door on the MPs even as they kept waiting outside his upscale Hyderpora residence for about 10 minutes. This, Rajnath Singh said, "was certainly neither 'Kashmiriyat' nor 'insaniyat' (humane). "If you do not want to talk is a different thing. But what they did proves they have no faith in democracy." The all-party delegation arrived here on Sunday, nearly two months after a bloody unrest erupted in the aftermath of the July 8 killing of Hizbul Mujahideen commander Burhan Wani. At least 74 persons have been killed and over 12,000 injured in the weeks of the turmoil, the deadliest Kashmir has seen in six years. As the delegation left for Jammu, the Kashmir Valley continued to be tense amid curfew in some parts, shutdown and recurring anti-government and pro-freedom protests. Rajnath Singh said the government had left its options open for talks with anyone within the ambit of "Kashmiriyat, jamhooriyat and insaniyat". But he made it clear that there were no two ways about the fact "that Jammu and Kashmir was, is and will remain an integral part of India". Visibly disappointed, the minister hinted that any chance of talks with the separatists in the near future was impossible. He also dismissed any possibility of an India-Pakistan dialogue over Kashmir, rejecting a key demand of separatist leaders. "Everybody in Kashmir wants peace and normalcy to return. I am hopeful that the situation in Jammu and Kashmir will improve," he said after meeting some "300 people including students, teachers, traders" during the delegation's nearly 30-hour stay in the valley. Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti's government and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) also retained hopes for peace and a dialogue process to engage all stakeholders, including separatist leaders. "Dialogue and engagement is a continuous process. It can't be expected to happen (by rubbing) a magic lamp," senior PDP leader and Education Minister Naeem Akhtar told reporters. Yechury, who faced a snub from Geelani on Sunday, said he had not given up on the mission to bring peace in Kashmir. "Please understand it was not a snub. We understand the ground reality and realize that there is a need for state and central governments to take the political dialogue forward with all stakeholders, including separatists, for peace in Kashmir. "The killings in Kashmir have pained me. We want the government to resolve this issue. There will be no solution without a political dialogue. You have to start a political dialogue, an unconditional political with all," Yechury told the media here. Srinagar: Home Minister Rajnath Singh on Monday came down heavily on separatist leaders for refusing to talk to the all-party delegation saying that the Hurriyat leaders don't believe in democracy. "Shunning delegation members who have come for talks shows Hurriyat members do not believe in democracy. The behaviour of Hurriyat leaders with delegation members was neither 'Kashmiriyat' nor 'insaniyat'," Rajnath said. Claiming that the government is ready to go to any extent to discuss the situation with the Separatists, he said "not only doors but ventilators are also open for talk with them". Janata Dal-United leader Sharad Yadav and Communist leaders Sitaram Yechury and D Raja had on Sunday gone to meet Syed Ali Shah Geelani but the hardline Hurriyat chairman refused to even let them in and the three MPs left after waiting at his door for about ten minutes. Outside the house, several of Geelani's supporters massed around and angrily shouted slogans as the MPs' cars and security vehicles went past. They chanted "Go India, go back" and "We want freedom". As the MPs landed in Srinagar, more violence erupted across the Kashmir Valley. Police sources said nearly 100 people were injured in clashes between stone-pelting protesters and security forces at various places. At least 40 people were injured as security forces used shotgun pellets to disperse thousands of protesters in south Kashmir's Shopian district. A mob of protesters later set ablaze a multi-story sprawling complex of the district administration. At least 74 persons, including two policemen, have been killed in the weeks of violence. More than 11,500 civilians and security forces have been injured. Solapur: President Pranab Mukherjee on Sunday lauded former home minister Sushilkumar Shinde for his struggle to reach the highest positions in the country, overcoming difficult circumstances. He said Shinde's life showed how a determined mind can overcome all odds. "In overcoming the odds of an extremely humble background and beginning, overcoming the handicaps thereof without bitterness and rising up to the highest positions in the country, Shinde's story is indeed the story of India," Mukherjee said. He was speaking at the 75th birthday celebration of the senior Congress leader at his native town Solapur in western Maharashtra. The President described Shinde's life as a "shining example of an empowering, enabling and progressive democratic India, having played out itself as per the dreams of its founding fathers". Maharashtra Governor Ch Vidyasagar Rao, Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and NCP chief Sharad Pawar were among those present at Shinde's public felicitation. Fadnavis and Pawar said Shinde's life inspires youth to overcome challenges. "He has been an ever-smiling person exuding an aura of positivity," they said. Shinde attributed his success in the political arena to the people of Solapur, who he said, saw him rise from the humblest of origins to become the chief minister of Maharashtra and later a Union minister. Shinde said he was celebrating his birthday for the first time. He said when he was a small boy, his family barely made ends meet and as such, there was no practice of celebrating birthdays. Pawar, who was the CM when Shinde was a minister in state cabinet, said the latter duly implemented all the responsibilities given to him. Fadnavis noted in his speech that Ajmal Kasab, the lone Pakistani terrorist caught alive during the 26/11 Mumbai terror attack, was hanged during Shinde's tenure as the home minister. In a message, Congress chief Sonia Gandhi, who could not make it to the event due to her illness, hailed Shinde as an outstanding parliamentarian and administrator. Former Union Ministers P Chidambaram, Shivraj Patil, Jyotiraditya Scindia, NCP leader Praful Patel, Congress leaders Janardan Dwivedi, Mukul Wasnik and Selja were also in attendance at the event. Washington: A rising China, which has been worrying its neighbours with its aggressive behaviour including over the South China Sea, needs to restrain itself in order to play a responsible role at the world stage, US President Barack Obama has said. "Part of what I've talked to communicate to President Xi (Jinping) is that the United States arrives at its power, in part, by restraining itself," Obama told CNN in an interview. "You know, when we bind ourselves to a bunch of international norms and rules, it's not because we have to, it's because we recognise that, over the long-term, building a strong international order is in our interests. And I think over the long-term, it will be in China's interests, as well," Obama said in the interview that was recorded before he left for China. "So where we see them violating international rules and norms, as we have seen in some cases in the South China Sea or in some of their behaviour when it comes to economic policy, we've been very firm. And we've indicated to them that there will be consequences," Obama said. He asserted that what the US has tried to emphasise to China is that if it is working within international rules and international norms, then they should be partners. There is no reason that China and the US cannot be friendly competitors on the commercial side and important partners when it comes to dealing with the many international problems that threaten the two countries, he said in response to a question. Obama noted that China has been run during his lifetime by a communist party that has been much more anti-Western in the past. "We went through a period over the course of 20 years, in the '90s and on through maybe the onset of my presidency, where, because state-sponsored capitalism and an export-driven model was very successful, China was less interested in making waves," Obama said. "But, you know, you've got over a billion people, one of the largest economies now in the world. And so it's to be expected that they will want a bigger seat at the table when it comes to international affairs. And what we've said consistently is we welcome the peaceful rise of Chin, consistent with international norms. That's good for everybody. An impoverished and collapsing China would be dangerous for everybody," Obama said. The US wants China to take on more responsibilities, not only for its own people, but also for a wide range of international problems and conflicts, whether it is climate change or disaster relief or dealing with things like Ebola, Obama said. "What we have said to the Chinese -- and we've been firm consistently about this -- is you have to recognise that with increasing power comes increasing responsibilities. You can't pursue mercantilist policies that just advantage you now that you are a middle income country, in many ways, even though you still have a lot of poor people," Obama said. "You know, you can't just export problems. You've got to have fair trade and not just free trade. You have to open up your markets if you expect other people to open up their markets," he said. "When it comes to issues related to security, if you sign a treaty that calls for international arbitration around maritime issues the fact that you're bigger than the Philippines or Vietnam or other countries, in and of itself, is not a reason for you to go around and flex your muscles. You've got to abide by international law," Obama said. Dhaka: At least four women terrorists of the outlawed militant outfit Jamaat-ul-Mujahideen were arrested in Bangladesh on Monday, weeks after similar arrests were made here as part of nation-wide crackdown following the country's worst terror attack on an upscale cafe here. "We carried out the pre-dawn raid acting on a secret tip off... it was a rented house from where these women were conducting drives in recruiting other women in the name of preaching Islam," Sirajganj's district police superintendent Miraz Uddin Ahmed said. Police also seized a large quantity of bomb-making materials, six improvised bombs, nine Jihadi books, four grenade shells and electrical equipment from the den, he said. All the four arrested women are married and aged between 18 and 30. They are being questioned by police ahead of subsequent legal procedures. Earlier on August 16, elite anti-crime Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) arrested three women students of a private university and a woman intern at the Dhaka Medical College Hospital for their alleged links with Jamaat-ul-Mujahideen (JMB), blamed for the terror attack on an upscale cafe in Dhaka that killed 22 people, including an Indian girl. JMB is known for its ideological inclination to ISIS. This is the third such major incident of arresting women militants since July when seven women JMB activists, three of them members of its suicide squad, were arrested from Tangail. Security agencies have arrested dozens of JMB militants with officials calling some of them as masterminds of the outfit as a nationwide anti-militant security clampdown is underway since the July 1 attack. Police call the arrested operatives as neo-JMB activists because of their inclination towards the Islamic State terrorist group, which initially claimed the cafe attack. But authorities have denied presence of ISIS in Bangladesh. Islamabad: Alarmed by the growing Indo-US defence ties, Pakistan's cabinet has given the go-ahead for negotiating a long-term defence agreement and security cooperation with its all-weather ally China, a media report said. Pakistan's cabinet in a meeting chaired by Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif on July 15 at the Governor House in Lahore gave the go-ahead for negotiating a long-term defence agreement with China, The Express Tribune reported. The cabinet considered the summary to initiate negotiations on a draft agreement between Pakistan and China on a long-term strategic framework agreement for enhancing defence and security cooperation in diversified fields. The cabinet held detailed discussions on the proposed agreement before giving the nod of approval, the report said. The cabinet was informed that the draft agreement was based on principles of mutual respect for each other's territorial integrity, sovereignty, non-integration and non-interference in each other's internal affairs, equality and cooperation for mutual benefits, and peaceful coexistence for strategic gains in defence and security, including arms and technology transfers. It was also informed that input from ministries of foreign affairs, interior and defence production as well as the Joint Staff Headquarters had been obtained and incorporated in the draft agreement which was subsequently vetted by the law and justice division. In April 2015, when Chinese President Xi Jinping visited Pakistan, the two countries agreed that their relationship had acquired greater strategic significance against the backdrop of complex and changing international and regional situations. They agreed to elevate the Pakistan-China relationship to the all-weather strategic cooperative partnership. The reports of defence agreement surfaced a week after the US signed a key logistics agreement with India governing the use of each other's land, air and naval bases for repair and resupply. Pakistan had called the Logistics Exchange Memorandum of Agreement between the US and India as an agreement between the two sovereign states and hoped it would contribute to peace and stability. "Pakistan would like to see that such arrangements do not contribute to polarising the region by disturbing the strategic balance in South Asia and escalating the arms buildup," Foreign Office spokesperson Nafees Zakaria told a news briefing on Thursday. In 2011, the then prime minister, Yousaf Raza Gilani had expressed a desire to sign a defence deal with China during a trip to Beijing. At that time, the Chinese leadership advised Pakistan against such an agreement fearing that it might create a strain in Islamabad's and Beijing's relations with both Washington and New Delhi, the report said. Foreign Secretary Aizaz Ahmed Chaudhry recently informed the Senate Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs and Defence that Pakistan's growing strategic partnership with China was one of the main reasons behind the current strain in its ties with the US. The US was probably upset with the multibillion-dollar China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) project, according to him. Hong Kong: A pro-democracy protest leader was leading on Monday in the Hong Kong Legislative Council elections, according to preliminary results. The poll that took place on Sunday was the first major election since the financial centre was rocked by pro-democracy street protests in 2014 -- also known as the "Umbrella Revolution", CNN reported. More than 2.2 million people voted, according to the Electoral Affairs Commission, with a turnout of 58 per cent -- up from 53 per cent in 2012. Hong Kong does not permit postal voting or early voting. The preliminary results suggest that a younger generation of more radical, pro-democracy politicians won a larger-than-expected share of votes, CNN reported. Nathan Law, one of the student leaders of the 2014 Umbrella Movement, has been elected on Hong Kong Island. His constituency will elect six seats and he was currently in second place, with 90 per cent of votes counted, the results showed. Law co-founded Demosisto with activist Joshua Wong, who was unable to run as he is not yet 21. Law, 23, will be Hong Kong's youngest ever lawmaker. Speaking Sunday before the results, Wong told CNN he hoped the election would prove to be "fair". Other young former Umbrella Movement protesters also look set to win seats. Including Youngspirations' Sixtus Baggio Leung, who was endorsed by pro-independence activist Edward Leung. Voters went to the polls to elect 35 lawmakers representing geographical districts to seats on the Legislative Council, choosing from a record total of 84 lists of candidates. An additional 30 seats are filled by so-called functional constituencies that represent six per cent of the electorate and are strongly influenced by the Chinese government. Five other at-large seats are chosen via city-wide vote. With the holidays approaching, shoppers now have new places to find presents for mothers, sisters and spouses. Three local stores catering to womens clothing, home decor, accessories and other gift items recently have opened or expanded, bringing new merchandise to Lynchburg. The Conscious Mercantile, a spin-off business of the womens clothing store Live Trendy or Die on Church Street, opened Aug. 19. Shays Boots, Bling & Everything, from the owner of Shays Unique Gifts, opened downtown in June. Gladiola Girls has been in Lynchburg since 2012 but recently moved to a new expanded location in the Boonsboro Shopping Center. The Conscious Mercantile The Conscious Mercantile, at 1024 Main Street, carries only American-made clothing, gifts, crafts and jewelry. It specializes in items made by small businesses often run by individuals, whom owner Stephanie Atkinson calls makers. Well have something in the store where the maker may be located in Pennsylvania or somewhere else around the country, Atkinson said. I have about 10 small makers from around Lynchburg in here. I wanted to be the anti-Bed Bath & Beyond. The Conscious Mercantile carries jewelry in a variety of styles, beauty products, notebooks and vintage print dresses. Every month the store gets new makers to provide different merchandise to shoppers. On the 7th of September I have a card line and a T-shirt line coming in, she said. With every month we will have new vendors coming in from across the country. Some will stay, and others will be seasonal. Atkinson was intrigued by the idea of a general store, and wanted to create one in Lynchburg. Its a trend right now to have a mercantile that sells a little bit of everything that specializes in American-made textiles and nobody was doing that here, she said. I thought that was a really cool concept. With The Conscious Mercantiles focus on makers who create unique gift items, Atkinson wanted to help create a space for people to support people who create products. Because we live in such a consumerist society, people will pay for a brand but not for someones time, she said. I wanted to do something different than that. Shays Boots, Bling & Everything Shays Boots, Bling & Everything at 1300 Commerce Street has womens clothing, a selection of patterned and traditional cowboy boots, accessories, custom-painted wine glasses and Christmas ornaments. First opened in a single room two blocks from the current location, the previous store mostly carried products owner Shay Borel made herself. I painted and distressed old furniture, made jewelry and painted custom wine glasses, she said. I used to just do shows, but then Id come home with all of the inventory so I just decided to open a store. The newly expanded space is larger and is full of Bohemian-style womens clothing in bright colors, blinged-out belts, home decor and boots. Now its expanded to more of an everything store, Borel said. I wanted to reach people who were visiting downtown and bring them unique gifts. Borel stocks her store with items she finds at gift-buying markets in Atlanta and Texas, alongside the same items she still makes. In the back corner, stacked shelving displays glassware and platters decorated with designs from at least a dozen different colleges. I try to specialize in items for schools that people cant easily go out and pick up items from, like Hampton-Sydney, she said. Moms at the tailgate like to have products like big theme platters that nobody else has. Another display is piled high with intricately decorated boots, which the shop imports from Turkey and Mexico. Traditional styles are mixed in with floral printed knee-high boots. I like to have things that no one else in town has, Borel said. If all of the stores have the same thing, then neither one of us is going to do well. I dont want what they have. Gladiola Girls While Gladiola Girls original location mostly catered to womens clothing, the new store in the Boonsboro Shopping Center also has home goods. I felt like with this space I could expand and create more of a lifestyle boutique, said owner Renee Wood. Its beyond what a woman wears, its what she has in her home and gifts that she gives. Were trying to meet more needs of the everyday woman. Gladiola Girls still stocks organic and fair-trade clothing items but has added a baby section and more home-decor items. Jewelry, handmade greeting cards and trendy throw pillows are spread throughout the sunlit store, decorated with local art that changes every month. What were trying to do is create a thoughtful representation of things either produced through fair trade, organic items, and things that are worth investing in and that are different than a big box would provide. The store stocks jewelry made by women from Ethiopia who were widowed from ongoing conflict, and a special section of jeans called a denim bar. With the denim bar we help women find jeans that they like and that fit well, Wood said. Part of what makes us successful is the atmosphere we create. Were very oriented towards a woman feeling very comfortable to come in and shop but to make no purchase.Its about the long-term relationship. Gladiola Girls also has a location in Lexington and still maintains a presence downtown. Located at 1210 Main Street, the boutique shares that space with The Patriotic Peacock, which holds painting classes. Wood said she enjoys helping people find special items for themselves or to give as gifts. Previously I worked as a gift buyer for 12 years, she said. Gift-buying is something I enjoy doing. Youre here to find something thats a little unique. Home News Sports Social Obituaries Events Letters Looking Back Health Jewels Stitch in Time Historic tower burns to the ground September 5, 2016 The historic Little Snowy Top Lookout Tower on the Priest Lake Ranger District was destroyed by fire in late afternoon on September 3. A member of the public reported the fire to the Northeast Washington Interagency Communications Center. The Coeur dAlene Interagency Dispatch Center immediately dispatched firefighters to the tower by helicopter. Unfortunately, the structure was completely engulfed in flames and could not be saved. The fire did not escape the immediate area and was completely contained. Little Snowy Top was the only remaining 1930s vintage groundhouse L-4 lookout in the Priest Lake area. Located only two miles south of the Canadian border on the Shedroof Divide in Boundary County, its use was phased out in the 1960s, but it escaped demolition due to its remote location at the end of a difficult nine-mile trail that has since been closed. In 1987, volunteers from the Spokane Mountaineers and the Priest River Back Country Horsemen assisted the Priest Lake Ranger District of the Idaho Panhandle National Forests in a two-year restoration effort of the 14x 14 groundhouse. On June 17, 1995, Little Snowy Top was listed in the National Historic Lookout Register. The cause of the fire is under investigation. Law enforcement officials from the Idaho Panhandle National Forests are leading the investigation with assistance from law enforcement officials on the Colville National Forest, and U.S. Customs and Border Patrol. Questions or comments about this article? Click here to e-mail! CERON SUSPENDED Richards, who is serving his second term as POA president, confirmed to Newsday yesterday that he has been told that a suspension letter is waiting for him at the Prisons Administration Building, Phillip Street, Port-of-Spain and he intends to collect that letter today. Based on the completion of a police investigation, as well as an internal Prison Service investigation, into the break-in, a recommendation was made to the Prison Service Commission to suspend Richards. The service weapon belonging to Richards was never recovered. Neither was the vault containing a number of other valuables. Efforts to reach Commissioner of the Trinidad and Tobago Prison Service, Sterling Stewart, proved futile. However, members of the POA executive told Newsday they would be holding an emergency meeting today to discuss the impending suspension of their president and added that they will be supporting him all the way through. The POA president declared, I did nothing wrong. A crime was committed against me and now I am being thrown into the dog house because of statements I have made on behalf of my membership but, I want to make it clear that I will not be stepping down and if they feel that this thing will bring Ceron Richards down, I have news for them I am going nowhere. Only my (POA) membership can decide my fate. Richards also told Newsday several senior officers had lost their firearms but were never suspended. He therefore questioned why he was being suspended. Richards reiterated his belief that the POA is under attack and called on all executive members of the prison, police and fire officers unions to come together to discuss what he believes is an open attack against the POAs executive. Contacted yesterday, Seales said, I find it curious that POA President, Ceron Richards, who was a victim of crime, could be placed on suspension. I am calling on other executive members of the other protective services associations to come together and launch an investigation into this matter. Seales questioned if President of the Fire Service Association (FSA), Leo Ramkissoon, would be next and questioned whether recent suspensions and the hauling to court of another executive member of the PSWA could be linked to this latest incident. Richards said he has been making some serious statements which, he believes, may have contributed to the suspension letter. I felt that I was being hunted down but this will not be debar me from forging ahead and continuing to represent the hundreds of prison officers. Richards also told Newsday that a recent decision to sue the State and hire a top attorney may have also contributed to the decision to suspend him. I knew this was coming because I was told that I was being too forward in my statements and this has led to me being thrown into the dog house. Earlier this year, Richards and members of his executive clamoured for improved safety and security of prison officers, following the murders of some of their colleagues. The POA also met with Attorney General (AG) Faris Al-Rawi during a stakeholders meeting at City Hall, Port-of-Spain in April, at which Richards outlined at least ten changes which needed to be put in place in the Prison Service. These included proclamation of the Electronic Monitoring Act so that bail conditions could be implemented to ease the prison population, particularly at the Remand Yard which accounts for 65 percent of the 4000-plus prison population Install the Newser News app in two easy steps: 1. Tap in your navigation bar. 2. Tap to Add to Home Screen. (Newser) When Bethlehem Steel Corp. baron Charles M. Schwab wanted to get more things done at his company in 1918, he turned to a man who promised a simple solution in a five-step productivity hack, FastCompany reports. Give me 15 minutes with each of your executives, Ivy Lee, a public relations pioneer, told Schwab. If it didnt work, he added, Schwab didnt have to pay him. If it did, Schwab could give him whatever he liked. After three months, a satisfied Schwab wrote Lee a $25,000 check (worth $430,000 today), writes James Clear. Lee's trick still works today, writes Clear, thanks to its simplicity, which forces tough decisions and prioritizing. Here's the Ivy Lee method: At the end of each day, write down the sixand only sixmost important things to do tomorrow. Prioritize those six items. When you arrive at work, concentrate only on the first task until it's finished, then move on to the second task. Work through the rest of your list in the same fashion. At the day's end, put anything undone on tomorrow's list. Repeat every working day. (Or you could lose sleep like these execs .) (Newser) Call it the road to nowhere. Scores of wood ants living near an old nuclear weapons bunker in western Poland plunge seemingly to death each yearand their descendants follow themin a bizarre ritual that has amazed scientists. The story begins with hard-working ants that built a colony atop a defunct Soviet-era bunker, reports ArsTechnica. When metal covering a ventilation pipe rusted way, the ants began tumbling down. What sounds like a death sentence (they cant climb out, there is no food, and it is very cold) has turned into a survival story because these worker ants keep doing what they always do: building until they die. And when they do? "A younger generation is on its way, ready to cart off the fallen to a two-million-strong ant cemetery beyond the mound and continue their endless, pointless labor," reports Inverse. Researchers write in the Journal of Hymenoptera that a million or so trapped ants have managed to carry on in a virtual Cold War nightmare, living in a near-starvation state and total darkness. The colony rests atop a thick cemetery of ant ancestors, indicating this has been going on for quite some time. Zoologists who stumbled upon the odd discovery in Templewo while counting bats doubted cannibalism was keeping the insects alive, suggesting bat excrement could be doing the trick. The ants produce no offspring, and so the colony's survival depends on surface ants making the same mistake they did. Wood ants are known to be resilient, though, with one colony surviving on a barren islet for nearly 30 years with only pine trees to munch, the researchers write. (A historian thinks a $500 million treasure hides in an old Nazi bunker.) (Newser) Cops in Nevada are searching for a murder suspect who sneaked out of a police interrogation room, reports NBC News. Alonso Perez, 25, gave cops the slip on Friday after an investigator who was questioning him in the station in North Las Vegas stepped out. Perez twisted his handcuffs until they snapped, then bolted, said police spokesman Aaron Patty. I've never seen anything like this in my career here," he said. On Saturday, cops found the white Ford pickup Perez stole to make his getawaybut no Perez. Cops said the suspect6-foot-3, 200 poundshas a 3-inch Air Jordan tattoo on the left side of his neck, the Review-Journal reports. Perez had been picked up Friday morning for questioning in the death Mohammed Robinson, 31, on Aug. 27. Robinson was shot outside a McDonalds after a dispute when he failed to hold the door open for a woman, reports KSNV. The woman complained to a man she was with, who in turn pulled out a gun and shot Robinson, cops said. Robinsons sister, Maggie, angrily demanded to know how a suspected murderer could walk out of a police station. "You couldn't have another person there?" she asked KSNV. Patty said police were just as frustrated ourselves and would investigate the mistake. "But the bigger focus is, he added, we have a homicide suspect on the loose." (Read more murder suspect stories.) (Newser) In a quintessentially British celebration, London commemorated the 350th anniversary of the Great Fire of London by burning the whole city down all over againthis time in miniature. Spectators packed the banks of the River Thames to watch as a 394-foot wooden replica of 17th-century London was set alight on a barge Sunday night, the CBC reports. The 1666 blaze, which started in a baker's shop, destroyed the homes of 70,000 of the city's population of 80,000 as it burned out of control for four days. The burning of the model, designed by US artist David Best, was the climax of the city's "London's Burning" festival. "I've seen a shed blown up in the name of art, I've seen fireworks, I've seen artists bury themselves, I've seen the trace of an artist shooting himself in the hand or nailing himself to a car, but actually I've never seen anyone collaborate with so many people in such an extraordinary and exciting way, to make a commemorative replica of a skyline 350 years ago and then set fire to it," Royal Academy of Arts artistic director Tim Barlow tells the BBC. "I mean this is spectacle and then some." (In 2014, the British embassy in Washington, DC apologized for the way it commemorated the 200th anniversary of British troops burning the White House during the War of 1812.) (Newser) North Korea on Monday fired three medium-range missiles that traveled about 620 miles and landed near Japan in an apparent show of force timed to coincide with the Group of 20 economic summit in China, South Korean officials said. North Korea has staged a series of recent missile tests with increasing range, part of a program that aims to eventually build long-range nuclear missiles capable of striking the US mainland. Such tests are fairly common when international attention is turned to Northeast Asia, and this one came as world leaders gathered in eastern China for the G-20 summit, reports the AP. China is North Korea's only major ally, but ties between the neighbors have frayed amid a string of North Korean nuclear and missile tests and what many outsiders see as other provocations in recent years. South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff said that the three ballistic missiles, all believed to be Rodongs, were launched from the western North Korean town of Hwangju and flew across the country before splashing into the sea. A Joint Chiefs of Staff statement described the launches as an "armed protest" meant to demonstrate North Korea's military capability on the occasion of the G-20 summit and days before the North Korean government's 68th anniversary. All three missiles Monday fell in Japan's exclusive economic zone, the 200-nautical-mile offshore area where a nation has sovereign rights for exploring and exploiting resources. Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga called the launches a "serious threat" to Japanese security and said that Tokyo protested to North Korea via the Japanese Embassy in Beijing. The United States also condemned the launches, saying it was discussing with allies the proper response and plans to raise concerns at the UN. (Read more North Korea stories.) (Newser) Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte warned President Obama on Monday not to question him about extrajudicial killings, or "son of a bitch I will swear at you" when they meet in Laos during a regional summit, reports the AP. More than 2,000 suspected drug pushers and users have been killed since Duterte launched a war on drugs after taking office on June 30. In his typical foul-mouthed style, Duterte said: "I am a president of a sovereign state and we have long ceased to be a colony. I do not have any master except the Filipino people, nobody but nobody. You must be respectful. Do not just throw questions. Putang ina I will swear at you in that forum," he said, using the Tagalog phrase for "son of a bitch." Obama, in China for the G-20, responded by saying he was having aides look into whether meeting with Duterte would still be productive, notes Politico. Duterte has earlier cursed Pope Francis and UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon. It isn't clear whether Obama plans to raise the issue of extrajudicial killings with Duterte during a meeting on the sidelines of the summit of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations. "Who is he to confront me?" Duterte said, adding that the Philippines had not received an apology for misdeeds committed during the US colonization of the Philippines. (Read more Rodrigo Duterte stories.) (Newser) The Paris terror attacks last November were horrifying, but Islamic State operatives had planned for even more devastation, an in-depth CNN investigation reveals. The news group says it spent months sifting through about 90,000 documents and photos culled from cellphone records, interviews, and European sources looking into the attacks. What they found: that ISIS had hoped for the Paris carnage to be worse than it turned out and had wanted to carry out similar attacks on other targets. Perhaps most frightening, they note, is that the ISIS faction dedicated to planning such strikes is a "highly organized" one. "It's increasingly sophisticated," says a terrorism expert who helped out with the CNN probe. "[ISIS has] set up an intricate, logistical support system to launch these terrorist attacks." Among the methods investigators say ISIS is tapping into are increased social media usage and encrypted communications; meticulous and secretive mission-planning, with operatives given info on a limited need-to-know basis; and tips on how to sneak into different countries, including hiding in train bathrooms. The investigators say there were two ISIS operativesincluding one who seemed to be obsessed with X-rated websiteswho pretended to be Syrian refugees but who never made it to Paris to help out with the attacks (their phony passports were discovered and they were arrested in Greece before the strikes). Meanwhile, a third operative, Abid Tabaouni, was just arrested in July. Also supposedly on last year's hit list, per European investigators: the Netherlands and a bunch of other French targets, including shopping centers and a Parisian supermarket. (Read more ISIS stories.) (Newser) Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte apparently can't say anything nice, so President Obama has decided the pair won't say anything at all. Obama called off a planned meeting Tuesday with Duterte, reports the AP, seeking distance from a US ally's leader during a diplomatic tour that's put Obama in close quarters with a cast of contentious world figures. It's unusual for one president to tell another what to say or not say, and much rarer to call the other a "son of a bitch." Duterte did both just before flying to Laos for a regional summit, warning Obama not to challenge him over extrajudicial killings in the Philippines. "Clearly, he's a colorful guy," Obama said. "What I've instructed my team to do is talk to their Philippine counterparts to find out is this in fact a time where we can have some constructive, productive conversations." National Security Council spokesman Ned Price later said the meeting with Duterte was off. Duterte has been under intense global scrutiny over the more than 2,000 suspected drug dealers and users killed since he took office. Obama had said he planned to raise the issue in his meeting with Duterte, but the Philippine leader insisted he was only listening to his own country's people. "You must be respectful," Duterte said of Obama. "Do not just throw questions." Eager to show he wouldn't yield, Obama said he would "undoubtedly" still bring up human rights and due process concerns "if and when" the two do meet. Managing Duterte has become a worsening headache for Obama. Washington has tried largely to look the other way as Duterte pursued closer relations with China, a marked shift for the Philippines. Last month, Duterte said he didn't mind Secretary of State John Kerry but "had a feud with his gay ambassadorson of a bitch, I'm annoyed with that guy." (Read more Rodrigo Duterte stories.) The controversial explosion of Elon Musk's SpaceX Falcon 9 has dampened the commercial space industry especially for the satellite makers in Israel. The rocket exploded on Sept.1 destroying Facebook's Internet satellite Amos-6 created by an Israeli company. The explosion that occurred on Sept. 1 in Cape Canaveral base rocked the commercial space flight industry. The doomed Falcon 9 was being fuelled when the explosion occurred destroying with it Facebook's Internet satellite. The satellite was supposed to be launched to space last Saturday. Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg, who is currently in Africa, expressed his disappointment over the incident. "As I'm here in Africa, I'm deeply disappointed to hear that SpaceX's launch failure destroyed our satellite that would have provided connectivity to so many entrepreneurs and everyone else across the continent, Zuckerberg said in a statement. The incident was a blow not only to SpaceX, one of the leading commercial space flight company today but also to the Israeli satellite producer Space Communication Ltd. Facebook CEO, Mark Zuckerberg commissioned Space Communication to create the Internet satellite called Amos-6. Facebook and Space Communication have been partners for some time now in developing new satellite technologies to be able to beam Internet to different parts of the world. Reports say that the Israeli company doesn't know what to do now that their priced Amos-6 satellite was destroyed. One option is for their government to try and keep the independence of their space industry. The government and the people concerned with the country's space industry will hold a conference to discuss what could be their next move amid the SpaceX incident. To save Israeli's space program, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is said to be capable of releasing about $300 million to pay state-owned weapons builder Israel Aerospace Industries Ltd, to create another satellite for Space Communication. But before that, it has to be proven that rebuilding the lost satellite is of national importance to Israel "This is a traumatic experience for the industry but allows us to hold this discussion that should have happened 10-15 years ago," Yossi Weiss, chief executive office of Israel Aerospace Industries Ltd said in a statement. The Amos-6 satellite was also created by the Israel Aerospace Industries Ltd. Israel's strategic space program was born from the country's military operations and their space independence is considered valuable to the country. Today, SpaceX is still picking up clues to find what could have caused the explosion. Loss of Falcon vehicle today during propellant fill operation. Originated around upper stage oxygen tank. Cause still unknown. More soon. Elon Musk (@elonmusk) September 1, 2016 This only proves that the unfortunate SpaceX explosion did not only hinder Facebook from delivering Internet services to remote areas, but it has greatly affected Israel's space industry as well. We're always interested in hearing about news in our community. Let us know what's going on! Go to form Thank you for reading! Please log in, or sign up for a new account and purchase a subscription to continue reading. The Daily News-Miner encourages residents to make themselves heard through the Opinion pages. Readers' letters and columns also appear online at newsminer.com. Contact the editor with questions at letters@newsminer.com or call 459-7574. Srinagar: An all-party parliamentary delegation on Monday explored ways to bring peace back in the valley on Sunday. The talks will continue on Monday after separatists adopted a tough stance and refused to be a part of talks. During the first day of its visit, the delegation met about 200 members in about 30 delegations from various sections of society and listened to their point of view to reach a common solution to the current scenario in Jammu and Kashmir, a statement from the Home Ministry said. While the delegation, led by Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh, met mainstream sections, five members of the group broke away to meet the separatists. Also Read: Yechury, Sharad Yadav arrive at Geelanis house, he snubs them Four MPs -- -CPI(M) General Secretary Sitaram Yechury, CPI leader D Raja, JD(U) leader Sharad Yadav and RJD's Jay Prakash Narayan -- went to meet hardline Hurriyat leader Syed Ali Shah Geelani at his residence where he is under house arrest for the last 60 days while AIMIM leader Assadudin Owaisi went to meet moderate Hurriyat leader Mirwaiz Umar Farooq at Chashma Shahi sub-jail where he is lodged. At Geelani's residence, the gate was not even opened for the MPs while people shouted slogans outside. Geelani saw them from the window but refused to meet the parliamentarians. "It is our effort to show that we are ready to talk to anyone whether they agree to meet or not," Yadav said. The group also went to meet JKLF chief Yaseen Malik who is under detention at BSF camp in Humhama. He told the MPs that he will talk when he visits New Delhi. Owaisi went separately to meet Miwaiz who met him briefly but only exchanged pleasantries. After Owaisi's failed attempt, the group comprising Yechury, Yadav, Raja and Narayan went to meet the Mirwaiz and were with him for about 15 minutes. The group tried to meet former Hurriyat Chairman Abdul Ghani Bhat who also refused to talk to them. Bhat welcomed the leaders but made it clear it has been decided that no talks will be held with the delegation members. Owaisi said he also met another detained leader Shabir Shah for some time and offered 'namaz' along with him there. But no separatist leader held talks with them. "This is a futile exercise. Nothing concrete will happen until or unless India talks to Pakistan on Kashmir. We will not be able to arrive at any solution if India only talks to Kashmiris or Pakistan talks to Kashmiris. We should try and solve this issue which can otherwise result in hostilities between the two neighbouring nations," said Ghani Bhat. Earlier in the day, the separatists rejected Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti's invitation to them for meeting with the all-party delegation, terming such a measure as "deceitful" and insisting that it cannot be an alternative to a "transparent agenda-based dialogue to address the core issue". The delegation had come here to cool the volatile situation arising out of violent protests that have gripped the Valley since the killing of Hizbul militant Burhan Wani on July 8. The clashes resulting from the protests have claimed 71 lives and injured thousands. For all the Latest India News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps. New Delhi: The controversy involving Sandeep Kumar further rankled the AAP on Sunday as a party MLA shot off a letter to Arvind Kejriwal, criticising party leader Ashutoshs stand and alleged that a coterie was damaging the party. Bijwasan MLA Devinder Sehrawat, who had earlier spoken out against the manner in which AAP had sacked Prashant Bhushan and Yogendra Yadav, said the situation is getting indefensible and disgraceful and action needs to be taken to remove rotten elements. He said justifications put forth by Ashutosh for Kumars conduct were not as per the acceptable value systems. Kumar was arrested last night on rape and other charges hours after he surrendered before police following a complaint by a woman, who purportedly figured in an objectionable CD with him. He was also suspended from the party. Sehrawat also hit out at AAPs Delhi unit convener Dilip Pandey, questining his conduct and said there were disturbing reports from Punjab. Now the situation is getting indefensible and disgraceful. Action needs to be taken to remove rotten elements. Justifications put forward by Ashutosh are not as per the acceptable value systems, he wrote to the Delhi Chief Minister, who is also the party chief. I saw disturbing reports about women being exploited in Punjab in return of or promise of tickets. I am meeting people in Chandigarh to check the position on ground.. Dilip Pandey is doing same in Delhi..., Sehrawat said. He alleged a coterie is damaging the party. Asked who he was referring to, he named Ashutosh, party Punjab unit in-charge Sanjay Singh and Dilip Pandey. He signed off the letter to Kejriwal saying that he should let the people know that we still believe that we will change politics. Ashutosh in a blog had referred to the reported relationships of Mahatma Gandhi and Jawaharlal Nehru with women to defend Kumar over the objectionable CD and claimed that he was sacked as a minister for perception management. For all the Latest India News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps. New Delhi: Chinese tech major Lenovo has become the second-biggest smartphone brand in terms of value ahead of Apple, Micromax and Oppo with a market share of 9.1 per cent, according to the research firm IDC. Besides, the market share in terms of units sold of the company surged in second quarter, making it the third largest smartphone brand in India, with share of 7.7 per cent, the report by IDC said. As per IDCs recent report released this month, both Motorola (now owned by Lenovo) and Lenovo combine emerged as the number two player in Q2FY16. Lenovo had acquired Motorola in October 2014 from Google. With a growth of 24.5 per cent over the last year, Lenovo group captured 7.7 per cent of market share by units sold while the market grew by only 3.7 per cent, as per the research firms quarterly mobile phone tracker. This is a huge milestone achieved by us, which has motivated and encouraged us further to go against all odds by creating meaningful and innovative, technologically-advanced products that enhance the consumer mobile experience, said Sudhin Mathur, Director-Smartphones, Lenovo India. The company recently launched a series of smartphones like, K5 PLUS, ZUK Z1, Moto G4 Plus, and Moto X Play, among others in India. New Delhi: Calling the teachers to imbibe technology in imparting education, President Pranab Mukherjee on Monday said they should instill in children civilisational values of sacrifice, tolerance, pluralism, understanding and compassion. Greeting the teachers on the occasion of Teachers Day, Mukherjee, who started his career as a teacher, said this is an occasion when we recognise the dedicated services of the teachers of our nation. In a series of messages on twitter, Mukherjee said a sound education system is the bedrock of an enlightened society. Inspired teachers are the building blocks of a good education system. An inspired teacher links the individual goals of the students to the societal and national goals, he said in the message. He said teachers need to imbibe technology and new methodologies to create modern and effective approaches to teaching and learning and extended good wishes to entire teaching community for their dedication and commitment to the great cause of educating countrys youth. Teachers Day is celebrated on the birth anniversary of second President of the country Dr Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan, a revered educationist, philosopher and recipient of highest civilian honour of the country Bharat Ratna. A scholar of comparative religion and proponant of Advaita Vendanata who countered western criticism of Hinduism, Radhakrishnan held the King George fifth Chair of Mental and Moral Science at the University of Calcutta between 1921 and 1932 and was Spalding Professor of Eastern Religion and Ethics at University of Oxford between 1936 and 1952. For all the Latest India News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps. Srinagar: A day after Hurriyat leaders snubbed members of the all-party delegation who reached out to them, Home Minister Rajnath Singh on Monday said the behaviour of the separatists shows they do not believe in Kashmiriyat, Insaniyat and Jamhooriyat. Addressing a press conference on the second day of the delegations visit, Singh said he was confident that peace will be restored in the state and the members had interacted with 30 delegations representing various sections of the society. As far as talks are concerned, our doors to everyone who wants peace and normalcy. Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti also wrote letters. I want to clarify that some members of the delegation had gone to meet Hurriyat leaders yesterday. Neither had we said yes nor no. Whatever happened you know about it. I do not wish to go into the details. But whatever information those friends gave us upon their return, it can be said it was not Kashmiriyat. It cannot be called as Insaniyat (humanity). When someone goes for talks and they reject it, it is not jamhooriyat (democracy) as well. We are ready to talk to everyone who wants peace and normalcy, he said. Singh said Jammu and Kashmir was, is and will always be integral part of India. The Minister said during his last visit concerns were raised about the use of pellet guns for which non-lethal replacement shells PAVA have been recommended. The shells will not take lives. About 1000 shells have arrived in Srinagar, he said. The Minister, who is leading an all-party delegation on a two-day visit to assuage the volatile situation in the Valley, said the entire country and Parliament are pained by the situation in Kashmir. On a question whether India plans to talk to Pakistan on Kashmir, Singh said, First let us talk to Indians. When asked whether the Centre is willing to go the extra mile on the demands of autonomy raised by PDP and National Conference from time to time, he said, We are not concerned with whatever one had said in the past. We have taken everyones view and cooperation to improve the situation in Kashmir in the delegation-level talks. To a query on track-2 channel talks, Singh said he did not wish to enter in the debate of track-one, track-two or track-three. The Minister said to address concerns of Kashmiri youths living in different parts of the country the Ministry has appointed Dr Sanjay Rai as nodal officer who can be approached on phone number 011-23092923, 23092885. Singh said Parliament, which is supreme panchayat of the country, is very serious about the situation in Kashmir and hence decided to send a delegation of its members for talks. He said 26 Members of Parliament belonging to 20 parties have come here for talks as part of the delegation. More than 30 delegations comprising 300 members from political parties, civil society, University teachers, fruit growers, students and intellectuals have presented their view before the delegation, he said. Everyone wants that the situation must improve. The delegation spoke to these people, the Governor and the Chief Minister of State and also officials of the state government. I am fully confident that the situation will improve which people also want, he said. He said the Centre is giving full support to the state government which is also trying to bring improvement in the situation. For all the Latest India News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps. New Delhi : Home Minister Rajnath Singh on Monday addressed a press conference in Srinagar to talk over all-party parliamentary delegation's second day visit. In strong words, Rajnath Singh claimed that India has been an integral part of India and will always be. Chinese official media has said that it is high time India showed it means business in limiting climate change effects. Urjit Patel has assumed charge as the 24th Governor of Reserve Bank, succeeding Raghuram Rajan whose three-year controversy-ridden tenure ended on Sunday. Here are the top 5 news of the hour: 1. Rajnath hits out at Kashmiri separatists, says they don't believe in 'insaniyat, Kashmiriyat, jamhuriyat' Home Minister Rajnath Singh on Monday addressed a press conference in Srinagar to talk over all-party parliamentary delegation's second day visit. In strong words, Rajnath Singh claimed that India has been an integral part of India and will always be. There are no two ways to it. He also took a jibe at separatists taking a tough call of not being a part of talks to improve situation in the valley. 2. India should follow US, China and ratify Paris climate deal: Chinese media As India resisted pressure from the US and China, who are responsible for around 40 per cent of the worlds carbon emissions, to ratify the Paris climate deal this year, Chinese official media said it is high time India showed it means business in limiting climate change effects. The US and Chinas ratification of the Paris climate deal have set an example for other emerging and industrialised economies, an oped article in the state-run Global Times on Monday said. 3. Urjit Patel takes over from Raghuram Rajan as RBI Governor Urjit Patel has assumed charge as the 24th Governor of Reserve Bank, succeeding Raghuram Rajan whose three-year controversy-ridden tenure ended on Sunday. Patel has assumed charge effective September 4, 2016, after serving as deputy governor since January 2013, RBI said in a statement on Monday. He was reappointed as deputy governor on January 11, 2016, after the completion of his first three-year term in office. 4. Amitabh Bachchan's emotional letter to grandchildren: Don't worry about Log Kya Kahenge Amitabh Bachchan has penned his thoughts on how his children should not worry about "Log Kya Kahenge" over the legacy of the grand sir name. His letter filled of emotions was posted on a news daily. Have a look... 5. Ganesha Chaturthi: From Amitabh Bachchan to CM Fadnavis, Mumbai welcomes Lord Ganesha Mumbaikars on Monday welcomed the God of good luck and prosperityLord Ganeshainto their homes and community pandals, kick-starting 10-day-long Ganesh Chaturthi celebrations with zeal and fervour. The festival commenced with devotees installing colourfully-crafted idols of their most beloved and venerated deity, Ganesha, in their homes and beautifully decorated pandals across the city. For all the Latest India News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps. Washington: Warning China of "consequences" due to its aggressive behaviour, US President Barack Obama has asked the Communist nation to restrain itself from worrying its neighbours in the disputed South China Sea region. "Part of what I've talked to communicate to President Xi (Jinping) is that the United States arrives at its power, in part, by restraining itself," Obama said. "You know, when we bind ourselves to a bunch of international norms and rules, it's not because we have to, it's because we recognise that, over the long-term, building a strong international order is in our interests. And, I think, over the long-term, it will be in China's interests, as well," he told CNN in an interview recorded before he left for China to attend the G20 Summit. "So where we see them violating international rules and norms, as we have seen in some cases in the South China Sea or in some of their behaviour when it comes to economic policy, we've been very firm. And we've indicated to them that there will be consequences," Obama said. What the US has tried to emphasise to China is that if it is working within international rules and international norms, then they should be partners, he asserted. "There is no reason that China and the US cannot be friendly competitors on the commercial side and important partners when it comes to dealing with the many international problems that threaten the two countries," Obama said. Obama noted China has been run during his lifetime by a Communist party that has been "much more anti-Western" in the past. "We went through a period over the course of 20 years, in the '90s and on through maybe the onset of my presidency, where, because state-sponsored capitalism and an export-driven model was very successful, China was less interested in making waves," Obama said. "But, you know, you've got over a billion people, one of the largest economies now in the world. And so it's to be expected that they will want a bigger seat at the table when it comes to international affairs. And what we've said consistently is we welcome the peaceful rise of China, consistent with international norms. That's good for everybody. An impoverished and collapsing China would be dangerous for everybody," Obama said. For all the Latest World News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps. Washington: Scientists have found that immunotherapy can destroy majority of dormant cancer cells that become resistant to chemotherapy and combining the two treatments may help prevent cancer recurrence. Researchers found that chemotherapy alone leads to two types of dormant cancer cells that are not killed outright and become resistant to additional chemotherapy, but when combined with immunotherapy, a majority of dormant cells also are destroyed. "The best way to apply immunotherapy as cancer prevention is during tumour dormancy to prevent advanced stage disease," said Masoud H Manjili, a researcher from the Virginia Commonwealth University School of Medicine in the US. To make this discovery, researchers treated breast cancer cells with a common chemotherapeutic agent. Nearly all of the cancer cells died as a result, but a residual population of tumour cells survived and became dormant. By measuring for the presence of a molecule associated with cell division, the scientists determined that this residual population of dormant cancer cells consisted of an indolent as well as a quiescent population. They treated the dormant cells with a product of the immune system, and found that dormant cells were susceptible to immunotherapy. They found that quiescent, but not indolent cancer cells, could not escape from immunotherapy. "This new study demonstrates the importance of this concept of exploiting the immune system in cancer to target residual disease that our cancer drugs miss," said E John Wherry from University of Pennsylvania. The research appears in the Journal of Leukocyte Biology. Srinagar: A day after Hurriyat leaders snubbed members of the all-party delegation on Kashmir issue who reached out to them, Home Minister Rajnath Singh on Monday said the behaviour of the separatists shows they do not believe in 'Kashmiriyat', 'Insaniyat' and 'Jamhooriyat'. Addressing a press conference on the second day of the delegation's visit, Singh said he was confident that peace will be restored in the state. Here are 25 quotes by the home minister on the all-party delegation's visit to Kashmir- 1. "The doors and windows for dialogue on Kashmir were always open." 2. "No talks with Pakistan on Kashmir issue in near future. Let us first talk with the people within our country." 3. "Some members of delegation went to meet Hurriyat leaders in their individual capacity. We neither said 'Yes' nor 'No' (to the move)." 4. "The information given by the delegates (about how the members were treated) makes it clear that it is neither Kashmiriyat nor insaniyat." 5. "The members had gone to hold talks but by refusing to talk, they have shown that they (separatists) do no believe in jamhooriyat as well." 6. "I do not want to go into the debate about back channel talks with the separatists or appointment of a fresh team of interlocutors on Kashmir." 7. "Track one, Track Two, Track Three. I do not want to get into this debate." 8. "Like my previous visits to Kashmir since the unrest began in the Valley, I am willing to talks with anyone who wants peace and normalcy in the state." 9. "Ready for dialogue on Kashmir but it will be only held within the ambit of the Constitution." 10. "There are no two opinions that Jammu and Kashmir was, is and will remain an integral part of India. I know people of Kashmir also want this." 11. "Not only our doors but windows are also open for talks." 12. Situation in Jammu and Kashmir will improve and everyone who met the delegation haave expressed this wish." 13. "I am convinced that the situation in Jammu and Kashmir will improve." 14. "There was a demand for ban on pellet guns from the people I met in Srinagar in July." 15. "We formed an expert committee which was mandated to submit a report on alternative to pellet guns within two months. The committee gave its report ahead of time and now PAVA has come." 16. "I understand that no one will lose life due to use of PAVA. 1,000 non-lethal PAVA shells arrived in Kashmir on Sunday." 17. "The delegation of 26 Parliamentarians from 20 parties came to Kashmir as they were very serious about the situation in the Valley." 18. "The all-party delegation has taken suggestions from the people who interacted with it for improvement of situation in Kashmir." 19. "Parliament is the biggest Panchayat in the country and it is very serious about the situation in Kashmir. This panchayat decided to send a delegation to Kashmir to interact with the people." 20. "We are not only concerned but pained by the situation in Kashmir. We need everyone's cooperation." 22. "We met the political parties, civil society, university teachers, Vice Chancellors, fruit growers, students and some intellectuals. The delegation also interacted with state Governor N N Vohra, Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti and officials of the state government on Sunday. 23. "The Centre was providing all assistance to state government which is trying to improve the situation." 24. To address concerns of Kashmiri youths living in different parts of the country the home ministry has appointed Dr Sanjay Rai as nodal officer who can be approached on phone numbers 011-23092923, 23092885. 25. If required, the government will take suggestions from them again in future," Rajnath Singh said when asked if the Centre was willing to consider proposals like PDP's self rule and National Conference's greater autonomy for Jammu and Kashmir within the ambit of the Constitution. (With inputs from PTI) For all the Latest India News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps. New Delhi: In a sharp attack on Pakistan at the G20 summit here, Prime Minister Narendra Modi today said one single nation in South Asia is spreading agents of terror as he asserted that those who sponsor the menace must be sanctioned and isolated, not rewarded. Indeed one single nation in South Asia is spreading these agents of terror in countries of our region, Prime Minister Modi said in an apparent reference to Pakistan. We expect the international community to speak and act in unity, and to respond with urgency to fight this menace. Those who sponsor and support terrorism must be isolated and sanctioned, not rewarded, Modi said in his intervention during the concluding session of the meeting of the worlds 20 strong economies. The Prime Minister said India appreciates the G20s initiative on combating the financing of terrorism and asserted that all countries should meet the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) standards. Growing forces of violence and terror pose a fundamental challenge. There are some nations that use it as an instrument of state policy. India has a policy of zero tolerance to terrorism. Because anything less than that is not enough, Modi said. For us a terrorist is a terrorist, he asserted. Modis remarks came a day after India called on other BRICS members to intensify joint efforts to combat terrorism. Modi, in an apparent reference to Pakistan, had yesterday demanded coordinated actions by the grouping to isolate supporters and sponsors of terror. The Prime Minister, in his address to the Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa (BRICS) Leaders Meeting here, had said terrorists in South Asia, or anywhere for that matter, do not own banks or weapons factories. Clearly, someone funds and arms them and BRICS must intensify joint efforts not just to fight terror but to coordinate actions to isolate those who are supporters and sponsors of terror, he had said, without naming Pakistan. But the reference was clearly aimed at Islamabada close ally of China. Modis comments at G20 come against the backdrop of escalating war of words between India and Pakistan in the aftermath of the continuing unrest in the Kashmir Valley that broke out on July 8 after Hizbul commander Burhan Wani was killed by security forces. For all the Latest India News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps. Hangzhou: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday raised with French President Francois Hollande the leak of confidential data on the Indian Scorpene Class submarines being built in Mumbai in collaboration with French defence company DCNS on the sidelines of the G20 Summit here. On the second and final day of the summit in this east Chinese city, Modi held separate pull-aside meetings with Hollande and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan with whom he discussed Indias NSG membership. Prior to those meetings, Modi met Britains new Prime Minister Theresa May and held discussions on building opportunities in the aftermath of UKs decision to exit the European Union. In his meeting with Hollande, Modi raised the leak of sensitive data related to Scorpene Class submarines. This issue has also figured (in the talks), External Affairs Ministry Spokesperson Vikas Swarup told reporters. Over 22,000 pages of secret data on the capabilities of six highly advanced submarines being built for the Indian Navy in Mumbai in collaboration with French defence company DCNS were leaked. The data leak reportedly happened overseas. In his meeting with Erdogan, the Prime Minister discussed the issue of Indias membership of the 48-member Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG), Swarup said. The discussion with Erdogan on NSG was significant as Turkey was among the few countriesalong with China which had stalled Indias bid to join the elite grouping at its plenary meeting in June in Seoul. China had then raised objection saying India was not a signatory to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT). Turkey too raised its concern over the presence of supporters of dissident Muslim cleric Fethullah Gulen in India. Turkey accuses Gulen of masterminding the failed July coup attempt. Swarup said enhancing civil aviation cooperation with Turkey also figured during the discussions. With May, the Prime Minister underlined that even after UKs exit from the EU, Britain remains an important partner for India. May also referred to the recent passage of GST (bill) which would further boost trade and investment ties with the UK. She supported PMs reform agenda and the UK is keen to participate in Make in India, Smart city and Skill India initiatives, he said. The two leaders discussed further enhancing of the defence partnership and Modi invited UK firms to India. They also talked about the challenges of terrorism, calling it the biggest threat and danger to the world with no boundaries, Swarup said. Modi also invited May to visit India in her new capacity. May accepted the invitation and said would like to make as early a visit to India as possible, sources said. Modi also touched upon UKs visa policy. In particular he said that the new UK regulations could have negative impact on Indian working professionals wishing to visit UK for short-term business visits, the sources said. For all the Latest India News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps. New Delhi: Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi has commenced his 'Kisan Yatra' from Deoria in eastern Uttar Pradesh. On Tuesday morning he addressed his first rally and first khaat sabha during his 2500km long 'padhyatra'. The agenda of the long door-to-door campaign is to help 'secure rights of the poor, farmers and labourers in government resources',A Gandhisaid in a tweet. The 'Deoria to Dilli yatra', which is starting from Panchlari Kritpura village, is marked by a door-to-door campaign of collecting 'Kisan Mangpatras' (charters of farmers demands), one-to-one interaction with farmers through Khaat (cot) Sabhas, a concept similar to Prime Minister Narendra Modi's 'Chai par Charcha' during the 2014 Lok Sabha polls, and roadside meetings. Highlights of his yatra on day 1:A #Rahul Gandhi started his door-to-door campaign by visiting houses of farmers inA Panchlari Kritpura village.A #The villagers, after meeting Congress vice-president, filledA Kisan Maang Patras outlining their demands.A #Main demands put forward by farmers were: loan redemption, less electricity bill, better support price for their produce.A #Rahul Gandhi also offered prayers at the Doodhbaba Mandir in Deoria en routeA his door-to-door campaign.A #"We will take problems and sorrows of farmers to Modi ji," says Rahul Gandhi during his first rally A in his mahayatraA starting Tuesday.A Kisaan ki samasya aur dukh, wo hum Modi ji ke kaano tak pahuchayenge: Rahul Gandhi in Deoria(UP) pic.twitter.com/GMNfzJvANz a ANI UP (@ANINewsUP) September 6, 2016 #A There were 17 sugar mills in this district, but today all are shut. Who is responsible? GoI & UP Govt have forgot the farmers: Rahul Gandhi #A I asked Modiji aWhy is there so much difference in farmersa rate and market rate?a but didnat get a reply: Rahul Gandhi in Deoria (UP). There were 17 sugar mills in this district, but today all are shut. Who is responsible? GoI & UP Govt have forgot the farmers: Rahul Gandhi a ANI UP (@ANINewsUP) September 6, 2016 I asked Modiji awhy is there so much difference in farmersa rate and market rate?a but didnat get a reply: Rahul Gandhi in Deoria (UP). a ANI UP (@ANINewsUP) September 6, 2016 #Rahul Gandi holds his first 'khaat sabha' in RudrapurA #Modi talks about farmers but the sad part is that when he came to power he forgot about farmers from not just UP but from across the nation: Rahul Gandhi in Khaat Sabha #Modi government pardoned the Rs 50,000 crore loan of his industrialist friends, but why does he not pardon the loan of farmers? : Rahul Gandhi in Khaat Sabha Plan for the campaign:A #Rahul Gandhi will hold akhaat sabhaa across 39 districts and also road shows in numerous large towns and cities. #Congress leader will cover as many as 233 assembly constituencies to reach out to people ahead of crucial polls slated early next year. #Congress vice president will launch his month-long maha yatra traversing 2,500-km through Uttar Pradesh #The Yatra from Deoria in eastern UP to Delhi began on September 6. #Rahul will hold one-to-one interactions with farmers at aKhaat Sabhaa in Rudrapur #He will also hold Kisan Mahasabha in different districts of the poll bound state. #Rahul's month-long yatra will cover 39 districts and 55 parliamentary constituencies #A team of party spokespersons will brief the media about the yatra. #During the yatra, Rahul Gandhi will hold Khaat Sabhas (meetings on charpoy) with farmers at Deoria and Kushinagar.A For all the Latest India News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps. One of the aspirants in last weekends Ondo State All Progressives Congress (APC) governorship primaries Chief Olusola Oke, yesterday de... One of the aspirants in last weekends Ondo State All Progressives Congress (APC) governorship primaries Chief Olusola Oke, yesterday described it as a sham.Oke, who scored 576 votes behind Dr. Olusegun Abraham 635 votes and the winner Mr. Rotimi Akeredolu (669) alleged that the delegates list which served as the voter register was doctored.He said he would explore the partys internal mechanism available to him to seek redress after conducting further probe into the perversion.A statement by the Olusola Oke Campaign Organisation (OOCO)yesterday alleged the illicit substitution of the delegates list officially given to the aspirants from Abuja less than 12 hours to the primary.It alleged that persons who were not on the delegates list were allowed to participate in the primary election.The statement, signed by OOCOs Director-General Otunba Bola Fisayo, also said the organisation was aware that the delegates list used for the primary was kept away from the aspirants and impregnated with over 400 delegates who never emerged from any congress of the party as required by its constitution and guidelines. Governor Adams Oshiomhole of Edo State, on Sunday admonished residents of the state to invite God to help them in choosing the right candi... Governor Adams Oshiomhole of Edo State, on Sunday admonished residents of the state to invite God to help them in choosing the right candidate to succeed him.Oshiomhole gave the admonition at the Jesus Deliverance Ministry, Benin, where he went on a thank-you visit for the churchs support and prayers to his administration.He said that inviting God for guidance was imperative as power belongs to Him, and that He alone can guide and direct leaders to know what to do and deliver on their political promises to the people.He said that unless God guides, leaders would work in vain, adding that there had been cases where people were elected into office and did not know what to do after their election.The governor said that anything done without the fear of God could not succeed, stressing that he was in church to appreciate God for his stewardship.According to him, it is only fair I did that as I have visited in the past to seek your support during my elections.He said that his tenure was a story of miracle in view of his background and the fact that he had spent better part of his life agitating for the betterment of the masses.Oshiomhole added that his tenure was also a miracle as he defeated forces that had dominated the nations political life.Although many did not know how it happened, every believer knows that when God says yes, no man can say no, he said.He told the congregation that he had always been concerned about the environment where the church was located because of the massive erosion threat in the area, but said he was happy his administration checked it.He said that he felt fulfilled in handling the issue of the environment with the excitement on the faces of members of the church, adding that it was so because the people believed he would deliver on his promises.Oshiomhole appealed to the congregation to come out on Sept 10 to make very important decision by voting wisely for my successor.He however advised them to first take an appraisal of the state on how it was before and during his tenure and be wisely guided.He also urged the congregation to have faith in the country as present challenges facing it would be surmounted, and that church remained the strongest pillar in spite of the weaknesses of political leaders.In her response, the Spiritual Leader of the church, Pastor Ngozi Peters, prayed for Gods intervention in the election.The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the governor was also at the St Thomas Aquinas Catholic Church on a similar mission. Skye Bank Plc located at the international wing of the Murtala Muhammed Airport (MMIA), Lagos was last night gutted by fire. Skye Bank Plc located at the international wing of the Murtala Muhammed Airport (MMIA), Lagos was last night gutted by fire.Although, the fire was put out immediately, smoke engulfed the area for some time, but it did not disrupt activities, as passengers boarded flights.An official of one of the passengers-handling companies, Pathfinder, said they perceived the smell of a burning wire.A source from the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) said the fire was not noticed by many people because when it started, it was quickly put out.I was at the terminal, but I didnt hear of it until your enquiry. Many people were going about their activities without being aware of the fire because it did not disrupt anything, the official said. The Deputy Senate President, Senator Ike Ekweremadu, has called for the enactment of laws that will confine cattle rearing to ranches in o... The Deputy Senate President, Senator Ike Ekweremadu, has called for the enactment of laws that will confine cattle rearing to ranches in order to stop the persistent attacks of herdsmen across Igbo land.Speaking in New York, the Deputy Senate President frowned at the incessant herdsmen attacks in Igbo land and some other parts of Nigeria.He said, Governments of various states in Igbo land and indeed other parts of the country should immediately consider enacting legislation that confine cattle-rearing to modern ranches as obtainable in developed societies. In fact, our governments could go a step further to invest in constructing and leasing out modern ranches.This will produce healthier animals, give better products, provide employment, added value to the farm products, and help in promoting peaceful co-existence as well as sifting armed bandits and terrorists from real farmers doing legitimate business.He further advised state government not to leave the enforcement of security measures in the hands of the Federal security agencies.Sadly, when you enact laws to checkmate the menace, as Ekiti State has commendably done, you will still rely on the same security institutions to enforce them. This is the dilemma.Therefore, our state governments should take further step by ensuring that such legislations provide for enforcement bodies, such as Forest Rangers, which will consistently comb the forests to ensure that those who run foul of the laws are arrested and speedily prosecuted to serve as deterrent to others, he added. Rape survivor, victims advocate and an actress in upcoming movie The Birth of a Nation, Gabrielle Union has found herself in an impossible position.Along with the much of the world, Gabrielle learned that her films director, writer, producer and star, Nate Parker, was accused and acquitted of rape 17 years ago.In the film, about Nat Turners 1831 slave rebellion, Unions character is raped, though its not depicted on screen. Its why the actor took the part, she writes. She wanted to give voice to women of history, especially black women, who have for so long been silenced on the matter.Gabrielle Union was raped at gunpoint in the backroom of a Payless shoe store 24 years ago and she says shes been in a state of stomach-churning confusion since learning of Parkers 1999 rape case.Nate Parker was a student and wrestler at Penn State University and was accused of rape 17 years ago. He was acquitted, though his college roommate Jean Celestin (who co-wrote The Birth of a Nation) was initially found guilty of sexual assault. That conviction was later overturned when the accuser declined to testify for a trial.The case garnered a lot of attention and spawned a civil lawsuit by the woman against the college, with a settlement of $17,500. Nates accuser committed suicide in 2012, which brought the case to the fore once more.Nate Parker, who is now married with five daughters, learned about the death from media reports. He later wrote on his Facebook page that he was filled with profound sorrow and regretted that he didnt show enough empathy"It is in light of this that Gabrielle made her thoughts known to the L.A. TimesShe said, Former President Olusegun Obasanjo has said President Muhammadu Buhari can seek re-election in 2019 as his constitutional right. Obasa... Former President Olusegun Obasanjo has said President Muhammadu Buhari can seek re-election in 2019 as his constitutional right.Obasanjo added that it is up to Nigerians to vote for him or not, and denied an online publication claiming he (Obasanjo) had, through his ex-Chief Press Secretary, Alex Nwokedi, warned Buhari against re contesting in future.The ex-President, who spoke to reporters in Abeokuta, the Ogun State capital, yesterday, through his media aide, Mr Kehinde Akinyemi, said he had not spoken with Nwokedi in the last three years.He described the on-line report published on September 3 as false and those behind it as destructive and enemies of democracy.My belief is that democracy allows anybody, including President Buhari for that matter, to contest any election, and it is the prerogative rights of Nigerians to vote or not to vote for him.I have not communicated with Alex in the last three years, so how a story could be credited to me, when I did not authorised such or communicated with him in the last three years?Nobody has the right, not even me, to advise my children not to seek elective post. It is part of the freedom of democracy.I condemn in the most highest manner the story and those behind it. And for those behind it, they are simply enemies of democracy and freedom of expression, he stated.Obasanjo said he is still committed to the peace and progress of the countrys democratic development, which he promises will bring relief, with patience and understanding of the masses. The governorship candidate of the All Progressives Congress in Edo State, Godwin Obaseki, says he intends to be governor so that he can ... The governorship candidate of the All Progressives Congress in Edo State, Godwin Obaseki, says he intends to be governor so that he can consolidate on what Governor Adams Oshiomhole has done in the state.Obaseki, who was quoted in a statement to have said this on Sunday in Benin, said he had a 10-pronged manifesto targeted at consolidating Oshiomholes legacies.Among others, he explained that his focus would be on youth empowerment, by, among others, providing them with funds to run medium and small scale enterprises and by also investing in sports, arts and craft.He said with his 10-point programme, Edo State would have become the cynosure of all eyes by the time he was done.Meanwhile the Obaseki campaign organisation has accused a group loyal to the Peoples Democratic Partys candidate, Osagie Ize-Iyamu, of planning to foment trouble.According to Obasekis campaign organisation, one Redemption Group in conjunction with the Ize-Iyamu campaign group had planned to stage a protest in the state.However, the Obaseki camp, in a statement, described the planned peaceful protest by the opposition party as an attempt to blackmail the Independent National Electoral Commission and intimate the voters.The Obasekis camp noted that the APC candidate had last week made a peace call after he got winds of the plan by the opposition to allegedly taunt the police and other law enforcement agents and intimidate the Edo voters through the protest.The statement read partly, Cowards die many times before their death; the sponsored protest slated for Monday is an act of cowardice intended to blackmail the Independent National Electoral Commission, taunt the police and other law enforcement agents, and intimidate the Edo voters.We see the arranged protest by paid agents of the PDP and Iyamu as the last act by a wobbling candidate and his daivided party who stare imminent defeat clearly in the face. The General Evangelist of the Christ Apostolic Church, Prophet Samuel Abiara, has lost his wife, Prophetess Christiana Abiara. The General Evangelist of the Christ Apostolic Church, Prophet Samuel Abiara, has lost his wife, Prophetess Christiana Abiara.A statement from the church on Sunday said Prophetess Abiara was aged 70 and that she died on Saturday in a hospital in Ibadan, Oyo State, where she had been receiving treatment.She is survived by her husband, children, among whom are three sets of twins, and a large Christian family.Daughter of the deceased, Taiwo Abiara-Omokore, said her mother died in the presence of family members at the hospital, adding that she waited for her husband to get to the hospital before she died, praising God.She said, My mother was a special woman. She was specially created by God to bring joy and happiness to others. If everyone in Nigeria could be like her, this country would be like a paradise. She never offended anyone and she was a true mother to us and a great wife to our father.She died with a pure heart and what amazed me was that she did not die until my father arrived at the hospital. They had the last prayer together and the last word in her mouth was Halleluyah, which she sang several times.When I tried comforting her and told her that we would soon return home with her in good health, she called my name and said it was time for her to go home. I said that was not the wish of God for her, but she said she knew better than I did. At exactly 9pm on Saturday, she breathed her last in front of family members.One of the aides of Prophet Abiara, who identified himself simply as Pastor Oshati, said she spent one week at the hospital.She died in a hospital in Ibadan, where she was being treated for slight ailment. She was there for one week but remained strong. We have taken solace in the fact that she served God till her final moment in life. She died at a time appointed by her Creator because she looked strong until the final moment. The church will surely miss her motherly role, he said. By Jessica Angula Former President Theodore Roosevelt of America once cautioned his countrymen and leaders alike with this epistle, D... By Jessica AngulaFormer President Theodore Roosevelt of America once cautioned his countrymen and leaders alike with this epistle, Do what you can, with what you have, where you are. Perhaps, his wisdom must have been informed by the familiar fondness of leaders who delight in the excessive use and abuse of power.The culture in Nigeria is that leaders tend to easily assume the position of God Almighty. They are all knowing and untouchable, cannot be counseled and very hostile to civic ethos. But Nigerias Chief of Army Staff (COAS) Gen. Tukur Buratai has incontrovertibly proven to be different stuff.Leading one of the major wings of Nigerias armed forces(the army), the Borno state born soldier has not just made the yawning positive difference in leading the army, but strives to do more with each passing day. In spite of the difficulties, the Army General blends astuteness and tact to impressively create the needed impact.Arrested by this mindset, Buratais first action in office was to restore the army on the path of professionalism and respect for democracy and the rule of law. He re-echoed these doctrines in his numerous visits to army formations across the country. And since then, he has kept an eagle eye on strict adherence.But he realized the dire need to repair the house within. So, in the course of familiarization tours, Buratai was confronted with the decay and dilapidation of army facilities. His experience was not unusual anyway.In Nigeria, its a tradition that leaders consent to the neglect, rot or decay of public facilities and infrastructures. The easy inclination, but unfounded satisfaction is that public facilities arent anybodys business. But to Buratai, its his business more than anyone else.To this extent, the Nigerian Army is a thousand times lucky to have a Buratai on the saddle. And despite the prevailing economic crunch, the Chief of Army Staff is bringing out the best with the meagre resources at his disposal to impact on the welfare of soldiers in the country for effective service delivery.Just yesterday, the social media delighted in celebrating basic problems of soldiers and mindlessly scolded government for the horrible neglect. Issues such as soldier's irregular salaries and allowances, inadequate office and residential accommodation and lack of weapons and decayed facilities dangled in the air. They were not just afflictions of soldiers, but became national embarrassments to the country.Within one year, Buratai has incredibly changed the face of the army in Nigeria. Nigerians now experience the positive impact of soldiers in quelling internal insurrection not because of the hiring of some marabouts from the moon to perform the magic. It is a consequence of re-equipping the army with modern arms and ammunitions for warfare under Buratais administrative control. Ensuring prompt payment of salaries and allowances of troops, especially those at the battle front, Buratai has gingered soldiers into exceptional performance on assigned tasks.At the same time, the Army Chief worries daily over barracks where soldiers reside. Not just that they are insufficient, but incomplete state of disrepair. He lamented the enormity of decay of infrastructure in Army barracks everywhere he berthed and promised gradual change. Keeping faith with his promise, the Chief of Army Staff ensured the inclusion of barracks renovation in the 2016 federal budget.The result has been the massive renovation of residential and office accommodation, or the building of new barracks for soldiers across the country. The Maxwell Khobe Cantonment Jos, Nigerian Army School of Artillery in Kachia Kaduna State, Office of the Military Secretary among others have either experienced renovations or flaunt's newly built structures. The Nigerian Army is also building an army barracks in Otukpo, Benue state. It is a gigantic edifice, sitting on a generous expanse of land and a sight to behold.When this writer visited the Nigerian Military School Zaria, the basic training ground for upcoming soldiers, displayed evidence of Buratais repositioning of the Nigeria Army. Indeed, decrepit structures turned to shining buildings overnight. Mouthful testimonies of staff and students of the state of the school, who now operate in a dignified environment could move anybody to tears. The institution now proudly boosts of basic amenities and learning infrastructure which hitherto was realizable in the realm of dreams.As an incentive, Buratai has declared that soldiers currently in the war front with Boko Haram insurgents in the North-East zone of Nigeria or elsewhere in the country would have personal houses upon retirement. He has directed the army Post-Housing Development Directorate to work out modalities for this housing scheme. In addition, the Nigerian Army headquarters has also been directed to strongly stand by soldiers wishing to secure mortgage loans for personal housing projects.Quite unusual too, military and civilian relations is on a high record of cordiality and excellence. Soldiers on special duties in restive areas now freely mingle with their host communities, who now perceive them more as friends and protectors than enemies, especially in the Niger Delta.In reciprocal gesture, the army extends this cordiality by offering free medical services to the people. The team of Operation Crocodile Smile has demonstrated it in scores of communities in Rivers and Bayelsa states among others.To strengthen this friendship, soldiers have gone out of the normal line of duty to tame kidnappings and abductions by engaging in rescue actions. They have rescued several innocent persons from the claws of kidnappers and petty criminals. The victims have been reunited with their families.Buratai himself has exemplified this cordiality with the civilian population. He shocked many recently when he worked into an Abuja clinic for his routine medical check-up. This in spite of his unbridled access to the best medical facilities, within the military and abroad. The message was simply to deflate the aura of mysteriousness around soldiers and top ranking military personnel.This proclivity has stretched to his office, where civilians freely throng to have an interface with him, once he is not on the battle field or assignments outside of the office. Those many would consider as common citizens have unfettered access to Buratai who parley with them on security issues over a cup of tea.Therefore, when Buratai assured the headship of the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) led by its executive secretary Ben Angwe of the Armys professional and responsive discharge of its duties in line with the with the constitution, it was not a hoax. His actions have also depicted it variously. So, Nigerians who thought the re-emergence of President Muhammadu Buhari in civilian garments is the reincarnation of a dictator are having a rethink. Such fears have been dispelled by the actions of the Chief of Army Staff and the soldiers under his guidance. In the wisdom of Americas Roosevelt, Nigerias Chief of Army Staff is excitedly doing what he can, with what the position entrusted to him in Nigeria. Former French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner NCRI - Former French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner has called for the formation of an international tribunal to prosecute officials of the mullahs regime for carrying out the massacre of over 30,000 political prisoners in Iran in the summer of 1988. The overwhelming majority of the victims of the 1988 massacre were affiliated to the main Iranian opposition group Peoples Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI or MEK). Dr. Kouchner on Saturday, September 3, addressed a seminar on the 1988 massacre held at the Iranian Resistances headquarters north of Paris. We now realize the result of the 1988 massacre. Some 33,000 people were killed, Dr. Kouchner said. We absolutely need the creation of a specific court, to avoid being told that the massacres happened too long ago and that it's too late. We need a specific court to judge the mullahs' crimes. Dr. Kouchner pointed out the mullahs regime continues to carry out mass executions in Iran. Nothing has changed since the [nuclear] agreement. Everybody rushed to sign contracts in Tehran. And then we realized that we had signed the contracts with the Revolutionary Guards. We now realize that [Irans] economy is in the hands of the Revolutionary Guards, he added. Here is the full text: [The full video is available on YouTube Madame Rajavi, dear guests, allow me to speak French, because the translation is very good. I was listening to you people, and to your English, and... Je vais vous parler en francais [I will speak in French]. You depicted me dear friends, as a human rights activist. After listening to you, after hearing, reading the documents you sent me, and after having heard Sir and Mrs., I wonder what were the human rights activists doing during all that time. I know some are really brave. I know there have been people protesting, but only a few, not enough, when those abuses happened. There is always this state policy I had to fight all my life, that makes it easier to leave the stones unturned, rather than turning them to see the blood that nourishes the earth. I know the state policy demands silence. You said I was the French minister of Foreign Affairs, I'm aware of that. And the we realize we were wrong to keep quiet. And then we realize that the situation of the mullahs succeeding to the Shah of Iran wasn't quite clear. Certainly this bearded old man with his thick eyebrows was presented as nice man who was gonna bring democracy back. Certainly, the balance in the area was fragile, and it still is. But step by step, we forgot, we wanted to forget what was happening in Iran. And there were other problems, there was the Iraq-Iran war, and there was the situation of all the protagonists of the region, and even from further countries, like the USA, or Europe, and the nearby countries. So we kept quiet. Some protested. Some groups protested in the streets, but not many. And now, we realize the result of the 1988 massacre. 33,000 people. And we wonder what the International Criminal Court in The Hague, or all the courts which were formed about specific massacres, in specific countries, like the Russell Tribunal and the tribunals about massacres in Rwanda, in Lebanon, etc. And we absolutely need the creation of a specific court, to avoid being told that the massacres happened too long ago and that's it's too late, there's prescription. Because this will come up. We need a specific court to judge the mullahs' crimes. We need... Dear friends, I hear you applaud when I say something, but it's easy to applaud. But taking actions is harder. It's very difficult because the obstacles standing in our way... international community... we always refer to the international community. But what is it? What did the international community the UN do? I was for a long time a UN representative, and I was in charge of several countries. The international community sadly, has to take into account influences and political stakes, and the balance of powerful countries. So, regarding this new court, every one of you, and your friends, will have to remind people of what happened from the 80s until this day, and announcing, like Mrs. Rajavi previously said, how many massacres happened last month, not only in 88. Last month. How many hangings? How many executions? Execution rates are calculated per capita, which a pretty gruesome statistic, well, Iran is at the top of the list. And it killed even more people since the signature of the agreement, between, not only the USA, but also Europe with Iran. Those are the obstacles ahead of us. You know, I was talking with some mujahedin friends, and we all want stability. We all want stability, in the most unstable region in the world, the Middle East. Everything that influences just a little... and it's true that these days, with everything happening in Syria, in Iraq in Turkey and nearby, and the fight between Sunnites and Shiites. Because it's happening. Saudi Arabia exists too. It exists, and during your conference in Le Bourget, a Saudi speaker explained things pretty well. Some can. All these obstacles will always be there, ahead of us. So if we demand a tribunal, and we have to, and I'm counting a lot on Hillary Clinton's win to make her join our fight. I hope I'm not wrong. I know I'm not wrong. So, go for it! He seems to agree, so... I worked for a long time with Hillary Clinton, and... I know she will be the next president of the United States, and I hope that the general configuration will move towards human rights, and the end of massacres. But, obstacles are abundant, I repeat myself, and it's a pretty defensive and pessimistic message I admit it. But in spite of these obstacles, in spite of the ongoing war, in spite of the Turkish offensive, in spite of the heroic fight of some Kurds, and I learned that 25 of them had just been executed in Iran. Kurd people. In spite of all that, we need to persevere to shed light on this massacre. We need to know that this religious power, this theocracy we hate, is up to. This mix between the good Lord and the Republic, or so-called Republic. Or at least, shed light on the political power and the religion, the inequality between men and women, everything we hate. All of this has terrible daily consequences on the Iranian population. Nothing changed since the agreement, and I'm not saying I was against it. Because if someone ask you to choose between a possibility of peace, or a possibility of nuclear war, obviously we prefer peace. In spite of all that, we need to know the daily reality. Everybody rushes to sign contracts in Tehran. And then we realize we signed contracts with the Revolutionary Guards. We realize that the economy is in the hands of the Revolutionary Guards. In spite of all that, or maybe thanks to all that, human rights activists who were feeling down lately because, you have to realize, being a human rights activist isn't trendy anymore. Doing protests in Paris because of the massacres in Syria or elsewhere isn't in vogue anymore. Sadly, there hasn't been any big manifestation, and sadly, the way some European countries including mine, didn't offer shelter to refugees, adds even more sadness, to the human rights activists. In spite of all this, we need to use this opportunity because it's something we owe to the people who died. They're the reason we have to act once more, and they won't let us forget all the human rights violations. Their sacrifice is a reminder, their names shall be repeated, and we shall say each time, that we owe our hope to them. Thank you for not forgetting them, and thank you for reminding us of the necessity of this everyday battle we have to give in the name of those who died, but a battle we also have to fight against ourselves. We can't let the human rights idea die. Thank you, Madame. Background: In the summer of 1988, the Iranian regime summarily and extra-judicially executed tens of thousands of political prisoners held in jails across Iran. The massacre was carried out on the basis of a fatwa by the regimes then-Supreme Leader Ruhollah Khomeini. The facts: More than 30,000 political prisoners were massacred in Iran in the summer of 1988. The massacre was carried out on the basis of a fatwa by Khomeini. The vast majority of the victims were activists of the opposition PMOI (MEK). A Death Committee approved all the death sentences. Mostafa Pour-Mohammadi, a member of the Death Committee, is today Hassan Rouhanis Justice Minister. The perpetrators of the 1988 massacre have never been brought to justice. On August 9, 2016, an audio tape was published for the first time of Khomeinis former heir acknowledging that that massacre took place and had been ordered at the highest levels. | Report an error, an omission; suggest a story or a new angle to an existing story; send a submission; recommend a resource; contact the webmaster, contact us: deathpenaltynews@gmail.com Opposed to Capital Punishment? Help us keep this blog up and running! DONATE! Source: NCRI, September 5, 2016 Osun State has urged the citizenry to dismiss attempts by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to diminish the achievements of the Governo... Osun State has urged the citizenry to dismiss attempts by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to diminish the achievements of the Governor Rauf Aregbesola administration with last Thursdays official opening of the Osogbo Government High School.The school was inaugurated by President Muhammad Buhari.The government said the PDP lacked the capacity to comprehend the administrations strategies to make educations quality in Osun State to surpass what any elite school in Nigeria offers.Speaking through the Bureau of Communication and Strategy in the Office of the Governor, the government said the allegation from the PDP was no more than a case of sour grape arising from its shattered expectation that Buhari would not honour the state with his presence to inaugurate the school.It said the Aregbesola administration has a comprehensive strategy towards changing the face of education and bringing it to the same level of what any elite schools in Nigeria can offer.The bureaus statement, signed by its Director, Mr. Semiu Okanlawon, urged the citizens to demand from the PDP, which insights it had into the workings of the Osun governments many strategies to turn around the fortune of education.The statement noted that PDPs claim could only be its own imagination arising from its anti-people orientation that whatever is good, modern, spectacular and qualitative is an exclusive preserve of its own class of elite.It added: We are not like them. This is a case of sour grape on the part of the PPD that wants to disparage the great achievements of the governor.Aregbesolas mission in education is to democratise it and bring it to the poor, who could possibly never have the opportunity to be educated along children of the affluent in Nigeria.The bureau said so far, no fewer than 50 of its school projects are already open for use, demanding which one has been changed to high-fee paying school.As at today, Osun has completed no fewer than 50 of such mega schools across the state that have already been put to use by Osun pupils without the PDPs imaginary high fees.Which one of the schools such as Anthony Udofia Government Elementary School, Salvation Army Government Middle School, Adventist Government High School, Ede, Ansar-ul-Deen Elementary School, Isale Osun, Osogbo or any other school has become a high fee paying school since their inauguration? the statement queried.It said the Aregbesola administrations refusal to be slowed down in its development agenda has remained a source of headache to the opposition, adding that none of the claims of the party against Aregbesola has been found to be reliable or true since the PDP embarked on its mission to destroy Osun State. The Federal High Court in Lagos on Monday remanded a pastor, Chris Anyalebechi, in prison over alleged N58 million fraud. The Federal High Court in Lagos on Monday remanded a pastor, Chris Anyalebechi, in prison over alleged N58 million fraud.The Police Special Fraud Unit arraigned him before Justice Babs Kuewumi on a two-count charge of conspiracy and obtaining money under false pretence.The police said the General Overseer of Christ Glory International Gospel Center, Ikorodu, Lagos, between April 2014 and March last year, conspired with others now at large to obtain the money from Nestor Nwankwo of Zicozeen Nigeria Limited.The cleric allegedly promised to buy a used ship for the company and sell it in parts or scraps on its behalf.The charge reads: That you, Pastor Chris Anyalebechi, General Overseer, Christ Glory International Gospel Center, Ikorodu, Lagos, sometimes between April 2014 and March 2015, in Lagos, within the jurisdiction of the Federal High Court, by false pretence and with intent to defraud, obtained the sum of N85 million from a company known as Nestor Nwankwo of Zicozeen Nigeria Limited, by representing to the company that you will purchase for the company a used ship or vessel and sell same in parts or scraps on behalf of the company, a representation you knew to be false.The alleged offence contravenes Section 1(1) (a) (3) of the Advance Fee Fraud and other Fraud Related Offences, Act, 2006.Anyalebechi pleaded not guilty to the charges.Prosecution counsel, Effiong Asuquo, a Chief Superintendent of Police, urged the court to remand the accused person in prison custody pending trial.Justice Kuewumi ordered that the cleric be remanded in prison. Rivers State government has promised to partner the Deeper Life Christian Ministry in a monthly crusade to uplift the people spiritually... Rivers State government has promised to partner the Deeper Life Christian Ministry in a monthly crusade to uplift the people spiritually.Governor Nyesom Wike, who addressed the faithful at the Double Portion Crusade in Port Harcourt at the weekend, with Pastor William Kumuyi ministering, said the crusade would transform the state.He said Kumuyi and other leaders would intercede on behalf of the state.The governor noted that investing in the spiritual growth of Rivers was necessary for development.He said: No man can provide security, except God. Only God can move this state forward. We have worked hard and we seek Gods grace to consolidate our efforts.The crusade, Wike said, would present a happy moment for the people, as the state marked a new beginning.He said he declined to host the Super Eagles versus Tanzania match because Rivers needed blessings from the crusade.The event was witnessed by thousands of people from the 23 local governments. A serving member of the National Youth Service Corps, NYSC, simply identified as Dayo, has been found dead in a river in Isaka, Port Harco... A serving member of the National Youth Service Corps, NYSC, simply identified as Dayo, has been found dead in a river in Isaka, Port Harcourt, Rivers State.His body was reportedly found floating in the river two days after he was reported to have accidentally slipped off a boat while boarding a jetty to the community where he was serving.The deceased was laid to rest on Friday, September 2nd.A facebook user who shared a picture with a tribute to the deceased wrote: Corper Dayo was someone who didnt say more than 100 words in a day.Corper Dayo was someone who never looked for trouble.Corper Dayo was someone who smiled in FrenchCorper Dayo was someone who always seek the face of God.We the Isaka, Port Harcourt corps members sadly bid farewell to our friend who was one of us but lost his life last week Saturday.He crossed the river to have a haircut in preparation for the next day (Sunday service) but unfortunately did not make it back to us after his haircut because he reached the island and accidentally slipped off the boat as he was trying to climb up the jetty leading to the community where we stay.We cried our eyes out in prayers begging God to rescue him while the searcher swept the river.Unfortunately, according to the wish of God, he was only found two days after floating in the river.May his soul rest in perfect peace.I also use this medium to urge our fellow corpers who are posted in riverine area to be very careful and also put on your life jackets no matter how small the river may be.Meanwhile, the NYSC, is yet to make an official statement on the death of the corps member. Nigerias police are closing in on 15 kidnapped oil workers and are hopeful of rescuing them soon, a spokesman told Bloomberg. Nigerias police are closing in on 15 kidnapped oil workers and are hopeful of rescuing them soon, a spokesman told Bloomberg.Gunmen attacked a bus carrying 14 Nigerian employees of Nestoil Plc, a Lagos-based oil services company, and a driver on Friday afternoon near the southeastern city of Port Harcourt.The security agencies are working on it, Nnamdi Omoni, a police spokesman, said by phone from Port Harcourt.Its all hands on deck. Weve recovered the vehicle. As soon as possible, theyll be rescued, he added.He declined to say where the workers were being held, saying it may harm the police operation, or whether the gunmen had asked for a ransom.Kidnappings are common in the oil-producing Niger River delta, with many people being freed after a ransom is paid. Militants in the region have escalated attacks on oil and gas pipelines and export terminals since February, sending Nigerias crude production crashing to an almost 30-year low.The state oil company, Nigerian National Petroleum Corp., may be crippled if the attacks arent stopped, it said in an e-mailed statement on Saturday.Theres an urgent need for government and security agencies to refocus as well as engage with communities in the Niger Delta, the oil firm saidMeawhile, the Niger Delta Greenland Justice Mandate, one of the militant groups in the Niger Delta region, on Sunday dismissed reports tagging the group as Urhobo militants, asking the Nigerian military to stop invading Urhobo communities in the guise of searching for its members.This is coming after the Nigerian troops under the Exercise Crocodile Smile invaded several Urhobo communities, where scores of persons were arrested including a septuagenarian at Akperhe Olomu in Ughelli South Local Government Area of Delta State for being members and sponsors of militant group in the region.It was learnt that the military had also invaded Otu-Jeremi community and some houses including a hotel where it arrested guests and one Mr. Godfrey Ideh, who had gone there to collect a debt.Troops have also stormed other Urhobo communities in Ughelli and Ughievwen in search of persons suspected to be members of the Niger Delta Greenland Justice Mandate, a militant group that has claimed responsibility for attacks on oil installations in the highland areas of the region.A statement issued on Sunday by the groups spokesman, Aldo Agbalaja, reiterated its warning to the staff and residents around oil and gas facilities in the region to immediately vacate, as it threatened further attacks on oil facilities.It threatened that attacks on oil facilities would continue, saying that President Muhammadu Buharis administration has not summoned the courage to address requests made by them.NDGJM said, Another thing (is that)we have observed an organised plot to tag us an Urhobo group, thus the frequent and deliberate characterisation as such by a section of the media (not The PUNCH). This attempt has been followed up by a reckless military invasion of some Urhobo communities.Our message to those in this plot; keep it up, your recompense is nigh. As for the operatives and operations of the Niger Delta Greenland Justice Mandate, the wind is invincible.For the avoidance of doubts, we have seen no reason to halt our anger against the Nigerian Federal Government, not when the oppressive system has yet to move a muscle to respond to our requests.It stated further, This said call and the so-called ceasefire are all a job, just like the Ijaw-dominated, Clark-convened Niger Delta stakeholders meeting in Effurun was. They are both meant to justify the money they hope to obtain from the government. The High Command of the Niger Delta Greenland Justice Mandate uses this medium to alert the world to disregard this fraud.We have our means of communicating, definitely not a call.With this development, if the Nigerian security system is serious about catching frauds and militants, they should get those who claimed to have spoken on the telephone with ODU; they should still have his physical contacts. When we make our next loud statement, they should go after ODU, who just claimed to be the leader of the mandate. The World Health Organization, WHO, has confirmed a third case of polio in Nigeria, Rotary Club said on Monday. The World Health Organization, WHO, has confirmed a third case of polio in Nigeria, Rotary Club said on Monday.A crippled toddler was found in an area newly liberated from Boko Haram Islamic extremists.Nigeria was declared polio-free last year but two cases were discovered last month among refugees from areas recently won back by Nigeria's military from Boko Haram.Rotary Club's field coordinator, Aminu Muhammad, told The Associated Press that the new case was found in Monguno local government area. The others were further south in Jere and Gwoza, all are in northern Borno state.Rotary is part of a new emergency immunization drive that vaccinated more than 1.5 million children last week in Borno, where WHO has said the virus has been circulating undetected for five years and where Boko Haram began its Islamic uprising in 2009. BUENA VISTA TWP. -- Multiple bicyclists were injured in a crash on Saturday in Buena Vista Township when a car swerved into a a group of 11 cyclists, police say. At around 8:05 a.m. near Plymouth Street on NJ-54, 25-year-old Yutzil Villanueza attempted to pass a truck while traveling north. According to New Jersey State Police, Villanueza passed the truck, entering the southbound lane and swerved to avoid an unknown hazard in the road which took her onto the shoulder of NJ-54. Villanueza's Nissan Altima struck a tree, utility pole, and three cyclists, sending one of the cyclists through her windshield into the passenger seat. The cyclist, Anthony Pitman, was seriously injured with a fractured elbow and was airlifted to Cooper University Hospital in Camden where he was later listed as being in stable condition. Two other cyclists, Joseph Simmons and Day Ayers, and Villanueza suffered minor injuries. According to police, Villanueza was taken to Vineland Regional Hospital for medical attention. The crash is still under investigation by police. Caitlyn Stulpin may be reached at cstulpin@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @caitstulpin. Find NJ.com on Facebook. DSC_2457.JPG James Aumack remembers his calls to fight a fraudulent Comcast bill. (Violet Karyn/For NJ Advance Media) How easy is it to open a cable television account using someone else's identity? Pretty darned easy. And now, because of one couple's experience, New Jersey may get new legislation to protect consumers from this kind of identity theft. In May 2015, James and Margaret Aumack came home to a phone call that they thought was from a credit card company trying to solicit business. The company kept calling, and finally, James Aumack, 72, decided to call the company back. Using the *69 service on his phone, he reached a debt collection firm called Southwest. Aumack said the rep started yelling that the couple owed money. "He said that we had a Comcast bill of $1,400-plus," Aumack said. "I responded that we didn't owe anybody because I pay all bills within 24 hours of getting them. He didn't care." Aumack, who said he's had Comcast service at his Cape May home for at least 20 years, called the provider, asking if it had his Social Security number associated with an account. Yes, Aumack said a rep confirmed. In Irvington. That's about 150 miles from Aumack's home. Margaret Aumack with her telephone, thinking about the many calls she and her husband made to clear their name with Comcast. "They wouldn't call the collection agency to tell them to stop the telephone calls," he said. "Even when I proved that I was in Florida when this contract was written, they didn't care." He then spoke to a supervisor, who assigned the case a number. Aumack said he asked the supervisor if the company had another Social Security number in the files with his name and a different address. "They told me that they weren't required to do that," he said. "I asked if they asked for a photo ID of the person who opened the account. They said they're not required to do that." Aumack also asked if there was a photo or video of the account being opened. "They again said that they didn't have to do that," he said. "If they had done even one of the above things, they would have had reason to believe that this person wasn't who he said he was. He was a criminal committing fraud." The couple next went to file a report with Cape May police. The next morning they heard from a detective. "He explained that he was in touch with Comcast and that they had my name and Social Security number. That was used to open an account at an address in Irvington," Aumack said. The detective said there was probably very little hope of catching the thief, Aumack said, and he instructed the couple how to submit whatever paperwork would be needed to clear their names. Next, Aubach said, he spoke to Comcast's legal response team. A rep gave the case another reference number. Auback said he asked why Comcast did not "use due diligence when screening new customers." The rep said he couldn't help, Auback said he was told, and he was given contact information for the office of the president. Auback said he wrote a letter for the president's office, and he received a call. The rep gave Aumack his third case number, and the rep said she directed the collections company to stop the calls, Aumack said. To prove who he was, Aumack said, he supplied tax forms, property tax and water bills, and phone bills to prove he didn't live in Irvington. Then the couple filled out paperwork to notify the Federal Trade Commission and the three major credit bureaus. They also visited their bank to take photos that would appear to bank employees whenever their account was referenced -- just in case. Next, Aumack wrote a letter to his state senator, Jeff Van Drew. Aumack shared his experience and asked the senator to introduce a bill that would require photo identification before someone could open an account with a cable provider. Aumack said he met with Van Drew and said the senator seemed to like the idea. He was later given a copy of a draft of legislation, an amendment to P.L. 1972, c. 186, which he shared with Bamboozled. It would require a customer applying to establish service to provide two proofs of identification, including a driver's license, a birth certificate, a passport or other government-issued identification. We asked Van Drew's office about the status of the legislation. "We are still researching the most practical way to do this so it can actually pass the legislature," a spokeswoman said. She promised to send Bamboozled a copy of the legislation when it was ready. WHAT IS REQUIRED? We reached out to cable television providers to see what they do require before a consumer can open an account. Comcast, which serves more than a million customers in New Jersey, said in Aumack's case, "a third party independently obtained all the personal information they needed to set up a fraudulent account in Mr. Aumack's name." It said it takes customer protections seriously, but it wouldn't tell us what information a customer needs to provide to set up service. James and Margaret Auback at their Cape May home. So we called the 800-number, and a rep said customers need to provide an address, email and phone number, and a Social Security number and date of birth for a credit check. That's all we wanted to know. We next contacted Optimum, which was previously owned by Cablevision and is now owned by Altice. It, too, said customer privacy is important. For that reason, a spokeswoman said, it doesn't share its procedures publicly but customers could call if they had questions. So we called its 800-number, and a rep told us it required the same information as Comcast. But, the rep said, it doesn't do a credit check. Instead, it asks for the Social Security number to make sure no one else has an account with that number and that the caller doesn't have an old debt with the company. Verizon's spokesman was more forthcoming. The company asks for the address where a customer is requesting service, the customer's name, Social Security number and date of birth to verify credit, said spokesman Laurence Gibson. He said the company also asks for an email address and phone numbers to arrange installation and for future communications. Bamboozled thinks legislation to require better customer identification is a good, common sense idea. A Social Security number was once a reliable way to prove your identity. But today, there have been so many hacks, data breaches and scams that you can bet many Social Security numbers are vulnerable and too public to be relied upon as the main form of someone's identification. Aumack believes the fix could be easy. "In our case, a simple search of the Social Security identifier numbers already in use on the Comcast system would indicate that there was already a contract with Comcast," he said. "The next question would be to ask, 'Can you please tell me where your other service address is?'" He said the question and a computer search probably would have taken a Comcast rep about twenty seconds, and then the scam never would have happened. Another option could be to issue PIN numbers instead of using a Social Security number for existing customers, Aumack suggested. "The guy who used my Social Security number probably bought it and had no idea where I lived. He simply had a number and a name," Aumack said. "All we're trying to do is set up barriers making it much harder to pull this stunt off." He said he believes the companies have a responsibility to protect customers, and in doing so, they will protect themselves. "This will take some extra training of its intake staff. In the long run everyone, except the criminals, will be safer and happier," Aumack said. What do you think? Let us know in the comments section below. Have you been Bamboozled? Reach Karin Price Mueller at Bamboozled@NJAdvanceMedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @KPMueller. Find Bamboozled on Facebook. Mueller is also the founder of NJMoneyHelp.com. Stay informed and sign up for NJMoneyHelp.com's weekly e-newsletter. MONTCLAIR -- A man who says he was falsely arrested and then subjected to a strip search has settled a lawsuit against the Montclair police for $30,000. Montclair police settled a wrongful arrest suit for $30,000. The news was first reported by NJ Civil Settlements, which provides a partial list of settlements paid by New Jersey government agencies and their insurers to those who have sued them. The Montclair resident alleged his constitutional rights were violated and that he suffered emotional distress following his Oct. 12, 2012, arrest on charges of disorderly conduct and obstruction. Kevin Ali said he was a passenger in a car driven by a female friend when Montclair police pulled over the vehicle around 9:30 a.m on Bloomfield Avenue between Park Street and Midland Avenue. The Montclair resident said he was ordered out of the car after asking why they had been stopped, according to the lawsuit. After being told the vehicle failed to yield to a pedestrian, Ali said he was told to get back in the car. Officers then allegedly changed their minds and instructed Ali to exit the vehicle and arrested him. While at the Montclair police station, Ali was ordered by police "to take his clothes off in a humiliating manner while officers around him ridiculed and laughed," according to the lawsuit. He was acquitted on both charges at trial, according to the lawsuit. As is frequent in civil settlements, the defendant admitted no wrongdoing. Jeff Goldman may be reached at jeff_goldman@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @JeffSGoldman. Find NJ.com on Facebook. NEWARK -- A shooting that killed an 18-year-old Sunday was the city's fourth shooting of the weekend, authorities said. Public safety officials are investigating the shooting that killed Daquill Grant around 5:20 p.m. on the 100 block of South 9th Street, acting Essex County Prosecutor Carolyn Murray and Newark Public Safety Director Anthony Ambrose announced. Police said they responded to the location of the shots and found Grant unresponsive and suffering from apparent gunshot wounds. Grant, of Union, was brought to University Hospital and pronounced dead shortly after 6 p.m., officials said. The fatal shooting took place one block from where a 15-year-old girl was killed Saturday and near two other weekend shootings. The prosecutor's Major Crimes Task Force, which includes detectives from the Newark Police Department, is investigating Sunday's shooting. Officials ask anyone with information to call the prosecutor's tips line at 877-847-7432. Marisa Iati may be reached at miati@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @Marisa_Iati. Find NJ.com on Facebook. Mary Jane Veloso "I know you have a good heart. You are a parent as well. Even if my family is poor, I will not be involved in illegal drugs. Even if they put me behind bars. I cannot accept these accusations because I am innocent. I am innocent. I am innocent." These were the words of Mary Jane Veloso as she begged for the assistance of President Rodrigo Duterte on Thursday through a recorded voice message from her family on July 31 The 31-year-old Cabanatuan native is currently on death row in Indonesia on drug trafficking charges. She was scheduled to be executed in April last year but was granted a reprieve following an international outcry to spare her life. As evidenced by her cracking voice, the sobbing Veloso pleaded for her freedom from the president, who is notorious for his approach in eradicating the illegal drug trade in the country. "Beloved President of the Philippines. This is Mary Jane," the former domestic helper said in her plea. "I've been suffering here in Indonesia for too long. I've had to endure a lot in my life and despite being poor, I am a God-fearing person," she said. The past administration's efforts to bargain for Veloso's freedom have remained futile, and she hopes to be free with Duterte's help. "You're my only hope, dear President. I know you're the only one who could help me," she said. "I know a lot of people still believe and support me, but you know it works differently here. I need justice, and I badly need it now. I'm begging you," she further said. Despite being detained since 2010, Veloso remained hopeful that she would receive pardon for a crime she said she didn't commit. "Even if many doubt my innocence, God won't forget me. He sees everything I'm doing; He knows I've done no wrong," she said. The president has yet to release a statement on Veloso's plea. | Report an error, an omission; suggest a story or a new angle to an existing story; send a submission; recommend a resource; contact the webmaster, contact us: deathpenaltynews@gmail.com Opposed to Capital Punishment? Help us keep this blog up and running! DONATE! Source: The Jakarta Post, Sept. 3, 2016 JERSEY CITY -- Esther Yulfo-Kuminga heard a loud pop coming from her neighbor's backyard this morning. She looked outside to see a small flame and knew she needed to leave her home on Yale Avenue. The flame Yulfo-Kuminga described as only being a few inches high sparked a three-alarm fire that spread through five homes and injured three firefighters, officials said. "It just burst into unbelievable flames," Yulfo-Kuminga said as she watched firefighters break the windows of her home at 104 Yale Ave. Five children and 20 adults were displaced in the fast moving Labor Day blaze on the dead end street near Mallory Avenue at about 9 a.m., acting chief of department John Alston said at the scene. Residents looked on as dozens of firefighters worked to control the blaze that damaged 102, 104, 104A, 106, and 106A Yale Ave, including Lera Stephan who stood at the front of the fire line still in her pajamas. Stephan said she woke up when she heard a bang. She originally didn't think much of it and soon realized flames were soaring from the neighboring homes. "We just had to get out," Stephan said standing next to hear 13-year-old son who was wearing his blue pajama pants and only had socks on his feet. Yulfo-Kuminga's cat, Sherlock, ran back into the house after the fire broke out and EMTs treat a cat found injured in a blaze on Yale Avenue. she has not been able to find her pet since. She said she was preparing to move down the shore with her family and rent out the home she has spent 15 years renovating. "I had everything out on the deck and now it's destroyed," she said. "It's the first time in my life this has ever happened. It's the only thing I own." A resident, who identified himself as Pedro S.E., posted a photo on Twitter of EMTs working with resuscitate a cat injured in the fire. While the "horrifying" fire destroyed her house, leaving the back of the home completely destroyed, Yulfo-Kuminga was grateful her neighbors and their children were able to escape the blaze. The three injured firefighters were all being treated at Jersey City Medical Center and are expected to make a full recovery. The cause of the fire remains under investigation. Caitlin Mota may be reached at cmota@jjournal.com. Follow her on Twitter @caitlin_mota. Find The Jersey Journal on Facebook. JavaScript is disabled. For a better experience, please enable JavaScript in your browser before proceeding. You are using an out of date browser. It may not display this or other websites correctly.You should upgrade or use an alternative browser 40 years after unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) entered into military service 20 years after such systems assumed combat operations with the US military and CIA, United Nations peacekeepers in Africa are elsewhere are expanding the use of drones to improve force protection and better secure the civilian communities in conflict areas. The use of drones is part of an undergoing technological revolution Led by UN Under-Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Operations Herve Ladsous, aimed to make peacekeeping more effective even at times of growing tension and funding constraints. The new trend has introduced multiple types of drones to UN missions in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Central African Republic, and Mali. Further missions are anticipated in Darfur, and South Sudan. Unlike many military drones, tasked with armed reconnaissance and target acquisition, the drones supporting the UN are primarily used for surveillance and situational awareness. According to Ladsous, UAVs do a better job of protecting civilians, because they provide real-time pictures of situations as they develop on the ground. You can act more quickly and more decisively, he said. Drones can save lives, by improving the peacekeepers security, by providing prior warnings on enemy ambush or attack, and, by staying on station for longer periods, increasing safety and confidence of citizens. While military operators of drones often tend to deploy such assets in weaponized configurations, Ladsous clearly states that his drones are operating strictly in surveillance missions. We make it very clear that UAVs are for surveillance purposes only. They are unarmed and will remain unarmed because the fact that they are remote-controlled creates potential risks. We dont want to go into that. Attack helicopters, of course, have very precise rules of engagement. They step in or fly in under specific circumstances and always under the direct control of the force commander. And we apply very rigorous procedures. When a forceful response is required, the peacekeepers prefer to employ manned assets such as attack helicopters assets that have joined the peacekeeping operations in DRC and Mali in recent years and used with the drones to enable quick response to evolving threats. Drones and attack helicopters proved highly useful in DRC and Mali and are recommended to operate as a package supporting other peacekeeping missions across Africa. Among attack helicopters supporting UN peacekeepers in Africa where Ukrainian Mil Mi-24P Hind helicopters, South African Denel Rooivalk and Dutch Boeing AH-64 Apache, (that withdre w after several months, following the loss of one of the Apaches in Mali). In Mali, such assets are supporting the International Brigade, a muscular peace enforcer supporting the MINUSMA mission. We get much better information about what is happening on the ground. We can see groups on the prowl. I saw some of the photos captured by the drones. In certain circumstances, we can recognize the faces. We now have a knowledge of what is happening on the ground and how to mitigate or to proactively intervene. Other systems deployed by the peacekeepers include surveillance aerostats, used for force protection. Such aerostats were recently deployed in the Central African Republic capital, Bangui. Such aerostats carry sensors, daylight, and thermal cameras. Aerostats are now deployed in northern Mali, soon to be augmented by counter-battery radars, to allow accurate and timely counterfire against mortar and rocket attacks that often harass the peacekeepers bases. WASHINGTON (AP) The House committee investigating the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol has issued a subpoena to Donald Trump. The nine-member panel sent a letter to the former president's lawyers on Friday, demanding his testimony under oath by mid-November and outlining a series of corresponding documents. The decision by lawmakers to exercise their subpoena power comes a week after the committee made its final case against the former president, who they say is the "central cause" of the multi-part effort to overturn the results of the 2020 election. It remains unclear how Trump and his legal team will respond to the subpoena, if at all. Weather Alert THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HAS ISSUED TORNADO WATCH 558 IN EFFECT UNTIL 7 PM CDT THIS EVENING FOR THE FOLLOWING AREAS THIS WATCH INCLUDES THE FOLLOWING ADJACENT COASTAL WATERS LAKE PONTCHARTRAIN AND LAKE MAUREPAS MISSISSIPPI SOUND LAKE BORGNE CHANDELEUR SOUND BRETON SOUND COASTAL WATERS FROM THE SOUTHWEST PASS OF THE MISSISSIPPI RIVER TO PORT FOURCHON LOUISIANA OUT 20 NM COASTAL WATERS FROM BOOTHVILLE LA TO SOUTHWEST PASS OF THE MISSISSIPPI RIVER OUT 20 NM COASTAL WATERS FROM PASCAGOULA MISSISSIPPI TO STAKE ISLAND OUT 20 NM THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HAS ISSUED TORNADO WATCH 558 IN EFFECT UNTIL 7 PM CDT THIS EVENING FOR THE FOLLOWING AREAS IN LOUISIANA THIS WATCH INCLUDES 11 PARISHES IN SOUTHEAST LOUISIANA JEFFERSON LIVINGSTON ORLEANS PLAQUEMINES ST. BERNARD ST. CHARLES ST. HELENA ST. JOHN THE BAPTIST ST. TAMMANY TANGIPAHOA WASHINGTON IN MISSISSIPPI THIS WATCH INCLUDES 7 COUNTIES IN SOUTHERN MISSISSIPPI AMITE HANCOCK HARRISON JACKSON PEARL RIVER PIKE WALTHALL THIS INCLUDES THE CITIES OF AMITE, BAY ST. LOUIS, BELLE CHASSE, BOGALUSA, BURAS, CHALMETTE, COVINGTON, CROSSROADS, DARLINGTON, DENHAM SPRINGS, DESTREHAN, DEXTER, DIAMONDHEAD, EASLEYVILLE, EAST NEW ORLEANS, ENON, FRANKLINTON, GAUTIER, GILLSBURG, GLOSTER, GREENSBURG, GULFPORT, HAMMOND, KENNER, LACOMBE, LAPLACE, LIBERTY, MANDEVILLE, MCCOMB, MCNEIL, METAIRIE, MONTPELIER, MOSS POINT, NEW ORLEANS, NORCO, OCEAN SPRINGS, PASCAGOULA, PICAYUNE, POINTE A LA HACHE, PONCHATOULA, PORT SULPHUR, RESERVE, ROBERT, SALEM, SLIDELL, SMITHDALE, ST. MARTIN, TYLERTOWN, VIOLET, WALKER, WATSON, AND WAVELAND. ...FLOOD ADVISORY IN EFFECT UNTIL 345 PM CDT THIS AFTERNOON... * WHAT...Urban and small stream flooding caused by excessive rainfall is expected. * WHERE...A portion of southeast Louisiana, including the following parishes, Jefferson, Orleans, Plaquemines and St. Bernard. * WHEN...Until 345 PM CDT. * IMPACTS...Minor flooding in low-lying and poor drainage areas. * ADDITIONAL DETAILS... - At 142 PM CDT, Doppler radar indicated heavy rain due to thunderstorms. This will cause urban and small stream flooding. Between 1 and 2 inches of rain have fallen. - Additional rainfall amounts of 1 to 2 inches are expected over the area. This additional rain will result in minor flooding. - Some locations that will experience flooding include... New Orleans, Chalmette, Timberlane, East New Orleans, Belle Chasse, Harvey, Marrero, Gretna, Arabi, Meraux, Terrytown, Violet, Poydras and Lakefront Airport. - http://www.weather.gov/safety/flood PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS... Turn around, don't drown when encountering flooded roads. Most flood deaths occur in vehicles. && Currently in New Orleans 73 Mostly Cloudy 79 / 68 Community Its now easier than ever to connect and chat with others in your local area. You can connect with your community by asking general questions, give area updates and recommendations and even let your community know about local events that are taking place. ALBANY POLICE Meth-dealing arrest 4:14 p.m. Friday, Kohls, 410 Airport Road S.E. A caller reported a shoplifter who had concealed makeup. Rikkiah May Alexander, 28, of Lebanon, was arrested on charges of delivery and possession of methamphetamine, possession of heroin and third-degree theft. She was released from jail without posting bail and scheduled to appear in court on Sept. 21. Domestic violence 10:46 p.m., Linn County Jail. Benjamin James Doster, 31, of Albany, was arrested on a charge of felony fourth-degree assault (domestic violence) and interference with making a report. His initial bail was set at $53,000 and he was scheduled to appear in court on Sept. 6. DUII crash 3:27 a.m. Saturday, 3100 block Killdeer Avenue S.E. An officer responded to a motor vehicle crash where an automobile went into a ditch. Joseph Scott Martinez, 23, of Albany, was booked, cited and released on charges of driving under the influence of intoxicants, reckless driving and reckless endangering. He was scheduled to appear in court on Sept. 21. Stolen car 7:02 a.m. Saturday, 1800 block 16th Avenue S.E. A gray 1990 Mazda pickup, with a canopy that matches the truck, was reported stolen. LINN COUNTY SHERIFF Burglary arrest 1:30 a.m. Friday, Linn County Jail. Ashley Sue Rairdon, 26, of Mill City, was arrested on a charge of first-degree burglary, as well as for warrants for first-degree forgery, identity theft, computer crime and four instances of failure to appear. Her initial bail was set at $5,000. Assault arrest 3:11 p.m. Friday, 300 block Russell Drive, near Lebanon. Michael Thomas Marquette, 48, of Albany, was arrested on a charge of third-degree assault. His initial bail was set at $6,000 and he was scheduled to appear in court on Tuesday. SWEET HOME POLICE Robbery arrest 2 p.m. Friday, Linn County Jail. Gabriel Frank Grajiola, 32, of Sweet Home, was arrested on charges of third-degree robbery, second-degree theft and menacing. His initial bail was $12,000, and he was scheduled to appear in court on Tuesday. Freedom is never voluntarily given by the oppressor; it must be demanded by the oppressed. Morality cannot be legislated, but behavior can be regulated. Judicial decrees may not change the heart, but they can restrain the heartless. A right delayed is a right denied.Like an unchecked cancer, hate corrodes the personality and eats away its vital unity. Hate destroys a man's sense of values and his objectivity. It causes him to describe the beautiful as ugly and the ugly as beautiful, and to confuse the true with the false and the false with the true. Martin Luther King Jr. No one is born hating another person People must learn to hate and if they can learn to hate, they can be taught to love, for love comes more naturally to the human heart than its opposite. Nelson Mandela We can disagree and still love each other, unless your disagreement is rooted in my oppression and denial of my humanity and right to exist James Baldwin There is a fine line between free speech and hate speech. Free speech encourages debate whereas hate speech incites violence. Newton Lee The world will not be destroyed by those who do evil, but by those who watch them without doing anything. Albert Einstein An inmate who walked away from work duty at the Lincoln County Courthouse was arrested Monday in Illinois, according to the Lincoln County Sheriffs Office. According to VINELink, a system used by Illinois to inform victims of a criminals status, Troy OBrian, 42 is being lodged in the Grundy County Jail in Morris, Illinois. Melissa Sancillo, 27, was also arrested and booked into the jail. Both are originally from Gary, Indiana. According to the Morris Herald-News, the couple were pulled over at a Minooka, Illinois, gas station on Monday in a 1999 Lincoln Town Car that had been reported stolen from the Bridgeport area on Friday night. The Herald-News reported that OBrian ran into a cornfield. The Herald-News reported that he was taken into custody without incident after being tracked down by a police canine unit. OBrian walked away from his work duty at the Lincoln County Courthouse on Thursday afternoon. A courthouse maintenance worker realized his 2011 Toyota Corolla was missing from the parking lot about 3:25 p.m., and officers with the Lincoln County Sheriffs Office quickly figured out OBrian was missing as well. Authorities believed that Sancillo was with OBrian. About 7:30 p.m. Thursday, officers in Morrill County received reports that the couple had been spotted near Bridgeport. A deputy tried to make contact with the vehicle, but the driver drove into a field before the pair ran away, leaving the Corolla behind. On Friday, authorities searched vacant buildings in the area and the Nebraska State Patrol conducted an aerial search. Friday night, a report came in that a 1999 Lincoln Town Car had been stolen from the Bridgeport area. The Herald-News reported that the pair were both arrested on charges of possession of a stolen motor vehicle. OBrian also had active warrants in Indiana. This is a developing story. More details will be added as they become available. Canberra fullback Jack Wighton has been charged with a grade two shoulder charge from the match against the Wests Tigers yesterday. The offence carries a base penalty of 350 points but, because the player has two prior offences in the last two years, it increases to 490 points. With an early plea the penalty can be reduced to 367 points. Match Review Committee Coordinator Michael Buettner said there was a clear difference in the tackle performed by Sharks hooker Michael Ennis who was not charged and the Wighton tackle. "We look for three key indicators when determining whether a shoulder charge has been made," Mr Buettner said. "They are: 1. The upper arm of the defender must be tucked in to his side at contact. 2. The defender is making no attempt to wrap in the tackle with both arms 3. There is forceful contact by the defender to any part of the body of the attacking player. "If all three of these indicators are clearly identified in an incident then a player will be charged with a shoulder charge. "In the case of Michael Ennis, its very clear that the left arm of Ennis is away from his body and not tucked into his side. "So no charge was laid. "In the Wighton incident the MRC was satisfied that all three indicators were present and so a charge has been laid." An NRL spokesman said Wighton could appeal the charge or the grading at the Judiciary if he chose to do so. Raiders fullback Jack Wighton will head to the NRL judiciary on Tuesday night, after the club announced he will plead not guilty to a shoulder charge that threatens to end his season on the eve of Canberra's return to the finals. Wighton facing NRL finals suspension Wighton was cited for a grade two shoulder charge for an incident involving Wests Tigers forward Joel Edwards, with two prior offences in the past two years adding significant loading to the 350-point base penalty for the charge. Draw Widget - Finals Week 1 - Raiders vs Sharks If Wighton is successful in challenging the charge and is found not guilty on Tuesday night, he will be free to take his place at GIO Stadium on Saturday in his side's qualifying final against the Sharks. If found guilty, Wighton will be banned for four matches and won't play again until 2017. A noxious lung-burning odor of petroleum that made people ill in Hammond and East Chicago hasnt resurfaced since May. Ron Novak, Hammond Environmental Department director, said The Times coverage of the gas-like stench may have put pressure on whoever was causing it to stop. The Hammond Environmental Department now has testing equipment ready and is prepared to track down the source of the pungent smell if it comes back. Background In May, a petroleum odor made throats burn and eyes water in East Chicago and South Hammond, mainly Hessville. The stench spread across Northwest Indiana at least twice and was much more potent than the normal oil refinery and steel mill smells Region residents are used to. The odor, which was compared to fertilizer, crude oil, rotten eggs, solvents and gasoline, could be smelled as far away as St. John and Valparaiso. People reported having strong physical reactions, including chest pains, headaches, watery eyes and burning sensations in their lungs. My eyes were burning, East Chicago resident Theo Brown said in mid-May. My throat was burning. My chest was hurting on the left side of my heart. While the state does not regulate smells, Novak said the noxious odor was a public health concern since people were suffering physical symptoms. Whats next? Hammond now has summa canisters ready to trap samples of the odor, which would be sent to the Indiana Department of Environmental Management in Indianapolis for testing, Novak said. A summa canister is a stainless steel container used to trap air samples. It has been electropolished so it is assured the air sample is not contaminated by the container itself. The Hammond Environmental Department would use reports of where the odor could be smelled and wind direction data to determine the area it was coming from, and then look at test results and permits to ascertain what companies there work with those chemicals, Novak said. Have an idea for a story for us to update? Send tips to newstips@nwi.com with Follow-up File in the subject line. Billy Joels multi-instrumentalist Crystal Taliefero never met a challenge she didnt embrace. Being a female in a male dominated Rock N Roll world, she learned to take a few hits and spring right back onto her feet. Taliefero had thought shed seen it all until she received a phone call from her alma mater Indiana Universitys African American Arts Institute executive director Charles Sykes. He asked that she consider taking an associate director position in instructing the next generation of IU Soul Revue musicians. It was an honor for me to be considered for the position, said Taliefero. They understand my demanding schedule and have provided me with an amazing support team that I value greatly. This is really an exciting opportunity for me and for the students because I can offer them a wealth of knowledge and experience because of all the blessings Ive been awarded. Taliefero, a native of Gary, attended Wirt High School and began performing R&B at The Zanzibar Lounge at the age of 11. As a member of the Indiana University Soul Revue, she studied under the tutelage of Dr. James Mumford and has credited the experience with helping to shape her ability. Dr. Mumford has always been a visionary and has helped his students see and reach goals that sometimes seemed unattainable, said Taliefero. I value our relationship both personally and professionally and thats what I want to bring to my students. They need to know that they can accomplish anything if they are willing to put in the work. Said Dr. Mumford, "Crystal came from obscurity and was thrown into the front of the stage. Not only did she take her talent and run with it, she devoured it. She is a great example to all musicians and I'm beyond ecstatic that she will be bringing her expertise to our IU Soul Revue." Hard work is something Taliefero has never been afraid of because it was instilled in her by her parents at an early age. When she found herself playing gigs in the Bloomington club scene with her brother and mentor Charlies band Kilo, she caught the eye of rock icon John Mellencamp, who ultimately invited her to tour with his band in 1986. When Mellencamp took a sabbatical, she found a home with Billy Joel and has been a staple in his band since 1989. Ive got the greatest gig, playing with the greatest musicians in the world, said Taliefero. I have seen how music impacts people and that is something Ill never take for granted. Now, Im being given the opportunity to reach the next group of talent that will go out and make their mark. Its an honor to be part of that. Besides Mellencamp and Joel, Taliefero has toured with the likes of Bruce Springsteen, Faith Hill, Brooks & Dunn, Julian Lennon, and a host of other widely successful artists and groups. Taliefero is also the president of Rodidah Productions, an audio engineering, editing and arranging service. She is credited on several multi-platinum albums, most notably her collaboration on the acclaimed River of Dreams album with Billy Joel in 1993. Taliefero is also the co-creator of a series of childrens books and has created her own non-profit music education program coined Crystals Journey with the Arts. Talieferos advice to aspiring musicians has always been one filled with humility and to keep it real and outwork everyone around you. Never become complacent with your work. You have to forever change and evolve, said Taliefero. Time waits for no one. INDIANAPOLIS When a state law is hard to follow and serves a debatable practical purpose, are Hoosiers obligated to obey it? According to one three-judge panel of the Indiana Court of Appeals, the answer is no. A recent 2-1 ruling penned by Chief Appeals Judge Nancy Vaidik, a Porter County native, concluded that trial judges can ignore a statutory requirement to inform convicted felons of their possible release dates from prison when pronouncing a criminal sentence. State law, since at least 1995, mandates that a judge shall advise the person that the person is sentenced for not less than the earliest release date, and for not more than the maximum possible release date. In the case before the appeals court, Elkhart Superior Judge Teresa Cataldo read exactly those words in issuing a 40-year sentence without telling convicted child molester Edgardo Henriquez, 36, the actual earliest and maximum dates he could be released from prison. Henriquezs lawyer argued in his appeal that he was improperly sentenced, because the trial judge did not calculate and announce his clients possible release dates. Vaidik brushed aside that argument, claiming trial courts are not equipped to determine these dates. The trial court would have to consider not only the term of the sentence but also the term of any other concurrent or consecutive sentence, credit time earned before sentencing, the maximum amount of credit time in the current credit class, possible educational credit time, and the possibility of parole and probation violations and revocations down the road, she said. At best, Vaidik admitted, the judge could provide an estimate of earliest and maximum release dates, but providing estimated rather than precise release dates may lead to more confusion than clarity for the offender. Moreover, she said, any mistake by the trial court would open the door to future collateral sentencing attacks. In any event, Vaidik said Henriquez was not harmed in any way by not being informed of his release dates, and the Court of Appeals does not reverse lower court rulings based on harmless error. She also urged the General Assembly to consider revising or eliminating the law mandating judges provide release date guidance at sentencing, due to the unworkable obligation it places on our trial courts. Judge John Baker dissented from the appellate court ruling written by Vaidik and supported by Judge Edward Najam Jr. Baker agreed that Henriquez is not entitled to relief due to the sentencing issue. But, he said, judges have an obligation to follow the law, and it is not within our purview to exempt trial courts from a mandatory statute simply because it may be difficult to comply with its requirements. Yes, it is complicated, and yes, it will require consideration of multiple factors and calendars. But I am confident that the trial judges of this state are up to the task, Baker said. The mere fact that a statutory requirement is difficult to fulfill cannot possibly mean that it can be ignored altogether. Henriquez has until Thursday to decide whether to ask the Indiana Supreme Court to review the appellate decision. Bryan Corbin, spokesman for Attorney General Greg Zoeller who represented the prosecution, said the state is unlikely to seek transfer to the Supreme Court since Henriquezs conviction and sentence were affirmed by the Court of Appeals. Indiana Department of Correction records show Henriquezs projected release date is Nov. 13, 2027. CROWN POINT The 40th annual Regional Streeters car show is heading to a new location, but the tradition of offering a premier event for car enthusiasts isnt changing, show organizers said. For the first time, the event on Saturday will take place at the Gary Sportsmen Club, 10101 Madison St. in Crown Point. There are plenty of opportunities to participate in the show, which includes more than 20 classes of vehicles. Our show is always the best in Northwest Indiana, said Wally Woldt, of the Regional Streeters car club. Registration starts at 9 a.m. There will be two trophies awarded in each class, Woldt said. The club also will select a best of show and issue three specialty awards for best paint, best interior and best engine. The award presentation starts at 3 p.m. Entry fee is $20 for those participating in the car show. Dash plaques, gift bags and prizes will be provided. Spectator admission is $5 per carload. Woldt said the show doesnt only receive local attention. He said car owners from Illinois, Michigan and southern Indiana participate in the program. In addition to the car show, the family-friendly event will feature a variety of other activities, Woldt said. Music will be playing throughout the program, and Hobart High Schools Wolffgang vocal group will perform there. Woldt said dragsters will be showcased at the event. There also will be a 50/50 raffle, and food will be available for purchase. Proceeds from the event will benefit a variety of local organizations, Woldt said. Habitat for Humanity, the Boys & Girls Clubs of Northwest Indiana and the Boy Scouts of America are among organizations Regional Streeters have supported. The car show is one of the clubs annual fundraisers for area charitable entities. Regional Streeters also donates funding received through its annual Cobe Cup Cruise. Visit www.regionalstreeters.com for information about the car show and the club. JACKSON TOWNSHIP The Izaak Walton League of AmericaPorter County Chapter will hold a fairy festival called Gnomes Day Out from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday. The festival will be at the chapters Frame Family Little Calumet Conservation Area, 1288 County Line Road, four miles south of U.S. 20. Admission for this event will raise funds to continue the chapters land stewardship of 100 acres and youth conservation education in Porter County. IWLA-PCC sponsors family nature nights at elementary schools; hosts a conservation corner during the Porter County Fair and participates in other public events. Entry to Gnomes Day Out includes breakfast with the fairy queen, a tea party with Gnome and a Hobbit supper. All meals will be served by Red Cup Cafe and provided by Natures Cupboard, Molly Beas Ingredients, Mark Daniels Bee Company, Thrive Acupuncture, Marilyns Bakery and Family Express. Visitors will follow Gnome down the fairy house trail with houses handmade by community partners like Art Barn, Wonderland Stained Glass, Hansen & Sons Remodeling & Construction. At the end of the trail visitors be shrunken to fairy size and enter the Fairy Village to visit with the Queen, earn a wand and wings, get a fairy name and meet the Fairy Troop. Visitors will learn about conservation and nature all day while playing with friends of the forest. The Small Globe Stage will feature juggling, puppets and music. Visitors can work on a community nature weave, try a giant sling-shot, cross Trolls bridge and learn to juggle. Harvest Moon Tie-Dye, Hummingbird Layne and Green Housewives will be vending their handmade local wears and Sweet Snap Photography will be available to take photographs. VATICAN CITY Elevating the saint of the gutters to one of the Catholic Churchs highest honors, Pope Francis on Sunday praised Mother Teresa for her radical dedication to societys outcasts and her courage in shaming world leaders for the crimes of poverty they themselves created. An estimated 120,000 people filled St. Peters Square for the canonization ceremony, less than half the number who turned out for her 2003 beatification. It was nevertheless the highlight of Francis Holy Year of Mercy and quite possibly one of the defining moments of his mercy-focused papacy. Francis has been dedicated to ministering to societys most marginal, from prostitutes to prisoners, refugees to the homeless. In that way, while the canonization of St. Teresa of Kolkata was a celebration of her life and work, it was also something of an affirmation of Francis own papal priorities, which have earned him praise and criticism alike. Let us carry her smile in our hearts and give it to those whom we meet along our journey, especially those who suffer, Francis said in his homily. Born Agnes Gonxhe Bojaxhiu on Aug. 26, 1910, Teresa came to India in 1929 as a sister of the Loreto order. In 1946, she received what she described as a call within a call to found a new order dedicated to caring for the most unloved and unwanted, the poorest of the poor in the slums of her adopted city, Kolkata. The Missionaries of Charity order went on to become one of the most well-known in the world, with more than 4,000 sisters in their trademark blue-trimmed white saris doing as Teresa instructed: small things with great love. At the orders Mother House in Kolkata, hundreds of people watched the Mass on TV and clapped with joy when Francis declared her a saint. They gathered around Teresas tomb which was decorated with flowers, a single candle and a photo of the wrinkled saint. I am so proud to be from Kolkata, said Sanjay Sarkar, a high school student on hand for the celebration. Mother Teresa belonged to Kolkata, and she has been declared a saint. For Francis, Teresa put into action his ideal of the church as a field hospital for those suffering both material and spiritual poverty, living on the physical and existential peripheries of society. In his homily, Francis praised her as the merciful saint who defended the lives of the unborn, sick and abandoned, recalling her strong opposition to abortion which often put her at odds with progressives around the world. She bowed down before those who were spent, left to die on the side of the road, seeing in them their God-given dignity, he said. Teresas most famous critic, Christopher Hitchens, has accused her of taking donations from dictators charges church authorities deny. Francis chose to emphasize her other dealings with the powerful. She made her voice heard before the powers of the world, so that they might recognize their guilt for the crimes of poverty they themselves created, he said, repeating for emphasis the crimes of poverty. Hundreds of Missionaries of Charity sisters had front-row seats at the Mass, alongside 1,500 homeless people and 13 heads of state or government and even royalty: Queen Sofia of Spain. For the homeless, Francis offered a luncheon afterward in the Vatican auditorium, catered by a Neapolitan pizza maker who brought his own ovens for the event. Her heart, she gave it to the world, said Charlotte Samba, a 52-year-old mother of three who traveled with a church group from Gabon for the Mass. Mercy, forgiveness, good works: It is the heart of a mother for the poor. While big, the crowd attending the canonization wasnt even half of the 300,000 who turned out for Mother Teresas 2003 beatification celebrated by an ailing St. John Paul II. The low turnout suggested that financial belt-tightening and security fears in the wake of Islamic extremist attacks in Europe may have kept pilgrims away. Those fears prompted a huge, 3,000-strong law enforcement presence to secure the area around the Vatican and close the airspace above. Many of those security measures have been in place for the duration of the Jubilee year, which officially ends in November. While Francis is clearly keen to hold Teresa up as a model for her joyful dedication to the poor, he was also recognizing holiness in a nun who lived most of her adult life in spiritual agony, sensing that God had abandoned her. According to correspondence that came to light after she died in 1997, Teresa experienced what the church calls a dark night of the soul a period of spiritual doubt, despair and loneliness that many of the great mystics experienced. In Teresas case, it lasted for nearly 50 years. BEIRUT Turkish troops and allied Syrian rebels expelled the Islamic State group from the last strip of territory it controlled along the Syrian-Turkish border on Sunday, effectively sealing the extremists self-styled caliphate off from the outside world, Turkeys prime minister and a Syrian opposition group reported. Also on Sunday, Syrian pro-government forces backed by airstrikes launched a wide offensive in the northern city of Aleppo, capturing areas they lost last month and besieging rebel-held neighborhoods, state media and opposition activists said. Turkey-backed Free Syrian Army rebels have cleared the area between the northern Syrian border towns of Azaz and Jarablus, Turkeys prime minister, Binali Yildirim, said. From Azaz to Jarablus, 91 kilometers (57 miles) of our border has been completely secured. All the terrorist organizations are pushed back, they are gone, Yildirim said, speaking at a dinner with non-government organizations in the southeastern city of Diyarbakir. The FSAs advance shut down key supply lines used by IS to bring in foreign fighters, weapons and ammunition. The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said IS has lost its link with the outside world after losing all border areas with Turkey. It said the last two border villages that IS held were Mizab and Qadi Jarablus, which were taken Sunday afternoon. IS had occupied the border area even before it declared its self-styled caliphate in June 2014, and it used the Turkish border to bring in fighters from around the world. The extremist group, which controls parts of Syria and Iraq, is now surrounded from all sides by hostile forces. The loss of its territory along the Turkish border follows a series of recent defeats for IS, including its expulsion from the central Iraqi city of Fallujah and its defeat in the former stronghold of Manbij in northern Syria. Airstrikes by the U.S.-led coalition have killed a number of the groups most prominent founding members and leaders. In a statement, Turkeys armed forces said the the Jarablus-Azaz line has been connected. Turkey has long pushed for a safe zone in Syria between these two towns, with a plan to house Syrian refugees there. A tropical storm warning has been canceled for New York City as Hermine continues to stay offshore. The storm slowed down throughout the day, from 12 mph during the day Sunday to 5 mph during the evening. Wind speeds are expected to pick up in the overnight hours and will be strongest by midday Monday, with sustained wind speeds expected to be in the mid-20s. Gusts of 35 mph or more are possible. Hermine is not likely to bring rain to the city, and the forecast calls for coastal flooding to be limited. The surf at the shores will be rough, with dangerous rip currents expected through the early part of this week. Hermine has made a mess of the holiday weekend, dumping several inches of rain from Florida to Virginia and cutting off power for hundreds of thousands. Mayor Bill de Blasio says Hermine won't be as strong as initially forecasted, but he's still urging New Yorkers to take warnings seriously. The mayor says the city is ready to respond in case of an emergency. He cautioned that the storm's impacts could be felt through Tuesday, and that beaches will remain closed to swimmers and surfers on Monday due to dangerous riptides. "We expected a lot worse, and I'm glad we were ready for a situation that was worse, but here's the bottom line: don't let what looks like nice weather fool you when it comes to what's happening in the ocean," de Blasio said. "We have very, very serious riptides. They're very dangerous. In fact, according to the National Weather Service, some of the strongest, most dangerous riptides we've had in 10 or 15 years." Officials say they're bracing for flood damage to coastal areas. The mayor says speed restrictions may be put in place on bridges due to high winds. The Red Cross is urging coastal residents to take the storm seriously. Officials recommend having an emergency kit or "go bag" packed with food, water, medication and other basic supplies for each family member and pet to last at least three days. They also recommend packing important documents and contact information. The Red Cross says they have plenty of emergency supplies on hand and contingency plans in place. "It's very difficult right now to estimate exactly how many people we're going to be serving in the greater New York area," said Josh Lockwood, CEO of the American Red Cross in Greater New York. "We have tens of thousands of relief supplies on hand. Those are supplies that are things like meals and water, but also cleanup kits to help households that may have a flooded basement.And so we're pre-positioning those supplies along the coastline to make sure we can get to those areas as quickly as possible." The Red Cross is also asking residents in flood-prone areas to have more than one evacuation route in mind in case some roads are closed. For more infomation on how to stay safe in the weather, visit the city's emergency website at nyc.gov/notifynyc. You can also stay updated with Weather on the 1s every 10 minutes. And you can also track the forecast on your mobile device with the Time Warner Cable news app. Despite a massive deployment of police, two innocent bystanders were killed and two people were injured Monday in a series of shootings during the early morning celebration known as Jouvert before the annual West Indian American Day Parade in Brooklyn. The shootings were a depressing replay of the deadly violence that overshadowed Jouvert last year, when Carey Gabay, a former aide to Gov. Cuomo, was caught in the crossfire between rival gangs and killed. The latest gun violence first erupted at 3:45 a.m. Monday, when an 18-year-old male was fatally shot in the chest, and a 72-year-old woman was struck in the arm, on Flatbush Ave. near Empire Blvd., police said. "We believe one if not both of those individuals are unintended targets. We did recover some shell casings that leads us to believe there was crossfire," a police official said. The gunfire touched off pandemonium as people ran for safety. As many as 250,000 people were in the neighborhood for Jouvert celebrations. "I got almost trampled, I almost got trampled," one woman told NY1 News. About 30 minutes later and one block away on Empire Boulevard, Tiarah Poyau, 22, was shot in the eye, police said. She was pronounced dead at the hospital. Police said they believe Poyau, a student at St. Johns University, also was an "unintended target." A third shooting was reported at 6:45 a.m., when two groups of people crossing paths had a verbal dispute which turned physical. An unidentified male stepped out from the crowd and fired one round from a 9-millimeter gun, hitting a 20-year-old man in the leg, police said. The killings left Mayor Bill de Blasio and Police Commissioner Bill Bratton grasping for answers. After Gabays death, the NYPD spent the better part of a year working with de Blasios office and other officials exploring how to make this years Jouvert safer. The NYPD doubled the number of officers assigned the celebration to 3,400, from 1,700 last year; positioned 45 surveillance cameras in the neighborhood; deployed more than 250 floodlights atop portable towers, and held a "gun buyback" event in which nearly 60 firearms were surrendered, no questions asked. Police also staged a high-profile "gang takedown" on Friday, and asked local clergy and community leaders to counsel gang members against violence. "We did a lot of measures that you know we had hoped would have a positive influence on this event," said Chief Steve Powers, commanding officer of the Brooklyn South command. Still, it was not enough. "We really went all out; unfortunately despite our best efforts, the tragedies ... did occur," Bratton said at a news conference. "We do not accept what happened last night," the mayor added. "We are fundamentally angry and focused at those who undermine the safety of the many. And As you know, the NYPD will find these individuals and will ensure they are brought to justice." Asked if it made sense to continue to allow the annual Jouvert celebration, de Blasio said, "Every idea will be on the table. Every option will be on the table." But he sounded like he did not favor canceling the extravaganza. "We are going to look at this event, we are going to evaluate everything we learned from last night, and decide what changes we have to make going forward." Borough President Eric Adams vowed that the celebrations would go on. "There will be calls in the next few days what should be done with this parade, the violence that is associated with it. We need to be clear. New York City and the NYPD does not surrender to violence. Violence surrenders to us," he said. Season 2, Episode 4: The Good, the Bad, and the Dead The character of Colonel Horacio Carrillo in Narcos was thought to be based loosely on Col. Hugo Martinez, the leader of the Search Bloc police unit tasked by President Gaviria with hunting Pablo Escobar. In a Daily Beast column from last year titled The Man Who Brought Down Pablo Escobar, the then-74-year-old Martinez told the author Kim MacQuarrie about Escobars many attempts to bribe, intimidate and murder him before Search Bloc finally captured him on Dec. 2, 1993. MacQuarrie also noted the Narcos inspiration, writing: No doubt because it is a U.S. production, the two heroes of the series are American D.E.A. agents. Probably for the same reasons, the Colombia that serves as a backdrop is a land of violence, immorality, and death. That criticism isnt entirely fair to the nuances of Narcos, not least because Carrillo isnt the Martinez analog we assumed him to be. (Martinez will emerge under his real name in short order.) But while the show has found many Colombians courageously engaged in the fight against Escobar, MacQuarries criticism certainly stings harder after The Good, the Bad, and the Dead. With Carrillo killed in an ambush, the series left a character tarred by a legacy of extralegal torture and murder and with nothing to show for it to boot. Meanwhile, the two American D.E.A. agents, Murphy and Pena, are alive to continue the fight because the higher-ups didnt want them further tainted by their association with Carrillo. Theyve been tarnished, too, but heroes of any kind are in such short supply that theyll do. For the last couple of episodes, Narcos has been teasing out the fate of Maritza, the single mother recruited by Escobars driver, Limon, as a passenger in his taxi while Escobar tooled around the city in the trunk. When the police were tipped off to Escobars location, Maritza had been marked for death along with a half-dozen prostitutes who may or may not have had anything to do with it. The show led us to believe that Limon was willing to betray Escobar to protect Maritza and her 2-year-old daughter. And, in this episode, Limon leads Maritza to believe that giving Escobars location to the police would liberate both of them from a dangerous situation. His scheme is ingenious because it secures her life, making her seem like a key player in the ambush that takes Escobars biggest threat off the board. And yet, The Good, the Bad, and the Dead leaves Maritza and Limon on a smartly ambiguous note. Maritza believed she was helping to capture or kill the man who ordered her death, just on the faintest suspicion that she had tipped the authorities to his whereabouts. Securing her life and the life of her child is no small consolation, but theres more than a hint of disappointment that the operation to get Escobar didnt transpire. Its likely, too, that Limon isnt faking his revulsion over Escobars indiscriminate viciousness and instead saw this plan to ambush Carrillo as merely the best way to save a woman who gambled her life on his assurance of safety. PARIS Death is omnipresent. The stage is an enormous grave, with 20-foot-high mud walls forming cliffs around its perimeters. At the top of the walls, a man slowly and steadily shovels earth into the huge chasm below. The gravedigger shovels for all three hours of Pina Bauschs Viktor, a rarely seen 1986 work, which the Tanztheater Wuppertal is performing at the Theatre du Chatelet here through Sept. 12. Viktor was the first of Ms. Bauschs pieces to be based on a residency in a city, in this case Rome; it was the start of a model of creation for this choreographer, who would go on to create 14 more such city-inspired pieces before her sudden death in 2009. Since then, discussion of the Tanztheater Wuppertal, Ms. Bauschs longtime company, has been framed by the question of how long her oeuvre can survive without her, and without the dancers, inevitably aging and retiring, with whom the work was created. Yet contrary to predictions at the time of her death, and despite fairly frequent changes of directors over the past seven years, the company and the repertory seem to have preserved their strange particularity. (Adolphe Binder, who will take over in May 2017, will be the first outsider to run the troupe, suggesting that the company might be trying to broaden its scope beyond the Bausch heritage.) Viktor, barely seen during the past 15 years, is a case in point. Only three members of the original cast still perform in the piece, and almost a third of its dancers have joined the company in the post-Bausch era. But the work, which opened on Saturday, feels intact, and it shows the surreal glory of the choreographers vision while occasionally lapsing into time-slowing tedium that is, paradoxically, also a part of that vision. Jerry Heller, a veteran music manager who helped introduce N.W.A to the masses and promoted gangsta rap to a mainstream audience, died on Friday in Thousand Oaks, Calif. He was 75. The Associated Press reported that Mr. Hellers cousin, Gary Ballen, said he died in a hospital after he had a heart attack while driving. Mr. Heller and Eric Wright, the rapper known as Eazy-E, founded Ruthless Records in 1987. A year later, the label released Straight Outta Compton, the debut album by the rap group N.W.A, whose members, in addition to Eazy-E, were Dr. Dre and Ice Cube, soon to become major figures in hip-hop, as well as DJ Yella and MC Ren. The album was a hit and helped propel West Coast gangsta rap into the national spotlight and into the center of controversy. Some people said the lyrics of N.W.A and other gangsta rappers glorified violence, while others said they simply reflected the reality of black urban life. THE BIRTH OF SAKE (2016) 10 p.m. on PBS. From October to April, about a dozen employees leave their families to live together at the Yoshida Brewery in Japan where, under Teruyuki Yamamoto, the head brewmaster, they turn fermented rice into premium sake. Erik Shirais shots of sky, sea and early morning landscapes could fit amid Hokusai woodcuts, even if the film occasionally drags, Daniel M. Gold wrote in The New York Times. But as Mr. Yamamoto might say, it takes what it takes. You cant rush the process. Whats Streaming 800 WORDS on Acorn TV. A newspaper columnist (Erik Thomson) in Sydney, Australia, uproots his teenagers (Melina Vidler and Benson Jack Anthony) after their mothers death and plops them down in a dead-end town at the edge of the world Weld, New Zealand where he spent idyllic vacations in his youth. The house he bought, sight unseen, is a wreck, the locals are whack jobs and his reason for the disruption isnt that noble after all: He wants to learn to surf. This Australian hit is the definition of lightweight, but its amiable and touching, and its easy to get sucked in by its scenic and anthropological charms, Mike Hale wrote in The Times. New episodes arrive each Monday. Michel Butor, a French novelist whose experiments with narrative and structure in the late 1950s and early 60s put him at the forefront of the literary trend known as le nouveau roman (the new novel), died on Aug. 24 in Contamine-sur-Arve, in the Rhone-Alpes region of southeastern France. He was 89. Family members reported his death to the newspaper Le Monde, which announced it. Mr. Butor objected to being characterized as a member of the nouveau roman movement, although he shared a publisher, Les Editions de Minuit, with Alain Robbe-Grillet, Nathalie Sarraute and Claude Simon, leading figures in the school. His novels shared certain characteristics with theirs a cameralike detachment, an indifference to psychology, a preoccupation with physical details and the instability of human perception but he took a more philosophical and political approach. One of the most important ways of affecting reality is to reach it through language, he told Le Monde in July. His novel La Modification (1957), published in English as A Change of Heart in 1959, told the story of a married man traveling from Paris to Rome to face his mistress and force a resolution to their affair, only to abandon the idea. Written, disorientingly, in the second person, with the reader addressed as you, it won the prestigious Prix Renaudot, ratifying Mr. Butors reputation as a writer to watch. Heavy Metal magazine, which will celebrate its 40th anniversary next year, is harking back to its past. The publication, a science-fiction and fantasy illustrated bimonthly anthology that made its debut in 1977, is known for its provocative covers and mature content. But executives at the magazine felt it had strayed from its roots as a showcase for high-quality avant-garde art. It took a hard left at a certain point, said Jeff Krelitz, a co-owner and co-chief executive of Heavy Metal. Too much attention was focused on the magazines cover, he said, which had a kind of cheesecake, soft-core feel to it. We are taking things back to basics and putting a current spin on it, he said. The overhaul was done for both creative and business reasons, Mr. Krelitz said. Focusing on newsstand sales, the magazine has bolstered its circulation, which is about 250,000 a year and supported by a strong subscriber base. In the market for launching large, geostationary communications satellites, the main SpaceX rival is Arianespace, a French multinational company. And there are others, notably International Launch Services, an American-Russian joint venture, which launches Russian-designed Proton rockets from Kazakhstan. But Arianespace, which has an excellent safety record, is considerably more expensive than SpaceX. And the safety and performance record of the Proton rockets lags behind that of the SpaceX workhorse, the Falcon 9. If the SpaceX launch timetable is delayed by a few months, industry analysts say, its customers will probably wait. If the delays stretch out further, other launch providers will look increasingly appealing. Recovering from delays to its aggressive launch schedule without losing momentum is the challenge for SpaceX, not a financial squeeze. In a statement on Friday, the company said its business was robust, with approximately 70 missions on our manifest worth over $10 billion. The company said it was too early to predict when its launches might resume. In addition to the damaged launchpad, SpaceX has two others under construction. One is in Florida, which the company says should be ready in November. The other is at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California, which SpaceX said was in the final stages of an operational upgrade. A longer-term issue for SpaceX is whether the rocket explosion and its aftermath raise concerns about its plans to move into the field of manned spaceflights for NASA and for launching military and national security satellites for the Department of Defense. Its competitor for that business is the United Launch Alliance, a joint venture of Lockheed Martin and Boeing. The list price for the SpaceX Falcon 9 is $62 million while the larger, more powerful Falcon Heavy is $90 million. There are further costs beyond the rocket itself, but analysts say SpaceX launches cost at least 50 percent less than what its main competitors charge. It has achieved that efficiency by streamlining production techniques, designing a stripped-down launchpad and stepping up the pace of launches. The Treasurys schedule of financing this week includes regular weekly auctions of new three- and six-month bills, rescheduled to Tuesday this week because of the Labor Day holiday, and an auction of four-week bills, also on Tuesday. At the close of the New York cash market on Friday, the rate on the outstanding three-month bill was 0.33 percent. The rate on the six-month issue was 0.46 percent, and the rate on the four-week issue was 0.25 percent. The following tax-exempt fixed-income issues are scheduled for pricing this week: WEDNESDAY Brookhaven, N.Y., $51.9 million of general obligation bonds. Competitive. Fairfield-Suisun Unified School District, Calif., $85 million of general obligation bonds. Competitive. Washington, $134.4 million of series B general obligation bonds. Competitive. Washington, $90.1 million of series C general obligation bonds. Competitive. Its far too early to start flexing muscles, Mr. Espaillat said. Im not looking at that. I just think theyre two good candidates. Both women face obstacles. In the Senate race, Ms. Alcantara may run smack into the same phenomenon that helped Mr. Espaillat win the congressional primary: When there is no incumbent in the race, a past challenger may be best placed to swoop in and win the prize, even over the outgoing officeholders chosen candidate. In June, Mr. Espaillat won against a crowded field seeking to replace longtime Representative Charles B. Rangel, beating, by about three percentage points, the candidate endorsed by Mr. Rangel. Mr. Espaillat was familiar to voters: Not only had he represented Upper Manhattan in both the State Senate and the Assembly, he had run against and lost to Mr. Rangel in the two previous congressional primaries. That same pattern would now seem to favor Robert Jackson, one of the four candidates in the primary for the Senate seat that Mr. Espaillat is vacating. Mr. Jackson is a popular former city councilman who represented Washington Heights and Harlem, and he ran strongly in a loss to Mr. Espaillat in a Senate primary two years ago. Ive been there. I have a proven track record and people trust me, said Mr. Jackson, 65, while handing out leaflets recently in Washington Heights, stressing that he is the only candidate to have held elected office. He is well known for initiating a lawsuit that won a court order to increase state funding for city schools. Thats what people want to know, where have you been, what have you done and can they trust you, and for me the answer is, Absolutely yes, he said. Ms. Alcantara is a labor organizer who has worked with the nurses union and Local 32BJ of the Service Employees International Union. Another candidate, Micah C. Lasher, 34, is a former chief of staff to the state attorney general, Eric T. Schneiderman (who held the Senate seat before Mr. Espaillat), and also served as the citys legislative director in Albany when Michael R. Bloomberg was mayor. Luis Tejada, a local activist who also ran in the last Senate primary, rounds out the field. Donald J. Trump officially lost me early on the morning of Aug. 25. I was already irked by my partys presidential nominee. A week before he had asked African-American voters to consider his candidacy by saying, What the hell do you have to lose? But the tweet he sent on the 25th put me over the line. Mr. Trump wrote: So many in the African-American community are doing so badly, poverty and crime way up, employment and jobs way down: I will fix it, promise. On Saturday, he tried to do better. He went to Detroits Great Faith Ministries, a predominantly black church. It was a cliched place for a meeting. He swayed to the music, praised black Christians and rolled out Detroit native Dr. Ben Carson for good measure. I do give Mr. Trump credit for making the trip in the first place and acknowledging that those in the church would be his constituents whether they voted for him or not. The problem with Mr. Trumps efforts thus far is that he does not seem to understand that there is no such monolithic entity known as the African-American community. Black America includes doctors, painters, welders, farmers and even former White House staffers turned adjunct professors like me. To the Editor: Re Jailing Old Folks Makes No Sense (Op-Ed, Aug. 30): New Yorks parole board has a history of denying parole for even the most deserving people, and several current board members were reappointed by Gov. Andrew Cuomo, even though they opposed parole in virtually all cases. The governors responsibility for the aging of the prison population extends beyond his appointments to the parole board. The New York Constitution gives the governor the power to grant clemency, yet in the last five years only three people have had their sentences commuted. President Obama on Tuesday granted clemency to another 111 people, but the federal prison population is a small part of the 2.2 million people behind bars. The only way to remedy the past 40 years of mass incarceration is with a serious decarceration movement in the states. STEVEN ZEIDMAN Long Island City, Queens The writer is a professor at the CUNY School of Law. He represents Judith Clark, 66, who is seeking clemency. Palm Springs, Calif. Some new threat is always trying to nose its way into Americas wilderness areas. Fierce battles have been fought over logging, mining and damming these last vestiges of our wild heritage. Now proposed legislation in Congress would allow bikes in wilderness. This may not seem like a big deal. But the 1964 Wilderness Act forbids bikes and other forms of mechanical transport in federal wilderness areas. To allow in bikes would set a perilous precedent that would encourage further efforts to open up these wild places, threatening the very idea of wilderness that the law expresses: where the earth and its community of life are untrammeled by man, where man himself is a visitor who does not remain. To keep wilderness this way, the law is strict, and there is no ambiguity over its ban on mechanical transport. The four agencies that administer the nations 109 million acres of wilderness the National Park Service, Forest Service, Fish and Wildlife Service and Bureau of Land Management interpret the law to prohibit bikes. Yet leaders of the pro-bike effort, the Sustainable Trails Coalition, argue that lawmakers in 1964 never intended to exclude mountain bikes. They claim the laws legislative history shows that Congress would have wanted to allow bikes in wilderness if mountain bikes had existed or they had thought about them. The Department of Homeland Security announced late last month that it is considering ending its use of private prisons, as the Justice Department has decided to do. The Homeland Security secretary, Jeh Johnson, told his departments advisory council to study the issue and report back to him by the end of November. That gives him only a few weeks to read, review and act before everything gets bumped to the Trump or Clinton administration. To save time, Mr. Johnson could do the wise thing and end the contracts now. There is no need to further study the failings of the private prison industry. Mr. Johnson only has to read the Justice Department inspector generals report in August about the prevalence of safety and security problems at private prisons, or a recent Mother Jones article that looks inside a brutal, mismanaged Louisiana prison run by Corrections Corporation of America, one of two companies that dominate the immigrant-prison business. Whether private prison contracts should be canceled or simply not renewed, or whether Homeland Security should contract with state or county lockups, or run its own, will need to be answered. But the administration should first be asking itself why it locks up so many immigrants who are not safety threats, who are not there to be punished, who in many cases are refugees and who are the mothers of young children or are young children. To the Editor: I applaud the urgent desire expressed by people interviewed in Shedding Light in Suicides Shadows (Metropolitan section, Aug. 21) to install barriers at suicide destinations like the George Washington Bridge. And I agree that if any mechanical malfunction proved as deadly, it would be fixed without delay. But I want to highlight another point that was made: the signs overlooked by the loved ones of those who killed themselves, the cries for help they had dismissed. In writing about the suicide of a young Rhodes scholar in my book The Future Tense of Joy, I learned that the greatest deterrent is the willingness to acknowledge that someone you love is in trouble and the readiness to reach out and help. When people say they want to kill themselves, they mean it, the brother of my subject observed. You have to believe them. Such vigilance, in the face of a pain sometimes too overwhelming to comprehend, would surely save more lives than any bridge barrier. JESSICA TEICH Pacific Palisades, Calif. To the Editor: Your article discusses the relatively small number of people who kill themselves by jumping off bridges, without ever mentioning that some 20,000 suicides annually more than half of the total are firearm suicides. To the Editor: Re The TPP Deal Wont Stop China (Op-Ed, Aug. 23): Clyde Prestowitz underestimates the damage to American security interests in East Asia that would occur if the Trans-Pacific Partnership is not ratified. Through TPP, our allies have sought to bolster American engagement in the region as a counterweight to growing Chinese political and economic influence. TPP countries accepted American standards for trade and investment and agreed to a bargain that requires substantial reforms in their economic policies but requires little change in existing American policies. At a time of provocations from North Korea and increasingly dangerous disputes over islands in the South China Sea, turning our backs on the TPP, a deal the United States has led from the start, would raise serious questions among our allies about American reliability when times get tough. TPP is a valuable component of American soft power, and dropping it would harm our security interests in the region. JEFFREY J. SCHOTT Washington The writer is a senior fellow at Peterson Institute for International Economics and co-author and co-editor of Trans-Pacific Partnership: An Assessment. For decades, public health experts have known that syringe exchange programs reduce the spread of certain viral infections like H.I.V., hepatitis B and hepatitis C by removing contaminated syringes from circulation. They have known that programs using sterile injection equipment are both safe and save money. And yet they are rarely seen in the United States. Evidence abounds that they work. A study of the first American program started in the Tacoma, Wash., area in 1988 found that use of the exchange was associated with a greater than 60 percent reduction in the risk of contracting hepatitis B or C. Another study of over 1,600 injection drug users in New York found that those who didnt use a syringe exchange in the early 1990s were more than three times as likely to contract H.I.V. Syringe exchange programs do more than improve health. Because they are so effective and far cheaper than the lifetime cost of treating H.I.V., hepatitis B or hepatitis C, they save taxpayers money. A cost-effectiveness analysis published in 2014 replicated the findings of others that came before it: A dollar invested in syringe exchange programs saves at least six dollars in avoided costs associated with H.I.V. alone. A Florida man who posted a Facebook rant threatening to kill gay people on Labor Day in a style he compared to the massacre at an Orlando nightclub and the killing of African-Americans by police officers has been arrested and charged with a federal crime, the F.B.I. said in a statement. According to a criminal complaint released on Sunday by the F.B.I., Craig Allen Jungwirth, 50, a party promoter in Wilton Manors, Fla., wrote in a Facebook post early last week that his events were selling out because gay people were total patsies. None of you deserve to live, he wrote, according to the complaint. If you losers thought the Pulse nightclub shooting was bad, wait till you see what Im planning for Labor Day. In other posts, using homophobic and racist slurs, he wrote that he had a solution to exterminate you losers, the complaint said. Others lament a debate that, they say, has tarnished Fredericks good name. And Taney is not the only Frederick figure affected; if the Taney bust goes, a companion bust of another Supreme Court justice and onetime Frederick resident, Thomas Johnson, will go as well, for symmetrys sake. Its a shame that a certain few make such statements that affect the multitudes, said Marion Carmack, 88, a white retired insurance agent whose Maryland roots date to the Revolutionary War. As for the statues: To me, they dont bother a thing. Taney, appointed in 1836 by President Andrew Jackson, for whom he had served as treasury secretary and attorney general, is hardly the courts sole verbal offender; his predecessor as chief justice, John Marshall, once described Native Americans as fierce savages. Scholars view Taney as an originalist in the mold of Antonin Scalia, said Josh Blackman, who teaches at Houston College of Law. The amendments to the Constitution, said Mr. Blackman, who wrote about the red paint incident, are the greatest bucket of paint to Mr. Taney. But around Maryland, Taney statues face an uncertain future. In Baltimore, a mayoral commission voted this year to remove a Taney figure. Another one, on the Statehouse grounds in Annapolis, was spared in the 1990s, when lawmakers erected a companion statue of the former Supreme Court justice Thurgood Marshall, a Maryland native; now there is a fresh push to get rid of it. Here in Frederick, the effort to purge Taney from city property has been led since 1998 by Alderwoman Donna Kuzemchak, who says anything that so deeply offends a portion of the citizenry needs to go. She almost succeeded in 2009, but the city instead paired the bust with a plaque about Dred Scott and his wife, Harriet. Gary Johnson, the Libertarian candidate for president, may be on track to win more votes than any third-party candidate in 20 years, if current polling holds up. Who are his supporters? Mr. Johnson, a former Republican governor of New Mexico, is relying heavily on the backing of young people and independent voters disillusioned with the two major parties nominees. More than 70 percent of his backers are younger than 50, and over three-fifths are political independents, according to a mid-August poll by the Pew Research Center. Over all, Mr. Johnson, who will be on the ballot in all 50 states, has the backing of 10 percent of registered voters, the Pew poll found. WASHINGTON After he is out of the White House, President Obama has said that he wants to become a venture capitalist, own part of an N.B.A. franchise and avoid taking off his shoes during security screenings at commercial airports. All of those goals, serious or not, might soon be achievable if Mr. Obama and his wife, Michelle, sign post-presidency book contracts for what literary agents and major publishers say could amount to $20 million to $45 million more than enough to pay the estimated $22,000 monthly rent for the nine-bedroom home they will occupy in the Kalorama neighborhood of Washington and foot the bill for flights on private jets. (Mr. Obama has said he would like to avoid commercial flights once he surrenders Air Force One.) His is going to be easily the most valuable presidential memoir ever, said Raphael Sagalyn of the ICM/Sagalyn Literary Agency, who predicted that Mr. Obama could earn as much as $30 million with a two- or three-book contract. And I think Michelle Obama has the opportunity to sell the most valuable first lady memoir in history. Other agents suggested similar numbers, but publishers who are the ones who actually sign authors checks balked at such lofty evaluations, with several saying Mr. Obama is unlikely to earn more than $12 million and Mrs. Obama $10 million. The question of just how many young African-Americans will show up to vote carries profound implications for this election. Mrs. Clinton is sure to dominate Mr. Trump among black voters, but her overwhelming margin could ultimately matter less than the total number of blacks who show up to vote. To replicate President Obamas success in crucial states such as Florida, Ohio and Pennsylvania, she cannot afford to let the percentage of the electorate that is black slip far below what it was in 2012. And while a modest drop-off of black votes may not imperil Mrs. Clintons prospects, given Mr. Trumps unpopularity among upscale white voters, it could undermine Democrats effort to capture control of the Senate and win other down-ballot elections. Mrs. Clintons difficulties with young African-Americans were laid bare in four focus groups conducted in Cleveland and Jacksonville, Fla., for a handful of progressive organizations spending millions on the election: the service employees union, a joint super PAC between organized labor and the billionaire environmentalist Tom Steyer, and a progressive group called Project New America. The results were outlined in a 25-page presentation by Cornell Belcher, a Democratic pollster, and shared with The New York Times by another party strategist who wanted to draw attention to Mrs. Clintons difficulties in hopes that the campaign would move more aggressively to address the matter. Word of the report has spread in the constellation of liberal operatives and advocacy groups in recent weeks, concerning officials who saw diminished black turnout hurt Democratic candidates in the last two midterm elections. HANGZHOU, China When Air Force One taxied to a stop in eastern China on Saturday afternoon, American and Chinese officials had already engaged in a lengthy, heated dispute over the most mundane of issues: How would the president depart his plane? Chinas handling of President Obamas arrival for the Group of 20 summit meeting in Hangzhou has created a narrative that the Chinese snubbed the American president. Some Beijing-controlled news outlets are pushing back, fanning nationalist anger by accusing the Americans of arrogance in the squabble. The reality, American officials and diplomats familiar with China say, is both simpler and more complicated. The United States military had flown in a set of rolling air stairs, as it does on all of Mr. Obamas foreign trips, and the White House had received Chinese approval to use the equipment. But before Mr. Obamas arrival, a senior administration official said, the Chinese suddenly reversed themselves. HONG KONG A group of young people committed to rewriting the rules that govern Hong Kongs relationship with China were swept into office on Sunday in elections for the citys legislature, lifted by record voter turnout, according to a government vote tally. Some of the young protesters who took part in Hong Kongs enormous 2014 pro-democracy demonstrations will now wield a small measure of real political power for the first time. The failure of that movement to secure major democratic reforms in Hong Kong, a former British colony, and fears that the citys considerable autonomy was under assault led these candidates to campaign on everything from self-determination to the outright independence of Hong Kong from mainland China. Their success signals the emergence of a new political force. Until now, the pro-democracy forces in the city have been dominated by politicians who sought to expand the power of voters to select the citys leaders and lawmakers under the guidance of the mini-constitution that codifies Hong Kongs special relationship with mainland China, called one country, two systems. KOLKATA, India When Mother Teresas canonization took place on Sunday, a battered-looking audience gathered in front of a screen some 4,500 miles east of St. Peters Square: men with caved-in chests, weeping sores wrapped in gauze, extremities missing entirely, legs so thin you could encircle them with a finger and thumb. Celebratory balloons had been strung from the rafters at Nirmal Hriday Home for the Dying Destitute, and they bounced around merrily under the overhead fans while nuns sang hymns in reedy voices. It is a spare, whitewashed space, not much changed since 1952, when Mother Teresa welcomed the hospices first patient, a man found near death on the street. American officials had been waiting to see what China would do around Scarborough Shoal after the summit meeting, assuming that the Chinese would not act sooner in the interest of preserving a seamless conference. The appearance of ships while global leaders were still in Hangzhou was not expected. The meeting had already been rocked by a chaotic arrival when the Chinese did not provide a rolling staircase for President Obama to disembark from the main door of Air Force One on his arrival in Hangzhou on Saturday. Mr. Obama got off the plane by a staircase carried on board Air Force One and released from the belly of the aircraft. Scarborough Shoal has been the center of attention as one of the most desirable places in the South China Sea for the Chinese to convert into an artificial island. It is close to military bases in the Philippines where the United States military has access. In the last several years, the Chinese have built a group of artificial islands with military capabilities in the Spratly Archipelago, not far from Scarborough Shoal. NICKELSDORF, Austria When darkness descends on this farming village on the border with Hungary, the only lights left shining are often at the Jazzgalerie Nickelsdorf. Hans Falb, the owner of the cafe, has attracted music lovers to his place on the winding main street since it opened in 1976. Musicians who have played here over the years include the drummer Max Roach, the saxophonist Anthony Braxton and Irene Schweizer, the pianist. Each summer, Mr. Falb is the host of the Konfrontationen Festival, which showcases experimental music and art. The event is a passion of his that some people in this village of 1,700 find odd. This year, an international crowd of about 500 gathered for performances at the cafe, in an old barn and in a nearby church. MINYA, Egypt The Egyptian government has appointed Imam Mahmoud Gomaa, a Muslim cleric, to keep the peace between Christians and Muslims in this corner of upper Egypt. Everything is good, he insisted in an interview, citing Christian participation in his official peace-building initiative. But just a few hours later, the local bishop, Makarios, offered a very different view. I have nothing to do with Mahmoud Gomaa, he said. Once again, Egyptian Christians are feeling under siege, at least in Minya, a city on the banks of the Nile where about 40 percent of the population is Christian. And once again, Christian leaders are divided over how to respond. At the highest levels of the Coptic Orthodox Church, there is an effort to not make waves and to work with the central government to present an image of unity and calm. After a series of attacks on Copts this summer, the Coptic pope, Tawadros II, pleaded with his followers in the United States not to go ahead with planned demonstrations outside the White House intended to bring international attention to the violence. London Martin Roth, the director of the Victoria and Albert Museum, will step down from his position in the fall, the museum announced on Monday. The announcement came after the British media had published rumors of his imminent resignation over the weekend, based on an interview that Mr. Roth gave in late June to the German broadcaster DW. In that interview, the German-born Mr. Roth voiced his unhappiness at Britains Brexit vote, describing it as horrible. In a response to a request for an interview, a Victoria and Albert media representative said that Mr. Roth was unavailable. In a statement on the museums website, Mr. Roth said, Our recent accolade as Art Fund Museum of the Year feels like the perfect moment to draw to a close my mission in London. The museum would not comment on whether Mr. Roths departure was related to Britains decision to leave the European Union. Mr. Roth joined the Victoria and Albert Museum in 2011 after heading the Dresden State Art Collections. His tenure has been marked by successful exhibitions like David Bowie Is, and an Alexander McQueen retrospective that saw the museum stay open all night to accommodate the crowds. This summer, the new Europe 1600-1815 galleries were opened to critical acclaim. LONDON The skyline of the British capital burst into flames Sunday night. Unlike when London burned in 1666, this was only an art project. A 400-foot, scale replica of the citys older skyline was incinerated on the Thames River as part of Londons Burning, a weekend-long festival marking the 350th anniversary of the Great Fire. The 1666 fire broke out in a bakery, and, over the course of several days, it destroyed large swaths of the city center, consuming 13,000 buildings but resulting in surprisingly few deaths. London 1666, the artwork that was set ablaze, was built of wood and designed by the American artist David Best, who is known for making giant structures meant to be set on fire. Show business rule No. 1: Never doubt Barbra Streisand, as this weeks music charts affirm once again. (Rule No. 2 might be: Never doubt Beyonce.) Two years ago, after Billboard changed its chart formula to accommodate streaming, stars like Ms. Streisand whose fans tend not to be so big on the latest technology were presumed to be among those whose rankings might suffer. Even if one of her albums sold well, the theory went, it could easily be superseded by another record that was more popular on services like Spotify, Tidal or Apple Music. Streaming has indeed reshaped the charts. But this week, Ms. Streisands latest album, Encore: Movie Partners Sing Broadway (Columbia), showed her to be an exception. Encore opened at No. 1 with 148,000 copies of the full album sold in the United States, according to Nielsen. Its showing on streaming services was extremely low songs from it were streamed just 340,000 times for the week, in an era when a typical pop hit can exceed 100 million but by sales alone it was more than enough. The success of Encore extends one of the most remarkable runs in Billboard chart history: Ms. Streisand is the only artist to have No. 1 albums in each of the last six decades her first was People, in 1964. She has had more No. 1 albums than any other female star. Jerry Seinfeld is going to run out of cars someday. StartUp is the latest manifestation of that inevitability. Mr. Seinfelds droll series Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee is still probably the best-known original show on Crackle, which has been slowly building its roster, hoping for the kind of breakthrough that has brought other streaming services to the forefront of television. The Art of More, a drama it introduced last year, is pretty good but didnt generate big buzz. StartUp, a 10-episode drama the service rolls out on Tuesday, probably wont either, despite a dynamic performance by Otmara Marrero. She plays Izzy Morales, a tech wizard who thinks she has invented a better Bitcoin, which she calls GenCoin. Her hunt for a financial backer leads her to Nick Talman (Adam Brody), who is restless in his job as a cog in some large financial institution. Nick happens to have money to invest because his father, who operates on the wrong side of the law, has some he needs to hide. Soon the improbable duo of Nick and Izzy becomes an even more improbable threesome: They find themselves in a reluctant partnership with Ronald Dacey (Edi Gathegi), a high-ranking member of a Haitian gang. Martin Freeman, who had nice runs recently in Sherlock and Fargo, is the F.B.I. agent who, trying to get at Nicks father, begins scrutinizing their start-up. Two of the women she would focus on are still living in the area. Christine Darden, now 73 and retired, had worked her way out of NASAs computing pool to lead engineering research into sonic booms. Katherine Johnson, who recently turned 98, lives in a retirement home with her husband of 57 years, James A. Johnson, and is enjoying a recent surge of fame. She calculated rocket trajectories for the Mercury and Apollo missions, and last year President Obama personally awarded her the Presidential Medal of Freedom for her lifes work. Mrs. Darden and Mrs. Johnson still socialize, and on a recent summer day, made meltingly hot by a heat wave, met to play bridge at Mrs. Johnsons apartment. (Mrs. Johnson and her partner won.) Ms. Shetterly was visiting too, and presented both women with an early copy of her book. Fantastic, Mrs. Darden said, as Mrs. Johnson, whose eyesight is failing, peered at the cover with a slight smile. Yet asked how she felt about the coming film, in which she is played by Ms. Henson, in the starring role, Mrs. Johnson became solemn. (Mrs. Darden is not portrayed onscreen, as the film focuses on the years preceding her arrival at NASA.) I shudder, Mrs. Johnson said. She had heard, she said, that the movie might stretch the facts, and that her character possibly came across as aggressive. I was never aggressive, Mrs. Johnson said. Ms. Shetterly reminded Mrs. Johnson of her persistence in the late 1950s, when she successfully pressed her supervisor into admitting her into traditionally all-male meetings. You took matters in your own hands, Ms. Shetterly said. For other women, it was a revelation. Ms. Johnson said: Well, I dont ever wait for something. I remember asking the question, Is there a law? And he said, Let her go. It was easier than arguing. LONDON James E. Staley, the Barclays chief executive, has turned to another executive from his former employer, JPMorgan Chase, to fill out his new banks executive ranks. Barclays said on Monday that Tim Throsby, JPMorgans global head of equities, would join the British lender in January as president of its corporate and international business and as chief executive of its corporate and investment bank. Mr. Throsbys hiring comes at an important time for Barclays. Mr. Staley, who joined the bank in December, has accelerated the sales of businesses that Barclays no longer considers core operations and is focusing its strategy on two divisions: the British consumer bank and a slimmed-down corporate and investment bank. In his new role, Mr. Throsby would become a member of the executive committee at Barclays and would report directly to Mr. Staley. His appointment is subject to regulatory approval. In an unusually candid interview at his 450-acre property about 15 miles northwest of Philadelphia, Mr. McCausland explained what it was like to run a big, public company and how he decided to sell it. Mr. McCausland does not look like a corporate revolutionary. Known for his affinity for bow ties, he now wears a pink dress shirt, khakis and no socks in retirement. He lives in Florida but spends much of his time on his farm, just 10 miles away from Airgass headquarters in Radnor, Pa. His wife, Bonnie, and son and daughter, both in their 30s, help tend to the dozens of sheep, horses and exotic cows with markings that resemble panda bears on the estate. A lawyer, Mr. McCausland started his industrial gas business in 1982, when he bought his first gas distributor for $5 million. At first, he thought it could serve as a nest egg to send his children to college. But then he discovered an opportunity: About 40 percent of the sales in the industry were derived from small, independent companies. So Mr. McCausland began building by acquisitions. Among his first purchases was a company called Wolverine Gas Products, partly owned by Air Products. As part of the deal, Air Products would supply the gas, and Mr. McCauslands company would buy it in bulk, put the gas into cylinders and deliver those to customers. Soon after, Air Products started circumventing the contract by pushing up prices, Mr. McCausland said. In turn, Mr. McCausland built two air-separation plants to send them a warning. The tension heightened after Airgas bought Air Products struggling packaged gas business in 2002 and managed to quickly turn it around. Air Products, which is based in Allentown, Pa., declined to comment for this article. The clash between the two Pennsylvania-based industrial gas foes peaked in the summer of 2009, when Mr. McCausland received a call from the chief executive of Air Products, who wanted to buy Airgas. Hotels and online travel booking companies tend to have a marriage of convenience one that savvy travelers can exploit. When hotels are having trouble filling rooms, they will grudgingly pay Expedia and other online travel agencies commissions of 15 to 30 percent to help reduce the vacancies. But when the beds are filling up, the hotels would much rather avoid those hefty commissions by having travelers book directly through the hotels website, call center or authorized brick-and-mortar travel agent. Which is why lately, with average occupancy rates in the United States at the highest level in a least a generation, hotels are dangling inducements to get you to book direct. The tensions between hotels and online agencies are nothing new. But the continued rise in occupancy levels is making hotels feel they have increasing leverage. The lures might include upgrades to better rooms, free shuttle service to and from the airport, complimentary breakfast or drinks at the bar. Myanmars economy, stunted for decades after a 1962 military coup, has grown swiftly since 2012, when landmark elections ushered in political changes and a wave of foreign investment. Profits from the domestic timber, minerals and oil and gas industries had been fueling urban property markets and a high-end domestic jewelry trade, but international brands were virtually nonexistent before the opening even here in Yangon, Myanmars business capital and most cosmopolitan city. Many residents still patronize ramshackle wet markets which sell fresh meats and produce and sidewalk tea shops, where a full meal costs far less than a Starbucks latte. But by 2015, the countrys economy was growing by 7 percent annually, up from 5.6 percent in 2011, and new high-rises and shopping malls were sprouting alongside the citys majestic, if dilapidated, colonial-era buildings. Nearly all of Yangons new retail space targets low- to midrange buyers. Shoppers who can afford luxury goods typically buy online or on trips to Singapore, Thailand or Europe, several analysts and business people said. But a few overseas luxury brands are beginning to sell watches and other goods here, with an eye toward future sales. Its nice to be there at the very beginning, Nicholas Rudaz, director of Franck Muller, said in a telephone interview from the brands headquarters in Switzerland. And, of course, this is a long-term investment. Transcription 1 Hungary A continuous shrinking of the unemployment benefit system Bela Galgoczi * Introduction Unemployment was an unknown phenomenon under state socialism; being without an official job was even seen as criminal and was subject to sanctions. In reality, unemployment was kept hidden behind the company gates in the form of over-employment. Correspondingly, unemployment benefit, as with any other labour market policy instrument, was non-existent before 1989 in Hungary. The collapse of the state socialist regime in 1989 resulted in a disintegration of the regional political economy by the early 1990s. In Hungary, as in most Central and Eastern European countries, this period was marked by a huge decline in GDP and by a collapse of industrial output. As a result of rapid market liberalisation, Western products started to flood the market, pushing a large number of domestic products out. This situation was further aggravated by an early privatisation of trade, the food industry and other industries producing consumer goods. Emerging mass unemployment and rapidly declining purchasing power of wages came as a huge shock for the population. The rise in the number of people unemployed in Hungary from 10,000 to 600,000 (corresponding to a 12% unemployment rate) between 1989 and 1992 had in some respects a harsher impact than the Great Depression. This dramatic emergence of mass unemployment was a new experience and the hastily established labour market institutions were totally unprepared to deal with a problem of this scale and nature. The establishment of fully fledged labour market policy measures and institutions was completed by Although unemployment had * Senior researcher at the ETUI (European Trade Union Institute), Brussels, Belgium. Unemployment benefit systems in Europe and North America: reforms and crisis 281 2 Bela Galgoczi Hungary stabilised below the level of 10% from the mid 1990s onwards, employment rates remained persistently low until very recently. This article focuses on labour market policy measures and institutions in Hungary, and reviews past and current practices. It also gives a short background on labour market developments specific to Hungary, and briefly addresses the impact of the recent economic crisis on employment, examining specific labour market policy tools to deal with the repercussions of the crisis on employment. General labour market trends in Hungary in the past decade In the past decade the Hungarian labour market has been characterised by persistently low employment rates. Table 1 shows the development of the employment rate over the last ten years in Hungary. Average growth rates of 4% in the period were not sufficient for job creation as most of the growth was generated through an increase in productivity. The declining growth rate in 2007 and 2008 was accompanied by a slight decrease in the employment rate mainly due to job cuts in the public sector. The employment rate of around 57% of the population aged 15 to 64 falls substantially short of the corresponding EU27 average of 65.9% for the last year. The female employment rate lags behind male employment by 13 percentage points over the whole period, making the gender gap in employment larger than the EU average and showing similar patterns to most southern European countries. Table 1 Employment rate (%) by gender for the population aged between 1997 and 2008 in Hungary HU total Men Women EU27 (total) Source: Eurostat (2009) Another weakness of the Hungarian labour market lies in the low employability of older people. Disability pensions and a variety of early 282 Unemployment benefit systems in Europe and North America: reforms and crisis 3 A continuous shrinking of the unemployment benefit system retirement schemes have absorbed a large proportion of individuals leaving the labour force. In the age group, over 40% of the unemployed receive disability benefit (Balint and Kollo, 2007). The very low participation and employment rate of individuals in the age group is also a factor behind the overall low employment rate. The activity rate of the Hungarian age group lags behind the EU15 average by 20 percentage points. The reason for the low activity rate is that very few students at least according to statistical observations are willing to enter the labour market during their studies and even fewer find a job (OECD, 2007). Table 2 Unemployment rate (%) by gender in Hungary between 1997 and HU total Men Women EU15 (total) Source: Eurostat (2009) The unemployment rate fluctuated within a relatively narrow range around 7% in the last decade, as Table 2 shows. It was slightly below the EU15 average until 2007 and used to be much more favourable than in most Central and Eastern European new member states (CEE NMS), where double digit unemployment rates were more the rule than the exception until On the other hand, Hungary did not see an improvement in unemployment between 2006 and 2008, when NMS with previously high unemployment, such as Poland, the Baltic states and Slovakia, experienced a spectacular decrease in unemployment rates. It was, in fact, the opposite as the unemployment rate had even increased slightly due to lower growth rates caused by the government s stabilisation measures. There were no substantial differences between the male and female unemployment rates for the whole period, although the previously lower female unemployment rate changed to a slightly higher level than male unemployment from 2005, as the austerity measures primarily affected the public sector, where are women traditionally overrepresented. While unemployment among young people in Hungary was slightly lower than the EU15 average until 2006, by 2008 the unemployment rate of Unemployment benefit systems in Europe and North America: reforms and crisis 283 4 Bela Galgoczi Hungary the age cohort had risen to 3 percentage points higher than the EU15 average. The duration of unemployment in Hungary is long. In 2006 only 4.3% of the unemployed succeeded in finding a job within one month following their job loss. In 2007 this increased slightly to 4.5 per cent. The proportion of those looking for a job for more than one year, however, increased between 2006 and 2007 from 41.2% to 44.1%. Over half of the unemployed population does not receive unemployment benefit. The proportion of job-seekers quickly decreases with age over the age of 40 the majority of those who receive unemployment benefit but are in fact inactive are found in this age group. The impact of the crisis on the Hungarian labour market The deepening crisis, caused primarily by the sharp drop in exports and aggravated by falling investments and household demand due to tight fiscal policy and the credit crunch, had shown its effect on the Hungarian labour market within a short time (for more details on the effects of the crisis in CEE, cf. Galgoczi, 2009). In contrast to the rest of Europe, the Hungarian labour market was already showing signs of contraction in Compared to 2008, the number of persons employed has decreased by 85,000, bringing the already low employment rate down further to 55.3% by April The number of unemployed people grew by 88,000 between May 2008 and May 2009, an increase of 32%. The unemployment rate increased from 7.5% to 10.2% in this period, as Table 3 shows. The proportion of men has increased among the unemployed, as male unemployment grew by 2.8 percentage points, while female unemployment rose by 1.3 percentage points. At the same time the average duration of unemployment has decreased somewhat. The highest decrease in employment was observed in the manufacturing industry, where it fell by 9.3%, representing 76% of total job losses in Hungary between May 2008 and May Public administration and public services which had suffered substantial job losses in the previous years were only slightly affected in this period. 284 Unemployment benefit systems in Europe and North America: reforms and crisis 5 A continuous shrinking of the unemployment benefit system Table 3 Unemployment rate (%) in Hungary between May 2008 and May 2009 May 2008 Nov 2008 Dec 2008 Jan 2009 Feb 2009 Mar 2009 Apr 2009 May 2009 HU EU Source: Eurostat (2009-1), (seasonally adjusted monthly figures) A review of Hungarian labour market institutions and employment policy with particular regard to passive measures The legal background of labour market regulations in Hungary After labour market policy measures were hastily introduced in 1989, the legal foundations of a comprehensive system were established by the Employment Promotion Act in Legislation on employment relationships consists of three major parts; the Labour Code covers the competitive sphere; the Civil Servants Act covers public administration employees; and the Public Servants Act covers employees in public services (education, health, etc.). The Civil Servants Act and the Public Servants Act contain detailed and rigid prescriptions on job classification, wage scales and promotion. The relatively low level of pay in the public sector is compensated by better protection against lay-offs and by guaranteed promotion. The Labour Code regulates the market sphere and follows a free market philosophy: the employment relationship is based upon individual and/or collective bargaining between employees and employers, with government intervention limited to setting minimum standards. Working hours are fixed at eight hours per day. Overtime, special working hours, multiple shifts, work on public holidays, paid leave and the protection of minors and women (pregnant or with a child under a year old) are also regulated by the Labour Code. The Labour Safety Act provides for health and safety, and physical conditions at work. It can be concluded that labour market regulations are rather liberal in Hungary, particularly in the private sector. Dismissal costs and severance payments are also regulated in a rather liberal manner. Laid-off Unemployment benefit systems in Europe and North America: reforms and crisis 285 6 Bela Galgoczi Hungary employees are provided with a period of notice and a severance payment. The employer is required to justify the lay-off and employees have the right to defend themselves against the reasons stated. Notice periods and severance payments are dependent on tenure within the firm. Labour market policy institutions Government bodies Most labour-related issues were integrated under the authority of the Ministry for Employment and Labour, although the Ministry of Social and Health Affairs and the Ministry for Education retain some labourrelated responsibilities. Public Employment Service The Public Employment Service (PES) consists of the Labour Office and a regional network of labour market centres, and operates under the authority of the Ministry for Employment and Labour. The Labour Office is responsible for ensuring the professional background and direction of the regional centres (in terms of methodology, information and statistical background, etc.). These centres operate both passive (the unemployment benefit system) and active (e.g. re-training) labour market instruments. Financial resources are provided by the Labour Market Fund, which succeeded the Employment Fund and The Solidarity Fund in The legal foundations of this system are given in the 1991 Employment Promotion Act. The social partners can participate in the application of employment policy, and its adaptation to specific and regional conditions via the tripartite Labour Market Fund (LMF) Steering Committee. This forum was created in 1997 and is responsible for managing the Labour Market Fund. The right of disposal over the Fund is formally granted to the Minister of Employment and Labour Affairs (previously, the Minister of Labour) but, according to the law, the Minister exercises this right jointly with the LMF Steering Committee. This means that the Fund is actually managed by the tripartite body. The Committee has extensive powers with regard to the financial issues of the LMF, such as drafting its annual budget; deciding on re-allocation between the sub-funds; and deciding 286 Unemployment benefit systems in Europe and North America: reforms and crisis 7 A continuous shrinking of the unemployment benefit system on the co-financing of national programmes for economic and regional development. At the decentralised level, the county employment offices and labour councils bear the same joint responsibility over the decentralised funds. The extent of decentralisation varies. In the case of the Employment subfund it is almost 90% of the total. In 1997, the Labour Mediation and Arbitration Service was established to assist in firm-level wage conflicts or other labour-related disputes. Employment policy measures Labour market policy in Hungary is based on the same instruments as in most of the EU15 countries, consisting of active and passive labour market policy instruments (here we will discuss passive instruments only). Labour market policy is based on combined financing: unemployment benefit and the active measures are insurance-based, while income support and social assistance are budget-financed. Contributions are paid by both employers and employees. The levels of contributions gradually increased until the mid 1990s, but have decreased somewhat since then (with a further decrease from July 2009). Expenditure on employment policy decreased significantly in terms of its share of GDP throughout the whole period (from 2.81% of GDP in 1992 to 0.64% of GDP by 2006). This very low level is still among the highest in the CEE NMS. In comparison, labour market policy expenditure in the EU15 was on average 2% of GDP in Table 4 Public employment policy expenditure as % of GDP Total expenditure in % of GDP Source: Hungarian Ministry of Labour, 2005, Eurostat The three most important passive instruments are unemployment benefit, income support and early retirement. The system of unemployment benefit is earnings-linked (an insurance device), but the latter two measures are provided as social assistance. Unemployment benefit systems in Europe and North America: reforms and crisis 287 8 Bela Galgoczi Hungary Unemployment benefit This form of assistance is available if an unemployed person is not entitled to a pension, is both capable of and available for work, cooperates with the labour office (i.e. visits the centre within given time limits and accepts job offers made by the centre) and has made contributions to the Labour Market Fund (for at least 360 days over the last four-year period). Job offers made by the labour office must correspond either to the qualification level of the job-seeker, or to the qualification level acquired through the training programme offered by the labour office, or to the qualification level of the job in which the person was employed at least six months before unemployment. The job offered must be accessible by public transport, and involve no more than a three-hour daily commute, (in the case of job-seekers with children under 10, a two-hour daily commute). The unemployment benefit system has gradually become less generous: in , the entitlement period became one year instead of two years, and it decreased to nine months in On the other hand, unemployed people can become eligible for benefits again after certifying 180 days of work. In those days the level of unemployment benefit was between 65% and 75% of previous earnings, with a maximum level of twice the minimum old-age pension. From 2002 the duration of unemployment benefit was reduced from nine months to 180 days and at the same time its maximum level was adjusted to double the national minimum wage (otherwise 60% of previous average wage). The current national minimum wage is 71,000 HUF (approximately 250 Euro) and is exempt from personal income tax. Income support for the unemployed After exhausting unemployment benefit, income support for the unemployed is 40% of the national minimum wage for a further 90 days. The entitlement period for this support was also reduced in two stages from an initial two years to the current 90 days. This support is jointly financed by local government (25%) and the Labour Market Fund (75%). It must be emphasised that this measure is only available to those who are long-term unemployed and that it also 288 Unemployment benefit systems in Europe and North America: reforms and crisis 9 A continuous shrinking of the unemployment benefit system differs from general social assistance because it is mainly financed from the Labour Market Fund. Early retirement Since retirement ages have changed and early retirement had some disincentive effects, it was replaced in 1998 by pre-retirement unemployment benefit. Employees with at least 20 years of service are entitled to this support until they become eligible for an old-age pension, or participate in a disability pension scheme (but for a maximum of 5 years). This provides the same amount as income support and can be seen as a continuation of income support for unemployed people for a maximum of five years before they reach retirement age. Job market entrants Young unemployed school leavers were entitled to receive unemployment benefits at 75% of the minimum wage until In 1996, this type of assistance was replaced, also on the grounds of its potential disincentive impact, by wage subsidies for their employment. The scheme is in fact a combination of wage subsidies and on-the-job training. In this case, therefore, a passive measure was exchanged for an active one. Specific labour market policy tools to tackle the effects of the crisis Although Hungary did not launch a large-scale discretionary stimulus package for the economy due to the fiscal constraints in line with the IMF-EU agreement, there are a few measures available for the actors involved in the real economy to cushion the immediate effects of the downturn. As a general measure to stimulate employment, the government has decreased the level of social security contributions paid by employers by 4 percentage points and the personal income tax level for employees on low to average incomes from July 2009, but has offset these measures through an increase in VAT to keep the fiscal discipline within external constraints. Unemployment benefit systems in Europe and North America: reforms and crisis 289 10 Bela Galgoczi Hungary Hungary was the only new member state (except Bulgaria) to hastily adopt a specific labour market policy measure to cope with the impact of the crisis on employment. In January 2009, following western European examples, the Labour Ministry developed a public labour market policy instrument to support reduced working time in companies affected by the crisis. The job creation pillar of the Labour Market Fund (previously used to subsidise firms that made major investments involving job creation) was redesigned into a pillar for maintaining employment. Companies applying for this support can run production on a four-day week basis, while compensation for the lost working hours is financed by the Labour Market Fund, providing up to 80% of the lost income with a maximum level of double the statutory minimum wage. The initial expectation of the government was that this support measure could save around 20% of threatened jobs during the crisis. According to media reports and anecdotal evidence, the use of this support scheme has been popular among enterprises and the special fund devoted to its financing will soon be exhausted. The Labour Minister has promised to extend the fund in the future. There is no statistical information available on the number of employees covered by the scheme up until now. The role of the social partners in formulating employment policy The regular institutions of social dialogue are the most important terrain for the involvement of the social partners in policy formulation, including employment policy issues in Hungary. The key institution of national-level tripartism is the Interest Reconciliation Council (IRC), established in 1988 by the then Reform Communist government, which went through several institutional and organisational changes over the two decades but has remained the key institution of national-level social dialogue until today. Depending on the actual political climate it had a varying impact, not only on employmentrelated public policy formulation and legislation, but also on the whole process of political and economic transformation. The social partners are also central actors in the implementation of employment policy, and its adaptation to specific and regional conditions, through their role in the tripartite Labour Market Fund Steering Committee. As mentioned before, the Fund is actually administered by 290 Unemployment benefit systems in Europe and North America: reforms and crisis 11 A continuous shrinking of the unemployment benefit system the tripartite body and the Committee has extensive powers with regard to the Fund s financial management. Within and besides their institutional role, the social partners and especially trade unions have had an impact on the formulation and application of labour market policy. Although they have managed to influence decisions, they have not been able to counteract the successive cuts (as described above) in the unemployment benefit system. It counts as a partial success, however, that the severe austerity measures of the period did not seriously affect social welfare and labour market policy provisions. The current debate is, however, aimed precisely at the alleged negative impacts of this policy. There is a consensus among experts, media analysts and politicians that the current social welfare system in Hungary is too generous and has adverse effects on the level of employment. This view is widely supported by the European Union and the International Monetary Fund. There is mounting pressure for further streamlining and targeting of benefits and welfare provisions with a focus on activation and promoting employability while eliminating perceived disincentives of a generous welfare system for employment. The likely victims of such a policy would be groups in society with multiple disadvantages. The trade unions are fighting against this process on all levels; their capacity to have a successful impact, however, seems to be rather limited. Conclusions Hungary introduced the whole range of labour market policy instruments that are common in the EU15 at the beginning of the 1990s. As far as the general situation of the labour market is concerned, unemployment has never reached alarming levels; it was slightly below the EU15 average for most of the period under consideration. The real problem has been and continues to be the low participation and employment rate. Labour market policy measures were cut back from relatively generous levels in the early 1990s in successive stages over the period under consideration, in line with a continuously shrinking share of GDP expenditure. Cutbacks mostly affected the entitlement period for unemployment benefit, its level having in fact been increased over time. Unemployment benefit systems in Europe and North America: reforms and crisis 291 12 Bela Galgoczi Hungary The tightening of passive measures has aggravated the situation of the long-term unemployed and led to the growing social exclusion of the social strata most affected by long-term unemployment (low-skilled employees, people living in structurally weak regions, and the Roma minority). Beside the low employment rate in general, this is the most serious problem affecting the labour market in Hungary. References Balint M. and Kollo J. (2007) The Hungarian labour market: review and analysis, Budapest, Economic Research Institute of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences. European Commission (2009) Spring Economic Forecast, May, Brussels. Eurostat (2008) Statistics in Focus, 94/2008, Luxembourg. Eurostat (2009) Online database. Eurostat (2009-1) News release Euroindicators, 97/2009, Luxembourg. Galgoczi B. (2009) Central Eastern Europe five years after: from emerging Europe to submerging Europe?, EEEPB 2009/4, Brussels, ETUI. Glassner V. and Galgoczi B. (2009) Plant-level responses to the economic crisis, ETUI Working Paper 2009/1. OECD (2007) Economic Survey of Hungary, Improving reconciliation between work and family Unemployment benefit systems in Europe and North America: reforms and crisis He is an oddity in the rarified world of top watch collecting: He is not European, he is not an industry professional and he does not have inherited wealth. As the co-owner of a chain of medical clinics, he would most likely describe himself as comfortably affluent, but certainly not in the ranks of the global elite. When he started attending watch fairs in the late 90s, he paid for his own economy-class tickets to Switzerland. He is as passionate about watches online as he is in person and began posting on the Singapore-based watch website TimeZone in the mid-90s. His own blog and Facebook page have dazzling photos of his acquisitions, as well as insider tips that the industry may or may not appreciate. (One watch-enthusiasts online forum has essentially barred him for what it described as being too self-promotional.) He and his wife Dolly Ong are regulars on the Singapore society scene, often photographed with something very pricey strapped to their wrists. Why am I famous? he asked rhetorically. Not because Im some rich famous dude but because Im a loudmouth. When I say something bad like This watch isnt worth a fraction of its sales price Im lambasted. BLACKPOOL, England The woman on the other end of the phone spoke lightheartedly of spring and of her 81st birthday the previous week. Who did you celebrate with, Beryl? asked Alison, whose job was to offer a kind ear. No one, I And with that, Beryls cheer turned to despair. Her voice began to quaver as she acknowledged that she had been alone at home not just on her birthday, but for days and days. The telephone conversation was the first time she had spoken in more than a week. About 10,000 similar calls come in weekly to an unassuming office building in this seaside town at the northwest reaches of England, which houses The Silver Line Helpline, a 24-hour call center for older adults seeking to fill a basic need: contact with other people. Just before a Sunday morning service in the early 1990s, two women walked into one of Manhattans most venerable sanctuaries, Marble Collegiate Church, on Fifth Avenue. The usher who seated them, sizing them up as first-time worshipers, asked what had brought them to Marble, as the church is known. They said, We understand this is where Marla Maples met Donald Trump, recalled the choir director and organist at the time, Kevin Walters, so we thought wed come and see if we could hook up with a billionaire, too. For all that has been written about Mr. Trumps high-profile careers as a real estate developer, a casino owner and a reality-television personality relatively little attention has been focused on the role religion played in shaping his personality. Overlooked amid tabloid accounts of his romances or financial-page articles about his ups and downs are the periods in his life when he was going to church, first as a regular at a Presbyterian church in Queens, where he grew up, and later, as a less frequent worshiper at Marble, one of Americas oldest and most famous churches. Mr. Trump, now the Republican nominee for president, had an intriguing relationship with Marble. He attended its Sunday services for almost 50 years, but says he does not know if he ever formally joined the church. He describes himself as a Presbyterian, but Marble is not a Presbyterian church it is part of the Reformed Church in America, a separate denomination that traces its beginnings to 1628 and the first ordained minister in New Amsterdam, as New York was then known. This year, Jouvert was supposed to be different. Fed up with the annual spectacle of violence that has for years tarnished the celebration of West Indian heritage in New York, city officials had announced sweeping security measures leading up to the festivities: double the number of police officers, hundreds of high-powered floodlights, security cameras, a gun buyback program. The Police Department even posted fliers with a blunt warning to revelers: Do not shoot anyone. Do not stab anyone. With all of the additional resources, Police Commissioner William J. Bratton said, hopes had been very high that bloodshed, like the shooting death last year of a lawyer in the administration of Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo, could be avoided. In spite of those high hopes, Mr. Bratton said on Monday, we had an unfortunate tragedy once again. Four people were shot, two of them fatally, at Jouvert festivities, which started in Brooklyn well before dawn on Monday, according to police officials. The two killed were Tyreke Borel, a 17-year-old who was shot in the chest, and Tiarah Poyau, a 22-year-old who was shot in the face. They may have been unintended targets, said Assistant Chief Patrick Conry, the Brooklyn chief of detectives. The advice that I would give to people today, if theyre home from work, is to is to go about a normal day, Mayor Rudolph W. Giuliani said on Sept. 12, 2001. Take the day as an opportunity to go shopping, be with your children. Do things. Get out. Dont feel dont feel locked in. Go shopping. Mr. Giulianis common-sense counsel on the day after a terrorist attack killed 2,753 people in Lower Manhattan was quickly stripped of context and turned into caricature retail as opiate. When the going gets tough, the tough go shopping. I dont think he meant that shopping would solve the problems of a city struggling to awaken from an unparalleled nightmare. But it was the first thing that came to his mind. For the next two years, NASAs latest robotic spacecraft will be chasing down an asteroid near Earth in the hopes of scooping up some of the most primordial bits of the solar system. The premise of the mission for the spacecraft, Osiris-Rex, is simple: Fly to an asteroid, grab some of the rock and bring it back to Earth, where scientists will study some of the pristine ingredients that went into the making of the solar system, including possibly the building blocks of life. [Follow the OSIRIS-REX missions attempt to collect samples from Bennu asteroid.] What was that beginning organic material like? James L. Green, the director of NASAs planetary science division, said in an interview. Thats whats really exciting about this. This is what we want. The details are a bit more complicated. The spacecraft is sitting on top of an Atlas 5 rocket at Cape Canaveral, Fla., ready for launching on Thursday on a seven-year mission. The long road to unraveling this weeks surprises began last November, less than three months after the iPhone 6s had debuted to gangbuster first-weekend sales. The Japanese website Mac Otakara, considered a generally reliable source of information that has ties to the factories manufacturing the phone, wrote about Apple removing the jack in the next iPhone under the heading rumor. For anyone not ready to go wireless, the story said, wired earphones would plug into the iPhone via Apples Lightning connector, which is typically used for charging power. Traditional headphones would presumably work through a converter. This was big. Headphones are one of the most basic functions, so this is something thats going to affect users of all kinds, said Eric Slivka, editor in chief of MacRumors.com. I immediately knew it would be an extremely controversial topic all the way until launch. A post on the MacRumors site, drawing from the Mac Otakara story, included a cautionary note that began, Should this rumor prove to be true ... The post received 1,100 comments from Apple aficionados who had no doubt it was and who, in general, did not like the idea of no jack. Cellphones were once like bricks, but losing the jack so the iPhone could be even thinner was felt by some to be a bad bargain. Any thinner and Ill lose it into the time-space continuum forever, one commenter joked. MacRumors exists for these kinds of moments. So does AppleInsider, Cult of Mac, 9to5Mac and similar sites in various languages, all of which picked up the news and chewed it over. During the next six weeks, helped along by further stories on Chinese blogs, the mainstream media picked it up as well. Newsweek, sounding rather overwrought, asked, Is Apple Ready to Kill the Beloved Headphone Jack? A Fast Company article announced that Apple would be dropping the jack Its True, read the headline and added that the iPhone would probably support wireless charging and be waterproof. By early January, emotions were at a fever pitch. An online petition from SumofUs.org, which more than 300,000 people have signed, denounced Apple for creating more electronic waste presumably, headphones that will no longer work with the iPhone and be thrown out. WASHINGTON The American militarys extensive use of drones against the Islamic State and other terrorist groups has resulted in a shortage of Air Force pilots and other personnel to operate the aircraft, leading the Pentagon to rely more on private contractors for reconnaissance missions in Afghanistan and Iraq. Since the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, the Pentagon has used contractors to perform many duties traditionally carried out by uniformed personnel, like protecting military bases and feeding service members. The contractors who are now serving as drone pilots are based in the regions where the drones are flown, and they are legally prohibited from being trigger pullers and firing weapons, Air Force officials said. But there is no limit on the type of reconnaissance they can perform, and they are providing live video feeds of battles and special operations. As the Obama administration has accelerated its campaign against the Islamic State in Iraq, Syria and Libya over the past 10 months, the Pentagon has added four drones flown by contractors to the roughly 60 that are typically flown every day by uniformed Air Force personnel. Over the next two years, the Pentagon plans to add six more operated by contractors, the officials said. The number and identities of contractors working on the drone flights are considered classified information, the Air Force said. But Pentagon officials said there are at least several hundred contractors, many of them former drone or fighter pilots who are making double or triple their military salaries. LOS ANGELES Pity the California voter. Seventeen voter initiatives are on the state ballot in November, a glut of citizen-lawmaking that could, among other things, end the death penalty, legalize recreational marijuana, impose a tax surcharge on the wealthy and place limits on prescription drug costs. And considering that there really is no race for president in this overwhelmingly Democratic state, this is where the action is going to be through Election Day. By the time voters make it to the polls, analysts say, they are likely to have endured close to $100 million in television advertisements making the yea or nay case for these measures, usually framed in the most alarming sort of way. California is a state with a long tradition of making law at the ballot box, but the last time there were this many initiatives was 2000. And that does not even account for local initiatives like a Los Angeles County proposal to raise the sales tax to pay for mass transit or a soda tax in San Francisco. The California ballot can be intimidating theres a lot on it, said Thomas F. Steyer, the billionaire environmentalist who is financing a $2-a-pack cigarette tax antismoking initiative, known as Proposition 56. Its hard to stay on top of all of it, particularly because professional wordsmiths try to confuse voters all the time. There is an inclination for a lot of voters not to want to vote for initiatives. CINCINNATI On the day he almost died, John Hatmaker bought a packet of Oreos and some ruby-red Swedish Fish at the corner store for his 5-year-old son. He was walking home when he spotted a man who used to sell him heroin. Mr. Hatmaker, 29, had overdosed seven times in the four years he had been addicted to pain pills and heroin. But he hoped he was past all that. He had planned to spend that Saturday afternoon, Aug. 27, showing his son the motorcycles and enjoying the music at a prayer rally for Hope Over Heroin in this region stricken by soaring rates of drug overdoses and opioid deaths. But first, he decided as he palmed a sample folded into a square of paper, he would snort this. As he crumpled to the sidewalk, Mr. Hatmaker became one of more than 200 people to overdose in the Cincinnati area in the past two weeks, leaving three people dead in what the officials here called an unprecedented spike. Similar increases in overdoses have rippled recently through Indiana, Kentucky and West Virginia, overwhelming ambulance crews and emergency rooms and stunning some antidrug advocates. Addiction specialists said the sharp increases in overdoses were a grim symptom of Americas heroin epidemic, and of the growing prevalence of powerful synthetic opiates like fentanyl. The synthetics are often mixed into batches of heroin, or sprinkled into mixtures of caffeine, antihistamines and other fillers. Transcription 1 Denmark Market Overview 2 General Facts Area: 43,090 sq. km Capital City: Copenhagen National Currency: Danish Krone (DEK) Population (2007): 5.45 million Density people/km Head of the State: Queen Margrethe II Prime Minister: Anders Fogh Pasmussen Source: CIA Ruling Party: The Venstre Party (Liberal) 3 The New Denmark Denmark is split into five regions: 1. Nordjylland 2. Midtjylland 3. Syddanmark 4. Hovedstaden 5. Sjlland The regions were created on 1 January 2007 as part of a reform to replace the country s 13 traditional counties. Additionally, smaller Danish municipalities (kommuner) were merged into larger units reducing the number from 240 to 98. 4 Population Split By Region (2006) Region Capital Population Area (Sq. km) Population Density (people per sq. km) Hovedstaden (Capital Region) Copenhagen 1,633,565 2, Midtjylland (Mid Jutland) Vlborg 1,219,741 13, Syddanmark (South Denmark) Vejle 1,185,840 12, Sjlland (Zealand) Sor 811,511 7, Nordjylland (North Jutland) Alborg 57,802 8,020 7 Source: Denmark Statistik, 2006 5 The 10 Largest Cities In Denmark Capital Copenhagen Arhus Odense Aalborg Esbjerg Randers Kolding Horsens Vejle Roskilde Source: Denmark Statistik, 2006 Population 1,084, , , ,540 71,886 55,909 55,045 50,983 49,928 45,807 85% of the Danish population is urbanised. Approximately a third of the population live in Copenhagen. Copenhagen has a population more than four times larger than Arhus, the second largest city in Denmark. 6 Political Outlook Prime Minister Anders Fogh Rasmussen was elected in February He is the leader of the Venstre (Liberal) party, and the first Danish Liberal leader to win a second consecutive term in office. The government has made concessions to the populist Danish People s Party (DF) to pass its legislative programme and will have to continue to pay attention to the DF s views, particularly on immigration. Strong budget surpluses will allow the government to maintain a moderately expansionary fiscal policy in On April 1st 2007, there was a reform of corporate taxation, with a reduction in the rate of tax from 28% to 22%. Integrating the immigrant population will remain a focus for Anders Fogh Rasmussen. 7 Danish Politics Head of state - Queen Margrethe II Denmark voted to stay outside the Eurozone Government Coalition between the conservative party the Venstre and the Danish People s party Prime Minister - Mr Anders Rasmussen 8 Denmark in Figures Unemployment 5.8% Population Density Denmark 124/Sq.Km Versus Ireland 53/SqKm % private consumption spent on food, beverages 17.3% Main trading partners Germany Sweden UK France Norway Vat rates Services 25% Food 25% Alcohol 25% 9 Irish Food & Drink Exports 2007 Meat Beverages Dairy Seafood Other foods Total Irish Food & Drink Exports 30.6 million 7.2 million 9.3 million 12.1 million 9.4 million 68.6 million 10 Irish Export Performance 2007 In 2007 total Irish exports of food and drink increased 10% Meat exports increased 17% to over 30m Beef 17.3m Pigmeat 8.5m There was a 52% increase in fish exports to 12m Dairy products predominantly cheese and butter increased to 9.4m Alcoholic beverages mainly non-whiskey spirits, declined by 11% to 7.2m 11 Danish Meat Imports Although Self Sufficiency is 94% for beef, imports are substantial at over 100,000t pa Predominantly female (cow hinds) and young beef Lamb imports are 7,000t Import suppliers of beef are : Germany and Holland 70% of total Ireland 7-8% share Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay Poland Australia 12 Meat Imports to the Foodservice & Manufacturing Sectors Brazilian beef is returning to hotels and restaurants NZ dominates for frozen lamb Institutional or cost sector buy full range of meats from local Danish companies Leading companies are Emborg, Dagrofa Catering Engros, Caterfood, Tulip Catering, Caterfood Manufacturing meat is generally imported at lowest cost 13 The Retail Market 14 The Danish Retail Market Highly concentrated like Sweden Dansk Supermarket, Coop and Dagrofa are market leaders Food retail accounts for an estimated 16.8 billion. No. of traditional independent stores has halved since 1995 Centralised purchasing/independent decision making Growth in convenience & forecourt retailing 15 Key Retail Players Danske Supermarket Regarded as the most progressive retailer / Netto, Fotex chains Prestigious and expanding its market share at pace Co-op The second largest retail group - Irma, Kvickly stores Supergros Is privately owned and has undergone rapid transformation across its retail, wholesale distribution & foodservice divisions Superbest chain is now 220 stores 16 Retail Market Structure By Format Convenience Hard & Soft Discount Superstore/Supermarket Hypermarket 3, Store Numbers 3,000 2,500 2,000 1, , , , ,024 1,088 1,089 1,168 1,093 1,215 1, e Source: IGD Datacentre 17 The Grocery Retail Market Structure By Format The Danish grocery market is dominated by supermarkets and hard/soft discounters. Denmark has one of the largest portfolio of discount operators in Europe, and continues to grow at a rate that is faster than any other sector in the market. This has been led by market leader Netto. Between 2002 and 2006, IGD estimates a 34% increase in the number of hard/soft discount stores operating in Denmark. Expansion of the hypermarket sector has been fairly static in recent years, as retailers move back into the city centre. The number of convenience/forecourt stores amongst the major grocery retailers increased dramatically in 2006 following Reitangruppen s acquisition of the Hydro Texaco chain in Denmark. 18 Top Danish Retailers 2006 Retailer Total Sales ( m) Grocery Sales ( m) Grocery Retail Market Share (%) No. of Stores Sales Area (sqm) Dansk Supermarked 5,185 4, % ,100 Coop Danmark 4,579 3, % 1,157 1,261,450 Reitangruppen % ,800 Spar Danmark % ,710 Aldi % ,400 Dagrofa 3, % 43 83,600 Edeka Danmark % ,343 Metro Group % 4 31,000 Lidl & Schwarz Source: IGD Datacentre, 2006 estimates % 45 67,500 Note: Data is for grocery formats only except Total Sales which includes non-grocery if applicable. Total Sales & Grocery Sales are Net. Data includes franchised operations where appropriate. 19 Banner Total Sales ( m) Format No. of Stores Sales Area (sqm) Av. Sales Area (sqm) Bilka 1,600 H ,000 12,500 Ftex 1,825 S/S ,600 2,700 Netto 1,310 H/SD , Dgn Netto 35 C/F 15 4, Key: H = Hypermarket S/S = Superstore/Supermarket H/SD = Hard/Soft Discount Dansk Supermarked is jointly-owned by A.P. Mller (Maersk Group) and F. Salling A/S. Source: IGD Datacentre, 2006 estimates. Data is for grocery formats only. Total sales are Net. 20 Dansk has successfully overtaken Coop Danmark as the No.1 grocery retailer in Denmark, with the Netto chain of discount stores acting as a 'growth engine' for the group. Bilka in Hundige and Netto in Frederiksundsvej Denmark remains Dansk's only operating market in which it offers more than a discount format. It operates the Bilka chain of hypermarkets, Ftex supermarkets, Netto discounters as well as A-Z department stores and Tj and Sko footwear. Dansk has launched Dgn Netto format which are smaller than typical Netto stores, discount / convenience hybrid, with stores open til 10 p.m. Source: Retail Analysis photo gallery 21 Banner Total Sales ( m) Format No. of Stores Sales Area (sqm) Av. Sales Area (sqm) Kvickly Xtra 231 H ,000 9,000 Kvickly 867 H ,000 3,500 Super Brugsen 1,068 S/S ,400 1,400 Irma 269 S/S 74 81,400 1,100 Dagli Brugsen 532 S/S , Lokal Brugsen 56 S/S 48 15, Coop Brugsen 6.44 S/S 4 2, Fakta 912 H/SD , Key: H = Hypermarket S/S = Superstore/Supermarket C/F = Convenience/Forecourt H/SD = Hard/Soft Discount Source: IGD Datacentre, 2006 estimates. Data is for grocery formats only. Total sales are Net.. 22 Coop Danmark operates a multi format portfolio of stores, including convenience, discount, supermarket and hypermarket stores. Fakta and Irma City on Vesterbrogade, Copenhagen Coop Danmark's Fakta discount chain is well placed to capitalise on the growing pressure on price and expansion of the discount sector. Irma stores have adopted a different pricing and merchandising strategy compared to the large European mainstream discounters in Denmark, offering more upscale locally sourced products. Coop Danmark plans to open an additional 70 Fakta stores in Denmark by the end of Source: Retail Analysis photo gallery 23 Banner Total Sales ( m) Format No. of Stores Sales Area (sqm) Av. Sales Area (sqm) Rema H/SD , Eleven 68 C/F 60 9, YX 104 C/F , Key: C/F = Convenience /Forecourt H/SD = Hard/Soft Discount Entered the Danish market in Sales in Denmark accounted for approximately 22% of group sales in Reitangruppen holds the 7 Eleven franchise license in Denmark. Source: IGD Datacentre, 2006 estimates. Data is for grocery formats only. Total Sales are Net. 24 Rema 1000 accounted for over 80% of Reitan's total turnover in Denmark in Eleven and Rema 1000 in Copenhagen In July 2006, Reitan acquired the Hydro Texaco chain of forecourt stores in Denmark. The stores were consolidated into Reitan's accounts in the beginning of the third quarter Reitangruppen is set to invest 50 million on refurbishing the forecourt stores into the YX banner in the years ahead. Reitangruppen has teamed up with airline SAS to sell flights and package holidays in its stores across Scandinavia. The new service, which is named "Go, has been integrated into 7 Eleven stores, Rema 1000 stores and YX forecourt sites. Source: Retail Analysis photo gallery 25 Banner Total Sales ( m) Format No. of Stores Sales Area (sqm) Av. Sales Area (sqm) Spar 864 C/F , Key: C/F = Convenience/Forecourt Spar Danmark A/S is part of Dagrofa. Source: IGD Datacentre, 2006 estimates. Data is for grocery formats only. Total Sales are Net. 26 Denmark is the second largest market in Scandinavia for Spar, behind Norway. Spar in Denmark The Glostrup store in Copenhagen was jointly developed as a new concept store with Spar International. The convenience store focuses specifically on Food to Go and convenience products. Although there has been a decline in store numbers in recent years, total retailer sales area has increased, with average store size increasing by 10%. Spar Danmark has focussed on better serving its younger customers through branding activities and developing strong links with the local community. Source: Retail Analysis photo gallery 27 Banner Total Sales ( m) Format No. of Stores Sales Area (sqm) Av. Sales Area (sqm) Aldi 520 H/SD , Key: H/SD = Hard/Soft Discount Aldi Nord entered Denmark in 1977, with its entry prompting the domestic operators to launch their own competing discount formats. Sales in Denmark accounted for approximately 1.3% of total group turnover in Source: IGD Datacentre, 2006 estimates. Data is for grocery formats only. Total Sales are Net. 28 Denmark is Aldi s only market in Scandinavia. Compared to other European countries, Aldi s new store development programme in Denmark has been fairly static. Aldi in Denmark Aldi s Danish business is managed through two regional divisions, at Kolding (West Division) and Karlslunde (East Division). 29 Banner Total Sales ( m) Format No. of Stores Sales Area (sqm) Av. Sales Area (sqm) ISO 160 S/S 12 27,000 2,250 Dreisler 128 S/S 9 12,600 1,400 SuperBest 99 S/S 22 44,000 2,000 Key: S/S = Superstore/Supermarket Dagrofa A/S is a private holding company owned by tobacco company Skandinavisk Tobakskompagni A/S, Aps KFI-Figros, and A/S KFI-Detail. Source: IGD Datacentre, 2006 estimates. Data is for grocery formats only. Total Sales are Net. 30 Banner Total Sales ( m) Format No. of Stores Sales Area (sqm) Av. Sales Area (sqm) Merko 81 S/S 97 38, Activ Super 73 S/S , Focus Focus 43 C/F 78 11, Complet 12 C/F 36 5, Coma 5 H/SD 10 3, Key: S/S = Supermarket/Superstore C/F = Convenience/Forecourt H/SD = Hard/Soft Discount Note: Excludes Rema 1000 stores Edeka entered the Danish market in Source: IGD Datacentre, 2006 estimates. Data is for grocery formats only. Total Sales are Net. 31 Outlook Continued growth of soft & hard discounter Growth in Private label Retailers willing to look at niche opportunities to differentiate Opportunities in private label (premium & speciality) 32 Market Characteristics The supermarket is the principal store format in the Danish market Centralised purchasing but independent purchasing decision making Excellent logistics, RDC s Private label low, but growing Growth in convenience & forecourt retailing 33 Attractions of Exporting to Denmark Growing economy Affluent consumer English widely spoken Ireland s image Good logistics Concentrated retail market Good niche opportunities 34 Bord Bia Services Market Information & Trade Contacts Research tailored to company requirements Mentoring Service to enter and grow the market Contact Bord Bia Head Office: Mobile Not to be outdone, Mr. Trump used his airborne meeting with reporters to clarify his views on immigration, saying he opposed any path to citizenship for the 11 million immigrants in the country illegally. But he did not explicitly rule out a long-term path to legal status if the nations immigration system is overhauled. Were going to make that decision into the future, Mr. Trump said. But, he added, to become a citizen, you are going to have to go out and come back in through the process. Youre going to have to go out and get in line. This isnt touchback. You have to get in line. On the plane, Mr. Trump also told reporters that, as of this moment, he planned to attend all three debates, and that only a natural disaster could make him change his mind. He added that, while he was preparing, he was not holding mock debate sessions. Labor Day is traditionally the beginning of a two-month sprint to Election Day, in which candidates try to seize voters attention as summer fades and debates loom. Monday was no exception. The visits to Ohio by Mr. Trump and Mrs. Clinton along with their respective running mates, Gov. Mike Pence of Indiana and Senator Tim Kaine of Virginia highlighted the importance of a state that Republicans believe Mr. Trump must win to have any shot of reaching the White House. Were not as diverse as some would like in many important characteristics educational institutions, religion, places where we come from, Justice Sotomayor said on Thursday at a judicial conference here. Justice Kagan, speaking on Wednesday at the University of Arizona in Tucson, said the court may suffer from what she called a coastal perspective, The Arizona Daily Star reported. (She is from New York City. As is Justice Sotomayor. As is Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg. As was Justice Scalia. Between the four of them, they represented every borough but Staten Island.) Justice Scalia made a similar point in a dissent last year. Eight of them grew up in East and West Coast states, Justice Scalia wrote of the courts membership at the time. Only one hails from the vast expanse in-between, he added, referring to Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr., who is from Indiana. On this score, Judge Garland would bring a dash of variety to the court, as he is from Chicago. But he has long worked in Washington, in the Justice Department and, for the past 19 years, on the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit. In other ways, Judge Garland would not bring notable diversity to the Supreme Court. He attended Harvard Law School, as did five of the current justices. (The other three went to Yale. Justice Ginsburg started at Harvard and graduated from Columbia.) UKUNDA, Kenya Under intense pressure, South Sudans beleaguered government has relented and will allow more United Nations peacekeepers into the country. In the two and a half years since civil war erupted, South Sudan has been the scene of atrocities including civilian massacres, the forcing of children into militias, the burning of emergency food supplies and the widespread rape of women and girls, including Western aid workers. Tens of thousands of people have been killed. On Sunday night, during a visit by the United Nations Security Council to Juba, South Sudans capital, the government agreed to allow the addition of 4,000 peacekeeping troops to the existing force of 14,000 soldiers, police and military observers. Top American officials, including Secretary of State John Kerry and Samantha Power, ambassador to the United Nations, had been pushing hard for the increase and the Security Council authorized the expansion of the force last month. African nations had also supported the move, though South Sudans government had claimed that it would be an affront to its sovereignty. KABUL, Afghanistan A pair of coordinated Taliban bombings targeted the Afghan Defense Ministry in a crowded neighborhood of Kabul on Monday, officials said, killing at least 24 people and wounding dozens, among them senior security officials. Sediq Sediqqi, a spokesman for the Interior Ministry, said an army general and a police colonel in charge of the areas security were among the dead. Other officials said the deputy director of President Ashraf Ghanis elite protection force had also been killed. At least 50 people were wounded, Mr. Sediqqi said. A spokesman for the Health Ministry put that number at 91. Hours later, just before midnight, a third explosion shook much of the city. Witnesses said that a car bomb had exploded outside a guesthouse near Kabul Bank, in the downtown Shar-e Naw neighborhood, and that gunmen had then tried to enter the house. Police special forces rushed to the scene, and sporadic gunfire could be heard. BEIJING In its final hours before being butchered, a chicken deserves to be reasonably comfortable and relatively stress-free. This is the message from Chinas first official recommendations to the poultry industry, recently issued by Shandong Province, on how to slaughter the animals. The guidelines, which are not mandatory, are motivated at least as much by commercial considerations as by concerns for animal welfare. Shandong is Chinas leading producer of chickens, but traces of damage to the birds, like broken limbs or blood clots in the meat, have hurt exports. Still, animal welfare advocates are praising the standards. Such specific guidelines, said Jeff Zhou, China representative of Compassion in World Farming, a British organization that campaigns to end factory farming. Im very grateful that they did this in Shandong. The guidelines, according to Peoples Daily, the Communist Party newspaper, list the steps leading to slaughter and detail for each the recommended procedures to ensure that the chickens death is as painless as possible. Still, Mr. Yu said, The problem in China, and Asia more broadly, is that the players are more concerned about technical issues. So when it came to this new project, both the Stern family and Mr. Yu agreed that they wanted to make a more comprehensive competition that would reward musicians not just for technical ability, but also for all-around dedication to music. After two years of discussions and planning, the Stern family and the Shanghai Symphony Orchestra came up with a competition structure that David Stern said his father, even with his distaste for competitions, probably would have approved. This meant including elements that were important to Isaac Stern, like chamber music and Chinese music. For example, contestants in the semifinal round were required to perform two concertos: The Butterfly Lovers, a popular Chinese concerto composed in 1959 by He Zhanhao and Chen Gang, and Mozarts Violin Concerto No. 3 with a chamber orchestra (with original improvisation during the cadenza section). They also had to play a violin sonata, as well as the first movement of piano trio by Schubert or Brahms. The 24 contestants represented several countries, including China, France, Germany, Japan, South Korea and the United States. In addition to the prize money, Ms. Kishima will also receive performance contracts with several international symphony orchestras. Sergei Dogadin of Russia was awarded the second prize of $50,000, and Sirena Huang of the United States took home the third prize of $25,000. The violinists Zakhar Bron of Russia and Boris Kuschnir of Austria were among the 13 who sat on the jury. The competition also presented an Isaac Stern Human Spirit Award of $10,000 each to two noncontestants: One, to Wu Taoxiang and Du Zhengquan, who founded the Einstein Orchestra, a middle-school ensemble in China, and the other to Negin Khpalwak, who directs an orchestra for women in Afghanistan, for their outstanding contribution to our understanding of humanity through the medium of music. HONG KONG In Canada, it is the Quebecois. In Spain, the Catalans. In Britain, the Scots. Now, China must deal with its own version of a democratically elected indigenous movement, elevated to positions of political power on Sunday in the only place in the authoritarian country where that is possible: Hong Kong. Six young people none older than 40 were elected to Hong Kongs legislature on platforms that called for the citys 7.3 million people to decide their own fate, a generation after Britain and China decided it for them by negotiating the handover of the onetime British colony to Chinese rule. These new legislators stand apart from more established and moderate pro-democracy lawmakers who for decades have tried to work with Beijing while pushing for expanded direct elections. Their success speaks to the cost in public opinion that Beijing has suffered for its steadfast refusal to compromise on popular demands for greater participation in the selection of Hong Kongs leader next year. Outside Hong Kong, the Chinese authorities can deal with independence-minded minorities with an iron fist, suppressing movements in Tibet and in the western region of Xinjiang, for example, that are pushing for more autonomy from Beijing. But in Hong Kong, political freedoms are protected until 2047 by a mini-constitution that China agreed to honor to regain sovereignty over the city in 1997. MANILA Rayzabell Bongol, an 18-year-old mother and methamphetamine user, was afraid to die in President Rodrigo Dutertes war on drugs in the Philippines. So she turned herself in to the police. They made her sign a pledge that she would never take illegal drugs again, then sent her home. Once a week now, she is expected to attend a police-sponsored Zumba dance workout, where she gets a health check and a meal. Mr. Duterte promised change, she said at a recent class as three dozen other recovering addicts bopped and swayed to a blaring Latin beat. As you can see, I am changing. Across the Philippines, the killing of some 1,300 drug suspects in the last two months has frightened hundreds of thousands of people like Ms. Bongol into turning themselves in. Officials cite the estimated 687,000 people who have surrendered, which vastly exceeded expectations, as evidence that Mr. Dutertes deadly campaign is succeeding. But the government is proving woefully unprepared to help the flood of users pledging to kick their habits, leaving almost all of them to battle addiction largely on their own. The countrys meager drug treatment facilities have been overwhelmed, creating a new crisis for Mr. Duterte as he presses ahead with his violent campaign to rid the nation of drug dealers. SEOUL, South Korea North Korea fired three ballistic missiles from the western town of Hwangju toward Japan shortly after noon on Monday, according to South Koreas Joint Chiefs of Staff. The launches came on the final day of the Group of 20 summit meeting, where the president of South Korea urged the Norths traditional allies, China and Russia, to help persuade it to end such provocations. The weapons were all Rodong-class medium-range missiles, which can fly about 620 miles, the Joint Chiefs said. They landed in the Sea of Japan 125 to 155 miles west of Hokkaido, the northernmost of Japans main islands, the Japanese Ministry of Defense said. The launches came four days before the 68th anniversary of the establishment of the North Korean government and a day after a new law went into effect in South Korea aimed at documenting human rights abuses in the North. President Obama canceled a meeting with President Rodrigo Duterte of the Philippines scheduled for Tuesday in Laos, after the Philippine president directed an expletive at Mr. Obama on Monday. On Tuesday, Mr. Duterte released a statement saying he regretted that his curse came across as a personal attack on the U.S. president. He blamed his words on certain press questions that elicited concern and distress. Mr. Duterte had warned Mr. Obama not to ask him about extrajudicial killings related to his crackdown on drug dealers, a campaign pledge that helped sweep him to victory in the countrys presidential election in May. I am a president of a sovereign state, and we have long ceased to be a colony, Mr. Duterte told reporters before he left his country for Laos, where he and Mr. Obama will attend the meeting of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations. I am a retired newspaperman. I am 69 and live in Poca, WV, with my wife of 45 years, Lou Ann. We grew up in Cleveland. Three kids. Grandfather. More on who I am is here. Report all errors to DonSurber@GMail.com SYDNEY, Australia A teenager who plotted to run over and behead a police officer during a holiday parade in Melbourne last year was sentenced on Monday to 10 years in jail. Sevdet Ramadan Besim, 19, of Hallam, a suburb of Melbourne in the state of Victoria, pleaded guilty in June to planning or preparing for a terrorist act on the holiday, Anzac Day, in 2015. He faced a maximum sentence of life in prison. Anzac Day, held every April 25, marks the landing of Australian and New Zealand forces in Turkey during the Gallipoli campaign of World War I. Last year was the centenary of the landing, and hundreds of thousands of Australians planned to gather for dawn services around the country to honor the battle in which many soldiers lost their lives. Victorias Supreme Court heard that Mr. Besim plotted online with a 14-year-old British boy who lived in Blackburn, in northwestern England, to run down and behead the officer. He also discussed loading a kangaroo with explosives, painting it with an Islamic State symbol and setting it free in the city. Mr. Besim was arrested in police counterterrorism raids in Melbourne a week before the plot was to be carried out. VIENTIANE, Laos The Obama administrations latest effort to broker a cease-fire in Syrias civil war fell short on Monday, after a 90-minute meeting between President Obama and President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia failed to resolve problems between them. Given the gaps of trust that exist, thats a tough negotiation, and we havent yet closed the gaps in a way where we think it would actually work, Mr. Obama declared at a news conference at the end of a Group of 20 summit meeting in Hangzhou, China. He did not describe the points of contention. Other officials have said they involve technical issues like how to staff checkpoints in combat areas. But the checkered history of Syrian cease-fires the United States agreed to one with Russia in February, only to watch it unravel weeks later has left the president deeply leery. On a day of diplomacy and history, Mr. Obama later flew to Laos, becoming the first sitting American president to visit this country, where children still stumble over unexploded bombs dropped by the United States during the Vietnam War. Having failed to halt the guns in Syria, Mr. Obama will seek reconciliation with the victims of a war long over. PARIS The encryption of digital information is considered the best protection against hackers, snoops or potential enemies looking to poke around into private exchanges of all sorts. That is why technology experts and privacy advocates in Europe went on high alert last month when the French Ministry of the Interior suggested that it might limit encryption as part of the fight against terrorist threats. That fear abated somewhat on Aug. 23 when the French interior minister, Bernard Cazeneuve, at a joint news conference with his German counterpart, Thomas de Maiziere, stepped back from a more sweeping proposal. Instead, he pressed for a coordinated international effort to get messaging services to comply with judicial warrants for information. Mr. Cazeneuve named one such service: Telegram, a three-year-old messaging application, that is a favorite of the Islamic State, also known as ISIS or ISIL, which has claimed responsibility for a series of terrorist attacks in Europe in recent years. LONDON Outlining the first, tentative details of how she intends to leave the European Union without damaging Britains economy, Prime Minister Theresa May on Monday ruled out the type of immigration curbs championed by prominent supporters of withdrawal before Junes referendum on quitting the bloc. In a news conference at the Group of 20 summit meeting in China, Mrs. May said Britain would not adopt the points-based system used by Australia, a model advocated by senior Leave campaigners, including Boris Johnson, now Britains foreign secretary. Under this system, migrants are rated according to age, education and other qualifications, with those scoring highest favored. Mrs. May, who has said little about her strategy for Britains exit from the European Union, or Brexit, said she would cut migration, but did so in reassuring tones. Emphasizing that Britons had opted for an element of control over the free movement of workers from the Continent, she said there were various ways that could be achieved. She also kept open the option of favoring Europeans over non-Europeans in any new migration system. Her comments highlight the difficult balancing act she faces now that her favored sound bite Brexit means Brexit has reached the end of its shelf life. She is facing a growing clamor for clarity on issues like migration curbs and calls to maintain the unfettered access to the European market that many businesses and financial institutions prize. BEIRUT, Lebanon Russian airstrikes helped the Syrian government and allied forces seize critical territory on the outskirts of the divided northern city of Aleppo on Monday, tightening a siege of rebel-held territory there as Russian and American officials joined meetings said to be aimed at hashing out access for humanitarian aid to the city. Intensifying battles raged across several fronts in Syrias multisided war, signaling that the combatants were seeking to press their advantage on the ground either to bypass the talks or strengthen their position at the table. The siege of rebel-held parts of Aleppo had been re-established on Sunday. Islamic State militants claimed a series of bombings that killed at least 40 people in four cities across Syria on Monday two cities held by the Syrian government and two held by Syrian Kurdish militias. The largest and most unusual attack was in Tartus, a coastal city that had been so calm that the Syrian Ministry of Tourism recently put out a promotional video showing its Mediterranean beaches. MARROW ISLAND By Alexis M. Smith 244 pp. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, $23. At a birthday dinner midway through Marrow Island, the main character, Lucie Bowen, a well-meaning but fragile journalist, shares fancy burgers and craft beers with her park ranger boyfriend. Its not unromantic; were interested in the same things: ecosystems and how humans use and interact with them, she says. But Lucies true romance is with Katie, her childhood friend, who has joined a mysterious colony on an island off the coast of Seattle. The place was devastated in 1993 by a massive earthquake; tremors ignited an oil refinery, killing Lucies father and soaking the soil in toxic chemicals. A secretive community of farmers, activists and apostate nuns seeks to remediate the land. This alluring novel explores the darkness of love, how it can cajole you into danger or tip your actions toward cruelty. Clean but intoxicating writing meets an increasingly dreamlike and disjointed plot. By the ambitious last scene a Tarantino-esque revenge fantasy, from Mother Natures perspective, and a departure from the sterilized language of ecosystems and how humans use and interact with them the world of craft beers and burgers feels far away. I WILL SEND RAIN By Rae Meadows 256 pp. Holt, $26. A book about Oklahoma in the 1930s demands a spare, harsh style to match the landscape. I Will Send Rain obliges with a grim portrait of a family weathering the Dust Bowl as naggingly evocative as grit in your mouth. Annie Bell is restless in her marriage and attracted to the handsome new mayor. Her daughter Birdie wants to leave for the city, but her relationship with a local farm boy tugs her in a different direction. Mute, delicate Fred the youngest has developed dust pneumonia. Convinced that God will flood the fields, Samuel Bell, the embattled patriarch, begins to build an ark. In my market, our people are going to travel, said Jack S. Ezon, president of Ovation Vacations. They may just change where theyre going this year. They said, All right, I can always go back to Paris. Why go this year? This year, lets explore something new. For so many of them, new and exotic became the Grand Canyon. Some have been to Luang Prabang or the Irrawaddy River and the Mekong, but theyve never been to Arizona. Airlines have done their part to stimulate European travel by dropping prices. The airfare prediction app Hopper found that this August, relative to August 2015, airfares dropped the most to Europe, by 22.5 percent, compared with other regions, including domestic. Weve seen incredible discounting to Europe over this last summer, and were still seeing traffic being weak, said Patrick Surry, chief data scientist with Hopper. He said that European searches were down by nearly a quarter over last year, with Mexico, Central America and United States destinations picking up that slack. Still, Europe has bright spots in places like Spain and Ireland. In the first half of the year, the online travel planner Expedia found its air traffic rise 20 percent to Madrid and Barcelona, and 33 percent to Dublin. Confirming those trends, Tourism Ireland said its year-to-date traffic from North America was up 18 percent in the first five months of the year, with year-over-year growth of 80,000 more North American visitors in May alone. The Tourist Office of Spain showed an increase of international visitors in June, up 12.7 percent over June 2015. For the first six months of 2016, Americans accounted for nearly 900,000 visitors to Spain, an increase of almost 8 percent over the same period last year. In every crisis theres an opportunity, said Mr. Ezon, who has sent many clients to Ibiza, Majorca, Andalusia and, for those interested in food, the Basque region. The iconic cities in general London, Paris and Rome are down. People are drawn to secondary cities for safety concerns. Alcee's and Patrick's hands and beverages FL-20 is one of the most heavily Democratic congressional districts in the country. The PVI is D+29 and Romney only got 17% of the vote there. 52% of the population is black and 21% is Latino. It's also the 408th poorest district of the country's 435 districts with a median income of $37,105-- more than $10,000 below the median income for the state of Florida. Only one district is worse off economically-- another bizarrely gerrymandered district , represented by Corrine Brown, who was just defeated by the voters after being indicted on 24 counts of fraud. The voters of FL-20 should consider doing what the voters of FL-05 just did: remove and replace their own corrupt congressman, Alcee Hastings. FL-20, which is a ridiculously contrived district drawn to gather up as many African-Americans in Southeast Florida as possible, creating a safer than safe black seat, while removing Democratic voters from the Republican-friendly 18th district. FL-20 includes much of the Everglades but that isn't where the voters live (although some voters live in the sugar growing areas around the southern shores of Lake Okeechobee). Most of the voters live in Broward county's black neighborhoods around Ft. Lauderdale-- Lauderhill, North Lauderdale, inland Pompano Beach, Tamarac, and Sunrise-- and in another outstretched arm west of ritzy West Palm Beach, again, black neighborhoods inland from the Treasure Coast. Republicans often don't even bother to run candidates against him and when they did in 2014, Hastings got 82% of the vote. His opponent this coming November, Gary Stein, hasn't even raised the $5,000 that would trigger an FEC filing, while Hastings had raised $614,441 by the August 10 filing deadline, only 3% of it from small contributions, most of his cash coming from big donors and PACs. Hastings, for example is the #1 recipient of campaign cash from the pay day lending industry , even more than his crooked ally Patrick Murphy. Over the course of his shady career in Congress no other Floridian has taken as much from the sugar barons as Hastings ( $283,000 ). Wherever there's some tainted cash being weaved around for Congress, Hastings is at the front of the line. But that shouldn't surprise anyone. The man has a history-- a shocking history that should have disqualified him from elective office long ago. Eager to appoint Florida's first African-American federal judge, in 1979 Jimmy Carter found Hastings, who had been a Broward County circuit court judge for just over a year. In 1981 Hastings was charged with soliciting a $150,000 bribe in exchange for giving a couple of mobsters, convicted felons Frank and Thomas Romano, light sentences. His co-cosnpirator and close friend, William Borders, took the fall for Hastings in the criminal trial and Borders went to prison. But it was so obvious that Hastings was a crook that the Democratic-controlled House impeached him on bribery and perjury charges by an astounding 413-3 vote. The House impeachment managers included Peter Rodino and John Conyers. The Senate then found him guilty and removed him from the federal bench, only the sixth federal judge in the history to be removed from office by the Senate. Bill Clinton pardoned Hastings on his last day in office (January, 2001). A special committee of the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals began a new probe into the Hastings case. The resulting three-year investigation ended with the panel concluding that Hastings did indeed commit perjury, tamper with evidence, and conspire to gain financially by accepting bribes. The panel recommended further action to the U.S. Judicial Conference, which, in turn, informed the House of Representatives on March 17, 1987, that Judge Alcee Hastings should be impeached and removed from office. On August 3, 1988, following an investigation by the House Judiciary Subcommittee on Criminal Justice, the House of Representatives voted 413 to 3 to adopt H. Res. 499, approving 17 articles of impeachment against Hastings, the greatest number of articles in any impeachment proceeding to date. Charges included conspiracy, bribery, perjury, falsifying documents, thwarting a criminal investigation, and undermining the public confidence "in the integrity and impartiality of the judiciary." The Senate received the articles on August 9, 1988. ...The Senate deliberated in closed session on October 19, 1989. The following day, the Senate voted on 11 of the 17 articles of impeachment, convicting Hastings, by the necessary two-thirds vote, on 8 articles (1-5, 7-9). On two articles (6, 17) the vote fell short of the required majority to convict. On article 11, the Senate voted 95 not guilty to 0 guilty. Having achieved the necessary majority vote to convict on 8 articles, the Senates president pro tempore (Robert C. Byrd) ordered Hastings removed from office. The Senate did not vote to disqualify him from holding future office. Why bring this up? I just requested that the Public Integrity Section of the FBI initiate an investigation of Patrick Murphy's parents buying an endorsement from Hastings for their son. There's more to it than that and I'll be blogging about it more thoroughly once I'm sure I'm allowed to be the FBI. But right now, let me just include information that is already public. On March 26, 2015 Hastings endorsed Patrick Murphy for the Democratic Party nomination for the U.S. Senate. Less than a month later on April 24, 2015, Leslie Murphy, Patrick's mother, made the maximum legal contribution of $5,400 to Hastings. Within two weeks, on May 5, 2015, Thomas P. Murphy, Jr., Patrick's father, also made the maximum legal contribution of $5,400 to Hastings for Congress. Clearly what happened here is that Patrick Murphy's parents entered into a scheme or artifice to defraud the people of Florida by purchasing an endorsement for their son and thereby denying the people of Florida the honest services of Representative Hastings. The purchased endorsement-- and another one I will discuss here at DWT soon-- had the effect of preventing Patrick Murphy's competitor for the Democratic Party nomination, Pam Keith, from receiving any assistance from the Congressional Black Caucus Political Action Committee. The federal anti-fraud statutes are extremely broad. They criminalize any "scheme or artifice to defraud." 18 U.S.C. 1341 (emphasis added). The statute is not limited to efforts to defraud another of money or tangible property. Congress amended the anti-fraud statutes in 1988 to define the phrase "scheme or artifice to defraud" to include specifically any effort to "deprive another of the intangible right of honest services." 18 U.S.C. 1346. The right to honest services includes the right to honest and impartial government. By purchasing endorsements for their son, Patrick, Mr. and Mrs. Murphy have used their wealth to unlawfully skew the political process and deny the people of Florida the honest services of Congressman Hastings. Accordingly, I requested that the Public Integrity Section and the FBI initiate an investigation of Thomas P. Murphy, Jr. and Leslie Murphy for multiple violations of 18 U.S.C. 1341 and 1346. And, by the way, Alcee isn't the only member of Congress named in my request to the FBI, because he wasn't the only member bribed by the Murphys. More on that soon. Auburn University is familiar with battling against a red tide, but this time, the foe is coastal red tides that have a significant negative impact on the environment and economy. Steven Mansoorabadi, an assistant professor in Auburns Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, has received a five-year, $703,000 CAREER Award from the National Science Foundation to study the problem. His project, Mechanistic and Biosynthetic Studies of Dinoflagellate Bioluminescence, looks at dinoflagellates, marine microorganisms found in coastal and freshwater environments that bioluminesce, or glow. Some species of dinoflagellates produce toxins, which can cause harmful algal blooms and cause coastal waters to become brown or red, known as red tides. Its very costly both to tourism and the seafood industry and is harmful to humans and marine life, said Mansoorabadi. It can be detrimental to the environment. Shellfish poisoning is often caused by dinoflagellate toxins, and even breathing in spray from affected waters could cause respiratory problems in humans. According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, every coastal state in the United States has suffered a red tide over the last decade. Harmful algal blooms occurring in U.S. marine waters are conservatively estimated to have an average annual cost of $82 million due to impacts on public health, tourism and the seafood industry. Mansoorabadi and his team are looking at a particular enzyme that causes the dinoflagellate to glow to better understand how the enzyme works and how it is regulated. Understanding the biochemical process by which the enzyme is made will allow the researchers to target a specific pathway to treat red tides. Once we have a better understanding of the enzyme, come the applications, said Mansoorabadi. We can then create algaecides for red tides and even use enzymes that glow as a biological tool for cell imaging and tracking infection in the body. The enzyme can really be developed for a number of potential applications. The enzyme is thought to produce light through chlorophyll, the photosynthetic pigment found in plants and algae. Theres an unknown pathway in which these dinoflagellates take chlorophyll and produce bioluminescent substrate, said Mansoorabadi. Were a biochemistry lab, so were trying to understand the fundamental biochemistry of what is going on and study these processes so we can rationally design a compound to inhibit their function. As far as I know, we are the only lab, nationally, to do this type of research. Woodland Hastings at Harvard University was a big contributor to this area prior to his death in 2014. In addition to studying red tides, Mansoorabadi uses part of the NSF funding to collaborate with two K-12 initiatives in Auburns College of Sciences and Mathematics AU Explore and the Summer Science Institute to teach and inspire students to pursue careers in the sciences. Bioluminescence is really a fascinating phenomenon, and it really gets kids excited about biology and chemistry and science in general, said Mansoorabadi. We have a lot of hands-on demonstrations and activities that the students can come out and see. For some of the younger students, its the first time these kids have been on a college campus, so they get to see what its all about. The NSF Faculty Early Career Development, or CAREER, program is a foundation-wide activity that offers the National Science Foundations most prestigious awards in support of junior faculty who exemplify the role of teacher-scholars through outstanding research, excellent education and the integration of education and research within the context of the mission of their organizations. Mansoorabadi is one of two CAREER Award winners from the College of Sciences and Mathematics for 2016. Its a very prestigious award, and its very humbling, said Mansoorabadi. Im excited that I was selected for the award, and that my science is appreciated by the scientific community. Bringing in the resources to continue this research is great. Prior to joining the faculty at Auburn University, Mansoorabadi was a postdoctoral fellow at the University of Texas, and he received a doctorate from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. For more information on Mansoorabadi, visit his website at http://www.auburn.edu/academic/cosam/faculty/chemistry/mansoorabadi/. The Republican Party-- especially although not exclusively the Trumpanzee Republican Party-- combines a hatred and bigtry wing with a greed and selfishness wing. And the chat between Dan Rather and Rachel Maddow in the video above focused on David Bossie from the former and Robert Mercer from the latter, both equally dangerous to the country and equally contemptible. The kind of people who support Trump and the same kinds of haters and sociopaths that supported the breakup of the U.S. leading up to the Civil War. But what that got to do with Hawaii? Well, it turns out Hawaii has it's own Trumpist candidate, Angela Kaaihue, running for... well, running for just about everything and anything. Last I could tell she was running for mayor of Honolulu and against Tulsi Gabbard as a Republican in the 2nd congressional district and as Democrat in the special election to fill the remainder of Mark Takai's freshman term in the 1st congressional district. Mark Takai died of cancer and Kaaihue had been running against him as the "candidate without cancer." She's a typically disgusting, revolting, completely narcissistic Trumpist who no one could imagine anyone voting for. Except she won the Republican primary for HI-02 a couple weeks ago, so several thousand people did vote for this hate-spewing racist monstrosity. Even before being disowned by the Republican Party of Hawaii a couple days ago, people were starting to get an understanding about the depths of depravity from which Kaaihue crawled out from. Friday, the Party chairman, Fritz Rohlfing, urged Republicans to disavow her candidacy and not vote for her. "I want it understood by the general public and the media that the recent inflammatory comments made by candidate for Congress (CD2) Angela Kaaihue do not represent the views, values, or the sentiments of our party and its members. Her vulgar, racially-bigoted, and religiously-intolerant descriptions of Democratic Party candidates are offensive, shameful, and unacceptable in public discourse. I unconditionally denounce her despicable statements." This is her: Hawaii's biggest voting block are Japanese Americans are she's denounced them. She's denounced all non-Christians, particularly Hindus, Buddhists and Muslims and has called them traitors to America. She claims her hateful campaign is a war between "the righteous and the unrighteous, between God and Satan... Angela means messenger of God. My whole family is Christian." Jesus must be rolling his eyes. This is from her bizarre and hate-filled Facebook account: She uses that Facebook account to insist her political opponents, like Congresswomen Gabbard and Hanabusa, Mayor Caldwell and Governor Ige are non-Christians devil worshipers. Last week, the Republicans finally kicked her out of the party altogether: The Hawaii Republican Party has terminated the membership of Angela Kaaihue, a controversial Congressional candidate who's made national headlines for her distasteful signs and vulgar social media posts. "In accordance with the rules of the Hawaii Republican Party, our party has terminated the membership of Ms. Kaaihue based on her public statements on social media that she is 'not a Republican,'" said party Chairman Fritz Rohlfing. "Additionally, Ms. Kaaihue has filed as a Democrat in the upcoming special election for the remainder of the term of the late U.S. Rep. Mark Takai in Congressional District 1. Kaaihue, who was previously running against incumbent U.S. Rep. Tulsi Gabbard, announced over the weekend she would be running as a Democrat in the special election. Meanwhile, Hawaiis Democratic Party said it would file a complaint with the First Circuit Court because Kaaihue is not a registered Democrat. In response, Kaaihue issued a statement inviting the legal challenge. "I'm not in violation of any policies," she said. "As far as I'm concerned, changing parties is construed as a positive thing." A lot of the vitriol from this sociopath and Trumpist seems to stem from a real estate dispute with Gov. Ige and she claims she'd be willing to drop out of the election contests if he'd drop his lawsuit against her. She's Donald Trump in a hula skirt and a lei. CLEVELAND Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump immersed themselves in on-the-ground campaigning Monday, bearing down on Ohio and sending surrogates to other swing states as the campaign turned to its final phase. With Clinton moving from a summer of fundraising back to retail campaigning, she and Trump crossed paths in Ohio, with their motorcades all but passing each other and the planes of the candidates and their running mates ending up on the tarmac of Cleveland Hopkins International Airport at the same time. While Clinton holds comfortable leads in many swing-state polls, she worked Monday to confront nagging doubts about her candidacy. She let the press corps onto her campaign plane for the first time this election cycle and met with them briefly to say hello; she gathered with union leaders in Cleveland while her husband, Bill Clinton, appeared at a Labor Day parade in Detroit; and she enlisted the help of her primary opponent, Sen. Bernie Sanders, who made his first solo appearance on Hillary Clintons behalf in an effort to draw out his supporters in New Hampshire. Trump invited reporters onto his personal plane, where he sought to clarify his views on immigration. He said he opposed any path to citizenship for the 11 million immigrants in the country illegally, but did not explicitly rule out a long-term path to legal status if the nations immigration system is overhauled. Were going to make that decision into the future, Trump said. But, he added, to become a citizen, you are going to have to go out and come back in through the process. Youre going to have to go out and get in line. This isnt touchback. You have to get in line. On the plane, Trump also told reporters that, as of this moment, he planned to attend all three debates, saying that only a natural disaster could make him change his mind. He added that, while he was preparing, he was not holding any mock debate sessions. Labor Day has traditionally been the beginning of a two-month sprint to Election Day, in which candidates try to seize voters attention as summer fades and debates loom. Monday proved no exception. At one point, all four presidential planes one each for Trump and his running mate, Gov. Mike Pence of Indiana, and Clinton and her No. 2, Sen. Tim Kaine of Virginia idled on the tarmac at Cleveland Hopkins International Airport, highlighting the importance of a state that Republicans believe Trump must win to have any chance of reaching the White House. Labor Day comes, and its kind of like a recalibration, said Beth Myers, who managed Mitt Romneys 2008 presidential campaign and served as his senior adviser in 2012. You see the finish line, you see that theres not too many game-changing events left, and most campaigns take a measure of where you are on Labor Day. This cycle, however, both candidates have eschewed traditional campaigning, albeit in divergent ways. Normally, they would already have been circling each other in swing states as autumn approaches. But Clinton has spent most of the summer away from the campaign trail, focusing on fundraising in places like the Hamptons and Beverly Hills with celebrities like Jimmy Buffett and Harvey Weinstein. Trump has also kept a languid pace, favoring large rallies, often in the evening, over several daily campaign stops. Trump, a political novice, and Clinton, a veteran politician, face the challenge of confronting historically low approval ratings among voters for whom they are well-known commodities. Labor Day used to be this big, important marker in the campaign season, said Amy Walter, national editor at the nonpartisan Cook Political Report. A kickoff, if you will. Today, it feels like the start of the third quarter instead of the kickoff. Bernie Sanders, the runner-up for the Democratic presidential nomination, said Sunday that the threshold should probably be lower for third-party candidates like Libertarian Gary Johnson to take part in the fall debates. Sanders, an independent senator from Vermont, was asked about the current 15 percent polling threshold during an appearance on NBCs Meet the Press. Probably too high, said Sanders, who is set to return to the campaign trail Monday in New Hampshire on behalf of Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton. Johnson, a former governor of New Mexico, has reached double digits in some national polls but does not appear likely to clear the bar of 15 percent set as a participation requirement by the Commission on Presidential Debates. The commission looks at an average of recent polls to make a determination. Green Party candidate Jill Stein is likely to fall well short of meeting the participation requirements before the first of three debates between Clinton and Republican nominee Donald Trump, scheduled for Sept. 26 at Hofstra University in Hempstead, New York. BEIRUT Turkish troops and Syrian rebels on Sunday pushed the Islamic State out of the remaining stretch of territory the group had controlled along the Turkish-Syrian border, severing the militants last access to the outside world. Since 2013, when the group announced its formation, it has had territory bordering a NATO state Turkey but the sweep by Turkish forces and rebels fighting under the umbrella of the Free Syrian Army has brought that to an end. According to the official Turkish news agency Anadolu, the Turkish army helped Syrian rebel allies secure 57 miles of border territory stretching from the Syrian towns of Azaz and Jarabulus by ejecting the militants from a string of villages on Sunday. The Islamic States defeat in the border area had been inevitable since Turkey dispatched troops and tanks into Syria on Aug. 24 into Syria to support a long-stalled Syrian rebel offensive there, bringing new muscle to the fight. But their removal from the border nonetheless marks a symbolically important moment in the war against the militants, who had long relied on their access to Turkey for supplies. Above all, the border had served as the main conduit for the foreign fighters who have swarmed to participate in the militants ambitious experiment in Islamic governance, formalized in 2014 into what the groups leadership termed a caliphate. The traffic went both ways, and operatives who participated in attacks in Turkey as well as Paris and Belgium had crossed back across the border from Islamic State territory. At one point the militants controlled towns along a stretch of the border spanning hundreds of miles. But they have been steadily pushed back by the efforts of the different groups working against them, including the Kurds farther east and the Syrian rebels in locations farther west. The conquest came as President Barack Obama pledged support for Turkeys stepped-up role in the fight against the militants after meeting with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan at the Group of 20 summit in China. The Turkish government has made it clear that its incursion into Syria is also intended to prevent Syrian Kurds from expanding the areas under their control. In comments to reporters after meeting Obama, Erdogan reiterated that the Kurds are as much of a target of Turkeys Syria intervention as the Islamic State. Turkeys fight against all terror organizations including Daesh and YPG will continue with determination, he said, referring to the Islamic State and the main Syrian Kurdish militia, the Peoples Protection Units. Democrats hoping to seize the U.S. House majority this fall need Donald Trumps help. More precisely, they need a historic anti-Trump landslide. Thats because to have any chance of winning the 218 seats needed for a majority, Democrats would have to defeat supposedly safe Republicans like Representative Kevin Yoder in Kansas. Thats no easy task, since Yoder won re-election by 20 percentage points in 2014. Republicans will lose the House if Yoder loses, Patrick Miller, a University of Kansas political scientist, said of the three-term conservative congressman who represents the Kansas City suburbs. Yoders district is exactly the kind that makes the prospect of dislodging the Republican majority so daunting. It was redrawn in 2012, stripping out liberal voters from the county that includes the the town of Lawrence and the University of Kansas and leaving it firmly conservative. The House is full of such seats engineered to stay in Republican or Democratic hands, which helps explain why at least 90 percent of House incumbents won re-election in 2012 and 2014. Democratic and Republican campaign strategists, academics and other independent political scientists identified Yoders race as an example of the kind of long-shot contests that Democrats must win to recapture the House majority they lost in 2010. Others include seats held by Darrell Issa of California and an open seat in a conservative Indiana district. At this point, Republicans seem likely to hold onto all three of those seats. I think Yoder and Issa are unlikely to lose, but Trumps volatility at the top of the ticket and Democrats interest in the races make them worth keeping an eye on, said Nathan Gonzales, editor and publisher of the Rothenberg and Gonzales Political Report. Seeking 30 seats Congressional Democrats are doing their best to aggressively tie Republican congressional candidates closely to their partys controversial presidential candidate. Still, they would need a net gain of 30 seats to reverse what is currently the largest Republican majority since 1928 247 seats to 186. Two seats, formerly held by Democrats, are vacant. More realistically, party strategists and independent experts are predicting a net pickup of about 12 to 16 seats even if Hillary Clinton soundly defeats Trump. Democrats could oust Republicans in upstate New York, Illinois, Nevada, Florida, Colorado, Pennsylvania, Virginia, Iowa, Minnesota and Texas. Even Democratic vice presidential nominee Tim Kaine has said he expects the House to remain in Republican hands, though the margin will be narrowed. Some jitters Yoder is running against a local businessman and political newcomer, Jay Sidie. Still, the incumbent has been exhibiting some public concern over Trumps standing in his district, as well as jitters over the plummeting popularity of his states Republican governor, Sam Brownback. In fact, Yoders campaign manager, Cate Duerst, points out the congressman has taken the unusual step of publicly releasing an internal poll showing him with a 53-36 percentage point lead on Sidie. That was part of a campaign memo boasting also that Yoder is out-raising his opponent $2.18 million to $73,000 at the end of the latest reporting period. Buried in the numbers is that Trump currently trails Clinton in the district, 44-38. Bottom line: Even though Donald Trump does not score well here, neither does the prospect of Democratic control of the House of Representatives, Neil Newhouse, of Public Opinion Strategies, wrote in the memo. Trumps unpopularity Indeed, Trumps unpopularity in Johnson County, outside of Kansas City, cannot be good news for Yoder, said Michael Smith, a political science professor at Emporia State University in Emporia, Kansas. And he added, I wouldnt rule out the possibility of Hillary winning Johnson County, which would be the first time since the state was incorporated that the county has voted for a Democrat. While low Republican voter turnout could hurt Yoder, Smith said that local Democrats have been very lax about organizing voter-registration efforts in some parts of Yoders district, which he called bad news for Democrats. For Sidie to win in Johnson County, Smith said, he has to do more than link Yoder to Trump - he has to find some negatives and go after Yoder himself. Miller says that apart from the negative splash several years ago caused by Yoder skinny-dipping late at night with other House Republicans in the Sea of Galilee during a trip to Israel, hes been a pretty low-profile, noncontroversial Republican. Issas outlook Issa also should be able to hold onto this district north of San Diego, barring a Trump-related tidal wave. The founder of the nations largest car-alarm maker is best known in Congress as the former Oversight and Government Reform Committee chairman who kept up a ubiquitous media presence during his string of jabs at the Obama administration on topics including Benghazi and the Internal Revenue Service. Hell would certainly have to freeze over for Darrell Issa to lose, said Thad Kousser, a political scientist at the University of California, San Diego. But then, he added, if there were ever an election year in which Issa was at risk, it is the year that Donald Trump is on the ballot. Issa, one of Congress most wealthy members, won re-election in 2014 by nearly 21 percentage points and in 2012 by nearly 17 points. But the Republican edge in his district has been shrinking. And the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee has released poll numbers showing Trump is unpopular in the district, with 60 percent viewing him unfavorably. Some polls show Clinton even leading Trump in the district. In addition, there are openings for voters to link Issa directly to Trump, including his role as a Trump delegate to the Republican National Convention. Issa has tried to keep some distance from his partys nominee, with campaign spokesman Calvin Moore noting that Issa has been a critic of Trumps style and divisive language. The voters in his district know him well as in independent voice in Washington with a proven record of holding administrations accountable regardless of who was in the White House, Moore said in an e-mailed statement. That trend will continue. The problem for challenger Doug Applegate is that California wont play a big role in the national presidential election, said Kousser. Since Democrats arent worried about defending California, they arent likely to spend time and money in the state for Clinton, he said, which could limit a spillover effect for Applegate. If youre a party trying to decide where to spend money, you are not going to spend it on a dream, he said. I've been sitting around with my attorney trying to figure out how to get the al-Rashid family into court for corrupting American politics. It's worth repeating that a serious Al-Rashid scandal is starting to burn Patrick Murphy and other politicians who have gotten into bed with him. The background that everyone knows is that a close friend of Murphy's, Ibrahim Al-Rashid, an investment broker and the son of one of the most powerful Saudi billionaires, gives immense amounts of money to Patrick, married Patrick's finance director, beat her up and was convicted of battery and drew a sentence of one year's probation. People are less aware that several sons of that Saudi billionaire, Nasser Al-Rashid, one of the Saudi royal family's closet advisors, have poured hundreds of thousands of dollars into the campaign coffers of some of the most easily corruptible conservative Democrats, particularly Patrick Murphy, of course, who sits on the House Intelligence Committee and on a subcommittee which the Saudi government is very interested, the Department of Defense Intelligence and Overhead Architecture Subcommittee. Some of the money Ibrahim Al-Rashid has given Murphy is legal and some extremely-- and he has also been giving money to congressional crooks Murphy has wanted to funnel money to for his own purposes. Ibrahim married Murphy's campaign finance director, Morgan Budman, although earlier he had given many thousands of dollars for her and to her relatives in Bucks County, Pennsylvania to contribute to Murphy's campaign, a serious federal offense. He also gave large sums to other people to contribute to Murphy, like his maid,all of which is highly illegal. The legal contributions that Ibrahim gave Murphy amounted to approximately $16,000 directly, $100,000 to Murphy's American Sunrise PAC (run by Murphy's crooked Republican father), $180,000 to the Pelosi-run House Majority PAC, $35,800 to the DCCC, $6,000 to the DSCC and $100,000 to Harry Reid's Senate Majority PAC, specifically earmarked for Murphy's race. (He's also contributed several thousand dollars directly to Reid himself.) Over the weekend-- as a brighter light has been shone on Al-Rashid-- Reid decided to return the $100,000 Senate Majority PAC contribution to Al-Rashid. Murphy claims to have donated his $16,000 to a charity for battered women after Rashid was convicted of beating his wife/Murphy's finance director to within an inch of her life. But Murphy has refused to disgorge the $100,000 made directly to his SuperPAC. Wassermann Schultz, Eric Swalwell, Joe Garcia, Steve Israel, the DCCC, Pelosi and Charlie Crist have also so far refused to get rid of the tainted money. Murphy cronies, most of whom play fast and loose on the ethics front, who have accepted Ibrahim Al-Rashid's bribes include: Nasser Al-Rashid himself-- the father (also a notorious woman abuser, particularly of Ibrahim's mother who wrote a book about it)-- has given over $1,000,000 to the Clinton Library. Nasser's other sons are in on it as well. This cycle, Mohammed Al-Rashid, who uses the pseudonym "Moose" Al-Rashid, gave two fat checks to Murphy, both on June 2, 2015, one for $2,700 and one for $2,300. Another brother, Salman, also contributes to the same clown-show of candidates in Murphy's orbit: And then there's Ramzi, who gave Patrick Murphy another $5,000 in Al-Rashid money. Both before and after she married Ibrahim, Morgan Budman was contributing large amounts of money to the same corrupt Democrats the Al-Rashid family had decided to buy into, especially Murphy, but many of Murphy's cronies as well, especially Wasserman Schultz, Charlie Crist, Ted Deutch and Alcee Hastings. So... now that Harry Reid has given back the $100,000 in tainted money, what about the DSCC, the DCCC, Pelosi's House Majority PAC and all the dirty little corruptionists like Wasserman Schultz and Bera? And what about that $100,000 that went to Murphy's SuperPAC? And will there be a serious investigation into what information the Saudi government wants from House Intelligence Committee member Patrick Murphy that would make them spend so many hundreds of thousands of dollars on his career?Back in late March, Max Fisher, writing forasked some salient questions about how Saudi Arabia captured our government and why the American foreign policy establishment has aligned itself with an ultra-conservative dictatorship that often acts counter to US values and interests. He never got around to Murphy.When Obama criticized Saudi Arabia's treatment of women and its practice of promoting fundamentalism abroad and suggested the Saudis would have to learn to "share" the Middle East with its adversary, Iran, the DC foreign policy establishment-- much of which is as paid off by the Saudis as Patrick Murphy is-- went ape-shit. Whereas Obama's material support for a disastrous Saudi-led war had drawn little protest in Washington, his words of muted criticism for Saudi Arabia provoked days of sustained outrage. His comments were denounced as "play[ing] the blame game"; "betraying a grievous misunderstanding of what it means to be the worlds No. 1"; "the mark of a careless and clumsy amateur"; "turn[ing] allies overboard"; "overweening arrogance"; blaming others for his own failures; comparable to Donald Trump; and so on. The moment was just the latest manifestation of something strange about Washington's foreign policy community: It is deeply, viscerally committed to defending and advocating for the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, a country whose authoritarian government, ultra-conservative values, and extremist-promoting foreign policy would seem like an unusual passion project for American foreign policy professionals. That advocacy has consequences. Though Saudi Arabia often acts counter to US interests, for example by working against US policy in the Middle East and by funding extremists, the US still provides direct support for Saudi actions that undermine the regional stability America desires, for example by backing the Yemen war against Americans' better judgment. The Obama administration decided on its own to support that war, and for reasons beyond how it would play on Massachusetts Avenue. But that decision, like so many before it, was informed by a culture in Washington that encourages nearly any action in support of Saudi Arabia and punishes any aberration. Why is this? What explains the Washington consensus in favor of Wahhabist autocrats who often act counter to American values and interests? Some in the Obama administration, based on what they told The Atlantic (and on my own conversations with administration officials), seem to believe the answer is money: that Saudi Arabia and other oil-rich Arab states have purchased loyalty and influence. But the truth may be subtler than that-- and say as much about innate Washington biases as about any foreign-bought influence. When I asked members of the DC-based foreign policy community what was driving this, they described an establishment whose preexisting worldview-- a natural preference for the status quo and the familiar, a mythology of welcomed American hegemony-- naturally aligns with Saudi Arabia's. But they also pointed to ways in which Gulf money, in recent years, has come to distort Washington's conversations about the Middle East. (All asked to speak anonymously, given the subject's sensitivity.) Everyone I spoke to emphasized that the pro-Saudi views expressed in Washington are earnestly held; no one is ordered by foreign funders to express a certain viewpoint. Rather, they described a subtler role, in which money amplifies preexisting norms and habits that favor a pro-Saudi consensus, deepening a bias that would exist in the absence of that money but would not be quite as strongly held or widely expressed. All agreed that this bias, whatever its causes, is a serious problem for Washington, hindering the United States' ability to understand, and navigate, a rapidly changing Middle East. And in a town where everything is debated, it's one of the few things that most people would rather not discuss. ...The New York Times, that year, published an investigation on foreign government funding at think tanks, which the paper found had risen dramatically. It identified millions in donations going to many of Washington's most influential institutions, which were "producing policy papers, hosting forums and organizing private briefings for senior United States government officials that typically align with the foreign governments agendas." The Times investigation detailed several incidents in which donations from foreign governments had seemed to directly influence think tank behavior: Saleem Ali, a former visiting scholar at the Brookings center in Qatar, said he had been told not to write critically of the Qatari government. Emails between the Center for Global Development and the Norwegian government seemed to indicate a quid pro quo in which Norway would "donate" to CGD, which in turn would help persuade US government officials to increase funding for global forest protection efforts by $250 million. The Japanese government gave to CSIS, which now sponsors Japanese officials as "visiting scholars" who are granted access to US government officials by way of CSIS events and preexisting relationships. The United Arab Emirates, also a CSIS donor, got its ambassador to the US invited to participate on a public panel alongside then-Chairman of the Joint Chiefs Martin Dempsey, whom the ambassador grilled about US commitments to the UAE. ...[E]veryone I spoke to was careful to point out that this pro-Saudi status quo bias would exist even in the absence of foreign funding. But they saw Gulf money as amplifying that trend, perhaps significantly, along with the voices that just happened to echo the pro-Saudi conventional wisdom. "It would not completely disappear in the absence of that money," one of the Washington experts told me. "People earnestly believe that the American interest is best served by maintaining the status quo, supporting Israel, containing Iran." This status quo order was probably never going to last, and began disintegrating in 2011 with the Arab Spring, which saw Islamist and populist politics rising as the reliable old dictatorships fell. The familiar old order began to disappear. And that order had served few better than it did for the United States and Saudi Arabia. For many Middle East hands in Washington, who have presided over this status quo throughout their professional lives, this change is unsettling, and has sparked an understandable desire to hold on to whatever remains of the old order. "Democracy's become a bad word again," one expert told me. "It's all about stability. And the Saudis are equated with stability." Because the US-Saudi alliance was always a central pillar to American strategy, preserving the alliance is sometimes treated as synonymous with preserving the pro-American order. ..."There's a broad consensus in wanting things to be the way they were before," one DC-based Middle East expert said. "That means the US alliance with Israel and with Gulf states to contain Iran, fight terrorism, and keep the oil flowing," the expert went on. "That's been US foreign policy for 50 years. Obama is trying to do different things. So what you're seeing is a pro-Saudi position that's also the foreign policy establishment position." Because the old order was so aligned with Saudi interests, Washington's status quo bias is expressed as a pro-Saudi bias. When the foreign policy community calls for maintaining the old alliance structure, isolating Iran, and staving off Islamist movements, these are all core Saudi interests. But, more than that, the Saudis and other Gulf states tend to describe the world, and America's place in it, in terms that many members of Washington's foreign policy community badly want to hear. I am often asked why Washington's foreign policy consensus can seem unusually inclined to interventionism and other assertive foreign policy positions, and why, compared with other policy fields, it is relatively bereft of more libertarian-minded scholars. To me, the answer has always seemed obvious: You are more drawn to the study and practice of American foreign policy if you believe that American involvement abroad is generally a force for good. Saudi Arabia and other Gulf states share this belief. They explicitly desire American hegemony over their region because it serves their interests, helping to maintain their rule at home and their outsize influence abroad. When you speak to officials from those countries, they sound practically like Ronald Reagan, describing American power projection in the world as necessary and indeed welcome. "I think I believe in American power more than Obama does," Jordan's King Abdullah II is quoted as saying in the Atlantic's story. This is a common view among American allies, who have come to rely on American security reassurances, who know that the United States has an enormous budget and military that can help solve their problems for them, and who, for years, have been listening to Americans tell them that the United States will and should be in charge. For American foreign policy professionals who share this belief, their attitudes are rooted in idealism and optimism about the role of US power, along with a self-affirming belief in the intrinsic good of American hegemony. For Gulf states, it is a matter of cold, strategic self-interest-- American power is not just useful for them, but perhaps necessary for propping up their own regimes, which are often anachronistic autocracies and enjoy far more regional power than they would otherwise. The point is that both groups share a worldview that privileges, to an unusual degree, the assertion of American power and that fears the consequences of American inaction. This worldview, for Americans, is rooted as much in foreign policy doctrine as it is in something of mythology. In our mythos, hegemony over the Middle East is fondly but falsely remembered as more stable, more welcome, and more durable than it actually was or is. American power projection in the Middle East, whose track record has been mixed at best, is considered not just a useful tool but an intrinsic good in itself. In that mythology, the American unipolar moment after the Cold War was peaceful not because of the absence of great-power conflict or proxy warfare, but for the far more idealistic and appealing reason that the assertion of American power is inherently virtuous and stabilizing. In this view, the root cause of any problem in the world must therefore be an absence of American power projection, and the solution, therefore, is always more American power. For decades, American foreign policy makers have been trying to convince US allies, including those in the Gulf, to buy into this mythology. Many did, and grew to rely on the consequences of that worldview. Now those in the Gulf are spending heavily to persuade Washington of its own mythology. Many people in Washington, ever willing to hear their own wisdom repeated back to them, including and perhaps especially when that wisdom appears falsified by reality, are listening. Returning a book late at the local library usually gets you a scolding by the librarian, or maybe your permit revoked for repeat offenses, but failing to turn in a book on time at one Alabama library could actually land you in jail for 30 days. With over $200,000 worth of overdue books to recuperate, the Athens-Limestone public library in Athens, Alabama, is taking extreme measures to deter patrons from returning borrowed books and DVDs way later than they should. Executive Director Paula Laurita announced that the library will be enforcing a new policy that includes fines of up to $100, a city jail sentence of 30 days, or possibly both. She added that the seemingly exaggerated rules were necessary to stop people from effectively stealing from taxpayers. We have too many outstanding books that havent been returned. People with several hundred dollars worth of library materials that are sitting at home, Laurita told WAAY31. Sometimes we hear, I lent my library card to my cousin. I just want to ask, Would you lend your cousin your credit card? If they go and get $700 worth of clothing and youre responsible for the bill, would you do that?' Photo: WAAY31 video screengrab You might ask how the Athens-Limestone public library ended up with $200,000 in missing books, to which Paula Laurita answers that its because people can end up owing significant sums of money because they are able to borrow up to 25 books, which could be worth around $25 each. Luckily for borrowers too lazy to return books on time, Laurita clarified that the potential jail sentence is not the librarys first step in its attempt to set things straight. Its not our first step. Our first step is to have a good relationship with our patrons and remind them to bring everything back, she said. People with overdue materials will first receive a reminder via text or email. If they ignore those, theyll also get a certified letter stating that they have 10 days to return the librarys property. If that doesnt do the trick, a court summons will be issued and ignoring that can result in hefty fines or even jail time, in extreme cases. Minors will not be targeted by the policy, however. Athens Police Chief Floyd Johnson told WAAY31 that they have made a few arrests for overdue books in the past, but it has not been a common occurrence. Im thinking that may change once the library starts enforcing the new rules. Getting arrested for failing to return a book or DVD. That should make for an interesting what are you in for, bro story in jail A Filipino teen who once paid just 500 pesos ($10.74) for cosmetic procedures on his nose and chin has been regretting his decision ever since, as the intervention left him disfigured. Ever since he was 16 years old, Ellowe Alviso had been using his good looks as a source of income, by landing various modelling jobs. About three years ago, he decided to increase his chances of being selected for modelling gigs by enhancing his facial features. However, he also wanted to save some money, so instead of going to a certified plastic surgery clinic, he got in touch with Kasheca Magallanes, a transgender nurse who was allegedly well-versed in cosmetic procedures. She agreed to work on his face for just 500 Philippine Pesos, which was apparently too good an offer to pass up. Unfortunately, Ellowe would live to regret his decision. The young man says Kasheca injected a fluid which she claimed was collagen into his nose and chin, and actually managed to alter his face according to his specifications. He was happy with the results, and apparently so were his modelling employers, as soon after having the work done on his face, Ellowe started getting booked for more projects than he previously had been. Everything was well until around 2 years after the surgery, when he noticed both his nose and chin had become deformed. Soon, modelling jobs stopped coming in, and his nose began to swell. When he finally decided to go to the hospital and have his nose and chin checked out by real doctors, he learned that the liquid that had been injected into his face was a mix of wax, petroleum jelly, and sealant. It had granulated and hardened over time, eventually causing facial deformities. His body had also begun rejecting it, so it had to be removed. The emergency surgery left him looking even worse than before. Ellowes tragic story made headlines in the Philippines last year, but was just recently reported in English by ABS-CBN News. The young man has apparently spent the last year trying to fix the damage to his face and attempting to bring Kasheca Magallanes to justice. He originally contacted the alleged beautician about covering at least half of his hospital expenses, since she was the one responsible for the botched procedure, but that only made her mad. She cursed me and threatened my life. She accused me of tarnishing her reputation, Alviso told reporters. Since his pleas didnt have the desired effect, Ellowe filed an Illegal Practice of Medicine case against Kasheca. Authorities have put out a warrant for the arrest of the transgender nurse, and are now trying to track her down. As if his disfigured face wasnt hard enough to deal with, Ellowe Alviso also had to cope with the death of his aunt, who had helped raise him, and being kicked out of his home after his stepfather died, all in just one year. Unable to support himself with modelling commissions, he reportedly had to sell ballut boiled duck eggs with partially formed chicks for a living. With his modelling days now behind him, Ellowe has been trying to make some extra cash by moonlighting as a Halloween character, and photos on his Instagram account show him with his face painted and wearing scary costumes. But despite all his been through, the former male model hasnt given up home that he will one day regain his dashing looks. An Instagram post from four months ago shows him getting ready for his seventh facial reconstruction surgery. He has been asking for support and donations for upcoming operations, via social media. Sources: ABS-CBN News, Today in Manila, Coconuts 5/9/2016 - Leaders of the G20 countries meeting at their Summit in Hangzhou, China, have called on the OECD to help develop an agenda to build a stronger, more innovative and inclusive world economy. The leaders endorsed a series of Action Plans to implement their growth strategies covering a broad swathe of policy areas from innovation and skills to entrepreneurship and investment finance; from improving productivity and trade to tackling money laundering, combatting tax avoidance and reducing overcapacity in the steel sector. A central focus of Chinas G20 presidency has been the need to identify new driving forces for economic growth. The OECD has contributed ideas, analysis and data in support of the Presidency's goal to integrate an Innovation Action Plan which aims to support investment in science and technology, improve skills and encourage the exchange of knowledge. In their communique, the leaders welcomed the work by the OECD and other international organisations on the measurement of the digital economy and committed to expand broadband access and investment in the information, communications and technology (ICT) sector. They also urged countries to seize the opportunities of the so-called New Industrial Revolution, particularly those offered by new technology in manufacturing. They agreed to strengthen cooperation and research and to support workers most affected by technological change. OECD Secretary-General Angel Gurria said: China is to be congratulated for placing innovation at the heart of their G20 presidency. It is important to not just repair the problems of the past but to lay the foundations for future growth growth that will to a large extent be driven by new ideas and technologies. The urgent need to harness new sources of economic dynamism was underlined to Summit leaders by Mr Gurria. The global economy remains stuck in a low-growth trap, he said. Eight years after the start of the crisis unemployment and inequality remain high. Growth in wages and productivity is weak while trade and investment is low. Despite a 2014 G20 commitment monitored by the OECD and IMF to raise global GDP by an additional 2% by 2018, measures implemented so far will only add around 1%. We are only halfway there, said Mr Gurria. Calling for full implementation of the G20 countries growth commitments, he added: Structural reforms to promote product market competition, skills upgrading, labour mobility, and financial market robustness are critical to create an environment conducive to the innovation needed to kick-start productivity and bolster long-term, inclusive growth. To counter a rising risk of protectionism, the G20 leaders said they would endeavour to build an open world economy by strengthening trade and investment cooperation. OECDs contributions in this area have included helping to draw up guiding principles for investment policy-making and providing analysis to support government efforts to reduce unnecessary trade costs, open services markets, and prioritise trade facilitation measures. Investment is the lagging engine of the world economy, and the G20 underscored its important role for a more dynamic global growth. The Secretary-General told G20 leaders that effective implementation of reform was already bearing fruit in the areas of tax transparency and in tackling evasion and avoidance. So far 85 nations and jurisdictions including many developing countries have committed to implement and monitor the Base Erosion and Profit Shifting (BEPS) project through a new G20/OECD Inclusive Framework. The BEPS project closes gaps that allow corporate profits to disappear or to be artificially shifted to low or no tax environments. Meanwhile, 101 jurisdictions will automatically exchange financial account information by 2018. Already countries have identified almost 55 billion euros in additional tax revenues thanks to voluntary disclosure and similar programmes. Leaders asked the OECD to prepare a list of non-cooperative jurisdictions by their Summit in 2017. On tax reform, as across all the Action Plans discussed by the leaders, robust implementation and coherence among participating countries will be crucial, as the challenges of an increased integrated global economy require continued cooperation. Gabriela Ramos, the OECDs Chief of Staff and Sherpa to the G20, said: The OECD is proud to have been a strategic partner of the Chinese G20 Presidency across a range of policy areas. Going forward, we will facilitate the new G20 Task Force on Innovative Growth, and provide a venue to discuss issues such as steel over-capacity. She also emphasised OECD contributions on other important areas such as the role of skills and training, on investment in infrastructure, and support to small and medium-sized enterprises. The G20 Action Plan for sustainable development was given a boost on the eve of the Summit when the US and China, the worlds two largest economies, announced they would formally ratify the Paris Climate Change Agreement. The two countries also released peer reviews of their fossil fuel subsidies a move welcomed by the OECD, which had chaired the peer review process. The OECD also contributed analysis on green finance, including green bonds, institutional investors and investment governance. Further information on the OECDs comprehensive contribution to the work of the G20 is available at www.oecd.org/G20 or contact andreas.schaal@oecd.org. More information on the G20 Hangzhou Summit and the final communique is available here. Journalists can also contact the OECD Media Division (news.contact@oecd.org; tel: + 33 1 4524 9700). Working with over 100 countries, the OECD is a global policy forum that promotes policies to improve the economic and social well-being of people around the world. Related Documents The IPI Conference takes place in Athlone on Thursday and Friday (14 -15 April) and the theme is Implementation and Engagement: Planning in a New Era. By Damian Moran e-mail: damian@offalyexpress.ie Twitter: @offaly_express Tara Buckley, Director General RGDATA will speak on Sustainable Retail Development and Irish Towns. In her address to the Conference, Tara Buckley, calls for the development of a National Town Centre Management Strategy that would include mandatory Town Centre Health Checks: Highlights of the presentation include: Ireland needs a National Town Centre Management Strategy and Irelands professional planners need to be to the fore in developing the strategy and rolling it out. We all must learn lessons from the past if we want to arrest the decline in Irish towns and villages There is a need for Local Authorities to step up to the plate in driving town centre regeneration First step towards Town centre revival is a National Strategy on Town Centre Health Checks Targeted Urban regeneration tax schemes will be required to kick start investment The German and British multiples model of retailing comes at a price for Irish towns "We all know that a lot of our 'ugly planning' has been driven by people who are not professional planners. Local Authorities have a central responsibility to drive new initiatives to regenerate towns. A key step to assist them is the adoption of a National Strategy on Town Centre Management. To do this properly we must start with Town Centre Health Checks. RGDATA and the Heritage Council have devised a draft Town Centre Health Check pilot strategy to assist in the development of Town Plans. Town centre revival will not happen if we do not develop policies that encourage people to live in town centres. New urban regeneration tax schemes will be required to kick-start investment in some towns and villages. Out-of-town and edge of town retail development act as a counter-attraction to town centres and suck trade from town centre businesses. If these are the models of retailing that Irish people want to support, then they must be aware of the collective societal price in terms of desolate towns and villages said Tara Buckley. Oaklands Community College, Edenderry, Co Offaly, was named Irelands Fittest School in the Aviva Health Schools Fitness Challenge 2014 for the second year running while Tullamore College, Co Offaly, has been named as the Most Improved Mixed School. Overall Offaly was named as the second fittest county. Oaklands Community College, Edenderry, Co Offaly, was named Irelands Fittest School in the Aviva Health Schools Fitness Challenge 2014 for the second year running while Tullamore College, Co Offaly, has been named as the Most Improved Mixed School. Overall Offaly was named as the second fittest county. Devised by Professor Niall Moyna from the Centre of Preventive Medicine in Dublin City University and the Wellness Economic Initiative Alliance, the Aviva Health Schools Fitness Challenge, invited secondary schools throughout the country to make physical fitness a national priority by assessing the fitness levels of junior cycle secondary school students over a six week period through a bleep test. Students who completed the Challenge experienced, on average, a 19% improvement in their fitness levels. A total of 13,067 students (7,242 boys and 5,825 girls) from 26 counties across Ireland successfully completed the challenge. Not only were improvements in fitness observed among the students after the relatively short period of exercise intervention, but the results show that boys are now 45% fitter than girls compared to 60% fitter last year, meaning that girls are closing the gap in fitness levels compared to boys. The Challenge also showed that boys completed an average of 67 shuttles compared to 62 last year, an increase of just over 8%, with girls completing, on average, four more shuttles than last year to reach 42, representing a 10.86% improvement on 2013. The results also show an increase in numbers of children who completed the programme compared to last year when 8,047 undertook the challenge, with 2,852 more boys and 2,168 more girls than last year. Oaklands Community College (last years Fittest School) showed a modest improvement between their two bleep test scores this year to be named Irelands Fittest School again According to Prof Moyna of DCU, Aviva Healths Schools Fitness Challenge highlights the importance of cardiovascular fitness from an early age, and shows that a little bit of sustained exercise training leads to significant improvements in fitness among young people. The fact that the same school retains the title of Irelands Fittest School shows that once children see the benefits of fitness, they are more likely to continue to enjoy sport, and the health benefits that this participation brings. Prof Moyna continued, The students and teachers have shown how a good level of fitness can improve health, now and into the future.A quarter of school-going children have risk factors for heart disease while 86% of them spend more than two hours watching TV, videos or playing on computers. If we give children the building blocks for a healthy life, society will reap the rewards down the line. I would urge the government to consider placing as much emphasis on physical education as the academic subjects in our schools, in order to create a healthier society. Roisin OConnell, PE teacher at Oaklands Community College said, We are absolutely over the moon to have been awarded the title of Irelands Fittest School for the second time in a row. Building on the foundations of last years participation, we improved the fitness of our students by carrying out aerobic-based circuit training, going on three kilometre runs by the canal and encouraging students to take part in physical activity outside of school as well as keeping a six week exercise and food diary. We aim to maintain these high levels of physical activity, and hopefully well be back here again next year for the hat-trick! The Aviva Health Schools Fitness Challenge regional scoreboard identified Waterford as the fittest county overall following the Challenge, with Offaly coming second and Tipperary placed third. Rugby star Jordi Murphy commented I love playing rugby for my province and my country, and being fit and healthy has benefited me so much. I would encourage teenagers to get active and fit either by participating in a team sport at school or in their local community, or by taking up a leisure activity with friends such as swimming or running. Itll make you fitter, healthier and happy, and keep you out of trouble too! For further information on Aviva Healths Schools Fitness Challenge 2014, and to view participation & fitness maps for all counties, please visit www.avivahealth.ie/fitnesschallenge Loading... OilVoice will be with you shortly... With all the stories about baby boomers rejecting retirement and embracing encore careers and there are many we sometimes forget that there are people who really cant wait to retire. Terence Hurley is one of them, and he got so tired of friends acting as if there were something wrong with him for wanting to retire at 62 that he wrote a story for CNBC.com, Please stop telling me not to retire. When did retirement become a dirty word? he said. Hurley, of San Francisco, was stunned at the reaction of his friends and colleagues when he said he was retiring from a biotech health care company after 40 years in the workplace. I was expecting congratulations, best wishes and even some jealousy on my happy news, he wrote. Finally at age 62 I would have all the time in the world to do whatever I wanted. Pursue new interests, rediscover neglected passions, create interesting experiences. No more meetings, deadlines, office politics. After all, if you could stop working tomorrow, wouldnt you want to? Instead, his friends were surprised and disappointed that he no longer wanted to work. They even sent him news stories about how it was a big mistake to retire. Hurley isnt buying any of it. I will appreciate my good fortune at being retired and have no regrets about leaving the workforce, he said. Ive had a fine and rewarding career, and now its time to move on. Im growing a David Letterman retirement beard. Im joining the ranks of fellow 2016 retirees Kobe Bryant, Peyton Manning, Tim Duncan, Alex Rodriguez and President Obama. Death wont be my retirement. Im getting out while Im still healthy and able to do new things. Im done and have no shame, so please stop telling me I shouldnt retire. What prompted him to write the story? The anti-retirement sentiment Ive been reading and hearing about over the past year, he said in an interview. It seems many people really are opposed to the idea of retirement, which I found shocking and kind of odd. Ernest Hemingway has that famous quote: Retirement is the ugliest word in the language, and I guess he never did (retire). Also, friends and co-workers seemed disappointed when I told them I no longer wanted to work. Retirement is something I always looked forward to, so I wanted to express the pro-retirement point of view. I must say, the feedback to the story has been very positive, which is reassuring to me. His wife was ecstatic and his two adult children were supportive, he said. The reaction from his siblings, however, was mixed. A common question was What are you going to do all day? he said. I think some people perceive retirement as generally not having much to do since you are no longer in the workforce. I see it as just the opposite. The possibilities are endless, and I plan to be grateful for every moment, every day. I will approach this next phase of my life with wonder, enthusiasm and openness. Students and parents this school year may submit a key federal financial aid form three months earlier than before, and they will have information about federal grants and loans sooner. Financial aid and college entrance experts in the Omaha area called moving the start date to Oct. 1 a good decision by the federal government. They said parents and students will be able to get results earlier and have more time to mull over which college is best for them. The Free Application for Federal Student Aid, commonly called FAFSA, has been submitted in the past on Jan. 1 at the earliest, before the start of the coming school year. Its a wonderful change, said Katie Cameron, a college counselor at Benson High School. I think it will help out our families. It will help out the colleges. It will help out the organizations that offer the scholarships. FAFSA enables the federal government to use information from a familys income, based on its federal tax return, to estimate the familys contribution to the students education. This is then used to help determine the amount of financial aid such as federal grants or loans, or state aid for which a student may be eligible. Colleges and scholarship organizations also use FAFSA to decide what additional need-based aid a student might obtain. Carrie Buresh of Bellevue, a schoolteacher, recalled that her daughter Kaitlyn didnt have a lot of time to decide which college to go to after getting the FAFSA results. Students typically make their college decision by May 1. Ultimately, her daughter chose Concordia University in Seward, Nebraska, where she is a contented sophomore, her mother said. Buresh said her daughter received the information right about the time she had to select her college. Its a pretty stressful time, the mother said. Its nip and tuck. She has another daughter, Kortney, who is a junior at Bellevue West High School. They will work on FAFSA and other college-admission details for her a year from now. Buresh said it will be good to have the data at their disposal earlier. If I can get that information in January, then we have a whole lot more time to make that decision where she wants to go to college, Buresh said. President Barack Obama announced the earlier start date about a year ago for the 2017-18 school year. The federal Department of Education said last month in a letter to colleges that the goal of the earlier FAFSA is to expand college opportunity by ensuring that students and families have more time to consider their college options with an understanding of the financial resources available to help them pay for college. Joan Jurek, director of college planning at EducationQuest Foundation in Omaha, said that FAFSA is a vital form for students. Really, all financial aid is affected by it, Jurek said. EducationQuest is a Lincoln-based nonprofit that strives to improve access to higher education in Nebraska. Colleges, states and scholarship organizations look at the results to see how much need a family has. Jurek said students and families this school year will use their 2015 federal income tax returns for FAFSA for the 2017-18 school year. The federal government has indicated that the Oct. 1 start date for filing FAFSA is a permanent change. In the past, the Jan. 1 start date compelled many to start the form, then go back to make corrections when the federal tax return was done. The earlier date will give families an earlier indication of eligibility for financial aid, Jurek said. FAFSA, which is a five- to 10-page form, is connected to an online function called IRS Data Retrieval that allows families to pull relevant information from their income tax returns and simply drop it into their online FAFSA form. This is more convenient than going through the taxes line by line and typing it in, Jurek said. Families file FAFSA with the federal government, and the processing center then sends the information to the colleges listed by the student. The college then works with the student to complete verification of information and make sure the FAFSA is accurate. The college then can inform the student of the amount of the award. Jurek said the student and parents create separate usernames and passwords for a Federal Student Aid ID. Those IDs are used for FAFSA, IRS Data Retrieval and student loan applications. The FAFSA form is filed for each year the student will attend college. Jurek said its vital that the student and parent save their FAFSA IDs because its challenging to retrieve them when they are lost. Many colleges have different priority dates for filing FAFSA to make sure students have access to available college financial aid. The priority date at the University of Nebraska at Omaha, for instance, is April 1. At College of St. Mary its March 15. At the University of Iowa its Dec. 1. Beth Sisk, College of St. Mary financial aid director, commended the federal government for the earlier FAFSA start time. The government wanted students to have information earlier, she said. I think its very positive for students. ********** Meetings will focus on financial aid and FAFSA EducationQuest, a private nonprofit that seeks to improve access to higher education, will hold the following meetings in the metro area for those interested in college financial aid and FAFSA: Wednesday, 6:30 p.m. Plattsmouth High School Sept. 15, 5:30 p.m. Ralston High School Sept. 15, 7 p.m. Ralston High School Spanish-language program Sept. 21, 6 p.m. Omaha Central High School Sept. 27, 6 p.m. Omaha Duchesne Academy Sept. 28, 6:30 p.m. Bennington Jr./Sr. High School Sept. 29, 6 p.m. Millard North High School Oct. 4, 5:30 p.m. Omaha Bryan High School, Spanish-language program Oct. 4, 7 p.m. Omaha Bryan High School, English-language program Oct. 5, 6 p.m. Bellevue West High School Oct. 11, 7 p.m. Creighton Prep High School Oct. 27, 6 p.m. Omaha Northwest High School Nov. 14, 6 p.m. Elkhorn High School Source: EducationQuest HOLDEGE, Neb. Kristine Jacobson hopes to give some encouragement to the talented visual artists in rural Nebraska. We hope to call attention to the amazing talent we have in rural Nebraska and help those artists be able to sell their work, she said in an interview from her home in Holdrege, Nebraska. The Nebraska Rural Living Art Gallery, entirely online at nebraskaruralliving.com, intends to showcase artists living in towns with a population of 10,000 or less. Jacobson, coordinator of the gallery, uses a juried selection process to find new artists. Another goal is to draw attention to rural Nebraska and how vibrant and beautiful it is, Jacobson said. You can tell that story through words but oftentimes a story is best told through pictures or artwork. A lot of the artists featured on the gallery, their inspiration comes from what they see in rural Nebraska. The gallery currently contains the work of 13 artists. Jacobson recognizes how the limited number of places to exhibit artwork can affect the careers of artists. There are some art galleries and a few opportunities for art shows, but there arent as many as you would find in a bigger city, she said. Featured artist Sherry McClymont, also of Holdrege, considers painting her comfort zone. Mostly self-taught, she started with watercolor and acrylics. This website allows ones artwork to be viewed by potential clients across the US, she wrote in an email interview. This is a total game changer for artists in small rural communities who are not tech savvy. Prior to this exposure, we have had to take our art to venues by invitation. It is an amazing option. While the idea of creating an online gallery is not new, McClymont notes that the Rural Living Art Gallery promotes a group of artists rather than an individual artists business. In terms of support and acceptance, it is wonderful living in a small town, she said. But in terms of promotions, it is harder. Jacobson understands the difference between artwork on the Internet and actually seeing a painting in person. There is a difference, obviously, she said. This is what were limited by, but at least this is an opportunity for people to get a taste of the talent out there and the types of artwork available. And hopefully they will get a chance to see in person the work of some of these artists. She also expressed her amazement at the quality of artwork submitted for consideration on the website. I think this would encourage me to go to more art events such as Art in the Park to see the work of these artists, she said. A lot of them attend these events around the state. I was amazed as seeing the pictures of the artwork. Im sure they are more amazing in person. Jacobson plans to update the website gallery on a quarterly basis. New artists will continually be added to the gallery and eventually well have this great collection of all types of art, she said. If you have a high school student, chances are you have heard of the PSAT and National Merit Scholarships. While many people, understandably, believe that the PSAT is simply a practice run for the SAT, it actually serves another equally important purpose. The PSAT or Preliminary Scholastic Aptitude Test is the qualifying test for the National Merit Scholarship. That is why the test is also known as the National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test or NMSQT. Between three and four million high school students will take the PSAT every year. While scoring well on the PSAT may not help your child get into the college of his or her dreams, it might just help pay for some of it. Heres how it works. After taking the PSAT in October, about 50,000 students will be recognized for their high score on the exam. Of the students recognized, about 34,000 will receive a Letter of Commendation from the National Merit Scholarships Corporation. These students dont receive a National Merit Scholarship but having a Letter of Commendation is a feather in their cap. It also looks good on a college application. Approximately 16,000 students will score in the top 99 percent of their state to become National Merit Semifinalists. About half of those semifinalists will win a National Merit Scholarship based on their PSAT score, recommendations from their teachers and a personal essay. These students may also receive awards from colleges who recruit them. All Catholic high school juniors take the PSAT. The test is administered at their high school and there is no fee to take the exam. Some schools also require freshmen and sophomores to take the test. The only score that will count toward National Merit Scholarships, however, will be the one taken junior year. There is no online registration for the PSAT and any questions regarding the test should be directed to a students high school counselor or guidance department. The PSAT is made up of math and evidence-based reading and writing. This includes passage-based questions and algebra, geometry, and a small amount of trigonometry. Many students dont prep for the PSAT but those who do have a significant advantage. Mount Michael has its students take the PSAT as freshmen, sophomores and juniors. According to Noelle Kunkel, director of counseling at Mount Michael, this helps students become more familiar with the format of the test. The College Board the organization that prepares and administers the SAT also has online resources to help students prepare for the PSAT. Of course, the best test prep is to learn the most that you can in school, Kunkel said. The PSAT can be intimidating because in most cases it is a high school students first foray into standardized testing for college admission. Whether your child is preparing for the PSAT or any other standardized test, it is important to reassure him or her that while test scores are an important part of the college admissions process, these scores are only one part of the process. Giving students the tools necessary to do as well as possible on the PSAT is just one of the many ways Catholic schools prepare students for higher education. While more than 96 percent of Catholic school students attend a college, university, or other post-secondary institution, even students who dont plan to pursue higher education can benefit from preparing for the PSAT. After all, striving to always do your best builds character and discipline and these are the types of faith-filled lessons students learn every day in Catholic school. Learn more at lovemyschool.com. DES MOINES (AP) The board that oversees Iowas three public universities said its plan for a new two-year budget system will bring more predictability to tuition expenses for students and their families, but the unpredictability of available state funding could complicate that effort. The Iowa Board of Regents, which provides support to the University of Iowa, Iowa State University and the University of Northern Iowa, announced recently a plan to fund the budget years that end in 2018 and 2019 with a combination of tuition increases and more state dollars. The board has typically planned one year ahead. By going to this new model, students and parents will know tuition rates well in advance, and the state will know our thinking on funding for two years, regents President Bruce Rastetter said in a statement. The nine-member board faces some challenges in delivering on its vision, in part because its become increasingly difficult to figure out how much money the Iowa Legislature will allocate each year to higher education. Student leaders at the three universities have publicly expressed frustrations about the growing cost of education, including an across-the-board tuition hike approved in July that came just weeks before the start of the new academic year. Rachel Zuckerman, University of Iowa student body president, said the boards announcement reflects an effort to listen to students concerns, but now the Legislature and the governor have to play their roles. This is all dependent on state appropriations, and we dont know how state appropriations will shake out, she said. During the previous legislative session the regents requested roughly $20 million in additional money for the schools. Gov. Terry Branstad recommended $8 million, and lawmakers eventually approved $6.3 million. They also allocated about $3 million in additional spending for Iowas community colleges, which are not part of the regents system. The board sought about $21 million in new money for the universities in the 2015 legislative session and received about $6.3 million. The University of Iowa received no additional funding after a line-item veto from Branstad. Sen. Brian Schoenjahn, D-Arlington, who has worked on higher education funding, said the regents proposal would require a long-term bipartisan commitment by the Legislature. After lawmakers approved far less funding than the regents requested, the board approved tuition increases in July that generated about $19 million. The regents also voted to raise tuition last December. Cole Staudt, student body president at Iowa State University, said last-minute tuition increases are too difficult for students. Its just a struggle to watch students come to me and say Hey, I really cant afford this. I dont know what Im going to do, he said. The specifics of the two-year model 2 percent increases to tuition rates each year for in-state undergraduate students and 2 percent increases each year in state funding is subject to change in the second year, said regents spokesman Josh Lehman. The plan is dynamic. What happens this year can affect it going forward, he said. In the end, the board is not formally asking the Legislature to approve two years worth of funding. At a meeting Thursday, it plans to vote on its funding request for the first budget year more than $656 million that includes $12.7 million in new money for the universities. Copyright 2016 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. GRAND ISLAND, Neb. The Grand Island Veterans Home has 108 open beds. Its the most open beds of any of the four Nebraska veterans homes, according to census counts reported on the Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services website as of Aug. 19. The Grand Island Veterans Home has 158 members and 108 open beds, compared with 81 members and 22 open beds in Scottsbluff, 139 members and 12 open beds in Norfolk and 112 members and six open beds in Bellevue. Thats a 40 percent vacancy rate in Grand Island versus 21 percent in Scottsbluff, 8 percent in Norfolk and 5 percent in Bellevue. While the Grand Island home has 108 open beds, however, it has 144 people on its waiting list. Thats compared with 187 waiting to get into the home in Norfolk, 257 waiting in Bellevue and 78 waiting in Scottsbluff. The Grand Island home is scheduled to close in late 2018 or early 2019 when a new veterans home opens in Kearney. Home Administrator Alex Wilford said Grand Islands waiting list used to be at 25 to 30, but the number has grown steadily since the 2014 announcement that a new home would be built with private rooms and bathrooms. The current Grand Island home requires two to four members to share a toilet and 10 to 15 to share a shower. All the new rooms will have private showers, and I think thats a real driving force behind the waiting list, Wilford said. Its not unheard of that folks put themselves on the waiting list that are not yet ready to come into the facility, said John Hilgert, Nebraska Division of Veterans Affairs director. It can happen even more as the waiting list gets longer. It kind of feeds upon itself. Wilford said its not about numbers; its about quality of care. We make sure the members are safe and they dont have falls and make sure that the medication administration process for antipsychotics is appropriate, he said. I couldnt provide that without the exceptional staff. The Grand Island Veterans Home currently has 307 staff members. But it also has the largest force of temporary and agency workers of all of Nebraskas veterans homes. HHS reports indicate temporary or agency workers are clocking 600 to 750 hours a week at the Grand Island home. I use agency (workers) to try to help our staff with mandatory overtime and with overtime, Wilford said. Still, mandatory overtime happens a lot, said Mike Marvin, executive director of the Nebraska Association of Public Employees, which represents direct-care staff at the veterans homes. Theres not enough staff. Theres always been massive amounts of overtime, but now its getting worse, Marvin said. Oftentimes, its right up to when its time for you to go home, and they say, We dont have anybody to relieve you. You have to stay an extra shift, he said. Were talking back-to-back eight-hour shifts, and sometimes thats happening two to three times a week. Grand Island home resident L.N. Mack McCallum said the home has lost more than 90 percent of its experienced staff. We are losing all these loyal, devoted, experienced employees, largely because the state doesnt give a rip about them, McCallum said in a letter sent last week to lawmakers and the news media. People are quitting, Marvin said. Its already tough to attract people now because they dont know when theyre going to move to Kearney, and its not a job a lot of people from Grand Island will want to drive that many hours for because it doesnt pay that well. Marvin said the home isnt giving the raises it should and isnt rewarding more-tenured employees. Management treats the employees terrible, he said. They treat them like indentured servants. They can do whatever they want to them, talk to them however they wish to do and treat them with utter disrespect and expect them to stay and mandate them with these hours. Weve tried to make sure that that has not increased, Wilford said of the mandatory overtime. Weve actually increased agency use to make sure the staff is not burned out. Hilgert said the mandatory overtime has been cited as a primary reason for staff turnover. Wilford said the older buildings arent designed for todays veterans needs. He said the home's employees overcome those challenges on a daily basis and continue to meet the 4.3 care hours per patient per day. Wilford said hes also working to train caregivers by offering certified nursing assistant classes. He said 399 CNAs have been certified through the Grand Island Veterans Home classes over the past three years. A class that starts next week is already full. Weve also initiated transportation from Kearney to Grand Island, Wilford said. About 15 employees a week use the transportation option. We provide that seven days a week and sometimes three shifts and sometimes four shifts a day, Wilford said. Its free to the employee. HHS awarded the busing contract in May to Busco Inc., doing business as Arrow Stage Lines in Norfolk. The state signed a one-year contract, renewable for up to two more years, for up to $1 million of transportation service in the first year. Wilford said the costs have been averaging $24,000 a month. The intent is to keep that contract in place after the move to Kearney. Wilford said that despite staffing challenges at the Grand Island home, quality of care has never been sacrificed. The home has been deficiency-free on state inspection surveys the past three years and was awarded the Bronze Award from the American Health Care Association. Staffing is a challenge for everyone across the United States and in Nebraska, Wilford said. Nebraska is projected to have 3,838 professional nurse positions open in 2020, and were only four years away from that. Recruitment efforts have to be constant at all four veterans homes, Hilgert said. The recruitment wont stop, and it wont stop when we get to Kearney, he said. A news bulletin from 3.2 million years ago (or so): Lucy, humanitys famous ancestor, might have died not from old age but from a long fall out of a tree. She flung out her arms to try to break her fall and was conscious when she hit the ground. But she likely died almost immediately from severe internal injuries. Those are the intriguing conclusions from a team of gumshoe scientists who used modern technology to probe Lucys demise. Lucy, aka AL 288-1, consists of many fragments of bone fossils, or about 40 percent of a female skeleton of the species Australopithecus afarensis. The scientists put Lucys bones in a CT scanner and created virtual fragments and three-dimensional models to piece together a more precise idea of Lucys entire skeleton. In a report published last week in the journal Nature, the scientists reported that they had found severe fractures in Lucys upper right arm, shoulder and knee injuries that couldnt have been the result of a trip and a fall from a short distance (Lucy was only about 3 feet tall, so she didnt have far to fall). The discovery could provide a clue to how and when our ancestors abandoned the trees. Some researchers suggest that by Lucys time, human ancestors werent as adept in the trees because they had set up shop on the ground. If Lucy did fall from a tree, it could bolster that argument. But some scientists dispute the Nature finding. Elephant bones and hippo ribs appear to have the same kind of breakage, paleoanthropologist Donald Johanson, the original discoverer of Lucy in 1974, told the New York Times. Its unlikely they fell out of a tree. Awww . . . snap! Yes, the saga of Lucy, once relegated to the dusty corridors of academic debate, has now become the Worlds Oldest and Coldest Case File. And it is a doozy. If Lucy tumbled from a tree, the question is: Why? Why would an experienced tree-climber, who purportedly spent many nights in trees to avoid large, hungry predators, suddenly find herself plummeting to the ground? In other words: Did Lucy fall? Or was she pushed? Scientists love a good mystery. So do we. How Lucy lived and died is one of the oldest in the books and one of the most compelling for humankind. We can empathize with her in death and what we think was her last desperate act, reaching out her hands to break her fall, University of Texas paleoanthropologist John Kappelman, lead Nature author, tells us. Ive lectured on this fossil for 30 years, but in her death she came to life for me. Kappelman invites amateur gumshoe-anthropologists to review his teams evidence and see if you think our analysis makes sense. Researchers, keep digging. Why? In understanding how she died, Lucy comes to life. She becomes, in other words, just a little more human. Give would-be killers second thoughts Regarding the proclaimed high cost of the death penalty because of the appeals, a death penalty not enforced only invites more appeals. Common sense says the death penalty would serve as a deterrent if it were actually enforced. Those who support life imprisonment ignore lives saved because those who may commit crimes are deterred by thought of an enforced death penalty. Dale Monsell, Omaha Keep death penalty repeal intact Every person exhibits human failings, so it follows that the best public policies should take those flaws into account. The 2015 repeal of the death penalty in Nebraska did that. It maintains public safety by replacing the death penalty with life in prison without the possibility of parole. Mistakes and injustices may occur in the criminal justice system. A person may be mistakenly accused, prosecuted and convicted. With the maximum sentence of life in prison without the possibility of parole, the injustice can be righted. The repeal of the death penalty simply removes a final act of vengeance that cannot be reversed. Thats why, this November, a vote to retain the repeal is a vote for the best public policy to preserve justice for all and maintain public safety in Nebraska. Mary Spurgeon, Bellevue Paying for services not rendered If I had a child attending Omaha Public Schools who wasnt being picked up due to the bus issues, I would seek a refund or credit on my property taxes due to services not being rendered. Parents pay taxes to the school district, and the school district has not fulfilled its responsibilities. Affected parents should keep track of the number of times they had to drive their child to school or miss work. Then they should take that bill to the next school board meeting and seek a refund. Kelly Andersen, Bellevue Ashfords sorry GOP outreach U.S. Rep. Brad Ashford has bragged that he spends his time working both sides of the aisle in the House of Representatives. However, an examination of his 2015 votes would make one suggest that he isnt spending enough time on the GOP side. He has voted often to protect the federal funding of Planned Parenthood and against reducing regulatory burdens on small businesses. Ashford has refused to stop the Department of Education from forcing local school boards from adopting Common Core standards. Brad Ashford is less a bipartisan and more an opponent of conservative Nebraska, Jim Sazama, Omaha Brits find our elections confounding I feel proud to have been an American citizen for many years. I love my country and have never had any problem standing up for it. However, I have to say that I am at a loss for words when my British relatives talk to me on the phone. They are all in total disbelief that Donald Trump might possibly be the next president of the United States. I do not have any good answers for them, only to say I, too, am amazed, but I try to explain that, unfortunately, he is the better of two bad candidates. Tessa Cox Turner, Bellevue Lochte embarrassed all Americans I would like to respond to the Aug. 28 Public Pulse writer who said that we should have (Ryan) Lochtes back. Its true that athletes have to work hard to reach their goal of peak fitness. And to go to the Olympics and represent our country what an honor. But to blow off a little steam by going out, getting drunk and destroying property was a disgrace to our country. These four Olympians were representing our country. Their actions demonstrated a lack of respect for the Olympics and the host country and gave the United States a bad reputation in the world. As the saying goes, it only takes one bad apple to spoil the whole bunch. The letter writer calls the sponsors who ended their endorsement deals with Lochte spineless, saying that their actions pulling their endorsement deals adversely affect the rest of these athletes lives. Whose money is it? Are these sponsors supposed to reward a lack of respect and bad behavior? I sure wouldnt want to be supportive of athletes making silly drunken mistakes while representing our country. Joyce Montgomery, Omaha Working too hard for too little If you ask people if theyre able to sustain their families and make ends meet on the wages they earn, youll quickly find out that too many of them arent getting a fair shake. Even as the economy has turned around, most Americans havent seen any improvement in their pay. Its just plain wrong that companies pay so little to the people who make our food, care for our loved ones, teach our children and stock the shelves at the stores where we shop that they cant afford the basics. The bottom line is that we all are worth more than CEOs say. We must demand that profitable corporations create jobs that allow our communities to thrive. We must continue pressing our elected officials to boost the minimum wage and enact standards that value families. This Labor Day, lets remember that we should all be able to earn a fair return on the work we do. Tami Fleming, Omaha Bigotry does not win votes, Trump-ets will learn that lesson on Nov. 8 Feature oi-Oneindia By Bharat Krishnan As the US presidential elections approach, and surveys show that it is too early to call it one way or the other, a key group that will influence, and in a close race even determine, who - Hillary Clinton or Donald Trump -- ends up in the White House in January are Asian-Americans. So, how are they likely to vote this time? In 1992, the first year that Asian-Americans were polled as an ethnic group, they had favoured President George H.W. Bush's re-election bid, with 55 percent of them voting for the Republican candidate. But it was Bill Clinton, with 31 percent Asian-American vote, that won that election. Since then, through Clinton's two terms and Barack Obama's two terms, Asian- Americans, and minority voters in general, have continued to flock to the Democratic Party, although the Republican Party did manage to do well among Asian-Americans in the late 1990s and early 2000s. This November, they are again going to vote Democratic, and they may just help propel Hillary Clinton into the Oval Office. Here's why: A 2012 exit poll revealed that Barack Obama won 73 percent of the Asian-American vote, a level of support only exceeded by African-Americans. What's more, from July 2014 to July 2015, the Asian-American population grew by 3.4 percent, compared to 2.2 percent Latino population growth. Over the last 20 years, however, the Republican Party has embraced a message that has alienated the largest growing ethnic group in America. Research and analysis by Karthick Ramakrishnan, the director of AAPI (Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders) Data and the National Asian-American Survey, suggests reasons why Asians have shifted to the Democratic Party so strongly in just a couple of decades. An emphasis on "family values" and the anti-communist sentiment of Vietnamese and Indian-American voters were just some of the factors that might have been at play when Asian-Americans voted Republican in the 20th century. However, the trend changed rapidly as Republicans adopted what Ramakrishnan calls "exclusionary rhetoric." While Bill Clinton won only 31 percent of the Asian vote in 1992, Al Gore won 55 percent of that group in 2000. John Kerry stayed steady at 56 percent four years later, but Obama was able to win 62 percent of the vote in 2008 and increased that vote share by a further 11 points in just four years, winning 73 percent of the vote in 2012. This kind of rapid realignment between groups has only been seen in a couple cases previously: the shift of the African-American vote from Republican to Democratic over the course of a few decades following the passage of the New Deal in the 1930s; and the shift of southern whites from Democratic to Republican after President Johnson signed the Civil Rights and Voting Rights Acts in the 1960s. In both cases, those two groups were motivated to shift allegiance more by the political parties they once voted for adopting views they were strongly opposed to, than by the other party adopting views they found favourable. Notably, Ramakrishnan's research in 2016 showed that 40 percent of Asian-Americans, including 37 percent of both Republicans and Independents, would vote against someone they agreed with on all other issues if they held anti-immigrant views. In a year when the Republican candidate is Donald Trump, this data point speaks for itself. Also, 47 percent of all Asian-Americans cited healthcare as an "extremely" important issue, ahead of jobs and the economy. Asian-Americans favour the Affordable Care Act by a 28-point margin, and they are in favour of stricter gun laws by a 60-point margin. Indeed, 50 percent of older Asian-Americans (65+) cited gun control as an "extremely" important issue for them in the elections this year. Asian-American voters have taken note as Republicans carry water for the National Rifle Association and continue to advocate a full repeal of the Affordable Care Act, while presenting no acceptable alternative, six years after its passage. There are not many opportunities for Republicans to make inroads with Asian-Americans today. While they do not cite immigration as a top policy issue they care about, Asian-Americans do use a politician's views towards immigrants as a basic test of whether or not they can support them, in much the same way that young voters will tune out politicians they have determined to hold anti-gay views. Until Republican politicians stop advocating policies like a ban on Muslims and start supporting policies like comprehensive immigration reform, there is little they can do to increase their vote share among this group of voters. Whether it is fair or not, the recent demonization of Khizr and Ghazala Khan-the parents of a slain Muslim-American solider-by Trump and some of his supporters served as the most recent evidence for Asians of the Republican Party's anti-immigrant views. Asian-Americans make up 8.1 percent of the Voting Age Population (VAP) in Nevada, one of the few states where polls show a legitimate tie in the presidential and US Senate races. That is slightly higher than the eight percent African-American VAP in the state. Alienating portions of the electorate with bigotry and an embrace of unpopular policies is not a winning strategy. Republicans will learn that on November 8. (Bharat Krishnan is a veteran Indian-American Democratic campaigner and author of Confessions of a Campaign Manager) TRS, BJP are two sides of same coin: Rahul Gandhi in Telangana Ashutosh's effigies burnt in GJ for 'comparing' Mahatma Gandhi with tainted minister India oi-PTI Ahmedabad, Sept 4 BJP activists burnt effigies of AAP leader Ashutosh in various parts of the state today for "comparing" his party's tainted minister Sandeep Kumar, who has been booked for rape, with "son of Gujarat" Mahatma Gandhi. Condemning Ashutosh, the AAP election in-charge of Gujarat, over his controversial blog, the BJP said it "won't tolerate insult to Mahatma Gandhi." Earlier, angry activists set the AAP spokesperson's effigies on fire at Ahmedabad, Rajkot, Junagad and other cities. In the blog written for a TV channel, Ashutosh had referred to the alleged affairs of icons like Jawaharlal Nehru and Gandhi while seeking to defend Kumar who was sacked as minister after a CD purportedly showing him with a woman in a "compromising position" surfaced. "The comments made by Ashutosh on Gujarat's son and Father of the Nation Mahatma Gandhi reflects his dirty mindset and it also shows the difference between what AAP says and what it practices," MOS for Home Pradipsinh Jadeja said in a statement. He said actions' of AAP ministers and MLAs shows the Arvind Kejriwal-led party has reached the "nadir of political values." "AAP spokesperson Ashutosh has tried to malign Mahatma Gandhi by making cheap comments against him, all in order to save the image of his minister who was found indulging in a dirty act," Jadeja said, adding that AAP members had also made "dirty comments" on Jain monk Tarun Sagarji. Attacking Congress over its "silence" on the controversial blog, the minister said, "The party which made tall claims on the issue of assassination of Mahatma Gandhi is mysteriously silent on this issue." PTI Lack of development in J&K for decades was one of the reasons behind rise of terrorism: Rajnath Singh Burhan Wani's death only a trigger- Mehbooba Mufti to all party delegation News oi-Vicky By Vicky Chief Minister of Jammu and Kashmir Mehbooba Mufti told the all party delegation that the killing of Burhan Wani was only a trigger for the violence. Tension had been simmering for long and the death of Hizbul Mujahideen commander only became a trigger, she also said. Further the Jammu and Kashmir government told the all party delegation that three key issues have to be addressed in the larger interest of the state. The all party delegation led by Home Minister of India, Rajnath Singh landed in the state yesterday for a two day visit. During a presentation that was made to the delegation, the state government said that the three key issues are release of funds, ban pellet guns and review the Armed Forces Special Powers Act. The presentation made by finance minister in the J&K government, Haseeb Drabu focused only on these three points and made no mention of holding talks with the Hurriyat Conference. Wani only a trigger: During the presentation, Chief Minister of the state, Mehbooba Mufti expressed confidence that the situation would be brought under control very soon. She said that tension had been simmering in the Valley for long. The death of Hizbul Mujahideen commander Burhan Wani was only a trigger she said. She told the delegation that there has been a false propaganda which has contributed to the violence in the state. This propaganda must stop for the violence to end she also said. Drabu however maintained that there are three key issues which needed to be looked into urgently. He said that the centre must release funds to the state. Apart from this tempers in the state would calm down if the Armed Forces Special Powers Act would be reviewed. However as an immediate measure the use of pellet guns must be banned he also said during his presentation. The all party delegation is headed by home minister Rajnath Singh. he is also accompanied by finance minister, Arun Jaitley and union minister of state for home, Jitendra Singh. Others part of the delegation are Ghulam Nabi Azad, Ambika Soni and Mallikarjun Kharge of the Congress, Ram Vilas Paswan (LJP), Sharad Yadav (JDU), CPI-M general secretary Sitaram Yechury, CPI leader D Raja,NCP's Tariq Anwar, Trinamool Congress' Saugata Roy. Shiv Sena's Sanjay Raut and Anadrao Adsul, TDP's Thota Narasimham, Shiromani Akali Dal's Prem Singh Chandumajra, BJD's Dilip Tirkey, AIMIM's Asaduddin Owaisi, AIUDF Badaruddin Ajmal, Muslim League's E Ahamed, Jitendra Reddy( TRS), N K Premchandran (RSP), P Venugopal (AIADMK), Tiruchi Siva (DMK), Y B Subba (YSR-Cong), Jaiprakash Gandhi (RJD), Dharamveer Yadav (AAP) and Dushyant Chautala (RLD). For Breaking News and Instant Updates Allow Notifications Story first published: Monday, September 5, 2016, 11:37 [IST] India may have up to three times more TB patients than assumed India oi-IANS By Ians English New Delhi, Sep 5 Ground zero of the global battle against one of humankind's deadliest diseases, India could have between two and three times more tuberculosis (TB) cases than currently assumed, said a recent paper released in 'Lancet', a medical journal. The study found that in 2014, the private sector treated between 1.9 million and 5.34 million cases -- or about double the cases handled by government-run hospitals. Before this study, India was believed to have about 2.2 million TB cases, a quarter of the global TB burden, thus far estimated at about 6.3 million. However, the private sector both helps and hinders TB treatment, the study implies. Although standardised tuberculosis treatment in India is delivered by the public sector, early diagnosis and treatment are hampered by the presence of a vast and unregulated private health-care sector, said the study, whose eight authors come from a variety of institutions, including London's Imperial College, the Indian government, the World Health Organisation and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, which funded the study. "Poor diagnostic practices in this sector prolong tuberculosis transmission by delaying diagnosis, whereas a general lack of counselling and support of treatment adherence hampers successful, relapse-free cure," said the study. "Moreover, most cases treated in the private sector are never notified to public health authorities." Analysing sales patterns of 189 drugs containing rifampicin -- a key anti-TB formulation -- over 2013 and 2014, the researchers estimated how many were sold to the private sector. In 2014, the WHO estimated that 800,000 TB patients escaped public-sector diagnosis, but these statistics were mostly compiled from expert opinion. So, the new study provides an empirical estimate that is independent of such opinion. "This study illustrates the need to address the burden of tuberculosis treated by the private sector and improve surveillance," the researchers wrote, acknowledging the paper's limitations, including the failure to capture TB patients who do not approach a doctor, use the informal sector or are being treated for multiple-drug resistance. "This study also raises an urgent need to revise current estimates of tuberculosis burden, informed by more systematic evidence relating to tuberculosis management in the private sector," the researchers wrote. Although the incidence of TB in India has been declining, drug resistance and its interaction with other diseases, such as HIV, have slowed progress. Throughout history, TB has killed more humans than any conflict, disaster or disease known to mankind. In the 5th century, Greek philosopher Hippocrates advised doctors to stay away from TB patients, since there was no cure. In the 17th, it was called the great white plague of Europe, as it swept the continent, killing thousands over 200 years. In the 21st Century, it infects 10 million people every year, killing a fifth of those. TB bacteria have in-built armour, acids that protect them against the body's cellular defenders. Most people infected with it have latent tuberculosis, where the bacteria are walled off in clumps by the cells of the immune system. Sometimes, the containment fails, particularly in people with weakened immune systems. If a drug doesn't kill the bacteria completely, it becomes immune to that drug and can eventually overwhelm the immune system. IANS/IndiaSpend Kashmir separatists do not believe in Insaniyat, Kashmiriyat,Jamuriyat- Rajnath Singh News oi-Vicky By Vicky The separatists of Jammu and Kashmir do not believe in Insaniyat, Kashmiriyat and Jamuriyat says Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh who led an all party delegation. Addressing a press conference, Singh said that if someone goes to talk and they (separatists) do not talk then it becomes clear that they do not believe in Insaniyat, Kashmiriyat and Jamuriyat. Singh also told the press that an expert committee that was set up had suggested the use of the chilli filled PAVA shells instead of the pellet guns. Singh led an all party delegation to the state to find a solution to the ongoing problem. The state has been on the boil since July 9 after the killing of Burhan Wani, the Hizbul Mujahideen commander. Everyone is concerned about the situation in Jammu and Kashmir, Singh said. We are all concerned and are of the view that the situation must improve in the state. We are confident that the situation in the state will improve, he also added. The home minister further said that there is no doubt that Jammu and Kashmir is an integral part of India. It will always be a part of India, he also said. Singh further said that some members of the delegation met with the leaders of the Hurriyat Conference. If they do not talk then they do not believe in Insaniyat, Kashmiriyat and Jamuriyat, he also said. He also said that the centre is fully cooperating with the state government to restore normalcy in the Valley. Every door and window is open for talks, Singh also said. For Breaking News and Instant Updates Allow Notifications Story first published: Monday, September 5, 2016, 14:38 [IST] India's steel industry now 2nd biggest, target is to double crude steel output in 10 years: PM Modi PM Modi to dedicate 2 key rail lines in Gujarat to nation Monday News Flash: PM Modi arrives in New Delhi from China News oi-Oneindia By Oneindia Sep 5: Celebrations begin across India as devotees throng temples on the occasion of Ganesh Chaturthi. Prime Minister Narendra Modi is to meet UK Prime Minister, and President of Argentina in Hangzhou, China in the backdrop of G20 Summit. Get all news updates of Saturday September 5 here: 11.42 pm: Explosion of air conditioner compressor at Curewell Hospital Pvt Ltd in Indore leaves 10 injured; police at the spot. 10.44 pm: PM Narendra Modi arrives in New Delhi from China. 10.21 pm: Bhopal: CM Shivraj Chouhan meets family of former union minister &senior BJP leader Arif Beg, who passed away today. 10.16 pm: Chhattisgarh: 38th battalion of ITBP recovers ammunition, explosives and cartridges from Dongargarh. 9.48 pm: Himachal Pradesh: Burglars set an ATM on fire in Sundar Nagar in Mandi district last night after looting Rs 10 lakh. 8.16 pm: Rajnath Singh-led all-party delegation arrives in Delhi from J&K. 7.47pm: Heavy rain causing water logging in Legislative Assembly premises in Kolkata. Kolkata: Heavy rain causing water logging in Legislative Assembly premises pic.twitter.com/AmqXV4tzWp ANI (@ANI_news) September 5, 2016 7:21 pm: External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj departs from Italy for Delhi. 7:00 pm: NCW summons AAP leader Ashutosh over blogpost defending Sandeep Kumar. 6:50 pm: My arch nemesis when I was playing against India was Harbhajan Singh,I still get nightmares about him: Ricky Ponting. 6:30 pm: Kabul twin blasts leave more than 10 dead: Reports 6:20 pm: After PM Modi, Prez Mukherjee backs proposal to hold joint elections. 6:02 pm: New Jalpaiguri (WB): 3 people disguised as eunuchs arrested, GRP seizes ammunition and 200gm of heroin from them. 5:40 pm: Twin Taliban suicide blasts in Kabul kill at least five. 5:30 pm: Turned away from crematorium because he couldn't pay for it, a tribal from MP's Neemuch cremated wife using garbage pic.twitter.com/72mVGVEM2e ANI (@ANI_news) September 5, 2016 5:10 pm: Karnataka cabinet expansion: Oath-taking ceremony of newly inducted ministers underway, CM Siddaramaiah also present. K'taka cabinet expansion:Oath-taking ceremony of newly inducted ministers in Bengaluru, CM Siddaramaiah also present pic.twitter.com/ZKOOtGS1gq ANI (@ANI_news) September 5, 2016 5.04 pm: Suicide attack near Afghan defence ministry, Casualties feared: Reports 5.00 pm: Prime Minister Narendra Modi emplanes for Delhi. 4.45 pm: Ricky Ponting plays cricket with the children of Magic Bus India Foundation at Australian embassy in Delhi. 4.28 pm: NIA teams camping in Kerala's Palakkad and Kasargod to investigate the missing of 21 youths, who are said to have joined ISIS: NIA Sources. 4.22 pm: Ricky Ponting at Australian embassy to promote trade ties between India and Tasmania. 4.13 pm: Tees Hazari court sends both accused to 4 days CBI custody, in the Tiger skin/bone smuggling case. 4.12 pm: Both (PM Modi and Argentine president Mauricio Macri) agreed to expand cooperation in areas such as agriculture, mining and hydro carbons. 4.08 pm: PM Narendra Modi in a meeting with president Mauricio Macri in China, thanked him for Argentina's strong support for India's NSG membership. 4.06 pm: CBI has arrested two people in connection with Tiger skin/bone smuggling case. 3.55 pm: India has policy of zero tolerance towards terrorism,because anything less than that is not enough: PM Modi at #G20summit. 3.54 pm: Representatives of J&K HC Bar association, Hotels and taxi/tour operators meet All Party Delegation in Jammu. 3.45 pm: CM Shivraj Singh Chauhan speaking at Narmada Seva Yatra function in Bhopal. 3.23 pm: Must uphold principles of equity and CBDR and curb reckless consumption& encourage lifestyles in harmony with nature: PM. 3.05 pm: Terrorist is a terrorist,1 single nation in South Asia is spreading agents of terror in our region, says PM Modi at G20 summit. 3.00 pm: Foremost challenge is Climate Change whr Paris Agreement showed way fwd.Focus shouldn't just b on early ratification,but full success: PM. 2:40 pm: CBI arrests three people in connection with Tiger skin/bone smuggling case. All party delegation on Kashmir, arrives in Jammu. 2:30 pm: Former Delhi minister Sandeep Kumar sent to three day police remand by Tis Hazari Court. 2:29 pm: Cauvery water row: SC directs Karnataka Govt to release 15000 cusec of water to Tamil Nadu for 10 days. 2.16 pm: Syria state media says the death toll from a string of bombings across the country is 38: AP. 1.37 pm: Offerings being made to the famous Lalbaugcha Raja on the occasion of #GaneshChaturthi, 'aarti' underway in Mumbai 1.24 pm: President Pranab Mukherjee presents National Awards to teachers on the occasion of Teachers' Day in Delhi. 1.20 pm: SIT on Black Money asks RBI to develop institutional mechanism to track illicit financial flows out of country. 1.17 pm: Ex Delhi Minister Sandeep Kumar's Personal Secretary, who is accused of circulating the CD, has been detained by Delhi Police. 1.15 pm: Road constructed 2 mths back damaged due to rain in Kanker. Locals use tree branches to fill damaged portion in C'garh. 1.08 pm: With France, there was a brief pull aside. Both leaders reviewed the direction of the relationship, says Vikas Swarup,MEA. 12.51 pm: PM Modi invited UK PM to visit India, she said that she accepted invitation & would like to make as early a visit to India as possible: MEA. 12.43 pm: TN to file rejoinder in Cauvery waters Case, says as per IMD report the deficit of water flow in 4 reservoirs in Karnataka is just 28 per cent. TN says only 33 TMC water received so far. In normal year TN should get 94 tmc water and in distress year it is 68 Tm. 12.37 pm: There was an issue with respects to whether G20 will endorse ratifying Paris agreement before 2016, says Arvind Panagariya,India's Sherpa to G20. 12.26 pm: Supreme court quashes criminal proceedings against MS Dhoni for allegedly portraying himself as Lord Vishnu on a magazine cover page. 12.12 pm: No bail to Asaram in Ahmedabad rape case for now. SC said bail plea will be heard only after his medical report. 12.10 pm: Chief Justice of India TS Thakur recuses from hearing a PIL seeking guidelines for raids conducted by various probe agencies. 12.00 pm: Union Minister Nitin Gadkari celebrating Ganesh Chaturthi at his residence in Nagpur, Maharashtra. 11.50 am: SC also stated it needs to be taken care of that such an incident does not repeat. Fali Nariman has been appointed as the amicus curiae 11.49 am: Sushant Rohilla suicide matter: SC observed that the suspicion needs to be cleared whether the student was harassed or not 11.35 am: The expert committee that was set up, has suggested use of PAVA shells instead of pellet gun: HM Rajnath Singh in Srinagar 11.34 am: Baat-cheet kay liye hamara darwaaza hi nahin, hamara roshandaan bhi khulaa hai: HM Rajnath Singh 11.33 am: We are fully cooperating with the state Govt to restore normalcy in Kashmir: Rajnath Singh, Home Minister 11.32 am: Yesterday, some of the members of the delegation (all party delegation) met Hurriyat leaders: HM Rajnath Singh 11.31 am: If someone goes to talk and they (separatists) dont talk, then they clearly dont believe in 'insaniyat, Kashmiriyat, jamuriyat': HM 11.30 am: Iss mein koi do matt nahin hai ki Jammu and Kashmir Bharat ka integral part tha, hai aur rahega: HM Rajnath Singh 11.29 am: No two ways about fact that J&K is a part of India, was a part of India & will be a part of India: HM Rajnath Singh 11.28 am: Everyone is very concerned, we all are of the view that things in Kashmir need to improve: HM #KashmirDelgation 11.11 am: Petitioner alleged that Govt is "giving the impression that Aadhar is mandatory" despite SC judgement to the contrary. 11.11 am: #AadharCard matter: SC to hear contempt petition against Centre next week. 11.09 am: If Modi govt has guts take action against Gen VK Singh, Sadvi Niranjan not a junior worker: Sudhindra Bhadoria BSP 11.09 am: Global investment principles shouldn't be prescriptive.Countries need policy space depending on national circumstances & dev. focus: PM 11.08 am: G20 needs to act to stimulate investment flows. Transformed & liberalised investment regime has put India among top host nations for FDI: PM 11.07 am: Knowledge & innov'n driven economy requires free mobility.India's priority is to work towards Trade Facilitation Agreement for Services: PM 11.06 am: Global trading regime must respond to needs/priorities of developing nations. Global value chains must provide them level playing field: PM 11.05 am: Trade facilitation is important. I urge countries to fully implement the Bali and Nairobi Ministerial decisions: PM 11.04 am: Vision of transparent, equitable, nondiscriminatory, open, inclusive & rule based global trading arch. should underpin collective efforts-PM 11.03 am: Global trade is at a cross roads: PM Modi on Robust International trade and Investment session in Hangzhou, China 11.00 am: People should see whether they want comedy instead of governance.AAP is just stand up comedy: Manish Tiwari Congress 10.55 am: There should be a referendum on what is AAP's agenda in Delhi. What the members of their party do is against Indian ethos: JP Aggarwal Cong 10.53 am: In our culture men don't even touch their daughters, what AAP leaders are doing is disgusting: JP Aggarwal, Congress 11.47 am: Additional Solicitor General mentioned the matter before CJI bench & sought more time to file their response. Court granted 4 weeks' time. 11.45 am: Triple talaq matter: SC gives four weeks time to Centre to file their response on various petition regarding Muslim women rights. 11.44 am: #FLASH SC to hear Delhi Govt's appeal against Delhi HC order giving primacy to LG in administration of NCT, on 9th September. 10.40 am: State & Central Govt have to take the political dialogue forward now: Sitaram Yechury #KashmirDelegation 10.30 am: Some leaders went to meet the seperatists in their personal capacity: Mallikarjun Kharge #KashmirDelegation 10.27 am: Things were diff last time, but this time separatists took a stand that they won't talk: Union Minister RV Paswan 10.23 am: PM Modi's meeting with UK PM - Both sides agreed to strengthen the strategic partnership. PM Modi invited UK PM to India. 10.17 am: School students celebrate Teacher's Day in Moradabad (UP), Dr. Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan posters & "rangoli" made. 9.53 am: Delhi: Congress protest against AAP government & AAP Leader Ashutosh's blog, at Rajghat. 9.35 am: North Korea fires three ballistic missiles off east coast, AFP quotes Yonhap News Agency 9.34 am: Chhattisgarh: Naxals dig up a 27 km long road from 150 places in Dantewada. 9.33 am: PM Narendra Modi meets the Prime Minister of the UK Theresa May in Hangzhou, China. 9.15 am: Chinese President Xi Jinping praised PM Modi's leadership of the Indian economy especially his energy policy, in his remarks today. 9.14 am: G20's efforts should be for 0 tolerance for corrp'n & black money; 0 admin, policy & treaty loopholes; 0 barriers & cmtmnt to action: PM 9.13 am: PM Modi professes India's support for BEPS recommendations and calls on countries to commit to the timeline of 2017-2018 in Hangzhou, China. 9.12 am: Fighting corruption, black money & tax evasion central to effective financial govrnce: PM on Effctv Global Eco & Fin. Governance in Hangzhou 9.11 am: We need a regular dialogue between the IMF, Regional Financial Arrangements and Bilateral Swap Arrangements: PM Modi in Hangzhou 9.10 am: Long delayed 15th Gen. Review of Quotas must be completed by 2017 Annual Meets: PM on Effective and Efficient Global Eco. & Fin. Governance 9.03 am: Slight earthquake of magnitude 4.5 occurred in Nepal at around 7:34 AM today as per National Center for Seismology, New Delhi. 8.50 am: HM Rajnath Singh to hold a press conference in Srinagar at 11 AM. 8.35 am: Meerut (2/9/16): Mother forced to spend night outside govt hosp with body of her child after being denied ambulance to take body back home. Ambulance asked me for Rs.1500 to take my child's dead body back home. I had called 108 to reach ambulance: Mother 8.25 am: Azad Hind government's medals displayed in Siliguri (WB), "Sher-E-Hind" "Vir-E-Hind" medals displayed. Devotees gather in large number for "aarti" at Siddhivinayak Temple, Mumbai #GaneshChaturthi pic.twitter.com/oJQqMsTTej ANI (@ANI_news) September 5, 2016 Tirupati (Andhra Pradesh): PV Sindhu & Pullela Gopichand visit Tirupati Balaji Temple pic.twitter.com/HSxdneVALL ANI (@ANI_news) September 5, 2016 Mumbai: Offerings being made to the famous Lalbaugcha Raja on the occasion of #GaneshChaturthi pic.twitter.com/rJPbzbWNcZ ANI (@ANI_news) September 5, 2016 School children in Rajkot (Gujarat) take oath to make eco-friendly Ganesh idols #GaneshChaturthi pic.twitter.com/HuNRxsbHCq ANI (@ANI_news) September 5, 2016 7.45 am: Chandrapur (Maharashtra): Tigress found dead in Balapur forest area 7.15 am: #TopStory #GaneshChaturthi festival to be celebrated across the nation today. 7.10 am: #TopStory PM Narendra Modi to attend session on Effective and Efficient Global Economic and Financial Governance in Hangzhou (China) 7.00 am: #TopStory PM Narendra Modi to meet UK Prime Minister, and President of Argentina in Hangzhou (China) This is 21st century, where have we reached in name of religion: SC on hate speeches SC directs Karnataka to release 15,000 cusecs of Cauvery water to TN for ten days News oi-Vicky By Vicky The Supreme Court today ordered Karnataka to release 15,000 cusecs of Cauvery water to Tamil Nadu for ten days. The court also ordered the supervisory committee to decide on the issue relating to the release of water during this period of ten days. The Supreme Court is hearing a plea filed by Tamil Nadu in which it had sought the release of Cauvery water from Karnataka. However Karnataka contended that it has no more water to be released and stated that this was a distress year. In the Supreme Court, Tamil Nadu today contended that only 33 TMC water received so far. In normal year TN should get 94 tmc water and in distress year it is 68 TMC. TN also decided to file a rejoinder stating that as per IMD report the deficit of water flow in 4 reservoirs in Karnataka is just 28 per cent. Karnataka on the other hand told the court that Tamil Nadu is under the impression that this is not a distress year. While the rains have been good in North Karnataka, it is the Cauvery basin in particular that has suffered the most this year, Karnataka also contended. Karnataka also requested the Supreme Court to send a fact finding committee. The committee could analyse the inflow and outflow and then report to the Supreme Court. Chinese and South Korean firms will be squeezed out by tariffs of up to 38 percent. Vietnam has decided to impose significant anti-dumping measures against Chinese and South Korean steel imports. The Ministry of Industry and Trade has issued the decision to impose temporary anti-dumping tariffs for imported galvanized steel products from China and South Korea, according to the Vietnam Competition Agency's website. The anti-dumping rates range from 4.02 to 38.34 percent for Chinese steel enterprises, and 12.4 to 19 percent for South Korean firms. The Vietnam Competition Authority said that the anti-dumping tariffs will increase import costs and protect the domestic market. The specific temporary anti-dumping tax rates for galvanized steel products from China (including Hong Kong) and South Korea are listed below and will be levied from September 16 to January 16: Country/Territory No. Holding company/ exporter Commercial firm/affiliate Temporary anti-dumping tax rate (percent) China (including Hong Kong) 1 Yieh Phui (China) Technomaterial Co., Ltd. Chin Fong Metal Pte., Ltd. 4.02 2 Bazhou Sanquiang Metal Products Co., Ltd. Sumec International Technology Co., Ltd. 7.2 3 BX Steel POSCO Cold Rolled Sheet Co., Ltd. Benxi Iron and Steel International Economic and Trading Co., Ltd. 38.34 4 Bengang Steel Plates Co., Ltd. Benxi Iron and Steel International Economic and Trading Co., Ltd. 34.77 5 Tianjin Haigang Steel Sheet Tianjin Hajinde Co., Ltd. 11.87 6 Hebei Iron & Steel Co., Ltd., Tangshan Branch Tangshan Iron & Steel Group Co., Ltd. 20.76 7 Wuhan Iron and Steel Company Limited 1. International Economic and Trading Corporation WISCO 2. Wugang Trading Company Limited 3. Ye-Steel Trading Co., Limited 4. Steelco Pacific Trading Limited 25.63 8 Other Chinese holding companies/ exporters 38.34 South Korea 1 POSCO 1. Daewoo International Corporation 2. POSCO Asia 3. POSCO Processing & Service Co., Ltd 12.4 2 Other South Korean holding companies/ exporters 19 Vietnam has imposed new anti-dumping tax rates on steel imports to protect the domestic market. Photo from thesaigontimes.vn/ Hung Le Vietnamese authorities will conduct follow-up investigations after the temporary period, and more information will be made public on official websites. On March 3, 2016, Vietnams Ministry of Industry and Trade initiated anti-dumping investigations into galvanized steel products imported from China, Hong Kong and South Korea. Vietnam already imposes tariffs of 23.3 percent on steel billet imported from China, the U.S., Canada, Germany, France, Japan and South Korea. Related news > Anti-dumping measures could turn into a double-edged steel sword > Vietnam province galvanized by $15-billion steel project > Chinese steel tagged with Vietnamese labels to avoid high EU taxes Tamil Nadu farmers welcome SC order on Cauvery river water India oi-IANS By Ians English Chennai, Sep 5: Expressing their happiness at the Supreme Court's order to Karnataka to release 15,000 cusecs of Cauvery river water to Tamil Nadu every day for next 10 days, farmers in the latter state hope this will be an interim order and the final order will give sufficient water for their crops, said a leader of farmer's association. "We are happy at the Supreme Court's order. The total water release ordered for 10 days amounts to around 12 thousand million cubic (TMC) of water. Only when 25 TMC water is released there will be storage at Mettur Dam for release," S. Ranganathan, General Secretary, Tamil Nadu Cauvery Delta Farmers' Welfare Association, told IANS. He said it is possible for Karnataka to release 25 TMC of water so that it can cater to the need of crops till October. "Before the close of September, we have to raise the crop," Ranganathan added. He hoped the Tamil Nadu government would press strongly for more as the interim release will not be helpful. "In order to have smooth release of water there should be Cauvery Management Board (CMB) but it may take time. Till CMB is set up there can be a committee headed by a judge with members from Tamil Nadu and Karnataka. This is address the issue and take decisions based on the availability of water," Ranganathan added. IANS Assam Direct Recruitment: SLRC Grade 3 and Grade 4 results out; How to check Two cattle smugglers apprehended India oi-PTI Guwahati, Sept 5: Personnel of the Guwahati frontier of Border Security Force (BSF) today apprehended two cattle smugglers from the Indo-Bangla international boundary in Dhubri district of Assam. The cattle smugglers who were identified as Muktadir Akon and Nuruddin Mondal were apprehended when they were trying to smuggle cattle heads to Bangladesh, a BSF release said. The smugglers have been handed over to local police for further legal action. The BSF troops had also seized 227 cattle heads valued at Rs 14,29,220 on the intervening night of September 4/5. PTI Won't talk under ambit of Indian Constitution-J&K separatists tell delegation News oi-Vicky By Vicky The all party delegation which is in Jammu and Kashmir made attempts to meet with the separatists but were turned down amidst sloganeering. "Don't come to us, go see for yourself what the situation," is what Yasin Mallik had to say. CPI(M) general secretary Sitaram Yechury, CPI leader D. Raja, JD(U) leader Sharad Yadav and the RJD's Jay Prakash Narayan were the ones part of the delegation that met with the separatists. The leaders first attempted to meet with Mallik who is lodged in the Srinagar central jail. What is there to talk when the Home Minister says that talks should be held within the ambit of the Indian Constitution. Go look outside instead of coming to me, Mallik told the leaders. No talks under ambit of Indian constitution: Mallik said that talks cannot be held under the ambit of the Indian Constitution. It is our policy that we shall not talk under the ambit of the Indian Constitution, Mallik also said before turning away the leaders. You are part of a larger delegation led by the Home Minister who wants to talk under the ambit of the Indian Constitution and this is not possible for us, Mallik also said. At the residence of S Geelani, the delegation was made to wait for 10 minutes. Geelani who is under house arrest at his Hyderapora residence refused to meet with the leaders. He sent word to the leaders that he did not want to talk. He refused to budge when the leaders sent word stating that only talks are the way forward. The group then called on former Hurriyat Conference chief, Prof Abdul Ghani Bhat. He told the leaders that he felt for them. I feel for you, but I cannot help it, he also said. He later on said that he gave the leaders the respect as they had come this far, but talks were not going to take place while adding that delegation's visit was a futile exercise. When Mirwaiz Umar Farooq was called on, he just shook hands, but said that he could not speak on Kashmir. I cannot speak on the Kashmir issue or the current situation in the state, he told the delegation. The leaders met with a similar fate when they met with Shabir Ahmed Shah. He too said that talks cannot be under the ambit of the Indian Constitution. For Breaking News and Instant Updates Allow Notifications Story first published: Monday, September 5, 2016, 10:31 [IST] International news brief: Hurricane Orlene hits Mexico; Robert Vadra attends wedding in Chicago and more Floods, landslides wreak havoc on Mexico's Acapulco resort International oi-PTI Acapulco (Mexico), Sep 5: Floods and landslides caused by a tropical depression have damaged or affected some 70 homes and schools and trapped around 200 people in the Mexican resort town of Acapulco, authorities said. Torrential rains, which began on Saturday morning caused 33 rock and landslides on interstate highways and the Ayutla-Cruz Grande federal highway, Guerrero state authorities said. The downpour also caused a road to collapse in central Acapulco, sending two cars falling downward and injuring at least three passengers, the city's Civil Protection Coordination reported. Heavy rainfall also trapped around 200 people in their housing complex, who had to be air evacuated by police, marines and the army. The residents were taken to a temporary shelter, according to Guerrero Governor Astudillo Flores. The state has already deployed Mexican army troops under a disaster plan. AFP Imran targets PM Sharif over alleged corruption International oi-PTI Lahore, Sep 4: Pakistan Tahreek-e-Insaf Chairman Imran Khan today said Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif's name should be placed on Exit Control List (ECL) by the Supreme court, till the probe into his family members' off shore holdings revealed in the Panama Papers concludes. He was addressing a big rally in Lahore, organised to target the Prime Minister on alleged corruption. "Nawaz Sharif's name should be placed on ECL till the conclusion of the probe into his family members' off shore holdings revealed in the Panama Papers. The Supreme Court should order placing his name on the ECL," Khan said, adding, Sharif will be in jail when he comes to power. Imran Khan further said his party would march towards Sharif's Raiwind residence after Eidul Azha (this month) if he (Nawaz) fails to respond his four questions about making assets abroad. "Nawaz must tell the Pakistani nation how he made billions of rupees and then transferred it abroad. How much tax he paid on the money through which he purchased apartments in London," he said. Khan said if Nawaz Sharif thinks he will get away from Panama Leaks, he is seriously mistaken. "Panamagate will not leave Nawaz Sharif," he said. Khan also urged the heads of National Accountability Bureau (NAB), Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) and Federal Investigation to act and start probe against Nawaz Sharif and his family members for their off-shore holdings. He also declared Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) a B-team of ruling PML-N. He said Nawaz Sharif wants the Panama Papers issue to be investigated according to laws dictated by his government. "Along with militant terrorism, Pakistan is also facing economic terrorism," he said, adding the PML-N is destroying the institutions to avoid accountability. "I warn the monarchy of Sharifs that our protest is peaceful, so they better not provoke us," he said. Imran Khan also praised Army Chief General Raheel Sharif for refusing to accept extension of his tenure and the new office of field marshal. "Nawaz Sharif tried to bribe Gen Raheel by offering him extension and the office of field marshal but he refused. We salute Gen Raheel," Imran Khan said. Gen Raheel's tenure is completing this November. PTI For Breaking News and Instant Updates Allow Notifications Story first published: Monday, September 5, 2016, 12:19 [IST] India's steel industry now 2nd biggest, target is to double crude steel output in 10 years: PM Modi Modi raises NSG bid with Erdogan; submarine leak with Hollande International oi-PTI Hangzhou, Sep 5: Prime Minister Narendra Modi today discussed India's NSG membership with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and also raised the issue of the confidential data leak of the Indian Scorpene Class submarines with French President Francois Holland on the sidelines of the G20 Summit. On the second and final day of the summit in this east Chinese city, Modi met Erdogan and Hollande in separate "pull-aside" meetings. Prior to that, he met Britain's new Prime Minister Theresa May and held discussions on "building opportunities" in the aftermath of UK's decision to exit the European Union. In his meeting with Erdogan, the prime minister discussed the issue of India's membership of the 48-member Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG), External Affairs Ministry Spokesperson Vikas Swarup told reporters. The discussion with Erdogan on NSG was significant as Turkey was among the few countries - along with China - which had stalled India's bid to join the elite grouping at its plenary meeting in June in Seoul. China had then raised objection saying India was not a signatory to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT). Turkey too raised its concern over the presence of supporters of dissident Muslim cleric Fethullah Gulen, who it accusses of masterminding the failed July coup attempt, in India. Swarup said enhancing civil aviation with Turkey also figured during the discusions. In his bilateral meeting with Hollande, Modi raised the leak of sensitive data related to Scorpene Class submarines. "This isues has also figured," Swarup said. Over 22,000 pages of secret data on the capabilities of six highly-advanced submarines being built for the Indian Navy in Mumbai in collaboration with French defence company DCNS were leaked. The data leak reportedly happened overseas. With May, the prime minister underlined that even after UK's exit from the EU, "Britain remains an important partner" for India. "May also referred to the recent passage of GST (bill) which would further boost trade and investment ties with the UK. She supported PM's reform agenda and the UK is keen to participate in Make in India, Smartcity and Skill India initiatives," he said. The two leaders discussed further enhancing of the defence partnership and Modi invited UK firms to India. They also talked about the challenges of terrorism, calling it "the biggest threat and danger to the world with no boundaries," Swarup said. . PTI For Breaking News and Instant Updates Allow Notifications Story first published: Monday, September 5, 2016, 17:58 [IST] UN Secretary General to renew call to India, G20 nations to invest in sustainable transition Promise of climate finance from developed nations a mirage: Min Bhupender Yadav at G20 meet G20: India to assume presidency in Dec 2022; will host 200 meetings PM Modi, Putin to meet on SCO sidelines, will discuss cooperation in UN, G20: Kremlin How India plans to change health sector during its G20 presidency Narendra Modi meets world leaders on the sideline of G20 International oi-Lisa By Lisa On day two of the G20 Summit being held in Hangzhou, China discussions moved on to "More Effective and Efficient Global Economic and Financial Governance". Prime Minister Narendra Modi began his intervention by highlighting the important points on why a stable global economic and financial system is imperative for growth. PM highlights important points on why a stable global economic and financial system is imperative for growth pic.twitter.com/gNoxAfeG8K Vikas Swarup (@MEAIndia) September 5, 2016 PM emphasised that long delayed 15th General Review of Quotas must be completed by 2017 Annual Meetings. PM further added that, "We need a regular dialogue between the IMF, Regional Financial Arrangements and Bilateral Swap Arrangements". PM @narendramodi : Fighting corruption,black money & tax evasion central to effective financial governance pic.twitter.com/6z8Ux7QYO1 Vikas Swarup (@MEAIndia) September 5, 2016 PM professed India's support for BEPS recommendations and called on countries to commit to the timeline of 2017-2018. PM also said that, "G20's efforts should be for zero tolerance for corruption and black money; zero administration, policy and treaty loopholes; zero barriers and full commitment to action". PM Modi ended his intervention by stating that, "We need energy to support developmental needs." He sought balanced mix of nuclear, renewable energy and fossil fuels at core of our policy. He also thanked all for unreserved support to ISA. Prime Minister Narendra Modi intervened in the third discussion session at G20 Summit in China. On the final day PM spoke on "Robust International trade and Investment". PM began his intervention by saying that global trade is at a cross road. He further added that vision of transparent, equitable, non-discriminatory, open, inclusive and rule based global trading arch should underpin collective efforts. PM:Trade facilitation is important.I urge countries to fully implement the Bali and Nairobi Ministerial decisions pic.twitter.com/BVHEv3GgPy Vikas Swarup (@MEAIndia) September 5, 2016 PM @narendramodi emphasises Collaborative action over the next 15 years & lays out specific actions world can take pic.twitter.com/xv0Nt1Lzdy September 5, 2016 PM concluded his remarks by flagging India's vibrant collaboration with Africa. He also mentioned reaffirming of partnership at IAFS last year. Prime Minister on the sidelines of G20 Summit had his first bilateral meeting with UK's new Prime Minister Theresa May. This meeting is considered very important for cementing ties with the UK. Building opportunities with the United Kingdom. PM @narendramodi meets PM @theresa_may for their first bilateral pic.twitter.com/fRf7ZvUL9i Vikas Swarup (@MEAIndia) September 5, 2016 Cementing ties with UK, PM @narendramodi & PM @theresa_may hold talks on the sidelines of G20 Summit. @Number10gov pic.twitter.com/Wlaqb1Pl8c PMO India (@PMOIndia) September 5, 2016 Both the leaders held discussions on the sidelines of the G20 summit here on "building opportunities" after the UK voted to leave the EU- the world's single largest market. "Building opportunities with the United Kingdom. With May, the prime minister underlined that even after UK's exit from the EU, "Britain remains an important partner" for India. May also referred to the recent passage of GST (bill) which would further boost trade and investment ties with the UK. She supported PM's reform agenda and the UK is keen to participate in Make in India, Smartcity and Skill India initiatives. The two leaders discussed further enhancing of the defence partnership and Modi invited UK firms to India. They also talked about the challenges of terrorism, calling it "the biggest threat and danger to the world with no boundaries. At Hangzhou, China PM also met Indian students who are volunteering as interpreters for delegates at the G20 Summit. PM met Indian students who are volunteering as interpreters for delegates at the G20 Summit. pic.twitter.com/QT1snqCvnX PMO India (@PMOIndia) September 5, 2016 On the sidelines of G20 Summit PM Narendra Modi had a short talk with French President Hollande. The meeting is to strengthen the Strategic Partnership with France. PM raised the issue of the confidential data leak of the Indian Scorpene Class submarines with French President Francois Holland on the sidelines of the G20 Summit. Strengthening the Strategic Partnership with France. PM @narendramodi has a quick pull aside with President Hollande pic.twitter.com/4nVA1Uqzln Vikas Swarup (@MEAIndia) September 5, 2016 Prime Minister Narendra Modi today discussed India's NSG membership with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. On the second and final day of the summit in this east Chinese city, Modi met Erdogan in "pull-aside" meeting. In his meeting with Erdogan, the prime minister discussed the issue of India's membership of the 48-member Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG). The discussion with Erdogan on NSG was significant as Turkey was among the few countries - along with China - which had stalled India's bid to join the elite grouping at its plenary meeting in June in Seoul. Enhancing civil aviation with Turkey also figured during the discussions. Talking India-Turkey ties with President @RT_Erdogan at the G20 Summit. pic.twitter.com/PYnp4Pz9Tt PMO India (@PMOIndia) September 5, 2016 Final bilateral in the G20 multilateral! PM @narendramodi meets @mauriciomacri, President of Argentina pic.twitter.com/0gbVHInhkp Vikas Swarup (@MEAIndia) September 5, 2016 Pak off the FATF grey list doesn't mean it's not under scrutiny anymore: MEA secretary One single nation in South Asia spreading agents of terror: Modi tells G20 International oi-PTI Hangzhou, Sep 5: In a sharp attack on Pakistan at the G20 summit here, Prime Minister Narendra Modi today said "one single nation" in South Asia is spreading "agents of terror" as he asserted that those who sponsor the menace must be sanctioned and isolated, not rewarded. "Indeed one single nation in South Asia is spreading these agents of terror in countries of our region," Prime Minister Modi said in an apparent reference to Pakistan. "We expect the international community to speak and act in unity, and to respond with urgency to fight this menace. Those who sponsor and support terrorism must be isolated and sanctioned, not rewarded," Modi said in his intervention during the concluding session of the meeting of the world's 20 strong economies. The Prime Minister said India appreciates the G20's initiative on combating the financing of terrorism and asserted that all countries should meet the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) standards. "Growing forces of violence and terror pose a fundamental challenge. There are some nations that use it as an instrument of state policy. India has a policy of zero tolerance to terrorism. Because anything less than that is not enough," Modi said. "For us a terrorist is a terrorist," he asserted. Modi's remarks came a day after India called on other BRICS members to intensify joint efforts to combat terrorism. Modi, in an apparent reference to Pakistan, had yesterday demanded "coordinated actions" by the grouping to "isolate supporters and sponsors of terror". The Prime Minister, in his address to the Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa (BRICS) Leaders Meeting here, had said "terrorists in South Asia, or anywhere for that matter, do not own banks or weapons factories". "Clearly, someone funds and arms them and BRICS must intensify joint efforts not just to fight terror but to coordinate actions to isolate those who are supporters and sponsors of terror," he had said, without naming Pakistan. But the reference was clearly aimed at Islamabad -- a close ally of China. Modi's comments at G20 come against the backdrop of escalating war of words between India and Pakistan in the aftermath of the continuing unrest in the Kashmir Valley that broke out on July 8 after Hizbul commander Burhan Wani was killed by security forces. PTI From being a victim of terrorism to exploring global solutions: India praised at UN's Counter Terrorism meet Sushma Swaraj holds talks with Italian counterpart in Rome International oi-Lisa By Lisa External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj today met her Italian counterpart Paolo Gentiloni and discussed cooperation in key areas of trade and counter- terrorism, the first high-level contact between the two countries after the UN court's verdict on the Italian marines issue. "They reviewed the state of bilateral relations and discussed the future roadmap of cooperation in trade and investment, science and technology, counter terrorism, cultural exchange and other areas of mutual interest," the MEA said. They also agreed to expand cooperation between Italy and India in multilateral fora, it said. The relationship between India and Italy soured after India detained Italian marines -- Salvatore Girone and Massimiliano Latorre -- on charges of murdering two Indian fishermen off Kerala coast in 2012. Unsatisfied with Indian judicial process, Italy moved the UN Tribunal, which in May this year allowed Girone to return pending the trial. Latorre is already in Italy on health grounds. During the meeting today, Sushma Swaraj also conveyed her deep condolences for the recent earthquake in central Italy that caused a lot of destruction and claimed many innocent lives. For Breaking News and Instant Updates Allow Notifications Story first published: Monday, September 5, 2016, 7:49 [IST] A suicide attack was reported in Murad Khane area of Kabul in Afghanistan , local media reported the attack in front of the Afghanistan Defense Ministry in Kabul. Sources say two suicide bomb blast were heard. were involved in the attack. Afghanistan has been under constant terror attacks, just last month a university in Kabul was attacked which claimed life of 10 people. Police say the suspect has confessed to beating a woman to death and drowning three children. After a month-long manhunt, police in the northern mountainous province of Lao Cai on Sunday arrested a suspected murderer who allegedly killed four family members in a brutal attack that rocked the public. Tan Lao Lo, 24, was finally caught while trying to sneak through the forest back to his home, after going on the run in the wake of the alleged murders and robbery in August. According to a VnExpress source, the suspect has admitted killing four family members, and is currently in custody facing charges of murder and robbery. Murder suspect Tan Lao Lo. Photo by VnExpress/Son Duong On August 9, Tan Ong Nai, 22, found the body of his two-year-old daughter Tan Mai Phuong in a stream 50 meters from his house on his way home from work. Nai tried to get into the house to search for the rest of his family, but found the front door was locked. Instead he went around the back and entered the house to find a booby-trap set inside with a gun pointed at him. It didn't go off. Lao Cai Police arrived at the scene the next day and discovered the body of Nais wife (Tan Ta May) and his other daughter (Tan Thuy Van), who was only 20 days old, in a pond near their home. Nais niece Tan Thuy Chi, 6, was subsequently found dead in a ditch 100 meters from the house. The family's house had been ransacked, and VND14 million (US$628) in cash was stolen. Autopsy results showed that Tan Ta May had been beaten to death, while the three children had been drowned. Police identified Lo as the prime suspect following his disappearance, and tracked him to Coc My Commune, Bat Xat District, about 10 kilometers from the border with China. Lo has a wife and two children and was described as a lazy and abusive person. Three years ago, he broke into the house with the intention of raping Tan Ta May, Nai's wife, but failed. according to the police. Vietnam reported 1.51 intentional homicides per 100,000 people in 2011, up from 1.25 in 2008, the New York Times reported last month, using a World Bank database that cites figures from the United Nations. But that was still below the average of two per 100,000 people reported across the Asia-Pacific region in 2012, the closest year for which data was available, the Times said. Related news: > Four family members brutally murdered in northern Vietnam > Vietnam's appeals court upholds death sentences in murder of 6 family members > Vietnamese woman faces murder rap after crushing husband's testicles North Korea test fires three ballistic missiles on the sidelines of G20 summit on Monday. The missiles were fired from the western region at around noon time. The missile launches were the latest in a series of launches by the isolated North this year in violation of UN Security Council resolutions. 2008-2022 One News Page Ltd. All rights reserved. One News is a registered trademark of One News Page Ltd. Oneindia 21 Sep 2022 A red-brick building partially collapsed in an explosion on Chicago's West Side on Tuesday. The city's fire department said that.. Reuters - Politics 31 Jul 2020 Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam on Friday postponed a Sept. 6 election for the city's legislature for a year because of a spike in.. Scores of abandoned 100-year-old colonial mansions are waiting to be restored to their former glory. Before 1975, the Central Highland town of Da Lat had around 1,500 villas, mostly built in the French colonial style from the early 20th century. Many of them have been left to fall into decay after decades of neglect, and only a lucky few retain their former glory to serve tourists looking for a romantic experience with a pinch of nostalgia. Le Quang Trung, the director of Lam Dongs Department of Construction, said agencies concerned are working on a scheme to revive the mansions from oblivion. An abandoned mansion on Co Giang Street. Another deserted two-storey villa on Co Giang Street. For years, Da Lat has been planning to renovate 170 mansions around the city, but so far only a few are open to tourists. Many villas used to serve as public offices for the authorities in Lam Dong Province. However, in April 2014, provincial authorities moved to a new building, extending the list of abandoned villas. The former headquarters of the Committee of Lam Dong Ethnic Groups. Its now covered in grass after the agency moved to the new administrative center. Dozens of ancient villas in Da Lat are facing the same problem. High rents are cited as the main reason. Weeds grow on a window balcony in lieu of flower pots. A mansion is surrounded by meter-high grass on Hung Vuong Street The doors have been boarded up to secure the house. Many of the walls have peeled off, revealing rows of century-old stones. Tiles have fallen from the roofs, leaving only wooden frames. Photos by VnExpress/Khanh Huong Rumble 21 Feb 2022 Heavy air activity near the Syrian border in Iraq, WATCH for news! Canada horse lady will be OK after all, B52 Stratofortress in.. NPR 25 May 2022 North Korea launched three ballistic missiles toward the sea on Wednesday, its neighbors said, hours after President Joe Biden.. New NetEnt Live Mobile Platform to Provide Superb User Experience Published September 5, 2016 by Ivan P Swedish casino games developer NetEnt has rolled out their new Live Mobile platform, bringing on the go gaming experience to the next level. NetEnt, one of the best known companies in the online games development business, has announced they will be rolling out their brand new Live Mobile platform. NetEnt Live Mobile should provide players with a superb on the go experience while playing their favorite Live Casino games on their Android and iOS powered devices. NetEnt Live Mobile Key Features According to Per Eriksson, CEO of NetEnt, the new platform combines the best audio, video, and streaming technologies of today, bringing players the experience that resembles that of playing in a live casino as much as possible. Some of the platform's key features include the possibility of switching between landscape and portrait viewing modes, 3D-branded background, in-spin betting ability inherent to the live casino environment, high quality streaming, and more. NetEnt Live Mobile will provide online casino operators with an all-in-one solution for their Live Casino offers. With fast, flexible, and highly adaptive technology, the company hopes to set a new standard in the world of virtual live casinos. Developed With Players for the Players In the PR issued by NetEnt to announce this exciting development, Eriksson put a special emphasis on the fact that the NetEnt Live Mobile platform was developed with the assistance from the players. The players' involvement was crucial during development, as it enabled the company to incorporate the kind of solutions that would appeal to the end users. Giving players a possibility to experience true live casino environment in terms of visual and audio impressions is one part of the puzzle. The other one is making sure the interface through which players interact with that environment is smooth and user-friendly. Participation of the players was invaluable in that regard. NetEnt Continues to Grow The Swedish company founded in 1996 was one of the pioneers in the casino games development. Since then, NetEnt has grown to establish itself as one of the market leaders and the company's growth continues even today, as they strive to provide new, cutting-edge gaming solutions for their clients and partners. SiGMA 2016 Set to Gather iGaming Industry Leaders in Malta Published September 5, 2016 by Ivan P SiGMA 2016, taking place in Malta between November 16 - 19, will see more than 3,000 visitors gather in the island country for one of the largest iGaming shows. SiGMA (Summit of iGaming) 2016 is one of the largest iGaming gatherings, taking place in Malta between November 16 - 19. The Summit will gather more than 3,000 participants from different segments of the industry, including expert speakers and more than 100 exhibitors. 'Silicon Valley' of iGaming Industry Denis Dhyr-Hansen and Eman Pulis, SiGMA founders, have dubbed Malta the Silicon Valley of the iGaming industry. The island country offers a unique space where online gaming companies can freely develop and thrive with a full support from the government and other related entities like Lotteries and Gaming Authority and the Malta Financial Services Authority. Right now, there are more than 300 iGaming companies operating from Malta, with many more considering relocation. The country offers everything such a company could expect, from the supporting and encouraging laws to required infrastructure including numerous office buildings. With more than 9,000 people already employed in the iGaming sector and the number expected to grow exponentially, it is clear that the industry plays an important role for the economy of Malta. On top of thriving economic prospects, the country also offers a nice climate and pleasant living conditions for families and individuals alike. What to Expect from SiGMA 2016 SiGMA 2016 will be looking to emphasize the opportunities offered by Malta for new and established iGaming companies. Participants will have an opportunity to visit one big Expo, get acquainted with more than 40 affiliate programs, and to listen to 60+ experienced speakers from different iGaming branches. This year's SiGMA will take place over three days, from November 16 to November 19, and will allow visitors and direct participants alike to hear about the latest trends, ideas, and developments in the industry and forge business connections and partnerships. The registration is still open for all interested parties and affiliates can book their place completely free of charge. SiGMA 2016 stands to offer valuable knowledge based on the years of hands-on experience and those who decide to visit the iGaming Silicon Valley in November will certainly not leave disappointed. Komfie Manalo, Opalesque Asia: Hedge funds posted mixed performance for August as the HFRX Market Directional Index gained +1.15% and the HFRX Global Hedge Fund Index gained +0.16% for the month, reported data provider Hedge Fund Research. HFR said in its monthly report, "Global financial markets posted mixed performance as realized volatility and implied volatility declined, trading volume fell and equity markets reached intra-month record levels with modest advances. Equity markets posted mixed performance for the month, with gains in energy & financials, European & Asian exposures offset by declines in biotech & healthcare." It added that U.S. rates were little changed for the month, as were European yields, with negative rates continuing across Japanese, Swiss and German government bonds. The U.S. dollar gained for the month against the Japanese yen and Swiss franc, recovering intra-month weakness into month end as investors began to speculate on near term rates increases by the U.S. Fed. Commodities diverged for the month, with energy gains led by oil, while metals declines were led by platinum and silver; wheat, cotton and corn posted steep declines in agricultural commodities. Event driven delivers 1.34% gain last month The HFRX Event Driven Index posted a gain of +1.34% for August, +7.11% YTD, extending its gains from prior months. The H...................... To view our full article Click here Komfie Manalo, Opalesque Asia: The South Korean hedge funds industry is growing at a fast pace and has reached $5.40bn in assets under management, reported the Korean Herald, citing official domestic data. According to industry data released today (Sept. 5), the aggregate assets of South Korean hedge funds totaled $5.4bn as of July 31 this year, more than double the amount when the local hedge fund industry breac...................... To view our full article Click here In the week ending 02 September, 2016, Preqin said that the hedge fund industry saw $34bn in asset withdrawals in the first half of 2016, as total AuM reached $3.11tln. However, separate data from eVestment showed that that investors siphoned off some $25.2bn in July ($55.9bn in H1), a scale comparable to 2009 global financial crisis; Preqin added that CTAs posted the highest net inflows in H1 with $16.6bn. Gemini Alternative said that assets on its Galaxy Plus Fund surpassed $500m; Kayne Anderson Capital has closed its newest energy-focused private equity fund, the Kayne Private Energy Income Fund on $1.55bn. Leda Bragas Systematica Investments has increased its external assets by almost $2.5bn; and Visium Global Fund said it would return 95% of its assets to investors. Takashi Makita is gearing up to launch his own computer-driven hedge fund firm, Niten Capital Management; Maj Invest is looking to boost acquisitions in the micro finance in the Andean region with $100m fund; James Spenceley is planning to launch a new fund that is focused in small-cap sector...................... To view our full article Click here Reprinted from Truthdig In this week's episode of KCRW's "Scheer Intelligence," Truthdig Editor in Chief Robert Scheer talks with former "M.A.S.H." actor Mike Farrell about his efforts to save the lives of people awaiting execution in the United States, and the pitfalls awaiting celebrities who get involved in social causes. Farrell played Capt. B.J. Hunnicut on the television series "M.A.S.H." between 1975 and 1983. He has been active in several causes and is president and a board member of the nonprofit organization Death Penalty Focus. Robert Scheer:Welcome to "Scheer Intelligence." This is Robert Scheer, and my guest today -- and it's the guest that supplies the intelligence -- is Mike Farrell. For those who are too young to remember, when he was the star on "M.A.S.H." for -- what was it -- about six years? Mike Farrell: Eight. RS: Eight years. Everyone in the country knew who Mike Farrell was. He's had a long, distinguished career as an actor, and he actually has been a leader in the Screen Actors Guild, much like Ronald Reagan was, only as opposed to Reagan, Mike Farrell has chosen to use his celebrity as an actor to support progressive causes, and, actually, not just progressive causes that are basic to the whole human condition. He was for 10 years a leader and is still very active in [the] human rights organization Human Rights Watch. MF: Correct. RS: Which is probably along right up there with Amnesty International. Those were the two major organizations that one looks to for a consistent and honest view of human rights around the world. And then he took on another cause, which is really quite difficult in terms of political acceptance, and that has to do with the death penalty in particular and the administration of justice in the prison system in general, and it's [called] Death Penalty Focus. And this is an issue where a lot of people think, "Okay, yes, let's be forward, but they did terrible crimes," and blah blah blah, and it's not one of those obvious do-gooder issues. Click Here to Read Whole Article Since the bold arrival of his book Of Grammatology in 1967, French philosopher Jacques Derrida has been understoodor misunderstoodas many things: a radical relativist who rejects all of metaphysical history, a fashionable intellectual playing language games, a brilliant phenomenologist of language. One association he vehemently rejected was with the kind of ironic, laissez faire postmodernism represented by Seinfeld. But when it came to clarifying his work for puzzled readers and onlookers, Derrida could seem as willfully, frustratingly evasive in person as he was on the page. His work, writes Williams College professor Mark C. Taylor, can seem hopelessly obscure to people addicted to sound bites and overnight polls. Most people familiar with some of Derridas work know a few key terms of his thought: differance, trace, aporia, pharmakon. Those whove only heard the name probably know only one: Deconstruction, a way of doing philosophy, says Alain de Botton in his video introduction to Derrida above, that fundamentally altered our understanding of many academic fields, especially literary studies. But what exactly is Deconstruction? Rather than a method, Derrida himself described it as a process already occurring within a written work, one we can observe when we do not assume that what is conditioned by history, institutions, or society is natural. Derridas meditations on the inability of language to contain or communicate natural or metaphysical truth developed in unique life circumstances. Born into a Jewish family in French colonial Algeria in 1930, the philosopher grew up very conscious of having been in an inferior position at the nexus of three different religions, Judaism, Christianity, and Islam, all of which claimed to speak the truth, says de Botton. Upon arriving in Paris to study in 1949, Derrida found himself even further on the social margins. Though Derrida was not an autobiographical writer, its hard not to read his work as a response to bigotry and exclusion. The claim that the philosopherwhose name has almost become synonymous with post-modernism, for good or illwas not an autobiographical writer may seem strange to some. One of his most-read books in college courses, Monolingualism of the Other, proceeds from an investigation into his fraught relationship with the French language because of his upbringing as a religious minority in a European colony. Later, Derrida delivered a ten-hour address to a conference called The Autobiographical Animal, published posthumously (and excerpted here). Nonetheless, Derrida would not have made much of his place as the author, this being only a rhetorical occasion for analysis. Derrida, writes Nazenin Ruso at Philosophy Now, argued that once the text is written, the authors input loses its significance. The person of the authorhis or her physical presence, biographical experiences, emotions, desires, and intentionsbecomes irretrievable for readers, one of many absences in the text that we mistake for presence. Its hard to see, then, how we can speak of what Derridas hope was for his readers self-improvement, as de Botton says in his video introduction. This being the School of Life, we are treated to a rather utilitarian reading of the philosopher, one he would perhaps reject. But Derrida bristled at the idea that language could suffice to tell us how and who to be in the world. His suspicion of logocentrism, an over-hasty, naive devotion to reason, logic, and clear definition, says de Botton, means he felt that many of the most important things we feel can never be expressed in words. To hear Derrida talk about the problem of privileging language over other means of expression with an artist who uniquely agreed with his position, read his interview with jazz great Ornette Coleman. Related Content: 140 Free Online Philosophy Courses Philosophy with a Southern Drawl: Rick Roderick Teaches Derrida, Foucault, Sartre and Others Jacques Derrida on Seinfeld: Deconstruction Doesnt Produce Any Sitcom Philosopher Jacques Derrida Interviews Jazz Legend Ornette Coleman: Talk Improvisation, Language & Racism (1997) Teacher Calls Jacques Derridas College Admission Essay on Shakespeare Quite Incomprehensible (1951) Josh Jones is a writer and musician based in Durham, NC. Follow him at @jdmagness As bodies pile up in Philippines, many fear to talk about Duterte's war Relatives and friends carry the coffin of Eric Quintinita Sison during burial rites in Pasay city, metro Manila, Philippines August 31, 2016. Photo by Reuters/Czar Dancel Last week the number of people killed since July 1 reached 2,400. The body of 22-year-old pedicab driver Eric Sison lies in a coffin in a Manila slum with a chick pacing across his casket, placed there in keeping with a local tradition to symbolically peck at the conscience of his killers. Cellphone video footage circulating on social media purports to capture the moment Sison was killed last month when, according to local officials, police were looking for drug pushers in the Pasay township of the Philippines' capital. A voice on the video, recorded by a neighbor according to newspaper reports, can be heard shouting "Don't do it, I'll surrender!". Then there is the sound of gunfire. A poster near the coffin, which lies beside a stinking canal cut between ramshackle homes, demands "Justice for Eric Quintinita Sison". A handpainted sign reads: "OVERKILL - JUSTICE 4 ERIC." These are rare tokens of protest against a surge of killings unleashed since Rodrigo Duterte became president of the Philippines just over two months ago and pledged to wage war on drug dealers and crush widespread addiction to methamphetamine. Very little stands in the way of his bloody juggernaut. Last week the number of people killed since July 1 reached 2,400: about 900 died in police operations, and the rest are "deaths under investigation", a term human rights activists say is a euphemism for vigilante and extrajudicial killings. Duterte's office did not immediately respond to a request for comment on this report. Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte speaks during a news conference in Davao city, southern Philippines August 21, 2016. Photo by Reuters/Lean Daval Jr/File Photo Opponents assailed Reuters interviews reveal that the police's Internal Affairs Service (IAS) and the Commission on Human Rights (CHR) are so overwhelmed by the killings that they can investigate only a fraction, and there is scant hope of establishing many as unlawful because witnesses are too terrified to come forward. Meanwhile, the immense popularity of Duterte's crusade and a climate of fear whipped up by the bloodletting have together silenced dissent from civil society. Hardly anyone turned up at candlelight vigils in Manila recently to protest against extrajudicial killings. Even as the death toll rose, a July poll by Pulse Asia put Duterte's approval rating at 91 percent. Anxious reminders by the Catholic Church of the commandment "thou shalt not kill" make few headlines in the predominantly Catholic country, with newspapers preferring to carry breathless accounts of the latest slayings. Duterte has delivered withering attacks on his chief critic, Senator Leila de Lima, accusing her of dealing in drugs herself and having an affair with her driver. "It's only the president who can stop this," de Lima told Reuters last week, deploring what she described as the "madness" that led in one case to a five-year-old girl being shot in the head. "How many more of these cases of collateral damage are we willing to bear before we can really start screaming about it?" she asked. As for critics abroad, Duterte pours scorn on them in language larded with curses. He lambasted the United Nations after it criticized the surge in killings and he turned down a meeting with U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon at a summit in Laos this week. Duterte will meet Barack Obama in Laos on Tuesday, although he has made it clear in advance that he will take no lecture on human rights from the U.S. president, when in the United States he alleged "black people are being shot even if they are already lying down". Members of the Philippine National Police (PNP) officers torch stacks of marijuana seized in a police operation against illegal drugs in Camp Dangwa in La Trinidad, Benguet province, Philippines, September 2, 2016. Photo by Reuters/Ezra Acayan "Everyone is afraid" Duterte may intensify the crackdown after 14 people were killed on Friday in a bomb attack at a market in his hometown, Davao. Police blamed the Abu Sayyaf, an Islamic State-linked group Duterte has vowed to destroy, but his war on the drug trade is making enemies elsewhere and the attack quickened rumours of a plot to kill him. Duterte has declared a nationwide "state of lawlessness" after the blast that authorizes troops to reinforce the police with checkpoints and patrols. He has managed with remarkable speed to nationalize a vicious model for fighting crime that he pioneered as mayor of Davao for 22 years. Rights groups documented hundreds of suspicious murders in Davao on Duterte's watch and say death squads operated with impunity there. "The Punisher", as some call him, denies ordering extrajudicial killings but he does not condemn them. Across the country now, lists of suspected drug pushers are being provided to police by neighborhood chiefs, adding to a sense of fear and distrust across communities. Politicians of all hues have gone quiet, and a Senate enquiry led by de Lima only has the power to propose legislation, not stop the killers in their tracks. Human rights advocates along with church groups offer prayers and light candles as they call for justice for the numerous extrajudicial killings, which have increased since President Rodrigo Duterte, took office at the Redemptorist church in Paranaque city, metro Manila, Philippines August 10, 2016. Photo by Reuters/Romeo Ranoco Investigators swamped Chief Superintendent Leo Angelo Leuterio, who heads the IAS, says it is his office's responsibility to investigate every discharge of firearms involving police. But with only about 170 investigators nationwide, the IAS is able to deal with just 30 percent of the roughly 30 cases coming in every day. "Our resources are breaking at the seams," said Leuterio. The IAS chief is supposed to be a civilian to ensure its independence but Leuterio is a policeman who spent 13 years of his career in Duterte's hometown, Davao. He says he is unbiased and has a track record of dismissing hundreds of officers for misconduct. The CHR, for its part, is looking at just 259 of the 2,000-plus killings since July 1. Its forensics team of 14 is swamped and in their cramped office investigators probing possible extrajudicial killings are handling just 12 dossiers. The commission says its biggest obstacle is that witnesses are hard to find. One person who did come forward is Harrah Kazuo, whose husband and father-in-law were severely beaten and shot dead in a police station, according to a CHR report. She told Reuters that when the police entered their home without a warrant they even removed her toddler's underwear to search for drugs. Police have not commented on what happened in the home, but two officers have been arrested and charged with murder in connection with the case. Kazuo has been taken into witness protection by the CHR. She is a rare protesting voice in an environment where many are fearful. On August 29, police told reporters they had opened fire that night on a drug suspect in Tondo, a dirt-poor and densely populated district of Manila. A Reuters reporter looked into the suspect's one-room home and saw a mattress splattered with blood. He asked a neighbor how many shots had been fired, but the man replied: "Sorry, my friend. I didn't hear a single shot," and walked away. Related news: >Duterte threatens to pull Philippines out of UN > Philippines' Duterte: UN pull-out threat a 'joke' SmartTOP Additional Top Control for Mercedes-Benz SLC Roadster Now Available http://youtu.be/AgXOLf3C4Oc http://www.mods4cars.com http://www.mods4cars.com The retrofit SmartTOP roof control from the manufacturer Mods4cars is now available for the new Mercedes-Benz SLC Roadster. It allows the opening and closing of the convertible top while driving, using short keystrokes. In addition, the roof can be operated from afar via the original vehicle keys.Las Vegas, NV (USA), September 1st, 2016 -- The SmartTOP additional roof control from the company Mods4cars for the Mercedes-Benz SLC Roadster is now available. The retrofit roof module makes for greater drive comfort with its smart function. With it, you are able to open the convertible top via the original remote control from a distance. The existing vehicle key does not need to be changed for this.In addition, the roof can be operated while driving up to a speed of 60 km/h. The One-Touch function ensures that a quick tap of the top button is enough to set the automatic convertible top motion into transition. Eliminating the need for stopping and the cumbersome continuous pressing."We are pleased that we can offer all owners of the new SLC our smart roof control after such a short time and with the benefits of the numerous additional functions." explains PR spokesman, Sven Tornow. The latest development makes it possible, in addition to the two main functions, to roll up the rear windows with the top down.Furthermore, all windows can be opened and closed separately via the remote control from outside the vehicle. As confirmation of the central locking, a short beep signal will sound. It is also possible to activate the hazard warning lights during the tops folding movement. For vehicles with the Keyless Go package, the roof top can be opened and closed by triple touching a door knob.Even in the most recent top control made by Mods4cars, all functions are programmable to your personal wishes. The module can be deactivated completely. When starting and stopping the engine, the current top movement will not be interrupted. Thanks to a standard USB port, the SmartTOP convertible controller can be configured on the PC and available free software updates installed. The supplied plug-n-play harness also ensures for a very easy retrofit.SmartTOP roof modules are available for the following brands: Alfa, Audi, Bentley, BMW, Chevrolet, Ferrari, Ford, Infiniti, Jaguar, Lamborghini, Mazda, Mercedes-Benz, Mini, Nissan, Opel, Peugeot, Porsche, Renault, Volkswagen and Volvo. The comfort extension for the SLC Roadster is now available for 269.00 Euro + tax.A product video can be viewed here:For more information:About Mods4cars:Mods4cars was founded in 2002 from the idea to add a highly demanded feature to the otherwise almost perfect Porsche Boxster: Comfort One-Touch roof operation while driving at slow speeds. The resulting product offered not only that, but also allowed quick and easy installation by just swapping out a relay box, thus leaving no traces and no permanent changes on the vehicle. The first SmartTOP roof controller was born.The success of their first products in Germany and Europe prompted them in late 2004 to move operations to the USA, to be able to serve the American market as well as all other English speaking countries such as Australia, UK and South Africa from one central location. Their business has grown to a full-fledged international corporation with an office in Las Vegas and a full line of innovative products as well as distributors and installation partners all over the globe.Being highly specialized in the development and distribution of aftermarket roof- and comfort controllers since 2002 allows them to offer an unsurpassed level of competence and product quality. Their main goal is optimization of each individual product to a maximum in compatibility, usability and intuitive operation. They put greatest effort into development and quality checks of all their products to achieve this goal and meet all expectations of their customers.The extraordinary success of their products is also based on the great communication with their customers, which usually already starts for each new product during the development and prototyping phase.Press & Media Contact:Sven TornowMods4cars LLC1350 E. Flamingo Rd #3100Las Vegas, NV 89119 - USA+1-310-9109055tornow@mods4cars.com Business and Luxury Travel Mart to Be Organized In India in October http://www.travelogyindia.com New Delhi, 03 September 2016: Being a renowned name in travel industry, Travelogy India Pvt. Ltd. is going to participate in BLMT to be held from 24th October to 25thOctober, 2016. The Hyatt Regency in Gurugram, better known as Gurgaon, in Haryana near New Delhi is going to host a two days event called the Business and Luxury Travel Mart (BLTM).The event will serve as a platform to the sellers of global businesses such as travel management firms, event management companies, venues, resorts, luxury hotels, airlines, ground handling and logistic companies and various other MICE service providers related to Travel & Tourism industry along with the buyers from the nation.India being the 10th largest business travel market in the world accelerated five spots since the year 2000. Global Business Travel Association (GBTA) Foundation expects India to be the 6th largest business travel market in the world till the end of 2019. It has issued a report forecasting 10.7% growth in business travel expenses in the year 2016, followed by an additional 10.2% growth in 2017.In this regard, chairman of Fairfest Media Ltd, Sanjiv Agarwal said, We are committed to creating BLTM as Indias premier show focused on Business, MICE and Luxury Travel segments. Hundreds of genuine hosted buyers will be flown in from all parts of India and neighboring countries.Additionally, the venue, Gurugram will provide a rich hinter land of high-value corporate buyers in thousands, who will be also accorded the same status as hosted buyers.Travelogy India is known for offering the best tours in India and some other parts within Asia since 5 years. It offers impeccable hospitality and seamless services as it understands the needs and requirements of the traveler. Valuing time and money of the client is its foremost concern. Safety and privacy is not at all a matter of concern when you are traveling with the company.322, 3rd Floor, Angel Mega Mall CK-1,Kaushambi, Ghaziabad Delhi NCR - 201010Tel : +91 120 411 3120Mobile : +91 9810071704Email : santosh@travelogyindia.inWebsite : The wine market in Poland: current developments and trends www.polandconsulting.com The Poles spent nearly PLN 1.5 billion (appr. EUR 350 million) for grape wines in 2015 and thus 7.2% more than in the year before. Referred to the total category of wine, spending increased by 5% and totaled PLN 2.2 billion (appr. EUR 520 million).Every Pole drinks about 6 liters of wine per year. This is in terms of quantity far below the per capita consumption of French and Italians and the Czechs and Slovaks. However, the quantity gap between the Poles and these nations is reducing constantly.Regarding taste preferences and preferred residual sugar content in wines the Poles most often buy semi-dry wines, which supersede more and more the sweet wines.In 2015, the total sales volume of grape wines was divided into 56% red wine, 33% white wine and 11% rose wine. The highest increase over the previous year was recorded by the white wines.The largest sales share currently amounts to wines from the US, especially the Carlo Rossi brand from California.When analyzing the points of sale then it appears that consumers buy most wine (in terms of value) in discounters. The discounters generate 39% of the total value of all grape wines sold in the country. This high share of discounters on sales of wines is one of the highest in Europe.In contrast, the large hypermarkets lose shares and reach 24%.The supermarkets have recorded the third largest sales share (17%). Compared with the hypermarkets the supermarkets were able to increase their sales shares from year to year.In the longer term, the wine consumption in Poland is expected to grow by 7% annually and the demand will continue to develop towards wines of higher quality.Since 2004 the consultancy Poland Consulting Services Sp. z o.o. has been offering strategic advice and has been supporting the market entry, the setup of sales structures (search for qualified distribution partners and sales agents), the sourcing (search for suitable suppliers/manufacturers), the establishment of branches (registration of LLC and start-ups) and the business development in Poland of SME and global operating companies. The company has also been providing customized market data and market analyses.Our current market data include a company list of contacts with Polish importers and distributors of wines and a market analysis about the wine market in Poland.Press contact:Daniel BlotenkamperPoland Consulting Services Sp. Z o.o.ul. Jasna 1/1PL 58-500 Jelenia GoraPhone: +48 75 6474008Email: db@polandconsulting.comWebsite: What is Scalp Micro Pigmentation? Scalp Micro Pigmentation http://www.phukethairclinic.com Micro Scalp Pigmentation also know as Scalp Micro Pigmentation which is offered by Phuket Hair Clinic in Thailand. This procedure is ideal for people wanting a long term hair loss solution and having a lovely holiday on the island of Phuket at the same time. Micro Scalp Pigmentation is a method of depositing pigment into the dermal layer of the skin on the scalp, which replicates hair follicles.When viewed from a few inches or further away, the pigment dots appear as hair follicles and the client has the appearance of a full head of recently shaved hair. Micro Scalp Pigmentation is color matched on a gray scale for most clients and can be used to treat clients of very pale complexion to extremely dark skin tones. Pigment changes also allow Phuket Hair Clinic to treat clients with red hair, blonde hair or older clients who have much gray or white hair. A Scalp Micro Pigmentation procedure at Phuket Hair Clinic is also around one-third of the price that you would normally pay in Europe or the USA. However, we offer the same services and professionalism as they do but with a lower price tag.I am well-aware that many people are a bit skeptical about having this Scalp Micro Pigmentation procedure done as its a fairly new hair restoration solution/procedure on the market and one must be sure that the procedure is going to be done properly and professionally by people who know really what they are doing. To make of potential SMP or Scalp Micro Pigmentation Clients feel more at ease, we at Phuket Hair Clinic now offer a free Micro Scalp Pigmentation/Scalp Micro Pigmentation test procedure which will be applied to a very small area of your scalp. After this test procedure, we will take a photograph of this area and have it magnified many times so that you can see exactly how good the results really are with your own eyes. Please note that this process is nothing like a hair tattoo.Our Scalp pigmentation procedure has a very natural looking effect due to the fact that we use specialized smaller needles and specialized pigment inks that match human hair pigments and don't change color over time. You will also be able to see how your natural hair color matches with the pigment color which we apply for the Scalp Micro Pigmentation.We will also match the chosen Micro Scalp Pigment color as close as possible to your natural hair color which will as a result be almost undetectable and look very natural. You have nothing to lose, why not give it a try for free. Please contact us if or when you would like to come in and see us for a free Micro Scalp Pigmentation consultation.Phuket Hair Clinic is not a hair salon, beauty parlor or tattoo studio. We operate a dedicated hair clinic with professionally qualified hair loss specialists. We have developed our MSP treatment using a sophisticated blend of science and artistic cosmetic flair in the specialist field of hair loss. MSP treatments are unique, the process is safe, the results are instantaneous, and represents exceptional value for funds compared to other surgical and hair loss treatments. We are fully aware and very sensitive to the needs of all hair loss sufferers, our clinic is designed to provide a private, friendly surroundings. The advice, treatment and service we provide is confidential and dedicated to you. With Phuket Hair Clinic, you will be provided with a high-quality, clinically-proven hair loss treatment, together with exceptional levels of client care.Postal Address: Moo 6, Wichitsongkram Road, Kathu, Phuket, 83120.Website Address:Email:info@phukethairclinic.comPresscontact: Steven Hen-Boisen email contact: info@phukethairclinic.com Global Oral Proteins and Peptides Market 2016: By Drugs Linaclotide, Ostora IN-105(Insulin), Plecantide, Others http://www.intenseresearch.com/market-analysis/world-oral-proteins-and-peptides-market-opportunities-and.html http://goo.gl/q2k47C http://www.intenseresearch.com The Oral Proteins and Peptides are the formulations that are orally administered by the patient. Usually, formulations containing proteins and peptides are administered via intravenous and subcutaneous route due to instability and sensitivity towards body fluids. Oral route of administration is very convenient route; however, the bioavailability of proteins and peptides is less, when administered orally due to degradation of amino acids in gastrointestinal tract. With the advancement in technology formulation containing protein and peptides are introduced in the market that can be orally administered with no change in therapeutic activity and pharmacokinetic aspects.The market for oral protein and peptides is expected to grow due to technological advancements, R&D activities and increase in prevalence of chronic disorders. High cost of R&D activities is the major challenge for oral proteins and peptides market.Request a Brochure of This Report, here @Oral Proteins and Peptides Market analysis by DrugsThe market is segmented into Linaclotide, Ostora, IN-105(Insulin), Plecantide and others. Insulin is used mostly amongst the various oral proteins and peptides that are being developed. Oral Proteins and Peptides Market analysis by TechnologyThe market is segmented into Gastrointestinal Permeation Enhancement Technology (GIPET), Eligen, Peptelligence, Oral antibody platform, Multi-Matrix Systems (MMX) and others. GIPET, Eligen and Peptelligence are some of the prominent technologies used in oral protein and peptides formulations development.Oral Proteins and Peptides Market analysis by GeographyGeographically, the market is segmented into North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific and the LAMEA. North America is the most eminent market of oral proteins and peptides market.Competitive LandscapeZydus cadilla Healthcare, Pfizer, Inc., Roche, Inc., Sanofi-Aventis LLC, Abbott Laboratories, Novartis AG are the major key players of this market. Many large and small companies are doing in-house research for developing new technologies. Several proteins and peptides are in preclinical and discovery stage.Request a TOC of This Report, here @High level analysisAccording to Porters five forces model, the bargaining power of buyers is high due to limited number of sellers in the market and bargaining power of buyers is less, as there is no substitute available in the market. Threat of new entrant is less due to high capital investment require for start- up. SWOT analysis gives direction for strategic planning. Major Key players are focusing on Research and Development. Many products are of key players are under preclinical trials and clinical trials.KEY BENEFITS Understanding of drivers and restraints helps to develop business strategies according to the business environment Market entry and market expansion strategies can be planned on the basis of segmentation of market Analysis of strategies adopted by key players helps to strengthen market position Long term profit and growth strategies can be tailored through porters five forces model and SWOT analysisKEY DELIVERABLES Oral proteins and peptide market is segmented on the basis of drugs available, technology used for development and geography.MARKET BY DRUGS Linaclotide Ostora IN-105(Insulin) Plecantide OthersMARKET BY TECHNOLOGY Gastrointestinal Permeation Enhancement Technology (GIPET) Eligen Peptelligence Oral antibody platform Multi-Matrix Systems (MMX) OthersMARKET BY GEOGRAPHY North America Europe Asia-Pacific LAMEAAbout UsIntense Research 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. Intense Research is the comprehensive collection of market intelligence products and services available on air. We have market research reports from number of leading publishers and update our collection daily to provide our clients with the instant online access to our database.Contact UsIntese Research3422 SW 15 Street,Suit #8138,Deerfield Beach,Florida 33442,USA Tel: +1-386-310-3803 GMTTel: +49-322 210 92714USA/Canada Toll Free No.1-855-465-4651Email: sales@intenseresearch.comWeb: Thermoelectric Generator Market Worth US $720 Million by 2021 Thermoelectric Generator Market http://www.marketresearchengine.com/reportdetails/thermoelectric-generators-market-research-report http://www.marketresearchengine.com/requestsample/thermoelectric-generators-market-research-report http://www.marketresearchengine.com/ New York, September 03: Market Research Engine has published a new report titled as Global Thermoelectric Generators Market Research Report - Industry Analysis, Size, Share, Growth, Trends and Forecast, 2014 - 2021.The global market for thermoelectric generators is estimated to be US$ 320 million and is projected to grow to US$ 720 million with an impressive growth rate of14.5% from 2015 to 2021.Browse the full report:Renewable energy is playing a major role in the electricity generation in current scenario, according to a report by Market Research Engine. Considering the life span and cost of non-rentable resources of energy, the demand of renewable resources is highly increasing.Thermoelectric generators are one of the devices using renewable energy i.e. heat to produce electricity. It can also be used otherwise too. Thermoelectric generators (TEG) are solid state devices which convert temperature difference between two materials into electrical energy. Thermoelectric generators (TEG) are based on the principal of See beck effect.Certain applications like automotive, aerospace, semiconductor networks are more likely to use power sources which have less maintenance and are low in cost. Durability also plays a crucial role in fitting the power source for places which are hostile and out of reach. TEGs perfectly fit in these places providing high reliability and greater efficiency. These low cost compact devices are more in demand because of its solid state adding advantage at immobile locations, durability and reliability and increased greenhouse effect.North America is expected to capture more than two third of the market in current scenario and is projected to keep its supremacy over the forecast period. However, Asia Pacific and European countries are projected to grow at relatively higher growth rate.The report gives a 360 degree analysis of the market covering the growth drivers, growth inhibitors, value chain analysis, new product launches and the market perspective of the global thermoelectric generator.The major use of thermoelectric generators is expected from automotive end users. This segment is expected to grab more than half of the market for thermoelectric generators. Aerospace and industrial heat closely accounts the second and third position. Use of TEGs in space applications will continue to attract market demand.This industry has limited manufacturers, mostly tier II or III. This market is led by U.S. manufacturer Gent herm Inc. having commanding market share of more than one fourth of the market value. Other companies involved are EVERREDtronics,Ferrotec, green TEG, GMZ Energy, Laird Plc, Micro pelt, Tellurex, ThermolifeEnergy Corporation, Yamaha Corp, Alphabet Energy, TECTEG MFR, Red Hawk Energy Systems, Komatsu Corp. and others.Download Free Sample Report:Segmentations in Report: Thermoelectric Generators By ApplicationAutomotiveIndustrialSensorsWearableOthers Thermoelectric Generators By Power:1KW Thermoelectric Generators By Temperatures1K degree C Thermoelectric Generators By MaterialSi-GeBi-TePb-TeOthers Thermoelectric Generators By ControllerSingle DirectionalBi DirectionalMulti Directional Customization of ReportMarketResearchEngine.com also provides client's business specific and client's requirement specific research reports.Clients can also buy company profiles for Global Thermoelectric Generators market without buying full report.About MarketResearchEngine.comMarket Research Engine is a global market research and consulting organization. We provide market intelligence in emerging, niche technologies and markets. Our market analysis powered by rigorous methodology and quality metrics provide information and forecasts across emerging markets, emerging technologies and emerging business models. Our deep focus on industry verticals and country reports help our clients to identify opportunities and develop business strategies.Media ContactCompany Name: Market Research EngineContact Person: John BayEmail: john@marketresearchengine.comPhone: +1-855-984-1862, +91-860-565-7204Website:Address: 3422 SW 15 Street, Suite #8942, Deerfield Beach, FL 33442, United States Fusion Art is Now Accepting Submissions for Its 2nd Annual "Colorful Abstractions" International Online Juried Art Exhibition http://www.fusionartps.com http://www.fusionartps.com/colorful-abstractions-october-2016 http://www.fusionartps.com Palm Springs, CA, USA -- Fusion Art () is pleased to announce it is now accepting submissions for its 2nd Annual "Colorful Abstractions" international online juried art exhibition.For this competition artists and photographers worldwide are encouraged to share their artistic interpretation of the "Colorful Abstractions" theme by submitting their best nonobjective or nonrepresentational art. Black and white are colors that qualify for the Colorful Abstractions theme.The competition is open to artists worldwide and all artists and photographers, regardless of location or experience level, are encouraged to participate. The exhibition will be hosted on Fusion Art's website during the month of October 2016.Cash prizes will be awarded in two categories - "Traditional" Art and "Digital Art & Photography" and the Best in Show winners receive an invitation to participate in Fusion Art's group exhibition in Palm Springs, CA in November 2017. The deadline to apply is September 26, 2016.Each month Fusion Art hosts uniquely themed art competitions and exhibitions. Both winners and finalists are provided with worldwide exposure, by having their work promoted through Fusion Art's website, in 70+ press release announcements, email marketing, online event calendars, art news websites and through the gallery's social media outlets. The gallery's objective is to promote the artists, worldwide, to art professionals, gallerists, collectors and buyers.Founded by Award winning artist, Chris Hoffman, Fusion Art was envisioned and formed out of a passion for art and the artists who create it. The website promotes and connects new, emerging and established artists with collectors and art enthusiasts, while offering the opportunity to participate in art competitions and experiences.Artists who are interested in submitting their artwork for consideration should visit Fusion Art's website for full competition guidelines:About Fusion ArtFusion Art is an online gallery website where new, emerging and professional artists can enter online juried art exhibitions, obtain competition experience, as well as gain exposure to art collectors and art professionals.Media Contact:Valerie HoffmanFusion Art2658 S. Cherokee WayPalm Springs, CA 92264(Mailing Address: PO Box 4236Palm Springs, CA 92263)760-832-7568competitions@fusionartps.com Fusion Art's "Waterscapes" International Online Juried Art Exhibition Opened September 1, 2016 http://www.fusionartps.com http://www.fusionartps.com/waterscapes-2016-exhibition http://www.fusionartps.com Palm Springs, CA, USA -- Fusion Art () is pleased to announce the opening of its September 2016 International Online Juried Art Exhibition, "Waterscapes." The exhibition is now available for viewing on the Fusion Art website.The "Waterscapes" exhibition opened on September 1st and featured awards in two categories: Traditional Art and Digital Art & Photography.For this competition artists and photographers worldwide were encouraged to share their artistic vision and interpretation of "Waterscapes." The theme included any art or photography which depicted any type of body of water including the ocean, lakes, rivers, ponds, streams, etc. The artwork could range from realism to surrealism to abstraction and all artists and photographers, regardless of location or experience, were encouraged to submit.The "Waterscapes" Best in Show winners are Brian LaSaga for his acrylic on wood panel, "Beachwood Snag" and Annie Tsai for her photograph, "Man and Ocean."Both Brian and Annie are Fusion Art's Featured Artists for the month of September 2016 and, as the Best in Show winners, both artists are also invited to participate in Fusion Art's Annual Group Show in Palm Springs, CA, in November 2017.Other "Waterscapes" award winners include Second Place winners, Hunter Jay for his acrylic on canvas, "Tranquility" and Stephen Baumbach for his photograph on plexiglass, "Foam Fly #4." Third Place awards were given to Susan Allen for her oil on canvas, "Fripp Island" and Peter Shepherd for his photograph, "Solar Blast." The remaining finalists in the exhibition all exemplify uniquely creative talents and Fusion Art is once again honored to showcase their artwork on the website.The international competition was held from July 8th through August 27th and received a diverse collection of quality artwork from artists all around the world. The exhibition will be featured on the Fusion Art website until September 30, 2016.Founded by Award winning artist, Chris Hoffman, Fusion Art, a fine art gallery located in Palm Springs, California, was envisioned and formed out of a passion for art and the artists who create it. The website promotes and connects new, emerging and established artists with collectors and art enthusiasts, while offering the opportunity to participate in art competitions and experiences.Each month Fusion Art hosts uniquely themed art competitions and exhibitions. Both winners and finalists are provided with worldwide exposure, by having their work promoted through Fusion Art's website, in 70+ press release announcements, email marketing, online event calendars, art news websites and through the gallery's social media outlets. The gallery's objective is to promote the artists, worldwide, to art professionals, gallerists, collectors and buyers.To view the exhibition and for further information on all the winners and finalists, please visit Fusion Art's website:About Fusion ArtFusion Art is an online gallery website where new, emerging and professional artists can enter online juried art exhibitions, obtain competition experience, as well as gain exposure to art collectors and art professionals.Media Contact:Valerie HoffmanFusion Art2658 S. Cherokee WayPalm Springs, CA 92264760-832-7568info@fusionartps.com Rasawellness.in Opens Doors for Oxygen Therapy Treatment in Jaipur, Rajasthan http://www.rasawellness.in/ June 30, 2016 (Jaipur, Rajasthan) Rasa Aesthetics Oxy, Wellness Lounge Rasawellness.in is a leading Oxy Wellness provider, and is now offering Oxygen Wellness Treatment plans like Chemical Peels, HBOT etc. in Jaipur Rajasthan. Rasa becomes the first Oxy wellness lounge in Rajasthan to offer Hyperbaric Oxy Treatment (HBOT) as well as Chemical Peels, Bio-Light therapy, and Facial treatments. They are committed to build a culture which clearly focuses on the overall wellbeing of clients. For Rasa Wellness, aesthetics doesnt limit to exterior beauty, but also on overall health and wellness.The Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy is proven to provide a lot of anti-aging benefits in modern medicine, as it includes repairing damaged cells and healing. This procedure provides 100% pure oxygen to saturate each cell and accelerate the natural healing process of the body. Today, hyperbaric oxygen therapy is not just for treating serious medical conditions, but it is also popular as a natural therapy to deal with the effects of stress, aging, injury, illness and over exertion around the world in anti-aging, cosmetic, and wellness centers.Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy can enhance blood flow by suppressing inflammation, keeping cell membranes flexible, detoxifying and fighting infection by destroying viruses, bacteria, fungi and parasites, which thrive in environments that have low oxygen. Along with any kind of cosmetic procedure, it is recommended to treat and prevent common problems like fine lines, wrinkles, dull and dry skin, sagging skin, fatigue and tiredness. It is very useful to cure different skin problems like acne, eczema, psoriasis and several others.It is a great anti-aging therapy to keep your stem cells healthier and repair and rejuvenate your body. Your skin cells can regenerate faster and improve the overall texture of skin. Stimulation of leukocyte microbial removal, increased collagen formation, enhancement of fibroblast replication, and neo-vascularization of ischemic tissue are some of the benefits. Periodical treatment is well though to improve elasticity of aging skin and to improve texture of your skin and to reduce appearance of wrinkles, fine lines, scars and blemishes. Across the world, plastic surgeons prescribe therapy to improve recovery from surgery. Therapeutic dose of oxygen can improve infections and regulate appearance of fine lines and wrinkles.Contact:Rupali SethWebsite :Email: rupali@rasawellness.in , care@rasawellness.inPhone: 0141 - 5116226, 5117227Address:121, First Floor City Pulse MallNarayan Singh CircleJaipur Rajasthan 302004Rasawellness oxy wellness lounge in India is one of the trusted beauty clinics in Jaipur known for oxygen therapy treatments from specialists. Get solution to skin problems like acne, aging, and various skin problems on face. With the skin glow treatments, photo facial and skin rejuvenation your skin will glow like never before.121, First Floor City Pulse MallNarayan Singh CircleJaipur Rajasthan 302004 Reactful Raises $1.4M to Help Websites Convert those Visitors that Normally say Maybe Later Reactful logo www.reactful.com Company launches website optimization product for marketers, with private beta including industry-leading brands like Kimberly Clark, Phillips, Chegg and MongoDB.Reactful, a real-time web optimization platform for digital marketers, is announcing that it is exiting a successful private beta and launching its platform to the public. The company is also revealing a seed round of $1.4M, led by Inspiration Ventures, AOL Ventures, Shaked Ventures and Phi Square Holdings. The funding will be used to grow the Reactful team, accelerate product development, and support the customer base.With the explosion of digital marketing, tracking has become standard, creating mountains of data that didnt exist before. The problem for many marketing teams thus shifted from merely capturing it, to actually using the data properly and quickly to drive conversions and engagements.Data gives you power but only IF its actually utilized in a timely manner and accurately, and thats a big IF which requires time, expertise and resources said Jonathan Friedman, Reactfuls CEO & co-founder. We set out to build a product that lets marketers professionally and quickly execute changes that make real impact on their marketing efforts, not just track numbers and graphs.Reactful uses machine learning algorithms to automatically create useful stories out of the gathered site data. For example, it tracks clicks, scrolls and mouse movements to indicate whether the visitor is idle or confused, started to fill out a form and stopped or perhaps quit watching a video mid-way. Marketers can then create visual changes to the user experience - Reactions - that trigger at just the right time to keep visitors on track towards the site goals. Reactions such as a button shaking, an appearing tooltip with more information, or highlighting a section of the page are added to the arsenal continuously. Reactful also observes user patterns on the website and provides Reaction Suggestions to launch for various visitor scenarios based on best practices.Marketers, desperate to compete with their peers, are launching more and more low quality pop-ups in an effort to capture more email opt-ins or social followers. However, these strategies take a toll on brand perception. Creating a trade-off of brand equity for short term gains. This has lead to the ugly phenomena of confirm shaming and to Google threatening to downrank websites using these tactics . Additionally, simple popup tools can slow down the site, create terrible user experiences and open your site up for security attacks.We were very impressed by Reactfuls ability to empower marketing teams to make tangible impact in revenue quickly and professionally, without having to manually crunch mountains of data, said Gady Nemirovsky, General Partner at Inspiration Ventures.Reactful introduced its private beta in January 2015 with industry-leading brands like UserTesting, Chegg, Accenture and MongoDB. The platform, now open to all companies interested in a new way to improve website conversion rates, consistently achieves a median conversion lift of 25 percent."Using Reactful allows us to react to users' behavior, guide them through the site and encourage them to take action (submit a form to watch a demo, take a product tour and more). Using "Form Leave" reactions we were able to increase Form Submits by over 20%!" - David Winterhalter, Centage Corporation---------------The company is growing quickly and is actively looking for additions to its team, led by Jonathan Friedman as CEO and Aaron Hakim as CTO. To learn more about Reactful and open positions, please contact: info@reactful.com or visitAbout ReactfulReactful is a real-time website optimization platform that triggers reactions to visitor intent to turn more maybe later visitors into engaged prospects and customers. We help convert visitors that are on the fence by understanding their digital body language such as "confusion", "hesitation", "interest", "form abandonment" and more, and reacting accordingly in real time. Reactions can be as subtle as shaking a button gently or attention grabbing such as folding an element in 3D. Reactful continuously analyzes your traffic and recommends best practice reactions to be launched with one click.Reactful powers some of the largest Brands in the world such as Kimberly Clark & Coca Cola, as well as many innovative B2B customers across the US and the world. Based in Palo Alto, California with R&D in Tel Aviv, Israel.Reeactful550 S.California Ave. Palo Alto, CA 94306Kira Kumin kira@reactful.com Italian firefighters carry golden retriever Romeo after he was pulled from the rubble of a house in San Lorenzo a Flaviano on September 2, more than nine days after Italy's devastating earthquake. Photo by AFP A golden retriever called Romeo was resuced after being trapped under rubble for more than nine days. Touching footage filmed by the firemen who saved him shows the shaggy dog being lifted out from under a pile of masonry that is all that remains of his owners' house. Appearing completely relaxed, Romeo slurps his first drops of water in more than 230 hours from a bottle held by one of the firemen. As it becomes clear he is unscathed, the fireman holding him puts him down. Romeo then tiptoes gracefully down the pile of rubble to be reunited with tearful owners who had given up hope of finding him alive. "He's in great shape," says one of the firemen as others whoop in delight while Romeo trots around what remains of his yard. As he sniffs out familiar smells with trademark retriever insouciance, he looks for all the world as if he has just woken from a short nap. Romeo the miracle dog survives Italy quake Romeo the miracle dog survives Italy quake Woof, woof, I'm here Romeo's owners were sleeping on the second floor of their house in the tiny village of San Lorenzo a Flaviano when the earthquake struck before dawn on August 24. They managed to get out, but Romeo, who was sleeping on the first floor, was trapped inside. After searching for him for hours, they were eventually evacuated from the devastated village for their own safety. All hope of finding Romeo alive appeared to have disappeared until Friday evening, when the couple returned to their home in the company of a group of firemen assigned to help them recover key belongings from the rubble. Almost as soon as they came into the tiny medieval village, Romeo heard their voices and began barking. "We immediately began moving masonry from where the barking was coming from and incredibly we got to him and he was in pretty good condition," one of the firemen told the ANSA news agency. "Luckily some beams had fallen in a way that they were holding up the weight of everything above them leaving Romeo with a little niche that he was able to survive in." No human survivors of the quake have been found since the evening of August 24th, when four-year-old Giorgia was pulled out alive after being located by another canine hero of the disaster, Leo. A labrador who works as a police sniffer dog, Leo was granted an audience with Pope Francis on Saturday, two days after he was guest of honor at a summit between Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi and German Chancellor Angela Merkel. Related news: > Italy quake toll rises to 267 > Italy quake kills 159 as rescuers race to find survivors Leonard Bledsoe of Alliance Painting and Roof Coatings Reaches Milestone Alliance Roof Coatings has reached a monumental milestone as a roof coating contractor. With the completion of a 100,000 sq. ft. metal roof in June, 2016, the company has applied its roof coating system to over 1,000,000 square feet of roofs throughout the United States.Leonard Bledsoe, president of Alliance Painting & Roof Coatings is very proud of this milestone as it is a continuation of the painting business his father started in 1970. "The transition from a painting company to a company that applies roof coatings was a monumental task. To reach one million square feet of roof coatings applied is quite an honor and shows the dedication that we put into each job and the trust that customers show us" Bledsoe says.Not all of the jobs completed by Alliance Roof Coatings are 100,000 sq. ft. projects. "A lot of the jobs we do are simply 1500 sq. ft. shingle roof homes or 1000 sq. ft. flat roofs. It takes an abundance of these small jobs to contribute toward one million square feet. We don't turn down customers that want our service because a job is too small. We know that when a property owner has a roof leak and it's creating a headache, we want to solve the problem and end the headache. Even if we break even or take a loss on a job, a happy customer makes it all worth it" says Leonard Bledsoe.Alliance Painting & Roof Coatings is an industry leader in the roof coating arena. The company has been applying roof coatings for 25 years throughout the entire United States. Their waterproof roof coating systems are applied over existing roof surfaces, extends the roof life and promotes energy-efficiency. In most cases, property owners can save thousands of dollars versus the cost of replacing a roof. The roof coatings are great for flat, shingle and metal roofs. They can also be tinted to any color for a decorative finish.Alliance Painting and Roof CoatingsPO Box 6406Chicago, IL 60680Contact: Leonard Bledsoe, President(877)868-8083 Beige Market Intelligence Identifies Top Vendors in Data Center Rack and PDU Market Data Center Rack and PDU - Market Research http://www.beigemarketintelligence.com/contactus/ http://www.beigemarketintelligence.com/reports/research-report-ict-market/global-data-center-technical-furniture-market-rack-pdu-market-research-report/ Data Center Technical Furniture IntroductionThe world is moving toward the adoption of M2M and connected world, where everything is connected to the internet. Moreover, the requirement of storing data in a single location is growing. This has led to the demand for optimally sized data centers among enterprises to manage capacity and real-time computing requirements for enhancing their business capabilities. Increasing number of new data center projects and upgrading of data center projects have driven the demand for advanced data center technical furniture. With the increased demand of data center projects the major vendors and emerging vendors are implementing new operational strategies.A data center consists of core units and overhead units. Core units are those units, which are essential for the operation of a data center and directly influence the performance and process of data center services. For instance, servers, cooling system, power equipment, and fibre optics network. On the other hand, overhead units support data center operations. They do not directly influence the performance and efficiency of data centers.Data center technical furniture is an overhead technical equipment used in a data center for enhancing the performance and efficiency of data centers. They provide support services to core units of data centers.The data center technical furniture market constitutes of three major segments Rack, PDU, and general construction.A recent report published at Beige market Intelligence on data center technical furniture market provides a detailed analysis of the data center technical furniture market size, growth aspect and major vendors.Top Vendors in data center technical furniture market identified in the " Global Data Center Technical Furniture Market (Rack, PDU, General Construction Furniture) Strategic Assessment and Forecast Till 2021" areBlackbox Network ServicesAbout the CompanyBlack Box was founded in 1976 and is headquartered in Lawrence, US. It is a technology solutions provider, which designs, builds, manages, and secures IT infrastructure worldwide. The company provides services for IT infrastructure and specialty networking.The company offers products such as cabinets and racks, cables, carts and storage, cooling solutions, datacom, digital signage, jacks, panels, hardware, KVM, networking, power, premises security, tester and tools, video and multimedia, and voice communication. Its products are used by in sectors such as communication, infrastructure, government, financial, healthcare, manufacturing, retail, and transportation.Product OfferingCabinet and racks product portfolio includes acoustic cabinets, climate controlled cabinets, full-sized IT cabinets, open racks, wall mount and specialty cabinets.Operational StrategyThe company adopt two major strategies: helping data center owners to reduce the CAPEX through the pay-as-you grow strategy and second building customized DCoD as per the customer's demand.Contact Us for More Information:EatonAbout The CompanyEaton was established in 1911 and is headquartered in Dublin, Ireland. It is a diversified power management company, which provides energy-efficient solutions to manage electrical, hydraulic, and mechanical power efficiently, safely, and sustainably.Product OfferingEaton is one of the key leaders in power management systems. Its data center rack product portfolio consists of Eaton S-Series Enclosures, Eaton S-Series with Telescoping Chimney, Eaton S-Series Seismic, Eaton Paramount Enclosures, Eaton Paramount Hygiene, Open Frame Racks.Eaton also offers cost-effective wall-mounted racks for mounting networking gear, communications cabling, and related equipment to reduce floor space.Operational StrategyEaton's long-term strategy has been to focus on leveraging the advantages of its portfolio of power, racks, and other technical furniture, as it is moving toward a changing and hybrid model of IT delivery and consumption.For More Information Please Visit:Emerson Network PowerAbout The CompanyEmerson Network Power was established in 2000 and is headquartered in Ohio, US. The company provides solutions for communication networks, data centers, healthcare, and industrial facilities. It also manufactures data network power and telecom conversion products.Product offeringIt offers AC power and UPS solutions, including computer and peripheral UPS, server and storage UPS, data center and facility UPS, and others. Its offerings include DCF Optimized Racks, DCM Modular Data Center Racks, Aisle Containment Systems, High-density Cooling Integrated Racks.Operational StrategyEmerson Network Power focuses on establishing strategic partnerships with other companies for extending its service offerings.The report also includes the detailed analysis of the products, opportunities and operational strategies of Rittal , Schneider Electric The details of other vendors such as AFCO Systems, AMCO Enclosures, AMS NETTECH, Belden, C&F Group, Cannon Technologies, Chatsworth, Conteg, Dataracks, Dell, Delta Group, Fujitsu, Pentair, Raritan, Sharkrack.Beige Market Intelligence is a new-age provider of competitive business intelligence, working across various industry verticals. Our expertise and knowledge ensures that the market analysis Beige provides is comprehensive, detailed and complete. The analysis helps our client organizations become aware and make educated decisions, as far as investing or devising a marketing strategy is concerned. The actionable insights delivered through our market research provide a comprehensive market analysis for every level of market segmentation in an industry. Beige Market Intelligence is a quality driven high end Market Research organization. Our team of experts ensure the analysis you receive is not just analyzed and smartly presented, but is completely customized based on the clients requirement. Our deliverables guarantee our current global client base does not look beyond Beige when it comes to any kind of industry and market analysis.Beige Market IntelligenceChinnapannahalli, Doddanekundi Main Road, Bangalore-560037email: info@beigemarketintelligence.comUS: +1 347 903 9949UK: +44 20 323 99499APAC: +91 99 012 75473/ 9986433385 The Probability of Extraterrestrial Life Highlighted by SETI Investigation and Release of New Paperback Star Bred Prophecy Star Bred Prophecy https://www.createspace.com/6516824 https://www.amazon.com/dp/B005H7Q2V2 North Charleston, SC Sept 3 2016 - The timing of a new paperback, Star Bred Prophecy, coincides with recently confirmed accounts that the Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence (SETI) is investigating a signal from a planet circling a distant sun. Mirroring the film Contact starring Jodie Foster, this recent discovery is causing excitement within the scientific community.Kept secret from the public, the signal was first detected on May 15 2015 in Russia and papers have been circulating among researchers announcing the detection of a strong signal in the direction of HD164595 solar system. SETI scientists are investigating the signals coming from the star system, which is 94 light years away from Earth. As noted on their website seti.org/seti-institute/a-seti-signal one planet has been detected in orbit around the star, but other planets yet undiscovered are possibly also in orbit.The strength of the signal suggests an advanced civilization because only such a society would be able to emit a signal with equal power in all directions while maintaining signal strength in travel. Earth scientists have yet to achieve such development.Taking this into consideration, even if our scientists managed to build a craft that could travel at the speed of light it would take us 94 years to reach that star system and by that time all the astronauts would have died of old age. However, there is the possibility that those advanced civilizations have already discovered us and may even be peeking over our shoulder, as suggested in the newly released paperback version of "Star Bred Prophecy" available from. The story is written in fictional format but is largely based on actual events, where the main characters explore historical accounts of extraterrestrials, visitations and the possibility of ETs living among us.Star Bred Prophecy is also available in e-book format on Amazon.comAstar Print provides a range of books incorporating a wide variety of subjects, from metaphysical subjects, natural healing techniques and alternative living guidelines through to fictional works.40 Agincourt Street, Auckland 0629 New Zealand SpamExperts Original Founders Buy Back 100% of Shares www.spamexperts.com www.spamexperts.com Amsterdam, September 5th, 2016 Today, SpamExperts is proud to announce that the last externally owned shares were bought back by the original founders, who are thereby regaining 100% ownership over the business.SpamExperts was founded in 2005 after CEO Sam Renkema and CTO Dreas Van Donselaar won a business plan competition next to their University program, which introduced several investors to the project. Since its foundation, SpamExperts reached profitability in 2009 and bought out initial capital providers by 2012. Now, in 2016 the original founders managed to buy the remaining outstanding shares. Over the last years, SpamExperts has won numerous awards for being among the fastest growing IT security companies in Europe.SpamExperts is on a mission to secure email worldwide, with clients in more than 80 countries. Our effort to regain 100% ownership of the company's shares is a direct result of the continued success we foresee in the years ahead. We constantly develop and optimize our products, strategies, and industry partnerships. This final share repurchase underlines the confidence we have in our team and the ability to execute on our strategies. We would like to thank our amazing team, partners, clients, and stakeholders at large for bringing SpamExperts where it is today, and are proud to provide our users spam/virus free email. Things keep changing, and we are excited for what the future will bring, said Sam Renkema, CEO SpamExperts.About SpamExpertsSpamExperts solutions are tailored to (shared) web hosts, ISPS/Telcos and large organizations, as well as distributors and resellers. They offer inbound & outbound email filtering services, as well as email archiving. The services can run either within the redundant SpamExperts Hosted Cloud or on a Local Cloud directly deployed on the customers (virtual) hardware.SpamExperts has won various industry awards highlighting its outstanding performance and results.For more information, please visit the official website ator blog.spamexperts.com.More information:Contact person: Marilena DobreSpamExperts BVRokin 113-1151012 KP AmsterdamNetherlandspress@spamexperts.comPhone: +31 20 820 0004Fax: +31 43 711 3401 Pixel8 has officially been launched www.pixel8.co.za www.pixel8.co.za Pretoria, South Africa 05/09/2016 Pixel8 is a comprehensive online digital solutions marketplace offering bespoke products or services for quick and affordable company branding, as it should be. Through hard work and dedication, Pixel8 has officially opened its platform to those who have an interest in developing and strengthening their brand, as well as those individuals who have branding services to offer.By offering in-demand online products such as graphics and design elements, promotional videos, digital marketing services, as well as SEO-friendly website content, just to name a few, Pixel8 extends its marketplace to offer quality products to a wide variety of individuals who not only want to improve their return investment, but individuals who have quality products to offer by selling them directly on the website.The full range of products offered include: Office interior digital mock-up Sales/landing pages for your website Flyer/brochure designs SEO-friendly website copy Professional product labeling designs Professional business documentation templates WordPress blogs for a business website SEO-friendly articles Social media marketing services Website banner ads Unique email marketing services Infographics for your business website Website banner designs Creative branding mascots Unique email signatures Professional logo designs Unique business card designs Web design and development Learning management systems (LMS) Maintenance and updates on WordPress websites Website conversions into an Android App Promotional videos Animated logo reveals Professional animated videos Accurate data entry Custom QR codes for your business Fun online gifts such as e-card designs and custom t-shirt designsCelebrating the success of the website launch, Pixel8 is excited to see what the future holds for online branding and company collaborations offering affordable, fast, and secure online products. Any business that does not have a website or practising good branding skills is missing out on one of the most powerful marketing tools available to them. Don't get left behind, according to Pixel8s website. Never underestimate the power of well-utilised branding to boost your companys reputation.Pixel8 Build your brand online. Offering a variety of digital content and products to choose from. Quick, easy, and affordable.Pixel8 is an online marketplace focused on the services industry, and specifically online entrepreneurs, offering bespoke business products on time and within budget.Pixel8Padua Building,Persequor Technopark,Quintin Brand Street,Pretoria, 0020Zenka0861 532 769contactus@pixel8.co.za EMI Software LLC Announces New Partnership with China-Based Distributor Tianyuan Technology Co. LTD. http://www.emisoftware.com/ September 5, 2016. EMI Software LLC, developer of EMI Analyst electromagnetic interference analysis software, today announced it has signed a distribution agreement with Tianyuan Technology Co. Ltd., a China-based distributor of technical software solutions. The agreement is EMI Softwares first direct distribution channel in China and forms part of the companys strategy to expand its international market presence.We are seeing increased interest in electromagnetic interference analysis from companies in China, says Maria Flannigan, marketing director for EMI Software. Having an industry leader like Tianyuantech representing EMI Analyst in China provides our customers with regional support and allows EMI Software improved exposure to the China electronics design and manufacturing marketplace.For more than a decade, Beijing TianYuan Technology Corporation Ltd. (TianYuan Tech) has remained sharply focused on offering software and all-in-one services in thermal and electromagnetic analysis areas. This includes design, prototyping, testing, etc.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.Visit us at# # #If you would like more information about this topic, please contact Maria Flannigan at +1 (928) 592-5219 or email at mflannigan@emisoftware.com.EMI Software LLC7000 AZ-179PO Box 21518Sedona, AZ 86351 Business Outsourcing Company is The Key for Success in a Business - Josoft Technologies http://www.josoftech.com Josoft Technologies (Josoftech), India:Business is developing on a rapid rate in India and it is also giving rise to the growth of number of business outsourcing company as huge business requires a number of support services like customer support services, sales promotion, technical support etc. These support services are being provided by the Business outsourcing companies. These support services help the business to run smoothly and put it on the ladder of great success. These companies work as a trustworthy partner of a business. The goal of these companies is to maximize the production and to minimize the cost of production. Dealing of customer queries is the most important part of the business to keep its goodwill, as the growth of a business is totally depends upon customer satisfaction, sometimes they also need some technical supports; these technical supports are being provided by Business outsourcing companies. These outsourcing companies work with great sincerity and confidentiality.Business outsourcing company also does data entry work for the large organizations to keep record of their data as it is not possible for large companies to keep records of data as they have many other important stuffs to do and data entry is time consuming process so this time can be utilized by them in doing other stuffs. Business Outsourcing Company use to do this data entry work in offices as well as make it done by assigning it to data entry operators who are working from home. This is providing some extra income to them by making some extra efforts of earning. This is getting popular as not any special knowledge is required for this work. A person who has the basic knowledge of computer and have a computer system with the internet connection can do this work conveniently. This data entry work is also being done offline in the form of form filling work and content writing work.Josoft, a leading Business Outsourcing Company is providing all kinds of assistance to a business of all size and in all sectors. It provides good customer support services with the help of its experienced and expert executives. The excellent communication skill of the executives of Josoft makes customer satisfied by giving accurate answer to their queries. Sometimes these executives also make some sales calls to promote new product and services of the company. Data entry work is also being done by Josoft. In this way it is providing assistance to large businesses to maintain their records and also providing source of income to the data entry operators.Contact:E-mail us at: info@josoftech.comCall us: +91-9026209005Website:Customer is the base of every business and customer satisfaction is the priority of every company or business as it makes the companys goodwill. Customer satisfaction can be achieved by providing satisfactory answer to their queries and this can be done by hiring a Business outsourcing company.1-B Nanak Arcade 85-A Hind NagarL.D.A Colony, Opposite Shivalik School,Lucknow - 226012 Global Mannequin-Based Simulation Market Outlook 2016: Industry Reviews, Statistics and Performance 2022 Mannequin-Based Simulation http://goo.gl/aNe2DO http://goo.gl/nhCW4h http://www.intenseresearch.com/ Popularity of simulation technologies and rising demand for less invasive treatment are driving the world mannequin based simulation market. However, lack of sufficient funds have hindered the growth of the market to a greater extent. Moreover, increasing focus on patients safety is anticipated to create greater opportunities.The world mannequin -based stimulation market is segmented based on type, end user and geography. The types assessed in the market research report eye stimulators, patient simulators, dental stimulators, task trainers, surgical simulators, endovascular simulators as well as ultrasound simulators. The key end users covered during the study are hospitals and military organizations. Regions such as North America, Europe, Asia -Pacific and LAMEA would experience tremendous growth.Download Brochure for In-feature Information, here :The key market players active in the world mannequin-based simulation market are Limbs & Things Ltd., CAE, Inc., Gaumard Scientific Company Inc. and Laerdal Medical AS.KEY BENEFITS FOR STAKEHOLDERS The market research report provides integrated information on the major drivers, restraints and opportunities influencing the industry growth during the forecast period. The study further drills down to produce data volume by components, end customers and demography. SWOT analysis of major brands, highlights weaknesses, strengths, opportunities and threats. The data proves effective for business owners planning on designing their marketing and branding strategies. Region wise business performance discussed in the market research report would be valuable for enterprises planning to explore new areas. The report not only examines the market dynamics but also takes a closer look at the growth rate and industrial chain structure. Study further weighs up on the prominent market players and what they are doing different to position their product in the already crowded marketplace. Assessment of upstream and downstream market also forms an important part of the report.Request a TOC of This Report, here:MANNEQUIN-BASED SIMULATION MARKET KEY SEGMENTSBy Type Eye Stimulators Patient Simulators Dental Stimulators Task Trainers Surgical Simulators Endovascular Simulators Ultrasound SimulatorsBy End Users Hospitals Military OrganizationsBy Geography North America Europe Asia Pacific LAMEAKey Players Limbs & Things Ltd. CAE, Inc. Gaumard Scientific Company Inc. Laerdal Medical AS.Market Research Store 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. Market Research Store is the comprehensive collection of market intelligence products and services available on air. We have market research reports from number of leading publishers and update our collection daily to provide our clients with the instant online access to our database. With access to this database, our clients will be able to benefit from expert insights on global industries, products, and market trends.Contact Us:Joel John3422 SW 15 Street, Suit #8138,Deerfield Beach, Florida 33442,United StatesTel: +1-386-310-3803GMT Tel: +49-322 210 92714USA/Canada Toll Free No. 1-855-465-4651Email: sales@intenseresearch.comWeb: Sciformix Corporation Awarded Best Safety & Risk Management Company in the 2016 International Life Sciences Awards www.sciformix.com 22 August 2016, Boston, MA - Sciformix Corporation, a leading Scientific Process Organization (SPO), has been recognized as the Best Safety & Risk Management Company in the 2016 International Life Sciences Awards. Sciformix was selected by a panel of experts based on select criteria for outstanding performance in areas such as customer and client reviews, services offered, previous accolades and overall company performance.The 2016 International Life Sciences Awards, an initiative of Global Health and Pharma (GHP), celebrates the unique contributions of the life science industry and gives recognition to outstanding organizations that help to advance the field. The industry continues to bring innovative products that impact human health on a global basis in areas that cover complex and challenging medical conditions and healthcare needs. The need for strong domain expertise for these endeavors has created unprecedented opportunities for outsourcing activities to specialty providers, like SPOs, who contribute with their foundation of rich scientific expertise and optimized processes in areas such as drug safety, regulatory affairs and clinical operations. Click here to view the winners supplement.Sciformix was selected for the award based on a case file built by GHPs judging and research teams. This acknowledgment demonstrates how Sciformix provides best in class scientific services spanning the entire product life cycle from pre-clinical to post-marketing activities. Sciformixs global and flexible service model is customized for each clients unique needs and can be implemented seamlessly through a thoroughly mapped and automated process, built on an integrated technology platform.The lead awards researcher for the case explained We looked at a number of different areas when choosing Sciformix for their award. We were very impressed with their integrated approach towards drug safety. Their continued success, such as branching into the UK last year and having a total of 1,000 employees globally was another factor that we took into consideration. Blog posts and presence at industry events also highlighted how they were continually up to speed with latest trends and developments in the life sciences sector. And of course, the other awards and recognition by other third parties was also a good indicator when making our decision.On the announcement of the recognition, President and CEO of Sciformix, Manish Soman, commented We are deeply honored to be recognized as Best Life Sciences Safety & Risk Management Company, and humbled to be in the company of such innovative and accomplished solution providers. He added, Safety and Risk Management is a core area of the companys business strategy. We maintain high quality safety data, scalability and predictability by employing optimized and efficient processes, robust metrics and state of the art technology in light of the ever increasing regulatory requirements.Sciformix, headquartered in the US, with operations in the UK, India and Philippines, partners with life science clients to provide a full range of services from study design to post-marketing surveillance. Areas of specialization include Safety and Risk Management, Clinical Research and Post Approval Support, Medical Affairs, Scientific Writing, Regulatory Affairs and Technology services.To learn more about Sciformix visit, email us at ask@sciformix.com, or call us at +1.877.576.5005.Sciformix Corporation is a leading Scientific Process Organization (SPO), providing scientific knowledge-based services to pharmaceutical and biopharmaceutical, generics, consumer products, medical devices and other healthcare companies - in the areas of Safety and Risk Management, Clinical Research & Post-Approval Support and Regulatory Affairs. Our mission is to partner with global life science companies to provide high quality scientific knowledge-based expertise to deliver better quality outcomes and improved efficiencies across the entire product lifecycle with the ultimate objective of improving quality of healthcare for patients worldwide. Corporate headquarters is located in Westborough, MA with operations in USA, UK, India and the Philippines.We create value for our clients through our singular focus on the life sciences industry, strong pharmaceutical domain competency, exceptional subject matter expertise, industry reputed advisory board, uncompromising focus on quality, process rigor, predictable results, and ability to scale. Our portfolio of services spans the full spectrum of product lifecycle from pre-clinical and clinical to post marketing activities to help our customers solve complex analytical challenges, improve the quality of patient healthcare and increase client productivity.Sciformix is dedicated to providing our clients outstanding services and solutions, fuelled by an unrivalled commitment to quality. We share the same level of involvement, dedication and passion as our clients and become an integral part of their team. Our distinct combination of scientific expertise, process rigor and technology innovation delivers consistent, reliable and insightful results. Our ability to scale and grow to meet your evolving needs means we are flexible and dedicated to your success in delivering safe products with more efficiency and greater speed. We help you make the right decisions at the right time by providing Trusted Services Built on Science.For further press information please contact: Scott Girling-Heathcote, The Scott Partnership: + 44 1477 539539 mail to sciformix@scottpr.com or Susan Najjar, Director of Marketing, Sciformix Corporation: + 1 617-264-0339 mail to susan.najjar@sciformix.com.The Scott Partnership, 1 Whiteside, Station Road, Holmes Chapel, CW4 8AA Body language in the classroom https://www.uni-graz.at/en/ http://www.fwf.ac.at/en http://www.prd.at/en Body language plays a crucial role, particularly in communication between teachers and students. This is the outcome of a project funded by the Austrian Science Fund FWF which focused on the hidden elements of teaching.An encouraging smile, a sceptical frown, a negating shake of the head: body language is very diverse and effective. With the discovery of mirror neurons, brain researchers corroborated its impact by demonstrating how these nerve cells translate the expressions of another person, such as a smile, into one's own experience.In a classroom, there is constant interaction between teachers and students. Elements such as gestures, facial or corporal expressions that do not, as a rule, attract much attention are of great importance in the process. Education scientists from the University of Graz investigated this aspect for the first time in a project supported by the Austrian Science Fund FWF. Bernd Hackl, head of the Institute for Teacher Education, and his team explored the significance of teachers' nonverbal communication, or, more precisely, corporal expressions and physical communication, during classroom interaction. Videos of classes recorded over a period of three years were subsequently interpreted and presented as case studies. "The physical presence of the teachers in the classroom is of enormous importance", says Bernd Hackl summing up the results of his investigations. "It is teachers' body language which gives them credibility and determines whether learning processes will be fostered, or not, as the case may be", Hackl adds. In a nutshell, successful teaching hinges on the physical presence of the teachers and the learning context they create in the classroom.A convincing performance on the classroom stagePrincipal investigator Hackl compares teaching to a theatre performance. Even though different in several aspects, both the classroom and the stage revolve around a credible presentation of content, he explains. Just like actors, teachers need to fulfil their tasks by being physically present and interacting and by winning over an audience that is hard to predict all of this within a limited time frame. A challenge which requires teachers to have conviction, a professional understanding of their role and an appreciative attitude towards their students. In order to capture the whole diversity of corporal communications, Hackl and his research team started by identifying four teaching tasks on the basis of video analyses: providing a relaxed setting for learning, integrating the learners in a collaborative school environment, challenging pre-existing knowledge and skills, and, finally, being able to demonstrate such knowledge and skills to the students and thereby make the mastering of them easier.ContradictionsThe education scientist explains that these tasks are based on an ideal standard of successful teaching. In everyday practice they are often hard to reconcile with the formal and social requirements the school system has to meet. "Exposure to such contradictory aspects produces a variety of reactions from the teachers and, in the worst case, stagnation", Hackl notes. In concrete terms, the scholars from Graz identified several typical teaching strategies in this basic research project. Teachers alternate between these strategies in order to fulfil requirements that are impossible to meet simultaneously. This will also become manifest in physical expressions, when teachers, for instance, play down certain things in order to balance the situation. "In such cases, the teachers' words and their body language will drift apart, and the students notice that", Hackl emphasises. As a consequence, both sides are annoyed or frustrated and end up creating distance.Behavioural patternsIf teachers fulfil the four functions of teaching listed above, they support adolescents in developing autonomy. This is what the researchers call pedagogical engagement, meaning teachers are authentic, convincing and motivated and seek to create an open learning environment in other words, successful classroom teaching. "This, however, is the exception", Hackl notes when reporting the team's observations. "Today we increasingly find that teachers are inclined to choose opportunistic, administrative or economic strategies." This means that they avoid confrontation, use grades to reward or punish in a kind of barter trade system or stage classroom teaching increasingly in the form of edutainment under the motto: "Don't hurt me, and I won't hurt you". In these cases, precise analysis of the videos often reveals a lack of authenticity in the teachers' corporal communications. Although the students will not be aware of this fact, let alone be able to verbalise it, they can nevertheless sense it and thus withdraw from learning activities in what seems to be a demotivated manner.FWF Austrian Science FundThe Austrian Science Fund (FWF) is Austria's central funding organization for basic research.The purpose of the FWF is to support the ongoing development of Austrian science and basic research at a high international level. In this way, the FWF makes a significant contribution to cultural development, to the advancement of our knowledge-based society, and thus to the creation of value and wealth in Austria.Scientific Contact:Professor Bernd HacklInstitute for Teacher EducationKarl-Franzens-Universitat GrazMerangasse 70/II8010 GrazT +43 /0/ 316 380 2554E bernd.hackl@uni-graz.atAustrian Science Fund FWF:Marc SeumenichtHaus der ForschungSensengasse 11090 ViennaT +43 / 1 / 505 67 40 8111E marc.seumenicht@fwf.ac.atDistribution:PR&D Public Relationsfor Research & EducationMariannengasse 81090 ViennaT +43 / 1 / 505 70 44E contact@prd.at The skies of North America today provide the backdrop for celebrating a century of conservation of one group of Earths most treasured animals: migratory birds. On August 16, 1916, the United States and Great Britain (on behalf of Canada) signed the first Migratory Bird Treaty (known in Canada as a Convention) to protect these shared natural resources.The treaty was the first international agreement forged to protect wild birds and among the first to protect any wildlife species. The Migratory Bird Treaty is the foundation for significant achievements in bird conservation that followed, with both nations enacting statutes to implement its provisions. In 1917, the Canadian Parliament passed the Migratory Bird Convention Act. In 1918, the U.S. Congress followed suit, passing the Migratory Bird Treaty Act. In subsequent years, the United States signed similar treaties with Mexico (1936), Japan (1972), and Russia (1976). Our two countries conservation efforts have yielded real results, especially for waterfowl populations. I am proud of the work we have done, but as the recent release of The State of North Americas Birds report has shown, we have a challenging road ahead, said Catherine McKenna, Minister of Environment and Climate Change Canada. I know we are up to the task, and I look forward to building on our successes, together, to recover other migratory bird species. Its hard to imagine the North American continent without egrets, ducks, hawks or songbirds, but at the turn of the 20th century, thats the way things were looking, said Dan Ashe, Director of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, which has responsibility for conserving and managing migratory birds and their habitats across the United States. This treaty marked a turning point in the fate of our shared bird life, and it continues to this day to unite efforts in the United States and Canada to protect our shared birds across our international boundaries. Continuous Ink Jet technology to dominate Worldwide Coding and Marking market in 2021 coding marking packaging market by Beige market intelligence http://www.beigemarketintelligence.com/reports/research-report-consumer-and-retail-market/coding-and-marking-market-report/ Coding and MarkingCoding or marking is essential for the establishment of the authenticity of the product. It is required to inform the supply chain about the information and current destination about a product. It sets a unique identity to the product and enhances its traceability. Previously, the coding procedure was done manually. This used to be labor intensive and was prone to errors. After the advent of highly reliable coding and marking machinery, it was largely adopted by companies across varied industries. The market is expected to boom in future.Market research analysts at Beige Market Intelligence, forecast the Worldwide Coding and Marking market to grow at a CAGR of over 7% by 2021The recently released report Worldwide Coding and Marking Market-Strategic Assessment and Forecast till 2021 provides an in-depth market analysis of market size and growth of Worldwide Coding and Marking market. This market research includes a detailed market segmentation of the Worldwide Coding and Marking Market by technology segment as well as geographic segment.The coding and marking market by technology is segmented as Continuous Ink Jet Printer (CIJ), LASER, Piezo Ink Jet Printer (PIEZO), Print and Apply Labelling Products (PALM), Thermal Ink Jet Printer (TIJ), Thermal Transfer Overprinting Printer (TTO), Valve Jet Printer (VIJ). According to the market research report the CIJ printer is analysed to have the major market share.Continuous Ink Jet Printer CIJ Technology SegmentationCIJ coding technique is the most commonly used coding and marking technique. This is mainly because the procedure of installation of this type of printer is easy. It can also be opted to print on any type of surface. The technology has a high pressure pump which targets the ink through a nozzle onto the surface of the target material. The CIJ printers are the oldest type of printer. CIJ held the highest market share of 31% of the coding and marking market share in 2013.The analyst at Beige Market Intelligence forecast that CIJ is expected to dominate the worldwide coding and marking market in 2021. The major factor driving the CIJ market is easy installation and affordable price as compared to other printer. The Laser coding and marking market has the second highest growth rate followed by the CIJ. Also the Thermal transfer overprint coding and marking market is expected to have the highest growth rate of 8.12 percent in comparison to the worldwide CAGR of 7.33 percent during the forecast period 2016-2021.For more information click:The report also presents the vendor landscape and a corresponding detailed analysis of the five key market vendors. It lists the value chain analysis of the respective market. In addition, it discusses the major drivers that influence the growth of the market and the restraints faced by vendors and the market at large. The report also outlines the key trends emerging in the market that will contribute to the growth.The major vendors outlined in the report are include Dover, Danaher, Domino Printing Sciences, ITW, Matthews Marking System.Other prominent vendors in the market include Control Print, ID Technology, Iconotech, Macsa, Hitachi Industrial Equipment Systems, Weber Marking Systems, Xaar.About Beige Market IntelligenceBeige Market Intelligence is new-age provider of competitive business intelligence, working across various industry verticals. Our expertise and knowledge ensures that the market analysis Beige provides is comprehensive, detailed and complete. The analysis helps our client organizations become aware and make educated decisions, as far as investing or devising a marketing strategy is concerned. The actionable insights delivered through our market research provide a comprehensive market analysis for every level of market segmentation in an industry. Beige Market Intelligence is a quality driven high end Market Research organization. Our team of experts ensure the analysis you receive is not just analysed and smartly presented, but is completely customized based on the clients requirement. Our deliverables guarantee our current global client base does not look beyond Beige when it comes to any kind of industry and market analysis.Contact- KhyamaBeige Market Intelligencechinnapannahalli, doddanekundi main road, Bangalore-560037contactus@beigemarketintelligence.comUS: +1 347 903 9949UK: +44 20 323 99499APAC: +91 99 012 75473 SciSerTec and University Hospital Leipzig Enters Long-Term Collaboration for vCongress CMS Version for Scientific Congress and Workshop Organization Founded in 2006 at the campus of Hannover Medical School, SciSerTec boasts its unique and dedicated team and its trusted partners. SciSerTec team has more than 10 years of experience in the organization of scientific and medicine conferences world-wide.SciSerTecs online tool vCongress promises an individually-tailored, highly professional solution for meeting organization, which can be extended for print- and web designing, mobile solutions and project management. vCongress can further be used not only for above mentioned purposes, but also for participant registration, payments modes, abstract submission, status solution for hosts and administrators and so on.SciSerTec recently succeeded in establishing a long-term, exclusive contract with the University Hospital Leipzig (Universitatsmedizin Leipzig), Leipzig, Germany, with respect to the use of SciSerTecs very own conference management software vCongress. The central event management at the University Hospital Leipzig has opted for a long-term cooperation with SciSerTec. In summer 2016 a three-year successful contract was accomplished between the two partners. The central event management uses vCongress for all of their internal and external scientific events. A successful one-year cooperation has already been achieved in the past. This time was simultaneously utilized by the SciSerTec team to adapt vCongress to the needs and processes of the University Hospital. e.g. to develop an interface for the Uni-intern SAP billing system. The central event management can now automatically create and manage all their online conferences by themselves.The reason for such a preferred long time contract is their extremely user-friendly customizable software vCongress. The online tool vCongress promises an individually-tailored, highly professional solution for congress organization, website designing, and project management. Moreover, the same tool can supply the congress abstract book in the print-friendly formats. The tool takes care of payments and can offer multiple payment gateways suggestions. vCongress has the possibility of employing various timely email alerts and other information to the participants. The advantages of using vCongress for your professional congress management overtly justify your spending for the tool.The Content Management System (CMS) version of vCongress can be customized by the users themselves. This will save SciSerTecs customers much time and money. Time because they decide when to individualize their conference and money because no extra programming time by software engineers is needed anymore.With such tools, SciSerTec adheres to the current highest safety standards in the World Wide Web. The data privacy of the customers and members is particularly dear to the team. Their servers are hosted in Frankfurt am Main, Germany for the section Life Science SciSerTec complies to the EU norms for data safety and so be sure of the fact that your congress can not be in more secure and safer hands!SciSerTec will be glad to join hands with universities and academic institutions in coming time and would be happy to provide a professional as well as economic tool for their congress needs. The team at SciSerTec is looking forward to discussions and demonstrations with future vCongress usersSciSerTec stands for Science, Service and Technologies and thus connects research, service and information technology. We offer our professional conference management software vCongress for the organization and management of medicine- and life sciences conferences and congresses. vCongress is a very user-friendly and individually-customisable online software.The company was founded in 2006 in Hannover, Germany and is located in the campus of Hannover Medical School, which is one of the largest teaching hospital and Research Center in Germany. vCongress is preferred internationally and is used by participants all over the world. Our customers and cooperation partners benefit from the highest German quality and the most stringent data protection laws in Germany as our servers are locally based in Frankfurt am Main, Germany.SciSerTecDr. Daniel Breuer, CEOc/o Medizinische Hochschule Hannover (MHH)Veranstaltungsmanagement OE 0060Carl-Neuberg-Strae 1D-30625 Hannover, GermanyPhone: +49(0)5 11 - 10 54 894Mobile: +49 (0) 176 23 11 86 91Mail: team@scisertec.de BITS Pilani alumni pay homage on Teachers Day to late prof SS Ranganathan with memorial award BITS Pilani alumni pay homage on Teachers Day to late prof SS Ranganathan with memorial award http://www.bitsaa.org/ A teacher affects eternity and one can never tell where the influence stops. Prof SS Ranganathan (1940 2015) popularly known as SSR who taught at BITS Pilani was an epitome of teaching excellence who demonstrated an outstanding commitment and contribution to his students and colleagues. Prof SSR was faculty at BITS Pilani campus as well as Chennai off campus for 15 years.Even though he endured his fight against a killer disease for several years, he always stood for strength, dignity, courage and hope and served the cause of students, guiding them, being part of their joys, struggles and being a great example of living a life for others, thus leaving an unparalleled legacy for all those who are interested in learning and living life to the fullest. With the dual intention of remembering Prof. SSR as well as encouraging the teaching community, a group of alumni have joined hands with BITS Pilani to institute an award called as Prof. SSR Memorial Teaching Excellence Award.This award which will be announced on Teachers Day every year aims to honor one member of the teaching staff from any of the Indian campuses of BITS who has been full time teaching for a minimum of six semesters. The selection criteria will be decided by a joint committee constituted by the Vice Chancellor BITS which will include key alumni representatives also. The award includes Rs. One Lakh in cash, a plaque and a Citation.The Memorandum of Understanding giving the details of the award was signed by Prof Souvik Bhattacharyya Vice Chancellor and a group of alumni of BITS Pilani represented by Proud to be BITSians and well known Chennai academic Prof S Seshasayee and NS Parthasarathy, Co-Founder, President & COO of Mindtree Limited, Bengaluru. This would not have been possible but for the whole hearted support of VC Prof Souvik Bhattacharyya as well as Prof AK Sarkar Director BITS Pilani. Seshasayee and NS Parthasarathy took up the mission with alumni across various batches for working out the initial corpus amount of Rs 25 Lakhs for the award to get going.The family members of Prof SSR conveyed that the gesture of the alumni indeed touched them deeply and said that Prof SSR considered each and every student as his own family member.Notable other alumni initiatives for BITS Pilani include Guru Dakshina program by 70-75 batch to honour former faculty members, Kris Ramachandran Faculty Excellence award, Prof Venkateswaran Faculty Excellence award by Karthik Krishna, Atma Nirbara multi crore Pilani Resource Centre by 75-80 batch alumni and many more.Such initiatives of giving back by the Alumni to its alma mater, demonstrates once again the reason why BITS, Pilani continues to be amongst one among the top ranking institutions in India today.Though recent in origin, BITS Alumni Association (BITSAA) has emerged as one of the strongest alumni networks of any university. BITSAA International engages in charitable and educational activities by raising funds for setting up endowments, creating scholarships, rewarding teaching and research and generally promoting the development of resources at Birla Institute of Technology and Science at Pilani, Dubai, Goa & Hyderabad campuses. BITSAA International also aims to strengthen the ties, friendship and communication amongst former students, alumni faculty and friends of the Institute. BITSAA International provides a number of channels for people to stay connected with each other and with Birla Institute of Technology & Science.Prof BR NatarajanBITS Pilani AlumniPilani Rajasthan India 333031Phone: 919799476406Email: brnatarajan@bitsaa.orgWebsite: Matrix to Showcase its Carrier-Grade Telecom Solutions at GITEX 2016, Dubai Matrix, a leading manufacturer of IP-PBX and Gateways is participating in GITEX Technology Week 2016, Dubai. During the event, Matrix will showcase its complete range of VoIP-GSM Gateways, Business IP-PBXs, Hospitality solutions, Converged Voice and Data platforms along with the all new range of terminals.Here at GITEX, people will get to know how the range of Matrix VoIP-GSM Gateways can help them streamline communication in their organizations. These Gateways are based on SIP (Session Initiation Protocol). The Gateways offer superior voice quality and can be integrated with IP-PBX, TDM PBX, softswitch and hosted solutions. The state-of-the-art routing features make Gateways ideal for disaster recovery, remote survivability, SIP trunking and GSM/3G internet access.Matrix will showcase SARVAM UCS - Unified Communication Server for Modern Enterprises. This powerful solution enables owners to increase the effectiveness of communication among the employees working at different branches. VARTA WIN200 The UC Client for Seamless Collaboration will also be showcased at the event. VARTA WIN200 offers different features such as Video Calling, Presence Sharing, Instant Messaging and more. Use of this communication solution allows employees to communicate from any place and at any time by using same extension number from the desktop computers.Matrix will also present its latest range of Digital and IP Phones that include EON310, EON510, SPARSH VP310 and SPARSH VP330E. Touch screen display, on-screen BLF keys, presence and Power over Ethernet (PoE) are some of its features. With these features, employees can collaborate and complete daily tasks efficiently on time.Furthermore, Matrix will showcase its Hospitality solution - Matrix ETERNITY IP-PBX range, designed to meet the communication needs of small and large hotels with 20 to 1500+ rooms. ETERNITY IP-PBXs have built-in PMS and CAS integration, connectivity with VoIP, POTS, GSM and PRI. It offers Android/iPhone based Mobile Softphones and PC based Softphone for improved mobility and CNR interface with HF/VHF/UHF radio network for secured connectivity. Personalized Guest Greetings, Check-in/Check-out, Guest-in/Guest-out, Monitoring Room Cleaning and Reservation status, Set Wake-up Calls and Reminders are some features of ETERNITY IP-PBXs. These features allow hoteliers offer superior experience to guests.GITEX is one of the largest technology events in the Middle East region, bringing ICT professionals on a common platform. Matrix is participating in GITEX this year to showcase its latest Telecom solutions. We look forward to meet service providers and key decision makers to explain how our telecom solutions are redefining business communication and provide a competitive advantage to our customers across the globe said Ronak Sharma, Marketing Manager Matrix Telecom Solutions.Matrix cordially invites you to visit us at booth ZL-C5 at GITEX TECHNOLOGY Week 2016, Zabeel Hall, Dubai from October 16th-20th, 2016 and see how our perfectly tailored Telecom solutions caters to communication needs of different business verticals.Established in 1991, Matrix is a leader in Telecom and Security solutions for modern businesses and enterprises. An innovative, technology driven and customer focused organization; Matrix is committed to keep pace with the revolutions in the telecom and security industries. With more than 40% of its human resources dedicated to the development of new products, Matrix has launched cutting-edge products like Video Surveillance solutions, Access Control, Time-Attendance, IP-PBX, Universal Gateways, Terminals, Convergence solution, VoIP Gateways and GSM Gateways.Matrix Comsec394 GIDC, Maakrpura, Vadodara-390010 Global Synthetic Leather Market 2016-2021 : Kuraray, Toray, Teijin, Bayer, Favini, Sappi, Asahi Kansei, Ducksung, DAEWON, Chemical, Filwel, Kolon, Sanfang http://www.fiormarkets.com/report-detail/2931/request-sample http://www.fiormarkets.com/report/global-synthetic-leather-market-by-manufacturers-regions-type-2931.html www.fiormarkets.com Synthetic Leather is manmade fabric that looks like leather. It has leather like surface and is dyed and treated to make it have the look and feel of real leather. It is often used as a substitute for real leather because it is less expensive and it does not require using a real animal hide to create.Synthetic Leather was first produced near the turn of the century. The insufficient supplies and high cost of genuine leather brought about the demand for Synthetic Leather. Synthetic Leather has gradually replaced genuine leather in many fields. Over the past few decades, the demand for high quality Synthetic Leather has increased tremendously.Download sample report atScope of the Report:This report focuses on the Synthetic Leather in Global market, especially in North America, Europe and Asia-Pacific, Latin America, Middle and Africa. This report categorizes the market based on manufacturers, regions, type and application.Market Segment by Manufacturers, this report coversKurarayTorayTeijinBayerFaviniSappiAsahi KanseiDucksungDAEWON ChemicalFilwelKolonSanfangNanyaWenzhou Imitation LeatherAnhui AnliFujian TianshouShandong JinfengYantai WanhuaShandong TongdaJiaxing HexinKunshan XiefuHuafon GroupWenzhou HuangheMeisheng IndustrialXiamen HongxinFujian HuayangSanlingHongdeliShandong FriendshipWangkang GroupMarket Segment by Regions, regional analysis coversNorth America (USA, Canada and Mexico)Europe (Germany, France, UK, Russia and Italy)Asia-Pacific (China, Japan, Korea, India and Southeast Asia)Latin America, Middle and AfricaMarket Segment by Type, coversPVCNormal PUMicrofiber PUEcological function PUMarket Segment by Applications, can be divided intoSports shoesBagsFurnitureCar interiorsSports GoodsAccess full report atThere are 10 Chapters to deeply display the global Synthetic Leather market.Chanter 1, to analyze the top manufacturers of Synthetic Leather, with sales, revenue, and price of Synthetic Leather, in 2015 and 2016;Chapter 2, to display the competitive situation among the top manufacturers, with sales, revenue and market share in 2015 and 2016;Chapter 3, to show the global market by regions, with sales, revenue and market share of Synthetic Leather, for each region, from 2011 to 2016;Chapter 4, 5, 6 and 7, to analyze the key regions, with sales, revenue and market share by key countries in these regions;Chapter 8 and 9, to show the market by type and application, with sales market share and growth rate by type, application, from 2011 to 2016.Chapter 10, Synthetic Leather market forecast, by regions, type and application, with sales and revenue, from 2016 to 2021.Fior Markets is a leading market intelligence company that sells reports of top publishers in the technology industry.Our extensive research reports cover detailed market assessments that include major technological improvements in the industry. Fior Markets also specializes in analyzing hi-tech systems and current processing systems in its expertise.We have a team of experts that compile precise research reports and actively advise top companies to improve their existing processes. Our experts have extensive experience in the topics that they cover.Fior Markets provides you the full spectrum of services related to market research, and corroborate with the clients to increase the revenue stream, and address process gaps.Contact UsMark StoneSales Manager2566, Lincoln StreetPrinceton,New Jersey 08540USAPhone: (201) 465-4211Email: sales@fiormarkets.comWeb: Noliac Ring Bender in a new Piezo Servovalve Noliac ring benders used in research paper on piezo servovalve http://www.noliac.com/tutorials/publications/external-publications/ http://www.noliac.com/products/actuators/ring-benders/ http://www.noliac.com/tutorials/publications/external-publications/ http://www.noliac.com/contact/ A research from the University of Bath, UK, describes a new two-stage aerospace servovalve. The purpose of the research is to design a low-weight servovalve with low leakage and more accurate spool positioning. The servovalve uses a Noliac piezoelectric ring bender.Promising piezoelectric servovalve prototypeA group of researchers from the Centre for Power Transmission and Motion Control at the University of Bath, UK, has cooperated with with an aircraft control systems manufacturer to design a new piezoelectric servovalve for aerospace. Servovalves control the flow of hydraulic fluid to actuators on aeroplanes. The research describes a new two-stage servovalve with a titanium body, and a small piezoelectrically actuated spool as its first stage with electrical main stage position feedback. This piezoelectric servovalve prototype provides low weight, low leakage, and more accurate spool positioning. In addition, it enables increased manufacturing automation thereby reducing cost, increasing repeatability, and generates less waste material.Andrew Plummer, Director of the Centre for Power Transmission and Motion Control at the University of Bath, is satisfied with the result of the prototype. He explains:"The research and prototype has been very promising. We are happy that the design of the piezoelectric servovalve has met the functional requirements. The piezoelectrically actuated first stage works very well and ensures low leakage, which improves the efficiency of the servovalve. In addition, we are pleased that the durability of the prototype has enabled a range of performance and reliability testing to be undertaken. Further development is required before commercialization is possible, however, it seems like this approach is worth pursuing," Andrew Plummer concludes.The research paper "Lightweight, Low Leakage Piezoelectric Servovalve" was published in connection with the conference Recent Advances in Aerospace Actuation Systems and Components, March 16-17, 2016, Toulouse, France.Find the research paper atNoliac piezo ring bender drives the spoolThe piezoelectric two-stage servovalve is constructed with a small spool that is directly driven by a Noliac piezoelectric ring bender actuator. The ring bender CMBR07 was chosen due to the high level of displacement. A ring bender is a multilayer actuator generating a bending mode when voltage is applied. Noliac offers a range of ring benders in different sizes and performances, e.g. displacement up to +/- 185 m. The ring bender can be customized to match specific requirements.Read more about the Noliac ring benders atExternal research publications mentioning NoliacWe have collected external research publications, where Noliac is mentioned. The diversity of the publications show just how widespread the use of piezo technology is. If you have a similar research publication and would like it listed on our website, you can send the publication to info@noliac.com.Go to the list of external publications atMore information?If you want to know more about Noliacs piezo bending actuators or any other Noliac product, please contact us using our Request for Quote or contact sales atNoliac presents a unique proficiency in the field of piezoelectric technology. We design, develop and manufacture the total range of piezoelectric products - from powders to mono- and multilayer components and all the way to finished plug-and-play applications.Noliac A/SHejreskovvej 18DK-3490 KvistgaardDenmarkAtt.: Lotte Beck ELKO Chip Evans wants to get things done in Washington and he thinks he has a good chance of ousting Rep. Mark Amodei. Evans is a Reno businessman and former progressive radio talk-show host. He is running as a Democrat against the three-term Republican congressman. Evans was in town for the Elko County Fair parade on Friday and stopped by the Elko Daily Free Press for an interview. He grew up in Virginia and he learned about social benefits from traveling with his father in the summer and talking with people who were disabled or retired. The other thing he taught me was that I could learn something from anybody, Evans said. These lessons set a course for his business life. Evans worked in Silicon Valley for a time and eventually began his own business. He started a real estate investment business in Nevada and is now a consultant with start-up businesses. He also was a radio talk-show host for five years. In the midst of all that I got involved in politics, he said. He became involved with the Washoe County Democratic Party and became its chairman. Evans said he approached running the party as a business. Evans said his branding during his campaign is that he is a businessman and a family man. He has been married to his wife for 41 years. Im finding I have to define businessman, because in some peoples parlance thats not considered a good thing, he said. The definition of a good business is one that provides a valuable service or product that supports their customers, that supports their employees, that supports their communities and is good for the world, and provides a return on investment for their investors and offers the employees an opportunity to get into management. So I hold business to that standard. Evans said he decided to run for the Congressional District 2 seat because he was angry with how the government is being run. Were actually designed for failure now, he said. He said in the 1980s about one-third of the districts were Democrat and one-third were Republican and the remaining third was a mixture so someone had to be moderate to attract votes from both sides. He said todays districts are either Democrat or Republican and districts with moderates are almost gone. He also said the Supreme Courts Citizens United decision, which made corporations people, and a failure to make campaign finance reforms are part of the flaws in the system. Were marching toward an oligarchy, he said. Democracy is being replaced by big money, international corporations that have profit interests first and along with that partisan politics which trumps the American people. He said Congress is dysfunctional and people need to be willing to cross over to the other side of the aisle to make compromises. When people get themselves stuck in a corner and its my way or the highway, you know then everybodys leaving town, its the highway, he said. Despite the district being considered dominated by Republicans, Evans said he studied the demographics of northern Nevada for two months. He said many of the people who are new to the district are from northern California and are more liberal and there is a growing population of nonpartisan voters. Mr. Amodeis vulnerable, Evans said. He misses votes at three times the rate of other people in Congress. Evans said he wants to be elected to Congress to go to Washington to get things done. I dont think were getting the representation we need, he said. Evans said he has the best chance to win the position that any Democrat has had in years. Evans has come out strongly to preserve public lands and to stop the extraction of fossil fuels, however his stance on mining in the Silver State wasnt as clear cut. I consider mining a business, he said. I consider mining like a business that I described before, theres good mining and bad mining. Weve got some history of some bad mining where there were unintended consequences left behind for the public to pay for, but I think we just keep pushing on mining to keep doing the right thing. He said the agreement Newmont Mining Corp. signed with government agencies to preserve sage grouse habitat goes a long way toward that. His main focus was to stop subsidies being sent to fossil fuel companies. He said he wants to see more focus on green energy rather than oil and coal. When speaking about public lands, Evans is against the state taking over the land managed by the Bureau of Land Management and the Forest Service. I think its folly to think that the state is in any position to take financial responsibility for the maintenance of public lands, he said. We cant even provide decent schools in Washoe County. Despite this stance, he was not opposed to cleaning up the checkerboard of public and private lands. He thought the process of federal land being transferred to local governments or tribes should be quicker and more efficient. Bartivas, near Chiclana, is one of the four artisanal salterns left in Cadiz. Juan Carlos Toro Like his grandfather and father before him, Demetrio Berenguer, 54, was born in a salt marsh and has spent his working life practicing the ancient craft of salt harvesting, his face tanned by years under the harsh sun of southern Andalusia. He says he could turn his hand to something else, but is holding out for a revival of this dying trade, which has witnessed the closure of 166 salterns out of 171 in the area. With this in mind, Berenguer is working with Cadiz University and NGO Salarte, the latter set up to save the areas salterns. Watched by researchers, Berenguer shovels mounds of salt into the main aisle of the La Esperanza saltern in Puerto Real. As he does so, he explains the process using an antiquated vocabulary peppered with words that some of those present struggle to understand. According to Gonzalo Munoz, a lecturer at Cadiz University and technical coordinator of La Esperanza, which the university bought for research in the 1980s: Its not just about preserving the trade, its also about maintaining the culture and the biodiversity associated with it. Salterns like La Esperanza can produce between 1,000 and 3,000 tons of salt a year La Esperanza is one of the five salterns that have survived in this area, along with Bartivas in Chiclana, San Vicente in San Fernando, El Aguila in Puerto Real and the inland saltern of Iptuci in the Alcornocales Natural Park. Cadiz was once the biggest and best producer of salt in the world, says Munoz. Boats came from all over to buy salt from here. Its a crying shame, says Juan Martin, President of Salarte. We would prefer it if we didnt have to exist but we need to prove that the traditional salterns are still viable today. In Bartivas, fourth-generation salt harvesters offer a degree of hope. Pilar Ruiz is one of the four siblings who run it, though all have other jobs to balance the books. In summer, they extract normal table salt and high quality salt such as fine hand-harvested sea salt and salt flakes, amounting to between 2,500 and 3,000 tons, which they will sell during the year. Chemical-free salt Unlike industrial salt, there is no chemical process involved. They dont need to wash it or iodize it as machines are not involved. The only concession to modernization is to use a dumper truck outside to help with the extraction, says Pilar Ruiz. The result is salt with far less sodium chloride, according to Martin. The roman saltern of Iptuci in Prado del Rey, Cadiz. Juan Carlos Toro But despite the obvious benefits of traditionally harvested salt, industrial salt is so much cheaper to produce, which means there is little demand for the former. If this were an industrial plant, it would employ two people instead of six, says Ruiz. The salt culture has been lost because people just want whats cheapest. With a 25kg bag selling for 3.80, there isnt much money in it for the family. An additional problem has been legislation introduced in recent years to protect Spains coastline, which has meant long court battles to keep the salt marshes and their property in the family. This land has been in the family since 1903 and now it seems its not. Its considered a concession so we cant mortgage any of it if we need financing for the business, explains Pilar. In the middle of Los Alcornocales Natural Park, Jose Antonio Garcia, 31, the owner of the Roman saltern of Iptuci, is also feeling the squeeze. But despite the difficulties entailed in maintaining the business, he wont hear about going industrial. The most modern implement I have here is a hand cart, he says. The source of his salt, unlike those on the coast, is a saltwater spring. I would have to close if it dried up, he says. Otherwise I will keep on fighting to keep this alive, because its my life. Biodiversity Among the most important in Spain, these salterns continue to function according to an old and labyrinthine system that favors biodiversity. The salt marshes and swamps feed a variety of crustaceans, fish and birds, including flamencos whose pink color comes from feeding on the saltwater shrimp. In this case, human intervention actually improves the salt marshes, says Martin whose team is convinced of the importance of maintaining hand-harvested salt for the biodiversity of the area. Along with Salarte, they have launched a project to support business cooperatives that can brand the salt and sell it more profitably, like the French company, Guerande. If the product is diversified, the business becomes more sustainable, says Javier Benavente, the director general of Cadiz Universitys research team, mentioning birdwatching and cultural tourism as spinoffs. Its not just about preserving the trade, its also about maintaining the culture and the biodiversity associated with it Meanwhile, Martin continues to make his case for the preservation of this dying trade. Salterns like La Esperanza can produce between 1,000 and 3,000 tons of salt a year, he says. This would generate 500,000 and give work to eight or 10 people. This is a scenario he hopes can be repeated in 40 or 50 of Cadizs abandoned salterns. In the meantime, Cadiz University is putting La Esperanza out to tender. Berenguer prays that it will find a buyer and give him his job back. In return, he promises to share everything he knows about the near-extinct artisan salt business. English version by Heather Galloway. Wildfire on Spanish coast forces 1,000 people from their homes Javea, home to large British and German communities, is affected by a blaze that began on Sunday; authorities suspect it is the work of an arsonist More information Spanish authorities search for arsonists behind Javea fire A wildfire broke out on Sunday afternoon near Javea, in Spains Alicante province, forcing around 1,000 people to evacuate their homes. Twenty aircraft joined the firefighting effort on Monday, including hydroplanes and helicopters. On the ground, around 370 people were still battling the flames at midday, although firefighting officials said they did not expect to put them out fully before Wednesday. Over 319 hectares of land have already been blackened by the raging wildfire. The blaze is ravaging the protected mountain area of La Granadella. Investigators believe it was started deliberately by an unknown arsonist who lit fires in quick succession in several spots, including hard-to-access areas of La Granadella. People slept in local schools on Sunday night, and additional shelters have been opened up in the nearby towns of Denia and Benidorm One of these fires began in El Saladar, near the popular beach of El Arenal in Javea. This area is full of homes and authorities were particularly concerned about its potential damage to property, but the lack of trees made it easier to contain. Homes have been evacuated in the residential estates of Tossalet, Pinosol, Cansalades, Villes Al Vent, Valle del Sol and La Guardia. A campsite called El Naranjal was also cleared of vacationers as firefighters continue to work to stop the flames from reaching Cap de la Nao. The Valencia chief of the emergencies department, Josep Maria Angel, said on Monday that he is moderately optimistic about the chances of preventing the flames from entering more residential estates in the area. Several properties have already been destroyed by the blaze. The regional government of Valencia held a meeting early Monday morning to assess the damage, and a report is expected to be released later in the day. From Benitatxell to Javea The first blaze began after 4pm on Sunday in the nearby town of Benitatxell, in an area known as Mirador Cumbres del Sol. Firefighters battled the flames by land and air and the fire was reported to be under control on Sunday evening. But investigators believe that the unknown arsonist then started more fires outside the perimeter under the control of firefighters. Temperatures approaching 40C coupled with high winds fanned the blaze, pushing it toward Javea, a popular beach resort that is home to large British and German expat communities. Around 10pm, the local police ordered residents in the districts of Tossalet, Cansalades and Villes de Vent to leave their homes. Several other residential estates in the area are under threat from the flames, representing hundreds of homes. People slept in local schools on Sunday night, and additional shelters have been opened up in the nearby towns of Denia and Benidorm to assist the evacuees. Additional fires broke out in the towns of Moixent (Valencia province), Bolulla and Callosa dEn Sarria (Alicante) on a Sunday marked by extremely high temperatures. Throw your gas canisters into the pool The wildfire in Javea and Benitatxell has kept thousands of local residents up all night, wondering whether they would still have a home in the morning. Fernando Blat, who owns a house near the residential estate of El Tossalet, walked out around midnight after authorities issued orders for residents to flee to safer ground. They kept saying over loudspeakers for us to leave our homes and throw any gas canisters into our swimming pools, he recalls. Blat saw the flames approach his home before leaving. When he joined his wife at a friends home, he told her to get used to the idea that instead of a house, she was now going to be the owner of an empty lot in Javea. But when he returned on Monday morning, the fire had simply burned the fence around the property and moved on, leaving the house intact. Were lucky in that sense, but this is a disaster. Javea has lost so much, he says, standing in his garden under a rain of ash coming down from the sky. English version by Susana Urra. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate If you have ever visited the mezzanine level of the Grace A. Dow Memorial Library in Midland during the autumn months, you might have seen a collection of artwork presented by the Midland Watermedia Society, formerly known as the Midland Watercolor Society. While the features on display mainly consist of watercolors and acrylics, the past few years have yielded a broader range of mediums including sculptures, collages and mixed media. Its what everyone wants to bring, said member Rebecca Houck, of Auburn. We dont lock ourselves into (a theme). Its whatever you want. Its not judged or juried or for prizes or anything like that. The group, consisting of 20 to 30 members, have presented its art every year at the library for over the past 50 years, a tradition since its origins. The Midland Watermedia Society began in an art class in the 1960s at Michigan State University given by Grethel Moll. Houck, who was majoring in art at the time, was a part of the class in 1969, and quickly made a bond with her classmates. This group of students that (Moll) had at the time became a very close-knit group, Houck reflected. Even though shes been gone a number of years, we still get together, we still have a show. Over the years, members of the Society come together for monthly lunch meetings to discuss their projects and update each other on whats going on in their lives. If anyone has a finished project, her or she brings it along to show to everyone. Those who live out of state try to make a point of having lunch with the group if they are in town. These gatherings, besides the annual show at the library, are the only commitment the Society adheres to. We meet on a very casual basis, Houck said. At the beginning, we made these rules about the organization that we were not organized. We have no officers, we have no committees, no chairman, no dues, no newsletter, no family picnic, none of those things. And its worked really well. And no smoking, she added with a smile. The size of the Society has slightly fluctuated over the years, with some members becoming inactive or new members joining for the love of art. One such participant, Cheryl Clark, of Sanford, joined the Midland Watermedia Society after taking an art class at the Midland Center for the Arts and met some of the members. They invited her to come to a meeting and she has been participating ever since. Clark, a retired medical technologist, has been involved in art since she was very young. Id vacuum for my mother for like a nickel. Shed pay me for dusting and Id go down on Johnson Street (in Bay City). There was an art store down there and Id buy a sketch pad whenever I could. As she grew up, she continued to sketch anything that took her fancy, from a nurse in the hospital when she was 7 years old, to nature scenes up at her grandparents cabin in Mio. I just drew everything, Clark said. The Society participants remain busy throughout the rest of the year, attending art classes, creating commission pieces and working on personal projects for either fun or to sell. Several are involved with the Midland Artists Guild and their artwork can be found on display at venues around the Midland area. A list of current artists and venues can be viewed at http://www.midlandartistsguild.org/Page5.html That helps people see what you have, Clark explained. Otherwise, its a pretty solitary profession. At one point, there used to be an artists market held a few times a week at the Midland Farmers Market, where local artists could sell their paintings. Clark fondly remembers talking with customers about her portraits. I loved talking to people. Its like they wanted a story with each painting. When it comes to inspiration, there is no shortage of subjects. In the early stages of the Society, groups would venture out around the Tri-City area and paint scenery. This group started out to be scenery/realistic. They called us the barn painters, Houck said. Around the Midland countryside there is a lot of opportunities to paint barns. They were glad to have us come and park in the driveway. We did it summer and winter. I painted in a blizzard a couple of times. Sometimes members will travel together to different parts of Michigan to take art classes and explore the vast scenery up north. We take workshops in Traverse City and Petoskey and different places, make a little vacation out of it, Houck recalled. One time I packed up the motor home with three of my friends and spent a week up north. Theres a part of our group from the Detroit area that got together and rented a lodge in the Leelanau Peninsula for a week. They did that for several years in a row just to get away. Other members go for warmer climates, taking inspiration from locations in southern parts of the country. While snowbirding in Florida, Clark took classes and painted a variety of scenes, including a grove of banyan trees, boats in a marina and the colorful wildlife. You can do anything with watercolor, she said. Although the Society as a whole has expanded to include different mediums of art, many still continue to use watercolor or acrylics. Watercolor is fun because there are some techniques, Houck said. Different kinds of papers will give you different results. .... With your paint, you can splash it, you can spatter it, you can spatter water into it, you can throw salt into it and get little sparkles, you can scratch and scrape, and all kinds of things that you would not think that you would do to a painting. Depending on the artist and their schedule, a single painting can take several days to finish. By the time a piece is compete, a little part of the artist has become embedded within, reflected in the subject they chose or the colors they used. I cannot not do it. Its a part of me, said Clark. It can be fun, it can be healing, a way to link with people, with friends. I wouldnt change a thing. Over the past 50 years, the art has evolved as well as the artists themselves. And they can tell. Weve all grown tremendously from those first years when we started. Grethel would be proud of us, Houck said. The Midland Watermedia Societys show is currently underway at the Grace A. Dow Memorial Library mezzanine and goes until Sept. 30. The artwork can be viewed during the librarys hours of operation, free of charge. Eastsides campus, a former Boeing Co. facility, celebrates the past while pointing toward the future. This article is part of our Sacred Space series, which highlights churches that are creatively using architecture to reach their communities with the gospel. I first got to know Gene Appel more than 15 years ago when I was still at Disney. Since then, I have had the privilege of serving him and calling him friend as he has journeyed from Central Christian Church in Las Vegas, Nevada, to Willow Creek Community Church in Illinois, and finally to Eastside Christian Church in Orange County, California. Within six months of Appels arrival at Eastside, the demand outstripped supply because of dynamic growth. And so a new property search was initiated in the expensive, built-out urban area of north Orange County. For 47 years, engineers and scientists at a Boeing Co. facility in Anaheim, California, built aircraft parts for the space program, created navigation systems for nuclear submarines and developed the Integrated Battlespace Initiative that coordinated communication among the U.S. Armed Forces. But in 2007, Boeing Co. closed the facility. Five years later, Eastside moved in, transforming a space focused on winning wars for the U.S. into a sacred space designed to win hearts for Christ. And around every corner, the history of the building was woven into the new story being told. The midcentury modern, Jetsonian bones of the building were brought back to life with a crisp new look and feel. We wanted to create a church worship space that would reflect and serve our simple mission to pursue God, build community and unleash compassion, Appel says. As a result, there is a very simple design to our Anaheim campus that communicates and re-enforces the mission with design, interior and exterior graphics, and practical function. Before the facility was gutted, members of our design team filled two shipping containers full of satellite dishes, aluminum cable frames, switching boxes, bullhorns, strobe lights and other artifacts left behind by Boeing Co. Today these props add texture and history to adult spaces, where giant circular lenses hang outside the worship center and a midcentury modern radius pattern appears on wayfinding signs, graphics and glass doors. The props are also prominent in Kidside, where kids walk through restricted access areas to laboratories where they learn about God and train for the mission of following him. Visitors to Eastside love the old-school, high-tech feel; we love the metaphor of old junk creating something new. The new student center, currently in design, will occupy a second existing building and extend that idea, with recycled wood and handcrafted details. Walls will feature a sheet metal pattern, with salvaged materials being reassembled and repurposed, and will even include old versions of the Eastside logo that celebrate the past while focusing on the future. Found objects like air-return vents and wire racks from the demolition will appear here, as well, echoing the artistic impact and big ideas of the adult space. This new space sits at the base of a midrise tower that may eventually share space with other ministries and nonprofits; Eastside is considering redevelopment of the site, leasing the building to other organizations or perhaps even selling that part of the campus to harness the growing real estate market. Between the two buildings, former industrial yards and loading docks have been remodeled into an urbane park and playground, which have served large outdoor gatherings and concerts. At the height of the Cold War, more than 35,000 people found jobs here. Today, thousands more are finding new life and new purpose for the future in this historic facility. A space that housed missile guidance systems is now providing the guidance of Godand changing the spiritual trajectory of a community. Mel McGowan, an Outreach magazine contributing editor, is the co-founder and chief creative principal of PlainJoe Studios, a multidisciplinary design firm focused on storytelling from branding to building. Mel combined his background in film and urban design during a decade long stint at the Walt Disney Company. Post-Disney, Mel founded and served as the president of Visioneering Studios, where he developed and led a team that won several Solomon Awards for Best Church Architect and Best Builder. At Plain Joe Studios, Mel focuses on strategic branding, multimedia, and spatial storytelling/architecture for companies and causes around the world. Mel speaks extensively on the intersection of story and space and is the author of Design Intervention: Revolutionizing Sacred Space. Mel also serves as an adjunct professor at CBUs College of Architecture, Visual Arts and Design. Former industry minister Jose Manuel Soria. PEDRO ARMESTRE (AFP) Spains Economy Minister has defended the decision to nominate as its World Bank representative a former industry minister who resigned in April after he was linked to an offshore company named in the so-called Panama Papers. Speaking from the Chinese city of Hangzhou, where the G20 Summit is being held, Economy Minister Luis de Guindos said that Jose Manuel Soria had been put forward as executive director at the World Bank, insisting that the appointment was purely administrative. If a civil servant cannot be a civil servant, then whats going on? Acting PM Mariano Rajoy This is not a political appointment, but administrative. It is not decided by the Cabinet or me, said Guindos. Soria, who has denied any wrongdoing, resigned as minister in April following reports of alleged links to an offshore company on the British island of Jersey so as to limit any damage to Spains caretaker government, the conservative Popular Party (PP). The move was in the run up to the June general election, the second in seven months, which ended as inconclusively as the previous one in December. Sorias nomination to the World Bank position came just after acting Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy failed at the second attempt to win a new term, increasing the likelihood that Spain will have to hold its third election in year. Rajoy and Guindos, who are both personal friends of Soria, concede that the appointment could be potentially embarrassing, but are playing down the issue. Soria resigned from his political appointments and returned to the Commercial Technicians and State Economists Corps, he requested the appointment, and it would be illegal to deny it to him, because he is not under investigation or been debarred, said Guindos. Rajoy confirmed that Soria had informed him of his intention to apply for the post in June, two months after he was linked to the Panama Papers, a trove of 11.5 million internal documents from a Panama-based law firm that was leaked to the media. Speaking on Sunday, Rajoy defended Soria, saying: If a civil servant cannot be a civil servant, then whats going on? Guindos also admitted that he and Soria had talked about the appointment in June, although at the time he denied it, telling television channel La Sexta that Soria was headed to the United States to teach at a university there. Soria resigned as minister following reports of alleged links to an offshore company on the island of Jersey In April, when he was linked to the Panama Papers, Soria initially denied any wrongdoing and agreed to explain himself before Congress, but decided to step down as industry minister and also gave up his positions as congressional deputy and president of the Popular Party (PP) in the Canary Islands, his home region. Sorias appointment puts further pressure on the PP caretaker government, which has been plagued by a string of corruption scandals that will see several high-profile officials and former officials face trial this autumn. The opposition Socialist Party (PSOE) has already demanded that Guindos appear in Congress to explain the reasons for the nomination. The economy minister says he will do so between September 16 and October 15, when the government must present its budget details to Brussels. Guindos insisted that the government was not going to miss the opportunity to have a Spaniard on the board of the World Bank, arguing that Soria was the best-qualified candidate for the job. The World Banks 189 governors are expected to vote on Sorias candidature as part of the process of appointing 25 executive directors. Candidates are rarely rejected. Soria will take up his post in November until October 2018. His salary will be some 226,000 a year, tax free. The Spanish government examines the suitability of candidates based on their track record in public service as well as on their experience when selecting for international posts, the Economy Ministry said. English version by Nick Lyne. Starbucks Chile Mocha Is Coming For Your Pumpkin Spice Latte By Kristy Puchko | Food Porn | September 5, 2016 | 13 years since its inception, Starbucks Pumpkin Spice Latte has become such a seasonal sensation that its gone from fresh fad, to omnipresent indulgence, to backlashed beverage of choice for basic bitches, to side-eye insult. Just imagine someone calling you the Pumpkin Spice Latte of anything. Yeah, that shit stings. @katerbland Savannah: You're really the Pumpkin Latte of Pop Start, Carson! Carson: pic.twitter.com/i81uj7QOzu Kristy Puchko (@KristyPuchko) September 2, 2016 So after selling 200 million PSLs, the coffee king of America has deigned to bring a new fall flavor to the masses. Behold the Chile Mocha. Chile mocha from Starbucks. Who will be trying this? pic.twitter.com/esbmoPGOxs PumpkinQueen (@spookymoonkitty) September 2, 2016 The new flavor is set to hit Starbucks nationwide on the 6th, but my local Starbucks missed the memo, so I got mine early: Admittedly, the look was underwhelming. And I was a bit irked that the Tall wasnt even close to the brim. But the smell was warm and inviting, even on a sweltering summer day. The flavor profile is similar to Mayan Hot Chocolate, which blends cocoa with a spicy kick of cayenne. But those who sweat over spice have nothing to fear. This mixture is flavorful, but far from alarming. When you sip, you get a hit of the cocoa, a swirl of vanilla and cinnamon. Then the spices surprise, hitting the tongue like playful fireworks. I got it hot. Then I got distracted by drafting, and it got cold. So I can happily report it delights at both temps. A Frappucino version is available, which will likely be sweeter. But Courtneys barista recommended an off-the-menu special recipe: demand dark chocolate mocha and the extra toppings stirred in. If you try the frap or the fancy alternative, report back with your findings. Were crowdsourcing science here. But the big question: IS IT BETTER THAN THE ALMIGHTY PSL!?!?!?!?!?! To be frank, Ive never understood Pumpkin Spice mania. Its a fine flavor. And I get that it makes us all feel like at fucking last were in the breezy brisk days of fall and out of the sweaty stank asscrack of summer. But in the 13 years Starbucks as been slinging it, Ive gotten the PSL once. It was totally acceptable, but didnt leave me craving. Pumpkinlike so much maple nonsenseis an overrated flavor. For my money, Chile Mocha was more satisfying. As you may well know, Im a chocolate fanatic, and I like a bit of savory with my sweet. So this flavor with tastespiration south of the border is right up my alley. But mileage may vary. Kristy Puchko watches the Today show obsessively and knows its unspoken plot lines better than her own life. Kristy Puchko is the film editor of Pajiba. You can follow her on Twitter. The 15 Best Recent TV Show Releases On Netflix Watch Instantly (2015) | Celebrities Who Have Made Much Better Use of Their Ex-Husband's Last Name BLOOMINGTON The annual McLean County Labor Day Parade steps off at 10 a.m. Monday at Front and Lee streets in downtown Bloomington. It will travel down Front to Lee Street, then to Wood Street, ending at Miller Park. Lineup begins at 9 a.m. along Front Street. The parade, with a theme of Protect Your Paycheck: Vote! is sponsored by the Bloomington & Normal Trades & Labor Assembly (AFL-CIO). It will include dozens of entries, including labor union groups, high school bands, Illinois State Universitys Big Red Marching Machine, community organizations, local businesses, elected officials and political candidates. This years parade marshal is Mark Peterson, city manager for the Town of Normal. Peterson, an Iowa native, has worked for the town since 1988, becoming city manager in 1998. "Days of Our Lives" is going to be exciting this week as three former villains are coming back to create more drama and havoc to the rest of the NBC soap opera cast. Returning villains Orpheus, Clyde Weston and Xander Cook are set to comeback this week plus the main characters in Salem will be dealing with their own personal drama. This week on "DOOL," expect the three villains who escaped out of prison to return to Salem. Orpheus will be planning a massive attack on the main characters of "Days of Our Lives" with possibly Theresa Donovan played by Jen Lily dying on her wedding day. Soap Shows reported that this week, Stefano's murder case will be open up again. However, the main focus of this week's "Days of Our Lives" will be about Andre. Andre's partnership will Aiden will bring trouble for Hope. There will also be a lot of actions during Theresa's wedding on "Days of Our Lives." It was revealed that when Theresa started dating Brady, she was only after the money. But as it turns out, she fell in love with Brady and now she is getting married. The two even have a son who got kidnapped by Kate Robert (Lauren Koslow). On her "DOOL" wedding day, Theresa almost got killed by Xander while Clyde tries to get his revenge on Kate. Kate, on the other hand, will also be in trouble since Andre DiMera (Thaao Penghlis) befriended her during the previous "Days of Our Lives" epiode. While the odd pairing seems quite interesting, it would also turn out that Andre has a secret agenda for partnering with Kate. Andre also wanted his hands to get back on the DiMera fortune and his relationship with Kate might just do the trick. However, Chad would hinder this relationship and would save her from Clyde during the wedding. "Days of Our Lives" will return on July 6 and more drama would follow suit. What do you think about the latest development of "DOOL?" Share us your thoughts below. JoJo Fletcher and Jordan Rodgers' relationship has been plagued with controversies. Fletcher is broken hearted after the "Bachelor" star Ben Higgins dumped her for Lauren Bushnell but it seems that happily ever after is more difficult for Fletcher. According to previous reports, JoJo Fletcher's fiance just joined the reality show to regain his fame. Jordan Rodgers has no plans in marrying the "Bachelorette" star. Thus, it is unlikely for the pair to find forever in each other. Despite these reports, the "Bachelorette" couple just denied the breakup reports. In fact, JoJo Fletcher posted a photo of her engagement ring with Jordan Rodgers and stated that she is holding on to him. The best thing to hold onto in life is each other.... & tacos. A photo posted by JoJo Fletcher (@joelle_fletcher) on Aug 20, 2016 at 11:57am PDT However, according to other sources, JoJo Fletcher is done with Jordan Rodgers. Per the Hollywood Gossip, JoJo Fletcher threw Jordan out of their Dallas Home. One insider disclosed that Ben Higgins' ex-girlfriend is no longer comfortable living with her fiance under the same roof. JoJo Fletcher has trust issues with Jordan Rodgers. She feels that he betrayed her and could no longer trust him. Parent Herald previously reported that Rodgers still maintains his profile in dating sites like Tinder. One woman admitted that the dating app paired her with JoJo Fletcher's fiance. In fact, the woman finds it weird because if Jordan Rodgers is committed to his fiancee then he could have deactivated his Tinder account. Prior to this, there are rumors that Rodgers also maintains his Raya account while shooting "Bachelorette," which he already denied. Meanwhile, some sources claim that JoJo Fletchers and Jordan Rodgers are still together. In fact, they just had a double date with Ben Higgins and Lauren Bushnell in a Japanese restaurant. Also, many believe that staying together will allow the "Bachelorette" couple to maximize their earnings in the reality show. Thus, it is more likely for JoJo Fletcher and Jordan Rodgers to stick together. Just recently, Fletcher greeted her fiance a sweet birthday greeting on Instagram, which only confirms that they are still happily together. What do you think, is there a happily ever after for JoJo Fletcher and Jordan Rodgers? Will the "Bachelorette" couple eventually exchange their "I Dos" or split? Share your thoughts in the comment section below. After several cases of exploding Samsung Galaxy Note 7 last week, Samsung has decided to suspend the shipment of the devices. In an official statement, the company said there were 35 cases reported worldwide and after a thorough investigation, the problem was pinned on a battery cell issue. What would happen to those who already own a Galaxy Note 7? Samsung said that it will provide a new device as a replacement for the current ones already on hand of the customers "over the coming weeks." BGR reported that Samsung has already addressed the issues and will start shipping the new Galaxy Note 7 devices as early as this week. Samsung has produced 2.5 million units and sold 1 million devices in South Korea and the United States. If customers would rather not have Galaxy Note 7, there are options available. BGR said that Note 7 owners can opt to trade their devices with a different model, either a Samsung Galaxy S7 or Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge. In which case, the tech company will also refund the customers for any Galaxy Note 7 accessories they have purchased. On the other hand, customers who choose to exchange their current Note 7 with a new one will also receive a $25 gift certificate as a "gesture of appreciation" from Samsung. Meanwhile, Consumer Reports, a U.S. product safety and testing non-profit organization, has called on Samsung to issue an official recall of all its Samsung Galaxy Note 7 devices. The Guardian reported that Consumer Reports learned that the company has not taken a full-recall action, and some retail stores still offer the phablets for sale. Being the biggest product defect issue Samsung had in recent years, the Samsung Galaxy Note 7 recall could cost the company about $1 billion. Koh Dong-jin, president of Samsung's mobile business, said that "it pains my heart that it will be such a big number." For the past several years Ive been careful to mark out today, making sure folk are aware that the Episcopal Church has a feast day for Gregorio Aglipay. Hes just a favorite spiritual figure for me. And, I think he deserves to better known than he is. Aglipay was born in 1860. He was a priest and fervent Filipino patriot, one of the leaders of the revolution, who at the same time led a schism from the Roman Catholic Church, and founded the Philippine Independent Church. All the original clergy of the new church had been Roman Catholic priests. Following his election as their supreme bishop in 1903, the clergy laid hands on Aglipay and invoked the holy spirit to make him their bishop. Not acceptable by traditional Catholic theology concerned with the historic Episcopate, and its tactile succession, this didnt matter to the living church who saw the devotion of this man and the movement he inspired, and which touched the hearts of so many Filipinos and inspired a spiritual revolution as well as a political one The church Aglipay led, while remaining Catholic in form, was deeply influenced by Aglipays progressivism, his revolutionary politics, and, while never officially, his unitarian theology. And it remained so for several decades following his death. His own spiritual path led him to reject the divinity of Jesus and with that the doctrine of the trinity. During his life there were cordial relations with the American Unitarian Association, and in 1931 the Unitarian seminary Meadville Lombard awarded him an honorary doctorate. According to one online source his developed theology asserted God is a universal and intelligent force, the principle of all life and movement. Satisfaction of human needs is achieved through work rather than prayer. All reward and punishment for virtuous or evil behavior occur in this life. The origin of the universe is explained as development and not creation because matter has no beginning. There were tensions within the church from the beginning between Aglipays liberals and more traditional members. Eventually there would be a schism and after the bishops death in 1940 the courts awarded the name and assets to the trinitarian faction. In 1961 the Philippine Independent Church joined world wide Anglicanism when its bishops were all re-consecrated within the Anglican version of apostolic succession. Today the Philippine Independent Church counting about two million members is the second largest denomination in the Philippines. The unitarian identified within the denomination broke into several factions, and today I cannot find any online reference to an existing body. (If youre aware of any institutional successors, Id be grateful if you let me know.) I do find that considering all of this the ever delightful Anglican communion has chosen to name a Unitarian revolutionary to their calendar of saints. Patna: Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MP and former film star Shatrughan Sinha, at a function at a high school in Bakhtiarpur on Sunday, praised the Nitish administration for doing an 'outstanding' job in providing relief to the flood victims adding the Center was also doing a fine job helping the state fight the effects of the flood. Sinha, who was visiting the high school that has been turned into a flood relief shelter, said that he was impressed by the work being done in the flood-hit areas and commended the Nitish government of doing everything in its might to provide timely help to the flood victims. The BJP leader, who has been accused of being 'too chummy' with Chief Minister Nitish Kumar and Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) President Lalu Prasad Yadav, agreed with the Chief Minister's assessment that this year's flood was caused by Farakka Barrage in West Bengal. "Even former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee had said that the role of Frarakka Barrage needed to be re-evaluated. I think it's time for Prime Minister Narendra Modi to look into its role in the recurring flood in Bihar," he said. Sinha, who is frequently accused of abandoning his constituency after being re-elected from Patna Sahib on the BJP ticket, also visited Vidhipur Narauli village and assured people of opening a bank and a library soon. "Vidhipur is a model village and I have suggested the Center to allocate special fund to develop similar villages across the country," he said adding a new bridge will soon be built between Narauli and Jagdamba temple to make the temple more accessible to the villagers. The monastery of Vilanueva de Sijena. Massimiliano Minocri (EL PAIS) The plot to the Sijena story thickens. First the regional governments of Catalonia and Aragon were involved in a lawsuit concerning the sale of Romanesque murals from the Santa Maria de Sijena monastery, in Huesca province, to Catalan authorities. Catalonia claims the 1936 transfer saved the valuable artwork from destruction during the Spanish Civil War, while Aragon says it amounted to plunder. Now it appears that 23 religious artifacts from the Sijena monastery registered with the Catalan governments Department of Culture have changed hands without the nuns informing the authorities, as they were legally obliged to do. This conduct could be penalized with a fine of 138,000. Just when it seemed no more would be heard about the missing items, a small silver crib turned up at a Barcelona auction In the early 1970s, 120 valuables were taken out from the Huesca monastery by the nuns, who traveled to Catalonia and left the religious artwork in custody with Barcelonas municipal art museums. An agreement signed by convent prioress Angelita Opi and museums director Joan Ainaud Lasarte stipulated that the sisters could take these items back at any time. In 1983 and 1992, the religious community sold 97 of these pieces to the Catalan government for close to 300,000, and the latter put them on display inside Lleida Museum and Catalonias National Museum of Art (MNAC). However, a recent ruling by a Huesca court has ordered the return of these heirlooms to the government of Aragon. Catalonia has returned 53 so far, but the other 44, generally considered the most valuable, are still on show in Lleida. As for the remaining 23 items that were not sold, in 1993 the sisters asked to take them back, citing sentimental reasons. The Catalan government obliged, but first registered them as cultural assets, a move that meant the nuns were bound to inform the authorities if the artifacts ever changed hands again. But the convent that they were taken to in 1993 has been closed since 2007, and nobody knows where the 23 pieces went. The religious community is keeping quiet. A shared history Aragon and Catalonia share historical ties, as they were both once part of the Crown of Aragon, a confederation of territories that existed for hundreds of years and reached its apex in the 13th and 14th centuries. Catalan is spoken in a strip of eastern Aragon that borders on Catalonia, and known as La Franja. According to cultural heritage laws, this kind of misconduct could mean a fine of 6,000 for each relic, amounting to a total of 138,000, which the religious order will have to pay if the Catalan government presses ahead with sanction proceedings. We are studying the case, says a government spokesperson. At some time in the future, a decision will be made. Among the religious artwork recovered by the nuns, there are reliquaries containing what is believed to be a piece of Jesuss cross and a sliver of John the Baptists cross, two silver ceremonial staffs (one with the Good Shepherd and two angels and the other with a crucifix), two Eucharistic boxes, three ceramic platters, two spoons, a jug, a book cover, and an ivory ornament of the baby Jesus, his silver crib and various other elements of the Nativity scene, also in silver. The silver crib that turned up at a Barcelona auction earlier this year. But just when it seemed the Catalan government would hear no more about the 23 objects, the small silver crib, made in the late 16th or early 17th century, turned up at an auction this year with a starting price of between 10,000 and 12,000. To boost its value, the auction house had mentioned its cultural heritage credentials. This alerted the Catalan Department of Culture, which sent in the police to order its removal from the auction house. However, the crib is now in the hands of the Aragonese government: in January, a Huesca judge sent the judiciary police to remove it from its new owners Barcelona home and failed to inform the Catalan government. This in turn prompted a formal complaint from Catalan culture officials to Spains Interior Ministry, which has yet to reply. Additional irregularities The crib is just one example of how the Sijena monastery artwork has been changing hands irregularly. The nuns ignored cultural heritage legislation when they failed to inform authorities about their decision to transfer the art from Aragon to Catalonia, or about its partial sale in 1983, 1992 and 1994. They also failed to tell anyone that the silver crib and possibly the entire remainder of the 23 assets they demanded back in 1993 ended up in the hands of a private individual, Pilar Alcalde Breton the mother of the person who tried to auction off the crib earlier this year in return for having helped the nuns out financially. Sign up for our newsletter EL PAIS English Edition has launched a weekly newsletter. Sign up today to receive a selection of our best stories in your inbox every Saturday morning. For full details about how to subscribe, click here. On the other hand, investigators believe that some of these 23 pieces may have been sent to the convent the nuns have in Salinas de Anana, in the Basque province of Alava, where the orders Mother Superior Virginia Calatayud resides. At the trial over the Romanesque paintings, Mother Superior Calatayud declared that the Anana convent is the heir to Sijena, and that they would like to recover the murals from Catalonias National Art Museum. Asked by EL PAIS to comment on the case, Calatayud said, I have nothing to say on the subject. And then she hung up. English version by Heather Galloway. Patna: Bihar Minority Welfare Minister and Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) leader Abdul Ghafoor on Monday fluttered some feathers in the Janata Dal U when he said that the current Deputy Chief Minister and RJD rookie politician Tejaswi Yadav was more of a 'PM Material' than a 'CM Material'. Speaking at a press conference, Ghafoor said that he did not believe Tejaswi Yadav was a Chief Minister material since he was more suitable for the Prime Minister's post. "He (Tejaswi Yadav) is a PM material more than a CM material and I am sure one day he would make a great Prime Minister of India," the minister said. The RJD leader's comment, while certainly intended to improve his stock in the RJD family, was seen by many as a snub to Chief Minister Nitish Kumar who has been said to be nurturing the dream of becoming the Prime Minister of India for last several years. "It is a well-known fact that Nitish Kumar is experienced and hardened enough to become a great Prime Minister on the first day of his job. Unlike others, he does not need on the job training. Tejaswi Yadav is new to politics and it is ridiculous to compare his experience and skills to those possessed by Nitish Kumar," said a Nitish supporter. It may be recalled that Ghafoor recently grabbed the headlines after a picture of him sharing niceties with convicted criminal and former RJD leader Mohammed Shahabuddin in Siwan jail went viral putting the Chief Minister in an awkward situation while forcing the RJD leadership to go defensive trying to explain the meeting between the two RJD leaders. News and commentary on organized crime, street crime, white collar crime, cyber crime, sex crime, crime fiction, crime prevention, espionage and terrorism. Prominent Activist Bahareh Hedayat Freed In Iran 09/05/16 Source: RFE/RL Prominent student activist and women's rights advocate Bahareh Hedayat has been released in Iran after spending more than six years in jail, her husband says. Amin Ahmadian, announced Hedayat's release in a post on Instagram where he said he couldn't believe that she was finally free. Hedayat was among scores of activists, intellectuals, and reformist figures who were arrested and sentenced to prison during the state crackdown that followed the disputed 2009 reelection of Iran's former President Mahmud Ahmadinejad. She was sentenced to 7 1/2 years in prison after being convicted of charges that included "acting against national security," "insulting the leader," and "insulting the president." Bahareh Hedayat (right) and her husband Amin Ahmadian pose for a photograph from 2012. While in jail, she had been reportedly sentenced to an additional six months for writing a letter, with fellow jailed student activist Majid Tavakoli, calling on students to continue their peaceful struggle for more rights. Rights groups had repeatedly called for her release. Copyright (c) 2016 RFE/RL, Inc. Reprinted with the permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 1201 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Washington DC 20036. www.rferl.org Japan agrees to boost Iran investment: Kyodo 09/05/16 Source: Press TV Japan has agreed to boost investment in Iran following a visit by a senior Japanese official to Tehran, the Kyodo news agency has reported. Iranian officials have called on Japan to move faster on rolling out a credit package worth $10 billion. Iran's Deputy Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi on Saturday met his Japanese counterpart Kentaro Sonoura in Tehran where they discussed how to ensure that transactions between the two countries do not fall foul of US laws. "We had a very good meeting today and mainly we talked about how to expand mutual relation and cooperation in order to prepare needed infrastructures to reach goals in financial and economic issues in the post-sanctions era," Kyodo quoted Araqchi as saying. The two officials also discussed a planned visit by Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe to Tehran among other issues, the report added. Abe would be the first Japanese prime minister to visit the Islamic Republic in 38 years since Takeo Fukuda traveled to Iran in September 1978. "Iran is grateful to Japan for the allocation of the $10 billion credit line and we are sure that this action by Japan will lead to the blossoming of the two countries' financial ties," Araqchi said, according to Kyodo. The credit line was pledged by Japan Bank for International Cooperation and Nippon Export and Investment Insurance in February in order to help Japanese companies do business amid intensifying foreign competition to access the Iranian market. Iranian officials have called on Japan to move faster on rolling out a credit package. Petroleum and other energy sectors are viewed as a key target of the Japanese investment, with the debt guarantee allowing its companies to invest without significant risk. Tokyo lifted sanctions against Tehran in February to allow Japanese companies to invest in Iran's oil and gas sector after a nuclear agreement was reached between Iran and world countries. The best 2-in-1 laptop 2022: our picks of the best convertible laptops These are the best 2-in-1 laptops you can buy right now A sheriffs helicopter rescued a woman Saturday after she slipped and fell while hiking in Chino Hills State Park, according to a San Bernardino County sheriffs news release. Mary Glaser, 56, of Yorba Linda suffered non-life-threatening injuries in the 9:30 a.m. spill, yet could not hike out on her own, the release states. California State Park Rangers requested the helicopter, which lifted Glaser out of a steep and narrow ravine after lowering Deputy Dave Cruz and Air Medic Bernie Horak to examine and ready her for the 80-foot hoist, according to the release. The helicopter dropped off Glaser at a Chino Hills dog park where an ambulance picked her up and transported her to a local hospital. British High Commissioner to Ghana, Mr Jon Benjamin, says Ghana will continue to enjoy duty and quota free access to the United Kingdom (UK) market following the ratification of the interim Economic Partnership Agreement. This, he said, could create the much needed employment opportunities amongst Ghanaian export companies. Mr Benjamin said this during the launch of the UK-Ghana Chamber of Commerce (UKGCC) in Accra. He said the UKGCC would promote, foster, and represent UK business interest in Ghana; directly helping UK companies to identify market opportunities and providing them with a first point of call when looking to do business in and trade with Ghana. Mr Benjamin said this would also be another avenue for UK exporters to access high quality market support. It will represent the interests of UK investors looking to bring investments to Ghana and provide tailored support to existing UK investors, he stated. He said the Chamber would also support Ghanaian companies who want to connect with the UK to help their companies grow. He said as the Chamber develops, it would be able to provide services to help Ghanaian companies who want to export to, and invest in, the UK. Mr Benjamin said it is important to recognize that UK companies have a huge choice as to where they trade and invest worldwide, as such; they were naturally driven by hard business calculations, not sentiments. He said, however, market conditions and sound economic management in Ghana would be a key consideration for those companies; they were encouraging to become involved here. The High Commissioner said in that respect, they have noted the continued progress the Government of Ghana has made in tackling various macroeconomic challenges in line with its programme with the International Monetary Fund. He said such progress was essential to boost investor confidence and growth, along with action to tackle other potential barriers to business, such as the regulatory environment, including licensing rules, customs procedures and land registration issues. Mr Benjamin said they were happy to be making a major investment through its Department for International Development to promote some of Ghanas most promising start-ups with the best potential for creating jobs for young Ghanaians, and to build up a more structured public-private dialogue. He said it was also aimed at further improving the overall business environment; adding that as an example of that support, their Business Enabling Environment Programme would be hosting a Better Regulation Forum in Accra later this month. Ms Hannah Tetteh, Minister for Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration, tasked UKGCC to establish a common platform where both countries could promote trade in all products that could penetrate through the UK market from Ghana and vice versa. She said Ghana is the fifth largest trading partner of the UK in Sub- Saharan Africa and are both members of the Commonwealth; which implies they have shared values within the greater frame of the Commonwealth. The Foreign Minister said it was important to make use of this relationship to be able to set a framework that does not only creates a platform for increased business between Ghana and the UK, but Ghana, UK and other Commonwealth countries. In his remarks, Mr Tony Burkson, Chief Executive Officer for UKGCC, expressed gratitude to his colleagues at the British High Commission and particularly the Department for International Trade who have been supportive and helpful during the process of setting up the Chamber. He said the Chamber currently has a membership of 20 companies and was hopeful of seeing more companies would be joining with time. He said in the coming weeks, UKGCC would be organizing investment tours from the UK, breakfast meetings with business leaders and networking events. Source: GNA Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. Featured Video Throughout the afternoon of August 23, Colombias President Juan Manuel Santos was following the final phase of four years of negotiations with the leftist rebels of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia ( FARC ), aimed at securing peace after five decades of conflict in the South American country. Around 6.45pm, Santos received a phone call from Foreign Minister Maria Angela Holguin. Weve just finished, she told him. Juan Manuel Santos after the interview aboard the presidential plane. CAMILO ROZO Its been a very difficult four years, and we were close to throwing in the towel. But this is an agreement that will change the history of Colombia. Its been hard, but building peace is going to be harder, Santos told EL PAIS in this exclusive interview given aboard the presidential plane. In the run-up to a referendum to be held on October 2, Santos must convince Colombians that the peace deal with the FARC can work. Before then, an official signing ceremony is to take place in the capital of Bogota on September 26 to be attended by regional leaders. Question. Your chief negotiator, Humberto de la Calle, has said he would like to have achieved more. What more would you like to have accomplished? Answer. De la Calle said what many people thought, myself included. In an agreement of this type, there are always many people who will be unhappy. Im sure that the majority of Colombians would have wanted more justice for those responsible for war crimes. But our goal was always to reach the maximum justice that a peace deal would allow. All peace processes are imperfect. I find it sad that there are people who dont understand how important it is to move forward and leave a peaceful country to our children Q. The government and the FARC have agreed to set up a special jurisdiction for peace, which will hold trials of those accused of crimes against humanity. After half a century of war, how long will it take to set those trials up? A. We have to be pragmatic and realistic. The court has to investigate the most important cases first, so as to inspire trust and so that people can see that justice is being done. But we should not deceive ourselves: it is impossible to deliberate over every case in a war that lasted 52 years. Q. What is the main challenge ahead of the referendum on October 2? A. To nullify four years of lies and disinformation that have confused a lot of people. We know that when we explain the accords to people they almost always say: Ah, I didnt know that, I had understood something else. The challenge is to inform people properly. Q. How are you going to do that in four weeks if you couldnt do so in four years? The attitude of the victims has been one of the great lessons we have learned from this conflict A. Our campaign will be intensive but simple. Were going to achieve this. Perhaps we wont convince everybody, because we would have liked more time, but I think it will be enough to win the referendum by a wide margin. Q. The political elite in Colombian society has not been affected by the violence in recent years, yet most of them oppose the peace process; while those who have been affected accuse politicians of being out of touch. Which of the two groups will you be paying the most attention to? A. The attitude of the victims has been one of the great lessons we have learned from this conflict. I thought they would be the hardest, but they have been the most generous, those most prepared to forgive. I dont understand how my fellow politicians from the elite, because that is where I come from, are able to tell so many lies about the benefits of peace. Its been hard, but building peace is going to be harder Q. Does it bother you? A. I find it sad that there are people who dont understand how important it is to move forward and leave a peaceful country to our children. This is about politics. A lot of people are thinking about the elections in 2018. But when you think in purely political terms, you distort reality. I am also saddened by the hatred and envy so many of these people are able to generate. This is what has brought Uribe and Pastrana [two former presidents] together. Q. What happens if the referendum goes against you? A. Simple: the guerrillas return to the jungle and the armed conflict continues. English version by Nick Lyne. An Economist who lecturers at the Kumasi Polytechnic, Mr. Thomas Kusi Boafo has said the Government is smothering Ghanaians with killer policies which will eventually cripple the economy. According to Boafo, all indicators attest to the fact that the economy is getting worse as each day passes by but was quick to attribute the situation to policies like LEAP that seeks to aid in maximizing votes for the ruling Party. Livelihood Empowerment Against Poverty (LEAP) programme, is a social cash transfer programme that provides cash and health insurance to the extremely poor households across the country and is aimed at alleviating short-term poverty and encourage long-term human capital development. LEAP was launched in 2008 as Ghanas flagship programme of the National Social Protection Strategy and was largely funded by the government of Ghana and supported by the World Bank and DFID. It also receives technical support from UNICEFs social protection unit and is currently administered by the Ministry of Gender, Children and Social Protection and managed by the department of social welfare. But speaking on an Accra based radio station, Boafo noted it is dangerous for government to inject monies onto LEAP noting the number of beneficiaries surpasses the working class of the country. Ghanas ailing economy can be healed after 3 years with a well-structured economic policies but if the ruling partys aim is just to win elections and as such inject monies into just any policy, then the economy will eventually collapse. Leap is a killer policy. The government claims to have registered over 800,000 people onto the leap policy and such people can only be taken off after death. That move is a dangerous one and will jeopardize the fortunes of our already sick economy he said Source: kasapafmonline Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. Featured Video President John Mahama has said conscious efforts must be made at assisting weak students in the country so they could achieve at least, a credit mark, during examinations. Speaking at the Oguaa Fetu festival at Cape Coast in the Central region, the president called on chiefs and people of the region to probe the seeming fallen standards of education in the area. There are pockets where performance remains disappointing, there are also once top performing schools that seem to have suffered a deterioration in recent years. On the other hand, weve also recorded disturbingly poor performances among some candidates in some schools and considering that parents, government and teachers have invested so much money and effort in the training of students, this certainly should be a cause of worry. Our task, therefore, is to ensure that we sustain the excellent performance put up by our top students while at the same time supporting our weakest students to achieve at least a credit in all the subjects they present for exams, Mr. Mahama noted. The call by the president comes on the back of the recent controversy over the pass rate of students of last years WASSCE. The president is on record to have said students under the current three year SHS system are doing better than those who did the four year. Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. Featured Video Degree holders who want to be enlisted in the Ghana Police Service would be required to pay GH100 for the recruitment process. Details of the specific areas for qualified persons are expected to be published in the national daily newspapers Monday September 5, 2016. Applicants will be directed to submit applications at the National Police Headquarters and also the Regional Police Headquarters in Kumasi and Tamale together with a GHC 100.00 GCB bankers draft as specified, a statement from COP Ransford Moses Ninson, Director-General of Police Administration said in a statement. The statement to the regional desks of the Ghana Police Service indicated that he has been directed by the Inspector General Police asking them to set up a recruitment desk made up of at least three (3) Senior Police Officers including one personnel from the Regional Finance Unit to receive and record all applications and bankers drafts. All received applications are to be submitted to national Headquarters of the Ghana Police Service after the close of applications on 30th September, 2016, the statement noted. Director of Public Affairs of the Ghana Police Service, Superintendent Cephas Arthur who first disclosed the upcoming enlistment to TV3 on Friday mentioned doctors, nurses, auditors, communications engineers, public relations practitioners, legal officers as some of the areas they would be considering. He advised prospective police officers to be wary of persons who would want to thank advantage of their desperation to dupe them. We have not contracted any middlemen to recruit on our behalf, Supt. Arthur warned. Source: 3news.com Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. Featured Video A Journalist from the Daily Express Newspaper has been arrested for 'offensive conduct' by the police, for taking pictures of a policeman who was allegedly requesting a GHC5 bribe from a bus driver around Tesano in Accra. Details available indicates that Fred Sarpong, the Daily Express Journalist and his colleague, Raphael Apetorgbor witnessed a police officer demanding a GHC 5 bribe from a bus conductor around Tesano this afternoon and took his picture. Though, the situation that led to the request for a bribe remains unclear, Mr. Sarpong was arrested and whisked off to the Tesano Police Station after being accosted and assaulted. He is currently behind bars. The Ghana Police Service is constantly battling extant perception of corruption within its ranks. There has been news of some police officers involved in all manners of crimes and fraudulent behaviours including armed robbery, assaults, bribery and corruption. In an attempt to fight the spate of indiscipline that has rocked the Service, Director General in charge of Police Operations, COP Christian Tetteh Yohonu while instructing police officers to gun down their colleagues involved in armed robbery attacks recently, went further to admonish them to desist from brutalizing innocent civilians. As the December polls are fast approaching, there is a growing anxiety among some journalists on how they would be handled by security agencies while conducting their normal duties, reporting all election-related issues from different parts of the country. Meanwhile, Raphael Afetorgbor of Daily News in an interview on Adom News said Mr Sarpong has been released. Source: adomonline.com Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. Featured Video Vice President Kwesi Amissah-Arthur has charged the Western Regional NDC Campaign Taskforce to work towards increasing the partys parliamentary seats from the current 18 to 24 and also widening the presidential vote gap between President John Dramani Mahama and his opponents. He therefore asked the rank and file of the party to involve themselves in house to house campaign to enable the party to retain political power. Speaking at the outdooring of the taskforce at Awiabo in Ellembelle, Vice President Amissah-Arthur said the NDC government has done a lot and it is determined to do more. He asked Ghanaian to value the countrys peace and safeguard it for development. The Vice President called for unity among Ghanaians, saying when there is unity, peace and stability, the country benefits immensely. The wife of the Vice President, Mrs. Matilda Amissah-Arthur, MP for Ketu South and Minister of Transport, Fiifi Kwettey, Minister of Petroleum and MP for Ellembelle, Emmanuel Armah Kofi Buah, Deputy Minister of Water Resources, Works and Housing and MP for Bodi, Sampson Ahi, Western Regional Minister and MP for Sefwi Bekwai, Paul Evans Aidoo, the NDC National Campaign Chairman and General Secretary, Johnson Asiedu Nketsia and a host of others took turn to address the teaming supporters. Vice President Kwesi Amissah-Arthur, said the taskforces are to complement the work of the party in the various regions. They are therefore not to take over the work of the regional chairmen and the Regional Ministers. The Vice President urged every Ghanaian to be agent of peace and stability and be united with one another wherever they find themselves in the country. This is because unity, peace and stability are critical for the countrys progress. Mr. Asiedu Nketsia introduced the NDCs Parliamentary candidates in the region to the supporters. He cautioned any member of the party who contested the parliamentary primaries and contemplating going independent risks being suspended for more than four years. Also, any member who will be caught campaigning for skirt and blouse vote runs the risk of being dismissed outright from the party. He therefore advised all the parliamentary aspirants who lost in the primaries to throw their support behind the candidates who have been elected and accepted by the party. Mr Asiedu Nketsia said the support of every member and sympathisers is needed in prosecuting the partys 2016 campaign. On NDCs manifesto, He said it will be launched in Sunyani in two weeks. He described the content of the manifesto as a co-ordinated message, detailing what the NDC government has done, what it is doing and other things it wants to do. Source: Maxwell Okamafo Addo/ email: [email protected] Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. Featured Video The Vice-Presidential Candidate of the Progressive Peoples Party (PPP), Ms Brigitte Dzogbenuku, has predicted that the party will make a positive impact in the December 7, 2016 general election. She said that PPPs ideals, policies and messages were so appealing to the electorate that the party was expecting massive votes in the December 7 elections. Ms Dzogbenuku made the prediction in an interview with the Daily Graphic at Akyem Awisa last week after attending the annual Odwira festival of the people of Awisa. According to her, the PPP is an objective party and eschews the politics of insults, vilification and character assassination. Ghanaians want change Ghanaians want a change from the leading political parties which have at one time or the other ruled the nation and have realised that the PPP is the alternative political entity to give them lasting relief, she emphasised. Ms Dzogbenuku said as a social worker who had worked with the Ghana Aviation Social Centre for 12 years, she would use her rich experience and credibility to convince a large number of the electorate to vote for the PPP in the upcoming general election. According to her, many girls she had personally mentored nationwide were also in the field campaigning for the PPP. The PPP, Madam Dzogbenuku said, would continue to grow in size day by day. She appealed to the electorate to try the PPP in the December 7, 2016 general election for Ghanaians to see a positive transformation in their lives. She said the National Democratic Congress and the New Patriotic Party governments failed to do that. Ms Dzogbenuku said she accepted to become the running mate of Dr Papa Kwesi Nduom because she realised that after voting for other political parties in the past, they could not deliver and that the PPPs ideals appealed to her conscience. Relatedly, the Brong Ahafo Regional branch of the PPP has targeted to win 10 out of the 29 parliamentary seats in the region during the December 7 general election. Nobody should take us for granted, since we are going to cause a stir on December 7 after the results of the elections have been declared, the Regional Vice Chairman of the party, Mr Prince Kwasi Adumatta, told the Daily Graphic on the sidelines of a meeting held to strategise how to win the targeted seats. Targeted seats Mr Adumatta explained that the party would contest the entire 29 seats in the region but was hopeful of winning the Tano South, Atebubu-Amantin, Techiman North, Techiman South, Sunyani East and the Wenchi constituencies, among other areas. The political dynamics in the country is fast changing and those who still consider certain places as their strongholds will live to regret at the end of the day, he said. Let the other parties go about making promises that cannot be fulfilled. We can point out what our flag bearer has been able to do to provide employment for people in all districts across the country. Mr Adumatta added that the PPP had come to stay while its campaign messages had been accepted by Ghanaians who were fed up with the unfulfilled promises of the NDC and the NPP. Ghanaians are now politically awakened and are aware of the economic realities of the country and will not believe in economic successes being touted by the government, he said. 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. Featured Video The prevailing dynamics in the Central region as a swing enclave in respect of elections will vary in the December polls, Bernard Allotey Jacob has said, insisting that President Mahama will court massive support from locals in his second term bid ahead of the general elections. The Mahama magic has changed the psychology and the perception of the people of Central region; Were hoping by the grace of God they will continue to support Mr. Mahamas presidency, the Central Regional Chairman reiterated. President Mahama is seeking a second term bid as Ghana goes to the polls in December. Hes already advanced his campaign in the Western and Northern regions and promise to improve the lives of Ghanaians largely in his second term in office. Hes scheduled to today [Monday], begin his five-day tour of the Central Region. A statement from the Spokesperson of the NDC campaign team, Joyce Bawah Mogtari, earlier said: With five more Community Day Senior High School buildings completed in the region, President Mahama will start his tour with the Inauguration of the Agona Abodom Community Senior High School. While in the region, the leader of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) will visit and pay courtesy calls on the various traditional councils, interact with identifiable groups and address party supporters. In his campaign in the region, hes billed to visit constituencies like Agona East, Agona West, Gomoa East, Gomoa West, Gomoa Central, Ekumfi, Mfantseman and Cape Coast North all in the Central region. The others are Cape Coast South, Ekumfi, Asikuma Odoben Brakwa, Ajumako Enyan Esiam, Bisease, Awutu Senya East, Awutu Senya West, and Komenda Edina Eguafo Abirem constituencies. Allotey Jacobs told Kasapa 102.5 FM that the organizers have changed the phase of the incumbents campaign within the region, as hell rather seek to interact more with electorates wholl give him the mandate for this elections. He adds The people will have to feel the President, that is what we intend doing. Source: kasapafmonline Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. Featured Video Communications Minister Dr Edward Omane Bomah says president mahatma will increase his vote margin astronomically in the northern region compared to what he got in the 2012 elections. He says his conviction stems from the unprecedented and massive show of love by the people in the region for the president and for the NDC as a party. Dr Omane Boamah said these when he joined his colleague minister for employment minister Haruna Iddrisu to launch his campaign over the weekend. Dr Omane Boamah who is also the spokesperson for the president Mahama told a mammoth crowed of NDC supporters who had gathered at his campaign launch at the Tamale Vitting Senior High School park that the northern region just like the other regions in the country have never disappointed the NDC and for that matter will come out even more to show their appreciation to the president for what he has done for them come December 7. Tamale does not disappoint, Tamale South does not disappoint and Northern Region does not disappoint.......I have come here to talk about my brother and friend Hon Haruna Iddrisu.." Dr Omane Boamah at the campaign launch of Hon Haruna Iddrisu. In NDC we believe all men are created equal and that irrespective of your lineage, academic background, sex, age, height you can lead. We have not chosen only five resource rich regions to qualify them as the only regions worth leading our country.......Dr Bawumia must learn from the bitter lessons of Vice President Alhaji Aliu Mahama and the fate of Mr Paul Afoko, the elected National Chairman of the NPP he said He added, In 2012 the Nayiri the Overlord of the Mamprugu Traditional Area said to President Mahama that my son I will prefer to place his cap on his head and not his knee...... with these words he set him out for that victory. People of Tamale South I have come to ask for 70,000 votes for Hon Haruna Iddrisu and President Mahama. On his part The Member of Parliament (MP) for Tamale South Constituency has pledged to garner 70,000 votes to back the second term bid of President John Mahama. Haruna Iddrisu says even though there are challenges facing the economy, youth unemployment and problems with the education system, the President has put in place the requisite measures to address them hence he must be supported. We have a duty and responsibility to support President John Dramani Mahama to succeed. There are challenges but we must support him to have a sacred eight years, he said. The Tamale South legislator says President Mahama should tick Tamale South and tick every polling station in the constituency. He told the people his works in the nations Parliament have been to re-echo their aspirations and wishes for the past 12 years. I have been a strong advocate and work to reflect your challenges, he said. This, he believes is work in progress and appealed to the people to support his re-election bid so that he would continue fighting their cause. Majority leader, Alban S. K. Bagbin, who was in attendance cautioned the residents of Tamale to be wary of the flagbearer of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo. He says there was no way anybody with the interest of the nation at heart would choose disunity over unity and peace over instability in the coming election. This is the difference between the NDC and the NPP. When you have an umbrella, you are looking for a protection, you are looking for unity, youre looking for care, youre looking for love; when youve an elephant, youre looking for destruction. That is why God used the elephant, seven of them and they were going to destroy the holy Kabbah, Nanadom Kaleo MP quipped. The campaign launch drew large supporters, including high ranking members of the NDC namely the Communication Minister Dr Edward Omane Boamah, Roads Minister InusahFuseini and the Northern Regional Minister Abdallah Abubakar. Source: Peacefmonline Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. Featured Video If youre not familiar with Berghain, there are two things I will say to you. Firstly ugh, what a normie. Secondly: its a popular and highly secretive nightclub in Berlin, widely known as the world capital for techno and for its extremely restrictive door policy. Unless you fit the profile, youre not getting in. The hedonistic clientele of Berghain arent particularly keen on attempts to mainstream the club, which is why the community goes to such effort to keep tourists out and keep the clubs internal workings relatively secret. So you can imagine theyre not loving the fact that Conan OBrien was spotted shooting a segment outside the club. Famed DJ/producer Black Madonna, a Berghain mainstay, took to Instagram to criticise the segment, saying that Berghain is a deliberately private space. I dont need to know what hes joking about to know that hes taking millions of people into a space that is private for a good reason. Husband at Berghain. Sent a photo of Conan OBrien who is outside doing comedy. Doesnt he know theres already a designated Jokeman in this town? A photo posted by The Black Madonna (@blackmadonnachi) on Sep 4, 2016 at 4:02am PDT She continued in the comments, referring to Berghains reputation as a space for transgressive sexual experience and its history in the Berlin gay scene: Im not humorless about any subject. But turning a space like this into a comedy spectacle for a largely straight American audience with no context other than the club being private and gay is a problem. Its private for a reason. Taking your selfie out front is one thing. Conan is a comedian that millions of people watch nightly in a country on the verge of having Donald Trump for a president. That context matters. Many in the comments are agreeing, but others think that Berghains culture of exclusivity deserves to be ripped on. User reubentaskar went in on the clubs elitism. Imagine thinking Berghain was anything but a corny, racist parading as elitist club, he writes. People looking for an inclusive and welcoming club environment dont go to Berghain. [It] deserves all the piss taken out of it. Source: Pitchfork. Photo: Getty Images. Sydney bloke Will Rosner lives the life that you always say youre going to one day, but instead you keep drinking three $4 lattes a day at your shitty office job you hate but are comfortable at. Hes spent the last 18 months travelling round the South Pacific on a yacht. Most recently, hes been in Tonga (which, if your high school geography credit is failing you rn, is a Polynesian kingdom of a shitload of little islands in the Southern Pacific Ocean) and look, were not gonna lie and say were not jealous, because Rosners Instagram account is looking DOPE AS HELL. One photo in particular, however, is starting to spread like wildfire. Which is fair enough, because Rosner was photobombed by a motherfucking humpback whale. LOOK: #selfie game on point. Having a #whale of a time in #Tonga. #humpbackwhale ?? A photo posted by ..Will Rosner (@will.rosner) on Aug 31, 2016 at 9:01pm PDT The New South Welshman told Newscorp that he actually spent quite a bit of time playing with the whale in the photo and its pod, saying they were all friendly and playful. I joined them two months ago in French Polynesia and have been sailing around the Cook Islands, Samoa and now Tonga. As soon as we sailed into the passage in Vavau in Tonga we were surrounded by humpbacks. I had been learning to free dive and jumped in when we thought it was safe. Myself and a docile 15m, 25 tonne #humpback #whale, along side her playful, newborn calf in #Vavau, #Tonga. A photo posted by ..Will Rosner (@will.rosner) on Sep 1, 2016 at 5:54pm PDT He says he and the rest of the crew on the boat spent all day with almost a dozen whales, including a docile mother and her very playful calf. The whale in the selfie photo was the most curious and played with us for 30 minutes. Splashing us with water. Staring me in the eye before it picked me out of the water with its tail. It was like a playful dog showing off dance moves. I had no idea I had a good photo until the night when I looked through all the photos and videos. I never imagined just how curious a #whale could be. This #humpback swam with us, playing, diving, singing, dancing and splashing water on us for 30 mins. It stared me straight in the eye before it felt me with its tail and lifted me out of the water. A photo posted by ..Will Rosner (@will.rosner) on Sep 1, 2016 at 2:38am PDT Oh oh my god. Have you ever heard anything cuter than this? What the hell. At one point it literally picked me up out of the water with its tail. It was really up to how close it wanted to get and sometimes it got within touching distance. It really put on a show for us and it was like it was dancing and playing with us. WHALE IS FRIEND. This is too much were gonna need a minute. You can see more images of Wills stupidly attractive vacay in the South Pacific via his Instagram account: instagram.com/will.rosner Source: Instagram / Newscorp. Photo: Will Rosner / Instagram. The body of Isabel Sola Matas is taken away. Dieu Nalio Chery (AP) A Spanish nun who had worked with Haitis poor since 2010 was shot and killed in a robbery on Friday in the center of the capital, Port-au-Prince. Isabel Sola Matas, aged 51, was driving through heavy traffic when two men opened fire on her SUV, and then stole her bag and other belongings. A passenger, a Haitian woman, was also shot twice and was rushed to the hospital for critical care. The missionary, who lived in one of the poorest areas of the Haitian capital, moved there following the 2010 earthquake that left an estimated 160,000 people dead and hundreds of thousands more homeless and injured. Sola Matas, a nurse and member of the Jesus Maria order, set up a workshop called Project Haiti in Port-au-Prince to manufacture artificial limbs Sola Matas, a nurse and member of the Jesus Maria order, set up a workshop called Project Haiti in Port-au-Prince to manufacture artificial limbs, according to Catalan newspaper El Periodico. She ran the workshop, which is managed by Haitians, and she was setting up a school, and was very excited about it, said family members. In a statement, Anastasio Gil Garcia, the director the Spanish division of Pontifical Missionary Works, expressed his sorrow on behalf of the 13,000 Spanish missionaries working around the world, highlighting in particular the work done by the 20 Spanish missionaries in Haiti. His statement included extracts from a letter by Sola Matas written shortly after she arrived in 2010 describing what she called the strength of the Haitian people, and thanking the help and solidarity shown by Spain. English version by Nick Lyne. I once almost crashed my car driving down Mowbray Road in Sydneys lower north shore, because a little black-and-orange spider appeared from behind the rearview mirror and started descending into my lap. I bring this up because over the weekend a young woman crashed her car into Rowland Reserve in Sydneys northern beaches after a spider dropped into her lap, and I realise none of us who have faced a car spider are alone. Through our suffering, we are one. The 18-year-old had just pulled up at the Bayview boat ramp about 7am on Saturday when she leapt out of the car and started doing a spider dance, according to witness Stuart Cooper. Her car which didnt have the brake on, because why would you began rolling towards the water. By the time police divers arrived, the vehicle was flipped over, 25 metres away, and sunk. Her mum arrived about 15 minutes later and was freaking out because she thought her daughter was in the car, said Cooper to the Daily Telegraph. She was relived when she saw her daughter sitting on the side of the boat ramp in tears. She went up and gave her a huge hug. According to 7 News, the spider was a hand-sized huntsman that leapt onto her lap. The fact that there wasnt more damage from this horrific and traumatic event is something of a miracle, tbh. In the name of journalism, 7 News also interviewed a Road Safety Expert by the name of Professor Raphael Grzebieta, who said that if a spider should happen to leap onto YOU while driving, try not to panic. Okay, Satan. Photo: 7 News. Have you heard whats going down in the Philippines right now? Very controversial President Rodrigo Duterte, who was elected in May on a mandate of waging a war on drugs, has been accused of allowing and encouraging a swathe of extrajudicial killings, with many estimating that over 2,400 people have been killed since the election. And its not like Duterte hid the fact thats what he was keen to do. In the leadup to the election, he promised to kill tens of thousands of drug dealers, and as many as 9 out of 10 Filipinos say they trust him. While he was mayor of Davao City, he was credited with turning the highly urbanised centre into one of the safest cities in the Philippines but at great cost. He was accused of aiding and abetting a vigilante group named the Davao Death Squads, who routinely murdered drug users and dealers. So you can see why this might not sit so well with the international community. Not that Duterte seems to give a shit. Upon learning that US President Barack Obama intended to confront him over the killings during a planned meeting in Laos, he had some choice words for the Prez. You must be respectful, he said. Do not just throw away questions and statements. Son of a whore, I will curse you in that forum. He said that he was master of a sovereign state which had long since ceased to be a colony, referring to the fact that the US previously administrated the Philippines as a colony. Obama told reporters after Dutertes comments that his staff would evaluate whether any meeting would actually be productive. I always want to make sure if Im having a meeting that its actually productive and were getting something done, he said. We will always assert the need to have due process and to engage in that fight against drugs in a way thats consistent with basic international norms. And so, undoubtedly, if and when we have a meeting this is something that is going to be brought up. The White House has since confirmed that Obama cancelled his meeting with Duterte. Source: ABC News. Photo: Getty Images. Earlier this year, one of the current Playboy playmates Dani Mathers got pulled into the middle of what the professionals call an absolute shitstorm with a side of backlash after she posted a photo of a naked woman in the locker room at her gym, shaming her for her physique. The photo, which is a perfect example of body-shaming and outright bullying, had the caption If I cant unsee this you cant either. #Playboy model Dani Mathers is being slammed on social media for her #SnapChat post. https://t.co/K9znc4nvwC pic.twitter.com/BYHnJ9qxvl FOX 10 Phoenix (@FOX10Phoenix) July 18, 2016 Mathers has since apologised publicly; she said she made a mistake and has spoken out against the body-shaming she previously took part in. Im sorry for what I did I need to take some time to myself now to reflect on why I did this horrible thing. Goodnight. Dani Mathers (@DaniMathers) July 14, 2016 She said shed meant to send the image to a friend privately, but didnt know how Snapchat worked and so accidentally sent it publicly (not that that matters, its just as bad that she was shaming women in private). Now, its being reported that the Los Angeles Police Dept has finally found the woman in the photo shes in her 70s, and is allegedly pretty keen for Mathers to learn that actions come with consequences. Its also been reported that police have been recommending that the woman take this further legally. As per TMZ, Weve learned the woman in her 70s wants Mathers to feel the full force of the law for taking a pic of her while she was changing clothes in the locker room of an LA Fitness. The woman is more than willing to testify and cooperate in any way she can to bring Mathers to justice. The likely charge will be Dissemination of Private Images, which is a misdemeanour that carries the punishment of 6 months in jail. Currently, the L.A. City Attorney is reviewing the case and will make a decision soon. Mathers lawyer, Tom Mesereau said told The Wrap: I hope the rumours are not true. Dani Mathers never tried to hurt anyone at any time and certainly never tried to break the law. But for real though, body-shaming is literally never okay. Dont do it privately to ya mates, and dont do it publicly on Snapchat. Dont do it at all, yo. Source: TMZ. Photo: Dani Mathers / Snapchat. On paper, American political commentator / provocateur Ann Coulter and our own Andrew Bolt are pretty bloody similar. Both are rusted-on right-wing ideologues, both get their kicks from sticking the boot into them fragile lefties, and both command enormous audiences. Her appearance on The Bolt Report tonight did confirm one difference, though. Only one of them would call Khizr Khan, the Muslim man whose impassioned and personal take-down of Donald Trump made international headlines, a snarling Muslim on Australian television. And it wasnt Bolt. Not only did that lil exchange serve as a helpful comparison of how extreme our media personalities are, it demonstrated a baffling disconnect even Bolt hasnt yet mustered. Trump went after the Khans whose son died in battle for the United States in a patently indefensible manner, but peeps like Coulter still cling on. Even then, her argument that people only paid attention to Khans stance against Trump due to ~feels~ falls flat when you realise Khan was invoking the US Constitution itself. In fact, so powerful is Coulters attachment to Trump, shes even busted public promises in his favour. She announced the only thing that could break her support for the Republican presidential nominee is a loosening of his immigration stance. Not long after, he appeared to do just that. Her initial reaction: Its not amnesty. Its comprehensive immigration reform!!!! Trump: they have to pay taxes, theres no amnesty. Ann Coulter (@AnnCoulter) August 25, 2016 But here we are. A matter of days later, and shes defending him on international telly, swinging at the family of a dead American soldier, and somehow temporarily making Andrew Bolt reasonable by comparison. What a world. Source and photo: The Bolt Report / Twitter. The mystery of Drakes new love tattoo has been solved, people, and yep its a shark. Specifically, its a camo shark, one that also appears on the left ankle of one Robyn Rihanna Fenty, and has come to symbolise their love. When they eventually do get married, theres only one person who can officiate this shit: Last week NYC-based tattoo artist Bang Bang posted a photo of Rihannas new ink, and everybody quickly worked out that it referenced a toy shark Drake had bought her a few weeks earlier. Camo shark for my dear friend @badgalriri Also I just found out you can zoom on IG- enjoy A photo posted by Bang Bang (@bangbangnyc) on Sep 1, 2016 at 10:33am PDT At the time, Bang Bang wouldnt confirm what tattoo Drake, only that it was something meaningful to both of them. Ive tattooed Rihanna many times and [that] night was my favourite, he said. He also confirmed that it took place in Drakes dressing room backstage at his Miami concert (hes on tour with Future right now), and it was just the three of them there. But in New Orleans a few days later, Drake appeared on-stage without his jacket at one point, and bingo, theres a camo shark, chilling on his right forearm. He also posted a pic to Instagram with a slightly clearer image from the Houston stop. ????OUSTON A photo posted by champagnepapi (@champagnepapi) on Sep 3, 2016 at 10:11pm PDT And there you have it, folks inarguable truth that love is real. Photo: Getty / Erika Goldring. Are yall ready for this? Nicki Minaj dropped a new solo track The Pinkprint Freestyle on Soundcloud earlier today, and she shouts out to our blessed dead son Harambe, who died for our sins. Well, she references him anyway, and its too perfect for words: Bars for years, niggas think I did a bid Draggin these hoes like Harambe did the kid Shes rapping over Young M.As OOOUUU and gives a shout-out in the first couple lines, which apparently a few people were interpreting as a diss. Minaj cleared that up on Twitter: Genius is wrong again & im only 5 lines in??. I said yung ma, ITS the female Jay. Introducing myself to her. NICKI MINAJ (@NICKIMINAJ) September 4, 2016 The whole track is smackdown to the haters, and its some goddamn poetry tbh. Anytime they count me out, I be like Usain Bitch I come back like Jordan in his Flu Game Every time I shoot it, it be all net I give him ostrich, that means all neck Its her first solo track in a while, having recently appeared on singles by DJ Khaled, DJ Mustard and Ariana Grande (a.k.a. the one about too much dick). But even queens know when to bless other queens. Have a listen to the track below (and yep, shes referencing M.I.A.s Paper Planes at 4:30.) Photo: Instagram / Nicki Minaj. Even though Mother Teresa was canonized an ocean away, the Saint Teresa of Calcutta Parish in Mahanoy City celebrated her sainthood in its own way. Pope Francis had declared the Albanian nun a saint Sunday in a Mass that drew about 120,000 people to St. Peter's Square in the Vatican City -- some of which included congregants from the Roman Catholic Diocese of Harrisburg and the Archdiocese of Philadelphia. The Saint Teresa of Calcutta Parish, previously called the Blessed Teresa of Calcutta Parish, commemorated the event with a 10-day celebration that included children's camps, fellowships and other events. Some of the houses in the 600 block of Mahanoy Street, where the church is located, were also decorated with blue and white ribbons leading up to the canonization. The parish had a procession of children, dressed in blue and white, who walked from a chapel on Catawissa Street toward the church Sunday afternoon. Bishop John Barres of the Diocese of Allentown greeted them at the foot of the concrete steps, right before they entered the church hall for the Mass of Thanksgiving. "(Mother Teresa) had such a tremendous influence through the decades," Barres said. "Now, with this canonization, there's a whole new horizon of future influence. Saint Teresa will be a beautiful icon of the good samaritan, in the words of St. John Paul II, for centuries to come." Mother Teresa, who founded the Missionaries of Charity, visited Mahanoy City June 17, 1995, to meet with five other sisters of her religious order. Assumption B.V.M., St. Canicus, St. Casimir, St. Fidelis, St. Joseph and Sacred Heart parishes in the borough and the Our Lady of Siluva Paris in Maizeville would later merge to become the Blessed Teresa of Calcutta Parish in 2008, which is named after her. Many residents still remember her visit as being a special day, such as Mayor Patti Schnitzius of the Mahanoy City Borough. The Diocese of Allentown's website said there were about 3,000 people that gathered to see the Mother Teresa. Schnitzius said she stood in front of the steps where the nun shared a few words "about giving and about the poor and helping people and being kind." "It feels great to be a part of that history," she said. "Not too many small parishes and small churches in small towns can say that an actual saint visited their community and sat in a pew that they can sit in. It's a really historic event for the borough." Monsignor Gerald Gobitas, chancellor for the Diocese of Allentown, met Mother Teresa that day. He had previously said Mass for her sisters, and the nun met with him privately in the rectory to tell him to "take care of (her) sisters, help them to be holy." Gobitas remembered being awestruck and peaceful in her presence then. "She just had such a beautiful smile, such a beautiful presence about her," he said. Libre the puppy 2 Libre the puppy with a caretaker at the Dillsburg Veterinary Center in York County. (Facebook.com) A guilty plea has been entered in the case of "Libre the Puppy," whose condition at the time of his rescue prompted worldwide outrage and systemic changes in how Lancaster County handles similar cases of abuse. The dog's owner, 33-year-old Benjamin Stoltzfus of Quarryville, quietly pleaded guilty on Aug. 22 to a single count of cruelty against animals. His sentence consists of more than $750 in court costs and fines, the maximum penalty in such cases being a $750 fine, a possible prohibition on animal ownership and up to 90 days in jail. Stoltzfus's case, or more specifically that of the puppy found on his farm in July, garnered widespread attention as much for the severity of the animal's condition as for the widely circulated images documenting his medical treatment and recovery. That recovery continues to this day with caretakers in central Pennsylvania, and has garnered a social media following that spans the nation and globe. It has been two months since the Bug Eyed Miracle came into our lives and he has come so far Thank you to everyone who... Posted by Speranza Animal Rescue on Sunday, September 4, 2016 Helping to fuel the public response was the failure of local SPCA officials to charge Stoltzfus, the dog's owner, with any crime. Torrents of angry letters and emails followed, ending up in piles at the offices of top Lancaster County law enforcement agencies and the SPCA as well. In response, Lancaster SPCA executive director Susan Martin initially said she lacked enough evidence to prove Stoltzfus neglected the animal or neglected to get it proper veterinary care. But a follow-up probe by state police working in conjunction with the Lancaster County District Attorney's Office found the opposite, helping to bring about Stoltzfus's cruelty case and Martin's ouster as humane officer. She remains the executive director of the Lancaster SPCA branch, however. In a press conference announcing the charges against Stoltzfus and his petition to have Martin's powers of arrest revoked, District Attorney Craig Stedman said there would also be fundamental changes in how cruelty cases like Libre's are handled in the county. It is an especially sore subject in Lancaster County, which has been dogged by its image as the "Puppy Mill capital of the United States," and which has suffered a string of recent high-profile cruelty cases. Among the changes announced by Stedman were those requiring that local police be the first point of contact in cruelty cases and for cruelty tipsters, not the SPCA as was normal operating procedure in the past. Stedman has also launched an email tipline specifically for suspected animal cruelty cases. Libre's case has also inspired legislative attempts to ratchet up cruelty statutes in the state capital, where Senator Richard Alloway introduced "Libre's Law" shortly after news of the puppy's case first broke. Those initial reports said Libre was found on Stoltzfus's farm around the weekend of July Fourth by a person there on business. Animal welfare agents were contacted and said they found the dog near death and suffering from severe cases of sepsis and mange. Neglect was believed to be the cause, and Libre was later given the name, a Spanish word for "Freedom," by his rescuers. There were conflicting reports about whether Stoltzfus said he'd been obtaining veterinary care for the animal or not, a key point in Martin's initial decision not to charge him. But Stedman's office said when state police followed up on Martin's investigation, Stoltzfus readily admitted to failing to get the puppy proper care as required by law. Martin has since shot back, saying she declined to charge Stoltzfus only after conferring with the DA's Office. The DA's office, meanwhile, said Martin "misrepresented the facts to us in notifying us she was closing the investigation," adding "She never asked to file charges, or for approval to do so." Update: The road has reopened. A crash has shut down the southbound lanes of Interstate 83 in Dauphin County, according to the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation. The crash was reported at about 12:50 p.m. Monday near Exit 50, the exit for Route 22 in Lower Paxton Township, PennDOT said. Traffic is backed up several miles to the split with Interstate 81, according to PennDOT. The southbound lanes of the interstate have been closed between Exit 50 and Exit 48, the exit for Union Deposit Road, PennDOT said. For more traffic information, follow live traffic updates, accident reports and road closures below from PennDOT, Total Traffic Network and other Twitter sources. Get a look at conditions on local roads -- via PennDOT traffic cameras -- anytime here on PennLive. For Pennsylvania Turnpike updates and possible travel delays visit the Turnpike website here. Tweet us at @pennlive with any incidents you see on your commute or send a submission to submissions@pennlive.com. Campaign 2016 Clinton Vice President Joe Biden, left, and Democratic vice presidential candidate Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va., right, speak to a crowd of union workers before the annual Labor Day Parade, Monday, Sept. 5, 2016, in Pittsburgh, Pa. (AP Photo/John Heller) PITTSBURGH - Hundreds gathered as Vice President Joe Biden took the stage in downtown Pittsburgh on Labor Day. "My name is Joe Biden," he said after removing his sunglasses. "And I work for Hillary Clinton and whatever the hell this guy's name is." "This guy" was Tim Kaine, the Virginia senator who is hoping to replace Biden as the next Democratic vice president. Their joint appearance underlined the importance of western Pennsylvania to Democrats in the upcoming November election. While the Labor Day parade, said to be among the nation's largest, is primarily a celebration of local unions, the political overtones this year were especially apparent. Before the parade kicked off at around 10:15 a.m., Rick Bloomingdale, who heads the state AFL-CIO, warned that with a crucial election ahead, labor had its work cut out for it this November. "This is not going to be the landslide they were talking about," he said. "This is the most important election in the history of the country," said Leo Gerard, president of the United Steelworkers International. "This is going to decide what kind of America we're going to have for our kids and grandkids." Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump has sought to reach out to working-class voters by decrying global trade deals, which he says have hurt workers. Gerard's union has long staunchly opposed the pacts, and blames cheap imports of Chinese steel for current woes in the industry. But he said that while the industry has filed frequent complaints about such dumping, "Not once has Donald Trump, the great savior, called up to say, 'Is there anything I can do to help?'" Kaine struck a similar note. "With Hillary Clinton, you can have a 'you're hired' president. But with Donald Trump you're going to get a 'you're fired' president." As he has at other stops in recent days, he blasted Trump for not releasing his tax returns, which Clinton - and every other major-party nominee in recent memory - has done. Biden was the marquee speaker, and his half-hour-long address mixed personal reminiscence with policy. A Scranton native, Biden has long-standing connections in western Pennsylvania. As he told the crowd, he was once offered a scholarship to the University of Pittsburgh - "so I thought it had to be a hell of a school" - though he ultimately went to college in Delaware. And he got his first endorsement from the Steelworkers: He recalled a meeting with president I.W. Abel in Pittsburgh where Mr. Abel told him, " 'Son, I don't think you have a chance. But we're going to endorse you because what the hell difference does it make.'" As he has done in other stops, including a visit to a union hall in eastern Ohio last week, Biden said that union activism had benefited workers throughout the economy, unionized or not. "The sacrifices unions have made the dues you've paid, all the picket lines you've marched on ... It's benefited every American worker." "It's about time we stopped apologizing," he said. And he faulted both Republicans and some Democrats for the fact that labor has been on the defense. Legislation to help streamline the process of organizing unions had failed, he said, in part because "It scared the hell out of a bunch of Democrats who didn't have the guts to stand up and be counted." But he saved his sharpest words for Trump, noting a series of allegations that the real estate developer had refused to pay for work done by subcontractors on many of his projects. "Look at the man's behavior -- personal behavior. He really does believe that workers make too much," Biden said. "Do you think he has any idea of the conversations that went on at your kitchen table this morning?" he added. Protesters in the streets of Sao Paulo on Sunday. FERNANDO DONASCI (REUTERS) More information Decenas de miles de personas protestan contra el nuevo Gobierno brasileno Thousands of people on Sunday filled Sao Paulos Avenida Paulista, a major thoroughfare in Brazils largest city, to protest against the newly sworn-in president Michel Temer and his administration. While the new Brazilian president had dismissed previous protests as small groups of 40 to 100 people, on Sunday 100,000 angry citizens marched against his government, which rose to power only after elected President Dilma Rousseff was ousted from office through an impeachment process. Children, youngsters and elderly people joined the demonstration organized by the left-leaning coalitions Popular Front of Brazil and People Without Fear. By 6pm, Avenida Paulista was packed. The crowd then walked the nearly five kilometers to Plazoleta de la Patata, a square that has become the meeting place for leftist street movements. As the other side grows, it is becoming more important to take a position Daniela, protesting schoolteacher According to six EL PAIS reporters who were posted in different areas during the march, the rally proceeded without incident from 4.30pm until 8.45pm local time, when protestors filled the square. Then, to everyones surprise, the police arrived and dropped tear gas outside and inside Faria Lima metro station. People took refuge inside bars. Members of the press were attacked. Marina Rossi reported that photographer Mauricio Camargo was hit with a rubber bullet. A BBC Brazil journalist was beaten with a nightstick even though he was clearly identified as a member of the press. The police said they attacked the metro station because vandals provoked them. The first smoke bombs were used after a group started to shout: Free the turnstile! They were asking authorities to give people from the suburbs a free pass into the city. Critics note that turnstiles were unlocked during past demonstrations against Dilma Rousseff. Shortly after the incident at Farina Lima, the police said on Twitter: The actions of a few vandals forced officers to intervene with moderate use of force and chemical ammunition during a demonstration that started out peacefully. And at 10.45pm local time, the Security Secretariat published a statement that described some kind of commotion at the station. The vandals destroyed the turnstiles and put the lives of government employees at risk, it said. Marina Novaes, who was present on Sunday, said that she did not see any property being destroyed. Another 15 witnesses interviewed by EL PAIS told the same story. But that is not to say that people were not angry. The atmosphere became especially heated after Temer played down the importance of previous protests. That showed a lack of respect, said Rodrigo, a government worker. Daniela, a school teacher, and Rodrigo recognized several faces in the crowd that had not defended the former president during her impeachment process. Sign up for our newsletter EL PAIS English Edition has launched a weekly newsletter. Sign up today to receive a selection of our best stories in your inbox every Saturday morning. For full details about how to subscribe, click here. As the other side grows, it is becoming more important to take a position, Daniela said. Like them, most of the demonstrators were not affiliated with any party and they had voted for Dilma Rousseff in 2014. Rodrigo and Daniela sang the slogans of their own movement: Out Temer, and General Elections Now. It is not imperative that former President Rousseff return to power, several protestors explained. But they want elections, they said, because it is the best way to recover the right to choose. English version by Dyane Jean Francois. A 22-year-old Red Lion man was reportedly killed in dirt bike crash Sunday afternoon in York. David Telp died from injuries sustained in a crash at the intersection of Prospect Street and Vander Avenue. He was found unresponsive after the crash at around 1:10 p.m. and later died at York Hospital, according to a news release from the York County Coroner. A vehicle hit Telp's motorcycle, the coroner said, adding that the condition of the other vehicle's driver is not known by the coroner. An autopsy is scheduled for Monday morning at Lehigh Valley Hospital. York police are investigating the incident. Further details will be released after the autopsy. Tropical Weather Hermine People sit at the beach in Ocean City, N.J., on Sunday, Sept. 4, 2016. Storm system Hermine spun away from the U.S. East Coast on Sunday, removing the threat of heavy rain but maintaining enough power to churn dangerous waves and currents -- and keep beaches off-limits to disappointed swimmers and surfers during the holiday weekend. But the heavy rain and high winds never materialized. (Viviana Pernot /The Press of Atlantic City via AP) Many business owners at the Jersey Shore were seething Sunday, and who can blame them. A weekend they count on to bolster their bottom line, one usually packed with visitors from Friday through Monday, turned into a washout thanks to the threats from a tropical system that raked Florida and parts of the Southeast with near-hurricane-force winds and flooding rains. Warnings about what was largely Tropical Storm Hermine increased late last week as rapidly changing projections took the system up the coast and parked it close enough to the Jersey and Delaware beaches to pummel it for several days. Many bound for the shore glanced at the weekend forecast of dangerous surf, sheets of rain and gusts to 60 miles per hour and decided to stay home. Others who ventured to any of the New Jersey resorts on Friday awoke Saturday to the storm on their doorstep, a worsening forecast and a state of emergency. Most left town, leaving the beaches and the region's restaurants and boardwalks similarly empty. By Sunday, the sun was shining brightly, the winds and rain remaining as far from the beach resorts as a majority of the expected visitors. As expected, merchants couldn't help but look at a forecast gone awry and respond angrily. "It's freaking Labor Day Weekend," a restaurateur told philly.com. "Give us a chance on our last weekend. They scared everyone away. Even this morning, it's beautiful out, and they're still telling people to go home." A number of merchants blamed news outlets for hyping the storm and its potential effects. As it turned out, there were effects, all right, only financial rather than environmental. It's not the first time that forecasters didn't nail the track of a storm, and it won't be the last. But the point of this shouldn't focus on a lost weekend for merchants along the mid-Atlantic shoreline or our inability to be more precise with our storm tracking. Rather, if we could work up as much energy as the crashing surf the past couple days about climate change as we can about a forecast that misfired, we'd all be in a lot better shape. Most spots around the state, including Harrisburg, just endured the hottest August on record. Indeed, with summer measured by the June 1 to Aug. 31 time period by the National Weather Service, this also was the second hottest summer in Harrisburg since the numbers started begin recorded. It's a trend that cities and towns around the globe are seeing, with so much evidence one has to purposely be closing their eyes in order to miss them. 2015 was the hottest year ever, with the globe's average ocean and land surface temperatures a combined 1.62 degrees F above the 20th century average and a quarter of a degree F warmer than 2014. Indeed, most of the resulting warming has happened over the past 35 years, and 15 of the 16 hottest years on record have occurred since 2001, according to NASA. Up and down the East Coast, as the New York Times reported in a story that published Saturday, communities are warily eyeing a rising sea level that seems only be getting worse while hearing only silence from their legislators, especially on the federal level. As the story went on to note, "The gridlock in Washington means the United States lacks not only a broad national policy on sea-level rise, it has something close to the opposite: The federal government spends billions of taxpayer dollars in ways that add to the risks, by subsidizing local governments and homeowners who build in imperiled locations along the coast." There are impacts that promise to affect our lives and those of our children and grandchildren over the next 50 years. Yet, like with most issues that require finding common ground and an ambition to solve some of our society's most contentious problems, there is no guidance, no leadership, no cooperation among various interests. If only we could get as worked up as some of the Jersey Shore merchants did, angry about a weekend that might have left some in the red who thought they'd be able to climb into the black. If only some of that passion could be translated to solving a problem that might have prompted the warnings in the first place. Unfortunately, we remain as stationary as Hermine right now, stalled south of Cape Cod, with little promise of the status quo changing anytime soon. Byron Marshall Philadelphia Eagles' Byron Marshall in action during the second half of a preseason NFL football game against the New York Jets, Thursday, Sept. 1, 2016, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Michael Perez) A handful of young players the Philadelphia Eagles cut Saturday learned Sunday they would return to the team, even if they won't be on the 53-man roster. The Eagles announced they signed five undrafted rookies, who spent the preseason in Philly, to their practice squad. Those players will not be eligible to compete in games unless they are promoted to the 53-man roster, and any other team can swoop in to sign them in the meantime. Check out the 53-man roster here NFL teams can carry up to 10 practice squad players, so Philly will likely announce additions to this list in the coming days. But for now, here are the five players in the group: -- Offensive guard Darrell Greene -- Wide receiver Marcus Johnson -- Wide receiver David Watford -- Defensive tackle Aziz Shittu -- Running back Byron Marshall The Eagles also announced Sunday they cut three players from their 53-man roster: wide receiver Paul Turner, cornerback C.J. Smith and defensive tackle Taylor Hart. All three made the Birds' original roster Saturday, but the team let go of them after signing a trio of players off the wavier wire. Turner, Smith and Hart each have practice squad eligibility and could re-join the Eagles in that capacity if no other team signs them. -- @AaronKazreports Israeli soldiers from the Home Front Command unit inspect the site of a collapsed multilevel underground parking in Tel Aviv, Monday, Sept. 5, 2016. The multilevel underground parking garage collapsed at a Tel Aviv construction site today, killing at least two people and injuring some 17 others, according to police and rescue workers. (AP Photo/Oded Balilty) I met this girl on the internet. I invited her down to Sacramento to have some dinner. We were seated at this small round table, kind of facing each other. And all of a sudden this arm reached over my shoulder to grab my water glass. This guy's arm was so white, it looked like it had all the blood drained out of it. I mean, it was shocking. I could tell by the look on her face that she could see this guy that it was something. And so when he walked around to the other side to get her water glass, I could see this guy. It wasn't just he looked pale, it looked like he was dead. Just no... It looked like he was drained totally of his blood. And so kind after he walked away, we said, whoa, did you see that? We were kind of talking about it like that. And so we got talking about other things and while we were eating our dinner, the maitre d that had seated us, was leaning against the bar about 15 feet away from me waiting for a customer to come in and he didn't know I was looking at him, I don't think. From the side, all of a sudden, he just kind of raised his lips. I was making a sound but he didn't do that. He just kinda raised his lips just for a second and I clearly saw fangs. And then maybe half a minute, 45 seconds later, he saw a customer come in the door and he smiled to greet him and clearly there was no fangs there. I just thought that was.... I know what I saw. I clearly saw fangs on him and then the next second they weren't. Couple that with the guy that looked like he had all of his blood drained out of him. That was kind of scary. We were a little uneasy walking back that night. **********On August 31 a federal agent came to my current residing address in Farmington Hills in Oakland County, MI. I was asked if my name was Justin M. and I answered yes. I was then asked what I was doing between the hours of 8pm and 3pm on the 30th of August. I answered I had spent the night with my girlfriend and watched videos online. He then asked me what is my knowledge of extraterrestrials? I answered I have been researching conspiracy theories about other life then human beings and I believed in extraterrestrials. I was then basically told that any further research into the topics of extraterrestrials, I would be arrested and put in federal prison. The man then walked away and got in his jeep (black cruiser with a x through the license plate and drove away) and drove away. -**********WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. -- Winston-Salem police say someone in a clown costume tried to lure kids into the woods Sunday night.The incident happened in the 1200 block of East 29th Street off Hwy. 52 about 8:30 p.m.The "clown" was described as wearing white overalls, white gloves, red shoes with red bushy hair, a white face and a red nose.The suspect allegedly tried to lure the kids with treats. The suspect was reportedly seen by two children and heard, but not seen, by one adult. The suspect fled the area when officers arrived.A second clown sighting happened just after midnight in the 1600 block of Hope Lane, two miles from the first sighting. Officers attempted to locate the subject but were unsuccessful.Both spots where clowns were reported are in very residential areas near parks/woods. - Clown tries to lure kids in Winston-Salem, two clown sightings reported **********A mysterious snakeskin found in Maine recently has turned out to be from a very large snake indeed.Discovered back in August by a member of the public, the 12ft-long snakeskin has intensified rumors that a giant snake called Wessie has been lurking in the woods around the city of Westbrook, Maine.Now following an official investigation, local authorities have revealed that the snakeskin is actually that of an anaconda - a particularly large snake species most commonly found in the tropical rainforests of South America.Whether the skin was actually shed by a snake living wild in the area or if it was placed there by someone as a prank however continues to remain a topic of much debate."It could be a hoax, I dont know. Its certainly interesting," said Westbrook Police Captain Sean Lally."I dont know what to think at this point. Now that the skin has been identified, its going to take it to a different level - people are going to be even more interested than they already are."But if there really is an anaconda on the loose in Maine, how did it get there ?"If its indeed an anaconda, probably someone didnt want it anymore and let it go because it was big and required large food prey items," said wildlife biologist Derek Yorks."Youd have to be buying this thing rabbits or chickens.""The fact that police officers saw a large snake makes me think there is some big snake out there, but whether that snake matches up with the skin they found, no one knows." - Huge Maine snakeskin actually from an anaconda **********In the upcoming sci-fi drama "Arrival," several mysterious spacecraft touch down around the planet, and humanity is faced with how to approachand eventually communicatewith these extraterrestrial visitors.In the film, a team of experts is assembled to investigate, and among the chosen individuals is a linguist, played by actress Amy Adams. Though the story is rooted in science fiction, it does tackle a very real challenge: How do you communicate with someoneor how do you learn that individual's languagewhen you have no intermediary language in common?The film is based on "Story of Your Life," a short story by Ted Chiang. It taps into the common science-fiction theme of alien tongues; not only the communication barrier they might present, but the unusual ways they could differ from human language. "There's a long tradition of science fiction that deals with language and communication," Chiang told Live Science in an email.And in both the short story and film, linguists play a key role in bridging the gap between humans and alienssomething that isn't entirely farfetched, according to Daniel Everett, a linguist at Bentley University in Massachusetts. "Linguists who've had extensive field experience can do this. That's what they do," Everett told Live Science.********** SUBSCRIBERS OF UCOMS ALL TIME BEST OFFER TO ENJOY ADDITIONAL BENEFITS Armenia-Azerbaijan: EU sets up monitoring capacity along the international borders PACE co-rapporteurs on Armenia concerned by reports of alleged war crimes or inhuman treatment perpetrated by Azerbaijans armed forces There is still 35% gender pay gap: Sona Ghazaryan Global Finance Names Ameriabank the Safest Bank in Armenia Mikayel and Karen Vardanyans provided 136 million AMD support for the overhaul of the Myasnikyan statue, which was in unsafe state of disrepair Believe me, as a representative of a country which uses the Schengen system very often, it is quite important. Vardanyan I really look forward to having answers from the Azerbaijani side for these alleged gross human rights violations: Secretary General I call on Armenian and Azerbaijani parliamentarians to use this Assembly as an agora of opportunities President Tiny Kox UCOMS SPECIAL OFFER OF THE UNLIMITED INTERNET IS NOW TERMLESS There is no place for the death penalty in a State that respects human rights: PACE General Rapporteur EU and CoE call on two Member States that have not yet acceded to this Protocol Armenia and Azerbaijan to do so without delay An urgent debate requested on "The military hostilities between Armenia and Azerbaijan". UCOM AND PES-PES CONTINUE COOPERATION WITHIN THE FRAMEWORK OF EDUCATIONAL PROJECT The statement of the meeting between Prime Minister Pashinyan, President Aliyev, President Macron and President Michel of October 6, 2022 Largest Corporate Bond Program at the Securities Market of Armenia Completed Successfully Google Ad The statement of the Defender on the video of the execution of Armenian PoWs by the Azerbaijani armed forces LEVEL UP ONLY FOR STUDENTS: UCOM OFFERS X2 AND X3 MORE INTERNET STATEMENT BY SECRETARY ANTONY J. BLINKEN This criminal act is another proof that the Armenophobia policy. Tatoyan Nikol Pashinyan, Nancy Pelosi discuss a number of issues related to the Armenian-American agenda and regional developments Delegation by Nancy Pelosi Accompanied by Alen Simonyan Visits Tsitsernakaberd Memorial Complex Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi Arrives in Yerevan Armenian Revytech, global technology leader SAP and financial services software specialist SAP Fioneer sign a cooperation agreement With 120 million drams donated by Mikael Vardanyan, the defenders of the homeland will be treated in a new building OSCE Chairman-in-Office and OSCE Secretary General call for immediate cessation of hostilities along Armenia-Azerbaijan border Statement by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Artsakh USA Embassy Message for U.S. Citizens ANCA Issues National Call to Action to Stop Taxpayer Funding of Aliyevs Aggression Opinion: Charges should be leveled against Vitaly Balasanyan as well (video) The charges leveled against Garo Yeghnukian, a member of the Founding Parliament opposition group, have been written by linguists, rather than lawyers, lawyer Tigran Hayrapetyan told reporters on Monday. He says people facing criminal charges are accused of making and receiving phone calls. Sheer nonsense! He [Yeghnukian] faces four charges at a time for providing the Sasna Dzrer group members information about the movement of technique, heading people from Liberty Square to Khorenatsi Street, spreading information about poor food, as well as attempts to ensure radio connection for the guys. The lawyer says Yeghnukian is charged with supporting Pavel Manukyan in keeing police officers hostage for a long time, while Manukyan has not been yet. I cannot imagine a more absurd accusation, Tigran Hayrapetyan said. At least 16 individuals, including Alek Yenigomshyan, have been charged for supporting the Sasna Dzrer group. Yenigomshyan, who is accused of keeping a constant contact with Varuzhan Avetisyan and Pavel Manukyan, as well as providing the group members information about the actions of law enforcement agencies, says the charges against him are politically motivated. I do not see anything. Can you imagine that I saw and reported [to them] the number of armored vehicles that entered the street? he says. Artur Sakunts, a leading human rights activist in Armenia, says in this case similar charges should be filed against Karabakh MP Vitaly Balasanyan who also kept contact with the Sasna Dzrer group. Sargis Hatspanyan: The threat comes from Russia (video) The membership to the Eurasian Economic Union has done nothing good to Armenia, Sargis Hatspanyan, an expert-analyst in regional affairs, said on Sept. 5. He is surprised by the fact that Russia continues to sell weapons to Azerbaijan and declares that it stems from its economic interests. Russia sends its minister here [Armenia] to announce directly that they are doing the right thing by selling weapons to Azerbaijan and it stems from their economic interests. And that person is neither declared a persona non grata, nor sent away from our country, the analyst said during a meeting with journalists in Yerevan. He believes that Russia will never behave in the same way with turkey or Azerbaijan. Russia has never asked Armenia for its opinion. Russia has always been the side to dictate and we have always been the party to obey. Armenia has become a marz, a province in the Russian governorate. I am sorry to say this but we have been unable to create a state though we shall be celebrating the 25th anniversary of Armenias Independence soon. This is a shameful and painful picture, he said. Sargis Hatspanyan thinks if there is a country that may incur losses in the region, it is Armenia. The threat comes from Russia, and Russia's stance on the Karabakh issue is to the detriment of Armenians," he said. Sheila Sunflowers encountered on one of my morning walks. Living room and sun porch of our condo. My green smoothie and the gorgeous coffee cups at Dreamer Coffee and Juice Bar. Scenes from Rehoboth Beach Enjoying the ocean Fuel for the morning walk via Starbucks. Silver Lake 9:30 am Emma and Harper wanted cr epes for breakfast. Caf e Papillon is, hands down, the best place to get cr epes this side of the Atlantic Ocean. I wait all year long for a cr epe from e cr epe that I ordered. It was delicious. A little piece of France in Delaware 11:30 am - 4:30 pm There was no sign of rain this morning and we were eager to get back to the beach. It was another super hot day, and the only relief to be found was at the beach. Like I said...we quickly fall into a pattern, and as long as it's not raining, you can find us on the beach. 5:00 pm The day breaks on Rehboth Beach We returned from a week long vacation in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware last weekend. While I was away, I posted frequently on Instagram and Snapchat and received lots of questions about things to do, places to go, and what to see in Rehoboth Beach. We pack a lot into a week, and I thought the easiest and best way to share recommendations was via a daily diary.The car was fully packed, and we hit the road. Normally we drive to Cape May and take the ferry to Lewes, Delaware. But this year we decided to make the three hour drive to Rehoboth. A little more than an hour into the drive as we were approaching the Delaware Memorial Bridge, I regretted not taking the ferry. Traffic was horrible! It took us close to an hour to cross the bridge. What should have taken three hours ended up taking almost five hours.We finally arrived at our rental condo, and I was relieved to be out of the car and out of traffic. We unpacked and waited for my two sisters to arrive with the keys. A few moments later, they pulled into the driveway, and we eagerly started taking our belongings to the condo. We've been renting the same condo since 2010, but this year we tried a new unit in the same building. We were not disappointed.We unpacked and made the beds while everyone trickled in over the next few hours. The first day is always filled with excitement as we settle in for the fun week ahead.I finished unpacking and was in need of some sustenance. We weren't quite ready for dinner, so I decided to head out in search of Dreamer Coffee & Juice Bar . Prior to arriving in Rehoboth, I researched juice bars and found Dreamer. I was anxious to try it. I took a walk with my two sisters in search of a green smoothie! Dreamer exceeded all of my expectations. Not only was the decor fabulous, my green smoothie was beyond delicious. I ordered the #12 which included kale, spinach, banana, strawberries, ginger, lime and apple juice. I knew I'd be back for more before the week was over.My sister ordered a freshly squeezed lemonade. With our drinks in hand, we browsed town and the boardwalk before heading back to see if everyone was ready for dinner.By this time, our group was famished. Everyone gathered outside, and as we walked, we decided on a dinner plan. We ended up at Grotto Pizza . Grotto Pizza is legendary in southern Delaware. There is nothing better than Grotto's famous "swirled" pizza. I can't quite put my finger on it, but the combination of sweet sauce and gooey cheese is different from any other pizza I've ever had. No trip to Rehoboth is complete without at least one slice of Grotto's pie.We walked along the boardwalk and Rehoboth Avenue for a while. The crowd was somewhat heavy, so we made every attempt to avoid Funland on this particular night since we knew it would be a mob scene.We grabbed a cone of Kohr Bros. famous frozen custard and headed home.I was beat after a long day of travel. I hopped into bed and decided it was the perfect time to starton Netflix.My sisters and I go for a walk most mornings in Rehoboth. We decided to meet on the deck at 7:30. We walked to Starbucks first to caffeinate and then continued our walk. One of the many things I love about Rehoboth is the different neighborhoods. The north end is woodsy with most houses being shaded by tall pine trees. The south end is very Beverly Hills-like with beautiful homes and impeccably manicured lawns. In between the two areas is the quintessential east coast beach town vibe.We stopped at Dave & Skippy's to pick up a dozen bagels and some cream cheese to take home for breakfast.We ate breakfast, lingering over our bagels for about an our or so. We rarely go out for breakfast during our vacation. Everyone wakes at different times, so we generally save our last day for breakfast out after we check out.We packed up our beach chairs, boogie boards, canopy, and sunscreen for our first day at the beach. We camp out most of the afternoons on the beach, and everyone comes and goes at their convenience. Since this was our first day, most of us were there for most of the afternoon.It was so hot. The kids stayed in the ocean most of the time. The water was so refreshing. Late in the afternoon, clouds rushed in, and we decided to pack up and head home before we got caught in the rain.Perfect timing! Just as we reached out condo, it started to rain. While everyone else hung out and chilled, my sister Brenda and I ran to the grocery store to grab a few things to make grilled cheese sandwiches for the kids.The rain continued and botched our evening plans to go to the boardwalk. I made grilled cheese sandwiches for the kids, and they promptly devoured them. For the next two hours, we hung out at home while the rain continued.The rain stopped, so we ventured out for frozen custard at Kohr Bros. before taking the long way home.We sat on the deck and chatted for a bit before calling it a night. But before I fell asleep, I watched another episode of. I'm hooked!It doesn't take long before we fall into a pattern during our vacation. My sisters and I met on the deck for our morning walk, and of course, we headed straight to Starbucks.From there we headed south to walk that part of town. The homes in the Silver Lake area always remind me of walking around Beverly Hills. They have so much character, and although many aren't large, they are beautifully maintained. Plus, Silver Lake is so pretty.CafPapillon. If you follow me on Snapchat, I hope you didn't miss my snap of the chocolate and almondsWhile the kids showered, I put together a platter of snacks for everyone to munch on while we took showers and got ready.We headed to Louie's Pizza for dinner. The house salad is awesome. I ordered a side of fries with lots of mayo on the side for dipping. We also had some cheesesteaks and a small pizza.Next stop: Funland where we played a few arcade games including the impossible cranes and Skee-Ball (my favorite). The weekend crowd had started to dissipate and the lines were tolerable. We bought some tickets and rode a few rides before making the short walk home.I was beat and had my alarm set to wake up early for the sunrise. I fell asleep watchingI woke up and hit the beach for the sunrise. I always try to make it to the beach at least one morning to see it. On this particular morning, it was crystal clear. Clouds always make for a more dynamic sunset, but unfortunately, there were none. It was still a beautiful sunrise, and there is a peacefulness this time of the morning that I love.I grabbed an iced latte at the The Coffee House and skipped my morning walk and opted to catch up on work instead. I went back to the condo and set up my mobile office on the sun porch.We headed to the beach rather early today since we had plans to grab bloody Marys after the beach. It was a typical beach day. I settled in for some beach reading for most of the afternoon.We left the beach and headed home to get ready for happy hour. We were like a bunch of quick change artists who very skillfully (and briskly) changed from our beachwear to happy hour appropriate clothes.My sister Holly first introduced me to the Bloody Marys at Fins Fish House & Raw Bar a few years ago. The gang (minus my brother-in-law and great nephew who were fishing) gathered around a table for a round. Even my girls love Bloody Marys (non-alcoholic, of course)!We ordered a round of bloodys and a few orders of crab dip for the group. I don't know which was more satisfying, but both went down without a problem. We chatted and finished our drinks and headed back home.We arrived back home after a short walk from Fins. On every trip to Rehoboth Beach, we dedicate one night to a family game night where we play bingo. It's a ton of fun and even includes prizes! But first, we made tacos for dinner.We gathered around the table for tacos, and afterwards, we took a short break before meeting up again.It was time for bingo! We play until the prizes are gone, and everyone has had a chance to win.Some of us went out for ice cream while others stayed in. If you love hard ice cream, you must visit The Ice Cream Store when in Rehoboth. With over 70 flavors to choose from, you can't go wrong. With ice cream in hand, we leisurely strolled town on the way back to the condo. Why can't everyday be like this?You guessed it! It was time to jump into bed. We had an early wake up call the next morning since we had a reservation to rent a boat from Dewey Beach Watersports for a 4 hour excursion on the Rehoboth Bay and Lewes Canal.If you have any specific questions about Rehoboth Beach, feel free to email me at info@piecesofamom.com. I'd be happy to answer what I can or at least point you in the right direction.Also, this article is definitely worth checking out if you need a reason to visit Rehoboth Beach. Artur Misakyan: We should go to the polls, cast ballots and try to change something (video) One can buy a vote in Armenia paying AMD 1000. This is a national tragedy, Artur Misakyan, a member of the Armenian Revival Party, said citing the latest elections to local self-government bodies. The worst thing is that there is the demand. People live in such terrible conditions that they are ready to sell their votes for AMD 1000 and go and cast their ballot for a candidate they have not even seen in their lives, Mr. Misakyan said adding that nothing has changed in the mechanisms of elections. Lyova Khachatryan from the Prosperous Armenia Party (BHK) says not everyone will agree to take money and vote for the pro-government candidate. But people have to take money, because if they refuse to do it, their bosses will come and demand resignation. Mr. Khachatryan says his party also encountered obstacles during the latest elections, but they were not discouraged. You have probably heard about the incident in Masis. Our party is participating in the elections and we have nominated candidates in 80 communities. In reply to A1+s question how they imagine the struggle against the aforesaid mechanisms, the BHK lawmaker said, First, the Electoral Code should be amended to reduce the electoral fraud but as you know the National Assembly is not able to do it yet. People should finally stand up for their votes. Artur Misakyan urges everyone to vote according to their own personal conscience without taking bribes. This ill phenomenon has thrown the country into a deep pit and we have been unable to come out of it for several years. We should go to the polls and try to change something instead of staying in our homes and saying nothing will change anyway. Officer Clint Corvinus (Photo: Facebook) Funeral arrangements have been set for an Alamogordo, NM, officer who was shot and killed last Friday. According to the Hamilton O'Dell Funeral Home, Officer Clint Corvinus' funeral will be Saturday at Tay's Center on New Mexico State University's campus in Alamogordo. Corvinus, 33, was shot and killed Friday morning while chasing down a suspect. He leaves behind a girlfriend and an 8-year-old daughter, reports KOAT. Investigators say Corvinus and another officer were on patrol when they both encountered Joe Moreno, 38. Officials said Moreno led both officers on a foot chase during which gunfire was exchanged. Despite being wounded, Officer Corvinus was able to return fire and killed the subject before succumbing to his wounds at the hospital, reports odmp.org. Related: New Mexico Officer Killed in Shooting Facebook Twitter Pinterest Email Print *The following is an opinion column by R Muse* Its difficult to imagine exactly why a fair segment of the population appears to want to reclaim their country and revert to another era reminiscent of what television informed them was the Wild West. Of course the National Rifle Association has had its influential hand in convincing Republican voters that until every living American is a gunslinger and there are daily gunfights in the streets to resolve good guy versus bad guy disputes, America will never be really exceptional. This concept of solving disputes with violence is currently an emerging political tactic, or suggestion, by an increasing number of Republicans. Recall that the official Republican presidential candidate Donald J. Trump suggested those Second Amendment folks were the only remedy to a Hillary Clinton presidency and the appointment of a non-conservative Supreme Court Justice. Now, Arizona Republicans have adopted the were only suggesting gun violence tactic and targeted the candidate challenging the one-time sane Republican Senator John McCain for his seat in the upper chamber of Congress. In what appears to be a desperation move, the Arizona Republicans released the Wild West-looking Wanted poster because reports are that Senator John McCain is in the fight of his political life. The upstanding Arizona Republicans sent the wanted poster, replete with bullet holes surrounding the face of McCains challenger, directly to Representative Ann Kirkpatrick (D-AZ). Whether sending it to Ms. Kirkpatrick was a not-so-veiled Republican threat isnt entirely clear, but the bullet holes around McCains opponents head leaves little to the imagination as to its intent. What is not surprising is that despite a public outcry over yet another Republican implying gun violence against yet another Democrat, and another female Arizona Democrat to boot, Arizona Republicans refused to take back the poster. And, in keeping with his four year pivot towards teabagger extremism, Senator McCain has not condemned or called the tactic for what it is: despicable, dangerous and more representative of politics in Somalia or Afghanistan than America. Apparently it has become the GOPs modus operandi to unknowingly and innocently incite gun fanatics to take electoral matters into their own hands and decide an elections outcome sans polling places and ballot boxes. This increasingly common occurrence truly represents Americas descent into barbaric Third World politics and an atrocious if you cant beat em at the ballot box, just shoot them mindset. The Arizona Republicans are terrified that one-time honorable Republican and Senior Arizona Senator McCains tenure may end due to polling showing him neck and neck with Ms. Kirkpatrick; so theyre bringing in the literal big guns. The GOP leaders Responsible for the poster, after hand-delivering it to Ms. Kirkpatricks campaign office and putting it on the Internet, defended the atrocity and accused Ann Kirkpatrick of using the GOP gun imagery as a distraction. In fact, a spokesman for the Arizona Republican Party blamed Kirkpatrick for connecting the bullet imagery around her face with violence. The Republican official actually said that no-one in the Party ever thought to connect the bullet hole imagery with violence until the Kirkpatrick campaign tried to use it as a way to distract the media. Ann Kirkpatrick has decided once again to make something out of nothing. That comment is dangerously similar to Sarah Palins remarks during criticism over her use of gun-sight targets on Democrats seeking re-election, including Arizona Representatives Ann Kirkpatrick and Gabriel Giffords. Of course Palin quickly removed the gun sight poster after an assassination attempt on Ms. Giffords life occurred in open-carry Arizona. The latest GOP poster must have been a nightmare for Giffords who is a living example of what happens when Republicans insinuate Second Amendment remedies as a substitute for free and fair elections. Ms. Giffords commented on the Arizona Republican poster: In a state and country that know the toll of gun violence too well, there is no room for invoking the use of firearms in our politics. Our political leaders have the responsibility to avoid a descent into messages that might suggest that elections are settled anywhere else than at the ballot box. It is unfortunate, but Giffords and the rest of civilized American society will have to get accustomed to Republican political leaders descent into messages that suggest elections are settled someplace other than the ballot box. Republicans know that their call to arms is not only a winning campaign ploy, it fits into their supporters dream of America as the Wild West where any and all disputes are settled with gun violence. Republicans also know that, as noted by the Atlantic, Rhetorical extremismcan and has led to violence and murder. As Psychology Today observed five years ago, the Gabriel Giffords assassination attempt did not occur in a vacuum or simply due to the shooters mental issues; Sarah Palins gun-sight map, like extreme rhetoric has consequences. The travesty of this incident is that it came directly from the Arizona Republican Party and not some malcontent from the lunatic sect affiliated with the militia movement. That they hand delivered the Wanted Poster to Ann Kirkpatricks campaign office prior to releasing it for public consumption reveals that not only are they proud of their handiwork, they are desperate and want to send a powerful message that they are not bound by civility. That Senator John McCain is not condemning the poster created for his benefit is yet another sign that the entirety of the Republican movement is devolving into something resembling a violence-prone Third World banana republic or South American dictatorship where politics and government are defined by which side is more adept at using guns to win elections. But no-one should be too surprised by McCains silence because he knows that even a hint that he is not in league with the extremists who have taken over the party, including Donald Trump, will be his electoral death knell. It is almost certain that the state of American politics since pathological liars, avowed fascists and violent extremists took control of the GOP has never been so dysfunctional and dangerous. It is bad enough that any form of compromise, or civility, or informed debate has been wholly abandoned by Republicans to make governing virtually impossible. But when one of the two major political parties continually and unabashedly uses threats of violence and bullet images on a candidates head shot, especially in a state like Arizona, it is fairly certain that it isnt the Wild West Republicans lust for, it is Taliban-controlled Afghanistan where bullets decide who wins an election. Facebook Twitter Pinterest Email Print This is in stark contrast to Donald Trumps Labor Day pitch, posted to Facebook, which is a repeat of his tired old claim that President Obama, who is the record holder for jobs created by an American president, hasnt created any jobs: Labor Day is a long-standing tradition celebrating the American worker but with millions of Americans out of work, we must do something to get America back to work. As President I will end bad trade deals and bring back American jobs for our people! Wellhe has created jobs for other people, in Mexico and China and elsewhere. He hasnt shown any signs that he knows how to create jobs here. And in fact, all the evidence from economists is that Trump will throw us back into another vicious recession, and undo the work of the past eight years. So there you have it: Donald Trump Celebrates Labor Day By Saying Hes Going to Create the Jobs Obama Already Created. President Obama celebrates the positives, the successes we have had, and the hope for future victories for the American worker. Their messages could not be more different. Facebook Twitter Pinterest Email Print Senate Democratic leader Harry Reid (D-NV) celebrated Labor Day in a statement issued today, calling Labor Day a celebration of working Americans. He stated that This Labor Day, as we recognize sall the good that the labor movement and American workers have done for this country, we must also acknowledge work yet to be done. Read his statement in full below: For more than a century, Labor Day has honored the achievements of the labor movement and American workers. It recognizes the many vital contributions that workers have made to our economy and way of life. The labor movement secured better wages, reasonable hours and safer working conditions for all Americans. The labor movements tireless efforts put an end to child labor and built the American middle class. The ingenuity and productivity of the American worker is what makes us the most innovative country in the world with the strongest economy. Labor Day is a time to celebrate working Americans, the backbone of our economy, and remember the labor activists who fought for the many rights and protections we enjoy and deserve. We must continue their legacy and recommit ourselves to the fight for fair wages, responsible workplace protections, and secure retirements to provide a prosperous future for all. This Labor Day, as we recognize all the good that the labor movement and American workers have done for this country, we must also acknowledge work yet to be done. Women still only receive a fraction of the salary men earn in the same position. Workers earning minimum wage still struggle to support themselves and their families. And the top earners of the country still receive the majority of the countrys wealth. I will continue supporting workers across the country because together we can make a difference. Reids statement stands in stark contrast to the Republican Partys championing of the 1 Percent and wealthy corporations and their CEOs. As Labor Secretary Tom Perez said in a separate statement, Labor Day is about more than picnics and parades. We celebrate this day to reflect on Americas labor movement the men and women who have helped build this country and our middle class. Because theyve spoken up together and demanded fairness, we can all enjoy things like the 40-hour workweek, overtime pay, minimum wage, safer workplaces, health insurance, Social Security, Medicare, and retirement plans. Both statements echo that of President Obamas open letter today. And these are all things opposed by the Republican Party. All Trump could talk about today was creating jobs that have already been created. He had nothing new or original to offer, or really, anything that was even relevant. If Americas working class is to improve its circumstances, these combined messages show that the go-to party is the Democratic Party. The GOP is nothing but empty and tired old talking points. Facebook Twitter Pinterest Email Print President Obama is in China for the G20, meeting with world leaders to address problems that concern us all, from Syria to Ukraine to cybersecurity and the U.S. elections. This is the sort of meeting in which Donald Trump claims he would excel, despite his submissive behavior before the President of Mexico when the two met. Of course, Trump and Putin share common goals and aspirations and have praised each other. Clearly, Putin thinks Trump would be more easily manipulated. To demonstrate how easily Putin or another world leader would manipulate Trump, there is the matter of how President Obama exited the plane at the G20 conference. The Chinese allegedly snubbed the president by failing to roll out a staircase and red carpet for Air Force One, though they claim it was what the US wanted. It is all about appearances for Trump, and rather than get into complicated issues he has neither the knowledge of nor the patience for, he took offense that Obama used what Trump called a metal staircase in the back of the plane. If that were me, Id say, You know what folks, I respect you a lot, lets close the doors, lets get out of here. Instant international incident, courtesy of a world leader who knows how to push Trumps buttons. Obama, however, true diplomat that he is, shrugged it off: I wouldnt over-crank the significance of it because, as I said, this is not the first time that these things happen and it doesnt just happen here. It happens in a lot of places including, by the way, sometimes our allies, Obama said, adding that none of this detracts from the broader scope of the relationship. Nothing spells out the difference between the mature statesmanship of President Obama and Republican nominee Donald Trump like this situation. Trump says hed have just up and left, never meeting with the other world leaders, because thats what children do when they feel snubbed. President Obama took it like a man and moved on, knowing that more important things than his ego are at stake, an ego, fortunately for all of us, that is not as fragile as Donald Trumps. Facebook Twitter Pinterest Email Print Asked if he thought Russia is trying to influence the U.S. election through hacking, President Obama answered that President Putin is less colorful, but typically the tone of our meetings are candid, blunt, businesslike, and that this meeting was no different. Obama talked about U.S. Russian relations generally before answering that And finally, we did talk about cybersecurity, generally. Im not going to comment on specific investigations that are still live and active. But I will tell you that weve had problems with cyber intrusions from Russia in the past, from other countries in the past. And, look, were moving into a new era here where a number of countries have significant capacities. And, frankly, we got more capacity than anybody both offensively and defensively. But our goal is not to suddenly, in the cyber arena, duplicate a cycle of escalation that we saw when it comes to other arms races in the past, but rather to start instituting some norms so that everybody is acting responsibly. Were going to have enough problems in the cyberspace with non-state actors who are engaging in theft and using the Internet for all kinds of illicit practices, and protecting our critical infrastructure, and making sure that our financial systems are sound. And what we cannot do is have a situation in which suddenly this becomes the Wild, Wild West, where countries that have significant cyber capacity start engaging in competition unhealthy competition or conflict through these means when, I think, wisely weve put in place some norms when it comes to using other weapons. So thats been a topic of conversation with President Putin as it has been with other countries. Weve started to get some willingness on the part of a lot of countries around the world, including through our G20 process, to adopt these norms, but weve got to make sure that were observing them. Vladimir Putin also spoke of his take on meeting the American president, saying Russia would like to normalize in full our relations with the United States too, which he called a very important partner in our eyes. In an interview with Bloomberg on September 1, Putin had denied any knowledge of the hacking of the Democratic Party database, saying, I know nothing. There are a lot of hackers today, you know, and they perform their work in such a filigreed and delicate manner and they can show their tracks anywhere and anytime. It may not even be a track; they can cover their activity so that it looks like hackers operating from other territories, from other countries. It is hard to check this activity, maybe not even possible. Anyway, we do not do that at the national level. It is clear that relations between Putin and Obama are tense, but given tensions in Ukraine and Syria, not to mention the recent hacking allegations, this hardly comes as a surprise. Nor is it a surprise that Putin would deny those allegations. No world leader would be likely to admit to them. Obama, as ever, seeks pragmatic solutions rather than choosing to escalate tensions, as Donald Trump would be likely to do in reacting to any imagined slight. Trump wants tough; Obama gave America tough, and without the emotional strings attached. Image: Kremlin.ru Stepan Margaryan: I am frequently asked whether Kocharyan is returning to politics or not (video) Armenian lawmaker Stepan Margaryan says he could not understand from the latest talks on the Karabakh conflict what exactly is placed on the negotiating table. We often hear the Armenian side speaking about concessions. We understand what we mean by saying concessions but it is not clear yet what Azerbaijan is going to concede and give us, the member of Hamakhmbum (Consolidation) Party told journalists during the parliamentary briefings today. While the lawmaker says Armenias second President Robert Kocharyan expressed general opinions on the resolution of the conflict in his latest interview, he calls special attention to the controversial Madrid Principles signed during his presidency. Many hold a negative opinion about the Madrid Principles but this was the first document in the history to fix the right to self-determination of the people of Nagorno-Karabakh through a referendum. It also spoke about the territory and its population. People criticize each and every interview given by the former president. Mr. Margaryan believes that it is done deliberately by the press. Whenever Kocharyan gives an interview or expresses an opinion, people immediately begin to speak about his return. I am frequently asked whether he is going to return to politics or not. I wonder what connection there can be between his interviews and his plans. I do not know. He is a political figure who has had a great contribution to the county. Why arent you equally surprised by the interviews of other political figures? I find it absurd! Many think that Kocharyan is paving the way for his return through his interviews and the Hamakhmbum Party. Let us wait and see. I do not want to draw conclusions based on assumptions. We have announced about the formation of the party and the names of its leaders. We have not given Kocharyans name, he said. Mr. Margaryan does not rule out that Kocharyans administration also made mistakes but he thinks that one should not try to justify the wrong things of our days. Facebook Twitter Pinterest Email Print Former CNN host Soledad OBrien utterly destroyed CNNs integrity Sunday by speaking out against the networks normalization of white supremacy. And she is right. CNN has done that. It is expected of Fox News, but CNN purports to be a real news network rather than a propaganda arm of the Republican Party. And they sometimes are, despite the hiring of Corey Lewandowski. But theirs is a spotty record, and more tarnished than many realize. Soledad OBrien exposed CNNs culpability Sunday, telling Brian Stelter there is lots of evidence that Trump is softening the ground for people who are white supremacists, who are white nationalists, who would self-identify that way. Watch courtesy of Mediaite: If you look at Hillary Clintons speech where she basically pointed out that what Donald Trump has done actually quite well has normalized white supremacy. I think she made a very good argument, almost like a lawyer. Here is ways in which he has actually worked to normalize conversations that many people find hateful. Ive seen on-air, white supremacists being interviewed because they are Trump delegates. And they do a five minute segment, the first minute or so talking about what they believe as white supremacists. So you have normalized that. And then Donald Trump will say, Hillary Clinton, shes a bigot. And its covered, the journalist part comes in, They trade barbs. He said shes a bigot and she points out that he might be appealing to racists. It only becomes he said, she said. When in actuality, the fact that Donald Trump said shes a bigot without the long laundry list of evidence, which if you looked at Hillary Clintons speech, she actually did have a lot of really good factual evidence that we would all agree that are things that have happened and do exist. They are treated as if they are equal. The mainstream medias response to Donald Trump has been frustrating, to say the least. We have seen them let his lies fly past them unremarked, and even seen a Trump campaign manager paid by Trump while working at CNN. Trump complains about MSM bias against him and has even called CNN the Clinton Network but he is the guy paying one of their journalists in order to sell his propaganda masquerading as news. Far from media neutrality we have a mainstream media complicit in Donald Trumps political objectives. Yes, there have been murmurings of dissent, happily reported on here. They are exceptions, however, and notable for their rarity. Even those who seem increasingly critical of Trump, like Joe Scarborough or Chuck Todd, then turn around and tell whoppers on Trumps behalf, from Scarboroughs claim that Trump isnt responsible for what he says because he says so many different and conflicting things, to Todds claim that the guy who wont release his taxes is more transparent than Hillary Clinton, who did. These are not just mistakes, but epic journalistic failures. And theyre not the first. Before the white supremacists we had the Religious Right hate groups, with the Family Research Councils and American Family Associations surrogates flooding cable news desks spewing their own unchallenged hate. Religious bigotry was normalized before white supremacy. OBrien lamented that the context is missing from the words, that, We actually dont even cover the details of something. We just cover the back and forth of it. I think it is worse than that, bad though that is. Just this past Friday we were witness to a CNN host allowing a Trump surrogate to claim Donald Trump saved the American auto industry. There is not even the pretense of an appeal to the actual facts when things like this are said. Republican talking points should not be dished out as news, or allowed to pass unremarked. If Trump is now sometimes fact-checked while hes spooling out his endless stream of lies, it has become obvious that the same must be done for our news hosts. Facebook Twitter Pinterest Email Print By Steve Holland and Jeff Mason CLEVELAND (Reuters) Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton opened the final, two-month stretch of the U.S. presidential campaign on Monday in the battleground state of Ohio as the Republican nominee saw a strengthening in opinion poll numbers that put pressure on his heavily favored Democratic rival. The Labor Day holiday is the traditional kickoff to the frenzied, last stretch of campaigning ahead of the Nov. 8 election, and both Trump and Clinton chose to begin their day in Cleveland. Trump, along with his vice presidential nominee, Indiana Governor Mike Pence, attended a Cleveland area meeting with labor leaders and union members before heading to a state fair in the Youngstown area. Clinton, scheduled to make a stop at a local business before marching in a Labor Day parade, told the press corps traveling on the same plane with her for the first time that it was the last moment before the mad dash to the White House. Im ready, Im more than ready, Clinton said before takeoff. While Trump still trails Clinton in many battleground states where the election will likely be decided, he has drawn close to even with her in some national polls and even inched ahead of the Democrat in others. The most recent Reuters/Ipsos poll on Friday showed Trump had the support of 40 percent of likely voters to 39 percent for Clinton, erasing her recent eight-point lead. Trumps rebound from a series of self-inflicted wounds has followed the hiring of a new campaign management team, and the Republican nominee is showing more discipline on the stump, reading his rally speeches from teleprompters. Trump has been helped by what his campaign saw as a positive week last week in which he made a quick trip to Mexico, appearing side by side with Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto, and visited a black church in Detroit. An immigration speech Trump gave following his trip to Mexico, however, drew criticism from some of his Hispanic supporters and several backers advising him on the issue decided to part ways with his campaign. Trump told the labor meeting his rising poll numbers are a sign his messages about tossing bad international trade deals and curbing illegal immigration are resonating with voters. Were making a tremendous impact. Were working very hard, he said. Clinton, who was President Barack Obamas first-term secretary of state, appeared at few public campaign events during the latter half of August, instead raising funds at high-dollar events in the East Coast vacation spots of Marthas Vineyard and the Hamptons, and with celebrities in Los Angeles and high-tech leaders in Silicon Valley. Clintons campaign announced that it had raised $143 million in August for her presidential bid and the Democratic Party. Clinton is again on the defensive over her use of a private email server and possible conflicts of interest with her family foundation while she was secretary of state, which have caused unease for some voters. But experts still see the Democratic nominee as the odds-on favorite to win the presidency. Some Democratic strategists criticized the news media over the weekend for not giving more coverage to a controversy involving Trumps charitable foundation. The Washington Post said the New York businessman paid the Internal Revenue Service a $2,500 penalty this year after it was revealed that his foundation had violated tax laws by giving a political contribution to a campaign group connected to Floridas attorney general, Pam Bondi, who has endorsed Trump. (http://wapo.st/2cmFZiu) With anyone other than Trump, this would be a major story and its a massive failure from the media that it isnt, tweeted Dan Pfeiffer, a former senior White House adviser to Obama. (Reporting by Jeff Mason and Steve Holland in Cleveland; Additional reporting and writing by Amanda Becker in Washington; Editing by Jonathan Oatis) Facebook Twitter Pinterest Email Print *The following is an opinion column by R Muse* Any human being who has ever ran a business, unless it is completely owner-operated, comprehends that without a labor force, no matter how small, they have no business, no profit (capital) and no chance of surviving in a capitalistic economy. In fact, it was a Republican president, Abraham Lincoln, who said that Labor is prior to and independent of capital. Capital is only the fruit of labor, and could never have existed if labor had not first existed. Labor is the superior of capital, and deserves much the higher consideration. That idea that labor was more important than capital was once adhered to by most Republicans down through the decades and certainly included more than just uttering a few kind words about the workforce once a year on Labor Day. It is true. Republicans used to support and embrace poor-worker and pro-labor policies that continued into the 1950s when another Republican president, this time Dwight D. Eisenhower, actually battled for an economy that was robust and fair including taking care of workers. Eisenhower Republicans fought to clarify and strengthen eight-hour overtime laws to help all workers, and were strong advocates for vigorously maintaining and extending the administration of prevailing wage laws for federal workers and protect more effectively the rights of labor unions. It was in 1956 that an official plank of the Republican Party platform was The protection of the right of workers to organize into unions and to bargain collectively is the firm and permanent policy of the Eisenhower Administration. Now, Republicans have completely reversed course and besides working with ALEC and the Koch brothers to destroy unions, are adamant that the prevailing wage laws are communist and the minimum wage is an abomination of epic proportion enacted to destroy America. The last decent Republican president, Dwight D. Eisenhower, seemed to understand that there would come a time when his party would deny labor any rights and warned that there were already politicians who hold some foolish dream of spinning the clock back to days when unorganized labor was a huddled, almost helpless mass. Only a handful of unreconstructed reactionaries harbor the ugly thought of breaking unions. Only a fool would try to deprive working men and women of the right to join the union of their choice. Today the fools are Donald Trump-led Republicans who began viciously attacking labor about the same time Republican demigod Ronald Reagan began attacking American workers to elevate the wealthy and usher in the oligarchy plaguing the economy today. Donald Trump has made it clear in several campaign speeches that in his Republican oligarchs mind, wages are too high, unions have to go, and it is long-past the time to abolish the 85-year old Davis-Bacon Act guaranteeing prevailing wage pay for all workers on federal projects. In fact, the official Republican Party platform no-one seems to notice reverses everything Republicans once championed for labor. It wants, like Donald Trump, to completely abolish the federal minimum wage and allow states and localities to set their own standards. Keep in mind that in Republican-controlled states and localities they have passed laws forbidding raising the minimum wage, offering sick leave or vacation pay. In Koch-controlled Wisconsin, Republican Scott Walker attempted to pass legislation eliminating weekends and the idea of overtime pay after 40 hours. The GOP platform also strongly promotes a national right-to-work law like those that are crushing union labor in Republican-controlled states across the South. The platform also attacked worker protection laws such as the Fair Labor Standards Act and lashed out at the Project Labor Agreements because it has the potential of raising worker wages and improving working conditions. Even though it may appear that Republicans are aligning with Trumps anti-labor agenda, they have been working behind the scenes to undermine labor and elevate the storied job creators for some time. Actually, it was about four years ago today that instead of celebrating the efforts of labor on a day set aside to honor working Americans, then-House Majority Leader Eric Cantor officially made the 2012 Republican Labor Day celebration about honoring the sacrifice of corporate CEOs, billionaire investors and overbearing executive managers; the GOP rejected honoring the people responsible for making the businesses succeed. The Republican standard bearer Trump has occasionally attempted to define himself as the workers champion, but his claims that wages are too damn high and are allowing China to dominate America belie any sense that he has an ounce of regard for the workforce. Trump seriously revealed his anti-labor bona fides by tapping disgusting anti-Union Indiana Governor Mike Pence to be his running mate. It was another signal that Trump is completely behind the Republican attempts to destroy union labor and the living wages they earn and produce the exact same catastrophic results Americans have witnessed from Scott Walker and the Koch brothers in Wisconsin. Republicans have been at war with working Americans since Ronald Reagan was president when the party decided all of their energy and devotion was better spent on elevating the wealthiest Americans. Men like Willard Romney and House Speaker Paul Ryan regard corporate CEOs and billionaire investors as makers that have been forced by workers rights laws to suffer the injustice of having to pay anything to those worthless takers; the people that most Americans regard as hardworking and responsible for building and maintaining Americas economy. It is a travesty that at one time Republicans were aligned with Democrats in advancing the interests of the workforce, and they likely really believed in the Department of Labors (DOL) interpretation of why the worker holiday should be a celebration. According to the DOL, Labor Day is the holiday dedicated to the social and economic achievements of American workers. And is set aside on the first Monday of every September as a yearly national tribute to the contributions workers have made to the strength, prosperity, and well-being of our country. With Donald Trump carrying the GOP standard as its leader, and the Republican National convention official platform putting workers rights on the same level as the dreaded ISIS, Republicans will be celebrating anti-labor day this year. And, they are completely comfortable in the knowledge that ignorant Americans are unaware of the impending slavery awaiting them if Republicans gain control of the entire federal government. Happy Labor Day! Portfolio English Edition's premium content is available only for subscribers Learn about the hottest news of the day, along with immediate follow-up analyses and 1000's of exclusive articles with full access to the premium content. Register and apply for a 14 days free trial period. CONFERENCE: From left, Alissa Eclavea, Dr. Lilnabeth Somera, John Mugol, Mariah Ramos, Jenika Ballesta and Ashley Sablan take a photo during the opening ceremonies of the 11th Biennial Convention of the Pacific and Asian Communication Association at the Universiti Putra Malaysia near Putrajaya, Malaysia, on July 21. Photo courtesy of the University of Guam Congressional candidate Jim Moylan will not let truth or distortions stop him from saying anything to get elected. It is up to political analy Read morePolitical ploys at the last part of election? Scott and Paul have already commented on the Chinese leaders calculated insults to Barack Obama when he landed in China for the G20 conference. But the hostility toward our president didnt stop there. One of Obamas priorities for the G20 meeting was to negotiate a joint effort in Syria with Vladimir Putin. So far, at least, that hasnt happened. The main news about their meeting is the death stare that they exchanged: The reset has long been a joke, but at least Obama succeeded in getting a meeting with Putin. And who knows, he might be able to reach an agreement with Putin, although it is a little hard to see what, at this point, he has to offer. In contrast, Obama had to cancel his scheduled meeting with Philippine President Rodrigo Detente after that leader blasted Obama for criticizing his governments war against Philippine drug dealers. President Obama canceled a meeting with Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte Monday, after the Filipino leader publicly swore while warning him not to raise questions about alleged death squad operations in his country against suspected drug dealers. Earlier in the day, during a news conference before leaving the Philippines for Laos, where both men are to attend a summit of Southeast Asian leaders, Duterte had said that if Obama were to raise the issue during their scheduled meeting, son of a bitch, I will swear at you. I havent heard the original Spanish, but other news sources say that Duterte said son of a whore. He is a leader of a sovereign country and is answerable only to the Filipino people, Duterte said, and Obama must be respectful. At the G20, Obama seemed determined to offend everyone, including his least favorite nation, Great Britain. He repeated his threat that Britain, having voted to leave the EU, would go to the back of the line when it comes to trade agreements with the U.S. But Brexit leaders werent buying it. [A]t the G20 conference in China [Obama] appeared with the new Prime Minister Theresa May, and openly said that the 17 million who backed Brexit were wrong. But Iain Duncan Smith, the former Conservative leader, said of Mr Obamas comments: Who cares what he says? Hes going. Bye bye. He told The Sun: All the congressmen and senators Ive spoken to have all said When youre ready to do a trade deal, well step up to the plate. Were both free traders, it will take one or two years. The only trade deal the US has in train at the moment is TTIP, and everyone is saying that is dead. Congress wont ratify it as they would have to make too many compromises to please the EU. Its [Obamas] vanity project. The truth is, no one really cares what he says. And Jacob Rees-Mogg, another Eurosceptic Tory MP, added: Fortunately, he is yesterdays man and will no longer be President early next year. The US is the UKs single most important partner, and as far as I can see the EU-US trade deal is dead in the water. Hes putting a corpse ahead of the United States most loyal ally. These comments tell us all we need to know about how President Obama has never been a friend of ours. The corpse would be the EU. Of course, the contempt that world leaders are expressing toward Barack Obama is partly the result of his lame duck status. But it is more than that: he is a widely detested lame duck, viewed by most as both arrogant and unreliable. Remember the days when Obama promised us a smart foreign policy? Instead, he has thrown away our hard-fought victory in Iraq, strengthened Irans mullahs in a quixotic effort to form an alliance with them, and alienated our staunchest allies, like Great Britain and Israel, while abandoning others, like the Sunni Gulf States, all while accomplishing nothing. Small wonder that as he prepares to leave office, the predominant reaction around the world is, good riddance. Talented children performed for Serzh Sargsyan at Tshaykovski Musical School on September 5, Serzh Sargsyan attended the opening ceremony of the totally renovated P. Tshaykovski Secondary Musical School. The President of Armenia accompanied by the Minister of Culture Hasmik Poghossian, Mayor of Yerevan Taron Margarian, representatives of the Hayastan Fund and the School toured the premise, familiarized with the conditions, conversed with the teaching staff and schoolchildren after which at the newly renovated hall was present at the performance of the talented children - laureates of the Armenian and international competitions. After the conclusion of the large-scale works carried out through the funding of the Hayastan Funds US East Coast local bodies, on the occasion of the opening statements were made by the Headmaster of the School Martun Kostandian, Executive Director of the Hayastan Fund Ara Vardanian and the Chairman of the Funds East Coast chapter Khoren Bandazian who noted with satisfaction that the renovation has elevated the Schools status to a new level and now there exists the opportunity to organize schooling of the gifted and talented children from the distant regions of Armenia, Artsakh, and abroad, to improve the learning process and achieve new results. Currently, there are over 600 children studying at the School who along with the high-level musical education acquire here also general education. Today on ABC News, Martha Raddatz asked Tim Kaine about Hillary Clintons Russian reset: Hillary Clinton was in charge with the so-called reset with Russia. Can you make an argument that it worked, given what happened in Crimea and Syria? Kaine could not. He answered: I dont think you can make an argument that the relationship with Russia is in a good place right now. Thats a no. But, Kaine added, thats not the U.S. fault, thats Vladimir Putins aggressive and imperialist ambitions. Kaine used the same dodge when, after he tried to switch the subject to Donald Trump, Raddatz returned to the reset. She showed Kaine a quote from a Polish foreign minister who, stating the obvious, said that Russia viewed the 2009 reset as a sign of weakness Kaine responded: To say that Putins imperial ambitions are the fault of anybody in the United States is ridiculous. No one is saying that Putins ambitions are the fault of anybody in the United States. But many, including the Polish foreign minister, are saying that Putins willingness to act on his ambitions so aggressively is the fault of U.S. weakness as first manifested by the reset. Based on Russian sources, I said in 2009 that the Obama-Clinton approach would embolden Russia. So it has. Kaines argument, if you can call it that, is akin to Neville Chamberlain saying its ridiculous to blame Hitlers ambition to conquer Europe on anyone in England. Imperialist ambitions are commonplace. Great power appeasement, mercifully, is not. When it occurs, those who engaged in it, as Hillary Clinton clearly did, should be held accountable for the predictable consequences. Via Alex Pfeiffer at the Daily Caller. Video below. Scott has described the reception President Obama received when he arrived in China. It was, as the New York Times acknowledged, bruising even by Chinese standards. It was also unsurprising, Susan Rices statement that they did things that werent anticipated notwithstanding. Obama has earned Chinas contempt. The administrations pivot to Asia was not, objectively, terribly meaningful. But to the extent it had meaning, the Chinese reasonably perceived it as an attempt to counteract Chinas large and growing influence in the region. Subjectively, the pivot was full of meaning for China. Obama hoped through his pivot to forge stronger alliances with our traditional friends in the region and make new allies out of nations like Vietnam and Burma that feel threatened by China. However, as William Wan of the Washington Post observes, the very Asian allies the pivot was meant to reassure had their doubts about Obamas seriousness. Many wondered how much of the pivot was empty rhetoric and how much it would be backed by economic and military substance. As a result, the pivot was counterproductive. China became more belligerent while the nations that were supposed to help us curb Chinese belligerence wanted little part of it. The consequences are there for all to see. Claudia Rosett lists some of them: Chinas territorial grabs at sea, provocations toward the U.S. Navy, cyber attacks, military exercises with Russia and evident tolerance despite United Nations sanctions of illicit traffic that enables North Koreas continuing nuclear missile program. How could China resist the urge to show its contempt for Obama under these circumstances? From its perspective, Obama picked a fight with China but backed off as soon he was punched. To many in the American foreign policy elite, this is smart power or something. To China, and to every other ascending power in the history of the world (including the U.S. back in the day), its weakness deserving of punishment. And lets not forget what Obama came to China to do. He came to sign the Paris climate accord, further evidence of his weakness. Rosett explains: [I]n practice, this deal amounts to Americans paying tribute. . . . For Americans. . .the result will be to increase the regulatory strictures already strangling an economy now growing at a dismal 1%. You, the American consumer, taxpayer, shunted-aside voter, will pay. For China, the cost is far less clear. As the state-controlled China Daily summarizes the arrangements, China has pledged to peak carbon emissions by 2030. Obama, by contrast, has promised that America will cut emissions by 28% by 2025, as compared to the year 2005. In other words. . .America starts paying now. China has 14 years to play around before the deal starts to bite. Plus, under Chinas despotic system, coupled with a treaty in which governments are effectively held accountable only by their own citizens, the rulers in Beijing have plenty of room to toss their international commitments right out the window. Thus, says Rosett, to the rulers of China and Russia, and a great many others Obamas ratification of the Paris climate deal looks not like leadership, but like a kowtow. Rosett also argues that the way Obama circumvented Congress by failing to treat the Paris accord as a treaty adds to Chinas contempt. I doubt it. If anything, the Chinese probably admire Obamas willingness to disregard the U.S. Constitution. However, the fact that he could not deliver Senate approval of a treaty likely confirms their view that he is too weak to respect. No wonder the Chinese decided to greet Obamas arrival with, in Rosetts words, a gesture of gross disrespect, seen around the world, putting the American president in his place. A foremost scholar of Oral Literature and award-winning novelist, Isidore Okpewho, has died at 74. He was a prolific author, co-author and editor of about 14 books, dozens of articles and a seminal booklet, A Portrait of the Artist as a Scholar. Prof. Okpewho died peacefully at a hospital in Binghamton, a town in Upstate New York where he had lived and taught since 1991. His teaching career spanned University of New York at Buffalo (1974-76), University of Ibadan (1976-90), Harvard University (1990-91), and State University of New York at Binghamton. According to Canada-based professor in Carleton University, Nduka Otiono, quoting family sources, the distinguished Professor at State University of New York, Binghamton, passed away on September 4, 2016, surrounded by family members. Although he battled illness recently, the scholar and humanist demonstrated exceptional capacity in dealing with his challenging health conditions. Indeed, only two years ago, his last book to which he had long committed his intellectual resources, Blood on the Tides: The Ozidi Saga and Oral Epic Narratology, was published by University of Rochester Press. Born on November 9, 1941 in Agbor, Delta State, Nigeria, Okpewho grew up in Asaba, his maternal hometown, where he attended St. Patricks College, Asaba. He proceeded to the University College, Ibadan, for his university education. He graduated with a First Class Honours in Classics, and moved on to launch a glorious career: first in publishing at Longman Publishers, and then as an academic after obtaining his PhD from the University of Denver, USA. He crowned his certification with a D.Litt from University of London. With his two earliest seminal academic monographs, The Epic in Africa: Toward a Poetics of the Oral Performance (1979) and Myth in Africa: A Study of Its Aesthetic and Cultural Relevance (1983), Okpewho quickly established his reputation as a first-rate scholar and pioneer of Oral Literature in Africa. For his distinctive and prolific output he was honoured with a string of international academic and non-academic awards that included the Nigerian National Order of Merit (NNOM), in Humanities for the year 2010. As a writer noted, Recognition for Professor Okpewhos work has come with some of the most prestigious fellowships in the humanities: from the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars (1982), Alexander von Humboldt Foundation (1982), Center for Advanced Study in the Behavioral Sciences at Stanford (1988), the W.E.B. Du Bois Institute at Harvard (1990), National Humanities Center in North Carolina (1997), and the Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation (2003). He was also elected Folklore Fellow International by the Finnish Academy of the Sciences in Helsinki (1993). Prof. Okpewho also served as President of the International Society for the Oral Literatures of Africa (ISOLA). For his creative writing work, Okpewho won the 1976 African Arts Prize for Literature and 1993 Commonwealth Writers Prize Best Book Africa. His four novels, The Victims, The Last Duty, Tides, and Call me by my Rightful Name are widely studied in Africa and other parts of the world, with some of them translated into major world languages. We will miss his charming presence, warm-heartedness, and wise guidance, said a member of the family last night in Binghamton, New York, adding: But we are consoled by the great life he lived, the many lives he touched beyond the nuclear family, and the remarkable intellectual legacy he left behind. Reacting to the demise of the literary titan, G.G. Darah, Professor of English at Delta State University, Abraka, and President of Nigeria Oral Literature Association (NOLA) quipped: Ah, that is a library destroyed by the fire of death. Prof. Okpewho is survived by his wife, Mrs. Obiageli Okpewho; his children: Ediru, Ugo, Afigo, and Onome, as well as members of his extended family. Funeral arrangements will be announced by the family in the coming days. May his soul rest in peace. Local carrier, FirstNation Airways, will return to business on September 15, an official said on Monday. Rasheed Yusuf, FirstNations Head of Corporate Affairs, said the airline suspended operations last week to carry out routine maintenance on its fleet in line with safety standards and regulations. Mr. Yusufs statement came a few days after the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority announced that FirstNation had been ordered to shut down operations indefinitely because one of its fleet was undergoing repairs. In these circumstances, these airlines clearly cannot continue to undertake schedule operations, hence the inevitable recourse to self-regulatory suspension, the NCAA said in a statement signed by the Director-General, Mukhtar Usman. It is against the Nigerian civil aviation regulations for airline operators to carry out scheduled commercial operations with only one aircraft. The development sparked speculation that the airline had shut down out of financial distress like Aero Contractors, another local carrier that shut down a day before on August 31. But Mr. Yusuf said FirstNation was not experiencing financial crisis and it would resume scheduled flights in the days ahead. FirstNation is not on the verge of folding up. In reality, since the airline launched services in 2011, the airline has built a strong followership and has been rated consistently as market leader on safety and schedule integrity, Mr. Yusuf said. Nigerias economic crisis had seen operational costs, including the prices of aviation fuel, skyrocket in recent months, forcing some international airlines to source fuel and engine parts from other West African countries. Consequently, local and international flights operators recently hiked prices of their tickets. Economist: Eurasian Economic Union is not developing as a unit (video) What benefits and losses has Armenia had after joining the Eurasian Economic Union? Three years ago, Serzh Sargsyan announced that Armenia is changing its political vector from Europe to Eurasia. The Eurasian Economic Union is not developing as a unit. Among its member states only Armenia registered economic growth in the first quarter of 2016. All other countries had declines, says economist Bagrat Asatryan. The Union of Informed Citizens NGO has tried to present the situation in figures. In 2014, Armenias GDP totaled $ 11.6 billion. After the country joined the EEU, it began to fall and is expected to reach $ 10.7 billion in 2016, the Union said. Republican lawmaker Artak Davtyan says Armenia would have greater losses, if we did not join the EEU. Despite all difficulties, we have been able to ensure economic growth. Export volumes were unprecedented in the first months of 2016, he said. Bagrat Asatryan says as an economic unit, the Eurasian Economic Union has not offered a new solution to Armenia. We have the same problems that existed three years ago. This, first of all concerns, the problem of roads. Everyone who imports and exports goods should be called heroes, because they have to overcome many obstacles. The Union of Informed Citizens NGO also tried to find out what the EEU has given to Armenia in the past three years in terms of safety. In the past three years, Russia has sold Azerbaijan hundreds of tanks, tanks and armored vehicles, military helicopters, artillery systems, anti-aircraft and anti-tank missiles, the NGO says. Artak Davtyan says Russia would sell the weapons to Azerbaijan despite Armenias membership to the EEU. Bagrat Asatryan says the structure does not have political, economic or social bases and once Putin leave politics, the structure will stop its existence. Series of blasts hit Syrian government areas and a Kurdish region on Monday, killing 47 people, a monitoring group said, as the U.S. and Russia failed to agree on a way to end the violence. The blasts hit government-held Tartous, as well as Homs, an area west of the capital Damascus and al-Hassakeh, which is mostly controlled by Kurdish forces, the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said. In the worst attack, at least 35 people were killed and 40 others wounded in a double bombing just outside the coastal city of Tartous, a stronghold of President Bashar al-Assads government. Syrian state TV said that the two terrorist blasts took place on a bridge. The first was a car bomb and the second was reportedly carried out by suicide bomber who detonated an explosive belt when people gathered to help the wounded. Tartous is home to many Syrian refugees who have fled from other government-held areas. It was hit in May by several explosions that killed more 100 people. Shortly after the Tartous bombings, at least four people were killed when a car bomb exploded at the entrance of the al-Zahraa neighbourhood in the central Homs province. The residents of the al-Zahraa neighbourhood are mostly Alawite, the same sect as al-Assad. Syrian television aired footage of the aftermath of the blast, showing rubble covering the streets and smoke rising from burning vehicles. The observatory said that a bomb attack also targeted a Syrian army checkpoint in the al-Sabura area west of the capital Damascus, killing three people. The observers said that a further explosion hit al-Hassakeh, in the north-east of Syria, targeting a Kurdish area and killing at least five people. State media put the number of deaths in al-Hassakeh bombing at eight. The head of the observatory, Rami Abdel Rahman, said that the blast in al-Hassakeh hit a checkpoint belonging to the Kurdish Asayesh security forces. Those attacks are simultaneous and are definitely coordinated, he said. No groups have yet claimed responsibility for the attacks. But al-Hassakeh in particular has been targeted by Islamic State bombings before. As the violence continued in Syria, signs of possible progress between the U.S. and Russia on a Syrian ceasefire deal came to nothing after talks between the countries leaders and top diplomats stalled. Technical disagreements remain, a White House official said Monday. U.S. President Barack Obama and Russian President Vladimir Putin met for 90 minutes for talks centred largely on efforts to reduce violence, allow humanitarian aid and the need to focus the fight on al-Qaeda, al-Nusra and Islamic State. The leaders told their top diplomats to continue trying to reach an agreement amid technical issues having to do with implementation of the agreement. Kerry told reporters after talks with Lavrov that there were still a couple of tough issues to work out and that efforts would continue to see whether or not it is possible to bridge the gap. (dpa/NAN) The Nigerian government will not increase the pump price of petrol despite a demand that it should do so, officials have said. The forum of former Group Managing Directors of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, NNPC, on Sunday called for the price increase by calling for a removal of price cap in the pricing template. A removal of the price cap would mean that marketers would be free to sell petrol at their desired price, based on several factors such as the exchange rate and international crude price. With the Naira exchange rate going down by over 50 per cent to about N412 since the current petrol price was fixed, approving the recommendation would have meant Nigerians pay more for petrol. The Nigerian government through the Petroleum Products Pricing Regulatory Agency, PPPRA, however, said on Monday that it will not accept the advice. The former GMDs had in a 12-point communique at the end their meeting with the incumbent GMD of the NNPC, Maikanti Baru, said the price cap of N145 per litre of petrol was not congruent with the liberalization policy. The removal of the cap under a liberalised market environment would allow marketers of petroleum products to sell products at any price to enable them recover cost. The Forum said the current ceiling price of N145 per litre did not factor the current foreign exchange (FOREX) rate and other price components of the pricing template, like crude oil cost and Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) charges, which remain uncapped. While stating the governments response, the acting Executive Secretary of PPPRA, Sotonye Iyoyo, said the proposal was the personal opinion of the former state oil chiefs. If it was a recommendation, that is what it is a personal opinion. Im not aware government is planning any fuel price increase. We are in a liberalised market already, she told PREMIUM TIMES. The spokesperson of the NNPC, Garba Deen Mohammed, also described the advice as an opinion. The forum was expressing its opinion, which it is entitled to, Mr. Mohammed told PREMIUM TIMES. NNPC is a player in the petroleum industry and has a right to have its views about the industry. Nobody is bound by the opinion. First line charge In the communique, the forum also asked the federal government to include funding of joint venture operations as first line charge to guarantee sustainable oil and gas production and national reserve growth. The industry has, for years, been contending with challenges of dwindling investments to grow production and national reserves, due to inability of government to meet its funding obligations to the joint venture regularly. The meeting also reviewed issues affecting operations of the oil and gas industry as well as recommendations to resolve them. The issues include the insecurity in the Niger Delta, NNPCs poor corporate reputation, poor state of the countrys refineries, current state of petroleum products supply pricing template, and need to focus attention on the Chad Basin in the ongoing frontier oil exploration activities in the northern part of the country. Other issues include operations of the National Petroleum Investments Management Services, NAPIMS; Petroleum Industry Bill, PIB; NNPCs relationship with its partners; NNPCs dwindling revenue base and rising debt profile as well as its widening pension funding gap. During the meeting, Mr. Baru presented the status of NNPCs finances and the state of the oil and gas industry, spanning his managements 12 business focus areas towards restoring the corporation on the path of growth and profitability. In its review of the current state of industry and ways to resolve issues militating against its progress, the meeting was concerned about declining production levels and the consequences on the countrys revenue. On insecurity, the meeting noted the threat to oil production and damage to the Niger Delta environment. It said there was need for government and security agencies to refocus their engagements with the various host communities to build sustainable partnership toward a lasting solution to the problem. The former GMDs urged government to ensure the refineries were refurbished using the Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs), while their operations were restructured as Incorporated Joint ventures (IJV) modelled after the Nigerian Liquefied Natural Gas (NLNG), with credible technical and financial partners. The meeting also asked the government to ignore the proposal in the draft PIB for an NNPC investment subsidiary, NAPIMS, to be removed from the state oil firm. it said that would inhibit its effective function as a national oil company in comparison with its peers in other countries. On its dwindling revenue base, the former GMDs said they were concerned with the situation and called for particular attention to be focussed on revenue generating entities the Nigerian Petroleum Development Company, the retail arm, and the refineries to restore its growth and profitability. Worried by the high level of NNPCs debt profile, the former oil chiefs urged its management to urgently ascertain its true financial status and immediately decide on the most appropriate capitalization model. If the current situation remains unchecked, it could lead to the crippling of the corporation and the nations oil & gas sector, the mainstay of the Nigerian economy, they said. The Saudi Arabian government has said that any pilgrim who violates the schedule put in place for the stoning of the devil ritual at Jamarat will be arrested and prosecuted. The government is putting measures to avoid the kind of stampede that happened last year at Mina, which led to the death of over 2000 pilgrims. The Nigerian government later confirmed that at least 145 of the victims were Nigerians. In a meeting with officials of Nigeria and other African countries in Mina on Monday, the Saudi Arabia Hajj Ministry representative, Sheikh Mohammed, said arrangements have been concluded to assign guides who will lead a group of 250 pilgrims at a time to the Jamarat and back. Any Pilgrim seen alone in Jamarat will be arrested and will face he highest punishment, the Saudi official said. He also said each group will not be led by a Saudi guide alone, but, that states would also nominate a guide for each group. The official, who spoke through an official of the National Hajj Commission of Nigeria, Aliyu Tanko, as interpreter, said the government is adopting the kind of schedule used for airlines at the airport. No flight arrives or departs the Airport until its rime is due, we intend to apply the same procedure for Jamarat, he said. Mr. Mohammed also said apart from the arrest and prosecution of any violating pilgrim, state officials responsible for the pilgrim would also face sanction. Take this schedule and timing as serious as the time for prayers, he said. Mr. Mohammed said records of all groupings would be taken at the departure from tents and back. He said guides will be held responsible if they fail to return with the exact number of pilgrims they take to the Jamarat for the stoning ritual. He also said pilgrims must only go with their assigned batch and time. A suspected member of a two-man robbery gang has told investigators how they stole $10,000, 5,000, N100,000, and a box of jewellery from an 81-year-old woman in Surulere, the Lagos State Police said in a statement on Sunday. Segun Taiwo was arrested by operatives of the Rapid Response Squad after robbing the octogenarian at her home in Oduduwa Street, Itire, at about 8 p.m. Mr. Taiwos accomplice, a herbalist and the mastermind of the robbery, is now at large, according to the police. The police said Mr. Taiwo confessed to the crime at the RRS headquarters in Lagos, saying he was only invited into the robbery by the herbalist, simply identified as Demola, who promised to give him 50 percent from the loot. He was treating one of the womans daughter (name withheld) who had sore in her right foot, the police quoted Mr. Taiwo as saying. Whenever the lady visited him for treatment, he was always stylishly collecting information about her mother from her. According to Mr. Taiwo, unknowingly to the lady, the herbalist had collected all necessary descriptions and information needed to carry out the robbery. After a while, he told me that we have a special operation, Mr. Taiwo said. He further told me that his patient (the womans daughter) must not be aware because we were going to their house to rob her mother. The suspect also told investigators that the herbalist knew the exact time to strike the house, the description of the apartment, where the womans money and other valuables were kept following the information gotten from her daughter. We carried out the robbery successfully, he said. We gained entrance into the two-storey building and headed straight to the old womans flat. From our preliminary investigation, we got to know that the first flat opposite the entrance gate was theirs. We went straight inside the flat without any stress. We met the 81-year-old woman while sitting on the prayers mat inside the living room. We dragged and threatened her with cutlass and axe to surrender all her belongings including foreign currencies with her or else we will waste her life. The suspect said the old woman cooperated with them and handed over a bag filled with both local and foreign currencies. We also forcefully collected her gold jewellery box, said Mr. Taiwo. However, on our way out, we overheard the voice of the old woman who was crying and shouting for help. Unknowingly to us, RRS operatives who were patrolling the area have overheard her voice. As we were rushing out to escape from the house, the operatives sighted us and we took to our heels. Immediately, the policemen made a hot chase which led to my arrest and my accomplice managed to escape with the local and foreign currencies while the jewellery box was retrieved from me. The suspect also told the police they had, in the past, robbed a man, along Okota road, of his N200,000. My gang leader is a very powerful herbalist. He knows when you have money on you, he said. The first day I followed him to rob was a day when we went to Okota road. On getting there, he saw one man along Okota road, and he pointed at the man and told me the man had money on him. We moved closer to the man and he recited some incantations, and to my surprise, that man handed over his money, about N200,000, to us. Out of that money, he gave me just N11,000. While confirming the arrest, the State Police Public Relations Officer, Dolapo Badmus, said the Command is making effort to arrest the gang leader. The suspect has been transferred to Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS) for further investigation, according to the police. Human rights lawyer, Femi Falana, has urged President Muhammadu Buhari to call to order soldiers who invaded a property owned by Robert Azibaola in Abuja. In a statement on Sunday, Mr. Falana described the soldiers occupation of the premises of Kakarta Civil Engineering Limited, owned by Mr. Azibaola, former president Goodluck Jonathans cousin, as illegal. The troops who were reported to have driven away the workers in the premises have since seized the property without a court order, said Mr. Falana, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria. Sequel to the illegal action of the army of occupation, the innocent workers in the company have been dispatched to the unemployment market. Armed soldiers, led by an unnamed General, last Saturday seized the property and barred all the workers from entering it, the lawyer said. The army is yet to issue an official statement for its action. Mr. Azibaola is facing prosecution by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission for the diversion of $40 million through One-Plus Holdings, a sister company of Kakarta Civil Engineering Limited, meant for securing oil pipelines contract. Mr. Azibaola had pleaded not guilty to the charge. The implication of the plea is that he is presumed innocent until the contrary is proved by the prosecution, Mr. Falana said. Therefore, if the Nigerian military authorities had wanted to dispossess him of the property in question they ought have applied for a court order. But by taking over the property under the pretext that it constitutes a threat to a nearby military barracks the military authorities took the law into their hands. The forceful seizure of the property should not be tolerated in a civilized society which operates under the rule of law. Mr. Falana called on the federal government to stop members of the armed forces from violating the rights of criminal suspects accused of engaging in the looting of the public treasury. By allowing the security forces to adopt Gestapo tactics in the recovery of the loot, the Buhari administration stands the risk of winning undeserved sympathy for the criminal suspects who are standing trial, he said. Indeed, the security forces are unwittingly colluding with corruption to fight back. He also accused the army of usurping the functions of the police to maintain law and order in the society, adding that power drunk military officers now declare civilians wanted. Even under the defunct military junta, the courts never condoned the forceful seizure of the assets of citizens by armed troops, said Mr. Falana. Since the seizure and the illegal occupation of Mr. Azibaolas property cannot be justified in law the Chief of Army Staff, General Tukur Buratai should order the immediate withdrawal of the armed troops and sanction the officers who have exposed the nation to ridicule in the circumstance. Having regard to the massive infringements of the fundamental rights of the Nigerian people by armed soldiers President Buhari should order the Army to stop interfering in the police duty of maintaining law and order in the country. Ram sellers in Kaduna on Monday expressed regrets about the low sale they had recorded, barely a week to the Eid-el-Kabir festival, the News Agency of Nigeria reports. Many ram selling points such as Zango, Bachama road and Rigasa markets in Kaduna metropolis saw the presence of many rams that remain unsold for days. Rabo Mohammad, who sells his rams at Bachama Road market, said ram sellers had never had it so bad. Mr. Mohammad, who came from Sokoto with rams, said he sold only five out of the 50 rams he brought to Kaduna two weeks ago. The economic situation has contributed to the low patronage and is affecting even our pockets. There is still hope, as the festival is one week from now, we pray to make some sales before then. Returning the animals to Sokoto will be a great loss to me because of the expenses involved, he said. Mr. Mohammad said prices of the animals ranged from N25, 000 to N120, 000. Another ram dealer, Baballe Yaro, also blamed current economic recession as the main factor responsible for the low sales recorded so far. The present economic meltdown has now become a threat not only to ram sellers but also to entire business activities in Nigeria. The Federal Government should do something urgently to address the suffering of the masses. Although people want to buy rams for the festival, they cannot afford it due to the prevailing economic situation in the country. Mr. Yaro believed that the price may eventually crash as many traders would not want to return back with the animals. According to him, some of the traders bought the rams from Niger Republic, Sokoto, Zamfara and Katsina States. But there is hope since we have one week before the celebration if all civil servants will have their salaries before Sallah, he said. (NAN) Ahmad Salkida, a Nigerian journalist declared wanted by the military over Boko Harams latest video, has been arrested, Nigerian media reported on Monday. Sahara Reporters, a Nigerian news website, reported Monday afternoon that Mr. Salkida was apprehended by the State Security Service at Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja. Mr. Salkida travelled aboard an Emirates Airlines flight from Dubai using an emergency travel certificate and expressed fears about his possible arrest upon arrival in the country, Sahara Reporters quoted a female passenger who seated beside him as saying. Mr. Salkida further told the passenger that he did not know the whereabouts of Boko Haram leaders or Chibok girls. However, he admitted to receiving two video clips from Boko Haram before they were released to the public, the website reported. PREMIUM TIMES could not independently verify reports of Mr. Salkidas arrest as efforts to get confirmation from the Nigerian Army, the Defence Headquarters, the State Security Service and the police proved unsuccessful. But Farooq Kperogi, a U.S.-based Nigerian Professor of Journalism who recently interviewed the journalist, told PREMIUM TIMES he had a conversation with Mr. Salkida recently and the latter briefly mentioned planning to come to Nigeria. Mr. Salkida was declared wanted on August 14 alongside Aisha Wakil, a lawyer, and Ahmed Bolori, a peace activist based in Maiduguri. Mr. Salkida, who was in Dubai at the time of the announcement, said he would expedite preparation to return to Nigeria and turn himself in. Mrs. Wakil and Mr. Bolori turned themselves in a day after they were declared wanted and both were subsequently granted bail without being charged to court for any offence. The Governor of Plateau state, Simon Lalong, on Monday said President Muhammadu Buhari was not responsible for the recession of Nigerias economy. Mr. Lalong, who spoke at a ceremony held at the Government House, Jos, for the inauguration of his new aides, expressed confidence that the economy would be fixed. President Buhari is not responsible for the present economic challenges we are facing today in Nigeria, he stated, adding that, as a responsible government, we will fix the situation. We in Plateau state, we have to ensure that we revive our agriculture and mining sectors. We do not have money to give out to politicians but we will provide opportunities for our people to engage in farming and develop our agriculture to provide jobs and food, he added. At the ceremony, Mr. Lalong swore-in four special advisers, including a veteran journalist, Daniel Manjang, whom he named special adviser on media and publicity. Others appointed were Patrick Dariem for Finance and Investment; Nanven Nimfel for Political Affairs and Luka Madaki for Agriculture and Rural Development. The governor tasked the appointees to prove true to your credentials and experience. Speaking for the appointees, Mr. Manjang assured the governor that they would carry out their duties professionally and effectively. The event was attended by top government functionaries of the state. About 500 households set to be affected by flood in Benue have refused to change relocate, an official has said. The Benue State Flood Committee said it identified no fewer than 500 households that might be affected by flooding in 2016. The committee Chairman, Emmanuel Manger, told journalists on Monday in Makurdi that the government had effectively educated the masses on what to do during the expected flooding. He said the government had also issued vacation notices to the households to be affected, adding however, that many of them had refused to comply with the notices. As a government, we have sensitised the public on the forthcoming flooding and told them what to do before hand. Even though we have notified the houses to be affected to vacate such houses; many of them have refused to comply with our notices. Unfortunately, there is little we can do because we cannot force them out of their houses. We have done all the needful, he said. The News Agency of Nigeria recalls that the state was one of the worst-hit in the 2012 major flood disaster that affected over 12,000 persons prominent among which were children and women. (NAN) Resident Doctors of Ahmadu Bello University Teaching Hospital, ABUTH, on Monday said they would proceed on total and indefinite strike on September15, unless the management address issues of infrastructure decay at the facility. Waziri Aliyu-Dahiru, the President of the hospitals resident doctors association, said at a news conference in Zaria, Kaduna State, that the strike would have started this Monday, but was postponed due to intervention by elders. According to him, prominent Nigerians, including Senators Shehu Sani (Kaduna Central) and Suleiman Hunkuyi (Kaduna North), prevailed on the doctors to extend their ultimatum by two weeks. Considering the antecedents and reputation of Prof. Abdulmuminu Rafindadi, (former CMD), the integrity of members of his committee, the ongoing efforts by the Federal Ministry of Health and other distinguished Nigerians, we hereby extend the ultimatum to September 15, 2016. This is to give enough time for amicable resolution of the problem and for the management to do the needful. In the event that the hospital management does not show any commitment at the end of all these interventions by September 15, we shall embark on a total indefinite strike, he said. The News Agency of Nigeria reports that the resident doctors staged a peaceful protest round the hospital after the news conference, to press their demand for improvement in facilities at the hospital. They were also demanding for total overhaul of structures, some of which were leaking; general improvement in the hospitals environment, provision of water and other services. They complained that the general neglect of the hospital had led to loss of accreditation of some of its courses. When contacted, ABUTH Chief Medical Director, Lawal Khalid, said the management was working towards addressing the problems raised by the association. He, however, said the hospital was facing the problem of shortage of funds to holistically address the issues raised by the association. When you do not have the money, there is no way you can adequately address a problem. However, we are working towards meeting their demands before the ultimatum expires, Mr. Khalid said. (NAN) The Peoples Democratic Party on Sunday said its members in Edo State should resist arrests by the police unless theres a warrant to such effect. The party said it was issuing the statement because it uncovered an alleged plot by the governor of the state, Adams Oshiomhole, to use police officers attached to him for harassment and intimidation of its members. In view of the unconstitutionality of this wicked act, the PDP has instructed our members to resist henceforth all police arrests not backed by any relevant warrant of arrest, the party said in a statement by Chris Nehikhare, its publicity secretary in the state. We want to again call on all lovers of peace and democracy to prevail on the governor and his party, the APC to tow the path of sportsmanship and decency in the contest for the office of the governor of Edo State which comes up in a few days, the PDP said. The party, therefore, urged the police hierarchy to take steps to forestall outbreak of violence in the state. It said its members would not be liable for breakdown of peace that may result from this attempt to deny law abiding citizens the freedom to make their choice and exercise their franchise. We call on the Nigerian Inspector-general of Police, the Assistant Inspector-general of Police in charge of Zone 5 to immediately intervene and find urgent ways to reverse this unholy and unwarranted harassments of PDP leaders. This call is necessary because there is a limit to the patience of PDP members and we cannot guarantee their reaction if these unprovoked arrests by Governor Oshiomholes men continue unchecked, the PDP said. The spokesperson for the Zone 5 Police Command, Iheanacho Emeka, told PREMIUM TIMES he could not respond to the matter because it did not fall under his purview. The Edo State police spokesman, Theodore Okafor, could not be reached to comment on the allegation. The spokesperson to Governor Adams Oshiomhole, Peter Okhiria, could also not be reached for comment as his telephone line was switched off. Tension has intensified across Edo State in recent weeks ahead of the gubernatorial election slated for September 10. Godwin Obaseki, an ally of Mr. Oshiomhole and the candidate of APC, will slug it out with Osagie Ize-Iyamu of the PDP and other candidates. The National Youth Service Corps, NYSC, has underscored the need for the safety of corps members who would be involved in the Edo 2016 Governorship Election scheduled for Saturday. The Director-General, Brigadier General Sule Kazaure, made the call when he paid courtesy visits to various security agencies in Benin, the Edo capital, on Monday. The News Agency of Nigeria reports that the NYSC boss visited 4 Mechanised Brigade, Police Headquarters and State Security Service offices. Mr. Kazaure noted that the use of corps members as INEC ad-hoc staff which was introduced in 2010, had contributed to the conduct of successful elections. He said that collaboration among various security agencies with the NYSC during elections would go a long way in ensuring credible polls as well as the safety of corps members. We are soliciting for cooperation to ensure the safety of our corps members. We need adequate security for our corps members who will be participating in the process before, during and after the election, he said. In his remarks, Brigadier General Benbella Raji, who is in charge of 4 Mechanised Brigade, assured the NYSC director-general the corps members would be adequately protected. Their safety is paramount to us and we are working very closely with other security outfits to ensure the safety of everyone and peaceful environment during the election, Mr. Raji said. Similarly, the Commissioner of Police, Chris Ejike, also assured the NYSC boss of the security of every person who would participate in the Edo election. The names and addresses of the corps members participating in the election has been submitted to us and we will deploy our men to be on surveillance before, during and after the election. He, however, advised the corps members to shun violence during the poll, saying that anyone involved in electoral malpractices would be prosecuted. (NAN) The Chairman of the All Progressives Congress, APC, in Edo State, Anselm Ojezua, said President Muhammadu Buhari would lead the party members to Benin on Tuesday for the governorship campaigns finale. Mr. Ojezua disclosed this while speaking with journalists in Benin on Monday. He said Vice President Yemi Osinbajo and all APC governors would also be at the event scheduled to take place at the Samuel Ogbemudia Stadium, Benin. The governorship poll in the state will hold on Saturday. Mr. Ojezua said the National Campaign Council for the election headed by Governor Akinwumi Ambode of Lagos state was already in Benin to prepare grounds for the rally. He said all arrangements had been concluded to ensure that the event was hitch-free. All logistics to ensure free movement of the visitors and party supporters across the state have also been perfected. Anytime APC is holding rally, there is always mass mobilisation. Once the people know that the president is coming this time around, our people will be so excited to receive him, he said. The party chairman called on the people, in respective of party affiliation, to come out enmasse to welcome the president and his entourage to the state. Meanwhile, the Samuel Ogbemudia Stadium, the venue of the rally is wearing a new look ahead of the event. When NAN visited the stadium, soldiers and other security operatives took charge to ensure adequate security ahead of the event. They were also seen at major roads leading in and out of the stadium. (NAN) The Peoples Democratic Party governorship candidate in Edo State, Osagie Ize-Iyamu, was mostly on the offensive against the All Progressives Congress candidate, Godwin Obaseki, during the governorship debate on Sunday. The debate was co-hosted by a non-governmental organization, Enough is Enough, EiE, and Channels Television. It was Mr. Ize-Iyamus strategy to paint the current APC administration in the state, led by Governor Adams Oshiomhole, in bad light; and then tie Mr. Obaseki to it. Although he appeared successful in pushing Mr. Obaseki to the defence, whether his performance in the debate would fetch him the needed votes to win the September 10 election is entirely a different thing. For almost every question he was asked, Mr. Ize-Iyamu would first point out the areas he felt Mr. Oshiomholes administration wasnt doing well, before providing his own answer. In some cases, he didnt provide any. Theres no doubt that the Edo State ought to be the tourist destination in our nation. Where we should have been is where Cross River is, and the truth about it is that the present government has not invested in that sector, Mr. Ize-Iyamu said when asked how he could tap on the tourism potentials to boost the state economy. Just look at the road to the palace the Diamond Road and youll see the dilapidated nature of it, that would tell you that if a place as important as the road to the palace is left like this, then what would you say of other places? The PDP candidate didnt say what he would do to improve the sector if elected governor, apart from stating that Our state has to be made attractive. He quickly veered off the topic, and attacked the state governments management of the local government administration. Mr. Ize-Iyamu, a former secretary to the state government under Mr. Oshiomhole, said he was shocked of Mr. Obasekis claims that there was autonomy for local governments in the state. I know that the Edo State government fought vigorously to ensure that local government did not get autonomy. The local government ought to be in charge of signage, but the state government has taken it over. So, if the local government areas are impoverished, it is the state government that has caused it, he said, drawing applause from the live audience. Mr. Ize-Iyamu also diverted attention to his main opponent when he (Ize-Iyamu) was asked if the people could trust him with their money, after he was interrogated by the Economic And Financial Crimes Commission. He said it was a mere invitation which he went to clear his name, unlike Obaseki whom he said preferred to go to court to stop the EFCC from questioning him. It would interest you to know that the present government and its officials have been invited by the EFCC for over 70 times, he said. The panelists asked Mr. Obaseki to respond to Ize-Iyamus allegations. I think the claims are hogwash and nonsensical, Mr. Obaseki said, adding that in politics people should be able to separate facts from fiction. Mr. Obaseki explained that what his opponent called over 70 invitations from the EFCC was actually political victimization against the Oshiomholes administration by the PDP-led federal government which had control then over EFCC. Mr. Obaseki, unlike Mr. Ize-Iyamu and the other two candidates, Onaiwu Osaro and Amos Areloegbe of the All Progressives Grand Alliance and Labour Party respectively, had the burden of answering questions thrown at him by the panelists. He also defended the Oshiomhole administration while responding to the attacks from the PDP candidate. It was the APGA candidate, Mr. Osaro, and not Mr. Obaseki, who took on Mr. Ize-Iyamu on the moral justification he had to want to be governor after serving under the then PDP government of Lucky Igbinedion, and that of Mr. Oshiomhole. The four aspirants also sparred on security in Edo State. Mr. Ize-Iyamu accused Mr. Oshiomhole of taking out N500 million monthly as security vote and giving only N5 million monthly to the police to fight crime in the state. He said kidnapping was rampant in the state because of lack of tracking devices to fight crime. The PDP candidate, however, wasnt forthcoming when he was asked if he would support the scrapping of security votes for governors, if he wins the election. If the government wants to scrap security votes, I dont have any objection. But if it must be used, it must be done transparently, he responded, when one of the panelists put the question to him the second time. Mr. Obaseki said kidnapping in the state was at its peak under the then PDP administration in the state, and that the current administration has done much to tackle it. The APGA candidate, Mr. Osaro, said he would combat insecurity through the establishment of neighbourhood watch and the lighting up of the streets, if he wins. When you come into Benin at night, the city is always in total darkness, he said. A kidnap victim has narrated how he and his relative were kidnapped on Friday in Abia State. He told journalists that they were accosted on their way from a pharmacy at about 9 p.m. by the suspects at gunpoint. He said they were blindfolded by the suspects and taken to their hideout. They asked us to call our relations to bring N2 million ransom for them and rejected the N500, 000 offer we made and threatened to kill us, he said. He added that to our greatest surprise, a team of policemen came to the hideout on Sunday and rescued us. He thanked the police for their timely intervention saying, I am now fully convinced that the Nigeria police are working. One of the suspects, who identified himself as Nwobilor, a mechanic apprentice in Ugwunagbo, near Aba, admitted committing the crime when paraded by the police. Nwobilor said he was invited to watch over the victims by the prime suspect, who was said to have escaped during the raid of the hideout. He said last Fridays incident was his third experience and pleaded with the police for leniency. The Police in Abia said Nwobilor was among 16 suspected kidnappers and some armed robbery suspects arrested. The Commissioner of Police in the state, Leye Oyebade, made this known at a news briefing at the commands headquarters in Umuahia on Monday. He vowed that the command would deal decisively with criminal acts in the state and warned criminals to engage in legitimate business or leave the state. (NAN) An aspirant in the Ondo State All Progressives Congress governorship primary, Olusola Oke, on Sunday alleged irregularities in the process. Mr. Oke said Saturdays governorship primary, which returned Rotimi Akeredolu as winner, was fraught with malpractices. According to him, over 500 illegal delegates were included in the list of delegates, while authentic voters were denied the opportunity to vote. Speaking through his Director of Campaign, Bola Fisayo, in Akure, Mr. Oke said the illegal delegates were not constitutionally elected as delegates of the party. The illegal delegates voted because the organizers introduced a delegates manifest with which tags were issued and which admitted the delegates into the centre, Mr. Oke, a former leader of the ruling Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, in the state said. According to Mr. Oke, the list of delegates used deferred from the authentic list. He noted that some delegates were deliberately omitted and replaced with those who were not elected as officials of the party. The aspirant, who scored 576 votes to come third behind Olusegun Abraham, also alleged that the illegal voters were used to rig the election after they were given multiple ballot papers to vote for a particular candidate. We have made representations to the appeals committee already, hoping that it would look into the process, he said. Mr. Oke was reluctant to congratulate Mr. Akeredolu after the latter was declared winner in the early hours of Sunday. He said he would review the exercise and come out with a position. He also said those insinuating that he would leave the party if he failed to win were only expressing their personal opinions. But the Publicity Secretary of the party in the state, Omooba Adesanya, said the primary was transparent and free from any malpractices. He argued that the list of delegates used was the authentic one. According to him, the list earlier available to aspirants was not authentic because it did not have the names of some elected officials who should be there. For example, the name of the Woman Leader, South, who has been in that position for the past two years was not in that list of delegates, Mr. Adesanya said. These issues were raised and the Appeals Committee made a recommendation, but congress could not implement that list before the 2015 election and so the faulted list continued to be in use. Now that the national body got interested, Kekemeke (state party chairman) had no choice but to submit the authentic list which was used by the organising committee of the primary. The Lagos State Government has advised operators of hotels, hospitality centres and other recreational facilities to register them or face sanction. The state Ministry of Tourism, Arts and Culture, who gave the advice, said the registration would afford the state government to monitor activities at such places. The ministrys spokesperson, Ganiyu Lawal, told the News Agency of Nigeria that hotels and facility centres must comply before the end of the year or face sanctions. He said the registration was part of the ministry`s efforts to upgrade the present standards of hotels and hospitality groups in the state to an internationally acceptable standard. He said the exercise would also serve as security-assurance for tourists and users that might want to lodge in them. The spokesman said that the ministry would invoke the Hotel Licensing Law of Lagos State to ensure that all hotel operators and hospitality groups complied. A number of hotels and hospitality groups had refused to comply with the directive before now. Sequel to that, the Commissioner, Mr. Folorunso Folarin-Coker, had directed that defaulters be fished out, he said. The spokesman said that there had been an increase in the number of registered hotels and hospitality groups from the 450 recorded in May. Nevertheless, the unregistered ones were more than those registered, he said. We still have some miles to cover with the current number of unregistered hotels; but we shall continue to appeal to them to comply before the year runs out, he said. (NAN) Haven't watched 'Stranger Things' yet? Use the holiday to catch up on the Netflix original series. Then read our episode guides for one, two, and three. If faceless monsters werent enough for you, Chapter Four is where "Stranger Things" actually becomes very strange. After finding Wills lifeless body floating in the quarry, Chief Hopper heads over to search the bizarre remnants of Joyces house which is still decked to the halls. He says his best guess is that Will crashed his bike, somehow got spun out, wandered to the quarry and fell in. We obviously know this isn't true and our heads are spinning with questions about how Will's body got there from the wall so fast or if he was already a ghost. Joyce, running on what can only be described as fumes of hope, is in denial and said she had been talking to him in the cabinet. At this point, even Jonathan is over it. Hopper tells Joyce he used to hallucinate too, when he daughter died. Youre talking about grief, this is different, Joyce said. I swear to you I know what I saw and Im not crazy. To prove shes not crazy, Joyce gets a little shut-eye while spooning an axe. The next morning, she freaks out at the morgue and says Wills body isnt her son. At the Super Secret Spooky Government Lab, a festering wound in the wall eats some poor sap named Shepherd. Its assumed there is a monster inside but we dont really get it. Is there more than one? Is the one we keep seeing just a smaller version of the bigger one? Worse yet, are there multiple faceless monsters? Which would explain why theres one hanging out in Joyces wall, another in the woods, and one in the lab? This also calls into the question how, or why, the Super Secret Doom Lab would even make something like this and how this could involve Eleven. Seriously, this episode gets the brain juices churning. Back at the Wheeler basement, Mike is still mad at El for making him believe Will was alive. But with a little imagination, and a nose bleed, El is able to tap into the walkie-talkie to find Will. Through it, El and Mike are able to hear Will singing, Mike shouts into the radio but Will cant hear him. The boys and Eleven eventually connect with him again and can hear him better through their schools radio system (remember, the one they said could reach Australia?) Our little A.V. club hears Will, crystal clear, talking to Joyce. The scenes flash back to Joyce, who can hear Will through the wall, saying hes in a place that looks like home but dark and cold. Joyce frantically peels back the wallpaper, where she can almost see him through a translucent pink wall. When the monster comes for Will, Joyce tells him to run but she promises shell find him. With her trusty axe, she hacks through the wall only to expose her front porch. Nancy and Steve have a tiff about talking to the police about Barbs disappearance. Steve is concerned that his dad will find out he had a party. Later the police say Barbs car is gone, even though Nancy saw it, and that Barb probably ran away. They also find it necessary to ask what she was doing upstairs with Steve in front of her mother after she last saw Barb and Nancy says they were just talking. Karen is furious that Nancy would lie to the police because she know's Nancy was canoodling with Steve. Nancy said it doesn't matter and that is has nothing to do with Barb. We quietly side with her on this one. Not long after, Nancy realizes she can see something in the photo that Jonathan took of Barb when she tapes it back together. She visits Jonathan while hes coffin shopping, because Nancy is a work in progress, and asks him about it. Eventually, Jonathan realizes what Nancy saw is the same exact monster his mother described. The dynamic duo form a fast friendship over knowing missing people who may have been eaten. But this episode's super sleuth award doesn't go to Nancy's scotch tape skill it's actually Hopper's take-no-prisoners attitude takes the award. Mostly what Chapter Four does is send viewers into the stratosphere of uncertainty. On a tertiary level, we start to see more of the real Hopper. There wasnt a whole lot of Hopper that was very special or anything that made him particularly likable or unlikable for viewers. Theres a lot going on in "Stranger Things," so its easy to get lost in the shuffle as a slow burn character. We get to watch Hopper assault two pawns in the Super Secret Shady Government Labs plan a cop and a guard which gives a glimpse as to what kind of cop Hopper probably was when he was in the big city. Even though he doesnt believe Joyce, he does know something else is up based on his research but is still doubtful of the fantastical. He keeps hunting down his suspicions about the Shady Government Lab, especially after the finds out that the "state" was called into do Will's autopsy and catches a state police officer lying. Hopper starts poking around the morgue after knocking out a guard and pulls out Wills body. He begins hacking at Wills body with a switch blade then realizes, to his shock and horror, its filled with stuffing. After discovering the Build-A-Will, Hopper decides enough is enough and breaks into the lab. We eventually see Hopper give-way to the fact that he doesnt know anything and this is possibly unlike anything hes ever investigated before. In one fell swoop, Hopper has found himself wrapped up into a larger, government conspiracy theory and there almost seems to be a sense that hes wondering if hes gone crazy himself. By the time the episode ends, audiences everywhere hyperventilate as they shuffle back to square one. ATLANTIC CITY There was something special about the Smurf blue-colored drinks Back Bay Ale House was serving up Sunday, and it wasnt just their hue. For each sale of the Thin Blue Line, a new drink unveiled Sunday morning and served in a Mason jar, the Ale House is donating $1 to the family of the Atlantic City police officer who was shot and wounded Saturday morning. Hes one of ours. If hes down, we are down, said Jane Beatty Williams, owner of Back Bay Ale House. This is Atlantic City. The officer, who has not been identified, was shot at 2:30 a.m. Saturday near the Caesars Atlantic City parking garage on Arkansas Avenue as he exited his vehicle after observing an armed robbery near the garage, authorities said. A second unidentified police officer returned fire and hit at least one suspect, killing him, authorities said. It was fear, just fear when I heard an officer was shot, Williams said. I didnt know who was shot and started calling all my friends to make sure they were OK and it wasnt one of them. The shot officer remains hospitalized in critical condition, but officials said he was showing improvement. Back Bay Ale House bartenders Amy-Lynn Camilli, 26, of Brigantine, and Zak Wutsch, 35, of Somers Point, came up with the drink, Beatty said. Weve been making it as a shot for a couple years now, and its been a hit and everyone likes it, so I thought, Why not make a drink out of it for a good cause, Wutsch said as he made a Think Blue Line. The day started with the bartenders making about 20 of the drinks. But some people arent even buying the drink. Theyre just donating money for a really good cause, Camilli said. Beatty said the plan is to start a larger fundraiser for the officers family with additional businesses in Gardners Basin. Information released by the Atlantic County Prosecutors Office on Saturday said the suspects fled in different directions. Authorities said 25-year-old Jerome Damon, of Camden, who was shot and died, was found about a block-and-a-half away at Missouri and Pacific avenues. Later Saturday, State Police arrested Martel Chisholm, 29, of Millville, and Demetris Cross, 28, of Bridgeton, on attempted murder, robbery and firearms charges, according to a news release. Chisholm was arrested in Bridgeton and Cross was arrested in Millville, the Prosecutors Office said. The three men were attempting to rob three other unidentified men, authorities said. Contact: 609-513-6686 Twitter @ACPressWeaver Instead of concertgoers listening to music all day, Atlantic Citys beach on Saturday was filled with workers tearing down the concert stage and lifeguards pulling stands and boats onto the Boardwalk as Tropical Storm Hermine approached. Gov. Chris Christie on Saturday declared a state of emergency for Atlantic, Cape May and Ocean counties in advance of the storm, which is expected to bring rain, wind and coastal flooding through Monday. Press meteorologist Jonathan Carr is forecasting moderate to major levels of flooding on the beaches and in the back bays and lagoons along the barrier islands, through multiple tidal cycles. In declaring the state of emergency, state officials also said to expect power outages and traffic problems. The declaration broadens the power of the State Police, including their traffic control, and gives the National Guard authority to assist with rescue or cleanup if needed. Lt. Gov. Kim Guadagno and Department of Environmental Protection Commissioner Bob Martin are expected to visit Cape May, Atlantic and Ocean counties for briefings from local emergency management officials at 2, 3:30 and 5 p.m. Sunday, respectively. As the winds picked up, Atlantic City prepared for the worst while businesses planned to offer shelter to locals and visitors. Mayor Don Guardian said AltantiCare had set up an emergency center for Sunday. He said it will be easier for the city to communicate and to track problems throughout the day. Guardian said he and Director of Emergency Management Angelo DeMaio had tried to keep Saturdays Florida Georgia Line beach concert running but decided it would be too dangerous. We didnt need to wait for the state of emergency, Guardian said, This is a dangerous situation. Mondays Blink-182 show also was canceled. One last beach concert, headlined by Bell Biv DeVoe and En Vogue, is scheduled for Sept. 22. Guardian and DeMaio said the city was in preparation mode Saturday. Patrol, fire, rescue boats, EMS and State Police are all in constant communication, DeMaio said. He recommended people stay inside and out of the water for the weekend. Stay indoors. For tourists, get out of the city early and let it pass and then come back. This already ruined our Labor Day weekend, so get home safe, and if youre staying at one of our properties here in the city, then enjoy yourself but please stay inside, DeMaio said. But for some who may feel stuck on the island, businesses are offering a helping hand and shelter. John Exadaktilos, owner of Ducktown Tavern at Atlantic and Georgia avenues, said the bar will remain open throughout the storm. We never lose power. We arent going to close. If anyone needs a place to stay, then this is high ground at this point of the city and we have the parking lot across the street. If you cant leave, then come by here and hang out with everybody else, Exadaktilos said. Liz Salerno works at Harrys Oyster Bar and said the restaurant brought in their outdoor seating early Saturday afternoon due to high winds. Salerno said the storm, along with the cancellation of the concerts, will cause businesses to take a financial hit. A lot of money for Atlantic City is gone because of that. Were still opening tomorrow, but we let out early today. Well see what happens, she said. Indira Zhakus family is staying at Resorts Casino Hotel. They had planned to go to the Florida Georgia Line concert on the beach. Instead, she sat on a bench at Tanger Outlets The Walk, trying to take advantage of a rain-free Saturday before the storm. Just getting some shopping done before the storm comes. Its definitely put a damper on the weekend, Zhaku said. Chris Dyre was selling hot dogs at a cart at The Walk. He said he saw less foot traffic Saturday and didnt expect to open Sunday. I definitely need to get some money in my pocket today. I have a feeling well be off tomorrow, which is very rare, Dyre said. Officials in Barnegat Township, Ocean County, said Saturday they were recommending a voluntary evacuation for lagoon and bayfront residents. Police said flooding would make Bayshore Drive and East Bay Avenue impassable between the beach and East Bay bridge. Cape May County officials urged residents and tourists to head to the mainland if possible. The biggest concern is tidal flooding starting with the high tide tonight (Saturday) to Monday, county spokeswoman Diane Wieland said. The general advice is if you dont need to be on the barrier islands, leave. North Wildwood Mayor Patrick Rosenello said it seemed like people were heeding the warning and watching the forecast. It appears to me that, as the day went on, the town became less and less crowded, he said. Rosenello said North Wildwood saw a little bit of beach erosion but no significant tidal flooding during the day Saturday. Gov. Christie declares state of emergency for South Jersey counties Gov. Chris Christie declared Saturday a state of emergency for Atlantic, Cape May and Ocean It could be a whole lot worse, said Wildwood Mayor Ernie Troiano, before adding: Tomorrows another day. Troiano advised those remaining in Wildwood during the storm to stay inside, listen to first responders and move their vehicles to higher ground if they live in low-lying areas. The biggest thing is, look, dont be stupid, he said. Make sure you pay attention. The Wildwood Boardwalk, usually teeming with people on Labor Day weekend, was not totally empty as Hermine approached. Dozens of storm-watchers crowded onto the deck at Ocean Oasis Water Park to watch the powerful waves and rough surf, while others looked around the Boardwalk shops, which remained open. Anyone on the beach was monitored closely by lifeguards and police throughout the county. In Wildwood, police trucks drove near the waters edge telling people to move away from the water. Other towns with less expansive beaches, like Avalon, were not allowing anyone to step foot on the sand. The wind gusts in Stone Harbor discouraged most from walking onto the beach for fear of getting caught in a sandstorm. Hermine may even deter some from attending weekly church services Sunday. The Rev. Joseph Perreault, pastor of St. Josephs Catholic Church in Sea Isle City, warned residents to stay safe and listen to instructions from police. Due to the storm this weekend, I ask that you use caution and common sense in determining whether you will be able to navigate through potentially high water to attend Mass, Perreault said in a statement on the churchs website. Mass at St. Joes will still be held at the regularly scheduled times, but other events have been called off. An Ocean City Pops concert in tribute to composer John Williams scheduled for Sunday at the Music Pier was canceled. Contact: 609-272-7258 Twitter @acpressmreil Contact: 609-272-7411 Twitter @ACPressTomczuk Three months ago, in spring, state politicians finally reached a compromise on the rescue and reorganization of Atlantic City government. It gave city officials five months to produce a responsible five-year financial plan that would balance the city budget starting next year. The city has lots of revenue, reassured now by casino payments in lieu of taxes that are part of the rescue. Officials just need to reduce municipal spending in line with that revenue. As summer ends, we see little sign that is happening. Instead, city officials have floated a bunch of desperate, implausible grabs for money from elsewhere. These have shared some characteristics. They're not possible under existing law. Legislators won't change the laws to make them possible. They'd actually damage the city if they were somehow allowed to happen. And they have nothing to do with reducing city spending to a responsible level. First came a proposal for a major new income tax on everyone who works in the city. That could never get the votes of a majority of state legislators, nor the signature of the governor, and it would be fiercely opposed by those who work in or have a business in the city. This was accompanied by a proposal to slap a $10 surcharge on the existing room taxes paid by all staying in the city. Despite the near certainty that state officials would never approve this for an already well-funded city, the Meet AC marketers had to strongly condemn the proposal and point out how it would sabotage the city's growing convention business. About a week ago, City Council unanimously voted to hold a referendum on providing school vouchers to city parents. Perhaps they've forgotten that the governor's half-hearted push to allow school vouchers went nowhere in 2013. They are illegal and will remain so for the foreseeable future. The city referendum is not just nonbinding, it's nonsense. The referendum will include another proposal also absurd for a bankrupt city: tax credits for those who homeschool their children. Four states allow some form of tax credits for homeschooling, but not New Jersey. And since Atlantic City's problem is that it's spending too much money, new spending on tax credits hardly seems like part of a responsible financial plan. Then there's the anguish of city officials over possibly having to change their top priority in running local government to something other than providing jobs to people. As last month ended, the city proposed a budget that imagines - with no reason to do so - that the state and its taxpayers will not only keep giving Atlantic City extra aid money, but will increase that gift by $24 million. The rescue and reorganization law technically gives city officials another two months to develop the five-year, balanced-budget plan. But if no progress on that plan is evident by early October, the state should finish preparations to take over the city's finances come November. Atlantic City's instability has dragged out for far too many months already. This all should have been settled and work started on a sound fiscal future last winter. Let's have no more delays. Our view County wetlands bank saves money, leads way Regarding the Aug. 24 letter, "Wetlands bank commits county to costs for years": The writer expressed concern about Atlantic County's lack of significant knowledge regarding the costs associated with the development of the Lakes Creek Wetland Mitigation Bank in Egg Harbor Township, the first government-sponsored bank in the tri-state area (New Jersey, Delaware, Pennsylvania). As the staff member assigned to this project, I can assure him that county government did indeed perform its due diligence. The Lakes Creek Wetlands Mitigation Creek, a 2013 recipient of the Governor's Environmental Excellence Award, has been recognized as an innovative and forward thinking solution to the problem of how to provide wetlands mitigation for transportation improvements to county roads, bridges and intersections. To date, the county has reaped the benefits of the bank in satisfying its state and federal mitigation requirements for County Bridge EH-21 over English Creek, and the improvements to the Fire and Mill roads intersection. And it has done so at a savings of $500,000 for these two projects. Total savings with the bank is expected to be $1.7 million based on the current market rate for credits for each acre of filled wetlands, in addition to the savings of time and resources that would have been required to perform site-by-site mitigation. Assuming the performance criteria are met following the active five-year monitoring and maintenance period, there will be few, if any, additional maintenance costs. Ultimately, Atlantic County moves forward having solved a problem in a cost-effective manner while serving as a unique example for others to follow. Robert B. Lindaw Jr. Northfield Assistant planning director, Atlantic County Department of Regional Planning and Development 401(k) retirement plans for public workers too Regarding the Aug. 19 editorial, "Pension tiff instructive, opportunity for N.J. leaders to reach bipartisan deal": Two comments are worth repeating: "This kind of quid pro quo worked in the past when public worker unions got politicians to promise outsized pension benefits to be paid (long after those politicians were out of office) by future taxpayers." And it's "the perfect opportunity for N.J. leaders to put this political disaster behind them and develop a compromise that's as fair to N.J. taxpayers as it is to the state's teachers and other public employees." It's time for all levels of government to enter the new millennium. IBM was the first corporation to change its traditional defined benefit plan to a 401(k) plan back in 1999. This was caused by, among other things, longer employee lifespans. Traditional pension plans were developed at a time when life expectancy was substantially lower than it is now; i.e., 61.7 in 1935 vs. 78.7 in 2010. Neither corporations nor government can fund such increased costs. It's just reality. I know the usual criticism of 401(k) plans. But I think that government employees will be able to make sound financial decisions just like private sector employees have learned to do. Plus, the 401(k) type plan is in the employee's name so any balance would be passed down to the heirs. Lawmakers need to be fiscally responsible and have the courage to make changes to ensure that N.J. doesn't go bankrupt. And no, the solution is not to just increase taxes. We are already one of the highest taxed states in the country. Annamarie Donley Egg Harbor Township Im happy to report the Atlantic City area and most of New Jerseys coast should be spared a catastrophic coastal storm event that could have been. At the nerdy level, the upper level low at 500 mb was slow to develop and capture the surface circulation we know as Hermine. This has resulted in Hermine taking a far-eastward track off the Outer Banks of North Carolina and into the Atlantic Ocean. There was some upper-level energy interaction expected that still could, in fact, bring Hermine closer to the Jersey coast but not enough for the historic outcome. To break that down: Instead of sustained winds of 30 to 50 mph with gusts to hurricane strength, were likely to have sustained winds of 20 to 30 mph with gusts to 40 mph along the shore. Wind levels will be less farther from the ocean. Little rain should fall, if any at all. I could see few sprinkles backing into the extreme Jersey coast, but thats not a guarantee. I am still concerned about the next several tidal cycles Monday and Tuesday. By Tuesday night, the threat should subside substantially, but for now, dont let your guard down along the South Jersey coast. I could still see moderate flooding potential. Even if the system stays out to sea, it will be positioned well for sustained onshore flow out of the Northeast over the next few days. Position and duration are still the highest concern, not intensity of the storm itself. Ill keep a close eye on the remaining evolution of these tides and will continue to stream live on my Facebook page. Per the latest marine guidance, tidal levels could reach 6 to 7 feet above mean lower low water levels, and the storm surge could reach 2 to 4 feet, and perhaps as much as 5 feet. I cant emphasize enough that coastal flooding is still on the table, just not at historical levels. Once the system pulls away by Tuesday evening, were looking at warmer and humid conditions returning heading into the weekend. We are still in the summer season. Meanwhile, please stay out of the ocean! We dodged a bullet and thank goodness for that. Enjoy the northerly winds over the next two nights as they could feel quite refreshing. 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. NEW YORK, September 5, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Booming Motorcycle Taxi Business, Lack of Reliable Public Transportation System and Increasing Population to Drive Sales of Two-wheelers in Africa According to TechSci Research report, "Africa Two-Wheeler Market By Vehicle Type, By Country, Competition Forecast & Opportunities, 2011 - 2021", the two-wheeler market in Africa is forecast to cross US$ 9 billion by 2021. South Africa, Nigeria and Tanzania are the largest two-wheeler markets in Africa, followed by Kenya, Algeria, Uganda, Egypt, Morocco, Angola and Ethiopia. According to the World Bank, the population of Africa is forecast to reach 2.8 billion by 2060. As the population of the continent continues to grow at an alarming rate, governments and other stakeholders are coming under pressure to develop and strengthen transport networks. Public transportation system in African countries is still inadequate and poorly developed, and consequently, two-wheelers are becoming a key medium for transportation in urban as well as rural settlements. (Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20140117/663730 ) Browse 23 market data Tables and 96 Figures spread through 270 Pages and an in-depth TOC on "Africa Two-Wheeler Market" https://www.techsciresearch.com/report/africa-two-wheeler-market-by-vehicle-type-motorcycle-vs-scooter-by-country-south-africa-nigeria-tanzania-kenya-algeria-uganda-egypt-morocco-angola-and-ethiopia-competition-forecast-opportunities-2011-2021/769.html In Africa, two-wheelers offer an affordable mode of transportation. Workers as well as travellers, who earlier used to prefer other modes of transportation, are increasingly switching to two-wheelers, to avoid the frantic traffic in the cities across major African countries. Moreover, rising fuel prices is also driving demand for two-wheelers in the continent due to their higher fuel efficiency. Furthermore, as driving license is not mandatory for driving gearless two-wheelers in majority of the African countries, tourists visiting the continent usually opt for two-wheelers for transportation purpose. On the basis of vehicle type, the two-wheeler market in Africa has been segmented into two categories, namely, motorcycle and scooter. Among these categories, motorcycle segment dominated the continent's two-wheeler market in 2015, owing to various associated advantages such as quicker acceleration, better engine capacity, large fuel tank, larger wheel base and easy maintenance. Moreover, booming motorcycle taxis business in African countries is further augmenting demand for motorcycles in the continent. Backed by rapid urbanization, growing population and inadequate means of transportation, the segment is anticipated to maintain its dominance over the next five years as well. Download Sample Report @ https://www.techsciresearch.com/sample-report.aspx?cid=769 Customers can also request for 10% free customization on this report. "In Africa, South Africa was the major demand generator of two-wheelers in 2015. Growing per capita income, increasing employment opportunities, developing infrastructure and vast reserves of natural resources are driving the country's economic growth. According to the Association of Motorcycle Importers and Distributors, the country registers huge demand for premium motorcycle with an engine capacity of more than 500cc, and the same trend is expected to continue over the next five years as well. As these high-end motorcycles are comparatively costlier than other motorcycles with low engine capacities, the two-wheeler market of South Africa is expected to grow at a healthy pace in value terms over the next five years.", said Mr. Karan Chechi, Research Director with TechSci Research, a research based global management consulting firm. "Africa Two-Wheeler Market By Vehicle Type, By Country, Competition Forecast & Opportunities, 2011 - 2021" has evaluated the future growth potential of two-wheeler market in Africa and provides statistics and information on market structure, industry behavior and trends. The report includes market projections and demand forecasting. The report is intended to provide cutting-edge market intelligence and help decision makers take sound investment evaluation. Besides, the report also identifies and analyzes emerging trends along with essential drivers, challenges and opportunities available in the Africa two-wheeler market. Browse Related Reports Germany Automotive Components Market By Vehicle Type (PC, LCV, M&HCV, 2W, 3W & OTR), By Demand Category (OEM vs Replacement), By Component Type (Engine parts, Body & Chassis, Suspension & Brakes), Competition Forecast and Opportunities, 2011 - 2021 https://www.techsciresearch.com/report/germany-automotive-components-market-by-vehicle-type-pc-lcv-m-hcv-2w-3w-otr-by-demand-category-oem-vs-replacement-by-component-type-engine-parts-body-chassis-suspension-brakes-competition-forecast-and-opportunities-2011-2021/762.html Qatar Earthmoving Equipment Market By Type (Excavators, Loader, Motor Grader & Bulldozer), Competition Forecast & Opportunities, 2011-2021 https://www.techsciresearch.com/report/qatar-earthmoving-equipment-market-by-type-excavators-loader-motor-grader-bulldozer-competition-forecast-opportunities-2011-2021/745.html 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 http://www.techsciresearch.com/report/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-2011-2021/637.html Global Tire Market Forecast & Opportunities, 2021 https://www.techsciresearch.com/report/global-tire-market-forecast-opportunities-2021/734.html About TechSci Research TechSci Research is a leading global market research firm publishing premium market research reports. Serving 700 global clients with more than 600 premium market research studies, TechSci Research is serving clients across 11 different industrial verticals. TechSci Research specializes in research based consulting assignments in high growth and emerging markets, leading technologies and niche applications. Our workforce of more than 100 fulltime Analysts and Consultants employing innovative research solutions and tracking global and country specific high growth markets helps TechSci clients to lead rather than follow market trends. Contact Mr. Ken Mathews 708 Third Avenue, Manhattan, NY, New York - 10017 Tel: +1-646-360-1656 Email: sales@techsciresearch.com Connect with us on Twitter - https://twitter.com/TechSciResearch Connect with us on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/company/techsci-research SOURCE TechSci Research LONDON and LILONGWE, Malawi, September 5, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Afri-Oils Limited aims to revive Malawi's groundnut export industry, with benefits for tens of thousands of smallholder farmers. AgDevCo, a social impact agribusiness investor, announced a $1.5m debt and equity investment into a Malawian peanut (groundnut) processor. (Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20151215/295904LOGO ) The company, Afri-Oils Limited, is building a state-of-the-art processing facility for locally grown peanuts. By targeting regional and export markets, the company will provide higher incomes for 18,000 Malawian smallholder farmers. Through farmer training programmes, and improved handling and sorting methods, Afri-Oils aims to demonstrate that Malawi can meet international standards on the control of aflatoxin, a naturally occurring mould which is harmful to health. Malawi produces over 200,000 tonnes of groundnuts annually but exports, which had regularly exceeded 50,000 tonnes before the 1990s, collapsed following the introduction of stricter international quality standards. Afri-Oils' shareholders include NASFAM, a large Malawian farmers association, and Exagris which owns a Ready-to-Use Therapeutic Foods (RUTF) paste manufacturer in Malawi. The company also benefits from a Dutch Government grant. International buyers in Europe and South Africa have confirmed interest in sourcing significant volumes of peanuts from the company. Jim Henderson, AgDevCo Malawi's associate director said: "We are backing Afri-Oils to tackle the aflatoxin challenge and put Malawi back on the map as a major international peanut producer." Tim de Borde, Afri-Oils' Chairman said: "Afri-Oils aims to be a profitable enterprise that improves the lives of its farmer suppliers, and contributes to systemic improvements in the groundnut industry in Malawi." Dyborn Chibonga, NASFAM's CEO, said "Groundnuts are an important source of income and food for Malawi's farmers. NASFAM's investment in Afri-Oils will put more income into our members' pockets and improve health." ABOUT AGDEVCO AgDevCo is a social impact investor and agribusiness project developer, incorporated as a not-for-profit distribution company in the United Kingdom. With support from UKAid, AgDevCo invests patient capital in the form of debt and equity into early-stage agribusinesses. AgDevCo's mission is to reduce poverty and improve food security, and it has invested over USD 76 million in 53 agribusinesses in sub-Saharan Africa to date, connecting tens of thousands of farmers to markets and generating over 3,200 jobs. For more information, visit http://www.agdevco.com. For more information: Charlotte Kirk Investment Manager and Project Lead AgDevCo Malawi ckirk@agdevco.com +44(0)20-7539-2650 SOURCE AgDevCo PUNE, India, September 5, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- ReportsnReports.com adds Amyloidosis - Pipeline Review, H2 2016 market research report complete with analysis by stage of development, drug target, mechanism of action (MoA), route of administration (RoA) and molecule type. The report also covers the descriptive pharmacological action of the therapeutics, its complete research and development history and latest news and press releases. Additionally, the report provides an overview of key players involved in therapeutic development for Amyloidosis and features dormant and discontinued projects. Complete amyloidosis pipeline report spread across 152 pages talking about 17 companies and 25+ drug profiles as well as supported with 34 data tables and 16 figures on amyloidosis industry is now available at http://www.reportsnreports.com/reports/674738-amyloidosis-pipeline-review-h2-2016.html . Companies active and discussed in this 2016 amyloidosis pipeline research include Alnylam Pharmaceuticals, Inc., Amgen Inc., Arcturus Therapeutics, Inc., BELLUS Health Inc, Bsim2, Celgene Corporation, GlaxoSmithKline Plc, Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc., Johnson & Johnson, Neurimmune Holding AG, NeuroPhage Pharmaceuticals, Inc., Oncopeptides AB, Pfizer Inc., Prothena Corporation Plc, Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, Inc., SOM Innovation Biotech SL and Takeda Pharmaceutical Company Limited. Profiles of amyloidosis drugs covered in the report include ALN-ANG, ALN-TTRsc02, Antisense RNAi Oligonucleotides to Inhibit Amyloid Precursor Protein for Amyloidosis, carfilzomib, CLR-01, daratumumab, doxycycline hyclate, EDE-1307, GSK-2315698 + GSK-2398852, GSK-3039294, inotersen sodium, ixazomib citrate, LUNAR-TTR, Melflufen , Monoclonal Antibody for Amyloidosis, Monoclonal Antibody to Inhibit ATTR for Familial Amyloid Polyneuropathy, Monoclonal Antibody to Target CD66b for Blood Cancer and Metabolic Disorders, NEOD-001, NI-301, NPT-005, Oligonucleotides to Inhibit Transthyretin for Amyloidosis, patisiran , pomalidomide , PRX-004, revusiran , Small Molecules for AL Amyloidosis, Small Molecules to Inhibit Transthyretin for Familial Amyloid Polyneuropathy, Small Molecules to Inhibit Transthyretin Related Amyloid Protein for Familial Amyloidotic Cardiomyopathy, Small Molecules to Inhibit Transthyretin Related Amyloid Protein for Familial Amyloidotic Polyneuropathy , tafamidis meglumine and tolcapone . Order a copy of Amyloidosis - Pipeline Review, H2 2016 market research report at http://www.reportsnreports.com/Purchase.aspx?name=674738 . Through this report, readers can gain strategically significant competitor information, analysis, and insights to formulate effective R&D strategies. Identify emerging players with potentially strong product portfolio and create effective counter-strategies to gain competitive advantage in amyloidosis pipeline. Identify and understand important and diverse types of therapeutics under development for Amyloidosis. Identify potential new clients or partners in the target demographic. Develop strategic initiatives by understanding the focus areas of leading companies. Plan mergers and acquisitions effectively by identifying key players and it's most promising pipeline therapeutics. Devise corrective measures for pipeline projects by understanding Amyloidosis pipeline depth and focus of Indication therapeutics. Develop and design in-licensing and out-licensing strategies by identifying prospective partners with the most attractive projects to enhance and expand business potential and scope. Modify the therapeutic portfolio by identifying discontinued projects and understanding the factors that drove them from Amyloidosis pipeline. On a related note, another research titled Amgen Inc. - Product Pipeline Review - 2016 provides comprehensive information on the therapeutics under development by Amgen Inc., complete with analysis by stage of development, drug target, mechanism of action (MoA), route of administration (RoA) and molecule type. The report also covers the descriptive pharmacological action of the therapeutics, its complete research and development history and the dormant and discontinued projects. Drug profiles discussed in this Amgen Inc. focused report cover adalimumab biosimilar, blinatumomab, darbepoetin alfa, denosumab, etanercept, etelcalcetide hydrochloride, romiplostim, AMG-334, bevacizumab biosimilar, evolocumab, fulranumab, panitumumab, rituximab biosimilar, romosozumab, trastuzumab biosimilar, trebananib, abrilumab, AMG-319, AMG-337, AMG-557, AMG-714, AMG-899, ganitumab, omecamtiv mecarbil MR, rilotumumab, tezepelumab, AMG-232, talimogene laherparepvec, AMG-172, AMG-208, AMG-211, AMG-224, AMG-228, AMG-282, AMG-301, AMG-330, AMG-357, AMG-581, AMG-592, AMG-595, AMG-780, AMG-811, AMG-820, AMG-876, AMG-900, AMG-XXX, infliximab biosimilar, pasotuxizumab, solitomab, AM-1638, AM-3189, AM-6226, AM-7209, AM-8553, AM-9514, AMG-0696, AMG-161, AMG-1694, AMG-176, AMG-3969, AMG-511, AMG-570, AMG-8718 and AMG-986. Read more at http://www.reportsnreports.com/reports/538033-amgen-inc-product-pipeline-review-2016.html . Explore more reports on pharmaceuticals market at http://www.reportsnreports.com/market-research/pharmaceuticals/ . About Us: ReportsnReports.com is an online market research reports library of 500,000+ in-depth studies of over 5000 micro markets. Not limited to any one industry, ReportsnReports.com offers research studies on agriculture, energy and power, chemicals, environment, medical devices, healthcare, food and beverages, water, advanced materials and much more. Contact: Ritesh Tiwari UNIT no 802, Tower no. 7, SEZ Magarpatta city, Hadapsar Pune - 411013 Maharashtra, India. + 1 888 391 5441 sales@reportsandreports.com Connect With Us on: Facebook:https://www.facebook.com/ReportsnReports/ LinkedIn:https://www.linkedin.com/company/reportsnreports Twitter: https://twitter.com/marketsreports G+ / Google Plus: https://plus.google.com/111656568937629536321/posts RSS/Feeds: http://www.reportsnreports.com/feed/l-latestreports.xml SOURCE ReportsnReports GUANGZHOU, China, Sept. 5, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- With a decade long history of online retail services and after serving millions of customers from around the world, Banggood celebrates its 10th anniversary this year with a large-scale promotion sale. Banggood have started the party early by offering thousands of Lightning Deals since August 8th, 2016. Lasting for over a month, this promotion will end with a massive 48 hour celebration beginning on September 8th, 2016, and ending on Sept. 10th, 2016. This is a grand, once in a decade summer carnival promotion for avid online shoppers. Among these activities, one of the most popular is the "48 Hours Crazy Sale" during which customers are able to find their favorite products at the lowest possible prices. Some would say that the "48 Hours Crazy Sale" is like a two day cyber "Black Friday", with millions of customers converging simultaneously on one website to shop. Similar to black Friday, there are limited flash deals you need to fight for. During the anniversary, snap-ups are released every few hours and these offer unbelievably cheap, almost free items. The hottest so far, was on Aug 24th, 2016, when a Phantom 4 Drone was snapped up . More deals will surface in upcoming days as the buildup continues. This birthday celebration is not only dedicated to Banggood's staff, but it also serves to reward the loyalty of millions of customers around the globe, who have paved the road to Banggood's success. More about Banggood Ltd. 10 years ago, Banggood was founded with the dream to become the top online retailer for all consumer goods. Today the company has surpassed most of its competitors and continues to grow with now over a million different products, employing over 2000 staff and selling to more than 50 countries. If you are interested in finding more information about the ongoing festivities, you can visit the website banggood.com where you will discover the best bang for your buck. Related Links http://www.banggood.com SOURCE Banggood NEW WAVERLY, Texas, Sept. 5, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Chemex Modular, LLC is pleased to announce it has reached terms in principle with its longtime client and business partner Niger Delta Petroleum Resources Ltd ("NDPR") to expand NDPR's existing refining capacity from 1,000 barrels of crude per day to 11,000 barrels per day. In addition to its existing diesel only (automotive gas oil) production capacity, the expanded refinery will allow NDPR to supply increased diesel capacity, jet fuel (aircraft turbine fuel), gasoline (premium motor spirits), and marine diesel oil. Chemex Modular designed and fabricated the existing NDPR refinery, which was commissioned in 2012 and has been utilized at full capacity since 2012. NDPR currently operates the only privately-held petroleum refinery in Nigeria, and does so profitably. Chemex Modular is proud to have been selected to provide the additional expansion equipment and technological services. The new units will include additional crude distillation units, a naphtha hydrotreater, a naphtha splitter, and a catalytic reforming unit for the production of gasoline. The expansion will provide numerous additional local jobs for skilled operators, technicians, and plant maintenance personnel. Chemex Modular and NDPR expect commissioning of the expansion to occur in early 2018. About Chemex Modular, LLC: Chemex Modular, LLC is a leading supplier of modular refinery and gas processing equipment. Since 1978, Chemex Modular has provided equipment for diesel topping plants, hydroskimming refineries for the production of high-octane gasoline, flare gas reduction units, waste to energy plants, and much more. Chemex Modular equipment is 100% custom designed for each project and is fully guaranteed. All Chemex Modular equipment is sourced or refurbished and fabricated in the United States of America, packaged, and shipped overseas for installation. For more information, see chemexmodular.com. Related Links http://chemexmodular.com SOURCE Chemex Modular, LLC - Organic Burger Chain Plans to Open in Cairo Late 2016 - ARLINGTON, Virginia, Sept. 5, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Elevation Burger, the first and only 100 percent organic better burger franchise concept, announced today the signing of a multi-unit development agreement with Essam Abu El Hassan to open 20 restaurants throughout Egypt. Currently, the brand has 23 restaurants in the Middle East including Dubai, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Qatar and Bahrain. "We're excited to bring our organic burger concept to Egypt and expand our footprint in the Middle East," said Salman Siddiqui, CEO of Elevation Burger. "We are thrilled to have Essam Abu El Hassan join the brand and know he will meet the growing consumer demand in Egypt for healthier, organic, great tasting food." Abu El Hassan is new to the Elevation Burger family and was attracted to the brand's philosophy - to be more than just a burger restaurant. The company is dedicated to offering authentic and sustainably-prepared food that is better for consumers and the environment. Also notable, all of Elevation Burger's meat is halal. "I'm confident that Elevation Burger will be a success in Egypt and I am proud to be a part of the company's growth story," said Abu El Hassan. "We plan to open the first restaurant in Cairo later this year." From fresh and flavorful food made with the highest quality ingredients to friendly and inviting restaurants built with sustainable materials, Elevation Burger strives to deliver an elevated experience that is "Above and Beyond Good." The concept was founded in 2005 and began franchising in 2008. Currently, there are more than 60 U.S. and international locations. Elevation Burger is loved by loyal customers for its burgers made from 100 percent organic, grass-fed, free-range beef and fries cooked in heart-healthy Bertolli olive oil. The brand also offers organic chicken, as well as vegetarian and vegan burgers. To learn more about Elevation Burger, visit elevationburger.com. About Elevation Burger Elevation Burger was originally conceived in 2002 by founder Hans Hess, who set out to create a healthier burger with a great taste on par with those he was accustomed to having on the West Coast. Hans determined that organic, grass-fed beef was the key to a burger that truly stands apart from the rest in terms of taste, quality and sustainability. The brand's slogan, "Above and Beyond Good," is a reflection of Elevation Burger's focus on offering quality food products that make a difference both to guests and the environment. Elevation Burger is committed to offering an exceptionally flavorful, nutritionally superior product through ingredients such as 100 percent USDA-certified organic, grass-fed, free-range beef that is ground on premise and fresh-cut fries cooked in heart-healthy olive oil. For more information, visit Elevation Burger online at www.elevationburger.com, on Facebook at www.facebook.com/ElevationBurger, on Twitter @ElevationBurger or on Instagram @elevationburger. Related Links http://elevationburger.com SOURCE Elevation Burger LONDON, September 5, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- First Round of Europe's Largest Business Competition Selects Best From Over 33,000 636 businesses from 34 countries have been named National Champions in The European Business Awards sponsored by RSM; Europe's largest business competition set up to recognize and celebrate business excellence. The Awards, now in its 10th year, is supported by business leaders, academics and political representatives from across Europe, and this year engaged with over 33,000 businesses. The companies chosen as National Champions in this first round of judging represent all major industry sectors and range from small start-ups to large multinationals. These companies will now move to the next stage of the competition, which includes a video presentation and a public vote. Details of the winners can be found at http://www.businessawardseurope.com Adrian Tripp, CEO of the European Business Awards said: "Congratulations to the talented businesses that have been selected to represent their country as National Champions. They are central to the success of Europe's strong business community, and have shown the core principles we look for of innovation, ethics and success." Jean Stephens, CEO of RSM International, the sixth largest network of independent audit, tax and consulting firms and the lead sponsor of the European Business Awards, said: "The strength and depth of participants in the programme improves year on year, which is a true testament to the tenacity of businesses across the continent. I would like to offer my congratulations to all of the National Champions this year and I wish them luck in the coming rounds." The next round requires the National Champions to make a presentation video, telling their unique story and explaining their business success. The Awards' independent judges will award the best of this group the 'Ruban d'Honneur' status and the selected companies will then go on to the Gala Final in 2017. Separately, in a two stage public vote, the videos will be hosted on the European Business Awards website, and the company that receives the most votes in their country will become the 'National Public Champion'. Last year over 227,000 votes were cast as companies were supported globally by their clients, staff and peers, as well as the general public. Lead sponsor RSM, the sixth largest network of independent audit, tax and consulting firms worldwide has supported the European Business Awards since its inception. The Awards' core purpose is to support the development of a stronger and more successful business community throughout Europe. Additional sponsors and partners of the Awards include UK Trade and Investment, ELITE and PR Newswire. In the 2015/16 competition, all EU member markets were represented plus Turkey, Norway, Switzerland, Serbia and the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia. Their combined revenue exceeded 1.2 trillion, employing over 2.5 million people. For further information about the European Business Awards and RSM please go to http://www.businessawardseurope.com or http://www.rsm.global and follow us on twitter at @rsmEBA About the European Business Awards: The European Business Awards' primary purpose is to support the development of a stronger and more successful business community throughout Europe. For all citizens of Europe, prosperity, social and healthcare systems are reliant on businesses creating an even stronger, more innovative, successful, international and ethical business community - one that forms the beating heart of an increasingly globalised economy. The European Business Awards programme serves the European business community in three ways: It celebrates and endorses individuals' and organisations' success It provides and promotes examples of excellence for the business community to aspire to It engages with the European business community to create debate on key issues The European Business Awards is now in its 10th year. It attracted over 32,000 businesses to the competition last year and in the public vote generated over 227,000 votes from across Europe. Sponsors and partners include RSM, ELITE, UKTI and PR Newswire. http://www.businessawardseurope.com. About RSM RSM is the sixth largest network of independent audit, tax and consulting firms, encompassing over 120 countries, 760 offices and more than 38,000 people internationally. The network's total fee income is US$4.64 billion. RSM is the lead sponsor and corporate champion of the European Business Awards promoting commercial excellence and recognition of entrepreneurial brilliance. RSM is a member of the Forum of Firms, with the shared objective to promote consistent and high quality standards of financial and auditing practices worldwide. RSM is the brand used by a network of independent accounting and advisory firms, each of which practices in its own right. RSM International Limited does not itself provide any accounting and advisory services. Member firms are driven by a common vision of providing high quality professional services, both in their domestic markets and in serving the international professional service needs of their client base. http://www.rsm.global About UK Trade & Investment: UKTI works with UK based businesses to export to international markets and supports overseas companies to look at the UK as the best place to set up or expand their business. If you are a company interested in expanding in to the UK, please contact Lisa.Greig@mobile.ukti.gov.uk or visit http://www.gov.uk/ukti About ELITE: ELITE is an innovative programme that offers mentoring, advice and access to finance to help fast growing companies on their way. ELITE is dedicated to the most exciting and ambitious firms, having a sound business model, clear growth strategy and a desire to obtain funding in the future. ELITE companies can access a vibrant community which facilitates structured engagement between inspiring businesses, industry experts and the investor and corporate advisory community. The long term objective of ELITE is to improve access to more sophisticated skill-sets, network and a diversified capital pool in order to prepare and structure for the next stage of growth and support for scale up challenges. The programme has supported more than 400 ambitious firms since its launch in 2012. Inspiring, high-growth companies from 23 different countries are part of the programme today, which promotes relationships and creates opportunities with potential investors, as well as supporting management best practice and entrepreneurship. For more information on ELITE please contact elite@lseg.com or visit http://www.elite-growth.com About PR Newswire PR Newswire is the leading global provider of PR and corporate communications tools that enable clients to distribute news and rich content. We distribute our client's content across traditional, digital and social media channels in real time with fully actionable reporting and monitoring. Combining the world's largest multi-channel, multi-cultural content distribution and optimisation network with comprehensive workflow tools and platforms, PR Newswire enables the world's enterprises to engage opportunity everywhere it exists. PR Newswire serves tens of thousands of clients from offices in Europe, Middle East, Africa, the Americas and the Asia-Pacific region. For more information on PR Newswire please visit http://www.prnewswire.co.uk SOURCE The European Business Awards SHANGHAI, Sept. 5, 2016 /PRNewswire/-- It is learnt on September 1 that almost all the ATMs in the US accept UnionPay cards for cash withdrawal and over 80% of the local merchants accept UnionPay credit cards. In tourists' favorite destinations like New York, Hawaii, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Orlando and Chicago, UnionPay's acceptance coverage in well-known shopping centers and Outlets has exceeded 90%. With one UnionPay debit card and one UnionPay credit card (card numbers both start with 62), cardholders can pay with ease and benefits in the US. Merchants accepting UnionPay are located across the US, covering department stores, brand chain stores, convenient stores, restaurants and hotels, and it is convenient to use UnionPay cards at Macy's, Apple Stores, Best Buy, airport duty-free stores and other places favored by tourists. Using UnionPay credit cards in the US, cardholders only need to sign, and no PIN is required. Cardholders can also use UnionPay debit cards at merchants with PIN pads. With an extensive acceptance network in the US, UnionPay International has been constructing 30 core acceptance business districts around the major attractions and shopping centers since last year, enhancing acceptance coverage while providing exclusive benefits and services. These core business districts include Metropolitan Museum of Art, Woodbury Premium Outlet, T Galleria by DFS, and Kalakaua Avenue in Hawaii. It is worth noting that although many American merchants do not display the signage of bankcard brands, most merchants with PIN pads accept UnionPay debit cards. Consumers may also ask the cashiers if UnionPay cards are accepted. Within this year, cardholders are able to enjoy various privileges in the US. First, over 50 well-known Outlets provide VIP discount manuals and gifts for UnionPay cardholders, including 15 Premium Outlets, 37 Tanger Outlets and many Fashion Outlets. Second, consumers may enjoy double discounts (10%-off and "4-day fare for 7-day tenancy") when using UnionPay cards to rent cars via Hertz. Third, UnionPay cardholders are able to visit the Metropolitan Museum of Art for free, and buying one ticket for the Art Institute of Chicago with UnionPay credit card, consumers can get another ticket for free. For more information: http://www.unionpayintl.com/ Related Links http://www.unionpayintl.com SOURCE UnionPay International DUBLIN, September 5, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Research and Markets has announced the addition of the "Global Generation Management Systems Market 2016-2020" report to their offering. The global generation management systems market is forecast to grow at a CAGR of 3.52% during the period 2016-2020. Commenting on the report, an analyst from the research team said that increased integration of power resources is one of the trends spurring growth for the market. Globally, efforts are being made to reduce the dependency on fossil fuel as it is one of the major contributors to emissions. This has compelled governments to focus on cleaner fuel sources such as nuclear and renewables that have the potential to substitute fossil fuels without increasing the emission levels significantly. The governments, globally, have been supporting such technologies with the aid of lucrative policies, incentives, and rebates. Over the past two decades, the share of renewable and alternate sources of energy in the global energy mix has risen due to the major investments flowing from the US, China, and the EU. According to the report, need for improved reliability is a key driver aiding to the growth of this market. Financial services are one of the most data-intensive industries. The deregulation of the power market has structurally changed the power sector. This has led to intense competition requiring the plant operators to improve the efficiency of the plants and provide reliable service to their customers. Therefore, to maximize their profits and stay ahead in the competition, utilities are adopting generation management systems that provide solutions for day to day operations for quick response times. These systems are also designed to gather data from other departments for load forecasting and optimizing the power generation resources to provide continuous power to their consumers, while keeping the prices of electricity low. Profitable operation requires the power plants to run efficiently, have reduced maintenance costs and be failure proof. Questions Answered: What will the market size be in 2020 and what will the growth rate be? What are the key market trends? What is driving this market? What are the challenges to market growth? Who are the key vendors in this market space? What are the market opportunities and threats faced by the key vendors? What are the strengths and weaknesses of the key vendors? Companies Mentioned: ABB GE-Alstom Grid Open Systems International (OSI) Siemens Atos Schneider Electric Emerson IBM Honeywell Customized Energy Solutions Report Structure: PART 01: Executive summary PART 02: Scope of the report PART 03: Market research methodology PART 04: Introduction PART 05: Market landscape PART 06: Market segmentation by application PART 07: Geographical segmentation PART 08: Key leading countries 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 PART 16: Appendix PART 17: About the Author For more information about this report visit http://www.researchandmarkets.com/research/td8s5d/global_generation Related Topics: Energy and Natural Resources, Utilities, Electricity 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 UTRECHT, the Netherlands, September 5, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- New seat reservation function unveiled as Rail Planner App reaches over 1 million downloads Travelling with a Interrail Pass in Italy is now even more stress-free thanks to a new seat reservation function for ever popular Trenitalia high speed Le Frecce trains via the free Rail Planner App for iOS and Android smartphones. (Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20150821/260164LOGO ) The Rail Planner App, powered by Eurail Group G.I.E., is an offline trip planner mobile application designed to enhance the overall Interrail experience. The four-star-plus rated App enables travellers to conveniently determine their European train timetable options, and see where connecting routes or reservations are necessary. The App also features valuable information such as benefit and discount offers for Interrail Pass holders across Europe. Due to extensive demand, Le Frecce trains and cross-border routes travelling within Italy require a seat reservation to ensure the comfort of all passengers. The newly launched Rail Planner App e-reservation function means customers can book, pay, and receive their seat reservation all through their smartphone when connected to the internet. Interrail travellers have the option to either print their e-reservation or simply show the details on their mobile device when on-board the train. "With the Rail Planner App having reached over 1 million users, and Italy being a top year-round destination for Interrail travellers, together with Trenitalia we're delighted to be able to offer passengers a convenient e-reservation tool. This latest innovation is part of our continued efforts to ensure all our customers can maximise their unique European experience, and also allows for last minute bookings," says Silvia Fischer, Eurail Group G.I.E. Sales & Marketing Manager. Gianfranco Battisti, Director of Trenitalia Long Haul Passenger Division said, "The Italy One Country Pass is the most popular single country pass for both overseas visitors and European residents alike. A 2015 sales growth of the Italy One Country Pass of 47 percent demonstrates the increasing popularity of Italy as a destination. To optimise visitors' experience, Trenitalia recognised it is vital to provide an easy to use, time saving e-reservation option to aid the visitor journey." Interrail Passes can be used to travel in up to 30 European countries and offer travellers the flexibility to create their own unique rail itinerary across Europe. Interrail Passes are available for purchase via local European railways at stations across Europe and at http://www.interrail.eu. About Eurail G.I.E. Established in 2001, Eurail Group G.I.E. is the organisation dedicated to the management of Eurail and Interrail products, for both non-European and European residents respectively. Owned by over 35 railway and shipping companies, Eurail Group G.I.E. partners with hotels, transport companies and attractions to offer additional special benefits to all Eurail Pass holders. Visit http://www.eurailgroup.org for further information. English version is provided by Eurail and translations by a third party. SOURCE Eurail Group G.I.E. PUNE, India, September 5, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- The global water quality sensors market 2016-2020 report says increasing use of nanotechnology in sensors will be a key trend for market growth. Nanotechnology has high volume ratio and large reaction surface due to nanoparticles having a size less than 100 nm. In addition, nanoparticles enjoy an edge over the conventional material in terms of electrical, magnetic, structural, and optical properties allowing nanoparticles to detect single cells and even particles at the atomic level. This makes nanoparticle-based sensing platforms to offer better sensitivity compared to existing platforms at a shorter time. Not only this, nanotechnology allows miniaturization of the sensors and also multivariable detection simultaneously. Complete report on water quality sensors market spread across 70 pages, analyzing 4 major companies and providing 39 data exhibits now available at http://www.reportsnreports.com/reports/671432-global-water-quality-sensors-market-2016-2020.html. The analysts forecast global water quality sensors market to grow at a CAGR of 7.35% during the period 2016-2020. According to the water quality sensors market report, growing nutrient pollution will be a key driver for market growth. Nutrient pollution is caused by the availability of the excess nitrogen and phosphorus in the air and water. Most of these nutrients are part of our natural ecosystems. Almost 78% of the air humans breathe is nitrogen, making it the most abundant element in the air. Though humans do not directly absorb nitrogen element via air, its percentage intake is increasing in humans through the food supply chain. The nitrogen percentage in water sources is increasing due to human activities. The Americas will account for about 36% of the total shares of the water quality sensors market by 2020 and will also dominate this industry throughout the forecast period. Factors such as the increasing number of environmental monitoring programs in the North America and the rise in water quality monitoring activities along the South American coastline will fuel the growth of the market. The US and Canada are the major revenue contributors to the market in this region. The global water quality sensors market is dominated by the ground/surface water segment by accounting for more than 26% of the overall market revenue. Ground water and surface water are the result of continuous processes, dynamic weather, and atmospheric conditions like diurnal cycles and seasons. As a result, the key parameters of ground water and surface water keep changing, making it imperative to check the reliability of water supplies. With continuous improvement of technology, water quality meters are now calibrated to record multiple readings simultaneously for different parameters using the water quality sensors. The following companies are the key players in the global water quality sensors market: Eutech, Oakton, Thermo Fisher Scientific, and YSI. Other prominent vendors in the market are: Atlas Scientific, Hach Instruments, Hannah Instruments, and HORIBA. Order a copy of Global Water Quality Sensors Market 2016-2020 report @ http://www.reportsnreports.com/Purchase.aspx?name=671432. Global Water Quality Sensors 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. To calculate the market size, the water quality sensors market report considers the number of unit shipments of water quality sensors which include individual as well multipara meter sonde. Another related report is Global Smart Water Management Market 2016-2020, growing use of automated meter reading technology will be a key trend for market growth. Most of the utilities work to manage their water resources for energy production by using actionable intelligence provided by automated meter reading technology. Earlier, automated reading systems were used to collect billing data. Browse complete report @ http://www.reportsnreports.com/reports/650304-global-smart-water-management-market-2016-2020.html. Explore other new reports on Semiconductor and Electronics Market @ http://www.reportsnreports.com/market-research/semiconductor-and-electronics/. About Us: ReportsnReports.com is an online market research reports library of 500,000+ in-depth studies of over 5000 micro markets. Not limited to any one industry, ReportsnReports.com offers research studies on agriculture, energy and power, chemicals, environment, medical devices, healthcare, food and beverages, water, advanced materials and much more. Contact: Ritesh Tiwari UNIT no 802, Tower no. 7, SEZ Magarpatta city, Hadapsar Pune - 411013 Maharashtra, India + 1 888 391 5441 sales@reportsandreports.com Connect With Us on: Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ReportsnReports/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/reportsnreports Twitter: https: //twitter.com/marketsreports G+ / Google Plus: https://plus.google.com/111656568937629536321/posts RSS/Feeds: http: //http://www.reportsnreports.com/feed/l-latestreports.xml SOURCE ReportsnReports NEW YORK, September 5, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- New Age TechSci Research Logo (PRNewsFoto/New Age TechSci Research) Booming Motorcycle Taxi Business, Lack of Reliable Public Transportation System and Increasing Population to Drive Sales of Two-wheelers in Africa According to TechSci Research report, "Africa Two-Wheeler Market By Vehicle Type, By Country, Competition Forecast & Opportunities, 2011 - 2021", the two-wheeler market in Africa is forecast to cross US$ 9 billion by 2021. South Africa, Nigeria and Tanzania are the largest two-wheeler markets in Africa, followed by Kenya, Algeria, Uganda, Egypt, Morocco, Angola and Ethiopia. According to the World Bank, the population of Africa is forecast to reach 2.8 billion by 2060. As the population of the continent continues to grow at an alarming rate, governments and other stakeholders are coming under pressure to develop and strengthen transport networks. Public transportation system in African countries is still inadequate and poorly developed, and consequently, two-wheelers are becoming a key medium for transportation in urban as well as rural settlements. (Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20140117/663730 ) Browse 23 market data Tables and 96 Figures spread through 270 Pages and an in-depth TOC on "Africa Two-Wheeler Market" https://www.techsciresearch.com/report/africa-two-wheeler-market-by-vehicle-type-motorcycle-vs-scooter-by-country-south-africa-nigeria-tanzania-kenya-algeria-uganda-egypt-morocco-angola-and-ethiopia-competition-forecast-opportunities-2011-2021/769.html In Africa, two-wheelers offer an affordable mode of transportation. Workers as well as travellers, who earlier used to prefer other modes of transportation, are increasingly switching to two-wheelers, to avoid the frantic traffic in the cities across major African countries. Moreover, rising fuel prices is also driving demand for two-wheelers in the continent due to their higher fuel efficiency. Furthermore, as driving license is not mandatory for driving gearless two-wheelers in majority of the African countries, tourists visiting the continent usually opt for two-wheelers for transportation purpose. On the basis of vehicle type, the two-wheeler market in Africa has been segmented into two categories, namely, motorcycle and scooter. Among these categories, motorcycle segment dominated the continent's two-wheeler market in 2015, owing to various associated advantages such as quicker acceleration, better engine capacity, large fuel tank, larger wheel base and easy maintenance. Moreover, booming motorcycle taxis business in African countries is further augmenting demand for motorcycles in the continent. Backed by rapid urbanization, growing population and inadequate means of transportation, the segment is anticipated to maintain its dominance over the next five years as well. Download Sample Report @ https://www.techsciresearch.com/sample-report.aspx?cid=769 Customers can also request for 10% free customization on this report. "In Africa, South Africa was the major demand generator of two-wheelers in 2015. Growing per capita income, increasing employment opportunities, developing infrastructure and vast reserves of natural resources are driving the country's economic growth. According to the Association of Motorcycle Importers and Distributors, the country registers huge demand for premium motorcycle with an engine capacity of more than 500cc, and the same trend is expected to continue over the next five years as well. As these high-end motorcycles are comparatively costlier than other motorcycles with low engine capacities, the two-wheeler market of South Africa is expected to grow at a healthy pace in value terms over the next five years.", said Mr. Karan Chechi, Research Director with TechSci Research, a research based global management consulting firm. "Africa Two-Wheeler Market By Vehicle Type, By Country, Competition Forecast & Opportunities, 2011 - 2021" has evaluated the future growth potential of two-wheeler market in Africa and provides statistics and information on market structure, industry behavior and trends. The report includes market projections and demand forecasting. The report is intended to provide cutting-edge market intelligence and help decision makers take sound investment evaluation. Besides, the report also identifies and analyzes emerging trends along with essential drivers, challenges and opportunities available in the Africa two-wheeler market. 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Replacement), By Region, Competition Forecast and Opportunities, 2011 - 2021 http://www.techsciresearch.com/report/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-2011-2021/637.html Global Tire Market Forecast & Opportunities, 2021 https://www.techsciresearch.com/report/global-tire-market-forecast-opportunities-2021/734.html About TechSci Research TechSci Research is a leading global market research firm publishing premium market research reports. Serving 700 global clients with more than 600 premium market research studies, TechSci Research is serving clients across 11 different industrial verticals. TechSci Research specializes in research based consulting assignments in high growth and emerging markets, leading technologies and niche applications. Our workforce of more than 100 fulltime Analysts and Consultants employing innovative research solutions and tracking global and country specific high growth markets helps TechSci clients to lead rather than follow market trends. Contact Mr. Ken Mathews 708 Third Avenue, Manhattan, NY, New York - 10017 Tel: +1-646-360-1656 Email: [email protected] Connect with us on Twitter - https://twitter.com/TechSciResearch Connect with us on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/company/techsci-research SOURCE TechSci Research NEW YORK, Sept. 5, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- With a boom in sharing economy, car sharing companies represented by Zipcar, Uber, Getaround, and Car2go have flourished, pushing forward the development of car sharing around the world. Fully-developed car sharing in foreign countries is primarily divided into three models: car-hailing apps, P2P car rental, and timeshare rental with the first represented by Uber, Lyft, and Ola Cabs, the middle Getaround, Turo, and Flightcar, and the latter Zipcar, Car2go, NriveNow, and Autolib. Uber, the world's largest car-hailing app player, has so far obtained a dozen rounds of financing and now is valued at USD60 billion. The company has penetrated into a total of 447 cities in countries consisting of the United States, China, India, Singapore, Malaysia, etc. The Chinese car sharing market is still in the phase of rapid growth but has showed huge potential. A series of laws & regulations and policies, including the Guidance on Promoting Green Consumption and the Guidance on Promoting the Development of New Energy Vehicle Timeshare Sector in Shanghai, have been introduced by the central government and local authorities so as to regulate and encourage the development of car sharing industry. Car-hailing apps: A competitive landscape with DidiChuxing, YidaoYongche, Uber, ShenzhouZhuanche, 51 Yongche, Dida Pinche, and TiantianYongche as major players have taken shape in the Chinese car-hailing apps market. Orders for car-hailing services totaled about 2 billion in China in 2015, including 1.43 billion or 71.5% of the total amount from DidiChuxing, followed by Uber with a percentage of 18.3%. DidiChuxing, a result of the merger between DidiDache and KuaidiDache, combines their own advantages. Having raised more than USD5 billion, it is the largest domestic car-hailing app platform in China valued at USD20 billion. The number of drivers connected to the platform had exceeded 14 million and registered users amounted to 250 million by the end of 2015. P2P car rental: With PP Zuche rolling out its services in China, PP car rental platforms like Atzuche, UU Cars, Baojia, and KuaikuaiZuche have sprung up around China. P2P car rental firms now rely heavily on financing for capital to expand business scope and grab customers. PP Zuche, with the largest amount of financing, got RMB500 million in financing in Sept 2015, the largest one in P2P car rental market. Timeshare: With growing heat-up of new-energy vehicle timeshare, localities have been active in developing new energy vehicle timeshare rental sector. And, new energy vehicle timeshare programs are being carried out in dozens of cities including Beijing, Shanghai, Hangzhou, and Shenzhen. Propelled by favorable policies, carmakers, telematics enterprises, and Internet firms have flooded into the field. In addition, P2P car rental company- UU Cars announced in Oct 2015 that it would transform to timeshare model, plan to put 1,000 vehicles into operation by the end of 2015 and raise the figure to more than 6,000 units in the first half of 2016. Major timeshare rental companies include Feezu, YiyiZuche, EVCard, WK Zuche, Soda, and EkaZuche. In addition, BAIC BJEV have launched GreenGo timeshare program, SAIC Motor E-sharing car, GeelyWeigongjiao, LifanPand-Auto, and Shou Qi Group Gofun. The Chinese car sharing market will still be complementarily composed of car-hailing app firms, P2P car rental companies, and timeshare enterprises in the future. Car-hailing apps market will be dominated by comprehensive mobile platforms represented by DidiChuxing and Uber; P2P car rental market will be further regulated with only two to three players surviving fierce competition; blossoming timeshare market will grow more mature under the joint efforts of market participants. China Car Sharing Industry Report, 2016-2020 highlights the followings: Global car sharing industry (development course, status quo, market segments (status quo, competitive landscape)); China's car sharing industry (status quo of development, competitive landscape, and development trends of market segments (car-hailing apps, P2P car rental, timeshare)); 11 global and 24 domestic car sharing-related companies (profile, financing, and developments). Read the full report: http://www.reportlinker.com/p03884073-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 LONDON, Sept. 5, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Controlled release fertilizers are part of enhanced efficiency fertilizers. These are granulated fertilizers that release nutrients gradually into the soil. Controlled release fertilizers are usually coated or encapsulated with inorganic or organic materials that regulate the rate, pattern, and duration of plant nutrient release. Common polymer materials used for coating are polysulfone (PSF), cellulose acetate (CA), and polyacrylonitrile (PAN). Most controlled release fertilizers are used in agriculture and horticulture applications. Controlled release fertilizers are employed in the cultivation of cereals & grains, oilseeds & pulses, and fruits & vegetables. Furthermore, they are used in the cultivation of turfs, lawns, and ornamental plants. Growth in the global population coupled with the shift toward sustainable agriculture is expected to drive the controlled release fertilizer market during the forecast period. This study analyzes, estimates, and forecasts the global controlled release fertilizers market in terms of volume (tons) and revenue (US$ thousand) from 2015 to 2024. Market numbers given in the report describe the demand for global controlled release fertilizers, but not production or supply. The controlled release fertilizers report also analyzes several driving and restraining factors and their impact on the market during the forecast period. The report provides comprehensive analysis of the controlled release fertilizers by key products and applications. It segments the market into key products that include polymer sulfur coated urea/sulfur coated urea, polymer coated urea, polymer coated NPK fertilizer, and others (including coated micronutrients). It further segments the market into the following key applications: cereals & grains, oilseeds & pulses, fruits & vegetables, and others (turf, ornamental plants, etc.). The report also segments the market based on major geographies into North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, Latin America, and Middle East & Africa. It further provides volume and revenue for each application segment for each region. This includes 12 unique country-specific analysis. Based on the application and country, the report analyzes the attractiveness of each segment and country with the help of an attractiveness tool. The study consist of value chain analysis, which offers a better understanding of key companies in the supply chain from raw material manufacturers to end-users. Additionally, the study examines market competition through Porter's Five Forces Analysis. The report includes an overview of the market share of key companies in the global controlled release fertilizers market. Market share of companies has been derived on the basis of production by manufacturers of controlled release fertilizers. Key market players profiled in the study include ATS Group, Greenfeed Agro Sdn. Bhd., The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company, HIF TECH SDN. BHD, Compo GMBH & Co. KG, Agrium Inc, Ekompany, Shikefeng Chemical Industry, AgroBridge (Malaysia), Haifa Chemicals ltd, Agrium Inc, Central Glass Co Ltd, ICL Specialty Fertilizers, and The Chisso Corporation. Profiles of key participants comprise important parameters such as company overview, financial overview, business strategy, and recent developments. Primary research represents the majority of our research efforts, complemented by extensive secondary research. We reviewed key players' product literature, annual reports, press releases, and relevant documents for competitive analysis and market understanding. Secondary research also includes a search of technical writing, recent trade, Internet sources, and statistical data from government websites, trade associations, and agencies. This has proven to be the most consistent, effective, and productive approach for procuring precise market data, recognizing business opportunities, and understanding industry participants' perceptions. Secondary research sources that are typically referred to include broker reports, corporation websites, external patented databases, financial reports, stockholder presentations, Securities & Exchange Commission filings, proprietary databases and relevant patent and regulatory databases, national government documents, statistical databases, and market reports, news articles, press releases, and webcasts specific to companies operating in the market. Secondary sources referred for this study include Chemical Week Magazine, ICIS Chemical Business Magazine, Hoover's, Factiva, and company presentations. The report segments the global controlled release fertilizers market as follows: Controlled Release Fertilizers Market Product Analysis Polymer sulfur coated urea/sulfur coated urea Polymer coated urea Polymer coated NPK fertilizer Others (including coated micronutrients) Controlled Release Fertilizers Market Application Analysis Cereals & grains Oilseeds & pulses Fruits & vegetables Others (including turf, ornamental plants, etc.) Controlled Release Fertilizers Market - Regional Analysis North America U.S. Rest of North America (RoNA) Europe France Italy U.K. Germany Spain Rest of Europe Asia Pacific China Japan ASEAN Rest of Asia Pacific (APAC) Latin America Brazil Rest of Latin America (LATAM) Middle East & Africa GCC South Africa Rest of Middle East & Africa (MEA) Download the full report: https://www.reportbuyer.com/product/3999338/ 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 LONDON, September 5, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- International veterinary pharmaceutical business, Dechra (Dechra or the Group) (Stock Code: Full Listing (Pharmaceuticals): DPH) issues audited preliminary results for the year ended 30 June 2016: "Accelerating our global growth strategy" "With three acquisitions, pipeline product launches, successful trading in our new subsidiaries and solid growth in our focus portfolio, Dechra has delivered another strong performance in the 2016 financial year." Ian Page, Chief Executive Officer To read the news release in full please visit http://www.dechra.com Highlights Strong financial performance: Revenue growth in our existing EU Pharmaceuticals Segment was 5.7% (at CER) driven by solid performance in Companion Animal Products (CAP) and return to growth of Food producing Animal Products (FAP). Continued excellent performance in our existing NA Pharmaceuticals Segment, with revenue increased by 37.9% (at CER); all core therapeutic sectors performing well. Consolidated revenue increased by 21.7% (at CER) Underlying cash generation of 106.8% allowed us to absorb the costs associated with the acquisitions whilst maintaining a prudent cash position. Strategic progress made: Three value added acquisitions completed. Product development pipeline continues to deliver results: recently launched products Osphos and Zycortal gaining good market penetration. Geographical expansion enhancing revenue growth with good performance in Poland and Canada and new start-up in Austria . We are pleased to report that the Group has delivered a strong financial performance, has continued to implement its strategic objectives and has invested in its infrastructure, people, product development and acquisitions to further its future objectives. Progress has been made in all aspects of our key strategic growth drivers: Portfolio Focus: we continue to outperform in the majority of therapeutic areas and markets in which we trade, significantly so within the US; Pipeline Delivery: our product development pipeline has delivered two novel global products and several regional and national registrations in the period; Geographical Expansion: we benefited from a solid performance in territories established in the previous financial year and have established positions in Austria, the Adriatic region and Mexico within the financial year; Acquisitions: three acquisitions have been made in the year, providing critical mass and an enhanced product development pipeline in the US market, poultry vaccine development capabilities to broaden our EU Food producing Animal Products (FAP) business and a marketing and registration platform for Dechra's portfolio in Mexico. Financial Summary 2016 2016 2016 Existing Acquisition Consolidated 2015 Underlying GBPm GBPm GBPm GBPm Revenue 225.9 21.7 247.6 203.5 Gross profit 129.9 8.6 138.5 116.1 Gross profit % 57.5% 39.6% 55.9% 57.1% Underlying Operating profit 51.6 1.3 52.9 44.4 Underlying EBIT % 22.8% 6.0% 21.4% 21.8% Underlying EBITDA 55.9 2.1 58.0 48.0 Underlying diluted EPS (p) 42.65 39.90 Dividend per Share 18.46 16.94 Table continues Growth % at Growth % at Underlying AER CER Existing Consolidated Existing Consolidated Revenue 11.0% 21.7% 11.2% 21.7% Gross profit 11.9% 19.3% 12.7% 20.0% Gross profit % Underlying Operating profit 16.2% 19.1% 17.8% 20.9% Underlying EBIT % Underlying EBITDA 16.5% 20.8% 18.3% 22.7% Underlying diluted EPS (p) 6.9% 8.9% Dividend per Share 9.0% 9.0% Outlook Although we anticipate a degree of uncertainty following Brexit, the business is naturally hedged by, its geographical spread and international sourcing. Any significant downturn in the UK economy may impinge on growth rates; however, we do not anticipate any material effect on the Group. Good progress has been made on the integration of the acquisitions. Our pipeline has also been strengthened through both new internally generated ideas and the integration of acquired development programmes. We have continued to invest in people and the infrastructure to ensure we maximise revenues and execute our strategy successfully. The Group continues to deliver growth and identify opportunities across all aspects of our strategy; we therefore continue to look forward to the future with confidence. About Dechra Dechra is an international specialist veterinary pharmaceuticals and related products business. Its expertise is in the development, manufacture and sales and marketing of high quality products exclusively for veterinarians worldwide. Dechra's business is unique as the majority of its products are used to treat medical conditions for which, there is no other effective solution or have a clinical or dosing advantage over competitor products. For more information, please visit: http://www.dechra.com A copy of the 2016 Annual Report will shortly be available on the Company website. Company's Registered Office: 24 Cheshire Avenue, Cheshire Business Park, Lostock Gralam, Northwich CW9 7UA. SOURCE Dechra Pharmaceuticals PLC PUNE, India, September 5, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- The report "Distribution Transformer Market by Mounting (Pole, Pad, and Underground), Insulation (Dry and Oil Filled), Phase (Single and Three), Power (Up to 0.5 MVA, 0.5 MVA-2.5 MVA, 2.5 MVA-10 MVA, Above 10 MVA), and Region - Global Forecast to 2021" published by MarketsandMarkets, The market is projected to grow from an estimated USD 12.81 Billion in 2016 to USD 17.61 Billion by 2021, at a CAGR of 6.57% from 2016 to 2021. (Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20160303/792302 ) Browse 74 market data Tables and 48 Figures spread through 157 Pages and in-depth TOC on "Distribution Transformer Market" http://www.marketsandmarkets.com/Market-Reports/distribution-transformer-market-85091015.html Early buyers will receive 10% customization on this report. Factors such as growing demand for power & increasing distribution capacity plans worldwide are driving the market. Liquid immersed type transformer the largest transformer type under insulation type segment in the Distribution Transformer Market The liquid immersed type transformer under insulation type segment is expected to have the largest share in 2016. They are widely used in utility, industrial, and commercial applications due to their advantages such as energy efficiency, lower sound level, and much longer operating life. They can also be used in outdoor as well as indoor applications and are manufactured in accordance with the most demanding industry and international standards. Pad-mounted transformer the largest transformer type under mounting type segment in the Distribution Transformer Market The pad-mounted transformer under mounting type segment occupied the largest market share in the Distribution Transformer Market in 2015. The demand for pad-mounted transformers is expected to increase during the forecast period, due to their usage in a wide range of applications in ground distribution loads as well as their utilization for application in renewable energy installation. Make an Enquiry: http://www.marketsandmarkets.com/Enquiry_Before_Buying.asp?id=85091015 Asia-Pacific is expected to dominate the Distribution Transformer Market In this report, the Distribution Transformer Market has been analyzed with respect to six regions, namely, Asia-Pacific, North America, Europe, the Middle East, South America, and Africa. Asia-Pacific is estimated to dominate the market, owing to factors such as developing power T&D infrastructure, growing industrial expenditure, and demand for replacing/refurbishing aging distribution transformers. According to Electric Power Research Institute, power demand in India is expected to double by 2025. India surpassed China in quarterly GDP growth in the last quarter of 2015. This was due to an economic slowdown in China, which is likely to make India one of the fast growing economies in the region and trigger the demand for additional power infrastructure. To enable an in-depth understanding of the competitive landscape, the report includes profiles of some of the leading players in the Distribution Transformer Market including ABB Ltd. (Switzerland), Siemens AG (Germany), Crompton Greaves Limited (India), General Electric (U.S.), and Eaton Corporation Plc. (Ireland) among others. These players are trying to penetrate high-potential economies and are adopting various methods to increase their market share. Browse Related Reports: Dry Type Transformer Market by Technology (Cast Resin, Vacuum Pressure Impregnated), by Phase (Single-Phase, Three-Phase), by Voltage (Low, Medium), by Application (Industrial, Commercial, Others), by Geography - Global Forecast to 2020 http://www.marketsandmarkets.com/Market-Reports/dry-type-transformer-market-193779200.html Converter Transformer Market by Configuration (Back-to-Back, Monopolar, Bipolar, and Multi-terminal), Voltage level, Application (Windfarms, Oil & Gas, and Grid interconnections), Power rating, and by Region - Global trends and forecast to 2020 http://www.marketsandmarkets.com/Market-Reports/hvdc-converter-transformer-market-170425557.html About MarketsandMarkets MarketsandMarkets 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 a multitude of clients across 8 different industrial verticals. We specialize in consulting assignments and business research across high growth markets, cutting edge technologies and newer applications. Our 850 fulltime analyst and SMEs at MarketsandMarkets are tracking global high growth markets following the "Growth Engagement Model - GEM". The GEM aims at proactive collaboration with the clients to identify new opportunities, identify most important customers, write "Attack, avoid and defend" strategies, identify sources of incremental revenues for both the company and its competitors. M&M's flagship competitive intelligence and market research platform, "RT" connects over 200,000 markets and entire value chains for deeper understanding of the unmet insights along with market sizing and forecasts of niche markets. The new included chapters on Methodology and Benchmarking presented with high quality analytical infographics in our reports gives complete visibility of how the numbers have been arrived and defend the accuracy of the numbers. We at MarketsandMarkets are inspired to help our clients grow by providing apt business insight with our huge market intelligence repository. Contact: Mr. Rohan Markets and Markets UNIT no 802, Tower no. 7, SEZ Magarpatta city, Hadapsar Pune, Maharashtra 411013, India 1-888-600-6441 Email: [email protected] Visit MarketsandMarkets Blog @ http://www.marketsandmarketsblog.com/market-reports/energy-and-power Connect with us on LinkedIn @ http://www.linkedin.com/company/marketsandmarkets SOURCE MarketsandMarkets LONDON, September 5, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- eServGlobal's recent fund-raising and debt restructuring has put the company on a firmer footing, creating a healthy cash position to support growth. After a period of restructuring, the core business has a reduced cost base and is starting to show signs of positive contract momentum. HomeSend has used recent investment from the JV partners to strengthen the platform and focus on marketing the service. Successful recovery of the core business combined with adoption of the HomeSend platform should provide upside to the current share price. (Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20130417/608168 ) With the company now on a more secure footing, the share price has increased from the 4p fund-raising level to the current 6.0p level. Based on a sum-of-the-parts valuation, we calculate a per share value of 10.7p. We value the core business at a discount to mobile software peers to reflect its profitability profile. We assume that the HomeSend JV is successful in reaching break-even in FY17, growing its share of the international remittance market to 2% by FY25. For the value of the JV to be reflected in the share price, investors will need to see regular operational updates tracking new hub members, live corridors, volumes transacted and progress towards profitability. Click here to view the full report. All reports published by Edison are available to download free of charge from its website http://www.edisoninvestmentresearch.com. About Edison: Edison is an international equity research firm with a team of over 110 analysts, investment and roadshow professionals and works with both large and smaller capitalised companies, blue chip institutional investors, wealth managers, private equity and corporate finance houses to support their capital markets activity. Edison provides services to more than 420 retained corporate and investor clients from offices in London, New York, Frankfurt, Sydney and Wellington. Edison is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority. Edison is not an adviser or broker-dealer and does not provide investment advice. Edison's reports are not solicitations to buy or sell any securities. For more information please contact: Katherine Thompson Edison Investment Research +44-(0)20-3077-5730 Dan Ridsdale Edison Investment Research +44-(0)20-3077-5729 [email protected] Contact details: Learn more at http://www.edisongroup.com and connect with Edison on: LinkedIn http://www.linkedin.com/company/edison-investment-research Twitter http://www.twitter.com/Edison_Inv_Res YouTube http://www.youtube.com/edisonitv Google+ https://plus.google.com/105425025202328783163/posts SOURCE Edison Investment Research HAIFA, Israel, September 5, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- FIGARO, an EU-funded international project focused on developing a new precision agriculture Decision Support System (DSS) to improve irrigation management for increasing water productivity, will hold a three-day conference in Israel September 7-9, 2016. The event will gather together FIGARO consortium members, EU representatives and expert stakeholders from academia, industry and the Israeli government. The event will begin with a day of academic presentations on the FIGARO project at the Stephen and Nancy Grand Water Research Institute at the Technion-Israel Institute of Technology. Attendees will include members of the Technion and other agriculture institutes such as the Volcani Center, the Weizmann Institute of Science, the Delegation of the European Union to Israel, officials from the Research and Development Authority at the Israeli Ministry of Economy and precision irrigation stakeholders. During the event, FIGARO Project partners will have the opportunity to present the impressive results of the FIGARO Platform, to be followed by an open discussion on trends in the global precision irrigation field. On the second day, Netafim will hold a field day at a demonstration site. FIGARO project members will take a tour in the field to view precision agriculture in practice at a Netafim site in Kibbutz Hatzerim in the Negev desert. In the afternoon, a meeting will be held with one of Netafim's clients, where they will demonstrate how they have adopted Netafim's precision irrigation techniques. The FIGARO Project will hold another international conference together with CopaCogeca in Brussels on September 19, 2016 to present the successful project outcomes and the benefits of using the FIGARO Platform to potential end users and promoters of precision irrigation. To register to the Haifa event click here To register to the Brussels event click here About FIGARO FIGARO is a Europe-wide research project co-funded by the European Commission under the 7th Framework Programme for Research and Technological Development of the European Union. The FIGARO consortium is industry driven and includes 17 separate organizations from eight countries, including a number of commercial and academic leaders in the field of irrigation, which bring to the industry expertise in precise irrigation-related technologies. For more information: http://www.figaro-irrigation.net/ Contact Person: Bracha Ehrman [email protected] +972-54-3041091 SOURCE FIGARO NEW YORK, Sept. 5, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- "Increasing demand for ultrasonic flow meters to drive the flow meters market" The market size of flow meters is estimated to reach USD 6.00 billion in 2015 and is projected to reach USD 8.72 billion by 2021, registering a CAGR of 6.4% between 2016 and 2021. The market for flow meters is largely driven by the rising demand for accurate measuring instruments from water & waste water and oil & gas industries. There is an increased demand for reliable flow meters which is driving the market of ultrasonic and coriolis flow meters. "Oil & gas is the fastest-growing market of flow meters" Owing to its properties such as safety, accuracy reliability, availability and efficiency, flow meters are used in various applications of oil & gas. This includes its use in custody transfer measurement, mass flow measurement of crude oil, fluid loss & leak detection, process gas flow, hydraulic fluid flow sensing, among others. The rising demand for flow meters in Middle East & Africa and Asia-Pacific are expected to boost the growth of the flow meters market in the oil & gas industry. "Asia-Pacific to dominate the market during the forecast period" The rising demand for smart flow meters is driving the growth of the flow meters market in Asia-Pacific. The market in the region is driven by the increased demand from China and India. China is the largest market in the region. Oil & gas, pharmaceutical and food & beverage industries are gaining momentum in the region which is estimated to drive the market for flow meters. These are the major end-use industries of flow meters in this region. Thus, the demand for flow meters in the region is increasing. Furthermore, the rising demand from water & waste water industry is estimated to boost the growth of the flow meters market in the region. The process of determining and verifying the market size of several segments and sub-segments gathered through secondary research and extensive primary interviews was conducted as follows: - By Company Type: Tier 1 (29%), Tier 2 (57%), and Tier 3 (14%). - By Designation: C-level (46%), Director Level (31%), and others (23%) - By Region: North America (24%), Europe (28%), Asia-Pacific (29%), Latin America (14%), and the Middle East & Africa (5%). Various key players profiled in the report include Siemens AG (Germany), Emerson Electric Co. (U.S.), ABB Ltd. (Switzerland), Yokogawa Electric Corporation (Japan), Endress+Hauser Management AG (Switzerland), Honeywell International Inc. (U.S.), Azbil Corporation (Japan), Badger Meter Inc. (U.S.), Krohne Messtechnik GmbH (Germany), and Schneider Electric (France). Reasons to buy this report: This research report is focused on various levels of analysisindustry analysis (industry trends), market share analysis of the top players, supply chain analysis, and company profiles, which together comprise and discuss the overall views on the competitive landscape; emerging and high-growth segments of the flow meters market; high-growth regions; and market drivers, restraints, and opportunities. The report provides insights on the following pointers: - Market Penetration: Comprehensive information on flow meters offered by the top players in the flow meters market - Product Development/Innovation: Detailed insights on emerging technologies, R&D activities, and new product launches in the flow meters market - Market Development: Comprehensive information about lucrative emerging markets the report analyzes the flow meters market across regions - Market Diversification: Exhaustive information about new products, untapped regions, recent developments, and investments in the flow meters market - Competitive Assessment: In-depth assessment of market shares, strategies, products, and manufacturing capabilities of the leading players in the flow meters market Read the full report: http://www.reportlinker.com/p04097014-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 GDYNIA, Poland, September 5, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Two days full of networking and 1:1 meetings with startups, investors, executives and developers are about to disrupt the tech community in Europe and beyond again. The fourth edition of Wolves Summit, an international conference focused on innovations in technology, is taking place on 25-26th October 2016 in Warsaw, Poland. Wolves Summit creates bridge between investors, corporations and promising startups. It is known from high quality networking and well-known international speakers. (PRNewsFoto/Wolves Summit) (Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20160902/403954LOGO ) (Photo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20160902/403955 ) The Polish disruption 2500 participants will gather in the capital of Poland to discuss and exchange knowledge about startup and business ecosystems. It seems to be the ideal spot for that, since the Polish tech community has grown significantly over the past few years. The proof lies in numerous startup hubs, incubators and events like Wolves Summit. The conference welcomes its 4th edition stronger than ever with 250 investors, 300 executives and 350 startups on board. A day for investors and startups Startups and investors are given an additional day (24th October) to network and participate in the Great Pitch qualifications. It's a competition for aspiring startups where, depending on their stages of development, they can win $100 000 in cash and investment or a media package. Investors will also have the chance to meet each other during Round Tables, a networking activity set up to exchange experiences and good practices in a narrow circle of investing experts. Research and development One of the innovations introduced to Wolves Summit is a separate day for representatives of science, higher education and business communities. They will all meet on 27th October at Wolves Summit R&D to exchange views on implementing innovation into Polish business. The debate will cover such topics as technology transfer, research infrastructure, the acceleration of companies' global development and more. Here to inspire Wolves Summit is a great source of relevant knowledge on technology and startups. World's best speakers and professionals present at the conference in October include Tim Draper, Per Schlingmann, Berg More, George Slawek, Richard Lorenzen and many more. With 3 stages for startups, business growth and developers available everyone will find inspiration for further education and development. Match and meet Networking at Wolves Summit is at a remarkably high level with 1:1 meetings, Round Tables, a matchmaking tool and evening events. Organizers are also providing free networking areas, where attendees can meet and initiate business relations. Matchmaking enables participants to set up meetings with specific people before the conference even begins. This way they can fill their calendars and make the most out of their time at Wolves. Speed dating The idea of speed dates has been transferred to Wolves Summit. Startups, corporations and investors can meet in person and talk business for 15 minutes before switching to another person. It makes networking more efficient and less time-consuming. What's more, the amount of business cards a participant can collect, may result in actual long-term relationships and acquiring new clients. Not stopping there The conference is going to gather 2500 attendees from more than 50 countries who operate in 40 different sectors. It's a place for developing business relations, finding clients and exploring new investment opportunities. If you would like to find out more about Wolves Summit, please visit the official website for more details and direct contact information. To attend Wolves Summit contact Dominika Liecau, email: [email protected] , +48-796-677-699 For media cooperation contact Joanna Sobiecka, email: [email protected] , +48-720-877-737 SOURCE Wolves Summit RIDGEFIELD, Conn., Sept. 5, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Boehringer Ingelheim today announced the first results from the Phase IIIb/IV PHYSACTO trial that showed STIOLTO RESPIMAT, combined with exercise training, helps people with COPD walk for longer periods of time compared to those receiving placebo. All participants of the trial were also enrolled in a self-management behavior modification program, which provided health education and skills to help better manage COPD. These data were presented today at the European Respiratory Society (ERS) International Congress 2016 in London. In the PHYSACTO trial, exercise capacity was measured by the length of time people with COPD could walk in an Endurance Shuttle Walking Test, which measures how far someone can walk at a standard speed without stopping for a rest. After 8 weeks, in the tiotropium+olodaterol RESPIMAT combined with exercise training arm, exercise capacity in people with moderate-to-severe COPD significantly increased by 45.8 percent (p<0.001), compared to those receiving placebo with no exercise training (356 vs. 244 seconds respectively). Furthermore, tiotropium+olodaterol RESPIMAT was shown to reduce shortness of breath (also known as dyspnea) associated with physical activity, compared to placebo. Long-acting beta 2 -adrenergic agonists, such as olodaterol, one of the active ingredients in STIOLTO RESPIMAT, increase the risk of asthma-related death. STIOLTO RESPIMAT is not indicated for asthma and should not be initiated in acutely deteriorating COPD patients or for the relief of acute symptoms. STIOLTO RESPIMAT is contraindicated in patients with a hypersensitivity to tiotropium, ipratropium, olodaterol, or any component of this product. As with other inhaled medicines, STIOLTO RESPIMAT may cause paradoxical bronchospasm that may be life-threatening. The most common adverse reactions were nasopharyngitis, cough and back pain. Please see complete Important Safety Information below. "It is vital for people with COPD to stay active as this may help slow the progression of disease burden," said study investigator Professor Thierry Troosters, Head, Research Group for Cardiovascular and Respiratory Rehabilitation, University of Leuven, Belgium. "This new study is the first to demonstrate that a holistic approach to COPD management, which includes behavior modification enriched with exercise training and effective long acting bronchodilator therapy, can improve exercise capacity and reduce shortness of breath." Additional PHYSACTO results showed that even without exercise training, there was a significant improvement in exercise capacity in the tiotropium+olodaterol RESPIMAT arm (29.2 percent increase in shuttle walk duration; p<0.05), compared to placebo (315 vs. 244 seconds respectively). COPD is a serious but manageable lung disease. Even in the early stages of COPD, people may experience breathlessness during daily activities. To avoid shortness of breath, people with COPD often reduce the amount of physical activity they undertake and do less of their daily activities. This reduction in physical activities has a significant negative impact on their quality of life and can lead to their condition worsening. The PHYSACTO trial ( NCT02085161 ) was designed to assess the effect of COPD maintenance therapy alone or in combination with supervised exercise training on exercise capacity and physical activity outcomes, including the amount of physical activity (as measured by an activity monitor) and perceived difficulties (as measured by the Functional Performance Inventory-Short Form score). The participants of the PHYSACTO trial were randomized into groups, which received either tiotropium+olodaterol RESPIMAT with and without exercise training, tiotropium alone, or placebo. A 12-week self-management behavior modification program was included for all four groups to provide an optimal environment for translating improvements in exercise capacity into increases in daily activity. The self-management behavior modification program included strategies for participants to help them exercise, including a pedometer (a device to count steps), and education to support their COPD management plan. These new data build on results from the MORACTO and TORRACTO 1&2 studies that showed tiotropium+olodaterol RESPIMAT significantly improved exercise endurance time vs. placebo. The PHYSACTO trial is part of the large-scale TOviTO Phase III clinical trial program, investigating the efficacy and safety of tiotropium+olodaterol RESPIMAT in COPD. About the RESPIMAT Inhaler RESPIMAT, the platform inhaler for the Boehringer Ingelheim respiratory therapies, was designed to get medicine deep into patients' lungs as a slow-moving mist. The slow moving mist of the RESPIMAT inhaler provides patients with enough time to breathe in the medication. The RESPIMAT inhaler operates independent of inspiratory effort, helping patients effectively breathe the medicine into their lungs while minimizing inhalation effort. As with all inhaled drugs, the actual amount of drug delivered to the lung may depend on patient factors, such as coordination between actuation of the inhaler and inspiration through the delivery system. The duration of inhalation should be at least as long as the spray duration (1.5 seconds). Boehringer Ingelheim's RESPIMAT family of products includes four FDA-approved medicines for COPD and asthma. About COPD Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is a term that includes chronic bronchitis and/or emphysema. This disease can make breathing harder because less air is able to flow in and out of the lungs. Chronic lower respiratory diseases, which include COPD, are the third leading cause of death in the United States, and approximately 15 million Americans have been told by a healthcare provider that they have COPD. The most common symptom of COPD is shortness of breath, especially with physical activities. Coughing, with or without mucus production, is also a common symptom of COPD. These symptoms can be misunderstood as signs of aging. COPD is usually associated with progressive airway damage and loss that cause breathing to get more difficult. INDICATION for STIOLTO RESPIMAT STIOLTO RESPIMAT (tiotropium bromide and olodaterol) Inhalation Spray is a prescription medicine used long term, two puffs once each day, in controlling symptoms in adults with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). COPD is a chronic lung disease that includes chronic bronchitis, emphysema, or both. STIOLTO contains the anticholinergic, tiotropium, and the long-acting beta 2 -adrenergic agonist (LABA), olodaterol. STIOLTO works by helping the muscles around the airways in your lungs stay relaxed to prevent symptoms, such as wheezing, cough, chest tightness, and shortness of breath. STIOLTO is not for treating sudden symptoms of COPD. Always have a rescue medicine with you to treat sudden symptoms. If you do not have a rescue inhaler, contact your healthcare provider to have one prescribed for you. Do not use STIOLTO if you have asthma. STIOLTO is approved to treat COPD only. IMPORTANT SAFETY INFORMATION People with asthma who take long-acting beta 2 -agonist (LABA) medicines, such as olodaterol, (one of the medicines in STIOLTO), have an increased risk of death from asthma problems. It is not known if LABA medicines, such as olodaterol (one of the medicines in STIOLTO), increase the risk of death in people with COPD. STIOLTO has been approved for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) only. STIOLTO is NOT to be used in asthma. Do not use STIOLTO if you are allergic to tiotropium, ipratropium, atropine or similar drugs, olodaterol, or any ingredient in STIOLTO. Symptoms of a serious allergic reaction may include rash, hives, swelling of the face, mouth, and tongue, and breathing problems. Call your healthcare provider or get emergency medical care if you get any symptoms of a serious allergic reaction. Do not use STIOLTO for treating sudden breathing problems. Always have a rescue inhaler with you to treat sudden symptoms. Do not use STIOLTO more often or at higher doses than prescribed by your doctor. Do not use STIOLTO with other LABAs or anticholinergics. Get emergency medical care if your breathing problems worsen quickly or if you use your rescue inhaler but it does not relieve your breathing problems. Call your healthcare provider if breathing problems worsen over time while using STIOLTO. Tell your doctor about all your medical conditions including heart problems, high blood pressure, seizures, thyroid problems, diabetes, kidney problems, glaucoma, enlarged prostate, and problems passing urine. Tell your doctor about all the medicines you take, including prescription and non-prescription medicines (including eye drops), vitamins, and herbal supplements. STIOLTO may interact with other medicines which may cause serious side effects. STIOLTO can cause serious side effects, including sudden shortness of breath that may be life threatening, fast or irregular heartbeat, increased blood pressure, chest pain, high blood sugar, or low blood potassium that may cause muscle spasms or weakness or abnormal heart rhythm. If any of these happens, stop taking STIOLTO and seek immediate medical help. STIOLTO can cause new or worsening eye problems including narrow-angle glaucoma, and can increase the pressure in your eyes, which can cause the following symptoms: eye pain, blurred vision, seeing halos or colored images along with red eyes. If you have any of these symptoms, stop taking your medicine and call your doctor right away. STIOLTO can cause new or worsened urinary retention. Symptoms of urinary retention may include difficulty passing urine, painful urination, urinating frequently, or urinating in a weak stream or drips. If you have any of these symptoms, stop taking your medicine and call your doctor right away. STIOLTO is for oral inhalation only. The STIOLTO cartridge is only intended for use with the STIOLTO RESPIMAT inhaler. Do not spray STIOLTO into your eyes. The most common side effects of STIOLTO are runny nose, cough, and back pain. Tell your healthcare provider about any side effect that bothers you or that does not go away. You are encouraged to report negative side effects of prescription drugs to the FDA. Visit www.FDA.gov/medwatch or call 1-800-FDA-1088. Read the step-by-step patient Instructions for Use for STIOLTO RESPIMAT before you use your inhaler. Please see accompanying Medication Guide, Instructions for Use, and Full Prescribing Information, including boxed WARNING. About Boehringer Ingelheim Pharmaceuticals, Inc. Boehringer Ingelheim Pharmaceuticals, Inc., based in Ridgefield, CT, is the largest U.S. subsidiary of Boehringer Ingelheim Corporation. Boehringer Ingelheim is one of the world's 20 leading pharmaceutical companies. Headquartered in Ingelheim, Germany, the company operates globally with 145 affiliates and more than 47,000 employees. Since its founding in 1885, the family-owned company has been committed to researching, developing, manufacturing and marketing novel treatments for human and veterinary medicine. Boehringer Ingelheim is committed to improving lives and providing valuable services and support to patients and their families. Our employees create and engage in programs that strengthen our communities. To learn more about how we make more health for more people, visit our Corporate Social Responsibility Report. In 2015, Boehringer Ingelheim achieved net sales of about $15.8 billion (14.8 billion euros). R&D expenditure corresponds to 20.3 percent of its net sales. For more information please visit www.us.boehringer-ingelheim.com, or follow us on Twitter @BoehringerUS. SOURCE Boehringer Ingelheim Pharmaceuticals Related Links http://www.boehringer-ingelheim.com WALLDORF, Germany, Sept. 5, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- SAP SE (NYSE: SAP) today announced that the University of Cape Town (UCT) has become the first Academic Competence Center location in Africa, supporting the Enterprise Systems Education for Africa (ESEFA) community. The announcement was made at the 21st SAP Academic Conference EMEA being held September 59, 2016, in Potsdam, Germany. "The Academic Competence Center location will enable SAP and UCT to build on the success of the ESEFA project cofinanced by DEG Deutsche Investitions- und Entwicklungsgesellschaft mbH over the past several years from public funds of the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development, addressing the IT skills gap in Africa and having a positive impact on local economies, competitiveness and integration in the global economy," said Gerhard Oswald, head of the Product Quality & Enablement Board area and member of the Executive Board of SAP SE. "This partnership further strengthens the commitment of SAP University Alliances, which partners globally with academia including in developing and emerging-market countries, and which in Africa is building SAP next-generation talent who will seed innovation from universities into the SAP ecosystem." "We are pleased to know that UCT is partnering with SAP to continue the strong momentum of the ESEFA program, one of our most ambitious projects on the African continent," said Ricarda Horst, senior investment manager, DEG Deutsche Investitions- und Entwicklungsgesellschaft mbH. "Students are acquiring critical industry-relevant skills, thus becoming more employable and more successful when applying for graduate programs and internships." "The Academic Competence Center location at UCT, in a strong collaboration with the University Competence Center location at Otto von Guericke University Magdeburg, Germany, will be the nucleus for building and expanding enterprise systems teaching and learning capacities in the sub-Saharan region promoting innovation, research and next-generation IT skills on the continent," said Prof. Ingrid Woolard, dean of the Faculty of Commerce at UCT. The SAP University Alliances program opens up the world of SAP to more than 2,800 educational institutions in 103 countries worldwide. It aims to develop critical skills for the digital enterprise among academics, university students and young thinkers, and to build the bridge to executives and professionals. For more information, visit the SAP News Center. Follow SAP on Twitter at @sapnews and SAP University Alliances at @sap_ua. Media Contact: Ansophie Strydom, SAP, +27 11-235-6070, [email protected], SAST Any statements contained in this document that are not historical facts are forward-looking statements as defined in the U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Words such as "anticipate," "believe," "estimate," "expect," "forecast," "intend," "may," "plan," "project," "predict," "should" and "will" and similar expressions as they relate to SAP are intended to identify such forward-looking statements. SAP undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements. All forward-looking statements are subject to various risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from expectations. The factors that could affect SAP's future financial results are discussed more fully in SAP's filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC"), including SAP's most recent Annual Report on Form 20-F filed with the SEC. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of their dates. Logo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20110126/AQ34470LOGO SOURCE SAP SE Related Links http://www.sap.com NEW YORK, Sept. 5, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Synopsis The report 'Non-Life Insurance in Germany, Key Trends and Opportunities to 2019' provides a detailed outlook by product category for the German non-life insurance segment, and a comparison of the German insurance industry with its regional counterparts. It provides values for key performance indicators such as written premium, incurred loss, loss ratio, commissions and expenses, combined ratio, total assets, total investment income and retentions during the review period (20102014) and forecast period (20142019). The report also analyzes distribution channels operating in the segment, gives a comprehensive overview of the German economy and demographics, explains the various types of natural hazard and their impact on the German insurance industry, and provides detailed information on the competitive landscape in the country. The report brings together research, modeling and analysis expertise, giving insurers access to information on segment dynamics and competitive advantages, and profiles of insurers operating in the country. The report also includes details of insurance regulations, and recent changes in the regulatory structure. Summary The 'Non-Life Insurance in Germany, Key Trends and Opportunities to 2019' report provides in-depth market analysis, information and insights into the German non-life insurance segment, including: - The German non-life insurance segment's detailed outlook by product category - A comprehensive overview of the German economy and demographics - A comparison of the German insurance industry with its regional counterparts - The various distribution channels in the German non-life insurance segment - Detailed analysis of natural hazards and their impact on the German insurance industry - Details of the competitive landscape in the non-life insurance segment in Germany - Details of regulatory policy applicable to the German insurance industry Scope This report provides a comprehensive analysis of the non-life insurance segment in Germany: - It provides historical values for the German non-life insurance segment for the report's 20102014 review period, and projected figures for the 20142019 forecast period. - It offers a detailed analysis of the key categories in the German non-life insurance segment, and market forecasts to 2019. - It profiles the top non-life insurance companies in Germany, and outlines the key regulations affecting them. Reasons To Buy - Make strategic business decisions using in-depth historic and forecast market data related to the German non-life insurance segment, and each category within it. - Understand the demand-side dynamics, key market trends and growth opportunities in the German non-life insurance segment. - Assess the competitive dynamics in the non-life insurance segment. - Identify growth opportunities and market dynamics in key product categories. - Gain insights into key regulations governing the German insurance industry, and their impact on companies and the industry's future. Key Highlights - Solvency II came into force in Germany on January 1, 2016. It is based on three pillars: risk-based quantitative requirements; governance and supervision; and disclosure and transparency. - Telematics-based insurance is an upcoming trend that is expected to shape the German motor insurance category. German non-life insurers are placing an increasing emphasis on telematics-based products. - German non-life insurance penetration stood at 2.0% in 2014. - Cyber risk is a growing concern in Germany. With Germany moving towards its fourth industrial revolution (industry4.0) and disruptions, the demand for automation will grow, increasing the industry's susceptibility to cyber attacks. Consequently, the industry's reliance on cyber protection insurance to mitigate its losses is expected to increase over the forecast period. - Germany has large number of compulsory insurance classes, such as third-party liability insurance, which is applicable at the federal and federal state levels. - The leading German non-life insurance distribution channels include agencies, brokers, bancassurance, direct marketing and other channels. Read the full report: http://www.reportlinker.com/p01639183-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 SHANGHAI, Sept. 4, 2016 /PRNewswire/-- It is learnt on September 1 that almost all the ATMs in the US accept UnionPay cards for cash withdrawal and over 80% of the local merchants accept UnionPay credit cards. In tourists' favorite destinations like New York, Hawaii, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Orlando and Chicago, UnionPay's acceptance coverage in well-known shopping centers and Outlets has exceeded 90%. With one UnionPay debit card and one UnionPay credit card (card numbers both start with 62), cardholders can pay with ease and benefits in the US. Merchants accepting UnionPay are located across the US, covering department stores, brand chain stores, convenient stores, restaurants and hotels, and it is convenient to use UnionPay cards at Macy's, Apple Stores, Best Buy, airport duty-free stores and other places favored by tourists. Using UnionPay credit cards in the US, cardholders only need to sign, and no PIN is required. Cardholders can also use UnionPay debit cards at merchants with PIN pads. With an extensive acceptance network in the US, UnionPay International has been constructing 30 core acceptance business districts around the major attractions and shopping centers since last year, enhancing acceptance coverage while providing exclusive benefits and services. These core business districts include Metropolitan Museum of Art, Woodbury Premium Outlet, T Galleria by DFS, and Kalakaua Avenue in Hawaii. It is worth noting that although many American merchants do not display the signage of bankcard brands, most merchants with PIN pads accept UnionPay debit cards. Consumers may also ask the cashiers if UnionPay cards are accepted. Within this year, cardholders are able to enjoy various privileges in the US. First, over 50 well-known Outlets provide VIP discount manuals and gifts for UnionPay cardholders, including 15 Premium Outlets, 37 Tanger Outlets and many Fashion Outlets. Second, consumers may enjoy double discounts (10%-off and "4-day fare for 7-day tenancy") when using UnionPay cards to rent cars via Hertz. Third, UnionPay cardholders are able to visit the Metropolitan Museum of Art for free, and buying one ticket for the Art Institute of Chicago with UnionPay credit card, consumers can get another ticket for free. For more information: http://www.unionpayintl.com/ SOURCE UnionPay International Related Links http://www.unionpayintl.com THE HAGUE, the Netherlands, September 5, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- The Board of Royal Dutch Shell plc ("RDS") (NYSE: RDS.A)(NYSE: RDS.B) today announced the pounds sterling and euro equivalent dividend payments in respect of the second quarter 2016 interim dividend, which was announced on July 28, 2016 at US$0.47 per A ordinary share ("A Share") and B ordinary share ("B Share"). Dividends on A Shares will be paid, by default, in euro at the rate of 0.4218 per A Share. Holders of A Shares who have validly submitted pounds sterling currency elections by August 26, 2016 will be entitled to a dividend of 35.27p per A Share. Dividends on B Shares will be paid, by default, in pounds sterling at the rate of 35.27p per B Share. Holders of B Shares who have validly submitted euro currency elections by August 26, 2016 will be entitled to a dividend of 0.4218 per B Share. This dividend will be payable on September 19, 2016 to those members whose names were on the Register of Members on August 12, 2016. Taxation - cash dividend Cash dividends on A Shares will be subject to the deduction of Dutch dividend withholding tax at the rate of 15%, which may be reduced in certain circumstances. Based on a policy statement issued by the Dutch Ministry of Finance on April 29, 2016, and depending on their particular circumstances, non-Dutch individual shareholders may be entitled to a full or partial refund of Dutch dividend withholding tax. Furthermore, in April 2016, there were changes to the UK taxation of dividends. The dividend tax credit has been abolished, and a new tax free dividend allowance of 5,000 introduced. Dividend income in excess of the allowance will be taxable at the following rates: 7.5% within the basic rate band; 32.5% within the higher rate band; and 38.1% on dividend income taxable at the additional rate. If you are uncertain as to the tax treatment of any dividends you should consult your own tax advisor. CAUTIONARY NOTE: The companies in which Royal Dutch Shell plc directly and indirectly owns investments are separate legal entities. In this release "Shell", "Shell group" and "Royal Dutch Shell" are sometimes used for convenience where references are made to Royal Dutch Shell plc and its subsidiaries in general. Likewise, the words "we", "us" and "our" are also used to refer to subsidiaries in general or to those who work for them. These expressions are also used where no useful purpose is served by identifying the particular company or companies. 'Subsidiaries', "Shell subsidiaries" and "Shell companies" as used in this release refer to companies over which Royal Dutch Shell plc either directly or indirectly has control. Entities and unincorporated arrangements over which Shell has joint control are generally referred to as "joint ventures" and "joint operations" respectively. Entities over which Shell has significant influence but neither control nor joint control are referred to as "associates". The term "Shell interest" is used for convenience to indicate the direct and/or indirect ownership interest held by Shell in a venture, partnership or company, after exclusion of all third-party interest. This release contains forward-looking statements concerning the financial condition, results of operations and businesses of Royal Dutch Shell. All statements other than statements of historical fact are, or may be deemed to be, forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are statements of future expectations that are based on management's current expectations and assumptions and involve known and unknown risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results, performance or events to differ materially from those expressed or implied in these statements. Forward-looking statements include, among other things, statements concerning the potential exposure of Royal Dutch Shell to market risks and statements expressing management's expectations, beliefs, estimates, forecasts, projections and assumptions. These forward-looking statements are identified by their use of terms and phrases such as 'anticipate', 'believe', 'could', 'estimate', 'expect', 'goals', 'intend', 'may', 'objectives', 'outlook', 'plan', 'probably', 'project', 'risks', "schedule", 'seek', 'should', 'target', 'will' and similar terms and phrases. There are a number of factors that could affect the future operations of Royal Dutch Shell and could cause those results to differ materially from those expressed in the forward-looking statements included in this release, including (without limitation): (a) price fluctuations in crude oil and natural gas; (b) changes in demand for Shell's products; (c) currency fluctuations; (d) drilling and production results; (e) reserves estimates; (f) loss of market share and industry competition; (g) environmental and physical risks; (h) risks associated with the identification of suitable potential acquisition properties and targets, and successful negotiation and completion of such transactions; (i) the risk of doing business in developing countries and countries subject to international sanctions; (j) legislative, fiscal and regulatory developments including regulatory measures addressing climate change; (k) economic and financial market conditions in various countries and regions; (l) political risks, including the risks of expropriation and renegotiation of the terms of contracts with governmental entities, delays or advancements in the approval of projects and delays in the reimbursement for shared costs; and (m) changes in trading conditions. All forward-looking statements contained in this release are expressly qualified in their entirety by the cautionary statements contained or referred to in this section. Readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements. Additional risk factors that may affect future results are contained in Royal Dutch Shell's 20-F for the year ended December 31, 2015 (available at http://www.shell.com/investor and http://www.sec.gov ). These risk factors also expressly qualify all forward looking statements contained in this release and should be considered by the reader. Each forward-looking statement speaks only as of the date of this release, September 5, 2016 Neither Royal Dutch Shell plc nor any of its subsidiaries undertake any obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statement as a result of new information, future events or other information. In light of these risks, results could differ materially from those stated, implied or inferred from the forward-looking statements contained in this release. We may have used certain terms, such as resources, in this release that United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) strictly prohibits us from including in our filings with the SEC. U.S. Investors are urged to consider closely the disclosure in our Form 20-F, File No 1-32575, available on the SEC website http://www.sec.gov. Royal Dutch Shell plc ENQUIRIES: Investor Relations: Europe +31 (0)70-377-4540 North America +1 832-337-2034 Media: International +44 (0)207-934-5550 Americas +1-713-241-4544 SOURCE Royal Dutch Shell plc RIDGEFIELD, Conn., Sept. 5, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Boehringer Ingelheim today announced a new post-hoc sub-analysis of the WISDOM[*] study. It suggests that only 4 in 100 people of the study population with a history of frequent exacerbations and raised eosinophil levels (400 cells/L) may benefit by adding ICS to SPIRIVA HANDIHALER (tiotropium bromide inhalation powder) and a long-acting beta 2 -agonist (salmeterol) to further reduce the risk of exacerbations. Eosinophils, which are a type of white blood cell, are assessed as part of a routine blood test. This new sub-analysis was presented today at the European Respiratory Society (ERS) International Congress 2016 in London. "New results from the WISDOM study indicate that using ICS as part of a triple therapy regimen in COPD maintenance treatment reduces the likelihood of an exacerbation for a smaller number of people than previously thought. It challenges our current understanding of the appropriate use of ICS in COPD maintenance therapy," said study investigator Professor Peter Calverley, Professor of Pulmonary and Rehabilitation Medicine, University of Liverpool, UK. "These study results add important information to a debate that has potentially wide-ranging implications for the future treatment of people with COPD." Exacerbations significantly contribute to the impact of COPD, often leading to hospitalizations and contributing to the risk of death. The Global Initiative for Chronic Obstructive Lung Disease (GOLD), which is a collaboration between the World Health Organization and the US National Institutes of Health, recommends the use of ICS-containing treatment only in people with COPD who have severe to very severe lung function impairment and/or are at high risk of exacerbations or who have had a hospitalization (GOLD C/D) the patient population studied in WISDOM. However, ICS treatments are widely used outside of GOLD treatment recommendations in combination with bronchodilators, such as tiotropium and salmeterol, in the treatment of COPD. This new sub-analysis suggests that by combining a patient history of frequent exacerbations (two or more exacerbations in the past twelve months) with raised blood eosinophil levels of 400 cells/L, healthcare providers may more precisely identify the minority of people with COPD who could benefit from the addition of ICS on top of tiotropium and salmeterol for further exacerbation risk reduction. This finding builds on an earlier sub-analysis of the WISDOM trial that evaluated blood eosinophil levels alone and indicated that people with blood eosinophil levels higher than 300 cells/L benefitted from the addition of ICS on top of tiotropium and salmeterol in reducing the risk of an exacerbation. The 52-week WISDOM study ( NCT00975195 ) evaluated the effect of ICS withdrawal in people with severe to very severe COPD having a history of exacerbation, while receiving tiotropium and salmeterol. The patient population of the WISDOM trial represents approximately 20 percent of the normal COPD patient population and only 4 percent of this study population was known to have a history of frequent exacerbations (two or more exacerbations in the past twelve months) with raised blood eosinophil levels of 400 cells/L. "Boehringer Ingelheim is committed to continuing scientific research that informs the optimal treatment of people with COPD. These findings add to our understanding of the factors that should be considered by healthcare providers when deciding a treatment regimen for people with COPD specifically when to add an ICS," said Dr. William Mezzanotte, Vice President and Head, Respiratory Medicine at Boehringer Ingelheim. "In addition, these findings highlight the importance of further investigation and discussion of this topic." In the WISDOM study population, complete ICS withdrawal was associated with a small reduction in trough FEV 1 . A prior post-hoc analysis showed overall no relationship between blood eosinophil count and change in lung function with ICS withdrawal. However, the latest post-hoc analysis indicated a relevant reduction in trough FEV 1 in the small subgroup of people with high eosinophil count and frequent exacerbations. About COPD Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is a term including chronic bronchitis and/or emphysema. This disease can make breathing harder because less air is able to flow in and out of the lungs. Chronic lower respiratory diseases, which include COPD, are the third leading cause of death in the United States, and approximately 15 million Americans have been told by a healthcare provider that they have COPD. The most common symptom of COPD is shortness of breath, especially with physical activities. Coughing, with or without mucus production, is also a common symptom of COPD. These symptoms can be misunderstood as signs of aging. COPD is usually associated with progressive airway damage and loss that cause breathing to get more difficult. Indication SPIRIVA HANDIHALER (tiotropium bromide inhalation powder) is a prescription medicine used once each day (a maintenance medicine) to control symptoms of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) by relaxing your airways and keeping them open. COPD includes chronic bronchitis, emphysema, or both. SPIRIVA HANDIHALER also reduces the likelihood of flare-ups and worsening of COPD symptoms (COPD exacerbations). Important Safety Information Do not use SPIRIVA HANDIHALER if you are allergic to tiotropium, ipratropium, atropine or similar drugs, or any ingredient in this medicine. SPIRIVA HANDIHALER is not a rescue medicine and should not be used for treating sudden breathing problems. Your doctor may give you other medicine to use for sudden breathing problems. SPIRIVA HANDIHALER can cause allergic reactions. Symptoms can include raised red patches on your skin (hives), itching, rash, and/or swelling of the lips, tongue, or throat that may cause difficulty in breathing or swallowing. If you have any of these symptoms, stop taking the medicine and seek emergency medical care. Before using SPIRIVA HANDIHALER, tell your doctor if you have a severe allergy to milk proteins. SPIRIVA HANDIHALER can cause your breathing to suddenly get worse (bronchospasm). If this happens, use your rescue inhaler, stop taking SPIRIVA HANDIHALER, and call your doctor right away or seek emergency medical care. SPIRIVA HANDIHALER can increase the pressure in your eyes (acute narrow-angle glaucoma), which can cause the following symptoms: eye pain, blurred vision, seeing halos or colored images along with red eyes. If you have any of these symptoms, stop taking your medicine and call your doctor right away. Dizziness and blurred vision may occur with SPIRIVA HANDIHALER. If you experience these symptoms, use caution when engaging in activities such as driving a car, or operating appliances, or machinery. SPIRIVA HANDIHALER can cause new or worsened urinary retention. Symptoms of blockage in your bladder, and/or enlarged prostate, may include difficulty passing urine and/or painful urination. If you have any of these symptoms, stop taking your medicine and call your doctor right away. The most common side effects with SPIRIVA HANDIHALER include upper respiratory tract infection, dry mouth, sinus infection, sore throat, non-specific chest pain, urinary tract infection, indigestion, runny nose, constipation, increased heart rate and blurred vision. Tell your doctor about all your medical conditions including kidney problems, glaucoma, enlarged prostate, problems passing urine, or blockage in your bladder. Tell your doctor all the medicines you take, including eye drops. Ask your doctor if you are taking any anticholinergic medicines because taking them together can increase side effects. Do not swallow SPIRIVA capsules. The contents of the capsule should only be inhaled through your mouth using the HANDIHALER device. You are encouraged to report negative side effects of prescription drugs to the FDA. Visit www.fda.gov/medwatch or call 1-800-FDA-1088. Please click for full Prescribing Information and Instructions for Use for SPIRIVA HANDIHALER. About Boehringer Ingelheim Pharmaceuticals, Inc. Boehringer Ingelheim Pharmaceuticals, Inc., based in Ridgefield, CT, is the largest U.S. subsidiary of Boehringer Ingelheim Corporation. Boehringer Ingelheim is one of the world's 20 leading pharmaceutical companies. Headquartered in Ingelheim, Germany, the company operates globally with 145 affiliates and more than 47,000 employees. Since its founding in 1885, the family-owned company has been committed to researching, developing, manufacturing and marketing novel treatments for human and veterinary medicine. Boehringer Ingelheim is committed to improving lives and providing valuable services and support to patients and their families. Our employees create and engage in programs that strengthen our communities. To learn more about how we make more health for more people, visit our Corporate Social Responsibility Report. In 2015, Boehringer Ingelheim achieved net sales of about $15.8 billion (14.8 billion euros). R&D expenditure corresponds to 20.3 percent of its net sales. For more information please visit www.us.boehringer-ingelheim.com, or follow us on Twitter @BoehringerUS. [*] Withdrawal of Inhaled Steroids During Optimized Bronchodilator Management SOURCE Boehringer Ingelheim Pharmaceuticals Related Links http://www.boehringer-ingelheim.com VENICE, Italy, September 5, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization ("UNESCO"), in partnership with PhosAgro and the International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry ("IUPAC"), today presented leading chemists from around the world with the latest round of grants for research in the field of green chemistry. The presentation took place during the opening of the 6th International IUPAC Conference on Green Chemistry, which will be followed by an academic symposium dedicated entirely to a discussion of the grant programme. The award ceremony was attended by IUPAC President and Associate Member of the Russian Academy of Sciences Natalia Tarasova; the President of the Italian National Commission for UNESCO, Franco Bernabe; PhosAgro CEO and member of Russia's National Commission for UNESCO Andrey Guryev; member of the Executive Committee of the International Council for Science (ICSU) and the former President of IUPAC, Nicole Moreau; the chair of the international academic jury for the grants project, Professor John Corish from the University of Dublin; as well as leading representatives of the global scientific and educational communities. The five-year, global project called Green Chemistry for Life, with USD 1.4 million in funding, was launched on 29 March 2013 at UNESCO's Paris headquarters. The initiative is aimed at providing support for talented young scientists from around the world that are conducting research in the field of green chemistry. Their goal is to protect the environment and human health through the development of energy-efficient and environmentally friendly technologies. This programme is unique in that for the first time in UNESCO's long history, and in the entire UN system, this kind of initiative is being implemented with extra-budgetary funds provided by Russian business. PhosAgro, with assistance from Russia's Foreign Ministry and the Russian National Commission for UNESCO, that offered to provide financial support for scientific research for young scientists from all around the world. The programme has proven to be a useful and effective way to support and promote promising projects developed by young scientists, as well as to attract attention of the public to the key role that chemistry plays in solving issues facing global civilisation. By upgrading its production facilities with safe and energy-saving technologies, monitored indicators of PhosAgro's impact on the environment today are below the values established in European and Russian reference documents on best available technologies. With the goal of developing and implementing technical innovations and preparing young scientists, PhosAgro conducts a programme of research and educational activities. PhosAgro has its own Scientific Research Institute for Fertilisers and Insectofungicides; in addition, the company has partnered with industry-leading scientific and engineering organisations in Russia. In the same vein, it also carries out charitable work, an important part of which is the Green Chemistry for Life project. In 2016, the international scientific jury selected the six best projects from among submissions from around the world for the PhosAgro/UNESCO/IUPAC grant. The winners included young scientists from Egypt (Ahmed Shebl Elsayed Sayed), Pakistan (Muhammad Ismail), Italy (Enrico Ravera), Russia (Alsu Akhmetshina), Kenya (Wycliffe Chisutia Wanyonyi) and Uruguay (Ignacio Carrera), who will all receive grants for further research. The winners may use their prize money for research on topic that include ways to minimise the impact of pesticides on plants, fruits and vegetables and to ensure the safety of farmers and workers; to patent new wastewater treatment technologies; to discover technologies for greener drug synthesis; or for the introduction of more environmentally friendly means of synthesising nano-fertilisers. A very interesting idea was proposed by the above-mentioned scientist from Kenya, Wycliffe Chisutia Wanyonyi, which is to use chicken feathers for the production of cosmetics, such as hair-care products, and even the production of fertilisers. In her address to conference participants, IUPAC President Natalia Tarasova said: "science today plays a leading role in addressing the challenges facing humanity, which is why it is especially important to support talented young people. We also believe in scientific diplomacy, in the notion that science knows no boundaries, since scientists from all around the world speak the same language. That is why it is important to develop support for young scientists at the international level." Russian National Commission for UNESCO Member and PhosAgro CEO Andrey Guryev said: "the further progress of humankind while minimising our impact on the environment at the global level is possible only through the joint efforts of science, international organisations and business. I hope that, in the future, this project will serve as an example of successful cooperation between science and industry in the formation of a new ethics of progress that envisages a great degree of responsibility for the prosperity of future generations on our planet." Professor John Corish of the Trinity College Dublin School of Chemistry at the University of Dublin, who is also IUPAC's Treasurer said: "There were no weak projects this year, and submissions were received from all around the world: from Asia, the Pacific, Latin America and the Caribbean, Western and Eastern Europe, North America, Africa and the Arab world. Making a selection from among the projects was very difficult, but I can say that all of this year's winners are very good. I have no doubt that some of these technologies will eventually be used everywhere and will change our world for the better." Grant recipient Ignacio Carrera from Uruguay said: "Green Chemistry for Life is an excellent programme. It is very important, especially for young scientists, to receive funding and support for their research." Grant recipient and Chemistry PhD Alsu Akhmetshina from the R. E. Alekseev Nizhgorod State Technical University in Russia said: "The Green Chemistry for Life project represents a big step towards waste-free production, towards responsible and sustainable industry and agriculture." SOURCE PhosAgro If you were looking for the Charlestown Democratic Town Committee website and ended up here, try this Got news tips, gossip, suggestions, complaints?E-mail us: progressivecharlestown@gmail.com We strive to avoid errors in our articles. Our correction policy can be found here Manila, Aug 31 : US President Barack Obama and Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte will meet next week amid international concern over a three-month-old crackdown on drugs that has claimed more than 2,000 lives, officials said on Wednesday. White House Deputy National Security Advisor Ben Rhodes said on Monday that during a meeting on September 6 Obama was expected to bring up issues of human rights and the recent arbitral ruling on the South China Sea maritime dispute, EFE news reported. The two will meet on the sidelines of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) summit in Laos next week. "The meeting would encompass both concerns about statements made by the President of the Philippines and our commitment to supporting human rights, and all efforts that are undertaken bilaterally, and ... discussing the regional picture, particularly with a focus on the maritime issues," Rhodes said. Duterte on Monday announced he would place a bounty of 2 million Philippine pesos (around $43,000) on those police officials protecting the drug trade and said he would take full responsibility for his war against illegal drugs. According to police data submitted to a Senate investigation on August 23 by Philippine National Police (PNP) Director General Ronald dela Rosa, at least 756 persons were killed during anti-drug police operations and 1,160 more by unknown assailants -- many of whom were vigilantes -- between July 1 and August 23. The crackdown and resultant extrajudicial killings have drawn widespread international criticism, with the UN calling on Duterte to end the wave of killings. The US State Department has also expressed "deep concern" over the killings and cited the need for the Philippines to uphold the rule of law. New Delhi, Aug 31 : The US on Wednesday reaffirmed its support to India's membership in the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) by redoubling efforts for an early entry. A joint statement issued following the Second India-US Strategic and Commercial Dialogue here said that "in a further effort to strengthen global non-proliferation and export controls, both sides committed to redouble their efforts towards India's early entry" into the NSG. India's bid for membership in the NSG plenary in Seoul in June this year was blocked by China on the ground that for a country to be part of the 48-member bloc it should be a signatory to the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) Tuesday's talks were co-chaired by External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj and US Secretary of State John Kerry with Minister of State for Commerce and Industry Nirmala Sitharaman and US Secretary of Commerce Penny Pritzker also in attendance. "The United States urged participating governments to support India's candidacy in their common interest. The United States also re-affirmed its support for India's early membership of the Australia Group and the Wassenaar Arrangement," Wednesday's joint statement also said. The Australia Group is an informal group of countries to help member countries to identify those exports which need to be controlled so as not to contribute to the spread of chemical and biological weapons. The Wassenaar Arrangement on Export Controls for Conventional Arms and Dual-Use Goods and Technologies, commonly known as the Wassenaar Arrangement, is a multilateral export control regime with 41 participating states. According to a separate section of the joint statement, in support of India's quest for clean energy, both sides "noted the progress made in bilateral civil nuclear cooperation and applauded continued engagement between Westinghouse and the Nuclear Power Corporation of India Ltd. toward finalising the contractual arrangements by June 2017 to build six AP 1000 reactors that will provide clean, reliable energy to millions of people in India". "They also looked forward to the immediate commencement of work on engineering and site design and the early conclusion of a competitive financing package based on the joint work by India and the US Export-Import Bank," it said. The US also extended support for the International Solar Alliance launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the Conference of Parties (CoP)-21 climate summit in Paris in November last year. "The United States affirmed its support for pursuing its membership of the International Solar Alliance (ISA), recognising the critical role it can play in the development and deployment of solar power," the statement said. "The sides also recognised the continued significance of efficient power generation technologies to address the challenges of climate change." London, Sep 1 : British Airways will resume direct flights from London to Tehran starting from Thursday night after a gap of four years, the UK flag carrier has announced. A British Airways (BA) Boeing 777 will take off at about 8.00 p.m. from London's Heathrow Airport bound for Tehran heralding six BA flights per week to the Iranian capital, the airlines said. The relationship between Britain and Iran has improved in recent years, following the lifting of sanctions on Iran earlier this year and the reopening of the British embassy in Tehran in 2015, EFE news reported. British Airways, which first started flights to Iran in 1946, terminated its thrice-weekly flights to Iran in October 2012, a year after the British embassy closed. Diplomatic relations between London and Tehran were suspended after the embassy was attacked by protestors following sanctions imposed on Iran regarding its nuclear programme. The embassy was reopened in 2015 to mark the nuclear deal reached then between Iran and the P5+1 major powers which comprised the US, Britain, France, Russia, China and Germany. United Nations, Sep 2 : The UN Security Council expressed its "deep concern" over the violence in Gabon following the August 27 presidential election. "The members of the Security Council called upon all candidates, their supporters, political parties and other political actors to remain calm, refrain from violence or other provocations and resolve any electoral disputes through established constitutional and legal mechanisms," Gerard Jacobus van Bohemen, New Zealand's ambassador to UN, who holds the rotating council presidency this month, said on Thursday. The council president made the remarks after a closed meeting of the 15-nation UN body, at which the council heard a briefing by the UN special representative for Central Africa Abdoulaye Bathily on the situation in Gabon. The council members "stressed the importance of a transparent and impartial process, in compliance with the African Charter on Democracy, Elections and Governance," the president said. Meanwhile, the council members "expressed their full support for" Bathily and "his efforts to calm the situation and peacefully resolve the contentious issues emanating from the electoral process," he said. On Wednesday, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon urged all concerned political leaders in Gabon to maintain peace and security in the Central African country after the announcement of the provisional results of the presidential election. Violence and broke out in Gabon on Wednesday after the national elections commission declared the incumbent President Ali Bongo won the election. Bongo claimed 49.8 per cent of the votes versus challenger Jean Ping's 48.2 per cent, reports said. Mumbai, Sep 2 : Bollywood actress Sonam Kapoor, who has signed with United Talent Agency (UTA), one of America's topmost talent agencies, has denied reports that she will soon star in a Hollywood project. Sonam took to Twitter on Friday to clarify that she has not signed any movie. "Just to make it clear I haven't signed any movie... Nor have they been offered to me," Sonam tweeted. Sonam, who is the daughter of veteran actor Anil Kapoor and Sunita Kapoor, announced on Instagram on Thursday that she has signed a contract with UTA. "Super duper chuffed to sign on with United Talent Agency. I know this is going to be an epic partnership," she wrote alongside a screen-shot of an article by Hollywood website deadline.com. Sonam has appeared in films like "Saawariya", "Aisha", "Raanjhanaa", "Prem Ratan Dhan Payo" and "Neerja". She was also seen in British rock band Coldplay's music video for the song "Hymn for the weekend". New Delhi, Sep 2 : Prime Minister Narendra Modi has warned those with black money to declare it before the given deadline of September 30, adding that stern action might be taken after that. "The first decision my government took was to make a SIT (Special Investigation Team) on black money. It is working and the Supreme Court is monitoring it. We have also made laws so that no one dares to send black money abroad from India. So more black money will not be generated," Modi said in an interview to Network 18. "For black money at home, we have changed the law, and there is a scheme till September 30 for anyone who wants to join to mainstream. If you made a mistake knowingly or unknowingly (by keeping black money), come to the mainstream now, I have given a way... If I take stern steps after the 30th, no one can blame me," he said. The Income Declaration Scheme (IDS) which opened on June 1 gives a chance to black money holders to come clean by declaring the assets by September 30 and paying tax and penalty of 45 percent on it. Manila, Sep 2 : The Philippines government on Friday said President Rodrigo Duterte will not meet UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon at the upcoming Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) summit, as he has "no time". "The Asean summit is just a matter of few days of important meetings which President Duterte is expected to attend and he has a very busy schedule," Foreign Ministry spokesperson Charles Jose told EFE news. The remarks came after the UN admitted on Thursday night that Duterte had refused to meet Ban next week in Laos, where the summit will take place. Jose defended the decision, saying that Duterte has interviews scheduled with nine leaders in bilateral meetings during the summit, including Asean members and "key allies". "(Duterte) can not accept all (requests) and no one should say anything negative about those that have not been accepted," said Jose. The discord deepens the deterioration of relations between the two institutions after the UN criticised the Philippines president's violent crackdown on drugs, resulting in the death of 2,500 people in two months, according to the latest official figures. Responding to the criticism in August, Duterte threatened to pull the Philippines out of the UN after describing the institution as "useless" and its criticism of the controversial anti-drug campaign as "stupid". Duterte won the presidential elections on May 9 with the promise of ending the country's drug problem in the first six months of his tenure, and since then he has on various occasions urged the police and citizens to execute drug dealers and users. Nearly 2,500 deaths have been recorded in the campaign against drugs between July 1 and August 31, including 929 in police operations and 1,507 extrajudicial executions. Chennai, Sep 2 : The Tamil Nadu assembly on Friday unanimously urged the central government not to accept recommendations for conducting an environmental impact assessment (EIA) for a dam across Siruvani river in Kerala. Passing a resolution moved by Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J. Jayalalithaa in the assembly, the state also urged the central government not to allow any projects by Kerala and Karnataka till the Cauvery Management Board and the Cauvery Water Regulation Committee come into force and judicial references are finally settled. The resolution was moved and passed following the recommendations made by the Expert Appraisal Committee for River Valley and Hydroelectric Projects of the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change. The committee at its meeting on August 11 and 12, recommended grant of Standard Terms of Reference for conducting EIA to Kerala so it could build a dam across Siruvani river at Attappady. Earlier, moving the resolution, Jayalalithaa said Siruvani river is a sub-tributary of the Cauvery river which is an inter-state river. She said the Cauvery Tribunal has taken the water available to Kerala from Siruvani river and has arrived at the sharing of waters between various states. The Tamil Nadu government has written to the Centre and the Kerala government, objecting to the proposed project. Jayalalitha said the central government has not informed Tamil Nadu about the proposal or that it would be considered at the Expert Appraisal Committee meeting. Manila, Sep 2 : Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte is set to explain about his government's war on illegal drugs to the Asean and other partner countries at the Laos Summit, an official said on Friday. Department of Foreign Affairs Assistant Secretary for Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) Affairs Ma. Hellen dela Vega said part of the Philippines key priorities for the Summit would be "drug-free Asean", Xinhua news agency reported. "He will explain to the international community the problem that we had, how it impacts on the social fabric of our society. And the problem could even affect us in the future," dela Vega said in Malacanang, the presidential palace. Duterte's attendance to the 28th and 29th Asean Summit and related Summits in Vientiane on September 6 to 8 will be his first since he assumed office on June 30. UN rapporteur human rights experts were among the first to criticise Duterte for the extrajudicial killings of drug suspects in the country. Duterte even threatened that the Philippines would pull out from the UN. Since July 1, more than 2,000 drug suspects have already been killed -- most of them allegedly by vigilantes. Duterte has vowed to eliminate illegal drugs in the country within the first three to six months of his administration. New Delhi, Sep 2 : A special court here has convicted the former additional private secretary of ex-Union Minister Sheila Kaul in a two-decade-old corruption case, and set September 5 for pronouncing order on quantum of sentence. The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) Special Judge Sanjeev Aggarwal convicted former government officer Rajan S. Lala of charges dealing with criminal conspiracy under the Indian Penal Code and criminal misconduct under the Prevention of Corruption Act. The order was delivered on August 30 but it was released on Friday. The case dates back between 1991 to 1994 when Kaul was minister for urban affairs and employment and irregularly allotted government shops in south Delhi. The court however acquitted private person Asha Yadav, Virender Arora, Sant Lal Yadav and Sanjeev Saluja who were allotted shops. The court held that there was a "clear cut conspiracy" between Lala and Kaul, her then additional private secretary D.D. Arora and assistant private secretary S.L. Yadav. Kaul, Arora and Yadav have died and proceedings against them have been abated. The court has fixed the matter for September 5 for order on quantum of punishment. The CBI had chargesheeted the four government officials, nine private persons in the graft case. Out of the nine private persons, two died during trial, one was declared proclaimed offender, two were discharged and four acquitted by the court. CBI had alleged that Kaul and another accused Tara Chaudhary, who was declared proclaimed offender, had entered into conspiracy during October 1991 to November 1994 to dishonestly or fraudulently obtain undue pecuniary advantage in allotment of shops on economic licence fee basis in contravention of rules. The court, in its 227-page judgement, said there was a huge pecuniary loss to the state exchequer and led to huge pecuniary advantage to private persons without any public interest. "Such act of illegal allotments without looking after the interest of the state, which Kaul was obliged to look after being the Urban Development Minister, as the repository of the power of people was bound to protect which people had given to her by electing her," it said. It said allotment of shops made by these public servants to various accused, who were either related to them or known to Kaul, was "totally arbitrary, unfair, unreasonable and in violation of Article 14 of Constitution". It added that convict followed the norms of favouritism and nepotism while allotting shops. Manila, Sep 3 : At least 14 persons were killed and 67 others injured in an explosion at a market in Philippines' Davao city, police officials said on Saturday. The casualty figures were based on the latest information from area hospitals, Police Station Commander Milgrace Driz told EFE news. "Based on initial investigation, police found a shrapnel from a mortar-based improvised explosive device," Communication Secretary Martin Andanar said. The explosion occurred on Friday around 11.00 p.m. at a busy night market in the city centre. The Abu Sayyaf terrorist group has claimed responsibility for the deadly blast, according to Department of Interior and Local Government Secretary Mike Sueno on Saturday Abu Rami, a spokesman for Abu Sayyaf, confirmed the news to local Radio DZMM. However, it was unclear how the spokesman informed the radio station. Speaking early Saturday morning, President Rodrigo Duterte, former mayor of Davao city, said that fighting terrorism and the drug trade would require "a state of lawless violence". "It's not martial law but it would require nationwide, well-coordinated efforts of the military and the police," he said in a televised interview, adding that major checkpoints would be set up on all roads leading out of the city. The President visited the blast site around 4 a.m. He was in the city at the time of the blast but did not suffer any injuries. Police in capital Manila were also on red alert. Brasilia, Sep 5 : Thousands of Brazilians staged a protest on Sunday against new President Michel Temer, who was sworn in after Dilma Rousseff was definitively ousted by the Senate for manipulating budget figures. A sea of protesters took to Sao Paulo's Paulista Avenue for a seventh consecutive day, most of them wearing red, the colour of Rousseff's Workers' Party, EFE news reported. Unlike the other protests in recent days, Sunday's rally unfolded without any incidents between demonstrators and the police. Authorities had considered refusing to authorise protesters to gather on Sunday because the flame for the Rio Paralympics was scheduled to be carried along the thoroughfare that same day. But they later allowed the protesters to take to the streets a few hours after the passage of the torch relay. Rousseff said on Friday that she would fight in the courts to reverse the Senate vote two days earlier to remove her from office less than halfway through her term. By a vote of 61-20, senators found Rousseff guilty of bypassing Congress to alter budgets by decree and taking too long to reimburse state-controlled banks for funds used to pay for government programs, a delay that her opponents say amounted to taking out illegal loans from those institutions. Temer, Rousseff's former vice president-turned-enemy, was sworn in on August 31, just hours after Rousseff's impeachment trial ended with her ouster from office. Washington, Sep 5 : Democratic vice presidential candidate Tim Kaine has defended his running mate Hillary Clinton saying that she was unable to discern classified information in emails while she was secretary of state. Kaine's comments came in response to a question on ABC news about the Federal Bureau of Investigation's (FBI) probe into Clinton's use of a private email server during her tenure as secretary of state (2009-2013), Politico reported on Sunday. In July, the Democratic presidential nominee said she had never received training on how to handle classified information. According to reports released by the FBI on September 2, she was shown an email with a "C" marking on it, indicating that it was classified, Clinton told the FBI she thought the letter was there to help organise the paragraphs alphabetically. The Virginia senator, who said he deals often with classified information as a member of the Armed Services and Foreign Relations committees, said that such information could be difficult to identify, especially when it is not properly marked, Politico reported. "There were emails that contained classified information that had been improperly marked," Kaine said. "So when she received the email, the material that was classified, which is supposed to be flagged and identified as classified, in many instances was improperly labelled," Politico quoted Kaine as saying. "...unless it is specifically pulled out and identified, it is difficult to know sometimes whether a statement or a paragraph is classified or not. And that's what she was saying," he added. Kaine also pushed back against the assertion that Clinton has refused to hold a news conference for more than 270 days, pointing to reporters' questions that the Democratic nominee took early last month at the joint convention of the National Association of Black Journalists and the National Association of Hispanic Journalists. He said members of the media will soon be travelling with Clinton on her plane, something Kaine said Trump has not yet allowed, Politico added. Seoul, Sep 5 : North Korea on Monday fired three ballistic missiles into waters off its east coast, South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) announced. The country test-fired the three ballistic missiles from Hwangju in North Hwanghae province at around 12.14 p.m., Yonhap News Agency reported citing JCS as saying. London, Sep 5 : Defending the European Commission (EC) tax ruling against Apple, EU President Jean-Claude Juncker has termed the decision as "landmark" that was taken "without discrimination and without bias". In his first public statement after the European Union (EU) ruled that Ireland must demand 13 billion euros in taxes from Apple, Juncker said: "National authorities cannot give tax benefits to some companies and not to others. This is the level playing field that the commission is always working to defend. We apply these rules without discrimination and without bias." According to an Irish Times report on Monday, Juncker added at the sidelines of the G20 summit in China the Apple ruling was the result of "intensive work which has been going on for many years." EU officials and members of the Ireland government are set to meet this week over the Apple ruling. Earlier, Apple CEO Tim Cook dismissed the tax evasion allegations as "total political crap". In an interview to Irish Independent newspaper, Cook said Ireland is being "picked on". "I think we'll work very closely together, as we have the same motivation. No one did anything wrong here and we need to stand together. Ireland is being picked on and this is unacceptable," Cook told the newspaper. Cook also rejected the assertion by EU Competition Commissioner Margrethe Vestager that Apple paid only 0.005 per cent tax in Ireland in 2014. In a setback to Apple just before the much-awaited launch of its iPhone 7, the EU had announced that Ireland must demand 13 billion euros in taxes from company. "We have concluded that Ireland granted undue tax benefits of up to 13 billion euros to Apple. This is illegal under EU state aid rules, because it allowed Apple to pay substantially less tax than other businesses. Ireland must now recover the illegal aid," an EU statement read. Following an in-depth state aid investigation launched in June 2014, the EC concluded that two tax rulings issued by Ireland to Apple have substantially and artificially lowered the tax paid by Apple in Ireland since 1991. Hangzhou (China), Sep 5 : Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday raised at the G20 Summit here the issues of black money and tax evasion, urging member countries to take action against financial corruption. On the second day of the Summit here, Modi said: "Fighting corruption, black money and tax evasion were central to effective financial governance." He urged the member nations to show "full commitment" to action against financial corruption. Modi also professed India's support for Base Erosion and Profit Shifting (BEPS) recommendations and calls on countries to commit to the timeline of 2017-2018. (Gaurav Sharma is the IANS Beijing-based correspondent. He can be contacted at sharmagaurav71@gmail.com and gauravians@yahoo.com). New Delhi, Sep 5 : Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday paid tribute to the nation's second President, Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan, on the occasion of Teachers' Day and saluted the dedication and commitment of all teachers. "Happy Teachers' Day! India salutes the dedication and commitment of all teachers, whose role in nation building is paramount," said Modi. "Tributes to Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan, a scholar, statesman and a respected teacher who shaped many minds and served India," Modi said. Remembering the great educationist of the country, he exhorted the students: "How has your teacher influenced you? Share your anecdote and read what many others have written about their teachers." Srinagar, Sep 5 : Home Minister Rajnath Singh on Monday said some members of parliament went to meet Kashmiri separatist leaders in their individual capacity and not as part of an all-party delegation on a visit to the state in a bid at restoration of peace. "Some members of the delegation went to meet Hurriyat leaders. We had neither said no nor yes to their meetings (with separatists). You know what happened. They had gone there in their individual capacities," the Home Minister told reporters here. He was referring to an attempt by some national opposition leaders from the delegation to hold talks with top Kashmiri separatists on Saturday. But the separatists refused to talk them. Hardline Hurriyat chairman Syed Ali Shah Geelani didn't let them in as Janata Dal-United leader Sharad Yadav and Communist leaders Sitaram Yechury and D. Raja kept waiting at the door of his upscale Hyderpora residence for about ten minutes before returning. Rajnath Singh said the behaviour of separatist leaders towards the MPs was "certainly not Kashmiriyat". "It is not insaniyat (humane) also. They (the separatists) don't even believe in jamhooriyat." Visibly disappointed over the opposition leaders' attempt to cut ice with separatist leaders, the Home Minister said he tweeted before arriving in Srinagar "we are ready to talk to anyone who wants peace and normalcy in Kashmir". The all-party delegation arrived here on Sunday on a mission to initiate dialogue to restore peace in the restive Kashmir Valley that is battling nearly two months of the deadliest unrest in years. The situation in the valley continues to be tense amid recurring street protests, triggered by the July 8 killing of Hizbul Mujahideen commander Burhan Wani. At least 74 people have been killed and nearly 12,000 injured in the weeks of the unrest, the deadliest since 2010 when some 120 people died in firing by police and paramilitary troopers. Rajnath Singh said "everybody in Kashmir wants peace and normalcy to return". "I am hopeful that the situation in Jammu and Kashmir will improve. There is no doubt that Jammu and Kashmir is, was and will remain an integral part of India." Chennai, Sep 5 : Actress Sayyeshaa, who awaits the release of Ajay Devgn-starrer "Shivaay", will reportedly make her Tamil debut in a yet-untitled project featuring Jayam Ravi in the lead. "Sayyeshaa has been finalised as the leading lady. Her work in Telugu film 'Akhil', caught the attention of the makers who felt she would fit the bill," a source from the film's unit told IANS. The film was officially launched here on Monday on the occasion of Ganesh Chaturthi. To be helmed by Vijay, the makers are busy finalising the rest of the cast. The project will be bankrolled by Think Big Studios. Varanasi, Sep 5 : The Ganga was in spate and the neighbourhoods on its banks in this soulful but chaotic city deluged. And the doms, who cremate the dead to earn their living, are also submerged in gloom -- and wish for intervention, or a little sympathy, from their local MP: Prime Minister Narendra Modi. On a recent rainy day, a boatman was ferrying some people to safer places. Many of them had a wish: Prime Minister Modi, elected to the Lok Sabha from here, should visit at least once to see their plight. Somnath Rambabu, a dom at the Harishchandra ghat crematorium, was visibly disappointed and wondered why Modi, who registered a handsome victory here in the 2014 election, has still not visited to understand the suffering of his constituency. "Modiji hasn't visited even once. At least, he should have come to see us. If he had come, we would have been happy that our leader cares. The difficult phase will pass. One who cares for his constituency will definitely come to visit his people. Only time will prove it," Rambabu told IANS. At the Assi ghat, Suraj, a boatman, said he has suffered because the government has banned boat rides for tourists amid rising water levels. He was now earning his living by ferrying flood victims. But not everyone pays him for his services. Now he makes about Rs 100 per day; earlier it was not less than Rs 500. As he carefully rowed his boat over the gushing Ganga, he complained how the local administration was also indifferent to their plight. "The administration has barred us from ferrying tourists for two months, till the water level recedes to normal. Now, we help the affected people. Those who can pay, do; and those who can't... they don't," he said. Around 200 villages have been affected in Varanasi -- also known as the land of Shiva -- due to the floods. According to the residents, around five million food packets were being distributed each day to the affected people. But they say it is not enough. "The situation has been like this for nearly two weeks. Don't know how long it will persist. The water level will remain the same for at least 10-15 days more," Suraj said. Raju, a laundryman, was ironing some clothes at a short distance from Assi ghat. He said he lives at Nagwa, some five kilometres from Assi. He had come to the ghat to work on a boat for his livelihood after his house and shop were inundated. He said he used to earn Rs 300 to 350 more per day than what he's earning now, before he "lost everything". The dom community is believed to have suffered the worst. Hindus believe that those cremated at Manikarnika and Harishchandra ghats of Varanasi will be liberated from the endless cycle of birth and death by what is known as "moksha" or salvation. Back in Harishchandra ghat, the dead are now being cremated in a small lane. But the number has decreased sharply, to 20 or 25 bodies a day from a normal of nearly 100. "The ghat is flooded. There is a space crunch. Very few bodies are being brought for cremation. Because of the floods, people cremate the dead in their villages," said Rambabu. The doms charge Rs 300 per body. "People pay out of the devotion. For firewood, the charge is separate. It is Rs 410 per 40 kg," he said. Some 400 families of the community live near the Harishchandra ghat. About two km away at the Manikarnika ghat, bodies were being transported in boats. As the flood water continued surging, the doms cremated the dead on the terrace of a dilapidated building as a makeshift arrangement. Earlier, they used to receive some 250-300 bodies every day at this ghat. But now the number is down to just 50. Hari Prasad Chaudhury was busy at a pyre in the dead of a night. "Have you brought a body to be cremated," he asked hopefully. "I have been working here for 18 years. I do night duties. We all are suffering because of the floods. We are running losses," he said. Jitendra Kumar, who sells wood for the pyres at Manikarnika, had a similar story to share. Cremation of a body costs around Rs 4,500 to 5,200. It requires 3-4 quintals of firewood. Each quintal costs around Rs 1,000. Kumar said they usually "received 200-300 bodies per day". "Because of floods, there is no means of transportation to come here," he said. But despite the odds, this holy city continues to live. At the Dashashwamedh ghat, known for its Ganga aarti, the performance has been shifted to the terrace of a nearby building. Despite floods, tourists, mostly foreigners, throng the place to watch the show. "The aarti will go on. Whether the ghat is inundated or not, this aarti will not stop," said Vinod Upadhyaya, a priest at the Kashi Vishwanath temple. Varanasi is down, but certainly not out. (Sidhartha Dutta can be contacted at sidhartha.d@ians.in) New York, Sep 5 : The police in Florida, the US, have arrested a fugitive by tracking him on Facebook where he had put his "Wanted" poster as profile picture. The Stuart Police Department in Florida were hunting Mack Yearwood for an accusation of battery -- a criminal offence involving use of force against another, resulting in harmful, offensive or sexual contact, CNET reported on Monday. "If you are wanted by the police, it's probably not a good idea to use the 'Wanted of the Week' poster of yourself as your profile pic," the Stuart Police Department wrote on its Facebook page. The police had few clues about Yearwood's whereabouts and they decided to check out his Facebook page to see what they could find. They found an image of Yearwood in a "Wanted" poster from another Florida jurisdiction, Citrus county. A spokesperson from the department said he was not sure why Yearwood had displayed the "Wanted" poster. With two warrants on his name, the police decided to go to Yearwood's brother's house and arrested Yearwood. Vientiane, Sep 5 : Senior officials from across South-East Asia met in the Laos capital Vientiane Monday ahead of the arrival of regional and world leaders for the Asean 28th and 29th Summits, and 11th East Asia Summit staring from Tuesday to Thursday. The agenda for Monday's Senior Officials' Preparatory Meeting (Prep-SOM) included discussion on final arrangements and draft documents ahead of the start of regional summits that involve participation of leaders of the 10-member bloc as well as those of dialogue partners, Xinhua news agency reported. Meanwhile, ministers of foreign affairs as well as commerce, trade and economic matters from South-East Asia are also meeting in the capital for related meetings, including the Association of Southeast Asian Nation's (Asean) Business and Investment Summit 2016 being held from Monday to Wednesday and due to be opened by Laos Prime Minister Thongloun Sisoulith Monday afternoon. The meetings come as heads of state and government from the 10- member bloc are set to arrive in Vientiane Tuesday morning ahead of the commencement of the 28th Asean Summit. Chinese Premier Li Keqiang will be joined by leaders of fellow Asean dialogue partners, including Australia, India, New Zealand, Japan, South Korea, Russia and the US. Premier Li will also meet Asean state leaders, including host chair Laos Prime Minister Thongloun Sisoulith, in marking 25 years of dialogue partner relations at the 19th Asean-China Summit as well as joining leaders of fellow dialogue partner nations at the multilateral 11th East Asia Summit. The Asean summits and related meetings are also seen as notable for the participation of US President Barack Obama, marking the first visit of an American leader to Laos. Patna, Sep 5 : Suspected Maoists torched half a dozen vehicles and machines of a private construction company on Monday in Bihar's Gaya district, police said. "A group of armed Maoists attacked the camp of SP Malik Company Private Limited near Paimar river on Gaya-Wazirganj road... They torched six vehicles, including their machines -- a JCB, crane and Poklane -- for not paying levy demanded by the outfit," a district police official said. According to police officials, Maoists also assaulted employees of the construction company, which is engaged in construction of a railway overbridge here. Maoists in rural areas across Bihar are paid levy by private construction companies, contractors, traders, businessmen and even government officials. Police have lodged a case on the basis of the statements of the company staff and started investigation. Gaya is considered to be a Maoist stronghold. New Delhi, Sep 5 : Sharing with the students his experience in politics of India post-Independence, President Pranab Mukherjee on Monday stressed on social performance for economic growth of the country. Speaking on India's security issues, Mukherjee explained the factors that had transformed India since its Independence. He also pointed out what was required in order to make India economically strong. Mukherjee said homegrown terrorism is the biggest menace in the world today, but India has been broadly spared from it. He attributed this to the success of India's governance and administration that ensured that homegrown terrorism did not lift his hydra head. He was addressing the students of Classes 11 and 12 of the Rajendra Prasad Sarvodaya Vidyalaya at the President Estate. This was second year in a row that he met the students on the occasion of Teachers' Day. Terming Secularism the strength of India, Mukherjee said: "Secularism is part of our life and it is still unfolding." Post-Independence, there was communal disharmony, however, India should be glad that her leaders and statesmen kept the people united, he said. Referring to the violence during the Independence, Mukherjee said: "We faced major problems in maintaining communal harmony then. However, we must keep in mind the background in which our Constitution was adopted. Psychologically, it was a traumatic situation." "People were in trauma. Millions of people were uprooted from their homes and lands and forced to migrate to new places and settle down. So, naturally there was communal tension. But thanks to our political leaders and statesmen... they managed to keep the people together and reaffirmed our faith and confidence in secularism," said Mukherjee. Mukherjee, who himself was a teacher for a short stint in his early life, also gave students an idea for developing the Indian economy which still requires a strong push in various sectors to compete with the world. Emphasising on social performance for economic growth of the country, the former Finance Minister stated that increase in unemployment is not the requirement for the country. He said that two factors were important for India to grow economically. Mukherjee said: "Overall social performance should grow, which includes health and social infrastructures among others. Social distribution and growth with equity is also required." Mukherjee stressed that job generation was important for economic growth. He also touched upon the emerging idea within the political parties that the Lok Sabha and state assembly elections should be held together. "Election Commission can also put in their idea and efforts on holding the polls together," he said. Explaining the liberalisation of Indian economy in 1991 to the students, Mukherjee threw light on the condition of the Indian economy immediately after Independence. "Fifty years, from 1900 to 1950, India's economy grew at the rate of less than one percent... the major tasks of leaders, administrators was how to improve economic growth... In 1991, some people used to say that it was a U-turn and I would say it was not a U-turn but a natural progress," said Mukherjee. In India, September 5 is celebrated as Teachers' Day, which is the birth anniversary of India's second President, Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan (September 5, 1888). Radhakrishnan was a staunch believer in education, and was a well-known statesman and scholar. The former President was above all, a teacher. The occasion is a mark of tribute to the contribution made by teachers to the society. New Delhi, Sep 5 : The Kashmir Valley is reeling under the bloodiest unrest it has seen in years and, to nobody's surprise, the two-day visit of the all-party delegation of parliament members has done little to improve matters. Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti now appears to be running out of options in the valley after the failed bid to open talks with separatist leaders, who refused to speak to a section of MPs from the delegation. The already complex crisis in the state may now have become even more complicated. As is evident, the central government has been unwilling to give legitimacy or extend an olive branch to separatists who have been spearheading the agitation with unending stone-pelting protests, triggered by the July 8 killing of militant commander Burhan Wani. Mehbooba, a reluctant first woman Chief Minister of the troubled state, had invited separatist leaders for talks with the delegation in her capacity as the president of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), if not as the head of an elected government. The separatist leaders, most of whom are either in jail or detained in houses, rejected the offer outright, saying that talks would be futile unless their set of demands -- including demilitarisation of civilian areas and accepting Kashmir as an international dispute -- were first met. These are demands Mehbooba is powerless to fulfill, and the central government is unlikely to acquiesce to. In this apparent battle of egos, Mehbooba and her PDP seem to be caught between the proverbial rock and a hard place. Political analysts are of the view that the PDP is losing its electoral popularity due to the trail of death and destruction in the aftermath of Wani's killing. At least 74 persons, including two policemen, have been killed in the nearly two months of violence. Over 12,000 have been injured. And the worst hit is the south Kashmir region -- the political bastion of the PDP -- where most of the deaths have occurred in firing by security forces. Analysts say that, after losing on account of her party's decreasing popularity, more so in the south, Mehbooba is left with two options now: Crack down harshly on separatists or step down to make way for Governor's Rule. "It is a difficult decision. But what are the options," asked a veteran academician of Kashmir University, requesting he should not be named. "In this deadly chaos, PDP's junior partner, the BJP (Bharatiya Janata Party), is consolidating its electoral bases in Jammu and Ladakh," the teacher told IANS on the phone from Srinagar. "The BJP has nothing to lose in Kashmir. The current unrest has shrunk the grey political areas (of soft separatism) in the valley within which the regional mainstream parties would conveniently operate to woo voters. The battle lines are now clearly drawn -- you are either pro-India or pro-Azadi. And the PDP, which was the biggest gainer of this grey constituency, appears to be the biggest loser," he said Aijaz Khan, a former separatist and now a PDP functionary, said if Mehbooba does not step down, it was more likely that the government would deal with separatists with an "iron hand". "She will have enough time to regain the lost confidence of her voters before the next elections. Her priority should be governance and not politics. She can restore normalcy with tough governance; let the government function first," Khan told IANS. "Or else the government must go and the PDP should prepare for fresh polls." But quitting at this juncture could be akin to political suicide for Mehbooba who has built the PDP through grassroots campaigning since the late 1990s. After her father, Mufti Mohammed Sayeed's death in January, Mehbooba had unwillingly assumed the office because she was not happy with the PDP-BJP alliance. She agreed to continue after being assured by Prime Minister Narendra Modi that the governance agenda would be fulfilled. Among other issues, the agenda promised to engage Pakistan and separatist leaders in a peace process for a permanent solution to the vexed Kashmir issue. Two of the five months of Mehbooba's government have been lost in curfew, shutdowns and deadly street protests. The agenda points apart, the government has not been able to function on a routine basis because most of its offices have remained shut. Yet, Mehbooba may not have lost all hope for peace. On Monday, she posted on her Facebook page a message to "revive the reconciliation and resolution process through an institutionalised mechanism involving all the stakeholders". In a passionate appeal, she said: "The challenge before the leadership of the state and the country is to insulate the process from setbacks that have derailed it in the past." It's not clear if she, or the Centre, would be able to effectively meet the challenge. (Sarwar Kashani can be contacted at sarwar.k@ians.in) Hangzhou (China), Sep 5 : Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday told the G20 member countries how Pakistan was spreading terror in South Asia and using terrorism as an instrument of state policy. He also appealed the grouping to "isolate and sanction supporters of terrorism". At the two-day G20 summit which began in the eastern Chinese city of Hangzhou, India raised the issue of terrorism at various sessions. Modi told Chinese President XI Jinping how the scourge of terrorism was affecting the region. "There are some nations that use it as an instrument of state policy. One single nation in South Asia is spreading agents of terror in our region," Modi said, without naming Pakistan. India's ties with Pakistan have soured after Islamabad declared Jammu and Kashmir terrorist Burhan Wani, shot dead by security forces, as a "martyr". "For us a terrorist is a terrorist," Modi said. He was speaking during his intervention at the last session of the G20. The Prime Minister said "growing forces of violence and terror pose a fundamental challenge" and urged the international community to act in unity and respond against terrorism. "India has a policy of zero tolerance to terrorism. Because anything less than that is not enough," he said. In his meeting with President Xi, Modi expressed concern over terrorism emanating from Pakistan's restive regions of Giligit-Baltistan and Pakistani Kashmir where the China Pakistan Economic Corridor is coming up. (Gaurav Sharma is the Beijing-based IANS correspondent. He can be contacted at sharmagaurav71@gmail.com and gauravians@yahoo.com). Imphal, Sep 5 : Police and paramilitary personnel on Monday foiled multi-pronged attempts by protesters to storm the Manipur assembly on the last day of its monsoon session, leaving several people injured. At least two elderly persons were taken to hospital and several people were hurt as security forces fired tear gas. The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Joint Committee on Inner Line Permit System (JCILPS) had announced separate plans to storm the assembly. The district magistrates of both Imphal West and Imphal East districts clamped curfew within a one kilometre radius of the assembly from Sunday midnight. Heavily armed personnel in riot gear were deployed in and around the house. The JCILPS wants an anti-migrant bill. The BJP wants the cancellation of the recruitment tests for police constables. BJP workers led by state unit president Khetrimayum Bhabananda tried to storm the assembly from one side. Another group marched from the western side. A third group came from the eastern side. The protesters shouted slogans against the "corrupt Congress government". Hyderabad, Sep 5 : Eleven-day long Ganesh festival began in Telugu states of Telangana and Andhra Pradesh on Monday with religious fervour and devotion amid tight security. Thousands of idols were installed in twin cities of Hyderabad and Secunderabad as well as the IT district of Cyberabad for 'puja' by the devotees. Lord Ganesha's idols of all sizes and in different colours and 'avtars' were installed in specially decorated 'pandals' or on makeshift platforms in residential neighbourhoods and commercial centres. About 40,000 idols have been installed in public places. Like every year, the tallest idol has been installed in Khairatabad, the heart of the city. This year, the organisers have arranged 58-foot tall idol. Long queues of devotees were seen at the biggest idol. Telangana and Andhra Pradesh Governor E.S.L. Narasimhan and his wife Vimla Narasimhan started the festivities with 'puja' at Khairatabad idol. Over the last couple of days, several trucks were seen carrying giant idols from Dhoolpet, a market famous for idol-making. The markets were teeming with devotees buying small idols and 'puja' material. The festivities will conclude on September 15 with a mammoth immersion procession, which brings the entire city to a halt. As the festivities are coinciding with Muslim festival of 'Bakr Eid', police is making additional security arrangements to maintain law and order. 'Bakr Eid' will be celebrated on September 13. The police is deployed 20,000 personnel for the smooth and peaceful conduct of the festivities. Security personnel from neighbouring states and the central paramilitary forces will also be deployed on the immersion day. In addition, the police is banking on technology. More than 12,000 CCTV cameras will be installed along the procession route. Like in the past, several government agencies and non-governmental organisations made an effort to create awareness for environment-friendly festivities. Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC), Pollution Control Board and various NGOs distributed clay idols in various residential areas to persuade people to go for green festivities. There have been attempts to dissuade people from going for idols made of plaster of paris and heavy metal-based paints but it did not yield desired results. Authorities and environmentalists have been voicing concern over the pollution caused by such idols in lakes, especially Hussain Sagar Lake in Hyderabad. Attempts to decentralise the immersion procession and convince organisers to immerse idols in other lakes also proved futile. The Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) government had also come out with a proposal to build an alternate lake near Hussain Sagar for immersions but there were no takers for it. Bhagyanagar Ganesh Utsav Samithi, which had been organising the celebrations on a grand scale for the past 36 years, is opposed to any move to restrict the height of the idols or to divert the immersion procession. Samithi President G. Raghuva Reddy said the festival would be celebrated with religious fervour and spirit of nationalism. He called for organising special programmes at every 'pandal' from 9 p.m. every day to show unity and highlight the culture. London, Sep 5 : Scientists have developed a diagnosis system based on virtual reality (VR) technology that may help in the early detection of various neuro-degenerative disorders including multiple sclerosis (MS) and Parkinson's disease. The system consists of VR headsets like Google Glass, a non-contact sensor controller and a mobile platform. When a person puts on the glasses and gets into the VR mode where the environment changes the slope, the motion sensor detects changes of human body posture. A person without any disorder quickly adapts to VR and keeps a stable position while a person with a disorder can't adapt and loses balance, the researchers said in a statement. "We have also created a human skeleton model, identified 20 important points that the sensor monitors. Diagnosis provides results of deviations in the 20 points," said David Khachaturyan, scientist at Tomsk Polytechnic University in Russia. The team tested the system on about 50 volunteers to see how VR influences people. The procedure, which took almost 10 minutes, engaged both healthy people and those in whom doctors already identified the neuro-degenerative disorders. The scientists made use of the existing VR devices such as Google Glass and Microsoft Kinect sensor system for the research. In addition, the system can also identify "how people with different diseases react to a virtual environment. For instance, people with Parkinson's disease get hand tremors -- quick, rhythmic limb movements," the authors said. In neuro-degenerative diseases, an individual suffers a progressive loss of nerve cells and coordination are primarily affected. "These coordinated systems operate automatically. They falter if a person is affected by neuro-degenerative diseases," added Ivan Tolmachov, Associate Professor at Siberian State Medical University in Tomsk. According to the scientists, in the case of Parkinson's, cell death process can start at age 30 but the symptoms of the disease will be noticeable only at 50. "To feel a function loss, a person should lose about 80 per cent of related cells. But then there is no way back to recovery," Tolmachov pointed out. Therefore, it is important to diagnose the disease at early stages when patient can still get help, the researchers said. "In future, the system will be used not only for disease diagnosis but for patient rehabilitation as well," Tolmachov stated. The system is awaiting clinical trials and also requires technical and toxicological certification. It will be completed in 2017. Hangzhou (China), Sep 5 : Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday raised the issues of black money and tax evasion at the G20 Summit here, urging member countries to act against financial corruption. On the second day of the Summit here, Modi said: "Fighting corruption, black money and tax evasion were central to effective financial governance." Modi urged the grouping to show full commitment to action against financial corruption and said effective financial governance required action against the corrupt and elimination of safe havens for economic offenders. "We need to act to eliminate safe havens for economic offenders, track down and unconditionally extradite money launderers and break down the web of complex international regulations and excessive banking secrecy that hide the corrupt and their deeds," Modi said in his address at the G20. Representing 85 per cent of the world's GDP, the G20 is composed of Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, South Korea, Turkey, the UK, the US and the European Union. Making his intervention in the discussion on 'More Effective and Efficient Global Economic and Financial Governance at the G-20 summit', Modi called for further strengthening the global financial safety net. "We need a regular dialogue between the IMF, Regional Financial Arrangements and Bilateral Swap Arrangements. Important mechanisms like financial stability board should stick to their core mandate." On tax evasion, Modi reiterated India's support for Base Erosion and Profit Shifting (BEPS) recommendations and calls on countries to commit to the timeline of 2017-18. "PM professes India's support for BEPS recommendations and calls on countries to commit to the timeline of 2017-18," External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Vikas Swarup tweeted citing the Prime Minister. India had earlier declared its commitment to implementing BEPS, which advocates avoidance of stateless income and plugging loopholes by which entities avoid tax in operating across borders. The Paris-based think-tank of developed nations, the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development's (OECD) Base Erosion and Profit Sharing deliverables advocate consistent tax rules throughout the world. In this connection, a Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) committee on taxation of e-commerce had earlier this year suggested an "Equalization Levy" of between 6-8 percent for business-to-business digital transactions. This recommendation had formed the basis of Finance Minister Arun Jaitley's Budget 2016-17 proposal for an equalization levy of 6 percent in order to tax income accruing to foreign e-commerce companies from India. The committee has suggested that the levy be imposed on the amount paid to a non-resident by an Indian resident for specified digital services. The specified services would include online advertising or any services, rights or use of software for online advertising, including advertising on radio and TV, designing, hosting or maintenance of websites, digital space for website, e-mails, blogs, facility for online sale of goods or services or collecting online payments. It would also include use or right to use or download online music, online movies, online games and online software applications accessed or downloaded through the Internet or telecommunication networks. The committee has suggested introduction of the tax based on the Base Erosion and Profit Shifting (BEPS) principle earlier endorsed by G20 countries and the Paris-based Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). This fiscal's budget has proposed that a person making payment to a non-resident, without a permanent establishment, exceeding in aggregate Rs 1 lakh in a year for online advertisement, will withhold tax at 6 per cent of the gross amount paid as equalization levy. The levy will only apply to business-to-business transactions. Colombo, Sep 5 : The World Health Organisation has certified Sri Lanka as a Malaria-free nation on having eliminated the life threatening disease, a statement said. "Sri Lanka's achievement is truly remarkable. In the mid-20th century it was among the most Malaria-affected countries, but now it is Malaria-free. This is testament to the courage and vision of its leaders and signifies the great leaps that can be made when targeted action is taken," said the WHO statement. According to WHO, after Malaria cases soared in the 1970s and 80s, the country's anti-Malaria campaign in the 1990s adjusted its strategy to intensively target the parasite in addition to targeting the mosquitoes. Sri Lanka is the second country in the WHO Southeast Asia region to eliminate Malaria after Maldives. "The change in strategy was unorthodox, but highly effective. Mobile Malaria clinics in high transmission areas meant that prompt and effective treatment could reduce the parasite reservoir and the possibility of further transmission," said the statement. "By 2006, the country recorded less than 1,000 cases of Malaria per year, and since October 2012, the indigenous cases were down to zero. For the past three-and-a-half years, no locally transmitted cases have been recorded." The announcement of Sri Lanka's victory over Malaria was made on Monday at the WHO Southeast Asia region's annual regional committee meeting in the presence of health ministers and senior officials from all the 11 member states. India accounts for 70 per cent of Malaria cases and 69 per cent Malaria deaths in the Southeast Asian region countries. At least 1.13 million cases were reported in the country last year. The Health Ministry had launched the National Framework for Malaria Elimination in February this year, with a view to eradicating the mosquito-borne disease from India by 2030. The objectives of the framework include eradication of Malaria from all low-and moderately-endemic states and union territories by 2022 and reduction in the disease cases to less than one per 1,000 population in every part of India by 2024. Preventing re-transmission of Malaria in areas where it has been eliminated and maintaining Malaria-free status of the country by 2030 are its other objectives. Dengue and Chikungunya are the other mosquito-borne diseases prevalent in India, with Delhi alone witnessing over 400 cases of Dengue and Chikungunya each. New Delhi, Sep 5 : Chinese director Huo Jianqi, who came to India to shoot for India-Chinese co-production film "Xuan Zang", says shooting in India was an emotional experience for him. Jianqi is in India for the first BRICS Film Festival, where "Xuan Zang" was screened on Sunday. "Last year when we had finished shooting of 'Xuan Zang' in China, we came to India in July or August. We went to Mumbai, Aurangabad, Nalanda and Ajanta Caves for shooting," Jianqi said at a panel discussion titled "BRICS Co-production: The Way Forward" on Monday. "We got a tremendous support from the Indian side. We were amazed by the expertise that Indians have and how much technologically advanced India is," he added. Jianqi shared that the only problem that he faced was the humidity. "It is very hot here. It was very tough for us to shoot in the humid weather, but Indians helped us a lot in making it possible. I had a very emotional experience shooting in India. It was a positive one," Jianqi said. The historical adventure film stars Chinese actors Huang Xiaoming and Kent Tong. It also features Indian actors Sonu Sood, Ali Fazal and Neha Sharma. Asked about the possibilities for an Indian producer to go to China and collaborate with a producer there, Jianqi said: "Indian films are really famous in China and are gaining popularity. In the 1960s, there was Raj Kapoor's 'Awara'. Now also films like '3 Idiots' and 'PK' are getting popular." "So the future is really bright and I hope that the problem of restriction on films will change very soon," he added. Jianqi said that Chinese believe that "Indians are very beautiful and good looking". "We might be two different countries, but our emotions are very similar. It's difficult for me to forget the shooting experince that we had in India," he added. Talking about more collaborations between India and China, Jianqi said: "Chinese film industry has a long history of collaboration with Hollywood. That's why that market is in a good shape right now. "Chinese films have not been able to get better response in the Indian market. That's because there is a lack of common grounds regarding topics and themes. Both the sides have larger side of population." He said to make more films between India and Pakistan. "We need to find these types of common topics more to satisfy audiences on both the sides". The first edition of the BRICS Film Festival will come to an end on Tuesday. Srinagar, Sep 5 : Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh on Monday hit out at Kashmiri separatist leaders who refused to talk to some MPs from an all-party team, saying their conduct defied the spirit of "Kashmiriyat". The Home Minister, however, made it clear that MPs Sharad Yadav, Sitaram Yechury, D. Raja, Jay Prakash Narayan and Assaduddin Owaisi went to meet the separatist leaders in their individual capacity and not as part of the all-party delegation that was on a two-day trip to Jammu and Kashmir. "Some members of the delegation went to meet Hurriyat leaders. We had neither said 'no' nor 'yes' to their meetings. You know what happened. They had gone there in their individual capacity," he told reporters here before flying to Jammu. He was referring to the attempt by the national opposition leaders from the delegation to hold talks with top Kashmiri separatists on Sunday. While other separatist leaders did meet them briefly but refused to hold talks, hardliner Syed Ali Shah Geelani shut his door on the MPs even as they kept waiting outside his upscale Hyderpora residence for about 10 minutes. This, Rajnath Singh said, "was certainly neither 'Kashmiriyat' nor 'insaniyat' (humane). "If you do not want to talk is a different thing. But what they did proves they have no faith in democracy." The all-party delegation arrived here on Sunday, nearly two months after a bloody unrest erupted in the aftermath of the July 8 killing of Hizbul Mujahideen commander Burhan Wani. At least 74 persons have been killed and over 12,000 injured in the weeks of the turmoil, the deadliest Kashmir has seen in six years. As the delegation left for Jammu, the Kashmir Valley continued to be tense amid curfew in some parts, shutdown and recurring anti-government and pro-freedom protests. Rajnath Singh said the government had left its options open for talks with anyone within the ambit of "Kashmiriyat, jamhooriyat and insaniyat". But he made it clear that there were no two ways about the fact "that Jammu and Kashmir was, is and will remain an integral part of India". Visibly disappointed, the minister hinted that any chance of talks with the separatists in the near future was impossible. He also dismissed any possibility of an India-Pakistan dialogue over Kashmir, rejecting a key demand of separatist leaders. "Everybody in Kashmir wants peace and normalcy to return. I am hopeful that the situation in Jammu and Kashmir will improve," he said after meeting some "300 people including students, teachers, traders" during the delegation's nearly 30-hour stay in the valley. Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti's government and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) also retained hopes for peace and a dialogue process to engage all stakeholders, including separatist leaders. "Dialogue and engagement is a continuous process. It can't be expected to happen (by rubbing) a magic lamp," senior PDP leader and Education Minister Naeem Akhtar told reporters. Yechury, who faced a snub from Geelani on Sunday, said he had not given up on the mission to bring peace in Kashmir. "Please understand it was not a snub. We understand the ground reality and realize that there is a need for state and central governments to take the political dialogue forward with all stakeholders, including separatists, for peace in Kashmir. "The killings in Kashmir have pained me. We want the government to resolve this issue. There will be no solution without a political dialogue. You have to start a political dialogue, an unconditional political with all," Yechury told the media here. Moscow, Sep 5 : Russia and Saudi Arabia are negotiating an oil output freeze deal, Russian Energy Minister Aleksandr Novak said in a statement after talks with his Saudi Arabian counterpart. "We have agreed with the Saudi Arabia energy minister on joint action aimed at stabilizing the situation in the oil market. We consider a production freeze the most efficient tool, concrete parameters are being discussed at the moment," the RT online quoted Novak as saying. According to Novak, Saudi Arabia was considering capping production for one month, three months or longer. The world's biggest producers are considering freezing production at levels of July, August or September of this year, said the Russian energy minister. Hangzhou (China), Sep 5 : Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday raised the issue of India's membership of the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) during a bilateral meeting with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan here -- two months after Ankara joined a group of countries to block India's bid to the 48-member bloc. The meeting between the two on the sidelines of the G20 Summit here was their second after Modi visited Turkey in November last year and held a bilateral meeting with Erdogan. On June 22-23, Turkey had teamed up with countries, including Brazil, Austria and Ireland, that had opposed India's bid for membership of NSG at a plenary in Seoul. "The issue was discussed," External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Vikas Swarup told reporters here after the meeting. Modi is also understood to have discussed the NSG issue with Chinese President Xi Jinping on Sunday. Beijing had led the bloc of 10 countries that opposed New Delhi's entry to the elite nuclear trade grouping. China opposes India's entry to the NSG because of its non-signatory status to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty. Hangzhou (China), Sep 5 : Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday accused Pakistan of spreading terror and using terrorism as an instrument of state policy. And as the G20 Summit ended, Modi met the leaders of Britain, Argentina and Turkey. Addressing G20 leaders, the Indian leader urged them to "isolate and sanction supporters of terrorism". At the two-day summit held in the eastern Chinese city of Hangzhou, India raised the issue of terrorism at various sessions. Modi told Chinese President XI Jinping how the scourge of terrorism was affecting the region. "There are some nations that use it as an instrument of state policy. One single nation in South Asia is spreading agents of terror in our region," he said, without naming Pakistan. India's ties with Pakistan have soured after Islamabad declared Kashmiri terrorist Burhan Wani, shot dead by security forces, as a "martyr". "For us a terrorist is a terrorist," Modi said. He was speaking during his intervention at the last session of the G20 Summit. "India has a policy of zero tolerance to terrorism. Because anything less than that is not enough," he said. On the sidelines of the Summit, Modi met new British Prime Theresa May here, Argentine President Mauricio Macri and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. Modi said India viewed the UK as an important partner despite its decision to quit the EU. This was Modi's first bilateral with May, who succeeded David Cameron after the Brexit vote in June. The issue of terrorism figured in the Modi-May meeting. They discussed enhancing counter terrorism cooperation. He called for greater collaboration in the area of cyber security and intelligence sharing. May said she was keen to support Modi's vision for India and take forward the broader strategic partnership. She underlined the great importance the UK attached to the Indian diaspora. She sought Modi's suggestions on further strengthening their partnership, particularly in trade and investment ties. May said she backed Modi's reform agenda and that the UK was keen to participate in Make in India, Smart Cities and the Skill India Programme among others. The two leaders discussed their defence partnership. Modi also met Argentina's newly elected President Macri and invited him to visit India, External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Vikas Swarup said. The Indian leader said he would personally take him to the birthplace of Mahatma Gandhi, for whom Macri has had high regards. Macri recalled his two previous visits to India, as a tourist and as a Mayor. Modi thanked Macri for Argentina's strong support for India's membership in the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG). "The two leaders agreed to expand cooperation in areas such as agriculture, mining and hydro carbons," Swarup said. "The President invited Indian companies to participate in the exploration of gas reserves in Argentina. He also sought Indian collaboration in the area of food security." Speaking with the Turkish President, Modi raised the issue of India's membership to the NSG. In June, Turkey had teamed up with a group of countries to oppose India's membership to the 48-member cartel. In New Delhi, President Pranab Mukherjee said India was a victim of cross-border terrorism, not a homegrown one. "We certainly face attack but from cross-border terrorism. Success of our governance and administration lies in ensuring that homegrown terrorism, which is the world's biggest menace today, is not yet there in India," he told a group of students on the occasion of Teachers' Day. New Delhi, Sep 5 : External Affairs Sushma Swaraj on Monday called on Pope Francis at the Vatican. "Stronger ties with the Holy See. EAM @SushmaSwaraj called on @Pontifex at the Vatican, on her final day in Rome," External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Vikas Swarup tweeted. Sushma Swaraj visited Rome to attend the canonisation of Mother Teresa at the Vatican on Sunday. She also met with Italian Foreign Minister Paolo Gentiloni on Sunday. "The two ministers expressed their satisfaction on the first high-level bilateral meeting after a considerable period," the External Affairs Ministry said in a statement. "They reviewed the state of bilateral relations and discussed the future road map of cooperation in trade and investment, science and technology, counter terrorism, cultural exchange and other areas of mutual interest," it said. Sushma Swaraj also conveyed her deep condolences for the earthquake in Central Italy last month that caused a lot of destruction and claimed many lives. Sushma Swaraj later left Rome for New Delhi. "Grazie Roma! EAM @SushmaSwaraj departs for Delhi after a fruitful visit to Italy," Swarup said in another tweet. India-Italy relations hav been frosty for the past four years after two Italian marines aboard a cargo vessel allegedly shot two fishermen dead off the Kerala coast mistaking them for pirates. Both marines have since received conditional permission from the Supreme Court, which directed they would have to return if summoned. Manila, Sep 5 : Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte said on Monday that many more people will die in the anti-drug campaign that he launched after assuming office on June 30. Before leaving for the Asean (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) Summit in Laos September 6-8, Duterte said many more will die until the last drug trafficker leaves the country's streets. Nearly 2,500 people have been killed since the launch of the campaign, Efe news agency reported. The President, whose aggressive war on drugs had come under severe criticism from the UN and human rights groups, added he will not tolerate other heads of state or governments in Laos commenting on his campaign. Of the 2,500 deaths in the campaign between July 1 and August 31, 929 were killed in police raids and 1,507 in extra-judicial executions. In Laos, Duterte is scheduled to meet with nine heads of state, including the US President Barack Obama, who is expected to discuss the human rights situation in the Philippines with him. Duterte, however, rejected all possible criticism from Obama over his war on drugs and assured the people that he would not kneel before anyone. Duterte won the presidential elections on May 9, 2016 riding on the promise of ending the country's drug problem within the first six months of his mandate. Ranchi, Sep 5 : Five Maoist guerrillas were arrested with weapons on Monday in Jharkhand's West Singhbhum district, police said. The People's Liberation Front of India (PLFI) members were arrested from two places - Anandpur and Manoharpur. Police seized three locally made revolvers, cartridges, mobile phones and other documents. These Maoists were involved in collecting levy. According to police sources, two of the five were college students. Sydney, Sep 5 : A 35-year-old Bangladeshi woman and her ex-partner, likely of Indian origin, were discovered dead inside a house in Australia on Sunday in a suspected murder-suicide. Their three-year-old daughter was found sleeping in the house at the time, media reports said. The bodies of Tasmin Bahar and Dave Pillay were discovered inside the bathroom of the house in Smithfield of Sydney, Australia. Bahar had recently separated from her partner of six years, Pillay, and moved out of their Smithfield home, which they shared with their young daughter. The bodies were found allegedly by Pillay's brother, with the couple's three-year-old child found sleeping in another room in the house. It's believed Pillay lured Tasmin to the couple's formerly shared home for Father's Day, saying he wanted to see his young daughter, The Age reported. "We told her not to go to the Smithfield house but she went for Father's Day," Sharagin Bahar, Tasmin's sister, was quoted as saying. Their cousin, Sifat Sharmin Ruponty, told the Sydney Morning Herald that Tasmin had also told her about being physically threatened by Pillay, with a knife, when they were together. Sharagin Bahar told The Age from New York that she was in utter shock at the sudden death of her sister, and was flying to Bangladesh and then on to Sydney, hoping to take custody of her niece, who had now lost both of her parents. "I am so lost. I just want to take my niece into my custody, I want her with me. I'll take care of her. I'll do whatever is best for her," she said. Tasmin moved to Australia in 2009 and was highly educated, having studied science at university. Police said no other people were wanted over the deaths and the investigation was ongoing. Gurgaon, Sep 5 : Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar on Monday asked why his predecessor Bhupinder Singh Hooda was scared of a CBI probe into the Gurgaon land scandal if he was innocent. Khattar said the Central Bureau of Investigation has been conducting an independent probe into the 400 acre fraud near Manesar. Khattar said Hooda has been challenging in the state assembly any inquiry ordered into the Rs 1,500 crore land scam, calling it politically motivated. Hooda has demanded a judicial inquiry into the matter. Khattar said a judicial inquiry can be ordered if the CBI asks for it and that there was no difference between a judicial or CBI probe. The CBI raided the homes and offices of former Haryana Chief Minister Hooda, two former IAS officers and others on Saturday over alleged irregularities in the purchase of 400 acres of land from farmers. The raids took place in 20 locations in Delhi and Haryana. The land. whose market value then was above Rs 4 crore per acre, totalling about Rs 1,600 crore, was allegedly bought by private builders from land owners for only about Rs 100 crore. The CBI has registered a case of fraud, cheating and corruption against unknown politicians, builders and their agents. London, Sep 5 : Britain on Monday appointed its ambassador to Iran for the first time since 2011, in a further sign of warming bilateral relations between the two countries. A British Foreign Office statement said Nicholas Hopton, previously British ChargA d'affaires in Tehran, has been upgraded to ambassador. "This comes a year after the reopening of the embassy in Tehran and marks an important step forward in the two countries' diplomatic relations," Xinhua news agency cited the statement as saying. Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson said: "The upgrade in diplomatic relations gives us the opportunity to develop our discussions on a range of issues, including our consular cases." He expressed the hope that the move will mark "the start of more productive cooperation" between Britain and Iran on issues such as implementation of the nuclear deal and the expansion of the trading relationship. Hopton has served at the British embassies in Paris, Rome and Rabat before becoming ambassador to Yemen. Relations between Britain and Iran deteriorated in the early 2010s in the wake of new British sanctions against Iran. The two countries agreed to restore full diplomatic relations in 2014. Moscow, Sep 5 : Pakistan's Ambassador to Russia Qazi Khalilulla on Monday said the two countries were carrying out closer cooperation in combating terrorism. "We appreciate Russia supporting Pakistan's efforts in the fight against terrorism as well as its willingness to supply weapons for these purposes," Xinhua news agency quoted Khalilulla as saying. He said the Russia-Pakistan working group on fighting terrorism, which was founded in 2002, will meet in Moscow before the end of the year. The ambassador said Islamabad was implementing a national action plan of comprehensive resistance to terrorism and extremism, including countering violence propaganda, and blocking financial flows to terrorists and their supporters, with the aim of extinguishing terrorism. Khalilulla also said Chief of Air Staff of Pakistani Air Force Sohail Aman had "fruitful talks" here in July on purchasing Russian Su-35 fighter jets. He said the Pakistani Air Force was considering different options of deepening cooperation with Russia, but denied knowledge of any plans to buy Russian weaponry in the near future. Kabul, Sep 5 : The Afghan forces on Monday regained control of the strategically important Qala-e-Zal district in the northern Kunduz province, forcing Taliban militants to flee the area, the Interior Ministry said. According to a ministry statement, the security forces launched massive offensives against the Taliban in the district on Sunday and recaptured it on Monday morning. The militants, after suffering huge casualties, fled the area, Xinhua news agency reported. The statement, however, did not mention the exact figure of Taliban casualties. The ministry also vowed to chase the enemies elsewhere in the country. According to a district police official, the security forces were busy in sweeping and defusing mines planted by the militants in the area. However, Zabihullah Majahid who speaks for the Taliban outfit in contact with the media, confirmed the fight in Aqtapa area and claimed that 15 security personnel were killed and over a dozen injured since Sunday. Taliban militants overran the strategically important Qala-e-Zal district along the border with Tajikistan couple of weeks ago. Qala-e-Zal district, according to analysts, has served as a safe haven for the Taliban insurgents after suffering defeat in Kunduz. Regaining Qala-e-Zal district, would demoralise the Taliban militants and put the government forces in commanding position in the embattled Kunduz province. New Delhi, Sep 5 : Chinese producer Xin Ningning, Russian producer Natalia Mokritskaya, Brazilian producer Francis Vogner Dos Reis and South African producer Dumisane Gumbi say that unlike India, where producers complain of not getting proper support from the government, governments of other BRICS members are very helpful towards providing funds to filmmakers. At a panel discussion here at the 1st BRICS Film Festival, the four foreign producers along with B.B.L. Madhukar, Secretary General - BRICS CCI, talked about how the five BRICS member countries can look forward to various film collaborations through their respective government support. Dumisane said that without the government support in South Africa, the "film industry there wouldn't have existed". "We have got National Film and Video Foundation (NFVF), which helps in developments of some of the films. It doesn't give a lot of money, but it helps," Dumisane said. "For any film that you make on a certain amount of budget, you get 35 percent back. Five to 10 years ago, we were making about five-six films a year. Through that government support, now we are making over 30 films a year. "Without government, we would be struggling to make films in South Africa," he added. However in India, apart from National Film Development Corporation (NFDC), filmmakers don't have much options from the government's side. About Brazil film industry, Reis said: "In Brazil, most of the money comes from government support. We have a lot of money, but we really don't know how to invest it in building a market. "For me, the principle question is that the government needs to set rules for the American film industry, which dominates 85 percent of Brazilian cinema." Xin shared that in China, apart from the government support, "these days a lot of private investors are there who are investing huge money in films". Similar were Mokritskaya's views. She said: "In Russia, we don't have non governmental cinema. There the government gives funds for films because they feel films are like policies made for the benifit of people. Russian film market is not too big." Sharing insights about the film industry, Madhukar said that it is more dependable on private sector. Asked whether in near future there will be relevant support from the government's side for filmmakers, he said: "Well, we don't see that possibility anytime soon. The government feels that films are a private initiative which are made for promotional reasons." He added: "Also if the government support is there, then the film needs to mention the ruling party in positive light. As per state support, they say that if there is any film dealing with our state, then only we will provide funds." The panel discussion, titled "BRICS Film Market: Opportunities and Challenges", also put light on the idea that a treaty should be signed between all the five BRICS members which will help filmmaker of a particular nation to get financial support from other countries. The 1st BRICS Film Festival, which is part of the special events planned in the run-up to the 8th BRICS Summit to be held in India, kicked off here at Siri Fort Auditorium Complex on September 2. The festival will end on Tuesday. New Delhi, Sep 5 : The Congress on Monday asked Prime Minister Narendra Modi to apologise "eight times" to people for his false promises over black money. "The Prime Minister during his election campaign repeatedly said that he would bring all the black money back to India within 100 days. Today, it is the 827th day of this government. Where is the black money?" said Congress spokesman Manish Tiwari. Tiwari said that Modi had promised that every person in India would get Rs 15 lakh each of the booty he would get back from foreign banks. "The Prime Minister should apologise to the poor people who have been checking their bank accounts for the promised amount of Rs 15 lakh," he said. The Congress barb came the day Prime Minister Narendra Modi spoke of put a check on black money by eliminating safe havens for economic offenders at the G20 Summit at Hangzhouin in China. Tiwari said that while black money is the favourite topic of Modi, his government has not taken any "visible" action against the high profile persons whose names surfaced in the Panama papers leak. "The Prime Minister's speech on black money is nothing but yet another crude attempt to obfuscate the fact that he and his political party had lied to the country on black money," he said. He said that whatever little black money the government has been able to bring back was a result of 100-odd dual taxation avoidance treaties and tax information exchange agreements signed during the UPA regime between 2008-2014. "We would like to ask from the government as to how many new dual taxation agreements or tax information exchange agreements with countries we don't have agreements with have been initiated by this government and the answer would be negligible," Tiwari said. Kozhikode, September 05 : KPCC vice president M M Hassan has termed as unfortunate the studied silence maintained by party chief V M Sudheeran on the issue of the vigilance registering a disproportionate assets case against former excise minister K Babu. Speaking to reporters in Kozhikode on Monday, Hassan said that it was incumbent on the Congress party to throw its weight behind K Babu. The Congress party was bound to protect Babu politically since there was a political witch-hunt on against the latter, Hassan opined. The party should call for initiating legal action against Babu if the latter was proven to have perpetrated corruption If Babu had any wrong or perpetrated corruption, the party should call for action against him but the party should not remain mum when his detractors were exacting political vengeance against him, the Congress strongman told reporters. KPCC chief V M Sudheeran has refused to comment on the raids conducted on the house of K Babu and the registration of a case against the latter on the charge of amassing wealth disproportionate to known sources of income. When accosted by reporters, Sudheeran had said that he would comment on the issue at the appropriate time. Sudheerans silence has set tongues wagging given that he had taken a strong position against Babu at the height of the bar bribery scandal. He had even opposed the party decision to give Babu a ticket to contest the assembly polls. Senior Congress leaders such as Oommen Chandy and Ramesh Chennithala had, however, thrown their weight behind K Babu accusing the CPI(M)-led LDF government of using the VACB to exact political vengeance against the former excise minister. New Delhi, Sep 5 : The Union Home Ministry has ordered a departmental inquiry into the Foreign Contribution Regulation Act (FCRA) licence controversy vis-a-vis Islamic tele preacher Zakir Naik's NGO Islamic Research Foundation (IRF), an official source said. Senior official Susheel Kumar has been directed to conduct the probe over the episode as "flip flop" by officials had resulted in the IRF getting the FCRA license, the source told IANS here. Home Minister Rajnath Singh was displeased after the mandatory FCRA licence of NGO IRF was renewed by the Foreigners cell of the Home ministry. Sources said the online route for issuance of licences was utilised by the NGO on August 19 even as a probe was on against Naik. Four officials of the Home Ministry were suspended on September 1 for their "lapses" in renewing the FCRA licence of the NGO Islamic Research Foundation (IRF) run by Zakir Naik. Naik's Peace TV and his speeches have come under the scanner of the central security agencies for allegedly propagating radical views, especially in the aftermath of the July 1 Dhaka terror siege that left 22 people dead. According to security agencies, Zakir Naik through Peace TV had reportedly promoted radical Islamist views. While the probe by the Home Ministry and security agencies was on, the Law Ministry has meanwhile favoured registering a case against Naik and IRF for pursuing divisive agenda and communalism. However, a group of Home Ministry officials have resented the suspension of a senior IAS officer G K Dwivedi, who was heading Foreigners Cell in the Home ministry. They said suspension of the joint secretary was uncalled and "demoralising" as the alleged lapses were committed by his juniors only. Hong Kong, Sep 6 : A new generation of pro-democracy activists has won seats on Hong Kong's Legislative Council (LegCo). The young leaders want greater autonomy and changes to the way Hong Kong is governed by China. Among those elected is Nathan Law, 23, who helped lead the "Umbrella Protests" in 2014 for self-determination, the BBC reported. Despite the gains, China's supporters will continue to hold the majority of seats on the 70-seat council as the pro-establishment camp won 41 seats, according to Hong Kong's Electoral Affairs Commission on Monday evening. The Democratic Alliance for the Betterment and Progress of Hong Kong (DAB), won 12 seats in total, Xinhua news agency reported. The Sunday election is the first in the territory since the 2014 unrest, when central areas of Hong Kong were paralysed for weeks by mostly young protesters demanding greater democracy for the territory amid concerns that Beijing was increasingly interfering in the politics of the former British colony, breaking the "one country, two systems" agreement. More than 2.2 million eligible voters casted their ballots at hundreds of polling stations with a turnout rate of 58 per cent. Both the total amount of voters and the turnout rate are the highest in the LegCo election since 1997. Hong Kong's Legislative Council has 70 seats, with 35 returned by geographical constituencies through direct elections, and the other 35 by functional constituencies. The geographical constituencies include Hong Kong Island, Kowloon West, Kowloon East, New Territories West and New Territories East, where 213 candidates contested 35 seats. For the functional constituency election, there are 55 validly nominated candidates (excluding candidates of the District Council (second) functional constituency), and 43 of them ran for 18 seats in the functional constituencies. The remaining 12 candidates in 10 functional constituencies returned to the LegCo uncontested. In addition, 21 candidates contested five seats in the District Council (second) functional constituency, commonly known as the "super seats". There were nearly 3.78 million Hong Kong residents registered as eligible voters for the election of the sixth term LegCo, with an increase of about 310,000 voters from the last LegCo election in 2012. The LegCo is the legislative body of the Hong Kong SAR. Each term of office of a legislator is four years, except for the first term when it was set to be two years, Xinhua news agency added. The fifth term of LegCo began on Oct 1, 2012 and will end on Sep 30, 2016. The term of office of the newly-elected sixth LegCo members will begin on Oct 1. Before nomination for the election, Hong Kong's Electoral Affairs Commission demanded that all the candidates must endorse a statement promising to support the Hong Kong Basic Law and be loyal to the Hong Kong SAR. Addis Ababa, Sep 6 : The African Union (AU) has reaffirmed its readiness to contribute towards the search for a solution to post-election tension in Gabon. Chad President Idriss Deby Itno, current Chair of the Union, continues to follow, with renewed attention, the evolution of the situation in Gabon, following the announcement on August 31 of the provisional results of the presidential election held on August 27, according to a statement from the pan-African bloc on Monday. In this regard, he maintains a constant liaison with the Gabonese main actors, as well as with other stakeholders concerned, Xinhua news agency quoted the statement as saying. The Chair of the Union has reaffirmed the readiness of AU, with the support of the countries of the region and partners concerned, to assist the parties in Gabon in their search for a rapid settlement to the post-election situation that prevails in their country, in strict respect of the constitutional and legal provisions, as well as in the light of the relevant AU instruments on democracy and elections. The Chair of the Union has stressed, in this regard, that a high-level delegation composed of African Heads of State, accompanied by senior officials of the AU Commission and the United Nations, is ready to be dispatched to Libreville, as soon as the conditions for such a visit are met. Protesters took to the streets of Libreville on Wednesday after poll results showed that President Ali Bongo Ondimba narrowly won re-election in a vote the Opposition said was stolen. The protesters attacked the parliament building and clashed with police, leaving 1,000 arrested, local media reported. Washington/Manila, Sep 6 : US President Barack Obama had better think twice about raising the issue of Philippine extra-judicial killings, warned the country's confrontational leader on Monday. "Who does he think he is? I am no American puppet. I am the President of a sovereign country and I am not answerable to anyone except the Filipino people," Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte scoffed in a speech on Monday. "Son of a b****, I will swear at you."Duterte went on to blame the US for causing the unrest on the southern Philippines Island of Mindanao. "As a matter of fact, we inherited this problem from the United States," he said. "Why? Because they invaded this country and made us their subjugated people. Everybody has a terrible record of extra-judicial killing. Why make an issue about fighting crime?" In response, the White House cancelled President Obama's upcoming meeting with Duterte in Laos this week, where Obama is attending a meeting of Southeast Asian leaders, CNN quoted National Security Council spokesman as saying. Earlier, hinting that his planned meeting with Duterte may not go forward, Obama said, "I always want to make sure if I'm having a meeting that it's productive and we're getting something done," "If and when we have a meeting, this is something that is going to be brought up," Obama said, referring to the Philippines' controversial record of combating drug crime since Duterte took office earlier in 2016. "Look at the human rights of America along that line. The way they treat the migrants there," CNN quoted Obama as saying. Since Duterte was elected, more than 1,900 people have died, including at least 700 in police operations that were part of the President's hard-line war on drugs. "Double your efforts. Triple them, if need be. We will not stop until the last drug lord, the last financier, and the last pusher have surrendered or put behind bars -- or below the ground, if they so wish," Duterte said during his State of the Nation speech on July 25. Human Rights Watch has called for the International Narcotics Control Board and United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime to condemn the "alarming surge in killings of suspected drug users or dealers" in the country. Five-year-old Peyton Barkalow will soon step onto his school bus and walk through the doors of William H. Ross School in Margate, New Jersey for his first day of kindergarten on Tuesday, September 6. What is an already emotional milestone for most parents, means all the more to Peyton and his family, for Peyton was diagnosed as legally blind at just one day old. For me, it is bittersweet, says Tracey, Peytons mother on her sons firsrt day of school. Peyton was diagnosed with a rare eye condition called Bi-Lateral Peters anomaly. Peyton had his first of multiple surgeries at only one month of age, and his first cornea transplant in his right eye at just six months old. Babies born with this condition have central cornea cloudiness which typically requires surgical intervention as soon as medically possible, followed by visual rehabilitation. At only five years old, Peyton has undergone four cornea transplant surgeries. There is no substitute for human tissue for these transplants; it is dependent upon the selfless gift of donation from one human to another. Lions Eye Bank of Delaware Valley (LEBDV) recovered, processed and ensured the safety of tissue used for each of Peytons surgeries. Tissues used for Peytons surgeries were provided by LEBDVs Gratis Tissue Fund. The fund financially supports eligible individuals in need of cornea transplants who may be under-insured. This fund demonstrates the LEBDVs commitment to deliver on our mission to enhance a persons quality of life by restoring or improving vision to those in need, says President and CEO Jim Quirk. Without the generosity of community members who contribute to this fund, assistance for Peyton and others in need would not be possible. Peytons parents are grateful to those who have helped their son along the way, including teachers, caseworkers, donors and LEBDV. Our son was born blind. Because of very generous individuals who chose to say yes to donation, Peyton was given a second chance of sight, giving him the ability to meet lifes challenges and continue to learn and grow. Peyton is excited for his first day of school and is looking forward to making new friends, says Jimmy, Peytons father. Jimmy, the kids and I, along with Peytons teachers from last year and Peytons caseworker from the Commission of the Blind, have all worked very hard in making sure Peyton is treated like the rest of the kids and pushing him to do his best. Now the time has come and I know I will cry, but they will be tears of joy, says Tracey. Lions Eye Bank of Delaware Valley is a nonprofit organization that obtains, medically evaluates and distributes human corneas for cornea transplant, research and education. Since 1957, Lions Eye Bank has provided corneal tissue to more than 40,000 individuals in need of a sight-restoring or sight-improving transplant. For more information, visit http://www.lebdv.org or http://www.facebook.com/lebdv. ### Kapronasia (https://www.kapronasia.com) announced today that Marie Aquino has joined the company to develop their growing business across Asia. Marie comes with a wealth of experience within the industry, having spent the last five years with Celent, a division of Oliver Wyman, where Marie led the firms overall sales and business development strategy for research and advisory services for Banking, Insurance and Securities & Investments practices in Asia. Marie joins Kapronasia as Director of Business Development and Strategy to continue the firm's regional expansion after the opening of offices in India and Singapore. Marie said "Kapronasia has made significant progress in the past year not only through its continued revenue growth but also with the opening of the India and Singapore offices. I'm excited to be joining Kapronasia now as we continue to grow our relationships and partnerships with vendors, fintechs, and financial institutions across the region." Ms. Aquino will be based in Singapore and is responsible for continuing to expand Kapronasia's business leveraging her strong industry experience and knowledge. We're excited to have Marie joining our expanding Asia team, said Zennon Kapron, Director and Founder of Kapronasia. "She brings a tremendous amount of industry experience and will be incredibly valuable as we continue to bring clients the most insightful and actionable insight on Asia's financial industry." Before Celent, Marie was a business development and sales manager at The Asian Banker, where she focused on new banking clients and building relationships with C-level executives from financial institutions and vendors across the Asia-Pacific and the Middle East region. At the start of her career, Marie was a researcher at the Asian Institute of Management, an international management school. Marie holds a BA in Anthropology from the University of the Philippines. About Kapronasia: Kapronasia is a leading provider of research-based advisory and consulting services focused on the Asian Financial technology industry. Through market-leading research and customized strategy, we partner with financial institutions and financial technology providers around the world to identify their highest-value opportunities in Asia and help them to achieve and sustain a competitive advantage in the Asian market. Qorus Software We often had to adjust and fine-tune our processes and strategy and we learned a lot in a short space of time. Now we'd like to share what we learned with other marketing teams. Over the last two years Qorus Software - a popular provider of document generation solutions - has revolutionized its approach to marketing. The transformation was a success and has been recognized by the likes of Microsoft. Now, the company would like to share what it learned along the way, by hosting a free webinar entitled, Transformation to Modern Marketing, on Thursday September 15th. Register here: http://bit.ly/2chQ8At Our journey wasnt all plain sailing, explains Heather Thompson, Senior VP of Marketing at Qorus. We dont have a huge marketing team, so every action counts. We often had to adjust and fine-tune our processes and strategy and we learned a lot in a short space of time. Now we'd like to share what we learned with other marketing teams. We also wanted to use the opportunity to invite a panel of inspirational marketers to join us and share tips from their own journeys. Target audience: All B2B marketers and business developers When: Thursday, September 15th Cost: Free to join our webinar Topic: What to consider when beginning a transformation to modern marketing Guest speakers: Jennifer Tomlinson, Senior Worldwide Channel Marketing Manager at Microsoft Jennifer Manton, Chief Marketing and Business Development Officer at Kramer Levin Ray Meiring, Digital Influencer and CEO of Qorus The webinar will be facilitated by Gail Mercer-MacKay, Chief Digital Storyteller for technology companies. About Qorus Qorus helps organizations create business critical documents more efficiently and accurately. Our software is incredibly powerful but highly intuitive and very easy to use. Even the most non-technical users can quickly create accurate, personalized and compliant documents like proposals, contracts, RFPs, pitches, and reports. Qorus runs on Microsoft Azure and integrates with Microsoft Office to enhance document productivity. Our award winning Customer Success team ensures our customers across all industries get the most value from our software. Qorus Software has offices in Seattle, London and Cape Town. Business critical documents are at the heart of your success, and so is Qorus. http://www.qorusdocs.com At the IUCN World Conservation Congress, the Critical Ecosystem Partnership Fund (CEPF) celebrated its 15th anniversary by recognizing 15 conservationists from around the world as Hotspot Heroes. The honorees were chosen from the more than 2,000 civil society organizations that CEPF has provided grants to since 2001 to conserve biodiversity hotspots in developing and transitional countries. At a reception held at the Bishop Museum in Honolulu on Sunday, CEPF honored the Hotspot Heroes and the nongovernmental organizations they work for, citing their outstanding contributions to the conservation of biodiversity hotspots the worlds most biologically diverse yet threatened terrestrial regions. The Hotspot Heroes exemplify the kinds of dedicated, dynamic people who work to ensure that intact ecosystems can continue to sustain flora and fauna and provide clean air, fresh water, healthy soils, sustainable livelihoods, resilience to climate change and much more. The Hotspot Heroes represent the many dedicated and dynamic individuals who are taking action every day to ensure the future of the biodiversity hotspots and the people who depend on these vital ecosystems, said CEPF Executive Director Olivier Langrand. They endure a multitude of challenges very long hours, grueling travel, difficult working conditions, political hurdles and even threats to their lives in pursuit of a healthy, sustainable world. CEPF is a joint initiative of l'Agence Francaise de Developpement, Conservation International, the European Union, the Global Environment Facility, the Government of Japan, the MacArthur Foundation and the World Bank. CEPF provides grants to civil society organizations in developing and transitional countries and territories that are in biodiversity hotspots. Each of the hotspots holds especially high numbers of flora and fauna species found nowhere else, faces extreme threats and has lost at least 70 percent of its original habitat extent. The birth of the Critical Ecosystem Partnership Fund was a transformative and innovative way to address the challenging and monumental task of protecting nature and our future on this planet, said Peter Seligmann, Chairman and CEO of Conservation International. As one of CEPFs founders, I have been amazed to watch the simple idea that is CEPF supporting local communities and peoples in conservation of biodiversity catch fire and have a global impact. After 15 years, the legacy of CEPF is truly astounding. It has mobilized major actors across global sectors to channel nearly $200 million of conservation funding to civil society organizations, but there remains much work to be done. CEPFs past success and future vision provide a model for how the private sector and civil society can come together with governments to protect the nature that benefits us all. One Hotspot Hero, Milagre Nuvunga of Mozambique, works with communities near the Chimanimani Mountains on resource management, including documenting local species distribution. Local communities are our entry point, said Nuvunga, co-founder of Mozambican nongovernmental organization MICAIA. We are helping them identify areas where they will conserve biodiversity, because we want to make sure that whatever development decisions they make are sustainable. CEPF and Its Grantees: Global Results Hotspot Heroes are among the many individuals working with civil society organizations to protect the worlds biodiversity hotspots and the vital services hotspot ecosystems provide. CEPF is proud of the more than 2,000 civil society entities it has funded since 2001, and what they have accomplished with that support. With more than US$196 million in grant funding from CEPF, grantees have leveraged an additional US$ 350 million to conserve Earths biodiversity hotspots. CEPF grantee organizations have: Helped to establish more than 13 million hectares of new or expanded protected area. Improved management of more than 37 million hectares of globally important ecosystems. Conducted conservation activities that benefited more than 1,200 globally threatened species. Implemented projects that directly benefited more than 2,300 local communities in the biodiversity hotspots. Influenced more than 77 policies, plans or laws to reflect environmental concerns. Contributed to achievement of the UN Sustainable Development Goals, the Aichi Targets of the UN Convention on Biological Diversity and climate solutions. The Hotspot Heroes Read more about the Hotspot Heroes here. Caribbean Islands Biodiversity Hotspot Sesar Rodriguez, executive director, El Consorcio Ambiental Dominicano (CAD), Dominican Republic East Melanesian Islands Biodiversity Hotspot David Boseto, co-director, Ecological Solutions, Solomon Islands (ESSI), Solomon Islands Eastern Afromontane Biodiversity Hotspot Milagre Nuvunga, co-founder and executive director, MICAIA, Mozambique Himalaya Biodiversity Hotspot Rebecca Pradhan, ecologist, Royal Society for the Protection of Nature in Bhutan (RSPN), Bhutan Guinean Forests of West Africa Biodiversity Hotspot Selete Nyomi, executive director, AGORO, Ghana Indo-Burma Biodiveristy Hotspot Dao Thi Nga, co-founder and director, the Center for Water Resources Conservation and Development (WARECOD), Vietnam Madagascar and Indian Ocean Islands Biodiversity Hotspot Andry Petignat, manager, Arboretum dAntsokay, Madagascar Maputaland-Pondoland-Albany Biodiversity Hotspot Lipalesa Sissie Matela, co-founder and director, Environmental and Rural Solutions (ERS), South Africa Mediterranean Basin Biodiversity Hotspot Ahmed Ghedira, co-founder and president, Notre Grand Bleu, Tunisia Mesoamerica Biodiversity Hotspot Damaris Sanchez, project manager, el Fundacion para el Desarrollo Integral, Comunitario y Conservacion de Ecosistemas en Panama (FUNDICCEP), Panama Mountains of Southwest China Biodiversity Hotspot Lu Zhi, founder, Shan Shui Conservation Center, China Polynesia-Micronesia Biodiversity Hotspot George Mateariki, Cook Islands Natural Heritage Trust, Cook Islands Tropical Andes Biodiversity Hotspot Victor Zambrano, president, Tambopata Management Committee, Peru Tumbes-Choco-Magdalena Biodiversity Hotspot Cesar Franco Laverde, co-founder and director, Serraniagua, Colombia Western Ghats and Sri Lanka Biodiversity Hotspot Subbaiah Bharathidasan, co-founder and secretary, Arulagam, India ### Contact: Julie Shaw, jshaw(at)cepf(dot)net +1 571.228.0860 About the Critical Ecosystem Partnership Fund: CEPF provides grants to and builds the capacity of nongovernmental and private-sector organizations around the world that are working to protect biodiversity hotspots some of Earths most biologically rich, yet threatened, regions and to improve human well-being. Visit us at http://www.cepf.net, Facebook and Twitter. Executive Touch Worldwide set to host important business conference The conference will be an ideal opportunity for business leaders within the organization to network with one another. On September 8th, Executive Touch Worldwide will be hosting an exciting conference in New York for all business leaders within their organization. The sales and marketing experts decided to call a meeting of all of their leaders who are spread across the U.S. in locations such as New York, West Palm Beach and Miami, in order to celebrate their achievements over the past 12 months. About Executive Touch Worldwide: http://executivetouchinc.com/about/ With the firm growing at an exceedingly fast pace, Executive Touch Worldwide feels that it is important that the whole organization comes together in order to celebrate these achievements as well as to educate and inspire one another. The firm believes that everyone within the organization needs to be on the same page and deliver the same high quality results and therefore believe this conference will be the ideal opportunity to discuss strategies and expansion plans. Executive Touch Worldwide have revealed that the conference will cover a wide range of topics which will help to educate the business leaders and see them develop new skills which they can implement into their everyday business techniques. The conference will be an ideal opportunity for business leaders within the organization to network with one another, forming lasting business partnerships and mentoring relationships. Executive Touch Worldwide highlight the importance of this by stressing that these leaders have a unique opportunity to learn from one another at this event. Executive Touch Worldwide is an outsourced sales and marketing firm with headquarters based in New York and with market reach spreading across the U.S. The firm specializes in a unique form of marketing which allows them to connect with consumers on a face-to-face basis. These one-on-one connections help the firm to encourage long-lasting and personal business relationships between brand and consumer. Executive Touch Worldwide are confident that their personalized marketing solutions help to increase customer acquisition, brand awareness and brand loyalty for their clients. Executive Touch Worldwide are confident that the conference will be a success and have discussed the excitement surrounding the event. The firm have heard how successful business leaders are making plans to travel to New York for the event and are looking forward to making crucial new business relationships at the event. Thorn is the perfect agent, whether youre looking for an off-shore property for the first time or to add to your existing portfolio RE/MAX Real Estate Group Turks and Caicos Islands is proud to announce that agent Thorn Capron has joined the team. Capron is no stranger to the islands, his father being a Turks and Caicos Islands native. With dual citizenship, Capron lived in the United States and attended school there before returning home to Turks and Caicos. Specializing in luxury real estate, Caprons dedication to his clients is apparent in the care he takes when selecting a future residence for them. Thorn is the perfect agent, whether youre looking for an off-shore property for the first time or to add to your existing portfolio, states Blair MacPherson, a co-owner of RE/MAX Real Estate Group Turks and Caicos Islands and member of the Turks and Caicos Real Estate Association (TCREA). Having a native Turks and Caicos Islander is a huge asset to our group. He has a wonderful reputation among his clients. Thorn Capron of RE/MAX Real Estate Group Turks and Caicos can be contacted by phone, 1-649-341-4317, or by email at thorn(at)tcirealestategroup(dot)com. About RE/MAX Real Estate Group Turks & Caicos Islands: The RE/MAX Real Estate Group Turks & Caicos offers unique, luxury real estate opportunities on the islands that are home to Grace Bay Beach, which has been named one of the world's best beaches numerous times. With breathtaking views, world-class spas and resorts, fine dining, local culture, and the awe-inspiring coral reefs, the Turks and Caicos Islands offer unique investment opportunities in that they are located in a tax-free jurisdiction. For more information, please visit http://www.remax-realestategroup-tci.com. How, if at all, does Illinois budget dysfunction and uncertainty affect major state institutions? I took a look at my alma mater, the University of Illinois. With 80,000 students on three campuses, a $5.6 billion budget, 25,000 employees and 750,000 alumni, the U. of I. is a big deal. A quick glance at U.S. News rankings of graduate school departments shows UI-Urbana in the top ten in the nation in many fields, for example: computer science (5th); civil engineering (2); materials engineering (4); chemistry (6); physics (9), and so on. But there has been erosion in recent years. Two decades ago, U.I.s College of Engineering ranked 3rd best in the country; now it ranks 7th. Rankings are imperfect, yet academics and parents use them as a rule-of-thumb starting point. And the competition to move up in the rankings, which means more research dollars and better students, is brutal. Unfortunately, the University of Illinois brand has been damaged in recent years by self-inflicted wounds from a revolving-door leadership combined with state budget cuts during the past decade and, even more dire, by zero state funding during all of fiscal 2016, which creates uncertainty about the future, to put it mildly. There has also been a sharp spike in tuition in recent years, which has made it possible for enrollment-hungry universities in neighboring states to undercut the U.I. tuition and poach many of our best students. Friends of mine in the suburbs tell me their youngsters have in many cases downgraded the Urbana campus from desirable to maybe an acceptable back-up choice. And the damage to the graduate research programs has been devastating, according to a distinguished scientist in Urbana. The rankings I cite are based not on its undergraduate teaching excellence but on the academic, especially scientific, contributions made to the world by its faculty and their advanced students. I talked with a nationally known chemist on the Urbana campus who said his department just lost one of its very best young faculty to Michigan, and he said you could ditto that for a string of faculty, both young and distinguished, in the sciences and engineering. The chemist noted that scientists go into university teaching and research not for the money (I was offered twice as much by industry) but for the security and stability of a setting for exciting long-term research. Take that security away, and you have a disaster. The vultures are hovering overhead. I can only imagine the bad-mouthing of the U.I. by faculty chairs at peer institutions. David Dodds Henry was president of the U.I from 1955-71, who doubled the size of the Big U in his tenure. It takes decades to build a great university, said Henry, if I recall correctly, but it can all be torn down in short order. A space scientist with strong academic management credentials, Timothy Killeen has been U.I. president for more than a year. Killeen is upbeat about the future, as he has to be. He gave me a new strategic plan for the university. The document is heavy on feel-good goals, but light on how to achieve them. Killeen has frozen tuition and helped create a U.I. caucus of alumni lawmakers. Re-burnishing the U.I. brand will take university-state government collaboration to re-establish fiscal stability, streamline what my inside sources say is a bloated operation, and protect the diamonds in science and engineering for long-term distinction. I propose that governor and lawmakers create a truly blue-ribbon commission on the future of higher education in our state. The last such panel, in the 1950s, gave us a strong system, from community colleges to research universities. Illinois state government simply doesnt know where it is going, especially so in higher ed. Second, lawmakers should make it possible for the governor to appoint to university governing boards distinguished alumni who live out of state, as most do. For the U.I. board, I think of the likes of Marc Andreesen, who basically created the Internet web browser when a student at Urbana, and polymath Thomas Siebel, who has already contributed $40 million to the U.I. The universitys wounds are deep but not fatal. The big question is: Do we want a full recovery to the greatness that I fear is slipping away? (Editor's note: This piece has been edited) ROCK ISLAND -- If you didn't know better, Stephen Twitty appeared Sunday morning like any other fan of high-speed street karting, standing downtown on 4th Avenue in a white polo shirt, gray slacks and a white First Army cap. But the friendly 53-year-old -- who rode go-carts and dirt bikes growing up in South Carolina -- is the new commanding general of the First U.S. Army, headquartered at Rock Island Arsenal. Lt. Gen. Twitty took part in the opening ceremonies for the 22nd annual Xtream Rock Island Grand Prix powered by Mediacom, the world's largest karting street race, with Mayor Dennis Pauley and the color guard of the Vietnam Veterans of America Chapter 299. "Thank you to the great color guard, to the military veterans. Thank you for what you do," Lt. Gen. Twitty said after some of the race participants, who are veterans, marched in the ceremony. The three-star general (the highest-ranking officer on the Arsenal) became the 38th commander of First Army on July 15, but has literally only been in the Quad-Cities for a handful of days because of his travel commitments. First Army consists of more than 8,000 soldiers and civilian personnel nationwide, partnering with the Army National Guard and Army Reserve to assist and train reserve forces. Lt. Gen. Twitty took time from his busy schedule Sunday morning to support the Grand Prix upon the invitation of Mayor Pauley, he said. "Wherever I've been stationed, I try to contribute to the local community," he said. "We need to always think about, in the military, we need to be connected to the civilian people." Lt. Gen Twitty said he didn't wear his Army uniform Sunday so "people can see I'm human. ... I like to feel that human connection with people." Roger Ruthhart, president of the Xtream Rock Island Grand Prix, said for many years, the racing event and The District have invited the Rock Island mayor and a representative of the Arsenal to offer welcoming remarks at opening ceremonies. "We do this because we think it is important to constantly remind both communities and the country about the powerful partnership between the two," he said. "This year, we are truly honored that Lt. Gen. Twitty has been able to join us. As commander of the First Army, we know he travels a lot and has a very busy schedule. But the presence of the island's highest-ranking officer only serves to illustrate how the U.S. Army feels about its partnership with the local community. "From what I have heard, the general has already had a great experience in his short time in Rock Island. I hope his visit to the Grand Prix will only add to that positive impression," Mr. Ruthhart said. "We know it will also emphasize that point to the nation's racing community -- many of which are also veterans or potential future soldiers." As part of a 31-year military career so far, Lt. Gen. Twitty has served in Germany as the Executive Officer for 1st Battalion, 26th Infantry Regiment, and the S3 for 2nd Brigade, 1st Infantry Division. He then served as aide-de-camp to the Supreme Allied Commander Europe. He has commanded the 3rd Battalion, 15th Infantry Regiment, including during Operation Iraqi Freedom, where his battalion was awarded the Presidential Unit Citation, and prior to being named First Army commander, for two years he led the 1st Armored Division and Fort Bliss, Texas, with its 35,000 soldiers and 12,000 civilians. Before moving to the Arsenal, Lt. Gen. Twitty said the only time he visited the 943-acre military installation on the Mississippi River was in 2012, while he was stationed at Fort Bragg, N.C. "At the time, I thought it was a beautiful place," he said. "The Arsenal is unlike any other installation across the country. It was so picturesque. I thought it would be awesome to be stationed here. Little did I know, four years later, I would." Already in the brief time Lt. Gen. Twitty has been in Rock Island, he said he's been treated like royalty. A few times when he's been out getting gas or at a convenience store (even when not in uniform), he said strangers have paid his bill. "It's Midwestern charm at its best," said the general, whose wife, Karen, is from Kansas. People here are good, down-to-earth, friendly and love the military. ... We couldn't do what we do without the support of the American people." Lt. Gen. Twitty also praised Rock Island Arsenal for being a majority civilian workforce (of about 6,300 total employees, 5,700 are civilians). "At the Arsenal, you don't see a lot of soldiers," he said. "That's really powerful, to have a civilian majority. It's totally different than what I'm used to in military installations. That is America at its best." Sunday also was special for Jill King, of Rock Island, an Army veteran who works on the Arsenal and sang the national anthem at the Grand Prix opening. "I've had the opportunity to perform for some high-ranking people," she said, noting she got to sing for former President George W. Bush in 2005, while stationed in Wiesbaden, Germany. Ms. King said she felt more comfortable Sunday, since Lt. Gen. Twitty was in civilian clothes. This year was the third time she's sung at the Grand Prix, and before then, she didn't realize what a big event it is. The races bring visitors and teams from all over the country and the world -- this year including racers from Ontario, British Columbia and Bermuda. "I love it's something that brings people to the Quad-Cities, and lets people know who we are and what we do," Ms. King, who's married to an Army veteran, said. GENESEO -- The old and the new will be showcased at Geneseos 11th annual Trains, Planes & Automobiles celebration, ranging from period aircraft overhead to antique cars lining the downtown streets. The event, which will take place Thursday, Friday and Saturday, Sept. 8-10, is sponsored by the Geneseo Chamber of Commerce. This years celebration will kick off Thursday, Sept. 8, with the National Stearman Fly-In at the Geneseo airport. The World War II planes will take off from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Gen-Air Park, east of Geneseo on U.S. Route 6. Returning this year will be Cruise the Canal tours of the historic Hennepin Canal on Friday, Sept. 9. Rhonda Ludwig, executive director of the Geneseo Chamber, said, The tours started at Trains, Planes & Automobiles a few years ago, and after not offering them last year, we learned they continue to be a big hit, so we are including them again this year. They are a great asset to the weekend activities, and give people an opportunity to see and hear all the Hennepin has to offer, with facts about the history of the canal. Initially, three tours were planned, and those were full in under five days, so we added a fourth tour, and all four are now filled, she said. The tours last about 90 minutes, departing at 9 and 11 a.m. and 1 and 3 p.m. from Lock 24, north of Geneseo, and continuing west. Parking is available where the tours begin. Those planning to take the tours should take bug spray and sunscreen. The Pedal Parade for children ages 8 and younger was added last year and returns this year. Drivers of the pedal tractors and pedal cars should meet to register at 11:30 a.m. Sept. 10 at the intersection of State and 2nd streets. The parade will start at 11:45 a.m. and travel north on State Street to the front of the Central Theater, where the vehicles will be parked for display. Parade participants must be accompanied by an adult. Festivities on Saturday will include music in the downtown area provided by 3-D Sound, a helicopter on display in front of the Geneseo Historical Museum and demonstrations of wood-turning art hosted by the Geneseo Art League. Food vendors also will be part of the celebration. Mrs. Ludwig said, Our Trains, Planes & Automobiles event is unique to the region, and theres simply nothing comparable. ... Plus, the entire event is free. The schedule on Saturday also will include: -- 7-11 a.m.: Free registration for the car show sponsored by the Maple City Cruisers. -- Visiting artist Tom Phelan will be at Smith Studio and Gallery, 124 South State St. The artist has a love of Illinois landscapes and a keen eye for classic automobiles, trains and planes. -- 9 a.m.-3 p.m.: Operating antique model trains will be displayed at the Geneseo Communications garage on Exchange Street by Geneseo Model Railroaders. The display will feature a special train car from the Lionel Collectors of Club of America, a billboard scavenger hunt and free coloring books. -- Noon: Salute to America at the State and 1st streets stoplight, featuring the national anthem and VFW Color Guard. -- 2 p.m.: Awards ceremony at stoplight. For information, call the Chamber of Commerce at 309-944-2686. Sold Out This item is no longer available, but theres still much more to discoverkeep shopping to find something new to love! LETS GO! BAJA RALLY 2016 23 Bikes En Route to Ensenada PORT OF LIVERPOOL, UNITED KINGDOM- Bajarallymoto.com has announced that the cargo vessel ARA ATLANTIS (Gibraltar) has set sail with 2 shipping containers carrying 23 rally motorbikes en route to the Port of Ensenada for the upcoming BAJA RALLY 2016 in Baja CA, Mexico October 10-15. The historic voyage is an unprecedented undertaking both for the sport of off road racing in the state of Baja CA and the port city of Ensenada. This shipment of 23 race vehicles to our port shows the world that Ensenada is not only an international tourist destination, but also a key industrial center in North America, explains BAJA RALLYs Chairman Emeritus Nico Saad. The dedication and effort of our Proturismo office and senior management to route a cargo ship from Europe directly to our port is a testament to our citys commitment to promoting off-road rally racing and adventure tourism. 80 racers from 13 different countries will converge at the San Nicolas Hotel and Casino on October 10 for the six day BAJA RALLY that features 5 days of rally stage racing over 800 miles of Baja CAs most pristine landscapes. The relatively young BAJA RALLY is only in its fourth year of operations and has doubled in size from the prior years edition, whose key objectives include sharing this states rugged beauty with new entrants and stimulating return adventure tourism visits. Behind the scenes are some critical players who worked tirelessly for months to clear the first step of disembarking from the United Kingdom, explains Mauricio Parra, BAJA RALLY Director of Government Affairs who is managing the shipping project. In particular is Tom Clow from Knights of Old in England who coordinated with freight forwarder John Goode and customs brokers Victor Celis & Victor Celis Jr. Theres still a lot of water to cross on the 38 day voyage across the Atlantic Ocean and routing through the Port of Balboa in the Panama Canal. Parra said that BAJA RALLY is already working closely with civic leaders and Port Commissioner Hector Bautista in Ensenada to ensure a timely import of the racers motorbikes for the big event. Its the first time this has been attempted and big challenge for everyone, Parra continued, In a way, it seems like we are swinging for the pinata trying to pull this off, but were ambitious to share our rally and Baja CAs treasures with European racers, their families & support teams. We think they will certainly want to return for their own adventure after this. Parra continued to explain how rally racing is in its infancy stages in North America and how his BAJA RALLY team borrowed the shipping strategy from the enormously popular DAKAR RALLY, which offers free shipping from Paris to South America each year for the worlds longest motorsports event. We pretty much decided that in order to sustain our event, we needed to bring the racers to Mexico so we offered them a free ride on the boat. The normal cost for a racer to ship a single bike is several thousand dollars but consolidating a single shipment with 2 containers and using a temporary import (CARNET) was an economical way to share what we have here and attract more world-class racers to future editions. Among the teams with motorbikes on the ATLANTIS are racers from Australia, Austria, Kenya, Italy, Scotland, Ireland the UK. Major teams fielding multiple riders include Desert Rose Racing headed by Patsy Quick, Motoden UKs George Dennison and Austrias Team Yamaha headed by Stefan Rosner. A full list of riders with motorbikes and gear on board the ARA ATLANTIS is below George Dennison- UNITED KINGDOM John Mitchinson- UNITED KINGDOM Jenny Morgan- UNITED KINGDOM Bernard McKevitt-UNITED KINGDOM Terrence Starett-IRELAND Jeff Webster-UNITED KINGDOM Nicky Plumb-UNITED KINGDOM Mike Jones-UNITED KINGDOM Christopher Cork-UNITED KINGDOM Paul Lake-UNITED KINGDOM Neal Smith-UNITED KINGDOM Michael Dolling-UNITED KINGDOM TEAM DESERT ROSE RACING Patsy Quick- Team Manger UNITED KINGDOM Duncan Ure-SCOTLAND Matthew Tisdall- AUSTRALIA James King- AUSTRALIA Francesco Checchini- ITALY Hugh Mackay- UNITED KINGDOM Gerald Taylor- KENYA Rees Robinson-UNITED KINGDOM Pat Priestley-UNITED KINGDOM TEAM AUSTRIA YAMAHA Stefan Rosner- AUSTRIA Hans Sachs- AUSTRIA Helmut Frauwallner- AUSTRIA Upon arrival to San Nicolas Hotel & Casino parking compound, the riders crates will be unloaded and prepared for inventory and unpacking. BAJA RALLY is a long distance, cross country motorcycle navigation adventure race that tests the mind, strength and stamina of riders & drivers. The mission of the rally is to introduce this safer, low impact stye of racing to Baja CA while sharing the treasures and secret of this state with new entrants, inspiring return visits. BAJA RALLY VIDEOS HERE G'day! It's Murray here. I've put together a little quiz to test your musical knowledge. Think you can score top marks in Murray's Magic Music Quiz? Give it a go now! The metre-gauge unidrectional vehicles will be 30m long and accommodate up to 276 passengers. Each vehicle will be equipped with four double doors and two single doors. The vehicles are being ordered to support the extension of citys tram network, which will include a catenary-free section. Each LRV will be equipped with Skodas roof-mounted Catfree system which uses high-performance nano-lithium-titanium batteries to provide a catenary-free range of up to 3km. According to the tender, the first vehicle must arrive within 240 days of contract signing and deliveries will be completed within 420 days. Turkish manufacturer Bozankaya also submitted a bid for the contract. Eskisehir is the second Turkish city to opt for the ForCity after Konya, which operates a fleet of 60 conventional and 12 catenary-free vehicles. CH2M will provide programme management and engineering services for the procurement of electric locomotives, dual-mode locomotives and EMUs. The RER project involves the introduction of 15-minute interval bi-directional services throughout the day on five of the seven Go Transit commuter rail corridors, with 150km of new dedicated track, electrification, new trains, elimination of level crossings, and new and upgraded stations. Earlier this year Metrolinx awarded CH2M a contract to provide consultant and programme management services for its Next Wave Rapid Transit programme, which includes the Hurontario and Hamilton LRT projects. Welcome to Railway Gazette. This website uses cookies to improve your experience. By continuing to browse this site you are agreeing to our use of these cookies. You can learn more about the cookies we use here. OK The set-top box debate has seen another shot over the bow from the cable industry. The 2nd Circuit Court of Appeals has affirmed a decision in favour of Time Warner Cable. An antitrust suit filed back in 2008 accused the MSO of forcing customers to pay to lease boxes in order to receive service. The appellate court upheld that there was no wrong-doing.We affirm, holding that the third amended complaint fails to adequately plead facts that, if proven, would establish that: (i) the settop cable boxes and the premium programming they transmit are separate products for the purposes of antitrust law; and (ii) Time Warner possesses sufficient market power in the relevant markets to establish an illegal tiein, read the ruling issued by 2nd Circuit Court Judges Ralph Winter and Denny Chen.The plaintiffs were attempting to show that the sale of the cable service was predicated on the leasing of the set-top box (STB). The judges said: To state a valid tying claim under the Sherman Act, a plaintiff must allege facts plausibly showing that: (i) the sale of one product (the tying product) is conditioned on the purchase of a separate product (the tied product); (ii) the seller uses actual coercion to force buyers to purchase the tied product; (iii) the seller has sufficient economic power in the tying product market to coerce purchasers into buying the tied product; (iv) the tiein has anticompetitive effects in the tied market; and (v) a not insubstantial amount of interstate commerce is involved in the tied market.The decision comes as the FCC mulls the future of the set-top. A proposal in front of the Commission advocates making content available in app form, which could be delivered to a range of third-party devices.Programmers and content companies recently filed comments the FCC, touting a compromise proposal. They said that they wanted the FCC to ensure that third-party apps on STBs be given "parity" with pay-TV providers' own apps."The MVPD apps plan offers a constructive foundation for providing consumers with an alternative to leasing set-top boxes, subject to certain additional protections for programmers and the clarification of particular details," wrote executives from Time Warner, 21st Century Fox, Viacom, CBS and Scripps Networks Interactive in a filing with the US regulatory body. "Any final rules must ensure parity for programmer apps and provide programme networks with enforceable contractual rights against competitive device manufacturers and MVPDs. The companies stated that they look forward to working closely with the Commission and MVPDs as the proceeding moves forward."The regulators have opposition to the scheme beyond just the pay-TV industry. The US Register of Copyrights Maria Pallante believes that this will open the door to copyright violations.The United States Copyright Office has sided with cable companies in opposing the Federal Communications Commission plan to boost competition in the TV STB market."In its most basic form, the rule contemplated by the FCC would seem to take a valuable good bundled video programming created through private effort and agreement under the protections of the Copyright Act and deliver it to third parties who are not in privity with the copyright owners, but who may nevertheless exploit the content for profit," she wrote. "Under the Proposed Rule, this would be accomplished without compensation to the creators or licensees of the copyrighted programming, and without requiring the third party to adhere to agreed-upon licence terms."She further argued that third parties "would have no way of knowing all of the requirements and limitations" specified by licensing agreements between programmers and pay-TV providers. Imagine Communications has introduced a high-density adaptive bitrate (ABR) transcoding product for broadcasters, network operators and video service providers (VSPs). Built on Selenio One, the company's software-defined linear transcoding platform, the idea is to expand the number of ABR and linear channels operators can deliver over existing infrastructures.Cable operators, telecommunications companies and satellite TV providers are struggling to cost-effectively deliver high-quality video to an increasing diversity of Internet-connected devices. The ABR offering moves all compression operations to a common, software-based platform, thus boosting efficiencies.''The high-density transcoding instantiation of Selenio One was designed to relieve a particularly acute pain point for today's content distributors, who have been steadily increasing the cost and complexity of their networks to accommodate shifting video consumption patterns,'' said Brick Eksten, chief product officer, Imagine Communications . ''Selenio One redefines the operational environment for transcoding, offering cloud-like control of mixed services with the ability to define and redefine those services on the fly. Combining centralised control with dynamic service provisioning allows the operator to be more fluid in operations while providing the ability to create new services on demand.''The new addition supports HEVC/H.265 and AVC/H.264 encoding in both ABR and linear transcoding formats at high densities, the company said. The first release of the product is capable of supporting up to 180 HD ABR or 360 HD linear channels per 4-RU server, establishing new cost-per-channel benchmarks for high quality video transcoding. Source formats supported in the first release are MPEG-2 or H.264 and HEVC/H.265 or H.264 on the output.Imagine Communications introduced the Selenio One platform earlier this year at the 2016 NAB Show. It will demonstrate the new capabilities at the upcoming IBC 2016 trade show in Amsterdam. Verizon Digital Media Services has added the Slicer application to its Volicon Media Intelligence service, an essential software element of the Uplynk Video Streaming service. The integration allows users of the Volicon Media Intelligence service to launch over-the-top (OTT) offerings quickly by leveraging their existing Volicon hardware infrastructure.The Volicon Media Intelligence service, deployed at more than a thousand broadcast locations worldwide, records broadcast content across interfaces including serial digital interface (SDI), TS (a digital container format for transmission), and analogue for purposes of monitoring, compliance and review. The Uplynk Video Streaming service allows broadcasters to stream linear channels, live events and on-demand clips to online viewers on an array of mobile phones, tablets, Web browsers and streaming devices.The addition of the Slicer application to the Volicon Media Intelligence service puts industry-leading compliance, monitoring and OTT delivery in a single footprint within a broadcaster's facility."The Uplynk Video Streaming service is ideal for TV networks, stations, affiliates and any other Volicon Media Intelligence service-enabled operation looking to light up new OTT channels quickly and economically," said Ted Middleton, chief product officer at Verizon Digital Media Services . "The worlds of traditional broadcasting and over-the-top delivery are converging, and in this case, we're actually combining workflows from both worlds in one location for our customers." As we see a surge in inflation globally, it is now critical that everyone is aware of the implications this will have along every step of the insurance and reinsurance value chain. Imagine that representatives of Canada, New Zealand, Austria, Finland, and Portugal expressed an interest in meeting with the president of Mexico, in hopes of improving economic and political ties. Wouldn't it be smart for the president to meet with those people? In fact, wouldn't it be political malpractice to refuse such a meeting and then to go on TV and publicly denounce their representatives as evil, as some commentators have suggested he do with Trump? Of course it would. So why would it be smart to insult someone likely to carry states that make up a similar share of the global economy? It was two years ago almost to the day that we got to lay our grubby paws on an H&K VP9 Volkpistole. We were immediately very impressed with the trigger, ergonomics, and outstanding build quality. The only thing we felt lacking was about to of barrel with metric threads there weren't any. Oh how we longed for a Tactical version, which apparently is German for Threaded; much like Deluxe is Greek for with fries. Sure enough the Gun Delivery Gods were good. Last week FedEx dropped off a VP-9 Tactical on our doorstep like a Teutonic gun bearing stork. There won't be cigars we spent all our money on ammunition. The VP part of H&K VP9 stands for Volkspistole. It means the peoples pistol. Rather than focusing on the men and women in blue, or assorted shades of green and tan and brown #383, HK decided to focus on the average shooter. Folks like you and me. Now, you may be wondering, Why does a pistol built for the civilian market need barrel threads? If you are, you may be reading the wrong articles or the wrong magazine. Maybe try out Modern Cat or Sheep Magazine. Silencers are completely legal to own in all but a handful of states. If they're still illegal in your state of residence, ask your elected officials why they want all shooters to go deaf. VP 9 Volkspistole components Barrel threads are metric, but thats how the other companies seem to roll these days (at least with 9mm cans). In fact , 9 out of 10 of our 9mm pistols use metric 13.5 X 1 left handed threads. Yours may be different. We like threaded barrels and none of us are even assassins, either (ETADIK, Salon). The VP9 Tactical is modular down to the grips. As much as we love our USP Tactical and USP Compact Tactical, they have the ergonomics of a 2X4. The VP9 comes with three interchangeable back straps and three sets of grip inserts allowing any shooter to customize it to their hand size. Taking its styling cues from the highly successful P30 series, the front strap has finger grooves, but they are subtle and unlike some of the competitors finger grooves these ones lined up perfectly for us. according to HK, the VP-9 will fit into P30 holsters as well. We are not a huge fan of forward slide serrations, but they seem well done on the VP9 Tactical. One thing we really liked were the tabs on the rear of the slide to aid in racking it open. These will definitely help a shooter wearing gloves and we would not be surprised to see other manufacturers follow this trend. Take-down is amazingly simple and does not require having to fire the pistol in order to accomplish this. Operation of the pistol is completely ambidextrous. The magazine release is HKs paddle design which you will either love or hate with a passion. We personally like the ambidextrous slide release better on the S&W M&P, but this one works just as well. The VP9 Tactical ships with three 15-round magazines and a loader. Saving the best for last, we get to the trigger. Most striker fired pistols tend to have triggers like those found on Bullpup rifles: horrid, long, or mushy. HKs first attempt at a striker fired pistol 46 years ago in the VP70 has to be the worst of the lot. They made up for it in spades in the 80s with their second attempt at a striker fired pistol when they released the P7 series. Three decades later the VP9 series has a beautiful factory trigger that has no creep, grit or mush. It breaks at 4.5 to 5 pounds and resets shorter and quicker than just about anything else we have seen in the polymer framed striker fired world. We put the trigger as a very close second to our Steyr pistols in this regard. Quiet time One of our most trusted advisors when it comes to all things quiet, Silencershop.com helped us out with a perfect can for the VP9 Tactical. The factory night sights are standard height which is fine for most of us who know how to shoot through the can. Yet, we recognize that this is a challenge for some so we wanted an eccentric silencer (not the crazy aunt you keep locked in the basement eccentric but rather where the bore line is off set from the center to allow the full use of standard height pistol sights) for this review. Silencershop.com got an AAC Illusion out to us with the proper thread pattern and Freedom Munitions got us some of their popular Hush subsonic ammunition. Instead of starting with the 147 grain Subsonic loads we bumped it up a few notches to the 165 grain loads. We have been more miss than hit with this type of ammunition in a variety of pistols; most handguns experience malfunctions when running it with a silencer but when it works it is very quiet. We see this as either a problem with recoil springs or weight of the can on the barrel despite the booster. The VP9 cycled 100 rounds without a hiccup through a dry can and then we moved on to the 147 grain loads. We have never gotten a straight answer as to why HK handguns shoot so well suppressed. Our theory is there are several microseconds between ignition of the primer and unlocking of the slide either by intent or design that contribute to the sound reduction. Final thoughts If you were one of those holding out for the Tactical (i.e. Threaded) model VP9 Volkspistole, then quit your grinnin' and drop your linen. The VP9 Tactical has landed. If you are waiting on OD or tan, you may have to wait a little longer because right now it's only available in black. If you already bought a standard model and do not want to buy a slightly different handgun to run a suppressor on it, as far as we can tell, the only change is the addition of the threaded barrel. Shooting 500 rounds suppressed and unsuppressed over a two day period gave us no problems at all. We hate to nitpick such a great piece but really feel this pistol would do well with an RMR plate milled into the slide at the factory. We see red dot sights on handguns as the future and hope to see HK get on board with this, too. For a perfect out of the box silencer host, it does not get much better than the VP-9 Tactical. James F. Brooks, a historian and professor of anthropology and history at the University of California, Santa Barbara, visited the University of Georgia Sept. 2 to give a speech on his take of the mystery of the Awatovi people. FILE - In this Aug. 11, 2014 file photo, actor Tom Sizemore arrives at the premiere of "The Expendables 3" in Los Angeles. Los Angeles prosecutors say Sizemore has been charged with three misdemeanors in connection with his arrest in a domestic violence case. The city's attorney's office says the actor was charged this week with intimate partner abuse, intimate partner battery and making terrorist threats. (Photo by Jordan Strauss/Invision/AP, File) SHARE LOS ANGELES (AP) Los Angeles prosecutors say Tom Sizemore has been charged with three misdemeanors in connection with his arrest in a domestic violence case. The city's attorney's office says the "Black Hawk Down" actor was charged this week with intimate partner abuse, intimate partner battery and making terrorist threats. Arraignment is set for Sept. 15. The Los Angeles Times reports Thursday (http://lat.ms/2bFs8Co) that Sizemore faces up to three years in jail if convicted on all charges. Representatives for Sizemore did not return requests for comment. Last month the Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office declined to file felony charges in the case. The 54-year-old was arrested July 19. Sizemore's arrest came amid a comeback attempt after years of substance abuse problems. He has a recurring role on the USA Network series "Shooter." Crowds of people throw tomatoes at each other, during the annual "Tomatina", tomato fight fiesta, in the village of Bunol, 50 kilometers outside Valencia, Spain, Wednesday, Aug. 31, 2016. The streets of an eastern Spanish town are awash with red pulp as thousands of people pelt each other with tomatoes in the annual "Tomatina" battle that has become a major tourist attraction. At the annual fiesta in Bunol on Wednesday, trucks dumped 160 tons of tomatoes for some 20,000 participants, many from abroad, to throw during the hour-long morning festivities. (AP Photo/Alberto Saiz) SHARE By DIEGO TORRES, Associated Press BUNOL, Spain (AP) Thousands of people pelted each other with tons of ripe tomatoes Wednesday, creating a red, mushy mess in the annual "Tomatina" street battle in eastern Spain. At the fiesta in Bunol, 160 tons of tomatoes were offloaded from six trucks into the crowd packing the town's streets for the hour-long battle that attracts many foreigners among the around 20,000 participants. People cheered and jumped in the party atmosphere, with some people wearing fancy dress but most in T-shirts. As the trucks pulled into the narrow streets, the revelers chanted, "Tomato! Tomato!" To avoid injuries, revelers are instructed to squelch the tomatoes before throwing them. Even so, many donned swimming goggles to protect their eyes. People on balconies overlooking the festivities also were pelted, and tomatoes left red blotches on buildings' white walls. Canadian photographer David Trattlas said it was his 15th year at the festival. "The last week of every August is the best week of the year, the most social week of the year. I can't think of being anywhere else except here, in this village, with this group of people," he said. After the fight, the participants and the town's streets were drenched in a sea of red pulp. Organizers hose the streets down within minutes of the event ending at noon, while participants could use public showers. The paid-entry event was inspired by a 1945 food fight between local children in the tomato-producing region. Russian President Vladimir Putin sits before the start of the opening ceremony of the G-20 Summit in Hangzhou in eastern China's Zhejiang province on Sunday. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein, Pool) SHARE BC-AS-Syria Diplomacy,6th Ld-Writethru/966 Eds: Updates in 2nd paragraph with Obama, Putin meeting under way. AP Video. With AP Photos. Obama and Putin meet in China amid struggle for Syria deal KATHLEEN HENNESSEY, Associated Press JOSH LEDERMAN, Associated Press HANGZHOU, China (AP) The United States and Russia struggled Monday to keep alive negotiations to end the bloodshed between U.S.-backed rebels and Syria's Russian-aligned regime. Even as top diplomats vowed to keep trying, President Barack Obama expressed skepticism that an unlikely alliance between rivals would yield the breakthrough needed to end the 5-year-old civil war. Still, as Obama and Russian President Vladimir Putin attended an economic summit, the leaders were under pressure to push the negotiations beyond the sticking points that have thus far prevented a deal. White House spokesman Ned Price said Obama and Putin were huddling on the sidelines of the Group of 20 economic summit, with details of their informal meeting expected to be released later Monday. A second day of talks in China between Secretary of State John Kerry and his Russian counterpart, Sergey Lavrov, ended Monday without a deal to announce. The two diplomats met for an hour but emerged still at odds on certain issues, said a senior State Department official, who wasn't authorized to discuss the talks by name and requested anonymity. The talks culminated a several weeks of searching for a cease-fire between Syrian President Bashar Assad's government and moderate rebels that would expand access for hundreds of thousands of civilians caught in the crossfire. The strategy has hinged on an unlikely U.S.-Russian militarily partnership against extremist groups operating in Syria. But beyond the Islamic State group and al-Qaida, the two powers have conflicting views about who fits in that category - as well as a deep and mutual distrust that the other party will hold up its end of the bargain. "We're not there yet," Obama told reporters Sunday. "It's premature for us to say that there is a clear path forward, but there is the possibility at least for us to make some progress on that front." Obama's wariness was less apparent among his State Department negotiators, who had been so hopeful a deal could come together while world leaders gathered in China that they scheduled a press conference and announced plans to brief reporters on the pact. Those plans deflated throughout the day, as both the briefing and the press conference were canceled. After an aide scrambled to remove the podium once intended for his bargaining partner, Kerry eventually announced there was no deal - standing alone. "I've said all along we're not going to rush," said Kerry, who has negotiated several failed truces with Russia in recent months. Kerry said the two sides had worked through many technical issues but said the U.S. didn't want to enter into an illegitimate agreement. In recent days, the State Department has said it only wants a nationwide cease-fire between Assad's military and the rebels, and not another "cessation of hostilities" that is time-limited and only stops fighting in some cities and regions. The talks faltered Sunday when Russia pulled back from agreement on issues the U.S. negotiators believed had been settled, the State Department official said. As the diplomats were negotiating, Syrian pro-government forces backed by airstrikes launched an offensive in the northern city of Aleppo, capturing areas they lost last month and besieging rebel-held neighborhoods. It was a major blow to insurgent groups that was likely to raise fresh concerns about Russian support for the Syrian military's attacks on Assad's opponents. The Syria conflict has killed as many as a half-million people since 2011 and caused millions of Syrians to flee their homes, contributing to a global migration crisis. Amid the chaos, IS has emerged as a global terror threat. Kerry and Lavrov's talks represent their third significant attempt since July to finalize a new U.S.-Russian military partnership that Moscow has long sought. The package would include provisions so aid can reach besieged areas of Syria and measures to prevent Assad's government from bombing areas where U.S.-backed rebels are operating. U.S. officials have said that as part of a deal, Russia would have to halt offensives by Assad's government, something it has failed to do over months of diplomatic efforts. And the U.S. must get rebels to break ranks with the al-Qaida-linked Nusra Front, a task that grew tougher after its fighters last month successfully broke the siege of Aleppo, Syria's largest city and the site of fierce recent fighting. Negotiators on both sides have spent weeks poring over maps of potential areas where opposition groups operate and where Assad's forces would be prohibited from launching airstrikes. The idea is for Russia to use its significant influence over Assad to ensure compliance with the deal. But the U.S. has long been skeptical of the military coordination part of the deal, because it says Russia has mainly targeted moderate, U.S.-backed opposition groups in a bid to prop up Assad. The U.S. wants Russia to focus exclusively on IS and al-Qaida-linked groups. Both Defense Secretary Ash Carter and National Intelligence Director James Clapper have expressed misgivings about sharing intelligence and targeting information with Moscow. Neither side explained Sunday in detail what sticking points remain. Kerry said the U.S. wanted a deal with the best chance for survival. Lavrov's deputy, Sergei Ryabkov, said a deal was "close" but that Washington had to dissociate itself from Nusra. "Many of the groups considered acceptable by the U.S. have actually affiliated with the Nusra Front, while the Nusra Front is using them to avoid being attacked," Ryabkov told Russian media, citing a longstanding complaint of his government. SHARE Someday soon, when you least expect it, a police officer may receive mistaken information from a confused eyewitness or a liar, or circumstantial evidence that helps persuade him that you might be guilty of a very serious crime. When confronted with police officers and other government agents who suddenly arrive with a bunch of questions, most innocent people mistakenly think to themselves, "Why not talk? I haven't done anything. I have nothing to hide. What could possibly go wrong?" Well, among other things, you could end up confessing to a crime you didn't commit. The problem of false confessions is not an urban legend. It is a documented fact. Indeed, research suggests that the innocent may be more susceptible than the culpable to deceptive police interrogation tactics, because they tragically assume that somehow "truth and justice will prevail" later even if they falsely admit their guilt. Nobody knows for sure how often innocent people make false confessions, but as Circuit Judge Alex Kozinski recently observed, "Innocent interrogation subjects confess with surprising frequency." It happens especially in cases when the suspect is young and vulnerable. An analysis of 125 proven false confessions found that 33 percent of the suspects were juveniles at the time of arrest, and at least 43 percent were either mentally disabled or ill. Another study of 340 exonerations found that 13 percent of adults falsely confessed compared to 42 percent of juveniles. And nearly half of the exonerated children were put behind bars because of something they said to police without an attorney present. In Oakland, Calif., police isolated and interrogated a 16-year-old named Felix in the middle of the night without a lawyer and denied his requests to see his mother. Eventually he gave them a detailed, videotaped confession to a murder, allegedly filled with numerous specifics only the real killer would have known. At that point, it looked like there was little chance this young man would be able to avoid a conviction; when a jury hears that someone has confessed, they are almost certain to convict. But fortunately for young Felix, it was later revealed that he had an airtight alibi: He had been locked up in a juvenile detention facility the day of the killing. The charges were dismissed, and he was released from jail. Eddie Lowery was a 22-year-old soldier stationed at Ft. Riley, Kan., when he was interrogated for an entire workday about a rape and murder he never committed. Like a typical innocent man, he persisted for hours in emphatic assertions of innocence. Like typical police officers, the interrogators acted open-minded and unconvinced. Perhaps, he foolishly hoped, he might persuade them of his innocence if he repeated his story over and over again at greater and greater length. After the daylong interrogation, he was worn out and gave them a detailed confession. He served more than 20 years in prison until he was recently released, after evidence proved that he was actually innocent. So why in the world did Lowery confess, when we now know that he was innocent all along? He explained the mindset of someone who has been broken down by hours of relentless interrogation: "I didn't know any way out of that, except to tell them what they wanted to hear, and then get a lawyer to prove my innocence. You've never been in a situation so intense, and you're naive about your rights. You don't know what (someone) will say to get out of that situation." One analysis of 44 proven false-confession cases revealed that more than a third of the interrogations lasted six to 12 hours, many lasted between 12 and 24 hours, and the average length was more than 16 hours. The longer you speak to police officers, the more likely it is that you will confess to some crime that you did not commit isn't that enough of a reason to avoid speaking to them? Don't talk to the police except to tell them, respectfully, that you will not answer any questions and that you would like a lawyer. James Duane is a professor at Regent Law School in Virginia Beach, Va. This essay, first published by the Los Angeles Times, is adapted from his book "You Have the Right to Remain Innocent," forthcoming from Little A in September. Bill Press SHARE Politicians have often tried to reinvent themselves, and some have actually succeeded. Southerner Lyndon Johnson became the champion of civil rights. So did former KKK member Robert Byrd. Anti-communism crusader Richard Nixon opened the door to Communist China. And hard-liner Ronald Reagan signed a nuclear arms deal with the Soviet Union. But this week, Donald Trump tried to reinvent himself on the issue of immigration, and failed. He failed because what he proposed in the first place wasn't real and neither was his much-heralded reinvention. Illegal immigration, of course, is Trump's signature issue. He not only made it the centerpiece of the Republican primary, he forced the Republican Party to reverse course on immigration: from reaching out to Latino voters as Jeb Bush, Lindsey Graham and other GOP leaders proposed to, in effect, declaring war on them. He began his campaign at Trump Tower onJune 16, 2015, by promising: "I will build a great, great wall on our southern border, and I will have Mexico pay for that wall." He also promised to round up and deport some 11 million immigrants now in the United States who came here illegally, because "They're bringing drugs. They're bringing crime. They're rapists." And he has repeated those two promises at every campaign event since. Then, suddenly, 10 days ago, we were told that Trump was having second thoughts. He met with a group of Latino activists. He reportedly told them he was open to changes in his plans. He was looking for a "more humane" way to deal with immigrants who had committed no crimes. He asked for ideas from a Fox News audience. He postponed a planned speech on immigration to revisit and revise his original hard-liner position. Cable news anchors became absolutely giddy with speculation about Trump's "new" look on immigration. And when he finally dropped the other shoe and unveiled his revised immigration policy, in a prime-time speech in Phoenix on August 31, what was new? Absolutely nothing. He may have repackaged it in a 10-point program, but his position on immigration today is just as racist, and just as impractical, as it was 15 months ago. Trump didn't lighten up, he doubled down. He didn't get any softer on immigration. If anything, he got even darker. While the world listened breathlessly for signs of anything new, Trump just rolled out the same old nonsense. He would build a wall a "beautiful, impenetrable" wall, tunnel-proof, with towers and aerial surveillance. And yes, Mexico would pay for it. "They may not know it yet, but they're going to pay for it." And, starting on Day 1, he would begin mass deportation. First, the 2 million he claims among the immigrant population to be criminals, then those who are stopped for any violation of the law, even a traffic ticket. Finally, the remainder of the 11 million all those long-term, law-abiding residents of the United States who have families and jobs and pay taxes, who have sons and daughters in the military, but who came here illegally all of whom Donald Trump will either throw out of the country or force to leave the country and get in line to come back in legally. The big question is: Why did Trump even go through this awkward, faux reboot on immigration only to end up back in the same place? It can only be because he doesn't know what he's talking about in the first place. There is, in fact, nothing real about his entire immigration scheme. This is no longer the '80s. The issue of illegal immigration is not the biggest problem facing this country, not even close. In fact, from 2009 to 2014, there were more people crossing the border to go south than come north. There are more guards at the border than ever before. There is no way Mexico's going to pay for Trump's wall. Neither will Congress. Nor are there enough buses, trains, planes or immigration officials to deport 11 million people. Donald Trump's whole immigration plan's a joke. Just like his flyby visit to Mexico City, where he wimped out and failed even to talk about who would pay for the wall, let alone make a deal. In the end, his visit to Mexico and his Phoenix speech this week were emblematic of the entire Trump campaign: loud, flashy, trashy and totally pointless. Bill Press is host of a nationally-syndicated radio show, CNN political analyst and author. His email address is: bill@billpress.com. Readers may also follow him on Twitter at @bpshow. Firms come out with detailed communique for consumers that counter Jios claims of cheap data Both Bharti Airtel and Vodafone, the incumbents in the telecom sector, have come out with identical communiques for their customers, claiming that the Jio tariff plan, unveiled days before, wasnt as good as it looked. Comparative charts in the communications highlight the difference between plans offered by the new entrant and the incumbents. These also question the quality of Jios voice network, and explain how Jio is not offering data at Rs 50 per GB as it has claimed. Last week, Jio had announced it would offer data at Rs 50 per GB and voice calls would be free all across India. Airtel, the countrys largest telecom services provider, has countered Reliance Jios tariff plans and called it a marketing gimmick. Vodafone, on the other hand, has asked if Jios claim of Rs 50 per GB of data is reality or packaging. A detailed chart compares what Jio is offering with its own existing plans, which shows that Jios data pricing is not offering data at Rs 50 per GB. When contacted on the customer communication, Airtel declined to comment. Vodafone, on the other hand, confirmed that the communication was correct. Both companies have compared all of Jios plans with their own to show that both are offering value to their customers. Free voice, which is Jios purported big game changer, has also been given a thumbs-down. Both Vodafone and Airtel have argued that their voice service works on all devices (Jios voice will work on VoLTE-enabled 4G handsets). Airtel has claimed there are issues with Jios 4G network in highways and rural areas. Jio is offering voice on its 4G network without a circuit-switched fallback option (traditional 2G voice). Vodafone argues that its network is stable and established. Both companies also have also argued, independently, that Jio is currently linked to handsets. Jios free welcome offer is for a registered handset, which essentially means that if the SIM is put in another device the welcome offer is not valid. Airtels communique said: Free benefit available on Jio is applicable for only one handset registered. Benefits are not transferred once user changes the handset.If a user plans to use Jio service for voice calls only, which Jio has declared free, the consumer needs to spend minimum Rs 149. Similarly, if a user uses Jios mobile services for data (1 GB) then he needs to shell out a minimum Rs 500 to avail the data service. Jio also has a limited 4G network and thus it may have issues in rural areas. Airtel and Vodafone, in comparison, have larger network coverage which includes 4G, 3G and 2G. In addition, for Jio, calling is not possible if data coverage is not there, which is not the case for either Airtel or Vodafone since users can make calls even if there is no data coverage. Photograph: Ajay Verma/Reuters A chargesheet was filed on Monday against 32 people in Bihar toppers scam. M I Khan/Rediff.com reports from Patna. The Special Investigation Team of Bihar Police probing the topper's scam on Monday filed a chargesheet against 32 people, police said. Patna Senior Superintendent of Police Manu Maharaj, who is heading the SIT, told the media that the chargesheet was filed in the Patna civil court. "A chargesheet of over 4,000 page was filed against former Chairman of Bihar School Examination Board Lalkeshwar Prasad Singh, his wife and former Janata Dal-United legislator Usha Sinha, Bachcha Rai, the alleged kingpin of the scam and former director and principal of V R College in Bihar's Vaishali district and former board secretary Harharnath Jha," Maharaj said. Singh, Sinha, Rai and Jha are currently in jail after being arrested in the case. Maharaj said, "20 of the 32 people are government employees and 12 others include four fake toppers. Nine of the 32 people are still absconding." According to the police, last month a special juvenile court in Patna granted bail to Ruby Rai, an accused in Bihar toppers scam. Ruby had topped this year's Class XII examination conducted by the BSEB in humanities stream. She got into trouble after a sting by a TV channel showed her giving ludicrous answers to elementary questions related to her subjects. Class XII science stream topper Saurabh Shreshtha was also caught on camera giving wrong answers to basic science questions. The sting suggested that the toppers might have used cheating and fraud to achieve their ranks. Both Ruby and Saurabh belonged to V R College in Vaishali district. Devotees welcomed the God of good luck and prosperity -- Lord Ganesha -- to their homes and community pandals amid fanfare as the 10-day-long festival devoted to the much beloved deity commenced with religious fervour. IMAGE: A devotee takes Ganesha for a ride across the city on the first day of the 10-day festival. Photograph: Danish Siddiqui/Reuters The festival commenced with devotees installing masterly-sculpted idols of their most beloved and venerated deity, Ganesha, in their homes and beautifully decorated pandals across the city. Believers, attired in traditional clothes, installing colourfully-crafted idols of the elephant-headed God in their homes and tastefully decorated pandals across the state, including in major cities like Mumbai, Pune and Nagpur. IMAGE: A devotee carries an idol of the Hindu god Ganesh, the deity of prosperity, to a place of worship on the first day of the Ganesh Chaturthi festival.. Photograph: Danish Siddiqui/Reuters Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, who installed an eco-friendly Ganesh idol at his home, appealed the public to celebrate the festival in an environment-friendly manner. "HappyGaneshChaturthi to all! Let's celebrate & enjoy Ganeshotsav the environment friendly way.#ganapatibappamorya," he tweeted. The mood was full of gaiety and devotion, with chants of 'Ganpati Bappa Morya' reverberating across Maharashtra. IMAGE: Revellers bring home Lord Ganesha. Photograph: Danish Siddiqui/Reuters In Mumbai, devotees took part in 'aarti' at several temples, including the famous Prabhadevi-based Siddhivinayak Temple. This year, megastar Amitabh Bachchan has lent his voice for an 'aarti' at SiddhivinayakTemple. The 73-year-old actor tweeted that it was a "blessing" for him to be given the "divine honour". IMAGE: Devotees full of gaiety and devotion walk with the idol of Lord Ganesh . Photograph: Danish Siddiqui/Reuters Several popular Ganesh Mandals were thronged by devotees since wee hours, with the popular Lalbaugcha Raja starting prayers at 4 am, followed by darshan at 6 am. Other prominent Ganesh mandals like GSB Seva Mandal in Kings circle, has a 14-feet long idol made of clay while Wadala GSB Mandal has designed its pandal like the famous TirupatiBalaji Temple. These pandals witnessed long queues of people waiting to get darshan of the God of Wisdom. IMAGE: An idol of the Hindu god Ganesh, the deity of prosperity, is loaded onto a supply truck on the first day of the Ganesh Chaturthi festival in Ahmedabad. Photograph: Danish Siddiqui/Reuters Bollywood personalities like Salman Khan, Jeetendra, Nana Patekar, Akshay Kumar, Hrithik Roshan, Shilpa Shetty, Suresh Wadekar, Govinda and a host of Marathi film and theatre actors are the prominent names who celebrate Ganesh festival at their homes by installing idols. In Nagpur, Union Shipping minister Nitin Gadkari performed the traditional rituals in presence of his family members at his residence 'Gadkari Wada' in Mahal area in the eastern part of the city. IMAGE: Devotees ask for the Lord's blessing. Photograph: Danish Siddiqui/Reuters As many as 1,163 Ganesh idols are being installed at public places in Nagpur, as per the city Police Information Centre. Police have beefed up security for the festival across the state. Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday left the picturesque city of Hangzhou after attending the two-day G20 Summit on the sidelines of which he met Chinese President Xi Jinping and a host of other world leaders. IMAGE: Modi met Xi and held talks on a host of issues including bilateral tensions between the two countries over a raft issues . Photograph: PMO/Twitter "Discussions at G20 Summit were extensive & wide-ranging. I thank Chinese people & government for the great hospitality during the Summit," Modi tweeted before emplaning for Delhi. "Goodbye in Hangzhou. See you in Goa. PM Narendra Modi bids adieu to President Xi," External Affairs spokesman Vikas Swarup tweeted. "Its curtains down on another Summit for this critical global forum," he said. Modi, who came to Hangzhou from his first visit to Vietnam, met Xi and held talks on a host of issues including bilateral tensions between the two countries over a raft issues. On the sidelines of the summit, Modi also met Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull, Deputy Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia Mohammad bin Salman, UK Prime Minister Theresa May, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Argentine President Mauricio Macri and held talks with them on key bilateral issues. He also informally met President Barack Obama and French President Francois Hollande during the summit. Before the G20, Modi presided over the BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa) leaders meeting to finalise their stand on G20 summit. The BRICS leaders are due to attend the summit to be held in Goa next month. Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday met Britain's Prime Minister Theresa May for the first time in Hangzhou, China and held discussions on enhancing bilateral ties in the aftermath of the UK's decision to exit the European Union. Both the leaders held discussions on the sidelines of the G20 summit on "building opportunities" after the UK voted to leave the EU -- the world's single largest market. "Building opportunities with the United Kingdom. PM @narendramodi meets PM @theresa_may for their first bilateral," External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Vikas Swarup tweeted. May was sworn in as Britain's prime minister on July 13, succeeding David Cameron who resigned after the country voted in favour of exiting the EU. May, 59, is UK's second woman prime minister after Margaret Thatcher, also known as Iron Lady, with whom May is often compared. Modi had congratulated May on her assumption of new responsibility on July 27 and had affirmed India's commitment to further strengthen the strategic bilateral partnership. Thanking Modi, May had during the telephonic conversation said she looked forward to work closely with India to develop stronger ties and enhance cooperation. Earlier in the day, Modi said fighting corruption, blackmoney and tax-evasion were central to effective financial governance. He also said, "We need to act to eliminiate safe havens for economic offenders, track down and unconditionally extradite money launderers." Modi held separate "pull-aside" meetings with French President Francois Hollande and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on the sidelines of the G20 summit on Monday. "Strengthening the Strategic Partnership with France. PM @narendramodi has a quick pull aside with President Hollande," External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Vikas Swarup tweeted. Modi was accompanied by National Security Advisor Ajit Doval and foreign secretary S Jaishankar during the brief meeting with the French President. Earlier on Sunday, Hollande, in a Facebook post, said "France's role is to contribute to regulating the planet". "Our country refuses a globalization without rules, where social models are pit against each other and dragged downward, where inequalities grow and intellectual property rights, and therefore cultural diversity, are threatened," Hollande said. Hollande has lauded the US and China for approving the Paris climate deal. Meanwhile, Modi also met with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan for the first time after a failed coup attempt in Turkey and held discussions on renewing bilateral ties. "Renewing ties with Turkey. PM @narendramodi meets Turkish President @RT_Erdogan in another pull aside," Swarup said in another tweet. In July, a coup was attempted in Turkey against the Erdogan government. The attempt was carried out by a faction within the Turkish Armed Forces. Modi earlier said fighting corruption, blackmoney and tax-evasion were central to effective financial governance. He also said, "we need to act to eliminate safe havens for economic offenders, track down and unconditionally extradite money launderers". Photograph: Vikas Swarup/MEA/Twitter A string of bomb attacks hit across mostly government-controlled areas of Syria on Monday, killing several dozen people including at least 30 in President Bashar al-Assad's coastal stronghold of Tartus, state media said. At least 48 people died in the blasts, and 45 were also wounded in the double bombing outside of Tartus city, which is home to a Russian naval base. IMAGE: Syrian army soldiers inspect the damage as civil defense members work at the site of two explosions that hit the Arzouna bridge area at the entrance to Tartus, Syria. Photograph: Reuters There were no immediate claims of responsibility for the blasts, but the Islamic State group has regularly targeted several of the areas hit on Monday. Other attacks hit government-held Homs city, an army checkpoint on a road outside Damascus, and a Kurdish security forces checkpoint in Hasakeh city. In Tartus, two blasts targeted the Arzuna bridge, "the first a car bomb and the second a suicide bomber who detonated his explosive belt when people gathered to help the wounded," according to state television. Tartus has been largely spared the worst violence of Syria's conflict since it began with anti-government protests in March 2011. It has become a refuge for many Syrians fleeing the fighting that has displaced over half the country's population. In the northeast of the country, at least eight people were killed by a bomber on a bike in the city of Hasakeh, which is mostly controlled by Kurdish forces, though the regime is also present. IMAGE: A general view shows the damage at a site of an explosion in Bab Tadmor in Homs, Syria. Photograph: Reuters Syrian state media said the dead were six members of the Asayesh security forces and two civilians. Hasakeh city has been regularly targeted by the Islamic State group, including in July, when a motorcycle bomber killed at least 16 people outside a bakery in the city. The IS-linked Amaq news agency reported the blast in Hasakeh, but did not carry any immediate claim of responsibility. Monday's bombings came after advances by Turkish forces and allied Syrian rebels expelled the Islamic State from the last stretch of the Syrian-Turkish border under their control. The jihadist group has been losing ground to both an alliance of Kurdish and Arab fighters known as the Syrian Democratic Forces and, more recently, a Turkish offensive involving rebels loyal to Ankara. IMAGE: Syrian army soldiers inspect the damage as civil defense members work at the site of two explosions that hit the Arzouna bridge area at the entrance to Tartus, Syria. Photograph: Reuters In central Homs city, state media said at least four people were killed in a car bomb at the entrance to the Al-Zahraa neighbourhood, whose residents mostly belong to the same Alawite sect as Assad. Al-Zahraa has also been regularly targeted in bomb attacks, including a devastating double bomb blast in February that killed 57 people and was claimed by the IS. State television broadcast images from the aftermath of the blast in Homs, showing rubble strewn on the streets and smoke rising from the charred remains of vehicles. US President Barack Obama and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin met Monday as talks between their governments on ending violence in Syria ended without an agreement. The two leaders conversed on the sidelines of the Group of 20 summit here for ninety minutes, a senior US official said, and worked to clarify gaps in negotiations over on the Syrian crisis. The pair also discussed Ukraine and Russia's cyber intrusions, the official said. IMAGE: Russian President Vladimir Putin (L) meets with US President Barack Obama on the sidelines of the G20 Summit in Hangzhou, China. Photograph: Alexei Druzhinin Even as top diplomats vowed to keep trying, President Barack Obama expressed scepticism that an unlikely alliance between rivals would yield the breakthrough needed to end the 5-year-old civil war. Still, as Obama and Russian President Vladimir Putin attended an economic summit, the leaders were under pressure to push the negotiations beyond the sticking points that have thus far prevented a deal. White House spokesman Ned Price said Obama and Putin were huddling on the sidelines of the Group of 20 economic summit, with details of their informal meeting expected to be released later on Monday. A second day of talks in China between Secretary of State John Kerry and his Russian counterpart, Sergey Lavrov, ended Monday without a deal to announce. The two diplomats met for an hour but emerged still at odds on certain issues, said a senior State Department official, who wasn't authorised to discuss the talks by name and requested anonymity. The talks culminated a several weeks of searching for a cease-fire between Syrian President Bashar Assad's government and moderate rebels that would expand access for hundreds of thousands of civilians caught in the crossfire. The strategy has hinged on an unlikely US-Russian militarily partnership against extremist groups operating in Syria. But beyond the Islamic State group and al-Qaida, the two powers have conflicting views about who fits in that category -- as well as a deep and mutual distrust that the other party will hold up its end of the bargain. "We're not there yet," Obama told reporters on Sunday. "It's premature for us to say that there is a clear path forward, but there is the possibility at least for us to make some progress on that front." Obama's wariness was less apparent among his State Department negotiators, who had been so hopeful a deal could come together while world leaders gathered in China that they scheduled a press conference and announced plans to brief reporters on the pact. Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday launched a sharp attack on Pakistan, saying that "one single nation" in South Asia is spreading the "agents of terror" as he told the G20 leaders that those who sponsor the menace must be sanctioned and isolated, not rewarded. Soon after Prime Minister Modi's assertion, the G20 countries, including India, also came down heavily on terrorism as they vowed to tackle all sources, techniques and channels of terror financing. "Indeed one single nation in South Asia is spreading these agents of terror in countries of our region," Prime Minister Modi said in an apparent reference to Pakistan. "We expect the international community to speak and act in unity, and to respond with urgency to fight this menace. Those who sponsor and support terrorism must be isolated and sanctioned, not rewarded," Modi said in his intervention during the concluding session of the meeting of the world's 20 strong economies. The G20, in its communique released after the conclusion of the two-day summit, said, "We strongly condemn terrorism in all forms and manifestations, which poses serious challenges to international peace and security and endangers our ongoing efforts to strengthen the global economy and ensure sustainable growth and development." The G20 nations reaffirmed their solidarity and resolve to fight terrorism in all its forms and wherever it occurs. They vowed to tackle all sources, techniques and channels of terrorist financing, including extortion taxation, smuggling of natural resources, bank looting, looting of cultural property, external donation, and kidnapping for ransom. Prime Minister Modi earlier said India appreciates the G20's initiative on combating the financing of terrorism and asserted that all countries should meet the Financial Action Task Force standards. "Growing forces of violence and terror pose a fundamental challenge. There are some nations that use it as an instrument of state policy. India has a policy of zero tolerance to terrorism. Because anything less than that is not enough," Modi said. "For us a terrorist is a terrorist," he asserted. The G20 communique asked the member countries to implement the FATF's new Consolidated Strategy on Combating Terrorist Financing and back its call for effective implementation of its operational plan. "In confronting terrorism, we remain committed to effectively exchanging information, freezing terrorist assets, and criminalising terrorist financing. We call for the swift, effective and universal implementation of the FATF standards and of the provisions of the UN Security Council resolution 2253 worldwide," the communique said and welcomed the progress achieved by the UN-backed FATF. "We call on the FATF to reflect by March 2017 on ways to progress in strengthening its traction capacity and enhanced effectiveness of the network of FATF and FATF-style regional bodies," it said. Acknowledging that the G20 meeting is taking place at a time when the global economic recovery is progressing, resilience is improved in some economies and new sources for growth are emerging, the communique said downside risks remain due to potential volatility in the financial market, fluctuations of commodity price, sluggish trade and investment, and slow productivity and employment growth in some countries. Challenges originating from geopolitical developments, increased refugee flows as well as terrorism and conflicts also complicate the global economic outlook, it noted. "We call on G20 members, the International Monetary Fund and World Bank Group to intensify their support for domestic capacity building to help countries improve their compliance with global anti-money laundering and countering the financing of terrorism and prudential standards. "We endorse the G20 High-level Principles for Digital Financial Inclusion, the updated version of the G20 Financial Inclusion Indicators and the Implementation Framework of the G20 Action Plan on SME Financing," the statement said. The G20 countries also emphasised on financial transparency and effective implementation of the standards on transparency by all, "in particular with regard to the beneficial ownership of legal persons and legal arrangements, is vital to protect the integrity of the international financial system, and to prevent misuse of these entities and arrangements for corruption, tax evasion, terrorist financing and money laundering." Modi's remarks at the G20 Summit came a day after India called on other BRICS members to intensify joint efforts to combat terrorism. The comments also assume significance amid a war of words between India and Pakistan in the aftermath of the unrest in the KashmirValley that broke out on July 8 after Hizbul commander Burhan Wani was killed by security forces. IMAGE: Modi's remarks at the G20 Summit came a day after India called on other BRICS members to intensify joint efforts to combat terrorism. Photograph: Vikas Swarup/Twitter Supreme Court on Monday directed Karnataka to release 15,000 cusecs of Cauvery water per day to Tamil Nadu for the next 10 days to ameliorate plight of the farmers there. Noting that the samba crops in Tamil Nadu would be adversely affected, a bench comprising Justices Dipak Misra and U U Lalit directed Karnataka to ensure supply of water to Tamil Nadu. The apex court also directed Tamil Nadu to approach the supervisory committee within three days for the release of Cauvery water as per the final order of the Cauvery Water Disputes Tribunal's. The Supreme Court also asked the supervisory committee to decide on Tamil Nadu's plea in ten days from Monday. "We think it's appropriate to direct Karnataka to release 15,000 cusecs of water per day for ten days," the bench said, while also directing Tamil Nadu to release water to Puducherry appropriately as per its interim arrangement. The court posted the matter for further hearing on September 16. On September 2, the Supreme Court had made an emotional appeal to Karnataka saying 'live and let live', after Tamil Nadu brought to the notice of the court that the Karnataka CM has said that not a drop of water will be released to it. In a recent plea, Tamil Nadu had sought a direction to Karnataka to release 50.52 tmc feet of Cauvery water to save 40,000 acres of samba crops this season. In reply, Karnataka had said it has a deficit of about 80 tmc feet in its four reservoirs. Senior lawyer F S Nariman, who appeared for Karanataka, said that there were "rain deficit months" in the recent past and it was difficult to release the water due to Tamil Nadu. He said the Tribunal has not provided for an alternative for Karnataka on the point of release of water during distress months. The apex court had earlier refused to give an urgent hearing to Tamil Nadu's plea for setting up of Cauvery Management Board for implementation of the CWDT award. At the directions of the apex court, the Centre, in 2013, had notified the final award of the CWDT on sharing of water of the Cauvery system among the basin states of Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Kerala and union territory of Puducherry. The CWDT had recommended the setting up of a Cauvery Management Board/Authority on the lines of the Bhakra Beas Management Board for implementation of the order. The board, in turn, would constitute a Cauvery Water Regulation Committee for assistance. The Tribunal, in a unanimous decision in 2007, had determined the total availability of water in the Cauvery basin at 740 thousand million cubic (tmc) feet at the Lower Coleroon Anicut site, including 14 tmcft for environmental protection and seepage into the sea. The final award made an annual allocation of 419 tmcft to Tamil Nadu in the entire Cauvery basin, 270 tmcft to Karnataka, 30 tmcft to Kerala and 7 tmcft to Puducherry. At least 24 people were killed on Monday when two Taliban suicide bombers on foot struck close to the defence ministry in Kabul during late afternoon rush hour, the latest assault on the Afghan capital. IMAGE: Injured policemen are transported at the back of a police vehicle after a suicide attack in Kabul, Afghanistan. Photograph: Mohammad Ismail/Reuters Around 91 others were wounded in the assault, which comes as the Taliban intensify their nationwide offensive against the US-backed government. The two bombers blew themselves up in rapid succession, in an attack apparently aimed at inflicting mass casualties as government workers left the ministry after work. "The first explosion occurred on a bridge near the defence ministry. When soldiers, policemen and civilians rushed to the scene, there was the second explosion," defence ministry spokesman Mohammad Radmanish told media. Health ministry said 24 people were killed in the blasts. The Italian-run Emergency Hospital in Kabul tweeted that it had so far received 10 injured people, with more expected to arrive. IMAGE: Afghan policemen stand guard at the site of a blast in Kabul, Afghanistan. Photograph: Mohammad Ismail/Reuters President Ashraf Ghani strongly condemned the attack. "The enemies of Afghanistan are losing the fight in the ground battle with security forces," Ghani said in a statement. "That is why they are attacking, highways, cities, mosques, schools and ordinary people." Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said on Twitter that the defence ministry was the object of the first attack, while police were targeted in the second. The attack took place more than a week after 16 people were killed when militants stormed the AmericanUniversity of Afghanistan in Kabul, in a nearly 10-hour raid that prompted anguished pleas for help from trapped students. Explosions and gunfire rocked the campus in that attack, which came just weeks after two university professors -- an American and an Australian -- were kidnapped at gunpoint near the school. Their whereabouts are still unknown and no group so far has publicly claimed responsibility for the abductions, the latest in a series of kidnappings in the conflict-torn country. IMAGE: Afghan policemen arrive at the site of a suicide attack in Kabul, Afghanistan. Photograph: Mohammad Ismail/Reuters The uptick in violence in the capital comes as the Taliban escalate nationwide attacks, underscoring the worsening security situation since NATO forces ended their combat mission at the end of 2014. Afghan forces backed by US troops are seeking to head off a potential Taliban takeover of Lashkar Gah, the capital of the southern opium-rich province of Helmand. The Taliban have also closed in on Kunduz -- the northern city they briefly seized last year in their biggest military victory since the 2001 US invasion -- leaving Afghan forces stretched on multiple fronts. But NATO coalition forces have insisted that neither Kunduz nor Lashkar Gah are at risk of falling to the insurgents. Bangladesh: Release Facebook user who criticised Prime Minister Publisher Amnesty International Publication Date 3 September 2016 Cite as Amnesty International, Bangladesh: Release Facebook user who criticised Prime Minister, 3 September 2016, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/57cd3a8d4.html [accessed 30 October 2022] Disclaimer This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States. The Bangladeshi authorities must immediately release a 22-year-old student activist detained for two Facebook posts criticising the country's Prime Minister, Amnesty International said today. Dilip Roy, a student activist at Rajshahi University in western Bangladesh, will be appearing at a bail hearing on 4 September. "Bangladesh's authorities should immediately drop this case. By invoking draconian laws to hound critics for Facebook posts, they are not just cracking down on peaceful dissent but courting embarrassment," said Champa Patel, Amnesty International's Director for South Asia. Dilip Roy could face up to 14 years in prison after a student body linked to the government filed a case against him under the country's Information and Communications Technology Act (ICT) for allegedly making "derogatory remarks" about Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina Wajid and her ruling Awami League. Since his arrest on 28 August, Dilip Roy has been detained and was denied bail by the Rajashahi Magistrate Court this week. His alleged offence was to write two Facebook posts critical of the Prime Minister's support for a controversial coal power plant. Section 57 of the ICT Act is vaguely formulated and has for years been used by the authorities to target and imprison critics. Anyone found guilty of "publishing fake, obscene or defaming information in electronic form" can be jailed for a minimum of seven years. Amnesty International calls on the Bangladeshi authorities to repeal Section 57 of the ICT Act and all other legal provisions that sweepingly and arbitrarily restrict freedom of expression, in violation of Bangladesh's obligations under international human rights law. "No country should have such vaguely worded and repressive laws on its books. Bangladesh's authorities should repeal Section 57 immediately, and stop using it to harass and threaten people who peacefully express views they don't like," said Champa Patel. Background Dilip Roy posted the following two posts on Facebook: - "Prime minister, is your lantern ready? What if it [the lantern allocated for the PM] gets stolen, then you will despair and say (insert her father's dialogue)." - "Prime Minister Hasina, maybe you want to see another Phulbari - I congratulate you for that! [As far as] I know, [the people of the country] will happily help you to gain this experience." The ICT Act - first passed in 2006 and amended in 2013 - has for years been used by the authorities in Bangladesh to choke freedom of expression. According to the human rights organisation Odhikar, at least 59 people were arrested under the ICT Act between January 2014 and July 2016. Those targeted often include real or perceived online critics of the Prime Minister, her family or the ruling party. Copyright notice: Copyright Amnesty International DR Congo: UN chief notes launch of national dialogue towards elections, urges more inclusive process Publisher UN News Service Publication Date 2 September 2016 Related Document(s) Security Council resolution 2277 (2016) [on extension of the mandate of the UN Organization Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUSCO) until 31 Mar. 2017] Cite as UN News Service, DR Congo: UN chief notes launch of national dialogue towards elections, urges more inclusive process, 2 September 2016, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/57cd3b1140e.html [accessed 30 October 2022] Disclaimer This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States. 2 September 2016 - United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has taken note of yesterday's launch of the national dialogue in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and urged more inclusive process towards elections, his spokesman said today. He remains convinced that only an inclusive political dialogue will help pave the way towards peaceful and credible elections, in accordance with Security Council Resolution 2277 (2016), Mr. Ban's spokesman added in a statement. The Secretary-General urged the political groups that have not yet joined the dialogue process to play a constructive role which contributes to the holding of timely and credible elections, the spokesman said. Furthermore, the Secretary-General encouraged the Government to continue confidence-building measures and to uphold the fundamental rights and freedoms enshrined in the Constitution, the spokesman said. Mr. Ban also urged all actors to refrain from any action that could increase tensions or lead to violence, the spokesman added. UN humanitarian chief sees first-hand harrowing conditions of refugees at Syria-Jordan border's berm Publisher UN News Service Publication Date 2 September 2016 Cite as UN News Service, UN humanitarian chief sees first-hand harrowing conditions of refugees at Syria-Jordan border's berm, 2 September 2016, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/57cd3b5740c.html [accessed 30 October 2022] Disclaimer This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States. 2 September 2016 - On a visit to northern Jordan today, the top United Nations humanitarian official saw first-hand the conditions that more than 70,000 Syrian refugees, mostly women and children, are having to stay in along the border with Syria in the middle of the desert, under a blazing sun and with no food or water amid talks with Jordanian authorities aimed at resolving their plight. We [had to fly] in by helicopter so we could see over the whole area and in between two berms are tens of thousands of tents quite sparsely populated compared to a normal organized refugee camp, the Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator Stephen O'Brien told UN Radio during a telephone call from Jordan. You have to imagine completely out in the middle of desert in very, very hot [conditions], baking in the tents, he added. The UN humanitarian chief is in Jordan in relation to that country's response to the war in Syria, which has seen hundreds of thousands of Syrians flee the conflict into Jordan, including some 75,000 people stranded between the two countries in an area made up of earthen embankments and known as the 'berm.' The living conditions there are dire with no access to basic resources such as food and water. Jordan, which had already welcomed more than 700,000 refugees from Syria, sealed the area due to security concerns following an attack in June on Jordanian military personnel before the border closure, UN agencies and partners regularly delivered supplies from the Jordanian side to the people stranded in a 'no man's land.' So far on his visit, Mr. O'Brien has met with senior government officials to discuss options, keeping in mind humanitarian principles, to help those stuck at the berm. Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator Stephen O'Brien (right), during a visit to northern Jordan. Photo: OCHA Our discussions focused principally on national security concerns and on finding solutions to the Syrians stranded at the north-eastern border, he said later in a media encounter in the capital, Amman. For the people at the berm, the Jordanian authorities have facilitated and supported the delivery of humanitarian assistance. He noted that that his discussions with the authorities also centred on ensuring that UN agencies and partners from humanitarian and non-governmental organizations which will work in the region are able to do so safely. Referring to Jordan's provision of more than 20,000 work permits to refugees so that they are able to earn a livelihood, the UN humanitarian chief underscored that this generosity needs to be recognized. Jordan serves as an island of stability, hosting the international community, contributing to and enabling us to respond to the hundreds of thousands of vulnerable people fleeing the conflict in Syria, the UN official said in his media encounter. Mr. O'Brien also said that the United Nations will be hosting a summit on refugees and migrants on 19 September at its headquarters in New York, and that will be followed by another meeting hosted by President Barack Obama of the United States where world leaders will discuss the issue. He also expressed his hope that there will be an understanding among the world's nations on getting support to the refugees and those displaced due to such terrible manmade conflicts around the globe. In first visit to Sri Lanka since end of war, Ban flags role of human rights and sustainable development on path to stability Publisher UN News Service Publication Date 2 September 2016 Cite as UN News Service, In first visit to Sri Lanka since end of war, Ban flags role of human rights and sustainable development on path to stability, 2 September 2016, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/57cd3bb240d.html [accessed 30 October 2022] Disclaimer This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States. 2 September 2016 - In his first visit to Sri Lanka since the end of its civil war seven years ago, United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon praised the country's steps towards peace and reconciliation, while also highlighting the importance of and need for more progress with human rights and sustainable development for that progress. "This is my first visit to Sri Lanka since 2009, when I saw great suffering and hardship. Hundreds of thousands of people were displaced and in need of humanitarian aid after the terrible conflict that tore the country apart," Mr. Ban said in his speech to an event held on the theme 'SDG16: Sustaining Peace - Achieving the Sustainable Development Goals,' held in the capital, Colombo. "I called for fast reconciliation and action to build peace, in the knowledge that conflict can recur in fragile post-war societies. Today, the picture is very different," he added. "I congratulate the Government and people of Sri Lanka for the progress you have made. There remains much hard work ahead, but you have moved with determination along a new path with great promise for all the country's people." The United Nations supported political efforts to resolve the civil war and, during its final stages in 2009, strongly advocated respect for human rights and a humane and orderly end to the fighting. In the aftermath of the conflict, according to the UN Department of Political Affairs, the world body - through the work of its agencies, funds and programmes - has assisted with the return and resettlement of civilians uprooted by the conflict. It has also encouraged the Government of Sri Lanka to adopt policies to promote political reconciliation and a credible accountability process for allegations of wartime violations of international human rights and humanitarian law. Although much to be done, Ban commends progress so far In his remarks, the Secretary-General took note of Sri Lanka's progress since the end the civil war, especially since a new government - that of President Maithripala Sirisena - took office in January this year. A young girl and her mother at a displaced persons camp in Vavuniya, Sri Lanka (2009). Photo: IRIN He commended its efforts to move forward on a comprehensive transitional justice agenda and on a constitutional reform process, as well as symbolic steps such as the decision to sing the National Anthem in Sinhala and Tamil on the country's Independence Day last February - the first time this had happened since the 1950s. "These steps have built confidence and trust, and strengthened transparency and accountability," Mr. Ban said. "But more can and should be done to address the legacy of the past and acknowledge the voices of the victims. Sri Lanka is still in the early stages of regaining its rightful position in the region and the international community. There is still much work to be done in order to redress the wrongs of the past and to restore the legitimacy and accountability of key institutions, particularly the judiciary and the security services." Links between 2030 Agenda and Sri Lanka's path to stability In his remarks, the Secretary-General also highlighted the links between the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and Sri Lanka's own path to stability and peace. "The 2030 Agenda marks a watershed in the way we have formally linked peace and security to sustainable development," said Mr. Ban. "It points the way towards reducing violence, promoting harmony and prosperity, and making the world safer for all. The entire 2030 Agenda is centred on respect for human rights. It aims to ensure that no one is left behind, by reaching out to the most vulnerable and marginalized first." In particular, he singled out SDG16, which is centred on the promotion of peaceful and inclusive societies for sustainable development, the provision of access to justice for all and building effective, accountable and inclusive institutions at all levels. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon meets residents of the resettlement area in Palai Veemankamam South Village, Sri Lanka. UN Photo/Eskinder Debebe "Goal 16 is a benchmark for peaceful and inclusive societies. It demands action against corruption and crime. It requires that institutions function in a transparent and efficient way, based on the rule of law, and that access to justice is guaranteed for all," the UN chief said. "These are important targets in themselves, but they are also crucial for achieving all the other Goals." Importance of a human rights-based approach The Secretary-General flagged that a human rights-based approach is fundamental both to post-conflict reconciliation, and to global peace and prosperity. "Here in Sri Lanka, the world's work for human rights faced one of its most difficult tests. The decades-long civil war saw terrible violence, terrorism, the use of human shields and other grievous violations of human rights and humanitarian law," he said. "In the conflict's decisive final stages, tens of thousands of civilians perished. The war was ended - an unquestionable good for Sri Lanka, the region and the world. But we also know that even in its ending, the price was high." "I again commend Sri Lankans for examining the difficult period you have now begun to leave behind. I am sure those efforts will continue to generate important lessons for the international community that can save many lives in many places," Mr. Ban added. He noted that all sectors of society, in particular women and youth, must be involved in planning for peace and sustainable development, and the results must benefit all. Recalling his meeting with youth at an event in the southern city of Galle yesterday, the Secretary-General said he was inspired by their vision for a peaceful and sustainable future. He also called for women to "take their rightful place," and paid special tribute to Radhika Coomaraswamy, his former Special Representative for Children and Armed Conflict, for having worked tirelessly for women and children throughout her many years of public service for the UN. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon (left), meets with Mangala Samaraweera, Minister for Foreign Affairs of Sri Lanka. UN Photo/Eskinder Debebe Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon (left), meets with Mangala Samaraweera, Minister for Foreign Affairs of Sri Lanka. UN Photo/Eskinder Debebe Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon (at lectern) addresses a press conference in Colombo, Sri Lanka, at the conclusion of his official visit to the country. UN Photo/Eskinder Debebe Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon visits a resettlement area in Palai Veemankamam South Village, in Jaffna District, Sri Lanka, where he toured a shelter run by UNHCR, and latrines and well renovations administered by UNICEF. He also held a discussion with community representatives. UN Photo/Eskinder Debebe Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon meets with some residents of the resettlement area in Palai Veemankamam South Village, Sri Lanka. UN Photo/Eskinder Debebe Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon meets with some residents of the resettlement area in Palai Veemankamam South Village, Sri Lanka. UN Photo/Eskinder Debebe Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon (right) meets with Justice C.V. Wigneswaran, Chief Minister of the Northern Province of Sri Lanka, in province capital Jaffna. UN Photo/Eskinder Debebe Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon (left) meets with Reginal Cooray, Governor of the Northern Province of Sri Lanka, in province capital Jaffna. UN Photo/Eskinder Debebe In concluding his remarks, the Secretary General called on all sections of the country, as well as its international partners, to come forward with coordinated support for the framework the government has put in place. He said he looked forward to their contributions in taking this country forward on the new path of peace and reconciliation. Ban addresses news conference Also on Friday, the Secretary-General addressed a news conference in Colombo, during which he noted the progress the country has made since his last visit, particularly in relation to a visit made earlier today to the northern city of Jaffna, which has a large Tamil population. While there, he met with the Tamil political leadership, civil society members and the governor and discussed the government's efforts on transitional justice, peacebuilding and reconciliation. "Great progress has been made in alleviating the problems associated with mass displacement," Mr. Ban said. "When I was there almost seven years ago, they were all staying in refugee tents. Now they have been building brick houses. While I was also sad to see that they are still suffering from all of these, I saw that they were very busy, they were making their own lives with the help of the international community, UNHCR and other United Nations agencies." UN Security Council arrives in South Sudan, aims to 'move the ball' on country's stability Publisher UN News Service Publication Date 2 September 2016 Cite as UN News Service, UN Security Council arrives in South Sudan, aims to 'move the ball' on country's stability, 2 September 2016, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/57cd3bc740d.html [accessed 30 October 2022] Disclaimer This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States. 2 September 2016 - A delegation from the United Nations Security Council today arrived in South Sudan, where it will reinforce recent messages made to the authorities as well as discuss how the UN peacekeeping mission there can help them improve the security and humanitarian situation in the wake of recent violence. Regardless of the timing, let me say that, any visit of the UN Security Council is an important event. Because it indicates a firm commitment to bring, in this case, to South Sudan, the much-needed peace, the Secretary-General's Special Representative for that country and head of the UN Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS), Ellen Margrethe Lj, told the UN News Centre ahead of the visit. The visit also follows the Council's recent renewal of UNMISS' mandate, which included the approval of a 4,000-strong regional protection force to aid with security in the capital, Juba. It also comes before the UN Secretary-General has to provide his first report on the progress achieved in implementing the new mandate. I hope the Council will be interested to hear, both from us and from the government about the progress we have made through our discussions, in particular, on the deployment of the regional protection force for Juba, Ms. Lj said. In early July, close to the fifth anniversary of the country's independence, the country was plunged into violence with clashes between rival forces the Sudan People's Liberation Army (SPLA), loyal to President Salva Kiir, and the SPLA in Opposition, backing former First Vice-President Riek Machar that led to deaths and injuries, including those of several UNMISS peacekeepers. The Council, as well as various senior UN officials, including UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, repeatedly spoke out over the violence, condemning it and calling for calm and the safety of civilians. Ambassador Samantha Power of the United States (right), leader of the Security Council mission to South Sudan, is greeted by Ellen Margrethe Lj, UN Secretary-General's Special Representative for South Sudan and head of UNMISS on arrival in Juba. Photo: UNMISS The young country has faced ongoing challenges since a political face-off between the two leaders erupted into full blown conflict in December 2013, producing one of the world's worst displacement crises. Despite a peace agreement between President Kiir and Mr. Machar in August 2015 which formally ended their differences, conflict and instability have also spread to previously unaffected areas. For the Council, the UNMISS chief said, the visit is not only a chance to see, first-hand, some of the challenges facing the people of the South Sudan especially those who are located in UNMISS Protection of Civilian sites but to also meet and interact with ordinary South Sudanese, civil society, women's groups, etcetera, and to hear from them what their daily life is, so that all in all the Security Council will get a picture of some of the security, human rights, and other challenges they face on a daily basis. According to an UNMISS news release, the delegation is led by the Permanent Representatives of the Missions of Senegal and the United States, comprising representatives of all the other permanent and rotating member states of the Security Council. Delegation heads: international community extremely frustrated Soon after the delegation's arrival in the capital, Juba, US Ambassador Samantha Power said the Council members are completely united in our desire to see peace in South Sudan and to see the people of this country live with the security and the dignity that they have craved for a very long time. However, she added, we are here unfortunately not in a celebratory frame of mind because of our deep concern about the fighting that has degraded the security environment and that has exacerbated a devastating humanitarian crisis for the people of this country. The international community is extremely frustrated with the obstruction of UN peacekeeping operations that has gone on for too long, she said. She noted that the Council members really want to move the ball and really need to see progress on the deployment of the regional protection force, on lifting obstruction of humanitarian actors and of UNMISS, and hopefully moving forward on the political agreement. Co-leaders of the Security Council mission to South Sudan Ambassadors Samantha Power of the United States (left) and Fode Seck of Senegal hold a press conference. Photo: UNMISS Also speaking to reporters, the other co-head of the delegation, Senegal's Ambassador Fode Seck, said that when resolution 2304 authorizing the regional protection force was adopted, the African members of the Council namely Angola, Egypt and Senegal highlighted the importance of national sovereignty, and that the force's deployment must be carried out in collaboration with the Government of South Sudan. National sovereignty is paramount for our countries, he said, emphasizing that the UN cannot impose the deployment. The UNMISS news release also said that the Council delegation will hold meetings with President Kiir and other Transitional Government members, with the aim of reinforcing the various messages contained in a number of Council resolutions on South Sudan. The Council members will take the opportunity to visit UNMISS Protection of Civilians sites in Juba, and a protection area established adjacent to the UNMISS base in the state of Wau, to meet with internally displaced people and see for themselves the prevailing humanitarian and security conditions. The Council has, in its most recent resolution, expressed grave alarm over the security situation and the ongoing violence in the country, as well as the dire humanitarian consequences for the people of the country. It has also noted extreme concern over reports of widespread sexual and gender-based violence and ethnic clashes, and plans to urge all parties to adhere to an immediate end to fighting throughout the country, during this trip. The visit is also seen as a reiteration of the Council's full support, expressed in the resolution, for UNMISS, as well as the member states' commitment to seeing an end to the violence in South Sudan, and a return to the full implementation of the peace Agreement. The Security Council is made up five permanent members China, France, Russian Federation, the United Kingdom, and the United States and 10 non-permanent members that sit on the body on a two-year rotation. They are Angola, Egypt, Japan, Malaysia, New Zealand, Senegal, Spain, Ukraine, Uruguay and Venezuela. The Council delegation is made up representatives of all current members. UN refugee agency: 2016 is deadliest year for refugees crossing to Europe via Central Mediterranean Publisher UN News Service Publication Date 2 September 2016 Cite as UN News Service, UN refugee agency: 2016 is deadliest year for refugees crossing to Europe via Central Mediterranean, 2 September 2016, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/57cd3bfe40e.html [accessed 30 October 2022] Disclaimer This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States. 2 September 2016 - The United Nations refugee agency today flagged that while the number of deaths of refugees seeking safety via the Turkey-Greece route into Europe has fallen dramatically, the use of the North Africa-Italy route has remained constant - with the latter experiencing an increase in the number of deaths, making 2016 the deadliest year so far for refugees in the Central Mediterranean. "The chances of dying on the Libya to Italy route are ten times higher than when crossing from Turkey to Greece," a spokesperson for the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), William Spindler, told a media briefing at the UN Office in Geneva today. The chances of dying on the Libya to Italy route are ten times higher than when crossing from Turkey to Greece According to UNHCR, the number of refugees and migrants arriving in Greece has dropped dramatically, from over 67,000 in January 2016 to 3,437 in August 2016, following the closure of the so-called Balkan route and the implementation of the European Union-Turkey Statement, an agreement on methods to end the irregular migration from Turkey to the EU and replace it instead with legal channels of resettlement. The number of arrivals to Italy, meanwhile, has remained more or less constant, with some 115,000 refugees and migrants landing in Italy as of the end of August this year, compared to 116,000 during the same period last year. "The main change, however, has been the number of casualties," Mr. Spindler said. "So far this year, one person has died for every 42 crossing from North Africa to Italy, compared to one in every 52 last year - this makes 2016 to date the deadliest year on record in the Central Mediterranean." It is one year since the publication of the iconic photograph of Alan Kurdi, a dead Syrian toddler on a Turkish beach. Although that photograph sparked outrage across the world about the plight of refugees and migrants, large numbers of people have continued to die, or gone missing on the Mediterranean. Overall, during the first eight months of 2016, some 281,740 people have made the sea crossing to Europe, with UNHCR estimating that some 4,176 people have died or gone missing on the Mediterranean since this time last year - an average of 11 men, women and children perishing every day over the last 12 months. In his remarks, Mr. Spindler noted that it was also one year since the drowning of Syrian toddler Alan Kurdi while attempting to enter Europe via the Turkey-Greece route with his family - an image of his corpse had led to strong international outcry over the circumstances of people seeking refuge in Europe. "The death of Alan Kurdi resulted in unprecedented expressions of sympathy and solidarity for refugees all over Europe, with many people volunteering to help and spontaneously giving food, water and clothes to refugees and even offering to take them into their homes," the spokesperson said, adding that to document and highlight some of these individual acts of solidarity, UNHCR had produced a series of portraits of families hosting refugees in Austria, Germany and Sweden. 12-year-old Sagga from Eritrea 12-year-old Sagga, from Eritrea, sits with other adolescent boys and men in a crowded cell, at the Zawiya detention centre near Tripoli, the capital. Sagga, together with two friends, left his homeland in the hopes of finding work in Europe to support his family and have a better life. Their journey to Libya took 10 months. He has an uncle in Italy and plans to seek asylum there and attend school. UNICEF/ Romenzi Alguaiha detention centre Men eat together in the crowded yard at the Alguaiha detention centre in the coastal town of Garabulli on the north-western coast. Despite the dangers, many migrants are willing to take the risk to reach Europe. Libya continues to be the main transit and departure point for irregular sea migration to Europe. Foreigners without legal immigration status in the country can be arrested and can spend up to 12 months in a detention centre. UNICEF/ Romenzi Ifeyimwa, 8 months pregnant, from Nigeria Ifeyimwa, who is 8 months pregnant, sits on a cot in a cell at Sikka Police Station in Tripoli, the capital. Ifeyimwa, who is from Nigeria, says that she has been living in Libya and has been working as cleaner since 2012. She, her husband, and 20 other Nigerians , have been arrested and accused of being illegal immigrants.UNICEF/ Romenzi "The arrival of over a million refugees and migrants to Europe last year has also given rise to hostility and tensions within the societies hosting them, " Mr. Spindler highlighted. "The ongoing challenge for Europe is to make available the support and services that refugees need to successfully integrate so that they can contribute fully to society - bringing new skills, determination and a cultural richness, as they seek to re-establish their lives in their new homes." He added that, in this regard, UNHCR strongly urges governments and their national partners to commit to the development and implementation of comprehensive national integration plans, and calls for a clear commitment to the prevention of discrimination, the promotion of inclusion and the combatting of racism and xenophobia. Number of death and missing by route Number of death and missing by route. Data January 2015 - August 2016. Graphic: UNHCR Death and missing key figures Death and missing key figures. Data January 2015 - August 2016. Graphic: UNHCR Central Mediterranean route Central Mediterranean route. Data January 2015 - August 2016. Graphic: UNHCR Eastern Mediterranean route Eastern Mediterranean route. Data January 2015 - August 2016. Graphic: UNHCR UN Secretary-General condemns deadly terrorist attacks in northern Pakistan Publisher UN News Service Publication Date 2 September 2016 Cite as UN News Service, UN Secretary-General condemns deadly terrorist attacks in northern Pakistan, 2 September 2016, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/57cd3c5040c.html [accessed 30 October 2022] Disclaimer This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States. 2 September 2016 - United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today condemned two separate terrorist attacks which took place in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province of Pakistan, reportedly targeting a Christian neighbourhood and a district court, according to his spokesperson. "He stresses the need to ensure accountability and to bring to justice the perpetrators of these terrorist attacks," the spokesperson added in a statement. According to media reports, earlier today, four suicide bombers targeted a Christian neighbourhood near the province's capital, Peshawar, killing one person before being shot dead, while another suicide bomber attacked a court in the city of Mardan, killing at least 12 people and injuring more than 50. "The Secretary-General is saddened by the loss of life," Mr. Ban's spokesperson said. "He extends his heartfelt condolences to the victims and their families, and wishes a speedy recovery to the injured. He expresses his solidarity with the people and Government of Pakistan." Mozambique: UN expert warns masterminds of attacks against persons with albinism still at large Publisher UN News Service Publication Date 2 September 2016 Cite as UN News Service, Mozambique: UN expert warns masterminds of attacks against persons with albinism still at large, 2 September 2016, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/57cd54f340c.html [accessed 30 October 2022] Disclaimer This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States. 2 September 2016 - A United Nations human rights expert today said that despite all the success in tackling crimes against persons with albinism in Mozambique, their situation remains precarious as the authorities have yet to identify and arrest the masterminds behind such crimes. "It is believed that the masterminds operate in a secretive but powerful cross-border network akin to that of drug barons. To date, none of them have been caught or prosecuted and perceived networks are yet to be identified," the UN independent expert on the enjoyment of human rights by persons with albinism, Ikponwosa Ero, said at the end of her official visit to the southern African country. In a news release from the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), the expert warned that "while there is a belief that the masterminds are from outside Mozambique, there are insufficient facts supporting this assertion." She cited the need to be careful about making such inferences and avoid stoking xenophobic sentiments, particularly against the refugees and migrants into the country. According to the United Nations, discrimination and stigmatization of people with albinism exists to varying degrees all over the world. Albinism has often been subjected to mystification, triggering erroneous beliefs and myths, such as one that potions or amulets made from the body parts of people with albinism have magical powers. This has led to attacks, abductions and killings of people with albinism, and even to the theft of their bodies from graveyards. In 2013, the UN Human Rights Council adopted a resolution calling for the prevention of attacks and discrimination against persons with albinism. The Council created the mandate that Ms. Ero operates under as an independent expert in March 2015. Albinos. Photo: IRIN/Helen Blakesley During her visit to Mozambique, the release said, the expert went to Maputo, Nampula and Beira, and met the families of victims of attacks, with people with albinism and their families, and detainees accused of crimes against persons with albinism. She also witnessed an ongoing trial involving the attempted sale of a body part of a person with albinism. "People with albinism, from cradle to grave, are hunted and their body parts are wanted - everything from their heads to their toes, their hair, their nails and even their faeces are collected," Ms. Ero said. "Real fear therefore exists among persons with albinism across the country, particularly in provinces with reported attacks." Ms. Ero commended the Government of Mozambique's response so far to the crisis faced by persons with albinism, welcoming in particular its Multi-Sectorial Plan of Action to address attacks, and the use of pre-existing mechanisms, such as reference groups. However, she warned that the Plan needed to be fully and scrupulously implemented for it to have a lasting impact. "The UN Sustainable Development Goals have a key objective to leave no one behind. This certainly means leaving no person with albinism behind. I hope the momentum achieved by Mozambique will continue, to protect the rights of people with albinism, even in the face of economic and political challenges," she said. The expert will produce a full report, with recommendations, to be presented to the Human Rights Council in March 2017. UN Security Council strongly condemns terrorist attack against Chinese Embassy in Kyrgyzstan Publisher UN News Service Publication Date 2 September 2016 Cite as UN News Service, UN Security Council strongly condemns terrorist attack against Chinese Embassy in Kyrgyzstan, 2 September 2016, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/57cd552940c.html [accessed 30 October 2022] Disclaimer This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States. 2 September 2016 - The United Nations Security Council has strongly condemned the recent terrorist bomb attack against the Chinese Embassy in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan, which caused injuries of embassy staff, stressing that diplomatic and consular premises must not be violated. In an overnight press statement, the 15-member Council condemned in the strongest terms the serious terrorist bomb attack, which took place in the capital on 30 August, while also expressing their deep sympathy to the injured and their families and to the Government of China and the Government of Kyrgyzstan and wishing the wounded a speedy recovery. The Council stressed the fundamental principle of the inviolability of diplomatic and consular premises, and the obligations on host Governments, including under the 1961 Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations and the 1963 Vienna Convention on Consular Relations, to take all appropriate steps to protect diplomatic and consular premises against any intrusion or damage, and to prevent any disturbance of the peace of these missions or impairment of their dignity, and to prevent any attack on diplomatic premises, agents and consular officers. Underlining the need to bring the perpetrators, organizers, financiers and sponsors to justice, the Council urged all States, in accordance with their obligations under international law and relevant Council resolutions, to cooperate actively with relevant governments and authorities in the investigation into the case. Furthmore, the Council reaffirmed that terrorism in all forms and manifestations constitutes one of the most serious threats to international peace and security, and that any acts of terrorism are criminal and unjustifiable, regardless of their motivation, wherever, whenever and by whomsoever committed. The Council also reaffirmed the need to combat by all means, in accordance with the Charter of the United Nations and all obligations under international law, including international human rights, refugee and humanitarian law, threats to international peace and security caused by terrorist acts. UN envoy eyes new political initiative in Syria talks; his advisor says taskforce 'failed' people of Darayya Publisher UN News Service Publication Date 1 September 2016 Cite as UN News Service, UN envoy eyes new political initiative in Syria talks; his advisor says taskforce 'failed' people of Darayya, 1 September 2016, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/57cd553f40e.html [accessed 30 October 2022] Disclaimer This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States. 1 September 2016 - The United Nations envoy for Syria said today that he plans to present a "quite clear political initiative" during the week preceding the General Assembly so that the stalled peace talks could resume by the time the Security Council holds another meeting on Syria on 21 September. "So that is the target date for making sure that everyone is actively involved in producing some positive outcome on this conflict," the UN Special Envoy for Syria, Staffan de Mistura, told reporters in Geneva. Having suspended the talks between the government and the opposition in April, the UN envoy had set two target dates in August for the resumption of the negotiations to end more than five years of conflict in the Middle Eastern country. Giving an update on the Russia-United States negotations on a cessation of hostilities, he said "the discussions are ongoing at the very senior military, security and diplomatic level" between the two nations, adding that their talks may last until "probably Friday or Saturday morning." The US and Russia are the co-chairs of the international grouping known as the ISSG, which comprises the UN, the Arab League, the European Union and 16 other countries. In Geneva, the taskforces on humanitarian aid delivery and a ceasefire - created by the ISSG - have been meeting separately since early this year on a way forward in the crisis. Mr. de Mistura had earlier said that the outcome of the ongoing US-Russia consultations would affect the course of taskforces' discussions. In addition, he said at today's briefing that it was likely that the international community is "going to be very much focused on what maybe happening" at the Group of 20 meeting in Beijing on Sunday. Burma: US Should Retain Key Sanctions Publisher Human Rights Watch Publication Date 2 September 2016 Cite as Human Rights Watch, Burma: US Should Retain Key Sanctions, 2 September 2016, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/57cd55b94.html [accessed 30 October 2022] Disclaimer This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States. The US government should keep in place sanctions on Burma to deter the Burmese military from derailing democratic reforms, Human Rights Watch said today. Human Rights Watch has learned that the Obama administration plans to announce the lifting of key sanctions during Burmese leader Aung San Suu Kyi's visit to Washington, DC, which begins on September 14, 2016. "US sanctions are focused on the Burmese generals and their cronies in order to encourage democratic reforms," said John Sifton, Asia advocacy director at Human Rights Watch. "The sanctions are crucial for pressing the military to end rights abuses and transfer power to a fully civilian government. They shouldn't be fully lifted until the democratic transition is irreversible." Many of the sanctions restricting Burmese financial institutions, imports, and US investment in Burma were already eased or removed entirely between July 2012 and May 2016. Most of the remaining sanctions specifically target the Ministry of Defense, state or non-state armed groups, and individuals and entities on the US Department of Treasury's "Specially Designated Nationals" (SDN) List. In August, Burma's lower house of parliament voted to reject a legislative proposal that would challenge US sanctions. U Hla Moe, a senior official in Aung San Suu Kyi's ruling National League for Democracy party, told the media after the vote that "there's no reason to discuss it, because the sanctions are imposed for those who are obstructions to the country's democratic movements, not for the [whole] country. So the parliament doesn't need to urge to ease them." During a joint news conference on May 22, 2016, Suu Kyi, State Counsellor and Foreign Minister of Burma, and US Secretary of State John Kerry both appeared to suggest that relaxing sanctions would not occur until Burma's military allowed the country's fundamentally flawed 2008 Constitution to be revamped. The constitution reserves 25 percent of parliamentary seats for the military, empowers the military to appoint the ministers of defense, home affairs, and border affairs, and allows the military to dissolve the government during a national emergency. Kerry said at the May news conference that "the key to the lifting of the sanctions is really the progress that is made within Myanmar in continuing to move down the road of democratization it's very difficult to complete that journey in fact, impossible to complete that journey with the current constitution. It needs to be changed." Suu Kyi said: "We're not afraid of sanctions. We're not afraid of scrutiny I understand and I accept and I believe that the United States is a friend, and are not keeping the sanctions to hurt us, but to that it would help us. And I'm ready to accept that; I'm not afraid of sanctions." Core sanctions include the gem trade, with which the Burmese military has long been involved in illicit and abusive exploitation, Human Rights Watch said. Key provisions in the current sanctions regime aim to prevent US companies and individuals from doing business with military officials and military-owned enterprises, prohibit the import of Burmese jade and gemstones into the United States, and restrict businesses and persons from involvement in that sector. Recent legal reforms in Burma that address the jade and gemstone sector have not yet been fully implemented. As a result, on August 23, US Customs and Border Protection reportedly updated and renewed its rules prohibiting the importation of gemstones from Burma. The US Department of the Treasury maintains on its "Specially Designated Nationals" (SDN) database an extensive number of Burmese people and entities with whom US companies and persons are barred from doing business. Several are individuals who the US has determined threaten the peace, security, or stability of Burma's political reforms, or are responsible for or complicit in human rights abuses in Burma. "Many of the Burmese on the US sanctions list are criminal suspects and human rights abusers," Sifton said. "The US should assist Burma in promoting genuine economic development, not help those who made ill-gotten gains during military rule." Human Rights Watch also urged the Obama administration to keep in place the underlying "state of emergency" that allows many parts of the sanctions regime to stay in place. If current executive orders imposing sanctions are lifted or amended, they should be replaced with a new executive order under which sanctions could be re-imposed. Congress has long played an important role in imposing and maintaining sanctions on key human rights abusers in Burma, particularly those related to the Jade and gem sector. Regardless of administration actions, the United States Congress should continue its leadership and maintain relevant sanctions legislation, which will be particularly useful in the event of backsliding on reforms by the Burmese military. The US and other donors should also press for fiscal transparency in connection with Burma's mineral sector and state- or military-owned enterprises, Human Rights Watch said. All donors and international financial institutions such as the World Bank and Asian Development Bank should make revenue transparency a prerequisite for budget support to Burma and investments in the extractives industries. The US and other governments should retain restrictions on military assistance and training, and make increases in bilateral and multilateral assistance conditional on key reforms and military withdrawal from civilian government. "Sanctions were always intended to press the Burmese military to relinquish power and embrace reforms," Sifton said. "Now that real progress has been made, it's crucial to keep up the pressure until those goals have been achieved." Copyright notice: Copyright, Human Rights Watch G20 leaders in China: "the right to remain silent" does not apply to you! Publisher Reporters Without Borders Publication Date 2 September 2016 Cite as Reporters Without Borders, G20 leaders in China: "the right to remain silent" does not apply to you!, 2 September 2016, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/57cd56d64.html [accessed 30 October 2022] Disclaimer This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States. Reporters Without Borders (RSF) urges all leaders attending the G20 summit on 4-5 September in the southeastern city of Hangzhou to finally end their silence about the decline in justice in China, where forced confessions are increasingly used to justify jailing information activists and all those critical of President Xi Jinping and the Chinese Communist Party. China's Supreme People's Court issued a directive to law enforcement officers on 21 November 2013 to stop using torture to get detainees to confess. "Interrogation by torture in extracting a confession, as well as the use of freezing, hunger, drying, scorching, fatigue and other illegal methods to obtain a confession from the accused, must be eliminated," the court said. Nonetheless, although enshrined in Chinese law, "the right to remain silent" has never been violated as much as in the past three years. Two weeks after her abduction by the police, the journalist Gao Yu resurfaced on 8 May 2014 on state-owned China Central Television (CCTV), where she was shown "confessing her crimes" to a police officer" to a police officer. This shameful video proved that China continues to use mistreatment to justify imprisoning independent journalists and all those deemed overly critical of the Party. The broadcasting of this footage by a government-controlled TV news channel constituted a direct and grave violation of the right to due process. When tried in November 2014, Gao revealed that she had given the confession under the threat of reprisals against her son. Xiang Nanfu, a citizen journalist who was 62 when abducted in May 2014, appeared shortly thereafter on CCTV 13 confessing to having "defamed the Party and government." He had been a regular contributor to the New York-based news website Boxun. Many lawyers, human rights activists and Hong Kong-based publishers, some of them foreign citizens, have been arrested by the Chinese authorities and forced to confess in the course of several unprecedented crackdowns in 2015 and 2016. All were subjected to pressure. Sometimes the pressure was physical or sometimes they were threatened with possible reprisals against loved-ones. In most cases, the broadcasting of their confessions, often accompanied by a Xinhua government news agency dispatch, was part of a smear campaign against independent information providers. This was the case with Gui Minhai, the owner of a company that published essays critical of the Party, whose "confession" was broadcast by CCTV on 17 January, and Peter Dahlin, an employee of the NGO Chinese Urgent Action, whose "confession" was broadcast two days later. A Xinhua dispatch about the confessions was posted online the same day. "Why are detainees punished severely in China if they say nothing?" said Benjamin Ismail, the head of RSF's Asia-Pacific desk. "Because the authorities know that censoring criticism and independent news reporting is not enough to establish control over news and information. Forced confessions are an important part of Beijing's propaganda strategy, which seeks to impose its twisted vision of reality on the Chinese people and the rest of the world. "And the international community's silence reinforces this. By saying nothing about the broadcasting of forced confessions that flout the right to due process, the international community is endorsing the totalitarian 'rule by law' established by the Communist Party in place of the 'rule of law.' There will be more trials as unfair as Gao Yu's. "By their silence about the culpability of the Chinese state media, the G20 leaders are using unacceptable double standards. By remaining silent about Beijing's propaganda, they are sabotaging the work of all the human rights and media freedom activists and are contributing to the systematic disinformation of the Chinese people." RSF has been calling on the European Union to adopt sanctions against CCTV and its executives for more than two years. This would be consistent with European Council resolution 2013/124/PESC of March 2013, which found that certain Iranian officials - including Press TV's CEO and news director - had violated the right to a fair trial by their use of forced confessions and were complicit in the use of violence to make detainees "confess." The forced confessions that the Chinese public have seen on their TV screens were obtained in manner similar to those condemned by the European Council. Ismail added: "RSF reiterates its call for sanctions against the government officials and state media executives responsible for this system of propaganda, which not only aims to discredit all human rights activists, dissidents and government critics one by one, but also contributes to the almost systematic use of psychological and physical violence and constitutes a flagrant denial of justice for its victims and their families." The world's biggest prison for journalists and bloggers, with more than 200 currently detained, China is ranked 176th out of 180 countries in RSF's 2016 World Press Freedom Index. Press freedom violations recounted in real time January 2016 Publisher Reporters Without Borders Publication Date 2 September 2016 Cite as Reporters Without Borders, Press freedom violations recounted in real time January 2016, 2 September 2016, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/57cd57e64.html [accessed 30 October 2022] Disclaimer This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States. 02.09.2016 Website closed after revelations about Tehran city hall corruption The Committee for Determining Content that Constitutes Internet Crime, which is headed by prosecutor-general, ordered the closure of the Memarinews website yesterday, after it published documents about the Tehran city hall's sale of city-owned land and apartments to senior officials and municipal council members. Published on 29 August, the documents included letters from the Government Accounting Office criticizing disparities between the sale price and real value of the properties. Several leading figures, including Tehran mayor (and former Revolutionary Guard commander) Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf and municipal council president Mehdi Chameran, filed a complaint against Memarinews on the same day that the documents were published. It accused the site of defamation and publishing false information. Memarinews editor Yashar Soltani was summoned before the culture and media court just hours after the revelations. Then, in an open letter to the prosecutor-general yesterday, the mayor requested "a more thorough investigation into the published revelations, used by enemy media within Iran and abroad." He also requested a severe punishment for those responsible the corruption, if any corruption is proved, or otherwise for those responsible for publishing the lies. The decision ordering the website closed until further notice was issued later yesterday. ---------- 29.08.2016 Legislator punches newspaper reporter Reporters Without Borders (RSF) is appalled to learn that Ehssan Bodaghi, a reporter for the newspaper Iran, was assaulted in a corridor of the Iranian parliament yesterday by Nader Ghazipour, a hardline parliamentarian from Orumiyeh, the capital of West Azerbaijan province. When Bodaghi started to ask Ghazipour about the creation of a group of Azeri-speaking parliamentarians, Ghazipour reacted by punching him several times in the face and then dragged him to the office of the parliament's security service. Security officers released Bodaghi an hour later after deleting his audio recordings and making him sign an undertaking "not to start fights." Witnesses of the incident nonetheless said Bodaghi had just put questions to Ghazipour, who responded by accusing him of being "one of the reformers who are against Islam." Ghazipour has a history of violence. During the last parliamentary elections in February, he told a meeting: "Parliament is not a place for women. It is a place for men (...) We did not easily win [this revolution] and get control of the country in order to now send foxes, children or little donkeys to parliament. Parliament is not a place for donkeys." When a video of him making these comments was posted on social networks, it prompted an outcry and calls for him to be declared ineligible. Although he subsequently apologized to the women of Orumiyeh on his Instagram account, he threatened those who had "spied, recorded and posted the video." A few days later, Aina News director Hamed Atai and the journalist who had distributed the video were attacked on a street in Orumiyeh by Ghazipour supporters. ---------- 22.08.2016 - Court upholds decision to flog blogger Reporters Without Borders (RSF) is appalled to learn that an appeal court in the city of Saveh, in central Iran, has upheld a lower court's decision that the Saveh-based journalist and blogger Mohammad Reza Fathi should be flogged because of his posts about city officials. Under the original ruling handed down on 13 April, Fathi was sentenced to 444 lashes (to be administered in six sessions of 74 lashes) on charges of defamation and publishing false information. In its 12 July ruling, the appeal court confirmed the decision to flog Fathi but modified the sentence. It sentenced him to three sessions of 77 lashes for defamation and three sessions of 76 lashes for publishing false information for an increased total of 459 lashes. But the appeal court added that only the second sentence (three sessions of 76 lashes) will be administered in accordance with article 134 of the new Islamic penal code (as amended in 2013), which says that when a defendant is given more than one sentence on criminal charges, only the sentence corresponding to the gravest charge is implemented. RSF again calls on the judicial authorities to overturn this sentence, which is inhumane and medieval, and contrary to international law. Read the entry of 30.06.2016 - Iranian blogger sentenced to 444 lashes ---------- 16.08.2016 - Journalist gets three years, another trial pending Reporters Without Borders (RSF) is outraged to learn that Issa Saharkhiz, a well-known independent journalist who edited several reformist newspapers, wassentenced to a total of three years in prison by a Tehran revolutionary court on 9 August. His lawyer, Mahmoud Alizadeh-Tabatabaie, said Saharkhiz was given two years on a charge of anti-government propaganda and one year for "insulting Ali Khamenei, the Islamic Revolution's Supreme Leader." Two other pending charges against Saharkhiz publishing false news and insulting the head of the judicial system are to be tried separately as political crimes before a court of assizes, the lawyer added. Saharkhiz was one of several journalists who were arrested on 2 November 2015. He has been in a Tehran hospital since 10 March after suffering a heart attack and going on hunger strike. Often proposed since the 1979 revolution, the controversial law on political crimes was finally adopted by the Iranian parliament in May. This law violates the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (which Iran has signed) and other international norms. ---------- 18.07.2016 Narges Mohammadi ends hunger strike Reporters Without Borders (RSF) is relieved that imprisoned journalist and human rights defender Narges Mohammadi abandoned her hunger strike on 16 July after being able to talk by phone with her two children, who now live with their father in Paris. RSF is pleased that the judicial authorities allowed this but points out that she should not be in prison, especially as she is in very poor health. RSF was also pleased to learn that Afarin Chitsaz, a journalist held since a wave of arrests on 2 November 2015 , was released on bail of 1 billion toman (720,000 euros) on 5 July pending a decision on his appeal. Two other journalists who were arrested the same day, Ehssan Mazndarani and Saman Safarzai, were each granted three days' furlough on 5 July. Mazndarani had been hospitalized with pulmonary problems after being on hunger strike for more than three weeks. ---------- 08.07.2016 Narges Mohammadi on 12th day of hunger strike Reporters Without Borders (RSF) is concerned about the conditions in which journalist and human rights activist Narges Mohammadi is being detained. She has been on hunger strike since 27 June in protest against her treatment and, in particular, a ban on contacting her husband and children, who live in exile in France. Her state of health is very worrying. "She is continuing her hunger strike although she has to take several medicines every day and has been the victim of convulsions in her cell twice," her husband, Taghi Rahmani, said. A spokesperson of the Centre for Human Rights Defenders (which has been arbitrarily banned in Iran since 2006) and a close aide of Nobel Peace Laureate Shirin Ebadi, Mohammadi has had many spells in prison in connection with her human rights activism. Her current period in detention began when she was arrested on 5 May 2015. She was given a 10-year jail sentence on 18 May 2016. At an event that RSF organized at the Theatre du Rond Point in Paris on 2 May 2016, Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo awarded the City of Paris medal to four journalists proposed by RSF. One of them was Mohammadi, who sent a poignant message to the event from her Tehran cell. Her health is in danger but she is being denied the medical treatment she needs. In October 2015, she was taken from prison to a Tehran hospital, where she spent ten days handcuffed to a bed before being returned to prison against medical advice. -------- 30.06.2016 - Iranian blogger sentenced to 444 lashes Reporters Without Borders (RSF) is outraged by the sentence of 444 lashes that a court in the city of Saveh, in central Iran, imposed on Mohammad Reza Fathi, a journalist and blogger, on 9 June. The sentence is to be implemented in six sessions of 74 lashes. Fathi has filed an appeal. RSF urges the judicial authorities to overturn the sentence, which is inhumane and medieval, and contrary to international law. The sentence is the outcome of three complaints filed by local officials, including a legislator, a deputy mayor and 11 members of the Saveh municipal council, about articles critical of the municipal government and local officials that Fathi posted anonymously on his blog, called Radio Saveh (http://www.pooria6.blogfa.com/). Arrested by members of the FTA (Iran's cyber-police) on 5 August 2012, he was released on bail 13 days later pending trial on a charge of "publishing false information with the aim of upsetting public opinion." The trial finally began on 13 April 2015 and concluded with the announcement of the sentence three weeks ago. A number of media outlets and prominent figures have protested against the sentence, some of them in a letter to President Hassan Rouhani. Defending the sentence at a news conference, judicial authority provincial director Ghasem Abdolalhi said flogging was sometimes preferable to imprisonment "because only the culprit feels the consequences, while a jail term also affects the family" and because this form of punishment also satisfied the culprit's victims more. He also pointed out that the sentence could be reduced to a fine on appeal. Fathi was previously arrested in 2005 in connection with his posts in an earlier blog, Savehjam (http://www.savehjam.blogspot.com), criticizing the provincial governor and Saveh's mayor, and a letter he wrote to then President Mohammad Khatami lamenting "the limited ability of officials to accept criticism." After the release of the letter, he was questioned by members of the Edareh Amaken, Iran's vice squad, on 26 March 2005. Nine days later, members of the local police arrested him on the street and held him for three days. Under pressure from the authorities, he finally closed his blog, which had been very popular in his region. ------------- 22.06.2016 - Jail terms for former Iran CEO and three journalists Reporters Without Borders (RSF) condemns the 91-day jail sentences passed on 18 June on Ali Akbar Javanfekr, former CEO of the Iran media group and onetime adviser to controversial former President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, and three former journalists with the group's pro-government daily Iran, Abdolreza Soltani, Said Yousefipour and Hassan Ghassemi. The pro-Ahmadinejad website Dolat Bahar said a special court for government employees convicted them on 19 May of an "act of rebellion against government agents." Their lawyers have appealed. They were convicted in connection with the events that took place on 21 November 2011, as Javanfekr was holding a news conference at Iran's headquarters to protest against the one-year jail sentence and three-year ban on working as a journalist that a court had given him the day before. Tehran prosecutor's office representatives and police carried a particularly violent raid on the newspaper during the press conference, arresting Javanfekr and using teargas on the Iran journalists who were there to support him. ------ 21.06.2016 Reformist daily Ghanoon suspended Reporters Without Borders (RSF) condemns Tehran prosecutor Abbas Jafari Dolatabadi's decision yesterday to suspend the reformist daily Ghanoon with immediate effect in response to a complaint by the Revolutionary Guards accusing it of defamation and "publishing false information with the aim of upsetting public opinion." The newspaper's name means "The Law" in Persian. Dolatabadi said the decision was taken under article 114 of the code of criminal procedure, which provides for immediate measures for the "prevention of crime." He did not say what prompted the complaint but Ghanoon often publishes articles critical of the conservative factions that support the Supreme Leader and have the judicial system's support. A Ghanoon article dated 25 May and headlined "The latest change: ministry of intelligence 2" criticized a bill that was approved on the last day of the latest session of parliament, on 25 May. It granted full powers to the Revolutionary Guard intelligence agency, which operates independently of the ministry of intelligence. --------------- 16 June 2016 - Conservative website closed, reformist editor prosecuted Reporters Without Borders (RSF) reiterates its condemnation of government harassment of print and online media outlets following the closure of a conservative news website and the start of judicial proceedings against the editor of a reformist newspaper. The Committee for Press Authorization and Surveillance, the censorship wing of the Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance, closed the conservative Jahannews website on 15 June under paragraph 11 of article 6 of the press code, which bans "spreading rumours and false information and misusing content written by others." The committee did not say which content had caused offence. The site often posts stories critical of the government. In recent months, it posted information about the visits to Iran by Afghan Taliban chief Mullah Akhtar Mansour, who was killed in a US drone strike in May, and revealed the content of a letter from European Union foreign affairs representative Federica Mogherini to the Iranian foreign minister about problems implementing the international agreement on Iran's nuclear programme. It also revealed information about the dismissal of a member of the Rouhani administration. According to Iranian media reports, both the foreign ministry and the president's office have filed complaints against Jahannews. The reformist daily Ghanon was the victim of a complaint by the prison administration accusing it of publishing false information. On 14 June, the Tehran public prosecutor confirmed that Ghanon editor Mahnaz Mazaheri would be prosecuted over an 11 June article headlined "24 cursed hours" about the mistreatment and injuries that a detainee received in the course of a 24-hour period in a prison in the southern part of the capital. Hossein Shariatmadari, the editor of the ultra-conservative daily Kayhan, was meanwhile questioned by the prosecutor's office for culture and media on 15 June about complaints filed by various government bodies accusing it of publishing false and libellous information. A former interrogator at Tehran's Evin prison, Shariatmadari was appointed as Kayhan's editor by Supreme Guide Ali Khamenei in the early 1990s. ------------- 15.06.2016 Five Internet activists freed conditionally Reporters Without Borders is pleased to learn that five Internet activists who had been held for the past three years Amir Gholestani, Fariborz Kardarfar, Masoud Ghasemkhani, Seyyed Masoud Seyyed Talebi and Amin (Faride) Akramipour were granted conditional releases on 13 June. Gholestani had been due to serve another 12 years in prison, Kardarfar another 10, Ghasemkhani another eight, and Talebi and Akramipour another four. All of them also have suspended sentence of five years prison. This means they will be under judicial control for the next five years and will have to report to a police station every month. Revolutionary Guards arrested them and three others in September 2013 because of their activities on social networks, above all their Facebook posts about human rights abuses. After being placed in solitary confinement in Section 2A of Tehran's Evin prison and subjected to a great deal of pressure, the eight defendants were sentenced to a combined total of 123 years in prison on 27 May 2014 on charges of anti-government propaganda, "insulting what is sacred" and "insulting the Supreme Leader of the Revolution." An appeal court reduced the sentences significantly in April 2015. Two of the other three activists, Naghmeh Shahi Savandi Shirazi and Mehdi Reyshahri, were released in 2014 and 2015 respectively. The third, Roya Saberi Negad Nobakht, is still held. ---------------- 14 June 2016 Kabodvand paroled but Mazndarani back in his cell Reporters Without Borders (RSF) is relieved to learn that imprisoned journalist Mohammad Sedegh Kabodvand ended his hunger strike on 9 June after being acquitted of the new charges brought against him and welcomes the decision by the judicial authorities to grant him four days of medical parole, which began on 12 June. RSF nonetheless points out that Kabodvand should have already been released under article 134 of the new Islamic penal code (as amended in 2013), which recommends that a defendant convicted on more than one criminal charge should serve only the longest sentence. RSF continues to be concerned about the health of Ehssan Mazndarani, an imprisoned journalist who has been on hunger strike since 17 May. According to his family, he was taken back to Tehran's Evin prison on 11 June although he is still refusing to eat and is suffering from pulmonary problems and anxiety attacks. In a joint statement published on 11 June, 76 Iranian journalists called for the immediate release of these two journalists. "We are concerned about the crucial consequences that the hunger strike could have on the lives of these detained journalists and we condemn the violation of their legal and fundamental rights," the statement said. ---------- 07.06.2016 - Concern about two journalists on hunger strike in prison Reporters Without Borders (RSF) continues to be concerned about the way the authorities in Tehran's Evin prison are treating Mohammad Sedegh Kabodvand and Ehssan Mazndarani, two journalists who are on hunger strike in protest against the conditions in which they are being held and the injustices to which they have been subjected. Mazndarani has refused to eat since 17 May, according to his family, who were unable to locate him in the prison for several days after he had a heart attack on 21 May. It later turned out that, without telling the family, the prison authorities transferred him to a hospital, where doctors voiced concern about his condition. His family says he was also the victim of violence by a prison guard on the day he was hospitalized. Kabodvand was hospitalized after he, too, had a heart attack on 25 May but was sent back to Evin prison a week later. Doctors say that his condition is critical and that the hunger strike could cost him his life. As there no longer seems to be any limit to the persecution of media personnel in Iran, RSF calls on the authorities to give an immediate undertaking to guarantee the health of these two journalists. RSF also reminds Ahmed Shaheed, the UN special rapporteur on human rights in Iran, that he has a duty to intercede without delay and to demand official explanations from the authorities. --------- 23.05.2016 Alarm over fate of two journalists in Evin prison Reporters Without Borders (RSF) is outraged by the lack of transparency and denial of justice surrounding the hospitalization of Mohammad Sedegh Kabodvand, a journalist on hunger strike since 8 May in protest against his continuing detention and the judicial harassment to which he has been subjected in recent months Kabodvand was taken to hospital on 21 May after collapsing in his cell in Tehran's Evin prison but, after 24 hours of observation, he was returned to his cell. His family was able to visit him today but he was very weak and was unable to remain standing. He is continuing his hunger strike and his condition is very worrying. Ehssan Mazndarani, another journalist held in Evin prison, has meanwhile disappeared within the prison, according to his wife, Malieh Hossieni. She was told on 17 May that, on the orders of Revolutionary Court Judge Mohammad Moghiseh, he had been transferred back to Section 2A of Evin, a section controlled by the Revolutionary Guards. But Evin prison officials denied this on 20 May without saying where he was. Arrested on 2 November 2015 along with three other journalists, Mazndarani was sentenced to seven years in prison on 26 April . RSF urges Ahmed Shaheed, the UN special rapporteur on human rights in Iran, to intercede quickly and demand official explanations from the Iranian authorities. Under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, to which Iran is party, denying medical care constitutes a violation of the ban on torture and cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment. ---------- 12.05.2016 - Shargh's former political editor released Reporters Without Borders has learned that Keyvan Mehregan, a journalist who writes for reformist newspapers and used to be the daily Shargh's political editor, was released yesterday after serving nine months of a one-year jail term. His wife said a judge granted his conditional release at a Tehran prosecutor's request. Mehregan was arrested when he went to the Tehran passport office to renew his passport on 26 August 2015. From there he was taken to Evin prison's sentence enforcement office, where he was told that he had been sentenced to a year in prison and that he had to begin serving the sentence at once. He had been detained on several previous occasions since 2009. ---------- 09.05.2016 - Two citizen-journalists freed conditionally Reporters Without Borders (RSF) welcomes the decision taken on 4 May to grant a medical parole to citizen-journalist Hossien Ronaghi Malki in return for bail of 300 million toman (220,000 euros). Malki, who was arrested in December 2010 and is serving a 15-year jail sentence, has undergone several kidney operations and is in very poor health. He began a hunger strike more than a month ago. According to his family, a forensic doctor said his medical problems were incompatible with further detention. The Tehran prosecutor's office therefore obtained for him a suspension of sentence for one month on medical grounds. RSF reminds the judicial authorities that Hossien should already have been released for good under article 134 of the new Islamic criminal code (as amended in 2013), according to which someone convicted of more than one crime serves only the main sentence. RSF has also learned that citizen-journalist Atena Ferghdani was freed conditionally on 3 May following last month's announcement by her lawyer, Mohammad Moghimi, that a Tehran appeal court had reduced her jail sentence from 12 years and nine months to 18 months. She continues to be sentenced to three years in prison on a separate charge of insulting the Supreme Leader but this sentence is now suspended and will expire in four years' time . ---------- 29.04.2016 - Well-known cartoonist freed conditionally Reporters Without Borders (RSF) welcomes the release of Hadi Heidari, a well-known cartoonist who worked for the daily Shahrvand and ran the Persian Cartoon website. He was freed conditionally in Tehran on 27 April after completing half of a one-year jail sentence. Plainclothesmen from the Tehran prosecutor's office arrested him at Shahrvand on 16 November 2015 and took him to Evin prison, where he managed to inform his family that evening that he had been arrested to serve a prison sentence. ---------- 26.04.2016 Long jail terms for journalists arrested in November Reporters Without Borders (RSF) condemns the heavy jail sentences that have been passed on three journalists who were the victims of a wave of arrests in November. Afarine Chitsaz of the daily Iran, Ehssan Mazndarani, the editor of the daily Farhikhteghan, and Saman Safarzai of the monthly Andisher Poya were sentenced to ten, seven and five years in prison respectively, according to their lawyers, Mahmoud Alizadeh-Tabatabaie and Iman Mirzazadeh. A revolutionary court tried them on 7 March on charges of anti-government propaganda, conspiring against government officials and insulting government officials. They and Issa Saharkhiz, a well-known independent journalist who edited several reformist newspapers in the past, were arrested at their homes by Revolutionary Guard intelligence officers on 2 November. No sentence has been announced for Saharkhiz, who has been in a Tehran hospital since 10 March after going on hunger strike and suffering a heart attack. Iran is still one of the world's five biggest prisons for media personnel and is ranked 169rd out of 180 countriesin the 2016 Reporters Without Borders press freedom index. ---------- 25.04.2016 Court reduces citizen-journalist's 12-year sentence Reporters Without Borders (RSF) is relieved to learn that an appeal court has reduced the sentence imposed on citizen-journalist and human rights defender Atena Ferghdani, and that she is now due to be freed next month. RSF nonetheless calls for her immediate release because she is the innocent victim of judicial persecution. Her lawyer, Mohammad Moghimi, told journalists today that a Tehran appeal court had reduced her jail sentence from 12 years and nine months to 18 months, and that she should therefore be able to leave prison on 11 May. "The appeal court acquitted her on the charge of plotting against the regime and ordered a four-year suspension of her sentence for insulting the Supreme Leader, while her sentence for insulting Iran's President and the guards of Section A2 of Evin prison was commuted to a fine," he said. The only sentence upheld by the court was the 18-month jail term for anti-government propaganda, he added. Ferghdani was arrested on 11 January 2015 when she responded to a summons from a Tehran revolutionary court for posting a video on Facebook and YouTube the previous month. In the video she had described her experiences in Section 2A of Evin prison a section controlled by Revolutionary Guards after a previous arrest in August 2014. ---------- 07.04.2016 - Two journalists freed Reporters Without Borders (RSF) is relieved by this week's release of two journalists citizen-journalist Vahid Asghari on 4 April and professional journalist Said Razavi Faghih on 6 April. A young information technology student arrested on 11 May 2008 at Tehran's main international airport,Asghari was sentenced to death twice by a revolutionary court on charges of "publishing false information with the aim of stirring up public opinion," "activities threatening national security" and "hosting anti-Islamic and counter-revolutionary websites and collaborating with foreign media." After an international outcry, the death sentence was quashed and, on 6 December 2012, another revolutionary court gave him an 18-year jail sentence, which a Tehran appeal court reduced to 15 years two months later. Asghari has various ailments including Carpal tunnel syndrome (compression of the median nerve in the hand and forearm). He spent seven months in solitary confinement and was mistreated and tortured. In a letter to the presiding judge of one of the revolutionary courts on 17 October 2009, he gave a detailed description of the horrific interrogation sessions to which he was subjected. Faghih used to work for various newspapers including Yass-e No, which the authorities closed in 2009. Arrested on 24 February 2014, he should have been released on completing a one-year sentence in March 2015 but he was given a new sentence of three and a half years in prison on charges of anti-government publicity and insulting Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei and the Assembly of Experts. He suffers from various renal and cardio-vascular ailments and underwent a heart operation in January 2015, following which he was returned to Rajaishah prison. He began a hunger strike on 27 March in protest against the way he was being treated and was released ten days later. ---------- 29.03.2016 Two journalists freed pending trial Reporters Without Borders (RSF) has learned that the journalist Hassan Shikhaghai was released on bail on 15 December, pending trial. The editor of Ruwange, a news website based in Mahabad, in the northwestern province of Kurdistan, he was arrested on 7 October 2015 by plainclothesmen at the Mahabad revolutionary court's behest. RSF has also been told that Farzad Pourmoradi, a journalist based in the western province of Kermanshah who works for the Kermanshah Post, has also been released pending trial. He had to pay 90 million toman (70,000 euros) in bail. Revolutionary Guard plainclothesmen raided his home and arrested him on 2 November after he created a Kalaghnews page on the Telegram social networking service. He is charged with "activities against national security," "anti-government publicity" and insulting government officials. He suffered acute cardiac and pancreatic problems while in prison. ---------- 17.03.2016 - Sent into exile after four years in prison Reporters Without Borders (RSF) condemns the ruthless manner in which the judicial authorities are enforcing the sentence imposed in 2013 on journalist and researcher Said Madani. Released on 15 March, after four years in prison,Madani has been ordered to travel at once to the southern city of Bandar Abbas to begin a period of two years in exile there. A sociologist and writer (who haswritten many articles for independent media outlets), Madani was freed under article 134 of the new Islamic criminal code (as amended in 2013), under which someone convicted of more than one crime serves only the main sentence. After being arrested by plainclothesmen at his Tehran home on 7 January 2012, Madani spent a year in isolation in Section 209 of Tehran's Evin prison. The decision to sentence him to a jail term followed by exile was taken by a Tehran revolutionary court on 18 June 2013. ---------- 18.02.2016 Four Narenji website employees returned to prison Reporters Without Borders (RSF) condemns yesterday's rearrest of four senior members of the Narenji (Orange) tech news website to begin serving long jail sentences that were confirmed on appeal. The four Ali Asghar Honarmand, Hossien Nozari, Ehsan Paknejad and Abass Vahedi are sentenced to eleven, seven, five and two and a half years in prison respectively. Originally arrested along with seven colleagues in the southeastern city of Kerman on 3 December 2013, they were convicted by a Kerman court on 24 May 2014 on charges of "anti-government publicity," "actions threatening national security" and "collaborating with TV stations based abroad." Their seven colleagues received suspended sentences. All were freed in return for payment of large bail amounts. A court upheld the sentences on 30 November 2015 but the authorities did not notify them prior to the time of their rearrest. --------- 12.02.2016 - Former BBC journalist detained in Tehran Reporters Without Borders condemns the detention of Bahman Darolshafai, a 34-year-old former BBC journalist with British and Iranian dual nationality. Arrested at his Tehran home by plainclothesmen on 3 February, he managed to make a short phone call to his mother five days later, telling her he was "in a cell in Evin prison and under interrogation." After several years in London, Darolshafa left the BBC's Persian Service n 2014 and returned to Iran. Thereafter he was repeatedly interrogated by intelligence ministry officials and was forbidden to do any kind of journalistic activity. He had been translating literary and philosophical works. ---------- 2.02.2016 - Four journalists held provisionally for past two months Reporters Without Borders (RSF) condemns the continuing provisional detention of four journalists who were the victims of a wave of arrests exactly two months ago, on 2 November 2015 . Mahmoud Alizadeh-Tabatabaie, a lawyer representing two of the four, said: "There are differences between the investigation judge and the prosecutor as regards the charges against my clients." He is defending Ehssan Mazndarani, the editor of the daily Farhikhteghan, and Issa Saharkhiz, a well-known independent journalist. As well as being accused of "propaganda activities against the government," they are also charged with "acting against national security by means of meetings" and "conspiring against and insulting government officials." The case has been sent to the Tehran revolutionary court, whose president, Aboughasem Salevati, has been persecuting journalists and online information providers for years. He staged the "Stalin-style" mass trials in August 2009 and alone is responsible for convicting more than 100 journalists. The other two journalists arrested on 2 November are Afarine Chitsaz of the daily Iran and Saman Safarzai of the monthly Andisher Poya. All four continue to be denied all their rights. ------------ 14.01.2016 Woman journalist detained for fourth time since 2009 Reporters Without Borders (RSF) condemns journalist Rihaneh Tabtabai's detention for the fourth time since 2009. Tabtabai, who has worked for Shargh,Etemad, Bahar and other reformist newspapers, was jailed on 12 January to serve a one-year sentence on charges of endangering national security and anti-government publicity. Originally imposed by a revolutionary court in November 2014, the sentence was upheld by a Tehran appeal court two months ago. She is also sentenced to a two-year ban on political and journalistic activity in the media and online after she completes the jail term. After being arrested on 12 December 2010, she was released on bail of 10 million toman (7,500 euros) on 16 January 2011. On 2 April 2012, she received a two-year jail sentence from a Tehran revolutionary court that was reduced to six months on appeal. She served the sentence from 21 June to 11 November 2014. She was also detained from 31 January to 26 February 2013, when she was freed on bail. --------------- 12.01.2016 Journalist sent back to prison Reporters Without Borders (RSF) condemns Meisam Mohammadi's reimprisonment on 8 January. A onetime political editor of Kalameh Sabaz (a daily closed by the authorities in June 2009) and contributor to the Beheshti Foundation website, Mohammadi was arrested at his home by intelligence ministry officials on 10 February 2010 and was freed on bail two months later, pending trial. He was sentenced in May 2012 to four years in prison and a five-year ban on journalistic and political activities on charges of anti-government publicity and "meeting to conspire against national security." Kalameh Sabaz's owner, former Prime Minister Mir Hossein Mousavi, the writer Zahra Rahnavard (who is Mousavi wife) and Mehdi Karoubi, a former parliamentary speaker and owner of the closed newspaper Etemad Melli, are still illegally held under house arrest and have been detained since 24 February 2011. Mousavi and Karoubi, who were both presidential candidates in 2009, have also been stripped of all of their rights. Their state of health is very worrying. -------------------- Press freedom violations recounted in real time (January -December 2015) ------------------- Press freedom violations recounted in real time ( January-December 2014) ---------------------- Press freedom violations recounted in real time ( January-December 2013) ---------------- Press freedom violations recounted in real time (January-December 2012) ---------- Press freedom violations recounted in real time (January-December 2011) ----- Press freedom violations recounted in real time (July-December 2010) -------- Press freedom violations recounted in real time (January-July 2010) --------- Press freedom violations recounted in real time (June-December 2009) Venezuela: constant violations of media freedom Publisher Reporters Without Borders Publication Date 2 September 2016 Cite as Reporters Without Borders, Venezuela: constant violations of media freedom, 2 September 2016, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/57cd588d4.html [accessed 30 October 2022] Disclaimer This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States. Reporters Without Borders (RSF) is very worried about the constant decline in respect for freedom of expression that has accompanied the growing economic and social crisis in Venezuela since the start of the year.After yesterday's big demonstration in Caracas by political parties opposed to President Nicolas Maduro's government, which several leading foreign journalists were prevented from covering, RSF sounds the alarm and looks back at recent key events. The international reporters denied entry to Venezuela on the eve of the protest included Marie-Eve Detoeuf (also known by the pseudonym of Marie Delcas), a reporter for the French daily Le Monde, who was put on a flight to Bogota after being deemed "inadmissible" under Venezuela's immigration laws. The same vague grounds were used to deny entry to Colombian reporters Cesar Moreno of Radio Caracol and Dora Glottman of Caracol TV and US reporters John Otis of NPR and Tim Wyss of the Miami Herald. Al-Jazeera's Teresa Bo and Lagmi Chavez also suffered the same fate. Also related to the the opposition march yesterday, several journalists from TV News channel NTN24 reported that they were targeted with threats and verbal abuses by the National Gard. These acts of censorship are just the latest in a series of disturbing developments for media freedom in Venezuela: - 30 August: The headquarters of El Nacional, one of Venezuela's leading dailies, was attacked by masked men who threw Molotov cocktails and excrement at his facade and left a leaflet entitled, "Is the 1 September protest the beginning of the end?" It was signed by "Chama Pueblo en Rebelion," a pro-government group that previously vandalized the newspaper's headquarters in June. - 24 August: Gunmen fired about 30 shots at the entrance to the headquarters of the Diario de Los Andes, a newspaper based in the western city of Valera, without causing any injuries. - 20 June: Two individuals on a motorcycle threw a grenade at the headquarters of the Maracay-based daily El Aragueno, scattering leaflets with the message, "Digan la Verdad" (Tell the truth). Fortunately, the grenade did not explode. - 14 June: Five individuals vandalized the headquarters of the Ciudad Guayana-based newspaper Correo del Caroni, whose editor, David Natera Febres, was given a four-year jail term in March in connection with its coverage of alleged corruption involving a state-owned company. - 2 June: During street protests in Caracas against the economic crisis and food shortages, local and national media representatives were targeted by soldiers, police and some demonstrators. At least 19 journalists were the subject of various forms of aggression including physical and verbal attacks, threats and the seizure or destruction of equipment in the space of two hours, according to the NGO Espacio Publico. - 21 April: The national guard forcibly expelled 13 journalists who were covering an event involving several parliamentarians at the headquarters of the National Electoral Council (CNE), which is examining the opposition's application to hold a referendum to recall President Maduro. The journalists then had to flee from a group of pro-government demonstrators at the entrance to the CNE building. Stones were thrown at CNN en Espanol reporter Osmary Hernandez's vehicle, breaking three of its windows. - 19 April: Unidentified individuals smashed the windows of the premises of VTV, Venezuela's state-owned national TV broadcaster, in the Caracas suburb of Sucre. Unlike other attacks on media outlets, this one elicited strong condemnation by several government officials. - 17 March: The Valencia-based daily El Carabobeno, one of Venezuela's oldest newspapers, announced that it was printing its last issue because of the newsprint shortage that has affected the circulation of at least 46 newspapers in 15 of Venezuela's states since August 2013. "Venezuela's grave political and economic crisis does not in any way justify this series of attacks and acts of intimidation against the news media," said Emmanuel Colombie, the head of RSF's Latin America desk. "The argument of a 'media war' often raised by President Maduro in order to discredit the national and international media's criticism of his government is unacceptable. It just exacerbates an already very tense climate for journalists. The provision of news and information is more essential than ever in these troubled times. The Venezuelan authorities must therefore do everything possible to guarantee an acceptable environment for the media." As well as the emblematic cases cited above, there have been many other cases of attacks against journalists, arbitrary arrest, public insults by senior government officials and actions designed to block information. According to the Press and Society Institute (IPYS), a local NGO that monitors respect for media freedom, there have been no fewer than 13 attacks against media outlets since the start of the year. The National Press Workers Union (SNTP) has reported 176 media freedom violations since the start of the year, including 62 cases of intimidation and 22 acts of aggression. The police are acting in an increasingly hostile manner towards reporters covering demonstrations and food lines. The protests which have steadily grown in frequency and have received increasing media coverage since 2014 are systematically accompanied by acts of aggression towards local and foreign reporters, including threats, insults, theft of equipment, destruction of equipment and arbitrary arrest. Foreign reporters who wanted to cover last December's parliamentary elections had to sign a good conduct pledge in which they accepted that their accreditation could be withdrawn if they fail to comply with certain conditions. The United Nations and Inter-American Commission on Human Rights special rapporteurs on freedom of expression wrote to the Venezuelan government on 4 August expressing deep concern about the erosion of media freedom in Venezuela. RSF points out that the Venezuelan government never implemented any of the 12 recommendations on freedom of expression that were made during Venezuela's Universal Periodic Review by the UN Human Rights Council in 2011. Venezuela is ranked 139th out of 180 countries in RSF's 2016 World Press Freedom Index. Disclaimer This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States. Philippines: Attack on civilians must be met with justice, not more human rights violations Publisher Amnesty International Publication Date 2 September 2016 Cite as Amnesty International, Philippines: Attack on civilians must be met with justice, not more human rights violations, 2 September 2016, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/57cd81cd4.html [accessed 30 October 2022] Disclaimer This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States. "The attack on civilians in President Rodrigo Duterte's hometown of Davao is a brutal and horrific act that has led to a tragic loss of civilian lives. Victims and survivors, including the families of those who have lost their lives and those who have been injured, have a right to seek and obtain justice. The government should respect this right by ordering an independent, impartial, transparent and effective investigation, leading to fair trials of suspected perpetrators. It is the Philippines government's right and duty to protect its population," said Champa Patel, Amnesty International's Senior Research Adviser for South East Asia and the Pacific. "However, the callous disregard shown by the attackers for people's right to life must not be met by government action that itself disregards human rights. Resort to unlawful killings, arbitrary arrests or other human rights violations will only play into the hands of those who seek an ever-widening cycle of violence and abuse." Copyright notice: Copyright Amnesty International Bangladesh: Execution of Mir Quasem Ali will not deliver justice Publisher Amnesty International Publication Date 3 September 2016 Cite as Amnesty International, Bangladesh: Execution of Mir Quasem Ali will not deliver justice, 3 September 2016, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/57cd82004.html [accessed 30 October 2022] Disclaimer This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States. Reacting to the execution on Saturday of Mir Quasem Ali - a key financier of Bangladesh's Jamaat-e-Islami party, who was found guilty by the country's International Crimes Tribunal in a flawed trial - Amnesty International said: "The execution of Mir Quasem Ali, following a trial whose fairness was questioned by the UN, will not deliver justice that the people of Bangladesh deserve for crimes committed during the War of Independence. The death penalty is a cruel and irreversible punishment that most of the world's countries have now rid themselves of," said Champa Patel, Amnesty International's South Asia Director. Copyright notice: Copyright Amnesty International UN paying blacklisted diamond company in Central African Republic Publisher IRIN Author Emma Supple & Ben Parker Publication Date 2 September 2016 Cite as IRIN, UN paying blacklisted diamond company in Central African Republic, 2 September 2016, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/57cd842f0.html [accessed 30 October 2022] Disclaimer This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States. The UN has paid more than half a million dollars to a company on its own sanctions list for allegedly fueling the conflict in Central African Republic through the sale of 'blood diamonds', an IRIN investigation reveals. The Bureau d'Achat de Diamant en Centrafrique (BADICA) was placed on the UN Security Council sanctions list in August 2015 for its role in the diamond trade in CAR. The UN accuses the company of funding one of two major militias in CAR, known as the Seleka, by purchasing diamonds from Seleka-controlled mines, which were then smuggled out of the country to BADICA's sister company, KARDIAM, in Antwerp, Belgium. And yet the UN's stabilisation mission in CAR, whose mandate includes the disarmament and demobilisation of fighters, has a base on land owned by BADICA. In an official response to IRIN, the UN department of peacekeeping confirmed that it holds a leasing contract with BADICA for premises in the capital Bangui. In a written response, a spokesperson said all rent paid to BADICA goes into a frozen account, which is monitored by CAR authorities. A UN payment of rent arrears to the BADICA Ecobank account was authorised in June, suggesting payments were held back for several months. BADICA disputes the sanctions listing and has launched a legal challenge to its enforcement in the European Union, which is obliged to implement UN sanctions rulings. A person answering the telephone at KARDIAM's office in Belgium declined to comment and efforts to contact BADICA in CAR were unsuccessful. The UN says it has attempted to find alternative premises since BADICA's listing, but without success. "No other site in Bangui meets the mission's needs," the UN spokesperson told IRIN. "The BADICA premises are unique in their size and their ability to accommodate the BJTF (Bangui Joint Task Force)." The UN mission, known as MINUSCA, currently consists of nearly 13,000 uniformed personnel. It was set up in 2014 following the overthrow of President Francois Bozize by Seleka rebels in 2013 with a mandate to protect civilians, promote human rights and support the political transition process. The sanctions, authorised by the UN Security Council, ban international trade and transactions and have global force. All of the company's financial assets and economic resources are frozen and no further money can be transferred to the company by any individuals or entities. UN procurement rules specifically exclude companies on the sanctions list. Pre-existing contracts with sanctioned firms can, however, continue under certain circumstances, according to Security Council resolutions. The spokesperson said the BADICA contract, as it began before the listing, was allowable under the terms of the sanctions resolution. The UN's peacekeeping department says it has notified the Security Council sanctions committee and a panel of experts that advises on sanctions-related issues for the Central African Republic. The UN has twice amended its contract with BADICA, originally signed on 1 November 2013. The current extension continues until the end of October 2016, and the monthly payments have increased from five to six million FCFA ($10,200) per month, according to the UN statement to IRIN. "The mission is continuing to make all efforts to explore and identify alternative premises," the statement continued. BADICA is part of the Antwerp-based group Groupe Abdoulkarim, headed by businessman Abdoulkarim Dan Azoumi, who lives in Belgium. The group also includes Minair, an aviation company, and Sofia-TP, a transport firm, listed as "branches" of BADICA in the UN sanctions list. IRIN's examination of UN procurement data also revealed a UN contract with Sofia-TP for "transport and cargo services" in 2014. Through both the leasing contract with BADICA and the contract with Sofia-TP, the UN had paid a total of $495,571 to Groupe Abdoulkarim by the end of 2015, whilst condemning one of its companies for its role in funding Seleka rebels through the diamond trade. Rent due in 2016 would increase the total to over $550,000. The UN listing states: "BADICA/KARDIAM has provided support for armed groups in the Central African Republic, namely former Seleka and anti-balaka, through the illicit exploitation and trade of natural resources, including diamonds and gold." "These recent findings that reveal financial deals made between the UN peacekeeping mission in CAR and BADICA authorised by the UN security council reflects the failure of the international community to address the financing of the armed conflicts in CAR," says Nathalia Dukhan from the Enough Project, a campaign which aims to end genocide and mass atrocities in Africa. A new report for the UN Security Council on the conflict in CAR draws a picture of continued arms smuggling, militia activity, illicit exploitation of natural resources and an upsurge in conflict as well as abuses and displacement of civilians. The UN's mission to stabilise CAR has been weighed down by revelations of sexual abuse by peacekeepers. A senior UN human rights official recently resigned over the UN's mishandling of reports of sexual abuse by foreign troops. It follows a series of French and UN-led operations including Operation Sangaris and BINUCA. MINUSCA's annual budget stands at $816 million. A shaky peace Following the overthrow of Bozize in 2013, a number of diamond mines in CAR fell under the control of the country's Seleka militia, an alliance of mainly Muslim armed factions. The illegal "taxes" imposed on the mines by the militia led to the country being excluded from the Kimberley Process, a global initiative aimed at stopping the international trade of 'blood diamonds', meaning that companies like BADICA could not legally export any diamonds. Rough diamonds exported from a state participating in the Kimberley Process must come with a certificate confirming that they are not 'conflict diamonds'. Despite being rich in natural resources, CAR remains one of the poorest countries in the world. Before a 2013 ban on the flow of conflict diamonds, they were a key export. At their peak in 2006, the value of diamond exports reached $70 million. BADICA was sanctioned after officials in Antwerp, Belgium seized a parcel sent to its sister company KARDIAM. It contained rough diamonds that the Panel of Experts deemed likely to have originated from CAR despite the Kimberley Process ban. The company, in a letter to the UN, disputed the assertion that BADICA was behind the parcel seized in Antwerp, which had transited through Dubai, and questions whether the diamonds even came from CAR in the first place. The Central African government is keen to have the export restrictions lifted, and steps towards peace have led the Kimberley Process to partially lift the export restrictions in certain areas of the country. In June, CAR's first legal export took place after the Kimberley Process declared some areas peaceful enough to meet its criteria. However, the latest report from the UN's Panel of Experts suggests the export ban has been lifted prematurely. According to the Kimberley Process rules, to ensure that diamonds are not fueling conflict, there must be government control, an absence of armed groups in mining areas and freedom of movement. The Panel of Experts argues that freedom of movement is still limited and militia have a stake in diamond production and trade. "Without respect for freedom of movement and other human rights, CAR's diamonds cannot be considered suitable for export," Michael Gibb, campaign leader for conflict resources at advocacy group Global Witness, told IRIN. While Global Witness does not advocate for the blanket ban, for Gibb, the credibility of any resumed trade rests on consistent on-the-ground monitoring and a broad assessment of conditions in compliant zones. "If the same abuses, corruption, and looting are again allowed to take root in CAR's resource sectors, they will continue to undermine peace and stability, as they have throughout the country's troubled history," he said. Vietnam wakes up to its human trafficking problem Publisher IRIN Author Lorcan Lovett Publication Date 2 September 2016 Cite as IRIN, Vietnam wakes up to its human trafficking problem, 2 September 2016, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/57cd84c84.html [accessed 30 October 2022] Disclaimer This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States. Human trafficking is on the rise in Vietnam, although poor crime statistics means the government doesn't know exactly by how much. Advocacy groups say victims are increasingly being lured on social media. Between 2011 and 2014, the number of human trafficking cases rose by at least 11.6 percent over the previous four-year period, according to data released by the Ministry of Public Security at an anti-human trafficking conference in Hanoi on 14 July. The true numbers are probably much higher, especially as traffickers capitalise on the growing use of social media among Vietnam's young people, say NGOs. "Our experience indicates that this is very common, although there is a lack of statistics to show how widespread it really is," said Le Thi Huong Luong, legal coordinator for the Blue Dragon Children's Foundation, an anti-trafficking NGO. Southeast Asia ranks among the world's worst regions for human trafficking, accounting for a third of all the women and children trafficked worldwide, said Paul Priest, of the International Organization for Migration's office in Vietnam, at the 14 July event. The issue has been well documented in other countries in the region - the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime said in a 2013 report that 26,400 people are trafficked to Thailand every year, many of whom are men from Myanmar and Cambodia forced to work on fishing boats, while 27,925 sex workers are victims of trafficking in Cambodia. But Vietnamese authorities are only now waking up to the scope of the problem in their own country. 'Modest progress' In a push to raise public awareness, the government held its first National Day Against Trafficking in Persons on 30 July. Vietnam has also announced a 2016 to 2020 strategy to combat human trafficking, and the plan marked the first time authorities have acknowledged that men and boys are being trafficked. The government in 2014 launched a database of trafficking cases, which the US State Department acknowledged in its 2016 Trafficking in Persons Report as a sign of "modest progress". The IOM's Priest urged the government to do more to track the problem. "A crucial need exists to increase availability of statistics on this illegal phenomenon," he told reporters on 14 July. "However, existing data highlights that the number of trafficked individuals continues to increase whilst the ages of those victimised by trafficking are increasingly younger." Some of those trafficked in Vietnam are women sold into marriage across the border in China where there are significantly more men than women. The UN's Action for Cooperation against Trafficking in Persons agency said in June that China is expected to have 30 to 40 million more men than women at a marriageable age by 2020. Sold into marriage Linh (not her real name) returned to Vietnam from China last year after the Blue Dragon Children's Foundation coordinated with police on both sides of the border to rescue her from a forced marriage and bring her home. Linh became pregnant in 2014 and her boyfriend left her. Through the messaging app ZALO, she met another man who said he would support her, according to details of the case provided to IRIN by Blue Dragon. Matt Friedman of the Mekong Club, which works to fight trafficking and slavery in the region, said the trafficker's approach is becoming more common. "All throughout Asia we are seeing increases in the use of social media to trap women and girls into prostitution, including Vietnam," he told IRIN. "The predators search chat sites to find young girls who are feeling unloved and alienated by their family." Linh accepted the man's invitation to visit his hometown, where he proposed a holiday to China. On the trip and three months into her pregnancy, she was sold as a bride to a Chinese man. She and her baby are now safely back home and the traffickers have been arrested, according to Blue Dragon, which will represent her during the upcoming court case. Blue Dragon says it rescued 49 children in 2014, 133 the following year, and 56 so far this year. Between 2011 and 2014, government authorities investigated more than 2,200 trafficking cases, arrested 3,300 offenders, and rescued about 5,500 victims, according to the MPS data. The US State Department's TIP report noted that human trafficking convictions fell from 413 in 2014 to 217 last year. What you need to know about Powerball and the $825 million jackpot Labor Day, and this reporter is on her way to El Paso, Texas, to see her only sibling sister Joan Martin and husband the Reverend William H. Martin. They are longtime retired and McMurry graduates, who have just moved from their classic house in a mountain location to a retirement center operated by good Samaritan Society. Since they are 89 and 92, Big Sister has to go check and see what they have done! It is hoped the trip will enable visits with Barbara Stephenson, attorney friend of Albuquerque, and niece Sandra Sears Lowenfield, who with husband Ralph lives in El Paso. This is not written for a word of advice to you; it's just that when it's time for cleaning out areas in your home to make living changes, there are some more-than-serious moments. That's why I salute so many of my senior citizen friends who made the 'moving on' decision all by themselves many years ago; now they know they did the right thing. We hoarders usually wait too long. Wanda Spurgeon, a Woman's Club member, reported and MizC was invited to a birthday shin dig honoring a most outstanding lady who moved to Abilene in 1963 Mrs. Alma Lee 'Mamaw' Price She was born Sept. 6, 1916, married for 44 years to David Carl Price, was deceased in 1978. The party honoring this chipper 100-year-old was held in the new event center called The Cafe of Pioneer Drive Baptist Church. She has been a member since 1963 and worked 31 years in the Children's Department from which she retired at age 84. Hosting this fun event were children: Joan 'Honey' Price Fairbetter, Marita Price Taylor, Darrell Carl (Lou Ann) Price; and Jane Price (Tony) Thetford. There are 11 grands; 22 great-grands; 4 great-great-grands. On Aug. 23, Fannie Baker celebrated her natal day with a tea party hosted by daughter Carol Chism in her beautiful home decorated for a 'tea.' Near the formal dining table there hangs a painting of Fannie in a stunning blue gown when she was a student at Howard Payne College in Brownwood. Guests were greeted at the door by granddaughter Tracey Folwell of San Antonio and niece Cathey Mayes from Austin. We get good reports from Fannie about the new home at Wesley Court, which she and Bill chose for their adventure. Another celebration, organized by Yanell Rieder at Cypress Street Station on Aug. 29, just to be sure that Billye Proctor Shaw Ray (she and Glynn married on her birthday not this year); Sherry Hirsch; and Roy Helen Ackers received the most fun cards in print. Thank you Yanell. All of that for others when you were and are burdened with the struggle of illness hanging over your hero Little Miss Ivey Rose. Attending, in addition to the host and honorees were Suzanne Starr, Barbara Dahl, Lynda Calcote, Chris Proctor Cleveland, Donna Wolfer, Vickie Burdine, Samantha Hirsch Goodman, Jeri Skaggs, Judy Garner, Connie Meador, Donna Dougherty, Joy Jordan, Gwenda Berry and Myra Dean. When MizCheevus and Carl Childers were at the Abilene Country Club last Wednesday trying to have their names drawn, it wasn't difficult to hear the Happy Birthday Song directed to the city's most beautiful lady (in appearance and spirit), Lanita Zachry, who was accompanied by husband H.C. Zachry. MizAugust thinks Lanita's natal day stats off the month of love and romance. Among others nearby: Gerald and Christie Galbraith, George and Tootsie Nichols, Jack and Joy Mergele, Doug and Nita Drawe, Gwenda Berry and Linda Dehlinger. Understand this same group of night owls celebrated the next weekend with the Galbraiths on their 56th wedding anniversary. These people MUST NOT HAVE TO WORK! It is past time for me to thank everyone who made MizCheevus' birthday so special (it will appear in next week's column). It is time now for me to pass on news which this reporter has not seen in the Methodist Church. Last Sunday at St Paul UMC our Senior Pastor the Reverend Felicia Hopkins had a stock tank with water placed near the foot of the altar. From there she conducted a baptismal ceremony by immersion for four lovely candidates: Marley Gabriel, Sophia Tesarski, Rigby Samuels and Britton Sechrist. It was like a movie. The girls were peacefully engaged in their purpose and Felicia ministered to each with skill and reverent knowledge. Then she recognized a large affirmation class. Her response after compliments: 'I need the Holy Spirit and Water and can get it done.' Methodists have always claimed that their church would baptize in any manner requested. They have the reputation, however, for 'sprinkling.' MizReporter remembers long ago at Truby, traveling in a procession to the Brazos River to watch a candidate be immersed. Upcoming to benefit Alliance for Women & Children, 2016 Annual Fall Luncheon at the Civic Center on September 15th will feature best-selling author Rosalind Wiseman and her book 'Queen Bees and Wanna Bees.' She will be able to change the way we look at friendships and conflicts. Chairman for this event is Cynthia Carr. (Via TimesRecordNews.com) Wichita Falls police made an arrest Sunday in connection to the murder of Lauren Landavazo and shooting of Makayla Smith on Friday. Kody Austin Lott, 20, was charged with murder and aggravated assault Sunday evening after being arrested for possession of a prohibited weapon Sunday afternoon in a shopping center in the 4600 block of Southwest Parkway. WFPD Chief Manuel Borrego said Lott was taken into to the police department and questioned by detectives where he, 'gave a full confession to the shooting and to the murder and aggravated assault.' This affected our whole community, so it was with much gratitude that our citizens got involved with us, Borrego said. Also, I have to give a lot of credit to the long hours put in by our detectives. We werent going to end until we got this thing solved. Police apprehended Lott after receiving a tip around 1:22 p.m. about a suspicious person and a vehicle matching descriptions detectives released as possibly related to Friday's shooting at the Fountaingate Apartments in the 5200 block of Tower Drive. Officers located Lott as he was trying to leave the area, and Borrego said he was stopped and detained. Around 7:45 p.m., detectives arrived back on scene and SWAT executed a search warrant on an apartment in the 5200 block of Tower Drive. Borrego said detectives and ID technicians would be on the scene long into the night collecting evidence. It was unclear if a weapon had been recovered as of the briefing. Lott was booked into the Wichita County Jail. His total bail was expected to be set at $4 million, Borrego said. Landavazo and Smith were shot in an alleyway between the 5200 blocks of Kingston and Tower drives around 3:30 p.m. Friday while walking home from McNiel Middle School. Police did not immediately release the names of conditions of the girls, but Wichita Falls Independent School District Superintendent Michael Kuhrt later confirmed the two had been shot, were students of McNiel Middle School and one had died. WFPD identified Landavazo and Smith as the victims at 11:32 p.m. that evening, and they confirmed Landavazo's death. They said Smith was in stable condition in a news release. RELATED: Sibling describes victim as kind, loving, intelligent girl Saturday, friends and family of the Landavazo and Smith made a memorial near the location of the shooting, and a Sam's Club, located at 3801 Kell East Boulevard, held a cookout to benefit Landavazo's family. Manager Emmanuel Carrillo said the business plans to host another cookout Sept. 10 to benefit Smith's family. A vigil was held for the girls Sunday evening. After what Borrego described as a long couple of days for both officers and the community, he hopes the arrest will allow the families and community to be comforted. We were hoping we could make this arrest, so the city could breathe and feel safe when our kids go back to school on Tuesday, Borrego said. ... Im hoping this brings a little bit of justice to Lauren and Makayla that we could at least get the arrest made and let this thing run through the justice system. RELATED: A Wichita Falls resident shares her thoughts on Friday's shooting Today in history: On Sept. 5, 1975, a Secret Service agent at an event in Sacramento, Calif., wrestles a semi-automatic pistol from Lynette 'Squeaky' Fromme, who had pointed the weapon at President Gerald Ford. Just 17 days later, Sara Jane Moore fired a shot at Ford. Fromme, a follower of Charles Manson, pleaded not guilty, saying her gun, while full of bullets, was not cocked. She was convicted anyway and sentenced to life in prison. She escaped from prison in 1987 but was caught 40 hours later. President Tran Dai Quang and Canadian Foreign Minister Stephane Dion (Source: VNA) He affirmed that Vietnam stays ready to work together with Canada in order to deepen the relationship in a pragmatic and effective fashion, for interests of the two countries people, and for peace, stability and cooperation in Asia-Pacific and the world as well. The head of State appreciated Canadas commitments to continuing its official development assistance (ODA) for Vietnam as well as its support for the country in climate change response, poverty reduction and food safety. He thanked Canadas CAD15 million (USD11.6 million) aid package announced by Stephane Dion during his ongoing visit to help Vietnam implement a climate change project. The President expressed his hope that the Canadian Parliament will soon ratify the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) agreement to promote high-standard free trade in the region. The two countries should step up their political, economic, trade and investment ties while expanding people-to-people exchanges and collaboration in national defence and security, crime combat, and education-training, he suggested. For his part, Minister Stephane Dion briefed his host on the foreign policy of Prime Minister Justin Trudeaus Liberal Party that aims to tighten its connectivity with Asia-Pacific and strengthen its relationship with Vietnam, while attaching importance to the role played by the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). Canada sticks importance to and appreciates regional multilateral mechanisms and forums such as the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC), the East Asia Summit (EAS) and the ASEAN Defence Ministerial Meeting Plus (ADMM+), the minister said, noting that Canada wishes to fully and actively engage in such mechanisms. Canada will support Vietnam in hosting the APEC 2017, he promised. Host and guest compared notes on the settlement of disputes in the East Sea by peaceful measures, with respect for diplomatic and legal processes and in accordance with international law, including the 1982 UN Convention on the Law of the Sea, in order to maintain peace, stability, security, and maritime and aviation freedom in the sea. They also underlined the need for relevant sides to seriously observe the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the East Sea (DOC) and conduct pragmatic negotiations on a Code of Conduct in the East Sea (COC)./. Advertisement - Continue Reading Below This just in... Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc and Danish Ambassador to Vietnam Charlotte Laursen (Source: VNA) He thanked the Danish Government for its ODA provision for Vietnam, saying that the capital has been used effectively in Vietnams prioritised fields like poverty reduction, public governance, administrative reform, environment and climate change response. The Vietnamese Government is implementing a lot of policies to facilitate long-term operations of foreign enterprises in Vietnam, including those from Denmark, he stated. The PM noted that the bilateral trade of USD500 million is at a modest level compared with the two sides potential. He hoped both countries will intensify cooperation in economics, trade, investment, green growth, education, hi-tech agriculture and ship building. The Danish ambassador expressed her delight at the constant development of the bilateral relations in numerous fields. She informed the host that the Danish Foreign Minister will visit Vietnam this October, during which the minister wants to seek more measures to step trade cooperation. She also affirmed to do her utmost to boost trade and investment ties between the two countries./. Chinese human rights activists facing a relentless crackdown say they had hoped for more support from foreign leaders gathered in Hangzhou for the G20 summit, Sept. 5, 2016. Authorities in the southern Chinese province of Guangdong have detained a rights activist who tried to travel to the rebel village of Wukan, which has been under an information blackout since the resurgence of protests this year over lost farmland, his wife said on Monday. Zhen Jianghua was detained by police in Lufeng city in the eastern coastal district of Guangdong province, close to the former fishing village of Wukan, which made world headlines in 2011 after local people took to the barricades after the death in police custody of a protest leader. Wukan residents in June persuaded their former leader Lin Zuluan to renew a protest campaign after a committee set up to return the land made no progress. But Lin was soon detained, setting renewed street protests in motion. Zhen Jianghua's wife, who declined to be named, said he had been stopped by state security police in Lufeng after he arrived to find out more about the Wukan protests. "He got to Lufeng the day before yesterday, but he was taken away by police there," she said. "He called me around 10.00 p.m. yesterday to say that he was now in a police station in Zhuhai." "He said he would be a bit late coming home, but then ... I heard nothing more, so I called the police station, and they said they didn't know what the situation was," she said. "Later he called to say he was safe ... he had been taken somewhere else." But Zhen felt unable to tell his wife more. "He said it was inconvenient for him to talk because there were state security police nearby," she said. "He couldn't really say very much." In 2011, Guangdong provincial authorities came down on the side of the land protesters, overruling officials in Lufeng and removing former village leader Xue Chang from his post on corruption charges. But while Lin was appointed head of the village in his place and several protest leaders were elected to a village committee, two former protest leaders were soon targeted with graft allegations and jailed for "taking bribes," in what their relatives said was an act of political revenge. China has stepped up a massive "stability maintenance" operation targeting dissidents, petitioners and rights activists in recent days, as the country hosted the G20 summit in the eastern city of Hangzhou. A source in Hangzhou told RFA that many of the petitioners who traveled to the city in the hope of highlighting grievances against the ruling Chinese Communist Party have been locked up in secret locations. "Wang Yufen was locked up by them because of the G20 summit," a Hangzhou petitioner said on Monday, as the summit closed. "She was locked up in secret a few days beforehand after she went out for a walk." "She would take a walk every evening, and then she just disappeared one day ... and she's been missing for more than a month," the petitioner said. Put more pressure on China Xinjiang-based rights activist Hu Jun called on world leaders to put more pressure on China over its treatment of dissent. "The human rights situation in China continues to deteriorate, to an almost inconceivable degree," Hu said. "We have seen that the basic rights of hundreds of thousands of Hangzhou residents [to freedom of movement] have been violated, when they were driven out of the city." "This human rights disaster is the result of the G20," Hu said. "The Chinese government has imposed detention, incarceration, physical attacks and disappearances on its people as a result." "I think the G20 leaders should think about the harm this is doing, and complain to the Chinese government about its violence." Chinese state media meanwhile lauded President Xi Jinping for facilitating global economic growth, suggesting that Beijing increasingly views itself as a responsible world citizen. "At the G20 Hangzhou summit, Xi championed a Chinese remedy for the febrile world economy," the official Xinhua news agency said in an article on the summit. "[He] strengthened coordination of macroeconomic policies and joint efforts to boost world economic growth and maintain financial stability," it said. Official media have also hailed the ratification by China and the U.S. of the Paris convention on climate change. "The determination and joint leadership that China and the United States have demonstrated on the sidelines of the G20 summit ... in fighting climate change wins widespread applause," Xinhua reported on Sunday. China agreed to cooperate more closely with its trading partners on its politically volatile steel exports as the G20 wrapped up on Monday. In a joint statement, Xi, Obama and other G20 leaders vowed to promote innovation to stimulate economic growth. "The global recovery lacks momentum," Xi told reporters after the meeting. "We need to do more to unlock the potential for medium and long-term growth." Reported by Yang Fan for RFA's Mandarin Service. Translated and written in English by Luisetta Mudie. Two years after a contentious, fraud-marred presidential election pushed Afghanistan to the brink of another bloody civil war, the country is once again staring into the abyss. The compromise power deal signed by political rivals Ashraf Ghani and Abdullah Abdullah to avert that crisis expires at the end of this month, threatening to upend the beleaguered South Asian state's governing order with no clear alternative at hand. The so-called national unity government (NUG) effectively installing President Ghani and Chief Executive Abdullah in September 2014 was a temporary solution to pave the way for an overhaul of the political system within two years. But as the U.S.-brokered deal nears its conclusion, Afghanistan's leadership has failed to live up to many of its commitments under the agreement. By now, Afghanistan was meant to hold parliamentary elections, push through sweeping electoral reforms, and amend the 2004 constitution to create the position of prime minister. The impasse has led to an escalating feud between Ghani and Abdullah, rising tensions among the country's long-warring ethnic groups and factions, and mounting calls from a vocal opposition for the dissolution of the government. That has raised the specter of a protracted power battle that could give way to a coup d'etat or parallel government by key national players, or even to rekindled ethnic and factional warfare not seen there since the civil war of the 1990s. The political crisis has been accompanied by the deteriorating security situation in the country, with a resurgent Taliban now holding more Afghan territory than in any year since 2001. With Ghani forced to concentrate on security, his economic plans have stalled and the country remains entrenched in economic distress sparked by the withdrawal of international combat troops in 2014. Personal Feud The NUG has been severely strained by a personal feud between Ghani and Abdullah, bitter rivals who both claimed victory in the 2014 election. Under the power-sharing deal, Abdullah reluctantly accepted the temporary, secondary role of chief executive, comparable to the post of prime minister. In exchange, a Constitutional Loya Jirga -- a gathering of the country's political, ethnic, and religious leaders with the authority to amend the constitution -- would consider the post of an executive prime minister. The two leaders would wield power together until then, although ultimate power would rest with the president. But Abdullah has long accused Ghani of marginalizing him, making major appointments and decisions without his counsel, and snubbing his calls for reform. His frustrations boiled over recently when he angrily denounced his governing partner as unfit to govern. Although the two leaders have since met, their first meetings in three months, their personal disputes look far from being resolved. "Abdullah is known among his colleagues as someone who believes in teamwork and has a lot of patience to listen and engage in critical thinking, whilst Ghani is known to have little patience for deliberations and given his background as an expressive lecturer, acts more professorial than politician," says Omar Samad, a former Abdullah adviser and ex-Afghan ambassador to France and Canada. "Abdullah spends many hours, sometimes till late at night, meeting provincial representatives from across Afghanistan, while Ghani is more comfortable spending that time in his residence reading a book or report and meeting only key yes-men." Ghani's allies say the former World Bank official is disdainful of small talk and lengthy, frequently inconclusive meetings. Instead, they paint him as a feverish worker who spends most waking hours devising lengthy, concrete plans to build up the country's budding institutions and alleviate Afghans' woeful economic conditions. Afghanistan's leadership is hoping for a vote of confidence from an international donors conference scheduled for October 5, at which friendly countries are expected to pledge their continued political and financial support for the government. New Power Structure At the heart of the current standoff is a fundamental disagreement over the distribution of power in Afghanistan. Abdullah, who has widespread support among the country's ethnic Tajik community, and Ghani, a Pashtun, embody opposing sides of the divide. Pashtuns, the largest ethnic group in Afghanistan, are generally seen to support a centralized state that guarantees their control of the state, and to oppose decentralization because it might lead to ethnic or regional groups seeking autonomy, possibly with the help of their ethnic brethren in neighboring countries. Non-Pashtuns, especially Tajiks, are seen to believe the current system suffers from being too centralized, with too much power of the state left in the hands of one individual, and to support decentralization because it would enshrine a more inclusive and equitable distribution of power. The power-sharing agreement Abdullah and Ghani signed commits to replacing the current presidential system, forged from the American model, with a French-style parliamentary system in which the president's role would be checked by that of an empowered prime minister. But over the past two years, the sides have yet to realize their vision for a new political framework. If parliamentary elections are not held and the constitution is not changed, Ghani and Abdullah could annul the NUG agreement and renegotiate a new deal. "The political system we will see for a while is the current one, bogged down in an adjourned game with no easy and constitutional way out in sight," says Thomas Ruttig, co-director of the Afghanistan Analysts Network, an independent think tank in Kabul. "This, of course, is very dangerous for the stability of the country." Growing Opposition Opposition political groups have been piling pressure on the government for failing to hold parliamentary elections originally scheduled for June. Former President Hamid Karzai, one of the most outspoken critics of the government, has even demanded that a Loya Jirga, a consultative body whose decisions are not legally binding, be convened to weigh in on the government's legitimacy. Karzai's critics accuse him of trying to destabilize the government as he eyes a return to power. "The extra-constitutional shortcuts suggested by some also do not guarantee that things improve -- as this comes from sectors of the same elites who maneuvered the country into this situation," Ruttig notes. Key allies of Abdullah, including former warlords and top regional powerbrokers, have threatened to withdraw their support for the government unless Ghani meets their demands by the expiration of the power-sharing deal. The opposition has also increasingly taken an ethnically charged line. A new protest movement has emerged north of Kabul calling for the government to organize an official state burial and gravesite for former Afghan King Habibullah Kalakani, the country's only ethnic Tajik monarch. The movement is supported by some prominent ethnic Tajik lawmakers and former militia commanders who have long been skeptical of Ghani. Meanwhile, Ghani has also been confronted by street protests named the Enlightenment Movement, in which minority Hazaras have accused his government of systematic discrimination. "While Afghanistan is not an ethnically divided country, ethnicity becomes more pronounced in politics when any one side attempts to unjustly usurp power, impose its will over others, ignore or denigrate other stakeholders, or renege on its pledges," Samad says. "It is dangerous when seen as part and fabric of the leadership mind-set." Mohammad Nayeb-Zehi was among the hundreds of worshippers who gathered on September 30 at the Great Mosalla, a religious site in Iran's southeastern city of Zahedan, for Friday Prayers. Just hours later, the 16-year-old's family learned he was dead. Nayeb-Zehi was among the scores of people gunned down by security forces in a brutal crackdown following anti-government protests in Zahedan, the provincial capital of Sistan-Baluchistan Province, which is home to the country's Baluch minority. "He was a simple laborer and not political," Nayeb-Zehi's brother, Ahmad, told RFE/RL's Radio Farda in a telephone interview from Zahedan, adding that his sibling had been shot in the heart. "We're in pain, and we cannot accept it." The crackdown in Zahedan came amid weeks-long nationwide protests triggered by the death of Mahsa Amini, a 22-year-old who died on September 16, days after she was detained by Iran's morality police. In Sistan-Baluchistan, public anger at the authorities escalated amid reports that a 15-year-old Baluch girl had been raped by a police official in the province's southern port city of Chabahar. The violence erupted soon after protesters gathered outside a police station near the central mosque in Zahedan. Members of the crowd chanted anti-government slogans, and some threw rocks. Security forces responded with deadly force by firing on the crowd from the station, according to witnesses. Security forces also raided the central mosque and the nearby Great Mosalla and opened fire on worshippers using live ammunition, rights groups said, adding that many were shot in the head, heart, neck, or torso, revealing a clear intent to kill or seriously wound. At least 94 people were killed and 350 wounded on that day, referred to as "Bloody Friday," according to the U.S.-based Iran Human Rights Documentation Center. At least 13 minors were among those killed, including Nayeb-Zehi. The victims were overwhelmingly Baluch -- a mostly Sunni ethnic group that has long faced disproportionate discrimination at the hands of the Iranian authorities. "He was martyred inside the Mosalla while holding his prayer mat," said Ahmad Nayeb-Zehi. Nayeb-Zehi's family first visited Zahedan's Khatam al-Anbia hospital, hoping he was among the wounded. They later found his body in a seminary at the Great Mosalla. "We entered a room there and saw about 10 bodies," said Ahmad Nayeb-Zehi. "[Mohammad] was among them." He said the authorities prevented the family from filming the scene. "I told them this has to be documented, it has to be published by international media," he said, adding that footage later emerged on social media showing the gruesome scene at the seminary. The family refused to send Nayeb-Zehi's body to the morgue. Instead, his body lay in the living room for around 24 hours before he was buried. "We said he was martyred and there was no need for an autopsy," said Ahmad Nayeb-Zehi. The authorities accused Jaish al-Adl, a Sunni militant group, of attacking the police station. The group is recognized as a terrorist organization by both Iran and the United States and has previously claimed deadly attacks in Sistan-Baluchistan targeting Iranian security forces. But local and independent sources have rejected the authorities' claims. The authorities have also reported a much lower number of fatalities, announcing that only 19 people, including several members of the security forces, were killed. Ahmad Nayeb-Zehi said the authorities were "rubbing salt into the wounds of the people" by claiming "terrorists" were involved. He said he witnessed a military helicopter shooting at civilians near the Great Mosalla. "I haven't even seen such scenes in Hollywood movies," he said. "A helicopter was shooting at people. A lady was shot in front of my eyes." RFE/RL could not verify his account. But activists have accused security forces of shooting at protestors from helicopters. "I don't know what the intention of this crime was," he said. "Our only demand from the establishment is for the murderers of our [family members] to be punished." The killings have led to widespread anger in Sistan-Baluchistan, one of Iran's poorest provinces. Anti-establishment protests have been reported in Zahedan since the crackdown, including on October 14 and October 21, when protesters took to the streets after Friday Prayers and chanted "Death to the dictator." During his Friday Prayers sermon on October 21, influential Sunni cleric Molavi Abdolhamid Ismaeelzahi said senior officials, including Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, were "responsible" for the September 30 killings. "We are surprised by the silence of the high-ranking officials," he said in his sermon, which was posted on his website. "Scores were killed here without any reason. I don't have the exact number. Some have reported 90, some say less, some say more," Ismaeelzahi added. He also said people will not be satisfied until "those who killed the people" are brought to justice. The Iran Human Rights Documentation Center said the events of September 30 amounted to "a massacre of protesters by security forces." "The government's total denial of responsibility for the massacring of citizens by its security apparatus is consistent with similar past denials and is evidence that internal calls for investigation of such crimes are insufficient," said the rights group, which documents human rights violations in Iran. KYIV -- An apparent arson attack against a popular television news channel is underscoring fears that jingoism-fueled hostility toward journalists could extinguish free speech in Ukraine. Journalists for Inter television, whose Kyiv studios were set alight on September 4 during a violence-marred protest against the channel's purported pro-Russian stance, described the incident as an attack on freedom of speech and "an attempt to shut up inconvenient journalists." Government officials have asserted that the fire was a "provocation" meant to tarnish Ukraine's reputation and create fodder for Russia's state-run propaganda outlets, which have painted the country as a failed state. Some even accused Inter of setting its own building alight after the channel reportedly refused to hand over security camera footage from its offices. "The events that happened at the TV channel can't be understood by any normal person," Prime Minister Volodymyr Hroysman told a briefing on September 5, according to Ukraine's Interfax news service. "So, today, an important task for law enforcement is to find those who did it, those who benefited from it." The events unfolded at about 4 p.m., local time, when a group of around 20 camouflage-clad protesters gathered outside Inter's National Information Systems building and began burning tires. According to the National Police spokeswoman for Kyiv, Oksana Blyschyk, the building was set on fire when a smoke grenade was thrown through a window. State emergency services painted a starker picture, saying a preliminary investigation showed that one incendiary device started the first floor on fire, while a flammable substance caused a fire on the second floor as employees were being evacuated. Interior Minister Arsen Avakov, in an interview with the 1+1 TV channel, alleged that most of the protesters were former military servicemen from Ukraine's 30th Brigade. They brandished signs protesting what Avakov described as Inter's pro-Russian stance. Scuffles broke out when police detained several of the demonstrators. Video footage shows them wrestling on the street in front of the building. Avakov said six people were taken into custody and charged with hooliganism and intentional destruction of property. Several Inter employees were treated for carbon-monoxide poisoning, while one employee suffered a broken leg, according to an Inter statement. A tweet posted by Hromadske television showed a journalist it claimed had suffered a spinal injury. Ukraine's UNIAN news agency reported that 30 people were evacuated. The fire was extinguished within two hours, according to the Kyiv fire department. Inter appealed to President Petro Poroshenko "to intervene to restore the rule of law and protection against such unlawful acts." It also called on law enforcement agencies, including the Interior Ministry and Security Service, "to conduct an objective investigation and to ensure the safety of media." Dangerous Climate For Journalists The fire follows a spate of verbal and physical attacks this summer against journalists who have investigated officials, challenged the authorities and the official government narrative of the ongoing conflict with Russia-backed separatists in the east, or have reported from separatist-controlled areas. Many have been scorned by high-ranking government and security officials and found themselves the targets of coordinated online attacks by pro-Ukrainian trolls. Other journalists have been beaten, mugged and, in one case, killed. Prominent Belarusian-born journalist Pavel Sheremet was killed by a car bomb in Kyiv on July 20. Ukraine's head of police said on September 3 that there had been no serious progress in the investigation into Sheremet's assassination and the perpetrators remained free. Observers have questioned the authorities' dedication to democracy and protecting freedom of speech, and have voiced concerns over the culture of impunity that existed under the regime of former pro-Russian President Viktor Yanukovych and remains more than two years after the Euromaidan revolution replaced him with a pro-European government. Mustafa Nayyem, a pro-European former journalist turned lawmaker representing Poroshenko's party, said that under no circumstances should media offices be targeted for attacks. "I'm against burning TV channels. It does not matter who, what, or for what reasons it is done," he wrote in a post on Facebook. "Just like the beatings of human rights defenders and the harassment of journalists in general. This is a boomerang that pushes society into a vicious circle of endless mob justice." Human rights campaigner Halya Coynash echoed Nayyem's sentiment in a blog post. "Irresponsible protesters who attacked the offices of TV Inter on Sunday afternoon have done Ukraine no favors," she wrote. She also described recent accusations against Inter made by Interior Minister Avakov as "ill-timed." In a Facebook post on August 31, Avakov urged Ukraine's domestic security service to deport the channel's director, Igor Shuvalov, a Russian national. He described Inter as having an "anti-Ukrainian, antistate" position, and asked: "How much more facts and evidence do you need?!" Cries Of 'Traitor!' Inter's work came under heightened scrutiny from Avakov last month following the emergence of a leaked e-mail from an official from the Russia-backed separatist group calling itself the Donetsk People's Republic (DNR). The e-email appeared to show Maria Stolyarova, a Russian national and former Inter journalist, seeking approval from the separatist leadership of a story reported from Donetsk before it was aired in summer 2015. The group that promoted the e-mail leak online was an anonymous, pro-government hacker collective called Myrotvorets, or Peacemaker. The group, backed at least verbally by Avakov and hard-line populist lawmakers allied to him, has leaked the personal data of journalists who have received accreditation from and reported in the separatist-held territories. Both the group and Avakov have labeled those journalists as "collaborators of terrorists" and "traitors" of Ukraine. Inter was the target of several protests and attacks earlier this year due to its alleged pro-Kremlin editorial stances and ties to Russia. The channel is owned by Ukrainian billionaire Dmytro Firtash, a businessman who profited greatly from key contracts to import Russian natural gas to Ukraine. Accused of bribery by the United States, he is currently fighting the charges and extradition in Vienna. In January, protesters spray-painted "Kremlin mouthpiece" on its offices and hurled rocks through the windows. In February, volunteer Azov Battalion fighters blocked journalists' access to its offices after the channel aired a story criticizing fallen Euromaidan demonstrators known as the Heavenly Hundred. The reporter responsible for the story, Stolyarova, was subsequently fired and deported by the Ukrainian authorities to Russia. In June, protesters burned tires at the entrance to Inter's offices. As the smoke settled on September 5, tempers flared again. Dozens of protesters gathered once more outside the Inter offices, carrying with them signs that read, "Burn Inter burn" and "Inter out." On social media, some anonymous pro-Ukrainian trolls celebrated. "I support the arson on Inter! [retweet] to show how much the oligarchic power is corrupt," wrote one user who attached an image from the Euromaidan revolution showing protesters burning tires. In contrast to the belligerent statements made by the protesters, online trolls, and Avakov, Dmytro Kuleba, Ukraine's permanent representative to the Council of Europe, wrote on Twitter that no matter what one's stance might be on Inter, "arson is not the answer, because [it's the building], not the editorial policy that burns." The Afghan Civil Aviation Authority (ACAA) has said that it will ground Safi Airways, one of the country's major airlines, for failing to pay taxes amounting to 1.6 billion afghanis ($16.7 million). "On September 6, all domestic flights, and on September 8 all international flights are suspended," ACAA said in a statement on September 4. ACAA said the airline had failed to pay its taxes and debts to the Ministry of Finance over a two-year period from March 2011 to March 2013, even though it had been repeatedly warned "to take action." The Afghan government has given the company one month to "pay its debts and taxes through the previously agreed upon terms" or else "the tax department can request seizure and sale of all airline assets via the court." Safi Airways operates 74 flights each week to seven domestic and international destinations. Based on reporting by dpa and Khaama Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Pham Binh Minh and Canadian Foreign Minister Stephane Dion (Source: VNA) The consensus was reached during talks between Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Pham Binh Minh and Canadian Foreign Minister Stephane Dion in Hanoi on September 5th. They said two-way trade increased by 20-25 percent to over USD4 billion in 2015. Canadas direct investment exceeded USD5 billion in the year. The two sides consented to increase the exchange of delegations, especially at the high-ranking levels, enhance existing dialogue mechanisms, including the political dialogue at the deputy foreign minister level, while expanding dialogue mechanisms in other fields. They will strengthen coordination at regional and international forums, including the 2016-2020 Plan of Action to implement the ASEAN-Canada Enhanced Partnership. Vietnam welcomes Canadas engagement in regional forums and support for Vietnam as the host of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum in 2017. Host and guest exchanged views on regional political and security situation, covering both traditional and non-traditional challenges. They also discussed the peaceful settlement of disputes in the East Sea with respect for legal and diplomatic processes, as well as international law, including the 1982 UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (1982 UNCLOS), in order to maintain peace, stability, security, and maritime and aviation freedom in the sea. Deputy PM and FM Pham Binh Minh stressed that Vietnam attaches importance to the friendship and cooperation with Canada, while suggesting the two countries give a boost to the relationship for the sake of their people, as well as for peace, stability, cooperation and development in the region and the world at large. Stephane Dion announced an aid package worth CAD15 million (roughly USD11.6 million) to help Vietnam implement a project on climate change response. Speaking at a press conference following the talks, Deputy PM and FM Pham Binh Minh spoke highly of Canadas assistance, noting his hope that the country will continue to help Vietnam access preferential loans of the World Banks International Development Association after 2017./. Two suicide bombers have struck a busy area near the Afghan Defense Ministry in Kabul, killing at least 24 people. Interior Ministry spokesman Sediq Sediqqi said on September 5 that both the suicide bombers were on foot and blew themselves up one after the other, killing policemen and civilians nearby. Mohammad Ismail Kawosi, a spokesman for the Health Ministry, told RFE/RLs Radio Free Afghanistan that at least 24 people were killed and 90 others injured in the blasts in the Afghan capital. The dead included an army general and two senior police commanders, and Kawosi suggested it could increase as more information becomes available. Late on September 5, a third massive explosion shook central Kabul, with police saying a suicide car bombing appeared to have targeted a guest house for foreigners and diplomats in the Shar-e Now (New City) neighborhood. Attackers appear to have entered the building and exchange gunfire with police. There was no immediate word on casualties. Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said on Twitter that the ministry was the target of the first attack, while police were targeted in the second. A Taliban attack on the Defense Ministry in February killed at least 15 people and wounded more than 30. With reporting by RFE/RL's Radio Free Afghanistan, Reuters, and AFP So it's deja vu all over again. One year ago, at the UN General Assembly, all eyes were on Vladimir Putin as he prepared to meet Western leaders to talk Ukraine and Syria. And over the past two days at the G20 summit in China, all eyes were on Vladimir Putin as he prepared to meet Western leaders to talk Ukraine and Syria. The more things change, the more things stay the same. On this week's Power Vertical Briefing, I discuss Putin's diplomatic efforts at the G20 and whether they were successful with RFE/RL senior editor Steve Gutterman. Enjoy... NOTE: The Power Vertical Briefing is a short look ahead to the stories expected to make news in Russia in the coming week. It is hosted by Brian Whitmore, author of The Power Vertical blog, and appears on Mondays. Russia's Supreme Court effectively ruled last week that the Soviet Union did not invade Poland in 1939. And saying that they did -- which is an indisputable historical fact -- constitutes a crime. The Supreme Court upheld the conviction of Perm-based blogger Vladimir Luzgin for reposting a text on social media which noted that both Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union invaded Poland in September 1939. Luzgin was convicted in July on charges of "rehabilitating Nazism" and "spreading false information about the activities of the Soviet Union during World War II." And remarkably -- or, sadly, maybe not so remarkably -- the dean of the history faculty of the Perm Humanitarian-Pedagogical University testified that it was false to claim that the Soviet Union did, indeed, invade Poland. You. Really. Just. Can't. Make. This. Stuff. Up! Every serious historian in the world knows that the Soviet Union invaded Poland from the east on September 17, 1939, just weeks after Nazi Germany invaded from the West. And every serious historian in the world knows that this was the result of the secret protocols of the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact, in which Adolf Hitler and Josef Stalin agreed to partition Poland and divide up Europe. But in the alternative universe that is Vladimir Putin's Russia, all this never happened. Which is the latest example of how, for the Kremlin, history isn't history at all. It's mythology. It's fantasy. And it's scripture. Keep telling me what you think on The Power Vertical's Twitter feed and on our Facebook page. Russian President Vladimir Putin says the world faces the most dangerous decade since World War II and predicted that the historical period of the West's "undivided dominance over world affairs" is coming to an end. Speaking on October 27 at a conference of international policy experts in Moscow, Putin said the decade ahead is "probably the most dangerous, unpredictable and, at the same time, important...since the end of World War II." Live Briefing: Russia's Invasion Of Ukraine RFE/RL's Live Briefing gives you all of the latest developments on Russia's ongoing invasion, Kyiv's counteroffensive, Western military aid, global reaction, Russian protests, and the plight of civilians. For all of RFE/RL's coverage of the war, click here. Putin laid the blame for the situation at the feet of Western countries, which he said have cast aside the norms of international affairs in order to maintain dominance and hold down countries they see as "second-class civilizations." The Russian leader also said he had no regrets about sending troops into Ukraine and sought to explain the conflict as part of the efforts by Western countries to secure their global domination. Putin claimed in his speech to the Valdai Discussion Club, a think tank, that the West had helped incite the conflict and also seeks to stoke a crisis over Taiwan in an attempt to enforce global dominance. Russia launched its invasion of Ukraine on February 24, triggering the biggest military conflict in Europe since World War II and driving relations with Western countries that back Ukraine and its drive to be part of the European Union and NATO to their lowest depths since the Cold War. Putin cast the conflict in Ukraine as a battle between the West and Russia for the fate of the second-largest Eastern Slav country. It is partly a "civil war," he said, as Russians and Ukrainians are one people. Kyiv has flatly rejected both of those ideas. The goal of what Russia refers to as a "special military operation" is to take the eastern Donbas region, Putin said, adding that in his view the region would "not have survived" on its own had Russia not intervened militarily in Ukraine. WATCH: A local official told Russian conscripts "You are not cannon fodder" in a video published online recently. The men responded by angrily shouting that, actually, that's exactly what they are. But the war has gone far beyond the Donbas region, with Russian attacks on civilian infrastructure, residential buildings, and other nonmilitary structures, killing tens of thousands of Ukrainians across the country. Putin used the speech largely to rail against the West, saying it has nothing to offer to the world "except its own domination," and the goal of globalization "is neocolonialism to dominate the world." He said Russia is only trying to defend its right to exist in the face these Western efforts. Putin also asserted that more and more nations refuse to follow Washington's demands and Russia will never accept the West's attempts to dominate the world. Citing gay pride parades and the acceptance of transgender people in Western countries, Putin also defended "traditional values" and said "nobody can dictate to our people how to develop and what society we should build." He also said Russia has never considered the West an enemy and has many things in common with it but will continue to oppose the diktat of Western neoliberal elites. U.S. National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said Putin's speech presented no new ideas. "We don't believe that Mr. Putin's strategic goals have changed here. He doesn't want Ukraine to exist as a sovereign, independent nation state," Kirby said. Ukrainian presidential adviser Mykhailo Podolyak said Putin's speech can be described as "for Freud," referring to psychoanalysis founder Sigmund Freud. "The person who invaded a foreign country, annexed its land, and committed genocide accuses others of violating international law and the sovereignty of other countries? One truth: The person who started a wind will get a storm. The storm is coming," he said on Twitter. Answering questions from journalists after his speech, Putin reiterated the Kremlin's assertion that Ukraine plans to use a so-called dirty bomb on its own territory. The claim has been dismissed as false by Ukraine and its allies, who say Russia may have raised the matter because it plans to use such a bomb in Ukraine as a pretext for escalation. "It was me who ordered [Defense Minister Sergei] Shoigu to inform by phone all his colleagues about it," Putin said, adding that Russia does not need to use dirty bombs in Ukraine. Putin also said he supported plans by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) to visit Ukraine's nuclear power plants for inspections. "It must be done as soon and as openly as possible because we know that Kyiv authorities are now working to cover up such [dirty-bomb attack] preparations," Putin said, without giving any exact information proving the claim. Ukraine invited IAEA inspectors to visit its nuclear facilities after the Kremlin made its unsubstantiated claim about the preparation of a dirty bomb -- which would use the explosion of a conventional warhead to spread radioactive material or chemicals over a wide area. Ukraine said it would welcome inspections because it had "nothing to hide." According to Putin, Russia has never talked about the use of nuclear weapons in the war with Ukraine despite his own promise to defend Russian territory with any means at our disposal" and saying his words were "not a bluff." "We see no need for [using nuclear weapons in Ukraine]," Putin told reporters. "There is no sense for that, neither political, nor military." The suspects in an alleged gang rape last month in southeastern Kazakhstan are in custody and authorities there are on the defensive following a desperate social-media push by the victim's family to demand justice. The 30-year-old victim's mother posted a video appeal after police in the rural town of Esik appeared to ignore the accusations of the brutal assault, in which she says the woman and a male relative were attacked leaving a karaoke cafe late one evening. Shattering the silence that Kazakh activists say is far more common in the ethnically sprawling, mostly Muslim country of around 18 million, Gulbadar Musinova took to YouTube to detail the incident, accuse police of a cover-up, and counter a stigma. "Why should I be ashamed?" the mother asks in the video (see below), fighting back tears. "Those men who raped my daughter should be ashamed, not us." She alleged that one of the perpetrators was the son of an influential local official and that police were thus eager to sweep the case under the carpet. The 3 1/2-minute video appeal prompted extensive coverage on national media and social media, with comments condemning the police along with the accused rapists. No 'Forgiveness' The way the Musinov family is dealing with the case is "unprecedented" in Kazakhstan, according to activist Dina Smailova, who recently launched an online campaign called NeMolchi.kz (Don't Stay Silent) encouraging rape victims to speak out and seek justice. Official statistics are difficult to obtain, but Smailova says the vast majority of rapes in Kazakhstan go unreported. In many cases, she says, perpetrators settle the matter with the victim's family outside court through a practice known as "forgiveness." Some people in Kazakhstan and elsewhere in Central Asia practice so-called bride kidnapping -- essentially marriage by abduction, frequently nonconsensual on the woman's side. But Smailova, a former rape victim herself, praises the Musinov family's actions and says such determination can lead to convictions of rapists as well as of police officers who help cover up such crimes. "It wasn't an oversight on the police's behalf, it was involvement in the crime," she adds, "because there were obvious suspects and obvious clues, including the car." Claims Of Cover-Up A visibly shaken Gulbadar Musinova gave a detailed account of the August 13 attack on her daughter, Zhibek, in the video and later to RFE/RL's Current Time. She said Zhibek and a male relative who was accompanying her got into an argument with four men inside the local cafe before the four ambushed the pair outside. She said they beat up the young woman's relative, Rustam, then forced Zhibek into a car and sped away. The mother said family members tracked down the car hours later and found the attackers and victim still inside, with her daughter "almost naked" and "screaming in pain." A brother, Zholaman Musinov, told RFE/RL's Current Time that the family "detained two of them" on the spot and "two others ran away." The family handed over the suspects to authorities at the Esik district police station, not far from the scene of the alleged rape, he added. But they were set free after a denial and, the mother insisted, a cover-up began "because one of the attackers is a relative of a high-ranking district official." She said the accused were "behaving like they can get away with anything." She also complained of her daughter's treatment by doctors at Esik's hospital, where she was sent by the police for a medical examination. The other victim in the attack, Rustam, "fears for his life" after receiving "threats" that include a caller warning him to "think about your family, your relatives," Musinova said. But since Musinova posted the video and messages of support followed, regional authorities in the Almaty region have launched a new investigation and arrested four suspects. The regional anticorruption agency has said it's looking into the allegations against the local police. The "old stereotypes," activist Smailova says, are changing. Meanwhile, in their modest house in Esik, the Musinov family stands by its decision to go public with information that some might regard as "shameful" in their society. What happened to my daughter should not happen to others, says the mother of the victim, adding, "We need to stop this." Written by Farangis Najibullah based on reporting by RFE/RL's Current Time correspondent Dmitriy Belyakov Kazakhstan's National Security Committee (KNB) says a group of radical Islamists that was arrested in recent weeks in the southern region of Almaty planned to hijack a plane and conduct "a 9/11-like" attack. The KNB said on September 5 that another group apprehended in the central Qaraghandy region in June planned terrorist attacks against local infrastructure and a Russian military base near the lake of Balkhash. According to the KNB, three more groups arrested on August 12-30 in the regions of Western Kazakhstan and Aqtobe planned a series of terrorist attacks against police and civilians. In general, the KNB says, eight radical Islamist groups have been apprehended in the country since January. In June, Kazakh authorities said a group of 25 alleged Islamic militants carried out a series of attacks that killed five civilians and three members of Kazakhstan's security forces in the northwestern city of Aqtobe. Security forces who confronted the group killed 18 gunmen and arrested seven others. Based on reporting by Tengrinews and KazTAG The date has been set for the trial of a Kazakh businessman charged with attempting to overthrow the government, extremism, and illegal weapon possession. The Kazakh Military Court said on September 5 that the trial in the high-profile case will start on September 14. Tokhtar Toleshov, chief executive of one of Kazakhstan's largest breweries, was detained in January along with 24 other suspects, including the ex-deputy prosecutor-general and the former chief of the South Kazakhstan regional police. Toleshovs detention followed a crackdown by Astana on both pro-Russian and nationalist activists. He had run the Kazakh office of a Russia-based organization called the Center for the Analysis of Terrorist Threats. He had also advised Russia's parliament on matters of economic cooperation and religion. Based on reporting by inform.kz and nur.kz 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 The head of the Kazakh Journalists' Union and chairman of the National Press Club has been rushed to a hospital for the third time since the start of his trial in August for alleged fraud and tax evasion. Seitqazy Mataev felt sick on his way from his home, where he is under house arrest, to the courtroom on September 5 in Astana and was hospitalized with high blood pressure. Mataev's lawyer says the trial was postponed to September 13. Mataev was taken to hospital with high blood pressure twice before, on August 23 and August 29. Mataev went on trial on August 23 with his son, Aset, the director of the KazTAG news agency, who also faces fraud charges. The Mataevs were detained in February. Both deny the charges against them and rights groups have denounced the charges as politically motivated. Russian President Vladimir Putin and British Prime Minister Theresa May held talks for the first time on September 5, with Moscow keen to improve ties. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters that the meeting, on the margins of the G20 summit in the Chinese city of Hangzhou, was "good, constructive, and open." "Mr. Putin gave a clear and unequivocal indication that we are interested in completely reestablishing our relations and dialogue in all areas, including the most sensitive ones," he added. Britain's relations with Russia have soured in recent years, especially over efforts to prosecute the case of Kremlin critic Aleksandr Litvinenko, who was murdered by poisoning in London. Britain has also been one of the most fervent supporters of Western sanctions against Moscow over Russia's aggression in Ukraine. Observers have said that Britains vote to leave the European Union could play into Putin's hands as he has been accused of trying to drive a wedge between EU members. Based on reporting by AFP and AP Amnesty International has called for the immediate release of a Russian video-blogger who was sentenced to administrative arrest for two months after posting a video of himself playing Pokemon Go in a Russian Orthodox church. Blogger Ruslan Sokolovsky was arrested on September 3 on charges of preventing the realization of the right to freedom of conscience and religion and incitement of hatred." If convicted, he could be jailed for up to five years. The young blogger, who has about 300,000 subscribers on YouTube, played Pokemon Go in a church in early August following a warning made earlier on Russian state television not to catch pokemons at religious sites or in proximity to the state border or face criminal charges. Amnesty blasted Sokolovsys arrest as a farcical attack on freedom of expression. The absurdity of the case of the Russian blogger jailed for playing Pokemon Go in a church highlights what happens when authorities hold the freedom of expression in such low regard, said John Dalhuisen, director for Europe and Central Asia at Amnesty International. Even if Sokolovskys behavior may have been regarded as disrespectful by some, states should not be jailing people simply for offending religious sensibilities, Dalhuisen added. Sokolovsky's supporters have called for his release on social media. Moscow has launched large-scale military drills on Ukraine's eastern border and around Ukraines Russia-annexed Crimean Peninsula. The Russian Defense Ministry said September 5 that 12,500 servicemen are taking part in the drills across its southern military region. It said the Russian Navy in the Black Sea and Caspian Sea are participating in the exercises and that planes also are being used. The six-day exercises will test the army's ability to "plan, prepare, and carry out military actions," the ministry said in a statement. Russia last month conducted a large-scale snap drill, putting its troops on full combat readiness in military districts bordering Ukraine and the Baltic states. Tensions between Russia and Ukraine spiked over the summer after Moscow accused Kyiv of attempting armed incursions into Russia-annexed Crimea. Ukraine and its Western allies have been locked in a confrontation with Russia since Moscow forcibly seized the region from Kyiv in March 2014. Based on reporting by AFP and Reuters The director-general of the Moscow printing house where 17 people were killed in a fire on August 27 has turned himself in. The Investigative Committee's Moscow Department said on September 5 that Sergei Moskvin is currently cooperating with investigators. The committee said on September 2 that Moskvin and the printing house's fire safety engineer, Anton Yatskov, had been added to the federal wanted list. Both were charged in absentia with violations of fire-safety regulations. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Russian authorities would conduct a thorough investigation and that all of those found to be responsible for the tragedy would be held accountable. Three Russian citizens and 14 Kyrgyz migrant workers, all women and one of whom was pregnant, were killed in the blaze. Based on reporting by TASS and Interfax Russia says it has agreed with Saudi Arabia to work on ways to return stability to world oil markets. Russian Energy Minister Alexander Novak said September 5 on the sidelines of the G20 summit in China that Moscow is ready to join an oil output freeze deal if such a decision is taken. He also said an oil output freeze would help oil markets. Novak also said he will meet with Saudi Arabian Energy Minister Khalid al-Falih in Algeria in September. The globe's major oil producers have been unable to strike a deal on freezing output, due mainly to a dispute between Saudi Arabia and Iran over Tehran's desire to boost levels after the lifting of sanctions. The oil market has been plagued by a stubborn supply glut that saw prices plunge to near 13-year lows below $30 at the start of 2016. While it has recovered recently, it is still well off highs above $100 seen in mid-2014. Based on reporting by Reuters and AFP Russian President Vladimir Putin says he and U.S. President Barack Obama have taken another step forward on moving to resolve the crisis in Syria. Putin made the comments on September 5 after the two leaders discussed the issue at the G20 summit in China. "Despite everything, we have some alignment of positions and an understanding of what we could do to de-escalate the situation in Syria," Putin told reporters, without providing more details. He said he felt he and Obama had understood each other and the challenges the world faced in Syria. Obama described his meeting with Putin as "businesslike" and said they discussed ongoing negotiations between their top diplomats over Syria. Based on reporting by Reuters and AFP Tajik authorities say they are looking into reports suggesting fugitive Tajik Colonel Gulmurod Halimov, who joined the extremist group Islamic State (IS) last year, has been appointed IS's top military commander. Iraqi media reported on September 3 that Halimov had replaced Umar al-Shishani, who was reportedly killed in July in northern Iraq. Muhammadrizo Halifazoda, a spokesman for the Tajik Prosecutor-General's Office, told RFE/RL on September 5 that "measures to prevent Halimovs possible plans to destabilize Tajikistan" were being taken. He did not elaborate. On August 30, the U.S. State Department called Halimov a key member of IS and offered a reward of $3 million for information on his whereabouts. Halimov, the former commander of the Tajik Interior Ministry's special forces, known as OMON, joined IS in April 2015. Tajik authorities say he has been seriously injured twice in Syria. Muhiddin Kabiri, leader of Tajikistan's banned opposition Islamic Renaissance Party (IRPT), has been added to Interpols wanted list on Dushanbe's request. The Interpol website says Kabiri is wanted by Tajik authorities for alleged terrorism, fraud and organization of a criminal group. In June, a court in Dushanbe sentenced the IRPT's deputy heads to life imprisonment and 12 other leading members of the party to prison terms of between two and 28 years on charges of conspiring with former Defense Minister Abduhalim Nazarzoda in a supposed armed bid to seize power in early September 2015. Later that month, Tajikistan's Supreme Court added the party to a black list of extremist and terrorist organizations and banned it. Kabiri, 51, who now lives in exile in an undisclosed country, has called charges against him and his associates politically motivated. Five people were reportedly hurt when a fire broke out at a Ukrainian television station in Kyiv. TV Inter's headquarters caught fire on September 4 after a group of around 20 protesters gathered outside the building and set tires afire and threw them in the building. Reports say that several employees were treated for carbon-monoxide poisoning while another suffered a broken leg, according to an Inter statement. Kyiv police official Andrei Krishenko said witnesses indicated a smoke bomb was thrown into the building. Authorities said they had arrested six people in connection with the fire. The station continued broadcasting from mobile facilities outside the building. The station is widely regarded by many Ukrainians as being pro-Russia. The affiliation of the protesters was not clear. A conflict in eastern Ukraine between Russia-backed separatists and Ukrainian troops has killed more than 9,500 people. Based on reporting by AP, Interfax, and TASS Top diplomats from the United States and Russia have failed to reach a deal to ease fighting in Syria. A senior U.S. State Department official said on September 5 that talks between U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on the margins of the G20 summit in Hangzhou had ended without agreement. Kerry and Lavrov have been in talks for weeks over a deal to boost U.S. and Russian military cooperation to fight the Islamic State group and other extremists in Syria. A possible deal could include provisions to ensure aid can reach besieged areas of Syria and steps to prevent Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's government from bombing areas where U.S.-backed rebels are operating. The civil war has killed more than 250,000 people and displaced 11 million, causing a refugee crisis in the Middle East and Europe and contributing to a rise in militant Islamist groups. Russia has backed Assad, but the United States has worked with moderate opposition forces fighting Assad. Based on reporting by Reuters and AFP Russian President Vladimir Putin says he will visit Uzbekistan on September 6 to pay his respects at the grave of President Islam Karimov, who died last week after suffering a stroke. Putin said that Karimov's death was a "great loss" for the country. Speaking to reporters at the G20 summit in China, Putin said he hoped the Central Asian country's new leadership would be able to preserve stability. Karimov, a former communist boss, ruled for 27 years at the center of a tight inner circle and ruthlessly applied the country's security and intelligence forces to keep a tight lid on dissent. "One can make different judgements about what he did for his country, one can view various moments in Uzbekistan's modern history differently, but he preserved stability in the country, he preserved its steady development," Putin said. "This is very important for such a country as Uzbekistan, it is vital for its self-preservation and future progressive development," Putin added. Putin said he also hoped Russia's good relations with Uzbekistan would be maintained. Based on reporting by Reuters, AFP, and TASS Success! An email has been sent to with a link to confirm list signup. Police are investigating after a man was shot early Monday in the parking lot of a South Richmond motel. Police were called about 5:30 a.m. to the Sunrise Motel in the 3600 block of Jefferson Davis Highway for a report of a shooting. There they found a man in the parking lot who had been shot in the leg. The man was taken to a local hospital with wounds that are not considered life-threatening, police said. A a 17-year-old boy was killed Sunday afternoon in a single-vehicle crash in Nottoway County. Virginia State Police responded to the crash of a 1989 Ford F-250 that occurred about 1:55 p.m. in the 1900 block of Rocky Ford Road near its intersection with Lone Pine Road. The truck's driver, David L. Harris Jr., 17, of Nottoway, died at the scene. It was unclear whether Harris was wearing a seat belt. The truck had run off the road, struck a tree and caught fire, police said. Speed was being considered a factor in the crash. Update 12 p.m.: The Hanover County Sheriff's Office has identified a woman found dead on Monday as Reena Jadav, 30, of Mechanicsville. Investigators and the medical examiner's office are working to determine the cause of death. Earlier: Authorities in Hanover are investigating after a woman was found dead early Monday. Hanover County sheriff's deputies were called about 5:45 a.m. to the 10000 block of Colony Bee Place for a report of an unresponsive woman. There deputies found the victim with obvious signs of trauma. Investigators are working with the medical examiner to determine the cause of death, the sheriff's office said. Gary Johnson came calling. On Monday, Aug. 29, the Libertarian nominee for president visited The Times-Dispatchs downtown headquarters to meet with the editorial board. On Sunday, Sept. 4, the paper endorsed him. We had tilted toward him prior to the conversation. The session not only confirmed our inclination but also increased our enthusiasm for him. Dissatisfaction with the major party candidates led us to take a serious look at Johnson. We simply could not support either Hillary Clinton nor Donald Trump. The Johnson visit transformed our call from a negative reaction to Clinton and Trump to a positive endorsement of Johnson. We rallied to his person and to his platform. The Sept. 4 editorials cite specific reasons for supporting him. It looks like nothing was found at this location. Maybe try a search? Search for: Search A Place for All Conservatives to Speak Their Mind. The GJEPC on August 31, 2016 hosted a meeting with senior officials of various government departments to discuss the proposal for setting up the Mumbai Jewellery Park (MJP) to facilitate development of a modern centralised infrastructure for gold jewellery manufacture in close proximity to the city, says a report in gjepc.org. The upcoming MJP is a mega-project taken up by the GJEPC Western Region. This was the first time that the representatives of the trade were interacting at the same time with all the concerned officials from different government agencies. The meeting was attended by a number of governmental officials, as well as trade members. In depth discussions were held about the format, procedures, policies and other requirements for ensuring that the MJP is successfully executed. The requirements in terms of approval from different departments were also put forward by the trade. Praveenshankar Pandya said that both the Prime Minister and the Chief Minister of Maharshtra had encouraged the industry to go ahead with this project. He added that this would be the first of its kind for gold jewellery, and if successful, it could be replicated across other states as well. Principal Secretary (Industry) Apurva Chandra assured the trade that each of the concerned bodies would provide all necessary support for the project. He stressed that not only would it lead to the betterment of gold manufacturers, but it would also help to reduce migration, protect traditional & culture-based skills and encourage the next generation to enter the profession. It would also boost the self-esteem of the artisans by providing them with a sophisticated world class working environment. Subsequently, the officials went around the BDB to get a better understanding of the model proposed for the MJP. Aruna Gaitonde, Editor-in-Chief of Asian Bureau, Rough & Polished Signet Jewelers will trial mapping technology enabling customers to track diamonds they buy from the retailer, after allegations of diamond swapping surfaced earlier this year. The equipment enables the customer to see the flaws in a diamond. Signet will test it in the period from November to January at Kay Jewelers stores. Every diamond has a thumbprint and "unique marks," Mark Light, Signets chief executive officer, said in a call with analysts following Thursday second-quarter results announcement. "We will mark those on a digital screen and then well have the ability to digitally send over that picture to our customers via email and keep it in our own files." The move will produce even more transparency for our customers, Light added. Signets share price fell 20 percent following allegations, published on BuzzFeed in May, that claimed some diamonds handed in for repairs were replaced to the detriment of owners. In a statement, Signet denied any systematic diamond-swapping by its employees and said cases of misconduct were exceedingly rare and are dealt with swiftly and appropriately. Negative perceptions of the company in the media, including social media, normalized in July and August, Light added. Retail sales and final Purchasing Managers' survey results from euro area are due on Monday, headlining a busy day for the European economic news. At 3.00 am ET, the Czech Statistical Office is scheduled to issue retail sales for July. Sales are forecast to grow 3.8 percent annually after rising 6.4 percent in June. In the meantime, retail sales from Hungary and consumer prices from Turkey are due. Hungary retail sales are forecast to grow 5.7 percent annually in July and Turkey's consumer prices to rise 8.58 percent in August. At 3.15 am ET, Spain's services PMI data is due for August. Thereafter, final composite PMI reports are due from France and Germany. At 3.30 am ET, Statistics Sweden releases industrial output and new orders for July. Production had declined 0.4 percent month-on-month in June. At 4.00 am ET, Markit publishes final euro area PMI. The composite PMI is forecast to match the flash estimate of 53.3 in August. At 4.30 am ET, U.K. CIPS/Markit services PMI data is due. The index is forecast to rise to 49 in August from 47.4 in July. Also, Eurozone Sentix investor confidence survey results for September are due. The reading is expected to rise to 5 from 4.2 in August. At 5.00 am ET, Eurostat releases euro area retail sales for July. Economists expect sales to grow 1.9 percent annually after rising 1.6 percent in June. For comments and feedback contact: editorial@rttnews.com Economic News What parts of the world are seeing the best (and worst) economic performances lately? Click here to check out our Econ Scorecard and find out! See up-to-the-moment rankings for the best and worst performers in GDP, unemployment rate, inflation and much more. Bankrupt South Korean shipping company Hanjin Shipping Co. is seeking court protection in other countries, including Canada, Germany and the U.K., this week to prevent seizure of vessels, reports said, citing Korea's Financial Services Commission. The company plans to expand the scope of its court protection as soon as possible, with plans to pursue legal action in as many as 43 countries. Hanjin's shares declined around 14 percent in South Korean trading on Monday. The troubled shipping company filed for bankruptcy protection at the Seoul Central District Court on August 31 and requested the court to freeze its assets, after losing support from its banks. The company reportedly filed for bankruptcy in the United States last Friday. A Hanjin spokeswoman said the company would make all efforts to prevent ship seizures and protect assets abroad. Hanjin Shipping, the world's seventh-largest container shipping company, stopped accepting new cargo after it filed for bankruptcy protection, and its assets were frozen. Last week, much of Hanjin Shipping's container vessels were blocked to offload at ports, leaving many manufacturers worrying about the fate of their cargo. As per reports, some Hanjin ships were seized in China for the creditors, while creditors in the U.S. have commenced legal action against the company. The Korean Government is said to have decided to slowly move Hanjin towards liquidation, which would be biggest bankruptcy in the shipping industry. In South Korea, Hanjin shares declined 13.7 percent on Monday to settled at 1,070 Korean won. For comments and feedback contact: editorial@rttnews.com Business News German apartment owner Vonovia SE (DAIMF) and Conwert Immobilien Invest SE have signed a combination agreement or "BCA". Vonovia intends to offer all Conwert shareholders 74 Vonovia shares for every 149 Conwert shares. This implies a price of 17.58 euros per Conwert share based on the Vonovia closing price on Friday, 2 September 2016. This represents a resulting premium of 23.8%, based on the Conwert volume-weighted average share price of the last six months of 14.20 euro per share. As an alternative, as legally required in Austria, Vonovia plans to offer Conwert shareholders a cash consideration of EUR16.16 per share. Alexander Proschofsky, Chairman of the Conwert Administrative Board, has already declared that he intends to accept the offer and tender all of his Conwert shares. The Conwert Headquarters will remain in Vienna. The Austrian property portfolios will continue to be managed by Conwert. Additionally, Conwert will remain listed on the Vienna Stock Exchange. The consummation of the takeover offer will be subject to reaching the mandatory acceptance threshold of 50% plus 1 share of all Conwert shares as well as certain standard market completion conditions that will be set out in detail in the offer document, which is expected to be published on 17 November 2016. Through the integration, Vonovia plans operational synergies of at least 7 million euros per year, to be fully realised by the end of 2018. By partially refinancing Conwert, Vonovia plans to realise financial synergies of 5 million euros, to be fully realised in the financial year 2017. The transaction fulfills all of Vonovia's acquisition criteria. Vonovia expects the transaction to be, in particular, NAV per share and FFO per share accretive. For comments and feedback contact: editorial@rttnews.com Business News By SA Commercial Prop News Hyprop Investments CEO Pieter Prinsloo attributed the results to various factors that had contributed to the growth in distributable earnings including an 8.7% growth in distributions from the South African portfolio. Shopping centre specialist, Hyprop Investments (JSE:HYP) posted double-digit distribution growth for the year to June on the back of consumer spending that supported its property portfolio in the retail sector. The Real Estate Investment Trust (REIT), which owns Rosebank Mall north of Johannesburg, declared a total distribution of 619.9c per share for the full year, up 14.2% on the prior year, with the dividend for the six months to June increasing 14.9% to 322.10c per share. Hyprop CEO Pieter Prinsloo attributed the results to various factors that had contributed to the growth in distributable earnings including an 8.7% growth in distributions from the South African portfolio, additional income from acquisitions in Nigeria, Montenegro and Serbia, and the opening of Achimota Retail Centre in Ghana. Also Read: Offshore Investments ups Growthpoint's distribution growth The company reduced vacancies in its SA retail portfolio to 0,8% from 1,3% in June 2015. Vacancies in office portfolio also improved to 4,5% from 8,3% in June 2015. During the year Hyprop which operates a portfolio of shopping centres in across sub-Saharan Africa expanded into South-Eastern Europe with the acquisition of a 60% interest in Delta City Belgrade Serbia and Delta City Podgorica Montenegro. "These acquisitions are an attractive investment, as they complement our strategy to acquire or develop high-quality, income-producing shopping centres in emerging markets, and implementation is progressing well," Prinsloo said. Also Read: Redefine Properties strikes in friendly bid for rest of The Pivotal Fund Post year-end, the disposal of non-core assets continued with sale agreements for Somerset Value Mart and Glenfield Office Park for R185 million and R180 million, respectively. We continued to enhance the existing portfolio with R178 million spend in capital projects, replacement of equipment and tenant installations, says Prinsloo. Current projects include the installation of H&M at Somerset Mall and Checkers at Atterbury Value Mart, while extensions to Canal Walk and Rosebank Mall with an estimated project cost of R167 million are currently in planning. Grindrod Asset Managements chief investment officer, Ian Anderson, said Hyprops results were consistent with market expectations. "Theyre about as good as most of the sector when analysed properly. Like-for-like growth in net property income of 7.4% is only just above the sector average, which is good, but not great. The real kicker in these numbers is the reduction in the cost of debt-funding relative to the new income introduced, through acquisitions," Anderson said. "Despite adding more than R2bn in new debt, the net interest paid by Hyprop has hardly budged," he said. "Financial year 2016 was more about the balance sheet than the properties and the income statement, hence the growth is not sustainable into financial year 2017, although I do expect the 10% growth forecast by management includes a little more of the same." Evan Robins, the listed property manager of Old Mutual Investment Groups MacroSolutions boutique, said Hyprops defensive portfolio had fared well during the reporting period. "These are good results, but dont forget that Hyprop has the advantage of having the best South African portfolio in the property sector, with some leading shopping centres, so it should do well. "Core rental growth was strong and vacancies were reduced," he said. Looking ahead, Hyprop expects dividend growth of approximately 10% for the full year to 30 June 2017. Tofalagi Samuelu from the village of Falevao is happy with the idea by the government to encourage people to start developing agriculture again in Samoa. He says-This is a really good challenge. I totally agree with this because agriculture contributes a lot to the economy of our country. Our ancestors depended on our lands and it will be a waste to leave our lands uncultivated. You can earn a lot of money from agriculture and I am thankful that the government is pushing and encouraging our people to work on the lands. The current government is doing an excellent job in developing our country. I take my hat off to our Prime Minister and his cabinet for doing a fantastic job to improve the lives of our people. A lot of people also say that there is poverty in Samoa. But to me, there is no poverty in Samoa. This is because we have lands and the sea to depend on for food. We are fortunate to have lands to work on for free. Most of us are not using their lands wisely. We need to start working on our plantations again because agriculture plays an important part in the economy of our country. It can also help to develop our families. You can grow crops for food and for money. Same goes to the sea as well. These are all Gods gift for us, and if you abandon our lands and depend on imported goods and products from the shops, then we will end up suffering. We need to use our lands wisely. He also praised the government for doing an excellent job in developing our country. I take my hat off to our Prime Minister and his Cabinet for a great job in developing Samoa. Lives have been improved, and we all benefit from the different developments they are doing. For example, we have good quality roads now in most parts of Samoa, new school buildings, hospitals and many more. Those are the things we didnt have back then, but I am really happy with the government. Life may be different for us in the village compare to Apia, but we can have access to most things offer in Apia as well. Elisapeta Lafaele is 41-year-old mother of seven children from the village of Falefa. She thinks there is no poverty in Samoa. Moreover, she told the Village Voice that she doesnt agree with the opinion of some people saying that church contributions are a cause of poverty in Samoa. I dont agree about church contribution being a burden. The bible says to give and it will be given to you. It means that the amount you give will determine the amount you get back. God has different ways of blessing us, and if we keep giving and serve him whole-heartedly, He will bless you and your family. You might not get it right away but you will definitely get it. Its okay for people to complain because we all think differently. But to me, I dont think that church donations contribute to poverty. And I dont think that there is poverty in Samoa. We all work hard for our families and your future is in your own hands. So if you dont work, then you will suffer. No one died of hunger in this country. This is because we have lands and the sea to provide for us. Its simple. If you dont have a job, you can have a plantation or go fishing. We also have a lot of different talents from God that we can use to get money for our families. Nevertheless, she says she enjoys life in the village very much. Life in the village is different from the life in Apia. You find everything you need here in the village. Even if you dont have a job, you can still earn money and get food from the land. Its not like Apia where you have to find a job in order for you to provide for your family. Life in the village is simple and peaceful. Elisapeta stays with her husband Leafa Tepafoai Ieremia at Falefa and they have seven children. Their plantation is the main source of income for their family. The Samoa Sinnet Fashion Show donated $15,000 worth of products to the Pediatric Ward last Friday. They included 100 polar fleece blankets, 100 soft pillow inners, 100 pillow inner covers and 100-150 pillow cases. Founder and the Director of the S.S.F. Show, Enid Westerlund said a financial statement will be released to sponsors in time. We also aim to add more to the Childrens Ward next year as the Samoa Sinnet Fashion Show is now an annual event in July. All the products were from New Zealand and we hope that they will remain and be used by the children admitted to the hospital and that the N.H.S team will use a log book to keep track of the donated items. She also believes that even though there is no winter in Samoa, the blankets will be very useful. They were purchased because the hospital is air-conditioned and blankets are needed, said Westerlund. The inaugural Samoa Sinnet Fashion Show held in July featured creations by 13 local designers at the stunning Taumeasina Island Resort. They were able to raise $50,000. They decided to donate $15,000 worth of items to the childrens ward and there are other worthy causes like the Young Artists Foundation and other charities such as Mapuifagalele that they want to offer their help to. We hope to continue these donations on an annual basis, depending on how much the show can collect. There is a need for a Childrens Playground and some paintings, and we hope for a bigger show next year so we can donate more for the children, said Westerland. For the Young Artists Foundation, she hopes S.S.F. can help the them find their way in the world by providing experts to teach them not only about the art of designing but to find their own markets on online. She said S.S.F. is looking at a partnership with another group, but that will all be revealed next week. Pediatric Ward Doctor Litara Esera Tulifau, acknowledged the assistance from the Samoa Sinnet Fashion. We are very grateful to S.S.F. for choosing the Childrens Ward for these gifts, said Dr Litara. These are beautiful and ideal for the children especially the blankets that will be handy for them in the rooms, she said. The only problem faced by the hospital, is families taking hospital property when they leave the hospital. We hope and pray the patients appreciate the value of this donation. Dont discount Esther Timoteo Tupuola Paulo, the Miss Royalty Creation, as a contender who may walk away with the Bluesky Miss Samoa Pageant 2016 crown. Although she is youngest in the line up, 19 year old Esther is fully aware of what lies ahead. Im not in the pageant just for the experience, says the 2014 Leifiifi College graduate now pursuing a medical degree as a Foundation Year student with the N.U.S. Faculty of Science. Nothing is easy and the pageant is the perfect avenue for me to challenge myself and test my limitations. If I dont believe in myself, then everything will be in vain. And competing in the pageant has been a wonderful, learning experience that will come in handy as I begin to grow and become more mature, she continued. The pageant is already giving me a lot valuable experience that will certainly make me a better person in terms of self esteem and public exposure. And I am grateful, but at the end of the day, its what you take away from events of this magnitude that make a difference. Win or lose, this is the most memorable time of my young life. Esther is targeting a range of issues affecting the youth of Samoa, which include inter-school violence in public places and youth gangs. Young people should understand that their actions reflect poorly on their parents, their families and Samoa. My advice to the troubled youths is to become assets and not liabilities to our country. Violence doesnt resolve anything. And last but not least, we the young people are the future of Samoa so we must all consider the collateral damage of poor behaviour that will ruin our countrys reputation and the future of Samoas youth. Esther is from a family of five sisters and five brothers. Her parents are Timoteo Paulo and Mrs Onopene Paulo hailing from Vaivase-tai, Saanapu, Poutasi Falealii and Siumu. A man holds a sign that reads 'Elections now' during a protest against President Michel Temer in Sao Paulo, Brazil, Sunday, Sept. 4, 2016. (Photo: AP Photo/Nelson Antoine) A man holds a sign that reads 'Elections now' during a protest against President Michel Temer in Sao Paulo, Brazil, Sunday, Sept. 4, 2016. (Photo: AP Photo/Nelson Antoine) SAO PAULO (AP) Police in Brazil's biggest city clashed with protesters who marched to reject the new president Sunday, five days after Dilma Rousseff was ousted as leader of South America's biggest nation. Sao Paulo authorities said they were forced to use tear gas, stun grenades and water cannons to stop vandalism after an "initially peaceful" demonstration against President Michel Temer. In a statement, the public safety department said a group became violent at a subway station, destroying turnstiles and throwing rocks at anti-riot police after the demonstration ended. Earlier in the day, people gathered on the Copacabana promenade in Rio de Janeiro to demand Temer's removal and call for new elections. Rousseff has vowed to form a strong opposition against Temer, who was her vice president. She is appealing her impeachment to Brazil's Supreme Court, but legal experts say it is unlikely to succeed as several appeals during the months-long impeachment process were rejected. In comments with foreign media Friday, Rousseff said she would raise her voice if Temer's administration tried to suppress protests. In the days leading up to her ouster and afterward, a handful of small anti-Temer demonstrations were broken up by police. At a news conference during the Group of 20 meeting in China before the Sao Paulo protest, Temer said demonstrators who damaged property would be punished. "Causing destruction is a crime. That's not a demonstration," he said. New elections could come if Temer resigned before year end, was impeached himself or was disqualified by electoral authorities for alleged campaign violations in 2014. MANILA, Philippines (AP) Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte warned President Barack Obama on Monday not to question him about extrajudicial killings, or "son of a bitch I will swear at you" when they meet in Laos during a regional summit. Duterte said before flying to Laos that he is a leader of a sovereign country and is answerable only to the Filipino people. He was answering a reporter's question about how he intends to explain the extrajudicial killings to Obama. More than 2,000 suspected drug pushers and users have been killed since Duterte launched a war on drugs after taking office on June 30. In his typical foul-mouthed style, Duterte responded: "I am a president of a sovereign state and we have long ceased to be a colony. I do not have any master except the Filipino people, nobody but nobody. You must be respectful. Do not just throw questions. Putang ina I will swear at you in that forum," he said, using the Tagalog phrase for son of a bitch. Duterte has earlier cursed the pope and U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon. It isn't clear whether Obama planned to raise the issue of extrajudicial killings with Duterte during a scheduled meeting on the sidelines of the summit of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations. Asked at a news conference in Hangzhou, China, whether he still intends to meet with Duterte and raise the issue of extrajudicial killings, Obama said he had instructed his aides to assess whether it is still possible for the two leaders to have a constructive meeting in Laos. "I always want to make sure that if I'm having a meeting that it's actually productive, and that we're getting something done," Obama said. "We recognize the significant burden that the drug trade plays not just in the Philippines but around the world, and fighting narco-trafficking is tough. But we will always assert the need to have due process and to engage in that fight against drugs in a way that's consistent with basic international norms. And so, undoubtedly, if and when we have a meeting this is something that is going to be brought up," said Obama, who has been attending a meeting of the Group of 20 nations. "Who is he to confront me?" Duterte said in his remarks, adding that the Philippines had not received an apology from the United States for misdeeds committed during its colonization of the Philippines. He pointed to the killing of Muslim Moros more than a century ago during a U.S. pacification campaign in the southern Philippines, blaming the wounds of the past as "the reason why (the south) continues to boil" with separatist insurgencies. Last week, Duterte said he was ready to defend his bloody crackdown on illegal drugs, which has sparked concern from the U.S. and other countries. Duterte said he would demand that Obama allow him to first explain the context of his crackdown before engaging the U.S. president in a discussion of the deaths. This is another true story. Its about Samoas General elections. Held on 4 March 2016, the Human Rights Protection Party (H.R.P.P) led by incumbent Prime Minister, Tuilaepa Sailele Malielegaoi, was returned to power in a landslide victory. They won 35 of the 49 elected seats in the Legislative Assembly with the help of 12 independents, so that it is now free to lead for another four years. As for the opposition, the Tautua Samoa Party, it failed to win those eight seats it needed to remain a viable entity in the House, so that today it is no longer a parliamentary party in Samoas Legislative Assembly. And so, as the H.R.P.P. has emerged the unrivalled political party this part of the South Pacific, we dare to predict that history will not forget in a hurry what is happening here today. Indeed, it will remember how those 12 independents had subsequently joined the H.R.P.P. thus strengthening Samoas one-party rule, and in so doing prevent the Tautua Party from obtaining the eight seats it required for recognition as a parliamentary party. History will remember. It will, indeed, find it impossible to forget. But then the question remains: How were those 12 independents able to subsequently join the H.R.P.P. thus strengthening Samoas one-party rule? Now thats the question for which an answer would be much appreciated. Especially so since in a story published in the Samoa Observer on 3 September 2016, six months since the general elections had ended on 4 March 2016, and H.R.P.P. was declared the undisputed winner, the Electoral Commissioner made an unexpected announcement. He said about 30 people have been charged by the Police for not registering to vote in Marchs General Election, and they were now awaiting their day in the District Court. He also said the names of about 1,100 people had been advertised through the media for not registering, and in addition, more than a thousand had come to the Electoral Office for late registration. He added: Thirty of them have been charged while the office continues its work on the others who did not register. Those people that came in to register did not have the pressure from election committee. In fact, they came in voluntarily which means what we were doing (advertising their names) works. Wonderful! According to him though, more than 40,000 people came to their office to transfer to other electoral rolls before the 2016 election. And as if that was not tedious enough, there were apparently complaints about the long queues before the 2016 election to get transferred which could have been avoided if people did not leave it until the last minute. But then isnt that what the Electoral Office is there for? Isnt it there for the sole reason that its job is to serve the public? And so heres the question: Now that the elections have been history for six months, why are they still complaining about long queues that could have been avoided if people did not leave it until the last minute? Well, it looks as if theyre already thinking ahead towards the general elections in 2021, and theyre now reminding the public that this office is always open for transfers and to get registration to avoid last minute runs Meanwhile, they said they were now working on confirming and removing the names of deceased voters from the electoral roll. Incidentally, there are only two ways where the deceased names can be removed, theyre now telling the public. Indeed, it is either confirmation from the Bureau of Statistics or by being confirmed by an immediate family member. So what is going on here by the way? All were told is that theres a bit about the law that has to be tightened to ensure voting remains confidential. They said: The secrecy of any citizens votes is not taken lightly by the law. We did an amendment to the electoral law increasing the penalties for people that might infringe with other peoples vote. They also said: The penalty for this has been increased from three months, to 12 months imprisonment. Now thats harsh, dont you think? Still, thats the electoral law, they said. But then what that law was about we have no idea. Since the only law that comes to mind when were discussing issues of this nature, is the one about basic human rights. And so what do we do? We dig into the Constitution of the Independent State of Samoa, and soon we come up with the law that says: All citizens of Samoa shall have the right - (a) To freedom of speech and expression; (b) To assemble peaceably and without arms; (c) To form associations or unions; and (d) To move freely throughout Samoa and to reside in any part thereof. Now thats the law we know quite a bit about. Indeed, its the only law we know of that treats all citizens of this country equally no matter what kind of individuals they happen to be. In any case, it is freedom of speech and expression in particular that we are going to refer to, with reference to the discussion we are conducting here. The question is: Why is it that 30 people have been charged by the Police for exercising their right and freedom not to register for the general elections, as it is spelt out in the Constitution? Now according to the Election Commissioner, those 30 people have not only been charged, but they have also been told they would be tried in the District Court. But then what if they refused to co-operate with the authorities, citing their constitutional freedom of expression and their right not to be charged, and tried in a courtroom? Indeed, the way we see it, those 30 people who refused to register did so because they did not want to vote in the general elections, which follows that perhaps their minds had told them they did not have to either register or vote. Now, once again the way we see it, thats freedom of thought which is freedom of expression that has been made physically transparent, with the use of everyday words. According to the Commissioner though, more than 40,000 people came to their office to transfer to other electoral rolls before the 2016 elections. In addition, the office had to publicize the names of about 1,100 people urging them to register as voters for the general elections. Now the paradox here is clear enough. People were being pushed to register in order that they voted in the general elections; if they did not register, they were charged by the Police for disobeying the law, and in the end they would be sent to the Magistrate Court where they would be tried and punished. So that now the way we see it, this country is drowning in laws. And yet the ones that are meant to reassure the citizens of this country about their rights which are their freedom of speech and expression, and to assemble peaceably and without arms, are to an extent ignored. Which is why the fear of questioning the status quo in this country is commonplace, and brutal violence is alive and well everywhere. It doesnt even show off our country to the world at all. The Miss Samoa only participates in a Miss South Pacific pageant - a regional pageant. That is it. This argument would have more legs if the Miss Samoa winner contested the global pageants that the last Miss Samoa got in a bit of trouble over (the girl from New Zealand). Actually, if the winner did go and contest the Miss World or Miss Universe or whatever they call it, then it would actually serve some useful purpose by promoting Samoa to a worldwide audience for our tourism industry. It was a double celebration at Ocean Club Headquarters at Matautu Tai on Friday evening. First it was the launch of the Fausaga Vaa, the first Boat Building & Fibreglass Company in Samoa and also the opening of the Sheraton Te Aito V1 Regatta. One of the key factors needed to build the sport of outrigger canoe paddling in Samoa, is to have more equipment available V1 & V6 outrigger canoe boats. This led Ulugia Jay Ah Fook, Chairperson of Alo Paopao Festival Trust and President of Samoa Outrigger Canoe Association (S.O.C.A.) to set up this boat building business in Samoa and this will be an opportunity to preview the first V1 & V6 vaa to be built here in Samoa. The Sheraton Te Aito V1 Competition started on Saturday and this was the first time an International V1, single man/woman paddling competition was being held in Samoa and there were over 50 local and international paddlers competed in these races. This competition is usually held in Tahiti and its called the Tahitian Te Aito competition which attracts over 900 of the worlds top V1 paddlers every year. The Minister of Finance Sili Epa Tuioti delivered the keynote speech for the event. Id like to extend my warm welcome to our friends, families who have travelled from overseas to be with us today not only to celebrate and witness the launch of beautiful boats around us and the new company that has invested in these boats, but to also welcome those who are here for the competition tomorrow, he said. I have always had a great admiration for Ulugia Jay Ah Fook and I have known him for a few years and he is obviously a person of strong passion and commitment to the sport of outrigger canoe paddling. This is aside from his many other interests so its amazing for a young man and with the support from his wife and family that he is able to do all these things. We know its not cheap; it requires a lot of commitment and financial support but we are here tonight to witness one of his successes and we congratulate you and your family on this great milestone. As for many of you who supported him throughout his journey, we congratulate you and obviously this new venture is an investment for our country. One of the governments goals is to encourage small investments into small businesses to create jobs for our people and make use of our know-how technologies and skills. This is going to support the development of the paddling sport and make these boats more affordable for our people to own and encourage other people to join the association and participate. So congratulations to Ulugia Jay and the Alo Paopao Committee. The driver of a vehicle who crashed yesterday afternoon at Lalovaea, vanished after he drove into a fence next to the Samoa Seventh Day Adventist School gates. When the Samoa Observer arrived at the scene, police officers had surrounded the area. There were small, broken bottles of Vailima and another police officer uplifted half a joint of marijuana from the vehicle. According to an eyewitness who did not wish to be named, the vehicle was traveling from east heading west when it veered off the road. It was lucky no one was walking on the side of the road when it crashed because the accident happened so fast. The car was speeding up the road from the outside lane and when he tried to move to the inner lane, thats when he slipped sideways. There were two people in the vehicle when it crashed. Police have already taken the passenger to the hospital because he was injured but hes not in a critical condition but the driver left before police arrived. The Ministry of Police was contacted for a comment yesterday, but nobody was available. Verkhovna Rada Chairman Andriy Parubiy and China Ambassador to Ukraine Du Wei have discussed the prospects of invigoration of inter-parliamentary and economic cooperation. "I hope this cooperation will be strengthened," the chairman said at a meeting with the Chinese ambassador. He stressed the importance of China's solid position in the issue of Ukraine's territorial integrity. "China's firm stance should serve as a good example of strategic relations. Ukraine has every day to defend its values, opposing Russian aggression. Intensive efforts, including those of China, relative to pressure on Russia were important for us," the parliament speaker said. Parubiy also spoke in favor of Ukraine's accession to the format of the Silk Road, which was founded by China in 2012 and covers the countries of Central and Eastern Europe. "Ukraine is following the way of reforms, in spite of military operations, and the way of infrastructure development. I am sure their implementation has both economic and transit potential," Parubiy said. As the investigation about the recent Falcon 9 rocket explosion at the company's Florida launch pad is still on, SpaceX has now started working on its alternate Launch Sites for the upcoming missions. SpaceX said on Friday it can continue launching vehicles from its two other launch pads - one at Vandenberg Air Force Base and another Launch Complex 39A (LC-39A) at NASA's Kennedy Space Center. "We are confident the two launch pads can support our return to flight and fulfill our upcoming manifest needs," the company wrote in the update Wait! There's a Limitation? SpaceX's Vandenberg launch pad can only be used for certain types of missions to space, and the second pad 39A isn't quite ready to support launches just yet, says a report by The Verge. Due to being located on the West Coast, the Vandenberg site can really only be used for Falcon 9s going to Polar Regions. But if you want to go to the International Space Station in lower Earth orbit, you can't launch from Vandenberg. To get to any other orbits, rockets have to launch toward the east and launching eastward from Vandenberg means the rocket would have to fly over populated areas, which could potentially pose a threat to the general public below. SpaceX says it can continue launching Falcon 9 rockets from two other launch pads - The Verge https://t.co/9sqaiXIBxr The New York Tribune (@nytrb) September 4, 2016 The Other Alternative: Luckily, SpaceX has been working on Launch Complex 39A, a second launch pad at Cape Canaveral. It's an old Apollo and Space Shuttle launch site that the company leases from NASA. SpaceX has been modifying the launch pad at 39A to get it ready for flights of its Falcon Heavy, whose first flight was supposed to happen later this year. According to SpaceX, the 39A won't be ready until November, so the remaining eight flights scheduled for the rest of the year may have to wait a little longer. Eventually, SpaceX will also be able to launch from a new site it's building near Brownsville, Texas, located just above the Mexican border on the Gulf of Mexico. However, the first launches there aren't expected until 2018, according to Space News. The Federal Aviation Administration has sent seven people to Florida to supervise investigation of the disaster that happened earlier, said FAA spokesman Hank Price. The agency, which oversees US commercial rocket launches, requires that SpaceX's flights be suspended pending results of the probe. Any sign of rocket malfunction could require changes throughout the SpaceX fleet, reports Business Standard. After a SpaceX rocket exploded in June 2015, the program was paused for six months while defective brackets were replaced in Falcon 9 launch vehicles. Damage to SpaceX's Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station is still being assessed. NASA's first mission dedicated to investigate the deep interior of Mars, "The InSight mission" has now been moved to a Launch Date of May 5, 2018. The Interior Exploration using Seismic Investigations, Geodesy and Heat Transport (InSight) mission was originally scheduled to launch in March of this year, but NASA suspended launch preparations in December due to a vacuum leak in its prime science instrument, the Seismic Experiment for Interior Structure (SEIS). The new launch period for the mission begins May 5, 2018, with a Mars landing scheduled for Nov. 26, 2018. The next launch opportunity is driven by orbital dynamics, so 2018 is the soonest the lander can be on its way. "Our robotic scientific explorers such as InSight are paving the way toward an ambitious journey to send humans to the Red Planet," said Geoff Yoder, acting associate administrator for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, in Washington. "It's gratifying that we are moving forward with this important mission to help us better understand the origins of Mars and all the rocky planets, including Earth." Why the delay? InSight's primary aim is to help us understand how rocky planets formed and evolved, states the official website. The delay in launch was caused by a problem with one of the probe's instruments, the Seismic Experiment for Interior Structure (SEIS), which will measure very small seismic activity on Mars, according to Jet Propulsion Lab's report. The instrument "requires a perfect vacuum seal around its three main sensors in order to withstand harsh conditions on the Red Planet," according to the statement, but inspections done ahead of the initial launch date found leaks in the vacuum chamber. Mission Replan Under what's known as the mission "Replan," CNES will now focus on developing and delivering the key sensors for SEIS, integration of the sensors into the container, and the final integration of the instrument onto the spacecraft. NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory will be responsible for redesigning, developing and qualifying the instrument's evacuated container.The German Aerospace Center (DLR) is contributing the Heat Flow and Physical Properties Package (HP3) to InSight's science payload. NASA's budget for InSight was $675 million. The instrument redesign and two-year delay add $153.8 million. The additional cost will not delay or cancel any current missions, though there may be fewer opportunities for new missions in future years, from fiscal years 2017-2020. "We've concluded that a replanned InSight mission for launch in 2018 is the best approach to fulfill these long-sought, high-priority science objectives," Jim Green, director of NASA's Planetary Science Division, said in the statement. Honey is known to fight infection with its high concentration of antibacterial agents and one kind of honey, which is the most potent honey in the world is the Manuka Honey. It is obtained from the medicinal Manuka bush in New Zealand. Many clinical trials indicate that Manuka honey can rescind over 250 strains of bacteria including the most resistant. These include the MRSA (methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus), the VRE (vancomycin-resistant enterococci) and the MSSA (methicillin sensitive Staphylococcus aureus). A study, published in PLOS One, suggests that Manuka honey helps prevent antibiotic-resistant superbugs from developing when used together with antibiotics, according to UHR. It was led by researchers from the University of Technology Sydney, who used Medihoney, which is a highly absorbent seaweed soaked in medical grade, sterilized Manuka honey, to determine if this together with the antibiotic rifampicin could strengthen the antibacterial activity against MRSA and could lessen the risk of resistance. The findings showed no resistant strains of bacteria emerged. "Our findings support the idea that a combination of honey and antibiotics may be an effective new antimicrobial therapy for chronic wound infections," said the researchers. Manuka honey is also referred to as non-peroxide honey. It has significant antibacterial effects even when the hydrogen peroxide activity is obstructed and low pH level of honey. The high sugar content (high osmolality) of Manuka honey is enough to block the growth of microbes. There is a global burden of infectious diseases as of today and an antibiotic resistance, which becomes one the main health problems. Experts theorize that if there would be no discovery of new antibiotics or alternative treatment strategies found by 2050, about 10 million people each year will die from antibiotic-resistant infections, according to IFL Science. Antimicrobial agents are basically significant in combating these infectious diseases. The alternative antimicrobial strategies are also needed that could be of therapeutic use and of treatment too. These include plants and plant-based products and honey. A 5.6 magnitude earthquake, which is the strongest quake ever hit Oklahoma, rocked the area northwest pf Pawnee on Saturday. It was felt from South Dakota to Texas. The federal agency said that the seismic activity is linked to energy production, which triggers for a call to close some 35 wastewater disposal wells in the area. Oklahoma earthquake struck near Pawnee, an hour west of Tulsa. Tremors felt across 7 states https://t.co/SyO0fJRJIZ pic.twitter.com/Pii29BArkI CNN (@CNN) September 3, 2016 Pawnee Mayor Brad Sewell said that the tremor lasted just about a minute and part of the facade of an early 20th-century bank building fell into a downtown street. "It's an old historical building about 100 years old. It's still standing but some of the outer layers of sandstone fell," said Mayor Brad Sewell. According to Reuters, the quake, which was only 4.1 miles (6.6 km) deep, could fuel concerns about the environmental impact of oil and gas drilling. This has been denunciated for a solid spike in minor to rational quakes in the area. Oklahoma ordered 35 fracking/oil disposal wells to shut down after earthquake this AM https://t.co/YVPxUjxp6J pic.twitter.com/nok3FLPOgc CNNMoney (@CNNMoney) September 3, 2016 CNN reports that the oil and gas drillers and other industries use the disposal wells, in which there is a need to inject toxic wastewater into the earth. This raise concerns that they may induce earthquakes and could have possible pollution of the water supply. Governor Mary Fallin said that the Environmental Protection Agency is now investigating it. The USGS said that there was a total of 11 earthquakes in the same region on Saturday. The quake magnitudes ranged from 2.7 to 5.6 magnitude. The largest hit at 7:02 A.M. (8:02 A.M. ET). Date of IMF meeting considering tranche to Ukraine determined Ukrainian Minister of Finance Oleksandr Danyliuk has stated the date of a meeting of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) Executive Board to consider the issue of the next tranche to Ukraine has been determined. "The date has been determined, let the IMF inform about it," the minister told journalists in Kyiv. Danyliuk said he hopes for a positive decision from the IMF. There are some more reasons why it is advantageous to be multilingual. One of the most fundamental skill in a highly globalized world is learning to speak different languages. Travelling is more convenient when you are able to speak directly to the locals. It would be easier to watch foreign film learning the language instead of reading the subtitles. Also it is a good skill to impress your date. Yet a study adds one more reason why you should learn another language, they claim that it makes you smarter. Eurekalert featured a study conducted by scientists from Higher School of Economics (HSE) and University of Helsinki which focused on the neurological mechanics of language and speech and language acquisition to mental functions. They subjected 22 students (10 males and 12 females) to an electroencephalogram (ECG). They rundown a recording of a series of words with two categories, the native words and nonnative words. They found out that the brain waves tend to change every time an unknown word is heard. The neurophysiological data were then compared to the subject's "linguistic background". As it turned out, multilingual people tend to process information more quickly than monolingual individuals. There was also more neurological activity for multilingual subjects. The research also added that childhood acquisition of nonnative language tends to prolong neural encoding ability of a newly encountered word with unfamiliar phonology during adulthood. This validates a strong link between language skill of individual to its cognitive activities. Lead author Yury Shtyrov, fellow of the HSE Centre for Cognition & Decision Making and University of Helsinki, explained this phenomena. When people are fluent in speaking a foreign language, tendencies are they also have an improved neural network and coding ability to a new information which simply translates to an improved brain functions and mental ability This link between language acquisition and brain activity could be developed and further studied to provide possible treatments for post-traumatic stress patients suffering from speech loss. Prime Minister of Ukraine Volodymyr Groysman has stated currently there are no reasons for talks about sequestering national budget funds. "Today there is no reason for talking about national budget sequestering," Groysman said at a briefing in Kyiv. He added the government had not discussed this possibility. Groysman noted if this issue had been discussed, the Ministry of Finance would have stated publicly about it. Groysman launches mobile groups to prevent and detect violations at customs Prime Minister of Ukraine Volodymyr Groysman has launched the interagency targeted center to prevent and detect violations of customs laws and 20 joint mobile groups to prevent and detect violations at customs. Head of the State Fiscal Service Roman Nasirov and Finance Minister Oleksandr Danyliuk attended the ceremony of the center and the mobile units. "Today we start the work of the mobile teams that will detect contraband goods, which have not passed customs control," Groysman said, stressing the customs reform is urgently needed. As reported, in June the Cabinet of Ministers decided to set up 20 mobile groups to combat smuggling. The groups are composed of representatives of the National Police and the State Border Guard Service of Ukraine. Russia and Saudi Arabia have reached agreement to draw up recommendations for joint measures and actions to ensure oil market stability and predictability, according to the joint declaration signed by Russian Energy Minister Alexander Novak and Saudi Arabian Energy, Industry and Mineral Resources Minister Halid Al-Falih during the G20 summit meeting. The declaration emphasizes the need for dialog on the oil market situation and for development of bilateral cooperation. "The ministers emphasized the importance of supporting the dialog being conducted by the sides concerning current development on the oil and gas markets and expressed their mutual desire to further expand bilateral cooperation in the energy area. This is due to the fact the two countries bear responsibility for producing over 21% of oil consumed globally, which is needed to ensure global economic growth, raise living standards and achieve millennial development goals. Measures to restrain market volatility are needed. "The ministers recognized the need to restrain excessive oil market volatility, which has a negative effect on global economic growth and long-term stability." The oil producing countries are confronting the problem of declining investment in oil and gas projects and postponement of projects. "The ministers also noted the long-term challenges the exporting countries are facing on the global oil market, including a significant reduction in capital expenditure on oil production globally, particularly geological exploration work, and extensive postponement of investment projects to a later date, which has on the whole led to greater volatility and, accordingly, an unstable situation on the oil market in the long-term outlook, for both producers and consumers," the declaration says. "In this connection, the ministries agreed to act jointly or in cooperation with other oil producers. In addition, they agreed to continue consultations on the oil market situation and create a working group for joint monitoring, which will track fundamental oil market indicators and draft recommendations on measures and joint actions to ensure market stability and predictability," it says. Novak and Al-Falih noted "the particular importance of constructive dialog and close cooperation between the two leading oil producers in order to support oil market stability and ensure a stable level of investment in the long-term outlook." Russia and Saudi Arabia will also develop cooperation in technologies and equipment production. "The ministers agreed to develop cooperation between Russia and Saudi Arabia in the oil and gas sector, in the areas of: introducing new technologies; exchanging information and experience in order to increase the use of technologies in production, refining, storage, transportation and sale of hydrocarbon resources, equipment production, provision of services, notably engineering services and organization and performance of scientific research work; and the electricity and renewable energy areas," according to the declaration. The ministers also agreed to examine the opportunity to create, with the support of the sovereign funds in the two countries, a joint database of promising energy sector technologies and their introduction and use. Novak said the Russian-Saudi working group on cooperation in oil and gas would hold its first meeting in October. Novak said he and Al-Falih would next meet during the International Energy Forum in Algeria and in November at the OPEC meeting in Vienna. The Ukrainian minister for temporarily occupied territories and internally displaced persons, Vadym Chernysh, believes the law on the establishment of the Crimea free economic zone should be abolished because at this stage it is not necessary. "My position as a minister, and I have already expressed it at several government meetings, is as follows: the law on the Crimea free economic zone should be abolished. There is no need for it now. Probably, when the law was adopted, there was no clear understanding how industry, businesses will work there. But today it is already clear it is not necessary. All the more it controls not only economic relations but also, let's say, private matters of citizens," he said in an interview with the Dzerkalo Tyzhnia. Ukraine weekly. According to him, the ministry is preparing a draft resolution for consideration by the Cabinet of Ministers, held working group meetings on the subject to discuss the positions of other ministries. The law of Ukraine on the creation of the Crimea free economic zone and the peculiarities of economic activity in the temporarily occupied territory of Ukraine came into force in September 2014. The fire at the National Information Systems Company building, which is producing the programs for the Inter TV channel, has sparked up due to a smoke grenade hurled by a group of unknown people, National Police Kyiv Main Directorate spokesperson Oksana Blyschyk said. "The police received a call at about 4.30 p.m. from Shchusev Street that unknown people set the tires on fire outside the office of a television channel. Police car patrols and an investigative team from the Shevchenkovskiy police department rushed to the scene. It was found out that a group of nearly 20 people have come to the building, have placed the tourist tents and have taken the tires with them. Then they have set the tires on fire. Then they hurled it at the building, according to tentative information, a smoke grenade, and the fire has broken out," she wrote on her Facebook page on Sunday evening. The incident was duly registered in the common police register, Blyshchyk said. Firemen, experts and a team of investigators and operatives are working at the scene. "Several participants in the event have been taken to the police station to find out their identities and to have the explanations from them," she said. "After the inquiry the investigators will present a legal classification to this incident," the police spokesperson said. The South Korean shipping company filed Chapter 15 bankruptcy protection in the US in a Newark, New Jersey court on Friday according to a report the Wall Street Journal. If the filing is recognised it will stop creditors from bringing legal action and seizing assets in the US. Hanjin filed for court receivership on 31 August in Seoul and which has since been accepted by the court giving the company until 25 November to present a rehabilitation plan. However, Hanjins global operations have effectively come to a halt with its vessels stranded outside ports and on the high seas around the world. Creditors have already started taking legal action and an application in California by World Fuel Services to arrest the vessel Hanjin Montevideo was granted by the courts. On 30 August the day before Hanjin filed for receivership the vessel Hanjin Rome was arrested in Singapore. The CKYHE alliance has also suspended its membership while CMA CGM has terminated agreements on five joint services. Hanjins shares resumed trading on Monday falling 30% to KRW870 giving the company a market value of KRW213bn ($192m) according to Bloomberg. Several people were injured in the fire that has been sparked at the building housing of the National Information Systems (NIS) Company, which is producing the programs for the Inter TV channel, NIS director (part of Inter Media Group) Oleksandr Pylypets said. "At the backdrop of numerous threats against the TV channel the authorities did not act [...] Multiple petitions to the law enforcement structures, prosecution's office, cabinet of ministers, presidential administration resulted in nothing. More of it! High-ranking officials in the ministerial seats have nearly openly called for violent actions against employees of the channel and its manufacturing facility! The result is the burnt TV complex and injured people," he wrote on his Facebook page on Sunday evening. Later, asked by a social network user, Pylypets said that all the people who had stayed in the building during the arson were alive, but "there are severe injuries." "Many people have been poisoned by heavy smoke. The ambulances are working at the scene," the NIS director said. Pregnancy, as any mom can tell you, is no picnic. Many expectant women have problems with nausea, vomiting, lack of appetite and recurring pain. As it happens, marijuana can be an ideal remedy for all of those issues. But as Trace Dominguez explains in today's DNews dispatch, the emerging scientific consensus is that expectant moms probably should not toke up -- just to be on the safe side. Thanks to a recent and largely unexpected sea change in American attitudes, marijuana is now legal for medical and recreational use in half of the U.S. states, plus the District of Columbia. In the U.S., weed has never before been so readily available and officially sanctioned. As such, it's likely that more people are smoking more pot under a wider range of circumstances. Science is just starting to catch up with the consequences of this significant social shift. According to a new study in Biological Psychiatry, as much as 13 percent of women worldwide use cannabis during pregnancy. The research also looked at a particular cross section of users: babies exposed to cannabis in the womb versus babies exposed to tobacco in the womb. The results found that babies exposed to cannabis tended to have a thicker prefrontal cortex. RELATED: Where Did Marijuana Come From? What does that mean? It's hard to say, exactly. The prefrontal cortex is a region of the brain involved in complex cognition, decision-making, and working memory. In some studies, a thicker frontal cortex has been correlated with higher intelligence in adulthood. But other studies suggest that it can impede development in youth. It gets a bit phrenological, actually. This is just the latest in a long line of studies that have approached the intersection of the weed and the womb. An oft-cited 1994 study of Jamaican children found no measurable differences in the children of pot-smoking moms. But meta analyses of other research suggests that newborns have some neurological deficiencies in areas of problem solving, memory, and attention. In any case, it's clear the cannabis has some effect on babies, and as such, it's safer to stay away entirely. The American Medical Association, the National Institute on Drug Abuse, and the World Health Organization all recommend against pot use while pregnant. -- Glenn McDonald Learn More: National Institute of Drug Abuse: DrugFacts: Marijuana Vice: The Women Who Smoke Weed While Pregnant CBS: Doctors Call For Warnings On Pot Use During Pregnancy Pope Francis on Sunday proclaimed Mother Teresa a saint and hailed the revered Catholic nun as an embodiment of maternal love who talked truth to power on behalf of the poor. "We may have some difficulty in calling her 'Saint' Teresa," the pontiff said. "Her holiness is so near to us, so tender and so fruitful that we continue to spontaneously call her Mother." He added: "She made her voice heard before the powers of this world, so that they might recognise their guilt for the crime - the crimes - of poverty they created." Teresa's canonization mass was attended by more than 100,000 pilgrims, including heads of state and hundreds of sari-clad nuns from her order, the Missionaries of Charity. RELATED: Mysterious Braided Hair May Belong to Medieval Saint Queen Sofia of Spain and around 1,500 homeless people also looked on as Francis described Teresa's work in the slums of Kolkata as "eloquent witness to God's closeness to the poorest of the poor". To applause, he added: "Mother Teresa loved to say, 'perhaps I don't speak their language but I can smile'. Let us carry her smile in our hearts." Candles and flowers were laid on Teresa's tomb at the headquarters of her order in the Indian metropolis she is so closely associated with. Lighting a candle, Konica Cecilia said Teresa had given her impoverished parents money to help them send her to school. "I was fortunate to meet Mother. She was a living saint and an inspiration to me," the 32-year-old said. "My memories of her comfort me when I am in trouble." RELATED: Medieval Monument Depicts Animal-Headed Saints Francis also used his sermon to recall Teresa's fervent opposition to abortion, which she termed "murder by the mother" in a controversial Nobel Peace prize speech in 1979. She "ceaselessly proclaimed that the unborn are the weakest", he said. - Pizza lunch at Vatican - With the 16th century basilica of St Peter's glinting in the late summer sun, Francis led a ritual mass that has barely changed for centuries. Speaking in Latin, he declared "blessed Teresa of Calcutta (Kolkata) to be a Saint... decreeing that she is to be venerated as such by the whole Church." After the mass, the 79-year-old pontiff boarded an open-topped jeep and toured around St Peter's square and surrounding streets to a rapturous reception from tens of thousands of well-wishers. Solangel Rojas had come from Cali in Colombia. Clutching a picture of Teresa to her heart, she said: "It is wonderful that she has been canonised. She was an example to us all." Among those in the front rows at the mass were 1,500 people from shelters run by the Italian branches of Teresa's order. Later they were Francis's guests for a giant pizza lunch served by nuns and priests. Teresa spent all her adult life in India, first teaching, then tending to the dying poor for decades before her death in 1997. WATCH VIDEO: How Do You Become a Saint? Scotland's Loch Ness Monster remains a mythical mystery, but a ferocious-looking creature that was definitely fact and not fiction -- the Storr Lochs Monster -- has just been unveiled by scientists. The remains of the Storr Lochs Monster now comprise the most complete skeleton of a sea-living reptile from the Age of Dinosaurs that has ever been discovered in Scotland, according to Steve Brusatte of the University of Edinburgh and his colleagues. The scientists say that its fossils were originally found on the Isle of Skye by Norrie Gillies, the then manager of the SSE Storr Lochs Power Station who has since died at age 93. The Storr Lochs Monster has been identified as an ichthyosaur. These were a family of now-extinct marine reptiles that thrived in prehistoric seas at the same time that dinosaurs dominated terrestrial ecosystems. RELATED: Loch Ness Trench Spurs Monster Speculation "Ichthyosaurs like the Storr Lochs Monster ruled the waves while dinosaurs thundered across the land," Brusatte said in a press release. "Their bones are exceptionally rare in Scotland, which makes this specimen one of the crown jewels of Scottish fossils. It's all thanks to the keen eye of an amateur collector that this remarkable fossil was ever found in the first place, which goes to show that you don't need an advanced degree to make huge scientific discoveries." The researchers -- due to a partnership between the University of Edinburgh, National Museums Scotland and the energy company SSE -- were able to extract the ichthyosaur's remains from the rock that encased it for millions of years. The fossils show that the over 13-feet-long Storr Lochs Monster was an especially toothy ichthyosaur that lived around 170 million years ago. When alive, it would use its pointed head filled with hundreds of cone-shaped teeth to feast on fish and squid, and probably almost anything else that had the misfortune of coming into its way. RELATED: 'Mystery Monster' Found in Siberian Mine Further research may reveal how ichthyosaurs evolved during the Middle Jurassic Period (176 to 161 million years ago), a part of Earth's history that has long been shrouded in mystery owing to a lack of fossil evidence. The Isle of Skye, which is connected to Scotland's northwest coast by bridge, is one of the few places in the world where fossils from this period can be found. Nick Fraser of National Museums Scotland's natural sciences division said, "The Storr Lochs Monster highlights the rich fossil heritage of Skye." SSE's Michael Pibworth hopes that the Storr Lochs Monster "will indeed prove to be a 'crown jewel' in Scotland's Jurassic history and thanks to the foresight of the Gillies family, enjoyed by generations to come." WATCH VIDEO: Why We'll Always Believe in Monsters You hear them mentioned in the news all the time, and they seem to be an important part of our public policy apparatus. But what are think thanks, exactly? Jules Suzdaltsev has the answers in today's Seeker Daily dispatch. Well, a lot of people don't know this, but think tanks refer to an array of nutrient vats kept in underground laboratories beneath Capitol Hill. Inside those vats, the cybernetically preserved brains of 19th-century lawmakers float -- oops, wait a second. Wrong notes. Here we go: A think tank is basically a group of experts and academics who conduct research and advocate for particular approaches to public policy. They're often referred to as "universities without students" in that the researchers function as scholars who never have to bother with the tiresome tradition of classes. As with universities, most think tanks have some sort of general ideological bent -- either to the left or the right -- but are tasked with providing legitimate, evidence-based research. Think tanks issue official studies and reports that inform public policy, and deploy expert consultants to work with lawmakers on particular initiatives. Lawmakers rely on think tanks to provide them with the in-depth analysis they need to inform their decisions. RELATED: Are We The Only Species That Votes? That's the ideal, anyway. In the moneyed world of politics, however, things don't always function as designed. Because think tank are often funded by wealthy sponsors -- both individuals and corporations -- their objectivity can be called into question. A recent investigative report in The New York Times found that think tanks like the Brookings Institution regularly consult with wealthy donors before completing studies and releasing their findings. Uncovered documents suggest that many think tanks are actively pushing corporate agendas and blurring the line between research and lobbying. It's a sobering article -- well worth a read. Check out Jules report for more details and some interesting revelations about the origins of the think tank. Or click on over to Jules' earlier report on the influence of Wall Street. -- Glenn McDonald Check out Science GO! Learn More: The New York Times: How Think Tanks Amplify Corporate America's Influence Forbes: How the Heritage Foundation, a Conservative Think Tank, Promoted the Individual Mandate Politifact: Obama Says Heritage Foundation is Source of Health Exchange Idea Verkhovna Rada First Deputy Chairperson Iryna Gerashchenko has condemned the arson of the building, where the office of the company National Information System is situated, which produces software for Inter TV channel and regarded it as a provocation. "I am against arsons. Even if I do not like someone's editorial policy, I condemn such methods of sorting out relationships and I consider it to be a provocation against the country, in particular," she wrote on her Facebook page on Sunday evening. Earlier, Deputy Prime Minister Viacheslav Kyrylenko said arson at the building of the company National Information System is unbeneficial for Ukrainian authorities and pro-Ukrainian forces. According to him, the National Police should identify those who commissioned the crime. Press Release September 5, 2016 Cayetano writes to US President Obama: Give Duterte, Philippines a chance; Help us experience Change we can believe in Ahead of the historic first meeting between President Rodrigo Duterte and United States President Barack Obama, Senator Alan Peter Cayetano wrote an open letter appealing to the head of the world's biggest superpower to "give the Philippines and President Duterte a chance" to achieve genuine change, even as his government wages a three-pronged war to address poverty, defeat drugs and criminality, and achieve just and inclusive peace amid criticisms. In his open letter, the Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chair also appealed to President Obama to help the Philippines pursue an independent foreign policy that balances the country's relations with the US and China, even as he affirmed the country's firm commitment to the US as a long-time ally. "As a Citizen of the world and a believer in Change, allow me to write you an open letter to attempt to articulate the audacity of the Filipino people to hope for a better future and to aspire for a nation that is secure, peaceful, law abiding and prosperous," wrote Cayetano. "I write to you because more than any other person, you know how it feels to have the weight of the world on your shoulders...to have the burden of fixing the problems of your own country but having to constantly live up to the expectations of the entire world," he continued. The senator said that like President Obama, who persevered to overcome challenges and accomplish so much for the American people in the last 7 years, the Philippines now has a president who has shown willingness to sacrifice his life and honor to see that change comes to all Filipinos. "After decades of hopelessness and up to 10 million Filipinos leaving our country to find work in foreign lands and after an entire generation exposed to the perils of illegal drugs, we finally have a President who is trying to get the country back on the right track," Cayetano explained. "Now it is our turn. Our turn to experience Change we can believe in," he said, echoing the central theme of the presidential campaign that won Obama the US presidency. He then asked: "Will you now allow us to lose hope and fail? Will the West deny us the 'Change we can believe in?'" Cayetano noted that President Duterte has been misjudged by some sectors based on the way he speaks. This has been aggravated by a misinformation campaign about the human rights situation in the country, he added. "Does he (Pres. Duterte) not deserve to be judged on his record and his actions? On facts and not manipulated statistics? On where he wants to bring the country rather than his sometimes politically incorrect words?" he asked. On the two countries' relations, Cayetano stressed that the Philippines deserves a chance to assert its national identity and pursue an independent foreign policy. Explaining further, Cayetano defined this as "a foreign policy for Filipinos by Filipinos" which shall be marked by "a balanced friendship with our oldest ally and big brother the United States of America on one hand and a friendship of mutual respect with our neighbor China on the other." Cayetano expressed confidence that as President Obama has tried at every turn to avoid war and promote peace in various parts of the world, a win-win situation can also be worked out for the USA, Philippines and China. The senator then cautioned against efforts by pessimists, critics, and hardliners in the West, the United Nations, and within the country who want the US and the Philippines to continue to bicker and disagree. "Hardliners fear the Philippine government will make peace with the communist rebels. Critics Fear that Christians and Muslims can't build communities and a nation together. Pessimists say that we can't be a drug-free country," he explained. "Will we let the pessimists and hardliners win Mr. President? Or will we persevere and try to understand each other, so we can wake up one day to a peaceful, prosperous and progressive Philippines?" "Can't we give the Philippines and President Duterte a Chance?" he concluded, even as expressed hope for a successful meeting between the two heads of state. Facebook link: https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=1144764025616377&substory_index=0&id=368498793242908 Press Release September 5, 2016 AMEND BANK SECRECY LAW TO COUNTER TERRORISM, CORRUPTION -- CHIZ The Senate is headed toward relaxing or repealing the country's law on bank secrecy as a step to counter terrorism and corruption, according to Senator Chiz Escudero. The Senate Committee on Banks, Financial Institutions and Currencies, which Escudero chairs, heard today several legislative proposals to amend the bank secrecy law or Republic Act No. 1405. There have been talks of changing the bank secrecy law to allow authorities to probe highly suspicious bank accounts, especially after $81-million hacking of the Bangladesh account with the US Federal Reserve early this year that ended up in a Philippine bank. The Philippines and Lebanon are the only remaining countries with stringent laws on bank secrecy in the world. RA 1405 prohibits disclosure of bank deposits, either held by public officials or private individuals, with any banking institution. Section 2 of the law states that all deposits of whatever nature in banks or banking institutions in the country are "considered as absolutely confidential nature and may not be examined, inquired or looked into by any person, government official, bureau or office, except upon written permission of the depositor, or in cases of impeachment, or upon order of a competent court in cases of bribery or dereliction of duty of public officials, or in cases where the money deposited or invested is the subject matter of the litigation." Escudero, however, said that since some Senate proposals may exclude government officials, they will however compel public officials to submit a waiver in favor of the Ombudsman on the secrecy of their bank deposits, along with their sworn Statements of Assets, Liabilities and Net Worth (SALN). Such move is enclosed in Escudero's proposed Senate Bill No. 80. "There are two ways of doing it in so far as government officials are concerned: One way is to remove government officials from the coverage of 1405, while the other is to comply with the provisions of 1405 by requiring all public officials and employees to submit a waiver together with their SALN in favor of the Anti-Money Laundering Council (AMLC), the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) and the Ombudsman to look into their deposits," Escudero said. This way, he said, would not require changes to the law but would simply require public officials to submit a waiver together with his or her SALN. Since 2010, the veteran lawmaker has been submitting, together with his SALN, a written waiver on the secrecy of his bank deposits, which he files every year with the Office of the Ombudsman. In the case of private individuals, removal of bank confidentiality will apply under certain circumstances, the senator said. "Halimbawa pag nag-apply ka ng abatement or compromise sa tax mo na dapat bayaran, siguro nman puwedeng tingnan magkano ba talaga ang pera mo, baka mamaya ang in-offer mo ay maliit lang." An example of this is the estate tax. "Sa estate tax, namatay yung depositor, ang problema pag may namatay na ang depositor at naglipat na ng bahay, ni hindi malalaman ng kaniyang asawa at mga anak na may deposito pala ang asawa o tatay dun. Dito marapat pasok na buksan yun." Escudero said that once amendments to the bank secrecy or the mandatory waiver for public officials is passed, bank records automatically become accessible to the AMLC, BIR, the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Ombudsman. "Now if they refuse to sign a waiver, then they don't have a business being in government. Para sa akin, sino mang nasa gobyerno wala siyang karapatang sabihing sikreto yun," he said. Press Release September 5, 2016 BLUE RIBBON TO SAFEGUARD RIGHTS AGAINST VIOLATIONS IN RELATION TO DECLARATION OF STATE OF LAWLESS VIOLENCE - SAYS GORDON With apprehensions rife over President Rodrigo Duterte's move to place the whole country under a state of lawlessness prompted by the recent bombing of the Davao City night market which killed 14 people, Senator Richard J. Gordon yesterday allayed fears of another martial law as he assured that the former should not be taken for the latter. While supporting the President's move, Gordon, chairman of the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee, said the committee is open for complaints against misfeasance, malfeasance or nonfeasance committed in connection with the implementation of the declaration. "The declaration of state of lawlessness has no specific review. And this lack has created uncertainty and engendered fear in many of our citizens. Political leaders and many good-hearted people have expressed grave apprehension fearing that their civil, political and human rights would be adversely affected," he noted in a personal and collective privilege. The senator also stressed that there must be rules in the implementation of the declaration of state of lawlessness, adding that Congress, under the Constitutionally-mandated separation of powers, could provide the necessary check and balance to allay the people's fear. "I would like to state here for the record that we have a Committee on Accountability of Public Officers and Investigation or the Blue Ribbon Committee. I only say this to assuage those of us who rightfully and perhaps legally will be concerned about the declaration of the state of lawlessness. The Blue Ribbon is empowered to investigate misfeasance, malfeasance and nonfeasance in office by officers and employees of the government, its branches, agencies, subdivisions and instrumentalities, and more importantly, any matter of public interest. We can open the Blue Ribbon Committee to any complaints. Any citizen who feels he had been aggrieved by the military checkpoints or by any military man or any member of the government could come to the Blue Ribbon Committee at any time," he said. In an earlier statement, Gordon said bombings had happened before and therefore was probably not unexpected considering the dastardly actions made previously by lawless elements who are now under effective interdiction from the government. This is not the first time for Gordon to deal with terrorist attacks, both in Davao City and other parts of the country. During his time as Secretary of Tourism, Gordon had to take action to avert the negative effects to the tourism industry of several bombings such as Zamboanga Puericulture Center bombing on October 28, 2001 which killed 5 people; General Santos bombing at Fitmart store on April 21, 2002 where 15 people killed; Metro Manila bus bombing on October 18, 2002 where 2 people killed; and Superferry Bombing outside Manila Bay on February 27, 2004 where 116 people killed, among others. "Let us all at this time be reflective, deliberate and calm as a people. Let us do our share by being constantly vigilant and alert as we continue with our daily normal lives and not allow such heinous acts to deter us from moving forward - for in allowing these incidents to stop our normal way of living, we would have allowed those who terrorize to win," he said. Press Release September 5, 2016 Speech of Senator Loren Legarda Coastal Cities at Risk (CCaR) Final Project Meeting and Workshop 5 September 2016| New World Hotel, Makati City I believe all of us here today know and agree that we are at risk; we are vulnerable to climate change risks. The signs are all around us. The numbers speak for themselves. It is no longer an issue of taking action, but rather of how much action we need to take. Last month, residents of Shishmaref, a small village in Alaska, voted to relocate their community from the Sarichef Island that has been steadily sinking into the sea. Shishmaref is just one of the 31 Alaskan villages that face imminent threats from flooding and coastal erosion.[1] On a global scale, about 200 million people may become permanently displaced by 2050 due to sea level rise, flooding and intense droughts. If global temperature rises by 2C, sea level rise is projected to be less than 70 centimeters; with warming of up to 4C, sea level rise is projected to be more than 100 cm. The statistics are even more disturbing in the Philippines. Various studies show that sea level rise around the country is three to five times faster than the global average rate; and even if we are successful in limiting global warming to 1.5C, sea level around the Philippines would still rise to about 70 centimeters, according to the World Meteorological Organization (WMO). Sea level rise is just one of the impacts of climate change. Ocean acidification is causing irreversible damage to our coral reefs, while the sudden shifts from hot temperatures to incessant rains pose uncertainties to agriculture, greatly affecting our food security. The warming climate is now one of the most significant risks for World Heritage Sites, including the Philippines' own Ifugao Rice Terraces. Extreme rainfall and heavy floods constantly threaten lives, livelihood and development. This is why nations, especially those highly vulnerable to climate impacts such as the Philippines, were not content with the use of the phrase "well below the 2C goal" when the Paris Agreement was being drafted. Instead, we pushed for the inclusion of the 1.5C global warming limit as our main goal. It was not an easy journey during the Paris Agreement negotiations yet we continue to move forward through the challenging path of pushing for its ratification. At this point, 26 of the 197 Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) have ratified the Agreement, including the US and China, the two biggest emitters of greenhouse gases (GHG). They represent 39% of global GHG emissions.[2] For the Agreement to enter into force, at least 55 Parties to the UNFCCC representing 55 percent of global GHG emissions must ratify it. I am hopeful that it will not take long for our own government to realize the wisdom of completing our process of ratification. But even as the Paris Agreement has been hailed by many as a landmark agreement, its aspirations will not happen on its own. Bending the global warming curve to 1.5C is a moral imperative, because it means saving the lives and livelihoods of hundreds of millions of people; it means upholding the human rights of the poor and vulnerable; it means ensuring the integrity of our ecosystems. The Philippines has committed to a 70% GHG emissions reduction by 2030 from business as usual scenario from energy, transport, waste, industry and forestry. We also committed to building the resilience of our communities and promoting inclusive growth in accordance with the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction and the Sustainable Development Goals. Delivering on our commitments to these global frameworks is our way of telling and showing the world that though we are vulnerable to natural hazards and climate impacts, we are not incapable of action. We need to strengthen the capacities of our governments and apply the whole-of-society approach in integrating responses to climate change within national to local policy frameworks and programs of actions. The Philippines has among the world's best laws on climate and disaster resilience such as the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Act, the Climate Change Act, and the People's Survival Fund Act. The greater challenge, however, is to translate national policies, plans and programs into local action with measurable gains. Our government has also started climate-tagging expenditure for climate change adaptation and mitigation and will prioritize funding for adaptation to reduce the vulnerability and address the climate risks to our communities. Moreover, in my capacity as the Chair of the Senate Committee on Finance, we were able to transform the 2016 national budget into one that is climate-adaptive and disaster-resilient. We have mainstreamed provisions that ensure that the implementation of government programs would contribute towards building resilience. We will continue to do this in the 2017 national budget. On this note, I wish to congratulate everyone behind the Coastal Cities at Risk Project. Scientific research collaboration and innovation are important for government to design evidence-based decision support systems and to help communities prepare for localized impact assessments. The best climate solutions are possible only with the guidance of science. We need science in developing land use plans that are risk sensitive. The science and research community's role to gather, validate and process scientific data is crucial in the accurate prediction of events. These are indispensable inputs to designing practical solutions and communicating the risks to our communities. Building resilience is not the duty of the government alone. It is everyone's responsibility. The risks will always be present; managing the risks is key to resilience. We must be fully aware of the specific risks and vulnerabilities of our communities so we can craft the best solutions to effectively manage them. In closing, I wish to stress that we all live in one Earth. Climate change is now in our midst and it imparts to us the lesson that we do not own the planet, but are mere stewards of its resources. Let us also be reminded of our responsibility to ensure that the future generations will have the benefits of a balanced and healthful ecology. Each of us has opportunities to make a difference for our future. We must lead the way towards meaningful change--change in the way we think, change in the way we live, and change in the way we pursue the development and the future we long for--for our children and grandchildren, for all of humanity, for all species in the world, and for Mother Earth. ________________________ [1] Reeling From Effects of Climate Change, Alaskan Village Votes to Relocate, New York Times, 19 August 2016 [2] http://unfccc.int/2860.php Press Release September 5, 2016 Legarda Hails Paris Agreement Ratification by US and China Senator Loren Legarda today hailed the United States' and China's ratification of the Paris Agreement on Climate Change and said that this could pave the way for the deal's entry into force before the year ends. "This is a huge step towards the early entry into force of the Paris Agreement. It is encouraging to see that, following the lead of vulnerable small island nations, the two biggest emitters of greenhouse gases (GHG) have formalized their commitment to saving our planet from further warming," said Legarda, UN Office for Disaster Risk Reduction's (UNISDR) Global Champion for Resilience. With these developments, 26 of the 197 Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), representing 39% of global GHG emissions, have now ratified the Agreement. For the Agreement to enter into force, at least 55 Parties to the UNFCCC representing 55 percent of global GHG emissions must ratify it. Legarda, Chair of the Senate Committee on Climate Change and author of the Philippine Climate Change Act, said she is hopeful that the Philippines would also ratify the Agreement soon. "I am hopeful that it will not take long for our own government to realize the wisdom of completing our process of ratification. The Paris Agreement is very important for the Philippines, being one of the most vulnerable nations to the impacts of climate change," she stressed. "There is no provision in the Paris Agreement that would prevent our industrialization. In fact, it addresses the issue of climate justice. There are clear provisions in the Climate Agreement saying that industrialized nations must come up with a funding needed to help the vulnerable nations," Legarda explained. Under the Paris Agreement, developed nations are asked to decarbonize economy-wide. They must raise $100 Billion every year to help vulnerable nations for mitigation and adaptation, and to transfer technology. On the other hand, the Agreement acknowledges that developing nations will take time to decarbonize and will be able to do so with external support. The Philippines was among the most influential countries in the crafting of the Paris Agreement on Climate Change, which seeks to limit global warming to well below 2 degrees Celsius, and possibly not more than 1.5 degrees Celsius. The Philippines also signed the Agreement in New York last April 22 and will be considered to have joined the Agreement once the President ratifies it and the Senate concurs in the ratification. Press Release September 5, 2016 Press Statement of Senator Juan Miguel F. Zubiri This representation strongly denounces the recent Davao Bombing that claimed 15 innocent lives and injured more than 60 people. I urge the public to steer clear of unwanted rumors and to stay highly alert but calm. I support the President's declaration of "State of lawless violence" made in the aftermath of the terror attack. Though the said declaration sparked concerns that soon our country is veering toward military rule, the Chief Executive himself denied that it was Martial Law and assured that it does not involve the suspension of the Writ of Habeas Corpus. State of lawless violence merely calls out the military or the Armed Forces of the Philippines to do law enforcement operations normally done only by the Philippine National Police. It is precisely for the purpose of suppressing lawless violence. It is to complement and supplement the capability of the PNP. We have nothing to be afraid of much more doubt the intent of the President. The declaration does not entail the suspension of any rights under the Constitution or set the stage for martial law. The three branches of our government is still functional, both houses of the Congress is working. We have to take note that former President Joseph Estrada declared State of lawlessness when he directed the AFP and PNP chiefs to coordinate with each other in the deployment of Marines for temporary period in Metro Manila, and the Supreme Court upheld the same. Former President Arroyo similarly declared lawlessness in 2003 after the bombing of Sasa Wharf and airport in Davao City It is my position that now is the best time to support the President to curtail lawlessness and suppress its spread throughout the nation. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate Shortly after he signed with the 49ers, Christian Ponder said he was committed to having fun in what might be his last chance in the NFL. Mission accomplished. In fact, Ponder had so much fun - leading five touchdown drives in nine full preseason series - that the discarded and largely forgotten quarterback beat long odds to make the 49ers 53-man roster Saturday. Ponder is the No. 3 quarterback behind starter Blaine Gabbert and Colin Kaepernick. Ponder, 28, was retained two days after he provided a spark in a 31-21 win over the Chargers in the preseason finale. After playing a prominent role in a 22-0 fourth-quarter blitz, Ponder kept using his new favorite word. It was a fun night. I think we played well, Ponder said. We all did a good job, especially in the fourth quarter. It was fun. Its always fun to win a game. The 49ers didnt keep an undrafted rookie, which might make Ponder their best example of a feel-good roster survivor. As a former first-round pick (No. 12 in 2011) who has earned more than $10 million, he doesnt fit the underdog profile. But consider: The potential franchise quarterback turned flameout was in the midst of an eight-month unemployment three weeks ago before the 49ers interrupted his quest to finish painting his house in Phoenix. Ponders first practice with the 49ers came in Denver against the defending Super Bowl champions. The results werent surprising: He completed 1 of 6 passes with an interception in 11-on-11 drills. Three days later, however, the fun began. He threw a 30-yard touchdown and ran for a 22-yard score to lead a comeback win over the Broncos. It was the start of his three-game preseason in which he completed 16 of 25 passes for 198 yards with a touchdown and interception, and added three rushing scores on zone-read scampers. Give Christian credit that he came in against Denver and he gave us a spark, head coach Chip Kelly said Thursday. And then he came in today and gave us a spark. So thats encouraging. Ponder hopes this is the start of something that never materialized in his first four seasons with the Vikings. But the reality is he might not take a snap this season. Kelly said Ponder will be inactive for Week 1, and its possible he wont play unless both Gabbert and Kaepernick are sidelined. Still, three weeks ago he thought he might be an ex-football player who had been forced into retirement. On Thursday, after his improbable preseason, he sounded ready to defy more odds and have fun when the games count. It was (a confidence boost), Ponder said. Especially when you take almost a year off, you dont know how youre going to play. I think I fit well in this offense and I really enjoy it. Fortunately, I was able to play well. Four claimed: The 49ers had four players claimed off waivers after they were released Saturday: WR Bryce Treggs (Eagles), rookie QB Jeff Driskel (Bengals), outside linebacker Corey Lemonier (Browns) and NT Garrison Smith (Seahawks). The 49ers and Jaguars had an NFL-high four players claimed off waivers. Practice squad: The 49ers signed nine players to their 10-man practice squad, all of whom were released by the team Saturday: WR Dres Anderson; OL Alex Balducci; OL Fahn Cooper; TE JeRon Hamm; CB Prince Charles Iworah; OL Norman Price; LB Marcus Rush; LB Shayne Skov and RB Kelvin Taylor. WR Chris Harper, who was released by the Patriots on Saturday, indicated on Twitter that he would sign with the 49ers practice squad. Harper, who played at Cal, played in five games as a rookie last year with New England. He had one catch for six yards, and returned three punts for 17 yards. Former 49ers WR Devon Cajuste, an undrafted rookie from Stanford, signed with the Packers practice squad. Cajuste also considered staying with the 49ers. Eric Branch is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: ebranch@sfchronicle.com. Twitter: @Eric_Branch Over the course of the negotiation process within the framework of the Trilateral Contact Group on settlement in Donbas, representatives of certain areas in the Donetsk and Luhansk regions notified the members of official Kyiv's delegation of the whereabouts of 45 detained Ukrainians, Yuriy Tandyt, advisor to the chief of the Ukrainian Security Service (SBU), said. "The Ukrainian delegation has made representatives of CADR [certain areas in the Donetsk region] and CALR [certain areas in the Luhansk region] provide information on our people held hostage [...] To date, we have learnt that the whereabouts of 45 our people held hostage have been established," Tandyt said on 112.Ukraina TV channel, speaking on the phone from Minsk on Wednesday afternoon. The San Francisco 49ers released tight end Bruce Miller after he was arrested early Monday morning following an incident at a Fisherman's Wharf hotel. San Francisco police confirmed reports that Miller was arrested early Monday morning on aggravated assault and elder abuse charges stemming from an incident at the Marriott Hotel at Columbus Ave. and Bay Street. Police responded to reports of an intoxicated man who tried to enter a room that wasn't his. Miller allegedly assaulted a 29-year-old man and the man's 70-year-old father, who tried to come to his son's aid. The father and son were taken to a hospital for treatment. Miller was later arrested at a hotel across the street. He was charged with aggravated assault, elder abuse, threats, and battery. The 49ers tweeted that they had released Miller on Monday afternoon. In March 2015, Miller was arrested after an incident in which he was accused of shoving his ex-fiancee and destroying her cell phone during an argument in Santa Clara. Miller pleaded no contest to the misdemeanor charge of disturbing the peace and was required to attend a 16-week anti-domestic-violence counseling course. At the time, Tyrone Wilson, a Santa Clara County deputy district attorney with the family violence unit, said was satisfied that Miller was taking steps to address his "underlying anger issues." When he returned to the team in June 2015, Miller, who had no prior arrests, was asked how his arrest altered how some of the public perceives him. "That was very tough," Miller said. "That was another thing I had to learn is people are going to think what they are going to think. The people that know me, I didn't have to explain myself one time, so that was positive." In March 2015, Miller became the seventh member of the 49ers arrested since 2012. Before Sunday, a member of the team hadn't been arrested since outside linebacker Aldon Smith was arrested in July 2015. Smith was subsequently released. Paul Chinn/The Chronicle Two tourists from the United Kingdom found themselves in an unexpected situation Sunday, working alongside the San Francisco Fire Department to rescue a man in the bay. At 12:17 p.m., the Fire Department responded to an incident involving a 40-year-old man at Aquatic Park, according to posts from the departments Facebook page. The tourists, one of whom is a lifeguard, assisted the department in the effort. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate Hundreds of Bay Area gun enthusiasts got in their parting shots on Mondays final day of operations for the Chabot Gun Club, a fixture at Anthony Chabot Regional Park for more than 52 years. The East Bay Regional Park Districts directors voted unanimously in March to close the 65-acre gun club, saying the range could not afford to pay the costs of meeting stricter environmental standards governing the cleanup of lead contamination from spent bullets. The decision ended a contentious two-year battle between the park district and the club, pitting gun owners against environmentalists, who were concerned about the impact on water and wildlife, as well as nearby residents and hikers, who complained about the sound of gunshots coming from the range. On Labor Day, visitors to the club expressed a mixture of sadness and anger about the closure. Range officials expected more than 500 people twice the average for a typical weekend or holiday to line up at its 176 rifle and pistol shooting positions, which made the club one of the largest in the Bay Area. Its the bias against guns, plain and simple, said Bob Low, 59, of Union City, whose father brought him to the range as a young boy. Theyre just using the lead as an excuse. Park district staff estimated that the cost of complying with the standards set last year and cleaning up lead contamination caused by the bullets could run to more than $4 million over the next 10 years. The gun club, though, estimated the cost at a much lower $1.1 million and argued that the cost could be trimmed by charging club users an environmental surcharge. But the park board members saw it differently. Although lead from the bullets is leaching from the range, it has not been found in Lake Chabot. But with the new environmental rules, the district feared the burden of the cleanup costs could fall to taxpayers. One way or another, we were going to pay this bill, said Jim OConnor, the park districts assistant general manager. OConnor praised the gun club for being a responsible concessionaire during its more than five-decade tenure. Its always sad when you lose a facility like this, he said, adding that he used to manage a gun range in Santa Clara County. Its a legitimate sport. The park district gave the gun club until March to clear out, but the gun club operators opted to close earlier to avoid the terms and costs involved in the lease extension. Dennis Staats, president of the Chabot Gun Club, said he was dismayed by what he perceives as a reduction of recreational activities in the 120,000-acre park district for the community. I dont know if its an anti-gun thing, but what the park did say is we dont think your activity is a good fit for the park system, Staats said, adding that while the club has more than 1,000 members, they account for just 10 percent of the clubs 45,000 usages a year, meaning the range draws a broad group of Bay Area users. That was evident Monday as the gun range attracted a crowd much more diverse than a typical Donald Trump rally, but one with more National Rifle Association caps and Second Amendment T-shirts than would probably be spotted at any farmers market in the Bay Area. I think Ive taken it for granted since its so close to my home, said Alicia Lim, 31, a social services case worker from Hayward who rarely comes to the outdoor range, opting instead to shoot a handgun in an indoor range in Milpitas. Richard Siao, 27, of Daly City had never been to a shooting range and had no idea it was the Chabot Gun Clubs last day when his buddies invited him to try the sport for the first time. He said he was a little nervous at first but enjoyed the experience. Several longtime users of the range were frustrated about having to drive longer distances to find a new place to shoot. While the Bay Area has other ranges, club officials estimate the Chabot Gun Club accounts for almost 25 percent of rifle shooting positions in the region. James Gregory of Oakland, who has been coming to the range since he was a young teen, said closing the club penalizes responsible gun owners who register their weapons and use them appropriately. I think this has to do a lot with politics, with wanting to ban assault rifles and things like that, he said of the decision to shut down the club. Its enough to make Gregory, 40, consider moving back to his native state of Oklahoma. Theyve got open-carry laws there, he said. Victoria Colliver is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: vcolliver@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @vcolliver This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate Former UC Berkeley Law School Dean Sujit Choudhry, who resigned in the spring amid sexual harassment allegations, returned to campus last week after a six-month absence, drawing student ire and concerns about his presence and future role at the university. Choudhry has stayed away from his office in Boalt Hall since March, after his suspension and resignation in the wake of a lawsuit filed by his former assistant. At the time, UC President Janet Napolitano reportedly requested that Choudhry be barred from the campus for the rest of the term and as his case proceeds through a faculty investigation into possible code of conduct violations. Whether Choudhry was officially barred or chose to say away was unclear. UC Berkeley officials would say only that university procedures do not provide for automatic exclusion from campus of accused faculty while the process is pending. On Thursday, the interim law school dean, Melissa Murray, advised faculty, staff and students that the former dean would be back in his office this semester. As you know, in March 2016, then-Dean Choudhry resigned the deanship and assumed his position as a tenured member of the faculty, she said. Professor Choudhry is not scheduled to teach this academic year, but he will be on campus and working in his office. University officials suspended Choudhry after his former assistant, Tyann Sorrell, filed a sexual harassment lawsuit in Alameda Superior Court, saying that her boss hugged, kissed and touched her over several months and that the campus did nothing to stop it. UC Berkeleys Office for the Prevention of Harassment and Discrimination had previously investigated the claims and concluded Choudhry had violated university policy. His pay was docked 10 percent for a year, and he was required to apologize to his assistant and see a counselor at his own expense. Sorrells lawsuit, however, said the punishment was a slap on the wrist. The case was among several questioned by critics, who said faculty, staff and administrators were given lenient and arbitrary punishment for violating the sexual misconduct policy. With the university facing growing criticism over its handling of sexual harassment cases, Choudhry stepped down as dean. Law students met Friday to discuss the former deans return and planned to hold a town hall meeting this week to discuss concerns, including Choudhrys role on campus, how often hed be present and when the administration knew he would be back, according to a Boalt Hall Student Association memo. Choudhrys attorney, William Taylor, said his client is being subjected to uninformed hysteria. The former dean was never barred from campus, and university officials know hes not a threat, Taylor said. Napolitano has no power to bar him, he added. He is fully employed and tenured by the law school. Choudhry is a respected constitutional scholar and has work to do, the attorney said. The idea this man is somehow a danger has no basis, even in (Sorrells) description of what happened, he said. Theres no reason to exclude him from campus. Jill Tucker is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: jtucker@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @jilltucker Ukraine's Minister of Interior Arsen Avakov did not answer directly questions relating to the investigation of murdered journalist Pavel Sherement in Kyiv more than a month ago, but believes there are chances to crack the case. "There are chances to investigate the case. But this is all that I am willing to say," Avakov told TV Channel 1plus1 on Sunday, Sept. 4. The minister said two large brigades of investigators are working on the case. "Unfortunately, video clips made public hampered the investigation. So, I can only say one thing: This is a vicious, well-planned assassination," Avakov said. On July 20, 2016 famous journalist Sheremet died in the center of Kyiv when the car he was driving blew up. The time of the explosion was 7.45. The vehicle, he was driving, belonged to co-founder of the Internet news portal Ukrainska Pravda Olena Prytula, who was not in the car. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate Honeymooners seeking over-the-top accommodations and exotic locales have a new list to peruse. The U.S. News & World Report's Best Honeymoon Destinations of 2016-2017 ranking was just released, and it offers 20 destinations that range from secluded beaches to romantic cities. That publication considered user votes and expert opinions when determining the best places for couples to see together now. RELATED: How much the average wedding cost in 2015, item-by-item Not surprisingly, there were several tropical getaways and European landmarks in the mix. It contrasts with a recent Westin Hotels & Resorts study, which revealed that U.S. residents aren't venturing far from home for their honeymoon as often. That same report also showed that honeymooners now care more about health and wellness, even when on their romantic trip. "One of the most surprising things about the study was how many people went running on their honeymoon," Bob Jacobs, vice president of brand management for Westin Hotels & Resorts, told Skift. "Forty percent [of honeymooners] in the last five years went on at least one run during their honeymoon and they are using it as a way to decompress, disconnect, and be a tourist at the same time." SEE ALSO: Wedding faux pas; what not to do if you're a guest Wherever honemooners end up traveling, or what they do when they're there, the more pressing issue is that they go somewhere. A study reported that couples who have a honeymoon are 41 percent less likely to get a divorce. So go ahead and take that trip to Madrid, or to one of the other 19 places the U.S. News & World report suggests. The freight train comes rolling down the tracks, bells ringing and horn wailing, and there is nothing that anyone can do to stop it as it moves toward Brian Willson, who is sitting on the tracks. To be a radical, you have to be willing to risk life, limb and prison. You have to be willing to risk the consequences, because then you are free, he says in the voice-over. Everyone in Oaklands Grand Lake Theater on Tuesday night will know what is about to happen in the Bay Area premiere of the documentary film Paying the Price for Peace. That train, with a cargo of war munitions, will keep on rolling as the camera rolls, until it cuts the legs off of Willson, leaving him a double amputee and establishing him as the most dedicated soldier in the long line of war protesters. Willson, a veteran of both the Vietnam War and the nonviolence movement, got back up and onto prostheses and kept moving, to seemingly every war protest everywhere, and there has always been somebody filming him, going back to that gruesome day of Sept. 1, 1987, on the tracks outside the Concord Naval Weapons Station. That may have been the first most people had heard of Willson, but that wasnt true of his military superiors. Hed been an agitator since he was an Air Force captain sent to inspect villages after bombing runs in the Vietnam War. He decided he was on the wrong side, and hes still on that side, his frizzy gray hair in a headband, and always in short pants to keep him moving faster. This guy can really go. You can hardly keep up with him, says Bo Boudart, 66, a Menlo Park documentarian who has been filming Willson for four years on this project. Hes also gathered archival footage of Willson going back to a 44-day fast in 1986 on the steps of the U.S. Capitol to protest the war in Nicaragua. When you learn it is all a lie, you have to go on a long journey, Willson says. A long film, too. It runs more than an hour and a half, covers 30 years and touches down in 20 countries, under Boudarts direction. Among those who testify to Willsons influence and dedication are Martin Sheen, Alice Walker, and Vietnam vet Ron Kovic, who was born on the Fourth of July. So was Willson, who turned 75 and has moved from the Bay Area to Portland, Ore. He has been indefatigable in promoting the film and is barnstorming up the coast from Los Angeles, seven stops in seven nights. He will be at the Grand Lake on Tuesday night, answering questions after the early show. The next night he will do it again at the Unitarian Universalist Church in San Francisco. Brian really wants to let people know what he thinks, Boudart says, and hes been doing this for a long time. Sam Whiting is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: swhiting@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @SamWhitingSF Instagram: @sfchronicle_art Screening: Paying the Price for Peace: The Story of S. Brian Willson, will be shown Tuesday, Sept. 6, 7 p.m. and 9:30 p.m. at the Grand Lake Theater, 3200 Grand Ave., Oakland. On Wednesday, Sept. 7, 7 p.m. and 9:30 p.m. it will be shown at the Unitarian Universalist Church, 1187 Franklin St., San Francisco. Tickets: $10. www.payingthepriceforpeace.com PHILADELPHIA The shape of Bill Cosbys felony sexual assault trial could become clearer at a hearing Tuesday when his lawyers fight to keep out key evidence, including almost 1,000 pages of damaging testimony he gave in the accusers lawsuit. Cosby, 79, is charged with drugging and molesting a woman he mentored at Temple University in 2004. His lawyers will ask a suburban Philadelphia judge to suppress testimony from the 2005 lawsuit, when accuser Andrea Constand said she was left semiconscious and Cosby said he was not stopped. They want to bar jurors from hearing a taped phone call between Cosby and Constands mother, which they fear will make the celebrity sound like a dirty old man with a young girl. The criminal charges were filed in December, months after Cosbys testimony in the womans lawsuit was unsealed and a new prosecutor reopened the case. Cosby, in the deposition, admitted to a series of extramarital affairs and described giving numerous women drugs and alcohol before what he called romantic rendezvous. Some were in their teens or early 20s. Defense lawyers argue that Cosby was promised he would never be charged, so he felt free to testify in Constands lawsuit. But a judge this year found he was never granted immunity. Montgomery County Common Pleas Judge Steven ONeill is expected to hear arguments on the issues Tuesday and perhaps set a trial date. Cosby has so far lost his motions to have the charges thrown out. The comedian known as Americas Dad for the top-rated The Cosby Show which captured the amusing travails of fatherhood and painted a warm picture of black family life during its 1984 to 1992 run now finds himself spending his time and fortune defending himself against tawdry accusations. 1 Striking nurses: Thousands of nurses at five Minneapolis-area hospitals went on strike Monday in a dispute over health insurance, workplace safety and staffing. Members of the Minnesota Nurses Association, which represents about 4,800 nurses at five hospitals run by Allina Health, hit the picket lines at 7 a.m. on Labor Day. A bargaining session ended without agreement Saturday, and no new talks are scheduled. Allina said it plans to operate the affected hospitals at normal capacity with around 1,500 temporary nurses. 2 Officer-involved shooting: Long Beach police say officers fatally shot a man who charged at them with a knife during a standoff. Police received a call late Sunday from a man who said he was armed with a handgun and wanted to commit suicide by cop. The department said in a statement that responding officers, including a mental-evaluation officer, were adjusting their position to better negotiate with the man when he charged at them. Officers opened fire, striking the man. He died at the scene. The man was not immediately identified. Armed protesters waited outside of Brock Turner's family home in Ohio on Saturday, where he is expected to live following his Friday release from a Santa Clara County jail. About a dozen demonstrators carried signs reading, "castrate rapists" and "If I rape Brock will I only do 3 months," Buzzfeed News reported. Some exercised their right to open carry, sending a menacing message to Turner and forcing local police to station themselves near the Turner home. "If he is uncomfortable, then he begins to receive at least some punishment that he deserves for his crime," one protester told local broadcast news station, WCPO. Messages in chalk were also scrawled outside the Sugarcreek Township, Ohio, home, some reading, "Shoot your local rapist" and "We don't forgive, we don't forget, expect us!!!" Members of the local fire department reportedly cleaned off some of the chalk messages on Friday night, according to news outlet WHIO. Turner, 21, served half of his six-month sentence for sexually assaulting an unconscious woman on the Stanford campus in 2015. Turner will remain on probation for three years and must register as a sex offender in Greene County Sheriff's Office within five days. "We're not treating him with kid gloves," Greene County Sheriff Gene Fischer told WHIO last week. "We're going to treat him like every other sex offender that comes through the doors." Turner's whereabouts were unknown when demonstrators gathered on Saturday, but news outlets began reporting that he was seen at his parents' Ohio home by Sunday afternoon. "We're done with him," said Santa Clara County Sheriff Laurie Smith after Turner was released on Friday. "He should be in prison right now, but he's not in our custody." Crowds were also protesting Santa Clara County Superior Court Judge Aaron Persky, who was heavily criticized for his handling of the sexual assault case, giving Turner what many considered a light sentence. Persky has been the target of a recall effort and recently asked to be reassigned from the criminal to the civil division. Deputy Prime Minister - Minister of Regional Development, Construction, Housing and Utilities of Ukraine Hennadiy Zubko has said the international commission on the inquiry into downing of the Malaysian Boeing 777 in July 2014 will present a report on September 28 which will specify the type and the launch site of the missile that hit the plane. The report will be presented to the relatives of the crash victims on September 28, after which it will be published, he said in a comment to Interfax-Ukraine. According to Zubko, this won't be the final report on the criminal investigation into the tragedy. As reported, Malaysia Airlines Flight MH17, en route from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur, crashed in eastern Ukraine on July 17, killing all 298 people on board. Most of the victims were Dutch and Malaysian nationals. The casualties also included citizens of Australia, Indonesia, Germany, Belgium, the Philippines, the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, and New Zealand. The air crash is being investigated by a group of specialists from Australia, Belgium, Malaysia, the Netherlands and Ukraine. The Dutch prosecution service is leading the group, whose main task is to identify those responsible for the crash. This fall, the joint inquiry group is due to submit its preliminary results, in particular, specifying the weapon which downed the plane and the exact location from where the rocket was launched. In August there appeared reports that the Dutch prosecutor's office will announce the first results of the inquiry into the MH17 crash on September 28. The Dutch Safety Board commission investigating the plane crash posted a report on October 13, 2015. The report said the plane was downed with a surface-to-air missile fired from a Buk anti-aircraft missile system. In February 2016, British investigative journalists group Bellingcat presented information regarding the Russian brigade that the group believes provided, and possibly operated, the Buk-M1 missile launcher that downed Malaysian Airlines Flight 17. These are 20 soldiers from the 53rd Anti-Aircraft Missile Brigade based in Kursk. Cookies used for analytics help us improve our website by collecting the information on how you use it. This information is collected in a way that doesn't allow to directly identify anyone. For more information on how these cookies work, please see our UPDATE: The couple has been found and the photographer, Mike Karas, has been in touch with them about the photo. Click here to read more about what happened. ORIGINAL STORY: A Yosemite tourist is turning to social media to find a couple who are the subject of what is one of the more epic wedding photos we've seen in awhile. (Xinhua) 13:21, September 05, 2016 MEXICO CITY, Sept. 4 (Xinhua) -- Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto has hailed China as a global economic power, stating that "our priority is to strengthen bilateral relations." Pena Nieto said in a recent joint interview with Chinese media that the ties have deepened since he and Chinese President Xi Jinpingdecided in June 2013 to elevate the relationship to the level of a comprehensive strategic partnership. Such a relationship aims to bring prosperity and more opportunities to both societies through commercial exchanges, as well as cooperation in culture, tourism and education, said the president. "Today, the relationship between China and Mexico is deeper, more productive and positive for both nations. The intense dynamic of dialogue and bilateral collaboration in recent years has allowed us to bring into full play the potential of our economies," Pena Nieto emphasized. He noted that more and more Mexican products like pork and tequila are reaching Chinese shores, while more financial exchanges are possible as the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC) opened its first office in Mexico in 2015. Meanwhile, cultural exchange has been another important dimension in which both countries have worked well, said Pena Nieto as he mentioned the exhibition of the work by prominent Mexican artist Diego Rivera touring China's Shanghai, Beijing and Guangzhou. "Education and culture have helped to enrich mutual understanding and reinforce the friendship of the two nations that both enjoy millennial cultures," Pena Nieto added. China is "continuing to grow, despite complicated global conditions. We must study its experience to learn from its successful practices," said the Mexican leader. "Its economic dynamism, the size of its economy and its high demand for goods have made China a very attractive market for Mexico. The key is to focus on learning and enjoying the complementarity in our economies." As the G20 Summit began Sunday in China's eastern city of Hangzhou, Pena Nieto said the summit is a platform privileging dialogues on economic growth, global financial system, sustainable development, free trade, energy efficiency, food security, the fight against corruption and climate change. In terms of the summit, Pena Nieto said the G20 member states "face crucial tasks of maintaining stability, building an innovative, interconnected, inclusive and growing global economy, and improving global economic governance." "During our last bilateral meeting at the 2015 G20 summit in Turkey, I expressed to President Xi my desire to share Mexico's broad experience within the group," said Pena Nieto. He detailed that Mexico has promoted an active agenda including allotting larger investments to infrastructure projects, adopting energy efficiency policies and other steps to ensure a sustainable economic growth. "In this way, Mexico works closely with the world to be part of the solutions to the great challenges of the 21st century," according to the Mexican president. Pena Nieto added that, in recent years, Mexico has been working to make itself a balanced area for business and investment, including through the creation of special economic zones. These zones, located in the south of Mexico, seek to stand out as centers of innovation, technology and economic development, in order to attract investment and create quality jobs. Pena Nieto added that a group of businessmen from China's Guangdong Province has already been attracted and recently signed 18 cooperation and exchange agreements with Mexican companies in such sectors as aerospace, electronics, automotive, biotechnology and energy. "The approval of the Federal Law for Special Economic Zones gives us the perfect opportunity to deepen the strategic partnership between China and Mexico," he noted. [File photo] As the population of giant pandas in the wild increases, Chinas national icon has been downgraded from endangered to vulnerable on the Red List maintained by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). The encouraging result, made public on Sept. 4, was brought about by Chinas determined efforts on animal protection in the past few decades, an expert said. IUCN has released an update of its Red List on Sept. 4, in which the official status of the giant panda has been changed from endangered to vulnerable, IUCN posted on its Weibo account on Sept. 5. Personally, I think the change is a good sign. It shows that the Chinese government has made great efforts to protect endangered species, which can serve as a good example for the protection of endangered species worldwide, said Wei Fuwen, a senior researcher at the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), in an interview with Peoples Daily Online. Wei participated in the official evaluation of the pandas Red List status. This decision is not a reckless move, but one based on a great deal of scientific research about giant pandas living environment, population and conservation status. Scientifically, the wild population is increasing, and the natural habitat is expanding. Though there are still some problems waiting to be tackled, the situation of pandas is generally good, Wei added. According to the State Administration of Forestry, 1,864 pandas remained in the wild, with another 375 in captivity, at the end of 2013. This is not the only recent instance of giant pandas being removed from an endangered species list. In May 2015, the Red List of Chinas Biodiversity was released jointly by Chinas Ministry of Environmental Protection and CAS. On the updated list, the status of giant pandas was changed from endangered to vulnerable. The change of the pandas status on the Red List will help to alter the pessimistic view of the public when it comes to panda protection, as many still hold the outdated opinion that pandas are in grave danger, Wei said. Photo taken on March 22 shows the daily life of the panda babies in Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding, southwest China's Sichuan province. (CNTV/Li Xia) CPPCC member and Nobel laureate Mo Yan, center, takes a selfie with director Yin Li, right, and conductor Yu Hai, left, who are both CPPCC members, at a seminar on March 7, 2015. [File Photo] An official from central Chinas Hubei province has put forward the suggestion that government leaders should become Internet celebrity-like figures in order to better serve the public. [Officials] should use the Internet to make themselves into Internet celebrities with an eye toward serving the public. In the Internet era, we need to respect, care for, understand and collect public opinions online; this should become a matter of course for Party members and officials, said Li Hongzhong, secretary of the Hubei Provincial Committee of the Communist Party of China, in an open letter to the Peoples Daily Online on Sept. 2. Many governmental sectors in China have already jumped on the Internet bandwagon, eager to offer better service to the public. Currently, the Hubei provincial government has created more than 2,800 websites related to government affairs. These are in addition to its over 4,300 official Weibo accounts and 2,600 WeChat public accounts, according to Hubei Television. During a symposium on cyber security in April, Chinese President Xi Jinping called for China to harness the Internet for the benefit of the country and the people. Xi also ordered officials to heed public opinions online, adding that officials should use the Internet to educate themselves about the concerns and wishes of the public, Xinhua reported in April. BEIRUT The Islamic State group launched a series of suicide bombings and other attacks across Syria on Monday, killing at least 48 people as it attacked government-held areas and Kurdish forces. The wave of attacks came as the extremist group has steadily lost ground in both Syria and Iraq in recent months. Last week Turkish troops and Syrian rebels drove the militants back from the last stretch of Syrias northern border under its control, severing key supply lines to the extremist groups self-styled caliphate. The Islamic State-run Aamaq news agency said the group was behind the simultaneous attacks in Syria, which included six suicide bombings and a remotely-detonated bomb. The attacks were timed to coincide with the morning rush hour. Syrian state TV said 48 people were killed in blasts around the coastal city of Tartus in the west, the central city of Homs, the suburbs of the capital, Damascus, and the northeastern city of Hasakeh. Islamic State said it also carried out an attack in Qamishli, in Hasakeh province. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, which maintains a network of contacts inside Syria, put the overall death toll at 53. Conflicting casualty figures are common in the Syria war. One of Mondays attacks took place in the heavily guarded Damascus suburb of Sabbourah, marking a major security breach. Syrian official news agency SANA reported the attack killed one person, while the opposition-run Observatory said three people were killed. Islamic State said a suicide car bomb targeted a military checkpoint in the area west of Damascus. Its an area that houses officers and their families. Even before the revolution it was carefully guarded, said opposition media activist Yousef al-Boustani, referring to the 2011 uprising against President Bashar Assad, which began with peaceful protests. A car bomb struck a bridge on the international coastal highway leading to the government stronghold of Tartus. A suicide bomber then struck the crowd that had gathered there, according to SANA, which said 35 people were killed. The bombing caused the brief closure of the Tartus-Homs highway, according to state TV. The Observatory said the target was a security checkpoint at the southern entrance of the coastal city, which is home to a large Russian naval base. Back in May, the Islamic State group claimed twin suicide bombings in Tartus and neighboring Jableh that killed over 160 people. BERLIN Chancellor Angela Merkel took a share of the responsibility for her conservatives election defeat in the German state where she has her political base, but strongly defended her migrant policy on Monday even as she vowed to win back voters trust. A year before an expected national election, the strong performance Sunday of a nationalist, anti-immigration party was a jolt that will likely increase tensions in Germanys governing coalition. However, the result didnt pose any immediate threat to the 62-year-old Merkel, Germanys leader since 2005. Merkels Christian Democratic Union finished third in Sundays election for the state legislature in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, behind the three-year-old Alternative for Germany, or AfD. It was held a year to the day after she decided to let in migrants stuck in Hungary, triggering the peak of last years influx. Merkel conceded the outcome was almost entirely about federal political issues. The center-left Social Democrats, Merkels partners in Germanys national government, remained the strongest party in Mecklenburg. They have led the regional government for a decade, with the CDU as their junior partners, and can now continue that coalition if they choose. The region is sparsely populated, but the vote was symbolically significant because Merkels parliamentary constituency is there. It was the first of five regional ballots before a national election a year away. The next is Sept. 18 in Berlin, where local issues are likely to feature more strongly. Mecklenburg is home to few foreigners, but Merkel acknowledged that migrant policy was a dominant theme. New arrivals have slowed drastically after more than 1 million people were registered as asylum-seekers in 2015, and asylum policies have been tightened. Still, New Years Eve robberies and sexual assaults blamed largely on foreigners, as well as two attacks in July carried out by asylum-seekers and claimed by the Islamic State group, have fed tensions. We must all consider how we can now win back trust, me first and foremost, Merkel told reporters on the sidelines of the Group of 20 summit in China. I am the party leader, I am the chancellor you cant separate those in peoples eyes, so I am of course responsible too for the result, Merkel said. However, I believe the decisions that have been made were right, and now we must continue working. Merkels critics have faulted her for sticking to her mantra that we will manage the refugee crisis. HANGZHOU, China President Obama said Monday the U.S. and Russia have not given up on negotiations that could stem the bloodshed in Syria, but acknowledged that leaders are challenged by gaps of trust between the rival powers. Significant sticking points remain in the negotiations over creation of an unlikely U.S.-Russian military partnership focusing firepower on common enemies in Syria, Obama said. He acknowledged that a flurry of diplomacy at an economic summit and a 90-minute meeting earlier Monday with his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, did not yield a breakthrough. Given the gaps of trust that exist, thats a tough negotiation, Obama said at a news conference closing the Group of 20 summit. We havent yet closed the gaps. Obama didnt detail the trouble spots, although he suggested the U.S. has concerns about Russia holding up its end of the bargain and enforcing the terms. Any deal would depend on Moscow using its influence with Syrian President Bashar Assad to persuade him to ground planes and stop the assault on opposition forces. Obama said the aim was to reach meaningful, serious, verifiable cessations of hostilities in Syria. Secretary of State John Kerry and Russian foreign minister Sergey Lavrov have for weeks been trying to broker a deal that would curb the violence. Talks are expected to resume, probably later this week. The deal depends on the two sides agreeing to closer military coordination against extremist groups operating in Syria, something the Russians have long sought and the U.S. resisted. Obama has expressed skepticism that Russia would hold to its agreement. The State Department has said it wants a nationwide cease-fire between Assads military and the rebels, rather than another time-limited agreement like ones that failed before. Obamas meeting with Putin came as the Russian leader is playing a prominent role in the presidential campaign at home. U.S. officials blame Russian intelligence for a hack on the Democratic National Committee that resulted in a leak of emails damaging to its presidential nominee, Hillary Clinton. Putin has denied his government was involved, but cheered the release of the information. The president expressed concerns to Putin about cybersecurity issues, but would not detail the discussions. Kingston Developments Group will miss out on a $7 million profit from an Albany project after the Official Assignee (OA) successfully argued in the Court of Appeal that the developer's lawyer failed to reveal plans to discharge a mortgage on the property that would have allowed settlement. Kingston bought the piece of land in Albany, north of Auckland, in November 2014 for $16.7 million, financed with a $14 million mortgage, from a company called BC Corporate Administration, a company previously associated with financier Paul Bublitz and Chinese fugitive William Yan. The OA was appointed because of court orders made at about the same time under the Criminal Proceeds (Recovery) Act related to a police investigation which gave the bankruptcy administrator an option to buy back the property at the original price plus Kingston's costs. In anticipation of exercising the option, the OA entered an agreement to onsell the property to Shanghai Zhenchang International Machinery and Engineering Co for $25 million. If the buyback option wasn't exercised, Kingston would be left holding a property valued at $25 million for which it had paid $16.7 million. The OA exercised its buyback option and had until Jan. 16, 2015, to settle the deal. However, after a period of tense negotiations between Kingston's lawyer John Macdonald, of Short & Partners,and the OA's lawyer Kelly Johnson, of Greenwood Roche Chisnall (GRC), the purchase wasn't completed by that date and Kingston deemed the agreement to be cancelled, the Court of Appeal judgment says. The OA first sought to have the cancellation overturned in the High Court, arguing that Kingston's lawyer Macdonald had been in talks with ASB Bank on settlement day and had the lender's agreement to grant a "force limit" on his firm's trust account, which would have allowed the mortgage to be discharged, but its claim was rejected. It subsequently challenged that ruling in the Court of Appeal and succeeded. Where the courts differed was on whether Kingston's counsel misled the OA's legal team by not telling them about the financing deal with ASB that would have discharged the mortgage and allowed settlement. The High Court judge ruled that Kingston's Macdonald hadn't intended to mislead the OA or have his client repudiate the contract by not telling her that he had arranged an alternate way for settlement to occur. However, the Court of Appeal bench said Johnson's belief that settlement couldn't occur was reasonably based on her interactions with Kingston's solicitors, and McDonald had effectively endorsed that conclusion by his silence. "Mr Macdonald must have known that Ms Johnson was acting under a false belief that had been engendered by his actions and words," the judges said. "Yet he said nothing. While silence is often uncertain in its implications, it was not here. This was a case where the silence spoke unequivocally." The Appeal Court judges said Kingston had a contractual duty to be ready, willing and able to settle, and Macdonald's duty to his client "cannot be invoked to justify misleading another solicitor." The judges said Kingston, through its solicitors, had given an unambiguous indication that it couldn't settle, and it would be unconscionable for Kingston to then be able to cancel the agreement. Under a partial settlement, $7 million - the difference between the $18 million the OA was to pay Kingston, and the on-sale settlement of $25 million - was held in escrow. The appeal court ruled GRC could disburse the funds, and said Kingston must pay the OA's appeal costs, while the High Court must determine how costs should fall in accordance with its judgment. BusinessDesk.co.nz Comments from our readers No comments yet Add your comment: Your name: Your email: Not displayed to the public Comment: Comments to Sharechat go through an approval process. Comments which are defamatory, abusive or in some way deemed inappropriate will not be approved. It is allowable to use some form of non-de-plume for your name, however we recommend real email addresses are used. Comments from free email addresses such as Gmail, Yahoo, Hotmail, etc may not be approved. Anti-spam verification: Type the text you see in the image into the field below. You are asked to do this in order to verify that this enquiry is not being performed by an automated process. Related News: SKO - FY23 Interim Results Announcement Date - 23 November 2022 Downer awarded $490 million road maintenance contract SKC - 2022 ANNUAL MEETING OF SHAREHOLDERS AND TRADING UPDATE TCL - Result of AGM TradeWindow secures U.S. footprint with FoodChain ID October 28th Morning Report October 25th Morning Report Mainfreight Investor Day / Market Update GFI - Greenfern - Offer closes 27th Oct MCY - Quarterly Operational Update New Zealand shares rose, led by Comvita on the back of its plans to take control of its Chinese distribution, while Air New Zealand and Mercury NZ also gained. The S&P/NZX 50 Index rose 65.73 points, or 0.9 percent, to 7,491.84. Within the index, 36 stocks rose, 10 were unchanged and five fell. Turnover was $182 million. Comvita was the best performer on the index, up 6 percent to $10.60. The New Zealand manuka honey products company plans to acquire 51 percent of its Chinese distributor in a $30 million all-stock deal that will see the owners of Shenzhen Comvita Natural Food Co lift their holding in Comvita to more than 11 percent. The deal is expected to be earnings accretive for Comvita in the first year, excluding one-time costs. Air New Zealand gained 3.3 percent to $2.35. "It's creeping back up, people are just maybe buying ahead of the dividend, or they're thinking that tourism numbers are going to stay pretty robust, and that's good for Air New Zealand - once tourists get here, generally they travel around, and their domestic routes are something like 3 times more profitable than their international flights," said James Smalley, director at Hamilton Hindin Greene. "Their earnings are a bit more consistent as well, on the back of that demand." Steel & Tube Holdings will drop out of the S&P/NZX50 benchmark index on Sep 16, along with rubber goods company Skellerup. Agribusiness group Scales Corporation and cinema software developer Vista will replace them. Vista more the doubled its profit in the first half of its financial year due to increased revenue from acquisitions, while Scales saw net profit rise 3% to $33.8 million in its first half. Vista rose 2.9 percent to $6.80 and Scales rose 3.1 percent to $3.33. Steel & Tube shares gained 1.4 percent to $2.22 today, while Skellerup was unchanged at $1.36. Steel & Tube shares are bouncing back after being sold off following media reports of issues with the steel and possible lawsuits, Smalley said. Mercury NZ climbed 2.6 percent to $3.32, Tower rose 2.6 percent to $1.37, and Spark New Zealand advanced 2.4 percent to $3.885. Contact Energy was the worst performer, down 2.5 percent to $5.05, while Z Energy dropped 0.5 percent to $8.30. Orion Health Group dipped 0.2 percent to $4.08. "It has only had three or four up days out of the last 20 trading days," Smalley said. "Investors may be a little concerned as there's been no further news about deal flow - it's on pretty thin volumes though. It could be a bit of extreme profit taking off a very very strong bounce." Outside the main index, Wynyard Group dropped 4.2 percent to 23 cents. It's down 87 percent this year. "It's a classic scenario of cash burn," Smalley said. "They're obviously trying to stem the flood, they had a very good news flow but, in reality, you've got to walk the walk. They botched the capital raising earlier in the year, and it becomes a little bit of a downward spiral. The existing board is trying to do their best but really at the moment they've lost credibility in the market." BusinessDesk.co.nz Comments from our readers No comments yet Add your comment: Your name: Your email: Not displayed to the public Comment: Comments to Sharechat go through an approval process. Comments which are defamatory, abusive or in some way deemed inappropriate will not be approved. It is allowable to use some form of non-de-plume for your name, however we recommend real email addresses are used. Comments from free email addresses such as Gmail, Yahoo, Hotmail, etc may not be approved. Anti-spam verification: Type the text you see in the image into the field below. You are asked to do this in order to verify that this enquiry is not being performed by an automated process. Related News: SKO - FY23 Interim Results Announcement Date - 23 November 2022 Downer awarded $490 million road maintenance contract SKC - 2022 ANNUAL MEETING OF SHAREHOLDERS AND TRADING UPDATE TCL - Result of AGM TradeWindow secures U.S. footprint with FoodChain ID October 28th Morning Report October 25th Morning Report Mainfreight Investor Day / Market Update GFI - Greenfern - Offer closes 27th Oct MCY - Quarterly Operational Update The New Zealand franchisors of cafe chain The Coffee Club plan to become a mini-Restaurant Brands by bringing in two new Australian franchises early next year. Brad Jacobs and Andy Lucas, then aged 25 and 24 years respectively, brought The Coffee Club to New Zealand a decade ago from Australia, opening their first store in the Queensgate Shopping Centre in Wellington in late 2005. In New Zealand, it has grown to become the second-largest cafe brand, marginally behind Kiwi franchise Columbus Coffee, with its 60th store about to open. In Australia, it is the largest home-grown cafe chain with over 400 stores in eight countries. Jacobs and Lucas are now investigating bringing in two other franchised brands held by The Coffee Clubs Australian owner, Minor DKL Food Group. The Groove Train is described as an urban dining experience (think gastro bar), while Coffee Hit is an upmarket roasted coffee cafe (think Mojo). Theyve got an agreement in principle from the franchisor but are still assessing local franchisee demand for the more expensive The Groove Train which would have an upfront cost of about $1 million. They're also looking for suitable locations within shopping centres to get it started. Theyve just signed another 10-year franchise with Minor DKL for The Coffee Club and plan to expand the chain to around 93 stores within the next seven to ten years, mainly in regions outside of Auckland where most of their stores are based. Franchises range in price from $350,000 to $450,000 with a franchise support fee of 6 percent of net sales and marketing fee of 3 percent of net sales. Typically 60 franchised stores is seen as the limit in a country New Zealands size but the pair said theres still room for growth in the provinces, particularly regional routes now serviced by Jetstar. Jacobs, who is also chairman of the NZ Franchise Association, said it is more difficult to find franchisees outside of Auckland where higher-priced houses make it easier to offer security against any borrowings, which is why the chains expansion will be slower in the next decade. The pair said the new brands could appeal to regional The Coffee Club franchisees who want to own more than one business in their neck of the woods, rather than them having to turn to other franchisors. Establishing the franchise in New Zealand hasnt been all plain-sailing for the pair, as the global financial crisis struck when they only had 20 stores and needed more than 30 to be profitable. Sales stagnated so they sold their own property, doubled down on advertising, and lent money to struggling franchisees so the brand wasnt sullied by any store closures. Profitability was achieved three years later than planned. The chain has had low closure rates in the past decade compared to other cafe brands - one store has closed in Wellington due to rental issues, one in Christchurch due to the earthquakes, and one in the Sylvia Park shopping centre was relocated to a different area of the mall. They want to build up multiple retail brands as has Restaurant Brands, which owns the local franchisor rights for KFC, Pizza Hut, Carls Jnr and Starbucks, though don't have a goal to become a public listed company. Sales growth is about 8 percent per annum on a like for like basis despite the increase in the number of franchised stores. The chains biggest selling item in New Zealand is a flat white coffee and eggs benedict with bacon generates the highest margin. BusinessDesk.co.nz Comments from our readers No comments yet Add your comment: Your name: Your email: Not displayed to the public Comment: Comments to Sharechat go through an approval process. Comments which are defamatory, abusive or in some way deemed inappropriate will not be approved. It is allowable to use some form of non-de-plume for your name, however we recommend real email addresses are used. Comments from free email addresses such as Gmail, Yahoo, Hotmail, etc may not be approved. Anti-spam verification: Type the text you see in the image into the field below. You are asked to do this in order to verify that this enquiry is not being performed by an automated process. Related News: SKO - FY23 Interim Results Announcement Date - 23 November 2022 Downer awarded $490 million road maintenance contract SKC - 2022 ANNUAL MEETING OF SHAREHOLDERS AND TRADING UPDATE TCL - Result of AGM TradeWindow secures U.S. footprint with FoodChain ID October 28th Morning Report October 25th Morning Report Mainfreight Investor Day / Market Update GFI - Greenfern - Offer closes 27th Oct MCY - Quarterly Operational Update ASX-listed software startup 9 Spokes says its online dashboard for small businesses will launch in October. The New Zealand company co-founded four years ago by Mark Estall and Adrian Grant operates a platform that small businesses can use to aggregate their various cloud computing apps in one place. Its estimated that small business will spend US$4.16 billion this year on cloud-based apps. The dashboard mines information from the apps to give small to medium sized companies a real-time view of how their business is performing and the data is benchmarked against their peers in the same industry. It raised A$25 million in an initial public offer on the ASX in June for its aggressive international expansion plans and chief operating officer Brendan Roberts told conference-goers at the annual Morgo event for kiwi entrepreneurs, that the next few months were focused on execution. The next quarter is all about going to market, he said. 9 Spokes product will be offered free to small businesses who can purchase recommended apps for their industry which the start-up clips the ticket for. It provides them with one bill rather than multiple accounts from technology providers. The start-up will use its own label to learn, iterate, and experiment but the real strategy is for the product to be rebranded and sold by partners such as advisory and financial services firms to boost subscriber numbers, Roberts said. First off the rank is Propel by Deloitte in the UK with the business advisory firm having piloted it with UK clients to see what makes a difference to their businesses in order to offer additional support beyond the core accounting service. 9 Spokes has also signed up Barclays Bank in the UK which will also launch a bespoke product in the next few months and insurance company Suncorp. Roberts said it was also in talks with two large US firms. Part of the thinking behind listing was to check off due diligence concerns from the high-end corporates its selling to. It always intended being global from day one and has a board made up of international members including former Telecom boss Paul Reynolds as non-executive chairman, UK-based social media guru Thomas Power, and former Walt Disney and Ticketmaster executive Wendy Webb. So far 9 Spokes has partnered with more than 50 software-as-service cloud app makers including Xero, MYOB, and Dropbox. It claims to give SMES using the platform a steer on the best of the breed for their industry. Roberts said the start-up have been through a massive growth spurt this year, going from 18 staff at the last Christmas party to 86 now, with 10 based in its new London office and the rest in New Zealand. It has spent $225,000 on recruitment agency fees this year but Roberts said it had also saved $500,000 by recruiting 70 percent of new staff directly through its own networks. Some of the lessons learnt so far in dealing with big brands has been, the tyranny of time with expectations staff will be available 24/7. They have a lot of money, power, and say, he said, which means a lot of scrutiny as youre trying to ramp up the business and theyre not too forgiving of any mistakes. 9 Spokes shares are currently trading at 17c, after listing at 20c per share, which gave the company an A$80 million valuation. BusinessDesk.co.nz Comments from our readers No comments yet Add your comment: Your name: Your email: Not displayed to the public Comment: Comments to Sharechat go through an approval process. Comments which are defamatory, abusive or in some way deemed inappropriate will not be approved. It is allowable to use some form of non-de-plume for your name, however we recommend real email addresses are used. Comments from free email addresses such as Gmail, Yahoo, Hotmail, etc may not be approved. Anti-spam verification: Type the text you see in the image into the field below. You are asked to do this in order to verify that this enquiry is not being performed by an automated process. Related News: SKO - FY23 Interim Results Announcement Date - 23 November 2022 Downer awarded $490 million road maintenance contract SKC - 2022 ANNUAL MEETING OF SHAREHOLDERS AND TRADING UPDATE TCL - Result of AGM TradeWindow secures U.S. footprint with FoodChain ID October 28th Morning Report October 25th Morning Report Mainfreight Investor Day / Market Update GFI - Greenfern - Offer closes 27th Oct MCY - Quarterly Operational Update Comvita plans to acquire 51 percent of its Chinese distributor in a $30 million all-stock deal that will see the owners of Shenzhen Comvita Natural Food Co lift their holding in the New Zealand manuka honey products company to more than 11 percent. The deal is expected to be earnings accretive for Comvita in the first year, excluding one-time costs. Comvita would acquire 51 percent in what would become a joint venture by issuing 2.83 million Comvita shares at $10.60 a share. The transaction, which will see Shenzhen Comvita Natural Food Co (SCNF) poured into a new company, is subject to regulatory approvals and a sign off by the boards of the two companies by March 1 next year, with the start of operations on April 1, 2017, Comvita said in a statement. Comvita shares rose 1 percent to $10.10 and have gained 19 percent so far this year. SCNF is 80 percent owned by Zhu Guangping, whose wife Li Wang currently owns 5.12 percent of Comvita. The remaining 20 percent is owned by Lily Sun, SCNF's general manager. The Zhu family's Comvita stake would rise to 10.07 percent after the transaction while Lily Sun would receive 566,000 Comvita shares, amounting to 1.4 percent of the stock. Lily Sun will be appointed to the board of the new company, which will hire a new manager, said Comvita chief executive Scott Coulter. Zhu would also have a seat on the board of the JV. "This JV will allow Comvita to capture an increased margin on sales into China as well as allowing us to build a pipeline of new Comvita branded products in the future. Being on the ground inside China is a key building block to our future growth strategy, Coulter said. "We have established a track record of building up exclusive distribution positions globally and then acquiring them back at the right time, he said, referring to the purchase of the UK distributor in 2005 and the Hong Kong distributor in 2007. He doesn't see any changes to the way the business operates in China and expects a smooth transition. SCNF's sales and distribution network in China includes more than 400 Comvita branded department store kiosks and 35 branded Comvita stores in tier-one cities in China. About one-third of SCNF sales are made through e-commerce platforms such as Tmall and JD.com, and sales also come via duty-free stores. Zhu is a franchise owner in China Duty Free Group, with locations at Zhuhai on the Macau-China border and Shenzhen at the Hong Kong-China border. "We have worked together with Comvita for over a decade and have built a very strong brand position in the Chinese market," Zhu said. "Originally I was attracted to Comvita as a number of my friends recommended their products to me, and after using them for some time I came to totally trust the brand, the company and the Comvita team". Coulter also had high praise for Zhu, saying they had "navigated a lot of growth" over 12 years, and he "has been a great partner for that." "This is a relationship going to another level, like going from an engagement for 12 years to married," he said. A JV made sense as "China is a complicated place, with a lot of regulatory change." SCNF "has product registration expertise, strong relationships with regulatory authorities and has built an excellent brand position for Comvita," he said. Chinese customers "ultimately consume approximately 60 percent of our total sales, whether sold in Mainland China, or via tourists in Australasia, Hong Kong or other parts of the world," he said. The Chinese market is moving more and more into a direct trade model and we expect the grey channels used by a number of importing companies will become increasingly difficult to navigate for many product lines" as China tightens its food safety rules. BusinessDesk.co.nz Comments from our readers No comments yet Add your comment: Your name: Your email: Not displayed to the public Comment: Comments to Sharechat go through an approval process. Comments which are defamatory, abusive or in some way deemed inappropriate will not be approved. It is allowable to use some form of non-de-plume for your name, however we recommend real email addresses are used. Comments from free email addresses such as Gmail, Yahoo, Hotmail, etc may not be approved. Anti-spam verification: Type the text you see in the image into the field below. You are asked to do this in order to verify that this enquiry is not being performed by an automated process. Related News: SKO - FY23 Interim Results Announcement Date - 23 November 2022 Downer awarded $490 million road maintenance contract SKC - 2022 ANNUAL MEETING OF SHAREHOLDERS AND TRADING UPDATE TCL - Result of AGM TradeWindow secures U.S. footprint with FoodChain ID October 28th Morning Report October 25th Morning Report Mainfreight Investor Day / Market Update GFI - Greenfern - Offer closes 27th Oct MCY - Quarterly Operational Update [File photo] After 60 years of development, China has established a relatively comprehensive research and development system for aero-engines, with about 90 percent of the countrys operational aircraft utilizing domestic engines at present, according to an expert. In the process of industrialization, China has established an independent sector for aero-engines. The performance of domestically produced imitational engines reached a remarkably high level in the 70s, and around 90 percent of Chinas main operational aircraft are using domestic engines now, said senior colonel Wu Guohui, who is also an associate professor at the PLA National Defense University, in an interview with the Beijing Times. Currently, most of Chinas fighter planes, attack aircraft, bombers and fighter-bombers feature domestic engines; only a small number of third-generation jet fighters are still using foreign engines, according to the newspaper. Nevertheless, Wu explained, Compared to the U.S., Europe and Russia, China still lags behind in the area of engines, as the countrys development and mode of management for engines are relatively outdated. China has historically relied heavily on foreign technologies when it comes to aero-engines. According to a CNN report in August, engines have accounted for 30 percent of all of Chinas imports over the past four years. This sobering reality made the domestic development and production of engines a major goal in Chinas most recent five-year development plan. President Xi Jinping called for the acceleration of independent research, development and manufacturing of aircraft engines in order to make China a genuine aviation power. Xis remarks came on the heels of the establishment of the Aero Engine Corporation of China (AECC) on Aug. 28 in Beijing, Xinhua reported. The founding of AECC will accelerate Chinas development of new engines. According to Wu, it is possible that China will meet the current standards of international engine development within five to 10 years; however, a large-scale improvement is necessary in order to catch up with countries like the U.S. (Xinhua) 18:46, September 05, 2016 HANGZHOU, Sept. 5 (Xinhua) -- U.S. President Barack Obama and his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, discussed the Syria and Ukraine issues at a meeting here Monday on the sidelines of the 11th Group of 20 summit. The meeting, which lasted more than an hour, was "longer than planned, " Russian media quoted Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov as saying. The two leaders discussed Syria and Ukraine before moving on to a one-on-one talk, Peskov said, noting that the meeting went well. "Work will continue," the spokesman said. Meanwhile, U.S. media quoted a senior Obama administration official as saying that the two presidents failed to force a breakthrough in negotiations over a cease-fire for Syria, but have agreed to keep up negotiations. The two leaders directed their top diplomats to return to talks quickly, likely later this week, the official said. The United States and Russia have been trying to reach a deal over the Syria crisis. Obama said Sunday that the two sides still have "grave differences," but there is still possibility "to make some progress." U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, who met in this eastern Chinese city on Sunday for Syria talks, launched a fresh round of negotiations on Monday morning, but ended without agreement, U.S. media reported. The G20 summit, which kicked off on Sunday, is set to last through Monday. HANGZHOU, Sept. 5 (Xinhua) -- The 11th summit of the Group of 20 (G20) major economies concluded here on Monday, reaching consensus on a wide range of important topics, Chinese President Xi Jinping said at a press conference. A communique was adopted, clarifying the development direction, targets, measures of the G20 cooperation, while Hangzhou Consensus was reached on facilitating world economic growth through long-term, comprehensive, open, innovative and inclusive measures, said Xi. The leaders of the Group of 20 (G20) major economies have agreed to continue to push forward quota and voting right reform of international financial institutions. "We are determined to break a new path for growth to inject new vitality into the world economy," Xi said. Merely relying on fiscal and monetary policies does not work for the world economy, Xi added. Page Content GREAT BAY, Sint Maarten (DCOMM) The National Mosquito Elimination Community Program Zika Virus disease (ZikV) Beat ZikV, will be heading to Marys Fancy on Saturday, September 3rd.On August 20 the program had kicked-off in Saunders where residents in the area were very cooperative with personnel from the Ministry and volunteers who were out in the field.Approximately 100 premises were visited, of which 51 houses. Nine houses had positive mosquito breeding sources.The success of the community program calls for close cooperation of residents within the identified district (s) to ensure a smooth operation of house to house visits and their availability to create an opportunity to provide one on one education on the elimination of mosquito breeding sites in and around the house.In addition to the opportunity to increase awareness on one on one, there is simultaneously a yard inspection by the vector assistant controllers to detect if there are breeding sources in the particular yard and its respective surroundings. Based on the detected mosquito breeding sites in the yard and its respective surroundings mosquito traps will be placed, monitored and collected within a short period; set-up and monitoring of traps to study mosquito behavior and larvae development, and if needed targeted fogging of identified locations.Colleagues from Inspectorate, Community Development, Family & Humanitarian Affairs (CDFHA) departments from within the Ministry of Public Health Social Development and Labour with members from the Sint Maarten Red Cross Foundation and Youth Chapter, have assisted with the execution of this program to date. It is the intention to expand with additional assistance from the St. Maarten Voluntary Corps and other community groups.The ultimate purpose is to minimize the occurrence of mosquito borne diseases by eliminating mosquito breeding sites within the districts with a special focus on the elimination of the Aedes Aegypty mosquito.CPS reiterates to the population of Sint Maarten as well as visitors to wear light colored clothing at dusk; long sleeve shirts and pants; and use mosquito repellent to prevent being bitten by a mosquito that could possibly be carrying a mosquito borne disease.CPS re-enforces its message that all residents and businesses need to take proactive measures to prevent mosquitos from breeding. Be on the alert for mosquito breeding sites and eliminate, especially after heavy rainfall.Actively destroy or dispose of tin cans, old tires, buckets, unused plastic swimming pools or other containers that collect and hold water. Do not allow water to accumulate in the saucers of flowerpots, cemetery urns/vase or in pet dishes for more than two days. Throw out the water and turn them over every time it collects water.An increase in the mosquito population puts residents and visitors at risk. For information about dengue fever, zika and chikungunya prevention measures, you can call CPS 542-2078 or 542-3003 to report mosquito breeding sites or email: surveillance@sintmaartengov.org PHOTO CUTLINE: Minister of Public Health Emil Lee out in the field in Saunders with the CPS Vector control unit and a team of volunteers as part of the Beat ZikV program. 2016 SkS Weekly Digest #36 Posted on 4 September 2016 by John Hartz SkS Highlights... Toon of the Week... Quote of the Week... Graphic of the Week... SkS in the News... SkS Spotlights... Coming Soon on SkS... Poster of the Week... SkS Week in Review... 97 Hours of Consensus... SkS Highlights Look for an important announcement by SkS founder, John Cook, on Tuesday of this week. Toon of the Week Quote of the Week "We're leading by example," Obama said in China. "As the world's two largest economies and two largest emitters, our entrance into this agreement continues the momentum of Paris, and should give the rest of the world confidencewhether developed or developing countriesthat a low-carbon future is where the world is heading." U.S. and China Ratify Paris Agreement, Upping Pressure on Other Nations by John H Cushman Jr. InsideClimate News, Sep 3, 2016 Graphic of the Week President Barack Obama and Chinese President Xi Jinping shake hands during their meeting in Hangzhou on September 3, 2016, where they ratified the Paris climate agreement. Credit: HOW HWEE YOUNG/AFP/Getty Images SkS in the News Free Online Course: Making Sense of Climate Science Denial was posted on The Dauly Kos by the blooger, Think critically. In his Bad Astronomy (Slate) Blog post, Grasping Climate Change, Phil Plait states SkS Spotlights The United Nations University (UNU) is the academic arm of the United Nations and acts as a global think tank. The mission of the Institute for Environment and Human Security (UNU-EHS) is to carry out cutting edge research on risks and adaptation related to environmental hazards and global change. The institutes research promotes policies and programmes to reduce these risks, while taking into account the interplay between environmental and societal factors. Research areas include climate change adaptation incorporating insurance-related approaches, environmentally induced migration and social vulnerability, ecosystem services and environmental deterioration processes, models and tools to analyze vulnerability and risks linked to natural hazards, with a focus on urban space and rural-urban interfaces. Research is always conducted with the underlying goal of connecting solutions to development pathways. Beyond its research mandate, UNU-EHS is actively engaged in education. It offers the joint Master of Science degree programme The Geography of Environmental Risks and Human Security with the University of Bonn. UNU-EHS also hosts a number of international PhD projects and courses on global issues of environmental risks and sustainable development. The institute is based in Bonn, Germany. UNU-EHS is composed of the following academic sections: RECENT BLOGS Coming Soon on SkS Range anxiety? Todays electric cars can cover vast majority of daily U.S. driving needs (Jessica Trancik) (Jessica Trancik) Climate polarization is rising in America; conservative media largely to blame (Dana) (Dana) BBC climate coverage is still nothing to write home about (Geoffrey Suppan) (Geoffrey Suppan) Guest Post (John Abraham) (John Abraham) 2016 SkS Weekly News Roundup #37 (John Hartz) (John Hartz) 2016 SkS Weekly Digest #37 (John Hartz) Poster of the Week SkS Week in Review 97 Hours of Consensus: Jason Box Jason Box's bio page & Quote source High resolution JPEG (1024 pixels wide) Hangzhou is busy showcasing China to the rest of the world while the Group of 20 (G20) meeting is underway with twenty heads of state, special invitees, close advisors and the media in the city. The G20, set up in 1999, following the relative failure of the Group of 7 to represent developing nations and forecast the Asian financial crash. The G20 holds annual meetings not only for government heads, but also their finance ministers and central bankers so they can focus on global economic issues, that are beyond the responsibility of any one organization. Now the group faces a new threat - global growth slowdown. There is possibly a hidden agenda as well - the need to balance economic migration against demographics. A worsening dependency ratio is a worldwide obstacle to steady growth and mass migration exacerbated the problem. Statistics indicate that there is not enough immigration to compensate for aging nations. The UN suggests between now and 2050 that Germany would have to double its annual intake of immigrants and Russia would have to quadruple its annual inflow to prevent their populations from decreasing. Acting as host brings several complexities for China. The government announced that this meeting must address global economic issues and consider how to develop the role of the G20. Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said he hopes the group will develop away from crisis-response toward long-term governance. This concurs with Beijing's wish to discuss how their domestic responses to their economy will mesh with its aim to help develop international growth. The Belt and Road initiative is a good example of this aim to stimulate the Chinese economy as well as drive innovation and sustainable development internationally. It is trade that really supports the people of the world. Too little reduces their personal wealth and condemns them to a perilous downward spiral. Under the UN's Millennium Goals China has raised millions out of poverty. China implemented vast infrastructure changes and is instigating a huge new plan to create an integrated modern electricity supply system. The latter is needed to supply clean power while reducing pollution in cities, concurring with China's ratification of the 2015 Paris Agreement on Climate Change. Importantly, the new electricity supply system would make the Internet of things more secure, where, in theory, freezers communicate with suppliers to regenerate stocks independent of owners. China, as host, can lead these discussions, but will need G20 members to further develop and implement the themes. The G20 members don't come to Hangzhou without tensions. The US is about to hold its presidential elections in November. President Barack Obama is at the Hangzhou meeting, but his successor might negate any agreements. The UK's recent decision to leave the EU has thrown that group into disarray, especially as the UK has not yet invoked Article 50. The new UK Prime Minister, Theresa May, knows that China has invested over 12 billion euro ($13.4 billion) in direct investments into the UK between 2000 and 2014. Broadly put, all nations have money issues, hence the importance of this Hangzhou meeting as it focuses on economic futures. But the mindset for action will be determined by the chairmanship of the Chinese President Xi Jinping and the willingness of his G20 colleagues to come to a consensus about global economic development. The author is founder and chairman of Horasis, a Swiss-based global visions community organization. File photo shows the inner design of the luxurious plane. [Photo: cankaoxiaoxi.com] An unnamed Chinese billionaire has bought a luxurious Boeing 787 plane, refitted by Kestrel airlines, at the price of 325 million USD. Refitting it cost him 100 million USD. File photo shows the luxurious plane. [Photo: cankaoxiaoxi] The billionaire bought the Boeing 787 shortly after it was displayed in an air show. The plane, covering over 200 square meters, has been refurbished like a luxurious five-star hotel. With a living room, kitchen, dining room, bedroom and even medical room on board, the plane provides a very comfortable journey. File photo shows the living room of the luxurious plane. [Photo: cankaoxiaoxi.com] The plane's furniture is made from special light and solid material. The interior design is tailored to the client's taste, most of whom come from the Middle East or Asia. File photo shows the bathroom of the luxurious plane. [Photo: cankaoxiaoxi.com] CEO of Kestrel says that the advantage of Boeing 787 is its ability for long range flights, catering for the clients' need for long range, non-stop flights. For example, it can fly from Asia to the east coast of the US or from the Middle East to the west coast of the US, without having to stop for fuel. File photo shows the bedroom of the luxurious plane. [Photo: cankaoxiaoxi.com] The CEO mentioned that this is the 11th program he has completed to refit planes. File photo shows the bedroom of the luxurious plane. [Photo: cankaoxiaoxi.com] By clicking Agree, you consent to Slates Terms of Service and Privacy Policy and the use of technologies such as cookies by Slate and our partners to deliver relevant advertising on our iOS app to personalize content and perform site analytics. Please see our Privacy Policy for more information about our use of data, your rights, and how to withdraw consent. Agree Chinese President Xi Jinpingaddresses a banquet for the Group of 20 (G20) summit in Hangzhou, capital of east China's Zhejiang Province, Sept. 4, 2016. Xi Jinping and his wife Peng Liyuan hosted a banquet for guests attending the 11th G20 summit in Hangzhou on Sunday evening. (Xinhua/Lan Hongguang) HANGZHOU, Sept. 4 (Xinhua) -- In the eastern Chinese city of Hangzhou, leaders and other guests from the Group of 20 (G20) major economies were welcomed with a banquet and an evening gala. On Sunday evening, Chinese President Xi Jinping hosted a grand banquet for those attending the 11th G20 summit in Hangzhou. Before the banquet, Xi and his wife Peng Liyuan greeted the honored guests at the entry of a hotel by the side of the West Lake. Leaders and their families, including U.S. President Barack Obama, Russian President Vladimir Putinand German Chancellor Angela Merkel, came to shake hands with the Xi couple. While proposing a toast at the banquet, Xi assimilated the G20 platform to a bridge of friendship, cooperation and the future. "We have come here for a common obligation to build an innovative, invigorated, interconnected and inclusive world economy as well as lead a new round of robust economic growth," Xi said. After the banquet, the guests enjoyed a feast of classic Chinese music, folk dance, traditional songs and ballet performance -- a blend of East and West cultures. The performance, directed by famed Chinese director Zhang Yimou, was staged with the glowing West Lake in the background. Through a remarkable feat of engineering, the platform was centimeters below the surface of the lake and the performers seemed to be treading the water. I saw a thread on our Reader Forum today about hybrid freestyle. This refers to hip- versus shoulder-driven freestyle, and smooshing together both into one technique. Know what Im talking about? Only vaguely? Youre not alone. Topics like this take us into the tall weeds of swim technique and, very frankly, a swimmer needs to be pretty advanced before he can feel or alter his or her swimming to suit. Fixing technical problems is begins at a lower, easier level. Im not a big device guy, but there is one training aid that is vastly underappreciated and underutilized, and its the symmetric snorkel. Do I mean the center mount snorkel? Yes. Then why am I changing the name? Because theres a new product in that same genus that expands the genus and requires its renaming. Ill get to this new product in a moment. Who uses symmetric snorkels? Is this for mid-pack adult-onset swimmers? Yes! But its used all the way up to the highest levels of swimming. I was talking to the maker of one such device whod just exhibited at the recent Life Time Chicago Triathlon, and he remarked to me that most of the triathletes passed the booth by, but seasoned swimmers whod gone through high-powered Division I college programs stopped, intrigued at the most recent developments in a technology they routinely use in their training. FINIS CENTER-MOUNT SNORKEL I traded emails with South African Henri Schoeman last week, certainly the surprise in the Olympic Triathlon, earning a bronze medal though never having podiumed in a WTS event. This pic above is of Henri and his Finis Center Mount snorkel, who writes this, "is one of my favorite and the most beneficial pieces of equipment in my swim bag, and he uses it in, "every swimming session." Henri writes that his snorkel, "places my head in the correct position without having to worry about breathing to the side. I can focus on head position. Henri is sponsored by Finis, his brother Riann is a multiple-time Olympian. The entire Schoeman family has a tight relationship with Finis so Henri might be expected to say this. But the fact remains that this device is a centerpiece (pardon the pun) of swim training for many top swimmers. AMEO POWERBREATHER The product I'm going to talk about here is why I'm expanding the genus to "symmetric" rather than "center-mount" snorkel. Nothing center-mount about this. But its use is basically the same. Whats the difference? The major enhancements are that you dont need to clear water with a powerful blow after a flip-turn, and more importantly you exhale out a valve right at the mouth and you inhale through a pair of periscope tubes at the sides of your head. This means youre never inhaling exhaled air (CO2). This device also has a twist-lock affixing it to your head, like your bicycle helmet. Jan Frodeno uses one of these, and when I ask both Jan and Henri how and when and why they use these devices they tend to talk in terms similar one to another, and similar to my own experience with these devices. BENEFITS OF SYMMETRIC SNORKELS If you ask Tim Elson of Finis, who pioneered this product a generation ago, its the luxury to think about nothing but the technical issue on your mind. You dont have to interrupt your concentration to breathe. Okay. Thats fine as far as it goes. But Tims milieu is top-caliber swimmers. Im not one of those. To explain why I use devices like this (currently Im using a Powerbreather) heres a pool experiment for you. Did you watch the Olympic 50 meter freestyle? Both the men and women take 2, or 1, or no breaths during that race. They almost all swim with pretty vigorous 6-beat kicks with their heads down (little or no breathing) during that swim. The experiment I have for you is to swim several strokes like that. Put your head down, dont breathe, and go 6 or 8 strokes with a 6-beat kick. If you feel silly and uncoordinated let me tell you why: You have a significant hitch in your stroke that wont allow you to swim with anything close to symmetry. Fixing this asymmetry is the low hanging fruit. There is a lot of speed right there if you fix that. Stroke hitches like this explain why athletes report swimming 15,000 or 20,000 yards a week for a several-month stretch and never get any faster. Jan Frodeno uses his Powerbreather for "slower warm ups of anywhere from 1000 to 2000 meters, and it, "let's me focus on my technique. The Powerbreathers twin tubes have 1-way valves that are slightly hypoxic and Jan likes that hypoxic element to the Powerbreather. Henri feels likewise, going further and taping up the holes on his Finis to make it even more hypoxic than it is. Jan says this hypoxic feature during his long warm-ups helps him, hold [his technique] longer when the going gets tough during a main set. I dont like that, and the Powerbreather will shortly have 3 options to choose from, offering a gradient of hypoxic options (starting from almost no hypoxic sensation). Then Henri gets down to the meat of why this device is beneficial, his "focus on rotating equally to both sides while swimming. I remember looking at a video of Michael Phelps head on, camera half-in, half-out of the water, and it was remarkable how completely symmetrical his stroke. I think a lot of really good swimmers almost take this for granted, and that is why those enmeshed in the world of world-class swim dont appreciate how incredibly asymmetric the strokes of adult onset swimmers. As with Jan, I use a symmetric snorkel during warm-up. I never swim hard with this device. My goals are stroke symmetry, kick symmetry, head position, my hand position immediately after the catch (does it stay near the surface of the water during the extend/glide phase?), and my arm mechanics during the pull phase. After my warm-up, my stroke mechanics and body position are remarkably better and I can feel this immediately, in the first length I swim after a warm-up using this class of device. Henri Schoeman also use[s] my snorkel for kicking sets, and I do the same, but probably for a different reason. For me its my spinal stenosis that keeps me from looking forward if I use a kickboard. These center-mount or symmetric snorkels are an acquired taste. You have to get used to any of them. The Ameo Powerbreather Im now using has its idiosycracies: You need to place the rear-fixing twist-lock closure at a rather precise spot near the top of the head to keep it in place while pushing off the wall; after flip-turns clearing the water is easier than with typical center-mount snorkels but does take a bit of getting used to; because the device attaches to positively to your head you need to know to push directly up with the mouthpiece if any water gets in and you panic (you cant just pull the mouthpiece forward to take it out of your mouth). I dont find any of this a problem because I dont flip-turn when using this device. In fact, I stop and take a couple of extra breaths every length because my goal here is stroke mechanics. I want to be very well oxygenated every length of the pool so that I can concentrate on my stroke, my kick, my body position and proper rotation without over-rotation. There is a time to swim fast, and hard, and this isnt that time. OTHER SYMMETRIC SNORKELS Finis had a patent on center-mount snorkels and thats the reason why you all thought it was simply a cult product that no other company thought important to make. Kiefer, TYR, Arena, and Speedo all have them now. Michael Phelps has one now as part of his MP collection. This is now becoming a ubiquitous product. I am certainly not the master of swim, and there are many people whose advice you should take ahead of mine, but if you consider all the swim aids out there paddles, buoys, kickboards, zoomers if you let me keep one device only Id jettison the rest and keep this one. Happily they arent expensive. You can buy one of these for $20, or $40, or more, and it just depends on quality, features, whether you want a 1-way valve. The most you can spend is between $100 and $150 thats if you choose the Ameo Powerbreather that Jan uses described here. There are 3 models, the Sport, Lap and Wave editions and I find that the Sport ($109) does me just fine. Here is Amazons page on it and here is the Ameos English language page. Here is a page Finis devotes to this product class. Kerry traveled to Moscow in mid-July to propose an agreement under which the United States would share intelligence and coordinate its bombing of terrorist targets with Russia if Moscow would agree to ground the Syrian air force and stop its own bombing of U.S.-backed opposition forces. Russia has complained of overlap between the opposition and terrorist groups on the ground, and it said it was up to the United States to separate them before a deal could be struck. U.S. failure to do so has allowed the Russians to claim they are targeting only terrorists of the Front for the Conquest of Syria the al-Qaida affiliate formerly known as Jabhat al-Nusra and the Islamic State. 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Patrick McCurley, 28, wore a white singlet, tracksuit pants and socks when he appeared briefly in the ACT Magistrates Court on Monday morning. Prisoners Jacob McDonald andA Patrick McCurley He was charged with drug driving, stealing a motor vehicle, dangerous driving and escaping the Alexander Maconochie Centre. Few details of the pair's alleged break-out and the circumstances surrounding McCurley's capture were aired in court. Canopy is an ongoing series of paintings, which was commenced in 1985, that was predicated on the rather simple idea of looking upwards and outwards at the heavens but, at the same time, conscious of looking from within yourself. He speaks of the first painting in the series as "a view of the night sky as possibly seen by a giant ancient hill-figure cut into the chalk of the Sussex Downs: the Long Man of Wilmington". Brian Blanchflower, Canopy IV (Transfigured Night), 1980-86, acrylic, asphaltum, sand and oil on canvas, Janet Holmes a Court Collection, ANU Drill Hall Gallery. The sense of the primeval, mysterious and ritualistic are all precious qualities in this series of remarkable paintings. Non-figurative paintings on a large scale frequently possess the feeling of grandeur, fanfare and boastful arrogance in their sense of presence. They are loud and demonstrative paintings that demand our attention. Blanchflower's Canopy pictures are the exact opposite, they are humble, meditative experiences, lacking stretchers or frames, and they hang suspended like coloured veils in front of the walls. Hessian and Indian jute are some of the favoured materials, while sand, asphaltum, chalk, pumice powder, wax, jarrah charcoal and silica have been added to the paint to provide a coarseness, texture and occasionally an otherworldly glitter to the surfaces. In the Eastern Orthodox churches, there are icon screens, known as an iconostasis, which act like a visual parable between the terrestrial and celestial worlds. The images on these screens are highly abstracted and invite a transcendental experience, but at the same time, never completely leaving the here and now. Moving around this remarkable exhibition, I increasingly felt a not dissimilar sensation that the paintings were drawing me out of this earthy realm. Blanchflower at one stage observed "only a layer of 'coloured mud spread over rough cloth' hangs between the viewer and that which I am pointing towards". Central to his practice is the idea of a spiritual realm that lies beyond the physical realm that is caught in the painting's surface. A painting early in the series, Canopy IV (Transfigured night), 1980-86, is dark, moody and disorienting, while the brilliant and mesmerising canvas, Canopy XXX (Vermillion Vision of the Eclipse), 1992, stretching over almost four metres, completely stops you in your tracks. Blanchflower's paintings are difficult to verbalise and impossible to describe, his acts of visual intelligence evoke parallels with music and indeed the artist has found inspiration in the work of such composers as John Cage, Anton Webern, Edgard Varese and Alban Berg, and subsequently Gyorgy Ligeti, Giacinto Scelsi and Iannis Xenakis. The Canopies are also supplemented by a series of 23 painting books, like small collections of visual ideas, quite perfect in their own right and tantalising in their display. The intimacy of these objects beautifully balances the floating veils of the big paintings. The Raiders were unhappy to see "Vote 1 Jarrod Croker" and "Ricky Stuart for Chief Minister" signs appearing under the Like Canberra banner in the city on Monday, calling on the political party to take them down. A third sign read "Vote 1 Josh Papalii". The Like Canberra party signs that appeared in the city on Monday, upsetting the Raiders. Credit:unknown Raiders chief executive Don Furner said Like Canberra had not sought permission from the Raiders or from the players. "I don't know who they are, but I think it's a fairly cheap political stunt using someone else's name without their authority," Mr Furner said. "Why would you do that? Why don't they get on with their own messages." Telstra may be forced to let competitors use its mobile network in regional and remote areas, after the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission launched an inquiry on Monday morning. However, Telstra does not like the proposal, because it has spent billions on its mobile network and uses it as a major point of difference to other telcos such as Optus and Vodafone, but farmers, other telcos, and regional groups want to see reform. The roaming proposal has angered Telstra, with the telco having spent billions on its mobile network in regional areas, using it as a major point of difference to its rivals. Credit:Glenn Hunt The government also launched a review of existing competition laws to potentially make it easier to prosecute telcos for misuse of market power. The ACCC will now ask industry and consumers whether it should "declare" domestic mobile roaming services. If it proceeds, Telstra will have to let competitors' customers on to the Telstra network in regional and rural areas. Rio Tinto is being sued in the US by ovarian cancer sufferers who allege their use of talcum powder sourced from the resources giant's mines led to their medical condition. Rio Tinto's wholly owned subsidiary Rio Tinto Minerals Inc has been named alongside US healthcare product giant Johnson & Johnson in the cases filed in Louisiana by four cancer sufferers and the husband of a woman who died. All five women were diagnosed with ovarian cancer between 2011 and 2015 and all used the products Johnson Baby Powder and Shower to Shower to "dust her perineum for feminine hygiene purposes", according to court documents obtained by Fairfax Media. Johnson & Johnson has been subject to more than 1000 legal actions since concerns about the links between its talcum powder products, including Johnson's Baby Powder, and ovarian cancer sparked a legal frenzy in the US. Potential exposure to the product worldwide, including hundreds of thousands of Australians, could lead to further cases. (Xinhua) 11:20, September 05, 2016 HANGZHOU, Sept. 5 (Xinhua) -- China would like to work with Spainto elevate their comprehensive strategic partnership to a new level, President Xi Jinpingsaid Monday. He made the remarks while meeting with Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy on the sidelines of the Group of 20 (G20) summit in the eastern Chinese city Hangzhou. China appreciates Spain's support for the Belt and Road Initiative and encourages its companies to invest in Spain, Xi said, adding that the two sides should continue to cooperate in fields such as finance, telecommunications and renewable energy, and use their respective advantages to complement each other. The two sides should also expand their trade through the cargo railway link connecting Yiwu in east China's Zhejiang Province with Madrid in Spain, Xi said. He added that China supports the stability and prosperity of the European Union(EU) and expects Spain to play a positive role in promoting China-EU relations. Rajoy said Spain speaks highly of the Chinese government's efforts to tackle ongoing economic challenges and supports China's hosting of the G20 Hangzhou summit. Spain is willing to work with China to maintain close contacts and explore the potential in trade and investment while expanding culture and education exchanges, Rajoy said. With a planned push into Senegal, off West Africa, under a cloud, Woodside Petroleum has opted for a safer option with its latest expansion by acquiring acreage off Western Australia. The company said on Monday it would acquire BHP's half interest in acreage in the Scarborough area for as much as $US400 million ($527 million), with $US250 million paid upfront and the balance due once a decision is taken to bring the acreage into production. Woodside Petroleum boss Peter Coleman. Credit:Philip Gostelow Along with BHP's interest in Scarborough, the deal includes its stake in the smaller Thebe and Jupiter fields nearby, with reserves estimated at a gross 8.7 trillion cubic feet of gas with Woodside's net share estimated at 2.6 trillion cubic feet of gas. Woodside said no further appraisal wells needed to be drilled to clarify the extent of the resource, although no decision had been made about bringing the fields into production, and the likely cost. Since it abandoned a $US2.5 billion ($3.3 billion) deal to buy into a gas project in Israel two years ago and the rejection of its $11.6 billion bid for Oil Search less than a year ago, Woodside has said it is looking to acquire unwanted assets put on the market by competitors amid the steep downturn in the oil and gas price. "We will pursue acquisitions that match and complement our capabilities, technology and regional focus areas," Woodside chief executive Peter Coleman told analysts last month, pointing specifically to the likelihood that acreage off Western Australia could come up for sale. In July, Woodside said it would acquire an interest in acreage off Senegal, paying up to $US430 million, which could also see it emerge as the operator if the resource there is developed. Last month, however, a locally listed partner in the Senegal acreage, FAR, said it had pre-emptive rights over the interest acquired by Woodside, but it has yet to signal whether it will challenge the deal. Woodside has said it has $1 billion of balance sheet capacity to make acquisitions, and completion of the Senegal and Scarborough deals will soak up the bulk of that. If the Senegal deal does proceed, it will bring to $US830 million the amount committed by Woodside on acquisitions, with $US600 million due up front. The company has also highlighted a greater interest in acquiring oil assets due to the pervasive glut of gas. For a brief moment last week, it looked like Donald Trump was committing himself to the long-promised, seldom-seen presidential pivot. Standing next to Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto, the least popular president in Mexican history, the Republican candidate subtly reminded viewers that even deeply unpopular people can be chosen to run large nations. His stilted but restrained speech following their meeting signalled that the New Trump had finally arrived. The pivot lasted the length of an afternoon. Before nightfall in Arizona, Trump was delivering one of the darkest, fieriest speeches of his campaign, a speech that harkened back to his campaign launch in June last year and his nomination speech this July. Those speeches, taken together, make clear that Trump's promise to "make America great again" is less about looking to the past than looking to the east: to Europe and the right-wing nationalists whose politics and rhetoric he emulates. Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump believes the answers to America's problems lie in Europe's far-right parties. Credit:AP The Europeanisation of the GOP is a stunning development, given how devoted the party has been to American exceptionalism during the past 35 years. Trump, for better or worse, rejects the idea of America as an exceptional nation. He doesn't even think it's a particularly good nation at the moment. "Essentially we're saying [to other nations]: 'We're more outstanding than you. By the way, you've been eating our lunch for the last 20 years, but we're more exceptional than you'," Trump said when explaining his rejection of American exceptionalism. "I don't like the term. I never liked it." Wherever one falls on the validity of American exceptionalism as an idea, this is a remarkable line for a Republican politician to toe. But Trump doesn't just reject American exceptionalism. He believes that the answers to America's problems lie not in the nation's history or its ideas, but rather in Europe's far-right parties. Immigration policy is where this "make America European" idea comes through most clearly. In his recent speech, Trump called for a mix of restriction, extreme vetting and ideological testing for immigrants coming into the United States. Such ideological testing is a rarity in American history. True, in the 20th century, particularly during the cold war, anarchists, communists, and others considered "subversive" were barred from immigrating to the US. But while the policy made a big statement, it had little effect. During the 1950s, a decade when cold war tensions were at their peak, about 100 immigrants a year were turned away for being subversives. During the 1960s, that number dropped to 10. Trump is not looking back to the cold war for his immigration policies; he's looking to Europe. Ideological restrictions are far more commonly found in far-right parties like France's National Front and the Austrian Freedom Party. Leaders of these parties share the concern with cultural and national identity that runs through Trump's speeches, a sense that some groups cannot be assimilated and therefore should not be admitted. Trump's proposed Muslim ban, so alien to American immigration policies since the end of Chinese exclusion in 1943, has decidedly European origins. His anti-immigration policies aren't the only thing Trump has imported from the European right. The alt-right, a fringe political group that has gone mainstream with the Trump campaign, traces its origins to European nationalists as well. A group that promotes anti-Semitism and white supremacy under the guise of opposition to politically correct culture, the alt-right was born in the pages of Taki's Magazine. Founded in 2007 by Greek writer Taki Theodoracopulos, the magazine soon came under the editorship of Richard Spencer, a well-known American white supremacist. It has since spread across the rankest parts of the internet. It was Muriel Spark's hostility to his artistic endeavours that confirmed the breakdown of their relationship. "He always wanted me to say [his paintings] were good but I didn't think they were," the writer told The Sunday Telegraph's Emily Bearn in 2004. "Art is important to me and I wasn't going to commit perjury ... If he wants to be a victim, he can be a victim." Another casus belli was Robin's intense assumption of his Jewish identity. He became a popular member of the Edinburgh synagogue and produced a number of articles on Jewish art and culture, in addition to researching his own family background. His grandfather, Barney Camberg, whose family came from Lithuania, was Jewish. However, when Muriel claimed in her memoirs that her mother's family, the Uezzells, were English Christians, Robin disputed her claims, which would have meant he was not Jewish according to Orthodox law. In 1998 the story was taken up by the Jewish Chronicle, from where it found its way into the mainstream press. Robin accused his mother of fictionalising the family past; she told a newspaper that he "wails and complains too much". "My son got in on the act because he wants publicity," she claimed. "He can't sell his lousy paintings and I have had a lot of success ... he's never done anything for me, except for being one big bore." The letters acquired by the National Library of Scotland show that the pair had first clashed over the issue many years earlier. "Nobody is saying you are not a Jew or that I have no Jewish origins," she wrote to him in 1981. "You can be whatever you like But there is no use writing to me with all that pompous bureaucratic religiosity as if you were John Knox in drag." The last straw (according to Muriel) came when she sent him some money and he returned the cheque, saying "I don't like the way you treated my father and I don't like your opinions on my work." "I can use that money," she replied, and cut him out of her will, leaving her estate to Penelope Jardine, the sculptor with whom she lived in Tuscany for more than 30 years. What's the balance, for instance, between your right not to be taunted about your racial or ethnic origins against their right to offend? Or your right to marry a same sex partner versus their right to retain the institution as the sole preserve of the biblically militant? If there's one thing on which we can probably all agree with Senator Bernardi, it's that "it is difficult to know what's a right and what is simply a desire". As for constitutional recognition which is likely to acknowledge, symbolically at least, the rights of Indigenous peoples arising from their longstanding and unique relationship to the land well, you can see how that might stick in the craw of Bernardi's conservative fundamentalists. Real inequality simply doesn't exist in the paradigm of the new conservatives, and why would it? It's not a lived experience like, for instance, the casual racism that is "a constant background noise" in the lives of most Aboriginal people, according to an Australian Human Rights Commission report. The very notion of entrenched disadvantage offends the guiding principle at the core of the Liberal party mantra the "meritocracy" where advancement is down to talent, effort and choice, not good fortune, nor bestowed privilege, and certainly not positive systemic discrimination. If they don't get disadvantage, they don't even begin to grasp the concept of "substantive equality", which starts from the somewhat uncomfortable truth that rights are not equally distributed no matter how much we'd like to pretend they are and that equality, therefore, won't be achieved by treating everyone exactly the same. Substantive equality which posits the world as it is, rather than as we would prefer it to be may be a principle increasingly recognised at law, from sexual discrimination to Indigenous incarceration, but Bernardi and the rest of the hard right aren't having a bar of it. The real danger, of course, is if the moderates in the Liberal party turn their backs on it too. What would that mean, for our egalitarian nation? The Chief of Army's exercise this week is attempting to peer into the future. This isn't, perhaps, as strange as you might think because the military is desperate to be a "learning environment". After all, the hard edge of battle is death. The enduring question a soldier faces is balancing their mission against that terrible cost. Our most recent battle was in Afghanistan. It seems reasonable to ask what the enduring achievements of that deployment were. This is a question for the politicians, of course, because the answer depends on what you think our mission was. If the objective was a peaceful, democratic country, we failed. But that's not the only take. For an alternative, nuanced and thoughtful argument try reading The Dust of Uruzgan by diplomat/musician Fred Smith. Then Prime Minister Tony Abbott in Tarin Kowt, Oruzgan Province, Afghanistan where, in October 2013, he attended a Recognition Ceremony to honour the 40 Australian lives lost during the 12-year conflict. Credit:Andrew Meares But it's not until page 389 that he reveals the logic in an explosive sentence. Smith correctly emphasises that the moment our boots hit the soft, powdery soil of the Tarin Khot airstrip, "our soldiers achieved the government's first strategic objective They could have continued to achieve that objective if they had sat on the base playing horseshoes". This is the crux of any examination of our involvement in Afghanistan: why did we venture outside the wire and what was achieved. Was the deployment worthwhile, despite the death of more than 40 soldiers; the serious wounding of another 260 soldiers and diplomats; and a total cost of well over $7.5 billion? Brisbane City Council has teamed up with Fairfax Media's Weatherzone to develop a new app to give people more timely and detailed information about weather events. The free service, being officially launched on Tuesday, will offer push notifications to warn people of severe weather events in their immediate location. A new app will give Brisbane residents up-to-the-moment weather information. Credit:Glenn Hunt Lord Mayor Graham Quirk said the Weatherzone collaboration would provide residents with more detailed and immediate information about weather events. "More than 125,000 Brisbane residents have registered for council's early warning alert service, which until now has provided SMS, emails or recorded telephone messages alerting residents about weather warnings for a nominated home address," Cr Quirk said. But I have deep reservations about particular elements of this protest. While it's encouraging to think we might have reached the point where everyday members of the community will speak up for sexual assault survivors, bearing assault weapons and violent slogans is not the answer. For a start, there are no circumstances in which people should celebrate seeing assault weapons on the street, especially not when wielded by a group of (mainly) men gathering in supposed defence of women's liberties. Yet more paternalism is not the solution to challenging rape culture in any community, least of all one marked by its obsession with guns and the conservative ideals that often go hand in hand with them. Further, calling to "castrate all rapists" indicates a crude understanding of the complete picture of what male-perpetrated sexual violence looks like and what motivates it to wit, that it always involves the use of penile penetration and arises from sexual desire. In fact, sexual assault is driven less by the need for physical gratification than it is a belief in one's own entitlement and power. Subjugating another human in this way may often be characterised by the use of a body part as a weapon, but there are countless examples where this is not the case. All manner of objects can be used to violate and humiliate another person, and it's naive to think that castration alone would circumvent the kind of hatred and hostility that motivates a good proportion of sexual assault. Indeed, even Turner didn't require his penis to sexually assault his unnamed victim. Instead, he stripped her naked and digitally raped her. And then there's the glee with which some people invoke rape itself as punishment for rapists. It's a popular response, and it doesn't require any kind of terrifically evolved empathy to see why. Subjecting violent perpetrators to "a taste of their own medicine" is an easy temptation. But the moment we sanction the use of rape as a form of punishment even for rapists is the moment we create the kind of society in which certain forms of sexual assault are considered excusable. Where certain people are considered "deserving" of rape. Senior soldiers are urging a review of the Army's social media policy after "prolific" personal use of Facebook and other platforms by military personnel on a recent major exercise created potential security risks. Intelligence analysts studying social media use during Exercise Hamel in June identified 680 Australian Defence Force members who had posted "personal or sensitive information". Darwin 1st Brigade soldiers have come under scrutiny for their social media activities. Credit:Glenn Campbell By using "big data" techniques in which large amounts of information are gathered and cross-referenced, potential adversaries including foreign intelligence agencies could gain insights into the ADF's tactics and operations, two senior soldiers have written in a paper for the military affairs website, Grounded Curiosity. More broadly, overuse of social media could create personal risks for military personnel and their families, compromise their passwords or expose them to blackmail, Brigadiers Mick Ryan and Marcus Thompson said. China's sericulture grabbed the world's attention on Saturday, when Christine Lagarde, managing director of the International Monetary Fund, appeared at the Business 20 (B20) summit opening ceremony in Hangzhou wearing a Hangzhou-crafted blue-green silk scarf featuring the Three Pools Mirroring the Moon - a famous scenic attraction in the city's West Lake. Silk is making an appearance everywhere at the G20 and B20 summits. Weeks ago it was revealed that silk scarves and handbags would be given as gifts to the first ladies of world leaders attending the G20 summit, while journalists arriving at the G20 summit a few days ago also received scarves made from what the scarves' manufacturer, Zhejiang-based producer Dali Silk, described as "first-class silk produced from a special local silkworm." "As one of China's most important silk producing areas, Hangzhou should give its very best to the world at the summit," Zhao Feng, curator of the Chinese National Silk Museum in Hangzhou, told the Global Times on Thursday, when asked why items made from silk had been chosen as gifts for the G20 summit. Historical legacy According to Zhao, the tradition of "silk diplomacy" dates back to the Han Dynasty (206BC-AD220), when Zhang Qian, an imperial envoy of Emperor Wu, gifted leaders of countries along the Silk Road with silk as part of efforts to create alliance to fight against the Xiongnu, nomadic people that lived north of China. According to ancient Chinese legend, Leizu, the wife of the Yellow Emperor, was the first person to raise silkworms thousands of years ago. This legend was given more credence after half of a cocoon of a domesticated silkworm dating back 5,600-6,000 years was unearthed in North China's Shanxi Province. One of China's most important exports, in ancient times rulers would go to great lengths to protect the secrets of its production. For example, during the Northern Wei Dynasty (386-534) anyone smuggling silkworms or silkworm cocoons outside of China faced the death penalty. Today, silk production has already spread to countries across Asia, Europe and the Americas. However, despite this, "silk, an item commonly used in trade between China and Western countries since ancient times, is still a well-regarded symbol of China in many countries around the world," Zhao noted. Modern fashion Silk today not only embodies the history of contact between the East-West, it is also a symbol of modernity and fashion. "Today, you'll find silk-made accessories and garments displayed in many high-end fashion stores in the US and Europe," Zhao said. "Which proves that silk is a welcome symbol in East-West cultural exchange." From colored silk outfits worn by leaders at the 2014 APEC summit to big-brand designs shown off at international fashion shows, silk as a fashion element has won an irreplaceable place in the fashion industry. An increasing number of Chinese designers are turning to silk to demonstrate the beauty of the East to the world. Wu Haiyan, a designer who created the uniform for Hangzhou G20 volunteers, is one of many such designers. "Silk is a vital part of my design," she said in an interview with the Hangzhou Daily on Tuesday. Emerging Chinese designers who have debuted at global fashion shows in recent years, such as Uma Wang and Zhang Huishan, also make use of printed silk to show off their "Chinese style." As for why silk has been so well-received, Zhao explained, "As a natural material that is easy to dye, silk can come in many different colors. This helps spark artists' creativity." Despite these success stories, it seems China's silk fashion industry still needs a push to go even further. According to the official website of the China International Silk Expo, which is scheduled to open in mid-October in Hangzhou, Chinese silk fashion brands are not as competitive as their European and US counterparts. As such, this year's expo will focus on 3D-printed silk materials used in clothing and home textile designs in order to help designers learn how to "apply modern technology to traditional silk design." A high-profile adviser who helped design Australia's offshore detention regime, Paris Aristotle, has condemned the use of refugees as a "human shield against people smuggling". Though he did not express regret for recommending the detention centres be reopened in 2012, Mr Aristotle said he had never anticipated the facilities would become long-term warehouses for refugees without genuine resettlement options. Paris Aristotle on Lateline. Credit:ABC TV "It was never envisaged that we would leave people there for long, long periods of time without giving them a sense that we were working towards providing them with a decent resettlement outcome," he told the ABC's Lateline program on Monday. "While we have to deal with people smuggling we also then can't resort to strategies ultimately that enable refugee children, women and men to be used as some form of a human shield against people smuggling. Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull has brushed off concerns China could use trade restrictions as leverage against the Australian government's stance on the South China Sea and foreign investment. Mr Turnbull was speaking as world leaders at the Hangzhou G20 summit urged curbing a global steel glut and the proliferation of protectionism in populist politics. The spectre of rising protectionism has emerged as a central theme of the G20, with world leaders, including summit host and Chinese President Xi Jinping, stressing favouring domestic industries by taxing or restricting imports would only further crimp sluggish global economic growth. Mr Turnbull has been particularly active at the summit in urging world leaders to ratify and implement the World Trade Organisation's trade facilitation agreement, which would boost global GDP and create 21 million jobs, while also making it harder for countries to reinstall trade barriers when faced with domestic political or economic pressures. Cabinet minister Christopher Pyne has been forced to backtrack after claiming Labor powerbroker Sam Dastyari broke the rules over gifts and donations from Chinese business interests, while also refusing to say what the government would do to address growing concern over Australia's donations system. The NSW Labor senator is under siege after Fairfax Media last week revealed he had a Chinese government-linked donor pay a $1600 debt and that he had adopted a pro-China stance on the South China Sea dispute. Mr Pyne told ABC radio there was more to the story than the travel bill, asserting that "the seduction of Sam Dastyari has obviously been going on for some time". "Chinese business interests paid a $40,000 legal bill for Sam Dastyari, a $1600 travel bill, provided him with two bottles of Grange wine and after all these brandishments, Senator Sam Dastyari was prepared to say that the South China Sea was China's business and that Australia should remain neutral, a position which is at odds with Labor's policy, the national interest and with our international interest," he said. Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull and senior Coalition ministers have launched an all-out assault on under-pressure Labor senator Sam Dastyari, questioning his integrity over Chinese donations and seeking to make the issue a test of Bill Shorten's leadership and judgment. And while Labor MPs insist the government has seized on the revelations about Senator Dastyari to distract from the government's own woes, they admit that if further revelations emerge, the Manager of Opposition Business in the Senate may have to stand aside. One Labor MP said that Mr Shorten, a leading figure in the Victorian Right, would "cut Sam loose [as manager of opposition business] if he wanted to . . . but it's not there yet", while noting the leader's need for the ongoing support of Senator Dastyari's NSW Right faction. "I wouldn't rule it out if this keeps going, but I don't see it at this stage". It's quite common for fashions on the field entrants to spend upwards of $5000 on their outfits. But some of Melbourne's most dedicated competitors are threatening to boycott the competition at Caulfield Racecourse this year over changes to the format and a radical decrease in the value of the prize pool from $60,000 to $10,000. Em Scodellaro - a regular fashions on the field contestant - has cancelled her MRC membership. Credit:Mal Fairclough This year's event will see the traditional catwalk replaced with a photo-based competition, which organiser Melbourne Racing Club hopes will open the field to more competitors and bring the competition into the digital age. Entrants will have a mini-styling session before having their photos taken, with their three favourites put to the judges. A new people's choice award will also be run on social media in the days following the event. Australian universities' investment in research has driven improvement in their global rankings, according to a global higher education think tank that produces one of the most influential world university league tables, released on Tuesday. The ANU remains Australia's best-ranked university in the QS World University Rankings 2016, but it has slipped out of the Top 20 to 22nd. The University of Technology Sydney and the University of Wollongong made the biggest improvements, moving up to 193 and 218 respectively. UNSW and the University of Western Australia have improved their research performance, ranking in the global top 100 on that measure for the first time, the authors said. UTS Vice-Chancellor Professor Attila Brungs said "all university ranking systems measure different things, and have strengths and weaknesses. But when a university like UTS moves up steadily in all rankings at the same time, it can only point to an overall improvement in our performance and an increase in our reputation internationally. We wont know for a while what the effect of that will be on the quality of the data. There is already speculation that the response rate might be below the expected 98.3 per cent; some people have preemptively called into account the reliability of the data. It's fair to say the 2016 census didn't quite go to plan. Before census night on August 9, there was a significant minority of Australians concerned about concerned about how names and address would be used , including a number of high-profile members of Parliament. The message from the Australian Bureau of Statistics and government around response rates is as it should be, though. There is still time to fill out the census (either online or via paper), the data is still crucial, but the longer people leave it the less accurate the data will be. Speculating on who and how many people are going to respond to the census is a mugs game. But it's useful to reflect on what the rate of undercount has been in the past, what the undercount might mean for decision-making, and what can be done to adjust for it post-census. Ghosts of undercounts past The most important thing to keep in mind throughout this period is that no census has ever been perfect. There are no halcyon days where everyone filled out their census on the allocated night, every form was filled out completely, honestly and accurately, and it was collected by ABS staff seamlessly and with no fuss. In 2001, fresh out of university, I remember walking around Canberra's chilly suburbs as a census collector. People then were confused about the point of the census and how their data were to be used. Some people were late, others were reluctant to hand over their form at all. This allows governments and policymakers to make informed decisions about designing and implementing policy. At a time we want evidence-based policy, the census is absolutely critical. For example: Health policy: who needs what services, where. Housing needs, now and into the future. Future needs for schools and universities. And the data isn't only available to governments and policymakers. Businesses and entrepreneurs also access census data freely helping them design and build their businesses to match needs in the community. While "innovation" and "agility" have become buzzwords, the census is one of those things that governments can do well to foster innovation and agility and support business. How did it go so wrong? It's fairly clear this was a disaster waiting to happen, but it's by no means the only one. The Community and Public Sector Union has warned the government for years that arbitrary cuts have consequences. The ABS, like other Commonwealth agencies, has copped years of budget cuts. The so-called "efficiency dividend", which arbitrarily reduces agency budgets each year by a percentage amount, has hit the bureau hard. For several years, governments increased the dividend as a way of dealing with budget shortfalls, pushing the hard decisions of resourcing and cuts onto agencies. The last budget was no different: the Turnbull government again slugged agencies with a 2.5 per cent efficiency dividend. Since 2010, the ABS has had to contend with budget cuts in the order of almost $100 million as a result of this and other measures. Dealing with these cuts is particularly difficult for an agency with statutory responsibilities that it must discharge it isn't easy for the bureau to simply cut a program. The ABS has also shed staff. The census is obviously a significant undertaking for the bureau, and budget papers reveal that, in 2011-12, the last time the census was conducted, the ABS had 700 more staff than it does today. On top of all of this, the government failed to appoint a new Australian statistician for 11 months after Brian Pink departed leaving the ABS without a permanent chief for most of 2014. This history of cuts give an idea of the position the ABS was in before this census: an agency under pressure and desperate to save money wherever it could. And so the ABS tried to run the census on the smell of an oily rag. In fact, Australian statistician David Kalisch boasted at Senate estimates that the census, which usually costs about $450 million, would be $100 million cheaper this year because it would conducted primarily online. Now, instead of saving $100 million, it must be asked whether the ABS has the resources to pay for the extra call-centre hours and the processing of more paper forms than expected. More important than that financial price, though, has been the costly damage to the ABS's reputation and the lost opportunities from a discredited and distrusted 2016 census. It's critical that the bureau has the funds to restore its reputation and rebuild community trust without delay. It's everyone else's fault It seems apparent there have been errors by ABS senior management: poor calls, rushed processes. In this public discussion, the key figure taking responsibility must be the Australian Statistician, David Kalisch. In retrospect, Kalisch and his colleagues, in the months before the census, didn't do enough to explain their reasons for changing the census process, particularly the reasons for holding on to people's names for longer. The level of public disquiet took them by surprise and they paid the price for not taking the public more into their confidence. The conduct of the census is no longer an issue that can be safely left to discussion among policy insiders but must involve the wider public. Since the crisis struck, however, Kalisch has been scrupulous in exercising his accountability responsibilities surrounding the conduct of the census. He has made himself available to the media, including appearing on the ABC's 7.30, and hasn't sought to hide behind the minister. Kalisch has also refrained from publicly passing the buck to the ABS's main contractor, IBM, which was operating the online census. He will no doubt engage in some tough talking with IBM behind closed doors. But he has properly accepted that the ABS retains ultimate responsibility. He has acknowledged that, in the eyes of the public, the ABS owns the census and the ABS must repair the damage and restore public trust. This is the correct response. Outsourcing of government services does not absolve governments from responsibility for the outcome. If governments choose to use outside contractors rather than in-house staff, they need to manage the risks associated with diminished control. If the contractors fail for some reason, the blame will be sheeted home to the government that drew up the contract and chose the contractor. Media commentary again sometimes missed the point, speculating whether blame rested with the ABS or with IBM and noting that IBM had yet to comment publicly. But the ABS and IBM were not equal partners sharing responsibility for the census, in spite of the fashionable weasel word "partnership" used to describe their relationship. Instead, they are related more as principal and agent, with the ABS the buyer and IBM the contracted provider. In this case, the providing agent, IBM, is accountable to the ABS but the ABS is accountable to the government and the public. If the Australian Statistician and the ABS are to be held responsible, should Kalisch's head be the one to roll? Certainly, some critics called for his immediate resignation. They linked his failure to resign with the general unwillingness of ministers to resign in similar circumstances. Kalisch, instead, has judged that he is the right person to oversee the ABS's immediate response and to begin the process of restoring trust in the ABS. Whether Kalisch's position is tenable in the longer term remains to be seen. A useful parallel can be found in the actions of another statutory officer, Ed Killesteyn, the Australian electoral commissioner, who presided over the West Australian debacle in the 2013 federal election. He continued in the post for some months until the High Court ruled the election was invalid. He then quietly resigned, along with the West Australian commissioner, leaving the way open for new leadership that could rebuild public trust in the office's integrity. No doubt after a good ear-chewing from you know whom, Bishop re-enters the fray and obtained Turnbull's agreement to reconsider backing Rudd after the election. Rudd continues to seek international support. At the end of July, cabinet considers a submission from the Foreign Minister on Rudd's nomination. From all reports, cabinet is split evenly over whether to support him and leaves it to Turnbull to decide. According to Rudd, Turnbull then tells him he has "neither the interpersonal skills nor the temperament to be a candidate" for the UN secretary-general position. With this hammer blow to his ambitions, Rudd goes into a fury of recriminations; in a long interview with The Australian; he says Turnbull led him on and then cut him off at the pass. He also releases letters he'd sent to Turnbull summarising their discussions and purporting to sustain his grievance. "I'm a bit puzzled by it all," Rudd says, before going on to reassure us that "in my heart of hearts, I'm an internationalist; in my heart of hearts, I'm a global citizen". The Belco boy has come a long way, although now he's up the creek. What's to be made of this schemozzle? The most obvious point is that Turnbull and his cabinet mishandled the business shockingly. They treated it too casually and underestimated the trouble Rudd, a person much disliked by many Coalition parliamentarians, might cause them. Moreover, cabinet's leaving it to the Prime Minister to decide is a dismaying flight from the kind of collective responsibility that's crucial in binding together the working of governments. The Financial Review's Phillip Coorey wrote: "It is unusual this was taken to cabinet in the first place." On the contrary, given the contentious nature of Rudd's nomination, there was every reason why it should have gone to cabinet even if, in the end, that lynchpin of the system shirked its responsibilities. Rudd's CV stacks up well against past secretaries-general and those said to be contenders. When it comes to personal qualities, the picture is not so attractive. But Coorey's slip-up is of nothing compared to those of his Fairfax colleague, Peter Hartcher. He wrote: "The decision for the Turnbull cabinet is this: is it more important to snub Rudd or empower Australia?" That's an entirely false dichotomy. Rudd's ascension to the UN position should have nothing to do with Australian empowerment. Indeed, if any UN secretaries-general were to use the position to "empower" their countries, they would be abusing their powers. Hartcher wrote: "Perhaps it wasn't explained to Turnbull. It's not a job offer ... it's not Turnbull's place to decide the suitability of the next secretary-general." After irrelevant observations about Turnbull not vetting members of the Olympic team (he's not asked to do so) but being happy to wish them luck, Hartcher went on to say "the Turnbull government has decided, without assessing the dozen others, to prejudge the contest and prejudge the Security Council". Whatever else Hartcher may know, he seems to know nothing about staff selection. The decision before the Turnbull government was whether to support Rudd for the secretary-general position. It could not in all honesty and good conscience do that without forming a view on his suitability. On Hartcher's logic, the federal government should back any Australians wanting to put themselves in the race. What if Abbott or Eddie Obeid were to throw in their hats? Further, Hartcher does his case no favours by citing a beneficiary of Rudd's largesse, Australian War Memorial director Brendan Nelson, who, in a Delphic way, tells the journo "this is an occasion where we need to be at our best as Australians". Hartcher may have an ally, however, in Geoff Raby, a former colleague of Rudd's in the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade and a former ambassador to China. He is now chairman and chief executive of Geoff Raby & Associates, which describes itself as "a Beijing-based business advisory firm" helping businesses "run successful operations across cultures and borders, and informing public and private policymakers". Raby says "I think the question of suitability is not really one that's relevant in this big geopolitical game" and "I don't think pining on suitability is wise". Raby reckons it might have been better if officials had advised Turnbull that Rudd's chances were "exceedingly slim" and that it would therefore not be in Australia's interests to put effort and money into "a doomed campaign". But Raby doesn't believe the campaign is doomed. Thus, in a notable display of intellectual "agility", he says that, if the decision on the secretary-general position is delayed, Rudd's candidacy might be backed by Hillary Clinton if she becomes president of the United States. "Rudd's run at the job is far from over," he says. Well, maybe, Raby, but why would Clinton risk Rudd as a long-term irritant in relations between the US and Australia? Finally, in The Guardian, up pops Carl Ungerer from the Geneva Centre for Security Policy. Without declaring he is a former adviser to Rudd, Ungerer writes Turnbull's decision was the "most churlish act of partisan politics in the history of Australian foreign policy". A sweeping judgment, to be sure, in a field likely to contain many thousands of contenders, all of which, dear readers, you can be assured Ungerer has assessed carefully. Nevertheless, unlike Raby and Hartcher, Ungerer believes in merit and says that, in selecting a new secretary-general, it "should override" geopolitical considerations. Indeed, he says that, if the decision was based on merit, "Rudd would get the job" and that "he would have brought his bureaucratic and diplomatic skills" to change the UN organisation "for the better". Not so fast, Carl. Rudd was a prime minister who trashed cabinet government, centralised policy formulation in his office, didn't talk to his principal adviser for three months, fell out so badly with his colleagues that they gave him the boot and, apart from the efforts of John Faulkner and Terry Moran, in which he seemingly took little or no interest, only worsened the administration of the Commonwealth. Ungerer must be too distracted by the heady atmosphere of Geneva to remember this appalling form, which suggests Rudd would have little aptitude in improving the UN's organisation and operation. The position of UN secretary-general has had some unusual occupants, the most notorious being Kurt Waldheim. He was a member of the paramilitary wing of the German Nazi Party who, in World War II, served as an intelligence officer with German military units that executed thousands of Yugoslavian partisans and deported thousands more Greek Jews to murder camps. In such a context, Rudd looks good. While his experience as a DFAT official was at a relatively junior level, he held an important senior position in the Queensland public service. As federal opposition leader, he led Labor to a major victory over a highly politically successful Howard government. Initially, Rudd was an immensely popular prime minister and he can take a great deal of credit for ensuring that Australia weathered the 2008 financial crisis better than just about any other country. Then things curdled. He failed to set up a carbon emissions trading scheme, the management of government business became fraught, and Julia Gillard deposed him as prime minister in 2010. In turn, he deposed Gillard in 2013 and was comprehensively defeated by the Abbott Coalition later that year. Since then, he has been involved with several international relations institutions, mainly in the US. That is to say, his raw-experience CV stacks up well against previous secretaries-general and those now said to be contenders. When it comes to personal qualities, however, the picture, while imprecise, is not so attractive. His fellow caucus members called him "autocratic", "self-serving", a "narcissist", a "micromanager with a dysfunctional office" and a whole lot worse. His colleague, Wayne Swan, said Rudd put "his own self-interest ahead of the interests ... of the country as a whole". Gillard accused him of "a long-running destabilisation campaign" against her. That wise owl of Australian political commentary, Richard Farmer, says Rudd was "one of the most untrustworthy and self-centred men ever to achieve high office in Australia". Many of these things are matters of judgment, some may be self-serving and others are difficult conclusively to prove however, they cannot be brushed aside. Taken together, they are more than sufficient to create serious doubts about Rudd's qualities and go a long way towards justifying Turnbull's view that Rudd has "neither the skills nor the temperament to be a candidate" for secretary-general. Indeed, Rudd's behaviour in his dealings with the government on his nomination confirm many of the adverse views people have of him. The letters he wrote to Turnbull after their discussions seek to bind the Prime Minister by putting words in his mouth. His ambition seemed to blind him to the internal controversy that support for his nomination would have caused for the government. Then, when he got the bad news, he spilt his guts in an orgy of self-justification and self-pity. It's hard to escape the conclusion that Rudd is a dyed-in-the-wool troublemaker. When combined with an ego prone to get out of control, doubts about trustworthiness and an inability to accept setbacks with grace, troublemaking is a fatal flaw in a person seeking to be the chief of an organisation dedicated to avoiding, or resolving, trouble. Race-based insults get special treatment by the law because such insults conjure up the history of racism that's too poisonous and damaging to go unchallenged. I'm sorry to state the obvious but, just in case we're forgetting, the history of racism brought us slavery, the Ku Klux Klan and the holocaust. Closer to home, it brought us massacres during "settlement" (it wasn't terra nullius), the stolen generations and ongoing injustices resulting from our failure to acknowledge or deal with this history. It's now bringing us continuing failures to close the gap, leaving us with racially skewed incarceration rates, deaths in custody and a life-expectancy gap that should identify us as a third-world country. And that's just the immediately recognisable tip of the iceberg, without even touching on other forms of racism, including our historical and current immigration practices. I'm sure Back doesn't regularly insult his Indigenous colleagues on the basis of their race. Were he to have done so, we'd have heard about it and he probably wouldn't have been elected. If he now tries it in the chamber, he'd be ruled out of order for unbecoming and unparliamentary language. Even parliamentarians have standards. As the Parliament assembled recently, West Australian Liberal senator Chris Back jovially compared the behaviour of parliamentarians who regularly "insult and offend" each other with the provisions of the Racial Discrimination Act's section 18C. Back is undoubtedly correct about the politicians and he's undoubtedly the appropriate expert to speak on this matter. But the analogy he seeks to draw is profoundly misconceived because politicians' point-scoring is not really comparable to insulting and offending on the basis of race. Against this historical backdrop, when someone insults and offends using race they're not just pressing on a sore point, they're digging into an unhealed, suppurating wound. Don't suggest to the victim of a racially based insult that it's all just part of the fun. In an 18C case in 2012 (Clarke v Nationwide News Pty Ltd trading as The Sunday Times), the Federal Court's Justice Michael Barker recognised the difference in the nature of insults: "Communications about a historically oppressed minority group are far more likely to cause relevant harm to that group, than communications which relate to a dominant majority." Racially based insults are also known to harm people's health and well-being. Deakin University academics Naomi Priest Dominique Allen point to international epidemiological evidence showing racism affects physical and mental-health outcomes. They say the "harmful health effects of racism are not constrained to the more extreme forms of racism such as physical violence. Verbal racial abuse and vilification are also harmful to health." Many other studies confirm these views. We should know all this already because those with a lived expertise the appropriate experts have told us so. Noel Pearson, Pat Dodson, Mick Gooda and Tim Soutphommasane, for a start, have all said the Racial Discrimination Act gives some support to the vulnerable and should be left unchanged. Unfortunately, it's difficult for people not subject to these abuses to understand these matters fully. Ironically, some (white) human rights lawyers may have provided indirect support to the call for amendments by suggesting the initial wording in 18C was not ideal. Speaking academically and in retrospect, it could be true that a better phrase might have been to "vilify" rather than to "insult and offend". "To vilify" has an established jurisprudence but, in fact, while doing their job over the 20 years that the provisions have been in place, the courts have developed that jurisprudence, construing the provisions and sensibly settling their meaning, thereby making legislative amendment unnecessary. They've established authoritatively that to "insult or offend" under 18C it must be "serious", and they've introduced a requirement that the question as to whether 18C has been breached is to be judged by reference to a relevant "reasonable person", which avoids the dangers of a subjective interpretation by an oversensitive victim. Two men have suffered burns after an explosion occurred at an electricity substation in Sydney's south west. NSW Fire and Rescue and were called out to the substation on Southdown Place in Airds at around 11.15 on Monday morning after reports of the explosion. A Fire and Rescue spokesperson said, on arrival, they found a large electricity distribution kiosk emitting smoke, after experiencing an electrical fault. At the scene ambulance workers treated two male patients. The first had suffered severe burns to his face, chest and hands, and was transported to the specialist burns unit at Royal North Shore Hospital, while the second had suffered minor burns and was taken to Liverpool Hospital. A psychiatrist who was jailed for indecently assaulting four women he was treating for eating disorders at Sydney's Northside Clinic can apply to return to practicing medicine in five years. Dr Ong Ming Tan, who was released on parole in March, was struck off the medical registration system for five years on Friday after a NSW tribunal found his bipolar disorder and narcissistic personality disorder made him unfit to practice for "the foreseeable future". However, for at least one of Tan's former patients - the young woman who was the first to report him to the HCCC almost five years ago - the verdict has been met with "mixed feelings". Describing the legal process as "almost cruel" in its drawn-out crawl to a conclusion, Jessica* said her "relief at having it all over and done with" was tempered with concern that Tan may one day apply to have his registration restored. Greyhound racing clubs are working on ways to survive the Baird Government's closure of the industry with an eye to a possible, if improbable, return to the track under a future state government. Senior greyhound racing officials have confirmed legal advice is being sought and ideas assessed to avoid some or all of the state's 34 clubs being dissolved when racing is outlawed from July 1 next year. Because of their tax-exempt status, clubs are prevented from selling off assets and distributing the proceeds and any cash reserves to their members. Instead, under federal tax laws, they must pass on any accumulated wealth to another group with tax-exempt or charitable status. Fairfax Media has learned that the Australian Tax Office and Chartered Accountants Australia and New Zealand have contacted the Baird Government, warning of the "unique ramifications" of pulling the shutters down on an entire industry. The Crime and Corruption Commission has decided to continue investigations into alleged corruption during the 2016 Gold Coast City Council elections. It is now asking for confidential submissions as it investigates the allegations further. The Crime and Corruption Commission has decided to continue investigations into alleged corruption of the Gold Coast council election. Credit:Wes Palmer - Skyepics Aerial Pho The state's corruption watchdog began hearings in July after allegations that several "independent" councillors were financially backed by the Liberal National Party. The allegations came from media reports, then a formal allegation, referred to the Electoral Commission, from the Queensland government's Department of Local Government. Police deny chasing a man who rolled a car after being followed by officers for half an hour at speeds up to 140km/h west of Brisbane on Monday night. The driver in his 30s was cut free from the wreckage after leaving the Warrego Highway and rolling into a tree east of Helidon. A man is removed from wreckage after crashing into a tree near Helidon. West of Ipswich. Credit:Seven News Brisbane Officers laid out tyre spikes in a failed bid to stop the man who had allegedly been seen driving dangerously near Ipswich. The man, who was the sole occupant of the vehicle, suffered serious leg and pelvis injuries. Want to study how to live on Mars? This course will take just 12 hours of your time. And it's free. That's right, gratis. Among your teachers will be astronomer Jasmina Lazendic-Galloway and chemist Tina Overton. Your classroom will be of the virtual variety, with the four three-hour-sessions run by Monash University taking place online. The course will cover the basics of how to survive on the inhospitable red planet, which offers visitors no air, water or food. NBN Co is exploring the development of new devices that will let it fuse Australia's existing copper infrastructure onto its HFC cable footprint and backhaul, the company has revealed. The devices would essentially allow NBN Co to use its cable infrastructure to provide existing copper lead-ins with enough bandwidth to achieve vectored VDSL2 speeds. Vectored VDSL2 is a newer generation copper-based broadband technology capable of speeds up to 100Mbps over distances of half-a-kilometre. At a Nokia event hosted at NBN's offices in Sydney last week, Fairfax Media asked NBN Co chief technology officer Dennis Steiger about the feasibility of such an approach to serving broadband to premises within the cable footprint. "I think it's a brilliant idea," Steiger said, before explaining that NBN Co's plans to implement it were already in development. The former Labor mayor of Darebin has been charged with attempting to "gain an advantage" by hiring the council's chief executive, Rasiah Dev, without proper authority. Cr Steven Tsitas has been charged in the Melbourne Magistrates Court over the signing of Mr Dev's contract, which is worth $395,000 a year. Former Darebin mayor Steven Tsitas. Credit:Darebin City Council The contract was given to Mr Dev last March despite serious concerns within council about how it was awarded. Soon after Mr Dev was contracted on the hefty salary package, a damning report by a state government-appointed inspector found the council was increasingly dysfunctional. Chief Municipal Inspector David Wolf said the local government inspectorate had now fully investigated the circumstances surrounding the contract. The Country Fire Authority commissioned a secret report that recommends thwarting the union presence in the organisation, abolishing its influence over decisions and hiring firefighters on non-union individual contacts. The leaked report, obtained by Fairfax Media, was commissioned by the CFA to "review its existing workplace relations arrangements" and to reset its relationship with the United Firefighters Union. The CFA dispute has dogged the Andrews government Credit:Jessica Shapiro The CFA had been locked in a bitter workplace dispute with the militant firefighters' union since 2013, with management resisting union claims, which firefighters said would enhance community and staff safety. The report, marked "strictly confidential" and legally privileged, was prepared in March this year by Seyfarth Shaw Australia, the law firm that was also used by the former Coalition state government to press recommendations to the royal commission into union corruption. Baku, Azerbaijan, Sept. 5 Trend: More than 30 percent of foreign citizens who illegally visited the occupied territories of Azerbaijan accounts for the media members. According to the DailyKarabakh.com website, the blacklist of the Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry includes 529 people from 50 countries. More than 160 of those are the media representatives. As before, the list is headed by Russia, which is a co-chair country of the OSCE Minsk Group. More than 130 people from Russia have been included to the blacklist of the Foreign Ministry. Russia is followed by the US, Germany, Italy, France and other countries. Thirty more people have been added to the list in the past 11 months. 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. WA Water Police are calling for public help to solve a maritime mystery. A red portable fuel tank, a grey rectangular seat cushion and a black plastic box containing pieces of foam have been found floating in the water between one and two kilometres off shore at Marmion in Perth's northern suburbs. Anyone with information is asked to call Police on 131 444. Credit:WA Police Boats from the Water Police, Whitfords Volunteer Marine Rescue, Fremantle Sea Rescue and Department of Transport searched the coastline on Monday with the Police Air Wing up above, scouring the area searching for any clues. Is there a vessel in distress? Has an accident occurred? Berlin: Chancellor Angela Merkel's Christian Democratic Union suffered an embarrassing drubbing in her own constituency on Sunday, with voters in local parliamentary elections kicking the party into third place while giving a boost to her new nemesis: the anti-migrant Alternative for Germany party. The official results, released early Monday, underscored the tough road ahead for Ms Merkel as she weighs whether to make a fourth bid to lead Germany in national elections next year. Although her home constituency of Mecklenburg-West Pomerania is one of the least populous German states, the outcome highlighted the extent to which her decision last year to open Germany's doors to a historic influx of asylum seekers has boosted the populist Alternative for Germany (AfD). German Chancellor Angela Merkel, pictured at the G20, has stood by her refugee policy. Credit:Getty Images In fact, Sunday's vote came a year to the day after Ms Merkel announced Germany would keep allowing in migrants who were bottlenecking in Hungary, which sealed its borders last year as the number of asylum seekers soared. Senior members of her own centre-right party and its sister party, the Christian Social Union of Bavaria, directly blamed Ms Merkel's refugee policy for the loss, calling Sunday's results "a bitter defeat" and "a wake-up call." "It takes time for lost trust to be regained," the CDU's secretary general, Peter Tauber, said Sunday. Bali: British DJ David Taylor has changed his statement to "I don't remember" in key areas relating to the involvement of Australian Sara Connor in events surrounding the death of a police officer on Kuta beach. The couple have both been formally named suspects over the death of police officer and father-of-two Wayan Sudarsa. Police said they would file the case documents with the prosecutor's office on Monday. "We are confident with the evidence collected to name the two suspects in the (possible) crimes of (unpremeditated) murder or group attack or assault that leads to death," said Denpasar crime investigation chief Reinhard Habonaran Nainggolan. POINTE BLANCHE:--- MSC Cruises is the worlds largest privately-owned cruise line based in Switzerland. It is the market leader in Europe, South America and South Africa. MSC Cruises has embarked upon a new global brand positioning which supports the Companys upcoming global growth plan comprising of an investment plan of billions of Euros that will double capacity for the companys fleet and bring next-generation ships into service between 2017 and 2026. MSC Cruises has already signed earlier this year a letter of intent with STX France Shipyard for the construction of up to four over 200,000 gross tonnage LNG-technology powered ships with more than 2,700 cabins and approximately 5,400 lower berths occupancy capacity. This new next-generation prototype will form what will be known as the World Class of MSC Cruises ships. MSC Cruises in the first global cruise line brand to develop an investment plan of this length and magnitude, spanning a horizon of over 10-years, from 2014 through 2026, and for a total of up to 11 next-generation ships. The new orders would reflect an additional nearly four billion Euro investment, which will bring the total value of the Companys 10-plus years investment plan to nearly nine billion Euros. The vessels will come into service between 2017 and 2026. On September 2nd MSC Cruises, revealed the name of its second STX France built Meraviglia-generation ultramodern mega cruise ship, the MSC Bellissima, which will come into service in the Spring of 2019. On the same day, MSC Cruises celebrated the float out of the lines first next-generation ultramodern mega-ship, the MSC Meraviglia, due to come into service in June 2017. Port St. Maartens Mark Mingo, Chief Executive Officer (CEO), recognizes this new trend and development and is preparing for MSCs next-generation ships as it did for the Genesis-class vessels of Royal Caribbean Lines back in 2009. As a cruise destination, we must never become complacent. We at Port St. Maarten follow industry trends very carefully and plan accordingly to be on the winning side when cruise lines unveil their strategic plans for next-generation vessels. Port St. Maarten will be discussing a strategic agreement with MSC Cruises and preparing for the 2020 launch of their next-generation ships. Destination Sint Maarten must be ready for MSCs new class vessel. This cruise line is a major player being the third largest in the world and also number one cargo container line in the world. During our discussions with MSC cruise executives, we discussed current state of affairs; enhancing shore excursions where they offer multi-lingual guides; and Port St. Maarten being prepared for MSCs larger vessels. MSC Cruises is a highly ambitious company that will double in size over the next six years. We at Port St. Maarten are making sure to be ready for this development as it unravels, Mark Mingo, CEO said on Sunday. Port St. Maarten expects to cater to 1.7 million cruise passengers in 2016 and 1.85 million in 2017. The forecast numbers for 2018 even look better. Most of the lost calls from Norwegian Cruise Lines and Disney are being picked up by other cruise lines such as MSC Cruises which is vital to the further growth of Sint Maartens cruise sector. Between 2016-2026, Disney Cruise Lines will only be constructing two new vessels and Norwegian Cruise Lines and its two other brand lines will build five new vessels. GREAT BAY:---The majority of St. Maarten Parliamentarians present at the reconvened meeting of the Central Committee of Parliament held Friday, September 2, 2016 with a delegation of the Independence for St. Martin Foundation (ISMF), expressed support for the foundations call for a referendum to be held so that the people of the territory could have their say on the issue of independence. President of the ISMF, Jose Lake, Jr., made the case for a referendum to be called on the issue of independence and implored the Members of Parliament to act swiftly to make this happen within the next year. Dr. Rhoda Arrindell, secretary of the foundation, addressed the issue of placing St. Maarten back on the United Nations (UN) list of non-self-governing territories. She said when the territory was removed from the list by the Netherlands in 1954, the people of the island were not consulted. Dr. Arrindell further elaborated on why such reinstatement would not be a step backwards as some had argued, pointing out that the autonomy of St. Maarten is a myth as the territory is still a colony that does not have control over the appointment of the Governor, nor over constitutional matters, which still require the approval of the Dutch Kingdom government. Dr. Arrindell added that in both judicial and financial matters, the last word remained with the Kingdom government. What autonomy are we talking about? she asked rhetorically. She then proceeded to answer the questions posed by the MPs during the May 18th meeting. Placing the territory back on the United Nations (UN) list would secure international support for the islands quest, Dr. Arrindell said. She added that St. Eustatius and Bonaire are also seeking the same thing, having taken their case to the Association of Caribbean States (ACS) heads of state meeting and to the UN. Independence, continued Dr. Arrindell, is a right of all colonized people, and not a privilege. If a right is not a priority for politicians, what else would be? she asked. Fridays meeting was adjourned briefly to allow the ISMF to answer additional questions from the MPs. President of Parliament, Sarah Wescott-Williams brought the meeting to a close after she indicated that the next step would be for the foundation to present a formal petition to Parliament and/or for the individual MPs to make use of their right to present a motion to a plenary session of the legislative body. We are very satisfied with the outcome of the meeting, said Lake, Jr. The ISMF president noted that during the first meeting, 10 of the MPs present expressed support for independence. Thats a two-thirds majority, he stated. He reiterated that the quest for independence is not a partisan issue and urged the politicians to take the lead in working with the people. A referendum does not mean that the territory would obtain independence the next day, but it would signal the beginning of the march towards sovereignty, Lake, Jr. said. The meeting was a continuation of the first one held on May 18, 2016 which was adjourned after the MPs listened to the presentation of the foundation, made some remarks and posed a series of questions, which the ISMF had the opportunity to answer on Friday. The meeting of September 2 began with members of parliament Frankie Meyers (UP), George Pantophlet (NA), and president of parliament Sarah Wescott-Williams (DP) expressing condolences to Mr. Elton Jones, the Jones and LaBega families on the tragic death of Omar Jones. Elton Jones is a member of the ISMF, but could not attend Fridays meeting. PHILIPSBURG:--- Environmental Protection in the Caribbean (EPIC) and the St. Maarten Hospitality and Trade Association (SHTA) have partnered to enable Sandy Zammar, a Bachelors of Science graduate from Canada, to help build the Blue Flag and Green Key program as the Eco-Label Coordinator. Sandy obtained her degree from Western University and has worked with the provincial government in Canada at the Ontario Ministry of Environment on environmental protection projects. She has previously lived in St. Maarten and is pleased to return to the island to help build the sustainable tourism industry. EPIC is the National Operator of the Blue Flag for beaches and marinas and Green Key for restaurants and hotels programs. Sites which meet specific criteria are awarded the globally recognized flag or plaque to demonstrate they are environmentally-friendly and can use this as a marketing advantage. St. Maartens currently has three awarded sites which are part of the Blue Flag and Green Key network of over 6,500 sites in 53 countries which are recognized for their excellence. Studies find that Caribbean tourists use three times more water than residents and produce four times as much waste. For these reasons, it is important to find the balance between environmental protection and tourism. Blue Flag and Green Key provide criteria which ensure this balance, including environmental plans for waste and energy consumption, water management, the use of environmentally-friendly products, and health and safety issues. Another important component of the programs is educating tourists and residents about environmental issues and sensitive areas in Sint Maarten. Sites which meet the rigorous criteria will find cost-savings in energy, water, and other resources while demonstrating that they strive for the highest standards in management and operations. An increase in Blue Flag and Green Key sites here in Sint Maarten will build the sustainable tourism industry, providing tourists with green alternatives and diversifying the economy. Any sites interested in pursuing the Blue Flag or Green Key award are encouraged to contact Sandy Zammar at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or at 545-3009. More information is available at http://www.greenkey.global/ and http://www.blueflag.global/ PHILIPSBURG:--- Businessman Robert Budike who postulated himself on the National Alliance slate for the September 26th parliamentary elections gave SMN News an inside view as to his reasons for contesting the election and why he chose the National Alliance. Budike said he is a certified accountant that has a business on Pondfill and over the years, he has clients that are MPs and even business people that share their concerns with him as a businessman. Besides that Budike has been following the development of the country and as well as it failures of the years, the instability within government over the past 5 years he said impacted the economy negatively and it's time for people that has knowledge and can contribute to their country be part of the solution and not just sit on the sidelines and criticize. Having said that in response to the questions posed to him by SMN News one being why the National Alliance, Budike said its the only party that has accomplish things for the people, they ensure that the young generation gets work, they are consistent and most of all he believes that if a particular political party is working in the interest of the people then they should be given a full mandate. Another question posed to Budike is the plans government has to allow the Chinese to invest in St. Maarten, especially knowing that so many people have been complaining about Social media, Budike said that people often times complain but they do not come with solutions. He said that those people need to take a look at St. Lucia who will be investing with the Chinese USD2.6M for the year 2017. As for details on the project such as the other investments the Chinese have committed to making on St. Maarten Budike said he did not have the details but the people that could really roll all of this out is the Prime Minister and Minister of Justice. Getting to know Robert Budike is not only special but in fact interesting to know that a businessman that deals with numbers find the time to listen to the parliamentary meetings, discussing the future of the country while listening to the cry of the people on a daily basis. Minton could've easily gone to another hospital, but insisted on a hysterectomy at Catholic Mercy San Juan. Why? Isn't it obvious To the left, Evan Minton is the latest face in the ongoing struggle for civil rights, against those who would deny a person gender transition rights anywhere, anytime. When Catholic Mt. St. Charles Academy said early this year, that it would not accept nor enroll Transgender Students, the left declared war. The Rhode Island School placed itself in the center of a national debate over an LGBT nondiscrimination ordinance that would protect transgender people's access to public accommodations. On March 9, 2016, having received a petition with 1700 signatures from Change.org, and more importantly, having pissed off at least one major alum who donated money, MSC Academy folded. They apologized for hurting anyone's feelings, and admitted Transgender students despite their previous statements that they did not have the physical facilities to accommodate them. The Daily Beast's article on the subject was even titled "hateful rhetoric." http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2016/03/04/catholic-prep-school-no-transgender-students.html Needless to say, the Daily Beast never addressed the obvious question of why a transgender person would want to attend a religious conservative catholic school. Today's headline is "Transgender Man Denied Hysterectomy at Mercy San Juan Hospital." The hospital, which is Catholic, refuses to allow a surgeon with operating privileges at Mercy, to carry out a scheduled hysterectomy on this determined, though confused, person. From the Sacramento Bee: Tuesday was supposed to be a big day for Evan Michael Minton. The Fair Oaks resident packed his bags for the hospital, said a prayer and counted down the hours until he would undergo the hysterectomy that would take him one step further in his transition from female to male. Instead he spent the day on the phone with doctors and lawyers after Mercy San Juan hospital in Carmichael abruptly canceled the procedure on religious grounds. The surgery, part of Minton's transition to a fully male body, had been scheduled for three weeks but was called off Monday as hospital officials were preparing his admissions paperwork. Both Minton and his surgeon, Dr. Lindsey Dawson, said they were caught unawares by the hospital's decision. http://www.sacbee.com/news/local/health-and-medicine/article98943597.html#storylink=cpy In a statement, Dignity Health, which until 2012 was affiliated with the Roman Catholic Church, declined to discuss Minton's case, citing patient privacy laws. "In general, it is our practice not to provide sterilization services at Dignity Health's Catholic facilities," said spokeswoman Melissa Jue, in an emailed statement. Sterilization procedures, such as hysterectomies or tubal ligations, she said, are permitted by Catholic hospitals only to cure or alleviate a "serious pathology and (if) a simpler treatment is not available." In Minton's case, there is a clear, medical need for a hysterectomy, according to his surgeon."Gender dysphoria is very clearly a pathology," said Dawson. "It's a recognized state of health," noting that national obstetrics groups recommend that transitioning transgender patients be put on hormones and provided with appropriate surgeries. She said Minton is her first patient seeking a hysterectomy as a part of gender transition care. So in other words, she wants to open up Mercy San Juan to future transgender surgeries. In her religion, the right to transition between genders, anywhere any time, should be a right, not a privelege. http://www.sacbee.com/news/local/health-and-medicine/article98943597.html#storylink=cpy Dignity Health Mercy San Juan Hospital was set up for national bad publicity by Even Minton and Dr. Dawson, as the culture wars continue Personally, I doubt that they were "caught unawares" by the hospitals decision. Minton and Dr. Dawson knew full well that once the Catholic hospital figured out what was going down in their surgical theater, they would call a halt to it. Dr. Dawson in particular knew Mercy's ban on voluntary sterilizations. To make sure they knew, Minton checked into the hospital insisting he be referred to as "he. Pronouns are very important to me. I told them to call me he or him, not she or her, which they started to call me after referring to my chart." Yessir, Mr. Minton. When they saw you wanted a hysterectomy, the cat was out of the bag, and they knew you were born a girl. Well, congrats on your 15 minutes of fame. And for standing up to say that anyone should be able to get a hysterectomy any time on demand, in any place. Because, you know, that's an important right. Despite the religious convictions of the folks who funded the hospital. Despite the fact that you could just go down the street to any other hospital in Sacramento. No Law Enforcement Present; Private Guards Attack Protestors Tear gas and dogs were used by private guards to attack Native Americans trying to protect burial grounds from Labor Day weekend destruction by Dakota Access Pipeline bulldozers. Six people were bitten, and about 30 sprayed. One guard and two dogs were taken in for medical treatment. The crowd dispersed quietly once law enforcement arrived. Energy Transfer Partners is under fire from all sides as it tries to force its way across the prairie to construct the quasi-legal pipeline. Demonstrators have been camped out since April in protest of the damaging and possibly illegal construction. The line is planned to go under the Missouri River, threatening the only water source for the Standing Rock Sioux Tribal land. An original pipeline route proposal was rejected for posing exactly the same kind of water source threat to the city of Bismarck, ND. On Saturday, Dakota Access came in and bulldozed both a sacred site and a grave site before the ND Preservation Office could get there to evaluate, after learning that the paper work and survey had been properly submitted to the court on Friday. "This demolition is devastating" said Tribal Chairman David Archambault in a press release. "These grounds are the resting places of our ancestors. The ancient cairns and stone prayer rings there cannot be replaced. In one day, our sacred land has been turned into hollow ground." Farmers in Iowa are also protesting the pipeline, which maneuvered to gain eminent domain rights and force the sale of private farmland, some of which has been in families for generations. 20 Iowa protesters were arrested and jailed at a march in Boone County last week. The Army Corps of Engineers approved the pipeline without holding public hearings, as required by the Federal Historic Preservation Act. The route also comes close to protected eagle nesting grounds. Without proper environmental clearance and ignoring treaties that require consultation with affected Native American tribes, Energy Transfer Partners has managed to sidestep many of the legal safeguards that are meant to protect U.S. citizens from the harm of corporate land projects. Representatives from Native American groups across the nation have now gathered in support. It is the first time since the 1876 Battle of the Little Bighorn that all seven council fires of the Great Sioux Nation have camped together. The encampment, Sacred Stone Camp, now has several thousand people in residence, and they have taken careful steps to provide food, sanitation, and even a school for the growing group. This protest is completely legal, and organizations as diverse as the National Lawyers Guild, Amnesty International, and Black Lives Matter have spoken out in support. Regional Law Enforcement has mostly been respectful of the protesters, greeting them politely and providing peaceful road access for marches. Officers have even removed their hats during religious services. The Standing Rock Sioux have followed all appropriate legal steps to object to the violations that led to inappropriate construction approval, but Energy Transfer Partners is determined to undermine lawful efforts by pushing through with whole scale destruction before the courts can make any rulings. "We're days away from getting a resolution on the legal issues, and they came in on a holiday weekend and destroyed the site," said Jan Hasselman, attorney for the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe. "What they have done is absolutely outrageous." Latest Up[date: http://www.smobserved.com/story/2016/09/09/news/dakota-access-us-government-moves-to-temporarily-block-construction/1918.html For more information go to http://sacredstonecamp.org/ Details added (first version posted at 13:12) Baku, Azerbaijan, Sept. 5 Trend: President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev has received Herbert Winter, president of the Swiss Federation of Jewish Communities. Addressing the event, Ilham Aliyev pointed at the broad program of the Swiss delegations visit to Azerbaijan, adding that it includes numerous meetings and events. The president expressed confidence that the trip will be a good opportunity for them to learn more about the country. Azerbaijani president described the coexistence of various religious and ethnic groups in the country in an atmosphere of peace and friendship for centuries as one of Azerbaijans greatest treasures. He said the Jewish community in the country is an active part of Azerbaijani society. Stressing that Azerbaijan promotes the values of multiculturalism, peace and religious tolerance, President Aliyev said the country proclaimed 2016 as a year of multiculturalism. He stressed the importance of bringing multiculturalism into the spotlight at a time when it was suppressed in a number of regions around the globe. President Aliyev said most of the countries are multinational, highlighting the significance of ensuring tranquility in every country. The head of state said Azerbaijan is one of the countries that could be cited as a good example from this point of view. President Ilham Aliyev noted that the Jewish community has great history in Azerbaijan and preserved its identity and traditions, stressing the communitys contributions to the countrys development. President of the Swiss Federation of Jewish Communities Herbert Winter said their meeting with Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev would be the most memorable part of their visit. He noted that the main aim of the visit is to get closely familiarized with the peaceful coexistence of various intercultural, ethnic and religious groups in Azerbaijan. Herbert Winter noted that Azerbaijan is one of the few countries that pay enormous attention to multiculturalism. He underlined the importance of the meetings that they would hold with members of various religious communities in Azerbaijan. Herbert Winter said they came from Switzerland, where the International Committee of the Red Cross was founded, adding that the principles of peace and safety were of great interest. President of the Swiss Federation of Jewish Communities Herbert Winter described Azerbaijan as a truly beautiful country, which achieved great economic progress and, in general, made accomplishments in all areas. He also hailed the development of bilateral relations between Switzerland and Azerbaijan. Sen. Elizabeth Warren sends out a fundraising e mail crowing about the story. The New York Times analysis of national and regional polls believes the Democrats are now "slight favorites" to take the US Senate back from the Republicans on November 8th. http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2016/upshot/senate-election-forecast.html?_r=0 This is the first time in 2016, that the Democrats have been favored to take control of the Senate. One third of Senators are up for election each 2 year election cycle, and this year the Republicans have 22 seats potentially up for grabs. This makes them vulnerable to the Democrats. The current Congress includes 54 Democrats, 44 Republicans, and 2 independents. Sen. Bernie Sanders is an independent who caucuses with the Democrats. Angus King of Maine is an independent who caucuses with the Democrats. The Republicans won the Senate majority in the 2014 midterm elections when they gained nine seats and lost none. There are 24Republican seats and 10 Democratic seats up for re-election. Senator Elizabeth Warren has sent out a fundraising e mail asking Movon.org Supporters to chip in $2.70 a month. She cites an article entitled "2016 Senate Election Forecast," The New York Times, accessed September 4, 2016 http://act.moveon.org/go/5411?t=57&akid=169102.19659920.Tm_3BC Walter Hammel signed on for sales of passenger information systems Walter Hammel, eyevis? latest addition to its sales team, will develop the market segment of passenger information systems for eyevis. As of now, Hammel with his impressive 30+ years of experience ? will supervise the area of information displays at for example train stations and airports. eyevis thus further strengthens its business area and puts great emphasis on information displays in public spaces. ?eyevis has all the prerequisites to easily master the challenges of displays in this business area,? Walter Hammel explains his transfer to eyevis. ?eyevis displays are strong in the exact areas which are essential for passenger information systems: stable 24/7 operation, excellent image quality, durability and mechanical sturdiness for the operation in public spaces.? Comprehensive portfolio eyevis offers a complete portfolio for high-resolution large-scale video systems, which comprises LCD technology, but also rear projection and LED display boards. Suitable controlling solutions and signal processing are further strong suits of the German manufacturer. These components can be combined to create tailor-made display solutions for check-in counters, display boards in departures and arrivals halls, the display of train schedules at train stations and many more. Thanks to its many years of experience in the projection area, eyevis can cater to every customer?s needs. System integration starts with its integration in already existing structures, also comprises the integration into substructures and suspensions and does not end there for proper custom-built solutions. LED as a forerunner Hammel expects a technological shift in his area of business: ?LED technology comes with so many advantages compared to the thus far implemented LCD solutions, that the market will largely transition towards LEDs in the medium run!? Thanks to their nominal pixel pitch, the resolution of eyevis LED modules is almost as fine as we know it from LCD displays. However, LEDs are considerably more durable; with 100,000 operating hours their operating life is twice as long as that of LCD technology. Further advantages are its extremely high luminosity of up to 6000 cd/m, due to which the displays lend themselves for outdoor usage, all the while being extraordinarily energy-efficient. Burn-in effects are also a thing of the past with LED modules, which is why this technology is the perfect basis for the reliable 24/7 operation of displays. ?With Walter Hammel, we were able to engage the best man for the expansion of the market of passenger information systems,? comments Michael Schuster, Management Consultant at eyevis. ?For us this step is an important part of further expansion.? eyevis has been growing continuously over the past few years and is positioned as the clear technological leader in four completely different market segments.? Get to know Walter Hammel and the eyevis portfolio for passenger information systems at Innotrans in Berlin at our stand 210 in hall 7.1 A. eyevis, the German manufacturer of large scale video systems, is one of the leading providers and integrators of visualization systems for professional applications in control rooms, virtual reality and simulation as well as broadcast and AV. eyevis has a worldwide network of subsidiaries and certified retailers. As one of only a few providers, eyevis is capable of offering entire systems from one source. The complete solutions of eyevis include display solutions, graphic controllers, software applications as well as all necessary accessories. maincubes one lays foundation stone for next-generation data center Frankfurt-based data center operator maincubes laid the foundation stone for the new high-performance data center in Offenbach near Frankfurt on August 30, 2016, accompanied by representatives from local politics, investors, partners and future customers. At the foundation stone-laying ceremony, the speeches were made by Horst Schneider, Mayor of Offenbach, Gunther Wei, EVO Board of Management, Stephan Lang, Managing Director of ICT Facilities and Oliver Menzel, CEO of maincubes. Following the official ceremony, a presentation on the capability of the new high-performance data center was given by Albrecht Kraas, CTO of maincubes. The new architectural concept for the data center, which has already won awards, made quite an impact on the approximately 100 guests invited to the event. At the same time, they were impressed by the performance data, which raises data center operation to a new level. Likewise, by the fully new quality of the premium services. Data center operators now have to offer CTOs and CIOs more than just good facilities and technical equipment. ?For us, the foundation stone-laying ceremony was another milestone in the creation of a totally new class of data centers. maincubes one is already half-built and will start operation next year after the interior has been completed. Our actions are endorsed by the many guests at the celebration of the laying of the foundation stone. We are on the right track, since in the future companies and those in charge of them need more than just one building and a well-functioning data center infrastructure. In order to run their IT optimally, they need a higher level of security combined with premium services?, says Oliver Menzel, CEO of maincubes, clearly pleased with the extremely well-attended event for the laying of the foundation stone. maincubes one: top-class data center The maincubes data center is going up on a site of almost 5,600 square meters in Offenbach. This is around 4 kilometers from the metropolis of Frankfurt am Main and therefore in close proximity (approx. 800 meters) to one of the largest Internet exchange points (DE-CIX) in Germany. maincubes one data center is a Tier 3 data center that will be completed in 2017. maincubes one is significantly improving the relationship between performance and economic efficiency through an innovative combination of technology and architecture, which dispenses with bothersome pillars or walls, for example. The new maincubes one data center reaches a significantly higher level of efficiency than traditional data centers. Customers are guaranteed power usage effectiveness (PUE) of less than 1.35 for power of up to 2 kilowatts per square meter. maincubes one GmbH is a German data center company headquartered in Frankfurt, Germany. maincubes represents a new generation of data center operation characterised by substantially greater performance and cost-effectiveness than has been commonly available. maincubes reduces space and operating costs at the same time as providing a higher level of operational reliability, legal certainty and technical security. maincubes also guarantees maximum energy efficiency through a pioneering room design in combination with innovative technology. In addition to cost-effectiveness, security and efficiency, maincubes also ensures sustainable and ecologically compatible operation through a new, cutting-edge design. www.maincubes.com AV-TEST honours Secuclouds innovative security concept with its Innovation Award Enterprise-class IT security for use at home Hamburg, Germany. 5 September 2016 Consumer trends like smart homes, e-health and the internet of things are steadily moving into European households. However, threat complexity is growing along with the number of networked devices. These need simple yet efficient protection, despite the fact that they use a wide variety of different software and standards. The Hamburg-based security specialist Secucloud has developed a solution that responds to this requirement. With its Elastic Cloud Security System (ECS2), the company provides a cloud-based security infrastructure for mobile devices and private households that users can add to the subscription they have with their internet service provider (ISP) as an extra service. The independent security institute AV-TEST has now honoured this new security concept with its Innovation Award 2016. The Innovation Award distinguishes products and concepts that demonstrate a forward-thinking strategy in IT security. So far in 2016, AV-TEST only awarded it for one other product to the joint winners G Data and Microsoft. Secucloud is now the second winner this year. Secucloud CEO Dennis Monner accepted the prize at an award ceremony that took place on 1st September in Magdeburg, Germany. Nowadays it just doesnt make sense for people to get separate protection for each smartphone, e-book reader and fitness wristband, notes Monner. Mobile operators and internet service providers can make it much easier for them by providing comprehensive protection for all the connected devices in their customers homes with no installation or update hassles. Its based on high-performance, enterprise-class security that wouldnt normally be accessible to an average consumer. This is the approach were taking with our solution. Industry-standard security from the cloud To counter the growing complexity of internet-based threats, enterprise IT specialists have already been using combined solutions for some time concepts like unified threat management and next-generation firewall systems. These protect the corporate network with a wide variety of security functionality, including intrusion detection and prevention systems (IDS/IPS), multi-AV engines, anti-phishing, application control, deep packet inspection (DPI), URL filtering and APT protection. However, managing maintenance and updates for these systems is both time-consuming and costly, which has made their use in private households unrealistic up to now. As the first provider of its kind in Germany, Secucloud is now making this kind of advanced security system built on industry standards available to end users and consumers. The modular Elastic Cloud Security System (ECS2) is installed directly into the infrastructure of ISPs like Telekom, Vodafone and 1&1. As ECS2 was designed and developed from the outset as a cloud infrastructure for telecom operators, these companies can offer a scalable solution that provides real-time protection and security for every customer and on every device with no need for any installation. Each ECS2 system includes several analysers. The security instances process all internet traffic to and from the customers devices and apply all the preconfigured security and filter policies to it. Using highly sophisticated security technology, the intelligent algorithm based steering (IABS) engine creates real-time analyses of the overall threat situation and blocks attacks with the appropriate counter-measures. The innovative SAND SSL scan technology even makes this possible for the increasing amount of encrypted web traffic. On Sept. 25, the Center for Great Neighborhoods LiveWell NKY and the Northern Kentucky Incubator Kitchen will host A Community ReSoup . The free event will provide community building and discussion, as well as soup made from seconds.This event is really three-fold: It brings the community together over a meal, gets insight from community voices, and provides grants to community members to keep the momentum going, says Rachel DesRochers, founder of the NKYIK and Grateful Grahams.Two NKYIK tenants Debbie Carpenter-Coulter of Passion in My Pans and Gary Leybman of The Pickled Pig will prepare soup for 600 people from gleaned foods. Theyre working with local farmers, growers and Suzy DeYoung from LaSoupe to get enough produce for the soup.Im so excited to get my tenants involved in more of these community meals and ideas, DesRochers says.One hundred tables will be set up and covered in paper tablecloths. Attendees will be invited to write and draw on the tables, providing their ideas for Covington.A Community ReSoup will culminate in a pitch night eight finalists will present their ideas in 3-5 minutes for a chance to win two $500 grants. The competition is open to anyone with an idea that builds community, makes a difference or helps someone in Covington.Applications are being accepted until Sept. 11; you can apply here . The board will choose the finalists, and everyone who attends A Community ReSoup will vote for the two winners.I believe Northern Kentucky is alive and welcoming to creatives, and in a huge way, DesRochers says. LiveWell is giving my tenants a new chance and idea to get involved. I really see them as a group thats trying to bring multiple groups and ideas together, rather than a new group trying to start new ideas.A Community ReSoup will be held from 5 to 8 p.m. on Sept. 25 in Orchard Park. Visit the events Facebook page for more information. Baku, Azerbaijan, Sept.5 Trend: Creation of equal conditions in Azerbaijan for representatives of all religions is commendable, Herbert Winter, president of the Swiss Federation of Jewish Communities said in Baku Sept.5. He made the remarks during the meeting with Azerbaijans Foreign Minister Elmar Mammadyarov. He expressed satisfaction with his first visit to Azerbaijan and emphasized that the country has the traditions of multiculturalism and tolerance. Winter praised the care and attention to the representatives of Jewish communities in Azerbaijan and noted that this can be an example for the whole world. Mammadyarov, for his part, said that the representatives of Jewish communities have been living in Azerbaijan throughout centuries. The minister pointed out that 2016 has been declared the year of multiculturalism in Azerbaijan. Azerbaijan has friendly relations both with Switzerland and Israel, said Mammadyarov. The foreign minister expressed confidence that the Jewish community of Switzerland can also make contribution to the further development of these relations. Something went wrong, please try again later. Invalid email Something went wrong, please try again later. A convicted killer who lived in a Somerset town is making an ongoing bid to clear his name. Glyn Razzell, 57, who lived in Crewkerne , has always denied killing his estranged wife Linda but was convicted of her murder in 2003. Linda's body was never found and Mr Razzell was convicted based on bloodstains found in the boot of his car that matched her DNA. Numerous appeal attempts were made over the years to clear his name but he is preparing an application based on new expert opinion about the blood. A message posted on the Justice for Glyn Razzell website last year said: "This year (2015) starts with a glimmer of hope. My legal team are preparing a fresh application to the Criminal Cases Review Commission based on a new expert opinion about the blood. "They have been able to show that some of the evidence presented by the prosecution was 'fundamentally flawed' due to mistakes in the interpretation of forensic tests." Mr Razzell lived in Crewkerne for a short time before he was convicted of her murder. In November 2003 he was found guilty of the murder of Linda Razzell and was sentenced to life in prison. He remains in prison and continues his fight to clear his name and updates are made through his website. (Image: PA) What happened to Linda Razzell? According to the Justice For Glyn Razzell website, glynrazzell.org.uk, Linda Razzell, 41, a learning support assistant, went missing on March 19, 2002. Glyn Razzell was convicted of her murder in November 2003 despite a body never being found. Their relationship had ended acrimoniously and Mr Razzell has protested his innocence ever since. The two had met on a train in 1979 and eventually married in 1984. The relationship, however, was not a happy one as Linda suffered from mental health problems and never embarked on a career. Their marriage broke down principally because of Linda beginning a relationship with one of the builders who were building an extension to their house in 1998, according to the website. Glyn and Linda separated in 2000 and their protracted divorce was due to end in July of 2002. Mr Razzell moved out of the home in August 2000. Linda started a new relationship with Greg Worrall, the husband of one of her best friends, and Glyn found a new partner in Rachel Smith. A custody battle ensued, which also resulted in Linda making allegations that Glyn assaulted her twice; both times he was charged and acquitted. In 2001, Glyn was made redundant by Zurich Financial Services. His maintenance payments to Linda stopped and on March 15, 2002, four days before her disappearance, she got a court order freezing his bank accounts. On March 18, Glyn's solicitor advised him to get back into court as soon as possible. Accordingly, he pulled out of a trip to France with friends, who were going to stock up on cheese and wine. As Glyn's Ford Galaxy was the largest car he agreed to swap it with his friend's Renault Laguna. The following day (March 19) Greg Worrall got a telephone call from Linda's eldest child saying the two youngest had not been collected from school. She had also not turned up to work and Mr Worrall reported Linda missing to the police. Her car was found on a street near to her workplace in Swindon. That evening Glyn met up with his friends who returned from France so they could share out what they bought and to swap back the two vehicles. This would be a key fact in the court case as the only car he had between Monday and Tuesday evening was the Renault Laguna. On March 21, police officers took his car in for a thorough examination and over the course of four days, nothing was found and no recent signs of cleaning could be seen. A week later it was taken in for inspection again and this time incriminating blood spots were found on the underside of the parcel shelf, sides of the boot and top of the rear seats. Police said they were able to find the blood on the second inspection due to "different techniques". However, no hair or fibres were found in the car or bloodsplats on Glyn's clothing or in his house. Despite extensive searches of more than 200 places known to Glyn in the Swindon area, her body was not found. Glyn claimed he went for a walk outside Westlea police station on the morning of her disappearance but the cameras were not working. Something argued by his lawyer in court that he would not have known. Glyn's partner called him at 8.24am, leaving him a short window of opportunity to reach the place where Linda parked her car for work on Alvescot Road in Swindon at around 8.50am. It would have taken him at least 15 minutes to drive there and his borrowed car was not picked up on any of the 25 traffic cameras that were analysed. Her mobile phone was discovered under a piece of wood near to where her car was parked. However, no other items were found that could have been dropped in a struggle and the phone showed no signs of damage but instead looked like it was placed rather than dropped. A witness also claimed to have seen Linda on the morning after she had parked her car. A number of unanswered questions remain and the defence argued in court that she arranged her own disappearance. She had a question mark on her calendar on March 19 and on the previous day she visited three banks in Swindon to withdraw money. She also had on her shopping list to 'collect travel tickets'. The following day, a friend claims to have seen Linda driving a different car and looking cross that she had seen her. Despite the prosecution asserting that she was mistaken, the witness believed she saw Linda that day. Five other sightings were since made either at Weston-super-Mare or Pendine Sands in south Wales. He was charged with her murder in May 2002 and not convicted until November 2003. To this day her body has not been found and Glyn was convicted of her murder on the DNA evidence found in his Ford Galaxy car. Noie: Of course Notre Dame was going to go away from home and do this Notre Dame has played its best football far from South Bend this season. The Irish did it again Saturday in Central New York. The service network of Azer Turk Bank has been expanded by new Masalli branch. The branch is located at ASAN HAYAT complex in Masalli city, which has recently been opened with participation of the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan, Ilham Aliyev. Banks specialists who have rich banking experience and knowledge are ready to provide qualified services to individuals and legal entities at the highest level. Among the provided services are: issuance of various types of loans, acceptance of deposits, sale of plastic cards, implementation of money transfers, currency exchange, payment of utilities and others. The branch is at the customers disposal on weekdays from 09:30 to 17:00. Employees of the Masalli branch will also provide banking services in administrative office of "ASAN xidmet" center, located at ASAN HAYAT complex. The work schedule of the Banks employees operating in the administrative office of "ASAN xidmet" center will coincide with the work schedule of the center. The purpose of Azer Turk Bank, which has a large potential for clients in the region, for opening the new branch in Masalli was to bring advantageous services and products, as well as to provide economic assistance to the development of the region. According to the modern development concept of Azer Turk Bank, the expansion of the regional service network is one of the priorities of the Bank. The Bank's management hopes to promote the development of Azerbaijan's economy by financing projects aimed at the development of non-oil sector of the country. It should be noted that it is the fourth service point of Azer Turk Bank, which has started to operate in Baku and regions since the beginning of the year. Previously sub-branch 2 in Baku, Shirvan branch in Shirvan city and Gabala sub-branch in Gabala district were put into operation. Welcome to SwanseaOnline - your home for the best news, sports and what's on coverage of the city. Never miss a Swansea story with our daily newsletter Sign up to comment on our stories here Follow us on Facebook and Twitter | Swansea City news | Ospreys news | InYourArea WASHINGTON The apparent explosion of a SpaceX Falcon 9 launch vehicle during a static fire test Sept. 1 has implications for both commercial and government customers, including putting into jeopardy the sale of one satellite operator. The explosion took place during preparations for a static fire test, part of SpaceX's standard pre-launch preparations for Falcon 9 flights at Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Florida. The test was in advance of a Sept. 3 launch of the Amos-6 communications satellite for Israeli satellite operator Spacecom. The payload fairing holding the Amos-6 satellite falls to the ground following the explosion of a SpaceX Falcon 9 that had been scheduled to launch Sept. 3. (Image credit: USlaunchreport.com) SpaceX said that the Amos-6 payload was destroyed in the failure, which could jeopardize the planned acquisition of Spacecom by Beijing Xinwei Technology Group, a Chinese conglomerate. The deal, announced Aug. 24, was pending the successful entry into service of Amos-6 after the launch. Shares in Spacecom, traded on the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange, fell by more than nine percent Thursday, falling sharply after reports of the pad explosion. While the cause of the launch pad explosion is not known, any extended downtime for the Falcon 9 could have significant implications for both commercial customers and NASA. SpaceX had planned to carry out as many as nine Falcon 9 launches, including Amos-6, through the end of 2016. Those missions may now be delayed for weeks or months. SES also planned to launch its SES-10 and SES-11 satellites on separate Falcon 9 launches this year. On Aug. 30, SES announced the SES-10 launch would use a Falcon 9 first stage previously flown on a NASA cargo mission in April, the first time a Falcon 9 first stage would be reused. Other commercial and international customers for Falcon 9 launches scheduled for this year include EchoStar, KT Corp. of South Korea and Taiwan's National Space Program Office. The Taiwanese launch also included, as a secondary payload, Spaceflight Industries' Sherpa secondary payload, carrying nearly 90 small satellites. NASA planned to launch a Dragon cargo mission to the International Space Station in November on a Falcon 9. A likely delay in that launch complicates a cargo resupply schedule that is already dealing with delays in launches of an Orbital ATK Cygnus spacecraft, previously scheduled for August, and a Japanese H-2 Transfer Vehicle spacecraft delayed from early October. An extended delay in Falcon 9 missions could also affect NASA's commercial crew plans. SpaceX had planned to carry out an uncrewed test flight of its Crew Dragon spacecraft in May 2017 and a crewed test flight to the ISS in August 2017. Nine SpaceX customers that had been expecting to launch on a Falcon 9 before the end of 2016: Spacecom, Amos-6. An in-orbit failure of a Spacecom satellite has put pressure on the company to shore up its revenue base and customer set and to launch Amos-6 as soon as possible. It was already late before it was destroyed Sept. 1 during preparations for a Falcon 9 static-fire test. EchoStar Corp., EchoStar-23. EchoStar told investors to expect a launch in October. SES, SES-10. The Luxembourg fleet operator was an early SpaceX supporter and has two satellites slated for launch on Falcon 9 this year. SES-10 is set to go first, and has substantial incremental capacity that SES is counting on to drive revenue growth late this year. SES, SES-11/EchoStar-105. This satellite, part of a commercial agreement with EchoStar, looked like the most likely inaugural customer for a reused Falcon 9 first stage because it is intended to replace capacity in orbit. But SES announced Aug. 30 that it was going to entrust SES-10 to Falcon 9's first re-flight. NASA, Dragon CRS-10 cargo-transport mission to the International Space Station, now scheduled for November. KT Corp. of South Korea, Koreasat-5A. The company has told investors the launch should occur before the end of this year. In addition the above launches from Cape Canaveral, SpaceX has three launches scheduled from Vandenberg: Iridium Communications, Iridium Next 1-10. Launch of the first 10 satellites for Iridium's second-generation constellation is now scheduled for mid-September. National Space Program Office (NSPO) of Taiwan, Formosat-5; and Spaceflight Inc.'s Sherpa small-satellite tug. Repeatedly delayed, this launch is scheduled for late this year. But in a launch manifest crowded with customers whose businesses depend on mission timing, NSPO may find it hard to maintain its slot. Iridium Communications, Iridium Next 11-20. For insurance and satellite-validation reasons, Iridium needs to wait three months from the first launch to the second. Assuming a successful launch of the first 10 satellites, a slip into early 2017 would not do damage to the company. This story was provided by SpaceNews, dedicated to covering all aspects of the space industry. Ashgabat, Turkmenistan, Sept. 5 By Huseyn Hasanov Trend: Representatives of Turkmenistan and Tatarstan, a republic in the Russian Federation, will discuss further expansion of the long-term contacts, read a message from the Turkmen government. The issue will be discussed in coming days, during the fourth meeting of the joint working group on trade, economic, scientific, technical and cultural cooperation in Kazan, the capital of the Republic of Tatarstan. The preparations for the meeting were discussed during the government meeting in Turkmenistan. Addressing the meeting, Turkmenistans President Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov said that the bilateral relations, which are developing successfully within the interstate dialogue with Russia, are the bright example of an effective partnership. In recent years, special importance has been attached to implementation of the large multifaceted cooperation potential between Turkmenistan and the Republic of Tatarstan, and this meets the mutual interests, said the president. Ashgabat hosts the largest retail and service center in the Central Asia, KamAZ, which is a truck manufacturer based in Tatarstan. The total number of KamAZ cars in Turkmenistan is more than 10,000. An automobile concern from Tatarstan offers Ashgabat the cars of various models and capacity for transporting various cargoes, as well as the special equipment based on the KamAZ vehicles. Cooperation in fuel and energy sphere is developing between the two parties. As for instance, Tatarstans Tatneft and Turkmenistans Turkmenoil signed an agreement in 2008. The agreement envisages rendering services for increasing oil recovery at reservoirs of the existing well stock and further use of the oil production potential at the Goturdepe field. The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2016 - Space Media Network. All websites are published in Australia and are solely subject to Australian law and governed by Fair Use principals for news reporting and research purposes. AFP, UPI and IANS news wire stories are copyright Agence France-Presse, United Press International and Indo-Asia News Service. ESA news reports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. Advertising does not imply endorsement, agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by Space Media Network on any Web page published or hosted by Space Media Network. Privacy Statement All images and articles appearing on Space Media Network have been edited or digitally altered in some way. Any requests to remove copyright material will be acted upon in a timely and appropriate manner. Any attempt to extort money from Space Media Network will be ignored and reported to Australian Law Enforcement Agencies as a potential case of financial fraud involving the use of a telephonic carriage device or postal service. Baku, Azerbaijan, Sept. 5 By Azad Hasanli Trend: Azerbaijan, Turkey and Turkmenistan have signed the Ashgabat declaration to create the Trans-Caspian transport corridor from Beijing to London, TRT Haber reported Sept. 5 citing a statement by Turkeys Transport, Maritime Affairs and Communications Minister Ahmet Arslan. Arslan said the document was signed during the first meeting of transportation ministers of the three countries. The declaration was inked by Ahmet Arslan, Azerbaijani Deputy Minister of Transportation Arif Asgarov and Turkmen Minister of Motor Transport Maksat Aydogdyev. Production [of various commodities] is shifting from the West to the East. There is a need in an efficient transportation corridor for supplying the commodities produced in Asia and in our region to the West, said Arslan. The projects that we have been implementing in the country since 2003 pursue exactly this goal. By planning such projects as the Baku-Tbilisi-Kars railway, the construction of the third airport, and others, Turkey intends to integrate international projects to the national plan of development of the transportation sector, added Arslan. The Ashgabat declaration, signed in Turkmenistan, enables us to be one step closer to our goal, he said. The Trans-Caspian international transportation route runs from China to Europe through Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Turkey and Ukraine. The first test container train from China arrived at the Baku International Sea Trade Port on Aug. 3, 2015. New competitive tariffs on the Trans-Caspian corridor came into force on June 1, 2016. A Problem for Germany Indeed, the renewed success of the AfD is likely to intensify the CSU's anger with Merkel. Suddenly, German conservatives must now deal with a rising force to their right, a phenomenon similar to the one from which the SPD still hasn't found a way to recover. And like the Left Party, the AfD doesn't look as though it will be disappearing as a political force any time soon. The right-wing populists are on the rise in both Germany's east and west, and have proven adept at motivating non-voters as well as poaching voters from the CDU in addition to the SPD and even the Left Party. One of the primary emotions uniting this diverse mixture is outrage with the chancellor. Furthermore, in contrast to the Left Party, which has taken steps to leave its origins as a neo-communist protest party behind it, the AfD's strength lies in its complete rejection of the party system as currently constituted. It isn't interested in playing by the rules; it seeks to agitate and subvert. Indeed, it is a party that represents a danger to democracy . The problem represented by it isn't just one for Merkel. Nor is it only an issue for her conservatives. It is a problem for all of Germany. A white supremacist kills an African-American teen as he was charging his phone in front of a 7-Eleven in Gresham, Oregon, and the story has sparked a national conversation. Larnell Bruce, 19, was visiting his biological mother and brother in the state when his young life ended on August 10. Bruce was joined by a group of friends outside the convenience store on the corner of East Burnside where they were hanging out. At one point, the teenager left his pals to charge his cell phone, and he encountered 38-year-old Russell Courtier. It is not known why nor who started it, but a massive fight broke out between the two men, and a knife or machete was used. Witnesses saw Courtier violently punching and smashing Bruces head into the front window. Bruce attempted to run away from the fight, but Courtier, who has a lengthy rap sheet, had other plans. Courtier, a well-known white supremacist, got into his red 1991 Jeep Wrangler and went after the young man. Several witnesses said they heard Courtiers girlfriend, Colleen Hunt, 35, encourage him, saying: Get him, baby, get him. Courtier was driving with Hunt in the passenger seat. Courtier first tried to run over the teen in the parking lot and missed. Bruce tried to stay alive by running to the sidewalk, but the Jeep Wrangler hit him head-on and left him with critical injuries. Several 911 calls were made around 11 PM during the fight and police rapidly arrived at the scene. Bruce was rushed to the hospital but died of his injuries four days later. The Mercury dug up the white supremacists past and here is what they unearthed: Courtier has spent a significant chunk of his adult life in Oregon prisons for weapons and violent crimes. (He was on parole the night he killed Bruce, following a prison term for attacking a woman with a knife in 2013.) Courtier is also a long-time member of a white supremacist prison gang called European Kindred (EK). EK began in 1998 at the Snake River Correctional Institution (SRCI) in Malheur County. Its founder, David Kennedy, wanted to protect our own people in this joint, the Southern Poverty Law Center quoted him as saying. The gang would soon spread to Oregons other prisons. Courtiers prison records revealed just how deeply the man came to identify with the group. He first connected with the gang while serving several years at the Eastern Oregon Correctional Institution in Pendleton following a 2001 attack on a man, the records show. By September 2003, Courtier was caught in his cell with a drawing of the gangs logoa shield emblazoned with letters EKthat he admitted he intended to get tattooed on his body (he was found to have violated the prisons unauthorized organization rule, because EK is a known security threat group). On August 18, a grand jury indicted Courtier and Hunt for murder, but they have not been charged with a hate crime. Family and friends recently gathered to remember Larnell Bruce, who would have turned 20 on September 1. They have also started a GoFundMe page to raise funds for medical bills and his funeral expenses. On August 10, 2016, Larnell Malik Bruce (aka Bubba/ Man-Man) was intentionally run over by a car. He sustained life-threatening injuries to his skull and brain stem. On August 13, 2016, his brain activity ceased. We lost our son, brother, cousin, nephew, and friend to a senseless crime. He was just 19 years old and still had a full life to live. Although his body still breathes, he is no longer here with us and we are left to take care of the things we werent fully prepared for. Throughout the last few days, the medical expenses have gotten unexpectedly high and we now have to plan for a funeral that we werent expecting. Though this tragedy has devastated our family, Larnell has the opportunity to save many lives through the Organ Donor program. We are asking for help to cover the funeral and medical expenses. Please, if you can, find it in your heart to help us lay our loved one to rest. The country was shocked by the incident, and it opened a new front in the debate about race. Friends/family light candles @ vigil 4 Larnell Bruce. Teen who was run down & murdered by a couple accord. 2 police pic.twitter.com/uqEjHU84UL Andrew Dymburt (@DymburtNews) September 2, 2016 Ben Carsons luggage is way more important than an interview. CNN reporter Jeremy Diamond learned this fact on live television. Friday afternoon, Diamond met with Dr. Carson as he was touring his childhood neighborhood in Detroit, Michigan with Donald Trump. Mr. Trump was in Detroit as part of his African-American outreach. The business mogul visited a black church and sat down for a scripted interview with Bishop Wayne T. Jackson. The two Republicans participated in a service at the Great Faith International Ministries where Trump was filmed dancing and clapping to the music with his eyes closed. Trump gave a brief speech in front of the congregation, and he said: For centuries, the African-American church has been the conscience of this country. So true. He added: The African-American faith community has been one of Gods greatest gifts to America and its people. Trump said if elected president he will bring back jobs to black neighborhoods. The CNN interview began in a very normal way, the reporter asked Mr. Carson, why he did he bring Trump to his old home? Dr. Carson answered by saying that the area was thriving once upon a time, and he would love for it to bounce back. Carson said: I just wanted him to see what it was like, what the neighborhood was like. We also went through some of the more blighted areas of Detroit. When I was growing up it was a very prosperous city, it was once the most prosperous city in America and has unfortunately undergone some pretty awful things. He also explained: In order for our country to be great again, every aspect has to be great, including our inner cities. The retired neurosurgeon was about to share his thoughts on how Trump would revive Detroit when he stopped. His face looked stunned, and he said oh, my luggage! hold on, and ran away from the camera. Diamond, who was about to ask Carson about what Trump learned during the trip, looked baffled by what had just occurred. It is not known why the former Director of Pediatric Neurosurgery at Johns Hopkins Hospital did not wait until the end of the segment to search for his missing luggage. As Diamond continued his piece, Carson could be seen in the background looking around and talking to other people about his precious suitcase. The former Republican presidential contestant eventually returned but declined to speak about the luggage and his surprising behavior. The billionaire visited Carsons bungalow-style childhood home, and spoke with the owner, Felicia Reese. The real estate mogul told Reese, who purchased the place in 1992: Since Carson grew up there, the location is famous. This house is worth a lot of money. Back in January, CNN landed in hot water after it reported prematurely that Dr. Carson was ending his presidential campaign. The new politician had announced that he was leaving the trail to fly home for fresh clothes. The first two thirds of the Ram section found most rams were easily finding bids. The latter third of the sale as the ring emptied saw those rams not picked out struggling to find bids in the ring although some were booked through after the sale. Once again Derek Steen, Lockerbie topped the section with a Ballylinney Ram and a grandson of Lluest Commando. Selling for 2200gns he found a home with TD & JML Rees, Llangadog. Next at 2000gns was Wraycastle Edwaldo from JA & R Geldard & Sons, Kendal. Bred from a Laga Farms ram he found a home with E & D Jones, Machynlleth. E & D Jones had earlier sold a Goldies son, Lluest Eccentric for 1550gns to Edward Collins, Leominster. There were not many aged ewes but they all found homes. AW Hughes, Garndolbenmaen topped the section selling four year olds for 88/head to Ben Jones, Ystrad Owen. The shearling ewe section saw a 90% clearance. D Steen, Lockerbie topped the section when selling the first pen into the ring, the pen of 15 sold for 210/head to Conan Mullard-Davies, Bishops Castle. Next was E & L Thomas, St Clears who sold a pen of seven for 188/head to TD & JML Rees, Llangadog. There were two pens sold for 180/head. First JA &R Geldard & Sons, Kendal sold a pen of five to Brent Bowdler, Littledean. HM Wells, Cardigan sold a pen of 10 to JC Mathias, Swansea. Many pens sold for 135 to 165 with a handful realising over 170. It was noted that breeders were batching their sheep into larger pens (i.e. 10, 15 and 20). The auctioneers noted that these larger groups seemed easier to sell. The smaller entry of ewe lambs could be the cause of the better clearance rate with 92% sold. Colin Price, Brecon saw the best trade when he realised 128/head for his 2nd prize pen of 5 which sold to Jane Morris, Presteigne. Colin then sold his 1st prize pen of ten for 115/head to JM & CE Mitchell, Tewkesbury. C & R Bowen, Haverfordwest sold their 2nd prize pen of ten also for 115/head to AJ Jones & Son, Dingestow. There were two pens which realised 112/head. First DW & CF Morris, St Clears sold to Nick Hodgetts, Whittongton then Phyl Hale, Kents Green sold her 1st prize pen to VC Goodman, Lydbrook. Eight pens in total realised 100/head and over. Tupping lambs easily reached 90. There were many pens in the 90s. Averages Non MVA Shearling Ewes to 105 av. 102.50 MVA 5 Year old ewes to 86 av. 76 MVA 4 Year old ewes to 88 av. 88 MVA Shearling Ewes to 210 av. 146.45 MVA Ewe Lambs to 128 av. 90.63 MVA Rams to 2200gns av. 568.29 Baku, Azerbaijan, Sept.5 By Azad Hasanli - Trend: Ingrid van Wees has been appointed vice-president of the Asian Development Bank (ADB) for finance and risk management, said the message from ADB. Ingrid van Wees will be responsible for the overall management of the operations of the Office of Risk Management, the Controllers Department, and the Treasury Department. She is a senior official in the German Investment and Development Corporation (DEG) where her current portfolio covers debt, equity, and fund investments in Europe, the Middle East, and Asia. ADB, based in Manila, was established in 1966 and has 67 members. Azerbaijan became the organizations member on Dec.22, 1999. The country has 0.5 percent share in the banks capital. O ne of the Citys oldest institutions, Lloyds of London, will shift some of its business outside London and onto the Continent if the UK loses access to the single market, its chairman has warned. John Nelson said London will be the loser if the Government agrees a post-Brexit deal without so-called passporting rights a cross-border agreement which allows finance firms to work freely across all 27 states. Around 11% of Lloyds 25 billion market is tied to the EU. Some functions will be moved onshore to the European Union if the rights are lost, he said. Similar plans have also been hatched by banks and fund management firms. If we were not able to get single market access, not all of it will disappear but some of it will. We have contingency plans to write business onshore, he told the Standard. The insurance industry would not be the loser London and the UK would be the loser. The warning comes before a flagship speech which Nelson is due to give this evening at Lloyds during a ceremony attended by London mayor Sadiq Khan. Lloyds which, with the Stock Exchange and Bank of England, has long been known as one of the three pillars of the City has experienced dozens of politically fraught periods since its foundation in 1688. Its global reputation for insurance and reinsurance has attracted scores of different nationalities to its Lime Street headquarters every day. A stark warning from the Japanese government that its biggest firms, which include insurers such as Mitsui Sumitomo and Sompo Japan, would move inside the EU if the UK loses single market access has sharpened fears about Brexit in the City. Japanese firms make up about 16% of the Lloyds market. Nelson said he was not getting the sense Japanese insurers were currently looking to move away from London. Pressure is mounting on Prime Minister Theresa May to spell out her plans for Britains financial services when the UK eventually leaves the trading bloc. Nelson said the Government had a few months to come up with a plan before Lloyds started moving ahead with plans to shift business overseas. However, he dismissed talk Brexit would spell the end of Lloyds centuries-old relationship with London, adding: Our centre will remain in London come what may. M arks & Spencer is to slash more than 500 jobs at its London head office in Paddington as part of chief executive Steve Rowes efforts to turnaround the struggling retailer. Rowe, who revealed the worst first quarter clothing and homeware sales for almost a decade in July, said the cuts were "absolutely necessary". "M&S has to become a simpler and more effective organisation if we are to deliver our plans to recover and grow our business. "It is never easy to propose changes that impact on our people, but I believe that the proposals outlined today are absolutely necessary and will help us build a different type of M&S one that can take bolder, pacier decisions, be more profitable and ultimately better serve our customers." Around 525 roles will be axed from the company's headquarters, while 400 permanent roles across IT and logistics will move out of central London. Tough decisions: M&S boss Steve Rowe warned turning around the company could be painful M&S will reach the target, which is set to shave around 1% a year off its UK cost base, through a combination of fewer contractors, natural attrition and redundancies. There will be a one-off cost of 15 million as a result, though that includes already-implemented changes to the senior management team. A staff consultation has been launched and M&S "will give careful consideration to any alternative proposals". The announcement follows the conclusion of a separate consultation with shop floor staff over changes to their pay and pensions. On Friday the chain said it had agreed a new deal with employees, which will see base pay rise but some premiums scrapped. Despite concessions for those set to be worse off under the plans, including additional compensation payments, critics, including staff and MP Siobhain McDonagh, who has campaigned on the issue, said the new deal fell short of what long-standing workers deserved. A petition against the changes, introduced in the wake of the National Living Wage, has attracted more than 99,000 signatures. Rowe, who began his M&S career as a Saturday worker in the Croydon store and stepped up to the top job in April, earlier warned that he would have to take tough decisions to restore the retailer to its former glory. Clothing and homeware sales slumped 8.9% in the three months to July 2, which Rowe blamed on over-inflated prices and "damaging" promotions. He is now looking at the company's international operations and store portfolio and is expected to announce a scaling back of the overseas business at M&S's half-year update in November. M illionaire entrepreneur Lloyd Dorfman may have been an ardent Remainer, but he has now said the vote to leave the European Union has been good for his flexible workspace business as he revealed a spate of new London lettings. The chairman and majority shareholder of The Office Group said Olympics Games sponsor Coca-Cola and insurance firm Swiss Re were among 98 companies that have agreed post-referendum deals to take space with the firm. Existing occupiers include Facebook and Santander. We will wait to see how it plays out in the long term, but the early evidence shows that Brexit has been good for us because the uncertainty around what will happen has made flexible office space more attractive, Dorfman said. He added: At the moment companies are more comfortable committing to shorter leases. The strong leasing momentum follows a buoyant period of growth for the company, which has 31 buildings in the capital. Its sales jumped 62% to 54.3 million in the year to December 31, while pre-tax profit rose to 15.4 million from 11.6 million. The firm was helped by Londons army of smaller businesses taking space, he added. SMEs employing up to nine people account for 26% of its workspace. T he G20 gathering in China has amounted to full immersion for Theresa May in the world of international summits; it is also an opportunity for her to set out Britains global stance, post-Brexit. But the most fraught encounter of her trip will happen after the summit with the Chinese president Xi on a matter unrelated to the EU. He is concerned about the future of the Hinkley Point nuclear reactor in which China is a large would-be investor. Mrs May would be within her rights to reject the deal as being bad value for money but it is critical that the Chinese are not given the impression that it is to do with the idea that they are unreliable partners on security grounds: China is a country which post-Brexit Britain should be doing everything to retain as a friend. Keeping and making friends outside the EU is a matter of both tone and substance. The Japanese are plainly edgy about future investment in Britain when it is outside the EU. By contrast, Australian premier Malcolm Turnbull has made it clear that Australia is keen to enjoy a better trading relationship with Britain. As David Davis, the Brexit Secretary, tells MPs today, leaving the EU offers new freedoms, new opportunities, yet almost all the detail of Britains position is still unclear. Mrs May has already intimated that the points-based immigration system that some Brexiteers favour is not an option. Thats fair enough: the referendum was on leaving the EU, not on the detail of immigration policy. Yet without compromising her negotiating position it should be possible to sketch out how she envisages the practicalities of Brexit: immigration policy could be biased in favour of EU nationals, Australians and Canadians as well as those with skills the economy needs. This conference has been a useful reminder to Mrs May about the realities of life outside the EU. Britain will soon be on its own but it cannot be isolated we need to keep our friends and make new ones. Zero tolerance of abuse Statistics obtained by the Standard show just how serious a problem domestic violence is in London. In the year to March there were almost 60,000 offences involving physical domestic abuse, equivalent to more than a quarter of all violent crime in London. Many were very serious there were 6,000 incidents of grievous bodily harm or wounding, 1,640 rapes and 25 murders. This is horrifying. While the Mets data does not specify the sex of the victims, the vast majority will be women. It is clear that many are not safe in their own homes. Specialist training for officers has enabled better identification of domestic abuse, and victims may be more confident about coming forward. Still the rise in recorded offences is striking: there were 28,000 in the year to June 2014. Many will conclude that this reflects a real increase in violence as well as a surge in reporting. The officer who leads the Mets efforts against domestic violence, Commander Christine Jones, has surmised that pornography and violent video games may fuel abuse, although research is notoriously inconclusive. But one thing is clear: domestic violence cannot be tolerated. German influence The director of the Victoria and Albert Museum, Martin Roth, has said he is stepping down after five successful years. He has enhanced the reputation of the museum and leaves at the peak of its success he will be missed. Mr Roth is, like Prince Albert, German, a reminder that in the cosmopolitan world of the great museums, culture belongs to all nations, and we benefit from the exchange of people and ideas. B rexit, the junior doctors strike and Apples tax dispute with the EU are big issues of public concern. And theyre all entirely separate from each other, right? As the Government blathers robotically that Brexit means Brexit, as Jeremy Hunt and junior doctors lock horns once again, as Tim Cook, the chief executive of Apple, rails against the European Commission, youd be forgiven for thinking that all three represent intractable and individual problems. Think again. In todays globalised politics, such as the childrens song Dry Bones, the toe bone is always connected to the foot bone, the thigh bone is connected to the hip bone, and so on. The junior doctors dispute is in part a casualty of focus-group policy-making. The Conservatives discovered unsurprisingly that the public, when asked, want a seven-day NHS. So they entangled themselves in an increasingly bitter dispute to unpick the existing contractual arrangements governing junior doctors to deliver that promise, even though there is precious little evidence that the old contract was the impediment to a seven-day service in the first place. More importantly, the junior doctors dispute is also an anguished sign of an overstretched NHS struggling to cope with the demographic pressures placed on it. The status quo a rapidly ageing population, a social-care system on its knees, the rising cost of medication and a modest increase in NHS resources is clearly unsustainable. Many millions of voters know, intuitively, what an increasing number of think-tanks and NHS managers have been saying with growing alarm: the NHS needs more money and fast. Thats why the Brexit campaign focused so remorselessly and effectively on the pledge to deliver 350 million a week to the NHS if we left the EU. It was a highly attractive claim that drew widespread support across the country to the Brexit banner. So when Theresa May says Brexit means Brexit, be under no illusion: for many Brexit voters what Brexit means to them is hundreds of millions of extra pounds for our overstretched hospitals, and junior doctors, every week. I suspect, unfair though it may feel to the many hard-working junior doctors who are going to strike, that public sympathy with their plight may wane pretty fast in the coming weeks. Much of the focus, rightly, will be on the knock-on impact the strikes will have on innocent patients. But the focus should also be on the Governments commitment to deliver a huge uplift in weekly spending on the NHS. That is what many people voted for on June 23. So when the Brexit-supporting newspapers lambast junior doctors on the picket line as they will we should also be asking why on earth they are not lambasting the Government for not delivering the most potent Brexit pledge of all: to give the NHS pots of money? So what has this got to do with an impenetrably complex dispute about the tax that Apple has paid or rather not paid in Ireland, which the European Commission has condemned as an illegal form of state aid? Everything and nothing. Nothing, because this is about tax that should have been paid in Ireland and other European countries over many years and which, according to Tim Cook, is now more likely to result in a windfall payment to the US tax authorities instead. So the dispute itself will have little if no bearing on the NHS and the disputes surrounding it. In other ways, however, it has everything to do with both the NHS and Brexit. Because in a footloose, fancy-free world in which large multinational corporations can effectively pick and choose where they pay their taxes, huge questions of national sovereignty and fairness loom: if the big multinationals can minimise the tax they pay, whos going to pay for the public services that their customers rely on? If big global corporations do not play their part the share of the total tax take that comes from corporations has almost halved in the UK since 1989 then the burden will increasingly fall on those who cant move their tax arrangements from one jurisdiction to another: everyday, individual taxpayers. Not only will that feel increasingly unfair a higher tax burden being placed on many workers who havent seen a meaningful pay rise in years but it also makes a mockery of the claims that we should take back control which played such a seductive part in the Brexit decision. If we cant get multinationals to pay their fair share for the products they sell to us in our own countries, how on earth are we supposed to exercise control over the resources we will need for our public services in future? And heres the crowning irony: in order to reassert control over the tax paid by global companies, governments have to act together as they do in the EU. In the end, there is simply no future in a race to the bottom in which governments seek to ingratiate themselves to multinational companies by constantly lowering the taxes expected of them. Some tax jurisdictions Luxembourg one day, Ireland the next, perhaps Brexit Britain the next may gain temporary advantage in this beggar-thy-neighbour contest, but ultimately everyone loses because there is less money in the collective coffers to finance the public services we have come to expect across Europe and the developed world. That is why the somewhat technocratic case made by the excellent European Commissioner Margrethe Vestager is so much more significant than it seems. It strikes at the heart of a deep fault line: is it governments, working together, who retain the right to set the taxes that should be fairly paid? Or is it multinationals, capable of relocating for tax purposes from one place to the next, who set the pace? And thats the cruel dilemma we now face as a country: in seeking to take back control we will inevitably relinquish control over so many of the global forces that affect everything from the crime on our streets to the funding of our hospitals and junior doctors. W hen I was a young boy in Yorkshire, I went through a period of being frightened that immigrants and their children would be kicked out of Britain. It was an irrational fear but as a child born to immigrant parents, I remember being scared that the Government might suddenly announce that people like me would have to leave the country, and Id have to live in a foreign land. Today I cant help but think back to that horrible anxiety I felt, when I consider the uncertain plight of the million or so Londoners living here legally as EU nationals at the time of the referendum. These EU citizens contribute to our society in all kinds of ways, working lawfully in the NHS, in our public services and in business. The Leave campaign had made it clear that EU nationals could stay here after Brexit, promising: There will be no change for EU citizens already lawfully resident in the UK. Unfortunately, the Prime Minister has so far refused to support this position, meaning families across London face a deeply uncertain future, while businesses have no idea whether employees with EU passports can stay. Theresa May at the closing of the G20 Summit in Hangzhou / REUTERS Its a terrible situation, with a very real human and economic cost in London. Whats striking is that the Prime Minister is almost entirely alone among mainstream political parties in refusing to say that these EU nationals can stay. Only the extremist British National Party shares her position, which speaks volumes. Whats more, a recent British Future poll found that 84 per cent of the British public say EU nationals living here on June 23 should be allowed to stay, while business groups such as the Institute of Directors and TechUK have called on the Prime Minister to act. She is refusing, saying she wants to use EU nationals to negotiate a reciprocal deal so British expats in Europe can remain where they are. But can it ever be right to use Londoners lives as bargaining chips like this? Also, there are some things that ought to be left off any negotiating table, and the UKs reputation as a welcoming nation is surely one of them. A friend recently told me about a child of EU nationals being bullied at a London school, with his classmates taunting him that he was going to be deported. You might say the pupil should laugh off the bullies, and say that of course Britain wont force him out; that its just a negotiating position. But if its so out of the question, why hasnt the issue been settled? If youre the child of an immigrant, its hard to banish these thoughts. History shows previously welcoming countries can turn against newcomers these things can and do happen. From experience, I know what its like to go to bed worried you might be forced to leave the country you love, and I wouldnt wish it on anyone. Of course, my fears were unfounded, which sadly isnt the case for EU nationals today. I worked with Theresa May for almost a decade, and I know what a fiercely compassionate and intelligent person she is. For the sake of the million EU citizens in London and their children who are being needlessly hurt by the uncertainty over their futures, the Prime Minister must take action, and fast. W hat a tumbling out! John le Carres memoir The Pigeon Tunnel published later this week describes in new detail his early years as the son of a monstrously charismatic, destructive and sometimes violent con man. He writes, too, of the remote and unhuggable mother whom he didnt see between the ages of five and 21: From the day of our reunion until she died, the frozen child in me showed not the smallest sign of thawing out. Its not just a rackety childhood hes describing, though. Its not just gossip. Its the making of a writer, and the particular sort of writer he is: a writer about what he usually calls the secret world, the world of espionage, which stands in for other secret worlds. Its possible to exaggerate quite how much of a revelation all this is, mind. Much of the material about his father emerged in a 2002 essay le Carre wrote for The New Yorker. But that was done rather shyly. I was told at the time hed purposely published it without fanfare on the other side of the Atlantic. Theres always this dance of concealment and revelation. Around the publication of 2008s A Most Wanted Man I chaired a talk with him at the Royal Festival Hall. It was suggested he was on the point of retreating from public life (he didnt), and he spoke with great seeming intimacy about his own life. He was gentle, avuncular, courteous. I liked him tremendously and found him almost perfectly unreadable. What seems interesting is that he keeps returning to it: then, and again then, and now picking just a bit more at the stitches. After chasing off two would-be biographers, Graham Lord and Robert Harris, he finally helped Adam Sisman with last years John le Carre: The Biography, described by one reviewer as a fascinating truce between candour and guile. Now comes his own version. It seems odd, and moving, and rather suggestive that in old age le Carre at least ostensibly so private a writer is giving up his secrets; or, at least, working through them in the way that writers do, which is on the page. He shuffles his masks: abandoned child, liar, schoolmaster, spy, husband, father, writer, writer, writer. But hes also a famous tease: his pen name le Carre being to David Cornwell, perhaps, as Dame Edna is to Barry Humphries (or vice versa). He has warned: Nothing that I write is authentic. One longs to get to the bottom of him. I doubt we have. I doubt we will. I found myself thinking again of Tom Stoppards le Carre-esque play about melancholy spies, The Dog It Was That Died. Theres a bravura section in which one old spook reflects on his career: Im like one of those sets of wooden dolls which fit into one another as they get smaller. Somewhere deep inside is the last doll, the only one which isnt hollow, he laments. At least, I suppose there is. There used to be. Perhaps Im not a set of dolls any more, perhaps Im an onion. My idealism and my patriotism, folded on each other, have been peeled away leaving nothing in the middle except the lingering smell of onion. Please dont cry, says his interlocutor. Im sorry, he replies, tearfully. Its the onion. Tragic tale of the Page 3 girl exploited by all Page Three girl flirts with joining punk mum in jihadist brides brigade. Quite the catchy headline. The story beneath was more sad than funny, though. The former glamour model Kimberley Miners converted to Islam after losing her father in a drowning accident, a blow from which a relative said she never recovered. She has been posting apparently pro-IS material on Facebook, where she calls herself Aisha Lauren al-Britaniya. Ive shared a lot of bombs and stuff; Ive shared a lot of videos, she says. We get told that they are there to protect the religion. I dont really know; thats whats got me into trouble. She also admits being in contact with an IS recruiter who calls himself Abu Usamah al-Britani (and who, God help us, goes about his work by posting pictures of kittens wearing tiny bomb-belts on social media). Here, by the look of it, is a very lost young woman, none too clued-up, being exploited by a murderous clown. Youd think we might be able to do better than to giggle and fish out old pictures of Miss Miners with her top off. Thats just kittens in bomb-belts from the other direction. Beckett and the black stuff Samuel Beckett, its reported with hilarious solemnity, wished towards the end of his life that hed got a nice steady job at the Guinness brewery rather than becoming one of the great writers of the 20th century. The story emerges from the final volume of his Collected Letters, out later this month. In 1983, when he was in his late 70s, he wrote to a childhood friend: Writing at an end. Tired of it all. Moments of the old days. What blunders all the way. Why didnt I go into Guinnesss as father wished? Not to be taken wholly at face value, I think: its a very Beckettian line. Its truthful to the feeling but also a very good, Eeyore-ish joke. The proper black stuff, in other words. * One of the nice things about Mother Teresas canonisation is the thought of how much it would have annoyed Christopher Hitchens. The late polemicist argued in 1995s The Missionary Position that she was a wrong un through and through: not a friend of the poor but a friend of poverty, a reactionary Catholic dogmatist and a sucker-up to dictators. I imagine her shuffling through the heavenly arcades in her sandals this week, not quite flaunting her pimped-out new halo, and coming as if by accident upon the great contrarian sitting by himself looking thunderous. Oh, Christopher: you arent still sulking because youre here? Get bent, you old witch. He forgives you, you know... This is intolerable. Details added (first version posted at 10:50) Baku, Azerbaijan, Sept. 5 By Azad Hasanov Trend: Azerbaijani state oil company SOCAR is not going to abandon the purchase of a share in the Greek gas operator DESFA, President of SOCAR Rovnag Abdullayev told reporters Sept. 5. We won the tender and were not going to abandon the deal [with DESFA], Abdullayev said. We dont talk about appealing to a court, but we will defend our interests till the end. The originally negotiated rules have been violated. We are now waiting for justification from the government of Greece. Under the new rules, DESFAs value should be twice cheaper, so we are in talks with the Greek government. SOCAR won a tender in 2013 on the purchase of a 66-percent stake in DESFA for 400 million euros. Earlier, Azerbaijan's Energy Minister Natig Aliyev said that the deal on SOCAR's purchasing the 66-percent share in Greece's DESFA will be completed after Italy's Snam purchases 17 percent of that share. Regarding Italys Snam, the company, just like SOCAR, is in talks with the Greek government regarding the situation, Abdullayev said. In July 2016, Greek Minister of Environment, Energy and Climate Change Panos Skourletis accused the European Commission of delaying the deal on selling a share in Greece's DESFA to SOCAR. Skourletis said that a number of conditions, set by the European Commission, greatly slowed the privatization process of the gas operator. In particular, the company will become a passive shareholder, not entitled to vote in the management of the company, as a result of decreasing SOCARs share in DESFA up to 49 percent. Greek MPs stressed that the problems with the privatization of DESFA may deprive the countrys economy of SOCARs huge capital injections. A female cyclist in her 50s has been rushed to hospital following a collision with a van in Putney. Police were called to the incident on Putney Hill at 11:45 this morning after the crash. The van driver has not been arrested. London's Air Ambulance also attended the scene, at the junction with Putney Heath Lane. The woman's condition is not thought to be life-threatening. Tibbet's Ride remains closed northbound between Tibbet's Corner and Putney Heath Lane. A Met police spokesperson said: Officers were called at approximately 11:45hrs on Monday, 5 September to reports of the collision on Putney Hill, at the junction with Putney Heath Lane, SW15. London Ambulance Service and London's Air Ambulance also attended the scene. The cyclist, a woman believed aged in her 50s, was taken to a south London hospital for treatment - condition awaits. The driver of the van stopped at the scene. He has not been arrested. Anyone who was in the area and witnessed the collision, or the events leading up to the collision, is asked to contact police on 101. Review at a glance L ast week in Stockholm Amy Schumer had a heckler ejected from her show. There were no such problems at her London debut last night. If anything the audience was too well-behaved. At one point the Trainwreck star compared their laughter to leafing through the pages of a book and smiling to themselves. There was no such restraint from the 35-year-old Emmy Award-winner, who swigged intermittently from a wine bottle throughout a 90-minute set bookended by lengthy routines about sex that were very funny and very unprintable. Schumers candid riffs on below-the-waist hygiene and modern bedroom etiquette would surely have had the late, uncensored Joan Rivers spiralling in her grave. Elsewhere she took on the Kardashians. Easy targets, but the section included a memorably pithy line about the reality TV family: they take the faces they were born with as a light suggestion. Lets hope Schumer never succumbs to surgery, she has an expressive face that adds a strong visual element to her verbal pay-offs. While the show was low on truly big laughs it did not shy away from big subjects such as gun control. Schumer pointed out that even a blind person can buy firearms in America. Tighter regulation is a subject close to her heart. Two female audience members were shot dead at a screening of Trainwreck last year. Further highlights included more smutty confessions and anecdotes about touring Europe. There are not many comedians who can move seamlessly from discussing ejaculation to recalling a visit to Anne Franks House in Amsterdam. Follow Going Out on Facebook and on Twitter @ESgoingout N ot all loaves are created equal, thinks Chris Young who since 2008 has been coordinating something called The Real Bread Campaign, championing local, independent bakeries and encouraging people to make their own real bread. Do you miss real bread? You know, back in the days before low-carb and gluten-free was a thing? Well genuine sourdough real bread is true clean eating: additive-free, nutritious and delicious. Better still, evidence suggests it could have lower GI and might even be the answer for some people who have issues eating speedily made industrial loaves, he says. This month is Youngs annual #SourdoughSeptember celebration, where all over London you can find bready events such as masterclasses, talks and crash courses in how to make loaves. It is also the month that Youngs first recipe book, Slow Dough, is published, so ahead of this we invited him to tell us who his favourite Real Bread bakers are in London. Fergus Jackson, Brickhouse Bakery What he does: Fergus was one of those guys who said: Ahh I hate my job [in marketing], I want to get out there and become my local baker. And he made it his mission, and he did it. He went off to San Francisco, did a stint at Tartine there, and at E5 Bakehouse here, and basically makes damn good bread. He has set up deliveries, used his garage for a market stall, and built it up from there. Word got round and he now runs a bakery cafe in Dulwich and is teaching the next generation. Fergus Jackson of the Brickhouse Bakery Why hes got the S factor: Honestly, its because he is my local baker. Penge is a bit of a bread desert, so Herne Hill market on Saturdays is my local place to get it. But also I just like the way he goes about doing what he does. Recently hes been working with Gilchesters in Northumberland working with British wheat and some old varieties, baking with some heritage wheat, and looking at how to do things better. Find it: 1 Zenoria Street, East Dulwich, SE22 8HP; brickhousebread.com Anthony Kindred, Kindred Bakery What he does: He is in south London, too, and is one of the guys from the old school, that 20th century baking heritage that has its roots way back over generations, via his family members who have been baking since 1620. He is a born and bred baker. And he is one of the people - he and his family - who weathered the white sliced years. Small bakeries were dying off and he and his family have kept the spirit alive, by being wonderful independent traditional bakers. Why hes got the S factor: For me, he is actually very much involved in that heritage of British baking as it was, but has kept the flame - or maybe the oven! - burning. But he also looks ahead at the Real Bread future, so whether things that happened in the Forties and Fifties are relevant in that future. Find it: Unit 2, Bourne Works, Whyteleafe, Surrey, CR3 0YB; kindredbakery.co.uk Ben MacKinnon, E5 Bakehouse What he does: Ben quit his job in sustainability, went travelling and came back with the bread bug. He makes incredible bread but also works with some community groups. For example there is a project called Just Bread that works with the Refugees Council to offer bread-making help to migrant women, first to learn from them and their own baking cultures but also how to turn that into something professional. He also works with the Ujima Bakehouse, a social enterprise in Kenya that helps people get the bread-making skills and training that they need in order to run a business, which also makes money to fund vital eye care research. E5 Bakehouse sourdoughs waiting for the oven Why hes got the S factor: Ben is a storming guy, who thinks things like: how can we share the love with more people? How can we pass on baking skills to other people? He is also starting to mill his own flour and is now looking for an organic farm to grow heritage wheat for it. Find it: Arch 395, Mentmore Terrace, E8 3PH; e5bakehouse.com Liz Wilson, Ma Baker Liz Wilson aka Ma Baker What she does: She is a mother and a baker, hence the name. She is a teacher who realised that her passion was baking and that she could pass those skills on. She does run a microbakery from her home in Fulham, but she is also one of the heavenly Bread Angels, having trained at Virtuous Bread founded by Jane Mason. Sometimes she does lifestyle classes at home, or otherwise she does sessions in local schools. Why shes got the S factor: As a Bread Angel, what I love is that [she is] not only bringing Real Bread to the hearts of [her] local community, but [is] also sharing the joys of bread making and the knowledge to help other people to set up their own microbakeries. Ma Baker's bread Find it: mabaker.london Simon Poffley, The Fermentarium What they do: Simon is a fermentalist, which is a word that I read on Twitter and loved. His business The Fermentarium is based at a making and mending space called the Blackhorse Workshop in Walthamstow, and he is obsessed by anything that is fermented. There he runs sourdough workshops, and also set up the Left Bank Brewery with what he calls like-minded people who want to share their enthusiasm for fermented and preserved foods. His passion is in showing how the little critters - the friendly bacteria are great and can produce damn good food and drink, including sourdough. Why hes got the S factor: His passion for what he does is infectious. And I tried his bread yonks ago and it was great. Find it: 1-2 Sutherland Road Path, E17 6BX; thefermentarium.org.uk John Townshend, Kennington Bakery What he does: John is another one of these people that said I havent got a local baker - sod it, Ill quit my job [in IT consulting] and Ill be my local baker. I like that he names his breads after battles, so instead of Chelsea buns hes got Waterloo buns, and that he now does home and wholesale deliveries by bike, selling through at couple of Food Assemblies plus a few other stockists, or people can pick up orders from collection points. So he gets bread out to places like Penge John Townshend of the Kennington Bakery Why hes got the S factor: I just love the idea of being a bread peddlar - and again its just that amazing passion required to build up a business from scratch. Find it: order online for home delivery or collection, kenningtonbakery.co.uk Slow Dough: Real Bread: Bakers' Secrets for Making Amazing Long-Rise Loaves at Home, by Chris Young, is published on September 15 (Nourish, 20). For more information on #SourdoughSeptember, visit the Real Bread Campaigns website, realbreadcampaign.org F or those of a certain age, the first thing that comes to mind when you think of Taiwan will be the three words that were once imprinted on most cheap gadgets, toys and textiles. But Made in Taiwan now means something entirely different; its a phrase that celebrates the islands creativity rather than demarcating disposable products of dubious quality. Taipei is the capital city, and also this years World Design Capital, where youll find independent designers filling the shelves of chain department stores, as well as the many one-off boutiques. Find out more about the countrys creative credentials at the Taiwan Design Museum in Songshan Cultural and Creative Park (songshanculturalpark.org), or at one of the special events taking place to celebrate the Design Capital title (wdc2016.taipei). Get an overview of the city from the Taipei 101 (taipei-101.com.tw), which was the worlds tallest building for five years until 2009. While you cant go to the top (101st) floor, theres an observation deck on the 89th from which you can look out over the city and hills beyond. Go early to avoid the queues. The 101 is one of many shiny high-rises in Taipei, but the city isnt all about the modern. There are plenty of glimpses of the past, not least the hulking great Chiang Kai-Shek Memorial Hall (00 886 2 2343 1100; cksmh.gov.tw), built in honour of the man who ruled Taiwan for almost 50 years, and Sun Yat-Sen Memorial Hall (yatsen.gov.tw), dedicated to the founder of modern China. Both have free exhibitions and an hourly changing of the guard; if you only have time for one, CKS is more compelling, if only for its amusingly bad paintings. Where to stay The W Taipei (00 886 2 7703 8888; wtaipei.com) is perhaps the citys most stylish address. Rooms are modern and spacious, while the bar attracts a cool young crowd. Theres also a terrace with a pool. Doubles from 218, room only. The rooftop bar at the W Taipei / Starwood/Ralf Tooten A more budget-friendly option is Amba Taipei Zhongshan (00 886 2 2525 2828; amba-hotels.com), part of a home-grown design hotel mini-chain. Rooms are compact but chic, with white walls and retro furniture, plus nice touches such as take-home flip-flops and a map detailing the areas best cafes and shops. Doubles from NT$3,350 (71), room only. Where to eat and drink Taipei Eats (taipeieats.com) runs excellent walking tours around the Xinyi and Songshan districts, visiting Hulin Street market for specialities such as spring onion-filled thousand-layer big bread and Songshan Guabao for Taiwanese hamburgers deliciously fluffy steamed buns filled with braised pork belly, mustard greens, coriander and peanut powder. Three-hour tours $70 (50) per person; booking essential. Raohe Street is Taipeis oldest night market, lined with stalls, shops and restaurants. I enjoyed the fried rice at Running Spoons, though the pepper pork buns sold by the market entrance also come highly recommended.Ya Ge at the Mandarin Oriental hotel Ya Ge at the Mandarin Oriental hotel For something a little fancier, Ya Ge at the Mandarin Oriental hotel (00 886 2 2715 6788; mandarinoriental.com/Taipei) brings a fine-dining approach to Chinese cuisine. Dim sum is the speciality; dont miss the crab meat and truffle dumplings. End the night at Ounce (00 886 2 2708 6885; ouncetaipei.com), which youll find hidden at the back of an unassuming cafe called Relax press the buzzer by the wood-panelled wall to get in. Theres no menu, instead bartenders can mix any classic cocktail or create something new just for you sit at the bar to watch them at work. The night market If you have a sunny afternoon to spare, take the metro to Taipei Zoo station, from which a half-hour cable car journey carries you over forests and tea fields up to Maokong, a hill village full of tea shops serving a range of blends. Where to shop The citys best-known retailer is Eslite. With several branches around the city centre, it calls itself a bookshop, but really its more of a department store with concessions selling goods made by Taiwanese designers. More local talent can be spotted at Huashan 1914 Creative Park (huashan1914.com), a converted winery thats home to boutiques as well as bars and restaurants. Alternatively, for one-off gifts and homeware, explore the lanes around Chifeng Street. In between the old garages youll find highlights such as Cou Cou Living Shop and De Stijl for vintage jewellery. What to see Taipei is home to around 15,000 temples, many of which are open to visitors. Among the most architecturally spectacular are Longshan, with its incense-filled shrines to ancient Chinese gods, the Confucius Temple and Baoan. Longshan Temple / Paul Spierenburg For a further insight into Chinese culture, head to the National Palace Museum (00 886 2 2881 2021; npm.gov.tw) on the outskirts of town. It has a vast collection of art, lacquerware, calligraphy and more. If your tastes are more contemporary, pay a visit to the wonderful Taipei Fine Arts Museum (00 886 2 2595 7656; tfam.museum), which specialises in modern art and on my visit had a fun exhibition of kinetic installations. Details: Taipei Nicola Trup flew from Heathrow to Taipei via Amsterdam with KLM (0870 243 0542; klm.com). More information: go2taiwan.net A n obsessed former university friend of BBC presenter Emily Maitlis has been jailed for repeatedly breaching a restraining order. Edward Vines, 46, who read English at Cambridge University's Queen's College while Newsnight host Ms Maitlis was an undergraduate, bombarded the journalist and her family for 25 years with letters. On Monday he was sentenced to three years at Oxford Crown Court. Vines was issued with a restraining order in 2009 which prevented him from contacting the journalist or her family after he was previously convicted of harassment in 2002. But he continued to plague her with letters, demanding to know why their friendship crumbled, months after he declared his love for her. He was found guilty of two counts of breaching the order, having previously admitted two further breaches. Jurors took less than an hour to find Vines guilty of both counts. He showed no emotion as the jury foreman returned the verdicts. Judge Peter Ross said: Putting it bluntly, you've never had any reasonable case to contact Ms Maitlis following the order. "You have what appears to me a completely unshakable obsession, underpinned by a couple delusion with regards to the relationship that had existed between you and Ms Maitlis. That's absolutely clear in the letters you have written to her." "You have known for 25 years that this woman wants nothing to do with you. You've plagued her life and the life of her family." In a witness statement, Ms Maitlis said she was worried for her family's safety after receiving a letter from Vines, who she said developed an "obsession" with her when she spurned his advances at university. Vines sent two letters to the journalist and emails and letters to her mother Marion Maitlis between May 10 and June 26 last year, contrary to the 2009 restraining order. The subject of the letters centred on Vines's belief that Ms Maitlis had acted "scornfully" towards him after he had told her he was in love with her and had a "sexual attraction" to her while they were studying in 1990. In the first letter, sent to BBC Newsnight in May 2015, he accused her of making up allegations of harassment, an offence for which he was jailed for four months in 2002. Ms Maitlis raised the alarm following the murder of fellow television presenter Jill Dando in 1999. Her statement, read to the court by prosecutor Julian Lynch, said: "I was at the BBC, going through my post when I noticed an envelope addressed to me. I opened it and straight away saw the name Edward Vines. "I did not read the contents of the letter and handed it straight to security. "When Edward Vines contacts me it causes me considerable stress and makes me worry about my safety and that of my family." Vines, whose address was given as Grosvenor Road, in Oxford, pleaded for a reply from Ms Maitlis, saying: "I need to speak to you if I'm to live my life in peace." He also added he was seeing a psychotherapist, who he claimed had told him he was not suffering any mental health problem or obsession relating to the presenter. Sentencing, the judge added: "I can understand why it was the murder of Jill Dando that caused her (Ms Maitlis) to go to the police. That was a shocking event. "You've caused misery to Ms Maitlis and her family - that's what makes this so serious." Additional reporting by Press Association H ate crime is on the increase in the capital following the Brexit vote, an investigation has found. The East European Centre in Hammersmith says it has been inundated with complaints from residents who have been subjected to abuse after the country voted to leave the EU in June. In the days following the referendum, the number of race hate crimes reported in London surged by more than half, the Metropolitan Police revealed in July. The force is now dealing with up to 78 incidents of this kind every single day. One woman said she and her family have left the capital after they were attacked in their home. Erzsebet Trautman, 49, moved from Hungary to London three years ago. But a month ago, she left her flat in Camden and returned to Budapest fearing for her safety. Rise in racist and homophobic incidents reported following Brexit result It was really out of the blue, and it was shocking, we had rented an apartment, it was in a nice new building and we noticed there was someone there during the night. They broke the lock, they came in, charged their phones, and they urinated in the hallway. We asked them really nicely if they could leave and they really turned nasty. They said, You Romanians, you immigrants, what are you doing here? Ms Trautman, who was working as a relocation consultant for some of Londons top corporate managers, said the intruders finally left, but returned the next day. We are talking about two young people, a girl and a boy, they were in their early twenties, she told BBC Londons Inside Out programme. We asked them to leave, then once again, the abuse started: You immigrants, you should go home now. The guy actually hit me, he hit my arm, he actually bruised my arm. I was shaking because I really thought, I am a normal citizen, this would not have happened to me and there it was, happening to me. Suddenly, you kind of feel youre not wanted, rejected, you feel like unappreciated, that your contribution means nothing. Another woman, who only gave her name as Nancy, had been living on a south London estate for years with her husband and children after moving to the UK from Spain. But since June 24, the day after the Brexit vote, she has been living in fear after being cornered by three men who racially abused her. They started to be really aggressive, she said. I cant even describe it, its something that you feel in your heart. Barbara Drozdowicz, director of the Eastern European Advice Centre, said: Since the referendum there has been a high level, and continues to be fairly high level, of racial incidents and quite frankly I think it might be growing. She said recent cases include that of four men who were severely beaten, with two of them taken to intensive care. Commander Mak Chishty, the Mets leader on tackling hate crime, said: We understand that our Eastern European communities are feeling more targeted and more fearful and that is why we put more focus in those areas. We will not give in to any extremism, any type of hatred, we are here, we are standing together. A teenager who plotted to run down and behead a police officer in a terrorist attack in Australia after being corrupted by lunatic clerics was sentenced to 10 years in jail today. Sevdet Besim, 19, also incited a 14-year-old British boy to join his terrorist plot. Besim pleaded guilty to doing an act in preparation, or planning for, a terrorist act over the 2015 plan to attack Anzac Day commemorations in Melbourne on honouring soldiers who fought and died for Australia. The Victorian Supreme Court in Melbourne had previously heard that Besim discussed the plot in encrypted messages with the English school boy, who was 14 at the time. The boy, who cannot be named for legal reasons, masterminded the foiled plot from his bedroom in Lancashire, northern England and was jailed for five years last October. Justice Michael Croucher said Besims proposed putrid act was aimed at advancing violent jihad, intimidating the government and striking fear into the wider community. Evidence: a "Rambo" knife which the defendant and discussed online prior to his arrest / PA To the vast majority of the community, its unfathomable an 18-year-old boy planned to kill a law enforcement officer, to crash into him with a car and then behead him with a knife, Croucher said. As part of his planning for this putrid act, Mr Besim conducted internet searches on Anzac Day and places where there might be memorials. He had a knife, he had a car, he had a jihad flag, he had the encouragement of S (the British boy), and a mind corrupted by lunatic clerics. That was all he needed to commit this atrocity, and he was prepared to die trying. The court heard that Besim, who was arrested a week before Anzac Day, was an associate of Numan Haider, who was shot and killed by counter-terrorism forces in 2014 in Melbourne after stabbing two police officers. Croucher said Besim wanted to go to the Middle East and join the so-called Islamic State, but he was refused a passport and when Haider was killed decided that he must take up the fight here in Melbourne. Fortunately, however, Mr Besims plot was foiled, he added in sentencing him to 10 years in prison. Australia raised its threat level to high in September 2014 and has since carried out a series of counter-terrorism raids, with alarm fuelled by the departure of dozens of its nationals to Iraq and Syria to fight with jihadists. A handful of terror-related attacks have been foiled on home soil over the past 18 months, authorities have said, but several have taken place, including the murder of a Sydney police employee last year. A former friend of BBC presenter Emily Maitlis told jurors today he only broke a restraining order relating to her because she "owed" him an explanation over the breakdown of their friendship. Edward Vines, 46, said he had exhausted all legal avenues - including seeking to overturn a conviction for harassment in 2002 - before contacting the journalist and newsreader, allegedly breaching the order. He denies two charges of breaching a restraining order, which was imposed in January 2009 preventing him from contacting the Newsnight presenter or her family. Giving evidence at Oxford Crown Court, he said he had "a reasonable excuse" after his requests for an explanation were ignored by the "cruel and unkind" television personality. Vines, who met Maitlis in October 1989 during their first term at Cambridge University's Queen's College, said their friendship only broke down several months after he told her he had romantic feelings for her, in January 1990, and that initially the pair remained in contact. He said: "By Christmas I had fallen in love and I felt compelled to tell her that almost as soon as we got back to college. "We remained friends throughout the whole of the Easter term. She wrote to me over the Easter holidays, letters which I still have. "But in April it changed dramatically, in my eyes. She appeared to not to want to see me. She occasionally put me down in small ways, but nonetheless hurtful ways." Vines, whose address was given as Grosvenor Road in Oxford, said the breakdown triggered mental health problems, including manic depression. He is alleged to have sent two letters to the journalist and emails and letters to her mother, Marion Maitlis, between May 10 and June 26 last year, breaching the order. He claimed to police that he felt he had a reasonable excuse to write to Ms Maitlis to resolve what he referred to as a "mystery" because he had exhausted all legal means. Vines, who was flanked in the dock by nurses from the secure hospital where he resides, said: "Emily is a very complicated person herself and she was not forthcoming at all regarding the reasons behind her unkind behaviour towards me at Cambridge. He accused Ms Maitlis, who was not present in court, of "exaggerated" and "false testimony" which resulted in his initial conviction in 2002. Vines' previous convictions included breaches of restraining orders in 2008, 2010, 2013, 2014 and also earlier this year, for which he awaits sentence, jurors have been told. The charges Vines now faces relate only to the letters he sent last year, which prosecutor Julian Lynch described as "long and rambling". Additional reporting by Press Association. A man was stabbed in both legs after thieves tried to snatch his Rolex during a late-night attack in south-east London. The 24-year-old victim was getting into his car in Primrose Walk, New Cross, at around 11pm on Saturday when he was approached by two men. The man was attacked as he tried to shut the car door when he refused to hand over his Rolex watch following a demand from the men. He was stabbed in both legs and his left foot during the attempted robbery, police said. He was taken to a south London hospital to be treated before he was discharged. The men fled the scene having failed to steal the watch. Police described the first suspect as black, aged 18-20, of average build and around 5ft 10ins. He had short black hair and was wearing jeans and a striped light and grey top. The second man was also black, aged around 18, 5ft 9ins and of a slighter build. He was dressed all in black with a hood up and a cap underneath. Police have appealed for any witnesses in the area to come forward. Anyone with information should call police in Lewisham on 101 or Crimestoppers, anonymously on 0800 555 111 Baku, Azerbaijan, Sep. 5 By Elena Kosolapova - Trend: After the launch of Kashagan field, Kazakhstan may increase oil supplies to China from current 7 million tons to 20 million tons, Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev said following his working visit to China, presidential press-service reported. Moreover Kazakhstan will be able to increase gas supplies to China, Nazarbayev said. The production at the Kashagan field started in September 2013, but in October, it was suspended after a gas leak in one of the main pipelines. It is planned the resume oil production at Kashagan field in October 2016. Kashagan is a large oil and gas field in Kazakhstan, located in the north of the Caspian Sea. The geological reserves of Kashagan are estimated at 4.8 billion tons of oil. The total oil reserves amount to 38 billion barrels; some 10 billion out of them are recoverable reserves. There are large natural gas reserves at the Kashagan field - over one trillion cubic meters. Follow the author on Twitter: @E_Kosolapova A deli owner has admitted murdering 15-year-old Paige Doherty in a "frenzied" knife attack when she went to buy breakfast on her way to work. John Leathem stabbed Paige 43 times in the head and neck and inflicted more than 100 other stab wounds and cuts to the teenager in Clydebank, West Dunbartonshire, on March 19. The married father-or two brutally murdered the schoolgirl within 10 minutes of her entering the Delicious Deli shop on Fleming Avenue before dumping her body in nearby woodland. At the High Court in Glasgow, Leathem, 32, admitted murdering Paige in the back office at the deli after a brief discussion about a job at the shop. Frenzied attack: Leatham admitted to murdering Paige after a discussion about a job at the deli / PA His defence counsel claimed that Paige told Leathem "I'll just say you touched me" if she was not offered the role. Judge Lady Rae described the murder as "a savage, frenzied attack on a child". A police search was launched after Paige disappeared on her way to her hairdressing job. Her worried mother, Pamela Munro, reported her missing after checking with friends, who said they had not heard from her either. Teenage girl: Paige had been on her way to her hairdressing job at the time of the murder / PA Specialist forensic officers narrowed down their search to the deli in Clydebank's, the premises where the teenager was last spotted after leaving a friend's house. Her body was found dumped by the side of the Great Western Road two days later and shop owner Leathem was arrested the followong day Family and friends of the schoolgirl gasped and stifled cries as CCTV footage was shown to the court of Leathem carrying her body in a bin liner to the boot of his car after murdering her within 10 minutes of her entering the shop that Saturday morning. He was later captured on CCTV leaving the shop to buy anti-bacterial wipes, bin bags and bleach, and collect his car from his nearby home, in a bid to cover up the crime. Crime scene: A forensic officer at the site where the body of Paige Doherty was found near Great Western Road / PA Leathem is understood to have stored Paige's body in a shed at his home before driving to a wooded area off Great Western Road and dumping her body on his way to work on the morning of Monday March 21. At around noon that day a walker spotted what he thought were legs in the undergrowth and raised the alarm. A post-mortem examination recorded 61 stab wounds, including 43 to the head and neck, and 85 further cuts - many of them described as "defensive in nature" - as Paige tried to fight off her attacker. Lady Rae was told by the prosecution: "Reviews of CCTV footage led police to believe Paige Doherty had entered the deli but had not walked away." Knife attack: Paige was murdered in Delicious Deli in Clydebank / PA Police Scotland Detective Superintendent Duncan Sloan said: "Paige's whole future lay ahead of her and her life has been brutally cut short by the vicious actions of one man. "These type of incidents are very rare in Scotland and Paige's untimely death shocked a community to its core, particularly as the man responsible was one of them. "The support from the local community has been much appreciated and I hope that Paige's family can take some comfort from the result of the court proceedings today." In a statement released at the time, Paige's mother Pamela Munro said: "We are absolutely devastated that we have lost our beautiful little girl." The victim: Paige's mum spoke of cherishing the memory of her "beautiful smiling girl" / PA Days after her life was taken away, hundreds of people, many carrying pink balloons, turned out at a local park to remember the popular teenager. The memorial event at Whitecrook Park was arranged by friends of the girl, who would now have been 16. Following the girl's death, people including Scotland's First Minister Nicola Sturgeon showed the family support by posting pictures of themselves pouting with the hashtag PoutforPaige and Clydebank landmark Titan Crane was lit up in pink in memory of the teenager. Paige's mother told mourners at the service to turn their anger at her death in to cherishing the memory of her "beautiful smiling girl". Ms Munro told 600 brightly-clad people at St Margaret's Church in Clydebank that her daughter's "infectious personality" would always be with them. A rmed police stormed a block of flats after terrified residents reported gunfire in south London. Panicked onlookers called police after hearing shots and the sound of cars crashing in Stockwell on Saturday night. Residents reported hearing screams in the clash at flats in Aytoun Road just after 11pm. A police helicopter was scrambled and officers stormed the flats where they found evidence of shots fired, but no injured victims. Minutes later, police were called to a separate shooting in Leys Court, Brixton Road where evidence of gunfire but no injured people were found. Lois Roberts, a 25-year-old who lives in the Aytoun Road estate near Brixton Road, heard the terrifying ordeal play out in a flat opposite hers. Police raid: Armed police stormed the flat, just off Aytoun Road and Stockwell Park Road, on Saturday night / Lois Roberts I was just sat at my desk and I heard five loud bangs which I first assumed was a car backfiring, but then I thought no thats something more. I've never heard a bang like that before, she said. I was too scared to look outside the window but my flatmates boyfriend looked and said he saw two men running across the estate. About 20 minutes later we heard this man screaming. It was terrifying. He was shouting things like You are f****** dead. Im going to f****** kill you you. Then we heard what sounded like a car driving repeatedly into something and then reversing over something which made a crunching noise. It was horrific. Crime scene: Forensics have been scouring the scene since Saturday (Lois Roberts) My flatmate called the police and 10 armed officers broke into one of the flats and we saw three people being escorted out. "The next day I saw two cars smashed up outside the flat. Forensic officers were dispatched to the scene police are investigating whether a potential victim has self-presented at hospital with gunshot wounds. Ms Roberts, a jewellery designer originally from Wales, has only been living in London for six months and said the incident had made her feel unsafe living where she does. Discharged firearm: There was no evidence of anyone being injured / Lois Roberts Nothing like this happens where I am from. It was just a bit scary really, she said. There is so much stuff that goes on, we hear dogs and people screaming and I have seen a drugs raid before. A police spokesman confirmed that crime scenes were still in place but no arrests have been made. He said: "Police were called at 11:19pm on Saturday, 3 September, to reports of gunshots heard in the vicinity of Aytoun Road, SW9. "Local officers and firearms officers attended and found evidence of a discharge of a firearm at a block of flats in Aytoun Road. "At 11.33pm police received further calls to shots heard in Leys Court, Brixton Road. Officers on scene at Aytoun Road attended the second location and found evidence of a discharge of a firearm. "Officers did not find anyone injured at either location and there have been no reports of injured persons. Enquiries are ongoing to establish if anyone has self-presented at local hospitals with injuries consistent with being shot. "Crime scenes are currently in place at both locations as enquiries continue. "Any witnesses or anyone with any information can call police in Lambeth via 101. To give information anonymously on 0800 555 111 or at crimestoppers-uk.org. "There have been no arrests at this time." O fsted chief Sir Michael Wilshaw stepped up his attack on grammar schools today, warning that a return to selection would be a profoundly retrograde step which would lead to falling standards. The outgoing chief inspector of schools said grammars had a woeful record of admitting children from disadvantaged backgrounds. He said the success of inner London secondaries made a mockery of the claim that more grammars could unlock the potential of poorer pupils. His words will be interpreted as a parting shot at Prime Minister Theresa May, who is reportedly planning to lift the ban on new grammar schools. Sir Michael asked a London Councils conference on improving schools: If they are such a good thing for poor children, then why are poor children here in the capital doing so much better than their counterparts in those parts of the country that operate selection? He added: The notion that the poor stand to benefit from the return of grammar schools strikes me as quite palpable tosh and nonsense and is very clearly refuted by the London experience. "I am in no doubt that a return to selection would be a profoundly retrograde step. His comments came as it was claimed that schools in London could lose their status as the best in the country if ministers press ahead with plans to cut their funding. Town halls across the capital warned that a long-awaited funding overhaul could mean many London schools will receive significantly less money. London schools have outperformed the rest of the country at every level for the past five years. Peter John, schools spokesman for London Councils, said: Nobody would argue against fair funding but it shouldnt be at the expense of taking a huge chunk of money out of London. A business class only airline has announced it is stopping flights from London's Luton Airport to New York because of the Brexit vote. French airline La Compagnie has said it will instead look to introduce a second daily flight on its original Paris to New York route from October. The carrier said the UKs decision to leave the EU created an unprecedented level of legal and economic uncertainty for airlines. They run up to six flights per week from Londons Luton airport to New York Newark, with up to 74 passengers on each Boeing 757 aeroplane flight. But passenger numbers are not to blame as they revealed the route has had encouraging performance levels with an average load factor above 77 per cent since June. The airline said the economics of the service remained fragile. La Compagnie's Luton to New York service, which began in April last year, will be suspended from September 25. The airline's founder and chief executive, Frantz Yvelin, said: "We would like to express our sincere thanks to each and every one of our passengers who have supported us since the launch of our London to New York operations from April 2015 to present. "This has not been an easy decision for us to make but we would like to emphasise that this is the suspension of, not the cancellation of, the London to New York route." A n animal charity is desperately seeking to reunite a lost cat with his owner, after he travelled 60 miles from north London inside the engine of a removal van. The ginger tom, who has been nicknamed Sparky, was found inside the engine when the van arrived in Reading in Berkshire. It is thought one-year-old Sparky had climbed into his hiding place before the van left the White Hart Lane area of Tottenham. The fortunate feline managed to survive the long journey unscathed. Passer-by Darren Sumner, saw the van broken down in London Road, Reading on Sunday, August 28. He noticed Sparky sitting inside the engine and managed to coax him out. Appeal: the RSPCA is looking to find "Sparky's" owners / RSPCA He said: I was shocked when I saw the cat. He was sitting behind the heater matrix, I felt his paws and they were boiling hot. He was warm and scared so I sat and stroked him for about 30 minutes until I coaxed him out. Hes a lovely cat. He used a litter tray so I think hes probably someones pet. "He woke me up at about 3am in the morning for a play. I hope his owners can be found. Sparky was taken to the vet to be checked over, and he was given a clean bill of health, but as he is not microchipped staff have been unable to get him back home. He is now being cared for by the RSPCA at the charity's Reading branch, where staff are appealing to find his owners. Helena Peace, from the RSPCA, said: Its amazing that Sparky survived his journey, it must have been terrifying for him. He was traumatised but physically unhurt. Hes certainly used up one of his nine lives. We think hes about a year old. Hes extremely friendly and loves to climb up onto your chest for fuss. It would be great to reunite him with his owners, they must be worried sick about him. Anyone who recognises Sparky can contact Ms Peace on 07885 655075. W ealthy foreign property investors are turning their attention from central London to cheaper suburban locations to avoid paying heavy stamp duty bills, an investigation has found. The trend, which follows a series of swingeing stamp duty hikes on expensive properties since 2012, means cash-rich investors are increasingly in competition with first-time buyers in new developments in outer London. It has been accelerated by the slump in the value of the pound that followed the Brexit vote in June, which has made London property around 15 per cent cheaper in dollar terms compared with a year ago. Chinese investor Ada Yau, who has been looking at flats in the north-west London suburb of Colindale in Zone 4, told BBCs Inside Out London programme: Brexit is not the end of the world. This country has a stable and secure political system. Yes it attracts foreign investors to come here like me! Fifteen per cent off, its like a sale... Im going to invest in buying flats and rent them out. The current system of stamp duty means a purchaser buying a 1.5 million apartment in Mayfair would have to pay more than 138,000, including a three per cent stamp duty surcharge on buy-to-let properties. However, by spreading the same investment on about six cheaper flats of 250,000 each, the bill is reduced to 60,000 a saving of 78,000. One first-time buyer, junior doctor Tania Rahman, told of her frustration that she now has to compete with foreign investors. She said: Brexit has just brought so much big hope for Brexiteers that property would become more affordable. Well it has for one group foreigners. David Adams, managing director of Mayfair agents John Taylor Estate, said that British buyers were using post-referendum uncertainty as a reason not to take the plunge and were in danger of missing out. He said: The London sale is on to foreigners. Its not on to the English they continue to sit on their hands and say, David, its not a good time to trade. He said that of the enquiry calls received by the agency in the month after the June 23 referendum, 80 per cent had foreign dialling codes for their point of contact. Recent property surveys show prices in the most expensive central London boroughs such as Kensington and Chelsea are tumbling in large part because of the huge stamp duty burden while those in more affordable local authority areas on the fringes of the capital, such as Waltham Forest, continue to surge by up to 20 per cent a year. J ames May has revealed he was caught speeding just minutes after he bought a new motorbike at a west London dealership. The former Top Gear presenter told Twitter followers he was busted soon after he splashed out on a 599cc Honda in Chiswick. He was clocked doing more than the 30mph limit on a stretch of the North Circular less than half-a-mile from the dealership. On August 11, May tweeted: Bought new motorcycle. Busted for speeding in the first 16 miles. A map which was posted on Twitter shows May was caught breaching the speed limit near Gunnersbury Cemetery, less than half-a-mile from Honda Chiswick. In a Twitter update, he described his conviction as shameful and added Ill come quietly as he prepares for a speed awareness course. May told MailOnline: 'It's a fair cop. I try to respect speed limits and rules in urban areas. Out on the motorways and in the country it's a bit different, but I try to abide by the rules in the city. I was caught this time. That stretch of road used to be 40 [miles per hour], but they recently brought it down to 30. May also poked fun at a review posted on a speed awareness course leaflet. May's new show The Grand Tour, with former Top Gear colleagues Jeremy Clarkson and Richard Hammond, is due to be shown on Amazon Prime this autumn. T he full impact of the alarming toll of violence inflicted on women in London emerged today, as new figures showed that 25 murders and more than 1,600 rapes were committed by domestic abusers in a year. The killings were among nearly 60,000 offences involving violent domestic abuse recorded in the capital in the 12 months up to the end of March. The tally from the Metropolitan police including just over 6,000 incidents involving wounding or grievous bodily harm, and 17,676 crimes of assault with injury represents more than a quarter of all violent crimes committed in London. A total of 2,198 sex offences, including 1,640 rapes, were carried out by domestic abusers. Twenty-nine per cent of rapes in the capital were domestic abuse offences, highlighting the threat posed to women from sexually violent partners. The figures, obtained by the Standard under the Freedom of Information Act, were compiled by the Met following the introduction of a new flagging system to identify domestic abuse crimes. It was brought in because of concern that traditional crime recording methods were making it hard to assess the scale of domestic abuse and obscuring the root cause of a significant area of offending. The Met, which has previously promised to use Al Capone-syle tactics to bring offenders to justice, insisted today that it was determined to protect victims and was continuing work to combat the crimes of domestic violence. Leighann Duffy, 26, was murdered in a hammer attack in front of her six-year-old daughter Others insisted, however, that more urgent action was needed. Sir Keir Starmer, Labour MP for Holborn and St Pancras and a former director of public prosecutions, said law enforcers were working hard to tackle the problem but these figures are a shocking reminder of just how prevalent and persistent domestic abuse still is. The sheer number of rape and assault cases shows that domestic abuse must remain an absolute priority, not only for the police but for all of us. We all have a duty to speak out and redouble efforts to prevent and respond to domestic abuse. The murder figures a domestic abuse murder in London every other week are equally shocking and require robust analysis and response. The home should be a place of comfort and safety, not a place of violent risk and terrible abuse. Sir Keir said that although law enforcers and others were working hard to improve their response to domestic abuse the under-reporting of offences meant that the true scale of the problem was even worse than official figures indicated. Leighann Duffy's killer Lloyd Byfield was jailed last year for life with a minimum term of more than 26 years Todays new Met figures show that 19,365 crimes of common assault were inflicted on domestic abuse victims and 53 cases in addition to the homicides involved the use of an offensive weapon such as a knife, gun or blunt instrument. Domestic abusers were also responsible for 14,437 crimes of harassment, 2,217 offences involving other violence and 259 kidnappings. A further 558 cases involved other sexual offences. The statistics cover both intimate offences carried out by a current or former partner, and those committed by non-intimate suspects, including other family members, who live with the victim. The sex of the victims is not specified, but the vast majority are known to be women. Most perpetrators are men. In an interview with the Standard two years ago, Commander Christine Jones, the officer leading Scotland Yards efforts to tackle domestic abuse, blamed societal attitudes for fuelling the problem. She said the result was that accepted violence, particularly sexual violence, towards women was at its worst level for decades, with too many people willing to tolerate abuse after being becoming hardened by the impact of pornography and violent media games. In response to todays new figures, the Met promised action to protect Londoners. The Met takes domestic abuse very seriously and is committed to safeguarding all victims and bringing perpetrators to justice, the force said in a statement. Specialist training for officers is at the heart of our approach, and we have increased the numbers of officers and staff working across our dedicated borough-based community safety units to just over 900. All frontline officers working in borough policing now get additional specialist training in domestic abuse, incorporating updates on the latest legislation, investigative techniques, victim care and how to best target offenders. We are also looking at all the ways in which new technology can be used to increase our effectiveness in bringing domestic abuse offenders to justice, from giving officers fast access to digital copies of 999 calls, to the use of body-worn video to capture evidence and electronic handheld devices to record statements and photos at the scene. The new statistics also confirm that the volume of domestic abuse recorded by police has risen sharply. Earlier Met figures, covering the year up to June 2014, showed just over 28,000 domestic abuse crimes less than half the total shown in todays statistics. Scotland Yard said that reasons for the sharp increase included the increased confidence among victims to report crime, and more accurate recording of offences. There will be concern, however, that the figures could also reflect an actual rise in violence. Victims killed in their own homes Women who have lost their lives because of domestic abuse in London include 25-year-old Lucy Ayris, who was stabbed through the neck while she slept by her boyfriend. Billy White, 23, was drunk and high on cannabis and cocaine when he knifed Ms Ayris at the home they shared in Pinkwell Lane, Hayes, in May last year. The couple, who had been in a volatile 18-month relationship, had enjoyed an evening socialising with friends and having sex before White carried out the brutal murder. He was later jailed for life by a judge at the Old Bailey who described White as a very dangerous man. Other domestic abuse victims include Elife Beqa, 33, from Southall, who was strangled in August last year by her jealous husband Agim Isaku in a fit of rage over his mistaken belief that she was having an affair. The Old Bailey was told that after Mrs Beqa formed a platonic friendship with another man, Isaku began to monitor her phone and stopped her from accessing Facebook. He also insisted she leave a job she seemed to enjoy, before killing her at their home. He was convicted of manslaughter and jailed in February for 10 years and six months. Another horrific case led to the killing of 26-year-old Leighann Duffy in a frenzied hammer and knife attack carried out in front of her six-year-old daughter. Ms Duffys killer, Lloyd Byfield, 48, had sought to pursue a relationship with her before smashing his way into her Walthamstow flat in September 2014 in a murder that an Old Bailey judge described as the pinnacle of domestic violence. He was jailed last year for life with a minimum term of more than 26 years. K eith Vaz appeared to be losing his grip on one of Parliaments most powerful jobs today after allegedly paying male escorts for sex. The senior Labour MP will meet the Commons home affairs committee, which he chairs, tomorrow to discuss whether he should remain in the post. But committee member Chuka Umunna stressed the claims over Mr Vazs alleged conduct must not be allowed to disrupt inquiries by the committee, including one on prostitution. Streatham Labour MP Mr Umunna also made clear Mr Vaz would have to publicly declare any conduct relevant to the inquiries before hearings started. Veteran Labour MP Mr Vaz is alleged to have paid male escorts from eastern Europe for sex at a flat he owns in north London, to have asked one to bring the party drug poppers and to have offered to pay for cocaine, while stating that he did not want to use it himself. After the scandal broke, Mr Vaz seemed to be preparing to step aside at least temporarily as committee chairman. However a second statement from the former Europe minister, who has survived a series of political controversies, suggested he was trying to stay in the influential post. Asked if Mr Vaz should quit, Mr Umunna told BBC radio: When you see things like this plastered across the front pages... you just feel terribly for his family. We need to hear from him first and then we can decide with him the best way to move forward and in his statement that he issued yesterday, Keith was very clear that he did not want to disrupt the work of the committee. Mr Umunna said it had very important inquiries going on, including on prostitution, female genital mutilation, counter-radicalisation and would have a big role in the debate about immigration. TODO: define component type apester On whether Mr Vaz could face conflicts of interest, Mr Umunna added: Before every single session of the home affairs committee, you make declarations of interests and obviously those need to be out there and in the open. Mr Vaz may be able to persuade some members that he should step aside from some hearings, such as on prostitution, but he is believed to face a more difficult task convincing a majority that he should stay as chairman. A Labour MP added: Keith is working very hard to get committee members to support him and many of them will just say oh this is a private matter, he has done nothing illegal. But that is not how the public will see it. There is a danger of making the same mistake as in expenses. Leicester East MP Mr Vaz publicly apologised to his wife and children for the hurt and distress he caused following the allegations in a Sunday newspaper. He has said he is referring the newspapers conduct to his lawyer. Tory MP Andrew Bridgen has said he would write to the Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards regarding Mr Vazs conduct. The Sunday Mirror also claimed money was paid into an account used by one of the escorts by a man linked to a charity set up by the MP. There is no suggestion that money from the charity Silver Star was used. But the Charity Commission may look into the matter if it feels such action is needed. J eremy Corbyn has claimed allegations that influential Labour MP Keith Vaz paid male escorts for sex are a private matter. The Labour leader appeared to indicate that there was no need for high-profile MP Mr Vaz to stand down from his role in the party after he was exposed apparently paying two male escorts for their services. The married father-of-two met the men at his flat in north-west London and offered to buy them cocaine, though he did not want any himself, the Sunday Mirror reported. He is also alleged to have asked one escort to bring the party drug poppers with him for the encounter and to have boasted about sleeping with a prostitute without protection. Mr Vaz remains chair of the powerful Commons Home Affairs Committee which deals with drugs policy and is reviewing the UK's vice laws. He has indicated he will stand aside from the chairmanship on Tuesday. Mr Corbyn appeared to back Mr Vaz last night, saying: It should be treated as a private matter. He is going to meet the home affairs committee and discuss with them what his role will be in the future. Im not sure what that decision will be but I leave it to him to decide on that." Asked if he was happy for Mr Vaz to remain in the Labour party, he said: Well, he hasn't committed any crime that I know of. As far as I'm aware it is a private matter, and I will obviously be talking to Keith." Support: Jeremy Corbyn / Getty Images Mr Vaz is facing a possible investigation by Commons sleaze watchdogs as the fall-out over the reports threatens to overwhelm his career. He indicated he will stand aside as chairman of the Commons Home Affairs Committee at the meeting after publicly apologising to his wife and children for the "hurt and distress" he caused them. Tory MP Andrew Bridgen said he would write to the Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards regarding Mr Vaz's conduct. The Sunday Mirror also claimed money was paid into an account used by one of the escorts by a man linked to a charity set up by the MP. TODO: define component type apester The Charity Commission said the regulator would consider becoming involved in the matter if it felt such action was needed. MP Keith Vaz 'paid for male escorts' A spokesman said: "The Charity Commission is aware of the allegations made regarding an individual linked to the charity Silver Star. "The commission has asked journalists to forward any details and evidence they have in order to determine whether there is a regulatory role for the commission." There is no suggestion in the newspaper report that the charity's money was used in the affair. In a statement, Mr Vaz said: "It is deeply disturbing that a national newspaper should have paid individuals to have acted in this way. I have referred these allegations to my solicitor Mark Stephens of Howard Kennedy who will consider them carefully and advise me accordingly. "At this time I do not want there to be any distraction from the important work the Home Affairs Select Committee undertakes so well. "Select committees do vital work in holding the government and others to account. We are due to publish two reports, one into anti-Semitism and the other into FGM (female genital mutilation) in the next few days, in addition we have a number of key witnesses. "I will of course inform committee members first of my plans when we meet on Tuesday. My decision has been based entirely on what is in the best interests of the committee which I have had the privilege of chairing for the last nine years." In an earlier statement issued to the Mail on Sunday, the Leicester East MP said: "I am genuinely sorry for the hurt and distress that has been caused by my actions, in particular to my wife and children. "I will be informing the committee on Tuesday of my intention to stand aside from chairing the sessions of the committee with immediate effect." Naz Shah, a member of the Home Affairs Committee, told Sky News she had spoken to Mr Vaz, adding "he has done the right thing" by standing aside. Details added, headline changed (first version posted at 11:29) Baku, Azerbaijan, Sept. 5 By Azad Hasanli Trend: Azerbaijani state oil company SOCAR can provide Iran with its gas storage tanks, President of SOCAR Rovnag Abdullayev told reporters Sept. 5. He said that the matter rests in small amounts of 1-2 billion cubic meters of gas. Iran has problems with the gas supply to its northern regions in the winter months, Abdullayev said. The Iranian side is very interested in using our gas storage facilities to pump gas in them in summer and supply it to its northern parts in winter. Head of the Azerbaijani state oil company noted that this issue was being discussed within the framework of the visit of Iranian President Hassan Rouhani to Azerbaijan in August this year. At the same time, he noted that Azerbaijan needs technical gas to check volumes of its gas storage facilities. He said that the negotiations are being held with Iran. We have already increased the capacity of our gas storage facilities to 3.5 billion cubic meters, but we have the possibility to increase it to more than five billion cubic meters, simply at first we want to check the volumes of our gas storage facilities and thats what we need the technical gas for, Abdullayev added. He said that earlier, such negotiations were being held with the Russian Gazprom company, however SOCAR was not satisfied with the Russian gas companys conditions. Earlier, the gas storage operation department of the Azneft Production Union reported that it is planned to increase capacity of gas storage facilities in Azerbaijan to five billion cubic meters. Work on reconstruction and expansion of gas storage facilities in Azerbaijan will be held with this purpose, as well as new gas wells will be designed and the existing infrastructure will be upgraded. T heresa Mays first major world summit talks today were rocked by a triple warning that companies could leave the UK for Europe following the Brexit vote. Japan, South Korea and insurance market Lloyds of London all warned during the G20 talks of the damaging effects that the upheaval could have on both Britain and the world. Mrs May scored an early success at the gathering in China when Australian prime minister Malcolm Turnbull said he wanted a very strong free trade agreement with the UK after it leaves the EU. Australia is determined to provide Britain with all the support and assistance that we can, he said. But she was left out of the room when President Obama and US Secretary of State John Kerry met Germanys Angela Merkel and French president Francois Hollande this morning. And her attempts to discuss trade triggered an ill tempered outburst from president of the European Commission Jean-Claude Juncker, who claimed the British PM had no right to be seeking new deals while still an EU member. Such matters, said Mr Juncker, were an exclusive matter for Brussels officials and he said: I dont like the idea that member states of the EU, including those who are still a member state of the European Union, are negotiating free trade agreements. Japans premier Shinzo Abe used brief talks with Mrs May to demand more certainty for Japanese companies in the UK. Theresa May: It's a 'golden era' in China-UK relations Earlier, Japans ambassador to London said firms that located in Britain because of its membership of the European single market would head for the exit if their profits were threatened by a less favourable trade deal. Koji Tsuruoka said none wanted to pull out but went on: Their duty is to produce profit ... All options are open to them. Korea was said to have repeatedly raised fears about Brexits global impact around the table of world leaders. Backing: Theresa May with Australian PM Malcolm Turnbull In a third warning, the chairman of Lloyds of London said it could be forced to move some business to continental Europe unless the Government gave more clarity about the UKs future relationship with the EU. John Nelson said otherwise operations could start shifting abroad before Brexit happens. The loser will not be Lloyds or the industry, he told BBC Radio 4. Sadly, it will be London. Meanwhile, Nigel Farage accused Mrs May of backsliding after she ruled out Boris Johnsons plans for a points-based migration system. The former Ukip leader said: Any watering down from that will lead to real anger. A debate on whether to hold a second EU referendum sparked angry clashes among MPs amid claims a fresh vote would fly in the face of democracy. Politicians spoke in Westminster Hall tonight for three hours tonight after more than 4 million people signed a petition calling for a re-run on Britains historic Brexit vote. But any hopes of a fresh referendum were dashed when Brexit Secretary David Davis told the Commons there would be no attempt to stay in the EU by the back door. Mr Davis ruled out a bid to engineer a second vote because some people didnt like the first answer. Tory colleagues warned a second referendum would be corrosive and dangerous during a fiery debate in central London. John Penrose said: Brexit must mean Brexit and it is up to every red-blooded democrat, no matter which side they were on before the result was known, to accept the clear electoral verdict and to pull together to deliver it as best we can. SNP MP Ian Blackford described the vote in June was flawed because of a lack of detail on the issues and the exclusion of 16 and 17-year-olds from the ballot. He added the views of the Scottish people should not be ignored after the country voted overwhelmingly to remain in the European Union. He said: Brexiteers wanted out of Europe but they did not have a plan for the day after or the days after that. Tottenham MP David Lammy, who called for the Commons to override the vote and stage a fresh referendum, added: I think weve all got to concede that two and a half months down the line we dont actually know what Brexit means in reality. Green Party leader Caroline Lucas said the prospect of a second vote should not be ruled out when the terms of Britains exit from the EU were revealed. But other MPs said any new referendum would disrespect the British people. Brexit minister Robin Walker said at the closing stages of the debate: This was a once in a generation vote and that decision must be respected. He added a second referendum would fly in the face of democracy. B arack Obama and Vladimir Putin exchanged icy stares as they squared up at Chinas G20 summit amid frosty relations between the superpowers. The US President was photographed glaring at his Russian counterpart as one-on-one talks to reach a deal in the war-torn region collapsed. The worlds two most powerful men, who have taken opposing viewpoints on the Syria crisis but promised to keep up negotiations over a cease-fire agreement. On Sunday it looked like a deal to get aid to civilians living in the Syrian city of Aleppo was likely to be reached but photos from the meeting showed a tense moment between the two leaders. The pull-aside meeting will be the pairs last face-to-face exchange before Obama leaves office in January. For weeks Washington and Moscow had been trying to reach a deal to control the violence between Syrian president Bashar al-Assads forces, backed by Russia, and the US-backed rebel forces. The five-year war in Syria has so far left 300,000 people dead and forced millions to flee. The proposed deal between Russia and US aimed to agree better coordinated military action against extremist groups in the country, Barack Obama discusses his meeting with Vladimir Putin at the G20 These latest talks between Obama and Putin come as the Russian-backed Syrian government troops continue their siege of Aleppo. But despite the frosty photographs, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said the meeting went well and work will continue, Russias TASS news agency reported. Pledge: The two leaders promised to keep up negotiations. / AP A senior US administration official told Reuters the chat, which also discussed the situation in Ukraine, had a businesslike tone and went on longer than expected. Russia is part of an alliance trying to defeat the Islamic State terrorist group in Syria and Iraq but has been criticised for military action which appeared to be supportive of keeping the Syrian president Bashar al-Assads regime in power. Prime Minister Theresa May also met Putin for the first time at the weekend and said she wants a frank and open relationship with Russia. Mrs May said she had asked the Russian leader to do all he could to end the bombing of civilians in Syria. A British couple spent seven hours abandoned in shark-infested waters after they became separated from their boat while scuba diving. Julie Byrne and husband Jeff, both 52, were in a group of five divers who lost their boat when they were swept 12 miles out into the Indian Ocean while underwater by strong currents. A huge rescue operation including 22 boats, two helicopters and an aircraft was launched to find the group, who were eventually spotted by a passing pleasure boat and pulled out of the water. The group, who had been diving off the coast of Mauritius, were found severely dehydrated and sunburnt. We were constantly on the lookout for fins, but the waves were so high and the water so choppy that we couldn't see a thing, Mrs Byrne, 52, said. The Carlisle couple had been diving for half an hour when they surfaced early because of rough seas and low visibility. But when they emerged from the water their boat was nowhere to be seen. Mrs Byrne said panic immediately set in and some of the groups younger members freaked out. We thought we were done for. That this was it. Wed perish in the water and our bodies would never be found, she said. When youre in waters where you know sharks are common, your mind plays tricks. Each time a fish or leaf of seaweed brushed my ankle my heart would stop, said Mrs Byrne, who works for the ambulance service. We saw helicopters flying overhead. We yelled and screamed but they couldnt see us. The five divers linked arms to stay together and inflated their diving jackets to stay afloat. The last shark attack off the coast of Mauritius was in the 1980s but swimming and surfing have been banned off the coast of Reunion, its neighbouring island, because of seven people killed by sharks since 2011. An investigation by the Mauritius Scuba Diving Association suspended the diving companys licence indefinitely after finding it negligent. Hugues Vitry, MSDA president, said the lives of the divers were put at considerable risk. Stephane de Senneville, director of DiveSail Travel, blamed the dive master. The mistake was the decision made by the dive master who chose to swim away from the protection of the cove and into sharp currents which dragged them out to sea. Mrs Byrne suffered post-traumatic stress but her husband, a site manager, went back in the water. Im not letting one bad experience ruin my love of diving, he said. T wo people were shot dead as violence erupted at a New York carnival just hours before the citys annual West Indian Day parade. At least four people were shot and one was stabbed amid bloodshed at the pre-dawn JOuvert parade in Brooklyn, police said. The first of the shootings happened at around 4am when a man, believed to be in his late teens or early 20s, was shot in the Crown Heights neighbourhood. He later died at hospital. A 72-year-old woman was reportedly also shot as she sat nearby on a bench but her injuries are not thought to be life-threatening. Less than half-an-hour later a 22-year-old woman was shot in the eye and died in hospital, according to police sources. The New York Post reported another woman was stabbed at Empire Boulevard and Ocean Avenue but refused medical attention. Another man was shot in the leg hours later but was expected to survive. It comes as the New York Police Department planned to double the number of officers at this years festival after a high-ranking aide to New York governor Andrew Cuomo was killed by a stray bullet last year. Carey Gabay, 43, was shot in the head as rival street gangs exchanged gunshots during the JOuvert festivities. At this years festival, Police distributed leaflets that said: This community will no longer tolerate this violence. Do not shoot anyone. Do not stab anyone. The festival is held hours before the West Indian Day Parade in New York when the city comes together to celebrate Caribbean culture. N othing beats a cosy catch up with old friends and tonight well get the chance to do just that as Cold Feet returns to our screens for a sixth series. Over the years, Pete, Jenny, Adam, David and Karen have updated haircuts, changed jobs, ended old love affairs and started new ones, but underneath it all, theyre still the same, loveable gang we once knew. Has it really been 13 years? Pete, mate! Whats new with you? In the past Pete (John Thomson) has negotiated an on-again-off-again romance with wife Jenny. But now they finally seem to have settled into a groove, hes facing a more existential crisis. Following some big changes in his professional life, Pete is a bit down on his luck. Still, at least hes got rid of that goatee. So, Adam, how have you been since the accident? Helen Baxendale confirmed she wouldnt be returning to the show, which leaves widowed husband Adam (James Nesbitt) travelling the world for work and back to his pre-Rachel, womanising ways. Pete is convinced none of these flings with younger women will turn serious, but has Adam finally found lasting love? So, Jenny, do blondes really have more fun? Jenny (Fay Ripley) has a glam new look, but is there a glam new lifestyle to boot? Fat chance. With two kids and kid-like husband Pete to look after, she has her hands full. That doesnt mean shell be keeping her thoughts on Adams relationship to herself. Karen, you havent changed a bit! Karen (Hermione Norris) was always the groups peacemaker, but as godmother to Adam and Rachels tearaway teen son Matthew, shes got her work cut out. Can she be true to the memory of her best friend and respect the wishes of Matthews father at the same time? Tsk, David, getting hitched to your divorce solicitor. Thats such a cliche Management consultant David (Robert Bathurst) has never been short of a bob or two, but he does sometimes run low on common sense. Its just as well, then, that level-headed ex-wife Karen is still on the scene to steer him, even as his second marriage to snooty Robyn hits the rocks. Cold Feet continues Mondays at 9 on ITV, watch the series so far on the ITV Hub. Baku, Azerbaijan, Sept. 5 By Aygun Badalova - Trend: Russia and Saudi Arabia at the G20 summit signed a joint statement in order to stabilize oil market, TASS reported September 5. The statement was signed by Russias and Saudi Arabias energy ministers Aleksandr Novak and Khalid Al-Falih. The statement said that oil suppliers currently face long-term challenges on the global oil market, including significant drop in capital expenditures in oil production worldwide, delay of investment projects. The ministers highlighted the importance of constructive dialogue and close interaction between the major oil producers in order to maintain stability on oil market and contribute to stable investments in the long-term. The ministers agreed to continue consultations on market situation and to set up joint monitoring working group, which will track fundamental indicators of the oil market and to develop recommendations on joint actions to ensure the stability and predictability of the market. Baku, Azerbaijan, Sept. 5 By Aygun Badalova - Trend: Qatars Prime Minister Sheikh Abdullah Bin Nasser Bin Khalifa Al-Thani and OPEC Secretary General Mohammad Sanusi Barkindo discussed global oil market situation, the cartel reported September 5. The meeting in Doha was also attended by Mohammed Bin Saleh Al-Sada, Qatars Minister of Energy and Industry and current OPEC Conference President. The Qatari Prime Minister expressed confidence that Barkindo would work closely with OPEC member countries to overcome the current challenges in the interest of all oil producers and consumers. The Doha initiative in February and April this year has provided both OPEC and non-OPEC oil producers a platform upon which a credible framework can be further developed to restore oil market stability, Barkindo said. The informal OPEC meeting is expected in late September in Algeria. It is expected that the talks on oil production freeze will be held between OPEC and non-OPEC countries. The meeting will be held at the fringe of the International Energy Forum in Algiers from 26-28 September. The forum will bring together ministers, CEOs, international organizations like OPEC and the IEA, experts from 73 countries. Monday, 05 September 2016 09:55:52 (GMT+3) | Shanghai Chongqing-based Chinese steel producer Chongqing Iron & Steel Co. (Chongqing Steel) has announced that it has recorded an operating revenue of RMB 2.789 billion ($0.42 billion) for the first half of the current year, down 38.09 percent year on year, with a net loss of RMB 1.79 billion ($0.27 billion) compared to the net loss of RMB 2.228 billion recorded in the same period of 2015. Chongqing Steel stated that decreases in its average finished steel product sales price and in its sales volumes caused it incur a net loss in the given period. Monday, 05 September 2016 12:06:28 (GMT+3) | Shanghai China Railway Corporation (CRC) has announced that as of the end of the first half of the current year (June 30) its total debts amounted to RMB 4.21 trillion ($0.63 trillion), rising by 1.7 percent compared to the end of 2015. In the first half of the current year, CRC registered an operating revenue of RMB 416.3 billion ($62.32 billion), down three percent year on year, with a net loss of RMB 7.2 billion ($1.08 billion) compared to the net loss of RMB 8.8 billion recorded in the same period of 2015. Monday, 05 September 2016 12:09:56 (GMT+3) | Istanbul In July this year, Turkey's scrap import volume decreased by 31 percent year on year to 1.06 million metric tons and was down 45.4 percent compared to the previous month, according to the data provided by the Turkish Statistical Institute (TUIK). The value of these imports totaled $279 million, down 35.6 percent year on year and falling by 44.6 percent compared to June. In the January-July period of this year, Turkey's scrap imports increased by 2.32 percent to 10.24 million mt, while the value of these imports decreased by 22.2 percent to $2.25 billion, both compared to the same period of the previous year. In the first seven months of the current year, Turkey imported 1,979,514 mt of scrap from the US, down 10.13 percent year on year, with the US ranking as Turkey's leading scrap import source, ahead of Russia which supplied 1,606,809 mt in the given period, up five percent year on year. Turkey's top 10 scrap import sources in the first seven months of the current year are as follows: Country Amount (mt) Jan-Jul 2016 Jan-Jul 2015 Y-o-y change (%) July 2016 July 2015 Y-o-y change (%) USA 1,979,514 2,202,755 -10.13 83,142 442,921 -81.23 Russia 1,606,809 1,530,273 5.00 175,812 297,447 -40.89 UK 1,504,420 1,335,471 12.65 248,939 171,396 45.24 Netherlands 1,337,611 719,629 85.88 85,543 - - Belgium 1,141,978 835,031 36.76 142,779 54,892 160.11 France 406,955 114,364 255.84 109,678 - - Romania 281,796 423,831 -33.51 33,704 51,586 -34.66 Lithuania 275,607 314,942 -12.49 13,112 29,311 -55.27 Denmark 261,978 221,226 18.42 27,506 87,611 -68.60 Ukraine 244,366 827,355 -70.46 16,343 151,822 -89.24 Turkey's main scrap sources on country basis in the first seven months of the current year are presented below: Monday, 05 September 2016 16:03:33 (GMT+3) | Istanbul Vietnam's Ministry of Industry and Trade (MOIT) has announced its preliminary determinations in its antidumping (AD) duty investigation of imports of galvanized flat steel from China and South Korea. Accordingly, the preliminary antidumping duty rates range between 4.02 percent and 38.34 percent for galvanized flat steel imports from two countries. The products in question currently fall under the Customs Tariff Statistics Position Numbers 7210.41.11, 7210.41.12, 7210.41.19, 7210.49.11, 7210.49.12, 7210.49.13, 7210.49.19, 7210.50.00, 7210.61.11, 7210.61.12, 7210.61.19, 7210.69.11, 7210.69.12, 7210.69.19, 7210.90.10, 7210.90.90, 7212.30.10, 7212.30.20, 7212.30.91, 7212.30.99, 7212.50.11, 7212.50.12, 7212.50.19, 7212.50.21, 7212.50.22, 7212.50.29, 7212.50.91, 7212.50.92, 7212.50.99, 7212.60.10, 7212.60.20, 7212.60.90, 7225.92.90, 7225.99.90, 7226.99.11, 7226.99.19, 7226.99.91 and 7226.99.99. 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President Erdogan added that BTK is the most important project, which will connect the West with the East. The Baku-Tbilisi-Kars railway is being constructed on the basis of the Georgian-Azerbaijani-Turkish intergovernmental agreement. It is planned to be commissioned by late 2016. Azerbaijan allocated a loan of $775 million for construction of the railway's Georgian section. SOFAZ finances the project in accordance with the Azerbaijani president's decree 'On the implementation of the Baku-Tbilisi-Kars project activities', dated Feb. 21, 2007. The peak capacity of the railway will be 17 million tons of cargo per year. At the initial stage, this figure will be one million passengers and 6.5 million tons of cargo. --- Follow the author on Twitter: @rhafizoglu Two years ago, the flu infected a record-breaking number of Missourians. Last winter turned into a fairly average influenza season but the number of illnesses peaked late, in March. The variation confirms the most enduring fact about flu its unpredictable. Every year is a new year when it comes to flu, said Dr. Sharon Frey of St. Louis Universitys Center for Vaccine Development. Will it be a milder season, heavier season, early season, late season? We really cant even guess. Flu season can hit anytime between October and May. The flu vaccine, the best protection against illness, is now available in doctors offices and pharmacies. Doctors recommend getting the shot as early as possible since it can take two weeks to develop immunity. Influenza viruses cause respiratory illness with symptoms of fever, cough, muscle aches and fatigue. The virus is spread from person to person through droplets of saliva from sneezing or coughing. Disease investigators monitor global virus activity to predict which three or four strains of influenza will spread in the next season and should be covered by that years vaccine. Those scientists decided to change two out of three components for the main 2016 flu vaccine. The vaccine will contain protection against the hardy H1N1 virus known as the swine flu that caused an epidemic in 2009 plus a new H3N2 strain and a new influenza B strain. Some other versions of the vaccine include an additional B strain and a more potent shot for people older than 65. The nasal spray version of the vaccine, popular among children and those with needle phobias, is not recommended for use this year. The FluMist spray did not work well against the strains of flu that circulated last winter and spring. It doesnt mean in the future we may not see it again, said Jamie Woodyard, assistant professor at St. Louis College of Pharmacy. Its just for this season the injections are more effective, and thats what everyone will be getting. Woodyard said kids or anyone with needle anxiety should tell the person administering the shot exactly what they are afraid of, such as the needle itself, the potential for pain or fainting. There are strategies for dealing with each fear. Distraction is the best defense, Woodyard said. Show kids a video on the phone or talk to them. Try to daydream about a pleasant memory. And deep breathing is also helpful, since a relaxed muscle is less likely to experience pain. Last season, Missouri recorded about 20,100 flu illnesses, which matched the average over the last five years, excluding the severe 2014-2015 season. About 54,300 people were diagnosed with flu that winter, the most in more than a decade. The effectiveness of the flu vaccine is the leading factor in the severity of the flu season. Last years flu shot reached about 60 percent effectiveness, meaning people who got vaccinated were 60 percent less likely to catch the flu. The 2014-2015 vaccine was a poor match for the circulating viruses, with only a 23 percent effectiveness. But even a less effective shot can lessen the severity of flu symptoms, doctors said. Since the flu can be contagious for up to a week after symptoms start, its important for anyone who is infected to stay home from work or school. Diligent hand washing and coughing or sneezing into the sleeve can help prevent the spread of the virus. Manufacturers are not predicting any shortages this fall for the flu vaccine, which is recommended for everyone 6 months and older. People at highest risk of severe illness are the very young and very old, pregnant women, people with heart, lung, liver or kidney disease or otherwise compromised immune systems. The flu shot remains a tough sell in the U.S., where fewer than 50 percent of the population gets vaccinated each year. Everybody should get vaccinated not only to protect yourself but to protect your loved ones, Frey said. ST. LOUIS On Sept. 5, 1947, St. Louis Archbishop Joseph E. Ritter quietly instructed Catholic schools to admit Black children. Protests erupted as classes began in September. About 500 angry white parents gathered in Capstick Hall, 5815 Easton Avenue (now Dr. Martin Luther King Boulevard), on Sept. 9 to oppose Ritter's decision. Said meeting co-chairman William T. Rone, "We do not want Negro children alongside our children in the schools." Ritter refused to meet their leaders. His spokesman said, "He is the father of the whole flock and must care for all, regardless of race." In a follow-up meeting, 700 parents resolved to take Ritter to court. They scheduled a bigger rally for the evening of Sunday, Sept. 21. That morning, John P. Barrett, a painting contractor and chairman of the new Catholic Parents Association, attended Mass at St. Edward's Church, Clara and Maffitt avenues. The priest read a letter from Ritter to all parishes, warning that participants in any such suit will face "the serious penalty of excommunication." It would bar them from church practice. The meeting that night drew 700 to the St. Louis House, 2345 Lafayette Avenue, but Ritter's letter threw it into turmoil. "I don't want to do anything that would jeopardize my religion," said Barrett, who already had pulled his children from St. Edward's School. St. Louis University integrated in 1944, but area Catholic high schools and grade schools remained segregated as were the public schools. St. Louis' Black population had almost doubled since 1930, and many Black families wanted out of the crowded slums near downtown. Most were Protestants, but black Catholics had been part of St. Louis since colonial days. In 1946, when Ritter was appointed archbishop, their children went to a few inner-city parochial grade schools and St. Joseph's High School, 4132 Page Avenue. The Catholic Parents Association offered $25 as a "gesture of friendliness" to St. Malachy's, a black parish west of Union Station. The pastor wouldn't take it. Organized opposition collapsed two weeks later at another emotional meeting, where Barrett was booed while obtaining a vote to disband. That year, Black children enrolled in previously all-white Catholic schools, including St. Edward's. St. Joseph's High closed in 1951. Public schools were integrated three years later, after a landmark U.S. Supreme Court decision. Barrett was a Missouri state senator from 1954 to 1965 and died in 2000. Ritter died in 1967. A decade later, the archdiocese created Cardinal Ritter College Prep on the North Side, and moved it to a new campus in midtown in 2003. Baku, Azerbaijan, Sept. 5 By Elena Kosolapova Trend: The terrorist group neutralized in February in Kazakhstan planned to commit large-scale terrorist attacks in Moscow and Kazakhstan similar to the Paris attack of November 2015, the Kazakh National Security Committee said Sep. 5. Another extremist group from Almaty region of Kazakhstan planned hijacking a civil or military aircraft in Taldykorgan Airport to carry out an attack similar to the September 11, 2001 attack in the US, added the Committee. They also planned attacks in the crowded places, on the units of Kazakhstans Border Guard Service, the Ministry of Defense, senior law enforcement officers and representatives of the Spiritual Administration of Muslims of Kazakhstan. On Aug. 3, members of the group were detained, one member committed suicide by blowing himself up. One more group planned to attack several targets in Kazakhstan, including a Russian military unit near the city of Balkhash. Kazakhstan arrested eight members of this group in a special operation, while one of its members blew himself up. Kazakhstans security forces have neutralized eight radical groups which had been planning terrorist attacks since the beginning of 2016. Kazakhstan has also arrested dozens suspected of terrorism, the National Security Committee said. Many of the neutralized terrorists were guided and instructed by international terrorist organizations. ST. LOUIS A Pine Lawn man has been freed from jail after claiming a St. Louis officer used a flawed search warrant to bust him with guns and drugs. Defense lawyers say that more challenges involving the officers criminal cases could be coming. Late last month, federal prosecutors dismissed charges that could have meant years in prison for Jermaine Maze. He was released from jail that same day, after nearly 15 months behind bars. The dismissal does not mention a reason, but Maze and lawyer John Stobbs had challenged search warrants authored by St. Louis Police Officer Ellis Brown. They say the warrants are so similar in phrasing that they indicate Brown used boilerplate wording instead of developing individual probable cause in each case and laying it out in the warrant application. Stobbs wrote a letter to the U.S. attorneys office in May citing 19 such warrant affidavits written by Brown. Theyre all practically identical, Stobbs told the Post-Dispatch. He would just change what kind of dope and the address. Stobbs speculated that anyone who has an Ellis Brown search warrant theyre not going to plead guilty, theyre going to trial. Defendants who had already pleaded guilty will likely want their cases reviewed, Stobbs said. Asked about the dismissal of Mazes case last week, U.S. Attorney Richard Callahan said there were some search and seizure issues we didnt want to litigate. He declined to comment further, or discuss other Brown cases. The officer couldnt be reached through a police union lawyer, who said he was on vacation last week. St. Louis prosecutors said in a statement last week that issues associated with Browns search warrants were identified several months ago, and that the office researched the matter and found no evidence of misconduct on his part. They said they would continue to issue (criminal) cases involving Officer Brown when we believe we have the evidence we need to pursue charges. The review did find training issues but not veracity issues, according to another statement released by the St. Louis Circuit Attorneys Office in response to questions from the Post-Dispatch. We alerted his supervisor and retrained Officer Brown on proper procedures, the statement said. We will make a decision on a case-by-case basis whether the search warrants presented by Officer Brown have any legal implications on the cases before us. A police spokeswoman said that Brown remains an active, commissioned officer. She said that state law and a St. Louis ordinance bar the department from saying whether internal affairs is investigating the search warrant allegations. Maze is now represented by lawyer Jermaine Wooten, who said that he was planning a suit on behalf of Maze and another person in a case he said involved search warrant issues. Wooten also represents the family of Kajieme Powell, who was fatally shot by Brown and another officer in 2014. Joyces office declined to charge either officer last year, finding that they had a reasonable belief that Powell posed a mortal threat when he approached them with a knife. In April, Wooten withdrew a civil suit filed in St. Louis over the death. He said he was going to refile it in federal court. Browns warrants arent the first by St. Louis officers to be questioned. In 2009, officials promised reforms of the search warrant writing and application process, including telling officers that they should start each search warrant application with a blank sheet of paper. Prosecutors had dropped cases that year involving search warrants filed by Officers Shell Sharp and William Noonan after defense attorneys claimed that affidavits in numerous cases were nearly identical. Noonan and Sharp left the department but denied the accusations. Misleading To seek permission to search private property, an officer must swear in an affidavit that he or she has probable cause to believe that evidence of a crime exists there. Each application is supposed to be approved by a supervisor and a prosecutor, then signed by a judge. Peter Joy, director of the Washington University School of Laws Criminal Justice Clinic, said that the use of boilerplate information suggests that the officer really hasnt developed individualized probable cause, but rather is in a way, being misleading. Asked the significance of that, Joy responded, Its a Fourth Amendment issue, its part of the Bill of Rights and the founders of this country were well aware of how it had been abused by the British during the Colonial era. Browns affidavits typically say that he was alerted to drug dealing by a confidential informer and then performed computer research to determine the suspects identity and criminal record. He then says he conducted two days of surveillance, during which he usually spotted the suspect and numerous individuals of varying race and gender entering the home. He also writes that the suspect has associates in vehicles and on foot acting as lookouts, making surveillance difficult. Stobbs said a public defender in St. Louis, John Morrison, uncovered the similarities in the warrants while representing a different client. Stobbs said that he did not believe that Brown was dishonest just lazy in the way he filled out his paperwork. Drugs and guns In the federal case that has now been dropped, Maze faced two gun charges and two charges of possession with intent to distribute drugs. A federal grand jury had indicted him in May 2015 after police searched a home in the 6100 block of Sherry Avenue. Police said that when they entered, they spotted Maze, who volunteered that he had two guns in a bedroom. Police found a shotgun, a pistol, more than 3 kilograms of marijuana, 0.40 grams of crack cocaine, 7.87 grams of heroin, 34 pills containing a stimulant sometimes referred to as bath salts, drug paraphernalia and a stolen laptop and TV, according to a plea agreement Maze rejected. Police said Maze claimed ownership of all the items. I didnt say none of that, Maze told the Post-Dispatch last week. Police claims that he said he owned the contraband are fantasy, he said. He says that he was watching the house as a favor and was set up by a confidential informer. Maze has prior convictions for domestic assault, felonious restraint and burglary, according to federal court documents. UPDATED Monday at 11:45 a.m. with information about woman's pregnancy, appeal for WASHINGTON PARK Police say a second victim has now died from a shooting Sunday night in Washington Park. A man and woman were shot while driving at about 9:30 p.m. Sunday near 47th Street and Hallows Avenue. Anthony Pannell Jr., 24, of East St. Louis, died at the scene. Amber Bieser, 23, of St. Mary, Mo., died Monday at a hospital. Bieser was about 10 weeks pregnant, authorities said. Her fetus did not survive. Police say Pannell had been driving a gold 2007 Chevrolet Impala that ran off the road and crashed after the shooting. Bieser was a passenger in the car. Pannell and Bieser both suffered multiple gunshot wounds, according to Illinois State Police. Bieser's 2-year-old son, an occupant of the backseat, was not injured. He was taken to a hospital as a precaution. The Illinois State Police and Washington Park police are investigating the incident. Authorities are seeking a motive for the shooting. They asked for help from anyone who saw the shooting, or saw Pannell, Bieser or their vehicle earlier in the night. They asked anyone with information to call CrimeStoppers at 1-866-371-8477 or Illinois State Police Special Agent Jamie Brunnworth at 618-346-3759. UPDATED at 7:45 p.m. Sunday with man's name. MASSAC COUNTY, Ill. An armed suspect was killed in a police officer-involved shooting Saturday in Massac County, according to Illinois State Police. The man was identified Sunday as Donny Max Daugherty, 36, of Clifton, Tenn. He was wanted by U.S. marshals for a probation violation and by Nashville police on an assault warrant, the Illinois State Police said. He was fatally shot in an encounter with an Illinois State Police trooper Saturday morning after an assault was reported Friday afternoon in Metropolis, about 130 miles southeast of St. Louis on the Ohio River. An armed suspect entered a residence in Metropolis at about 4:09 p.m. Friday and assaulted a resident before fleeing on a motorcycle, pursued by local law enforcement, according to the Illinois State Police. The suspect escaped law enforcement after abandoning the motorcycle in rural Massac County. At about 4:30 a.m. Saturday, a resident reported seeing a person, possibly carrying a handgun, in a neighbor's yard and reportedly heard three or four gunshots. A Massac County deputy a Metropolis Police officer arrived on scene and attempted to locate the subject, later hearing a gunshot close to their location. They were unable to locate the suspect and Illinois State Police District 22 assistance was requested at about 6:15 a.m. At about 9:21 a.m., a trooper encountered Daugherty, who was armed, according to the state police. He was fatally wounded after shots were fired. Daugherty's weapon was recovered at the scene. Police released no other details about the shooting. There were no injuries to any of the officers. Illinois State Police, Illinois Conservation Police, the Massac County Sheriff's Office, U.S. marshals and Metropolis police are investigating the incident. Free-standing chain-link fencing can be put up in a very short amount of time at very little cost, and we all should commit to this solution until the killings in our schools stop. Baku, Azerbaijan, Sept. 5 By Fatih Karimov Trend: A consortium of six European banks is negotiating with Irans Bank of Industry and Mine to allocate a credit line to Iran, Ali Ashraf Afkhami, chairman of the Iranian bank, said. Talks are still underway for allocating a credit, worth three billion euro to the Islamic Republic, Afkhami said, IRNA news agency reported Sept. 5. He did not unveil the name of the European banks. The Bank of Industry and Mine has already signed a $100 million line of credit with South Korea which can be increased in the future, Afkhami said. Talks also are underway with a Chinese bank for opening a line of credit worth $1 billion, he said, adding that China has earlier allocated $1.8 billion worth of credit to Iran. Last February Irans Bank of Industry and Mine signed a $400 million line of credit with the Export-Import Bank of India (India Exim), the Islamic Republics first post-sanctions export finance agreement. Achievement of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), a lasting nuclear deal between Iran and the P5+1 group (Russia, China, the US, Britain, France and Germany), terminated all nuclear-related sanctions on the Islamic Republic. The agreement took effect on January 16. Baku, Azerbaijan, Sept. 5 By Emil Ilgar Trend: Qatars Prime Minister Sheikh Abdullah Bin Nasser met in Doha with Mohammad Sanusi Barkindo, secretary general of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), and discussed the oil market and other related issues, OPEC's official website reported Sep. 5. The meeting was also attended by Mohammed Bin Saleh Al-Sada, Qatars minister of energy and industry and current OPEC conference president. The Qatari prime minister expressed confidence that Barkindo would work closely with OPEC member countries to overcome the current challenges in the interest of all oil producers and consumers. The Doha initiative in February and April this year has provided both OPEC and non-OPEC oil producers with a platform upon which a credible framework can be further developed to restore oil market stability, Barkindo said. Qatar invited OPEC and non-OPEC oil producers for a meeting that was held in Doha in April this year to discuss oil market developments. OPEC members will meet on the sidelines of the International Energy Forum (IEF), which groups producers and consumers, in Algeria on Sept. 26-28. Irans Oil Minister Bijan Namdar Zanganeh has earlier confirmed that he will take part in the upcoming meeting, aimed at a "common action" to support the global oil prices. Irans oil output stood at 3.9 million barrels per day (mbpd) before sanctions brought it down to 2.8 mbpd. The output now stands at 3.7 mbpd. Saudi Arabia and some other countries used Irans partial absence from the market under sanctions to export beyond their OPEC quotas, with a result that the OPEC output for July stood at 33.44 mbpd while the official ceiling is 30.45 mbpd. OPECs secretary general is expected to hold on Sept. 5 a tripartite meeting with Al-Sada and Noureddine Boutarfa, Algerias minister of energy, who is also currently visiting Qatar, OPEC's website reported. Boutarfa was in Tehran on Sunday. Barkindo was scheduled to later travel from Doha to Tehran to meet with Iranian President Hassan Rouhani and Irans Oil Minister Bijan Namdar Zanganeh, the report said. Sorry... ..An error has occured: If you have any queries about this error, try emailing feedback@mirror.co.uk and we'll do what we can to help you. ZID:308457493 THE current operator of street markets in Stratford-upon-Avon Geraud of Liverpool will have a fight on its hands if it wants to hold on to its contract in the town. Members of Stratford-on-Avon District Councils ruling cabinet voted on Monday, 5th September, in favour of inviting tenders for the contract well before the current one expires at the end of September next year. The council could simply have awarded Geraud with another five-year contract but chose instead to open it up to other would-be contenders. But while agreeing to re-tender the contract and include a three-day Christmas Festival in the new arrangements, councillors decided to defer a decision on the tender evaluation criteria. One member of the cabinet, Cllr Lynda Organ (Cons, Bridgetown), suggested that the Sunday market at Waterside should revert back to 28 days a year from its present 43 days. Its a community area not just for a market, she said. Cllr Organ said one explanation for the heavy footfall in Waterside was because of the market. But she added: I suspect the footfall is already at Waterside. Its such an important part of Stratford, and thats why Waterside is the perfect location for the markets operator. But it should not be allowed to become a market place. Another member of the cabinet, Cllr Stephen Gray (Cons, Brailes and Compton) complained about the current amount of fast foods on offer at the markets. For a full report see Thursdays Herald. Greensboro, NC (PRWEB) September 05, 2016 As the Greensboro Urban Loop (future I-840) moves forward with the final land takings needed to complete the Eastern portion, property owners will soon be contacted for right of way purchases, according to attorney Stan Abrams a former NCDOT attorney, who now practices at the NC Eminent Domain Law Firm. He is concerned that some property and business owners will receive offers for far less than what their property is worth. Free Seminar for Property Owners Losing Land Abrams is hosting a free seminar for property owners affected by this final 4.9-mile leg of the bypass, which will stretch from U.S. 29, north of Greensboro, to Lawndale Drive in northern Greensboro. The North Carolina Department of Transportation (NCDOT) has reserved more than $14,000,000 to purchase over 90 properties needed for this final stretch, which will complete the 44-mile bypass around the city. Abrams wants property and business owners to know that they don't have to accept the government's first offer. Rather, they can and should exercise their eminent domain rights to try to potentially obtain a better offer. The seminar is Thursday evening, September 8th, at 7 p.m. at the Greensboro Marriott Downtown, and it is free. NC Eminent Domain Law Firm Attorney Kenneth Bryan, who has reviewed and assessed the NCDOT's plans for this final Eastern portion of the bypass, believes that business owners in particular may be concerned about how these purchases may affect the future of their businesses. Business owners can be compensated for the damage to physical improvements, such as signs, parking lots, and buildings, although the government does not pay for the loss of business, itself. Bryan said, "Business owners know that losing some of their parking spaces will negatively impact their business, but quantifying this in terms of how much the underlying property has been damaged is not always straightforward." The seminar will help business owners recognize what they can potentially get payment for, in terms of damages, and the best way to try to go about doing that. Seminar to Share Negotiation Methods Abrams said, "Property owners whose land will be taken for this project might receive an official-looking NCDOT offer and think that is all they are entitled to. But just like any other real estate transaction, there may be a more complete and satisfactory offer to be gained through reappraisal and negotiations." A negotiation approach Abrams has used and will share at the seminar is something he calls the 'Second Check Method.' If the owner chooses not to accept the government's first offer and takes no further steps, the state will still acquire the land and deposit the amount of the original offer with the county clerk on behalf of the owner. This is where the NC Eminent Domain Law Firm's Second Check approach comes in. In most cases, the property owner is then free to pursue a better, fairer arrangement, without losing the first offer. If continued negotiations do not change the offer, the owner can still pocket the first check. But if continued negotiations are successful, the property owner will receive a 'second' check in addition to the first one. Abrams said, "This approach is not as straightforward as it may seem and it is best handled by a qualified eminent domain lawyer." Other Topics Greensboro Eastern Loop Land-Taking Seminar Will Cover This free informal gathering is intended to try to answer property and business owners' questions, which often include: Property Areas the Greensboro Eastern Loop Will Impact This six-lane section of the Greensboro Urban Loop will run from U.S. 29, north of Greensboro, to Lawndale Drive in northern Greensboro. As part of this final leg of the project, the NCDOT will complete the U.S. 29 and Lawndale Drive interchanges and build two new interchanges that will connect the Loop to Yanceyville Street and North Elm Street. Seminar Date, Time, Location Date: Thursday, September 8th Time: 7 p.m. Place: Greensboro Marriott Downtown 304 North Greene St. Greensboro, NC 27401 For more information about the meeting, please call the NC Eminent Domain Law Firm at 1-877-393-4990. ABOUT THE NC EMINENT DOMAIN LAW FIRM: A division of the Law Offices of James Scott Farrin, the NC Eminent Domain Law Firm is dedicated solely to representing property owners throughout North Carolina, who may be impacted by eminent domain law. The NC Eminent Domain Law Firm is led by attorneys Stan Abrams and Jason Campbell, both of whom previously worked as Assistant Attorneys General for the North Carolina Department of Justice in the Transportation Section, where they litigated condemnation cases for the NCDOT. They have over 25 years of combined experience working exclusively on eminent domain cases. The Law Offices of James Scott Farrin has the legal resources of 38 attorneys and is based in Durham, North Carolina, with offices throughout the state to serve its clients. Contact Information: Stan Abrams 1-877-393-4990 NC Eminent Domain Law Firm 300 N. Greene Street, Suite 850 Greensboro, NC 27401 Read the full story at http://www.prweb.com/releases/2016/08/prweb13608400.htm Reference is made to previous announcements concerning the proposed refinancing (the "Refinancing") of Prosafe SE ("Prosafe" or the "Company") as announced on 7 July 2016. All lenders of Prosafe's USD 1,300 million and USD 288 million bank facilities have now confirmed their approval in favour of the Refinancing. With this, the Company is pleased to note that the Refinancing has been supported by all relevant stakeholders, and that the conditions for the Refinancing have been fulfilled. The Company will now proceed with execution of relevant amendment agreements and completion of the Refinancing, including (i) issuance of the new shares in connection with the private placement closed on 12 July 2016 and (ii) the conversion of the Company's senior unsecured bond loans to cash, shares and convertible bonds. In this respect, the Company is now working under the following tentative timeline: Step Date Action 1 9 September 2016 Execution of relevant bank and bond documentation 2 12 September 2016 Managers to pre-fund private placement amount 3 12 September 2016 Record date for cash out option and convertible bond exchange 4 13 September 2016 Private placement shares issued to managers 5 14 September 2016 Delivery of shares to subscribers in the private placement (subject to due and timely payment). 6 14 September 2016 Redemption of bonds against settlement of the voluntary cash-out option and issuance of convertible bonds. 7 14 September 2016 Record date for remaining forced cash redemption 8 16 September 2016 Settlement of the remaining forced cash redemption 9 16 September 2016 Record date for conversion of remaining bonds to shares 10 20 September 2016 Conversion of remaining bonds to new shares Any delay in the date of execution of relevant documents will lead to corresponding delay for the other dates. Further updates will be given in due course. Pending completion of the publication of the prospectus for the subsequent equity offering and completion of the capital reduction described in the Refinancing terms, the shares to be issued as part of the private placement and debt conversion will be unlisted Class A shares. The Class A shares, once issued, will be listed on the Norwegian OTC list (N-OTC). With respect to the subsequent equity offering, this will be launched upon publication of the offering and listing prospectus to be approved by relevant authorities, currently expected end of September / early October 2016. As previously announced, shareholders as of close of trade on 12 July 2016 (as recorded in VPS on 14 July 2016) not allocated shares in the private placement will, subject to applicable restrictions, receive non-transferable subscription rights for up to 504,000,000 shares. The subscription price in the subsequent equity offering will be NOK 0.25. Eligible shareholders will be able to oversubscribe in the repair issue. It is expected that allocation will be made according to the following principles and order (a) allocation based on subscription rights; (b) allocation to oversubscribing eligible shareholders up to an additional 40,000 shares, and (c) pro rata allocation to oversubscribing eligible shareholders (based on subscription rights). Further information on timing, terms and how to participate, will be announced in due course, and described in the prospectus. With the completion of the Refinancing, the Company will as previously reported have greater financial flexibility throughout the period until the end of 2020, including a solid liquidity buffer to weather a prolonged market downturn. The combined effect of the Refinancing improves the Company's 2017 to 2020 cash flow by ca. USD 1 billion from a combination of new build investment reduction, new equity, amortization holidays, bond conversions and restructuring of the hedge portfolio. The refinancing combined with the reorganization and efficiency measures, completion of the fleet renewal and the scrapping will allow the Company to be well placed to reinforce its leading position in the global accommodation market beyond 2020. Prosafe is the world's leading owner and operator of semi-submersible accommodation vessels. The company is headquartered in Larnaca, Cyprus and listed on the Oslo Stock Exchange with ticker code PRS. For more information, please refer to www.prosafe.com. Larnaca, 5 September 2016 Georgina Georgiou, General Manager Prosafe SE For further information, please contact: Glen Ole Rdland, Interim Chairman Prosafe SE Phone: +47 907 41 662 Stig Harry Christiansen, Acting CEO Prosafe Management AS Phone: +47 478 07 813 Robin Laird, Acting CFO Prosafe Offshore Services Pte Limited Phone: +65 81 27 21 01 Cecilie Helland Ouff, Senior Manager Finance and Investor Relations Prosafe AS Phone: +47 991 09 467 This information is subject of the disclosure requirements pursuant to section 5-12 of the Norwegian Securities Trading Act. Iranian Ambassador to Baghdad Hassan Danayeefar in a meeting with former Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki in Baghdad on Sunday voiced Tehran's readiness for boosting mutual cooperation with Iraq as well as more support anti-terror fight, IRNA news agency reported. During the meeting, Danayeefar and al-Maliki discussed the latest developments in the war on terrorism and also reviewed political and security situation in Iraq. Al-Maliki, for his part, pointed to the Nineveh liberation operation and the military operations in its center of Mosul, and said, The Iraqi forces, including army, Hashd al-Shaabi (volunteer forces) and Kurdish Peshmerga forces are resolved to put an end to Daesh (ISIS) presence in Iraq, particularly after the recent victories in al-Khalediya Island in Anbar province and al-Qayyara to the South of Mosul city. The former Iraqi Prime Minister, meantime, thanked Iran for rendering support for the Iraqi government and nation in their war against terrorist groups. By Roberta Rampton and Manuel Mogato VIENTIANE (Reuters) - (Note: paragraphs 1, 6 and 19 contain language that may offend some readers) New Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte sought to defuse a row with the United States on Tuesday, voicing regret for calling President Barack Obama a "son of a bitch", a comment that prompted Washington to call off a bilateral meeting. The tiff between the two allies overshadowed the opening of a summit of East and Southeast Asian nations in Vientiane, Laos. It also soured Obama's last swing as president through a region he has tried to make a focus of U.S. foreign policy, a strategy widely seen as a response to China's economic and military muscle-flexing. Diplomats say strains with longtime ally the Philippines could compound Washington's difficulties in forging a united front with Southeast Asian partners on the geostrategic jostle with Beijing over the South China Sea. Duterte has bristled repeatedly at criticism over his "war on drugs", which has killed about 2,400 people since he took office two months ago, and on Monday said it would be "rude" for Obama to raise the question of human rights when they met. Such a conversation, Duterte told reporters, would prompt him to curse at Obama, using a Filipino phrase "putang ina" which can mean "son of a bitch" or "son of a whore". He has previously used the epithet against Pope Francis, although he later apologized, and the U.S. ambassador to the Philippines. After Washington called off Tuesday's bilateral meeting between Obama and Duterte in response to his latest comment, the Philippines issued two statements expressing regret and also briefed reporters. "President Duterte explained that the press reports that President Obama would 'lecture' him on extrajudicial killings led to his strong comments, which in turn elicited concern," the Philippines government said in a statement. "He regrets that his remarks to the press have caused much controversy," it added. "He expressed his deep regard and affinity for President Obama and for the enduring partnership between our nations." Obama's deputy national security adviser, Ben Rhodes, said the focus on Duterte's comments leading into the summit had not created a constructive environment for a bilateral meeting. "All of the attention frankly was on those comments, and therefore not on the very substantive agenda that we have with the Philippines," he told reporters. Officials from both countries said there would be no formal meeting rescheduled in Laos but a short conversation between the two presidents was possible. Instead of the Duterte meeting, Obama held talks with South Korean President Park Geun-hye, a day after North Korea fired three medium-range missiles into the sea. He urged a full implementation of sanctions against North Korea, adding that the missile test demonstrated the threat that Pyongyang posed. Obama is also likely to hold an unscheduled meeting in Laos with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe to discuss North Korea, Rhodes said. He said Washington needed to maintain a sense of urgency within the international community on sanctions against Pyongyang. MOVES TO SOOTHE TENSIONS Obama, the first sitting U.S. president to visit Laos, said on Tuesday he wanted to address the legacy of U.S. bombing during the Vietnam War. He announced that Washington would provide an additional $90 million over three years to help clear unexploded ordnance, which has killed or wounded over 20,000 people. But the unusually open tensions between the United States and the Philippines, its former colony, threaten to overshadow the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and East Asia Summits in Laos, which run until Thursday. The 10-member ASEAN will also meet leaders of other regional powers: China, Japan, South Korea, Australia, India, Russia and the United States. Duterte won the presidency in May after promising to suppress crime and wipe out the illegal drug trade in a country where the number of methamphetamine users is estimated to be at least 1.3 million in a population of 100 million. About 900 people linked to drugs have been killed in police operations since July 1 and a further 1,500 have been classified as "deaths under investigation", a term human rights activists in the Philippines say is a euphemism for extrajudicial killings. Duterte has poured scorn on critics of his uncompromising campaign, usually larding it with curses. He lambasted the United Nations after it criticized the surge in killings and he turned down a meeting with U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon at the Laos summit. He has accused a senator heading an inquiry into the killings of getting payoffs from drug lords. Manila has been aligned with the United States in its dispute with China over the South China Sea, in which Washington blames Beijing for militarizing a vital global trade route and jeopardizing freedom of movement at sea and in the air. China rejects those accusations and accuses the United States of ratcheting up tensions unnecessarily. 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. An arbitration court in The Hague in July invalidated China's territorial claims after a case was brought by the Philippines, a ruling Beijing refuses to recognize. Duterte said last month he expected all ASEAN members to support the arbitration court's ruling, but that the Philippines would not raise the issue in Laos. (Writing by John Chalmers, Editing by Raju Gopalakrishnan) 7th anniversary celebration of the Samadhi Buddha Statue at New Jersey Buddhist Vihare View(s): PRINCETON, NEW JERSEY The Seventh Anniversary of the Samadhi Statue at the New Jersey Buddhist Vihara & Meditation Center in Princeton, New Jersey was celebrated on August 20. This all day celebration was attended by many dignitaries including a Sri Lankan ambassador, President of a Japanese Buddhist temple in New York, Mayor Phillip Kramer, Deputy Mayor Ted Chase and Township Councilman Rajiv Prasad (D-At Large). Also attending were Darrin Russo, the Democratic candidate for Somerset County,and Somerset County Freeholder Brian Levine. Councilman Prasad read a township proclamation honouring the event. The evening celebration was highlighted by a flower procession in the Meditation Trail through this wooded 10-acre property. There were also religious chantings in the afternoon and evening led by the Chief Incumbent Ven. Bhanthe Hungampola Sirirathana Nayaka Thero., in a special handmade Teak gazebo (Mandappaya) donated by former ambassador Major General Shavendra Silva, flown in from Sri Lanka. The evening was capped by a celebratory dinner prepared by the centers members. The statue which took two years to complete is reportedly the largest representation of the sitting Buddha in the Western hemi-sphere. It was constructed mostly by volunteers and a special monk flown from Sri Lanka according to Dr. Kottahachchi, Chairman of the Center.In just a few years, the center has gone from serving 70 Sri Lankan families to over 300 families of all nationalities. The Center is about to embark on a major $2.5 Million expansion which consists of a large building which includes a meditation Hall, Library and residence for the monks, parking and an expanded meditation trail with a Bridge over a meandering stream. This expansion was necessitated by the growing interest in the Center enhanced by the completion of the Statue in 2009. 8 Sri Lankans receive Chevening schols View(s): The United Kingdom has increased the number of Chevening scholarships for Sri Lanka, for the second consecutive year. The increase in awards was announced at a reception hosted at the British High Commissioners Residence on September 1, where eight Sri Lankan scholars were presented with their certificates. This years scholars will travel to the UK on fully funded scholarships to read for one year Masters courses in Politics, Environmental Design and Engineering, Finance, International Business and Management, Law, Development and Globalisation, and Gender Studies. The application window for the 2017/2018 academic cycle is now open for talented young Sri Lankan graduates who wish to pursue Masters courses at universities in the UK. More details at http://www.chevening.org/apply Tehran, Iran, September 5 By Mehdi Sepahvand, Khalid Kazimov Trend: Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokesman Bahram Qasemi has called for expansion of ties with the UK. Both sides would like to upgrade ties and it is on the agenda, Bahram Qasemi told reporters at a press conference in Tehran, Trends correspondent reported from the event. Qasemi also hinted at good news coming up soon regarding the improvement of diplomatic relation between Iran and the UK. The UK reopened its embassy in Tehran in August 2015 following almost four years of closure as it was stormed by protesters during a demonstration against sanctions in 2011. Since then, the UK embassy in Tehran was headed by charge d'affaires. Elaborating on ties between the two countries, Qasemi also expressed hope that Tehran and London will appoint ambassadors in future. The reopening came weeks after Iran sealed a historic deal with six world powers aimed at curbing the Islamic Republics nuclear program. Iran-UK ties steadily improved after President Hassan Rouhani took office in August of 2013. An application to turn the former Pathlab premises at 56 Elizabeth Street into a bottle store is being heard today. The hearing is being held at Tauranga City Council in Willow Street. The world only knew Tama for 21 days, but in that brief amount of time he touched hundreds of lives. None more so than Taurangas Alana Griffin. Her father Vaughan Griffin says the 11-year-old was devastated after learning Tama, the baby orca discovered swimming alone off the Bay of Plenty coastline, had died last month. The new shed taking shape on port land at Cross Road marks a new step in one of the Port of Taurangas original trades. The 22,000m2 shed is being built for Oji Fibre Solutions, and will be used to store paper from Kinleith for export. There was an hour without cabs early on Saturday morning as drivers called for more police presence at the busy ranks There were few taxis to be found in Marbella between three and four o'clock on Saturday morning as drivers protested against an attack that left a colleague injured the previous morning. Drivers themselves shared images of taxi ranks in Puerto Banus with long queues and no cars. A spokesperson called for greater police security at at taxi ranks during the night. The incident that prompted the protest occurred at around 4.50am on Friday morning when a driver refused to carry a group of British tourists because they were eating. The tourists apparently got inside the vehicle anyway, despite being told of the car's food and drink ban. When the driver told them to get out, they started to hit him. Other taxi drivers attempted to stop the attack and received blows themselves. Local Police officers intercepted the tourists, who had attempted to flee the scene on foot, and they were asked to identify themselves, but not arrested. The driver required treatment at the San Pedro health centre for injuries to the nose. Tehran, Iran, Sept. 5 By Mehdi Sepahvand, Fatih Karimov Trend: Iran will send its warships to Russias Astrakhan port in a friendly symbolic act, the Islamic Republic's Foreign Ministry Spokesman, Bahram Qasemi said. Russian warships also are scheduled to berth at Iranian Anzali port in Caspian Sea for a few days, Qasemi went on to say at a press conference in Tehran, Trend correspondent reported from the event Sept. 5. The first ever visit of the Caspian Flotilla warships to Iran happened in 2007. Back then a missile boat Tatarstan entered Irans port of Anzali. The next visit by the Caspian Flotillas warships Dagestan and Grad Sviyazhsk to Iran took place in November of 2014. Irans missile boats Paykan and Joshan also paid a courtesy visit to the port of Astrakhan in 2013. Qasemi further said that Iran will continue security cooperation with Russia, while responding to a question about possible use of Nojeh airbase in Irans western Hamadan By Russia for attacking terrorists in Syria in the future. The kind of actions that this cooperation entails depends on the situation and the way third and fourth countries cooperate with us on the front, Qasemi added. On Aug. 16, Russia said its bomber planes are deployed in Iran and from there the bombers launch attacks on the IS (Islamic State, ISIS, aka ISIL) terrorist group's positions in Syria. Some Iranian politicians raised concerns on the issue, saying the move is against the Islamic Republics constitution. A few days later Tehran announced that Moscow's use of the Iranian airbase has ended. Tehran, Iran, Sept. 5 By Mehdi Sepahvand, Fatih Karimov Trend: No date has been set so far for Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogans visit to Tehran, Irans Foreign Ministry Spokesman Bahram Qasemi said in a press conference in Tehran Sept. 5. No date has been set for Erdogans trip to Iran or Iranian Parliament Speaker Ali Larijanis trip to Turkey, Qasemi said, Trend correspondent reported from the event Sept. 5. Things have been changing fast between Tehran and Ankara in the recent weeks. Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu traveled to Tehran Aug. 18 and held talks on regional affairs with Iranian officials in the few hours he was in Tehran. Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif visited Turkey Aug. 12. The developments came about after Turkey voiced willingness to work alongside Iran and Russia over the undergoing Syrian crisis. Elsewhere in his remarks, Qasemi touched upon the recent claims over a US ransom to Iran on its nuclear program. Neither Iran nor the US has given a special privilege to each other, the Iranian diplomat underlined. According to a new report by the Washington-based Institute for Science and International Security, the US and other members of international community granted Iran exemptions to their requirements under the nuclear agreement which was signed last year. The alleged granting of "secret" exemptions to Iran by the Joint Commission, the deal's implementing body, is likely to thrust the controversial accord, officially known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), back into the political spotlight. The report says "most of the conditions" laid out in the agreement were met by Iran, but it also claims Iran would have not been in compliance by Jan. 16, 2016, the deal's so-called Implementation Day, without the exemptions to the requirement that Iran limit its stockpile of low enriched uranium to under 300-kilograms. Baku, Azerbaijan, Sept. 5 By Fatih Karimov Trend: An Italian military delegation, visited different units of the Iranian Armed Forces, Tasnim news agency reported Sept. 5. The five-member delegation, headed by a high-ranking general from the Italian Army General Staff arrived in Tehran Sept. 4 for a four-day official visit. Besides visiting various unites of the Iranian army the Italian delegation will hold talks and exchange views with Iranian officials on bilateral issues and military cooperation. The visit came in line with Irans military interactions with the friendly countries, according to the report. Every year, Iran holds a number of joint military drills with other countries, and the Islamic Republics senior military officials pay reciprocal visits to other states. Ive been involved in mergers and acquisitions for decades, and I used to run an acquisition cleanup team while at IBM. Ive seen so many bad acquisitions that it is generally far easier to point out the good ones. What is somewhat ironic, given my background, is that the best largely have been executed by Dell, using a process initially developed by IBM. One of the most painful mergers I was involved with was the one between HP and Compaq which I aggressively tried to kill, fearing neither firm would survive it intact. It was completed, but the cost in jobs at all levels was extreme for both companies, and both CEOs eventually were forced out. Meg Whitman, currently CEO of HPE, reversed it for the most part. In contrast, the Dell + EMC merger, which will complete this week, has been a lesson in excellence, with goals, planning and execution that stand as an example of how to do these things, as well as two surrounding thought-to-be-impossible accomplishments. I think we are seeing history being made. Ill share some thoughts on doing the impossible this week and close with my product of the week: the NVIDIA Titan X, an amazingly powerful graphics card to lust after. The HP-Compaq Disaster HP and Compaq were two of my firms largest customers back when their merger plans came to light, and to say that my management was unhappy that I was against the merger rather than in support of it would be a massive understatement. However, Id been involved with mergers for decades, and this one looked like it would be a train wreck. By that time, it was clear that Carly Fiorina was out of her depth and struggling with just turning around HP. She had no real operational skills critical to executing any merger, let alone one of this massive scale. She lacked deep support initially, which led to a rebellion in her own board and an open war with the media. The companies couldnt even maintain the image that the merger was a good idea. The only thing that saved them was Michael Capellas, the CEO of Compaq, who was competent operationally and who was trusted by the financial firms needed to win the proxy fight that preceded the mergers approval. I had no doubt Capellas would be forced out, because Fiorina would see him as a threat and rightly. Still, without him, this disaster of a merger would result in excessive layoffs, as well as pain for the remaining employees and HPs stockholders and customers. Fiorina was fired not typically a success proof point. Meg Whitman gave up trying to fix the mess and instead broke up the company. What still amazes me is that before Whitman, HP had three CEOs Fiorina, who lacked relevant technology experience and failed; Hurd, who achieved a measure of success because he actually knew the industry (but got fired for unrelated reasons); and Apotheker, who once again lacked understanding of HPs core business. Instead of getting someone like Hurd, which had worked, the board got someone more like Fiorina in Whitman. The HP she leads, now HPE, is a fraction of what it once was. Boy, talk about missing a meeting. The Dell-EMC Deal There isnt a sharper contrast to HP + Compaq than Dell + EMC. First, the reasons behind the mergers were very different. Dell + EMC wasnt an attempt to address a failing turnaround by buying another firm with a similar problem. Its purpose was twofold: to avoid the plague of hedge funds and institutional investors intent on breaking up companies to get faster profits; and to find a suitable replacement for Joe Tucci, who had been unable to get EMCs board to let him go. Rather than risk hiring a CEO who was inexperienced at being a CEO or inexperienced in the industry, EMC agreed to merge and got Michael Dell, one of the most capable CEOs in the segment and one of the few who took a company from startup to multinational. By the way, when I was doing my graduate work in business school, one of the professors argued that it was impossible for a CEO to take a firm through all three phases. Making the transitions from startup to public company to large public sustaining company are thought to beyond any single CEOs capabilities, because the skill sets required for each phase are just too different. Even Steve Jobs didnt really do it at Apple, because he got fired in the transition phase and wasnt really CEO of Apple until he was hired back (which is not to downplay Jobs, because Jobs did have hits with both Pixar and Apple, suggesting he might have been able to do it after all). Before Jobs and Dell there was Thomas Watson Sr., who ran IBM in a very different age. Michael Dell seems to have doing the impossible as a hobby, because taking Dell private in the first place was thought to have been impossible. One of the things Ive been told time and again, however particularly concerning large mergers of public firms is that you arent allowed to do much pre-planning. Well, the folks who said that were full of crap, because virtually all of the planning for this merger was complete long ago. I had a chat a couple of weeks back with Rory Reed, the ex-CEO of AMD, who handled the planning from Dells side. Both he and his EMC counterpart largely had completed it by that time. The only holdup was final approval, which has just been given. So, were seeing yet one more impossible event take place. Taking EMC private would have been even harder than taking Dell private, so the fact that it will have happened when all this is over means Michael Dell will have three impossible accomplishments under his belt. The execution of this merger has been nearly flawless, which shouldnt be a surprise, given that both EMC and Dell historically have had unusual success with mergers and atypical company structures. Of the two, Dells performance has been better but it is the acquiring company, so the leadership role went with the skill set. Theres no conflict between CEOs either, as Tucci was due to retire and wasnt ever in the hunt for the top job. There are no board issues, because both boards were able to see the benefits to both companies. They didnt even have the issues that Dell had with Carl Icahn, otherwise known as he who must not be named. Wrapping Up: Big Mergers Can Work Like a lot of very difficult things, the difference between merger success and failure comes down to experience, planning and execution. The reason that the HP + Compaq merger failed was that it was ill-conceived, horribly planned and poorly executed. There was a chance of pulling it off with Mark Hurd, but he was fired and replaced with outrageously inexperienced top executives. Dell and EMC were in better shape. The CEOs cooperated and didnt compete, the planning teams were experienced and werent held back by the legal departments, and Dell employed a decades-old merger process that remains the best in the industry. I guess this proves that if you have the right tools and people, even the impossible is possible. If you dont well, the outcome royally sucks. Just ask any ex-HP employee. There are interesting products, there are good products, there are great products, and every once in a long while there is a legendary product. The Nvidia Titan X graphics card, like the Bugatti Veyron, is legendary. This is the graphics card you get if you want the best of the best and money is no object. The price is more than most folks pay for their entire PC. Still, if you have the money, like the Veyron, the power of this card blows the doors off anything else that is out there. Nvidia Titan X GraphicsCard I play games, and I play them on big monitors. My current favorite is the massive 42-inch monster from Dell, but even though it isnt a true gaming monitor, to drive it at full resolution really strains most any high-end graphics card. Thats not so with the Titan X, though. Like the Hulk, it just digitally spits on both hands and causes this monitor to scream, making me wish Dell or someone would bring out a 42-inch monitor with gaming specs to really challenge this card. Do I need the Titan X? No. Frankly, like the Bugatti, it performs far beyond my meager skill set. I do lust after it, though oh god, yes and unlike that Bugatti, I actually can afford it. The only thing I wish is that both AMD and Nvidia would come together on a water block specification so it wouldnt be such a huge pain in the butt to water cool top cards from either vendor. Nevertheless, because this card is amazing, because it is attainable (barely), and because sometimes you just want the best, the Nvidia Titan X is my product of the week. the Finnish Giant - which was once the number one handset manufacturer and seller in the world by a very wide margin - is finally free again to craft and market its own smartphones an industry where Nokia remains a truly iconic name 1. New Nokia handsets will run Android Operating System 2. Foxconn, the company that assembles the Apple iPhone, will make new Nokia smartphones 3. Nokia reassures fans that its new devices will still bear legendary Nokia genes. Nokia will no longer craft or assemble its own smartphones and tablets upcoming Nokia products 'will exemplify what consumers have come to expect from all Nokia devices, including quality, design, and innovation' 4. At least three new Nokia smartphones will be unveiled come Q4 2016 5. Is Nokia forming a new team in the Philippines? Nokia's licensing contract with Microsoft Corporation expired in 2015. Hence,Last May 2016,- President of Nokia Technologies - released an official statement wherein he noted that the company is entering an exciting new chapter in. This more than confirms that the brand is already poised to release - or at least, announce - a new set mobile devices.That said, allow me to share five things that we know so far about Nokia's upcoming smartphones and slates.To quote the company itself, "The new smartphones and tablets will be based on Android, uniting one of the worlds iconic mobile brands, Nokia, with the leading mobile operating system and app development community." ( via The former top handset maker will work with(FIH) - a subsidiary of the Chinese company Foxconn Technology Group - for the manufacturing, sales and distribution of upcoming Nokia-branded mobile devices.Unlike its business model during its heydays in the late 90's and early 2000's,but - moving forward - will simply collect royalties from its licensing partnerafter providing its name and set of patents to devices that it will design and develop with Foxconn. Nevertheless, the Finnish Giant reassures its long-time followers that theA Nokia executive in China - Mr. Mike Wang - has confirmed to a news site that the company is preparing to announce three or four new Android smartphones before this year ends. Analysts are speculating that at least two of those models will be flagship-level devices with top-notch internal hardware and imaging capabilities but with different screen sizes. The others, they say, will be affordable midrange models.Earlier today, I talked to one of my friends from the former Nokia headquarters in the Philippines and I asked the person if the company is starting to create a new team for operations in this territory. Here's the reply that I got: "Given the status and economy of the Philippines in South East Asia, I'd not be surprised." Unless you've been living under a rock for the past week, you've no doubt heard about Samsung's decision to recall the millions of Galaxy Note 7 smartphones sold since launching August 19. As you can imagine, recalling a major product on a global scale won't come cheap. According to a report from Bloomberg, Samsung has shipped roughly 2.5 million Galaxy Note 7 smartphones since launch (all of which are being recalled). The publication estimates the recall could cost the South Korean electronics giant as much as $1 billion. As it stands today, Samsung does have a few things going in its favor. Because it announced the recall on Friday after the market closed, investors have had a couple of days to let the news sink in. What's more, addressing the matter as rapidly as Samsung did will no doubt win some fans over as it shows the company puts a lot of value into the safety of its products and the customers that buy them. Galaxy Note 7 owners in the US are urged to take advantage of Samsung's new Product Exchange Program. Participants can choose to turn in their current Note 7 for a new unit that should be available sometime this week. Optionally, buyers can exchange the faulty device for a Galaxy S7 or Galaxy S7 Edge and return any Note 7 accessories for a full refund. What's more, Samsung is offering those impacted a $25 gift card or bill credit through select carrier retail outlets. More details on the US Product Exchange Program can be found on Samsung's website. The timing couldn't be worse for Samsung. Following several quarters of sliding sales, the Galaxy S7 and S7 Edge helped the company achieve its highest profits in two years. The Galaxy Note 7, with its exceptional display, was expected to further boost Samsung's status in the cut-throat smartphone industry. Samsung even moved the launch up by several weeks in order to beat the iPhone 7 to market but with the recall now under way, it'll be interesting to see how the quarter plays out considering Apple's upcoming device likely will only feature incremental updates compared to its current-generation offerings. Damage images via Android Authority Samsung officially announced its new-generation smartwatch the Gear S3 on Sept. 1. The Tizen-based circular wearable will be available in two versions: Gear S3 Frontier and Gear S3 Classic. The Gear S3 Classic has a sleek design while the Gear S3 Frontier has a more rugged look. Apart from minor differences, such as the weight, both the wearables have identical specs. The Gear S2 had impressed many smartwatch lovers and Samsung suggests that the latest Gear S3 is a significant addition to the company's wearable family. "Samsung Gear S2 achieved meaningful progress in the smartwatch category with a personalized watch face and a versatile rotating bezel that provided an intuitive smartwatch experience. Now with the new Gear S3, we expand our Gear collection and introduce not only a great smartwatch, but a great watch. With smart capabilities and sophisticated, elegant design, the Gear S3 marks a significant addition to our smartwatch portfolio," said Younghee Lee, executive vice president of Global Marketing, Mobile Communications Business at Samsung Electronics. The Gear S2 and the Gear S3 share some features, but there are several differences between the two smartwatches from Samsung. Here is a comparison of the two smartwatches. Form Factor The Gear S2 Classic measures 39.9 x 43.6 x 11.4 mm (1.57 x 1.71 x 0.45 inches) and the Gear S2 measures 42.3 x 49.8 x 11.4 mm (1.67 x 1.96 x 0.45 inches). The new Gear S3 dwarfs its predecessor as both the Classic and Frontier variants measures 49 x 46 x 12.9 mm (1.93 x 1.81 x 0.51 inches). In terms of weight, the new Gear S3 is also heavier than the previous versions of the wearable. The Gear S3 Classic weighs 57 g (2.01 ounces) while the Gear S3 Frontier weighs 62 g (2.19 ounces). The Gear S2 weighs 47 g (1.66 ounces) and the S2 Classic weighs 42 g (1.48 ounces). Built The bezels of the Gear S2 and the Gear S3 are made of durable stainless steel. The screen of the Gear S2 is protected by Gorilla Glass 3, but the Gear S3 is protected by Gorilla Glass SR+, which is supposed to be more damage resistant. Display The Gear S2 has a 1.2-inch AMOLED screen with a display resolution of 360 x 360 pixels and 302 ppi. On the other hand the Gear S3 has a slightly bigger 1.3-inch AMOLED screen with 360 x 360 pixel resolution and 278 ppi. Both the wearables feature always-on-display (AOD) but customers will note some changes in the feature. The AOD setting of Gear S2 removes color and also creates a dimmed version of the display. However, the AOD feature of Gear S3 reduces the brightness, but maintains colors on the display. Rotating Bezel Samsung introduced a rotating bezel in the Gear S2, which was applauded by the smartwatch community. The rotating bezel is also present in the newest Gear S3. Battery A 380 mAh battery fuels the Gear S3, and Samsung claims that it offers up to four days of usage. However, the Gear S2 comes with a smaller 250 mAh battery that offers between two to three days of usage between charges. Software And Compatibility Both the Gear S2 and the Gear S3 run on Samsung's Tizen operating system. The Samsung wearables are compatible with Android smartphones. The South Korean company has announced its plan to make Gear S2 and Gear S3 compatible with iPhones and Samsung is also working on an iOS app. However, Samsung is yet to confirm the date from when iOS support for Gear S2 and Gear S3 will begin. Connectivity The Gear S2 and the Gear S3 are available with GPS connectivity options. Both variants of the Gear S2 are available in 3G cellular data-enabled variants. However, stand-alone data is not available in the Gear S3 Classic. The Gear S3 frontier comes with built-in 3G/LTE connectivity, which will allow users to make and receive phone calls. Heart Rate Monitor Most of the wearables offer some sort of fitness tracking features for its wearer. The Gear S2 as well as the Gear S3 have heart rate monitors that allow its wearer to track their fitness. Price And Release The Gear S2 and the Gear S2 Classic had a launch price of $300 and $350 respectively. Samsung has not confirmed the prices of the Gear S3 models. However, the Frontier is more capable than the Classic and customers should expect to pay extra for this model of the Gear S3. Samsung announced the Gear S2 in September 2015 and the smartwatch hit the shelves in October 2015. The company has not announced a release date of the Gear S3, but going by last year's trend, the new-gen Samsung wearables could be released in October this year. 2022 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. Most consumers would say that Samsung is handling the total recall of the Galaxy Note 7 efficiently. While it is unfortunate that the company will have to replace all the Galaxy Note 7 units so far sold, Samsung has been very transparent about the matter. Samsung issued the worldwide recall of the Galaxy Note 7 because of reports that the battery of the smartphone explodes, causing the device to catch fire. At the time, Samsung said that there were 35 such cases worldwide. Through the recall, customers are allowed to exchange their Galaxy Note 7 with another unit through the retail store where they acquired the smartphone. They can also call Samsung's customer support hotline and swap their unit for a new one through mail. Samsung's swift action and commitment to make the recall as convenient as possible to customers, along with the $25 gift card or phone bill credit that will be given away to Galaxy Note 7 users who participate in the program, shows that the company is really trying hard to handle the issue well. However, Consumer Reports has criticized Samsung, claiming that the company is handling the recall wrongly. According to Consumer Reports, Samsung should have launched an official recall for the Galaxy Note 7 in the United States. The company's announcement on the replacement of all units of the smartphone sold so far is said to be not an official one, as it did not involve the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC). While there have been reports claiming that Samsung launched an official recall for the Galaxy Note 7, the fact is simply untrue in the United States as the company did not go through the required process. The first step that Samsung should have done is to report the issues that it discovered to the CPSC, as mandated by the Consumer Product Safety Act. The agency would then investigate the reports and determine if a recall is necessary in its recommendations. If Samsung made the product recall an official one and involved the CPSC, it would have been against the law to sell the Galaxy Note 7. This is important as upon checking retailers for the Galaxy Note 7 after Samsung made its recall announcement, there were still some stores that were selling the smartphone. An official recall would have given the government the authority to launch measures that would ensure the safety of consumers. In addition, it would be illegal to continue selling the Galaxy Note 7 after the announcement of an official recall. 2022 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. Baku, Azerbaijan, Sept. 5 By Farhad Daneshvar Trend: Irans Central Bank has prohibited local banks to impose restrictions in offering financial services to individuals and entities citing international sanctions. Iran's Central Bank Chief Valiollah Seif has announced that the countrys banks should only consider the Islamic Republics law and their own banking and commercial regulations in offering financial services to clients, the official website of Central Bank of Iran reported. Imposing restrictions in provision of Iranian individuals and institutions with services citing sanctions introduced by the US, the EU and other states as well as international bodies is not related to the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA/ nuclear deal), the announcement read. The announcement came following recent reports on a decision by two Iranian banks to refrain from providing a company affiliated with the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) with financial services citing international sanctions. Earlier on June 24, the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) announced its decision to suspend counter-measures against Iran for 12 months in order to monitor the countrys progress in implementing an Action Plan to address Tehrans strategic deficiencies regarding anti-money laundering and combating the financing of terrorism (AML/CFT). Things are not looking well for the Apache OpenOffice project. A recent email by Apache OpenOffice vice president Dennis Hamilton informs that the project may shut down. Hamilton, a volunteer for the position, cites the lack of volunteer developers to enable the project's continuance. "I have regularly observed that the Apache OpenOffice project has limited capacity for sustaining the project in an energetic manner," writes Hamilton. "It is also my considered opinion that there is no ready supply of developers who have the capacity, capability, and will to supplement the roughly half-dozen volunteers holding the project together." Hamilton adds that as of late, both the project's capacity to produce secure software and respond to documented bug reports in a timely manner have been put into serious question. Both elements are part of the Apache project maturity model. The project's dwindling developer support is reflected in its version update releases, which have been scarce since last year. Apache OpenOffice has had only one update release in 2015 and that is version 4.1.2 last October. During 4.1.2's release, a documented report regarding the memory corruption vulnerability that can occur when documents are loaded on Impress was also submitted. However, it wasn't until March 2016 that Apache OpenOffice developers figured out a source-code fix. By June 2016, the vulnerability reporter expressed his/her concern regarding its prolonged disclosure and proposed that he/she will disclose it. The team released an advisory regarding the said vulnerability on July 21. A hotfix was made available last week, Aug. 30, Tuesday. The Apache Software Foundation (ASF) Board also tasked its project management committee (PMC) to address the inability and find a solution, prompting the committee to report monthly instead of quarterly, which was the case prior. In his email, Hamilton proposed the project's retirement as a possible remedy. "It is remiss of me not to point out that retirement of the project is a serious possibility," comments Hamilton. "My interest is in seeing any retirement happen gracefully." The Apache OpenOffice is a successor of the OpenOffice.org open-source office suite, which was often bundled with Linux distributions. However, in recent years, most Linux distributions, such as Ubuntu, shifted from OpenOffice to LibreOffice, an OpenOffice fork that builds on the original OpenOffice code base. LibreOffice came about through the collaboration of many volunteers that used to work on OpenOffice. Most of them left in 2011 after Oracle's acquisition of Sun Microsystems and decision to discontinue the project. Oracle then contributed OpenOffice to the ASF and thus, the Apache OpenOffice we have today. Photo: ubberdave | Flickr 2022 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. The NSO Group, the company behind the hack that forced Apple to release emergency iOS and Mac OS X updates to patch up the vulnerabilities, is just one of several firms that sell digital spying services, with governments and law enforcement agencies being the industry's biggest customers. Since the NSO Group was founded six years ago, it has mostly kept a low profile while offering products such as surveillance tools that can track all the activities of a target smartphone, including its location and contents. However, the company's name was brought to light due to security researchers catching NSO Group's main spyware product, named Pegasus, attempting to gain access to the iPhone of United Arab Emirates human rights activist Ahmed Mansoor. A second target, a journalist in Mexico who wrote about the government's corruption, was later discovered. The New York Times has now acquired internal emails, contracts and commercial proposals of the NSO Group, which offers a deeper look into the workings of the company and all other firms operating within the digital surveillance industry. According to the emails and documents, which were acquired by two sources who wish to remain anonymous in fear of reprisals, the NSO group is just one of dozens of companies that offer services that can track all the activities of a target device. The companies, including the NSO Group, aggressively sell their services to governments and law enforcement agencies all over the world. The industry believes that their services are needed to be able to track criminals, with the corporate mission statement of the NSO Group being "Make the world a safe place." Ten sources who are familiar with the sales of the NSO Group said that the company has a strict internal process in place to determine whom it will sell its services to, with an ethics committee that is composed of employees and external parties. The committee checks potential clients based on human rights rankings that are set by global bodies such as the World Bank. However, the sources added that so far, the NSO Group has not denied a sale to any potential customer. In addition, critics of the company and the wider digital surveillance industry note that spyware has been used to target human rights activists and journalists. According to Bill Marczak, a senior fellow at Citizen Lab that analyzed the attempted hack on Mansoor, there is no check on the spyware. Once the NSO Group sells its software, the government or law enforcement agency that purchased it can use it for whatever purpose. A price list of the NSO Group's services shows why governments and law enforcement agencies are the industry's biggest customers. To breach the security of 10 iPhones or Android-powered devices, the price tag is a whopping $650,000, which will come with a setup fee of $500,000. Adding 10 targets will cost another $150,000, 20 additional targets will be for $250,000, 50 more targets will cost $500,000 and 100 more targets will cost $800,000. Pegasus is capable of extracting content such as GPS locations, text messages, calendar entries and emails from target devices. The software can use its "room tap" feature to allow the device's microphone to collect all the sounds surrounding it, and can also use the device's camera for screenshots and to take pictures. All the data that Pegasus acquires can then be sent to the server of the attacker in real time. 2022 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. Telefonica, the Spanish telecommunications enterprise, is looking to shrink its debt by starting an initial public offering for O2 and a partial IPO of its Telxius infrastructure business. In May 2016, the corporation almost inked a deal with CK Hutchison Holdings Ltd, which was supposed to purchase O2. The European Commission vetoed the company's sale, arguing that the takeover would artificially inflate prices while offering fewer choices for UK customers. When the Commission rejected the deal, its value was gauged at about $14 billion. Since then, Telefonica executives kept looking for alternative options to pull the company out of debt. Jose Maria Alvarez-Pallete, chairman at Telefonica, talks about the measures taken by the board. "We have been working to list it, so if today or in the next few weeks we decided to do so, we could do it by year's end," Pallete notes. The statement was made on Sunday, Sept. 4, in Santander, Spain. On Monday, the company mentioned that despite wanting to start an IPO for O2, it will remain as the main shareholder. In a separate filing on Sept. 5, Telefonica mentions that it is undertaking steps for the start of an IPO regarding its Telxius infrastructure unit, which will take place with a minimum 25 percent free float. The company awaits regulatory approval, touting that it has everything in place to debut the IPO before the end of the year. Keep in mind that Telefonica counts more than 50 billion ($55.78 billion) in debt, a number that caused quite a few credit-rating firms and investors to raise their eyebrows. Telefonica's chairman affirms that although the debt is a problem that requires addressing, the company is solid when it comes to its annual dividend of 84 cents. Following the statement, the company's shares gained 1 percent in Monday morning trading in Madrid. With the increase in stock value, the company reached a value of 46 ($51.35 billion). As a reminder, the shares of the company lost as much as 9 percent in 2016. Pallete expects his company to have a better free cash flow and operating income in 2017 compared to the current year. However, he did not go into details about what figures he expects to see from Telefonica. Despite existing plans to have Telxius go through an IPO, Telefonica postponed them as the UK took a vote on leaving the European Union on June 23. It was no surprise that the Yes vote rocked stock indexes, causing a worldwide drop. 2022 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. The Huawei Mate 9 and Mate S2 could rock some serious camera prowess, as both handsets will reportedly boast dual rear cameras with Leica optics. We've been hearing rumors about the two Huawei smartphones for a good while now, with the most recent ones clarifying that the Mate 9 and Mate S2 will not debut at IFA 2016 this week. Nevertheless, new information still brings some good news. It seems that the two upcoming Mate handsets will borrow a leaf out of the Huawei P9's playbook and sport a Leica system as well, with dual rear cameras enhanced with Leica optics. Huawei teamed up with Leica for the dual-camera system found on the Huawei P9, which made its debut earlier this year. The smartphone maker made quite some waves regarding the partnership it scored with Leica at the time, and the P9 (pictured above) raised a lot of interest particularly because of its camera prowess. If the latest rumors turn out to be accurate, the two companies will join forces once again for the new Huawei Mate series. Referencing a source from Weibo, GizmoChina says that Leica will help Huawei build the cameras for the Mate 9 and equip them with optical image stabilization (OIS), laser autofocus and analog zoom. GizmoChina also notes that the Mate S2 should get the same treatment as the Mate 9, which means Leica skills as well. Recent rumors also hinted at some powerful specs overall for the Huawei Mate 9, including a Kirin 960 processor and up to 6 GB of RAM to handle any task. If so, the Mate 9 will compete at the high end of the smartphone market and should score top performance in benchmarks and tests. CDMA support, LTE Cat. 12 and fast charging will also be in the mix, further enhancing the experience. On the software side, the Huawei Mate 9 is expected to launch with EMUI 5 on board, which is based on Google's latest Android 7.0 Nougat. Huawei is yet to announce just when it will be unveiling the new Mate 9 and Mate S2, but both smartphones should debut later this year. It remains to be seen whether this latest rumor about the Mate 9 and Mate S2 cameras turns out to be accurate, but it makes sense. Huawei already teamed up with Leica for the P9, so an extension of that partnership would not be much of a surprise. Until a formal announcement, however, it's still best to take this news with a grain of salt. 2022 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. Elecciones presidenciales El pais mas grande de la region elige este domingo a su proximo mandatario. Tras no lograr hacerse con la mayoria de los votos en los comicios del 2 de octubre, Luis Inacio "Lula" Da Silva y Jair Bolsonaro se disputan la Presidencia en una balotaje que enfrenta tendencias y valores contrapuestas. Con equipos en el terreno, Telam presenta una cobertura exclusiva con noticias, analisis, opinion, fotos y mas. Tehran, Iran, Sept. 5 By Mehdi Sepahvand Trend: The United Kingdom and the Islamic Republic of Iran have restored their diplomatic relations to the highest level for the first time since 2011. Tehran presented Hamid Baidinejad as ambassador to London, while the UK had Nicholas Hopton present his credentials to Irans Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif, Mehr news agency reported Sept. 5. The UK reopened its embassy in Tehran in August 2015 following almost four years of closure as it was stormed by protesters during a demonstration against sanctions in 2011. Since then, the UK embassy in Tehran was headed by charge daffaires. Iran-UK ties steadily improved after President Hassan Rouhani took office in August 2013. Hopton acted as the UKs charge daffaires to Iran since Dec. 31, 2015. He was ambassador to Qatar from 2013 to 2015. Baidinejad acted as director general for political and international affairs at Irans Ministry of Foreign Affairs before heading to London as ambassador. On the debate, two pollsters who conducted studies, agreed on Saturday that former president Lula defeated Bolsonaro. | Read More Tehran, Iran, September 5 By Mehdi Sepahvand - Trend: Because of Saudi rulers oppressive behavior towards Gods guests, the world of Islam must fundamentally reconsider the management of the two holy places and the issue of hajj, said Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in his Hajj Message of 2016. Those who have reduced hajj to a religious-tourist trip and have hidden their enmity and malevolence towards the faithful and revolutionary people of Iran under the name of politicizing hajj, are themselves small and puny devils who tremble for fear of jeopardizing the interests of the Great Satan, the US, reads the message which was published on the Supreme Leaders official website September 5. More than 460 Iranians were among the thousands of pilgrims who died in a stampede on September 24, 2015 in Mina, near Mecca, during the Hajj ritual. The incident marked the worst tragedy in the history of Hajj. Saudi authorities have come under fire for their inability to ensure the safety of hundreds of thousands of pilgrims who converge on Mecca every year. The heartless and murderous Saudis locked up the injured with the dead in containers- instead of providing medical treatment and helping them or at least quenching their thirst. They murdered them, Ayatollah Khamenei added in his message to the hajj pilgrims. Because of these rulers oppressive behavior towards Gods guests, the world of Islam must fundamentally reconsider the management of the two holy places and the issue of hajj. Negligence in this regard will confront the Islamic Ummah (nation) with more serious problems in the future. Baku, Azerbaijan, Sept. 5 By Rufiz Hafizoglu Trend: Army of millions of refugees, deaths of tens of thousands of civilians, social problems - this all is only the visible part of crimes of militants of the Islamic State (IS, aka ISIS, ISIL or Daesh) terrorist group in Syria and Iraq. At the time when international coalition forces praised the successes of their own anti-terrorist military operation in Syria and Iraq, the IS militants were not standing still and waiting, searching for new, sophisticated methods to create a caliphate. A new method involved children. The IS militants brought the idea of creating an army of child soldiers to the agenda for the first time in February 2015. Currently, at least eight million people live on the territory of Syria and Iraq controlled by IS militants, and at least 30 percent of them are minors. With the seizure of the Syrian city of Al-Raqqah, which is now considered the capital of the IS, all schools were closed in this and other Syrian cities under occupation of IS militants. It is no secret that currently, special Sharia camps operate on Iraqi and Syrian territories under the control of militants for training children, especially, orphans. According to the estimations of Arab media, currently, more that 5,000 children are being trained in such Sharia camps on the territory controlled by the IS. So called training in Sharia camps is held in two stages. The first stage lasts around 45 days during which the children learn the Sharia rules and using firearms. The second stage lasts three months during which the children are taught to kill and die for the sake of Allah without hesitation. There are many videos online, showing how children participate in public executions and directly take part in killing people. Those who are trained in Sharia Camps have already demonstrated their deadly skills, not only in Syria and Iraq, but also in neighboring Turkey. For example, the act of terrorism committed in the Turkish Gaziantep province in August 2016 was committed by a teenage suicide bomber. Several teenage suicide bombers were detained in the Iraqi city of Kirkuk. The number of terrorist attacks in Syria and Iraq with the participation of teenagers has increased by more than 11 percent in 2016, compared to last year. According to the Arab media outlets, about 75 percent of terrorist attacks committed in Syria and Iraq account for teenage girls, mainly orphans. Today it is difficult to say how long the conflict will last in Syria and Iraq. But even after the IS militants are fully neutralized, a threat of using child suicide bombers will remain in those countries for a long time. Food for the future is one of 10 high-value-added clusters being targeted by the Thai government. And at a recent seminar celebrating 25 years of relations between China and Asean, there was a discussion about how China and Thailand could partner in this area. Thailand has tremendous competitive strengths in the food industry. These include our central location within Southeast Asia, an excellent growing climate, an abundance of raw materials, and expertise in processing and marketing, as well as distributing food to global markets. China is a huge-potential market, with a great distribution system and a love of Thai food. Clearly there is great potential for a mutually-beneficial food partnership between Thailand and China. Moreover, Chinas traditional concerns about food security means it has been investing heavily in agriculture right across the globe, especially in Africa and the Americas. In Southeast Asia, China has invested in transport infrastructure such as roads, bridges and ports which helps growers in provinces such as Chanthaburi and Chiang Mai get their fresh produce to Chinese markets. However, some Chinese investments in agriculture in Southeast Asia have proven controversial, such as banana plantations in Laos and Thailand. Some of these large-scale ventures go against local farming traditions and have raised the concerns of local villagers about environmental issues and land use. The ideal partnership between Thailand and China should therefore focus on adding value to food production. China invests heavily in research and development and this is exactly what the Thai government is looking for in its development of Food Innopolis, an innovation park for the food industry. CP executive vice president Sarasin Viraphol, who was a keynote speaker at the recent China-Asean seminar, believes that Thailand has the potential to be the world leader in the agribusiness and food-processing technology, and that building partnerships with China would help us achieve this goal. To encourage investment in R&D the Thai government has developed an attractive package of incentives and is holding roadshows to attract investors in Food Innopolis. The government aims to develop the food industry in seven key areas: functional food and nutraceuticals; halal food; premium seafood and aquaculture; essential nutrition and food ingredients; healthy fats and oils; organic fruit and vegetables; and innovation in activities such as packaging, design and IT. If China responds to such initiatives, we will have an exciting future ahead. However, this should not come at a cost, financially and socially, to Thailand. The government must ensure the highest standards are adopted and strictly applied, and guaranteed through participation by relevant stakeholders. Suwatchai Songwanich Chief executive Officer, Bangkok Bank (China) Source : The Nation A local bank has agreed to sponsor two concerts in Hanoi next month by Boney M, Scorpions and Chris Norman, a source told Thanh Nien without providing details. On October 1 Boney M and Chris Norman will perform at the National Convention Center after reaching agreement with organizers with stringent conditions, Nguyen Thuy Duong, a spokesperson for the organizers, said. Equipment has been hired in Japan and Singapore to meet their demands, he said. On October 23 Scorpions will perform at the 3rd Monsoon Music Festival at the Thang Long Royal Citadel. Composer Quoc Trung said it took them years to get the Scorpions to perform at the event. We invited them to the first event, but they refused because the event was not widely known then. They refused to perform at the second event because they were busy. We had to contact them early this time besides providing commitments on the organization and equipment. People shop for remaining stocks of insect repellent products at a pharmacy in Singapore September 2, 2016. Malaysia is bracing for more Zika cases, officials said on Sunday, after detecting the first locally infected patient, which could further stretch a health system struggling with dengue, another mosquito-borne virus that can be fatal. Both Zika, which is of particular risk to pregnant women, and the dengue virus are spread by the Aedes aegypti mosquito, which is common in tropical Malaysia, Southeast Asia's third largest economy, and across the region. Neighboring Singapore has reported more than 200 cases of Zika. Three days ago, Malaysia reported its first Zika infection - a woman living near Kuala Lumpur who contracted the virus during a visit to Singapore. On Saturday, Malaysian authorities said they had detected the first local infection: a 61-year-old man in the city of Kota Kinabalu, in the Malaysian part of Borneo island. "The confirmation of the second case of Zika in Kota Kinabalu suggests that the virus is already present within our communities," Health Minister Subramaniam Sathasivam said. "Zika is present in our country. New cases will continue to emerge," he posted on his Facebook page. Zika infections in pregnant women have been shown to cause microcephaly - a severe birth defect in which the head and brain are undersized - as well as other brain abnormalities. The connection between Zika and microcephaly first came to light last fall in Brazil, which has since confirmed more than 1,800 cases of microcephaly. In adults, Zika infections have also been linked to a rare neurological syndrome known as Guillain-Barre, as well as other neurological disorders. Dengue fight Since reporting its first Zika infection, Malaysia has increased insecticide spraying to kill mosquitoes. It has also stepped up health checks at its main border with Singapore, through which 200,000 people pass daily. Malaysia, with a population of almost 30 million and a size 46 times bigger than Singapore, faces a much more challenging fight against Zika, doctors say. "Zika will spread even faster in Malaysia than Singapore because our Aedes volume is so much higher and the breeding grounds are enormous," said Amar Singh, head of the paediatric department at Hospital Raja Permaisuri Bainun in the Malaysian town of Ipoh. The World Health Organisation (WHO) ranks Malaysia's healthcare system as the world's 49th most developed. Singapore figures in the top 10. There is no vaccine or treatment for Zika, which is a close cousin of dengue and chikungunya and causes mild fever, rash and red eyes. An estimated 80 percent of people infected have no symptoms, making it difficult for pregnant women to know whether they have been infected. The WHO has declared the Zika outbreak an international health emergency, and if Malaysia's fight against dengue is any indication, it will struggle with Zika. Malaysia recorded a total of 120,836 dengue cases last year, including 336 fatalities - the most since 1995, according to government data. This year, there have been 75,000 dengue cases and 166 fatalities. Malaysian authorities say dengue is a bigger problem than Zika. But regional health experts believe Zika is significantly under-reported in Southeast Asia as authorities fail to conduct adequate screening and also because of its usually mild symptoms. The WHO lists Indonesia, Thailand, the Philippines and Vietnam as countries with "possible endemic transmission or evidence of local mosquito-borne Zika infections in 2016". The virus was first identified in Uganda in 1947 and was unknown in the Americas until 2014. A worker fogs the drains in the common areas of a public housing estate at an area where locally transmitted Zika cases were discovered in Singapore August 31, 2016. Singapore confirmed 26 more cases of locally transmitted Zika infections, the health ministry and National Environment Agency (NEA) said in a joint statement on Saturday, bringing the tally to 215. Of the 26 new cases, 24 were linked to existing clusters while two cases have no known links to any existing cluster, they said. The sequencing analysis of the Zika virus found in two patients from an existing cluster in Aljunied Crescent/Sims Drive, showed that the virus was not imported from South America, the Ministry of Health (MOH) and NEA said. "The analysis found that the virus belongs to the Asian lineage and likely evolved from the strain that was already circulating in Southeast Asia. The virus from these two patients was not imported from South America." Airplane passengers walks through feverscan camera system used to detect human temperature shortly after arriving from Singapore at the Soekarno-Hatta airport in Jakarta, Indonesia, August 30, 2016. The MOH and NEA said a research team that conducted the analysis would release more details shortly. The Malaysian health ministry said earlier on Saturday that it had detected the first case of a locally transmitted Zika infection in Malaysia, in a 61-year-old man in the state of Sabah. Zika was first identified in Uganda in 1947 and was unknown in the Americas until 2014. The virus is currently affecting large parts of Latin America and the Caribbean, with Brazil the hardest hit so far. Zika infections in pregnant women have been shown to cause microcephaly - a severe birth defect in which the head and brain are undersized - as well as other brain abnormalities. US citizens will be able to travel to Vietnam on one-year, multiple-entry visas, the National Assembly has decided. A parliament resolution to ratify the Diplomatic Note on Visa Granting between Vietnam and the United States, which is expected to boost tourist and business ties between the two countries, won 92.9 percent of votes at a NA session this morning US citizens have so far been granted three-month visas, which caused many difficulties to US visitors, according to the newly-elected President Tran Dai Quang, who proposed the change to the NA on Apr. 4. The US, meanwhile, grants one-year visas with multiple entries to visitors from Vietnam. Tan Tao Lo (inset) was accused of killing a woman and three children at this house in Lao Cai Province on August 9. Photo: Thai Uyen The Lao Cai police Sunday arrested a 24-year-old suspect in the grisly murder of a woman and three children in the northern province last month. Tan Tao Lo was arrested in a forest not far from Phin Ngan village where he and the victims lived, Hoang Dang Khoa, chairman of the peoples committee of Bat Xat District, where the village is situated, said. He has been sent to the district prison, he said, adding that a media briefing on the case would be held this week. On August 9 Tan Ong Nai returned home from the field with his parents but could not find his wife and daughters. There was a loaded musket in the kitchen, rigged to go off when the kitchen door was opened. He reported to the local police who launched a search through the night. They found the bodies of the victims in a stream near the house with large rocks placed on their bodies. The four victims were Nais wife Tan Thi May, 22, their daughter Tan Mai Phuong, two, and newborn Tan Thuy Van, and Mays niece Tan Thuy Chi, six. The autopsy found they had been strangled. More than VND14 million (US$630) in cash was missing from the house. According to local authorities, Lo was living with his wife and child in the village. In 2013 he was fined VND7 million for attempting to rape May. Truong Ho Phuong Nga, 2007 Miss Vietnam in Russia, has been arrested for allegedly swindling a man out of $734,000 in HCMC. File photo A Vietnamese-Russian beauty queen has been indicted for fraud after allegedly swindling a Vietnamese businessman out of VND16.5 billion (US$740,000). Truong Ho Phuong Nga, 29, who won the Miss Vietnam in Russia beauty contest in 2007, can be jailed for life if found guilty. Her friend, Nguyen Duc Thuy Dung, 27, has been charged with colluding with Nga in the scam, according to the Ho Chi Minh City prosecutors office. Nga, who migrated to Russia with her parents in 1999, she moved to HCMC to work for a communication company and model. She reportedly told a local businessman, identified only as H., that she had many good contacts who could help him buy houses at low prices. The man then transferred VND6 billion to her account to buy a house in District 5. But she later told him the house had been sold. She then managed to convince him to part with another VND10.5 billion to buy a different house. Again he failed to get the promised house and with Nga evading him constantly, he demanded his money back and complained to the police. The police received the complaint in 2014 and called Nga for questioning. The woman claimed to have repaid H. and produced documents to prove her claim, but the police later found them to be fake. Nga was arrested in March 2015 at her apartment in District 2. Dung, who was accused of getting the fake documents for Nga, was arrested later. The Vietnam Tourism Association said it would complain to the government about a recent hike in visa fees by more than five times for US nationals. On August 29 Vietnam began to issue one-year, multiple-entry visas to US citizens for US$135, up from single-entry visas that cost only $5 for cruise tourists and $25 for others. Vu The Binh, the associations vice chairman, said many tourism firms are suffering as a result of the hike. Many groups of visitors from the US to Vietnam are being hindered by the new regulation Most tourists want a single visit for a short time. They do not need the new visa with much higher fee, The Saigon Times quoted him as saying. The multiple-entry visa policy has been bilaterally agreed to. Many tourism firms said they were not informed in advance about the new policy and have not received official documents about it. We cant inform our partners that the visa fee has been increased without any document. Tourists will surely react when told to pay more money, Phan Xuan Anh, chairman of Viet Excursions travel firm, said. The US is one of Vietnams major sources of tourists, with 386,000 people coming so far this year, nearly 15 percent up from last year. Russian envoy to the United Nations Vitaly Churkin expressed confidence that Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov would present new actual initiatives the 71st session of the UN General Assembly in New York in September, Sputnik reported. Lavrov is expected to head the Russian delegation to the 71st session of the UN General Assembly, which will also include Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Gennady Gatilov and Churkin. "I am sure that [Lavrov's] speech at the general-political discussion in late September will contain new actual initiatives. Of course, it is too early to disclose them now," Churkin told the Russian Izvestia newspaper in an interview, published Monday. According to the decree signed by Russian President Vladimir Putin, Russian officials such as head of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the upper house of parliament Konstantin Kosachev, head of the Foreign Ministrys legal department Roman Kolodkin, director of the ministrys International Organizations Department Alexander Pankin are also included in the delegation. The 71th session of the UN General Assembly is scheduled to open on September 13 at the UN headquarters in New York. Tran Quang Dac, 29, was rescued after falling off a cliff at the Yen Tu Mount on September 3. Photo credit: Quang Ninh Online A 29-year-old man was discharged from hospital Sunday after being treated for minor injuries he suffered while falling down the side of Yen Tu Mountain in northern Vietnam the previous day. Tran Quang Dac was visiting the popular tourist destination in Quang Ninh Province when he crossed a fence to urinate at around 8 p.m. and tumbled down a cliff. He regained consciousness at around 10 p.m. and called for help. A Yen Tu National Park worker, who was releasing a king cobra in the forest, saw him and reported to the park managers. Rescuers found him an hour later some 200m down the mountain. Dac was rushed to the Vietnam-Sweden Hospital, where doctors said he only had minor injuries and bruises. In December 2011 Nguyen Tai Quyen, 27, fell off Yen Tu and was rescued a day later after a hotel reported he was missing. Quyen, who sustained fractures of the clavicle and back bone, said he fell off after crossing a safety barrier to take photos. Yen Tu is located 1,068 meters above sea level, the highest in northeastern Vietnam, and closely linked to the Truc Lam Yen Tu Zen Buddhist sect founded by King Tran Nhan Tong (1258-1308). It was listed as a national relic in 1974 and a special national relic in 2012. Most of its pagodas, temples and towers are located on nearly 2,800 hectares in the Yen Tu Forest Natural Reserve which boasts a diverse tropical ecosystem. Philippine National Police Chief Gen. Ronald Dela Rosa (C), together with police officers and officials from the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) torch a stack of marijuana seized in a police operation against illegal drugs, during his visit to Camp Dangwa in La Trinidad, Benguet province, north of Manila, Philippines September 2, 2016. The body of 22-year-old pedicab driver Eric Sison lies in a coffin in a Manila slum with a chick pacing across his casket, placed there in keeping with a local tradition to symbolically peck at the conscience of his killers. Cellphone video footage circulating on social media purports to capture the moment Sison was killed last month when, according to local officials, police were looking for drug pushers in the Pasay township of the Philippines' capital. A voice on the video, recorded by a neighbor according to newspaper reports, can be heard shouting "Don't do it, I'll surrender!". Then there is the sound of gunfire. A poster near the coffin, which lies beside a stinking canal cut between ramshackle homes, demands "Justice for Eric Quintinita Sison". A handpainted sign reads: "OVERKILL - JUSTICE 4 ERIC." These are rare tokens of protest against a surge of killings unleashed since Rodrigo Duterte became president of the Philippines just over two months ago and pledged to wage war on drug dealers and crush widespread addiction to methamphetamine. Very little stands in the way of his bloody juggernaut. Last week the number of people killed since July 1 reached 2,400: about 900 died in police operations, and the rest are "deaths under investigation", a term human rights activists say is a euphemism for vigilante and extrajudicial killings. Duterte's office did not immediately respond to a request for comment on this report. Opponents assailed Reuters interviews reveal that the police's Internal Affairs Service (IAS) and the Commission on Human Rights (CHR) are so overwhelmed by the killings that they can investigate only a fraction, and there is scant hope of establishing many as unlawful because witnesses are too terrified to come forward. Members of the Philippine National Police (PNP) officers torch stacks of marijuana seized in a police operation against illegal drugs in Camp Dangwa in La Trinidad, Benguet province, Philippines, September 2, 2016. Meanwhile, the immense popularity of Duterte's crusade and a climate of fear whipped up by the bloodletting have together silenced dissent from civil society. Hardly anyone turned up at candlelight vigils in Manila recently to protest against extrajudicial killings. Even as the death toll rose, a July poll by Pulse Asia put Duterte's approval rating at 91 percent. Anxious reminders by the Catholic Church of the commandment 'thou shalt not kill' make few headlines in the predominantly Catholic country, with newspapers preferring to carry breathless accounts of the latest slayings. Duterte has delivered withering attacks on his chief critic, Senator Leila de Lima, accusing her of dealing in drugs herself and having an affair with her driver. "It's only the president who can stop this," de Lima told Reuters last week, deploring what she described as the "madness" that led in one case to a five-year-old girl being shot in the head. "How many more of these cases of collateral damage are we willing to bear before we can really start screaming about it?" she asked. As for critics abroad, Duterte pours scorn on them in language larded with curses. He lambasted the United Nations after it criticized the surge in killings and he turned down a meeting with U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon at a summit in Laos this week. Duterte will meet Barack Obama in Laos on Tuesday, although he has made it clear in advance that he will take no lecture on human rights from the U.S. president, when in the United States he alleged "black people are being shot even if they are already lying down". "Everyone is afraid" Duterte may intensify the crackdown after 14 people were killed on Friday in a bomb attack at a market in his hometown, Davao. Police blamed the Abu Sayyaf, an Islamic State-linked group Duterte has vowed to destroy, but his war on the drug trade is making enemies elsewhere and the attack quickened rumors of a plot to kill him. Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte speaks during a news conference in Davao city, southern Philippines August 21, 2016. Duterte has declared a nationwide "state of lawlessness" after the blast that authorizes troops to reinforce the police with checkpoints and patrols. He has managed with remarkable speed to nationalize a vicious model for fighting crime that he pioneered as mayor of Davao for 22 years. Rights groups documented hundreds of suspicious murders in Davao on Duterte's watch and say death squads operated with impunity there. "The Punisher", as some call him, denies ordering extrajudicial killings but he does not condemn them. Across the country now, lists of suspected drug pushers are being provided to police by neighborhood chiefs, adding to a sense of fear and distrust across communities. Politicians of all hues have gone quiet, and a Senate enquiry led by de Lima only has the power to propose legislation, not stop the killers in their tracks. Investigators swamped Chief Superintendent Leo Angelo Leuterio, who heads the IAS, says it is his office's responsibility to investigate every discharge of firearms involving police. But with only about 170 investigators nationwide, the IAS is able to deal with just 30 percent of the roughly 30 cases coming in every day. "Our resources are breaking at the seams," said Leuterio. The IAS chief is supposed to be a civilian to ensure its independence but Leuterio is a policeman who spent 13 years of his career in Duterte's hometown, Davao. He says he is unbiased and has a track record of dismissing hundreds of officers for misconduct. The CHR, for its part, is looking at just 259 of the 2,000-plus killings since July 1. Its forensics team of 14 is swamped and in their cramped office investigators probing possible extrajudicial killings are handling just 12 dossiers. The commission says its biggest obstacle is that witnesses are hard to find. One person who did come forward is Harrah Kazuo, whose husband and father-in-law were severely beaten and shot dead in a police station, according to a CHR report. She told Reuters that when the police entered their home without a warrant they even removed her toddler's underwear to search for drugs. Police have not commented on what happened in the home, but two officers have been arrested and charged with murder in connection with the case. Kazuo has been taken into witness protection by the CHR. She is a rare protesting voice in an environment where many are fearful. On Aug. 29, police told reporters they had opened fire that night on a drug suspect in Tondo, a dirt-poor and densely populated district of Manila. A Reuters reporter looked into the suspect's one-room home and saw a mattress splattered with blood. He asked a neighbor how many shots had been fired, but the man replied: "Sorry, my friend. I didn't hear a single shot," and walked away. Chinas banks, which dialed down fundraising efforts this year even as bad debts swelled, are making up for lost time. Both lenders and the companies set up to acquire their delinquent assets are bolstering their finances. China Citic Bank Corp. last month announced plans to raise as much as 40 billion yuan ($6 billion), while Agricultural Bank of China Ltd., Industrial Bank Co. and China Zheshang Bank Co. are also boosting capital. China Cinda Asset Management Co. and China Huarong Asset Management Co. are poised to tap investors. "Chinese banks are preemptively raising capital while pricing remains favorable in order to tackle higher loan impairments, said Nicholas Yap, a credit analyst at Mitsubishi UFJ Securities HK Ltd. in Hong Kong. Additionally, the mid- and small-sized lenders also need to boost their capital levels as they have been growing their asset bases rapidly, largely through their investment receivables portfolios." Chinese banks have strained their finances with the busiest first-half lending spree on record, despite having the highest amount of bad debt in 11 years. Still, completed offerings of hybrid capital declined 38 percent after two consecutive years of record fundraising. A rule change in April that requires lenders to make full provisions for loan rights they have transferred is also encouraging the fundraising. BNP Paribas SA said Chinese lenders may be assessing the right time to approach investors. We do see a need for them to issue more, and expect them to raise more additional Tier-1 capital, if not this year then next year," said Charles Chang, head of Asia credit strategy and sector specialists at the firm in Hong Kong. Loan growth continues to be pretty strong. Meanwhile, NPL ratios are ticking up so it would make sense." China Zheshang Bank said it would raise 15 billion yuan selling offshore preference shares, securities with equity-like characteristics that count as Additional Tier-1 capital. In July, Industrial Bank said it plans to raise as much as 26 billion yuan in a private stock placement to replenish its highest-ranked buffer. Agricultural Bank will sell as much as 80 billion yuan of securities over three years for supplementary Tier-2 capital, the lender said in August. Much of the fundraising is also to support their balance sheet growth, said Liao Qiang, banking analyst at S&P Global Ratings in Beijing. This is also the reason why asset management companies are engaging in fundraising right now. They need more capital to support more purchases of bad loans. China Cinda has sent a request for proposals to banks for its planned 30 billion yuan equivalent dollar-denominated preference share offering, people familiar said last month. China Huarong plans to issue perpetual dollar bonds this month, separate people said in August. Cinda is set to become the first Chinese asset management company to sell preference shares. So far in 2016, Chinese financial firms sold $24.1 billion of hybrid securities counted as capital, down 38 percent a year earlier, Bloomberg-compiled data show. China introduced stricter capital requirements to meet Basel III standards in January 2013 and Bank of China Ltd. was the first Chinese bank to sell preferred shares in 2014. Natixis Asia Ltd. sees the big five lenders needing more capital as they take part in debt-to-equity swaps with delinquent borrowers. The French bank estimated in an Aug. 26 report the program would reduce their Tier-1 capital ratio by 3.3 percentage points to 9.1 percent. S&P says such swaps will only be a driver for fundraising when current trials are expanded. If it would be implemented system-wide, then you can certainly expect it to be another blow to the banks capital, said Liao at S&P. Chinese President Xi Jinping shakes hands with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi during the G20 Summit in Hangzhou, Zhejiang province, China September 4, 2016. Chinese President Xi Jinping told Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday that the two countries should respect each other's concerns and constructively handle their differences. The two nuclear-armed neighbors have been moving to gradually ease long-existing tensions between them. Leaders of Asia's two giants pledged last year to cool a festering border dispute, which dates back to a brief border war in 1962, though the disagreement remains unresolved. Meeting on the sidelines of the G20 summit in the eastern Chinese city of Hangzhou, Xi said relations had maintained a steady, healthy momentum, and should continue to increase mutual understanding and trust. "We ought to respect and give consideration to each other's concerns, and use constructive methods to appropriately handle questions on which there are disputes," Xi said, in comments carried by China's Foreign Ministry. "China is willing to work hard with India the maintain the hard-won good position of Sino-India relations," Xi added. China's Defence Ministry said last month that it hoped India could put more efforts into regional peace and stability rather than the opposite, in response to Indian plans to put advanced cruise missiles along the disputed border with China. Chinese President Xi Jinping (C) takes a group photo with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi (2nd L), Brazil's President Michel Temer (L) ,Russian President Vladimir Putin (2nd R) and South Africa's President Jacob Zuma (R) ahead of G20 Summit in Hangzhou, Zhejiang province, China, September 4, 2016. Indian military officials say the plan is to equip regiments deployed on the China border with the BrahMos missile, made by an Indo-Russian joint venture, as part of ongoing efforts to build up military and civilian infrastructure capabilities there. China lays claim to more than 90,000 sq km (35,000 sq miles) ruled by New Delhi in the eastern sector of the Himalayas. India says China occupies 38,000 sq km (14,600 sq miles) of its territory on the Aksai Chin plateau in the west. India is also suspicious of China's support for its arch-rival, Pakistan. Before arriving in China, Modi visited Vietnam, where he offered Vietnam a credit line of half a billion dollars for defense cooperation. Modi's government has ordered BrahMos Aerospace, which produces the BrahMos missiles, to accelerate sales to a list of five countries topped by Vietnam, according to a government note viewed by Reuters and previously unreported. Syrian army soldiers inspect the damage at the site of two explosions that hit the Arzouna bridge area at the entrance to Tartous, Syria in this handout picture provided by SANA on September 5, 2016. SANA/Handout via REUTERS Six explosions claimed by the Islamic State group hit government-controlled areas and a province held by a Kurdish militia in Syria on Monday, killing dozens of people, state media and a monitor said. The blasts took place in the morning in the cities of Homs and Tartous and at the entrance to a town west of Damascus, all held by the government, and in Kurdish-held areas in Qamishli and Hasaka in northeastern Syria. Islamic State's media outlet Amaq said the attacks were suicide operations targeting the Syrian government and a Kurdish security force. It issued separate statements naming some of the bombers. Syria's cabinet said the attacks were a response to the recapture on Sunday by the army and its allies of a district of Aleppo that insurgents had seized last month, reinstating a siege on rebel-held parts of the city. Islamic State is not present in Aleppo, insurgent sources say, but mainstream rebels and hardline Islamist factions both are, including Jabhat Fateh al-Sham, formally affiliated to al Qaeda until it severed ties with the jihadist movement in July. Syrian army soldiers inspect the damage as civil defense members work at the site of two explosions that hit the Arzouna bridge area at the entrance to Tartous, Syria in this handout picture provided by SANA on September 5, 2016. State television also reported that government jets had struck Islamic State targets near Deir al-Zor, in an area northeast of Damascus and in Suweida province, but without connecting the strikes to the morning's blasts. The turmoil underlined the complexity of a five-year civil war that has cut Syria into a patchwork of territories held by the state and an often competing array of armed factions and sectarian groups. Two explosions hit the Arzouna bridge area at the entrance to Tartous, killing 35 people, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said, a death toll that was confirmed by the head of a city hospital. Syrian state television said the first explosion was a car bomb and the second was a suicide belt detonated as rescue workers came to the scene of the first incident. A car bomb struck the city of Homs at the Bab Tadmur roundabout at the entrance to the al-Zahra neighbourhood, killing three people, state media said. The Observatory said the Homs explosion hit an army checkpoint, killing four officers. Syrian army soldiers and civilians inspect the site of two explosions that hit the Arzouna bridge area at the entrance to Tartous, Syria in this handout picture provided by SANA on September 5, 2016. West of Damascus, there was an explosion at the entrance to the town of al Saboura, along a road which leads onto the Beirut-Damascus highway, killing one person and injuring three, according to a police commander quoted on state television. A local police chief told state media three men were stopped in a car by security forces. "The driver was killed and the two others got out of the car and detonated their suicide belts, killing one person," he said. The Observatory said three people died in the Saboura blast. A motorbike also exploded in the centre of the northeastern city of Hasaka, killing five people including three members of the YPG-affiliated security force known as the Asayish, said the Observatory. The Kurdish YPG militia, a critical part of the U.S.-backed campaign against Islamic State, took near complete control of Hasaka city in late August after a week of fighting with the government. The YPG already controls swathes of northern Syria where Kurdish groups have established de facto autonomy since the start of the Syrian war in 2011. The Observatory said a percussion bomb also went off in the province's city of Qamishli city, but nobody was harmed. Amaq, a news agency affiliated to Islamic State, said seven Kurdish security forces were killed an injured there. Russian President Vladimir Putin (L) meets with U.S. President Barack Obama on the sidelines of the G20 Summit in Hangzhou, China, September 5, 2016. U.S. President Barack Obama and Russian President Vladimir Putin had a longer-than-expected discussion on Monday about whether, and how, they could agree on a ceasefire deal in war-torn Syria, a senior U.S. administration official said. Obama and Putin spent about 90 minutes in a "constructive" meeting about getting humanitarian aid into the country, reducing violence, and cooperating on combating militant groups, the official told reporters. In talks earlier on Monday, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov were unable to come to terms on a ceasefire for the second time in two weeks, with U.S. officials stressing they would walk away if a near-term pact could not be reached. Obama and Putin did not get into the finer details of a deal, but made progress to clarify "the remaining gaps" and directed Kerry and Lavrov to meet as early as this week to keep working on a deal, the official told reporters. "If an agreement can be reached, we want to do so urgently, because of the humanitarian situation. However, we must ensure that it is an effective agreement," the official said. "If we cannot get the type of agreement we want, we will walk away from that effort." A cessation of hostilities agreement brokered by Lavrov and Kerry in February unraveled within weeks, with Washington accusing Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's forces of violating the pact. State Department officials have declined to elaborate on what the sticking points are preventing a deal, though the U.S. official said the remaining differences revolved around how the plan would be implemented. Russia: no basis for dramatic statements after Lavrov, Kerry meeting - Interfax Russia has insisted that it cannot agree to a deal unless opposition fighters, backed by the United States and Middle East allies, are separated from al-Qaeda linked militants they overlap with in some areas. Obama and Putin also discussed the conflict in Ukraine - a crisis that Obama had earlier discussed with German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Francois Hollande. The White House wants to determine whether the Minsk ceasefire can be implemented before Obama leaves office in January, or whether economic sanctions on Russia will need to be extended, the official said. Philippines' President Rodrigo Duterte delivers his pre-departure message before leaving for the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Summit in Laos at the Davao International Airport in Davao city, Philippines September 5, 2016 U.S. President Barack Obama said on Monday he was considering whether or not to meet his Filipino counterpart, Rodrigo Duterte, this week, amid alarm over the latter's campaign against illegal drugs in which thousands of people have died. Speaking at a G20 meeting in China, and before traveling to Laos for a summit where he was due to hold talks with Duterte, Obama said he had asked his team to find out if "constructive, productive conversations" were possible. "Obviously the Filipino people are some of our closest friends and allies and the Philippines is a treaty ally of ours. But I always want to make sure that if I'm having a meeting that it's actually productive and we're getting something done," he told reporters in the eastern Chinese city of Hangzhou. "I'm going to make an assessment ... What is certainly true is that the issues of how we approach fighting crime and drug trafficking is a serious one for all of us, and we've got to do it the right way." Earlier, Duterte had made it clear he would take no lecture on human rights from Obama, adding that "plenty will be killed" before the end of a crackdown that has led to the death of about 2,400 people since he became president two months ago. "I am a president of a sovereign state and we have long ceased to be a colony," Duterte told reporters before setting off for Laos, when asked about his planned meeting with Obama. "Who is he to confront me? As a matter of fact, America has one too many to answer for," he said. "Everybody has a terrible record of extrajudicial killings." Asked after arriving in the Laos capital of Vientiane whether the meeting would go ahead, Duterte replied: "May be." Duterte, a former crime-busting mayor of southern Davao city, won the presidency in May promising to suppress crime and wipe out drugs and drug dealers. While his campaign has won popular support, the killings have alarmed rights groups and brought expressions of concern from the United States, a former colonial power and a close Philippine ally, and the United Nations. ASEAN summit The frank public exchanges threaten to overshadow the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and East Asia Summits in Laos from Tuesday to Thursday. Philippines' President Rodrigo Duterte delivers his pre-departure message before leaving for the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Summit in Laos at the Davao International Airport in Davao city, Philippines September 5, 2016. There the 10-member ASEAN will meet leaders of other regional powers; China, Japan, South Korea, Australia, India, Russia and the United States. The Philippines has been a key U.S. ally in its dispute with China over the South China Sea, where Washington blames Beijing for militarising a vital global trade route and jeopardizing freedom of movement at sea and in the air. China rejects those accusation, and in turn blames the United States for ratcheting up tensions unnecessarily. 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. An arbitration court in The Hague invalidated China's vast territorial claims to the waterway after a case was brought by the Philippines, though Beijing refuses to recognize the ruling. Since then, the Philippines has sent mixed signals to China. Duterte said last month he expected all ASEAN members to support the arbitration court's ruling, but that the Philippines would not raise the issue in Laos. On Monday, he showed no signs of backing down in his anti-drug campaign. "Plenty will be killed until the last pusher is out of the streets. Until the (last) drug manufacturer is killed we will continue," he said. Police say about 900 of those killed died in police operations, and the rest were "deaths under investigation", a term human rights activists say is a euphemism for vigilante and extrajudicial killings. Duterte earlier lambasted the United Nations after it criticized the surge in killings and he turned down a meeting with U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon in Laos. In response to a bombing last week that killed 14 people in Duterte's hometown, his government on Monday signed a declaration of a "state of lawlessness", a term that has left many Filipinos concerned that it might be draconian and open to abuse by security forces. The government, however, has been keen to allay fears the obscure order might impinge on civil liberties. Officials have repeatedly said the declaration simply allows the armed forces to support police operations, such as at checkpoints. Barack Obamas push to rebalance U.S. foreign policy toward Asia will be the focus of his last visit to the region as president. With a trade deal hanging in the balance of a U.S. election that has free-trade advocates in both major parties on the defensive, Obama will seek to reassure Association of Southeast Asian Nation leaders that the accord can get through Congress. Joining Obama and the leaders of the 10 Asean countries in Laos from Sept. 6 to 8, will be leaders from China, India, Japan, Australia, New Zealand, South Korea, and Russia for the East Asia Summit. Heres a look at the agenda. U.S. rebalance The first sitting U.S. president to visit Laos, Obamas regular attendance at the summit has added significant weight to the annual Asian leaders meeting and further enhanced American engagement in the region. The first U.S.-Asean summit since the signing of last years strategic partnership, White House officials say Obama will make a strong case for his signature Asia policies -- the U.S. economic and military rebalance to the region, rules-based order, respect for international law and peaceful dispute resolution. China has repeatedly painted the policy as an attempt to contain its economic and military expansion. TPP treaty The keystone of Obamas engagement strategy with Asia, the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade deal covering 12 nations and 40 percent of world commerce has been targeted by both sides of the U.S. presidential campaign. With sentiment in the U.S. running against free-trade agreements, Obamas only chance to see the treaty ratified will be to push it through Congress during the so-called lame-duck session before he leaves office in January. White House officials say hell make a strong case for TPP in Laos. Seven member nations will be represented in Vientiene, as well as China, which isnt part of TPP. The deal would slash tariffs on goods and services and set labor and environmental standards. Sea disputes Chinas claim to most of the South China Sea suffered a setback in July when an international tribunal ruled that its territorial assertions had no legal basis. Five Asean nations including the Philippines, which instigated the case, and Vietnam also have claims in the waters that host more than $5 trillion in trade a year. China has said it will ignore the ruling. In June, Malaysia released a statement after an Asean meeting identifying the dispute as an important issue in the relations and cooperation between Asean and China. China says the dispute isnt a matter between itself and Asean. Beijing pressured Laos to scrap that statement, according to a Southeast Asian official with knowledge of the talks. Thats why any South China Sea references in the final communique will carry extra weight. Duterte debut Newly elected Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte, a longtime mayor who swept to power with his populist approach, makes his international debut. The diplomatically inexperienced Duterte will navigate his first meetings with world leaders amid global criticism of his deadly drug war. During his trip hell meet Obama and theyre expected to discuss both the South China Sea and rights issues, though Duterte has warned that the American leader must first listen to his defense of the drug war before raising concerns. Regional leaders will be watching the way he balances interaction with both the U.S. and the China, who hes courting with an offer of two-way talks to resolve to the territorial dispute. Zika threat As Zika spreads in Singapore, the threat of more infection across Southeast Asia is a major challenge for Asean. With cases being introduced or transmitted locally in Indonesia, Thailand, Vietnam and Malaysia, Asean may resolve to take joint action, similar last years Malaria Elimination Roadmap, which aims for eradication from the Asia-Pacific by 2030. In an impoverished and war-battered territory suffering food shortages and a scarcity of jobs, Saeed al-Ar knew it was a tall order opening a dog shelter in Gaza. The Palestinian coastal enclave crammed with 1.9 million people has been devastated by three wars against Israel since 2008, and it remains under blockade by the Jewish state and Egypt. The fate of hundreds of stray dogs outside towns or near the Israeli security fence have been anything but a priority. "How can we create a shelter for strays when we need shelter ourselves?" is the typical view, as expressed by a 27-year-old unemployed Gazan, Jasser al-Sheikh. "We must first feed our children and find jobs for thousands of unemployed graduates." But Ar, a 45-year-old father of seven, has taken it upon himself to intervene, spending his own money to rescue the strays. Last month, he opened the territory's first dog sanctuary in a relatively well-off suburb south of Gaza City. Saeed al-Ar used his own money to set up the Al-Soulala Association for Protection, Rehabilitation and Training, dog shelter in central Gaza Strip . His Al-Soulala Association for Protection, Rehabilitation and Training covers 2,700 square metres (29,000 square feet), complete with kennels which currently house around 75 former strays. Behind beige tarpaulin on a vast sandy expanse, dogs are fed and given training to run and jump obstacles. "This is the first kennel in Palestine that supports stray dogs and domesticates them," Ar told AFP. He used to run a police unit for dogs specialising in the detection of explosives and drugs, and admits that canines have always been his passion. When the Islamist movement Hamas seized power in Gaza in 2007, Ar found himself out of a job. But he still collects a salary and now dedicates all his time to the dogs. Shot or poisoned In the predominantly Muslim territory, religious authorities consider dogs to be unclean or impure. Some Gazans even shoot at stray dogs that approach their children or orchards, while others find them scary and blame them for accidents. The authorities lack the resources even if they were inclined to intervene. In the past they even tried to poison strays, but stopped the culling over concerns that it was also dangerous to humans, a municipal official said on condition of anonymity. The Al-Soulala Association for Protection, Rehabilitation and Training, dog shelter in in central Gaza Strip has attracted a growing number of visitors, many of them children . The kennel aims to catch stray dogs, provide veterinary services and help domesticate them. Since its opening, the kennel has attracted a growing number of visitors, many of them children. Some have asked to adopt a pet, a trend picking up in Gaza. The phone rings constantly with people reporting strays in their neighbourhood. In such cases, search teams are sent out, said Mohammed al-Hindi, 24, a recently graduated nurse and one of 25 volunteer helpers. Every morning, the volunteers tour participating restaurants and stores to collect leftover meat and chicken for the dogs, in a sign of changing attitudes in Gaza. But Ar said he has already spent $35,000 and cannot make ends meet on his own much longer. The centre needs $5,000 a month to function properly, said Ar, who has launched an online appeal to animal protection groups and lovers across the world. "We have to get help because at the moment we are doing this with our own money." On a brighter note, he said local authorities have promised him a larger plot of land. He dreams of a giant kennel, "with a dog food factory and a veterinary clinic for all stray animals". A Turkish soldier on an armoured personnel carrier waves as it is driven from the border back to their base in Karkamis on the Turkish-Syrian border in the southeastern Gaziantep province, Turkey, August 27, 2016. Syrian government forces and their allies again laid siege to rebel-held eastern Aleppo on Sunday, while Turkish-backed fighters drove Islamic State from all the areas along its border, in two significant but separate developments in the multi-sided conflict. The fighting - two potential turning points in the conflict if the gains can be sustained - complicated efforts by the United States and Russia to reach a ceasefire deal for Syria, whose civil war is in its sixth year. Talks by the Cold War foes on a ceasefire were set to continue on Monday, but "we're not there yet," U.S. President Barack Obama told reporters at the G20 summit in the Chinese city of Hangzhou. Syrian President Bashar al-Assad wants to fully recapture divided Aleppo, Syria's largest city before the war. Gains made by Damascus have relied heavily on Russian air support since September last year. On Sunday, intense aerial and artillery attacks helped government forces and their allies drive insurgents out of the Ramousah military complex in Aleppo, according to rebels and a monitoring group. The rebels had captured the complex in early August, breaking through a government siege of eastern Aleppo . Sunday's government advances resulted in a new siege of the area, said Zakaria Malahifji of the Fastaqim rebel group. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a Britain-based group monitoring the war, and a Damascus military source also reported the new siege. Russian support has turned the war in Assad's favor in many areas, although rebels have made some gains, including in Hama province, further south. Rebels launched a campaign on Sunday to try to capture the town of Maan, north of the city of Hama, the provincial capital, said Mohammed Rasheed, a spokesman for rebel group Jaish al-Nasr. Advances by the insurgents in recent days have brought them to within 10 km (six miles) of government-controlled Hama, the Observatory and insurgents say. Turkish offensive drives out IS In a separate battle further east, rebels backed by Turkey - and made up of Aleppo-based factions - drove Islamic State militants from all areas they controlled along the Syrian-Turkish border, according to the rebels, Ankara and the Observatory. Some 10 days ago, Turkey mounted its first full-scale incursion into Syrian territory since the conflict began in 2011, aimed at IS and at U.S.-backed Kurdish forces in the area, which have also been battling the jihadists. The Turkish-backed advance denied Islamic State its main route to the outside world, through which it has moved fighters and weapons. It was another blow for the jihadist group, which is under pressure in its self-proclaimed caliphate in Syria and Iraq. But Turkey's operation was focused just as firmly against U.S.-backed Kurdish forces, which it fired at last week and which it insists must withdraw to east of the Euphrates river. Ankara fears that advances by the Kurdish YPG militia, which has been one of the most effective partners for the U.S. coalition fighting IS, will embolden Kurdish militants on its own soil. Civilians walk past damaged buildings in the rebel-held al-Sheikh Said neighbourhood of Aleppo, Syria September 1, 2016. With support from Turkish tanks and warplanes, the rebels now appear to have secured a roughly 90 km stretch of land that Turkey long wanted to control to keep out jihadists and to stop the advance of the YPG. 'Grave differences' Sunday's advances illustrate the complexity of the Syrian conflict, which has drawn in most world and regional powers. Efforts to end the fighting have been repeatedly confounded. A deal brokered in February by the United States and Russia fell apart earlier this year. Even before Sunday's battlefield developments, U.S. President Obama said that the two countries were struggling to reach a new ceasefire agreement between Damascus and rebels. "We're not there yet," Obama told reporters after a meeting with British Prime Minister Theresa May in Hangzhou. "We have grave differences with the Russians in terms of both the parties we support but also the process that is required to bring about peace in Syria." An agreement that would stop the fighting and allow more humanitarian deliveries had looked set to be announced by U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov in Hangzhou. Two lecterns had been set up in a room for a news conference. But Kerry emerged alone to say a couple of issues still needed to be resolved and the two sides would resume talks on Monday. He did not elaborate. Officials from the United States and Russia, which back opposite sides in Syria's civil war, have been meeting since Kerry traveled to Moscow in July with a proposal that would halt the fighting. It would ensure that government fighters pulled back in some areas, including around Aleppo, to allow convoys of humanitarian aid to reach civilians caught in the fighting. The ceasefire would be overseen through Russian-U.S. intelligence sharing and military cooperation, which would focus on fighting Islamic State and other militant groups such as al Qaeda. The plan would need Russia to convince Assad to ground his air force, a move that Lavrov has said was not the goal. A letter from Washington's Syria envoy, Michael Ratney, to the armed opposition, a copy of which was seen by Reuters, laid out some of the ceasefire terms. It would oblige Russia to prevent warplanes from bombing areas held by mainstream opposition, require the withdrawal of Damascus's forces from a supply route north of Aleppo, and focus on delivery of humanitarian aid unhindered by warring sides to the city's population, said the letter, dated Sept. 3. Fighting around Aleppo has recently cut supplies, power and water to nearly 2 million people in both government- and rebel-held areas. In return, the United States would coordinate with Russia in fighting against al Qaeda, it said, without elaborating. The Syrian government and Russia were also to avoid bombing areas where more moderate insurgent groups are operating close to Jabhat Fatah al-Sham, previously the al Qaeda-affiliated Nusra Front. Kerry said he would not rush into any agreement just to see it fail again. A senior State Department official, who declined to be named, said Russia had walked back on some of issues that the sides had already agreed on, which was why both sides needed to continue talking. Turkish militarys cross-border operation in Syria was not something unexpected for Russia, President Vladimir Putin said Monday, Anadolu reported. Speaking at a press conference following the G20 Hangzhou Summit in China, Putin said: Turkeys operation in Syria was not something unexpected for us. Foreign Affairs and Intelligence exist so that we face fewer unexpected developments. We understood what was going on and where things would lead. Putin said Russia maintained dialogue with Turkey and the U.S. over Syria, and would not support anything that was not in line with international law. He also said the foreign ministries of Russia and the U.S. were working on some pre-agreements. I think we are on the right path and we can agree on some mutual steps to improve the situation in Syria. Of course, we also need to discuss this with the Syrian regime and Iran, he said. Turkish army launched Operation Euphrates Shield on Aug. 24 in order to improve border security, support coalition forces, and eliminate the threat posed by terrorist organizations, especially Daesh. As for the normalization of Turkey-Russia relations, Putin said the process was ongoing and both peoples sincerely wanted to improve bilateral ties. Ties between Moscow and Ankara entered a new phase following the Aug. 9 meeting between Erdogan and Putin in St. Petersburg. Relations between the two countries soured last November after the downing of the Russian jet, which had violated Turkish airspace along the Syrian border. The issue seemed largely resolved on June 29 through a letter and subsequent telephone calls between the countries leaders. On June 30, Russia lifted a ban on tourist flights to Turkey following a phone conversation between Putin and Erdogan. Turkish and Russian foreign ministers later met in the Russian city of Sochi on July 1. Putin gave his support to Turkey over the July 15 coup attempt and said he stood by the elected government, offering his condolences to victims of what Erdogan called the most heinous armed coup attempt in modern Turkish history. On July 22, Russia also lifted restrictions on flights to Turkey, which had been implemented temporarily following the coup attempt, after Turkish officials assured their Russian counterparts that additional security measures were being taken. Purchases made via links on our site may earn us an affiliate commission Baku, Azerbaijan, Sept. 5 By Rufiz Hafizoglu Trend: Four major members of the Islamic State (IS, aka ISIS, ISIL or Daesh) terrorist organization have been detained in Turkey, YeniSafak newspaper reported Sept. 5. All the detainees are citizens of Turkey, according to the newspaper. It is also reported that the detained militants said they were planning to commit criminal acts in southeastern provinces of Turkey. The newspaper wrote that all the detainees had previous convictions. The Turkish police periodically conduct operations in the country against the IS. Earlier, the Turkish media reported that IS militants use the Turkish Gaziantep province on the border with Syria as a stronghold. The countrys media also reported that the IS-related educational facilities operate in Turkey. --- Follow the author on Twitter: @rhafizoglu Sex Party candidates have damned Telstra Tower as "ugly", an "awful eyesore" and "complete embarrassment" as they called for the Canberra landmark to be torn down or transformed. The party put forward the controversial idea as it launched its ACT election campaign at Black Mountain and announced two fresh candidates in the lead-up to next month's territory poll. Steven Bailey, Venus de Siren, Sex Party MP Fiona Patten and candidate Robbie Swan launched their ACT election campaign at Black Mountain. Credit:Megan Gorrey Canberra sex worker Venus de Siren and party co-founder and long-time adult industry campaigner Robbie Swan, who previously ran for a Senate seat in Tasmania, are on a joint ticket in Murrumbidgee. The pair have joined Steven Bailey, who ran for the Senate in the ACT and is now the party's lead candidate in Tuggeranong. The kids at Giralang Primary School delighted Olympic gold medallist Chloe Esposito when they were able to name her sport, modern pentathlon. They mobbed former Giralang local and silver medallist Jared Tallent for an autograph. Canberra Olympian Lauren Wells is welcomed home by Giralang Primary School. Credit:Karleen Minney But their biggest cheers were reserved for "their Lauren", Canberra hurdler Lauren Wells, who received a raucous welcome when she strode into the school hall with 11 other Olympians on Monday. Athletes including gold medallist shooter Catherine Skinner and the Campbell sisters dropped by the small Belconnen school on the Canberra leg of their homecoming tour. Take a trip around Latin America with 13 dinners celebrating 13 nations in Canberra this week and next. The Latin American Flavours Festival is back for a second run in 2016. It was started last year with embassies from Brazil to El Salvador and Cuba joining together. They sent their chefs to the Hyatt Hotel to work with head chef Nitin Kumar, producing buffet dinners with lomo saltado, mojitos, feijoada and traditional dishes from each nation. The Latin American Flavours Festival is back. Credit:Rohan Thomson The same applies this year. There'll be a different country represented every night at the Hyatt's Promenade Cafe, with a buffet of dishes celebrating their cuisine. It's Mexico's night on Tuesday and the menu promises to change your view of Mexican food (it's not just all tacos). This year there's a special gala dinner as well. On Wednesday, September 7, there will be a "Marvellous Latin Flavours" dinner at the Federal Ballroom which showcases food from all 13 countries with cultural performances. Here's your chance to chat to celebrity chef Manu Feildel in Canberra. The popular TV presenter is coming to Canberra for a one-off dinner to talk about his new cookbook More Please! - a collection of family recipes written with his partner Clarissa Weerasena. Manu Feildel The book draws on dishes from the Middle East, Spain, Italy, Sri Lanka and Malaysia to create shared family feasts. The French-born Manu is a born entertainer who's appeared on Australia's TV screens on everything from Ready Steady Cook to Dancing with the Stars. He's been the co host on My Kitchen Rules since 2010. WHAT'S ON TODAY The University of Canberra hosts the Poetry on the Move festival from today until September 16, including readings, workshops and talks on poetry, featuring poets-in-residence Simon Armitage and Tusiata Avia. All events are free but bookings essential at: ipsi.org.au It is the final days of the Earth exhibition at Belconnen Arts Centre, in which 15 Canberra artists interpret the role of the planet and how it sustains them. The exhibition is on at 118 Emu Bank, Belconnen until this Sunday. Kerrianne Abbott at the site of her new home in Moncrieff, where she has waited more than a year ago for permission to build. Credit:David Ellery A Canberra collector is trying to break the Guinness World Record with his Dr Who collection. The Bigger on the inside: Collecting Doctor Who is on at the Canberra Museum and Gallery until November 20. Free entry. Owners of the Copa Brazilian restaurant have been found not guilty of selling unsafe food after 161 people were poisoned by bad aioli. It was the largest salmonella outbreak in Canberra's history. The now-closed Copa Brazilian Churrasco restaurant in Dickson, where 160 people fell sick. Copa's owners, Zeffirelli Pizza, faced a hearing in the ACT Magistrates Court earlier this year. On Monday, Magistrate Glenn Theakston said he found the charges not proved and dismissed both. He also made an order of costs in favour of Zeffirelli Pizza. Baku, Azerbaijan, Sept. 5 By Rufiz Hafizoglu Trend: The EU and Turkey have agreed on the abolition of visa regime, Haberturk newspaper reported Sept. 5. Such an agreement has been recently reached within the framework of the EU foreign ministers meeting, according to the newspaper. The newspaper reported that the visa-free regime between the EU and Turkey will enter into force in early or late October this year. The European Commission proposed the European Parliament and the EU Council to lift visa restrictions for Turkish citizens in May if Ankara fulfills the remaining conditions for the visa abolition until the end of June. Among them were the measures to prevent corruption, hold negotiations on an operating agreement with the European Police Office (Europol), judicial cooperation with all EU member-states, and the revision of legislation on the fight against terrorism. Turkey cancelled the visa regime for the citizens of all the 28 EU countries on May 3, but the visa-free travel will be possible after the EU cancels the visa regime for Turkish citizens. After cancellation of the visa regime, Turkish citizens will be able to stay without a visa for three months in Germany, Austria, Belgium, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, the Netherlands, Italy, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Iceland, Lithuania, Latvia, Luxembourg, Liechtenstein, Hungary, Malta, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Slovakia, Slovenia and Greece. --- Follow the author on Twitter: @rhafizoglu It's time for government to acknowledge the obvious: electricity prices will have to rise if we're meaningfully to reduce carbon emissions. Fear of higher power bills was what Tony Abbott used so effectively (and misleadingly) in opposition to rail against the Gillard government's now-scrapped carbon price. Hysterical warnings about power price surges were the government's first defence against Labor's promise to introduce an emissions trading scheme at this year's election. But there is a fundamental contradiction in all this fuss that Malcolm Turnbull can no longer continue to ignore. Just why would Dick Smith have acquired something from a supplier at 98 and sell the same thing back to the supplier at 78, then buy it back again at 78 or even 77? And why would a note recording this in a Dick Smith document go on to suggest that such a manoeuvre would generate cash and make a profit for the retailer? And here's another curly one: Why would Dick Smith have been holding 12 years' worth of batteries on its inventory? These tantalising behavioral riddles are just the beginning of what will be the lifting of Dick Smith's corporate skirt as the financial inquest gets under way into the demise of the electronics retailer. The case is centre stage in the NSW Supreme Court in Sydney. BEFORE my mother died, I remember telling her that I was considering having IVF and raising a child on my own. I was at that stage where I knew my fertility was rapidly dwindling and I had a very small slit of a window to become a mother. As much as her dying wish was my "every happiness", she was not so thrilled to hear what my future may entail. "Darling, I would love you to have a child but you are almost 40. Perhaps this is the age where you should start to understand it is not your lot in this life and there may be another path for you. Not all women are destined to be mothers. Children are a gift and not a given in this life." IVF can be a cruel, debilitating and intrusive process physically and mentally. Now, before anyone starts beating up on the memory of my late mother yes, she was of a different era and yes, I don't agree with her sentiments completely. Women over 40 can and do make great mothers and I know and love many of them. However, I also know many who are still trying to be mothers, some in their late 40s, and it is heartbreaking. Because they are hell-bent on achieving something akin to winning the lottery. And they don't seem able to move on with their lives until it happens and, as such, are stuck on a rollercoaster of anticipation and despair. Sprent Dabwido was ready to board a plane at Nauru's modest international airport last week when he was greeted by security officials bearing bad news. Mr Dabwido, the island nation's former president, has a range of serious health problems and was on his way to Australia for potentially life-saving medical treatment after having a heart attack in jail last year. The senior opposition figure was among a group of politicians arrested outside the Parliament during a democracy protest in June 2015. Just two days after Nauru's Supreme Court had ruled the opposition figure should be allowed to travel to Brisbane, Mr Dabwido was told his passport had been cancelled by Nauru's controversial Justice Minister, David Adeang. Supreme Court Judge Mohammed Shafiullah Khan heard last week that doctors had advised Mr Dabwido's heart condition needed "overseas referral" due to a lack of local services on Nauru. Andrew Bolt and Peta Credlin look like they're just having too much fun sometimes. During a Sky News interview on Monday night the conservative commentator asked Tony Abbott's former chief-of-staff to nominate a single policy achievement of the Turnbull government after almost one year in office. Ms Credlin appeared stumped. A couple of seconds passed. Well? "Well, by the skin of his teeth he didn't lose to Bill Shorten," she responded, looking thoroughly pleased with herself. Protesters have gathered outside the Ohio family home of Stanford rapist Brock Turner, armed with assault weapons and placards, to protest the convicted rapist's early release from prison. Turner, who in March this year was found guilty of sexually assaulting an unconscious woman in 2015, was released from jail on Friday, after serving just three months of a six-month sentence. Brock Turner, pictured in court with his father, was released from prison on Friday, after serving just three months of a six-month sentence. The protesters, which local news stations numbered in the "dozens", held up signs saying "Castrate rapists" and "If I rape Brock, will I only do 3 months?". They also scrawled chalk messages on the footpath outside the Turners' home, saying "Shoot your local rapist" and "It's your job to hold your son/self responsible so he/you don't hurt my daughter", which have since been washed away by the county's local fire department. The CSIRO has launched safety audits in its Canberra labs after 30 of its workers were potentially exposed to a "pathogen" in a biosecurity breach at the organisation's Black Mountain complex. An internal CSIRO document, drafted in the wake of last week's incident, frankly admits to "flaws" in the systems designed to ensure the safe handling of dangerous organisms. The CSIRO Staff Association says one in five jobs has gone since 2013. Credit:Katherine Griffiths Two lab workers were exposed to were exposed to a high concentration of the bacteria Nocardia testacea with others having a low exposure and one of the nation's leading infectious diseases experts said the incident could have been much more serious if a more dangerous organism was involved. Dave Pillay and Tasmin Bahar were found dead in a house in Smithfield. Their daughter, 3, was found sleeping in the house at the time. Credit:Facebook/Dave Pillay Police said no other people were wanted over the deaths and the investigation was ongoing. They have not detailed what is believed to have happened inside the house, before a male relative arrived and discovered the bodies of Ms Bahar and Mr Pillay. Sharagin said her sister had been in a relationship with Mr Pillay for about six years and her sister had told her that Mr Pillay had physically threatened her and her daughter in the past. Ms Bahar also told her that she had filed a report with police about the threats, Sharagin said. Dave Pillay and Tasmin Bahar were found dead in a house in Smithfield. Credit:Facebook/Dave Pillay Several weeks ago Ms Bahar moved out of the house with their daughter and rented her own apartment, Sharagin said. "We told her not to go [to the Smithfield house] ... but she went for Father's Day," Sharagin said. Police at the house in Smithfield where a couple was found dead on Sunday. Credit:Top Notch Video I am so lost. I just want to take my niece into my custody, I want her with me. Sharagin Bahar "She wanted Dave to see her daughter." Ms Bahar's cousin, Sifat Sharmin Ruponty, said that Ms Bahar had also told her that she had been physically threatened, including with a knife, during her relationship with Mr Pillay. Tasmin Bahar was found dead in the Smithfield house of her partner Dave Pillay. Their daughter, 3, was found sleeping in the house at the time. Credit:Facebook/Dave Pillay "Dave wanted to meet her with his daughter, so she [Ms Bahar] took her to his place, just for a Father's Day celebration," she said. "We can't take it. We can't believe this has happened." Sharagin Bahar, Tasmin Bahar's sister, is hoping for custody of her 3-year-old niece, who was sleeping in a Smithfield house where her parents were found dead. Ms Ruponty said her cousin moved to Australia in 2009 and was highly educated, having studied science at university. Neighbours saw girl screaming 'mummy' John Araco's Smithfield home backs on to Mr Pillay's tidy backyard, where a pink play set sits neatly in the corner. On Sunday, Mr Araco's wife saw the girl run out into her back yard screaming "mummy, mummy". "My wife raced downstairs and said 'John, the little girl has come out screaming, yelling mummy'," Mr Araco said. When he looked over the back fence, he could see the back door open and TV on but no one around. "It seemed very quiet so I didn't think anything of it until the police came," the 65-year-old said. Mr Araco said he saw a man, believed to be Mr Pillay's relative, walking out of The Horsley Drive home with the little girl about 20-30 minutes after his wife heard the screaming. The grandfather-of-eight said he couldn't fault the couple, but admitted something had changed between the two recently. "The last six weeks you could tell something was wrong because they must have left each other," he said. "She used to come by every night at 5pm. He must have been picking the girl up from kindergarten or something. "(Ms Bahar) was coming over every afternoon, putting stuff in the car. But gee, you never thought this would happen." Another neighbour said the couple moved into the house about three years ago. "They were a very nice couple, we went to (the daughter's) first birthday and they had moved in just before that," the woman said. "We didn't hear a thing, that is why it's so unbelievable." After hearing the ambulances turn up on Sunday, the woman looked outside and saw the little girl clinging to someone as she was taken from the house. Amelia Khan suffered brain damage and is being fed through a tube. It would take the death of another newborn boy and the devastation of a second family for the hospital to identify the gross mistake. Baby John Ghanem died after he was administered nitrous oxide from the same pipeline less than one month after Amelia was born. "We can only imagine the intense pain this family is going through and our hearts go out to them," the Khans said. The young family chose to remain anonymous through weeks of intense investigations and public focus on the tragic error. Amelia was continually referred to as the unidentified newborn. The hospital's admission was a terrible shock to the Khans, their lawyer Libby Brookes from Maurice Blackburn said. "They have been very traumatised by the whole thing," Ms Brookes told Fairfax Media. "After Amelia was born, and she was very unwell, everybody was wondering what had happened to her," she said. Mr and Mrs Kahn stayed with their newborn in hospital throughout the entire ordeal. "They're just beautiful parents who are trying to look after their first baby," Ms Brookes said. But the strains of new parenthood are compounded by the pressure of caring for a baby with a traumatic brain injury. "They're worried about her constant seizures," Ms Brookes said. "They find it difficult to take her out in the car because she finds the over-stimulation quite traumatising ... and so they have been staying at home a lot just to make sure they can try and control those seizures and they are just trying to look after Amelia," she said. "Obviously she's very young and everybody is very hopeful that she will have a good outcome and that she will have a good recovery [But] the long-term outcome although the parents are very positive is going to be quite a difficult outcome." Amelia will require considerable care and assistance, most likely physical therapy and occupational therapy, said Ms Brookes whose firm is investigating a claim of compensation on behalf of Mr and Mrs Khan. "They're feeling very worried and anxious and nervous about the unknown, and what the future holds for Amelia," she said. The case raised serious concerns for patient safety, Ms Brookes said. "Amelia's family and Maurice Blackburn hope that by investigating exactly what occurred at Bankstown-Lidcombe Hospital we can prevent this ever happening again to another family and restore some confidence in the system," Ms Brookes said. Premier Mike Baird said compensation is being fast-tracked for the Khan family. "We will expedite anything we can and certainly that's what we are doing at the moment ... we [want to] take as much stress off as we can," Mr Baird said on Tuesday. Health Minister Jillian Skinner in Tuesday said in a statement: "My heart goes out to the Khan family and I deeply regret their suffering". NSW Health is in contact with the family's legal representatives to progress an early interim payment, the minister said. Like all claims of this type, the payment will be made through the NSW Government's Treasury Managed Fund, and interim payments require Supreme Court approval as Amelia is an infant, Ms Skinner said. The final settlement would also require court approval. "NSW Health is supportive of an interim payment and will do all it can to expedite the approval process. "Compensation for the parents for their psychiatric injury will not require court approval and NSW Health lawyers are working with Maurice Blackburn on this," she said. The Ghanem family will also be compensated, she added. "NSW Health has invited the Ghanem family's legal representative to make a compensation claim, which will be considered without the need for litigation." Ms Skinner has previously expressed her deep and profound regret to the Khans and the Ghanems, and promised the families compensation. Chief executive of the South West Sydney Local Health District Amanda Larkin said: "I offer my most sincere and heartfelt apology to the family at this distressing time." "Bankstown-Lidcombe Hospital has had ongoing contact with the family following the birth of their baby," Ms Larkin said. Baku, Azerbaijan, Sept. 5 By Rufiz Hafizoglu Trend: Two Turkish servicemen died in a shootout between the countrys military and the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) militants in Turkeys south-eastern province of Hakkari, Milliyet newspaper reported Sept. 5. Turkish armed forces sent additional troops to the Hakkari province, according to the newspaper. The conflict between Turkey and the PKK, which demands the creation of an independent Kurdish state, has continued for over 25 years and has claimed more than 40,000 lives. The UN and the European Union list the PKK as a terrorist organization. --- Follow the author on Twitter: @rhafizoglu Controversial former deputy mayor Salim Mehajer has been disqualified from managing corporations for three years, "as a means of protecting others from his incompetence," the Australian Securities and Investments Commission has announced. ASIC's decision to disqualify Mr Mehajer in November 2015 was upheld by the Administrative Appeals Tribunal (AAT) in late August, which found his management of corporations SMPD P/L and SMEC P/L "fell far short of what is reasonably expected of a director." The announcement may shed some light on a cryptic social media post from the colourful Sydney identity on Saturday (since deleted), suggesting that he was leaving Australia. In the post on his Instagram page, Mr Mehajer included a picture of a ship on Sydney Harbour with the caption, "Goodbye Australia". Brisbane's Central train station is set for a $67 million overhaul, with a new roof for the concourse and four platforms to be risen to improve disabled access. Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk said the project would employ 750 people for its three-year duration. Central Station's facelift will retain some of its heritage features. Credit:PDT Architects "The station needs the upgrade," she said. "This station has existed since the late 1880s and what we need is to bring it into the modern, 21st century." The fractured relationship between the state government and Brisbane City Council shows no signs of being repaired, with a dispute over Lord Mayor Graham Quirk's Metro plan escalating on Monday. Cr Quirk has also refused to offer up any alternative locations for the Brisbane Metro's rolling stock holding yard after the state government ruled out its Go Print site at Woolloongabba at the weekend. Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk, when announcing a $67 million plan to upgrade Central Station, said Cross River Rail remained the state's biggest priority and the Metro should be scrapped. "We need the federal government to come on board (with Cross River Rail) and what I say to Lord Mayor Graham Quirk is he should ditch his metro-style plan," Ms Palaszczuk said on Monday. The strength of two male carpet pythons was on display as they hung from the roof of a south-east Queensland home last week, battling it out for the affections of a nearby female. Footage of the males intertwined was sent through to Sunshine Coast Snake Catchers 24/7, who posted it to their Facebook page on Sunday night. The two carpet pythons were found hanging from a Queensland roof. Credit:Becky Beale/Facebook Snake catcher Max Jackson said it was an amazing display of strength that indicated the start of breeding season. "Most snakes, particularly pythons, begin to move around a bit more to search for females at the start of breeding season," he said. Police are searching for a girl who has been missing from Townsville for over a week. The 16-year-old girl was last seen leaving a home on Ralston Street at West End about 8pm on August 27. Police are searching for the missing 16-year-old girl. Credit:Queensland Police Service She had left to visit shops and had not been in contact with family since. The teenager was described as Pacific Islander in appearance, with brown hair, brown eyes and an average build. She was last seen carrying a duffel bag. Another Perth developer is attempting to opt out of public open space requirements on a major Perth subdivision. Developers of big housing subdivisions in Perth are obliged to retain 10 per cent as public open space. But there is a provision for them to pay cash instead if the WA Planning Commission says there is already enough open space in the suburb, or if the space in question would be too small to be of practical use. The commission gave that reason for a controversial recent decision to let a developer resist Bayswater council's efforts to insist on POS around a local wetland, saying the buffer would be too small to protect it. The search for missing Perth man Steven Allison is expanding as police divers prepare to enter the water. Mr Allison, 43, left his Clarkson home in his black Nissan X-Trail on Tuesday. Police search bush east of Kalbarri looking for missing Clarkson man Steven Allison. Credit:WA Police The car was found in Ajana, more than 500 kilometres north of Perth and east of Kalbarri, on Friday. He has not made contact with any friends or family. Urgent care clinics will be extended to existing GP clinics and major hospitals in WA to take the pressure off emergency departments if Labor wins the March state election, but the health minister says the plan is short on details. Opposition Leader Mark McGowan said Labor's policy ensured non-priority patients in hospitals would not have to sit in emergency rooms for hours waiting for treatment. Mark McGowan has revealed his plan on how to fix ambulance ramping at the state's hospitals. Those patients would instead be triaged at the hospital and then taken to the urgent care clinic for further assessment by a GP and nurses. The community-based urgent care clinics will work with local emergency departments and have a direct line of communication, which will allow the clinic to prioritise patients referred to the hospital if their condition deteriorates or they require a higher level of care. Bangkok: The wife of missing social activist Sombath Somphone has appealed to Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull, US President Barack Obama and other world leaders to press Laos' communist leaders about his fate when they arrive in the South-east Asian nation on Tuesday. Shui Meng Ng says she hopes Laotian leaders will not brush off concerns about her husband of more than 30 years with the response that police are still investigating. "I hope this time they will show some good will and sincerity by agreeing to accept international assistance and conduct a serious and transparent investigation into what happened to Sombath," Ms Ng told the Foreign Correspondents' Club of Thailand. "Maybe it is pie in the sky. But whatever the response, I can never give up hope and I will not be deterred from my search," she said. Baku, Azerbaijan, Sept. 5 By Orkhan Guluzade Trend: The US sent 50 servicemen to the Turkish southern Gaziantep province, bordering with Syria, where the US High Mobility Artillery Rocket System (HIMARS) was earlier deployed, the Hurriyet newspaper reported Sept. 5. According to the newspaper, HIMARS system, having a 92-kilometer range, will be used to fight the Islamic State terrorist group in Syria. Syria has been suffering from an armed conflict since March 2011, which, according to the UN, has so far claimed over 500,000 lives. Militants from various armed groups are confronting the Syrian government troops. The Islamic State (IS, ISIL, ISIS or Daesh), the YPG and the PYD are the most active terrorist groups in Syria. --- Follow the author on Twitter: @o_quluzade Donald Trump was fighting back in polls and set to spend millions on TV advertisements as the US presidential election unofficially kicked off in force on Monday. The Labor Day holiday marks the start of an intense period for campaigning with a little over two months left until the November 8 vote. Surveys showed a significant narrowing of the gap between Mr Trump, the Republican nominee, and his Democratic rival Hillary Clinton. A Morning Consult poll released on Sunday showed Mrs Clinton up by two points, a lead that had been seven in the same poll three weeks ago. Baku, Azerbaijan, Sept. 5 Trend: Turkey detained 20 people in Ankara in an operation against the Islamic State (IS, aka ISIS, ISIL or Daesh) terrorist group, the Anadolu Agency reported Sept. 5. Sixteen of the detainees were arrested after an interrogation in the prosecutors office and others were released. Earlier, Turkish media reported that the IS militants use Turkish province of Gaziantep on the border with Syria as a stronghold. TOKYO The playground is a battlefield in Japan, and if youre old enough to read, then you might as well learn to fight, or avoid fighting, or run away if theres no way you can win the fight. Here, as summer vacation comes to an end, the kids are all scrambling to finish book reports. And this year for enterprising tykesand their Tiger Momsor Tiger Dadstheres a Japanese translation and adaptation of the ancient Chinese strategy book, The Art of War, by Sun Tzu. Its recommended for kids 6 years old and older. The editorial supervisor, Takashi Saito, is a professor at Meiji University and an expert on education; hes also one of Japans most beloved authors. The book was released this March, selling out its initial printing of 20,000 copies, and it is now in its third printing. The publisher, Nihon Tosho Center, said that the sales are constant and the public reaction has been unexpectedly good. Sun Tzu, also known as Sun Wu or Sunzi, was an ancient Chinese military strategist. Details about his background and life are not clear although he generally is thought to have lived during the 6th century BC. The strategies and tactics he describes in The Art of War have influenced leaders throughout time, including the samurai of ancient Japan and the military of modern Japan. Ho Chi Minh of the Viet Cong and Colin Powell are also said to be fond of the book. Xinhua News reported that a memorial park for Sun Tzu opened in east Chinas Jiangsu province just this year to commemorate his great influence. The Art of War is well known in Japan, where Sun Tzu is called Sonshi and the book is referred to as Sonshi No Heiho. In the Sengoku era in Japan, the powerful warlord Takeda Shingen was said to have risen to power by using Sun Tzus methods. In homage to the military sage, the warlords war banner contained the phrase Fuh-Rin-Ka-Zan (Wind, Forest, Fire, Mountain), which illustrates Sun Tzus principles of victory: Swift as the wind, silent as a forest, fierce as fire and immovable as a mountain. Of course, we should mention that under Japans present constitution, war has been renounced as a means of solving international disputes. But it seems unlikely that the kids reading the book will be inspired to invade Korea; its more likely to inspire them to study hard and think before acting. The childrens version of the book is divided into four sections: winning, making your dreams come true, dealing with adversity, making one more step forward. There is a single bullet point per chapter and cute hand-drawn illustrations. The standard Japanese translation of the original text is included with a rough summary, a detailed explanation, and the lesson to be learned. Many sayings in the book are already part of the colloquial Japanese language, and some children might delight in knowing where the phrases originally were found. 100 battles and 100 victories is a saying in Japan often used to describe the perfect fighter. Ironically, as the book points out, many people dont know the second half of the phrase, Rather than win 100 victories in 100 battles, to win without fighting is really amazing. Its a surprisingly peaceful message for a book thats supposed to be about warfare. One might think that a lot gets lost in translation from a book that was originally in Chinese and then turned into Japanese at an elementary school level. In fact, its remarkably clear-cut advice. The greatest victory is that which requires no battle. To face the enemy head first is important. But sometimes you want to try being tactical. Even if you win the battle but fail to achieve your goals, thats a failure. Dont forget what youre fighting for in the first place. Theres such a thing as a meaningful escape. If you cant win, then run away for the time being. Dont push the opponent into the wall or too far. Even in winning there must be good manners. And theres some great discouraging advice for the kids considering a schoolyard brawl: Every fight comes with danger. Think about what is to be gained and if youre not willing to shoulder the risk, dont haphazardly fight. The small print explains it in more detail: Hey you (kid reading this book), when a friend does something icky to you, do you give way to anger and just fight? If you fight, you might get hurt and they might get hurt too. Friends watching the fight might decide youre a thug. Compare the danger of battle to the value of what youre fighting for and then decide on your actions. In an article for the Sankei Newspaper, Itsumi Takano, the general editor in charge of the book, explained why its a useful text for pre-teens and their parents: This abridged version boils down several chapters into digestible chunks of life advice for kids. This speaks for the universality of Sun Tzus words which are even applicable to the lives of modern-day children. Kids today go through entrance exam wars and friendships that have become too close. They face struggles that are sometimes beyond what we adults can imagine. We hope that this will also be of use as a guide for fathers and mothers in the midst of raising children. In Japan the jukensenso, or examination wars, start as early as pre-school, where students must pass difficult exams to get into the right school. The competition for private junior high school spots is said to be the most fierce. The goal is to navigate the system and get into one of Japans elite colleges and have your future assured. And to do that getting into the right schools along the way is of paramount importance. Hiroko Koyama, 34, who is a housewife and part-time office worker in Setagaya-ku, said she bought the book for her 8-year old son because Hes a very nice kid but maybe too nice. His friends often talk him into doing silly things and he needs to be able to say, No. And study harder. Maybe this book will help him. And when pressed, she admits, Yes, Im going to read it, too. The entrance exam battles ahead are serious things. It looks like it has good advice. I have to admit that I have tried to wade through English translations of The Art of War and never finished. But upon reading the version written for Japanese grade-schoolerswhich is about my level of strategic thinkingI was surprised at how useful it was. The Art of War does have practical advice for all walks of life. (Theres even a version of the book that retools it for dating advice.) Read closely, its also a wonderful book on the perils and methods of covering organized crime in Japan aka the Yakuza: Even two people who dont get along can work together if they find themselves on the same boat facing a common danger. Yep. And it could be part of textbook at a J-School: People who succeed, treat information with great importance. Be sure to know the correct information even a second faster than anyone else. You can see why Japanese parents are buying it for themselves and their kids. Sometimes, a little strategy goes a long way. Here is a scandal to raise your ire on Labor Day. Fraud and the production of defective combat helmets in time of war were certainly not what President Franklin Roosevelt hoped inmates would be learning when he signed Executive Order No. 6917, on Dec. 11, 1934, creating Federal Prison Industries to allow industrial operations (to) be carried on in the several penal and correctional institutions of the United States. The subsequent mission statement issued by this government-owned company says, The mission of Federal Prison Industries, Inc. (FPI) is to protect society and reduce crime by preparing inmates for successful reentry through job training. In recent times, FPI has assumed the trade name Unicor, but its avowed purpose has remained the same as it has grown to a workforce of 21,000 in various types of manufacturing at 109 correctional institutions. The impetus behind FPI is not about business, but rather inmate release preparation, the company says. UNICOR assists offenders with acquiring marketable job skills so that they can one day become law-abiding, contributing members of society. The production of items and provision of services are merely by-products of those efforts. A seven-year U.S. Department of Justice investigation suggests that a very different kind of job training took place at the FPI facility in the federal prison in Beaumont, Texas between 2006 and 2009. The summary reportreleased in Augustis titled Findings of Fraud and Other Irregularities Related to the Manufacture and Sale of Combat Helmets by the Federal Prison Industries and ArmorSource. It says that inmates were placed on production lines where helmets were manufactured with degraded or unauthorized ballistic materials, used expired paint and unauthorized manufacturing methods. Helmets also had other defects such as deformities and the investigations found that rejected helmets were sold to the DOD. Inmates also got an education in fraud. The report says, Manufacturing documents were altered by inmates at the direction of FPI staff that falsely indicated helmets passed inspection and met contract specifications. The investigation was prompted when two FPI managers came forward. They filed a whistleblower lawsuit, and an affidavit submitted by one of them quotes an inmate saying to her, There is so much crooked stuff going on with these helmets. You just do not want to know what all goes on around here, the inmate allegedly added. The Beaumont-style job training began after the Department of Defense in 2006 issued contract number W911QY-06-D-0006, for the production of Advanced Combat Helmets, to a group of companies that included Rabintex of Israel and Ohio Armor of Ohio. The companies operated as ArmorSource and subcontracted with Unicor. The whistleblower lawsuit asserts that ArmorSource directed and controlled production of the defective helmets and the accompanying fraud. The DOJ investigation found only that ArmorSource did not provide adequate oversight. DOJ places most of the blame on FPI. After the report was released, the federal Bureau of Prisons said that FPI began taking corrective actions as soon as it became aware of the problem. But BOP refused to make anybody available for an interview about how such a monstrous betrayal of FPIs avowed purpose came to occur in the first place. ArmorSource offered no comment. It did settle the whistleblower suit, but was not required to admit wrongdoing and did not do so. It paid $3 million, roughly a tenth of $30,336,461.04 it had been awarded for the contract. Not even a slap on the wrist, says attorney Andrew Campanelli, who represented the two whistleblowers. ArmorSource has since secured a new contract for combat helmets, which it is producing at its new state of the art facility in a former auto parts plant in Hebron, Ohio. As described in the lawsuit, the production of the ACH helmets in the Beaumont prison began simply enough, with inmates placing helmet outer shells upside-down, and then placing a set of Kevlar discs inside the inverted shell. The problem, the suit says, was that the fit was slightly off and the ends of the Kevlar protruded beyond the rim of the helmet. Repeatedly pushing the ends of the disk back inside the shell at multiple times in the manufacturing process was not only time consuming, but was slowing down the production process of the helmets, the suit says. The solution, the suit goes on to say, was a process called cleaning. Cleaning, in actuality, is a process of adulterating the Kevlar shields by physically removing strands of Kevlar from the shields so inmates could install them more quickly, the suit says. Inmates were given a block of wood from which one or more screws protruded. They would rake the screws down the edges of the material, removing cross threads of Kevlar from each disk, the suit reports. By causing the removal of the cross threads of Kevlar with all the discs, the defendants reduced the weave density of the Kevlar below the critical minimum. The suit continues, Each removal of cross threads creates unprotected areas within each helmet, within which a projectile striking the helmet would encounter little, if any, resistance to penetration. The suit adds, Virtually all ACH helmets produced at the Beaumont facility were cleaned, and thereby afforded less ballistic protection. The DOJ investigation report calls the process not cleaning, but stripping, and includes a photo of one of the tools used to strip Kevlar. There is also a photo of the result. ACH torn and altered ballistic material, the caption says. FPI applied for a DOD contract of its own, SPM1C1-08-D-0C102, for the manufacture of Light Weight Marine helmets (LMCHs) at Beaumont. The LMCHs required a lighter weight Kevlar than the FPI had already acquired for the heavier ACH. The defendants purchased a minimal amount of the proper Kevlar, for the manufacture of a first article, or sample, LMCH, which they presented to DOD, the lawsuit says. Based upon that sample provided by the defendants, which included the proper Kevlar which the defendants purchased only for the sample, the DOD awarded the full contract for the LMCH and the defendants commenced manufacturing LMCH helmets, but employed the old Kevlar discs, which were intended for ACHs. The lawsuit alleges that FPI used Kevlar that had been stored under a leaky roof for several years. Much of the old Kevlar was in such poor condition, and had become so brittle, that workers in the factory had to pound the Kevlar with heavy objects to make it pliable enough to insert the discs into the helmets being manufactured, the suit says. Both ACH and the LMCH helmets had to be painted. The DOJ report says that FPI used paint that was past its expired date on the LMCH helmets. The lawsuit contends it was also used on the ACH helmets. As a result of employing expired paint, almost immediately upon the DODs receipt of the helmets, the paint on exterior of the delivered helmets began to peel, crack, and/or flake off," the suit says. The DOD notified the defendants of such defective condition, and the defendants promised to remedy the conditions. The lawsuit says manufacturers proposed hand sanding the helmets with a particular grade of sandpaper so as not to adversely affect or weaken the integrity of the outer shell of the helmets. The DOD agreed. Instead, the defendants caused the staff at the factory to employ [power] hand grinders and metal objects which they repeatedly struck against the outer shell of the helmets to chip off defective paint, the suit alleges. The DOD would never have approved the method. The suit says that the facility got advance word of a DOD visit to ensure that the proper remedying procedure was being employed. The defendants collected all of the hand grinders and metal objects, placed them into a bucket, and hid them in a closet, the suit charges. Then, for the sole purpose of misleading representatives of the DOD, the defendants set-up a fake factory line of factory workers who were hand-sanding helmets. The suit goes on, After DOD representatives inspecting the factory had left, the defendants caused the factory workers to take the hand grinders and metal objects back out the closet and resume chipping the defective paint by repeatedly striking the helmets with metal objects, thereby reducing the structural integrity of the helmet. But at a later date, investigators made an unannounced visit where there was no advance tip-off. The DOJ report includes a photo of a helmet that appears to have been power sanded as well as photos of numerous paint chipping instruments that look unsettling like improvised shivs inmates have been known to wield against each other with homicidal results. A surprise inspectionuncovered inmates at the Beaumont FPI facility openly using improvised tools, on the ACH helmets, damaging the helmets' ballistic material, creating the potential for the tools use as weapons in the prison and, thereby, endangering the safety of factory staff and degrading prison security, the DOJ report says. The lawsuit says that more on-the-job training came when inmates assigned to quality control rejected helmets that clearly did not meet DOD standards. We dont have rejects, a supervisor is quoted telling an inmate. The DOJ report notes, Manufacturing documents were altered by inmates at the direction of FPI staff that falsely indicated helmets passed inspection and met contract specifications. Hows that for teaching the virtues of honest labor? The hitch for the manufacturers was that the quality-control inmates had kept with established procedure and dutifully recorded the serial numbers of the rejected helmets. To conceal the fact that these helmets were rejects, the defendants simply caused [inmates] to remove the original serial numbers, and to place new serial numbers on the previously rejected helmets, the suit says. False records within the factory indicate that the rejected helmets were destroyed, or crushed. The rejected helmets were not crushed but were, in actuality, shipped to the DOD, albeit with different serial numbers. The exhibits accompanying the suit include rafts of documents in which the serial numbers appear to have been changed. The suit says one of the bosses grew weary of having to do all this and, explicitly threatened the factory workers that he would fire any inmate that boxed up (set aside) defective helmets. Some inmates proved to be heroes of a kind. Despite constantly threatening factory workers that they would be fired if they rejected any helmets, some helmets manufactured by the defendants were of such poor quality that even the prison inmates that were employed at the factory refused to let them pass inspection, the suit says. The suit names one inmate in connection with an admirable demonstration of what was probably both defiance and decency. In a single day, factory workers rejected 150 helmets for [paint] blisters alone, the suit states. As a result, [a civilian supervisor] fired factory worker Brandon Henderson, registration number 032540-078, for removing defective helmets from the production line. Periodically, the DOD asked for random samples for quality testing. The suit reports that the defendants handpicked helmets for inspection, or specifically manufactured helmets which were designed solely to pass the very test they knew the DOD intended to perform upon the helmets. The DOJ report confirms, FPI pre-selected helmets for inspection, even though the DOD and ACH contract required helmets to be selected randomly, and substituted helmets to pass testing. In 2009, two civilian mid-level managers, Sharon Chubb and Melessa Ponzio, went to the inspector general of the Department of Justice and recounted what they had witnessed. The government issued a global recall for all 126,052 ACH helmets as well as 23,000 LMCH helmets in 2010, thankfully before anyone was known to have been killed or suffered serious injury as a result of a defect. The manufacturing facility in Beaumont prison was closed. The Department of Justice commenced its lengthy investigation, two probes if you wish to look at the ACH and LMCH separately. The final lesson for the inmates came with the summary report whose very title announced findings of fraud, but found no individuals responsible for breaking the law. Criminal prosecution resulting from these investigations was declined, the report says. Brandon Henderson, inmate 0354-078, the hero fired on his day of defiance and decency, appears to have subsequently completed his sentence for drugs. Records indicate that he was freed in 2012 after serving 13 years, to be followed by five years of supervised release. Last November, 52-year-old Henderson was arrested in Kaufman, Texas, for using a fake ID in a fraudulent attempt to obtain in excess of $2,500 and less than $30,000. His supervised release was revoked and he was sent back to prison for 12 months. That is 12 months more than anybody served for the fake invoices and fake reports and fraudulent serial numbers and sham factory lines and hidden tools and various other frauds committed in the production of 149,052 defective combat helmets during our longest war. Henderson, who is said to have refused to go along with those greater frauds, is being held at the federal medium security prison in Yazoo City, Mississippi. The facility has an FPI factory whose stated purpose is also to protect society and reduce crime by preparing inmates for successful reentry through job training. Melissa Andrade was on her way out of Malios Steakhouse in Tampa when she spotted a lawyer she recognized. He was representing the opposing side in an ongoing and rather sordid case. Andrade, a paralegal, notified her bosses who called her back from her next destination, according to court documents. She returned to the steakhouse and plopped down next to the lawyer, flirting and plying him with drinks. One of her bosses, meanwhile, called a friend at the local police department. Philip Campbell is at a bar drinking, he said, and plans to drive drunk. Now, Andrades bossesthree Tampa lawyershave been permanently disbarred for their antics at the steakhouse last January, according to a new Supreme Court of Florida ruling. Robert Adams, Stephen Diaco, and Adam Filthaut represented Todd Clem, aka Bubba the Love Sponge, in a 2013 defamation trial. Clem was sued for alleging that his rival, Todd MJ Schnitt, had rigged his shows ratings and took bribes. But a jury eventually found that Clem did not defame Schnitt and the case was settled out of court. (Clem became nationally semi-famous after Hulk Hogan was videotaped having sex with his ex-wife. That video was posted by Gawker and eventually helped bring down the website.) As the defamation trial went on, Clems attorneys hatched a plan to get Schnitts lawyer Philip Campbell arrested for DUI, according to court documents compiled last year. The first attempt came in November. Adam Filthaut, one of Clems lawyers, called up Sgt. Raymond Fernandez at the Tampa Police Department to tell him about this guy that works in my building. Hes an attorney. He gets drunk all the time. He goes to Malios and drinks it up and then he drives home drunk, Filthaut said, according to Fernandezs deposition. The drunkards name: Philip Campbell. Filthaut didnt mention that Campbell just happened to be opposing counsel in the five-year legal battle between Filthauts client, Bubba the Love Sponge, and Todd Schnitt. Fernandez assigned an officer to go down to Malios Steakhouse and look for Campbell, but he didnt spot him drinking. So in January, when Melissa Andrade called from the steakhouse, Clems lawyers saw another opportunity to set Campbell up. Andrade told Campbell she was a paralegal on that January 23 evening, but lied about where she worked, according to court documents. I offeredI believe I offered to just go back if they needed, you know, anything, any otherto see maybe if hes still there, she said during a States Attorney investigation into the case. I dont know. Whatever information the police or authorities needed. While she chatted away with opposing counsel, Diaco, one of the Love Sponges lawyers, called up his colleague Adam Filthaut. Filthaut, in turn, called Sgt. Raymond Fernandez at the Tampa Police Department. Is that the guy you called me about before? Fernandez asked, according to his testimony. Hey, the attorney thats in my building, hes out drinking again at night at Malios, Filthaut allegedly responded. Hes going to drive home again tonight drunk. Well, we didnt get him last time. Well sit on him again and see what he does, Fernandez responded. This time, Fernandez assigned two officers to the case. Filthaut kept him posted on Campbells activities all evening. During that time, Andrade openly and obviously flirted with Mr. Campbell, encouraged him to drink, and bought him drinks herself, according to court documents. Andrade accompanied Campbell from about 7 p.m. to 9:45 p.m. Between 6:30 p.m. and 9:30 p.m., she communicated with Filthaut 19 times, according to court documents. She was in contact by phone or text with Adams and Diaco about 28 more times. As the evening continued, Campbell offered to call her a cab, according to court documents. He even tried to see if her car could be kept at the restaurant overnight. But Andrade insisted that she needed it in public parking. He got behind the wheel to move it to in front of his buildinga two-minute drive because Andrade appeared too drunk to take it home. Andrades communications with the lawyers, meanwhile, continued at a heightened rate as they left the bar. After a flurry of communication and a text from Filthaut to Fernandez, Fernandez sent the officers on the stakeout a text: leaving bar now. Campbell, meanwhile, had hardly walked out into the parking area before this whole exchange, court documents state. The cops thought they were looking for his black BMW. It took another flurry of communication between Andrade, the lawyers, and Fernandez for him to clarify to the officers on the dase: dark Nissan valet malios. Female driving, the officer reported back at 9:54 p.m. But when the car left the Malios parking lot just minutes later, it was Fernandez himself who pulled them over. Campbell was driving. He was arrested, cuffed, and taken to the county jail for processing. Police didnt even impound Andrades car. A sober lawyer from the firm was called up to retrieve the car, and he drove her home to her ex-husband and children. The ex-husband, Kristopher Personius, was her roommate at the time and later testified that she excitedly admitted shed participated in the setup. Personius said she told him she was asked to get him to stay longer and drink more, and that shed made [Campbell] drive my car. Mr. Personius further testified that Ms. [Andrade] stated that Respondent Diaco had told her that she would receive a big bonus and would be his best-paid paralegal, court documents state. In the midst of his arrest, Campbell left his bagwith all his case notes for the trial with the attorneys who were ensuring he miss courtin the back seat of Andrades car. He was released from jail at 6:30 a.m. the next morning but couldnt find it. His team got a continuance for the trial, but Diaco took to local TV to rub it in. We were prepared for today. We were working last night in preparation for the trial. And so now we have to wait, he said. I dont understand why his other partners who have been in there every single day of the trial cant continue this case. Meanwhile, Campbell and his associates called the firm where Andrade said she worked asking for her. To their dismay, the firm said it had no paralegal by that name. Attempts to reach Andrade by phone and email were unsuccessful. Diaco and Filthaut refused to testify based on their rights against self-incrimination. Adams refused to answer questions in the deposition based on that same right, but later chose to testify at trial. According to a summary prepared by a referee judge, Andrade said she discovered the bag in her car that day and called her bosses to notify them. The same colleague whod dropped her off the night before came to retrieve it. But he didnt walk it back to Campbells firm, in the same building as his own. Instead, the bag sat in the office until Diaco drove it back to Andrade that afternoon. He told her to take a cab back to the office building and drop it off anonymously, according to court documents. The lawyers failure to notify Campbell that their paralegal had his bag was evidence of their intent to withhold, destroy, or otherwise secrete the direct evidence of their involvement in Mr. Campbells arrest, according to findings filed by a judicial referee. A Florida Supreme Court judge agreed. They were permanently disbarred. Mr. Filthaut is disappointed but has moved on with his life, his lawyer told The Daily Beast in a statement. An attorney for Adams did not return a request for comment. Fernandez, the cop who assigned an officer to check up on Campbell, was fired over the incident for misusing his authority. Twelve other DUI cases in which the 19-year veteran of the Tampa police department was involved were dropped, according to the Tampa Bay Times, because prosecutors decided there was no way Fernandez would have any credibility on the witness stand. Campbells trials didnt end there. Schnitt and his wife sued Campbell and the firm for legal malpractice and breach of fiduciary duty after the Love Sponge trial. But a judge found their claims baseless. D.H. showed up at Dr. Naga Thotas surgical center after hours on the doctors orders, she said. She woke with an IV in her arm and had no idea what had happened. It was 4 in the morning. Dr. Thotas critics called him a Dr. Feelgood for his reputation of playing fast and loose with prescriptions. From 2005 to 2012, at least 15 of the anesthesiologists patients died from the painkillers he allegedly handed out like candy. Others who cut ties with the doctor turned to street drugs like heroin in lieu of the powerful prescriptions he wrote. But the nickname took on a grim new significance on Wednesday, when federal agents arrested 62-year-old Thota outside his San Diego practice. Thota didnt just over-prescribe pills, a federal indictment claimshe allegedly traded pain meds for sex with his young female patients, upping their doses and sending them on spirals of addiction. D.H., as investigators refer to her in a Wednesday indictment, was one of Thotas patients at his pain-treatment practice. That didnt stop Thota from sending her frequent personal text messages, sometimes asking for sex. He offered her $100, D.H. alleges in the indictment. Shes one of at least three women to allege a sexual relationship with the doctor. Neither Thotas lawyer nor his medical practice returned phone calls from The Daily Beast. Beginning February 2013, Thota prescribed medication to a woman the indictment refers to as J.S. A recovering drug addict in her mid-20s, J.S. sought methadone or oxycodone for her withdrawal pain. But on their first meeting, Thota allegedly steered the conversation toward sex, acting super friendly, flirty, and kinda unprofessional, even asking about her nipple rings, J.S. told investigators. He wrote her a prescription for the powerful painkiller hydrocodone, or Vicodin. Three days later, he called to ask her on a Valentines Day date. As their doctor-patient and intimate relationships progressed, Thota kept J.S. heavily medicated. He switched her from hydrocodone to oxycodone, then allegedly doubled her dosage without informing her. Already working through one addiction, J.S. developed a new one. She loved oxycodone, she told investigators, and quickly became dependent on her increased dosage. Dependency on oxycodone meant dependency on Thota. J.S. began to ask for early refills. When that wasnt enough, she asked him to fill prescriptions in her brothers and fathers names, under-the-table medications Thota would allegedly give her in the parking lot outside his practice, rather than in the office. Thotas text messages with J.S. suggest he knew he was over-prescribing. The dose you are taking and the diagnosis doesnt match my love, he texted her when she tried obtaining her medication from another doctor. I am not telling all this to your doc. It is only between you and me. Their relationship worsened as J.S. attempted to distance herself from Thota, who allegedly had control of her phone plan, before he canceled it without warning. Texting from her brothers phone, J.S. threatened to reveal Thotas history. I will show them how you pursued me and how you bribed me with drugs and how you let me get all these drugs under different peoples names. I will also share how much you pay to fuck me, she wrote in text obtained by investigators. But she never made good on the threats, and Thota went on practicing. Many of the patients he treated didnt even choose him as a doctor; he was randomly assigned as their anesthesiologist in the hospital. One such patient, a woman referred to as M.R. in the indictment, met Thota after an ambulance took her to a local hospital for withdrawal-related seizures. Thota prescribed her methadone, and called her after she was released from the hospital. M.R. began attending his practice for more methadone, but quickly ran through her prescriptions. Thota allegedly agreed to give her more medication if shed meet him for lunch at Dennys. The meetings became a pattern, with M.R. meeting Thota in his car to trade handjobs for painkillers. M.R. felt as though if she did not agree to his demands, hed stop filling her prescription, she told investigators. But she couldnt risk going to another doctor. Thota had allegedly upped her prescription over the course of their relationship. In the hospital, shed been on a daily dose of 40 milligrams of methadone. Now she was on 60. When she finally ended all ties with the doctors, she lost her prescription and began using heroin. M.R.s was a classic case in Thotas office. A notorious over-prescriber, Thota was in deep trouble with the Medical Board of California at the time of his arrest. After three formal sanctions, which accused him of everything from tax evasion to gross medical negligence, Thota was slapped with a seven-year suspension in March 2016. He could still run his practicebut anyone who read the medical boards 47-page smackdown would look for another doctor. The document accuses Thota of repeated negligence, prescribing pain medication and upping doses without any rationale or documentation. Multiple clients developed deep addictions, including one man who entered the practice complaining of lower back pain and wound up unresponsive in the street, after consuming a morphine equivalent daily dose greater than 4,000 milligrams from 3 years. At least 15 others died on the medication, earning Thota a dubious reputation in California. (We tell them every time when they come for follow-up: This medication can kill you, he said during a 2013 NPR interview on overmedication. You know that, right? But I will say it so many times: Be careful with them and use them carefully.) Even before the deaths, there were warning signs. An anonymous reviewer in January 2012 described a frightening encounter with a paranoid doctor who touched her inappropriately, then accused her of being a Drug Enforcement Administration agent. I have NEVER EVER been treated as poorly by a Doctor as I have Dr. Thota, the reviewer wrote. I went in to ask a simply question of Dr. Thota and was screamed at and called names I wont repeat here. I am a stable, mature, great communicator and never lost my cool. This man has issues. He touched me inappropriately, went on and on about the DEA and how he thought I was a DEA person (WHAT)!!??? The reviewer claimed Thota has severe issues, and left prospective patients with a warning. RUN from his office..no one should have to put up with his unprofessional manner. I wish I had a tape recorder with me with all the things he said to me, includingyou look just like someone I dated and I loved her so much I could go on. I have never filled out a form like this and hope I never have to again. Thotas bail has been set at $100,000, but he still has his medical license. Hes barred from writing prescriptions for women without the approval of a medical partner. A bad reputation hasnt stopped him from practicing in the past. Somebody has to take care of these people, he said in a 2012 interview with the Los Angeles Times. And I am the chosen one. Sidney Schanberg, who died in July, was an award-winning journalist who covered the Vietnam War and genocides in East Pakistan (Bangladesh) and Cambodia. Perhaps more than any other reporter, Schanberg made Western publics aware of the terrible suffering the people of Cambodia endured under the 3-year reign of the Khmer Rouge (1975-1979). Disregarding the wishes of his editors at The New York Times, Schanberg stayed on after other Westerners had left Phnom Penh as the Khmer Rouge approached the city. He was forced out of Cambodia not long after the Khmer Rouge took power, but before departing he witnessed the forced evacuation of the capital and largest city in Cambodia as well as executions by officials of the deposed government. Dith Pran, Schanbergs Cambodian assistant, translator, and friend, was forced to remain in the country and endured the reign of terror of the Khmer Rouge government. Dozens of members of his extended family including his four siblings were killed between 1975 and 1979. Dith survived the Khmer Rouge era and was eventually reunited with Schanberg, who wrote a book based on Diths experiences. The book was the basis for the 1984 Academy Award-winning film, The Killing Fields, which did much to make the broader U.S. public aware of the terrible atrocities that had occurred in Cambodia under the Khmer Rouge. While many Americans have some general knowledge of the crimes of the Khmer Rouge government, the extent of the genocide committed by the Cambodian Communists is worth recalling. Scholars estimate that between 1.5 and 2 million peoplebetween a fifth and a quarter of the populationwere killed or perished from starvation and disease that were a direct result of the severe privations that the Khmer Rouge imposed on the country. Among those especially targeted for persecution were Buddhist Monks, Cambodian Muslims, Cambodians of Chinese or Vietnamese ethnicity, people with foreign ties, and those associated with the regime of former American-backed dictator Lon Nol, who governed from 1970 to 1975. In his much praised essay, Notes on Nationalism, George Orwell asserted that the nationalist does not only not disapprove of atrocities committed by his own side, he has a remarkable capacity to not even hear about them. Orwell employed an unusually broad definition of nationalism that included not only allegiance to country or race, but also religion and political ideology. He goes on to illustrate the point about the myopia of the nationalists by castigating the English admirers of the Nazis who had somehow remained unaware of Dachau and Buchenwald and those who sympathized with the Bolsheviks and managed not to know about the famine in Ukraine. Orwells insights explain much of the reaction to the reports of genocide in Cambodia that emerged during the years the Khmer Rouge was in power. The fall of the Lon Nol regime to the communist Khmer Rouge and the reports of atrocities and incredible hardship that emerged from Cambodia shortly thereafter and continued until the Khmer Rouge was ousted by the invading Vietnamese army in January 1979, created difficult moral and even cognitive quandaries for those who had opposed the long war that the United States waged in Vietnam, Cambodia, and Laos. Supporters of U.S. military actions in the region had justified their position, in part, by arguing that if the communists took power in the region, horrific human-rights violations would occur. In Cambodia horrific abuses of human rights were occurring and American hawks were claiming that they had been right all along. Scholars, activists, and politicians on the left in the U.S. had a variety of reactions to the tyrannical rule of the Khmer Rouge. Few shared the suggestion of former presidential candidate South Dakota Democratic Sen. George McGovern that international intervention was required to stop the genocide. By 1978 McGovern, long one of the leading anti-war voices in the mainstream of American politics, was calling for a military force to oust the murderous Khmer Rouge regime. Few American politicians of either major had any desire to intervene in Cambodia just years after the wars there ended in defeat for the United States, and McGoverns suggestion was never seriously considered by government officials. The world famous MIT linguistics professor Noam Chomsky has, since the 60s, been the most prolific radical critic of U.S. foreign policy. Chomsky was among the most influential left wing intellectual opponents of the U.S. military action in Southeast Asia in the 60s and 70s. Writing about the events in Cambodia in the latter half of the 70s with co-author Edward Herman, Chomsky accused the American media and scholars who reported on the killings committed by the Khmer Rouge of producing atrocity propaganda. The authors claimed that the mainstream were all too eager to accept, without adequate evidence, claims about horrible deeds that were attributed to the Khmer Rouge. Chomsky and Herman made the indisputable claim that conservatives would use reports about abuses occurring in Cambodia to claim that they had been right all along about the Vietnam War. To this day, Chomsky claims he was simply assessing the evidence available at the time. Chomsky later described Sidney Schanberg, for his reporting of the crimes of the Khmer Rouge and for what Chomsky claims was his negligence in reporting the deadly impact of the massive U.S. bombing of Cambodia in the early 70s, as a person of utter depravity. (Schanberg was criticized by some on the right for what they regarded as his overly critical reporting of the impact of American bombing and the corruption of the Lon Nol government). Chomsky and Herman were far less critical of accounts of post-1975 Cambodia that described an enlightened and humane polity. They praised George Hildebrand and Gareth Porters now discredited book, discussed below, as a carefully researched work that demonstrated the successes of the new regime in overcoming the devastating results American military action had on Cambodia as it became a sideshow in the Vietnam War. Much of the early evidence for the human-rights abuses committed by the Khmer Rouge were from accounts gathered from refugees who had fled to Thailand. Like some other skeptics of the atrocity accounts about Cambodia, Chomsky and Herman were hesitant to rely on refugees because they are by nature dissatisfied people. Finally, Chomsky and Herman were sympathetic to the argument of Michael Vickery that many of those who fled wished to avoid the rigorous work routine imposed by the Khmer Rouge. Of course, no one could deny that there was a rigorous work regime imposed by the communists in Cambodia. Among the most prominent defenders of the Khmer Rouge were George Hildebrand and Gareth Porter, scholars and activists known for their fierce opposition to the Vietnam war. In their book, Cambodia: Starvation and Revolution, published a year after the Khmer Rouge came to power, Porter and Hildebrand defended the forced evacuation of the cities as an effort to bring the people closer to the food supply and the emptying of urban hospitals as an attempt to improve health care. Criticism of the human-rights record of the Khmer Rouge was dismissed as the standard knee jerk attacks that the capitalist press would launch on a socialist regime. Readers were informed that universal suffrage was in place for the elections held in March 1976, a technically true if highly misleading claim. In congressional testimony in 1977, Porter again claimed there was little evidence for the atrocity claims emerging from Cambodia and presented a generally positive view of life under the Khmer Rouge. There were many more academic and activist supporters of the Khmer Rouge in the West during its years in power than can be mentioned in this essay. Many Marxists in the U.S. and Europe were enthused by the Cambodian Communists delinking of the nation from the global capitalist economy, its coerced egalitarianism, and its stated goal of a very direct path to communism. Under the Khmer Rouge, Cambodia had no currency, private property, or markets. Reports of human rights abuses were dismissed as imperialist propaganda. For some observers, it was a question of what was there not to like? It would not be fair and balanced if I failed to mention that support for the Khmer Rouge became the position of Democratic and Republican politicians (including human-rights champion Jimmy Carter and staunch anti-Communist Ronald Reagan) for a dozen years after Vietnam won a brief war against Cambodia in January 1979 and sent the Khmer Rouge scurrying to outposts on the fringes of the country. Because Vietnam was allied with the Soviet Union and the Khmer Rouge was allied with China, the Cambodian communists were considered preferable to the Vietnamese who had ended the genocide in Cambodia. The United States condemned the Vietnamese invasion and was one of the countries that enabled the Khmer Rouge to keep the countrys seat at the United Nations until the Cold War ended with the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991. Those academics and activists who defended the Khmer Rouge, or those like Chomsky who were skeptical and even scornful of those who reported on the killings committed by the regime in Cambodia, argued correctly that such reports would be used by those who had supported the American aerial bombardment of Cambodia that killed hundreds of thousands of Cambodians to justify their position. Such an accurate claim is not inconsistent with the claim that the Khmer Rouge was engaged in genocide. The greatest challenge for any person with strongly held political views is to accept or at least be open to knowledge that contradicts our most deeply held views. Most of the time we fail. At least 30 PKK terrorists were killed in airstrikes carried out by Turkish jets in northern Iraq Sunday, the military announced Monday, Anadolu reported. According to a statement by the Turkish General Staff, warplanes carried out airstrikes in the country's Gara region, hitting two terrorist targets. The PKK -- listed as a terrorist organization by Turkey, the U.S. and EU -- resumed its decades-old armed campaign in July last year. Since then, more than 600 security personnel have been martyred and more than 7,000 PKK terrorists killed. LONDON The recent terrorism conviction of Anjem Choudary, the Wests most prolific media cheerleader for the so-called Islamic State, raised questions about his incarceration in prisons that havein some casesbeen labeled jihadist training camps. Indeed, terrorist recruitment in prisons is one of the biggest challenges the West faces today, and Jihadi-Joker Anjem Choudary would thrive in such an environment. Prison radicalization is a real and sustained problem. Petty criminals predisposed to violence like shoe-bomber Richard Reid, caught trying to blow up a transatlantic flight out of Paris in 2001, initially were radicalized in this very way, by mixing with hardened jihadist ideologues inside Britains jails, only to come out and attempt to attack the United States. As of this summer there were 12,633 Muslims in prison in England and Wales. While of the 147 convicted terrorists in U.K. jails, 137 defined themselves as Muslim. A 20 percent increase in the jail population has been outstripped by a 122 percent rise in Muslim inmates. Muslims make up just 1 in 20 Britons, but 1 in 7 inmates. In the U.S., rough estimates suggest that 35,000-40,000 prisoners convert to Islam each year. Nationally at around 350,000 inmates, 15 percent of the U.S. prison population is Muslim. This is more than 18 percent the proportion of Americans who are Muslim. Thats a huge disparity. These psychologically vulnerable Muslim prisoners must not be allowed to mix with charismatic, committed and convincing jihadist ideological recruiters. In a recent column I asked how people like Anjem Choudary could be stopped from playing his wicked tune through his crooked flute in jail? Later that same day the U.K. Ministry of Justice finally released plans to overhaul its 50-year-old policy of dispersing the most dangerous terrorist prisoners among the general prison population in high-security prisons. They will create segregated specialist units within prison instead, to house the most committed, hardened jihadist ideologues. This followed a thorough investigation into prisons by government-appointed independent reviewer Ian Acheson. The incompetence and neglect Acheson unveiled in the department responsible for prisons, the National Offender Management Service (Noms), is incredibly disturbing. Political correctness in prisons was found to be allowing extremism to flourish. Achesons review team found aggressive encouragement of conversions to Islam by prisoners, unsupervised collective worship with pressure on prison guards to leave the prayer room, and attempts to engineer segregation along Islamist lines. Materials promoting Islamist ideology had been allowed into prison libraries, while official prison imams were facing intimidation by convicted jihadist terrorists. Prison guards were found to be too afraid to confront Muslims, as cultural sensitivity was preventing staff from challenging unacceptable extremist behavior and views. Offenders were advocating support for ISIS, and charismatic prisoners had been acting as self-styled emirs, exerting a controlling and radicalizing influence on the wider Muslim prison population. Even those Muslim prison chaplains employed by government to offer religious guidance to prisoners were found to be part of the problem. Around two-thirds of these chaplains followed the fundamentalist Pakistani wing of the Deobandi sect that only further instilled medieval literalism into vulnerable Muslim prisoners. Acheson personally remarked that the prison service faced a serious challenge, as unchecked extremism in prison could soon pose a lethal threat to national security. He found evidence that jihadist radicalization was such a serious problem inside some of Britains jails that it threatened prison legitimacy. At leadership levels within Noms, a cultural relativism obstructed decisive action being taken. Acheson even coined a phrase for this neglect: institutional timidity. The British government will now implement eight of Achesons 11 recommendations. A new Ministry of Justice directorate of security, order and counter-terrorism has been set up to tackle the problem. Extremist materials will be removed from prison libraries, and due diligence tests for the stronger vetting of prison chaplains will be adopted to ensure Noms has the right people in place to counter extremist beliefs. But much of the media focus has been on creating segregated specialist units for the most subversive extremists. A new ghost train system will be created to move the most subversive extremists between isolation units. Up to eight such high-security units within prisons are expected to be built. Each is likely to hold around 50 inmates. Government sources indicated that Anjem Choudary will be one of those locked up in a segregated unit. Critics have warned that such a move could provide a focal point for public protest, and for media charges of a British Guantanamo. The troubling history at the infamous Maze and Maghaberry prisons in Northern Ireland during the 1980s, where organized Republican and Loyalist paramilitary prisoners ended up running their respective prison blocks, is used as the main argument against a separatist solution. But the Ministry of Justices directorate of security, order and counter-terrorism would be responsible for ensuring that concentrating the most dangerous jihadist extremists into separate units would not simply allow them to create their own operational command structures in this way. A similar jail within a jail system has been used with some success in the Netherlands. A researcher at Leiden university, Daan Weggemans, claimed that half the detainees found this regime to be a wake-up call, and broke with their former violent extremist networks. One rehabilitated ex-terrorist prisoner felt the segregated approach was the least bad of all bad options because it prevented the radicalization of inmates in the general prison population. But he emphasized that care was needed to house only extremist leaders in the wings, and not their followers who presented a much lower risk of radicalizing others. Frustratingly, my counter-extremism organization Quilliam warned of all of this seven years ago. We highlighted precisely these problems in a report called Unlocking al-Qaeda. Our research found the neglect to be so great that some of Europes most dangerous al-Qaeda supporters (this was before ISIS existed) were even able to provide live media interviews to their followers from inside jail. They were also able to issue fatwas supporting specific acts of terror while behind bars. To tackle this problem, we recommended setting up these very segregated specialist deradicalization units inside prisons that the government now proposes. But for seven long years absolutely nothing was done. I agree with Acheson, institutional timidity is the only term that can possibly describe our gross neglect of some of the most vulnerableand most dangerous people in our care. I fear that such institutional timidity is not restricted to our prison services, but is replicated across all sectors of our society. Most of all in our own minds. If youve ever wanted to see seven hours of unedited footage from a camera mounted to the front of a trainand who hasnt?your ship has come in. In August, Netflix began airing the Norwegian Broadcasting Companys Slow TV, a genre which offers such viewing experiences as the four-hour National Knitting Evening, the six-hour National Firewood Night and the aforementioned Train Ride: Bergen to Oslo. If youre wondering what happens on these shows, the answer is simplenothing. Nothing happens on any of these shows at all, unless you consider the two-minute firewood-stacking explainer preceding the six hours of crackling log action to be something. Indeed, Slow TV is truly the type of show about nothing, Seinfeld be damned. Needless to say, this programming is not for everybody. When it comes to streaming service binge sessions, edge-of-your-seat fare like Game of Thrones and The Night Of will always have a large and loyal following. But for those who get enough stress in life and find standard TV fare demoralizing or anxiety-provoking, watching grinning Scandinavians knit sweaters for four hours could be just the thing. Molly Maloney, a 47-year-old attorney from Seattle, is a fan, and she has watched much of the Slow TV on offer from Netflix. She said that she mostly puts it on when engaged in mundane but necessary household tasks that require only a small portion of her interest. I've been putting it on when I'm doing other things, like painting, going through bills, folding laundry, Maloney said. Slow TV is good for making the room feel more alive, while at the same time not competing for my attention. Thomas Hellum, who is employed by the Norwegian Broadcasting Company, NRK, is Slow TVs producer and project manager. He told The Daily Beast that the show evolved from a brainstorming session with other station employees. The centennial of the Bergen Railway was fast approaching, and he and his team wanted to mark the occasion by filming the entire train journey from one coast of Norway to the other in its seven-hour entirety. To his surprise, NRK said yes. The idea was too wild to turn down, he said. Train Ride: Bergen to Oslo was first broadcast in 2009 on NRK, and it can be seen today on Netflix, in all its unedited, real-time glory. This includes the first five minutes, the majority of which takes place in a tunnel with no visibility. Its like youre actually there! Hellums most optimistic forecast was that the show might attract 1,000 viewers. Instead, it attracted 450,000 viewers upon its debut, and went on to be seen by 1.2 million people, quite a feat in a country with a population of 5 million. He interpreted this as a license to create more programming in this vein, all with three things in commontheyre long, theyre uninterrupted, and they show a process in its entirety. All of the shows have met with similar success. More or less all of our slow projects have gained double or triple of the market share for the channel that night, he said. Of course, in the United States, the culture that gave us Fuller House and Worlds Dumbest Partiers, audiences are not the same as in Norway. Subsequently, Slow TV has a long way to go before getting the same audience engagement as it received in its homeland. Representatives from Netflix could not be reached for comment, but the data analytics firm ListenFirst Media said that Slow TV was the subject of only 2,588 tweets in August, while the original series Stranger Things generated well over 2 million. Since Slow TV is likely to rely heavily on word of mouth to expand its audience, these numbers are daunting. Still, its only been a month, and since Netflix is getting competition from Amazon Primes The Window Channel, this type of programming may be gaining in popularity. Like Slow TV, The Window Channel specializes in single, unedited shots of such calming sights as Hawaiian beaches, cherry blossom trees and aquariums, all ready to anaesthetize any viewer with a La-Z-Boy recliner. But Hellum believes Slow TV has the edge, thanks to the variety of ways in which viewers can experience it. Some are really sitting on the edge of their seats, he said. Some are fully reclined and only want to be entertained. Some have it more like a pretty picture on the wall that they can peek in on occasionally. The secret lies in an uninterrupted line, where there is no producer who has decided what is exciting and what is not. Everything is there, and the viewer himself must find out what is interesting and what is boring. Hellum said that the next Slow TV project will follow a Laplander family as they guide thousands of reindeer through their migration from winter to summer pastures. This annual process takes five or six days, and Hellum has vowed to broadcast the whole thing. For Americans stressed out by the 24-hour news cycle, the social media outrage du jour and the looming specter of a President Donald Trump, unedited footage of reindeer prancing across snowy Scandinavian fjords might be just the antidote theyre looking for. An attendant waits as an electric car is being powered in a charging station in Beijing. (Photo : Getty Images) More than 200 companies in the country, most of them fledgling manufacturers of electric vehicles (EV), are at risk of massive closure as stricter technology rules will be imposed by the government, which seeks to limit the number to only 10, China Daily reported. Advertisement According to a senior executive of the state-backed Auto Manufacturers' Association, the move was aimed at curbing the industry of weak companies and as many as 90 percent of EV startups, some of which are supported by investor-billionaires, may face extinction. Based on a review of the National Development and Reform Commission, only two ventures have received approval to build cars while three others are planning to apply for permits. Among the investors, Jack Ma, Terry Gou, Li Ka-shing and Jia Yueting have poured at least $2 billion for the creation of alternative-energy vehicles in a bid to curb air pollution in cities. Attracted by generous government subsidies, many companies rushed to set up their EV companies but lack the technical knowledge to make electric or hybrid cars that can match those from Tesla Motors Inc or General Motors Co. "There are too many entrants in the sector, and some of them are just speculators," Yin Chengliang, a professor in the institute of automotive engineering at Shanghai Jiao Tong University, said. "The government has to raise the threshold. It's bad to see irrational investments in projects with low technology levels." The report said that overcapacity and high inventories have prompted the government to impose the cap on EV startups. The proliferation of cheap models may also affect the profit margins of carmakers while it is expected that costs, in terms of fuel and emission targets, are set to increase. Last year, China beat the U.S. to become the world's biggest market for new-energy vehicles which include electric vehicles, fuel-cell cars and plug-in hybrids. The China Association of Automobile Manufacturers said that about 331,092 units were sold by domestic automakers last year. About 4,000 new-energy vehicles (NEV) are being developed now but the government is expecting to sell about 3 million units a year by 2025 and it offers to subsidize about 60 percent of an electric car's price. The Ministry of Industry and Information Technology released this month a draft policy that enumerated the 17 technologies that companies intending to sell EV cars must possess to sustain the development of the industry. Among these technologies include a control system to determine the performance and stability of the NEV, an information system for tracking the sources and conditions of key parts and a process on how to recycle or reuse batteries. A report by the State Council's newspaper, The Economic Daily, said that about 90 percent of companies developing EV platforms will not be able to meet the standards even in two years. Beijing Electric Vehicle Co, which is controlled by BAIC Group, the State-owned manufacturer for Hyundai Motor Co and Daimler AG's Mercedes-Benz, has successfully got approval. The company is planning to set up a factory that can build 70,000 EVs a year. The Clintons are devoted to improving world conditions U.S. Rep. Tom Marino (Eagle, Sept. 3) charges that the investigation of Hillary Clinton's supposed illegal use of her private email server and "pay-to-play scheme" of the Clinton Foundation has been corrupt and has ignored "our rule of law in order to protect Clinton and the White House." But how soon we forget. Wikipedia says: "After the dismissal of eight U.S. attorneys by the George W. Bush administration, Congress, in 2007, conducted an investigation. They were told by the Bush administration that not all internal White House documents were available, which was a possible violation of the Presidential Records Act of 1978. In 2009, it was announced that as many as 22 million emails may have been lost. The White House administration officials had been using a private internet domain, owned by and hosted on an email server run by the Republican National Committee." The Democratic-led House elected not to pursue the egregious wrongdoings of the George W. Bush administration, including purposefully misleading information about weapons in Iraq. Nor did the House appoint a special prosecutor to investigate the Bush administration, as Marino believes should have been done for Hillary Clinton. According to charitynavigator.org, The Clinton Foundation has been given a rating of 4 stars, out of 4, for having spent 86.9 percent of its budget on programs and services and an "A" rating for 75 percent of its budget being used for peace and international relations. Hillary and Bill Clinton have devoted their time, energy, lives and, yes, money, to improve conditions for our country and the world. For the life of me, I can't seem to find any of those qualities in Donald Trump, who will never release his tax forms, and who believes the he is the answer to the problems that even a Republican-controlled Congress can't seem to address. CAROL BIGGS College Station Serious people can disagree without being disagreeable James Connealy characterized Walter Kamphoefner as an elitist. I am one of Kamphoefner's colleague in A&M's history department; I know him and he is no elitist. As far as Connealy's characterizing Kamphoefner as a megalomaniac, I have no way of knowing whether Connealy is qualified to arrive at that diagnose. I'm not a psychiatrist, but what I do know about megalomania tells me that Kamphoefner doesn't suffer from that ailment. It is reasonable for us to arrive at different conclusions about public figures such as Harry Truman and Donald Trump because extensive information on them is available, assuming one examines that information. That's what historians such as Kamphoefner do. It is not reasonable to put a label on him (or professors in general) because his position on an issue differs from someone else's. I came to academia late in life, earning a doctorate in 2011. There I found among that community serious minded men and women who arrive at informed arguments and bravely articulate them. Some may consider me a square peg in a round hole given that I'm a lifelong registered Republican, served 28 years in the active and reserve Marine Corps, and recreationally shoot an M-1 Garand rifle. I know that I'm just a guy, but I've learned a few things in my life, especially about people. I know that Walter Kamphoefner is the farthest thing from an elitist. BILL COLLOPY College Station It is worth reflecting on your achievement in the 2015 general election. You won more votes - 1.1 million - than the Green Party in every previous general election added together. We contested 93% of seats, with 535 candidates, and saved 126 deposits. (In 2010 we saved just six.) That was symbolically and practically important - it saved us 63,000. In four years as leader I've travelled up and down the country. I really should have kept track of my train miles. A journalist asked me this week if I'd ever sat on the floor of a train carriage. Have I ever? I've been getting more passionate about bring the railways back into public hands about three times a week. My recent memorable train journey was going to the wonderful Hen Harrier Day at Edale, with eight hours on trains for three hours on the ground. I'd do it again tomorrow. For a ban on driven grouse shooting wouldn't just protect our majestic hen harriers, but also the ecology of our uplands, and the flood-threatened communities below them. The past four years have, however, for British politics, society and our precious natural world, been awful years. The British people last year were stuck with a Tory government backed by only 24% of eligible voters. And the Conservative 2015 manifesto, which assumed we'd remain part of the EU, is now irrelevant. And there's no democratic guidance on what 'Brexit' means. Theresa May has no democratic legitimacy. She has no right to proceed without a general election. She's in that position after what the Electoral Reform Society judged a referendum campaign that failed to meet basic democratic standards. The understandable anger of voters at the state of the nation found an outlet. Brexit is the collateral damage from fire rightly directed at the British political class. The Green voice in politics has never been more important! Globally, over the past four years, well: Donald Trump's a huge worry but Jill Stein and Bernie Sanders are signs of positive change. Renewable energy has surged ahead in much of the world, the concept of the universal basic income has moved from the fringe very firmly into mainstream debate. But one thing's clearer by the moment: Britain needs the Green Party, the world needs its Green parties. Increasingly voters are recognising that. In Germany the Greens are part of more state governments than Angela Merkel's CDU. In Australia, the Greens won 10% of first preference votes - but under the Alternative Vote system still only one seat. Remember the hashtag - #AVisnotPR. Britain and the world need not just Greens offering good ideas, campaigning for them and waiting for others to get the message. Britain, and the world, needs to stop electing the wrong people, then hoping they'll do the right things. On councils, in national governments, we must elect more, lots more, Greens. The county council elections next May will be a great chance to do that - I'm confident we can win our first council elections in May in Wales and in many parts of England, and grow our representation on councils where we've only recently gained footholds. And we've got a great chance to get the Green message out in upcoming 'metro mayor' elections. We don't agree with the Osborne plan but the elections give us the chance to explain what genuine local power and decisionmaking could look like. I'm delighted to congratulate our Liverpool candidate, announced yesterday. Tom Crone's going to be great. And we know that he, and all of our candidates, have the message that people want to, need to, hear. We are the only truly 'realistic' party For the Green Party message of economic and environmental justice is the message for today. It brings the promise of jobs that people can build a life on, the security of the universal basic income and thriving communities built around small independent businesses and cooperatives. The environmental crisis extends far beyond climate change: plastics in the oceans, destruction of our soils, biodiversity loss. These crises are a huge threat, but also an opportunity: in making the necessary radical changes to our society to heal our environment we can also build a better, more secure, life for everyone. What's clear is that we cannot continue as we are. If someone tells them Green plans are 'unrealistic', look them straight in the eye and say: "You're the unrealistic one. Dream on if you think we can continue as we are." The need for Green politics was clear in the referendum debate. Our Greens for a Better Europe campaign provided positive, effective messages, addressing issues from workers' and human rights to the environment, passionately defending the way in which free movement in Europe enriches all of our lives. And that's something that we'll continue doing, and continue presenting the facts, not the lies that continue to be casually presented, on immigration and other European issues. The real issue is not immigration Last week I was at the French Greens Summer University. I was telling Greens from across Europe an important fact about the referendum. Something they need to know and that we need to stress in Britain. People did not vote Leave primarily on the basis of opposition to immigration. Lord Ashcroft's detailed study shows that half of Leave voters said the biggest single reason was "the principle that decisions about the UK should be taken in the UK". It was only one third who cited their main reason for voting leave "as control over immigration and borders". The many politicians, quite a few of them from the Labour Party, who are going around saying "this was a vote about immigration and it shows we have to stop free movement" need to be challenged. Strongly. This was not 'a vote against immigration'. And even those voters who say they're concerned about immigration, when you ask them to explain, most talk about low wages, crowded schools and hospitals, the cost of housing. Those are all rightful concerns. But they are caused by the failed policies of privatisation, of austerity, of financialisation of our economy, of centralisation on Westminster. They are not caused by immigration. The Brexit hashtag #takebackcontrol sums up the reason why people voted to leave - they were saying they didn't feel in control of their own lives, their own communities, their own futures. And that's no wonder when we've got giant, market-dominating companies casually failing to pay their workers the supposedly legally binding minimum wage. They are parasites, tax-dodgers sucking huge profits from our society without paying for the infrastructure essential to generating them. Time to #takebackREALcontrol To restore trust, restore democratic control, to stop the plutocrats, what we need is a fair electoral system, a system in which people can vote for what they believe in, and get it. A proportional electoral system: that has to be the key goal, the change on which the essential political, social, economic and environmental transformation can be built. In the 'mother of all parliaments', it's time to get democracy! On a global scale, 'take back control' could also be the hashtag for another critical issue of the coming year - nuclear weapons. We've lived under the threat of nuclear annihilation for three generations. And the world's said enough. One hundred and thirty eight countries have signed up to work for a global ban on these hideous weapons of mass destruction. In Britain, with Trident renewal on the horizon, we've got a unique opportunity to make a huge global impact with our policies, not simply to replace our 1% of the world's nuclear weapons, the weapons that from one submarine could kill 10 million people. Let's join with the majority of the people of the world, take back control and ban nuclear weapons. No, I will not be joining Ed Balls on Strictly Come Dancing Lots of people are of course asking what I'll do next - now I'm no longer Green Party leader. Well I'm going to let you into a long-hidden secret. In primary school a boy who hated being partnered with me in folk dancing lessons complained I had 'rusty joints' - and that became my nickname. So I promise you, I'm not going to follow Ed Balls on to Strictly Come Dancing. What I will be doing is getting out on the picket lines supporting our junior doctors. Jeremy Hunt says what they're planning is the worst strike in NHS history. Well he's got the something right - the adjective. He's the worst Health Secretary in the history of the NHS. He really should take English lessons. Jeremy, a contract is an agreement, not something you impose! What I'll also be doing in the coming weeks and months is campaigning on education. Students in schools, colleges and universities have told me how they feel failed, damaged, by an education that prepares them for exams, not life, that puts crushing pressure and fear of failure into young lives. The Green Party education policy - abolishing SATs and the awful phonics test, getting rid of Ofsted, and of course abolishing tuition fees and restoring maintenance grants - is wonderful. And it's up to all of us to ensure that every pupil, every teacher, every parent - everyone who cares about the future - knows what it is. I'll also be campaigning for the restoration of cultural education and cultural funding. Drama, music and art are essential parts of a healthy society. And given the importance of these sectors of the British economy, is plainly, simply stupid. I'll also be campaigning also to highlight the abject, total failure of the Thatcherite policy of the privatisation of public services. For we know - it's demonstrated by the failure of the Labour Party to back the NHS Reinstatement Bill championed by Caroline Lucas - that the Green Party is the anti-privatisation party. We're the people who say that prisons, courts, policing, military activities should not be in private hands. The coercive power of the state should never be privatised! We're the people who consistently resisted the privatisation of the Royal Mail, who understand that privatisation is built on cutting the level of services, slashing the pay and condition of services, and shovelling public money into private hands. I'm standing down as Green Party leader. But I'm not going away So I think you've got the picture. I'm standing down as Green Party leader, but I won't be going away. If we had a fair, proportional electoral system we'd have 25 MPs in Westminster. Just imagine it, Caroline Lucas 25 times over! But since we don't, we've got to be more creative - find ways to give more people roles and prominence. My title will be 'former leader', but the reality is that I'll be joining you all in being leaders - for every member of the Green Party is a leader. You're helping lead Britain, and the world, away from the destructive, inhumane, unsustainable politics of the past four decade, towards a society, a world, that works within the environmental limits of our one fragile planet while delivering a decent life for everyone. You're making a difference in your community - as a councillor, as an organiser, as a talker and a doer - people who together can transform our society. Thank you for everything you've done, and everything you're going to do. I look forward to what we can achieve, united, together. Natalie Bennett is the former leader of the Green Party of England & Wales. This article is the very slightly edited text of Natalie's speech to the Green Party conference on 3rd September. Schools across the UK who have invested in solar panels could be facing surprise tax bills of over 800 next spring according to research by the climate change charity, 10:10. This new tax will disproportionately (and unfairly) only affect state schools, as private schools, free schools and academies are exempt due to their charitable status. The Solar Trade Association - learnt of sharp increases to business rates for rooftop solar in July - has been campaigning for ministers to intervene ever since. And the news follows drastic cuts to support for solar last summer which saw 12,000 jobs in UK solar industry lost and the closure of the UK's world-leading Solar Schools programme. According to new calculations by the climate change charity, 10:10, schools which have invested in a ten kilowatt solar rig (around 40-50 panels) will have to pay 803.35 in business rates. Previously, the small solar installations favoured by many schools were not taxed at all. Those with larger rigs - around 200 panels and more - already pay business rates, but could see bills rise to six to eight times last year's figures. Schools who managed to install before the solar cuts hit were still hoping to be able to pay back the cost of the panels in 5-8 years. If the changes to business rates go ahead, 10:10 estimates it will now take upwards of 10 years. And for schools planning to go solar this year, despite the cuts, the charity warns that the new tax hike would reduce the lifetime return of the panels to near zero. They might even make a negative return. These proposals are nonsensical! This week also marks the official closure of Solar Schools which was established in 2011 and which has, since then, installed over 2,000 panels on 80 schools, working with over 30,000 pupils and raising over 700,000 in the process. The 10:10 team estimate over 15,000 cakes were sold at Solar Schools fundraising events in the last five years. The total 592 kilowatts of solar power this amounts to should save nearly 4,000 tonnes of CO2 over the next 25 years. Cecily Spelling, Solar Schools project manager at 10:10 says: "This new tax hike is just nonsensical. It's punishing those that have already installed solar and discouraging more in the future. "Solar Schools is about so much more than just generating energy - it brings communities together and gets people excited about the positive things they can do to tackle climate change. It's also a brilliant resource for science, technology and maths education." Find when and where to trick-or-treat on Monday in SE Iowa, WC Illinois File photo of Canadian Kevin Garratt, who is detained in China over espionage allegations. (Photo : Twitter) Chinese Premier Li Keqiang has assured visiting Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau that detained Canadian citizen Kevin Garratt will be treated humanely. Li made the assurance during a joint news conference attended by the two leaders. While the Premier did not mention Garratt by name, he said that China is "a country that follows the rule of law." He also promised that judicial authorities will ensure humane treatment, the Global News reported. Advertisement Garratt, who operated a coffee shot in Dandong near the country's border with North Korea, was detained by Chinese authorities in Aug. 2014 over allegations of providing intelligence information to Canadian agencies. His wife Julie was detained alongside him but was later released. He was indicted by a Chinese court in January. The Canadian's family has earlier expressed disappointment over the slow progress of the case. In a statement released by the family, they called on both the Chinese and Canadian governments to reach a resolution that would allow Garratt to leave China for medical treatment and to return to them. Garratt's family added that they appreciate that both parties have recognized the urgency of his medical condition and the negative effect5 of prolonged incarceration on his health. Speaking of the case, Trudeau said that he had always raised the issue of Garratt among other issues when meeting with Chinese leaders, as he believes that this is a matter that must be carefully worked together by the two governments. He also expressed firm belief that there are no evidence to back up the allegations against Garratt, CBC reported. Meanwhile, Li said that they will grant consular access for the cases involving foreigners. Garratt is one of several foreigners who have been detained in China over allegations of espionage. In August, Chinese authorities confirmed the detention of a Japanese man on espionage charges after he was reported missing by Japanese media. It seems like was just last week that we reported Wilmer Valderrama and Minka Kelly were back together and officially in Remember when BMW purchased a haggard old 507 that once belonged to Elvis Presley? After two years of work, the car is now fully restored and headed to the Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance later this month. As with any good celebrity owned classic car, Elvis's old BMW has an interesting story to tell. This 507, chassis #70079, was actually raced by famed driver Hans Stuck for a few months before it ended up at a BMW dealership in Frankfurt. Elvis was stationed as a soldier in Germany at the time, saw the 507 at the dealer and bought it immediately. The car was originally painted white, but Elvis had it painted redafter discovering that young ladies would write their phone numbers on the car in lipstick wherever he went. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate NORWALK Though replacement of the Walk Bridge is still two years away, the Maritime Aquarium at Norwalk through which the ill-fated bridge runs is already preparing for the project. Earlier this spring, the aquarium partnered with researchers from Pennsylvania State University to begin establishing a baseline for how the animals at the aquarium behave under normal circumstances. Brian Davis, aquarium president, said the data collected includes testing how the animals respond to sound, vibration and other environmental changes. Our animal safety and guest experience are most important to us, Davis said. Were planners here and were going to get as much information as we can to keep the animals safe. You want to understand these behaviors over time, how they normally behave, so that if something changes you know. While the data being collected will be useful during the Walk Bridge replacement project scheduled for 2018, Davis said a secondary benefit is that data like this has never been collected before and will be used by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums, of which the Maritime Aquarium is a member. Davis said no other institution has collected similar data or gone through a similar construction project that he knows of. Thats the part thats really exciting right now, Davis said. Even though this helps us, it is serving more than one role ... at the end of the day these institutions are about animal well-being. Davis said the research is largely observational and will be ongoing throughout the next several years as the project is completed. Visitors to the aquarium may see someone watching an exhibit for an extended period of time, but Davis said its likely aquarium-goers wont even notice the research being done. Though Davis said the aquarium does not anticipate having to move any animals off site, it is likely exhibits may need to be moved within the aquarium. However, Davis said Connecticut Department of Transportation officials have said they will work with the aquarium to make sure the animals and guest experience are affected as little as possible. Some of the things we would like to see are possibly utilizing different methods of construction that will have less of an impact, Davis said. Every indication weve got is they are willing to work with us to help the animals remain healthy and the guests happy. Weve already started having those initial conversations. The Walk Bridge runs through the middle of the aquarium, separating the exhibits from the IMAX Theater. The exhibits closest to the bridge are the Jiggle-A-Jelly touch tank and the meerkat and dragon exhibit. Davis said the seal exhibit, which is partially outside, is of particular concern and the aquarium will monitor the seals closely. A small construction project to replace the fenders on the bridge is already under way, which Davis said has provided an idea of what the larger project could be like. Even so, he maintained the process is still in the earliest phases and collecting baseline data on the animals is just part of the overall project. Communication has been really important throughout this process, Davis said. Were doing everything we can to make sure the animals are cared for and the experience is great, and were going to make sure this institution continues to serve the community. KKrasselt@scni.com; 203-354-1021; @kaitlynkrasselt WILTON The death of a child is the most dreadful experience a parent can face. Grieving parents may question whether life will ever hold meaning for them again and wonder how they will survive the anguish of their loss. They often blame themselves or they may be angry with their spouse, a physician, or God. Wiltons Visiting Nurse & Hospice of Fairfield County will offer an eight-week bereavement support group this fall to help parents cope with loss following the death of a child. The support group will meet weekly on Thursdays from 2:30-4 p.m. beginning Sept. 15 and continuing through Nov. 3. Chinese online users are getting scammed and some even get prank calls. (Photo : Getty Images) The state media Xinhua News Agency reported the death of a high school graduate who spent her savings to an online fraudster. The young girl sent 9,000 yuan or $1,480. She then reported to the police and in shock, her heart stopped beating in a hospital. The police rounded up suspects who were education officials. These individuals were able to obtain her personal information including her need for financial assistance through the local education board's website. Advertisement The education ministry refused to release any comment. The victim's family did not issue a statement. Internet fraud is becoming more prevalent in China and puts it 700 million users at risk. According to a study of the Internet Society of China, about 75 percent of China's online users have received emails of scams from banks, internet companies or television stations. The scams would ask the user to send money in exchange for a prize. The study also revealed that there is 55 percent of users who receive calls from government agencies on public security and health which also are offering scams. In Weibo, a public survey was conducted among users to ask why scams are widespread. Out of the 6,077 users, 55 percent responded that the scams want to get personal information. Shu Hai, a partner at Zhong Lun Law Firm's Shanghai office, said that the country did not have a national internet security law. "Most businesses and organizations don't spend much on personal information protection because it's very cheap to break the law and very expensive to comply with regulations," he said. Getting personal data from users is a large underground industry, according to Shu. During the Internet Security Conference held in China last April, the U.S. government, and internet security expert John McAfee expressed that they are willing to help the country strengthen online safety. "I am hoping that my words will inspire cooperation in the field of security between China and the U.S., and indeed between and among all countries," Mc Afee said. While the final attendance numbers for the 2016 Nebraska State Fair will be released on Tuesday, the first weekend was a success with an attendance of 129,174 people, which was 7 percent more than a year ago. Over the 11-day run of the fair last year, it drew more than 350,000 people, which was a record crowd since moving to Grand Island in 2010. That exposure is good for Grand Island businesses, said Cindy Johnson, president the Grand Island Area Chamber of Commerce. Every year at the fair, the chamber has a booth in the Pinnacle Bank Expo Center, which is occupied each day by a different Grand Island business. That allows our businesses to come in and showcase their products and services for less than the full length of the fair, Johnson said. It is a great opportunity for ... smaller businesses that really cant afford the time to be out there for 11 days. Johnson said the chamber has been coordinating the booth since the fair came to Grand Island in 2010. Businesses can have the space for a full day or half day. They select the day that best matches their products or services, Johnson said. One of the newest Grand Island businesses to take advantage of the chamber booth is Asylum Cycles at 2044 Kent Ave. It will be at the chamber booth on Labor Day. Asylum Cycles is celebrating its 10th anniversary this year. Paul and Jaycee Mader started the business in July 2006. Paul Mader began working on his own bikes at age 17 and bought his first Harley-Davidson (84 XL) in 1998 and his big twin (95 FXD) in 1999. He graduated from Motorcycle Mechanics Institute in 2003. He began his career at Zooks Harley-Davidson in Des Moines, Iowa, and then moved to Frontier Harley-Davidson in Lincoln. In 2006, he decided to move back to Grand Island and give motorcyclists a professional alternative to a factory shop. Asylum Cycles provides motorcycle repairs, service, performance upgrades, tires and dyno tuning, along with sales of motorcycles and cargo trailers. It is good exposure for our business, Mader said of the State Fair. It is good to get your name out to more than Grand Island. We are trying to push our sales more. Johnson said Mader found this as a way to market his products and services. Scott Bacon, insurance agent for AAA Nebraska, represented his company at the chambers State Fair booth on Thursday. Their office is at 3359 W. Capital Ave. This is Bacons fourth year at the chambers State Fair both representing AAA Nebraska. It has been excellent for awareness and getting our message out to fairgoers, he said. We really enjoyed it. He was also representing the Cornhusker Motor Club Foundation, a nonprofit organization funded by contributions from AAA, its members and supporters. The foundation supports traffic safety programs, tourism, education and crime prevention programs. We just love the State Fair and being part of facilities, he said. Johnson said allowing the locals the booth space over the last seven years has been fantastic. Thats because they reach a market that they might not otherwise reach, Johnson said. Over the years, the chambers fair booth has been occupied by a wide cross section of the business community, Johnson said. They are encouraged to have an eye-catching display and a reason for people to stop, whether it is a giveaway or a bright display or something, she said. Johnson said the State Fair continues to grow every year, providing opportunities for businesses and services to grow as the State Fair facilities are used year-round. Johnson said the State Fair facilities generate more than $20 million in economic activity during the year, according to the last analysis conducted by the chamber. Beyond the 11 days of the State Fair, those buildings are doing exactly what we were hoping they would do, she said. They are bringing life to Grand Island, Neb., during the 10 months over and above the State Fair. HASTINGS Adams County Historical Society and Hastings Community Theatre will present their fifth annual Adams County Cemetery Walk next weekend with tours offered on Friday, Saturday and Sunday. This years walk in a different location than previous years will be at the Highland Cemetery, the citys oldest burial ground. Guests will follow guides to five different gravesites, where interpreters will portray some of Hastings earliest citizens some well-known and some not so well. As a bonus of the cemetery walks new location, representatives of the Hastings Arboretum will be present to tell guests about their growing collection of native and specialty trees. Tours start at 6 and 6:30 p.m. Friday; 4, 4:30, 5 and 5:30 p.m. Saturday; and 4, 4:30 and 5 p.m. Sunday. Visitors should park in the south end of the Hastings Museum lot and are asked to check in at the Pavilion, in the center of the cemetery, 15 minutes before their scheduled tours. Graves included in the walk are those of Andrew Shaw, an Irishman who fled the tyranny of the British to dig the Erie Canal; Stephen Carson, a veteran of the War of 1812 who helped defend New York City from the British; and Harrison Bostwick, banker, land speculator and builder of the Bostwick Hotel, at the time the most elaborate hotel between Omaha and Denver. Cast members are Roger Doerr, Paul Hamelink, Larry Harvey, Lonnie Miner and Courtney Peeler. Interpretation scripts were written by Catherine Renschler. The performances are directed by Randal Kottwitz, with casting and costuming by Donna Hastings. Each tour is limited to 20 participants, so reservations are strongly recommended. Tickets are $12, with proceeds benefitting the historical society and the theater. For reservations, call (402) 463-5838 or email achs@inebraska.com. No enrollment numbers are official yet, but the number of students attending the Grand Island Public Schools continues to climb. Official enrollments for all schools in Nebraska are tabulated at the end of September, so all current enrollment reports are considered as preliminary. As of Aug. 30, Grand Island Public Schools had 9,792 students from preschool through the 12th grade. Grand Island Senior High has 2,426 students attending the main school building at 2124 N. Lafayette. Senior Highs unofficial enrollment rises to 2,576 students when students in the Success Academy and Ombudsman alternative education programs are included. Success Academy is located next to Memorial Stadium, while Ombudsman is in the Northwest Commons on North Webb Road. The Nebraska Department of Education reported that the official enrollment for Grand Island Public Schools in September 2015 was 9,698 for preschool through the 12th grade, which is 94 students fewer than the 2016-17 preK-through-12th grade number. The current unofficial enrollment makes Walnut Middle School the districts largest middle school with 805 students, followed by Westridge with 699 and Barr with 694. The unofficial enrollment for Engleman is 511 students, which makes it the largest K-5 school in the district, followed by Newell with 477 and Dodge with 464. Northwest Public Schools business manager Sharon Placke said the unofficial enrollment for the district is 1,421 students, which is up 13 from the official enrollment in September 2015. Unofficial enrollment for Northwest High School is 719 students, which is down five kids from the official enrollment for September 2015. Placke said Northwest is still experiencing some churn in its enrollment numbers, with new students registering on some days and other students transferring to other school districts on other days. That churn during the early weeks of school is one reason why the Nebraska Department of Education waits until the end of September before recording any school districts official enrollment. Administrator Tim Leech said Trinity Lutheran High School has 65 students, which is one more student than at the start of the 2015-16 school year. Central Catholic Superintendent Steve Osborn reported that school has 278 students in grades 6 through 12, which is down a few students from the start of the 2015-16 school year. The Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services will host two meetings on Sept. 14 at the Grand Island Public Library, 211 N. Washington. The first, from 5:30 to 6:30 p.m., will seek public commentary about Medicaids Long-Term Care Redesign project, identified as a priority in the HHS business plan. All interested people, including consumers and providers, are encouraged to attend and share their thoughts about what works with the current long-term Medicaid system in Nebraska, and what needs to be changed. The second meeting, from 6:30 to 7:30 p.m., will focus on services to be provided through Developmental Disabilities Home and Community-Based Waivers. The meeting will be part of a Lets Talk tour being conducted by Courtney Miller, director of the Division of Developmental Disabilities within the Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services. The waivers are identified as a priority in the HHS business plan. Miller is also seeking feedback on services provided through the Beatrice State Development Services and the Bridges Program in Hastings. Nebraskas unpredictable wind added some oohs and ahs to the Flippin steam punk aerial acrobatic show at the Nebraska State Fair on Sunday. And those oohs and ahs werent just from the audience they were from the performers, too. During the final act of the noon edition of the half-hour show, acrobat Martin Espana exited the Wheel of Death, a two-wheeled pendulum. He set out to walk on the wheels exterior while jumping rope. The sky was overcast and winds had started to pick up. As Espana ran to the top of the wheel, the rope caught his foot, and he fell to the wheel as it was at its 40-feet height. He clutched the outside of the wheel it as it spun around. The wheel circled back to the ground, leaving just inches between Espana and the dirt. He cleared the ground, re-entered the wheel,and crossed his hands over his heart as he nodded to the applause. Was that part of the show? several audience members gasped. They re-assured themselves that it was, in fact, planned. However, after the show, Espana said otherwise. The wind was very hard up there and the rope is light, he said. But the acrobats practice safe falls, Espana said. Although Espana is part of a third-generation circus family, he said fear is always part of the show for audience and performers. Every day Im scared, he said. You have to be scared to be safe if youre not scared of something, youll get hurt. Espanas wife, Jenny, twirled circular hula hoops and ribbons in the show that had a time travel theme. To show that all shapes are created equal, she also twirled a square, a pyramid and a cube. Espana and his cousin, Visan, performed on the flying contraption, a platform swing used to hurl the acrobats 30 feet into the air into a nearby net. Martin and Visan both took turns doing multiple flips and stunts into the net. Martins 13-year-old son, Julius, even took a turn being hurled into the net. Visans girlfriend, Laura Dunn, performed on the aerial silks. She climbed the two strands of purple silk, carefully wrapped her feet, and then let go and she hung artistically in front of the audience. She demonstrated her strength and flexibility by stretching out into the splits with her feet in the silks. She carefully wrapped her body in the silks and then let go with her feet, cascading and plummeting downward as the silks unfolded only to be stopped abruptly by a final tie around her body. Allison Espana, who is married to Martins uncle, performed a trapeze and bungee cord act. She leapt off the trapeze, spinning and somersaulting as she plummeted downward and back up again on the bungee cords. Danielle Lemek of Doniphan gasped multiple times during the show when Dunn was unwinding in silks headed for the ground and when Martins foot caught in the jump rope. That is just crazy to go on this wheel with no harness to go that far up and that fast, she said. I was scared a couple of times. Martin Espana said its the crowd reaction that is so thrilling to the performers. When they cheer for you and clap for you, its a nice feeling, he said. This show was awesome, Lemek said. Im a huge adrenaline junkie, so this show really got me going. Flippin has four shows remaining during Mondays conclusion of the Nebraska State Fair. Flippin performs at noon, 2:30 p.m., 4:30 p.m. and 7 p.m. in the Family Fun Zone in front of the 4-H/FFA Building. Its no wonder Americans have a negative opinion of both major presidential nominees. Beyond their escalating rhetoric, both Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump continue to act as if they have something to hide, raising the prospect that voters may not know everything they should before Election Day. Investigators keep finding more Clinton-related emails, underscoring the former secretary of states lack of transparency and her cozy, continuing relationship with the Clinton Foundation and its donors (though so far one that more exemplifies traditional Washington access of contributors than indicates improper impact on governmental policy). And Trump continues his refusal to follow tradition and release his tax returns, enabling him to keep many details of his complex finances from public view. Investigative reporting by authors and newspapers suggests everything from a history of housing discrimination to potentially serious conflicts involving major banks and foreign countries. Two separate events in the past week illustrated both their respective problems and the significant contrast between what we know of the one and the other. One was The Associated Press revelation that Clintons appointment calendars, obtained through a Freedom of Information Act lawsuit, showed dozens of private meetings while she was secretary of state with foundation contributors. Clinton tried to keep the data secret, both by setting up her private email system and rejecting AP requests. But the AP found no ethical or legal violations. The other was a bizarre interview with Trumps doctor about his letter declaring the Republican nominee would be the healthiest individual ever elected to the presidency. Dr. Harold Bornstein told NBC News he wrote the letter, largely devoid of specifics, in just five minutes while a representative of the candidate waited in his limousine outside, adding, I think I picked up his kind of language and then just interpreted it to my own. Both the minimal content and the circumstances Dr. Bornstein related seemed surprising from a candidate whose campaign repeatedly suggests without any evidence that Clinton is covering up details about her health. In fact, while Clinton has also not issued full medical details, she has provided more than Trump, which has not prevented him from pledging now to reveal his details if she disclosed hers. That contrast in transparency seems generally to be the case. Though Clinton has often limited her disclosures, and continues to avoid full-scale press conferences, Trump has done less. Their tax returns are the main example. Clinton and her husband, former President Bill Clinton, have followed the traditional approach for presidential nominees by releasing returns for 30 years, at the cost of stories about their vast income from speaking fees and other outside endeavors. Trump has refused to release his tax returns, citing the fact that recent years are under audit. His son Eric said it would be foolish to release prior returns, because, You would have a bunch of people who know nothing about taxes trying to look through and trying to come up with assumptions on something they know nothing about. Indeed, there is little doubt journalists would find fertile ground; the few years for which Trump was forced to release earlier returns showed he paid no taxes. But more significant than his tax rate might be any internal evidence of financial indebtedness to foreign countries that might influence his actions as president. An extensive study by The New York Times into Trumps real estate holdings showed his companies owed at least $650 million to institutions including the Bank of China, one of the largest state-owned banks in the country against which he has threatened a trade war, and Goldman Sachs, the firm whose large speaking fees to Clinton he assailed. At a 2008 real estate conference, Donald Trump Jr. disclosed his father had substantial interests in Russia, whose leader and policies Trump praised, while indicating he would be friendlier than Clinton. Russians make up a pretty disproportionate cross-section of a lot of our assets, according to an account on eTurboNews website. Disclosure of financial holdings and debt from countries like China and Russia would seem at least as important as seeking meetings for contributors who include some foreign leaders. The American people deserve full disclosure from both: The State Department should speed its release of Clintons emails, and the Clintons should take steps to separate themselves from the foundations management now. Both should release detailed reports on their health. Trump should release his tax returns. And Clinton should expand her press interactions to include regular opportunities for questioning by her traveling press corps. Voters deserve nothing less. China Establishes New Trade Zones in Inland Areas for the First Time Shanghai is China's first free trade zone. (Photo : Getty Images) Ahead of the G20 summit and to show that China is serious about liberalization, seven more free trade zones (FTZ) were declared, bringing the total to 11. Commerce Minister Gao Hucheng told state media that the government declared, among others, FTZ's like Northeast China's Liaoning, East China's Zhejiang, Northwest China's Shaanxi and Central China's Henan. This is the first time that inland regions were included in the list of FTZs. Advertisement He said, "The FTZs, covering bigger areas and a wider range of industries, will have their own characteristics and help deepen reforms. In 2013, Shanghai was the first FTZ to be opened. This was followed by Guangdong Province, East China's Fujian Province and North China's Tianjin Municipality in 2015. Wang Danqing, a partner of ACG Management, said, "The newly approved zones in the inland regions, which will serve larger areas, will not only further deepen reform and opening-up in China, but will also have their own characteristics to boost local economic development." The Liaoning FTZ is expected to increase competition in Northeast China and establish strong economic ties with Russia, South Korea and Japan. The FTZ is hoped to boost the slow economic growth in the country. Formation of the new GTZs is also sending a message to the participants of the G20 Summit. China is serious about freeing up its market. "China wants to show other countries' leaders ahead of the G20 event that it strongly supports trade liberalization and is determined to advance opening-up in the country," he said. Establishment of FTZs is welcomed by the private sector. Business owners said that FTZs helped their enterprises grow. According to Chang Zhaohua, chief executive of Shanghai-based MicroPort Medical, city's free-trade zone helped his company save up to 20 percent on interest payments linked to its acquisition of a foreign company since Shanghai became an FTZ. Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Gerry Shih (Associated Press) Beijing Mon, September 5, 2016 The giant panda, one of the symbols of China, is off the endangered list thanks to aggressive conservation efforts. The International Union for Conservation of Nature said in a report released Sunday that the panda is now classified as a "vulnerable" instead of "endangered" species, reflecting its growing numbers in the wild in southern China. It said the wild panda population jumped to 1,864 in 2014 from 1,596 in 2004, the result of work by Chinese agencies to enforce poaching bans and expand forest reserves. The IUCN report warned that although better forest protection has helped increase pandanumbers, climate change is predicted to eliminate more than 35 percent of its natural bamboo habitat in the next 80 years, potentially leading to another decline. Still, animal groups hailed the recovery of the bamboo-gobbling, black-and-white bear that has long been a symbol of China and the global conservation movement. The panda population reached an estimated low of less than 1,000 in the 1980s due to poaching and deforestation until Beijing threw its full weight behind preserving the animal, which has been sent to zoos around the world as a gesture of Chinese diplomatic goodwill. (Read also: Giant pandas still endangered, expert says) The Chinese government and the World Wildlife Fund first established the Wolong National Nature Reserve in Sichuan province in 1980. Wild panda numbers have slowly rebounded as China cracked down on the skin trade and gradually expanded its protected forest areas to now cover 1.4 million hectares (5,400 square miles). International groups and the Chinese government have worked to save wild pandas and breed them at enormous cost, attracting criticism that money could be better spent saving other animals facing extinction. But the WWF, whose logo has been a panda since 1961, celebrated the panda's re-classification, saying it proved that aggressive investment does pay off "when science, political will and engagement of local communities come together." China's State Forestry Administration did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Asmara Wreksono (The Jakarta Post) Paris Mon, September 5, 2016 Just in time for Paris Design Week, which opened on Sept. 3, Les Ateliers de Paris has called for international designers to become new residents of its incubator program. The organization was formed by the City of Paris and dedicates itself to mentoring young professional designers to develop their projects into sustainable businesses. Les Ateliers de Paris functions not only as an incubator for rising design companies, but also as a counseling center, economic support service for young designers and an exhibition gallery. Francoise Seince, director of Les Ateliers de Paris, said she and her team served to mentor young design professionals. We try to find designers with the best talents, those who have projects to be developed, and see if the projects have what it takes to last. The program is not for design school graduates, because when they arrive, they are professionals already. We help these designers find premises in Paris, and [our community] creates a very strong network. (Read also: Lim Masulin, bringing Indonesia's weaving craftsmanship to the world stage) The two-year program offers more than just mentoring sessions. Upon joining Les Ateliers de Paris, young designers will have their own workspaces or workshops at 30 Faubourg Saint Antoine Street, as well as training, which includes individual evaluations. The designers will also enjoy significant visibility via gallery exhibitions, open house events and other external events. They will be listed in the alumni network, which will create new opportunities and provide other types of support for their new businesses. Francoise invited young Indonesian designers to join the ateliers, saying: This program is open to designers of all nationalities. Something is always being innovated here, so come to Paris because it is a very inspiring city. (kes) Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Nicole Winfield (Associated Press) Vatican City Mon, September 5, 2016 Elevating the "saint of the gutters" to one of the Catholic Church's highest honors, Pope Francis on Sunday praised Mother Teresa for her radical dedication to society's outcasts and her courage in shaming world leaders for the "crimes of poverty they themselves created." An estimated 120,000 people filled St. Peter's Square for the canonization ceremony, less than half the number who turned out for her 2003 beatification. It was nevertheless the highlight of Francis' Holy Year of Mercy and quite possibly one of the defining moments of his mercy-focused papacy. Francis has been dedicated to ministering to society's most marginal, from prostitutes to prisoners, refugees to the homeless. In that way, while the canonization of "St. Teresa of Kolkata" was a celebration of her life and work, it was also something of an affirmation of Francis' own papal priorities, which have earned him praise and criticism alike. "Let us carry her smile in our hearts and give it to those whom we meet along our journey, especially those who suffer," Francis said in his homily. Born Agnes Gonxhe Bojaxhiu on Aug. 26, 1910, Teresa came to India in 1929 as a sister of the Loreto order. In 1946, she received what she described as a "call within a call" to found a new order dedicated to caring for the most unloved and unwanted, the "poorest of the poor" in the slums of her adopted city, Kolkata. The Missionaries of Charity order went on to become one of the most well-known in the world, with more than 4,000 sisters in their trademark blue-trimmed white saris doing as Teresa instructed: "small things with great love." At the order's Mother House in Kolkata, hundreds of people watched the Mass on TV and clapped with joy when Francis declared her a saint. They gathered around Teresa's tomb which was decorated with flowers, a single candle and a photo of the wrinkled saint. "I am so proud to be from Kolkata," said Sanjay Sarkar, a high school student on hand for the celebration. "Mother Teresa belonged to Kolkata, and she has been declared a saint." For Francis, Teresa put into action his ideal of the church as a "field hospital" for those suffering both material and spiritual poverty, living on the physical and existential peripheries of society. In his homily, Francis praised her as the merciful saint who defended the lives of the unborn, sick and abandoned, recalling her strong opposition to abortion which often put her at odds with progressives around the world. "She bowed down before those who were spent, left to die on the side of the road, seeing in them their God-given dignity," he said. Teresa's most famous critic, Christopher Hitchens, has accused her of taking donations from dictators charges church authorities deny. Francis chose to emphasize her other dealings with the powerful. "She made her voice heard before the powers of the world, so that they might recognize their guilt for the crimes of poverty they themselves created," he said, repeating for emphasis "the crimes of poverty." Hundreds of Missionaries of Charity sisters had front-row seats at the Mass, alongside 1,500 homeless people and 13 heads of state or government and even royalty: Queen Sofia of Spain. For the homeless, Francis offered a luncheon afterward in the Vatican auditorium, catered by a Neapolitan pizza maker who brought his own ovens for the event. Pope Francis passes in front a portrait of Mother Teresa as he is driven through the crowd at the end of a canonization ceremony in St. Peter's Square at the Vatican, Sunday, Sept. 4, 2016. Francis declared Mother Teresa a saint on Sunday, praising the tiny nun for having taken in society's most unwanted and for having shamed world leaders for the "crimes of poverty they themselves created."(AP/Alessandra Tarantino) "Her heart, she gave it to the world," said Charlotte Samba, a 52-year-old mother of three who traveled with a church group from Gabon for the Mass. "Mercy, forgiveness, good works: It is the heart of a mother for the poor." While big, the crowd attending the canonization wasn't even half of the 300,000 who turned out for Mother Teresa's 2003 beatification celebrated by an ailing St. John Paul II. The low turnout suggested that financial belt-tightening and security fears in the wake of Islamic extremist attacks in Europe may have kept pilgrims away. Those fears prompted a huge, 3,000-strong law enforcement presence to secure the area around the Vatican and close the airspace above. Many of those security measures have been in place for the duration of the Jubilee year, which officially ends in November. While Francis is clearly keen to hold Teresa up as a model for her joyful dedication to the poor, he was also recognizing holiness in a nun who lived most of her adult life in spiritual agony, sensing that God had abandoned her. According to correspondence that came to light after she died in 1997, Teresa experienced what the church calls a "dark night of the soul" a period of spiritual doubt, despair and loneliness that many of the great mystics experienced. In Teresa's case, it lasted for nearly 50 years an almost unheard of trial. (Read also: Pope declares Mother Teresa a saint and model of mercy) For the Rev. Brian Kolodiejchuk, the Canadian priest who spearheaded Teresa's saint-making campaign, the revelations were further confirmation of Mother Teresa's heroic saintliness. He said that by canonizing her, Francis is recognizing that she not only shared the material poverty of the poor but the spiritual poverty of those who feel "unloved, unwanted, uncared for." "If I'm going to be a saint, I'm going to be a saint of darkness, and I'll be asking from heaven to be the light of those who are in darkness on Earth," she once wrote. Francis has never publicly mentioned this "darkness," but he has in many ways modeled his papacy on Teresa and her simple lifestyle and selfless service to the poor: He eschewed the Apostolic Palace for a hotel room, made welcoming migrants and the poor a hallmark and has fiercely denounced today's "throwaway" culture that discards the unborn, the sick and the elderly with ease. Teresa's Missionaries of Charity went on to become a global order of nuns, priests, brothers and lay co-workers. She was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1979 and died in 1997. Soon thereafter, John Paul placed her on the fast-track for sainthood. Francis has confessed that he was somewhat intimidated by Teresa, knowing well she was as tough as she was tender. He quipped during a 2014 visit to Albania that he would never have wanted her as his superior because she was so firm with her sisters. But on Sunday, he admitted that even he would find it hard to call her "St. Teresa," since her tenderness was so maternal. "Spontaneously, we will continue to say 'Mother Teresa,'" he said to applause. Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin News Desk (Associated Press) Mon, September 5, 2016 With Sunday's canonization of Mother Teresa, Pope Francis honored the tiny nun who cared for the "poorest of the poor" as the epitome of his call for mercy. Here are some significant dates in the life of the Catholic Church's newest saint: 1910: Agnes Gonxe Bojaxhiu is born on Aug. 26 in Skopje, in what is now Macedonia, the youngest of three children of an Albanian builder. 1928: Becomes a novitiate in Ireland of the Loreto order, which ran mission schools in India, and takes the name Sister Teresa. 1929: Arrives in Kolkata to teach at St. Mary's High School. 1937: Takes final vows and the name Mother Teresa. 1946: Riding a train Sept. 10 to the mountain town of Darjeeling, she receives a "call within a call" from Jesus "to serve him among the poorest of the poor." 1948: Permitted to leave her order and moves to Kolkata's slums to set up her first school. 1950: Missionaries of Charity officially founded on Oct. 7 as a religious congregation. (Read also: Kolkata remembers Mother Teresa on the eve of sainthood) 1952: Opens Nirmal Hriday ("Pure Heart"), a home for the dying, followed next year by her first orphanage. 1962: Wins her first prize for her humanitarian work: the Padma Shri award for "distinguished service." Over the years she uses the money from such prizes to found dozens of new homes. 1979: Wins the Nobel Peace Prize. 1982: Persuades Israelis and Palestinians to stop shooting long enough to rescue 37 children from a hospital in besieged Beirut. 1983: Has a heart attack while in Rome visiting St. John Paul II. 1985: Awarded Medal of Freedom, the highest U.S. civilian award. 1989: Has a second and nearly fatal attack. Doctors implant pacemaker. 1990: Announces her intention to resign and a conclave of sisters is called to choose a successor. In a secret ballot, Mother Teresa is re-elected with only one dissenting vote - her own - and withdraws request to step down. 1991: Suffers pneumonia in Tijuana, Mexico, leading to congestive heart failure, and is hospitalized in La Jolla, California. 1996: Nov. 16, receives honorary U.S. citizenship. 1997: Dies Sept. 5 in Kolkata and is given a state funeral. 2003: Beatified before a crowd of 300,000 by St. John Paul II in St. Peter's Square. 2015: Is cleared for canonization after Pope Francis declares that the cure of a Brazilian man suffering from brain abscesses was miraculous. 2016: Is declared a saint on Sept. 4. Chinese President Xi Jinping welcomes U.S. President Barack Obama to the G20 Summit in Hangzhou held on Sept. 4-5. (Photo : Getty Images) China welcomes world leaders as host of its first Group of 20 Summit (G20 Summit) in Hangzhou, the country's high-tech hub and entrepreneurship center. The ancient capital is famous for its mild climate, affluent economy and beautiful landscapes such as West Lake, which view is featured on the back of 1 yuan bills. With a population of 8.7 million, the city is located south of Shanghai and is a natural pick, according to Bloomberg. Advertisement But more importantly, for Chinese leaders, the city highlights the country's transformation and high-value growth brought about by innovative private companies such as Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. The new economy is embodied by Alibaba founder, Jack Ma, who has accumulated a fortune of about $35 billion, making him the country's richest person. In 1999, the former teacher started Alibaba from his Hangzhou apartment with only $60,000 and in 2014, led it to the biggest-ever initial public offering. The company now has $243 billion and operates Taobao, the country's biggest online shopping site, with 36,000 employees and countless followers. About one-third of the country's shopping websites are based in Hangzhou, where online retail sales increased 27.6 percent in the first half of the year. Geely Automobile Holdings Ltd. China's first private automaker, and Hangzhou Hikvision Digital Technology Co., the world's largest video surveillance equipment supplier, is also based in the city. Its financial center, Yuhuang Shannan Fund Town, is also located in the city, which is similar to the hedge fund hub of Greenwich, Connecticut. Hangzhou has been known to the world before. In 1972, Mao Zedong brought Richard Nixon, on his first presidential visit to Hangzhou, as well as in Beijing and Shanghai. During Deng Xiaoping's reform and opening up in 1978, the city was quick to adopt the changes. In the hillside village of Moganshan, young scholars gathered in 1984 to speak about the country's economic policy, a landmark event that included two young economists: People's Bank of China Governor Zhou Xiaochuan and Finance Minister Lou Jiwei, who are now part of the G20 gathering. In the 2000s, Hangzhou, which capital of Zhejiang Province, made big economic advances under the leadership of a promising young, provincial party chief Xi Jinping. Entrepreneurship and private enterprises in Hangzhou has posted a 10.8 percent expansion rate while the country's gross domestic product grew 6.7 percent. The city is the 10th largest in the country, with its $150 billion municipal economy. The summit will be start this weekend and Chinese leaders have made great preparations for the success of the event. According to the Xinhua News Agency, around 651 infrastructure projects were built by local authorities for the summit, with the support of 760,000 volunteers. The government also closed around 230 mines to ensure clean air during the event. The government has also employed about 2,000 drivers with 900 vehicles for guests and VIPs, including a 7,450-square-meter warehouse to store 900 tons of food for the visitors, the news agency said. Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Callistasia Anggun Wijaya (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Mon, September 5, 2016 Jakarta Governor Basuki Ahok Tjahaja Purnama urged law enforcement agencies to investigate reclamation permits issued by former governor Fauzi Bowo that did not require additional contribution from developers. How could the reclamation permit granted by Fauzi Bowo not require additional contribution? I hope law enforcers can investigate this matter, Ahok said at the Jakarta Corruption Court on Monday, during a hearing against corruption suspect Mohammad Sanusi. Ahok claimed the additional contribution were expected by the law, citing Presidential Decree No. 52/1995 and Jakarta Bylaw No. 8/1995 both on reclamation of the Jakarta Bay. In both regulations analyzed by The Jakarta Post, the words additional contribution are not found. Both only have stipulations that Jakartas governor has the authority to decide on the details of partnership with third parties (Article 8 of the decree and Article 29 of the bylaw). Ahok said he did not dare to follow Fauzis example to not request additional contribution from developers because it could be troublesome in the future. Ahok said he could be deemed to be involved in corruption if someday law enforcers find that state losses resulted from the reclamation projects. Ahok claimed the 1995 decree stipulated that developers must give contribution to the administration for the development and improvement of North Jakarta land. Such additional contributions included the sheet piling installation in Pasar Ikan, improvement of Kota Tua, and pump installation in North Jakarta to mitigate flooding. In 1997, he also claimed, set a legal precedent, which backed the administrations request for additional contributions from PT Manggala Krida Yudha, who has the right to develop the L and M islets. (evi) Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Callistasia Anggun Wijaya (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Mon, September 5, 2016 Jakarta Governor Basuki "Ahok" Tjahaja Purnama testified at the Jakarta Corruption Court on Monday as a witness against defendant Mohammad Sanusi in a corruption case related to the deliberation of reclamation bylaws. In his testimony, Ahok told the court that he knew Sanusi as a city councilor and was not aware the Gerindra Party politician was a member of City Council's Legislation Agency (Balegda), which discussed the bills. "I just found out he was a member of Balegda from the news. What I know is the deliberations were handled by Taufik," he told the judges, referring to City Council Speaker Muhammad Taufik. On the bylaw discussions, Ahok said he knew that Taufik had disagreed with several points in the drafts, according to Jakarta Development Planning Board (Bappeda) head Tuty Kusumawati. It was also Taufik, who is the older brother of Sanusi, who proposed lowering the provision for additional contributions from reclamation developers to 5 percent from the 15 percent submitted by the city administration. Furthermore, Ahok claimed not to know that Sanusi had discussed reclamation matters with his aide Sunny Tanuwidjaya over the telephone, saying he learned during Ariesman's trial that Sanusi and Sunny had communicated. Sanusi was arrested by the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) in April along with property giant PT Agung Podomoro Land's president director Ariesman Widjaja and employee Trinanda Prihantoro. Sanusi was caught by KPK investigators allegedly accepting Rp 2 billion (US$151,802) from Ariesman in relation to the deliberation of the bills. (rin) Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Fadli (The Jakarta Post) Batam Mon, September 5, 2016 The Embung Fatimah Regional General Hospital (RSUD) in Batam, Riau Islands, has said it has treated a patient suspected to have been suffering from a fever caused by the Zika virus since Sunday. The 25-year-old woman reportedly infected with the virus was rushed to the hospital after she arrived from Singapore. RSUD Embung Fatimah director Afriani said the patient had been placed in an isolation room for more intensive monitoring. To make sure whether or not she is infected with the Zika virus, we sent her blood sample to the Health Ministrys laboratory in Jakarta. We are still waiting for the results of the laboratory test, said Afriani. She said the patient showed symptoms similar to people infected with the Zika virus, such as fever and red eyes. However, it would only be confirmed by the laboratory test. We have isolated her and carried out an intensive monitoring to make sure that the virus is localized, said Afriani. The suspected patient is an Indonesian citizen living in Batam. She reportedly showed symptoms of Zika infection after she returned from Singapore. Since Aug. 29, the Health Ministry has readied 193 port health officers in eight sea and airports serving routes to Singapore from Batam, Bintan and Karimun to anticipate the spread of Zika via passengers arriving from that country. Passengers arriving from Singapore must be examined with thermal scanners. They are also required to fill out health alert cards before they enter Indonesian territory. In Batam, five international sea ports serve more than 8,000 travelers who depart for and return from Singapore every day. (ebf) Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Fadli (The Jakarta Post) Batam Mon, September 5, 2016 Radical group Katibah Gonggong Rebus (KGR) allegedly plotted to strike Singapore with a rocket from an island in Batam, Riau Islands that was closest in distance to the city-state, a top police official said on Monday. From the investigation, the National Police's anti-terror squad, Densus 88, found out that the group's plan to strike Singapore had reached the stage of field measurements, Riau Islands Police chief Brig. Gen. Sambudi Gusdian said. "We have received a very clear plot on the rocket launch to the Marina Bay Sands building. The group had made elevation point measurements, conducted intensive training and they planned to execute the plan from Batam's outermost island, which is the closest in range to Singapore," he told The Jakarta Post, refusing to disclose the location. Sambudi also declined to give further details on the rocket used in the plot. "Don't ask me if we found the rocket or not. If the rocket was found and it was launched to your house, would you want it?" he said. Densus 88 personnel arrested the five KGR suspects, including its leader Gigih Rahmat Dewa, in crackdowns in Batam in early August. If charged under the Terrorism Law, the five men could face 20 years imprisonment, Sambudi said. The anti-terror squad also arrested another member of the group, Leonardo Hutajulu, on Saturday. The group, reportedly coordinated by Indonesian national Bahrun Naim in Syria, had been involved in hiding and providing accommodation for Uighur terror suspects in Indonesia as well as allegedly facilitating Indonesians wanting to join the war in Syria. (rin) Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Panca Nugraha (The Jakarta Post) Mataram Mon, September 5, 2016 Bank Indonesia (BI) has revealed fraud disguised as early loan payment assistance using forged Bank Indonesia promissory notes (SBIs) and other monetary documents in several regions of the country. BI West Nusa Tenggara (NTB) region head Prijono said he had received a letter from the central bank's headquarters warning about the emergence of such a crime. Several cases have been uncovered in Cirebon, West Java, and Yogyakarta. "Fraud has emerged that exploits BIs name. It has happened in several regions. The perpetrators lure victims by offering a service to settle bank loans before their due date. We urge people to be aware of this and not fall prey to it," he said in Mataram on Monday. The perpetrators, he explained, used financial or consultancy firms that claimed to have the authority to release SBIs and other BI documents, promising early settlement of a victim's bank loan or non-performing loan. In exchange for that, the victim is required to register as a member and pay an amount of money. "We assure you that the SBIs and other BI documents that they use are counterfeit. They only try to take profit from the victims, mostly debtors, by registering them as members," Prijono said. He advised people to report to the police if approached by people offering the so-called assistance, stressing that the central bank would not bear responsibility for the crime. BI in NTB is coordinating with the OJK [Financial Services Authority] and NTB Police to counter the crime, Prijono said. (ags) Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Imanuddin Razak (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Mon, September 5, 2016 State budget revisions usually happen because of a number of reasons, most often revenue shortfalls. However, this years budget revisions, or cuts to be precise, are different as they have now been made twice. After revising the 2016 state budget in June in line with the slump in the global oil price, the government took further austerity measures late last month to cope with the higher-than-predicted revenue shortfall. President Joko Jokowi Widodo issued Presidential Instruction (Inpres) No. 8/2016 on Aug. 26 setting out a second round of budget cuts amounting to Rp 137.6 trillion (about US$10.4 billion) following a projected Rp 219 trillion state revenue shortfall, particularly stemming from low tax revenues, this year. Around Rp 64.7 trillion will be slashed from ministries and state institutions. The across-the-board budget cuts will have an impact on the Defense Ministrys budget, which includes spending on the Indonesian Military (TNI). All in all, defense spending will be reduced by some Rp 2.8 trillion this year. The savings will result from efficiencies in operational expenditure worth Rp 1.1 trillion and the rest from efficiencies in other expenditures. Cost structure-wise, 40 percent of the Defense Ministry/TNI budget is spent on routine spending, such as on salaries for ministry employees and TNI personnel, 20 percent on procurement of military equipment and weaponry and the remaining 40 percent on capital expenditure, including on personnel welfare and housing provision. In view of the above cost structure, it is therefore next to impossible to cut the routine spending of the Defense Ministry/TNI, unless the countrys economy is really in a bad shape. The only possible way is to cut spending on either the procurement of military equipment and weaponry or capital expenditure, or both. However, upon looking further into the current state of TNI equipment and weaponry, it is also nearly impossible to slash the budget for equipment and weapons procurement, at least until the country can meet its commitment to the Minimum Essential Force (MEF) 2024. Initiated in 1999 in the reform era, the MEF 2024 serves as a basis of transition until Indonesia is able to initiate a military innovation program that will adopt the most advanced military technology to start a revolution in military affairs and which will hopefully transform the TNI into an agile 21st century force. Apart from the MEF 2024, President Jokowis global maritime fulcrum campaign has also added to the complexity of the TNIs modernization program. The campaign, aimed at strengthening Indonesias maritime infrastructure and security apparatus to better propel Indonesias economic and political rise, has also led to the commitment to prompt modernization of the militarys equipment and weaponry, particularly that of the Navy. Also part of the consideration in not reducing the budget for military equipment and weapons procurement is the fact that payment for all these procurements has been made in installments, a commitment to timely payment of which is an essential part of the sustainability of the countrys military modernization program in the future. Otherwise, we may find it difficult to purchase modern military equipment and weapons from top foreign producers as a result of our failure to pay previous installments on time. Upon observing the above conditions, the last possible resort of the military budget cuts is to slash capital expenditure. Until now, the Defense Ministry/TNI has been correct in not aggressively pursuing its ambition of providing more housing for its personnel, but using existing housing complexes instead. There have been reports of the eviction of retired officers and their family members from their official residences. However, this policy must be enforced, especially during an economic crisis like today. Moreover, those official residences have from the beginning been allocated for use by active officers only. Apart from housing, other programs that have no direct correlation with defense or military affairs should also be cut or postponed. One program in point is the Bela Negara (state defense), which was launched in October last year. The program, which is designed for Indonesian citizens of all backgrounds and income levels, has been initiated and conducted by the Defense Ministry. Defense Minister Ryamizard Ryacudu has insisted the program is aimed at building national character, instilling discipline and promoting solidarity that could eventually prepare citizens for dealing with threats and playing a role in the event of war. It is also aimed at instilling the countrys Pancasila ideology so that foreign ideas cannot easily corrupt the minds of citizens. The program has so far used the Defense Ministrys budget, with some Rp 45 billion having been earmarked for the first year. Sustainable organization of such a program will certainly need state money although the ministry has insisted that in the future local governments will be expected to foot the bill. Such a program is indeed important for an archipelagic and pluralistic nation like Indonesia but its organization could be postponed to a later time when the countrys economy has improved, or the ministry could cooperate and share the burden with related ministries, such as the Education Ministry and Social Affairs Ministry, in administering the program. Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Imanuddin Razak (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Mon, September 5 2016 State budget revisions usually happen because of a number of reasons, most often revenue shortfalls. However, this years budget revisions, or cuts to be precise, are different as they have now been made twice. After revising the 2016 state budget in June in line with the slump in the global oil price, the government took further austerity measures late last month to cope with the higher-than-predicted revenue shortfall. President Joko Jokowi Widodo issued Presidential Instruction (Inpres) No. 8/2016 on Aug. 26 setting out a second round of budget cuts amounting to Rp 137.6 trillion (about US$10.4 billion) following a projected Rp 219 trillion state revenue shortfall, particularly stemming from low tax revenues, this year. Around Rp 64.7 trillion will be slashed from ministries and state institutions. The across-the-board budget cuts will have an impact on the Defense Ministrys budget, which includes spending on the Indonesian Military (TNI). All in all, defense spending will be reduced by some Rp 2.8 trillion this year. The savings will result from efficiencies in operational expenditure worth Rp 1.1 trillion and the rest from efficiencies in other expenditures. to Read Full Story SUBSCRIBE NOW Starting from IDR 55,500/month Unlimited access to our web and app content e-Post daily digital newspaper No advertisements, no interruptions Privileged access to our events and programs Subscription to our newsletters We accept Register to read 3 premium articles for free Already subscribed? login Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Fedina S. Sundaryani (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Mon, September 5 2016 On a daily basis, 23-year-old part-time web developer Timotius Devin has to use more than one electronic money (e-money) card for commuting. The Masters student in computer science uses a Bank Mandiri e-money card to take the train from his residence in Pondok Kelapa in East Jakarta to his campus in Depok, West Java, but for inner city commuting using Transjakarta buses, he uses Bank Central Asias (BCA) Flazz card. Soon, however, Timotius will not have to bear the hassle of topping up different cards for different purposes as Bank Indonesia (BI) plans to introduce a national payment gateway (NPG) regulation that will integrate the countrys different payment systems. to Read Full Story SUBSCRIBE NOW Starting from IDR 55,500/month Unlimited access to our web and app content e-Post daily digital newspaper No advertisements, no interruptions Privileged access to our events and programs Subscription to our newsletters We accept Register to read 3 premium articles for free Already subscribed? login Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Mon, September 5 2016 JAKARTA: US-based General Electric (GE) aims to supply locomotives for railway services on Sumatra and Sulawesi islands. The routes are still under development and are targeted to be finished by 2019 for Sulawesi and 2021 for Sumatra. The government says the projects will not be affected by recent budget cuts. We are still waiting for the tender; we will submit it immediately, GE Indonesia operations president director David Hutagalung told The Jakarta Post during the signing of a memorandum of understanding (MoU) between state-owned railway operator KAI and the US Trade and Development Agency (USTDA) in Jakarta on Friday. to Read Full Story SUBSCRIBE NOW Starting from IDR 55,500/month Unlimited access to our web and app content e-Post daily digital newspaper No advertisements, no interruptions Privileged access to our events and programs Subscription to our newsletters We accept Register to read 3 premium articles for free Already subscribed? login Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Andi Hajramurni (The Jakarta Post) Makassar, South Sulawesi Mon, September 5, 2016 South Sulawesi Governor Syahrul Yasin Limpo has supported the central governments view that 177 aspiring haj pilgrims from Indonesian arrested in Manila in possession of fake documents were victims rather than perpetrators of fraud. They are victims of fraud, he said on Sunday. The governor made the statement as he welcomed 110 of the unsuccessful pilgrims at Sultan Hasanuddin International Airport in Makassar. Ninety-four of them are from South Sulawesi, 15 from Kalimantan and one from West Sulawesi. They are part of 168 pilgrims returned home by the Indonesian Embassy in Manila on Sunday. The remaining 58 pilgrims were flown to Soekarno-Hatta International Airport. (Read also : Unsuccessful haj pilgrims return home from Philippines) Our people are not guilty in this case. It is our responsibility, because, as the government, we could not take good care of them all. They just wanted to perform their religious duty, said Syahrul. Coming home -- Haj pilgrims from South Sulawesi arrive at Sultan Hasanuddin International Airport in Makassar on Sunday. They are part of 177 unsuccessful haj pilgrims arrested by Philippine authorities over fake passports.(thejakartapost.com/Andi Hajramurni) One of the pilgrims, Farida Fatmawati, said they had applied for the haj via Aulad Amin, a Makassar-based travel agent. She said Aulad Amin had dispatched around 200 Indonesian haj pilgrims via Manila this year, around half of whom had departed earlier and were already in Mecca. Aulad Amin reportedly dispatched Indonesian haj pilgrims to Mecca via the Philippines twice. Last year, around 100 people were dispatched from Manila, and their haj pilgrimage ran smoothly. This year, there should be 200 people dispatched to Mecca, but half of them failed to depart, said Farida. The Foreign Ministrys consular protocol officer Bunyan Saptomo confirmed that several Indonesian haj pilgrims travelling through the Philippines had arrived in Mecca, but said he could not give an exact number. (ebf) Audi displays a prototype of its AG's connected mobility vehicle, with an electrically powered longboard and scooter hybrid, outside the company's headquarters in Beijing. (Photo : Getty Images) Global automakers continue to present options for petrol-fueled cars as Chinese peers invest on electric cars to meet the government's goal to cut air pollution in Chinese cities by 2020. Advertisement Reuters reported that a new factory that will build high-efficiency transmissions for petrol-powered cars was unveiled by German automaker Audi in Tianjin last week. The company aims to use petrol engines that are more fuel-efficient and cleaner, along with hybrid technology. Some industry officials however, cautioned Chinese firms that their goals are too costly and different from what consumers actually want. Despite that, the government has already released $4.5 billion in green car subsidies last year. "In 2020, most cars we will sell will be combustion engines, so to fulfill (fuel consumption targets) you have to improve the consumption of each and every car of the Audi model range," Audi China chief Joachim Wedler said during the opening of the new plant. Global automakers are still undecided on the future of the industry's green initiatives. In China, both the government and state automakers support electric vehicles although the electricity that they need may come from burning coal, the report said. Based on the government's 2020 requirements, average cars must consume less than 5 liters of petrol per 100 kilometers, which is 30 percent lower than the present standard levels. In 2015, as the government rolled out its incentives, domestic automakers that want to build electric and hybrid vehicles increased, which pushed the sales of "new energy vehicles" (NEVs) in 2015. But despite the surge, only 1.4 percent of cars sold in the first seven months of 2016 were NEVs. Domestic companies also operate on small scale and many of them, which are state-linked, are bound to support government policy, according to a manager at a major foreign automaker's China joint venture. The manager added that foreign automakers that form joint ventures in China also have to contend with Chinese manufacturing strategies to enable them to adapt to their traditional businesses. He added that his company, like Audi, will try a gradual strategy, developing more efficient engines as well as plug-in petrol-electric hybrids to suit the government goal on cutting harmful emissions. In Tianjin, Audi China chief Wedler said that its company and partner China FAW Group will launch their first locally-produced plug-in hybrid vehicle this year. Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Chen Chen Lee and Pek Shibao (The Jakarta Post) Singapore Mon, September 5 2016 The recent return of the haze to the region underlines the fact that agribusinesses should take more responsibility in fighting peatland and forest fires in Indonesia. While some industry leaders have stepped up to implement promising methods to tackle fires, many other agribusinesses are not doing enough to address the root causes of the problem. Following the 2015 haze crisis the worst in the regions history the Indonesian government has significantly ramped up its efforts against fire. It has suspended the further issuing of oil palm plantation licenses and pursued legal cases against companies linked to forest fires, handing down a record S$110 million (US$80.86 million) fine to one such company in August. It has also established a Peatland Restoration Agency (BRG) to restore the countrys vast areas of degraded peatlands, which are much more flammable than mineral soil, although how effective the agencys efforts will be remains to be seen. Partly as a result of these efforts, the number of hotspots has decreased this year, as compared to the same period last year. But it is also essential for agribusinesses to take serious measures to stamp out fires at their source. to Read Full Story SUBSCRIBE NOW Starting from IDR 55,500/month Unlimited access to our web and app content e-Post daily digital newspaper No advertisements, no interruptions Privileged access to our events and programs Subscription to our newsletters We accept Register to read 3 premium articles for free Already subscribed? login Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin News Desk (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Mon, September 5, 2016 Tanjung Priok Police have retrieved the bodies of four passengers of a Sepakat taxi that plunged into a pool at Pier 004 at Tanjung Priok Port, North Jakarta, early on Monday morning. "Currently, we are searching for the taxi driver aside from preparing a crane to remove the car from the pool," Jakarta Police spokesman Sr. Comr. Awi Setiyono said as quoted by Antara news agency on Monday. The victims were identified as Heriyansyah, Medi, Yusarmanto and M. Amin Hudori, all crewmen of the Totot II Jambi and Yang Viti I Jakarta vessels that are currently docked at the seaport. Eyewitnesses said the taxi driver apparently did not see the pool due to heavy rain at the time of the incident. (dmr) Editorial note: Paragraph one of this article has been corrected. Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Anton Hermansyah (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Mon, September 5, 2016 In achieving sustainable development goals (SDGs), G20 countries are still facing serious issues in financial transparency, where big corporations based in developing countries avoid taxation, activists warn. The Indonesia Civil Society Forum on Foreign Policy (ICFP), which includes 13 non-government organizations (NGOs) such as Institute Global Justice (IGJ), International NGO Forum on Indonesian Development (INFID) and Migrant Care, has criticized the unfair and non-transparent taxation system among the G20 members. Infid program manager Siti Khoirun Ni'mah pointed out the fact that tax policies were made based on the companies registration and not on their operation base. This created a big hole for tax evasion practices and huge illicit financial outflows, leaving the developing countries at the mercy of the multinational corporations interests. "According to a Global Financial Integrity study, eight of the 19 members of G20 are included in the 'big 15 countries with illicit financial flows during 2003-2014.' The poor countries, including developing countries such as Indonesia, recorded $1.1 trillion in losses due to this," she said in Jakarta on Monday. The data showed that China was in the first position with US$1.39 trillion in outflows, followed by Russia ($1.05 trillion), Mexico ($528.4 billion) and India ($510.24 billion). Indonesia is in the tenth position with $180.71 billion in outflows. While the G20 forum had agreed on the Automatic Exchange of Information, not all of its members seriously implemented the agreement, including Panama, recently notorious due to the Panama Papers scandal. ICFP urged the Indonesian government to push for sanctions for the countries that neglect the agreement. (ags) Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Anton Hermansyah (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Mon, September 5, 2016 The government has changed its approach in developing Papua from administration-based development to anthropological-based development. The development, while also tapping into economic potential, is to be carried out in accordance to the culture of seven areas comprising Mamta, Saireri, Ha Anim, La Pago, Mee Pago, Bomberai and Domberai. Areas like Mamta and La Pago will be focused on plantations. "The Southern region like Ha Anim, which includes Merauke where many homesteaders reside, will be focused on rice farms," Villages, Disadvantaged Regions and Transmigration Ministry's director general for the development of specific areas, Suprayoga Hadi, told The Jakarta Post on Monday in his office. He added, the changes in the development approach intend to minimize conflict among Papuan tribes while also improving the welfare of the Papuan people. By clustering the regions based on cultural similarities, the government expects the development of local resources to be better optimized. "The groupings based on cultural dimensions were actually used by the Dutch colonial government in 1934. We need to learn why Papuan people during the colonial era lived in relative peace," Suprayoga said. (ags) Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin News Desk (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Mon, September 5, 2016 The House of Representatives has opposed a motion submitted by Jakarta Governor Basuki Ahok Tjahaja Purnama to allow incumbent regional head candidates to continue working during a campaign period instead of taking leave. Testifying at the Constitutional Court to elucidate about the Regional Elections Law to the justices in Jakarta on Monday, lawmakers argued that campaign leave was not a choice but was mandatory as it should be a period when candidates presented their platforms to the public. Ahok is challenging an article in the Regional Elections Law that obliges incumbents to take leave to campaign. He wanted justices to rule that taking a leave was optional. Ahok said that he did not want to campaign because his absence would cause a disruption in the capitals administration. Sufmi Dasco Ahmad, a legislator in House Commission III overseeing legal affairs, said Ahok did not have any legal standing in challenging the law and should have voiced his objection to the article in the law long before the election early next year. It is incorrect for the petitioner to question campaign leave [] There will be a regional secretary to replace him temporarily, Sufmi said during the hearing, adding that the campaign period was a common phase in all elections. Echoing Sufmi, Arteria Dahlan of House Commission II overseeing home affairs, said taking leave during a campaign period was mandatory for an incumbent. Campaigning, he said, must be done to introduce candidates and to promote their platforms to the public. He also questioned Ahoks legal standing because he had not as yet registered as a governor candidate. (wnd/evi) Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Apriadi Gunawan (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Mon, September 5, 2016 House of Representatives members have said that Air Force personnel committed acts of violence in Sari Rejo, Medan, North Sumatra, and should be punished. The Houses Commission I, which oversees military and defense affairs, reached that conclusion after visiting Sari Rejo and receiving first-hand information from residents, including those purportedly assaulted by the airmen. Commission I deputy chairperson Meutya Hafid said her side had received various reports of violence allegedly committed by Air Force personnel against residents and journalists and had crosschecked the allegations in Sari Rejo. Acts of violence indeed took place there. When there is a violation, there should also be a punishment. This is what we are fighting for, Meutya told reporters after meeting residents and victims of the violence. Thirteen members of the commission visited a number of locations, including two mosques, namely Al Hasanah Mosque on Jl. Teratai and Silaturahim Mosque on Jl. Antariksa, where CCTV cameras recorded what appeared to be soldiers committing violence. Commission members received reports on the soldiers alleged brutal acts from the mosques caretakers. The Indonesian Military members are worse than robbers. They damaged mosque facilities and persecuted innocent congregation members. Please launch legal proceedings on this incident, Qofar Ismail of Al Hasanah Mosque urged the commission. Rizky, a member of the mosque, said he had just finished his afternoon prayer when a soldier dragged him out of the mosque and some 30 soldiers swarmed over him. I was repeatedly beaten on my back and head with sticks. I suffered fractures on the back of my head, Rizky told commission members. Sari Rejo Community Forum (Formas) chairman Pahala Napitupulu said a child was also among the victims. A five-year-old boy was also persecuted by the Air Force personnel. Where was their conscience? asked Pahala, while showing the boy with a scar on the back of his head to the commission members. Meutya said all the information would be brought to the commission for deliberation. She said the commission would also summon Air Force leadership to process the violence allegedly committed by airmen. The House of Representatives does not have the authority to impose penalties, but Commission I can press the commander to hand down firm punishments, up to dismissals, Meutya said. Meanwhile, the National Commission on Human Rights (Komnas HAM) recently published the results of its investigation into the Sari Rejo violence. Komnas HAM issued a number of recommendations, including asking the Indonesian Military (TNI) commander and Air Force chief of staff to uphold discipline, try the case in military courts and uphold the ethics code in the face of soldiers committing violence against residents and journalists. As reported earlier, hundreds of Medan Soewondo Air Force personnel were involved in a brawl with Sari Rejo residents who had protested against the construction of military apartments on a disputed 260-hectare plot of land in Sari Rejo on Aug. 15. Dozens of locals and a number of journalists reportedly sustained injuries at the hands of the airmen. A female journalist was reportedly sexually harassed by an individual airman. Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Fadli (The Jakarta Post) Batam Mon, September 5, 2016 The Indonesian Embassy in Singapore has launched an identity card for Indonesian citizens who work as domestic workers in the neighbor country. The Indonesia-Singapore Worker Card (KPIS) will function not only as an identity card for Indonesian domestic helpers working in Singapore but also as an information medium for them in various training programs they might be interested to participate in. The training programs informed through the card aim to improve their skills, Indonesian Ambassador to Singapore I Gede Ngurah Swajaya told The Jakarta Post after the KPISs launch, which coincided with celebrations of Indonesias 71st year of independence at the embassy complex on Chatsworth Road, Singapore, on Sunday. Swajaya further said 75,000 out of 200,000 Indonesian citizens residing in Singapore were domestic helpers. This card will be distributed for free. We hope all Indonesian migrant workers in Singapore can have one, he said. The KPIS program is a joint initiative between the Indonesian Embassy in Singapore and state-owned lender BNI. During the launch, around 10,000 very enthusiastic people [were looking forward] to have the card, said Swajaya. (ebf) Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Ina Parlina (The Jakarta Post) Hangzhou Mon, September 5, 2016 Amid a global economic slowdown and concerns over protectionism, Indonesia is pushing for countries to work together to break trade barriers and achieve inclusive economic growth on the way to 2018. On Sunday, in the first session of the G20 Summit in Hangzhou, China, President Joko Jokowi Widodo focused on pushing for a worldwide commitment for a more inclusive economic reform, as he reminded the forum of its target of securing additional global growth of 2 percent by 2018. World leaders of major economies and some developing countries, like Indonesia, are at the annual economic summit, which is being held in China for the first time. G20 must enhance communications and avoid economic policies that create negative impacts and every economy must have a solid and inclusive growth agenda, Jokowi said. In 2014, the summit in Brisbane resulted in the countries commitment to add about 2 percentage points to world economic growth. Over the years, however, countries have shown sluggish performance in reaching the target amid a global economic meltdown, pushing countries to encourage domestic growth and shy away from vigorous international trade. In Hangzhou, G20 countries are set to agree in a communique at the end of the summit that all policy measures including monetary, fiscal and structural reforms should be used to achieve solid and sustainable economic growth. We have to stick to that commitment, but at the same time, we also hope that any policy taken by [any] G20 nations should not be at the expense of others, said Jokowi. Jokowi also underlined Indonesias commitment to keep its economy open, competitive and inclusive, which he believed would contribute to the global economy. He deemed the three main areas of cooperation of this years G20 innovation, a new industrial revolution and the digital economy as being very relevant because of the growing development of information technology. As a leader of the country with the biggest Muslim population in the world that has realized the potential of sharia financing, Jokowi also promoted sharia financing as one alternative infrastructure financing scheme, alongside the more traditional schemes that involve multilateral financing agencies. He also gave a similar argument he often used at home, that infrastructure development would indeed boost economic growth. Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi earlier said that We [all] have to stick to that commitment, but at the same time we also hope that any policy taken by [any] G20 nations should not be at the expense of others. She said the idea should also be implemented in terms of trade. Having all the FTAs [free trade agreements] is OK, but another important [factor] is also to see fair trade in the world, Retno added. The summit will continue on Monday with four sessions, including a forum that will discuss matters outside the economy, like counterterrorism. Jakarta will also raise the issue of combating corruption, as Retno has said any efforts to improve the economy would go back to square one if corruption remains rampant. As Indonesia struggles to widen its stubbornly narrow tax base, the nation demanded healthy, fair and transparent taxation practices at the G20 ministerial meeting in Chengdu in July. Last year in the Antalya G20 Summit in Turkey, Jokowi suggested to G20 leaders that the global financial architecture should be reformed to allow developing countries play a bigger role in international funding organizations. Chinese President Xi Jinping warned at the opening of the summit about the danger of protectionism. His warning on Sunday followed bilateral talks with Barack Obama that the US president described as extremely productive, but which failed to bring the two sides closer on thornier topics, such as tensions in the South China Sea. With the summit taking place after Britains vote in June to exit the EU and before the US presidential election in November, observers expect G20 leaders to mount a defense of free trade and globalization and warn against isolationism. The global economy has arrived at a crucial juncture, Xi said, in the face of sluggish demand, volatile financial markets and feeble trade and investment. Growth drivers from the previous rounds of technological progress are gradually fading, while a new round of technological and industrial revolution has yet to gain momentum, he said. __________________________________ To receive comprehensive and earlier access to The Jakarta Post print edition, please subscribe to our epaper through iOS' iTunes, Android's Google Play, Blackberry World or Microsoft's Windows Store. Subscription includes free daily editions of The Nation, The Star Malaysia, the Philippine Daily Inquirer and Asia News. For print subscription, please contact our call center at (+6221) 5360014 or subscription@thejakartapost.com Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Haeril Halim and Ina Parlina (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta/Hangzhou, China Mon, September 5, 2016 Indonesia, the largest sender of haj pilgrims to Saudi Arabia, has made an initial attempt to request the transfer of unused haj quotas to the worlds most populous Muslim-majority population. The Indonesian government is seeking the option following the arrest of 177 of its citizens in Manila for attempting to go on the haj using unused seats of the Philippines haj quota by falsifying their immigration documents. President Joko Jokowi Widodo held a bilateral meeting with Saudi Arabian Deputy Crown Prince Muhammad bin Salman on Sunday in Hangzhou, China, prior to the start of the G20 summit on the same day. In a short courtesy call meeting that lasted 20 minutes, Jokowi asked the deputy crown prince about the possibility of Indonesia securing the unused haj quotas of other countries or obtaining a larger haj quota. Before we start discussions with those countries with surplus quota, we must first talk with Saudi Arabia, Foreign Minister Retno LP Marsudi said after the bilateral meeting. Refusing to wait for decades to go on the haj, hundreds of Indonesians have been tempted to fulfill one of the five pillars of Islam by using services from bogus travel agents working with syndicates in Manila to get haj visas from the country. Although Indonesia, the country with the biggest Muslim population, remains the largest sender of pilgrims with 168,800 people this year, there are still around 3 million prospective pilgrims on the haj waiting list. Indonesia previously submitted a proposal to increase its haj quota, but to no avail on account of ongoing renovations at the al-Haram Grand Mosque in Mecca that began in 2013, the year Indonesia saw its quota cut by 20 percent to 168,800. Indonesia is home to 205 millions Muslims. Even with its previous quota of 211,000, it would take around 14 years to accommodate all the waiting pilgrims. At the same time, more people register for the haj every year. As Indonesia has to wait for the renovations to finish to return to its quota of 211,000, it has found a new trick to cheer up the waiting pilgrims by attempting to ask Saudi Arabia for the unused haj quotas of other countries, including the Philippines. Meanwhile in Manila, Jakarta representatives have secured the return 168 of the 177 arrested pilgrim, leaving nine others who are helping local law enforcers investigate the haj syndicate in the Philippines. The proposal was made on account of the long line of pilgrimage applicants in a number of areas in the archipelago, Jokowi told Muhammad in the meeting. Prospective pilgrims registering for the haj this year in Sidrap regency in South Sulawesi have to wait until 2056 to get their turn. Further talks on the issue will begin as Muhammad, who is also the defense minister and second deputy premier, has instructed his foreign minister to discuss it with Retno. Retno expressed her optimism for the discussion. She added that authorities in Manila still needed the help of the nine remaining arrested pilgrims to uncover the alleged haj syndicate in the country. Therefore, with the return of 168 Indonesians, the issue has mostly been settled, Retno said. The Religious Affairs Ministrys haj management director general Abdul Djamil said if Indonesias request to attain unused haj quotas was approved by the kingdom, then Saudi Arabia had to input the additional quotas into its electronic haj system database every year to avoid administrative problems. We cannot ask for unused quotas directly from the [target] countries, he said, adding that Saudi Arabia only issued visas according to the number of pilgrims in the electronic haj system. Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Marguerite Afra Sapiie (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Mon, September 5, 2016 Indonesia will raise issues concerning counter-terrorism, including the prevention of terrorism financing, at the 28th and 29th ASEAN Summits in Vientiane in Laos this week to strengthen international cooperation against terrorism, a top minister said on Monday. Coordinating Political, Legal and Security Affairs Minister Wiranto, who will lead the Indonesian delegation for political and security cooperation, said discussions on counterterrorism would be based on reports from the International Meeting on Counterterrorism (IMCT) and Counterterrorism Financing (CTF) Summit, which were held in Bali last month. "I will deliver Indonesia's achievement during the counterterrorism summit. We will also discuss counterterrorism financing," Wiranto told journalists on Monday. Indonesia plays an important and strategic role in the ASEAN regional framework, he said, which the country would use to contribution to the ASEAN summit. During the summit, Indonesia will emphasize the importance of international intelligence cooperation as part of counterterrorism measures. Furthermore, Wiranto said he would also bring up the importance of increasing the monitoring of state borders thought to be used as access points by terrorists. Indonesia hosted the second CTF Summit in Nusa Dua, Bali, at which delegates from 23 countries agreed on the Nusa Dua Statement to push governments to enhance international cooperation to adopt effective measures to prevent terrorism financing. President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo is scheduled to attend the Laos summits, held from Sept. 6 to 8, during which Indonesia will reiterate the importance of maintaining peace and stability in the region for the sake of the member countries' development. (rin) An Israeli woman uses her iPhone in front of the building housing the Israeli NSO group, in Herzliya, near Tel Aviv on August 28, 2016 (Photo : Getty Images/ Jack Guez ) NSO Group Technologies, an Israeli software development company has introduced invisibly spying tools capable of intercepting activities from a smart-phone. Unlike some others, the Herzliya based company sells surveillance tools in addition to developing software. These tools may transform a smart-phone into a secret recording device. The company has been acknowledged as a low profile company since its inception six years back and appears in focus while attempting to gain access through its spyware. Advertisement NSO Group profile reveals operational methods of its secretive digital surveillance unit. Unlike other digital surveillance outfits, the company markets its own services to governments and law enforcing agencies across the globe. It aims to make the world safer through tracking down terrorists, kidnappers and drug lords, reports The New York Times. The computer security company follows strict vetting process in nominating eligible customers from a list of intenders. Following human rights ranking by World Bank and other global statutory bodies, an ethics committee comprising of employees and external counsel finalizes the list of eligible customers. However, there are widespread allegations for abuse of the surveillance tools in spying over journalists and human rights activists by the different government entities, learns Northwest Arkansas Democrat Gazette. Bill Marczak, a senior fellow for the Citizen Lab at the University of Toronto's Munk School of Global Affairs comes down heavily over intended abuse of NSO's systems by governments. He also accuses governments for transforming the world into a place of massive surveillance in addition to making the place safer. Following introduction of stronger encryption by Apple, Google, Facebook or others, demands for products of NSO Group are increasing day by day. Government agencies appear in desperate attempts in penetrating the encrypted devices while tracking down the suspects and NSO Group's surveillance tools appear on top of their choices. Greatest advantage for these products is they leave no trace of intervention by any mean. Due to rising terrorist activities and increasing use of encrypted devices, secretive surveillance devices are in great demand among different government agencies. NSO Group appears as the leading seller of these surveillance tools which claims for following a strict procedure in nominating potential customers. But experts criticize for alleged widespread abuse of these spy devices. The following video exhibits some spy tools for androids and iPhones: Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Pranoto Iskandar (The Jakarta Post) Cianjur, West Java Mon, September 5 2016 The Peoples Consultative Assembly (MPR), the joint session of the House of Representatives and the Regional Representatives Council, is moving to reinstate the New Orders broad State Policy Guidelines (GBHN), which signals a renewed interest in the old model of constitutional arrangements where the MPR sits at the apex of the system. This means the MPR is being resurrected in its former role as a suprabody in the hierarchy of the Indonesian political system. In addition, it features a carrot-and-stick approach in which the executive is subject to, in the worst-case scenario, removal from office. In fact, as this newspaper noted, it will be one of the main features of the upcoming fifth constitutional amendment. Unfortunately, the effort of putting the MPR back on the map is just the latest in a series of regressive political discourses that are unwittingly leading to the resurrection of a political system that we all previously rejected. to Read Full Story SUBSCRIBE NOW Starting from IDR 55,500/month Unlimited access to our web and app content e-Post daily digital newspaper No advertisements, no interruptions Privileged access to our events and programs Subscription to our newsletters We accept Register to read 3 premium articles for free Already subscribed? login Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Marguerite Afra Sapiie (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Mon, September 5, 2016 House of Representatives members said Monday they expect Comr. Gen. Budi Gunawan to improve the State Intelligence Agency (BIN)'s capability in tracking global challenges that might endanger the country should he take the role of spy chief. Arief Suditomo, member of the House's Commission I overseeing defense and foreign affairs, said he hoped Budi could prioritize the efforts to tackle significant challenges that would likely arise from foreign interests over Indonesia's potentials, which might go against the country's national interests. "When [the threats] collide, we will need an early warning mechanism so that we can strategize and maintain our unity. We hope BIN will play a major role to anticipate this," Arief, a Hanura party politician, told The Jakarta Post. Fellow Hanura party legislator Syarifuddin Suding said his political faction was sure that Budi's portfolio during his career at the National Police could contribute to his new position, especially to overcome, through better coordination between BIN and other related state institutions, such transnational crimes including terrorism, cyber crime and drug trafficking. Meanwhile, Bambang Soesatyo, chairman of the House's Commission III overseeing legal affairs, said he was optimistic that Budi could pass the fit and proper test at the Commission I and would smoothly run for chief spy seat due to his proficient skills and capability. The screening would likely be carried out on Wednesday, Bambang added. Budi, who currently serves as the National Police deputy chief, had previously passed the screening at the Commission III during his nomination as the National Police chief. However, after the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) declared Budi a graft suspect, President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo withdrew Budi's name, then appointed Gen. Badrodin Haiti as National Police chief and Budi as deputy chief. (dan) Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Marguerite Afra Sapiie (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Mon, September 5, 2016 The National Police revealed on Monday that the suspect in the August attack at the St. Yosep Catholic Church in Medan, North Sumatra, had been in contact with top Indonesian Islamic State (IS) supporter Bahrun Naim. Results from an investigation on the 17-year-old suspect have indicated that he was not part of any particular international terrorist network. However, he did get in touch with Bahrun Naim, who might have taught him some things about radicalism and terrorism, National Police chief Gen. Tito Karnavian said. "This is a new phenomenon of lone wolf terrorism where an underage boy was radicalized, and then he learned [about] and produced his own explosive device and carried out the attack by himself," Tito said at the House of Representatives hearing on Monday. Bahrun, an IS militant who reportedly resides in Raqqa, Syria, is suspected to have taken part in several terror attacks around the country, including the bombing at the Surakarta Police station in July as well as the attacks in Jakarta in January. Tito said the 17-year-old had self-radicalized using the Internet. However, Tito did not give further details on his connections Bahrun. The teenager was named a suspect after churchgoers foiled an attack on Rev. Albertus Pandiangan during Sunday mass. He allegedly attempted to kill Albertus, 60, with a knife and an axe, but only managed to wound the priests left arm as churchgoers immediately apprehended him. (evi) Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Fedina S. Sundaryani (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Mon, September 5, 2016 The government hopes the revised 2009 Mining Law permits companies that have made significant progress in smelter development to continue exporting semifinished mineral products, although miners say such a move will instead create another policy flip-flop. Prevailing law prohibited the export of unprocessed mineral ore in 2015 in hopes that it would push development of the downstream sector. However, the ban was pushed back until Jan. 11, 2017, due to complaints from the mining industry that the ban was a hasty move. However, smelter development remains sluggish even with the clock ticking until full implementation four months later and the government seems to be under pressure once more. Although the revised draft will be proposed by the House of Representatives, as stated in the national priority legislation program (Prolegnas), interim energy and mineral resources minister Luhut Pandjaitan has appealed to Commission VII to consider allowing some companies to continue exporting semifinished products past the deadline in the new bill. Luhut, who is also the coordinating maritime affairs minister, explained that several companies had stopped construction of its smelters because it was no longer economically viable with the export ban in place. Lets look at the companies that might have already completed 25 or 35 percent of construction but stopped because of their cash flow. If we look at it fairly, we can relax the ban for a limited amount of time, he said during a recent hearing. This is not just their fault, but it is also ours. The 2009 law was only implemented in 2014 and it was impossible for [mining companies] to invest so much in building smelters during a time when commodity prices were dropping. The law revision is highly anticipated, especially since the ban on raw mineral exports will be implemented at the beginning of 2017. The bans purpose is to encourage smelter development to strengthen the industrys downstream sector. The development is expected to reduce the countrys reliance on imports and give added value to the industry. Prevailing regulation stipulates that mining firms working on smelter projects must deposit 5 percent of their total investment in local banks as collateral to ensure the development continues. The surety bonds are a prerequisite for the firms to obtain permits to export semifinished mineral products, a permit that can be extended every six months. Smelter List(Energy and Mineral Resources Ministry/-) Commission VII legislator Fadel Muhammad was optimistic the revision could be completed by the end of the year. Right now we are compiling what are the main issues [in the prevailing law]. So far, we have found 12 main problems and are discussing the solutions, the Golkar Party lawmaker said, adding that almost 60 percent of the revision had been completed. Fadel explained among changes Commission VII wanted to see was a revision to the rule stipulating that companies could only propose a contract extension two years before the deadline. We are trying to figure out a way to make it so that [they can apply for an extension] five years beforehand, he said. Meanwhile, Processing and Smelting Companies Association (AP3I) deputy chairman Jonatan Handjojo said any attempt at relaxing the export ban could result in a bad reputation in the eyes of investors. The government would be well-advised to reconsider this discourse. This is because [smelter development] requires large investment and investors that have already put their money here may become upset, he said. Twenty seven smelter facilities have been constructed between 2012 and 2016, with total investment of around US$12 billion, according to data from AP3I. January 12, 2009 President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono signs Law No. 4/2009 on minerals and coal mining. Articles 103 and 170 oblige holders of mining licenses/special mining licenses and contracts of work to process and refine or smelt their production in the country by the latest five years after the law is put into effect (Jan. 12, 2014). 2014 The government gives an additional three years, until 2017, for companies to continue to export semi-finished products, such as concentrates, if they pledge to build smelters. October 2, 2014 The discourse on revising Law No. 4/2009 emerges after the passage of Law No. 23/2014 on regional government stipulating regional governments no longer have the authority to issue and revoke mining licenses January 25, 2016 Draft on the revised Mining Law is handed over by the government to the House of Representatives February 11, 2016 Revised Mining Law is included in the 2016 National Legislation Program to be passed during the year From various sources compiled by The Jakarta Post Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin (The Jakarta Post) Batam Mon, September 5 2016 The National Polices counterterrorism unit Densus 88 on Saturday morning apprehended Leonardus Hutajulu (LH), 24, a terrorist suspect associated with the Katibah Gonggong Rebus (KGR), or Gigih Rahmat radical group in Batam, Riau Islands. When arrested, LH was browsing Facebook in an internet cafe. The KGR group planned to launch a rocket attack at the Marina Bay resort area in Singapore. Not all KGR members are believed to have been arrested by authorities. The Matrix @ net cafe owner, who requested anonymity, said LH was arrested on Saturday at around 11 a.m. when eight plain-clothed men wearing baraclava and carrying rifles and handguns entered the cafe. to Read Full Story SUBSCRIBE NOW Starting from IDR 55,500/month Unlimited access to our web and app content e-Post daily digital newspaper No advertisements, no interruptions Privileged access to our events and programs Subscription to our newsletters We accept Register to read 3 premium articles for free Already subscribed? login Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin News Desk (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Mon, September 5, 2016 The number of victims in a recently discovered underage male prostitution ring for male clients has increased to 148, from the 103 previously reported, where most are under 17 years of age, a police officer has said. Still only three suspects have been named in the case. The number of victims we have identified has increased to 148, however, Brig. Gen. Agung Setya, the special economic crimes unit director at the National Polices Criminal Investigation Department (Bareskrim), said as quoted by kompas.com in Jakarta on Monday. He said 45 children the police further revealed as victims were believed to be proteges of AR, one of the three suspectsU and E are the other two. Agung further said the number of Us victims identified so far only stood at four. Meanwhile, E had both helped AR to recruit children and prepare accounts to receive client payments. Suspect E reportedly also used several of the children for his own sexual satisfaction. Agung said most of the victims were from West Java and Jakarta. We continually update the [case's] data and strive to comprehensively handle this case, he said. Bareskrim has handed over the rehabilitation process of the victims to the Social Affairs Ministry, which has prepared a safe house for them. Only seven victims have begun their rehabilitation at the facility. The police took them all into custody when they arrested AR at a hotel in Cipayung, Puncak, Bogor, West Java, on Aug. 30. We are using a safe house for the rehabilitation process so those children can still go to school, said Agung. (ebf) Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Mon, September 5 2016 The Environment and Forestry Ministry has lashed out against a palm oil firms attempt to stop a forest fire investigation by taking hostage seven ministry officials in Rokan Hulu, Riau. The officials, who were investigating the alleged involvement of PT Andika Permata Sawit Lestari (APSL) in a massive forest fire in the area, were held hostage by individuals dispatched by the firm, ministry spokesperson Novrizal Tahar said. The ministry dispatched the officials early last week to investigate a report that suggested deliberate burning had taken place in a Rokan Hulu forest. They subsequently found evidence that the firm had illegally taken over land and planned to use it for expansion. to Read Full Story SUBSCRIBE NOW Starting from IDR 55,500/month Unlimited access to our web and app content e-Post daily digital newspaper No advertisements, no interruptions Privileged access to our events and programs Subscription to our newsletters We accept Register to read 3 premium articles for free Already subscribed? login Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Haeril Halim (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Mon, September 5, 2016 Pizza lovers have expressed their shock over a media report claiming that the countrys most famous brand, Pizza Hut, uses expired ingredients in some of its products, but say they will continue to consume the world-famous pie. Nothing bad has happened to me from consuming it [Pizza Hut] until today. I get a stomach ache only if I eat too much pizza, more than my stomach can handle, Pizza Hut lover Ambaranie Nadia told The Jakarta Post on Sunday, when asked about a report jointly published by Tempo weekly and the BBC, which found that fast-food restaurants Pizza Hut and Pizza Hut Delivery (PHD) had a company policy to extend the shelf life of a number of ingredients for their products, a move that violates the Food Law. Another pizza fan, Anton, said he had not been discouraged from eating the pie and was convinced that Pizza Hut would take corrective measures. The joint investigation, which was initiated by the BBC and kicked off in July, also found that Marugame Udon, which is run by the same company that holds the license for Pizza Hut in the country, also enacted the same policy. The investigation found that there were around seven ingredients, the shelf lives of which had allegedly been extended by Pizza Hut, including puff pastry, veggie chicken sausage, XO sauce, brownie mix, carbonara sauce mix, sweet relish and citrus marinade. PHD, meanwhile, also allegedly extended the shelf lives of vegetarian chicken sausage, puff pastry, carbonara sauce mix and satay sauce. They were all extended to one month after their expiration dates. Marugame allegedly extended the shelf lives of bonito powder, hondashi, chicken skin, shrimp tempura, sukiyaki tare and tempura sauce. Tempo and BBC found in its investigation that Marugame had allegedly extended the shelf lives of the items by a month. It said that the shelf lives for the food materials were between three and six months. In one Marugame Udon outlet, Tempo, however said it found evidence that the company extended the shelf life of bonito powder to one year. Responding to the report, PT Sarimelati Kencana, which runs Pizza Hut operations, and Marugame Udon operator PT Sriboga Marugame Indonesia both denied allegations that they used expired food materials, emphasizing that they only used high-quality food materials worthy of consumption. Media reports stating Sarimelati Kencana, as the license holder of Pizza Hut, PHD and The Kitchen by Pizza Hut in Indonesia, uses expired products are inaccurate, the company said in a statement. Sarimelati Kencana has been recognized since 2005 by Pizza Hut global franchisor Yum! Brands as having a world- class operation. In a press briefing on Sunday, Sarimelati Kencana president director Stephen McCarthy said the company never compromised with food safety. As a company we seek profit but we never make profits by compromising food safety, he said. The 32-year-old company currently operates 326 restaurants nationwide and employs around 13,000 workers, benefiting from the booming middle-income segment in Southeast Asias largest economy that has become a boon to the food and beverage industry. Meanwhile, Sriboga Marugame Indonesia, which runs 26 Marugame Udon outlets in big cities, from Medan to Bali, said the allegations were not true at all. We guarantee that we apply a strict procurement process for all materials used in the food we serve, in line with the food security management principles upheld by our international principal, Japans Toridoll Corp., Sriboga Marugame wrote in a statement. Both Sarimelati Kencana and Sriboga Marugame operate under the Sriboga Raturaya group, which has evolved from a wheat flour manufacturer into a food ingredients industry player and international restaurant franchisee. (est) Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Rizal Harahap (The Jakarta Post) Bengkalis Mon, September 5, 2016 All burned or damaged peat lands belonging to locals, companies and protected areas across Indonesia will be restored to maintain their natural functions, an expert has said. Peatland Restoration Agency (BRG) head Nazir Foead said 875,000 hectares of peat lands in areas across Indonesia had been burned in 2015 and they must be restored. Initially, the restoration was allocated for 2 million hectares of peat lands in seven provinces in Kalimantan, Papua and Sumatra. However, BRG cannot close its eyes to burned peat lands outside the targeted locations, he said on Monday. In Riau, said Nazir, citing an example, restoration activities for the first year of BRGs project were actually allocated to the Meranti Islands regency. The agency later expanded the coverage of its restoration work to Rimbo Panjang in the Kampar regency. Our consideration is the fact that peat lands in this area are routinely burned every year and the smoke resulting from the fires affects flights in Pekanbaru, he said. Expanded restorations have also been conducted in several peat lands near airports in Kalimantan. Thus, working locations for peat land restoration in those seven provinces are actually flexible, he went on. Nazir said BRG was currently preparing regulations on peat land recovery, which aimed to push all companies to restore damaged peat lands in their concession areas. He further said the obedience of companies to the regulation to protect and maintain the canal water level at about 30 centimeters below the land surface would be continuously monitored via special censor equipment connected automatically and in real time to servers at the Agency for the Assessment and Application of Technology (BPPT). Nazir said the compliance of companies to carry out restoration would also be continuously monitored. The state has a right to direct and monitor companies. Any indiscipline will yield sanctions. (ebf) Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Haeril Halim and Ina Parlina (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta/Hangzhou, China Mon, September 5 2016 Indonesia, the largest sender of haj pilgrims to Saudi Arabia, has made an initial attempt to request the transfer of unused haj quotas to the worlds most populous Muslim-majority population. The Indonesian government is seeking the option following the arrest of 177 of its citizens in Manila for attempting to go on the haj using unused seats of the Philippines haj quota by falsifying their immigration documents. to Read Full Story SUBSCRIBE NOW Starting from IDR 55,500/month Unlimited access to our web and app content e-Post daily digital newspaper No advertisements, no interruptions Privileged access to our events and programs Subscription to our newsletters We accept Register to read 3 premium articles for free Already subscribed? login A player tries out the ASUS G751JY G-SYNC laptop with the GTX 980M, not the GTX 1060 or the GTX 1050 Ti mobile version. (Photo : YouTube / Tech of Tomorrow) AMD has seemingly exhausted all of their efforts to take on the mainstream market with the last being the Radeon RX 460 but NVIDIA could have the final win with their rumored GTX 1050. The NVIDIA GTX 1060 3GB model was supposed to be the GTX 1050 but it turns out that the rumor was just a speculation. Now, a new leaked spec sheet of the alleged GP107 GPU is spreading throughout the Internet. Advertisement NVIDIA has already launched the GTX 1080, GTX 1070 and even the GTX 1060. The GTX 1050 could be next and its rumored specs include 1380 for the boost clock with only 768 CUDA cores, WCCFTech has learned. It would be NVIDIA's lowest tiered video card in the GTX 1000 series unless they would still plan to release a new one. Fans are already expecting the GTX 1080 Ti to be released next considering that the Pascal Titan X card has already been rolled out recently. Interestingly, the GTX 1050 is shown to have 4GB GDDR5 memory which is higher than the GTX 1060's 3GB model but not over the 6GB variant. There are also 32 ROPs and 48 TMUs which is still higher than the predecessor. All in all, the GP107 card will be 128-bit and carry 112.1GB/s for the memory bandwidth. The NVIDIA GTX 1050 will have a total of 52.1 GPixel/s for the pixel fillrate and 84.2 GTexel/s for the texture fillrate, TechSpot reported. Just like the Radeon RX 460, it is also expected to have a TDP of only 75 watts. Although some are expecting that the GTX 1050 will compete with the Radeon RX 470 instead considering that the GTX 1060 competes with the RX 480. Instead of the $99 price tag, the GTX 1050 could have the $150 price instead although there is no evidence to support it yet. In addition, it is expected to only have 2.1 TFLOPs in performance which is almost the same as the Xbox One and the PlayStation 4. NVIDIA's GTX 1050 release date is expected to be around October 2016 with a launch price of $150. The company could still drive the price down to really compete with the RX 460 which only costs around $99. Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Vincent Lingga and Fedina S. Sundaryani (The Jakarta Post) Mon, September 5 2016 Malcolm Stevenson Steve Forbes, Jr. (JP/Seto Wardana) Although the global economic slowdown seems not to be showing any signs of solid improvement, hundreds of CEOs from around the globe will visit Jakarta to discuss possible solutions during the 16th Forbes Global CEO Conference this November. Forbes Media chairman and chief editor Malcolm Stevenson Steve Forbes, Jr. recently spoke with The Jakarta Posts Vincent Lingga and Fedina S. Sundaryani about Indonesias economic reforms and the potential sectors in emerging markets. The following are edited excerpts of the interview. to Read Full Story SUBSCRIBE NOW Starting from IDR 55,500/month Unlimited access to our web and app content e-Post daily digital newspaper No advertisements, no interruptions Privileged access to our events and programs Subscription to our newsletters We accept Register to read 3 premium articles for free Already subscribed? login Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Margareth S. Aritonang (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Mon, September 5, 2016 A challenge to gain the trust of President Joko Jokowi Widodo awaits Comr. Gen. Budi Gunawan following his controversial and politically rocky nomination to replace Lt. Gen. (ret) Sutiyoso to lead the countrys spy agency. The current National Police deputy chief may face little opposition, if any at all, from lawmakers for him to become the next chief of the National Intelligence Agency (BIN), but his ability to gain the trust of Jokowi, who will be the sole user of his services, is at stake. Budi is slated to convince lawmakers from the House of Representatives Commission I that oversees BIN during a fit-and-proper test next Wednesday upon Jokowis request for discretion from the legislative institution as mandated by Law No. 17/2011 on BIN. Commission I chairman Abdul Kharis Almasyhari said that all preparations were set for the scheduled event, the results of which would have little impact on the outcome of Budis nomination because the final decision belongs to Jokowi. Kharis, a politician from the Prosperous Justice Party (PKS), said he was aware of the controversy that continues to haunt Budi, predicting that Commission I lawmakers might raise the issue when interviewing him. But again, the final decision will be completely up to Pak Jokowi himself because our role is only to give an opinion on the Presidents choice. We dont get to choose, he said. Known as a close associate of the matron of the ruling Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P), Megawati Soekarnoputri, Budi has become part of the political decision-making transactions between Jokowi and Megawati, at least since his failed nomination to be National Police chief last year following public objections because of his alleged involvement in graft. The man who was adjutant to Megawati during her tenure as president from 2001 to 2004 again gained public attention, this time as a possible candidate for a Cabinet post, when Jokowi decided to undertake another Cabinet reshuffle in July. After more than a month of deliberations, which also included political discussions with related parties, Jokowi finally bowed down to Megawatis earlier demand and officially sent a letter notifying the House about his decision to nominate Budi to be the new BIN chief. Regardless of the political process behind Budis nomination, the future of the role of BIN as the ears and eyes of the president fully relies on Jokowi and Budi. The intelligence agency is like no other institution, said the former chief of the Militarys Strategic Intelligence Agency (BAIS), Soleman Ponto. No one can be between an intelligence body and its user and, in the case of BIN, the single user is the president. Thus, what to do with Pak BG [Budi Gunawan] as BIN chief afterwards fully depends on Pak Jokowi as the agent holder. Soleman highlighted the importance of the BIN chief building good relations. Because relations lead to access. The more access Pak BG has, including to his user [Jokowi], the more he can do to carry out his job. Defense analysts have concurred with Soleman, highlighting that the first tough job that awaits Budi will be to mend relations with Jokowi. Pak Budi Gunawan will certainly experience a psychological gap when interacting with Pak Jokowi because of the confusion in the past that lead to his failed nomination as National Police chief, as well as because of the political interactions between Bu Mega and Pak Jokowi, said political analyst Kusnanto Anggoro. Kusnanto, however, was confident that the relations between Jokowi and Budi would have little impact on BIN as an institution, although a good relationship between the two was crucial because the spy body would continue to function. Among the things that Pak BG can do later to improve the institution is introduce a new way of thinking to the intelligence operation so that BIN can be outward looking, as well as make use of technological development to support intelligence work. Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Margareth S. Aritonang (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Mon, September 5 2016 A challenge to gain the trust of President Joko Jokowi Widodo awaits Comr. Gen. Budi Gunawan following his controversial and politically rocky nomination to replace Lt. Gen. (ret) Sutiyoso to lead the countrys spy agency. The current National Police deputy chief may face little opposition, if any at all, from lawmakers for him to become the next chief of the National Intelligence Agency (BIN), but his ability to gain the trust of Jokowi, who will be the sole user of his services, is at stake. Budi is slated to convince lawmakers from the House of Representatives Commission I that oversees BIN during a fit-and-proper test next Wednesday upon Jokowis request for discretion from the legislative institution as mandated by Law No. 17/2011 on BIN. Commission I chairman Abdul Kharis Almasyhari said that all preparations were set for the scheduled event, the results of which would have little impact on the outcome of Budis nomination because the final decision belongs to Jokowi. Kharis, a politician from the Prosperous Justice Party (PKS), said he was aware of the controversy that continues to haunt Budi, predicting that Commission I lawmakers might raise the issue when interviewing him. But again, the final decision will be completely up to Pak Jokowi himself because our role is only to give an opinion on the Presidents choice. We dont get to choose, he said. Known as a close associate of the matron of the ruling Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P), Megawati Soekarnoputri, Budi has become part of the political decision-making transactions between Jokowi and Megawati, at least since his failed nomination to be National Police chief last year following public objections because of his alleged involvement in graft. The man who was adjutant to Megawati during her tenure as president from 2001 to 2004 again gained public attention, this time as a possible candidate for a Cabinet post, when Jokowi decided to undertake another Cabinet reshuffle in July. After more than a month of deliberations, which also included political discussions with related parties, Jokowi finally bowed down to Megawatis earlier demand and officially sent a letter notifying the House about his decision to nominate Budi to be the new BIN chief. Regardless of the political process behind Budis nomination, the future of the role of BIN as the ears and eyes of the president fully relies on Jokowi and Budi. The intelligence agency is like no other institution, said the former chief of the Militarys Strategic Intelligence Agency (BAIS), Soleman Ponto. No one can be between an intelligence body and its user and, in the case of BIN, the single user is the president. Thus, what to do with Pak BG [Budi Gunawan] as BIN chief afterwards fully depends on Pak Jokowi as the agent holder. Soleman highlighted the importance of the BIN chief building good relations. Because relations lead to access. The more access Pak BG has, including to his user [Jokowi], the more he can do to carry out his job. Defense analysts have concurred with Soleman, highlighting that the first tough job that awaits Budi will be to mend relations with Jokowi. Pak Budi Gunawan will certainly experience a psychological gap when interacting with Pak Jokowi because of the confusion in the past that lead to his failed nomination as National Police chief, as well as because of the political interactions between Bu Mega and Pak Jokowi, said political analyst Kusnanto Anggoro. Kusnanto, however, was confident that the relations between Jokowi and Budi would have little impact on BIN as an institution, although a good relationship between the two was crucial because the spy body would continue to function. Among the things that Pak BG can do later to improve the institution is introduce a new way of thinking to the intelligence operation so that BIN can be outward looking, as well as make use of technological development to support intelligence work. ______________________________________ To receive comprehensive and earlier access to The Jakarta Post print edition, please subscribe to our epaper through iOS' iTunes, Android's Google Play, Blackberry World or Microsoft's Windows Store. Subscription includes free daily editions of The Nation, The Star Malaysia, the Philippine Daily Inquirer and Asia News. to Read Full Story SUBSCRIBE NOW Starting from IDR 55,500/month Unlimited access to our web and app content e-Post daily digital newspaper No advertisements, no interruptions Privileged access to our events and programs Subscription to our newsletters We accept Register to read 3 premium articles for free Already subscribed? login Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Safrin La Batu (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Mon, September 5 2016 Living in a big city like Jakarta with all its urban woes is stressful enough and the fact that many city residents, even neighbors, do not normally mingle or visit each other to share their problems only makes things worse. A community called Salam Rancage has recognized this issue and offers a solution designed for women in the low-income bracket. It provides a medium for such women to share their burdens through activities that can also generate income. On Friday afternoon, around 20 members of the community started their weekly meeting in a small room in Palmerah subdistrict, South Jakarta. The 20 women came from three different neighborhoods in the subdistrict but they seemed very close to each other. They addressed each other in friendly terms and laughter was frequently heard. to Read Full Story SUBSCRIBE NOW Starting from IDR 55,500/month Unlimited access to our web and app content e-Post daily digital newspaper No advertisements, no interruptions Privileged access to our events and programs Subscription to our newsletters We accept Register to read 3 premium articles for free Already subscribed? login Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Andi Hajramurni (The Jakarta Post) Makassar, South Sulawesi Mon, September 5, 2016 Agusnadi, a resident of Wajo regency, South Sulawesi, recently expressed gratitude for his safe return to Indonesia, though he admitted he was disappointed about his failure to undertake the haj. The 38-year-old, who said he realized he must thank God for his safe return, was one of 177 Indonesian pilgrims arrested by Philippine immigration authorities as they attempted last month to go on the haj via Manila. Of the total, 168 people were returned home by the Indonesian Embassy in Manila on Sunday. Agusnadi said he applied for the haj via Aulat Amin, a Makassar-based travel agency known for its experience in sending haj pilgrims via the Philippines. He was promised that he would depart for Mecca without a long waiting period. He believed the offer because several of his friends had undertaken the haj via Manila using Aulat Amin. He therefore agreed to pay Rp 135 million (US$10,231) in fees, far more than usual. I knew that I would depart for Mecca from the Philippines, but I didnt know that it was illegal. Indonesian Ambassador to the Philippines Johny Lumintang said the 177 haj pilgrims were detained in poor conditions at a Philippine immigration detention facility before being moved to the embassy compound. He said such illegal departures must not happen again in the future. This must be the last incident. We pity them all. They just wanted to carry out religious service but unfortunately, they were arrested and detained, said Johny. (ebf) Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin (The Star) Langkawai Mon, September 5, 2016 A tourism group in the Malaysian resort island of Langkawi has strongly objected to a claim that the island's iconic eagle statue is haram, or forbidden by Islam, and should be demolished, adding to the online opposition by Malaysian netizens on the issue. Langkawi Tourism Association president Zainuddin Kadir said the 12-metre high statue in Lang Square had become a key tourist attraction for the past 20 years and was an icon for the island, located in the Malaysian state of Kedah. "It has become an icon for Langkawi for quite a long period, not as a place of worship or for activities that are contrary to Islam," he told Bernama. His comments were in response to a suggestion by Perak deputy mufti Zamri Hashim that it was forbidden in Islam to make full-bodied statues of living creatures such as humans or animals, saying that the statue should be demolished. But his proposal was met with objections from netizens, with many expressing their disappointment and criticism. Zainuddin, who represents 8,000 Langkawi tourism association members, said he had written a letter to Zamri requesting further explanation on the matter. "I am still waiting for his answer and willing to have a dialogue with him if necessary," he said. Zainuddin also asked that the authorities take into consideration the welfare of the Langkawi community, most of whom depended on the tourism industry. On Saturday, the Kedah Mufti's office said that it would consult the state Fatwa Council on the matter. Commenting on the issue, Malaysian Chinese Association (MCA) president Datuk Seri Liow Tiong Lai said the statue was symbolic of Langkawi as well as being a tourist attraction. "Let us be more open about this - embrace that Malaysia is a multi-racial society and be inclusive about this," he told reporters. 2016 G20 State Leaders Hangzhou Summit (Photo : Getty Images) The British government warned its delegate attending the G20 Summit in Hangzhou, China, to be cautious of Chinese sex spies. Known as honeypot spies, these Chinese agents and hackers are feared to attempt to use the summit as a chance to steal intelligence from the British government led by new Prime Minister Teresa May, Chinchilla News reported. They were warned also that their hotel rooms could be bugged. Advertisement Members of the delegation were advised if they feel uncomfortable people seeing them naked, they should change under their bedclothes, The Telegraph quoted a Whitehall source. To prevent hacking, members of the British delegation were issued temporary phones and email accounts. Another no-no is accepting electronic gifts from their Chinese hosts such as USB sticks and phone chargers. The warning is not without basis. In 2008, a member of Gordon Browns entourage brought to his room a beautiful Chinese woman apparently a government agent to his hotel room in Shanghai. When he woke up, his Blackberry and documents were missing. Before the summit, Chinese hackers tricked delegates from the Czech Republic, Portugal, Bulgaria, Latvia and Hungary into downloading malicious files which hijacked their computers, reported Mirror. May, meanwhile, made it known she wants post-Brexit trade outside Europe. She has expressed interest in Australia, Canada and New Zealand. Newly-anointed animation giants Laika deliver their fourth stop-motion masterclass in a row, with this beautifully rendered tale of family and adventure. Since Coraline first hit cinemas in 2009 and terrified multiple generations of both kids and adults the world-over, the Laika name has become associated with first-rate animation, putting even the likes of Pixar to shame. And with their latest effort, theyve somehow exceeded expectations. Set within the gorgeously-realised, origami-infused lands of ancient Japan, Kubo and the Two Strings follows a young storyteller, obsessed with the legend of his dead samurai father, who quickly finds himself thrust into a cross-country quest to uncover an unbreakable suit of armour. Charlize Theron voices a talking monkey, Matthew McConnaughey an amnesiac warrior beetle and Rooney Mara a pair of sinister, V For Vendetta-meets-The Shining style twins; based on character descriptions alone you wouldnt be mistaken for thinking that this was just any other super-colourful fantasy adventure. But of course, you would be horribly, horribly wrong. Not only is Kubo Laikas most polished and pronounced project to date (yes, even more so than the Oscar-nominated Coraline) but its also one of the most heartfelt, sincere and just generally badass releases of the year full-stop. Its a film thats completely spellbinding in almost every department from even just its opening alone. From the sharply cut animation, to the endlessly creative plotting, to Dario Marianellis positively entrancing (and neatly oriental) score, every single painstakingly rendered frame just oozes with subtle Japanese nods and inspired artistic vision. Throwaway kids movie this most definitely is not. In fact, whilst the basic quest plot and underlying jokes are very obviously child friendly, the more unusual and uncharted directions Kubo eventually springs into dont always follow suit. Theres not exactly anything here to cause alarm or complaint from parents, but its worth noting that this isnt a film that insults the intelligence of its younger viewers, stretching their mental and visual capacities wherever possible. The level of detail and genuine texture the stop-motion approach brings to Laikas projects has always been a major part of their pulling-power as a studio, and here is really no different. Scenes flow so smoothly and with such consistency that at times its very easy to forget that youre not watching something thats been rendered by computers. Bundle this precision together with a tightly-woven story guaranteed to excite almost anyone of any age (legends are quite clever that way) and it becomes instantly clear that with Kubo, Laika have produced one of the smartest and most beautiful films in a long while. It may get a little sappy for some, particularly towards its finale, and Therons voice-work could use a tiny emotional touch-up, but none of these things separate Kubo from its legacy as one of the finest animated movies possibly ever. Well, at least in the top ten. With Pixar and DreamWorks still seemingly lost in a haze of reliving old classics, and Disney largely concerned with soft-edged musicals, this could well be Laikas time to steal the limelight once and for all. Something were happy to fully endorse. Kubo and the Two Strings is released in the UK this Friday by Universal Pictures. (Hannah McKay/PA) (Hannah McKay/PA) (Hannah McKay/PA) The 120-metre long model of a 17th Century London sky line was created by American burn artist David Best as part of Londons Burning festival.Floating on the River Thames in flames, the model retold the historic story of September 6 1666, when a fire ripped through the City of London destroying homes, businesses and iconic structures.The mesmerising scene was gazed upon by hundreds on the banks of the River Thames, and streamed live by thousands online. USS Zumwalt at dock. (Photo : US Navy) The U.S. Navy's most modern and most heavily armed and largest destroyer, the oddly shaped USS Zumwalt (DDG-1000), is expected to join the United States Seventh Fleet in Hawaii by the end of the year. The USS Zumwalt, the lead ship in the Zumwalt-class, passed acceptance trials a few months ago and was delivered to the Navy last May. She will sail to Baltimore for commissioning on October 15 and will then head to the Pacific Ocean to complete the activation of her combat systems. Advertisement The activation will see her fire her long-range precision 155 mm guns and missiles from its peripheral vertical launch system. The system can fire anti-ship missiles, anti-submarine rockets and surface-to-air missiles. The destroyer will be home-ported at Naval Base San Diego in California, principal homeport of the United States Pacific Fleet consisting of 50 warships. The United States Pacific Fleet has command over the U.S. Navy Third Fleet defending the U.S. West Coast and Alaska and the U.S. Navy Seventh Fleet assigned to Asia. The second Zumwalt-class destroyer, the USS Michael Monsoor (DDG-1001), was christened June 18 at the Bath Iron Works in Maine. The Navy said construction of the warship is now 75 percent complete. When completed, the Monsoor is also expected to join her sister ship as part of the Seventh Fleet. The third and last Zumwalt-class destroyer, the USS Lyndon B. Johnson (DDG) is currently being built at General Dynamics Bath Iron Works and has an expected delivery date in 2018. This ship is of special interest because she's to be armed with the U.S. Navy's potent electromagnetic railgun that stands to revolutionize ship-to-ship combat and shore bombardment. The U.S. Navy's Naval Sea System Command is studying the feasibility of adding an EM railgun to the USS Lyndon B. Johnson, said Vice Adm. William Hilarides, commander of the Naval Sea Systems Command (NAVSEA). Adm. Hilarides said studies will determine if the Zumwalt-class has the space and power to deploy an EM railgun that will replace the 155 mm gun mounted ahead of the ship's deck house. "We have begun real studies -- as opposed to just a bunch of guys sitting around -- real engineering studies are being done to make sure it's possible," said Admiral Hilarides. The railgun to be mounted on DDG-1002 will have a range of over 160 kilometers and will fire special hypervelocity rounds. Future rounds will be self-guided, and the first tests of this capability took place this summer. Inaugural Kata Rocks Superyacht Rendezvous gains steam PHUKET: With three months remaining until the first Kata Rocks Superyacht Rendezvous (KRSR) the event continues to attract keen interest from major industry leaders in both the superyacht and luxury media sectors leading up to the December 10-12 event this year in Phuket. marinetourismeconomics By The Phuket News Monday 5 September 2016, 11:24AM Major figures in the marine industry are lining up to join the inaugural Kata Rocks Superyacht Rendezvous to be held in Phuket on Dec 10-12. The event, which also heralds the new arrival of the new charter season, is free for superyachts and invited yachting professionals to enter and welcomes both sailing and motor superyachts over 24 metres to enjoy a three-day social programme in and around the award-winning Kata Rocks. The new participating partners announced this week include: Lee Marine (Thailands leading luxury yachting company with a reputation for service excellence); Benetti Yachts (founded in 1873, one of the oldest luxury shipyard in the world. Benetti builds semi-custom composite yachts from 93 to 145); Princess Yachts Southeast Asia (with over 50 years of heritage, Princess Yachts meticulously sculpts iconic yachts); Bristol Charter (with operations in Dubai, Phuket and the French Riviera - Bristol Charter offers the best luxury yacht cruises in Phuket); PMYA Asia Yachting (it offers yacht training and professional yachting services to discerning clients); Seal Superyachts (Thailands longest established Superyacht Agency, servicing the Seychelles through to eastern Indonesia); Yacht Solutions (Asias leading superyacht specialist situated in both Bangkok and Phuket Thailand, servicing superyachts across the Asia- Pacific region) The new participants join Burgess, 77 Design and Hemisphere Crew Solutions Monaco, along with host Kata Rocks and sponsor Infinite Luxury. Many more participants are to be announced soon, said event organisers this week. The list of top luxury media committed to covering KRSR also continues to grow with Destinasian, Tatler Hong Kong, Yacht Style, Palace, Luxe Getaways, Class Act Media, Image Asia, Naa Magazine, LUXUO and Travellers Planet added to those already confirmed. We are delighted with the universally positive response and support regarding the Kata Rocks Superyacht Rendezvous from the yachting industry and luxury media. said Richard Pope, CEO of event sponsor Infinite Luxury & Kata Rocks. Josh Lee, Founder & Managing Director of Lee Marine, added, Lee Marine is thrilled to be supporting the first Kata Rocks Superyacht Rendezvous. Kata Rocks and Infinity Luxury are, as usual, presenting innovative ideas for this event. Thailands current and upcoming superyacht market has so much growth potential and, this rendezvous pushes that point home. Phuket driver charged for fatal collision after running red light PHUKET: Police have charged the 40-year-old driver of a Honda CRV who ran a red light in front of Baan Chalong School, on Chao Fa West Rd, on Saturday (Sept 3), inflicting fatal injuries on a motorbike driver who was legally turning right across the CRVs southbound lane. transportaccidentsdeathpolicecrime By Eakkapop Thongtub Monday 5 September 2016, 12:15PM Watthana Eakbuth, 57, was legally turning right when he was struck by the CRV. Photo: Eakkapop Thongtub Lt Chanat Hongsitthichaikul of the Chalong Police, who responded to the incident, told The Phuket News, I met the CRV driver at the scene. The driver did not flee, as reported by some media. Chalong Mayor Samran Jindapon on Saturday posted on social media a CCTV clip showing the accident, sparking outrage among local residents. Lt Chanat declined to name the driver, but did reveal that the driver was Thai national. The accident occurred just after 11am, when Watthana Ko Na Eakbuth, 57, was riding his motorbike northbound on Chao Fa West Rd. He was legally turning right into Luang Por Chaem Rd, which runs alongside Wat Chalong, when he was struck by the CRV, which had run a red light while travelling southbound through the intersection. Passers-by stopped to render assistance until an ambulance arrived, Lt Chanat explained. Mr Watthana was not wearing a helmet at the time of the accident. He suffered serious injuries from the impact and from going under the CRV, he added. Mr Watthana was later pronounced dead at Vachira Phuket Hospital. We believe he died from head trauma, but we have yet to receive formal death certificate, Lt Chanat said. The driver has been charged with reckless driving causing death, Lt Chanat confirmed. 4 candidates seek two four-year terms on Codington County Commission Two of the three Codington County Commission seats have challengers this year. Here's what you need to know. Dozens protested in Shubra, although the company they were targeting said it was no longer responsible for distributing the formula Dozens of demonstrators took to the Nile Corniche in Cairo's Shubra on Thursday, blocking off the street in protest at the lack of subsidised baby formula. Dozens of parents gathered in front of the headquarters of the state-owned Egyptian Pharmaceutical Trading Company on the Corniche to demonstrate against the lack of subsidised milk powder, as well increased prices. Karim Karam, the official spokesperson of the pharmaceutical trading company, told Ahram Online that the company was no longer assigned to distribute subsidised baby formula. "According to the decision issued by the minister of health in July, the ministry is going to distribute the subsidised infant milk through its outlets in motherhood clinics across the country using the smart card system," said Karam, adding that the company had sent its entire stock of formula to the 1,100 motherhood clinics around the country. Karam added that it was the error of the ministry to not spread the word in the media about the changes. The price of subsidised formula has increased from EGP 16 to EGP 26 in recent months. Egypt relies heavily on imports, mostly food, but is suffering from an acute US dollar shortage in the light of political insecurity and a lack of foreign tourists. Search Keywords: Short link: Organisation: United States US Embassy, US Mission in Uganda Duty Station: Kampala, Uganda Salary Grade: FSN3 (Ugshs 30,890,408 p.a. inclusive of allowances) Vacancy Announcement Number: 86-16 About US Embassy: The United States Embassy in Kampala, Uganda has enjoyed diplomatic relations with Uganda for over 30 years. Ambassador Deborah R. Malac currently heads the U.S Mission to Uganda. The Mission is composed of several offices and organizations all working under the auspices of the Embassy and at the direction of the Ambassador. Among the offices operating under the U.S Mission to Uganda are: United States Agency for International Development (USAID) Centers for Disease Control (CDC) Peace Corps Job Summary: The Chauffeur operates a passenger vehicle in accordance with the Motor Pool Dispatchers instructions to transport personnel and official visitors within the city and surrounding areas. The jobholder also runs errands. Responsibilities: Key Duties andResponsibilities: The Chauffeur transports personnel and official visitors within the city and surrounding areas in accordance with the Dispatchers instructions. The incumbent also collects biological samples from various sites upon request. Meets visitors at the airport and transports them to hotel accommodation and returns them to the airport on their departure. Drives officers upcountry on official duty. Delivers and collects mail and other documents. Completes trip tickets to assure the proper accounting of all vehicle usage. May operate a small bus or carryall. Maintains vehicle in a clean and serviceable condition and performs minor maintenance of a preventive nature, notifying the Motor Pool Dispatcher of any service problems or damage that require more than minor servicing. Takes vehicle to GSO for regular maintenance checks and to correct any mechanical faults that occur. Ensures safety of passengers at all times by use of safety belts. Experience: Qualifications, Skills andExperience: NOTE: All applicants must address each selection criterion detailed below with specific and comprehensive information supporting each item. The applicants for the United US Embassy Chauffeur job opportunity should possess of O and A level certificates. At least two years of chauffeur experience is required. Must be familiar with local traffic laws and traffic patterns. The applicant must possess a local drivers license appropriate to the type of vehicle operated (B, DL and DM). Language Proficiency: Level III English (good working knowledge) ability is required. How to Apply: All those interested in working with the US mission in Kampala should send their applications and strictly adhere to the following: Download a completed and signed Universal Application for Employment as a Locally Employed Staff, Download it Here. Download a completed and signed UniversalApplication for Employment as a Locally Employed Staff, Any additional documentation that supports or addresses the requirements listed above (e.g. transcripts, degrees, etc.) Submit Application To: Human Resources Office By email at KampalaHR@state.gov NB: Your application will be reviewed if you have fulfilled all the requirements including submission of standard file types such as Microsoft Word (.doc) and Adobe Acrobat (.pdf) in a single attachment (No Zipped files, Links or Multiple Attachments) and should not exceed 10MB. Please clearly indicate the position number and title you are applying for on the DS-174 form. th September 2016 Deadline: 15September 2016 The US Mission in Kampala provides equal opportunity and fair and equitable treatment in employment to all people without regard to race, color religion, sex, national origin, age, disability, political affiliation, marital status, or sexual orientation. The Department of State also strives to achieve equal employment opportunity in all personnel operations through continuing diversity enhancement programs. find us on our Facebook page For more of the latest jobs, please visit https://www.theugandanjobline.com orfind us on our Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/UgandanJobline Organization: John Snow, Inc (JSI) Funding Source: US Department of State Office for Global AIDS Coordination (OGAC) Duty Station: Kampala, Uganda Reports to: Regional Manager About JSI: John Snow, Inc. (JSI) is a leader in improving the health of individuals and communities by providing high-quality technical and managerial assistance to public health programs worldwide. JSI has implemented projects in 100 countries, and currently operates from eight U.S. and 81 international offices for the past 30 years. The JSI Research & Training Institute, Inc. ID a leading public health research and consulting organization. About DREAMS-IC Project: JSI Research & Training Institute, Inc. is implementing the Dreams Innovation Challenge (DREAMS-IC) Project, funded by the US Department of State Office for Global AIDS Coordination (OGAC). Job Summary: The Grants Manager will provide a range of grants management support for the project, implemented in 10 countries in Africa. The Grants Manager will be the point person in-country for project grants management and administration with a focus on institutional strengthening. Responsibilities: Key Duties andResponsibilities: Grants Management: Work in close coordination with US-based Deputy Director of Finance and Grants Manager(s), assist in pre-award activities for grant recipients including review of grantees applications, budgets, pre-award questionnaires, supporting documents, etc. and/or assisting in grant discussions and negotiations with in-country grantee counterparts; Ensure thorough familiarity with grant award documents for portfolio of up to 6 grantees in-country; Regularly monitor grantee compliance with grant award terms and conditions, including reporting; Work closely with grantees to strengthen institutional capacity in finance and operations systems, compliance, and/or grant award management; Actively participate in organizational capacity building assessments for grantees; Actively cultivate an excellent and collegial relationship with grantee staff; Review data in project grants database with uses the Salesforce platform to ensure grant information is captured accurately for the in-country grants portfolio; Respond to US office queries for follow-up with grantees for rapid turnaround; Follow up with individual grantees not meeting content or timing of reporting requirements to confirm appropriate assistance and/or next steps; Review grantee workplans, reports, and other deliverables to ensure that they meet grant award requirements and work with grantees to improve reporting as needed; Assist to identify issues in scope or budget necessitating award modifications throughout the life of the grant award; Assist in grant award start-up, monitoring, and close out activities; Travel to regional project launch or other activities. Grantee Capacity Strengthening: Assist to identify technical assistance needs and develop capacity strengthening plans for grantees within portfolio; Assist in organizing grantee technical assistance and/or trainings in areas including finance, operations, compliance, organizational development, technical programming in the projects focus areas, and/or monitoring & evaluation; Travel to conduct regular site visits for award management, finance and operations, review of financial documents and/or donor compliance; Actively participate in the development of institutional capacity building training curricula, other tools and materials for regional and in-country technical events such as assessments, workshops, trainings, etc.; Provide training and technical assistance to grantee staff on project database reporting requirements and procedures. Experience: Qualifications, Skills andExperience: The applicant should preferably hold a Bachelors degree required, Masters degree in Management, Finance, Public Health, International Development, or related field preferred. At least four years experience in grants management and/or programming. A minimum of three years experience working on USG-funded projects, PEPFAR funding and reporting, and/or public health programs. Broad interest in and experience in organizational or individual capacity building and/or training. Previous experience with US Government-funded projects and assistance rules and regulations. Demonstrated knowledge of granting procedures, from grant start-up, award management, to close out. Experience with complex partner arrangements, for example third tier subawards preferred. Demonstrated competence to assess priorities and manage a variety of activities in a time-sensitive environment and meet deadlines with attention to detail and quality. Demonstrated attention to detail, ability to implement procedures, meet deadlines and work independently and cooperatively with team members. Ability to work independently, take initiative and manage various activities in a team setting with minimal supervision. Strong time management/task prioritization skills. Excellent oral and written English communication skills. Foreign language skills a plus. Computer literacy skills i.e. proficiency in Excel, MSWord and Windows How to Apply: All suitably qualified and interested candidates who wish to join JSI Research & Training Institute in the aforementioned capacity should endeavor to Apply Online by Clicking on the link below. th September 2016 Deadline: 5September2016 find us on our facebook page For more of the latest jobs, please visit https://www.theugandanjobline.com orfind us on our facebook page https://www.facebook.com/UgandanJobline Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh on Monday hit out at Kashmiri separatist leaders who refused to talk to some MPs from an all-party team, saying their conduct defied the spirit of "Kashmiriyat". The Home Minister, however, made it clear that MPs Sharad Yadav, Sitaram Yechury, D. Raja, Jay Prakash Narayan and Assaduddin Owaisi went to meet the separatist leaders in their individual capacity and not as part of the all-party delegation that was on a two-day trip to Jammu and Kashmir. "Some members of the delegation went to meet Hurriyat leaders. We had neither said 'no' nor 'yes' to their meetings. You know what happened. They had gone there in their individual capacity," he told reporters here before flying to Jammu. He was referring to the attempt by the national opposition leaders from the delegation to hold talks with top Kashmiri separatists on Sunday. While other separatist leaders did meet them briefly but refused to hold talks, hardliner Syed Ali Shah Geelani shut his door on the MPs even as they kept waiting outside his upscale Hyderpora residence for about 10 minutes. This, Rajnath Singh said, "was certainly neither 'Kashmiriyat' nor 'insaniyat' (humane). "If you do not want to talk is a different thing. But what they did proves they have no faith in democracy." The all-party delegation arrived here on Sunday, nearly two months after a bloody unrest erupted in the aftermath of the July 8 killing of Hizbul Mujahideen commander Burhan Wani. At least 74 persons have been killed and over 12,000 injured in the weeks of the turmoil, the deadliest Kashmir has seen in six years. As the delegation left for Jammu, the Kashmir Valley continued to be tense amid curfew in some parts, shutdown and recurring anti-government and pro-freedom protests. Rajnath Singh said the government had left its options open for talks with anyone within the ambit of "Kashmiriyat, jamhooriyat and insaniyat". But he made it clear that there were no two ways about the fact "that Jammu and Kashmir was, is and will remain an integral part of India". Visibly disappointed, the minister hinted that any chance of talks with the separatists in the near future was impossible. He also dismissed any possibility of an India-Pakistan dialogue over Kashmir, rejecting a key demand of separatist leaders. "Everybody in Kashmir wants peace and normalcy to return. I am hopeful that the situation in Jammu and Kashmir will improve," he said after meeting some "300 people including students, teachers, traders" during the delegation's nearly 30-hour stay in the valley. Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti's government and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) also retained hopes for peace and a dialogue process to engage all stakeholders, including separatist leaders. "Dialogue and engagement is a continuous process. It can't be expected to happen (by rubbing) a magic lamp," senior PDP leader and Education Minister Naeem Akhtar told reporters. Yechury, who faced a snub from Geelani on Sunday, said he had not given up on the mission to bring peace in Kashmir. "Please understand it was not a snub. We understand the ground reality and realize that there is a need for state and central governments to take the political dialogue forward with all stakeholders, including separatists, for peace in Kashmir. "The killings in Kashmir have pained me. We want the government to resolve this issue. There will be no solution without a political dialogue. You have to start a political dialogue, an unconditional political with all," Yechury told the media here. In what his party is projecting as the biggest ever Kisan Yatra, Congress Vice President Rahul Gandhi will embark on a roadshow from Deoria in eastern Uttar Pradesh on Tuesday and culminate the 2,500 kilometre journey on the borders of Delhi a month later. Planned as a major outreach programme in the run-up to the assembly elections in UP in early 2017, the Deoria se Dilli Kisan Yatra will have Rahul raising the issues of the farmers and the main theme of the yatra will be to demand waiver of the loans taken by the farming community. According to the organisers of the yatra, the Congress leader will not address any big rally, but will instead address numerous small meetings on the way, so that the outreach is more inter-personal in nature. Besides public meetings that are relatively smaller in scale, Rahul will also hold meetings with the residents of the villages that fall in his route, holding what is being termed as Khat Sabhas. Simultaneous to the roadshow, during the 30 days, around 2.5 lakh Congress workers will knock on the doors of two crore households with the message that the party is with them in their demand for a loan waiver. They will get the farmers' signatures on a Kisan Mangpatra or demand letter for loan waiver. A promise will also be made that if the Congress comes to power, their loans will be waived off. The other major themes of the roadshow will be to demand reduction of electricity rates by half and getting the farmers justice with regard to the minimum support price for their crops. The Supreme Court on Monday directed the Karnataka government to release 15,000 cusecs of Cauvery river water every day to Tamil Nadu for next 10 days to meet the demands of the summer crop in the state. A bench of Justice Dipak Misra and Justice Uday Umesh Lalit asked the Cauvery Supervisory Committee to look into Tamil Nadu's plea seeking direction to Karnataka to release 35 tmcft of water to make good for that much shortfall in the release of water for three months starting with June 1 to August 30. While directing the release of 15,000 tmcft of water every day, the bench took note of the impact of non-availability of required water on the summer crops and the plight of farmers. The bench also said that Tamil Nadu in turn would proportionately give water to Puducherry and gave Tamil Nadu three days time to approach the Supervisory Committee with its claim of 35 tmcft of water from Karnataka. The court gave three days' time to Karnataka to respond to the plea by Tamil Nadu, while asking the Cauvery Supervisory Committee to examine the matter in four days and pass appropriate directions. Tamil Nadu has contended that even if it was to accept the Karnataka stand that due to deficient rainfall in the current year, the inflow of water into four major reservoirs in the State less, the same (shortfall in inflow of water into the reservoirs) could not have been more than 28 per cent. It also contended that applying the pro rate formula as per the final order of the Cauvery Water Dispute Tribunal, the state was entitled to 68 tmcft of water at Billigundulu from June 1 to August 31. The Cauvery Water Dispute Tribunal's final order was passed on February 2, 2007 and on the direction of the top court, published in official Gazette on February 19, 2013. The final order by the tribunal has been challenged by Karnataka and Kerala. The bench was told that since it has received 33 tmcft of water only so far, Karnataka may be directed to release 35 tmcft of water. The court directed listing of the matter for further hearing on September 16. The Supreme Court on Monday gave the central government four weeks' time to file its response on the right of Muslim women in matrimonial matters relating to divorce, including triple talaq, and maintenance. A bench of Chief Justice T.S. Thakur and Justice D.Y. Chandrachud accepted the request of Solicitor General Ranjit Kumar, who sought time as the government has been asked by the top court to respond to a suo motu writ petition filed on its direction on the issue of the right of Muslim women in matrimonial matters. A bench of Chief Justice Thakur and Justice A.M. Khanwilkar had said on June 29 that they "have to hear all of them and take a call to what extent courts can interfere in the Muslim personal laws if courts find they are in violation of the fundamental rights". The All India Muslim Personal Law Board (AIMPLB) had in its response on September 2 defended both polygamy and triple talaq saying that courts have no jurisdiction to examine the issue as it relates to their religion based on the Quran and Sharia law. A bench of Justice Anil R. Dave and Justice Adarsh Kumar Goel had by their October 16, 2015 order issued notice to Attorney General Mukul Rohatgi Aand the National Legal Service Authority as it directed the separate listing of a PIL addressing the question of the rights of Muslim women. The court is examining the question of gender discrimination in Muslim personal law in the context of fundamental rights. In the hearing on June 29, 2016, senior counsel Indira Jaisinh appearing for two petitioners had contended that the personal laws should be subject to the regime of the fundamental rights and the court should address this question. In the same hearing, interveners Zakia Soman and Noor Jahan had said that triple talaq as is being practised has no sanction of Islam. France says it supports reform measures taken by Egypt in a bid to revive the country's ailing economy, according to a statement by the Egyptian president's office. French President Francois Hollande made the remarks when he met with President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi early on Monday on the sidelines of the G20 summit in China, according to a statement by El-Sisi's office. Last month, the International Monetary Fund agreed to offer Egypt a $12 billion loan package over three years. Economic reforms to increase public revenues and cut costly state subsidies are believed to be critical in securing the deal, which is still subject to approval by IMF's executive board. "The French president expressed France's support for measures Egypt is taking to boost its economy, voicing hopes that the Egyptian government's economic reform programme achieves its desired results," presidential spokesman Alaa Youssef. Both leaders also discussed recent regional and international developments, namely efforts to revive the Palestinian-Israeli peace process as well as the situation in conflict-riven Libya and Syria, The duo "agreed on the need to step up international efforts to reach political solutions to these crises in a manner that preserves the unity and sovereignty of these countries," the spokesman added. Search Keywords: Short link: Every year security threats move several notches higher during the largest religious festival Vinayaka Chathurthi in this part of the world and this year, too, is no exception. Mumbai police commissioner Datta Padsalgikar is taking no chances as he has ensured 'visible policing' at almost all the major pandals across the nation's commercial capital. Visible policing is the use and deployment of policemen on busy thoroughfares and other places frequented by the public to make people feel safe. The idea is that if you have more uniformed cops manning your streets, it can act as a deterrent for criminals, as well as those of the more determined variety. Although Padsalgikar told THE WEEK that he does not want to talk about any threat in particular, he said he has ensured "maximum cover" for the festivals when it comes to ensuring security and safety of the people at large. A large bulk of the Mumbai police force are being deployed to ensure safety and security bandobast at the pandals. Mumbai is witnessing more than 1,363 Ganpati pandals this year with over two thousand new applications pending approval with the local civic authorities. Special measures have been enforced at Lalbaugcha Raja and GSB pandals (King's Circle), as these attract huge crowd. The crowd at these pandals had always been a challenge for the Mumbai police. At these places the Mumbai police are being supplemented by paramilitary forces like the Border Security Force (BSF) and others. Extra stress is put on surveillance at selected "vantage points" with the erection of tall watchtowers and the harnessing of specially equipped technical gadgets. Shortly before he passed away in 2002, Reliance Group founder Dhirubhai Ambani coined a memorable phrase"Roti, kapda, makaan aur Internet" (Food, clothing, shelter and Internet) to dramatise his vision for empowering India's aam janatha. It was left to his son Anil to launch the communication business of the group which by then was split between Dhirubhai's two sonsAnil and Mukesh. When Reliance Communications was launched a year later, the new entity took the onus of achieving Dhirubhai's another vision: "Make the cost of a phone call cheaper than sending a post card and you will transform the lives of millions of Indians!" Reliance was indeed a disruptor in its time, helping crash the cost of a mobile call to a fifth of what was then prevalent. Other large operators like Airtel played their part to ensure that mobile tariffs remained the world's cheapest for many years. I remember Sunil Bharti Mittal speaking on a cellular phone company heads panel at the Mobile World Congress that was discussing how low the average revenue per user (ARPU) could go before the business became unviable. Companies like Verizon and AT&T threw numbers like 10 to 15 dollars. Mittal drew a gasp when he said Airtel ran a successful business with an ARPU of one dollarthen worth about 50 rupees. That is all an average Indian user spent on mobile recharge in a month. Things have improved in India, but the challenge remains: how to empower a population that exceeds a billion people with pitifully low ability to spend on things like personal communications, though their aspirations are limitless. A mobile handset has become a symbol of such aspirations. However, in the decade since the Ambanis upset the telecom market with disruptive pricing, a subtle technology-fuelled reworking of the goal has become necessary. So-called feature phones, a cynical branding for phones with minimal features, could serve the purpose for millions of users who learn to innovatively use its simple voice and texting features. And, these phones cost well below a thousand rupees, assuring full 'paisa vasool'. In the crowded Chickpet market in Bangalore, a small tea shop owner got calls to serve tiny lotas of chai to hundreds of nearby cloth shops, without them having to spend a paisa to place the order. All they did was make a 'missed call'. The tea stall owner maintained a directory of all the phone numbers and a boy was dispatched with a kettle of tea to the customer within minutes. The free 'missed call' phone is just one example of jugaad or frugal innovation that Indians have overlaid on their mobile phones. Today, even banks encourage the techniquethough, in their case, the service provider does not lose revenue. For all its versatility, and a prepaid recharge as low as 20, the mobile phone hits a wall without a new and increasingly crucial umbilical: Internet access. After some ideological dithering, the present government in Delhi has put its full weight behind the Aadhaar ID system. This has made it easier and safer to use the mobile handset as a tool for financial transactions. India has been slow to realise the potential of micro banking till Bangladesh showed the way with Grameen Bank and Africa got a mobile edge with solutions like Mpesa. But push has come to shove here too, thanks mainly to private enterprises. From taxi aggregators to hyper-local kirana suppliers to doorstep medical diagnostic tests, innovative Indian companies have rolled out a plethora of services that need a 'connected' mobile phone app as its lynchpin. The tail is wagging the dog. Data, which used to be a small and costly adjunct to voice calls, is now the necessary and sufficient technology which truly makes the mobile phone a tool for empowerment. When 3G morphed to 4G, it tilted the balance in favour of data over voice. Indeed the latest technology being rolled out in IndiaVoLTE or Voice over Long Term Evolutionuses data speeds of LTE (another name for 4th generation mobile communication), to carry voice traffic on its back. The logical conclusion to this is to charge for data usage and throw in voice for freeprecisely what the 'other' Reliance company, the one controlled by Mukesh Ambani did a few days ago when it formally launched its brand Reliance Jio, with the premise: voice calls free, no roaming charges, only pay for data consumed. And, at what data tariffs? At the Reliance Industries annual general meeting in Mumbai, Mukesh Ambani said Jio would offer best rate of 50 per GB. Admittedly, this is only in the 5,000 per month subscription slab, but even if extrapolated to lower usage plans, this would be a case of history repeating itself and India offering the world's lowest cellular data service. That is all good news. Now, the obverse side of the coin. For such compelling prices to be commercially viable (not just for one player with deep pockets but for all telecom service providersbig and small), the basic resourcespectrumneeds to be available at a reasonable cost. Since everywhere it is owned and controlled by governments, the impact of spectrum cost can be a deal maker or breaker for mobile usage. Sadly, for at least a decade now successive Indian governments have looked on spectrum as a cow to be milked for all its worth and the floor prices set at recent and upcoming auctions are rapacious and self defeating. The government, which trumpeted many mobile phone app-based initiatives for the aam janatha, is throttling the very mechanism of service by overpricing the only part of the ecosystem it owns. The biggest ever auction of spectrum is due to be held starting October 1 and the industry estimates that it will have to pay 5.56 lakh crore to get the bandwidth it requires. This is a windfall for a government. How much of this is it ready and willing to plough back to the tax payers and citizens as its contribution to empowerment through technology? If past experience is a guidevery little. Indias Internet user base is already greater than that of the US and the second largest after China. When the story of India's development in the 21st century is written, a big chapter must speak of the role of Internet and the mobile phones, and the part they played in the lives of 1.2 billion people. The hundreds of Indian companies whose enterprise and innovation made the revolution possible will form a proud segment of the story. But it is as yet not clear, if the record will reflect how the successive governments helped in accelerating the process of changeor if they merely made a fast buck in the process. North Korea fired three ballistic missiles into the sea off its east coast on Monday, South Korea's military said, as the leaders of the Group of 20 major economies held a summit in China, the North's main diplomatic ally. The missiles were fired from a region south of the capital Pyongyang just after noon local time (0300 GMT) and flew about 1,000 km (600 miles), hitting Japan's air defence identification zone, the South's Office of the Joint Chiefs of Staff said. "We are still analysing details but this is a grave threat to our nation's security, and we express deep concern," the Japan Defence Ministry said in a statement. The missile launches were the latest in a series of launches by the isolated North this year in violation of UN Security Council resolutions, supported by China, that ban all ballistic missile-related activities by the North. Pyongyang rejects the ban as infringing its sovereign right to pursue a space programme and self defence. Shortly after the missile launches, South Korean President Park Geun-hye and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe met on the sidelines of the G20 summit and agreed to cooperate on monitoring the situation, a Japanese statement said. The South's military said the missiles were medium-range Rodong-class, launched as a show of force timed to coincide with the G20 summit. In 2014, the North fired two Rodong medium-range missiles just as Park and Abe were meeting US President Barack Obama at the Hague to discuss responding to the North's arms programme. The latest missiles were launched from a region called Hwangju and came just hours after the leaders of South Korea and China met on the sidelines of the G20 summit in Hangzhou, China. South Korea's Park told Chinese President Xi Jinping that the North's fourth nuclear test and its ballistic missile launches this year threatened regional peace and posed a challenge to South Korea's ties with China, Yonhap news agency reported earlier. During the meeting, Xi reaffirmed China's commitment to realising the denuclearisation of the Korean peninsula, China's state news agency Xinhua reported on Monday. Xi also told Park that Beijing opposed the proposed deployment of a THAAD anti-missile system in South Korea, which Seoul and the United States have said is designed to counter an increasing missile threat from North Korea. Park said that a THAAD deployment would not threaten any other country's security interests and would not be needed if the North's nuclear issue was resolved, Yonhap news agency said. In July, the North launched three missiles in a single day from the western region that flew across the country and into the sea off its east coast, flying about 500 km and 600 km (300-360 miles). Patnaik's close aides say that to understand him, one has to understand his empathy By Pratul Sharma/Photos Sanjay Ahlawat Rabbi Osher Shapiro, the son of the Naroler () Rebbe Shlita, is a known figure in the Stamford Hill area of London. Rav Shapiro is a true educator, with over 17 years of experience in the field in the hope of bringing youths who left the derech back to the correct Torah path. He has established an organization called Kol Bonaich ( ) towards meeting the challenges involved in working with these youths, an organization backed by Gedolei Yisrael Shlita. In short, the rav feels that based on his vast experience, the all-inclusive bans on the internet have made it more appealing to many and he feels this has contributed to youths defying the ban and beginning the path to a different lifestyle. Rabbi Shapiro explains the matter of youths off the derech is not a new concept and not one unique to this generation, a problem that was in existence before the internet and WhatsApp. In a recent interview with Kikar Shabbos News, Rabbi Shapiro explains that instead of investing resources in love and affection towards these youths, we are busying ourselves with bans and prohibitions, which are not going to save them. Rabbi Shapiro admits there are some using unfiltered internet, and this is not acceptable, but the idea is not an all-inclusive ban but to rather educate the young as to how one properly uses the internet, which is an integral part of todays world. The rav stresses that since creation there have always been dangers that have caused people to stumble and this is certainly not limited to this generation. The question remains is how we address these issues. This generation should be embraced and loved and that is what is missing. I mean anyone who uses the internet with supervision or filter can bring a great deal of good into the world and spread spirituality Rabbi Shapiro told Kikar Shabbos. He cites a case that occurred a day earlier in which WhatsApp was used to unit a lost pair of tefilin and the owner, as the latter forgot them on a train. We mustnt sweep the problem under the carpet adds the rav, who credits the Belzer Rebbe Shlita with being the first to address these realities openly and offer solutions. He laments how money is spent in treating the problem instead of preventing it and instead of trying to save the lost youths, the money would be better spent in preventing them from leaving the derech and this is doable. Rabbi Shapiro explains he can attest to the fact from personal experience that a great deal can be accomplished with warmth and love for that is what many of these youths are seeking but instead, they are ousted from school and their community. (YWN Israel Desk, Jerusalem) 12:30PM IL: As reported in previous updates, the cause of the collapse of the four-story underground parking lot construction at Nechoshet Street in the Ramat HaChaiyal area of Tel Aviv was due to engineering failures, not a crane that collapsed in the area. Rescuers are working on the assumption that eight-to-ten construction workers remain trapped under rubble. Fire services rescue personnel and engineers are operating on the scene and the IDF Homefront Commander search & rescue unit has been activated and of course, Zaka rescue teams are also operating on the scene. A senior fire services official on the scene suspects the upper area of the construction complex may have collapsed due to Excess weight. Following is a photo essay of the area at this time. 12:34PM IL: Zaka Special Units commander Haim Outmezgine: Following the declaration of a mass-casualty incident at the scene of the building collapse in Ramat HaChaiyal, dozens of medics and paramedics from the emergency services were called to the scene. Rescuers from the joint Zaka IDF Homefront Command unit are working at the scene to try and locate the missing construction workers who are trapped in the rubble. We will do our utmost to locate all the missing. Volunteers with the Zaka Canine unit are currently on their way to the scene in order to assist in the search and rescue. 12:41PM IL: Based on eyewitness reports from extricated construction personnel and other data from the scene, the operating premise is that six people are still trapped under the rubble. IDF Homefront Command & Zaka search & rescue personnel are being briefed by incident commanders and engineers as they are preparing to begin probing to extricate the victims. Eleven persons have already been extricated from the rubble. One construction worker who managed to extricate himself pointed emergency personnel to an area where two of his colleagues are trapped under the concrete blocks, citing they are having difficulty breathing. The actual rescue will begin as quickly as the scene permits. 12:49PM IL: Channel 2 News quoting incident commanders reports there are five persons missing; two Israelis and two Palestinian workers. Heavy equipment is being brought in to begin moving the large concrete slabs. The cause of the collapse appears to have been a large tractor operating in the area caused a vibration that led to a partial collapse that dominoed into a major collapse. The IDFs Oketz K9 unit has arrived and dogs are being prepared for the search & rescue mission ahead, to extricate the five people believed trapped under the collapse. Construction company foremen are carefully reviewing all employment lists for today to give search & rescue personnel an accurate number of people believe trapped below. That number is currently five. (YWN Israel Desk, Jerusalem/Photos: Yossi Fraenkel of Zaka, MDA Spokesman Unit and Media Resource Group) [VIDEO IN EXTENDED ARTICLE] Two people were killed and 17 others left injured when a four-story underground parking lot under construction on Nechoshet Street in the Ramat HaChaiyal area of Tel Aviv collapsed on Monday, 2 Elul. Police report the call came in to the emergency dispatcher at 11:24AM. Police report at this early stage of the investigation that three stories of the structure have definitely collapsed. There is still a question pertaining to the last floor, which will be determined as the investigation moves ahead. Two people lost their lives and 17 others were injured. The injured were transported to Ichilov, Tel Hashomer and Beilinson Hospitals. Thirteen were found by EMS personnel on street level and the others were extricated from the rubble. One of the victims sustained serious head injuries while another is listed in moderate condition. Bchasdei Hashem the others are less seriously injured. The preliminary evidence from the scene points to human/engineering error as the cause and the investigation is already underway. Project managers, engineers and other officials involved in the construction of the underground parking facility have already been summoned by police, some already being interviewed. Police report that at present, everyone involved in cooperation. In one of the accompanying photos we see Israel Police Commissioner Roni Alsheich and Magen David Adom Chief Eli Bin are exchanging information. In the second photo, a senior fire service officer is discussing the situation with an IDF Homefront Command search & rescue officer. (YWN Israel Desk, Jerusalem/Photo Credit: Police spokesman unit & MDA spokesman unit) As security forces were winding up an operation in the Jerusalem district near the Shuafat refugee camp during the night of 2 Elul (Sunday night to Monday), they were targeted in an attempted vehicular terror attack. Police and border police were winding down an operation and as they were leaving the area, a vehicle got closer to them and then began speeding towards them in apparent effort to run them down. Soldiers acted appropriately and implemented the correct protocol when they fired at the advancing vehicle since the driver ignored shouts to halt as well as ignoring warning shots. One terrorist, Mustafa Namar (see photo) was shot and gravely wounded, dying a short time later. A second terrorist, 25, remains in Hadassah Mt. Scopus Hospital where his condition was described as light-to-moderate on Monday morning, recuperating from gunshot wounds. (YWN Israel Desk, Jerusalem) Egypt's President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi discussed bilateral ties with German Chancellor Angela Merkel when the two leaders met on the sidelines of the G20 summit in China, Egypt's state news agency MENA reported. During the talks early on Monday in the Chinese city of Hangzhou, the two officials also discussed international issues of mutual interest, MENA added. In his address to the summit leaders on Monday, El-Sisi stressed the need for the G20 group's work plan to include the restoration of stolen state funds and assets, which has contributed to the problems of Egypt's economy. He also called for integrating the economies of developing countries into the global economy. "Egypt has always demanded that international economic and financial governance reflect the increasing contribution of developing countries to the world economy and their effective participation in the international economic and financial decision-making," El-Sisi was quoted as saying by MENA. El-Sisi will hold talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe later on Monday. This is the third time El-Sisi has visited China since he came to office in mid-2014; his previous trips were in December 2014 and September 2015. Search Keywords: Short link: Mashpiah Rabbi Eliyahu Godolvsky was attacked and assaulted last Shabbos at the tziyun of Rav Nachman ZTL in Uman. The rav is viewed as a major mashpiah in the Breslov Chassidus. Kikar Shabbos News reports Breslov Chassidim who following Rabbi Eliezer Berland perpetrated the assault after Rabbi Godolvsky recently spoke out against Rabbi Berland who was recently extradited to Israel to face charges. According to eyewitness accounts, Rabbi Godolvsky was attacked during mincha. He was surrounded by youths affiliated with Shuvu Banim who began cursing him, leading to the physical assault. They shouted at him and warned that if he continues to speak against Rabbi Berland they would kill him. Also attacked was Yechiel Tzuker, who was with Rabbi Godolvsky and happens to be a grandson of Rabbi Berland who also speaks out against him. Apparently, this was not the only assault as others who are not backers of Rabbi Berland were also assaulted during their stay at the tziyun on Shabbos. One of the other victims was Rabbi Yoel Fuchs, head of the [non-Rav Berland] Breslov community in Beit Shemesh. He stated the actions of the thugs represents Crossing a red line, pointing out that they not only cursed and used physical violence but made unprecedented threats about harm in the future. (YWN Israel Desk, Jerusalem) Dozens of smiling pre-school and kindergarten youngsters filed into a revolutionary new inclusion class, which integrates both special needs and typical children in the same classroom environment. The opening of inclusion class was attended by Mayor of Jerusalem Nir Barkat, who has championed the needs of special education, since he took office nearly 8 years ago. Housed in the new $55 million dollar Shalva National Childrens Center (built on 7 acres near Shaare Zedek Hospital), this class is part of the wider umbrella of ground breaking services for the special needs community in Jerusalem. The new state-of-the-art National Childrens Center is poised to become a global leader in providing unrivaled services to the Israeli community and serve as an innovative research facility for special needs children and teenagers alike. Mayor Barkat praised Shalva founders Kalman and Malki Samuels for their selfless dedication to the community. Shalva was a jewel when it originally opened in Har Nof. Now, its a bigger and more expensive jewel, but its worth every shekel and every dollar invested in this place, said Mayor Barkat. Shalva opened in one Har Nof apartment in 1990 and has now expanded to become one of the leading Israeli institution providing numerous programs to special needs children. Sara Chana Wolff, the mother of Avraham, a five-year old special needs child who will be participating in the innovative educational program, was effusive in her praise of Shalva, I just feel endless gratitude towards Shalva, she said. When they see that there is something else they can do to help the kids, they turn the world upside down to make it happen. Its very humbling and inspiring when I look at what Shalva and the Samuels family has done for the community. For Gal Katzir, whose 3.5 year old son, Sahar, will be attending kindergarten classes with special needs children and helped cut the ribbon with Mayor Barkat, remarked, We are so happy with our choice. We thought this would be a special opportunity for Sahar to get to know kids that are different from him. Also they have so many resources that arent in any other kindergarten that we know Sahar will benefit from. Sahar was just great on his first day, he didnt cry or anything, he just said, bye-bye mommy. I was the emotional one! Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi stressed the importance of realising the outcomes of Saudi King Salman's visit to Egypt earlier this year, during his meeting with Saudi Crown Prince Mohamed bin Salman on the sidelines of the G20 summit in China. During the historic visit in April, both Egypt and Saudi Arabia signed a number of economic and political agreements, including a maritime border demarcation agreement that placed two Red Sea islands, Tiran and Sanafir, under Saudi sovereignty. The agreement sparked immediate controversy and is being challenged in Egyptian courts. In an official statement by the president's office, spokesman Alaa Youssef said that El-Sisi said accomplishing the goals of the visit would contribute to bolstering the ongoing partnership between Egypt and Saudi Arabia, allowing both countries to overcome challenges that face the Arab nation. Youssef added that Prince Salman delivered King Salman's greetings to El-Sisi, affirming Saudi Arabia's keenness on continued cooperation with Egypt at all levels. The Saudi crown prince said both countries would continue coordinating over different regional and international issues. According to the spokesman, the meeting between both officials witnessed discussions related to bilateral relations, as well as an exchange of points of view over the overall situations and developments in countries of crisis in the Middle East. Saudi Arabia has been one of the most important backers of Egypt since the ousting of president Mohamed Morsi in 2013, providing Egypt with billions of dollars in aid. During an interview last week, El-Sisi said Egypt's relationship with Gulf countries cannot be reduced to financial aid only, adding that Arab states need to deal with one another more positively and to work on unity. Search Keywords: Short link: Egypt is going to provide its army with modern Russia-produced weaponry, Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu said Monday. Egypt aims to equip its army with modern Russia-produced weaponry, Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu said Monday. "[We] are glad to note that Egypt seeks to use modern weapons and military equipment manufactured in Russia to equip the national armed forces," Shoigu said at the third meeting of the joint military and technical cooperation commission. He added that the Russian weaponry effectiveness was demonstrated in Syria. The minister also stressed the importance of connecting Egypt to Russia's Glonass satellite navigation network in May 2016. The third joint military and technical cooperation commission is expected to evaluate the results of the previous year work and set the goals for the upcoming one. Search Keywords: Short link: Prestige project: Chinese property firm is pressing ahead with the construction of the 'Spire' in London, likely to be Europe's tallest residential skyscraper when it is built 17.35: The FTSE 100 closed down 15.18 points at 6879.42 as a bounce-back in the services sector boosted the pound to $1.33, diminishing the currency effect that has favoured London-listed multinationals since the Brexit vote. The US Dow Jones was closed for the Labor Day holiday, but Germany's DAX was down 11.6 points at 10,672.2 and France's CAC 40 dropped 1.1 points to 4,541.1. Brent crude rose to $47.47 a barrel. 'A resurgent British pound, US markets on holiday and perhaps some back-to-school blues left UK stock markets a little sanguine on Monday,' said Jasper Lawler of CMC Markets. 'A surprise jump in UK service sector data saw the domestically-focused FTSE 250 keep hold of early gains whilst the FTSE 100, in which many multinationals benefit from a weaker sterling, fell into negative territory.' 'More circumstantial evidence that confidence is high and that the UK remains open for business was seen in a 3.3 per cent rise in UK car sales and a Chinese property developer confirming plans to build Europes biggest skyscraper in London. 'The G20 doesnt look like it will throw up any stingers for global markets. Political leaders are focusing on trying to achieve "inclusive" globalisation in order to fend-off a popular uprising against a global system that has seen wealth inequality widen.' Joshua Mahony of IG said: 'Early FTSE gains have been erased in what has been a clear reflection of the current market fixation on monetary policy over any other considerations. 'While the incredible August recovery in the UK services purchasing managers' index is likely to have significant implications for growth and prosperity, markets instead chose to reflect on the impact it will have upon the chances of further Bank of England action. 'No doubt Mark Carney will be dreading Wednesdays inflation report hearings, which is sure to see the governor grilled over whether it made sense to unleash a whole raft of new stimulus steps in the wake of very little evidence of a slowdown. 'It seems the implication of monetary easing may have been premature on this occasion, which if admitted by Carney would significantly lower the chance of another rate cut by year end.' 17.01: The FTSE 100 closed down 15.18 points at 6879.42. More to come. 15: 20: The Footsie has failed to find a spark in late afternoon trading as Wall Street traders took the day off for Labor Day. With just over an hour to go the FTSE 100 index was down 16.1 points at 6,878.4. Labor Day in the United States is a public holiday celebrated on the first Monday in September, honoring the American labor movement and the contributions that workers have made to the economy. It is also considered the unofficial end of summer. Connor Campbell, at Spreadex, said: 'There isnt much to say about todays US-less afternoon, the European markets all largely settling down after this mornings services PMI excitement.' Trading trends: UK banks have had a tough session after a series of downgrades from Deutsche He added: 'The FTSE continued to trickle under 6900 by around 25 points, the index limited by the sharp declines seen by Lloyds and RBS (thanks to a negative note from Deutsche Bank about the impact of the lower for longer interest rate situation), the shrinking gains in its commodity stocks and, most importantly, the sustained growth by the pound. 'For sterling maintained a 0.2-0.3 per cent rise against both the dollar and the euro this Monday, leading it to tickle 7 week and 1 month highs respectively.' 13:40: Footsie was still struggling for momentum ahead of the afternoon session as banks continued to weigh the index down. By lunchtime, the FTSE 100 was down 20 points at 6,874.9. Shares in Lloyds and Royal Bank of Scotland were struggling as Deutsche Bank downgraded the stocks to adjust for a 'lower-for-longer' interest rate environment. Deutsche downgraded RBS to 'sell' from 'hold' and cut the price target to 170p from 200p, saying said the bank was most at risk in the near/medium term due to already-low deposit rates (36bps), likely downgrades to loan growth, additional restructuring charges and the likely lack of a dividend until 2018. It cut Lloyds to 'hold' from 'buy' and trimmed the price target to 59p from 60p, saying that while the bank should benefit in the near term from falling deposit costs and potential sub-debt redemptions, there are risks from re-mortgage churn in the medium to longer term. On the upside, oil producers rallied as crude prices jumped after a report that Saudi Arabia and Russia made a joint statement at the G-0 about stabilising the market. Royal Dutch Shell, BP and BHP Billiton shares have all gained this session. Brent crude edged up 2.6 per cent to $48.08 per barrel and West Texas Intermediate advanced 2.5 per cent to $45.58 per barrel at 1148 BST. Randgold Resources shares also rose, 2.2 per cent, or 165p, at 7,625p as Numis upgraded its rating on the stock to 'buy' from 'hold' and left its target price at 9,000p. 11:20: The Footsie remained subdued in late morning trading, despite a much better-than expected rise in August services PMI which in turn lifted the pound. The FTSE 100 index was down 17.8 points at 6,876.5, with banks putting in a poor performance following a string of downgrades. European markets fared better with the Dax and the CAC 40 both rising, though disappointing German service sector data has eroded some of the early gains. In London shares of RBS and Lloyds were propping up the bottom of the FTSE 100, after downgrades from Deutsche Bank. The reports follow Deutsche Bank's suggestion last week that HSBC might need to be broken up to unlock value for shareholders. Tough day: RBS was off 2.8 per cent, or 5.8p, at 198.7p, while Lloyds Banking fell 2 per cent, or 1.4p to 59.5p RBS was off 2.8 per cent, or 5.8p, at 198.7p, while Lloyds Banking fell 2 per cent, or 1.4p to 59.5p. In better news miners BHP Billiton and Anglo American were amongst the top performers thanks to a jump in the oil prices and strong economic data out of China, the world's biggest consumer of commodities. BHP was up 1.2 per cent, or 12.5p, at 1009.5p, while Anglo American lost 2.5 per cent, or 20.9p, at 828.3p. Meanwhile on the FTSE 250, which has stronger ties to the performance of the domestic UK economy, shares rose 0.2 per cent. Zoopla was the biggest riser, up 7.4 per cent, or 24p at 330.0p after analysts at Barclays raised their rating on the property website to 'overweight' from 'equal weight'. Among 'small cap' stocks, Carr's was the biggest riser, up 8.8 per cent, or 12.0p at 157p after the agriculture group announced the disposal of its flour milling business and a 17.54p special dividend. 08:20: The Footsie was flat shortly after at the opening bell, following a nervy weekend which saw top G20 leaders warn over the negative consequences of Brexit. In opening deals, the FTSE 100 index was up just 5 points at 6,900.0, having finished 48.63 points higher at 6894.60 on Friday after US jobs growth undershot expectations. The US unemployment figures mean that the Federal Reserve will probably refrain from raising rates at its September meeting. That likelihood, along with chief Japanese central banker Haruhiko Kuroda suggesting overnight that there is 'ample room' for further rate cuts has sent shares across Asia higher. The region's biggest market, Japan's Nikkei 225 was up by 0.9 per cent while Australia's ASX 200 gained 1 per cent and South Korea's Kospi traded 0.9 per cent higher. Movement: Chief Japanese central banker Haruhiko Kuroda suggested overnight that there is 'ample room' for further rate cuts, sending markets across the region higher In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng was up by 1.7 per cent while China's mainland benchmark Shanghai Composite rose by 0.3 per cent. But the positive sentiment has not fed into the UK markets, with news over the weekend being dominated by the G20 and Brexit. Japan has warned Britain that its exit from the European Union could prompt Japanese financial institutions to relocate from London and listed a raft of concerns from Japanese companies about the transition away of the EU. Meanwhile, Prime Minister Theresa May said Britain's economy will suffer as a result of the decision to leave the European Union despite signs in recent economic data that the impact has not been as severe as some predicted. Stocks in focus in London include: ASTRAZENECA: The drugmaker hopes to convince doctors its experimental injection for severe asthma has an edge over two approved rivals after clinical trials data. M&S: The retailer will cut 500 jobs at its head office this week as its new chief executive Steve Rowe tries to halt a slump in sales, Sky News reported. STANDARD CHARTERED: The bank expects it will remain under US supervision for several more years over lapses in Iran-related anti-money laundering efforts because it needs more time to improve its internal standards, sources with knowledge of the matter said. UK company news scheduled today includes: Interims: Hunting, Plus500, Vipera, MD Medical Group Investments, Faron Pharmaceuticals, Flowgroup, Randall & Quilter Investment Holdings, Union Jack Oil Finals: Dechra Pharmaceuticals Economic news scheduled today includes: UK Markit services PMI at 9.30am Eurozone Markit final services PMI at 9am Eurozone retail sales at 10am US Markit final services PMI at 2.45pm They may be financial titans but that hasn't stopped the big banks closing branches in a move that resembles an all-out retreat from high streets up and down Britain. Lloyds Bank recently announced a planned cut of an extra 200 branches citing a drop in branch use coupled with concerns over costs. Meanwhile, earlier this year, Barclays, HSBC and RBS announced hundreds of branch cuts as hundreds of communities face up to a future without banking staff around to help. For many this has come as a shock but for finance start-ups and digitally-led so-called challenger banks, such moves tally with a trend for branchless banking. So will we continue to need bank branches? Mobile banking: The rise of technology is killing of bank high street branches The digital banks who don't want branches A growing breed of new, so-called 'digital challenger banks' are serving customers using mobile applications, not bank cashiers. This includes Atom Bank which recently launched best buy savings accounts which could only be accessed through its app. Meanwhile, Starling Bank also revealed that it has received a banking licence and its founder, Anne Boden, said 'the emphasis moves from regulation and technology to customers'. Tom Bloomfield founder of banking start-up Mondo says banks withdrawing from the high street 'is an irreversible trend in the industry'. He added: 'Mondo is very lucky because we have customers that use their smartphones and not their branches.' Further cuts: Lloyds recently revealed it is axing even more branches But digital finance often involves a narrower focus Companies like Mondo, backed by machine learning and savvy software, provide services that most banks provide in-branch or on the phone. Shachar Bialick, the founder of Curve Card, a company that links all bank accounts to one payment card gives one example. He says: 'With Curve, we identify when a person is abroad and allow them to use the Curve Card everywhere they travel without contacting support'. Too often he claims, banks block cards leaving customers stranded abroad without funds. Many start-ups chose focus on one element of banking, providing the support and services typically done in-branch. Poll When was the last time you used a bank branch? In the last week In the last month In the last year Can't remember When was the last time you used a bank branch? In the last week 91 votes In the last month 60 votes In the last year 49 votes Can't remember 41 votes Now share your opinion Services such as currency exchange, are growing largely from Transferwise and WorldFirst, neither of which have branches. Will this mean cherry-picking customers and leaving others behind? The rise of these new companies coupled with generational shifts is leaving big banks competing to keep the business of younger generations. Challenger banks and other 'FinTech' start-ups can cherry pick younger customers. Meanwhile, older generations, particularly those without internet access or a smart phone, are left feeling cut off by branch closures. Established players are short of solutions for this unique squeeze. Bloomfield agrees. He said: 'There is a big conversation about this elderly demographic and who should pay for them by keeping branches open'. With more branch closures in the pipeline, it's a problem that doesn't look to be solved any time soon. The fear is that while the shift to digital may be following the trend for future business, it is leaving some existing customers behind. And when there local branch shuts, these are likely to be the customers who will find it hardest to get to the next nearest one. For many older customers and those who rely on local branch services, the only way to survive the digital takeover without a nearby branch appears to be by buying a smart phone or to get connected to the internet. To make the technology more accessible, face-to-face assistance can help, as seen by the Barclays Digital Eagles scheme aimed at teaching people how to use the internet. Theresa May (pictured) hailed the strength of the British economy yesterday amid signs that the country will avoid recession after the Brexit vote Theresa May hailed the strength of the British economy yesterday amid signs that the country will avoid recession after the Brexit vote. The Prime Minister warned of difficult times ahead but insisted that the economy has performed better than many expected since the referendum. We have had some good figures and better figures than some had predicted would be the case, she said. Im not going to pretend that its all going to be plain sailing. I think we must be prepared for the fact that there may be some difficult times ahead. But what I am is optimistic. A series of statistics in recent weeks have undermined doom-laden warnings by Remain campaigners, including David Cameron and George Osborne, that a vote to leave the EU would be a disaster for the economy. Mr Cameron warned that a vote to loosen our ties with Brussels would put a bomb under the economy, while Mr Osborne said it would cause a DIY recession. But many experts now believe that a recession two consecutive quarters of falling output will be avoided. The Bank of England thinks growth will slow from 0.6 per cent in the second quarter to 0.1 per cent in the current third quarter. Matthew Turner, an analyst at investment bank Macquarie, said there was strong evidence in favour of our view there wont be a recession in the second half of this year. James Knightley, senior economist at European banking giant ING, added: The UK economy is weathering the Brexit storm remarkably well. Jake Trask, an analyst at currency firm UKForex, said: Although the UK economy has undoubtedly been affected by the Brexit vote, the damage done seems far away from some of the apocalyptic predictions. All eyes will be on a report into Britains powerhouse services sector due to be published today for further signs of how the economy is faring. A series of statistics have undermined the warnings from Remain campaigners David Cameron (left) and George Osborne (right) that a vote to leave the EU would be a disaster for the economy The Markit survey of private sector businesses, from hotels and restaurants to accountants and lawyers, is expected to show the economy stabilised in August following a slump in July after the referendum. It follows upbeat reports into the manufacturing and construction sectors last week. Research group Markit said its index of activity in British factories where scores below 50 show decline and scores above 50 show growth jumped five points to 53.3 last month. It was the joint biggest increase since records began nearly 25 years ago. The construction index rose from a seven-year low of 45.9 in July to 49.2 in August. Although that signalled output in the industry is falling, it was the best performance for three months and far stronger than expected. Hinkley Point decision delay due to the way I operate, Theresa May says Theresa May has defended the delay on whether to give the go-ahead to Hinkley Point despite the diplomatic difficulties it will cause during her visit to China. The Prime Minister said the delay was down to "the way I operate" because she wanted a fresh look at the evidence for the 18 billion plant. The review comes amid concerns about the high cost of energy from the proposed nuclear power plant in Somerset and the security implications of Chinese involvement in a piece of critical national infrastructure. An artist's impression of plans for the new Hinkley Point C nuclear power station Asked whether the National Security Council would be examining the project, in which the state-owned China General Nuclear would take a one-third stake, Mrs May said: "I'm going to be looking at all the evidence around this issue. The way I look at this, I don't just take an instant decision. "I actually look at the evidence, take the advice, consider it properly and then come to a decision. "I have been very clear that I will be doing that and taking a decision some time this month." Mrs May will meet Chinese president Xi Jinping after the G20 summit in Hangzhou concludes on Monday. Asked if she would specifically raise security concerns about the project she said: "I am going to be talking to President Xi about a whole range of issues." It is understood the National Security Council has not examined Chinese investment since Mrs May replaced David Cameron in Number 10. Both Mr Cameron and his chancellor George Osborne were enthusiastic supporters of a new "golden era" in relations with Beijing. Mrs May insisted she wanted that strategic partnership to continue. Asked if she trusted the Chinese she said: "Of course we have a relationship with them, we are working with them and we have seen significant Chinese investment into the UK. "What I want to do is build on that relationship, but I also want, here at the G20, to be able to build on relationships with other countries." In a sign of the security concerns surrounding the G20, Mrs May's aides have been warned to avoid "honey trap" encounters with Chinese spies while at the summit, the Sunday Telegraph reported. Officials have been issued with temporary mobile phones and internet addresses to try to evade Chinese hackers, and told to get changed under bedclothes if they did not want to risk being filmed naked in their hotel rooms, according to the report. Number 10 dismissed the suggestion that staff had been told to get undressed under the covers. Russia suspended passenger flights to Egypt last year after the crash of a Russian passenger jet in Sinai Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi agreed with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin that a Russian delegation will be sent to Egypt "in the coming days" to inspect airports in anticipation of resumption of commercial flights between the two countries, state news MENA reported. Russia, along with several other countries, suspended passenger flights to Egypt last year over security concerns after the crash of a Russian jet minutes after taking off from Sinai's Sharm El-Sheikh, killing all 224 onboard. The two presidents, who met on the sidelines of the G20 Summit in China's Hangzhou, also discussed a number of regional and international issues as well as the latest efforts to combat terrorism and extremism, with a focus on combining efforts in face of terrorism. The downing of the Russian flight was a heavy blow to Egypt's tourism industry. The number of tourists coming to Egypt dropped by 50 percent in the first half of 2016 compared to the same period last year, according to Egypt's Tourism Authority. Tourism revenues during that period witnessed a drop of 60 percent compared to 2015. Search Keywords: Short link: Sisi talked about a number of issues at the G20 Summit including coordinating efforts in combating terrorism and facilitating economic development in Africa Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi said in a speech on Monday during a session at the G20 Summit in China that Egypt is hosting five million refugees and immigrants despite facing economic challenges, adding that the root causes of the refugee crisis must be addressed. El-Sisi also talked about a number of other issues at the G20 Summit, where Egypt is a guest of honour, including coordinating efforts in combating terrorism and facilitating economic development in Africa. The G20 members, who account for 85 percent of the world economy and two-thirds of its population, agreed at the summit that refugees of violent conflicts represent a global issue and that the burden must be shared, the G20 leaders declared in a joint communique on Monday at the end of the two-day summit. El-Sisi said in his speech that to resolve refugee crises, the root causes must be addressed, including resolving armed conflicts and poor economic situations by providing job opportunities. El-Sisi highlighted that Egypt is actively participating in international forums to develop international frameworks on dealing with immigrants and refugees and their protection. El-Sisi also warned that terrorism is the biggest threat hindering the stability of the global economy and sustainable development for countries around the world. "Egypt has accomplished great success in countering terrorism by the people's support," the president said. He also stressed the importance of dealing firmly with the actors who are politically, financially and militarily supporting terrorist groups. The president also called on the top economic forum to draft a mechanism to counter terrorism, stating that Egypt would be the first to support this mechanism by contributing its expertise. Africa, climate and economic development El-Sisi also said that the development of the Suez Canal would boost Africa's manufacturing and exporting capabilities. Egypt is keen to deliver the voice of Africa at the G20 summit, the president had said in an August interview with Egypt's three major publicly-owned newspapers. He pointed out that Egypt is working to complete a land route between Cairo and Cape Town. This route is planned to pass through a number of African capitals, as well as link Lake Victoria and the Mediterranean shipping routes, contributing to the integration the African and global economies. El-Sisi, who is the head of the chairman of the African leaders on Climate Change, noted that Africa is the lowest producer of harmful emissions, yet the most harmed by them. He added the continent played its part by having a unified African position at the Paris Climate Accord last December. He also stressed the importance of reaching a clear agreement on the activation of the climate accord and its full implementation in Marrakesh. El-Sisi also called on the G20 to give the necessary support to the African initiative on renewable energy launched by Egypt. Search Keywords: Short link: According to Arab diplomats, the Saudis are very worried by the continued and inconclusive war they have been waging against the Iranian-supported Houthis in Yemen which the Saudis consider their immediate backyard On Thursday Arab foreign ministers will meet at the Cairo headquarters of the Arab League for a regular session ahead of the UN General Assembly later this month. Typically, the top diplomats of the Arab states will revise a long list of issues that are permanently on their agenda, supposedly with an eye on boosting relations and common interests. However, only a few matters will actually get serious attention from the diplomatic delegations. Facing up to what Riyadh says are Iranian ambitions to expand its influence across the Arab world at the expense of Saudi influence is the top priority, as at the Arab summit that convened late July in the capital of Mauritania. According to Arab diplomats, the Saudis are very worried by the continued and inconclusive war they have been waging against the Iranian-supported Houthis in Yemen which the Saudis consider their immediate backyard. The Saudis are also upset that they have been unable to grant a military or political victory to their allies either in Syria or in Iraq against those supported by Iran in both countries. On record, Iranian officials have been bragging about their on-the-ground presence in these three Arab countries and in Lebanon and about the current and potential influence, both economic and political, they have in several other Arab countries. Nothing has changed during the past five weeks since the delayed convocation of the Arab summit; at the time the Saudis were very focused on Iran and today they are still, commented an Arab League diplomat. He added that it is only expected that the resolutions adopted by the Arab foreign ministers on the matter will be almost exactly the same as those that were adopted at the Arab summit. Coming second on the agenda, or maybe parallel, is the situation in Syria. The Arab foreign ministers' meeting will be convening in the wake of an expected deal between the US and Russia on handling the situation in Syria. This potential deal that has been in the works for a few weeks now was almost finalised on Monday and Tuesday during American-Russian meetings on the sidelines of the G20 summit hosted by China this week. Obviously, the son of the Saudi king, Prince Mohamed Ben Salman, who assumes the role of the second crown prince and minister of defence, had held meetings with participating American and Russian officials to make sure that whatever the deal that Washington and Moscow will cut, it would not come at the expense of the Sunni groups that Riyadh had been supporting, with political and financial means, during their war with the army of the Iran-supported Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad. I think it is upon the arrival of (Saudi Foreign Minister Adel )Al-Jubair that we will know where the Saudis stand on the matter and how much support they would be willing to offer to a Russian-American deal on Syria, if one is reached, said the same Arab League diplomat. According to the sources of Ahram Online at the Arab League, the office of the secretary-general of the Arab League had been in touch with Riyadh during the process of preparing the draft resolutions that the foreign ministers are expected to adopt on these two files and also on the resolutions related to the situation in Yemen, Lebanon and Iraq. Saudi Arabia is effectively the country with the loudest voice at the Arab League now, said the same Arab League diplomat. He added that this is not just a function of a declining diplomatic presence of the traditionally high-profile diplomacy of Egypt, due to the internal upheaval that the country had experienced during the past five years. It is about the many changes that the entire Arab world has been through, he said; it is about the Arab Spring that turned sour in Syria where the demonstrations calling for democracy ended in a terrifying civil war and about the declining interests that Arab countries have in the Pan-Arab umbrella. A retired Arab League diplomat however believes that the declining interest in the Arab League and the growing influence of Saudi Arabia is not new. It has actually been there since the late 1990s and early 2000s when the Gulf Cooperation Council was offering expanded memberships to countries like Jordan and Yemen; at the time we used to think that it was a matter of time before the GCC replaced the Arab League even if the organisation were not dismembered, he said. However, he and other diplomats accepted that the declining diplomatic presence of both Egypt and Syria dealt the last blow to any semblance of balance in the pan-Arab organisation. Arab League diplomats, serving and recently retired, also blame the leadership of former Arab League Secretary General Nabil El-Arabi, himself a former minister of foreign affairs, for the augmentation of Gulf influence at the league during the past five years. In the words of some of those diplomats who had served closely with El-Arabi, the former secretary-general was always willing to facilitate the adoption of the Saudi or Qatari positions - unless it ran firmly counter to the Egyptian position. It was really about anything from the language of a resolution on the situation in Iraq to the schedule of ministerial meetings that Nabil El-Arabi would keenly accommodate the Gulf states on, said another. The end of the inter-GCC rivalry between Qatar and Saudi Arabia a couple of years ago with the demise of King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia, made El-Arabis diplomatic posture easier to fix: whatever the GCC proposed unless Egypt argued otherwise. The same diplomats say that it was not the personal choice of the former secretary-general to bow to the wish of the GCC and especially Saudi Arabia - it was the way things were by the implicit consensus of all Arab countries including Egypt - and of course excluding Syria whose membership has been suspended at the Arab organisation since the heyday of the Arab Spring. Today, the same diplomats argue, the new Arab League secretary-general, Ahmed Abul-Gheit, is following in the footsteps of his predecessor - perhaps even faster. But of course, the Arab League is only a reflection of the status quo of the Arab world and in todays Arab world the voice of the Saudis is the highest and the GCC is in full control of the Arab organisation, said Mohamed El-Agati, director of ACFA. El-Agati argues that with Nabil El-Arabi at the helm, the Arab organisation went from the peak glory of the Arab Spring, when the elimination of former Libyan dictator Muammar Qaddafi was hailed at the main hall of the Arab League by official Arab delegates as they received the representatives of the first post-Qaddafi government, to the demise of the Arab Spring - upon the wish and efforts of the most traditional Arab regimes. It was this Arab political reality that allowed Abul-Gheit, said El-Agati, to assume his job - given that he had to leave office in the wake of the 2011 revolution in Egypt for his close association with the ousted regime of Hosni Mubarak. And this is precisely why, El-Agati added, in one of his very early TV interviews Abul-Gheit labelled the Arab Spring as a conspiracy against the interests of the Arab world. There again, the political standing of the secretary-general does have an influence, said El-Agati. Nabil El-Arabi had immediately announced his subscription to the Arab Spring and had argued the need for balanced relations between Arabs and Iran, called for a united Arab stand to support the Palestinian cause and believed in the pursuit of good governance. Aboul-Gheit is not in favour of any of these lines. Beyond opposing the Arab Spring, he has clear announced positions against promoting relations with Iran and some very unsympathetic remarks on the suffering of the Palestinians in Gaza. So all of these positions would be reflected in his political administration; this is not to say that he is the one who decides the policy lines but that his influence on these matters will surely be tainted with his positions, El-Agati said. According to El-Agati, the collective failure of the Arab countries to lend adequate support to the Palestinian cause during the past five years, for example, happened not because El-Arabi did not want to support the Palestinian cause but because the Arab countries turned their backs on the issue. Today, more than before, El-Agati does not expect any serious attention to be paid to the Palestinian cause because now is not the time to champion the big causes but to indulge further into the ethnic disputes that are inciting more feuds in the Arab world rather than to unite the Arabs behind one cause. As such, El-Agati is not anticipating the next Arab foreign ministers' meeting to be any different from the last Arab summit. The Arab League is essentially the mirror that reflects the reality; even if you have a very nice mirror , if the reality is not good than there is not much to expect, he argued. Search Keywords: Short link: Hopewell Community Park remains a 'labor of love' for local community The lush green park is a product of the combined efforts of the Hopewell Township community and a symbol of decades of conservation efforts in Beaver County. Wichita Falls police had few new details to release about the arrest of Kody Austin Lott. Lott, 20, is charged with aggravated assault and murder in connection to Friday's shooting of 13-year-olds Lauren Landavazo and Makayla Smith on their way home from McNiel Middle School. Officer Tim Johnson, a WFPD spokesperson, said officers were called to check on a suspicious person that matched the description of the shooting suspect released by police. Officers were able to stop the gold SUV in the 4700 block of Southwest Parkway at a shopping center. Lott was identified as the driver and gave consent for police to search the vehicle, Johnson said. Johnson said there was no indication that Lott tried to run or was tackled by officers, despite social media reports. During their search, officers located a pair of brass knuckles in the vehicle, Johnson said. Lott was arrested and charged with possession of a prohibited weapon. Lott was taken to the police station for questioning, where he confessed to detectives that he shot Landavazo and Smith, WFPD Chief Manuel Borrego said Sunday. Police executed a search warrant Sunday evening on an apartment believed to be Lott's in the 5200 block of Tower Drive. Johnson said evidence related to the case was collected but was unable to release specifics or whether the gun was found. Lott's bail is expected to be set at $2 million each on the charges of aggravated assault and murder, Borrego said. AREA ROUNDUP: Hirschi clinches playoff spot win win over Sweetwater Check out results from Friday's high school football action, including a 3-0 victory for Holliday in a defensive battle against City View. David Reed, Burkburnett I don't claim to be an educator, Even though I taught at the university level and a Christian school. I do, however, claim to be a concerned taxpayer and a more concerned grandfather. I strongly opposed the introduction of tablets (I-Pads) into Burk schools, but since our previous superintendent and school board were for it, even kindergartners have them. No use sending kids to City View or WFISD. They too have sold their souls to Bill Gates and the 'Elite' educators in DC. I argued uselessly with the same board against C-Scope, but was gratified when it was abolished along with its evil twin, Common Core (CC), in Texas. Now it is back. Our enlightened legislators told schools they could purchase any curriculum they desired so long as it aligned with the TEKS. Guess what, many CC precepts can be aligned with TEKs if manipulated by our hired curriculum directors at the schools. With no heavy textbooks reviewed by competent educators to worry about, anything can be programmed into the tablets. Burk uses Discovery Education, Pearson Realize and Istation, lefty publishers that preach the Gates doctrine (Google these/CC). Additionally, with every child toting a computer, administrators can track every move they make. This will be reported to the Feds who will maintain it for the rest of their life. Are you aware of the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA)? It replaced No Child Left Behind. CC, which is again legal in Texas, is redefined as social-emotional learning (SEL) which outranks academics. May God bless our superintendents and School Board, but parents are the last line of defense. Be aware! Cynthia Archibald, Wichita Falls Stop littering our paper with your fear mongering words, Mr. Petrash. Your OP-ED on religious freedom has gone too far. We don't live in the 1930s, 1940s, or the 1950s. We live in 2016, and your propensity to look backward instead of forward is exactly what keeps many in this town stagnated in religious bigotry and hypocrisy. When you witnessed your first sighting of two women in burqas, you referred to them as Muslim ladies, then you digressed, characterizing yourself as offended, and then spoke of your desire to be able to defend yourself from those religious fanatics. Really? They were two women shopping. Wichita Falls is a small, but none-the-less, international city including Muslims. Sheppard Air Force Base is a host and training operation for our NATO allies representing many countries whose citizens are Muslim. Additionally, some of the finest in our medical community are Muslim,.Midwestern State University boasts Muslim teachers and students alike, and our lives are enriched and expanded by their cultural traditions, food, music, businesses, and friendships. Our community includes the Wichita Falls Islamic Center, where their members 'condemn in the strongest way the horrific acts of violence and terrorism committed by ISIS, al-Qaida and alike, under the name of Islam.' There have been complaints for years about safety at J'ouvert, a carnival celebrating Caribbean culture held before dawn each Labor Day on the streets of Brooklyn. But after an aide to New York's governor was killed by a stray bullet at last year's party, authorities are taking unprecedented precautions. Traditionally held largely in the dark, this year's celebration will be illuminated by 200 light towers. Police plan to double the number of officers patrolling the neighborhood where a procession of steel drums and costumed revelers is set to kick off at 4 a.m. The department has also added 42 new security cameras to watch over an estimated 250,000 revelers. For the first time, organizers of the parade were required to get a permit. Police, in conjunction with community groups, also distributed fliers with a blunt message. "This community will no longer tolerate this violence. Do not shoot anyone. Do not stab anyone," the leaflets said. The changes come a year after Carey Gabay, a 43-year-old lawyer who had worked for Gov. Andrew Cuomo and was deputy counsel of the state's economic development agency, was shot in the head as two street gangs exchanged gunshots during J'ouvert festivities. Earlier the same morning, a Bronx man, Denentro Josiah, was stabbed to death during festivities. In 2014, a man was fatally shot and two people wounded during the celebration. The name, J'ouvert, means daybreak, put together from the French words "jour" and "ouvert." The even larger West Indian Day parade down Eastern Parkway follows hours later. Raymond Biggs, 34, a Brooklyn resident who has been going to J'ouvert since he was a child, said he understood the need for the increased security. He said he's seen the atmosphere around J'ouvert change from the relaxed good time he remembers it being as a teen and young adult. "I can't blame the police for being a little more aggressive now and trying to keep things a little more organized because people act different now," Biggs said. Two Capital Region students are among five teens statewide who have won Gov. Andrew Cuomo's first Carey Gabay Scholarship, a program for disadvantaged students that honors the former Cuomo aide who was a victim of gun violence a year ago during Brooklyn's annual West Indian Day celebration. The scholarship essentially pays for four years of college at a SUNY school. The governor's office said each scholarship covers all costs of attendance, including tuition, room and board, college fees, books and supplies, and transportation and personal expenses. Narelys Chum of Troy will attend SUNY New Paltz and Tony Kelley of Albany will attend the University at Albany. Gabay, who grew up living in public housing and attended public school in the Bronx, was a graduate of Harvard Law School, an assistant counsel to Cuomo and first deputy general counsel at Empire State Development Corp. at the time of his death. Gabay was with family members attending J'Ouvert, a march that happens in the pre-dawn hours before the carnival begins, in Sept. 2015 when he was shot in the head by a stray bullet. Gabay, who was expecting his first child, was removed from life support a week and a half later. New York officials have struggled to contain violence at the annual carnival and parade. In the early morning hours Monday, two other people were killed as festivities commenced. The other Gabay scholarship winners announced Monday are Ramanjot Bal of Richmond Hill, Queens; Fernando De La Cruz of Washington Heights, Manhattan, and Nayelhi Sanchez-Lorenzo of Spring Valley. "The criteria for the Carey Gabay scholarship awards is rigorous, as it should be to reflect the life and work of such a tremendous person," SUNY Chancellor Nancy L. Zimpher said in a statement. "Through this scholarship, Fernando, Tony, Narelys, Ramanjot, and Nayelhi will be given the full financial support to allow each of them to earn a quality college degree and pursue their dreams. My heartfelt congratulations to each of the winners." Three of the winners walked in the West Indian Day parade with Cuomo Monday, including Kelley, who graduated from Green Tech High in Albany and is going to be a pre-med student at UAlbany. "I am grateful for the opportunity that was given to me," Kelley told the Times Union Monday night. "There were many deserving applicants, but I was one of five. The process was long, but it was worth it, and I wouldn't change anything about it. I would like to thank the governor's office for all of (its) cooperation and the opportunity. I would also like to thank my mother and my best friend... I hope this serves to show that anyone can do anything they put their mind to." The governor's office also said this about Chum as well: "Narelys grew up in Harlem before moving to Troy at the age of 12. She grew up surrounded by chaos and a violent culture, and chose a path of education and hard work as her way out of a violent community, as opposed to falling into violence herself. Her family struggled to afford food, and Narelys was bullied for her economic situation. Narelys is a leader in many of her school's organizations, including the We Are Voices and Educators organization, and leads spoken word workshops. Because of her hardships, she believes in a philosophy that success in life is about values and helping others." lstanforth@timesunion.com 518-454-5697 New York In the mid-1940s, Joel Teitelbaum, an eminent and charismatic rabbi, immigrated to the United States, colonizing a section of Williamsburg in Brooklyn for his Hasidic sect, the Satmar, its name taken from the Hungarian town of Szatmar, where Teitelbaum had fought to resist the encroachments of a modernizing society. Subsequent decades have seen virtually no retrenchment in the sect's mistrust of the larger world. Among the Satmar in Brooklyn, use of the internet is condemned and secular education is considered of little use. In recent years, though, it became the fashion among some Satmar women to pursue special-education degrees after high school, typically online or through religious colleges. The women often go to work not in philosophically suspect places like Greenwich Village, but in schools within their community. Now, even that minor advance has been rolled back; some Satmar leaders issued a decree proclaiming that the practice would no longer be tolerated. A letter from the United Talmudical Academy, the governing body for a consortium of schools, meant for girls entering the 12th grade and their parents, stated that they "shouldn't God forbid take a degree which is according to our sages, dangerous and damaging." The letter went on to say that girls shouldn't learn college subjects and that those who refused to obey would be denied positions as teachers. Leaders, they said, had a responsibility to protect the religious educational system from outside influences. The notion is not an invention of the Hasidim, said Allan Nadler, director of Jewish studies at Drew University and a scholar of Hasidic practice. The Mishna, a multivolume compilation of Jewish law that predates the Talmud, contains a prohibition against "external books." Still, Nadler maintained, the recent decree reflects what he has observed over the years as a deepening fear of wider society. The Talmudical Academy did not return calls seeking comment. At 28, Libelle Polaki, an exile from the ultraorthodox community in Brooklyn, expects to graduate from the Borough of Manhattan Community College in December. Having suffered through an arranged marriage, she said, she was forced to pay off her husband, with a sum of approximately $18,000, to get divorced. Two of her grandparents speak to her; two don't. The friends she left behind, she said, are jealous of her freedom. President Barack Obama and Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday failed to force a breakthrough in negotiations over a cease-fire for Syria, but agreed to keep looking for a path to provide humanitarian relief to thousands of besieged civilians in the civil war-ravaged country. After a 90-minute huddle on the sidelines of an economic summit, the two leaders directed their top diplomats to return to talks quickly, likely later this week, according to a senior administration official who briefed reporters on the meeting. The official would not be named discussing the private discussion, which also covered U.S. concerns over cybersecurity and the situation in Ukraine. The official said the U.S. was eager to find an agreement quickly, mindful of the deteriorating conditions around the besieged city of Aleppo. But U.S. was wary of enter a deal that would not be effective. The two leaders used the talk to clarify sticking points, the official said. The conversation came hours after U.S. and Russian negotiators acknowledged that a recent round of intense talk had come up short. Secretary of State John Kerry and Russian foreign minister Sergey Lavrov have for weeks been trying to broker a deal that would curb the violence between the Syrian President Bashar Assad's government forces and moderate rebels backed by the U.S. The strategy has hinged on the two sides agreeing to closer militarily coordination against extremist groups operating in Syria. But Obama has expressed scepticism that Russia would hold to its agreement. In recent days, the State Department has said it is seeking a nationwide cease-fire between Assad's military and the rebels, rather than another "cessation of hostilities" that is time-limited and only stops fighting in some cities and regions Search Keywords: Short link: I am in Albany today because I worked for the Office of Court Administration over the summers of 1979 and 1980 doing research and writing speeches and articles on court reform for Chief Administrative Judge Herbert Evans. I was under the tutelage of Frederick Miller, then OCA's legislative counsel. Miller was OCA's point man in implementing all the historic achievements of Gov. Nelson Rockefeller who had made reforming New York's courts a top priority. He told me that the only thing that could move court reform forward was a governor like Rocky who made the issue his own. Related British Airways set to resume direct flights to Iran Iran and Britain appointed new ambassadors to each other's countries on Monday for the first time since a mob ransacked the British embassy in Tehran in 2011. Hamid Baeidinejad, 53, was named as Tehran's envoy to London, ISNA state news agency reported. He played a crucial role in the negotiations with world powers that led to last year's nuclear accord and the lifting of international sanctions. Britain appointed Nicholas Hopton -- the current charge d'affairs in Tehran -- as its first ambassador to Iran since relations were severed following the storming of the embassy by students in five years ago. "The upgrade in diplomatic relations gives us the opportunity to develop our discussions on a range of issues, including our consular cases about which I am deeply concerned," British Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson said in a statement, referring to the ongoing detention of dual nationals in Iran. "I hope this will mark the start of more productive cooperation between our countries, enabling us to discuss more directly issues such as human rights and Iran's role in the region, as well as ongoing implementation of the nuclear deal and the expansion of the trading relationship between both our countries," said Johnson. The 2011 attack on the embassy saw a mob rampage for hours through the compound, tearing down the British flag, ripping up pictures of Queen Elizabeth II and trashing offices. The incident followed a vote by lawmakers to expel Britain's ambassador and reduce trade relations in retaliation for nuclear-related sanctions, but the violence was later condemned by Iran's supreme leader and other politicians. The British embassy was reopened in August 2015, a month after the signing of the nuclear accord, during a visit by Johnson's predecessor Philip Hammond. Baeidinejad worked as an expert on disarmament and represented Iran in several roles at the United Nations, including as ambassador between 2008 and 2011. Iran maintains a deep historical distrust of Britain, dating back to the early 20th century when London meddled frequently in Iranian politics in order to secure cheap access to oil for the Anglo-Iranian Oil Company (which later became BP). Britain played a key role in prodding the Central Intelligence Agency into carrying out a coup in 1953, toppling the hugely popular prime minister Mohammad Mosaddegh who had called for Iran's oil to be nationalised. Search Keywords: Short link: Cleaners working in Templemore's Garda College have announced their intention to engage in industrial action unless their pay and conditions are improved. Some 31 cleaning staff in the College met last week to discuss their options. The group had balloted for action with their trade union IMPACT back in July regarding their concerns. It's understood the proposed work-to-rule action will commence on September 19th unless the group's demands are met. As well as cleaning, the staff also have to make up beds and carry out other duties which are considered outside their normal duties. On Monday, IMPACT released a statement saying they would back their colleagues in Templemore. The lowest paid civil servants in Ireland, who start work on the lowest possible legal wage, have today (Monday) served notice of a work-to-rule at the Garda College in Templemore. The union IMPACT says it may also take an equal pay case against the State because male staff doing similar work in other parts of the public service are paid significantly more than the female college cleaners in dispute. The row is over a number of issues including managements failure to hire enough staff to deal with increased student numbers as Templemore becomes fully operational. IMPACT has also raised health and safety concerns with management, and is seeking a formal Health and Safety Authority inspection of the facility. IMPACT national secretary Andy Pike said: Pay for college cleaning staff is the lowest in the civil service, with a starting salary at the national minimum wage, and well short of the recommended 11.50 living wage. Staff are also expected to carry out a wide range of extended housekeeping duties without receiving any additional reward. There is now a two-week window for management to engage with IMPACT before staff start their work to rule, which will see cleaners revert solely to cleaning duties instead of working as housekeepers or hotel services staff. Aldi is delighted to announce that Thurles based Mo Chara Animal Rescue is the latest charity to benefit from Aldis new community support fund. Aldis Cashel staff have awarded Mo Chara Animal Rescue a 500 grant in recognition of its tremendous work within the local community and to help support its vital services. The 500 grant was presented to Nikki Veasey, Mo Chara Animal Rescues Chairperson, today by Noel Phillips, Aldis Charity Champion. Commenting, Finbar McCarthy, Group Buying Director, Aldi Ireland, said. We are delighted our Cashel employees have chosen to support Mo Chara Animal Rescue as they play a pivotal role in bettering the local community as a whole. Mo Chara Animal Rescues work in improving the welfare of animals that may have been abused or neglected is vital. Supporting the local communities our stores serve is something that we truly believe in and we are proud to be contributing to the important work done by charities and not-forprofit organisations across Tipperary through our community support fund. Aldis community support fund programme provides each Aldi employee with the opportunity to nominate a charity, community group or not-for-profit organisation within their local community for support. Nominated charities are assessed according to a defined selection criteria, with the organisation deemed the most worthwhile receiving a 500 donation from Aldi. Each of Aldis 126 Irish stores has been allocated an individual annual bursary fund and a Charity Champion assigned to co-ordinate the programme at a local level and work closely with the local charities and not-for-profit organisations. The programme aims to make a difference to the communities Aldis stores serve, focusing on helping develop Irelands youth, combat food poverty and improve the wellbeing of families. [September 05, 2016] Newsbyte: HPI, University of Potsdam and SAP Partner to Accelerate Next-Gen Innovation WALLDORF, Germany, Sept. 5, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- The Hasso Plattner Institute (HPI), the University of Potsdam and the SAP Innovation Center Network are planning to partner with the SAP University Alliances program to launch an academic innovation network in Berlin and Potsdam to expand opportunities for the SAP SE (NYSE: SAP) ecosystem to accelerate innovation with academia. The network is intended to help SAP customers across Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA) and beyond to benefit from digital transformation thought leadership of world-class faculties, and to connect with students who, as next-gen designers, developers, data scientists, makers, entrepreneurs and business leaders, can reimagine business with disruptive designs and prototype apps leveraging SAP HANA Cloud Platform, and soon with Apple iOS. The announcement was made at the 21st SAP Academic Conference EMA being held September 59, 2016, in Potsdam, Germany. "SAP is thrilled to partner with HPI and University of Potsdam on an academic innovation network, and to drive EdTech innovation," said Bernd Welz, executive vice president and head of Scale, Enablement and Transformation, SAP. Networking opportunities will be enhanced via new SAP Next-Gen Lab spaces at member campuses of SAP University Alliances globally as well as at SAP locations including Walldorf, and in New York in partnership with HPI. Prof. Dr. Christoph Meinel, scientific institute director and CEO of HPI, said, "HPI is delighted to partner on the SAP Next-Gen Lab in New York. SAP customers can connect with HPI students on projects in the SAP Next-Gen Consulting program defining the future of industries in New York and beyond including financial services, media, retail and more." Prof. Oliver Gunther, Ph.D., president of the University of Potsdam, added, "We look forward to sharing insights with the network from our leading researchers in areas at the center of digital transformation including IT strategy, security and privacy, and digital asset management." Jurgen Muller, chief innovation officer, SAP, said, "SAP Innovation Center Network will help faculty and students gain insights on enabling the digital transformation of industries with the latest SAP technologies including machine learning." SAP University Alliances opens up the world of SAP to more than 2,900 educational institutions in 103 countries worldwide. It aims to develop critical skills for the digital enterprise among academics, university students and young thinkers, and to build the bridge to executives and professionals. For more information, visit the SAP News Center. Follow SAP on Twitter at @sapnews. Media Contact: Rajiv Sekhri, +49 (6227) 77-4871, [email protected], CET Any statements contained in this document that are not historical facts are forward-looking statements as defined in the U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Words such as "anticipate," "believe," "estimate," "expect," "forecast," "intend," "may," "plan," "project," "predict," "should" and "will" and similar expressions as they relate to SAP are intended to identify such forward-looking statements. SAP undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements. All forward-looking statements are subject to various risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from expectations. The factors that could affect SAP's future financial results are discussed more fully in SAP's filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC"), including SAP's most recent Annual Report on Form 20-F filed with the SEC. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of their dates. Logo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20110126/AQ34470LOGO To view the original version on PR Newswire, visit:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/newsbyte-hpi-university-of-potsdam-and-sap-partner-to-accelerate-next-gen-innovation-300322433.html SOURCE SAP SE [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] [September 04, 2016] Sparkle of B20 Summit, JUMORE's contribution to G20 HANGZHOU, China, Sept. 5, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- On 3rd of September, The Business 20 (B20) Summit was ceremoniously held in Hangzhou. As the leading figure of B2B E-commerce enterprises, Mr. Eric Lu, the Chairman of JUMORE Cross-border E-commerce participated in the summit to jointly provide advices and suggestions to the upcoming G20 with other global political and business leaders. B20 Summit is the crucial nexus for international business community to participate in global economic governance and international economic and trade regulation which supports the work of the G20 by hosting focused polcy discussions and developing recommendations. As has been announced, this year's agenda will cover financial growth, trade and investment, infrastructure etc., which cohere the Theme of G20 which is "Innovative, Invigorated, Interconnected and Inclusive". Correspondently, it is the time for JUMORE to implement its strategy of serving as an ecological e-commerce platform for the real economy. Innovative-driven Growth is the key point of this year's G20/B20, thus in Eric Lu's point of view, the Cross-border E-commerce will be acting as a resource integrator to lead the innovative trends to enhance the resource integration and upgrades, supply-chain circulation and globalized developments. JUMORE is the Ecological E-commerce platform oriented globally for full-line commodities and whole supply-chain. JUMORE strives to forge an ecological trading environment which is "Compliant, Secure and Open". As the founding and optimizing of JUMORE Ecological system, JUMORE will not only accelerate the rules' establishments of quality control and new trading, but also promote the upgrade of international trading credit system and assist to the free trading and economic recovery globally. At present, JUMORE has reached agreements with more than 80 countries (embassies, consulates, chambers of commerce etc.) in the world. By attending the B20, JUMORE will have deepen conversation with global leaders and discuss the new trading model with the assistance of Cross-border E-commerce to achieve innovative escalation for trading and upgrading the real economy. Photo - http://photos.prnasia.com/prnh/20160904/0861609043 [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] [September 04, 2016] Over 80% of Merchants in the US Accept UnionPay Credit Cards SHANGHAI, Sept. 4, 2016 /CNW/-- It is learnt on September 1 that almost all the ATMs in the US accept UnionPay cards for cash withdrawal and over 80% of the local merchants accept UnionPay credit cards. In tourists' favorite destinations like New York, Hawaii, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Orlando and Chicago, UnionPay's acceptance coverage in well-known shopping centers and Outlets has exceeded 90%. With one UnionPay debit card and one UnionPay credit card (card numbers both start with 62), cardholders can pay with ease and benefits in the US. Merchants accepting UnionPay are located across the US, covering department stores, brand chain stores, convenient stores, restaurants and hotels, and it is convenient to use UnionPay cards at Macy's, Apple Stores, Best Buy, airport duty-free stores and other places favored by tourists. Using UnionPay credit cards in the US, cardholders only need to sign, and no PIN is required. Cardhlders can also use UnionPay debit cards at merchants with PIN pads. With an extensive acceptance network in the US, UnionPay International has been constructing 30 core acceptance business districts around the major attractions and shopping centers since last year, enhancing acceptance coverage while providing exclusive benefits and services. These core business districts include Metropolitan Museum of Art, Woodbury Premium Outlet, T Galleria by DFS, and Kalakaua Avenue in Hawaii. It is worth noting that although many American merchants do not display the signage of bankcard brands, most merchants with PIN pads accept UnionPay debit cards. Consumers may also ask the cashiers if UnionPay cards are accepted. Within this year, cardholders are able to enjoy various privileges in the US. First, over 50 well-known Outlets provide VIP discount manuals and gifts for UnionPay cardholders, including 15 Premium Outlets, 37 Tanger Outlets and many Fashion Outlets. Second, consumers may enjoy double discounts (10%-off and "4-day fare for 7-day tenancy") when using UnionPay cards to rent cars via Hertz. Third, UnionPay cardholders are able to visit the Metropolitan Museum of Art for free, and buying one ticket for the Art Institute of Chicago with UnionPay credit card, consumers can get another ticket for free. For more information: http://www.unionpayintl.com/ To view the original version on PR Newswire, visit:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/over-80-of-merchants-in-the-us-accept-unionpay-credit-cards-300322437.html SOURCE UnionPay International [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] [September 05, 2016] Bellamy's Organic Ties Up With VIP.com to Sell Organic IMF Products at a Reduced Price on September 6th SHANGHAI, Sept. 5, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Bellamy's Australia Limited (ASX: BAL) has announced it will sell its organic infant milk formula (IMF) products at a discount on VIP.com (NYSE: VIPS), on September 6, 2016, as part of Vipshop's (NYSE: VIPS) "Bellamy's Brand Day". Bellamy's is a producer, supplier, and marketer of a range of 100% certified-organic baby food and formula products for babies and toddlers that established a 100% owned entity in China in 2013 and which first started selling through VIP.com in April 2016. The company recently announced record results for the 12 months ended 30 June 2016 with China revenues up 331% in large part because the Bellamy's brand and its trusted, organic products are highly valued by Chinese consumers. Bellamy's Brand Day Promotions Include: 1.) Bellamy's infant milk formula Step 1: RMB149 per tin, with a minimum purchase of 2 tins* Bellamy's infant milk formula Step 2: RMB149 per tin, with a minimum purchase of 2 tins* Bellamy's infant milk formula Step 3: RMB149 per tin, with a minimum purchase of 3 tins* *Includes tax and delivery, no maximum quota on number of producs purchased 2.) Red packet giveaway for all consumers valued at RMB10; An additional RMB40 discount for consumers who purchase more than RMB499 worth of Bellamy's infant milk formula products 3.) RMB4,999 travel coupon given to top six consumers of Bellamy's formula products during the Brand Day Promotion period. 4.) 40 consumers receive discounts of up to RMB300. For full details on this unique, one-day offer please visit: http://act.vip.com/28902.html "We are excited to launch 'Bellamy's Brand Day' in association with VIP.com," said Laura McBain, Managing Director and CEO of Bellamy's Organic. "VIP.com has been helping us sell direct to Chinese consumers for much of this year and for one day, on September 6th, we are offering Chinese consumers the chance to purchase our organic infant milk formula products from VIP.com at an even more competitive price through a series of special offers on the e-commerce platform." About Bellamy's Organic Bellamy's Australia Limited (ASX: BAL) is a producer, supplier, and marketer of a range of 100% certified-organic baby food and formula products for babies and toddlers that is headquartered in Tasmania, Australia. http://www.bellamysorganic.cn/ About Vipshop VIP.com (NYSE: VIPS), an e-commerce platform "dedicated to Flash Sales", was established in 2008. It pioneered the special "Selected Brands, Deep Discount, Authenticity Guaranteed" Flash Sales model, retailing categories such as fashion clothing, shoes & bags, cosmetics, mother & kids, home goods and more. VIP.com works with over 18,000 brands in total and more than 1,800 of the brands are exclusive online partners with VIP.com. By the end of 2015, VIP.com reached about 2 million total annual orders, and annual net revenue of 40.2 billion RMB. On March 23rd, 2012, VIP.com successfully listed on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE). Since the IPO to December 31, 2015, VIP.com has been profitable for 13 consecutive quarters. VIP.com has become the largest Flash Sales platform globally as well as the third online retailer in China, with access to over 180 million registered members. The Flash Sales model, represented by VIP.com, has become one of the three main modern e-commerce business models in China. Logo - http://photos.prnasia.com/prnh/20160905/8521605590LOGO [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] [September 05, 2016] 3D Printing Ceramics Market Worth 131.5 Million USD by 2021 PUNE, India, September 5, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- The report "3D Printing Ceramics Market by Type (Glass, Fused Silica, Quartz), Form (Filament, Powder, & Liquid), End User (Aerospace & Defense, Automotive, Consumer Goods & Electronics, Manufacturing & Construction, Healthcare) - Global Forecast to 2021", published by MarketsandMarkets, The market is forecast to reach USD 131.5 Million by 2021, at a CAGR of 29.6% from 2016 to 2021. (Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20160303/792302 ) Browse 68 market data Tables and 36 Figures spread through 167 Pages and in-depth TOC on "3D Printing Ceramics Market" http://www.marketsandmarkets.com/Market-Reports/3d-printing-ceramic-market-26085601.html Early buyers will receive 10% customization on this report. The market is driven by the high demand for 3D printing for dental and orthopedic applications in healthcare industry and in thermal insulation parts in aerospace & defense industry as they have high heat stability and are biocompatible. Healthcare and aerospace & defense segments to dominate 3D printing ceramics market Healthcare and aerospace & defense are two highly critical segments which demand for stringent product dimensions along with their compositions. Hence, the manufacturing of products demands for precision work. Fused silica, quartz, glass, and a variety of materials are used in aerospace & defense applications to withstand high temperature, which is one of the major driving factor for aerospace & defense segment. In healthcare, ceramic 3D prototyping is used in several medical products, such as surgical equipment, prosthetics & implants, and others as ceramics are biologically inert. Fused silica and quartz have a major market share in comparison to glass and others Ceramics market, by type can be broadly categorized into glass, fused silica, quartz, and others which consists of synthesized grades such as alumina and zirconia. Major benefits of these ceramics include thermal insulation, biocompatibility, no malleability and ductility along with its porous nature to suport the lightweight factor, which drives their demand in end-use industries. Make an Inquiry @ http://www.marketsandmarkets.com/Enquiry_Before_Buying.asp?id=26085601 North American market is expected to witness high growth with increasing demand from end-use industries in the region North American for 3D Printing Ceramics Market is expected to register high growth due to increased rate of adoption in end-user industries. North America is the largest market for 3D printing ceramics with Mexico being the emerging market in the region, followed by Europe. Europe has large number of suppliers of 3D printing ceramics material with major focus on Western Europe which includes Germany, the U.K., France, Italy, and others. Asia-Pacific is an emerging market for the same. The key players operational in the market include 3D Systems Corporation (U.S.), EOS GmbH Electro Optical Systems (Germany), Renishaw Plc (U.K.), Stratasys Ltd. (U.S.), Royal DSM N.V. (Netherlands), and others. Browse Related Reports: 3D PA (Polyamide) Market by Application (Healthcare, Aerospace & Defense, Automotive, Electronics, Others), by Type (PA11, PA12), by Region (Asia-Pacific, Europe, North America, RoW), by Scenario One and Two - Global Forecasts to 2020 http://www.marketsandmarkets.com/Market-Reports/polyamide-11-12-market-150620564.html 3D Printing Powder Market by Type (Metal, Plastic, Ceramic), by Application (Aerospace & Defense, Automotive, Medical & Dental, Others), by Geography (North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, RoW) - Global Forecast to 2020 http://www.marketsandmarkets.com/Market-Reports/3d-printing-powder-market-175839179.html Know More About our Knowledge Store @ http://www.marketsandmarkets.com/Knowledgestore.asp About MarketsandMarkets MarketsandMarkets 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 a multitude of clients across 8 different industrial verticals. We specialize in consulting assignments and business research across high growth markets, cutting edge technologies and newer applications. Our 850 fulltime analyst and SMEs at MarketsandMarkets are tracking global high growth markets following the "Growth Engagement Model - GEM". The GEM aims at proactive collaboration with the clients to identify new opportunities, identify most important customers, write "Attack, avoid and defend" strategies, identify sources of incremental revenues for both the company and its competitors. M&M's flagship competitive intelligence and market research platform, "RT" connects over 200,000 markets and entire value chains for deeper understanding of the unmet insights along with market sizing and forecasts of niche markets. The new included chapters on Methodology and Benchmarking presented with high quality analytical infographics in our reports gives complete visibility of how the numbers have been arrived and defend the accuracy of the numbers. We at MarketsandMarkets are inspired to help our clients grow by providing apt business insight with our huge market intelligence repository. Contact: Mr. Rohan Markets and Markets UNIT no 802, Tower no. 7, SEZ Magarpatta city, Hadapsar Pune, Maharashtra 411013, India Tel: +1-888-600-6441 Email: [email protected] Visit MarketsandMarkets Blog @ http://www.marketsandmarketsblog.com/market-reports/chemical Connect with us on LinkedIn @ http://www.linkedin.com/company/marketsandmarkets [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] [September 05, 2016] Newsbyte: University of Cape Town Takes the Lead in Enterprise Systems Education in Africa with SAP WALLDORF, Germany, Sept. 5, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- SAP SE (NYSE: SAP) today announced that the University of Cape Town (UCT) has become the first Academic Competence Center location in Africa, supporting the Enterprise Systems Education for Africa (ESEFA) community. The announcement was made at the 21st SAP Academic Conference EMEA being held September 59, 2016, in Potsdam, Germany. "The Academic Competence Center location will enable SAP and UCT to build on the success of the ESEFA project cofinanced by DEG Deutsche Investitions- und Entwicklungsgesellschaft mbH over the past several years from public funds of the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development, addressing the IT skills gap in Africa and having a positive impact on local economies, competitiveness and integration in the global economy," said Gerhard Oswald, head of the Product Quality & Enablement Board area and member of the Executive Board of SAP SE. "This partnership further strengthens the commitment of SA University Alliances, which partners globally with academia including in developing and emerging-market countries, and which in Africa is building SAP next-generation talent who will seed innovation from universities into the SAP ecosystem." "We are pleased to know that UCT is partnering with SAP to continue the strong momentum of the ESEFA program, one of our most ambitious projects on the African continent," said Ricarda Horst, senior investment manager, DEG Deutsche Investitions- und Entwicklungsgesellschaft mbH. "Students are acquiring critical industry-relevant skills, thus becoming more employable and more successful when applying for graduate programs and internships." "The Academic Competence Center location at UCT, in a strong collaboration with the University Competence Center location at Otto von Guericke University Magdeburg, Germany, will be the nucleus for building and expanding enterprise systems teaching and learning capacities in the sub-Saharan region promoting innovation, research and next-generation IT skills on the continent," said Prof. Ingrid Woolard, dean of the Faculty of Commerce at UCT. The SAP University Alliances program opens up the world of SAP to more than 2,800 educational institutions in 103 countries worldwide. It aims to develop critical skills for the digital enterprise among academics, university students and young thinkers, and to build the bridge to executives and professionals. For more information, visit the SAP News Center. Follow SAP on Twitter at @sapnews and SAP University Alliances at @sap_ua. Media Contact: Ansophie Strydom, SAP, +27 11-235-6070, [email protected], SAST Any statements contained in this document that are not historical facts are forward-looking statements as defined in the U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Words such as "anticipate," "believe," "estimate," "expect," "forecast," "intend," "may," "plan," "project," "predict," "should" and "will" and similar expressions as they relate to SAP are intended to identify such forward-looking statements. SAP undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements. All forward-looking statements are subject to various risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from expectations. The factors that could affect SAP's future financial results are discussed more fully in SAP's filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC"), including SAP's most recent Annual Report on Form 20-F filed with the SEC. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of their dates. Logo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20110126/AQ34470LOGO To view the original version on PR Newswire, visit:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/newsbyte-university-of-cape-town-takes-the-lead-in-enterprise-systems-education-in-africa-with-sap-300322434.html SOURCE SAP SE [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] Yellow-and-blue fighter jets sit neatly lined up on the tarmac at the air force academy in Libya's Misrata, no longer awaiting students but orders for strikes against the Islamic State group. The military college has been transformed into a major base in the battle against the Islamist militants since they gained ground in the country in the turmoil that followed the 2011 uprising. For a year and half its planes -- flown mainly by former instructors in their 40s and 50s -- have been carrying out strikes against IS group, and for several months they have been targeting what was their main stronghold in North Africa. IS group took over Sirte some 250 kilometres (150 miles) east of Misrata in June last year, sparking fears the Islamist militants would use the Mediterranean city as a launchpad for attacks in Europe. Forces loyal to the UN-backed government this June fought their way into Sirte and have since pushed back IS fighters into one last district of the city. At the air force academy in Misrata, two pilots board a fighter jet don their helmets and wait for the signal to fly off on a reconnaissance mission of IS targets. "We know this terrorist organisation operates worldwide," Brigadier-General Rajab Abdaraheem says, referring to IS. "When I'm up in the air about to hit an IS target, I feel like I'm defending my country and the world," says the 57-year-old pilot who has been flying since he graduated in 1982. Since it opened in 1975, more than 30 classes of around 1,000 trainee pilots have graduated from the academy. The school trained officers from Libya and other countries in the Arab world until the 2011 uprising that toppled and killed longtime leader Muammar Gaddafi. The academy saw heavy fighting between the rebels and fighters loyal to Gaddafi and was damaged in NATO strikes backing the opposition who retook the area. The door of the main maintenance hangar at the academy is still peppered with bullet holes. After 2011 "we renovated the facilities... but when the situation in Libya didn't stabilise the academy became a (military) base," says Brigadier-General Abderahman Mohammad. Officers -- most of whom had graduated for the academy in the 1980s and 1990s -- transformed the college's training aircraft into warplanes, equipping them with rockets and missiles, they say. The aircraft date mainly from the Gaddafi era and include some two dozen ageing jets including Russian-made MiG-23s, Yugoslav Soko G-2 Galebs and Czech L-39s, as well as helicopters. Beyond the tarmac, dozens of empty wooden boxes that used to contain missiles lie empty in the dust. The base's forces "quashed any fantasy IS might have had, prevented it from expanding and limited the movements of its members," says Mohammad Qanono, a spokesman at the airfield. Since March last year -- when the first jet took off from the base on a mission against IS -- until Sunday, the academy's planes had carried out 1,400 sorties on missions to survey and strike IS targets, he says. Around 600 of those missions have been logged since May and were mostly against IS positions in Sirte and in the desert to the south of the city. Since the battle for Sirte began on May 12, pilots at the base have also been tasked with ferrying out wounded loyalist fighters in helicopters to the Misrata hospital. More than 400 fighters loyal to the Tripoli-based government have been killed and about 2,500 wounded since the start of the offensive. And since the start of last month, forces backing the Government of National Accord have also been supported by US air strikes. On Friday, the United States Africa Command said that since the US campaign began on August 1, US drones, helicopters and bombers had carried out a total of 108 air strikes against the militants in Sirte. "We asked for... US air strikes because the US air force is very precise," says Qanono. Search Keywords: Short link: Islamic State group fighters could flee to Egypt or Tunisia after being flushed from their former Libyan stronghold of Sirte, French Defence Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian warned Monday. "We should begin to look seriously at the question of the spread of the terrorists once Sirte... (is) emptied of the terrorists," Le Drian told a defence conference in Paris. "They don't disappear. There's a new risk that appears," he said, adding: "Indirectly this will pose new risks for Tunisia and Egypt." He said it was a "shame, perhaps political reasons prevent it, that all the neighbouring states of Libya don't meet" over the issue. Backed by weeks of US air strikes, forces loyal to Libya's Government of National Accord (GNA) have recaptured nearly all of what had been the Islamist militants' main stronghold in North Africa. Pro-GNA forces launched a new attack on Saturday against IS group in Sirte, saying Sunday it could take several days to gain full control of the city. Search Keywords: Short link: Tom's Guide is supported by its audience. When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Heres why you can trust us. Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas has agreed on a Russian proposal for him to meet Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as part of a new peace push, an official said Monday. Netanyahu has said he is open to such a meeting together with Russian President Vladimir Putin. But the Palestinians have questioned Israel's commitment to the initiative and disagreements have derailed previous attempts to arrange talks. "We told the Russian side today that president Abbas accepted the Russian initiative about the meeting of Abbas and Netanyahu with President Putin in Moscow," said Abed al-Hafeez Nofal, the Palestinian ambassador to Moscow. "But it is clear for us that the Israelis are evading the requirements of the meeting," he told AFP by phone, without providing further details. Abbas is currently travelling in Poland and his entourage could not immediately be reached for comment. Netanyahu earlier Monday discussed the proposal with Putin's Middle East envoy Mikhail Bogdanov in Jerusalem. They "discussed President Putin's proposal to host a face-to-face meeting between the prime minister and president Abbas in Moscow," Netanyahu's office said in a statement. "The prime minister presented Israel's position that he is always ready to meet with president Abbas directly and without preconditions. He is therefore reviewing the Russian president's proposal and the timing of a possible meeting." Bogdanov was expected in Ramallah for talks with Palestinian officials on Tuesday. The Palestinian ambassador also told Russian news agency Interfax that Bogdanov had met Abbas in Jordan three weeks ago and "received his agreement to participate in such a meeting". The ambassador said the Palestinian side "had planned for the meeting to take place on September 9." But he said the talks had been postponed indefinitely "after Israel's decision to take a pause and have a think about agreeing." Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi said recently Putin wanted to host an Israeli-Palestinian summit to revive peace talks. Abbas's office has said previously that the Palestinians are ready to participate in any peace initiative aimed at a "comprehensive and fair solution". But Palestinian leaders also say years of negotiations with the Israelis have not ended the occupation of the West Bank, and they have more recently pursued an international strategy. They have previously said an Abbas-Netanyahu meeting would lead nowhere without a freeze on Israeli settlement building, the release of Palestinian prisoners and a deadline for an end to the occupation. Peace efforts have been at a standstill since a US-led initiative collapsed in April 2014. The last substantial public meeting between Abbas and Netanyahu is thought to have been in 2010, though there have been unconfirmed reports of secret meetings since then. The chairman of the foreign affairs committee in Israel's parliament, Avi Dichter, told journalists Monday he appreciated other countries' efforts to try to mediate between Palestinians and Israelis, but "true negotiations, true talks, a true process will be tete-a-tete." Search Keywords: Short link: Swedish metal favourites Meshuggah, noted for their progressive and outside-the-box approach to the genre, have announced they will be heading Down Under next March to celebrate the release of their eighth album, The Violent Sleep of Reason. Meshuggah have been a formidable force in heavy metal for 30 years, unleashing record after record of singular, expectation-defying metal music that turn the conventions of the genre on their head and further illustrate the virtuosic prowess of this unique band. As drummer Tomas Haake states, as with all their releases, on The Violent Sleep of Reason the band intend to give their fans in Australia and around the world something that they dont really hear in any other bands. On the first album you still hear a lot of Metallica and Anthrax and Bay Area kind of thrash metal influence. We knew that we sounded a bit like that, but we were aiming for something we hadnt heard in any other band, he said. And thats still the main fuel. Were not trying to write your average metal song. Were not trying to write catchy songs. Were not trying to write hit songs [laughs] Were just trying to write something that is cool, that we havent heard before, and hopefully our fans havent heard before. Check below for all the dates and ticketing details. Meshuggah Australian Tour Dates Thursday, 9th March 2017 Powerstation, Auckland NZ (18+) Tickets: MJ Presents | Meshuggah Saturday, 11th March 2017 Tivoli, Brisbane (18+) Tickets: MJ Presents | Meshuggah Sunday, 12th March 2017 Enmore Theatre, Sydney (Lic/AA) Tickets: MJ Presents | Meshuggah Wednesday, 15th March 2017 170 Russell, Melbourne (18+) Tickets: MJ Presents | Meshuggah Friday, 17th March 2017 Metropolis Fremantle (18+) Tickets: MJ Presents | Meshuggah Two legs of this years Falls Festival have already sold out, with tickets to Lorne and Byron Bay flying out the door. Your best bet to secure a ticket to Falls is to buy a pass to the quickly selling Marion Bay or Fremantle legs, or hit up Brendan Busch. As Beat reports, Busch says he has a free four-day pass to Falls Festival (which event isnt specified, unfortunately), which he is willing to give away for free. Hell even throw in camping and accommodation with absolutely no money down. Though there is one catch. The ticket, Beat writes, will go to anyone who can convince triple j to change the date of the Hottest 100. Camping and accom will be thrown in if you can get the station to apologise for not having done so earlier and explain why January 26th is the most un-Australian Day of the year. As you may have heard, a new movement has emerged that would like to see triple js annual Hottest 100 countdown moved from its traditional broadcast date on 26th January, a.k.a. Australia/Invasion Day, to a less inflammatory date. Australia Day represents, for First Nations Peoples, a date commemorating the invasion of their countries and colonization of their ways of life, rather than a celebration of what it now means to be Australian, a Change.org petition reads. We recognize that it isnt within the power of Triple J to change this date; however, it is capable of using their broadcast to make a statement of solidarity with the experience of those whose countries were colonised. Image via Beat By changing the date of the Hottest 100 Countdown, the petition continues, Triple J can send a message to First Nations Peoples that they, and their experiences, are valued and respected by other Australians. As Beat reports, Busch claims that if the Hottest 100 date remains unchanged by 25th December, the ticket will be given to to anyone who shares his Facebook post with a better alternative for how to spend 26th January. After A.B. Original, a collaboration between Indigenous Australian rappers Briggs and Trials, unveiled their fiery new collaboration with Dan Sultan January 26, many fans suggested it would be a fitting track to top the Hottest 100. Several listeners have since taken to Twitter to encourage triple j listeners to vote for January 26 in the upcoming Hottest 100 voting round, whilst others have used the song to question why the Hottest 100 still takes place on Invasion Day. UNIFY Gathering is set to return to Gippsland, Victoria next January following another triumphant instalment earlier this year. In just a few short years, the festival has established itself as a groundbreaking boutique music festival. Not only has UNIFY proven that a heavy music festival can thrive in the modern Australian festival market, but its also broken new ground by providing a boutique heavy festival experience with a camping element and a focus on local bands. Now, UNIFY are continuing their streak of showing other festivals how its done by announcing a special Afterpay initiative. If youre looking to purchase tickets to UNIFY 2017, you can buy them now and pay for them via four interest-free payments of $51.67 per fortnight. With all the tours currently hitting Australia, the team behind UNIFY understand the upfront cost of a festival ticket may be a struggle, so they introduced Afterpay to help ease the burden and help fans purchase tickets before they all sell out, they write. UNIFY isnt the first festival to introduce this layby-style system, but its certainly one of the most prominent local proponents. If youre looking to secure tickets to UNIFY 2017, head to the 24Hundred website now before they run out. UNIFY Gathering 2017 Alexisonfire Violent Soho Northlane Every Time I Die The Getaway Plan Letlive Thy Art Is Murder Luca Brasi House vs Hurricane I Killed The Prom Queen Moose Blood Storm The Sky Counterparts Deez Nuts Trophy Eyes King Parrot Ocean Grove Saviour Columbus The Dirty Nil Polaris The Brave Bare Bones Justice For The Damned Drown This City Ocean Sleeper Friday, 13th January Monday, 16th January 2017 Tarwin Meadows, Gippsland VIC (18+) Tickets: UNIFY Gathering Tomorrow will mark three years since the release of Hungry Ghost, Violent Sohos third full-length effort and the album that catapulted them from a much-loved cult act to the forefront of Australias guitar band revival. We just needed the right album and that was Hungry Ghost, frontman Luke Boerdam previously told Tone Deaf. I mean, in the 70s, labels would sign bands to these elongated contracts and it would be a few albums before they broke, but nowadays its like labels expect that to happen instantly. I think we needed some time and to go through some experiences before we could make Hungry Ghost. Thats when we finally had people sharing the record and talking about it and got a real fan base. The album became an instant modern classic upon release, propelled by the success of mega-single Covered In Chrome, which was preceded by In The Aisle and followed up by Saramona Said and Fur Eyes now staples of the bands live sets. To celebrate the albums third birthday, Violent Soho will release two B-sides from the Hungry Ghost sessions, Domestic Lala and Home Haircut, as limited edition 7 vinyls. Theyll be available from 4pm Tuesday, 6th September via 24Hundred. Since releasing Hungry Ghost in 2013, the band have gone on to release another album, the chart-topping WACO, and embark on several major tours, including the mammoth WACO tour with Dune Rats and DZ Deathrays and their current American trek. The boys are set to return to Australian shores in October to embark on yet another round of national tour dates, this time with good friends The Bronx, before they go on to headline pretty much every festival of the summer. VIOLENT SOHO NATIONAL TOUR DATES Friday, 28th October 2016 Riverstage, Brisbane (Lic/AA) Saturday, 29th October 2016 Hordern Pavilion, Sydney (Lic/AA) Monday, 31st October 2016 Festival Hall, Melbourne (Lic/AA) Friday, 4th November 2016 AEC Theatre, Adelaide (Lic/AA) Saturday, 5th November 2016 Red Hill Auditorium, Perth (Lic/AA) Weve spoken previously about who the most repetitive and least repetitive radio stations in Australia are. The data was complicated, but there was one thing we all agreed on: were sick of hearing the same song over and over again. So why do radio stations keep playing the same song you heard just 30 minutes ago and 30 minutes before that? Well, it actually has a lot to do with you. Not you listening to the radio tuned to the same station all day, you in your car or at work having just turned on the radio. As The Media Show recently explained, via Lifehacker, radio stations assume that if youre not immediately hit in the face with your favourite new pop hit when you switch on the radio, youll tune out and switch stations. So to ensure people hear their favourite pop hit anytime they might be tuning in, stations play the odds and keep repeating it throughout the day, regardless of how many times theyve already played it. Its simply part of the radio business model. The Media Show recently visited the offices of legendary punk label Kill Rock Stars, home to artists like Elliott Smith, Sleater-Kinney, Bikini Kill, and The Decemberists, to speak with label president Portia Sabin. Sabin broke down the radio business model, which much like television and other forms of media, runs on advertising. In order to maximise profits from advertising, they need to control as large of a market share as possible. To ensure as many ears listening as possible, they basically give the people what they want, which is big, accessible pop hits from major artists. Or so the market research that radio stations routinely engage in tells them. You and I of course know that we dont just want to hear the latest cut from Rihanna or Drake, we like Elliott Smith, Sleater-Kinney, Bikini Kill, and The Decemberists, so why dont we get to hear them on the radio alongside Drizzy and RiRi? According to Sabin, it takes $4 million to get a single on the radio, so major labels are simply more equipped to lobby radio stations and their program directors. Popular artists get played on the radio and become more popular and the cycle continues. We touched on this previously when we had a look at how much it costs a label to create a hit. According to an NPR investigation, things like writing a song, recording it, and mixing and mastering it are a paltry expense compared to its marketing. The cost of producing a song by an artist like Rihanna is about $80,000 or so, but the marketing can range in the millions, especially if the campaign attacks all the relevant channels, including radio, TV, YouTube, etc. This, Sabin says, is the domain of the major labels, and indies simply cant compete. Major labels have the ear of the program directors and indies arent invited to the table. Of course, this is a very US-centric example. In Australia the situation can be quite different. We are in the rather unique position of having influential community stations and public broadcasters like triple j, who can turn songs that would otherwise be ignored by commercial radio into Top 40 hits. On September 12th, low-wage workers, people of faith, union members, clergy, students, and community organizations will come together at state capitols across America. From across the state, we converge on Jefferson City with a simple demand for lawmakers: Stop undermining Missouri's state motto and "Let the Welfare of the People Be the Supreme Law!" Stop condemning Kansas City's working families to poverty by blocking out $13 minimum wage increase, which we passed last year! Halt your anti-democratic and racist efforts to strip us of our voting rights by putting voter ID on the November election! Cease attacks on our unions! And allow Medicaid to expand and give working people and the poor the healthcare each of us deserves! Our multi-racial movement will speak with one voice on the 12th and proclaims we won't fall prey to any attempts to divide and conquer the people of our nation with hate and bigotry. Join us as we come together to demonstrate to Jefferson City and our country, "This is what democracy looks like!" Currently,And so . . .On Labor Day it's important to document the ongoing arguments of these local activist who rage on local streets and will be coming soon to the Missouri State Capitol even as theirTake look:#############You decide . . . The 81st Thessaloniki International Fair (TIF) that opens its doors later this week provides a 'map' of the basic trends and developments in the Greek economy, showing which sectors have best weathered the ongoing crisis, HELEXPO-TIF CEO Kyriakos Pozrikidis said in statements to the ANA on Monday. After successfully resisting capital controls and a bank holiday in 2015, with 800 participants at TIF during that year, the fair had 1,000 exhibitors taking part in 2016, in a sign that the economy was stabilising, he said. According to Pozrikidis, the very small number of construction companies and building material providers taking part in the 81st TIF reflects the deep crisis of the construction sector since the start of the seven-year crisis. Conversely, the number of exhibitors reflects a much rosier picture for the food and beverage sector and agricultural sector, while furniture manufacturers, energy and technology appear to be more resistant to the effects of the crisis and more export oriented. Pozrikidis also referred to what he called the "TIF paradox": whereas TIF had in the past "tracked" GDP growth in the same way as trade fairs throughout the world, in recent years TIF seemed to show greater growth than Greek GDP. He particularly emphasised the trade fair's importance for the local economy, citing a Macedonia University study showing that the city of Thessaloniki would lose some 2.8 pct of its GDP if TIF should cease, while for every 1.00 euro of demand for exhibition product the local economy "rose" by 1.86 euros. This year's TIF is further notable for the return of Iran and the European Commission, after an absence of several years, with the latter intending to present its humanitarian aid programme in Thessaloniki, while neighbouring Turkey will this year occupy an entire pavilion. In recognition of 2016 as the Year of Russia in Greece, Russia will be the Guest of Honour, with more than 100 Russian companies participating in the Russian Pavilion. These will include Russian giants such as Gazprom or the Russian Railways, both of which have expressed interest in the privatisations taking place in Greece. As part of the Russian participation, there will be a conference on entrepreneurship and alternative energy sources issues, as well as tourism and industry forums and workshops on transport and communications. Among domestic participants, only 10 pct are state-sector companies, while the public sector does not account for more than 20 pct of the space occupied by exhibitors, Pozrikidis said. Among those taking part are 46 chambers of commerce and industry throughout the country, bringing several of their member-companies. Read more here. RELATED TOPICS: Greece, Greek tourism news, Tourism in Greece, Greek islands, Hotels in Greece, Travel to Greece, Greek destinations , Greek travel market, Greek tourism statistics, Greek tourism report Construction of the pipeline was suspended after Turkey shot down a Russian fighter jet last year The chief executive of Russian natural gas giant Gazprom Alexey Miller stated on Monday that the Turkish Stream pipeline could extend to the borders between Greece and Turkey. Construction of the pipeline was suspended last year after a Russian fighter jet was shot down by the Turkish Armed Forces. Last week however, Russian President Vladimir Putin announced that at least the first section of the pipeline will be constructed. Trade negotiations on the supply of Russian natural gas continues in Turkey between Gazproms Miller and the Turkish Minister of Energy and Natural Resources Berat Albayrak. Read more here. RELATED TOPICS: Greece, Greek tourism news, Tourism in Greece, Greek islands, Hotels in Greece, Travel to Greece, Greek destinations , Greek travel market, Greek tourism statistics, Greek tourism report A meeting of the Government Council for Public Administration Reform focused on the national strategic reform of public administration A meeting of the Government Council for Public Administration Reform, chaired by Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras, was held at the Maximos Mansion on Monday. In an announcement, the premier's office said the meeting had focused on the national strategic reform of public administration and local government. During the meeting, the government confirmed its commitment to creating an efficient public administration, free from party intervention, which reflects the contemporary needs of Greek citizens and operates exclusively in support of the public interest, the announcement said. In this context, the ministers taking part discussed an update of the 2016-2018 National Strategy for Public Administration Reform Plan, immediate legislative initiatives to cut down on red tape and simplify bureaucratic processes and the mandatory electronic movement of administrative documents and the interaction and interconnection of public sector IT systems. Participating in the meeting were Interior and Administrative Reconstruction Minister Panagiotis Kouroumblis, Alternate Interior and Administrative Reconstruction Minister Christoforos Vernardakis, Economy, Development and Tourism Minister George Stathakis, Finance Minister Euclid Tsakalotos, Minister of State Alekos Flambouraris, and general secretaries Michalis Kalogirou and Dimitris Tzanakopoulos. Read more here. RELATED TOPICS: Greece, Greek tourism news, Tourism in Greece, Greek islands, Hotels in Greece, Travel to Greece, Greek destinations , Greek travel market, Greek tourism statistics, Greek tourism report His wife confirmed that he resorted to unassisted suicide in the comfort of his home in Gerakas Greece's Foreign Minister Nikos Kotzias on Friday arrived in Bratislava on Friday for a the two-day informal Gymnich meeting of EU foreign ministers. The talks on Friday are expected to focus on the situation in Ukraine, fighting terrorism and preventing radicalisation and implementing the EU's Global Strategy on foreign policy and security policy issues. At an informal meeting of foreign ministers of participating states in the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) held in Potsdam on Thursday, Kotzias said that real dialogue, building confidence and a "culture of compromise" was necessary in order to breathe new life into the OSCE's security architecture. Speaking to reporters, Kotzias said that the OSCE must be separated from international organisations like NATO and the EU, since it differed from these and "there was no point saying the same things everywhere". "The OSCE operates through dialogue, compromise but chiefly aims to restrict armaments and proceed with disarmament," Kotzias said, whereas NATO was the "strong force" for defence and armaments and the EU was a "much more gentle and intelligent force working with the rule of law." Unlike NATO, the job OSCE was to seen whether it was possible to build a security architecture that Russia was part of, he added. He also proposed the creation of an OSCE-type organisation in the Eastern Mediterranean, with the OSCE's assistance, to provide some form of security and control of armanent and disarmanent in the region. Kotzias will also participate in a working luncheon on developments in Turkey and, on Saturday, in the ministers meeting with Turkish European Affairs Minister Omer Celik. Finally, together with the foreign ministers of the Eastern Partnership countries (Armenia, Azerbaijan, Moldova, Ukraine, Belarus, Georgia), the EU foreign ministers will discuss the prospects for deepening cooperation between the EU and the eastern partners. Read more here. RELATED TOPICS: Greece, Greek tourism news, Tourism in Greece, Greek islands, Hotels in Greece, Travel to Greece, Greek destinations , Greek travel market, Greek tourism statistics, Greek tourism report An Emirati man with suspected Islamist militant links went on trial in Abu Dhabi on Monday accused of running over and attempting to kill a US jogger, media reports said. The defendant, who was not identified, is also accused of trying to join Al-Qaeda's Syrian affiliate, plotting attacks in the UAE and promoting Islamist militant organisations including the Islamic State group, said state news agency WAM. According to the prosecution, in May 2015 the 29-year-old suspect repeatedly ran over the unnamed US national with his car "with the intention of killing him," said The National newspaper. It said the American man, who was jogging in Abu Dhabi at the time, was injured but survived. The defendant was charged with premeditated attempted manslaughter, the newspaper said. "He is also accused of plotting to commit acts of terrorism in the UAE, including bombing the headquarters of Sky News Arabia in Abu Dhabi and Al-Arabiya in Dubai," the daily said, referring to two news channels. It cited prosecutors as saying that the suspect had travelled to Turkey in a failed bid to infiltrate Syria to join Al-Qaeda-affiliate Al-Nusra Front, now known as Fateh al-Sham Front. WAM said that the defendant denied the charges against him during the hearing at the Abu Dhabi Federal Supreme Court. The trial was adjourned to October 3, The National said. The same court also heard a separate case Monday involving two Emirati women accused of sending money and coded messages to Al-Qaeda members, the paper added. Their case was also adjourned to October 3. The United Arab Emirates is a member of the US-led coalition that has been bombing IS militants in Iraq and Syria since September 2014. Authorities in the Gulf state have enacted anti-terror legislation, including the death penalty and harsher jail terms for crimes linked to religious hatred and extremist groups. Search Keywords: Short link: Santorini and Cyprus are among the 15 best destinations for sunny and warm holidays in October, according to telegraph.co.uk. The British newspaper notes that "finding the right destination at the right time is not always straight forward. Tropical weather can be fickle, and there is more to finding the best climate than simply heading south." Its guide to the best destinations for October sun, with various options depending on how hot you like it (from 19 to 35 degrees Celsius) include: 19C-24C Costa Brava Average daily high: 19C Anyone who believes the sum total of Catalonias appeal is in the bars and eateries of Barcelona reckons without the Costa Brava, 100 miles of coastline from the pretty port of Blanes up to the French border. Here, on Spains north-eastern shoulder, are some of the countrys most unspoilt beaches, as well as popular resorts such as Cadaques, LEscala and Lloret de Mar. Amalfi Coast Average daily high: 21C You can forgive any area its Narcissus tendencies when it looks as beautiful as the Amalfi Coast. Italys most fabled stretch of seafront is forever in love with its own reflection in the Gulf of Salerno. But then, it has much to admire: towns such as Positano, Ravello, Scala and Amalfi itself; and Capri, that gorgeous island, twinkling at the end of the Sorrentine peninsula. Its all glamorous, beguiling, seductive. Essaouira Average daily high: 22C This outpost on Moroccos west coast flirts with the 20C mark during the European winter, rarely soaring above or dipping far below. A relative newcomer to the British market the first direct flights launched in early 2015 it is a pretty prospect whose crumbling 18th-century medina makes for evocative photos. But its keynote appeal is its long curving beach, superb for kite and windsurfing. Santorini Average daily high: 22C The beauty of this sliver of the Cyclades archipelago is a literal case of rising from the ashes. Once upon a time, Santorini was the ancient civilisation of Thira, until a colossal volcanic eruption (probably in the 16th century BC) semi-obliterated the island. What remains is a wonder: steep cliffs plunging to the Aegean; the elegant towns of Oia and Fira perching on the lip; balconies, verandas and restaurants gazing west into the sunset. French Polynesia Average daily high: 24C This cluster of 118 islands scattered across the South Pacific lies a considerable distance from European shores. But those that make the journey are rewarded with incredible beaches, palm trees and lovely hotels. Tahiti and Bora Bora are perhaps the most famous outcrops, but every one of these isles tells its own tale. 25C-29C Cyprus Average daily high: 25C The third largest island in the Mediterranean is short on neither beaches nor history. It has been inhabited for over 12,000 years. This explains the wealth of ancient sites that shimmer in its hot weather not least Nea Paphos and Kourion. These supply substance to the sunshine. For many holidaymakers, Cyprus is all about the seafront. It caters to this idea ably in the likes of Limassol, Paphos and the busy bars and nightclubs of Ayia Napa. Lanzarote Average daily high: 25C The Canary Islands are Europes most reliable options for winter sun, rarely dipping far below 20C. The fourth biggest and easternmost member of the group, Lanzarote, offers relaxed holidays in the three resort areas dotted on its south coast, Playa Blanca, Costa Teguise and Puerto del Carmen. But it also offers bars, restaurants and a local vibe in the capital Arrecife, as well as visual drama in the volcanic landscape of Timanfaya National Park. Queensland Average daily high: 26C Australias second largest state so big that it shapes the entire north-east corner of this vast country is a place that revels in fine weather. You only need to look at some of the names on the map, where the Sunshine Coast and Gold Coast flank the capital Brisbane, to realise this. But there are plentiful natural wonders beyond the beach, not least the Daintree Rainforest as well as the incomparable Great Barrier Reef. Mauritius Average daily high: 27C One of the planets greatest examples of volcanic hotspot converted to island paradise, Mauritius is a popular option with British holidaymakers. That its main rainy season runs stubbornly and concurrently alongside the European winter, generally from December to March, does little to damage affection for the destination. Partly this is because, with temperatures around the 30C mark during this window, Mauritius is as hot as it is humid. Las Vegas Average daily high: 28C There are few more reliable destinations for an escape into the heat than Nevadas most famous city. True, Las Vegas can dip as low as 15C in December, but the vibe in a metropolis of charismatic casinos, huge hotels and brilliant bars is rarely less than hot. You can, of course, bet it all on black (or red) in this den of hedonism, but galleries, museums and restaurants also abound in a place of often unappreciated depth. 30C+ Hawaii Average daily high: 29C The United States celebrated mid-Pacific archipelago comprises eight main islands. Hawaii (the Big Island) has the volcanic titans Kilauea and Mauna Loa. Oahu has the state capital Honolulu. Kauai has the sheer cliffs of the Na Pali Coast. Maui has west-coast beaches (great for surfing) at Lahaina and Kaanapali. All enjoy temperatures in the lower 30s, whatever the month. Bali Average daily high: 31C Indonesia may be a country of vast, unfathomable size, but there is little confusion as to what its most famous island offers. Bali is a pure holiday destination, swaddled in sunshine and as popular with Europeans as Australians (though considerably nearer for the latter). Beach resorts abound in Kuta and Seminyak, while those seeking a retreat from it all can slumber in the five-star enclaves in the interior at Ubud. Zanzibar Average daily high: 31C Contrary to opinion, the famed portion of Tanzania that sits in the Indian Ocean is not a single island but a cluster, with Pemba joining Unguja the main outcrop, usually known as Zanzibar as a chunk of low-slung land lapped by turquoise waters. Here is a place of discoveries, if you want them, not least the Omani heritage of the capital Stone Town. But if you want a beach, the islands hot sands, 30C temperature and chic resorts will always delight. Northern Territory Average daily high: 33C A vast expanse of land that dominates some of the upper and central portions of Australia, the Northern Territory is a true place for wanderers. Both the Outback wonder of Uluru (Ayers Rock) and the crossroads town of Alice Springs lie in the NT, while The Ghan rail link runs through its heart. But this place of dust and drama can also deliver cityscape cool. Its north-coast capital Darwin is an up-and-coming destination. Abu Dhabi Average daily high: 35C The biggest of the United Arab Emirates does not, perhaps, have quite the glamour factor of its immediate neighbour Dubai. But it nevertheless makes for a fine refuge from the British winter, with temperatures cresting the 30C mark. Add in Abu Dhabis attractions, not least the beaches, stylish hotels and high-end restaurants of Yas Island, and you have a destination that really knows how to please guests. Read more here. RELATED TOPICS: Greece, Greek tourism news, Tourism in Greece, Greek islands, Hotels in Greece, Travel to Greece, Greek destinations , Greek travel market, Greek tourism statistics, Greek tourism report Santorini is home to one of the most beautiful black sand beaches in the world, according to the following presentation by travel site Tripadvisor.com: When it comes to finding the perfect beach, folks are usually drawn to pristine white sand and crystal-clear waters. But theres another unsung sandy hero that deserves some praise and Instagram love, too. Black sand beaches, which are typically created by volcanic activity that occurs nearby, feature millions of pieces of glistening black basalt. And while many of these spots arent meant for traditional activities like volleyball or sunbathing (the shores tend to be hotter since black absorbs more sunlight), they offer impressive, larger-than-life views. So where exactly can you find these stunning geological gems? We sifted through several black sand beaches around the world and compiled a list of our favorites, from the Big Island of Hawaii to the glacial shores of Iceland. 1. Perissa Beach, Greece Positioned on the southern coast of Santorini in the shadow of Mount Vouno, Perissa Beach plays host to the ruins of Ancient Thira. Its also home to restaurants that come with umbrellas and sun loungers that are set directly on the sand and can be used free of charge when ordering food and drinks. Take a seat and watch the sunset or marvel over the mountain that separates Perissa Beach from the bigger and more crowded Kamari Beach. 2. Stokksnes Beach, Iceland Arriving at the spectacular Stokksnes beach in Iceland feels a lot like stepping onto the set of a sci-fi movie. Here, youll find black sand dunes and the looming and majestic Vestrahorn mountain. Photographers and tourists tend to visit around sunrise and sunset to snap photos of this beach, which is constantly changing due to shifting sand dunes. You wont be far from the town of Hofn about a 20-minute car ride away and the famous Vatnajokull glacier as well. 3. Punaluu Beach, Hawaii Bordered by palm trees on the Big Island of Hawaii, Punaluu Beach is a popular tourist destination. For starters, the millions of black granules that make up the area dazzle as the clear Pacific Ocean laps on the shore. Here, youll also likely stumble upon honu (or green Hawaiian sea turtles) and hawksbill turtles, which rest on the shores. If you do spot the creatures, look but dont touch. Its against federal and state law to harass the animals in any way. And while it might be tempting to bring a bag of the black sand home as a souvenir, be careful. Locals believe a curse falls on those who take lava outside of Hawaii. 4. Black Sands Beach, California This 3.5-mile stretch of black sand and pebbles sits in Shelter Cove on the rugged Lost Coast of Northern California. Compared to other beaches on the coastline that are frequented by tourists, seals, and sea lions, this one is fairly secluded. Great for exploring tide pools at low tide and collecting silver dollars on the shore, this spot is also prime for spotting gray whales from September through January and March through June. The only downside: the surf can be a tad too rough for swimming and the chilly water temperature makes a wetsuit necessary for those who want to catch a wave. 5. Lafayette Beach, Tahiti Located in front of Tahiti Pearl Beach Resort and facing the island of Moorea, Lafayette Beach is home to a narrow stretch of black sand and the Matavai Bays calm and shallow waters. From here, its a 10-minute drive to an impressive lighthouse and Point Venus, another black sand beach and popular surfing spot. As the story goes, Samuel Wallis discovered Tahiti in the 1760s and later, Captain James Cook arrived with a team of astronomers to observe the transit of Venus. Today, youll find memorials at Point Venus dedicated to the explorers. 6. Playa Roque Bermejo, Canary Islands Reaching the relatively remote Playa Roque Bermejo requires taking a boat, but its well worth the trip. Located in a fishing hamlet on the eastern tip of Tenerife the largest of the Canary Islands this gorgeous beach isnt as crowded as the several other black and golden options in the area. And if youre up for a hike, opt for the two-hour walk from Chamorga to the beach. 7. Playa Negra, Puerto Rico If you can handle the 10- to 15-minute trek down to Playa Negra on Isla de Vieques, youll likely have the isolated black sand beach to yourself. Plus, walking on the trail brings its own adventure, chock-full of horse, hermit crab, and other wildlife sightings. While the big waves make it a less than ideal swimming spot, the beach, which can appear darker depending on weather, is pretty calm and quiet. 8. Lovina Beach, Bali Located on the northwestern side of Bali in a rural area with rice paddies, Lovina Beach can be described as laid-back. Here, locals play volleyball and vendors, who can be aggressive, sell their wares. Snorkeling conditions are also excellent, as the area is protected by coral reef. And if youre wondering about that huge dolphin structure in Binaria Square, its a tribute to the dolphins that frequent the waters off the shore. Many visitors also book early morning dolphin boat trips. Read more here. RELATED TOPICS: Greece, Greek tourism news, Tourism in Greece, Greek islands, Hotels in Greece, Travel to Greece, Greek destinations , Greek travel market, Greek tourism statistics, Greek tourism report On August 30, 2016, VVF Villages A season for which the group is offering new destinations in the mountain with the Valmeinier and Valmorel-Doucy villages in Savoie, and the Piau-Engaly village in the Hautes-Pyrenees.But also in the seaside and countryside with the opening of the Domaine de Pre in Vendee and a facility in Amboise in the Indre-et-Loire.VVF Villages also offers new products with a cruise on theFurthermore, the group is launching a new website. A portal that will enable to select numerous criteria in order to narrow the search of a village or to use an interactive map to choose a facility directly.Clients will be able to enjoy a discount of The UAE cabinet has adopted the final draft of the federal law on bankruptcy which allows companies and individuals to restructure their debt while avoiding bankruptcy liquidation. The bankruptcy law is one of the most important foundations of the UAE legislative system considering its role in strengthen the investment environment for the UAE economy and increase the security level for creditors through implementing a transparent, fast and flexible rules and procedures, said Sheikh Hamdan bin Rashid Al Maktoum, the Deputy Ruler of Dubai and UAE Minister of Finance. It was drafted based on the directives of HH Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan, UAE President, and HH Sheikh Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, stated Sheikh Hamdan. According to him, the new draft law was built based on modern legal and economic principles, distinguishing it from other laws in Arab countries and other developed countries. It will help strengthen the financial, economic and legislative system in the UAE by putting in place a separate and modern law to avoid bankruptcy cases, including financial restructuring, composition procedures, restructuring debts and liquidation funds. Under the new system, companies and individuals will now be able to restructure their debt while avoiding bankruptcy liquidation. Sheikh Hamdan said this will support sustainable business development in the state. "The bankruptcy law helps in attracting foreign investments due to the increase trust in the economic environment and the flexible legislative infrastructure that protect investors assets and facilitate business for commercial companies by adopting international legislative and economic practices which results in raising UAEs competitiveness globally," he noted. Approving the law comes as a result of the Ministry of Finances continuous efforts in the field of financial regulation and bankruptcy over the past few years, he added.-TradeArabia News Service There is an increasing demand for affordable housing in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, as the population growth continues to outstrip property market supply in the kingdoms capital, a report said. Riyadhs population has grown by 52 per cent over the past 15 years and currently stands at 6.5 million (6,506,700) people in 2016, according to the Riyadh Real Estate Market Overview for Q2, 2016 from Chestertons KSA, a leading property consultant. However, only 500,000 units have been built during the same period, leading to a dearth of low-cost housing across the capital. The Saudi government is all too aware of the acute shortage in low-cost housing units, but continuing low oil prices have resulted in inevitable cuts in public spending, which has in turn hit public housing projects, said Declan McNaughton, managing director UAE, Chestertons Mena. So far the impact on rental rates has been minimal, but it is beginning to drive prices higher in some areas that have traditionally provided value-led accommodation for budget-conscious tenants, he added. Average annual rental rates for apartments in Riyadh are currently $7,182 (SR26,935). In the sought-after central Riyadh area, where the most expensive rental rates are to be found, the Al Wahah district tops the list at $18,700 (SR70,000) whilst the district of Jarir was the least expensive at $9,350 (SR35,000). Southern Riyadh had the most affordable rental rates with Al Marwah and Badr districts valued at $5,066 (SR19,000) and $4,800 (SR18,000) respectively. Average rental rates for villas in Riyadh are $31,510 (SR118, 668) with the city centre once again proving to be the most expensive and the districts Al Wahah, Al Muruj, Al Sulimaniyah, Al Wurud, and Al Olaya commanding prices of $66,665 (SR250,000). More affordable rentals can be found throughout Riyadh, dependent on the district, for $24,000 (SR90,000) The average sales price for an apartment in Riyadh is currently $117,771 (SR441,656). However, districts across Riyadh top out at $186,661 (SR700,000) including the districts of Hittin in Northern Riyadh, Al Raid in Western Riyadh, Al Hamras in Eastern Riyadh and in Central Riyadh, Al Wahah is the most expensive at $239,993 (SR900,000). Badr, Al Marwah and Al Qadisiyah are the cheapest options at $66,664 (SR250,000). Average sales prices for a villa are $476,768 (SR1,787,926). As can be expected, average prices differ in all areas of the city, with the highest averages typically being commanded in the city centre with the lowest in South Riyadh. Sales have slowed however; the move by the Saudi Arabian Monetary Agency (Sama) to adjust the loan-to-value ratio for mortgages could help reinvigorate the market, particularly for those who had previously struggled finding the necessary funding, said McNaughton. Furthermore, as the market begins to bottom out we anticipate renewed interest from buyers who have been waiting for the optimum time to purchase, he added. When it comes to buying land, the price of a plot overlooking one street is $573 (SR2,150) per sq m and $666 (SR2,500) for plots overlooking two streets. The office and commercial sector has seen a number of projects completed in the first half of 2016, including Al Nakel Tower, which alone increased the citys supply of office space to 2.5 million sq m of gross leasable area. Vacancy rates generally remained stable at 16 per cent while there was a slight decline experienced in the business district. Furthermore, rents rose slightly across different areas of the city reaching up to $341 (SR1,280) per sq m. While there have been some major projects completed, there have been further delays to the King Abdullah Financial District development. We expect there to be around 800,000 sq m of leasable area by 2018, up from 160,000 sq m in 2016, added McNaughton. Chestertons entered into a joint venture with partner Medad during the second quarter of 2015. Medad Valuation International is part of the leading Najeeb Abdullatif Alissa Holding Company (NHC), one of the fastest growing conglomerates in Saudi Arabia with operations across the kingdom. The newly formed partnership, Chestertons Saudi Arabia Property Limited, now has offices in Riyadh, Jeddah and Al Khobar resulting in valuable brand presence and a stronger residential sales pipeline for Chestertons in the Middle East, London and its other global offices. TradeArabia News Service The gulf region produces around 150 million tonnes of waste annually, with only 5 per cent of it being recycled and vast quantities going to municipal dumps and landfill, say industry experts. This is a growing problem too, since the rapid urban expansion of ME countries means that their annual waste production rates are also on the rise. For example, the UAE is expected to produce around 27 per cent more solid waste by 2017; an additional 6.6 million to 8.4 million tonnes, making 29 million tonnes in all. Even smaller ME nations still have big waste problems, as Oman produces around 1.8 million tonnes annually, a figure that has risen by 25 per cent over the last decade due in large part to its growing population. This waste is usually left to rot or burned in a manner that heavily contributes to air pollution. In order to address a problem that is causing such environmental damage while also eating into available land space, the respective Middle Eastern governments are set to radically change the way in which they manage waste by converting it to energy in specially designated facilities supported by cutting-edge technological innovations. The market of waste-to-energy (WTE) is growing at an unprecedented rate, with the global industry expected to grow from $19 billion in 2012 to at least $29.2 billion by 2022. With ME governments looking to alter their waste management approach in order to dispose of waste in a more sustainable manner while also creating green energy, the region is a prime WTE investment hotspot. TradeArabia News Service Singapore will no longer isolate people who test positive for Zika or are suspected of carrying it as the number of cases of the mosquito-borne virus increases across the city-state, the health ministry said on Monday. Tropical Singapore, a global financial and transit hub, has reported just over 240 Zika cases since the first locally infected case was detected on Aug. 27, and media has quoted the deputy health minister as saying the virus was "here to stay". In a statement, the health ministry said the presence of the Aedes mosquitoes that carry the virus, as well as the fact that most people do not display symptoms, meant isolating patients already infected would have limited effect. "Over time, we expect Zika cases to emerge in more areas given the presence of the Aedes mosquitoes here," the ministry said. "As the cases of Zika in Singapore have been mild so far, confirmed cases will no longer need to be hospitalized unless medically indicated." The government will also pay for the cost of Zika tests for Singaporeans with symptoms of the virus, the ministry added. Most people who are infected with Zika have mild symptoms but infections in pregnant women have been shown to cause microcephaly - a severe birth defect in which the head and brain are undersized - as well as other brain abnormalities. The connection between Zika and microcephaly first came to light last fall in Brazil, which has since confirmed more than 1,800 cases of microcephaly. In adults, Zika infections have also been linked to a rare neurological syndrome known as Guillain-Barre, as well as other neurological disorders. Neighbouring Malaysia has reported at least one case of locally transmitted Zika. Experts and officials say both countries will struggle to contain the virus because of the spread of the Aedes mosquitoes, which also carry dengue, a potentially fatal virus that Singapore and Malaysia have been battling for years.- Reuters Indonesian police said on Monday they had broken up an online male prostitution ring and identified nearly 150 young men and boys, at least one as young as 13, offering sexual services. There are no reliable statistics on sex crime in Indonesia but the government has said it faces a "child sex abuse emergency". President Joko Widodo recently signed a regulation allowing for harsher punishments for child molesters and rapists, including chemical castration and the death penalty. Agung Setya, chief of police criminal investigations, said many of the 148 people offering services were underage with the youngest was 13 and the oldest 23. "We have identified 148 more victims, and as many as 45 are boys," he said, according to the Kompas daily. At least seven of the victims had been taken to government counselling and rehabilitation facilities, he said. Three men were arrested last week in connection with the case, including a pimp, and a customer believed to be foreign, police have said, though they have not given details. Homosexuality is not illegal in Indonesia, except in the particularly conservative province of Aceh, but sex between an adult and a minor is illegal. Search Keywords: Short link: A recent study by Emirates Nuclear Energy Corporation (ENEC) and Nawah Energy off the coast of the Barakah nuclear energy plant in the UAE has shown the presence of marine species as a result of the artificial reef, created in 2014. The results from the recent survey reveal that a diverse and abundant marine ecosystem has taken root at Barakah, including in the artificial reef built by ENEC and Nawah. The survey identified more than 63 marine species utilizing the breakwater habitats, and 35 marine species utilizing the artificial reef habitat. In the breakwaters, these marine organisms including a variety of species of algae, invertebrate species, species of fish, and one species of marine mammal. A restriction on marine activities, particularly fishing, means that the breakwater provides a favourable habitat for priority species such as the orange-spotted grouper, locally known as the hamour, the near-threatened Indian Ocean Humpback Dolphin, and the critically endangered Hawksbill Turtle to utilize. These at-risk species were all observed in the protected area off the coast of Barakah. The survey uncovered the beginnings of a complex marine community at the breakwaters and artificial reef sites. Construction on the breakwaters began at Barakah in early 2011, before the development of the plant itself. The structures protect the plant cooling water intake, discharge channels, navigation channel, and wharf facilities. The breakwater structures are comprised of quarry rock and concrete and have a combined length of approximately 15 kilometres. The artificial reef was built in partnership with the National Marine Dredging Company (NMDC) and in line with guidance from the Environment Agency- Abu Dhabi (EAD). Located 3.8 kilometres from the shoreline of Barakah, it is almost 6,700 square meters and built of waste-moulded concrete that offers a favourable habitat for numerous marine species. Mohamed Al Hammadi, chief executive officer of ENEC, said: We are consistently looking for ways to protect and enhance our natural environment. The findings of this recently conducted survey reveal that ENECs proactive approach to conservation and sustainability is having a positive impact. It is wonderful to hear that a variety of marine life, including endangered species have been able to settle in the waters around Barakah. ENEC works closely with EAD to regularly monitor and effectively mitigate any impacts the program may have on the surrounding environment, added Al Hammadi. Mohammed Sahoo Al Suwaidi, CEO of Nawah Energy Company said: Ensuring that we operate safely and in an environmentally conscious manner, is of paramount importance to all of us here at the Nawah Energy Company. We are making every effort to make sure that we promote clean and efficient energy inside our organisation and out. We have a responsibility to protect our environment and the world we live in. This way we can continue to develop and improve the quality life for the future generations of our nation. ENEC has outlined its commitment to operating in an environmentally conscious manner in its Barakah Environment and Sustainability Charter, an agreement co-signed by ENEC and its prime contractor, KEPCO. The charter sets out a series of obligations for both parties to ensure that environmental protection, habitat preservation, water and energy conservation, and sustainable waste management best-practices are consistently applied. The construction of the Barakah Nuclear Energy Plant commenced in 2012 and all four nuclear reactors will be operational in 2020. At its full operational capacity, the facility will deliver up to a quarter of the UAEs electricity needs and save up to 12 million tons in carbon emissions every year. The project as a whole is now over 66 per cent complete. TradeArabia News Service Gulf Aluminium Rolling Mills Company (Garmco), the Bahrain-based international aluminium rolling mill, said it recently hosted 16 students from University of Bahrain and AMA University under its training programme. Under the special training programme, students were sent to different departments such as electrical engineering, mechanical engineering, quality control, and information and communication technology to gain experience, it added. TradeArabia News Service Syrian government forces and their allies again laid siege to rebel-held eastern Aleppo on Sunday, while Turkish-backed fighters drove Islamic State from all the areas along its border, in two significant but separate developments in the multi-sided conflict. The fighting - two potential turning points in the conflict if the gains can be sustained - complicated efforts by the United States and Russia to reach a ceasefire deal for Syria, whose civil war is in its sixth year. Talks by the Cold War foes on a ceasefire were set to continue on Monday, but "we're not there yet," U.S. President Barack Obama told reporters at the G20 summit in the Chinese city of Hangzhou. Syrian President Bashar al-Assad wants to fully recapture divided Aleppo, Syria's largest city before the war. Gains made by Damascus have relied heavily on Russian air support since September last year. On Sunday, intense aerial and artillery attacks helped government forces and their allies drive insurgents out of the Ramousah military complex in Aleppo, according to rebels and a monitoring group. The rebels had captured the complex in early August, breaking through a government siege of eastern Aleppo . Sunday's government advances resulted in a new siege of the area, said Zakaria Malahifji of the Fastaqim rebel group. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a Britain-based group monitoring the war, and a Damascus military source also reported the new siege. Russian support has turned the war in Assad's favour in many areas, although rebels have made some gains, including in Hama province, further south. Rebels launched a campaign on Sunday to try to capture the town of Maan, north of the city of Hama, the provincial capital, said Mohammed Rasheed, a spokesman for rebel group Jaish al-Nasr. Advances by the insurgents in recent days have brought them to within 10 km (six miles) of government-controlled Hama, the Observatory and insurgents say. TURKISH OFFENSIVE DRIVES OUT IS In a separate battle further east, rebels backed by Turkey - and made up of Aleppo-based factions - drove Islamic State militants from all areas they controlled along the Syrian-Turkish border, according to the rebels, Ankara and the Observatory. Some 10 days ago, Turkey mounted its first full-scale incursion into Syrian territory since the conflict began in 2011, aimed at IS and at U.S.-backed Kurdish forces in the area, which have also been battling the jihadists. The Turkish-backed advance denied Islamic State its main route to the outside world, through which it has moved fighters and weapons. It was another blow for the jihadist group, which is under pressure in its self-proclaimed caliphate in Syria and Iraq. But Turkey's operation was focused just as firmly against U.S.-backed Kurdish forces, which it fired at last week and which it insists must withdraw to east of the Euphrates river. Ankara fears that advances by the Kurdish YPG militia, which has been one of the most effective partners for the U.S. coalition fighting IS, will embolden Kurdish militants on its own soil. With support from Turkish tanks and warplanes, the rebels now appear to have secured a roughly 90 km stretch of land that Turkey long wanted to control to keep out jihadists and to stop the advance of the YPG. 'GRAVE DIFFERENCES' Sunday's advances illustrate the complexity of the Syrian conflict, which has drawn in most world and regional powers. Efforts to end the fighting have been repeatedly confounded. A deal brokered in February by the United States and Russia fell apart earlier this year. Even before Sunday's battlefield developments, U.S. President Obama said that the two countries were struggling to reach a new ceasefire agreement between Damascus and rebels. "We're not there yet," Obama told reporters after a meeting with British Prime Minister Theresa May in Hangzhou. "We have grave differences with the Russians in terms of both the parties we support but also the process that is required to bring about peace in Syria." An agreement that would stop the fighting and allow more humanitarian deliveries had looked set to be announced by U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov in Hangzhou. Two lecterns had been set up in a room for a news conference. But Kerry emerged alone to say a couple of issues still needed to be resolved and the two sides would resume talks on Monday. He did not elaborate. Officials from the United States and Russia, which back opposite sides in Syria's civil war, have been meeting since Kerry travelled to Moscow in July with a proposal that would halt the fighting. It would ensure that government fighters pulled back in some areas, including around Aleppo, to allow convoys of humanitarian aid to reach civilians caught in the fighting. The ceasefire would be overseen through Russian-U.S. intelligence sharing and military cooperation, which would focus on fighting Islamic State and other militant groups such as al Qaeda. The plan would need Russia to convince Assad to ground his air force, a move that Lavrov has said was not the goal. A letter from Washington's Syria envoy, Michael Ratney, to the armed opposition, a copy of which was seen by Reuters, laid out some of the ceasefire terms. It would oblige Russia to prevent warplanes from bombing areas held by mainstream opposition, require the withdrawal of Damascus's forces from a supply route north of Aleppo, and focus on delivery of humanitarian aid unhindered by warring sides to the city's population, said the letter, dated Sept. 3. Fighting around Aleppo has recently cut supplies, power and water to nearly 2 million people in both government- and rebel-held areas. In return, the United States would coordinate with Russia in fighting against al Qaeda, it said, without elaborating. The Syrian government and Russia were also to avoid bombing areas where more moderate insurgent groups are operating close to Jabhat Fatah al-Sham, previously the al Qaeda-affiliated Nusra Front. Kerry said he would not rush into any agreement just to see it fail again. A senior State Department official, who declined to be named, said Russia had walked back on some of issues that the sides had already agreed on, which was why both sides needed to continue talking. Reuters British Airways resumed direct flights to Tehran last week after four years of suspension due to Western sanctions on Iran. The airline, owned by IAG, becomes the second European carrier to resume flights to Iran after Air France. The first BA flight left Heathrow on Thursday evening. "British Airways has a long history of flying to Iran so we are very excited to be launching our new six times a week service, direct from Heathrow to Tehran, said a spokesman. The service follows the relaxation of sanctions against Iran and the reopening of the British embassy in the Iranian capital last year which was ransacked by protesters in 2011. - Reuters Omran today celebrated the official opening of Omans most popular natural tourist destination, Al Hoota Cave, following the implementation of broad enhancements to the visitor experience at the attraction. Dr. Sheikh Khalifa bin Hamad Al Saadi, Governor of Al Dakhiliyah, lead the opening ceremony joined by a crowd of officials, guests and school children. Guests were welcomed by traditional Omani music at the reception and were given a tour of the new visitor center as they discovered the history of the cave at the enhanced interactive geological museum which showcases over 150 items of rock, wood, corals and other unique materials from the surrounding . They also had the opportunity to get an exclusive first look at the cave and ride the electric train the only one of its kind in Oman. Dr. Al Saadi said: Im very pleased to officially reopen the Al Hoota Cave for visitors to once again come and enjoy this natural wonder. Omran and the Ministry of Tourism have done a fantastic job to make this attraction an even better place for people to come and visit. Eng. Khalid Mirza, director of Projects Development at Omran, said: We thank His Excellency Dr. Sheikh Khalifa bin Hamad Al Saadi, Governor of Al Dakhiliyah for officially opening the attraction today. Omran worked exceptionally hard with the Ministry of Tourism to enhance the Al Hoota Cave experience and to be able to welcome the first visitors back is fantastic. It was also fantastic to be able to have such an enthusiastic group of school children to be the first visitors to new Al Hoota Cave experience. There is so much to learn about Omans geology and animals here but in such a fun way." But the most striking difference visitors will discover when they come is the renovated visitor centre. Its now fitting to such a first class attraction, and offers guests a complete family day out experience. Were looking forward to again giving the opportunity for both residents and tourists to come and discover one of Omans jewels, he added. The school children visiting on the launch day were given a tour of the rich ecosystem. They also participated in drawing activities organised by Omran during the event and were the first to experience the new four interactive stations with a live show of each phenomenon in the cave. Alongside the official opening, the new website was also launched, featuring ability to book online and prepay for tickets. The enhanced Al Hoota experience will enable people to get the most from their visits and the ability to plan a visit online means people can book the elements of the visit they want, creating a bespoke experience. Opening times are Saturday-Thursday (except Monday) from 9am-6pm and on Fridays from 9am-12pm and 2pm-5pm. - TradeArabia News Service Abu Dhabi International Airport (AUH) has put in place a range of initiatives that will ensure the smooth and safe passage of pilgrims through the airport during the forthcoming Haj season. In order to handle the four extra Etihad Airways flights (chartered specifically for Haj), along with Saudi Arabian Airlines scheduled flights to Makkah and Madinah, dedicated check-in counters have been put in place. Opposite these counters, space has been allocated to the Ministry of Health to provide pilgrims with personal Haj kits and safety booklets, and a fully equipped Haj clinic has been established in Terminal 1 to tackle any emergency diagnosis or treatment of pilgrims, should the need arise. In collaboration with the General Authority of Islamic Affairs and Endowments (GAIAE), several Mufties will be available at the airport to assist pilgrims, attend to their queries, and advise them on religious and Haj matters. In addition, AUH has worked closely with all its stakeholders such as airport police, Immigration and Customs departments, to provide a hassle-free airport experience for all passengers. Pilgrims will also be offered free food and beverage vouchers to enjoy at Abu Dhabi Duty Free while they wait to board their flights to Saudi Arabia. Commenting on the arrangements for the holy pilgrimage, Dr. Matar Rashed Al Darmaki, chief executive officer at Seha said: We would like to extend every support to pilgrims to ensure that their journey is comfortable. We have made the necessary arrangements to deploy additional staff at the dedicated clinic to ensure that anyone who requires medical assistance is dealt with swiftly and efficiently. Mohammed Al Katheeri, acting chief operations officer at Abu Dhabi Airports, said: It is an honour to provide support to pilgrims as they embark upon their journey from Abu Dhabi International Airport to Saudi Arabia. Haj is a highly significant occasion that can also be physically demanding. We hope that the measures we have undertaken at the airport will help minimise the stress of travel for those taking part in this religious trip. We wish them a safe and peaceful pilgrimage and look forward to welcoming them back on their return. The airport is also implementing special arrival procedures to handle pilgrims returning from Saudi Arabia with Zamzam water. - TradeArabia News Service The G20 group agreed at their summit in China that refugees are a global issue and the burden must be shared, the leaders declared in a joint communique Monday. "Worldwide massive forced displacement of people, unprecedented since the Second World War, especially those generated from violent conflicts, is a global concern," they said at the end of their two-day gathering in the scenic eastern Chinese city of Hangzhou. The Group of 20 -- which together account for 85 percent of the world economy and two-thirds of its population -- reiterated their call from last year's summit in Turkey for "global concerted efforts in addressing the effects, protection need and root causes of refugee crisis to share in the burden associated with it". The group called for strengthening humanitarian assistance for refugees and invited all states "according to their individual capacity" to ramp up aid to international organisations assisting affected countries. A steady stream of refugees has flowed into Europe over the last year, largely fleeing the civil war in Syria. EU President Donald Tusk said on the first day of G20 Europe was "close to limits" on its ability to accept new waves of refugees and urged the broader international community to shoulder its share of the burden. The issue has become a political flashpoint for leaders in the region as a series of Islamist terror attacks and rising anti-globalisation sentiment have combined to create an increasingly inhospitable environment for refugees from the brutal conflict. The group's communique called for increasing efforts to "find durable solutions", particularly for "protracted refugee situations". Earlier a senior EU diplomat told AFP that G20 was making a strong stand, and had overcome initial reluctance from Argentina and Brazil on including the issue in the communique, but noted it was not a binding commitment. "There is a difference between commitment and enforcement... at least, it's here," he said. "Of course we have to take into account the fact that it is a sovereignty issue... it is not an obligation, but the burden-sharing is there." Search Keywords: Short link: Search News Archive : Fast Travel News Promotion Via Search, Social Media + Email Follow Us On : CHECK OUT THE AMAZINGLY TAILORED PACKAGES BY THE TRAVEL GALS FOR YOUR NEXT VACATION TO MEXICO Industry: Vacations Look to take a break and travel to the cowboy country? The Travel Gals comes up with some exciting and cheap packages to make your vacation fun and promising. (TRAVPR.COM) UNITED STATES - September 5th, 2016 - A record breaking 32 million tourists entered the Mexican borders in 2015 and the numbers are increasing as we are passing through 2016. While this part of the world offers some really unique experiences, the tourist footfall has always been limited due to apprehensions associated with security. It's true that it is the raw living in the cowboy country can be unsettling for many but you also need to know that not long ago, Mexico was also the heart of the rich Aztec Empire. Today, government support, better security and more importantly the changing mindset of the locals have helped in the rise in tourist inflow. However, it is still convenient if you have a local to guide you along. This is exactly what The Travel Gals does. "From hiking through the barren and rocky grasslands of Mexico to experiencing its cultural delights, we love to be with you all along", says a representative of The Travel Gals. "The best thing about vacationing with us is the fact that we know that every family or group is different and has different needs of vacation. Every tour is uniquely tailored and customized according to the demands of the client", adds the spokesperson. An all-women company, you can always expect a pleasing interaction here. The Travel Gals also has the advantage of experience at its end. Each member of the team has a wide experience of travelling across the globe and curate exclusive packages for their clients. As of now, The Travel Gals has come up with some exciting ideas and budget trips to the Mexican highlands. Apart from Mexico, The Travel Gals also feature all exclusive tours to Europe, New Zealand, Alaska, Hawaii and several other international destinations. It is being considered to be one of the top travel agencies in St. Charles MO but tourists from across the globe seek their services. Be it a cruise vacation or an adventure trail, The Travel Girls can curate it for you. Just ask for it! About The Travel Gals Travel Girls is an IATA authorized travel agency based in St. Charles, MO. It caters to destinations and experiences across the globe. ### Please contact the person or company listed above for information regarding the content of this press release. 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At least 23 people were killed when fire broke out at a prison housing political prisoners in the Ethiopian capital, the government said Monday. The blaze erupted Saturday at Addis Ababa's high security Qilinto prison. An earlier government statement said just one person had died and six were injured in the fire, but the official toll was updated later in the day to 23 people dead, a figure more closely reflecting local media reports. The government statement said 21 of the inmates died from suffocation and a stampede while the two others were killed while trying to escape the prison, according to the state-controlled Fana Broadcasting Corporation. Local news and social media on Saturday reported gunfire heard from the prison as it burned. Amateur videos posted online showed a thick plume of dark smoke rising from the site on the outskirts of the city. Two buildings were damaged in the fire while nine injured prisoners and police are being treated for injuries, Fana reported. The remaining inmates have reportedly been moved to other facilities. There has been no word on the cause of the fire. Qilinto houses many of those arrested in an ongoing government crackdown against months of protests in the central Oromo region and elsewhere. Human Rights Watch estimates that more than 400 people involved in the anti-government protests have been killed by security forces since November. Search Keywords: Short link: Frankfurt, September 5 The European Commission has found that Volkswagen broke consumer laws in 20 European Union countries by cheating on emissions tests, German daily Die Welt reported, citing Commission sources. Among them are the Consumer Sales and Guarantees Directivewhich prohibits companies from touting exaggerated environmental claims in their sales pitchesand the Unfair Commercial Practises Directive, both of which apply across the EU, the paper said. The European Commission said Industry Commissioner Elzbieta Bienkowska has repeatedly invited Volkswagen to consider compensating consumers voluntarily, without an encouraging response, and that it was for national courts to determine whether consumers were legally entitled to compensation. To ensure consumers are treated fairly, a Commission spokeswoman said, Consumer Commissioner Vera Jourova had written to consumer associations across the EU to collect information. She will meet relevant representatives in Brussels this week, the spokeswoman wrote in an emailed response. Volkswagen declined to comment. Jourova has been working with consumer groups to pressure Volkswagen to compensate clients in Europe as it has in the United States over the diesel emissions scandal. Volkswagen has pledged billions of euros to compensate owners of VW diesel-powered cars, but has so far rejected calls for similar payments for the 8.5 million affected vehicles in Europe, where different legal rules weaken the chances of winning a pay out. Jourova told Die Welt that she was still analysing feedback from the member states. But it already appears that Volkswagen clearly breached European consumer laws in most member states. That is why I think it is necessary that we get involved to coordinate on a European level, the paper quoted her as saying in a summary of an article to be published on Monday. Die Welt cited sources as saying that Jourova would meet with representatives of the consumer protection groups in the coming days to discuss a strategy for claiming compensation from Volkswagen. Reuters Tribune News Service Chandigarh, September 5 The Punjab and Haryana High Court will hear the Adviser to the UT Administrator on saving Sukhna Lake. As a suo motu or court on its motion case on rescuing the lake came up for resumed hearing today, a Division Bench of the High Court made clear its intention of hearing the Adviser in the judges chamber. Another senior officer, Secretary (Engineering), was also asked to meet the judges in the chamber for an interaction with both officers. The Bench of Justice Ajay Kumar Mittal and Justice Ramendra Jain also fixed September 22 as the next date of hearing in the matter. The session is part of the endeavour of the Bench to get first-hand information on the prevailing situation, and to decide upon the steps required to be adopted to save the lake. The Bench had, on a previous date of hearing, invited suggestions from the residents on saving the lake. The people were asked to forward their suggestions to senior advocate Manmohan Lal Sarin and the amicus curiae or the friend of the court, Tanu Bedi. The UT, on a previous date of hearing, had claimed that sewage from Kaimbwala village was not flowing or being discharged into the Sukhna choe or lake, and the village was having a proper sewerage connected to the municipal sewerage. However, the waste water of courtyards was being discharged by the villagers. The High Court has already asked the Chandigarh Administration to set up an independent authority for the preservation of Sukhna Lake. The High Court, in its order dated March 14, 2011, had also issued directions for restoring the lake to its former glory. Taking up the save Sukhna case, a Division Bench of the High Court, in May 2012, had directed the states of Punjab and Haryana, along with the Chandigarh Administration, to not just stop construction activity in the catchment area of the lake but also to demolish without notice any construction being carried out against the High Court mandate. We direct the states of Punjab and Haryana as well as the Chandigarh Administration to put their enforcement agencies in action and construction activities going on in the catchment area as per the map of the Survey of India should be immediately stopped, and any construction raised in violation of the directions issued by the court be demolished without issuing any notice, the Bench of then Acting Chief Justice MM Kumar and Justice Alok Singh had ruled. Beant Singh Bedi Collegium put in place by the Supreme Court in 1993, shot down by Parliament in 2014 and resurrected by the Supreme Court in 2015 is an exotic institution in the annals of world constitutionalism. Under this dispensation judges appoint judges. This does not happen in any other country. Article 124(2) and Article 217(1) inter-alia stipulate that the Government of India is the appointing authority of the Supreme Court and high courts judges who are to be appointed after consultation with the Chief Justice of India (CJI) and with such other judges and authorities as mentioned. This scheme worked quite well during the first 10 years of the working of the Constitution. However, the turf war between the higher judiciary and government began in the sixties over the property clause of the constitution. The Supreme Court struck down several pieces of legislation relating to land reforms and abolition of zamindari. The executive got the impression that the higher courts were not in sync with the socio-economic philosophy of the Constitution. The response of the government was two pronged: (1) amending the Constitution to circumvent Supreme Court judgments, (2) appointing band-wagon judges, to quote Fali Nariman. The first round of the turf war went in favour of Parliament and the executive. In S.P. Gupta vs. UoI 1981 (popularly known as First Judges Case), the Supreme Court by a 4:3 majority held that the recommendation of the CJI in the matter of appointment of judges to the higher judiciary was not constitutionally binding on the government. Newtons second law was bound to take its toll. Perhaps as a reaction against the supersession of some apex court judges and punitive transfers of some high court judges the Supreme Court struck back in the Second Judges Case (1993). A nine-judge Bench by 7:2 majority reversed the decision in the First Judges Case. The majority opinion in the Second Judges Case ruled that the reasons given in the First could not be supported. It replaced the primacy of the CJI with the opinion of the CJI after taking into account the advice of the two most senior colleagues who were required to be consulted for the formulation of a Collegial opinion. The recommendation of the Collegium was made binding on the government. Raju Ramachandran describes the Second Judges Case as a most egregious re-writing of the Constitution. Nothing worthwhile came out of the Third Judges Case, which came in the shape of Presidential Special Reference No.1 of 1998. Only the Collegium of three most senior judges of the Supreme Court was substituted by five. Ever since its inception, the Collegium system has faced criticism practically from all quarters lawyers, academics and retired judges, et al. The system was criticised as opaque and undemocratic. Practically the entire political spectrum was agreed on doing away with this system. This led to what has been termed as the single biggest effort ever of judicial reform in independent India. The Indian Parliament almost unanimously passed the 99th Constitution Amendment and the National Judicial Appointments Commission Act, 2014, in its attempt to put in place a National Commission for Judicial Appointments. It was ratified by 20 states. However, a Constitution Bench by its judgment dated October 16, 2015, struck down the 99th Amendment and the NJAC Act by 4:1 majority and ordered resurrection of the Collegium system. However, in the same judgment the court said it would do away with the shortcomings of the system and make it more transparent. By its order dated December 16, 2015, it gave directions to the Central government to prepare a Memo of Procedure (MoP) and submit it for the approval of the CJI. The NJAC case judgment has been criticised in many quarters. The government and the Supreme Court have practically been at loggerheads. In the MoP prepared by it, the government among other has put these proposals: (1) that the proceedings of the Collegium, including dissent if any, should be recorded, (2) a national security clause, and (3) the creation of screening committees at the Supreme Court and high court levels for vetting appointments. These proposals have not found favour with the Collegium. The face-off between the government and the Supreme Court has led to stalling of the appointment of judges to various high courts. Out of the 1,079 approved posts of high court judge, 485 are vacant. A real impasse! As reported in the media, the position has further been exacerbated by the fact that Justice Chelameswar, a member of the Collegium, has sent a communication to the CJI demanding that the meetings of the Collegium should be recorded. It is Justice Chelameswar who in his dissenting judgment on the NJAC had strongly criticised the collegium system as absolutely opaque and inaccessible both to public and history, barring occasional leaks. He said the transparency was a vital factor in constitutional governance. He also observed that the records (of the Collegium) were absolutely beyond the reach of any person, including the Supreme Court judges who were not lucky enough to become the CJI. Justice Chelameswar has stopped attending the meetings of the Collegium as he finds its procedure and process most opaque and the majority gangs up to shoot down genuine objections against the undesirable candidates being chosen. No reason, no opinion is recorded, just two people decide the name and come back to the meeting and ask for a yes or no. Can a judge be selected in such a manner, he asked. This action of the Honble Judge is most likely to have a serious and complicated fall out. It is also likely to seriously undermine the credibility of the institution. According to some scholars of the Constitution, this sorry state of affairs has been brought about because the Supreme Court has chosen to adopt a strong version of judicial review. Of course, the Supreme Court has the final say in interpreting what the Constitution means. But Jeremy Waldron canvasses for limited judicial review. Similarly, Mark Tushnet, a Harvard Law Professor, cautions against judicial supremacy. Following them, Surya Deva, a Law Professor at the City University of Hong Kong, proposes the idea of a shared constitutional space in understanding constitutional values. Instead of either the Judiciary or the Legislature having an exclusive say in unpacking the constitutional vision and applying it, the space should be shared among all three branches of the government, with each showing some deference to the other two. In fact, the lack of such mutual deference is likely to result in battles of supremacy between different government organs and the creation of new constitutional defensive devices (e.g. the Ninth Schedule) or attacking devices (e.g. the basic structure doctrine or the Collegium system). Perhaps a correct prognosis of the present situation. The writer is Member of the Governing Council, Indian Law Institute, New Delhi. It was a well-meaning effort by parliamentarians keen on finding a way out of the logjam in Kashmir. Hoping against hope, they tried and returned with mixed success. Given the prevailing anger provoked by the loss of precious lives, the volatile situation that warranted the continuance of curfew and the breakout of protests the moment the curfew was relaxed, a more positive outcome would have been harder to imagine. It was nevertheless a well-meaning gesture of parliamentarians who were keen to find a way out of the impasse and the visit should not be judged in terms of success or failure. Media reports suggest that the all-party delegation led by Home Minister Rajnath Singh met some 300 Kashmiris in 30 separate groups on Sunday. That is not a small number. What grabbed the headlines, however, was the Hurriyat leaders' refusal to entertain parliamentarians, including Sitaram Yechuri of the CPM, Sharad Yadav of the JD (U) and D. Raja of the CPI, who apparently took the initiative at their own level. Those advocating a military solution to the Kashmir problem or blaming it on Pakistan seem to have drawn the conclusion that suits their muddled thinking, which is that the separatists do not understand a soft approach. The puffed-up Hurriyat leaders may have the misplaced satisfaction of turning away representatives from Delhi, they have missed an opportunity put across their point of view. Even if all-party delegations had not yielded credible results in the past, there was no harm in making yet another effort since peace was at stake. On the other hand, the Home Minister made little effort to reach out to the Hurriyat leaders, who were kept under house arrest. While Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti invited them for talks, Rajnath Singh distanced the Centre from the invitation. It does not behove him to say now that "what the separatists did was neither Kashmiriyat nor Insaniyat". Trust deficit is all too evident. Rather than finding a long-term solution, the Centre's immediate worry seems to be to end the present cycle of protests and violence and restore some sembalance of peace in the Valley. Tribune News Service Chandigarh, September 5 Haryanas action of providing 10 per cent reservation to the economically backward sections in medical admissions today came under judicial scanner. Acting on a petition against the reservation in the MBBS course, the High Court put the state on notice. The notice by Justice Gurmeet Singh Sandhawalia came on the petition filed by Rageshwari Singh through counsel Sumeet Goel and Yagyadeep. In the petition, Rageshwari Singh asserted the impugned action of providing 10 per cent reservation had increased the total reservation up to 60 per cent of the total available seats. The action of the official respondents was in contravention of the 50 per cent ceiling stipulated by the Supreme Court in the Indira Sawhney versus the Union of India case. The action of the official respondents is totally illegal, arbitrary and discriminatory and in violation of the principles enshrined in Article 14 and 16 of the Constitution of India and is liable to be struck down, the petitioner added. Going into the background of the matter, the petitioner asserted only 190 MBBS seats had been given to the general or the unreserved category out of the total State quota seats as the respondent state had earmarked 10 per cent or 47 MBBS seats for the economically backward persons. The action was ultra vires the Constitution of India as there was no provision for any kind of reservation on the economic basis. Similar 10 per cent reservation on the basis of economic criterion was provided by the Gujarat in 2016 for admission and appointment. The reservation, provided in Gujarat, also exceeded the 50 per cent ceiling. A Division Bench of the Gujarat High Court considered the entire law relating to reservation before reiterating that 50 per cent ceiling could not be breached. It further held that reservation could not be given on the basis of economic criterion alone. Seeking directions for quashing the 10 per cent reservation, the petitioner also sought directions to the respondents for making admission to the MBBS course by providing 50 per cent seats to the general category candidates. Legal Correspondent New Delhi, September 5 The Supreme Court on Monday refused to entertain a PIL seeking its intervention to punish the culprits involved in the alleged malpractices in the recent Rajya Sabha poll in Haryana, which saw Congress-backed Independent candidate RK Anand lose to businessman and media baron Subhash Chandra, a BJP-supported independent contestant. A Bench comprising Chief Justice TS Thakur and Justice DY Chandrachud heard advocate-petitioner ML Sharma at length before ruling that there was no legal or constitutional provision for seeking remedy to such problems through public interest litigation. The Bench granted liberty to the petitioner to pursue other legal options to have his grievance redressed. Anand had filed a police complaint against Chandra and others alleging that a criminal conspiracy was behind his unexpected loss in the June 2016 election. A wrong pen had been given to the Congress MLAs to ensure the rejection of their votes, Anand had contended. N Kalia our correspondent Jind, September 5 A Special CBI Judge today came to the rescue of three accident victims here. One person was killed and three others were injured in a collision between a motorcycle and a car at Ikkas village of the district. However, lives of the injured were saved with the timely intervention of the judge who was passing by the road when the accident took place. Ajay Kumar, a resident of Ramrai village, died on the spot, while his brother Paras Kumar suffered injuries. Sanjeev Kumar, a resident of Barah village, and one more person were also injured in the mishap. Two victims were on the motorcycle and two others were in the car. Chief Medical Officer (CMO) Dr Sanjay Dahiya said two seriously injured were referred to the PGIMS, Rohtak. He said: We have come to know that the deceased and injured were brought to the hospital by a Special CBI Judge who was on his way to Panchkula from his native Rajpura village in the district. Sources said when the judge saw the accident victims in a critical condition, he called the ambulance helpline number. On getting poor response from the helpline, he appealed passersby and arranged vehicle for the victims and took them to the hospital, they said. The CMO said: The CBI judge informed me about the poor response from helpline and I will look into the matter. Dr Dahiya said the swift action of the judge had saved three lives and it was a lesson to be learnt by everyone. However, the CBI judge stayed away from mediapersons and left the place after admitting the victims to the hospital. He even did not disclose his name. Tribune Reporters Shimla, September 5 Himachal Governor Acharya Devvrat today gave a clarion call for bringing qualitative improvement in education and stressed the need to educate the teacher community about child psychology to make teaching-learning process effective. Presiding over the state level Teachers Day function at Raj Bhawan, the Governor lauded the state for vast expansion in the education sector with close network of educational institutions in government sector and phenomenal increase in literacy rate. At the same time, he cautioned that qualitative improvement in education remains a major challenge. Stressing the need to educate the teaching community about child psychology, the Governor said understanding the thinking process of the child would be helpful in making the teaching-learning process more effective by exploring the hidden talent. This is the best way for imparting quality education, chennilising the energy of the child towards overall development and inculcating moral values, he added. Emphasising that India had been leader in the field of education since ancient times, students from different parts of the world came here for attaining knowledge and gurus (teachers) were considered nation builders and held in the highest esteem, the Governor said welfare of the society at large was basic purpose of education and the country was acknowledged as hub of education. Exhorting teachers to become role models for students, Acharya Devvrat said: Conduct, character and thoughts of teachers influence the students and if teachers are capable, competent and dedicated and performed their duties honestly and sincerely, they would be able to inculcate values among students and their conduct would be ethical. The Governor also paid tributes to former President Dr S Radhakrishanan, describing him as extraordinary personality, Nobel laureate, academician, philosopher and an able administrator. The Governor conferred state awards on 10 teachers. He also released a souvenir on the occasion. The awardee teachers are Poonam Rana, Principal, GSSS Dehra (Kangra); Vandana, Lecturer, GSSS Kot Tungal (Mandi); Dr Ramesh Chand Sharma, Lecturer, Government Girls SSS, Mandi; Jagdish Suri, Lecturer, Physical Education, GSSS Ruslah,(Shimla); Ranvir Singh, PTI, GHS Shavga (Sirmaur); Dr Duni Chand, Shastri, GSSS Subathu (Solan); Parvati Devi, JBT, GPS Bharti, (Solan); Satish Kumar, JBT, GPS Bakredi (Hamirpur); Sanjiv Kumar Mehta, JBT, GPS, Banshera (Shimla); and Ram Kumar Joshi, JBT, GPS Mehatpur (Una). Four National Award winners for the year 2016 Dr Chandreshwar Sharma, Headmaster, GSSS, Kuthar, and at present working as deputy director, Primary Education, Solan; Kashmir Singh, Headmaster, GHS Bhalon, district Una; Ram Pal, TGT, GSSS Dharampur; and Sandesh Sharma, Headmistress, GPS Ghaliyan, (Solan) were also honoured on the occasion. A colourful cultural programme was presented by students of RKMV, Shimla and Portmore School, Shimla. Kangra: Teachers Day was today celebrated with fervor and enthusiasm at Dronacharya PG College of Education (DPGCE) in Rait of the district in association with Rotary Club, Shahpur. NN Sharma, Dean, School of Management, Himachal Pradesh Technical University, was the chief guest. Tributes were paid to Dr Sarvapalli Radhakrishnan and a ten-point oath was administered to the faculty. Naresh Sharma, assistant professor at Govt Degree College, Shahpur, stressed on the need to nurture the students by incorporating new teaching-learning pedagogy. The nation builder awards were given teachers from various colleges NK Sharma, Govt. Degree College,Shahpur; Manpreet Arora, Central University of Himachal Pradesh; Pankaj Verma, Himachal Institute of Engineering & Technology; Govardhan Sharma, Govt Middle School, Siholpuri; Rahul Dev, GSSS Forseith Ganj; Baljit Kaur, New Era School, Chattri; Ashwani Dhiman,Principal,GSSS Trilokpur; Anita Chandel and Anish Korla of Dronacharya PG College of Education, Rait. They also received certificate of merit and a plaque. Nurpur: Teachers Day was celebrated with enthusiasm at the MCM DAV senior secondary school here today. Students presented a scintillating programme at the event. Tributes were paid to Dr Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan. Prabhat Singh, manager of the school committee, exhorted the teachers and pupils to work hard and imbibe ethical and social values. CM for awards to teachers working in remote areas Shimla: Teachers who are serving in the remote and far-flung areas of the state in difficult circumstances need to be honoured on Teacher's Day. This was stated by Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh while speaking at a state-level Teacher's Day function at Raj Bhawan here on Monday. Referring to the procedure of selection for national and state level awards to teachers, he said it had been observed that none of the teachers who had been teaching with commitment since the last many years in such hard and tribal terrain were in the list of awardees. He directed the Education Department to keep in mind the services of those teachers who were committed to their profession and working in tough areas rather than wasting their time in getting adjusted in towns and cities. He also listed the name of the hard and tribal areas from where none of the teachers were in the list of awardees. "Himachal is one of the most literate states after Kerala having attained 88 per cent literacy rate. This is because of the hard work and the dedication of teachers towards their profession," he said. He congratulated the teachers who were honoured on the occasion.TNS A Moroccan man arrested in Brussels in July is being held in Austria, suspected of having links to the Islamist militant cell responsible for the Paris attacks last November, a spokesman for the Belgian federal prosecutor told AFP on Monday. The suspect, Abid Tabaouni, was detained under a European arrest warrant from Austria after he had fled from Salzburg and was handed back to Austrian authorities last month. The Belgian prosecutor's spokesman Thierry Werts, said that the handover was done quickly as "we confirmed that he did not have any ties to our country nor it appears to any of our cases." The Salzburg prosecutor's spokesman Robert Holzleitner also confirmed to AFP that Tabaouni has been held in Austria since August 25 and is suspected of belonging to a terrorist organisation. Tabaouni is believed to have ties to the two alleged members of the Islamic State (IS) group, Algerian Adel Haddadi and Pakistani Mohamad Usman, who were arrested in Austria last December and handed over to French authorities in July as part of the investigation into the Paris attacks. Investigators believe Haddadi and Usman, who face terror charges in France, travelled to the Greek island of Leros on October 3 on the same boat full of refugees as two men who took part in the November 13 attacks in France that left 130 people dead. But Haddadi and Usman were detained by Greek authorities for 25 days because they had fake Syrian passports. Once released, they followed the main migrant trail and made it to Salzburg in western Austria at the end of November -- after the Paris attacks. Austrian police then arrested the two in December at a migrant centre a few hours after French authorities informed them the men could be in the country. After his arrest, Haddadi told investigators that he had wanted to go to France to "carry out a mission," according to a statement seen by AFP. A source close to the investigation said that Haddadi "was meant to take part in the Paris killings with his travelling companions." US channel CNN reported, citing investigation documents, that Tabaouni was allegedly linked to the four men who had traveled as supposed refugees through Leros and that he also was probably meant to take part in an attack. Search Keywords: Short link: Tribune News Service Shimla, September 5 Paving way for some important changes in the hydropower policy 2006, the Cabinet today gave nod for transfer of shares in hydro-power projects up to five MW by Himachalis to non-Himachalis after levying of fees and it has also been decided to provide 100 units of free electricity per month to the families affected by power projects. The decision was taken at the Cabinet meeting held here today under the chairmanship of Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh. With this decision now Himachalis will be able to sell or transfer 49 per cent equity shares to non-Himachalis at any stage after allotment of projects up to 2 MW capacity and full disinvestment after two years of commissioning of the projects. Similarly, in case of bona fide Himachalis to whom projects up to two MW to five MW have been allotted, they can sell or transfer 51 percent equity share to non-Himachalis at any stage after allotment of projects and full disinvestment after two years of commissioning of the projects. However, it has been decided to levy some appropriate fee for transfer of equity. The issue of allotment of 960 MW Jangi Thopan power project was on the Cabinet agenda but it was withdrawn without discussion. The Cabinet is also learnt to have extended the time period for completion of commercial housing project in relaxation of Section 118 of Tenancy and Land Reform Act. The Cabinet also accorded approval to giving 100 units of free electricity per month to the families affected by projects as per the subsidized tariff determined by Himachal Pradesh Electricity Regulatory Commission (HPERC). Besides, the Cabinet gave its nod to cancel the four projects of Joiner-II (3MW) in Chamba, Kanda (0.80 MW) in Sirmaur, Rawin (1 MW) in Shimla and Chahod (2 MW) in Mandi. Approval was also given for enhancement of honorarium of Jal Rakshaks (water guards) engaged through Panchayati Raj Institutions (PRIs) from Rs 1,350 to Rs 1,500 per month. As many as 2,220 Jal Rakshaks would benefit from this decision, putting an additional burden of Rs. 8.50 crore annually on the state exchequer. The Cabinet also approved creation of 855 posts of various categories for Shri Lal Bhadur Shastri Medical College, at Ner Chowk in Mandi district. Besides this, approval was also given for creation of more than 300 posts in other departments. The Cabinet also gave nod to upgrade Civil Hospital Jawalamukhi to the level of 75-bed Civil Hospital. Besides, it was also decided to provide 35 kg of ration to the Above Poverty Line (APL) families in tribal areas of the state. A decision was taken to provide all three pulses to all the ration card holders irrespective of the number of units on the cards. The Cabinet gave its approval to open sub-tehsils at Sarahan and at Taklech in Rampur Sub-Division of Shimla district. It approved to open new Hydro Power Engineering College Bandla in district Bilaspur. The Cabinet approved to take over the services of teaching and non-teaching staff of erstwhile privately managed Jawalaji Degree College, Jawalamukhi and Deen Dayal Mahesh Degree College, Sugh-Bhatoli in district Kangra which now would be named as Government Degree College Sugh- Bhatoli. Our Correspondent Nurpur, September 5 Resentment prevails among commuters over the delay in the construction of a bus stop proposed during the BJP regime. Commuters are now demanding that the construction process should be expedited and the bus stop completed before the Assembly elections next year. Transport Minister GS Bali and other officers of the department had inspected the site of the bus stop at Chogan on the Pathankot-Mandi National Highway here twice during the past two years, but no result had been witnessed. The Dhumal government had proposed the bus stand on the premises of a dilapidated veterinary hospital and transferred land to the Transport Department in July 2012. The Animal Husbandry Department shifted the veterinary hospital from the proposed site for the bus stop in February and the Transport Department took over the possession of the premises. Bali had announced in February that the department had planned to construct the bus stop under the Build-Operate-Transfer (BOT) policy. He had claimed that the department would float tenders for the construction of the bus stop and the process would be completed in 60 days. He had also announced that the construction would be completed in 15 months after awarding the tender. But the structure of the veterinary hospital had not even been demolished yet. Vijay Sapiya, Divisional Manager, Himachal Road Transport Corporation (HRTC), Dharamsala, said the tender for the demolition of the hospital building had been awarded for Rs 3.75 lakh and submitted to the head office for the final approval. He said the department would prefer the construction of the bus stop through the BOT scheme. If no private organisation evinced interest, the department would build the bus stop on its own. Tribune News Service Srinagar, September 5 Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti has called for reviving the reconciliation and resolution through an institutionalised mechanism and termed it as the need of the hour. The need of the hour is to revive the reconciliation and resolution process through an institutionalised mechanism involving all stakeholders, she said on Sunday as she welcomed the delegation of parliamentarians. She said the challenge before the leadership of the state and the country was to insulate the process from the setbacks that have derailed it in the past. While interacting with the members of the all-party delegation at the Sher-i-Kashmir International Conference Centre here on Sunday afternoon, the Chief Minister stressed the need for creating a new basis of legitimacy for the peace and resolution process to take shape. All of us are deeply concerned about the painful situation existing in Kashmir and a credible and meaningful political dialogue and resolution process has to be initiated to end the stalemate, Mehbooba said. She said it was a welcome step that cutting across the party lines and political positions, the countrys political leadership had reached out to the people of Jammu and Kashmir. The Chief Minister said all mainstream political parties and separatist leadership in the state voiced the urges and aspirations of the people and sought a lasting resolution of the problems confronting Jammu and Kashmir. In the Agenda of Alliance, which is the basis of our government formation with our alliance partner BJP, it has been made clear that the state government will create conditions to facilitate the resolution of all issues and will help initiate a sustained and meaningful dialogue with all stakeholders, including all political groups in J&K, irrespective of their ideological views and predilections to build a broad-based consensus on resolution of all outstanding issues of J&K, she said. Mehbooba expressed the hope that the visit of the all-party delegation will be the first step towards putting in place an institutionalised mechanism for the lasting resolution of the issue to make peace and stability a reality in the state and the region. Sumit Hakhoo Tribune News Service Jammu, September 5 The all-party delegation led by Home Minister Rajnath Singh, while expressing concern over the plight of displaced Hindus, today assured the Pandits that a structured dialogue process would be initiated with them. Amidst the boycott by Panun Kashmir, a delegation led by Member of Legislative Council (MLC) Surinder Amberdar apprised the parliamentarians of the mob attacks on transit camps at Haal, Vessu and Nutnusna. The MLC delegation appealed to the Centre to adjust the PM package employees outside the Valley till a comprehensive rehabilitation package was announced for the minority community. They also expressed dismay over their living conditions at transit camps for which they had been protesting in Jammu for the last 50 days. We presented our viewpoint on the attacks on our camps and attempts to burn the transit camps and demanded adjustment outside the Valley, said Rubon Saproo, an employee under the PM package, who met the all-party delegation. Sources said the Home Minister promised the MLC delegation that talks would be held with Pandits to make suitable changes in the rehabilitation package. On the issue of Valley employees, he said the state government would be asked to give a detailed report about various issues facing them. Ashwani Kumar Chrangoo, a senior leader and political activist, reiterated the demand for a separate homeland for Pandits in the Valley and reorganisation of J&K into four parts. Separatists have made the people of Jammu, Ladakh and ethnic minorities hostage to the violence, he said. Other members of the MLC delegation included prominent intellectual KN Pandita and All State Kashmiri Pandit Conference president Ravinder Raina. Panun Kashmir chairman Ajay Chrangoo alleged that the community was not given enough time. It is now amply clear to us and the entire nationalist constituency in Jammu that the Government of India along with the state government is only making a pretension of meeting the nationalists in the state. Twelve representatives of Pandits were allotted just a few minutes for the meeting, he said. Vikram Sharma Tribune News Service Jammu, September 5 Home Minister Rajnath Singh today said the Centre would soon decide an action plan to tackle the Kashmir situation. He stated this on the completion of the all-party delegations visit to the state. Rajnath said some members of the all-party delegation had witnessed the Kashmir situation for the first time. He expressed the hope that parliamentary discussions on the issue would soon lead to a comprehensive solution to the vexed Kashmir problem through an action plan. When Parliament meets over the issue, all members will present their point of view. An action plan will be devised to tackle the situation in the state, said the Home Minister in his media briefing after the delegation rounded off its meeting with Jammu stakeholders. The all-party delegation led by Rajnath reached the Jammu Guest House at 2.05 pm. Immediately, it started talks with various delegations it had given time slots to. Rajnath said 18 Jammu delegations met the delegation while presenting their respective points of view about Jammu and Kashmir. The delegation took nearly three hours to conclude the session. We met 18 Jammu delegations comprising nearly 200 persons who put forth their points of view over issues in the state. We had good talks with all segments of society, he said. He said the Centre considered Jammu, Kashmir and Ladakh as three important regions of Jammu and Kashmir. Since the delegation had met the people of Jammu region and Kashmir, another team would meet the people of Ladakh soon, he said. In his brief address, Rajnath said the delegation met the people of Kashmir on Sunday and decided to give an audience to the people of Jammu region today. All Jammu delegations that met us expressed serious concern over the Kashmir issue and wanted an early solution to the turmoil, he said. The Home Minister spoke to the media only for two and a half minutes. He refused to take any media query and left the venue immediately. After being snubbed by Kashmiri separatists, who did not allow any member of the delegation to meet them, there were great expectations that the parliamentarians would face the media and speak on the Kashmir turmoil and a possible solution. Except Rajnath, no other member came forward with a statement. As soon as the all-party delegation reached the Jammu Guest House, SOS International chairman Rajiv Chuni, Panun Kashmir chairman Ajay Chrungoo and president Agnishekhar and Shiv Sena representatives started sloganeering at the gate, but security forces denied them entry. Representatives of the Chamber of Commerce and Industries, Bar Association of Jammu, West Pakistan Refugees Action Committee, Jammu Traders Federation, Muslim Front, Panthers Party, Federation of Industries, Pandits, hoteliers, tourism stakeholders and PoK refugees and Independent MLA Pawan Gupta met the parliamentarians. Day later, Geelani says wasnt officially invited Srinagar: The separatist faction led by Syed Ali Shah Geelani on Monday said it was never officially invited to meet the all-party delegation of parliamentarians which had visited the region on Sunday. They never officially invited us and at the same time blame us for rejecting it (the invite), the separatist faction said in a statement. The separatists were invited to meet the delegation by Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti in her capacity as the president of her party. Several members of the delegation, including parliamentarians Sitaram Yechury, D Raja and Sharad Yadav, had attempted to meet Geelani at his residence here. Geelani, however, refused to open the gate. The separatist faction while responding to the comments made by Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh accused him of lies, deceit, denial and contradictions. They tried to play a game of win only for them as they just wanted to discredit us whether we accepted their offer of dialogue which never came or ignored their casual personal gestures, the separatist faction said. The separatist faction said New Delhi was scared of any meaningful dialogue with the Hurriyat and Pakistan. It said the sole intention of the delegation was to do firefighting to derail the current movement. It cautioned the people in the power corridors of India and advised them to give a passionate hearing to genuine grievances and basic demands of the populace. TNS J&K globally accepted dispute, insists Hurriyat Srinagar: Reacting to Home Minister Rajnath Singhs statement in Srinagar that Kashmir is an integral part of India, the moderate Hurriyat led by Mirwaiz Umar Farooq on Monday said Jammu and Kashmir was an internationally accepted dispute since 1947. A party spokesperson said the Centre should give up its adamant stance, which is devoid of facts and ground realities. It should instead become serious to find a peaceful and long-lasting solution to the vexed Kashmir issue and initiate steps for its resolution, which would not only help in restoring peace in Kashmir but also create an environment for development and prosperity in entire South Asia, the statement said. TNS Ehsan Fazili Tribune News Service Srinagar, September 5 A day after the Kashmir separatist leaders shut their doors on the visiting Parliamentary delegates, Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh on Monday said the behaviour of the separatists shows they do not believe in Kashmiriyat, insaniyat and jamhooriyat. Addressing mediapersons before concluding his two-day Kashmir visit here this morning, Rajnath said it had been made clear that those people (spearheading the ongoing unrest in Kashmir) set aside the three principles for which Kashmir is known. It is clear that they (separatists) do not believe in Kashmiriyat, insaniyat and jamhooriyat (democracy). Singh said the decision of some of the Parliament members to meet the separatist leaders was their own. He also referred to his tweet before embarking on his second visit to Kashmir last month that the doors were open for those who believe in these three principles. (Follow The Tribune on Facebook; and Twitter @thetribunechd) Kashmir was, is and will remain an integral part of India, the Home Minister said. I want to make it clear that not only our doors but the windows are also open for talks, Singh said. He said Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti invited separatists for talks to end the ongoing unrest in Kashmir, but they refused to budge. The Home Minister said the all-party delegation had fruitful discussions with leaders of political parties, civil society, university teachers and Vice-Chancellors, fruit growers, students and some intellectuals. The delegation comprising 26 members from 20 political parties had meetings with over 30 delegates comprising 300 people since Sunday. Read: We were not invited for talks officially, says Hurriyat The Home Minister hoped that there would be an improvement in the Kashmir situation, adding that the highest seat of democracy, the Parliament, the Central Government and the people of the country were worried and pained over the situation in Kashmir. Referring to the concern of people over the use of pellet guns, which had led to most of the killings and injuries, mainly damaging the eyes, the Home Minister said its alternative Pava had been found and it had started being used in handling the situation in Kashmir. The Home Minister informed that over 1,000 shells of the Pava had already arrived to handle the law and order situation in the Valley. On a question whether India plans to talk to Pakistan on Kashmir, Singh said, First let us talk to Indians. When asked whether the Centre is willing to go the extra mile on the demands of autonomy raised by PDP and National Conference from time to time, he said, We are not concerned with whatever one had said in the past. We have taken everyones view and cooperation to improve the situation in Kashmir in the delegation-level talks. To a query on track-2 channel talks, Singh said he did not wish to enter in the debate of track-1, track-2 or track-3. The Home Minister said to address concerns of Kashmiri youths living in different parts of the country, the Ministry has appointed Dr Sanjay Rai as nodal officer who can be approached on phone numbers 011-23092923 and 23092885. With PTI inputs Ehsan Fazili, Majid Jahangir & Azhar Qadri Tribune News Service Srinagar, September 4 New Delhis bid to end the nearly two-month-long Kashmir unrest hit a roadblock today with key separatist leaders refusing to meet the all-party delegation that arrived here for talks, even as 250 persons were injured in fresh clashes. Four of the 28 members took upon themselves to reach out to the separatists, who have been leading the agitation. Sitaram Yechury (CPM), D Raja (CPI) and Sharad Yadav (JD-U) went to meet Syed Ali Shah Geelani and Yasin Malik. While Geelani is under house arrest, Yasin is lodged at Humhama. Asaduddin Owaisi (AIMIM) went to meet Mirwaiz Omar Farooq, lodged in the Cheshmashi sub-jail. While Mirwaiz and Yasin refused to talk to the MPs, Geelani wouldnt let them in. A Hurriyat worker peeped through a window, asking Yechury to go. We will have a cup of tea, Yechury pleaded, but to no avail. The MPs left amid anti-India slogans. We wanted to tell him we sympathised with the people of Kashmir, that we wanted unconditional talks with all stakeholders and that it was important that dialogue was initiated, Yechury said, stressing any long-term solution will have to come through talks. Yadav said the purpose of visiting Geelanis residence was to find a way to restore peace. Whether anyone will talk or not, we will continue to reach out. The MPs then went to meet former Hurriyat chairman Abdul Gani Bhat and Shabir Ahmed Shah, but in vain. Owaisi met Mirwaiz but the latter refused to talk. He is upset over the killings. He said they decided not to meet anybody because the government was not serious on holding a political dialogue, Owaisi told mediapersons. Earlier in the day, CM Mehbooba Mufti briefed the delegation on the ground situation. Panaji, September 5 The AAP in Goa on Monday threatened to file a police complaint after objectionable posters showing sacked Delhi Minister Sandeep Kumar came up across the state with the party election symbol on it. Sandeep, an MLA from Sultanpur Majra in Delhi, was arrested last week on rape and other charges following a complaint by a woman who purportedly figured in an objectionable CD with him. He was also suspended from the AAP after the scandal came to light. His posters were put up in Panaji, Margao, Ponda, Vasco and Mapusa markets besides other prominent places in Goa with AAP for Women Empowerment written on it. The picture of broom, which is AAPs symbol, has also been displayed on the posters. I suspect the BJP behind such acts. BJP rules and governs the state (Goa). They should see to it that proper inquiry is conducted into such acts, AAP Goa convener Walmiki Naik told reporters here. The party will file a formal police complaint, Naik said. AAP condemns such cheap tactics. We wont mind people criticising our developmental work or policies, but someone stooping down to such a level is unexpected, he said. He said the resorting to putting up such posters is the worst example of politics. AAP has begun ground work in Goa for the upcoming Assembly elections, where they will contest all the 40 seats. Sandeep, who is being interrogated by the police, has claimed innocence in the matter. The former Women and Child Development Minister has been booked on charges of rape, transmission of material containing sexually explicit act and taking illegal gratification. In her complaint, the woman alleged that around 11 months ago, she was raped by him when she had gone to his office in outer Delhis Sultanpuri seeking help to obtain a ration card. Sandeep was removed from the AAP government on August 31 by Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal after the CD purportedly showing him in compromising position with the woman surfaced. PTI New Delhi, September 5 The Aam Aadmi Party on Monday rubbished allegations of exploitation of women by a few party men in return for tickets levelled by its own MLA Devinder Sehrawat and said the leaders against whom the lawmaker has made the accusations will sue him over his remarks. Launching a scathing attack on Sehrawat, partys Punjab in-charge Sanjay Singh alleged that the BJP and Akali Dal are behind the conspiracy as they are scared since the AAP is winning over 100 seats in the state polls scheduled next year. Terming Sehrawat as a discontent element within the party, Singh said his closeness with rebel AAP leaders Prashant Bhushan and Yogendra Yadav are well known. The allegations levelled by Sehrawat are baseless. They are also an insult to people and women of Punjab. I challenge him to prove his charges and I will quit public and political life. I will file a defamation suit against Sehrawat and he has to prove his charges before the court, Singh said at a press conference. The party also hinted of a possible action against the Bijwasan MLA after the return of AAPs national convenor Arvind Kejriwal from Vatican City where he has gone to attend the cannonisation of Mother Teresa. In his letter to Kejriwal yesterday, Sehrawat had also hit out at AAPs Delhi unit convener Dilip Pandey, questioning his conduct, and said there were disturbing reports from Punjab as he attacked Singh, and Durgesh Pathak, partys co-incharge of the state. A defiant Sehrawat said that he had written the letters with full responsibility and would follow it up till finality. Sehrawat had also written a letter to social activist Anna Hazare saying he was upset with the corruption and immorality in the party, which has strayed away from its principles. Pandey, who also addressed the press conference, hit back at Sehrawat, saying the party leaders will sue him in individual capacity. So, those who speak truth in the AAP will now be termed as a solider of Swaraj Abhiyan and our companions? Then thats good, Yadav tweeted reacting to Singhs charges of Sehrwats closeness to him and Bhushan, co-founder of Swaraj Abhiyan. Sehrawat had protested against the way Bhushan and Yadav were expelled from the National Executive, the second largest decision making body of the AAP. PTI R Sedhuraman Legal Correspondent New Delhi, September 5 The Arvind Kejriwal government in Delhi on Monday told the Supreme Court that an administrative crisis had developed in the city following the Delhi High Court verdict declaring the Lieutenant Governor as the super boss. The verdict had created a piquant situation where the officials felt they were no longer accountable to the Chief Minister and other Ministers, senior counsel Gopal Subramamanium told a Bench headed by Chief Justice TS Thakur. The officials thought they had to report only to Lieutenant Governor Najeeb Jung and not the elected government, he said while seeking an urgent hearing of Kejriwal governments appeal against the HC ruling. Accepting the plea, the Bench said the appeal would be heard on September 9. Read: Kejriwal to undergo throat surgery after Punjab visit The High Court had held that Delhi continued to be a Union Territory and as such the Lieutenant Governor was its administrator and he did not have to act on the aid and advice of the council of ministers. Last week, the Delhi government had withdrawn its suit from the Supreme Court. In the suit it had sought a declaration by the Supreme Court that Delhi was a state, not a UT. But the Supreme Court had made it clear that the government having approached the High Court first and obtained an adverse ruling on the status of Delhi it should seek a remedy only through an appeal, not through a original suit. You cant pursue parallel cases, the Supreme Court had remarked, forcing the government to withdraw the suit. Egypt's net foreign reserves rose to $16.564 billion at the end of August, the central bank said on Sunday. Reserves stood at $15.536 billion at the end of July. Egypt had roughly $36 billion in reserves before an uprising in 2011 overthrew Hosni Mubarak. That ushered in a period of political turmoil that scared away tourists and foreign investors, key sources of foreign exchange. The United Arab Emirates said last month it had agreed to provide Egypt's central bank with a $1 billion deposit for a duration of six years. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) agreed in principle to grant Egypt a $12 billion three-year facility to support a government reform programme aimed at plugging a budget gap and rebalancing the currency market, but this must still go to the IMF board for approval. The lending programme is contingent upon the government securing $5-6 billion in bilateral financing for the first year. Search Keywords: Short link: Our Correspondent Jaipur, September 5 The Supreme Court has directed the Rajasthan Government to address concerns of leading daily Rajasthan Patrika and start allocating official advertisement to it. A two-member Bench comprising Justice AK Sikri and DY Chandrachud passed this verbal order to the Rajasthan Government on Friday. The daily had claimed that both display and classified ads issued to it by the state had dipped to an all-time low in 2016, which was affecting its circulation. Declining advertisement is resulting in lowering of circulation. It is a fight for survival, senior lawyer Abhishek Manu Singhvi, appearing for the daily, argued. Singhvi alleged the fall came in the wake of some critical articles against the state government. It was a direct assault on the freedom of the Press, he added. He demanded restoration of minimum of 35 per cent advertisement to the paper. Additional Solicitor General PS Narasimha contested the dailys contention, claiming the government was only correcting an imbalance in ad allocation. They had no problems when they got unlimited patronage. But when the vested interest is broken, complaints are made of attacks on the freedom of Press, he said. Hangzhou, September 5 Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday made it clear that effective financial governance requires "full commitment" to act against the corrupt and elimination of "safe havens" for economic offenders as he called on G20 members to break down the web of excessive banking secrecy. In his intervention on the second day of the G20 Summit in this east Chinese city, Modi said fighting corruption, blackmoney and tax-evasion were central to effective financial governance. (Follow The Tribune on Facebook; and Twitter @thetribunechd) To achieve that, he said, "We need to act to eliminiate safe havens for economic offenders, track down and unconditionally extradite money launderers and break down the web of complex international regulations and excessive banking secrecy that hide the corrupt and their deeds. The prime minister said that a stable global economic and financial system is imperative for growth as it promotes inclusive and sustainable growth. He called for further strengthening of the global financial safety net. "We need a regular dialogue between the IMF, Regional Financial Arrangements and Bilateral Swap Arrangements. Important mechanisms like financial stability board should stick to their core mandate," External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Vikas Swarup quoted the Prime Minister as saying in a series of tweets. "IMF should remain a quota-based institution and not depend on borrowed resources," Modi said emphasing that the "long-delayed 15th General Review of Quotas must be completed by 2017 Annual Meetings." The Prime Minister also said that India needs energy to support its development. A "balanced mix of nuclear, renewal energy and fossil fuels are at the core of our policy." G20 member states represent 85 per cent of the world's GDP. Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, South Korea, Turkey, the UK, the US and the European Union make the G20. PTI Tokyo, September 5 A half-Indian beauty queen with an elephant trainers licence was crowned Miss Japan today, striking a fresh blow for racial equality. Priyanka Yoshikawas tearful victory comes a year after Ariana Miyamoto faced an ugly backlash for becoming the first black woman to represent Japan. Social media lit up after Miyamotos trail-blazing triumph as critics complained that Miss Universe Japan should instead have been won by a pure Japanese rather than a haafu the Japanese for half, a word used to describe mixed race. Before Ariana, haafu girls couldnt represent Japan, Yoshikawa said after her exotic Bollywood looks helped sweep her to the title. That's what I thought too. I didn't doubt it or challenge it until this day. Ariana encouraged me a lot by showing me and showing all mixed girls the way." Yoshikawa, 22, born in Tokyo to an Indian father and a Japanese mother, vowed to continue the fight against racial prejudice in homogenous Japan, where multiracial children make up just 2 per cent of those born annually. We are Japanese. Yes, Im half Indian and people are asking me about my purity yes, my dad is Indian and I'm proud of it, I'm proud that I have Indian in me. But that does not mean I'm not Japanese." Yoshikawa, like Miyamoto, was bullied because of her skin colour after returning to Japan aged 10 following three years in Sacramento and a further year in India. "I know a lot of people who are haafu and suffer," said Yoshikawa, an avid kick-boxer whose politician great- grandfather once welcomed independence campaigner Mahatma Gandhi for a two-week stay at their home in Kolkata. Yoshikawa, who speaks fluent Japanese and English and towered over her rivals at 5 ft, 8 ins, will contest for the Miss World crown in Washington this December. "When I'm abroad, people never ask me what mix I am," said Yoshikawa, who earned her elephant trainer's licence to add spice to her resume. "As Miss Japan, hopefully I can help change perceptions so that it can be the same here too. The number of people with mixed race is only going to increase, so people have to accept it." Reaction to Yoshikawa's victory failed initially to trigger any real outrage, although predictably some were unhappy. "What's the point of holding a pageant like this now? Zero national characteristics," grumbled one Twitter user, while another fumed: "It's like we're saying a pure Japanese face can't be a winner." As the Japanese government continues to push its "Cool Japan" brand overseas to entice foreign tourists for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, Yoshikawa promised to win over any doubters. "There was a time as a kid when I was confused about my identity," she admitted. "But I've lived in Japan so long now I feel Japanese." AFP New Delhi, September 5 President Pranab Mukherjee said on Monday that India was "substantially free" from the globally witnessed menace of homegrown terrorism as citizens possess "ethnicity in mind and have faith in pluralism". Mukherjee, while teaching students in the school inside the President's Estate as part of the second edition of his 'Pranab Sir's class', also spoke about the worrisome development of "political assassinations" in India and its neighbourhood adding that despite these instances "we have had a stable political regime". The special session was held to observe 'Teachers Day' with students of Class 11 of the Delhi government-run Dr Rajendra Prasad Sarvodaya Vidyalaya during which Mukherjee called "secularism part of the life for Indians. India has suffered the brunt of terrorism, including that of the cross-border variety, he said. The President said it was the credit and success of India's policy and acumen of the administration that incidents of homegrown terrorism, the biggest menace to international peace and community, has kept India "substantially free" from its tentacles. "It is we who are attacked and we are the victims of cross-border attacks... But not so much of homegrown terror," he said, adding this was because of the "ethinicity of mind, belief and faith in pluralism, huge diversity in language, religion, food... Almost in everything." We all belong to the same system, the President said, adding that this quality was "unique". Talking for about 50 minutes to the students on the subject of 'Politics in India since Independence', he recounted the evolution of the democratic process in India post Independence, the building up of the electoral process and participation of Indians in the constitutional democracy. The President, who was a teacher before he turned to politics, also taught the students about the formation of political parties including the creation of the BJP from Jansangh and the advent of coalition politics in the country. He remembered the "formation" of states by the State Reorganisation of Commission as an "important development" in India's history. Mukherjee called the partition of the country as a "psychological trauma" for the people who were extricated from their homes adding creation of communal tension was an aftermath of this but our political leaders and statesmen controlled these issues. Imbibing technology In a series of messages on Twitter earlier in the day, Mukherjee said a sound education system is the bedrock of an enlightened society. Inspired teachers are the building blocks of a good education system. An inspired teacher links the individual goals of the students to the societal and national goals, he said in the message. He said teachers need to imbibe technology and new methodologies to create modern and effective approaches to teaching and learning and extended good wishes to entire teaching community for their dedication and commitment to the great cause of educating countrys youth. Tribute to Radhakrishnan Prime Minister Narendra Modi asked people to share their anecdotes about their teachers as he paid tributes to Dr Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan, the second President of the country. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has saluted the dedication and commitment of all the teachers on Teachers Day. Prime Minister has also paid his tributes to Dr. Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan, the Former President of India, whose birth anniversary is celebrated as Teachers Day across India, an official statement said. The Prime Minister, who is in Hangzhou, China, for the G20 meet, tweeted, Happy Teachers Day! India salutes the dedication and commitment of all teachers, whose role in nation building is paramount. Tributes to Dr S. Radhakrishnan, a scholar, statesman and a respected teacher who shaped many minds and served India. How has your teacher influenced you? Share your anecdote and read what many others have written about their teachers, the Prime Minister said. India celebrates Radhakrishnans birth anniversary as Teachers Day. A revered educationist, philosopher and recipient of highest civilian honour of the country Bharat Ratna, Radhakrishnan held the King George fifth Chair of Mental and Moral Science at the University of Calcutta between 1921 and 1932 and was Spalding Professor of Eastern Religion and Ethics at University of Oxford between 1936 and 1952. PTI Ajay Banerjee Tribune News Service New Delhi, September 5 In what promises to be a unique joint military exercise, the armies of India and China will get together to understand and practice methods to tackle the transnational terror. The next round of India-China joint military exercises named hand-in-hand will have transnational terror as its theme. The exercise is planned between November 15 and November 27, under the aegis of the Pune-based Southern Army Command. This will be the sixth edition of the exercise, first since December last year when Beijing passed a law authorising its military to venture overseas on counter-terror operations and even sent off some 5,000 troops to tackle the Islamic State in Syria. Both countries separately face transnational terror in their respective regions India in Kashmir and China in Xinjiang ( lying north of J&K in India). Both nations also have collective threat of their own youth joining the IS. From India, the Maratha light infantry will participate while China is yet to convey the formation of its own troops. The scope of the exercise shall include visualisation of a terrorist-related crisis situation; evolution of joint drills for conduct of counter-terror operations and include a live drill to neutralise a terrorist. The last one the live drill was also practised at the previous edition of the hand-in-hand hosted by China at Kunming. It was a mock exercise depicting counter-terror operations along the Sino-Indian border. Since May last year, the two countries despite their differences over inclusion of India in Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) and Indias stance to have freedom of navigation in the disputed South China have actually increased their bilateral military engagement. The India-China joint statement at Beijing after a meeting between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping had spoken about the need to expand the exchanges between the border commanders, and establish border personnel meeting points at all sectors of the India-China border areas. The two leaders had committed to enhancing border defence cooperation and tasked the militaries on either side to meet each other often. After this, the two sides, in an unprecedented development, conducted a set of two separate exercises along the disputed 3,448 km-long Line of Actual Control (LAC) the de facto boundary running all along the east-west axis of the Himalayan ridgeline. One of the exercises was conducted in the eastern sector and other in Chinas Moldo Garrison facing the Chususl sector in eastern Ladakh. New Delhi has now proposed to expand the scope of this joint-military exercise also. Also, this year, the two countries have opened a new Border personnel meeting (BPM) point east of Daulat Baig Oldie on the disputed Depsang plains in sub-sector north (SSN) of eastern Ladakh. It is one of the areas where disputes on the location of the LAC abound. New Delhi, September 5 Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal will be away from the national capital for nearly a fortnight for a throat surgery and to take stock of AAP's preparations in poll-bound Punjab. He will undergo the surgery on September 13 to cure his chronic cough problem. He will take a 10-day rest there. (Follow The Tribune on Facebook; and Twitter @thetribunechd) "Before leaving for Bengaluru, the CM will embark on a four-day visit to Punjab starting from September 8. He will meet party leaders and address public gathering in Punjab. "Thereafter, he will leave for Bengaluru on September 12 and undergo surgery next day. He is expected to come back on September 22," said a senior government official. In his absence, Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia will look after the chief ministerial works. Sisodia is also expected to visit Goa tomorrow, where the Aam Aadmi Party is gearing up for Assembly elections next year. Last month, Kejriwal had attended a 10-day Vipassana session at a meditation centre between August 2 and 11 in Dharamsala, Himachal Pradesh. He had no access to newspapers, television and phone during the session. In January, he had undergone a 10-day naturopathy treatment for his cough problem at Jindal Nature Cure Institute, Bengaluru. However, he will undergo throat surgery at a different health institute this time. In 2015 too, he had undergone 12 days of naturopathy treatment at the Jindal Nature Cure Institute in Bengaluru for chronic cough and diabetes. PTI Hangzhou, September 5 Prime Minister Narendra Modi today discussed India's NSG membership with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and also raised the issue of the confidential data leak of the Indian Scorpene Class submarines with French President Francois Holland on the sidelines of the G20 Summit. On the second and final day of the summit in this east Chinese city, Modi met Erdogan and Hollande in separate "pull-aside" meetings. (Follow The Tribune on Facebook; and Twitter @thetribunechd) Prior to that, he met Britain's new Prime Minister Theresa May and held discussions on "building opportunities" in the aftermath of UK's decision to exit the European Union. In his meeting with Erdogan, the prime minister discussed the issue of India's membership of the 48-member Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG), External Affairs Ministry Spokesperson Vikas Swarup told reporters. The discussion with Erdogan on NSG was significant as Turkey was among the few countries - along with China - which had stalled India's bid to join the elite grouping at its plenary meeting in June in Seoul. China had then raised objection saying India was not a signatory to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT). Turkey too raised its concern over the presence of supporters of dissident Muslim cleric Fethullah Gulen, who it accusses of masterminding the failed July coup attempt, in India. Swarup said enhancing civil aviation with Turkey also figured during the discussions. In his bilateral meeting with Hollande, Modi raised the leak of sensitive data related to Scorpene Class submarines. "This isues has also figured," Swarup said. Over 22,000 pages of secret data on the capabilities of six highly-advanced submarines being built for the Indian Navy in Mumbai in collaboration with French defence company DCNS were leaked. The data leak reportedly happened overseas. With May, the prime minister underlined that even after UK's exit from the EU, "Britain remains an important partner" for India. "May also referred to the recent passage of GST (bill) which would further boost trade and investment ties with the UK. She supported PM's reform agenda and the UK is keen to participate in Make in India, Smartcity and Skill India initiatives," he said. The two leaders discussed further enhancing of the defence partnership and Modi invited UK firms to India. They also talked about the challenges of terrorism, calling it "the biggest threat and danger to the world with no boundaries," Swarup said. Modi and May also discussed enhancing counter-terrorism cooperation between India and the UK, the spokesperson said. May, UK's second woman prime minister after Margaret Thatcher, also underlined the importance Britain attaches to the Indian diaspora in the UK. Modi had congratulated May, who succeded David Cameron after he quit following UK's decision to exit the 28-member world's largest single market EU, on her assumption of the new responsibility on July 27 and had affirmed India's commitment to further strengthen the strategic bilateral partnership. In his final bilateral meeting here, Modi held talks with Argetine President Mauricio Macri. Modi was accompanied by National Security Advisor Ajit Doval and Foreign Secretary S Jaishankar during the brief meeting with the French president. Modi yesterday briefly interacted with US President Barack Obama and had a bilateral with Chinese President Xi Jinping. He also had separate meetings with Australian Prime Minister Malcom Turnbull and Saudi Deputy Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman yesterday. PTI R Sedhuraman Legal Correspondent New Delhi, September 5 The Arvind Kejriwal government in Delhi today told the Supreme Court that an administrative crisis had cropped up in the city following Delhi High Court verdict declaring the Lieutenant Governor as the super boss. The verdict had created a piquant situation where the officials felt they were no longer accountable to the Chief Minister and other ministers, senior counsel Gopal Subramamanium told a Bench headed by Chief Justice TS Thakur. The officials thought they had to report only to Lieutenant Governor Najeeb Jung and not to the elected government, he said while seeking an urgent hearing of the Kejriwal governments appeal against the HC ruling. Accepting the plea, the Bench said the appeal would be heard on September 9. On August 4, the HC held that Delhi continued to be a Union Territory and, as such, the LG was its supreme administrator and he did not have to act on the aid and advice of the council of ministers. Last week, the Delhi Government had withdrawn from the SC a suit seeking a declaration that Delhi was a state, and not a UT. The SC, however, made it clear that the government had approached the HC first and obtained an adverse ruling on the status of Delhi, so it should seek a remedy only through an appeal, and not through an original suit. You cant pursue parallel cases, the SC remarked, forcing the government to withdraw the suit. In its judgment, a Bench comprising Chief Justice G Rohini and Justice Jayant Nath of the HC had held that the national capital continued to be a UT despite the 69th Constitution amendment of 1991, granting a special status to it. Hangzhou, September 5 In a sharp attack on Pakistan at the G20 summit here, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday said one single nation in South Asia is spreading agents of terror as he asserted that those who sponsor the menace must be sanctioned and isolated, not rewarded. Indeed one single nation in South Asia is spreading these agents of terror in countries of our region, Prime Minister Modi said in an apparent reference to Pakistan. We expect the international community to speak and act in unity, and to respond with urgency to fight this menace. Those who sponsor and support terrorism must be isolated and sanctioned, not rewarded, Modi said in his intervention during the concluding session of the meeting of the worlds 20 strong economies. (Follow The Tribune on Facebook; and Twitter @thetribunechd) The Prime Minister said India appreciates the G20s initiative on combating the financing of terrorism and asserted that all countries should meet the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) standards. Growing forces of violence and terror pose a fundamental challenge. There are some nations that use it as an instrument of state policy. India has a policy of zero tolerance to terrorism. Because anything less than that is not enough, Modi said. For us a terrorist is a terrorist, he asserted. Modis remarks came a day after India called on other BRICS members to intensify joint efforts to combat terrorism. Modi, in an apparent reference to Pakistan, had yesterday demanded coordinated actions by the grouping to isolate supporters and sponsors of terror. The Prime Minister, in his address to the Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa (BRICS) Leaders Meeting here, had said terrorists in South Asia, or anywhere for that matter, do not own banks or weapons factories. Clearly, someone funds and arms them and BRICS must intensify joint efforts not just to fight terror but to coordinate actions to isolate those who are supporters and sponsors of terror, he had said, without naming Pakistan. But the reference was clearly aimed at Islamabada close ally of China. Modis comments at G20 come against the backdrop of escalating war of words between India and Pakistan in the aftermath of the continuing unrest in the Kashmir Valley that broke out on July 8 after Hizbul commander Burhan Wani was killed by security forces. PTI Simran Sodhi Tribune News Service New Delhi, September 5 Prime Minister Narendra Modi, on the second day at the G20 Summit in China, raised the issue of terrorism. Without naming Pakistan, he said some nations used terrorism as an instrument of state policy and that one single nation in South Asia was spreading terrorism in the region. "Growing forces of violence and terror pose a fundamental challenge. There are some nations that use it as an instrument of state policy," said Modi during the final session of the G20 Summit. The PM, during his intervention in the last session of the G20, raised the issue forcefully and pressed on the global community to address the urgency of the problem. Modi called on the leaders present to isolate and sanction supporters of terrorism. Modi reiterated Indias position of having a policy of zero tolerance towards terrorism and added that anything less than that is not enough. He also held meetings with a number of world leaders. He met Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan with whom he discussed the issue of Indias membership of the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG). Apart from China, which received major flak from India, Turkey had also opposed Indias NSG bid. Despite the fiasco in Seoul, India is still pressing hard and hoping that its NSG bid can come through by the year-end. In a brief pull aside with French President Francois Holland, the PM raised the leak of sensitive data related to Scorpene Class submarines. In a media briefing in Hangzhou during the day, an official spokesperson of the Ministry of External Affairs confirmed that the topic was discussed between the two leaders. The PM also met British Prime Minister Theresa May and assured her that even after Brexit, the United Kingdom remained an important partner for India. It was his first interaction with the new British premier. May expressed support for various programmes initiated by the Indian Government and said her country was keen to participate in Make in India, Smart city and Skill India initiatives. Enhanced defence cooperation was also discussed between the two leaders. Canal authorities also announced revenues of $2.919 billion in the first seven months of 2016 Egypt's Suez Canal Authority announced total revenues of $429 million in July from the canal, a decrease of almost two percent from the $437.7 million recorded in the same month last year, state news agency MENA reported on Monday. Canal authorities also announced revenues of $2.919 billion in the first seven months of 2016, a 1.9 percent decrease from $2.977 billion in the same period last year, according to official data on the canal's website. Egyptian officials predicted Suez Canal revenues would increase following the inauguration of an additional lane to allow two-way traffic and works to deepen the main canal to allow the passage of larger vessels in August 2015, which cost upwards of around $4 billion. Officials had claimed the new canal would more than double revenues to reach $13.2 billion in 2023. However, falling oil prices and a slowdown in world trade led to a decrease in the canal's revenues. Search Keywords: Short link: Ehsan Fazili & Majid Jahangir Tribune News Service Srinagar, September 5 A day after the separatists snub, Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh today hit hard at them, saying it is clear they do not believe in Kashmiriyat, insaniyat or jamhooriyat. Rajnath, who was leading the delegation of 26 members from 20 political parties, said, Kashmir was, is and will remain an integral part of India. Addressing reporters, he said, Some members went to meet the Hurriyat leaders. We had neither said no nor yes to their meetings (with separatists). You know what happened. They had gone there in their individual capacities. Kashmir is battling unrest for the past two months that has so far left over 70 persons dead. The all-party delegation that arrived on Sunday assessed the situation and tried to find ways to resolve the issue. However, there seems no early end to the deadlock. Rajnath referred to his tweet before embarking on his second visit to Kashmir that the doors are open for those who believe in Kashmiriyat, insaniyat and jamhooriyat. Like my previous visits since the unrest began, I am willing to talk to anyone who wants peace and normalcy in the state, he said. The doors for dialogue were still open, he added. He said CM Mehbooba Mufti invited separatists for talks, but they refused to budge. Exuding confidence that the situation would improve, he said, Everyone who met us expressed this wish. He said there had been fruitful discussions with leaders, civil society, university teachers and VCs, fruit growers, students and some intellectuals. The all-party delegation held meetings with over 300 persons since yesterday. On concerns over pellet guns, he said its alternative (pava shells) was being used now. I feel this will not take any life, he said. Earlier, CPM leader Sitaram Yechury urged for an unconditional dialogue with all stakeholders. Davao (Philippines), Sept 5 Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte called Barack Obama a son of a whore today as he vowed not to be lectured by the US leader on human rights when they meet in Laos. The acid-tongued Duterte bristled at warnings he would face questioning by the US President over a crime war in the Philippines that has claimed more than 2,400 lives in just over two months. You must be respectful. Do not just throw away questions and statements. Son of a whore, I will curse you in that forum, Duterte told a news conference shortly before flying to Laos. We will be wallowing in the mud like pigs if you do that to me. Duterte was due to hold a bilateral meeting with Obama tomorrow on the sidelines of a summit hosted by ASEAN in Vientiane, the Lao capital. Responding to the tirade, Obama cast doubt on his planned meeting. AFP New Delhi, September 5 The Supreme Court said on Monday that criticisms against the government could not attract sedition or defamation charges. "Someone making a statement to criticise the government does not invoke an offence under sedition or defamation law. We have made it clear that invoking of section 124(A) of IPC (sedition) requires certain guidelines to be followed as per the earlier judgement of the apex court," a Bench of Justices Dipak Misra and U U Lalit said while refraining from saying anything further on the issue. The observation came as Advocate Prashant Bhushan, appearing for an NGO, argued that the sedition law was grossly misused for cracking down on dissent. He cited the examples of sedition charges against those protesting the Kudankulam Nuclear Power Project and cartoonist Aseem Trivedi, among others. To this, the bench said: "We don't have to explain the sedition law. It's already there in the five-judges constitution bench judgement in Kedar Nath Singh vs state of Bihar of 1962". The court, while disposing of a petition filed by NGO Common Cause alleging misuse of the sedition law, refused to pass a direction on the plea that a copy of this order be sent to all Chief Secretaries of states and the Directors General of Police. "You have to file separate plea highlighting if any misuse of sedition law is there. In criminal jurisprudence, allegations and cognisance have to be case specific, otherwise it will go haywire. There can't be any generalisation," the bench said. The court was hearing a plea seeking the apex court's intervention to address the "misuse" of section 124 A of the IPC contending that such a charge was being framed with a view to "instill fear and scuttle dissent". PTI Charanjit Singh Teja Tribune News Service Ludhiana, September 5 Installation of a separate biometric machine for SC/BC students outside the Lajpat Rai DAV College, Jagraon, office has triggered a controversy in the institution. The college authorities have issued orders to SC/BC students to mark their attendance on the biometric machine to avail the post-matric scholarship. While the attendance of general students is marked by teachers on registers, all SC students, who have applied for scholarship, have to mark their attendance on the biometric machine. Decrying the practice as unjust and unjustified, the SC students alleged that it smacks of discrimination against them. Meanwhile, students associated with the Punjab Students Union (PSU) today distributed pamphlets in the college against the alleged caste discrimination. This reminds us about the practice of untouchability, said an SC student. Later, the college authorities called SC/BC students in the seminar hall today and told them that the Directorate of Public Instructions (DPI), Colleges, had issued a letter to the college to install biometric machine to ensure the attendance of the SC students desirous of availing the scholarship. The faculty members also asked the SC students to beware of the people who are trying to involve them in politics for their vested interests. When Principal Dr Karan Sharma was asked to show the letter of the DPI office, he provided a letter issued by the Assistant Director (Scholarship) dated February 10, 2016, in which SC/BC words were not mentioned. The subject of the letter was to assure the attendance of students in higher education institutes. Referring to an earlier letter issued on December 24, 2015, Sarita Chopra, Assistant Director (scholarship), instructed the colleges to introduce biometric system in educational institutions to ensure the attendance and give benefit of scholarship to eligible students. She further directed the college to install biometric system for all students who have taken admission in separate courses. The Principal said: The DPI (Colleges) had issued a letter and given verbal directions to the college staff to install biometric system to avoid dummy admissions. On being asked whether the DPIs instructions were specific to the SC/BC category of students, Dr Sharma said, We are confused about the directions they issued. They told us verbally to install a machine for the attendance of SC/BC students, but the letter does not mention the category. Karamjit Kotakpura from the PSU alleged that the college authorities had been implementing the anti-Dalit agenda of the RSS and trying to revive caste-based discrimination among students. The biometric system should either be implemented for all or its selective implementation should stop. The students who opposed the practice were threatened with rustication from the college. We will stage a protest against this practice, he said. There are 182 beneficiaries of the post-matric scholarship in the college. New Delhi, September 5 A local court sent sacked a Delhi Minister facing rape charges to three days in police custody. Former Minister of Social Welfare and Women and Child Development under Arvind Kejriwals Aam Aadmi Party government in Delhi, Sandeep Kumar, 36, was arrested on September 3 after a woman recently seen in a sex CD him accused him of rape. Kumar, who was dismissed from his position after the video led to a row, has been booked for rape and under a section of the Prevention of Corruption Act, among other charges. Delhi Police also detained Kumars personal assistant after the AAP leader accused him of "blackmailing" him and "threatening to destroy his public image". The PA, Praveen Kumar, was detained from Delhi Secretariat this morning, police said. "As of now, we have detained him for questioning from Delhi Secretariat," said DCP (Outer) Vikramjeet Singh. The woman claimed Kumar raped her 11 months ago when she went to his office in Outer Delhi's Sultanpuri asking for his help to get herself a ration card. She claimed Kumar offered her a drink spiked with drugs that made her faint and took her to his house next to the office to rape her. The woman also claimed Kumar had promised to ensure she got her ration card and her children got jobs. The minister was dismissed from his office on August 31 after a CD of showing him and a woman in what has been termed as compromising position surfaced. The Sultanpur Majra MLA first defended himself claiming he was being targeted. His wife also claimed Kumar was implicated" in the scandal. PTI New Delhi, September 5 The Special Investigation Team on black money has asked the Reserve Bank to develop an institutional mechanism to share data with enforcement agencies to track illicit fund flows out of the country. The SIT headed by Justice MB Shah (retd), in an August 11 letter to the RBI Governor, impressed upon need to establish an institutional mechanism for sharing of data and stressed on effective sharing of information between various government departments. Chairman SIT has asked RBI for an institutional mechanism for sharing of data in its various databases with the enforcement authorities, a Finance Ministry tweet said on Monday. It has asked the banking regulator RBI to develop an institutional mechanism to track illicit financial flows out of the country. (Follow The Tribune on Facebook; and Twitter @thetribunechd) The Supreme Court-appointed SIT was set up to suggest methods to curb black money in the economy. The SIT feels that the data can be shared only by having one agency such as Central Economic Intelligence Bureau (CEIB) or any other agency, as a data warehouse. From the said data warehouse, various agencies can gather the relevant information for taking early appropriate action, the SIT said. It said since the data would be available with one agency, it can be relevant to action expected to be taken by other law enforcement agencies. At present, the RBI holds the information with respect to all types of foreign exchange transactions under various categories. SIT feels that for controlling and tracking illicit financial flows out of the country, use of RBI data by various law enforcement agencies, like Enforcement Directorate, Directorate of Revenue Intelligence and CBDT is of critical importance, the Finance Ministry further added in a statement today. SIT feels that for controlling and tracking illicit financial flows out of the country, the use of RBI data by various law enforcement agencies, like Enforcement Directorate, Directorate of Revenue Intelligence and CBDT, is of critical importance. The SIT has suggested that the RBI gives access to foreign exchange transactions data of all authorised dealers available in the Foreign Exchange Transactions Electronic Reporting System (FET-ERS) with other law enforcement authorities. FET-ERS should capture the PAN number of the importer or exporter and that RBI should take necessary steps to get this done on an urgent basis. As regards Exports Outstanding data, the SIT said huge amounts were found outstanding beyond a period of one year in violation of FEMA and suggested that companies might have wrongly claimed duty drawbacks. RBI maintains export realisation data in its EDPMS database. The SIT has asked the Enforcement Directorate, Directorate of Revenue Intelligence and Ministry of Commerce to analyse the data of export outstanding and take necessary action in this regard, the Finance Ministry statement said. The RBI maintains export realisation data in its EDPMS database. The SIT has asked the RBI to impress upon the banks to inform regarding realisation of export proceeds on the EDPMS. In the wake of the Bank of Baroda scam, the SIT had asked the RBI to institutionalise a mechanism for cross-checking of advance remittances against Bill of Entry irrespective of value of advance remittances sent. The RBI had informed the SIT that huge advance remittances running into billions of dollars were outstanding as on September 30, 2015, for which Bill of Entry correlation has not been done. The SIT has now asked the RBI to get this corelation completed at the earliest and inform it back. It, however, expressed satisfaction over the IDPMS (Import Data Processing and Monitoring System) being set up by the RBI by September, which will enable cross checking of each advance remittance against the Bill of Entry. Chairman, SIT in his letter requested the RBI to develop, in consultation with Department of Revenue, an institutional online mechanism for sharing of data of all the above three databases being managed by RBI i.e. FET-ERS, IDPMS and EDPMS, the statement said. PTI Amritsar/Tarn Taran, Sept5 About 30 farmers and six cops were injured in a clash at Patti on Monday after the police stopped the protesters from proceeding towards Chandigarh for launching a pucca morcha. The farmers staged a dharna on the spot and the police allegedly resorted to a lathicharge to disperse them. About 25 farmers were arrested. Tarn Taran SSP Manmohan Kumar Sharma denied using force against the farmers. He claimed that the latter pelted the cops with stones. Kanwalpreet Singh Pannu, state president of the Kisan Sangharsh Committee, said over 400 farmers had reached the crossing at Chuslewar village when they were stopped by the police. The farmers abandoned their plan to go to Chandigarh and demanded passage to the nearby village of Pringri. However, the police started a lathicharge without any provocation, he added. Pannu demanded the cancellation of the case registered against the farmers. TNS Tribune News Service Amritsar, September 5 In a jolt for the Aam Aadmi Party, 86 of its office-bearers in Amritsar district, including zonal incharge Gurinder Singh Bajwa, have resigned from the primary membership of the party. In a press conference here today, Bajwa said, Workers at the grass-roots level were hurt due to the removal of Sucha Singh Chhotepur from the post of convener. He said 80 per cent of the office-bearers of party in the district had resigned. The list made public by Bajwa includes nine zonal incharges of various wings and 34 sector incharges. Bajwa alleged that a few Delhi-based leaders such as Sanjay Singh and Durgesh Pathak were running the party as it is their personal property. He also issued appeals to NRIs and Punjabis to stop donations to AAP. Bajwa said of the three tickets announced by AAP in the district, two have been given to wealthy persons after ignoring real workers. Reacting to these resignations, Inderbir Singh, candidate from Amritsar South, Jaswinder Singh Jahangir from Attari and National Council Member Ashok Talwar stated that a few people were frustrated as they failed to get tickets. Sarbjit Dhaliwal and Jupinderjit Singh Tribune News Service Chandigarh, September 5 State AAP convener Gurpreet Ghuggi said here today that his party was in Punjab to live and die for the state. We will stand by Punjab, Punjabis and Punjabiat, unlike Parkash Singh Badal, who makes Chandigarh, river waters and other emotive issues his bread and butter during the elections, Ghuggi said while talking to The Tribune. He said, We will protect Punjabs right over its river waters and fight hard to get back Chandigarh and Punjabi-speaking areas. The comedian-turned-politician took on the Akalis and the Congress, while asserting that AAP doors were still open for former BJP MP Navjot Singh Sidhu. He stated that if needed, he would go to Sidhu and Pargat Singh with folded hands to request them to join AAP. I hope they will not hamper the momentum built over the past few months against the SAD-BJP government, said Ghuggi. On the removal of Sucha Singh Chhotepur, he said the former state convener should join the investigation and prove himself innocent. Claiming that AAP was fully prepared to counter the Punjabi versus non-Punjabi allegation, Ghuggi said, This is propaganda by our opponents, especially the Akalis and the Congress. Does Sonia Gandhi belong to Bhucho Mandi? The Akalis are paying salary from the state treasury to Delhi leader Manjinder Singh Sirsa. Ghuggi said beleaguered party MP Bhagwant Mann had got a raw deal in the past few days. He has been interacting with the media for 30 years but such an incident never happened before. We will resolve the issue soon, he added. Refuting reports that he is a follower of the Nirankari sect, he said, I bow only before Guru Granth Sahib. I am not a follower of any sect. On a video showing him at a Nirankari function, he clarified, It was the bhog of my friend, actor Vivek Shauq. Cant I attend such functions? Born in a family of soldiers, Ghuggi was only three months old when his father fought in the 1971 Indo-Pak war. He proudly says that his grandfather also saw action on the border. His own fighting skills will be put to the test over the next few frantic months. Ravi Dhaliwal Tribune News Service Gurdaspur, September 5 Around a dozen persons attacked a Batala police head constable and his companion by iron rods on the outskirts of his villageNathwal in Gurdaspur district on Monday morning. Harpal Singh, who works in the counter-intelligence wing, broke both legs and sustained serious head injuries. Kuldeep Singh who was accompanying him also suffered grievous injuries. Eyewitnesses said the head constable was in uniform when the incident took place. Twelve persons got down from four vehicles and asked Harpal to stop his motorcycle. When he refused to do so, two of the accused stood in front of his bike and challenged him to escape. The other 10 then pounced on him and mercilessly started beating up them. This went on for nearly 10 minutes after which they left Harpal for dead and slipped away, disclosed an eyewitness. They were taken to the Batala Civil Hospital. At the time of filing this report doctors were making preparations to shift them to Amritsar. Doctors said that the right leg of Kuldeep had also been fractured. A case has been registered at the Rangar Nangal police station. SSP Daljinder Singh Dhillon ordered a manhunt to nab the accused following which the village was sealed. The main accused has been identified as one Vikramjit Vicky, alias Sarpanch. Old enmity between Vicky and Harpal is reported to be the reason for todays assault. The main job of officers working in the counter-intelligence is to provide tip-offs to their colleagues. A few weeks ago the police, acting on feedback given by Harpal, had conducted a raid on Vickys residence in the village following which a huge cache of arms and ammunition was recovered. Ever since then Vicky had been telling villagers that one day he will take revenge. This is the fourth such incident in Batala in which policemen have come under attack. The most pronounced was the Gokhuwal village assault on May 15 in which ASI Nirjit Singh was tied to a pole with a rope and thrashed by a group of villagers. Batala is a politically active town where several senior SAD leaders reportedly wield their influence as halqa in charge. Criminals get political patronage from these leaders. This is why criminals do not think twice before attacking men in uniform, revealed an officer. The South African schoolgirl leaned close to the Matisse painting. "I like the blue and yellow of the dress the woman is wearing. And then there is the bright red background," she said. "And the drawing of her face is simple but strong." For the first time, Africa is hosting an exhibit devoted to Henri Matisse. The show in Johannesburg features more than 80 works, including a painting that points to how the continent inspired Matisse and his contemporary, Pablo Picasso. The exhibit of bold line drawings and vibrantly colored stencils also includes one of Matisse's first drawings as a student and one of his final paintings, the portrait described by the student, completed shortly before his death in 1954. "He collected many African art objects, particularly masks and figurines from Central and West Africa," said Federico Freschi, dean of art at the University of Johannesburg and co-curator of the show that runs through Sept. 17, "Henri Matisse: Rhythm and Meaning." "Matisse also collected a number of African textiles. He had a particular interest in textiles. So he collected many Kuba cloths, for example, and also various North African fabrics, particularly the sort of cotton applique work that is well-known in Africa. And those things find their way into his work in various ways," Freschi said. Because this is the first Matisse exhibit in Africa, the show is broad in scope to allow space for learning and engagement, Freschi said. Most of the works were loaned by the Matisse Museum in Le Cateau-Cambresis , the town where the artists grew up. Others came from the Johannesburg Art Gallery, the Matisse Museum in Nice , the Matisse family and private collections. One painting features a small African sculpture, a carved wooden figurine that Matisse bought at a curio shop in Paris in 1906. He brought the sculpture to a lunch at Gertrude Stein's and showed it to Picasso, who was fascinated by it, Stein later recounted. Picasso soon collected African sculptures and masks, and many critics say his interest in African art led to his development of Cubism. Young artists at the Johannesburg exhibit gathered excitedly around the plates from Matisse's famed Jazz series. "I like many of his paintings ... they are so perfect," said Shaunti Hlongwane, 15, who came with other students from his art class at New Model School. "The colors, I love all of the colors that he used, so he gave me many ideas when I want to paint." Students are meant to interact with Matisse's works, said Sibusiso Ngwenya, art facilitator at New Model School. "We want to encourage the students to think about what they feel in response to the art and then in response to create their own artworks and their own performances." Ngwenya said he was especially pleased to expose his students to Matisse. "His use of color, the line work. The students look at it and they see simplicity and purity and it inspires them. They think, 'This is something I can do!'" Search Keywords: Short link: Tribune News Service Jalandhar, September 5 Two days after a case was registered against AAP MP Bhagwant Mann for allegedly misbehaving with mediapersons at Bassi Pathana, he today sought an apology during a rally held in Balachaur constituency. Mann, while addressing a gathering in favour of Brig (retd) Raj Kumar, said Our partys fight is against Badals and not against media. I apologise from the media fraternity for my remarks in Bassi Pathana. I never wanted to offend the media and it just happened inadvertently. Media has always supported me. But I somehow got irritated because of personal remarks made against me upon my arrival there. Four days ago at Bassi Pathana, Mann had told AAP supporters not to believe in media reports as they were planted by rivals. This led to press clubs across the state boycotting him. Meanwhile, during his programme at Sultanpur Lodhi this evening, AAP workers supporting former state convener Sucha Singh Chhotepur showed black flags to the Sangrur MP and burnt his effigy. Akalis protest at MPs rally in Ropar Ropar: Akali workers led by SGPC member Ajmer Singh Khera staged a protest as AAP MP Bhagwant Mann addressed a Badal Bhajao, Punjab Bachao rally at Mianpur village near here on Monday. They alleged that Mann had termed poor people as beggars. Since morning, over 100 SAD workers gathered at Gandoh village, 2 km from the venue of AAP rally on the Rangilpur-Purkhali road, waiting to show black flags to Mann. Though Mann changed the route and reached the venue using internal roads, SAD workers waved black flags in front of vehicles of AAP workers heading towards Mianpur village. They also burnt Manns effigy. Mann, while addressing the well-attended rally, focused on flaying only Badals. In his 45-minute speech, no leader of BJP or Congress leader found any mention. He said SAD leaders had been attacking AAP workers and the police were being used to harass them. He alleged that Badals had been trying hard to send him behind bars despite the fact that he was neither involved in drug smuggling, nor scams of fertilizers or pesticides as was the case with SAD leaders. TNS Tribune News Service Chandigarh/moga, Sept 5 Farmer unions today announced that their protest would continue at about 16 places in the state after the Punjab Police prevented the protesters from reaching the state capital for launching a pucca morcha (indefinite protest). The unions claimed that about 600 members of various farmer organisations were arrested or rounded up in the police crackdown in various districts. A joint front of seven organisations had given a call to begin an indefinite protest against the state government at Chandigarhs Matka Chowk. In a statement, Sukhdev Singh Kokri Kalan of the Bharatiya Kisan Union (Ugrahan) and Kanwalpreet Singh Pannu of Kisan Sangharsh Committee said, The farmers will keep protesting. They will not return home. They claimed that around 6,000 farmers were staging a protest at Ranghrial and Khiala Kalan villages in Mansa; Jethuke, Dhapali and Tungwali villages in Bathinda; Fatehgarh Chhanna in Barnala; Gharachon and Balad Kalan in Sangrur; Kishanpur and Dhudhike in Moga; Manawala in Amritsar; and Paharpur in Patiala and Chhateana in Muktsar. Criticising the canecharge on protesters in Moga district, the leaders alleged that at least 50 farmers were injured in the police action. Meanwhile, at least 44 farmers were taken into custody by the Moga police from the Moga-Ludhiana national highway near new Chuhar Chak village when they were on the way to Chandigarh. SSP Sneh Deep Sharma said all farmers belonged to various villages of Faridkot district. They were taken to the Mehna police station as a preventive measure. Another group of farmers gathered at Kishanpura village to jointly leave for Chandigarh but the Moga police stopped them from moving out of the village. Agitated over police action, the farmers blocked the Ferozepur-Ludhiana road in the village and raised slogans against the SAD-BJP government. The villagers, on the persuasion of the district administration, lifted the blockade in the evening and sat inside a village gurdwara to protest. Archit Watts Tribune News Service Muktsar, September 5 Seeking government jobs, four members of the protesting ETT TET-Pass Unemployed Teachers Union, including a woman, on Monday climbed a water tank close to the Chief Ministers residence at Badal village in Muktsar district. The union is holding a protest for over 100 days at Jai Singh Wala village in neighbouring Bathinda district. Though the police had blocked the staircase of water tank with the barbed wire, the protesters somehow managed to climb the water tank. They are carrying bottles of fuel besides a banner of the union. (Follow The Tribune on Facebook; and Twitter @thetribunechd) In all, 12 members of the union had attempted to climb the water tank, but the cops present there reportedly stopped eight of them, including four women. Sensing the gravity of the situation, additional force has been sought by the policemen who are on the VVIP duty in Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badals village. Those atop the water tank have been identified as Surinder Kumar from Patiala, Deepak Kumar from Mansa and Rakesh Kumar from Fazilka. Speaking over the phone, Amarjit Kamboj, president, ETT TET-Pass Unemployed Teachers Union, said, We are demanding a panel meeting with the CM to press for the recruitment of all 6,500 ETT teachers, who even have cleared TET between 2011 and 2015. The state government has assured us of a meeting a number of times in the past, but it never took place. We all are eligible for the government job, but the state government is unwilling to employ us. We will continue our protest atop the water tank until the CM holds a meeting with our panel. Earlier, three members of the union had climbed the same water tank on July 6. Later, they were booked by Lambi police and sent to a jail in Muktsar. Tribune News Service Dehradun, September 5 Members of the Trained Yoga Teachers Unemployed Federation have threatened to launch a campaign against the Congress-led state government if their demands are not met soon. The teachers protested at Kanak Chowk and sought jobs for 25,000 yoga trainers in government departments. Earlier, the protesting teachers marched towards the Chief Ministers residence but were stopped by the police at Kanak Chowk. The teachers staged a dharna and raised slogans against the government. They said the government spoiled the career of 25,000 youths by giving them yoga training. It is pity that on one side, the government is promoting Uttarakhand as an international yoga centre but on the other, trained yoga teachers are sitting unemployed, said Dr Rakesh Semwal, president of the Trained Yoga Unemployed Federation. Semwal alleged that thousands of qualified youths were struggling for their survival due to poor policies of the state government. Washington, September 5 A rising China, which has been worrying its neighbours with its aggressive behaviour on economic policies and in the disputed South China Sea, needs to restrain itself and behave responsibly at the world stage, US President Barack Obama has said. "Part of what I've talked to communicate to President Xi (Jinping) is that the United States arrives at its power, in part, by restraining itself," Obama told CNN. (Follow The Tribune on Facebook; and Twitter @thetribunechd) "You know, when we bind ourselves to a bunch of international norms and rules, it's not because we have to, it's because we recognise that, over the long-term, building a strong international order is in our interests. And, I think, over the long-term, it will be in China's interests, as well," Obama said in an interview recorded before he left for China. "So where we see them violating international rules and norms, as we have seen in some cases in the South China Sea or in some of their behaviour when it comes to economic policy, we've been very firm. And we've indicated to them that there will be consequences," Obama said. What the US has tried to emphasise to China is that if it is working within international rules and international norms, then they should be partners, he asserted. "There is no reason that China and the US cannot be friendly competitors on the commercial side and important partners when it comes to dealing with the many international problems that threaten the two countries," Obama said. Obama noted China has been run during his lifetime by a Communist party that has been "much more anti-Western" in the past. "We went through a period over the course of 20 years, in the '90s and on through maybe the onset of my presidency, where, because state-sponsored capitalism and an export-driven model was very successful, China was less interested in making waves," Obama said. "But, you know, you've got over a billion people, one of the largest economies now in the world. And so it's to be expected that they will want a bigger seat at the table when it comes to international affairs. And what we've said consistently is we welcome the peaceful rise of Chin, consistent with international norms. That's good for everybody. An impoverished and collapsing China would be dangerous for everybody," Obama said. PTI BEIRUT/HANGZHOU (China) September 5 Explosions in government-controlled areas of Syria and a province held by Kurdish militia killed dozens on Monday, while the United States and Russia failed to make concrete progress towards a ceasefire. Six explosions hit west of the capital Damascus, in the government-held cities of Homs and Tartous which hosts a Russian military base and the Kurdish-controlled northeastern province of Hasaka between 8 a.m. and 9 a.m. (0500-0600 GMT), state media and a monitor said. It was not clear if the blasts were linked and there was no immediate claim of responsibility. More than five years of civil war have cut Syria into a patchwork of territories held by the government and an often-competing array of armed factions, including Kurdish militia fighters, a loose coalition of rebels groups, and Islamic State. The United States and Russia have been trying to broker a new truce after a cessation of hostilities agreed in February unravelled within weeks, with Washington accusing Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's forces of violating the pact. Their efforts were complicated on Sunday as government forces and their allies again laid siege to rebel-held eastern Aleppo, Syria's largest city before the war that Assad is determined to fully recapture. His gains have relied heavily on Russian air support since September last year. US President Barack Obama and Russian President Vladimir Putin had a longer-than-expected discussion of about 90 minutes on Monday about whether, and how, they could agree a deal, a senior US administration official said. Meeting at the G20 summit in China, they discussed getting humanitarian aid into the country, reducing violence, and cooperating on combating militant groups, the official said. But in talks earlier on Monday, US Secretary of State John Kerry and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov were unable to come to terms on a ceasefire for the second time in two weeks, with US officials stressing they would walk away if a pact could not be reached soon. "If an agreement can be reached, we want to do so urgently, because of the humanitarian situation. However, we must ensure that it is an effective agreement," the official said. Russia says it cannot agree to a deal unless opposition fighters, backed by the United States and Middle East allies, are separated from al Qaeda-linked militants they overlap with in some areas. For Washington, the priority is stabilising Syria so as to destroy the Islamic State, which controls territory both there and in neighbouring Iraq. NATO Turkey ally on Sunday said rebels it was backing had gained control of all areas on its border that had been held by the jihadists, depriving the ultra-hardline Islamist group of its main route to the outside world. The announcement came some 10 days after Turkey launched its first major military incursion into Syria since the start of the war in 2011, an operation aimed as much at preventing further Kurdish territorial gains as at driving back Islamic State. Dozens killed Two of the explosions on Monday hit the Arzouna bridge area at the entrance to the Mediterranean city of Tartous, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights and state news agency SANA said. The Islamic State attacked Tartous in May. The Observatory and a city hospital put the death toll at 35, including members of the Syrian military, and said the number was likely to rise. Syrian state television said the first explosion was a car bomb and the second a suicide belt detonated as rescue workers arrived. The blasts hit during a summer festival at Tartous, whose beaches recently featured in a government tourism video. A car bomb meanwhile struck Homs, a city around 80 km (50 miles) east of Tartous that has repeatedly been hit by bombings claimed by the Islamic State. State media said three people were killed, while the Observatory said the explosion hit an army checkpoint and four officers were killed. West of Damascus, there was an explosion near the town of al Saboura, killing one person and injuring three, according to a police commander quoted by state media. A motorbike also exploded in the centre of the northeastern city of Hasaka, which is controlled by the Kurdish YPG militia. The Observatory said the blast killed three members of a YPG-affiliated security force known as the Asayish, and injured others. It said a percussion bomb also went off in the province's Qamishli city. The Kurdish YPG militia, a critical part of the US-backed campaign against the Islamic State, took almost complete control of Hasaka city in late August after a week of fighting with the government. The Islamic State confirmed that a blast in Hasaka took place but did not say whether its fighters were involved. The YPG already controls swathes of northern Syria where Kurdish groups have established de facto autonomy since the start of the Syrian war in 2011, much to the alarm of neighbouring Turkey. Ankara sees the YPG as an extension of Kurdish militants who have waged a three-decade insurgency in Turkey and fears the creation of a Kurdish enclave in northern Syria would fuel their separatist ambitions. Reuters JAKARTA, September 5 Indonesian police said on Monday they had broken up an online male prostitution ring and identified nearly 150 young men and boys, at least one as young as 13, offering sexual services. There are no reliable statistics on sex crime in Indonesia but the government has said it faces a "child sex abuse emergency". President Joko Widodo recently signed a regulation allowing for harsher punishments for child molesters and rapists, including chemical castration and the death penalty. Agung Setya, chief of police criminal investigations, said many of the 148 people offering services were underage the youngest was 13 and the oldest 23. "We have identified 148 more victims, and as many as 45 are boys," he said, according to the Kompas daily. At least seven of the victims had been taken to government counselling and rehabilitation facilities, he said. Three men were arrested last week in connection with the case, including a pimp, and a customer believed to be foreign, police have said, though they have not given details. Homosexuality is not illegal in Indonesia, except in the particularly conservative province of Aceh, but sex between an adult and a minor is illegal. Reuters Seoul, September 5 North Korea fired three ballistic missiles into the sea off its east coast on Monday, South Koreas military said, as the leaders of the Group of 20 major economies held a summit in China, the Norths main diplomatic ally. The missiles were fired from a region south of the capital Pyongyang just after noon local time (0300 GMT) and flew about 1,000 km (600 miles), hitting Japans air defence identification zone, the Souths Office of the Joint Chiefs of Staff said. We are still analysing details but this is a grave threat to our nations security, and we express deep concern, the Japan Defence Ministry said in a statement. The missile launches were the latest in a series of launches by the isolated North this year in violation of UN Security Council resolutions, supported by China, that ban all ballistic missile-related activities by the North. Pyongyang rejects the ban as infringing its sovereign right to pursue a space programme and self defence. Shortly after the missile launches, South Korean President Park Geun-hye and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe met on the sidelines of the G20 summit and agreed to cooperate on monitoring the situation, a Japanese statement said. The Souths military said the missiles were medium-range Rodong-class, launched as a show of force timed to coincide with the G20 summit. In 2014, the North fired two Rodong medium-range missiles just as Park and Abe were meeting U.S. President Barack Obama at the Hague to discuss responding to the Norths arms programme. The latest missiles were launched from a region called Hwangju and came just hours after the leaders of South Korea and China met on the sidelines of the G20 summit in Hangzhou, China. South Koreas Park told Chinese President Xi Jinping that the Norths fourth nuclear test and its ballistic missile launches this year threatened regional peace and posed a challenge to South Koreas ties with China, Yonhap news agency reported earlier. During the meeting, Xi reaffirmed Chinas commitment to realising the denuclearisation of the Korean peninsula, Chinas state news agency Xinhua reported on Monday. Xi also told Park that Beijing opposed the proposed deployment of a THAAD anti-missile system in South Korea, which Seoul and the United States have said is designed to counter an increasing missile threat from North Korea. Park said that a THAAD deployment would not threaten any other countrys security interests and would not be needed if the Norths nuclear issue was resolved, Yonhap news agency said. In July, the North launched three missiles in a single day from the western region that flew across the country and into the sea off its east coast, flying about 500 km and 600 km (300-360 miles). Reuters Hong Kong, September 5 A pro-democracy protest leader was leading on Monday in the Hong Kong Legislative Council elections, according to preliminary results. The poll that took place on Sunday was the first major election since the financial centre was rocked by pro-democracy street protests in 2014 -- also known as the "Umbrella Revolution", CNN reported. More than 2.2 million people voted, according to the Electoral Affairs Commission, with a turnout of 58 per cent -- up from 53 per cent in 2012. Hong Kong does not permit postal voting or early voting. The preliminary results suggest that a younger generation of more radical, pro-democracy politicians won a larger-than-expected share of votes, CNN reported. Nathan Law, one of the student leaders of the 2014 Umbrella Movement, has been elected on Hong Kong Island. His constituency will elect six seats and he was currently in second place, with 90 per cent of votes counted, the results showed. Law co-founded Demosisto with activist Joshua Wong, who was unable to run as he is not yet 21. Law, 23, will be Hong Kong's youngest ever lawmaker. Speaking Sunday before the results, Wong told CNN he hoped the election would prove to be "fair". Other young former Umbrella Movement protesters also look set to win seats. Including Youngspirations' Sixtus Baggio Leung, who was endorsed by pro-independence activist Edward Leung. Voters went to the polls to elect 35 lawmakers representing geographical districts to seats on the Legislative Council, choosing from a record total of 84 lists of candidates. An additional 30 seats are filled by so-called functional constituencies that represent six per cent of the electorate and are strongly influenced by the Chinese government. Five other at-large seats are chosen via city-wide vote. IANS At Sporting, right on the Corniche of Alexandria, and in Smouha, in the more residential quarter of the city, and in Marina, the ultimate destination of summer holiday-makers, AlReef ElDemashqi is proving to be able to attract more clients who are encouraged by its delicious and not-overly expensive food which is also prepared with unmistakable hygiene, one client noted. And whether clients park to pick up their lunch or call to order a dinner, ya hala, is the typical welcoming words that the staff offers - be they the Syrians or the Egyptians who have recently joined the successful culinary operation. The original venue that was opened close to three years ago at Sporting is still the most popular of the three branches people say they want to get off at Sporting by AlReef ElDemashqi; so we know the place by heart, as one taxi-driver said. The branch in Smouha is more popular for delivery service that is said by a regular client to be highly efficient; they take the order right and they never mix the orders; and the food is clean and very well-packed. The Marina branch is very seasonal but it is particularly popular for light dinners during the months of July and August. The menu of is predictable: kebbah, shawerma both chicken and meat and the typical Syrian appetisers of fatoush, baba ghanouj and hummus. These items are offered in many varieties, however: the chicken shawerma is served in the typical Syrian bread sandwiches, with pickles that are really nice and not too salty, and a bit of french fries or in the format of a Syrian bread-based pie, with the shawerma put along line with some slightly super-imposed mozzarella cheese - that being excused by the chef as an adjustment to appeal to the Egyptian clients who love the taste and smell of the melting cheese." Also to appease to the clients, AlReef ElDemashqi offers a selection of not-so-Italian pizzas and the all-time Egyptian favourite cabbage and mayonnaise salad. Set meals that are largely chicken- and ricebased are also offered in perfect packaging and at adequate prices. For those who are willing to put their orders in advance for large group lunches, AlReef ElDemashqi offers a selection of dishes to share from the heart of Syrian cuisine - with some Jordanian and Lebanese additions. Overall, the service is prompt, pleasant and efficient; the food is good, fresh and tasty. The stores of AlReef ElDemashqi open earlier than most other places in Alexandria, at 9am, and stay open as late as the restaurants of this harbour city and maybe even later - until 3am, right before the crack of dawn. A group of four people could get a relatively large lunch for EGP 200. Search Keywords: Short link: Kabul, September 5 At least 24 people were killed today when two Taliban suicide bombers on foot struck close to the defence ministry in Kabul during late afternoon rush hour, the latest assault on the Afghan capital. Around 30 others were wounded in the assault, which comes as the Taliban intensify their nationwide offensive against the US-backed government. The two bombers blew themselves up in rapid succession, in an attack apparently aimed at inflicting mass casualties as government workers left the ministry after work. "The first explosion occurred on a bridge near the defence ministry. When soldiers, policemen and civilians rushed to the scene, there was the second explosion," defence ministry spokesman Mohammad Radmanish told AFP. Health ministry said 24 people were killed in the blasts. The Italian-run Emergency Hospital in Kabul tweeted that it had so far received 10 injured people, with more expected to arrive. President Ashraf Ghani strongly condemned the attack. "The enemies of Afghanistan are losing the fight in the ground battle with security forces," Ghani said in a statement. "That is why they are attacking, highways, cities, mosques, schools and ordinary people." Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said on Twitter that the defence ministry was the object of the first attack, while police were targeted in the second. The attack took place more than a week after 16 people were killed when militants stormed the American University of Afghanistan in Kabul, in a nearly 10-hour raid that prompted anguished pleas for help from trapped students. Explosions and gunfire rocked the campus in that attack, which came just weeks after two university professors -- an American and an Australian -- were kidnapped at gunpoint near the school. Their whereabouts are still unknown and no group so far has publicly claimed responsibility for the abductions, the latest in a series of kidnappings in the conflict-torn country. The uptick in violence in the capital comes as the Taliban escalate nationwide attacks, underscoring the worsening security situation since NATO forces ended their combat mission at the end of 2014. Afghan forces backed by US troops are seeking to head off a potential Taliban takeover of Lashkar Gah, the capital of the southern opium-rich province of Helmand. The Taliban have also closed in on Kunduz -- the northern city they briefly seized last year in their biggest military victory since the 2001 US invasion -- leaving Afghan forces stretched on multiple fronts. But NATO coalition forces have insisted that neither Kunduz nor Lashkar Gah are at risk of falling to the insurgents. AFP Hangzhou (China): Talks between the US and Russia have ended without an agreement on ending violence in Syria, a US official said on Monday. Meeting on the sidelines of the Group of 20 summit here, US Secretary of State John Kerry and his Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov were working to negotiate a plan that would have boosted military cooperation between the two nations in an effort to better target terrorists and prevent civilian deaths, CNN reported. But negotiators failed to work though differences, and the talks have ended for now. "There are still issues to resolve," CNN quoted the US official as saying. Neither side indicated what the points of contention were, or when they expected talks to resume. Russian forces have aligned with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad to target US-backed opposition fighters that Moscow and Damascus claim are terrorists. - IANS British MPs to debate petition for second referendum London: British MPs are slated to debate on Monday a petition signed by over four million people asking for another referendum on the UK's membership of the European Union (EU). The petition was signed by 4.1 million people online and asked the government to call a second referendum, as the one in June garnered less than 60 per cent support for "Brexit", Efe news reported. Parliament is obliged to debate any petition that receives over 100,000 signatures. British MP from the Scottish National Party (SNP) and member of the Petitions Committee Ian Blackford was to open the debate later in the day. Monday's debate was symbolic and could not alter the result of the referendum in June. In the historic referendum on June 23, 52 per cent of the electorate voted in favour of the UK leaving the EU. - IANS Sarkozy could be tried in campaign graft case Paris: Former French President Nicolas Sarkozy, who is making a fresh bid for election next year, could face trial over alleged illegal funding of his failed 2012 campaign, a source in the investigation said on Monday. "Prosecutors are calling for all of those charged to be tried," the source told AFP. An investigating magistrate must now decide whether to follow the prosecution's recommendations. Sarkozy faces allegations of false accounting that allowed him to greatly exceed spending limits in 2012. The case hinges on the activity of public relations firm Bygmalion, which organised some of Sarkozy's campaign appearances and is accused of using a vast system of false accounting. Bygmalion allegedly charged 18.5 million euros (USD 20.7 million) to Sarkozy's party -- then called the UMP, but since renamed The Republicans -- instead of billing the president's re-election campaign. As a result, the campaign was able to greatly exceed a spending limit of 22.5 million euros, according to the prosecution. AFP China's fragmented farm sector characterized by tiny family plots and a declining number of farmers has long resisted modernization. However, at least in Shandong province, a once-lumbering rural co-op is reinventing itself trying to help farmers increase yields and incomes in what historically has been a highly inefficient agricultural sector. Small farms confront problems China is a nation of micro-farms. In Shandong, farmers on average own only 2 mus (0.13 hectare) of farmland, according to the Ministry of Agriculture. In 2013, 86 percent of Chinese rural families operated on less than 10 mus (0.67 hectare) of land. At the same time, the country's rural labor force has been shrinking as more young people head to cities for higher-paying jobs. Nearly 60 percent of Shandong's farm labor force has migrated to cities, leaving mainly the elderly to work on the land, said Xiao Xizhang, director of the cooperation supervision office of the Shandong Supply and Marketing Cooperative (Shandong SMC). Xiao said that more than 20 percent of villages in Shandong have seen more than 70 percent of their labor force leave, often for construction or restaurant jobs in neighboring cities. Meanwhile, not only are many farmers too old to work their own land, but the income from their small farms has never been enough to buy modern equipment. Co-op begins offering solutions Back in 2010, Xu Feng, director of the Wenshang county rural Service and Marketing Cooperative in Jining, took the first step to address some of the issues besetting farmers. The co-op began by offering machinery harvesting services to local farmers for a small fee. Since then, hundreds of such organizations have cropped up throughout Shandong, and the range of services they provide has expanded. Over in Kangzhuang township in southwest Gaomi, an agricultural county in eastern Shandong, mechanical harvesting of mostly corn and wheat was recently completed on over 800 hectares of farmland in seven days. Huge barns and grain dryers have been installed in the courtyard of the Kangzhuang service center, with tractors and other equipment parked outside. The center also has built labs for testing soil and making fertilizer. The local SMCs and agricultural service centers can offer other services that are more efficiently done on a larger scale, such as getting better prices by buying seeds in bulk, plus spraying for pests, storing grain and selling crops. Yue Mengxi, whose farm operates over 65 hectares of land in Gaomi, said that with help from the agricultural service center's large harvesters and other machines, her farm now needs a much-smaller labor force, which has reduced production costs by 200 yuan per mu, or 3,000 yuan per hectare. Even after purchasing services from the local co-op less than 150 yuan per mu her profits have increased. Some farmers have fully entrusted their land to service centers for about 150 yuan a year per mu, and then leave for jobs in city. According to the Shangdong SMC, farmers have seen grain production rise 20 to 30 percent after being managed by service centers. "There is great potential for developing large-scale services," said Liu Shouying, an agricultural policy expert at Renming University. To be sure, these supply and marketing co-ops don't solve all of China's farm problems. For one thing, even when the co-ops take over all the management of farms, they provide little in the way of infrastructure investment such as irrigation systems and land consolidation, said Yang Bingping, deputy director of the agricultural and industrial affairs office of the Shandong government. The program works best when the farms are already in good condition, he said. Also, mountainous regions, where getting from one small farm to another can be difficult, pose a whole new set of problems. Another limitation in Shandong is that agriculture service centers focus on large family farms, ag companies and land cooperative set up by villages. The centers don't accept land directly from individual farmers. Instead, small farmers need to gather their land together to form land cooperatives with help of local co-op and village authorities and then entrust the land as a package to the service center. SMCs rebound from spotty history The resurgence of the rural SMCs is noteworthy, given their checkered past. Initially formed in 1949, they were once stalwarts in the era of the planned economy. They reached their height in the 1950s as important distributors for farm crops, when agricultural trade was strictly controlled by the state. But for the next several decades, their policies, affected by the politics of the time, shifted dramatically, sometimes benefiting farmers and at other times stifling them with top-down bureaucracy. During the Cultural Revolution, SMCs' businesses were largely stalled due to the turmoil of the times. In the following decades, their dominance weakened due to the gradual opening of the agricultural market. "For a long time, people didn't know clearly what SMCs were doing. Some said they are just fertilizer sellers. But that business has also declined as the farming population has dropped," said Xiao, director of the cooperation supervision office of the Shandong SMC. The SMCs had long suffered from declining business and the burden of paying its 300,000 employees. Many local branches mainly relied on leasing property and equipment to the farmers for income. Transformation gains steam About three years after the Wenshang county SMC started offering machinery harvesting services to local farmers, it opened its first agricultural service center. In 2013, it gathered 4 million yuan (US$ 600,000) in investments from several local SMCs and expanded from harvesting to fertilizing, pest control, grain marketing and other services. By the end of that year, Shandong's SMC system earned 160 million yuan net income by offering agricultural services to farmers. Figures weren't available for net income for 2012, but revenue increased to 5.8 billion yuan in 2013, up from 5.4 billion yuan in 2012. By August, Shangdong rural SMCs had set up 750 agricultural service centers across the province to manage 1.1 million hectares of land for farmers, about 20 percent of the province's total farmland, according to the Shandong SMC. The goal is 1,500 agricultural service centers by 2020 to manage more than 1.3 million hectares. Service centers gain farmers' trust Beijing in recent years has encouraged rural residents, especially those who have left rural areas, to sell their land-use rights to others. Rural land in China is under collective ownership, and farmers control only the land-use right. But such pilot programs have had only limited success, as many farmers are reluctant to give up their land rights. Yang Bingping, deputy director of the agricultural and industrial affairs office of the Shandong government, said that entrusting service centers that manage farmers' land offers an alternative way to keep their land thriving. As a result, while some farmers pay service fees for the SMCs to help with seeds, harvesting selling and other chores, others fully entrust their land to service centers and then leave for jobs in cities. Kangzhuang and other 14 similar agricultural service centers in Gaomi have been entrusted by local farmers to cultivate 30 percent of the city's 86,600 hectares of farmland. Farmers can earn more from grain sales after entrusting their land to local service centers for farming compared to simply selling the land rights, even after paying the centers' service fee, said Yu Qingfeng, deputy director of the Shandong SMC. "When farmers leave for jobs, we take care of their land," he said. SMC system expected to expand By offering large-scale farming services, SMCs' service centers offer a way to realize massive, modernized agricultural production on land that previously was overseen by hundreds of scattered family farmers, said Chen Xiwen, former deputy director of the Rural Affairs Leading Group, a top party decision-making body in Beijing. Some scholars expect the stronger SMC system to player a larger role in China's rural community, expanding from agricultural production to other aspects of rural life. "I've seen some promising signs in Shandong. It is possible to develop a comprehensive network to offer lifelong services to farmers under the SMC system," said Xu Xianglin, deputy director of the rural research center of the Party School of the Communist Party's central committee. He expects the SMCs to grow into a network that links different services for rural residents from production to everyday life. Yu, deputy director of the Shandong SMC, said it has already started to offer financial, logistics and some community services such as elderly care and education services to rural residents. However, an employee of the Shandong SMC said that more challenges are expected as SMCs expand further into rural life due to the complex land ownership in rural China and entangled interests among different parties. For SMCs to play a greater role in China's rural reform efforts, more policy support and better coordination among agricultural departments will be needed, the employee said. Contact reporter Han Wei at weihan@caixin.com; editor Ken Howe at kennethhowe@caixin.com (Beijing) Li Xiaopeng, son of former Premier Li Peng, has been appointed the nation's new transport minister, state-run Xinhua News Agency said on Sept. 3. The appointment comes amid an ongoing reshuffling of senior officials ahead of key party meetings next year. Li Xiaopeng, 57, was the governor of the coal-rich northern province of Shanxi for nearly four years before his new appointment. The Standing Committee of the National People's Congress, China's top legislature, said Li Xiaopeng succeeds Yang Chuantang. Yang, 62, was appointed head of the Transport Ministry and its party secretary in July 2012. He will continue to serve as the Transport Ministry's party secretary, the ministry's official website said. Li Xiaopeng's father, Li Peng, headed the State Council, China's cabinet, and was a member of the powerful Standing Committee of the ruling Communist Party's Central Committee during his term as premier from 1987 to 1998. Before becoming a government official, Li Xiaopeng spent much of his career at big state-owned energy companies that included China Huaneng Group (CHG), where he served in several key positions. This including a four-year stint as president of Huaneng International Power Development Corp., the group's global business arm, from 1995 and 1999 before he was named CHG general manager in December 1999. After one year at State Grid Corp. in 2001, he returned to CHG and stayed on as its general manager for another five and a half years. Li Xiaopeng entered politics in 2008, when he was appointed a member of the Standing Committee of the regional party committee in Shanxi. He was appointed governor in January 2013, when the province was struggling with issues that included coal oversupply, pollution, and several fatal mining accidents. He strengthened work-safety oversight and led the painful transformation of the local economy by supporting the fledgling tourism industry. Li Xiaopeng's sister, Li Xiaolin, is a deputy general manager at state-run China Datang Corp., one of the top-five power generators in the country. Contact reporter Li Rongde (rongdeli@caixin.com); editor Poornima Weerasekara (poornima@caixin.com) The government Sunday announced that it is extending interest-free credit to merchants in the southeastern province of Diyarbakir's Sur district, an area that suffered during clashes between the Turkish army and the PKK terrorist organization. "Our prime minister has instructed that all tradesmen in Sur be given two-year loans of 50,000 Turkish liras [$16,944] with no repayment for six months. This loan is also zero-interest," Environment and Urbanization Minister Mehmet Ozhaseki said during a dinner in Diyarbakir. Prime Minister Binali Yildirim also attended the dinner. Earlier Sunday, Yildirim also announced a stimulus package for the countrys east and southeastern provinces, where the PKK terror group resumed a decades-old armed campaign against the Turkish state. Speaking in Diyarbakir, Yildirim said that Turkey would invest 10 billion Turkish liras ($3.3 billion) in the countrys eastern provinces. We have important news for businessmen who want to invest in our 23 eastern provinces, as well as tradesmen, farmers, young people, and women, he said. The PKK, listed as a terrorist organization by Turkey, the U.S. and the EU, resumed attacks in July 2015. Since then, more than 600 security personnel have been martyred and more than 7,000 PKK terrorists killed. Anadolu Agency The Fetullah Terror Organization (FETO) group led the foiled July 15 coup to sabotage the achievements of Turkey over the past decade, Turkish Deputy Prime Minister Numan Kurtulmus told the American Muslim community Friday at a convention in Chicago. In his speech at the evening session of the 53rd annual convention of the Islamic Society of North America (ISNA) at the Donald E. Stephens Convention Center, Kurtulmus said FETO terror group is no different from PKK or Daesh terror groups noting that Turkey was fighting all three simultaneously. Attending one of the biggest Muslim gatherings in the U.S. alongside Justice and Development (AK) Party deputies Ravza Kavakci Kan and Sena Nur Demirci, the minister elaborated on what Turkish citizens experienced as a result of the failed July 15 coup led by a fraction in the Turkish military linked to FETO leader, U.S.-based Fetullah Gulen. The minister said Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogans resilient courage before the coup plotters encouraged the Turkish people to stand against tanks and challenge the coup attempt. He said although FETO was pretending to be a civil society organization focused on education and civic activities, it was secretively conducting terrorist activities. "FETO is not only a threat for Turkey," Kurtulmus told the audience. "It is also a threat to many countries where it is strong." Kurtulmus said that the government was clearing the state of FETO-linked terrorists, noting that all post-coup investigations were conducted within the scope of constitutional authority, underlining that Turkey was a country governed by the rule of law. "The plotters wanted to divide the society but after July 15 we came together as a society, he added. The plotters wanted to overthrow the government and President Erdogan but both our government and President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Turkish democracy is more powerful than ever. He called on the U.S. government not to prolong the process regarding the extradition of Gulen to Turkey, noting that Ankaras NATO ally and strategic partner had an obligation to hand over the alleged coup leader. We have submitted all documents showing the link between coup plotters and Gulen to the American authorities, he said. The leader of FETO terror group should be detained until the federal court reaches a final decision about his extradition. The minister met several American Muslim leaders at the Zakat Foundation in Chicago, one of the main Muslim charity organization in the U.S. He told the leaders that the aim of the July coup plotters was not only to overthrow the democratically elected government but also to drag the country into a civil war and make it vulnerable to foreign intervention. Kurtulmus also visited Anadolu Agency stand at the convention center where nearly 600 organizations had stands to introduce their works and products. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has stressed that a political solution for Syria and stability in the civil war-torn country are necessary for an effective fight against Daesh, during a meeting with German Chancellor Angela Merkel on the sidelines of the G20 summit in China. Turkish presidential sources who requested anonymity due to restrictions on speaking to media said Erdogan stressed Sunday that Turkey "will never allow a terror corridor in our south and in Syrias north". He also informed Markel about Turkey's Operation Euphrates Shield, launched Aug. 24 with the aim of improving security, supporting United States-led coalition forces, and eliminating the terror threat along Turkeys border through Free Syrian Army fighters backed by Turkish armor, artillery, and jets. Merkel reiterated Germany's support for Turkey's fight against all terrorist groups, especially Daesh. The chancellor also underlined that Germany condemned the July 15 coup attempt -- which left 240 people martyred and 2,200 others injured -- and took the side of democracy. Erdogan responded by expressing his gratitude for Merkel's phone calls in support of Turkey after the failed putsch blamed on the Fetullah Terrorist Organization (FETO) and military personnel linked to it. The two leaders also agreed on further developing economic, political and cultural ties between Turkey and Germany. The 11th G20 summit, attended by the leaders of the worlds 20 most industrialized countries, is being held in the coastal city of Hangzhou in Zhejiang province Sept. 4-5. Anadolu Agency Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan told his United States counterpart Barack Obama that their countries continue to maintain a model partnership, but called for a unified stance against the existence of the PKK/PYD in northern Syria. Erdogan and Obama held a 45-minute closed meeting on the sidelines of the G20 summit in China -- their first since a July 15 coup attempt in Turkey left 240 people martyred and 2,200 others injured. The discussion comes less than two weeks after Turkey launched an anti-Daesh operation, called Euphrates Shield, that aims to support U.S.-led coalition forces, strengthen Turkey's border security by clearing terrorist groups and maintain Syrias territorial integrity. Erdogan underlined Sunday that the countries have a special relation, but stressed that they should adopt a shared attitude against all terrorist organizations as NATO member countries. There is no good terrorist or bad terrorist; every kind of terrorism is bad, he said. Erdogan stressed that Turkeys fight against terror organizations such as Daesh in Syria and Iraq as well as the PKK, PYD and YPG -- the armed wing of the PKK/PYD terror group -- would continue determinedly. We do not want the formation of a terror corridor on our southern [border], he said, adding that Turkeys military was fighting alongside coalition forces with this objective. I believe we will be successful in this fight, Erdogan underlined. The U.S. had earlier urged Turkey to focus its efforts in Syria on Daesh, and to avoid engaging with the YPG-led "Syrian Democratic Forces", Washingtons principal partner in Syria. Turkey views the YPG as the Syrian offshoot of the PKK terror group, which the U.S. and the European Union also list as a terrorist organization. Ankara has insisted the group return to the east bank of the Euphrates River immediately, calling on the U.S. to fulfill its commitment in this regard, and has targeted the group south of Jarabulus. Erdogan and Obama also addressed Sunday the extradition of U.S.-based Fetullah Gulen, who Turkey says he is the leader of the Fetullah Terrorist Organization (FETO), which is accused of fomenting the July 15 coup attempt. Erdogan said that Turkeys justice minister and interior minister -- accompanied by other delegates -- are due to visit the U.S. to discuss the issue. Last month, Turkish officials shared information with U.S. delegations in Turkey on four different files on Gulen, who is also accused of leading a long-running campaign to overthrow the state through the infiltration of Turkish institutions, particularly the military, police and judiciary. Noting that Turkey is a strong NATO ally and a critical member of the coalition against Daesh, Obama said, our military, law enforcement and intelligence cooperation has helped push ISIL [Daesh] back, especially along the border shared by Syria and Turkey. But we now need to finish the job and we discussed ways in which we can further collaborate, he underlined, adding that the two leaders also discussed pursuing a peaceful transition in Syria, a lasting way to end the civil war there. Together we will keep working to ease the humanitarian suffering. Civilians can once again live in security and stabilize the region as a whole, Obama said. The U.S. president also thanked the government and people of Turkey for your exceptional humanitarian support of refugees as well as hosting more refugees than any country in the world. Regarding the July 15 coup attempt, Obama described the Turkish people as having shown their belief in democracy by taking to the streets to protest the failed putsch. Condemning the coup bid, Obama said he had reassured Erdogan that U.S. judicial authorities would work together with Turkish officials to bring the perpetrators to justice. During Sunday's meeting, Erdogan was accompanied by Deputy Prime Minister Mehmet Simsek, Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu and National Intelligence Agency Chief Hakan Fidan. Earlier in the day, the Turkish president also met with German Chancellor Angela Merkel. On Saturday night, Erdogan held his first meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin since ties between Moscow and Ankara entered a new phase following an Aug. 9 meeting in St. Petersburg. The 11th G20 summit, attended by the leaders of the worlds 20 most industrialized countries, is being held in the coastal city of Hangzhou in Zhejiang province Sept. 4-5. Anadolu Agency An Egyptian court on Sunday sentenced four people to death for alleged links with the Daesh militant group. The court also jailed two defendants for 15 years each and six for ten years each for forming a Daesh cell in northern Egypt, a judicial source, who preferred to be unnamed because he was unauthorized to speak to the media, said. Another defendant was acquitted from the charges by the court. Sundays verdicts are still subject to appeal. Defense lawyer Mosaad al-Hamaki, for his part, described the charges against the defendants as fabricated. The accused dont have any political affiliations, he told Anadolu Agency. Egypt has been battling an insurgency in the Sinai Peninsula amid militant attacks that mainly targeted security forces. Egypt has been roiled by turmoil since the military unseated Mohamed Morsi, the countrys first freely elected president, in a 2013 coup. Since then, hundreds have been sentenced to death on charges of incitement to violence. Anadolu Agency Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan met Saturday with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin, who expressed gladness over the normalization process experienced in Turkey after the July 15 coup attempt. Ahead of the G20 summit in China, the two leaders held a two-hour closed meeting at the Shangri-La Hotel in the coastal Chinese city of Hangzhou -- their first since ties between Moscow and Ankara entered a new phase following an Aug. 9 meeting in St. Petersburg. Relations between the two countries soured last November after the downing of the Russian jet, which had violated Turkish airspace along the Syrian border. The issue seemed largely resolved June 29 through a letter and subsequent telephone calls between the countries leaders. Speaking to reporters before Saturdays meeting, Erdogan stressed the importance of evaluating once again the issues he and Putin had addressed during their gathering last month. We will have the opportunity to address many issues both political, economic and regional, he said. Meanwhile, Putin said he was glad to see political life normalizing in Turkey following the July 15 coup attempt, which left 240 people martyred after Fetullah Terrorist Organization (FETO)-linked military personnel attempted -- unsuccessfully -- to overthrow the elected government. He said that despite Turkey facing trials, including the fight against terrorism, there were significant achievements in the country following the failed putsch. Putin underlined that once the normalization is fully achieved, we will be able to move forward more quickly. Putin had given his support to Turkey during the July 15 foiled coup and said he stood by the elected government in Ankara, offering his condolences to the victims of what Erdogan called the most heinous armed coup attempt in modern Turkish history. During Saturdays meeting, Erdogan was accompanied by Deputy Prime Minister Mehmet Simsek, Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu, Economy Minister Nihat Zeybekci, Energy and Natural Resources Minister Berat Albayrak and National Intelligence Agency Chief Hakan Fidan. On Sunday morning, the Turkish President is due to meet with German Chancellor Angela Merkel at 03.30 GMT and United States President Barack Obama at 04.45 GMT. The 11th G20 summit, attended by the leaders of the worlds 20 most industrialized countries, will be held in Hangzhou in Zhejiang province Sept. 4-5. Anadolu Agency The CEO of Ramps Logistics says he is "really really disappointed" with the Guyana Revenue A A man and a woman were killed along the West Indian Day Parade route on Monday morning. There were also reports of stabbings and shootings 09.05.2016 19:41 Guidelines come amid rising investor complaints that private property is confiscated before trials completed By Shan Yuxiao and Li Rongde (Beijing) The ruling Communist Party of China has ordered judges to follow due process and not confiscate private assets of investors when prosecuting a company for alleged illegal activities. The party's Central Leading Group for Overall Reform, headed by Party Secretary Xi Jinping, released a document on Sept. 2 that aims to protect the interests of private firms and investors who face trial for fraud, flouting work safety or environmental rules, or are charged with other forms of illegal business dealings. Alan Carr is working on a new show for UKs Channel 4 amid recent speculation that Chatty Man may be nearing the end after 7 years. Carr, who has recently been touring Australia, is working on Happy Hour, set in a traditional British social club. The show will feature shenanigans with celebrities like crazy games as well as live music. It is tipped to replace Chatty Man in the long term, which has struggled in the ratings. Channel 4 has denied Chatty Man will be axed, but there is no firm commitment beyond a return at Christmas. Carr has been touring Australia with Live shows over recent weeks. Source: Chortle As Malaysia cracks down on transgender Muslims, Dateline joins the countrys religious police as they carry out night-time raids and arrest people in the streets, finding a community living in fear. Malaysian woman Serafina is transgender and has identified as female her whole life. But she is forced by her government to carry an ID card saying she is a man. She is from Negeri Sembilan a state where it is a crime for a trans woman to even leave her house in womens clothes. Part of Malaysias Muslim trans community, she faces constant persecution from its religious police. The police dont really care about trans women, she tells reporter Marcel Theroux. They just shrug and say she-males. Malaysia has a dual justice system, with two sets of law; basic civil law, which applies to everyone in the country, and Islamic law, which applies to the countrys Muslim population and covers some of the most intimate aspects of their lives. Under Islamic law in Malaysia, Muslims can be prosecuted for close proximity offenses. Even simply being alone with someone youre not married to can mean up to 2 years in prison. Dateline joins a religious police squad in the capital Kuala Lumpur, whose job is to arrest people for transgressing the countrys Islamic laws. They go to hotels in the city and look through booking registers, scanning for Islamic names and checking if couples who book rooms together have marriage certificates. We suspect that they are going to do something immoral between them, a police officer called Akmal says. Obviously if they are not married well arrest them and bring them to our office for further investigation. A man obviously must be man. A woman must behave like a woman. We have to follow the divine laws and Sharia law. Despite Malaysias place as a modern economy, the country is becoming increasingly socially conservative. Several trans women tell Dateline that raids have become more frequent and that police are using cunning methods to catch people. 9:30pm Tuesday on SBS. NSW GLBTI community health organisation ACON is defending its choice of Karl Stefanovic as a nominee in its annual Honour Awards. The Today presenter was nominated in the Media category for his apology following transphobic comments. The nod also noted his 60 Minutes report on transgender children. But ABC observes that some social media users criticised the choice, given his apology was after using the word tranny in a derogatory context. It referenced several Twitter and Facebook posts that objected to his inclusion. But ACON responded: Whilst Karl did make a huge and hurtful mistake in the comments he made, his immediate act of contrition and acknowledgment that his words did hurt trans people was very commendable. Other nominees included Monique Schafter from 7:30 and The Feeds Patrick Abboud. Media nominees: Shannon Molloy (Daily Telegraph RendezView) for his evocative and deeply personal opinion piece on his own experience with bullying and why programs like Safe Schools are necessary. Janine Cohen (ABCTV Australian Story) for telling the story about sixteen-year-old Georgie Stone, who has battled prejudice, bullying and legal hurdles relating to her transition. Monique Schafter for her body of work on the 7:30 Report and ongoing championing of LGBTI content on the national broadcaster. Patrick Abboud (SBS) for his consistent commitment to the reporting of LGBTI issues across national television, radio and online, along with presenting the national broadcast of the Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras. Mark Whittaker (SBS) for his work on investigations into gay-hate crimes in Australia, most notably crimes committed in South Australia and Adelaide. Karl Stefanovic (Nine Network) for his ground breaking and earnest apology to the transgender community following unfortunate comments made on the Today Show, and also for a subsequent 60 Minutes piece on young transgender people. Karl Stefanovic apologises after ignorant transgender joke Hi, my name is Scott C. Waring and I wrote a few books and am currently a ESL School Owner in Taiwan. I have had my own UFO sighting up close and personal, but that's how it works right? A non believer becomes a believer when they experience their first sighting. You witnessed it, your perceptual field changes, so now you need to share it. I created this site to help the UFO community get a little bit organized. I noticed that there was a lot of chaos when searching for UFO sighting reports, so I hope this site helps. I wanted to support those eyewitnesses who have tried to tell others about what they have seen, yet were laughed at by even closest of friends. More and more each day the governments of the world leak bits and pieces of UFO information to the public. They have a trickle down theory in hopes of slowly getting citizens use to the idea that we are not alone in universe and never have been. The truth is being leaked drop by drop until one day we look around and find ourselves neck high in it. The discovery of alien species in existence is the most monumental scientific event in human history, suppression of that information is a crime against humanity. About me: I live in Taiwan. I OWN MY OWN ENGLISH SCHOOL, AND ONCE HAD 5 SCHOOLS. Am Former USAF at SAC base (flight line). Age: 42 Educ: BA in Elem ed. Masters in Counseling ed. I had two UFO sightings, (30+bus size orbs) in military and in 2012 personally saw the UFO over Taipei 101 building on New Years Day (and recored it). Russian-backed militants violated ceasefire 20 times in eastern Ukraine over the past day. This is reported by the ATO Headquarters press center. "In Donetsk direction, Russian-backed militants used heavy machine guns and small arms to shell Verkhniotoretske (22km north-east of Donetsk). In addition, terrorists used grenade launchers, small arms, and 82mm mortars to fire at Ukrainian troops in Avdiyivka [18km north of Donetsk)]," the statement reads. In Mariupol direction, the enemy shelled positions of the Armed Forces of Ukraine in Shyrokyne (20km east of Mariupol), using infantry combat vehicles, small arms, and grenade launchers. ol Armenia has banned imports of pigs and pork from Ukraine, the Ukrainian Agrarian Confederation reports. The ban on imports implied to pigs and pork, as well as the whole genetic materials of livestock bristles, intestinal materials, leather, various raw materials, and pork products as well as hunting trophies, reads a report. In addition, Armenia imposed ban on imports of all combined feed and feed for pigs, except for feeds containing chemical or synthetic ingredients. According to the report, the ban on imports of livestock and pork was introduced in Armenia in connection with an outbreak of African swine fever in some regions of Ukraine. iy Kyiv makes every effort for successful implementation of project of the Bortnychi aeration station reconstruction. Kyivs Mayor Vitali Klitschko said this in Tokyo during the meeting with President of the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) Shinichi Kitaoka, the Kyiv City State Administration press service reports. "Currently, the investment project of the Bortnychi aeration station reconstruction is the most large-scale and ambitious infrastructure project in Ukraine, which solves the set of environmental, technological, social and utility issues relating to the environmental safety of the Ukrainian population. The Bortnychi aeration station is the only purification filter for all domestic and industrial effluents of the capital and 15 nearby settlements of Kyiv region. We are very grateful to the Japanese side for the help in implementation of this important and ambitious project," Klitschko said. ol The Ukrainian Infrastructure Ministry has imposed restrictions on execution and issue of bilateral permits for cargo transportation by Turkish and Ukrainian motor carriers until September 30, 2016, the press service of the Ukrainian Infrastructure Ministry reports. The relevant decision was adopted at a meeting of the ministry's commission on execution, issue, registration and performance efficiency analysis of permits. A reminder that the Turkish side denied Ukraine's proposal to increase the number of cargo-carrying operations between Ukraine and Turkey at a meeting of the bilateral commission on motor transportation in July 2016. The Ukrainian Infrastructure Ministry promised to take appropriate measures. mk It is critical for the G20 leaders to condemn Russian aggression against Ukraine and call for an increase of sanctions against the Russian Federation. Such an opinion was expressed by Eugene Czolij, the President of the Ukrainian World Congress. It is critical for the G20 leaders to condemn Russian aggression against Ukraine and call for an increase of sanctions against the Russian Federation until it withdraws its military forces and equipment from the territory of Ukraine, de-occupies Crimea and stops hindering the work of international monitoring organizations who can help protect the rights of innocent civilians, he said. According to the UWC President, G20 leaders should deliver a clear, strong and united message during the G20 Summit in Hangzhou, China that the G20 will not tolerate the blatant violations by the Russian Federation of its international obligations, including the UN Charter and the Minsk agreements. The continued build-up by the Russian Federation of significant military technology in Crimea and the escalation of military activity in Eastern Ukraine manifestly breach Ukraines territorial integrity and seriously jeopardize peace and stability in the world, he added. ol Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko on Tuesday, September 6, at the opening sitting of the fifth session of the Ukrainian parliament will deliver his annual speech on the state of domestic and foreign of affairs of the country Verkhovna Rada Chairman Andriy Parubiy has said this at a meeting of the Agenda Setting Council today, an Ukrinform correspondent reports. Tomorrow the opening of the fifth session will take place. The Ukrainian president will deliver a speech to the people of Ukraine, Parubiy said. In addition, the Verkhovna Rada chairman informed that seven newly elected MPs will take an oath at tomorrows parliamentary sitting. iy Ukrainian First Vice Prime Minister Stepan Kubiv says that the Cabinet of Ministers will submit a draft state budget for 2017 until September 15. I'd like to assure [on behalf of] the prime minister of Ukraine, the government that the government will do everything needed for the draft state budget for 2017 be registered in the parliament in line with the regulations until September 15, Kubiv said at a meeting of the Agenda Setting Council on Monday, an Ukrinform correspondent reports. He also added that among main priorities of the budget for the next year are defense capacity, the continuation of decentralization, road network restoration, the development of industry, agrarian sector, and energy efficiency, support for small farmers, education, and medicine. Iy Russia has not fulfilled a single clause of the Minsk peace agreements over the two years since the accords were signed. Spokesperson of the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry Mariana Betsa wrote this on Twitter. September 5 two years since the Minsk Protocol was signed. Russia as a signer still has not fulfilled a single clause of the Minsk agreements, the spokesperson wrote. As earlier reported, Chairman of the European Parliament's Foreign Affairs Committee Elmar Brok stated that economic sanctions introduced by the European Union against Russia over its annexation of Crimea and aggression against Ukraine should be extended until a full implementation of the Minsk agreements. iy German Chancellor Angela Merkel has stated she does not know when the next "Normandy format" meeting will be held and that no decisions have been made in China in the absence of Ukraine. Chancellor stated this following G20 summit in Chinas Hangzhou, an Ukrinform correspondent reports. "Nothing strategically important happened here [at G20 summit]. We need Ukraine to do this [to settle the situation in Donbas]," Merkel said. She recalled that the parties had failed to meet in the "Normandy format" in China, so her meetings with other leaders "were not strategic negotiations." The head of the German government said she had conducted an intensive exchange of views on the Ukraines issue with the U.S. President, who shares the "same approach" with Berlin, supporting the Minsk process. ol Yessenia* rounded the corner one afternoon in March when she saw a group of four young men beating another. They saw her too. Its the teacher! she remembers one yelling before they scattered. The boy they left behind was so badly beaten that at first Yessenia did not recognize him as one of her students at the grade school where she taught in Tegucigalpa, the Honduran capital. If I hadnt showed up they would have killed him, she says. But any consolation from knowing she might have saved the boys life would be short lived. Two days later, she saw another group of young men she did not recognize near the school where she worked. Unable to avoid them on the street, she said, Good morning," and kept her eyes down. Later that night she heard the suspected members of a street gang or mara - who commit crimes ranging from extortion to robbery and murder - had tried to kidnap a 21-year-old man before police arrived to rescue their would-be victim. Everyone has a story about a family whose home has been burned down or a son recruited by the gangs. The gangs frequently murder witnesses to their crimes. Yessenia had witnessed two crimes in as many days and knew she would be pegged as a police informer if charges were ever filed. Racked with fear and anxiety, she stopped eating and sleeping and developed high blood pressure. She put in for a transfer and fled the school where she had taught for 12 years without telling anyone the real reason. The 56-year-old is now one of tens of thousands of Hondurans who have become displaced within the borders of their Central American homeland by raging gang violence. A government report released last year estimated that 174,000 people were displaced internally in the decade to 2014. A growing number have also sought asylum abroad. A resident walks in the El Bosque neighbourhood in central Tegucigalpa. The area is among many in the Honduran capital considered dangerous because of the presence of local gangs known as "maras." UNHCR/Tito Herrera Children play in a small community in the city of Tegucigalpa. UNHCR/Tito Herrera The front page of daily newspaper La Tribuna leads on the murder of a university student the previous day in Tegucigalpa. UNHCR/Tito Herrera Communities such as La Era in Tegucigalpa city are in constant danger of gang violence. UNHCR/Tito Herrera While she was still at the school Yessenia received frantic phone calls from parents of students desperate to get their children transferred to schools outside the crime-wracked neighbourhood. She says 60 students left the school between March and May, nearly half of those registered for classes. The school's director also fled. Families in San Pedro Sula, the countrys second-largest city which in 2014 recorded the highest homicide rate in the world, live with the same fears. Residents of the citys crime-blighted Rivera Hernandez neighbourhood said many neighbours were abandoning their homes for the United States and Mexico. Speaking with community members there, nearly everyone had a story about a family whose home had been burned down, a son who was recruited by the gangs, a relative who had been killed or fled. San Pedro Sula, Honduras' second-largest city, recorded the highest homicide rate in the world in 2014. They were leaving in droves, says Dolores,* the principal of a school there. These days, she says they lose about ten students a year who have to give up school because of threats or violence from the maras. One of those students is Maria*. The 16-year-old loved going to school but says she had to give up her dream of studying finance when a local gangster wanted her as his girlfriend. "I knew that if I went with him and things went bad, it would be very bad for me, she says. There are seven different gangs vying for control of Rivera Hernandez. In a place where gangs battle for territory block by block to extort businesses, association with a mara could be a death sentence if she walked down the wrong street. Maria tried to rebuff the gang members advances, but he was persistent. He waited for her outside the school. He followed her. Afraid she might end up forced into a relationship with him or raped, Maria did the only thing she could to avoid him: she stopped going to school. A UNHCR staff member greets a local resident at the Augusto Alvarado Castro community center in San Pedro Sula, Honduras' second-largest city. UNHCR/Tito Herrera The sign outside a gun repair shop in San Pedro Sula reads: "Don't let this happen to you, come visit us." UNHCR/Tito Herrera Students walk home from school in the community of 6 de Mayo in San Pedro Sula, Honduras. Local schools have become a recruiting ground for street gangs. UNHCR/Tito Herrera A mural in San Pedro Sula shows flowers emerging from a gun barrel. In 2014, the gang-ravaged city had the highest murder rate in the world. UNHCR/Tito Herrera UNHCRs representative in Honduras, Andres Celis, says the kind of violence displacing, or otherwise disrupting, the lives of people like Yessenia and Maria is a challenge for the government to address. There are mechanisms for someone to seek protection from the state but each case is handled on an ad hoc basis. For that reason, UN Special Rapporteur on Internally Displaced Persons Chaloka Beyani recommended Honduras take steps to create a system that clearly outlines the governments response for someone fleeing violence, including a safe way to declare themselves displaced, and providing shelter and relocation. But before such a system could be successful, the government must work to re-establish trust between the police and communities. The same fear that drives people from their homes keeps them from seeking help, believing that any visibility could threaten their life. This is especially true when the displaced see the police and other government authorities as complicit with the maras. The same fear that drives people from their homes keeps them from seeking help. So far, Honduras is the only country in Central America to give formal recognition of the forced displacement of its citizens by gang violence. It has pledged to draft legislation by the end of this year to formalize mechanisms to provide protection to those fleeing violence. In the meantime, however, the state faces gaps in its ability to provide basic protection and resources to those in need. The UN Refugee Agency is responding with steps including the provision of technical assistance to Government and local authorities to develop and implement national legal frameworks and public policies for the protection of people displaced by violence. Other steps include monitoring high-risk areas of internal displacement, as well as working to improve reception conditions. "We cant wait for the situation to continue intensifying, Celis says. The government of Honduras called UNHCR and acknowledged there is a problem with forced displacement here. When they call, we have to answer." *Names have been changed for protection reasons. For most of her life, Nawa watched as other children went to school. As a refugee, and a girl at that, she was told there was no place for her in the classroom. That looked set to continue when she arrived in Malaysia, where refugees do not have access to formal education under the national school system. But thanks to the Fugee School, a refugee learning centre in Kuala Lumpur, the Somali refugee was able to start her first-ever lessons at an age when her peers were graduating from secondary school. I spent 16 years not having access to education and wanting to learn so badly. When I first got my backpack to start Fugee School, I would literally put it on and stare at the mirror just imagining myself as a student, she says with a laugh. "I started in fifth grade with classmates who were 10 years old or younger. They made fun of me, but I tried to ignore it. With just spoken Somali and a rudimentary grasp of English, she failed every class in the first month. But she was determined to learn and quickly caught up, skipping grades as she went along. Malaysia: Somali student proves it's never too late to learn Its unbelievable how much I learnt in four years, says Nawa, now 20. What drives me is that Im the only person in my family to have access to education and to have gotten this far. I also want to be an example to other women who are afraid to achieve the things they want. A strong advocate of womens rights, she is happy to see more girls than boys in Fugee School now a reversal of the trend when she first started in 2013. Shes observed that girls do better in class as they choose to study, unlike boys, who are prioritized for school in some cultures and often take it for granted. "Im the only person in my family to have access to education and to have gotten this far. I also want to be an example to other women who are afraid to achieve the things they want. While she acknowledges that some girls drop out due to early marriage, that trend also seems to be changing. Before, in Somalia, we would have girls who get married at the age of 12, 14. Now we have so many girls who are aged 20 and above and still not married, and Im like, Yes! Last year Nawa completed secondary-level education at Fugee School before entering the foundation course at a University in Malaysia, where she is doing her foundation course. She is one of 42 refugee students currently enrolled in three universities in Malaysia as a result of strong advocacy with tertiary institutions by UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency. While grateful for the opportunity, Nawa feels a knowledge gap between herself and her new Malaysian classmates. Refugees have been through war and been forced to move so much, so our education is not stable. We have to do extra work and work harder than the locals, she says. Nawa did not step into a classroom until she was 16, but now is preparing to start university and also volunteers as a teacher at a refugee learning centre. UNHCR/Ted Adnan Nawa, a strong advocate of women's rights, is happy to see more girls than boys in Fugee School now a reversal of the trend when she first started in 2013. UNHCR/Ted Adnan There are about 21,700 school-age refugee children in Malaysia. Only 30 per cent of them have access to education in informal community-based learning centres. UNHCR/Ted Adnan She continues to volunteer at Fugee School, teaching preschool refugee children three days a week to help them bridge the gap. My students spoke no English in the beginning. But they learn so fast and now they speak better than me, she beams. Here they have the tools to learn phones, computers, videos, the internet. Nonetheless Nawa is fully aware of the challenges facing Fugee School and some 120 other learning centres around Malaysia that are largely run by refugees themselves with the support of volunteers. As refugees, the only access we have to education is through the learning centres. Theyre working as hard as they can, getting donations, books, qualified teachers. But it may not be really enough for students to achieve the things they want, she says. Every human being has the right to an education. With education, you have the key to unlock every door." Structural obstacles aside, there are also social biases to overcome. For Nawa, it has been a personal journey to win the support of her traditionally minded mother. When I was accepted into Nottingham, she said, No way, I dont believe it. I need to see proof. For a month we fought over me staying on campus, but her attitude is finally changing. Now she sees other students and parents in the community looking to me as an example that refugees can really go to university. Its encouraged her to be more supportive. Nawa plans to study international relations and go on to work for an organization for human rights, or start her own. She credits education, however belated, for making her into the person she is today. Every human being has the right to an education," she said. "With education, you have the key to unlock every door. Before I came to Malaysia and started at Fugee School, I did not know what I wanted in the future. But now I know what life is like, what opportunities are out there, and I have better skills to serve the world. Student protesters achieve victory after Georgetown University has acknowledged its historical ties to slavery. The institution is now seeking to make amends for the injustice. USA Today reported that the reparation comes nearly a year after student protests urged Georgetown University to change the name of two residence halls on campus. Last Thursday, university president John DeGiola announced that the school will be providing legacy admissions advantages to the descendants of the 272 slaves who were sold to Louisiana plantations in 1838 to fund the university. "I am grateful to the many members of our community who have thoughtfully and respectfully contributed their perspectives and shared their insights," DeGiola wrote in a letter prefacing the report, via Georgetown University's official website. "I look forward to continuing to work together in an intentional effort to engage these recommendations and move forward toward justice and truth." This is the first step in Georgetown University's efforts to address its historical ties to slavery. Some of the recommendations include naming Freedom Hall (previously Mulledy Hall) as Isaac Hall, to honor Isaac, the first slave mentioned in the documents of the 1838 sale. Remembrance Hall, previously known as McSherry Hall, would be renamed as Anne Marie Becraft Hall. Becraft is a woman of color who founded a school for black girls in the Georgetown neighborhood. The school will also engage with the descendant community and develop a public memorial to the enslaved. This is to make sure that their memory is honored and preserved. "I think is very much in line with what students demanded last year," Enushe Khan, student body president, said to USA Today. "I feel, as a Hoya, proud that our university is really a leader in taking action here, and I can only hope that other universities follow suit." Georgetown is one of the many universities facing criticisms for historical ties to slavery. Yale, as well as other universities such as Princeton, Stanford, Georgetown and Harvard, among others, have also faced protests on buildings, programs and legacies that should be renamed to accommodate modern sensitivities. Brock Turner has been released from jail after serving half of the six-month sentence for his sexual assault case. Read what Stanford University had to say about the issue below. The Los Angeles Times reported that former Stanford University student Brock Turner was released from jail early Friday morning, Sep. 2. He only served three months of his six-month sentence, which was faced backlash for its leniency. Turner left the jail and rode a white SUV which was waiting for him outside the building. He offered no comment to reporters. Angry protesters, some of whom were armed, surrounded the Turners' home, according to several reports. "If we had our way, Brock Turner would be in state prison serving a six year sentence, not going home," the Santa Clara County District Attorney's office said in a statement. "With the Governor's signature, the next Brock Turner will go to prison." The statement focused on a bill, AB 2888. This bill requires a state prison sentence for anyone who is convicted of sexually assaulting an unconscious person. In Stanford University's official statement, the school maintained that it "did everything within its power to assure that justice was served in this case." The institution also shared how proud it was of its students for stopping the incident and cooperating with the investigation. "This was a horrible incident, and we understand the anger and deep emotion it has generated," the school wrote. "There is still much work to be done, not just here, but everywhere, to create a culture that does not tolerate sexual violence in any form and a judicial system that deals appropriately with sexual assault cases." Last March, Turner was convicted of three felony counts. First, it was for assault with the intent to commit rape of an unconscious person. Second was for sexual penetration of an unconscious person and the third count was for sexual penetration of an intoxicated person. Brock Turner's sentencing would have had him facing up to 14 years in prison. However, Superior Court Judge Aaron Persky opted for the lighter jail term of six months and three years of probation. When Jaden Smith wants to change the world, he is going to change the world. Along with his sister Willow even at that. In a recent interview, Jaden Smith opens up about his parents being his personal role models. Will and Jada Pinkett Smith chose to home school their kids. Just Jared has it that his parents are the sources of their (Willow and Jaden's) inspiration to change the world. Jaden stresses the importance of affecting the world in a positive way. He points to technology and music which drives science, spirituality and education. Recently, he joined the crew to promote Black Eyed Peas' renewed version of "Where's the Love?" In a separate interview, will.i.am wants to focus the song into bringing everyone together to promote peace and love. He also wants to focus on investing in education. The music video showcases Jamie Foxx, Mary J. Blige, P.Diddy, Justin Timberlake, Kendall Jenner and more. The Black Eyed Peas, iTunes (where the track is available) and Interscope Records promise to donate all of the proceeds from the song's purchase in the United States to I.am.angel Foundation. The foundation aims to transform lives through education, inspiration and opportunity created by will.I.am. This move draws attention to the struggle of spending on education. In effect, it also includes unemployment, poverty and murder or crime. Jaden Smith's contribution to the song is a short rap but it is clear that his goals are in line with the song's goal. He wants to build a world where kids don't feel like going to school. Instead, a world where kids are glad to go to school. "Where every kid goes to school, and like 50 percent of children don't drop out. Where they feel like their teachers are actually on their side. Or they feel like law enforcement is actually on their side. We want to create a society that is working for us and with us - and we're working for society, not against it," says Smith. Watch the latest "Where is the Love?" music video below: All the latest Uttoxeter news Story Saved You can find this story in My Bookmarks. Or by navigating to the user icon in the top right. By: Dezan Shira & Associates Vietnams conditional investment list may soon see the removal of a number of items related to healthcare and medical services following the submission of a proposal to the National Assembly on September 1. Included as part of a larger proposal to change the nations conditional investment list, the removal of items seek to amend the Law on Investment (No. 67/2014/QH13), passed in late 2014 and effective as of July 1, 2015. As adjustments to the conditional investment list are currently in a proposal form, specifics surrounding the time and date of implementation are currently not available. Business Lines to be Deregulated Under proposed changes, the following healthcare sectors will be opened to investment and free from previously imposed conditions: Operation of establishments classified as dealing with medical equipment Companies involved in or providing clinical drug trials Companies providing cosmetic surgery Laboratories providing services related to pathogenic microorganisms and infectious Companies seeking to treat opiate addiction through substitution drugs Businesses providing rating services relating to the bioavailability and bioequivalence of a drug Businesses providing technical implementation of surrogacy It should be noted that the above list is not exhaustive, and a variety of sectors, both within and beyond healthcare, will be impacted by the proposed amendments. In addition to the removal of specific industries, a number of business lines will also be amended or otherwise adjusted. Implications for Healthcare Investment The removal of conditionality for sectors listed above will expand a number of opportunities for those seeking to invest in Vietnamese healthcare, and it will be important to understand which industries will be deregulated and when this will be rolled out. In the immediate term, it will be important for current and prospective investors to monitor subsequent changes to the proposal as well as its progress in the legislative process. For assistance in regulatory monitoring and for more information relating to investment within the healthcare sector, please contact us at vietnam@dezshira.com or visit www.dezshira.com 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 vietnam@dezshira.com or visit www.dezshira.com. Stay up to date with the latest business and investment trends in Asia by subscribing to our complimentary update service featuring news, commentary and regulatory insight. Annual Audit and Compliance in Vietnam 2016 In this issue of Vietnam Briefing, we address pressing changes to audit procedures in 2016, and provide guidance on how to ensure that compliance tasks are completed in an efficient and effective manner. We highlight the continued convergence of VAS with IFRS, discuss the emergence of e-filing, and provide step-by-step instructions on audit and compliance procedures for Foreign Owned Enterprises (FOEs) as well as Representative Offices (ROs). Navigating the Vietnam Supply Chain In this edition of Vietnam Briefing, we discuss the advantages of the Vietnamese market over its regional competition and highlight where and how to implement successful investment projects. We examine tariff reduction schedules within the ACFTA and TPP, highlight considerations with regard to rules of origin, and outline the benefits of investing in Vietnams growing economic zones. Finally, we provide expert insight into the issues surrounding the creation of 100 percent Foreign Owned Enterprise in Vietnam. Tax, Accounting and Audit in Vietnam 2016 (2nd Edition) This edition of Tax, Accounting, and Audit in Vietnam, updated for 2016, offers a comprehensive overview of the major taxes foreign investors are likely to encounter when establishing or operating a business in Vietnam, as well as other tax-relevant obligations. This concise, detailed, yet pragmatic guide is ideal for CFOs, compliance officers and heads of accounting who must navigate Vietnams complex tax and accounting landscape in order to effectively manage and strategically plan their Vietnam operations. Under the auspices of the Central Region Natural Disaster Prevention and Support Fund, the Chubb Charitable Foundation International and Chubb Life Vietnam have donated computers, books and equipment, valued at about VND 900 million ($41,000), to supply the libraries and study laboratory of four schools - Xuan Lam in Phu Yen province, Trieu Do No.1 in Quang Tri province, Quang Thanh No.2 in Thua Thien-Hue province and Vinh Thanh No.2 in Nghe An province. We believe providing care and support to children is necessary for our societys future. Our support to local schools over the past few years as well as this new donation aligns with our vision in contributing to education in a sustainable way, said Lam Hai Tuan, country president of Chubb Life Vietnam. We believe the new schools, equipped with the facilities we sponsored, will serve many generations of students. We hope our efforts will help these students on their education journey and grow up to be responsible citizens. This project is also one of our ways to express our long term commitment to Vietnam. Being a socially responsible organisation is one of the top priorities for Chubb Life Vietnam. Since it commenced operation in Vietnam 11 years ago, Chubb Life has actively contributed to Vietnams education system through its Crossing Waves Fund, a charitable fund launched in 2005. As of today, approximately VND 19 billion ($850,000) has been donated to meet education needs via this fund, including building schools and providing scholarships to 1,200 university students in need. The Chubb Charitable Foundation International is one of three charitable foundations associated with Chubb Group. In 2015, the combined foundations of Chubb and its predecessor companies made grants and matching gifts of more than $7.5 million to support innovative initiatives around the globe. In 2015, The Chubb Charitable Foundation International, in partnership with Chubb Life Vietnam, funded the rebuilding of the Yen My Primary School in Yen My commune in the central province of Thanh Hoa. In 2013, the foundation provided a two-year grant of $465,400 to Roots of Peace (ROP) for the expansion of the Sustainable Horticulture and Agriculture Development Project (SHADE) in Quang Tri. With this grant, ROP has expanded this programme to provide subsidised plants and equipment, technical training, and follow-up activities through farmer field schools, farm visits, and mentoring to over 850 Vietnamese farmers in Quang Tri. Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton speaking at a campaign event in Reno, Nevada. (Photo: AFP) Clinton, the Democratic nominee, will attend events with working families in Cleveland, Ohio and Hampton, Illinois celebrating Labour Day, the US holiday that traditionally kicks off the fall campaign season and the fast-paced, two-month sprint to the November presidential election. She then flies to Tampa Tuesday for a campaign rally at the University of South Florida, before traveling Thursday to Charlotte, North Carolina. Florida and North Carolina, like Ohio, are critical battlegrounds in the 2016 race. Republican flagbearer Trump, 70, trails in polling but dominated the week's political messaging and imagery, with his surprise trip to Mexico, a fiery immigration speech in which he embraced a hardline position on the issue, and his closely watched visit to an African-American church in Detroit. And while Sunday's CBS News Battleground Tracker shows Clinton, 68, leading Trump in two key states -- by eight points in Pennsylvania and four points in North Carolina -- recent polls show the race tightening nationally. "The polls are close so Crooked Hillary is getting out of bed and will campaign tomorrow," Trump taunted Sunday on Twitter. With just three weeks before the first of three presidential debates that are expected to be the most watched moments of the election, Clinton will seek to reassert herself Monday with multiple events. She has been under sustained pressure to provide more access for journalists seeking to cover her every move, resisting the typical arrangement of a substantial traveling press corps sharing the same plane with a presidential hopeful. But Clinton aides have said that beginning Monday she will debut a larger campaign jet, and that reporters will be along for the ride. Also hitting the road are her running mate Tim Kaine and current Vice President Joe Biden, who stumped for Hillary in Pennsylvania, and her husband, former Bill Clinton, who attends events in Michigan and Ohio. 'HIDING HILLARY' Trump to date has also avoided having the press corps travel on his plane. The provocative billionaire often takes questions from assembled journalists and is hammering away at his rival for failing to do the same. On Sunday Trump's campaign blasted out an email, stating "it has been 274 days since Clinton has held a press conference," as part of a daily "Hiding Hillary" email series aimed at highlighting the Democrat's aversion to pressers. Trump and his running mate Mike Pence, Indiana's governor, have stressed for months that Clinton should face journalists directly about her use of a private email account while she was secretary of state, a scandal which has dogged her for more than a year. New revelations from notes released by the FBI from its July interview with Clinton about her email use showed that she said she did not recall specific training about how to handle classified information, and that she was unaware that confidential material was marked with a "C." The FBI notes prompted Trump surrogate Rudy Giuliani, the former New York mayor, to accuse Clinton of acting with "criminal intent" with regard to her emails. "Either she was the dumbest secretary of state in American history or a bald-faced liar," Giuliani said in a statement released by Trump's campaign. Clinton for her part jabbed at Trump, after the Republican refused to answer questions on Philadelphia's WPVI television about whether he regretted leading the "birther" movement that falsely claimed President Barack Obama was born outside the country. "Astonishing that the Republican nominee still refuses to acknowledge that @POTUS was born in the United States," Clinton tweeted Sunday. As reported by newspaper Thoi Bao Kinh Te Sai Gon, a company representative attributed the decision to the low sales of children formula Dumex. The market share of Dumex in Vietnam is not enough for the company to continue making investments here, the representative said, adding that the company will not withdraw from its other Southeast Asian markets. Earlier, Danone disposed Dumex China due to a significant decrease in market share following a food safety scare that later proved to be a false alarm. The sale of Dumex China to Yashili International Group Ltd. was finalised on May 31, 2016, for 150 million ($159 million). Besides Dumex, popular brands of formula for children under six in Vietnam include Pediasure and Similac by US company Abbott, Enfagrow by US company Mead Johnson Nutrition, Friso by Friesland Campina from the Netherlands, Aptamil also by Danone, and Meiji by Japanese company Meiji. The Vietnamese government frequently campaigns to encourage mothers to breastfeed. The government also forbids advertising for children under two years of age, starting at the beginning of last year. Moreover, starting on June 1, 2014, there has been a price ceiling issued on formula for children under six. A Nielsen survey carried out in Ho Chi Minh City and Hanoi revealed that sales decreased by 10 per cent in volume and 9 per cent in value by February 2015, compared to the same period in previous years. Russian President Vladimir Putin (L) brought a box of ice cream as a gift for Chinese President Xi Jinping (R) when the two leaders met in Hangzhou AFP/Wang Zhao Putin did not divulge the flavour of the frozen gift as he was welcomed by Xi at an official government guesthouse in the eastern Chinese city of Hangzhou. "I promised to bring it for you. And I've brought you a whole box of ice cream," Putin said. Xi thanked the Russian president for his "kindness", before adding that he'd developed a taste for Russian ice cream on his many official visits to Moscow. "Every time that I come to Russia, I ask them to buy me Russian ice cream. And after, we eat the ice cream at home," said Xi, according to comments provided by the Russian delegation. "The fresh cream you have is the best, that's why your ice cream is particularly delicious. I like it a lot," he added. The two leaders met on the sidelines of the G20 summit and in more traditional diplomatic language pledged "enhanced cooperation", according to Xi. Vietnams giant population offers many medical product opportunities The Ministry of Health (MoH) is calling for domestic and foreign investors to back eight medicine projects. Those include two projects to produce antibiotic materials- one with Mekophar and one worth $70 million with Ampharco USA. Others are a packing project with Vipaco and Tan Thanh Phat Company, natural compound extraction with VCP Company, vaccine production with Vabiotech Company and a project for medical equipment production Cao Minh Quang, Deputy Minister of Health, said foreign investment in the sector was limited as 90 per cent of production materials were imported and pharmaceutical production required large volumes of investment. The MoH is compiling a detailed Vietnam pharmaceutical industry zoning plan to 2015 with a vision to 2020 focusing on zoning, allocating pharmaceutical factories toward specification and encouraging generic medicine production to reduce local market product prices. We will target domestic medicine production to meet 70 per cent of demand by 2015 and 80 per cent by 2020, said Quang. EuroCham in Vietnam reported that Vietnam had made good progress in the clarity and quality of registration process for drug production. However, a fast track registration process for medicines answering urgent needs could be considered and general pharmacy practice standard applications for retail pharmacies should be executed by 2011. Since January 2009, in line with the World Trade Organization agreement, 100 per cent foreign-owned pharmaceutical companies can be set up. However, the limited scope of licenced activity is still restricting foreign investments and granting import rights to pharmacy companies to allow accelerated investment in foreign-invested enterprises in Vietnam, said a EuroCham official. Keshav Dayalani, vice chairman of the Indian Business Chamber (Incham), said Vietnam should encourage hi-tech products, export incentives and develop infrastructure for drug development. Our proposals for investment in Vietnam are a move from mass selling to quality production, set up high-end ailments and growth of specialised segments, said Dayalani. The country reportedly had 39 pharmaceutical foreign-invested projects by the end of 2009 including 26 operating projects with total registered capital of $302.6 million. Of these 23 projects are medicine production while others focus on medicine maintenance. Foreign-invested factories production value accounted for 28 per cent of the countrys total medicine production. However, there are no foreign-invested projects in pharmaceutical chemistry and drug materials. We are asking the government to supplement packing production, medicines and natural compound extraction in the list of projects enjoying special incentives of investment in Vietnam, said Quang. Domestic medicine production met just nearly half of demand in Vietnam. The drug consumption per capita of Vietnam was $19.7 in 2009, a year-on-year increase of 20.1 per cent. The IMS Meridian Research Vietnam forecast drug consumption per capita in Vietnam will double after five years and the medicine production value in Vietnam will reach $1.9 billion in 2011 from $1.6 billion this year and $1.1 billion in 2009. Local heathcare workers train under GE Healthcare supervision at Viet Duc Simulation Training Lab for Anesthesia and Intensive Care Today, nearly 5.8 billion people in the world have limited access to quality, affordable healthcare. Emerging countries are the most impacted by this. The disparity between developed and emerging economies is significant, with 80 per cent of the worlds healthcare spending going to only 20 per cent of the population. In addition, emerging economies have roughly one-sixth of the healthcare delivery capacity of developed markets. To help address these inequities in healthcare around the world, GE Healthcare established its new Sustainable Healthcare Solutions (SHS) business last year, as part of the companys commitment to providing basic and essential healthcare in underserved communities. GE Healthcares SHS combines operations in India and South Asia, Africa, and Southeast Asia with the companys Affordable Care Portfolio. Disruptive technologies for emerging markets In 2015, GE Healthcare announced committing $300 million to developing solutions specifically tailored for emerging markets through its Affordable Care Portfolio. The development of these products largely came from the demand of GE Healthcare customers in emerging markets. Rather than creating technologies for the developed world and waiting for them to trickle down to emerging economies, GE Healthcare did the opposite they developed products from the ground up, listening to the needs of their customers to fit their local demands at a more economical cost structure. By doing so, GE Healthcare created a portfolio unique to emerging market economies that enables them to provide sustainable, quality healthcare. For example, Vscan Access, a next generation ultrasound device, was developed based on the need for primary healthcare workers to do obstetric and abdominal ultrasound in remote areas in Indonesias low-resource settings. Relevant and cost-effective solutions, specific to our customers environment, play a critical role as developing countries continue to invest in effective, long-term healthcare to improve the health of their populations, said Myra Eskes, president and CEO at GE Healthcare ASEAN. Cost-effective solutions in Vietnam Vietnam is one of the countries in ASEAN that has already benefitted from the Affordable Care Portfolio. A lack of vital healthcare equipment continues to be a challenge in Vietnam. An assessment carried out by the Ministry of Health (MoH) last year revealed that district-level hospitals and clinics were only equipped with 20-50 per cent of the required technologies, resulting in an overload of patients at central hospitals across the country. By providing cost-effective solutions, GE Healthcare is trying to alleviate some of the pressure the Vietnamese healthcare system is facing today. This year, GE Healthcare introduced Revolution ACT as a new member of the Affordable Care Portfolio, a full-body CT scanner with many features inherited from the most advanced Revolution CT system, including the simple user interface and low-dose radiation technology, but at a fraction of the cost. This new CT system is about innovating for affordability and defining solutions that deliver high-quality CT diagnostic solutions in the most challenging healthcare markets. We hope the value of this new CT scanner will help improve Vietnamese patients access to quality diagnosis and treatment across the country, said Vu Duc Nhat, digital imaging manager at GE Healthcare. Since its launch, GE Healthcare has installed 10 Revolution ACT machines in hospitals throughout Vietnam. One month after being put into operation in Ninh Binh General Hospital, we have found that the CT scanners are very easy to employ due to their automation process, said Dr Dinh Van Ha, head of the Diagnostic Imaging Department at Ninh Binh General Hospital. All our medical staff knew how to operate the machines after their very first technical training session. Committed to education and capacity building Providing disruptive technologies is one piece of the puzzle. GE Healthcare believes that improved skills can increase access to more affordable healthcare, as equipment can only go so far if it is not utilised in the most efficient and effective manner. GE Healthcare has a long history in supporting education and training to drive improved health outcomes, exemplified by its recent commitment to invest $1 billion by 2020 which will result in the training of over two million clinicians, who will provide treatment to over 300 million patients. In Vietnam, the company is working closely with the MoH, local healthcare providers, and educational institutions to develop and grow the countrys healthcare workforce. In June 2016, GE Healthcare, in cooperation with Viet Duc Hospital and the Vietnam Society of Anaesthesiologists, announced the opening of Viet Duc Simulation Training Lab for Anesthesia and Intensive Care aimed at improving education and training, and raising awareness on the importance of safe anaesthetic administration in Vietnam. As one of the largest teaching hospitals in Hanoi, the training centre at Viet Duc Hospital will train up to 400 healthcare students and trainees a year. In addition to Viet Duc Hospital, GE Healthcare has made other significant investments into enhancing training and education in Vietnam. In March 2015, the company signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Bach Mai Hospital to introduce a new education programme. This programme will help train Vietnamese clinicians on how to better utilise patient monitors to improve care, specifically in the Emergency Department and Intensive Care Unit. By providing an ecosystem of solutions, which includes relevant, cost-effective technologies and equipping local talent with education and training, GE Healthcare is helping to raise the standards of healthcare from the inside-out, ensuring access to quality healthcare and driving more positive health outcomes for all. Roads to Tan Son Nhat International Airport are often congested in HCM City.- Photo enternews.vn This was revealed in a proposal developed joinly by three investors, namely 319 Corporation, Dong Mekong Company Ltd and Dong A Infrastructure Corporation, under public-private partnership to the municipal Department of Transportation. The road system is expected to reduce traffic congestion, which is a serious problem in the area. The 5km elevated road will begin from Truong Son Street to the T2 International Terminal, will then connect to the T1 and T3 Terminals, run along Thang Long Street and Phan Thuc Duyen Street and end at Hoang Van Thu-Nguyen Van Troi Street. According to the municipal management board of the urban railways, there is a proposal mooted by foreign investors to build an underground line from the airport to the city. These infrastructure projects will help ease traffic pressure to and from Tan Son Nhat International Airport, which is expected to welcome some 30 million passengers this year, five million higher than its capacity. Developing infrastructure projects which connect to the airport is, therefore, a necessity, the transport department said. The company failed to attract investors, especially foreign investors when it sold 90 per cent of the expected share volume only. On August 29, VEAM launched its IPO to issue 167 million shares, equalling 13 per cent of its chartered capital. However, only 149.5 million of the shares were sold. The failure of the IPO was shown through the average price of VEAMs shares, which stood at VND14,291 ($0.64) per unit, VND1 higher than the initial price, showing that investors did not value the companys shares much. The auctioned share volume was valued at VND2.13 trillion ($95.7 million) instead of the VND2.38 trillion ($106.6 million) highlighted in the companys estimations. Regarding the selection of the strategic investor, as of now, only Vietnam N.A Motor Co., Ltd. (N.A Motor) has expressed interest, indicating a one-sided ending. Adding salt to injury, N.A Motor registered to buy the assigned 36 per cent at the price of VND10.050 ($0.45) per unit, much lower than the IPOs price. VEAMs IPO was considered an attractive opportunity because the company produces revenue as well as profit in the trillions of dong. According to the companys financial report, in 2015, it acquired a net profit of VND3.66 trillion ($163.8 million). In addition, it owns numerous sizeable land plots in Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City, Haiphong, Dong Nai, and Ba Ria-Vung Tau, among others. However, in reality, the reason for VEAMs IPO falling short of expectations is because almost all of its profit came from dividend instead of its major business lines, including manufacturing agricultural machinery and components, which are suffering from stiff competition from Chinese products. Notably, 92.6 per cent of the companys 2015 profits came as dividend from Honda Vietnam, Toyota Vietnam and Ford Vietnam, where VEAM holds stake volumes of 30 per cent, 20 per cent, and 25 per cent, respectively. Although VEAM can acquire dividend from the above three enterprises in the next 20 years, it has yet to set an increased target in profit from dividend, due to the increasing pressure on the motor and automobile market after Vietnam signed free trade agreements, marking a decrease in import taxes. The Europe meets Asia in Contemporary Dance festival will debut at the Youth Theater in the capital city, before moving to the southern metropolis. It will run from September 21 to 25 in Hanoi and from September 25 to 27 at the Municipal Theater in Ho Chi Minh City. The event, now in its sixth year, will feature dance artists from six countries including Germany, France, Israel, Japan, Austria, and Vietnam. The event this year will be highlighted by a joint performance between German choreographer Riki von Falken and Vietnamese artist Nguyen Trinh Thi. The dance depicts the traditional, old culture of Hanoi which is now fading away as peoples lifestyle has rapidly changed. Europe meets Asia in Contemporary Dance is held by EUNIC, the Network of European cultural institutes and embassies in Hanoi, the Vietnam National Opera and Ballet and the Goethe Institute. Founded in 2011, the festival aims to promote Vietnamese contemporary dance as well as enhance the cultural exchange and cooperation between local and international artists. Photo by ASSOCIATED PRESS Miami-Dade mosquito control contractor Alejandro Espinosa pours chemicals into a storm sewer on a sidewalk Friday in Miami Beach. Congress has been unable to seal a deal on funding Zika prevention measures. Needed now and in the next decade: Electricians, roofers, plumbers U.S. President Barack Obama is telling China it needs to adopt a more responsible role on the world stage and adhere to international norms. Before heading to the G-20 summit in China, Obama told CNN in an interview broadcast Sunday that Beijing needs to show restraint in its relations with smaller countries, especially as it deals with territorial disputes in the South China Sea. The American leader said that "with increasing power comes increasing responsibilities." Obama said the U.S. has urged China to accept international rules that build a strong world-wide order. South China Sea China, which is a signatory to the U.N. Convention on the Law of the Sea, recently lost an arbitration dispute at a court in the Hague over the South China Sea, but rejected the ruling. The court ruled China had violated Manila's sovereign rights by interfering with Philippine fishing and oil exploration activities in the area. "If you sign a treaty that calls for international arbitration around maritime issues, the fact that you're bigger than the Philippines or Vietnam or other countries... is not a reason for you to go around and flex your muscles," Obama said. "You've got to abide by international law." Obama said that where the U.S. has seen China "violating international rules and norms, as we have seen in some cases in the South China Sea or in some of their behavior when it comes to economic policy, we've been very firm. And we've indicated to them that there will be consequences." Trade issues He said China cannot expect to "pursue mercantilist policies that just advantage" itself now that China has become a more affluent, middle-income country. "Even though you still have a lot of poor people, you know, you can't just export problems. You've got to have fair trade and not just free trade. You have to open up your markets if you expect other people to open up their markets." Obama added, "Part of what I've tried to communicate to President Xi [Jinping] is that the United States arrives at its power, in part, by restraining itself. You know, when we bind ourselves to a bunch of international norms and rules it's not because we have to, it's because we recognize that over the long term, building a strong international order is in our interests." At the summit of the world's 20 biggest economies in China's historic city of Hangzhou, U.S. President Barack Obama and Secretary of State John Kerry are meeting with foreign counterparts to look for solutions to major global problems. Obama reached an agreement with Chinese President Xi Jinping on reducing pollution. His other talks focused on the Syrian conflict and U.S. relationships with major allies. VOA's Zlatica Hoke has more. Afghan security forces killed all three gunmen to end an hours-long overnight militant siege in central Kabul that left six people wounded, interior Ministry spokesman Sediq Seddiqi announced Tuesday. He said 42 people, including 10 foreigners, were rescued unhurt from a residential compound linked to the CARE International charity in the Shar-e-Naw area of the capital city. The attack began with a massive car bombing followed by gunfire late on Monday night, Seddiqi explained, adding Afghan Special Forces quickly surrounded the area and engaged the gunmen. A spokesman for Afghanistan's interior ministry said the gunfire had resumed early Tuesday morning and Afghan security forces had killed all those involved in the attack. There are still no claims of responsibility for the violence. Afghan Chief Executive Abdullah Abdullah condemned the attack as an "act against religion, human faith and humanity." "Afghans are fighting a war against terrorists who are trained, advised, supported and instructed in our neighborhood," he asserted in a statement in a veiled reference to neighboring Pakistan. The Afghan government has long accused Pakistan, particularly its military institutions, of covertly supporting the Taliban insurgency in Afghanistan, charges Islamabad rejects. Twin bombings The assault on the CARE charity came hours after a twin Taliban bombing near the Defense Ministry in the Afghan capital killed at least 30 people and wounded dozens more. Officials and witnesses said a planted device was first detonated, prompting dozens of army and police officials to reach the site just before a Taliban suicide bomber wearing the uniform of Afghan security forces blew himself up. The powerful explosion killed among others, top defense ministry and intelligence officials and police officers. Afghanistan's Tolo TV reported that the ministry's senior commander, General Abdul Raziq, along with the intelligence chief for the capital city and a district police chief, were among those killed. Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid says the insurgents were behind Monday's attack, claiming they killed around 60 people, mostly personnel of the Afghan security forces, although the insurgent group often issues inflated tolls for such attacks. President Ashraf Ghani condemned the bloodshed, saying, "The enemies of Afghanistan have lost their ability to fight the security and defense forces of the country and thus attack highways, cities, mosques, schools and common people." For its part, a Pakistan foreign ministry statement condemned the twin Taliban bombings in Kabul as a "brutal terrorist attack." It extended condolences to the government and the people of Afghanistan as well as to families who lost loved ones. The United States also on Tuesday denounced the violence and offered condolences to the victims, saying these "horrendous attacks" reinforced the callous disregard the Taliban have for the innocent men, women and children of Afghanistan. "We will stand strong with them and all our friends in Afghanistan as they strive to improve citizen safety and security and secure lasting peace in this nation," a U.S. embassy statement in Kabul quoted Ambassador P. Michael McKinley as saying. Kunduz situation The Kabul attack came hours after security forces retook control of a key district from the Taliban in the volatile northern province of Kunduz. Area commanders say the insurgents were forced to retreat from Qala-i-Zal after the forces, backed by air support, staged an early morning assault on the district that the insurgents overran about a month ago. The Taliban has stepped up its campaign of violence and battlefield attacks, inflicting heavy casualties on the security forces. The commander of U.S. and NATO forces in Afghanistan, General John Nicholson, said last week that more than 900 Afghan soldiers and police personnel were killed in July alone. With the Islamic State's self-styled caliphate straddling Syria and Iraq shrinking thanks to land losses to the group's many foes, its jihadist rival al-Qaida's rebranded affiliate in Syria is marketing its own nation-building and doing so by imitating propaganda techniques employed by its competitor. And its increased propaganda output is taking aim once again at its struggling rival, apparently in a bid to exploit IS's mounting problems including the loss of 40 out of 43 founding senior leaders mainly to U.S.-led coalition airstrikes and battlefield fighting. On Sunday, Turkish officials claimed their military campaign inside Syria to push back IS from border regions had met with success. Turkish Prime Minister Binali Yildirim said in a televised speech Sunday: "Thank God, today, from Azaz to Jarablus, our 91 kilometers of borderline with Syria has been entirely secured. All the terrorist organizations were pushed back they are gone." The beneficiary One of the beneficiaries of the blows being dealt IS is Jabhat al-Nusra, which announced in July that it was breaking formal ties with al-Qaida after renaming itself Jabhat Fateh al-Sham, or JFS (Front for the Conquest of the Levant). There has long been a debate in the ranks of Jabhat al-Nusra about whether it should announce officially an emirate in territory it controls in northern Syria, mainly in the province of Idlib to the west of the besieged city of Aleppo. The group's leader, Mohammad al-Julani, suggested in a posted audio recording in July 2014 that it was about to do so. Syrian Jihadists make up JFS For tactical reasons, apparently mainly focused on avoiding disrupting relations and cooperation with other rebel militias in Syria, the group made up mainly of Syrian jihadists has held off. But emirate-building aspirations appear once again to dominate much of its recent propaganda and, as IS is pushed back more and more, Jabhat Fateh al-Sham has been boosting its criticism of rival jihadists while also engaging more directly with Western media. The propaganda operations are being overseen by an Australian jihadist preacher, the self-styled Sheik Mostafa Mahamed, who last month appeared on British television to show videos of formally fractured rebel groups fighting together under the banner of the JFS. Media wise Among the techniques JFS is copying is using teasers to boost the audiences for posted videos. Former U.S. ambassador Alberto Fernandez, an expert on jihadist use of the internet, noted as one "interesting example" a graphic released last week to advertise a forthcoming video that accuses IS of having Muslim blood on its hands and being heretical. "Notice nothing is said about infidel blood," Fernandez added. The graphic and video features al-Qaida-linked Sheikh Abdallah Muhammad al Muhaysini, a Saudi cleric and a highly influential jihadist ideologue in Syria, who in April launched a recruiting campaign for then-Jabhat al-Nusra urging young Muslims to "take up arms, do not sit still." JFS helped defend Aleppo Al Muhaysini has been at the forefront of the calls for all rebel fighters to unite around Jabhat Fateh al-Sham a call that has even greater pull with rebel militias since JFS's key role in defending eastern Aleppo from a massive Russian and Iranian-backed Assad regime offensive and managing a breakout last month. Most Western analysts dismiss JFS's break with al-Qaida as a feint, seeing it as a long game the jihadist group has been playing for some time across the Middle East and Africa. JFS long-term strategy In a paper published earlier this year by the Middle East Institute, a Washington-based think tank, analyst Charles Lister contrasted the Islamic State's modus operandi of imposing unilateral control over populations and rapidly proclaiming independence, with al-Qaida's Syrian affiliate moving "much more deliberately, seeking to build influence in the areas they hope to rule." He argued: "This is a long-game strategy that the terrorist group began adopting in the late 2000s, first in Yemen, in 2011, and then in Mali, in 2012." A key group in assisting JFS in its long-term aim to dominate the rebel opposition in Syria is Ahar al-Sham, another jihadist militia that al-Qaida leaders helped to found, according to Jennifer Cafarella and Genevieve Casagrande of the Washington-based Institute of the Study of War, a think tank, and Nicholas Heras, an analyst at the Center for a New American Security. Group may have its own Islamic State Writing in Foreign Policy magazine, the three analysts say Ahar al-Sham, which has never been formally part of al-Qaida, "Serves as the mortar that binds opposition groups together in northern Syria and is well-positioned to merge these forces with Jabhat Fateh al-Sham and solidify sharia-based governance all without the world realizing that the result would be a major win for al-Qaida's aims in Syria." JFS influence over a swathe of the anti-Assad rebel movement has grown in leaps and bounds thanks to the group's vanguard role in the defense of civilians in eastern Aleppo. Its popularity is growing despite the harsh penalties the group's Sharia courts mete out for infringements of a moral and social code not dissimilar to the Islamic State's. The analysts in their Foreign Policy article worry that Washington's inaction in the defense of the eastern half of Aleppo "may inadvertently be paving the way for Syria's next Islamic State." A new generation of lawmakers bent on preserving Hong Kong's autonomy against increasing interference from China is heading to victory in the territory's parliamentary elections. Final results showed pro-democracy candidates won 30 of 70 seats in the Legislative Council. Among the winners in Sunday's Legislative Council elections was 23-year-old Nathan Law, one of the leaders of the 2014 protests student-led, pro-democracy "Umbrella Revolution," which shut down key parts of Hong Kong for 79 days demanding for full and free elections. Law and fellow protest leader Joshua Wong co-founded the party Demosisto, which advocates a city-wide referendum on independence from Beijing. The two were were convicted last month for their roles in leading the protests, but received light sentences. Another surprising winner was Yau Wai-Ching, 25, and Sixtus "Baggio" Leung, 30, of the Youngspiration party. "This shows that Hong Kong people want changes, it shows that Hong Kong people want to resist," said Leung. "When we can not trust "one country, two systems" and the Basic Law to maintain the distinction between Hong Kong's system and Beijing, then the next step, the answer is to cut things off." More than two million people, or 58 percent of registered voters, cast their ballots in Sunday's elections, the highest turnout in any legislative elections since Britain returned control of Hong Kong to China in 1997. Many polling stations remained open well into Monday, hours after the voting officially ended. The electoral victory gives Hong Kong's pro-democracy forces a one-third control of the 70-seat Legislative Council, which gives it the power to veto bills approved by the council's pro-Beijing majority. They are becoming increasingly worried that Beijing is moving to erode the territory's civil liberties, which are enshrined under the 1997 handover agreement that ensured Hong Kong's autonomy for at least 50 years. President Barack Obama and Russian President Vladimir Putin are meeting informally on the sidelines of the Group of 20 economic summit in China. White House spokesman Ned Price says more details about the meeting will be released later in the day. The meeting is taking place in private. Obama's meeting with Putin comes as the U.S. and Russia are negotiating to try to reach an agreement to end the violence in Syria's long-running civil war. Top diplomats for both countries have thus far been unable to reach an agreement. Another likely topic is Ukraine. The U.S. has been concerned about growing tensions between Russia and Ukraine. The latest round of talks about curbing the violence in Syria have ended without a deal. A senior State Department official says Secretary of State John Kerry and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov failed to overcome differences at a morning meeting. The diplomats have been trying to broker a cease-fire between Syrian President Bashar Assad's government and moderate rebels that would expand access to humanitarian aid for hundreds of thousands of civilians caught in the crossfire. The strategy has hinged on an unlikely U.S.-Russian militarily partnership against extremist groups operating in Syria. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to discuss the private negotiations. Gabon's Justice Minister Seraphin Moundounga has resigned over the disputed re-election of President Ali Bongo, becoming the first high-level government official to step down since the vote. Gabon's election commission announced last week that Bongo won the election over opposition leader Jean Ping by about 5,000 votes, leading to protests and street violence that has left at least six people dead. Moundounga told Radio France International on Monday that the government is not responding to concerns about the need for peace, which lead to his decision to step down. Also Monday, Ping who has declared himself the leader of Gabon called for a general strike, saying an economic blockage would pressure the government. However, few people seemed to stay home Monday, as many banks and shops in the capital, Libreville, re-opened following the violence. Some city residents said they did not hear about the call for a strike. Ping said his campaign has evidence of election rigging, which he says he will present to Gabon's constitutional court. In another development Monday, France expressed concern about the safety of several of its nationals, noting that "some arrests have been made in recent days." Interior Minister Pacome Moubelet Boubeya said more than 1,000 people have been arrested nationwide, including as many as 800 in the capital. He confirmed three deaths in the post-election violence. United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon spoke over the phone Sunday with Bongo and Ping, and urged an end to the violence. "The secretary-general deplored the loss of life that occurred during the demonstrations in the aftermath of the presidential election, according to a statement from Ban's office. He expressed concern about the continuing inflammatory messages being disseminated and called for an immediate end to all acts of violence in the country." The U.N. secretary-general also requested that his Special Representative for Central Africa, Abdoulaye Bathily, continue to work with the parties in order to defuse tensions. "Ban Ki-moon reiterated his call to President Bongo to impress upon the government the need to show restraint. He also urged Ping to issue a clear message to his followers, calling on them to refrain from any acts of violence in the interest of the country and of national unity," the statement read. According to reports, 27 people who were detained in Ping's headquarters campaign have been released. Ban, however, stressed the importance of peaceful and legal means to seek a resolution in the outcome of the presidential election. Censors in China are working overtime to scrub the Internet and social media of any mention of a slip-up made by Chinese President Xi Jinping made during a speech in Hangzhou before the Group of 20 Nations leaders summit. In a speech Saturday to the Business 20 (B20) summit, which advises the G-20 leaders on policy decisions, Xi talked about the global economy and quoted an ancient Chinese phrase: "Make the tariff light and the road smooth, promote trade and ease agricultural policy." But because the last character in the phrase for agriculture is very similar to the one for clothes, he ended up saying taking ones clothes off instead of "ease agricultural policy." The phrase was quickly censored on Chinas Weibo microblog website, after many comments on the slip-up began to surface. Searches for this term return no results, suggesting it has been removed. Such content is also censored on the Chinese mobile messaging app WeChat. A Twitter user said, "Xi mistakenly read 'easing agricultural policy' as 'taking off clothing' means that he did not read the texts beforehand, nor does he care about the content." Another joked that "'Taking off clothing' promotes communication. ... To run business, you must take off clothes first." A commenter on an overseas Chinese blog says the incident reminds him of the story of "The Emperor's New Clothes." "The reality is that the child shouting that the king is naked is silenced," he writes on his blog. Badiucao, a Chinese cartoonist, drew a cartoon picture depicting a naked Xi in a neon adult toy signboard with the caption "promoting trade and taking off clothing." Politicians often misspeak, both in China and around the world. But this gaffe is reopening discussion of Xis education credentials, long a sensitive but widely discussed topic. Xi left school when he was a middle school student during Chinas Cultural Revolution to work in the countryside of western Shaanxi province. In 1976, Xi, like many of his peers at the time who missed out on nearly a decade of education, was recommended to Tsinghua University. There was no national college entrance exam during the Cultural Revolution. From 1998 to 2002, Xi studied Marxist theory and ideology education in Tsinghua and obtained a doctorate degree in law. Some critics have questioned Xis academic capability, suggesting his thesis may have been plagiarized or written by others. Xi has never commented on the controversy. Sleepy Guyana has long been one of the hemisphere's poorest places, a sparsely populated nation on South America's northern shoulder that relies heavily on exports of sugar, rice and gold. But these days, there's a surge of excitement about an anticipated windfall from major oil-and-gas deposits found in the deep seabed 120 miles (193 kilometers) off the coast - as well as worries about the disruptions and conflicts it might bring. Hopes are high that fuel siphoned in a few years' time from more three miles (more than 5 kilometers) below the sea's surface might be an antidote to entrenched poverty and underdevelopment in the country of 750,000 people. "We will have billions in foreign reserves and our population is going to swell big time," miner Cosmos Santo said from a park bench in the seaside capital of narrow streets and mostly low-rise, wooden buildings. The U.S. Geological Survey had long estimated that offshore Guyana was rich in gas and oil. Now U.S.-based ExxonMobil has announced a "world-class oil discovery" off Guyana after drilling a well that struck oil-bearing sandstone with an estimated 800 million to 1.4 billion oil equivalent barrels. Exxon and partner Hess Corp. haven't yet announced development or investment plans, which could be complicated by low current oil prices and a dispute with neighboring Venezuela. But Guyanese authorities are racing to set up rules and plans to administer the hoped-for new industry while avoiding what is known as the "resource curse." In places like Congo and Nigeria, oil or mineral wealth has fueled conflict instead of development. Guyana only has to look at Venezuela next door to see what can go haywire with an oil-dependent state. South America's biggest energy producer has been in economic freefall since the 2014 crash in prices for the oil that funds nearly all the spending of its socialist government. Guyana's presidential spokesman, Mark Archer, said the administration is determined to avoid the mistakes of Venezuela and other energy-rich nations that have run into hard times. "The plan is not to spend wildly like a drunken sailor but to put in a wealth fund for future generations and ensure we do not neglect agriculture," Archer said. Norway and the U.S. Energy Department are advising Guyana on setting up such a fund as well as a regulatory framework for the industry, Natural Resources Minister Raphael Trotman says. Some of the hoped-for riches would go toward building a 350-mile (565-kilometer) jungle road from the capital to northeastern Brazil, opening up Guyana's rugged, mineral-rich interior. Households would get free cooking gas and cheap gasoline. Guyana's small military would get new aircraft to protect the offshore fields and borders, to provide some "comfort to Exxon and other investors," Archer said. "We must be able to protect our investment," he said. Protection may be necessary because the offshore discoveries have reignited a decades-old territorial dispute between Guyana and far-larger Venezuela. Venezuela has for decades claimed two-thirds of Guyana's territory as its own, arguing that the gold-rich region west of the Essequibo River - and the resulting maritime zone where Exxon's find lies - was stolen from it by an 1899 agreement with Britain and its then-colony. Venezuela's navy briefly detained a ship carrying five American oil workers in 2013. They were conducting a seismic survey under a Guyana concession at the time.Guyana says it wants the International Court of Justice to settle the border dispute with Venezuela, though the case has not yet reached the court. Diego Moya-Ocampos, analyst with the London-based consulting firm IHS Global Insight, said he believes Venezuela's claim of sovereignty will pose a "major complication" to recovering oil and minerals. Venezuela's government could opt to ban companies operating in Guyana from working in Venezuela's vast oil fields, he said. "We expect strong rhetoric in the coming months. Nevertheless, (Venezuela) is highly unlikely to initiate an armed conflict out of concern over losing support from the English-speaking Caribbean countries," Moya-Ocampos said in an email. Meanwhile, Guyana Geology and Mines Commissioner Newell Dennison said his agency is on "a frenzied mission" to train local petroleum engineers, geologists and lawyers. Exxon officials have told lawmakers that they plan to have supertankers pull up alongside rigs and cart away fuel pumped from the seabed because the wells are too far from the coast to run pipelines. People in Guyana appear to be excited about the prospects, though some are wary. "If mismanaged, we will remain as we are and like the others which have oil and mismanaged it," said Brenda Oudkerk as she took a break from dishing out plates of rice and spicy chicken at her open-air cafe in the capital. Election Day in the United States is still two months away. But though U.S. political campaigns at times seem endless, voters in some states can begin casting votes this month even before the first general-election debate. More than two-thirds of the country's 50 states allow a voter to cast a ballot in person before the November 8 election. All of them offer a way to vote by mail if a voter cannot make it to the polls that day. Most of the early voting states begin the process two or three weeks before the election, though some begin earlier. Minnesota and South Dakota are first, allowing voters to hand in their ballots as early as September 23, three days before the first scheduled debate between the Democratic candidate, former U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, and the Republican nominee, real estate mogul Donald Trump. Two other candidates Libertarian Gary Johnson and the Green Partys Jill Stein are not polling high enough in national political surveys to be invited to the debate. A lot can happen in the final months of campaigning. Voters will be inundated with advertising and will have the opportunity to watch three debates between the presidential candidates and another featuring those running for vice president. Both Trump and Clinton planned Labor Day rallies on Monday, a national U.S. holiday honoring American workers. Both are meeting with workers in Cleveland, a large city in the Midwestern battleground election state of Ohio. Later, the Republican nominee is campaigning at a community fair in Youngstown, Ohio, while Clinton is appearing at a Labor Day event in Hampton, in Illinois, a midwestern state where Clinton holds a substantial edge over Trump. Hampton is a village just across the Mississippi River from the closely contested rural state of Iowa. A graph depicting the race between Democrat Hillary Clinton and Republican Donald Trump during the past year shows Clinton building a lead for four or six weeks at a time before a Trump rally that brings their poll numbers nearly together. Trump began his current surge after Clinton peaked in early August, after the Democratic National Convention. There, she and others lobbed taunts against the Republican nominee for four straight nights. The latest polls put Clinton up by about four points nationally, even as she continues to narrowly lead in several key states that will likely determine who wins in November. Those same polls continue to show that more than half of registered voters have an unfavorable view of both Clinton and Trump. Recent history as a gauge At this point in the 2012 presidential race, incumbent Barack Obama was about even with his Republican rival, Mitt Romney, in a range of national polls. But in the final two months, public opinion swung wildly. Obama took a big lead for most of September; Romney briefly pulled ahead in early October before trailing the president by about one point on Election Day. Obama won the national popular vote by about four points. In 2004, President George W. Bush led then-senator John Kerry by six points in early September. But Kerry made a charge in October that year, trailing by only 1.5 points by the time November arrived. He lost to Bush by 2.5 points. Russia's Justice Ministry has designated the country's only independent national polling agency a "foreign agent." The Levada Center was added to the list of non-governmental organizations deemed to be functioning as "foreign agents" following an unscheduled check of the polling group's documents, the ministry said Monday. Russian authorities have used a 2012 law on "foreign agents" to blacklist groups receiving international funding and engaging in activities deemed political. The state news agency Tass quoted Levada Center director Lev Gudkov as saying the group has received financing from abroad, including from a university in the United States, but only for non-political projects. Gudkov said the Levada Center will appeal the Justice Ministry's decision. However, he told privately owned TV Rain that were an appeal unsuccessful, the polling agency would have to cease its work, because the "stigma" of being designated a foreign agent would make conducting public opinion surveys "simply impossible." Gudkov told TV Rain he does not link the Justice Ministry's action with the fact that Russia will hold parliamentary actions September 18. Still, he added that the inspection of the Levada Center's documents came after it conducted a poll showing that support for the ruling United Russia party has dropped. The ministry used the results of that poll as an "excuse or a pretext" for its decision, he said. Gudkov told the Gazeta.ru website there is a politically motivated push in Russia for "the destruction of independent sociology." He said "this means the introduction of political censorship." Irate truckers and farmers in France began the week by blocking traffic around the northeastern port city of Calais, in the latest noisy protest against a growing migrant problem with no easy solution. In Germany, Chancellor Angela Merkel and her center-right Christian Democratic Union party are weighing their next steps after being defeated by an upstart anti-immigrant party in her home state. Speaking to reporters at the recently concluded G-20 summit in Hangzhou, China, Merkel took personal responsibility for the losses, but stood firm on her asylum stance. "Of course that has to do with refugee policies," she said. "Nevertheless, I still hold though that the decisions, as they were made, were the right ones." The events and contexts could not be more different, but both underscore how Europes unresolved migrant crisis is coloring the politics of its two biggest heavyweights as they head toward national elections next year. Voters' sentiments In both countries, voter concern about immigration goes beyond its effect on jobs and the economy, tapping into broader public frustration, says Manuel Lafont Rapnouil, head of the European Council on Foreign Relations Paris office. Voters are fed up, he says. And that resonates beyond economic and social issues to a real identity crisis. Its not just peoples sense that their situation is not going to improve, but that immigration may change society as they know it. Analysts and politicians describe Sundays parliamentary vote in Germany's Mecklenburg-Vorpommern state as a rebuke to a year-old immigration policy in which the country took in more than one million asylum seekers last year alone. Merkels Christian Democrats, or CDU, placed third in the results with just 19 percent of the vote, behind the right-wing Alternative for Germany (AfD) party and its national Social Democrats coalition partner, which placed first. Bavarian Finance Minister Markus Soeder, of the CDU's state sister party, the Christian Social Union, called the results a wake-up call for Merkel to adopt a tougher stance on immigration ahead of next years general election. Some reports even mull whether the 62-year-old leader will step down after 11 years in office. It is no longer possible to ignore peoples views on this issue, Soeder told a regional paper, in remarks re-transmitted by German broadcaster Deutsche Welle. Berlin needs to change tack. In France, Mondays protests in Calais also underscore a broader public frustration over the leftist governments migration policy. A long chain of vehicles blocked the main highway into the city, as truckers and local farmers protested the violent tactics of asylum seekers desperate to reach Britain and other favored countries. Calais residents formed a human chain, calling for the speedy dismantling of a sprawling camp known as the jungle. Frances leftist government partially razed the camp earlier this year, but its population has since grown to at least 7,000; activists place the number at 9,000. French authorities promise to finish the job by years end, but critics say that is not soon enough. We need to keep up the pressure on the government to dismantle the camp within a month, Frederic Van Gansbeke, spokesman for a Calais business association, told French radio, estimating the towns migrant problem has hit local commerce hard. In both Germany and France, the far right is riding a wave of public discontent over immigration that has been fed by recent terrorist attacks in both countries. Germanys AfD party is celebrating its results in Sundays state election, in which it captured 21 percent of the vote. The three-year-old party has so far won seats in nine of Germanys 16 state parliaments. France's Front National In France, many polls suggest Marine Le Pen, head of the anti-immigrant National Front, will lead in the first round of presidential elections next April, but fail to win the runoff. Meanwhile, some center-right candidates like former French President Nicolas Sarkozy are borrowing some of the Fronts hard-line rhetoric on matters like curbing migration, Islam and French nationality. On Monday, Sarkozy called for setting up migrant detention centers in Britain, to which Calais asylum seekers would be sent. Its not on French soil that we must address the admission records to enter the UK, he told the regional La Voix du Nord newspaper. Still, many differences exist between the two countries, analyst Lafont Rapnouil notes. The German situation is a very sudden influx of migrants arriving and of the infrastructure not being able to cope, he says, while immigration is perceived to have risen steadily in France over the past half century, pushed by a post-war drive for more labor. Different attitudes There are also sharp disparities in public attitudes toward migration. Germany has long accepted the need for more immigration for its economy to grow and shore up a declining and aging population. In France, You dont have the dominant perception that migration is good for the economy quite the contrary, Lafont Rapnouil said. France has also witnessed long-simmering tensions with its large Muslim population, underscored most recently in a series of town bans against the burkini, an all-covering Islamic swimsuit. While Germany is home to a large Turkish community, many of the recent tensions, including this summers terror attacks, involve the new asylum seekers. Yet for both countries, anti-immigration candidates are playing on similar fears and messages, Lafont Rapnouil says. Theyre playing the card, I will get control back over the events, he said. Im not saying theyre all the same, but thats the message they all share. And it does resonate when it comes to public opinion. If Nigerias government plans to sit down with the militant groups that have wreaked havoc on its oil industry, they will need a lot of chairs. More than a dozen groups have appeared since attacks on oil pipelines started earlier this year, each claiming their own constituencies and making their own demands. While some in the Niger Delta say dialogue is the best way to save lives and quell the ongoing insurgency, others say the governments July decision to talk with the militant groups is merely encouraging them. They are criminals. Their activities are criminal, said Edward Ekpoko, the chairman of a development organization based in the delta city of Warri. You see, its like saying government is harmonizing armed robbers, so they can dialogue not to rob again. Its an impossibility. Delta Avengers Starting earlier this year, a group calling itself the Niger Delta Avengers took credit for a series of blasts targeting pipelines and other types of oil infrastructure that severely disrupted Nigerias oil output. They claim to be fighting for a greater share of oil revenue in the delta, which was also the demand of militant groups who fought in the delta until 2009, when the government started paying them off and offering job training as part of an amnesty program. Despite years of promises by three different Nigerian administrations to develop the region, the delta remains poor. Nigerias state-owned oil company said in a statement released last week that the recent violence in the delta could be crippling to the industry. Production has dropped to 1.5 million barrels per-day, from its usual level of around 2.2 million barrels. Nigeria is now in a recession due to a shortfall in oil revenue. The Avengers have since been joined by other groups, who have announced their presence with statements posted on social media or emails to journalists. New groups The Joint Niger Delta Liberation Force, Utorogun Liberation Movement, Red Scorpion and the Reformed Egbesu Boys are all groups that have popped up in recent months. Some, like the Niger Delta Greenland Justice Mandate, say theyve carried out attacks. Others merely list demands, or claim theyre not taking part in government negotiations. You must separate criminality from the genuine struggle for development, said Ekpoko, who favors deploying the military against the groups. But attorney and retired police officer Edward Oforomeh says the government shouldnt write off the different actors. Whether they are justified or not will come up when they are discussing, Oforomeh said. It is an opportunity for everybody to come up, then they will all harmonize. The government hasnt completely ruled out using its armed forces to stop the militants. Last month, Nigerias military sent troops into the delta as part of Operation Crocodile Smile, an ongoing campaign targeted at criminals and oil militants. Lawrence Dube, head of the governance team at the Niger Delta-based Center for Environment, Human Rights and Development, said negotiation would be useful in preventing violence in the delta from escalating. But deciding who should be at the table with government negotiators and who is just making empty threats will be a tough chore. Its very difficult to detect the real identity of these people, Dube said. Weve not been able to capture anybody. Our government intelligence has not been able to provide any reality regarding who is who and who is really not who. He acknowledged some groups could be attempting to ride on the coat tails of the Avengers or other more well-known organizations as a way of getting the governments attention. In this region it had become fashionable to believe that ... until that you carry gun and put government under threat and make the country unstable, nobody listens to you, Dube said. Relatives of people detained in Ethiopias Kilinto prison are desperately seeking news of their loved ones after the high-security penitentiary caught fire Saturday. Mohammed Seid, public and media relations director at the Government Communications Affairs Office, told VOA's Horn of Africa service that 23 prisoners had died in the blaze. The prison houses high-profile political prisoners detained amid a wave of deadly anti-government protests, including the former spokesman of the opposition Semayawi (Blue) party, Yonatan Tesfaye, and leaders of the Oromo Federalist Congress party (OFC), deputy chairman Bekele Gerba and deputy secretary-general Dejene Tafa. All three men were arrested in December. Aselefech Mulatu, Tafas wife, told VOA Amharic she didnt know about the fire until she arrived for regular visitation time. We heard gunshots and the police came and stopped us saying we cant pass because theres been fire, she said. We retreated to the back and some people who went ahead of us said they could hear screams. She said that only ambulances and fire trucks were allowed through and family members were not permitted to visit Sunday. Unrest Tafa is a former member of the Ethiopian parliament and a lawyer who represented protesters arrested in Ambo in the Oromia region of central Ethiopia in 2014, when protests first began over a disputed development plan to expand the capital city. Since November, more than 500 people have been killed in the unrest and thousands have been arrested, according to Human Rights Watch. It took nine fire trucks from multiple fire stations to contain the blaze Saturday, Negatu Mamo, communication officer at the Addis Ababa Fire & Emergency Prevention Authority, told VOA Amharic. Three firefighters suffered smoke inhalation, he said. All the cell doors were opened so we can save lives. Security forces from Maekel and Addis Ababa were deployed to assist us. We didnt have difficulties to do our jobs, he said. Mamo said the cause of the fire is under investigation. Family concern When Bekele Gerbas daughter, Bontu Bekele, arrived, she could see smoke billowing out of prison and heard gunshots. She said the fire didnt die out until the afternoon. The family went to Tirunesh Beijing General Hospital in Addis Ababa because they noticed that ambulances were headed there, she said. We have been searching since yesterday and all night. We went to many hospitals and then in the morning we went to Maekelawi prison, Kaliti prison and three other zones, and we were told that they werent there, she told VOA Amharic. Authorities told them they must wait three days for additional information, she said. All of the detainees at Kilinto prison are men awaiting trial and the prison is overcrowded, said former detainee Befekadu Hailu, part of a group known as the Zone 9 bloggers who were acquitted last year of charges of inciting violence under the Ethiopias anti-terrorism law. In one room, there are 130 people, but more than 30 people sleep on the ground and they wait until prisoners leave to sleep on the beds. Therefore, there are about 3,000 prisoners overall. The numbers may vary, he told VOA. Norway's state church has seen a record fall in membership after making it possible to join and leave the church electronically. The Church of Norway says almost 25,000 members left in August by using a new function on the church's website. Meanwhile, about 1,200 new members joined online. Even though the church has seen a steady decline in membership in recent decades, that's by far the biggest monthly loss in recorded history. By comparison, the church lost 8,588 members in the first seven months of 2016, before the online option was introduced. Still, church officials appear to have no regrets, saying in a statement that the online function makes it possible to "clean up'' the membership list. "No one who doesn't wish to be a member of the Church of Norway should be registered as a member,'' said Kristin Gunleiksrud Raaum, leader of the church's national council. "I'm very happy that almost 1,300 chose to join in August.'' The Church of Norway counted about 3.8 million members in 2015, about 73 percent of the population. Like neighboring Sweden and Denmark, Norway is among the most secular countries in the world. In all three Scandinavian countries, membership in the main Lutheran church is falling, while Catholic and Islamic communities are growing, mainly due to immigration. "When workers raise their voices for a fair wage and dignity in the workplace, they sustain the story of America," U.S. President Barack Obama wrote Monday in an open letter to workers across the country as the U.S. celebrates Labor Day. Labor Day became an official American holiday in 1894. It is observed on the first Monday in September. "At the beginning of the last century, American workers came together to fight for dignity and justice in the workplace," Obama said. "They stood up, marched and raised their voices for a 40-hour workweek, overtime pay, a minimum wage, and the right to organize for better pay and benefits . . . These hard-fought victories became the cornerstones of the greatest middle class the world has ever known." The president said if he were looking for a job today that would allow him to "build some security for my family, I'd join a union." "History shows that working families can get a fair shot in this country - but only if we are willing to organize and fight for it... That's why I started my career as an organizer all those years ago," Obama said. WATCH: Obama's message to American workers on Labor Day While the membership rosters of labor unions have been falling steadily for the past 30 years, workers' benefits the unions fought for decades ago are now customary in most U.S. workplaces, including five-day work weeks, healthcare insurance and vacations paid for by employers. Many union members now work for local, state and federal governments in white-collar jobs, not in the gritty factories where the labor movement began. The White House said Tuesday the United States and Laos have opened a new era in their relations based on mutual respect and "a shared desire to heal the wounds of the past." An announcement of a new partnership on issues of the economy, technology, education, security, the environment and human rights followed a meeting between Presidents Barack Obama and Bounnhang Vorachit in Vientiane. Obama is the first sitting U.S. president to visit Laos, and announced Tuesday a three-year, $90 million contribution to Laos for a national survey of unexploded ordnance and efforts to clear the bombs dropped by U.S. forces in the 1960s and 1970s. About one-third of the 2.2 million bombs dropped on Laos remain undenotated and the lingering threat has slowed development in the country. The White House said Obama expressed his appreciation for the cooperation of Laos in working to account for U.S. personnel who went missing during the war. Laos, which currently chairs the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), has been criticized for its human rights record. Obama and Vorachit noted in their meeting Tuesday "the benefits of a candid and open dialogue" to narrow differences on rights. Obama is seeking to reassure nations in Southeast Asia that the U.S. is firmly committed to its rebalance to the region. He will seek to further deepen ties and boost America's influence in the region as he attends the ASEAN summit and the East Asia summit this week. He'll talk about how far we've come in shaping an architecture in the Asia Pacific for the United States to lead and to be at the table in forums like ASEAN and the East Asia Summit, said Ben Rhodes, deputy national security adviser. Obama will credit his policy with increased commercial, economic and security ties and for more partnerships in the region to deal with sensitive issues like maritime security. During the speech, the U.S. leader will also make his case for ratification of the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), a massive trade deal facing intense criticism in the United States. Critics argue the deal will eliminate jobs in the U.S. The agreement, which includes 12 Pacific rim countries, is a critical economic component of Obamas Asia policy. He has expressed confidence he can persuade the U.S. Congress to ratify the pact during a post-election session in the final months of his presidency. Watch video report from VOA's Zlatica Hoke: Without TPP, Obamas strategy is significantly weakened, experts said. We have a robust security arrangement, formally with allies and informally with other partners in the region, but that cant stand by itself. It doesnt have the economic underpinnings, said Douglas Paal, vice president for studies at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace Opposition to the trade deal is fueling skepticism in Asia about Americas commitment to the re-balance, according to experts. On the streets of Vientiane, residents expressed tempered hope about the future, well after President Obama departs and the summits come to a close. About Obama coming, a lot of people are happy. This is interesting for a lot of people, said Sompaseuth Kounnavong, who runs a small grocery store near the site of the summits. For the short term, it is good for business, she said. But the shop owner declined to predict beyond that, adding simply We want to see everything change. Mek Boubong, who works in the tourism industry, was more optimistic. I hope his coming here will help the country develop, he beamed. Everything is changing. During his visit, Obama will hold a town hall with young people, make cultural stops and focus on U.S. efforts to help clear unexploded ordnance in Laos. About a third of the 2.2 million tons of bombs dropped on Laos by U.S. forces during a 9 year secret operation during the Vietnam war remain undetonated. The problem has slowed development in the country. Besides attending the summits, Obama will also meet with other regional leaders before departing on Thursday, marking the end of his eleventh and final trip to Asia as U.S. president. An apparent terrorist attack in Philippine President Rodrigo Dutertes hometown, which is normally known for its public safety, will escalate the governments battle with violent Muslim rebels and could change the course of decades of civil conflict. Terrorist group Abu Sayyaf has taken credit for a bombing late Friday at a night market in Davao that killed 14 people and injured 70, according to Philippine news reports. Some reports say the group retracted its statement. The bombing is the first major retaliation after Duterte known as a crime fighter unafraid of using extrajudicial violence -- took office June 30 and began strikes against Abu Sayyaf in its stronghold near the southern island Mindanao. Those attacks killed 12 troops and 22 rebels last month. The same group is known for kidnapping foreigners, including a Canadian national who was beheaded in April. Duterte, a tough-talking former mayor of Davao, pledged last month to wipe out Abu Sayyaf, which has an estimated 400 members. He is also preparing to reopen peace talks with another Muslim rebel group, the Moro Islamic Liberation Front. That two-prong approach to the rebels would match a campaign promise to rein-in a decades-old violent insurgency in Mindanao, the Philippines southernmost major island and the location of Davao. But analysts caution that the effort will just trigger more violence without political solutions to the underlying problems. The peace talks, a focus on education, [peoples] livelihood, corruption eradication and addressing the history of Muslims and the land they own, all of these are the root causes of these bad events, said Eric Su, social networking company CEO in Davao. Hopefully as we do more good in these areas, the likelihood of terrorist attacks will go down. At least four Muslim groups that trace their roots to nearby Malaysia have vied since the 1960s for autonomy and control of resources in Mindanao, which is poorer than most of the rest of the Philippines, partly because conflicts there have set back economic development. Duterte declared a state of lawlessness Saturday, allowing more coordination between police and troops in the fight against Abu Sayyaf after the night market bombing. His talks with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front could extend a peace and autonomy-sharing deal that the Muslim group signed with the government in 2014, but which still lacks follow-up legislation in Manila. The president needs a mix of suppression and broader problem solving to fix the broader Mindanao issue said Tim Johnston, Asia program director with the International Crisis Group. Otherwise, he said, the eradication of Abu Sayyaf could create new armed resistance. A suppressive element is probably necessary, but it needs to be embedded in a broader political solution, Johnston said. These two are not incompatible. They are complementary in many ways. But analysts fear the Davao bombing, if it was conducted by Abu Sayyaf, shows that groups resolve to fight back and signals more violence. Violence begets violence, and so I think its going to become a real challenge for [Duterte] to see how long he can continue this campaign of violence against the drug traffickers and now against the Abu Sayyaf without upsetting both the economic and the political stability in the country, said Carl Baker, director of programs with the CSIS Pacific Forum think tank in the United States. Johnston noted previous Philippine presidents have been unable to rein the group in. Demonstrators rallied against Brazils President Michel Temer in Sao Paulo and Rio de Janeiro on Sunday with signs reading Temer Out and Election Now. Tens of thousands took to Paulista Avenue, one of Brazils busiest highways, to protest against the new government after Dilma Rousseff was impeached last week. Police said demonstrations in Sao Paulo were initially peaceful but ended with authorities firing gas bombs, stun grenades, and water cannons after a group became violent at a subway station breaking turnstiles and throwing rocks at the anti-riot authorities. Brazilians also gathered at the Copacabana promenade in Rio de Janeiro demanding the current president be removed and calling for new presidential elections. But Temer, attending the G-20 Summit in China, has downplayed the protests. These are small groups I dont have it numerically, but they are 40, 50, 100 people. Its nothing more than that. Out of 204 million Brazilians, I dont think it means much, he told media outlets during a news conference in China. He also said protesters causing destruction would be punished. Causing destruction is a crime. Thats not a demonstration, Temer said. The opposition, however, rejected the presidents numbers. The coup president of Brazil said that our demonstration would have 40 people. Here are those 40 peoplewere already almost 100,000 on Paulista Avenue, Guilherme Boulos, one of the event organizers, said. Reports say it was the largest demonstration against Temer since he was sworn in as president for the remainder of Rousseff's term through 2018. Rousseff, Brazils first woman president, told international media on Friday that she decried the process that led to her impeachment and promised strong opposition to Temers government. The Brazilian Senate voted to remove Rousseff from the presidency for practicing pedaladas fiscais - the practice of using public money to fund state or federal social programs without the approval of Congress. According to various reports, independent auditors did not find Rousseff involved in breaking fiscal responsibility laws. But many of those who voted for her impeachment are being investigated. Those senators deny any wrongdoing. Two days after Rousseffs impeachment, the new government signed legislation allowing for the amendment of an existing law addressing new rules for credit without Congress' approval. The United Nations Security Council will meet Tuesday to discuss the latest missiles launched by North Korea, diplomats say. The North fired three ballistic missiles into the Sea of Japan on Monday from a site in Hwanghae province, located on the country's eastern coast. South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staffs have identified them as Rodong missiles, which have a range of 1,000 kilometers. Japan's Defense Ministry says the rockets fell into its Exclusive Economic Zone in the region, which is known in Korea as the East Sea. The U.S. State Department said North Korea's missile launches have become too common in the past several months. North Korea has conducted a series of missile tests this year in defiance of U.N. sanctions imposed after its fourth nuclear test in January. Monday's missile firings came as world leaders met in the eastern Chinese city of Hangzhou for the now-concluded two-day G-20 summit of advanced and emerging economies. "This launch is a clear act of provocation not only to our country, but to the international community considering the timing of its launch coinciding with the G-20 summit held in China's Guangzhou today," said Japanese cabinet secretary Yoshihide Suga. A U.S. official who attended the summit condemned North Korea's actions, calling the missile launches a threat to both aircraft and maritime vessels operating in the region. South Korean President Park Geun-hye and Chinese President Xi Jinping met on the sidelines of the summit just hours before the missile launches. According to Yonhap News Agency, Park warned the Chinese leader that Pyongyang's increasing provocations, including a series of nuclear weapons and ballistic missile tests, have "seriously undermined peace in this region and posed a challenge" to Seoul-Beijing relations. Meanwhile, China's Xinhua news agency says Xi told his South Korean counterpart that Beijing opposes deployment of the U.S.-built THAAD or Terminal High Altitude Area Defense anti-missile system in South Korea. Seoul says the THAAD system is aimed at countering possible missile attacks from North Korea. Russian President Vladimir Putin said he would visit Uzbekistan on Tuesday to honor the memory of President Islam Karimov, who died last week after suffering a stroke. Addressing a news conference at the G20 in China, Putin said he hoped the Central Asian's country new leadership would be able to preserve stability. Karimov had ruled the mainly Muslim ex-Soviet nation for 27 years. He was 78. "One can make different judgments about what he did for his country, one can view various moments in Uzbekistan's modern history differently, but he preserved stability in the country, he preserved its steady development," said Putin. "New people will come ... I hope very much that they will be able to preserve this stability. For a country like Uzbekistan, it's extremely important, it's just indispensable for its self-preservation and further steady development." Putin said he also hoped Russia's good relations with Uzbekistan would be maintained. Somalia's capital, Mogadishu, considered perhaps the most dangerous capital on Earth only a few years back, is preparing to host the 53rd summit of the Intergovernmental Authority on Development this weekend for the first time, following decades of civil war and instability in the Horn of Africa state. Leaders from all eight members of the IGAD bloc Djibouti, Ethiopia, Kenya, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan and Uganda are expected to attend the summit, diplomats said. It will focus on political and security progress made in Somalia, the country's upcoming 2016 elections, and the political crisis in South Sudan. In an interview with VOA, Somalia's Foreign Minister Abdisalam Omer Hadliye said this would be a historic moment for Somalia. "It is the first time Mogadishu or Somalia in general hosts such a high-level summit for more than 30 years. We see it as a historic signal and message to the world saying, Somalia is coming back," Hadliye said. Security concerns, preparations The minister said he could not rule out security concerns as al-Shabab a terrorist group destabilizing security in Somalia and neighboring countries, primarily Kenya continues to carry out suicide attacks in the capital. Just a week ago, a car bomb killed at least 25 people near Somali's presidential palace. "Of course, I cannot rule out security concerns as long as terrorists continue to kill our innocent people," Hadliye said, "but heavy security preparations are under way to tighten the security and make sure this significant session takes place with no incident." VOA stringers in Mogadishu report that security has been stepped up in most parts of the city, and that security forces patrol the streets night and day. A 22,000-member African Union force is in Somalia, charged with assisting the federal government in its war against al-Shabab, stabilizing the country, and providing security for the country's major installations. Four members of the regional bloc have contributed troops to the African Union Mission in Somalia, AMISOM. IGAD in Eastern Africa was formed in 1996 to respond to the region's emergency crisis. "It is not [surprising] that leaders from the region gather in Mogadishu, because most of them have already paid individual visits to the city," said Mohamed Aden, a university lecturer in Mogadishu. "But for a city like Mogadishu, hosting such a high level session would be a hope reviving." Mogadishu has been forging a new reputation by opening beachfront hotels, restaurants and, most recently, the country's first international standard shopping mall. The recent top visits Mogadishus gradual return to normalcy did not begin only with the ousting of al-Shabab in August 2011, but also with a series of visits by presidents and diplomats from around the world. Among the top figures who visited the city was Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. He first went to Mogadishu in August 2011, with his wife and daughter, his cabinet ministers and their families, just as the country was suffering from a drought and famine. Even though al-Shabab militants had been forced out of the city at the time, it was an extraordinary security risk. Erdogan visited again this year to open the Turkish Embassy, its largest in the world. In May 2015, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry paid an unannounced visit to Mogadishu. Western diplomats and top military commanders also visit the city, although most of them do not leave the city's heavily fortified perimeters of the airport, the adjacent African Union base and the presidential palace for official meetings. A string of explosions claimed by Islamic State, killed at least 48 people and wounded dozens more in Syria Monday, a day after the militant group lost the last stretch of the Syria-Turkey border under its control. The blasts hit the government controlled cities of Homs and Tartus, the Kurdish-held city of Hasakeh, and the countryside of Damascus. "Clearly these attacks were simultaneous and they all targeted security posts," said Rami Abdel Rahman, director of the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, which maintains a network of contacts inside the country. The deadliest blasts were in Tartus, where state television reported two terrorist bombings on Arzuna bridge, killing at least 35 people and wounding 43. The report said the first blast was caused by a car bomb and the second was carried out by a suicide bomber who detonated his explosives when people gathered to help the wounded. The conflict in Syria, which is complicated by U.S. and Russian support for opposite sides has left more than 290,000 people dead and forced millions from their homes since March 2011. Secretary of State John Kerry has returned home empty handed, failing to have reached an accord with his Russian counterpart on a cease-fire in Syria after an intensive period of diplomacy. The two countries still need to resolve what are described as "technical issues," and discussions between American and Russian negotiators are set to continue this week, State Department officials said Monday. Off to the side of the G-20 Summit in Hangzhou, China, the U.S. and Russian presidents held talks about Syria that Barack Obama described as "businesslike" and "constructive, but not conclusive." "Given the gaps of trust that exist, that's a tough negotiation and we haven't yet closed the gaps in a way where we think it would actually work," the U.S. president told reporters at the conclusion of the G-20 summit. Ongoing negotiations Obama added he had instructed Kerry, while Russian President Vladimir Putin had told his foreign minister, Sergey Lavrov, to keep working at it over the next several days in hopes an agreement could lead to a serious conversation about a political solution to this problem with all parties directly or indirectly involved in the Syrian conflict. WATCH: Obama on US-Russia discussion on Syria Putin told reporters at a separate news conference that talks with the United States and Turkey were continuing concerning Syria and negotiators had made a step forward. During the past 10 days, a peripatetic secretary of state kept in touch with Russian Foreign Minister Lavrov through face-to-face meetings in Geneva and Hangzhou and telephone conversations in between, while the American senior envoy made stops in Bangladesh and India. Kerry and senior aides have reiterated they do not want to make a tenuous deal for the sake of an announcement, but rather want Washington and Moscow to agree upon something realistic to achieve a sustainable nationwide cessation of hostilities in Syria. There is a growing perception among some senior U.S. officials, however, that the Russians are gaming the Americans in the talks. In private, U.S. diplomats have characterized the negotiations with their Russian counterparts as a litmus test on whether there is a seriousness by Moscow to reach an accord, or if the Russians are buying time that results in Obama and Kerry being portrayed as hapless negotiators. The Russians walked back on some of the areas we thought we were agreed on, a senior State Department official said Saturday, revealing the level of frustration. Russia is a long-time backer of Syria, and is seen as desiring President Bashar al-Assad remain in power in Damascus to maintain Moscows influence in the region. Shifting alliances Diplomats have no illusion that bringing an end to five years of intense misery for the Syrian people will be easy. They describe the battlefield as complex, with shifting alliances among the many militias involved. There are five different wars being waged in Syria is a characterization expressed by more than one person involved in the cease-fire talks. President Tayyip Erdogan of Turkey, which hosts 3 million Syrian refugees, said he had reiterated to Obama and Putin at the G-20 talks in China the need for a no-fly zone over Syria and a safe zone where there would be no fighting, in hopes of stemming the human migration. A half decade of war has fractured Syria. More than 250,000 people are believed to have died from shootings, mortar fire and air strikes. Millions have fled the country. And 18 million more people remain to face an uncertain fate, most of them in need of humanitarian assistance, according to UN relief agencies. President of Zimbabwes opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Tendai Biti, says local people should not delegate their fight against socio-economic challenges they are currently going through but should instead carry their own cross and fight President Robert Mugabes ruling Zanu PF pary. Biti made the call on Sunday while addressing a PDP district rally in Epworth, Harare. He noted that it was constitutional for the people to hold peaceful demonstrations against the Zanu PF government. It is time to carry our cross. Our task as Zimbabweans is simple. Robert Mugabe and Ndabaningi Sithole carried their cross to remove Ian Smith. Now it is time for us to carry our cross and remove Robert Mugabe and the Zanu PF regime. We cannot delegate this, he said. We have no guns but a constitutional right to go into the streets. President Biti denounced Mugabe for attacking the judges on Saturday soon after he arrived from a trip from the Middle East. Our constitution says the courts are independent and Mugabe is breaking the constitution by attacking the independence of the courts. We cannot have a president who does not respect the constitution. We cannot have a president who treats judges as his housemaids. As PDP our solution to this economic and political breakdown is simple let us put pressure on the government through the courts, churches and streets because it is the future of our children and grandchildren at stake, he said. The PDP leader said it was shocking that Mugabe could attend events such as the SADC summit and claim to be the President of Zimbabwe when the country is facing numerous challenges and people are dying from curable diseases such as diabetes. How can you go to SADC and claim to be the President of Zimbabwe when 91% of the people are unemployed, 79% are using the bush toilet system. I dont wish for the death of Mugabe but I want him to live and witness change and see that the development of Zimbabwe is possible. Zanu PF has failed. You can rig anything but you cannot rig the economy. There is no fiscal discipline. Here, Epworth is like a refugee camp, Mbare and Hatcliffe are like war ravaged towns. In Rwanda, you will not find a water well but it is a country that lost 1 million people in 1996. It is a country that has been led by people with love for the country and its people. A government that is feared by the people is not a government. The government should fear the people, said President Biti. He called on all democratic parties to come together and demand electoral reforms before the next elections. That is why on Saturday we as the PDP were in Bindura attending the ZimPF rally. As political parties we need to demand for the use of a BVR (biometric voters roll) in the next elections that are 20 months away, he said. He said politics of slogans were no longer a necessity as people expected an elected government to deliver on their promises. In 2013, Zanu PF promised 2, 2 million jobs but now they have killed 2 million jobs. We do not want politics of slogans that is why we have HOPE as one of our policy documents, he said. Meanwhile, the Zimbabwe Human Rights Association (ZimRights) says it is concerned by the Zimbabwean Mr. Mugabes verbal attacks on the judiciary saying they pose a clear threat to the independence of the judiciary in particular and the constitutional order at large. The statements are unfortunate coming from the Head of State and Government, whose primary duty and oath of office commits him to defending the Constitution of Zimbabwe. The Constitution of Zimbabwe commits the President to protecting the inalienable rights that the Bill of Rights in Chapter 4 allots to Zimbabwean citizens regardless of their political affiliations, including the freedom to peacefully demonstrate and petition. ZimRights wishes to emphasise to the President that he should resist the temptation to elevate his personal interests over the Constitution. Neither should considerations of the interests of his political party override the duties of his public office through utterances that constitute an ill-advised executive interference with the democratic independence of the judiciary. The organization further said, For the record, the freedom to peacefully demonstrate and petition is expressly granted by the people-driven Constitution of Zimbabwe in Section 59. The judiciary justifiably performed its functions when it upheld this inalienable constitutional right by reasonably and legitimately granting Court Orders for protests to go ahead. Should concerns of violence arise during any protests, the remedy will be for the police to investigate and resolve specific incidences than for the government, let alone police to issue a wholesale ban on the legitimate exercise of the constitutional right to demonstrate robbing citizens of their fundamental rights. Photo: Ethan Miller/Getty Images The Shins recently played two new songs during their recent shows in the United Kingdom, and this marks the first time theyve played live since 2013. According to Pitchfork, they performed the new songs, called Dead Alive and Rubber Balls, at Village Underground on September 2. Earlier this month in an interview with KBOO 90.7 in Portland, front man James Mercer revealed that an upcoming album will arrive early next year, hopefully with a January 2017 release date. Watch the videos below: Russian President Vladimir Putin was late to his meeting with President Park Geun-hye on Wednesday because he was given an honorary ninth-degree black belt at his hotel. The World Taekwondo Federation said "a ceremony" was held at Lotte Hotel at 1 p.m. that day awarding Putin the black belt and a Taekwondo uniform. The Russian president is keen on conspicuous displays of manliness but does not practice the sport. A federation official said the organization contacted Putin about giving him the honorary black belt and that the Russian leader "decided at the last minute on Wednesday morning" to receive it. "The ceremony was scheduled for 12:30 p.m. but took place a bit later," the official added. Putin left the hotel around 1:10 p.m., already 10 minutes late for the summit, and then insisted on stopping his motorcade as he passed members of the Korea Sambo Federation who were standing on the sidewalk with a banner welcoming him. He spent around 15 minutes pressing the flesh and having his photo taken with them. Sambo is a Russian martial art. The Russian leader was a Sambo champion at university and now serves as honorary chairman of the International Sambo Federation. Putin was also given an eighth-degree black belt in Judo for his 60th birthday last year and is a karate expert. One diplomatic source said the Korean government should be grateful Putin was only half an hour late since he turned up four hours late for a summit with the president of Ukraine recently and is famous for being habitually cavalier in his dealings with other leaders. In 2006, Putin met with German Chancellor Angela Merkel, who is afraid of dogs, and brought his large hunting dog with him and presented her with a smaller version of the canine. China Spring Independent School District administrators and staff started moving into their new central office building Thursday. Once they have settled in, officials will turn their focus toward handling the district growth that also led to the road expansion that pushed them out of their old building, Superintendent Marc Faulkner said. The 14,000-square-foot building, 12166 Yankie Road, is about 4,000 square feet larger than the building it replaces. The Texas Department of Transportation paid for most of the new building after forcing the district out of its old building to make way for the ongoing expansion to four lanes of Farm-to-Market Road 1637, also known as China Spring Road, Faulkner said. The cost of the building was about $1.6 million, of which TxDOT paid about $1.2 million. The district paid for the rest out of its general fund, he said. My guess is that expansion could be as far away as 10 to 15 years, Faulkner said of the ongoing projects completion. Ive lived here 13 years now, and when I got here, they were telling me they were widening 1637. Well, its finally happening now, 13 years later. A demographic study done last year projects the districts enrollment will increase by 50 percent in the next 10 years, going from 2,600 to 3,900 students, he said. The road expansion will not only help relieve congestion in the area and improve safety, it will accommodate the growth China Spring is expected to see in the near future, TxDOT spokesman Ken Roberts said. Were right on track to meet that. Weve grown about 100 kids this school year, and we usually dont see our real growth or know who were usually going to have until December, Faulkner said. The district created 20 new positions to manage the growth this year, he said. The move-in to the expanded administration building was delayed by almost a month because rain earlier in the summer pushed back some finishing touches. A total of 23 people will work at the building six administrators, as well as administrative assistants, staff and directors, he said. There are even six extra offices to add new personnel as the district grows, and the building has a state-of-the-art Educational Conference Center, which will serve as the districts boardroom, training area and polling place for the November presidential election, Faulkner said. The previous board room, though manageable, often left standing room only for parents and residents who came to meetings and wanted to see their children recognized, he said. Its like moving into a brand-new home that Im really proud of, said Sherry Oliver, an administrative secretary who had been in the old building for six years. Its not where you work, though, its who you work with. The district would not have built the new building if there had been another option, Faulkner said, but with TxDOTs purchase of the previous building, district officials had no place to go. We were able to get this building and put just a small amount of money with it to prepare for the growth, he said. Really, all we paid for as a district is just that little bit of growth, thinking forward and knowing we need to pour all our money into kids and teachers and buildings for kids. You can look at it as an opportunity, but it was really a forced opportunity. The district has facilities to handle about 250 students per grade level, Faulkner said. He is hoping the district can make it to 2019 or 2020 before officials start looking at potential bond options, with another new school possibly in 2021 or 2022, he said. If the districts growth continues as expected, it will have to add schools, Faulkner said. We dont have a lot of businesses here. We rely solely on taxpayers, solely on rooftops. Our bond capacity only gives us so much, and we were able to reduce our tax rate this particular year by 9 cents, Faulkner said. So were going to give taxpayers 11 cents total between this year and last year, so we try to let them know we get high (rates) but were good stewards of our taxpayers money and we pay that debt down as quick as we can. And thats kind of been a five-year cycle. Every five years for the last 20 years, weve passed a bond and built schools. The districts tax rate for 2015-16 was $1.538834, according to its website. Pope Francis declared Mother Teresa a saint in highlight of his Holy Year of Mercy on Sunday during a canonization ceremony in front of tens of thousands of people at St. Peter's Square. "For the honor of the Blessed Trinity... we declare and define Blessed Teresa of Calcutta (Kolkata) to be a saint and we enroll her among the saints, decreeing that she is to be venerated as such by the whole Church," the pontiff said in Latin. Mother Teresa, a Nobel Peace Prize winner, was known during her lifetime as the "saint of the gutters" for her work among the poorest of the poor in India, arriving in Calcutta on Jan. 6, 1929. Small of stature, the Albanian nun opened missionaries of charity in over 120 countries aided by several thousand nuns and over one million volunteers, and led an austere life of her own. When she died on Sept. 5, 1997 at 87, her only possessions were her Bible, her prayer beads and her sari, but she left a huge legacy. As China's Group of 20 Nations Leaders Summit kicked off Sunday, a commotion on the tarmac during President Barack Obama's arrival and a series of other disputes continue to provide distractions. When President Obama arrived in Hangzhou Saturday, the airport did not have airplane stairs ready for him to disembark Air Force One, and when he did step off the aircraft, the red carpet provided for other arriving leaders was missing. Tensions were also high on the tarmac where a Chinese official screamed at White House press photographers as they tried to get into position to take pictures of the president. A White House official tried to intervene stating that the U.S. would set the rules for where the photographers positioned themselves. But the Chinese official yelled back: "This is our country! This is our airport!" And that was just the beginning. The same official tried to keep National Security Adviser Susan Rice from walking to the president's motorcade, at which point the U.S. Secret Service intervened. Later in the evening, after holding a ceremony to announce China and the United States joining the Paris Agreement on climate change, and holding wide-ranging bilateral talks for more than three-and-a-half hours, tensions rose again. This time, disputes arose over how many journalists could witness a late night stroll Presidents Obama and Xi Jinping took. Chinese officials suddenly cut the number of journalists from six to three, and then to one. "That is our arrangement," a Chinese official told a White House press official. "But your arrangement keeps changing," the White House press official responded. In the end, the two settled on two journalists from the White House press corps. Building more houses won't fix housing affordability, experts say. Credit:Paul Rovere Houses are not bananas "If they understood how housing markets actually worked, this would come as no surprise at all," said Bill Randolph, director of UNSW's City Futures Research Centre. "The problem is you can't apply year 10 economic theory to a metropolitan housing market." The housing market doesn't behave like the market for bananas or cans of beans, experts say. For example, when the price of bananas rise, people buy fewer bananas and more alternative fruits, like apples or oranges, said economist and geographer Peter Phibbs. Professor Phibbs is chair of urban and regional planning and policy at the University of Sydney, and director of the university's town planning innovation centre, the Henry Halloran Trust. "But with housing, because it's an asset market, as the price goes up it encourages buyers to get into the market because they can see the potential gain of holding an asset that's going up in value," Professor Phibbs said. Homes are unaffordable not because we are building too few but because the market is flooded with cheap credit. Tim Williams, Committee for Sydney This is particularly true in Australia because we have tax incentives (namely, negative gearing and the capital gains tax discount) that actively encourage investment in the private housing market, he said. We just can't build that many houses "Supply is incredibly important and it's very good it's been going up - the population is growing; we need more houses," Professor Phibbs said. But boosting supply alone won't put home ownership within reach of low and moderate income earners, he says. The link between new supply and house prices is weak, economists argue. It's not like the banana market, for example, where the entire supply is produced each year and new supply has a strong link to price. In the housing market new homes are a tiny fraction of the entire housing supply. "Nobody has ever shown that you can supply enough housing into a market to effectively make prices fall," Professor Randolph said. "New supply is 2 per cent of the housing market. Even if that doubled, what impact would that have? Most of us buy second-hand housing." Making matters worse in Australia is a finance model that essentially ties supply to demand by requiring developers to sell a certain proportion of new housing off-the-plan, Professor Phibbs said. "It's unlikely that additional supply will lead to sharp reductions in price because the stock has already been sold Supply never gets very far in front of demand," he said. The price of money But there is a more fundamental reason the relationship between house prices and supply is not simple or straightforward, according to planning expert and Committee for Sydney CEO Tim Williams. In the housing market, 'demand' is not driven by housing 'need' but by access to housing finance, he says. Virtually everyone needs to borrow money to buy a home, which means the major determinant of house prices is the price of money itself. "Homes are unaffordable not because we are building too few but because the market is flooded with cheap credit," he said. "Increasingly access to this is being channelled to existing homeowners over first-time buyers, leading to many Sydneysiders owning two and three properties while the average 30-year-old cannot get into home ownership. "We cannot build our way to affordability in such a market." What should we do? Asked whether the government should consider strategies other than boosting supply, Ms Berejiklian said again that increasing supply was "the most effective way of tackling housing affordability". "When we came to office in 2011, NSW annual residential construction spending was just $12.4 billion and building approvals were below 35,000," she told Fairfax Media. "NSW building approvals have more than doubled to over 70,000 and real residential construction over the past year has reached $19.4 billion the highest level on record." Professor Phibbs advocates inclusionary zoning, which would require new developments to include a certain number of homes for moderate- and low-income earners. "It's been used in a lot of American cities," he said. "You can't use it everywhere but in high-value areas it's really a no-brainer." Professor Randolph suggests encouraging investment in properties for long-term rent. This would divert demand from the housing market and provide "a real alternative to the nightmare of current private rental," he said. And there's always tax reform, although he acknowledges the lack of political appetite. When Samsung released the Galaxy Note7 smartphone two weeks ago, it appeared to have a critical and commercial hit, selling an estimated 2.5 million units. Then the big, fiery letdown. The South Korean electronics giant suspended sales and announced a recall, after discovering batteries of some phones exploded while they were charging. The major recall of a well-received product in a fiercely competitive market is a blow to any manufacturer. But it is particularly stinging for Samsung, which is in a pitched battle with LG and Apple, both of which are expected to announce new smartphones next week. Samsung has capitalised on a recent decline in interest in Apple's iPhone, last quarter posting its strongest profits in two years on sales of the Galaxy S7 and S7 Edge. Rivals are circling. In addition to Apple and LG, the company faces increased international competition from Android rivals HTC, Lenovo and Huawei. HANGZHOU, China: After being called an obscenity by the president of the Philippines, President Barack Obama cancelled a meeting with the leader, Rodrigo Duterte, scheduled for Tuesday. Duterte had threatened to curse out the US commander in chief if Obama raised the issue of extrajudicial killings by Philippine authorities in a sweeping crackdown on drug trafficking. Speaking to reporters, Duterte, who took office in June, said the Philippines is a "sovereign state and we have long ceased to be a colony," according to the Associated Press. He added that: "I do not have any master except the Filipino people, nobody but nobody. You must be respectful. Do not just throw questions. 'Putang ina' I will swear at you in that forum." That is the Tagalog phrase for "son of a bitch" or "son of a whore." Asked to respond during a news conference after the Group of 20 Summit in China, Obama said earlier on Monday that he had been told of Duterte's comments, but the US president shrugged it off as another in a line of "colourful statements" from Duterte. "There is a potential new cluster involving one previously reported case and a new case today...," the statement said. Twenty-five new cases were linked to the initial outbreak area, one was linked to a potential new cluster and the remaining new case had no known links to any existing cluster, the Ministry of Health and National Environment Agency said in a joint statement. Singapore authorities on Sunday confirmed 27 more cases of locally transmitted Zika virus infection, bringing the total to 242. Zika infections in pregnant women have been shown to cause microcephaly -- a severe birth defect in which the head and brain are undersized -- as well as other brain abnormalities. The connection between Zika and microcephaly first came to light last fall in Brazil, which has since confirmed more than 1,800 cases of microcephaly. In adults, Zika infections have also been linked to a rare neurological syndrome known as Guillain-Barre, as well as other neurological disorders. The virus was first identified in Uganda in 1947 and was unknown in the Americas until 2014. The ballistic missile North Korea successfully recently fired from a submarine is identical with China's JL-1 submarine missile, a U.S. military expert said. That suggests China clandestinely handed the technology to the North to preserve a balance of power in the region. "The missile that the North Koreans launched looks like it's a two-stage missile just like the JL-1. It looks like it's a solid-fuel missile just like the JL-1," said Bruce Bechtol of Angelo State University in Texas, a former U.S. Defense Intelligence Agency officer. "Just looking at the JL-1 and the North Korean SLBM, they're looking exactly the same," he told a radio interviewer. He pointed out that over the past years China has supplied the North with a lot of military equipment, including transporter erector launchers. Buoyed by the success of the missile launch, the North is expected to accelerate development of a 3,000-ton submarine capable of carrying three to four missiles. In a briefing on Aug. 31, a defector group called North Korea Intellectuals Solidarity claimed the North's General Bureau of Reconnaissance is developing a nuclear-powered submarine based on a Russian nuclear-submarine blueprint that it has stolen by hacking. The North invited five Russian nuclear-submarine experts in 2013 and has since sped up its own submarine development, the group added. A government official here was skeptical. "The allegation about the hacking of a Russian computer network and theft of a submarine blueprint sounds like a cloak-and-dagger story, but nobody can completely rule it out," he said. Even with 5-0 lead, Verlander can't get 1st World Series win By West Kentucky Star Staff Sep. 04, 2016 | 08:56 PM | METROPOLIS, IL Police have released the name of the man killed in a shootout with police Saturday in Massac County. The deceased suspect has been identified as 36-year-old Donny Max Daugherty of Clifton, TN. Police say Daugherty was wanted by U.S. Marshals and the Nashville Police Department. According to police, Daugherty was known to have violent tendencies and had prior arrests for aggravated assault and weapons violations. Illinois State Police said in a Saturday news release that a witness reported seeing a male suspect possibly carrying a handgun into a neighbor's yard and hearing gunshots. Officers from different law enforcement agencies including Massac County and Metropolis arrived at the scene. Authorities say the male suspect allegedly assaulted a Metropolis resident the day before. Just before 9:30 am Saturday, a State Police trooper allegedly found the armed suspect and shots were fired. No officers were injured in the shooting. A weapon was recovered at the scene. The death is being investigated by several law enforcement agencies. By West Kentucky Star Staff Sep. 04, 2016 | 04:01 PM | SMITHLAND, KY Today, Sept. 5, is the first day of the Livingston County Sheriff's Office Cram the Cruiser food drive. Sheriff Bobby Davidson said his office is trying to collect as much non perishable food as they can during the month of September. All donations will stay in Livingston County and be available at the Helping Hands Center in Smithland. To make it easier for each area of the county to participate, the cruiser will be at four different retail establishments during the month of September. Church groups, civic groups and school groups are encouraged to participate. The cruiser will be at the following locations at the attached times. Simply place your donation in the cruiser. Salem Food Market September 5-10 Village Market in Grand Rivers September 12-16 Smithland Dollar Store September 19-24 Poppy's Meat Shop in Ledbetter September 26-October 1 Loading... The title of this piece from the exiled Belarus Free Theatre is a reference to Russian artist Petr Pavlensky's work where he set alight to the front doors of the Russian federal security service in 2015. It got him a prison sentence, but it's not the most extreme piece of art he has created. He's nailed his scrotum to the floor, sliced his earlobe off, and, in 2012, he sewed his mouth shut in protest at the incarceration of members of the Russian band Pussy Riot. One of those locked up, Maria Alyokhina, appears onstage in Burning Doors, as part of the ensemble of the Belarus Free Theatre. The theatre company are themselves refugees in the UK, seeking sanctuary from their dictator-run country, where, if they return, they face trial and possibly prison. The piece revolves around the stories of Alyokhina, Pavlensky and also Ukrainian film-maker Oleg Sentsov still in prison after being convicted of terrorism'. The company and the artists it focuses on are at the sharp edge of art and risk. They use their practice to shed light on abuses happening in their countries. The piece, therefore, is a forceful, intense excavation of freedom, of control and of the right to protest. Over a hundred minutes the company perform vignettes: there is naturalistic role-playing and segments of text from Foucault and Dostoyevsky are played overhead. The cast's bodies are swung on ropes, manipulated and pushed to the extremes of physical strength - they are beaten, held upside down and almost drowned. The company demonstrate both metaphorical and literal representations of oppression. At one point two government officials discuss what they are to do about the Pussy Riot woman, at another we hear a transcription of an interview between Pavlensky and an interrogator after his arrest. As the piece progresses it becomes increasingly and relentlessly physical and Burning Doors itself becomes an act of endurance; an embodiment of the violence enacted upon Sentsov, Alyokhina, Pavlensky and indeed, in the way they are being suppressed, the population of their countries. It is gruelling to watch but after the first half, Burning Doors becomes too abstract to feel relevant. It is a pity: several of the images conjured up a woman forced under water, the smug chatter of politicians, who decide people's fate while sitting on the toilet are shocking. The show is admirable and real and often enlightening, but it is also muddled and willfully obscure where it needn't be. Still, watching the piece and realising that Sentsov has only served one year of a 20 year sentence - is a stark reminder of the real human cost of art in places that are not that far away. Burning Doors runs at Soho Theatre until 24 September. A fourth case of cholera has been confirmed in Busan. The three earlier patients came down with the disease after eating seafood in Geoje, South Gyeongsang Province, but the fourth has just returned from abroad. The 47-year-old man from Busan developed diarrhea after traveling to the Philippines and eating in a sushi restaurant in Busan's Saha district on Aug. 29, the day after his return. Tests confirmed he has cholera, the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Sunday. His condition has improved and he is being treated in an isolation ward. Health authorities want to find out whether he was infected here or in the Philippines because the cholera incubation period is usually two to three days, and his diarrhea started a mere two hours after eating the sushi. Free vaccinations against influenza will be available to people aged 65 or older from next month. The Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said on Sunday that the flu shots would be administered at public health centers and other designated medical facilities throughout the nation. Seniors aged 75 or older will receive the vaccinations first, from Oct. 4, and the rest from Oct. 10. Hey there, time traveller! This article was published 05/09/2016 (2245 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current. Theres relief for a young family after their 15-month-old girl fell out of a second-storey window Saturday. She is expected to make a full recovery, her father said Monday. Emma-Maries parents, Nevada Anderson and Christopher Genaille, have spent the last few days at her hospital bedside. SUBMITTED PHOTO Emma-Marie Anderson The child is getting antsy to go home, Anderson said Monday, adding Emma-Marie is improving despite injuries to her head and possibly her spine. She was cleared to eat (Sunday), Anderson said. (Monday morning), she ate a lot of food, which is really good and I feel a lot of relief that shes getting back to her normal self. Shes happy and shes being silly. No one can pick her up yet, so were really sad about that. She likes to be carried a lot. Shes on bed rest right now, but since shes always moving, thats pretty hard. She doesnt understand the meaning of bed rest. Anderson said Emma-Marie has two skull fractures, two small brain bleeds, and a head laceration, for which she received stitches. (The doctors) are worried about a fracture in her spine, so shes in a neck collar right now and theyre doing an MRI (Tuesday) to see for sure if it is, she said. Depending on those results, Anderson hopes her daughter can return home by the weekend. Investigators ruled the incident that sent Emma-Marie to the hospital in critical condition an accident, police said Sunday. No charges will be laid. Anderson said she was watching TV with her daughter in their apartment in the 100 block of Mayfair Avenue when she looked away for a few moments to answer a text from Genaille. The next thing I know, I dont hear her anymore, she said. Thats when I ran to the window and (saw) her on the ground. It happened so fast. It felt like I couldnt run down those stairs fast enough. MIKE DEAL / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS Parents Nevada Anderson (left), 18, and Christopher Genaille, 22, of Emma-Marie, who was rushed to the hospital Saturday afternoon after falling out of an second-storey apartment window. I know people say you shouldnt pick them up or move them in any way, but I couldnt just leave her laying there, so I did pick her up. She was in my arms. She said thats when she asked Genailles brother and her sister to call 911. She said paramedics came within four minutes. They took Emma-Marie to hospital in critical condition, but she was later upgraded to stable. Genaille said doctors told them she should get back to normal soon. Theyre saying shes expected to make a full recovery and be the same healthy, happy baby she was, with no permanent effects or anything, he said. Thats really a relief, and were really grateful for all the support and prayers. After the fall, the couple saw a number of comments on social media critical of their parenting. Genaille said the words were hurtful, making the situation worse. People shouldnt be so quick to assume and judge because its really unfair. I know Im guilty of that, too, because Ive done that in the past, but until it happens to you, you really dont know what the parents are going through and why certain things happened. Just dont judge based on facts that you dont know. bailey.hildebrand@freepress.mb.ca The Winona Human Rights Commission awarded the Winona Dakota Unity Alliance its 2016 John A. Latsch Human Rights Award at the Winona City Council meeting Aug. 1. The Alliance is responsible for organizing the annual Dakota Gathering, which brings together the Dakota people and the Winona community for a weekend of education, truth and reconciliation, unity meals, American Indian vendors and more. WASHINGTON Lawmakers return to Washington this week for an abbreviated election-season session in which they will likely do what they do best: the bare minimum. All Congress must do this month is keep the government from shutting down on Oct. 1 and, with any luck, finally provide money for the fight against the mosquito-borne Zika virus. Republicans controlling Congress promise they wont stumble now, but the weeks ahead could prove tricky. A chief motivation for the September session, especially for Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., is allowing lawmakers to return to campaigning as soon as possible. Republicans are scrambling to hold onto their Senate edge as GOP presidential nominee Donald Trump lags in the polls. The short-term spending measure is sure to pass. The alternative is that Republicans would get the blame for a government shutdown, as they did in 2013. But its a complicated path for the temporary spending bill. Some House conservatives say the measure should last into next year, when there is a new president and a new Congress, and that would block any chance for a session after the Nov. 8 election. Leaders in both parties feel otherwise as does President Barack Obama and a temporary measure until December seems to be the consensus. We are not doing anything into next year and every Republican should be aware of that right now, said Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev. Lawmakers left Washington seven weeks ago without resolving a dispute over money for Zika. The virus can cause severe birth defects and is linked to a host of other maladies. Obama asked Congress in February for $1.9 billion in emergency money, but legislation to partially pay for his proposal collapsed in July amid various fights. Among them was a Republican provision to deny money to Puerto Rican affiliates of Planned Parenthood. Because the shutdown-prevention measure simply has to pass, its a tempting target for lawmakers seeking to use it as a vehicle for their preferences. For instance, Sen. Bill Cassidy, R-La., is pressing for emergency grants to help communities in his flood-ravaged state to recover. I hope we can accomplish that in September, Cassidy said. But GOP leaders probably will try to keep the spending bill as free of unrelated additions as possible, especially now. If GOP leaders were to grant Cassidys request, it would make it more difficult to say no to others, such as Democrats seeking money for fixing the lead-tainted water system of Flint, Michigan. House conservatives are looking to press ahead with impeaching IRS Commissioner John Koskinen over the destruction of agency emails and misleading testimony on whether the tax agency, before his arrival, improperly scrutinized conservative groups seeking nonprofit status. The impeachment drive is a headache for Republicans who believe that Koskinens conduct isnt serious enough to warrant impeachment, but who may be reluctant to support the Democratic appointee in such a politically charged environment. In a recent memo, House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., said lawmakers will take up legislation regarding the Obama administrations $400 million payment to Iran in January, made immediately after four U.S. prisoners were released. The payment, for undelivered arms to the shah of Iran, was made on the same day of the prisoner release, and Republicans call it ransom. The as-yet-unreleased legislation is designed to prevent a repeat, but seems like an election-season messaging effort. McConnell also wants to advance a popular water projects measure. But the priority is to simply adjourn the chamber to allow embattled incumbents such as Sens. Kelly Ayotte, R-N.H., Pat Toomey, R-Pa., and Richard Burr, R-N.C., to get back home and campaign for re-election against the political headwinds created by Trump. The abbreviated session should give GOP-run committees a final pre-election chance to hold hearings on the Obama administration and other targets such as EpiPen manufacturer Mylan, N.V. That company has come under withering criticism for steep price increases for its life-saving injector, which can stop potentially fatal allergic reactions to insect bites and stings, and foods such as peanuts and eggs. House Republicans are promising hearings on Hillary Clintons emails. FBI Director James Comey criticized Clintons use of a homebrew email server to handle sensitive work-related emails as extremely careless, but said his agencys yearlong investigation found no evidence of criminal wrongdoing. Republicans now are demanding that the Justice Department open a new investigation into whether Clinton lied during testimony last year before the House Benghazi committee. They claim the FBI note may show Clinton provided inconsistent answers to questions about her handling of emails containing classified information. We are not doing anything into next year and every Republican should be aware of that right now. Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev. ITProPortal is supported by its audience. When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Heres why you can trust us. LOMIRA A 28-year-old Menasha woman received non-life threatening injuries Sunday after police followed the vehicle the woman was driving on a three-county chase. Alecia Swick was transported to an Oconomowoc hospital by helicopter following the chase that ended in a crash on Highway 67 around 4:50 p.m. According to the Wisconsin State Patrol, at about 4:25 p.m., Neenah Police Department received a report of a white GMC pickup truck that had been stolen from a campground in the area. Minutes later Winnebago County Sheriff took a report of a white GMC pickup that had sideswiped another vehicle on Interstate 41 near Highway 26 and continued southbound. At 4:30 p.m., a trooper reported that he was behind the vehicle in Fond du Lac County, and stopped in traffic on I-41 due to another traffic incident. The trooper attempted to stop the vehicle, but the vehicle moved to the right shoulder and passed vehicles that were slowed in traffic and failed to yield. The driver avoided three attempts by Fond du Lac County deputies to deflate the tires. The trooper continued behind the vehicle with two Fond du Lac deputies following behind at speeds up to 100 mph. Additional State Patrol troopers fell in behind as the Fond du Lac deputies dropped out as the group crossed into Dodge County. Dodge County deputies and Lomira Police Department attempted to use tire-deflation devices (TDDs) to stop the vehicle, but the vehicle missed the strips. At least one tire disintegrated for an unknown reason and the vehicle continued for several miles at approximately 80 mph on its rims. The vehicle left the pavement on the right, struck a highway sign and spun out across the southbound lanes coming to rest in the median at 4:45 p.m. The driver was taken by helicoptor to Oconomowoc hospital due to injuries suffered from being unrestrained during the loss of control of the vehicle. The troopers attempt to stop the vehicle covered nearly 22 miles. The driver was the subject of two warrants from two counties. Neenah Police Department is investigating the vehicle theft. The Wisconsin State Patrol is investigating both crashes and pursuing fleeing charges. Assisting agencies included Fond du Lac County Sheriff, Dodge County Sheriff, Lomira Police Department, Lomira Fire and First Responders, Flight For Life, and Theresa EMS. President Park Geun-hye received an unexpected gift from her Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin on Saturday. Meeting her in Vladivostok, the Russian leader presented Park with a scroll by her father, strongman Park Chung-hee, with his New Year's wish for 1979, the year of his assassination. Cheong Wa Dae on Sunday said that it was a "personal gift" by Putin. The scroll translates as "with strong teamwork, let's move forward together," according to a mounted plaque at the bottom of the frame, and is attributed to "South Korea's great leader Park Chung-hee." Putin said he heard that Park painted a New Year's scroll every year and obtained her father's last work. It came from a Korean who moved to the U.S. after Park's assassination and sold it there, he said. Cheong Wa Dae said that it has no idea how the Russians got hold of the scroll. A web search reveals that an American with the initials GLW tried to sell a scroll attributed to Park Chung-hee online. He claimed his parents became close to a Korean family who moved into the same building in Colorado in 1979 and gave them the scroll when the American couple moved to New Mexico around 1982 and 1983. GLW said his father asked him to inquire about the work before he died in late 2006. The Korean family did not associate with other Koreans and told his parents they fled their country after Park's assassination in 1979 due to "political circumstances." It is unclear whether this is the same scroll. Putin also thanked Park for sending a New Year's gift to his daughter Yekaterina. A government official said, "It was not a New Year's gift but a present for her birthday in January." Another government official said Park sends gifts to all the first ladies of major countries, and since Putin is divorced the role fell to his daughter. The gift was a cosmetics gift set. Meanwhile, Putin was about an hour late to the Eastern Economic Forum on Saturday, and the summit with Park was delayed for an hour and 45 minutes. He was apparently busy opening an aquarium in Siberia. Putin is notorious for being late and has previously kept Park as well as U.S. President Barack Obama waiting. Civil Society must confront new challenges The absence of civil society during upheavals in communities and competition within the sector featured strongly in an address by Judge Mokgoro at Wits. Civil society has been advised to form closer relationships with government in order to fulfil its role. Former Constitutional Court Judge Yvonne Mokgoro says that civil society and government need to find a middle ground and work together as both sectors are key in sustaining democracy, entrenching human rights and poverty eradication. According to Mokgoro, the tensions that often exist between the two only serve to delay development and create casualties. The Judge delivered a keynote address on 30 August 2016 at the Wits School of Law during the 3rd Public Interest Law Gathering. Her address was titled: Civil Society: Its role in an increasingly assertive South African society. Mokgoro sympathised with the sector adding that their role as critical evaluation agencies and watchdogs often results in antagonism from government officials. The hijacking of genuine concerns from civil society by opposition parties exacerbated the states suspicion of civil society. That should not be the reason for civil society to recede in its efforts and enthusiasm, because in doing so, it only makes the most vulnerable communities the casualty. The state and citizens benefit from a strongly independent civil society, she said. Mokgoro hailed the sector for its well documented role in fighting against apartheid and a government that was at war with its citizens. Having defeated this unjust structure, she said it was time for the sector to address new challenges that confront society. Articulating the interests and demands of communities is one key service performed by most of the sector, however, the growing assertiveness of communities as witnessed in the lead up to the 2016 Local Government Elections and the accompanying violence prompted hard questions about civil society, she said. The primary question that arose at the time concerned the general absence of civil society, which would in those circumstances have played a crucially prominent interventionist role and mitigated the aggression and the impact of the anger of our communities. The secondary question asked was if communities have rendered the sector irrelevant in the discourse of service delivery perceived to be long overdue. In responding to the latter, Mogkoro said the sector will always have a role in society. Although communities themselves, notwithstanding their literacy status levels, know and understand their own concerns better than anyone else, they do not often possess the necessary critical dispossession and strategic capacity to engage in questions of their own interest with the state. Civil society is therefore in a most logical position to play a meaningful role in advancing the states implementation programmes and thereby play a critical role in making real the promises of the constitution. Her wide ranging address touched a number of challenges and opportunities in the sector. She called for an end in internal competition for funding and encouraged more collaboration to spread the limited funding. The tough economic environment also requires donors to be more open-minded and allow a system of multiple finding where a recipient may receive minimal funding from multiple donors. She further called on civil society to cultivate national and local donors. South African business needs to do more to fund the sector, she said, but warned that the sector should avoid being stripped of its critical evaluation role by business. The Public Law Interest Gathering in an annual event attended by advocates for human rights and public interest champions. It is organised through a coordinating committee consisting of the Centre for Applied Legal Studies (CALS, Wits University), Lawyers for Human Rights, the Legal Resources Centre, ProBono.Org, Section27, the Socio-economic Rights Institute of South Africa, the Southern Africa Litigation Centre, Students for Law and Social Justice and the Wits School of Law. China News on Women Sorry, the page you requested was not found. If you're having trouble locating a destination on Womenofchina.cn, try visiting the Womenofchina Home page First passenger flight from US to Cuba lands in Santa Clara JetBlue flight 387 passengers hold up representations of Cuba's national flag, just before touching down at the airport in Santa Clara, Cuba. The first commercial flight between the United States and Cuba in more than a half century landed in the central city of Santa Clara on Wednesday. The flight of JetBlue 387 opens a new era of US-Cuba travel, re-establishing regular air service severed at the height of the Cold War. There will be around 300 flights a week connecting the US with the island, which was cut off from most Americans by the 55-year-old trade embargo on Cuba and formal ban on US citizens engaging in tourism on the island. A historical event Historians disagree on the exact date of the last commercial flight but it appears to have been after Cuba banned incoming flights during the October 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis. "Seeing the American airlines landing routinely around the island will drive a sense of openness, integration and normality," says Richard Feinberg, author of new book Open For Business: Building The New Cuban Economy. "That has a huge psychological impact," he says. The restart of commercial travel between the two countries is one of the most important steps in President Barack Obama's two-year-old policy of normalising relations with the island. Cuba's vice minister of transportation, Eduardo Rodriguez, said: "It's a positive step and a concrete contribution to the process of improving relations between the two countries." American visitor numbers set to rise US travel to Cuba is on track to triple this year to more than 300,000 visitors in the wake of the 2014 declaration of detente. Cuba's cash-starved centrally planned economy has been bolstered by the boom in US visitors, along with hundreds of thousands of travellers from other nations hoping to see Cuba before more Americans arrive. Commercial flights are expected to greatly increase the number of American visitors. Many of the air routes are currently used by expensive charter flights that are largely expected to go out of business with the advent of regularly scheduled services from the US. Hundreds of thousands of Cuban-born Americans fly to the island each year with the chaotic, understaffed charter companies. These require four-hour check-in waits and charge high rates for any luggage in excess of restrictive baggage allowances. Cuban officials insist the continuing US ban on tourism will limit the impact of commercial flights to Cuba. Americans are allowed to visit the island on "people-to-people" cultural and educational visits, among other reasons. US citizens will be able to fly within weeks direct from cities including Chicago, Philadelphia and Minneapolis, Miami and Fort Lauderdale to eight Cuban cities and two beach resorts. Taking out trusted travel insurance can prevent passengers being left out of pocket should their flight be delayed or cancelled. Canada and China sign regulatory MOU 05 September 2016 Share Nuclear regulators from Canada and China have signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) expressing their commitment to cooperate and exchange nuclear safety regulatory information. CNSC executive vice president Ramzi Jamal (left) and NNSA administrator Li Ganjie at the Beijing signing ceremony (image: CNSC) The MOU was signed in Ottawa by Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission (CNSC) president Michael Binder and in Beijing by Li Ganjie, administrator of China's National Nuclear Safety Administration (NNSA). It came into effect on 28 August. It provides a framework for the CNSC - Canada's national nuclear regulator - and the NNSA - China's regulator of nuclear safety - to exchange technical information on topics such as the regulation of nuclear facilities and radioactive sources, and radiation protection. The document provides guidance on the arrangement of cooperative activities and responsibilities for the security of information exchanged by the two regulators. Binder said such arrangements between regulators were "very useful", particularly with states that use Candu pressurized heavy water reactor technology. "They enable us to exchange information, experience and best practices, and to enhance training," he said. China has two Candu 6 pressurized heavy water reactors in operation at Qinshan Phase 3. It has also signed an agreement for the construction of a third Candu unit at Atucha in Argentina. The CNSC in 1997 signed an administrative agreement with the China Atomic Energy Authority, to facilitate the fulfilment of the cooperation agreement on the peaceful uses of nuclear energy signed by China and Canada in 1994. The CNSC maintains similar arrangements with nuclear regulators in 19 other countries. Researched and written by World Nuclear News Related topics Kyushu rejects call for suspension of Sendai units 05 September 2016 Share Kyushu Electric Power Company has rejected a request from the governor of Japan's Kagoshima prefecture that operation of units 1 and 2 of the Sendai nuclear power plant be suspended immediately for safety checks. The company said it will continue operating the units until they enter routine scheduled outages later this year. Kyushu's Sendai plant (Image: JAIF) Satoshi Mitazono, the recently-elected governor of Japan's Kagoshima prefecture, made the request on 26 August. Mitazono pledged during the election campaign that he would call for Kyushu to suspend operation of the two Sendai units while their safety and evacuation plans are re-examined. However, as governor, he has no legal power to halt operation of the reactors. During a meeting today at the prefectural government offices, Kyushu president and CEO Michiaki Uryu delivered the company's response to the governor's request. He said the Sendai units will remain online until they are stopped for scheduled outages. Unit 1 is scheduled to begin a routine outage on 6 October and unit 2 on 16 December. The company said in addition to the usual inspections it will also examine the units' reactor vessels and the plant's used fuel storage facility, as requested by Mitazono. In addition, Kyushu said it would cooperate in a review of the Sendai plant's evacuation plans and will provide additional vehicles for the evacuation of elderly residents. The company also pledged to provide local residents with more information about the plant in the event of an accident or natural disaster. However, Kyushu said it would not conduct further studies on active faults in the area of the Sendai plant, which the governor had sought, as extensive studies have already been carried out. All of Japan's 48 operational nuclear reactors were gradually taken off line following the March 2011 accident at Fukushima Daiichi. A new regulatory regime has since been created and by mid-2013 the Nuclear Regulation Authority had rewritten the country's requirements for nuclear power plant safety. Power companies then submitted applications for reactor restarts, which have progressed slowly. Sendai 1 was the first to be restarted, last August, followed by Sendai 2, in October. Unit 3 of Kansai Electric Power Company's Takahama nuclear power plant in Fukui prefecture resumed operation on 29 January. Takahama 4 was restarted on 26 February, but has remained offline since 29 February following an automatic shutdown of the reactor due to a "main transformer/generator internal failure". However, an injunction imposed by a district court on 9 March led to unit 3 being taken offline as well and both units have since remained idle. Shikoku Electric Power Company's Ikata 3 in Ehime prefecture was restarted on 12 August. Researched and written by World Nuclear News Related topics China and Kazakhstan cement fuel pellet deal 05 September 2016 Share China and Kazakhstan have taken a step closer to the supply of Kazakh fuel pellets to Chinese companies. The relevant documents enabling such transactions are between Ulba Metallurgical Plant (UMP), a subsidiary of Kazakh uranium producer KazAtomProm, and CGNPC-URC, a subsidiary of China General Nuclear (CGN). Shakhvorostov and Yusheng signing the agreements in the presence of Zhumagaliyev and Shanmin (Image: KazAtomProm) Signed during Kazakhstan President Nursultan Nazarbayev's state visit to China, these follow agreements KazAtomProm signed with Chinese companies at the end of last year. These included one for the development of Kazakh uranium mines and the construction of a nuclear fuel plant in Kazakhstan. During an official visit by Kazakh prime minister Karim Massimov to China, commercial terms agreements were signed on 14 December between KazAtomProm and CGN for the fuel assembly plant and development of uranium projects. Under the agreement for setting up a fuel assembly production plant, a facility based on the existing UMP is to be built with a capacity for 200 tonnes per year. It will supply fuel to Chinese nuclear power reactors. Announcing the latest development today, KazAtomProm said the signing ceremony had been attended by its chairman, Askar Zhumagaliyev, CGN president Zhang Shanmin, UMP chairman Yuri Shakhvorostov and CGNPC-URC deputy general manager Cai Yusheng. Kazakhstan will supply 180 tonnes of nuclear fuel pellets to Chinese utilities in 2016-2018, KazAtomProm said. The parties have also agreed upon the timing of the purchase of nuclear fuel pellets produced in Kazakhstan until 2024, it added. The agreements will enable UMP to have "operational activity with a mid-term perspective", it said. Commissioning of the plant and production of the first batch of fuel pellets is scheduled for 2019. In July, the heads of KazAtomProm and China's CITIC Group met to discuss attracting investment to the Central Asian country's nuclear energy sector. Askar Zhumagaliyev and Chang Zhenming met as part of the working visit to China of Kazakhstan's first deputy prime minister, Bakytzhan Sagintayev. CITIC Group, formerly the China International Trust and Investment Corporation, is a state-owned investment company established in 1979. Separately, KazAtomProm signed a trilateral agreement of intent with China National Nuclear Corporation and CITIC Group to extend their cooperation. Researched and written by World Nuclear News Related topics The Philippines is an island country in South East Asia, comprising 7,641 islands. The islands, located in the Pacific Ocean, are broadly divided into three principal geographical divisions; Mindanao, Visayas, and Luzon. According to the Commission of Population, the Philippines has an estimated population of 107.2 million people as of December 2018, making it the world's 13th most populous country. With a total area of approximately 115,000 square miles, the country has an estimated population density of 870.2 persons per square miles, making it the worlds 42nd most densely populated country. Luzon, the worlds 14th largest island by area, is the Philippines most populated island with a population of over 50 million people or 52.5% of the countrys total population. It is home to Quezon and Manila, the two most populous cities in the country. Mindanao is the second-largest island group, with a population of about 25.5 million people, while the Visayas is the smallest island group with about 19.4 million people. Five Biggest Cities In The Philippines Up to one-third of the Philippines, population resides within Metro Manila. The metropolitan area comprises 16 cities, including the three most populous cities in the country, namely Quezon, Manila, and Caloocan. Metro Manila is particularly populous because it is the seat of government as well as the countrys cultural, educational, and economic hub. Besides the three cities above Davao and Cebu cities complete the list of the five biggest cities in the Philippines. But, what makes these cities so populated? 1. Quezon City An aerial view of the largest city in the Philippines, Quezon City. Although Quezon City is not the countrys capital, it is the biggest city in the Philippines by population, with about 2.9 million residents. The city was founded by Manuel L Quezon, the Philippines second president. It served as the countrys official capital between 1948 and 1976. Although Quezon was only founded in 1939, it has experienced dramatic population growth within a short time. Its population surpassed that of Manila in 1990 and was the first city to pass the 2 million mark. The citys population is expected to reach 4 million by 2025-2030. Quezon City is a highly urbanized area and hosts several government offices, including the House of Reps and the seat of the Vice President. Besides, it is also home to some of the largest education institutions in the country, including Ateneo de Manila University and the University of the Philippines Diliman. QC also has several attractions, including Quezon Memorial Circle. Therefore, Quezon City is not only populous because it is highly urbanized, but also because it is an educational, cultural, and entertainment center. 2. Manila A bustling weekend scene at Ilaya Street, Manila. Image credit: Michael D. Edwards/Shutterstock.com Most capital cities around the world are some of the most populated areas in their respective countries. The City of Manila is not different. It is the second-most populated city in the Philippines, with a population of approximately 1.78 million people. However, it is the worlds most densely populated city proper, with a population density of about 107,520 persons per square miles. Its population density is much higher than some of the worlds largest cities, such as Kolkata, Mumbai, Paris, Tokyo, and Shanghai. Manila is the political, economic, and educational, and ecclesiastical capital of the Philippines. Its population has increased significantly since the turn of the 20th century as more people moved from rural areas to the cities to seek opportunities. It became the first city in the country to cross the one million mark (1960 census). However, Manilas population has fairly stabilized, with an alternating decrease and increase witnessed in recent census years. The trend may be a result of the population growth experienced by the suburbs. 3. Davao City Aerial View of Davao city, the capital of Mindanao island. Image credit: Alexpunker/Shutterstock.com Davao City is the largest city by population outside Metro Manila, with approximately 1.6 million people. It experienced approximately 60% growth in population from one million in 1995 to 1.6 million in 2015. Davao became the first city in Mindanao to cross the one million mark and remains the islands largest city. According to the population projection, Davao will surpass Manila to become the second-largest city in the Philippines by the next official census. Several factors have contributed to the citys dramatic population growth in recent years. Davao is a first-class highly urbanized city, meaning that it is a high-income city with opportunities for growth and better living standards. It is the main industry, commerce, and trade hub of Mindanao. Besides being a highly urbanized area, Davao is also the Philippines largest city by land area, with 943.48 square miles. Its population density is lower than some of the largest cities in the Philippines, making it an attractive place for people looking to settle in not-so-crowded cities. 4. Caloocan A busy street in Caloocan City. The City of Caloocan is the third-largest city within Metro Manila and the countrys fourth-largest, with a population of approximately 1.58 million people. It covers an area of approximately 21.54 square miles and is bordered by both Quezon and Manila cities. Although Caloocan is a small city, it has a population density of 74,000 persons per square miles, making it one of the most crowded places in the Philippines. Caloocans proximity to Manila, the countrys capital, and Quezon, and its location within the highly urbanized Metro Manila, makes it a preferred settlement. The city also boasts of industrial and commercial activities and a large residential area, making it a highly urbanized center. 5. Cebu City Panorama of Cebu city. Image credit: Joyfull/Shutterstock.com The City of Cebu is Visayas largest city and the countrys 5th largest by population, with a population of about 922,600 people. It is located in Cebu island of Central Visayas Region and is the administrative regions regional center. Cebu City covers an area of approximately 121.62 square miles, with a population density of 7,600 persons per square mile. Cebu is Metro Cebus central area and a significant center for education, trade, and commerce in Visayas island group. It is also the province of Cebus seat of government. Besides, it accounts for 80% of the countrys total domestic shipping companies, making it an attractive city to settle in. The Philippines Population Trend Besides Manila, most cities in the Philippines have experienced a steady increase in population. Cities such as Quezon are expected to have a population of about 4 million people by 2025 and 2030 census, while Davaos population will surpass that of Manila. Overall, the country experienced a 1.72 population growth rate between 2010 and 2015 compared to a 1.9% growth rate between 2000 and 2010. The government, through Reproductive Health Law, has tried to reduce the population growth rate. But, the move has been a contentious issue since 2013. The high population in the cities is already proving to be a challenge to the local authorities. The crime rate is directly related to the increasing demographics. As the country's population increases, especially in urban areas, the number of job opportunities also decreases, forcing most jobless people in the Philippines to settle for the crime. Between 2010 and 2015, Manila recorded an average of 9,100 crime cases per year. Rape victim By: Mahesh Sarin A woman is furious after learning that her father is defending her husband who raped her younger sister. Tavengew Timire, 34, of Zimbabwe, was jailed for repeatedly raping his wifeas younger sister, who is mentally disabled. The incident came to light when the disabled woman went to live with her older sister and she told her that Timire would often sneak into her room and forced her to have sex behind his wifeas back. The abuse allegedly occurred over a 6 month period. Ironically, the victimas father came to the defense of his son-in-law. The father-in-law said: aThere is nothing wrong with my son-in-law having sex with his wifes younger sister. Culturally, he is allowed to have sex and even marry her. aBesides, whether the sex was consensual or not, my daughter is just useless and you cant arrest him for having sex with her.a Timire was fired from his job as an art teacher after his arrest. Timire defended himself by saying that he never raped the disabled woman, and that the older sister was just making up lies against him because she was jealous of his relationship with his wife. However, Hwange regional magistrate Dambudzo Malunga did not believe Timire and neither did his wife, who filed for divorce. Timire was sentenced to 15 years in prison. The judge suspended two years of the sentence on condition of good behavior, leaving the rapist with an effective 13-year jail term. First Minister Looks To Landlords To Help Breathe New Life Into Town Centres This article is old - Published: Monday, Sep 5th, 2016 A combination of residential, offices and creativity of landlords in encouraging new tenants are some of the ways to increase footfall and new businesses into town centres. That is the view of the First Minister Carwyn Jones, who spoke of the changing face of town centres to Wrexham.com after a Welsh Government news conference on the first 100 days in office. Wrexham town centre has been of particular concern to residents and local businesses in recent years, with a number of high profile shops closing or relocating elsewhere in Wrexham. These fears have been further escalated in 2016 with a number of well-known high street retailers and independent traders leaving the area. While some of the store closures, such as BHS have been due to national problems, one factor often cited as a major concern to traders in the town centre is business rates, which was last week described by one trader as a killer to local businesses. Details released about the first 100 days of the Welsh Government stated a new business rates relief scheme will be announced next month to ensure Wales small business continue to receive essential support. However speaking to Wrexham.com First Minster of Wales Carwyn Jones noted that business rates cannot be the answer by themselves and that he would urge landlords to be creative to attract new tenants. He added: There will be announcement next month on business rates. We already provide a huge amount of support for small businesses. Were looking to see how we can target that support more effectively in the future. But businesses rates themselves cannot be the answer by themselves. Id urge landlords to be more creative to encourage more pop-up shops. The days where people enter into a five or ten year lease are gone, so landlords need to start thinking more short term to encourage more businesses to come forward. The Henblas Square development has been seen as a particular eyesore and problem over the past few years, with all but a YMCA charity shop either closing or choosing to relocate elsewhere in town. One suggestion raised in recent weeks is the creation of more residential space in the town centre a proposal floated separately by perennial Conservative candidate Andrew Atkinson and Wrexhams MP Ian Lucas. However a recent poll carried out by Wrexham.com found that just over 4% of the 1115 people who took part in the 24 hour period wanted Henblas Square to be converted into residential. Speaking about the changing face of town centres, the First Minister told us: We need to make sure there are more offices in town centres because they provide the footfall during the day. People come out at lunchtime, they go shop and they go and buy things in the town centre. We also need to make sure more people living in town centres are they provide footfall in the night. The First Minister also suggested that changes to peoples lifestyles have had an impact on how town centres operate, adding: The days when people came in during the week to shop, I think there are fewer and fewer people doing that. They havent got the time, they are working, theyve got no chance of getting into a town centre until perhaps on a Saturday. That means you have got to bring people to a town centre. Make sure people have the chance to work in the town centre, live in the town centre and then youve got the customers. We can provide a lot of support through business rate relief and thats hugely important for businesses, but they need people to come through the doors, so the two things go together. Nearly 5,000 nurses at five Minneapolis and St. Paul metro-region hospitals have begun an open-ended strike against Allina Health to defend their health care benefits and improve working conditions. Three times nurses have rejected Allinas contract demands to eliminate four traditional medical plans and impose higher out-of-pocket costs and inferior coverage. Allina nurses must not fight this battle alone. This struggle deserves the widest support from all workers in the Twin Cities area. This begins with the thousands of health care workers at other area hospitals who will face draconian demands for similar concessions if Allina executives and their wealthy financial backers are able to impose their will on striking nurses. Every section of workerspublic and private sectormust rally to the support of the Allina nurses by organizing mass demonstrations and solidarity strikes. The history of Minneapolisincluding the great 1934 General Strikeshowed that workers never won anything without mass, organized struggle. What are Allina nurses up against? First, there is corporate management that is determined to slash tens of millions in medical costs and impose ever-greater workloads on nurses in order to channel even more money to the insurance, technology and pharmaceutical monopolies. Moreover, the Allina bosses are only answering to far more powerful financial interests, like US Bank, which is demanding the payment of millions after entangling the hospital chain in various financial swindles. Second, there is the Obama administration and the politicians of both big-business parties that want to shift the cost of health care from the corporations and the government onto the backs of working people. The misnamed Affordable Care Act (ACA) was not a bridge to universal health care but a plan written by the for-profit health care industry and a component part of it is to drastically increase the exploitation of health care workers, regardless of the dangers to patients and caregivers. Third, the biggest obstacle to the full mobilization of the nurses has proven to be the Minnesota Nurses Association and the AFL-CIO and Change to Win labor federations. The unions are politically allied to the Obama administration and are only seeking to be partners in the restructuring of the health care industry. The MNA and National Nurses United are opposed to the expansion of the Allina strike because they are determined to prevent any struggle from interfering with their campaign to elect Hillary Clinton who will only intensify Obamas attack on health care and workers. After mediated talks broke off last week, MNA Executive Director Rose Roach admitted that the union was prepared to surrender health care protections if Allina would make some cosmetic gesture that would help the MNA sell the rotten deal to its members. If we couldve achieved those simple asks along with some staffing and workplace safety protections and monetary compensation for making such a huge concession, we could get a deal and avert the strike, she wrote. The fact is, however, that every concession made by the MNAincluding the abandonment of two insurance plans shortly after the shutdown of the weeklong strike in Juneonly emboldened Allina. As for Obamas federal mediatorfar from siding with the nurses, as the MNA claimed, the mediator has worked with the union to try to find a way to push managements dictates past rank-and-file nurses. In the end, however, the determination of the nurses has forced the MNA to call a strike. Allina nurses are taking a stand not just for themselvesthey are fighting for all working people. If health care providers do not have the right to affordable health care, then who does? Nurses face powerful enemies but have far more powerful alliesthe working class in Minnesota, throughout the US and internationally. To take their fight forward, however, nurses need a new strategy and leadership. The efforts of the MNA to divert this struggle into bankrupt appeals to Democratic state legislators, federal mediators and the conscience of Allina executives and US Bank officers must be rejected. Such stunts have only led to defeat after defeat. Instead, nurses should elect rank-and-file strike committees to appeal to the 7,000 workers at other area hospitals for joint strike action. Delegations of striking nurses should be dispatched among construction, transit, postal and other sections of the working class to hold informational meetings, mass rallies and common actions. Workers who respond must set up solidarity committees to organize mass pickets against Allinas strikebreaking plans, raise donations and ultimately bring together the struggles of all workers to defend the social right for high-quality health care for all. The Socialist Equality Party and its presidential candidate Jerry White and vice presidential candidate Niles Niemuth demand that profit be taken out of medicine as part of a socialist reorganization of society. The SEP candidates pledge to provide striking nurses with every assistance possible to win their fight. The World Socialist Web Site will do everything to break through the lies of the corporate-controlled media, provide nurses with a voice to explain their struggle, and fight to mobilize the full strength of the working class behind this critical fight. We call on striking nurses to contact the SEP and the WSWS to discuss how to take this battle forward. The Irish government decided Friday to appeal the ruling of the European Commission (EC) that exceptionally favourable tax arrangements offered to the Apple Corporation in Ireland amounted to illegal state aid. The EC, the executive arm of the European Union (EU), demanded that the Irish government collect some 11 billion due in back taxes and up to a further 6 billion in interest. In foregoing a sum that amounts to around two thirds of Irelands annual public spending, the Fine Gael-led coalition is making clear it intends to defend Irelands position as a favoured tax haven and investment host for US and global corporations. The governments stance, supported by denunciations of the EU in the Irish media and business circles, means the dispute will head for the European courts and could take years to conclude. It places Ireland on the geopolitical fault line of growing tensions between Europe and America. Earlier reports had raised doubts that Fine Gael leader Enda Kenny would persuade coalition partners, the Independent Alliance, to support an appeal. The government was thought to be in danger of falling. However, the alliance, a loose combination of six independent members of parliament, concluded that a rubber stamp debate in parliament this Wednesday and a review of the tax regime serves as adequate cover for their support. Kenny, responsible for imposing billions of austerity cuts, sought to defend his governments venal tax deals by invoking the right of self-determination. He stated, This is about us as a sovereign nation. This is about the rights of a small nation. Fine Gael Finance Minister Michael Noonan portrayed the move as an EU assault on Irelands low tax regime. There is a lot of envy across Europe about how successful we are in putting the HQ of so many companies into Ireland, he said. He accused EU competition commissioner Margrethe Vestager, architect of the EC ruling, in Churchillian terms: No bridgehead by any commissioner is going to change that perspective in Ireland. We will fight it at home and abroad and in the courts. That Kenny and Noonan felt obliged to defy the EC in defence of the Irish tax system testifies to deepening transatlantic divisions. These threaten to destroy the basis on which the Irish bourgeoisie has operated for more than half a centuryas an EU-based investment location for US capital. By the 1950s, Ireland was forced to abandon its autarkic programme of development, instigated following independence from Britain, in favour of a strategy based on drawing in international investment. During the 1960s, as many as 350 corporations, many from the US, including General Electric and Pfizer set up operations in Ireland. When Ireland joined the European Economic Community, the predecessor of the EU, in 1973, this was based on attracting overseas investment based on tax breaks, and the exploitation of its poorly paid and English-speaking labour force. It gave corporations critical access to European markets. By the 1990s, Ireland became known as the Celtic Tiger in reference to the then Tiger economies of South East Asia, and posted annual growth rates in excess of 10 percent. By the early 2000s, however, the rapid expansion of production in Eastern Europe and particularly in China eroded Irelands competitive edge. The economy rested ever more heavily on a property bubble which collapsed spectacularly during the 2008 financial crisis. Ireland became synonymous with the massive swindling, organised by a subservient and corrupt political elite willing to impose any level of austerity on the working class. A favourable Corporation Tax rate of just 12.5 percent and low wages continued to attract investment, but of an ever more parasitic character. Companies, primarily US based, increasingly utilised Ireland as a location to transfer cash, corporate headquarters, intellectual property and patents. Both Google and Facebook base their international HQs in Dublin. A 2015 report from the American Chamber of Commerce Ireland claimed that, by 2013, US total investment stock in Ireland was worth $240 billion. This was more than US investments in France and Germany combined. Ireland accounted for 6.4 percent of total US investment in Europe in 2007 and by 2013 the figure stood at 17.1 percent. Post 2008, US firms have invested more capital in Ireland, $81.1 billion, than the BRICs (Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa) combined ($52 billion). As a result, Ireland posted an annual growth rate last year of 26 percent. This figure bears no relationship to real economic activity in a country which still sustains youth unemployment of over 17 percent. The countrys reported capital stock jumped $300 billion in 2015 alone. Ireland, therefore, as the foremost US investment and tax dodging location, particularly for its vast IT corporations, is uniquely vulnerable to the deepening divisions between the US and the European Union. Last week the New York Times editorialized that the EC ruling was an assault on US corporate interests. Outfits such as Apple, Microsoft, Google, Cisco and Oracle have stashed around 2 trillion around the globe. Collectively, these are pressuring the US government to arrange a tax holiday, during which time profits extracted from the working class globally can be returned to the US at a rate vastly below the official 35 percent corporation tax rate. A previous tax holiday in 2005 saw 300 billion repatriated. But the money wont be repatriated and taxed under American law if Europeans, in the course of enforcing their own laws against tax havens, get their hands on it first, the editorial warned. Division over Apples tax bill are only one of a growing list of economic and geopolitical tensions between Europe and the worlds primary military power, the US. In 2015, the British government signed up to Chinas Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB), the funding organ for Chinas proposed One Belt One Road infrastructure project, in defiance of US wishes and interests. This prompted a rush to join by other European countries. Earlier this year Germanys Foreign Minister Frank Walter Steinmeier, while advancing Germany as a world power, warned that US-led NATO forces would be well advised not to provide a pretext for a new confrontation with Russia. In August, German Economics Minister and Vice Chancellor Sigmar Gabriel warned that talks on the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) with the US were on the brink of collapse because we as Europeans naturally cannot submit to American demands. Junes Brexit referendum vote for the UK to leave the EU has further destabilised transatlantic relations by removing Americas closest ally from influence and positions within the EUs leading bodies. With Britain setting out to leave an unraveling EU, Irelands response to the Apple ruling necessarily calls Irelands relationship with the EU into question. While Germany warns of a punitive attitude towards the UK in negotiations over its EU exit, and with Ireland seeking to defy the EU over tax, one likely focus of transatlantic tensions is the border between the Irish republic and Northern Ireland, which, post-Brexit, would be an external EU border. Commenting on Brexit, Peter Sutherland, a former World Trade Organisation director general and chairman of Goldman Sachs International, warned that he was very fearful that they may be heading towards a negotiation that will require a hard Border between north and south in Ireland. Directed by Todd Phillips; screenplay by Phillips, Stephen Chin and Jason Smilovic; based on a Rolling Stone article by Guy Lawson The film War Dogs starts out somewhat promisingly. We are told in a narration that war is essentially big business. According to the film, it costs $17,500 to equip one US soldierand at least two million soldiers have been deployed in Iraq and Afghanistan so far. The air conditioning for the military bases used in these wars alone costs $4.5 billion each year. We see footage of various Bush administration officials, and then we hear, War is an economy. Anybody who tells you otherwise is either in on it or stupid. Unfortunately, War Dogs insights, as restricted as they are, more or less end there. Overall, director Todd Phillips (The Hangover, Due Date) has made a rather juvenile film about American arms dealers during the Iraq War. While certain critics have praised it as a scathing indictment of Dick Cheneys America (Salon), it is no such thing. In fact, the film tends to revel in the backwardness and filth it ostensibly criticizes. It is as anti-war as Martin Scorseses The Wolf of Wall Street is anti-high finance. Based on a true story, the film introduces David Packouz (Miles Teller) and Efraim Diveroli (Jonah Hill), two young men in their 20s from south Florida, who eventually make a fortune selling weapons to the US government and securing a $300 million contract to equip the Afghan National Army with Chinese-made ammunition from Albania. Before all that, however, David is a massage therapist who needs to make more money after finding out his girlfriend is pregnant. He is reunited with his old high school buddy and sometime gun dealer, Efraim, who now owns a shell company named AEY. Working out of a modest office, they search for government contracts online that would allow them to supply the Pentagon with weaponry. The only problem, aside from any possible moral qualms of course, is that Davids girlfriend Iz (Ana de Armas) is firmly opposed to the war in Iraq. So David lies to her and says he is really just selling bed sheets to the government. Jonah Hill has some decent lines in the film, but his performance here has been overrated. He seems to be making a living now playing swinish characters and not much else. Early on in the film, David tells Efraim thatlike his girlfriendhe too is opposed to the US role in Iraq, to which Efraim replies crudely, I f**king hate Bush, but its not about being pro-war, its about being pro-money. The pair take bong hits and snort lines of coke, and repeat bro and dude a good deal before getting down to business. If director Phillips wanted to say something about a certain self-indulgent and self-destructive segment of the generation that came of age during the Bush years, the opportunity was there, but, unhappily, War Dogs merely aspires to be slick and entertaining without causing its audience to think too deeply about anything. It is significant that the film makes no mention whatsoever of the current occupant of the White House, Barack Obama. Apparently, all the blood and corruption stopped flowing after January 2009. Granted, War Dogs takes place during the height of the fighting in Iraq in 2006 and 2007, but it feels dated now. Hundreds of thousands or more have died since then throughout the region, and billions more in cash have been raked in by the masters of war. No doubt some will argue that War Dogs is meant to be satirical, even subversive. Certain scenes ring true, such as, for example, when Efraim and David have to transport a truckload of guns from Jordan to Iraq, all the while looking and acting like stereotypical ugly Americans. Efraim arrogantly calls a young Jordanian boy Aladdin and describes Arabic as gibberish. However, these scenes strike one as mean-spirited and cynical more than anything else. Our two heroes barely manage to escape Fallujah with their lives, eventually rescued as they are by a US helicopter and a fleet of Humvees. The famed anti-war song Fortunate Son (1969) by Creedence Clearwater Revival plays in the background and we are presumably meant to root for the good guys as they drive off the insurgents, i.e., Iraqi forces fighting against foreign invasion. The classic rock soundtrack becomes a bit obscene after a while, especially when we hear Pink Floyds Wish You Were Here (1975) as Efraim and David test AK-47 rounds. One can only wonder how much the producers paid off Roger Waters and John Fogerty for their work. In the films middle section we meet the mysterious arms dealer Henry Girard (Bradley Cooper), who informs Efraim and David about the aforementioned Albanian weapons and wants to set up a deal. They meet at an arms expo in Las Vegas, which Efraim describes as Comic-Con with guns. After agreeing to the terms of the contract, Henry tells the two he wants to take off soon since he cant stand this dump any longer. Efraim says something to the effect, I know what you mean, Vegas is a two-day town only. To which Henry replies, I was talking about America. For anyone in the audience who hasnt figured it out yet, Henry is one of the bad guys. The greatest problem the filmmakers seem to have with David and Efraims conduct is not that the two are profiting off peoples death and misery, but that theyre defrauding the American taxpayer by selling cheap ammo at exorbitant prices and violating the Chinese arms embargo. Also, David has to keep lying to maintain his stunning girlfriend and beautiful Miami condo. The immorality of some people! Where all these bombs and bullets might end up does not seem to overly concern the filmmakers. One senses they wanted, above all, to make a raunchy comedy geared toward adolescent males. On the surface, there is something paradoxical about the fact that War Dogs can be so profane in its treatment of everyday life and yet apparently so naive and Pollyannaish about the US governments dark side. Four-letter words, violence, drugs and sex are fine with Hollywoodtelling the truth about the war on terror is another matter. The real-life Efraim Diveroli ended up serving four years in federal prison, while David Packouz was sentenced to seven months house arrest. How was it possible that such opportunists and nonentities were in a position to defraud the US government of millions and arm the puppet Afghan army? Above all else, the episode speaks to the criminality of not just the Bush administration, but the American ruling elite as a whole. As the Rolling Stone article Arms and the Dudes, which formed the basis of the film, pointed out, The Pentagon needed access to this new aftermarket in order to arm the militias it was creating in Iraq and Afghanistan. The trouble was, it couldnt go into such a murky underworld on its own. It needed proxies to do its dirty workcompanies like AEY. It seems easy enough to conclude that an obscure company like AEY simply did not or could not pay off enough government officials to be let off the hook. Compared to the serious players, like Lockheed Martin, Halliburton, Northrop Grumman and BAE systems, they were mere small fry. In a lengthy keynote address on August 30, FBI Director James Comey said the federal government is planning to renew its drive to break data encryption in 2017. He told a group of cyber security specialists at the Symantec Government Symposium in Washington DC that what we want to do is collect information this year to prepare enforcement of backdoor government access to private data and devices. Comey reiterated his previous claim that the advent of default ubiquitous strong encryption is making more and more of the room that we are charged to investigate dark. He expanded on the going dark metaphorthe inability of state agencies to gain access to protected data and communicationsand said, There was always a corner of the room that was dark that shadow is spreading to more and more of the room. Expressing the contempt of the state to basic democratic rights, Comey said the issue has dipped below public consciousness now and next year we can have an adult conversation in this country about it. In other words, the FBI is counting on the corporate news media and Democratic and Republican presidential candidates to conceal from the public the plans for a stepped up assault on democratic rights following the November elections and the inauguration of a new president. Comey also went on to give an upside-down elaboration of constitutionally protected privacy rights in America. Arguing that the right to privacy can always be trumped by good reason and security concerns, he made the extraordinary Orwellian statement, Even our memories are not absolutely private in the United States. As everyone now knows, the US government does not find it necessary to provide any good reasons to spy on its own citizens; it has been doing it regularly and illegally for many years. The speech was a more public follow-up to a talk Comey gave in Tampa, Florida on May 25 to the Special Operations Forces Industry Conference sponsored by military contractors such as Lockheed Martin, General Dynamics and Northrup Grumman. Comey reported that during the first six months of 2016, the FBI received about 4,000 devices to investigate. Five hundred of them could not be opened. That number will only grow, he said. The use of data encryption has been growing rapidly since the 2013 revelations by Edward Snowden of mass electronic surveillance. The former NSA employee exposed how US government agencies were spying on global Internet activity and electronic communications. In the last three years, strong data encryptiona method not vulnerable to brute-force decryption attackshas also become standard on smartphones from companies like Apple and Google without users having to do anything. Meanwhile, people all over the world have been adopting secure mobile apps with end-to-end encryption that prevents government spying on text and voice communications. For example, the texting application called WhatsAppwith communications decipherable only by the sender and receiverhas more than one billion users today, a five-fold increase since 2013. These encryption trends are viewed by the state as obstacles that must be broken down in the name of exceptional access. In December 2015, the FBI went on the offensive against data encryption following the mass shootings in San Bernardino, California. When the iPhone of attacker Syed Farook was found to be encrypted, the FBI filed and won a federal lawsuit to force Apple to develop special software that would decrypt it. In the end, the FBI used a private hacking team to break into the iPhone only to later admit that there was nothing of use on the device in the first place. The entire operation was well-prepared, as the FBI and Justice Department had been developing a campaign against strong encryption for the preceding year. Despite vocal opposition from cryptology experts, the technology industry and the general public, the FBI pressed ahead with demands for backdoor access. The San Bernardino events and government sponsored hysteria surrounding the war on terror were seized upon as a pretext to force a denouement on the issue. No confidence can be placed in the FBI directors claims that there will be a public debate over government access to private information. There should also be no illusions that the tech industrywhose interests are deeply intertwined with the military-intelligence apparatuswill sustain the democratic right to privacy. Any pronouncements of a settlement or government hearings on encryption should be understood as an indication that some kind of dirty compromise is underfoot. Just weeks before the Berlin state election, the German armed forces [Bundeswehr] has stepped up its odious campaign for new recruits. Large format posters have been plastered all over the citys subway stations, bus stops and pedestrian zones. The aim of the campaign is to solve the recruitment problem of the Bundeswehr and win over young people for Germanys current war drive. The campaign, which is being carried out in other German cities as well, seeks to appeal to young people with the motto: Do something that really counts. Through such provocative language the Bundeswehr declares itself to be the most attractive employer in Germany (Defense Minister Ursula von der Leyen), which will enable young people to fulfil themselves in the fight for noble goals and values. Some of the slogans (daubed in army camouflage colours), used on a total of 5.5 million postcards, 30,000 posters, videos and ads on Facebook, Google and Instagram, include: For us it is about getting ahead. Not just about staying still, You will only reveal your powers if you go to your limits, We are also fighting for your right to oppose us, and quite bluntly: Trouble spots will not be resolved by hanging around and drinking tea. The real reasons for German soldiers intervening to resolve trouble spots was laid out clearly in the White Paper 2016 on German Security Policy and the Future of the Bundeswehr, published in July. Under the heading Germanys strategic priorities, the document states that the German economy is just as dependent upon both securing raw material supply and international transport routes as on functioning information and communication systems. However, the Bundeswehr could only carry out its tasks and commitments when it has a body of soldiers oriented to its actual demands. The document makes clear that the aim of the German army has nothing to do with enabling young people to fulfil themselves or fighting for democratic rights. As was the case in the First and Second World Wars, and more recent conflicts supported by the German ruling elite in Yugoslavia, Afghanistan and the Middle East, thousands of young people are to be used as cannon fodder on behalf of the geostrategic and economic interests of German imperialism. Ironically, the city of Berlin, where it is impossible to take a step without being reminded of the terrible crimes of German militarism in World War II, is once again to be the central recruiting centre. In the middle of the city, at Friedrichstrasse Station, the Bundeswehr opened a so-called showroom in 2014. Directly opposite is a memorial recalling the Nazi transport of Jewish children to death camps. The current Bundeswehr missions are extremely unpopular precisely due to Germanys history, and the army therefore has had enormous recruitment problems since the suspension of conscription in 2011. In July, Defence Minister von der Leyen stated she was dissatisfied with the high drop-out rate of around a quarter [of all recruits] in voluntary military service. In its desperation the government has even turned to the recruitment of juveniles. In 2013, over 1,000 17-year-olds were trained to fire weapons. Following pressure from child rights activists, a UN committee criticised the various advertising campaigns of the Bundeswehr, which are specifically aimed at children, as well as the presence of German troops in the schools, and called for a ban of such practices. Following the call two and a half years ago by President Joachim Gauck, and Germanys government officialdom as a whole, for a revival of militarism, career counsellors and youth officers of the Bundeswehr have stepped up their attempts to recruit in schools and job centres. The total cost of the advertising campaign is estimated to be 30 million ($US 33.5 million) with 140 counselling centres operating nationwide. In addition, events have been organised for the unemployed at job centres and for students in vocational information centres (BIZ) and schools. Celebrations such as Army Day are intended to once again position the military in the middle of society (White Paper 2016). Air Force officers who have just returned from their missions in Afghanistan or Syria now instruct 12-year-old children in the use of military equipment. Currently, the reintroduction of conscription is being tested out, and information channels are being secured for recruitment or the general mobilisation of necessary personnel. In an emergency the Federal Employment Agency can compel men and women to work in key social and defence areas. These measures were incorporated in the Concept for Civil Defence (KZV), officially presented by Interior Minister Thomas de Maiziere last Wednesday in Berlin. In this situation the election campaign of the Socialist Equality Party (PSG) assumes increasing importance. While the army and government prepare the population for war, the PSG fights for the building of an international movement against war and capitalism. One of its election posters reads No more war: billions for schools and jobs instead of armaments and war. Another reads: The German elites once again want more warWe say no. A media-driven campaign is underway in Australia to bring the political establishment fully into line with the advanced preparations for Australian involvement in US-led military actions against China. Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull is the latest target. In a remarkable article published on Saturday, the Australian Financial Review (AFR) asserted that the countrys intelligence agencies do not trust Turnbull because of his past business relations in China and his comments in 2011 disputing that China was a security threat to the US and Australia. The weekend AFR featured a total of 11 separate articles and comments, including its editorial, which, in differing ways, all alleged that China constitutes a danger to Australian interests. The article on Turnbull was headlined PMs stance on China worries experts. The AFRs focus on Turnbull follows its revelation last week that Labor Party Senator Sam Dastyari asked a Chinese company to pay a personal debt of $1,670. The senators financial relations with Chinese sources were directly linked by the newspaper to statements he made in June 2016 that Australia should remain neutral on the territorial conflicts between China and other countries in the South China Sea. In parliament last Wednesday, a government MP branded Dastyari as a Manchurian candidatethat is, a Chinese agent. On Friday, in a radio interview, Turnbull accused Dastyari of taking cash for comment. Barely 24 hours later, it was Turnbull being implicitly labelled as a possible Manchurian candidate. The AFR wrote that the intelligence agencies believed the prime minister isnt taking their warnings about the security threat posed by China seriously enough. China, the article alleged, has a well-resourced effort that uses cyber-espionage and human agents to steal Australian commercial secrets and obtain sensitive government information. After referencing Turnbulls past Chinese business connections, the AFR declared: Intelligence leaders are conscious Mr Turnbull predicted five years ago that China would not use the expansion of its navy to become more militarily assertive and opposed the Labor governments strategy of preparing for a naval war in the South China Sea, where China is now turning islets into bases. An unnamed contractor, allegedly with close links to the intelligence services, told the AFR: There is still a lot of cynicism among senior officials about him [Turnbull]. The contractor asserted: He is probably the first time since Whitlam where we have had a prime minister where we dont know where he stands on national security grounds. The reference to Whitlam can be interpreted only as a direct threat to Turnbulls position. The Labor government headed by Prime Minister Gough Whitlam was removed from power on November 11, 1975, in an anti-democratic constitutional coup involving the governor-general, the opposition parties and the intelligences agencies of Australia, Britain and the US. The main motive behind the coup was the alarm in the political establishment over the Labor governments inability to control an explosive movement in the Australian working class for wage rises and social reforms and against militarism. In Washington, concerns existed that Whitlam might adapt to the popular opposition to the US-Australia alliance that developed during the Vietnam War and order the closure of the key US spy base at Pine Gap in central Australia. More recently, Labor Prime Minister Kevin Rudd was ousted by his own party in an overnight factional coup on June 24, 2010. US diplomatic cables were later published by WikiLeaks showing that the Obama administration had viewed Rudd as not fully aligned with its plans to undermine and push back Chinese influence in Asia. The key Labor and trade union powerbrokers who organised Rudds removal were named in the diplomatic cables as protected sources of the US embassy. Underscoring the American hand in Rudds ousting, his replacement, Julia Gillard, in 2011 fully aligned Australia with Obamas pivot to Asia and granted new basing and access arrangements to assist in the concentration of 60 percent of the US Navy and Air Force in the region. The AFR has raised a question mark over Turnbulls allegiance to the US alliance and anti-China agenda under conditions in which he holds office by a thread. Turnbulls Liberal-National Coalition won only a one-seat majority in the July 2 election. Just a handful of desertions to Labor would see power change on the floor of parliament. Within the Liberal Party, Turnbull faces factional opposition from supporters of former Prime Minister Tony Abbott, whom Turnbull ousted in September 2015. Since the election, Abbott has sent ample signals that is he waiting for an opportunity to retake the Liberal leadership and the post of prime minister. Turnbull is currently in China for the G20 summit. He will then attend the East Asia Forum in Laos. His every statement on China and the South China Sea disputes is being scrutinised closely for any hint that he is attempting to distance Australia from US policy, due to its economic reliance on China as its largest trading partner. Turnbulls brief meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping on Sunday has so far been interpreted as sufficiently in line with the US stance. He raised Australian concern about Chinese activities in the South China Sea and warned Xi that American military superiority cannot be overtaken. The White House and the Pentagon military-intelligence apparatus, however, want far more than words from the Australian government. US military figures have made repeated calls for Australia to publicly challenge Chinese maritime claims in the South China Sea by sending naval forces to carry out a freedom of navigation operation (FONOP) inside the 12-mile territorial zones surrounding Chinese-held islets. Colonel Tom Hanson, the assistant chief of staff of the US Army, made the latest demand just last week. The US has already conducted three FONOP provocations. It wants Australia to undertake an operation to demonstrate that Washington is not alone in challenging China. The Labor Party opposition has echoed the US position and demanded that Turnbull order such a military deployment. Within the Coalition government, Abbott has gone on record to support an Australian-led operation. The last US FONOP took place in May. The head of US Pacific Command (PACOM), Admiral Harry Harris, stated that he wanted an operation undertaken at least once every three months, meaning the next one is well overdue. Through the Chinese state-owned media, the Beijing regime is continuing to signal that it will respond aggressively to any Australian-led operation. A September 2 editorial by the English language Global Times concluded: China does not have to care about Canberras provocative words. But if it resorts to real actions to hurt Chinas security such as sending warships to the South China Sea, it is bound to pay a heavy price. The increasing focus in the Australian media on Chinese spying and buying of political influence is a sinister ideological campaign to poison public opinion against China under conditions of a steady descent toward confrontation and war. Relations between NATO member Poland and the US-backed Poroshenko regime in Kiev have soured in recent months, as the two right-wing governments attempt to whip up nationalist support for their own corrupt governments by commemorating war crimes perpetrated during World War II against ethnic Poles and Ukrainians by right-wing paramilitary groups. In late July, the Polish Sejm adopted a resolution to make July 11 a National Day of Remembrance for Victims of Genocide. The day is intended to mark atrocities committed by right-wing Ukrainian forces, such as the Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists (OUN) and the Ukrainian Insurgent Army (UPA), throughout the Volhynia and Eastern Galicia regions during the Second World War. On this day in 1943, the UPA carried out its bloodiest operations, attacking hundreds of predominately Polish villages and massacring tens of thousands of men, women and children. Right-wing nationalists in Ukraine and abroad have for decades attempted to obscure the facts regarding the massacre of Poles in Ukraine, often blaming either the Nazis or Soviets for the killings, or inflating the number of killings of Ukrainians by Poles. It is generally accepted that UPA-OUN forces murdered approximately 100,000 Poles. Modern day Ukrainian nationalists insist that the true number is only 8,000. The glorification of the UPA and OUN as courageous freedom fighters is being pushed by right-wing forces in Ukraine. The Polish bill is seen as a threat to these efforts. It has been met with widespread condemnation from all levels of the Ukrainian government and bourgeoisie, across the political spectrum. Yuriy Shukhevych, son of OUN-UPA leader and war criminal Roman Shukhevych, told the Polish newspaper Gazeta Wyborcza that the Polish bill was a regular stab in the back. Ukraines president responded to the Polish resolution on his Facebook account stating, "I regret the Polish Sejms decision. I know many would like to use it for political speculation, wrote Petro Poroshenko. The Polish resolution itself was a response to the ongoing glorification of right-wing World War II figures by the Kiev regime, such as Stepan Bandera. In July, Moscow Avenue, a major street in Kiev, was renamed Bandera Avenue in honor of the war criminal. Earlier in May, the Ukrainian Parliament held a moment of silence for Symon Petliura, a nationalist politician who led Ukraines military forces during the short-lived existence of the Ukrainian Peoples Republic from 1917-1921. Under Petliuras leadership, an estimated 50,000 Jews were killed in anti-Semitic pogroms. On August 4, Ukrainian Minister of Parliament Oleh Musiy introduced a draft resolution to declare March 24 a Memorial Day of the Victims of Polish State Genocide against Ukrainians from 1919-1951. Polish Foreign Ministry spokesman Rafa Sobczak responded to the resolutions introduction by stating that the title astonishes us. Kiev city leaders have also announced plans to honor UPA General Roman Shukhevych with a street of his own. In a 1944 military order Shukeyvych stated, In view of the success of the Soviet forces it is necessary to speed up the liquidation of the Poles, they must be totally wiped out, their villages burned ... only the Polish population must be destroyed. The streets renaming drew opposition from the conservative-nationalist Law and Justice (PiS) party-led Polish government. The PiS response to nationalism in Ukraine is not based on any principled opposition to nationalism, but rather is part of its own attempts to promote Polish nationalism, anti-communism and right-wing forces within Poland. Similar to recent developments in Ukraine, in April the Polish Sejm passed a de-communization bill that seeks to wipe the country clean of any symbols of communism in the public sphere. The bill will change the name of approximately 1,300 streets throughout the country that have anything to do with communism. During the same month, the City Council in the Polish city of Szcecin voted to remove a World War II memorial that honored the Soviet Red Army for liberating the city from Nazi forces. The measure was pushed by PiS members on the city council who insisted that the Red Army had in fact not liberated the city from the Nazis, but rather enslaved the towns citizens. Across the border to the east, the Kiev regime has rapidly accelerated the de-communization that first began in 1991 after the liquidation of the Soviet Union. In May, Ukrainian Minister of Culture Yevhen Nyshchuk announced that the government would move forward with tearing down the The Friendship of Nations Arch, which was constructed in Kiev in 1982 to celebrate the 60th anniversary of Ukraine joining the Soviet Union, as well as the 1,500th anniversary of the founding of Kiev, a city to which modern-day Ukraine, Russia, and Belarus all trace their origins. The arch also includes a statue of Russian and Ukrainian workers holding up a Soviet Order of Friendship of Peoples. In its place, the government plans to build a memorial to the Ukrainian soldiers who have been senselessly killed in the ongoing NATO-backed conflict in eastern Ukraine against pro-Russian separatist forces. The destruction of Soviet monuments in Ukraine often takes on post-modern cultural sensibilities, such as when a Lenin statue in Odessa was replaced with a statue of Darth Vader from the film Star Wars. The statue is located in the same city where in 2014 right-wing thugs killed dozens of protesters opposed to the recent US-backed coup in the countrys capital. The promotion of ethnic nationalism, anti-Semitism and far-right ideology is creating an increasingly volatile political state across eastern Europe. The tit-for-tat resolutions implemented by the two US-backed governments exposes the contradictions emerging for American imperialism as its seeks to turn two nations controlled by opposing bourgeois nationalist classes into militarized satellite states directed against Moscow. On September 1, the Bundeswehr (German Armed Forces) assumed air surveillance operations for NATO over the Baltic states of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania. According to an official Luftwaffe (Air Force) report, four to six Euro Fighters from the 74th Tactical Air Force Squadron based at Neuburg have been deployed to conduct enhanced Baltic Air Policing. The German aircraft replaced British Royal Air Force Euro Fighter Typhoons based at the Estonian Air Force Base in Amari. In Siauilia in Lithuania, four French Air Force Mirage fighter jets have replaced a Portuguese contingent. At the same time, the so-called Deployable Control and Reporting Centre (DRC), a Luftwaffe mobile guidance headquarters, has been used in Lithuania for the first time under combat conditions. The Bundeswehr is monitoring a section of Baltic airspace using its own and several Baltic radars. The exercise is part of the wide-ranging NATO offensive Persistent Presence 2016. During a visit to the German troops stationed there, and accompanied by Luftwaffe Air Marshall Karl Mullner, the Latvian Lt. Gen. Raimonds Graube praised the deployment as very welcome and highly appreciated. The return of German troops to Eastern Europe is part of the preparations for war against Russia adopted in early July at the NATO summit in Warsaw. These include the deployment of four additional battalions, each with at least 1,000 troops, to the Baltic States and Poland (Germany will take over command of the battalion in Lithuania), the establishment of a NATO missile defence system in Eastern Europe and a further shifting of the most powerful military alliance in the world in the direction of the Russian border. All these measures increase the risk of direct conflict with nuclear-armed power Russia. On 24 August in Tallinn, at a joint press conference with the Estonian Prime Minister Taavi Roivas, Chancellor Angela Merkel pledged to assist the Baltic states in the event of a conflict with Moscow. She declared, We are pleased that with Air Policing, in accordance with Article 5 of the NATO Treaty, we can provide mutual support. We have jointly shared the decisions in Warsaw. Germany will be the framework nation in Lithuania. I think that means we are showing that in the NATO alliance we stand up for each other. Merkels words should be carefully considered. Article 5 of the NATO Treaty stipulates that the Parties agree that an armed attack against one or more of them shall be considered an attack against them all, and that if such an armed attack occurs, each of them will assist the Party or Parties so attacked including the use of armed force. If one of the Baltic states ruled by far-right, anti-Russian parties, provokes a conflict with Russia, Germany is pledged to wage war against Russia. The day after Merkel was in Latvia, when American Vice President Joseph Biden issued a similar guarantee, the WSWS posed the question: What would a war between the United States and Russia look like? What is the likelihood that such a conflict would entail the use of nuclear arms, given the fact that the US maintains its right to the first strike use of nuclear weapons, and Russia has stated it will respond to incursions into its territory by all means at its disposal, including the use of its nuclear arsenal? How many millions of people in Russia, the US, Europe and beyond will die in such a conflict? Neither Biden, Merkel nor the German media and think tanks that regularly call for tougher action against Russia, have yet to provide an answer. However, the ruling elites know exactly what the potentially catastrophic consequences of its reckless policy would look like. For example, the Civil Defence Guidelines, presented by Interior Minister Thomas de Maiziere two weeks ago in Berlin, call for the population to prepare for attacks involving biological or chemical weapons, and even nuclear war. The guidelines were developed in parallel with the White Paper 2016 on German Security Policy and the Future of the Bundeswehr, which provides for a massive upgrade of the Bundeswehr, the expansion of military operations abroad and a European foreign and defence policy dominated by Germany. Where many had thought the return of German militarism was merely an extension of military operations in Africa and the Middle East, it is now clear that Berlin is preparing for wars that can also transform Germany and Europe into a battlefield. Above all, since the British vote for withdrawal from the European Union, the German government has been aggressively pushing the militarization of the continent in order to establish itself as a hegemon and pursue Germanys imperialist interests throughout the world militarily. During her speech in Estonia, Merkel said it was agreed that the issues of internal and external security, the fight against terrorist threats [are] a common task of the European Union and that we would continue to work together in these areas. Asked about joint military alliances between the Eastern European countries and Germany, Merkel answered that institutionalized cooperation between Germany and France and between Denmark, Poland and Germany already existed. She saw no fundamental obstacles to closer collaboration with other Eastern European states. Given how it was running with Poland, she could not imagine any major ideological barriers that would prevent doing such a thing jointly with Estonia. The Estonian prime minister agreed. At the joint press conference, he thanked Merkel personally for ensuring that she was playing a key role in leading Europe through the crisis, and had held the continent together even in the most difficult moments. At a time when Europe was suffering from crises and confronted important decisions you need a Europe that looks more like Germany. The previous weekend, at a meeting of the Visegrad countries in Warsaw, attended by Merkel, the government leaders of Hungary and the Czech Republic also spoke in favour of a common European army. We must prioritize security and begin the construction of a common European army, said Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban. The Czech Prime Minister Bohuslav Sobotka also demanded the starting of a discussion on the creation of a European army. It is clear that Berlins objective of a European army dominated by Germany will exacerbate the national and political divisions in Europe. In July, a strategy paper of the European Council on Foreign Relations warned that Germany was confronting an attitude of dissociation and rejection. According to the author, it was too early to speak of a countervailing power. If Britain, however, leaves the European Union in conflict over the terms of exit, and if, with Marine Le Pen, a national-populist enters the Elysee Palace, this could rapidly change. The Opposition to Germanys dominant role in the European Union could then choose from more powerful allies. Tensions over the course of foreign policy are also increasing within Germanys ruling elites. One wing, led mainly by sections of the Social Democratic Party (SPD), the Left Party and the Committee on Eastern European Economic Relations, a joint organisation of the leading associations representing German business, has been calling for some time for closer economic, political and possibly military cooperation with Moscow. The European working class must oppose all sections of the ruling class and the threat of the continent returning to nationalism, militarism and war with its own independent programme: the building of an international movement against war and capitalism, and the unification of Europe on a socialist basis. In the wake of the global financial crisis of 2008, the G20 group of countries, covering 85 percent of the world economy, became the main international economic forum. It was launched with the stated aim of co-ordinating economic policies to promote global growth and prevent a slide into protectionism in the midst of the worst economic contraction since the Great Depression of the 1930s. It is symptomatic of the state of the world economy that eight years on, the two-day summit meeting of G20 leaders, which concludes in Hangzhou today, will put forward no coordinated measures to boost the world economy, expected to record one of the lowest growth levels since the official end of the recession, and that protectionist measures are on the rise as tensions between the major powers increase. One of the main areas of conflict is the question of so-called overcapacity in the steel industry, with the United States, Europe and Japan insisting that excess Chinese steel is flooding world markets, leading to job cuts and closures, and that action must be taken to cut back production. The position of the Chinese government, on the other hand, is that while agreeing to cuts of between 100 and 150 million tonnes, or around 13 percent of capacity by 2020, the main problem is weak global demand. The issue of steel was on the agenda at a meeting between Chinese President Xi Jinping and US President Barack Obama on Saturday before the start of official proceedings. According to a Chinese summary of the discussion, China and the US recognised structural problems, including excess capacity in some industries, exacerbated by a weak global economic recovery and depressed market demand. Both countries also recognised that excess capacity in steel and other industries is a global issue which requires a global response. A similar form of words was also used in regard to the electrolytic aluminium industry. The insistence that China bow to demands that it cut steel production was pushed even more strongly by the European Union. European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker said the G20 had to urgently find a solution and that Beijing had to accept an international monitoring mechanism over its industry. This is a global problem, but with a specific Chinese dimension we have to address, he said. In the discussions over the drafting of the final communique, the US, European Union and Japan demanded a reference to steel overproduction, with EU officials warning that unless this were done it could affect Chinas efforts to win market economy status within the World Trade Organisation (WTO). This status, which will come up for decision towards the end of the year, is being eagerly sought by Beijing because it limits the ability of other countries to take action over its trade policies. In a manner which recalled nothing so much as the days of imperialist overlordship of colonies, the initial proposal was that monitoring would be conducted by the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development. But after India raised a number of objections, pointing that neither it nor China were OECD members, the proposal was modified to call for the establishment of a global forum on steel excess capacity, to be facilitated by the OECD and to report in 2017. It is a sure sign of the deepening malaise of the global profit system that, under conditions where all the steel that can be produced could be utilised for much-needed infrastructure projects world-wide, overcapacity was at the very centre of the summits economic agenda. Moreover, the tensions were not confined to steel or to relations between China and other major powers. Responding to US criticisms of the EU decision to issue a $13 billion tax order against Apple, Juncker rejected suggestions that the company was targeted because it was American, saying previous tax orders had affected European companies. This is not a decision against the United States of America, he said. The Apple tax order came in the midst of statements from both Germany and France that negotiations over the free trade agreement between the EU and the US, the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP), have little chance of being concluded. In a major television interview last week, German Economics Minister and Vice Chancellor Sigmar Gabriel said negotiations de facto failed because we as Europeans naturally cannot submit to American demands. The Trans Pacific Partnership (TPP), a trade and investment agreement involving 12 countries in the Asia-Pacific region, but which excludes China, has been agreed in principle but faces opposition in the US Congress. This prompted warnings last week from the Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong of the consequences of any failure to secure passage of the TPP which the Obama administration has made clear is the economic arm of its anti-China pivot to Asia. He said the Japanese government had made politically difficult concessions on the TPP and would be impacted by any failure. Directly linking the issue of trade to war, he said: The Japanese, living in an uncertain world, depending on an American nuclear umbrella, will have to say on trade: The Americans could not follow through. While it may not be said publicly, he continued, failure of the TPP would mean that Japan began calculations about who it could depend on. Signs of a more assertive Japanese foreign policy were in evidence on Saturday on the eve of the G20 summit. At an economic conference in Vladivostok, aimed at promoting Russian investment in its under-developed Far East, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe issued a direct appeal to Russian President Vladimir Putin for the two countries to work towards the signing of a peace treaty and end the stand-off that has prevailed since the end of World War II because of disputed territories. Abe offered to hold annual summits and promote investment in line with Russian needs in an initiative which, as the Financial Times noted, stands out among leaders of G7 nations, the majority of whom have shunned Mr Putin since imposing sanctions on Russia over the Ukraine crisis in 2014. In conditions of a marked slowing in world tradethe WTO estimates that it will record just 2.8 percent growth this year, the fifth year in a row it has been below 3 percent, and less than half the growth experienced for two decades prior to 2008the issue of protectionism loomed large over the meeting. Xi opened the summit with a call for the major powers to resist pressures to raise trade barriers, more innovation to promote economic growth and for increased co-operation to improve the ability of the world economy to resist risks. Speaking on the eve of the summit, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said world leaders had to push back against a tide of protectionism running rampant whether in the form of Brexit or protectionist rhetoric in election campaigns. There is a sense that forward march of progress has stalled, he told a business forum in Hangzhou. Since the financial meltdown of 2008, all world leaders and global economic organisations have denounced the beggar-thy-neighbour policies of the 1930s that played no small role in creating the conditions for war, insisting that the lessons of that decade have been learned. But the tide continues. In a report published in June, the WTO noted that trade restrictions imposed by G20 membersmainly the most advanced economieshad reached their highest monthly level since the financial crisis. At the same time, the dangers of war are becoming ever more apparent. On his final visit to Asia as president, Obama issued one of his most bellicose statements yet against China. Significantly, it included not only a reference to disputes in the South China Sea but extended to the economy. Insisting that China had to abide by the international order, that is, the interests of the US, he said: Where we see them violating international rules and norms, as we have seen in some cases in the South China Sea or in some of their behaviour when it comes to economic policy, weve been very firm. And weve indicated to them that there will be consequences. Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte seized upon the pretext provided by a bomb blast in a marketplace in the southern city of Davao Friday night to announce a nationwide state of lawlessness. The declaration is a significant step toward the formal declaration of martial law. The bomb, which was set off in Roxas Night Market in Davao, killed 15 people and injured at least 71. Duterte, who was in Davao at the time, appeared at the bombing site at four in the morning and announced to the press that he had placed Davao city under military lock-down and that he was declaring a nationwide state of lawlessness. While stating that this was not martial law, Duterte told the press that the military would be running the country. He stated, I am inviting now the Armed Forces of the Philippines, the military and the police to run the country in accordance with my specifications. Military checkpoints would be set up throughout country, and the military and police would be authorized to conduct searches without warrants of vehicles and persons. Curfews might also be imposed throughout the country. Duterte then told the media that he had been forewarned that the bombing would take place. He stated that this was why all of his military and police commanders, as well as intelligence heads, were already on the scene in Davao. He was not able to prevent the bombing because the Philippines is not a fascist state It is unfortunate that this is a democracy and we cannot frisk anybody for just any reason. He repeated this point later in his press conference, Unfortunately we cannot stop people because that would be fascistic. That is the price of being a democratic state. Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana issued a similar statement to the press, claiming that the enemy is adept at using the democratic space granted by our Constitution to move around freely and unimpeded to sow terror. Duterte is openly stating his desire for a police state, if not fascism. According to him, democracy is a problem that must be remedied through direct police/military rule. Duterte stated that the state of lawlessness would last as long he deemed that there was a threat of terrorism or drug violence. He cited the epidemic of vigilante killings, for which he is directly responsible by openly encouraging these murders, as a justification for his declaration. Dutertes declaration of a state of lawlessness, and his calling for the military to run the country, was a carefully planned event. Sal Panelo, the official legal counsel of the president, told the press over the weekend that the president had prepared the declaration long before the bombing as part of his campaign against alleged drug criminals. The bombing merely provided a convenient pretext. The initial police suspect for the bombing is the Abu Sayyaf Group (ASG). Operating in the Sulu archipelago, the Abu Sayyaf is a terrorist organization with approximately 200 members. Its activities consist of kidnap-for-ransom, beheadings of hostages, and occasional bombings. The ASG was created in the early 1990s by Islamist elements returning to the Philippines from Afghanistan, where they had been part of the CIAs secret war against the Soviet-backed regime. With assistance from then President Cory Aquino, the ASG was created to foment division between the larger Muslim secessionist organizations, the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF). Over the past 25 years, the ASG has provided the pretext for repeated US military interventions and for the increased militarization of the Philippine state. The ASG issued a press statement over the weekend denying that they had been involved in the Davao bombing and claiming that a new breakaway group, Daulat Ul Islamiya, had been responsible. The declaration of a state of lawlessness will be used to directly incorporate the military into Dutertes murderous anti-drug crusade, which has thus far been carried out by the police and vigilantes. As of September 1, the official death toll from this campaign, which targets the most impoverished layers of the population, was 2,446 in the first two months of the Duterte administration. Of this number, 929 were killed by the police, and 1,507 by vigilantes. As a point of comparison, the scholarly consensus on Martial Law under the Marcos dictatorship estimates that 3,257 people were killed by state forces from 1972 to the early 1980s. If the current body count continues, Duterte will pass this figure by early October, as he completes his third month in office. The vigilante killings are being carried out with the direct sanction and encouragement of the Duterte administration. An account published by BBC on August 26 revealed that at least some of the vigilante hit squads are operating on direct orders from local police and are being paid by the police for each of their victims. Duterte openly sanctioned the hiring of hit squads during his Saturday press conference. He called for the hiring of mercenaries, saying, Theres no other option. These people are like germs, which must be eliminated. Business investors and international finance capital continue to enthusiastically endorse Dutertes dictatorial measures. Guenter Taus, chair of the European Chamber of Commerce in the Philippines (ECCP), told the press that what was neededjust as in Brussels and Pariswas a transparent and obvious severe increase of military and police presence everywhere. ECCP spokesperson Henry Schumacher told Reuters two weeks ago that investment would flow into the Philippines because an iron fist is going to be behind it. Washington has funded Dutertes death squads, with Secretary of State John Kerry supplying $32 million to support the anti-drug campaign. Whether Washington continues to support Dutertes fascistic policies depends entirely on whether he toes their line in the South China Sea. Washington is looking for Duterte to aggressively assert Philippine claims of sovereignty in the South China Sea using the ruling against China by the Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA) in The Hague. Duterte has thus far attempted to pursue a conciliatory foreign policy toward Beijing, looking to secure increased trade ties with China. Washington has begun raising the specter of human rights against Duterte as a means of applying pressure. Duterte will be meeting with President Obama in Laos this week during the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) summit. He has begun to signal that he will adopt a more oppositional stance toward China as a means of securing Washingtons continued backing. Over the weekend, Duterte summoned the Chinese ambassador demanding to know why Chinese vessels were operating in the disputed Scarborough shoal, which the PCA had ruled was not Chinese territory. Philippine Foreign Affairs Secretary Perfecto Yasay stated, China will be the loser if it does not recognize an international court ruling against its territorial claims in the South China Sea. We are trying to make China understand especially when the dust settles that unless they respect and recognize the arbitral tribunal, they will be the losers at the end of the day on this matter. If Duterte demonstrates that he will serve the interests of Washington in their drive to war against China, Washington will drop all concerns about human rights. They will back a Duterte dictatorship just as fully as they did the martial law regime of Ferdinand Marcos. Overdoses, alcoholism and suicide are leading causes of death for young and middle-aged workers nationwide. Appalachia and the rustbelt of the Midwest are among the regions worst hit by a spreading heroin epidemic. The areas hardest hit by the epidemic have been decimated by class war policies waged by the American ruling class over the last four decades. Naomi Spencer, Socialist Equality Party candidate for the West Virginia House of Delegates (16th District) issued the following statement on the crisis. TALLAHASSEE, FL - Behavioral Health Services of South Georgia covers 10 counties in our area and the leading provider of mental health, substance abuse and development disability services. Branda Nwakamma with the YES Program explained why there's a need in our community. The YES Program is an Independent Transition Program that targets 16-26 year olds. TxtaboutIt is a solution to help those who are afraid to receive services (This service is Anonymous). The hope is by getting the information out through social media that it will decrease negative stigma and increase people receiving services. TALLAHASSEE, FL (WTXL) - Florida officials are working hands-on with utility crews and the community in need to address power restoring concerns across the Big Bend. Mayor Andrew Gillum was one of those who was impressed by the work that's been done so far, but he has acknowledged that there are still thousands without power. "People need food. They need shelter. They need security. And, when those things are in jeopardy and at risk, people are frustrated, and we understand that. We're frustrated, but we also got to keep our eye on the prize, and that is getting 100 percent of our citizens, our customers, our businesses, our residents, organizations back on the grid," said Mayor Gillum while delivering supplies at a local community center this afternoon. D'Anthony Lewis was one of those thousands left without power five days after Hermine. He said has been through a hurricane before, so he knew what it was like to lose power, but even then, he was concerned about how long it will last this time around. "It is still a little bit frustrating when you have two streets right outside you that have power, and everybody else, streets in front of you have power, but you don't have power," Lewis said. Governor Rick Scott agreed with Gillum's assessment and said that across the state, crews are doing everything they can to get people their power back as soon as possible. Monday afternoon, the governor spoke to crew workers in Tallahassee's Midtown section which was heavily damaged by fallen trees and downed power lines. Governor Scott told them he was thankful for the Florida Department of Transportation for getting crews over there quickly. He also said he appreciated the work from other departments and states to get power back and urged Mayor Gillum to accept more help. Recently, the mayor was scrutinized for turning down help from outside crews, some even saying that it was politically-based. The mayor explained that all help was encouraged and appreciated but needed to be spread out properly to avoid conflicts with the crews already in action. Mayor Gillum said, "My guidance to them [crews] -- and I don't get to control what they do -- but my guidance to them has been, if there is an offer of support that comes in here that has the ability to accelerate the speed at which we can get our electric utility system back up, we should take it. Period." The mayor also added that to politicize actions during a disaster is, "extremely disappointing." He said the focus needs to be on the people and the urgency to fully restore Tallahassee's power. To that end, Governor Scott seemed to agree and he praised Gillum for the extra help they've accepted thus far. "I think we had a productive meeting yesterday. I'm glad that they've accepted more crews from Gulf Power, and so I think there were 50 more people coming from Duke Power...They're cleaning up where we have power lines, and I want to try to get even more done over there, where you can also hook it up. I'm going to continue to talk to the mayor about that," said Governor Scott. TALLAHASSEE, FL. (WTXL)-- Governor Scott has been touring areas hit hardest by Hurricane Hermine and declared Power Restoration has his top priority. Sunday the governor directed the Florida Department of Transportation to begin surveying downed power lines throughout Leon County and to mark them as a hazard to the public. Scott also asked the Florida Department of Transportation to begin surveying bus stops, school entrances, and medical facilities to report any new downed power lines that may be a safety issue. He says, While power restoration efforts are ongoing, I would like to do everything possible to increase the pace of power restoration. I am committed to making every resource available to assist the City of Tallahassee to fully restore power. The residents of Tallahassee deserve nothing less than 100 percent power restoration. I asked Mayor Gillum to let me know today by 8:00 pm if the city will utilize these efforts so we can quickly deploy help to impacted areas." The governor hopes for these efforts to speed the restoration process. TALLAHASSEE, FL. (WTXL)-- Tallahassee Mayor Andrew Gillum took to social media to respond to comments about the power outages. Like Florida Governor Rick Scott, the Tallahassee Mayor has been touring areas impacted by Hurricane Hermine and meeting with local officials on Power Restoration Efforts. But, some reports are saying that Gillum refused republican help to prepare for the mass amount of outages, to further his liberal agenda. Gillum refuted these in a late night Facebook Post saying, "Let me be clear. we are happy to accept any help from any person or organization that is going to accelerate the speed at which we can safely restore power to our residents." Gillum went on to express his frustration about the rumors and to remind the community that the city has accepted help from eight other utility companies from three different states. He also that he has worked well with several other mayors in neighboring cities. You are the owner of this article. A Palestinian vehicle leaving the Shuafat refugee camp in east Jerusalem attempted to run over Police and Border Police forces Sunday night in an attempted terrorist attack. There were no injuries to Israeli forces. Follow Ynetnews on Facebook and Twitter Police said the vehicle approached them at high speed, trying to hit them. Forces began the accepted procedure to stop a suspicious vehicle, but the driver refused to slow down. As a result, forces opened fire, killing the terrorist and wounding the passenger, who was evacuated in moderate condition. Vehicle used in the attack MDA teams arrived at the area to evacuate the wounded terrorist, 25, to Hadassah Medical Center. The terrorist who killed was identified as Mustafa Nimr, who was also in his 20s. Security forces approach the vehicle Scene of the incident in Shuafat A month ago, Border Police forces fired at a Palestinian vehicle driving at high speed toward a checkpoint in Al-Ram near Jerusalem. One of the passengers was killed, while another was moderately wounded and later evacuated for medical treatment. A third occupant was arrested and transferred to security forces for questioning. Mustafa Nimr, the terrorist killed in the attack The incident occurred during an operation by security forces to seek out and confiscate illicit weapons in the Judea and Samaria region. May reaffirms 'golden era' in Sino-UK relationship 2016-09-05 09:45 Before her first visit to China on Sunday to attend the G20 Summit, Britain's new Prime Minister Theresa May reiterated that "this is a golden era for UK-China relations". Theresa May, Britain's prime minister, arrives at the G20 Summit venue on Sunday. Xing Guangli / Xinhua Observers immediately noted the significance of the comment, which publicly reinforced the view of the previous resident of No 10 Downing Street, David Cameron. After Cameron stepped down earlier this year following the European Union referendum and was replaced by May, she did not immediately refer in public to a "golden era". China is the UK's second-largest non-European trading partner, while the UK is the largest investment destination in Europe for Chinese businesses. Some media commentators and observers have questioned whether the governments will continue to strengthen ties. But before boarding her plane for China on Saturday, May told British media that she will be talking with President Xi Jinping about "how we can develop the strategic partnership that we have between the UK and China". May wasted little time in getting down to business after her arrival on Sunday morning in Hangzhou, Zhejiang province, including a quick change of attire. Wearing black as she stepped off the plane, May appeared in red, matching the carpet, as she walked to meet Xi and shake hands ahead of the summit's afternoon session. Feng Zhongping, vice-president of the China Institutes of Contemporary International Relations, said May's public reaffirmation of the "golden era" sends a message. "The signal is evident," Feng said. "The May cabinet is willing to maintain close cooperative ties with China." Because she had not explicitly used the term "golden era", she may have inadvertently played into questions about whether ties remained as strong as they were under Cameron. Now, the May cabinet "plans to take China-UK ties back to the heights achieved during President Xi's visit to the UK last year", Feng said. Liu Xiaoming, China's ambassador to Britain, said in a signed article published in Politics First Magazine on Friday that "our strong confidence in China-UK relations remains unchanged". About the Xi-May meeting, Liu said: "I'm convinced that the meeting will set new goals, map out a new blueprint and introduce new dynamism for the future of China-UK relations." Ahead of her trip, May was also asked about possible problems with Beijing over her suspension of a partly Chinese-funded nuclear power station deal, but she did not respond directly. The Hinkley Point nuclear project in Somerset, a county in England's southwest, involves a power station designed and built by France's EDF, but with China picking up a third of the bill - 18 billion pounds ($23.9 billion). Shi Yinhong, a professor of international relations at Renmin University of China, noted that as both China and France have stakes in the project, London "has no other option but to further develop its win-win, important economic ties with Beijing". Zhao Junjie, an expert on European studies at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, said there will be no fundamental changes in UK policy toward China, as "it is important to expand markets outside of Europe after the Brexit", referring to the UK's voter-approved exit from the European Union. Contact the writer at zhangyunbi@chinadaily.com.cn SEOUL -- North Korea fired three ballistic missiles off its east coast Monday, South Korea's military said, in a show of force timed to the G-20 economic summit in China. South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff said in a statement that the three missiles, launched from the western North Korean town of Hwangju, flew across the country before splashing in the waters off its east coast, but officials did not describe the range of the missiles. After having received intelligence on its operation, officers from the northern district of the Israel Police raided on Sunday a brothel operating in a residential area. At the station, it was discovered that one of the detained sex workers is herself a police officer. Follow Ynetnews on Facebook and Twitter The woman in question is performing her mandatory military service with the Israel Police. Israel Police recruiting poster (Archive photo: Israel Police) The investigative squad arrived at the apartment on Sunday afternoon and found there four women allegedly providing sexual services for financial compensation. They were detained for questioning by the police, as is customary in these circumstances. After consulting with those in the command structure, it was decided that the police should not investigate the detained officer. The matter was transferred to the Internal Affairs Division, and the officer in question is expected to be questioned on Monday or Tuesday. Sex work is legal in the State of Israel, though running brothels generally is not. While the UN routinely condemns the Syrian governmen for its human rights violations, it also transfers millions of dollars to the same regime committing the abuses, according to an investigative report by the Guardian. Follow Ynetnews on Facebook and Twitter The investigation revealed that companies under American and European sanctions, non-profit organizations, government agencies and charitable organizationsincluding several started by Asma Assad, wife of President Bashar Assadreceived large sums of money from UN aid funds. According to the Guardian, that aid money was used by the Syrian regime to murder thousands of civilians. The Assads (Photo: AFP) The British newspaper gained access to contracts worth tens of millions of dollars that were signed between the UN and the Assad regime. In one instance, the UN gave $4 million to a government-owned gas company that is under EU sanctions. In another case, the UN gave $13 million to the Syrian government for the advancement of agriculture in the country. This, despite the fact that the EU has banned trade with the Syrian Ministry of Agriculture and other government agencies over fear that money will be exploited for other purposes. The World Health Organization (WHO) gave $5 million of aid funds to Syria's national blood bank, which is controlled by the Assad regime's Ministry of Defense. This is how the regime gets blood supplies to people the regime favors, such as soldiers and loyalists, and not to the civilians who are in dire need. Assad visiting troops The international children's emergency fund (UNICEF) paid $267,933 to the Al-Bustan charity, which is owned by Rami Makhlouf, the cousin of Bashar Assad and the richest man in Syria. The charity is tied to several militia groups that support the regime in Damascus. Other UN agencies gave more than $9 million to the Four Seasons hotel in Damascus between 2014-2015, of which a third is owned by the Syrian Ministry of Tourism. UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon (Photo EPA) The Guardian investigation found that in total, the UN paid between $30,000 to $54 million to 258 Syrian companies. Additionally, $900 million of of the UN's $1.1 billion aid budget for 2015 was channeled through Damascus. The UN said in response that it is not obligated by US or EU sanctions, adding it must cooperate with the Syrian regime to save the lives of the millions of civilians in the country. "Our duty is to help civilians in need," said the UN in response. It all started when a Palestinian from one of the villages near Gush Etzion in the West Bank hit a fawn by accident while driving his tractor. He immediately stopped, took the fawn and cared for it for a month until it began to recover. Follow Ynetnews on Facebook and Twitter In order for the fawn to get the care it needs, the Palestinian man decided to give the deer to a local Israeli field school. Yaron Rosenthal, the head of the field school who received the deer, said that the fawn was in relatively good condition and looked like it had undergone treatment. The injured fawn (Photo: Igal Horowitz) "This is a fawn that was born recentlyprobably only a few weeks old," said Rosenthal, who added that he was happy about the cooperation. "This is a very rare case, normally Palestinians don't come to us wanting to save wildlife." The Palestinian man wished to remain anonymous and was very apprehensive when he arrived to drop off the injured fawn. However, according to Rosenthal, it paid off and the fawn will get the care it needs. Soon after arriving at the field school, it was taken to the veterinary hospital at the Jerusalem Biblical Zoo. Rosenthal added, "We are calling on all members of the publicboth Jewish and Arabto contact us as soon as possible when finding an injured animal so we can provide help." A four-level subterranean parking lot in a building site on HaBarzel Street in the Ramat Hahayal neighborhood of Tel Aviv collapsed Monday morning. At least two persons have been killed while several are said to be missing and 23 were injured. Follow Ynetnews on Facebook and Twitter Footage of the collapse (: " ") X Emergency services and rescue teams were immediately called to the scene to recover the injured and missing buried in the rubble. Four hours after the collapse, two people, who could be heard screaming beneath the carnage, were located and extricated with the help of the IDF's dog unit and the Homefront Command. The two were reported to be fully conscious and were able to communicate with the rescue teams. They were evacuated in moderate condition to Ichilov Hospital in Tel Aviv and Tel HaShomer in Ramat Gan. Twenty-three persons are said to be in fair condition, and five have already been discharged. They have all been brought to area hospitals. (Photo: Olga Gorbetti) A spokesman from the police said to Ynet, "Several floors of the building collapsed. There's a danger of an additional collapse of both the building and the surrounding area because of the pit that was created by the collapse." (Photo: Olga Gorbetti) (Photo: Olga Gorbetti) Firefighters and police were also called to the scene to aid in the rescue effort. Ichilov Medical Center in Tel Aviv prepared to receive the injured. In addition, some 120 soldiers from the Homefront Command, including the Shahar, Ram and Tavor Brigades and the command's reserves search-and-rescue unit arrived with advanced equipment to assist with which the trapped persons were located. GOC Homefront Command Maj. Gen. Yoel Strick himself came to the scene, along with Israel Police Commissioner Roni Alsheikh. The building site belongs to the companies Danya Cebus and Isael Africa. Sources in Tel Aviv Municipality stated that the affected parking lot is Ahuzot Hof, a subsidiary of the municipality. According to the city, the garage is supposed to have four levels constructed with an area of 17,000 square meters. The project began in November 2014 and was supposed to reach completion at the beginning of 2017. Seconds after the crane collapse X Yoram Levy, a spokesman for the Firefighting and Rescue Commission, updated, "There are people who are buried under the sand. We've called on every possible team. More than 60 firefighters have reached the scene. We've begun with manual work. We've asked for help from the Homefront Command in light of the situation. We had a house collapse in Acre a few years ago, and it took a long time to clear it out." Before (R) and after (L) the collapse (Photo: Yaron Brener) (Photo: Dana Kopel) Seriously injured at Ichilov (Photo: Ichilov spokesman) The Israel Police asked the public to clear the surrounding area to permit the security forces freer movement. They also expressed that there is a danger that further parts of the site might collapse. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who came out against Transportation Minister Yisrael Katz for pushing to continue train work on Saturday, has approved that very work when he was acting economy minister, Yedioth Ahronoth has learned. Follow Ynetnews on Facebook and Twitter The dispute over working on Shabbat actually began in September 2015, when then-minister of economy Aryeh Deri (Shas) refused to authorize Israel Railways to carry out construction work on the holy day of rest. The train company appealed the decision to the Supreme Court, but then, two months later, Deri resigned over his objection to the gas deal. Netanyahu stepped in as minister, removing Deri's objection to the railway work and allowing it to proceed on Saturdays. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (Photo: EPA) Currently, the argument over allowing train work on Shabbat is focused on whether it falls under Halachic, life-saving action, or work that can be postponed for a work day. After Netanyahus decision on Friday to cancel all weekend train work five minutes before Shabbat, the Prime Ministers Office issued a statement saying that Netanyahu reached this decision based on conflicting reports from the Transportation Ministry over the necessity of working on Shabbat. The PMO has yet to respond to Ynet over this discrepancy. Polls find: Public blames PM for crisis Several polls weighed in on the current dispute. A poll commissioned by Channel 2 found that 49 percent of Israelis thought Netanyahu is to blame for the current dispute, with 14 percent finding Katz at fault and 21 percent finding them both responsible. Meanwhile, 63 percent disagreed with Netanyahu's decision to halt work on Saturday and 25 percent were in favor. When asked whether the prime minister should fire the transportation minister, something that has reportedly been on Netanyahu's mind, 64 percent were against dismissing Katz, while 17 percent thought the minister should be fired. Katz and Netanyahu side by side at the weekly cabinet meeting (Photo: AFP) A second poll, commissioned by Israel Radio, found that 82 percent thought Netanyahu should not fire Katz, while 18 percent said Katz should be fired. Meanwhile, 43 percent said the prime minister was to blame for the crisis, 25 percent put the blame on the ultra-Orthodox MKs and 19 percent on Katz. Leftist party Meretz petitioned the High Court of Justice on Friday against Netanyahus order to halt all train work on Saturday, claiming that the order was not under his authority. Specifically, the petition stated that only Transportation Minister Yisrael Katz can instruct the Israel Railways to stop working. Those close to Netanyahu claimed the move was made with Katzs knowledge and approval, so there is no issue regarding authority. This despite the very recent clashes between Katz and Netanyahu over the matter. DAMASCUS -- At least 13 people were killed in a string of bombings inside government territory in Syria, state media reported Monday. The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitoring group, which maintains a network of contacts inside the country, put the toll at 24 dead. Conflicting casualty figures are common in the Syria war. The SANA news agency reported blasts in the coastal city of Tartus, the central city of Homs, the suburbs of the capital Damascus, and the northeastern city of Hasakeh. Attackers detonated two bombs at the entrance of the government stronghold of Tartus along the international coastal highway, SANA said, killing five. A car bomb at the Arzoneh bridge was followed by a suicide bomber wearing an explosive belt who targeted the gathering crowd. The city, a stronghold of support for President Bashar Assad, is home to a major Russian naval base. The Observatory said the twin blasts killed 14 people and injured dozens more. The governor of Homs province said a car bomb struck a military checkpoint in the provincial capital, Homs, killing two soldiers and injuring four others, one critically. An attacker detonated his motorcycle at the Marsho roundabout in the northeastern city of Hasakeh, killing five, SANA said. The Observatory said the blast killed three members of the Kurdish police force, the Asayesh, and two civilians. SANA also reported an explosion in the Sabbourah suburb of the capital, Damascus, killing one. The Observatory said three people were killed. Moves by the police aimed at recruiting hundreds of new Muslim police officers in the next five years have caused many to raise their eyebrows. Even the appointment of Jamal Hakrush as the first Muslim deputy commissioner has done little to cast off the doubts that many Arab public officials have in regards to recruiting more Muslim police officers. Follow Ynetnews on Facebook and Twitter However, according to data received by Yedioth Ahronoth, Ynet's sister publication, 2016 has seen a wave of interest among Muslim candidates to the police. The amount of resumes submitted by Muslim applicants has increased 290% over the past year. Jamal Hakrush's promotion ceremony (Motti Kimchi) Currently, Muslim officers make up less than 2% of the Israel's police force. In 2015, there were only 431 Muslim police officers out of a national police force of 28,663, a rate that is 12 times less than their share of the population. Until 2016, interest among Muslim citizens in joining the police was on the decline. Out of the average 18,000 resumes the police receive every year, in 2013, only 803 were from Muslims. In 2014, that number decreased to 687, while in 2015, the amount stood at 543. However, during the period between January-August 2016, 1,420 resumes of Muslim candidates were submitted to the police, an increase of almost four times the amount of candidates registered last year. Cdr. Amir Ratzon, the director of the Manpower Directorate of the Israel Police, told Yedioth Ahronoth, "We are witnesses to a wave of interest amongst the Muslim population to join the police. We are seeing a shift in this population segment and we are focusing on absorbing these new officers in the most efficient way possible." Photo: Israel Police The police attribute the renewed interest in the police to an improvement of services in the Arab sector. This has been a focus of Minister of Internal Security Gilad Erdan and the Police Commissioner Roni Alsheikh. According to the two, the appointment of Hakrush has also raised motivation among the Muslim sector. A change has even been observed at the level of junior officers. For example, last week saw Dunya Nasser become the highest ranking Muslim female police officer after she was promoted to the rank of superintendant. Nasser, a resident of Tu'ran and mother of three, is now the commander of community cooperation and outreach at police headquarters. Chief Superintendent Liat Tshuva Cohen, head of police central recruiting, said administration started taking steps to bolster recruitment among the Arab sector by disseminating information, opening information centers in Arab cities and villages and starting preparation classes for interested candidates in order to help with tests. Photo: NYT Even interest among the general public is currently undergoing a change. In the middle of August, police began a campaign of media recruitment, which saw the average resume submission rate increase from approximately 60 a day, to 600 a day. In addition to a general campaign for the Hebrew-speaking public, a targeted campaign of Arabic-speaking citizens is also expected to raise awareness and increase the number of recruits. Annual new recruits currently stand at roughly 2,000-2,500, while the number of officers retiring stands at 900-1,000. By the end of August, 1,321 officers had been recruited and police expect that number is surpass 2,000 by the year's end. Minister of Public Security Gilad Erdan commented, "The sharp increase in the number of young people joining the police does not surprise me. Last year, we led to fight to significantly raise salary. The police make a serious contribution to national security and public safety, and the interest in the police brings more and more quality recruits who see the police as an excellent place to serve." The Ministry of Defense, and more accurately the Israeli government, are about to bury NIS 600 million in the ground in order to quiet down the voices coming from Gaza-border towns and lower the volume on criticisms over its handling of the Hamas attack tunnel problem. Follow Ynetnews on Facebook and Twitter A few months ago, my colleague Nahum Barnea exposed the government's decision to establish a new underground blockade, around the Gaza Strip. It was to be several dozen meters deep, and consist of concrete, sensors, and the like. A massive investment of NIS 2.7 billion was discussed for the project. The blockade was meant to compliment the IDF's future tunnel detection systems, and back them up in case they didn't meet their mark. The ministries of Defense and Finance each have NIS 300 million in order to begin its implementation on a fairly small stretch of land. This first part is intended to serve as an experiment for the wider program, which would explain why it's several times more expensive than the other parts set to be built later on. So far, so good. But after this, the Defense Ministry returned to its traditional "trust me, it'll be fine" method of operation: We'll start, it'll work itself out, all will be ok. But it won't work itself out, because as of yet there is no budgetary allocation anywhere for the rest of the blockade. The West Bank border fence is still incomplete. (Photo: AP) If, and when, the work in the initial section of the blockade ends successfully, a bid is set to be issued to three large construction firms for the establishment of the remainder of the 60 kilometer perimeter around Gaza. The companies that win the bid will have to purchase special equipment from overseas and it is widely believed that they will begin digging once given the green light. But it isn't so. Suddenly, they'll find out that there's no money for the project; that no one in the Defense or Finance ministries is interested in allocating more money towards the project. The defense minister's spokesperson answering our inquiry was convinced that a budgetary solution would be found eventually, as part of some agreement between the PM's office and the finance minister's office. According to him, the defense minister is working on approving the budgetary allocation. Nonsense. It's doubtful that there's anyone in the defense minister's office, including the minister himself, who knows how much money has been spent to date on the West Bank border fence. Well, here it is: The roughly 500 kilometers of border fence have so far cost about NIS 13 billion, with hundreds of millions more being streamed in every year for maintenance. But the fence hasn't justified the investment, since it has not been completed across a 280 kilometer area in the region of Mount Hebron, allowing infiltrations into Israel to continue. Just a reminder: The establishment of the border fence was decided upon by Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin in 1995, and its construction actually began in 2002 following a catastrophic wave of suicide bombings. As mentioned, it was never really completed and that's exactly what's about to happen in Gaza. We'll stay stuck with a short area covered by our blockade, and a bunch of arguments: Should the construction be paid for out of the Defense Ministry's budget, since the blockade's function will be fighting terrorism? Or perhaps another part of the state budget, since the defense establishment claims this is a project on a national scale? Israel will not be able to block Hamas' attack tunnels with this initial, limited-area blockade. (Photo: IDF Spokesperson) By the way, regarding the PM's recent bragging about the Egypt border fence project: It should be mentioned that the project came about over a decade after it was recommended for implementation by the IDFfor security reasons. The order was given only once issue of infiltrators arose. That is to say, what sparked the project's actual beginnings was a political issue. Now that precious lip service for the Gaza blockade has been paid, the PM and minister of defense are probably both praying that Hamas suddenly decides to stop digging its tunnels, or that the tunnels themselves all magically collapse. How on earth are they going to come up with the money? Well, it'll probably happen whengod forbida disaster occurs, especially if it has political ramifications. For the time being, they'll bury hundreds of millions of shekels in the ground, allowing Hamas to freely dig around their short-range experimental obstacle. Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas has reportedly agreed to direct talks with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Russia, Interfax news agency cited the Palestinian embassy in Moscow as saying on Monday. Follow Ynetnews on Facebook and Twitter Netanyahu's office said earlier on Monday the prime minister was considering an offer by Russian President Vladimir Putin to host the talks between the Israeli leader and Abbas. Netanyahu and Abbas in 2010 (Photo: Gettyimages) It said in a statement that Netanyahu, at a meeting with Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Bogdanov, "presented Israel's position whereby he is always ready to meet (Abbas) without preconditions and is therefore considering the Russian president's proposal and the timing for a possible meeting." The report comes shortly after President Putin stated his willingness to host direct talks between the two sides in August. According to information obtained by Ynet, the talks are likely to take place in October. Putin's announcement was also preceded by Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi's attempt to kick-start peace talks, suggesting that Ciaro be the meeting point. Despite the reported agreement by Abbas and Netanyahus repeated calls for renewing negotiations without preconditions, the PA president is insisting that on a construction freeze in the West Bank and a discussion which will establish a timetable for what he describes as the end of the occupation prior to the commencement of talks. The last Israeli-Palestinian peace talks collapsed in 2014. Delving into the history of fans and umbrellas From:chinadaily.com.cn | 2016-09-05 08:45 In the old days there were many workshops and manufacturers in Hangzhou and its vicinity that specialized in making umbrellas. [Photo by Raymond Zhou/China Daily] A recent visit to the China Fans Museum and the China Umbrellas Museum ignited a spark in me about the nature of these two traditional hand-held items. Fans are to keep one cool and umbrellas to prevent one from getting wet. But parasols usually provide shelter from the sun rather than the rain. Ancient Chinese scroll paintings too depict fans as being used for the same purpose. In my hometown, less than an hour's drive from Hangzhou, the words for fan and umbrella are similar. The two museums, situated in Hangzhou's Grand Canal Plaza, are home to a treasure-trove of history and tidbits about the two items that many take for granted. I learned at the museum that foldable fans came from Japanthough this is disputed by some scholarswhile the flat fan went the other way. As for the collapsible umbrella, the earliest references are from AD 21 when Wang Mang, a Western Han Dynasty (206 BC-AD 24) official who seized the throne, had one designed for a ceremonial four-wheeled carriage. But one need not visit a museum to know that fans and umbrellas are much more than functional items. During the Southern Song Dynasty (1127-1279), when Hangzhou was the nation's capital, fans were a popular gift item among the literati, who would inscribe lines of verses on themvery much like modern-day poets who share limericks on social media. This kind of long-handled fans were popular with royalties of ancient China.[Photo by Raymond Zhou/China Daily] While the fan dance is a staple all across China, the umbrella is sometimes used in martial arts movies, the latest example being the very British film Kingsman: The Secret Service, in which Colin Firth's character executes a brilliant fight scene with a black umbrella. Talk about cultural cross-pollination. In Hong Kong movies, even the fan can be a lethal weapon. In the old days there were many workshops and manufacturers in Hangzhou and its vicinity that specialized in the two items. When I was a child, every household had at least one oilpaper umbrella. However, in the 1980s when the umbrella with a retractable pole crossed the Taiwan Straits, it was such a hot item of fashion and convenience that it quickly replaced the older type of umbrella. I was even commissioned to buy two dozen umbrellas when I returned from one Guangzhou trip. I then felt as if I was trafficking a symbol of innovation. Three decades later, that kind of umbrella is so cheap and commonplace while the oilpaper one has almost become a heritage item. Likewise, the fan has not been totally replaced by power-driven amenities. There is something about a fan that opens to a drawing and calligraphy. It can never be matched by the electric fan or the air conditioner. Britain and Iran have named their respective ambassadors for the first time since 2011 as relations between the two countries continue to improve. British officials on Monday named Nicholas Hopton as ambassador to Tehran, upgrading his diplomatic role. He had previously been serving in a lower position at the British Embassy in Tehran. Hopton also previously served as Britain's ambassador to Yemen and Qatar. In Iran, the state TV on Sunday reported that the Islamic Republic appointed its envoy to London. US President Barack Obama recently gave an interview to Cable news network CNN, in which he was asked to provide recommendations of books to the public. One the books was Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind by Israeli author Yuval Noah Harari. Follow Ynetnews on Facebook and Twitter The, book, which gives a short description of the history of the human species on planet Earth, was hailed by Obama as giving readers a perspective of how short our time on the planet has been, and showing them that things like science and agriculture should not be taken for granted. President Obama's book recommendations. X Besides Sapiens, Obama also recommended the book The Underground Railroad by Colson Whitehead, a novel about an escaped slave in the United States of the pre-Civil War era. Sapiens was first published in Hebrew in 2011, and became a best seller. Its was translated into an English edition and first published in 2014. The book has not only been recommended by the US president but also by Microsoft founder and billionaire philanthropist, Bill Gates. Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman has approved several easing-of-conditions actions for Palestinians, ahead of next week's Eid al-Adha Muslim holiday. COGAT has announced that among these actions will be 100,000 visits to Israel by West Bank residents, the approval of visits to the Temple Mount for married men over the age of 45 and women over the age of 30, coordination of trips abroad through Ben Gurion Airport, and the granting of permits to foreign visitors to the West Bank. In addition, religious observers from the Gaza Strip who are over the age of 60 will be allowed to come to the Temple Mount. The departure of Gazans from Ben Gurion airport will also be permitted. The working hours for crossings in the West Bank will be extended until 7pm during the holiday. A group of former Israeli politicians, security officials, artists and social activists on Monday urged the government to hold a national referendum on the future of the Palestinian territories. Follow Ynetnews on Facebook and Twitter The group launched the campaign ahead of the 50th anniversary next year of the 1967 Six-Day War, in which Israel captured swaths of additional territory including the West Bank, east Jerusalem, the Golan Heights and the Gaza Strip. The Palestinians say they seek to establish an independent state in the territories, excluding the Golan Heights. However, many Israelis are apprehensive about Palestinian territorial ambitions which they fear extend all the way to the Mediterranean. With the lack of trust on both sides, sporadic peace talks over two decades have proved futile. Security fence around Jerusalem (Photo: Gettyimages) The Israeli group, calling itself "Decision at 50," is led by prominent figures in Israel's so-called peace camp, which believes an Israeli withdrawal from the West Bank is essential for the country's survival. They believe that the establishment of a Palestinian state will ensure Israel's future as a democracy with a solid Jewish majority. The alternative, they claim, is a "binational" state in which Israel either risks losing its Jewish majority or ruling over millions of disenfranchised Palestinians. By contrast, many Israeli officials believe that the countrys continued control over the areas is paramount for its security and therefore its physical survival. The group's founders include Ami Ayalon, a former head of the Shin Bet internal security agency, Amram Mitzna, a retired general, and Gilead Sher, who was a peace negotiator under former Prime Minister Ehud Barak. The group said it sent a letter to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu asking to hold the referendum. Netanyahu himself has endorsed the idea of a Palestinian state. But peace efforts have remained frozen throughout most of his seven-year tenure amid wide gaps with the Palestinians over all major issues. "Every day in which our control over the Palestinian territories persists brings us closer to the end of Israel as the democratic state of the Jewish people," Ayalon said. "Netanyahu sees the disaster ahead, but he is not courageous enough to act." Netanyahu's office declined comment. Hillary Clinton is calling Donald Trump's trip to Mexico last week an "embarrassing international incident." She said on Monday that Trump's immigration speech in Arizona last week was one of his most "hate-filled, hard-line speech yet." She suggested that he's already set his position in stone when it comes to deporting everyone living in the country illegally, even as he continues to shift his language. Clinton said Trump would "double down" on his "absurd plan" to use a deportation force to round up people living in the US illegally. Behind the scenes of the stunning G20 Summit night gala From:chinadaily.com.cn | 2016-09-05 11:45 Actors perform at the evening gala for the G20 Leaders Summit in Hangzhou, September 4, 2016. [Photo/IC] A variety show titled "Hangzhou is most memorable" staged during the G20 Summit on Sunday night thrilled and entertained world state leaders and their spouses, as well as the public. The director of the show, Zhang Yimou, revealed stories from behind the stage during an interview with China's Central Television. Swan Lake dance over water uses new technology Zhang revealed that high-tech holography was used during the show, which presented the relations between humans and images. "The technology was commonly used in indoor shows during recent years, while for outdoor performances, especially on the surface of water, in a purely natural scene, it was probably the first time it was used", Zhang said. "It was more difficult than the opening ceremony of the Olympics." Zhang masterminded the opening ceremony of the 2008 Beijing Olympics. The Swan Lake show in the gala combines holographic images and real performers, Zhang said. "Dancing Swan Lake on the West Lake is quite special, we jokingly said that it is probably the first dance on a real lake since the creation of the classic Swan Lake", said Zhang. Combining Chinese and Western classical music "I chose a symphony, as it is elegant and refined, and more importantly, it is a universal language", Zhang Yimou said. He thinks that G20 summit is a "universal language", a summit where the world has dialogues with each other and works towards progress together. Zhang said world famous music such as Swan Lake, Beethoven's Symphony No. 9 and classic Chinese music are all "universal language", and they express emotions and forces that can be understood by all humans. Actors perform at the evening gala for the G20 Leaders Summit in Hangzhou, September 4, 2016. [Photo/IC] Dancing under water To conduct a symphony concert on a natural lake is unprecedented. Liu Fuyang, the head of the dance troupe was baffled by his most familiar dance, as he had to complete the dance The Butterfly Lovers with his partner 3cm below the water's surface. "Dancing in the water, you will encounter resistance, and the costume will get wet, which creates challenges for the dancer's skills." Besides, making the make-up and hair style waterproof and sweatproof also posed challenges for stylist Yi Ming. "Considering the whole atmosphere and temperament, the makeup has to be elegant and fresh like Chinese ink and wash", Yi said. To make sure the actors looked their best, Yi Ming used the most adaptable cosmetics after much trial and error. People from all walks of life praise show "So beautiful!" Tatina, a reporter from Russia, exclaimed while she was watching the live show on TV. "This is a beautiful city. I have been busy all day long, and watching such a beautiful show makes me relax. Now my work is done, I would like to go to the West Lake for a walk." "I am moved to tears! I love my country! I love Hangzhou!", Sun Danyuan, an employer from a Hangzhou company said on his Wechat, posting photos of the evening gala. Guan Xia, director of the China National Symphony Orchestra said after the concert, "The show, after more than a year's preparation, is no longer just a music show, but a cultural calling card for the country. Telling Chinese stories, airing Chinese voices, delivering Chinese emotions, let the world enjoy Oriental charm, feel China's sincerity and wisdom!" Related: Classic tales from East and West converge in lake extravaganza Director Zhang Yimou selects 8-year-old girl to perform at G20 Summit evening gala Xi meets Obama ahead of G20 summit From:Xinhua | 2016-09-04 11:21 Chinese President Xi Jinping (R) meets with US President Barack Obama, who is here to attend the G20 summit, in Hangzhou, capital city of east China's Zhejiang Province, Sept. 3, 2016. Chinese President Xi Jinping on Saturday said China is willing to work with the United Statesto ensure bilateral ties stay on the right track. Xi made the remarks in a meeting with his US counterpart Barack Obama in the eastern city of Hangzhou on the eve of the G20 summit. He urged the two countries to follow the principles of non-conflict, non-confrontation, mutual respect and win-win cooperation, deepen mutual trust and collaboration, and manage and control their differences in a constructive manner, in order to push forward continuous, sound and stable development of bilateral ties. Noting that the city of Hangzhou holds historic significance to Sino-US relations, Xi spoke highly of his previous meetings with Obama since 2013, which "produced important consensus." In particular, the decision to build a new type of major-country relations between China and the United States has led to a series of concrete achievements in bilateral ties, Xi said. Two-way trade, investment and personnel exchanges are at historical highs, he said, and both countries have worked together in combating climate change, advancing negotiations on a bilateral investment treaty, and establishing a mutual trust mechanism between the two militaries. Important progress was also made in fighting cyber crimes, coping with the Ebola epidemic in Africa, and facilitating a comprehensive agreement on the Iranian nuclear issue, Xi said. "All these have showcased the strategic importance and global influence of Sino-US relations," the Chinese president said. Xi said China and the United States have carried out fruitful cooperation under the G20 framework, and the two sides have maintained close coordination and communication with regard to the preparation of the G20 Hangzhou summit. China appreciates the cooperation and support from the US side, he said, adding that holding a successful summit is the global community's shared expectation, as well as the due responsibility of China and the United States as the world's two largest economies. He said China hopes to work with the United States and other parties to achieve fruitful results during the summit to inject momentum to the global economy while lifting confidence. Arizona News Phoenix, Arizona - A man currently serving his fifth year in the Arizona Department of Corrections on state drug charges was convicted Friday of federal drug trafficking violations after a multiagency probe, that included U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcements (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), revealed he was continuing to operate his drug scheme from within the walls of the state prison system. Information provided to federal investigators by detectives with the Mesa Police Department indicated Luis Felix-Hernandez, 28, had obtained a cellphone to continue directing the activities of his drug trafficking organization while incarcerated. HSIs collaboration with our federal and local law enforcement partners continues to yield significant results in Arizona, said Bradford A. Bench, interim special agent in charge of HSI Phoenix. Drug traffickers who seek to bypass law enforcement, especially while behind bars, can expect to face serious consequences. One by one, were working together to seek out and dismantle these criminal organizations. Special agents with HSI and the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) developed information, based on leads provided by the Mesa Police Department, that Felix-Hernandez was continuing to oversee the activities of the drug trafficking ring he headed from within the confines of the prison. The ensuing investigation further revealed that the defendants brother, Josue Benjamin Felix-Hernandez, was a co-conspirator. A federal grand jury returned an indictment against both men Aug. 5, 2015. This investigation clearly demonstrates the extraordinary lengths criminals go through to continue their illicit activities and profit from victimizing our communities, said Doug Coleman, special agent in charge of DEA Arizona. DEA and our law enforcement friends at all levels will never relent in our quest to protect our neighborhoods from the scourge of drug abuse and addiction. The Felix-Hernandez brothers were responsible for trafficking significant quantities of methamphetamine throughout Arizona. The investigation resulted in the cumulative seizure of 13 pounds of methamphetamine, one pound of cocaine, and one handgun. Josue Felix-Hernandez pleaded guilty to his role in the methamphetamine trafficking organization and was sentenced earlier this year to six years in prison. Luis Felix-Hernandez faces a statutory minimum sentence of 20 years. The recent conviction of Luis Felix-Hernandez serves as a great example of the investigative reach that comes from cooperation and partnership between law enforcement agencies, said Mesa Assistant Police Chief Michael Dvorak. I am proud of the officers and detectives of the Mesa Police Department who, along with the joint DEA and Homeland Security Investigations, spent countless hours and were tenacious in their determination to have a successful investigation and subsequent conviction. This investigation was spearheaded by HSI, the DEA, and the Mesa Police Departments Narcotics Unit, with additional support provided by the Arizona Department of Corrections, and the Phoenix Police Department. This case was prosecuted by the U.S. Attorneys Office for the District of Arizona. Latest News San Antonio, Texas - A Mexican national wanted in his home country on homicide charges was deported Wednesday and turned over to Mexican law enforcement authorities. This deportation was conducted by officers with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcements (ICE) Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) in Laredo, Texas. Elmer Tinoco-Eutimio, 22, was turned over to Mexican authorities Aug. 31 at the Lincoln-Juarez Bridge in Laredo. Mexicos Procuraduria General de la Republic (PGR) issued a warrant for his arrest for homicide on Dec. 2, 2015. According to PGR, on Feb. 11, 2015, Tinoco-Eutimio broke into a home in Luvianos, Mexico, where he allegedly used a hammer to murder an elderly woman. "Removing criminal foreign fugitives from the United States is an ICE priority," said Daniel Bible, field office director of ERO San Antonio. "The cooperation between the United States and the Mexican governments resulted in this foreign fugitive being safely returned to his home country where he can stand trial for his alleged crime." On June 30, 2016, acting on a lead, ERO located and arrested Tinoco-Eutimio in Austin, Texas, where he was residing. On that same day, he was transferred to ICE custody where he remained until his removal. Tinoco-Eutimio was first deported to Mexico April 8, 2013, from Laredo, Texas, after U.S. Customs and Border Protections (CBP) Border Patrol agents issued him an expedited removal order. On May 27, 2013, he illegally re-entered the United States and was arrested by CBP Border Patrol near Eagle Pass, Texas. On May 30, 2013, a U.S. Magistrate in Del Rio, Texas convicted him of illegal entry and sentenced him to serve 30 days in jail. After completing his jail term, he was again deported without incident. Anyone who re-enters the United States after being deported commits a felony punishable by up to 20 years in federal prison, if convicted. Juba: South Sudan`s President Salva Kiir on Sunday agreed to the deployment of a regional protection force to beef up the UN`s large UN peacekeeping mission in the war-scarred nation after initially opposing it as a breach of national sovereignty. The announcement came after the leader of the world`s youngest nation met with ambassadors of the UN Security Council at the bullet-scarred presidential palace in the capital Juba. "The transitional government of national unity gives its consent for the deployment of the regional force," said a joint statement by the UN and the government, which was read out to the media by South Sudanese Cabinet Affairs Minister Martin Elia Lomoro. "We will design the modalities," Lomoro said, without elaborating. The presidential palace was the scene of clashes on July 8 between President Kiir`s guards and troops loyal to his former deputy Riek Machar, shattering a fragile truce that has been breached several times. Kiir showed the ambassadors from the council`s 15 member states bullet marks in the heart of the building as well as shattered window panes. He said Machar had wanted to assassinate him that day but claimed he had helped his rival to escape to safety. Following the violence, the UN Security Council authorised the deployment of an additional 4,000 troops from East Africa with a stronger mandate than the 13,000-strong UN peacekeeping mission UNMISS. The UN officials arrived on Friday in a bid to secure Kiir`s agreement to the extra troops.UNMISS has faced considerable criticism over its failure to protect civilians during the July violence, which included the rape of civilians sheltered just outside its camps. Kiir had opposed the deployment of additional troops, initially touted as an "intervention force", as breaching national sovereignty. Minister Lomoro also underscored that the government committed "to permit free movement to UNMISS in conformity with its mandate" and "improve humanitarian access, including by providing assistance by eliminating illegal check points." Samantha Power, the US envoy to the Security Council, hailed the move but said it was now important to start translating words into action. "What we need to do now is move from those very important high-level commitments into working up the modalities in an operational way," Power said. "UNMISS has an impartial mandate to protect civilians, no matter who they are, no matter where they are. The number one obstacle for (the peacekeepers) fulfilling their mandate to this point has been the severe restrictions on their movements." Earlier Sunday, the UN team met with displaced people in the northern town of Wau, the scene of bitter fighting in recent months. Catherine Atanasyo, a local area chief from the south of Wau now living in the camp, said lawlessness was rampant. "Looting is going on in town. We don`t know when we`ll be going home," she told them. Speaking to AFP later, Atanasyo said the regional force was badly needed as members of the president`s Dinka tribe were raping and killing people if they went into Wau. "We cannot leave this camp without security and that security can be provided by the regional force," she said. South Sudan descended into war in December 2013 after Kiir accused his former deputy Machar of plotting a coup. During the fighting in July, Machar, who had been persuaded to return to Juba to join a national unity government agreed under a peace deal, fled the country and is now in Khartoum, having been replaced by Taban Deng Gai in Juba. Aside from the tens of thousands of people killed, the United Nations has reported shocking levels of brutality including gang-rapes and the wholesale burning of villages. An estimated 16,000 children have been recruited by armed groups and the national army in the conflict, and 2.5 million people have been driven from their homes. Washington: The Donald Trump campaign is attempting to mislead Americans on immigration plan to deport all undocumented immigrants, the rival Hillary Clinton camp alleged today. "Donald Trump has stated very clearly throughout his campaign that he will deport everyone who is undocumented, something that was reinforced in his speech in Arizona last Wednesday," Clinton Campaign manager Robby Mook said in a statement as top officials from the Trump Campaign in various interviews indicated that not all illegal immigrants might be deported. "Beyond forcibly removing every single undocumented person from this country, Trump has also promised to rescind DACA and DAPA, and deport American citizens who are born to undocumented immigrant parents," Mook said. "What we saw today is Mike Pence and Trump's top campaign officials attempt to mislead voters about their mass deportation policy by using soft words to describe harsh tactics -- one of the oldest tricks in the book. Immigrant families know the meanings of 'humane' and 'fair' and can see straight through their cynical ploys," he said. Trump's message to immigrant families is clear -- everyone must go, Mook alleged. In an interview to NBC News, Pence, the vice presidential running mate of Trump, said that the fate of the undocumented immigrants would be considered after the deportation of criminal aliens. He asserted that there is no change in the Trump's policy on immigration as being claimed by the Clinton Campaign. "It begins with building a wall, border security. It begins with enforcing the laws of this country, removing criminal aliens and removing people who've overstayed their visa, ending catch and release, strengthening our border patrol, strengthening immigration and customs enforcement. Doing all of the kinds of things we've talked about, the eVerify system for employers in this country," Pence said. "All the things that we know will bring all the incentives that are built into our economy, all of the ways that illegal immigration has been made possible in this country, all of that will come to an end. I think that's exactly what the American people want to hear today," Pence said. "With regard to anyone that remains after all of that is done, I think what you heard Donald Trump say is that we'll give consideration, working with the Congress, in a new and reformed immigration system, to consider it at that time," he added. Quebec: Two people died and another was injured Sunday after a helicopter collided with power lines in eastern Canada, police said. The aircraft, which was carrying only three people, crashed to the ground and then ultimately into a body of water, New Brunswick Royal Canadian Mounted Police spokesman Corporal Dan Smith told AFP. "The helicopter collided with some power lines in what`s known as the Flatlands area of New Brunswick" in the province`s north near the border with Quebec, he said. The crash, which occurred around 4:00 pm local time (1900 GMT) in a mostly rural area sent the plane into the Restigouche River, according to public broadcaster CBC. The lone survivor was taken to a local hospital for treatment. The RCMP did not provide information on the victims` identities nor the helicopter`s origin and destination. The accident, which occurred near the town of Campbellton, knocked out power to several thousand residences, Smith said. The Transportation Safety Board of Canada announced that it is sending a team of investigators to the site on Monday. bfm-mbr/mdo New Delhi: Ever since Prime Minister Narendra Modi called for action against Pakistan for its atrocities against the locals in Balochistan, many voices have come forward and spoken against Islamabad. Banuk Shirin, claiming to a be a Baloch woman, tweeted heart-rending pictures of Pakistan Army's brutal killings. While posting the pictures on her twitter account, she accused the Pakistani forces of abducting the Baloch youths and then killing them. Shirin slammed Islamabad for promoting terrorism, saying world is with Balochistan's call for freedom. Last week, Balochistan's representative at UNHRC accused Pakistan of committing war crimes against Baloch people and urged the international community to penalise Islamabad for its alleged human rights violations in the Baloch and Sindh regions. In his address from the ramparts of the Red Fort on the occasion of 70th Independence Day, PM Modi hit out at Pakistan for "glorifying" terrorists. PM Modi in his I-Day speech came out openly in support of "freedom" for Balochistan and "PoK." Pakistani army Stop your Nonesense killing people of Baloch in our Balochistan #IndiaForBalochistan @TarekFatah pic.twitter.com/5d2x1A4AZe Banuk Shirin Baloch (@Shirin_Baloch) September 5, 2016 Islamabad: In a bid to counter the strategic embrace between India and the United States, Pakistan has moved forward to seal a long-term defence pact with its all-weather ally China. Pakistan's federal cabinet, chaired by PM Nawaz Sharif, gave a go ahead to signing of such a deal with China. The meeting reportedly took place on July 15 at the Governor House in Lahore. The cabinet was informed that the draft agreement was based on principles of mutual respect for each other's territorial integrity, sovereignty, non-integration and non-interference in each other's internal affairs, equality and cooperation for mutual benefits, and peaceful coexistence for strategic gains in defence and security, including arms and technology transfers. It was also informed that input from ministries of foreign affairs, interior and defence production as well as the Joint Staff Headquarters had been obtained and incorporated in the draft agreement which was subsequently vetted by the law and justice division. In April 2015, when Chinese President Xi Jinping visited Pakistan, the two countries agreed that their relationship had acquired greater strategic significance against the backdrop of complex and changing international and regional situations. They agreed to elevate the Pakistan-China relationship to the all-weather strategic cooperative partnership. The reports of defence agreement surfaced a week after the US signed a key logistics agreement with India governing the use of each other's land, air and naval bases for repair and resupply. Pakistan had called the Logistics Exchange Memorandum of Agreement between the US and India as an agreement between the two sovereign states and hoped it would contribute to peace and stability. "Pakistan would like to see that such arrangements do not contribute to polarising the region by disturbing the strategic balance in South Asia and escalating the arms buildup," Foreign Office spokesperson Nafees Zakaria told a news briefing last week. With PTI inputs New Delhi: In the midst of a raging controversy over a sex CD involving an AAP minister, another potentially damaging revelation could spell further trouble for the embattled party. In a shocking revelation, an AAP MLA has alleged that the party leaders have sought sexual favours from women ticket aspirants. MLA retired Colonel Devinder Sehrawat on Sunday charged AAP leaders of asking sexual favours for party tickets in the 2017 Punjab assembly elections. Sehrawat has named Sanjay Singh, a close confidante of Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, and its political affairs committee member Durgesh Pathak and a few others in his statement, news18.com reported. The Aam Aadmi Party on Monday decided to file a defamation case against Colonel Sehrawat for making the allegations. The party has claimed that Sehrawat has made these allegations without any evidence. "The allegations are so absurd and baseless that we do not even want to respond to them. He has to get proof before talking like that," the report quoted Singh as saying. Sehrawat reportedly claimed that he has received "disturbing reports" of women being "exploited" in Punjab with promises of election tickets from AAP. He said that he has written a letter to anti-corruption activist Anna Hazare for his intervention in the matter. He also claimed that the information he had was "generic". The fresh allegation comes just a day after sacked AAP minister Sandeep Kumar was formally arrested for allegedly sexually exploiting a woman in return for a ration card. New Delhi: Delhi HC o Friday issued production warrants to two death row convicts in the 2009 Jigisha Ghosh murder case on trial court reference for confirmation of capital punishment given to them. A bench of Justices Gita Mittal and RK Gauba directed Tihar Jail authorities here to produce convicts Ravi Kapoor and Amit Shukla before it on September 15. The order came on submission of Delhi Police that the court could direct production of the convicts to know whether they are going to file an appeal against the trial court's judgement convicting and sentencing them in the case. On August 22, while awarding capital punishment to Kapoor and Shukla, Additional Sessions Judge Sandeep Yadav had referred the case to high court for confirmation of sentence. It is mandatory for the trial court to refer each death penalty case to a high court for confirmation of sentence within 30 days of the pronouncement of the verdict. The trial court had on July 14 held the duo guilty on various counts, including the murder of 28-year-old IT executive Jigisha Ghosh. The court while sentencing the two to death said the girl was killed in a "cold-blooded, inhuman and cruel manner" and "brutally mauled to death". It had said the magnitude and brutality exhibited by the convicts made the case 'rarest of rare', warranting capital punishment for Kapoor and Shukla. The third offender Baljeet Malik was given reprieve from the gallows and sent to life imprisonment for his good conduct in jail. Shukla has orally filed an appeal against the death sentence awarded to him while Malik has filed an appeal through counsel Amit Kumar in the high court challenging the conviction and sentence. "Let all the appeals filed by the state and the convicts be heard together on September 15," the High Court said. Ravi Kapoor has not yet challenged trial court judgement. Malik, in his appeal, has stated that the trial court "failed to appreciate that there have been contradictions and discrepancies in the depositions of the prosecution witnesses (PWs) and therefore conviction and sentence awarded to him is liable to be set aside". "The trial court has failed to appreciate that prosecution has planted PW-2... As a last seen witness with intent to falsely proving the presence of the appellant in the company of deceased (Jigisha) at about 4.45 AM on March 18, 2009 at SBI ATM at Mahipalpur," the appeal said. Malik's appeal further said, "The presence of PW-2, who has been falsely shown as a last seen witness, is extremely improbable and doubtful, and, therefore his deposition with regard to being last seen witness cannot be considered credible and probable evidence." The trial court had also imposed varying fines on the convicts, with Kapoor being slapped with a fine of Rs 1.2 lakh due to his incapacity to pay, while Shukla and Malik were directed to pay Rs 2.8 lakh and Rs 5.8 lakh respectively as pre-sentencing report suggested they were financially stronger. The trio are also facing trial for the murder of TV journalist Soumya Viswanathan, killed a year before Jigisha. The court had said leniency cannot be shown to these convicts as there was a rise of gruesome crimes against women which needed to be dealt with in an appropriate sentence. It had also directed that out of the total fine of Rs 9.8 lakh, Rs six lakh be paid to the parents of the victim, and an adequate compensation amount be decided by the District Legal Service Authority (South). It had held the three men guilty under several sections of IPC, including 302 (murder), 364 (abducting for murder), 201 (destruction of evidence), 394 (voluntarily causing hurt in committing robbery), 468 (forgery for purpose of cheating) and 471 (using as genuine a forged document). The additional sessions judge, however, held that the charge of criminal conspiracy (120-B of IPC) could not be proved against them. The police had filed the charge sheet in the case in June 2009, stating that Jigisha's post-mortem report revealed that she was killed by smothering. The trial in the case began in April 2010. Recovery of the weapon allegedly used in Jigisha's murder had led to cracking of the murder case of Soumya Vishwanathan, who was a journalist with a news channel. Soumya was shot dead on September 30, 2008 while she was returning home in her car from office in the wee hours. The police had claimed robbery as the motive behind the killings of both Jigisha and Soumya. New Delhi: Even before the party could deflect the negative publicity it attracted over the Sandeep Kumar CD case, the AAP finds itself in the midst of yet another controversy after a party MLA raised concerns of debauchery in the party. Devinder Sehrawat, party MLA from Bijwasan, has written to Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, saying he had heard that senior partymen in Delhi and Punjab are exploiting women. Importantly, he admitted he had no proof to substantiate these reports. "I saw disturbing reports about women being exploited in Punjab in return for, or on promise of, a ticket. Am meeting people in Chandigarh... Delhi MLAs are unaware about what is being done by (senior party members) in Punjab," the Times of India quotes Sehrawat as saying in the letter. Treading cautiously, the AAP has chosen not to react to Sehrawat's comments. However, party leader Dilip Pandey said that the party will respond to such baseless allegations. Meanwhile, former AAP minister Sandeep Kumar is now under arrest on allegations of raping a woman. New Delhi: Delhi Police is probing other cases of alleged "sexual assault" against sacked Delhi minister Sandeep Kumar after he disclosed that he has been involved in such acts with "many other women" in the past and also recorded them. Kumar was arrested following a complaint by a woman who figured in a "sex video" clip with him. Kumar was presented in Tis Hazari courts complex on Monday before Special Judge Poonam Chaudhary who remanded him to three-day police custody during in-camera proceedings. Delhi Police told the court in its plea seeking custody of Kumar that he "has disclosed that he has committed sexual assault with the woman and recorded this act as well". "He (Kumar) has disclosed that he has done such similar acts with many other girls, which needs further investigation," Delhi Police stated in the application seeking four day police custody of Kumar. Delhi Police informed the court that the woman complainant approached Kumar around 8-10 months back for providing her a ration card, whereupon the minister asked her to visit him at his office-cum-residence in Sultanpuri. Kumar told her that he will provide her a ration card and job to her sons and offered her a cold drink, after drinking which the woman felt dizzy, the police said. Taking advantage of the woman`s drowsiness Kumar committed "sexual assault" on her, Delhi Police said. The police told the court that co-accused Parveen, who is Kumar`s childhood friend, has been detained and the two men would be brought face-to-face to unearth the "hidden facts". Kumar was not cooperating in the investigations and did not tell the Delhi Police the exact address of his friend Parveen in Bahadurgarh. Delhi Police sought four-day custody remand of Kumar on the ground that it has to conduct sustained interrogation to find out various other facts about the women whose clips and pictures were telecast by news channels, to recover the case properties, to arrest other co-accused and find out the places of incident. The proceeding, which was to take place before a magistrate court in Rohini courts, was changed to Tis Hazari after Delhi Police booked Kumar under section 7 (public servant taking gratification other than legal remuneration in respect of an official act) of Prevention of Corruption Act, which can be tried by a special court dealing with corruption cases. Kumar was produced before a duty magistrate in Rohini court on Sunday, which sent him to one-day police custody. Delhi Police said that during the police custody remand, it has been able to recover mobile phones and hard disk of Kumar. The former Social Welfare and Women and Child Development Minister was arrested on Saturday after the woman approached Sultanpuri police station in north Delhi with a complaint of sexual harassment against him. A case was filed and Kumar booked under Sections 376 (punishment for rape) and 328 (causing hurt by means of poison, with intent to commit an offence) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC). He was also charged under the Information Technology Act`s section 67A (punishment for publishing or transmitting of material containing sexually explicit act in electronic form). The woman in her complaint alleged that she was sexually harassed by Kumar at his office-cum-residence in Sultanpuri area where she had gone to get her ration card made. A Delhi Police team on Sunday visited the house where the woman was allegedly raped. Kumar was sacked on Wednesday after the alleged "sex video" involving him went viral. On Thursday, Kumar defended himself, saying he had resigned on his own and alleged that he was being targeted for being a Dalit. London: A massive wooden replica of 17th century London was torched on the River Thames to mark the 350th anniversary of the Great Fire of London, which paved the way for the building of the modern city. Onlookers crowded along the river that winds through the British capital to watch as the 120-metre (394-foot) long wooden model was set alight. Spectators snapped photographs on their smartphones as the flames devoured the replica buildings floating on the water. The torching of the model of London -- as it stood on September 2, 1666 -- was executed by US "burn artist" David Best and live streamed online. The Great Fire started in Thomas Farrinor's bakery on Pudding Lane and raged until September 5, destroying 80 per cent of the mostly wooden, walled inner city. An estimated 70,000 of the 80,000 residents were rendered homeless by the disaster. By the time the fire was extinguished a total of 13,200 houses, 87 parish churches and Saint Paul's Cathedral had been destroyed. The London of today, with its characteristic English Baroque architecture in grey Portland stone, was built from the ashes of the wooden city, though the old street layout was retained to respect property rights. Recreating the fire yesterday was part of a wider series of events to mark the anniversary of the inferno, celebrating the city's ability to rebuild and thrive. Nick Bodger, head of cultural and visitor development for the City of London, said the capital's resilience -- witnessed again during the 1940s Blitz -- helped it rebuild and survive. "350 years ago, when embers from a baker's oven sparked one of the most catastrophic events the capital has ever witnessed, London's economic prowess almost came to a fiery end," he told reporters in the run-up to the anniversary. "A renewed sense of purpose saw the great city we enjoy today rise from those ashes, develop and thrive." The London's Burning programme saw flames being projected onto Saint Paul's Cathedral -- one of the capital's most iconic monuments which was completed 44 years after the Great Fire. London: British Prime Minister Theresa May has committed to cracking down on immigration from the European Union, while casting doubts on introducing a points-based system, according to her comments released on Sunday. May`s plans for immigration policy in the wake of Britain`s decision to leave the EU remained a key discussion point as she travelled to the eastern Chinese city of Hangzhou to attend the G20 summit. "They (voters) wanted to see an ability to be able to control the movement of people from the European Union. And obviously that`s what I say, not free movement as it has been in the past," she told journalists on Saturday. The June 23 referendum saw Britain vote by 52 percent to leave the EU, following a campaign which was dominated by immigration. May was appointed after her predecessor David Cameron resigned following the vote and -- although she campaigned to remain in the EU -- she has promised to forge ahead with Brexit. Since the result, the new government has grappled with how Britain could restrict migration from the remaining 27 EU nations, and thus violate a core EU principle, without losing access to the bloc`s single market. Foreign Minister Boris Johnson -- one of the leaders of the Brexit campaign -- has said such a combination can be achieved with a points-based immigration system similar to the Australian model. But May cast doubt on such an approach, while recalling her expertise as Britain`s former interior minister. "One of the issues is whether or not points-based systems do work but what I`m saying is, the British people... didn`t want the free movement to continue as it has in the past. We will be going out there to deliver on that," she said.During the discussion en-route to China, May said she did not want to "give away any sort of part of our negotiating hand" ahead of formal talks with the EU. She said there was no "single silver bullet" which could provide an answer to dealing with immigration. "You have to look across the board, you have to look at the whole range of issues. "And obviously dealing with people if they`re discovered here illegally," the prime minister said. May reiterated that there would be no change in the status of EU citizens currently living in the UK before Britain leaves the bloc, which would follow two years of negotiations sparked by the government triggering the Article 50 mechanism. "I expect to be able to guarantee their status. The only circumstances in which that wouldn`t be possible, is if other EU countries don`t guarantee the status of British citizens who are living in other EU countries," she said. The prime minister has repeatedly expressed her intentions to be ambitious in EU negotiations, adopting an upbeat tone echoed by Brexit minister David Davis. "This is an historic and positive moment for our nation. Brexit isn`t about making the best of a bad job. It is about seizing the huge and exciting opportunities that will flow from a new place for Britain in the world. "There will be new freedoms, new opportunities, new horizons for this great country," he said in a statement. Davis is expected to make a statement in parliament on Monday, the details of which have not been published. Hangzhou: In an apparent reference to Pakistan, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday said that one single nation in South Asia was spreading agents of terror in the region. "Indeed one single nation in South Asia is spreading these agents of terror in countries of our region," PM Modi said. Speaking at the G20 Summit in China, PM Modi urged the international community to act in unity and take action against terrorism. He further called them to isolate and sanction supporters of terrorism. We expect the international community to speak and act in unity, and to respond with urgency to fight this menace, PM Modi said. Those who sponsor and support terrorism must be isolated and sanctioned, not rewarded. India has policy of zero tolerance towards terrorism, because anything less than that is not enough, for us terrorist is a terrorist, PM Modi asserted. Concluding his speech, PM Modi said, India appreciates the G20 initiative on combating the financing of terrorism. Soon after Prime Minister Modi's assertion, the G20 countries, including India, also came down heavily on terrorism as they vowed to tackle all sources, techniques and channels of terror financing. The G20, in its communique released after the conclusion of the two-day summit, said, "We strongly condemn terrorism in all forms and manifestations, which poses serious challenges to international peace and security and endangers our ongoing efforts to strengthen the global economy and ensure sustainable growth and development." The G20 nations reaffirmed their solidarity and resolve to fight terrorism in all its forms and wherever it occurs. They vowed to tackle all sources, techniques and channels of terrorist financing, including extortion taxation, smuggling of natural resources, bank looting, looting of cultural property, external donation, and kidnapping for ransom. Earlier, in his meeting with President Xi, PM Modi had expressed concern over terrorism emanating from Pakistan's restive regions of Giligit-Baltistan and Pakistani Kashmir where the China Pakistan Economic Corridor is coming up. (With PTI inputs) Gurgaon: Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar on Monday announced a Gurgaon Development Authority (GDA) will soon come up for better and faster development projects in the city. Addressing a press conference here, he said that the GDA will be formed soon and formation process will start from the 'Haryana Day' (November 1). The state government will celebrate the golden jubilee of its formation this year. Haryana, earlier part of Punjab, became a separate state on November 1, 1966. The chief minister said that he was very happy to announce a long-awaited demand for the city, and that all necessary formalities will be completed within two months once a formation process begins. He said that currently, different proposals and projects needed approvals from different department that causes unnecessary obstacles. Union Minister and local MP Rao Inderjit Singh has been demanding a single authority for all types of development works for years. "Two-bit politicians and bureaucrats sitting in the state capital Chandigarh have been making and passing schemes for Gurgaon without having complete knowledge of ground reality of the city," Singh had said during a debate on whether the city needed GDA for better development. The debate was organised by Haryana Institute of Public Administration (HIPA), which had recommended formation for GDA, as after the implementation of single authority, schemes and budgets for this "Millennium City" will be passed in Gurgaon itself and not from Chandigarh. Khattar said that after the GDA comes into existence, elections for Municipal Corporation Gurgaon (MCG) will be conducted. The present councillors' five-year tenure ended in June. New Delhi: Notwithstanding China's persistent opposition to India's entry into the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG), Japan has once again reiterated its support for India's entry into the nuclear club. A Japanese foreign ministry official told TOI that they continued to work with India to make its NSG membership possible. Yasuhisa Kawamura, the Director-General of Press and Public Diplomacy in Japan's ministry of foreign affairs, said, We intend to continue working with India on the issue as we believe its membership of NSG will help strengthen the non-proliferation regime. Referring to China's stand against India's membership, Kawamura said Beijing's opposition was obvious to all but he added Japan did not want to make any comment on consultations within NSG over the issue. On the issue of India not signing the nuclear non-proliferation treaty (NPT), the Japanese official said that while his country would like to see India sign the treaty, the issue will not come in the way of India's inclusion into the NSG club. Refusing to draw a parallel between India and Pakistan's NSG bid, Kawamura said the country must make more efforts to strengthen its export control regime. The Japanese official also took on China for violating both NPT and NSG guidelines by supplying nuclear technology to Pakistan. New Delhi: In yet another setback to self-styled godman Asaram Bapu, the Supreme Court on Monday denied interim bail to him while stating that his bail plea would be heard only after the medical report. The apex court had earlier in August rejected his bail application. The apex court, however, asked the AIIMS to constitute a medical board to evaluate Asaram`s health condition. The AIIMS was asked to submit their report within a period of ten days.The Rajasthan High Court had earlier rejected Asaram`s bail plea citing that the case had reached its "fag end" and thus it was not "appropriate" to grant him bail. This was his ninth regular bail application to be rejected.In 2013, a minor girl had alleged that Asaram had sexually assaulted her at his ashram in Jodhpur. The self-styled godman was subsequently arrested on August 31, 2013, and has been in jail since then. Asaram`s counsel had sought bail citing that the accused has been suffering several ailments. New Delhi: Days after PM Narendra Modi made 'one nation, one poll' proposal in an interview to a private TV channel, President Pranab Mukherjee on Monday backed the proposal of joint elections. President Pranab Mukherjee has said, "Election Commission can put its mind in changing the Code Of Conduct.", according to CNN-News18. Supporting the PM's proposal on common polls, the President has backed the electoral reforms. The President made these remarks while addressing a programme on the occasion of Teachers' Day. It was proposed that there should be one general election in which all the states go to election together. Hangzhou: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday raised with French President Francois Hollande the leak of confidential data on the Indian Scorpene Class submarines being built in Mumbai in collaboration with French defence company DCNS on the sidelines of the G20 Summit here. On the second and final day of the summit in this east Chinese city, Modi held separate "pull-aside" meetings with Hollande and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan with whom he discussed India's NSG membership. Prior to those meetings, Modi met Britain's new Prime Minister Theresa May and held discussions on "building opportunities" in the aftermath of UK's decision to exit the European Union. In his meeting with Hollande, Modi raised the leak of sensitive data related to Scorpene Class submarines. "This issue has also figured (in the talks)," External Affairs Ministry Spokesperson Vikas Swarup told reporters. Over 22,000 pages of secret data on the capabilities of six highly-advanced submarines being built for the Indian Navy in Mumbai in collaboration with French defence company DCNS were leaked. The data leak reportedly happened overseas. In his meeting with Erdogan, the Prime Minister discussed the issue of India's membership of the 48-member Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG), Swarup said. The discussion with Erdogan on NSG was significant as Turkey was among the few countries -- along with China -- which had stalled India's bid to join the elite grouping at its plenary meeting in June in Seoul. China had then raised objection saying India was not a signatory to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT). Turkey too raised its concern over the presence of supporters of dissident Muslim cleric Fethullah Gulen in India. Turkey accuses Gulen of masterminding the failed July coup attempt. Swarup said enhancing civil aviation cooperation with Turkey also figured during the discussions. With May, the Prime Minister underlined that even after UK's exit from the EU, "Britain remains an important partner" for India. "May also referred to the recent passage of GST (bill) which would further boost trade and investment ties with the UK. She supported PM's reform agenda and the UK is keen to participate in Make in India, Smartcity and Skill India initiatives," he said. The two leaders discussed further enhancing of the defence partnership and Modi invited UK firms to India. They also talked about the challenges of terrorism, calling it "the biggest threat and danger to the world with no boundaries," Swarup said. Modi also invited May to visit India in her new capacity. May accepted the invitation and said would like to make as early a visit to India as possible, sources said. "Modi also touched upon UK's visa policy. In particular he said that the new UK regulations could have negative impact on Indian working professionals wishing to visit UK for short term business visits," the sources said. Modi told May that the recent meeting of India-UK joint group on counter-terrorism was very useful and called for greater collaboration in cyber-security, intelligence sharing and information gathering. Modi sought May's suggestions on further strengthening the partnership particularly trade and investment ties. In this context, he referred to the recent launch of the HSBC Corporate Rupee bond on the London Stock Exchange which has been very successful, Swarup said. Both leaders also looked forward to an early visit by Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar to UK, Swarup said. May said she was very keen to support Modi's vision for India including the broader strategic partnership, the spokesperson said. She underlined the importance Britain attaches to India and Indian diaspora and refereed to the recent visits paid by three UK ministers Preeti Patel, Alok Sharma and Greig Clark to India. In his last bilateral meeting of the day, Modi met Argentine President Mauricio Macri and invited him to India. Modi said he would like to personally take him to the birth place of Mahatma Gandhi, for whom President Macri has always had a special place in his heart, Swarup said. Thanking Modi for the invitation, Macri recalled his two previous visits to India, as a tourist and as a Mayor. Modi thanked Macri for Argentina's strong support for India's NSG membership and said it was important in the context of India's clean energy needs, Swarup said. Macri said Argentina was keen to support India's nuclear energy needs and stressed on the need to diversify Argentina's exports to India while inviting Indian companies to participate in the exploration of shale gas reserves in Argentina. They also discussed India's draft for a Bilateral Investment Treaty and agreed to expand cooperation in areas such as agriculture, solar energy, mining and hydro carbons. Modi also congratulated Argentina on being the next host of G20 summit. Imphal: Police and paramilitary personnel on Monday foiled multi-pronged attempts by protesters to storm the Manipur assembly on the last day of its monsoon session, leaving several people injured. At least two elderly persons were taken to hospital and several people were hurt as security forces fired tear gas. The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Joint Committee on Inner Line Permit System (JCILPS) had announced separate plans to storm the assembly. The district magistrates of both Imphal West and Imphal East districts clamped curfew within a one kilometre radius of the assembly from Sunday midnight. Heavily armed personnel in riot gear were deployed in and around the house. The JCILPS wants an anti-migrant bill. The BJP wants the cancellation of the recruitment tests for police constables. BJP workers led by state unit president Khetrimayum Bhabananda tried to storm the assembly from one side. Another group marched from the western side. A third group came from the eastern side. The protesters shouted slogans against the "corrupt Congress government". New Delhi: Sharing his experience in politics of India post-Independence, President Pranab Mukherjee on Monday said that India is currently a victim of cross-border terrorism and not a homegrown one. He said homegrown terrorism is the biggest menace in the world today, but India has been broadly spared from it. Mukherjee said: "We certainly face attack but from cross-border terrorism. Success of our governance and administration lies in ensuring that homegrown terrorism, which is the world's biggest menace today, is not yet there in India." He was addressing the students of Classes 11 and 12 of the Rajendra Prasad Sarvodaya Vidyalaya at the President Estate. This was second year in a row that he met the students on the occasion of Teachers' Day. Terming Secularism the strength of India, Mukherjee said: "Secularism is part of our life and it is still unfolding." He said that post-Independence, there was communal disharmony, however, India should be glad that her leaders and statesmen kept the people united. The President said: "Certainly, there was a problem of lack of harmony in between, but thanks to the great political leaders and the statesmen who kept the people united. The situation was problematic because after Independence people had to move from one place to another." In India, September 5 is celebrated as Teachers' Day, which is the birth anniversary of India's second President, Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan (September 5, 1888). Radhakrishnan was a staunch believer in education, and was a well-known statesman and scholar. The former President was above all, a teacher. The occasion is a mark of tribute to the contribution made by teachers to the society. New Delhi: In a special gesture, President Pranab Mukherjee will on Monday interact with students of Dr. Rajendra Prasad Sarvodaya Vidyalaya, President`s Estate, on the occasion of Teachers` Day. Around 80 students of Classes XI and XII the school will attend the President`s class. Special arrangements have been made to air the entire event live on DD (News) and DD Bharati Channels of Doordarshan from 10:30 am onwards. The President's class will also be webcast live on the President of India website at webcast.gov.in/president/ and live-streamed on the YouTube channel of Rashtrapati Bhavan. The first citizen of India will also address teachers from various schools of the Delhi Government on the occasion. President Mukherjee will further receive the first copy of a booklet "Umang 2015" which will be released by Deputy Chief Minister of Delhi Manish Sisodia. The President, who was a college teacher and a journalist before he joined politics in 1969, held a joint class for the students of the same school last year too. With ANI inputs Srinagar: The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Monday said that the Hurriyat leaders would be isolated if they did not participate in the peace process of Kashmir by holding talks with the all-party delegation as all other parties would collaborate on the issue. The Indian Government wants that all parties and stakeholders should come together and hold discussions, but if Geelaniji (Syed Ali Shah Geelani) feels that he should not talk, he could do what he feels is suitable. But, he will clearly be pushed to the corner because all parties are going to unite on the Kashmir issue, BJP spokesperson Shaina NC told reporters. She said the all-party delegation is a positive indication and a hand sent out by the Indian Government to push for peace in the Valley. Hurriyat leaders SAS Geelani and Mirwaiz Umar Farooq on Sunday refused to meet a group of the all-party delegation, who arrived in Srinagar to hold meetings with all the stakeholders in the state. However, Jammu Kashmir Liberation Front chief Yasin Malik met with the delegation. The separatists had on Sunday rejected Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Mehbooba Muftis invitation for talks with the all-party delegation. During the first day of its visit, Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh-led delegation met about 200 members in about 30 delegations from various sections of society and listened to their point of view to reach a common solution to the current scenario in Jammu and Kashmir. The Home Minister chaired the meeting of an all-party delegation which was attended by Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti. During the meeting, a detailed presentation was given by the state government highlighting various issues related to the current scenario in Jammu and Kashmir. It was emphasized that a clear roadmap needs to be drawn with a focus on the way forward. It was also stressed upon that the recommendations of Working Groups and Parliamentary delegations need to be considered. While interacting with the delegation, Mehbooba said that Kashmir is a common issue of national interest and should not be viewed as a political issue. All the parties agreed to this fact and emphasised that steps need to be taken to restore normalcy and peace in Kashmir at the earliest. The all-party delegation also met the representatives of various political parties. Various political parties expressed their concern over the injuries to civilians due to the use of pellet guns. The Union Home Minister said that government is already working on the alternatives to pellet guns such as PAVA shells. The all-party delegation will visit Jammu on Tuesday after meeting different civil society delegations in Srinagar in the morning. Srinagar: Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh on Monday lashed out at Hurriyat leaders in Kashmir, who refused to talk to some MPs from an all-party team, saying their conduct defied the spirit of kashmiriyat, insaniyat (humanity) and jamhooriyat (democracy). However, Singh asserted that "the doors and windows for dialogue" on Kashmir were always open but ruled out any talks with Pakistan on the issue in near future saying, "Let us first talk with the people within our country". In response to another question, the Home Minister said he did not want to go into the debate about back channel talks with the separatists or appointment of a fresh team of interlocutors on Kashmir. "Track one, Track Two, Track Three... I do not want to get into this debate," he said. "There are no two opinions that Jammu and Kashmir was, is and will remain an integral part of India. I know people of Kashmir also want this," Singh said, as per PTI. At the same time, the HM made it clear that MPs Sharad Yadav, Sitaram Yechury, D Raja, Jay Prakash Narayan and Assaduddin Owaisi went to meet the separatist leaders in their individual capacity and not as part of the all-party delegation that was on a two-day trip to Jammu and Kashmir. "Some members of the delegation went to meet Hurriyat leaders. We had neither said 'no' nor 'yes' to their meetings. You know what happened. They had gone there in their individual capacity," he told reporters here before flying to Jammu. He was referring to the attempt by the national Opposition leaders from the delegation to hold talks with top Kashmiri separatists on Sunday. While other separatist leaders did meet them briefly but refused to hold talks, hardliner Syed Ali Shah Geelani shut his door on the MPs even as they kept waiting outside his upscale Hyderpora residence for about 10 minutes. This, Rajnath Singh said, "was certainly neither 'Kashmiriyat' nor 'insaniyat' (humane). If you do not want to talk is a different thing. But what they did proves they have no faith in democracy," as per IANS. Singh added that the situation in J&K will improve and everyone who met the delegation had expressed this wish. "Everyone we met has the wish that situation in Kashmir should improve.... I am convinced that the situation in Jammu and Kashmir will improve," he said. Giving details about the engagements of the all-party delegation, Singh said they interacted with more than 30 delegations comprising 300 persons from different walks of life. "We met the political parties, civil society, university teachers, Vice Chancellors, fruit growers, students and some intellectuals," he said. He said the delegation also interacted with state Governor N N Vohra, Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti and officials of the state government yesterday. Referring to his July visit to Kashmir at the start of the unrest in Kashmir, Singh said there was a demand for ban on pellet guns from the people he met. "We formed an expert committee which was mandated to submit a report on alternative to pellet guns within two months. The committee gave its report ahead of time and now PAVA has come. "I understand that no one will lose life due to use of PAVA," he said. The HM said that to address concerns of Kashmiri youths living in different parts of the country the ministry has appointed Dr Sanjay Rai as nodal officer who can be approached on phone numbers 011-23092923, 23092885. We all want the situation to improve in Jammu and Kashmir. I am confident that the situation will improve in coming days. Rajnath Singh (@rajnathsingh) September 5, 2016 Video link of my interaction with the media in Srinagar today. https://t.co/Zf9j0mObrq Rajnath Singh (@rajnathsingh) September 5, 2016 The all-party delegation arrived here on Sunday, nearly two months after a bloody unrest erupted in the aftermath of the July 8 killing of Hizbul Mujahideen 'commander' Burhan Wani. At least 74 persons have been killed and over 12,000 injured in the weeks of the turmoil, the deadliest Kashmir has seen in six years. (With Agency inputs) Srinagar: Authorities made heavy security deployment in Srinagar and other places of the Kashmir Valley Monday to maintain law and order. "Deployments were made in sufficient strength to maintain law and order in the Valley. There will be no curfew anywhere today (Monday)," a senior police official said. Over 200 civilians and security personnel were injured in different incidents on Sunday. Separatists refused to engage in any dialogue with the members of the all party delegation who tried to break ice by calling on them on Sunday. Separatist leader Syed Ali Geelani refused to even open the door for Sharad Yadav, Sitaram Yechury and D.Raja who called on his uptown Hyderpora residence in Srinagar. Mirwaiz Umer Farooq, Shabir Ahmad Shah and Yasin Malik met the the opposition members of the delegation but conveyed their joint decision not to engage in any dialogue under the prevailing situation. The delegation led by Home Minister Rajnath Singh had a detailed meeting with Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti and her cabinet colleagues. Opposition leaders including former Chief Minister Omar Abdullah and state Congress leaders also met the delegation. A delegation of civil society from Ladakh's Kargil district also met the delegation in Srinagar. The all party delegation will visit Jammu later on Monday. Srinagar: A day after separatist members refused to have a dialogue with parliamentarians on the ongoing unrest in Kashmir Valley, Home Minister Rajnath Singh, Monday, hit out at the hardliners saying, it seems they don't believe in 'kashmiriyat, insaniyat and jamuriyat'. Addressing a press conference, the Home Minister spoke tough and said, J&K was and will remain an integral part of India. Giving details about the all-party delegation meeting with various set of groups in Kashmir, Singh said, Everyone is very concerned, we all are of the view that things in Kashmir need to improve. The Centre is cooperating with the state government to restore normalcy in Kashmir, the Home Minister asserted. He reiterated government's stand that the doors are still open for talks. Giving further details he said, around 300 people from different walks of the society have met the MPs and the majority of them were of the view that peace should prevail in the Valley. Meanwhile, CPI-M general secretary Sitaram Yechury urged the government to start an "unconditional dialogue" with all stakeholders, including separatists, for peace in Kashmir that is battling nearly two months of the deadliest unrest in years. Yechury spoke a day after some leaders from the all-party delegation of MPs, who had gone to meet separatist leaders, were snubbed. The separatists on Sunday rebuffed the offer of talks made by some parliamentarians who broke from regular meetings yesterday and reached out to convince them to present their point of view before the delegation. The team from Delhi met some 200 people of 30 delegations, including mainstream regional political parties, on the first day of its Kashmir visit. The situation in the Valley continues to be tense amid recurring street protests, triggered by the July 8 killing of Hizbul Mujahideen commander Burhan Wani. At least 74 people have been killed and nearly 12,000 injured in the weeks of the unrest, the deadliest since 2010 when some 120 people died in firing by police and paramilitary troopers. New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Monday ordered Karnataka government to release 15,000 cusecs of Cauvery water to Tamil Nadu for 10 days. Earlier, the apex court had advised Tamil Nadu and Karnataka "live and let live", as both the states locked horns and traded charges in the courtroom over the release of Cauvery water. While directing the release of 15,000 tmcft of water every day, the bench took note of the impact of non-availability of required water on the summer crops and the plight of farmers. The apex court also directed Tamil Nadu to approach the Supervisory Committee, set up to implement award of Cauvery Water Disputes Tribunal (CWDT), within three days for the release of Cauvery water as per the final order of Tribunal. Tamil Nadu has contended that even if it was to accept the Karnataka stand that due to deficient rainfall in the current year, the inflow of water into four major reservoirs in the State less, the same (shortfall in inflow of water into the reservoirs) could not have been more than 28 percent. The order came after senior advocate Fali S Nariman, appearing for Karnataka, said as a "goodwill gesture" the state government was ready to ensure flow of 10,000 cusecs (about 0.86 TMC) per day from September 7 to 12. However, Tamil Nadu sought release of 20,000 cusecs of water per day instead of 10,000 cusecs of water in the interest of the farmers of the state. During the hearing, senior advocate Shekhar Naphade, appearing for Tamil Nadu, contended that Karnataka has not been complying with the Tribunal's directions in the final order and there has been flagrant violation of the same. He said that if the water is not released by Karnataka, the 'samba' crops will be damaged, which will lead to disastrous consequences for the farmers of Tamil Nadu. The Cauvery Water Dispute Tribunal's final order was passed on February 2, 2007 and on the direction of the top court, published in official Gazette on February 19, 2013. The final order by the tribunal has been challenged by Karnataka and Kerala. The bench was told that since it has received 33 tmcft of water only so far, Karnataka may be directed to release 35 tmcft of water. The court directed listing of the matter for further hearing on September 16. Kochi: The Kerala Vigilance and Anti Corruption Bureau on Monday called in a personal staff of former Excise Minister and Congress leader K Babu for questioning in connection with probe into his alleged disproportionate assets. Babu has termed Saturday's raid by the Vigilance and Anti Corruption Bureau as "political vendetta". On Monday, the officials called in a personal staff of Babu, who was with him during the period he was minister between 2011-16. On Saturday, the Vigilance had conducted simultaneous raids at the houses of two of Babu's aides in Ernakulam district and also at the homes of his two married daughters. On Monday, the Vigilance opened the bank lockers of Babu's daughters. Babu belongs to the faction in the Congress party led by former Chief Minister Oommen Chandy. While Chandy has criticised the raids as "political vendetta", state Congress president V.M.Sudheeran, who objected to Babu contesting the May 2016 assembly polls from Thripunithura, has remained non committal. Leader of opposition Ramesh Chennithala told IANS that the raid against Babu was clear vendetta. Former Chief Minister VS Achuthanandan told reporters that the scams of the previous Congress-led UDF will be brought out by the Vigilance. "All what the Congress leaders are saying against the raids is false," said Achuthanandan. State Congress vice president M.M. Hassan termed the "silence" of Sudheeran as most unfortunate. "The Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee is duty bound to come to the aid of Babu," said Hassan. The raids started on an FIR filed in a vigilance court in Ernakulam district saying that Babu had accumulated wealth disproportionate to his known sources of income. Neemuch: It is simply a heartbreaking story. A tribal, Jagdish, from the state of Madhya Pradesh was turned away from a crematorium and was not allowed to cremate his dead wife because he could not pay for it. Not only that, he was also turned away from municipal corporation, with some people asking him to throw the body in the river. However, Jagdish decided to perform the last rites and collected pieces of wood, polythene and rubber to cremate her. This is what he had to say: "Was turned away from municipal corporation. They said approach the corporator who is also a tribal, but he too refused to help. Some said throw her in the river, but I decided to collect pieces of wood, polythene and rubber to cremate her," he said, as per ANI. The incident comes days after the story of Dana Majhi, the tribal man who carried his wife's body on his shoulder in Kalahandi district, hit the headlines. On August 24, Majhi, a resident of Melghar village in Kalahandi district, had carried his wife's body on his shoulder and walked 10 km accompanied by his minor daughter after allegedly being denied a hearse by the district hospital. The district administration had disengaged a male staff nurse and a security agency of the hospital on the charge of negligence in duty which led to Majhi carrying his wife's body on his shoulder despite the fact that the government has a programe for transportation of bodies from the hospital to the deceased's residence. The incident created outrage across the country and left an impact abroad too. Prime Minister of Baharin Prince Khalifa bin Salman Al Khalifa has reportedly extended financial help to Majhi's family. (With Agency inputs) Mumbai/Hyderabad/Bhopal/Chennai/Bengaluru: Ganesh Chaturthi, marking the beginning of 10-day festivities, was celebrated across the country on Monday with people welcoming God of good luck and prosperity - Lord Ganesha - to their homes and community pandals amid fanfare. Cities in various states wore a festive look as the festivities kicked off amid gaiety and the prayers by devotees. Maharashtra: In Maharashtra, the festival began with devotees, attired in traditional clothes, installing colourfully-crafted idols in their homes and tastefully decorated pandals across the state, including in major cities like Mumbai, Pune and Nagpur. Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, who installed an eco-friendly Ganesh idol at his home, appealed the public to celebrate the festival in an environment-friendly manner. "Happy Ganesh Chaturthi to all! Let's celebrate and enjoy Ganeshotsav the environment friendly way," he tweeted. Performed Ganesh Pujan at Varsha, celebrating #Ganeshotsav the environment friendly way! pic.twitter.com/kTpIq7AaKw Devendra Fadnavis (@Dev_Fadnavis) September 5, 2016 In Mumbai, devotees took part in 'aarti' at several temples, including the famous Prabhadevi-based Siddhivinayak Temple. This year, megastar Amitabh Bachchan has lent his voice for an 'aarti' at Siddhivinayak Temple. The 73-year-old actor tweeted that it was a "blessing" for him to be given the "divine honour". Several popular Ganesh Mandals were thronged by devotees since wee hours, with the popular Lalbaugcha Raja starting prayers at 4 AM, followed by darshan at 6 AM. Other prominent Ganesh mandals like GSB Seva Mandal in Kings circle, has a 14-feet long idol made of clay while Wadala GSB Mandal has designed its pandal like the famous Tirupati Balaji Temple. These pandals witnessed long queues of people waiting to get darshan of the God of Wisdom. Bollywood personalities like Salman Khan, Jeetendra, Nana Patekar, Akshay Kumar, Hrithik Roshan, Shilpa Shetty, Suresh Wadekar, Govinda and a host of Marathi film and theatre actors are the prominent names who celebrate Ganesh festival at their homes by installing idols. In Nagpur, Union Shipping minister Nitin Gadkari performed the traditional rituals in presence of his family members at his residence 'Gadkari Wada' in Mahal area in the eastern part of the city. As many as 1,163 Ganesh idols are being installed at public places in Nagpur, as per the city Police Information Centre. Police have beefed up security for the festival across the state, as per PTI. Rest of the country: In Hyderabad, Lord Ganesha's idols of all sizes and in different colours and 'avtars' were installed in specially decorated 'pandals' or on makeshift platforms in residential neighbourhoods and commercial centres. About 40,000 idols have been installed in public places. Like every year, the tallest idol has been installed in Khairatabad, the heart of the city. This year, the organisers have arranged 58-foot tall idol. Long queues of devotees were seen at the biggest idol. Telangana and Andhra Pradesh Governor ESL Narasimhan and his wife Vimla Narasimhan started the festivities with 'puja' at Khairatabad idol. The festivities will conclude on September 15 with a mammoth immersion procession, which brings the entire city to a halt. As the festivities are coinciding with Muslim festival of 'Bakr Eid', police is making additional security arrangements to maintain law and order. 'Bakr Eid' will be celebrated on September 13, as per IANS. Thousands of people across Karnataka celebrated the beginning of the 10-day Ganesha festival on Monday with religious fervour and piety. In Bengaluru, the famous Dodda Ganesha temple at Basavangudi in the southern suburb, was the centre of activity, as the people from across the city made a beeline since morning to pray and worship him with offerings. In Madhya Pradesh, devotees crowded temples while many people installed idols in their homes with great pomp and show. People were seen visiting the Birla temple and other temples in the capital city Bhopal since morning. Many people were seen buying Ganesha statues from the major markets in the city. Grand Ganesha statues are being installed in public places where religious and cultural programmes related to the festival are being held. Ganesh Chaturthi, also called Vinayaka Chaturthi was celebrated across Tamil Nadu with people performing prayers before clay idols of the elephant-headed god. People also thronged Vinayaka temples, where special prayers were conducted before the grandly decorated idols. Many houses wore a festive look, as people held special prayers at home too. History of the festival: The festival, initiated in an open public format in 1892 by Mumbai's Bhausaheb Laxman Javale alias Bhau Rangari, enters the 125th year. It was popularised on a mass scale by freedom-fighter Lokmanya Bal Gangadhar Tilak from 1893 onwards in Pune to unite the people against the British Rule and in the struggle for Indian Independence. In less than a decade, it had spread across the state in a big way and even other parts of the country where public Ganeshotsav celebrations were held. A century and a quarter later, the festival has transformed into Maharashtra's biggest, most opulent, glittering fiesta drawing lakhs of devotees and tourists, with the biggest celebrations held in Mumbai, Pune and the coastal Konkan region. (With Agency inputs) Mumbai/Nagpur: People in Maharashtra on Friday welcomed the God of good luck and prosperity --Lord Ganesha -- to their homes and community pandals amid fanfare as the 10-day-long festival devoted to the state's most beloved deity commenced with religious fervour. The festival began with devotees, attired in traditional clothes, installing colourfully-crafted idols of the elephant-headed God in their homes and tastefully decorated pandals across the state, including in major cities like Mumbai, Pune and Nagpur. Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, who installed an eco-friendly Ganesh idol at his home, appealed the public to celebrate the festival in an environment-friendly manner. "HappyGaneshChaturthi to all! Let's celebrate & enjoy Ganeshotsav the environment friendly way.#ganapatibappamorya," he tweeted. The mood was full of gaiety and devotion, with chants of 'Ganpati Bappa Morya' reverberating across Maharashtra. In Mumbai, devotees took part in 'aarti' at several temples, including the famous Prabhadevi-based Siddhivinayak Temple. This year, megastar Amitabh Bachchan has lent his voice for an 'aarti' at Siddhivinayak Temple. The 73-year-old actor tweeted that it was a "blessing" for him to be given the "divine honour". Several popular Ganesh Mandals were thronged by devotees since wee hours, with the popular Lalbaugcha Raja starting prayers at 4 AM, followed by darshan at 6 AM. Other prominent Ganesh mandals like GSB Seva Mandal in Kings circle, has a 14-feet long idol made of clay while Wadala GSB Mandal has designed its pandal like the famous Tirupati Balaji Temple. These pandals witnessed long queues of people waiting to get darshan of the God of Wisdom. Bollywood personalities like Salman Khan, Jeetendra, Nana Patekar, Akshay Kumar, Hrithik Roshan, Shilpa Shetty, Suresh Wadekar, Govinda and a host of Marathi film and theatre actors are the prominent names who celebrate Ganesh festival at their homes by installing idols. In Nagpur, Union Shipping minister Nitin Gadkari performed the traditional rituals in presence of his family members at his residence 'Gadkari Wada' in Mahal area in the eastern part of the city. As many as 1,163 Ganesh idols are being installed at public places in Nagpur, as per the city Police Information Centre. Police have beefed up security for the festival across the state. Mumbai: The ten-day-long Ganesh Utsav begins today and Mumbai has decked up to welcome its favourite Lord Ganesha. This year, Mumbai will have about 6,300 sarvajanik Ganesh pandals, more than 1.2 lakh home Ganesh idols and about 9,000 Gauri idols.While Mumbaikars are busy finishing their decorations and some last minute shopping, the Mumbai Police is on their toes to ensure that the city remains safe and peaceful during these ten days.The Mumbai Police will use drone cameras at five of the most crowded immersion points of the city. Traffic restrictions will also be in place to avoid inconvenience to devotees flocking the city for darshan and also to ensure that visarjan routes remain clear.While Mumbai`s most popular `Lalbaugcha Raja` has got himself a throne in the shape of a huge owl, `Mumbaicha Raja` sits inside the replica of Badrinath temple while a replica of Kunkeshwar temple will be the humble abode of `Andherica Raja` for the next ten days. President Pranab Mukherjee and Vice-President Hamid Ansari have greeted the people on the auspicious occasion. .In his message, President Mukherjee hoped that Lord Ganesha remove all obstacles on the path of progress and prosperity of the nation. He asked the people to dedicate the day for building a strong and vibrant nation. Vice President Ansari said that Lord Ganesh is revered as an embodiment of wisdom, prosperity and good fortune in the country.He added invoking Lord Ganesh, before start of any good work and project, is a common practice. He hoped that this festival will bring peace, harmony and prosperity in the country. With ANI inputs Ghaziabad: Nupur Talwar, serving life sentence for the murder of her daughter Aarushi, was on Monday released on parole for three weeks from Dasna jail here. According to Jailor RB Yadav, as per orders of the Allahabad High Court, she was released from the prison at 7.20 pm. In July, Nupur had pleaded before the High Court for parole as her ailing mother needed medical attention. The court had accepted her plea on August 29 and granted her three weeks' parole. For the last few days, the paperwork related to her parole was going on. The order for her parole was today sent to the prison authorities after completion of formalities. In May 2008, 14-year-old Aarushi and the domestic help of the Talwar household, Hemraj (45), were found murdered at their residence in Noida. A court in Uttar Pradesh subsequently held Nupur and her husband Rajesh Talwar, both dentists, guilty in the double murder case and sentenced them to life imprisonment. They have been in jail since 2013. Lucknow: On Sunday, the Uttar Pradesh police chief Javeed Ahmed was incapacitated for a few seconds and admitted to 'seeing stars in broad daylight' after he volunteered to play target to a Taser shot on himself. The Indian unit of an American company that supplies Tasers had held the demo to ascertain the effectiveness of the weapon that is used against non-complaint aggressive suspects resisting arrests. In a video tweeted by the IPS Association, the top cop is seen being held by his colleagues while the gun, being tested for its efficiency, is administered. Soon after the test-fire shot, Ahmed shrieked a little as the person administering it instructed his colleagues to make him lie on the ground immediately. The officials asked him to relax and helped him gets back on his feet after a few seconds. An electroshock weapon, a Taser gun fires dart-like electrodes at the target. These electrodes induce temporary immobility by incapacitating neuromuscular functions, that is the reflexes, of the body. The gun is helpful in nabbing criminals. "Taare dikhne lage (I saw stars)", Ahmed told his colleague, who burst into a laughter. Ahmed said he volunteered to take the demo on him as it was about leading from the front. "Everyone present in the room was human as I was, so there was no point in asking somebody else to do it," the TOI quoted him as saying. Kabul: At least 24 people were killed and 91 wounded today in a Taliban double suicide bombing in central Kabul during late afternoon rush hour, the latest assault on the Afghan capital. The carnage near the defence ministry came as the Taliban ramp up their nationwide summer offensive against the US-backed government. The two bombers on foot blew themselves up in rapid succession, in an assault apparently aimed at inflicting mass casualties as government employees left the ministry after work. "The first explosion occurred on a bridge near the defence ministry. When soldiers, policemen and civilians rushed to the scene, there was the second explosion," defence ministry spokesman Mohammad Radmanish told AFP. Health ministry spokesman Waheed Majroh said the attack left 24 people dead and 91 others wounded, some of them seriously. "The casualties could rise still further," Majroh said. The Italian-run Emergency Hospital in Kabul tweeted that it had so far received 21 injured people, four of whom died on arrival. President Ashraf Ghani strongly condemned the attack and offered condolences to the families of the victims. "The enemies of Afghanistan have lost their ability to fight the Security and Defense Forces of the country," Ghani said in a statement. "That is why they are attacking highways, cities, mosques, schools and common people." Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said on Twitter that the defence ministry was the object of the first attack, while police were targeted in the second. The attack took place more than a week after 16 people were killed when militants stormed the American University of Afghanistan in Kabul, in a nearly 10-hour raid that prompted anguished pleas for help from trapped students. Explosions and gunfire rocked the campus in that attack, which came just weeks after two university professors -- an American and an Australian -- were kidnapped at gunpoint near the school. Their whereabouts are still unknown and no group so far has publicly claimed responsibility for the abductions, the latest in a series of kidnappings in the conflict-torn country. The uptick in violence in the capital comes as the Taliban escalate nationwide attacks, underscoring the worsening security situation since NATO forces ended their combat mission at the end of 2014. Afghan forces backed by US troops are seeking to head off a potential Taliban takeover of Lashkar Gah, the capital of the southern opium-rich province of Helmand. The Taliban have also closed in on Kunduz -- the northern city they briefly seized last year in their biggest military victory since the 2001 US invasion -- leaving Afghan forces stretched on multiple fronts. Hangzhou: The US and Russia struggled today to keep alive negotiations to end the bloodshed between US-backed rebels and Syria's Russian-aligned regime. Even as top diplomats vowed to keep trying, President Barack Obama expressed scepticism that an unlikely alliance between rivals would yield the breakthrough needed to end the 5-year-old civil war. Still, as Obama and Russian President Vladimir Putin attended an economic summit, the leaders were under pressure to push the negotiations beyond the sticking points that have thus far prevented a deal. White House spokesman Ned Price said Obama and Putin were huddling on the sidelines of the Group of 20 economic summit, with details of their informal meeting expected to be released later today. A second day of talks in China between Secretary of State John Kerry and his Russian counterpart, Sergey Lavrov, ended Monday without a deal to announce. The two diplomats met for an hour but emerged still at odds on certain issues, said a senior State Department official, who wasn't authorised to discuss the talks by name and requested anonymity. The talks culminated a several weeks of searching for a cease-fire between Syrian President Bashar Assad's government and moderate rebels that would expand access for hundreds of thousands of civilians caught in the crossfire. The strategy has hinged on an unlikely US-Russian militarily partnership against extremist groups operating in Syria. But beyond the Islamic State group and al-Qaida, the two powers have conflicting views about who fits in that category - as well as a deep and mutual distrust that the other party will hold up its end of the bargain. "We're not there yet," Obama told reporters yesterday. "It's premature for us to say that there is a clear path forward, but there is the possibility at least for us to make some progress on that front." Obama's wariness was less apparent among his State Department negotiators, who had been so hopeful a deal could come together while world leaders gathered in China that they scheduled a press conference and announced plans to brief reporters on the pact. London: Britain on Monday appointed its ambassador to Iran for the first time since 2011, in a further sign of warming bilateral relations between the two countries. A British Foreign Office statement said Nicholas Hopton, previously British Charge d'affaires in Tehran, has been upgraded to ambassador. "This comes a year after the reopening of the embassy in Tehran and marks an important step forward in the two countries' diplomatic relations," Xinhua news agency cited the statement as saying. Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson said: "The upgrade in diplomatic relations gives us the opportunity to develop our discussions on a range of issues, including our consular cases." He expressed the hope that the move will mark "the start of more productive cooperation" between Britain and Iran on issues such as implementation of the nuclear deal and the expansion of the trading relationship. Hopton has served at the British embassies in Paris, Rome and Rabat before becoming ambassador to Yemen. Relations between Britain and Iran deteriorated in the early 2010s in the wake of new British sanctions against Iran. The two countries agreed to restore full diplomatic relations in 2014. Damascus: Bombings claimed by the Islamic State group killed dozens in mainly government-controlled areas of Syria on Monday, as Washington and Moscow failed to agree a deal to stem the violence. The blasts killed at least 48 people and wounded dozens a day after IS lost the last stretch of the Syria-Turkey border under its control. In China, where world powers were gathered for the G20 meeting, US President Barack Obama and Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin touted "productive" talks and "some alignment" on Syria. But the two powers failed to produce an expected deal to ease the violence in Syria, where more than 290,000 people have been killed and more than half the population displaced since March 2011. The latest carnage came in a wave of blasts, the deadliest of which was a double bombing in the coastal province of Tartus, a stronghold of President Bashar al-Assad`s government. The bombings hit the Arzuna bridge outside the provincial capital of Tartus city, killing at least 35 people and wounding 43, state media said. Tartus has been largely spared the worst violence of Syria`s conflict since it began with anti-government protests, and has become a refuge for many Syrians fleeing the fighting. In the northeastern city of Hasakeh, mostly controlled by Kurdish forces, a bomber on a motorbike killed six members of the Kurdish security forces and two civilians.In central Homs city, the target was the Al-Zahraa neighbourhood, whose residents are mostly from the same Alawite sect as Assad and have regularly been targeted. Four people were killed there in a car bombing that hit a checkpoint at the district`s entrance. State television broadcast images of the aftermath, showing rubble strewn on the streets and smoke rising from the charred remains of vehicles. Another attack hit the Al-Sabura road west of the capital Damascus, with state media saying one person was killed and three wounded. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a Britain-based monitoring group, said that attack targeted a checkpoint and killed three people. The IS-affiliated Amaq agency carried a statement saying the jihadist group was behind a "string of simultaneous suicide attacks". Syria expert Thomas Pierret said the attacks were part of a new IS "strategy... to `seduce` rebels by demonstrating IS`s capacity to strike the regime". "IS also wants to whip up sectarian tensions for its benefit and is counting on more of these events to mobilise its supporters in these regions," he told AFP. The latest violence came a day after Turkish forces and allied rebels seized the last part of the Turkish-Syrian border under IS control. The operation -- dubbed "Euphrates Shield" -- pushed further into IS territory on Monday and captured another five villages, the Observatory said. Turkey began an operation inside Syria on August 24, targeting both IS and Syrian Kurdish forces that have been a key US partner in fighting the jihadist group in Syria.The operation has put Washington in an awkward position, with two key allies at times clashing. A State Department spokesman said Monday Washington`s envoy to the US-led coalition against IS was in Syria and Turkey last week for talks with Syrian Kurdish forces and Turkish officials. Washington has urged Kurdish forces to honour a pledge to withdraw east of the Euphrates river to allay Turkish fears of a contiguous semi-autonomous Kurdish zone in Syria. Turkey`s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Monday he was working with Russia and the US to have northern Syria declared a no-fly zone, a proposal that has failed to materialise in the past. Washington backs the uprising against Assad, but is working with his key ally Moscow on how to stem the bloodshed. Hopes had been raised that a deal would be announced over the weekend, but US officials said it floundered after Russia backtracked. Despite this, Obama said Monday a meeting with Putin on Syria had included "productive conversations about what a real cessation of hostilities would look like". Putin said he felt there was "some alignment of positions and an understanding of what we could do to de-escalate the situation in Syria". He said a deal could be firmed up in the "coming days" but refused to elaborate, saying that US and Russian officials are still "working out some of our preliminary agreements". US Secretary of State John Kerry and his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov are expected to continue the talks in the coming days. Aden (Yemen): A possible US drone strike killed seven suspected Al-Qaeda operatives in central Yemen, a security official said. The official said a missile fired by what was "probably an American drone" hit an apartment building in the Al-Wadi area of Marib province, east of the capital Sanaa, killing seven people late yesterday. The United States, which rarely acknowledges its years-long unmanned drone campaign in Yemen, is thought to have carried out dozens of strikes against what it says are Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) members. AQAP and the Islamic State group have exploited a power vacuum created by the conflict between the government and Iran-backed rebels to expand their presence in the Arabian Peninsula country. The US has vowed to continue its campaign against AQAP, which it considers to be the Al-Qaeda network's deadliest franchise. A Saudi-led Arab military coalition that backs the Yemeni government has also turned its sights on AQAP, targeting it with air strikes. The coalition is supporting pro-government forces which launched an offensive this year to retake several towns from AQAP. More than 6,600 people have been killed in the Yemeni conflict since March 2015, the UN says. Moscow: Russian President Vladimir Putin held talks with British Prime Minister Theresa May for the first time Sunday, telling her Russia wants to re-establish ties in all areas, the Kremlin said. The meeting, on the margins of a G20 summit in the eastern Chinese city of Hangzhou, was "good, constructive and open," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters. "Mr Putin gave a clear and unequivocal indication that we are interested in completely re-establishing our relations and dialogue in all areas, including the most sensitive ones," he added. In that regard Russia is ready "to move forward as far as the British are prepared to go," Peskov said. British relations with Russia have soured in recent years, notably over Britain`s efforts to prosecute the case of Kremlin critic and former spy Alexander Litvinenko, who was murdered by radiation poisoning in London in 2006. Britain has also been one of the most fervent supporters of Western sanctions against Moscow over Russia`s role in the Ukraine crisis. When May became prime minister in July, following the resignation of David Cameron, Putin said he was ready for "constructive dialogue" with the new British leader. The Kremlin strongman had accused the British government of being "overconfident" and "superficial" in the June referendum that saw the UK vote to split from the European Union, a decision which cost Cameron his job. Putin warned that the move to leave the EU "will have consequences for the United Kingdom, for all of Europe and for us, of course." Many observers have said that Brexit could play into Putin`s hands as he has been accused of trying to drive a wedge between EU members. Toronto: Former Canadian Prime Minister Brian Mulroney on Sunday criticized Donald Trump`s potential plan to scrap the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) and said the US presidential candidate will likely lose the Nov. 8 election. Speaking on CTV`s "Question Period" politics talk show, Mulroney, who in the 1980s signed a Canada-US free trade deal, said scrapping NAFTA will hurt the United States. "Millions and millions of jobs in the United States depend directly upon their trade with Canada and Mexico," Mulroney said. "You tear that up - my mother used to say, `You`re cutting off your nose to spite your face.`" Republican presidential nominee Trump has railed against the NAFTA trade deal with Canada and Mexico as a US job killer, saying that if elected, he would be prepared to scrap it if he could not negotiate much better terms for the United States. The North American Free Trade Agreement took effect in 1994 during the administration of President Bill Clinton, the husband of Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton. Trump also has a hardline immigration plan that emphasized deporting illegal immigrants who commit crimes. His proposals include building a wall at the border with Mexico. Mulroney said that while Trump`s rhetoric "carried him through the Republican primaries," he does not think "something that negative carries you to the White House." Trump`s campaign team did not immediately respond to a request for comment. New York: The police in Florida, the US, have arrested a fugitive by tracking him on Facebook where he had put his "Wanted" poster as profile picture. The Stuart Police Department in Florida were hunting Mack Yearwood for an accusation of battery -- a criminal offence involving use of force against another, resulting in harmful, offensive or sexual contact, CNET reported on Monday. "If you are wanted by the police, it's probably not a good idea to use the 'Wanted of the Week' poster of yourself as your profile pic," the Stuart Police Department wrote on its Facebook page. The police had few clues about Yearwood's whereabouts and they decided to check out his Facebook page to see what they could find. They found an image of Yearwood in a "Wanted" poster from another Florida jurisdiction, Citrus county. A spokesperson from the department said he was not sure why Yearwood had displayed the "Wanted" poster. With two warrants on his name, the police decided to go to Yearwood's brother's house and arrested Yearwood. Jerusalem: The Israeli air force hit Syrian government forces after mortar fire from its war-wracked neighbour struck the Israeli-held zone of the Golan Heights on Sunday, the military said. It said in a statement that "mortar fire" from Syria hit an open area without causing any apparent injuries, but it did not specify how many shells fell. Unlike a similar incident on August 22 the Israelis did not immediately characterise the incident as stray fire. "In response to mortar fire earlier today, the Israel Defence Forces (IDF) targeted cannons of the Syrian regime in the northern Syrian Golan Heights," the English-language statement said. A spokeswoman told AFP that the Israeli fire came in an air strike. "The Syrian government must be held accountable for this breach of Israeli sovereignty," military spokesman Peter Lerner wrote on his official Twitter account. "The IDF will continue to act to safeguard Israel." In the August 22 exchange, the Israeli air force hit what it said was a Syrian army rocket launcher in response to "stray fire from Syrian conflict". There were similar events in July and previously. Israel has sought to avoid being drawn into Syria`s complex war which is now in its sixth year, but it has attacked Syrian military targets when fire from the conflict spills over. Israel seized 1,200 square kilometres (460 square miles) of the Golan Heights from Syria in the Six-Day War of 1967 and later annexed it in a move never recognised by the international community. Seoul: North Korea fired three ballistic missiles into the sea off its east coast on Monday, South Korea`s Office of Joint Chiefs of Staff said in a statement. The missiles were fired into the Sea of Japan (East Sea) from the North`s Hwangju county at around 0300 GMT, a defense ministry spokesman said, more sabre-rattling that follows a submarine-launched ballistic missile test some two weeks ago. It is not known yet what type of missile was launched on Monday, the spokesman said, adding that South Korea`s military was analysing the test. North Korea has staged a string of missile tests this year, with the most recent August 24 submarine-launched ballistic missile flying some 500 kilometres (300 miles) towards Japan. That launch, which was widely-condemned, marked what weapons analysts described as a clear step forward for North Korea`s nuclear strike ambitions. Monday`s missile launch came hours after South Korean President Park Geun-Hye and Chinese President Xi Jinping met on the sideline of the G20 Summit in Hangzhou. China is the North`s sole major ally and economic lifeline but ties have strained recently over the North`s nuclear and missile tests that raised tension on the peninsula. Madrid: More than 1,000 people have been evacuated after a wildfire fuelled by intense heat roared through brush surrounding a popular tourist resort on Spain's Costa Blanca, officials said today. Some 300 firefighters backed 20 water-dropping aircraft were battling the blaze which broke out Sunday near the Mediterranean resort of Javea, a local emergency services official said. Officials suspect the fire was started deliberately. Officials evacuated over 1,000 people late on Sunday from Javea and the resort of Benitatxell near Benidorm, popular with British and German tourists, due to the threat from the flames. They were put up in schools. Residents of Javea also offered to put up evacuees for the night and gave them food and water, Javea city councillor Maria del Pilar Zamora told private television Antena 3. Photos and videos posted on social media showed flames raging near built up areas. Several homes were completely destroyed by the fire, according to Antena 3. Among those who posted photos of the blaze was BBC host Chris Stark who was on vacation in the area. "This is crazy. I think my car and maybe my apartment is on fire," he Tweeted on Sunday. He sent another tweet on Monday saying he was safe. Firefighters said the blaze was fuelled by scorching temperatures and low humidity levels. Most of Spain faced an "extreme risk" of wildfires on Monday due to the heat, with temperatures over 40 degrees Celsius (104 Fahrenheit) in some parts. Spain routinely suffers wildfires during the hot summer months but there have been fewer large blazes in 2016 than in recent years. There were just 13 wildfires that destroyed over 500 hectares (1,200 acres) of land between January 1 and August 28, according to a tally kept by the agriculture ministry. Ramallah: Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas has agreed on a Russian proposal for him to meet Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as part of a new peace push, an official said Monday. Netanyahu has said he is open to such a meeting together with Russian President Vladimir Putin. But the Palestinians have questioned Israel`s commitment to the initiative and disagreements have derailed previous attempts to arrange talks. "We told the Russian side today that president Abbas accepted the Russian initiative about the meeting of Abbas and Netanyahu with President Putin in Moscow," said Abed al-Hafeez Nofal, the Palestinian ambassador to Moscow. "But it is clear for us that the Israelis are evading the requirements of the meeting," he told AFP by phone, without providing further details. Abbas is currently travelling in Poland and his entourage could not immediately be reached for comment. Netanyahu earlier Monday discussed the proposal with Putin`s Middle East envoy Mikhail Bogdanov in Jerusalem. They "discussed President Putin`s proposal to host a face-to-face meeting between the prime minister and president Abbas in Moscow," Netanyahu`s office said in a statement. "The prime minister presented Israel`s position that he is always ready to meet with president Abbas directly and without preconditions. He is therefore reviewing the Russian president`s proposal and the timing of a possible meeting." Bogdanov was expected in Ramallah for talks with Palestinian officials on Tuesday. The Palestinian ambassador also told Russian news agency Interfax that Bogdanov had met Abbas in Jordan three weeks ago and "received his agreement to participate in such a meeting". The ambassador said the Palestinian side "had planned for the meeting to take place on September 9." But he said the talks had been postponed indefinitely "after Israel`s decision to take a pause and have a think about agreeing." Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi said recently Putin wanted to host an Israeli-Palestinian summit to revive peace talks. Abbas`s office has said previously that the Palestinians are ready to participate in any peace initiative aimed at a "comprehensive and fair solution". But Palestinian leaders also say years of negotiations with the Israelis have not ended the occupation of the West Bank, and they have more recently pursued an international strategy. They have previously said an Abbas-Netanyahu meeting would lead nowhere without a freeze on Israeli settlement building, the release of Palestinian prisoners and a deadline for an end to the occupation. Peace efforts have been at a standstill since a US-led initiative collapsed in April 2014. The last substantial public meeting between Abbas and Netanyahu is thought to have been in 2010, though there have been unconfirmed reports of secret meetings since then. The chairman of the foreign affairs committee in Israel`s parliament, Avi Dichter, told journalists Monday he appreciated other countries` efforts to try to mediate between Palestinians and Israelis, but "true negotiations, true talks, a true process will be tete-a-tete." Damascus: The Syrian army wrested back control over a series of military bases in Aleppo on Sunday, reimposing a full siege on rebel-held areas in the eastern part of Aleppo city, Syria`s national TV reported. The military forces recaptured all the military bases near the al-Ramuseh area south of Aleppo, Xinhua news agency quoted the report as saying. The rebels, mainly the Jaish al-Fateh, or the Army of Conquest, unleashed a wide-scale offensive in August, capturing the military colleges and breaking the government-imposed siege on rebel-held areas in eastern Aleppo. The Syrian forces, backed by the Lebanese Hezbollah group and Russian airstrikes, mounted a counter-attack, succeeding on Sunday to capture those areas and placing back the siege. Previously, the army said the civilians wishing to leave eastern Aleppo are allowed to do so, while the rebels would be granted pardon if they laid down their weapons and surrendered to the army. It`s not yet clear whether the pardon is still in place after the military recaptures of the bases. Istanbul: Turkey will never allow the formation of an "artificial state" in northern Syria, Prime Minister Binali Yildirim said on Sunday, referring to the US-backed Kurdish fighters whose advance Ankara is now aiming to stop. Turkey and its allies opened a new line of attack in northern Syria on Saturday, as Turkish tanks rolled across the border and Syrian fighters swept in from the west to take villages held by Islamic State and check the advance of the US-backed Syrian Kurdish YPG. Turkey launched its operation in Syria, called Euphrates Shield, on Aug.24, driving out Islamic State from the border town of Jarablus. Much of the focus since has been on the YPG militia, as Ankara fears its growing control of northern Syria. "We will never allow the formation of an artificial state in the north of Syria," Yildirim said in a speech in the southeastern city of Diyarbakir, where he announced an investment programme to rebuild parts of the largely Kurdish region that have been destroyed by security operations. "We are there with Euphrates Shield, we are there to protect our border, to provide for our citizens safety of life and property, and to ensure Syria`s integrity." Turkey is fighting a three-decade-old Kurdish insurgency in the southeast and fears that the YPG`s advances will embolden militants at home. Turkey considers the YPG a terrorist organisation and an extension of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK). While the United States and Europe also regard the PKK as a terrorist group, Washington sees the YPG as a separate entity and as its most effective partner in the fight against Islamic State in Syria. That position has caused friction with Turkey, a NATO member and a partner in the fight against Islamic State. Some Kurds have criticised Turkey for its role in Syria. A demonstration broke out along the Syrian border on Friday, where Turkey is building a concrete wall. Police used tear gas and water cannon to drive the protesters back. At a rally in Istanbul on Sunday, the co-head of Turkey`s Kurdish-rooted Peoples` Democratic Party (HDP) denounced the incursion into Syria as an "invasion". "The government, which says it wants to stop ISIS (Islamic State) with the Jarablus invasion, has no credibility. The invasion of Jarablus is totally an adversarial approach against Kurds and we will never accept it," Selahattin Demirtas told reporters. President Tayyip Erdogan on Sunday raised concern about the formation of a "terror corridor" along Turkey`s Syrian border. Speaking to reporters after a meeting with U.S. President Barack Obama at the G20 gathering of world leaders in China, Erdogan said: It is our wish that a terror corridor not be formed across our southern border". Erdogan has repeatedly said that Turkey`s allies should not be making a distinction between Islamic State and the YPG as both groups pose a threat to Turkey. Separately, state-run Anadolu Agency said Turkish jets hit four Islamic State positions late on Saturday evening in Syria`s northwestern Aleppo province as part of the operation, citing security sources. The warplanes hit three targets in the al-Kaldi area and another in the Wuguf region, Anadolu said, citing the sources. Abu Dhabi: An Emirati man with suspected jihadist links went on trial in Abu Dhabi on Monday accused of running over and attempting to kill a US jogger, media reports said. The defendant, who was not identified, is also accused of trying to join Al-Qaeda`s Syrian affiliate, plotting attacks in the UAE and promoting jihadist organisations including the Islamic State group, said state news agency WAM. According to the prosecution, in May 2015 the 29-year-old suspect repeatedly ran over the unnamed US national with his car "with the intention of killing him," said The National newspaper. It said the American man, who was jogging in Abu Dhabi at the time, was injured but survived. The defendant was charged with premeditated attempted manslaughter, the newspaper said. "He is also accused of plotting to commit acts of terrorism in the UAE, including bombing the headquarters of Sky News Arabia in Abu Dhabi and Al-Arabiya in Dubai," the daily said, referring to two news channels. It cited prosecutors as saying that the suspect had travelled to Turkey in a failed bid to infiltrate Syria to join Al-Qaeda-affiliate Al-Nusra Front, now known as Fateh al-Sham Front. WAM said that the defendant denied the charges against him during the hearing at the Abu Dhabi Federal Supreme Court. The trial was adjourned to October 3, The National said. The same court also heard a separate case Monday involving two Emirati women accused of sending money and coded messages to Al-Qaeda members, the paper added. Their case was also adjourned to October 3. Washington: Warning China of "consequences" due to its aggressive behaviour, US President Barack Obama has asked the Communist nation to restrain itself from worrying its neighbours in the disputed South China Sea region. "Part of what I've talked to communicate to President Xi (Jinping) is that the United States arrives at its power, in part, by restraining itself," Obama said. "You know, when we bind ourselves to a bunch of international norms and rules, it's not because we have to, it's because we recognise that, over the long-term, building a strong international order is in our interests. And, I think, over the long-term, it will be in China's interests, as well," he told CNN in an interview recorded before he left for China to attend the G20 Summit. "So where we see them violating international rules and norms, as we have seen in some cases in the South China Sea or in some of their behaviour when it comes to economic policy, we've been very firm. And we've indicated to them that there will be consequences," Obama said. What the US has tried to emphasise to China is that if it is working within international rules and international norms, then they should be partners, he asserted. "There is no reason that China and the US cannot be friendly competitors on the commercial side and important partners when it comes to dealing with the many international problems that threaten the two countries," Obama said. Obama noted China has been run during his lifetime by a Communist party that has been "much more anti-Western" in the past. "We went through a period over the course of 20 years, in the '90s and on through maybe the onset of my presidency, where, because state-sponsored capitalism and an export-driven model was very successful, China was less interested in making waves," Obama said. "But, you know, you've got over a billion people, one of the largest economies now in the world. And so it's to be expected that they will want a bigger seat at the table when it comes to international affairs. And what we've said consistently is we welcome the peaceful rise of China, consistent with international norms. That's good for everybody. An impoverished and collapsing China would be dangerous for everybody," Obama said. Hong Kong: More than half of Hong Kong`s voters participated in elections on Sunday that are pivotal in defining the specially administered Chinese city`s political future. Nearly two million citizens, or roughly 52 per cent of eligible voters, had cast a ballot one hour before polling stations closed late Sunday night, according to the latest official figures. The elections of lawmakers to serve on Hong Kong`s 70-seat unicameral legislature -- the first since mass protests in 2014 to demand greater autonomy from China -- are considered the most important for the city since it ceased to be a British colony and was handed over to China in 1997, EFE news reported. Voters went to the polls to elect 35 lawmakers representing geographical districts to seats on the Legislative Council, choosing from a record total of 84 lists of candidates. An additional 30 seats are filled by so-called functional constituencies that represent six per cent of the electorate and are strongly influenced by the Chinese government. Five other at-large seats are chosen via city-wide vote. The current makeup of the Legislative Council could be altered by the entry into the political arena of young candidates with more radical positions, including those demanding Hong Kong`s independence from China. The elections are considered critical because pro-democracy forces are trying to maintain the minimum one-third of seats necessary to block the government from pushing through unpopular legislation, including an electoral overhaul package. Some 5,000 police officers were on alert due to possible disturbances during the 15 hours of voting, although no incidents were reported. The vote count began after Sunday midnight in Hong Kong, with the results expected on Monday. Your Ultimate Investing Toolkit Sign up for MarketBeat All Access to gain access to MarketBeat's full suite of research tools: Portfolio Monitoring Top Stock Lists Premium Reports Stock Screeners Live News Feed Premium Support Free for your first month. French truckers and farmers block the main routes in and out of the port of Calais to call for the closure of the sprawling "Jungle" migrant camp, on September 5, 2016 Angry French truckers and farmers blocked the main routes in and out of the port of Calais on Monday to call for the closure of the sprawling "Jungle" migrant camp. Around 70 trucks mounted a "go-slow" on the A16 motorway -- the main artery for freight and passengers heading for Britain either via the Channel Tunnel or on board ferries from the port. Dozens of farmers on tractors joined up with the trucks, slowing traffic to a crawl, while around 400 people staged a demonstration in the middle of the motorway. Authorities said the blockade ended Monday evening. They added that despite long tailbacks at the start of the protest, a system of detours had prevented widespread disruption. A Calais business collective held marathon talks on Monday with the Pas-de-Calais regional authorities which agreed to boost the police presence on the motorway, to rapidly dismantle the Jungle and to hold a weekly meeting on the progress made, according to David Sagnard, head of a regional road transport federation. "We decided to end our movement for today," even if "we are not completely satisfied," he said. "If tomorrow the commitments are not met... we will return and that will be different and harder," added Sebastien Berrier, a transport union leader. The Jungle, a squalid camp of tents and makeshift shelters, is home to some 7,000 migrants but charities say the number might be as high as 10,000 after an influx this summer. Migrants from the camp sometimes use tree branches to create roadblocks to slow trucks heading for Britain, their destination of choice. When the trucks slow down, migrants try to clamber into the trailers to stow away aboard. - 'We're not people smugglers' - Drivers say migrants and people trafficking gangs have attacked their vehicles with metal bars. The drivers say despite the deployment of 2,100 officers around the port, the police are overstretched and unable to secure the roads. Nicolas Lotin, who runs a logistics company in nearby Boulogne-sur-Mer, said: "Every day, we have to wonder whether our working day will be ruined, whether a migrant will sneak under the truck's canvas. Story continues "If the goods are damaged, they have to be immediately transported back to the home depot," he said. "This demonstration is to shout loud and clear about how fed up road hauliers are," said Sagnard. "What we're calling for today are security measures so we can drive on the A16 motorway and on the port road in complete safety," he added. A banner attached to one of the trucks said: "We're truck drivers, not people smugglers." The town's mayor, Natacha Bouchart, who joined the protest wearing an "I love Calais" T-shirt, claims the Jungle may soon contain as many as 15,000 migrants within months unless it is razed. - 'As soon as possible' - Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve promised during a visit to the Jungle on Friday to close the camp down "as quickly as possible" but said it would be done in stages. Disgruntled Calais residents want the authorities to set a date for the entire camp to be cleared. Bars and restaurants in Calais -- which is also the main gateway to France for millions of British holidaymakers -- say their trade has been severely hit by the presence of the Jungle. "The government must declare Calais an economic emergency zone" read one banner at the demonstration. French authorities have made repeated efforts to close the Jungle. Earlier this year, authorities cleared shelters in parts of the site in a bid to persuade migrants to move into more permanent accommodation or camps elsewhere on France's northern coast. Former French president Nicolas Sarkozy, who is bidding to secure the right-wing nomination to win back the presidency next year, has called for Britain to take responsibility for the migrants over the Channel. Last week France and Britain pledged to work together to increase security at the port of Calais and to improve the humanitarian situation for the Jungle's residents. In an attempt to encourage migrants to leave the Jungle, France is expected to create places for an additional 8,000 people in accommodation centres around the country. The population of the Jungle includes large numbers of Sudanese, Afghan, Somali, Syrian and Iraqi residents. China's President Xi Jinping delivers his closing statement at the G20 summit in Hangzhou on September 5, 2016 The world's leading economies spoke out against a return to protectionism and defended the unfashionable concepts of free trade and globalisation Monday, warning the listless global economy needs an urgent reboot. The G20 summit took place in China with rising populist sentiment discouraging leaders from making difficult commitments, and a stumbling push for a Syria ceasefire and Asia's territorial disputes intruding on the agenda. "We have agreed... to support the multilateral trade system and oppose protectionism," said China's President Xi Jinping after hosting the gathering in the scenic eastern city of Hangzhou. At the end of the tightly choreographed talks, held in a cavernous complex in a largely deserted city, Xi produced resolutions on combatting industrial overcapacity -- particularly in the sclerotic steel sector -- and boosting international cooperation on corporate taxation. But in a communique the leaders pointed to a litany of economic ills including financial market volatility, sluggish trade and investment, and gyrating commodity prices. They also turned to the refugee and migrant crisis, calling for the burden to be shared more fairly and for nations to step up their humanitarian assistance. "Worldwide massive forced displacement of people, unprecedented since the Second World War, especially those generated from violent conflicts, is a global concern," they said. EU President Donald Tusk said in Hangzhou at the weekend that Europe was "close to limits" on its ability to accept more refugees and urged the broader international community not to shirk its responsibilities. Syria, the source of many of those migrants, was one of the geopolitical issues that swirled around the gathering. The US and Russia tried and failed to strike a deal on stemming the violence in the disastrous five-year conflict, even as a string of bomb attacks hit across the country, underlining the urgency of the task. "We have had some productive conversations about what a real cessation of hostilities would look like," US President Barack Obama said after meeting his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin. Story continues But Secretary of State John Kerry and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei could not bridge the divide despite two rounds of diplomacy, and left with only an agreement to meet again in coming days. "I believe that we are on the right track and could, at least for some period of time, agree to carry out mutual energetic attempts to make the situation in Syria more healthy," Putin said. - Troublespots - China saw the summit as a showcase for its global leadership credentials, but the Asian giant's geopolitical troublespots flared during the gathering. North Korea fired three ballistic missiles into the sea on Monday, South Korea said, in a show of force that collided with the summit. Beijing is Pyongyang's main patron and protector but has been either unwilling or unable to rein in its nuclear and missile ambitions that have sent tensions soaring across East Asia and beyond. There was better news though on another perennial faultline, with Xi and Japan's Shinzo Abe seeking to reset their countries' vexed relationship at their first meeting in over a year. Abe called China an "important friend" and Xi suggested they put their troubles behind them, in a sharp departure in tone for the pair which have been at loggerheads over territorial disputes and historical animosity. The Group of 20 leading developed and emerging economies represents 85 percent of the world's GDP and two-thirds of its population, and Beijing invested heavily in the high-profile event. It micromanaged every detail, virtually emptying the host city and imposing tight controls on visiting delegations and the press in the hopes of avoiding missteps -- measures that backfired at times including a shouting match with White House officials on the airport tarmac which captured headlines. - Populism swirls - Despite the staunch defence of free trade, the talks took place amid a perception that the global economic order exemplified by the G20 is not working for ordinary people. The International Monetary Fund's Christine Lagarde conceded that globalisation "has to benefit all, not a few", but said that the fruits of a connected world were severely undersold. "That story of benefits of trade, the improvement of productivity, the improvement of choices, the way in which trade has lifted so many people out of poverty," she said. There was "a determination around the room to better identify the benefits of trade in order to respond to the easy populist backlash against globalisation". In their communique the group resolved to make growth more inclusive, "generating more quality jobs, addressing inequalities and eradicating poverty so that no one is left behind." And many leaders, alive to the public mood, sounded a note of regret that so many had been left behind in the rush for development. The world must "do more to ensure that working people really benefit from the opportunities created by free trade," Britain's new Prime Minister Theresa May said as she worked overtime to start shaping her country's post-EU access to world markets. Brazilian Federal Police personnel are pictured during a raid in Brasilia, on June 23, 2016 Brazilian police staged a massive raid Monday to crack down on what they described as rampant fraud in the pension system, one of the world's most generous -- and most over-stretched. In the latest graft sting for corruption-weary Brazil, more than 500 officers across eight states seized 90 buildings, impounded more than 100 cars and froze a total of eight billion reals ($2.5 billion) in assets allegedly linked to fraudulent schemes at the country's largest public pension funds. "The operation was based on 10 cases that we uncovered in examining the reason for the pension funds' multi-million-real deficits. Of the 10 cases, eight are linked to reckless or fraudulent investments," police said in a statement. A court in Brasilia ordered seven people be temporarily detained and 34 others taken in for questioning. It issued more than 100 search and seizure orders for documents related to the case. The Securities and Exchange Commission of Brazil said the assets of 103 individuals and companies had been frozen. The raid targets fraud at the funds that manage pension contributions for employees at large state companies such as oil giant Petrobras, Banco do Brasil and the postal service. Brazil's pension system is known for generous benefits and the lack of a minimum retirement age -- causing it to operate at huge losses, feeding a deficit that currently stands at more than 10 percent of GDP. President Michel Temer, who was sworn in last week after predecessor Dilma Rousseff was impeached, has vowed to make pension reform a top priority. But he faces resistance in Congress and corruption headaches of his own. Brazilian politics has been rocked in recent months by a massive kickbacks scandal at Petrobras, which contributed to Rousseff's downfall. The scandal has already claimed three of Temer's ministers, and allies fear more names could emerge. The world's two biggest oil producers Saudi Arabia and Russia said Monday they had agreed to "act together" to try to stabilise oil prices, but failed to make headway on a production freeze. The two nations "noted the particular importance of constructive dialogue and close cooperation between the largest oil-producing countries." This should have "the goal of supporting the stability of the oil market and ensuring a stable level of investment in the long term," the energy ministers from both countries said. Their comments came in a joint statement after a meeting at the G20 summit in China. "To this end the ministers agreed to act together or in cooperation with other oil producers," the statement said, adding they had agreed to set up a "joint monitoring group" to offer recommendations aimed at preventing price fluctuations. Russia's Energy Minister Alexander Novak described the announcement as marking a "new era" in cooperation between Russia and Saudi Arabia and insisted it would have a "critical significance" for oil markets, news agency Interfax reported. But there were no details on any agreement to freeze oil output, just weeks before Moscow and OPEC meet in Algeria to discuss the crisis. The globe's major oil producers have been unable to strike a deal on freezing output, due mainly to a dispute between fierce regional rivals Saudi Arabia and Iran over Tehran's desire to raise production levels after the lifting of sanctions. Novak said Moscow and Riyadh were discussing "concrete parameters" to halt price fluctuations but repeated that Iran should be allowed to return its output to pre-sanction levels. But Saudi Energy Minister Khaled al-Falih told Al-Arabiya television channel there was "currently no need to freeze production" after meeting Novak. "A freeze is one of the preferred options but it is not needed for the moment," he said. Russian President Vladimir Putin met Saudi Deputy Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman on the sidelines of the G20 on Sunday and said they would work to address a global glut and overproduction that has hammered prices for the past two years. In an interview ahead of the meeting Putin -- whose economy slumped into recession on the back of oil price falls -- said that a freeze was "the right decision" and called for "compromise". The oil market has been plagued by a stubborn supply glut that saw prices plunge to near 13-year lows below $30 at the start of 2016. While it has recovered recently, it is still well off highs above $100 seen in mid-2014. British Prime Minister Theresa May (R) shakes hands with Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull during a bilateral meeting on the sidelines of G20 Summit in Hangzhou on September 5, 2016 Britain's Prime Minister Theresa May sought to drum up trade deals on Monday for a post-Brexit world as she faced increasing pressure to define what that would look like. May met Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull at the Group of 20 summit in China to discuss a free trade agreement and said India, Mexico, South Korea and Singapore had signalled they would "welcome" talks on removing trade barriers. In the wake of June's referendum vote to leave the European Union, Britain must renegotiate its access to world markets, an issue currently handled for it by Brussels. It is a huge task for the world's fifth largest economy, which is struggling to flesh out May's oft-repeated slogan: "Brexit means Brexit". May says she will not invoke Article 50 -- the formal procedure for an EU member state to initiate departure -- before the end of this year and the government has given little detail on how it will proceed. Whether Britain aims to retain access to the single market or not, and how it plans to achieve its aim of curbing immigration from the rest of the EU remain open questions, as does the timing of Brexit. May gave little away during her visit to China, except to rule out introducing an Australian-style points-based immigration system for workers arriving from other parts of the bloc, something leading Brexit campaigners had urged. At the House of Commons in London, some lawmakers jeered May's Brexit minister David Davis as he made a statement on what leaving the EU would involve. "Brexit is not about making the best of a bad job. It is about seizing the huge and exciting opportunities that will flow from a new place for Britain in the world," Davis said. Emily Thornberry, foreign affairs spokeswoman for the main opposition Labour party, accused Davis of peddling "empty platitudes". "When it comes to planning for Brexit, they (the government) have gone from gross negligence to rank incompetence," she added. Opposition MPs heckled Davis, shouting: "Waffle". Story continues - Hard or soft Brexit? - While the red lines for negotiations with other EU member states have yet to be drawn up by London, analysts say the choice is broadly between a hard or soft Brexit -- the speed with and extent to which Britain pulls out. May has insisted she wants the "best possible deal" for Britain and a "unique" solution rather than one based on an existing model such as Norway or Switzerland. En route to the G20, she ruled out using a points-based immigration system backed by figures including Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson, saying there was "no single silver bullet" for dealing with immigration issues. Supporters of Brexit fear that May -- who opposed leaving the EU -- will not deliver the quick, clean break from Brussels which they crave. Dozens of pro-Brexit campaigners rallied outside parliament as Davis spoke and MPs held a separate, non-binding debate triggered after four million people signed a petition calling for a second EU referendum. Meanwhile, Nigel Farage, leader of the UK Independence Party and a key pro-Brexit campaigner, told the BBC: "What we don't want is a backslide." The uncertainty weighing on major businesses and investors was highlighted when the Japanese government issued a document urging that the "harmful effects" of Brexit be minimised, plus transparency over negotiations. Some of Japan's best-known companies including Toyota, Hitachi and investment bank Nomura are re-assessing investments after Britain voted in June to quit the 28-member EU, according to the report issued by Tokyo. More than 1,000 Japanese companies do business in Britain, employing some 140,000 local people. Many of them were lured by the access the country offered to the EU and its single market of hundreds of millions of consumers. Scotland's pro-EU leader Nicola Sturgeon also ramped up the pressure for continuing close ties post-Brexit in a BBC radio interview Monday. She said she wanted Britain to remain in the single market, implying this could be the test for whether she would call for another Scottish independence referendum following 2014's poll which rejected the move. "The best position in my view would be continued membership of the EU -- but let's try and get the UK as a whole into the least-worst position and that means staying in the single market," she said. FILE PHOTO - Founder and Executive Chairman of Alibaba Group Jack Ma speaks during a session of the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum 2016 (SPIEF 2016) in St. Petersburg, Russia, June 17, 2016. REUTERS/Stoyan Vassev/TASS/Host Photo Agency/Pool/File Photo JAKARTA/BEIJING (Reuters) - Indonesia has asked the chairman of China's Alibaba Group Holding Ltd, Jack Ma, to act as adviser in the development of the Southeast Asian country's nascent e-commerce industry, according to a video released by the government. Indonesia has the world's fourth-largest population, boasting a young, internet-savvy demographic, and a thriving e-commerce market that is increasingly attracting global investors. Earlier this year, Alibaba bought a controlling stake in Southeast Asian online retailer Lazada Group for around $1 billion, while a group of investors led by private equity firms KKR & Co LP and Warburg Pincus LLC poured more than $550 million into Indonesian ride-hailing start-up Go-Jek. To promote growth in the e-commerce industry, the government is setting up a "steering committee" consisting of 10 ministers for which it has asked Alibaba's Ma to be an adviser, Communication and Information Minister Rudiantara said. "The thinking behind this is to make Indonesia's positioning in the international marketplace more prominent," Rudiantara said in a video released by the state secretariat. The minister, like many Indonesians, only uses one name. Rudiantara is part of President Joko Widodo's delegation attending the G20 summit in the Chinese city of Hangzhou. An Alibaba spokeswoman confirmed that Ma was asked to be adviser to Indonesia's e-commerce steering committee, but declined to say whether he had accepted the offer. (Reporting by Fransiska Nangoy in JAKARTA and Paul Carsten in BEIJING; Writing by Eveline Danubrata; Editing by Christopher Cushing) English Danish Annual General Meeting - IC Group A/S on Wednesday 28 September 2016 at 3 p.m. at 30 Bredgade, 1260 Copenhagen K, Denmark Agenda 1. Report of the Board of Directors on the activities of the Company 2. Presentation of the Annual Report for the period 1 July 2015 - 30 June 2016 endorsed by the auditors and adoption of the audited Annual Report 3. Appropriation of the profits, including the declaration of dividends, or provision for losses as recorded in the adopted Annual Report 4. Election of members of the Board of Directors 5. Approval of remuneration of the Board of Directors for the financial year 2016/17 6. Appointment of auditors 7. The Board of Directors has proposed the following resolutions; 7.1 Approval of the Company's revised remuneration policy including the revised general guidelines regarding incentive pay to the Executive Board 7.2 Authority to the Board of Directors to acquire own shares 8. Any other business Re. Agenda item 2 The Board of Directors proposes that the audited Annual Report should be adopted. Re. Agenda item 3 The Board of Directors recommends that the profit according to the approved audited Annual Report is distributed as follows: Proposed dividend (DKK million) 85.0 Retained profit (DKK million) 420.0 Profit for the year (DKK million) 505.0 The proposed dividend corresponds to a dividend of DKK 5.00 per ordinary share eligible for dividends. Re. Agenda item 4 The Board of Directors proposes that the following board members elected at the Annual General Meeting should be re-elected; - Henrik Heideby; - Anders Colding Friis; - Niels Martinsen; - Annette Brndholt Srensen; and - Michael Hauge Srensen. At the same time the Board of Directors proposes that the below new board candidate is elected by the Annual General Meeting as new member of the Board of Directors; - Peter Thorsen Ole Wengel does not stand for re-election. A further description of the candidates is available at the corporate website of IC Group A/S, www.icgroup.net under Investors/Annual General Meeting/AGM Material. Re. Agenda item 5 The Board of Directors proposes that the remuneration to the Board of Directors for the current financial year will amount to DKK 4,190,000 of which DKK 395,000 constitutes separate remuneration to the Audit Committee, DKK 200,000 constitutes separate remuneration to the Remuneration Committee and DKK 395,000 constitutes separate remuneration to the Operations Committee. The proposed remuneration is unchanged compared to the remuneration for the financial year 2015/16. Re. Agenda item 6 The Board of Directors proposes that PricewaterhouseCoopers, Statsautoriseret Revisionspartnerselskab should be re-appointed. Re. Agenda item 7.1 The Board of Directors proposes that the Company's revised remuneration policy should be adopted. The Policy is available on the corporate website www.icgroup.net under Investors/Annual General Meeting/AGM Material. Re. Agenda item 7.2 The Board of Directors proposes that the Board of Directors should be authorised for the period until the next Annual General Meeting to allow the Company to acquire own shares representing up to 10% of the share capital and at a price deviating by no more than 10% from the listed price at the time of the acquisition. REQUIREMENTS FOR ADOPTION Proposed resolutions on the Agenda may be adopted by simple majority. ADMISSION CARD, PROXY AND POSTAL VOTE The shareholder must have an admission card in order to be able to participate in the General Meeting. The Company recommends that admission cards are obtained on the Company's shareholder portal which is available on the corporate website www.icgroup.net. The shareholder portal on the corporate website is available under Investors/Annual General Meeting/AGM Online Service. Apply the NemID or securities account number and the Internet access code to order admission cards online. The log-in details appear in the notice forwarded by e-mail. Securities account number and Internet access code may also be obtained by contacting Computershare A/S. Furthermore, admission cards may also be obtained by contacting Computershare A/S by e-mail at gf@computershare.dk, by fax +45 45 46 09 98 or by returning the order for admission cards by letter to Computershare A/S. The order for admission cards may be downloaded from the corporate website www.icgroup.net under Investors/Annual General Meeting/AGM Material. The order for admission cards must reach Computershare A/S not later than 23 September 2016. If a shareholder is unable to participate in the General Meeting, the shareholder may grant a proxy to a third party and give this party voting instructions on how to cast the votes according to the shareholder's voting entitlement or vote by postal vote. The proxy and the postal vote may be submitted electronically or by filling in and forwarding the proxy or postal vote form, which may be downloaded from the corporate website www.icgroup.net under Investors/Annual General Meeting/AGM Material. The shareholder may also grant a proxy to the Company's Board of Directors. In such event the Company recommends that the proxy is submitted electronically via the shareholder portal. The proxy must be submitted electronically or reach Computershare A/S not later than 23 September 2016 whereas the postal vote must be submitted electronically or reach Computershare A/S not later than 27 September 2016 at 3 p.m. SHARE CAPITAL, VOTES AND ACCOUNT HOLDING BANK As at 5 September 2016 the Company's share capital amounts to DKK 170,562,470 divided into shares of a nominal value of DKK 10 each. At the General Meeting, each share of a nominal value of DKK 10 entitles the holder to one vote. Pursuant to article 10 of the Company's Articles of Association, a shareholder's right to participate and vote at a General Meeting shall be determined in proportion to the number of shares that the shareholder holds at the date of registration. The date of registration is the day one week prior to the General Meeting. The number of shares held by each individual shareholder shall be determined on the basis of recording of shares in the Company's Register of Owners as well as any information received at the date of registration by the Company regarding ownership changes that are to be recorded in the Company's Register of Owners, but have not been entered yet. The account holding bank of the Company is Danske Bank. QUESTIONS FROM SHAREHOLDERS Shareholders may submit questions in writing to the Management of the Company regarding the Agenda or documents relating to the General Meeting. Such questions in writing are sent to the Company's headquarters located at 12D Adelgade, DK-1304 Copenhagen K, Denmark (marked "General Meeting"). Furthermore, shareholders are welcome to ask questions to the Management regarding the above-mentioned issues at the General Meeting. GENERAL INFORMATION The following documents; (i) notice of the General Meeting, (ii) the total number of shares and voting rights on the date of the notice of the General Meeting, (iii) the documents to be presented at the General Meeting including the audited Annual Report 2015/16, (iv) the Agenda with the complete proposed resolutions, and (v) the proxy form and postal vote will be available at the corporate website www.icgroup.net not later than three weeks before the General Meeting. The material will be available on the corporate website under Investors/Annual General Meeting/AGM Material. Copenhagen, 5 September 2016 The Board of Directors IC Group A/S Company registration no. (CVR) 62 81 64 14 Please direct any queries regarding this announcement to: Jens Bak-Holder Head of Investor Relations Phone: +45 21 28 58 32 This announcement is a translation from the Danish language. In the event of any discrepancy between the Danish and English versions, the Danish version shall prevail. LONDON, UK, Sept. 5, 2016 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- via PRWEB - Mr. George Matharu, President and CEO of Elite Capital & Co. ("ECC"), announced today that the company was extremely proud to win the "Sustainable Mega Finance Provider 2016/2017" Award. Mr. Matharu further commented that "This Award cements the company's position as a major global player in providing turnkey project and finance solutions for different types of renewable energy projects, such as Wind, Solar, Hydro and Tidal Turbines, Biomass, and others." The Global Sustainability Awards are based on over 31,000 survey respondents from private and institutional investors through to treasury and government officers World-wide, and in excess of 5,000 votes were received for different sustainable Award categories. As part of receiving the Award, ECC will be attending the Abu Dhabi Sustainability Week (ADSW) conference from 14-21 January 2017. ADSW is the ground-breaking global forum that unites thought leaders, policy makers and investors to address the challenges of renewable energy and sustainable development. With the global population set to reach nine billion by 2030, ADSW promotes collaborative thinking and development to accelerate the sustainable solutions needed to support rapid economic and population growth. ADSW is an Abu Dhabi government initiative, the largest gathering on sustainability in the Middle East, and a significant forum in stimulating the international dialogue and action. Elite Capital & Co. hopes to meet its clients at the conference to celebrate receiving the Award, and looks forward to new discussions and alliances. Mr. Simon Thomas, ECC's Head of Finance, said "Our company has made significant efforts to design turnkey solutions for renewable energy projects, which often have a very wide scope and a complex structure, with our team acting as the 'glue' between the different project stakeholders." ECC is a private limited company that provides project related services including Management, Consultancy and Funding, particularly for large infrastructure and commercial projects. Elite Capital & Co. Limited has made strategic alliances with several organizations and companies which have given us access to international markets in Asia, Africa, Middle East and GCC regions. This has given ECC a substantial foundation of clients to build on, in addition to access to the markets that are most in need of the products and services. ECC's services are suitable for all types of Infrastructure Projects in either Greenfield (Pre Operations Stage) or Brownfield (Operations Stage) including but not limited to Sea Ports, Airports, Railway, Bridges, Roads and Highways, Water and Sanitation Utilities, Energy, Communications, Hospitals, Schools and Social Infrastructure etc. This includes other projects or activities that impact positively on the relevant country's basic infrastructure including the manufacturing of components used in infrastructure (such as cement and steel) and infrastructure associated with mining and agribusiness. To conclude the company's statement, ECC's Chairman Dr. Faisal Khazaal said, "I would like to thank everyone that voted for us to win the Sustainable Mega Finance Provider 2016/2017, and we look forward to seeing you at the Abu Dhabi Sustainability Week (ADSW) conference from 14-21 January 2017." -- Elite Capital & Co. Limited Contact Details -- THE UK HEAD OFFICE Elite Capital & Co. Limited 1 Berkeley St., Mayfair London, W1J 8DJ United Kingdom Telephone: +44 (0) 203 7555 327 Facsimile: +44 (0) 203 725 9922 Website http://www.ec.uk.com This article was originally distributed on PRWeb. For the original version including any supplementary images or video, visit http://www.prweb.com/releases/2016/09/prweb13660114.htm ALMELO, Netherlands, Sept. 5, 2016 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Eef Bos has decided to step down as Chief Financial Officer (CFO) of TenCate as of 1 October 2016. "Since the company entered into a new phase of its development, this is for me a natural moment to leave TenCate." The Supervisory Board of TenCate thanks Eef Bos for his contribution and involvement with TenCate in the past years. The Supervisory Board has the intention to nominate Frank Spaan for appointment as his successor by the General Meeting of Shareholders as per 1 October 2016. After this appointment the Executive Board of TenCate will consist of Jan Albers, CEO and Frank Spaan, CFO. Royal Ten Cate N.V. Almelo, the Netherlands, Monday 5 September 2016 For further information: TenCate Michiel Dams, Corporate Secretary Telephone: +31 (0)546 544341 Mobile: +31 (0)6 51692783 Royal Ten Cate (TenCate) is a multinational company that combines textile technology with chemical processes and material technology in the development and production of functional materials with distinctive characteristics. TenCate products are developed, manufactured and sold throughout the world. Systems and materials from TenCate come under four areas of application: safety and protection; space and aerospace; infrastructure and the environment; sport and recreation. TenCate occupies leading positions in protective fabrics, composites for space and aerospace, antiballistics, geosynthetics and synthetic turf. Press release in PDF http://hugin.info/130798/R/2039524/760232.pdf As of August 26th, 2021 Yahoo India will no longer be publishing content. Your Yahoo Account Mail and Search experiences will not be affected in any way and will operate as usual. We thank you for your support and readership. For more information on Yahoo India, please visit the FAQ It is estimated that 1,00,000 people flocked to Itaewon streets for the Halloween festivities. Shabaab Claims Confronting U.S. Air Drop Operation Near Mogadishu, Attacking Saracen Int. Truck in Puntland Celebrating Labor Day 2016 "The best way we, in the occupational safety and health community, can honor workers today and throughout the year, is to ensure safe and healthful working conditions for every man and womanyoung and old alike," NIOSH Director Dr. John Howard wrote in his Labor Day 2016 message. Labor Day 2016 is here: a day to remember the contributions of U.S. workers, as well as occupational safety and labor pioneers such as Alice Hamilton and Frances Perkins, and to honor workers who have lost their lives or been injured on the job. NIOSH Director Dr. John Howard spoke in his Labor Day 2016 message about the real meaning of the holiday: "To many, Labor Day signifies the end of summer vacations, the beginning of a new school year or a time to find bargains. It's important to remember Labor Day is much more than just a retail holiday or a day off of work. We must not forget it is a day to celebrate workersfrom teachers to retail workers, from stockbrokers to commercial fisherman for their contribution to America's strength and prosperity. "The best way we, in the occupational safety and health community, can honor workers today and throughout the year, is to ensure safe and healthful working conditions for every man and womanyoung and old alike. In many ways, the proverb, 'it takes a village' rings true as we pursue this mission. The decreases weve seen in workplace injuries and deaths over the last few decades can likely be attributed to the combined efforts of employers, workers, federal agencies, unions, trade associations and many others. Successful partnerships are the cornerstone of the National Occupational Research Agenda (NORA), which was established by NIOSH in 1996. NORA is a research framework, both for NIOSH and the nation, designed to stimulate innovative research and improved workplace practices. Come this fall, we will mark the end of the second decade of this initiative and usher in the third with an enhanced collaborative structure intended to continue our joint efforts to address major health and safety issues affecting workers. We look forward to collaborating with current and new partners as we move forward to the next decade and beyond." Oil prices slipped in Asia on Monday with traders disappointed by a lack of detail from Russia and Saudi Arabia on their plans to stabilise the crude market following talks at the weekend. President Vladimir Putin met Deputy Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman on the sidelines of the G20 in China on Sunday and said they would work to address a global glut and overproduction that has hammered prices for the past two years. However, they provided no information on how they would proceed, just weeks before Moscow and crude cartel OPEC meet in Algeria to discuss the crisis. At about 0320 GMT, the US benchmark West Texas Intermediate was down 0.74 percent, or 33 cents, at $44.11 while Brent fell 0.81 percent, or 38 cents, to $46.45. Comments from Indonesian finance minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati on CNBC that she was "comfortable" with crude prices at $40-$45 a barrel, have also added pressure on prices. The only Asian member of OPEC, Indonesia exported $6.4 billion worth of petroleum in 2015. The losses pared Friday's three percent gains, which came after Putin said Russia and other producing nations should freeze output to stabilise fluctuating prices. Russia and OPEC together produce half of the world's oil. The previous attempt at reaching a deal in April were scuppered by OPEC member Iran's refusal to agree to any output freeze, and there are worries about the chances of an agreement can be reached in Algeria. "At this stage, markets are probably just going to take the view that it needs to see some evidence, some tangible idea on what the agreement might actually amount to before responding to it," Ric Spooner, a chief market analyst at CMC Markets in Sydney told Bloomberg News. "We will get a lot of statements about it but probably nothing really concrete until we get to the stage of the Algiers meeting." The oil market has been plagued by a stubborn supply glut that saw prices plunge to near 13-year lows below $30 at the start of 2016, and while it has recovered recently, it is still well off highs above $100 seen in mid-2014. A new generation of young Hong Kong politicians advocating a break from Beijing became lawmakers for the first time Monday in a result likely to rattle China. It was the biggest poll in the city since mass pro-democracy rallies in 2014 failed to win concessions on political reform, leading to the emergence of a slew of new parties demanding more autonomy from Beijing. Those parties now have a foothold in the legislature with five candidates backing independence or self-determination taking seats. Observers branded their victory "a strong message to Beijing", which has railed against people supporting a split from China. A record 2.2 million people voted in the city-wide election for members of the Legislative Council (LegCo), Hong Kong's lawmaking body, as fears grow Beijing is tightening its grip on the semi-autonomous city. It was the highest turnout since Hong Kong was returned to China by Britain in 1997 under a handover agreement guaranteeing its freedoms for 50 years. Many feel those liberties are already disappearing and young activists particularly have lost faith in the "one country, two systems" deal under which Hong Kong is governed. At the forefront of the new guard in LegCo is Nathan Law, 23, leader of the 2014 "Umbrella Movement" rallies, who took more than 50,000 votes to become the council's youngest member. Law and his new party Demosisto are calling for a referendum on independence, emphasising Hong Kongers' right to choose whether they want to split from China. "I think Hong Kongers really wanted change," Law said, celebrating his win. With the pro-democracy camp divided between those who back the idea of possible independence and those who are more wary of the once taboo notion, Law said he would seek unity. "We have to be united to fight against the (Chinese) Communist Party," he told AFP. Law has previously distanced himself from the more radical "localist" movement, which includes activists who are stridently pro-independence and have in the past advocated violence. - 'Message to Beijing' - Young campaigners have been galvanised by a number of incidents that have pointed to increased Beijing interference. The most high-profile was the disappearance of five city booksellers known for salacious titles about Beijing politicians. They resurfaced in detention on the mainland. There was also outrage after the loudest pro-independence voices in the city were banned by the government from running for LegCo. Some localists who were allowed to stand continued to call for independence on the campaign trail. One of them, Yau Wai-Ching of new party Youngspiration, gained a seat saying Hong Kong had "the right to discuss its sovereignty". Another Youngspiration candidate, Baggio Leung, who has openly supported independence, also won a seat. Political analyst Willy Lam said voters had backed the activists to "send a strong message to Beijing". "Beijing will be very unhappy about the results and it's quite possible that they may use this as a pretext to squeeze Hong Kong even harder," he told AFP. Political commentator Joseph Cheng said he expected Beijing to adopt a "very hawkish position", and that authorities could seek to disqualify any legislator advocating a split from China. Hong Kong and Beijing officials have consistently slammed independence as unconstitutional. Most established pro-democracy politicians do not support the notion of independence and there were concerns in the democratic camp that new activists would split the vote, triggering overall losses. But although some veteran pro-democracy politicians were voted out to make way for the younger generation, the democratic camp including independence activists gained an extra three seats in the 70-strong Legco, going from 27 to 30 members. That means the anti-establishment side can veto key bills, which need a two-thirds majority to pass. However, the overall make-up of the LegCo remains weighted towards Beijing under a system that makes it almost impossible for the democracy camp to take a majority. Thirty seats are elected by special interest groups representing a range of businesses and social sectors and are traditionally conservative -- 22 of those seats went to pro-Beijing candidates Monday, giving them 40 members overall. Of 3.7 million voters, 58 percent came out to vote, up from 53 percent in 2012. Michelins Bib Gourmand list has been released for quite some time now, and yet the queues still seem to be indiscriminately long for almost every stall. The Bib Gourmand title serves exceptional good food at moderate prices, whereby the awarded restaurant/stall must serve menu items priced below a maximum amount based on local dining standards. Bib (Bibendum) is the nickname for the Michelin Man, and hence the award title. Specifically in Singapore, restaurants or stalls dishes certified by the Bib Gourmand have to be below SGD $45 which is why youll see a variety of hawker stalls. Plucked from the 17 hawker names on the Singapore Bib Gourmand guide, here are the top 10 picks where youll find yourself happy to spend your lunch hour on, in no particular order. 10. Hong Kee Beef Noodle Bib Gourmand Hong Kee Beef Noodle At $5, Hong Kee Beef Noodle gives you a sizeable bowl of noodles of your choice (between yellow noodles, thick bee hoon and kway teow). Each bowl is smothered in a rich, dark and savoury gravy, and topped with a generous amount of tender beef from various parts. The chilli sauce that accompanies it provides a strong, refreshing kick that re-excites your palates in a tingly fashion. Hong Kee Beef Noodle: 7 Maxwell Road, Amoy Street Food Centre #01-42, Singapore 069111 | Mon Fri: 11.00am 7.30pm, Sat Sun: 9.00am 2.30pm, closed on PH 9. Balestier Road Hoover Rojak Bib Gourmand Hoover Rojak ONLINE Credit Although quite possibly one of the most divisive dishes among local cuisine, the humble Rojak ($4) is a veteran on the Bib Gourmand. This long-famous business retains its hordes of customers with a killer sauce of assam, fermented prawn paste, sugar, and hardly-seen ingredients such as crunchy jellyfish and creamy century egg. Balestier Road Hoover Rojak: Whampoa Drive Blk 90, Whampoa Food Centre #01-06, Singapore 320090 | Wed Sun: 10.30am 4pm, Closed on Mon & Tues 8. Chey Sua Carrot Cake Bib Gourmand Chey Sua Carrot Cake Chey Sua serves up their unique Carrot Cake ($2/$3/$4) like no other. Fried until extremely crispy on top, with a thin layer under an omelette almost reminiscent of orh luak and topped with spring onions, this carrot cake is deeply satisfying and remarkably different from the usual fare available elsewhere. Story continues The chilli sauce underneath is seemingly invisible and not seen, but definitely felt with its mildly sweet, yet relatively potent kick that still cuts through the grease. Be warned: This stall only operates from 6.30am to 1.00pm, and waiting time can exceed half an hour as early as 9.30am. Plan accordingly. Chey Sua Carrot Cake: 127 Lorong 1 Toa Payoh, Toa Payoh West Market and Food Court #02-30, Singapore 310127 | Tues Sun: 6.30am 1.00pm, Closed on Mon 7. Depot Road Zhen Shan Mei Claypot Laksa Bib Gourmand Depot Road Claypot Laksa ONLINE Credit Despite no longer being helmed by their original owners, the current incarnation of this famous claypot laksa stall is still going strong, with the help of the original recipe being passed on to the shops current operators. Their namesake Claypot Laksa ($5.50) is still touted as creamy, smooth and fragrant with coconut milk and so very spicily shiok. Depot Road Zhen Shan Mei Claypot Laksa: Bukit Merah Lane 1 Blk 119, Alexandra Village #01-75, Singapore 150119 | Mon Sat: 9:00am 3:30pm, Closed on Sun 6. Famous Curry Puff Bib Gourmand Famous Curry Puff This popular stalls puffs are piping hot, with a buttery, flaky pastry shell and creamy, soft filling. Its no wonder that this aptly-named business commands a non-stop queue. Along on their list of offerings are the black pepper chicken, yam paste and sardine puffs. Head over early if you want to get your hands on these satisfying pastries at $1.20 each. Note: Their first batch sells out before 11.30am, and the second one is usually ready only by 12.30pm, which also doesnt take long be cleared. Famous Crispy Curry Puff: 7 Maxwell Road, Amoy Street Food Centre #01-21, Singapore 069111 | Mon Sat: 8.00am 4.00pm, Closed on Sun & PH 5. Na Na Homemade Curry Bib Gourmand Na Na Curry House ONLINE Credit One of the few in town to exclusively serve Chinese-style curry rice, Na Na Homemade Curry is now synonymous with spicy, good curry recommendations. One of their crowd favourites is the tender Curry Pork Rib ($4), which is richer and more satisfying than its chicken-based counterpart. Na Na Homemade Curry: Bukit Merah View Blk 115, Bukit Merah View Market & Food Centre #01-48, Singapore 151115 | Mon Sat: 10.30am 7.00pm, Closed on Sun 4. Famous Sungei Road Trishaw Bib Gourmand Famous Trishaw Laksa Imagine a fruity, citrusy, sweet broth thats still weirdly (but comfortingly) familiar, and adorned with a truckload of ingredients one whole crayfish, eggs, prawns and a pile of shredded chicken. This Fruit Juice Crayfish Mee Siam ($7) is both refreshing and savoury at the same time, and offers a unique combination of flavours like no other. The queue starts snaking at 11.30am, and the mee siam sells out within 2 hours, so be sure to arrive early to guarantee yourself a bowl. Famous Sungei Road Trishaw: Upper Cross Street Blk 513A, Hong Lim Market & Food Centre #02-66, Singapore 051531 | Mon Sat: 11.30am to 5.30pm, Closed on Sun 3. Shi Hui Yuan Hor Fun Bib Gourmand Shi Hui Yuan Hor Fun ONLINE Credit So very inconvenient, yet totally worth the trouble if youre into the whole hor fun gig. Said to have one of the best renditions of Ipoh hor fun in Singapore, Shi Hui Yuan enjoys incredible business, often selling out well before 1pm. The Blissful Combination ($5) throws in a little bit of everything into this gravy-drenched plate of smooth, white noodles. Shi Hui Yuan Hor Fun: 159 Mei Chin Road, Mei Ling Food Centre #02-33, Singapore 140159 | Thurs Sun: 8.00am 2.00pm, Closed on Mon Wed 2. A Noodle Story Bib Gourmand A Noodle Story This stall lauds itself for serving Singapore-style ramen and is notorious for its long waiting time. A twist on the usual wonton mee, A Noodle Story packs its noodles with a variety of interesting toppings, such as fatty pork belly char-siew, a perfectly runny hot spring egg, HK-style pork wontons, and a potato-wrapped prawn. The photogenic noodles and ingredients are prepared and cooked to perfection. Although pricey for hawker fare ($5.90/$7.20/$8.50), a 30 minute line forms well before 11.30am, so be sure to allocate sufficient waiting time. A Noodle Story: 7 Maxwell Road, Amoy Street Food Centre #01-39 7, Singapore 069111 | Mon Fri: 11.15am 2.30pm (lunch), 5.30pm 7.30pm (dinner), Sat: 10.30am 1.30pm, Closed on Sun & PH 1. Liang Zhao Ji Bib Gourmand Liang Zhao Ji ONLINE Credit Located side-by-side with Hoover Rojak, this braised duck specialty stall has already been reported to experience a huge spike in business after making on the Bib Gourmand list. Although its queue moves significantly slower than neighbour Hoover Rojak, Liang Zhao Ji serves up their very generous portions of Braised Duck Rice ($5) drenched in their finger-licking dark sauce, which is probably enough to justify its now-lengthened waiting time. Liang Zhao Ji: Whampoa Drive Blk 90, Whampoa Food Centre #01-07, Singapore 320090 | Wed Sun: 10.45am 3.00pm, Closed on Tues The post Michelin Bib Gourmand: Top 10 Hawker Stalls To Visit To Be A True-Blue Singaporean appeared first on SETHLUI.com. P-Stone is an edit dropping machine at the moment heres another dose of Bru-Ray gnar in the form of the sessions which celebrated Daan Van Der Linden turning pro for Anti Hero, with shredding from Daan, Raney Beres, Peter Hewitt, Div, Evan Smith, Fred Gall, Grant Taylor and many more. The party was at Christiania, the sessions kicked off around Copenhagen for a few more days then the 1-8 wrecking machine headed through Holland to Daans hometown of Eindhoven to session the rad (if perilously slippery) Area 51 bowl. With the CPH Open leading almost directly into the Vans Pro Skate Park Series finals in Malmo, the timing and situation were both perfectly set... The latest visual feast from Bill Strobeck has just dropped in the form of 'King Puppy', featuring Grant Taylor, Kevin Bradley, Vincent Touzery, Eric Koston,... Newsletter Terms & Conditions Please enter your email so we can keep you updated with news, features and the latest offers. If you are not interested you can unsubscribe at any time. We will never sell your data and you'll only get messages from us and our partners whose products and services we think you'll enjoy. Read our full Privacy Policy as well as Terms & Conditions. The next big startup hub might not be a trendy metropolitan area like Silicon Valley. In fact, if you ask Mark Zuckerberg, the growing startup community in Lagos, Nigeria is one to look out for. The founder of Facebook recently visited the sub-Saharan country for the first time to see the vibrant developer and entrepreneurial ecosystem there. The city already boasts several up-and-coming startups and has some financial potential for international companies as well. However, inconsistent access to both funding and internet could threaten to slow the areas startup growth. Those are a few of the issues that Zuckerberg hopes to tackle with his work in Nigeria. Of course, Zuckerbergs efforts dont come without potential benefit to Facebook. Nigeria is the companys largest market in Africa. Always Keep Your Eye Out for the Next Silicon Valley You dont need to be the size of Facebook to know the value of developing communities around the world when it comes to growing your business. The internet gives even small business incredible reach not only to sell products and services anywhere in the world theyre needed. And developing communities can also be sources of talent to be recruited or partner who can help your company grow. You dont need to be a tech billionaire to contact these folks either. Simply take the time to learn more about the communities youre interested in. Look for complementary businesses and services to your own in these communities. Connect with popular local influencers via social media. Then set up an opportunity to chat Skype or Google Hangouts to talk about common goals and opportunities on . - Incidents of school fires have returned to Kenya - Fires in three schools have damaged dormitories with several students losing their belongings Three schools in Kenya have become the latest statistics in the ever increasing school fires affecting the country. The schools in Nairobi,Tharaka Nithi and Siaya counties were burnt barely a week as the new term began. Last term Langata High School was set on fire by students. READ ALSO: Angry residents send students home after school fire in Kisii The three schools affected by the fires are Highway High School, Kirege Mixed Secondary School and Mbaga Girls High School. At Highway school in Nairobi, more than ten students lost property in a dormitory fire, at Kirege mixed 78 students were forced to spend the night in the cold as fire gutted their dormitory. In Siaya county Mbaga Girls High School was indefinitely closed as two fires on Thursday, September 1 and Friday, September 2, destroyed dormitories at the school. Fires in three schools have damaged dormitories with several students losing their belongings. READ ALSO: Langata Boys high school students sent home after fire incident The Kenya National Union of Teachers (Knut) Secretary General Wilson Sossion blamed the fires on the radical reforms introduced by CS Matiangi and a board formed to probe rampant cases of exam cheating. The Kenya National Union of Teachers (Knut) Secretary General Wilson Sossion blamed the fires on the radical reforms introduced by CS Matiangi and a board formed to probe rampant cases of exam cheating. Matiang'i banned school visiting days, prayer days as well as mid-term holidays. The CS said the move was taken to curb cheating in national examinations that are normally held at the end of the year. READ ALSO: First national school burns as pressure piles on Uhuru to close schools Cover photo: Nation Source: TUKO.co.ke - Kenya has more than 40 tribes with diverse cultures and traditions - Some Kenyan tribes are feared by many who perceive them as fearless or violent Kenya is the home of diverse communities and cultures with some tribes well known for their unique practices and traditions. Pokot children training how to use a bow and an arrow. The Pokot tribe is one of the most feared Kenyan communities well known for their cattle rustling activities against neighbouring communities. READ ALSO: Nairobi coffin maker explains the tribes that buy expensive coffins (photos) Five Kenyan tribes stand out for their fearlessness, these tribes are well known for being battle-hardened when confronted by what they perceive as danger. Pokot warriors taking a bride to her matrimonial home. The Pokot are one of the most feared Kenyan communities. READ ALSO: Two Kenyan cultural practices that are no doubt horrifying and painful 1. Pokot The Pokot have always remained one of Kenya's most feared communities since independence. This perception against the Pokot was born after the community engaged in several conflicts with neighbouring tribes mostly influenced by cattle rustling. Maasai warriors known as the moran are well known for hunting and killing lions as a form of initiation into manhood. 2. Maasai The Maasai have put Kenya on the international map with their elegant culture but the tribe is also well known for its fearless culture. The Maasai have put Kenya on the international map with their elegant culture but the tribe is also well known for its fearless culture. Maasai warriors known as morans are famous for hunting and killing lions. Young Maasai men are also employed in many Kenyan homes and offices as night guards for their fearlessness and bravery. 3. Samburu The Samburu are related to the Maasai and like their famous cousins are known for being aggressive. The Samburu are related to the Maasai and like their famous cousins are known for being aggressive. The Samburu community has been involved in several conflicts with their neighbours like the Turkana and the Pokot mostly influenced by cattle rustling and land issues. The Marakwet community is feared by many after several decades of inter-tribal conflicts against neighbours especially the Pokot. READ ALSO: Swarm of bees attacks water CS Eugene Wamalwa in West Pokot 4. Marakwet The Marakwet just like their neighbours the Pokot, have carved the image of fearlessness after years of conflict arising from cattle rustling and land issues. Meru men are feared for their short temper its said a Meru man can cut you with panga that is always close to him if angered by even the most minor thing. The Marakwet have become battle-hardened and aggressive with a majority of young men preferring to be warriors as opposed to going to school for formal education. 5. Meru The Meru are famous for their short temper according to popular belief a Meru man can cut you to pieces with the slightest provocation. A Meru man is said to always keep a panga close to himself as a form of self-defence in case of any threat. READ ALSO: List: Kenyas tribes with married men who cheat the most in marriages Cover photo: NatGeo/PV Lehtinen Source: TUKO.co.ke - Beaty queen Roshanara Ebrahim has temporarily won back her Miss World Kenya 2016 - High Court also issued restraining orders on any publications that assert that she was stripped of her title Roshanara Ebrahim is no new face to Kenyans. She recently became the first beauty queen in Kenya to have her Miss World Kenya title ruthlessly taken away from her by franchise holder Terry Mungai of Ashleys Hair and Beauty. Beaty queen Roshanara Ebrahim has temporarily won back her Miss World Kenya 2016. Image: Courtesy READ ALSO: Sexy Kenyan singer shames politician who has been begging for her petunia However, it is seemingly evident that the whole melee could be nothing but a witch hunt as the crown was handed over to Miss World Kiambu county, Evelyne Njambi; a rumoured favorite of the pageants bosses. The woes of the ousted beauty queen began when the rumour mill insinuated she was affiliated to a controversial MP from Kiambu county. These allegations were refuted by both Roshanara Ebrahim and the lawmaker. The Miss World Kenya 2016 title was handed to Evelyne Njambi who second after Roshanara. Roshanara Ebrahim, rose from the ashes and is fighting the decision through her lawyers. In a new twist, the High Court (in August) rescinded the decision to dethrone her and issued restraining orders on any publications that assert that Roshanara Ebrahim was stripped of her title. READ ALSO: Kenyans shocked at the names Kathy Kiunas daughter gave her newborn baby Roshanara Ebrahim, in her capacity as Miss World Kenya 2016, mostly wanted to help those suffering from cleft lip and palate. In addition, she is rumored to be taking a dip into television and we soon might have her gracing our screens. She may be down but she sure is not out. READ ALSO: Alfred mutuas wife shows off her legs in a tiny skirt (photos) Roshanara once talked about her plans, as Miss World Kenya before the scandal, to help those suffering from cleft lip and palate. Here is her interview on WTVs She Power: She Power is a programme that airs on WTV recognizing women who have brought positive impact to the society hosted her for an interview. She Power is hosted by WTVs Linda Kroeger and airs every Wednesday at 8.30 pm. WTV is on Zuku Channel 34, Go TV and Startimes Channel 37 as well as all the other free to air platforms. Source: TUKO.co.ke - Kenya Defence Forces (KDF) have killed 13 al-Shabaab militants in Ras Kamboni, Somalia - The militants had attempted to ambush the Kenyan soldiers who were patrolling the border in a convoy - One KDF officer was injured the ambush Thirteen al-Shabaab militants were on Sunday, September 4, killed in a failed ambush attempt on Kenya Defence Forces (KDF) convoy in Ras Kamboni, Somalia. KDF soldiers have killed 13 al-Shabaab militants in Ras Kamboni after the group attempted to ambush them. READ ALSO: One person dead after attack in Ras Kamboni near Kenya-Somalia border The militants numbering 40 launched a rocket and machine gun attack on the Kenyan soldiers who were patroling the border in a convoy of armoured vehicles. READ ALSO: KDF soldier killed for spilling alcohol Terror group al-Shabaab attacked a KDF convoy in Ras Kamboni that left 13 militants dead and one Kenyan soldier injured. READ ALSO: Embakasi police officers open fire on KDF soldiers before harassing revelers (Video) KDF soldiers retaliated against the attackers managing to kill 13 of them while one son soldier sustained injuries. The militants escaped the scene after being overpowered by the Kenyan forces. KDF managed to recover 3 rocket propelled grenades (RPGs), a machine gun, and 4 AK-47 assault rifles. The militants numbering 40 launched a rocket and machine gun attack on the Kenyan soldiers who were patroling the border in a convoy of armoured vehicles. READ ALSO: Shootout drama in Nyeri town, innocent trader seriously wounded by KDF officer The terror group al-Shabaab was removed from its major strongholds in Somalia by African Union force (AMISOM) in 2011. The group has carried out several attacks in Kenya including the Garissa University College attack. The Garrisa University attack which occurred in 2015 was one of Kenyas most bloodiest terror attacks. Cover photo: Hiraan Source: TUKO.co.ke DAKAR, Sept 5 (Reuters) - Gabon's sole oil refinery in Port Gentil has been shut since last Wednesday because of violence following the disputed Aug. 27 presidential elections, a union official told Reuters on Monday. It was not clear when the Sogara refinery, which processes 21,000 barrels of oil per day, would be back online, said Sylvain Mayabi, secretary-general of the National Organization of Petrol Employees. French oil producer Total (LSE: 524773.L - news) owns a 43.8 percent stake in the refinery. (Reporting By Aaron Ross, writing by Edward McAllister) By Steve Slater LONDON, Sept 5 (IFR) - Barclays (LSE: BARC.L - news) has poached another executive from JP Morgan to head its investment bank, leaving the British bank with seven of its most senior bankers as alumni of its US rival. Barclays on Monday named Tim Throsby, currently global head of equities at JP Morgan, as president of Barclays corporate and international (BC&I) and chief executive of its corporate and investment bank. He will run the investment bank and fill the gap left by the departure of Tom King in March. He will also be in charge of corporate banking, Barclays' UK and US credit cards, wealth management and the payments business. It fills the last major senior appointment by Jes Staley since he joined as chief executive in December 2015. Throsby, an Australian, is expected to join in January and will be based in London. He will join the executive committee and report to Staley. Throsby adds to a bulging group of former JP Morgan bankers at Barclays, including Staley himself, who used to run its investment bank. They include finance director Tushar Morzaria; chief operating officer Paul Compton; and chief risk officer CS Venkatakrishnan. Mark Ashton-Rigby, its chief information officer, and Emily Portney, chief financial officer for corporate and international, have also previously worked at JP Morgan, which prides itself on having a deep bench of talented bankers. Throsby is well regarded at JP Morgan for helping strengthen its equities business and expand its electronic trading platform, people familiar with the matter said. JP Morgan ranked third for global equities revenues last year behind Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs (NYSE: GS-PB - news) , according to analysis firm Coalition. Throsby joined JP Morgan in April 2010 as head of equity derivatives and was promoted to head of equities in September 2012. He has held senior roles at a number of banks, including at Credit Suisse (LSE: 0QP5.L - news) and Macquarie before he joined Goldman Sachs in 1995 as co-head of equity derivatives for Asia and Japan. In 2002, he moved to Lehman Brothers to head the Asia and Japan equities division and then its global equities business in 2004, and in 2005 he joined US hedge fund Citadel, where he ran its Asian business from Hong Kong. Story continues The appointment of Throsby effectively completes Staley's top team, at a time when his turnaround plan appears to be gaining traction but there are still considerable operational and strategic challenges ahead. The bank has to separate its UK retail banking business by 2019 to shield depositors from any problems that could arise in its investment bank or other businesses. The investment bank is being slimmed down, and Staley has quit some countries to pursue a transatlantic strategy focused on its two "home" markets of Britain and the US. saudi arabia russia putin Reuters/Sergei Karpukhin The price of oil went crazy on Monday morning as investors around the world reacted to confirmation that Saudi Arabia and Russia have held talks about the future direction of oil policy. At a press conference during the G20 summit currently going on in China, Saudi Arabia's energy minister Khalid al-Falih told reporters that the two countries held discussions about the state of the oil markets which brought them "closer together," according to a Reuters report. Al-Falih's conference was trailed as a "significant announcement" and appears to have disappointed many market participants, who were expecting that a decisive plan of action may be announced. As a result, the price of oil slipped somewhat from its pre-conference position. Prior to the announcement, both major oil benchmarks were higher by more than 4.5%, but both have now dropped substantially as of around 3:25 p.m. BST (10:25 a.m. ET). Here's how US WTI crude looks (note the substantial drop since mid-morning):Reuters/Sergei Karpukhin Screen Shot 2016 09 05 at 15.26.23 And here's Brent, the international benchmark: Screen Shot 2016 09 05 at 15.27.35 Reuters/Sergei Karpukhin The announcement came after Saudi deputy crown prince Mohammed bin Salman told Russian President Vladimir Putin on the sidelines of the summit that cooperation between the two countries would bring benefit to the global oil market, according to a report from Reuters. Russia and Saudi Arabia are probably the two most important oil producers on the planet, with Saudi Arabia the de facto leader of the OPEC cartel of oil-producing nations. Russia, alongside the USA, is one of the two biggest non-OPEC producers. What the two nations do regarding oil policy has profound effects on the markets. For example, at April's massively anticipated OPEC meeting about a freeze in production, Saudi Arabia refused to cooperate unless Iran joined in any production freeze, and, as a result the meeting ended up as a damp squib. Story continues With the two nations starting to work together, hopes for a solution to the massive glut in the oil industry are rising. However, we have seen promises of co-operation before. For instance, in August, Russian oil minister Alexander Novak told a Saudi newspaper: "With regard to the cooperation with Saudi Arabia, the dialogue between our two countries is developing in a tangible way, whether in the framework of a multi-party structure or on a bilateral level." Novak's words sent the price of oil rocketing at the time. NOW WATCH: Kobe Bryant is starting a $100-million venture capital fund See Also: SEE ALSO: China's president: We should turn the G20 group into an action team no more talk SANTA FE Jessie Harbeck and her mother, Debra Harbeck, just wanted to celebrate with drinks the night before Jessies 22nd birthday in January. Hours later, Jessie ended up spending part of her birthday taking her mother off life support after the highly intoxicated woman choked during a risque corn dog eating contest at a now-defunct Albuquerque nightclub. Now Jessie, her father and her grandmother are suing the club, Fire and Ice, and others connected to the property and its liquor license, in a complaint for wrongful death filed in Santa Fe District Court. It alleges, among other things, that the club served her too much liquor. According to the complaint, Fire and Ice held a corn dog eating contest where female contestants got on their knees in front of males who were holding corn dogs near their groin area on Jan. 27. The winner of the corn dog eating contest won a prize by eating the corn dog the fastest, the complaint says. Jessie Harbeck told the Journal on Tuesday that her mother paired up with one of Jessies friends for the contest. Debra began choking on the corn dog, and patrons rushed to apply the Heimlich maneuver and CPR before paramedics got there. The choking caused the loss of oxygen to her brain before medical personnel could be there, said Albuquerque lawyer Gene Chavez, who filed the lawsuit for the Harbecks. Her body fought valiantly, but the damage was irreparable. The lawsuit says Debra Harbeck, 56, was intoxicated, had been over-served at the bar and should not have been allowed to take part in the eating contest. The suit also argues the club should have had medical personnel on hand for the contest. The family pulled Debra from life support on Jan. 28, Jessies actual birthday, and Debra died at 12:22 p.m. the next day. My dad wanted to wait to pull the plug until midnight of my birthday so that she wouldnt die on my birthday, Jessie said. I told him my one birthday wish was for her to not suffer. I knew she was in pain, and I didnt want her suffering anymore. Chavez says the club didnt supervise the contest well enough in allowing such an intoxicated person to take part. Debra had a blood alcohol content between 0.13 and 0.14 percent, according to the suit. She had been served three double shots & four double gin and tonics, the suit says. The complaint maintains Debra Harbeck was at a fatal or near-fatal level of intoxication, although the BAC described in the court complaint is less than twice New Mexicos presumed level of intoxication for drivers, 0.08 percent. Quite honestly, they did not cut her off, Jessie said. She was pretty intoxicated when I got there. The bar did not take the initiative to get her to stop drinking. Jessie said she had a designated driver so she could enjoy her birthday, and she said she took her mothers keys and told her she would drive her home because she was drunk. Chavez said its common for eating contests around the country to have medical personnel nearby in case someone starts choking or has another medical problem. Jessie and Anthony Harbeck, Debras husband, are suing PKG Investments LLC, which the suit says was operating as Fire and Ice at Montgomery and Eubank. Also named are Anodyne Corp., which was leasing its liquor license to PKG, according to the suit, and Hinkle Investments LLC, which owns the property Fire and Ice was leasing. The suit can be filed in Santa Fe because the estates personal representative is in the capital city. No one connected to the club ownership as described in the suit could be reached for comment Tuesday. Jessie said Debra was an active supporter of the fire and police departments in Bernalillo and Sandoval counties. Her husband is retired from Phoenix Fire Department, and Debra made quilts and donated them to fire departments or to the homeless. Jessie was an only child, and her relationship with her mother extended beyond a normal mother-daughter relationship, she said. She was my best friend, Jessie said. She was my support system. Donald Trumps immigration position is, at its heart, fairly simple. People in the country illegally would be subject to deportation if he is elected president, as he said in his speech this week in Arizona. Even those who hadnt crossed the border illegally but whod been admitted on a visa and then didnt leave are a big problem in Trumps estimation. Immigration law doesnt exist for the purpose of keeping criminals out, he said. It exists to protect all aspects of American life. The work site, the welfare office, the education system, and everything else. That speech came more than three weeks after Trumps campaign promised to answer questions about a more personal component of the immigration issue. In early August, Trump pledged that his wife Melania, a native of Slovenia, would hold a press conference explaining how she managed to navigate the onerous process of getting a green card after questions about the timeline of her entry into the country were raised by a number of outlets. Remember when the New York Post ran a front-page story showing nude photos of Melania Trump? Politico realized that the date of that shoot, 1995, put her in the United States prior to 1996, the year she has said she arrived on a visa. After that story came out, Trump tweeted a broad defense of her arrival. The promised press conference, though, hasnt yet happened. Curious about the extent to which marrying an American citizen washed away any previous immigration problems, I reached out to David Leopold, an immigration attorney from Cleveland and former president of the American Immigration Lawyers Association. He explained that the popular understanding of how immigration is linked to marriage is wrong but also noted a number of other questions worth asking about Trumps arrival in the United States. To the marriage question first. The understanding in popular culture that marrying a U.S. citizen automatically grants citizen status is incorrect. The act of marrying a legal permanent resident of the United States doesnt in and of itself do anything, Leopold said. There are three main ways in which someone can get a green card: through an employer, through an immediate relative or through the green card lottery. Whats an immediate relative? A parent or a spouse, for example. Essentially, then, a potential immigrant goes from having no immediate relative (and having to hope to win the green card lottery) to suddenly having one and for that group, there is no quota on how many green cards can be issued. A green card isnt guaranteed to the new spouse, but it makes them eligible to begin the process. It isnt guaranteed in part because there are boundaries on who can receive a green card. It is not the case, for example, that an immigrant who enters the country by illegally crossing the southern border can simply marry an American citizen and be granted a green card. If I marry somebody who is undocumented, the only way at this point she is going to get a green card is if she lawfully entered the United States originally, Leopold said. If the person entered the country without inspection I married a woman who crossed the border or entered through fraud or something like that then she is ineligible to get a green card in the United States. There are exceptions that apply, but this is a critical point: If someone committed fraud or entered the country illegally, they cannot get a green card unless they receive a waiver for doing so. This is important to the question of Melania Trump. Heres how Trump explained getting her citizenship to Harpers Bazaar: I came here for my career, and I did so well, I moved here. It never crossed my mind to stay here without papers. That is just the person you are. You follow the rules. You follow the law. Every few months you need to fly back to Europe and stamp your visa. After a few visas, I applied for a green card and got it in 2001. After the green card, I applied for citizenship. And it was a long process. According to Leopold, the need to have to travel back to her home country wouldnt accompany a visa linked to employment in his experience. The only time Ive seen that and Ive been doing this a long time, and Ive compared notes with other immigration lawyers that the coming in and going out, to anybody whos been around this stuff, suggests that she was on a visitor visa, which doesnt permit work, he said. If Trump came in on a visitor visa and began working over a short period of time, the government would assume that she entered the country fraudulently. If she told a customs official she was entering the United States as a visitor but was planning to work, thats a material misrepresentation. To get a work-related visa, Leopold adds, Trumps prospective employer would have to prove that Trump filled a job duty that no American could fill to show, in other words, that no other model in New York City would have done that shoot. Unless of course she had special skills or a special degree. You may remember that shortly before questions about Trumps status arose she suddenly took down her personal website. That change followed revelations that Trump claimed to have a degree that biographers from Slovenia discovered she didnt. At the age of eighteen, she signed with a modeling agency in Milan. After obtaining a degree in design and architecture at University in Slovenia, Melania was jetting between photo shoots in Paris and Milan, finally settling in New York in 1996, the site read. The part about the degrees, it seems, was not true, as our fact-checkers noted. We dont know why Trump claimed to have that degree but having such degrees could bolster an argument for a work visa. If she told an employer she had degrees she didnt in order to obtain a visa (and the employer wasnt the wiser), Trump is culpable. Again: Its not clear what visa Trump used to enter the country and how it related to her work experience but she asserts that she has always been in full compliance with immigration laws. If thats not true, its a problem. How Trump obtained her green card is another question. In an interview with Univision, a former attorney for the Trump Organization said that Trump obtained her green card in 2001 based on marriage. She married Trump in 2005 and has said that she wasnt married previously. As noted above, marriage is a fast-track to green card status, but it also carries another benefit. Someone whod entered the country fraudulently isnt eligible for a green card unless they get a waiver. In this case, that waiver would have to come from a close relative like a spouse arguing that an exception should be granted because the relative would suffer an extreme hardship if the application were refused. This is tough to do, Leopold said, suggesting that it demands proof of legitimate economic or emotional difficulty that would result. For Leopold (who, we will note, donated to the Hillary Clinton campaign in March), the point isnt that Melania Trump entered the country and obtained citizenship under false pretenses. To some extent, the point is that we dont know her story which is strange, since it should be fairly simple to explain. melania NEW YORK Small businesses that cant find the right people to fill their job openings may be suffering from a Great Recession hangover. Their futile searches may partly reflect a healthier economy more people have jobs, reducing the pool of applicants and the success rate of broad strategies like online job postings. For some, the challenge is finding staff with very specific technology skills. Changes in the workforce can also make it difficult, especially among younger people who may prefer big cities and have different work goals. Nearly a fifth of small-business owners surveyed by American Express this spring said finding the right staff is their biggest challenge while expanding their companies. But owners can also make life difficult for themselves. Some hold to inflexible models developed during the recession like posting complex jobs for relatively low pay and many candidates say no because they get better offers. Some employers are still trying to hire one person to do the work of two or three, a tactic that might have worked several years ago, but not now, says Steve Lindner, CEO of The WorkPlace Group, a recruiting firm based in Florham Park, N.J. Youre asking for way too much versus what youre willing to pay, Lindner says. The recovering economy helped many entrepreneurs launch companies, but also has made hiring tougher in some areas. Paul Turanos 3-year-old restaurant, Cook, has six openings, including for a bartender, servers and a sous chef. The Boston area is filled with upscale restaurants like Cook. Its frustrating because I dont know how to change it, Turano says. Weve tried agencies, online, back to basics like hanging a sign in our window that says Come join our team.' Cook offers incentives such as vacation and a retirement plan. But Turano is also up against changing attitudes many people he interviews decide they dont want to do the hard work a restaurant requires. The ripple effect from business closures during the recession has also complicated some hiring. Christine Perkins struggles to find candidates to style hair, do manicures and give massages at her two Boston-area spas, Pyara, in part because some beauty schools in the region have closed. Perkins has other frustrations. Shes looking for full-time staffers willing to make a commitment in order to deliver good customer service. She offers benefits, including a 401(k) retirement plan. But she says many younger candidates arent interested in full-time work and some tell her they dont want to work more than 10 hours a week. We can barely train you and keep you updated, let alone taking care of customers, Perkins says. Companies in places such as San Francisco and Silicon Valley are up against intense competition for workers. GreatUsefulStuff.com, which operates websites selling products for home, office and travel, has had several positions open for three to four months. Two candidates accepted jobs, then said they received better offers elsewhere. I had not run into anything quite like that before, says Jeff Block, CEO of the 12-year-old company based in San Francisco. Hes considering broadening his search to other cities and allowing new hires to work remotely. While Block is widening his parameters, other companies may be hurting themselves. Some are too rigid about the type of candidate theyre looking for, says Tricia Lucas, owner of Lucas Select, a recruiting company based in Cary, N.C. Lucas specialty is finding salespeople to sell software to businesses. The greatest demand and shortest supply is for people with five to seven years of experience. There are plenty of more experienced people, but companies dont want to hire these workers. Theyre trying to control their costs and this is a way they think they can do it, she says. They think, we can fill that seat with somebody cheaper.' Many companies also dont want to have to train new hires, recruiter Lindner says. Thats often another consequence of the recession, when employers had more candidates to choose from and could turn down those who needed training in order to avoid spending time and money bringing them up to speed. Owners in a time crunch may not invest the time necessary to find top-notch hires, says Jay Starkman, CEO of Engage PEO, a human resources provider based in Hollywood, Fla. That includes continual networking, talking with as many people as possible to see if they know of good candidates including people who have jobs. Sending out postings on LinkedIn and some other job boards, and expecting that this flood of candidates will come in those days dont exist anymore, Starkman says. Not being able to find the right employees is keeping some small businesses from expanding. Kelly Fitzgeralds public relations company, Breakaway Communications, is perpetually in need of more staffers to promote technology clients. People with three or four years of experience in technology public relations can be hard to find; many are in jobs they like and arent moving, Fitzgerald says. She also finds that younger candidates often dont show what qualifications they would offer and instead say, I think your organization will be good for me. Fitzgerald has offices in New York and San Francisco, with 17 staffers, but would love to have twice that number and be able to say yes to prospective customers. Unless we have the right teams, we cant do it, Fitzgerald says. PHOENIX If Hillary Clinton carries Arizona in November, theres a good chance it wont be because Democrats on their own have flipped a reliable GOP state they hope to win consistently someday. Instead, Clinton and Democrats may have Gary Johnson to thank. The Libertarian Party nominees best chance to influence the presidential race may come in Arizona, where the former New Mexico governor appeals to a group of finicky conservatives who make up part of the GOP base. It could happen, said GOP Sen. Jeff Flake. Donald Trump has managed to make this an interesting state in terms of presidential politics, and not in the way that Republicans have wanted. Johnson is an easy out for some people in our party, Flake told The Associated Press. About a dozen of the most contested states will help determine which candidate gets the 270 electoral votes to win the presidency. In Arizona, where the Republican nominee has carried the state in 11 of the past 12 presidential elections, Johnson could play the spoiler, potentially putting 11 electoral votes in Clintons column. The GOPs recent struggle with independent-minded, small-government Libertarians was clear before Trumps speech Wednesday in Phoenix, when he reaffirmed a hard line on immigration. And his stance could alienate the roughly one-quarter of Hispanic voters in the state who usually align with Republicans. I think that right now were at a tipping point, where at any moment we are going to begin to see an outpouring of support, said Latino GOP strategist Juan Hernandez, who works for Johnson in Arizona. Sensing an opportunity herself, Clinton began airing television advertisements in the state Friday, and has reserved $500,000 in ad time through mid-September. Democratic strategist Andy Barr said Hispanic turnout was the multimillion-dollar question. About one-third of the states population identifies as Latino, but their share of the vote ranges between 12 percent and 16 percent, according to public and private polling. This closer it gets to 20 percent, the more our chances of winning go up, Barr said. Johnson will appear on the ballot in every state this fall, while Green Party nominee Jill Stein is on track to make it in at least half. Neither is remotely within reach of carrying a state. Neither seems in a position to tip any state toward Trump. But Johnson could move a close race toward Clinton, in much the same way that Ralph Nader pulled enough votes away from Democrat Al Gore in 2000 to hand Florida to Republican George W. Bush. Four years ago, Libertarian candidates in Arizona drew enough votes away from Republicans that Democrats Ann Kirkpatrick and Kyrsten Sinema won election to the U.S. House. Flake, who had endeared himself to many Libertarians while serving in the House, won his Senate race that year, too. Its a really sore spot for the party, Arizona Republican Party spokesman Tim Sifert said of those 2012 results. You could see people frustrated, throwing away their vote and going with a third-party candidate. The views of most Libertarians, focused on personal liberty and small government, overlap more with Republicans than Democrats. Johnsons call for dramatically lower business taxes and regulation to unburden entrepreneurs resonates with Matthew Sherman of Phoenix, who describes himself as more as a conservative than as a Republican. Im for whoever has the best plan on startup companies, said the 31-year-old whos working on a business networking app. So far, thats Gary. Republican Dave Richins, a councilman in Mesa City, said Johnson is conservative on spending, but tolerant on social issues, which he calls a pragmatic combination. For me, a lifelong Republican, I dont agree with everything Johnson proposes, said Richins, a Johnson organizer. But I find his pragmatism refreshing. Thats how we get things done. Johnsons hands-off approach to government also includes decriminalizing marijuana, and he could benefit from a November ballot proposal in Arizona on that question. Thats another reason for Libertarians to vote in higher numbers, said Barr, who is running the decriminalization campaign. Were inclined to believe that could increase Johnsons performance. At the beginning of August, Johnsons campaign had $1.2 million after raising $1.6 million in July, according to Federal Election Commission reports. Since Aug. 1, hes raised more than $3 million, according to his campaign. Thats a paltry sum compared with Trump and Clinton, whose campaign said it raised a total of $143 million last month. Johnson is spending in a few competitive campaign states, including Colorado, Iowa, New Hampshire and Wisconsin, and less competitive ones such as Oregon, New Mexico and Utah. Arizona is not on that list, but aides say it likely will be this fall. As a New Mexican, hes fairly well known in Arizona, said Johnsons spokesman, Joe Hunter. Arizona makes sense for us. We have a natural base of support there. ___ Associated Press writer Chad Day in Reeds Spring, Missouri, contributed to this report. ___ Want to chart your own path along the Road to 270? Figure out how Donald Trump or Hillary Clinton can get the Electoral College votes theyll need to win the White House with APs interactive map: http://interactives.ap.org/2016/road-to-270 Copyright 2016 Albuquerque Journal DEMING The morning is still dark when Border Patrol agents file into the station to get assignments and hear the latest intelligence. Of the agents present, there are 30 men and two women. Armed with her standard-issue pistol, Agent Lorena Apodaca checks out additional weapons for her shift an M4 automatic assault rifle and an FN303 less lethal launcher that shoots paintball-like projectiles. She is one of six women among 300 agents assigned to the Border Patrols Deming station. Faced with a shortage of agents and an influx of Central American women and children migrants over the past two years, Border Patrol has been looking to hire more women to the force. The agency, with the lowest ratio of women in federal law enforcement, said in 2014 it would hire 1,600 females. But its recruiting efforts including a campaign specifically targeting women have come up short. More than 6,200 women applied to vacancies posted between October 2014 and September 2015, according to the U.S. Customs and Border Protection, the Border Patrols parent agency. From that pool, more than 1,300 were considered qualified. Just 54 were hired. About 5 percent of Border Patrols nearly 21,000 agents are female, compared with an average of about 15 percent across other federal law enforcement agencies, according to Women in Federal Law Enforcement, or WIFLE, an advocacy group. They are working hard, WIFLE executive director Cathy Sanz, a retired agent of Immigration and Customs Enforcement, said of Border Patrol. They are trying. Other federal agencies are watching what they are doing i.e., looking for signs of success in attracting women to the force because others are thinking they might want to go down this road. Apodaca, who is 5-foot-2, secures her weapons in the back seat of an F-150 pickup and puts a booster pillow up front. She describes how, at 37, she was one of two women in her class to make it through the agencys rigorous academy. She jokes about being a woman in Border Patrol as she scoots her seat forward: Thats the biggest challenge we face reaching the pedals. But the challenges of the hiring process and the field are real. Built in hiring bias Border Patrol is still examining why it hasnt been able to attract and retain more women. The agency has a high attrition rate of applicants who opt out during the 10-step hiring process, according to recruiter Agent Jennifer Ortiz. A Border Patrol union representative notes that the job is difficult, even for males. Sanz says the hiring process itself is designed for people to fail but is especially biased against women. A 90-question application is the first of 10 hurdles. Then comes a written test, an oral interview, physical fitness test, medical exam, drug screening, polygraph and an FBI background check. The oral interviews in the Border Patrol sector that includes New Mexico are conducted in El Paso so would-be recruits from anywhere in the state must travel to West Texas. After clearing those obstacles, recruits attend an 11-week training academy 19 weeks if they arent already proficient in Spanish in Artesia. Just the process alone stops you from hitting your numbers, Sanz said. From a women in law enforcement point of view, we look at processes that are biased. Its designed for people to fail. The focus becomes women because some of the categories affect women more. The training isnt local, so single parents start to self-select out, Sanz said. She points to the arbitrariness of some of the physical requirements, including scaling the seven-foot wall, which has been shown to be discriminatory, she said. The Border Patrol academy requires the seven-foot wall as part of its confidence course, according to an online manual of the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center in Artesia. Some potential biases arent unique to Border Patrol, but were built into a federal law enforcement system that was by law almost entirely male until the 1970s. Before 1969, women were not allowed to work any position in federal law enforcement that required carrying a gun, Sanz said. President Richard Nixon signed an executive order ending that ban and the first women were hired in 1971. The percentage of women in federal, state and local law enforcement has been growing at the rate of one-tenth of one percent per year since then, she said. It took two decades to go two percent, she said. Physical demands The 2,000-mile U.S.-Mexico border features urban pockets like El Paso and Ciudad Juarez or the spot where Nogales, Sonora, meets Nogales, Ariz. But vast stretches, including much of New Mexicos southern border, are difficult, mountainous, desert terrain. Border Patrol agents work alone. In places like New Mexicos remote Bootheel trafficked by drug runners who occasionally travel 10 together, carrying 60-pound loads of marijuana agent backup can be an hour away. Once people see the job, its not for everybody, said Shawn Moran, a border agent and spokesman for the National Border Patrol Council union, which represents 16,000 agents. Its very physically demanding. Its a difficult job, even for males. The odds are never in our favor. You have the dangers of law enforcement in general and then you throw on the dangers of the terrain and being outnumbered. Does an agents size or build or voice matter at the moment of a potentially dangerous apprehension? Sanz says no. This is something they find in research: As soon as women arrive on a scene, they de-escalate a situation, she said. In eight and a half years on the job, most of them spent in the field, Apodaca has only threatened lethal force once, she said. She caught two suspected unauthorized immigrants in the desert one of them was big and she drew her weapon but did not point it at them or fire, she said. Instead, she told them to take their shoes off a go-to move that she says can quickly put her in control of a situation. (The men were allowed to put their shoes back on after they were handcuffed, she said.) Shift work is difficult for any agent, said Ortiz, who also joined Border Patrol at 37, at the urging of her husband, who is an agent. As a recruiter, I like to be honest and tell whoever I speak to This is what youre going to be doing on a daily basis. You are going to be working by yourself. You are going to be working in the dark.' Much time spent alone Amy Flores, 20, waitresses at Delicias Mexican Restaurant in Las Cruces six nights a week and studies criminal justice at Dona Ana Community College during the day. Her dream, she says, is to join Border Patrol. She is working through the 90-question application online but hasnt found time to finish, she said. Flores lights up when she recalls first hearing about Border Patrol from an agent who visited her high school. She loved the variety of the job the agent described: the combination of police and detective work, midnight patrols, drug-busting. Its something Im passionate about, she said. And, she said, If something is going to happen to you, its because its meant to happen to you. Im not really scared of being alone. TOHATCHI, N.M. A Navajo father and daughter in northwest New Mexico were found dead after trying to rescue a family pet from a flooded arroyo. Navajo Nation President Russell Begaye expressed condolences in a statement Sunday for the deaths of Jay and Aschley Levier in Tohatchi. KOB-TV in Albuquerque reports (http://bit.ly/2bMLydw) that 21-year-old Aschley Levier went into the water to save the familys dog Friday. Witnesses say her 46-year-old father then followed to save her. Both were swept away. More than 100 volunteers searched for them. Their bodies were discovered later in the day. The dog was found alive. Areas of the Navajo Nation have recently been rife with flash flooding. Begaye signed an emergency declaration last month in response to flood damage in Shiprock and Chinle, Arizona. ___ Information from: KOB-TV, http://www.kob.com DALLAS Sgt. Ivan Gunter climbed the stairs, sweating beneath a ceramic-plated tactical vest, his finger resting beside the trigger of his 9mm handgun. He could hear the suspects muffled voice above, between thunderous cracks of gunfire. Gunter, 49, led a specially trained team of nine Dallas police officers called the Foxtrots. In the July twilight, beneath the citys skyscrapers, a gunman had taken aim at his officers as they stood along Main Street policing a protest rally. One fell, then a second, and a third. After helping to drag one of his wounded men into a patrol car, Gunter followed the gunmans trail of broken glass and blood. As sirens wailed across downtown, Gunter paused in a stairwell of El Centro College. He was part of a small group of police officers closing in on the shooter. Hold your positions, a supervisor ordered over the radio. Gunter crouched in the stairwell, waiting. After a few minutes, his cellphone buzzed. Where you at, Gunter? You OK? asked Sgt. Alan Villarreal, a longtime friend, calling from the hospital. He spoke the names of two of Gunters Foxtrots. Pat and Krol they didnt make it. What? Gunter said. Im sorry, Gunter, Villarreal said. You need to get over here, now. Your guys need you. Gunter felt a wave of anguish, then rage. Two of his men dead, others gravely wounded on what would become the single deadliest day for U.S. law enforcement since Sept. 11, 2001. Gunter couldnt leave the stairwell, not with the gunman still alive, still firing. Youre going to have to take care of them for me, brother, Gunter said. I have to see this through. Seven hours earlier, at 2:30 p.m., Gunter had arrived at a two-story brick building off West Illinois Avenue in southwest Dallas. He swiped his security card and walked to his desk, passing rows of cubicles filled with sergeants who supervised the Southwest Division, one of seven patrol districts at the Dallas Police Department. About 300 of the departments 3,375 officers worked there. Gunters team of Foxtrots handled special assignments requested by supervisors across the department. The group had been formed nearly a decade earlier to respond to high-priority calls on third watch, from 3 p.m. to 11 p.m. Some of its founding members were military veterans who picked the name Foxtrot, which signifies the letter F in radio communications. The Foxtrots were trained in combat medicine, fugitive apprehension and tactical surveillance. They responded to shootings, carjackings and armed robberies, as well as to lower-priority calls if a need arose. They operated radar guns on high-traffic roads, investigated clusters of vehicle break-ins, tracked robbers snatching womens purses in parking lots. Some officers considered them a miniature version of the departments elite SWAT team, responsible for the districts 75 square miles. The unit had demonstrated success and been replicated at other stations in Dallas. Gunter needed a team with a variety of skills, and he helped pick his nine officers, choosing one seasoned robbery detective for his knowledge of sophisticated computer programs to help track suspects. He chose another for his enthusiastic tenacity in locating drug houses and cultivating informants. They were a close-knit group who ate together, spent long hours on surveillance together, knew each others girlfriends and wives and children. One officers mother invited them over for Sunday barbecues. The department did not allow units to have their own logos, but the Foxtrots quietly created one anyway, sketching a picture of a red fox with a menacing stare, a lightning bolt shooting behind it. Gunter had the drawing made into a patch. Some of the men Velcroed it onto their heavy ballistic vests, marking them as Foxtrots. Gunter arrived at work that Thursday, July 7, wearing his Class B uniform navy cargo pants and a police button-down already informed that his team would help with crowd control that night at a protest against shootings by police. Tensions were high across the country again; that week, two videos had gone viral in as many days, showing black men shot dead by police. A black man born in Dallas and a 25-year department veteran, Gunter sympathized with the Black Lives Matter movement. Hed had his own run-ins with police as a boy. He once got stopped while riding his bike to a friends house in a largely white, affluent neighborhood. The citys activists were not given to violence, and Gunter wasnt expecting trouble at the rally. Still, he needed to be prepared. As his team members filed into the station around 3 p.m., he instructed them to gear up, standard protocol for rallies and protests. They climbed the stairs to the second floor and grabbed black bags filled with riot gear shin guards, batons and helmets. Gunter also required all Foxtrots to have military-grade ballistic vests that could protect from high-velocity gunfire. The officers had bought the vests for about $300 each because the department did not provide them. The team walked out into the sweltering 91-degree heat carrying their bags and bottles of water. Several officers paired up to ride downtown together. Among them were Senior Cpl. Lorne Ahrens and Officer Michael Krol. Ahrens, 48, was one of the most experienced investigators on the team, known for his guile and ability to get suspects to talk. He was 6 foot 5, weighed more than 300 pounds and could rip burglar bars off a house with his bare hands. Friends called him Meat and loved summoning him as backup. But those who knew him well considered him a softy. Theyd seen him roll around with his two children, 8 and 10 years old. Officer Krol was 40 with a boys face and goofy grin. He was the only member of the team maybe the only officer on the force, his colleagues joked who loved working traffic accidents. Most cops consider them tedious and loathe the paperwork. But Krol enjoyed the meticulous task of figuring out who had collided with whom, and at what speeds and angles. Krol, like Ahrens, towered over 6 feet. When the pair climbed into a patrol car, officers liked to watch and laugh as it drooped toward the ground. That afternoon, Gunter led the caravan in his patrol car filled with supervisors tools, crowbars, rifles, a gas mask and two medical bags. The Foxtrots headed north to police headquarters to receive their assignments. About 6:45 p.m., the Foxtrots parked their patrol cars near the intersection of Commerce Street and Interstate 45. Their job would be to block protesters who might try to march onto the highways. Officer Gretchen Rocha sat in the passenger seat of a patrol car. At 23, Rocha was a recent police academy graduate three weeks into her field training. She was married with an 11-month-old and had wanted to be a police officer since she was a girl. One of the Foxtrots, Senior Cpl. Ivan Saldana, 44, had been assigned to train her. As Rocha waited for orders, she glanced in a side mirror and saw a man who looked homeless approach a patrol car behind her. He banged on the window, visibly upset. She watched as another Foxtrot, Patrick Zamarripa, stepped out of his car. Rocha and her trainer climbed out to see what was happening. Someone had stolen his potato chips, said the homeless man. He was near tears. Zamarripa walked toward a convenience store, the man following. Inside, they headed toward the chips. The man looked at Zamarripa, then picked out a bag. Want two bags? Zamarripa asked. The man shook his head. Just one. Zamarripa paid for the chips, then led the group back to their patrol cars. The homeless man thanked Zamarripa the whole way. He asked whether he could sit next to Zamarripas car as he ate, worried that someone might steal the chips again. Zamarripa nodded. The man sat cross-legged on the pavement and ripped open the bag. That interaction made an impression on the rookie, Rocha. Such a small gesture, but she could tell it made the mans day. She was impressed with Zamarripa, a 32-year-old father who had served in Iraq before joining the department. Before long, their sergeant, Gunter, walked over. Supervisors now wanted the Foxtrots to leapfrog from intersection to intersection, blocking traffic as the marchers headed toward the end of the parade route. The officers worked their way toward Main Street, eventually stopping at Lamar Street, near El Centro College. Protesters walked by, some thanking the officers, others stopping to pose for selfies. The officers still had their riot gear including their military-grade ballistic vests on the back seats of their cars. But the crowd was peaceful. The department had spent considerable money and resources in de-escalation training in recent years and wanted to avoid looking like an occupying army whenever possible. The sun had fallen by the time the marchers chants began to fade. The protesters drifted off Main Street, walking toward their cars. Just before 9 p.m., Gunter was about to dismiss his unit when he heard the first crack of gunfire. Officer Krol screamed, then fell to the ground. Ahrens collapsed beside him, his immense frame sprawled across the pavement. Another crack, then another. Gunter looked around, trying to figure out what was happening. The sound of gunfire echoed through the streets, getting louder, coming closer. Get down, get down! Gunter shouted. He realized his unit, standing within a space of 15 to 20 feet, was under fire, in the middle of the street, with nowhere to hide except behind patrol cars. Gunter recognized the sound as that of an assault rifle. The thin Kevlar vests beneath their shirts would not protect them. Gunter turned to his right and saw Zamarripa fall. He pressed the button on his radio. Shots fired, officer down! Shots fired, officer down! Were in a kill zone! Stay clear! Gunter recalls saying on the radio. He dragged Zamarripa behind his car. A few feet away, another Foxtrot, Jorge Barrientos, 28, felt a shift in the air as bullets whizzed past his ears. He ran toward a patrol car, seeing bullets hit the ground next to him. A chunk of his radio, attached to his belt, flew into the air. Hes aiming at me, Barrientos thought. Just before he ducked behind the patrol car, he felt something slam into his chest. It stung, then faded. Barrientos coughed into his hand, looking for blood. He didnt see any and figured he was OK. Then he looked down and saw a piece of his left index finger dangling. He and his partner crouched behind the car. Stay down! he screamed. A piece of a tire blew off, striking his partner in the face and pitching him backward. During a break in the gunfire, Barrientos looked out into the street and saw Krol, lying motionless. He saw Ahrens struggling, trying to apply a tourniquet to his own leg. Then he saw his sergeant, Gunter, crouched over Zamarripa. He crawled over to help. Grab my med kit, Gunter yelled. It was in the back of his patrol car. Barrientos raised his head, felt the bullets speed by. He couldnt reach the kit without exposing himself. Gunter tugged on Zamarripas shirt, trying to remove it. Trained in combat medicine, Gunter feared his officer had a sucking chest wound, one that might fill his thorax with air and cause his lungs to collapse. He needed to plug the hole. What do you have? Gunter asked Barrientos. Barrientos reached into his pocket and pulled out a pack of Marlboro Lights. Gunter grabbed them, slid off the clear plastic wrapper and placed it over Zamarripas wound, pushing down. Zamarripa flinched. Good, Gunter thought. Hes with me. Im sorry, bro I know it hurts, Gunter told him. Youll make it. Just stay with me. Gunter grabbed his officers hand; Zamarripa squeezed back. Another Foxtrot, trainer Saldana, was across the intersection when the shooting started. He shouted at his rookie: Get cover! He raced toward the fallen officers, hiding behind a patrol car. Sparks flew as bullets struck the pavement. Saldana got on his stomach and peered beneath the car. From this vantage point, he could see Ahrens, lying on his belly, struggling to raise himself up, as if doing a push-up. Then Ahrens shook his head and went back down. It looked as if he were trying to move closer so he could help Krol. Saldana yelled at him from beneath the car: Dont get up! Hes still shooting! Farther down the street, another Foxtrot, Senior Cpl. Brian Fillingim, 36, ducked behind the wheel of his patrol car. In front of him, he saw a man throw his girlfriend into a gutter, then lie on top of her. The man shouted at Fillingim: My mom! Youve got to help my mom! As the man shouted, a motorcycle officer roared into the road and laid his bike down to help cover them, crouching behind it. Fillingim and other officers saw the mother in the street, ran over and dragged her between two cars. Fillingim felt several bullets fly past his head, as if a wasp were buzzing beside his ear. Fillingim rose and looked out. He saw Krol and Ahrens lying in the street. He stood there staring as everything fell quiet. Then bullets ripped down the street, jolting him back. The rookie, Rocha, stood across the intersection near El Centro. She had lost sight of her trainer. She took cover behind a patrol car. Three weeks into her training, she had no idea what to do. She heard her trainers voice in her head: Just keep moving. Rocha saw the wounded officers lying in the street. Patrol cars screeched toward them, bullets flying all around. Several officers began dragging the three wounded toward the cars. Rocha ran over to help. On the way, she felt bullets whizzing by. After they loaded Krol into a car, Rocha noticed the drivers seat was empty. She jumped in. Another officer climbed in the back and started CPR. Do you know how to get to the hospital? she asked him. Yes, he said. Go! She slammed the door, pressed the gas and jumped a curb. Bullets slammed into the car as she sped away. As she gripped the steering wheel, she noticed a throbbing in her right arm. She looked down and saw a growing circle of blood. She, too, had been hit. As the officer in the back pumped on Krols chest, Rocha pressed harder on the gas, watching the speedometer climb to 118 mph. At Parkland Memorial Hospital, medical staffers heaved Krol onto a stretcher and rushed him inside. Rocha ran in beside him. Dont give up, she told him. Nurses noticed blood on Rochas arm and forced her to sit. As they began treating her wound, Rocha reached for her phone to call her husband. As the wounded officers were being rushed to two hospitals, whoever was shooting was still near the intersection of Lamar and Main streets. Gunter, still at the scene, shouted to the officers around him: Get your heavy vests on, now! He pulled his on and joined a couple others racing toward El Centro College, less than a block away from his patrol car. The rage that filled him was of a sort that he had never before felt. Where is he? Gunter shouted at other officers. Officers followed the gunman into the college. Inside, Gunter helped clear the first floor. Then he entered a stairwell. The colleges security alarm wailed as the gunman exchanged fire with police. An officer on the radio gave the gunmans location, about 18 minutes after the shooting started: Second floor, body armor, just reloaded, assault rifle. A minute later, We may have the suspect pinned down, northwest corner of the building, on the second floor. We have dialogue going with the suspect. We need the sirens in the building off to communicate. Supervisors instructed officers to hold their positions. No one was allowed onto the second floor except the SWAT team. Gunter crouched in the stairwell with three other officers, just below the gunman. Gunter remained on one step, his arm raised as he pointed his 9mm pistol toward the door, in case the gunman appeared. An officer from El Centro stood on a nearby step, pointing a rifle at the same door above them. While in the stairwell, Gunter got the call from Villarreal, letting him know Zamarripa and Krol were dead. Gunter bowed his head and fought tears. Another sergeant approached: Do you want to take a minute? Do you need to leave? Gunter shook his head. How could he walk into the hospital and face his men, with the gunman still alive, still shooting at officers? He would hold his position until it was done. For the next four hours, Gunter remained in the stairwell as police negotiated with the gunman. Gunter called his cousin, told him to call Gunters mom and let her know he was OK. As news spread about the shooting, texts poured in from friends. Ivan, are you alright? one sergeant texted. No, Gunter texted back. My people are dead, Im held up in a stairwell, 1 susp still in the building above me, and the car is shot up Im pretty far from ok im pissed the hell off. Another sergeant it was a group text added: Keep your head on the damn swivel and get off yo phone. Update us when you are safe. Gunter knew the SWAT team had the gunman cornered above. All he could do was await directions. He never saw the gunman, but he could hear him as he talked on a cellphone to a police negotiator. At times the gunman shouted. F it, he yelled at one point, according to Gunter. The officers hands became cramped and sore from aiming their guns for so long. They rotated positions and took short breaks, passing bottles of water around. At times, Gunter thought about his men and felt a rush of emotion, then suppressed it. Near 1:30 a.m., Gunter heard an explosion and felt the building rumble. Then quiet. The standoff was over. Gunter waited for another hour while officers searched for bombs. Finally, a supervisors voice came over the radio: All clear. Micah Johnson, the Army veteran who had ambushed police, was dead. Gunter stepped outside into the glow of the streetlights. By now he knew three of his officers were dead. He had thought the gunmans death would feel like a victory. It didnt. Gunter walked alone, toward his car. Another Foxtrot, Fillingim, also had remained downtown. He had raced inside a high-rise parking garage during the shooting, thinking the gunman was inside. After he had cleared the garage, supervisors had ordered him to stay put. For hours, he had been texting Ahrens. The men were close, had worked dozens of robberies together. Where you at? Did you go with Krol? Whats going on? No response. After the standoff, Fillingim got a call from his sergeant, Gunter. The men met in the street. They looked at each other in silence for a moment. Then they turned toward Gunters car. Bullet holes dotted its exterior; three tires had been shot out. Without speaking, they walked over to Fillingims car. It was still running, just as he left it hours earlier. They climbed in, and Fillingim flipped off the chatter of the police radio. He put the car in drive. The night was silent, except for the low sound of Gunters voice. I was supposed to look after them. This wasnt even our fight. Our guys, they had nothing to do with this. The men drove through the quiet streets downtown to Baylor University Medical Center. They stepped around the yellow crime scene tape surrounding the ambulance bay. Dozens of officers fell silent as they saw the pair. The men walked through the hospital to Ahrenss room and stepped inside. His giant, tattooed frame stretched across the hospital bed, still hooked to a ventilator, machines beeping. It seemed impossible that this powerful man who had once commandeered a cab to chase a bad guy was gone. Ahrenss wife, Katrina, who is a Dallas police detective, was not in the room when her husbands commander arrived. Shed been awakened that night and taken to the hospital. Shed let their two children sleep, in the care of their grandparents. Shed learned that her husband survived an initial surgery before being rushed back into the operating room. The damage to his liver was extensive, and doctors had not been able to save him. Fillingim approached, said his goodbyes. Then Gunter walked over. He looked at Ahrens, said a prayer, and turned away. Ahrens was the fifth officer to die that night, a final, crushing blow to the dozens of officers who had arrived at the Baylor hospital. Gunter also went to Parkland, where his other two men had been taken. But by the time he arrived, his men already had been zipped into body bags and taken to the medical examiners office. Gunter walked back into the Southwest station about 5 a.m. Several supervisors, including Lt. Juan Salas, sat at their desks, waiting for him. Salas called Gunter into a chiefs office. Years earlier, while Salas had been supervising a gang unit, one of his officers had been shot and killed. Salas had felt responsible. Hed endlessly replayed the what ifs. Salas believed that if he had talked about his guilt said it aloud, rather than keeping it in his head he might have healed better. Salas and the other supervisors sat down, telling Gunter they wanted him to talk. No documentation, no recorders, no therapists. Just cops. Gunter sat in a chair. It all came tumbling out. Seven of his men on duty with him that night, five of them injured, three fatally, at the hands of a sniper. It was an ambush, an unfair fight, the officers told him. It wasnt his fault. For the first time that night, Gunter broke down and sobbed. The following week, three Foxtrots were lowered into the ground. Two others and the rookie in their care had begun recoveries from gunshot and shrapnel wounds. After the last funeral, Gunter and four of the men met at a tattoo parlor near downtown. They took with them a picture of their patch, the red fox head, the bolt of lightning. Around the bottom, the tattoo artist sketched in the badge numbers of the fallen: #9217, #8193, #10112. The needles buzzed, branding the officers on the back of a calf, on a forearm, on a left shoulder. Foxtrots forever. Gunter stood to the side, watching. He wasnt ready for the tattoo yet. He wanted to quiet his thoughts, to stop the images in his mind. He wanted to remember. He wanted to forget. MANCHESTER, N.H. Bernie Sanders returned to the campaign trail on Monday and received the warmest welcome possible a Labor Day breakfast, sponsored by the AFL-CIO, in the state that gave him one of his biggest primary wins. His mission: to help elect the Democrat who had run against him. We are not talking about personalities, said Sanders, explaining why hed endorsed Hillary Clinton and would be stumping against Donald Trump. We are talking about which candidate will better represent the needs of the American people. Mondays speech was Sanderss first outside Vermont since the launch of his new group, Our Revolution, and his first for another candidate since the Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia in July. He had spent the weeks in between working on a book, to be published after the November election, and weighing in on politics via Twitter and occasional interviews. In New Hampshire, Sanders was back in campaign mode, telling a roomful of Democrats and labor activists that Gov. Maggie Hassan, D, who has built a narrow lead in polls, needs to win her Senate race. The future of the United States Senate is to a large degree the future of the United States of America, he said. Our democracy today is being threatened in a very significant way by the wealth of the Koch brothers and other billionaires. You see that with Maggie Hassan. In Ohio, the billionaires will spend $100 million to buy that seat. Sanderss pitch for the presidential race had not changed from the speech he gave in Philadelphia. Clinton, he said, would nominate Supreme Court justices who will overturn Citizens United and fight for real criminal justice reform, something that has never occurred to Donald Trump. After adding that Clinton would fight to make public college affordable, he noted that his campaign had moved her toward that position. I am proud to have worked with her on this issue. Those sorts of reminders may prove crucial in New Hampshire, where many independents who backed Sanders have been reluctant to support Clinton, who won the state in the 2008 Democratic primaries. Sanders demolished Clinton in the primary, winning statewide by 22 points. The lingering disappointment about Sanderss loss was visible inside and outside the St. George Greek Orthodox Church, where the breakfast was organized. The windows of a Jeep in the churchs parking lot were soaped with the slogan STILL SANDERS, and two other cars had stickers for Jill Stein, the Green Partys presidential candidate, sandwiched between stickers for local Democrats. Inside, speakers strenuously made the case for Clinton, based on her record and the threat of Trump, while acknowledging that she had work to do. We have the single-most-scrutinized presidential candidate in the history of politics, said state AFL-CIO President Glenn Brackett. Meanwhile, Paula Iasella, 61, stood on the side of the road waving a sign that read No Clinton Corruption. Shed brought a back-up sign a painting of Sanders with the bird that had flown onto his podium during a speech in Portland, Ore. and said she couldnt even support Democrats like Hassan because theyd served as Clinton superdelegates. Its very difficult when a man you support endorses a person you can no way support, Iasella said. Something so beautiful happened during the primary, thanks to this man. And its been replaced by this rage, this ugly rage. As cars rolled by and drivers honked their horns, Iasella was outnumbered roughly seven to one by supporters of Gary Johnson, the Libertarian Partys nominee. But Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, D-N.H., one of the candidates who spoke before Sanders, used some of her time to admonish anyone thinking of casting a protest vote because of their love for Sanders. I hear from a lot of people that theyre not excited about either candidate in this race, or that theres no difference between them, Shaheen said. You know, the last time I heard that was in 2000. And Al Gore lost New Hampshire by 7,000 votes, while Ralph Nader won 19,000 votes. So we got George W. Bush. We got the Iraq War. Shaheen spent the rest of her time ticking off achievements that Democrats had won for labor during Barack Obamas presidency and Hassans two terms in Concord. Weve revitalized the [National Labor Relations Board], which is working hard to reform election rules and restore labor rights in this country, Shaheen said. Sanders took a similar tack, arguing that the gains of eight years could be lost if Republicans controlled both ends of Pennsylvania Avenue. If they lost, he said, the agenda on which he ran a $15 minimum wage, the repeal of Citizens United had a chance to succeed. When Sanders wrapped up, he got a reminder of what life on the campaign trail would be like with his national profile boosted and his Secret Service detail retired. As Sanders talked to a national AFL-CIO leader, a man approached his car yelling about the threat of empire in America. Be a real socialist! the man said. Speak out against the empire! Sanders looked at him quizzically, then ducked into the car that had brought him from Vermont and would deliver him to three more events before the end of the day. clinton-sanders For Dabney Montgomery, the indignities at home stung more because of the noble tasks he had performed for his country abroad serving with the Tuskegee Airmen to help win World War II in a role that would eventually earn him a Congressional Gold Medal. But at a train station in Atlanta in 1945, carrying an army duffel bag over his shoulder after receiving his honorable-discharge papers, he was abruptly confronted with Jim Crow America. Before I could get in, a white officer threw up his hands (and said): You cant come in this door, boy, you got to go around the back,' Montgomery told Alice Bernstein in a video interview. You cant come in here; youre black. You got to go around the corner.' Montgomery, 93, died of natural causes Saturday morning, after serving as a member of the all-black fighter group and, decades later, as a bodyguard to Martin Luther King Jr. Montgomery protected King during the famous 1965 march to Montgomery from Selma, Ala. Montgomerys home town. Heels from the shoes Montgomery wore in that march will hang in the National Museum of African American History and Culture in Washington when it opens Sept. 24., according to the Smithsonian magazine. Montgomery was born in 1923 and inducted into the armed forces in 1943, serving in what was then the Army Air Corps as one of the Tuskegee Airmen. They got their name because they trained at Alabamas historically black Tuskegee University, which had a civilian pilot training program, according to the universitys historical page about the airmen. Black servicemen who trained at Tuskegee faced discrimination in the armed services and at home, but the Red Tails, as they were known, distinguished themselves in a March 1945 bombing run to Berlin and by discovering a German destroyer in the harbor of Trieste, Italy, according to the university. The tenacious bomber escort cover provided by the 332nd Red Tail fighters often discouraged enemy fighter pilots from attacking bombers escorted by the 332nd Fighter Group, the university said. Despite the exploits of the airmen, Montgomery said he was often smacked in the face with discrimination at home. Back in Selma fresh out of the army, he tried to register to vote, according to the Bernstein interview. A woman there, he said, told him that he had to find three white men that would endorse me as a good negro that would not cause any trouble in Selma, Alabama, if I voted. When he returned with the endorsements, he said, he was denied again. This time, the woman said, it was because he didnt own land in Alabama. But as he left, he noticed a white soldier, fresh out of the army just like he was. He walked up to the table: I want to vote.' Montgomery recalled the man saying. He said the lady replied, OK, sign your name here. Right here. OK. You can vote.' That was the welcome that so many of us (blacks) received after fighting World War II, Montgomery recalled. The memory stuck. Years later, after he had relocated to New York, he saw newscasts of civil rights activists being attacked with firehoses and tear gas. He decided to return to do his part. Im going and getting a taste of that gas, he recalled telling his supervisor. Im going home and (taking) part in that movement. Alongside King, he prayed on the steps of the Selma courthouse and, later, walked 50 miles to Montgomery. His contributions were recognized later in life. In 2007, President George W. Bush awarded him the Congressional Gold Medal. He worked for the New York City Housing Authority and as a volunteer outreach worker for a nonprofit that assists the elderly, according to the Associated Press. Montgomery remained active until his final weeks, frequently visiting schools to talk to children about his experiences growing up in Alabama, serving in the war and marching for civil rights, the AP reported. He just loved motivating young people to be somebody, his wife, Amelia Montgomery, told the AP. That was his joy. In the interview with Bernstein, he talked about one final vindication. Hed broken color barriers in the armed forces and marched with King, doing his part to give black Americans the right to vote. And on returning to Selma, he took a trip to the place where he had been denied that right. When I went down to that room, a black woman was sitting behind the desk where (I was told) No, you cannot vote,' he recalled. That was my revenge. Ares Management is reportedly seeking to raise more than $45bn for its latest batch of funds. Editor's note: In this piece titled the: "Chibok Girls: The wanted trio and citizens' role in counter-terrorism operations", Legit.ng's contributor Johnson Obioha, a security analyst, highlights on the need for advanced civil-military relations for effective operations against terrorists operating in Nigeria's North eastern region. He further adrresses the approach used by the Nigerian army to declare wanted, three individuals - Ahmed Salkida, Ahmed Bolori (both journalists) and Aisha Wakil (a lawyer) - said to have connections with the Boko Haram terrorists. Bolori, Aisha Wakil and Sidilka were declared wanted by the military The recent move by the Nigerian army to declare three people, Ahmad Salkida, Aisha Wakil and Ahmed Bolori wanted over their connections with Boko Haram has become a subject of discussion. However, this must be viewed as a defining moment to shape an effective civil-military relations to tackle the emerging security challenges. Clearly, the manner with which the Nigerian army demanded audience with Messers Salkida and Bolori and Ms. Wakil has met heated with debate amongst Nigerians. It has brought to the fore, the role of the citizenry in the counter-terrorism and counter-insurgency operations. However, there is need to draw the attention of the undiscerning to the often underrated place of civil-military relations in the overall success of the war against terror. Even with several articles on this, more light need to be shed on: what is the patriotic expectations of citizens in projecting national interest and security while carrying out their professional duties in an objective and balanced manner. It is on record that since terrorism berthed on our shores, the Nigerian military has in line with global practices and expected norms, called for patriotic citizens' participation in its counter-insurgency efforts. The military made these request on several occasions with a conviction that the vital factor in winning any symmetric and asymmetric warfare is active participation of the local populace. READ ALSO: Boko Haram: Bolori reveals shocking encounter with the military and DSS In essence, when the war against Boko Haram reached its feverish heights in the north east between 2013 and 2015, well-meaning Nigerians were urged to support the war against terror through intelligence gathering and providing useful information about the terrorists. Globally, the opinion of defence and security experts have always been that the military can only be as victorious as the support it receives from members of the public. This fact was also echoed by former Chief of Army Staff (COAS), Lt-Gen. Azubuike Ihejirika (rtd), who warned that nonchalant attitude of Nigerians could impede the counter-terrorism efforts. Ihejirika expressed fear that the citizens are yet to be mobilized and the nation not in the needed war-mood to support military operations. "One of the problems we have is that Nigerians are yet to align with the militarys efforts, they are yet to be in a war mood, which is necessary to mobilize the citizens in support of the counter-terrorism efforts," Ihejirika said. Unfortunately, this call fell on deaf ears and instead the country became polarized along party lines with people analyzing the perilous security situation with their regional, geopolitical and ethno-religious lenses; to the detriment of national security. The destructive division transcends to Nigerians becoming passive and unconcerned about the terror threat on one hand, or sympathetic to the Boko Haram terrorists. This lack of unity and support came to a head when the army under the current COAS, Lt-Gen. Tukur Buratai, raised alarm over plans by some highly-placed individuals in the north east, particularly Borno state, to sabotage military operations in the region. Also, the Director of Army Public Relations (DAPR), Col. Sani Usman, alleged, the elite were bent on having the activities of the Boko Haram terrorists prolonged for their selfish interests. The Nigerian army wishes to inform the public and send a very strong and serious final warning to some prominent individuals and political groups who hail from Borno state in particular and north east generally, that there is information of plans by some highly placed individuals and political groups to undermine and scuttle the fight against terrorism and insurgency in this country, Usman had said. Consequently, the apparent lack of apathy emboldened the terrorists who seized territories and abducted several people mostly women and children, the most popular being the abduction of over 200 girls from their hostel at the Government Secondary School in Chibok Local Government Area of Borno state. The kidnap of what is today popularly referred to as "Chibok girls" generated global anger and concern that it was one of the major factors that toppled the administration of former President Goodluck Jonathan. READ ALSO: No intelligence report on kidnapped Chibok girls, Air Force opens up It created twitter buzz across the world, culminated in a powerful movement called Bring Back Our Girls (BBOG) and ridiculed the military amongst others. Consequent upon the barrage of criticism, the urgent need to ensure the safe rescue of the girls became the ultimate measure for success of the military operations in the north east. Sadly, since the kidnap of girls became one of the focal points of our national security challenges, the military has borne the brunt of perceived failures of their rescue, instead of the expected support from the civil populace. But the security experts, while acknowledging the calls by Nigerians, BBOG and other concerned stakeholders who have demanded the rescue of the girls, warned that their freedom will not be possible without assistance from members of the public. Truth be told, the rescue of these girls, may not be beyond military operations alone but requires collective efforts of all. This has proven to be the winning formula in the world over, when information and useful interventions of patriotic citizens or concerned individuals, helped free hostages from their captors, as well as broker lasting peace in war ravaged regions. This is where the recent invitation of Salkida, Wakil and Bolori by the military becomes appropriate in light of the information and contacts the trio have with the supposedly captors of the Chibok girls. According to American writer and poet, James Whitcomb Riley's famous controversial statement, A War Correspondents First Duty is Patriotism. Riley's debatable take, which was analyzed and published by E-International Relations Students, implied that a war correspondent or citizen's job is primarily to report information that rallies the publics support for its nations war endeavours. READ ALSO: Direct your protests to Salkida, others, CSO tells BBOG group This also examined that it is, virtuous for the war correspondent to publish news that strictly promotes national support behind the government in times of war. In the same vein, the military has made it clear that, the trio as an act of patriotism, should provide useful information and contacts within their possession, to aid the rescue of the girls. Accordingly, this is where civil-military relations become imperative in dealing with terrorism, terrorists and all forms of insecurity in the country. It is true that most Nigerians were not impressed by the gestapo style with which the army went about the business of trying to extract information from the trio and enlist their help for the rescue of Chibok girls, but a critical look at the issue will reveal that their motive and priority were not misplaced. READ ALSO: REVEALED: How Boko Haram assets, VIP resistance caused Kuje prison riot Usman in a statement said, the last two videos released by Boko Haram indicated that the three individuals wanted for interrogation, had information on the conditions and the exact location of the girls. He also said the armys action relied on the Terrorism Prevention Act 2011 (as amended) where Nigerians could be punished for failure to disclose information about terrorists or terrorists activities. Well, even if one must admit that the tone of the armys statement and approach sounded harsh, hostile and tactless, the military's patriotic zeal in reaching out to the civil populace for vital information and intelligence that could unlock the Chibok girls conundrum, cannot be faulted. This is apt when you consider the profile and antecedents of the wanted triumvirate who are journalist, lawyer and activist with strong connection with the missing Chibok school girls. Moreover, a quick background check will reveal that Salkida, is a renowned journalist with rare access to the leaders of the Boko Haram insurgents, but defines his relationship with them as a professional one; Wakil who is popularly referred to as Mama Boko Haram, is a lawyer and member of the Committee on Dialogue and Peaceful Resolution of Security Challenges in the North she was appointed by former President Goodluck Jonathan - with deep contact with key terrorist figures; while Bolori, is an activist and coordinator of the Faash Foundation and the Partnership Against Violent Extremism (Pave) and a Peace Ambassador with some vital information that could be useful in the counter-terrorism efforts. To make matters easy, the key figures declared wanted by the army admitted having some degree of contacts with Boko Haram. While Wakil and Bolori turned themselves in for questioning, Salkida expressed willingness to come back from his base in Dubai if, his travel could be facilitated by the government. Meanwhile, Wakil was quoted to have said: "I know the Boko Haram boys. I have been in front fighting for peace long before Chibok girls were kidnapped. Nigerian security knows me too well, I'm not shady. Why declaring me wanted? "I have had meetings with Chief of Army Staff and his people. I told them the way forward, to allow me come with some commanders of Boko Haram and discuss with them, present the release of CBGs but they chose to do things their own ways only and never gave considerations to any of my suggestions. READ ALSO: Good News: Boko Haram set to return Chibok girls, dialogue with FG Hajiya Aisha Wakil "I want to inform the Nigerian people of my innocence and make them realize that I am in constant relation with the security personnel and they know where to find me but wonder why I had to be declared wanted on national news even mentioning my husband's name alongside." "This has put my immediate and extended family under a lot of pressure and I do not deserve this from the Nigerian government. "Though they may not appreciate all my efforts to proffer peaceful solutions to the menace of Boko Baram, my name should not be mudslinged nor my character defamed," she added. In response, a top military source said: Please note that Ahmed Bolori and Aisha Wakil failed to give us more details. They were evasive. The source also said that while the duo wanted everything on their own terms, the army is determined and the individuals must cooperate. Against this backdrop, especially reading both the statements from the individuals and the military, one may be tempted to conclude that the situation still remains belligerent and headed for the rocks. However, the most important takeaway is that the channel of communication that enhances effective civil-military relations has been opened with eye on rescuing the Chibok girls and ending the scourge of terrorism in the country. This must be pursued vigorously as a short and medium-term winning formula as well as long term policy for the military, security and intelligence agencies. Johnson Obioha can be reached on Jonioh07@yahoo.com Your own opinion articles are welcome at info@naij.com drop an email telling us what you want to write about and why. More details in Legit.ngs step-by-step guide for guest contributors. Were ready to trade your news for our money: submit news and photo reports from your area using our Citizen Journalism App. Contact us if you have any feedback, suggestions, complaints or compliments. We are also available on Facebook and Twitter. Subscribe to Legit.ng Opinion page! Source: Legit.ng One of the most promising comedies of the fall season, the premise of FXs Atlanta is easy to describe, but far more difficult to define. A comedy about a wayward young man, Earnest Marks (star and show creator Donald Glover), the show follows his journey to succeed, as he navigates the minefields of being a father, trying to make money and also trying to make the right choices. At the point where the series begins, all of thats about an emerging relationship with his cousin, Alfred Paperboy Miles (Bryan Tyree Henry), an up-and-coming rapper who has a viral hit on his hands. Thats a familiar enough framework, but Glover isnt content to merely tell a coming-of-age story. The series is deeply suffused with melancholy and informed by Glovers own public struggles with his identity as a successful black man. Even at this early stage, Atlanta is deeply rooted in Glovers singular worldview, while avoiding all the pitfalls that come with telling a story that feels so personal. Here are five reasons Atlanta is worth visiting. Its tempting to classify Atlanta along with established and freshman comedies like Louie, Better Things, and One Mississippi based on their centralized narrative alone. They are, after all, shows that feel driven by their title character to the point of feeling like auteurism. But its far more productive to view them in relation to their setting. Just as a show like Louie underlines the sublime absurdity of New York through lyrical odes to the subway system, Atlantas titular setting has a gravitational pulse. Earns neighborhood isnt just a backdrop, its in constant conversation with his own personal rut. Poverty isnt even a conversation, its just a casual expectation with so many of these charactersas seen with Earnests parents who dont want to let him in the house for worry that their kindness will cost them the contents of their wallet. But Atlantas social consciousness also isnt about fetishizing the poverty of Atlanta, as much as recognizing that all these people are scraping by without facing deep repercussions like homelessness. Theyre all waiting for their opportunity to be something biggerand who knows when its going to come. As much as Glover was regularly a scene-stealer on Community, with his exaggerated line readings and heightened reactions (Thereve been few performers in recent years who react more with their entire bodies to jokes), the show absolutely felt like a product of creator Dan Harmons imagination. Atlanta is a complete manifestation of Glovers sensibilities, and unsurprisingly, its a very thoughtful show in its meld of comedy and philosophical contemplation. Glover has a clear vision for how characters like Alfred and wide-eyed stoner Darius (Keith Stanfield, more on him later) talk to each other. And more importantly, hes not afraid to skewer his own charactera person whos not immune to overly serious monologues that verge on self-parody. One of the first scenes of the pilot perfectly establishes the tone as Earnest starts recounting a dream he had to the mother of his infant daughter, before she interrupts and starts picking apart the details. His head is in the clouds, but everyones dragging him back to Earth. A huge part of what makes the city of Atlanta feel so vivid is the work of Hiro Murai, a name thats more familiar to the music video world than television. Having previously collaborated with Glover on videos like the globetrotting Telegraph Ave from his most recent LP as Childish Gambino, Because the Internet, Murai knows how to bring a tinge of surrealism to nearly every visual composition. Whether it comes with blocking that feels deliberately off-kilter, or a cut that foreshadows something explosive in the narrative, Murai makes these episodes feel deeply controlled. And while Twin Peaks has become a critical shorthand for every time when a show ventures into discomfiting visual territory, Murai and Glover have a knack for shooting and staging scenes that creep from the ordinary, to the point of absurdity in a single second. In particular, a scene in the second episode involving a prison is a great example of comic escalation that only works because of the framing. Together with the work of cinematographers like Christian Spenger, Atlanta has a color scheme that alternates between urban desolation and a nocturnal, smoky glow. Television isnt exactly hurting for more depictions of the glamour of the music industry. The world-shattering phenomenon of Empire and the no less soapy, but dramatically different Nashville have already explored the pressures of fame, but Atlanta is approaching hip-hop from a more anonymous vantage point. Atlanta fully recognizes that fame in hip-hop is short-livedso much of ones success is determined by how many hits youre getting on Worldstar, or how youre building your reputation. If youre not putting out a steady stream of mixtapes or physically defending your territory, your 15 minutes will be over in the blink of an eye. As good as the writing is, Atlanta would not work without Glovers performance. Its a construction of smugness, easy charisma and an undercurrent of deep disappointment in the trajectory of the characters life. It makes for an undeniably subtle presencedelivering each line with a dazed somberness. But its very much the center of this show, as he moseys along from situation to situation, at a total loss of how to proceed. And while its easily a role that could be consumed by a listlessness, Glover never allows the character to be overshadowed by his own emotional insecurities. Keith Stanfield arguably already had his breakout role back in 2013s Short Term 12 as Marcus, a kid whos lived in a cloud of rejection for his whole life. And yet, hes still heralded as a breakout star with each new role, whether its his heartbreaking role as Jimmie Lee Jackson in Selma, or his perfect delivery of Snoop Dogg in Straight Outta Compton. Hopefully, his role as the sweet stoner, Darius, will cement his status as a star. Its a role that could easily be a stereotype, or worse deeply annoying, but Stanfield delivers each line like everything in the world, to Darius, is magical. Theres a scene where Darius asks Earnests father (Isiah Whitlock Jr.) an insane question about whether he can measure a tree in front of the house, to which he responds, Not right now. Stanfield delivers the question perfectly, but its his winded response after being told no that becomes the best part of this odd exchange, as he pouts and says, Thats basically the same as no. Theres easily a dozen instances like this where Stanfield inserts himself into a conversation, without ever ruining the flow of the show. This is no small feat, and we can only expect more greatness as the series unfolds. Atlanta premieres Tuesday night, at 10 PM on FX. You know the childhood or awkward first date game of lying on the ground and staring at the sky in some pensive, meditative mood? Well, in Finland, you can kind of make a career out of it. This winter the Arctic Snow Hotel an entirely literal name because, yes, its made of snow in the Finnish Lappland is hiring an Aurora Borealis Monitor. Unlike those hall monitor positions where minutes were spent trying to stop Julie Denkhorst from throwing pencils at you, youll be responsible for, well, staring at the sky. From December 3 to March 31, the hotels Aurora Borealis monitor will be responsible for scouring the skies between 11:00 p.m. and 6:30 a.m. and sounding the Aurora Alarm its almost like youre the vacation version of Paul Revere when the celestial show appears. Good candidates should speak English fluently no knowledge of Finnish is required. Additionally, applicants should be adept at staying up all night calling insomniacs and will monitor and predict forecasted weather patterns to guess when and where the lights will show, which seems hard, but we complain about the meteorologist on a weekly basis. Oh, and also, youll live in an igloo, so you should be able to handle that. Whoever gets the job, though, will spend their winter in the Lapland, with a free room made of either glass or ice at the Arctic Snow Hotel, and with the beautiful Nordic scenery reindeers particularly love. The application deadline is September 11. Good luck. Tom is a travel writer, part-time hitchhiker, and hes currently trying to imitate Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego? but with more sunscreen and jorts. Contact Creative Consulting and Training Ltd Olushola Ogunseitan ***@trainingcreatively.com Creative Consulting and Training LtdOlushola Ogunseitan End -- Training Creatively is one of the most popular training brand in the UK among the young professionals and busy executives to learn accredited and recognized professional courses. It is an authorized training organization and is fully accredited by APMG, which is an examination institute of AXELOS, which is a JC company affiliated and monitored by the government and Capital Plc.Additionally, Training Creatively is also an ATO or Authorized Training Organization of the popular and highly respected CSME, which is the examination institute in the United States. The courses offered by the institute includes all modules, including Foundation, Intermediate, Service Management, Operations, Expert, Advanced Practitioner, and Beginner, for ITIL and Prince2 Agile. Few other courses offered by the institute includes MOR in Risk Management, P3O in Portfolio, Programme, Project Offices, COBIT5 in Governance of Enterprise IT, APMG in Change Management, MSP in Programme Management, and so on. The students aspiring to becan consult with the counsellors at the institute, both online and offline, and can get the right guidance as to which course would suit their ambition and long term career goals.As the corporate world continues to evolve and advance at a rapid pace, the competition in the employment sector has staggeringly increased as well. This has called for the executives to upgrade their portfolio by adding skills to their skill set to get more recognition and increase their chances of promotion as well as acceptance in better companies with better pay scale. These diploma and vocational courses are highly reputed, and are accepted worldwide and across all the major companies.Training Creatively also offers weekend courses and virtual online courses to sit the lifestyle of the busy executives. This helps the professionals who are busy during the weekdays to learn in their free time. Since the exam centers are spread out across the country, the students can learn from online classrooms, and give exams in their nearest learning centers. The institute also offers quick and responsive support for the students, throughout their course and even after for any kind of queries or job assistance.Training Creatively is a brand that is owned, managed and run by Creative Consulting and Training Ltd in the United Kingdom, which offers many different kinds of professional and vocational courses for the young professionals and busy executives to take their career to new heights.Contact the company by calling at +44 (0) 20 8500 4534 or visit www.trainingcreatively.com for more details.For more information,Website URL - http://www.trainingcreatively.com/ course4/msp- training.htm First International Designation of Its Kind Recognizes Institutions at the Leading Edge of Integrated Student Learning Outcomes Assessment Contact Sara Hassan Media Relations Specialist ***@zu.ac.ae Sara HassanMedia Relations Specialist End -- Zayed University was named as one of ten members of the inaugural class of Excellence in Assessment, a new international program aimed at recognizing universities conducting comprehensive assessments of student learning outcomes as a means to drive improvement and advance student success.The Excellence in Assessment (EIA) program the first international designation of its kind highlights institutions successfully integrating assessment practices across campus, providing evidence of student learning outcomes, and using assessment results to guide institutional decision-making and improve student performance.The sponsors of the EIA program are the Voluntary System of Accountability (VSA), a public college and university transparency initiative led by the Association of Public and Land-grant Universities (APLU) and the American Association of State Colleges and Universities (AASCU), in partnership with the Association of American Colleges & Universities (AAC&U) and the National Institute for Learning Outcomes Assessment (NILOA). The EIA recognition is directly linked to NILOA's Transparency Framework."The inaugural class of EIA designees have a demonstrated commitment to measuring the impact of their student success efforts and are now working to improve that impact through evidence-based methods," said APLU President Peter McPherson. "Their work is rightly being recognized with a designation that not only profiles their work, but provides a platform from which other institutions can learn and better track their own progress to drive improvement.""Despite the national rhetoric that would have us believe otherwise, accountability and commitment to student learning and success is very much in evidence in higher education as exemplified by these Excellence in Assessment designees," said AASCU President Muriel Howard. "The value of this designation goes beyond honoring these institutions for their exemplary work. It generates an opportunity for dialogue around best practices in improving student performance and ultimately student success."Dr Marilyn Roberts, Provost at Zayed University, commented that, "As an institution located outside the United States, Zayed University is in a very unique position regarding assessment. We believe that we have been applying best practices for a number of years and have continued to improve our learning outcomes and assessment practices.""As with much of the assessment movement, we are constantly working towards continuous improvement. This is a result of a long-range focus to raise faculty awareness, increase their knowledge and skills, and to facilitate their participation in all aspects of the assessment process. Another important emphasis has been to provide faculty with new tools to facilitate effective planning, collection, analysis and reporting of student assessment results," Roberts added.Zayed University maintains the effectiveness and the quality of its programs and courses through continual evaluation and assessment. This assessment plays an important role in providing feedback to inform decision-making to improve student learning and ensure fulfillment of Zayed University's mission.Zayed University's academic program is based on a set of six general education learning outcomes, ZULOs, which span the entire four-year undergraduate curriculum and the outcomes-based assessment program upon which it is built. Introduced in 2001, just four years after the University's foundation, the ZULOs have a long history that demonstrates their enduring quality and robust application to a range of programs. They are: language, leadership, critical thinking and quantitative reasoning, global awareness, information literacy, and technological literacy.The nine other institutions comprising the inaugural class are: Cameron University; Capella University; the Community College of Baltimore County; Indiana UniversityPurdue University, Indianapolis;Kansas State University; Mills College; Mount St. Joseph University; the Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology; and the University of Wisconsin-Madison.###Zayed University is today the premier national university in the United Arab Emirates and a regional leader in educational innovation and change. It has created and implemented a skills-rich, outcome-based general education program that systemically develops student skills, knowledge, and values associated with liberal learning and provided a solid foundation for pursuit of disciplinary majors and future careers. Zayed University welcomes national and international students, and provides them with a high quality education, offered by seasoned teaching scholars to prepare them to shape the future of the United Arab Emirates.Zayed University offers Undergraduate and Graduate degrees in the following Colleges: College of Arts & Creative Enterprises (recognized as substantially equivalent by NASAD), College of Business (Accredited by AACSB), College of Communication & Media Sciences (Accredited by ACEJMC), College of Education (Accredited by NCATE), College of Humanities and Social Sciences, College of Natural and Health Sciences, and College of Technological Innovation (Accredited by ABET). For more information, visit www.zu.ac.aeMedia contacts: Sara Sabry, Media Relations Specialist at the Office of the Vice President at Zayed UniversityDir-Tel: 025993630Mobile: 0566561059E-mail: Sara.Hassan@zu.ac.ae By: Austrian Science Fund FWF End --An encouraging smile, a sceptical frown, a negating shake of the head: body language is very diverse and effective. With the discovery of mirror neurons, brain researchers corroborated its impact by demonstrating how these nerve cells translate the expressions of another person, such as a smile, into one's own experience.In a classroom, there is constant interaction between teachers and students. Elements such as gestures, facial or corporal expressions that do not, as a rule, attract much attention are of great importance in the process. Education scientists from the University of Graz investigated this aspect for the first time in a project supported by the Austrian Science Fund FWF. Bernd Hackl, head of the Institute for Teacher Education, and his team explored the significance of teachers' nonverbal communication, or, more precisely, corporal expressions and physical communication, during classroom interaction. Videos of classes recorded over a period of three years were subsequently interpreted and presented as case studies. "The physical presence of the teachers in the classroom is of enormous importance", says Bernd Hackl summing up the results of his investigations. "It is teachers' body language which gives them credibility and determines whether learning processes will be fostered, or not, as the case may be", Hackl adds. In a nutshell, successful teaching hinges on the physical presence of the teachers and the learning context they create in the classroom.Principal investigator Hackl compares teaching to a theatre performance. Even though different in several aspects, both the classroom and the stage revolve around a credible presentation of content, he explains. Just like actors, teachers need to fulfil their tasks by being physically present and interacting and by winning over an audience that is hard to predict all of this within a limited time frame. A challenge which requires teachers to have conviction, a professional understanding of their role and an appreciative attitude towards their students. In order to capture the whole diversity of corporal communications, Hackl and his research team started by identifying four teaching tasks on the basis of video analyses: providing a relaxed setting for learning, integrating the learners in a collaborative school environment, challenging pre-existing knowledge and skills, and, finally, being able to demonstrate such knowledge and skills to the students and thereby make the mastering of them easier.The education scientist explains that these tasks are based on an ideal standard of successful teaching. In everyday practice they are often hard to reconcile with the formal and social requirements the school system has to meet. "Exposure to such contradictory aspects produces a variety of reactions from the teachers and, in the worst case, stagnation", Hackl notes. In concrete terms, the scholars from Graz identified several typical teaching strategies in this basic research project. Teachers alternate between these strategies in order to fulfil requirements that are impossible to meet simultaneously. This will also become manifest in physical expressions, when teachers, for instance, play down certain things in order to balance the situation. "In such cases, the teachers' words and their body language will drift apart, and the students notice that", Hackl emphasises. As a consequence, both sides are annoyed or frustrated and end up creating distance.If teachers fulfil the four functions of teaching listed above, they support adolescents in developing autonomy. This is what the researchers call pedagogical engagement, meaning teachers are authentic, convincing and motivated and seek to create an open learning environment in other words, successful classroom teaching. "This, however, is the exception", Hackl notes when reporting the team's observations. "Today we increasingly find that teachers are inclined to choose opportunistic, administrative or economic strategies."This means that they avoid confrontation, use grades to reward or punish in a kind of barter trade system or stage classroom teaching increasingly in the form of edutainment under the motto: "Don't hurt me, and I won't hurt you". In these cases, precise analysis of the videos often reveals a lack of authenticity in the teachers' corporal communications. Although the students will not be aware of this fact, let alone be able to verbalise it, they can nevertheless sense it and thus withdraw from learning activities in what seems to be a demotivated manner. understanding and implementing new technologies and strategies to maximise the role of interiors design for FIFA 2022 and Qatar National Vision 2030. By: Advanced Conferences & Meetings End -- For the 3year in a row,was successfully launched at The Intercontinental Hotel The City, Doha. This edition was revolving around understanding and implementing new technologies and strategies to maximise the role of interiors design for FIFA 2022 and Qatar National Vision 2030.The Ministry of Municipality & Environment, thePublic Works Authority - Ashghal, the Arab Engineering Bureau, Parsons International, Hamad Medical Corporation, Qatar Rail and Qatar Foundation attended. It featured a case study on Msheireb Downtown Regeneration Project and a large number of exciting presentations among which we can mention: "Traditional urbanism and architecture"by Parnika Ray from The Ministry of Municipality & Environment, "Implementation of Interior Design Branding in a Metro Program" by Mohamed Timbeley, Senior Director- Architecture and MEP Expert from Qatar Rail, and Sustainability in interior design by Hamoda Youssef from Qatar Green Building Council.The response to this event was hugely positive as delegates and sponsors enjoyed the high quality of the speaker panel as well as the opportunities to network with the industry's key decision makers. "Informative and opens a window of opportunities"said the Chief Manager of Berger Paints, "The conference is a great networking opportunity. Each presentation is unique. I always learn something new from the conference" stated an interior designer from Ashghal, "This kind of events provides a variety of ideas which are very helpful to refreshing knowledge" said a senior designer architect from the Arab Engineering Bureau, "Very useful, organised and a great opportunity for networking" stated an interior designer from James Cubitt and Partners.was held with the participation of Almana Group, Almana Maples, ACS, Barrisol, Hempel paints, Berger paints, Arka design, Prima, Easy Drain, Tarkett, and Amara.will host speakers from thePublic Works Authority - Ashghal, Transpo, Hamad Medical Corporation, ASTAD, Render Atelier, Jestico + Whiles, and Fagerhult Lighting Academy, and will be discussing hospitality design, light and the interior environment, healthcare interiors, Qatar National Museum, and Qatar's education city.For more information about the conference, please visit www.futureinteriorsqatar.com The Class Action Lawsuit Filed in the Northern District of New York Alleges that National Retail Solutions, Inc. Fails to Pay its Merchandisers in Accordance with Federal and State Laws SuperLawyers Rated Contact Michael J. Redenburg, Esq. PC ***@mjrlaw-ny.com Photo: https://www.prlog.org/ 12584590/1 Michael J. Redenburg, Esq. PC End -- A former Merchandiser from Georgia recently filed her Consent to Join a Class Action Lawsuit. The class and collective action lawsuit seeks unpaid wages due and owing to current and former Merchandisers nationwide which include minimum wages, straight time and overtime pay. The Complaint alleges that NRS does not reimburse its Merchandisers for their mandatory, employment-related internet, data service and cellular phone access, and further alleges that NRS does not properly pay for mileage and refuses to pay for the first 30 miles driven each day.Merchandisers are only paid for time spent working in retail stores. However, Merchandisers frequently must begin and end their workdays at home completing necessary administrative tasks. Merchandisers are not compensated for this time spent working outside of the assigned retail store. NRS regularly requires Merchandisers to perform numerous tasks before arriving at their assigned retail store and before clocking-in, including: (a) receiving their assignments via email before departing for the assigned retail store, (b) planning their driving route to, from and/or between stores, (c) preparing product displays and signage prior to their arrival at their assigned retail store, (d) loading the product displays and signage into their vehicle before departing for the assigned retail store and unloading it once they return home, (e) receiving, responding to and dealing with telephone calls, text messages and emails relating to their work for NRS.The Complaint also alleges that Merchandisers are not compensated for the time they spend traveling to, from and between stores. This unrecorded drive time, prep time and administrative time results in Merchandisers working more than forty (40) hours per workweek without receiving the proper compensation of one and one-half the regular rate of pay for work performed in excess of forty hours in an individual workweek.The former Merchandiser seeks to represent a nationwide class of Merchandisers who work or have worked for National Retail Solutions, Inc. within the last three years pursuant to the Fair Labor Standards Act and also seeks to represent Merchandisers who worked for NRS within the last six years in the State of New York pursuant to the New York Labor Law. She also asks the court to tap her attorneys, Michael J. Redenburg and Matthew Osman of Osman & Smay, LLP, as attorneys to represent the class.Michael J. Redenburg maintains an office at 11 Park Place, Ste. 817, New York, NY 10007.212-240-9465 Biochemists at the University of California San Diego have uncovered patterns in the outer protein coat of group A Streptococcus that could finally lead to a vaccine against this highly infectious bacteria -- responsible for more than 500,000 deaths a year, including toxic shock syndrome and necrotizing fasciitis or "flesh-eating disease." In a paper published in this week's issue of Nature Microbiology, the researchers report that they had uncovered "hidden sequence patterns in the major surface protein and virulence factor" of group A Strep, called the M protein, that limit the body's immune response against these bacteria. "At present, there is no vaccine against group A Strep, and our discovery of hidden sequence patterns has offered up a novel way to devise such a vaccine," said Partho Ghosh, chair of UC San Diego's Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, who headed the team of researchers. Ghosh said that one of the biggest obstacles to the development of a vaccine against these bacteria is the "hyper-variability" of the M protein. Group A Streptococcus bacteria have a multitude of different strains, each of which displays a different protein on its surface. Because our immune systems must recognize these different proteins before launching an immune response with antibodies specific to the outer protein coat, the hyper-variability of the M proteins make it difficult for our immune systems to attach antibodies specific to each these proteins from different strains. "When we become infected with a particular strain of group A Strep, we generally mount an immune response against the particular M protein displayed by that strain," explains Ghosh. "But this immunity works only against the infecting strain. We remain vulnerable to infection by other group A Strep strains that display other types of M proteins on their surfaces. This is because the antibody response against the M protein is almost always specific to the sequence of that M protein, and M proteins of different types appear to be unrelated in sequence to one another." The key to resolving the problem was the recognition that a human protein called C4BP had been discovered by another group of researchers to be recruited to the surface of Group A Strep by many different protein types. advertisement "This was a puzzle, because the antibody response is specific and limited to a single M protein type, while C4BP binds a broad variety of M protein types, perhaps up to 90 percent of them," said Ghosh. "Group A Strep brings C4BP to its surface to dampen the immune response. We wanted to combat this recruitment by blocking the interaction between M proteins and C4BP, but equally as importantly, we wanted to take advantage of the broad recruitment of C4BP by M proteins that would pave a path to the development of a vaccine." To determine if this was possible, a graduate student in Ghosh's lab, Cosmo Buffalo, collaborated with another graduate student, Sophia Hirakis, in the laboratory of Rommie Amaro, a professor of chemistry and biochemistry who uses computers to study protein structures, to first study the complex interactions between M protein and C4BP. "This allowed us to understand some detailed features of the interaction," said Ghosh. The research team, which also included an undergraduate researcher, Adrian Bahn-Suh, collaborated extensively with Victor Nizet, an expert in infectious diseases who is a professor at UC San Diego's School of Medicine and Skaggs School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences. In their experimental and computational study, the biochemists painstakingly detailed four crystal structures of four different M protein types, each bound to human C4BP. "These structures revealed that even though the different M protein types appeared to be unrelated in sequence, there were common sequence patterns hidden within the differences that linked all these M proteins together," said Ghosh. "These common patterns are what is used to recruit C4BP to the surface of group A Strep by the different M protein types." "The idea now is to have antibodies do the same thing as C4BP -- that is, recognize many different M protein types," he added. "That way, the antibody response will not be limited to one M protein type and one strain of group A Strep, but will extend to most, if not all, M protein types and most, if not all strains, of group A Strep." The UC San Diego chemists, in collaboration with Nizet, are now working on developing a vaccine that, they hope, will be protective against most, if not all, strains of group A Strep. 1,265 days. Almost three and a half years. That's how long Elijah has been waiting for his chance to be part of a family. Gabby Stroup In 2013, Elijah was found as a stray near New York's busy Long Island Expressway by a couple of police officers who brought him to the Brookhaven Animal Shelter. Little is known about his life before he was found, but that day was the first of many that included a warm bed, medical care and a full belly. Sophie Gamand Sadly, weeks turned into months, and months turned into years. Elijah has had three birthdays without presents from a mom or dad. He's had three Thanksgivings without someone slipping him a piece of turkey or two under the table. Three Halloweens without anyone dressing him up in a silly costume. Dodo Shows Faith = Restored Woman Tries Every Day For A Month To Rescue This Dog Gabby Stroup Through it all, Elijah still smiles. Every time someone walks up to his cage, every time a volunteer takes him for a walk - pretty much any time a human is near - he beams with delight. Gabby Stroup "He's just happy being someone's companion. He really engages with you," Ashley Boyd, director of Brookhaven Animal Shelter, told The Dodo. "Even after three years at the shelter, he's never become distant from people. He has a really desirable personality, and he's just a really good dog." Help Elijah Find His Forever Home Estimated to be 6 to 7 years old, Elijah still has a ton of energy. He can amuse himself for hours just playing with his ball, as shown on the Facebook page created to help get him adopted. Ashley Boyd He recently spent a weekend in New York City with temporary foster parents and behaved very well, loving the stimulation of the bustling metropolis during his walks before snuggling up on the couch afterward. "He's a huge lap dog!" said Boyd. Colby Webb And huge is right. At 75 pounds, Elijah isn't exactly a small guy. Boyd fears this is part of why he is constantly overlooked. Energetic and large could make it difficult for the right person to get to know Elijah, but he takes direction well and is eager to please - he just needs training and regular exercise. "After a few walks per day, Elijah is happy to cuddle up and relax - he's actually a great city dog!" said Boyd. Colby Webb In July, Elijah was transferred to the Southold Animal Shelter in Peconic, New York, a private shelter with fewer animals so Elijah can get more personalized attention. Jonnie Coe "He's a gorgeous, sweet guy who will need some adjustment, but I really can't say anything bad about him," Gabby Stroup, Southold's manager, told The Dodo. Stroup is optimistic that, given time and training, a new family isn't too far away. Colby Webb Elijah's ideal home would be without cats or small children. He is looking for a foster family in the New York area, but can be adopted to further states with transportation. Stroup will take into account all interested families as long as they are willing to work with Elijah. Gabby Stroup Global Affairs Canada is advising Canadians to avoid non-essential travel to the northern and western states of Mexico, including Cabo San Lucas and Baja California Sur, as Hurricane Newton, upgraded on Monday from a tropical storm, gains strength in the Pacific. Hurricane conditions, including excessive rainfall and violent winds, may cause flash flooding and landslides, which may lead to transportation and communications problems, Global Affairs Canada warns. According to the U.S. National Hurricane Centre, Newton is expected to make landfall on the southern tip of Baja California on Tuesday morning. Late Monday evening, Newton was located about 260 kilometres southeast of Cabo San Lucas and was moving northwest at 26 km/h with maximum sustained winds of 140 km/h. Newton is expected re-enter the Gulf of California, also known as the Sea of Cortez, on Wednesday. Canadians living or travelling in the area affected by the storm should monitor the local news and follow the advice of authorities, the government said in a release. The government has also issued a warning for Canadians to exercise a high degree of caution while travelling in Mexico, due to high levels of criminal activity, protests, demonstrations and occasional illegal roadblocks. In event of an emergency, Canadians abroad should contact the Embassy of Canada in Mexico City or the Emergency Watch and Response Centre in Ottawa. With files from The Canadian Press and The Associated Press Read more about: SHARE: Seven-year-old Sophia Spencer loves bugs so much she had her hair cut short so it wouldnt get in the way while she was catching them. She keeps more than a dozen pet grasshoppers in a dinosaur bucket and Mason jar at home. Last year, her favourite bugs were snails, and the year before that she was fascinated with worms and ants. After moving from Sarnia to Alexandria, Ont., and switching schools, her obsession with insects set her apart from the other kids and made her the butt of cruel jokes, according to her mom, Nicole. The teasing started on the first day of school. Sophia was carrying a caterpillar around and talking to it, as shes prone to do, when a girl said: Youre weird. You shouldnt be playing with bugs. The bullying only got worse, Nicole said. When Sophia brought another caterpillar to show-and-tell, a boy asked to see it after then stomped on it. Nobody would go near her, her mom said. She notified Sophias teachers and still nothing changed, she said. The bullying had taken such a toll on her daughters confidence that she wrote a heartfelt email to the Entomological Society of Canada. She asked the society to arrange a chat between Sophia and an insect specialist, who would encourage her love of bugs. I want her to know from an expert that she is not weird or strange (what kids call her) for loving bugs and insects, Nicole wrote. The email found its way to Morgan Jackson, the societys social media volunteer and a PhD student in entomology at Guelph University. I was heartbroken, he recalled. I dont like hearing about anybody being bullied, especially about something Im so passionate about. (Jackson studies stilt-legged flies, which are native to tropical climes.) He posted the email to Twitter, where it grabbed the attention of entomologists from the U.K. to Australia. By Friday afternoon, more than a hundred people had agreed to be her pen pal, said Jackson. Some offered lab tours, equipment and books about bugs. The social media discussion took on a life of its own under the hashtag #BugsR4Girls as entomologists the world over posted words of encouragement and pictures of themselves holding creepy crawlies. I was inspired by brilliant female entomologists & I hope that I can do the same for others, tweeted Ashleigh Whifflin, an entomology curatorial assistant at the National Museums of Scotland, along with a picture of what appears to be a green caterpillar. Maggie Hardy, a biochemist at the University of Queensland in Australia, posted pictures of herself milking a tarantula, saying she has the best job in the world. All the supportive messages for Sophia have lifted her spirits and made her feel famous, her mom said. She says she wrote to the entomological society because she wanted her daughter to know she wasnt alone. I wanted her to see that it wasnt just me who thought she was so cool and perfect the way she was, she said. These days, Sophia is back to her carefree, bug-catching self, Nicole said. After taking a break from catching bugs after being teased at school, she got back to her hobby and taught her best friends little sister the art of hunting critters. Nicole plans to transfer her daughter to a different school where she has friends from the Brownies who accept her for her buggy ways, she said. In a very short conversation with the Star, Sophia said she isnt ashamed of her passion any more. I feel very nice and special, she said. Correction - September 7, 2016: This article was edited from a previous version that transposed his first and last names. SHARE: Long gone are the days when children worked in Torontos factories; when workers toiling 60 hours a week wouldnt cause anyone to bat an eyelash; when a nine-hour workday was considered an improvement. The working conditions that sparked Torontos first Labour Day Parade back in 1872 are a distant memory now, but as an estimated 25,000 union members and supporters made their way down Queen St. W. on Monday morning for the annual event, leaders said unions are just as important to the workforce today as theyve ever been. Despite all the naysayers (who suggest) that unions are in the past, I think weve proven over and over again that were relevant, CUPE national president Mark Hancock told the Star just before the parade started marching west on Queen St. W. from University Ave. Its getting harder and harder for workers, whether youre with a union or outside a union to get full-time work, to get full-time hours, to get jobs with benefits and a pension ... So those are the types of things that unions are trying to look out for, as well as other issues like issues of quality, issues of privatization. Part celebration, part political statement, the lively, kilometres-long parade featured floats carrying steel pan bands and DJs, bagpipe brigades, service vehicles both historical and new (Toronto paramedics brought out a hearse-style ride from the 70s) and participants carrying signs and banners that both lauding workers and unions and drew attention to issues such as minimum wage, equal pay and workforce cutbacks. According to organizers, the Toronto parade is among the largest Labour Day parades in North America. In a statement, Premier Kathleen Wynne said the statutory holiday was an opportunity to celebrate the rights that every worker deserves and to pay tribute to the pioneers of the labour movement and the hard-working people who help keep our province going every day. The parade itself is also a chance to recognize and celebrate what unions have done for everyone, not just for union members, said Parkdale-High Park MPP Cheri DiNovo, who was handing out stickers and cheering on parade-goers as they turned to head south on Dufferin St. towards the CNE. Its unions that gave us the weekend, its unions that gave us the sort-of eight-hour day, its unions that really fought for womens rights, for LGBTQ rights. Unions have been at the forefront of all the civil rights struggles weve had, DiNovo said. (Unions) are more relevant than theyve ever been when weve got young people who cant find a job and precarious and part-time work is the only work you can get then you know that we need unions, because unions actually equate to the middle class. Without any unions, no middle class. Kimberly Gow, co-chair for the Joint Health and Safety Committee for Unifor 1701, agreed. Members of Unifor, Canadas largest private-sector union, made up a significant portion of the parade, a sea of red t-shirts and trucks carrying live six-piece bands dominating the tail end of the procession. Although workers are better off than in the past, Gow said, things can and should still be better today. We have to continue the momentum, she said as her local made its way under the Dufferin Gate arch. If you stop the fight, you lose the cause. Correction, September 6, 2016: A photo caption in this article has been modified from a previous version that incorrectly identified the IBEW local 353 electrical workers marching in the Labour Day Parade. SHARE: A Japanese folk band of four playing a mix of klezmer and New Orleans jazz, performed in Japanese street tradition. A 16-piece band that describes itself as Canadas only Balkan-klezmer-gypsy-party-punk-super-band. A gypsy kumbia orchestra with an Afro-Colombian infused circus-like show. Diversity isnt lacking at the Ashkenaz Festival, billed as North Americas largest festival for global Jewish music and culture. The biennial festival began 21 years ago as a showcase for artists working in the klezmer and Yiddish revival, a musical tradition of Ashkenazi Jews of Eastern Europe. Since then its grown and branched out to many artists and performers, expressing the diversity of global Jewish culture. Stuck in the blackout that afflicted CityPlace condo towers for 18 hours over the weekend, Daniela Bruce and her family decided to walk down the street to Harbourfront Centre. We had to go out and work on some energy of our own and so here we are, Bruce said, adding that her childrens father is Jewish. Its a nice way to know one of their many heritages, and I love how family-friendly it is. It feels so welcoming. More than 250 artists are participating in a range of events that began Tuesday and wrap up Labour Day Monday evening, including film, dance, literature, kids programming, food, workshops and more. Artists from the around the globe have come as well, with countries such as Brazil, Italy, France, Israel and Poland represented. Eric Stein, the festivals artistic director, says its very important to share the brilliance and vitality of Jewish artistic creation with a broader community. Over half of our audience isnt even Jewish. So its been amazing to share the eclecticism and diversity and incredible creativity of Jewish art and culture with the entire community, said Stein. Stein says the festival ensures that multicultural Toronto is reflected in the programming as well. A huge highlight is Monday afternoons parade, where the programming takes a pause and musicians, artists, and even giant puppets circle around Harbourfront along the lake. Most of the programs are free to all, but some events are ticketed, including concerts and theatre productions. Aviva Chernick performed with Juno-nominated band Jaffa Road at the festival this year, and has played for the past five. The band plays Jewish music that blends Arabic, Indian, jazz, rock and dub influences. Chernick says its a treat for her to be here, and is excited the group keeps being invited back. She also says its a great way to meet artists from around the world that see Jewish culture through different lenses. Singing, dancing and celebration, and meeting people and learning, and discovering new lenses on Jewish culture we need that. SHARE: Special education and particularly autism supports are expected to be front and centre for schools and parents as Ontario students head back to their classrooms this week. The pressure is definitely building, because the needs are there and the numbers (of special needs students) are higher, says Marg Spoelstra, executive director of the research and advocacy group Autism Ontario. Recent changes to the provinces autism services for children will result in an influx of students coming to school who need additional supports, she added. But theres a long way to go before those Ontario students get the help they are entitled to, whether its one-on-one educational assistants or more teachers trained to use the principles of applied behaviour analysis (ABA) that are effective for many children on the autism spectrum and others. Under the provinces revamped autism program, children 5 and over are no longer eligible to join wait lists for intensive autism treatment covered by the province. They can apply for the new and less intensive ABA program, but that doesnt launch until next year. The back-to-school ritual gets nerves jangling in many households. But for parents like Sharon Gabison of Maple, the anxiety is even higher as she worries about what the transition will be like for her son Eric, 19, who has autism. Whats going to happen to him at school? she says she wonders each September. Is he going to be looked after? Is his teacher going to understand him and what he needs? Is someone going to make sure he eats his lunch? Eric loves school and doesnt have behavioural issues. But habits such as the way he talks to himself to soothe his anxiety can be disruptive, and thats one of the many occasions he needs extra support. Like many parents, Gabison has spent years fighting to get her son the accommodations that are his legal right so that he can learn to his potential. She says parents like her who are vocal advocates are too often labelled troublemakers by schools. The biggest issue right now is our kids arent receiving the education they are entitled to be receiving, says Gabison, a physical therapist and executive with the parent advocacy group the Ontario Autism Coalition. Both Autism Ontarios Marg Spoelstra and Annie Kidder, executive director of People for Education, say concern about the shortage of special ed services is the primary reason parents contact their advocacy organizations. In a 2014 People for Education report, half of Ontarios elementary school principals said they have told students with special needs to stay home from school for all or part of the day, primarily because they dont have enough special ed staff. It found an average of 37 students with special needs for every special ed teacher. Ontarios education minister has vowed that improving the special ed system is a priority for the new school year. Im working with my team to look at what is the strategy, how are we meeting the needs, what are those needs that we must respond to, Mitzie Hunter told the Star in an interview this summer following her appointment to the portfolio in June. We have to do this in discussion with our education partners. The province will spend $2.76 billion on special education this year, according to the ministry, but it is up to school boards to allocate those funds to schools and programs. Many advocates argue it would be more effective to allocate specific funds to each child based on their needs. It is a reality that every board in the province is probably spending well outside and beyond their special education funding, said Tony Pontes, director of education for the Peel District School Board. That situation speaks to the overall question of whether or not special education funding, period, is sufficient given the needs in our schools. The number of Ontario students with autism jumped to almost 19,000 students in 2013-14 from fewer than 5,000 in 2002-03, according to Ministry of Education statistics. And thats only part of the special needs population. The Durham District School Board is so stretched that last year Trustee Donna Edwards launched its One in Four: Fund the Need drive on behalf of the one-quarter of its student population that need special ed support. A groundbreaking report written by children and youth with special needs last spring found many youth felt shut out by educators who had low expectations of them. A common complaint was that they didnt get the critical supports they needed to learn and succeed, said the report, led by Ontario Childrens Advocate Irwin Elman. Change is the biggest challenge for many children with autism and other special needs. So the Ontario Autism Coalition will be pushing for better services to provide a seamless transition as children move from autism treatment into public schools, says president Bruce McIntosh, who has two teens on the spectrum. This spring the group fought the province over a decision to remove kids 5 and older from wait lists and out of intensive treatment, leaving them without services theyd been promised. That campaign, dubbed #autismdoesntendat5, prompted the government to back down. Now, the group has launched its next phase: #autismdoesntendatschool. Giving students with special needs the support they need to learn makes the classroom better for everyone, says McIntosh, because it means less disruption and a more productive environment. SHARE: Ontarios highest court is being asked to overturn a murder conviction because the verdict was obtained on false testimony presented by the Crowns expert witness, according to a new appeal. The principal issue in the appeal concerns the evidence of Mark Totten, an Ottawa sociologist, and his testimony on the significance of a teardrop tattoo on the cheek of the accused man, Warren Abbey. The appeal is being heard in February, but the Star obtained a copy of the defences written factum arguments filed with Ontario Court of Appeal. Totten, who teaches a criminology course at Humber College, wrote in an email that he is unable to comment because the matter is before the court. He told the Star previously that he has been truthful in court about the limitations of his knowledge. The Crown has yet to file a response to the factum with the court. The Crown will make its position known at the appropriate time, in its factum and submissions to the Court of Appeal, and will not be making any comment beforehand, Ministry of the Attorney General spokesman Brendan Crawley wrote in email. In 2007, a Toronto jury acquitted Abbey of the first-degree murder of Simeon Peter, who was shot to death in the citys east end on Jan. 8, 2004. The Crown successfully appealed after arguing the trial judge had erred in not admitting into evidence Tottens expert testimony. That judge, Superior Court Justice Todd Archibald, found shortcomings in Tottens data analysis on gangs and inconsistent conclusions about teardrop tattoos. But the Ontario Court of Appeal agreed with the Crown that Archibald got it wrong, and a new trial was ordered. Totten had extensive and impressive academic, research and clinical credentials, and the exclusion of his evidence could have affected the not-guilty verdict, the court ruled. At the retrial in 2011, Totten testified that Abbeys tattoo could signify, in gang culture, that someone close to him had died, that he had served time in jail, that he had killed a rival gang member, or killed an associate the latter being the Crowns theory in the case. The prosecution argued this helped prove that Abbey, affiliated with an east-end street gang, had killed Peter. This time, the jury convicted Abbey. He is currently serving a life sentence in a penitentiary. After the conviction, in an unrelated murder trial, the defence asked the judge to qualify Totten as a street gang expert to rebut the evidence of the Crowns gang expert, who testified that one of the two defendants was likely a gang member. The prosecutor in that case uncovered major inaccuracies and discrepancies in (Mark) Tottens teardrop tattoo evidence. The personal research he said he conducted into gang homicides and the teardrop tattoo was false, says the factum in the new appeal filed with the court by Toronto lawyers David E. Harris and Ravin Pillay. If what is now known about Tottens testimony was known at the time of the (Abbey) trial . . . his evidence would never have been admitted and heard by the jury. Without his evidence, the guilty verdict may well have been different. The factum includes a summary of the fresh evidence, including examples of misrepresentation in Tottens research, reports he prepared for court and in his testimony. Every important threshold in the compilation of his personal research has been thoroughly undermined, says the factum. Fundamental reliability and credibility problems plague Tottens evidence both in the general and in the specific. Each step in his statistics has been shown to be based on fabrications, it says. The conviction in this case was obtained with the assistance of false testimony which played a significant role in the verdict. A miscarriage of justice under . . . the Criminal Code is established. Both the reality and appearance in view of all the circumstances, including the original acquittal, is that this trial was rendered unfair by the false evidence. Harris and Pillay declined to comment because the case is before the court. In 2012, Totten spoke to the Star about his appearance on the stand in the unrelated gang trial. I made mistakes, theres no question about that, Totten told the Star. Ive got no problem stating that. Its the job of a lawyer to attack you as an expert witness. Some experts can handle it, others cant. Obviously, I didnt handle it very well. Do I know everything about gangs in the world? No, Totten told the Star, adding he was truthful in court about not knowing things. The appeal hearing is set for Feb. 15. - CRITICISMS OF TOTTENS TESTIMONY In their fresh evidence application, defence lawyers summarized what they argue are problematic areas of Mark Tottens evidence about teardrop tattoos in the Warren Abbey murder case: Totten based his opinions in the Abbey case on six studies over several years. He claimed a total sample size of 290 gang members. The defence alleges this was a misrepresentation and that his largest study explicitly and repeatedly states that although 90 individuals were interviewed, at the most, only 22 were gang members. During cross-examination in an unrelated trial in 2012, Totten was asked about how many teardrop tattoos were found in each of his six studies. Totten said he had the information and would get it to the Crown. After a recess, Totten testified all the data had been destroyed, citing ethical reasons. Totten claimed that to gather his data, he lived with and hung out with gang members for years and built up a trusting relationship with many of them. However, his research makes no mention of this but states the interviewees were randomly selected at community centres, at the mall and from the Youth Services Bureau. Statistics show that in a time period approximating Tottens research period, there were fewer gang member homicides in Ontario than the 97 convicted gang-connected killers Totten claimed he interviewed. While there was very occasional passing reference to tattoos in the six studies, there were no statistics presented or real discussion of tattoos. There was not one reference to the teardrop tattoo. Tottens first Abbey report tendered at the first trial (in 2007) made only vague reference to work he had done to collect teardrop tattoo data. It was only after the first trial judge appeared skeptical of his evidence that his very specific statistics on homicide and teardrop tattoo emerged. In an unrelated murder trial, the judge found Totten had improperly altered his original research to assist the defence, who had retained him to give expert opinion evidence. SHARE: The shah of Iran, Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, went into exile in 1979 following a ruthless revolution that tilted the country from a largely westernized culture to an Islamic regime, ruled by ultra-conservative ayatollahs. At the time, author Andrew Scott Cooper was 9 years old but he followed the events on television and became gripped by what was unfolding. Later, Cooper did graduate work in the history of Iran and wrote two books about the country. The most recent, The Fall of Heaven: The Pahlavis and the Final Days of Imperial Iran, is based not only on documentary evidence but also on interviews with the shahs widow, Queen Farah, former U.S. National Security Adviser Zbigniew Brzezinski and other witnesses who watched the unravelling of the Persian kingdom. Our conversation has been edited for length. Jennifer: I want to ask about your research. You spent over a year constructing a 242-page timeline from January 1977 to Aug. 1, 1978. Yikes! Andrew: It allows me to keep control of thousands of pages of documents. I had classified U.S. government documents, translated accounts and newspaper articles from the 1970s. The only way I could keep track was to create a timeline. Jennifer: You write with great empathy about the shah, but he was indecisive, out of touch with his people and took counsel from advisers who were never going to tell him the truth. Andrew: I wanted to humanize the shah. The most traditional narrative is that he was a bloodthirsty autocrat who suppressed human rights. I try to present the shah as a fully rounded human being who had character flaws but was trying to do what he thought was the right thing. Jennifer: Look how he treated his wife. He had a Parisian madam flying prostitutes to Tehran whom he would meet in a safe house. And Farah knew. Andrew: It was the 1970s. There wasnt social media and the Internet and people could get away with this stuff. So many people in Iran, middle-class people, knew about the shahs womanizing. It wasnt a state secret. The other leader I would draw parallels to is John F. Kennedy, who also ran enormous personal risks. There is something about power and male authority figures who think they can get away with it. Look at Bill Cosby. Jennifer: Was the revolution in Iran merely a reflection of the student uprisings in the U.S., France and elsewhere? Was it just a time of protest? Andrew: I thought about that a great deal as I was writing the book. The revolution in Iran was of a time and place. Youth unrest in Europe and the U.S. started in the mid-1960s and continued into the 1970s. In Iran there was a generation coming of age. Many of these people had been educated in the U.S. and Europe. They went back to Iran and took the tools of protest with them. Jennifer: Ayatollah Khomeini, the religious leader prominent in the overthrow of the shah, was tutored by advisers when he was in exile to hide his misogyny and his extreme political views. In fact, he came across as being very avuncular and hid his views so well that people thought of him as another Che Guevara. Andrew: People say the shah was dictatorial, but the dictatorial one was really Khomeini. His advisers told him to tone it down when it was apparent he was going to inherit power because he was scaring people. A lot of Iranians say, We were lied to. I dont buy that. If you read his thesis from 1970, which was widely available, you get a sense that this guy was a theocrat and not afraid to use violence in pursuit of power. Jennifer: But he was very convincing. Andrew: The U.S. ambassador compared him to Gandhi. Even the American ambassador saw this guy as an elderly peace-loving statesman who had come back to Iran to serve as a figurehead. The Americans did not understand Iran at all. Jennifer: North Americans, you write, think of the shah as perpetuating repression and allowing mass murder. You say this is misguided and point to his achievements. Andrew: Enough time has passed since the shah fell for us to have a clearer view of what was going on inside Iran. When I travelled there, I was surprised at the infrastructure of the country. The shah left behind solid, tangible evidence of his accomplishments: health care, literacy and education. The shahs attempts to modernize and westernize Iran appeared to collapse in total failure in 1979 but many of the programs he put in place continue today. Theyve just been given new names. Khomeini inherited a country with a very effective central government. He inherited a country that was well on its way in science and technology. Jennifer: Under Khomeini, women lost their rights. Human rights began to disappear. People didnt realize at first that this would happen. Andrew: Many of the young women who opposed the shah and came out in support of Khomeini were university-educated. When Khomeini came back, women took on the chador. They saw it as a political statement. Then they realized they would never be able to take it off again. The story of the Iranian revolution is disturbing on many levels. We have to keep learning and reading to try to draw out the real story. I am passionate about getting people to read history. More awareness in our society would help us understand things today and make decisions in the future. Read more about: SHARE: BLUE BELL, PA.The road to the White House doesnt run through the diners of downtrodden Appalachian coal country. It runs through this upscale supermarket selling fancy cheese to the professional women of a wealthy Philadelphia suburb. Its simple math. And its leading Donald Trump toward a devastating Pennsylvania defeat. Trump almost certainly needs to win Pennsylvania if he is going to win the election. His popularity in its rural and industrial areas gives him a passing chance. But he is getting trounced in the prosperous suburban communities that are home to far more voters. Polls show that educated white women, in particular, appear to be rejecting Trump in favour of the educated white woman running against him. For all the talk of Trumps toxicity with racial minorities, it is easy to forget that he is poisonous to much of the white population, too. In fact, because he has alienated white women and white people with college degrees, he is actually doing worse with whites than Mitt Romney did in 2012. His issues are most acute in manicured oases like Montgomery Countys affluent Blue Bell, 40 minutes north of Philadelphia. A summer day spent talking to 37 women at McCaffreys Food Market, a store offering artisan pizza and custom cakes, corroborated the basic finding of data from Pennsylvania to Virginia to Colorado: Trump is staring at a suburban whupping. His problem is people like Phyllis OConnor, 80, a retiree who worked in patient relations in the surgery department at the University of Pennsylvania. She agrees with Trump on just about every policy issue, but she finds his personality intolerable. Im a Republican, I always have been, and I dont know what Im going to do. I think its pathetic, OConnor said. I think he is too in-your-face, I dont think he deals well with people, I dont know how he would deal with world powers, and I think he is unable to put consideration into a decision. He just flies off. Jen Foreman, an editor for a local magazine, is a 50-something independent who said she might have considered voting for gentler Republicans like Jeb Bush and John Kasich. For Trump, her answer is a flat no. His views on women and minorities and immigration and everything are way out of control, she said. Trump is badly lagging every previous Republican nominee with educated white women. Among white women with a college degree, Romney earned 52 per cent to Obamas 46 per cent in 2012. Democrat Hillary Clinton, the first female nominee of a major party, is trouncing Trump 58 per cent to 38 per cent, ABC/Washington Post polling suggests. No Republican has won Pennsylvania since 1988. Trump, behind in more diverse states, needs it desperately. He is trailing by seven percentage points. The four collar counties around Philadelphia Montgomery, Bucks, Chester and Delaware are a large part of the reason why. Theyre hugely important. You had 1.2 of 5.5 million votes cast in 2012 cast in four counties, said G. Terry Madonna, director of the Center for Politics and Public Affairs at Franklin and Marshall College. Its virtually impossible for either party to carry the state if they dont do well there. In fact, you usually have to win. The counties have been trending toward the Democrats for 25 years. Republican voters there, Madonna said, tend to mix fiscal conservatism with liberal positions on issues like gun control, abortion rights and climate change. Trump has staked out right-wing stances on all three. Blue Bell went narrowly for Obama in the last election. An unscientific sample on Monday was notably lopsided: of 37 women, 22 preferred Clinton versus only eight who said they would vote for Trump or were likely to do so. Their chief concern about Trump was not policy. They objected most strongly to his behaviour, to his attitudes toward women, and to his disparagement of Muslims, Hispanics and African-Americans. I think Trump is disgusting and awful and everything about him makes me sick, said Stefani Bohm, 43, a psychotherapist. Clinton, because Trumps a lunatic, said Miranda Sarwer, 44, who works in the pharmaceutical industry. Hes a bigot, hes a racist. Five Republicans or Republican-leaning independents said they were unwilling to vote for him or could not yet commit to doing so. I feel like this election is like like theyre kidding us, said nurse Wendy Stark, 53, who usually votes Republican and now leans to Trump only reluctantly. It seems like every now and then he gets on the news and youll say, Are you kidding? Did you just say that? Sometimes were thinking it, but hes gotta control his mouth a little bit. Hes very arrogant, he doesnt understand foreign policy, and he doesnt understand this country, said Maria Maman, 51, an undecided self-employed independent who usually votes Republican. Hes a horrible guy. Hes just like a bigot, and so nasty, said a 63-year-old retired school principal, Joanne, a Republican supporting Clinton who declined to give her last name. No experience, no empathy, no policies. The education-related enthusiasm gap was vividly apparent in the Pennsylvania primary Trump won easily. He carried Montgomery County by 19 percentage points. He carried blue-collar Berks County, right beside it, by 38 percentage points. The executive director of the Montgomerys Republican committee, Josh Arnold, said Trump does not have a problem in the county either with women or on the whole. And the latest Franklin and Marshall poll showed a major improvement for Trump in the four collar counties: from a 40-point deficit a month ago to a 14-point deficit today. I think its going well. Honestly, I do, said Arnold, who urged Trump in the Wall Street Journal in May to become a tad more reserved. I think people are able to see that if you want some kind of a change, and you want things to turn in a new direction, then hes definitely the choice for voters. For women or men, doesnt matter. If he is going to win, he has two months to persuade voters thinking like Phyllis OConnor. She thinks Clinton is a crook, and she said she could maybe, possibly, be talked into voting for Trump. But then, as she rolled her shopping cart away from the rack, she could not help but criticize him some more. I really do have to say, she concluded, that this election is very disturbing. Read more about: SHARE: FRESNO, CALIF.A California jail was examining security measures after an ex-convict shot and wounded two unarmed officers in the lobby, but officials said Sunday that they did not plan any immediate changes. After reviewing Saturdays shooting that left correctional officers Juanita Davila and Toamalama Scanlan in critical condition, authorities will decide whether to alter procedures in the public area of the Fresno County jail, sheriffs spokesman Tony Botti said. Unarmed officers guard the facility and visitors go through metal detectors leading to secure areas, Botti said. Thong Vang, 37, is accused of shooting the officers in the head and neck areas during a struggle and has been booked into jail on suspicion of attempted murder, possessing a handgun as a felon and bringing drugs into a jail. He was placed on a parole hold, Botti said. Vang was released from prison in 2014 after serving 16 years for raping three girls aged 14 and under, Sheriff Margaret Mims said. He had no criminal violations since his release. Botti said he didnt know if Vang had an attorney who could comment on his behalf. Scanlan, who has 10 years of experience, and Davila, an 18-year veteran, approached Vang after he tried to cut to the front of the visitors line and began pacing near a secure area of the jail. The officers were trying to get him to sit down when shots rang out. About 15 people, including small children, ran to safety. Officers inside the jail ran to the lobby, where a lieutenant shot at Vang, who returned fire, Botti said. No one was hit. Officers tried to subdue Vang with a stun gun, but he would not give up and ran to the hallway of the jail records area. When confronted by sheriffs deputies and a Fresno police officer, Vang dropped his weapon and told authorities he wanted to be arrested, Botti said. The injured officers were dragged out of the lobby and taken to the hospital to undergo surgery. Vang was taken to the hospital for minor scrapes and cuts. Christy Rodriguez told the Fresno Bee newspaper that she and a woman with a walker hid in the bathroom after they heard the gunshots. Moments later, an officer yelled at them to get out of the building. This is crazy. This isnt supposed to happen, Rodriguez said. SHARE: HANGZHOU, CHINAU.S. President Barack Obama said Monday the United States and Russia have not given up on negotiations that could stem the bloodshed in Syria, but acknowledged that leaders are challenged by gaps of trust between the rival powers. Significant sticking points remain in the negotiations over creation of an unlikely U.S.-Russian military partnership focusing firepower on common enemies in Syria, Obama said. He acknowledged a flurry of diplomacy at an economic summit and a 90-minute meeting earlier Monday with his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, did not yield a breakthrough. Given the gaps of trust that exist, thats a tough negotiation, Obama said at a news conference closing the Group of 20 summit. We havent yet closed the gaps. Obama didnt detail the trouble spots, although he suggested the U.S. has concerns about Russia holding up its end of the bargain and enforcing the terms. Any deal would depend on Moscow using its influence with Syrian President Bashar Assad to persuade him to ground planes and stop the assault on opposition forces. Obama said the aim was to reach meaningful, serious, verifiable cessations of hostilities in Syria. Secretary of State John Kerry and Russian foreign minister Sergey Lavrov have for weeks been trying to broker a deal that would curb the violence between the Russian-ally Assads government forces and moderate rebels backed by the U.S. Talks are expected to resume quickly, probably later this week. The deal depends on the two sides agreeing to closer military co-ordination against extremist groups operating in Syria, something the Russians have long sought and the U.S. resisted. Obama has expressed skepticism that Russia would hold to its agreement. The State Department has said it wants a nationwide ceasefire between Assads military and the rebels, rather than another time-limited agreement like ones that failed before. Obamas meeting with Putin came as the Russian leader is playing a prominent role in the presidential campaign at home. U.S. officials blame Russian intelligence for a hack on the Democratic National Committee that resulted in a leak of emails damaging to its presidential nominee, Hillary Clinton. Putin has denied his government was involved, but cheered the release of the information. The president expressed concerns to Putin about cybersecurity issues, but would not detail the discussions. Obama and Putin also discussed the conflict in Ukraine, where Russian-backed separatists have been fighting the government, and the implementation of an agreement to stop the violence. Obama met earlier with French President Francois Hollande and German Chancellor Angela Merkel on the same issue. The difficult diplomacy on Syria set the tone for an uneven few days for Obama on his final tour of Asia as president. The visit opened on a high note, with the U.S and China consummating their unlikely partnership on climate change by announcing they were both entering the global emissions-cutting deal reached last year in Paris. But the focus on climate quickly gave way to the failed Syria talks. A sit-down between Obama and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan also laid bare the NATO allies diverging interests in Syria, with Erdogan pointedly challenging Obama on U.S. support for Kurds fighting the Islamic State group in Syria. The Kurds are the most effective U.S.-backed anti-Daesh force, but the Turks consider them to be terrorists. Obamas meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping also veered into delicate territory, with a lengthy White House description detailing how Obama had pressed Xi to abide by an international tribunals ruling against China over the South China Sea. To the frustration of the White House, these weighty matters seemed to be overshadowed by a made-for-social-media moment from Obamas arrival at the airport. As the president was greeted by his Chinese hosts, Obamas aides and accompanying journalists clashed with a Chinese official as they tried to watch the ceremony. The tensions lingered throughout the trip as Chinese officials severely restricted the medias ability to attend Obamas G20 events. Obamas next stop is Laos, where hell promote his effort to deepen ties to Southeast Asia. Obama said he would ask his aides to assess whether a constructive meeting was still possible in Laos with Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte. Duterte on Monday warned that Obama should not question him, during a scheduled meeting Tuesday, about extrajudicial killings in his country. Read more about: SHARE: VIENTIANE, LAOSU.S. President Barack Obama called off a planned meeting Tuesday with new Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte, seeking distance from a U.S. allys leader during a diplomatic tour thats put Obama in close quarters with a cast of contentious world figures. Its unusual for one president to tell another what to say or not say, and much rarer to call the other a son of a bitch. Duterte managed to do both just before flying to Laos for a regional summit, warning Obama not to challenge him over extrajudicial killings in the Philippines. Clearly, hes a colourful guy, Obama said. What Ive instructed my team to do is talk to their Philippine counterparts to find out is this in fact a time where we can have some constructive, productive conversations. Early Tuesday, National Security Council spokesman Ned Price said the meeting with Duterte was off. Duterte has been under intense global scrutiny over the more than 2,000 suspected drug dealers and users killed since he took office. Obama had said he planned to raise the issue in his first meeting with Duterte, but the Philippine leader insisted he was only listening to his own countrys people. You must be respectful, Duterte said of Obama. Do not just throw questions. Using the Tagalog phrase for son of a b----, he said, Putang ina I will swear at you in that forum. He made the comment to reporters in Manilla. Eager to show he wouldnt yield, Obama said he would undoubtedly still bring up human rights and due process concerns if and when the two do meet. The bizarre rift with the leader of a U.S. treaty ally was the most glaring example of how Obama has frequently found himself bound to foreign countries and leaders whose ties to the U.S. are critical even if their values sharply diverge. In Hangzhou this week, Obamas first stop in Asia, he heaped praise on Chinese President Xi Jinping for hosting the Group of 20 economic summit in his country, an authoritarian state long accused of human rights violations. His next stop was another one-party communist country with a dismal rights record: Laos, where mysterious disappearances have fuelled concerns about a government crackdown. And sitting down with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Obama made no mention in public of the roughly 35,000 people Erdogans government detained following the summers failed coup in Turkey. Instead, he worked to reassure the NATO ally the U.S. would help bring to justice whoever was responsible for plotting the coup. Obama also spent about 90 minutes Monday with Russian President Vladimir Putin, another leader whose fate seems intertwined with Obamas in all the wrong ways. On opposing sides of many global issues, the U.S. and Russia are nonetheless trying to broker a deal to address the Syrian civil war and perhaps even partner militarily there. President Putins less colourful, Obama said, comparing him with Duterte. But typically the tone of our meetings is candid, blunt, businesslike. Managing Duterte has become a worsening headache for Obama since the Filipino took office on June 30, pledging his foreign policy wouldnt be constricted by reliance on the U.S. Washington has tried largely to look the other way as Duterte has pursued closer relations with China, a marked shift for the Philippines considering recent tensions over Beijings aspirations in the South China Sea. A public break from the Philippines would put Obama in a tough position, given the Southeast Asian nations status as a longtime U.S. ally. The Obama administration has sought to compartmentalize by arguing that military and other co-operation wont be jeopardized even if it detests the current Philippine leaders tone. Last month, Duterte said he didnt mind Secretary of State John Kerry but had a feud with his gay ambassador son of a bitch, Im annoyed with that guy. He applied the same moniker to an Australian missionary who was gang-raped and killed, and even to Pope Francis, even though the Philippines is a heavily Catholic nation. He later apologized. With a reputation as a tough-on-crime former mayor, Duterte has alarmed human rights groups with his deadly campaign against drugs, which Duterte has described as a harsh war. He has said the battle doesnt amount to genocide but has vowed to go to jail if needed to defend police and military members carrying out his orders. SHARE: The plight of Montreal professor Homa Hoodfar grows more alarming by the day. In February, the Concordia University anthropology professor travelled to Iran to see family and conduct academic research. In March she was arrested, ostensibly for dabbling in feminism, and released on bail. But on June 6 she was arrested again and charged with collaborating with a hostile government against national security charges her family calls trumped-up. She has since been held in solitary confinement in Irans notorious Evin Prison and was recently hospitalized due to rapidly declining health, her family said this week. She was very disoriented, severely weakened, and could hardly walk or talk. Its time Ottawa stepped up the pressure on Iran in Hoodfars case. While its true that dealing with Tehran is complicated by the fact Ottawa does not have direct diplomatic relations with Iran and must work through other channels, Canada does have leverage. As the Star has argued before, it could suspend efforts to open up diplomatic relations with Iran until Hoodfar is released. The stakes for Hoodfar, a citizen of Canada, Iran and Ireland, could not be higher. Consider the fate of Zahra Kazemi. The Canadian photojournalist was imprisoned in Evin in 2003 after she was found taking pictures of the jail. She was held in a solitary cell before being raped, tortured, beaten and killed. A doctors report later revealed she had broken fingers, missing fingernails, a skull fracture and severe bruising. Its no wonder that Hoodfars family is growing more vocal and more desperate in their attempts to get her released and returned to Canada. Why is Iran even holding her? Hoodfar is a pawn in a game of brinkmanship between Iran and Canada. Iran appears to be holding Hoodfar in an attempt to force Canada to hand over Canadian-Iranian Mahmoud Reza Khavari, former chief of the Melli Bank of Iran. Officials want to question him about a $2.6-billion embezzlement and money-laundering scandal. Iranian Justice Minister Mostafa Pourmohammadi complained in June, right around the time of Hoodfars arrest, that Canada has rejected repeated requests to hand over Khavari. Its time Iran ended its game-playing with Hoodfars life and released her. Until it does, Ottawa should be prepared to play its ultimate card and stand down on restoring diplomatic relations. Read more about: SHARE: Re: Tory turns up the heat on TTC over subway AC, Aug. 30 Tory turns up the heat on TTC over subway AC, Aug. 30 Mayor John Tory blasts the TTC for the hot cars on the Bloor-Danforth line while simultaneously demanding a budget cut! Hello! Somehow, the TTC seems unable to represent the needs of Torontonians to city council and make transit work in this city. There is something very wrong. For one thing, Toronto is about the only city in the world that has two operators on each subway train. Very expensive. Copenhagen has none. And penny-pinching on station renovations has elevators installed that create single-point failures. One elevator goes out, and no one with accessibility issues can get to the surface at all. Broadview, renovated at great expense, is one example. A couple of hundred thousands dollars could have solved the problem and saved a lot of maintenance costs downstream. Where is planning and rational thought? Is Rob Ford not dead and buried? As I have written here before, if another $1,000 a year on my taxes will make Toronto work, Id be pleased to pay it. Tom McElroy, Toronto Perhaps after Mayor Tory has spent an hour in a subway car without air conditioning (the time required to ride the entire length of the Bloor subway), he could spend a day, 24 hours, or a week, or a month in a Toronto Community Housing unit without air conditioning. One is a matter of discomfort. The other is a matter of health and well being. The mayor should not just focus on the TTC, but should also address the bigger issue not just the noisy, sticky one. Eleanor OConnor, Toronto SHARE: Australia's Woodside Petroleum (WOPEY) will pay $400 million for half of BHP Billiton (BHP) stakes in four gas fields off Western Australia, striking its second major deal since promising acquisitions after shelving its huge Browse gas field project earlier this year. Woodside will pay an initial $250 million for a half-share of three fields and 25% of a fourth, with a further $150 million contingent on a final decision to develop the gas resources. Under the terms of the deal, the Perth-based buyer will take operational control of the Jupiter and Thebe gas fields and a third lease in the Scarborough gas area. It will also buy a 25% stake in a second Scarborough area block that is operated by ExxonMobil. (XOM) Exxon has a right of first refusal on the two Scarborough area leases, but is unlikely to make a counter offer as the development is a low priority for the Irving, Texas-based gas and oil giant. Exxon's Australia-based spokespeople could not be reached to comment on its plans. Woodside CEO Peter Coleman said in August that he was studying acquisition opportunities and had $2 billion in cash and equivalents with which to pursue deals. Coleman is under pressure to strike deals to replenish Woodside's stock of long-term gas projects after it indefinitely shelved plans to develop the $40 billion offshore Browse project in March due to low gas prices. Woodside in July spent $430 million on ConocoPhillips' (COP) exploration sites off the coast of Senegal. BHP and Exxon have been sitting on the four leases since they were discovered in 1979. The companies had been pondering the construction of a $10 billion floating liquefied natural gas project, though those plans had stalled due to technical difficulties and as the cost of gas fell. Woodside's acquisition could see that plan changed in favor of piping gas back to its processing facilities on the West Australian coast. For BHP, the sale is part of a plan to sell down gas assets outside of the U.S., which has become the focus of its energy operations. "BHP considers the proposed sale to Woodside to be a positive outcome for all parties," it said. The Scarborough, Thebe and Jupiter fields contain an estimated 8.7 trillion cubic feet of gas resources. Woodside's net share of that resource would be 2.6 trillion cubic feet, putting the acquisition price at 15 cents per million cubic feet. The deal is expected to complete before the end of the year. Woodside shares closed Monday at A$28.51 ($21.64), up A$0.43, or 1.5%, on their Friday close. BHP's Sydney-listed shares closed at A$20.34, up a$0.49 or 2.5%. Oil prices leaped as much as 4% on Monday after Russia and Saudi Arabia announced plans to work together to stabilize oil prices. "Constructive dialogue and close cooperation among major oil producing countries is crucial to oil market stability to ensure sustainable levels of investment for the long term," read a statement signed by the two countries' energy ministers. "Therefore, the ministers agreed to act jointly or with other producers." While the agreement stopped short of actually implementing any action, the two countries said they had agreed to create a working group to "recommend measures and joint actions." The group will meet for the first time in October. The statement marks the first time in 15 years that Saudi Arabia, OPEC's No.1 supplier, and Russia, the biggest supplier outside of the oil cartel, have agreed in principal to act in tandem to regulate oil prices. Brent Crude rose as much as 4% to nearly $49 a barrel on Monday before dropping back by early afternoon Europe time to $48.16 a barrel, up $1.33, or 2.84%, on its Friday close. West Texas Intermediate, the key U.S. benchmark, traded as high as $46.53 before sliding to $45.69, up $1.25, or 2.8%. Oil prices have fallen from over $110 a barrel in 2014, initially due to fears of slowing economic growth and then as Saudi Arabia increased production at the same time as its regional political and economic rival Iran returned to the world market following the lifting of sanctions earlier this year. The announcement by the Saudis and the Russians comes ahead of an informal meeting of OPEC in Algeria late this month and will raise expectations that Iran and Saudi Arabia will agree to a cap on output. Hopes that those talks would result in an output freeze have ebbed and flowed, along with oil prices, as ministers from both countries have variously spoken of the need to reduce the glut of oil and touted their sovereign right to pump as much gas as they like. OPEC is scheduled for a full meeting in Vienna in November. Russia said Monday that it would send delegations to both the meetings in Algeria and Vienna. Monday's oil price volatility may have been exacerbated by thin trading due to the absence of many U.S. traders who are away due to the Labor Day long weekend. German carmaker Volkswagen (VLKAY) breached EU consumer laws in 20 European Union member countries by cheating on emissions tests, Germany's Die Welt newspaper reported on Monday, citing European Commission sources. In the U.S., the company is already defending itself against a growing number of class-action lawsuits related to the 'Dieselgate' scandal and now faces a wave of potential damages claims in Europe as well, the paper reported. Vera Jourova, the EU's commissioner for justice, consumers, and gender equality, told Die Welt that she had written to national consumer protection authorities in 20 EU countries to gather more information on the situation. "We have received replies from all EU member states which we are currently analyzing in detail," Jourova is quoted as saying. "One thing is for sure: Volkswagen has clearly breached European consumer laws in mot member states." It was not clear what action the EC would take if the breaches are confirmed, only that they should "intervene at European level in a coordinated manner," she added. Speaking to journalists in Brussels on Monday, Jourova said she plans to meet with representatives of national consumer organizations this Thursday to discuss how to better protect consumers, and with national egulators at a later date and with VW itself at the company's request. "This is only the start of the Commission's action," she said, adding that "it is not my intention to come with a strong action without fair communication with the company." In particular, she said the EC will be looking at possible breaches of EU laws governing commercial practices and sales and guarantees, which have set "high standards" for all member states to enforce the rules. VW shares were up 0.4% on Monday afternoon in Frankfurt at 131.85, putting its market capitalization at around 64.9 billion ($72.35 billion). The stock has a one-year return of minus 17.43%. Support us - Help us upgrade our services! Maintaining our website and our free apps does require, however, considerable time and resources. 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Improved multilanguage support Tsunami alerts Faster responsiveness Design upgrade Detailed quake stats Additional seismic data sources Download and Upgrade the Volcanoes & Earthquakes app to get one of the fastest seismic and volcano alerts online: Android | IOS to get one of the fastest seismic and volcano alerts online: We truly love working to bring you the latest volcano and earthquake data from around the world.We need financing to increase hard- and software capacity as well as support our editor team.If you find the information useful and would like to support our team in integrating further features, write great content, and in upgrading our soft- and hardware, please PayPal or Online credit card payment )., these features have been added recently: In February 2014, the White House released a photograph of President Obama standing alone in the Oval Office, contemplating two paintings by Edward Hopper recently borrowed from the Whitney Museum of American Art. President Barack Obama looks at the Edward Hopper paintings. The paints are Cobb's Barns, South Truro, top, and Burly Cobbs House, South Truro. (Chuck Kennedy/The White House) Obamas back was turned to the viewer, and the pose recalled a trope of presidential iconography: the lonely leader, taking a pensive moment to contemplate the eternal verities, indulging in a brief caesura in the whirl of politics, power and strife that defines the job. Perhaps the most famous example is a similar 1961 image, by photographer George Tames, showing President John F. Kennedy alone in the Oval Office, framed in silhouette by a window. The Obama image turned out to be misleading. All evidence points to the president being indeed thoughtful, even perhaps too thoughtful, if one believes critics who say he intellectualizes problems that demand more visceral responses. But there is little indication that Obama regularly indulges the particular relationship to art that this photograph implied: solitary contemplation of the inherited canon of paintings, sculpture, music, dance or theater. He is interested in culture, to be sure, but it is the living culture of our time, often the celebrity culture of popular music and commercial theater, but rarely the stuff people used to call high culture. Or that, at least, is the image his handlers have crafted. So Obama didnt visit the National Gallery of Art during his presidency (at least so far), and first lady Michelle Obama has been only once, and that late in the last term. The Kennedy Center reports that the first family hasnt taken much advantage of the presidential box, and the presidents visits have been mostly limited to the annual Kennedy Center Honors. The president has also begged off attending an annual gala at Fords Theatre that has been a standard for his predecessors. If one adds to this the long periods that he left the chairmanships of both the National Endowment for the Arts and the National Endowment for the Humanities empty, his desultory picks for other important cultural positions, his choice of a librarian of Congress who doesnt come from the tradition of the belles-lettres or serious scholarship, his record on culture is dispiriting at best. That has caused some significant cognitive dissonance among people in the arts world who are otherwise full-throated champions of the president. Indeed, the arts offer some of the friendliest territory for the current administration, full of mainly left-wing coastal types who cherish values they believe the president embodies: intelligence, education, tolerance, cosmopolitanism, and a welcome embrace of ambiguity and complexity when parsing political and social problems. The dinner party consensus is thus: He is one of us, so why hasnt he done more for the arts? The president attended a White House reception for Honorees Carole King, George Lucas, Seiji Ozawa, Cicely Tyson and Rita Moreno. (Associated Press) Where, for example, is the kind of rhetoric one heard from John F. Kennedy, the insistent connection between American creativity and American moral strength? Where, given the cosmopolitanism with which the president is credited, is the vigorous government support for the arts one finds in European countries, or just across the border in Canada, where Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has emerged as a kind of wish-fulfillment figure for American progressives disappointed in Obama? Is there anything in his cultural and arts legacy to compare with the huge strides made by Lyndon B. Johnson more than a half-century ago? [In Canada, a leader who puts the arts at the tab le] The presidents supporters point to policies, initiatives and lots of small-ball improvements in the general state of the arts. In 2007, a raft of artists and arts supporters signed on to then-Sen. Obamas call for advice on an arts policy platform for his campaign, and it is all worthy stuff, though not the sort of things that make your heart sing: health care for artists; a better policy on visas for foreign artists visiting the United States; more money for the NEA; a call to expand public/private partnerships between schools and arts organizations. Robert L. Lynch, president and chief executive of Americans for the Arts and a participant in the 2007 Arts Policy Initiative, says, If you look at what he said he was going to do, he actually delivered on a number of them. Lynch says that the administration didnt necessarily partner with the traditional arts advocacy groups or service organizations, and that some of the presidents arts advocacy wasnt highlighted in public. I saw him show up at White House events that had to do with kids and the arts, and when he would speak in that moment, he was very positive about the transformative power of the arts, Lynch says. Some of what was promised came to pass, though not always as a specifically arts-related victory. Artists, argues Lynch, are well served by the Affordable Care Act, even if it wasnt aimed at them in particular. Other goals fell victim to emerging realities, especially the promise to ease visa restrictions; and much of it, including raising the budget of the NEA, was simply beyond the presidents control given the political divisions in Washington. But none of those efforts ring with the clarion call of Kennedys 1963 speech at Amherst College: I look forward to an America which will reward achievement in the arts as we reward achievement in business or statecraft. I look forward to an America which will steadily raise the standards of artistic accomplishment and which will steadily enlarge cultural opportunities for all of our citizens. And I look forward to an America which commands respect throughout the world not only for its strength but for its civilization as well. [President Lyndon B. Johnsons cultural legacy was huge, and far-reaching] Its not that Obama is incapable of speaking this way; he speaks this way all the time. He just doesnt speak this way about the arts. And while he may have supported initiatives for arts education, there is little sense that he believes the arts are fundamental to solving the worlds larger problems. Its too easy to say that Obama is simply interested in different arts, that he was plenty arts-friendly if you consider his ability to sing, his easy rapport with popular musicians, his engagement with contemporary cultural figures such as Lin-Manuel Miranda and his celebration of the performance traditions derived from African American culture. All of that is true. But the arts are not just the current moment, but the past as well; often it seemed that Obama was primarily engaged with entertainment as a strategic means to connect with people and humanize himself in the public eye. His critics have always found him a bit narcissistic, and perhaps in this regard he was: Look at me, look at me sing, look at me negotiate late-night television, crack jokes like an expert comedian and otherwise demonstrate an astonishing fluency in the cool stuff of pop culture. The president was a performer, and so perhaps he had no need to manifest a personal relationship to art; rather, we had a personal relationship to him as the embodiment of the virtuoso public figure. Lin-Manuel Miranda attends the "Grease: Live" panel and reception at The Edison Ballroom in New York City. (Theo Wargo/Getty Images) No, thats too harsh. But in the arts world there is profound disappointment in Obama, a disappointment that may be unfair and misguided, but is not entirely without basis. The president never really modeled the life that he seemed to embody in that 2014 photograph; he never evinced a personal passion for the arts; never seemed intent on using the arts as a fundamental tool of policy; never lived a life that was fully engaged with the enormous cultural inheritance that is today too often caricatured as reservoir of patriarchy, oppression and elitism. He made other choices, and that was his prerogative. He liked other kinds of music, and preferred other ways to spend his downtime. And that, too, was his choice to make. But the disappointment is real, and perhaps it stems from this: The arts, too, are suffering from all the same forces of disintegration and decline that the president, in other arenas, fought to hold at bay. The arts, like so many other things in the realm of taste, style and decorum things such as comity and dialogue and not being a jackass like Kanye West are in danger of becoming degraded and diminished. The arts, in short, wanted some love, some sense that they matter. We project our values on our presidents, and we hope to see those values reflected back. When it comes to one rather old-fashioned but still meaningful definition of culture, that didnt happen. Allyson Chamberlain, a music teacher at Moten Elementary School in Washington, plays the gyil, a traditional African instrument, during a trip to Ghana. (From Allyson Chamberlain) Early in the summer, just after schools closed in Loudoun County, Virginia, Kelly Hoover took a trip to Montpelier. The 18th-century Virginia estate was once home to President James Madison and his wife, Dolley; now, its a national landmark where visitors such as Hoover can walk the halls of the Madisons restored mansion and learn how archaeologists are uncovering more of the estates history. [A guide to Virginias presidential estates] Hoover, who leads the gifted program at River Bend Middle School in Sterling, wanted to know more about the archaeological work. Asking a lot of questions and showing curiosity paid off, she told KidsPost. A staff member at the estates archaeology lab invited her to apply for a new week-long program in which teachers get to dig with the pros. Kelly Hoover, who leads the gifted program at River Bend Middle School in Sterling, participates in an archaeological dig at the Montpelier estate. (From Kelly Hoover) While most kids enjoyed their summer by hanging out at the park or going to the pool, teachers such as Hoover mixed work and play, traveling across the region or even the world to search for new experiences they could use in the classroom. Crouched on the grounds of an old outdoor kitchen at Montpelier, Hoover learned all the steps in the archaeological process including how to identify a potential excavation (or dig) site, sift through soil and clean centuries-old artifacts. Hoover said she now has firsthand knowledge and authentic stories to share with kids in an archaeology unit that she teaches at River Bend. Maria Wallace, a Spanish and French teacher at Esperanza Middle School in Lexington Park, Maryland, spent about three weeks in the small French town of Cotignac (pronounced CO-teen-YAK) in an effort to sharpen her language skills and bring authenticity to her French classes, she said. In a notebook, she wrote down French words that she learned, as well as the stories of people she met. Wallace said she plans to share their photos and stories of selling herbs in the market or working at the local boulangerie (bakery) with her eighth-grade students, in an effort to help kids make real-world connections that they can relate to. Allyson Chamberlain, a music teacher at Moten Elementary School in Washington, hopes to encourage similar connections after spending three weeks in Ghana. As part of a workshop called Orff-Afrique, she learned traditional Ghanaian dances and games and played on African instruments such as the gyil (JILL), which is similar to a xylophone. My students are predominantly African American, she said, so I believe its really important for them to access music from the African continent. Maria Wallace explores a lavender field near the French town of Cotignac. Wallace is a French and Spanish teacher at Esperanza Middle School in Lexington Park, Maryland. (From Maria Wallace) Chamberlain led a school performance of the musical The Lion King last year and plans to teach kids some African drumming patterns she learned, as well as Ghanaian hand-clapping games. Other teachers didnt have to travel quite so far to learn something new. Scot Braun, a U.S. history teacher at Belmont Ridge Middle School in Leesburg, Virginia, toured the western United States with his parents to visit historic sites such as Montanas Little Bighorn Battlefield, where Army troops clashed with Native Americans in 1876. Lisa Allan, a self-described history geek who teaches fourth grade at Thomas Jefferson Elementary School in Falls Church, Virginia, spent a week at Colonial Williamsburg as part of a teachers workshop. She occasionally dresses up as a Colonial reenactor during the school year and invites her students to do the same and now has new stories to tell about Colonial life. Its more fun to learn about early U.S. history from someone dressed as explorer John Smith, she said. And its more memorable. Come that dreaded test time, Allan added, they remember me standing in front of them in a silly outfit. The perceived favoritism by Roger Ailes, left, and Fox News toward Donald Trump, right, has prompted establishment conservatives to lash out at the network they once considered a beacon. (Charles Sykes/Invision/AP; Carlo Allegri/Reuters) Ever since Fox News debuted in 1996, liberals and moderates have been grinding their teeth over its frankly conservative commentary and right-leaning news agenda. Fox itself has never officially branded itself a conservative network, although its famous slogan Fair and Balanced was a subtle rebuke to what its co-founders, Rupert Murdoch and Roger Ailes, saw as the mainstream medias liberal bias. But in the Age of Trump, Fox is drawing disapproving, even scathing, critiques from an unlikely source: conservatives. There was syndicated talkradio host Mark Levin, who disparaged Fox as a Donald Trump Super PAC and not a news channel after two Fox hosts gave serious consideration to a National Enquirer story linking Ted Cruzs father to the Kennedy assassination. There was Glenn Beck, a Fox exile, who accused the network of using lighting and camera tricks to make Trump look more presidential during interviews. Recently, though, the fiercest criticism is coming from voices that are traditionally more measured notably from the Never Trump movement of establishment conservatives, who fault the network for boosting the moguls candidacy. Foxs powerful voice is killing the conservative movement, wrote David French in the National Review last week. The network, he wrote, has constructed a big, beautiful and lucrative gated community a comfortable conservative cocoon in which conservatives persuade each other of the rightness of their ideas. . . But they never get a chance to preach to the unconverted, dooming the party to losing the popular vote in presidential elections. Glenn Beck has criticized Foxs coverage and even (gasp!) praised CNN as the only network that didnt have a horse in the race. (John Sommers II/Reuters) Frenchs essay echoed another National Review piece last month by Matthew Sheffield, who noted that Fox has little reach beyond a relatively small segment of conservatives. The seeming success of Fox News and talk radio has made many conservatives think they now have a massive media empire, he concluded. In truth, they have constructed an intellectual ghetto that no one else wants to visit. National Reviews animosity toward Fox may be new, but the venerable conservative journal founded by William F. Buckley Jr. hasnt been shy about its dislike for Trump. In January, it published a special issue under the title Against Trump, in which 22 prominent conservative figures wrote essays outlining their opposition to the candidate. The magazines take on Foxs echo chamber gets a modified amen from Bill Kristol, the editor of the conservative Weekly Standard and a former commentator on Fox. The left was more disadvantaged by living in their [liberal media] echo chamber in the 1970s and 80s, says Kristol, a Trump opponent, in an email. They. . . were astonished when Reagan won twice and then Bush. Then conservative media grew up, and now theres a conservative echo chamber, which it can be easy and comfortable to fall into. Lesser-known figures have joined the brawl, too. Steve Deace, a talk-show host, ripped Fox for its alleged pro-Trump tilt, writing in Conservative Review in April: Here lies Fox News, formerly known as the definitive standard-bearer for conservative media. Born: 1996. Died: 2016. Cause of death: Shilling for Donald Trump. The notion that Fox has been biased against conservative candidates carries its own rich irony. One of Foxs long-running themes, almost a part of its founding charter, has been its attacks on liberal media bias a claim repeated endlessly by prime-time hosts Bill OReilly and Sean Hannity, as well as by a parade of Republican politicians Sarah Palin, Mike Huckabee, Newt Gingrich, Rick Santorum hired as commentators and provocateurs. The irony within the irony is that Trump himself has criticized Fox or at least one of its most popular hosts, Megyn Kelly: During the campaign, he reacted in a vulgar manner to Kellys question about his disrespectful comments about women during the first Republican debate last year and later boycotted a Foxsponsored debate in January. (They seemed to make up in May during a prime-time interview special hosted by Kelly). On the other hand, Trump has maintained friendly, and mutually beneficial, relations with other parts of FoxWorld. Ailes now deposed as Foxs chairman because of allegations of rampant sexual harrassment is reportedly an informal adviser to his campaign. And the candidate has appeared dozens of times on Fox and Friends as well as the programs of OReilly and Hannity, who has lately lashed out at Beck and the Never Trump crowd for supposedly enabling a Hillary Clinton victory. (She wins, Im blaming all of you, Hannity thundered on his radio show last week. Beck, in return, doubled down with an indirect slam on Fox when he praised CNNs campaign coverage during an appearance on its Reliable Sources show Sunday: I know a lot of conservatives that said you guys were the only ones we could watch because you didnt have a horse in the race. So you just presented the facts the way they were.) 1 of 60 Full Screen Autoplay Close Skip Ad What Donald Trump is doing on the campaign trail View Photos The GOP presidential nominee is out on the trail ahead of the general election in November. Caption The GOP presidential nominee is pressing his case ahead of Election Day. Nov. 7, 2016 Donald Trump speaks during a campaign event at SNHU Arena in Manchester, N.H. Jabin Botsford/The Washington Post Wait 1 second to continue. The conservative criticism of Fox seems to reflect two intertwined trends: the factionalization of the Republican Party into populist, insurgent and establishment camps, and the flowering of alternative conservative news sources. While it remains the most prosperous and influential news organization among conservatives, Foxs dominance has been challenged in recent years by such new operations as the Trump-supporting Breitbart News, Becks TheBlaze, multiple talk-radio programs and Beltway-based websites the Daily Caller and Washington Free Beacon. For its part, Fox rejects the complaints from the right, much as it has rejected them from the left. As a news organization, we dont cater to any political party, and the fact that weve been criticized from across the political spectrum proves that we are doing our job in reporting the news accurately and fairly, said Bill Shine, who became Foxs co-president after Ailes was forced to resign in July. Considering weve been number one all summer in basic cable and we are having our highest ratings ever, I think viewers are pretty happy with the product weve produced. Conservative gripes about Fox demonstrate how the network is caught betwixt and between the Republican Partys own ideological crossfire, says Dan Cassino, a political science professor at Fairleigh Dickinson University and the author of Fox News and American Politics: How One Channel Shapes American Politics and Society. Spanning the gaps among Trumps populist/nativist wing, Becks hard-right and the GOPs establishment or chamber of commerce faction, he said, could prove to be a long-term threat to the network. Its an economic issue for Fox, he said. They cant afford to alienate one group at the expense of the other, or ratings and ad revenues will fall. The task became considerably harder, Cassino argues, without Ailes. Fox was largely a reflection of its 76-year-old former chief executive, a veteran Republican political operative who hired Foxs stars and shaped what they would talk about each day. His particular genius, he said, was in identifying issues broadly acceptable to the conservative faithful the Benghazi terrorist attacks, the Fast and Furious gun-running scandal, the so-called war on Christmas even as these issues were ignored by the rest of the news media. Finding the right issues and the right terminology to talk about them every day isnt easy, no matter who the next president may be, he said. Without Roger Ailes, Im not sure they can do it. A visitor spends a contemplative moment in 2011 at the Pentagon Memorial, built in honor of those killed there on Sept. 11. (Matt McClain/For The Washington Post) When we remember Sept. 11, 2001, we cant help but think in haunting visuals: a jet bursting into a fireball as it impales a skyscraper; office workers falling from the tallest windows of the towers; New Yorkers so covered in dust they look like statues. The images of what happened at the Pentagon never left the same imprint. Theres no footage of American Airlines Flight 77 crashing into the western side of the behemoth office complex. The Pentagon is 6.5 million square feet spread horizontally, so even the explosion of an airplane looked almost minor compared with the wreckage in the Financial District. Maybe thats why documentarians havent examined the events in Arlington the same way theyve parsed what happened in New York or on United Flight 93. But Emmy-winning filmmaker Kirk Wolfinger wanted to. When a television network that shall remain nameless approached him about making a 9/11 documentary, he pitched a story about the attack on the Pentagon. The response was unequivocal: If he wanted to make the movie, it had to be about the World Trade Center. This is certainly not a competition for who had the greatest tragedy, Wolfinger said over the phone recently. The death toll in New York was obviously higher than the 184 killed in Arlington. And yet, there were stories worth revisiting from the Pentagon that day. If he wasnt going to tell them, who would? Fire fighters and military personnel drape a flag over the west wall of the Pentagon, a few yards from the damaged area. (John McDonnell/Washington Post) Wolfingers take on the tragic day eventually found a home. His one-hour special, 9/11 Inside the Pentagon, executive produced by Wolfinger and directed by Sharon Petzold, premieres on PBS Tuesday night. Wolfinger can understand why some filmmakers might shy away from the Pentagon story. A documentarians work relies on access, and the U.S. military may not seem like an easy culture to penetrate. Even so, he was surprised to hear that he was the first filmmaker to present a credible request for the Pentagons assistance on such a project and by that I mean one that didnt deal with conspiracy theories, he said. They placed no restrictions on me, he said. They just said, please tell our story, because nobody has told it. The movie features interviews with military personnel who were near the crash, first responders, the buildings assistant operations manager and its structural engineer. Stories of what happened on the ground are interspersed with accounts of what happened in the sky, thanks to the memories of an FAA air traffic controller. The tales are harrowing: people crawling through rooms pitch-black with smoke; workers trying to break through shatterproof windows that had just been installed during a recent renovation; staircases so hot they burned peoples feet through their shoes. The question remains: Is the American public interested in what happened at the Pentagon on 9/11? Retired Navy submarine captain Bill Toti, who survived the Pentagon attack and is featured in the movie, says he can understand why many people focus on New York. But just like Korea is the forgotten war, the Pentagon is the forgotten 9/11. He offered up a couple of theories why during a phone conversation last week. The first is the one hed prefer to believe: New York happened on live TV while the world watched, and it was visually shocking in ways the Pentagon wasnt. The Pentagon, though it housed as many people as the World Trade Center, proved to be a less vulnerable building; many more people walked away from the Pentagon than did from the Twin Towers. He has another theory, too, though it leaves him less comfortable: Ive had some indication that there are people in the country who think: At the Pentagon, theyre military, so its kind of their job to die, he said. Although nobody has ever said that to me straight-out, I do sometimes think that the loss of life of a civilian whos not a combatant is more profound than somebody who is a combatant. And yet, ironically, most of the people who were killed at the Pentagon were civilians. That was one of the big surprises for Wolfinger. This wasnt a military story at all. About 20,000 people work at the Pentagon, and a lot of them arent in uniform. There are civilian secretaries and administrators and building superintendents, private contractors doing electrical and plumbing, Wolfinger said. All those people were in the building that day and they are part of our story. A helicopter flies over the burning Pentagon on Sept. 11, 2001. (Tom Horan/AP) One of the nonmilitary voices in the film is Ed Hannon, then an Arlington County Fire Department captain. In one of the movies most powerful moments, Hannon describes kneeling in prayer along with many others in a courtyard in the center of the Pentagon. The FAA had alerted those on the ground that another airplane was within minutes of delivering a second assault. There was no way to make it out of the serpentine facility fast enough, Hannon knew, so he prepared to die as the sound of a jet engine grew louder and louder. Then, almost instantaneously, all these military guys are starting to cheer, Hannon recalled. What they were hearing was a friendly fighter plane that dipped its wing as it passed overhead. Then all we had was a fire to fight, he said. This was Totis story: On the evening of Sept. 10, he had stuck a letter in his bosss mailbox announcing that hed decided to retire. The next morning, he escaped the crash vicinity unscathed and spent the day carrying the wounded to ambulances and helicopters. He was easy for Wolfinger to spot in old news footage; he seemed to be everywhere. The Navy ended up designating him as its lead for the recovery effort. One of the first things he did when he returned on Sept. 12 was retrieve the letter and tear it up. That same day, the Naval Historical Center begged him to use his access to rescue some paintings from the wreckage. While collecting a piece from a conference room, he heard a knock on the window. It was a firefighter warning that the ceiling above him was still on fire. He has a lot of other stories, too. So does everyone else who was there. Tragic tales and heroic ones. Stories you wouldnt believe. If only someone would ask. 9/11 Inside the Pentagon, one hour, airs at 8 p.m. Tuesday on WETA and MPT. Correction: An earlier version of this story mistakenly said that the ACTS office in Manassas opened Sept. 5. The office opened Aug. 29. The story has been updated. ACTS chief executive Steven G. Liga said the group has talked about opening a Manassas office for years. ACTS is doing so now because the funding it receives for domestic violence and sexual assault programs has doubled, he said. (Jonathan Hunley /For The Washington Post) Although almost all of the programs offered by Action in Community Through Service are available countywide, the nonprofit group traditionally has been considered an operation focused on eastern Prince William. That thinking could begin to change, however, since the Dumfries-based organization opened a satellite office in Manassas last week. Staff members moved in Aug. 29 to a 2,500-square-foot space at 9317 Grant Ave., said Steven G. Liga, chief executive of ACTS. The Manassas office will allow ACTS, established in 1969, to better aid residents in the city and in western Prince William and Manassas Park, and it is within walking distance of the county courts complex, which is a boost to assistance that the organization provides to victims of domestic violence and sexual assault. The court system lets ACTS use office space at the complex, Liga said, but having more room nearby will enhance programs. The organization, which also renders services that include suicide-related support and temporary shelter, has talked about opening a Manassas center for years, Liga said, but it is able to do so now and hire more employees because the federal and state funding it receives for domestic violence and sexual assault programs has doubled. We were so understaffed before, he said. ACTS is hiring three staff members who will be based in Manassas, Liga said, and others will work there as necessary. The nonprofit group employs 75 and has 175 volunteers who serve an average of 15 hours per month. The Grant Avenue location has room for programs for adults and children, which will allow ACTS to help more domestic violence victims beyond simply assisting with protective orders. Aid with those documents is handled at the offices in the courts complex, Liga said, but often clients have not sought follow-up services. He said at least part of the reason for that is the difficulty for some to visit the ACTS offices in Dumfries, particularly if they must travel from a western Prince William spot such as Haymarket, about 30 miles away. One thing the nonprofit group will not do in Manassas is try to replicate services already available there, Liga said. In eastern Prince William, ACTS is viewed by the needy as a place where they can turn for food and shelter. But Securing Emergency Resources through Volunteer Efforts (SERVE) tackles those tasks in the countys western end. Therefore, ACTS does not need to bring a food pantry to Manassas, Liga said. And it will not open a western Prince William thrift store, either, because SERVE and the Salvation Army already fill that need. Were not interested in duplicating anything, he said. Andrea Eck, senior vice president of programs for Northern Virginia Family Service, which operates SERVE, said she does not see the new ACTS branch as conflicting with any existing nonprofit efforts. Actually, its hard to help everyone even when organizations work together, Eck said. The need outstrips the resources by far, she said. Liga said that topics such as domestic violence, sexual assault and suicide are still sometimes considered taboo, as well, so he hopes that more people will come forward if they see a place where the subjects are discussed openly. In addition to helping victims, ACTS conducts programs for perpetrators of domestic violence. Such courses are the only ones for which the nonprofit group charges a fee, Liga said, but they are important because many abusers were once abused themselves or witnesses to violence. It doesnt just happen, he said. Stellvonne Jackson, who has seen the work of ACTS as a volunteer and as a recipient of services, said she is excited to see the Manassas office open. Jackson said that she is a survivor of domestic violence, and that intervening in the cycle of abuse at the right time is important. If ACTS representatives at the courts complex can immediately send clients to Grant Avenue, she said, those victims will be more likely to use follow-up services. Conversely, if time passes, she said, the victims may make excuses and return to unhealthy relationships, which means the abuse cycle could begin again. Jackson said she believes in the work of ACTS so much that she sometimes takes vacation from her paying job to volunteer for the organization or to attend one of its events. It is really amazing, she said. pwextra@washpost.com For information about ACTS, visit actspwc.org. For information about domestic violence programs or urgent help, call 703-221-4951. I can report that Bethesda Blues & Jazz was jumping at last months Root Boy Slim tribute show. It may have lacked the sense of anarchic menace that a Root Boy gig was said to have, but the band was great. My column mentioning Root Boy prompted some readers to share their memories of the local musician, who shone brightly if occasionally grotesquely before his death in 1993. Lin Grosvenor of Woodbridge, Va., was a schoolmate of Ken his name for Foster MacKenzie III, Root Boys real name at what he described as a middling prep school outside of Hagerstown, Md. He displayed no angst, but did have a sarcastic wit and only reluctantly suffered fools, Lin wrote. Much of his humor escaped the average folk. The pair often sat around and exchanged rude reviews of the schools masters, surreptitiously smoked Tareytons and listened to music by the likes of Jerry Lee Lewis, Fats Domino, Chuck Berry, Kitty Wells, Muddy Waters, Howlin Wolf and B.B. King. Ken didnt seem to aspire to be an entertainer at the time, though he loved to belt out parodies or covers of the current stars, Lin wrote. He once confided to me that he could outsweat Little Richard on the sweat meter. In Root Boys heyday, Lin remembers a local TV news show that sent a reporter to interview fans lined up outside a club waiting to see Root Boy and the Sex Change Band. The correspondent stuck a microphone in one mans face and asked, Tell me what you like about Root Boy Slim. His response: Nothing! Norman Michael Harman of Harpers Ferry, W.Va., had an encounter with Root Boy in the 1980s. At the time, Norman lived on a farm in Washington County, Md. His neighbor worked as a bouncer at the Childe Harold, a club near Dupont Circle, and often brought musicians out to the farm with him. One Sunday morning, Norman woke up to some strange sounds in the yard. I looked out, and there was some guy leaning over the back fender of my pickup, vomiting into the bed, he wrote. Norman walked out and said, What the *&#@, man? It was Root Boy Slim, still drunk from the night before and extremely irritated that Norman had interrupted his morning ritual. Later, as Norman was hosing out the vomit, his neighbor came out to apologize. I told him there was no need. It wasnt every day a celebrity from the music world puked in my truck. Be afraid My confession that I introduced my daughters to certain forms of culture Cirque du Soleil, Sweeney Todd, Hitchcock movies at perhaps too young an age struck a chord with Geoff Dirksen of Silver Spring, Md. [20 years ago, I took my daughter to Cirque du Soleil. Big mistake.] When his daughter Kaitlyn was about 4, he took her to a National Symphony childrens concert performance of Peter and the Wolf. When the wolfs musical motif was first played, a wolf a strikingly costumed actor, of course suddenly appeared in the row directly behind Geoffrey and his daughter, picked out by a follow spot. End of concert for Kaitlyn, Geoffrey wrote. I had to get her out of there and she has never been back to any concert at the Kennedy Center since. Lisa Sutter reports that although she despises horror films, her husband adores them. When our kids were very small he started showing them horror movies on TV, she wrote. They seemed not to freak out, so it was fine with Lisa, with one exception: the Nightmare on Elm Street movies, his favorites. One day, they picked me up from Metro after work, and the kids said they had watched the best movie, wrote Lisa, of Germantown, Md. I asked what it was, and they said they didnt remember the name but it had the most awesome character in it, a guy named Freddy. Lisa looked at her husband. Busted. Wrote Lisa: So I got to introduce my kids to the thrill of roller coasters my hubby is afraid of heights and hates them and he got to introduce them to horror movies, so it all worked out in the end. Reuniting These area schools have reunions in the works. Archbishop Carroll High Class of 1956 Sept. 10. Contact Stacy Rubens at srubens@achsdc.org or call 202-529-0900, Ext. 171. Thomas Edison High Class of 1967 Oct. 7, 2017. Contact Linda Raskin at lindagoldberg1@comcast.net. Thomas Jefferson High Classes of 1966-1969 Oct. 14-15. Reunion of the schools first four graduating classes. Visit tjhsstalumni.org. Washington-Lee High Class of 1971 Oct. 21-23. Visit wl71.classquest.com or email washleeclass1971@gmail.com. Yorktown High Class of 1976 Oct. 21-23. Email yorktown76@gmail.com or visit www.classcreator.com/ Arlington-Virginia-Yorktown-1976. Twitter: @johnkelly For previous columns, visit washingtonpost.com/johnkelly. Emissions spew out of a large stack at the coal-fired Morgantown Generating Station on the Potomac River in Newburg, Md. Maryland is pushing back against proposals to scale back a cap on emissions from plants in the Northeast. Maryland officials are resisting a push to deepen carbon-emission cuts as part of a regional agreement to reduce power-plant pollution. The nine East Coast states that make up the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative are negotiating new terms for the pact, set to expire in 2020. Massachusetts has joined environmental advocates pushing for a cap on carbon emissions from power plants that would fall 5 percent a year for the next decade, or twice the current rate. Maryland Secretary of the Environment Ben Grumbles said the proposal could result in higher power bills for Marylanders and harm the states economy. If adopted, he said, Maryland would consider pulling out of the regional pact for the first time since it formed in 2008. [Maryland settles lawsuit with power plants accused of nitrogen pollution] Im sure every single state could agree if the caps are too stringent for that particular state . . . then those states would be very vocal in saying, We cant accept that, Grumbles said. Maryland Secretary of the Environment Ben Grumbles, second from the right. (Katherine Frey) The Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative creates a local cap-and-trade system that limits how much plants can pollute, and holds auctions where energy producers bid against each other for rights to emit carbon. Proceeds from the auctions fund clean-energy initiatives aimed at combating climate change. In addition to Maryland and Massachusetts, the pact includes Connecticut, Delaware, Maine, New Hampshire, New York, Rhode Island and Vermont. New Jersey pulled out of the pact in 2011. The Boston Globe was the first to report that Maryland was reconsidering its role in the regional pact. Grumbles says leaving is a last resort, and called the greenhouse-gas reduction program a success that should be expanded with additional states. Unlike other states in the agreement, Maryland is on the same power grid as coal-heavy states that never signed on to the initiative, including West Virginia, Pennsylvania and Kentucky. That means energy companies in Maryland are competing against producers in nearby states who arent abiding by the same restrictions on emissions and use cheaper, non-renewable energy sources. Complicating matters further is the Obama administrations Clean Power Plan, which would require each state to draw plans to shift away from fossil-fuel powered plants. The plan would reduce the pressure of intra-state competition, but its on hold pending a U.S. Supreme Court challenge and could be changed under the next president. [Supreme Court freezes Obama plan to limit emissions] While we are pushing for environmental leadership in the state . . . we want to reduce the risk of having other neighboring states being able to provide dirtier and cheaper energy to the citizens of Maryland, said Grumbles, a member of Gov. Larry Hogans cabinet. Officials in the administration of Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker (R) have indicated that they dont want to derail the pact by going too far with emission cuts. Were definitely not strong-arming anyone to do anything, Energy Secretary Matthew Beaton told the Massachusetts State House News Service last week. A spokesman for Beaton said the state is committed to reducing carbon emissions and power bills, but wouldnt say if it would continue pushing for steeper cuts to carbon emissions. But in Maryland, local environmental advocates are continuing to make that case. Scores of activists urged lower emissions at a meeting last week seeking feedback on the greenhouse-gas initiative at the Department of Environment offices in Baltimore. With the support of neighboring states, we hope Maryland steps up to the plate to help the region meet the goals it needs to create good-paying, clean-energy jobs and curb climate disruption, said Johana Vicente, an organizer for the Maryland League of Conservation Voters. Democratic lawmakers have also expressed support for 5 percent annual cuts in allowable emissions. We have to be sensible about [reductions] and we have to phase it over a period of time in order to be affordable, but its always preferable to be ambitious, said Del. Kumar Barve (D-Montgomery), who chairs the House of Delegates committee that oversees environmental issues. Carbon emissions from states in the pact have fallen dramatically, from 122 million tons in 2009 to 83 million tons in 2015. [Cap-and-trade is alive and well in the Northeast] The reduction is 16 percent greater than in states that havent joined the initiative, according to an analysis by the Acadia Center, which advocates for clean energy. The analysis also says electricity prices have decreased 3.4 percent on average for participating states, while rising elsewhere. Industry observers say lower demand for energy during the economic downturn and the rise of natural gas, which results in lower carbon emissions than coal, also drove the decrease. Hogan (R), in office since 2015, has a mixed record on the environment. He signed legislation this year that requires Maryland to reduce greenhouse-gas emissions 40 percent below 2006 levels by 2030, and forged a deal to reduce the amount of runoff from Eastern Shore chicken farms into the Chesapeake Bay watershed. Hogans office says this years budget includes a record $53 million for a state fund for restoring waterways. But the governor irked environmentalists by vetoing legislation to require 25 percent of the states energy to come from renewable sources by 2020, and by rolling back some regulations meant to reduce pollution in the Chesapeake Bay. Some advocates said Marylands reluctance to sign on to more ambitious carbon-emission cuts is an example of the Hogan administrations resistance to major environmental initiatives. Massachusetts, with a Republican governor, is out front here in combating climate change, said Mark Kresowik, a deputy regional director for the Sierra Clubs Beyond Coal campaign. You certainly see some hostility from Governor Hogan to good programs that reduce pollution and advance clean energy. Hogan spokesman Doug Mayer dismissed such criticism as unfounded. Governor Hogan has a strong record of enacting key environmental reforms to improve Marylands air and water quality, Mayer said. Anyone who questions his commitment to preserving and improving Marylands environment and natural resources simply doesnt know the facts. Sunday, Sept. 4 Craft Festival In addition to craft and food vendors, the event includes music by Something Shiny and Wait n See. Sunday noon-7 p.m. Monday 1-5 p.m. The Winery at La Grange, 4970 Antioch Rd., Haymarket. 703-753-9360. Free. Liberia Plantation tour The 1825 home was used by Union and Confederate forces during the Civil War and still features graffiti left by soldiers., noon, Liberia Plantation, 8601 Portner Ave., Manassas. 703-257-8265. Free. Cold War Museum talk U-2 squadron commander Chuck Wilson discusses flying the U-2. 1 p.m. Vint Hill Craft Winery, 7150 Lineweaver Rd., Vint Hill. 540-351-0000. vinthillcraftwinery.com. $30. Bingo Proceeds support local veterans. Doors open at noon Sundays with games beginning at 2 p.m. Doors open at 5:15 p.m. Mondays with games beginning at 7:15 p.m. Woodbridge American Legion, 3640 Friendly Post Lane, Woodbridge. 703-494-4304. $15 minimum. Let It Rain II Suzanne Jepsons paintings in this series all include an orange umbrella to add a pop of color., Loft Gallery, 313 Mill St., Occoquan. 703-490-1117. loftgallery.org. Free. Jamie McPhail and Caleb Mathews exhibit Works by McPhail, an encaustic artist, and oil paintings of clouds by Mathews. Through Sept. 17, Center for the Arts, 9419 Battle St., Manassas. 703-330-2787. center-for-the-arts.org. Free. Monday, Sept. 5 Job search network group Plus, discussion of various topics related to the search process. 1-3 p.m. House of Mercy, 8170 Flannery Ct., Manassas. 703-659-1636. Free. Bingo Proceeds support Dale City Knights of Columbus activities and charities. Doors open at 6 p.m. with games beginning at 7:30 p.m. VFW Post 1503, 14631 Minnieville Rd., Dale City. 703-491-2378. $9 minimum. Lake Jackson Mid-County Lions Club meeting 6:30 p.m. Great American Steak and Buffet, 8365 Sudley Rd., Manassas. 703-369-6791. Free. Tuesday, Sept. 6 Manassas Chorale open rehearsal New members welcome. 7:30 p.m. Manassas Baptist Church, 8730 Sudley Rd., Manassas. 703-361-2146, Ext. 291. manassaschorale.org. Free. Light and Dark An exhibit featuring mosaics by Diann Root of Alexandria and paintings by Steve Myles of Oakton. Through Oct. 3, Artists Undertaking, 309 Mill St., Occoquan. 703-494-0584. theartistsundertaking.com. Free. Wednesday, Sept. 7 Lake Ridge Toastmasters Club Members 18 and older develop their public speaking and leadership skills. 7:30-9:15 p.m. Tall Oaks Community Center, 12298 Cotton Mill Dr., Lake Ridge. 703-491-3020. contact-8913@toastmastersclubs.org. lakeridge.toastmastersclubs.org. $34-$64 membership fee. Thursday, Sept. 8 Historic Manassas walking tour Learn the history of the city. Wear comfortable walking shoes. Thursday-Friday at noon, Manassas Museum, 9101 Prince William St., Manassas. 703-368-1873. manassasmuseum.org. Free. Farm to Table Dinner Sponsored by the Prince William Environmental Excellence Foundation, participating farms include Yankey, Evergreen Acres and Rainbow Acres, as well as Ross Moore Orchard. The evening includes a tour of Evergreen Manor House, a wine tasting by the Winery at La Grange and dinner. 6 p.m. Evergreen Country Club, 15900 Berkeley Dr., Haymarket. 571-379-7514. pwswcd.org. $85. Gallery reception The exhibit, Climate Art & Action, presents photographs focused on climate change and sustainable responses. 6 p.m. Hylton Performing Arts Center, Buchanan Partners Art Gallery, 10960 George Mason Cir., Manassas. jconnor8@gmu.edu. 703-993-7759. hyltoncenter.org. Free; reservations required. Admiral Robert Shumaker talk The former Vietnam prisoner or war discusses his experiences at the Hanoi Hilton. 7:30 p.m. The Freedom Museum, Manassas Regional Airport, 10600 Harry Parrish Blvd., Manassas. Free. Friday, Sept. 9 9/11 ceremony The event will include the reading of the names of the 22 county residents killed Sept. 11, 2001, and laying of a wreath. 9 a.m. McCoart Administration Building, Liberty Memorial, 1 County Complex Ct., Woodbridge. 703-792-6000. Free. American Legion dinner The public is invited to dinner with a different special every week. Proceeds support local veterans and the community. 5:30-7:30 p.m. Woodbridge American Legion, 3640 Friendly Post Lane, Woodbridge. 703-494-4304. vapost364.org. $5-$15. Fall Festival The annual event features rides, games, crafts, a silent auction, music and a quilt raffle. Friday 6-11 p.m. Saturday 4-10 p.m. Holy Family Catholic Church, 14160 Ferndale Rd., Dale City. 703-670-8161. Free. Saturday, Sept. 10 Yoga on the Lawn Vinyasa yoga taught by certified instructor Christopher Glowacki. 9 a.m. Rippon Lodge Historic Site, 15520 Blackburn Rd., Woodbridge. 703-499-9812. pwcgov.org/ripponlodge. $5. Home buyer seminar Presented by local real estate broker Bob Hummer. 10 a.m.-12:30 p.m. Strayer University, 13385 Minnieville Rd., Woodbridge. 703-878-4866. military-realestate.com. Free. Potomac River blockade history tour On a pontoon boat, a historian discusses the significance of the Confederates blockade along the Potomac River during the Civil War. Lunch is included. Sponsored by the Prince William County Historic Preservation Division. 10 a.m.-1 p.m. Leesylvania State Park, 2001 Daniel K. Ludwig Dr., Woodbridge. 703-792-4754. $45; reservations required. Bands, Brews & Barbecue The sixth annual event features more than two dozen breweries, local barbecue, music by Skribe, Harlen Simple and BrickYard Road. Noon-6 p.m. Manassas Museum, lawn, 9101 Prince William St., Manassas. 703-361-6599. manassasmuseum.org. visitmanassas.org. $35; designated driver, $10. Family Day: Robotics Learn all about the role of robotics and robots in the Marine Corps. Noon-3 p.m. National Museum of the Marine Corps, 18900 Jefferson Davis Hwy., Triangle. 877-635-1775. usmcmuseum.com. Free. Reunion An exhibit of paintings by Barbara Sullivan and wood art by George Jones III. Sullivan and Jones were colleagues in the medical field before retiring. This is their first joint show. Artists reception Saturday 1-4 p.m. Through Oct. 2. Loft Gallery, 313 Mill St., Occoquan. 703-490-1117. loftgallery.org. Free. Boxwood primer talk Stephen Southall of English Boxwoods of Virginia discusses boxwood care and maintenance. 1-3 p.m. St. Benedict Monastery, Basement meeting room, 9535 Linton Hall Rd., Bristow. 703-792-7747. Free; registration required. Lucasville School tour Learn about the different teaching methods, tools and games used at the one-room schoolhouse. 1-4 p.m. Lucasville School, 10516 Godwin Dr., Manassas. 703-367-7872. $5. World War II Dance The lodge is transformed into a World War II dance-hall canteen with Big Band music and refreshments. Guests are encouraged to dress in period attire. Discounts for active duty military. 7-10 p.m. Rippon Lodge Historic Site, 15520 Blackburn Rd., Woodbridge. $30. In a Fairfax County courtroom, Officer Richard Wayne Twombly explains safe driving to teenagers who are receiving drivers licenses and their parents. (Melina Mara/The Washington Post) Fairfax County judge Helen Leiner looked sternly at the dozens of teens and their parents who had been summoned to her courtroom one day last week. The family and juvenile court judge handles cases of child abuse, youth crime and other weighty matters. But on Thursday, the teens were there for a different purpose receiving their drivers licenses. The unusual ceremony required by Virginia law sets the state apart from most others, where licenses are handed out at the department of motor vehicles or sent by mail. The solemnity of the courtroom, the story of a mother who lost a child in a wreck, and the playful and heartfelt entreaties from a Fairfax County police officer elevate the event into a coming-of-age ritual for hundreds of the county's teens and their fretful parents each week. Many laughed during the ceremony, some cried and a few said they walked away with a profound new sense of responsibility. Its not just facts, its personal, said Cameron Long, 16, of the Alexandria section of Fairfax County. Her father, Steve Long, added, It had a big impact. The personal would come in a bit, but the ceremony began with a video on drunken driving and a few facts from Fairfax County Officer Wayne Twombly. He said new drivers have a higher rate of crashes because of inexperience, distracted driving and teenagers lack of fear. He quizzed them on Virginia law for new drivers (one passenger under age 21 and a midnight curfew). He spoke about three fatal crashes of teens he has dealt with in his career. It will never leave me, he said. Jamie Pumpelly, the mother of a teen who died in a car wreck in 2005, then told them how that experience had stayed with her. She knew the exact number of days since her daughter had died driving home from a party: 4,032. In front of a smiling photo of Jamie Allie Grimsley, Pumpelly relayed how the 18-year-old came to her two nights before she was to leave for college at West Virginia University. Grimsley wanted to attend one last party. She told me, This is the last night I will see my friends, Pumpelly said. Truer words have never been spoken. Grimsley, who had graduated from Hayfield Secondary School in Alexandria, was the designated driver that night and didnt drink, but on the way home she was distracted and her wheels went off the side of the road. The car slammed into a tree. Grimsley was wearing her seat belt, but she was killed instantly. Pumpelly recalled slumping to the floor of the hospital when police told her that her daughter had died. When she got home, she said she couldnt understand why her neighbors were going to work. Didnt they know the teen had died? Pumpelly said her son went to the morgue to identify his sister. He held her hand. The teen had red nail polish. Really bad things happen to good families, Pumpelly said. The mother of one teen sitting in the crowd cried softly as Pumpelly spoke. Later, the teens and their parents filed up to collect their drivers licenses and the ceremony ended. It would begin again the next week and the one after. If you can reach just one kid with the message, its worthwhile, Twombly said. Three men and a dog were rescued by helicopter Saturday after their commercial fishing boat became disabled in heavy weather associated with the Atlantic storm and ran aground off Virginias Eastern Shore, the Coast Guard said. The 60-foot fishing vessel Storm was adrift Sunday about six miles off shore, the Coast Guard said. Complicated heavy-weather events like [Hermine] require difficult decisions, and in this case, the captain and crew decided to abandon the vessel, possibly saving their lives, Capt. Rick Wester, Commander, of the Hampton Roads Coast Guard sector. Were very glad we were able to return them to safety and that they are doing well, he said in a statement. The Coast Guard said the fishing vessel went aground near Wachapreague Inlet Saturday morning, but freed itself. About two hours later, however, the crew discovered flooding on board and serious problems with the rudder. A Coast Guard boat was sent from Chincoteague, and reached the scene in 12- to 15-foot seas. At that time, the fishing boat was adrift, without steering. Conditions made a tow impossible, the Coast Guard said. A helicopter reached the scene about 1 p.m. Saturday, hoisted the vessels occupants and the dog on board within an hour, and landed in Richmond at 2:30, the Coast Guard said. A display window at the Siege Museum in Petersburg, Va. The museum, which had been popular with Civil War buffs, is closed and in need of expensive repairs, but work has been put on hold because of the citys severe budget problems. The town south of Richmond is teetering on the brink of insolvency. (Michael S. Williamson/The Washington Post) She had felt sick the night before when she broke the news to department heads, and now it was 4:30 p.m. and Dironna Moore Belton still couldnt eat her lunch. She opened her salad and found that her fiance had slipped in a note of encouragement. She was going to need the note more than the food. Belton, 38, the interim city manager, was about to step in front of the City Council and a packed hall of residents and tell them they had to make drastic even shocking cuts to city services. Reduce funding for schools whose students are already among the lowest-performing in the state. Cut fire and police services in a city that has an unusually high rate of violent crime. Close departments, shrink city pay, shut down museums. Even withdraw support for the summer league baseball team. The alternative was far worse. Without these steps, Belton would tell them, Petersburg had about a month before it would confront the unthinkable: total collapse. This city of 32,000 just south of Richmond is facing a financial crisis unusual for fiscally conservative Virginia or any state. In at least the past four years, the city spent all of its reserves and then kept spending money it didnt have. It took out short-term loans based on anticipated tax revenue to keep paying bills. When the loans ran out, it stopped paying. Some fire and rescue equipment has been repossessed. The city trash hauler is threatening to stop pickup. And lenders will not give Petersburg any more loans. In his 46 years minding state ledgers in various roles, Virginia Finance Secretary Ric Brown has never seen anything like it. As a rule, most Virginia localities are in pretty good shape, Brown said. Whats more, there is no mechanism in state law to help Petersburg no provision for bankruptcy, no set way for the General Assembly to step in. Beltons task was to make the council confront this and act. Every member would hate to hear the message, and the prescription would draw gasps and cries of disbelief from residents at the meeting later that night. And to make it a little tougher for Belton, this toxic presentation was, in effect, her job application. As interim city manager since March 4, Belton was living out a dream she had had since coming up through the Petersburg schools. Hers was an unlikely ambition a young black girl hoping to lead a city that, at the time, was largely run by whites. Now she had the chance. But she had to apply for the permanent job at the same time she was recommending measures no city wants to take. So, no, she hadnt eaten lunch. She didnt have the stomach for it. Petersburg has torn down dozens of unsafe or abandoned buildings, but other dilapidated structures still stand. The city cannot afford to demolish them. (Michael S. Williamson/The Washington Post) Eugene Wyatt enjoys his chicken and dumplings at the Dixie Restaurant in Petersburg. He is a regular at the eatery, which has been serving locals since 1945. (Michael S. Williamson/The Washington Post) A history of suffering Petersburgs budget crisis began coming to light early this year, but the city has a long relationship with suffering. Residents are quick to cite three momentous calamities, even though one occurred more than 150 years ago. [Petersburg was once a thriving, vital community] The siege of Petersburg during the Civil War continues to define the place. The fame of that nine-month stalemate, when Union Gen. Ulysses S. Grant and his forces camped outside town and residents black and white starved within, has long been a lure for history-minded tourists. Old families still tell tales of scraping by. More recently, in 1985, the tobacco giant Brown & Williamson moved out of state, taking thousands of jobs and pulling the props out of the local economy. And in 1993, a deadly tornado blasted through the downtown historic district and set back revitalization efforts by decades. Add in the recent recession and nationwide real estate crisis, and today Petersburgs economy is a shambles. Nearly 3 in 10 residents live in poverty, more than twice the statewide rate. As the population has declined from its peak in 1980, it has also aged more than 15 percent of residents are 65 or older, vs. 13 percent statewide. And its streets of dilapidated and abandoned homes can make Petersburg the butt of jokes, such as last month when actor Rainn Wilson, in town to shoot a movie, posted on Instagram a photo of a boarded-up building behind a sign proclaiming Upscale Apartment Living and captioned it courtesy of Petersburg, Virginia. So its not surprising that the city would have budget problems. But the magnitude went unnoticed or unaddressed. The previous city manager oversaw the construction of a $12.7 million public library and, early this year, had the council considering plans to replace the 1856 city hall with an $18 million complex. It all unraveled, however, after a problem with water meters. A campaign to install new smart meters throughout Petersburg was a disaster. Some of the devices were improperly calibrated, and some were installed incorrectly. Water billings went haywire. Some residents werent billed for months at a time, while others got exorbitant bills. And revenue stopped flowing to the city, causing a money crunch. Mayor W. Howard Myers said the council in March fired its city manager, William E. Johnson III, in large part because of the meter fiasco. For an interim manager, city leaders turned to Belton, who had come to oversee Petersburgs transit system in 2013 after working in state government. We felt she was doing a wonderful job with our bus transit system, and we felt that being vested in the city of Petersburg she would be the best individual to help us move forward, Myers said. She didnt know what she was getting into. Belton asked about finances and was told there was a city shortfall of about $2 million. But as she pushed for more details about the $102 million budget for the coming year, she found more problems or rather, less money. And with a short-term financing note coming due, she took the extraordinary step of asking the state finance agency to take a look. What it found stunned everyone. Petersburgs interim city manager, Dironna Moore Belton, is urging city leaders to make drastic cuts to keep the town afloat, including closing a firehouse, jailing fewer criminals, reducing library hours and slashing school spending. (Michael S. Williamson/The Washington Post) An unanticipated crisis When Belton was growing up, she would help her grandfather on his farm and one time asked him what she had to do to never work like that again. Get your education, girl, he told her. She attended a mostly black elementary school, then went to a white private middle school, then to a majority-black high school. There she was chastised for sounding too white, even as her mother would admonish her to enunciate more clearly. She never felt like she fit in. As early as sixth grade, Belton couldnt understand why a majority-black city didnt have a government that looked like the community. But later, at Virginia Tech and in graduate school at Virginia Commonwealth University, she absorbed a different message: Going back home to a struggling city would stunt her career. I took a long time in my career running from Petersburg, she said, because the city seemed lost. We were always so depressed, no matter what we did. In recent years, African Americans have assumed most city leadership positions. After seeing how successful communities around the state managed to help themselves, Belton began to think she could make a difference in Petersburg. When the transit job led to the interim city manager role, she was ready for action. She fired the city finance director. As she pushed various departments for answers, she wound up clearing out the city spokeswoman and the police chief, as well. But perhaps Beltons boldest act was to call the state for help. A team of three municipal finance experts combed through the citys books over the summer. On Aug. 3, Brown, the state finance secretary, took the unprecedented step of personally addressing the Petersburg City Council about what had been found. Thats when the full magnitude of the predicament emerged to the public. The city had, basically, three strikes against it: It had a roughly $12 million shortfall in its operating budget, had spent all its reserves and had at least $14 million in unpaid bills. It would be unable to make payroll by the end of the year. The blame fell on city leaders who had continued to fund programs even as revenue shrank or funding sources dried up. The city was using short-term loans to paper over the problem, and city staff members had apparently not communicated the full situation to the council. There is no way in the world we anticipated a crisis such as this, the mayor said in an interview. Reaction from residents was sharp. After activists calling themselves Clean Sweep Petersburg blamed the council and called for steep budget cuts, Myers, who is black, wrote a memo dismissing the group and its cause as scare tactics from a few racist and Republican supporters. Others on the council distanced themselves from his comments. But this was just outlining the problem. Now Belton had the hard task of coming up with a solution. And the clock was running, with a credible budget plan needed by early September to be able to borrow money in time to keep the doors open. She decided she needed expert help. She got the council to hire PFM Group to come up with an emergency budget plan. The consultants would be detached outsiders who could look objectively at the problem and offer rational solutions similar to the International Monetary Fund swooping into Greece to stave off financial collapse, but smaller and sadder. What they proposed, and what Belton had to sell, was a litany of municipal horrors. Its dire, and its a quagmire Nothing is good about any of these recommendations in terms of their impact, PFM Managing Director David Eichenthal told the council and a standing-room-only crowd of residents in the towns old train station the night of Aug. 23. Eichenthal, who has reviewed municipal budgets all over the country, said Petersburgs combination of structural deficit and poor cash flow is somewhat unique. Not acting to fix it, he continued in dry understatement, carried significant risk. The city could shut down in less than a month. The state might help support law enforcement, but if Petersburg stopped mandatory payments for schools, it could wind up in court. Meanwhile, other services would end. The prescription for making expenses match revenue, and thus making lenders more willing to help the city pay its bills, was humbling, even belittling, in its cold logic. PFMs report contained a catalogue of the citys shortcomings. Petersburgs three museums sources of local pride, especially Blandford Church and its exquisite collection of Tiffany stained glass were found to have a grand total of 36 visitors per day. The city should have a booming tourism industry, the consultants said, then added: It does not. Recommendation: Shut the museums. There was an unavoidable sense that Petersburg somehow didnt deserve nice things. The citys fire department, for instance, is so well-staffed and well-equipped that it recently won an insurance designation given to only the top 1.3 percent of fire departments nationwide. Unfortunately, the consultants wrote, the city is not in a position to provide fire service at this level. Despite a high rate of violent crime, the consultants recommended a way to cut police and jail expenses that drew shouts from the audience: Put fewer criminals behind bars. Take schools funding to the lowest level allowed by the state. Push more property owners designated as nonprofit to pay taxes. And the recommendation that drew the longest, angriest crowd response of the night: Increase the citys cigarette tax, currently one of the lowest in the state. At the conclusion, at Beltons urging, the council adopted the recommendations in principle. Members have until Tuesdays meeting to decide on the specific cuts and tax increases they will use to meet the bottom-line financial targets. The residents filing out of the train station generally agreed that harsh steps are needed; they just didnt like the things that would personally affect them. You cant predict crime. We all would like to have not as many inmates, said Cassandra Conover, the Petersburg commonwealth attorney. Theyre going to kill our school system, PTA President Linwood Christian said. We need a solution, but Im not sure theyve found it, said Charlie Cuthbert, a lawyer running for one of two city council seats this fall. Its dire, and its a quagmire, said Johna Vazquez, a school technology integrator. We are not allowed to fail Since the meeting, Standard & Poors has cut Petersburgs credit rating to BB from BBB officially junk status. It was already the lowest-ranked locality in Virginia; even towns in hard-hit coal country rate no lower than A. The S&P report gave the city a negative outlook, judged its management performance to be weak and questioned whether it would be able to sustain its tough budgetary plan. The state is keeping an eye on the situation. Gov. Terry McAuliffe (D) recently told a Richmond radio program that he would consider sending in state troopers to help ensure public safety. What happens in Petersburg affects the commonwealth of Virginia, and it affects our reputation in the nation and globally. So we want to make sure every part of Virginia shines, McAuliffe said. For Belton, conscious of straddling the citys racial lines, there is a particular sense of determination. One of Petersburgs most treasured landmarks is a complex of brick warehouses near the riverfront, most of them empty. Belton cannot help seeing them two ways. First, they should be producing revenue shes working with the National Park Service to open a visitors center in one; others were used in filming the PBS Civil War drama Mercy Street. But she also sees the history passed down through her family members, who told of slaves coming into the South Side Depot and being marched across the same gray cobblestones that are still underfoot to be sold in the farmers market, the women naked and graded like cattle. God really favors those whove had things like that happen to them, Belton said. Because those things happened here, we are not allowed to fail. . . . Thats really whats driving our purpose. We are not allowed to fail. Shes talking about the city, but she may also be referring to herself. Soon after the council holds its meeting Tuesday, it will reconvene to interview candidates for city manager, the terrible job that Belton nonetheless deeply wants. Myers wont say how many candidates the council is considering. Weve had a number of applicants, I can say that. A generous number of applicants, he said. There is a process, and everyone will have their opportunity to interview and tell us all the wonderful things they are . . . He paused, and Belton finished his sentence: . . . capable of doing. All their capabilities, yes, Myers said. He smiled uncomfortably, then reached toward Beltons arm. Youre not going anywhere today, anyway. Because her plan is, so far, the only idea for keeping the city afloat. Laura Vozzella contributed to this report. Jessie Quinn here with daughter Luna Williams has been cancer-free for five years, thanks to a transplant of stem cells from a babys umbilical cord. (Courtesy of Jessie Quinn) Jessie Quinn of Sacramento was 36 years old when loss of appetite, weight loss, some eye issues and finally pelvic pain sent her to the emergency room in 2010. Tests quickly revealed she had acute myeloid leukemia a type of blood cancer that progresses quickly and doctors told her that chemotherapy would probably not be enough; she would need a bone-marrow transplant. Quinn, who has a science background, knew that finding a donor would be difficult. In college, she had donated to a bone-marrow registry after learning that people like her, with a mixed racial heritage, have a much harder time than others finding a match. In fact, when she and her doctors scoured the registry for a match for her, only one name came up: her own. I didnt know whether to laugh or cry, Quinn said. While searching unsuccessfully for a match for five months, Quinn underwent four cycles of chemotherapy to keep the leukemia at bay. What eventually saved her, though, was an experimental transplant using stem cells from the blood of a babys umbilical cord, an approach that can be used without perfectly matching blood types. Colleen Delaney of the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center in Seattle helped create the cord-blood technique. (Courtesy of Colleen Delaney ) This therapy and another haploidentical transplantation, which uses bone-marrow cells that are only half-matched to a patient have revolutionized the treatment of blood cancers in the past few years. Every biological child is a half-match for a parent, and vice versa. Many patients who previously died for lack of a match are now cured of their underlying malignancy, said Richard Jones, director of the bone-marrow transplant program at Johns Hopkins Kimmel Cancer Center. A dangerous process Bone-marrow transplants, which infuse healthy blood cells taken from a donor, are used when chemotherapy and radiation fail to stop cancerous blood cells from taking over and ultimately destroying a persons immune system. The transplant can be taken from either the blood or bone marrow, which produces blood cells. The procedure is typically preceded by high doses of chemotherapy and radiation that wipe out the patients faulty blood cells and replace them with healthy ones from a donor. The process is dangerous because it leaves a patient vulnerable to life-threatening infection for months before the reconstituted immune system begins to work. In the past, a patients body would reject as a foreign intruder anything but a perfect or near-perfect match, a usually fatal development. Umbilical-cord stem cells, however, are sort of a blank slate because they havent been exposed to much life such as bacteria and viruses and thus are more easily accepted even if they arent a perfect match. When Quinns doctors found no match on the donor registry, she turned to a clinical trial examining the safety of taking blood cells from umbilical cords, expanding their numbers in a laboratory and then infusing them into patients. 1 of 26 Full Screen Autoplay Close Skip Ad The case files: Medical mysteries View Photos From a daily afternoon fever to a debilitating reaction to chemotherapy, heres a look at perplexing medical mystery cases. Caption From a daily afternoon fever to a debilitating reaction to chemotherapy, heres a look at perplexing medical mystery cases. Doctors were stumped by this 2-year-old boys symptoms. He had swollen thumbs, bleeding gums and anemia. He cried whenever anyone touched his legs. Doctors were running out of time. Read the case Cam Cottrill/For The Washington Post Wait 1 second to continue. Because each umbilical cord produces only a tiny number of stem cells, umbilical-cord transplants take longer to work than standard transplants, which makes patients more likely to get fatal infections. And if cells from several umbilical cords are used, the chances of immunity problems increase. This expanded cord-blood technique has been a huge home run for patients, said Colleen Delaney of the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center in Seattle, who helped create it. No one had successfully taken stem cells and gotten them to grow and put back in a person, she said. The advance should be particularly valuable for minorities and people of mixed-race background, whose chances of finding a matched donor were slim to none. This is where cord blood becomes an amazing and beautiful resource, Delaney said. We can find cord-blood donors for 99 percent of patients who cannot find a donor. Quinn was hospitalized for 30 days, and she said the recovery was difficult but relatively uneventful. Mostly she had to deal with overwhelming fatigue for the first year. She also developed graft-versus-host disease, which caused rashes when her skin was exposed to the sun. But she has been free of cancer for five years. She remembers learning that she had leukemia and assuming that she would soon die. It still gives me pause I went to Costa Rica that I am able to travel and went backpacking and kayaking, Quinn says. I was so sure I would never get to do those things again. Its an indescribable feeling. In haploidential transplants, rather than wiping out the patients immune system, doctors use just enough drugs to suppress it. This reduces the risk of damaging organs or causing a rejection of the donated marrow. Everybody now has a donor Parents are always haploidentical. Children are always haploidentical, Jones said. Siblings are half the time and all second-degree relatives (grandchildren, nieces, nephews) have a 50 percent chance of being a half-match. . . . Everybody now has a donor, and that is a major advance. Yet doctors and patients may not be aware there are choices other than conventional bone-marrow transplants, Jones said. Despite the recent data showing equivalency of half-matched and cord-blood transplants with conventional matched transplants, many cancer doctors and even some transplant doctors still consider these newer transplants not standard practice, Jones said. There are still lots of patients in need of transplants that are not getting them because of lack of matched donors, and that is unacceptable in the year 2016. Jones estimates that about 7,500 transplants of donated stem cells were done in 2014 primarily for leukemia and lymphoma but also for nonmalignant blood disorders such as sickle cell and aplastic anemia but that more than 15,000 could easily be done annually if more doctors embraced the new methods now available. Gregg Gordon, 44, developed leukemia in 2011. He noticed two bumps under his shin and had been feeling unusually tired. He went to his internist, who drew blood and within 24 hours Gordon was in the hospital receiving chemotherapy. His wife, Caryn, recalls how little they knew about his disease acute myeloid leukemia as doctors discussed treatment with them. We knew it would be a very long journey to battle this disease, Caryn Gordon said. He decided he would be focused on being the patient and said, Do whatever you have to do with me because I want to walk my girls [who were then 12 and 16] down the aisle. On advice of their hematologist, the Gordons traveled to Hutchinson, which has established a national reputation as a bone-marrow transplant center, but quickly discovered there was no good donor match. We thought we would find a match. It was extraordinarily shocking to us that it was impossible, Caryn recalled. According to Be the Match, which operates the national donor program, a patients likelihood of finding a donor match on their registry ranges from 66 to 97 percent, depending on ethnic background. But Gregg Gordon was able to participate in Delaneys clinical trial and, like Quinn, received lab-expanded cord blood following intensive chemotherapy and radiation. He also will be five years cancer-free in September. Not everyone is as lucky. Quinn, Gordon and 11 other participants in Delaneys clinical trial are all alive, in remission, at a median age of about 4.7 years, the researcher said, but two patients died when the disease relapsed. A larger trial using umbilical cord blood that had been expanded in a lab is underway. READ MORE He beat leukemia, so why was he feeling so bad? New therapies offer hope for a really bad brain cancer Scientists just doubled the number of known contagious cancers GERMANY Nationalists overtake Merkels party in vote An anti-immigration nationalist party performed strongly in a German state election Sunday in the region where Chancellor Angela Merkel has her political base, overtaking her conservatives to reach second place amid discontent with her policies on migrants and refugees, projections indicated. The three-year-old Alternative for Germany, or AfD, won 21 to 22 percent of votes in the election for the state legislature in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, according to projections for ARD and ZDF television based on exit polls and partial counting. They put support for Merkels Christian Democrats at 19 to 20 percent, their worst result yet in the state. The center-left Social Democrats, who led the outgoing state government, were the strongest party with about 30 percent support. Economically weak Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, in Germanys northeastern corner, is home to 1.6 million of the countrys 80 million people and is a relative political lightweight. It is, however, the state where Merkel has her parliamentary constituency, and Sundays regional vote was the first of five before a national election expected next September. Merkels refugee policies were a prominent issue in the recent campaign. Germany registered more than 1 million people as asylum seekers last year. AfD is now represented in nine of Germanys 16 state legislatures and hopes to enter the national Parliament next year. Associated Press KASHMIR Scores injured during anti-India protest About 100 people were injured Sunday as Indian government forces fired tear gas and shotgun pellets to quell thousands of protesters who pelted rocks and burned a government office in the Indian-administered portion of Kashmir, police said. Clashes erupted when police tried to stop marchers heading to a village in response to a call from separatist groups challenging Indias sovereignty over Kashmir. The area is 45 miles south of Srinagar, the main city in Indian-controlled Kashmir. Kashmir is divided between India and Pakistan and claimed by both. Also Sunday, key separatist leaders Syed Ali Shah Geelani, Mirwaiz Umar Farooq and Yasin Malik refused to meet a group of Indian lawmakers who came from New Delhi as part of Prime Minister Narendra Modis efforts to restore normalcy in the troubled region. In a joint statement, the leaders demanded that the Indian government address the core issue of the peoples right to self-determination in Jammu-Kashmir. A prolonged curfew, communication blackouts and a tightening crackdown have failed to stop recent protests, which were triggered by a rebel commanders killing on July 8. Since then, tens of thousands of people have defied security restrictions, staged demonstrations and clashed with government forces. At least 70 civilians have been killed and thousands injured, mostly by government forces firing bullets and shotguns at rock-throwing protesters. Two police officers have been killed and hundreds of government forces have been injured in the clashes. Associated Press ISRAEL Train service halts as politics, religion collide Israeli commuters began their workweek Sunday with massive traffic jams and a cancellation of train service along one of the countrys busiest routes after a religious and political scuffle within the governing coalition. The crisis erupted after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, under pressure from ultra-Orthodox coalition partners, made an 11th-hour decision to halt routine railway repairs scheduled on Saturday, the Jewish Sabbath. Orthodox Jewish law forbids work on the Sabbath, and a religious party in the coalition had threatened to quit the government unless Netanyahu halted the repairs. Netanyahus transport minister, Yisrael Katz, canceled a key train route on the Tel Aviv- Haifa line Sunday because of the delayed repairs. The government dispatched extra buses for about 90,000 affected commuters. Netanyahus office accused Katz, a senior figure in the ruling Likud party, of orchestrating the crisis to undercut the prime minister. Katz and Netanyahus close relationship tanked last month when Katz, chairman of the Likud secretariat, held a vote to revoke some powers from Netanyahu to prevent him from being able to unilaterally appoint supporters to party positions. That political drama dovetailed with ultra-Orthodox politicians complaints about Sabbath train repairs. By Sunday evening, train service had resumed. Associated Press 36 dead in bus-tanker collision in Afghanistan: Afghan authorities said at least 36 passengers, including women and children, died when their bus collided with a fuel tanker in southern Zabul province. Gul Islam Seyal, spokesman for Zabuls governor, said that more than 25 people were seriously wounded. The collision occurred in Shar-e Safa district, on the main highway linking the capital, Kabul, to the southern city of Kandahar. Seyal accused both drivers of recklessness. 2 dead, 79 rescued in Turkey tourist boat capsizing: A Turkish news agency said two people drowned and 79 were rescued after a tourist boat capsized off the coast near the southern resort of Antalya. The private Dogan news agency, citing authorities, said a Turkish woman and a Lebanese man were found dead after search-and-rescue operations. Dogan said the boat capsized in heavy rainfall and high winds. From news services Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump told the congregation at Great Faith International Ministries in Detroit, Mich., that he attended service to learn" and help remedy "injustice in any form." Trump's visit to the black church on Sept. 3 is seen as an appeal to African American voters. (The Washington Post) Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump told the congregation at Great Faith International Ministries in Detroit, Mich., that he attended service to learn" and help remedy "injustice in any form." Trump's visit to the black church on Sept. 3 is seen as an appeal to African American voters. (The Washington Post) AS THE presidential campaign enters its final stretch, this seems like a good time to ask: Will American voters allow themselves to be insulted, taken for granted and made fools of? Donald Trump seems to be betting that the answer is yes. How else to judge his assumption that he can be elected without sharing basic information? He has released no meaningful health records. He has put forward virtually no serious policy proposals. Unlike every other major-party nominee of the modern era, he refuses to release his tax forms. All of these would be essential reading material from any candidate, but the need for disclosure is especially urgent from Mr. Trump. He would be the oldest president ever elected, so his medical history is relevant. Unlike Hillary Clinton and, again, every other modern major-party candidate, he has no record of service in politics or public office by which he can be judged, so his policy intentions take on added significance. He has been on so many sides of so many issues that even serious position papers at this point would have limited credibility. But they would be better than nothing. Because his claim to the presidency is founded on his claimed success as a businessman, his tax and financial records are particularly salient. Has he really made as much money as he boasts? Has he paid taxes? Has he sheltered money in the Cayman Islands, done deals with Russian oligarchs? Who knows? Not the voters and, as far as Mr. Trump is concerned, there is no need for us to bother our little heads with such matters. As his son Eric said, You would have a bunch of people who know nothing about taxes he means us dumb voters, in case you miss the reference trying to look through and trying to come up with assumptions they know nothing about. Ms. Clinton is not always a paragon of candor. But she has released far more information about her health; far, far more information on her policy goals; and decades of tax returns. 1 of 60 Full Screen Autoplay Close Skip Ad What Donald Trump is doing on the campaign trail View Photos The GOP presidential nominee is out on the trail ahead of the general election in November. Caption The GOP presidential nominee is pressing his case ahead of Election Day. Nov. 7, 2016 Donald Trump speaks during a campaign event at SNHU Arena in Manchester, N.H. Jabin Botsford/The Washington Post Wait 1 second to continue. And heres one more reason those tax returns matter so much: A taxpayer must attest to the truthfulness of his or her returns, whereas we know that Mr. Trump in many other arenas tells falsehoods. In a book, he boasts of his habit of truthful hyperbole. On the campaign trail, he repeatedly lies Muslims celebrated in New Jersey after 9/11, Mr. Trump did not mock a reporters disability and when confronted with contrary video or documentary evidence simply repeats his fiction. Post reporter David A. Fahrenthold has painstakingly exposed Mr. Trumps falsehoods when it comes to charitable giving. What else is he lying about? We dont know, you dont know, and Mr. Trump seems to believe we can all live with that. Can we? Its a question Americans will have to answer on Election Day. Barack Obama took office in 2009 with two big personal priorities in foreign policy: the limitation of nuclear weapons and the cause of Palestinian statehood. This summer the president has been weighing a flurry of possible last-minute actions to cement his legacy on nukes, including a U.N. resolution that would ban testing. That raises an obvious question: Will Obama also launch an 11th-hour Mideast gambit? The possibility has been debated in and outside the White House ever since Secretary of State John F. Kerrys quixotic effort to broker an Israeli-Palestinian deal collapsed in 2014. All along, the assumption has been that Obama might wait to act until after the presidential election, so as to avoid creating problems for Hillary Clinton. Theres plenty of precedent: Ronald Reagan, Bill Clinton and George W. Bush all bid for a Middle East legacy during their final months. Not surprisingly, the prospect of an Obama initiative which could take the form of a speech, or at its most ambitious, a U.N. resolution is producing high anxiety in the Netanyahu world, as one former administration official puts it. That would be Benjamin Bibi Netanyahu, the Israeli leader who has haunted and taunted Obama since he took office and absorbed in return more White House animus and abuse than any other U.S. ally. In the end, Obamas final decisions on the Middle East may be driven by another drama: the Barack and Bibi endgame. For now, the old rivals are cooperating on a deal that could burnish both their legacies. Israeli and U.S. sources say negotiations are essentially complete on a new 10-year bilateral defense pact that would boost annual U.S. military aid to Israel from $3 billion to close to $4 billion. Israel would get more money for missile defense, while agreeing to gradually redirect to American firms the quarter of U.S. funding it now diverts to domestic contractors. For both leaders, the deal has a positive political twist. Obama would be able to point to it as proof that he was not, in the end, an anti-Israel president, in spite of his battles with Netanyahu over West Bank settlements and the Iranian nuclear deal. Netanyahu, who has good reason to worry about eroding support for Israel among U.S. liberals, would be able to describe the bounteous guaranteed funding as a Democratic initiative. Thats not the only reason Netanyahu has to gloat: For now, he looks like the winner on points in his eight-year bout with this president. Yes, Obama squashed Netanyahus fervent campaign against the Iran accord. But Netanyahu has not only successfully resisted Obamas pressure to allow a Palestinian state on terms he opposed, he has also continued Israeli settlement building, ignoring harsh criticism from the State Department and the White House. With years left in his own term in office, he can expect the next president, whether Clinton or Donald Trump, to drop Obamas policy of treating him as a pariah. Obama, however, still has his potential hole card: an Obama plan for Palestinian statehood. Though he lacks the means to make it happen, the outgoing president could publicly lay out U.S. terms for a settlement, much as Bill Clinton did before leaving office. If he sought ratification by the U.N. Security Council, Obama could set them in diplomatic stone. A conflict that for half a century has been defined by U.N. Resolution 242 would henceforth be governed by Obamas. The terms were largely hashed out by Kerry during his doomed diplomatic offensive. A Palestinian state would be based on Israels 1967 borders, with land swaps that would attach the largest West Bank settlements to Israel. Jerusalem would be the capital of both states. The return of Palestinian refugees to Israel would depend on a bilateral agreement. And Israel would be recognized as the homeland of the Jewish people. That formula would be quickly rejected by both sides just as it was when Obama tried to sell it to Netanyahu and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in 2014. Arab states might even block its passage by the Security Council, with help from Russia or France. No matter: Obama would be betting that pressure would slowly mount on Israel to accept the terms, perhaps accompanied by an acceleration of the boycott, divestment and sanctions movement. Ten or 20 years from now, Obama could find himself heralded as the grandfather of Middle East peace. Mavens of Middle East diplomacy point out that an Obama plan could do far more harm than good in the short term. To begin with, it could hamstring any attempt by the new president to rescue the failing U.S. position in the larger Middle East; if thats Hillary Clinton, Obama may be pressed to consult her. Well learn after Nov. 8 whether such considerations matter more to the 44th president than creating a legacy on a pet issue and trumping Netanyahu. Read more from Jackson Diehls archive, follow him on Twitter or subscribe to his updates on Facebook. You would have thought that Labor Day 2016 would bring us a serious conversation about lifting the incomes of American workers and expanding their opportunities for advancement. After all, we have spent the year talking incessantly about alienated blue-collar voters and a new populism rooted in the disaffection of those hammered by economic change. But this is not the discussion we are having. Instead, we are enduring an attack-fest between Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton. Their strategies are entirely rational. Voters are understandably skeptical about politicians getting anything done, and both candidates know they have a better chance of encouraging negative votes than securing a positive mandate. Im sorry to say the media make things worse by preferring spectacle and confrontation to digging deeply into whether this plan to promote manufacturing or that idea for raising incomes will actually work. Clinton gave a very serious speech about mental-health policy last week, but the coverage flowed to whether Trump was softening or hardening on immigration. The truth is that Clinton has offered many more serious policy proposals for raising workers incomes than Trump has. Her website is full of ideas on expanding profit-sharing, a Make it in America initiative to promote manufacturing, and plans on family leave, child care, cutting student debt and much more. One of the banes of this campaign is the medias temptation toward false balance: If a reporter says that Trump is not offering a lot of plans, he or she feels obligated to say either that Clinton is short on specifics, too, or that she may have a lot of plans but is not packaging them very well. But if the media dont want to cover them, all the bright bunting in the world wont matter. In the meantime, Trump has effectively reduced his campaign to immigration and trade (plus law and order). Hes arguing that the problems faced by U.S. workers will be magically solved if we throw millions of immigrants out of the country and if he gets a chance to negotiate much tougher trade deals. It would be good to have a sane, fact-based debate about how immigration and trade affect incomes and job opportunities. But Trumps vicious tone toward immigrants and his breathtaking lack of specificity about trade show that hes more interested in exploiting these issues than thinking about them. In the meantime, voices outside the campaign are trying to interject practical ideas that might help Americans whose incomes are lagging. The Opportunity Nation campaign will release a middle-of-the-road plan at the end of this week. Its main architects, Republican John Bridgeland and Democrat Bruce Reed, draw on ideas that have won support from both parties on expanding early-childhood programs, increasing high school graduation rates, creating much broader opportunities for national service, and finding new ways to connect the 5.5 million Americans ages 16 to 24 who are disengaged from both school and work. That there is nothing radical in the plan may be a virtue given how hard it will be to get anything through Congress if the voters again produce divided government. Well worth more attention is the 10-20-30 initiative from Rep. James E. Clyburn (D-S.C.). He would mandate that at least 10 percent of spending on federal programs go to counties where at least 20 percent of the population has lived below the poverty line for 30 years or more. Clinton has endorsed it, and House Speaker Paul D. Ryan (R-Wis.) has spoken favorably about it. When it comes to both politics and our nations divisions around race, the plan has important virtues. The 488 counties include many that are predominantly white, as well as many that are predominantly African American, Latino or Native American. Clyburn notes that the vast majority of counties that would benefit are represented by Republicans in Congress. Its also a brute fact that workers wages have declined or stagnated because the bargaining power of employees has been drastically undercut. A just-released study by the Economic Policy Institute showed that the weekly wages of non-union men without college degrees employed in the private sector would have been 8 percent higher in 2013 if union density had remained at 1979 levels. And if older union models are out of date in some sectors, we need new ones such as those proposed by Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) to strengthen the rights of Americans who work in the gig economy. This was supposed to be the election in which the interests of the non-elite finally got a hearing. We still have two months to make it happen. Read more from E.J. Dionnes archive, follow him on Twitter or subscribe to his updates on Facebook. Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-Wash.) rehearses the Republican response to the State of the Union address on Capitol Hill in 2014. (Susan Walsh/Associated Press) Regarding Cathy McMorris Rodgerss and Tim Phillipss Sept. 2 Washington Forum commentary: How to take spending off autopilot: Now let me get this straight: Ms. Rodgers, who chairs the House Republican Conference, laments Congresss appropriation of funds to unauthorized programs. Really? If her aim is to restore fiscal discipline, I suggest that Ms. Rodgers (R-Wash.) and her fellow Republican leaders should act in a way that reflects what they say they support and stop proposing foolish remedies designed to force them to do so. Alan Neuschatz, Chevy Chase Members of North Carolina student chapters of the NAACP and opponents of voter ID legislation in the gallery of the House chamber of the North Carolina General Assembly in Raleigh in April 2013. (Gerry Broome/ASSOCIATED PRESS) Every once in a while, the curtains part and we get a glimpse of the ugliest, most shameful spectacle in American politics: the Republican Partys systematic attempt to disenfranchise African Americans and other minorities with voter-ID laws and other restrictions at the polls. If you thought this kind of discrimination died with Jim Crow, think again. Fortunately, federal courts have blocked implementation of some of the worst new laws, at least for now. But the most effective response would be for black and brown voters to send the GOP a message by turning out in record numbers, no matter what barriers Republicans try to put in our way. The ostensible reason for these laws is to solve a problem that doesnt exist: voter fraud by impersonation. Four years ago, you may recall, a Republican Pennsylvania legislator let slip the real reason for his states new voter-ID law: to allow Mitt Romney to win the state. In the end, Romney didnt. But Republicans tried mightily to discourage minorities, most of whom vote Democratic, from going to the polls. Now, thanks to documents that surfaced in a lawsuit, we have an even clearer and more egregious example of attempted disenfranchisement, this time in North Carolina. As The Post reported, the documents show that North Carolina GOP leaders launched a meticulous and coordinated effort to deter black voters, who overwhelmingly vote for Democrats. The article continued, The law, created and passed entirely by white legislators, evoked the states ugly history of blocking African Americans from voting practices that had taken a civil rights movement and extensive federal intervention to stop. This year more states than ever will require potential voters to show photo ID in order to vote in the election. Here's why this is so controversial. (Monica Akhtar/The Washington Post) Post reporter William Wan backed up that tough assertion by quoting from the documents. In one email, written while the GOP-controlled legislature was crafting what has been called the most onerous voter-ID law in the nation, a staffer asked for a breakdown of the 2008 voter turnout showing whether blacks and whites differed in their preference for early voting. In another email, a Republican lawmaker wanted to know if Hispanic voters tend to vote outside their home precincts. In another, an aide to the House speaker asked for a breakdown, by race, of those registered voters in your database that do not have a drivers license number. Wan wrote that months later, the North Carolina legislature passed a law that cut a week of early voting, eliminated out-of-precinct voting and required voters to show specific types of photo ID restrictions that election board data demonstrated would disproportionately affect African Americans and other minorities. Thankfully, a three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of the Appeals for the 4th Circuit recognized the legislatures discriminatory intent and struck down the law. Republican Gov. Pat McCrory tried to appeal, but the Supreme Court refused to stay the lower courts order which means the law will not be in effect for this years election. Federal courts have also struck down new voting restrictions in Texas, Wisconsin, Kansas and North Dakota. In all cases, the laws were enacted by Republican legislatures and governors. And in all cases, discriminatory impact on minority voters is at issue. GOP officials defend these laws as necessary to protect the sanctity of the voting process. The judge in the Wisconsin case, however, found that a preoccupation with mostly phantom election fraud leads to real incidents of disenfranchisement. Some might argue that these laws are a matter of politics, not racism that Republicans may be trying to discourage Democrats from the polls but are not targeting minorities as such. Thats a distinction without a difference, however, given the GOPs estrangement from minority voters. And the North Carolina example clearly puts to rest any notion that these restrictions are colorblind. The law began as a simple 16-page bill mandating voter IDs. But in June 2013, while the legislation was still being worked on, the Supreme Court gutted Section 5 of the 1965 Voting Rights Act, which compelled Southern states with a history of voter discrimination to obtain Justice Department approval before making changes in election laws. Now we can go with the full bill, the Republican chairman of the state Senates rules committee told reporters. The legislation grew to 57 pages, with new provisions that shortened early voting, eliminated same-day registration and took away counties ability to extend poll hours to accommodate long lines, among other curbs. Republicans claim they want support from African Americans, Hispanics and other minorities. They dont deserve the time of day until they stop this appalling effort to keep us from voting at all. Read more from Eugene Robinsons archive, follow him on Twitter or subscribe to his updates on Facebook. You can also join him Tuesdays at 1 p.m. for a live Q&A. In his Aug. 30 letter, Veterans and Mr. Trump, Matthew Kralovec, responding to the Aug. 23 front-page article Veterans feeling wars toll see an ally in Trump, noted his status as a veteran of action in Iraq and Afghanistan and voiced his opinion that a Donald Trump presidency would prove catastrophic. I agree. The article and Mr. Kravolecs letter focused on veterans of recent combat zones. I, too, am a veteran. I served 20 years in the Air Force and, while I did not have front line experience, I did have experience with countering the threat of global nuclear war and working with NATO in Europe. Based on that, I believe the Republican presidential nominee knows almost nothing about world political matters at the level required to make presidential decisions. It is terrible for anyone to go through 15 years of seemingly endless conflict, but I lived through the Cold War with the threat of nuclear war looming over my family every day. I saw preparations in Europe for a possible Soviet invasion. The work I did hopefully reduced the threat in both cases. To see Mr. Trump gain a position in which he could bring these threats back to life through careless words or deeds is frightening. Stephen Marschall, Burke A coalition of civil rights groups, Democratic lawyers and the Obama administration has scored significant victories in overturning strict voting laws, highlighting how the death of Justice Antonin Scalia has removed the Supreme Court as a crucial conservative backstop for such measures. As the presidential election approaches, the challengers have rung up wins against their two top targets. Texas and North Carolina are now under judicial order to shelve comprehensive voting laws, passed by Republican legislators, that appeals courts said discriminated against African Americans and Hispanics. In Wisconsin, meanwhile, a federal judge has begun overseeing efforts to make it easier for those lacking the states required ID to cast ballots. [Big wins for those challenging strict election laws] With the Supreme Court at an ideological impasse and Senate Republicans refusing to allow hearings for President Obamas nominee to the court, Merrick Garland, the final state rules for elections throughout the country are likely to be set in a variety of decisions by state courts and lower-level federal judges. Well be in hand-to-hand combat the rest of the way, said Marc E. Elias, a Washington lawyer who has filed many of the suits challenging the laws and whose firm represents Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton and a host of party officeholders and committees. Attorney Marc Elias exits a courthouse in Arizona after a hearing in a lawsuit against the state over voting rights. (David Jolkovski for The Washington Post) [Supreme Court wont allow North Carolina to use voting law] While state officials have suffered legal setbacks in North Carolina, Texas and Wisconsin where federal courts restored some early-voting opportunities, seen as beneficial to African Americans only North Carolina has tried to get the Supreme Court to put the lower-court decisions on hold. But without Scalia, who died in February, to provide a fifth vote for conservatives, the high court deadlocked 4 to 4 and the lower-court rulings remained in place. A variety of lawsuits remain in play throughout the country. Outstanding issues include rules about the handling of absentee ballots; a question of whether proof of citizenship can be required for voter registration; challenges to purges of inactive voters; and methods for counting the votes of those who are registered and eligible but mistakenly cast their ballots in the wrong precincts. These issues are all part of an intense legal battle in which even a slight advantage for one party could prove decisive in a close contest. One hot spot is Ohio, a crucial battlefield in the presidential election and a state with a history of voting issues and litigation. Eliass efforts there were unsuccessful. The Ohio Democratic Party is trying to convince the courts that they should add back the Golden Week eliminated by the Republican-controlled legislature a short period in which people may register and vote at the same time. A district judge agreed with the Democrats. But the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 6th Circuit overruled that decision and said Ohio already provided more early voting than the vast majority of states. Elias has asked the Supreme Court to intervene. But he and election-law experts agree it will be difficult to win the majority of justices needed to put on hold any appeals-court decision when the high court is divided evenly among liberals and conservatives. [The crusade of a Democratic lawyer with multimillion-dollar backing] The question of how one writes a brief (emergency or otherwise) to capture five justices on an ideological, evenly divided court remains a great one to consider, Richard Hasen, a law professor at the University of California at Irvine, wrote last week after the courts action in the North Carolina case. Michigan is also at the high court looking for that formula. After decades of use, the state legislature eliminated straight-ticket voting, which allows a person to vote for all the candidates of a party with one motion. Democrats have opposed the GOP-sponsored law because it would slow the voting process and create longer lines, disproportionately affecting African American voters who favor straight-ticket voting. A district judge blocked the Michigan law, and an appeals court has refused to reconsider that judges decision. Michigan Attorney General Bill Schuette (R) has turned to the Supreme Court and asked for quick action on behalf of the law. In his filing, Schuette says that Michigan, by barring straight-ticket voting, is simply trying to do what 40 other states have already done. Having voters actually cast a vote for their chosen candidate rather than blindly voting for all candidates of a party is the very act of voting, so it cannot rationally be characterized as a burden on the right to vote, he wrote. States won many of the battles that preceded the general election two years ago because the conservative majority on the Supreme Court refused requests to stop their implementation. But since then, lower courts have become more critical. They have increasingly looked more closely at the intent of legislators changing election laws and whether the changes were made to disadvantage minority voters. I think the winds are changing with regards to voting rights in the courts, J. Gerald Hebert, executive director of the Campaign Legal Center, said in a recent interview. After the Supreme Court approved Indianas voter-identification law six years ago, Hebert said, most state laws requiring a photo ID were thought to be safe from challenge. The Indiana law, unlike those in some subsequent cases, was not shown to affect racial groups differently. In the recent cases, however, plaintiffs have been able to convince judges that some state laws were designed to discourage turnout by some groups or did not contain accommodations for those who lacked documentation, such as birth certificates, needed to get the photo IDs. The judges who ruled that Texas and North Carolina could not implement their laws, for instance, said requiring a photo ID was not the problem ; the problem was that the states required IDs that were most likely to be held by whites such as drivers licenses and passports and disallowed those that African Americans were more likely to possess, such as state government employment IDs or college identification cards. [Appeals court says Texas law discriminates against minorities] Sherrilyn Ifill, head of the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, said in a recent interview that trials, with expert witnesses and voluminous records, were instrumental in rebutting the states rationale that the laws were needed to combat voter fraud and restore voters confidence in the election. We always believed if we had a chance to try these cases, we could show that the rhetoric did not match the record, Ifill said. The state officials whose laws have been invalidated say the real change has come in the makeup of the judiciary after nearly eight years of Obamas nominations. Legislative leaders in North Carolina, for instance, noted that the three-judge panel that ruled that the states law intentionally discriminated was composed of judges nominated to the court by Democratic presidents. We can only wonder if the intent is to reopen the door for voter fraud, potentially allowing fellow Democrat politicians like Hillary Clinton . . . to steal the election, state Senate leader Phil Berger and House Speaker Tim Moore, both Republicans, said in a statement. And after the Supreme Court refused to reinstate the law, Gov. Pat McCrory (R) blamed the courts four liberal justices [who] blocked North Carolina protections afforded by our sensible voter laws. But Texass law was found discriminatory by a 9-to-6 vote of the full U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit, known as the most conservative in the country. The majority was composed almost equally of judges nominated by Republican and Democratic presidents. It is important to note that the Supreme Court has ruled only on emergency filings by states that want to implement their laws or plaintiffs who want to block them, since there is not enough time before the election for the justices to consider their actual merits. But eventually, the justices will have to confront whether the new laws comply with the courts precedents or even whether those precedents should remain. This will ultimately have to be reviewed by the Supreme Court, Elias said. There will be a ninth justice at some point. Bill Clinton attends Laureate International Universities Summit on Youth and Jobs in Europe in Madrid in May 2013. (Javier Soriano/AFP/Getty Images) The guest list for a private State Department dinner on higher- education policy was taking shape when Secretary of State Hillary Clinton offered a suggestion. In addition to recommending invitations for leaders from a community college and a church-funded institution, Clinton wanted a representative from a for-profit college company called Laureate International Universities, which, she explained in an email to her chief of staff that was released last year, was the fastest growing college network in the world. There was another reason Clinton favored setting a seat aside for Laureate at the August 2009 event: The company was started by a businessman, Doug Becker, who Bill likes a lot, the secretary wrote, referring to her husband, the former president. Nine months later, Laureate signed Bill Clinton to a lucrative deal as a consultant and honorary chancellor, paying him $17.6 million over five years until the contract ended in 2015 as Hillary Clinton launched her campaign for president. There is no evidence that Laureate received special favors from the State Department in direct exchange for hiring Bill Clinton, but the Baltimore-based company had much to gain from an association with a globally connected ex-president and, indirectly, the United States chief diplomat. Being included at the 2009 dinner, shoulder to shoulder with leaders from internationally renowned universities for a discussion about the role of higher education in global diplomacy, provided an added level of credibility for the business as it pursued an aggressive expansion strategy overseas, occasionally tangling with foreign regulators. A lot of these private-education guys, theyre looking to get into events like this one, said Sam Pitroda, a higher-education expert who was representing a policy commission from India at the State Department dinner. The discussion itself is irrelevant. . . . It gets you very high-level contacts, and it gets you to the right people. While much of the controversy about Hillary Clintons State Department tenure has involved donations to her familys charity, the Clinton Foundation, a close examination of the Laureate deal reveals how Bill Clinton leveraged the couples connections during that time to enhance their personal wealth potentially providing another avenue for supporters to gain access to the family. In addition to his well-established career as a paid speaker, which began soon after he left the Oval Office, Bill Clinton took on new consulting work starting in 2009, at the same time Hillary Clinton assumed her post at the State Department. Laureate was the highest-paying client, but Bill Clinton signed contracts worth millions with GEMS Education, a secondary-education chain based in Dubai, as well as Shangri-La Industries and Wasserman Investment, two companies run by longtime Democratic donors. All told, with his consulting, writing and speaking fees, Bill Clinton was paid $65.4 million during Hillary Clintons four years as secretary of state. [For Clintons, speech income shows how their wealth intertwines with charity] Details of Bill Clintons compensation are found in the couples tax returns, which were made public by his wifes presidential campaign and provide an unusual glimpse into the way a former president can make millions in the private sector. Bill Clinton has proved particularly marketable because of his global celebrity, enhanced by his foundation, his continued visibility on the political scene and his wifes stature as a senator, Cabinet official and potential president. The Laureate arrangement illustrates the extent to which the Clintons mixed their charitable work with their private and political lives. Many of those who paid Bill Clinton to consult or speak were also foundation donors and, in some cases, supporters of political campaigns for one or both Clintons. Douglas Becker, chairman and chief executive of Laureate Education, takes part in a panel discussion at a Clinton Global Initiative gathering in Rio de Janeiro in December 2013. (Dado Galdieri/Bloomberg News) Becker, for example, donated to Hillary Clintons 2008 presidential campaign and last year donated $2,700 to her current effort. Laureate has given between $1 million and $5 million to the Clinton Foundation, according to the charitys website, and made millions of dollars of charitable commitments through the Clinton Global Initiative, an arm of the foundation that arranged for corporations to make public pledges to their own philanthropic projects. Meanwhile, Laureate portrayed its association with the Clintons as a symbol of its legitimacy rather than the result of a business deal. People know that somebody like President Clinton, the most important thing to him is his reputation, Becker said in a 2010 appearance at a Laureate campus in Malaysia. And to attach himself to an organization that he doesnt believe in, he would never do it. It wouldnt make sense not just with his own legacy and history but, in his case, being the spouse of the U.S. secretary of state, for example. When Becker introduced Clinton at an event at the same campus the next year, he read a statement from Malaysias education minister declaring that there must be something very special about Laureate that has inspired President Clinton to devote his energy to such an endeavor. Aides to Clinton and representatives of Laureate characterized the arrangement as one that advanced global access to education. Angel Urena, a Clinton spokesman, said the former president engaged with students at Laureates campuses worldwide and advised Laureates leadership on social responsibility and increasing access to higher education. Adam Smith, a Laureate spokesman, said Clinton was paid to advise Laureate, inspire students and visit the campuses and communities they serve, and thats what he did, with great conviction and energy. Becker declined to be interviewed for this report. Laureate officials said that the Baltimore businessman first met Clinton through Laureate Vice President Joseph Duffey, a former Clinton administration official, at a 2007 Clinton Global Initiative event in Hong Kong. [How Clintons went from dead broke to rich: Bills $105 million for speeches] Clinton became familiar with the company after giving a few unpaid speeches on its international campuses and then grew closer with Becker when they traveled to Haiti together in 2009 to explore education issues in the troubled nation, a Clinton aide said. Laureate had grown rapidly under Becker, a college dropout who became wealthy in the 1980s after inventing a card that could store personal medical information. He launched Laureate in 2003, transforming an old tutoring company called Sylvan Learning Systems into a network of for-profit college campuses. The company has been intertwined over the years with the global financial elite. Once publicly traded, it was bought out for $3.8 billion in 2007 with investments from, among others, a private-equity firm founded by liberal philanthropist George Soros, as well as the investment firm Kohlberg Kravis Roberts. Laureate, which is taking steps to become publicly traded again, has in recent years been largely focused on growing internationally. Typically, it has purchased financially struggling colleges and vocational schools and improved management while boosting profits through expanding enrollment. The company has said in regulatory filings that it enrolls more than 1 million students on 87 campuses in 28 countries. It has five U.S. campuses. Laureate hired Clinton as scrutiny of private colleges was increasing in the United States and internationally. Congress in 2010 launched an investigation into for-profit schools, which critics say profit from needy students while making often grand but unfulfilled promises of valuable degrees. Laureate has clashed at times with regulators in other countries, such as Chile, where the law forbids for-profit education and Laureate operates by acting as a contractor to local nonprofit institutions. Clinton sometimes mingled with foreign government leaders during his appearances on Laureate campuses, such as a 2013 Laureate-hosted conference on youth unemployment in Madrid featuring top European officials. Urena said the former president never sought to influence any foreign or U.S. official on Laureates behalf. Smith said Clinton played an active role as honorary chancellor, visiting 19 locations, meeting with students and delivering speeches that were broadcast to tens of thousands of students around the world. He said Clintons role was not related to the companys business prospects. Clintons contract with Laureate was approved by the State Departments ethics office, in keeping with an Obama administration agreement with Hillary Clinton that gave the agency the right to review her husbands outside work during her tenure. An ethics official wrote that he saw no conflict of interest with Laureate or any of their partners, according to a letter recently released by the conservative group Citizens United, which received it through a public-records request. The contract itself became public through a records request by a different conservative group, Judicial Watch, but descriptions of Clintons exact consulting role were blacked out in the publicly released document and labeled as trade secrets. Laureate and Clinton aides declined to release an unredacted copy of the contract. Former president Bill Clinton, who received $17.6 million to serve as Laureate International Universities honorary chancellor, was featured prominently in the for-profit college chain's marketing material. (Obtained by The Washington Post) Clinton was featured in this brochure given to board members of a school Laureate was trying to purchase. (Obtained by The Washington Post) Based on appearances on Laureates behalf by Clinton and public statements by the company, it seems that part of the strategy in hiring the former president was to bolster Laureates image by aligning it with the former presidents famous charitable efforts thereby portraying the company as a force for good in the world. News releases about Clintons paid campus appearances often invoked his work on education issues with the Clinton Foundation. And every news release during Clintons time with the company carried his name and his title of honorary chancellor. In 2013, Clinton recorded a message to Laureate students and, without mentioning his financial ties to the company, said he joined Laureate because he admired its dedication to helping the next generation of leaders be truly educated and well prepared for your future. [The inside story of how the Clintons built a $2 billion global empire] Also that year, Laureate prominently featured its association with Clinton as part of its effort to purchase the Thunderbird School of Global Management, a 70-year-old private business school in Arizona that was struggling financially. Karen Longo, a graduate of the school who was on the board of directors at the time, recalled that Becker specifically referenced the Clinton tie when he pitched the board on the deal. She provided The Washington Post with brochures Laureate gave out at the time, featuring a letter from Clinton praising Laureate students for working to improve the world and declaring himself proud to be a part of their efforts. Clintons picture was included on multiple pages. His face, his name was in all their brochures, Longo recalled. It was a very big sell for them. She and other alumni were concerned that Laureate would lower the schools admissions standards to expand its enrollment in an effort to make more money from the campus. The more students they got, the more money they got from student-loan funds, she said. It would have been a dilution of the Thunderbird brand. Longo and four other alumni on the schools board protested the purchase to the schools accrediting agency, the Higher Learning Commission. In 2014, the commission refused to sign off on the purchase. Thunderbird has since merged with Arizona State University. Former President Bill Clinton said Wednesday that hes proud of people who have donated to the Clinton Foundation and the work the organization has done. He also defended Hillary Clintons contact with donors while serving as secretary of state. ( / AP) Laureate, meanwhile, pursued close ties with the Clinton Foundation. The company paid to send a group of international students each year to the Clinton Global Initiative conference in New York, where they conducted video interviews with CGI attendees such as actor Ted Danson and former secretary of state Madeleine Albright for broadcast to fellow Laureate students around the world. Were here with one of the most remarkable world leaders. Were here with Chelsea Clinton, said Daniel Rubio Sanchez, a student on a Laureate campus in Madrid, as he began a video interview with the former first daughter at the September 2015 CGI gathering a few months after Bill Clintons contract ended sitting in front of a glass wall inscribed with the logos of Laureate and CGI. Sanchez, 20, in an interview with The Post, called his CGI experience really, really enriching and one that has opened doors for him at European think tanks. My personal profile changed greatly, he said. The Clintons Laureate connection emerged as a campaign issue earlier this summer, when Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump charged that Hillary Clinton laundered money to her husband by funneling tens of millions of dollars in federal grants to Laureate while she was secretary of state. By all accounts, Trumps claim was false, and his campaign did not respond to requests for documentation. The company says its campuses have received about $1.4 million total over the years in grants from the State Department and its international aid arm, USAID. Of that amount, only $15,000 came while Clinton was secretary of state student scholarships funded by USAID, Laureate said. Publicly available grant records are not detailed enough to corroborate Laureates exact numbers. But the records do show that neither Laureate nor any of its campuses has received any individual grants larger than $25,000 from the State Department or USAID. Trump appeared to be drawing on and misrepresenting a report in the 2015 book Clinton Cash that grants from USAID to a separate charity chaired by Becker, the Laureate founder, increased during the Clinton years. Founded in 1989, the International Youth Foundation has partnered with Laureate campuses in some of its charitable education work. The group has received USAID funding since 1999, and its president said the increase in USAID funding under Clinton was largely a result of the receipt of multi-year grants awarded before she entered office. There is no evidence Hillary Clinton played a role in the grants, and the groups president, William Reese, said no government money went to Laureate or Becker. Though some Republicans tried to draw parallels between Laureate and Trump University, the real estate seminar company founded by Trump that faces multiple fraud investigations, Laureate is a different sort of business. Unlike Trump University, Laureates campuses are fully accredited and offer graduating students valid diplomas. Compared with other universities, including its for-profit competitors, Laureate has a relatively low percentage of students who default on their loans, seen as an indicator of student financial success after graduation. A 2012 Senate report on for-profit colleges said that Laureates flagship U.S. school, Walden University, was the best of 30 campuses studied and that students there generally fared well. Still, the company has faced some complaints. A group of students at Walden, a Minneapolis-based online school, sued Laureate in 2015, arguing that the institution unnecessarily dragged out their education so they would have to pay more. Laureate denied the allegation, and the lawsuit was settled out of court. As of July, three of Laureates five U.S. schools were included on a government list of 500 schools that receive additional financial oversight after being found out of compliance with the requirements of federal student aid programs. Outside the State Department, Laureates ties extended into the world of the Clintons in other ways. Politico has reported that Laureate and GEMS Education were both clients of Teneo Holdings, a consulting group founded by longtime Bill Clinton aide Doug Band that paid Clinton a $100,000 fee in 2011. Band declined to comment, as did Laureate. The Clintons were also close to Duffey, a top Laureate official who has been friends with Bill and Hillary Clinton since the two worked as young staffers for his unsuccessful campaign for the Senate in Connecticut in 1970. When Hillary Clinton requested that her staff invite a Laureate official to her 2009 State Department policy dinner, it was Duffey whom she recommended, according to emails released by the State Department. People who participated in the dinner said they remember a high-level conversation about using education to boost diplomacy, held amid antique furniture in the State Departments elegant James Monroe room. Duffey spoke positively of Laureates approach to overseas expansion, according to one participant. Kevin Kinser, who studies for-profit colleges at Pennsylvania State University, said that given Laureates rapid growth, it was not unreasonable to include a company representative in that setting. But he said Laureates inclusion just months before Bill Clinton began being paid by the company does not look good. They were clearly a legitimate participant in this sort of event, he said. But knowing what we know now, it does seem unseemly. 1 of 12 Full Screen Autoplay Close Skip Ad Photos of the early years of Bill and Hillary Clinton View Photos The political duo has been cultivating sources and supporters over the course of 40 years, from Arkansas to Washington and abroad. Caption The political duo has been cultivating sources and supporters over the course of 40 years, from Arkansas to Washington and abroad. 1972 From left, Bill Clinton, Sen. George McGovern (D-S.D.) and Joe Purcell at the Little Rock Airport. Clinton was working on McGoverns presidential campaign. AP Wait 1 second to continue. Tom Hamburger and Alice Crites contributed to this report. Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump, and his running mate, Indiana Gov. Mike Pence, emerge from their plane to tour the flood damaged city of Baton Rouge on Aug. 19. (Max Becherer/AP) When Mike Pence campaigned in Georgia last week, the Republican vice-presidential nominee carved out time for a private meeting with commentator Erick Erickson, a card-carrying member of the GOPs Never Trump faction. When Pence passed through Arizona last month, he paid a personal visit to another loud Donald Trump resister, Sen. Jeff Flake, who had scolded Trump for his incendiary statements during a meeting between the presidential nominee and Republican senators. Pences message to both was the same: Whatever your problems with Trump, the presidential election is a binary choice, and Trump is better than Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton. As Pence barnstorms the country rallying voters and raising money, the Indiana governor simultaneously is waging another campaign out of public view. He is trying to personally persuade Republican elected officials, business executives and others who view Trump with trepidation or outright hostility to come aboard, or at least soften their objections. So far, he has been able to tamp down some of the opposition if not win many converts. Republican vice presidential nominee Mike Pence introduces presidential nominee Donald Trump at a campaign rally in Phoenix on Aug. 31. (Carlo Allegri/Reuters) There are some of us who simply cant go for the top of the ticket and are very concerned about the implications if we embrace this Trumpism in all its forms, Flake said in an interview. Hes not able to get some of us. But hes giving it the old college try. Seven weeks into his role on the national ticket, Pence has emerged as Trumps evangelist, emissary and explainer to exasperated Republicans. A governor and former House leader with deep establishment connections, Pence serves as a bridge between the GOPs old order and the populist outsider campaign that has overtaken the party. [Pence says he will release taxes in the next week, but Trump wont until after audit] Huddling in hotel suites and private airport lounges, and often with his wife, Karen, by his side, Pence tries to assuage concerns about Trumps character by relating his personal encounters with the Trump family. To erase doubts about Trumps readiness, Pence lays out what their administration would accomplish on Day One. And to calm worries about Trumps electability, Pence describes their campaign as a historic and unstoppable movement. I see my role as just helping to tell the story, Pence said in an interview last week aboard his campaign plane. Ive had a lot of those conversations. . . . I just like to share with people our belief that this good man would be a great president, and I just share the experience that weve had with them and their family. Trump is not the sole beneficiary of Pences storytelling. Pence is helping himself, too, protecting his reputation by explaining to powerful Republicans who might look down on him for serving as Trumps running mate why he has so eagerly done so. He also is cultivating and expanding his national network, which would give him an advantage over other Republicans if Trump loses and Pence seeks the presidential nomination in 2020. Republican vice presidential candidate Mike Pence speaks to supporters on Aug. 30 at a town hall meeting in Dalton, Ga. (Matt Hamilton/AP) Although Pence did not win over Flake or Erickson, he has made some establishment Republicans more comfortable. I have had a number of people come up to me and tell me that they feel very good about this ticket because Mike is on it, Nebraska Gov. Pete Ricketts said. As traditional Republicans, and Donald Trump not being an orthodox Republican, they were concerned, but they believe that Mike brings that Midwestern stabilizing force. The reaction has been similar in Iowa, where Gov. Terry Branstad recently showed Pence around the Iowa State Fair and introduced him to establishment donors. Mike Pence is a good go-between, Branstad said. Republicans who refuse to back Trump have embraced Pence. Sen. Mike Lee (Utah), who led a protest of Trumps nomination at the Republican National Convention, invited Pence to Salt Lake City last Thursday to address his policy summit. [Introducing the Donald Trump-Mike Pence divergence tracker] Last month in Aspen, Colo., Pence met privately with New Mexico Gov. Susana Martinez, the nations first Latina governor, whom Trump attacked this year after she declined to support him. The visit, at the sidelines of a Republican Governors Association retreat, was described by Pence aides as productive, although Martinez, the RGAs chairwoman, has yet to formally endorse Trump. Her spokesman did not respond to multiple requests for an interview. A few hours later, however, Pence jetted to Albuquerque and awkwardly saw diplomacys limits. He was booed by supporters when he praised Martinez as a dear friend and great governor at a campaign rally. Since the rocky rollout of his selection by Trump, Pence has quickly found his place in Trumps orbit and settled into his own rhythms as a campaigner. The two men talk daily, often in early morning or late-night check-in calls. Hes always very interested in where we were, what the response was from people, Pence said. . . . I think hes as much interested in what my sense is of the enthusiasm and just what were hearing and seeing. In an interview last month, Trump described his relationship with Pence as phenomenal and beyond good. There is virtually no micromanaging of Pence by Trump or his top aides, in part because the Trump campaign is often preoccupied putting out its own fires. Pence is effectively running his own campaign, traveling where he sees fit and delivering a stump speech he crafted with his longtime advisers. Trump campaign officials have so much faith in Pence that their instructions to him are to ask for forgiveness, not permission, said Trump campaign manager Kellyanne Conway, who has advised Pence for years. Pence has been perfection, Conway said. Hes unflappable, hes practiced, hes polished, yet he comes across as authentic. Describing Pences independence within the campaign, she added, Hes not just Donald Trumps running mate. Hes free to be Governor Pence and Congressman Pence, to draw upon all of his insights in his life. This is a departure from traditional campaigns, in which the presidential nominee and his or her team exert tight control over the vice-presidential nominee. Sen. Timothy M. Kaine (Va.) sticks to talking points and makes appearances that are scripted and choreographed at Clinton headquarters to complement Clintons message. Still, Pence again and again has done his duty defending Trump. He is routinely asked in media interviews to respond to Trumps latest controversy, and he generally does so calmly and without incident. Mike is a consummate team player, said Marc Short, a senior Pence adviser. He does often strain to change the subject, howevever. On NBCs Meet the Press on Sunday, he struggled to explain Trumps mass-deportation proposals and refused to get into specifics. He also said he would release his tax returns within the next week, but defended Trumps decision not to do so until after an audit was complete which could be after the election. Voters have confronted Pence with some of the conspiracy theories that surround Trumps campaign, such as a young man at a town-hall meeting here in Dalton who asked Pence about unfounded claims of Clintons deteriorating health. Pence responded: Im less concerned about her bad health than I am about her bad ideas. When a woman explained her grave fear that the election would be rigged, as Trump has often suggested, Pence replied, I think your skepticism is well founded, but the response ought to be action to help turn out more voters for Trump. Asked in the interview how he navigates Trumps controversies, Pence said, They pop up. . . . But I really try to stay focused on talking about the issues that people are really concerned about. He cited the economy, national security and illegal immigration. Hes very even-keel. He doesnt get shook up or excited, Branstad said about Pence. I think hes helping reassure some people that maybe had some doubts about an unconventional candidate. But some of Pences friends voiced sympathy for his role as Trumps explainer. Its a difficult job and I know that hes a different type of person than Donald Trump, Flake said. Hes often left to explain what Donald Trump may have meant, and hes obviously very diplomatic. He needs to be. Hes loyal to a fault. [Flashback: 5 reasons why Pence is probably Trumps best pick for VP] Although Trump is a ratings-proven performer thanks to his years on reality television, Pence is a more traditional political communicator. His presentation is more crisp and focused, and his attacks on Clinton are sharper, if less cunning, than Trumps. In his speeches, Pence praises Trump as a fun-loving and fearless fighter. Hes the genuine article, Pence said here in Dalton. Shoots straight from the hip. . . . when he does his talking, he doesnt go tip-toeing around those thousands of rules of political correctness. Pence employs self-deprecating humor in contrasting himself with Trump: Other than a whole bunch of zeroes, we really have a lot in common. I mean a bunch of zeroes. He also reliably gets laughs when he describes joining the ticket: Late night, 11 oclock in the governors residence, the telephone rang and I heard that familiar voice on the phone and he said, Mike, its gonna be great! Pences routine has won the bosss approval. Trump tells his aides that picking Pence was the best move Ive made. Hes never going to outshine and I say that in a very respectful way take the stage away from the main player here, former Texas governor and Republican presidential candidate Rick Perry said of Pence. People see him as a thoughtful, solid, straight-shooter. The spotlight on Trump is so disproportionately bright that Pence is unrecognizable to many Americans. Taking his entourage and press corps to watch him get his hair cut recently in Pennsylvania, Pence got up from the chair to shake his barbers hand, and the man said, Your name was ? Mike Pence, the candidate replied. Im the governor of Indiana, and Im running for vice president of the United States. South Carolina Officer who fatally shot teen will be fired A police officer who wasnt charged in the shooting death of an unarmed South Carolina teenager is being fired from the force more than a year after the incident. Seneca Police Chief John Covington said that Mark Tiller was being terminated but declined to give a reason, calling it a personnel matter. A state prosecutor didnt press charges against Tiller for the July 2015 killing of Zachary Hammond, 19, saying that although Tiller may have made a bad decision heading toward Hammonds moving car during a drug arrest, the officer had less than three seconds to react and broke no law. Federal authorities are still investigating. Associated Press California Two bodies found in ocean off San Diego U.S. Border Patrol agents in San Diego pulled two mens bodies from the ocean just north of the Mexican border. The San Diego County Medical Examiners Office said Sunday that an agent patrolling along Border Field State Park saw a body floating in the surf just after 7 a.m. Saturday. Agents pulled the 49-year-old man to shore, and he was pronounced dead. His name was not released. Minutes later, agents saw another body in the water. He, too, was pulled to shore and pronounced dead. The coroner identified the second man as Oscar Javier Andrade Aguirre, 34, but did not release his home town. San Diego County sheriffs Lt. Jim Walker said it appeared the men drowned. He said investigators were looking into whether the men were two people reported missing while swimming in Tijuana, Mexico. Associated Press Man arraigned in fatal stabbing: Prosecutors say a New York City man fatally stabbed a 60-year-old woman after she refused his demands for money. Yonatan Galvez Marin was arraigned Sunday on charges of murder and attempted robbery. Police arrested him Saturday. A judge ordered the 22-year-old Queens man held without bail. A representative for the Legal Aid Society, which is representing Galvez Marin, didnt immediately return a message seeking comment about the charges. Prosecutors said Galvez Marin stabbed Nazma Khanam on Wednesday night as she walked with her husband in the Jamaica Hills neighborhood of Queens. Police have said Khanam, a Bangladeshi immigrant, was walking ahead of her husband, who was catching his breath, when her attacker confronted her. Khanam is the aunt of a transit police officer. She will be buried in her native country. Associated Press Indonesian Muslims gather to pray on June 7, the third night of Ramadan, at Jakartas Istiqlal mosque, the largest in Southeast Asia. Islams global numbers are skyrocketing, researchers say, particularly among youths. (Adek Berry/AFP/Getty Images) In early August, when leaders of several dozen Muslim countries gathered in Jakarta for an annual economic conference, some of the speakers acknowledged that things are not looking good for their global community. Chaos continues to grip their heartland in the Middle East, they noted, and anti-Muslim politicians are drawing unprecedented support in Europe, the United States and elsewhere. When Indonesian President Joko Widodo spoke, however, the World Islamic Economic Forums host offered a bracing dose of optimism. Citing data from a landmark 2015 Pew study showing that the number of Muslims worldwide is expected to grow by 73 percent from 2010 to 2050, the head of the worlds most-populous Muslim-majority nation told his counterparts that their countries must seek to leverage their fundamental strength: a huge and expanding youth population. Muslim societies have the best demographics of any demographic group in the world, with the highest proportion of young people, he said. According to Pew, Muslims are expected to outnumber Christians by about 2070. The data Widodo cited was sound; demographers largely consider the Pew studys forecasts reasonable. But his main contention that the Muslim worlds comparative youthfulness and high fertility rate represent a strength is a matter of debate among economists, and his assertion last month sparked discussion in Indonesia and beyond about how much youth is too much. The youth bulge, seen when infant mortality drops while fertility rates remain high, can indeed boost economies by increasing the number of people available to work, experts agree. But it also can lead to social instability if the masses of working-age youths are unable to find productive jobs. The youth bulge can be both a gift and a curse, said Ragui Assaad, a professor who specializes in labor economics at the University of Minnesotas Humphrey School of Public Affairs. You either generate good jobs or a lot of people fall into unemployment, creating the possibility for unrest and frustration. The Muslim world as a whole, of course, is unlikely to swing in just one direction, as every Muslim-majority country faces particular economic and social circumstances that will affect whether it can productively integrate its youths. A handful of Muslim countries, such as Iran and Malaysia, have implemented strong birth-control policies to lower their birthrates to below-replacement levels, lessening the challenges facing young job seekers. Still, the overall trend is of a global Muslim community that has lowered its birthrate at a much slower pace than the rest of the world, according to Pew senior demographer Conrad Hackett. That Muslims are growing twice as fast as the worlds population is really striking and remarkable, he said. When young people lack economic opportunities and the prospect of being able to support families of their own, experts say, they are especially susceptible to the lure of anti-establishment ideology. In Latin America during the 1970s and 1980s, when countries in the region were experiencing youth bulges, that draw often was Marxism, Assaad noted. But it could take the form of austere varieties of Islam for disgruntled Muslim youths today. [This is how Islamist extremists use Western anti-Islam rhetoric to help recruit] Egypt, Tunisia and Syria during the Arab Spring when restive youth-led movements challenged (and in the first two cases, toppled) the ruling order are taken as recent textbook cases of the link. Assaad suggested there is a connection between the recent drop-off in political violence in Latin America and demographic changes. Now the last rebel-group movement is declaring peace, he said, alluding to Colombias FARC. Latin America basically crossed its youth-bulge period some time back, so it does have less of a risk factor now. Richard Cincotta, a political demographer at the bipartisan Stimson Center who advises the National Intelligence Council on how demographic trends influence the geopolitical landscape, also acknowledged the appeal of radical, often violent, groups to disaffected youths. You cant just generalize to say all these young guys will become terrorists or something, he said. But you can say they are available, and vulnerable, and they are in a part of their life where you want to impress your friends when youre ideologically naive, and youre searching for an identity that [the groups] are good at providing. Another reason experts are wary of Widodos optimism about soaring Muslim population numbers is that advances in technology and automation appear to be removing jobs from economies faster than they are adding them which only exacerbates the problem of youth employment. Theres always been a neoclassic assumption [that] economy needs labor, [that] labor and economic growth go together, Cincotta said. Now theyre becoming disassembled. In Widodos Indonesia, which currently is seeing a youth bulge, concern is growing that the generally poor quality of public education, combined with the effects of a sky-high youth smoking rate, will make it hard for the country to capitalize on the surfeit of young people in the way the president envisaged. There is a trade-off between quality and quantity, said Aris Ananta, a professor of demography at the University of Indonesia. Indonesia still needs to raise productivity and improve education and health. Shadi Hamid, a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution, said Muslim leaders pride in their faiths population surge is not only about economics. Theres a sense that Islam has a vitality that other religions dont, he said. It could be that this significant increase in population could be a negative thing economically for the Muslim world, but some Muslims might be proud of that fact irrespective of the economic outcome. The one thing demographers are clear about is that demography is not economic destiny, either way. As an academic, I will say the president is half-right and half-wrong, said Assaad. It is called window of opportunity, not demographic gift. You can make use of it if you can grow fast and develop jobs. But that has not materialized in the Middle East, and for Africa its still an open question. Read more ISIS-inspired attackers bid to bomb Indonesian church fizzles out literally Southeast Asia could be a haven for displaced Islamic State fighters Back-to-the-land spiritual movement in Indonesia sparks government crackdown Todays coverage from Post correspondents around the world The Philippines has asked China to explain the presence of a larger-than-usual number of ships near the Scarborough Shoal, raising the prospect of fresh tension in the South China Sea. With the Group of 20 leaders gathered in the southern Chinese city of Hangzhou, a Philippine Air Force overflight reportedly spotted at least eight ships near the disputed shoal, including four Chinese coast guard vessels, two barges and two boats that could be troop carriers, according to the Department of National Defense. Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana on Sunday expressed grave concern about the number and nature of the vessels, saying the presence of barge-like ships could signal Chinese plans to dredge and potentially build in the area. In a regular press briefing on Monday, Hua Chunying, a spokeswoman for Chinas Foreign Ministry, downplayed the idea of a change in policy or posture. The situation has not changed, she said. Yet the timing and nature of the Filipino reports make the news tough to ignore. Since July, when a European court ruled there is no legal or historical basis for Chinas claims to most of the South China Sea, the Scarborough Shoal has been seen as a likely hotspot. The shoal, known as Panatag in the Philippines and Huangyan Island in China, is located about 120 miles from the Philippine coast, close to the former U.S. military base at Subic Bay, where a growing number of U.S. ships now dock. China seized controlled of Scarborough in 2012 and has since angered Manila by chasing out Filipino fishermen. In July, the Permanent Court of Arbitration ruled that barring Filipinos from the shoal violated traditional fishing rights but the Chinese did not budge. Many foreign experts and diplomats believe China may ultimately build on Scarborough, potentially turning it into a military outpost, just as they have done in the nearby Spratly Archipelago. But most believed China would wait until after this weeks G20 meetings, or even after the U.S. presidential election, to make any move. The fact that new ships were reported the day before Chinas Xi Jinping had tea with President Obama in Hangzhou is therefore something of a surprise. In Beijing on Monday, Hua, the spokeswoman, warned against seeing a message in the timing. We hope the situation wont be hyped up, she said. Read more: China, Philippines and the South China Sea ruling International tribunal rejects Beijings claims to South China Sea Todays coverage from Post correspondents around the world French business owners and locals blockade the main road into the Port of Calais as they await the arrival of a convoy of trucks protesting against the Jungle migrant camp. (Jack Taylor/Getty Images) French truck drivers and farmers began a massive demonstration on Calais roadways on Monday, threatening to block the northern French port until the citys major migrant camp is dismantled. The blockade was largely symbolic, with columns of large trucks and tractors arranged on a major access road into the port, the busiest passenger port in France. On Monday, the Port of Calais confirmed that harbor traffic continued without impediment, with the ferry service for Dover operating as usual. Mondays protest was the latest escalation in the long-brewing political drama over the Jungle camp outside Calais, one of the most visible symbols of Europes ongoing migrant crisis, nestled between two of the continents wealthiest capitals. In squalid conditions seldom seen in Western Europe, thousands of migrants and refugees no one can agree on exactly how many live in stateless limbo, outside the authority of any government. Last month, local authorities here said that 6,900 migrants and refugees live in the Jungle, but humanitarian aid organizations such as Help Refugees and Auberge des Migrants place the figure much higher, about 9,000. Whichever is correct, Mondays protesters say the number of migrants outside their city is far too high, and they are demanding an immediate solution to what they are describing as a recent spike in violence on nearby roads. Even after the United Kingdoms Brexit vote to leave the European Union in June, a majority of the migrants and refugees in the Jungle are still desperate to reach Britain, just 20 miles from Calais across the English Channel. Truckers complain that in recent weeks, the migrants desperation has translated into staging dangerous barricades and other diversions on major thoroughfares in order to climb aboard British-bound vehicles before they enter the Channel Tunnel. A migrant at the Jungle camp sits next to the security fence protecting the road into the Port of Calais. (Christopher Furlong/Getty Images) We are determined to show that we are not happy with the situation, Jean-Pierre Devigne, an official with Frances largest trucking union, the National Federation of Road Transport, told the BBCs Radio 4 on Monday. We [will] stay for the time we need. In advance of Monday's protest, Bernard Cazeneuve, Frances interior minister, said Friday that France would pursue demolishing the Jungle with the greatest determination. He also said the government would create shelter spots for an additional 8,000 refugees and migrants, to be followed by thousands more in 2017. But the governments partial demolition of the Jungles most populous area six months ago led to few material changes. Since that initial demolition, the Jungles population has grown, according to the government and aid organizations. Thousands of migrants and refugees are still living on the outskirts of Calais, and the squalid conditions they inhabit have hardly improved. In the French and British media, some drivers have reported individuals with knives and other weapons waiting by the sides of roads, but aid organizations insist that these are most often people-smugglers, not migrants themselves. Demolition of the Jungle, they argue, would only exacerbate a general situation that has worsened in the past year. In a statement, Clare Moseley, the founder of Care4Calais, a nongovernmental aid organization, said that demolitions do not act as a deterrent. The refugees come because they have no choice they are fleeing war and persecution. Destroying their homes achieves nothing more than making living conditions so much more inhumane. Despite Mondays demonstration in Calais, the Jungles frequent invocation in talks between French and British leaders belies its actual significance in Europes migrant crisis. It is merely the largest migrant camp in France, where only about 70,000 of the 1 million migrants and refugees who arrived in Europe in 2015 have claimed asylum, according to Eurostat, the E.U.s statistical agency. As Greece and Italy become front lines for processing arrivals, nations such as Germany, Hungary and Sweden have all welcomed tens of thousands of migrants or in Germanys case, hundreds of thousands more than France. But increasingly vocal French officials including the former president Nicolas Sarkozy, now eyeing a second term in office have insisted that the Jungles demolition be a priority. Last month, Cazeneuve met in Paris with Britains home secretary, Amber Rudd, and they issued a joint statement pledging to strengthen their border cooperation and beef up security. We are committed to working together to strengthen the security of our shared border, to strongly diminish the migratory pressure in Calais and preserve the vital economic link supported by the juxtaposed controls in Calais, the statement read. But the issue has been raised repeatedly in the run-up to next years French presidential election. Since most of these foreigners come to Calais to enter the U.K., I want our British friends to now assume the processing of applications from those who want asylum, Sarkozy told a northern French newspaper. In Britain, most parties involved have rejected these calls out of hand. The French know just as well as we do that this would be a disaster for both nations, Charlie Elphicke, a Conservative member of Parliament representing Dover, wrote in the Mail on Sunday. Instead, he said, it is critical to smash the people-traffickers. These modern-day slavers must be caught and jailed put behind bars for at least 20 years and have all of their assets seized. In the Jungle on Monday, a misty fog kept most migrants inside their makeshift tents and shelters, structures typically meant for three or four people now often made to house eight or more. Among them was Kumar Youns, 36, who has been in the camp for three months, having traveled from his native central Sudan through Libya, the central Mediterranean and, finally, France. Like so many others here, he wants to enter Britain, where he hopes his wife and two young children will be able to join him. Youns said his first reaction when he arrived in Calais was one of surprise. France is a big country that has power, he said, sitting in a tent littered with clothes, food and dirt. This is not the first world. And as Calais citizens and truck drivers report violence on the roadways, Youns said he also sees violence such as the time a car stopped as he was walking on the street and a man threw a bottle of rum at him, the night of the France-Germany soccer game during the Euro 2016 finals. They refuse to treat us like were human, he said, noting that he never tells his family any of these stories during their weekly phone calls. I wont tell them the truth, he said. Adam reported from London. Read more Minister says French migrant camp to be dismantled, no date As Jungle camp taken down, French police clash with migrants In French migrant camps, volunteers provide what governments will not Todays coverage from Post correspondents around the world Student leader Joshua Wong (R) greets candidate Nathan Law (2nd R) as supporters share their joy after Law won in the Legislative Council election in Hong Kong. (Bobby Yip/Reuters) In 2014, tens of thousands of Hong Kong residents took to the streets in a defiant challenge to China. They called for full democracy, universal suffrage and the protection of their way of life. But few spoke of independence until now. Two years after the umbrella revolution swept Hong Kong, with rising anger about Beijings influence in the city, what once was a fringe position has become a nascent political force. On Sunday, in the first election since the 2014 protests, a record number of Hong Kong voters chose several candidates who either support the idea of independence from China, or have called for far greater autonomy. According to early results, the new faces include Sixtus Leung, a 30-year-old who has said he supports independence, and Nathan Law, a 23-year-old student leader who helped lead the 2014 protests and is calling for a referendum on self-determination. The results will not immediately change Hong Kongs governance. Only half of the seats of the citys 70-member legislative council are directly elected through universal suffrage; half are functional constituencies that give corporations, associations and chambers of commerce actual votes. Yet the strong showing by young, pro-independence and pro-democracy candidates means that those critical of Beijings influence will maintain the ability to veto policies proposed by the pro-China camp. And it sends a clear message to Beijing: The battleground may have shifted, but the fight for Hong Kong is on. Over the past four years, Hong Kongs political landscape has been radically reshaped. In 1997, the onetime British colony was returned to Chinese rule under an arrangement known as one country, two systems. Hong Kong would maintain certain rights and separate laws for 50 years but would be beholden, ultimately, to Beijing. In the two systems framework, many in Hong Kong saw space for political change. And for the better part of 15 years, the citys pro-democracy camp worked within the system for that goal. When people in Hong Kong last voted in legislative elections, in 2012, independence was not on the agenda. But 2014 changed that. In June of that year, Beijing issued a white paper that confirmed some of the democracy movements worst fears about the Chinese governments plans for Hong Kong. One country, two systems does not mean autonomy, it said, but rather the power to run local affairs as authorized by the central leadership. By September, anger about the paper, combined with outrage about the arrest of student leaders, culminated in the peaceful occupation of one of Asias financial centers for 79 days. But thousands of people sleeping on a major thoroughfare did not secure a single concession from Beijing. And by the time the crowds dispersed and the tent city was torn down, many thought the movement was over. Perhaps it could have been. But in the years since, Beijing has done little to ease fears. Last winter, five men affiliated with a Hong Kong publishing house that specializes in gossipy books about Chinese leaders disappeared abducted, it later emerged, by Chinese security forces. [The saga of Hong Kongs abducted booksellers takes a darker turn] One of the men, Lee Bo, is thought to have been spirited away from a Hong Kong warehouse and smuggled across the border to the Chinese mainland an act widely considered a violation of one country, two systems. While missing, he sent strange, seemingly scripted letters back to Hong Kong claiming that he was not missing but assisting with an investigation. As the farce unfolded, Hong Kongs government was either unwilling or unable to help. This and other incidents have fueled a surge in anti-China sentiment and an interest in the idea of independence, especially among the young. Rather than address that anger, though, the government has tried to outlaw it. In July, Hong Kongs election commission said candidates in the legislative election had to sign a pledge accepting three clauses in the citys mini-constitution, known as the Basic Law, that say Hong Kong is part of China. Six candidates were later barred from running because of their views. In August, Hong Kong teachers were warned that they could lose their qualifications if they advocated independence in schools. Hong Kongs leader, Leung Chun-ying, said that the citys teachers should stop students from talking about independence just as they stop them from doing drugs. Another official, Fanny Law, said on the radio that the topic is simply too complicated for school. The interest does not mean that independence is likely, but it suggests how hard it will be for Chinas leaders to win hearts and minds as the gap between Beijing and Hong Kong seems to grow. In a poll published in July by the Chinese University of Hong Kong, about 17 percent of 1,010 Hong Kongers surveyed said they support independence after 2047. The survey found that less than 4 percent thought independence was possible. In Beijings eyes, of course, it is absolutely not an option. In May, a top Communist Party official, Zhang Dejiang, dismissed independence out of hand, warning Hong Kong against moves to resist the central government. Read more: Todays coverage from Post correspondents around the world Chancellor Angela Merkels Christian Democratic Union suffered an embarrassing drubbing in her own constituency on Sunday, with voters in local parliamentary elections kicking the party into third place while giving a boost to her new nemesis: the anti-migrant Alternative for Germany party. The official results, released early Monday, underscored the tough road ahead for Merkel as she weighs whether to make a fourth bid to lead Germany in national elections next year. Although her home constituency of Mecklenburg-West Pomerania is one of the least populous German states, the outcome highlighted the extent to which her decision last year to open Germanys doors to a historic influx of asylum seekers has boosted the populist Alternative for Germany (AfD). [Merkel defends asylum policies, says Germany is at war with Islamic State] In fact, Sundays vote came a year to the day after Merkel announced Germany would keep allowing in migrants who were bottlenecking in Hungary, which sealed its borders last year as the number of asylum seekers soared. Senior members of her own center-right party and its sister party, the Christian Social Union of Bavaria, directly blamed Merkels refugee policy for the loss, calling Sundays results a bitter defeat and a wake-up call. It takes time for lost trust to be regained, the CDUs secretary general, Peter Tauber, said Sunday. In the vote, the center-left Social Democratic Party came in first with 30.6 percent, followed by the AfD with 20.8 percent. Merkels CDU came in third with 19 percent its worst showing ever in the state. The outcome echoed the strong results for the AfD in local elections in three German states last March and once again proved that the party, formed in 2013, is emerging as a significant political force. In Mecklenburg-West Pomerania, as they have elsewhere, its candidates zeroed in on public alarm over crime and security in the wake of the migrant influx and played up their own German heritage. Merkel herself is responsible for the failure of her party. . . . One can call this the beginning of the end of the CDU, AfD chairwoman Frauke Petry told reporters on Merkels home turf on Sunday. In the aftermath of the loss, top CDU officials openly blamed Merkels refugee policy. Although the number of migrants arriving in Germany has sharply fallen because of border controls in the Balkans and an E.U. deal with Turkey, domestic critics still say the German government is moving too slowly in processing applications and deporting migrants who do not qualify for political asylum. Bavarias finance minister, Markus Soder, a member of the Christian Social Union, said Merkel must do more to crack down on migrants. The result must be a wake-up call for the Union, he told the Bild newspaper. The mood of the people can no longer be ignored. A change of course is needed in Berlin. The SPD has been escalating its criticism of Merkels refugee policy, insisting Germany has exhausted the limits of its ability to help. Yet even though it emerged on top on Sunday, the SPD and other parties on the left also lost voters to the AfD suggesting the AfD has the ability to poach voters from both sides of the political spectrum. But that was cold comfort for Merkels CDU, which is now on the defensive as Germans wait to hear whether she will run next year a decision she has said she would not make until the spring. [Alarmed Germans wonder about the security risks posed by asylum seekers] Despite the setback on Sunday, Merkel nevertheless remains in a relatively strong position. The single biggest factor in her favor, analysts say, is the lack of a political rival strong enough to challenge her. I dont think that Merkel is in very big danger, said Oskar Niedermayer, a political scientist at Free University Berlin. Her ratings have gone down significantly, but so did the ratings of her possible successors. In addition, the AfD may have trouble translating its local wins to national success. Considered political outsiders that mainstream parties are unlikely to work with, the AfD lacks a strong national machine and would probably face a hard time forming a ruling coalition even if it scored big in a national vote. Speaking to Bild in an interview published on Sunday, Merkel defended her plan to manage the migrant crisis. She said she regretted nothing about her decision last year to keep German doors open to migrants. We are a country that puts the dignity of every single human being at the center of things, she said. And if you are facing a humanitarian catastrophe like the one in Syria, you have to take a stand. Stephanie Kirchner contributed to this report. Read more: After Brexit vote, an uneasy Germany wrestles with whether to lead Amateur terror attacks may mark a new chapter in the ISIS war in Europe Court orders new election in Austria, opening window for far-right Todays coverage from Post correspondents around the world U.S. intelligence and law enforcement agencies are investigating what they see as a broad covert Russian operation in the United States to sow public distrust in the upcoming presidential election and in U.S. political institutions, intelligence and congressional officials said. The aim is to understand the scope and intent of the Russian campaign, which incorporates cyber-tools to hack systems used in the political process, enhancing Russias ability to spread disinformation. The effort to better understand Russias covert influence operations is being coordinated by James R. Clapper Jr., the director of national intelligence. This is something of concern for the DNI, said Charles Allen, a former longtime CIA officer who has been briefed on some of these issues. It is being addressed. A Russian influence operation in the United States is something were looking very closely at, said one senior intelligence official who, like others interviewed, spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss a sensitive matter. Officials also are examining potential disruptions to the election process, and the FBI has alerted state and local officials to potential cyberthreats. The official cautioned that the intelligence community is not saying it has definitive proof of such tampering, or any Russian plans to do so. But even the hint of something impacting the security of our election system would be of significant concern, the official said. Its the key to our democracy, that people have confidence in the election system. The Kremlins intent may not be to sway the election in one direction or another, officials said, but to cause chaos and provide propaganda fodder to attack U.S. democracy-building policies around the world, particularly in the countries of the former Soviet Union. [Russias anti-American fever goes beyond the Soviet eras] U.S. intelligence officials described the covert influence campaign here as ambitious and said it is also designed to counter U.S. leadership and influence in international affairs. Their comments came just before President Obama and Russian President Vladimir Putin talked privately about cyberspying and other matters on the sidelines of the Group of 20 talks in China. After their meeting Monday, Obama acknowledged tensions over digital espionage and said the United States had strong capability in this area. Our goal is not to suddenly, in the cyber arena, duplicate the cycle of escalation we saw when it comes to other arms races in the past, Obama said. One congressional official, who has been briefed recently on the matter, said Russian active measures or covert influence or manipulation efforts, whether its in Eastern Europe or in the United States, are worrisome. It seems to be a global campaign, the aide said. As a result, the issue has moved up as a priority for the intelligence agencies, which include the FBI and the Department of Homeland Security as well as the CIA and the National Security Agency. Some congressional leaders briefed recently by the intelligence agencies on Russian influence operations in Europe, and how they may serve as a template for activities in the United States, were disturbed by what they heard. After Senate Minority Leader Harry M. Reid (D-Nev.) ended a secure 30-minute phone briefing given by a top intelligence official recently, he was deeply shaken, according to an aide who was with Reid when he left the secure room at the FBIs Las Vegas office. The Russian government hack of the Democratic National Committee, disclosed by the DNC in June but not yet officially ascribed by the U.S. government to Russia, and the subsequent release of 20,000 hacked DNC emails by WikiLeaks, shocked officials. Cyber analysts traced its digital markings to known Russian government hacking groups. [Cyber researchers confirm Russian hack of DNC] Weve seen an unprecedented intrusion and an attempt to influence or disrupt our political process, said Rep. Adam B. Schiff (Calif.), the ranking Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee, speaking about the DNC hack and the WikiLeaks release on the eve of the Democratic convention. The disclosures, which included a number of embarrassing internal emails, forced the resignation of DNC Chairwoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz. Members of both parties are urging the president to take the Russians to task publicly. Sen. Ben Sasse (R-Neb.) in a statement urged Obama to publicly name Russia as responsible for the DNC hack and apparent meddling in the electoral process. Free and legitimate elections are non-negotiable. Its clear that Russia thinks the reward outweighs any consequences, he wrote. That calculation must be changed. . . . This is going to take a cross-domain response diplomatic, political and economic that turns the screws on Putin and his cronies. Another Republican, Sen. Daniel Coats of Indiana, a member of the Senate Intelligence Committee, said Sunday that if Moscow is indeed trying to influence the U.S. election, such actions would be an outrageous violation of international rules of behavior and cannot be tolerated. Administration officials said they are still weighing their response. Russia has denied that it carried out any cyber-intrusions in the United States. Putin called the accusations against Russia by U.S. officials and politicians an attempt to distract the publics attention. It doesnt really matter who hacked this data from Mrs. Clintons campaign headquarters, Putin said in an interview with Bloomberg News, referring to Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton. The important thing is the content was given to the public. [Russian hackers targeted Arizona election system] The Department of Homeland Security has offered local and state election officials help to prevent or deal with Election Day cyber disruptions, including vulnerability scans, regular actionable information and alerts, and access to other tools for improving cybersecurity at the local level. It will also have a cyber team ready at the National Cybersecurity and Communications Integration Center to alert jurisdictions if attacks are detected. Last month, the FBI issued an unprecedented warning to state election officials urging them to be on the lookout for intrusions into their election systems and to take steps to upgrade security measures across the voting process, including voter registration, voter rolls and election-related websites. The confidential flash alert said investigators had detected attempts to penetrate election systems in several states. Arizona, Illinois and both the Democratic and Republican parties, as well as the DNC, have been the victims of either attempted or successful cyberattacks that FBI agents with expertise in Russian government hacking are investigating. Federal law enforcement and local election officials say the decentralized nature of the voting process, which is run by states and counties, makes it impossible to ensure a high level of security in each district. I have a lot of concern about this years election, said Ion Sancho, the longtime supervisor of elections in Leon County, Fla. America doesnt have its act together. Sancho, who has authorized red-team attacks on his voting system to identify its vulnerabilities, added: We need a plan. Sancho and others are particularly concerned about electronic balloting from overseas that travels on vulnerable networks before landing in the United States, and about efforts to use cyberattacks to disrupt vote tabulations being transmitted to state-level offices. Encryption, secure paper backups and secure backup computers are critical, he said. Tom Hicks, chairman of the U.S. Election Assistance Commission, an agency set up by Congress after the 2000 Florida recount to maintain election integrity, said he is confident that states have sufficient safeguards in place to ward off intrusions. He noted that electronic balloting from overseas is conducted by email, not through online voting machines. The overseas voter waives their right of privacy by emailing the ballot, which is tabulated by election officials. The email may still be hacked, but it is not a systemic risk, he said. Recently, Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson said he favors designating the voting systems used in the countrys 9,000 polling places as critical infrastructure in other words, as vital to the nations safe functioning as nuclear power plants and electrical power grids. [Readout of Secretary Jeh Johnsons call with state election officials on cybersecurity] Such a designation could mean increased DHS funding to localities to help ensure that voter registration, ballots and ballot tabulation remain free from interference. But it wont happen before the November elections, federal and local officials said. Russia has been in the vanguard of a growing global movement to use propaganda on the Internet to influence people and political events, especially since the political revolt in Ukraine, the subsequent annexation of Crimea by Russia, and the imposition of sanctions on Russia by the United States and the European Union. The Baltic states, Georgia and Ukraine have been subject to Russian cyberattacks and other hidden influence operations meant to disrupt those countries, officials said. Our studies show that it is very likely that [the influence] operations are centrally run, said Janis Sarts, director of the NATO Strategic Communications Center of Excellence, a research organization based in Riga, Latvia. He also said there is a coordinated effort involving [groups using] Twitter and Facebook and networks of bots to amplify their message. The main themes seem to be orchestrated rather high up in the hierarchy of the Russian state, and then there are individual endeavors by people to exploit specific themes. Sarts said the Russian propaganda effort has been successful in exploiting the vulnerabilities within societies. In Western Europe, for instance, such Russian information operations have focused on the politically divisive refugee crisis. On the eve of a crucial post- revolution presidential vote in Ukraine in 2014, a digital assault nearly crippled the countrys Central Election Commissions website. Pro-Moscow hackers calling themselves the CyberBerkut claimed responsibility, saying they were not state-affiliated, but the authorities in Kiev blamed Moscow. The Russians used a denial of service technique, flooding the commissions Web server with a high volume of requests, which was meant to slow down or disable the network. North Korean leader Kim Jong Un is seen during the test fire of a strategic submarine-launched ballistic missile in an undated photo released by North Korea's Korean Central News Agency in August. (KCNA/via Reuters) North Korea fired three medium-range ballistic missiles into the sea off its east coast Monday, landing close to Japan, in a show of force that coincided with the meeting of leaders of the worlds 20 largest economies in neighboring China. North Korea launched the missiles, believed to be Rodongs, from a site south of Pyongyang at 12:14 p.m. local time, South Koreas military said. They flew about 600 miles and landed well inside Japans air defense identification zone, the area in which Tokyo controls aircraft movement. The launches, coming as the G-20 meeting continued in the eastern Chinese city of Hangzhou and just days before North Korea marks the 68th anniversary of the formation of its government, constituted an armed protest, an official from South Koreas joint chiefs of staff said in a statement. We are fully prepared to fight tonight in case North Korea makes any provocative moves, the statement said, according to the Yonhap News Agency, using the catchphrase of the American and South Korean military allies. Japans Defense Ministry added that the missiles landed between 120 and 160 miles west of Hokkaido, the northernmost of Japan's four main islands. At the G-20 meeting, South Korean President Park Geun-hye and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe met immediately and agreed to cooperate against North Korea. In Washington, State Department spokesman John Kirby said the United States strongly condemns the launches. These launches, which have become far too common in the past several months, violate multiple UN Security Council Resolutions explicitly prohibiting North Koreas launches using ballistic missile technology, he said in a statement, adding that U.S. officials would raise the issue during the meeting of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations in Laos on Tuesday. Our commitment to the defense of our allies in the face of these threats remains ironclad, Kirby said. Mondays launches were just the latest salvo in a steady series of missiles coming from North Korea. Last month, Kim Jong Uns regime claimed a great success in launching a ballistic missile from a submarine about 300 miles toward Japan, on top of making progress on its medium-range Musudan missile technology. [North Korea hails greatest success of submarine-launched ballistic missile] This is a particularly tense time in the region because of frictions over the Terminal High Altitude Area Defence (THAAD) anti-missile battery that the United States will deploy to South Korea, part of their defense against North Korea. Beijing has protested strongly against the plan, viewing it as part of an American effort to restrain a strengthening China, and worrying that the system will home in on Chinas military activities. The issue has helped close the gap between China and its erstwhile client state, North Korea, after the provocations of a nuclear test and long-range missile launch earlier this year. Beijing and Pyongyang have traditionally been as close as lips and teeth, as the saying goes, but Xi Jinping, Chinas president, has made his disdain for the young Kim clear. [ U.S. policy on North Korea relies on China and provokes it at the same time ] Earlier in the day, during a bilateral meeting at the G-20 with Xi, Park said she hoped Seoul and Beijing would be able to unite together against North Korea. I hope that through earnest communication, our two countries can turn this challenge into an opportunity to further strengthen and move forward our bilateral relationship, Park said during a bilateral meeting with Xi, according to Yonhap. But Xi reiterated his strong objections to Parks decision to accept the THAAD battery onto South Korean soil. Mishandling the issue is not conducive to strategic stability in the region and could intensify disputes, Xi told Park, according to a report from the Chinese state-run news agency Xinhua. Read more North Korean missile lands perilously close to Japan North Korean missile test a failure, Seoul says North Koreas deputy ambassador to Britain defects from London Todays coverage from Post correspondents around the world President Obama and Russian President Vladimir Putin failed to reach a deal Monday on a cease-fire for Syria, but the two sides have agreed to continue negotiating even as Syrian government forces close in on the beseiged city of Aleppo. Meeting with Putin on the sidelines of the Group of 20 economic meeting here, Obama emphasized the humanitarian importance of and urgent need for a cease-fire, but he was adamant about not striking an agreement that wouldnt meet his long-term objectives in Syria, said a White House official who spoke on the condition of anonymity under ground rules. The 90-minute unscheduled meeting was described by both sides as longer than usual for the sidelines of a G-20 summit. But an ultimate agreement remained elusive. At a news conference, Obama said the breakdown of a previous cessation of hostilities agreement had prompted Syrian President Bashar al-Assad to resume bombing opposition forces with impunity. That has led opposition forces, including those with ties to terrorism, to ramp up recruitment of new fighters, the president said. That is a very dangerous dynamic, Obama said. Of his meeting with Putin, he added: We have had some productive conversations about what a real cessation of hostilities would look like to allow us to both focus our energies on common enemies. . . . But given the gaps of trust that exist, thats a tough negotiation. We havent yet closed the gap. Obama said he and Putin also discussed the security situation in Ukraine and disputes over cyberespionage. The president declined to directly answer a reporters questions about Russias alleged hacking of the Democratic National Committees emails, citing an ongoing investigation, but he acknowledged tensions. Weve had problems of cyber intrusions from Russia and other countries in the past, Obama said, and were moving into a new era here where a number of countries have significant capacities. We have more capacity than anybody both offensively and defensively. Our goal is not to suddenly, in the cyber arena, duplicate the cycle of escalation we saw when it comes to other arms races in the past, but rather implementing some norms so everyone is acting responsibly. The White House official, briefing reporters in Hangzhou, said that Secretary of State John F. Kerry and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov are making plans to meet in the coming days, certainly this week. If an agreement can be reached, we want to do so urgently because of the humanitarian situation. However, we must ensure it is an effective agreement. The official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the United States has been focused on making sure that the agreement allows for a period of calm so that we can get urgently needed humanitarian assistance to populations that are in need. The official admitted, however, that there were still significant differences with the Russians. Its clear now what our respective positions are, and well see in coming days whether on Syria we can reach a near-term agreement, he added. If we cannot get the type of agreement we want, we will walk away from that effort. The collapse of a deal comes as a major new Syrian-Russian offensive in the besieged city of Aleppo appeared to undermine key components of the proposed agreement. On Sunday, after an anticipated news conference did not take place, Kerry told reporters that his negotiations here with Lavrov snagged on a couple of tough issues nearly identical to the language he used when the two failed to reach agreement in their last meeting, just over a week ago in Geneva. The administration, which has long been reluctant to intervene directly in the civil war, nonetheless thinks that it is a distraction to what it considers the more important, separate battle against the Islamic State in both Syria and Iraq and that it must be resolved. Kerry, with approval from Obama, traveled to Moscow in mid-July to propose an agreement under which the United States would share intelligence and coordinate its bombing of terrorist targets with Russia if Moscow would agree to ground the Syrian air force and stop its own bombing of U.S.-backed opposition forces. Russia has complained of increasing overlap between the opposition and terrorist groups on the ground, and it said it was up to the United States to separate them before a deal could be struck. U.S. failure to do so has allowed the Russians to claim they are targeting only terrorists of the Front for the Conquest of Syria or Jabhat Fatah al-Sham, the al-Qaeda affiliate formerly known as Jabhat al-Nusra and the Islamic State. In comments to Russian journalists earlier in the day, Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov indicated that the separation of forces remains an issue. For months, he said, Russia has been asking the Americans for a real, genuine demarcation between terrorists and the so-called opposition. On Aug. 26, Kerry met with Lavrov in Geneva to try to build momentum for the proposal. The two sides said then that they were close to agreement and that military and intelligence teams from both sides were ironing out technical details. Kerry predicted a deal could be reached within a week. The White House official said there has been some backsliding since the discussions between Kerry and Lavrov last month in Geneva. The United Nations says that in the city of Aleppo divided between rebels in the east and the government in the west nearly 2 million people are without food, water and medical care. The northern route out of the city to Turkey, previously held by the rebels, has been cut by the government. The Syrian government over the weekend made important battlefield gains around Aleppo that challenge basic assumptions of a proposed cease-fire that was to freeze last weeks battle lines. While Front-led forces last month broke through government encirclement from the south to join with opposition rebels occupying the eastern half of the city, that route now also appears to be closed as a conduit for aid, as the government launched a major push to retake it. Late on Sunday, Syrian forces, backed by Russian airstrikes, seized control of the area, known as the Ramouseh corridor, and fully laid siege to Aleppo. Russian support for the offensive prompted U.S. officials to raise questions about whether the Russians could be relied upon to implement an agreement to freeze battle lines and ground the Syrian air force. Beyond Aleppo, Russia and the Assad government have continued to refuse to allow U.N. humanitarian aid convoys to enter more than a dozen besieged towns and cities held by various rebel forces. Meanwhile on Monday, a string of explosions across Syria, most of them targeting government checkpoints, killed at least 40 people. The deadliest attack was a twin bombing on the loyalist province of Tartus, according to the official Syrian Arab News Agency. A car bomb exploded on a bridge, and then a suicide bomber struck when people gathered to take the wounded to a hospital, SANA said. At least 30 people were reported killed. Elsewhere, four people died in an explosion at a checkpoint in the city of Homs, and one person died in a bombing in the countryside surrounding Damascus, the capital. Five people died in a motorcycle bombing in the northeastern city of Hasakah. The Islamic State militant group asserted responsibility for the bombings, as well as for another that targeted Syrian Kurds in the northeastern city of Qamishli and was not reported by SANA. Liz Sly in Beirut and Karen DeYoung in Washington contributed to this report. Read more: U.S., Russia say they are close to cooperation deal in Syrian war Kerry pushes for coordination with Russia as others in administration cry foul Obamas China visit gets off to rocky start, reflecting current relations Todays coverage from Post correspondents around the world Security forces, emergency services and residents examine the remains of burned vehicles at the site of a bombing in Tartus, Syria. (Syrian Arab News Agency via AP) A string of explosions across Syria, most of them targeting government checkpoints, killed at least 40 people on Monday as talks between the United States and Russia on a cease-fire in the war failed. The deadliest attack was a twin bombing on the loyalist province of Tartus, according to the official Syrian Arab News Agency. A car bomb first exploded on a bridge, and then a suicide bomber struck when people gathered to take the wounded to a hospital, SANA said. At least 30 people were reported killed. Elsewhere, four people died in an explosion at a checkpoint in the city of Homs, and one person died in a bombing in the countryside surrounding Damascus, the capital. Five people died in a motorcycle bombing in the northeastern city of Hasakah. The Islamic State militant group asserted responsibility for the bombings, as well as one that targeted Syrian Kurds in the northeastern city of Qamishli and was not reported by SANA. At least 60 people were injured in the blasts. Bombings are commonplace in Syria, and airstrikes kill similar numbers on a daily basis. But attacks like the one in the loyalist stronghold of Tartus, a coastal province mostly populated by the Alawite sect to which President Bashar al-Assad belongs, are relatively rare. The province is home to Russias main naval base in Syria. The attacks suggest that the cycle of violence in Syria is unlikely to end anytime soon, especially in the wake of the failed U.S.-Russia cease-fire talks. U.S. officials had hoped to reach a deal in time for President Obamas meeting on Monday with Russian President Vladimir Putin on the sidelines of the Group of 20 summit in China. The meeting went ahead with no agreement in sight, although the two sides said they would continue to talk. The agreement was to have focused on the northern city of Aleppo and ways to deliver humanitarian aid to needy civilians. The effort was complicated Sunday by fresh gains by government forces that entirely cut off the rebel-controlled portion of the city, leaving an estimated 300,000 civilians without access to the outside world. Zakaria reported from Istanbul. Read more: U.S. trapped between allies ambitions in Syria Turkeys offensive into Syria opening up a hornets nest Battle for Aleppo may be the most crucial of the Syrian civil war Todays coverage from Post correspondents around the world On Saturday, September 3, members of the Red Warrior and Sacred Stones Camps from the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe and their supporters, who have been peacefully protesting near the construction site of the Dakota Access Pipeline (DAPL) in Cannon Ball, North Dakota were attacked by private security forces hired by Dakota Access, LLC, a subsidiary of Energy Transfer Partners. The private security force deployed attack dogs, pepper spray and physical force to repel protesters from the construction site. Six protesters were reportedly bitten, including a pregnant woman, a dozen were pepper sprayed, and multiple physical assaults were reported. Children and elderly tribal members were present during the attack, and a tribal members horse was also bitten. State police posted at the site did not intervene when the attacks occurred. Earlier in the day, during a gathering to commemorate the 153rd anniversary of the Whitestone Hill Massacre, there was a call to action by protesters to block bulldozers and construction crews from an area within the project location that had been previously surveyed by tribal historian Tim Mentz. The historian determined that the area contains nearly thirty burial sites, stone cairns, effigies and other historic features, some of which may be eligible for the National Register of Historic Places. The attack comes one day after the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe filed additional evidence in federal court in their ongoing case against the US Army Corps of Engineers. The lawsuit alleges that the Army Corps neglected their legal responsibility to fully consult with the tribe during the permitting process. By neglecting this obligation, the agency violated the Clean Water Act, the National Historic Preservation Act and the National Environmental Policy Act. Shortly after the lawsuit was filed, Dakota Access, LLC was made a party to the suit as well. The Dakota Access Pipeline is similar in scope to the more notorious Keystone XL Pipeline but it transfers oil from domestic fields rather than from Canada and sends it to refineries in southern Illinois. Because the pipeline does not cross international boundaries, like Keystone XL, the DAPL was not subject to international treaty agreements or extensive environmental review. Current federal environmental and cultural resource laws require tribal consultation and mitigation of any adverse effects caused by a proposed project receiving federal funds, federal licensure, or occurring on federally owned property. Lawsuits against federal agencies that may have violated these statutes often take many years to resolve. Because construction on the pipeline commenced in early 2016 without these issues being resolved, the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe filed a preliminary injunction in federal court to force Dakota Access, LLC to temporarily halt the project to allow for a complete cultural resource survey. The case has been assigned to US District Judge James E. Boasberg. At a hearing on August 24, Boasberg said that he would issue a decision on the pipeline injunction on or after September 9. The Dakota Access Pipeline crosses the Missouri River at Lake Oahe, one mile upstream from the Standing Rock Sioux Reservation. The Missouri River is the major source of fresh water in the region and an oil spill would not only destroy Standing Rocks water supply but would threaten agricultural production in one of the USs most fertile regions. In addition to the environmental and cultural resource impacts, the tribe also views the construction of the pipeline as a further violation of federal treaties that ceded the land through which the pipeline runs to native peoples. The Fort Laramie Treaty of 1868, for example, promised the Lakota (one of seven affiliated tribes within the Sioux Nation) ownership of the Black Hills and hunting rights to much of the Dakotas, Wyoming and Montana. The US military was supposed to prevent nonnative settlement in the region. Discovery of gold in the Black Hills, and settlement pressures created as a result of the Homestead Act of 1862 resulted in federal abandonment of many of these treaties by the 1880s. Since protests began in July, the encampments have swelled to about 3,000 people. American indigenous tribes from as far away as Alaska and Hawaii have sent representatives, letters of support and symbolic gifts. Food, medical supplies and other necessities have arrived from supporters all over the world. Black Lives Matter activists and farmers from Iowa have also traveled to the camp to show their support, as have environmental activists and others. Several Hollywood actors including Shailene Woodley, Susan Sarandon and Leonardo DiCaprio have also voiced their support for tribe. Despite claims of violence by Governor Jack Dalrymple, a Republican, the protests have been entirely peaceful. There is a general feeling of sympathy toward the plight of Native Americans among working people in the United States. This rarely finds expression in official politics however. Native Americans, who were only granted US citizenship in 1924, are more likely to be romanticized or used for public relations photo opportunities than have their concerns even remotely addressed. While there are some significant urban populations, the vast majority of Native Americans live in extreme geographic and economic isolation in absolutely appalling conditions. Many on the reservations have no running water or indoor toilet facilities and those who live in decommissioned FEMA trailers are considered lucky. Native Americans have higher rates of cancer, suicide, domestic violence and drug and alcohol abuse than any other population in the United States. Maternal and infant mortality and cervical cancer rates on American Indian reservations are surpassed only by Haiti. Native Americans are more likely to die at the hands of the police than any other subgroup in the United States. The first Monday in September is celebrated nationally as Labor Day. So how did we get the holiday and why is no one quite sure who created it? The Labor Day holiday grew out of the late 19th century organized labor movement, and it quickly became a national holiday as the labor movement assumed a prominent role in American society. Heres how it all started, with the facts, as we know them, supplied by the Labor Department, the Library Of Congress and other sources. 1. The idea first became public in 1882. In September 1882, the unions of New York City decided to have a parade to celebrate their members being in unions, and to show support for all unions. At least 20,000 people were at the parade, and the workers had to give up a days pay to attend. There was also a lot of beer involved in the event. 2. The New York parade inspired other unions. Other regions started having their own parades, and by 1887, Oregon, Massachusetts, New York, New Jersey and Colorado made Labor Day a state holiday. 3. How did the Haymarket Affair influence Labor Day? On May 4, 1886, a bomb exploded at a union rally in Chicagos Haymarket Square, which led to violence that killed seven police officers and four others. The incident also led to May 1 being celebrated in most nations as Workers Day. The U.S. government chose Labor Day instead to avoid a celebration on May 1 and New Yorks unions had already picked the first Monday in September for their holiday. 4. Two people with similar names are credited with that first New York City event. Matthew Maguire, a machinist, and Peter McGuire, a carpenter, have been linked to the 1882 parade. The men were from rival unions; in 2011, Linda Stinson, a former U.S. Department of Labors historian, said she didnt know which man should be credited partially because people over the years confused them because of their similar-sounding names. 5. Grover Cleveland helped make Labor Day a national holiday. After violence related to the Pullman railroad strike, President Cleveland and lawmakers in Washington wanted a federal holiday to celebrate labor and not a holiday celebrated on May 1! Cleveland signed an act in 1894 establishing the federal holiday; most states had already passed laws establishing a Labor Day holiday by that point. Sen. James Henderson Kyle of South Dakota introduced S. 730 to make Labor Day a federal legal holiday on the first Monday of September. It was approved on June 28, 1894. Story continues 6. The holiday has evolved over the years. In the late 19th century, celebrations focused on huge parades in urban areas. Now the holiday is a wider celebration that honors organized labor with fewer parades, and more activities. It also marks the perceived end of the summer season. 7. Can you wear white after Labor Day? This old tradition goes back to the late Victorian era, where it was a fashion faus pax to wear any white clothing after the summer officially ended on Labor Day. The tradition isnt really followed anymore. EmilyPost.com explains the logic behind the fashion trend white indicated you were still in vacation mode at your summer cottage. 8. But Labor Day is the unofficial end of Hot Dog season. The National Hot Dog and Sausage Council says that between Memorial Day and Labor Day, Americans will eat 7 billion hot dogs. 9. How many people are union members today? According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, there were 14.6 million union members in the work force in 2014. There were 17.7 million in 1983. 10. What is the biggest union today? The National Education Association has about 3 million members who are members, including inactive and lifetime members. History Stories on Constitution Daily Forgotten facts about George Washingtons private life 10 facts about Presidents who were also Veterans 50 interesting facts about Abraham Lincolns life 10 little-known facts about President Theodore Roosevelt The Guardian Good morning. Here's everything you need to know in the world of advertising today. 1. Former Guardian editor Alan Rusbridger says Facebook sucked up 20 million of the newspaper's online ad revenue last year. He says the social media giant is "taking all the money." 2. Services like Netflix take away six days of commercials from children's lives a year. Exstreamist estimates that Netflix saves children 150 hours of commercials a year. 3. HP is the latest brand to demand all its ad agencies hire more women and people of colour. The computer and printer maker has written to its roster of five advertising and PR agencies asking for their diversity plans. 4. Abercrombie & Fitch's attempts to rebrand totally backfired. Why the fashion brand's attempt to execute a turnaround are proving difficult. 5. The EU has squashed network-level ad blocking. EU net-neutrality regulations have forbidden telecom companies from blocking ads at the network level, The Financial Times reports. 6. All Woman Project is a fierce reaction to a major problem in the retail industry. Two models are starting a movement that aims to increase the depiction of curvy models next to "straight size models." 7. GoPro's has ambitious plan to become a media company. GoPro is embarking on a plan to reorient itself as a media company, Variety reports. 8. How 34-year-old Ben Winston became one of the most influential TV producers on the planet. Interview with "The Late Late Show With James Corden" producer. 9. Apple just launched an official Twitter account. Apple's Twitter account has been verified and its generic egg avatar replaced by an Apple logo. 10. Pernod Ricard is planning to use its employees as brand ambassadors. The drinks firm wants staff to share more content with one another on social media via its partnership with LinkedIn, according to The Drum. NOW WATCH: New guidelines have led to a big change for uniforms at the Rio Olympics More From Business Insider Two middle school students in Texas were shot, one fatally, as they walked home from school together, police and relatives said. Lauren Landavazo, 13, was killed in the shooting Friday, while her 13-year-old best friend Makayla Smith was hospitalized in stable condition, according to authorities. A 20-year-old man named Kody Lott was arrested Sunday and has allegedly confessed to opening fire on the girls, although his motive is unclear, the Wichita Falls Police Department said in a statement. Landavazo and Smith were going down an alley after school when they were attacked, KAUZ reports. Landavazo was mourned at a local candlelight vigil Sunday night. I was saying a prayer earlier today and asking her to come and help support me, her father Vern Landavazo said, according to the news station. And then I realized I dont have to do that. Shes already here. Shes already whats helping me stay strong. Wichita Falls Independent School District Superintendent Michael Kuhrt said in a statement that the girls attended McNiel Middle School. As a district, we are saddened by this senseless act of violence and our thoughts and prayers are with all of those involved, Kuhrt said. An online fundraising page set up to help pay for Lauren Landavazos funeral has garnered more than $9,800. The organizer behind the GoFundMe account described the slain teenager as an angel and beautiful child who did not get the chance to experience life. She would light up the room with her smile that never left her face, the page says. She was loved by everyone. She was energetic, smart, caring, fun loving, and overall an angel. The world will not be the same without her. Lott faces multiple charges, including murder, aggravated assault and prohibited weapon, police said. Police pulled him over Sunday after seeing that the vehicle he was driving matched a description of the shooters car. Information on his lawyer was not immediately available. A Texas man who allegedly shot two 13-year-old girls Friday as they walked home from school, killing one and wounding the other, was arrested Sunday, PEOPLE confirms. Police say Kody Lott, 20, allegedly shot Lauren Landavazo and Makayla Smith in an alleyway in Wichita Falls. Landavazo died and Smith is in stable condition, Sgt. Harold McClure of the Wichita Falls police tells PEOPLE. The suspect was at large for two days, but on Sunday, Lott was pulled over following a citizen tip when his vehicle matched the suspect's description, according to a Wichita Falls police statement. He was initially arrested on charges of possession of a prohibited weapon; he allegedly confessed to the shooting while being questioned in the police station, according to the statement. Lott's alleged motive is still unknown, McClure tells PEOPLE. Lott is currently in the Wichita County Jail on charges of murder, aggravated assault and possession of a prohibited weapon, according to the statement. His bail was expected to be set at $4 million, police Chief Manuel Borrego told the Times Record News It was not immediately clear if Lott had entered a plea or retained an attorney. 13-Year-Old Killed and Her Friend Wounded in Shooting as They Walked Home from School| Crime & Courts, Murder, True Crime Both girls were eighth grade students at McNiel Middle School, Wichita Falls Independent School District Superintendent Michael Kuhrt confirmed in a Facebook Post. "As a district, we are saddened by this senseless act of violence and our thoughts and prayers are with all of those involved," Kuhrt said. Want to keep up with the latest crime coverage? Click here to get breaking crime news, ongoing trial coverage and details of intriguing unsolved cases in the True Crime Newsletter. According to Smith's brother, Tre'vion Elliot, who spoke with the Times Record News, the pair were "best friends" who regularly walked home from school together because they live in the same neighborhood. Elliot told the paper he had heard that before she fell to the ground, Smith ran to tell other students behind them to run away. On Saturday, friends and family of both girls held a memorial near where the shooting took place, and a local Sam's Club held a cookout and fundraiser to benefit Landavazo's family, the Times Record News reports. It seems that every time Jason Statham is in a film, bad guys will inevitably hold his loved ones hostage so that hell perform a series of increasingly impossible tasks. Mechanic: Resurrection is no different, except that hes asked to kill some very important (and very hard-to-kill) people. But of course, killing people is bad and most of us wont ever even think of it. Still, if we had Bishop (Jason Stathams character in Mechanic: Resurrection) at our disposal here in Singapore, he might be doing far more difficult tasks than just taking out deadly warlords and assassins. Heres a list of five tasks that Singaporeans would get Bishop to do, that totally wont get him in trouble with the law. Bishop (Jason Statham) would be camping for Hello Kitty toys like a sniper. (Golden Village Pictures) 1. Get the latest McDonalds Hello Kitty Happy Meal toys Although we havent had some McDonalds Hello Kitty exclusives in a while, every time theres a new promotion, queues that could rival Pokemon GO crowds form overnight. They snake all over community centres and void decks starting from 10pm. If Bishop were our minion, wed send him to get those exclusive Hello Kitty toys. Hed have to fend off noisy aunties, crazed fans, and endure a humid night with kiasu Singaporeans, a task that even the most powerful warlord would loathe doing. But who can resist those Hello Kitty toys? And this could apply to any thing trending that youd need to queue for. Defend the seat with your life! (Golden Village Pictures) 2. Chope seat at popular hawker centres So now Michelin Guides Bib Gourmand list is out and suddenly crowds are sprouting up at everyones favourite hawker stalls. Seriously, where do all these people come from? That makes our hawker centres even more crowded than usual during the peak periods, and finding a seat is almost impossible with all those tissue packets around. Even if you spot an empty table, youd need to parkour your way across the crowd to get there before some other office executive slams a tissue packet on it. Story continues Bishop, go get us a table. Preferably one with good ventilation and a bit of wind, but not too much so our things wont fly all over the place, okay? Itd take more than that to be a parent volunteer. (Golden Village Pictures) 3. Be a parent volunteer in a good Primary school They say every schools a good school, but actions speak louder than words. Getting into a good Primary school requires years of parent volunteering if you stay far away and have no affiliation to the school. But becoming a parent volunteer is no mean feat. You need to attend do a write-up about yourself, attend seminars to know what youre in for, and then go for a rigorous interview. Youll be up against equally competitive parents, all hoping to get nearer to the coveted placement for their little angels. Thats not a job for any regular human being. Thats a job for the Mechanic. Hopefully thats not how Bishop gets on trains. (Golden Village Pictures) 4. Get into the train during peak hours (and maybe fixing the MRT while hes at it) Go to Raffles Place at 6pm and youll be amazed how little space a human being actually needs to survive. Getting into the station is a problem, let alone going down the escalator onto the train platform. You need a combination of brute strength (to bash through the crowd), feline agility (to dodge other members of the rampaging mob), and inhuman flexibility (to squeeze through small spaces). And thats after a hard days work. Wed send Bishop to clear a way for us. Besides, if the MRT breaks down, he could probably fix it too. Completing a Pokedex by any means necessary. (Golden Village Pictures) 5. Complete your Pokedex and defend your gym Head to Vivocity or Hougang Ave 10 and youll be swarmed by Pokemon GO trainers tossing Pokeballs on their mobile phones in a futile attempt to finish their Pokedex (but until someone catches Ditto, nobodys Pokedex will truly be complete). Then there are country specific Pokemon and legendary Pokemon to worry about. Not to mention making sure your new gym doesnt get taken over by some Valor/Mystic/Instinct punk while youre busy at work. Aint nobody got time for this unless youve got Bishop on your side! Sic him on the crowd and watch him catch every Pokemon in sight. Send him to exotic locations to catch Pokemon or to camp it out at a hot spawn spot. And get him to catch Ditto. Come on, Bishop, you want to complete the contract or not? Marcus Goh is a Singapore television scriptwriter. Hes also a Transformers enthusiast and avid pop culture scholar. He Tweets/Instagrams at Optimarcus and writes at marcusgohmarcusgoh.com. The views expressed are his own. ROME (Reuters) - The body of an Afghan asylum seeker living in Amatrice, the town worst hit by last month's earthquake, was pulled from the rubble of the home where he had been living, Italy's national fire rescue service said on Monday. The Aug. 24 quake killed almost 300 people when it struck in the middle of the night. More than 200 of the dead were in Amatrice. Sayed, who was living in a state-funded shelter in Amatrice, was the only one of four people sleeping in the home on the night of the earthquake who was killed, Corriere della Sera newspaper reported. The others managed to escape. Sayed's brother Zia, who lives in Austria, was present as emergency workers searched for the body today, fire service spokesman Luca Cari said. He could not provide the brothers' last name. Sayed came to Italy fleeing war in Afghanistan, and had requested asylum. He had three children still living in Afghanistan, Corriere said. Though he had found work in northern Italy as a pizzaiolo, or pizza maker, he had delayed his departure to participate in the annual Amatrice festival for its signature "amatriciana" pasta sauce, the newspaper said. The festival was due to be held the weekend after the earthquake hit. (Reporting by Steve Scherer and Antonella Cinelli; Editing by Catherine Evans) Alan Cumming's Labor Day weekend celebration was a bit different than in years past. Instead of hitting the beach and barbecuing with friends, the actor touched down in Lebanon on Saturday to get a closer look at the refugee crisis that is affecting both that country and the rest of the world. The 51-year-old actor has teamed up with the UN Refugee Agency to lend a hand to the scores of refugees fleeing war-torn Syria, as well as to research the crisis as a whole in the country that hosts over one million displaced and uprooted individuals. Alan Cumming Spends Weekend with Syrian Refugees in Lebanon: 'This Trip Has Been Life-Changing'| Good Deeds, Movie News, Alan Cumming During his two-day long mission, Cumming traveled to northern and southern Lebanon to meet with refugees and listen to first-hand stories of those forced to flee their homes. The actor also visited a local hospital supported by UNHCR that works to provide emergency healthcare to refugees, as well as spent the afternoon with a group of a LGBTI refugees who shared their experiences of discrimination and persecution. Alan Cumming Spends Weekend with Syrian Refugees in Lebanon: 'This Trip Has Been Life-Changing'| Good Deeds, Movie News, Alan Cumming "At the end of one of the many unbearably heart-breaking stories of the violence, persecution and humiliation the Syrian refugees have escaped from, I threw my arms around a young woman who had just shared her world with me," Cumming tells PEOPLE. "Our translator, a young Lebanese girl who was also in tears, asked me how she should translate a hug, so I hugged her too." Cumming has been supportive of UNHCR's #WithRefugee campaign, which calls on world leaders to unite in their response to the global refugee crisis ahead of the Summit on Refugees and Migrants that will take place on Sept. 19 as part of the UN General Assembly in New York. "This trip has been life- changing," he also says. "We all have a duty to do more to assist the resettlement and care of these people and to stand #WithRefugees." Theres some amazing news about giant pandas thats totally worth celebrating Theres some amazing news about giant pandas thats totally worth celebrating Even though baby pandas might look a little creepy, we totally love the little critters and their naughty antics. Whether its eating cake or causing mischief, we just love pandas. Now weve just heard some AMAZING news about giant pandas and its definitely cause of celebration. After decades of conservation efforts, giant pandas are no longer considered an endangered species. dancing panda Due to a population increase in China, giant pandas are now considered a vulnerable species. The news was broken by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) as part of an update on their Red List, which was set up as a comprehensive approach to evaluating the conservation status of plant and animal species. According to the BBC, the conservation effort by China to help save their national animal has seen the population of giant pandas rise to 1,864 adults. YASSSS. In a report released, the IUCN said, Evidence from a series of range-wide national surveys indicate that the previous population decline has been arrested, and the population has started to increase. The improved status confirms that the Chinese governments efforts to conserve this species are effective. Pandas Despite this happy news, however, the IUCN warned that this uptake in the panda population could be short lived due to concerns surround climate change. [The] panda population is projected to decline, reversing the gains made during the last two decades, the report read. Continuing, the report said that the only way to help conserve this iconic species would be to ensure that forest protection measures are continued and that emerging threats are addressed. Sadly, the IUCN report did detail some worrying new concerns. According to the report, the eastern gorilla, the worlds largest primate, is now endangered, with 70% of the population declining in the past 20 years. This means that four of the six largest apes on the planet are now all endangered. Story continues Despite this, its definitely worth celebrating the amazing news about Giant Pandas. Speaking to AFP news agency (via BBC), John Robinson, a primatologist and chief conservation officer at the Wildlife Conservation Society, said that, despite this, it was still a massive win that giant pandas had increased in population at all. So few species are actually downlisted, it really is a reflection of the success of conservation, he said. The post Theres some amazing news about giant pandas thats totally worth celebrating appeared first on HelloGiggles. Amy Adams just opened up about being her own worst critic and shes so right Amy Adams just opened up about being her own worst critic and shes so right Most of us are no strangers to self-criticism, but we can imagine that the pressure to be perfect is infinitely worse for people in the public eye. Amy Adams recently opened up to The Los Angeles Times about her ability to criticize her work, and how its changed over the years. Im a harsh critic of myself, she admits. But she goes on to say, I see when I stopped needing to be perfect. I stopped carrying the weight of criticism. When exactly did she stop being so self-conscious, though? Adams recalls that it was during the making of Her in 2013. She also noted in the interview that typically, she chooses supporting roles over leading roles that [have] the burden of the plot. Obviously leading roles also carry tremendous weight and pressure to perform the role flawlessly, so we understand where Adams is coming from. I love being a supporting actress, she explains. Im not looking at the size of the role. Im looking at, Will I get a chance to grow? Although Adams does have the lead role in Denis Villeneuves Arrival which comes out in November. She was attracted to that particular role of a linguist recruited by the military to communicate with alien life because, I felt like I knew her. She was everywoman. She was me, and I dont often see myself in my characters. So that will be a special treat for audiences who cant get enough of her! Its great to see someone like Adams speak so candidly about her experiences, because it reminds us that at the end of the day, even celebrated actresses who have been nominated five times for Academy Awards (whoa, girl!), are not immune to self-doubt. They are human just like the rest of us. Keep doing what you do, Amy Adams! The post Amy Adams just opened up about being her own worst critic and shes so right appeared first on HelloGiggles. Hugo Boss has unveiled the latest campaign for its "Boss The Scent" fragrance, where the art of seduction takes center stage. Internally renowned model Anna Ewers and British actor Theo James step into role as a couple captured in an irresistible moment of attraction. With its sensual setting, warm amber-toned lighting and the charm and charisma of its two stars, the new "Boss The Scent" campaign sees Anna Ewers and Theo James play a game of mutual seduction. This seductive story, heightened by the sensual notes of "Boss The Scent," is captured in a short video from Darren Aronofsky ("Requiem for a Dream," "Black Swan"). The magazine campaign is shot by the famous Dutch duo Inez van Lamsweerde & Vinoodh Matadin. As well as treading the catwalk in shows for Chanel, Atelier Versace, Isabel Marant and Alexander Wang, Anna Ewers has starred in campaigns for labels like Balenciaga, H&M, Miu Miu and Calvin Klein. Hugo Boss fragrances called on Theo James ("Divergent") to front "Boss The Scent" in May 2015. For the fragrance's first campaign, released the same year, he starred alongside Natasha Poly. "Boss The Scent" is billed as a sensual fragrance, bringing the exclusive new note of Maninka fruit to the world of perfume. This is accompanied by notes of ginger, lavender and leather. The Eau de Toilette sells in 50ml, 100ml and 200ml formats. DUBAI, Sept 5 (Reuters) - More than a third of Arab banks have seen their business links with foreign banks shrink over the past four years because of pressures such as economic sanctions and concern about money laundering, according to a study published on Monday. "The inability of banks in some Arab countries to enter into correspondent relationships with foreign banks could have a deleterious impact on trade and remittances and ultimately on real economic activity," the Arab Monetary Fund said in the study. "Consequently, this is an increasingly important challenge facing Arab countries." Senior officials in the Gulf, including the central bank governors of the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain, have publicly complained in the past year about the reluctance of international, particularly U.S., banks to deal with some of their Arab counterparts. The study by the Arab Monetary Fund, in cooperation with the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank, tried to gauge the extent of the problem by surveying 216 banks operating in 17 Arab countries this year. Almost 39 percent of banks said there had been a significant decline in the scale and breadth of their correspondent banking relationships between 2012 and 2015. Fifty-five percent reported no change and 5 percent, an increase. The number of correspondent banking accounts being closed seems to be increasing, with 63 percent of banks reporting the closure of such accounts in 2015 compared with 33 percent in 2012, the survey found. Forty percent of Arab banks said U.S. lenders were most prone to withdraw from correspondent banking relationships with them, followed by British and German banks. The survey found that bankers believed concern over money laundering and the financing of terrorism was only the fifth most important reason for ties to be cut. Shrinking appetite for risk among foreign banks, sanctions and other changes to regulations in their home countries, a lack of profitability in doing business and sovereign credit risk in Arab countries were bigger reasons. Story continues Among Arab banks whose relationships were cut, 63 percent were able to find replacement relationships and 17 percent managed to make other arrangements to meet their needs, but 20 percent were unable to do either, the survey showed. In cases where replacements are found, "these are often inferior in either scale of services or costs" to the original relationships, it found. (Reporting by Andrew Torchia; editing by Susan Thomas) Atlanta, the new half-hour FX series from Donald Glover (Community), is satisfying and exciting on every level. Its a funny often laugh-out-loud funny saga of an ambitious but struggling young man, Earn Marks (Glover), whos living hand-to-mouth in Atlanta and trying to better his life. The show is also frequently dead serious. It never makes the stakes at risk in Earns life seem less than grave. Atlanta, which premieres Tuesday, Sept. 6, also manages to achieve the rhythm of a hip-hop album consisting of medium-tempo, bumping grooves it rolls along at a pace that becomes hypnotic. In the space of just a few half-hours (FX made four episodes available to review), show creator and star Glover summons up not just an atmosphere but an entire philosophy of life. Related: Your Complete Fall TV Premiere Date Calendar The organizing plot of Atlanta is that Earn wants to manage the career of his cousin Alfred, a rapper who goes by the name of Paper Boi, which is also the name of his new jam, one that has hit written all over it. Earn is an Ivy League dropout who has a child with Van (Zazie Beetz), a woman who loves him but is usually exasperated with him, often very deservedly so. Earn has so many layers to his character; Glover maintains a poker face most of the time to suggest multiple reactions to any situation he finds himself in. These encounters range from nettlesome arguments with his skeptical parents (his dad is played by Isiah Whitlock, Jr. the profanity-prone Sen. Clay Davis from The Wire) to run-ins with the Atlanta police department. Earn is determined to better himself but solely on his own, stubborn terms; you love him for his determination, but you also completely understand why Van and his parents are so irritated by his obstinacy. Brian Tyree Henrys performance as Paper Boi is a beautifully varied one; it contrasts with Keith Stanfields stoned-nuance turn as Paper Bois right-hand man, Darius. I cannot overemphasize how hilarious Atlanta can be, taking shots at everything from blunt-smoking faux-wisdom to a dead-on Don Lemon joke. Story continues All four of the episodes Ive seen have been directed by Hiro Murai, who has done some notably imaginative music videos with artists such as Earl Sweatshirt, Chet Faker, and Glovers hip-hop alter ego, Childish Gambino. For Atlanta, Murai frequently achieves effects you usually see only in feature films. There are, for instance, gorgeously languid overhead shots, in which the camera hovers over a scene, rising up to cloud-view, suggesting a cosmic, simultaneous importance and indifference to what is taking place. The second episode, which takes place almost entirely in the holding room of a police station, is filmed from waist-high angles that capture the cold, ominous sterility of the place. When a comic scene of a prisoner dancing goofily suddenly ends with a moment of shocking violence, Murais camera maintains a documentary distance that is the perfect way to present such an abrupt shift. Related: 16 Familiar Faces Coming to Fall TV This is an inherently political show. Its depictions of life in rough neighborhoods of the Georgia state capital carry an implicit critique of how people forced into poor living conditions survive, overcome, or fall into devious socioeconomic traps. That Glover wraps his critique in a very funny show only makes his creation that much more effective, and frequently moving. Atlanta airs Tuesday nights at 10 p.m. on FX. The upcoming supernatural thriller "Winchester" will get funding from Australia's state and federal organizations, reports Variety. Film industry regulator Screen Australia will help finance the film as well as Film Victoria's Production Incentive Attraction Fund and Production Investment from Screen Queensland. The film, directed by brothers Peter and Michael Spierig, stars Helen Mirren as Sarah Winchester, the heiress to the Winchester Arms fortune. She went on to design and build the Winchester Mystery House in San Jose, California. Production will start in Melbourne in early 2017. Dubai (AFP) - A Bahraini court will next month announce its verdict in the trial of prominent activist Nabeel Rajab whose detention has been condemned by rights groups, a judicial source said Monday. The Shiite human rights activist, who had been pardoned for health reasons last year, was re-arrested in June and is on trial on charges of insulting a state institution and Saudi Arabia in online postings. The court is hand down its verdict on October 6, the source said. During Monday's hearing attended by 51-year-old Rajab, the judge again rejected a request by the activist's defence team to free him, the judicial source said. The criminal court had repeatedly ordered that Rajab remain in custody throughout the trial, despite recurring health problems for which was briefly hospitalised in late June. Human Rights Watch has urged Bahraini authorities to "immediately stop the prosecution" of Rajab "who faces up to 15 years in prison solely for charges that violate his right to free expression". "Bahrain keeping Nabeel Rajab in a prison cell for criticising abuses shows the ruling Al-Khalifa family's deep contempt for basic human rights," said HRW's deputy Middle East director, Joe Stork. Amnesty International has also denounced what it described as Rajab's "farcical trial". The 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. Home to the US Navy's Fifth Fleet, Bahrain has been rocked by unrest since security forces crushed Shiite-led protests in 2011 demanding a constitutional monarchy and an elected prime minister. In the run-up to Brexit in June, as Fleet Street tried to figure out why the Leave campaign was so alluring to voters, some observers employed a famous phrase again and again: this scepterd isle, a description of England in William Shakespeares Richard II. A scepter is a symbol of royal authority, and a scepterd isle is an unforgettable image of a sovereign England owing allegiance to no outsider. In this year marking the 400th anniversary of Shakespeares death, his language clearly still manages to capture something essential about the way the people of Great Britain, and especially the English, view themselves. The phrase in Richard II is uttered by John of Gaunt in a powerful speech praising independence and self-sufficiency. He continues, This precious stone set in the silver sea,/Which serves it in the office of a wall,/Or as a moat defensive to a house,/Against the envy of less happier lands,/This blessed plot, this earth, this realm, this England. Today, it seems that many people still imagine this realm in such terms. In the view espoused by the U.K. Independence Party, outsiders Poles, Latvians, Romanians, Syrians who come to live amid the fortunate English violate the blessed plot. Several months after Brexit, and even amid the backlash against the vote, these indignant feelings endure. Yet the paradox of Shakespeare is that the same poet who seems so essentially English is also perhaps the most global writer who has ever lived. His character may have praised English isolation and Shakespeare may never have left the country himself but his imagination ranged freely across borders. Many of his most famous plays are set abroad: Denmark (Hamlet), Greece (A Midsummer Nights Dream), Italy (Romeo and Juliet), Egypt (Antony and Cleopatra). Ben Jonson, his friend and fellow playwright, praised Shakespeare after his death, writing, He was not of an age but for all time! Just as accurately, it could be said that he was not of England, but of the world. Story continues In 2012, London hosted a Cultural Olympiad in conjunction with the Olympic Games. The highlight was a festival in which the Globe Theatre a modern reconstruction of Shakespeares original playhouse hosted performances of the Bards 37 plays, each in a different language and performed by a different international company. There was a Hindi Twelfth Night, a Swahili Merry Wives of Windsor, a Korean Midsummer Nights Dream. Significantly, most of the shows were not specially commissioned translations and productions. They were already popular in their home countries living proof of Shakespeares universality. That word, of course, is one that academic theorists, including Shakespeare scholars, hold in great suspicion. To say that Shakespeare is the greatest writer of all time even to say, in the hyperbolic words of critic Harold Bloom, that he invented the human, creating our modern sense of what it means to think and feel is to imply that a white man is the paragon of the human race. This goes against the current intuition, or dogma, that individuals exist primarily in terms of identity gender, sexuality, race, ethnicity and that it is impossible or offensive to speak to and for humanity as such. This was the point of view voiced last year in the Washington Post by a California high school teacher who argued, [T]here is a WORLD of really exciting literature out there that better speaks to the needs of my very ethnically-diverse and wonderfully curious modern-day students. I do not believe that a long-dead, British guy is the only writer who can teach my students about the human condition. That Shakespeares rise to global fame is owed in part to power politics is indisputable. If the whole world now reads an English playwright and not one of the classics of Japanese or Indian literature, this has something to do with the fact that, over several centuries, England managed to conquer and colonize much of the globe. Shakespeare was among the baggage of empire, sometimes literally. In his new book, Shakespeare in Swahililand, Edward Wilson-Lee observes that many English explorers and missionaries who descended on Africa in the 19th century came armed with the Bible and the collected plays. Journalist and explorer Henry Morton Stanley of Dr. Livingstone, I presume? fame told a story about being confronted by a group of Congolese who were suspicious of his habit of taking notes. When they demanded that he burn his writing, Stanley tricked them by throwing his Shakespeare text onto the fire instead. Wilson-Lee points out that Stanleys tale uses the Bard as an emblem of civilization, against the benighted ignorance of the natives. Seen this way, Shakespeare does indeed look like a mere talisman of Western superiority. Examine his language closely, however, and there are subversive impulses and insights everywhere. Take any critique of the human condition that arises in modern society, and Shakespeare probably got there first. Consider plays like Othello, with its clear-eyed examination of racism and sexuality, and especially The Tempest. In that play, Caliban is enslaved by the colonizer Prospero and learns to turn his masters language against him. In the 20th century, Caliban became literary critics favorite symbol of resistance to imperialism, and The Tempest is studied as an ancestor of post-colonial literature. Shakespeare is a global poet, then, not only because he wrote about the world outside England and became widely read over the centuries. He also intuited the major issues of the globalized world just as it was being born. As such, his work translates easily to non-English contexts. Shakespeare in Swahililand shows how the Bard may have come to Africa with the Europeans but was adopted very quickly. One of the first printed Swahili books, from 1867, was a prose summary of four Shakespeare plays, including The Merchant of Venice. Decades later, Wilson-Lee finds, an amateur performance of the text was staged in Zanzibar, with the Jewish moneylender Shylock recast as an Indian for audiences on an African island where immigrants from India dominated commerce. Today, people seem ever more eager to be divided by national borders, and the liberal ideal of globalism is under attack from all sides. The world needs Shakespeares cosmopolitan imagination more than ever. A version of this article originally appeared in the September/October 2016 issue of FP magazine under the headline, Man of the World. Illustration by Edmon De Haro The suspect is said to be involved with KGR@Katibah GR, whose leader was staying in this house located about 30 minutes away from Batam Ferry Terminal. (Yahoo Photo: Safhras Khan) A man linked to a group of Indonesians who were planning an attack on the Marina Bay Sands (MBS) in Singapore had plans to work in the city-state as a cleaner and a night market helper, an Indonesian newspaper said. Identified only as LH, the man had a passport and was aiming to secure a job in Singapore, according to the report by the Batam Pos on Monday (5 September). LH was picked up in a cyber cafe at Batu Aji, Batam, on Saturday (3 September) by Densus 88, the Indonesian counter-terrorism squad, after he was found to be connected to KGR@Katibah GR, a terrorist group with links to the Islamic State In Iraq and Syria (ISIS) headed by 31-year-old Gigih Rahmat Dewa. Six members of the group were arrested in August after investigations revealed that they had plans to launch a rocket attack on MBS. They are currently being held at Densus 88s headquarters for their involvement in the ISIS Indonesian terror network. Riau Islands Police Chief Sam Budigusdian told Batam Pos that 24-year-old LH, who was unemployed, confessed during questioning that he was offered a job in Singapore by a friends mother. Through information that we gathered, LH was supposed to head to Singapore where he was offered a job with a cleaning service company and also as a night market helper. LH accepted the offer when he was in Medan, said Budigusdian, who added that the suspect was planning to depart for Singapore via the Batam Ferry Terminal. The police chief added that LH said that the woman who hired him had asked him to look for five other men to work in Singapore. A mobilephone, a motorcycle and a wallet were seized by the authorities during the raid on Saturday. It has been more than six decades since the end of French colonial rule in Vietnam, but when President Francois Hollande arrives this week he'll struggle to avoid a quintessential legacy of his country's rule: the baguette. Smeared with pate and loaded with fresh coriander and cucumber, or just enjoyed with a pat of fresh butter, "banh mi" are a delicious symbol of Vietnam's lasting links with its former occupiers. "The French were very proud of banh mi. I think French cuisine has had a lot of influence on Vietnamese cuisine," baker Nguyen Ngoc Hoan told AFP from his busy boulangerie in Hanoi's French Quarter. Hoan started baking banh mi -- which refers to plain bread or the popular "petit pain" loaded with meat, vegetables or fried egg -- in 1987 and five years later got a stint at the bakery in the storied Metropole hotel, built by the French at the turn of the 20th century. The sandwich has become a foodie favourite in hipster enclaves around the globe, sold from food trucks and sipped with craft beer in both its classic form and a flurry of new varieties. Hoan's father was also a baker but discouraged his son from following in his floured footsteps. "The baking profession chose me, it was not my decision," Hoan said, speaking in front of a wall of ovens as his workers tirelessly knead dough nearby. He started his career baking what he called Vietnamese bread -- airy on the inside, crusty on the outside -- but after training with a French baker in Shanghai decided to switch to the denser French-style. Now, he churns out thousands of warm baguettes daily, along with croissants, creme caramel and homemade pate. - 'Petit pain' - French bread was first made in Vietnam to feed hungry soldiers in Indochina, France's empire which spanned much of Southeast Asia from 1858 to its crushing defeat in the Dien Bien Phu battle in Vietnam in 1954. But the French became known for more than food, gaining a brutal reputation for crushing anti-imperialist movements and putting Vietnamese laborers to work in gruelling conditions on rubber plantations, while heavily taxing citizens during periods of drought and famine. Story continues Most French who came to Vietnam weren't interested in low-level jobs like baking. To fill the gap, Chinese and Vietnamese worked in boulangeries -- often hidden away in the back so customers wouldn't know who was baking their bread. "By 1910, little baguettes or 'petit pain' were sold in the street to (Vietnamese) people who were on their way to work," according to Erica Peters, food historian and author of "Appetites and Aspirations in Vietnam". In the years that followed, meat, vegetables or fish appeared in the bread -- precursors to the modern-day banh mi sold all over Hanoi, a city rife with French colonial architecture, bistros and cafes. Other culinary influences leaked in too. Local cooks used meat scraps and unused bones from French butchers to create pho -- the national dish of beef or chicken noodle soup, according to Peters. Coffee and creme caramel are some of the other French culinary leftovers. The ubiquity of those influences will not be lost on President Hollande, who arrives late Monday for talks with Vietnam's leadership and French businessmen. - Hybrid cuisine - Today, Vietnam's commercial capital Ho Chi Minh City is dotted with chic cafes serving croque monsieur and macarons at Paris prices. But the $1 banh mi still rules Hanoi's street food scene. It is so engrained in Vietnam's culinary culture that few draw its lineage back to France. "I don't know and don't care whether it's French, I just serve it like this," said Nguyen Thi Duc Hanh, sitting in front of her shop as the lunchtime rush begins. She sells hundreds per day and keeps her menu simple: banh mi served with pate and a fried egg, beef steak or her very own version of "boeuf au vin" made with local spices. One of her regulars, Nguyen Van Binh, said he has been eating banh mi for 50 years, and unlike Hanh, thinks of it as a hybrid dish. "Banh mi came from France but it was changed and adapted to suit Vietnamese tastes," said Binh, before digging into his fried egg and pate served with a crusty roll. Https%3a%2f%2fblueprint-api-production.s3.amazonaws.com%2fuploads%2fcard%2fimage%2f200137%2fcarwater Arachnophobes, this is your worst nightmare. A teenager in Sydney, Australia watched her car roll into the sea, after a spider ended crawled on her while she was inside the vehicle. SEE ALSO: A deep-sea camera just discovered a mysterious purple blob The 18-year-old woman had parked alongside the Bayview boat ramp on Saturday morning, when a huntsman spider landed on her lap after dropping from the sun shade, according to the Daily Telegraph. Side note: Huntsman spiders hiding in the sun visors and/or glove boxes of Australian cars is a common occurrence and a national concern. The driver jumped out of her car, trying her best to fight off the spider. Unfortunately, she forgot to keep an eye on her car which gently rolled into the water, drifting 25 metres (82 feet) away from the beach. Local man Stuart Cooper was concerned there was someone inside the car when he spotted it heading for the ocean, as did the driver's mother, who'd shown up. "The daughter was just embarrassed that her very expensive car was drifting out in the waterways, and it wasn't a boat," Cooper told 7 News. Divers were sent to retrieve the car from the water, in an operation which took around two hours. Easier said than done, we know, but if only the driver had tried staying calm. After all, huntsman spiders, despite their size and appearance, aren't dangerous and they prefer to run away rather than bite. By John Chalmers and Andrew R.C. Marshall MANILA (Reuters) - The body of 22-year-old pedicab driver Eric Sison lies in a coffin in a Manila slum with a chick pacing across his casket, placed there in keeping with a local tradition to symbolically peck at the conscience of his killers. Cellphone video footage circulating on social media purports to capture the moment Sison was killed last month when, according to local officials, police were looking for drug pushers in the Pasay township of the Philippines' capital. A voice on the video, recorded by a neighbour according to newspaper reports, can be heard shouting "Don't do it, I'll surrender!". Then there is the sound of gunfire. A poster near the coffin, which lies beside a stinking canal cut between ramshackle homes, demands "Justice for Eric Quintinita Sison". A handpainted sign reads: "OVERKILL - JUSTICE 4 ERIC." These are rare tokens of protest against a surge of killings unleashed since Rodrigo Duterte became president of the Philippines just over two months ago and pledged to wage war on drug dealers and crush widespread addiction to methamphetamine. Very little stands in the way of his campaign. Last week, the number of people killed since July 1 reached 2,400: about 900 died in police operations, and the rest are "deaths under investigation", a term human rights activists say is a euphemism for vigilante and extrajudicial killings. Duterte's office did not immediately respond to a request for comment for this story. But he told a news conference on Monday that "plenty will be killed" in his campaign. "Until the (last) drug manufacturer is killed we will continue," Duterte told reporters before leaving for a regional summit in Laos, where he is due to meet U.S. President Barack Obama on Tuesday. OPPONENTS ASSAILED Reuters interviews reveal that the police's Internal Affairs Service (IAS) and the Commission on Human Rights (CHR) are so overwhelmed by the killings that they can investigate only a fraction, and there is scant hope of establishing many as unlawful because witnesses are too terrified to come forward. Meanwhile, the immense popularity of Duterte's crusade and a climate of fear it has engendered have severely restrained dissent from civil society. Hardly anyone turned up at candlelight vigils in Manila recently to protest against extrajudicial killings. Even as the death toll rose, a July poll by Pulse Asia put Duterte's approval rating at 91 percent. Anxious reminders by the Catholic Church of the commandment 'thou shalt not kill' make few headlines in the predominantly Catholic country, with newspapers preferring to carry breathless accounts of the latest slayings. Duterte has delivered withering attacks on his chief critic, Senator Leila de Lima, accusing her of dealing in drugs herself and having an affair with her driver. "It's only the president who can stop this," de Lima told Reuters last week, deploring what she described as the "madness" that led in one case to a five-year-old girl being shot in the head. "How many more of these cases of collateral damage are we willing to bear before we can really start screaming about it?" she asked. As for critics abroad, Duterte pours scorn on them in language larded with curses. He lambasted the United Nations after it criticised the surge in killings and he turned down a meeting with U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon at a summit in Laos this week. Duterte has also made it clear he will take no lecture on human rights from Obama, when in the United States he alleged "black people are being shot even if they are already lying down". "EVERYONE IS AFRAID" Duterte may intensify the crackdown after 14 people were killed on Friday in a bomb attack at a market in his hometown, Davao. Police blamed the Abu Sayyaf, an Islamic State-linked group Duterte has vowed to destroy, but his war on the drug trade is making enemies elsewhere and the attack quickened rumours of a plot to kill him. Duterte has declared a nationwide "state of lawlessness" after the blast that authorises troops to reinforce the police with checkpoints and patrols. He has managed with remarkable speed to nationalise a model for fighting crime that he pioneered as mayor of Davao for 22 years. Rights groups documented hundreds of suspicious murders in Davao on Duterte's watch and say death squads operated with impunity there. "The Punisher", as some call him, denies ordering extrajudicial killings but he does not condemn them. Across the country now, lists of suspected drug pushers are being provided to police by neighbourhood chiefs, adding to a sense of fear and distrust across communities. Politicians of all hues have gone quiet, and a Senate enquiry led by de Lima only has the power to propose legislation. INVESTIGATORS SWAMPED Chief Superintendent Leo Angelo Leuterio, who heads the IAS, says it is his office's responsibility to investigate every discharge of firearms involving police. But with only about 170 investigators nationwide, the IAS is able to deal with just 30 percent of the roughly 30 cases coming in every day. "Our resources are breaking at the seams," said Leuterio. The IAS chief is supposed to be a civilian to ensure its independence but Leuterio is a policeman who spent 13 years of his career in Duterte's hometown, Davao. He says he is unbiased and has a track record of dismissing hundreds of officers for misconduct. The CHR, for its part, is looking at just 259 of the 2,000-plus killings since July 1. Its forensics team of 14 is swamped and in their cramped office investigators probing possible extrajudicial killings are handling just 12 dossiers. The commission says its biggest obstacle is that witnesses are hard to find. One person who did come forward is Harrah Kazuo, whose husband and father-in-law were severely beaten and shot dead in a police station, according to a CHR report. She told Reuters that when the police entered their home without a warrant they even removed her toddler's underwear to search for drugs. Police have declined comment on what happened in the home, but two officers have been arrested and charged with murder in connection with the case. Kazuo has been taken into witness protection by the CHR. She is a rare protesting voice in an environment where many are fearful. On Aug. 29, police told reporters they had opened fire that night on a drug suspect in Tondo, a dirt-poor and densely populated district of Manila. A Reuters reporter looked into the suspect's one-room home and saw a mattress splattered with blood. He asked a neighbour how many shots had been fired, but the man replied: "Sorry, my friend. I didn't hear a single shot," and walked away. (Editing by Raju Gopalakrishnan) This Coventry bookshop is winning praise for its pro-breastfeeding sign [Photo: Instagram/@judiellard] To breastfeed in public or not? To cover up when you breastfeed in public or not? To brelfie when you breastfeed in public or not? When it comes to breastfeeding your baby when youre out and about, there are countless debates. And finding a comfy spot where youre not only welcome to breastfeed openly, but actually encouraged to do so is pretty rare. Which is why a bookshop in Coventry is winning over the Internet for its sign inviting women to breastfeed ostentatiously in the store. The Big Comfy Bookshop put up the hand written sign in their window letting women know they are welcome to breastfeed inside, but only if they do so ostentatiously. Shop owner Michael McEntee, told The Huffington Post UK that the sign was put up in response to Nigel Farages controversial comments about breastfeeding. In 2014 the former UKIP leader had quite a bit to say about women nursing in public: This is just a matter of common sense, isnt it? he said. I think that, given that some people feel very embarrassed by it, it isnt too difficult to breastfeed a baby in a way thats not openly ostentatious. Micheal McEntee was inspired to put up the sign as a tongue-in-cheek response to Farages negative statement. It was in reply to the ridiculous comments Farage made about breastfeeding and how a woman was breastfeeding ostentatiously in a restaurant once, he said. Its so ludicrous I thought a quick doodle was in order. Breastfeeding or not, the book shop looks like a great place to curl up with a book [Photo: Instagram/@thebigcomfybooks] Since the sign was put on display people have been sharing images of it to social media with a largely positive reaction. Major #Kudos to The Big Comfy Bookshop in Coventry for this amazing breastfeeding sign! one tweet reads. A few people, however, wanted to point out that if you choose to cover-up when you breastfeed in public then that should be fine too. Story continues This sign says to me that if youre going to breastfeed you SHOULD do it uncovered and "out there and some people prefer to be a bit discreet, explained one commentator. Whatever you think about the sign, theres no doubt the bookshop looks like the best place to curl up with a good book a cuppa and a slice of cake. If only we were a bit closer to Coventry. *sighs* What do you think of the sign? Let us know @YahooStyleUK Top 20 Most Stressful Things About Parenthood Vogue Brazil celebrates the beauty of motherhood with breastfeeding cover Brad Pitt is a fan, just like the rest of us! The actor traveled to Croatia on Thursday and took an onsite tour of a proposed $1 billion dollar luxury real estate development on the Adriatic coast. After arriving at the Zadar Airport, the 52-year-old actor took a small boat cruise along a 50-mile stretch of coastline near Biograd and Sibenik, roughly an hour up the coast from Split. Pitt, who stayed overnight in Sibenik's recently opened waterside Dogusevom Hotel, visited the town's St. James Cathedral before embarking on a walking tour with 10 others around the proposed project site in Zablace. The group included internationally known architect Nikola Basic, who created Zadar's celebrated Sea Organ quay design, a unique giant sculpture that plays music created by sea waves passing through resonant tubes beneath its large marble steps. Basic also designed the Dogusevom Hotel and is the creative force behind plans at Zablace. Swiss-based fund TFI Holding has reportedly invested $70 million in assembling land parcels for Basic's project, which will remake Sibenik's small neighboring city Zablace into a modern ecologically-responsible planned community. Proposed project plans call for both land once known for its salt production and an existing marina site to be transformed into a resort that features a flagship luxury hotel, shops and villas. Schools and a clinic are also included in the plans, which will incorporate a permanent community population of 2,500. The overall cost of the development is estimated to be over $1.5 billion. Pitt first visited the Dalmatian coastal region nearly 30 years ago when he filmed Dark Side of the Sun in both Yugoslavia and Montenegro in 1988. In 2011, Angelina Jolie vacationed in Croatia with some of the her and Pitt's children. By Chris Arsenault RIO DE JANEIRO (Thomson Reuters Foundation) - Hundreds of protesters have occupied a government office in Brazil's capital demanding farmland for 120,000 landless families and other reforms, one of the country's biggest land rights movements said on Monday. Dubbing their protest the "cries of the excluded", Brazil's Landless Workers' Movement (MST) and other farmers' groups occupied the office of the Planning Ministry in central Brasilia, the MST said in a statement. "The demand is for the immediate settlement of more than 120,000 families (living) in encampments throughout the country," the MST said in a statement, referring to informal rural squats dotted across Brazil. The Planning Ministry did not respond to calls requesting comment and did not issue a statement or posts on Twitter on Monday. Nearly five million families across South America's largest country are landless, according a 2016 study from the University of Windsor in Canada. One percent of Brazil's population owns about 45 percent of the country's land, the study said. Brazil's government says it is working to improve land distribution but conflicting claims over different pieces of land and unclear titles in rural areas have slowed the process. Protesters also called for more technical support for farmers and a halt to plans by Brazil's newly installed government to lift limits on foreigners owning farmland. "The indiscriminate sale of land to foreigners threatens our national sovereignty," the MST said. Officials in Brazil's new government say land sales will help kick-start economic growth in the recession-hit economy. Michel Temer, a conservative lawyer, was sworn in as Brazil's president last week following the impeachment of former president Dilma Rouseff, who was seen as an MST ally. Demonstrations against Temer's government, including the MST's office occupation, have hit several Brazilian cities in recent days. Temer dismissed protesters as "small groups" who are "not representative" of Brazil's 204 million people. (Reporting By Chris Arsenault, editing by Ros Russell; Please credit the Thomson Reuters Foundation, the charitable arm of Thomson Reuters, that covers humanitarian news, women's rights, trafficking and climate change. Visit news.trust.org) By Holly Rubenstein and Marie-Louise Gumuchian LONDON (Reuters) - Oscar winner Renee Zellweger puts on her British accent again to play bumbling Londoner Bridget Jones in the third instalment of the film franchise, with the much-loved character, now in her 40s, single again but unexpectedly pregnant. The Texas-born actress reprises the role of the weight and love-obsessed character for "Bridget Jones's Baby", with Colin Firth back as the reserved Mark Darcy and new addition "Grey's Anatomy" actor Patrick Dempsey as her love interests. Zellweger first took on the role in 2001's "Bridget Jones's Diary" and "Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason" in 2004, both based on the 1990s novels by Helen Fielding. While now older and working as a television news producer, Jones, described by Zellweger as "a character that I love", still gets up to plenty of mishaps. "She's familiar to me," Zellweger told Reuters in an interview. "But it was a different kind of experience creatively to figure out how you show that a person has evolved but at the same time not betray the essence of who they are". The movie begins with Jones turning 43 and single following her break up with long-term love interest Darcy. But after an encounter with him as well as meeting American Jack Qwant, played by Dempsey, Jones becomes pregnant and is uncertain who the baby's father is. "She's less naive, I think, which is great that both of her ... suitors are great guys so it's a different sort of rivalry because I think she would be less apt to fall for the silly guy at this stage in her life," Zellweger said. The movie has been highly-anticipated by fans, who were left shocked with 2013's "Bridget Jones: Mad About the Boy" book in which Fielding killed off Darcy and portrayed Jones a widowed mother with a toy boy. "From when we started production I've been very nervous about the pressure for it to succeed and whether it would be funny and whether it would work and whether she's still relevant," director Sharon Maguire told Reuters. "But I think...there's an enduring love for this character." Asked if she would be open to taking Jones' story further forward, Fielding, also a screenwriter for the movie, told Reuters at the film's Monday premiere: "I would never say never." "It has to have integrity so I would only write a Bridget story if I had a story to tell and something important to say." Firth added his interest in making another film should the opportunity arise, saying: "If I'm invited, yes." "A certain generation is growing up with her (Jones) and some are just discovering her and it will be interesting to see what at the very end will be the legacy of all that," Dempsey added. (Writing by Marie-Louise Gumuchian; editing by Jeremy Gaunt and Diane Craft) HANGZHOU, China (Reuters) - British Prime Minister Theresa May and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi agreed on Monday to look at ways to retain strong trading links after Britain leaves the European Union, a British official said. "The Indians said they wanted to look at how we could continue to have a strong trading relationship and there was agreement that as we prepare to leave the EU, we should be exploring what that looks like," the official said. "Prime Minister Modi said that we had always been an important partner for India and nothing about leaving the European Union would change that." The two leaders were meeting on the sidelines of the G20 summit in the Chinese city of Hangzhou. (Reporting by William James; Writing by Ben Blanchard; Editing by Clarence Fernandez) Hangzhou (China) (AFP) - Britain and Australia have discussed negotiating a post-Brexit trade agreement, the two countries' leaders said Monday at the G20 summit in China, as Britain seeks to secure its economic ties before quitting the EU. "Britain's made a very momentous and historic choice to leave the European Union," Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull said as he met his new British counterpart Theresa May by Hangzhou's picturesque West Lake. "We have already been engaged in discussions with you about what the free trade agreements may look like after that." In the wake of its vote to leave the European Union, Britain must renegotiate its access to the markets of the rest of the world, as well as those of the grouping it is leaving. It is a huge task for the world's fifth-biggest economy. Australia is "determined" to provide its ally with support in negotiating new deals with other countries, Turnbull added. Britain maintains a close relationship with its resource-rich former colony, and May said she was grateful for Turnbull's offer of trade discussions. Australia would be "one of the first countries we will be looking to", she said, in what would be among the first such negotiations following the Brexit vote. But EU commission chief Jean-Claude Juncker has said he opposes trade talks between Britain and other economies while it remains part of the European Union. "I don't like the idea that member states of the EU, including those who are still a member state of the European Union, are negotiating free trade agreements," he said on Sunday. Such discussions were an "exclusive matter" for the European Union on behalf of its members and "we are sticking to it", he told reporters. According to EU officials, formal negotiations with Brussels itself cannot start until London triggers Article 50, the treaty provision governing its departure from the grouping. Story continues Australia would seek to help Britain conduct trade talks, Turnbull said Sunday, as London has not had to hammer out its own deals since joining the EU and lacks the large number of experienced negotiators needed to reach such agreements. US President Barack Obama said at a joint briefing Sunday with May that they had discussed trade and both countries aim to "ensure that we don't see adverse effects" in their commercial ties. It was "already a very strong and robust economic relationship that can become even stronger in the future", he said. May said that following Brexit "we will be looking to establish new trading relationships around the globe". LONDON, Sept 5 (Reuters) - Prime Minister Theresa May said on Monday that Britain and China were enjoying a 'golden era' and the strategic partnership would not be derailed by her decision on whether to back a part-Chinese funded power station at Hinkley Point. "I have been clear that a decision about Hinkley will be taken later this month, but our relationship with China is about more than Hinkley," May told reporters after a two-day summit of leaders from G20 nations in China. The British government's surprise decision in July to delay the $24 billion nuclear plan has upset China, one of the backers of the scheme. "If you look at the investment that there has been from China in various other parts of the United Kingdom and other infrastructure and so forth in the UK, we have built a global strategic partnership with China. "I've been clear we will be continuing that global strategic partnership with China. It is a golden era of the relations between China and the UK, and I will have an opportunity later this evening to take forward those discussions." (Reporting by Willaim James, Writing by Paul Sandle; editing by Kate Holton) LONDON (Reuters) - Prime Minister Theresa May said on Monday that Britain and China were enjoying a 'golden era' and the strategic partnership would not be derailed by her decision on whether to back a part-Chinese funded power station at Hinkley Point. "I have been clear that a decision about Hinkley will be taken later this month, but our relationship with China is about more than Hinkley," May told reporters after a two-day summit of leaders from G20 nations in China. The British government's surprise decision in July to delay the $24 billion nuclear plan has upset China, one of the backers of the scheme. "If you look at the investment that there has been from China in various other parts of the United Kingdom and other infrastructure and so forth in the UK, we have built a global strategic partnership with China. "I've been clear we will be continuing that global strategic partnership with China. It is a golden era of the relations between China and the UK, and I will have an opportunity later this evening to take forward those discussions." (Reporting by Willaim James, Writing by Paul Sandle; editing by Kate Holton) LONDON, Sept 5 (Reuters) - British lawmakers on Monday debated a petition signed by more than 4.1 million people that demands a second referendum on European Union membership. Britain's government has ruled out a second referendum and says that it is preparing to trigger the formal divorce proceedings that would eventually take Britain out of the club it joined in 1973. In the days following the referendum result, millions of people signed the petition calling for a second vote on membership. "The Brexiteers wanted out of Europe but they had no plan for the day after or any other day in the future," said Ian Blackford, a Scottish National Party lawmaker who supported the motion for the debate, in parliament's second debating chamber, which does not have the power to change the law. In the June 23 vote, 51.9 percent, or 17.4 million people, voted to leave the EU while 48.1 percent, or 16.1 million people, voted to stay in the EU. "Brexit must mean Brexit and it is up to every red-blooded democrat, no matter which side they were on before the result was known, to accept the clear electoral verdict and to pull together to deliver it as best we can," said John Penrose, a Conservative Party lawmaker who opposed the motion. David Lammy, a Labour lawmaker, said during the debate that the meaning of Brexit was unclear as were what the terms would be for Britain to have access to the European single market. The Brexit result, which historians say compares to the 1991 fall of the Soviet Union in its significance, unleashed immediate political and financial market turmoil in Britain. The vote has also raised questions about the future of Britain and post-World War Two European integration, though the economic impact has been less negative than was predicted by remain campaigners. Prime Minister Theresa May, who did not support leaving, says Brexit means Brexit and the vote will be respected. But at least seven lawsuits have been brought to force the government to accept that parliament should decide whether Britain should trigger Article 50 of the Lisbon Treaty, the formal exit process, rather than the prime minister. (Reporting by Guy Faulconbridge, Editing by Elizabeth Piper) LONDON (Reuters) - British members of parliament on Monday debated a petition signed by more than 4.1 million people that demands a second referendum on European Union membership. Britain's government has ruled out a second referendum and says that it is preparing to trigger the formal divorce proceedings that would eventually take Britain out of the club it joined in 1973. In the days following the referendum result, millions of people signed the petition calling for a second vote on membership. "The Brexiteers wanted out of Europe but they had no plan for the day after or any other day in the future," said Ian Blackford, a Scottish National Party MP who supported the motion for the debate, in parliament's second debating chamber, which does not have the power to change the law. In the June 23 vote, 51.9 percent, or 17.4 million people, voted to leave the EU while 48.1 percent, or 16.1 million people, voted to stay in the EU. "Brexit must mean Brexit and it is up to every red-blooded democrat, no matter which side they were on before the result was known, to accept the clear electoral verdict and to pull together to deliver it as best we can," said John Penrose, a Conservative Party lawmaker who opposed the motion. David Lammy, a Labour MP, said during the debate that the meaning of Brexit was unclear as were what the terms would be for Britain to have access to the European single market. The Brexit result, which historians say compares to the 1991 fall of the Soviet Union in its significance, unleashed immediate political and financial market turmoil in Britain. The vote has also raised questions about the future of Britain and post-World War Two European integration, though the economic impact has been less negative than was predicted by remain campaigners. Prime Minister Theresa May, who did not support leaving, says Brexit means Brexit and the vote will be respected. But at least seven lawsuits have been brought to force the government to accept that parliament should decide whether Britain should trigger Article 50 of the Lisbon Treaty, the formal exit process, rather than the prime minister. (Reporting by Guy Faulconbridge, Editing by Elizabeth Piper) The Buckle, Inc. BKE has been continuing with its sluggish comparable-store sales (comps) performance this year. Comps for the four-week period ended Aug 27, 2016, fell 14.8% year over year, continuing the trend of decline 10.9% in July, 10.6% in June, 11% in May, 13.2% in April, 11.8% in March, 8.9% in February and 11.3% in January. This Zacks Rank #4 (Sell) company generated net sales of $87.2 million in August, down 14% year over year. We note that net sales decreased 9.8% in July, 10.1% in June, 10.4% in May, 12.3% in April, 11% in March, 7.7% in February and 10.1% in January. Sales at the companys Men's category tumbled 7% year over year. This category contributed nearly 48.5% to Buckles August sales. Sales in the Womens category, which represented 51.5% of the companys monthly sales, declined 19% year over year. Buckle has not been able to turn the performance of its struggling Womens business around. On a combined basis, accessory sales, which constituted nearly 9% of the companys August sales, fell 11.5%, while footwear sales, which accounted for almost 5% of net sales, plunged 14.5%. Comps for the 30-week period ended Aug 27, 2016, slumped 11.6%, while net sales over the same time frame fell 10.8% to $542.9 million from $608.8 million recorded in the year-ago period. BUCKLE INC Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise BUCKLE INC Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise | BUCKLE INC Quote As of Sep 1, 2016, Buckle operated 470 retail stores across 44 states. Apart from Buckle, The Gap, Inc. GPS and The Cato Corporation CATO recorded comps declines of 3% and 8%, respectively. On the other hand, L Brands, Inc. LB registered an increase of 2% in comps. Confidential from Zacks Beyond this Analyst Blog, would you like to see Zacks' best recommendations that are not available to the public? Our Executive VP, Steve Reitmeister, knows when key trades are about to be triggered and which of our experts has the hottest hand. Click to see them now>> Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report GAP INC (GPS): Free Stock Analysis Report BUCKLE INC (BKE): Free Stock Analysis Report L BRANDS INC (LB): Free Stock Analysis Report To read this article on Zacks.com click here. Zacks Investment Research Garfield County deputies are looking for the burglar who broke into a school. The thieves broke into the school in Drummond overnight, and got away with thousands of dollars worth of equipment. Vandals have attacked a camp at the annual Burning Man festival, cutting power lines, gluing fairgoers trailer doors shut and flooding the site with water, organizers of the camp said. The raid on the White Ocean camp during the popular outdoor festival in Nevadas Black Rock Desert last week came after many were outraged at the exclusive luxury camps parasite class full of tech entrepreneurs and tourists, the Guardian reports. This year has been quite the challenge for our camp, White Ocean said in a statement on Facebook. We have felt like weve been sabotaged from every angle, but last nights chain of events, while we were all out enjoying our beautiful home, was an absolute and definitive confirmation that some feel we are not deserving of Burning Man. Camp organizers claim a band of hooligans vandalized most of their camp infrastructure, stole from members of the camp and flooded the site by dumping 200 gallons of potable water. Nonetheless, with open hearts and immense love for what we bring to Burning Man, we will absolutely not let this pathetic violation stop what we came here to do, the statement said. We came here to unite people through music and love. We came here to inspire and we came here to live and let live. Https%3a%2f%2fblueprint-api-production.s3.amazonaws.com%2fuploads%2fcard%2fimage%2f200609%2f7843ec733eb04ba3a3aba651d1561c35 If you weren't lucky enough to go to Bayside High (we're looking at you, Tiffani Thiessen), you never got to see A.C. Slater's perfect curly mullet or deep-as-the-ocean dimples in action as he and Zack Morris finagled one crazy scheme after another. That's why when he showed up at a Chicago-area pop-up of The Max, on Sep. 2, the world enjoyed a brief moment of utter perfection. SEE ALSO: Elizabeth Berkley Relives Iconic 'Saved by the Bell' Moment on 'DWTS' Mario Lopez, who played Slater on the iconic 1990s sitcom, stopped by the temporary pop-up in Chicago's Wicker Park neighborhood and gave employees and customers the thrill of a lifetime. He documented the experience on Instagram. Though the actors who played Mr. Belding (Dennis Haskins) and Max himself (Ed Alonzo) have made appearances, come on...who can touch the coolness that is A.C.? Lopez was noticeably impressed he got his own "A.C." sliders on the menu, though he poked fun that his namesake drink, the Albert Clifford, is a margarita. Seeing him at his own locker might be "a trip" for him, but for us it's a dream come true. Now if the gang can just reassemble for one final Bayside High photo, we will try to forgive and forget "The College Years." With New York Fashion Week just days away, the industry has big issues on the brain. Late last week, WWD reported that the Council of Fashion Designers of America (CFDA) had issued a letter as part of its health initiative program, reminding model agencies to "encourage the industry to be inclusive of racial diversity when preparing casting of models for their company needs." The letter, signed by Diane von Furstenberg and Steven Kolb, went on to make a point of asking agencies to take an active approach to recruiting and including models of color in castings. The move was a bold but necessary confirmation of the change many believe is needed in the fashion industry when it comes to fair representation on the catwalks -- a movement which has been gathering momentum over the past few seasons. It was granted an official title during the Spring 2016 season in New York, when artist and designer Ashley B. Chew sparked the 'Black Models Matter' movement by painting the slogan on her handbag. The cause quickly went viral. The conversation remains relevant. This weekend, Kanye West hit the headlines after tweeting a casting notice for auditions for his upcoming Yeezy season 4 show in New York. The ad requested that 'multiracial women only' turn up to audition -- a move that saw the star criticized on social media, but succeeded in turning the spotlight back on the debate. And West's catwalk is unlikely to be the only one tackling the perceived lack of diversity in the industry. Back in the spring, during the Fall/Winter 2016 shows, designer Zac Posen used a cast of almost entirely (87 percent) non-white models, The Fashion Spot reported. Some 85 percent of the models hired at the Chromat show were also non-white, and overall, the site's statistics from 120 different presentations concluded that the AW16 New York Fashion Week was the city's most diverse yet, with white model castings totaling 68.1 percent and non-white castings totaling 31.9 percent. With current US race relations dominating the media, New York Fashion Week could be the chance to broadcast a positive message to the rest of the industry. The CFDA certainly seems to be hoping so. RevPAR has been on a decline since 2012. Singapore's hotels are having a hard time luring tourists into their suites, as revpar has been on a constant decline even with the surging tourist numbers recorded by the Singapore tourism board. According to OCBC Investment Research, June has been a poor performing month in 2Q, with RevPAR falling 11.2% YoY on the back of a 4 point decline in Average Occupancy Rate (AOR) and 6.7% dip in Average Room Rate (ARR). The report said the room supply interjection will not be adequately matched by a growth in demand. "The room supply is expected to increase another 4.7% to 63.8K rooms this year. Even though visitor days has shown a healthy start, the outlook for corporate demand remains weak, especially for corporates in the Oil & Gas and Financial sectors. As such, we expect this supply overhang to worsen this year, contributing to downward pressures on RevPAR," the report said. More From Singapore Business Review A child was injured Sunday in a crash along the Roosevelt Boulevard in Philadelphia's East Falls section. HANGZHOU, China China agreed to steps toward reducing its politically volatile steel exports but avoided binding limits as leaders of major economies ended a summit Monday with a forceful endorsement of free trade and a crowded agenda that included the Koreas, Syria and refugees. In a joint statement, President Barack Obama and Chinese President Xi Jinping and the leaders of Britain, Japan, Russia and other Group of 20 economies pledged to boost sluggish global growth by promoting innovation and to strengthen the global financial system. In an effort to shore up public support for trade, they promised inclusive growth to spread the benefits of closer global integration more widely to millions of people who have been left behind by wrenching change. The pledge reflected a growing recognition that economic strains are fueling political tensions and a growing clamor to protect local industries. Chinese leaders hope the two-day meeting will increase their influence in managing the global economy. They have said they want the G-20, created to respond to the 2008 financial crisis, to take on a longer-term role regulating the global economy. The joint statement reflects that ambition by calling the G-20 the premier forum for economic cooperation. Beijing made trade a theme of the gathering in this lakeside city southwest of Shanghai but faces complaints that a flood of low-cost Chinese steel into global markets threatens U.S. and European jobs, propelling the rise of political movements that promise to curb trade. The joint statement calls for formation of a steel forum under the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development to study excess production capacity. In a concession to Beijing, the statement doesnt mention China by name and says excess steel capacity is a global issue, though U.S. and European officials say the vast Chinese state-owned industry, which accounts for half of worldwide output, is the root of the problem. Washington has hiked import duties by 500 percent on Chinese steel to offset what it says are improper subsidies. Story continues Beijing promised in January to reduce steel production capacity by 100 to 150 million tons by 2020, a pledge Xi repeated Saturday ahead of the G-20 meeting. But that is half of Chinas estimated excess capacity of 300 million tons, so deeper cuts would be required to bring it in line with demand. The market is distorted by subsidies and other support measures, and that is the fundamental problem, said Japanese Prime Minister Shintaro Abe, according to broadcaster NHK. The president of the European Unions governing body, Jean-Claude Juncker, called Sunday for the G-20 to take action on steel. He said the trade bloc will look at Beijings response when deciding whether to grant China market economy status, which would make it harder to bring anti-dumping cases. The creation of the global steel forum could help to ease strains between Beijing and its trading partners, said economist Rajiv Biswas of IHS. It may help to reassure countries about tangible steps China is taking, he said. Obama, Xi and other leaders called repeatedly during the meeting for governments to defend free trade. The benefits of trade and open markets must be communicated to the wider public more effectively, said the joint statement. The World Trade Organization is forecasting global trade growth this year at just 2.8 percent its fifth year below 3 percent. The International Monetary Fund has cut its outlook for global economic growth to 3.1 percent. Despite the joint statements positive language, the G-20 is unlikely to be able to do much to boost trade or economic growth, Biswas said. He noted that talks on Obamas TPP initiative for Asia-Pacific governments and a U.S.-European pact have slowed or stalled, while Britain is wrestling with the effects of its June vote to leave the EU and other economies, including Russia and Nigeria, are in recession. On the global growth front, I would say it is hard for the G-20 to come up with a coordinated action plan because many of the countries are caught up in domestic issues, Biswas said. The summit was frequently overshadowed by other concerns and got off to a rocky start Saturday when there was no staircase at the airport for Obama to exit his plane. The president used an alternative exit, but quarrels with Chinese officials broke out on the tarmac and at other venues over access by U.S. officials and the traveling press. Heavy security for the event brought Hangzhou, a city of 2.5 million people, to a standstill and left downtown streets deserted. On Monday, North Korea added to the drama by firing three ballistic missiles off its east coast. The U.S. says that and other recent tests violate U.N. Security Council resolutions and pose a threat to aircraft and ships nearby. At about the same time, Xi was in Hangzhou telling his South Korean counterpart, Park Gyun-hye, that China opposes plans to deploy a U.S. anti-missile system in South Korea. China has previously warned against Seouls decision to base the U.S. Terminal High Altitude Area Defense, or THAAD, system south of the South Korean capital, Seoul. But Monday marked the first time Xi raised the issue directly with Park. Beijing complains the system will allow the U.S. military to peer deep into northeastern China. Another key issue at the meeting was Britains vote to leave the 28-nation EU trade bloc, seen by some analysts as the first in a wave of moves by governments to withdraw from free trade. British Prime Minister Theresa May, who took office after the referendum, spent much of the summit trying to reassure other governments that Britain was not isolating itself. Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Turkish counterpart, Recep Tayypip Erdogan, met to discuss the conflict in Syria and to try to mend frayed relations. ___ Associated Press writers Louise Watt and Christopher Bodeen in Hangzhou and Mari Yamaguchi in Tokyo contributed to this report. BEIJING (Reuters) - China on Monday leveled responsibility at the United States and journalists for a fracas at a Chinese airport, in which officials of both countries exchanged heated remarks as President Barack Obama disembarked from his aircraft. The comments by a foreign ministry spokeswoman were in response to questions whether China, which is hosting a G20 summit meeting in its eastern city of Hangzhou, intentionally failed to provide Obama's plane with a staircase, an event that has fueled speculation it was a diplomatic snub. "I think if only the American group had respected the working arrangements first made with China then this wouldn't have occurred," Hua Chunying told reporters in Beijing on Monday. "You saw that all the other country leaders all used the stairs that China provided. So why was it only the United States that didn't? These were the stairs the United States requested." Hua questioned why China would intentionally create trouble for the United States, adding that the incident was not a high-level issue, echoing comments made by Obama on Sunday. A Chinese security official had also blocked National Security Adviser Susan Rice on the tarmac and yelled at another U.S. official trying to help journalists get closer to Obama. Hua criticized the media for not respecting China's rules on where to stand to capture images of the Obama leaving the plane, adding that other countries' reporters were fine. (Reporting by Paul Carsten; Additional reporting by Beijing Newsroom; Editing by Clarence Fernandez) China's leader Xi Jinping and Japan's Shinzo Abe sought to reset their countries' troubled relationship Monday at their first meeting in over a year, with the Japanese prime minister calling China an "important friend". The Asian giants have been at loggerheads over territorial disputes and historical animosity, but Xi said they should "put aside disruptions", the official news agency Xinhua said. Their ties were "troubled by complications at times", it cited the Chinese president as saying, but they should seek to return to normal development for the sake of regional peace and stability. For his part Abe described China as "an important friend of Japan's since long ago". "We need to look at the big picture and work to improve relations," he told reporters after the meeting. The tone of the two leaders' comments after a G20 summit in Hangzhou was a marked improvement on the last time they met on Chinese soil, on the sidelines of an APEC gathering in 2014, when they could barely conceal their mutual distaste. Ties later thawed, but tensions have been rising again in recent months. The relationship between the two powers is crucial to Asian stability, and Abe said they were "both responsible for the region's peace and prosperity as well as the global economy". But they have a longstanding dispute over islands in the East China Sea controlled by Japan, which knows them as Senkaku, and claimed by China, which calls them Diaoyu. Just weeks before the summit, hundreds of Chinese fishing boats, accompanied by government ships, flooded into nearby waters, infuriating Tokyo and raising questions about Beijing's intentions for the relationship. - Oil on troubled waters - In a substantive breakthrough, the leaders agreed that they would restart talks later this month on a deal to jointly develop resources in the region. Japan and China agreed in June 2008 to cooperate over oil and gas resources in area, but negotiations stopped two years later amid rising tensions. Story continues Meanwhile, Japan has weighed in on another Chinese territorial dispute in the South China Sea, where Beijing has built artificial islands capable of supporting military facilities. Abe has vocally criticised China for rejecting a July ruling by an international tribunal that said its extensive claims to the strategically vital waters had no legal basis. Monday's rapprochement only went so far. Xi told Abe that Japan should "exercise caution in its words and deeds" on the issue, Xinhua said. And Abe reiterated his stance, saying: "Any dispute has to be solved peacefully and diplomatically under international law, not through power or intimidation." "Since we are neighbours, we have a variety of problems," he said. "So therefore, it is important to have dialogue." The two agreed to accelerate talks on an air and sea communications hotline between their defence ministries, he added. Last week Japan's defence ministry requested a record budget, including funds for an anti-ship missile system to defend the East China Sea islands. Beijing has the world's largest military at its disposal and the tensions have at times raised fears of clashes between them. (Corrects paragraph 14 to show shadow loans equal to a fifth of GDP, not five times) * Shanghai Pudong has biggest shadow portfolio at $190 bln * China Minsheng, China Zheshang portfolios rose 86 pct in H1 * Bank regulator trying to limit use of shadow lending products * Shadow lending disguises scale and risk of loan portfolios By Shu Zhang and Matthew Miller BEIJING, Sept 5 (Reuters) - Shadow lending by listed Chinese banks surged in the first half, underlining the challenges faced by the country's banking regulator as it tries to rein in the use of opaque lending structures that are seen as a threat to financial stability. China's lenders, led by the mid-tier banks, have been increasing their use of shadow lending products for years, as they can offer higher returns and tie up less of a bank's capital than traditional lending. But they also disguise the quality of a bank's balance sheet, and sector-wide make it harder for regulators to assess systemic risk and the volume of lending in the economy. A Reuters analysis of bank filings shows Shanghai Pudong Development Bank, a leading joint-stock lender, increased its receivables for trust schemes and asset management plans, or so-called shadow loans, by 14 percent in the first six months of the year to 1.27 trillion yuan ($190 billion), giving it China's biggest portfolio of such products. The shadow loan book at China's largest joint-stock lender, Industrial Bank Co, rose 4.4 percent to 1.23 trillion yuan, equivalent to 63 percent of its normal loan book, according to Reuters calculations. China Minsheng Banking Corp, China Zheshang Bank Co, Shengjing Bank Co, Bank of Jinzhou Co and Bank of Chongqing Co also substantially increased their portfolios by 9 percent or more. Minsheng and Zheshang both reported an 86 percent rise, the fastest among their listed peers, according to Reuters calculations. "I'm actually a bit surprised that some smaller banks were still growing those positions," said Wei Hou, AB Bernstein banking analyst. Given the regulatory push, the trend ought to be going the other way, he added. Story continues The China Banking Regulatory Commission (CBRC) didn't immediately respond to a request for comment. NEW RULES The CBRC has tried to address the rampant growth of these shadow lending products, particularly at mid-sized banks. In April it issued Document 82 to lenders, which most bankers and analysts interpreted as an attempt to compel banks to increase provisioning on shadow loans and bring them in line with normal loans. Some analysts at the time said the move could force banks to seek fresh capital to shore up their balance sheets, a prospect that has become more likely as banks' capital positions deteriorated during the first half. Shadow loans had already reached 12.6 trillion yuan at the end of last year, according to calculations by UBS, about a fifth of China's entire annual economic output. And credit rating agency Fitch said in July that around a third of system credit resides outside bank loan books, undermining asset quality data. That is particularly worrying since Chinese banks' non-performing loans are already at a record high, according to official figures, and most analysts think the real figures are several times worse. The accounting treatment of these loan-like trust and asset management plans is significantly different. "These shadow loans are not subjected to the same rules as the loan book, despite being largely credit in nature," said UBS Securities analyst Jason Bedford. "As a result, normal limitations in the loan books, such as single-borrower exposure limits and non-performing loan recognition rules, don't apply." Though the impact of the CBRC intervention is not evident in most of the listed banks' first-half filings, there are some positive signs. China Merchants Bank Co was one of the rare lenders to scale down its shadow loans in the first half, with a 23 percent decrease in receivables from trust schemes and asset management plans to 528.7 billion yuan, according to Reuters calculations. The bank's deputy president, Li Hao, who acknowledged that "to some degree, the bank's non-standard investments are loans", indicated a change of approach was taking hold at the bank. "For the future, the bank's practice will be more standardised when it comes to new investments," Li said. "They will no longer be put under the category of non-standard investments, but will be classified as loans," he told analysts on a post-results conference call. Hou from AB Bernstein said he expected that mid-tier and smaller banks would scale down their investment receivable positions in the second-half of the year, else the regulator would come out with "more targeted policies". But, he added, while stronger banks can cut their risks or increase provisions for their shadow loan holdings, it was more problematic for the weaker lenders. "For banks facing big operational pressure, increasing provisions or bringing those high-risk investments back on their loan book would hit an already weak bottom line." ($1 = 6.6779 Chinese yuan renminbi) (Reporting By Shu Zhang and Matthew Miller; Editing by Will Waterman) Cincinnati Police Department investigators collected shell casings from a shooting that happened just as crowds were leaving Riverfest 2016. By Carolyn Crist (Reuters Health) - Standing desks in classrooms could help children maintain a healthy body weight, a new study suggests. These desks are set at a height that allows students to alternate between sitting on a stool or standing while working. Standing desks can interrupt sedentary behavior patterns while kids are in school, simply, at a low cost, and without disrupting classroom instruction time, the authors of the study write in the American Journal of Public Health. The researchers studied third- and fourth-graders in three Texas elementary schools and found that kids spent more time on their feet, and slimmed down, when the standing desks were used instead of traditional classroom desks. Healthy weights are assessed differently in children than in adults. Because weight and height change during growth and development, doctors dont simply calculate kids body mass index (BMI), which is a ratio of weight to height. Instead, they compare the childs BMI to the BMI of other children of the same age and sex. For children, a normal BMI can fall between the 5th and 85th percentiles that is, not in the bottom 5 percent or the top 15 percent among kids their age. The study started out with 24 teachers and 380 students. The teachers were randomly assigned to have standing desks in their classrooms, or regular desks. Overall, compared to students who used regular desks for two years, students who had standing desks in their classrooms for two years in a row saw their BMI move 5 percentiles lower, on average. About 80 percent of the kids started out at a normal weight, but the researchers didnt separate out the results in the overweight kids. Reducing sitting time among school-age students could decrease the inactivity linked to a range of health problems, including obesity and diabetes, Mark Benden of the Texas A&M School of Public Health Ergonomics Center in College Station and colleagues wrote in their report. If you look at the national trends, were more sedentary than ever before, and naturally that affects weight gain, Benden told Reuters Health. With the focus on state testing and academics, weve lost the regular recess and physical education time in schools, Benden said. Standing desks bring a difference to the classroom that doesnt take away from classroom time. Previous research has linked sedentary time to poor academic achievement and low self-esteem in children, the research team pointed out. We force kids to sit down, sit still and be quiet, and this is unnatural for young children, Benden said. If we want kids to sit less and move more, we should encourage activity in the learning process. Standing desks would help in that regard, he said. A limitation of the experiment, Benden noted, is that during the two-year study, some students moved to a different school or switched classrooms. This study introduces the realities of the world that teachers change and kids move in and out of schools, said Mark Tremblay, who studies healthy living and obesity at Childrens Hospital of Ontario Research Institute in Ottawa, Canada. Because we dont know whether obese or disabled children were in the classrooms with standing or sitting desks, the results could be biased, said Tremblay, who wasnt involved in the study. Still, Tremblay said, The findings are still encouraging. Id say this is a large pilot study that needs to be further explored as a means to promote healthy living behaviors at early ages. Encouraging students to stand and move could help them develop healthy habits that may impact future obesity in adulthood, said Kermit Davis of the University of Cincinnati, Ohio who wasnt involved with the study. Davis researches workplace stressors, particularly those that can stress the lower back. One key is not to just have students stand but also provide postural relief (such as stools) so they can lean or sit for micro breaks, Davis told Reuters Health by email. Too much sitting is certainly bad, but the other extreme of too much standing can also be bad. SOURCE: http://bit.ly/2cu6GCv American Journal of Public Health, online August 23, 2016. Claudia Schiffer is releasing a cashmere collection, just in time for fall. The 46-year-old supermodel on Monday unveiled her latest range of knitwear and cashmere items with New York-based luxury ready-to-wear label TSE (pronounced "say"). The 40-piece collection, featuring multi-color jacquards and fair isles, is a follow-up to Schiffer's previous spring 2016 and fall 2015 collaborations with TSE. SUPERMODEL-APPROVED: Pieces from Claudia Schiffer's collection. (Photos: stylebop.com) Inspired by "the colours, scents and textiles from my travels in southern Spain," according to Schiffer, the collection features a color palette of sunset red, burnt orange and sky blue that is softened with soft cream and camel, referencing motifs from heirloom rugs, ancient tiles and mosaics. "Some styles are boyfriend fit, which allows them to be slouchy for relaxed dressing and the cardigans can be belted or worn loose," says Schiffer of how the sweaters can be styled, adding that she tends to wear the cozy clothing item "mostly with denim and I accessorize depending on the occasion." In addition to a clothing line, Schiffer launched her own haircare range, Essence Ultime, with German brand Schwarzkopf in 2014. Earlier this year, the '90s icon starred in Balmain's spring 2016 campaign alongside Cindy Crawford and Naomi Campbell. Priced from $319 to $679, Schiffer's collection is now available at stylebop.com. A photo posted by Claudia Schiffer (@claudiaschiffer) on Sep 5, 2016 at 5:38am PDT (Reuters) - Hillary Clinton, the Democratic Party's presidential nominee, on Monday said that she was not distracted by rumors of ill health and that attacks on the Clinton Foundation were not rooted in fact. Clinton, speaking on her campaign plane, also said she continued to support a "no-fly zone" over Syria. (Reporting by Jeff Mason, editing by G Crosse) Cleveland (AFP) - Rivals Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump sprinted out of the campaign blocks to begin their two-month dash to the US presidential election, descending on Ohio as ground zero of their 2016 battle. The candidates used Labor Day -- the traditional launch of the home stretch of the presidential campaign -- to push their arguments that they would be best for working-class Americans. Democrat Clinton maintains an edge over Trump in national polls, has dramatically deeper ground operations in swing states, and trounced Trump in August fundraising. But the Republican flagbearer's unorthodox White House bid, including his campaign's apparent imperviousness to criticism about his harsh rhetoric, assures a tight contest for the next 64 days. "I'm not taking anybody, anywhere for granted," Clinton told a crowd of more than 1,000 at a picnic in Cleveland. Highlighting the intensity of the fight for battleground states like Ohio, Trump was already on the ground in Cleveland for his own campaign events when Clinton landed, their planes parking about two football fields apart on the tarmac. "I'm ready. I'm more than ready," she said of the intense two-month battle ahead as she attempts to become the first female US commander in chief. But after a few days of rest from campaigning, Clinton coughed her way through portions of her Cleveland remarks. Suffering one of her worst coughing bouts of the race, she paused to sip water, her voice reduced to a crackling whisper at times. That's sure to fuel critics' claims that Clinton, 68, has serious health problems. Clinton dismissed such "conspiracy theories," saying her coughing was just from seasonal allergies. Clinton debuted her new campaign plane -- with the slogan "Stronger Together" emblazoned on the side -- and brought the press corps aboard her jet for the first time. Under extensive criticism from her rival and journalists for not holding a full press conference in nine months, she answered questions for more than 22 minutes on several topics, including tensions with Russia over accusations of cyber-espionage. Story continues Clinton expressed "grave" concern about reports that Russia has been interfering in the US electoral process through invasive cyber attacks on the Democratic Party and an apparent attack on voter registration systems in Arizona. And she implied Moscow was trying to help get Trump elected. "I think it's quite intriguing that this activity has happened around the time Trump became the nominee," she said. - Republican messenger - On Monday, Trump followed Clinton's lead, inviting some journalists aboard his private jet where he discussed his immigration platform. Just a week after traveling to Mexico for his first international trip as the nominee, and then returning across the US border to deliver a nativist immigration speech, he assailed Clinton for having "no plan" on immigration. "What her real plan is, she has total amnesty" and a pathway to citizenship, he said, reiterating his opposition to such a legalization process without undocumented immigrants leaving the country first. Under Clinton, "people can pour across the border and it doesn't matter who the people are." Clinton shot back by recalling Trump's meeting with Mexico's President Enrique Pena Nieto and their clash over Trump's plan to have Mexico pay for a border wall. Trump "can't even go to a friendly foreign country without getting into a fight," she said during a campaign stop in Hampton, Illinois. Trump, who visited a Cleveland diner to meet with union members, is seeking to capitalize on simmering frustration among blue-collar workers over jobs and wages. He and his running mate Mike Pence also dropped in on the Canfield County Fair in working class eastern Ohio, where several attendees clapped and chanted Trump's name. "I love you Donald!" a teenage boy shouted. Trump, 70, dominated last week's political messaging and imagery that included his visit to an African-American church in Detroit. And while Sunday's CBS News Battleground Tracker shows Clinton, 68, leading Trump in two key states -- by eight points in Pennsylvania and four points in North Carolina -- recent polls show the race tightening nationally. - On the road - The first of three presidential debates that are expected to be the most watched moments of the election is just three weeks away. After hinting last month that he might not participate in all of them, Trump told reporters he was on board. "I expect to do all three," Trump told reporters. Clinton and Trump were each joined by their running mates in Ohio, a signal of the importance each campaign places on the Buckeye State. Democratic Senator Sherrod Brown of Ohio said there was "more pressure on Trump" than Clinton to win there. "If Trump loses Ohio he loses the race," Brown told AFP. "Hillary can lose Ohio and still win because she's going to win Virginia, North Carolina, Colorado," and other swing states, Brown added. On Tuesday, Clinton flies to Tampa, Florida to attend a voter registration rally in a state that like Ohio is considered one of the key swing states of the election. BOGOTA, Sept 5 (Reuters) - A leftist rebel bomb attack has halted pumping operations along Colombia's second most important oil pipeline, the Cano-Limon Covenas, state oil company Ecopetrol said on Monday. The attack by National Liberation Army (ELN) guerrillas occurred on Saturday in a rural area of northern Norte de Santander province, close to the border with Venezuela, the company said. The incident did not halt production or exports. The 485-mile (780 km) pipeline has the capacity to transport up to 210,000 barrels of crude daily from oil fields operated by U.S.-based Occidental Petroleum to the Caribbean port of Covenas. Attacks on oil installations by the ELN, a group of about 1,500 combatants, have been a frequent occurrence during a conflict that has taken more than 220,000 lives and displaced millions over the past 52 years. President Juan Manuel Santos sought to begin peace talks with the ELN in March, but negotiations have stalled until the group frees all its hostages. The Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), the biggest rebel group in the South American country, agreed to a peace accord with the government on Aug. 24. (Reporting by Luis Jaime Acosta; Writing by Helen Murphy; Editing by Tom Brown) Crusaders against political correctness often portray themselves as brave. They deride others for knuckling under to left-wing orthodoxy, for being too afraid of African Americans, Latinos, feminists, and gays to speak the truth. They, on the other hand, speak their mind, come what may. No presidential candidate has used this conceit more effectively than Donald Trump. His supporters love his willingness to say things about Mexicans, Muslims, and African Americans that ordinary politicians wont say for fear of being called a bigot. Thats part of what they mean when they say he doesnt talk like a politician. But over the last couple of weeks, Trump has illustrated something important about the anti-politically correct. Theyre most comfortable confronting PC orthodoxy when the people theyre confronting arent around. Once they actually encounter African Americans, Latinos, and other minority groups, they become a lot less brave. In an effort to soften his image, Trump has recently begun doing something he previous avoided: Talking to blacks and Latinos. Two weeks ago, he met with his Hispanic advisory council. According to media reports, he was humble and conciliatory. Did he call for deporting the undocumented immigrants already in the US, as he has repeatedly promised his overwhelmingly white crowds? Nope. According to Jacob Monty, who attended the meeting, Trump said deporting them is neither possible nor humane. Recommended: Here's How NASA Thinks Society Will Collapse Then, last week, Trump flew to Mexico City to meet President Enrique Pena Nieto. Did he repeat the pledge that brings white crowds to their feet: That Mexico will pay for a wall along the two countries border? Nope. Beforehand, the two sides agreed not to discuss the subject. When Pena Nieto brought it up anyway, and announced that Mexico would never foot the bill, did Trump set him straight? Nope. Rudy Giuliani, who was attending the meeting on Trumps behalf, reportedly declared the topic off the table and The Donald moved on to less controversial subjects. Story continues When Trump appeared publicly with Pena Nieto after their meeting, he again avoided direct confrontation, in the Washington Posts words. He called it a great, great, honor to be invited to the country he has repeatedly trashed during the campaign. And he declared that he had tremendous feelings for the tremendous Mexican American people, a group he famously derided as rapists and drug dealers in his announcement speech. But once Trump left Mexico and addressed an overwhelmingly white, anti-immigrant crowd that evening in Arizona, the Post noted, he ditched his subdued and cooperative tone and returned to the aggressive tenor that has defined much of his campaign. Repeatedly raising his voice to a yell, he said that anyone who has entered the United States illegally is subject to deportation. The oscillation continued this weekend, when Trump addressed an African American congregation in Detroit. Trumps subdued rhetoric, noted Politico, was a jarring contrast to his typically boisterous rallies. The Republican nominee said nothing about Black Lives Matter being responsible for the murder of police, as he had told Bill OReilly. He didnt imply, as he has to white audiences, that African Americans are prone to voter fraud. He said nothing about Barack Obama not being born in the United States. He didnt repeat his claims that blacks should vote for him because their lives are so miserable that they have nothing to lose. Instead, he flattered his audience, calling black churches the conscience of our country, which had inspired America toward a better moral character, a deeper concern for mankind, and spirit of charity and unity that binds us all together. Trumps remarks, noted the Post, constituted a jarring shift in tone and message. Recommended: Schrodinger's Supreme Court This isnt surprising. Even more than most politicians, Trump lives for the approval of the crowd. His ego is so overdeveloped, and his ideological convictions so underdeveloped, that its hard to imagine him walking into a room and saying things he knows his audience doesnt want to hear. But Trump isnt alone. Put Rush Limbaugh, Bill OReilly, or most of the other conservatives who have made a career of being anti-PC in a small room with Latinos, African Americans, or Muslims and I suspect their rhetoric would dramatically soften, too. Its harder to speak bluntly and nastily about people when theyre staring you in the face. Its also harder because when you actually listen to them, they often defy your stereotypes. Up close, their grievances become harder to dismiss. Im glad Trump is now speaking to more diverse crowds. Im glad because, in so doing, hes proving that when it comes to political correctness, conservative politicians and pundits arent more courageous than their liberal counterparts. Theyre just more isolated from the ethnic and racial minorities about whom they speak. When the distance disappears, the bravery does too. Read more from The Atlantic: This article was originally published on The Atlantic. Temperatures climbed Monday as Chicago Public School students, many attending schools with no air conditioning, prepared for their first day of school. Https%3a%2f%2fblueprint-api-production.s3.amazonaws.com%2fuploads%2fcard%2fimage%2f200713%2fe366ccc8d7f34cc5ad35c9d5285fa22b Passengers on Royal Caribbean's Anthem of the Seas ship endured a choppy, stomach-churning ride this weekend as the Bermuda-bound cruise liner steered into Post-Tropical Cyclone Hermine. The 16-deck Anthem is the same ship that suffered damage in February after sailing into hurricane-force winds and 30-foot waves off the coast of North Carolina. SEE ALSO: Live blog: Post-Tropical Cyclone Hermine moves up East Coast The cruise liner's latest battle with stormy seas began Sunday afternoon, shortly after the Anthem departed from Bayonne, New Jersey. As the ship got caught in whipping winds and thrashing waves, passengers took to Twitter to complain of seasickness, constant swaying and flying dishes in the ship's restaurants. Anthem of the seas recording gusts of 90 knot winds. Good times on #croastascruising2wed. pic.twitter.com/3PCKBNVhDl Robert McHugh (@Robert_J_McHugh) September 4, 2016 Omar Torres, a spokesman for Royal Caribbean, said the Anthem's crew changed its course days before departure in an effort to avoid Post-Tropical Cyclone Hermine, figuring the storm would be west of where it wound up tracking. Anthem of the Seas typically takes a southeast route to Bermuda. But with Hermine spinning up the Atlantic Coast, the crew opted to take a northeast route and then turn south toward Bermuda, Torres told Mashable. "Our plan was to stay 240 nautical miles away from the storm," he said by phone. However, over time the forecast was revised, and the ship wound up in the worst possible place: the right front quadrant of the storm, where winds are strongest. #AnthemOfTheSeas was in a tough spot. #Hermine tracked farther east than expected. Still though, steered into it. pic.twitter.com/CRp070NQ2j Tim Buckley (@TimBuckleyWX) September 5, 2016 10:30z position of Anthem of Seas was basically in worst quadrant of post-tropical Hurricane #Hermine / Nor'easter pic.twitter.com/exb3F6z9Af Ryan Maue (@RyanMaue) September 4, 2016 Torres said the Anthem crew tried to prepare passengers for the turbulent waters, adopting strategies that it didn't have in place during the February storm. Royal Caribbean sent each passenger a letter before departure that warned about the storm and described the crew's plan to avoid it. The captain also updated guests in a pre-departure announcement and throughout the journey to Bermuda. The spokesman told Mashable that Anthem did not incur any damages from Hermine. He said the cruise ship docked in Bermuda less than two hours after its scheduled arrival time. Mashable science editor Andrew Freedman contributed to this story. And sale of Marina Bay land set to fetch bumper price. Singapores central bank is relaxing refinancing rules for some homeowners as the economy cools, making it easier for those struggling with their borrowings to roll over their mortgages. Households who are refinancing their existing mortgages will be exempted from a 60 percent cap on their total debt-servicing ratio, even if they had observed it when making the purchase, the Monetary Authority of Singapore said in a statement Thursday. Read more here. Singapores population may be 0.4 percent the size of Chinas but the tiny city-state may soon host a larger number of carriers than the worlds largest mobile-phone market. The Infocomm Development Authority of Singapore said Thursday it received applications for what would be the Lion Citys fourth license to operate a mobile-phone carrier. The idea is that increased competition would bring down phone bills, improve services and help Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong step closer to turning Singapore into a Smart Nation. Find out more here. The first sale of land in Singapores Marina Bay in nine years is set to fetch a bumper price as developers jockey for a piece of the sought-after financial district. The 1.1 hectare (2.7 acre) plot may fetch more than S$1.8 billion ($1.3 billion), according to Cushman & Wakefield Inc., or S$1,200 per square foot of gross floor area. That would make it the citys most expensive land sale since 2007, when the Asia Square Tower I plot sold at S$2.02 billion, or a rate of S$1,409 per square foot. Read more here. More From Singapore Business Review By Patrick Graham LONDON, Sept 5 (Reuters) - Foreign exchange trading through online retail brokers fell by 7 percent in the second quarter of 2016, with a boom in sterling trading around June's Brexit vote not enough to fuel expansion of one of the currency world's few recent drivers of growth. The data from industry researchers Finance Magnates Business Intelligence (www.financemagnates.com) follows the three-yearly survey by the Bank for International Settlements, which last week showed the world's biggest financial market contracting for the first time since 2001. Previously viewed as a sideshow to the trading between banks and big investment and pension funds that forms the core of the $5 trillion a day global market in currencies, the retail sector has grown steadily in the last three years. The retreat in wholesale volumes has also made retail accounts a larger part of overall market activity, and trading had risen sharply in both quarterly and annual terms at the start of this year. In the second quarter, volumes fell to the equivalent of $335 billion a day, compared to $364 billion in the first quarter but up from $318 billion a day a year ago. Data and estimates, none of which have been checked by Reuters, showed trading down at 14 of the top 15 brokers globally. The exception was Denmark's Saxo Bank, where monthly volumes inched up to $259 billion from $257 billion in the first quarter. Two Asia-focused brokers, GMO Click and DMM.com, continued to lead the website's rankings with monthly volumes more than double those of their nearest competitors. They were down 9 and 15 percent respectively on the quarter. Daily trade in Japan -- the biggest market for small leveraged bets on currency movements from non-institutional players -- fell to $163 billion a day from $189 billion in the first quarter. Japan-based GMO saw trades of $879 billion a month, down from $961 billion, still roughly triple that of the biggest U.S. and European brokers. Outside Japan, U.S.-based FXCM was the leader by volume at $279 billion a month. U.S.-based Gain Capital saw volumes fall to $237 billion a month from $287 billion in the first quarter. (Editing by Catherine Evans) The casualties from the war on drugs being waged by Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte continue to mount, with latest figures showing that more than 2,400 alleged drug users and drug dealers have been killed since he launched the bloody campaign just over two months ago. Figures released by the Philippine National Police (PNP) on Sunday showed that 1,011 alleged drug users and dealers have been killed in police operations since Duterte began his six-year term on July 1, Agence France-Presse reports. A far higher number 1,391 has been chalked up to deaths under investigation, most of them believed to have been killed by vigilantes. Read next: This Is Why Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte Will Get Away With Murder The 71-year-old was elected by a landslide in early May on a campaign promise to rid the Southeast Asian nation of crime, particularly the drug trade. He has exhorted his citizens to kill drug dealers themselves and told police that he will support them wholeheartedly in doing so as well. The results of his invective have been shocking, with an average of around 37 people per day killed in extrajudicial fashion. Representatives from the U.N. as well as international human-rights groups have condemned the rampant slaughter, to which Dutertes response has been dismissive. Read next: The Killing Time: Inside Philippine President Rodrigo Dutertes War on Drugs I dont care about human rights, believe me, he said in early August. Duterte has threatened to impose martial law if his antidrug campaign is obstructed. Following a bombing in his hometown Davao last week by suspected Islamist militants, which killed 14 people and wounded around 70, he declared a state of lawlessness that could see the police and military behave with further impunity in the weeks to come. By Ron Bousso LONDON (Reuters) - Never mind the drop in crude prices, huge spending cuts and thousands of job losses - the world's top oil and gas companies are set to produce more than ever for some time. While top oil companies struggle with slumping revenues following a more than halving of prices since mid-2014 after years of spectacular growth, their production has persistently grown as projects sanctioned earlier in the decade come on line. Overall production at the world's seven biggest oil and gas companies is set to rise by around 9 percent between 2015 and 2018, according to analysts' estimates. With an expected recovery in prices, the increased production should boost cash flow and secure generous dividend payouts, which had forced companies to double borrowing throughout the downturn. "There are a lot of projects coming on stream over the next three years that will support cash flow and ultimately dividend," Barclays analyst Lydia Rainforth said. And despite a drop in new project approvals, companies have throughout the downturn cleared a number of mammoth undertakings such as Statoil's (STL.OL) Johan Sverdrop oilfield off Norway and Eni's (ENI.MI) Zohr gas development off the Egyptian coast. Others opted to acquire new production, such as Royal Dutch Shell (RDSa.L), which bought smaller rival BG Group for $54 billion this year, and Exxon Mobil (XOM.N) through investments in Papua New Guinea and Mozambique. Shell is expected to see the strongest growth among its peers over the next two years at 8 percent, according to BMO Capital Markets. Production is unlikely to drop after 2020, and could post modest growth as companies continue to bring projects onstream, albeit at a slower pace, BMO analyst Brendan Warn said. French oil major Total (TOTF.PA), for example, plans to clear three major projects by 2018 - the Libra offshore oilfield in Brazil, the Uganda onshore project and the Papua LNG project - that will begin production after 2020. Story continues "We won't see 5 to 10 percent growth that we've seen from companies in recent years. It will be closer to 1 or 2 percent," Warn said. SUSTAINABLE Capital spending, or capex, for the sector is set to drop from a record $220 billion in 2013 to around $140 billion in 2017 before modestly recovering, according to Barclays. But companies have learnt to do more with the money after slashing expenditure and tens of thousands of jobs, while the cost of services such as rig hiring dropped sharply throughout the downturn. "2017 is the sweet spot for integrated companies. It took two to three years to adjust to the drop in oil prices, and a lot of the efficiencies introduced in recent years will roll into 2017, when projects kick in and free cash flow will improve," Rainforth said. The resilience is mostly due to new gas projects coming on stream as companies shift towards the less polluting hydrocarbon that is expected increasingly to displace oil demand in coming decades. The slower pace of project development after a decade of rapid growth that was accompanied by soaring costs will help companies, Warn said. "That is much more sustainable for a major that will reduce the number of large capex projects." (Reporting by Ron Bousso; Editing by Dale Hudson) Ending the three-month scuffle, Dish Network Corp. DISH reached a new retransmission agreement with Tribune Broadcasting, a subsidiary of Tribune Media Company TRCO. This fresh contract puts an end to the blackout of Tribune Broadcastings channels on Dish Network since June this year. The financial details of the deal are yet to be disclosed. Blackouts related to carriage pricing reasons have become a common occurrence in the pay-TV industry, with some deadlocks running into weeks or months, much to the angst of subscribers. The growing inclination of broadcasting houses to demand higher fees is largely a result of the recent rise in content programming charges. Dish Network has also been in the news for locking horns with major broadcasting companies like Viacom, Inc. VIAB and Comcast Corporation CMCSA-owned NBCUniversal. The DISH-Tribune Clash Both the parties have been in disagreement over the retransmission rates and packaging of Tribune Broadcastings local as well as WGN Networks channels. Meanwhile, Dish Network has been reluctant to pay the raised amount owing to declining viewership of Tribune Broadcastings content. However, the recent signing of the long-term contract is a positive development for both the companies. The Bottom Line Dish Networks ability to stay abreast in the competitive pay-TV industry depends, among other things, on its capacity to continue to broadcast popular programs and deliver the same to subscribers at competitive rates. Thus, the companys margins may face pressure if it fails to renew long-term programming contracts on favorable pricing and other economic terms. However, in case such an issue crops up, prompt settlement with the broadcaster will help Dish Network to put a check on subscriber churn. DISH NETWORK CP Price DISH NETWORK CP Price | DISH NETWORK CP Quote Dish Network currently has a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). Confidential from Zacks Beyond this Analyst Blog, would you like to see Zacks' best recommendations that are not available to the public? Our Executive VP, Steve Reitmeister, knows when key trades are about to be triggered and which of our experts has the hottest hand. Click to see them now>> Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report TRIBUNE MEDIA (TRCO): Free Stock Analysis Report DISH NETWORK CP (DISH): Free Stock Analysis Report COMCAST CORP A (CMCSA): Free Stock Analysis Report VIACOM INC-B (VIAB): Free Stock Analysis Report To read this article on Zacks.com click here. Zacks Investment Research Donald Trump Donald Trump is floating a possible new nickname for his Democratic opponent and it's one he's already used on a previous political rival. "Lyin' Hillary Clinton told the FBI that she did not know the "C" markings on documents stood for CLASSIFIED. How can this be happening?" Trump tweeted Sunday night, referencing FBI findings released on Friday. The nickname hearkens back to the Republican primary, when Trump repeatedly referred to Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas as "Lyin' Ted." Trump's usual moniker for Clinton is "Crooked Hillary," though he has switched it up on occasion, calling the former US secretary of state "Heartless Hillary," "Unstable Hillary Clinton," and "Incompetent Hillary," at various times during this election cycle. In June, he announced the launch of the website LyingCrookedHillary.com. Some politicians fired back at Trump's tweet, because the "C" in question actually stands for confidential, not classified. In another tweet, Trump mocked Clinton for her relatively poor showing in multiple national polls last week. The polls are close so Crooked Hillary is getting out of bed and will campaign tomorrow.Why did she hammer 13 devices and acid-wash e-mails? Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) September 4, 2016 The tweet may also be a subtle jab at Clinton's health, a recent favorite topic of the Trump campaign. The brash billionaire has often asserted that Clinton lacks the "mental and physical stamina" to be president. Clinton wasn't the only politician in Trump's crosshairs on Sunday. The candidate also lashed out at Arizona senator and fellow Republican, Jeff Flake, after Flake said he wasn't ready to endorse him. NOW WATCH: Watch Hillary Clinton rip Trump's trip to Mexico More From Business Insider Https%3a%2f%2fblueprint-api-production.s3.amazonaws.com%2fuploads%2fstory%2fthumbnail%2f17048%2fsddefault Researchers from Murdoch University have captured extraordinary drone footage of a rare southern right whale calf and its mother, taken off the west coast of Australia as part of their research into the mysterious aquatic mammals. SEE ALSO: Awesome footage of rare white whale off the coast of Australia Using a gamut of technologies, from suction cups with geo-tags to drones fitted with cameras, the researchers are able to monitor and track the movements of the animals, the nursing habits of female whales, their varying methods of communication sonically and physically, and the general health and condition of the southern right whale population. In a statement one of the two researchers leading the project, Professor Lars Bejder, said the research aimed to "not only to study the behavioural ecology of these amazing animals, but also to provide information to industry and management towards conservation. Southwest flight attendant perfectly channels Looney Tunes Rebecca Black leaves 'Friday' behind with new single 'The Great Divide' Beyonce celebrates her birthday by releasing 'Hold Up' music video on YouTube 'Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare' multiplayer trailer reveals futuristic combat AMSTERDAM (Reuters) - Dutch police on Monday detained a 42-year-old Dutchman of Turkish descent for alleged death threats and hate speech after the failed Turkish coup in July, which has ratcheted up tension among Turks in the Netherlands. Turkey's government has accused U.S.-based cleric Fethullah Gulen and his supporters of orchestrating the July 15 attempt to overthrow Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan. Gulen denies this. The arrested man is an Erdogan supporter and he is suspected of having threatened Gulen backers online and in person, a Dutch official said on condition of anonymity. In a statement, Dutch police said they had investigated 150 complaints related to the aftermath of Turkey's coup since mid-July, roughly half of them for threats and intimidation appearing on social media. Investigations into the complaints resulted in the man's arrest, the statement said. No details were provided about the suspect, but prosecutors said more arrests were likely. Turkey's post-coup fall-out has spilled over into Turkish immigrant neighborhoods in the Netherlands, with lists of purported Gulen supporters circulating on social media, exposing families and school children to death threats. "We aim to de-escalate, but if necessary we will take action," said Peter Slort, a regional police chief. After a wave of immigration in the 1960s and 1970s, there are roughly 400-500,000 Dutch Turks. A small minority are known to be Gulen supporters. (Reporting by Anthony Deutsch; editing by Mark Heinrich) Fox News Toni Tennille is coming out of retirement to fulfill a lifetime wish. The Grammy-winning singer, known for her bouncy 1975 song "Love Will Keep Us Together" alongside her former husband Daryl Dragon, is set to lead the Yavapai College Performing Arts Center production of "Hello, Dolly!" in Prescott, Arizona. (Updates prices) By Bruno Federowski SAO PAULO, Sept 5 (Reuters) - Latin American stocks were mixed on Monday, with light trading due to the Labor Day holiday in the United States. Surprisingly weak U.S. jobs data cast doubt on Friday over the possibility of rate hikes this year, boosting demand for high-yielding emerging market assets. The jobs figures seemed to contradict recent comments by key Federal Reserve policymakers, who have repeatedly stressed that the U.S. central bank could tighten policy as soon as this month. Shares in Brazilian meatpacker JBS SA dropped over 10 percent, leading losers in the benchmark Bovespa index . Federal police had questioned the company's Chief Executive Wesley Batista on Friday about an investment by pension funds in pulp maker Eldorado Brasil SA, on whose board Batista sits. However, higher oil prices supported demand for stock in oil companies, with shares in Brazil's state-owned Petroleo Brasileiro SA providing the biggest boost to the Bovespa. Oi SA, which is not part of the Brazilian index, posted its best daily gain in over a month. The telecom provider was expected to file its bankruptcy reorganization plan with a Rio de Janeiro court on Monday, two sources familiar with the situation told Reuters. Brazil's currency, the real, dipped 0.88 percent from Friday to 3.2821 per dollar on concerns new President Michel Temer could struggle to pass austerity measures in Congress even after the impeachment of his predecessor, Dilma Rousseff. Elsewhere in Latin America, Mexico's peso finished slightly stronger, closing up 0.17 percent from Friday to 18.569 per dollar. (Reporting by Bruno Federowski; editing by Alan Crosby and Tom Brown) We are now learning that the individual shot at Zoe Restaurant after being robber by a gunman, was in fact the owner. He was shot in the arm and sustained non-life threatening injuries and is currently being treated at ECMC. American Vice President Joe Biden flew to Istanbul recently to try to stop the bleeding. In the weeks since Turkey was rocked by a failed military coup, the deterioration of American-Turkish relations has become a geopolitical mess for the United States: Turks are turning sour on America due to a perceived lack of support from Washington after the coup. Resentment is largely concentrated on the desired extradition of alleged coup mastermind and Pennsylvania resident Fethullah Gulen. American and Turkish media alike have suggested that the strategic partnership between the two countries might be broken, possibly beyond repair. Hyperbole aside, the U.S. cannot abide the dissolution of its alliance with Turkey, what with the country maintaining such a critical geopolitical niche in the ongoing ideological battle against ISIS and fundamentalist Islamic terror, not to mention the European refugee crisis. So it makes sense that Biden went halfway across the world to make amends, and the VP indeed hit all the right notes in terms of what Turkey wanted to hear. But the real winner was President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and only him not Turkey or America. Erdogan has come away with the only legitimate prize: yet another symbolic triumph he can use to foster public support and consolidate political power. While the PKK and ISIS may be pricey, Gulens symbolic value is priceless. I stood among the pro-democracy Yenikapi demonstration crowds on August 7, shocked by the goodwill activists expressed toward authorities compared to their extreme hostility for police just two years ago. This is a result of Erdogan using and manipulating symbolic rhetoric. In 2013, the Taksim Gezi Park protests left 11 dead, thousands injured and Turks decrying the police for use of excessive force. But the police, crucial in suppressing Julys coup, have become centerpieces in Erdogans self-promotional post-coup rhetoric. Two years, one foiled coup and a concerted, manipulative effort from Erdogan later, and public discourse concerning law enforcement has reversed: Young men and women, draped in their nations colors, fist-bumped police in riot gear, and crowds cheered for rooftop-perched snipers. Story continues Gettyimages 597917020 Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan looks on during a ceremony at the Ataturk Mausoleum to mark the 94th anniversary of Turkeys Victory Day in Ankara on August 30, 2016. Source Adem Altan/Getty Now consider Erdogans main issue with the United States the extradition of cleric Gulen and the beef suddenly loses potency. Gulen is the alleged mastermind of the July 15 coup attempt, an insurgency that was resoundingly quashed by the following day. Tens of thousands of alleged Gulenists have been arrested since, and thousands more have been fired. Even though Erdogan insisted in his joint press conference with Biden that Gulen continues to manage a terrorist organization from where he is, it is hard to believe. Turkey is full of legitimate security threats from the PKK (the militant Kurdistan Workers Party) to ISIS yet Erdogan is fixated enough to be playing game-theory chicken with the U.S. over a geriatric, Poconos-dwelling Imam. Why? Because, while the PKK and ISIS may be pricey, Gulens symbolic value is priceless. With his geographic and ideological distance from contemporary Turkey, Gulen is the perfect meal for Erdogan to serve a frustrated populace looking to appease their postcoup anger with a common enemy. Just as Erdogan has turned the tide on public sentiment over law enforcement, hes now focusing Turkish post-coup frustration on Gulen and, by proxy, anti-American sentiment. He has conjured a big bad wolf for an embittered public fed up with economic woes and political discord to boost nationalistic fervor focused on one man: Gulen. Biden expressing empathy about the intense feeling over Gulen in Turkey and hinting at American cooperation in his extradition only adds fuel to the fire and another politically symbolic victory to Erdogans tally. Gulens extradition, if it ever comes, will be Erdogans crowning glory. Sure, Turks will share the presidents sense of victory. If the extradition process of this terrorist leader could accelerate the Turkish people will quickly recover from their sadness and disappointment, Prime Minister Binali Yildirim has said. But whatever an extradition might do for Turkeys spirit, it will do little to restore the economy. I dont believe Ankara is ever really going to stray from its partnership with the U.S., because Turkey simply cannot afford it. The coup failed though it was has left the formerly expanding Turkish economy gasping. Credit-rating agencies have lowered the nations stock, and the purging of coup conspirators, both real and imagined, has left tens of thousands of crucial private- and public-sector positions empty. Economic growth, meanwhile, is expected to dip. So, as Atilla Yesilada, an Istanbul-based partner of the independent think tank Global Source Partners, suggests, it is not feasible for Turkey to sever ties with the United States, because over the years it has developed an umbilical cord to Western capital and goods markets. Simply walking around Istanbul, this economic stagnation is quite conspicuous: Tourists are sparse, nightclubs are thinned out and restaurant owners tool around empty tables. The buildings may be draped in the proud red Turkish flags, but foundation-threatening cracks lurk beneath. So Erdogan and his cronies entertaining negotiations with Russia and Iran while hinting that they might cut that umbilical cord to the West was just a bluff a tactical ruse meant to distract. A few weeks back, a Turkish friend and I hit a late-night eatery in Istanbul. With no other customers to take her time, the owner, a twentysomething woman with bright eyes and a headscarf, sat down to chat. At one point, her tone deepened and she asked me how Gulen was being treated in America. Before answering, I looked around: This dynamite establishment in the vibrant Cihangir neighborhood was empty, wallpaper was peeling next to a freshly pressed Turkish flag, and only half the tables even had chairs. If she mentioned how difficult paying her bills had been since the coup, it was a brief quip. What she really wanted to know was how Gulen was doing. Andres Vaamonde is a student at Cornell University and spent part of his summer observing Turkish fervor. Related Articles Frankfurt (AFP) - German auto giant Volkswagen could face penalties and compensation claims over its diesel emissions scandal under European consumer protection law, a top EU official told newspaper Die Welt in remarks published Monday. "In most member states, Volkswagen clearly infringed consumer protection law," justice and consumer protection commissioner Vera Jourova said. "I think it's therefore necessary that we intervene to co-ordinate at the European level." Jourova had asked national authorities to examine whether the carmaker had broken consumer protection rules in the so-called "Dieselgate" scandal. VW admitted in September 2015 to building so-called "defeat devices" into millions of diesel cars, which detected when the motors were undergoing regulatory tests and drastically reduced emissions. In normal road driving, emissions were much higher than claimed by the manufacturer and exceeded regulatory limits, in some cases many times over. So far the firm has only been hit with fines and forced to compensate customers in the United States, where VW is on the hook for $16.5 billion (14.8 billion euros) in fines and payouts to drivers. The firm has long insisted that the different legal environment in Europe spares it any obligation to make compensation payouts there. Paying out even a fraction of what has been agreed for US drivers to European customers would quickly bring VW to the limit of its financial resources. While the payments in the US concern some hundreds of thousands of vehicles, around eight million cars with the affected diesel engines are on Europe's roads. VW plans to retrofit the vehicles to bring them into compliance with emissions standards, but their owners have until now had little prospect of compensation. Now the European Commission believes Volkswagen broke consumer protection and dishonest trading rules by claiming to meet EU standards in its advertising. Story continues That could expose the firm to fines from national authorities in member states and compensation claims from individual buyers. "I will fight for European consumers to be treated fairly," commissioner Jourova told Die Welt. According to the newspaper, consumer protection officials from the 20 member states that found VW had infringed European rules will gather in Brussels in the coming days to discuss the next steps. BRUSSELS/FRANKFURT (Reuters) - The European Commission will meet consumer groups this week to make sure they are doing enough to seek compensation for European drivers affected by Volkswagen's cheating of diesel emissions tests. Consumer Commissioner Vera Jourova told a news conference on Monday the "Dieselgate" scandal was a pan-European Union challenge and the Commission was assessing whether there had been breaches of two sets of rules that apply across the bloc. They are the Consumer Sales and Guarantees Directive - which prohibits companies from touting exaggerated environmental claims in their sales pitches - and the Unfair Commercial Practises Directive, both of which apply across the EU. "(They) set high standards for all the member states to enforce in case these rules are breached. It seems to be the case in so-called Dieselgate," Jourova said. Consumer groups and national authorities gave feedback in recent weeks showing that Volkswagen had not provided sufficient information to consumers, she said. Volkswagen said it considered the allegations of the EU Consumer Commissioner unfounded and rejected them. "Notwithstanding, in the meantime we are in regular and constructive dialogue with the Brussels authorities and institutions," Volkswagen said in a statement. Jourova plans to meet consumer associations this Thursday and national protection agencies on Sept. 29, as well as Volkswagen on an unspecified date. "It is not my intention to come with strong action without fair communication with the company," she said. "I cannot say I am going to take a stricter approach. I want them to look at the valid legislation and see what they have to do." Jourova did not say what that "strong action" might be. The Commission has said it is for national organizations and authorities to pursue Volkswagen as they see fit. But it is also keen to ensure EU rules are enforced to the full, and has shown with its huge demand for back taxes from Apple that it will take on multinationals itself when it feels it can and it is necessary. Story continues Jourova has been working with consumer groups to pressure Volkswagen to voluntarily compensate customers in Europe for its diesel emissions test cheating, as it has in the United States. Volkswagen has pledged billions of dollars to compensate drivers in the United States, but has so far rejected calls for similar payments covering the 8.5 million affected vehicles in Europe, where different legal rules weaken the chances of winning a pay out. (Reporting by Maria Sheahan and Philip Blenkinsop; Additional reporting by Jan Schwartz; Editing by Mark Potter and Jane Merriman) By Gabriela Baczynska BRUSSELS (Reuters) - A European Parliament committee on Monday backed visa-free travel to the European Union for Georgia and moved toward granting another ex-Soviet republic, Ukraine, the same right, after migration worries delayed the process before the summer. The committee voted 44 in favor versus five against for the Georgian liberalization, although the decision must still be approved in the so-called 'trilogue' negotiations between the parliament, EU states and the executive European Commission. EU states held off an expected decision to ease travel rules for Georgia in June as Germany and other countries voiced reservations, saying any new visa waivers should be delayed until the bloc agreed easier rules to suspend visa-free travel. That process is now also awaiting trilogue talks. Ahead of an expected vote by the committee later this month, Mariya Gabriel, a Bulgarian lawmaker with the parliament's largest faction, the European People's Party, told Monday's session that travel rules should also be relaxed for Ukraine. "Politically and strategically it is very important that we deliver visa-liberalization for Ukraine," said another member of European Parliament, Portugal's Ana Gomes of the Socialists. Like Georgia, Ukraine sees visa-free travel to the EU as part of a geopolitical tussle with Russia over the ex-Soviet states' Western aspirations, which Moscow opposes. The issue of fostering closer ties with the EU was at the heart of mass street protests in Kiev that toppled a Moscow-allied president there in early 2014. Moscow responded by annexing Crimea from Kiev that March and unrest then spread to eastern Ukraine, where Russia-backed militias took up arms against Kiev government troops in a conflict that killed more than 9,500 and remains unresolved. The EU, as well as the United States, slapped sanctions on Russia over the turmoil in Ukraine. While a growing number of EU states now speak of the need to re-engage with Russia, the lawmakers on Monday stressed the EU stood by Ukraine. Georgia was at the heart of international tensions in 2008 when a five-day war between Tbilisi and Moscow in August led to the previous sharp decline in ties between Russia and the West. The south Caucasus country of 3 million is due to hold parliamentary elections in October. In a sign that the European Parliament wanted another hopeful, Kosovo, to do more before it is given visa-free travel, the lawmakers endorsed a corresponding proposal, but did not give their negotiators mandate to open the trilogue talks. The EU says Kosovo must ratify a border deal with Montenegro before it can get more relaxed travel rules to the bloc. But the frontier deal is controversial in Kosovo and final parliamentary approval has been delayed. The EU is also in uneasy talks on granting visa-free travel to Turkey, though both Ankara and Brussels now admit that will be delayed from a previous target date of October. (Editing by Catherine Evans) BRUSSELS/FRANKFURT (Reuters) - The European Commission will meet consumer groups this week to make sure they are doing enough to seek compensation for European drivers affected by Volkswagen's cheating of diesel emissions tests. Consumer Commissioner Vera Jourova told a news conference on Monday the "Dieselgate" scandal was a pan-European Union challenge and the Commission was assessing whether there had been breaches of two sets of rules that apply across the bloc. They are the Consumer Sales and Guarantees Directive - which prohibits companies from touting exaggerated environmental claims in their sales pitches - and the Unfair Commercial Practises Directive, both of which apply across the EU. "(They) set high standards for all the member states to enforce in case these rules are breached. It seems to be the case in so-called Dieselgate," Jourova said. Consumer groups and national authorities gave feedback in recent weeks showing that Volkswagen had not provided sufficient information to consumers, she said. Volkswagen said it considered the allegations of the EU Consumer Commissioner unfounded and rejected them. "Notwithstanding, in the meantime we are in regular and constructive dialogue with the Brussels authorities and institutions," Volkswagen said in a statement. Jourova plans to meet consumer associations this Thursday and national protection agencies on Sept. 29, as well as Volkswagen on an unspecified date. "It is not my intention to come with strong action without fair communication with the company," she said. "I cannot say I am going to take a stricter approach. I want them to look at the valid legislation and see what they have to do." Jourova did not say what that "strong action" might be. The Commission has said it is for national organisations and authorities to pursue Volkswagen as they see fit. But it is also keen to ensure EU rules are enforced to the full, and has shown with its huge demand for back taxes from Apple that it will take on multinationals itself when it feels it can and it is necessary. Story continues Jourova has been working with consumer groups to pressure Volkswagen to voluntarily compensate customers in Europe for its diesel emissions test cheating, as it has in the United States. Volkswagen has pledged billions of dollars to compensate drivers in the United States, but has so far rejected calls for similar payments covering the 8.5 million affected vehicles in Europe, where different legal rules weaken the chances of winning a pay out. (Reporting by Maria Sheahan and Philip Blenkinsop; Additional reporting by Jan Schwartz; Editing by Mark Potter and Jane Merriman) Montevideo (AFP) - A former Guantanamo inmate resettled in Uruguay in 2014 has declared a hunger strike after being deported from Venezuela in a failed attempt to reunite with his family in Turkey. Jihad Diyab, a 45-year-old Syrian, has clashed repeatedly with the authorities in Uruguay since being resettled here as a refugee nearly two years ago along with five other former Guantanamo detainees. The six men have had a running dispute with the Uruguayan government over housing and living allowances, and Diyab says Uruguay is not doing enough to reunite him with his family. He caused alarm in June when he went off the radar, apparently evading border control and sneaking into Venezuela. He showed up at the Uruguayan consulate in Caracas in July asking to be taken to his family in Turkey. He was arrested and held in what his lawyer condemned as unacceptable conditions before being deported back to Uruguay on August 30. Diyab told AFP he has been on hunger strike for about 20 days -- starting when he was jailed in Venezuela -- and has drunk no liquids for three days. "Enough already," he said. "I've been here (in Uruguay) for a year and nine months, and they haven't found a solution to my situation." Uruguayan officials say Turkey has refused to allow Diyab entry and that they are trying to arrange for his family to be relocated to Uruguay. Diyab says he would not be able to support them in Uruguay and wants to be resettled elsewhere. He is a veteran hunger striker, having staged prolonged hunger strikes during his 12 years at Guantanamo to protest his detention. He made international headlines when he launched an ultimately unsuccessful court case in the United States in an attempt to stop prison officials from force-feeding him. Diyab and the other five ex-Guantanamo detainees were resettled in Uruguay as part of US President Barack Obama's effort to fulfill his long-delayed promise to close the prison set up in the wake of the 9/11 attacks. Accused of terrorist links, the men -- four Syrians, a Palestinian and a Tunisian -- were never charged or tried. They had been cleared for release but could not be sent to their home countries because of unrest there. By Lisandra Paraguassu PORTO ALEGRE, Brazil (Reuters) - Brazil's Forjas Taurus SA, the largest weapons manufacturer in Latin America, sold guns to a known Yemeni arms trafficker who funneled them into his nation's civil war in violation of international sanctions, according to charges in court documents reviewed by Reuters. Federal prosecutors in southern Brazil charged two former executives of Forjas Taurus in May with shipping 8,000 handguns in 2013 to Fares Mohammed Hassan Mana'a, an arms smuggler active around the Horn of Africa for over a decade according to the United Nations. The handguns were allegedly shipped by Taurus to Djibouti and redirected to Yemen by Mana'a, according to court documents. Alexandre Wunderlich, a lawyer for the two former Taurus export executives, Eduardo Pezzuol and Leonardo Sperry, said the accusations in the sealed indictment "do not reflect the facts of the matter." Yemen has been consumed since early last year by a brutal civil war killing thousands of people as Iran-backed Houthi rebels challenge a Saudi-allied government. Mana'a, who served from 2011 to 2014 as governor of Sa'dah, a Houthi stronghold, could not be reached for comment. A Brazilian court issued a public summons for Mana'a in May as part of a case citing him, Sperry and Pezzuol as defendants. Taurus declined to answer detailed questions on the weapons case due to legal confidentiality but said it was "helping the courts to clarify the facts." The case, currently sealed by a judge in the southern city of Porto Alegre, near Taurus' headquarters, may draw legal scrutiny to the company, a major supplier of firearms to Brazil's police and military and one of the top five makers of handguns in the U.S. market, where it sells nearly three-quarters of its production. Brazil is the world's fourth-largest exporter of small arms. Prosecutors say the two former Taurus executives were negotiating another shipment of 11,000 guns with Mana'a last year when police uncovered the plot and raided the company's offices in November. Prosecutors have not brought charges against Taurus but said evidence seized in the raid included dozens of emails showing it knew of U.N. sanctions against trading arms with Mana'a and Yemen but sought ways to skirt them. "Taurus clearly made use of a notorious international arms trafficker to triangulate its merchandise to other countries, especially Yemen," the documents said. "There is no way Taurus and its employees can claim to be unfamiliar with acts attributed to Mana'a, since Leonardo Sperry testified it is standard for Taurus to do an internet search on people they invite to Brazil," they said. Sperry and Pezzuol gave testimony to federal police in October 2015 as the investigation got underway. The executives left Taurus late last year, according to their LinkedIn resumes. "All of the acts covered in the case were carried out entirely within the company and within legal limits," their lawyer said in an email. He declined to answer other questions, citing the confidentiality of the case. FUELING WAR Prosecutors said ties between Taurus and Mana'a stretch back to 2007, without elaborating in the court documents. They said the relationship went quiet for a couple of years after the U.N. Security Council leveled sanctions against Mana'a in 2010 for violating an arms embargo in Somalia. The U.N. sanctions banned any weapons sales or financing for Mana'a, and ordered an asset freeze and travel ban for him and others suspected of selling arms in Somalia's civil war. U.S. President Barack Obama also named Mana'a and ten others in a 2010 executive order banning business with individuals and groups accused of contributing to unrest in Somalia. Yet prosecutors said the sanctions did not stop Taurus from re-engaging with Mana'a as violence broke out in Yemen. Yemen's 18-month old conflict has drawn in regional powers and killed at least 10,000 people, including nearly 4,000 civilians, according to the United Nations. In an undated email cited by prosecutors, who did not name the recipients, Pezzuol wrote that "if Taurus decides to sell to Yemen, the path appears to be through Mohamad Manaa," adding that he had set up a route through Djibouti, just across the Mandeb Strait from Yemen. Taurus got authorization from Brazil's army in October 2013 to ship 8,000 weapons to Djibouti's defense ministry but prosecutors say in documents that Mana'a redirected the arms to Yemen using companies such as Al Sharq Fishing and Fish. Mana'a paid Taurus $2 million for the weapons, according to court documents, which cite regular payments from the Yemeni to the company since 2013. The documents did not indicate who had received the arms in Yemen. "Djibouti was a false way point for exportation," prosecutors wrote in their charges. "They made use of fraud to disguise the real destination of the weapons and to hide the involvement of Fares Mana'a." Prosecutors say the fraud extended to the identity of Mana'a, who came to Brazil in January 2015 to visit the Taurus factory despite the U.N. travel ban. On behalf of the company, Sperry and Pezzuol asked Brazil's foreign ministry to extend a formal invitation to the arms dealer, but the request was denied on the grounds of economic restrictions with Yemen. The executives then discouraged Mana'a from traveling to Brazil under his own name and tried unsuccessfully to obtain a passport from Djibouti for his use, according to prosecutors. They said Mana'a eventually entered Brazil on a passport with a false name and birth date. Just two months later, Mana'a and Taurus were arranging for another shipment of guns through Djibouti, according to the charges, disregarding the U.N. arms embargo for Yemen passed in April 2015. Prosecutors say that shipment of 11,000 handguns would have gone through to Yemen if police had not broken up the scheme. Afterwards Sperry wrote an email to Mana'a suspending the shipment "due to recent contact with Brazilian authorities." In May, a federal judge overseeing the case called for the notification of Brazil's foreign ministry, along with Interpol, the United Nations and the Saudi Arabian, Egyptian and U.S. embassies in Brasilia, court documents showed. But Taurus won an injunction from an appeals court two days later blocking that decision, arguing it would cause the company "economic losses." (Reporting by Lisandra Paraguassu; Writing and additional reporting by Brad Haynes; Additional reporting by Maria Pia Palermo; Editing by Daniel Flynn and Kieran Murray) The annual London Design Festival, taking place this year from September 17-25, is one of the world's most important annual design fairs, with hundreds of events and exhibitions taking place around the capital city. The London Design Festival (not to be confused with the London Design Fair, which will be participating in the Festival) has five "Design Destinations": key events for designers and manufacturers in the industry. Focus/16 at the Design Centre The Focus/16 interior design show is held at the Design Centre at Chelsea Harbour during the London Design Festival (September 18-21). For the 2016 edition, over 100 events and 120 international exhibitions will take place with the objective of inspiring visitors with "the latest collection launches, connecting with design connoisseurs and seeing creative invention up close." Decorex & LDF For the first time, this year the London Design Fair (the umbrella brand for Tent London and Super Brands London) will partner with the luxury design show Decorex International, the UK's longest-running show of its kind. The shows will run consecutively: Decorex (held in Syon Park, London) will be open from 18-21 September and the London Design Fair (the Old Truman Brewery, east London) from 22-25 September. Trade visitors will be able to access both with one ticket. 100% Design Held at the Olympia from 21-24 September, for 2016 the 100% Design show has selected the theme of "Experience" in design. Specially-commissioned art installations will decorate the event space, and a series of popular seminars on trends in contemporary practice and the future of design will be run by the Design Museum as part of a glimpse into its calendar when it reopens on November 24. Designjunction In partnership with the architectural firm Argent, the commercial and cultural design platform designjunction is moving to a new location in King's Cross, London. The new premises will be showcased during the London Design Festival from 22 to 25 September, featuring over 200 contemporary brands, exhibitions, installations, retail experiences and workshops under the theme #ImmersedinDesign. Expedia Inc. EXPE is reportedly gearing up for an initial public offering (IPO) to list its Trivago hotel search platform. Reuters reported that the IPO could value Trivago at more than $1 billion and is likely to take place in the U.S. later this year or early next year. Bank pitches for IPO rules will start next week in New York. Chief Executive Dara Khosrowshahi had informed investors in July that Expedia management and the Trivago founding team were preparing for a stock market listing of Trivago. The CEO also confirmed that there are no plans for a Trivago spin-off. About Expedia Expedia is one of the world's leading travel services companies. It provides wholesale travel to offline retail travel agents. Expedia's main businesses and brands include Expedia.com, Hotels.com, Hotwire, Expedia Corporate Travel, Trip Advisor and Classic Custom Vacations. Expedia's companies also operate internationally with sites in Canada, the U.K., Germany, France, Italy, Netherlands and China, through its investment in eLong. EXPEDIA INC Price EXPEDIA INC Price | EXPEDIA INC Quote About Trivago Expedia will retain two-third of Trivagos shares that it currently holds. The remaining one third, held by Trivago owners, will be sold through the IPO listing. Founded in 2005 in Duesseldorf, Germany, Trivago is one of the leading hotel search platforms in the world. The company is known as one of the most successful start-ups in Germany. In 2012, Expedia acquired 62% of Trivagos stake for $531 million. Since then, it has been growing significantly and has expanded to Brazil, Japan and the Middle East. In 2015, Trivago contributed 9.3% to Expedias total revenue. Zacks Rank and Stocks to Consider Currently, Expedia has a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). Some better-ranked stocks in the broader technology sector include Stamps.com Inc. STMP, Facebook, Inc. FB and LinkedIn Corporation LNKD, each sporting a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy). Confidential from Zacks Beyond this Analyst Blog, would you like to see Zacks' best recommendations that are not available to the public? Our Executive VP, Steve Reitmeister, knows when key trades are about to be triggered and which of our experts has the hottest hand. Click to see them now>> Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report EXPEDIA INC (EXPE): Free Stock Analysis Report STAMPS.COM INC (STMP): Free Stock Analysis Report FACEBOOK INC-A (FB): Free Stock Analysis Report LINKEDIN CORP-A (LNKD): Free Stock Analysis Report To read this article on Zacks.com click here. Zacks Investment Research Domestic demand boosted private economy growth. Even with the city-state's private sector economy showing robustness in August, with both output and new orders rising further and at faster rates, new export business fell for the six month in a row. According to the latest report by Nikkei, Singapore Purchasing Managers Index (PMI) rose from 50.7 to 52.3 in August, signalling the fourth succeeding monthly improvement in overall operating conditions. However, this is mostly driven by improved domestic demand since export sales continued to decline, albeit at the weakest pace since March. For IHS Markit economist Annabel Fiddes, the data indicated that the city-state has stepped up a gear in August, with output rising solidly on the back of strongest rise in total new work. "Demand from overseas remained weak, however, with export sales declining for the sixth month running. Therefore, it appeared that stronger domestic demand supported the latest rise in new work, as challenging global economic conditions continue to weigh on new export business," Fiddes said. Meanwhile the report also noted that purchasing activity returned to growth in August after a marginal reduction in July. "Furthermore, the rate at which companies raised their input buying was the fastest since January," the report mentioned. But despite a renewed upturn in purchasing activity, companies reported a further decline in inventories of inputs. "A solid increase in backlogs of work meanwhile suggests that Singaporean private sector firms may raise output further in the coming months, particularly with purchasing activity moving back into growth territory," Fiddes said. More From Singapore Business Review A North Texas community is grieving after two 13-year-old girls were shot while walking home from their second week of middle school on Friday. Wichita Falls eighth graders Lauren Landavazo and Makayla Smith were walking home from school when they were shot in an alleyway Friday afternoon. Lauren died while Makayla was taken to a local hospital where she is in stable condition. According to family friends, Lauren knew the route well she taken the three-block walk home every day after school since seventh grade. As authorities investigate her alleged killer's motive, family and friends are mourning her tragic loss. "She was a ray of sunshine," Kenya Daughtry, a family friend and neighbor, tells PEOPLE. "She was always, always happy." Lauren, according to Daughtry, grew up surrounded by friends and family. She often had two dinners: one at home with her family and one at the Daughtrys' house across the street. "She would eat dinner at home and then come have dinner at our house with our kids," Daughtry tells PEOPLE. "She just wanted to be surrounded by family and friends at all times." Want to keep up with the latest crime coverage? Click here to get breaking crime news, ongoing trial coverage and details of intriguing unsolved cases in the True Crime Newsletter. Daughtry says Lauren enjoyed walking home from school every day. "Lauren absolutely loved it," Daughtry says. "It was only three blocks, they could be home in less than 5 minutes but it took them 20 because they were talking and giggling with friends [along the way]." Daughtry adds, "She wanted to cheer people up and make them happy. That was her thing." According to Daughtry, Lauren was a cheerleader for three years in fourth grade and afterwards did karate. More recently, Daughtry says, she spent a lot of time with her boyfriend, who walked her halfway home the day she was shot. "They had a very special bond," Daughtry tells PEOPLE. Daughtry, who first met Lauren when she was 6, was on neighborhood carpool duty on Friday and drove Lauren to school the day she died. "I'm very lucky," Daughtry says through tears. "Because the last thing I told her was, 'I love you baby girl.'" On Sunday, Kody Lott, 20, who was at large for two days, was arrested following a citizen's tip when his car matched the description of the suspect's, according to a police statement. He was initially arrested for possession of a prohibited weapon but allegedly confessed to the shooting while being question by authorities. His bail was expected to be set at $4 million, police Chief Manuel Borrego told the Times Record News. It was not immediately clear if Lott had entered a plea or retained an attorney. A GoFundMe page has been started to help cover costs of Lauren's funeral. Police in Illinois arrested two felons for possession of firearms last week after they allegedly broadcast themselves on on Facebook Live using the weapons illegally at a gun range. An investigator with the Evanston Police Department Intelligence Unit was monitoring the social media of a man they've identified as a gang member as part of what they call part of their routine course of duty when a Facebook Live stream caught his attention. Read: Martha's Vineyard Burglar Paints Victim's Dog Purple: Cops In the video, the investigators say they were able to observe a parolee felon at a shooting range with other subjects firing a handgun, which is against the law in Illinois due to his conviction/parole status. "Being that the information was so fresh, the investigator contacted the Winthrop Harbor Police Department who immediately responded to the shooting range and located the individual as well as a second convicted felon that he was with, that also has ties to Evanston and was also shooting," the police statement said. Read: Woman, 19, Busted After Illegally Cropping Dog's Ears, Stitching Wounds With Fishing Line: Animal Control Based on their investigation, Winthrop Harbor Police took both individuals into custody. Demarcus Curtis and Nicholas Mayfield, both 25, were charged by the Winthrop Harbor Police Department with one count each of Aggravated Unlawful Use of Weapon by a Felon. Watch: This Man is Behind Bars After Sending Selfie to Police for Better Mugshot Related Articles: Vienna (AFP) - Alternative for Germany is not the only populist party enjoying electoral success. Across Europe, these are fertile times for protest movements tapping into unease about immigration to attack a long-cosy political establishment. The anti-immigration AfD scored a major symbolic victory on Sunday by relegating German Chancellor Angela Merkel's conservatives into third place in elections in her home state. The result means that the Islamophobic AfD, whose popularity has soared due to opposition to Merkel's open-door refugee policy, is now represented in nine out of Germany's 16 regional parliaments. Its success has been replicated around Europe, with other anti-immigration populist parties stealing voters in their droves from the established centrist forces. For Jean-Dominique Giulani, head of the Robert Schuman Foundation think-tank, anxiety in a Europe "looking for an identity" in a fast-changing world has been on the rise for a while. But, Giulani told AFP, this phenomenon has been "inexorably boosted" by the arrival last year of hundreds of thousands of migrants fleeing violence in the Middle East. "This is a reaction to the absence of credible European responses... to the issues that worry people, starting with the question of immigration," he said. The next evidence of this backlash could come on October 2 in Austria, if Norbert Hofer of the Freedom Party (FPOe) -- formerly of the Nazi-admiring Joerg Haider -- wins a tight presidential election. Next year could see further electoral upsets, not least with Germany set to hold general elections late in the year. In France, reeling from a string of deadly extremist attacks, Marine Le Pen of the far-right Front National (FN) is on course to make a strong running for the presidency. And the party of Dutch far-right politician Geert Wilders, which has vowed to close all mosques and Islamic schools and ban the Koran, is leading polls ahead of parliamentary elections due in 2017. Story continues - Globalisation backlash - But it's not just immigration. Globalisation, austerity, stagnating incomes, as well as an increasingly unpopular European Union have boosted populist parties, on the left as well as the right, say experts. In Italy, where the right-wing Northern League has long been strong, the Five Star Movement (M5S), founded by a comedian, is shaking up national politics, winning local elections in Rome by a landslide in June. Elsewhere in southern Europe, it is groupings more of the left -- Podemos in Spain, Syriza in Greece -- that have made hay, tapping into anger about austerity cuts imposed during the eurozone debt crisis. In Britain, the main opposition Labour party chose Jeremy Corbyn as leader in 2015, a hard-left campaigner whose beliefs placed him for decades on the fringes of the country's politics. Britain then voted to leave the European Union in June in a referendum driven in large part by worries about immigration, economic uncertainty and a perception that an out-of-touch Brussels elite was making the rules. Since the surprise "Brexit" result, many populist figures -- -- Le Pen, Wilders, Hofer and Beppe Grillo of the M5S in Italy among them -- have at least flirted with the idea of their own EU plebiscite. Anti-establishment parties have also jumped on mooted trade deals between the EU and Canada and the United States as evidence that the established parties are in cahoots with multinational corporations. The International Monetary Fund's Christine Lagarde conceded Monday at a G20 meeting of world leaders in China that globalisation "has to benefit all, not a few", but said that the fruits of a connected world were severely undersold. There was "a determination around the room to better identify the benefits of trade in order to respond to the easy populist backlash against globalisation," she added as leaders at the summit grappled with the problem. For Paul Schmidt at the Austrian Society for European Politics (OeGfE), the problem for Europe's leaders is that many of the problems can only be solved by supranational action. "But many voters reject this loss of sovereignty. It scares them," Schmidt told AFP. In addition, populist parties have found in social media, where issues can quickly "snowball dangerously", a useful weapon with which to attack governments, he said. Fifth Harmony had to finish a set as a quartet on Friday night after the girl groups Camila Cabello left a St. Louis concert early due to a bout of anxiety. During the inaugural NOW96.3NOW Night Out event at the Hollywood Casino Amphitheatre, Cabello abruptly left the stage after a performance of Bo$$, according to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. One of her fellow band members apparently said Cabello had a wardrobe malfunction, but she never returned to the stage for the rest of the songs, including the bands hit Work From Home. Cabello took to Snapchat later on Labor Day weekend to apologize to fans, reports E! News. Hi Missouri, sorry I couldnt finish the set last night, she wrote. Was having too much anxiety and couldnt finish it. Cabello had tweeted about her exhaustion shortly before taking the stage on Friday, writing, just wanna sleep for 3 days. She returned to Twitter on Sunday, writing, Dallas, Im so excited to see you thank u guys for all the love, I love u so much. just wanna sleep for 3 days Camila Cabello (@camilacabello97) September 3, 2016 Dallas, I'm so excited to see you Camila Cabello (@camilacabello97) September 4, 2016 thank u guys for all the love, I love u so much Camila Cabello (@camilacabello97) September 4, 2016 Cabello has previously been open about her struggles with anxiety. I was having terrible anxiety, nonstop, she told Billboard in 2015. My heart would beat really fast the whole day. Fifth Harmony has not commented on Cabellos early exit, but posted a group shot to Instagram on Saturday with the caption Last night #727TourStLouis. Instagram Photo Related stories Simon Cowell Says Fifth Harmony Will Perform on 'AGT,' One Direction 'I Don't Think We'll See As A Group For A While' Fifth Harmony & 'Teen Beach 2' Cast to Present at Radio Disney Music Awards Radio Disney Music Awards Discover Homegrown Acts No life is too small or insignificant for Florida firefightersnot even the life of this tiny puppy, who found himself the only victim of a devastating house fire. Read: Woman Discovers Abandoned Puppy Inside Plastic Bag on Side of Road According to Fort Lauderdale Fire Rescue, when firefighters responded to a house fire with heavy smoke on Saturday afternoon, they discovered a puppy, no larger than a firefighters hands, hiding out in a back room during the primary search. The chief said the poor pooch appeared distressed but the blue-eyed puppy was immediately resuscitated using a pet oxygen mask, even though it appeared too big for his face. Read: Puppy Makes Full Recovery After Swallowing 8-Inch Knife: 'I Thought She Was Going to Die' The Fort Lauderdale Fire Rescue was happy to announce on Facebook the pup, whose name is unknown, is well and "back in his owners loving arms. Firefighters said no other people or animals were in the fire. Watch: Jake the Pitbull Becomes Honorary Firefighter After He's Rescued From a Devastating Fire Related Articles: On September 5, 1774, the first Continental Congress in the United States met in Philadelphia to consider its reaction to the British governments restraints on trade and representative government after the Boston Tea Party. The group of colonial luminaries didnt meet in what is now called Independence Hall. Instead, delegates selected by colonial legislatures met next door in Carpenters Hall, which had just been constructed. The Pennsylvania State House (which we now call Independence Hall) was already occupied by the Pennsylvania provincial assembly. The delegates gathered on the morning of September 5 at Philadelphias City Tavern, near Benjamin Franklins home. Franklin had remained in England and he would deliver a petition from the First Congress to King George III in late 1774. The group then walked over to Carpenters Hall to inspect the meeting room. They took a view of the room, and of the chamber where is an excellent library The general cry was, that this was a good room, and the question was put, whether we were satisfied with this room? and it passed in the affirmative, said John Adams. In all, 56 delegates from 12 colonies came to Philadelphia for the meeting to address the Coercive or Intolerable Acts. The laws were meant as punishment for the activities of the Boston Tea Party, but they affected all of the 13 colonies. The attendees didnt include Franklin and Thomas Jefferson, but in addition to Adams the delegates included his cousin Samuel Adams, Patrick Henry, Roger Sherman, John Jay, John Dickinson, Richard Henry Lee, and George Washington. Thomas Jeffersons cousin, Peyton Randolph, was named as the first president of the Continental Congress. Randolph was another prominent Virginia leader and Washingtons close friend. During their session in Philadelphia, which ended after about seven weeks of debates, the group agreed to a boycott of British goods within the colonies as a sign of protest, spelled out in the Articles of Association. The Articles also called for an end of exports to Great Britain in the following year if the Intolerable Acts werent repealed. And the first Continental Congress made plans to convene a Second Continental Congress in May 1775 to continue the work started in Philadelphia, if the Intolerable Acts remained in force. Story continues A separate document, now called the Declaration and Resolves of the First Continental Congress, stated the groups objections to the Intolerable Acts, listed the rights of the colonists, and itemized objections to British rule beyond the Intolerable Acts. Also, the formal petition to King George III was written on October 26. It outlined the grievances of the colonies to the King, but it also didnt assign blame to him. Next May, when the Second Continental Congress came back to Philadelphia, it met in the Pennsylvania State House. Violence had broken out in Boston with the battles of Lexington and Concord. Georgia joined the Second Continental Congress, as did Franklin and John Hancock. Jefferson arrived to replace Randolph, who was called back to Virginia on political business. The new Congress became focused on the war effort, just seven months after it had left Carpenters Hall hoping for a constructive response from the King and the British government. History Stories on Constitution Daily Forgotten facts about George Washingtons private life 10 facts about Presidents who were also Veterans 50 interesting facts about Abraham Lincolns life 10 little-known facts about President Theodore Roosevelt #flight resumption Flights from Gimpo airport to Osaka, Taipei to resume Sunday Flights from Seoul's Gimpo International Airport to Osaka and Taipei will resume later this week, the state-run airport operator here said Saturday, more than two years after the r... Acapulco (Mexico) (AFP) - Floods and landslides caused by a tropical depression have damaged or affected some 70 homes and schools and trapped around 200 people in the Mexican resort town of Acapulco, authorities said Sunday. Torrential rains which began Saturday morning caused 33 rock and landslides on interstate highways and the Ayutla-Cruz Grande federal highway, Guerrero state authorities said. The downpour also caused a road to collapse in central Acapulco, sending two cars falling downward and injuring at least three passengers, the city's Civil Protection Coordination reported. Heavy rainfall also trapped around 200 people in their housing complex, who had to be air evacuated by police, marines and the army. The residents were taken to a temporary shelter, according to Guerrero Governor Astudillo Flores. The state has already deployed Mexican army troops under a disaster plan. - Team chief Maurizio Arrivabene shrugged off suggestions that Ferrari had chosen wrongly by adopting a two-stop strategy for the Italian Grand Prix with a laugh. The Italian boss said he was aware of criticism of the team after they finished third and fourth behind the two Mercedes. "I was hearing some comments that maybe one stop was a better strategy," he said. "I just laughed with our engineers about this. You have to protect yourself, if you go for one stop. We were doing the opposite. We were aggressive." Four-time champion Sebastian Vettel of Germany came home third six seconds ahead of Finn Kimi Raikkonen, the 2007 champion. AFP PARIS (Reuters) - France expressed concern on Monday about the safety of several of its nationals following violence in its former colony Gabon triggered by a disputed presidential election. Fighting erupted in Gabon last week after the announcement of a slim victory for incumbent President Ali Bongo. At least six people have been killed and more than 1,000 arrested during the unrest. "Arrests have taken place in the past few days. France is without news about several of its compatriots," Foreign Affairs Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault said in a statement. Ayrault welcomed the African Union's offer to help the feuding sides resolve the dispute and called on the Gabonese authorities to work with a heads of state mission that hopes to visit the country soon. France has had a military base in Gabon since independence in 1960. Gabon is also home to 14,000 French citizens and many French companies have commercial interests there, including in the oil industry. (Reporting by John Irish, Writing by Richard Lough; Editing by Angus MacSwan) Paris (AFP) - France's disgraced former budget minister Jerome Cahuzac went on trial Monday for stashing millions abroad while chasing tax cheats at home. The 64-year-old former rising star in the French Socialist Party faces charges of tax evasion and money laundering as well as under-declaring the value of his fortune when he took up his post in 2012. He and his ex-wife Patricia Menard -- with whom he ran a lucrative hair transplant clinic -- each face up to seven years in jail and one million euros ($1.1 million) in fines if convicted. Also in the dock are their advisers, Swiss banker Francois Reyl and Dubai-based lawyer Philippe Houman. The Reyl bank of Geneva, which in 2009 allegedly helped Cahuzac transfer funds to Singapore to avoid detection by French tax authorities, is also being tried. The story of the fraud, carried out between 1992 and 2013, reads like a cross between a cheap airport novel and an international financial crime manual. In one episode, Cahuzac, using the codename "Birdie", allegedly received two cash payments of 10,000 euros each on the streets of Paris. Cahuzac initially denied the allegations, lodging a defamation suit against the Mediapart news website that broke the story in December 2012. Footage of the minister lying to parliament was repeated in an endless loop on French media after he confessed in April 2013 to holding a Swiss bank account. He said he was "consumed by remorse". Cahuzac was immediately hounded by the media, telling a newspaper he had to move "every two days" to escape the glare. The scandal was the first of a series that have tarnished the presidency of Francois Hollande, who had promised a squeaky-clean government after succeeding Nicolas Sarkozy, the subject of several graft investigations, in 2012. The affair prompted Hollande to order his ministers to disclose their personal wealth, a first in France, where personal finances are rarely discussed and the wealth of public officials had long been considered a private matter. Cahuzac's lawyers in February unsuccessfully challenged the constitutionality of the case, arguing that their client had already settled his debts with the tax authorities to the tune of 2.3 million euros and should not be tried twice over the same matter. The trial runs until September 15. Paris (AFP) - Prosecutors have recommended that French ex-president Nicolas Sarkozy stand trial over alleged illegal campaign financing, legal sources said Monday, in a potentially major blow to his bid for re-election next year. The 61-year-old Sarkozy, who was president from 2007-2012, had seen his poll ratings rise recently after taking a hardline on Islam and immigration following a truck massacre in Nice in July which saw 86 people killed. The campaign financing case, one of several investigations which have dogged Sarkozy since leaving office, involves allegedly false accounting used in 2012 to conceal campaign overspending by his office. Sarkozy's lawyer Thierry Herzog, reacting to news the prosecution had recommended a trial, dismissed the development as a "shoddy new political manoeuvre" that would not withstand scrutiny. - Bad timing for Sarkozy - "Two years of investigation have shown (Sarkozy's) total lack of involvement" in the affair, Herzog said in a statement. An investigating magistrate must now decide whether to order a trial, with a decision possible as early as the end of this month -- just as the right-wing Republicans party is preparing to choose its presidential candidate. Sarkozy's chief rival in the Republican primaries, set for November 20 and 27, is 71-year-old former premier and Bordeaux mayor Alain Juppe, who is seen as a moderate. The outcome of France's election in April and May next year is seen as difficult to forecast. Socialist President Francois Hollande, suffering historically low ratings due to high unemployment and a string of terror attacks, is yet to say if he will seek re-election. Both the Socialists and the Republicans, France's traditional parties, have seen support steadily eroded by the far-right National Front and they might also face challenges from independents, such as former economy minister Emmanuel Macron. Sarkozy has positioned himself on the right of the Republican party and has waded into a recent heated national debate over the burkini, speaking out in favour of a short-lived ban on the Muslim body-concealing swimsuit. Story continues The campaign financing case hinges on the activity of public relations firm Bygmalion, which organised some of Sarkozy's campaign appearances in 2012 in his doomed bid for a second term. - PR company in spotlight - Bygmalion allegedly charged 18.5 million euros ($20.7 million) to Sarkozy's party -- then called the UMP, but since renamed The Republicans -- instead of billing the president's re-election campaign. As a result, the campaign was able to greatly exceed a spending limit of 22.5 million euros, according to the prosecution. There are 13 other potential defendants in the case including campaign officials and Bygmalion employees. Bygmalion executives have acknowledged the existence of fraud and false billing, but no one has directly accused Sarkozy of having been aware or taken decisions about it. However, the former president's campaign director, Guillaume Lambert, has told police he warned Sarkozy of the risk of breaching financing limits. Questioned by police in September 2015, Sarkozy said he did not remember the warning, and described the controversy as a "farce", putting the responsibility squarely on Bygmalion and the UMP. While the campaign financing case is currently the most pressing, Sarkozy has been fighting legal problems on several fronts. He still faces accusations of conspiring with his lawyer to bribe a magistrate in exchange for inside information on a separate corruption probe. In the most sensational case against him, Sarkozy was cleared in October 2013 of accepting campaign donations in 2007 from France's richest woman, L'Oreal heiress Liliane Bettencourt, when she was too frail to know what she was doing. The son of a Hungarian immigrant father, Sarkozy was nicknamed the "bling-bling" president for his flashy displays of wealth. After his humiliating 2012 defeat by Hollande, Sarkozy famously promised that "you won't hear about me anymore" before he embarked the international conference circuit. Few observers were surprised though when he returned to frontline politics in 2014, standing for and winning the leadership of the then UMP. Calais (France) (AFP) - Angry French truckers and farmers blocked the main routes in and out of the port of Calais on Monday to call for the closure of the sprawling "Jungle" migrant camp. Around 70 trucks mounted a "go-slow" on the A16 motorway -- the main artery for freight and passengers heading for Britain either via the Channel Tunnel or on board ferries from the port. Dozens of farmers on tractors joined up with the trucks, slowing traffic to a crawl, while around 400 people staged a demonstration in the middle of the motorway. Authorities said the blockade ended Monday evening. They added that despite long tailbacks at the start of the protest, a system of detours had prevented widespread disruption. A Calais business collective held marathon talks on Monday with the Pas-de-Calais regional authorities which agreed to boost the police presence on the motorway, to rapidly dismantle the Jungle and to hold a weekly meeting on the progress made, according to David Sagnard, head of a regional road transport federation. "We decided to end our movement for today," even if "we are not completely satisfied," he said. "If tomorrow the commitments are not met... we will return and that will be different and harder," added Sebastien Berrier, a transport union leader. The Jungle, a squalid camp of tents and makeshift shelters, is home to some 7,000 migrants but charities say the number might be as high as 10,000 after an influx this summer. Migrants from the camp sometimes use tree branches to create roadblocks to slow trucks heading for Britain, their destination of choice. When the trucks slow down, migrants try to clamber into the trailers to stow away aboard. - 'We're not people smugglers' - Drivers say migrants and people trafficking gangs have attacked their vehicles with metal bars. The drivers say despite the deployment of 2,100 officers around the port, the police are overstretched and unable to secure the roads. Story continues Nicolas Lotin, who runs a logistics company in nearby Boulogne-sur-Mer, said: "Every day, we have to wonder whether our working day will be ruined, whether a migrant will sneak under the truck's canvas. "If the goods are damaged, they have to be immediately transported back to the home depot," he said. "This demonstration is to shout loud and clear about how fed up road hauliers are," said Sagnard. "What we're calling for today are security measures so we can drive on the A16 motorway and on the port road in complete safety," he added. A banner attached to one of the trucks said: "We're truck drivers, not people smugglers." The town's mayor, Natacha Bouchart, who joined the protest wearing an "I love Calais" T-shirt, claims the Jungle may soon contain as many as 15,000 migrants within months unless it is razed. - 'As soon as possible' - Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve promised during a visit to the Jungle on Friday to close the camp down "as quickly as possible" but said it would be done in stages. Disgruntled Calais residents want the authorities to set a date for the entire camp to be cleared. Bars and restaurants in Calais -- which is also the main gateway to France for millions of British holidaymakers -- say their trade has been severely hit by the presence of the Jungle. "The government must declare Calais an economic emergency zone" read one banner at the demonstration. French authorities have made repeated efforts to close the Jungle. Earlier this year, authorities cleared shelters in parts of the site in a bid to persuade migrants to move into more permanent accommodation or camps elsewhere on France's northern coast. Former French president Nicolas Sarkozy, who is bidding to secure the right-wing nomination to win back the presidency next year, has called for Britain to take responsibility for the migrants over the Channel. Last week France and Britain pledged to work together to increase security at the port of Calais and to improve the humanitarian situation for the Jungle's residents. In an attempt to encourage migrants to leave the Jungle, France is expected to create places for an additional 8,000 people in accommodation centres around the country. The population of the Jungle includes large numbers of Sudanese, Afghan, Somali, Syrian and Iraqi residents. Hangzhou (China) (AFP) - Leaders of the G20, the world's biggest developed and emerging economies, have agreed to oppose protectionism, Chinese President Xi Jinping said Monday. "We have agreed... to support the multilateral trade system and oppose protectionism," Xi said after hosting the G20 summit in the Chinese city of Hangzhou. Freer trade poses a dilemma for the leaders of several countries, who have to contend with rising populism and a perception that the global economic order exemplified by the G20 is not working for ordinary people. There were fears the gathering would be short on substance, with no acute crisis pushing leaders to defy rising populist sentiment. Xi did not identify any specific measures that the G20 would take to liberalise commerce. China itself stands accused of a litany of trade violations by the US and European Union, and restricting access to its own giant market. Xi said that relying only on fiscal and monetary policy for growth would not work. "We need to reignite the engine of growth via innovation," he said, adding that the G20 had adopted "guiding principles" for investment policy management. "It is the world's first framework of multilateral investment rules," he said without giving details. The Group of 20 developed and emerging economies represents 85 percent of the world's GDP and two-thirds of its population. (Adds detail, context, reaction) By William James and Kiyoshi Takenaka HANGZHOU, China Sept 5 (Reuters) - G20 leaders have pledged to work together to address excess steel capacity that has punished the global industry with low metal prices for years while raising tensions between China and other major producers. A statement from the White House said that leaders at the G20 summit in Hangzhou, eastern China, on Monday accepted that overcapacity in steel and other industries is a global issue that requires a collective response. Proposals for the formation of a global forum that would seek a global solution and report back to the G20 next year underscore the growing resolve to support a sector that has long been grappling with chronic oversupply and sluggish demand. Global steel production fell last year for the first time since 2009, dipping 2.8 percent to 1.6 billion tonnes, with China accounting for half of the total. But there is a long way to go if the industry is to make a serious dent in the 700 million tonnes of excess capacity. Such a forum would be the first concrete action by world leaders to try to stem output, revive producers and end a trade brawl between China and other major steel producers, including the United States. Speaking at the summit, British Prime Minister Theresa May said the G20 had decided to do more to tackle excess output, while Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe urged leaders to address the issue. European and U.S. leaders have pressed China to accelerate capacity cuts, blaming its big exports on slumping prices and accusing it of dumping cheap metal in foreign markets. They have threatened sanctions or anti-dumping taxes on Chinese steel imports and criticised Beijing for providing subsidies, such as interest-free loans, to prop up state-owned companies. China has promised to cut steel capacity by 45 million tonnes this year, though it said last month that it was behind on that target. The steel industry welcomed the G20's pledge of support but remained cautious, with executives in Europe and India agreeing that any taskforce requires China's buy-in. Story continues "Its success will depend on (China's) attitude," said Jindal Steel & Power's Chief Executive Ravi Uppal, adding that global production needs to be about 800 million tonnes. "Anything more than that is going to create crisis." Indian steelmakers have lobbied for protectionist measures to prevent cheap overseas steel from undercutting local mills and squeezing margins. European steel body Eurofer said it was "prudently positive" about the plan. (Additional reporting by Yawen Chen and Nicholas Heath in Beijing, Manolo Serapio in Manila and Eric Onstad in London; Writing by Josephine Mason in Beijing; Editing by David Goodman) By Kevin Yao and Michael Martina HANGZHOU, China (Reuters) - Leaders from the world's top economies broadly agreed at a summit in China on Monday to coordinate macroeconomic policies, but few concrete proposals emerged to meet growing challenges to globalisation and free trade. At the two-day gathering in the scenic Chinese city of Hangzhou, the world's most powerful leaders also agreed to oppose protectionism, with Chinese President Xi Jinping urging major economies to drive growth through innovation, not just fiscal and monetary measures. "We aim to revive growth engines of international trade and investment," Xi said in a closing statement. "We will support multilateral trade mechanisms and oppose protectionism to reverse declines in global trade." Discussions at the meeting were distracted by North Korea test-firing three medium-range ballistic missiles in a defiant reminder of the risks to global security. North Korea has tested missiles at sensitive times in the past to draw attention to its military might. But Monday's launch risked embarrassing its main ally Beijing, which has gone to extraordinary lengths to ensure a smooth summit meeting. Beijing said it hoped relevant parties would avoid taking any actions that would escalate tensions. The United States called the launch reckless, while Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe told U.S. President Barack Obama that it was unforgivable. On other fronts, the United States tried but failed to finalise a deal with Russia for a ceasefire in Syria on the sidelines of the summit. Obama and Russian President Vladimir Putin had a longer-than-expected discussion about whether, and how, they could agree on a deal, a senior U.S. administration official said. But in talks earlier on Monday, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov were unable to come to terms on a ceasefire for the second time in two weeks, although they will meet again this week. The G20 called for the formation of a global forum to take steps to address steel excess capacity and encourage adjustments, the White House said in a statement, one of the controversial issues discussed at the summit. China produces half the world's annual output of 1.6 billion tonnes of steel and has struggled to decrease its estimated 300 million tonne overcapacity, and rising prices have given companies there an incentive to boost production for export. ISOLATIONIST TREND With the summit taking place after Britain's vote in June to exit the European Union and before the U.S. presidential election in November, G20 leaders had been expected to mount a defence of free trade and globalisation and warn against isolationism. Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump, who supports protectionist trade policies, has pulled into an effective tie with Democratic rival Hillary Clinton, erasing a substantial deficit. In Germany, Chancellor Angela Merkel's party was relegated to third place behind an anti-immigrant party in a regional election on Sunday. "I'm very unsatisfied with the outcome of the election," Merkel told reporters in Hangzhou. "Obviously it has something to do with the refugee question. But I nevertheless believe the decisions made were right and we have to continue to work on them." One of the few areas where there was progress was in protecting the environment. China and the United States ratified the Paris agreement on cutting climate-warming emissions on the eve of the G20 summit, setting the stage for other countries to follow suit. In a communique issued several hours after the close of the summit, the G20 leaders warned that global growth was weaker than anticipated, with downside risks continuing, and repeated the acknowledgement that monetary policy alone could not create balanced growth. It said new challenges including terrorism and immigration complicated the global economic outlook, and that the G20 agreed use all policy tools available to drive strong and sustainable growth. British Prime Minister Theresa May, attending her first G20 summit, said governments needed to "do more to ensure that working people really benefit from the opportunities created by free trade." "This discussion goes to the heart of how we build an economy that works for everyone." International Monetary Fund Managing Director Christine Lagarde, speaking after the summit, also said more inclusive growth was a priority in the global economy. "We need increased growth, but it must be better balanced, more sustainable, and inclusive so as to benefit all people," she said. It was the last time that Obama attended a G20 summit. His visit to Hangzhou got off to a chaotic start. There was no rolling staircase provided for Air Force One when it landed and Obama had to disembark from an exit in the plane's belly. Then, a Chinese security official blocked National Security Adviser Susan Rice on the tarmac and yelled at another U.S. official trying to help journalists get closer to Obama. China levelled responsibility at the United States and journalists for the fracas. Obama told reporters he "wouldn't over-crank the significance" of the airport events. When he left China on Monday, he boarded Air Force One via a full-sized staircase provided by Hangzhou International Airport. (Additional reporting by Sue-Lin Wong, Michael Martina, Roberta Rampton, Ruby Lian, Kevin Yao, Nate Taplin, William James and Engen Tham in HANGZHOU, and Ben Blanchard, Nick Heath, Jason Subler and John Ruwitch in BEIJING, and Jack Kim and Ju-min Park in SEOUL; Writing by Raju Gopalakrishnan; Editing by Ryan Woo) By Gerauds Wilfried Obangome LIBREVILLE (Reuters) - Gabon's opposition leader appealed on Monday for a general strike in response to what he said was a fraudulent re-election of President Ali Bongo, while the justice minister resigned over the government's failure to organize a recount. Their protests undermined Bongo's attempts to project stability following the election's violent aftermath, though few citizens in the capital Libreville appeared to heed his defeated rival Jean Ping's strike call as economic activity picked back up. Ping, a former African Union Commission chairman who declared himself Gabon's leader, said his fight was not over. "I ask you from today onward not to use violence but to resist by blocking the country's economy," he said in a statement to all Gabonese. "I propose to cease all activity and begin a general strike." At least six people were killed and more than 1,000 arrested in violence after Wednesday's announcement of a slim victory for Bongo. His family has run the oil-producing central African country - where the only refinery resumed operations on Monday - for half a century. An adviser to the interior minister told Reuters on Sunday that several dozen people had been released, but several Libreville residents said that they had not seen or heard from family members since the riots. Former colonial power France also expressed concern about the safety of several of its nationals whom, Foreign Affairs Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault said in a statement, French authorities have not had news of in recent days. Home to around 14,000 French citizens and a military base with 450 French troops, Gabon is statistically one of Africa's richest countries with a GDP per capita of $10,000 a year. But oil wealth has flowed mostly to the elite, breeding widespread discontent. The Bongos have long relied on patronage to buy off dissent. But falling oil prices and production, dominated by Total and Shell, have led to budget cuts. WARY ATMOSPHERE The United States, European Union and France last week urged the government to release polling station results for greater transparency, and its refusal to do so on Monday led Justice Minister Seraphin Moundounga to resign. "In the absence of (a recount), the country has swung into violence," Moundounga, who also served as second vice-prime minister, told Radio France Internationale. "Peace is gravely threatened in our country." In the main cities, life showed signs of returning to normal. Traffic in Libreville resumed along the main boulevards as many people returned to work, though some stayed home for fear of renewed violence. "Jean Ping doesn't have to tell me (not to go to work). While the situation is sensitive I'll stay home," said Hortense Toulangoye, a state worker. Another employee said he had not heard about the strike. The internet was operational again, five days after it was shut down in an apparent bid by the government to quell unrest, but access to social media was still limited. The oil refinery in the economic capital Port Gentil resumed operations after a five-day outage because of the post-electoral violence, Sylvain Mayabi, secretary-general of the National Organization of Petrol Employees, told Reuters. Total owns a 43.8 percent stake in the refinery, which processes 21,000 barrels of oil per day. Gabon produces 200,000 barrels per day, according to the International Energy Agency, and its output is in decline. It rejoined OPEC in July after two decades. During more than four decades in power, late president Omar Bongo cultivated close relations with a succession of French presidents, but his son's ties to Paris have been more tenuous. Gabon recalled its ambassador to Paris in January after France's Prime Minister Manuel Valls appeared to question the legitimacy of Ali Bongo's 2009 election. (writing by Nellie Peyton and Aaron Ross; editing by John Stonestreet) By Gerauds Wilfried Obangome LIBREVILLE (Reuters) - Gabon's opposition leader appealed on Monday for a general strike to protest what he said was a fraudulent re-election of President Ali Bongo, but few heeded his call as economic activity picked back up in the capital Libreville. Jean Ping, a former African Union Commission chairman who says he is now Gabon's leader, said in a statement that his fight was not over following deadly riots last week. "I ask you from today onward not to use violence but to resist by blocking the country's economy," he said, addressing all Gabonese. "I propose to cease all activity and begin a general strike." At least six people were killed and more than 1,000 arrested in violence after Wednesday's announcement of a slim victory for Bongo. His family has run the oil-producing central African country - where the only refinery resumed operations on Monday - for half a century. An adviser to the interior minister told Reuters on Sunday that several dozen people had been released, but several Libreville residents said that they had not seen or heard from family members since the riots. Gabon is statistically one of Africa's richest countries with a GDP per capita of $10,000 a year, but oil wealth has flowed mostly to the elite, breeding widespread discontent in the former French colony. The Bongos have long relied on patronage to buy off dissent. But falling oil prices and production, long dominated by Total and Shell, have led to budget cuts. WARY ATMOSPHERE In the capital Libreville traffic resumed along the main boulevards as people returned to work on Monday, though some stayed home for fear of renewed violence. "Jean Ping doesn't have to tell me (not to go to work). While the situation is sensitive I'll stay home," said Hortense Toulangoye, a state worker. Another employee said he had not heard about the strike. The internet was operational again, five days after it was shut down in an apparent bid by the government to quell unrest, but access to social media was still limited. The oil refinery in the economic capital Port Gentil resumed operations after a five-day outage because of the post-electoral violence, Sylvain Mayabi, secretary-general of the National Organization of Petrol Employees, told Reuters. Total owns a 43.8 percent stake in the refinery, which processes 21,000 barrels of oil per day. Gabon produces 200,000 barrels per day, according to the International Energy Agency, and its output is in decline. It rejoined OPEC in July after two decades. France has had a military base in Gabon since independence in 1960 and 450 troops are stationed there, according to the French Defence Ministry. Gabon is also home to 14,000 French citizens. During more than four decades in power, late president Omar Bongo cultivated close relations with a succession of French presidents, but his son's ties to Paris have been more tenuous. Gabon recalled its ambassador to Paris in January after France's Prime Minister Manuel Valls appeared to question the legitimacy of Ali Bongo's 2009 election. (Reporting by Gerauds Wilfried Obangome; writing by Nellie Peyton and Aaron Ross; editing by Mark Heinrich and John Stonestreet) Beit Lahia (Palestinian Territories) (AFP) - His company is accused of helping to divert millions of dollars in funds to Hamas, but Gaza businessman Saqer Alatar insists he barely knows the NGO worker at the centre of the storm. "I only know what he looks like. Maybe I wished him good morning once," Alatar said at his Gaza offices as a tractor lifted potatoes into a pickup truck nearby. "I don't even have his number on my cellphone." 'He' is Mohammed al-Halabi, the head of the Gaza office of Christian charity World Vision who is facing trial in Israel for working for its enemy Hamas, the Islamist movement that runs the Gaza Strip. But various people involved with aid programmes in Gaza, including Alatar, as well as the US-based charity and those who know Halabi have told AFP the allegations against him -- at least those made public -- do not add up. Calls have mounted for Israel to try Halabi in public, with proceedings so far held in secret due to what Israel calls sensitive security information. The dramatic claim that Halabi siphoned off $7.2 million per year to Hamas is not in the official charge sheet and it is unclear if Israel has backed away from it. "The place in which evidence is presented and weighed is the court, not the media," Israeli foreign ministry spokesman Emmanuel Nahshon told AFP. Israeli authorities say Halabi's case and another involving a United Nations staffer in Gaza show Hamas systematically exploits aid programmes. "It's like when you catch a serial killer. The question of whether he killed 50 people or 25 people is not really relevant is it?" Nahshon said earlier to Australia's ABC network. - 'Humanitarian hero' - Halabi's family is well known in the Gaza Strip, the Palestinian enclave of 1.9 million people. His father Khalil is a former Gaza head of education for the UN agency responsible for Palestinian refugees, UNRWA, and has met with UN chief Ban Ki-moon and John Kerry, the family said. Story continues In 2014, the younger Halabi featured in a UN campaign on "humanitarian heroes". He travelled the world for World Vision and speaks near-perfect English. In one picture on Facebook, he appears grinning in the Australian parliament. But on August 4, when they announced Halabi's arrest, Israeli authorities said he had diverted $7.2 million of the NGO's budget each year since 2010 to Hamas, including its military wing. The Islamist group, declared a terrorist organisation by the United States and the European Union, has fought three wars against Israel since 2008. Halabi's first pre-trial hearing was held Tuesday in a closed court, with no journalists or even World Vision staff allowed to attend. His lawyer told AFP she could be jailed for discussing the allegations. The NGO has questioned the charges, saying it has rigorous mechanisms to prevent such abuse. A World Vision source said an external investigator was brought in after one of its accountants fired in 2015 made allegations against Halabi, including Hamas links. The probe found no evidence of wrongdoing, the source said. Halabi's family believes the accountant, who has left Gaza, is now acting as a witness in the Israeli case. World Vision's global chief Kevin Jenkins told AFP the scale of the allegations was "very difficult to reconcile" with reality. Any payment over $80 needed two signatures, with anything over $15,000 signed off by the national office in Jerusalem, World Vision said. The German and Australian governments, as donors, have additional mechanisms including external audits and they have found no major concerns. World Vision's projects aided nearly 40,000 children in Gaza last year, according to the NGO, with efforts ranging from agricultural development to summer schools. - Purchasing power - One of the main allegations in the charge sheet is that Halabi rigged World Vision's purchasing system so "bids for the execution of nearly all projects would be won by one of two companies," including Alatar's agricultural business. The companies overcharged World Vision and gave the money back to Halabi for Hamas, it says. Asked by AFP journalists who visited his factory in northern Gaza about the allegations, Alatar reached for a cigarette and said he was unaware of them. He argued the charges did not make sense and said he had negotiated agreements with the office in Jerusalem, not Gaza. "Of all the international organisations in Gaza, maybe I deal with World Vision the least," said Alatar, who has not been charged in the case. His company's annual contracts from World Vision were never worth more than $70,000 at most and some years far less, he said. They have contracts worth far more with the United Nations and other NGOs, he added. World Vision told AFP its contracts with Alatar were worth $330,000 over 10 years, and with the other firm, Arcoma, $400,000 a five year period. The charge sheet also alleges Halabi recruited an aid worker with Save the Children in Gaza to join Hamas -- a claim the NGO said it was investigating. But friends of the employee told AFP that his sister, sister-in-law and three other family members were killed in a 2009 assault by Hamas on a Salafist mosque and that he is hostile to the group. Another charge alleges that Halabi's brother Dia, a nurse with UNRWA, works for Hamas -- an allegation the family denies. In northern Gaza, aid beneficiaries said Halabi was very hands-on and described a thorough auditing process. "The committee member would be there and the supervising engineer," said Ayman Suboh, a farmer near the border with Israel who received aid after his fields were destroyed in the 2014 war. "My hair would turn white as they inspected the corners, plastic sheets, one by one," he said as he tended his strawberries barely a mile away from Hamas fighters visible on a military base. BERLIN (Reuters) - Germany said on Monday it was optimistic Turkey would lift a ban on German lawmakers visiting German troops working at a NATO air base in the country though Ankara had not yet taken a specific stance after intense talks on the matter. Turkey banned German MPs from visiting the Incirlik base near the Syrian border in June after they passed a resolution declaring the 1915 massacre of Armenians by Ottoman Turkish forces a genocide. German lawmakers in turn threatened to end Germany's military mission in fellow NATO state Turkey. German Foreign Ministry spokesman Martin Schaefer said there had been intense German-Turkish discussions about the dispute, which could jeopardize German participation in the U.S.-led coalition fighting Islamic State insurgents. "We are optimistic and hope and expect that all the desired visits by German lawmakers for Incirlik or other sites will be approved," Schaefer told a regular government news conference. "But we don't know that yet for certain." German Chancellor Angela Merkel struck an upbeat tone after meeting Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan in China on Sunday, saying she expected progress on both the Incirlik dispute and visa-free travel for Turks to Europe. Both Germany and the EU, which depend on Ankara to keep a lid on the movement of migrants to the bloc, are trying to ease tensions with Turkey after criticizing Erdogan's crackdown on opponents following the failed coup in July. Schaefer said a decision by Turkey to approve the lawmaker visits would be a "good and important step forward" in repairing ties strained by the Armenia resolution and Ankara's concerns about Germany's response to the putsch attempt. "It would send a signal that the German-Turkish relationship has made progress, at least on that point," he said. (Reporting by Andrea Shalal; Editing by Mark Heinrich) By George Georgiopoulos ATHENS (Reuters) - Greece's big banks must take faster action to clean up their huge stock of troubled loans to help the ailing economy's recovery and set the banking system on a solid footing, Eurobank's (EURBr.AT) board chairman said on Monday. Greek lenders are saddled with tens of billions of euros of non-performing credit after a deep, protracted recession pushed unemployment to record highs, making it hard for corporate borrowers and households to service their debts. So called non-performing exposures (NPEs), which include loans past due more than 90 days (NPLs) and restructured credit likely to turn bad, have reached some 116 billion euros ($130 billion), more than half of Greece's annual economic output. Reducing this troubled-loan stock is the biggest swing factor for the country's banks as they continue to provision for impaired credit. The NPE stock is stabilising, with some banks managing slight reductions in recent quarters. With pressure from regulators to reduce the bad loan burden mounting, banks are close to finalising annual targets with the European Central Bank's Single Supervisory Mechanism (SSM). "The challenge for Greek banks today isn't capital adequacy but a strong management resolve to use effectively the substantial stock of provisions and collateral to clean up NPE portfolios," Eurobank's Chairman Nick Karamouzis told Reuters. He said such ammunition was already in place as banks have more than 58 billion euros of provisions against NPEs and troubled loans are more than 60 percent collateralised, mainly with real estate assets. Failure to shrink the bad loan pile risks refuelling uncertainty over banks' capital strength, delaying access to capital markets. It would tie up valuable liquidity and keep bank valuations at low levels, discouraging investors, he said. "We need an effective NPE resolution process and we need it fast. Banks can realistically aim at reducing troubled loans by at least 10 billion euros per year over the next four years without excessively squeezing NPE asset prices via forced sales," Karamouzis said. Story continues While Eurobank, Piraeus (BOPr.AT), National (NBGr.AT) and Alpha Bank (ACBr.AT), the country's big lenders, have made use of recent legislation and set up internal bad bank units, the problem loan buildup has not been reversed, suggesting a "need for a strategic shift", he said. "Rather than kicking the can down the road by extending interest and principal payments, as the very low curing rates and high redefaults show, banks should use all available tools and methods for viable restructuring solutions," he said. Banks should make more active use of external non-performing loan servicers, as Eurobank and Alpha have done with KKR and the EBRD, and pursue selective sales of long-dated bad loan assets. In May, Eurobank and Alpha transferred 1.2 billion euros of troubled credit in large Greek companies to a platform set up with U.S. private equity firm KKR (KKR.N), as part of efforts to better manage non-performing loans. [ID:nL5N18E1I6] The platform, managed by KKR's investment vehicle Pillarstone, will provide troubled but viable firms with fresh funding and expertise to help them recover. The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) took a 5 percent stake. Lenders must also look into jointly setting up a bad bank with Greece's bank rescue fund HFSF and private investors, especially for large non-performing corporate exposures, Karamouzis said. But he warned that massive forced sales of troubled loan assets at distressed prices, "would do more harm than good" amid the country's current economic woes. "Such a policy could certainly raise questions about banks' capital adequacy, fuelling deposit outflows again, prolonging capital controls and curtailing market access," Karamouzis said. (Editing by Alexander Smith) Geneva (AFP) - More than 2,000 sea rescue volunteers, who last year saved thousands trying to cross the Mediterranean to Europe, have won the annual Nansen prize, the UN refugee agency announced Tuesday. The Hellenic Rescue Team (HRT) will share the prestigious award with Efi Latsoudi, a human rights activist on Lesbos who helped provide a safe haven to thousands of refugees on the Greek island, the UN High Commissioner for Refugees said. HRT, represented by Konstantinos Mitragas, and Latsoudi, a volunteer at PIKPA village, "were both chosen for their tireless volunteer work during the 2015 refugee crisis on Greece's shores," UNHCR said. It hailed HRT "for their round-the-clock efforts to save refugees and migrants in distress from the sea," and Latsoudi "for her compassion and care for the most vulnerable refugees and migrants arriving on the island of Lesbos." More than 850,000 people -- most of them fleeing conflict in war-ravaged Syria, Iraq and Afghanistan -- arrived on the Greek islands last year alone after often risking their lives on unseaworthy boats and dinghies. Around 500,000 landed on Lesbos, which at the height of the 2015 crisis saw more than 10,000 arrivals per day. Nearly 800 people died or went missing trying to make the perilous crossing from Turkey to Greece last year, UN data shows. - 'Absolute horror' - "Both the Hellenic Rescue Team and Efi Latsoudi refused to stand by as they witnessed the dramatic humanitarian situation unfolding on their shores," UN refugee chief Filippo Grandi said in a statement. Volunteers with HRT last year carried out 1,035 rescues, saving 2,500 lives, and assisting more than 7,000 people to safety. "We lived absolute horror. There were many casualties, among them many children, which is the thing that affects you most," Mitragas said in the statement. On Lesbos, PIKPA village meanwhile welcomed the most vulnerable refugees, including women who had lost their children during the crossing and people with physical disabilities. Story continues Latsoudi, a trained psychologist and human rights activist, was one of the volunteers who helped local authorities transform the former children's summer camp into a refugee haven. During the peak of the crisis, PIKPA, which had the capacity to take in 150 people, was hosting some 600 refugees daily and distributing more than 2,000 meals. "For me supporting refugees is not something exceptional, it's something that we have to do," Latsoudi said in the statement. The Nansen award was created in 1954 in honour of the first UN High Commissioner for Refugees, Norwegian Arctic explorer and humanitarian Fridtjof Nansen, to mark outstanding work on behalf of refugees. HRT and Latsoudi will each receive $75,000 (67,000 euros) in prize money -- to use to fund a project that compliments their existing work -- at a ceremony in Geneva on October 3. USA TODAY Sports Back in July, Hassan Whiteside signed a four-year, $98 million deal to re-sign with the Miami Heat. Now, were starting to see what hes spending all that money on via his thoroughly entertaining Snapchat account. So far, it turns out itsa lot of Fiji Water. Like, a lot of Fiji Water. Also, a single, solitary bottle of ketchup, because you never know when that will come in handy. Related Links: big fan of Hassan Whiteside's fridge pic.twitter.com/9bhfLUadvt Kenny Ducey (@KennyDucey) September 5, 2016 This has to be the fridge with the most drinks in it since Mr. Chi City, and he even has the random condiments, although Whiteside went with ketchup instead of I Cant Believe its Not Butter, which is like, butter flavored, but it aint butter. As a professional athlete who works out a lot, Whiteside knows the importance of staying hydrated with plenty of water, and the contents of his refrigerator reflect that. And also a bottle of ketchup. Still unknown is whether or not the good people at Fiji Water are paying Whiteside for the product placement; although, Whiteside doesnt need an endorsement deal to know how important it is to drink plenty of water during the day, and also have a bottle of ketchup on hand in case its needed. By Laila Kearney NEW YORK (Reuters) - Hermine, a storm that raked Florida with hurricane-force winds last week, drifted far off the U.S. East Coast on Monday, sparing the Middle Atlantic states but forcing some beach closures. Hermine is expected to begin weakening on Monday night as it moves northwest and then "meander slowly" off the New England coast into Wednesday, the National Weather Service said. Forecasters warned swimmers and boaters along the Eastern Seaboard to stay out of treacherous waters and rough surf churned up by the storm. On Cape Cod and its islands, high surf and wind put a crimp in the Labor Day plans of many people looking to celebrate summer's end, but some beaches farther south reopened. New York City said all public beaches would be closed through Tuesday because of "life threatening" rip currents generated by Hermine. Hermine was classified as a Category 1 hurricane when it slammed into Florida's Gulf Coast on Friday. It became a post-tropical storm by week's end after its winds dropped below 74 miles per hour (119 kph) and it lost its tropical characteristics. The storm, which crossed northern Florida and then moved up the Georgia and the Carolina coasts, was packing sustained surface winds of up to 70 mph (110 kph) with higher gusts, the National Weather Service said. Its strongest winds were extending outward by about 230 miles (370 km), short of U.S. shores. "Just because it's a post-tropical cyclone doesn't mean the impact of tropical force winds, winds in general and storm surge go away," said National Hurricane Center spokesman Dennis Feltgen. The storm has claimed at least three lives, in Florida and in North and South Carolina. The third reported death was that of a man struck by a car on a South Carolina highway on Friday as he tried to move a fallen tree, a Colleton County fire department spokesman said. Hermine was forecast to bring up to 2 inches (5 cm) of rain to Rhode Island and southern Massachusetts through Wednesday. A tropical storm warning remained in effect from the eastern end of New York's Long Island and to Martha's Vineyard and Nantucket Island off Massachusetts. At least one ferry operator on Monday canceled some trips to Nantucket, which reported winds of up to 39 mph (63 km), because of the storm. "We are taking it trip by trip at this time," Hy-Line Cruises said in a Twitter message. On Block Island off Narragansett, Rhode Island, people appeared to be taking the unsettled weather in stride, even though it kept many tourists away. "Windy & cloudy on #BlockIsland after windy & brilliant yesterday. No ferries. Island deserted. Almost ideal. (Unless you own a business)," Twitter user Tom Anderson said. Storm-surge inundation levels of no more than one to three feet (30 cm to 1 m) were expected in coastal areas. As the threat to New Jersey waned, Governor Chris Christie ordered Island Beach State Park reopened for Monday. At 5 p.m. EDT on Monday, Hermine's center was about 175 miles (285 km) southeast of the eastern tip of Long Island. It was expected to move northwest at about 7 mph (10 kph). Hermine became the first hurricane to make landfall in Florida in 11 years, packing winds of 80 mph (130 kph), and knocking out power to 300,000 homes and businesses. (Additional reporting by Frank McGurty in New York and Ian Simpson in Washington; Editing by Steve Orlofsky and Sandra Maler) High school blames girls clothing for boys bad grades we are scratching our heads High school blames girls clothing for boys bad grades we are scratching our heads One high school administrator in Fort Bend County, Texas apparently thinks that girls clothing at school is distracting boys from class, and therefore, theyre getting bad grades. Cue eye roll. liz Instead of getting a warm welcome as the school year started, female students at Clements High School were blamed for their dress code and shamed for wearing outfits of their choice. It wasnt the welcome backtoschool announcement they were expecting to hear during a school assembly last week. In fact, for female students it was a horrible way to start the semester. According to Click 2 Houston, Clements High School assistant principal Phil Morgante told girls to stop wearing crop tops and tight clothes. His reasoning, he feels they are a distraction to boys. The proof? Were still waiting on that. giphy The Odyssey Online uploaded an audio recording from a student to Soundcloud and broke the news on Wednesday. In the clip, Morgantes controversial speech can be heard. Ladies, I know youve been working on your abs since the Olympics, right? But your shirts cant be up here. Its gotta cover the whole gut. Morgante said. Even after the administrator made a terrible joke about working out because of the Olympics, he said something more enraging. Ladies, I blame you all for boys low grades because of tight clothing. hills The Odyssey Online reports that students confirmed the audio recording started after the school administrator made comments about boys already having trouble studying. He later added that girls wearing tight clothing only makes their grades worse. As you might have guessed it, students were upset about Morgantes inappropriate comments. Like we should be able to wear leggings without feeling like its a problem because guys will be staring at us and thats just how we felt, Quean Foster told Click 2 Houston. Students took to Twitter to share their thoughts about the conversation Morgante had with them. Story continues One Twitter user wrote it best. @sahiloverthere I don't recall getting distracted by some chicks shoulders when I'm taking a damn test. If I fail It's b/c of me. Not them sahil (@sahiloverthere) September 2, 2016 .@lilsyd wondered how this speech was approved in the first place. OKAY *SIR* ALL YOU'RE DOING IS TELLING YOUNG GIRLS THEIR BODIES ARE SEXUAL OBJECTS I CANNOT BELIEVE THAT WHAT HE SAID WAS APPROVED IM GONE cashew (@LILSYD) August 24, 2016 Were certainly on board with @emkhan_. i regret not telling off morgante when he basically said its us GIRLS fault that boys over-sexualize girls bc of our clothing smfh im heated em khan (@emkhan_) August 24, 2016 We wanna fight someone, too, because a womans education is just as important as a mans. bout to fight anyone who tries to tell me that it's more important for a boy to "focus" than for me to be in comfortable clothes isobel (@izzo_bel) August 24, 2016 Come on! Its 2016. Can we just stop with sexism? How can you be soooooo blatantly sexist oh my god Andrea (@andreaonate_) August 24, 2016 @lisadyu9 summed the entire discussion perfectly. @lisadyu9 teach boys not to sexualize female bodies!!! Elizaveta (@lisadyu9) August 24, 2016 Due to the story becoming a huge topic, the school board has since released a statement, according to The Odyssey Online. During assemblies last week, when speaking about the dress code, a Clements High School administrator made comments that were inappropriate and offensive to students. The statement continued, The comments were a failed attempt at humor and inappropriate. Following concerns expressed by students, the Clements principal took prompt action to address the comments and apologized to the student body. Lets just say, its time we stop blaming women for mens actions and start holding men accountable for their actions. The post High school blames girls clothing for boys bad grades we are scratching our heads appeared first on HelloGiggles. HANGZHOU, China (Reuters) - World leaders are meeting in the eastern Chinese city of Hangzhou for a G20 summit. Following are highlights of comments made at the G20 meeting and related events: CHINESE PRESIDENT XI JINPING "We agree that facing the risks and challenges of the current world economy, and maintaining a peaceful and stable international environment are crucial. G20 countries should help each other and coordinate more closely on macro-economic policies; use various effective policy tools, such as fiscal, monetary and structural reforms. "(We) will not only fend off short-term risks, but also pay attention to the medium-to-long term growth potential." On trade: "We will support the multi-lateral trade mechanism and oppose protectionism to release the global trade growth potential and reverse declines in global trade." INTERNATIONAL MONETARY FUND MANAGING DIRECTOR CHRISTINE LAGARDE "A first priority is a coordinated effort to raise growth. The G20 agreed that this will require making full use of all policy levers - monetary, fiscal, and structural - individually and collectively. The G20 also agreed to identify and prioritise reforms that provide the biggest growth impulse for each country, which is an area where the IMF is actively engaged. Pushing back against protectionism and pushing forward with free and fair trade is a vital component of this growth agenda. "A second priority is a commitment that growth must be more widely shared. Again, countries should deploy proven tools to reduce excessive inequality and raise economic prospects, particularly for low-income groups and workers affected by rapid technological change - for example, through skills training and investments in education and health. We need increased growth, but it must be better balanced, more sustainable, and inclusive so as to benefit all people." "The issue of low growth trap, we take the very strong view that policy makers have to act upon the current situation they have to use all positive tools and levers in order to respond to that risk, which is why I said monetary policy where possible, but where stretched too thin, use fiscal policy in order to stimulate demand, which we are short on at the moment." On tax: "Have we resolved all problems of the world, probably not, is there more work to be done, international taxation in fight against evasion, in fight against climate change, there's plenty to be done." Two years after the massive protests that galvanized Hong Kongs mounting fight for democracy, voters here went to the polls on Sunday to legitimize a new political ethos that is unabashed in its fight against Chinas encroachment in the semiautonomous territory. The election was for Hong Kongs Legislative Council, a 70-seat lawmaking body that is only semidemocratic: half of its members are directly elected by the people; the rest, under an electoral system that has been described as the worlds weirdest, are largely selected by representatives from various sectors of the economy. A record 2.2 million voters cast their ballots for the former, at a turnout rate of 58%, according to local election authorities. (The turnout in the last election, four years ago, was 53%.) The election was the first major vote since the 2014 pro-democracy demonstrations, which demanded reforms to how the chief executive, the territorys head of government, is chosen. The leaders of those protests were mostly students, and critics dismissed them accordingly as naive, recklessly idealistic, and ultimately politically powerless. That is no longer the case. Nathan Law, 23 who heads the new political party Demosisto alongside the 19-year-old pro-democracy figurehead Joshua Wong is now the youngest lawmaker in Hong Kongs history. The election also saw the victory of 30-year-old Baggio Leung and 25-year-old Yau Wai-ching: two representatives of what is known as the localism movement, which demands the territorys right to self-determination. It is the milder cousin of a movement that calls for Hong Kongs outright independence from China; both are unprecedented and have emerged in the past year in the wake of what many see as Beijings abuses of one country, two systems, the constitutional dynamic that has granted Hong Kong a high degree of autonomy since China regained sovereignty over the former British colony in 1997. Hong Kong went into this election somewhat cynically. The makeup of the Legislative Council (or Legco, as it is colloquially known) has always seen Hong Kongs pro-Beijing camp hold a majority, in large part because the unique election system is designed to ensure it. Some were anxious that the pan-democratic camp which held 27 seats to the pro-Beijing camps 43 would lose seats in the election, granting the pro-Beijing camp the two-thirds majority necessary to pass its agenda through the legislature. Some results were still trickling in on Monday afternoon, but local press are forecasting that the proportion of pro-Beijing seats to pan-democrat seats would remain roughly the same in the next legislative session. Instead the greatest shift will be generational and ideological. Hong Kongers feel that one country, two systems and [Hong Kongs constitution] the Basic Law are now failures. This is the reason for my success, Leung told TIME on Monday afternoon. Now, we can bring these ideas to the table. Horrified parents in Florida watched an alligator chase their children around the neighborhood before local deputies responded to the scene. Read: Police Issue Warning to the Public After Massive Snakeskin Found in Middle of Park The alligator was trapped and relocated on Friday after it didnt realize he was not invited to play with local children, the Martin County Sheriffs Department joked on Facebook. We seen the gator coming out (of the water) at the two kids," resident Brenda Mike said in an interview with WPEC. I took a little barbecue sauce cup and threw it. He snapped at the cup, so what was he going to do with the kids?" While deputies said the was alligator only four or five feet long considered small for the species they warned that it still posed a threat. By the time deputies arrived to the scene, they said the alligator had retreated back into a small ditch. With the help of a local alligator trackers, deputies were able to tape the alligators mouth shut before restraining it and relocating it to an Okeechobee alligator farm, they wrote on Facebook. Read: There Goes the Neighborhood! Smiling Gator Takes a Leisurely Stroll on Residential Streets Deputy Jason Hickman, who responded to the scene, told WPEC, The gator is going to be fine. No kids were hurt, thats the good thing. Its a win-win for both. Watch: Florida's Alligator Encounters Have Led to a Loss of Limbs, but Rarely Death Related Articles: MADRID (Reuters) - Fires raged around Spain's eastern Costa Blanca resorts on Sunday and Monday, forcing more than 1,000 residents and tourists to flee, emergency services said. Authorities said they believed people had started three blazes that ripped through vegetation and destroyed buildings in the town of Javea and other areas up the coast from the popular holiday spot of Benidorm. "The hand of man again was involved in a very precise way, choosing the hottest day of the year," Jose Maria Angel, the head of the Valencia region's emergency services, told Spanish radio. Temperatures soared to 42 Celsius (108 Fahrenheit) on Sunday in Javea, where foreigners make up almost half of residents. The fires broke out on Sunday afternoon and spread quickly, fueled by strong winds and dry conditions. More than 300 people lodged in local schools and shelters, said emergency services who fought the flames through the night, backed by aircraft and military units. (Reporting by Angus Berwick; Editing by Sarah White and Andrew Heavens) SEOUL (Reuters) - Hyundai Merchant Marine Co Ltd <011200.KS> is in talks with South Korean firms such as home appliance makers Samsung and LG to carry their cargo, the chairman of South Korea's Financial Services Commission told reporters on Monday. Samsung Electronics Co Ltd <005930.KS> and LG Electronics Inc <066570.KS> have been customers of Hanjin Shipping Co Ltd <117930.KS>, a Hanjin spokeswoman previously told Reuters. Shares in Hanjin Shipping slumped by the daily limit of 30 percent in resumed trade on Monday as the South Korean shipping firm struggles to contain the fallout of its collapse. (Reporting by Joyce Lee; Editing by Edwina Gibbs) By Madeline Kennedy (Reuters Health) People who have a minor stroke or even a mini-stroke - are at serious risk for further strokes in the next few days, but many people delay going to the hospital because they do not recognize the symptoms, UK researchers warn. Often for these kinds of stroke, experts recommend surgery within 48 hours to unclog a major artery that supplies blood to the brain. People may not realize that vision problems can be an indicator of stroke, which can add to the delay in treatment, the researchers write in the British Journal of Surgery. Early recognition and prompt treatment can reduce hugely the death rates and disability after an initial minor or mini-stroke, said senior author Ashok Handa of John Radcliffe Hospital and Oxford University in the UK. Seeing a doctor and starting medical treatment the same day can reduce (the risk of) a second stroke by nearly 20 percent in the subsequent two weeks, Handa told Reuters Health by email. Recognizing that many people do not know the symptoms of stroke, the UK launched a public awareness campaign using the acronym FAST. FAST stands for the most common symptoms of stroke: Face drooping, Arm weakness, Speech slurring, and Time (emphasizing the need to act quickly.) Handa and colleagues surveyed 150 patients who came to their hospital in 2014 with a minor stroke or a so-called mini-stroke, formally known as a transient ischemic attack, or TIA. In the previous days or weeks, almost all 99 percent had experienced symptoms suggesting that the blood flow to their brain might be compromised. In the previous five days, nearly 25 percent had experienced symptoms of an actual stroke but hadnt recognized the danger, and only when the symptoms recurred did they seek help. The most common stroke symptom, occurring in 39 percent, was trouble speaking. But 30 percent of patients had a reduction or loss in vision, and many times that was the only symptom. Among patients who acted on their symptoms, 18 percent came straight to the hospital, 17 percent called emergency services, 55 percent called their doctor, and 10 percent called other services like eye doctors. Overall, more than 60 percent of patients had delayed seeking help at the hospital. These individuals either called a family member, or waited until the next day to act, or initially did nothing at all. Stephan Dombrowski, a health psychologist at the University of Stirling in the UK, noted in email to Reuters Health that stroke symptoms may not always be as severe as they look in informational videos, and they might not occur all at once. A single symptom is enough to indicate a possible stroke, warned Dombrowski, who was not involved in the study. Dombrowski understands that people may be reluctant to call emergency services. It is normal to be uncertain, feel insecure and to not want to bother busy health professionals when you are faced with symptoms that could be a stroke, he said. Still, he emphasized, it is always best to call for an ambulance and let doctors decide what is best. To increase awareness of eye problems as a symptom, Handa thinks the acronym should be updated to FASTER. If you have problems with weakness or numbness of the Face, Arm or Speech difficulty it is Time to act and Eye disturbance (temporary visual loss) React NOW, Handa advised. SOURCE: bit.ly/2clEQLy British Journal of Surgery, online August 16, 2016. By Fayaz Bukhari SRINAGAR, India (Reuters) - Indian security forces will use shells full of a chilli compound as an alternative to shotgun pellets, to control crowds in Kashmir, the interior minister said on Monday, after widespread use of the weapons wounded thousands and inflamed public anger. More than 3,800 people have been wounded and one killed by shotgun pellets since protests against Indian rule erupted in the disputed territory in early July, with more than 100 left partially or fully blinded, official figures show. Doctors say most cases go unreported, and critics want the government to use less harmful ammunition. "The committee has given its suggestions and the alternative of the non-lethal weapon has been suggested as PAVA shells," Home Minister Rajnath Singh told reporters as he led an all-party delegation to Srinagar, the summer capital of India's northernmost state of Jammu and Kashmir. He said security forces would begin using the shells, made of a compound found naturally in chilli powder, after a panel of experts decided they were sometimes a better alternative to pellet guns. The chilli compound, when fired, is thought to cause severe irritation and temporarily immobilize the target. "I think that won't result in the death of anyone. Since yesterday, 1,000 shells have already arrived here," said Singh, a senior figure in Prime Minister Narendra Modi's nationalist ruling party. Although pellet guns are designed as a non-lethal weapon, police officers have told Reuters that security forces are often forced to use them at close range to protect themselves from mob attacks. India is struggling to contain the worst unrest in Muslim-majority Kashmir since 2010, and Singh's trip to Srinagar appeared to make little headway in resolving a crisis that has left 73 people dead, 71 of them civilians. On Sunday, separatist leader Syed Ali Shah Geelani turned delegation members away at the door of his home, where he is under house arrest. Singh said India was "pained" by the unrest in Kashmir, but lashed out at separatists for refusing to talk. Protests erupted in Kashmir after security forces killed a popular separatist leader on July 8, catching New Delhi off guard. Thousands of stone-pelting locals take to the streets almost every day in the protests, led largely by young people without an obvious leader, complicating Indian efforts to tackle them. Kashmir, claimed in full but ruled in part by India and Pakistan, has been at the heart of nearly seven decades of hostility between the neighbors. (Writing by Tommy Wilkes; Editing by Douglas Busvine) Police and troops in Indian Kashmir will use chilli-based shells instead of pellet guns to quell protests, a minister said Monday, after hundreds of civilians sustained serious eye injuries in weeks of unrest. The government has been coming under growing pressure over the level of casualties in Kashmir during protests against Indian rule since the death of a popular rebel leader on July 8 in a gunbattle with soldiers. More than 70 civilians have been killed and thousands injured in the worst violence to hit the Muslim-majority territory since 2010, with many sustaining injuries from metal pellets fired from pump-action shotguns. Speaking on a visit to the state capital Srinagar, Home Minister Rajnath Singh said an expert panel had recommended the use of Pelargonic Acid Vanillylamide (PAVA) shells as an alternative to the mainly lead-based pellets. "The expert panel suggested the use of PAVA shells and I understand that no one can die from it," Singh told reporters as fresh violence erupted in parts of the territory. "Since yesterday, 1,000 shells have already reached Kashmir," he added. PAVA, also called Nonivamide, is present in chillis and is commonly used to make pepper spray. The pellet guns are meant to minimise fatalities in protests although the law gives the armed forces a relatively free hand to use lethal force, especially against suspected militants. But although they rarely result in deaths, the birdshot from the pellets can often blind victims if the fragments hit them in the eye. Hospitals say they have treated around 600 patients with eye injuries in the last two months, many of whom will never recover full vision. Authorities lifted a curfew in most parts of the territory late last month, but schools, shops and many banks remain closed while residents struggle with a communications blackout. Fresh clashes were reported at protests in large parts of Kashmir on Sunday, with sources putting the number of injured in three figures. Story continues "We have not the actual count of the injured but it is certain that a considerable number of forces personnel are also among them," a senior police official told AFP on condition of anonymity. Kashmir has been divided between India and Pakistan since the two gained independence from British rule in 1947. Both claim the territory in full. Several rebel groups have for decades fought Indian soldiers -- currently numbering around 500,000 -- deployed in the territory. They demand independence for the region or its merger with rival Pakistan. Tens of thousands of people, mostly civilians, have died in the fighting. JAKARTA (Reuters) - Indonesian police said on Monday they had broken up an online male prostitution ring and identified nearly 150 young men and boys, at least one as young as 13, offering sexual services. There are no reliable statistics on sex crime in Indonesia but the government has said it faces a "child sex abuse emergency". President Joko Widodo recently signed a regulation allowing for harsher punishments for child molesters and rapists, including chemical castration and the death penalty. Agung Setya, chief of police criminal investigations, said many of the 148 people offering services were underage with the youngest was 13 and the oldest 23. "We have identified 148 more victims, and as many as 45 are boys," he said, according to the Kompas daily. At least seven of the victims had been taken to government counseling and rehabilitation facilities, he said. Three men were arrested last week in connection with the case, including a pimp, and a customer believed to be foreign, police have said, though they have not given details. Homosexuality is not illegal in Indonesia, except in the particularly conservative province of Aceh, but sex between an adult and a minor is illegal. (Reporting by Kanupriya Kapoor; Editing by Robert Birsel) Infosys Limited INFY subsidiary EdgeVerve Systems star banking platform Infosys Finacle and premium information and communications technology provider Huawei recently introduced a novel financial cloud solution that will improve performance & maintenance and slash costs for clients. However, this development failed to cheer investors as the share price of Infosys was up a meager 1.2% at the close of regular trading on Sep 2. For the latest offering, the Finacle Universal Banking Solution Suite has been integrated into Huaweis FusionCloud based cloud platform. This will help clients operate Finacle applications on a private cloud network, which will bring down infrastructure and application management costs. Also, the solution promises improved agility for customers as it offers product factories, parameterization and open APIs. Furthermore, consumers can enjoy better self-service capabilities and reduced dependence on IT support and maintenance. Leveraging on the powerful analytics of this new platform, banks can pursue lucrative right-sell opportunities and develop customized services for clients. This solution will also help financial institutions cut down on capital and operational expenditure, increase return on investments and rake in impressive savings that can be reinvested in profitable ventures. Meanwhile, Infosys has noticed a pressing need for smart banking solutions that can support the escalating load. This is expected to drive adoption of the new service as it offers a comprehensive, secure, flexible and scalable application, which is precisely the need of the hour. INFOSYS LTD Price INFOSYS LTD Price | INFOSYS LTD Quote In fact, Finacle has clients from across 94 countries and serves 16.5% of the banking customers worldwide. Thus, Finacle has proved to be one of the strongest growth drivers for Infosys, fetching new customers every quarter. For the first quarter of 2016, the EdgeVerve unit recorded 16 wins and 21 go-lives for both Finacle and Edge. We believe strategic collaborations and impressive customer wins at Finacle will continue to drive growth for Infosys. Story continues Despite Finacles bountiful opportunities, the changing pattern of technology use along with rapid proliferation of customizable Internet-based software is hurting Infosys traditional outsourcing business. Also, macroeconomic concerns like slowdown in China and economic uncertainty post Brexit might compel business houses to delay discretionary spending. This might pose as a challenge to this Zacks Rank #4 (Sell) company. Better-ranked stocks in the industry include Barracuda Networks, Inc. CUDA, sporting a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy), and Unisys Corporation UIS and Acxiom Corporation ACXM, both carrying a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). Confidential from Zacks Beyond this Analyst Blog, would you like to see Zacks' best recommendations that are not available to the public? Our Executive VP, Steve Reitmeister, knows when key trades are about to be triggered and which of our experts has the hottest hand. Click to see them now>> Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report UNISYS (UIS): Free Stock Analysis Report ACXIOM CORP (ACXM): Free Stock Analysis Report INFOSYS LTD (INFY): Free Stock Analysis Report BARRACUDA NTWRK (CUDA): Free Stock Analysis Report To read this article on Zacks.com click here. Zacks Investment Research Tehran (AFP) - With Iranians blocked from this month's hajj pilgrimage, their supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei issued a furious rebuke Monday to rival Saudi Arabia, saying the Muslim world should challenge its management of Islam's holiest sites. "Saudi rulers... who have blocked the proud and faithful Iranian pilgrims' path to the Beloved's House, are disgraced and misguided people who think their survival on the throne of oppression is dependent on defending the arrogant powers of the world, on alliances with Zionism and the US," Khamenei said. He accused Saudi Arabia's ruling family, who are the custodians of Islam's holiest sites in Mecca and Medina, of politicising the annual hajj pilgrimage, due to start at the end of the week, turning themselves into "small and puny Satans who tremble for fear of jeopardising the interests of the Great Satan (the United States)". For the first time in almost three decades, Iranians have been effectively barred from participating in this year's pilgrimage to Mecca after talks on logistics and security fell apart. But even by recent standards, with relations between the rival Middle Eastern powers at an all-time low, the language was tough. "Because of Saudi rulers' oppressive behaviour towards God's guests, the world of Islam must fundamentally reconsider the management of the two holy places and the issue of hajj," Khamenei wrote in a statement on his website. He reserved some of his harshest words for Riyadh's response to a deadly stampede during last year's hajj that killed some 2,300 foreign pilgrims, including an estimated 464 Iranians. "Instead of apology and remorse and judicial prosecution of those who were directly at fault in that horrifying event, Saudi rulers -- with utmost shamelessness and insolence -- refused to allow the formation of an international Islamic fact-finding committee," he said. Story continues "The hesitation and failure to rescue the half-dead and injured people... is also obvious and incontrovertible," he added. "They murdered them." - 'Blasphemous, faithless' - As the two leading powers in the Middle East, Shiite Iran and predominantly Sunni Saudi Arabia are at odds over a raft of regional issues, notably the conflicts in Syria and Yemen in which they support opposing sides. Riyadh-Tehran ties were severed for four years after more than 400 people were killed in Mecca during clashes between Iranian pilgrims staging an anti-US protest and Saudi security forces in 1987. Iran is particularly opposed to the Saudi monarchy's close relationship with Washington and Israel. "The world of Islam, including Muslim governments and peoples, must familiarise themselves with the Saudi rulers and correctly understand their blasphemous, faithless, dependent and materialistic nature," Khamenei wrote. "They have placed pilgrims from the participating countries under unprecedented surveillance with the help of the spy agencies of US and the Zionist regime. They have made the divine sanctuary unsafe for everybody," he charged. In January, relations were severed again after Iranian demonstrators torched Saudi Arabia's embassy and a consulate following the kingdom's execution of a prominent Shiite cleric. Some 60,000 Iranians took part in last year's hajj, but it was announced in May that they would not be permitted to take part this year after the two countries failed to agree the hajj memorandum of understanding that is signed annually with more than 70 countries. Two rounds of talks led to agreements in some areas, including to use electronic visas which could be printed out by Iranian pilgrims, as Saudi diplomatic missions remain shut in Iran. But Riyadh said Tehran had made "unacceptable" demands, including the right to organise demonstrations "that would cause chaos". The kingdom's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Nayef reiterated those concerns on Monday night after reviewing a parade of hajj security forces. He said Iran was making "efforts to politicise hajj and convert it into an occasion to violate the teachings of Islam, through shouting slogans and disturbing the security of pilgrims", according to the official Saudi Press Agency. DUBAI (Reuters) - Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei renewed criticism of Saudi Arabia over how it runs the haj after a crush last year killed hundreds of pilgrims, and suggested Muslim countries think about ending Riyadh's control of the annual pilgrimage. Saudi Arabia accused Iran, its main regional rival, of seeking to politicize this month's event, saying in turn on Monday that Iran was compromising safety with its actions. "The Iranian authorities are the ones who don't want the Iranian pilgrims to come here for reasons concerning the Iranians themselves and in light of them seeking to politicize haj and turn it into rituals against Islam's teachings and that compromise the safety of haj," the state news agency SPA quoted Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Nayef as saying. He was reviewing preparations the pilgrimage that starts on Sept. 11. Custodian of Islam's most revered places in Mecca and Medina, Saudi Arabia stakes its reputation on organizing haj, one of the five pillars of Islam which every able-bodied Muslim who can afford to is obliged to undertake at least once. Riyadh said 769 pilgrims were killed in the 2015 disaster - the highest haj death toll since a crush in 1990. Counts of fatalities by countries who repatriated bodies showed that over 2,000 people may have died in the crush, more than 400 of them Iranians. "Because of these (Saudi) rulers' oppressive behavior towards God's guests (pilgrims), the world of Islam must fundamentally reconsider the management of the two holy places and the issue of haj," Khamenei said in a message carried by his website and Iran's state media. "They must not let those rulers escape responsibility for the crimes they have caused throughout the world of Islam," Khamenei said, listing Saudi Arabia's involvement in conflicts in areas including Iraq, Yemen and Syria on the side of forces Iran opposes. Riyadh accuses Tehran in turn of destabilizing Arab states and spreading sectarianism by backing militias in Syria, Lebanon, Iraq and Yemen and fomenting unrest in Bahrain and Saudi Arabia. Iran denies those charges. Iran blamed the 2015 disaster on organizers' incompetence. Pilgrims from Iran will be unable to attend haj, which starts on Sept. 11, this year after talks between the two countries on arrangements broke down in May. "What Iranian media and some Iranian officials are raising is not objective and they know before anyone else that the kingdom has given the Iranian pilgrims what it gave others," Prince Nayef said. An official Saudi inquiry has yet to be published, but authorities suggested at the time some pilgrims ignored crowd control rules. (Reporting by Ali Abdelaty; Writing by Maha El Dahan; Editing by Alison Williams) DUBAI (Reuters) - Iranian supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei renewed criticism of Saudi Arabia over how it runs the haj after a crush last year killed hundreds of pilgrims, and suggested Muslim countries think about ending Riyadh's control of the annual pilgrimage. "Because of these (Saudi) rulers' oppressive behaviour towards God's guests (pilgrims), the world of Islam must fundamentally reconsider the management of the two holy places and the issue of haj," Khamenei said in a message carried by his Website and Iran's state media. "They must not let those rulers escape responsibility for the crimes they have caused throughout the world of Islam," Khamenei said, listing Saudi Arabia's involvement in conflicts in areas including Iraq, Yemen and Syria on the side of forces Iran opposes. Custodian of Islam's most revered places in Mecca and Medina, Saudi Arabia stakes its reputation on organising haj, one of the five pillars of Islam which every able-bodied Muslim who can afford to is obliged to undertake at least once. Its prestige was damaged by the 2015 disaster, in which Riyadh said 769 pilgrims were killed - the highest haj death toll since a crush in 1990. Counts of fatalities by countries who repatriated bodies showed that over 2,000 people may have died in the crush, more than 400 of them Iranians. Iran, Saudi Arabia's main regional rival, blamed the disaster on organisers' incompetence. Pilgrims from Iran will be unable to attend haj, which starts on Sept. 11, this year after talks between the two countries on arrangements broke down in May. [nL8N1BF08O] An official Saudi inquiry has yet to be published, but authorities suggested at the time some pilgrims ignored crowd control rules. Riyadh accuses Tehran of destabilizing Arab states and spreading sectarianism by backing militias in Syria, Lebanon, Iraq and Yemen and fomenting unrest in Bahrain and Saudi Arabia. Iran denies those charges. (Reporting by Dubai newsroom; Editing by Richard Balmforth) File photo of fumigation being carried out at a block of flats in the Aljunied area: Yahoo Singapore/Nicholas Yong Suspected Zika cases are no longer required to be isolated while waiting for test results as of from Tuesday (6 September), said the Ministry of Health (MOH). As the cases of Zika in Singapore have been mild so far, confirmed cases are no longer needed to be hospitalised unless medically indicated, MOH said in a statement on Monday (5 September). From Wednesday (7 September), MOH will extend subsidies for the Zika test to all Singaporeans with Zika symptoms. For subsidised patients at public healthcare institutions, they will pay a subsidised rate of $60 if they have Zika symptoms. Patients who need the test but cannot afford it can approach a medical social worker for assistance, such as from Medifund, MOH said. As of noon on Monday (5 September 2016), there are three clusters and 16 cases with no known links to other cases and clusters. MOH said it expects Zika cases to emerge in more areas over time given the presence of the Aedes mosquitoes here. Currently, all suspect cases of Zika infection are isolated in hospitals while awaiting confirmation of their blood test results. As more cases emerge, there is evidence that there is transmission in the community with the presence of infected mosquitoes, MOH said. Most of the patients also do not display symptoms. As such, isolation of patients with symptoms has limited effect, it added. Zika is generally a mild disease, and patients typically recover within four to seven days. However, Zika virus infection can have more serious implications for a pregnant woman, as the virus can cause microcephaly in a small number of unborn foetuses. For pregnant women, Zika tests will be made more affordable and accessible. For those who have Zika symptoms or whose male partner is Zika-positive, the public sector laboratories will continue to extend free Zika tests to patients at the public healthcare institutions, as well as those at private hospitals and clinics. By Luke Baker JERUSALEM (Reuters) - The Syrian conflict is entering a highly unpredictable phase, the former head of the Israeli domestic security agency said on Monday, adding that the Iranian-backed militia Hezbollah posed a growing threat to Israel despite losing many fighters. As Syria has descended into seemingly intractable fighting over the past five years, Israel has largely stayed on the sidelines, keeping watch over the Golan Heights frontier that divides them and occasionally carrying out airstrikes or returning mortar fire if there is a specific threat. Israel, with historical enemies on its borders, maintains close intelligence on its neighbors and a special channel of communication with Russia to remain informed on Syria. Avi Dichter, the former director of Shin Bet and now chair of parliament's foreign affairs and defense committee, said Israel, like all Western and Arab intelligence agencies, had failed to predict most of what had unfolded, including thinking Syrian President Bashar al-Assad would be toppled quickly. With Russia carrying out airstrikes from Iranian bases, and Turkish forces engaged in a ground assault against Islamic State in the north, Israeli officials see the conflict moving into an even more chaotic, unpredictable phase. "There is a debate about whether we are at the beginning of the end or just the end of the beginning," Dichter told foreign reporters, saying tectonic shifts had produced a regional earthquake that was "at least nine on the Dichter scale". "I know chaos is a better word for describing what is going on, but really it is 'balagan'," he said, using a Hebrew word with Russian roots that means total mess. "With chaos, you know when it is going to stabilize. 'Balagan' is something that no one really knows when it is going to be stable." The civil war that broke out in 2011 has cut Syria into a patchwork of territories held by the government and an often competing array of armed factions, including Kurdish militia fighters, a loose coalition of rebels groups, and Islamic State. World powers are backing opposing sides in the civil war, with the United States and Turkey supporting rebels seeking to oust Assad, while Russia and Iran back the Syrian president. All of them also say they are fighting Islamic State, but their efforts are not coordinated. COMPETING INTERESTS Amid the unrest, Some Israeli officials have sought to highlight potential positives, seeing in it a reshaping of the Middle East, a century after Britain and France drew up many of the region's borders, that could benefit Israel by weakening its traditional enemies, including Syria, Lebanon and Iran. "We're in a situation where the more divided things become, the weaker the threat is for us," one Israeli diplomatic official said last week. But the situation also raises new unpredictables, including how Russia and Turkey - both Israeli allies who have their own interests in Syria - will act. For example, both Moscow and Ankara have indicated that they would support Assad remaining in power in some capacity, an outcome unpalatable to Israel. Dichter said that while Turkey, Russia and Iran may have competing priorities, "we don't see any intention (on their part) to use Syria as a platform against Israel". The exception to that, though, is Hezbollah, the Iranian-backed Lebanese militia that is fighting on behalf of Assad's forces and has confronted Israel repeatedly in the past. It battled Israel for nearly 20 years during the Israeli occupation of southern Lebanon from 1982, and they fought a war in 2006. Hezbollah has lost about 1,600 fighters in the Syrian conflict, Dichter said, with an estimated 5,000-6,000 wounded. "More Hezbollah terrorists have been killed in Syria than in clashes with Israel in 30 years," he said, calling it "good news" and a concern for Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah. The bad news for Israel, he said, was that Hezbollah was learning to fight in bigger groups with advanced weaponry. "It's not anymore just a set of terrorists, it's battalions, with sophisticated weapons, with artillery," he said, calling Syria a "very good training ground". "We know that if we're going to have another round against Hezbollah, it's going to be different, and we're getting prepared for it," he said. "When I said it's an army of terrorists, so you can move a little bit from the word terrorists towards army." (Additional reporting by Lisa Barrington in Beirut; Writing by Luke Baker; Editing by Pravin Char) Ramallah (Palestinian Territories) (AFP) - Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas has agreed on a Russian proposal for him to meet Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as part of a new peace push, an official said Monday. Netanyahu has said he is open to such a meeting together with Russian President Vladimir Putin. But the Palestinians have questioned Israel's commitment to the initiative and disagreements have derailed previous attempts to arrange talks. "We told the Russian side today that president Abbas accepted the Russian initiative about the meeting of Abbas and Netanyahu with President Putin in Moscow," said Abed al-Hafeez Nofal, the Palestinian ambassador to Moscow. "But it is clear for us that the Israelis are evading the requirements of the meeting," he told AFP by phone, without providing further details. Abbas is currently travelling in Poland and his entourage could not immediately be reached for comment. Netanyahu earlier Monday discussed the proposal with Putin's Middle East envoy Mikhail Bogdanov in Jerusalem. They "discussed President Putin's proposal to host a face-to-face meeting between the prime minister and president Abbas in Moscow," Netanyahu's office said in a statement. "The prime minister presented Israel's position that he is always ready to meet with president Abbas directly and without preconditions. He is therefore reviewing the Russian president's proposal and the timing of a possible meeting." Bogdanov was expected in Ramallah for talks with Palestinian officials on Tuesday. The Palestinian ambassador also told Russian news agency Interfax that Bogdanov had met Abbas in Jordan three weeks ago and "received his agreement to participate in such a meeting". The ambassador said the Palestinian side "had planned for the meeting to take place on September 9." But he said the talks had been postponed indefinitely "after Israel's decision to take a pause and have a think about agreeing." Story continues Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi said recently Putin wanted to host an Israeli-Palestinian summit to revive peace talks. Abbas's office has said previously that the Palestinians are ready to participate in any peace initiative aimed at a "comprehensive and fair solution". But Palestinian leaders also say years of negotiations with the Israelis have not ended the occupation of the West Bank, and they have more recently pursued an international strategy. They have previously said an Abbas-Netanyahu meeting would lead nowhere without a freeze on Israeli settlement building, the release of Palestinian prisoners and a deadline for an end to the occupation. Peace efforts have been at a standstill since a US-led initiative collapsed in April 2014. The last substantial public meeting between Abbas and Netanyahu is thought to have been in 2010, though there have been unconfirmed reports of secret meetings since then. The chairman of the foreign affairs committee in Israel's parliament, Avi Dichter, told journalists Monday he appreciated other countries' efforts to try to mediate between Palestinians and Israelis, but "true negotiations, true talks, a true process will be tete-a-tete." JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Israeli supporters of U.S. Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump have opened a campaign office in the occupied West Bank, saying they hope to get as many American expatriates as possible to cast an absentee ballot for their candidate. There are about 300,000 U.S. citizens in Israel, according to the non-profit group Republican Overseas Israel, which opened the office in the Jewish settlement Karnei Shomron on Monday. It estimates as many as 80,000 of them live in the West Bank, though it is not clear how many are eligible voters. The initiative has no official ties to the Trump campaign or the Republican National Committee (RNC), and the Israeli group opened the West Bank office, and a handful of others throughout Israel, with its own funds, said co-chairman Marc Zell. "We are however in close coordination with the Trump campaign and RNC to the extent that it's feasible," said Zell. A poll of Jewish Israelis conducted in May found 40 percent of respondents backed Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton and 31 percent supported Trump. The poll did not specify whether those who responded were eligible to vote in the U.S. election. Trump has accused the administration of President Barack Obama of lacklustre support for Israel. He has also rejected last year's nuclear deal with Iran, Israel's arch-foe, and has called for a temporary ban on Muslims entering the United States. The new office in the West Bank is not staffed full-time but will be used as a "logistical jumping-off point" for outreach activity, Zell said. Israel captured the West Bank, land where Palestinians hope to establish an independent state, in the 1967 Middle East war. Most countries view Israeli settlements built there as illegal and an obstacle for peace. Israel rejects this, saying Jews have been living in the territory for thousands of years. The U.S. presidential election takes place on Nov. 8. (Reporting by Eli Berlizon; Editing by Gareth Jones) ROME (Reuters) - Fifteen bodies were recovered and more than 2,700 boat migrants rescued off the coast of Libya on Monday, the Italian coastguard said, in another day of mass departures from north Africa. Italy's navy and coastguard, ships patrolling on a European Union anti-smuggling mission, vessels run by humanitarian groups, and a commercial tug boat aided in the rescues. Earlier in the day, the Italian Navy said six bodies had been found after migrants fell out of a leaking rubber boat. The coastguard gave no further details. The migrants were saved from 19 dangerously overcrowded rubber boats and four small boats, the coastguard said. People smugglers operate freely in Libya, cashing in on migrants desperate to reach Europe. Last week calmer seas and Libya's lawlessness opened the way for smugglers to ship 13,000 migrants across the Mediterranean Sea in just four days. Europe's worst migrant crisis since World War Two is now focused on Italy, at Europe's southern frontier, where some 93,000 people had arrived by the end of August, according to Italy's Interior Ministry. The death toll on the route from North Africa to Italy has jumped to one migrant for every 42 making the crossing, compared to one in every 52 last year, a U.N. refugee agency spokesman said last week. (Reporting by Isla Binnie and Steve Scherer; Editing by Catherine Evans) By Tova Cohen TEL AVIV (Reuters) - Japanese executives say they are increasingly drawn to investments in Israel as the price of oil falls and, with it, the influence Arab oil suppliers have on Japan's decision-making. Over the past two years, Japan and Israel have strengthened business ties, signing a series of economic agreements on the back of a visit by Prime Minister Shinzo Abe to Israel in 2015 and Benjamin Netanyahu's trip to Tokyo in 2014. "Abe had a good impression; he liked Netanyahu's mentality," Yoshimitsu Kobayashi, chairman of Mitsubishi Chemical Holdings, told Reuters when he led a delegation from Keizai Doyukai, the Japanese business lobby, to Israel in May. For years, trade between the two was minimal - Japan was reluctant to upset its oil suppliers, many of whom belong to the Arab League, which has long backed a boycott of Israel. "Geopolitics is changing in the Middle East and as oil prices come down, strategically it's not as important," said Kobayashi. "Japan is changing its mind." Israel's prowess in Internet, biotech, and automotive technologies is particularly attractive, Kobayashi said. This is not to say Japan has given up on the Arab world. Isamu Nakashima, chief researcher at the Middle East Institute of Japan, said Japan's need for oil will always trump its need for anything Israel can offer, though past worries that trade with Israel could annoy Arab nations have mostly faded. "But for things to really improve a lot, there needs to be a peace settlement (between Israel and the Palestinians)," Nakashima said. Bilateral trade in goods in the first seven months of 2016 rose to $1.4 billion from $1.1 billion, making Japan Israel's fourth-largest market in Asia. It is part of a growing shift in focus as Asia overtakes the United States to become Israel's largest trading partner after Europe. BUILDING FROM A LOW BASE The deal that put Israel on Japan's business map was the $900 million acquisition of chat app Viber by Japanese e-commerce giant Rakuten Inc in 2014. Viber has a big user base in Asia and was approached by Rakuten while doing business there, said Michael Shmilov, Viber's chief operating officer. Story continues "There are strong cultural differences but at the same time, Rakuten is a global company where English is the official language and we are working closely to reduce the impact of these differences," he said. The biggest obstacle, he said, is the lack of direct airline flights, something Israel wants to change. The Viber acquisition was followed by several others, including the $212 million purchase of Israel's Altair Semiconductor by Sony Corp this year. Net investment by Japanese firms in Israel, after subtracting Israeli investment in Japan, nearly doubled in 2015 to 5.2 billion yen ($50 million), according to the Japan External Trade Organisation, citing Bank of Japan data. "The last two years ... we've seen a great expansion of Japanese activities, many large corporations are coming here, setting up R&D centres and investment flows are rising," said Avi Hasson, Israel's chief scientist. Seven Japanese companies - including Panasonic, NEC and Ricoh - have joined his office's multinational R&D programme, creating 12 projects with Israeli companies. Gilad Majerowicz, head of the Japan desk at Israeli law firm Herzog Fox & Neeman, said several large Japanese companies planned to set up R&D centres in Israel. For Israel, Japan offers a large market and a source of capital at a time of growing calls by some activist groups in Europe and the United States for a boycott of Israel because of its policies towards the Palestinians. They seek a state on land captured by Israel in a 1967 war. The most recent peace talks between the two fizzled in 2014. Israeli mobile advertising analytics firm AppsFlyer opened an office in Tokyo last year and has over 100 Japanese clients. "People who are tech savvy really respect Israeli companies," said Naoya Otsuba, AppsFlyer's manager in Japan. An area where Japan is a particularly attractive market is in defense and cyber security, a sector that faces restrictions when it comes to China. Health is another key area as Japan's aging population seeks affordable medication. Teva Pharmaceutical Industries has a joint venture with Takeda Pharmaceutical Co to bring its generics drugs to Japan. (Additional reporting by Tetsushi Kajimoto and Elaine Lies in Tokyo; editing by Mark Heinrich) By Tova Cohen TEL AVIV (Reuters) - Japanese executives say they are increasingly drawn to investments in Israel as the price of oil falls and, with it, the influence Arab oil suppliers have on Japan's decision-making. Over the past two years, Japan and Israel have strengthened business ties, signing a series of economic agreements on the back of a visit by Prime Minister Shinzo Abe to Israel in 2015 and Benjamin Netanyahu's trip to Tokyo in 2014. "Abe had a good impression; he liked Netanyahu's mentality," Yoshimitsu Kobayashi, chairman of Mitsubishi Chemical Holdings, told Reuters when he led a delegation from Keizai Doyukai, the Japanese business lobby, to Israel in May. For years, trade between the two was minimal - Japan was reluctant to upset its oil suppliers, many of whom belong to the Arab League, which has long backed a boycott of Israel. "Geopolitics is changing in the Middle East and as oil prices come down, strategically it's not as important," said Kobayashi. "Japan is changing its mind." Israel's prowess in Internet, biotech, and automotive technologies is particularly attractive, Kobayashi said. This is not to say Japan has given up on the Arab world. Isamu Nakashima, chief researcher at the Middle East Institute of Japan, said Japan's need for oil will always trump its need for anything Israel can offer, though past worries that trade with Israel could annoy Arab nations have mostly faded. "But for things to really improve a lot, there needs to be a peace settlement (between Israel and the Palestinians)," Nakashima said. Bilateral trade in goods in the first seven months of 2016 rose to $1.4 billion from $1.1 billion, making Japan Israel's fourth-largest market in Asia. It is part of a growing shift in focus as Asia overtakes the United States to become Israel's largest trading partner after Europe. BUILDING FROM A LOW BASE The deal that put Israel on Japan's business map was the $900 million acquisition of chat app Viber by Japanese e-commerce giant Rakuten Inc in 2014. Viber has a big user base in Asia and was approached by Rakuten while doing business there, said Michael Shmilov, Viber's chief operating officer. "There are strong cultural differences but at the same time, Rakuten is a global company where English is the official language and we are working closely to reduce the impact of these differences," he said. The biggest obstacle, he said, is the lack of direct airline flights, something Israel wants to change. The Viber acquisition was followed by several others, including the $212 million purchase of Israel's Altair Semiconductor by Sony Corp this year. Net investment by Japanese firms in Israel, after subtracting Israeli investment in Japan, nearly doubled in 2015 to 5.2 billion yen ($50 million), according to the Japan External Trade Organisation, citing Bank of Japan data. "The last two years ... we've seen a great expansion of Japanese activities, many large corporations are coming here, setting up R&D centres and investment flows are rising," said Avi Hasson, Israel's chief scientist. Seven Japanese companies - including Panasonic, NEC and Ricoh - have joined his office's multinational R&D programme, creating 12 projects with Israeli companies. Gilad Majerowicz, head of the Japan desk at Israeli law firm Herzog Fox & Neeman, said several large Japanese companies planned to set up R&D centres in Israel. For Israel, Japan offers a large market and a source of capital at a time of growing calls by some activist groups in Europe and the United States for a boycott of Israel because of its policies towards the Palestinians. They seek a state on land captured by Israel in a 1967 war. The most recent peace talks between the two fizzled in 2014. Israeli mobile advertising analytics firm AppsFlyer opened an office in Tokyo last year and has over 100 Japanese clients. "People who are tech savvy really respect Israeli companies," said Naoya Otsuba, AppsFlyer's manager in Japan. An area where Japan is a particularly attractive market is in defense and cyber security, a sector that faces restrictions when it comes to China. Health is another key area as Japan's aging population seeks affordable medication. Teva Pharmaceutical Industries has a joint venture with Takeda Pharmaceutical Co to bring its generics drugs to Japan. (Additional reporting by Tetsushi Kajimoto and Elaine Lies in Tokyo; editing by Mark Heinrich) London (AFP) - Britain's Prime Minister Theresa May sought to drum up trade deals on Monday for a post-Brexit world as she faced increasing pressure to define what that would look like. May met Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull at the Group of 20 summit in China to discuss a free trade agreement and said India, Mexico, South Korea and Singapore had signalled they would "welcome" talks on removing trade barriers. In the wake of June's referendum vote to leave the European Union, Britain must renegotiate its access to world markets, an issue currently handled for it by Brussels. It is a huge task for the world's fifth largest economy, which is struggling to flesh out May's oft-repeated slogan: "Brexit means Brexit". May says she will not invoke Article 50 -- the formal procedure for an EU member state to initiate departure -- before the end of this year and the government has given little detail on how it will proceed. Whether Britain aims to retain access to the single market or not, and how it plans to achieve its aim of curbing immigration from the rest of the EU remain open questions, as does the timing of Brexit. May gave little away during her visit to China, except to rule out introducing an Australian-style points-based immigration system for workers arriving from other parts of the bloc, something leading Brexit campaigners had urged. At the House of Commons in London, some lawmakers jeered May's Brexit minister David Davis as he made a statement on what leaving the EU would involve. "Brexit is not about making the best of a bad job. It is about seizing the huge and exciting opportunities that will flow from a new place for Britain in the world," Davis said. Emily Thornberry, foreign affairs spokeswoman for the main opposition Labour party, accused Davis of peddling "empty platitudes". "When it comes to planning for Brexit, they (the government) have gone from gross negligence to rank incompetence," she added. Story continues Opposition MPs heckled Davis, shouting: "Waffle". - Hard or soft Brexit? - While the red lines for negotiations with other EU member states have yet to be drawn up by London, analysts say the choice is broadly between a hard or soft Brexit -- the speed with and extent to which Britain pulls out. May has insisted she wants the "best possible deal" for Britain and a "unique" solution rather than one based on an existing model such as Norway or Switzerland. En route to the G20, she ruled out using a points-based immigration system backed by figures including Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson, saying there was "no single silver bullet" for dealing with immigration issues. Supporters of Brexit fear that May -- who opposed leaving the EU -- will not deliver the quick, clean break from Brussels which they crave. Dozens of pro-Brexit campaigners rallied outside parliament as Davis spoke and MPs held a separate, non-binding debate triggered after four million people signed a petition calling for a second EU referendum. Meanwhile, Nigel Farage, leader of the UK Independence Party and a key pro-Brexit campaigner, told the BBC: "What we don't want is a backslide." The uncertainty weighing on major businesses and investors was highlighted when the Japanese government issued a document urging that the "harmful effects" of Brexit be minimised, plus transparency over negotiations. Some of Japan's best-known companies including Toyota, Hitachi and investment bank Nomura are re-assessing investments after Britain voted in June to quit the 28-member EU, according to the report issued by Tokyo. More than 1,000 Japanese companies do business in Britain, employing some 140,000 local people. Many of them were lured by the access the country offered to the EU and its single market of hundreds of millions of consumers. Scotland's pro-EU leader Nicola Sturgeon also ramped up the pressure for continuing close ties post-Brexit in a BBC radio interview Monday. She said she wanted Britain to remain in the single market, implying this could be the test for whether she would call for another Scottish independence referendum following 2014's poll which rejected the move. "The best position in my view would be continued membership of the EU -- but let's try and get the UK as a whole into the least-worst position and that means staying in the single market," she said. Japanese businesses might pull investment out of the U.K if their requests are not met during Brexit negotiations, warned the countrys ambassador in Britain during an interview with the BBC on Monday. Ambassador Koji Tsuruoka warning comes after a strongly-worded memo was issued by Japans foreign on Sunday. The 15-page document spelled out Japans worries for its companies operating in Britain and called for British Prime Minister Theresa May and the E.U. to negotiate a deal that safeguarded almost all of the U.K.s rights in the single market. The memorandum, which was issued as May was attending the G20 summit in China, also said that Japanese companies could relocate their headquarters from Britain to European countries if E.U. laws cease to be applicable in the U.K. after its withdrawal. Tsuruoka says Japan hopes Brexit will be a success and businesses he spoke to think Britain is the best place to do business in Europe. He told the BBC: Their [Japanese businesses] duty is to produce profits if the way Brexit ends up does not provide companies with a prospect of making sufficient profits to continue operating in the U.K. of course theres no option they cannot choose all options are open. He also said that it was hard to imagine that Japanese companies would leave the U.K. in totality, but added: There is a negotiation that will have to be conducted. If there are variations, if those requests are not met, it will be up to the industry to decide what to do. Jerusalem (AFP) - A Palestinian would-be attacker who tried to ram a car into a group of Israeli border guards in a refugee camp in occupied east Jerusalem was killed by police Monday. Officers opened fire on the car as it sped towards the guards in the Shuafat refugee camp, killing one of the men in the car and seriously injuring another, the police said. The attack took place after the Israeli border guard had completed an operation in the camp, the police added without providing further details. Violence has surged in the Palestinian Territories and Israel since October 2015, costing the lives of 223 Palestinians, 34 Israelis, two Americans and one Eritrean and Sudanese respectively, according to a tally by AFP. By Kathryn Doyle (Reuters Health) - There are few long-term studies of people whove had face transplants, and even the addition of another study of seven cases does not answer all questions about safety and efficacy of the procedure, say the authors of a new report. Ultimately, if one answers, yes to the question, Should we continue performing face transplants? then the ethical requirements for going forward include carefully determining which patients are likely to benefit and which are not, long-term monitoring to track what happens, and strict oversight by the hospitals institutional review board, the authors wrote in The Lancet. There have been fewer than 40 face transplants since 2005. In the new study, the French research team followed outcomes for seven transplant patients who had the surgery at their hospital between 2000 and 2009. Four had self-inflicted gunshot wounds to the face, one was burned and two had an inherited facial tumor condition. A study of seven people is relatively large when you consider that so few transplants have ever been done, lead author Laurent Lantieri of the Hopital Europeen Georges Pompidou in Paris told Reuters Health by phone. Over several years of follow-up, two patients died, one due to transplant failure and infection and one due to suicide more than three years after the transplant. As with other organ and tissue transplants, recipients immune systems periodically rejected the new tissue, and the powerful immunosuppressive drugs that lower the risk of rejection unfortunately increased the high risk of metabolic side effects. The surviving patients continued to take high-dose steroids to combat rejection episodes years after surgery. None developed diabetes, which is a common side effect of steroids, but three developed high blood pressure and all had noticeably reduced kidney function. Not all recipients experienced the same improvement in quality of life or social integration. Improvements in those areas seemed to depend on patients quality of life before the transplant, and whether or not they had serious psychiatric conditions before surgery. Mental health is an important predictor of the success or failure of a face transplant, and recipients should be carefully selected and have mental health and social work professionals in their multidisciplinary transplant teams, according to Dr. J. Rodrigo Diaz-Siso and Dr. Eduardo D. Rodriguez of New York University Langone Medical Center, one of the few facilities in the world where face transplants are performed. Diaz-Siso and Rodriguez coauthored a comment along with the new research in The Lancet. Also critically important to the success of a face transplant is so-called HLA matching, that is, making sure the donor and the recipient tissues are immunologically compatible. A face transplant requires lifelong adherence to a pharmacological regimen of immunosuppressants, Rodriguez told Reuters Health by email. That is why it is critically important to select patients who are committed to compliance, have a support system to hold them accountable, and understand the potential side effects of these medications. The authors of the study and of the comment agree that what long-term data we have so far does not yet answer the question, Should we continue performing these procedures? Face transplantation is not Face/Off, Lantieri said, referring to a 1990s science fiction movie. These patients have no other options and face incredible risks just to improve their basic quality of life, unlike what has been shown in the media. Face transplants are appropriate for a select group of individuals, particularly for those for whom conventional plastic surgery options have been exhausted and function has not yet been restored, Rodriguez said. These individuals must also understand the risks of these types of these procedures as well as the long term effects of immunosuppression medication. SOURCE: http://bit.ly/2bZJ1rW and http://bit.ly/2ctld1m The Lancet, online August 24, 2016. Khloe Kardashian is done babying her younger brother, Rob Kardashian, now that he's got a baby on the way himself. On Sunday's episode of Keeping Up With the Kardashians, Rob's concerned sisters discussed his struggles with his pregnant fiancee, Blac Chyna. "I called Chyna," Kim Kardashian told Kourtney. "She's like, 'Honestly, I used to think it was only you guys because that is the way it's perceived or whatever. Now I just need someone to talk to because it's really hard to deal with him.'" MORE: Rob Kardashian Posts Sweet Throwback Pic With His Dad Ahead of Becoming a Father: 'Can't Wait' "Yeah, but he's depressed," Kourt replied. But Khlo Money wasn't having anymore of Rob's excuses, talking to Scott Disick and Kendall Jenner about her brother's problems. "Robert, as a man, he needs to get out of his own s**t and man up, and say, 'Hey, let's try to bring the family together,'" Khloe said of her former roommate Rob. Snapchat And though the family was previously estranged from Tyga's ex, Chyna, Khloe said she was "grateful" for the model after she brought Rob to Khloe's 32nd birthday party at Dave & Busters, which was held back in June. WATCH: Blac Chyna and Rob Kardashian Snap Selfies With Kim Kardashian and Kylie Jenner at Khloe Kardashian's Birthday Bash "Without her, Rob wouldn't have come here," Khloe said. The family, Rob and Chyna included, snapped pics together at the bash. Since then, Chyna has been invited to several other family gatherings, including grandmother Mary Jo's birthday party in San Diego in July, which she attended sans Rob. Related Articles North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un called on his military to continue building up Pyongyang's nuclear force after issuing orders for the latest test-firing of ballistic missiles, the North's state media said Tuesday. North Korea test-fired three missiles into the sea Monday, Seoul said, in a new show of force as world leaders met for the G20 summit in China. "He stressed the need to continue making miraculous achievements in bolstering up the nuclear force one after another in this historic year," the official KCNA news agency said. Kim was guiding a fire drill of his military aimed at checking the "capabilities of the units" and the accuracy of the "improved ballistic rockets deployed for action," it added. Describing the combat performance of the rockets as "perfect", KCNA said Kim expressed "great satisfaction over the successful successive firing drill of ballistic rockets". South Korea's defense ministry said the missiles were speculated to be Rodong missiles with a range of 1,000 kilometres (620 miles), and that they were fired without navigational warning to Japan. "North Korea's ballistic missile launch is a direct violation of UN Security Council resolutions, aimed at showing off its nuclear and missile capabilities during the G20 summit," a ministry spokesman said in a statement. The defence ministry in Tokyo said the three missiles were estimated to have fallen into Japan's maritime Exclusive Economic Zone. "The ministry expresses serious concern over the missile launches as they pose a grave threat to Japan's national security," a ministry statement said. The United States and Japan lodged a protest against Monday's test-firing and requested a meeting of the UN Security Council in New York. The 15-member body will convene Tuesday and discuss whether the council will consider a response to the latest missile launches. North Korea has conducted a series of missile tests this year in defiance of UN sanctions imposed after its fourth nuclear test in January. Story continues Last month, it fired a submarine-launched ballistic missile from the northeastern port of Sinpo. That missile flew 500 kilometres towards Japan, far exceeding the range of the North's previous sub-launched missiles. Leader Kim Jong-Un described the August test as the "greatest success" and said it put the US mainland within striking range. The launch was widely condemned by the US and other major powers, but analysts saw it as a clear step forward for North Korea's nuclear strike ambitions. Launched in 1963, the original Maserati Quattroporte was the companys first large sedan and one of its first models powered by a V-8 engine. It was styled by Pietro Frua and based on a custom Maserati 5000 GT coupe that he had designed a year earlier for Prince Shah Karim Al Hussaini, Aga Khan IV. (The 5000 GTs custom features included a 45 rpm record player built into the dashboardthe eight-track player was still on the horizon.) Maserati built fewer than 800 examples of the first-generation Quattroporte before the model went out of production in 1969. Production of the second-generation Quattroporte didnt begin until 1974, but in the meantime, in 1971, Frua built a one-off version on the chassis of the Maserati Indy, a four-seat GT fastback. The cabin featured a high roof surrounded by a vast expanse of glass. A second version of the car was built in 1974 and sold to the Aga Khan. The 1971 prototype is said to have belonged to King Juan Carlos of Spain at one point. Until recently, that car was part of the large collection of Maseratis at the Riverside International Automotive Museum, in Riverside, Calif., which closed in June. In August, after Robb Report went to press, the Quattroporte was headed to the block at the RM Sothebys Monterey auction with a presale estimate of $175,000 to $200,000. More From Robbreport.com This Dolce & Gabbana Refrigerator Doubles as Art Jewelry Designer Colette Steckel Opens Los Angeles Boutique This Tropical Hideaway is Bali Without the Crowds Where Should You Buy Your Next Beach House: Cabo or Kauai? This Teak-Clad Rolls-Royce Dawn Is Fully Customized to Resemble a Yacht Cartier Reopens Its Legendary NYC Mansion After a 2.5-Year Renovation BEIRUT (Reuters) - The speaker of the Lebanese parliament on Monday suspended a national dialogue of rival politicians after one of the main Christian parties walked out, deepening the country's political crisis. Speaker Nabih Berri took the decision after the withdrawal of the Free Patriotic Movement (FPM) which criticized the dialogue as pointless and condemned what it called contraventions of a national pact on sectarian power-sharing among the Lebanese. "There is no benefit from the dialogue and its continuation, therefore we announced this position in cabinet, and we announced it now at the dialogue table," FPM leader Gebran Bassil said in a statement reported by the National News Agency. Lebanon, which is still rebuilding from its 1975-90 civil war, has been paralyzed by a political crisis exacerbated by the conflict in neighboring Syria. The country has been without a president for more than two years because rival groups have been unable to agree on who it should be, and Prime Minister Tammam Salam's unity cabinet has been paralyzed by divisions among its members. The presidency is reserved for a Maronite Christian. The FPM is determined the next head of state should be its founder, Michel Aoun. His party has the biggest number of Christian seats in parliament. Berri, a Shi'ite politician, had said he would suspend the dialogue if any of the main factions withdrew. The FPM is an ally of the powerful Shi'ite group Hezbollah, which supports Aoun for the presidency. The other main candidate for the position is Suleiman Franjieh, another Hezbollah ally who was nominated for the post by Sunni leader Saad al-Hariri last year. A row broke out between Bassil and Franjieh during Monday's session. "Parliament Speaker Nabil Berri suspended the dialogue indefinitely on Monday ... after a verbal row between two Christian leaders," an official said. (Writing by Tom Perry; Editing by Angus MacSwan) BEIRUT (Reuters) - A blast which killed one person in Lebanon last week targeted a convoy of cars belonging to the Hezbollah-allied Amal party, parliament speaker and Amal party head Nabih Berri told al Akhbar newspaper. No group claimed responsibility for the bomb blast on a road near the city of Zahle, in Lebanon's Bekaa Valley on Wednesday which also wounded 11 others. Berri, a Shi'ite politician, Hezbollah ally and one of most powerful men in the country, said the explosion targeted Amal vehicles heading to an event in south Lebanon commemorating former Amal party leader Musa Sadr, who disappeared in Libya in 1978. "The explosion was a message to us, it was intended to obstruct the arrival of those from the Bekaa to the movement's event in Tyre," Berri told the Lebanese newspaper. Amal party sources told the paper that they do not know who carried out the attack, but it was clear who the target was. Since the eruption of the five-year-old war in neighboring Syria, where the powerful Lebanese Shi'ite Muslim group Hezbollah is fighting in support of President Bashar al-Assad against Sunni Muslim rebel groups, Sunni militants have repeatedly struck in Lebanon. The spillover has included a number of attacks on Shi'ite areas, among the biggest of which was a bomb attack in the southern suburbs of Beirut in November last year. (Reporting by Lisa Barrington; Editing by Dominic Evans) NBC Leslie Jones isnt letting the trolls of Twitter keep her down. Earlier this year, Jones, who starred in this years all-female Ghostbusters reboot, experienced first-hand how vicious the internet can be when she became the focus of racist, hate-filled tweets on social media. Led by blogger Milo Yiannopoulos and his posse of alt-right followers, the attacks started in July and continued in August when some horrible people hacked Jones website, sharing personal information including her drivers license and intimate photos of the actress. Jones team quickly shut down her site and the comedian herself disappeared from the social media stratosphere, prompting a flood of support from her fans and famous friends. Leslie Jones is one of the greatest people I know. Any personal attacks against her are attacks against us all. #LoveForLeslieJ @Lesdoggg Paul Feig (@paulfeig) July 18, 2016 @Lesdoggg, no one deserves thisleast of all someone who brings us so much joy. I'm with you. -H Hillary Clinton (@HillaryClinton) August 25, 2016 Whats happened to Jones over the course of the last few months goes way beyond online bullying. She has repeatedly been targeted by anonymous groups of individuals determined to belittle her status as a successful black woman in Hollywood. Misogynists and racists exist they have existed for a long time and the internet gives them not only a shield with which to hide behind, but also a space to spew their hateful vitriol. What makes the attacks on Jones so alarming isnt just the language and intent behind them but also how relentless theyve become. Honestly, we wouldnt blame the comedian if she never posted a single 140-character tweet again. But Leslie Jones isnt just one of the funniest women on the planet, shes also a bada** warrior woman whos not letting a few white men hiding behind their keyboards dictate how she lives her life. After tweeting out her love for all things Golden Girls: I love Golden Girls! pic.twitter.com/dfVCFQ3TWP Leslie Jones (@Lesdoggg) September 3, 2016 Omg Sophia just said "sluts heal quicker" damnout the mouth of babes Leslie Jones (@Lesdoggg) September 3, 2016 Jones sent a message to her fans, assuring us all that she can withstand anything the haters throw at her: Thanks to my fans and friends! I'm soooooo ok really. And I will always be funny been through a lot in my life and I ALWAYS GET BACK UP! Leslie Jones (@Lesdoggg) September 4, 2016 Jones then got down to some more serious business: her birthday plans. So let's make my birthday week THE BOMB!! Cause I'm about to act a fool YALL!! CHEAH! #LJBDAY Leslie Jones (@Lesdoggg) September 4, 2016 It was a good try racist, misogynistic scumbags of the earth, but next time you decide to attempt to take down a powerful, funny black woman, take this piece of advice: just dont. Misrata (Libya) (AFP) - Yellow-and-blue fighter jets sit neatly lined up on the tarmac at the air force academy in Libya's Misrata, no longer awaiting students but orders for strikes against the Islamic State group. The military college has been transformed into a major base in the battle against the jihadists since they gained ground in the country in the turmoil that followed the 2011 uprising. For a year and half its planes -- flown mainly by former instructors in their 40s and 50s -- have been carrying out strikes against IS, and for several months they have been targeting what was their main stronghold in North Africa. IS took over Sirte some 250 kilometres (150 miles) east of Misrata in June last year, sparking fears the jihadists would use the Mediterranean city as a launchpad for attacks in Europe. Forces loyal to the UN-backed government this June fought their way into Sirte and have since pushed back IS fighters into one last district of the city. At the air force academy in Misrata, two pilots board a fighter jet don their helmets and wait for the signal to fly off on a reconnaissance mission of IS targets. "We know this terrorist organisation operates worldwide," Brigadier-General Rajab Abdaraheem says, referring to IS. - 'Defending the world' - "When I'm up in the air about to hit an IS target, I feel like I'm defending my country and the world," says the 57-year-old pilot who has been flying since he graduated in 1982. Since it opened in 1975, more than 30 classes of around 1,000 trainee pilots have graduated from the academy. The school trained officers from Libya and other countries in the Arab world until the 2011 uprising that toppled and killed longtime dictator Moamer Kadhafi. The academy saw heavy fighting between the rebels and fighters loyal to Kadhafi and was damaged in NATO strikes backing the opposition who retook the area. The door of the main maintenance hangar at the academy is still peppered with bullet holes. Story continues After 2011 "we renovated the facilities... but when the situation in Libya didn't stabilise the academy became a (military) base," says Brigadier-General Abderahman Mohammad. Officers -- most of whom had graduated for the academy in the 1980s and 1990s -- transformed the college's training aircraft into warplanes, equipping them with rockets and missiles, they say. The aircraft date mainly from the Kadhafi era and include some two dozen ageing jets including Russian-made MiG-23s, Yugoslav Soko G-2 Galebs and Czech L-39s, as well as helicopters. Beyond the tarmac, dozens of empty wooden boxes that used to contain missiles lie empty in the dust. The base's forces "quashed any fantasy IS might have had, prevented it from expanding and limited the movements of its members," says Mohammad Qanono, a spokesman at the airfield. - 1,400 sorties - Since March last year -- when the first jet took off from the base on a mission against IS -- until Sunday, the academy's planes had carried out 1,400 sorties on missions to survey and strike IS targets, he says. Around 600 of those missions have been logged since May and were mostly against IS positions in Sirte and in the desert to the south of the city. Since the battle for Sirte began on May 12, pilots at the base have also been tasked with ferrying out wounded loyalist fighters in helicopters to the Misrata hospital. More than 400 fighters loyal to the Tripoli-based government have been killed and about 2,500 wounded since the start of the offensive. And since the start of last month, forces backing the Government of National Accord have also been supported by US air strikes. On Friday, the United States Africa Command said that since the US campaign began on August 1, US drones, helicopters and bombers had carried out a total of 108 air strikes against the jihadists in Sirte. "We asked for... US air strikes because the US air force is very precise," says Qanono. MISRATA, Libya (Reuters) - Libyan forces said they had advanced against some of Islamic State's last holdouts in Sirte on Saturday as fighting resumed after several days of relative calm. The forces, which are aligned with Libya's U.N.-backed government, launched their campaign to recapture the city in May and have been aided by dozens of U.S. air strikes since the beginning of August. Forces made up mostly of fighters from Misrata, 230 km (145 miles) to the north west, now say they are in the final stages of their campaign to oust Islamic State from its former North African stronghold. But they have faced stiff resistance from militants holed up in a slowly shrinking residential area in the centre of the coastal city, who have defended themselves with car bombs, sniper fire, mines and shelling. On Saturday the forces said they had captured several buildings between Sirte's neighbourhoods Number One and Number Three, and had destroyed an Islamic State car bomb before it could reach its target, according to updates posted online. At least seven fighters were killed and 30 wounded, and the bodies of 10 Islamic State militants were found in a school building, they said. Losing Sirte would be a major blow for Islamic State, which won total control of the city more than a year ago, using it as an important base for Libyan and foreign fighters. (Writing by Aidan Lewis; Editing by Greg Mahlich) Defense giant Lockheed Martin Corps LMT business unit, Sikorsky Aircraft recently won a modification contract from the U.S. Army for the sale of 24 UH-60M Black Hawk aircraft to the Taiwan government. The contract is valued at $135.4 million and was awarded by the Army Contracting Command, Redstone Arsenal, AL. Work is scheduled to be complete by Oct 8, 2018 and will be executed inStratford, CT. The contract will use fiscal 2016 other procurement funds. LOCKHEED MARTIN Price LOCKHEED MARTIN Price | LOCKHEED MARTIN Quote The UH-60M Black Hawk Originally developed and manufactured by Sikorsky, the UH-60M is a modified version of the renowned Black Hawk family of helicopters that supports multi-mission tactical operations. It is a twin-engine copter with four blades and an improved durability gearbox. This medium-lift utility chopper offers fail-safe service, during both day and night, in the harshest weather conditions, anywhere in the world. Among other models of the Black Hawk, UH-60M is the most efficient, thanks to its integrated digital cockpit, moving map display, enhanced GPS/INS system and fully coupled flight controls and superior vertical lift. Our View Last November, Lockheed Martin bought Sikorsky Aircraft one of the primary industry leading helicopter manufacturers in the U.S. from United Technologies Corp. UTX for $9 billion in cash. The deal positioned Lockheed as the worlds largest defense contractor, particularly with the addition of Sikorskys world-known product, Black Hawk along with a handful of other combat as well as commercial choppers, to its helicopter product line. We note that in the second quarter of 2016, Lockheed Martin witnessed year-over-year sales growth of 11%, majority of which was due to the Sikorsky buyout. Going ahead, management expects to witness even better cash flows from Sikorsky in 2018, indicating further expansion of the unit in the days to come. Story continues Stocks to Consider Lockheed Martin currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). A few better-ranked stocks in the aerospace and defense sector include Engility Holdings, Inc. EGL, General Dynamics Corporation GD and Ducommun Inc. DCO. While Engility and Ducommun sport a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy), General Dynamics carries a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). Confidential from Zacks Beyond this Analyst Blog, would you like to see Zacks' best recommendations that are not available to the public? Our Executive VP, Steve Reitmeister, knows when key trades are about to be triggered and which of our experts has the hottest hand. Click to see them now>> Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report GENL DYNAMICS (GD): Free Stock Analysis Report LOCKHEED MARTIN (LMT): Free Stock Analysis Report DUCOMMUN INC DE (DCO): Free Stock Analysis Report UTD TECHS CORP (UTX): Free Stock Analysis Report ENGILITY HLDGS (EGL): Free Stock Analysis Report To read this article on Zacks.com click here. Zacks Investment Research Https%3a%2f%2fblueprint-api-production.s3.amazonaws.com%2fuploads%2fcard%2fimage%2f200638%2fd3c2edd59cb743c9a23ca7a45f24b9cb The European Space Agency has finally found the Philae lander, ending a nearly two-year search for the missing spacecraft. The Rosetta orbiter spotted Philae in a dark crack on Comet67P's smaller lobe, the Paris-based ESA announced on Monday. Philae soft-landed on Comet 67P in 2014 to accompany the comet as it hurtled through the inner solar system. But the lander stopped communicating with the Rosetta orbiter after just three days, leaving mission control searching in vain for Philae's precise location. SEE ALSO: Say farewell to the Philae comet lander using #GoodbyePhilae "This remarkable discovery comes at the end of a long, painstaking search," Patrick Martin, the ESA's Rosetta mission manager, said in a statement. "We were beginning to think that Philae would remain lost forever. It is incredible we have captured this at the final hour," he added. (Left and bottom right): Rosettas lander Philae has been identified in OSIRIS narrow-angle camera images taken on Sept. 2, 2016. (Top right): A Rosetta Navigation Camera image taken on April 16, 2015, is shown for context, with the approximate location of Philae on the small lobe of Comet 67P marked. Image: european space agency The Rosetta mission is slated to wind down on Sept. 30, when Comet 67P will be too far from the sun for the Rosetta orbiter now circling the comet to function. In late July, the ESA said the orbiter would stop listening for a signal from Philae, which the agency considered to be "in a state of eternal hibernation." The German Aerospace Center asked space fans to use the hashtag #GoodbyePhilae to send farewell "postcards" to the lander via social media. Then, on Sept. 2, Rosetta's high-resolution camera captured a surprising image: Philae's main body and two of its three legs, wedged into a deep crack. Story continues Radio ranging data had recently tied Philae's location down to an area spanning tens of meters. But the lower-resolution images that Rosetta captured from larger distances revealed only an array of fuzzy potential candidate objects, many of which were quickly discarded, according to the ESA. Yet evidence continued to build toward one particular target. Using Rosetta's narrow-angle camera, the crew took higher-resolution images from just 2.7 kilometers (1.6 miles) away from the comet's surface an unprecedentedly close range. The Philae lander emerged into sight. So happy to have seen @Philae2014 again before my mission ends later this month...more about my #CometLanding soon! pic.twitter.com/ErB0ROrgP6 ESA Rosetta Mission (@ESA_Rosetta) September 5, 2016 Philae became the first spacecraft to soft-land on a comet when it touched down on Comet 67P on Nov. 12, 2014. The spacecraft landed near a spot called Agilkia and bounced around a few times. Then it flew for another two hours before ending up at a location later named Abydos, mission controllers said. Philae was initially able to send back hours' worth of data from the comet's surface to the Rosetta orbiter. Three days later, though, Philae's primary battery was exhausted and the lander went into hibernation. It only woke up again one more time, communicating briefly with Rosetta in June and July 2015 as the comet moved closer to the sun and more power was available. Could hardly believe my own @Rosetta_OSIRIS eyes! Finally got this view of @Philae2014 on 2 Sept, 2.7km from #67P pic.twitter.com/Ht3XeGkwRX ESA Rosetta Mission (@ESA_Rosetta) September 5, 2016 Monday's discovery of Philae's precise location will help scientists to better understand the data they did receive from the long-lost lander, ESA scientists said. "This wonderful news means that we now have the missing 'ground-truth' information needed to put Philaes three days of science into proper context, now that we know where that ground actually is! Matt Taylor, ESAs Rosetta project scientist, said in a statement. The ESA said the Rosetta orbiter will be sent on a final one-way mission on Sept. 30 to investigate Comet 67P from up close, including in the open pits in the comet's Ma'at region. The agency said it hoped that key observations from the pits would "reveal secrets" of the comet's interior structure. (Getty Images) New York might be the home of Broadway, but Sunday nights most captivating show was held at Arthur Ashe Stadium in Queens. There, for over four hours, 24th seeded Lucas Pouille and Rafael Nadal battled back and forth with a spot in the US Open quarterfinals on the line. In an instant classic, the 22-year-old outlasted the two-time US Open champion 6-1 2-6 6-4 3-6 7-6(6). Every time it seemed like Pouilles lack of experience would get the best of him, the Frenchman instead held his nerve and stepped up to the challenge. None of those moments was as pivotal as the fifth set tiebreaker, when Pouille squandered three match point opportunities. But Nadal would give him one more try, when, tied at 6-6, the Spaniard sent a forehand into the net. The fourth match point proved to be the charm for Pouille. After firing a winner clean past Nadal, Pouille fell onto the court. Sunday was Pouilles third five-setter of the tournament, and sets up an all-French quarterfinal with Gael Monfils. Luxury cruise liner Cunard has set sail debuting the first transatlantic catwalk at sea, with a special week-long itinerary featuring runway shows, parades of models and exclusive designer unveilings ahead of New York Fashion Week. For one week, passengers aboard Cunard's Queen Mary 2 will be the first to get a peek at collections from young up-and-coming designers who recently graduated from the prestigious Royal College of Arts. Somewhere in the Atlantic Ocean right now, passengers aboard the Queen Mary 2 are sitting front-row at fashion shows and rubbing shoulders with British designer Dame Zandra Rhodes, who has dressed everyone from Freddie Mercury, Jackie Onassis and Elizabeth Taylor. Rhodes is also debuting her latest collection aboard the ship. Other fashion guest stars include fashion historian and commentator Colin McDowell and New York Fashion Week Founder Fern Mallis. The Queen Mary 2 recently underwent a $132 million remastering. The idea to bring high fashion to the high seas isn't so far fetched, given that many cruise ships house high fashion retailers aboard for their affluent guests. Likewise, the terminology cruise collection is fashion jargon for inter or pre-season ready-to-wear collections which were originally targeted towards wealthy, jet setting consumers who travel to warm weather destinations during the winter months. Meanwhile, it's not the first time a major mode of transportation has been transformed to feature a runway. Most recently, Southwest Airlines turned their airplane into a flying catwalk to showcase the airline's new uniforms. Virgin America has hosted a fashion show for retailer Banana Republic and Spanish carrier Vueling likewise partnered with women's ready-to-wear label Stradivarius for an in-flight runway show. After leaving Southampton September 1, The Queen Mary 2 is scheduled to dock in New York September 8 in time for New York Fashion Week. The foreign investor seeks to expand operations in Asia. M1 may be at the most disadvantaged position now that a fourth telco company is about to enter the city-state, but it may still up its game especially with extra support coming from Axiata Group, Malaysias biggest mobile-phone operator. According to a report by Bloomberg, Axiatas CEO Jamaludin Ibrahim is interested in raising its stake in M1 as part of plans to turn the Malaysian firm into a bigger regional carrier. However, Jamaludin revealed there is no negotiation underway as of the moment. Bloomberg data showed Axiata is M1s biggest shareholder with a 28.5 percent stake, followed by the 19.2 percent held by Temasek Holdings Ptes Keppel Corp. Following the news, M1 shares rose as much as 1.2 percent to S$2.54 in Singapore trading on Monday, while Axiata climbed as much as 0.7 percent in Kuala Lumpur. Read the full report here. More From Singapore Business Review The creative director of the Dutch design studio Moooi, known for his quirky creations, has once again teamed with Alessi to design a new tableware and household accessories range. The Italian homeware brand's new fall/winter collection brings all the fun of the circus to this year's Maison & Objet interior design and decoration show in Paris (September 2-6), which is fittingly themed around games. The "Circus" collection includes colorful stainless steel and china pieces including bowls, trays, ice buckets, wine coolers, salad bowls and cups, all finished in white, red, black and gold geometric patterns evoking the ambiance and aesthetic of the circus. Alessi's superior range, Officina Alessi, has also been treated to a selection of items with this colorful theme. Marcel Wanders has created five objects, designed like miniature sculptures, each with their own personality. "The Jester" corkscrew, which goes by the name of Gilberto, is a wine-drunk joker who waves, dances and manically gesticulates, stealing the spotlight as he pulls another cork. Next comes "The Strongman" nutcracker, aka Marcello. From stomping grapes as a child to pressing olives and finally cracking nuts, his muscles have developed over the years to make this strongman a great helping hand in the home. Then in spins "The Ballerina," Valentina, a music box featuring a pirouetting baby elephant. Every big top has its clown, and the Alessi circus is home to "The Candyman," aka Alberto, a candy dispenser. Finally, the fun is overseen by Massimo, "The Ringerleader," a call bell who lets everyone know when it's time to start the party. Each limited-edition design in the Officina Alessi "Circus" collection will be produced in just 999 pieces. (Prices on request.) The new Alessi fall/winter collection is being showcased at the Maison & Objet trade fair in Paris, France, which runs until September 6. More information: www.alessi.com/en The Maison & Objet trade fair is on at the Paris Nord Villepinte exhibition center - www.maison-objet.com/en Bitter foes Mahathir Mohamad and his estranged protege Anwar Ibrahim met for the first time in 18 years Monday, underscoring shifting political alliances caused by a corruption scandal plaguing Malaysia's current leader. Mahathir inflamed social media with a show of support at a court appearance by Anwar, the former opposition leader jailed last year following a controversial sodomy conviction -- the same charge Mahathir hurled at him in 1998. The face-to-face encounter was the first since their stormy 1998 rift, Anwar's wife Wan Azizah Wan Ismail said on Facebook. Images of the political heavyweights smiling and shaking hands were shared widely online, highlighting the political flux caused by outrage over scandal-tainted Prime Minister Najib Razak. Najib is accused of involvement in looting billions of dollars in state money. He denies the charge and has cracked down in response. Mahathir, who imposed his will on Malaysia for 22 years as prime minister before retiring in 2003, has led calls for Najib's arrest. Any potential rapprochement between the cagey Mahathir and the charismatic Anwar -- whose rivalry continues to reverberate in Malaysian politics -- could be a game-changer. Anwar was heir apparent to Mahathir until he was sacked in 1998 by his boss over political differences, an episode that deeply divided the country. Charged with sodomy and corruption, Anwar was jailed six years, but emerged to revitalise the previously ineffectual opposition until he was jailed again in 2015 by Najib's government. Mahathir played down Monday's meeting. "I don't know about friends, but I know I talked to him," Mahathir said, chuckling, when reporters asked after the encounter whether the two were friendly again. "I met him and had a long chat with him about what he was doing," he added, while denying they had "made peace." Mahathir said he was merely showing support for a legal challenge launched by Anwar against a draconian new security law rammed through last year by Najib. Story continues - 'Now I've seen everything' - But the encounter quickly went viral in politics-obsessed Malaysia. "Now I think I have seen everything," Eric Paulsen of activist group Lawyers for Liberty said in tweeting an image of the handshake. It remains to be seen whether a politically significant detente can be achieved given the baggage between the two men. The formidable opposition alliance that Anwar forged has crumbled amid infighting since his jailing. Najib, meanwhile, has tightened his grip on the country and used the powerful ruling coalition's deep pockets and pervasive control to win recent by-elections. The next general election must be held by mid-2018. However, leading independent pollster Ibrahim Suffian called the handshake "a big deal" and a potentially significant sign that Mahathir was ready to link up with the opposition he once fiercely battled. "The fundamental problem for the opposition was that Mahathir and Anwar couldn't get along," Ibrahim said. "Their shaking hands means their interests have converged." Anwar has condemned both of his convictions -- on charges of sodomising other men -- as false and politically motivated. Sodomy is illegal in the Muslim-majority country. Despite Najib's graft denials, the US Justice Department filed lawsuits in July alleging a massive international conspiracy by Najib relatives and associates to steal billions from Malaysian state fund 1MDB. The suits effectively accused Najib as well, while not naming him outright. Mahathir came out of political retirement to attack Najib over 1MDB, and is now spearheading formation of a new party to oppose him. But critics accuse him of hypocrisy, saying he also tolerated corruption and repressed dissent in his day. Two 13-year-old girls were shot one of them fatally on Friday and police in Wichita Falls say they have made an arrest in the case. Read: Murder Suspect With Air Jordan Neck Tattoo Snaps Handcuffs And Escapes Custody During Interrogation Wichita Falls cops later picked up Kody Lott, 20, who matched the description of the driver police believe had fired on Lauren Landavazo and Makayla Smith as they walked home from school. Landavazo died in the shooting and police said in a statement Sunday that Lott confessed to the crimes. Lott was initially arrested on charges of possession of a prohibited weapon, police said. As of Sunday, Lott's alleged motive was unknown. He was booked into Wichita County Jail on charges of murder, aggravated assault and possession of a prohibited weapon Lott is being held on a total bond amount of $4,001,000. The shootings happened at about 5 p.m. Friday and immediately rocked what is largely a quiet area of northeast Texas. Michael Kuhrt, superintendent of the school district where the girls attended eighth grade, issued a statement immediately after the tragedy. Read: Cops Led to Remains of Boy Who Was Abducted in 1989 by Person of Interest: Report "I am saddened to report that one of those girls passed away and the other is in guarded condition. Please know that the district is coordinating efforts to provide grief counselors for students. As soon as we have more information about those resources, we will pass that along to you. As a district, we are saddened by this senseless act of violence and our thoughts and prayers are with all of those involved," Kuhrt wrote. A GoFundMe campaign has also appeared to benefit the Landavazo family. Family friend Matthew Josey wrote a touching tribute to Lauren on the campaign page. "She was such an angel and beautiful child that has not got the chance to experience life. I'm asking for any help to lift what burden is possibly during this darkest time. She would light up the room with her smile that never left her face. She was loved by everyone. She was energetic, smart, caring, fun loving, and overall an angel. The world will not be the same without her," he wrote. Story continues As of Sunday afternoon, the campaign had already exceeded its $10,000 goal. Watch: Brothers Missing for Two Months Could Have Been Abducted by Mom Related Articles: Rocker Marilyn Manson opened up about Johnny Depp's divorce with Amber Heard in a recent interview, telling The Daily Beast that he thought the Black Mass actor was "completely crucified." The 47-year-old musician is Depp's longtime pal, and godfather to the actor's 17-year-old daughter, Lily-Rose. "We go back," Manson said. WATCH: Rose McGowan Says She Blames Breakup With Marilyn Manson on Cocaine Use "Johnny is one of the nicest people that I know -- to the extent where it's almost heartbreaking how kind he is to his friends and everyone around him," Manson explained. "I know that he was completely crucified -- unjustly." Manson, who will be guest starring on the third season of the WGN America show, Salem, when it returns in November, said he stood by Depp, who was the subject of domestic violence allegations during his split from Heard. "As my friend, I know that he's handling it the best he can and he's a great dad, too," Manson continued. "It fills me with joy to see his kids grow up and be so smart, and so hilarious. We played a show together not too long ago. It's hard to say when you talk about your friends. Of course I think that all of it was bulls**t, and I think that he is a great person. I wouldn't agree with any of it if someone were to put me on the stand and ask me what I know, or what I've witnessed." As part of their divorce settlement, Heard, 30, withdrew her request for a restraining order against Depp and issued a joint statement. "Our relationship was intensely passionate and at times volatile, but always bound by love," the statement read. "Neither party has made false accusations for financial gains. There was never an intent of physical or emotional harm." Johnny Depp & Amber Heard: A Timeline of Their Relationship, Divorce and Domestic Abuse Allegations Heard stated that she would be donating her $7 million divorce settlement to charity, but even that has caused drama between her and Depp. Story continues For more on the settlement, watch this video. Related Articles Sao Paulo (AFP) - Tens of thousands took to Brazilian streets to support sacked leader Dilma Rousseff and protest the new government of Michel Temer, who has taken power and downplayed the protests. Demonstration organizers -- who have rejected Temer's ascendancy as a "coup" -- said some 100,000 protestors filled the major artery Paulista Avenue, many holding banners that read "Out with Temer!" and "Direct elections now!" The Senate voted Wednesday to convict Rousseff on charges of having illegally manipulated government accounts, stripping her of her office and replacing her with Temer, her bitter enemy and former vice president. The protest ended with clashes between demonstrators and police, who fired gas bombs, according to the news website G1. Temer, who after being sworn in promptly traveled to China for the G20 summit, said the protests were done by "small groups and predators." "These are small groups ... I don't have it numerically, but they are 40, 50, 100 people. It's nothing more than that. Out of 204 million Brazilians, I don't think it means much," media outlets quoted Temer as saying. The opposition dismissed the president's figures: "The coup president of Brazil said that our demonstration would have 40 people. Here are those 40 people -- we're already almost 100,000 on Paulista Avenue," said Guilherme Boulos, a member of one of the opposition groups that organized the protest. The demonstration was held in the late afternoon so as not to interfere with the passing of the torch from the Paralympic Games, a Rio event due to start within three days -- where another 2,000 people had demonstrated. Rousseff was Brazil's first woman president. HANGZHOU, China (Reuters) - Prime Minister Theresa May said on Monday that British Member of Parliament Keith Vaz should make his own decision about his future political career after claims in the Sunday Mirror newspaper about his personal life. "What is important for people is that they feel that they are able to have confidence in their politicians and that's what we all have a duty to provide for those who elect us," May said when asked about the report. "What Keith does is for Keith and any decisions he wishes to make are for him but I think that overall what people look for is confidence in their politicians," she said. Vaz has referred the allegations to his lawyer. (Reporting by William James, editing by Guy Faulconbridge) Paxhia When Morgan and Emily Paxhia lost their father to cancer in 1996, the world was a different place. "It was a rough end-of-life, as with any cancer," Emily told Business Insider over the phone. Their father was taking a "litany of medications" simply to remain comfortable. A hospice nurse quietly took Morgan and Emily's mother aside and told her that their father should try smoking pot to ease some of his symptoms. The family discussed it, though their father ultimately decided not to use marijuana due to the stigma this was upstate New York in the 1990's. The nurse's suggestion, however, put the special qualities of the plant into both Emily and Morgan's minds. In fact, the experience ended up compelling them to jump into the marijuana space both as investors and advocates. In 2013, the brother-and-sister team started Poseidon Asset Management, based in California, as one of the first legal cannabis-focused hedge funds. Three years later, the firm has grown to a portfolio of 27 companies, up from just 11 in 2014, with many more deals in the pipeline. Poseidon has made investments in a number of well-known companies operating in the legal marijuana industry, including Baker, a company that helps dispensaries optimize growth, and Headset, a cannabis analytics company. Morgan and Emily, however, are still the only employees. Though Poseidon is a relatively new firm, the Paxhias have a "long and winding history with cannabis," Emily said. In 2010, Emily moved to California where she started to notice the beginnings of the marijuana boom, such as the first medical marijuana dispensaries and early branded edibles. "Morgan and I started talking about it," Emily said. "Because who else can you really talk to but your family when you're thinking about crazy things?" medical marijuana Story continues Morgan, who Emily describes as a "brilliant economist," said that their interest in the marijuana came in two parts. First, they saw a clear opportunity to make money. Second, they truly wanted to spread knowledge about cannabis from a health, wellness, and environmental standpoint. "It was a question of how many times in life can you look at an opportunity that really has a triple-bottom-line impact to yourself and to the world?" Morgan explained. "That's what resonated so strongly." One of Poseidon's main goals besides generating solid returns, although they declined to comment on specifics is to espouse the benefits of marijuana and increase fair and open access for those who would otherwise turn to painkillers like opioids. Due to their backgrounds, the duo decided to start a fund, rather than a consumer-focused company, Morgan explained. Emily is a former consultant who's done work with American Express, and Morgan comes from a more traditional finance background, having worked on UBS's fixed-income desk as well as at private investment firms. "We had two very unique skill-sets at a very unique point in time," Morgan said. "The fact that we are siblings, is actually critical to the fact that we've been able to do this," Emily added. "Because you have to trust your partner implicitly without question about their motives and their intentions." oregon marijuana dispensary With his banking experience, Morgan is responsible for developing and implementing the firm's investment strategies, as well as performing the due diligence necessary for smart decision-making. Emily, with her consulting background, serves as the point-person for negotiations and monitoring the performance of portfolio companies, as well as maintaining relationships within the larger cannabis industry for future deals. Because the rules can vary state-by-state, engaging in a marijuana-focused business requires some risk. Trust in your business partner is crucial. And while Emily is the older of the two, she flat-out rejected my question about whether that gives her license to boss her little brother around at work. It's often actually harder on the rest of their family, because cannabis "dominates the conversation," she said, at every gathering. Both Morgan and Emily agreed that their company and plans would make their parents happy. "They were both entrepreneurs," Emily said. "And for them to see us doing something we are absolutely passionate about, and doing it our way, would also make them very proud." NOW WATCH: Kobe Bryant is starting a $100-million venture capital fund More From Business Insider After wowing critics at early morning press screenings on Sunday, Mel Gibsons pacifist World War II action drama, Hacksaw Ridge, had its red carpet world premiere out of competition at the Venice Film Festival last night. The film played to a roughly 10-minute standing ovation long standing-Os are not as common a happenstance on the Lido as they are at some other festivals. At about six minutes into the ovation, Gibson and the actors were asked to go down into the audience. Check out the photos from inside the Sala Grande below (outside, some fans greeted Gibson with their faces painted blue, Braveheart-style). In attendance alongside Gibson were stars Andrew Garfield, Vince Vaughn, Hugo Weaving, Teresa Palmer and Luke Bracey as well as co-screenwriter Robert Schenkkan. Garfield plays Desmond T Doss, the real-life conscientious objector who saved 75 men in Okinawa without ever firing or carrying a gun. The faith-based film and horrors-of-war action drama is about a man who does something extraordinary and supernatural, really, that inspired me, Gibson had earlier told the press corps. A lot of attention needs to be paid to our warriors; they need some love and understanding. I hope this film imparts that message. If it does nothing but that, thats great, said Gibson. This is the first film Gibson has directed in a decade and last night at the gala premiere, he and the actors were overwhelmed and very truly speechless, Im told by a person close to the gang. A private dinner followed hosted by Hacksaws Italian distributors, Andrea Leone and Eagle Pictures. There were emotional toasts, notably by producer Bill Mechanic who worked for 13 years to bring the project to life. While at Fox, Mechanic worked with Gibson on Braveheart and called Hacksaw the directors greatest film. One attendee observed, It was particularly meaningful. Also at the event were IM Global CEO Stuart Ford and Brian Oliver of Cross Creek Pictures. Principal financiers were Cross Creek, Demarest Films and IM Global who acquired international rights for about half the films $40M budget and essentially sold out in Berlin last year. Story continues Lionsgate releases Hacksaw domestically in the heart of awards season on November 4. Overseas release dates are not yet widely confirmed. Related stories Netflix Buys SVOD Rights To Venice Cannibal Fairy Tale 'The Bad Batch' Mel Gibson On His Venice Festival Comeback Picture 'Hacksaw Ridge' - Q&A 'Hacksaw Ridge': Mel Gibson's Faith-Based WWII Action Pic Has Lido Believing - Venice This Kentucky mother lost her son four years ago, but she was able to hear his heartbeat for the first time after meeting the Iowa man who received it in a transplant. Read: The Gift That Keeps on Giving: Mother Hears Her Daughter's Heart Beat Inside Another Child In an emotional reunion, Dawn Grace of Crofton held her face against the chest of Joseph Hansen, 55, to hear her sons heartbeat for the first time since he died in 2012. "I was just thinking about how beautiful it was," Grace told InsideEdition.com. "It was exactly four years to the day I heard his heart beat for the last time." During the Nebraska Medicine press conference Friday, Dawn Grace explained her son died when he was 14 years old after he accidentally shot himself with a gun. It was a defective gun, Grace explained. With his 14-year-old mind, he didnt think it worked. On the way to the hospital, Grace said she remembered paramedics asking if she wanted to donate her sons organs. I was very angry. I was still in shock when I was asked," she told InsideEdition.com. But she reconsidered, and decided that donating Calens organs was ultimately what he would have wanted: "That's what he would have done because Calen, he was a very giving child." Little did she know, her decision changed the life of Hansen, of Council Bluffs, Iowa. I wasnt able to do things people my age was doing, Hansen said. He said he felt himself dragging a little bit more and more, before he started having heart attacks. Finally, Hansen was diagnosed with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy. His heart muscles were thicker than normal, which made it difficult to pump blood to the rest of his body. Read: Twins Conjoined at the Heart Are Separated in Miracle Surgery: 'The Outlook Is Extremely Optimistic' When he received the transplant, Hansen immediately reached out to the family of the donor. Story continues The Grace family sent a letter back, including Calens final school portrait from 2012, which Hansen now carries in the front fold of his wallet. All I could think about was the young man, he said during the press conference. Thats all I could think about. Watch: Boy Who Spent 99 Days in ICU Waiting for Heart Transplant Meets Donor's Family Related Articles: By Alan Baldwin MONZA, Italy, Sept 5 (Reuters) - Canadian teenager Lance Stroll has emerged as a frontrunner to replace Felipe Massa at the Williams Formula One team next season after the Brazilian announced his retirement last week. Jacques Villeneuve, the 1997 world champion who was the last Canadian to race for the British-based team, told Reuters at Monza that he believed the deal was all but done for the 17-year-old. A team source confirmed separately that Stroll was on the short list, along with Brazilian Felipe Nasr, who was a Williams reserve before securing his current race seat at Sauber. Stroll turns 18 in October and is on course to win the European F3 title, which would secure him the necessary super-licence. His career has been bankrolled by billionaire father Lawrence, who made his fortune with the Tommy Hilfiger and Michael Kors fashion brands. Williams signed the youngster last year as a development driver with a promise he would be 'fully immersed' in the team in the same way that current race driver Valtteri Bottas was. Mexican Sergio 'Checo' Perez has also been in the rumour mill but Force India, who are battling Williams for fourth place, have him under contract. "We're just going through the process now, which is very close, to finalising the commercial side and then hopefully there will be an announcement in the near future," deputy principal Bob Fernley told Reuters. "At the moment, his alternatives are either sideways or backwards." Perez told reporters he hoped for an announcement within weeks and was confident he would get "what I always wanted". When asked what that might be, he replied "You will find out very soon." Some interpreted that as a hint that he could move to Renault, with that works team rebuilding, but it could equally refer to release clauses. Ferrari have Kimi Raikkonen, the 2007 champion and oldest driver on the starting grid at 36, out of contract at the end of 2017 and Perez started out as a member of the Ferrari young driver academy. The Mexican, who had one unhappy season at McLaren, has made no secret of his desire to drive for a top team again and being locked into a multi-year contract would make that harder. The fate of Denmark's Kevin Magnussen and British rookie Jolyon Palmer at Renault remains uncertain, with the latter yet to score a point in 14 races. Russian Daniil Kvyat is also looking insecure at Toro Rosso, with French GP2 leader Pierre Gasly eager for a chance. (Reporting by Alan Baldwin, editing by Clare Lovell) By Steve Slater LONDON, Sept 5 (IFR) - Barclays has poached another executive from JP Morgan to head its investment bank, leaving the British bank with seven of its most senior bankers as alumni of its US rival. Barclays on Monday named Tim Throsby, currently global head of equities at JP Morgan, as president of Barclays corporate and international (BC&I) and chief executive of its corporate and investment bank. He will run the investment bank and fill the gap left by the departure of Tom King in March. He will also be in charge of corporate banking, Barclays' UK and US credit cards, wealth management and the payments business. It fills the last major senior appointment by Jes Staley since he joined as chief executive in December 2015. Throsby, an Australian, is expected to join in January and will be based in London. He will join the executive committee and report to Staley. Throsby adds to a bulging group of former JP Morgan bankers at Barclays, including Staley himself, who used to run its investment bank. They include finance director Tushar Morzaria; chief operating officer Paul Compton; and chief risk officer CS Venkatakrishnan. Mark Ashton-Rigby, its chief information officer, and Emily Portney, chief financial officer for corporate and international, have also previously worked at JP Morgan, which prides itself on having a deep bench of talented bankers. Throsby is well regarded at JP Morgan for helping strengthen its equities business and expand its electronic trading platform, people familiar with the matter said. JP Morgan ranked third for global equities revenues last year behind Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs, according to analysis firm Coalition. Throsby joined JP Morgan in April 2010 as head of equity derivatives and was promoted to head of equities in September 2012. He has held senior roles at a number of banks, including at Credit Suisse and Macquarie before he joined Goldman Sachs in 1995 as co-head of equity derivatives for Asia and Japan. In 2002, he moved to Lehman Brothers to head the Asia and Japan equities division and then its global equities business in 2004, and in 2005 he joined US hedge fund Citadel, where he ran its Asian business from Hong Kong. Story continues The appointment of Throsby effectively completes Staley's top team, at a time when his turnaround plan appears to be gaining traction but there are still considerable operational and strategic challenges ahead. The bank has to separate its UK retail banking business by 2019 to shield depositors from any problems that could arise in its investment bank or other businesses. The investment bank is being slimmed down, and Staley has quit some countries to pursue a transatlantic strategy focused on its two "home" markets of Britain and the US. Mozambique authorities on Monday exhibited three new pieces of aircraft that washed up along its coast and are suspected of belonging to the missing flight MH370. The largest item is a triangular shaped piece which is red and white on one side and metallic on the other. It was picked up late last month by a South African hotelier off the waters of Mozambique's southern province of Inhambane. Joao de Abreu, director of Mozambique's aviation authority said it was the first time a coloured piece had been found. At a news conference, he said the piece could be "an aileron, a flap,(or) an elevator." On the inside, "we can see a label which will make it much easier to identify which aircraft it belongs to," he said. The other two pieces are smaller and were picked up by the son of a European Union diplomat near the southern resort of Xai Xai and handed to the authorities last month, he said, giving no further details. The items will be sent to Malaysia for examination. Malaysia Airlines jet MH370 vanished in March 2014 with 239 people onboard as it was flying from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing. Australia, which is leading the search, has determined that the five pieces of debris examined so far -- found in Mozambique, South Africa and Mauritius -- almost certainly came from the plane. The first debris linked to MH370 -- a two-metre-long (almost seven-foot) wing part known as a flaperon -- washed up on the French Indian Ocean island of Reunion a year ago. (DAMASCUS, Syria) A string of bombings, including a suicide attack claimed by the Islamic State group, struck in and around several Syrian cities on Monday, killing at least 43 people, mainly in government-controlled areas. The SANA news agency reported blasts around the coastal city of Tartus, the central city of Homs, the suburbs of the capital Damascus, and the northeastern city of Hasakeh. The attacks were timed closely together, but authorities have not determined whether they were linked. The IS group claimed responsibility for the blast in Hasakeh. Areas controlled by President Bashar Assads forces have seen several bombings and other attacks during the countrys five-year civil war, with many claimed by Al-Qaida-linked militant groups. One of Mondays attacks took place in the heavily guarded suburb of Sabbourah, marking a major security breach. SANA said the attack killed one person, while the opposition-run Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said three people were killed. Its an area that houses officers and their families. Even before the revolution it was carefully guarded, said opposition media activist Yousef al-Boustani, referring to the 2011 uprising against Assad, which began with peaceful protests demanding reform. The Britain-based Observatory, which maintains a network of contacts inside Syria, put the overall death toll at 47. Conflicting casualty figures are common in the Syria war. Attackers detonated two bombs along the international coastal highway to the government stronghold of Tartus, SANA said, killing 35. A car bomb at the Arzoneh bridge was followed by a suicide bomber, who targeted a crowd that was gathering. The city, a stronghold of support for President Bashar Assad, is home to a major Russian naval base. The Observatory said the twin blasts killed 35 people, including an army colonel, and wounded dozens more. A survivor at the al-Bassel Hospital told state TV the blasts occurred near a checkpoint on the highway. Story continues My car caught fire and army soldiers pulled us out of the car, he said. The governor of Homs province said a car bomb struck a military checkpoint in the provincial capital, killing three soldiers and a civilian, and wounding 10 others. The city of Homs, Syrias third largest, is largely under government control, with only one neighborhood still held by rebels. Mondays bomb exploded in the government-held Bab Tadmor district, SANA said. The Observatory said four soldiers were killed. Syrian TV aired footage showing massive damage to the area, with a number of smashed cars and the bloodied body of a guard at the checkpoint. An Islamic State attacker on a motorcycle blew himself up in the northeastern city of Hasakeh, killing eight, SANA said. Government forces withdrew in August after street battles with Kurdish forces, which took control of the city, though the states police force remained in place. The Observatory said the blast killed three members of the Kurdish police force, the Asayesh, and two civilians. Except for the Hasakeh attack, there has been no immediate claim of responsibility for the blasts. The Islamic State group claimed twin suicide bombings in the neighboring coastal towns of Tartus and Jableh in May that killed over 160 people. ___ Associated Press writer Philip Issa in Beirut contributed to this report. A murder suspect is now on the loose after allegedly escaping custody by breaking out of his handcuffs while being questioned by Nevada detectives on Friday, according to several reports. 25-year-old Alonso Perez was being questioned on Friday by North Las Vegas police for allegedly shooting 31-year-old Mohammed Robinson, according to CBS8. When detectives left the interview room, Perez allegedly twisted his handcuffs until he managed to free himself, a police spokesperson told NBC News. Authorities alleged Perez subsequently stole a white Ford pickup truck, which was recovered on Saturday. A tweet posted to the police department's account stated: "The Ford F-250 truck that was taken in yesterday's escape was located and returned to the owner. Alonso Perez is still on the run." Police described Perez as a 6-foot-3, 200-pound Hispanic man with black hair, brown eyes and a goatee, according to the Las Vegas Review-Journal. He also has a 3-inch Air Jordan logo tattoo on the left side of his neck, the paper reports. The department posted a photo of Perez in a tweet Friday after his escape. "Murder suspect Alonso Perez escaped custody," the tweet said. "He has an Air Jordan tattoo under his left ear. If seen call 911." Murder suspect Alonso Perez escaped custody. He has an Air Jordan tattoo under his left ear. If seen call 911 pic.twitter.com/AMH3vs3RIm a NLVPD (@NLVPD) September 3, 2016 Of Perez's alleged escape, police spokesperson Aaron Patty told NBC News, "I've never seen anything like this in my career." Family members told KSNV that Robinson was shot and killed after he did not hold the door open for a woman at a McDonald's. Want to keep up with the latest crime coverage? A "Click to get breaking crime news, ongoing trial coverage and details of intriguing unsolved cases in the True Crime Newsletter. They expressed anger over Perez's alleged escape. "You are interviewing a murder suspect," Robinson's sister, Maggie Robinson, told KSNV. "You couldn't have another person there? ... I don't understand it at all." Patty told NBC News that authorities are looking into the details of the alleged escape. "Believe me, this is the last thing we wanted to happen," he said. "We located him. We apprehended him. This wasn't something intentional." Mylan N.V. MYL continues to take a hit, with shares currently down 4.7%, as a new issue drew the attention of lawmakers. A couple of U.S. congressional committee members have raised questions regarding Mylans payments to Medicaid for its severe allergy treatment, EpiPen. EpiPen Misclassified as a Generic In a letter to the secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services dated Sep 2, 2016, Senate Finance Committee Ranking Member Ron Wyden, and House Energy and Commerce Committee Ranking Member Frank Pallone, have sought further details regarding EpiPens classification and rebate obligations under the Medicaid drug rebate program, following revelations that Medicaid may have been grossly overpaying for EpiPen over nearly two decades due to a misclassification by Mylan. The letter noted that while EpiPen was considered a branded drug in the new drug application to the FDA, it has been classified as a generic drug (also known as non-innovator multiple source drug) in the Medicaid program since at least 1997. This implies that Mylan has been vastly underpaying rebates owed to Medicaid for EpiPen for a long time. Apparently, instead of the 23.1% rebate for a branded drug, Mylan has been paying the much lower generic rebate of 13%. However, in an e-mail, Mylan said that the company has complied with all laws and regulations regarding the Medicaid rebate classification of EpiPen. Note that on Sep 1, U.S. Senator Amy Klobuchar had issued a statement related to the drug category misclassification of EpiPen. According to the letter, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) found that Mylan had misclassified EpiPen as a generic drug, leading to overpayment for the drug by the state and federal governments under the Medicaid drug rebate program. The Minnesota Department of Human Services has estimated that this misclassification will cost the state more than $4 million dollars this year alone. In a letter dated Aug 31, U.S. Senators Amy Klobuchar, Chuck Grassley and Richard Blumenthal asked the CMS to provide information on the impact of Mylans price hike on government prescription drug costs. Story continues Meanwhile, Senator Klobuchar has asked for an immediate and comprehensive nationwide investigation by the CMS into overpayments throughout the U.S. MYLAN NV Price MYLAN NV Price | MYLAN NV Quote Developments So Far Mylan shares are crashed almost 18% ever since the company came under scrutiny of several U.S. senators for the massive price hike of EpiPen in recent years. Democratic Presidential candidate Hillary Clinton had even posted a tweet saying EpiPens can be the difference between life and death. There's no justification for these price hikes, asking the company to lower costs immediately. Mylan acquired EpiPen in 2007, following which it has hiked the price of a pack of two from $100 to the present level of approximately $600. Amid harsh criticism from parents, consumers and lawmakers alike, Mylan tried to mitigate the situation by offering a savings card for up to $300, expanding the eligibility of its patient assistance program and announcing the upcoming launch of a generic EpiPen at a discount of over 50% on the branded products price. Meanwhile, on Sep 2, Hillary Clinton unveiled a plan to protect consumers from unjustified price hikes of prescription drugs, including EpiPen. If elected, she proposes to create a dedicated group charged with protecting consumers from unreasonable price hikes and holding companies accountable, among other issues. Horizon Pharma plcs HZNP shares have also declined 4.2%. As per sources, the company could face a tough situation if Hillary Clinton's proposal is realized. Other companies like Endo International plc ENDP could also be at risk. Mylan is currently a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold) stock. ANI Pharmaceuticals, Inc. ANIP is a better-ranked stock in the health care sector, sporting a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy). Confidential from Zacks Beyond this Analyst Blog, would you like to see Zacks' best recommendations that are not available to the public? Our Executive VP, Steve Reitmeister, knows when key trades are about to be triggered and which of our experts has the hottest hand. Click to see them now>> Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report ENDO INTL PLC (ENDP): Free Stock Analysis Report MYLAN NV (MYL): Free Stock Analysis Report HORIZON PHARMA (HZNP): Free Stock Analysis Report ANI PHARMACEUT (ANIP): Free Stock Analysis Report To read this article on Zacks.com click here. Zacks Investment Research Seoul (AFP) - North Korea test-fired three ballistic missiles into the sea Monday, South Korea said, in a new show of force as world leaders meet at the G20 summit in China. The missiles were fired into the Sea of Japan (East Sea) from the North's Hwangju county at around 0300 GMT, a spokesman for Seoul's defence ministry said. The sabre-rattling follows the North's submarine-launched ballistic missile test some two weeks ago. "They are speculated to be Rodong missiles with a range of 1,000 kilometres (620 miles) and were fired without navigational warning to Japan," the spokesman said in a statement. "North Korea's ballistic missile launch is a direct violation of UN Security Council resolutions, aimed at showing off its nuclear and missile capabilities during the G20 summit," he added. The defence ministry in Tokyo said the three missiles are estimated to have fallen into Japan's maritime Exclusive Economic Zone. "The ministry expresses serious concern over the missile launches as they pose a grave threat to Japan's national security," a ministry statement said. The North's latest tests sparked strong protests from senior Japanese and US officials. The launches "are a grave security provocation and can never be permitted", Japanese Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida told reporters in Tokyo. "We have lodged a strong protest against North Korea." A senior US administration official at the G20 in Hangzhou also condemned the launches as a threat to its allies and to civilian air travel, and vowed diplomatic action against the Pyongyang regime. "Todays reckless launches by North Korea pose threats to civil aviation and maritime commerce in the region," the official said. Washington would try to "bolster international resolve to hold the DPRK (North Korea) accountable for its provocative actions". Monday's missile launches came hours after South Korean President Park Geun-Hye and Chinese President Xi Jinping met on the sidelines of the summit in Hangzhou. Story continues Ties between South Korea and China have been frosty since Seoul announced plans to deploy a US anti-missile system in July to counter growing nuclear and missile threats from the North. During the summit, Xi reiterated Beijing's opposition to Seoul's planned deployment of the Terminal High Altitude Area Defence (THAAD) system, arguing that "mishandling" the issue could "intensify disputes" in the region, China's state-run Xinhua news agency said. Park labelled North Korea's continued provocations as a "challenge" to Seoul-Beijing ties, adding that security threats from Pyongyang were at an "unprecedented level", South Korea's Yonhap news agency said. North Korea has conducted a series of missile tests this year in defiance of UN sanctions imposed after its fourth nuclear test in January. The most recent was a submarine-launched ballistic missile last month. That missile, fired from off the northeastern port of Sinpo, flew 500 kilometres (around 300 miles) towards Japan, far exceeding the range of the North's previous sub-launched missiles. The country's leader Kim Jong-Un described the August test as the "greatest success" and said it put the US mainland within striking range. The launch was widely condemned by the US and other major powers but analysts saw it as a clear step forward for North Korea's nuclear strike ambitions. A proven submarine-launched ballistic missile system would allow deployment far beyond the Korean peninsula and a "second-strike" capability in the event of an attack on the North's military bases. SEOUL (Reuters) - All three ballistic missiles launched by North Korea on Monday were medium-range Rodong-class and flew about 1,000 km (600 miles), South Korea's military said. At least one of the missiles fell into Japan's Air Defence Identification Zone, a South Korean military official said by telephone. The launches were likely a show of force by the North's military timed to coincide with the Group of 20 leaders' summit taking place in China, the South's Office of the Joint Chiefs of Staff said separate in a statement. (Reporting by Jack Kim and Ju-min Park; Editing by Michael Perry) New York (AFP) - Rafael Nadal vowed to fight on and revive his faltering career after a shock US Open fourth round loss to Lucas Pouille condemned him to his worst Grand Slam season since 2004. The 30-year-old Spaniard, the winner of 14 majors including two in New York, suffered a 6-1, 2-6, 6-4, 3-6, 7-6 (8/6) defeat to world number 25 Pouille in a four-hour last-16 epic. The result means that 2016 will be the first year since 2004 that Nadal has not made a quarter-final of a Slam after a first round exit in Australia was followed by an enforced withdrawal from the French Open third round due to a wrist injury. The same injury sidelined him from Wimbledon. "If I am hundred percent healthy, I have the energy to keep going. I believe that I can have a couple of more good years,"said Nadal whose most recent Grand Slam title came with his ninth French Open in 2014. His best runs since have been two quarter-final spots at the 2015 Australian and French Opens. "I fought to the end today but I needed something that was not there. I will keep working to try and find it. I will keep working hard and I am motivated to do that." Nadal had cruised into the fourth round, dropping only 20 games. On Sunday, in front of a mesmerised Arthur Ashe Stadium crowd, he led with a break in the decider before he was forced to save three match points in the tie-breaker. A sloppy short forehand volley handed Pouille a fourth match point which he accepted with glee. The Spanish star insists that he will fully recover from the injury which sidelined him from Roland Garros until the Olympics in Rio where he was a beaten semi-finalist. But there still remain questions over his legendary staying power. At the Australian Open in January, he lost in five sets to compatriot Fernando Verdasco while in New York 12 months ago he lost in five again, this time to Fabio Fognini from two sets up. At Wimbledon last year, he fell to Germany's Dustin Brown who was outside the top 100 at the time. Story continues "I have the motivation to keep working. It will take a long time, a lot of hours, a lot of spirit of sacrifice to be back where I was before the injury this year," said the world number five. "It was tough and now I need to come back there. I am closer than last year to be where I want to be. I will try and qualify for the World Tour Finals. "That will be a good effort if I make that happen after two months and a half without competition." - Lost opportunity - With long-time rival Roger Federer also missing from the US Open to mend a knee injury, Sunday's defeat for Nadal only adds fuel to the suspicion that their golden era is over. For Nadal, the sense of what may have been is even more acute. In his career, a succession of injuries -- usually involving either his knees or wrists -- has seen him miss nine Grand Slam events. "I lost an opportunity to have a very good event here. I am sad for that," added Nadal. "But you can write the way that you want. I know what's going on." Replay: Here is the WILD finish from @CTMPOfficial. Still no word from #NASCAR on the winner. #NASCARonFS1 https://t.co/H5PTSEhN3t FOX SPORTS: NASCAR (@NASCARONFOX) September 4, 2016 Everyone who has seen the 80s Tom Cruise classic Days of Thunder knows that theres nothing dirty about a little bumpin and grindin during a NASCAR race. Rubbings racing, its said, and anyone who takes issue with that shouldnt be in the car in the first place. Apparently the same rules apply to trucks as well, because John Hunter Nemechek won the Chevrolet Silverado 250 Camping World Truck Series race at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park in spectacular fashion thanks to some rubbing of Cole Custer. (Theres even a racer named Cole, it really is Days of Thunder with trucks!) It was a close finish. So close that no one knew who won at first. After the wild finish, it took some time for race officials to declare who won. With rules extending the finish line to the grass, Nemechek was declared the winner for crossing the line first no matter how far off the track the two racers seemed. But the delay didnt do much to allow cooler heads to prevail, because when Nemechek finally earned the win, Custer did not take the L well and let Nemechek know it. FIGHT! FIGHT! FIGHT! FIGHT! FIGHT!!! Story continues This is how you know #TheChase is just around the corner. Cole Custer tackles JH Nemechek in Canada. #NASCAR https://t.co/OiqGDMP78d FOX SPORTS: NASCAR (@NASCARONFOX) September 4, 2016 In the end, hopefully we all learned a little something. I, for instance, learned that the finish line is technically sort of imaginary in that it extends across the whole track, even into the grass. John Hunter Nemechek hopefully learned that when you get the win in controversial fashion, maybe its best to just pack it up and head home. And hopefully Cole Custer learned the old adage that Robert Duvall spoke so long ago: JERUSALEM (Reuters) - A parking garage under construction collapsed in Tel Aviv on Monday, killing at least two people and trapping several others under the debris, rescue services said. Some 20 people were treated for injuries. The cause of the collapse was not immediately known, and several hours after the structure came down in a plume of dust, police said about four people were still missing and believed trapped under the debris. The incident occurred in the Tel Aviv neighborhood of Ramat Hahayal adjacent to a hospital and buildings housing high-tech offices and restaurants. (Reporting by Jeffrey Heller; Editing by Ari Rabinovitch) MADRID (Reuters) - Spanish competition regulator CNMC said on Monday that Nissan's unit in the Iberian Peninsula and several of its autodealers had been fined 6 million euros ($6.69 million) over antitrust practices. The CNMC said it considers proven that between 2009 and 2013 several independent Nissan licensees based in the Madrid region had agreed on price discounts on certain new car models with the participation of Nissan IBERIA and two consultancy firms. CNMC's resolutions can be appealed in the Spanish High Court. (Reporting By Jesus Aguado; editing by Susan Thomas) MADRID (Reuters) - Spanish competition regulator CNMC said on Monday that Nissan's unit <7201.T> in the Iberian Peninsula and several of its autodealers had been fined 6 million euros ($6.69 million) over antitrust practices. The CNMC said it considers proven that between 2009 and 2013 several independent Nissan licensees based in the Madrid region had agreed on price discounts on certain new car models with the participation of Nissan IBERIA and two consultancy firms. CNMC's resolutions can be appealed in the Spanish High Court. (Reporting By Jesus Aguado; editing by Susan Thomas) kimjongun WASHINGTON, DC North Korea fired ballistic missiles in violation of UN Security Council resolutions (again). On Monday just after noon local time, the Hermit Kingdom launched three medium-range Rodong-class ballistic missiles from a region called Hwangju, according to South Korea's Office of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. The North's most recent launch comes hours after Chinese President Xi Jinping and South Korean President Park Geun-hye met on the sidelines of the G20 Summit meeting. During the meeting, Xi, Pyongyang's closest ally, reaffirmed China's commitment to denuclearize the Korean peninsula. Xi added that Beijing still opposes the future deployment of America's most advanced missile-defense system to the region. China argues that since the bilateral decision between Seoul and Washington to deploy a Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) battery, North Korean missile tests have expanded and are poised to rise. Monday's launch comes two weeks after the rogue regime fired a submarine-based missile off the country's eastern coast near the city of Sinpo. Pyongyang first attempted a submarine-based missile launch last year and again at the end of April this year. Earlier this month the rogue regime simultaneously launched two "No Dong" intermediate-range ballistic missiles. nk missile or whatever According to US Strategic Command (STRATCOM), one of the missiles exploded immediately after launch, while the other was tracked over North Korea before ultimately landing in the Sea of Japan. Notably, this was the first time that the rogue nation had targeted Japan. Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe described the launch as a "grave threat" to Japan and said that Tokyo "strongly protested." Japan also said that its self-defense force would remain on alert in case of further defiant launches from the North. Story continues So far this year, North Korea has conducted a little more than 13 rounds of ballistic-missile tests and has fired 29 various rockets. NOW WATCH: Meet THAAD: Americas answer to North Korean threats More From Business Insider By Ju-min Park SEOUL (Reuters) - North Korea fired three ballistic missiles into the sea off its east coast on Monday, the South Korean and U.S. militaries said, as the leaders of the Group of 20 major economies held a summit in China, the North's main diplomatic ally. The missiles were fired from a region south of the capital Pyongyang just after noon (10.00 p.m. ET) and flew about 1,000 km (600 miles), hitting Japan's air defense identification zone, South Korea's Office of the Joint Chiefs of Staff said. "We are still analyzing details but this is a grave threat to our nation's security, and we express deep concern," the Japan Defence Ministry said in a statement. The launches drew immediate condemnation from the United States, which described them as "reckless," and diplomats said the U.N. Security Council will discuss them behind closed doors on Tuesday at Washington's and Tokyo's requests. The missile launches were the latest in a series by the isolated North this year in violation of U.N. Security Council resolutions, supported by China, that ban all ballistic missile-related activities by the North. Pyongyang rejects the ban as infringing its sovereign right to pursue a space program and self defense. Shortly after the missile launches, South Korean President Park Geun-hye and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe met on the sidelines of the G20 summit and agreed to cooperate on monitoring the situation, a Japanese statement said. The South's military said the missiles were medium-range Rodong-class, launched as a show of force timed to coincide with the G20 summit. The U.S. Strategic Command said in a statement that two of the three were presumed to be "intermediate range" ballistic missiles and that the third was still being assessed. In 2014, the North fired two Rodong medium-range missiles just as Park and Abe were meeting U.S. President Barack Obama at the Hague to discuss responding to the North's arms program. The latest missiles were launched from a region called Hwangju and came just hours after the leaders of South Korea and China met on the sidelines of the G20 summit in Hangzhou, China. South Korea's Park told Chinese President Xi Jinping that the North's fourth nuclear test and its ballistic missile launches this year threatened regional peace and posed a challenge to South Korea's ties with China, Yonhap news agency reported earlier. During the meeting, Xi reaffirmed China's commitment to realizing the denuclearisation of the Korean peninsula, China's state news agency Xinhua reported on Monday. Xi also told Park that Beijing opposed the proposed deployment of a THAAD anti-missile system in South Korea, which Seoul and the United States have said is designed to counter an increasing missile threat from North Korea. Park said that a THAAD deployment would not threaten any other country's security interests and would not be needed if the North's nuclear issue was resolved, Yonhap news agency said. The United States "strongly" condemned the latest missile launches and called on North Korea to refrain from actions and rhetoric that raise tensions in the region, U.S. State Department spokesman John Kirby said in a statement. "Today's reckless launches by North Korea threaten civil aviation and maritime commerce in the region," Kirby said, saying the United States would raise its concerns at the United Nations as well as at this week's East Asia Summit in Laos. "Our commitment to the defense of our allies in the face of these threats remains ironclad," Kirby added in a reference to U.S. treaty allies South Korea and Japan. In July, the North launched three missiles in a single day from the western region that flew across the country and into the sea off its east coast, flying about 500 km and 600 km (300-360 miles). (Additional reporting by Nobuhiro Kubo in TOKYO; Michelle Nichols at the United Nations; and Arshad Mohammed and Patrick Rucker in WASHINGTON; Writing by Jack Kim; Editing by Tony Munroe, Michael Perry and Sandra Maler) (SEOUL, South Korea) North Korea fired three ballistic missiles off its east coast Monday, South Koreas military said, in a show of force timed to the G-20 economic summit in China. North Korea regularly engages in missile and rocket tests, especially when international attention is turned to Northeast Asia. World leaders are gathering for the G-20 summit of advanced and emerging economies in the city of Hangzhou in eastern China. Beijing is the Norths only major ally, but ties between the neighbors have frayed amid a string of nuclear and missile tests and what many outsiders see as other provocations in recent years. South Koreas Joint Chiefs of Staff said in a statement that the three missiles, launched from the western North Korean town of Hwangju, flew across the country before splashing in the waters off its east coast, but officials did not describe the range of the missiles. Before the firing, on Monday on the sidelines of the G-20 summit, South Korean President Park Geun-hye criticized the North for what she called provocations that are hurting Seoul-Beijing ties. The launch comes four days before the 68th anniversary of the founding of North Koreas government, and days after South Korean and U.S. troops ended annual joint summertime military drills, which North Korea regularly describes as a dress rehearsal for invasion. Last month, worries about the Norths weapons programs deepened after a missile from a North Korean submarine flew about 500 kilometers (310 miles), the longest distance achieved by the North for such a weapon. The U.N. Security Council in late August strongly condemned four North Korean ballistic missile launches in July and August. It called them grave violations of a ban on all ballistic missile activity. Novo Nordisk A/S NVO announced that the FDA has extended the review period of its New Drug Application (NDA) for IDegLira for the treatment of adults with type II diabetes by another three months. A response from the FDA is expected in Dec 2016. IDegLira is a once-daily, single-injection, fixed combination of Tresiba (insulin degludec) and Victoza (liraglutide). We note that the NDA was submitted to the FDA in Sep 2015 under the agencys Prescription Drug User Fee Act V (PDUFA V) regulation. Currently, the product is marketed in six countries under the brand name Xultophy. NOVO-NORDISK AS Price NOVO-NORDISK AS Price | NOVO-NORDISK AS Quote We remind investors that in May 2016, the FDAs Endocrinologic and Metabolic Drugs Advisory Committee (EMDAC) voted unanimously (16-0) in favor of the approval of IDegLira. The recommendation was based on positive data from the DUAL study. Novo Nordisk has also evaluated Tresiba and Victoza in other studies. Novo Nordisk has a strong presence in the Diabetes Care market, supported by one of the broadest diabetes portfolios in the industry, which comprises drugs like Victoza, Levemir and modern insulins. A potential approval of the product in the U.S. will further expand the companys portfolio. In 2016, the company expects sales to grow 57% on the back of strong performance of Tresiba and Victoza as well as by contributions from Saxenda and Xultophy. Investor focus is expected to remain on the outcome of the FDAs response on IDegLira. Novo Nordisk carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). Some better-ranked stocks in the health care sector include Pacira Pharmaceuticals, Inc. PCRX, Anika Therapeutics Inc. ANIK and ANI Pharmaceuticals, Inc. ANIP. All three stocks sport a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy). Confidential from Zacks Beyond this Analyst Blog, would you like to see Zacks' best recommendations that are not available to the public? Our Executive VP, Steve Reitmeister, knows when key trades are about to be triggered and which of our experts has the hottest hand. Click to see them now>> Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report NOVO-NORDISK AS (NVO): Free Stock Analysis Report ANIKA THERAPEUT (ANIK): Free Stock Analysis Report PACIRA PHARMACT (PCRX): Free Stock Analysis Report ANI PHARMACEUT (ANIP): Free Stock Analysis Report To read this article on Zacks.com click here. Zacks Investment Research By Dion Rabouin Sept 5 (Reuters) - New York's financial services department head is urging the state's chartered banks to accept municipal identification cards such as the NYC identification card to open a bank account and one bankers association is at least open to the possibility. State Department of Financial Services Superintendent Maria Vullo sent a letter last week to leaders of the New York Bankers Association, Karen Armstrong, NYBA's vice president of communications and political action, told Reuters on Monday. In its response to the letter, attributed to president and chief executive, Michael P. Smith, NYBA did not state opposition to accepting the IDNYC cards. "The opinion of the Department of Financial Services is consistent with an earlier opinion by the federal regulators, which left in banks' discretion the decision whether to accept IDNYC for opening bank accounts, as long as the customer meets the bank's established standards for compliance with federal and state laws," Smith said. "Banks are committed to finding innovative ways to serve underbanked communities and IDNYC may play a meaningful role in that effort." Published reports also said the letter, which implored chartered banks to accept IDNYC cards as identification, was sent to the head of the New York Credit Union Association. Access to banking services "helps preserve income, leads to savings and asset-building opportunities, and improves access to affordable credit opportunities," State Department of Financial Services Superintendent Maria Vullo wrote in the letter, according to the New York Daily News. "Indeed, access to banking services can improve the overall economic well-being of all New Yorkers and the New York economy." The NYCID is a free identification card that has been popular with immigrants and touted by New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio. NYBA is comprised of the commercial banks and thrift institutions that engage in the banking business in New York State. The organization's website states that its members have aggregate assets in excess of $10 trillion and more than 200,000 New York employees. (Reporting by Dion Rabouin; Editing by Bill Trott) By Dion Rabouin Sept 5 (Reuters) - New York's financial services department head is urging the state's chartered banks to accept municipal identification cards such as the NYC identification card to open a bank account and one bankers association is at least open to the possibility. State Department of Financial Services Superintendent Maria Vullo sent a letter last week to leaders of the New York Bankers Association and the New York Credit Union Association, a person familiar with the matter told Reuters. Receipt of the letter by NYBA was confirmed by Karen Armstrong, the association's vice president of communications and political action. In its response, attributed to president and chief executive, Michael P. Smith, NYBA did not state opposition to accepting the IDNYC cards. "The opinion of the Department of Financial Services is consistent with an earlier opinion by the federal regulators, which left in banks' discretion the decision whether to accept IDNYC for opening bank accounts, as long as the customer meets the bank's established standards for compliance with federal and state laws," Smith said. "Banks are committed to finding innovative ways to serve underbanked communities and IDNYC may play a meaningful role in that effort." Access to banking services "helps preserve income, leads to savings and asset-building opportunities, and improves access to affordable credit opportunities," State Department of Financial Services Superintendent Maria Vullo wrote in the letter. "Indeed, access to banking services can improve the overall economic well-being of all New Yorkers and the New York economy." The NYCID is a free identification card that has been popular with immigrants and touted by New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio. NYBA is comprised of the commercial banks and thrift institutions that engage in the banking business in New York State. The organization's website states that its members have aggregate assets in excess of $10 trillion and more than 200,000 New York employees. Requests for comment from NYCUA were not immediately returned. (Reporting by Dion Rabouin; Editing by Bill Trott and Alan Crosby) Vientiane (AFP) - Barack Obama became the first US president to visit Laos in office, touching down in Vientiane Monday for a summit of East and South East Asian leaders. Obama arrived in the capital, where the tropical rain did not prevent a large number of airport workers coming out to greet him and cheering -- before being hushed by an official. The outgoing president's visit comes decades after the United States launched a massive and secret bombing campaign in the country that lasted from 1964 to 1973. More than two million tonnes of bombs were dropped. About 30 percent did not explode and are still causing casualties today. During the trip Obama is expected to announce the ramping up of a US programme to clear unexploded devices, echoing similar moves Washington took in Vietnam as relations between the two former foes blossomed. "Symbolically, it is important," Obama said of hours before his visit. "At the outset, as were trying to build trust, a lot of work can be done around war legacy issues. For the Lao, that involves dealing with unexploded ordnance, which is still plaguing big chunks of the countryside." "We should help." Obama's visit to Laos will be the final trip to east Asia of his eight-year presidency, during which he has sought to refocus American military, political and economic resources on the region. He will travel to the ancient capital of Luang Prabang on Wednesday, visiting a historic temple and meeting with students at a university growing up in a tightly controlled communist nation. By Roberta Rampton VIENTIANE (Reuters) - President Barack Obama cancelled what would have been his first meeting with Filipino President Rodrigo Duterte, after Duterte described Obama in vulgar terms, a White House spokesman said on Tuesday. Duterte, a plain-spoken populist known for his colourful remarks and his campaign against illegal drugs in which thousands of people have died, described Obama as a son of a bitch to reporters on Monday, a day ahead of the planned meeting in Laos, where South Asian leaders are meeting for annual summits. Obama learned about the insult as he emerged from the Group of 20 summit in Hangzhou, China. At a news conference, he said he had told his aides to speak with Philippine officials to find out is this, in fact, a time where we can have some constructive, productive conversations, leaving little doubt that the meeting would proceed as planned. I always want to make sure that if I'm having a meeting, that it's actually productive and we're getting something done, Obama told reporters. Instead, Obama now plans to meet later on Tuesday with South Korean President Park Geun-hye, said Ned Price, spokesman for the White House National Security Council - a meeting where the response to North Korea's latest missile tests is expected to be on the agenda. Obama arrived in Vientiane just before midnight on Monday, for the first visit by a sitting U.S. president to Laos, where he wants to begin to address the legacy of U.S. bombing during the Vietnam War. He was set to give an address on the importance he has placed on Southeast Asia in his foreign and economic policy during his two terms in office, which will end on Jan. 20, setting the stage for three days of meetings with regional leaders. The White House had said Obama did not plan to pull any punches on his concerns about human rights abuses in the Philippines, its treaty ally, when meeting Duterte. Duterte won the presidency in May as he promised to suppress crime and wipe out drugs and drug dealers, and a wave of extrajudicial killings has followed. Duterte said it would be rude for Obama to raise the human rights issue, and told reporters such a conversation would prompt him to curse at Obama, using a Filipino phrase for "son of a bitch." "Plenty will be killed until the last pusher is out of the streets. Until the (last) drug manufacturer is killed we will continue," he said. Its not the first time Duterte has cursed at a world leader. He called Pope Francis a son of a whore in May, and called U.S. Ambassador Philip Goldberg a gay son of a whore. On Monday, Obama said he recognised the importance of fighting the drug trade, but insisted it must be done under the rule of law. ASEAN SUMMIT The unusually open tensions threaten to overshadow the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and East Asia Summits in Laos from Tuesday to Thursday. The 10-member ASEAN will meet leaders of other regional powers: China, Japan, South Korea, Australia, India, Russia and the United States. The Philippines has been a key U.S. ally in its dispute with China over the South China Sea, in which Washington blames Beijing for militarising a vital global trade route and jeopardising freedom of movement at sea and in the air. China rejects those accusations, and in turn blames the United States for ratcheting up tensions unnecessarily. 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. An arbitration court in The Hague in July invalidated China's vast territorial claims to the waterway after a case was brought by the Philippines, a ruling that Beijing refuses to recognise. Duterte said last month he expected all ASEAN members to support the arbitration court's ruling, but that the Philippines would not raise the issue in Laos. (Reporting by Roberta Rampton, in Vientiane, Laos; Editing by Leslie Adler) Hangzhou (China) (AFP) - Presidents Barack Obama and Vladimir Putin met on Monday on the margins of the G20 summit in China, the White House said, hours after their diplomats failed to reach a deal on Syria. "The President is taking part in a pull-aside with President Putin of Russia," said National Security Council spokesman Ned Price. "We expect to provide additional details of their discussion later today." HANGZHOU, China (Reuters) - The United States is assessing whether now is the time to have "constructive, productive conversations" with Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte, U.S. President Barack Obama said on Monday. Duterte had said earlier in the day that "plenty will be killed" before the end of his campaign against illegal drugs that has led to the death of about 2,400 people since he became president two months ago. "What I've instructed my team to do is to talk to their Philippine counterparts to find out, is this in fact a time where we can have some constructive, productive conversations," Obama said at a news conference at the end of a G20 summit in the eastern Chinese city of Hangzhou. "Obviously the Filipino people are some of our closest friends and allies and the Philippines is a treaty ally of ours. But I always want to make sure that if I'm having a meeting that it's actually productive and we're getting something done," he said. Obama noted that, while the fight against drugs was tough, the United States would always assert the need for due process and to carry out the campaign in a way that is consistent with basic international norms. "And so, undoubtedly, if and when we have a meeting, this is something that's going to be brought up, and my expectation, my hope is that it could be dealt with constructively. "But I'll have my team discuss this ... I want to make sure that the setting is right and the timing is right for us to have the best conversation possible." (Reporting by Roberta Rampton and Michael Martina; Writing by Jason Subler; Editing by Mike Collett-White) (Adds quotes, details) HANGZHOU, China, Sept 5 (Reuters) - U.S. President Barack Obama said on Monday that the United States had to move in concert with other countries on the issue of tax avoidance, as some U.S. allies were "racing to the bottom" with their tax policies. The European Commission said last week that Apple Inc owed up to 13 billion euros ($14.50 billion) in back taxes to Ireland, based on existing regulations, a decision that both Apple and Ireland, which relies on low taxes to attract investment, have vowed to fight. The ruling against Apple has pushed the issue into the limelight and raised the risk of significant push-back from the United States, where some lawmakers are saying it represents a European encroachment on the U.S. potential tax base. Obama said he had raised tax avoidance with leaders from the world's 20 biggest economies at the G20 summit in the eastern Chinese city of Hangzhou, but did not mention the Apple case. "We're doing a bunch of stuff at home and we want to coordinate internationally," Obama told reporters at a briefing at the close of the summit. "The one thing that we have to ensure we do is to move in concert with other countries, because there is always a danger that if one ... acts unilaterally, that it's not just a matter of a U.S. company being impacted, but it may also have an impact in terms of our ability to collect taxes from that same company," Obama said. "In the same way, we then have to do some coordination with even some of our closest allies racing to the bottom in terms of how they enforce their tax policies in ways that lead to revenue shifting and tax avoidance in our country." Obama said tackling the issue effectively was important to "regain the trust" of people who feared the system is rigged, but that it would not be fixed overnight. The EU decision against Apple comes amidst a coordinated global initiative to crack down on tax evasion by multinational companies, spearheaded by the Paris-based Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). Story continues Apple's Chief Executive Tim Cook last week described the ruling as "total political crap", but France and Germany have come out to back Brussels on the decision. European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker said on Sunday in Hangzhou that the ruling against Apple was clearly based on facts and existing rules and was not a decision aimed against the United States. (Reporting by Michael Martina and Roberta Rampton; Editing by Catherine Evans) HANGZHOU, China (Reuters) - U.S. President Barack Obama said on Monday that the United States had to move in concert with other countries on the issue of tax avoidance, as some U.S. allies were "racing to the bottom" with their tax policies. The European Commission said last week that Apple Inc (AAPL.O) owed up to 13 billion euros ($14.50 billion) in back taxes to Ireland, based on existing regulations, a decision that both Apple and Ireland, which relies on low taxes to attract investment, have vowed to fight. The ruling against Apple has pushed the issue into the limelight and raised the risk of significant push-back from the United States, where some lawmakers are saying it represents a European encroachment on the U.S. potential tax base. Obama said he had raised tax avoidance with leaders from the world's 20 biggest economies at the G20 summit in the eastern Chinese city of Hangzhou, but did not mention the Apple case. "We're doing a bunch of stuff at home and we want to coordinate internationally," Obama told reporters at a briefing at the close of the summit. "The one thing that we have to ensure we do is to move in concert with other countries, because there is always a danger that if one ... acts unilaterally, that it's not just a matter of a U.S. company being impacted, but it may also have an impact in terms of our ability to collect taxes from that same company," Obama said. "In the same way, we then have to do some coordination with even some of our closest allies racing to the bottom in terms of how they enforce their tax policies in ways that lead to revenue shifting and tax avoidance in our country." Obama said tackling the issue effectively was important to "regain the trust" of people who feared the system is rigged, but that it would not be fixed overnight. The EU decision against Apple comes amidst a coordinated global initiative to crack down on tax evasion by multinational companies, spearheaded by the Paris-based Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). Story continues Apple's Chief Executive Tim Cook last week described the ruling as "total political crap", but France and Germany have come out to back Brussels on the decision. European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker said on Sunday in Hangzhou that the ruling against Apple was clearly based on facts and existing rules and was not a decision aimed against the United States. (Reporting by Michael Martina and Roberta Rampton; Editing by Catherine Evans) Washington (AFP) - US President Barack Obama has cancelled a planned meeting with Philippines leader Rodrigo Duterte, the White House said Monday, after his Asian ally launched a foul-mouthed tirade against him. Duterte called Obama a "son of a whore" hours earlier, vowing he would not allow the American leader to lecture him on human rights. "President Obama will not be holding a bilateral meeting with President Duterte of the Philippines this afternoon," National Security Council spokesman Ned Price said. "Instead, he will meet with President Park (Geun-hye) of the Republic of Korea." Obama had been set for a showdown with firebrand Duterte on Tuesday as a regional summit gets underway in Asia, and amid tensions over China's growing territorial ambitions. The pair were scheduled to meet in Laos at a gathering organised by the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, an annual event meant to foster harmony that often instead highlights regional rows. However, shortly before flying to the capital Vientiane, Duterte launched a tirade at Obama. "Son of a whore, I will curse you in that forum," Duterte told reporters when asked about Obama's plans to raise concerns over a war on crime in the Philippines that has seen more than 2,400 people killed. The focus was meant to be on the surprising spat between the two longtime allies that have seen relations plunge under a barrage of foul-mouthed insults from Duterte since he came to office on June 30. Duterte has previously also branded the US ambassador to Manila a "son of a whore" -- a term the acid-tongued former prosecutor commonly uses -- and criticised the US over its own track record of police killings. - Crucial time - The setback in relations between the United States and the Philippines comes at a crucial time in the region, with China seeking to cement control over the contested South China Sea. The Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia, Brunei and Taiwan also have competing claims to the strategically vital waters, but have watched China expand its presence by building artificial islands in key locations. Story continues An international tribunal ruled in July that Beijing's claims to the waters -- through which $5 trillion in global shipping trade passes -- had no legal basis. The ruling was widely seen as a sweeping victory for the Philippines, which filed the suit under the previous administration of Benigno Aquino. But China has vowed to ignore the tribunal's decision. Obama's aides had previously said he wanted to discuss the South China Sea issue with Duterte. Under Aquino, the Philippines had forged closer military ties with the United States to deal with the China threat. But Duterte has cast doubt on that strategy. He has also sought to heal relations with China rather than inflame them by pressing the tribunal's ruling. Nevertheless, the South China Sea issue is expected to once again be discussed at the three days of meetings hosted by ASEAN. The gathering will see the 10 members of ASEAN meet among themselves, then with leaders from China, Japan, South Korea and the US. Other leaders to come for an East Asia summit on Thursday include from Australia, India and New Zealand. Obama's time in Laos will be the final trip to Asia of his eight-year presidency, during which he has sought to refocus American military, political and economic resources on the region. In one of the last acts of his so-called "pivot" to Asia, Obama is expected to announce greater help in clearing bombs dropped by US forces on Laos during the Vietnam War. Obama will then travel to the ancient capital of Luang Prabang on Wednesday, visiting a historic temple and meeting with students at a university growing up in a tightly controlled communist nation. HANGZHOU, China (Reuters) - U.S. President Barack Obama said on Monday that U.S. trading partners in Asia did not need to be persuaded of the benefits of the Trans-Pacific Partnership, just that Washington would eventually approve the trade pact. Obama has made the 12-nation TPP the centerpiece of a diplomatic "pivot" to Asia, but the prospects for U.S. congressional approval have looked increasingly dim, with both major presidential candidates - Democrat Hillary Clinton and Republican Donald Trump - standing opposed. Administration officials had said that Obama would make the case for the TPP during his visit to Asia, including in a speech he has scheduled in Laos on Tuesday. "I don't have to sell it to Asian leaders here who were part of the negotiations because they see this as the right thing to do for their own countries," Obama told reporters at the close of the G20 summit in the eastern Chinese city of Hangzhou. "And what I'll be telling them is that the U.S. has never had a smooth, uncontroversial path to ratifying trade deals, but they eventually get done," Obama said. "Back home we'll have to cut through the noise once election season is over. It's always a little noisy there," he said. The White House has said it could still win congressional approval of the trade pact before Obama leaves office, and warned that failing to do so would undermine U.S. leadership in the region and allow China to increasingly set the terms of world trade. (Reporting by Michael Martina, Roberta Rampton and Elias Glenn; Editing by Richard Balmforth) Just days after Brazilian president Dilma Rousseff was removed from office on Aug. 31, a film which looks likely to place the event in a wider context has been brought onto the international market at Venice. Directed by Brazils Petra Costa, Impeachment: Two Weights, Two Measures does not question the legality of Rousseffs impeachment, but it does raise questions about its legitimacy, and whether democracy, understood in a broader sense, is now being pushed back in Brazil. Like films on the Arab Spring and revolution in Ukraine, Costa shot scenes of street protests. Where it will be different, however, will be in capturing the behind-the-scenes maneuvering in Congress and the presidential palace, which precipitated Rousseffs fall, producer Tiago Pavan said at Venices Gap Financing Market where he is presenting the project. The impeachment is one instance of Brazilian democracy now taking steps backwards, Pavan added, citing a recent legislative pushback on workers rights and gender-equality concerns over Brazils current government having just one woman minister. Both Petra Costa and I were born in 1984, the beginning of Brazils transition to democracy. We expected Brazilian democracy to be mature and stable 30 years later. That has not proved the case, Pavan said. Costas Olmo and the Seagull, co-directed with Lea Glob and executive produced by Tim Robbins, made a splash at Locarno. Pavans Busca Vida Filmes also produced Olmo and the Seagull. (Repeats story that ran late Friday with no changes to text) * Olympus sues Woodford, ex-colleague for over 15 mln pounds * Woodford says allegations "baseless", countersues * Olympus official says alerted in 2014 * 2014 transfer value of pension was 64.5 mln pounds By Kirstin Ridley LONDON, Sept 2 (Reuters) - Olympus, the Japanese medical equipment and camera maker, is suing former CEO and whistleblower Michael Woodford in a multimillion-pound legal row over allegations of wrongdoing surrounding an executive pension plan. Almost five years after Woodford lifted the lid on one of Japan's biggest corporate frauds, his former employer is claiming more than 15 million pounds ($20 million) from him and a former colleague, alleging they conspired to maximise their pension benefits by unlawful means, according to court filings. Woodford, Olympus's first foreign chief executive, was fired two weeks into the job in 2011 after persistently querying unexplained payments worth around $1.7 billion and demanding the resignation of its former chairman and vice president. He then alerted global authorities and the media. Olympus initially said Woodford was fired for failing to understand its management style and Japanese culture. But in September 2012 the company and three former executives pleaded guilty in Japan to cover-up charges. Olympus's KeyMed unit, a surgical products maker in southern England, has now filed a High Court claim against Woodford and Olympus veteran Paul Hillman alleging they breached their duties as directors and trustees of the defined benefit pension plan. Woodford and Hillman, a former company director who resigned in 2011, deny any wrongdoing and say they acted at all times in accordance with their duties. "Mr Woodford and Mr Hillman consider the claims against them to be completely baseless and look forward to taking the proceedings to trial and demonstrating what they consider to be the true motivations behind the claims by Olympus," they said in a joint statement. Story continues Woodford, who joined Olympus in 1981 and rose through its ranks to become CEO, has countersued Olympus. He alleges the case brought by KeyMed breaches a 2012 out-of-court settlement over his dismissal and is seeking damages "in the high seven figures". Olympus headquarters in Tokyo declined to comment. Rudolf Muench, a Hamburg-based general manager at Olympus's European headquarters in Germany, said KeyMed was only alerted to possible wrongdoing in 2014 when the "substantial value" of one of the pensions became known. "KeyMed has a responsibility towards its stakeholders and therefore could not ignore the evidence that was presented," he said in an email to Reuters. "DELIBERATE WRONGDOING" In documents received by the court on Aug. 26 and seen by Reuters, Olympus said the 2012 full and final employment settlement with Woodford did not prevent further legal action when claims were based on "deliberate wrongdoing or fraud". The case against the men hinges on allegations that they obtained board approval to set up the executive pension plan in 2005 by concealing from others that the purpose of the scheme was "to increase the security of their pension". This was contrary to a board agreement there would be no enhancement of executive benefits through the scheme, the documents allege. Olympus said the executive scheme provided for overly generous fixed 5 percent per annum increases in pension payments once the pension was activated, that it adopted an overly conservative investment strategy and that it dropped a provision to cut benefits for younger surviving spouses. Woodford and Hillman, whose wife is more than 10 years his junior, said the pension plan was established in 2007 after two years of discussions and that it was transparent and set up in consultation with the board, senior executives, independent trustees and on the advice of advisers and lawyers. They said Olympus raised no concerns about the pension plan during the last decade before issuing a claim in August 2015 and added allegations of fraud four months later "without any evidence to back them up". Woodford, 56, said his annual pension benefit rose to 993,000 pounds at the end of his 30-year Olympus career. This was converted into a capital sum of 64.5 million pounds and transferred to a Self Invested Personal Pension (SIPP), a UK government-approved scheme, with Olympus's approval in 2014. Defined pension benefits are linked to the number of years employees work and their salaries, are paid for life and can be paid to spouses, partners or dependants when the retiree dies. Hillman, who is 64 and drawing his pension, told Reuters by telephone there was a catalogue of correspondence to show the executive scheme had been set up and run correctly. "There is a picture being painted of us being devious and doing things in dark corners when everything has been done openly, in a transparent way," he said. ($1 = 0.7536 pounds) (Reporting by Kirstin Ridley; Editing by Ruth Pitchford) Big trade deals across both oceans were supposed to be two marble monuments the Obama administration bequeaths to posterity. But as the president completes his second term, its more likely that hell leave behind a half-built and poorly carved stone memorial. The fate of Obamas trade deals wasnt clear even a matter of days ago. But it was altogether a terrible week for Obamas trade policies. Related: Political? Mais Oui, of Course, EU Insiders Say of Apple Case First came statements from senior German and French officials that talks on a transAtlantic accord covering trade, investment, and corporate governance were essentially dead-ending. Then came the European Commissions judgmentover vigorous American objectionsagainst Apples very favorable tax deal with Ireland. Now lets pivot to Asia, as they say in Washington these days. On Friday, Obama left for a Group of 20 Summit in Hangzhou, a two-day event that runs through Monday. The meeting was supposed to be an unofficial victory lap in a Chinese city for the U.S.led trade deal signed by 12 Asian nations. Except there was no victory to celebrate. Resistance to the Pacific pact now mounts even among Democrats, thanks in part to Bernie Sanders. Getting Capitol Hills approval during the lame-duck period after the November elections was Obamas ace in the hole, but even this now looks unlikely. Some Asian signatories now complain: You invite us to a party, Mr. President, and now youre not showing up? Not your best pre-summit atmospherics. Related: Apple Hit With a $14.5 Billion Tax Bill in Europe After years of deliberation, the TransPacific Partnership and the TransAtlantic Trade and Investment Partnership are nothing if not vaulting in their ambition. There were problems from the first suggesting these deals would never succeed. One, the Obama administration simply doesnt have the nous to structure and negotiate accords of this magnitude and complexity. Two, these agreements are too technocratic. They take no account of diverse cultures and social priorities in Asia and Continental Europe bothoperative factors that simply cant be ignored. Story continues Three, the corporate beneficiaries of these agreements had too great a role in drafting them, and they did their work in secret. Anyone who counts the democratic process non-negotiable was bound from the first to be against Obamas way at these accords. We write the rules of the road for trade in the 21st century, Obama boldly declared in defense of the TTP earlier this year. He meant, We, not the Chinesewho are pointedly excluded from the accord. While Europeans require and get more politesse, this principle underlies the TTIP, too. And the Europeans are finally responding, as follows. Uh-uh is a good summary of their position. Related: US, China Ratify Paris Climate Deal, Setting Stage for G20 In my opinion, the negotiations with the United States have de facto failed, even though nobody is really admitting it, Sigmar Gabriel, Chancellor Merkels economics minister (and also vice-chancellor) declared in Berlin last week. Thats not quite true. Francois Hollande has said this for months and did so again shortly after Gabriel spoke. The [European] positions have not been respected, and the imbalance is obvious, Frances president said. It is better that we face up to this candidly rather than prolong a discussion on foundations that cannot succeed. The European perspective is important to understand. While protests have been widespread, the EU favors a comprehensive agreement but finds the Americans too unyielding. In 14 rounds of talks, Gabriel noted, the EU and the US havent agreed on a single stipulation in the 27 chapters of the TTIP under negotiation. Gabriel pointedly contrasted this to the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement the EU concluded with Canada this summer. As the European Commission reported, The agreement will fully uphold Europe's standards in areas such as food safety and worker's rights. It also contains all the guarantees to make sure that the economic gains do not come at the expense of democracy, the environment, or consumers' health and safety. Related: Austrian Economy Minister Adds His 'Nein' to US Trade Talks Debate Its on precisely such points the Obama administration stumbles. We mustn't submit to the American proposals, Gabriel insisted when he drew the comparison between the TTIP and CETA. There are many ways to read a $14.5 billion tax judgment against Apple that Margrethe Vestager, the ECs commissioner for competition, announced last week. Treasury Secretary Jack Lew, Apple, and Ireland all vigorously assert the ruling has no basis in law; the latter two intend to appeal. The award for subtlety goes to Tim Cook, Apples chief executive, who called the decision total political crap. He simultaneously declared that Apple would now repatriate a fraction of its $215 billion offshore stash, which seems a poorly calculated response to crapulousness. The Irish were especially furious with the EC decision. They had made a calculated decision to opt for jobs over revenue and constructed a binding contract that would hold up in most developed countries in the world. Related: Obamas Big Trade Deals May Never Get Done Viewed more broadly, the Apple case is another marker of the fault line in the trade negotiations: The U.S. and Continental European views of such questions as corporate freedom, regulation, and taxation have fundamental differences rooted in culture, politics, social values, and economic philosophy. The next president needs to begin recognizing this. Asians have similar differences with AngloAmerican liberalism, but the democratic process is not so deeply rooted among the TTPs Asian signatories. While theres plenty of resistance to the Pacific pact, leaders in Japan, Singapore, and elsewhere have therefore had an easier time overcoming it. Obama hasnt, to state the obvious. And its a supreme irony that opposition to the TransPacific accord rose to audible decibels just before Obamas farewell jaunt through Asia. Talk about hanging your leader out to dry. You have put your reputation on the line, Lee Hsien Loong, Singapores straight-talking prime minister told Obama during a recent state visit. And if at the end the bride doesnt appear at the altar, I think there are going to be a lot of people who are going to be very hurt, really damaged for a long time. That moment cant have been other than embarrassing. The TTPs only hope now may lie in Hillary Clinton, should she win in November, reversing her position. It is a prospect with some promise. Be that as it may, it suddenly looks certain that Obamas not going to walk down two aisles he thought he would. You can have a goodly part of something or all of nothing is the lesson the administration doesnt seem to grasp. Top Reads from The Fiscal Times: By Thomas Escritt and Aleksandar Vasovic BELGRADE (Reuters) - Flows of migrants seeking safety in Europe via the Balkans could swell to the levels seen last autumn, Hungary's Prime Minister Viktor Orban said on Monday, warning Brussels of conflicts to come if it sought to prevent Hungary from defending its borders. Speaking after a meeting in Belgrade with his Serbian counterpart Aleksandar Vucic, Orban also said an upcoming referendum on whether to accept Europe-wide asylum quotas would strengthen his hand in upcoming legal disputes with Brussels. "The very moment when it became impossible to cross into Europe by sea, the Balkan route swelled up again, and we have no reason to believe the same won't happen this year," Orban told reporters at a press conference, offering Serbia help to secure its borders. Last year, vast flows of people fleeing war and poverty in the Middle East and Africa stretched authorities around the continent as they struggled to deal with Europe's largest migrant flows since World War Two. Over the summer, many migrants have attempted the sea crossing from North Africa to countries such as Italy. But as autumn brings more unsettled seas, the land route through the Balkans may see a revival of activity. The migration crisis fueled has support for anti-immigration and anti-EU populists in many countries. Orban, Hungary's prime minister since 2010, has been at the forefront of opposition in Europe to the humanitarian position taken by Germany's chancellor Angela Merkel, who has said Europe has an obligation to take in refugees. "We don't want to change the character of our country," Orban said. "We want to remain Hungarian, to keep our religious and ethnic composition. That view isn't popular in Europe nowadays, at least among politicians." A clear referendum result would help to convey that message to Brussels, he said. "They want to force rules on member states that are in conflict with their interests, including Hungary's. We are preparing for a conflict," he added. Vucic welcomed offers of Hungarian support to police its borders. An earlier agreement to deploy Hungarian police officers to Serbia's border with Macedonia would be extended to the Bulgarian border, he said. "Every help in terms of technical assets and manpower is welcome," Vucic said. (Reporting By Thomas Escritt and Aleksandar Vasovic; Editing by Toby Chopra) ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. -- The Baltimore Orioles find themselves in a precarious position as they come to the Rays for a three-game series, three games back of the division lead and tied with Detroit for the American League's second wild card, so if it wasn't obvious, every win counts from here out. "Win games. It's real simple," Orioles manager Buck Showalter said after a 5-2 loss to the Yankees on Sunday. "We have to win games regardless of how we get there. I don't care how it looks or how it happens. We need to have more runs than them after nine innings, or 10 or 11 or 12 and so on. It's a pretty simple equation right now." Baltimore (74-62) faces the Rays (58-77) seven times in their next 13 games, so Tampa Bay can again play a major spoiler role, as they did this weekend in taking two of three games from division-leading Toronto. "Tough one today. Came up a little short obviously," said Rays manager Kevin Cash after a 5-3 loss to Toronto, missing out on a potential sweep. "There were probably a couple more opportunities we didn't get." Monday's opener -- a Labor Day 1:10 p.m. first pitch -- pits Baltimore RHP Ubaldo Jimenez (5-11, 6.46 ERA) against Rays RHP Matt Andriese (6-6, 4.19 ERA). Andriese opened the year 6-0 but has struggled since rejoining the rotation after the trade deadline -- the Rays are committed to keeping him in what is now a six-man rotation, but he's 0-6 with a 5.47 ERA in his last 14 appearances, including seven starts. In his last start, he reset career highs for runs (7) and hits (10) allowed, including seven extra-base hits in a loss to Boston. For his career against the Orioles, he's 0-2 with a 7.04 ERA. What's worse, Jimenez has a strong history against the Rays, with a 2.87 ERA and 4-2 career record, striking out 36 batters in 37.2 innings. In his only outing against Tampa Bay this year, he took a tough-luck loss in a 3-1 loss in April. The Rays are relegated to spoiler status in a division they long since stopped being competitive in. Baltimore is in a different mode, struggling to stay close enough to take advantage of remaining head-to-head series against the Blue Jays and Red Sox. "Whether we're playing here or in Tampa or in Detroit or in Boston, we're always playing people," Showalter said of the target on his team's back. "There's never a time they're not engaged. Tampa is in a spot, you can see how they're playing right now. Detroit's right there and of course Boston's there. That's why you do all the things that we do to be a part of this. Enjoy the competition and enjoy the fruits of the players' labor to get this chance." It will be in Chongqing City. Oxley Holdings Ltd. unveiled plans of developing a medical hub in Chongqing City as it shook hands with China's Chongqing Liangjiang New Area Administrative Committee. The deal was signed by the group's 75%-owned subsidiary, Oxley Zhong Xin Yi Pte. Ltd, through a strategic cooperation framework agreement. "Pursuant to the Agreement, the parties shall cooperate to develop an integrated medical hub in the Chongqing Liangjiang New Area and intend to enter into definitive agreements for such purpose by 31 December 2016," the group said in a statement. Recently, the group ended its financial year by posting a 114% increase in net profits to $73.8 million in the last quarter. Its overseas market contributed to a robust bottom line. More From Singapore Business Review Patrick Dempsey was feeling the love at the Bridget Jones's Baby premiere. The 50-year-old actor and his wife, Jillian, reconciled this year after she filed for divorce in January 2015. ("You have to work at everything," he previously explained.) And on the red carpet, the couple shared some sweet PDA, holding hands as he whispered in her ear. Getty Images The premiere, which was held at Odeon Leicester Square in London, was a family affair, as the Dempseys were joined by their 14-year-old daughter, Tallula, and 9-year-old twin boys, Darby and Sullivan. Getty Images WATCH: Renee Zellweger Slams Questions on Aging in Hollywood: 'This Conversation Perpetuates the Problem' Meanwhile, Renee Zellweger arrived with her boyfriend, musician Doyle Bramhall II, and wore a stunning, one-shoulder silk Elsa Schiaparelli gown with a funky metallic accent. Getty Images The 47-year-old actress also had an adorable moment on the carpet where she introduced herself to Dempsey's sons. Getty Images The latest Bridget Jones sequel marks Zellweger's grand return after nearly six years away from the spotlight, time that she said she used to "explore new things." "I hope I'm a little less boring than I might have been after just 25 years of being an actress," she reflected during a press conference on Monday. "And I was craving a little normalcy. I wanted to learn something new and grow as a person and see if I had aptitude for these things that interest me. And if not now, it would be, 'Oh, in two more years, or three years, then ten years', and then just, ultimately, you just don't do them." Zellweger also spoke to ET about how she prepared to play a mom in Bridget Jones's Baby and making granny panties "acceptable." Find out what she had to say in the video below. Related Articles By Kathryn Doyle (Reuters Health) - Trainee doctors are finding a more supportive attitude from superiors and colleagues toward their pregnancies, a small study suggests. In the U.S., women entering medicine face many barriers to childbearing, including a persistent negative stigma surrounding pregnancy during years-long training programs, said senior author Dr. Marissa Tenenbaum of Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, Missouri. In surgery youre standing all day, you dont eat regularly, dont hydrate yourself, and throw pregnancy into there, it can be challenging, she said. Becoming a surgeon takes four years of college, four years of medical school and an average of five years of residency, so women spend their mid-20s to mid-30s in training, Tenenbaum told Reuters Health. It doesnt make sense to wait to have children until your residency is over, she said. Theyre really in their prime years of fertility while in surgical training, and historically its been incredibly difficult to become pregnant and parent during residency training, she said. Accommodations vary by specialty but tend to be very restrictive in the U.S., she said. The American Board of Plastic Surgery, for example, only allows residents four weeks of time off per year, which includes vacation, traveling for meetings or conferences - and maternity leave. In 2008 and 2015, the researchers sent a 10-minute survey designed to be filled out anonymously online to female resident physicians at Washington University. Both surveys assessed the demographics, pregnancy status, attitudes and influences on childbearing of female residents. In 2008, 107 female residents in surgery, obstetrics and gynecology, internal medicine and anesthesia responded to the survey, representing nearly 75 percent of invited participants. In 2015, 96 female residents responded, representing a 50 percent response rate. In both years, respondents were an average of 29 years old and 99 percent were heterosexual. In both years, about 25 percent of the women said they had ever been pregnant. In 2008, about 35 percent of respondents were considering pregnancy during residency, which dropped to 20 percent in 2015. Women strongly disagreed in both years with the statement it is easy to be pregnant during residency and agreed that there is a negative stigma attached to being pregnant during residency training. There potentially is a perception that if you take time away to become pregnant or have maternity leave, your coworkers or peers or residents have to pick up the slack, Tenenbaum said. In both 2008 and 2015, female residents did not feel unfairly burdened by pregnancies among other female residents. In 2015, there was also a significant drop in feeling unfairly burdened by male residents taking of paternity or spousal leave. In both years, survey respondents rated the supportiveness of other female residents and female faculty and program directors higher than that of male residents or superiors. And the supportiveness of program directors and chiefs overall was rated higher in 2015 than in 2008, according to the results in The American Journal of Surgery. In Canada, residents can take three months maternity leave and return to the program, Tenenbaum noted. When we have happy balanced surgeons they tend to be better surgeons, Tenenbaum said. I think that we should have reasonable rules in place that allow for a maternity leave. SOURCE: http://bit.ly/2bcjfRg The American Journal of Surgery, online August 1, 2016. Brazil's troubled state-run energy giant, Petroleo Brasileiro S.A. or Petrobras PBR announced that its voluntary layoff program, which came to an end on Aug 31, has been accepted by 11,704 employees. In Apr 2016, the Rio de Janeiro-based oil producer had launched this program to lay off 21% of its staff or around 12,000 workers between 2016 and 2020. This voluntary retrenchment program was in line with the companys plan to cut costs, reduce its debt level and strengthen its balance sheet. Petrobras expects this program to cost around 4 billion reais ($1.23 billion) and generate savings up to 33 billion reais through 2020. The company has already set aside an amount of 1.2 billion reais in the second quarter to provide for the expenses. PETROBRAS-ADR C Price PETROBRAS-ADR C Price | PETROBRAS-ADR C Quote With the help of this initiative, the company intends to trim its workforce, enhance productivity and generate value for the company. The company has been implementing management training programs to assure continuity and safety at operations as it cuts staff. Petrobras, with around $123.92 billion in long-term liabilities, is the most indebted energy company in the world. The company engages in the exploration, development, and production of crude oil, natural gas, and natural gas liquids. Additionally, the company sells crude oil and oil products produced at natural gas processing plants in domestic and foreign markets. It is also involved in the refining, logistics, transport, and trading of crude oil and oil products. Moreover, the firm exports ethanol and invests in petrochemical companies. Recently, the company inked a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Norwegian oil giant, Statoil ASA STO in order to strengthen their relationship in Brazil.The purpose of the MoU is to assess joint participation in the future tenders for exploration areas and to enhance upstream cooperation in producing fields in the Santos and Campos offshore basins. Petrobras currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). Some better-ranked players from the energy sector are Devon Energy Corporation DVN and NGL Energy Partners LP NGL. Both these stocks sport a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy). Confidential from Zacks Beyond this Analyst Blog, would you like to see Zacks' best recommendations that are not available to the public? Our Executive VP, Steve Reitmeister, knows when key trades are about to be triggered and which of our experts has the hottest hand. Click to see them now>> Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report PETROBRAS-ADR C (PBR): Free Stock Analysis Report STATOIL ASA-ADR (STO): Free Stock Analysis Report DEVON ENERGY (DVN): Free Stock Analysis Report NGL ENERGY PART (NGL): Free Stock Analysis Report To read this article on Zacks.com click here. Zacks Investment Research Davao (Philippines) (AFP) - Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte called Barack Obama a "son of a whore" on Monday as he vowed not to be lectured by the US leader on human rights when they meet in Laos. The acid-tongued Duterte bristled at warnings he would face questioning by the US president over a war against drugs in the Philippines that has claimed more than 2,400 lives in just over two months. "You must be respectful. Do not just throw away questions and statements. Son of a whore, I will curse you in that forum," Duterte told a news conference shortly before flying to Laos to attend a summit. "We will be wallowing in the mud like pigs if you do that to me." Duterte was due to hold a bilateral meeting with Obama on Tuesday afternoon on the sidelines of a gathering of global leaders hosted by the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) in Vientiane, the Lao capital. But shortly after Duterte spoke, Obama appeared to cast doubt on whether such a meeting could take place. Calling Duterte "a colourful guy", the US president said was asking his staff to find out whether a meeting would be useful. "I always want to make sure if I'm having a meeting that it's actually productive and we're getting something done," he told reporters. Duterte, 71, was elected in May after a promise to wage an unprecedented war on illegal drugs that would see tens of thousands of suspects killed. Official figures released Sunday show that, since he took office on June 30, over 2,400 people have been killed in police anti-drug operations and by suspected vigilantes. Speaking on the sidelines of the G20 summit in the Chinese city of Hangzhou, Obama said Washington recognised that drugs were a significant problem for the Philippines. But he insisted that he would not shy away from raising concerns about the way the issue was being handled under the new administration. "The issue of how we approach fighting crime and drug trafficking is a serious one for all of us. We've got to do it the right way," he said. Story continues "Undoubtedly, if and when we have a meeting, this is something that's going to be brought up. And my expectation, my hope is that it could be dealt with constructively." Duterte has angrily rejected criticism from the Catholic Church, human rights groups, legislators and the United Nations. And he vowed Monday the bloodbath would continue as he pursued his goal of eradicating illegal narcotics in the Philippines. "More people will be killed, plenty will be killed until the last pusher is out of the streets. Until the (last) drug manufacturer is killed, we will continue and I will continue," he said. Duterte insisted he would not take orders from the United States, a former colonial ruler of the Philippines, and did not care about how he was perceived. Duterte has quickly earned a reputation for making offensive comments about his critics, or others he does not like. He has also branded Pope Francis and the US ambassador to Manila sons of whores. By Manuel Mogato VIENTIANE, Sept 5 (Reuters) - The Philippines is proposing a 14 percent increase in defence spending next year to buy new ships and aircraft to boost its fight against Islamist militants and enhance maritime security in the disputed South China Sea. According to internal documents seen by Reuters on Monday, about 130 billion pesos ($2.8 billion) or 96 percent of the proposed defence budget, would go to the armed forces. The push to beef up military spending reflects regional concern about China's maritime assertiveness and the new government's determination to crush the entrenched and lucrative network of the Islamic State-linked Abu Sayyaf rebels behind a spree of kidnappings. Some 25 billion pesos would go to a modernisation programme, the Department of National Defence said in the documents, including the acquisition of two surveillance planes and six close-air support planes to fight Abu Sayyaf. The rebels, who have their stronghold in two southern islands in the Muslim-majority south, are holding more than 20 hostages of five nationalities. Abu Sayyaf has this year beheaded two Canadian hostages and President Rodrigo Duterte has ordered the military to "destroy" the group. The government believes it was behind Friday's bombing in Davao city that killed 14 people. The government has proposed a 3.35 trillion pesos national budget for next year, which the bicameral legislature is expected to approve before the end of the year. A senior defence official told Reuters 2017 would be the second year in a row that the government is spending 25 billion pesos for the modernisation plan, which is slated to cost 82 billion over a five-year period. The country is set to award contracts for two frigates for navy and three radar systems for the air force, which are designed to improve monitoring in the South China Sea. Part of the funds will go to instalments to pay for 12 Korean-made FA-50 jets, two of which arrived last year ($1 = 46.5250 Philippine pesos) (Editing by Martin Petty) Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte speaks during a news conference in Davao city, southern Philippines August 21, 2016. Picture taken August 21, 2016. REUTERS/Lean Daval Jr Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte swept into office earlier this year with bombastic promises to declare war on the drug dealers and users who he said were blighting his country. And thus far, he has delivered: Since he took office on June 30, about 2,400 people have been slain in drug-related killings. Between July 1 and August 20, about 900 people were killed in police operations, with another 1,100 people killed in incidents unrelated to police operations. But one of the most troubling aspects of those deaths is how they've been meted out. While police have killed a significant number of people, most of the killings appear to have been carried out by vigilantes and other civilians, some pressed into service as contract killers. "My first job was two years ago in this province nearby. I felt really scared and nervous because it was my first time," a woman going by the name Maria told the BBC in August. She was part of a team that included several women, who are often able to approach targets without raising suspicions. "One time, they needed a woman," Maria told the BBC. "My husband tapped me to do the job. When I saw the man I was supposed to kill, I got near him and I shot him." Throughout his presidential campaign, Duterte emphasized that his policy on the country's drug dealers and users was "kill them all," a statement that elicited both approval and shock. He also promised bounties to police who killed drug dealers and exhorted regular Filipinos to kill or arrest suspects a request other politicians have echoed. Philippines drug war crime vigilante justice extrajudicial killings When he won the election on May 9, the country saw about two shooting deaths a week, according to The Atlantic. By July 21, police or vigilantes were killing 10 people a day. Story continues Even as mayor of Davao, a small city in the southern Philippines, Duterte reportedly encouraged vigilantism and bragged about killing three accused kidnappers himself. Duterte, nicknamed "the Punisher," is suspected of having ties to motorcycle-borne killers who gained the name "Davao death squads." Motorcycle-riding gunmen have continued to kill in the months since his election. Many Filipinos have embraced his vitriol and supported his fight. "Hes only going to go after the killers and the drug dealers," a woman in Davao told The New York Times in mid-June. "Dont be afraid." A member of the Philippine National Police (PNP) investigation unit shows confiscated methamphetamine, known locally as Shabu, along with Philippines pesos seized from suspected drug pushers during an operation by the police in Quiapo city, metro Manila, Philippines July 3, 2016. REUTERS/Romeo Ranoco Since his election, Duterte has continued to encourage the public to take the law into its own hands. "Please feel free to call us, the police, or do it yourself if you have the gun you have my support," Duterte said in early June, according to the Associated Press. If a drug dealer resists arrest or threatens a citizen, Duterte went on, "you can kill him ... Shoot him and I'll give you a medal." Incendiary rhetoric from Duterte as well as public accusations from Philippine police have contributed to the rise of vigilantism. On August 30, a businessman and his wife were gunned down by an unknown assailant, just days after the national police chief accused him of being a high-profile drug trafficker. Such killings have led to accusations that security forces and hired guns working with them are carrying out extrajudicial killings. Maria, the hit woman interviewed by the BBC, says she got involved in contract killing after a corrupt police officer one who was also dealing drugs started commissioning her husband to gun down debtors. She soon became ensnared as a hired gun. Duterte's war on drugs has largely been fought in the poorest parts of the country, and in many cases bystanders are caught in the crossfire. Relatives of slain people cover their faces as they attend a Senate hearing investigating drug-related killings at the Senate headquarters in Pasay city, metro Manila, Philippines August 22, 2016. REUTERS/Romeo Ranoco In one incident in late July, unidentified gunmen killed five people living in a cemetery, including a mother and son celebrating his birthday. The assailants left cardboard signs declaring the dead people to be "drug pushers," a common practice that stoked anger in this instance. "Suddenly there was this sign. Suddenly there was 'shabu' at the crime scene," a person living in the cemetery said, referring to a local term for crystal meth. "Suddenly, they were bad people. But you know what? They were good people!" 'A bigger stick' There is reason to be concerned that Duterte's violent approach to the country's drug problem will only exacerbate and entrench it, rather than root it out. "The lawlessness that has erupted over this is opening up political space for any kind of killing now," Sanho Tree, a drug-policy expert at the Washington, DC-based Institute for Policy Studies, said in an interview with CCTV. Criminals and civilians in the country could be using Duterte's crackdown as cover for settling scores, and competing drug gangs could use the wave of violence to attack their rivals and expand their turf, Tree added. Philippines drug war crime vigilante justice extrajudicial killings "This is a serious problem for sure, but the solution is not to be found by getting a bigger stick, Tree said. "Only by reducing criminal sanctions can you create a space for a public-health approach ... People who are driven underground cannot get help." Duterte has said the country's security forces are not responsible for extrajudicial killings, and both he and police have said they've only killed in self-defense. Some 600,000 people have turned themselves in to authorities, many of whom were likely prompted to do so by the bloodshed. The influx of prisoners has left at least one jail with five times the number of people it can hold. Duterte has referred to his campaign against drugs as "war," which raises the specter of more killing, both by officials and by civilians. Unbowed by criticism at home and abroad, the Philippine president looks unlikely to ratchet down the bloodshed he has helped unleash. In response to UN human-rights experts urging him to halt extrajudicial killings, Duterte threatened to pull his country out of the UN. "Do the lives of 10 of these criminals really matter?" Duterte said in late August. "If I am the one facing all this grief, would 100 lives of these idiots mean anything to me?" NOW WATCH: 9 Amazing Facts About The Philippines More From Business Insider 5 Sep - While President Rodrigo Duterte is not keen on the idea of having Steve Harvey as the host for the Miss Universe 2016 pageant to be held in the Philippines in January next year, the reigning beauty queen Pia Wurtzbach instead showed full support for the American host. As reported on InterAksyon, Wurtzbach recently posted a photo on Instagram of her with Harvey during the Q&A portion of the previous Miss Universe 2015 pageant, and wrote, "[Throwback Thursday] to the night that changed my life. [Steve Harvey], let's do it again and change someone else's life." The post was deemed by many as Wurtzbach's strong support for Harvey, despite the fact that his previous mistake of announcing first runner-up Ariadna Gutierrez of Venezuela as the winner marred Wurtzbach's own chance of having her victory walk. Duterte previously expressed his protest against Harvey, and stated that he will speak to the Miss Universe organisation about changing the host for this year's pageant. (Photo Source: Pia Wurtzbach Instagram) Positivity, usually a word that exudes from my spirit as though it were limitless. I have been through trauma before, through times that are more d... 8 years ago London (AFP) - Poland's foreign minister on Monday called on Britain to protect Poles living in the UK, during an urgent visit to London following a spate of attacks against migrants. Foreign Minister Witold Waszczykowski flew to London along with Home Affairs Minister Mariusz BAaszczak after two Poles were attacked over the weekend, an incident which followed the murder of a fellow Pole in August. Speaking after a joint meeting with British Foreign Minister Boris Johnson and Interior Minister Amber Rudd, Waszczykowski said such attacks were a recent phenomena. "We reminded the representatives of the UK government that Polish migrants integrated very well with British society... they deserve respect," he told journalists at the Polish embassy. "Over decades the big Polish community in the UK has not suffered any problems, but after the referendum campaign some incidents started to happen," Waszczykowski added. The June 23 vote for Britain to leave the European Union saw a spike in the number of attacks against foreigners. The National Police Chiefs' Council said more than than 3,000 incidents were reported to police in England, Wales and Northern Ireland between June 16 and 30 -- an increase of 42 percent from the same period last year. Waszczykowski said immigration had been used as a "weapon" in the campaign against EU membership, calling on British authorities to safeguard the rights of Polish migrants. "They are paying taxes, they deserve to be protected," he said. Poland is the most common foreign country of birth for people living in Britain, according to figures released last month by the Office for National Statistics. An estimated 831,000 Polish-born people lived in Britain in 2015 -- a more than 13-fold increase on the 69,000 residents in 2004, when Poland joined the EU and its nationals gained the right to live and work in Britain. The Polish embassy said it intervened in 15 serious hate crime incidents in recent weeks, including an arson attack on a Polish family's home and physical assault. Story continues During the bilateral meeting, the Polish delegation suggested increasing contact with Poland's police force and introducing educational programmes about integrating migrants in the UK. - 'Surprise' over suspects' release - The ministers' visit to London came a day after two Poles were attacked outside a pub in Harlow, northeast of London, at around 3:30 am (0230 GMT) on Sunday. The assault followed the killing of factory worker Arek Jozwik in the same town on August 27. Speaking alongside Waszczykowski on Monday, Poland's home affairs minister said the government wanted to make sure there was an effective investigation into the killing. "I expressed my surprise that the six youngsters that had been arrested in connection with the incident have been released," said Blaszczak, referring to the meeting with the British ministers. The six teenagers arrested on suspicion of being involved in the murder have been released on bail. Police are investigating whether the murder was a hate crime and have said the motive is still not clear. By Alastair Macdonald and Foo Yun Chee BRUSSELS (Reuters) - The European Commission denies that its shock demand that Apple Inc. hand 13 billion euros in back taxes to Ireland is, in the pungent phrase of Apple CEO Tim Cook, "total political crap". But, say senior EU officials involved, the decision certainly has a strong political element, even if Competition Commissioner Margrethe Vestager says she is confident her case will stand up to Cook's appeal on its legal merits alone. Brussels' political target is less corporate America than eurosceptics at home who threaten to pull the EU apart if it fails to show alienated voters it can act in their interests. "Being political should not be confused with politicised," said a spokeswoman for Commission chief Jean-Claude Juncker. For him, fighting tax avoidance had been a "top priority" since before he took over the EU executive two years ago, she said. "The drive towards fairer taxation is in President Juncker's political guidelines," she said. At the same time, Vestager is an "entirely independent" enforcer of EU competition law, she added. Efforts under way, including in the United States, to clamp down on tax avoidance are political in the sense that all states, with budgets under strain, face pressure from voters to claw back cash from other people, preferably wealthy companies, tax experts and government officials say. For European Union institutions, the struggle is less for money -- Apple's cash will go to Ireland if Vestager wins her case. What Brussels is fighting for is the EU's very survival against eurosceptics like the Brexiteers who persuaded Britons to quit the bloc in June. Those populists, on left and right, from the UK Independence Party to France's National Front or 5-Star in Italy, have scored with voters by accusing the EU and the executive Commission of cosying up to big, global business against the little people. "Apple shows how you fight against populism," a senior EU official familiar with the Commission chief's thinking told Reuters, describing a two-pronged strategy directed by Juncker. Story continues One part of the strategy is a push for new global tax rules, led by EU Commissioner for Economic Affairs Pierre Moscovici, a French Socialist former finance minister. The other part rests on punishing the worst past abusers to deter others. Vestager says the goal is to change corporate culture so that businesses anxious for their reputation stop trying to pay as little tax as possible and choose to pay "the right amount". On Juncker's political goal, he won government backing in Paris and Berlin. And many European media also welcomed the Apple move. Le Monde, leftish voice of establishment France and critic of Juncker's low-tax policies when he was premier of Luxembourg, said he had shown "the zeal of the newly converted". "Europe is changing," it wrote. "Bravo, Monsieur Juncker." SHOWING VOTERS EU CARES "The EUs message is clear," Juncker wrote for a G20 meeting in China this weekend. "All companies must pay their fair share. "This is first and foremost a question of fairness. It has urgent practical implications as well. We cannot let down our schools, hospitals and public services that need this money." The $14.5-billion demand which angered the United States and worried Apple's peers was engineered for shock and awe, the EU official said. Juncker sees Vestager as what the EU president calls his "Rottweiler", he added. Apple and the Irish government say Vestager is rewriting the iPhone maker's quarter-century of history in Ireland. Apple denies that Dublin gave it tax breaks amounting to illegal state aid. What has changed is the politics. The financial crisis has impoverished Western governments just as footloose young tech firms became hugely rich without paying much tax anywhere. U.S. Senate revelations about Apple in 2013 fuelled public anger and, with some irony, prompted the EU to start inquiries. Juncker's own history has also played a part. A conservative prime minister of Luxembourg for 19 years, he helped transform it from industrial rustbowl to a financial hub its bigger neighbours saw as helping businesses deprive them of revenues. Weeks after taking over the Commission in late 2014, he faced calls to resign when deals between Luxembourg and global corporates were splashed in world media as the LuxLeaks affair. He denied involvement but, aides say, the uproar helped galvanise Juncker for a tax crackdown he had already promised. Driving his pledge to run a "political Commission" to reconnect with voters alienated by out-of-touch, technocratic elites in Brussels was a fear that his five-year term was, in his words, the "last chance" to save the Union from break-up. LEGAL UNDERPINNINGS "It's political in the sense that, if the Commission is prioritising the allocation of its resources, then clearly tax evasion and tax avoidance are very high on the political agenda everywhere," said Sophie in 't Veld, deputy leader of the centrist group in the European Parliament. "This is something that citizens are rightly and understandably concerned about." That political approach, Brussels officials stress, does not mean capricious or lacking legal basis. Vestager is clear she must win in court on some untested points of law against the best tax attorneys Silicon Valley and Washington can buy, and against EU member state Ireland. Asked about Cook's comments to an Irish newspaper about the EU's "political" motives, she said: "I dont think the courts will hear any kind of political opinions or feelings or whats in your stomach or whatever. They want the facts of the case." LISTEN, THEN BITE Some EU officials think the anger of Cook and U.S. officials at the historic scale of the tax demand may partly stem from underestimating Vestager's uncompromising character. Tall, courteous and soft-spoken, she is a woman who takes trouble to greet captains of industry by the lift and escort them back to her office, often then serving them coffee herself. It may wrong-foot those used to more confrontational politicians and executives. She is a listener rather than a talker. "There are some people who are very loud ... but ... it is very important to have a very, very, very open ear to those who are not loud," the former economy minister and liberal party leader told Reuters on taking office two years ago. People who work with her say she listens closely to career officials on her staff -- much more than did her Spanish predecessor Joaquin Almunia, a professional economist. One U.S. tech giant to feel a change of approach after 2014 was Google, with whom Almunia worked for years to reach a compromise over concerns about its market dominance. Since last year, Vestager has hit Google with three separate charges. She also put an end to hesitation in Brussels by launching a price fixing case against Russian gas giant Gazprom last year. Most current state aid tax cases, including Apple, were launched by Almunia but competition experts question whether he would have come to Vestager's radical conclusion. Almunia's own predecessor Neelie Kroes, now at another Silicon Valley darling Uber, said this week the Dane had gone too far against Apple. Some observers believe Vestager, a professional politician since her student days, may be tempted to use cases to raise her profile and further greater ambitions. She says not. Predecessors have also taken on Washington, among them Mario Monti, later Italy's prime minister, who blocked a mega-merger between GE and Honeywell in 2001 despite U.S. support for it, and Kroes, who slapped heavy fines on Microsoft in 2008. There may be more to come, Vestager says. Her 800 staff are looking at about 1,000 inquiries where firms may have gained an edge by cutting tax deals with governments seeking investment. A pastor's daughter, Vestager summed up her political credo in the 2014 interview with Reuters: "I was brought up with a very strong value," she said. "That you should always protect the few and the small against those who want to misuse their muscle." (Writing by Alastair Macdonald; Editing by Jon Boyle) Szigetvar (Hungary) (AFP) - The recent discovery of the tomb of Suleiman the Magnificent, considered the greatest Ottoman ruler, has raised hopes of a tourism boom in one of Hungary's most impoverished areas. From hammam baths and crumbling minarets to battle site memorials and ruins of mosques, traces of the country's 150-year-long stretch (1541-1699) in the Ottoman Empire are not hard to find in Hungary. But many Hungarians see them as relics of a dark period during which the country's flourishing renaissance era was extinguished. As a result, few of the Ottoman monuments have so far been promoted by the Hungarian authorities. Suleiman's case could change that, however. Experts confirmed in July that excavations begun two years ago in the struggling town of Szigetvar, close to the Croatian border, had revealed the tomb of the 16th-century ruler. Suleiman died aged 71 on September 7, 1566, during an epic battle with the mainly Croatian defenders of Szigetvar castle that depleted his forces hoping to quickly advance on Vienna, the capital of the Habsburg Empire. On Wednesday, senior government officials from Hungary, Croatia and Turkey will join thousands of visitors to Szigetvar to commemorate the 450th anniversary of the siege. "This town is dying, young people are leaving or have already left for Germany or London, but Suleiman can bring in jobs, income, and tourists," said Norbert Pap, head of the team of researchers whose excavations uncovered the tomb. "Szigetvar may be on the periphery now, but 450 years ago it was on the main street of European history," Pap, a geographer and historian at nearby Pecs university, told AFP. - Wiped from the map - Born in 1494, Suleiman, whose reign from 1520 to 1566 was the longest of any sultan, greatly expanded the Ottoman Empire, annexing large swathes of the Balkans, the Middle East and northern Africa. Taken ill before his final battle, Suleiman was found dead in his imperial camp, located an hour's walk east of the castle according to contemporary accounts. Story continues His body, later removed to Istanbul, was drained of its internal organs and heart, which were buried and later built over by a tomb. While his body was laid to rest in Istanbul, his heart and other internal organs were buried at the site of his death and later covered by a tomb. Around the tomb the town of Turbek grew, the only settlement that the Ottomans built from scratch during their reign in Hungary. At the end of the 17th century, however, both the town and the tomb were wiped off the map by the Habsburgs. Until 2012 that is, when Pap secured funding from the Turkish government to use technology to try find them. A few days before Christmas 2014 a geophysics survey of a site nestled beneath vineyards and orchards four kilometres to the east of Szigetvar castle returned results that set Pap's pulse racing. "It showed the presence of buildings, just under the grass, matching positions on the medieval maps of Turbek, and all of them pointing very precisely toward Mecca," he said. Excavations gradually uncovered the remains of Turbek: the walls of a mosque, a tomb, dervish monastery cloisters, as well as a wealth of silver coins and fragments of clothing, pottery, glass and metal. The evidence became overwhelming, and by July this year experts in Turkey were also convinced. "Finally we could say for certain that we had found Suleiman's tomb," said Pap. - 'National icon' - Sleepy Szigetvar with a population of 10,000 has few hotels, but Pap is convinced of the town's long-term potential for tourism given appropriate investment. The only other Ottoman sultan to die outside the Empire's centres of Istanbul and Bursa -- Sultan Murad, killed in the 1389 battle of Kosovo Polje -- draws several thousands of tourists annually to his tomb in modern-day Kosovo. "Suleiman is a national cultural icon in Turkey, and as Szigetvar is easier to get to from both western Europe and Turkey than Kosovo, there is a very good chance that Turkish tourists will come visit the tomb," said Pap. The town's mayor Peter Vass told AFP that he hopes the number of visitors to Szigetvar will double from the current 25,000 per year. The municipality has already earmarked a site for the construction of higher-end hotels close to the castle. As Pap's team continues to dig for the rest of Turbek including a military barracks and the town's walls as well as Suleiman's heart -- buried in a golden urn according to legend -- five Turkish descendants of Ottoman princesses will give DNA samples next week in Szigetvar for comparison with samples from the tomb area. "Hungary and Turkey have much in common, a shared cultural heritage," Turkey's ambassador in Budapest Sakir Fakili told AFP. "Many Turks are wealthy, and can afford to travel, so why not to Szigetvar?" President Obama is throwing his own music festival at the White House because hes the coolest President ever President Obama is throwing his own music festival at the White House because hes the coolest President ever After giving keynote speeches at SXSW, the Obamas clearly caught the music festival obsession. As if we didnt have enough reasons to have a crush on the president, according to Vulture, the POTUS has announced that hes going to host a one-day festival at the White House on October 3rd. The festival will be called South by South Lawn, which is the sort of dad joke weve come to expect from President Obama. presidentobama The official announcement from the White House gives us the full scoop, although no acts are confirmed yet (but we have some educated guesses on who made the presidents wish list). Still, this is one festival that were totally down to buy a ticket for before we know whos performing. We definitely trust the POTUS to throw an unforgettable event. The announcement states, The White House will convene creators, innovators, and organizers from across the country for an evening of music, film, and great ideas. It is a call to arms for every American to roll up their sleeves and make a positive mark on our country and a celebration of the great work so many of us have already accomplished. presidentobama2 This isnt the first time the president has entered into the realm of millennials and succeeded where many of his contemporaries fail. We love his hilarious Buzzfeed video cameos, his letter on feminism, and he and Joe Bidens adorable friendship bracelets. We just have to face it. President Barack Obama is cool. South by South Lawn is currently accepting nominations for people who you feel should attend the festival. You can nominate somebody in your community who has made a difference big or small until September 10th at 5 PM by visiting the White House website and filling out a brief form. Were DEFINITELY not going to nominate ourselves presidentobama3 well, fine, not only ourselves. The post President Obama is throwing his own music festival at the White House because hes the coolest President ever appeared first on HelloGiggles. Sept 5 (Reuters) - The following are the top stories on the business pages of British newspapers. Reuters has not verified these stories and does not vouch for their accuracy. The Times Theresa May has been urged to call in the security services to vet a 5bn business deal that could see China take control of one of the world's largest computer hosting networks, headquartered in Britain. http://bit.ly/2c0JScp John Malone, the billionaire head of Liberty Media Corp , faces a fight for control of Formula One after it emerged that two more potential bidders had expressed an interest in owning the motorsport business. http://bit.ly/2c0KheX The Guardian Sports Direct International plc is braced for a fierce investor revolt at the company's annual shareholder meeting this week as another influential City investor declared it would vote against the reappointment of chairman Keith Hellawell. http://bit.ly/2c0LDq3 Theresa May is to bring forward proposals to tackle corporate behaviour such as excessive executive pay and tax avoidance before Christmas, as she used the G20 summit to warn that some people feel left behind by globalisation. http://bit.ly/2c0MarU The Telegraph Britain is easily capable of thriving outside the European Union, one of the world's leading economists insisted in an interview with The Daily Telegraph. http://bit.ly/2c0M5V3 The owner of the Brands Hatch circuit in Kent has revealed that he is planning a bid for Silverstone, the home of Formula One's British Grand Prix. http://bit.ly/2c0MK9j Sky News One of the media industry's top executives Chase Carey will be named as the new boss of Formula One motor racing early this week as a prelude to the sport's first change of ownership for more than a decade. http://bit.ly/2cAhCm2 The Alternative for Germany party, which has campaigned hard against Chancellor Angela Merkel's policies on refugees has beaten her party in a state election in Germany, exit polls suggest. http://bit.ly/2cAhTW3 Story continues The Independent Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson has invited Polish people to come to Britain as immigrants, dismissing claims that the UK is lurching towards "xenophobia". http://ind.pn/2cAinvp (Compiled by Abinaya Vijayaraghavan in Bengaluru; Editing by Peter Cooney) Sept 4 (Reuters) - The following are the top stories in the Financial Times. Reuters has not verified these stories and does not vouch for their accuracy. Headlines Liberty Media closes in on F1 stake http://on.ft.com/2c0Ijv7 Priory owner to sell hospitals after competition concerns http://on.ft.com/2czVto2 Sony makes move on mobile gaming http://on.ft.com/2c0KfU8 Overview Liberty Media Corp is closing in on a deal to take a stake in racing car series Formula One that would value the company at between $8 billion to $9 billion. Acadia Healthcare Company Inc is looking to raise up to 300 million pounds from first bids for about 19 hospitals after competition concerns on its purchase of Priory Group. Sony Corp is looking to expand aggressively into mobile gaming after the success of its Pokemon Go augmented game. (Compiled by Abinaya Vijayaraghavan in Bengaluru; Editing by Bill Trott) In a small cell in Reading, England, writer and 19th century cultural icon Oscar Wilde spent two years in prison for gross indecency with another man. Some 119 years later, artists, musicians and actors from around the world will return to the prison to pay homage to the man, his work, and his final years of solitude. Reading Gaol will host the exhibition from September 4 through October 30. During his imprisonment, Wilde was kept in solitary confinement for 23 hours a day. The experience was devastating to his physical and mental health, and he died three years after his release, at the age of 46. In 1895, Oscar Wilde was one of the great celebrities of his time, James Lingwood, co-director of exhibition, told Agence-France Presse. He had plays on in the West End, he lived a glittering social life. Three months later he found himself in Reading Gaol. The prison regime here at the time was absolutely brutal, it broke Wilde. The central focus of the exhibition is a series of paintings, sculptures and photographs installed throughout the prison created by such artists as photographer Nan Goldin and Chinese artist Ai WeiWei. All of the art is intended to deal with the theme of loneliness, allowing visitors to experience what life might have been like for the writer, imprisoned for his forbidden love of another man. Musician and artist Patti Smith, along with actor Ralph Fiennes and Irish writer Colm Toibin are among the participants who will read Wildes 55,000-word letter to his lover Lord Alfred Douglas, in a performance each Sunday. Interior of Reading Gaol Prison The prison was permanently closed in 2013, so Wildes cell has been recreated to be as it would have been when he was an inmate, complete with the books that he requested. Wilde penned what was considered one of his last great works, a poem called the Ballad of Reading Gaol, while fulfilling his sentence. Expressing the despair of his own situation, an excerpt reads: Right in we went, with soul intent On Death and Dread and Doom: The hangman, with his little bag, Went shuffling through the gloom: And each man trembled as he crept Into his numbered tomb. Story continues Jess McHugh is a digital reporter for Travel + Leisure. You can find her on Twitter at @MchughJess. Related Articles By Chine Labbe PARIS (Reuters) - France's state prosecutor said on Monday that presidential hopeful Nicholas Sarkozy should stand trial over funding irregularities in his failed 2012 re-election bid, potentially disrupting his new campaign. Sarkozy is accused of "knowingly underestimating" elements of his campaign financing, according to a judicial source. A divisive centre-right politician who lost to the now deeply unpopular Socialist Francois Hollande in 2012, he declared two weeks ago that he would stand again for the presidency in April's vote. The prosecutor's office recommended he stand trial with 13 others in the so-called Bygmalion Affair, involving spending overruns and allegedly illegal financing, the source said. Sarkozy did not immediately respond in person but his lawyer, Thierry Herzog, issued a statement accusing the state prosecutor, which answers to the justice ministry, of a "shoddy political manoeuvre". The timing is tricky for Sarkozy in the run-up to a candidacy contest, pitting himself against several conservative rivals for the presidential ticket of the Les Republicains party and its allies on the political centre-right. By the time that primary contest takes place in late November, the independent magistrate who placed Sarkozy under formal investigation last February is expected to have announced if he will order a trial. Such magistrates have the last word in France on whether to send a case to trial. More often than not, their decisions go the same way as the recommendation of the public prosecutor. Sarkozy's lawyer accused the public prosecution of excessive haste for political reasons, without elaborating. "The Paris prosecution service did not even take the time needed to examine written elements submitted by Nicolas Sarkozy's legal advisers in favor of acquittal," he said in a statement. "This is another shoddy political manoeuvre." The lawyer noted that Sarkozy had already personally paid a financial penalty of 363,615 euros ($405,540) for breaching campaign spending ceilings in 2012. Funding irregularities carry a penalty of up to one year in prison and a fine of 3,750 euros. He is also being investigated separately on suspicion of using his influence to obtain information from a state attorney. Legal experts say a trial would almost certainly not take place until after the 2017 election, meaning nothing would legally prevent Sarkozy from seeking office. The former president is trying to win back votes from the far-right National Front, whose rising popularity mirrors that of populist politicians in other countries who have appealed to voter worries over globalisation and immigration. While an economic crisis in France and Europe dominated Sarkozy's first term, a series of deadly Islamist attacks that have killed hundreds of people in France over the past 18 months has put the focus on security in the 2017 campaign. While Sarkozy lagged for months in opinion polls behind Alain Juppe, a more centrist former prime minister who is his main rival for the November primaries, his popularity has been improving among right-wing voters. (Writing by Brian Love; Editing by Richard Lough and Louise Ireland) By James Macharia JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - Members of South Africa's ANC chanted slogans outside its headquarters on Monday demanding President Jacob Zuma step down in a rare public show of anger in the ruling party after its worst election performance since the end of apartheid in 1994. The demonstrators argue that Zuma, whose rule has been tainted by scandal, is responsible for the African National Congress (ANC) losing control of three major urban centres in local elections last month by mismanagement of the economy that is now teetering on the edge of recession. Though the protesters numbered fewer than 100, the demonstration kept political tension high in Africa's most industrialised country, where markets have been rocked by a police investigation into Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan. Political analysts say Gordhan is the target of an ANC faction allied to Zuma. The president's office has denied claims Zuma was warring with Gordhan. Camouflage-clad veterans of the ANC's now-disbanded Umkhonto we Sizwe (MK) military wing, its Youth League and police with armoured vehicles ringed the party's Luthuli House building in downtown Johannesburg, causing a stand-off with the protesters. Some of the protesters carried placards, with one emblazoned: "Resign with immediate effect: ANC NEC and Jacob Zuma", referring to the party's National Executive Committee of Zuma and five other party leaders. A placard by rival Zuma supporters read: "Don't try this at Luthuli House". Critics of Zuma say he is also badly compromised by his relationship with the Guptas, a family of wealthy Indian businessmen with interests ranging from media and meining, who the opposition says exerts undue political influence over the president. Outnumbered on the streets, the protesters gave a list of their grievances to Secretary-General Gwede Mantashe. "There was a big hullabaloo in the media that there was going to be a big movement to occupy Luthuli House. There is not such a movement. It's a grouping - small," Mantashe said. Although the ANC won the most votes overall in the Aug. 3 local polls, its reputation was badly bruised by its loss of support mainly in major cities. Analysts said more internal squabbles were likely following the election losses, but would only bring change if they were led by senior party figures. "An effective way would be to have big heavyweights in the ANC who say that we want the leadership to step down and we are organising a march," said Prince Mashele, head of the Centre for Politics and Research, a Pretoria-based think-tank. (Editing by Ed Cropley and Richard Balmnforth) Rapist Brock Turner may have received a light sentence for sexually assaulting an unconscious woman while attending Stanford University, however, protestors are making it difficult for the former decorated swimmer to live a peaceful life outside of prison. On Friday, (Sept. 2) after Turner served half of his six-month prison sentence, armed demonstrators waited outside of his Ohio home holding signs that were less than welcoming. Open carry protesters at the house of Brock Turner in Sugarcreek Township. @WCPO pic.twitter.com/QpsqOQCPC2 Jay Warren (@JayWarrenWCPO) September 2, 2016 While it should be noted many of the protestors were men, one held a sign that read Castrate rapists while another sign read If I rape Brock will I only do 3 months? #BrockTurner may have gotten a light sentence but the neighbors not making it easy for him to live outside of jail pic.twitter.com/k4DXAF7AY2 coke (@wildd_child) September 3, 2016 The maximum penalty for Turners crime carried a 14 year sentence behind bars, although prosecutors asked for six. However, Judge Aaron Persky deemed a long prison stint too harsh and sentenced him to six months in prison. Turner was released after just serving three. Turners laughable prison sentence set off a wave of similar sentences for other convicted rapists. Former University of Colorado student Austin James Wilkerson was sentenced to two years in jail and probation for sexually assaulting a drunk classmate. Judge Patrick Butler handed down the conviction to Wilkerson who under work release will be able to leave prison for work and school. David Becker, 18, of Massachusetts was also given two years probation for sexually assaulting two fellow high school classmates at a house party. By Bernardo Vizcaino REUTERS - The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has proposed working with the government to introduce interest-free banking to tackle financial exclusion for religious reasons, potentially opening Islamic finance to the largest Muslim minority population in the world. India's central bank made the proposal in its annual report last week, as departing RBI governor Raghuram Rajan hands over the reins to close ally Urjit Patel. The proposal marks a shift in stance by the RBI, which has previously said Islamic finance could be offered through non-bank channels such as investment funds or cooperatives. That has meant an estimated 180 million Muslims in India, the country's second-largest religious group, have been unable to access Islamic banking because of laws that require banking to be based on interest, which is forbidden in Islam. The RBI said it would explore introducing interest-free banking products in consultation with the government, a key detail as this opens the prospects of supportive legislation. "This is definitely a significant development as it is the first time that the RBI has concretely mentioned that it will now work with the government to introduce Islamic banking," said Saif Ahmed, managing partner at Bangaluru-based Infinity Consultants, which specialises in Islamic finance. "For Islamic banks to function in India, separate parallel legislation or an amendment needs to be passed by Parliament and that can only happen with the active support of the incumbent government." In 2015, a central bank committee recommended opening a specialised interest-free window to offer cost-plus financing, deferred payment and deferred delivery contracts, a reference to common sharia-compliant contracts such as murabaha and istisna. Development of Islamic finance has been slow, however, partly because of strong opposition from bureaucrats and politicians from the ruling Hindu-nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party. This has long hindered development, although there are signs that India is warming up to Islamic finance. Story continues The government's external lending agency, Exim Bank, said in April it would extend a $100 million credit line to the private sector arm of the Islamic Development Bank. The Exim Bank's credit line would support foreign buyers of Indian goods and services, with the Saudi-based Islamic Corporation for the Development of the Private Sector acting as the intermediary. (Reporting by Bernardo Vizcaino; Editing by Eric Meijer) "Real heroes don't wear Spandex," Mel Gibson told Venice Sunday as he unveiled his new World War II drama "Hacksaw Ridge", starring Andrew Garfield of "Spiderman" fame. The film tells the true story of Desmond Doss (played by Garfield), who enlists and is determined to save lives on the front line as a medic, but refuses to carry a gun on moral grounds. The flick's title comes from a battleground in Japan at the top of a towering cliff. US soldiers who climb its sheer face are met with bunkers and corpses, as well as Japanese bullets and flame-throwers. Doss, despite being a conscientious objector, was awarded the Medal of Honor by President Harry S. Truman for single-handedly saving the lives of over 75 of his comrades during the brutal Battle of Okinawa. While the first hour of the movie is essentially a love story between Doss and his future wife Dorothy (Teresa Palmer), the rest sees the bible-clutching medic first reviled then gradually accepted by the rest of his squadron. "The man who refuses to touch a weapon and wants to do something much higher than something as venal as killing in a war is a very high calling," Gibson said, adding that he did believe "just wars" exist. He said that with the violent but essentially uplifting film he hoped to "pay homage to and honour the warrier". "It's a sad fact that veterans of wars harm themselves afterwards. In Vietnam so many people were killed in the conflict but afterwards over three times as many took their own lives." His Academy Award-winning "Braveheart" (1995) was famed for its bloody battle scenes, but here Gibson has taken the blowing off of legs and slicing through of guts to an operatic level. "The important thing with battle and depicting it on screen is to give the impression of chaos and confusion but to be absolutely clear what you want the audience to see," he said. Story continues - 'Like a good Dad' - "It's all about screen direction and knowing where the players are, you almost have to approach it as a sporting event. If you then put characters into that situation that you have actually come to care for it takes it up a level." A bearded Gibson, whose first directoral offering in 10 years is in competition for the Golden Lion, said he had felt like "a traffic cop" director, while Garfield said he was more like a mother. "Mel's really in the scene with you, he can't help it. He's always there with every single actor in every single moment. He's like a good dad or a good mum, with that kind of wonderful nurturing instinct," he joked. Garfield, who shot to fame with the movie "The Amazing Spider-Man" (2012) before co-producing and starring in the 2014 thriller "99 Homes", said Doss was much more inspiring than the web-weaving hero, whose Spandex costumes prompted Gibson's jibe. "The fact that this man, who is built as skinnily as I am, dragged men across the most rugged terrain under gun fire, sniper fire, the possibility of motors and shells, and then lowered them down a 75-foot escarpment... that's like when you hear about mothers who lift trucks off babies," said Garfield. "He had a knowing in his heart and core that he wasn't supposed to take a man's life, but wanted to serve something greater than himself, and found his personal genius path to do that," he said. He added: "It's a pretty wild time we're in societally speaking. There's a lot of violent uprising and separation and warring ideologies that are plaguing our beautiful planet right now. "I think Desmond Doss is a symbol who embodies the idea of live and let live no matter what your value system is. You can't really argue with that, I think we could all learn a thing or two from Desmond." Flowers and candle tributes are placed at the Restaurant Le Carillon in Paris in 2015, after terror attacks that killed 130 people and wounded hundreds of others. (Photo: Frank Augstein/AP) The coordinated bombings and shootings that left 130 dead in Paris last November were part of what ISIS had intended to be a much larger terror attack, CNN reported Monday. Slideshow: Attacks in Paris >>> According to newly obtained documents on the Paris investigation, ISIS leaders in Syria had reportedly planned for the November strikes to hit other locations throughout France as well as the Netherlands and remain in contact with operatives throughout Europe today. ISIS is increasing its international attack planning, said CNN terrorism analyst Paul Cruickshank. Its increasingly sophisticated in the way it does this. Its set up an intricate, logistical support system for these terrorists to launch these terrorist attacks. Slideshow: Deadly raid in Saint-Denis on Paris attack suspects >>> Among the revelations gleaned from the 90,000 pages of investigative documents obtained by CNN are insight into the terrorist organizations use of encrypted communication tools, such as WhatsApp, Viber, and Telegram; and strategies for sneaking across borders, such as hiding in train bathrooms. The documents also reveal the lengths ISIS handlers go to keep their operations a secret, requiring the use of pseudonyms and providing operatives with only enough money and information needed to complete one phase of the mission at a time. Slideshow: Response around the world to Paris attacks >>> In addition to new details about the capture and interrogations of Adel Haddadi and Muhammad Usman the two men investigators believe planned to travel to Paris as part of the team of ISIS operatives that carried out the November attacks the documents also identify a previously unnamed third suspected terrorist as Abid Tabaouni. Slideshow: Front page coverage of the Paris terror attacks >>> According to CNN, Tabaouni managed to evade authorities for months after the Paris attack until he was ultimately arrested in July. CNN also reported Monday that counterterrorism officials continue to discover the existence of more ISIS operatives throughout Europe, including the United Kingdom, suggesting an increased effort to coordinate future attacks on the continent. Rome (AFP) - The Italian coastguard on Monday said rescuers had recovered the bodies of 15 migrants in search and rescue operations which saved nearly 2,700 people making the perilous Mediterranean crossing to Europe. In one of the dramatic operations panicked migrants began throwing themselves into the water in a desperate bid to reach a vessel operated by Malta-based humanitarian group MOAS. Some members of the crew also jumped into the sea in an effort to save the migrants, with 134 rescued, including six children, and seven dead recovered by MOAS. In total "more than 2,700 people were rescued... Fifteen bodies were recovered in the operations," the coast guard said in a statement. Earlier in the day the Italian navy announced it had pulled the bodies of seven migrants from the sea, with another boat recovering an eighth corpse. Two patrol boats also "recovered nearly 500 people during six rescue operations, including one involving an inflatable boat which was only just about floating, and from which some migrants had fallen into the sea," the navy said in a statement A huge wave of migrants arrived in Italy at the end of August, when some 14,000 people were rescued in the space of five days. According to UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) figures 117,590 migrants arrived in Italy between the start of 2016 and September 1, around the same level as last year. Italy is sheltering growing numbers of would-be refugees as its neighbours to the north move to tighten their borders and make it harder for migrants to travel to their preferred destinations in northern Europe. According to interior ministry figures this month, Italy now has 148,000 asylum seekers in reception centres, compared with 103,000 in 2015 and 66,000 in 2014. LONDON (Reuters) - Babies given antibiotics in the first two years of life are more likely to develop allergies as adults, according to an extensive analysis of past clinical studies involving nearly 400,000 people. The findings, to be presented on Tuesday at the European Respiratory Society annual meeting in London, point to a clear association with the risk of eczema or hay fever later in life. Some previous research has suggested a link between early antibiotic use and allergies, but the results have been inconsistent. Lead researcher Fariba Ahmadizar of Utrecht University said antibiotics most likely disrupted the body's immune system by impacting microbes in the gut, which can negatively affect immune responses. Scientists have long puzzled over soaring allergy rates in developed countries, with many speculating that changing exposure to germs in childhood may be to blame, although the precise mechanism for this remains unclear. The latest research involved trawling back through 22 studies conducted between 1966 and 2015. After pooling the results, Ahmadizar and colleagues found an increased risk of eczema due to early life use of antibiotics of 15 to 41 percent, while hay fever risk increased by 14 to 56 percent. The association with allergies was stronger if patients received more than one course of antibiotics early in life. Adam Finn, a professor of paediatrics at the University of Bristol, who was not involved in the research, said the findings added weight to evidence of long-term downside from antibiotic use. Medics are already worried about the emergence of antibiotic resistance due to drug over-use. Still, Finn and other experts said doctors needed to balance out the risks and benefits, since antibiotics remain essential weapons in fighting bacterial infections, saving millions of lives. (Reporting by Ben Hirschler; editing by Susan Thomas) Rights groups have raised concerns over the execution Saturday of Mir Quasem Ali, a prominent member and financier of Bangladeshs Jamaat-e-Islami party. Ali was executed for war crimes committed during the countrys 1971 Liberation war against Pakistan, after being convicted in 2014. There are concerns over systemic flaws [in trials of Ali and other opposition leaders], Meenakshi Ganguly, South Asia Director, for Human Rights Watch, told TIME. The trials, she said, were crucial to ensure accountability for the serious abuses that occurred ahead of Bangladeshs independence and needed to be up to international standards. Last March, Human Rights Watch described the verdict against Ali as based on a flawed trial with grave doubts about the evidence presented by the prosecution. Critics have labeled the ongoing tribunal as politically motivated and a means for Bangladeshs ruling party, the Awami League, to consolidate power by eliminating opposition party leaders. The Guardian reports that thousands of extra police officers and border guards have been deployed in Dhaka after the hanging in case of a violent backlash after Alis death. The execution took place after a series of terrorist attacks and military crackdown on extremism that has led to secret detentions and at least 11,000 arbitrary arrests by security forces since June. What is particularly concerning is that his [Quasem Alis] son was detained and is yet to be charged or released. He remains effectively disappeared, says Ganguly. Bangladesh insists it is committed to protecting human rights and yet has been unable to address the alarming practice of torture, enforced disappearances and extrajudicial killings. Johannesburg (AFP) - Activists from rival factions of South Africa's ruling ANC faced off in Johannesburg on Monday, highlighting deep divisions in the party as pressure grows on President Jacob Zuma. The ANC, which led the struggle to end apartheid, has been rocked by poor results in last month's local election largely blamed on Zuma's leadership and the country's mounting economic woes. Police patrolled outside the ANC's Luthuli House headquarters in central Johannesburg after some party activists vowed to occupy the building in protest at how the party and the government are being run. As about 40 anti-Zuma protesters gathered nearby, other ANC members loyal to the president pledged to defend the building. Among those backing Zuma were scores of camouflage-wearing members of the Umkhonto we Sizwe (MK) veterans association, the former armed wing of the ANC. Gwede Mantashe, the ANC's influential secretary general, addressed the crowd briefly and received a petition from the anti-Zuma group. He urged supporters not to resort to violence and to allow the protests "to fizzle out". "Don't try to beat them up... don't give them publicity," he said. "There should be no bloodshed. You have defended the organisation, you have defended Luthuli House. I am appealing to you, comrades." The march by the party's own members was a rare protest action against the leadership, but criticism of Zuma has been growing over the last year. "We lost (control of some cities in the local elections) because of the corruption of Jacob Zuma," Mary Louw, one frustrated ANC member, told AFP. "We need a leadership who doesn't promote corruption." - 'Spreading rumours' - Zuma, 74, who was jailed on Robben Island with Nelson Mandela during apartheid, retains strong loyalty within the party especially in rural areas, but he could step down before the next presidential election in 2019. Story continues "I'm here to defend my president. Who's got the proof that Zuma is corrupt? He's my president until the end of his term," Cecilia Lindiwe Ximba, a Zuma loyalist, told AFP. "They have the right to demonstrate, but they only spread rumours. They must wait until he finishes his term." An unemployment rate of 27 percent and GDP growth at zero percent this year have added to Zuma's troubles, as frustration builds among poor black communities seeing few improvements since white-minority rule fell in 1994. In August's municipal elections, the ANC lost control of Johannesburg, the country's largest city and its economic centre, as well as the administrative capital Pretoria. The opposition Democratic Alliance (DA) now runs four major cities, including tourism hub and legislative capital Cape Town. An undated photo of a wild giant panda. [Photo provided by WWF China/chinadaily.com.cn] The giant panda has been downgraded from "Endangered" to "Vulnerable" on the global list of endangered species, reported World Wildlife Fund (WWF) on its website Sunday. The giant panda's population grew by 17 percent in the decade leading up to 2014, announced the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). A census found 1,864 pandas in the wild in China in 2014. The number of panda reserves in China has jumped to 67 from 13 in 1992. Nearly two-thirds of all wild pandas live in these reserves, according to the WWF. "The recovery of the panda shows that when science, political will and engagement of local communities come together, we can save wildlife and also improve biodiversity," said Marco Lambertini, WWF Director General. Despite the improved status, the giant panda in the wild still faces great challenges, with many of their habitats under increasing threat from human activities such as the construction of infrastructure, said Lo Sze-ping, director general of WWF in China. The panda logo of WWF was designed by the organization's founding chairman Sir Peter Scott in 1961. WWF became the first international organization to work in China 20 years later. Moscow (AFP) - Russia on Monday launched large-scale military drills on Ukraine's eastern border and around the Crimean peninsula, in the latest exercises set to rattle Kiev and the West. The defence ministry said 12,500 servicemen are taking part in the drills across its southern military region, which encompasses Russia's volatile North Caucasus and the annexed Crimea region. The Russian navy in the Black Sea and Caspian Sea are taking part in the exercises, the ministry said, adding that planes and weaponry are also being used in the exercises. The exercises, which run until Saturday, will test the army's ability to "plan, prepare and carry out military actions," the ministry said in a statement. Russia last month conducted a large-scale snap drill, putting its troops on full combat readiness in military districts bordering Ukraine and the Baltic States. Tensions between Russia and Ukraine spiked over the summer after Moscow accused Kiev of attempting armed incursions into Crimea. Russia has recently beefed up its military might in Crimea -- delivering its most advanced air defence system, the S-400, to the peninsula last month. Ukraine and its Western allies have been locked in a bitter confrontation with Russia since Moscow seized the strategic region from Kiev in March 2014. Kiev and its Western allies have accused Moscow of pouring troops and weapons across Ukraine's porous eastern border to fuel a separatist conflict that has cost almost 10,000 lives since April 2014. US-led military alliance NATO has vowed to boost troop levels in eastern Europe in response to fears in Poland and the Baltics over Russian expansionism. Moscow has slammed the decision, accusing NATO of working to counter a "non-existent threat." MOSCOW (Reuters) - There is no basis for dramatic statements after Russia's Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry failed to strike a deal on Syria, Interfax news agency quoted a source at the Russian foreign ministry as saying on Monday. "The process will continue," Interfax cited the source as saying. "There are no reasons for such dramatic statements as those being made by some (U.S.) State Department sources, that nothing has been achieved." The two met on the sidelines of the G20 summit in the eastern Chinese city of Hangzhou. The meeting ended without a deal on Syria and differences remain, a senior State Department Official said earlier. [nB9N1BE03H] (Reporting by Polina Devitt; editing by Lidia Kelly and Andrew Osborn) Hangzhou (China) (AFP) - The world's two biggest oil producers Saudi Arabia and Russia said Monday they had agreed to "act together" to try to stabilise oil prices, but failed to make headway on a production freeze. The two nations "noted the particular importance of constructive dialogue and close cooperation between the largest oil-producing countries." This should have "the goal of supporting the stability of the oil market and ensuring a stable level of investment in the long term," the energy ministers from both countries said. Their comments came in a joint statement after a meeting at the G20 summit in China. "To this end the ministers agreed to act together or in cooperation with other oil producers," the statement said, adding they had agreed to set up a "joint monitoring group" to offer recommendations aimed at preventing price fluctuations. Russia's Energy Minister Alexander Novak described the announcement as marking a "new era" in cooperation between Russia and Saudi Arabia and insisted it would have a "critical significance" for oil markets, news agency Interfax reported. But there were no details on any agreement to freeze oil output, just weeks before Moscow and OPEC meet in Algeria to discuss the crisis. The globe's major oil producers have been unable to strike a deal on freezing output, due mainly to a dispute between fierce regional rivals Saudi Arabia and Iran over Tehran's desire to raise production levels after the lifting of sanctions. Novak said Moscow and Riyadh were discussing "concrete parameters" to halt price fluctuations but repeated that Iran should be allowed to return its output to pre-sanction levels. But Saudi Energy Minister Khaled al-Falih told Al-Arabiya television channel there was "currently no need to freeze production" after meeting Novak. "A freeze is one of the preferred options but it is not needed for the moment," he said. Story continues Russian President Vladimir Putin met Saudi Deputy Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman on the sidelines of the G20 on Sunday and said they would work to address a global glut and overproduction that has hammered prices for the past two years. In an interview ahead of the meeting Putin -- whose economy slumped into recession on the back of oil price falls -- said that a freeze was "the right decision" and called for "compromise". The oil market has been plagued by a stubborn supply glut that saw prices plunge to near 13-year lows below $30 at the start of 2016. While it has recovered recently, it is still well off highs above $100 seen in mid-2014. MOSCOW (Reuters) - The Russian Defence Ministry said on Monday a long-planned major military exercise involving annexed Crimea and Russia's Black Sea and Caspian fleets had got underway, and that 12,500 troops would take part. The exercise -- called Caucasus 2016 -- follows a period of heightened tension between Russia and Ukraine after Moscow accused Kiev of sending saboteurs into the peninsula to carry out a series of bombings. Kiev has flatly denied that. Russia conducted a series of nationwide spot combat readiness checks in the run-up to the exercise and practiced swiftly moving military hardware and troops to Crimea as part of a logistics exercise last month. The Defence Ministry described Caucasus 2016, which it said would run until Sept. 10, as the last major military training exercise of the year. It said the war games, which are being held across Russia's entire southern military district, would test commanders' ability to plan, prepare and conduct military action and to coordinate different types of troops. An unspecified number of aircraft would take part, along with Russia's Black Sea and Caspian Fleets, armored units and infantry and paratroopers, it said. (Reporting by Andrew Osborn; Editing by Christian Lowe) Moscow (AFP) - Russian investigators on Monday named senior associates of billionaire Viktor Vekselberg as suspects in a bribery probe after masked officers raided offices of his Renova conglomerate. The powerful Investigative Committee said in a statement it had detained two men as suspects in a probe dating back several years into corruption involving regional power generation. It named them as the chief managing director of Renova group Yevgeny Olkhovik and Boris Vainzikher, currently CEO of T Plus Group, which is part of Renova. FSB security service officers in black balaclavas raided the offices of Renova and T Plus Group on Monday, Russian news agencies reported. Tycoon Vekselberg is listed by the Russian edition of Forbes as the country's sixth richest person with a fortune of $11.3 billion. Investigators also said they were locating another suspect Mikhail Slobodin, the head of Russia's division of VimpelCom telecoms group -- controlled by Russian billionaire Mikhail Fridman. Slobodin told Vedomosti business daily that he is in France, saying he was ready to answer any questions. Contacted by AFP, VimpelCom declined to comment. The suspects are alleged to have bribed top officials in the remote Komi region for a total of more than 800 million rubles ($12.28 million at the current exchange rate) between 2007 and 2014 to get better conditions for doing business. The case concerns a now-defunct energy company KES. The Investigative Committe says T Plus, which owns power plants, became its legal successor after reorganisation. In August, Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered ministers and the head of the FSB security service Alexander Bortnikov to investigate problems with power generation in Komi, saying that "swindling and slackness must be brought to a stop." The social media masses are up in arms following the arrest of a popular Russian blogger. His charge? Playing Pokemon Go inside a church in the city of Yekaterinburg. This certainly makes your parents seem nicer for making you wear a tie to church as a kid. Pokemon Go has asked us to visit some terrible places in the past, but none have ever gotten us in this much trouble. Ruslan Sokolovsky finds himself in hot water following the posting of a video of himself trying to catch the digital mythical creatures inside a historic cathedral. Authorities say he will be detained for two months for inciting hatred and insulting religious feelings pending further investigation that could lead to up to five years in prison. But the people are not having it; hell no, they wont Pokemon Go, you could say. The hashtag #FreeSokolovsky # in Russian, but you already knew that is making its way around Twitter, Facebook, and Russias largest social network, Vkontakte, in an attempt to bring awareness to Sokolovskys harsh charges. The video in question currently sitting at nearly one million views on YouTube shows that Sokolovksy didnt exactly slip his phone out of his pocket during a down time in mass. Sokolovsky clearly went out of his way to disobey warnings broadcast days earlier in a Russian state news program in which authorities made clear playing Pokemon Go on the state border or in churches is grounds for arrest. Russian Orthodox Church spokesman Vladimir Legoyda indicated that the premeditation that went into the video is what makes it all that much more offensive: It is clear that Mr. Sokolovsky was not a casual passerby, who in a fit of gaming passion went into the temple, but rather a well-known young blogger in the city, who works in the style of Charlie Hebdo, wrote Vladimir Legoyda wrote on Facebook. However, Jaroslav Nilov, head of the State Dumas religious affairs committee, isnt joining others in the quest to lock up the Russian blogger for something that in the end is just a bad look. Story continues In my opinion, catching Pokemon is not an insult to religious feelings, because it is simply the use of a mobile phone application within religious buildings, Nilov told RIA Novosti Sokolovsky is apparently well known for his anticlerical views, making him an easier target in this instance. Hes routinely uploaded videos in which he disagrees with the churchs thinking and way of life. For now, it looks like he stepped his toe a little far past the Pikachu line, and he may have to pay his freedom for it. (Via Vocativ / Gizmodo) The grim, gray outlines of Winterfell Castle, the home of House Stark on HBO's hit series Game of Thrones - which in Russia airs on Ren-TV - is being recreated on the grounds of a Russian cement factory. The hulking form of the massive medieval-style edifice is taking shape in layer by layer of fast-setting cement at the Yekaterinburg Cement Factory in central Russia. Read more: Russia Box Office: Disney Has Record Year in Rubles Poured around sections of a steel frame from a giant industrial-size version of a 3D printer, factory chiefs say the castle - which should be complete by the end of September - will serve as both a local attraction and advertisement for using new technology to create concrete frames for house building. Factory boss Rinat Brilin told local television station Telekanal 360 that building the castle was an engineering challenge that could demonstrate the uses of industrial 3D technology. "Why this castle?" he said. "First of all, it is, in my view, very beautiful. And it also demands the use of many new technologies to construct that simpler buildings don't require." Unlike genuine gothic castles, or even the set for Game of Thrones, Yekaterinburg's version of Winterfell is not a labor-intensive project: Just three workers, including the computer programmer tasked with ensuring the sausage-shaped layers of liquid concrete are accurately placed, are needed for its construction. Watch a video about the project below. MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russian law enforcement forces are conducting searches of a business belonging to Russian tycoon Viktor Vekselberg in Moscow, two sources close to the businessman told Reuters on Monday. Andrey Shtorkh, a spokesman for Renova group, which manages Vekselberg's assets, was quoted as saying by Interfax news agency that the searches were related to Renova subsidiary T Plus and its operations in Russia's Komi region. (Reporting by Moscow Newsroom; Writing by Polina Devitt; Editing by Christian Lowe) Gathering synergy for a new type of world economy Updated: 2016-09-05 07:27 (China Daily) The Business 20 (B20) Summit starts in Hangzhou, capital of East China's Zhejiang Province, Sept 3, 2016. [Photo/Xinhua] President Xi Jinping made a crucial point at the Business 20 Summit on Saturday, when he said that China, as a beneficiary of the current international order, does not seek to rewrite the international rulebooks. Instead, it wants to refine the existing mechanisms to facilitate global win-win cooperation. His appeal for multilateralism in global governance explains why Beijing holds the G20 so dear. Some people tend to read Beijing's enthusiasm as eagerness for securing its footing on the world stage, or an opportunity to announce its coming of age as a global power. Beijing never conceals its desire for a greater say in global governanceand there are plenty of China-related misgivings that Beijing can dispel. But, more importantly, it boils down to its belief that it is imperative to invigorate the global economy. Compared with some countries' opportunist approach to the international forum, China instead appreciates the power of synergy in global economic governance. The G20 is thus regarded as a more fitting forum for international economic discourse than the G7 and United Nations, because the former is too exclusive and unrepresentative of the broader world, and the latter too broad and often unproductive for handling the world's economic woes. One goal of the Hangzhou Summit, according to Xi, is to shift the G20's focus from crisis response to long-term governance. As this meeting is taking place amid a resurgence of trade and investment protectionism, many doubt the group's ability to produce breakthroughs or collective policies at this session of the world's leading developed and developing economies. Such concerns only make Beijing's proposals, centered on an open and inclusive "new type of world economy", more valuable for serious deliberation by all parties. Because the disarray of the global economic landscape, with each country going its own way or even resorting to beggar-thy-neighbor approaches, has announced the failure of unilateralism. As an old Chinese saying goes, "to cure a disease, one should treat its root causes; to fix a problem, one should target its source". Beside the global economy's waning growth momentum and diminishing potential, the problem of uneven development is far from being resolved, and the inadequacies of the existing economic governance mechanisms and structures have become increasingly evident. Xi urged the G20 leaders to prescribe remedies for the sluggish world economy to embark on a road of robust, sustainable, balanced and inclusive growth while addressing the opening of the G20 Summit on Sunday. His proposals ranged from strengthening coordination in marcoeconomic policies, innovating growth patterns, improving global economic governance, and furthering the liberalization and facilitation of trade and investment, to promoting inclusive growth. Beijing's prescriptions may sound too good to be executable at this point, but not if the G20 members, as Xi called for, "work with real action with no empty talk". By formally announcing their commitment to joining last year's Paris Agreement on climate change right before the summit, Beijing and Washington demonstrated what Xi described as "shared ambition and resolve" to address global issues. With China and the US "leading by example", as US President Barack Obama put it, rhetoric about broader cooperation will be more credible than it would otherwise be, and not just in emissions control. Any progress in that direction at the Hangzhou Summit is to be welcomed as it will help to find "a direction and a course" for a more invigorated and inclusive world economy. Salman's "Tubelight" look is already giving us the good feeling! Salman's "Tubelight" look is already giving us the good feeling! After having wrapped up the first schedule of Kabir Khans Tubelight in Ladakh, Salman is now busy shooting in Manali and these pictures straight from the set speak volume about the look he is going to don in the movie. The 50-year-old actor who was mostly seen wearing a half sweater and formal shirts along with trousers seemed to be pulling off a local mans look- similar to the one he donned in Sultan and Bajrangi Bhaijan. Salman has arrived only two days back in the picturesque town and a sneak peek of all the action happening on the sets has been taking the internet by storm. Recommended Read: Salman has an amusing reaction to ADHM teaser starring Ranbir and Aishwarya! Tubelight is an upcoming historical drama that revolves around the Sino-Indian war of 1962. Slated to hit the cinemas next year, the movie also stars Chinese actress Zhu Zhu as Salmans love interest. It's a sticky summer night in the middle of Brooklyn's Commodore Barry Park and hundreds of fans are firmly packed in the rear area of the park anxiously awaiting Sango's performance on Afropunk's Gold Stage. With the sun now set, sparked lighters and glowing cell phone screens are the only things that illuminate the immediate vicinity. The festival seems to be running behind schedule, but fans don't look bothered as this timing allows attendees to finish watching performances on the other stages before joining the growing crowd in front of Afropunk's smallest stage. As Sango's set begins, cheers rumble from the front of the crowd to the back in what feels like a wave of sound. Its easy to see that Sango has a unique power over his crowd as fans continue to try their luck slithering to the front for a better view. He's doing a DJ set that technically only needs to be heard, not necessarily seen. And yet, even with an LED display on the elevated stage blocking views of nearly everything but Sango's head bobbing to the beat, it's apparent that the music makes fans eager to draw closer. Sango has a selfless demeanor that can be sensed a mile away, both on and off stage. Its common to see artists get lost in their own world when delivering a half hour set but the opposite is true for him. Whether on stage performing, or in the studio creating new music, Sango puts his audiences needs first. The majority of the time I just want people to own the music, he says, explaining that many artists aim to deliver an autobiography of sorts within their music that, at times, wide audiences cannot relate to. With me, I dont sing or rap so all I can offer is a beat. Thats a layer for you. If you enjoy it, you can allow that to speak to you in your own way, and fill in the blanks. In a matter of years, Sango has taken his productions from his college dorm room to a worldwide platform. Perhaps best known for his passion for seamlessly blending Brazilian baile funk samples with R&B and hip-hop, the Seattle native has found a new way to bring the worlds attention back to his hometown. There are a few artists that come out of there but they dont get that sort of megaphone effect, Sango explains. And what I mean by that is, no one is really looking for Seattle, so our main goal is to unite there and make one big voice. Earlier this summer, Sango teamed up with fellow Seattle native Dave B for their Tomorrow album. The collaborative project is a prime example of what Sango aims to do for his city. [The] main thing I would say about how we could bring attention to Seattle is by banding together, because there are not a lot of us but were all talented. Little by little, hes working towards putting Seattle into the discussion. Months before Tomorrow with Dave B, Sango also released a joint project with Xavier Omar (formerly SPZRKT) called Hours Spent Loving You. Their 7-track EP offered the best of both worlds, and displayed their obvious chemistry. I love working with Xavier," Sango says. "I can send him anything. I can send him something blind. Ill just send something out of my folder, I dont even know what it sounds like and hell end up doing something with it. Something magical that is. Their chemistry as a duo is set to continue as Sango confirms that theyve already worked on music for his own upcoming solo album. For the past two yearsin the middle of releasing other projects and collaborationshes been working on completing an album. Finding enough time to create may be an issue, but it doesnt stop him. I just make lots of music, Sango says modestly. I dont feel like theres a shortage of work because Im always working. When asked who might be on the album, Sango admits hed like to have features from artists like Jesse Boykins III, Mick Jenkins, Bryson Tiller, and Noname. The album will feature a mix of vocal-lead songs and instrumentals, because "there are some songs that are just impossible to sing or rap on it." He stresses that its not really about who he works with, but instead what they create. Though still in the early stages, Sango doesnt seem worried about getting these artists in the studio because of the relationships hes built with each of them. You have to have a good relationship with themspeak with them, spend time outside of music. Even if it is for a brief moment. With this new album, I've been working for about two years. I dont mind though, Im doing other side projects that influence that. Sango jokes that he feels like hes Detox-ing like Dr. Dre at this point. His consistency makes Detox-like possibilities seem far from likely, but the adoring Afropunk crowd proves that he has thousands of people willing to wait until he feels ready to release this new album. As if touring, releasing several collaborative projects, and working on his own album wasnt enough to keep him busy, Sango also managed to release the third installment of his Da Rocinha series last November. In the same way that he hopes to bring attention back home to Seattle, Sango had introduced large American audiences to baile funk all before ever visiting Brazil. On the Da Rocinha series, Sango simultaneously introduces listeners of different cultures to each other in just a matter of minutes. After years of studying and absorbing the Brazilian culture and baile funk, Sango finally made his way to Brazil for a short tour this past winter. And its very clear that the Brazilian people not only love what hes doing but have fully embraced him. For his Afropunk performance, aside from a white hat with a Brazilian flag, hes also wearing a green shirt with a yellow heartstylized like the famous I Love NY shirtsthat reads Eu Amo Baile Funk" (translation: I love baile funk). Without context, the shirt seems fairly normal but theres more to it. I dont even know how you get these shirts, he explains. The only way you can get a shirt, on record, is that someone has to give you it from this club. I was in Rio, and they gave me this. The only other person Ive seen wearing this shirt is M.I.A. Sangos way of making what tends to be an exclusive part of the culture feel inclusive has surely earned him this level of respect. This same admiration for Sango is apparent as he plays Agorinhathe lead single from 2015s Da Rocinha 3for the Afropunk crowd. Although a majority of the crowd probably doesnt speak any Portuguese, they gladly follow his lead and shout back, Nosso bonde ta passando e as novinhas perdem a linha, to the best of their ability. The same happens for another crowd favorite, Me de Amor. The cheering crowds may not put much thought into the words theyre repeating, but after the first two Da Rocinha projects and taking time to learn more Portuguese from his friend, Sango made an effort to clean up his chosen samples. I was using samples kind of blind, I didnt know. Majority of these samples, especially in baile funk, are kind of dirty. Sango explains that the popular single Me de Amor is the best example. Me de Amor more or less means 'give me love or I need love. So, Quero te da / Quero te da / Da Da Da Da that means give meshes talking about sex. The chopped up sample edits down to simply, give it to me, give me love but the subject matter can still be understood. This linguistic knowledge seems unnecessary to the fans who just love the music. An excited festival goer who has experienced a Sango set before explains to his friend, This remix is definitely about to be in another language but its gonna be tight! The prediction came true as the music swiftly transition into a Spanish rendition of Drakes summer hit One Dance. Sangos music is a cultural blend and his audiences are a reflection of that. Rather than creating a discouraging language barrier, his music manages to create an environment similar to a potluckinviting everyone to bring something to the table and share with others. Continue Reading On Complex Top oil producers Saudi Arabia and Russia made a joint statement at the G-20 summit in China on Monday aimed at stabilizing crude prices, media reports said. Russia and Saudi Arabia recognize the need to contain excess volatility in the market, the statement said, according to Russian news agency Interfax. The two countries will form a working group to monitor the market and draft recommendations to stabilize oil prices and ensure steady investment in the industry, Interfax said. The group will meet for the first time next month. Crude oil futures rallied heavily in the build-up to the announcement and pared back slightly afterward. WTI futures for October (New York Mercantile Exchange: @CL.1) remained over 3 percent higher on the day, however, at a little under $46 per barrel. At the summit, Russian Energy Minister Alexander Novak said a production freeze would be one way to stabilize prices, according to Interfax. Novak described Monday's announcement as an "historic moment" in relations between OPEC and non-OPEC members, according to Interfax. Saudi Arabia is de facto leader of the oil cartel, but Russia is not a member. Several attempts to boost crude prices by freezing OPEC's output have fallen in the past, in particular because Saudi Arabia has been wedded to keeping output high to hold market share. However, Saudi Arabia is not alone in scuppering deals, including in February, when Iran refused to join forces with Saudi Arabia, Russia, Qatar and Venezuela in freezing output. This time around, Iraq and Iran's cooperation will be key if a broader deal on oil production levels is sought. WTI crude futures for October have rallied sharply this year, but remain far below the levels above $100 per barrel at which oil traded prior to the commodities slump that began in July 2014. OPEC will hold informal talks in Algeria this month and member countries are scheduled to officially meet in Vienna in November. Russia's Novak will meet with his Saudi counterpart, Khalid al-Falih, on both occasions, Interfax said. Story continues Russia and Saudi Arabia have also agreed to collaborate to implement new technology in the energy and gas space, Interfax said on Monday. Follow CNBC International on Twitter and Facebook. More From CNBC By Ruby Lian, Josephine Mason and Rania El Gamal HANGZHOU, China (Reuters) - Saudi Arabia and Russia agreed on Monday to cooperate in world oil markets, saying they will not act immediately but could limit output in the future, sending prices higher on hopes the two top oil producers would work together to tackle a global glut. The joint statement was signed by the country's energy ministers in China on the sidelines of a Group of 20 summit and followed a meeting between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Saudi Deputy Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. Russian Energy Minister Alexander Novak said the two countries were moving toward a strategic energy partnership and that a high level of trust would allow them to address global challenges. Saudi Energy Minister Khalid al-Falih said the agreement would also encourage other producers to cooperate. Oil prices (LCOc1) soared almost 5 percent ahead of a news conference by the two ministers, but pared gains to trade up 2 percent by 1130 GMT as the agreement yielded no immediate action. "There is no need now to freeze production ... We have time to take this kind of decision," Falih said. "Freezing production is one of the preferred possibilities, but it does not have to happen specifically today." Even if the Monday statement was short on action, it marks a significant development in the Russia-Saudi relationship. The two countries have been effectively fighting a proxy war in Syria and Moscow also sees itself as a big ally of Iran - Riyadh's arch-rival in the Middle East. FREEZE TALKS The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries will hold informal talks in Algeria later this month, and is next scheduled to meet officially in Vienna in November. Several OPEC producers have called for an output freeze to rein in the glut, which arose as supplies from high-cost producers such as the United States soared. The price collapse of the past two years has hit the budgets of major producers such as Russia and Saudi Arabia while leading to unrest and social tensions is smaller producing nations such as Venezuela and Nigeria. Story continues OPEC's de facto leader Saudi Arabia has also signalled willingness to cooperate as it faces budget pressures and seeks to float a stake in state-owned producer Aramco. Venezuela, which has consistently pushed for a deal to boost prices, hailed the agreement as "an important step in coordinating joint action between the biggest OPEC member and one of the biggest non-OPEC producers". Venezuela has presented an "alternative proposal" to be considered at the upcoming Algeria meeting that would help "stabilize both the volume of supplies to markets and the fair price for producers," the Oil Ministry said in a statement. The statement did not offer further details on the proposal. Any deal between OPEC and non-OPEC producer Russia would be the first in 15 years since Moscow agreed to cut output in tandem with the cartel at the turn of the millennium, although Russia never followed through on that promise. Novak said he was open to ideas on what cut-off period to use if producer countries decided to freeze output. If production is frozen at early-2015 levels, it would effectively mean an output cut as most producers - including Saudi Arabia, Russia, Iraq and Iran - have steeply boosted production since then. Novak said outright oil production cuts may also be discussed. CRUDE OVERHANG In April, Russia was prepared to freeze output together with OPEC, but talks collapsed after Riyadh said it would agree to a deal only if Iran - OPEC's third-largest producer - participated. Iran has argued that it needs to regain market share lost during years of Western sanctions, which were lifted in January. Putin said last week that a new deal on oil output could involve some compromise on Iranian output. "We believe that the oil market rebalancing has been rather delayed ... And certainly joint actions which were considered at the beginning of the year, including a freeze, could have drawn much nearer the date of rebalancing of the respective markets," Novak said on Monday. "We are ready, if there is such a decision, to join" an oil output freeze, TASS news agency cited Novak as saying. Oil prices collapsed to as low as $27 per barrel earlier this year from as high as $115 in mid-2014, but have since recovered to around $50. "The market is getting better and we noticed that the prices reflect this (improvement)", said Falih. "A coordinated and appropriate, collective decision on production will help bring balance and reduce inventories in a more timely manner". (Additional reporting by Maria Kiselyova and Katya Golubkova in Moscow; Writing by Henning Gloystein in Singapore and Dmitry Zhdannikov in London; editing by Christian Schmollinger, Dale Hudson and G Crosse) RIYADH (Reuters) - Saudi Arabian energy minister Khalid al-Falih said that freezing output is not "necessary" for the time being after signing a cooperation pact on Monday with Russia. "Freezing (production levels) is one of the preferred possibilities but it's not necessary today," Falih told the Saudi-owned Al Arabiya TV after a news conference with his Russian counterpart in China. "The market is getting better and we have noticed that prices reflect this (improvement)," he said. (Reporting by Reem Shamseddine and Katie Paul; writing by Rania El Gamal; editing by Jason Neely) Seoul (AFP) - The UN Security Council will convene Tuesday to discuss North Korea after the isolated communist state test-fired three ballistic missiles into the sea during the G20 summit in China, sparking condemnation from a senior US official at the meeting. The discussion -- requested by council members Japan and the United States -- is slated to begin at 11:30 am local time (1530 GMT) in New York, where the council will consider a response to the latest missile launches. North Korea test-fired three ballistic missiles into the sea Monday, South Korea said, in a new show of force as world leaders met in Hangzhou, China. The missiles were fired into the Sea of Japan (East Sea) from the North's Hwangju county at around 0300 GMT, a spokesman for Seoul's defence ministry said. The sabre-rattling follows the North's submarine-launched ballistic missile test some two weeks ago. "They are speculated to be Rodong missiles with a range of 1,000 kilometres (620 miles) and were fired without navigational warning to Japan," the spokesman said in a statement. "North Korea's ballistic missile launch is a direct violation of UN Security Council resolutions, aimed at showing off its nuclear and missile capabilities during the G20 summit," he added. The defence ministry in Tokyo said the three missiles were estimated to have fallen into Japan's maritime Exclusive Economic Zone. "The ministry expresses serious concern over the missile launches as they pose a grave threat to Japan's national security," a ministry statement said. The North's latest tests sparked strong protests from senior Japanese and US officials. The launches "are a grave security provocation and can never be permitted", Japanese Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida told reporters in Tokyo. "We have lodged a strong protest against North Korea." A senior US administration official at the G20 also condemned the launches as a threat to its allies and to civilian air travel, and vowed diplomatic action against the Pyongyang regime. Story continues "Today's reckless launches by North Korea pose threats to civil aviation and maritime commerce in the region," the official said. Washington would try to "bolster international resolve to hold the DPRK (North Korea) accountable for its provocative actions". - Series of missile tests - North Korea has conducted a series of missile tests this year in defiance of UN sanctions imposed after its fourth nuclear test in January. Monday's missile launches came hours after South Korean President Park Geun-Hye and Chinese President Xi Jinping met on the sidelines of the summit in Hangzhou. Ties between South Korea and China have been frosty since Seoul announced plans to deploy a US anti-missile system in July to counter growing nuclear and missile threats from the North. During the summit, Xi reiterated Beijing's opposition to Seoul's planned deployment of the Terminal High Altitude Area Defence (THAAD) system, arguing that "mishandling" the issue could "intensify disputes" in the region, China's state-run Xinhua news agency said. Park labelled North Korea's continued provocations as a "challenge" to Seoul-Beijing ties, adding that security threats from Pyongyang were at an "unprecedented level", South Korea's Yonhap news agency said. Another test was a submarine-launched ballistic missile last month. That missile, fired from off the northeastern port of Sinpo, flew 500 kilometres (around 300 miles) towards Japan, far exceeding the range of the North's previous sub-launched missiles. The country's leader Kim Jong-Un described the August test as the "greatest success" and said it put the US mainland within striking range. The launch was widely condemned by the US and other major powers but analysts saw it as a clear step forward for North Korea's nuclear strike ambitions. A proven submarine-launched ballistic missile system would allow deployment far beyond the Korean peninsula and a "second-strike" capability in the event of an attack on the North's military bases. By Manuel Mogato and Amy Sawitta Lefevre VIENTIANE (Reuters) - Southeast Asian leaders are set to avoid references to a recent arbitration ruling that undermined China's claims to the South China Sea, after omitting it from a joint statement at a summit this week over which Beijing's influence looms large. A draft communique of the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) seen by Reuters on Monday listed eight points related to the South China Sea, but made no mention of a high-profile July ruling by the Permanent Court of Arbitration, which invalidated Beijing's territorial claims. The decision to exclude reference to the ruling represents a diplomatic victory for China, following ASEAN's decision at its last meeting in July to turn down a U.S.-backed proposal to include the landmark ruling in the text. China refuses to recognize the case brought by the Philippines in 2013. Its outrage over the verdict has created regional concerns that Beijing might take a tougher line in future disputes. Soon after the ruling in The Hague, the Philippines lobbied strongly at an ASEAN foreign ministers' meeting for the verdict to be included in the text of the communique, only for Cambodia, a China ally, to oppose it. Beijing publicly thanked Phnom Penh for its support. China has been accused of pressuring some countries in the consensus-led, 10-nation bloc to stymie what it sees as unfavorable proposals. ASEAN does not include China, but leaders and senior representatives from China, the United States and other regional powers are attending the Laos summit. Experts say that China's approach makes it harder for Southeast Asian states to form a unified front to counter Beijing's assertiveness over the strategic waterway. Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte wants to negotiate with Beijing, and has pledged not to rock the boat by discussing the ruling at this week's ASEAN and East Asia Summits in Laos. But a few days before the meetings, the outspoken leader vowed to make no concessions towards China over the ruling, and demanded that Beijing explain why it had increased its boat presence around the disputed Scarborough Shoal. Sek Wannamethee, a spokesman for Thailand's foreign ministry, said it was unclear from Senior Officials Meetings (SOM) if Manila would bring its concerns about China to the Laos forum. "There is no indication at the preparatory ASEAN SOM yet as to what, if anything, the Philippines would raise at the summit regarding the South China Sea," Sek said. The draft communique contained one new element on the South China Sea, welcoming the adoption of emergency hotlines and rules among ASEAN states and China to prevent military mishaps, known as the Code for Unplanned Encounters at Sea. (Writing by Martin Petty; Editing by Mike Collett-White) Deadline for confirmations is on 16 December 2016. After the success of its inaugural event in June 2016, the Singapore Business Review Business Case Studies Awards aims to continue recognising exceptional business solution providers on its second year. Singapore Business Review is proud to announce that entries are now accepted for the Business Case Studies Awards 2017. If you have launched a noteworthy solution that made a mark in your industry and you believe that it will make for a good Case Study, you are invited to submit an entry. An esteemed panel of judges will decide the winners of this year's Business Case Studies Awards. The winning companies will be invited to the Awards Night and Summit on April 2017 to receive their certificates, present their respective case studies, and network with peers. Join our esteemed roster of pioneering winners and get the recognition your team deserves. "My team and I have definitely enjoyed our time during the SBR Business Case Studies Awards 2016. The event was well organised with a great venue and an excellent program. We also had the opportunity to network with other guests and learn more about their industries. Once again, thank you for inviting us to this exclusive event and for awarding Continental under the Automotive category. We look forward to future collaborations," said Xiao Hui Twang, executive, communications specialist at Continental Automotive Singapore, after winning at the Business Case Studies Awards 2016. The deadline for confirmations is on 16 December 2016. To see the list of the 2016 list of winners, click here. For 2016 case studies presentation and summit gallery, click here. For more details, contact Julie Anne Nunez at +65 3158 1386 ext. 221 or julie@charltonmediamail.com. More From Singapore Business Review SINGAPORE (Reuters) - Singapore will no longer isolate people who test positive for Zika or are suspected of carrying it as the number of cases of the mosquito-borne virus increases across the city-state, the health ministry said on Monday. Tropical Singapore, a global financial and transit hub, has reported just over 240 Zika cases since the first locally infected case was detected on Aug. 27, and media has quoted the deputy health minister as saying the virus was "here to stay". In a statement, the health ministry said the presence of the Aedes mosquitoes that carry the virus, as well as the fact that most people do not display symptoms, meant isolating patients already infected would have limited effect. "Over time, we expect Zika cases to emerge in more areas given the presence of the Aedes mosquitoes here," the ministry said. "As the cases of Zika in Singapore have been mild so far, confirmed cases will no longer need to be hospitalized unless medically indicated." The government will also pay for the cost of Zika tests for Singaporeans with symptoms of the virus, the ministry added. Most people who are infected with Zika have mild symptoms but infections in pregnant women have been shown to cause microcephaly - a severe birth defect in which the head and brain are undersized - as well as other brain abnormalities. The connection between Zika and microcephaly first came to light last fall in Brazil, which has since confirmed more than 1,800 cases of microcephaly. In adults, Zika infections have also been linked to a rare neurological syndrome known as Guillain-Barre, as well as other neurological disorders. Neighboring Malaysia has reported at least one case of locally transmitted Zika. Experts and officials say both countries will struggle to contain the virus because of the spread of the Aedes mosquitoes, which also carry dengue, a potentially fatal virus that Singapore and Malaysia have been battling for years. (Reporting by Saeed Azhar; Editing by Miral Fahmy, Robert Birsel) Seoul (AFP) - Shares in South Korea's foundering shipping giant Hanjin were volatile Monday after it filed for bankruptcy protection in Seoul and the US, rocking the troubled maritime freight industry. Hanjin, the world's seventh and South Korea's largest shipping firm sought court protection after creditors rejected its latest plan for dealing with a hulking $5.37 billion debt. Hanjin's bankruptcy would be by far the largest in the history of container-shipping, which is suffering from its worst downturn in six decades. Holed beneath the waterline by slumping global trade and slowing growth in China, more than half of its fleet -- 79 vessels -- is either stuck in port or unable to dock, with authorities fretting the company will not be able to pay its bills. South Korean regulators allowed share trading to be resumed Monday after Hanjin's court receivership was granted, but the share price plummeted by the daily limit of 30 percent shortly after the market opened. The issue recovered to be just 1.6 percent lower at one point but soon fell back and ended at 1,070 won (97 cents), down 13.7 percent. The stock is now more than 40 percent off from a month ago and 80 percent down over the year. Seoul-listed Hyundai Merchant Marine -- which could buy some of its rival's assests -- fell 3.6 percent. Under the receivership, the court will review the firm's financial conditions and a revival plan to decide whether to put it under a court-led recovery programme or to declare it bankrupt. Hanjin is required to submit its plan by November 25. The company also filed for bankruptcy protection in the US Friday to protect its vessels from being seized by creditors. If the filing is recognised, the court will block creditors in the US from seizing the companys assets or launching other legal actions while its other bankruptcy proceedings are under way. - "Black Friday coming" - Nearly 80 Hanjin vessels have been either seized or denied cargo handling or docking at ports in countries including the US, China, Japan, Spain and Canada, South Korea's government said Monday. Story continues Hanjin is seeking stay orders in 43 countries to protect its vessels from being seized with applications in 10 more to be made this week, an official from Seoul's financial regulator said Monday. An estimated 540,000 containers are expected to face delivery delays, according to media reports, raising concerns over delivery of goods ahead of Thanksgiving and Christmas holiday shopping in the US. Cho Sung-Jin, head of LG Electronics' home appliance unit, described the situation "worrisome," saying LG was desperately searching for other firms to ship its refrigerators, TVs and air conditioners. "Black Friday is coming soon...I'm not sure if we can cover demand with our current inventory in the US," he said, adding that he was worried about a potential hike in shipping costs. Hanjin has struggled for years as it failed to recover from the impact of the 2008 global financial crisis. It posted a net loss of more than 473 billion won in the first half of this year alone, after racking up total net losses of about 1.2 trillion won over the past three years. 5 Sep - Solenn Heussaff has recently responded to criticism for not posting any condolences or addressing the recent bombing in Davao. As reported on PEP News, previously, a Netizen made a comment on Heussaff's Instagram upon finding out that she wrote no online message about the Davao City bombing, which occurred on 3 September. The bombing, which blasted a crowded market and killed 14 people, was addressed by various stars who expressed their anger over the attack, and also condolences to the family of the victims. However, Heussaff, who did post #PrayForFrance following a bombing incident in France previously, instead posted a photo from the launching ceremony of her book, "Hot Sos" to thank those who came to support her. The Netizen wrote, "[Solenn Heussaff] you can't even speak my language. Funny. What [is] your talent again? Why are you famous?" The Netizens also asked why was she not famous in France if she loves the country so much. The model soon responded to the comment, saying, "You don't know what you are saying. And stop having that white complex. We are all the same." "I am also Filipino, [for your information]. My entire life or thoughts don't have to be posted on social media. I don't need to post every single thing I say, think, pray or do on social media. Your kind of negative mentality is really shallow." (Photo Source: Solenn Heussaff Instagram) JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - South Africa's National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) said on Monday more than 1,500 members will on Tuesday march against planned retrenchments at Sibanye Gold's loss-making Cooke 4 mine. Job cuts are a thorny issue in Africa's most industrialised country where the unemployment rate is near 27 percent, a big concern for companies faced with labour disputes. Sibanye began talks with unions for job cuts at the mine in July, after failing to stem heavy losses at the operation. The company first broached the subject of job cuts at the mine with unions in November 2014. Since then Cooke 4 has continued to fall short of production targets and accumulate losses, which the company said threatened the viability of the other three Cooke operations. [nL8N19X0QA] The NUM, which has the lion's share of membership in the gold sector, called on Sibanye to "surrender the mining licence to any responsible company that will be willing to mine Cook 4 operation" and vowed to fight the closure and job cuts. "This drastic actions by the company will leave hundreds of mineworkers in a dire situation and the surrounding communities in the West Rand," the union said in a statement, adding that 850 contract workers would join their march on Tuesday. Sibanye's spokesman James Wellsted said talks with unions, mining ministry officials and other parties were ongoing. "It's a bit puzzling why they are resorting to this rather than utilising the Section 189 process," Wellsted said. Section 189 is a legal requirement for companies to consult unions, the government and other stakeholders for up to 90 days over planned retrenchment process. Sibanye says it employs 1,700 workers at Cooke 4 and about 7,000 workers at all its four Cooke operations. (Reporting by Nqobile Dludla; Editing by James Macharia) Wau (South Sudan) (AFP) - "We women, we dare not go out at night because we risk being raped by soldiers," says Catherine Atanasyo. "For men, it's no better: death awaits them." Like 25,000 other South Sudanese people in and around the northwestern town of Wau, Atanasyo took refuge in a UN camp two months ago when violence tore through this part of the country, in yet another spasm of tribal violence driven by the desire for power and property. "My house is close by, but it's safer here because of the UN soldiers," she says. Around her are countless makeshift shelters made from bamboo canes and dust-reddened white tarpaulins. "You can go out in the day, it's possible -- that's how I know my house was looted -- but the night is out of the question, there is too much danger." Among the alleys of this squalid camp stories like Atanasyo's are everywhere. There is the 13-year-old girl raped on her way to school, the brothers killed in the fighting, the child born without a father. South Sudan won its independence in 2011 after decades of war with Sudan, to the north. But two years later a new war started, pitting the president, who is from the Dinka ethnic group, against his former deputy, who is from the rival Nuer, and splitting the new nation along roughly tribal lines in a conflict characterised by massacres, rape, attacks on civilians and the use of child soldiers. Tens of thousands have been killed since December 2013 and 2.5 million have fled their homes. Twice that number rely on food handouts to survive, with the UN calling the levels of food insecurity "unprecedented". - Toxic tribal politics - "Independence was a bad idea," says Atanasyo, who blames South Sudan's toxic tribal politics for the mess her country is in. "Only one tribe benefited, the Dinka." The core conflict is between President Salva Kiir's largely Dinka soldiers and Riek Machar's mostly Nuer rebels, but the fight has stoked other ethnic tensions across the country. Story continues Around Wau, people from the Fertit tribe accuse the Dinka of marginalising them. Tensions began in 2012, skirmishes followed last year then the town exploded into violence in late June. As so often in South Sudan's battles, no one knows the number killed, but at the UN camp, there are many who say they lost people close to them. "The soldiers came on June 24. They killed my brother who was a police officer and looted everything, my motorbike, our cooking pots, our beds," says 32-year-old Adam Umong. He lives with his remaining brother, George, who was shot in the leg during the attack. He has not spoken since "because of the shock," Umong says. - 'I want to kill them' - "This is not the independence we dreamt of," he said. "The current leaders must go: they led the country to ruin. Salva Kiir is not our president and Machar is no better." Some hope the proposed deployment of 4,000 additional UN peacekeepers might improve security for civilians, allowing them to return to their homes. "We do not choose to live here," says another camp resident, 27-year-old Christine Elia. Sickly-looking dogs wander between the nearby tents, while clothes dry on the camp's barbed wire fence. Barefoot children play in the dirt, shooting each other with homemade toy rifles fashioned from folded grass and rubber strips. "It is the Dinka have done this to us, who forced us to leave our homes," says a soft-spoken 10-year-old called Martin, who fiddles with his faded and torn t-shirt. "I want to kill them." Addis Ababa (AFP) - The absence of South Sudan's rebel leader Riek Machar should not delay the implementation of a peace deal, an envoy to the UN Security Council said on Monday. Former vice president and rebel leader Machar is undergoing medical treatment in Khartoum after being chased from South Sudan's capital in July by forces loyal to President Salva Kiir. Machar has since been replaced by former ally Taban Deng Gai. "Taban Deng is serving as vice president and he will stay in that position until the return, if there is a return, of Riek Machar," Alexis Lamek, France's deputy UN ambassador told AFP after meeting the African Union's Peace and Security Council in the Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa. "For us, what is certain is that this issue should not delay implementation of the peace agreement. It is necessary to move forward," he said. The Security Council was in Addis Ababa at the end of a four-day visit to the region to push for peace in South Sudan, the world's youngest nation which has been wracked by war since 2013. Machar's appointment as vice president was a key provision of a year-old peace deal that has so far failed to end the fighting in South Sudan which began with a dispute between Kiir and Machar in December 2013. Since Machar's flight from Juba he has been sidelined domestically and internationally. Last month, US Secretary of State John Kerry signalled Machar's waning importance saying, "there is an allowance for the replacement of personnel and that has been effected with the appointment of a new vice president." In Addis Ababa, UN and African diplomats also discussed a proposed 4,000-strong UN protection force for South Sudan. Which countries will contribute troops, when they will arrive and what their mandate will be are still under discussion despite South Sudan agreeing in principle to the deployment at the weekend. Lamek, who spent three days in South Sudan prior to arriving in Ethiopia, said the protection force is necessary because the situation in South Sudan is "more alarming that we imagined". Aside from the tens of thousands of people killed, the United Nations has reported shocking levels of brutality including gang-rapes and the wholesale burning of villages. An estimated 16,000 children have been recruited by armed groups and the national army in the conflict, and 2.5 million people have been driven from their homes. By Denis Dumo and Michelle Nichols JUBA (Reuters) - South Sudan still needs to agree the number and nationality of United Nations peacekeepers for a protection force, a government minister said on Tuesday, a day after President Salva Kiir approved the deployment in a bid to avoid a U.N. arms embargo. Kiir publicly consented to the protection force, authorized by the U.N. Security Council last month, after meeting with council envoys, led by U.S. Ambassador Samantha Power, on Sunday in Juba. However, a joint statement after the meeting noted that the details of the troop deployment still needed to worked out. Government spokesperson Michael Makuei said on Monday the country also needed to "agree on the armament, we need to agree on the deployment, we need to agree on the time frame." In the wake of deadly violence in Juba in mid-July between Kiir's troops and soldiers loyal to opposition leader Riek Machar, the Security Council authorized a 4,000-strong regional protection force as part of the 12,000-strong U.N. peacekeeping mission already on the ground, known as UNMISS. The council has mandated the force until Dec. 15. "If we don't accept it, if we don't agree with that, nobody will enter South Sudan. Anybody who enters without our consent is 'an invader'," Makuei told reporters. The council threatened to consider an arms embargo if U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon reported in mid-September that Kiir's government was not cooperating on the protection force and was still obstructing peacekeepers already on the ground. "We're going to want to see a significant acceleration in operational discussions about the deployment of the force," Power told Reuters, warning the South Sudanese government not to go back to "first principles or challenging consent." "There are very conflicting signals because there are some who, if they had a choice, would expel UNMISS tomorrow," Power said. "So the real question is: is there going to be united and consistent follow-through on the direction that the president gave last night by making that commitment?" East African regional bloc IGAD pushed for a protection force and has pledged to provide troops. South Sudan Minister of Cabinet Affairs Martin Elia Lomoro said on Sunday that the government had no objection to who contributes soldiers. However, some Security Council diplomats said South Sudan had concerns about some neighboring countries, like Ethiopia, sending troops. "We have heard some names of the countries which can substitute regional neighboring countries - Zambia, Zimbabwe were mentioned," said Deputy Russian U.N. Ambassador Petr Iliichev, after the council envoys met with the African Union Peace and Security Council in Addis Ababa on Monday. South Sudan gained independence from Sudan in 2011 but slid into civil war in 2013 after Kiir sacked Machar as his vice president. The pair signed a peace deal a year ago but fighting has continued and Machar has now fled to neighboring Sudan. (Reporting by Michelle Nichols; Editing by James Dalgleish) Madrid (AFP) - Spanish police freed four young African migrants found squeezed into a hidden compartment of a minivan with no ventilation at a border crossing from Morocco into Spain and arrested the driver, they said Monday. The migrants -- a woman from Congo and three men from Guinea -- were found on Sunday when police at the crossing between Morocco and the Spanish territory of Melilla grew suspicious and searched the vehicle. They were crammed inside a "hermetic false bottom with no ventilation" located below the front seats of the minivan, police said in a statement. The woman began yelling in French: "Please, please, get me out of here. I'm scared. I don't feel my legs and my feet are really swollen!". Firefighters had to use an electric saw and other tools to free the migrants who were all in "very poor physical shape" and in need of medical care. Police said all four migrants, aged between 21 and 27, are now in good health. Officers arrested the driver and only other occupant of the vehicle, a Moroccan man. Temperatures on Sunday neared 30 degrees Celsius (86 Fahrenheit) in Melilla, which has one of only two land borders between Africa and the European Union. The other is at Ceuta, another Spanish territory nearly 400 kilometres (250 miles) away on the north coast of Africa. The two territories have for some years been a flashpoint for African migrants trying to enter Spain and seek a better life in Europe, with authorities stepping up security by strengthening border barriers. James Vincent McMorrow has been showcasing his exciting change in direction with the singles he's been sharing this year, and it's been leading up to the release of We Move. Expanding upon his folk roots on 2014's Post Tropical, the Irish McMorrow made it clear he wasn't one to be pinned down, and now he's further cementing that with We Move. His third album sees McMorrow working with Frank Dukes and Nineteen85 of OVO Sound fame. Recorded in Los Angeles, Toronto, and Dublin, the album finds McMorrow working within a more R&B-tinged sound, and includes the previously released "Rising Water" and "Get Low." Listen to the album in full below, and check out his upcoming North American tour dates below that. Related links: Continue Reading On Complex YANGON, Sept 5 (Reuters) - Myanmar leader Aung San Suu Kyi and former U.N. chief Kofi Annan on Monday oversaw the first meeting of a panel tasked with bringing peace to a region where violence between Buddhists and minority Rohingya Muslims has cast a pall over the country's democratic transition. The plight of the Rohingya has raised questions about Suu Kyi's commitment to human rights and represents a politically sensitive issue for her National League for Democracy, which won a landslide election victory last year. The commission, whose aim is to stop human rights abuses in the northwestern state of Rakhine, was chaired by Annan. "This is an issue that we have failed to meet squarely and fairly, and to which we have not been able to find the right solution," Suu Kyi said at the meeting in the commercial capital, Yangon. "We hope that this commission will help us to find solutions to the problem." More than 100 people were killed in violence in Rakhine in 2012 and some 125,000 Rohingya Muslims took refuge in camps where their movements are severely restricted. Thousands have fled persecution and poverty by boat. The Rohingya are considered by many in Myanmar to be illegal immigrants from Bangladesh and most do not have citizenship. Suu Kyi, who is constitutionally barred from being president but leads the government as state counselor and foreign minister, last month announced the nine-member commission, made up of six Myanmar citizens and three foreigners, to advise her government on the Rohingya issue. Suu Kyi plans this month to visit the United States, where she is thought to be seeking further sanctions relief for her country but is likely to face questions over her efforts to improve conditions for the Rohingya. [L1N1BE1NH] The panel's members were set to travel to the state capital of Sittwe, where Annan will deliver a speech on Tuesday, and commissioners are expected to meet with members of both the Rohingya and Buddhist Rakhine communities. Annan said the panel would come up proposals to the issue over the coming months. "I can assure you, and the people of Rakhine, that the advisory commission will deploy every effort with rigorous impartiality to find and propose ways to address these challenges," he said. The largest political party in Rakhine State, the Arakan National Party (ANP), has criticized the commission, insisting that foreigners cannot understand the history of the area, raising the prospect of tensions or protests during the visit, expected to last two days. Some members of the ANP - formed by hardline Rakhine Buddhists - will participate in a protest against the commission on Tuesday. (Additional reporting by Wa Lone and Aye Win Myint; Writing by Yimou Lee; Editing by Nick Macfie) STOCKHOLM (Reuters) - The Swedish government has dismissed the board of the Karolinska Institute after an investigation showed it was negligent when hiring surgeon Paolo Macchiarini and letting him operate on patients. The medical scandal that includes numerous accusations of scientific fraud and the death of patients is a severe blow to the reputation of the institution that awards the Nobel Prize for Medicine. The hiring of Italian surgeon Macchiarini had already led to the resignation of the secretary of the Nobel Committee at the Institute as well as the then chancellor in February and to the Institute chairman last week. Macchiarini was fired in March when Karolinska said he had supplied false information on his resume and was guilty of scientific negligence after two of his patients died. Swedish prosecutors are investigating Macchiarini on suspicion of gross criminal negligence leading to another person's death. He has denied any wrongdoing. "Scandal is the right word," Minister for Higher Education and Research Helene Hellmark Knutsson told a news conference. "People have been harmed because of the acting of the Karolinska Institute and also the Karolinska University Hospital," she said. The government announced the firings after an external investigation commissioned by the Institute was presented on Monday. The investigator said that the management had showed "a stunning indifference" toward a vast amount of very negative references when hiring Macchiarini. Hellmark Knutsson said the investigation showed that the Institute had broken laws and regulations and that it had showed disrespect toward laws, ethics and morale. She said that as soon as a new board had been recruited, the board members that had not already quit after the Macchiarini scandal would be replaced. The country's University Chancellor Harriet Wallberg, who was heading the Karolinska Institute when Macchiarini was hired, would also have to leave her position, Hellmark Knutsson said. Bo Risberg, former head of the ethics committee at Karolinska, has called for the Nobel Prize for Medecine to be put on ice for two years and for prize money to be used to compensate the relatives of the patients Macchiarini operated on. Macchiarini was employed as a researcher into stem cell biology at the Karolinska Institute and consultant at Karolinska University Hospital in 2010. Another investigation that was presented last week centered on three operations conducted at the Karolinska University Hospital between 2011 and 2012 in which Macchiarini transplanted synthetic tracheas coated with stem cells into patients. That investigation showed he performed the operations before sufficient study had been done on the procedure and that the operations could not be justified on the grounds of being life-saving. Two of the patients have since died while the third remains hospitalized. (Reporting by Daniel Dickson; Editing by Angus MacSwan) The world's leading economies spoke out against a return to protectionism and defended the unfashionable concepts of free trade and globalisation Monday, warning the listless global economy needs an urgent reboot. The G20 summit took place in China with rising populist sentiment discouraging leaders from making difficult commitments, and a stumbling push for a Syria ceasefire and Asia's territorial disputes intruding on the agenda. "We have agreed... to support the multilateral trade system and oppose protectionism," said China's President Xi Jinping after hosting the gathering in the scenic eastern city of Hangzhou. At the end of the tightly choreographed talks, held in a cavernous complex in a largely deserted city, Xi produced resolutions on combatting industrial overcapacity -- particularly in the sclerotic steel sector -- and boosting international cooperation on corporate taxation. But in a communique the leaders pointed to a litany of economic ills including financial market volatility, sluggish trade and investment, and gyrating commodity prices. They also turned to the refugee and migrant crisis, calling for the burden to be shared more fairly and for nations to step up their humanitarian assistance. "Worldwide massive forced displacement of people, unprecedented since the Second World War, especially those generated from violent conflicts, is a global concern," they said. EU President Donald Tusk said in Hangzhou at the weekend that Europe was "close to limits" on its ability to accept more refugees and urged the broader international community not to shirk its responsibilities. Syria, the source of many of those migrants, was one of the geopolitical issues that swirled around the gathering. The US and Russia tried and failed to strike a deal on stemming the violence in the disastrous five-year conflict, even as a string of bomb attacks hit across the country, underlining the urgency of the task. Story continues "We have had some productive conversations about what a real cessation of hostilities would look like," US President Barack Obama said after meeting his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin. But Secretary of State John Kerry and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei could not bridge the divide despite two rounds of diplomacy, and left with only an agreement to meet again in coming days. "I believe that we are on the right track and could, at least for some period of time, agree to carry out mutual energetic attempts to make the situation in Syria more healthy," Putin said. - Troublespots - China saw the summit as a showcase for its global leadership credentials, but the Asian giant's geopolitical troublespots flared during the gathering. North Korea fired three ballistic missiles into the sea on Monday, South Korea said, in a show of force that collided with the summit. Beijing is Pyongyang's main patron and protector but has been either unwilling or unable to rein in its nuclear and missile ambitions that have sent tensions soaring across East Asia and beyond. There was better news though on another perennial faultline, with Xi and Japan's Shinzo Abe seeking to reset their countries' vexed relationship at their first meeting in over a year. Abe called China an "important friend" and Xi suggested they put their troubles behind them, in a sharp departure in tone for the pair which have been at loggerheads over territorial disputes and historical animosity. The Group of 20 leading developed and emerging economies represents 85 percent of the world's GDP and two-thirds of its population, and Beijing invested heavily in the high-profile event. It micromanaged every detail, virtually emptying the host city and imposing tight controls on visiting delegations and the press in the hopes of avoiding missteps -- measures that backfired at times including a shouting match with White House officials on the airport tarmac which captured headlines. - Populism swirls - Despite the staunch defence of free trade, the talks took place amid a perception that the global economic order exemplified by the G20 is not working for ordinary people. The International Monetary Fund's Christine Lagarde conceded that globalisation "has to benefit all, not a few", but said that the fruits of a connected world were severely undersold. "That story of benefits of trade, the improvement of productivity, the improvement of choices, the way in which trade has lifted so many people out of poverty," she said. There was "a determination around the room to better identify the benefits of trade in order to respond to the easy populist backlash against globalisation". In their communique the group resolved to make growth more inclusive, "generating more quality jobs, addressing inequalities and eradicating poverty so that no one is left behind." And many leaders, alive to the public mood, sounded a note of regret that so many had been left behind in the rush for development. The world must "do more to ensure that working people really benefit from the opportunities created by free trade," Britain's new Prime Minister Theresa May said as she worked overtime to start shaping her country's post-EU access to world markets. The Taliban has claimed responsibility for twin bombings that killed at least 24, including senior security officials, and wounded 91 in Kabul on Monday. Defence ministry spokesman Mohammad Radmanesh told Reuters that the blasts hit a busy city area near a market, government buildings and a main intersection. The bombings happened in rapid succession, where civilians, troops and police officers helping victims in the first blast were caught in the second explosion triggered by a suicide bomber. Among the dead is an army general. It comes less than two weeks after Taliban gunmen attacked the American University in the capital. According to Reuters, the militants have stepped-up their attacks against the local government following a brief lull after a U.S. drone strike killed their former leader Mullah Akhtar Mansour in May. In a statement seen by CNN, Afghan President Mohammad Ashraf Ghani expressed his condolences to the victims families and condemned the acts of violence. The enemies of Afghanistan have lost their ability to fight the security and defence forces of the country and thus attack highways, cities, mosques, schools and common people. A teenager who plotted to run down and behead a police officer in an Anzac Day terrorist attack in Australia after being "corrupted by lunatic clerics" was on Monday sentenced to 10 years in jail. Sevdet Besim, 19, pleaded guilty to "doing an act in preparation, or planning for, a terrorist act" over the 2015 plan to attack commemorations in Melbourne honouring soldiers who fought and died for Australia. The Victorian Supreme Court had previously heard that Besim discussed the plot in encrypted messages with a British boy, who was 14 at the time. The boy, who cannot be named for legal reasons, masterminded the foiled plot from his bedroom in Lancashire, northern England and was jailed for five years last October. Justice Michael Croucher said Besim's proposed "putrid act" was aimed at advancing violent jihad, intimidating the government and striking fear into the wider community. "To the vast majority of the community, it's unfathomable an 18-year-old boy planned to kill a law enforcement officer, to crash into him with a car and then behead him with a knife," Croucher said. "As part of his planning for this putrid act, Mr Besim conducted internet searches on Anzac Day and places where there might be memorials. "He had a knife, he had a car, he had a jihad flag, he had the encouragement of S (the British boy), and a mind corrupted by lunatic clerics. "That was all he needed to commit this atrocity, and he was prepared to die trying." The court heard that Besim, who was arrested a week before Anzac Day, was an associate of Numan Haider, who was shot and killed by counter-terrorism forces in 2014 in Melbourne after stabbing two police officers. Croucher said Besim wanted to go to the Middle East and join the so-called Islamic State, but he was refused a passport and when Haider was killed decided "that he must take up the fight here in Melbourne". "Fortunately, however, Mr Besim's plot was foiled," he added in sentencing him to 10 years in prison. Australia raised its threat level to high in September 2014 and has since carried out a series of counter-terrorism raids, with alarm fuelled by the departure of dozens of its nationals to Iraq and Syria to fight with jihadists. A handful of terror-related attacks have been foiled on home soil over the past 18 months, authorities have said, but several have taken place, including the murder of a Sydney police employee last year. Movistar Plus, giant telco Telefonicas pay TV operator, is teaming with Banijays outfit DLO to produce a premium TV drama adaptation of Spanish journalist-turned-writer Julia Navarros bestselling novel Dime quien soy (Tell Me Who I Am). Fernando Gonzalez Molina, a key member of a new generation of B.O.-friendly Spanish directors which often cut its teeth with local primetime TV dramas is attached to helm the series. Gonzalez Molinas credits include titles such as Three Meters Above the Sky, I Want You, Palm Trees in the Snow and the upcoming The Invisible Guardian, all four film adaptations of successful books. For Movistar Plus, Dime quien soy marks the fourth officially announced original TV series project in its ambitious TV fiction plans, which are rapidly consolidating the companys position, alongside Sky and Vivendi, as one of the three key pay TV drivers of higher-end drama production in Western Europe. Set in the 20th century, the historical novel follows a 30-something Internet journalist Guillermo who is tasked by his aunt to investigate the life of his great-grandmother, Amelia Garayoa, which escaped from Spain, leaving her husband and her son just before the break out of the Spanish Civil War in 1936. With doses of adventure, emotions, intrigue and political chronicle, the novel turns on the life of Amelia Garayoa through the tumultuous years of the Second Spanish Republic to the fall of the Berlin Wall, including WWII and the Cold War. The TV series will be produced for Movistar by vet film and TV executive Jose Manuel Lorenzo at DLO, the Spanish fiction production arm of leading international TV company Banijay. The TV drama will roll mainly on location in Spain, Argentina and several European countries, at a still undisclosed date. Amelia Garayoa is one of the great female characters in recent Spanish-language literature. Covering the great conflicts of the 20th century via the story of an exceptional life make Dime quien soy one of the most ambitious trips of my career, Gonzalez Molina said in a statement. Story continues So far I had resisted taking this step [of my novels TV adaptation], fearing Id end up not recognising Amelia Garayoa and the rest of the characters. But after meeting Fernando Gonzalez Molina I think Amelia is in good hands, added Julia Navarro (pictured). The novel has sold over one million copies in Spain after 32 editions, and has been published in countries such as the U.S., Germany, Italy, Netherlands and Hungary. Aiming to release six-to-eight TV premium series a year starting from 2017, Movistar is currently developing some 20 TV fiction projects. Already announced, Juan Cavestany and Alvaro Fernandez-Armeros romantic comedy Verguenza is at the final shoot stage; both Alberto Rodriguezs historical thriller La peste and Alberto and Jorge Sanchez-Cabezudos cop thriller La zona are in pre-production. Related stories Banijay, Zodiak to Merge to Create $1 Billion Production House TV Guide Network Sets International Distribution Pact with Banijay MipTV: Banijay Taps David Goldberg to Launch Banijay Studios North America Give employees paid sick leave and they're less likely to arrive at work flu-ridden, which means they're also less likely to spread that sickness around, not only to co-workers but to the general population. This makes intuitive sense. Think, for instance, of all the coughing and hacking you have to duck on your mass transit trip to work during flu season. Take away that paid sick leave, or reduce it, and the workplace remains a disease conduit with people feeling they have little choice but to trudge into work, contagion be damned. But employers also suspect workers use their sick pay when they're not sick, to take a day off on the company dime. Also very intuitive but until now, these connections have been more anecdotal than empirical. Related: Record Share of US Workers Have Paid Sick Leave, Labor Department Says A new National Bureau of Economic Research study, "The Pros and Cons of Sick Pay Schemes: Testing for Contagious Presenteeism and Noncontagious Absenteeism Behavior," lays claim to finally proving cause-and-effect between contagious presenteeism (coming to work sick), its effect on flu levels in the larger community and how varying amounts of paid sick leave affect employee behavior. Researchers Stefan Pichler of the KOF Swiss Economic Institute and Nicolas R. Ziebarth of Cornell University note that [t]he U.S. is the only industrialized country without universal access to paid sick leave. About half of the workforce lacks access to paid sick leave, particularly low-income employees in the service sector. Related: Your Health Insurance Will Cost More Next Year. Heres Why Their study sought to sort through how offering paid sick leave would affect worker behavior, and to test the theory that employees who dont get paid sick leave will come to work even if theyre contagious a tricky task, the authors write, given that empirically proving the existence of presenteeism with contagious diseases is extremely difficult, if not impossible, because contagiousness is generally unobservable. Story continues To Shirk or Not to Shirk To do that, the authors first correlated Google Flu Trends data with U.S. sick pay mandates to see what, if any, impacts these mandates have at the regional level. With American sick pay schemes determined regionally and not nationally mandated as in other countries this allowed researchers to more easily detect cause-and-effect relationships. The results were clear: When U.S. employees gain access to paid sick leave, the general flu rate in the population decreases significantly. Related: The Surprising True Cost of the Paid Leave Bill The researchers also looked at German sick pay mandates that varied the level of sick pay as a way to test their model. They found that cutting sick pay from 100 percent to 80 percent of foregone wages reduced overall sickness rates by about 20 percent. In short, employers are at least partially right: Reducing sick pay results in a greater dropoff in shirking than the increase in employees coming to work sick and contagious. Still, employers may have to recognize the bigger tradeoff between offering paid sick leave or reducing it it might be tempting to brush off the flu as little more than a bad cold, but it is a very real public health hazard that still kills thousands of Americans each year. As such, perhaps decisions on paid sick leave are best made for companies in the form of government mandates, regional or national, the authors say. And a bit of shirking, we all know at least anecdotally, can be good for one's mental health a perfect subject for a future study. Top Reads from The Fiscal Times: The 43rd annual Telluride Film Festival is wrapping up today, with all the movies having premiered. As I noted a few days ago, it has been a very good fest for Best Actor candidates and not just for this years nascent 2016 Oscar race. In the case of Bryan Cranston and Richard Gere, you can make them early contenders for the 2017 contest. Both actors appeared to introduce their films, Cranston with co-star Jennifer Garner for acquistion title Wakefield from writer-director Robin Swicord and Gere, on a very quick 24-hour trip to the fest, for Sony Pictures Classics terrifically entertaining Norman: The Moderate Rise and Tragic Fall of a New York Fixer from writer-director Joseph Cedar. Both stars introduced their films by noting they are offbeat. Gere, at the Telluride Fest for the first time, called Norman an oddball movie. It might be that, but it also happens to contain a career-best and completely unexpected character turn from this fine actor, who surprisingly has yet to receive an Academy Award nomination. Playing the quirky Norman Oppenheimer, a nonstop-talking consultant who makes connections for people he befriends (usually on the street somewhere) but is an enigma otherwise, Gere has the role of his career. Hes funny, complicated, touching and unforgettable as a guy who finally picks the right horse when he does an expensive act of kindness for an Israeli politician (an excellent Lior Ashkenazi) who years later becomes the Prime Minister of Israel and doesnt forget Norman. It has been very well received here. SPCs co-President Michael Barker says the distributor doesnt plan to release Norman until the spring most likely, even though it world premiered here in Colorado and next goes to Toronto, both fests being used as a launch pad for this years Oscar campaigns. Last year SPC took Don Cheadles Miles Davis biopic Miles Ahead to the New York Film Festival but did not qualify it for Oscars. It opened in the spring and is eligible in this years race an apparent model for Norman, which also has a great supporting cast including Steve Buscemi, Michael Sheen, Josh Charles, Charlotte Gainsbourg, Hank Azaria and others. But no one can steal this one from Gere. Cedar, a past Oscar nominee for Foreign Language film Footnote, has made a richly entertaining movie, a U.S./Israeli co-production that is one of the highlights of this years very good Telluride for me. Story continues untitled Cranston, who seemingly is incapable of giving a bad performance, has delivered a tour de force portrayal in Wakefield, equal to or even surpassing his 2015 Oscar-nominated role in Trumbo. This film is one of a handful here looking for distribution, and buyers including Fox Searchlight, A24, the Orchard, Sony Classics and Open Road to name a few here have been checking it out. Wakefield too heads to TIFF next week. The film, based on an E.L. Doctorow short story, reminded me of 1968s daringly original and divisive The Swimmer, which starred Burt Lancaster as a man who travels from pool to pool in suburban Connecticut. Cranstons Howard Wakefield, like the Lancaster character, is a man in the midst of a slow-burning nervous breakdown. He comes home from work one day, goes to the attic across from his main home and doesnt leave, staying there undetected for months, observing his wife (nicely played by Jennifer Garner) and daughters from afar, lost in his own world. Like Geres, this is an oddball movie that contains a role that is nirvana for an actor. Much of it is played non-verbally by both him and Garner, with his voice-over describing his inner thoughts as he spies on his own family after dropping out of society without so much as a note left behind. Swicord, speaking at the Q&A after the screening Sunday, explained her motive for wanting to turn this unusual story not on the surface a cinematic one into a movie. I tried to get into the mind of this man, she said. I really was trying to understand him. Who would do such a thing? I began to discover all sorts of things. For me, I felt that this reflects something that happens in marriages when people are feeling they are carrying the burden of the marriage, and when that happens, things go sour. It was for me a kind of modern meditation on marriage. Cranston brought some of his own personal life into the role as he explained that, as a child, his own father abandoned him and his family. The notion of abandoning my children, as a character, and his wife was a trigger point for me. And so there were all sorts of issues that I had to deal with before I could then embrace Howard Wakefield, Cranston said in describing the unique challenge of this role. He was familiar with the Doctorow story and in fact says that over the years he has returned to it, unable to get it out of his head and he describes that as a good thing. The movie was shot in only 20 days, and the considerable voice-over narration that runs throughout was laid down three times during the course of the shoot so that Cranston would be able to know how to play the many dialogue-less scenes. He is simply brilliant in this movie, which seems to have inspired divided opinions here, just as The Swimmer did with audiences nearly a half-century ago. It doesnt seem terribly likely that a distribution deal will result in turning this around as a last-minute entrant for the 2016 race, but both Cranston and Gere need to be remembered for next year no matter when their intriguing indie movies are eventually released. Telluride Film Festival 2014 Lineup There have been other titles up for sale at this Telluride (before hitting the trail to TIFF) including Una, a film version of the play Blackbird in which a young woman returns after 15 years to confront the much older man she had sex with when she was 13. It got raves and Tony nominations on Broadway earlier this year with Jeff Daniels and Michelle Williams, but this film version starring Rooney Mara and Ben Mendelsohn comes off more creepy and unsettling when it is opened up cinematically. Despite fine actors I cant imagine who the audience is for this thing. A distributor will definitely have their work cut out for them. The Sally Hawkins biopic, Maudie, had lots of fans among moviegoers here and also hopes to land a distributor ,at least by the time it leaves for TIFF . It got a head start here in the Rockies (I need to catch it in Canada) as did several other smaller films, including lots of documentaries on display like director John Scheinfelds John Coltrane story, Chasing Trane, which at least one distrib to whom I spoke is actively interested in. Among the other big titles here in Telluride of course were two that had their World Premieres first in Venice, La La Land which both me and my colleague Nancy Tartaglione have written about extensively, and Paramount/Sonys cerebral and beautifully made sci fi film about an Alien invasion, Arrival. Nancy interviewed director Denis Villeneuve and covered the Venice premiere of Arrival which hit both fests, as well as the upcoming TIFF, without its director in tow since he is off shooting the Blade Runner sequel right now, the same reason Ryan Gosling cannot attend the Fall Fests to appear with Emma Stone for La La. IMG_0733 I caught up with it yesterday along with the surrounding tribute Telluride staged for its luminous star, Amy Adams. Watching the reel of her films from Junebug to Enchanted to The Master, Doubt and American Hustle to name a few really reminded me of the versatility of this five time Oscar nominated actress. She can do anything. Her performance in Arrival is spellbinding, very internal, and almost Bergmanesque. It will definitely put her in the hunt for a sixth nomination, and the film, despite its sci-fi origins (not a genre the Academy usually warms to) could do very well with Oscar voters if it connects when it opens on November 11. Reviews are generally great so far. Adams was charming in the 15 minute chat she did at her Sunday morning tribute (she had also done one Saturday night because Telluride makes honorees go through this thing twice), revealed she is a Castle Rock, Colorado native who never before had gotten the chance to come to the Telluride Festival. She also spoke briefly about Arrival, a film in which she plays a linguist trying to communicate with the otherworldly beings, and whose meaning is open for interpretation. At the end of the day this is a mothers story, she said lest anyone think we are watching something like Aliens, where Sigourney Weaver became on the few actors ever to be nominated for a leading Oscar in the sci fi genre. Adams may add to that total, though she has to compete with herself as her other Fall entry, Nocturnal Animals also won raves out of Venice and is heading to TIFF, bypassing Telluride. Over the weekend, per usual, there were lots of parties at this coolest of all film festivals where you will never see a red carpet. A24, Open Road, Lionsgate, The Orchard, Netflix and Sony Pictures Classics (where I got to break bread with the great Isabelle Huppert) all threw soirees of various sizes, but mostly were laid back and fun. The Academy Of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences also continued their annual cocktail reception for filmmakers and members attending the fest, of which they are a longtime sponsor. President Cheryl Boone Isaacs and CEO Dawn Hudson made the trek and the party was packed with the likes of Miles Teller, Aaron Eckhart, Tom Hanks , Emma Stone and many, many others. I caught up with the filmmakers of Netflix documentary The Ivory Game, which is a harrowing docu about elephant poaching and the rampant sales of tusks in markets like China and Hong Kong. They hope this film will be seen to make a big difference. It could, even if at times it is hard to watch certain scenes. Also turning heads at the Academys party was SPCs docu The Eagle Huntress, complete with the Mongolian cast and filmmakers and two of the eagles, who provided some nice photo opps and didnt bite any potential Oscar voters. Finally the Open Road crew and their Bleed For This filmmakers and stars were out for dinner Sunday night at Telluride Bistro when tragedy almost struck, but fortunately hero Bleed For This producer Chad Verdi came to the rescue when publicist Lori Burns choked on a piece of shrimp. Publicity head Liz Biber jumped up and shouted for anyone who could do the Heimlich Maneuver. Verdi went immediately into action and popped that piece of shrimp right out of her. Open Roads Tom Ortenberg said it was the biggest choke at a film festival since Paul Schrader had to be rescued one year at Sundance. Related stories Tom Hanks Interrupts His Own 'Sully' Q&A To Lavishly Praise 'La La Land' - Telluride 'Sully' Gets Standing Ovations; Clint Eastwood Says Story Turned Down Four Times - Telluride Opening Day Goes To The Men As Best Actor Oscar Buzz Builds For Hanks, Teller, Affleck & Gosling - Telluride Pablo Larrain became the first Chilean director to be awarded Telluride's silver medallion over the weekend, where he took part in two Q&A's on Sunday night and Monday morning and introduced his new film, Neruda. A drama about the great Chilean poet's flight from the authorities in the late 1940s, Neruda continues Larrain's fascination with his country's political history - "I do believe every movie is political," he said - and in particular the era of General Augusto Pinochet, the dictator who ruled Chile from 1973 to the late 1990s, although the new film takes place before that time. Read more: Telluride: Germany's Oscar Submission 'Toni Erdmann' Gives Festivalgoers Rocky Mountain High (Analysis) Interviewed by Davia Nelson on Sunday morning onstage at the Chuck Jones Theater, Larrain - whose films include 2010's Post Mortem and 2012's No - surprised many audience members by revealing not just that he comes from a family of politicians, but also that his family leans to the right. His father, Hernan Larrain, is a senator with the conservative Independent Democratic Union. The filmmaker's own work seriously questions Pinochet and his right-wing supporters. Larrain, 40, said his views, particularly on cinema, were shaped by some of the movies he watched growing up - those that weren't banned in Chile, that is. They included Robert Zemeckis' Back to the Future and Werner Herzog's Fitzcarraldo. "Its [theme is] essential to cinema: time," he said of the former film, while the latter, with its story of "people pushing that boat over a hill," represented "a metaphor" of moviemaking as well as life. Along with clips from his previous pictures, Larrain showed two scenes from his upcoming Jackie Kennedy biopic Jackie, which debuts Wednesday at the Venice Film Festival before screening at Toronto. Read more: Hugh O'Brian, Famed Lawman on 'The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp,' Dies at 91 Story continues Larrain said he had received an unexpected call from Darren Aronofsky just before Neruda got underway, asking him to make the Jackie O movie. His biggest alteration to the script, he said, was to take out one-third of the scenes, those that did not directly feature the former first lady. He then told Aronofsky that he would only make the picture if the latter's Black Swan star, Natalie Portman, played the lead, and Aronofsky set up a meeting between them in Paris. "She's an extraordinary, extraordinary actress," Larrain noted. Although Jackie does not yet have an American distributor and release set, it is possible Portman could be the latest addition to a super-heated best actress race that includes such promising contenders as Emma Stone (La La Land), Viola Davis (Fences) and Annette Bening (20th Century Women). BANGKOK (Reuters) - Thai police said on Monday they had arrested a suspect linked to Muslim separatists in connection with a wave of bombings in tourist towns last month that killed four people and wounded dozens, including foreigners. The bombs and arson attacks in various towns south of Bangkok including Hua Hin, Surat Thani and on Phuket island, raised fears that a Muslim separatist insurgency, for years largely confined to three deep-south, Muslim-majority provinces, was spreading. Police have issued several warrants in connection with the blasts but the suspect detained on Saturday, identified as Abdul Kadae, was the first person to be arrested. "The suspect is currently in military custody where he is being interrogated," police deputy spokesman Krisana Pattanacharoen told Reuters. Police said Kadae was from Pattani, one of the three troubled, Muslim-majority provinces in the far south of predominantly Buddhist Thailand, and he had connections to separatists. They did not elaborate but said he was suspected of arson in Trang province as part of the Aug. 11-12 wave of attacks. Kadae can be held in military custody for up to seven days before he is allowed access to a lawyer. More than 6,500 people have been killed in the largely ethnic-Malay provinces of Pattani, Yala and Narathiwat since a separatist insurgency resurfaced there in 2004, according to the group Deep South Watch, which monitors the conflict. (Reporting by Aukkarapon Niyomyat and Panarat Thepgumpanat; Writing by Cod Satrusayang; Editing by Robert Birsel) Mundial, the joint sales venture between IM Global and L.A. and Mexico City-based Canana, and Instructions Not Included producer Monica Lozano are kicking off their output deal with Mundial introducing a trio of titles from Lozanos Alebrije Cine y Video at this weeks Toronto Festival. In a extended career, Lozanos credits take in Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritus debut Amores Perros. Directed by and starring Eugenio Derbez, Instructions ranks as the biggest Spanish-language hit ever in the U.S. punching $44.5 million. Underscoring Lozanos versatility, the three Alebrije titles hitting Mundials Toronto sales slate range from a She is Ramona, a femme-centric urban comedy, to Jeremy, another comedy but about a winsome child genius, and The Obscure Spring, a tale of amour fou, from Ernesto Contreras (Blue Eyelids). Were excited to finally kick off our output deal with the great Monica Lozano, enthused Cristina Garza, Mundial general manager. She added: Monica has contributed to some of Latin Americas most groundbreaking and successful films, creating diverse and magical experiences for audiences, so its a real pleasure to bring her new works to the international marketplace. Directed by Hugo Rodriguez, who helmed 2003 action-comedy hit Nicotina and took a supervising producer credit on Instructions, She is Ramona stars newcomer Andrea Ortega Lee, recommended to Rodriguez by Derbez, as a big woman with little luck, as the log-line has it. Starved for love and suffering an Amelie-like sad childhood which spills over into adulthood, and a firm believer in bad luck, Ramona is laid off at work for being overweight, and cant afford the liposuction she dreams of. One day she stumbles across a collection of magic beetles in a tarot cafe; her luck takes a turn for the better. Child genius movie Jeremy, the first feature from Mexicos Anwar Safa, turns a precocious eight-year-old whose a pessimistic misfit confronting the ignorance of his family and the most important decision in his life: What he will do when he grows up? Jeremy bows in Mexico later this month. Story continues Co-produced by Lozanos Alebrije, Lady Leonor and Agencia SHA, The Obscure Spring marks Contreras fiction feature follow-up to his debut, 2006s Cannes Critics Week player Blue Eyelids. The torrid love affair tale, in which characters suffer head-on the clashing demands of carnal desire and family responsibilities, toplines Jose Maria Yazpik (Im So Excited), Cecilia Suarez (Spanglish) and Irene Azuela (Miss Bala). Alebrije also backed Maya Godeds Sundance-selected Plaza de la Soledad, a documentary feature telling the human stories behind some of the denizens of Mexico Citys historic prostitute quarter. She has in production Spaniard Antonio Chavarrias The Chosen, a fiction historical thriller inspired by the stranger-than-fiction true story of Trotskys assassin. Related stories Telluride Film Review: 'Into the Inferno' Venice Film Review: 'Heartstone' Telluride Film Review: 'Wakefield' Hangzhou (China) (AFP) - From the moment Barack Obama touched down in China, his last G20 summit seemed likely to be a tricky one. A kerfuffle over aircraft stairs -- or lack of them -- and overzealous Chinese apparatchiks drowned out Obama's efforts to laud his "pivot" to Asia and a deal between Beijing and Washington to jointly ratify a major climate accord. By the end of Obama's three days in Hangzhou, he would have to contend with yet more inconclusive talks on Syria, prickly Turkish allies, a mouthy Filipino ally and attention-seeking North Koreans firing off a battery of ballistic missiles. Obama's first full day in China started with a charm offensive aimed at elevating Britain's new Prime Minister Theresa May. Instead of the usual photo and statements in a featureless meeting room, May was put, if not on a pedestal, then on a stage with a podium and all the trappings of state, side-by-side with Obama. The White House is keen to make sure the "special relationship" still feels at least a bit special, even if Britain has become tangled in a political thicket and diminished in stature by its vote to leave the EU. Obama's next task was to mend fences with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who since a July coup, has worried the White House by repeatedly stirring up anti-US sentiment. If public opinion were to shift against America in a Muslim democracy, one which is at the crossroads of Europe and the Middle East and is a major NATO ally, it would be a strategic disaster. Obama was worried enough to dispatch his vice president to Turkey last month to cool the situation, with mixed results. Meeting face-to-face for the first time since the attempted putsch, Obama went out of his way to praise the Turkish leader. He also offered reassurances that Erdogan's Pennsylvania-based opponent Fethullah Gulen would be extradited if he did have hand in the coup plot. In return, Erdogan toned down direct criticism of the United States, even describing relations under Obama as a "model partnership." Story continues "The relations between our countries are very special and they are getting stronger as time goes by," he said. But the warm words were not enough to solve a rift between Washington and Ankara about the YPG, a Syrian-Kurdish group that Obama has backed and Erdogan has bombed. Erdogan branded the militia a "terrorist organization" and baldly declared: "We have to embrace the same stance against all terrorist organizations around the world." He also lumped Gulen in that group, decrying the "Fethullahist terrorist organization." - Duterte meeting - Obama may be willing to extradite Gulen, if there is enough evidence, he is perhaps less likely to ostracise the YPG. The group forms the spine of the Syrian Defence Force, which will be vital if Islamic State group's "capital" at Raqqa is to be retaken. To shore up Kurdish support, Obama was forced to send another lieutenant, his special envoy Brett McGurk, to Syria with a pledge of "ongoing US support," according to the State Department. Obama's problems with US allies did not end there. On the eve of a planned meeting with Rodrigo Duterte, the Philippine President's description of Obama as a "son of a whore" forced the US president to call their appointment into question. That would be a relief for Filipino officials nervous about what their unscripted and impolitic leader might say behind closed doors. But with Manila locked in a territorial dispute with China over the South China Sea, it could use US support. During Obama's time in China, US foes proved a little more reliable. North Korea's decision to fire three ballistic missiles off its east coast, was just the latest in a series of provocations. But ahead of an East Asia Summit in Laos, it may help Obama both make the case for tougher Chinese action against Pyongyang and for that EAS grouping to play a bigger security role, acting as a forum to address and defuse regional tensions. News from Syria proved that the country's troubles can always get worse, with the regime again attacking Aleppo in an effort to besiege the city. That came just as Secretary of State John Kerry was trying to negotiate at least a partial truce with Syria's backer, Russia. It was not to be. By Steve Holland and Jeff Mason CANFIELD, OHIO/CLEVELAND (Reuters) - Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton took their bitter fight for the White House to the battleground state of Ohio on Labor Day on Monday, mingling with voters at a fair, a parade and a brewery as the race entered its final, frenzied two months. Trump, more accustomed to presiding over big rallies from a stage, plunged into a crowd at a county fair where supporters had built a replica of the wall the Republican nominee has pledged to build along the U.S.-Mexico border. "This has been an unbelievable reception!" Trump said at the Mahoning County Fair after exiting his SUV to shake hands with the crowd. Earlier in the day, he met with leaders and members of various unions in a Cleveland suburb to discuss immigration and trade, his two signature issues. Democratic nominee Clinton stopped at a brewery in Cleveland before heading to a nearby Labor Day parade and rally, where she tested a new jab at her opponent: "Friends don't let friends vote for Trump." At one point, in a sign of the state's importance, Clinton's and Trump's planes sat side-by-side on the tarmac in Cleveland, though the nominees did not cross paths. "It's kind of interesting to have all the planes here on the same tarmac. It just shows you how important Ohio is, said Clinton's running-mate, U.S. Senator Tim Kaine of Virginia, who was campaigning alongside her. The Labor Day holiday traditionally kicks off the last stretch of campaigning ahead of the Nov. 8 election. While most polls show Trump trailing Clinton in many battleground states where the election will likely be decided - including in Ohio - he has drawn close to even with her in some national polls and even inched ahead in others. The most recent Reuters/Ipsos poll on Friday showed Trump had the support of 40 percent of likely voters to 39 percent for Clinton, erasing her recent eight-point lead. Both candidates also coincided in making overtures to the news media covering them. Clinton, travelling with her press corps for the first time on a new plane emblazoned with her campaign slogan, "Stronger together," said on Monday she had enjoyed the last moment before the mad dash to the finish line and that she was more than ready for the next nine weeks. Her Republican rival, also campaigning with his vice presidential pick, Indiana Governor Mike Pence, invited his press corps for the first time to accompany him on the short flight from Cleveland to Youngstown. En route, Trump told reporters on the plane that he was open to the idea of them travelling with him more often and that there is an "obligation" for nominees to participate in the three upcoming presidential debates. TRUMPS REBOUND Trumps rebound from a series of self-inflicted wounds has followed the hiring of a new campaign management team, and the Republican nominee is showing more discipline on the stump, reading his rally speeches from teleprompters. Trump has been helped by what his campaign said was a positive week last week in which he made a quick trip to Mexico, appearing side by side with Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto, and visited a black church in Detroit. An immigration speech Trump gave following his trip to Mexico, however, drew criticism from some of his Hispanic supporters, and several backers advising him on the issue decided to part ways with his campaign. Trump aide Jason Miller said rising poll numbers showed that the Republican nominee's campaign was moving in the right direction. The trend lines are the important thing to point to," Miller told Reuters. "The problem that Clinton has is there is no positive information flow for her campaign." Clinton, who was President Barack Obama's first-term secretary of state, appeared at few public campaign events during the latter half of August, instead raising funds at high-dollar events in the East Coast vacation spots of Marthas Vineyard and the Hamptons, and with celebrities in Los Angeles and high-tech leaders in Silicon Valley. Clintons campaign announced that it had raised $143 million in August for her presidential bid and the Democratic Party. Clinton is again on the defensive over her use of a private email server and possible conflicts of interest with her family foundation while secretary of state, which have caused unease for some voters. But experts still see the Democratic nominee as the odds-on favourite to win the presidency. (Reporting by Jeff Mason and Steve Holland in Ohio; Additional reporting and writing by Amanda Becker in Washington; Editing by Jonathan Oatis) By Steve Holland YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio (Reuters) - In a new twist to his immigration proposals, U.S. Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump held out the possibility of legal status for millions of illegal immigrants, but only after many other border enforcement steps are taken. Trump, in remarks to a small group of reporters whom he invited on his plane for the first time since accepting his party's nomination, said parts of his hardline immigration speech last week in Phoenix had been misinterpreted and that he had in fact softened his position to some extent. The New York businessman said that before considering how to deal with millions of illegal immigrants who are obeying U.S. laws and contributing to American society, he first wants to evict criminal elements like drug smugglers and build a border wall. Any illegal immigrants who want to gain citizenship will have to first return to their home countries first and get in line behind legal applicants, he said. But for those who stay behind, Trump said their cases would be considered at some undefined point. Asked about a potential legal status for this group, Trump did not rule it out. Were going to make that decision into the future. That decision will be made," he said. "The first thing will be to get the bad elements out, the gang members, get 'em all out. We secure the border. We stop the drugs from coming in, because the drugs are pouring in ... Were going to build the wall. We need the wall to stop the drugs." Such a piecemeal approach has been pushed by Republican congressional leaders over the years because it is extremely hard to get a comprehensive immigration reform bill through the U.S. Congress. Trump has struggled to strike the right tone on how he would take on illegal immigration if elected on Nov. 8. After flirting with a softer tone, he stuck to his hardline position in Phoenix last week, saying that anyone in the United States illegally would be subject to deportation. Trump, seated with vice presidential running mate Mike Pence in tan leather seats aboard his private jet, was relaxed for a session with reporters of more than a half hour, clearly feeling better about his campaign after polls showed him closing the gap with Democratic rival Hillary Clinton. Talking about his recent effort to appeal to African-American voters, Trump was asked if it was difficult to attract black voters since he has raised doubts about whether Democratic President Barack Obama was born in the United States. Trump waved off the question, saying it was an issue he did not want to get into anymore because reporters would seize on it. In 2011 while under fire from Trump, Obama produced his long-form birth certificate to prove that he was, indeed, born in Hawaii. "I don't talk about it because if I talk about that, your whole thing will be about that," Trump said. "So I don't talk about it." He said his focus for the final two months of the campaign will be mostly about how to create jobs for struggling middle-class Americans."I'm all about the jobs now," he said. Trump also pledged to participate in all three presidential debates, saying he considered it an important part of being a candidate. He also said he was fine with the moderators announced last week. (Reporting by Steve Holland) Diyarbakir (Turkey) (AFP) - A group of 50 Kurdish activists, including MPs, on Monday began a hunger strike to protest the lack of news about the welfare of jailed Kurdish leader Abdullah Ocalan. The protesters, wearing T-shirts with bearing Ocalan's image, said they had received no update about him for several months. "We haven't received any objective information about Ocalan's state of health and security," said the group's spokeswoman Sabahat Tuncel in the Kurdish-majority city of Diyarbakir in the southeast. "We, as 50 volunteers, are beginning a hunger strike for an unspecified period of time until a meeting is secured between Mr Ocalan and his lawyers, his family or a political delegation." Ocalan, who heads the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) which is blacklisted as a terror group by Turkey and its Western allies, is serving life for treason at an island prison near Istanbul. Since the collapse in July 2015 of a fragile ceasefire between the PKK and the Turkish state, he has not been permitted visits by lawyers or supporters. "We joined this (hunger) strike voluntarily and will continue till the end," Ferhat Encu, MP for the pro-Kurdish Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP), told AFP. He confirmed that there was no scheduled end date for the protesters' action. Fellow HDP lawmaker Dilek Ocalan, a niece of the jailed PKK leader, said their protest should not be interpreted as a sign of weakness. "It is the minimum demand of people who call for peace and settlement," she added. - 'False information' - Justice Minister Bekir Bozdag on Sunday dismissed claims there were any problems with Ocalan's health or his security, in a statement carried by state-run Anadolu news agency. "On the subject of Abdullah Ocalan, the subject is constantly exploited by the separatist terror organisation (PKK) and the public receives false information," he said. Story continues "To mobilise the public and for their own objectives, they spread unfounded information about (his) health and safety," he added. The hunger strike comes as Turkey's military steps up its campaign against PKK rebels in the southeast. Turkish war jets on Sunday bombed PKK bases in northern Iraq, Anadolu reported, citing the army, and "neutralised 30 terrorists including those from the leadership cadres of the separatist organisation," it added, referring to the PKK. At the weekend, Turkish warplanes also bombed four PKK targets in the Cukurca region near the Iraqi border after 22 soldiers and a village guard were killed in clashes and an attack blamed on the rebel group. Prime Minister Binali Yildirim visited Diyarbakir on Sunday in a bid to boost investment in areas "damaged by PKK terror." He said that 1.9 billion lira ($645 million/577 million euros) would be invested in the city's historic Sur district, which has been ravaged by renewed violence. MOSCOW (Reuters) - Two senior executives in businesses controlled by Russian tycoon Viktor Vekselberg have been detained by law enforcement officers, two sources close to Vekselberg told Reuters. A spokesman for Renova group, which manages Vekselberg's assets, did not respond to questions about the detentions. Russian law enforcement officers are conducting searches of Vekselberg-owned businesses in Moscow. State investigators said they were looking into allegations that bribes were paid to officials in Russia's Komi region. (Writing by Christian Lowe; Editing by Andrew Osborn) Https%3a%2f%2fblueprint-api-production.s3.amazonaws.com%2fuploads%2fstory%2fthumbnail%2f19767%2f760db66158aa409da42d8ff4b5565d1e It's breeding season for the snakes of Australia, which means reptiles are totally *doing it* around the country. But sometimes it can lead to conflict, as per this video shot by Becky Beale but uploaded to the Facebook page of Sunshine Coast Snake Catchers. Two male carpet pythons can be seen fighting each other on top of a suburban roof just hanging off a gutter while they settle their differences. "Breeding season has definitely begun now, so this male-to-male combat may be a common sight throughout the coast over the next couple of months," according to the video's description. Well, isn't that nice. Chinese woman tries renting a boyfriend online and it was extremely awkward Drone captures rare footage of white whale calf having a frolic with mum Southwest flight attendant perfectly channels Looney Tunes Rebecca Black leaves 'Friday' behind with new single 'The Great Divide' MOSCOW (Reuters) - Two executives of Russian billionaire Viktor Vekselberg's Renova group are being questioned by investigators in Renova's offices in Moscow, a company spokesman told Reuters. Russian state investigators said on Monday they have launched a criminal case against former and current executives of a business belonging to Vekselberg who are suspected of giving large bribes to officials in Russia's Komi region. (Writing by Dmitry Solovyov; Editing by Christian Lowe) WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. State Department on Monday condemned North Korea's launch of three ballistic missiles into the Sea of Japan and called on Pyongyang to avoid doing or saying things that raise tensions in the region. "The United States strongly condemns North Korea's launch of three ballistic missiles into the Sea of Japan ... Today's reckless launches by North Korea threaten civil aviation and maritime commerce in the region," State Department spokesman John Kirby said in a written statement. (Reporting By Arshad Mohammed; Editing by Sandra Maler) THE HAGUE (Reuters) - The United Nations human rights chief on Monday accused U.S. Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump of spreading "humiliating racial and religious prejudice" and warned of a rise of populist politics that could turn violent. In comments at a security and justice conference, U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Ra'ad Al Hussein said he was addressing Dutch far-right leader Geert Wilders and other "populists, demagogues and political fantasists." Naming Trump, Nigel Farage in Britain and Marine Le Pen in France, among others, he accused them of using "fear" tactics similar to those of Islamic State, also known as Daesh. "Make no mistake, I certainly do not equate the actions of nationalist demagogues with those of Daesh," he said. "But in its mode of communication, its use of half-truths and oversimplification, the propaganda of Daesh uses tactics similar to those of the populists." "History has perhaps taught Mr. Wilders and his ilk how effectively xenophobia and bigotry can be weaponized," he said. "The atmosphere will become thick with hate; at this point it can descend rapidly into colossal violence," he warned. Zein called Wilders' election pledge to a ban Muslim immigrants and the Koran "grotesque". Wilders is leading opinion polls ahead of March 2016 parliamentary elections in the Netherlands. Among his key campaign pledges are to close the country's border to Muslim immigrants, shut down mosques and ban the Koran. He also wants to leave the European Union. (Reporting By Anthony Deutsch; Editing by Angus MacSwan) By Mark Gleeson JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - Uganda ended an almost four decade wait for a place in the African Nations Cup finals as Farouk Miya's goal secured a 1-0 win over the Comoros Islands in Kampala on Sunday. Uganda finished second behind Burkina Faso in their group but took one of the two places reserved for the runners-up in the 13 qualifying groups for next year's tournament. They last played at the Nations Cup in 1978 when they were beaten in the final by hosts Ghana. A last-minute winner from Banou Diawara ensured Burkina topped Group D with a 2-1 home victory over nine-man Botswana as they tottered on the brink of elimination. Democratic Republic of Congo, Togo and Tunisia filled the other three berths decided on the last day of the qualifiers. Ten teams had already booked places after the penultimate round of matches in June and holders Ivory Coast were the 11th to qualify with a 1-1 draw at home to Sierra Leone on Saturday. Togo were the other country to take a runners-up berth, edging out Benin and Ethiopia, who also finished on 11 points. A 5-0 home win over Djibouti on Sunday ensured Togo had the better goal difference despite Emmanuel Adebayor missing a penalty. EMPHATIC TRIUMPH The Congolese needed only a draw at home to the Central African Republic, who had to win, but made sure they finished first in Group B with an emphatic 4-1 triumph in Kinshasa. Neeskens Kebano, Firmin Mubele, Mpangi Bolingi and Jordan Botaka were the scorers for the hosts. An early goal from Wahbi Khazri set Tunisia on their way to a 4-1 win over Liberia in Monastir which ensured top spot in Group A. The home side also converted two penalties. Already qualified Mali finished their campaign unbeaten with a 5-2 home win over Benin, as did Algeria and Morocco against lightweight opposition. Morocco expected a goalfest against the tiny island nation of Sao Tome e Principe but had to settle for a 2-0 win in Rabat after being jeered off at the end of a goalless first half. Two goals apiece from Algeria's El Arabi Soudani and Riyad Mahrez, who hammered home a long range free kick, helped secure a 6-0 win over Lesotho, with Soudani increasing his tally in the qualifiers to seven and finishing as top scorer. The finals will be held in Gabon from Jan. 14-Feb. 5. (Editing by Ken Ferris) Last Saturday, in the final week of what is usually a sedate period of summer vacation for almost everybody in Ukraine, the countrys bucolic southern Odessa region experienced an ominous and unusual bout of ethnic violence. The episode had nothing to do with the simmering war between Ukrainians and pro-Russian separatists. It had the air of something more ancient, and perhaps even more sinister: a pogrom against a small community of Roma. The violence was triggered by the discovery on August 27 of the body of a young girl, variously described as 8 or 9 years old, who police said had been raped before her murder. A day later, a 21-year-old Roma man from Loshchynivka, a village of ethnic Russians and Bulgarians that also has a tiny Roma community, was taken into custody and charged with the horrendous crime. In response, on last Saturday evening, an enraged mob of young men went on an anti-Roma rampage, throwing stones, smashing windows, burning down a house, and desecrating property. Thankfully, there were no injuries, as the Roma had already fled but the widely shared videos of the episode led multiple Ukrainian observers to describe the situation as a pogrom, implying violence motivated by ethnic hatred. The authorities responded quickly. After locals demanded the permanent removal of the Roma about six families comprising about 50 individuals the village council provided buses to take them away. Immediately after the violence, the governor of the Odessa region, former Georgian president Mikheil Saakashvili, dispatched special police units and paramilitaries to the village under the personal command of his police chief. But it was another element of the governors reaction that most troubled domestic and international observers. In comments directly after the incident and again after the girls funeral on Wednesday, Saakashvili made public statements which, in a tense situation, are hard to see as anything but inflammatory. I fully share the outrage of the residents of Loshchynivka, he said, adding that in the village there was a real den of iniquity, there is massive drug-dealing in which the anti-social elements that live there are engaged. We should have fundamentally dealt with this problem earlier and now its simply obligatory. Story continues Saakashvilis appointment to the governorship of the Odessa region just over a year ago was met with great excitement and engendered hopes that he could emulate his earlier success as a democratic reformer in his native Georgia. The governor is often viewed as modern, progressive, and even hip. Prior to his return to the Post-Soviet world in May of 2015, the New York Times published an amusing portrayal of his hipster-like exile in Brooklyn. He is almost universally characterized as a principled anti-corruption crusader who is attempting to make Ukraines Euromaidan revolution produce results in the south of the country. But, in the face of stonewalling by local and national authorities, his results have been mixed. And after wasting time and political capital this spring crisscrossing the country and forging a movement for reform in misplaced expectations of early elections (these did not happen), he has now refocused his energies on creating local infrastructure. His projects include championing a new highway to Romania and finalizing construction of a long-stalled second terminal for the local airport. Yet Saakashvilis ungracious and even dangerous response to last weekends tragic incident in a region with fresh historical memory of ethnic strife highlights a different side of his character. His inflammatory rhetoric in a delicate moment was not befitting of a Westernizing reformer. Comments offered by Saakashvilis officials were no less revealing. We must respect the presumption of innocence, said Zurab Hvistani, a spokesman for the Odessa regions interior ministry, but it is merely the constitution of a fact that every Ukrainian and Odessan on the level of ordinary life understands that members of the Roma community are involved in the drug trade. Local villagers have indeed been quoted complaining about a rise in crime since the arrival of the Roma families which, of course, can offer no justification for vigilante violence. Hvistani was insistent that the Roma were not being forced to leave the village against their will. He described their voluntary departure as an implicit admission of the reality that further peaceful coexistence with their Ukrainian neighbors would be impossible. He also declined to provide the location where the Roma families would be moving. Meanwhile, Roma organizations have filed direct appeals to interior minister Arsen Avakov, a staunch Saakashvilli opponent, decrying the violence and noting that the states failure to protect the Roma stands in direct contradiction with its stated goals of building the rule of law in Ukraine. The episode couldnt come at a worse moment for the city and regional government. Odessa is widely viewed as the favorite candidate city to host the 2017 Eurovision song contest, for which it is competing with Kiev and Dnipro. The winner is expected to be announced in the coming weeks, and the prospect is seen as so important to the citys future that, just a day after the killing, Saakashvilli and his sworn local enemy, Odessa mayor Gennady Trukhanov (whom he has repeatedly referred to as a separatist, bandit, and thief) hosted a joint press conference in support of the bid. It was the first time that the two had appeared together in public in almost 15 months, though Odessas elites have since become accustomed to seeing the two men milling about at opposite sides of banquet halls and official gatherings. The two mens unlikely truce is evidence that this episode of sectarian violence might endanger the citys bid for Eurovision glory. And that, in combination with his frustration by the slow pace of his attempted reforms, is what may have prompted Saakashvili to adopt a strikingly populist tone in response. Though the incident may be viewed as a random, it is, in fact, a demonstration of the relative fragility of the social compact in the ethnically diverse region. Saakashvilis response offers an unflattering picture of a governor many had hoped would help Odessa and is particularly troubling since he remains the only force likely to offer the region any meaningful reforms for years to come. Photo credit: ALEXEY KRAVTSOV/AFP/Getty Images The Kiev studios of Ukrainian broadcaster Inter TV was set on fire as a small group of protesters outside reportedly burned tires on Sunday, September 4. The channel is perceived by many Ukrainians as having a pro-Russian bias. Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko issued a statement on Monday both condemning the attack and ordering an investigation but also accusing certain media funded by Russia of trying to destabilize the domestic political situation. Credit: YouTube/Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty HANGZHOU, China, Sept 5 (Reuters) - British Prime Minister Theresa May said she wants a new system to give the government control over who is able to enter the country after it leaves the European Union, rather than a points-based system that selects candidates based on criteria. "What the British people voted for on the 23rd of June was to bring some control into the movement of people from the European Union to the UK," she told reporters on Monday after a two-day summit of leaders from G20 nations in China. "A points-based system does not give you that control." May recalled how staff at Heathrow airport had told her that migrants were able to abuse student visa rules when they applied to come to Britain. "But because they met the criteria they were automatically let in. That's the problem with a points-based system. I want a system where the government is able to decide who comes into the country. I think that's what the British people want." (Reporting by William James; writing by Kate Holton; editing by William Schomberg) Nathan Law, a student leader of Hong Kong's mass 'Umbrella Revolution' democracy rallies two years ago, is now at the forefront of a new guard of young lawmakers pushing for autonomy from China. In the biggest polls since the 2014 protests made Law a household name in Hong Kong, the 23-year-old entered the legislature with a convincing victory, gaining more than 50,000 votes. He becomes the youngest lawmaker in the Legislative Council (LegCo). Law was representing new party Demosisto -- which he founded with fellow Umbrella Movement leader Joshua Wong -- calling for Hong Kong people to have the right to vote in a referendum on independence from Beijing. Britain in 1997 handed the city back to China under a "one country, two systems" agreement, with its rights and freedoms guaranteed for 50 years under a semi-autonomous system. But fears are growing that Beijing is tightening its grip and that those liberties are being eroded. Law has pledged to push his party's self-determination message from the start in LegCo, the city's lawmaking body. "People are voting (for) a new way and a new future for the democratic movement," he said after his win. "I'm bearing the trust and support of many people. It motivates me to do better." In an interview with AFP, Law cast himself as a bridge to unite the factions of the democratic camp, which is split between established parties wary of a pro-independence message and new activists who want more autonomy. University student Law, who is reading cultural studies, rose to prominence during the 2014 rallies, delivering speeches to tens of thousands who protested on the streets and meeting government officials in what were ultimately fruitless negotiations. After the failure of the Umbrella Movement to win political reform, morale in the pro-democracy camp waned, with Law and Wong in and out of court on protest-related charges. Law was last month convicted of inciting people to join an unlawful assembly, but escaped jail time with a community service sentence. Story continues His election is a validation of the 2014 rallies, says Law, one of at least four young campaigners who are calling for more distance from Beijing to win a LegCo seat. "There are a lot more people coming out to vote because they see new choice," Law said. "We inherited some spirit from the (Umbrella) Movement and I hope that that can continue in the future." The Hague (AFP) - The UN human rights chief launched a scathing attack on populist politicians like Donald Trump and Dutch far-right leader Geert Wilders, calling for action to halt such "demagogues and political fantasists". Speaking in The Hague, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Ra'ad Al Hussein said he was a Muslim whose role was "to defend and promote the human rights of each individual, everywhere". "And I am angry, too. Because of Mr Wilder's lies and half-truths, manipulations and peddling of fear," Zeid told the inauguration of the Hague-based Peace, Justice and Security Foundation. Last month, Wilders' Freedom Party (PVV) launched its campaign platform ahead of March elections vowing to "close mosques, Islamic schools and ban the Koran" if elected. The PVV, which has been leading in opinion polls, also vowed to reverse the "Islamisation" of The Netherlands by closing the borders, shutting asylum seeker centres, banning migrants from Muslim countries and stopping Muslim women from wearing the headscarf. Zeid slammed the PVV's proposals and said Wilders had much in common with US Republican presidential hopeful Trump, Hungary's Prime Minister Viktor Orban, France's leader of the National Front Marine Le Pen, and leading Brexit campaigner Nigel Farage. He also said they had similarities to the ideology espoused by the Islamic State group. "All seek in varying degrees to recover a past, halcyon and so pure in form, where sunlit fields are settled by peoples united by ethnicity or religion," Zeid told prominent members of the justice community here. "A past that most certainly, in reality, did not exist anywhere, ever." Promises to recover such a past were "fiction; its merchants are cheats. Clever cheats," he added, accusing populist leaders of using "half-truths and oversimplification" to feed the fears of "anxious" individuals. Story continues - 'Horrendous injustice' - It was a simple formula "to make your target audience feel good by offering up what is a fantasy to them, but a horrendous injustice to others." "I do not equate the actions of nationalist demagogues with those of Daesh, which are monstrous and sickening," Zeid said, using another name for IS. But the jihadists' methods of communication were "similar tactics to those of the populists", with both groups benefitting from the other to survive, he added. "We must pull back from this trajectory," Zeid warned, adding that there was a risk "the atmosphere will become thick with hate" which could "descend rapidly into colossal violence." Urging people to speak out and "draw the line", he asked "are we going to continue to stand by and watch this banalisation of bigotry?" Reacting to Zeid's speech, Wilders in a text message to AFP retorted that the Jordanian prince was "an utter fool." "Another good reason to get rid of the UN," said the populist politician known for his peroxide bouffant hairdo, calling again for the world to "de-Islamise". "Islam and freedom are incompatible whatever this Jordanian bureaucrat says," Wilders said. By Roberta Rampton and Nathaniel Taplin HANGZHOU, China (Reuters) - China and the United States ratified the Paris agreement to cut climate-warming emissions on Saturday, marking a major step toward the enactment of the pact as early as the end of the year and setting the stage for other countries to follow suit. The world's two biggest emitters of greenhouse gases made the landmark announcement as heads of state from the Group of 20 biggest economies, or G20, arrived for a summit in the city of Hangzhou, parts of which resembled a ghost town as Chinese security locked down the area. U.S. President Barack Obama's last scheduled trip to Asia before leaving office however got off to an awkward start. Soon after Air Force One landed, a Chinese security official blocked National Security Adviser Susan Rice on the tarmac, speaking angrily to her before a Secret Service agent stepped between the two. China has gone to great lengths to try to make the Sept 4-5 G20 summit a success, hoping to cement its standing as a global power, but a range of thorny diplomatic topics could overshadow the agenda. G20 leaders are likely to renew their promises to use tax and spending policies to invigorate the sluggish world economy, although a new pro-growth push was unlikely. Overcapacity in the global steel industry, a sore point for China as the world's largest producer of the metal, barriers to foreign investment and the risk of currency devaluations to protect export markets will also figure in the discussions. Beyond economics, there may be friction over territorial disputes in the South China Sea and a U.S.-South Korea decision to deploy a missile defence system in South Korea to counter missile and nuclear threats from North Korea. When Obama met Chinese President Xi Jinping, he told him they would have candid talks on cyber, human rights and maritime issues. Nevertheless, the climate deal set a positive tone.. "Just as I believe the Paris agreement will ultimately prove to be a turning point for our planet, I believe that history will judge today's efforts as pivotal," Obama said after he and Xi handed ratified documents to UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon. Story continues "We have a saying in America that you need to put your money where your mouth is. And when it comes to combating climate change, that's what we're doing. Both the United States and China, we're leading by example." At a joint ceremony, Xi said it "speaks to the shared ambition and resolve of China and the United States in addressing global issues". French President Francois Hollande said it was an important step that would pave the way for the implementaton of the Paris agreement at the end of the year. RESIDENTS LEAVE IN DROVES The stakes are high for China to pull off a trouble-free G20 summit, its highest profile event of the year, and security in Hangzhou was intense. Volunteer security agents prevented journalists from filming in deserted parts of the normally bustling city of 9 million people. Residents left in droves after authorities declared a week-long holiday for the summit, shut down the city's famous West Lake beauty spot and offered free travel vouchers worth up to 10 billion yuan ($1.5 billion) to encourage people to visit out-of-town attractions. More than 200 steel mills in surrounding districts were shut as part of a bid to limit pollution. With the summit wedged in between the Brexit vote and the U.S. presidential election, G20 leaders will be keen to mount a defence of free trade and globalisation. Concerns about subduded growth will be a major concern. The world's biggest economies have pulled out the monetary policy stops to promote growth, but central banks are now "pretty close" to the limits of their ability to stimulate economies, said Angel Gurria, head of the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). In the absence of "breakthrough, collective" policies, global growth was likely to remain weak, he told Reuters. "We have left our good central bankers to do all the heavy lifting." In separate remarks to Reuters, Pascal Saint-Amans, the director of the OECD's Centre for Tax Policy and Administration, addressed the thorny issue of multinational corporate tax liability, which the European Commission's recent decision against Apple Inc has brought into sharp relief. The European Commission said this week that Apple owed up to 13 billion euros ($14.50 billion) in back taxes to Ireland, based on existing regulations, a decision that both Apple and Ireland, which relies on low taxes to attract investment, have vowed to fight. China is using the G20 to push its diplomatic agenda with a raft of bilateral meetings. China and Turkey pledged earlier in the day to boost counter-terrorism ties, setting aside previous disagreements over China's treatment of a Turkic-speaking Muslim minority. (Reporting by Kevin Yao, Sue-Lin Wong, Michael Martina, Roberta Rampton, Engen Tham, Ruby Lian and Ben Blanchard; Additional reporting by Dominique Vidalon in Paris; Writing by John Ruwitch; Editing by Raju Gopalakrishnan) Washington (AFP) - Washington dispatched a top envoy to meet with allied Kurdish forces inside Syria last week, a State Department official said Monday, following tensions after Turkey began operations in the war-torn country. Washington found itself trapped between two key allies who are bitter foes -- NATO partner Turkey, and the Syrian Kurdish YPG militia, also taking part in the war against the Islamic State jihadist group but considered a "terrorist" group by Ankara. A State Department spokesman told AFP that Brett McGurk, the special presidential envoy to the US-led coalition fighting IS, met with forces from the Kurdish-Arab Syrian Democratic Forces alliance. The alliance is led by the YPG, and recently captured the town of Manbij from IS, prompting alarm in Ankara and demands that Kurdish forces withdraw east of the Euphrates river. Ankara fears the Kurds will create a contiguous autonomous zone in northern Syria, emboldening Kurdish separatists inside Turkey. The spokesman said McGurk pledged "ongoing US support for the SDF in the fight against ISIL (IS), while emphasising the need for strict adherence to prior commitments", a reference to demands the SDF withdraw east of the Euphrates. "In all of his meetings, he encouraged unity of effort and de-confliction between all forces fighting ISIL in northern Syria," the spokesman said. Last week, the Pentagon was forced to call on Turkey and Kurdish forces to avoid fighting each other, after clashes in northern Syria following the launch of Ankara's operation "Euphrates Shield", which is targeting both IS and the YPG. McGurk also held talks last week in Turkey, the spokesman said. "He met with senior Turkish officials to discuss US support for efforts to clear ISIL entirely from the border region... (and) also discussed planning for the Mosul campaign in Iraq, and closer US and Turkish cooperation to accelerate ISIL's ultimate defeat." On Sunday, Turkish forces and allied Syrian rebels expelled IS from the last part of the Syrian-Turkish border under their control. But much of the earlier work to push IS back from the border was done by the YPG and its allies. Hangzhou (China) (AFP) - Top diplomats from the United States and Russia on Monday failed to reach a deal to ease fighting in Syria, US officials said, after government troops encircled rebel-held parts of Aleppo. A senior State Department official said a fresh round of crisis talks between Secretary of State John Kerry and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on the margins of the G20 summit in China had ended without agreement. Washington and Moscow support opposing sides in the five-year conflict, which has killed around 300,000 people and forced millions to flee. A deal to provide aid to Aleppo's ravaged civilians and at least partially halt Russian and Syrian bombardments had looked likely on Sunday, before talks collapsed. US officials accused Russia of backtracking on already agreed issues which Washington refused to revisit, but the talks seemed to have been overtaken by developments on the ground. Syrian government troops renewed their siege of Aleppo on Sunday, with state media saying they had taken an area south of the city, severing the last opposition-held route into its eastern neighbourhoods. Once Syria's economic powerhouse, Aleppo has been ravaged by the war that began with protests against President Bashar al-Assad's government in March 2011. - Presidents meet - Presidents Barack Obama and Vladimir Putin also met Monday on the sidelines of the G20 summit in the Chinese city of Hangzhou, but it was far from clear that they would try to revive the talks. The White House has been reluctant to tether Obama personally to a deal that could well fail. Earlier truces in Syria have rapidly deteriorated, and Obama warned Sunday that the US was approaching the talks "with some scepticism". "Our conversations with the Russians are key because if it were not for the Russians, then Assad and the regime would not be able to sustain its offensive," he said, an acknowledgement that Putin, by sending troops and air assets to Syria, has made himself an indispensible player. Story continues "But it is worth trying," Obama went on. "To the extent that there are children and women and innocent civilians who can get food and medical supplies and get some relief from the constant terror of bombings, that's worth the effort." The White House is also highly reluctant to offer Putin a high-profile stage to gain international legitimacy after his backing for a regime that has used chemical weapons on civilians. Obama has steadfastly refused to meet Putin for official talks, instead talking with him in "pull-asides" at closed multilateral meetings. That was again the case at the G20. "The President is taking part in a pull-aside with President Putin of Russia," said National Security Council spokesman Ned Price. "We expect to provide additional details of their discussion later today." US officials had hoped to build pressure on Moscow over its support for Assad's government during the Hangzhou summit and upcoming UN General Assembly. Washington has repeatedly said that Assad must step down in order for a lasting peace deal. Turning up the heat in recent weeks, the White House has gone as far as to suggest Moscow is complicit in war crimes. "You have the Assad regime which has been killing its own citizens with impunity, supported by the Russians and the Iranians," Obama said on Sunday. Both Putin and Obama are expected to give press conferences later Monday. The failure to reach a deal is likely to heap pressure on Obama over his handling of the war in Syria. Obama came to office vowing not to repeat the mistakes of his predecessor George W. Bush, who launched disastrous wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. But as he prepares to leave office, critics say Obama's failure to intervene in Syria has had similarly bloody results, allowing the conflict to fester for years. Marseille (AFP) - Two Muslim mothers wearing headscarves were accosted and prevented from entering a nursery school on the French island of Corsica on Monday by two other parents, officials said. The incident happened as parents were dropping off their children at the start of the school day in Bonifacio, on the island's southern tip. The two women, wearing Muslim headscarves, "were stopped by two men, two brothers, who thought it wasn't right that their children are not allowed to wear emblems of their religion at school and yet these women could enter with their veils," said local prosecutor Eric Bouillard, confirming a report in the Corse-Matin newspaper. Bonifacio mayor Jean-Charles Orsucci said his education official "had intervened to allow normal entry to the school". Police and a schools inspector were also sent to the scene "and the situation calmed down. There was no violence, no threats, and therefore no laws broken," said Bouillard. While religious symbols are banned for pupils and teachers in French schools, there is no such constraint on parents. The incident is the latest example of intercommunal tensions in France. A burkini ban by local authorities in a string of resorts in southern France divided opinion and ended up in the courts. A Nice court finally suspended its ban on the Islamic swimsuit on Thursday after authorities there had defied a ruling by the country's highest administrative court. The string of bans came after the full-body swimsuit allegedly sparked violent clashes in Corsica -- in the latest in a series of incidents that have raised tensions between local Muslims and their neighbours. In December, protesters vandalised a Muslim prayer hall and trashed copies of the Koran after an assault on firefighters that was blamed on youths of Arab origin. By Girish Gupta CARACAS (Reuters) - A prominent journalist and lawyer jailed on Venezuela's Margarita island was charged on Monday with money laundering, according to family and a rights group, following his arrest after publicizing a protest against President Nicolas Maduro. Videos published by activists, purportedly from the locality of Villa Rosa, showed scores of people banging pots and pans and jeering the socialist leader as he visited the island on Friday evening. More than 30 people were briefly detained, activists said on Saturday. The incident came as the opposition has been stepping up its campaign for a referendum to recall Maduro, who says a coup is being planned against him. All those held in Margarita were released after a few hours except Braulio Jatar, 58, who was picked up on Saturday morning on his way to host his regular morning radio show, according to his family. They knew nothing about his whereabouts until hours later when intelligence agents came to the family home and searched it, allowing them to send him clothes, according to his sister, Boston-based Ana Julia Jatar, 60. Jatar was born in Chile, where Foreign Minister Heraldo Munoz expressed concern over Jatar's arrest and the charges against him. "As a Chilean, he has the right to be protected by the state of Chile and we will take all the steps necessary on his behalf," Munoz told reporters. On Thursday, hundreds of thousands of people marched peacefully through Caracas to demand the right to vote on a recall of Maduro, the successor to Hugo Chavez, whose popularity has plummeted due to a brutal economic crisis. Of 163 people detained in relation to Thursday's protests, 29 remain behind bars, according to local rights group Penal Forum. Five of them have been formally charged. That brings the total of political prisoners in Venezuela to 93, said Alfredo Romero, the director of Penal Forum. Both Romero and Jatar's sister confirmed the charge of money laundering. They offered no details, saying only that they had been told he would remain under arrest for the time being. The Ministry of Information did not immediately respond to requests for comment on Jatar's case or other arrests. Government officials have sought to downplay the incident on Margarita, saying videos had been "manipulated" by pro-opposition media. Showing video clips of their own, they say Maduro was cheered by supporters on his visit to the island. (Editing by Andrew Cawthorne and James Dalgleish and Tom Brown) Theres a vast, storm-hued majesty to the jagged coastal edges of Iceland that inspires hushed awe in tourists, armchair travelers and filmmakers alike, but to a teenager growing up and, more trickily still, coming out in this brooding idyll, it can seem like a smallest place in the world. Thats the cruelly frustrated perspective shared by two best friends in Heartstone, at least until they realize that theyre no longer experiencing the same coming-of-age crisis. Richly atmospheric but inordinately long at 129 minutes, the film toggles its main characters arcs for a stretch, before giving preferential treatment to the less dramatically challenging of the two. Still, first-time feature director Gumundur Arnar Gumundsson steers proceedings with enough serenity and sensitivity to soften stonier hearts in the arthouse market. In its positioning of the rural Icelandic landscape as a kind of silent, ever-present antagonist to its principals progress, Gumundssons formally imposing debut visually and tonally recalls the work of his compatriot Runar Runarsson whose own somber 2015 coming-of-ager, Sparrows, deployed similar physical terrain to much the same emotional effect. (At this point, any young Icelandic filmmakers who had a simply swell time growing up on the fjords should feel free to chime in for balance.) Among the newcomers soundest creative decisions, meanwhile, was recruiting ace Norwegian lenser Sturla Brandth Grvlen fresh off last years contrasting triumphs in Victoria and Rams to shoot this countryside in deep, watercolored pools of light and dark that, at the characters lowest points, appear like bruises developing on screen. The boys conflicted, even hostile, relationship to their environment is viscerally symbolized in a startling opening scene, which in which 14-year-old Thor (Baldur Einarsson) and Kristjan (Blr Hinriksson), together with a group of pals, savagely cull a school of fish in the local dock, plucking them from the water and bashing their heads on dry land. This kind of hormonally fevered destruction is what passes for fun in their sleepy maritime village, where Thor lives with his single mother (Nina Dogg Filippusdottir) who has recently, to her childrens aggrievement, re-entered the dating scene and two older, somewhat bullying sisters. Kristjan, meanwhile, weathers a consistent stream of abuse from his hard-drinking dad (Sveinn Olafur Gunnarsson). While the two boys have a supportive social circle (including some girls with whom they make halting attempts at romance), its clear that theyre the most important people in each others lives. Tall, sturdy Kristjan, already accelerating into manhood, acts as something of a protector to the less mature, none-too-aptly named Thor who, in one of several wry observations on the occasional tedium of adolescence, fashions a merkin from hairbrush debris as he waits for his pubic hair to grow in. But as the kids horse around and venture into tentative sexual explorations, itll become clear to audiences if not quite yet to Thor himself that Kristjans devotion to him isnt purely platonic. For many LGBT audiences, such inchoate, unrequited desires will register as a familiar rite of passage. Gumundsson maps the subtle, even subconscious, strain this development places on the relationship with tact and intelligence, aided by the open, naturally expressive performances of his two young leads. But as the film drifts further into Thors not-quite-comprehending headspace, Kristjan recedes into the background, even as his character negotiates a compelling maelstrom of warring feelings and external obstacles including the homophobia of his own parents, as adulthood comes with its own limitations in this stymied community. To quote an Emiliana Torrini song that Thors sisters blissfully listen to: If its so good being free/Would you mind telling me/Why I dont know what to do with myself? Sympathetic as Thors journey to awareness is, Heartstones languid, rollingly repetitive storytelling never quite justifies its weighted focus on his character at the expense of his friends more active anguish; a more judicious edit could place both in sharper relief. (The question of how assured Thor is of his own nascent sexuality, meanwhile, is only skirtingly addressed.) Later, Gumundsson returns to the fish motif in slightly more contrived fashion, as a bullrout is briefly taken from the water and thrown back in, plummeting briefly before finding its gills. Not everyone in this thoughtful, lyrical, slightly over-deliberate tour of a beautiful teenage wasteland gets his own sink-or-swim moment of catharsis. Related stories Venice Film Review: 'Piuma' Telluride Film Review: 'Into the Inferno' Toronto: Mundial, Monica Lozano's Alebrije Unveil First Output Deal Titles (EXCLUSIVE) A Kim Ki-duk film playing in Venice is hardly an unprecedented event, but by now one question is prompted by the appearance of any new title from the famously prolific and divisive director: which Kim Ki-duk will show up this time? Will it be the melancholic, pictorialist humanist of 2003s Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter and Spring? The blackly comic, mischief-making mutilator of 2013s Moebius? The taciturn, ambiguous symbolist of 2005s The Bow? The PETA-unfriendly purveyor of 2000s notorious The Isle with its live frog-skinning? Or, given that his greatest Venice success to date (the Golden Lion, the festivals highest honor) came with 2012s controversial endurance test Pieta, will that be the filmmaker who returns: the abrasive, confrontational chronicler of violence, cruelty, revenge, and redemption amid deeply perverse familial relationships? The answer, you may not be surprised to learn, is none of the above. The Kim Ki-duk of The Net gives us an indifferently crafted, surprisingly talky spy thriller that earns considerable interest from the specificity of its setting, but gradually squanders it over a too-long runtime in which the same quandaries are mined so thoroughly that it eventually numbs you to their human cost. Initially, however, there is the setup of the films instantly compelling premise. Nam (Ryoo Seung-bum) is a North Korean fisherman, who lives in squalor but apparent contentment in a shack by the water right at his famously repressive nations famously contentious border with South Korea. One morning he goes out, in the tiny boat that represents his whole fortune (as he tells the border guard on duty), to pull the net in. But it gets caught up in the boats engine, and the days strong tide, which respects no imaginary geopolitical lines, pulls him inexorably into South Korean waters. Seeing him stray off course, the guards are immediately suspicious that he might be defecting, but are too far away to be sure that its not the accident it appears to be, and refrain at the last moment from shooting him. Nam drifts onward into a bank of rushes where hes picked up by South Korean border guards, who immediately suspect him of being a spy. He is taken to Seoul for questioning a journey through which he insists on keeping his eyes closed, so he will have nothing to report to his own authorities when he gets back and faces their questions. His predicament is clear, but it is considerably worsened by the interrogator assigned to him (Kim Young-min) being a paranoid bully with an historical hatred of North Koreans that is more personal than ideological, and an uncanny knack for seeing spies where there are none, or indeed creating them out of previously innocent men. In contrast, Nam is also assigned a much kinder, younger agent, Oh Jin-woo (Lee Wong-gun), as a guard. Oh and Nam bond, with the younger man believing in Nams innocence and coming into conflict with his superiors for concluding that he should be sent back home to his wife and daughter rather than forced to defect. His bosses, even though they seem fairly convinced that Nam is no spy, believe its their moral duty to liberate as many people from the dictatorship as possible, whether those people wish to be so liberated or not. Its an interesting political point that Kim is making: dogmatic belief, even in democracy and the freedom represented by capitalism, is as much a form of brainwashing as subservience to an all-powerful, despotic Leader. The problem is, its the same point he keeps on making, and in a flat, not particularly inspired visual style to boot (Kim acts as his own cinematographer here, too). And so the film never truly capitalizes on the idea that each side in this ongoing and intractable conflict is as bad as the other, and the representatives of each are as corrupt and cruel as their counterparts across the border. And at the center of it all, despite some strong, charismatic work from Ryoo, Nam remains a frustratingly thin personality. Essentially the personification of the wronged, simple man longing for his family but trapped, as he says, like a fish in a net, Nam becomes a Job-like figure defined more by his travails and afflictions than by any real sense of an interior life. Even when the film takes an unexpected turn when Nam encounters a fellow North Korean who actually is a spy, Nams innocence, to the point of credulity-defying naivete, is maintained. And this is all before he finally does fall back into the hands of the North Korean authorities, which you know has to happen so that Kim can prove the ambivalence of his equivocal thesis. This straight-down-the-line trajectory, this deterministic desire for balance, is sincerely meant, but its also mystifyingly undynamic, especially for a filmmaker so well-versed in the fine art of provocation. For a time, in fact, those versed in the twistiness and twistedness of Korean genre cinema in general, and Kims splashy, diverse oeuvre in particular, might suspect a very complex double-bluff in which Nams innocence is being so clearly signposted just to throw us off the scent of a major gotcha down the line. But the films largely unkinked storyline yields no such surprises, favoring instead a simplistic read on a complex situation that ultimately does little more than restate the problem to the point of white noise. And that then makes The Nets late-breaking bid for tragic irony feel even more unearned: the only irony here is that Kim Ki-duk seems so doggedly insistent on creating political parallels and sharing ideological blame equally that, like the regimes he critiques, he loses any sense of the human beings caught in the crossfire. Related stories Venice Film Review: 'Piuma' Venice Film Review: 'Heartstone' Venice Film Review: 'Spira Mirabilis' In an instantly notorious scene from Amat Escalantes last outing, 2013s Cannes-laureled cartel drama Heli, a kidnapped man thrashed helplessly as his captors doused his genitals in petrol and set them casually aflame. In The Untamed, Escalantes fitfully freaky fourth feature, the Mexican provocateur ensures thats no longer the queasiest thing to happen to anyones nether regions in his films. In all other respects, however, this strange stew of socially conscious domestic drama and tentacular sci-fi erotica is far from what Escalantes previous work has led us to expect not least in its relatively tempered shock factor, as the director only grazes a promised fantasy dimension of basest sexual impulse. While shot through with pointed jabs at chauvinism and mainstream homophobia in Mexican society, The Untamed never quite exceeds the sum of its intriguingly opposed parts. Viewers who stay through the closing credits will notice a directorial dedication to Andrzej Zulawski a pleasing tip of the hat to the iconoclastic, recently deceased Polish auteur. Its also a necessary one, given that nobody whos seen Zulawskis Possession could fail to notice an indelible image Escalante has repurposed from that 1981 film: a writhing, amorphous, many-tentacled creature, sequestered in a dark chamber, that becomes an unlikely instrument of sexual agency and self-realization to those who submit to it. Rendered in glistening, discolored flesh tones, like a mass of earthworms with ideas above their station, the randy beast even visually echoes Zulawskis creation. But if the most outwardly outlandish element of Escalantes concoction is ultimately a take-off of sorts, its used to very different ends in an otherwise earthly human love triangle: Rather than initiating chaos, this slithery encounter has an oddly head-clearing effect on our protagonist. Thatd be Alejandra (an outstanding Ruth Ramos), a married young mother of two cherubic young boys, whose boorish husband Angel (Jesus Meza) does little to live up to his name. The audience is tipped off far sooner than she that Angel is having an abusive affair with Alejandras openly gay brother Fabian (Eden Villavicencio), a sensitive nurse who befriends lonely, mysterious Veronica (Simone Bucio) after she comes into the ER with a proclaimed dog-bite wound. Veronicas animal encounters go much further than that, however. An early convert to the pleasures of the tentacled wonder, guarded and fed by a pair of mystic healers in rural Guanajuato, Veronica introduces it to Fabian and Alejandra with a staggered series of outcomes that range from the tragic to the transcendent. So far, so bizarre though having set up this meeting of real-world prejudice and discord with the alternate reality of unfettered animal instinct, Escalante and co-writer Gibran Portela dont do much to advance either dimension, or the ways in which they inform and influence each other. Stood apart from the scripts fantastical trappings, the narrative of Alejandras home life doesnt want for dramatic complication or complexity: The portrait of her toxic marriage to Angel, who also violently takes out his self-loathing and self-repression on Fabian, is heavy enough with subtext regarding Mexicos gaping social and sexual imbalances. Introducing a little mild body horror to this menage doesnt add much symbolic heft to proceedings, especially since Escalante a filmmaker not exactly known for his softly-softly approach is curiously coy around the tangiest possibilities of his science-fiction premise. Bar a few arresting shots of womens limbs entwined with squid-like feelers, The Untamed is, counter to its title, hardly explicit or subversive in challenging the laws and limits of human desire. The creature, we are told, is capable of delivering either pain or pleasure to its partners as it consumes and eventually tires of them, but the connective tissue between this idea and the films articulation of sexual violence in the domestic sphere is largely absent. Escalante eschews specific metaphorical implications for a more nebulous, ickily atmospheric sense of the uncanny. In the same way, the films deceptively genre-skewing opening shot of an apparent asteroid, floating in space like a doomy chunk of florists foam is never contextualized or rationalized; perhaps, despite his evocation of a very particular geography, the filmmaker sees a far larger world in peril. Meanwhile, Escalantes own dedication to the pleasure principle means loosening the tightly-wound, exactingly composed aesthetic that won him a Best Director prize at Cannes for Heli. Working with Lars Von Triers recent cinematographer of choice Manuel Alberto Claro making it harder still to imagine that the helmer didnt pore over the Danes Nymphomaniac in preparation for this project Escalante often muddies the image, streaking shots with appropriately base shades of earth and dried blood. Even when the film adopts more verdant hues and Carlos Reygadas-style lens flares for the countryside sequences natural tones to fit the emergence of natural desire, if you will traces of bodily red are never far from the scene. Related stories Venice Film Review: 'Heartstone' Venice Film Review: 'The Net' Venice Film Review: 'Spira Mirabilis' Virtual reality has become the hot topic among film distributors, with some arguing that it will be cinema's savior and others thinking that it will become simply another fad. The Venice Film Festival made history this year, becoming the first major film festival to launch a dedicated screening room for a VR feature film. Cannes and other festivals have experimented with screening shorts in the past. Venice launched, over a period of four days, a preview of what is being billed as the first-ever full-length virtual reality film, Jesus VR - The Story of Christ. While other low-budget productions have also made similar claims, Jesus VR is the first one that aims to have theatrical distribution. The 90-minute film will launch at Christmastime, showing the story of Christ from birth to resurrection through vignettes, as told from the New Testament. It is the largest VR production to date, shot in 4K 360 degrees in Matera, Italy, employing a crew of over a hundred and hundreds of extras, according to its producers. THR went to the VR screening room to see the setup and people's reactions. The screening room held 30 white vinyl rotating chairs that allowed viewers to turn 360 degrees. Demonstrations for the headsets were given before each screening in English, and after some complaints, an Italian interpreter was added to later screenings for the instructions. Many viewers reported issues throughout the screening with sound and picture quality, but alternative headsets were on hand to allow for swap-outs. Because the chairs were so close together, spectators often bumped into each other when spinning around, which awkwardly took them out of the VR experience and back into the screening room. Interest was strong, as long lines out the door were seen at each screening as people on the Lido waited to get a taste of the technology. Reactions to the film in Venice were less than enthusiastic, however. Read more: Venice Film Fest to Launch Virtual Reality Feature About Jesus Christ Story continues While acknowledging the groundbreaking technology of the film, some critics panned the acting and what they called the low production quality of the film. Critics also said that more emphasis was put on creating a 360 degree experience than on feeling up-close-and-personal to real 3D characters, as some VR productions have been able to do. Other festivalgoers complained about overheating headsets and commented on the isolating experience of watching a film completely within a headset, something that seems more fit for an individual at-home experience, they said. World's first VR film festival screening room in action. As isolating as you'd expect. #Venice2016 pic.twitter.com/I2aUwuEwhF - Ariston Anderson (@Aristonla) September 1, 2016 One big believer in the technology is industry veteran Enzo Sisti, producer of Jesus VR, who was also a producer on Mel Gibson's 2004 film The Passion of Christ, the highest-grossing R-rated domestic film, and the highest-grossing non-English language film of all time. Not knowing much going into the project, Sisti says he was contacted to come on board. "They explained what they wanted to do and I said, 'Let's see what you really want to do.' I accepted the challenge," he said during a Venice press conference on Monday. "And while we were shooting I realized that the atmosphere was very similar to the atmosphere we achieved in The Passion of Christ." About VR, he said: "Initially I was rather skeptical, but now I'm very enthusiastic about what we've done. I'm not going to say that this will replace cinema, but this is really a new medium. It's a new novelty." Producer Alex Barder said the film will be distributed both theatrically and through VR technology, including premium headsets and through mobile. "There are two billion-plus people with smartphones in their pocket," he said. "Anybody with that phone can consume virtual reality. It's an amazing opportunity to reach a very broad audience." "We've seen a lot of theatrical offers and a lot of opportunities to release this in theaters. You're seeing a lot of theater chains converting one or two of their theaters and screens into virtual reality screens," continued Barder. "You'll have a room full of people with virtual reality headsets on. There are all kinds of opportunity and it's only the beginning. This is day one. The market is very rich and very full and everybody has a virtual reality device in their pockets already. They can buy it today, or when we release it this Christmas." "I think that this film should film should be screened in all countries in the world, similar to the level of Mel Gibson's film," said Sisti. "Also because of problems of cost, this is going to be another tool to disseminate the word of the Gospel. It's already been seen in a very positive manner in Europe and in the States." The filmmakers also spoke of how VR is changing the way movies are made, shifting from a rectangle to a sphere. "Instead of crafting it scene by scene, you're creating an experience," said director David Hansen. "You know the viewer is looking in 360 degrees, so it would be your job as a director to make sure the action is interesting in 360 degrees. It would be your job as the director to figure out how to make it as completely immersive as possible." The producers explained that because they shot in 360 degrees, many of the crew were hidden in plain sight, with everyone from the first [assistant director] to the sound guy wearing costumes. "We saved a lot of money on extras," joked Sisti. Concluded Sisti: "There will be new ways of writing, new ways of shooting scenes. The ways in which the screenplay is written will be very different because of VR. So we will have to raise and educate the new generations because of this medium. I think the director will always be the director because he chooses what to shoot in those 360 degrees." Read more: How Jon Favreau Crafted an Immersive Virtual Reality World for 'Gnomes & Goblins' Is Italian cinema in a rut? On paper, Italys presence at Venice this year begs that question. Though there is plenty of cinema italiano screening on the Lido, its mostly low-budget fare by relatively obscure directors, most of whom not known internationally, and none outside the festival circuit. Take, for example, Spira Mirabilis (pictured) the first of the three Italian competition entries, which screened on Sunday. Spira is a documentary made on a Euros 120,000 ($133,000) budget by husband-and-wife team Massimo DAnolfi and Martina Parenti. Venice artistic director Alberto Barbera calls Spira, which was shot in Japan, Monument Valley in the U.S., and Milan, a visionary work destined for the international market. But Barbera and his team in past months have not been impressed by the massive pile of 126 Italian movies submitted for inclusion in Venices 2016 edition. The average quality was even lower than last year, Barbera noted in July after his lineup was announced. This year the big name Italian auteurs had either just made a film, or still had to make it, or didnt finish it in time, the Venice chief added. And the quality of the other [directors] is just so disappointing!, he lamented. Besides Spira, the other two Italian pics soon to screen in the Venice 73 competition are teen pregnancy comedy Piuma, by 42-year-old Italo-Brit writer and director Roan Johnson, which was made on a 600,000 Euro ($670,000) budget, and veteran auteur Giuseppe Piccionis Questi giorni (These Days) a depiction of contemporary student life in the Italian provinces. Piccioni, who is 63, was previously in the Venice competition in 2001 with Rome-set ensemble drama Light of My Eyes. A talking point on the Lido this year is why Italy doesnt seem to have any outstanding young directors like, say, U.S. helmer Damien Chazelle, who is 31, and whose La La Land opened the fest with a bang. The business environment in Italy somehow has not been the best over the past five to seven years for the emergence of new talent, because a lot of the financing for films has gone to comedies, most of which are exclusively local, said Marco Chimenz, a partner in prominent indie shingle Cattleya. Story continues Chimenz notes that Paolo Sorrentino whose TV series The Young Pope, starring Jude Law, is the real Italian standout at Venice made several films before becoming really well known internationally and winning an Oscar for The Great Beauty. And those films, produced by indie Indigo Films, had substantial backing from Italian heavyweight Medusa. But critic Giona Nazzaro, who heads the Venice Critics Week, disagrees with those who lament the absence of a potent new generation of Italian helmers after Sorrentino and Matteo Garrone. Compared with Sorrentino and Garrones generation, there is a different type of [Italian] cinema now, he said. There is a generation that grew up working with very limited budgets, not [just] because they are condemned to this, but also because they have chosen to have greater productive and aesthetic freedom. Therefore its not a qualitative gap. They represent a different vision. To back his point, Nazzaro cited Venice Days title Indivisible, directed by Edoardo De Angelis, about teenage conjoined-twin sisters with beautiful voices who come from the suburbs of Naples and support their family as a performing act, which will segue from Venice to Toronto, and the London Film Festival; and Critics Week pic Le Ultime Cose, by first-timer Irene Dionisio, a drama interweaving three tales centering on a Turin pawn shop against the backdrop of Italys economic crisis. The problem, according to Nazzaro, is not so much the state of Italian cinema at present, but the state of those who cover it in the media, and also produce it, and continue to be in this state of mourning, as if the great Italian cinema no longer exists. Luckily Italian cinema has changed, he said, and what we are living is extremely exciting and encouraging. Related stories Venice: Rai Com Takes World Sales on Giuseppe Piccioni's 'These Days' (EXCLUSIVE) Venice: Cercamon Takes World Sales on Horizons Drama 'The Eremites' (EXCLUSIVE) Venice: Italy's True Colours Takes on Substantial Venice-Toronto Slate (EXCLUSIVE) VENICE (Reuters) - Canadian film director Denis Villeneuve said making sci-fi thriller "Arrival", which has premiered in Venice, was the biggest challenge of his career so far because it meant creating a foreign civilization that obeys different kinds of laws. In the film, Amy Adams plays a linguist hired by the U.S. government to go inside one of 12 spaceships that have touched down around the world. Her task is to establish contact with the extra-terrestrials on board, to develop a common language and discover the purpose of their visit. "I thought it would be a game, that it would be fun to do and I discovered that it was a nightmare because it's like trying to create something that makes sense, that is fresh ... to find the right idea when you are in the unknown and have no limits," the 48-year-old director told Reuters on the sidelines of the Venice film festival on Monday. "The creature we designed is pretty challenging and I am still amazed that nobody said 'are you mad?'" Various scenes in the movie are silent or expressed through close-ups of the protagonist, and Villeneuve said he needed a strong actress like Amy Adams to be able to do that. "We are seeing a movie on the screen, but half of it is inside her, and we must see it and feel it," he said. "(Adams) was my first choice and when she said yes I was so grateful." The movie, which also stars Forest Whitaker and Jeremy Renner, is one of 20 U.S. and international films vying for the Golden Lion award, which will be presented on Sept. 10. The world's oldest film festival is again being viewed as a launch pad for the industry's award season after premiering Academy winners in its last three editions. Villeneuve said it would take much longer than an award season to decide whether his movie was a true success. "If you make a movie that people will still watch in 10 or 20 years, a movie that will still be relevant, that will go beyond fashion, then you made a good movie," he said. (Reporting by Sarah Mills, writing by Agnieszka Flak; Editing by Gareth Jones) By Larry Fine NEW YORK (Reuters) - Double grand slam winner Stan Wawrinka set up a marquee quarter-final showdown with 2009 champion Juan Martin del Potro with a 6-4 6-1 6-7(5) 6-3 victory over Illya Marchenko of Ukraine at Flushing Meadows on Monday. Third seed Wawrinka, winner of the 2014 Australian Open and 2015 French Open, overpowered the 63rd-ranked Marchenko, who reached the fourth round when 14th-seeded Nick Kyrgios retired with a hip injury while trailing two sets to one. Marchenko was treated twice during Monday's match for his right knee, which was taped between the second and third sets and massaged during the third-set changeover at 2-1, but he battled on to force a fourth set. The victory by the hard-hitting Swiss set up a clash with big-serving del Potro, who won 6-3 3-2 when eighth seed Dominic Thiem of Austria retired with a knee injury. "It's going to be great to play (del Potro)," Wawrinka said in an on-court interview. "He beat me this year at Wimbledon. He's back after so many injuries, so it's good to see him playing so well again. It will be their first meeting on a hard court, and the Swiss will be looking to avenge his second-round loss at the All England Club to the Argentine, who has regained his form after a long struggle with an injured left wrist. "It's going to be a great challenge for me to play him here on the hard court for the first time," said Warwinka. "Excited to play against him and hopefully I can keep going here." (Editing by Frank Pingue) Illustrations by Norah Stone. Often theres a fine line between fascinating and repulsive as Kanye West proves. Within the gray area, popping pimples falls somewhere between Yeezus and pulling gunk out of your shower drain. Check out Sandra Lee, MD, a dermatologist in Upland, CA, who goes by the alias Dr. Pimple Popper for proof. Her YouTube and Instagram accounts each have over 1 million followers, who watch her videos of the cheesy, lumpy, pussy, gritty, and goopy substances she extracts from the faces of her patients. Related: Which Kylie Lip Kit Is Right For YOUR Skin Tone? Dr. Lee has tapped into an audience that cant get enough of our urge to purge whether were vicariously enjoying it on Reddit or doing DIY dermatology in real life. I think watching popping is similar to seeing a scary movie or riding a roller coaster for some, she says. You get a rush of euphoria and excitement. Related: Banish Blackheads With These Tricks The problem with popping, squeezing, and picking is that we know we can do some serious damage and make problems even worse. Yet we just cant keep our hands off. So before you start digging into your skin problems, you should learn whats happening to your brain chemistry and how youre damaging the structure of your skin. Why Were So Hands-On With Our Skin When you have an Everest-sized zit, the reason you have to pick it, to paraphrase George Mallory, is that its there. In the moment, people feel like they have to do something, says Amy Wechsler, MD, a dermatologist and psychiatrist in New York City. The occasional popper or picker thinks theyre making themselves better they think theyre helping. In other words, were trying to be problem-solvers or more like control freaks, Dr. Wechsler says. The immediate gratification of seeing stuff ejected from your pores feels productive. Related: Celeb Transformations That Will Make Your Jaw DROP The satisfaction of extracting a blemish releases dopamine, which activates the brains reward center, explains Heather Berlin, PhD, a neuroscientist and assistant professor of psychiatry at Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai Hospital in New York City. Theres a cycle of anxiety or arousal before the act and a sense of relief after, she says. So theres a physical release of pressure from the extracted blackhead or squeezed whitehead, as well as a mental sense of calm and pleasure. Its hard to fight that combo. Story continues Related: The Best Way To Get Rid Of Acne Scars Some people go beyond the occasional pop and develop serious habits. There is a spectrum of behavior that ranges from normal urges to pick to disorders like acne excoriee and Skin-Picking Disorder, which are related to OCD, Dr. Berlin says. When the behavior is interfering with your daily life your job, socializing, relationships, health, sleeping youve veered into clinical territory. Often compulsive behavior or a lack of impulse control is to blame. Dr. Berlin explains that people with impulse control problems may have an underactive prefrontal cortex, which serves as the brakes for the brain. If your prefrontal cortex is slow to react, your brain has a harder time resisting impulses so much so that some people cant pass a mirror without looking for something to pop. Related: This Is What Female-Directed Porn Looks Like Most of the time the act is so pleasurable, that it is hard to stop, Dr. Berlin says. If popping feels good and youre seeing results, why would you stop? The people who feel guilty are the ones who think the behavior is abnormal thats who comes in for treatment, she says. When Popping Becomes A Problem Picking isnt a crime. In fact, Dr. Berlin says its an absolutely normal behavior. (From an evolutionary-biology standpoint, we want to remove bumps from our skin because they could be parasites or infections, she explains.) But the problem is that we treat popping and squeezing like we do watching Gilmore Girls its a challenge to stop doing it. The issue arises when you keep picking and ultimately cause more harm than good, says Joshua Zeichner, MD, director of cosmetic and clinical research in dermatology at Mount Sinai Hospital. The problem is that when you dont see the result you want, its easy to keep going and thats when the damage happens. Worst-case scenario: You cause an open wound or infection. Ive seen this many times, Dr. Wechsler says. Now, youve extended your healing time and set yourself up for scarring and more breakouts its a vicious cycle. Related: What Going Paleo Did To My Body Like the proverbial iceberg, most of the blemish is below the surface. The clogging and inflammation thats causing the pain and swelling lies deep inside the pore. Squeezing can cause more inflammation, push dirt and debris further down, and rupture the follicle youre causing collateral damage, Dr. Zeichner says. The effects of squeezing are the worst when youre not getting the contents out of the skin, so you squeeze more. Inflammation, from the original breakout or from squeezing, causes damage and scarring. Your body creates a patch to address any skin damage, Dr. Zeichner explains. You produce new collagen, but its not organized and smooth its thick and disordered. It doesnt look like normal skin, and looks like a bump or depression. Too much damage disrupts the connections between skin cells, he says, so the body tries to reconnect them with scar tissue. In the attempt to shield your skin from more damage, your body also creates pigment in response to inflammation much like you tan after UV exposure, but in a more localized way. If you have more red pigment in your skin, youll have more residual redness, Dr. Lee says. If you have a darker skin tone, youre more at risk for post-inflammatory hyperpigmentation. But theres no way to predict the exact way your skin will respond. The only way to avoid scars is to be hands-off. How To Handle Your Popping Urges My job is to give you nothing to pick, Dr. Wechsler says. So your best coping mechanism is to see a professional to figure out how to clear up your skin. But even Kendall Jenner has the occasional zit crisis, so it takes some effort to avoid Pimple-gate. Throw out your magnifying mirror, Dr. Wechsler advises. Nobody looks normal under a magnifying mirror, and you dont need to get that close. This way, youre less likely to find faults to pick at. Dr. Wechsler also suggests some behavior modification limiting time in the bathroom and putting Post-its on the mirror that say Hands off or Leave it alone. For more extreme measures, Dr. Berlin suggests treating a popping problem the way you might treat a smoking habit wear a rubber band around your wrist and snap it when you have the urge, or reward yourself for every day you go without popping. I tell patients to apply a spot-treatment cream, or cover the area with a Band-Aid when they are at home to remind them not to pick, Dr. Lee says. Simple distraction also helps. Celebrity aesthetician Renee Rouleau sells a toy that busies your hands and prevents you from poking at your face. Other derms suggest worry stones or Silly Putty as diversions. But perhaps the most satisfying skin-popping surrogate is found at Staples take out your frustration on a roll of bubble wrap. For those who really need a fix, there are always Dr. Pimple Poppers videos. Sometimes watching the video can bring the same satisfaction as actually popping, Dr. Berlin says. Dr. Lee says you dont have to be a popper to benefit from her cathartic videos. I think my videos make a lot of people happy in general, she says. The grown-up guide to dealing with acne. Read more from The Acne Diaries here. By: Liesa Goins Twin sisters Becca and Sarah Duncan, who have no immediate plans to walk down the aisle, posed for pictures in wedding dresses with their father who has Alzheimer's. Scott Duncan, who was recently moved to a 24-hour nursing facility, was diagnosed with the disease in 2012, according to ABC News. "We just randomly thought of this idea," Becca told the news outlet. "Me and Sarah know that our dad is more than likely not going to be at our wedding it's not being a downer or anything; we're just being realistic so we decided to do these wedding pictures with Dad." The 23-year-old sisters from Grapevine, Texas, wore donated floor-length wedding dresses and spent around 10 minutes posing for photos with their 80-year-old father. "The entire experience was the best thing in the world. Seeing him coming down the hall and seeing us in our wedding dresses and him smiling. It meant so much to us," Becca said. She added: "You could see the smile on his face." Their mother Pamela found the photographer, who ended up giving them the pictures free of charge. Both sisters, who have been in relationships for nearly one year, have always thought about their father being at their weddings. "For me, it's all about the daddy-daughter dance," Sarah told ABC, "and having him give away his daughter to a new guy to take care of." She adds: "We now get this moment for the rest of our lives and I don't think some people really understand that's why we were doing it," she said, "We want to capture the moment while we can." RELATED VIDEO: After Parents Deaths, 18-Year-Old Fighting for Custody of Younger Siblings For Becca, she's always dreamed about a big wedding and her dad walking her down the aisle. "It would be awesome to have our dad there. He was our superhero. He was our Superman growing up," she said. But there is one thing she knows she can always hold onto it the wedding photos. "It's something that we're going to have for the rest of our lives." Https%3a%2f%2fblueprint-api-production.s3.amazonaws.com%2fuploads%2fcard%2fimage%2f200147%2f6a7bd6183c7e4540ba0cc1efffaa6922 Metal pans have a number of uses, but it's probably not a good idea to use it as a car steering wheel. An Australian man has been charged by police after they found him steering his car around with a pan Sunday morning. Authorities were called to the area after a man and a "suspicious red Mazda sedan," were seen in an Adelaide street. SEE ALSO: Big-ass spider jumps on driver, setting off chain reaction of awful "Police spoke with the driver and inspected his car finding the steering wheel had been replaced with a metal pan and the front number plate had been altered," according to a statement by police. Image: sa police The metal pan has also been personalised: "Uncontrollable and driven to love only a beating heart," reads the pan in white paint. Can't do that with a regular steering wheel, can you? The 32-year-old was charged with driving unregistered, uninsured, driving contrary to defect, removing defect label, altering number plates and breaching bail, and will appear in court in October. So there you go folks, this is how a driving without a normal steering wheel pans out. LONDON (Reuters) - Flames once again licked the historic buildings of Britain's capital as a wooden replica of 17th century London went up in smoke to mark the 350th anniversary of the Great Fire of London. The Great Fire began at a baker's shop in Pudding Lane in the early hours of Sept. 2, 1666, and spread rapidly through the wooden structures of the old city. It raged for four days, ravaging the parts of the city inside the old Roman wall, but surprisingly, only six deaths were reported. The old, medieval St Pauls Cathedral was completely destroyed by the fire, and then rebuilt in its present form following the designs of architect Christopher Wren. The wooden replica was designed by American artist David Best and built by unemployed young Londoners over several months. The spectacle marked the end of "London's Burning", a four-day festival of free art events to mark the anniversary. (Reporting by Laura Gardner Cuesta; Editing by Stephen Powell/Richard Balmforth) It will be for the redevelopment project in Zhongshan, China. Singapore-listed real estate developer Yanlord Land Group Ltd. unveiled its 100% acquisition of a wholly-owned subsidiary known as Zhongshan Renyuan Investment Co. Ltd (ZRI) through its subsidiary, Nanjing Renyuan Investment Co. Ltd.. The deal was with state-owned China Resources Land (CR Land) and was for the primary land redevelopment of Zhongshan. It had a total consideration of RMB 64 million ($13 million). With the said acquisition, Yanlord will obtain varying interests in a group of entities that include 35% interest in Zhongshan CR Land, an investment holding company jointly held with a subsidiary of CR Land who holds a 40% interest, which in turn holds controlling stakes in two property development companies in Zhongshan that will focus on the primary redevelopment of the 1.23 sq km site. In a statement, the Yanlord Chairperson Zhong Sheng Jian said the site will be redeveloped into a landmark lifestyle and services hub in Zhongshan city. This latest acquisition marks our first collaboration with CR Land and provides us with a strategic partner to jointly explore property development in Zhongshan. Capitalising on our track record for primary land redevelopment projects, this convergence of strengths will further augment our competitive advantage in property development and complement our existing footprint within the Pearl River Delta region," he said. More so, he added that this would significantly contribute to the economic development and lifestyle habits of the residents of the city. "A growing economic centre, Zhongshans rapid pace of development presents significant potential for that will contribute to our future growth," he noted. More From Singapore Business Review By Chris Mfula LUSAKA (Reuters) - Zambia will press on with swearing in its president, Edgar Lungu, for another five-year-term next week after the opposition missed a deadline to challenge his re-election, a senior official said on Monday. Opposition leader Hakainde Hichilema had filed a petition in the constitutional court last month, saying the Aug. 11 vote was rigged and Lungu's victory should be annulled. But Hichilema missed a Friday deadline to present evidence to back his charge, and the top court ruled on Monday not to extend the time limit. Lungu, who won 50.35 percent of the vote according to the official results, will take the oath of office on Tuesday next week, later than the original Aug. 23 date, cabinet secretary Roland Msiska said. Lungu has been at the helm of the ruling Patriotic Front since leader Michael Sata died in 2014, and took over the running of the country in the following year after after beating Hichilema. The southern African copper producer he leads is in the throes of an economic slump due to depressed commodity prices with mine closures, rising unemployment, power shortages and soaring food prices. Hichilema's UPND party said members were still discussing the ruling and would issue a statement later on Monday. (Writing by James Macharia) British Airways is resuming direct service from the U.K. to Iran on Thursday after a four-year hiatus. The 9:20 p.m. flight from London-Heathrow to Tehran is the first for any British airline since 2012. The decision to resume flights came after some sanctions were lifted in January, following a nuclear agreement between Iran and several international powers in July 2015. The Iran nuclear deal was forged between the Middle Eastern country and the U.S., U.K., France, China, Russia, and Germany. Iran vowed to reduce its nuclear program, including scrapping 98 percent of its uranium reserves, in exchange for the easing of crippling economic sanctions. The deal went into effect in January, and businesses are slowly returning to Tehran as some intrepid tourists follow suit. British Airways was the first U.K. company to fly to Tehran in history and began its routes in 1946. The airline will offer six flights per week with plans to conduct daily flights by the end of the year, the Wall Street Journal reported. The announcement comes a few months after Air France resumed its flights to Iran in April, after a seven-year hiatus. Now we believe the time is right to start flying again to Iran and we are very excited to be adding another gateway to the Middle East for our customers, Michele Kropf, PR Manager for the Americas, told Travel + Leisure in an email. People want to go to Iran for all manner of reasons: reconnecting with family, for business and increasingly to appreciate the rich cultural heritage of the country. With 19 UNESCO World Heritage sites, Iran is the birthplace of one of the most important civilizations in the world. From the world famous bazaars and mosques, to newer attractions such as the Museum of Contemporary Art, visitors today can now enjoy some of the many cultural and artistic sites that Iran has to offer. Tourists who plan on traveling to Iran should be aware of the restrictions and guidelines for traveling to the country. U.S. citizens must acquire a visa before departure, and the U.S. State Department has maintained a travel warning to potential U.S. visitors, warning of the possibility of being detained by Iranian authorities. Story continues Jess McHugh is a digital reporter for Travel + Leisure. You can find her on Twitter at @MchughJess. Related Articles By Marc Frank HAVANA (Reuters) - Cuba's Communist government is filtering mobile phone text messages for key words such as "democracy" and "human rights" and then blocking them, dissidents said on Monday. An investigative report by blogger Yoani Sanchez and journalist Reinaldo Escobar concluded that text messages failed to reach their destinations if they contained Spanish words for democracy, human rights or hunger strike, among others, as well as the names of some dissidents. Eliecer Avila, head of opposition youth group Somos Mas, which participated in the investigation, said 30 key words that triggered the blocking had been identified but there could be more. "We always thought texts were vanishing because the provider is so incompetent, then we decided to check using words that bothered the government," he said. "We discovered not just us but the entire country is being censored," he said. "It just shows how insecure and paranoid the government is." It was not clear for how long the filter had been in place. The full report was published by Sanchez's online newspaper, 14YMedio.com. State telecommunications monopoly ETECSA could not be reached for comment. Cuba has repeatedly charged that the United States wants to use telecommunications to subvert the government and brands Sanchez and other opponents as mercenaries working with Washington. Reuters on Monday unsuccessfully tried to send messages containing the words "democracy," "human rights," "Somos Mas" and Yoani Sanchez. Other messages containing the Spanish word for "protest" went through. The messages that did not reach their destinations appeared as "sent" on the users' telephone. Cuba arrived late to modern telecommunications, authorizing mobile phones in 2008 and Wi-Fi internet access only last year. Online, it blocks dissident websites and media it believes to be funded by the United States, but permits the websites of critical newspapers such as El Nuevo Herald and El Pais. There currently are about 3 million mobile telephone accounts with local provider CubaCell, which is part of ETECSA. Despite efforts by the Obama administration to link U.S. internet providers with the country as part of a detente begun in December 2014, Cuban authorities appear more interested in working with Russia on cyber-security, while China provides most of the Caribbean islands communications technology. Experts estimate that between 25 percent and 30 percent of Cubas 11.2 million residents has some Internet access, mainly through Wi-Fi, though it is sparsely used because of high rates. Some 5 percent of the population enjoys home-based Internet, which requires special government permission. (Editing by Frank Jack Daniel; Editing by Bill Trott) On Friday, Samsung confirmed last weeks reports that a Galaxy Note 7 recall is indeed on the table following the many fire incidents related to battery charging. The company announced an unprecedented recall and replacement program and stopped sales in the various markets where the phone is available, or where it was supposed to launch last weekend. Now, a new report puts a figure on the chaos. It says that Samsungs decision to replace some 2.5 million Galaxy Note 7 phones that were already shipped to retail partners and customers will cost Samsung up to $1 billion. DONT MISS: Massive iPhone 7 leak details enhanced display, improved storage options and much more The company did not confirm that estimate. Samsungs head of mobile Koh Dong Jin told reporters that it was a heartbreaking amount, Bloomberg notes. The estimated loss represents less than 5% of Samsungs projected income of $20.6 billion for this year. Samsungs affiliated battery maker Samsung SDI is expected to bear a part of that cost. Samsung SDI supplied 70% of the batteries supposed to go inside the Galaxy Note 7, with Chinese battery maker Amperex Technology making the remaining 30%. According to Credit Suisse, Samsung gets some $600 in revenue and $108 operating profit for every Galaxy Note 7 unit it sells. The company was aiming to ship some 4 to 5 million units in the current quarter, and 8 to 9 million units during the Christmas quarter. Most of the Galaxy Note 7 units that will be produced in September should be used to replace recalled units, a Samsung Securities quoted by The Korea Herald wrote. This would reduce Samsungs Galaxy Note 7 sales for September, and the entire third quarter, to 3 million units, from a maximum of 6 million units. Bloomberg also notes that Pelham Smithers Associates equity analyst Sanghyun Park believes the decision to recall the Galaxy Note 7 came all the way from the top. There is really no one at Samsung who can make this kind of a bold decision other than [Samsung Vice Chairman Lee Jae Yong], Park said. Story continues Trending right now: See the original version of this article on BGR.com Scientists are studying how Artificial Intelligence will impact life hopefully not because the robots will take over Scientists are studying how Artificial Intelligence will impact life hopefully not because the robots will take over Its the theme of many works of science fiction: man creates artificial intelligence, then that AI turns on man. In these scenarios, humankind is usually at risk of being totally wiped out by some variety of robot-computer. Even the likes of Stephen Hawking and Elon Musk have warned about the potential for artificial intelligence to be extremely dangerous. ultron However, scientists at Stanford University say we dont have to worry about AI programs utterly destroying all of humanity. According to Tech Times, these scientists are part of the One Hundred Year Study on Artificial Intelligence (AI100), which aims to predict the long-term effects of artificial intelligence on human life. Theyve released the first report of the study, Artificial Intelligence and Life in 2030, a mere two years after beginning their work. The report focuses on both the history and future of AI. It studies how the technological history influences whats being done today with things like self-driving transportation and the use of robots in the medical field. As for the AI of dystopian sci-fi nightmares, its unlikely. For a so-called machine revolution to happen, machines would have to be developed that could sustain long-term goals AND intent on their own. According the report no such machine has been developed, and there arent any plans to create one, either. av In fact, on of the main purposes of AI100 is to make people understand that rogue AI isnt the risk; rather, the real unintended dangers could be in displacing human labor and loss of individual privacy. The researchers point out that if we look at AI with fear and suspicion it could slow development, or drive it underground which would make regulation impossible. The study is just as important for policymakers as for researchers so that those who may need to create laws to address technological advancements have the information AI100 has begun to gather and will continue to provide. This way, a balance can be struck between allowing for innovation and ensuring that the impact of a new technology wont be overwhelmingly negative. Story continues Either way, though, we dont have to fear AI taking over the world. At least, not yet. thumbs up The post Scientists are studying how Artificial Intelligence will impact life hopefully not because the robots will take over appeared first on HelloGiggles. A version of "Toro's Friend Network" could work well on mobile, if not too similar to Nintendo's Miitomo. Sony CEO Kaz Hirai has emphasized his company's newfound commitment to mobile gaming apps rather than just gaming devices, citing "Pokemon Go" as "a real game changer." Mid-year mobile hit "Pokemon Go" wasn't published by Sony -- traditional console company Nintendo has a stake in The Pokemon Company, while Google spin-off Niantic is the app's official publisher and developer -- but the PlayStation multinational is clear on its own goals in a post-"PoGo" world. Hirai, president of Sony's PlayStation division before becoming the corporation's number one, was at IFA 2016 in Berlin and told the Financial Times that his company was "aggressively getting into" mobile gaming; Sony has gone from "being just a console-based business to being on mobile phones as well," he said. It's certainly true Sony has been more well known for its phone hardware than for individual, successful apps. A 2011 Xperia Play handset slid open to reveal a directional control pad and buttons styled after a PlayStation console controller, but the phone found it difficult to gain traction; more impressively, but more expensively, 2014's flagship Xperia Z3 could stream games from a PlayStation 4. A portfolio of possibilities? Here, though, Sony can say it knows a thing or two about the art and science of making games themselves, with franchises like "LittleBigPlanet," "Uncharted," "Ratchet & Clank" or Japanese mascot Toro Inoue holding mobile conversion potential. In fact, Sony has already laid the foundation for a new mobile adventure, closing its PlayStation Mobile initiative in 2014, and creating dedicated app studio ForwardWorks in 2015, with the specific intention of bringing PlayStation franchises to iOS and Android, regardless of manufacturer. In other words, it's looking to make a success out of an area that has previously eluded it -- especially now that "Pokemon Go" has shown just what sort of success is up for grabs, and after Nintendo's market value picked up in the immediate aftermath. Both PlayStation and Microsoft's Xbox division are committing to swifter console upgrades, taking a leaf from the mobile world's playbook: PlayStation is expected to unveil a more powerful PS4, codenamed Neo, on September 7, while Xbox has promised an Xbox One Scorpio for 2017. TechCrunch Twitter's stock will be delisted from the New York Stock Exchange on November 8, according to a new filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. This comes a day after Elon Musk completed the company's takeover after a lengthy ordeal late Thursday. "The New York Stock Exchange hereby notifies the SEC of its intention to remove the entire class of the stated securities from listing and registration on the Exchange at the opening of business on November 08, 2022, pursuant to the provisions of Rule 12d2-2 (a)," the filing reads. British Prime Minister Theresa May speaks at a news conference after the closing of G20 Summit in Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province, China, September 5, 2016. REUTERS/Damir Sagolj LONDON (Reuters) - Prime Minister Theresa May said on Monday that Britain and China were enjoying a 'golden era' and the strategic partnership would not be derailed by her decision on whether to back a part-Chinese funded power station at Hinkley Point. "I have been clear that a decision about Hinkley will be taken later this month, but our relationship with China is about more than Hinkley," May told reporters after a two-day summit of leaders from G20 nations in China. The British government's surprise decision in July to delay the $24 billion nuclear plan has upset China, one of the backers of the scheme. "If you look at the investment that there has been from China in various other parts of the United Kingdom and other infrastructure and so forth in the UK, we have built a global strategic partnership with China. "I've been clear we will be continuing that global strategic partnership with China. It is a golden era of the relations between China and the UK, and I will have an opportunity later this evening to take forward those discussions." (Reporting by Willaim James, Writing by Paul Sandle; editing by Kate Holton) Jeff Flake Donald Trump lashed out at Sen. Jeff Flake on Sunday after the Republican from Arizona said he wasn't ready to vote for Trump. "The Republican Party needs strong and committed leaders, not weak people such as @JeffFlake, if it is going to stop illegal immigration," Trump said on Twitter Sunday night. He then tweeted an hour later: "The Great State of Arizona, where I just had a massive rally (amazing people), has a very weak and ineffective Senator, Jeff Flake. Sad!" In an interview with Jake Tapper on CNN's "State of the Union," Flake, a vocal Trump detractor, said he "simply can't" support Trump. "I would not vote for Hillary Clinton, and as of now, I would still not vote for Donald Trump," Flake said. "I just know that I would like to vote for Donald Trump. It's not comfortable to not support your nominee," he added. "But given the positions he's taken, and the tone and tenor of his campaign, I simply can't." Flake also suggested that Trump is in danger of losing Arizona to Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton, a belief he's held publicly since June. Arizona has voted Republican in every election except one since 1952. Bill Clinton in 1996 was the only Democrat to carry the state in that span. donald trump arizona "Arizona should still be a red state. But Donald Trump, with the rhetoric that he's under and the characterizations of, you know, many of the state's population, have put the state in play," Flake said. Arizona is more than 30 percent Hispanic, according to the latest Census data. Independent presidential candidate Evan McMullin came to Sen. Flake's defense with a jab at Trump, saying the GOP nominee is "[demonstrating] his fragility" by attacking people who oppose him. Clinton joined the fray, adding, "There's going to be no one left in Washington for Trump to work with who he hasn't insulted." The real-estate mogul has been criticized from both sides of the aisle after doubling down on his hard-line immigration platform, which includes building a wall along the US-Mexico border. Story continues View Trump's tweets below: The Republican Party needs strong and committed leaders, not weak people such as @JeffFlake, if it is going to stop illegal immigration. Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) September 4, 2016 The Great State of Arizona, where I just had a massive rally (amazing people), has a very weak and ineffective Senator, Jeff Flake. Sad! Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) September 4, 2016 Watch Flake's interview on CNN here: Jeff Flake stands his ground: "I simply can't" support Donald Trump. https://t.co/4CGZCNq2UM Kyle Griffin (@kylegriffin1) September 4, 2016 NOW WATCH: 'Taco Trucks on every corner': Watch the stunning comments made by the leader of 'Latinos for Trump' More From Business Insider Brazil-based Embraer S.A. ERJ has won a contract from Colorful Guizhou Airlines for up to five E190s, comprising two firm orders and three purchase rights. The expected value of the contract is $249 million at the current list price, if all purchase rights are exercised. The two firm orders will be included in Embraers third-quarter 2016 backlog and are scheduled for delivery in 2017. Past Orders Embraer had received orders from Colorful Guizhou Airlines for seven E190s at the 51st International Paris Air Show in Jun 2015. Of these, four have already been delivered. It goes without saying that the high quality of the E190s already delivered to Colorful Guizhou Airlines spurred the second order for the same aircraft. EMBRAER AIR-ADR Price EMBRAER AIR-ADR Price | EMBRAER AIR-ADR Quote Colorful Guizhou Airlines View about Embraer Zhai Yan, chairman of Colorful Guizhou Airlines, believes that this newly established and the first locally owned airline in Guizhou province requires established aircraft services to assure stable operations. In the last eight months, E190s have performed as per the airlines expectations and have helped it to provide passengers with a good travel experience. The airline is hopeful that the E190 fleet will help in building a sky passageway inside and beyond Guizhou province. Also, the airline expects to develop connectivity in Chinas Southwest Region with E190s in due course. Embraers View on China According to Guo Qing, Vice President, Sales & Marketing, Commercial Aviation, Embraer China, the country is one of the worlds most vibrant aviation markets and Guiyang is a significant potential hub in southwestern China. Being associated with Colorful Guizhou Airlines, the company expects to contribute to the Chinese governments Belt and Road Initiatives by providing the best products to passengers. Since long, Embraer is the leader in Chinese regional aviation with a market share of about 80%. At present, Embraer has 228 firm orders in China, which comprises 190 commercial aircraft - 38 are executive jets and 21 are awaiting government approval. Up till now, the company has delivered 168 aircraft. More about Embraer The company is the world's third-largest commercial aircraft manufacturer after The Boeing Co. BA and Airbus Group SE EADSY. The company designs, manufactures and sells aircraft and systems under both commercial and executive aviation, and defense and security segments. Embraer currently has a Zacks Rank #5 (Strong Sell). A Stock to Consider A better-ranked stock in the aerospace and defense industry is Engility Holdings, Inc. EGL, sporting a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy). Confidential from Zacks Beyond this Analyst Blog, would you like to see Zacks' best recommendations that are not available to the public? Our Executive VP, Steve Reitmeister, knows when key trades are about to be triggered and which of our experts has the hottest hand. Click to see them now>> Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report EMBRAER AIR-ADR (ERJ): Free Stock Analysis Report BOEING CO (BA): Free Stock Analysis Report ENGILITY HLDGS (EGL): Free Stock Analysis Report AIRBUS GROUP NV (EADSY): Free Stock Analysis Report To read this article on Zacks.com click here. Zacks Investment Research By Hadeel Al Sayegh and Andrew Torchia DUBAI (Reuters) - Saudi Arabia's top sovereign wealth fund is negotiating to buy a stake in one of the kingdom's most ambitious real estate projects as Riyadh restructures the economy to cope with low oil prices, a source familiar with the plan said. The Public Investment Fund aims to invest in King Abdullah Economic City (KAEC) on the Red Sea coast near Jeddah, the source said. That would inject capital into the business zone, now being developed by Emaar the Economic City (EEC) <4220.SE>, a Saudi consortium affiliated with Dubai's Emaar Properties Group , developer of the Burj Khalifa, the world's tallest building. Launched in 2005, KAEC had a population of only about 5,000 people and 120 industrial tenants at the end of last year, but says it plans to grow swiftly into a full-blown metropolis. The chief executive of the city, Fahd Al Rasheed, told Reuters in January its population was projected to hit 50,000 by 2020, with an ultimate target of 2 million around 2035. Tenants now include French pharmaceutical maker Sanofi , a venture involving U.S. battery maker Johnson Controls and producers of building materials. But with economic growth slowing sharply because of cheap oil, the government wants such zones to expand much faster and focus more on industries such as tourism, medical care and education to diversify the economy beyond oil and create jobs. Under economic reforms announced in April, the government said it would work with companies developing major business zones to "revamp" them; KAEC may be the first of those cases. "What they can do is inject cash. Its no secret KAEC needs a lot of equity for this project," the source said of the PIF's plan. KAEC, EEC and the PIF declined to comment. The source, speaking on condition of anonymity because the matter is not yet public, said the PIF could either buy a stake directly in KAEC and serve as a partner to develop the project along with EEC, or take a stake in EEC itself. Story continues EEC obtained a 5 billion riyal ($1.33 billion) loan from the Saudi Ministry of Finance in 2011, which has been extended until 2026, and the source said the company had a similar amount of debt to commercial banks. An investment by the PIF in the economic city would be a step in the fund's development as one of the most important institutions in the Saudi economy, using its financial power to push projects which the government considers vital. Under the economic reforms, the government has said it will expand the PIF from 600 billion riyals to over 7 trillion riyals, by giving it assets such as ownership of state oil giant Saudi Aramco. That would make the PIF the world's biggest sovereign fund by far, on paper though not necessarily in terms of the cash it had available for investment. The PIF will invest abroad - in June, it bought a stake in U.S. ride-hailing firm Uber for $3.5 billion - but it will focus much of its money and management attention on domestic projects designed to reduce Saudi Arabia's reliance on oil exports. For example, the PIF will take over Riyadhs floundering King Abdullah Financial District and restructure the project, sources have told Reuters. It is also expected to get involved in developing a Saudi shipbuilding industry and in restructuring state firms such as utility Saudi Electricity Co <5110.SE>. The PIF will "help unlock strategic sectors requiring intensive capital inputs. This will contribute towards developing entirely new economic sectors and establishing durable national corporations," the national reform plan reads. (Reporting by Andrew Torchia; editing by Peter Graff) Priyanka Yoshikawa smiles as she holds the trophy after winning the Miss Japan title at the Miss World Japan 2016 Beauty Pageant in Tokyo on September 5, 2016 (AFP Photo/Toru Yamanaka) (AFP) A half-Indian beauty queen with an elephant trainer's licence was crowned Miss Japan on Monday, striking a fresh blow for racial equality. Priyanka Yoshikawa's tearful victory comes a year after Ariana Miyamoto faced an ugly backlash for becoming the first black woman to represent Japan. Social media lit up after Miyamoto's trail-blazing triumph as critics complained that Miss Universe Japan should instead have been won by a "pure" Japanese rather than a "haafu" -- the Japanese for "half", a word used to describe mixed race. "Before Ariana, haafu girls couldn't represent Japan," Yoshikawa told AFP in an interview after her exotic Bollywood looks helped sweep her to the title. "That's what I thought too. I didn't doubt it or challenge it until this day. Ariana encouraged me a lot by showing me and showing all mixed girls the way." Yoshikawa, born in Tokyo to an Indian father and a Japanese mother, vowed to continue the fight against racial prejudice in homogenous Japan, where multiracial children make up just two percent of those born annually. "I think it means we have to let it in," said the 22-year-old when asked what it signified for her and Miyamoto to break down cultural barriers. "We are Japanese. Yes, I'm half Indian and people are asking me about my 'purity' -- yes, my dad is Indian and I'm proud of it, I'm proud that I have Indian in me. But that does not mean I'm not Japanese." Yoshikawa, like Miyamoto, was bullied because of her skin colour after returning to Japan aged 10 following three years in Sacramento and a further year in India. - Gandhi visit - "I know a lot of people who are haafu and suffer," said Yoshikawa, an avid kick-boxer whose politician great-grandfather once welcomed independence campaigner Mahatma Gandhi for a two-week stay at their home in Kolkata. "We have problems, we've been struggling and it hurts. When I came back to Japan, everyone thought I was a germ," she added. Story continues "Like if they touched me they would be touching something bad. But I'm thankful because that made me really strong." Yoshikawa, who speaks fluent Japanese and English and towered over her rivals at 1.76 metres (5 ft, 8 ins), will contest for the Miss World crown in Washington this December. "When I'm abroad, people never ask me what mix I am," said Yoshikawa, who earned her elephant trainer's licence to add spice to her resume. "As Miss Japan, hopefully I can help change perceptions so that it can be the same here too. The number of people with mixed race is only going to increase, so people have to accept it." Reaction to Yoshikawa's victory failed initially to trigger any real outrage, although predictably some were unhappy. "What's the point of holding a pageant like this now? Zero national characteristics," grumbled one Twitter user, while another fumed: "It's like we're saying a pure Japanese face can't be a winner." As the Japanese government continues to push its "Cool Japan" brand overseas to entice foreign tourists for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, Yoshikawa promised to win over any doubters. "There was a time as a kid when I was confused about my identity," she admitted. "But I've lived in Japan so long now I feel Japanese." JAKARTA/BEIJING, Sept 5 (Reuters) - Indonesia has asked the chairman of China's Alibaba Group Holding Ltd, Jack Ma, to act as adviser in the development of the Southeast Asian country's nascent e-commerce industry, according to a video released by the government. Indonesia has the world's fourth-largest population, boasting a young, internet-savvy demographic, and a thriving e-commerce market that is increasingly attracting global investors. Earlier this year, Alibaba bought a controlling stake in Southeast Asian online retailer Lazada Group for around $1 billion, while a group of investors led by private equity firms KKR & Co LP and Warburg Pincus LLC poured more than $550 million into Indonesian ride-hailing start-up Go-Jek. To promote growth in the e-commerce industry, the government is setting up a "steering committee" consisting of 10 ministers for which it has asked Alibaba's Ma to be an adviser, Communication and Information Minister Rudiantara said. "The thinking behind this is to make Indonesia's positioning in the international marketplace more prominent," Rudiantara said in a video released by the state secretariat. The minister, like many Indonesians, only uses one name. Rudiantara is part of President Joko Widodo's delegation attending the G20 summit in the Chinese city of Hangzhou. An Alibaba spokeswoman confirmed that Ma was asked to be adviser to Indonesia's e-commerce steering committee, but declined to say whether he had accepted the offer. (Reporting by Fransiska Nangoy in JAKARTA and Paul Carsten in BEIJING; Writing by Eveline Danubrata; Editing by Christopher Cushing) Prime Minister Shinzo Abe of Japan arrives to attend the G20 Summit in Hangzhou, Zhejiang province, China, September 4, 2016. Picture taken September 4, 2016. REUTERS/Etienne Oliveau/Pool HANGZHOU, China (Reuters) - Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe told the G20 summit on Monday that the issue of steel overcapacity should be addressed by pressing ahead with structural reforms based on market mechanisms, a senior Japanese government spokesman said. "Regarding overcapacity of steel and others, market distortion by subsidies and export credit is the fundamental problem... I would like to urge structural reforms based on market mechanisms, while maintaining transparency," Abe was quoted by Japanese Deputy Chief Cabinet Secretary Koichi Hagiuda as saying. Abe also urged that freedom of navigation and overflight be thoroughly observed according to law, Hagiuda said. He said Japan has lodged a stern protest to North Korea over its latest missile launches. (Reporting by Kiyoshi Takenaka; Editing by Nick Macfie) Saudi Arabia's Deputy Crown Prince and Minister of Defense Muhammad bin Salman Al Saud attends the opening ceremony of the G20 Leaders Summit in Hangzhou, China, September 4, 2016. REUTERS/Nicolas Asfonri/Pool By Ruby Lian, Josephine Mason and Rania El Gamal HANGZHOU, China (Reuters) - Saudi Arabia and Russia agreed on Monday to cooperate in oil markets, saying they will not act immediately but could limit output in future, sending oil prices higher on hopes the two top producers would work together to tackle a global glut. The joint statement was signed by the country's energy ministers in China on the sidelines of a G20 gathering and followed a meeting between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Saudi Deputy Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. Russian Energy Minister Alexander Novak said the two countries were moving to a strategic energy partnership and that a high level of trust would allow them to address global challenges. His Saudi counterpart Khalid al-Falih said the agreement would encourage other producers to cooperate. Oil prices soared almost 5 percent ahead of a news conference by the ministers but pared gains to trade up 2 percent by 1130 GMT as the agreement yielded no immediate action. "There is no need now to freeze production ... We have time to take this kind of decision," Falih said. "Freezing production is one of the preferred possibilities but it does not have to happen specifically today." Even if the Monday statement was short on actions, it marks a significant development in the Russia-Saudi relationship. The two countries have been effectively fighting a proxy war in Syria and Moscow also sees itself as a big ally of Iran - Riyadh's arch-rival in the Middle East. FREEZE TALKS The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries will hold informal talks in Algeria later this month, and is scheduled to meet officially in Vienna in November. Several OPEC producers have called for an output freeze to rein in the glut, which arose as supplies from high-cost producers such as the United States soared. The price collapse of the past two years has hit the budgets of major producers such as Russia and Saudi Arabia while leading to unrest and social tensions is smaller producing nations such as Venezuela and Nigeria. Story continues OPEC's de-facto leader Saudi Arabia has also signalled willingness to cooperate as it faces budget pressures and seeks to float a stake in state-owned producer Aramco. Any deal between OPEC and non-OPEC Russia would be the first in 15 years since Moscow agreed to cut production in tandem with the group at the turn of the millennium, although Russia never followed through on that promise. Novak said he was open to ideas on what cut-off period to use if producing nations decided to freeze output. If output is frozen at the levels of the start of 2015, it would effectively mean a production cut as most producers - including Saudi Arabia, Russia, Iraq and Iran - have steeply boosted production since then. Novak also said outright oil production cuts could also be discussed. CRUDE OVERHANG In April, Russia was prepared to freeze output together with OPEC but talks collapsed after Riyadh said it would agree to a deal only if OPEC's third-largest producer, Iran, participated. Iran argues that it needs to regain market share lost during years of Western sanctions, which were lifted in January. Putin said last week that a new deal on oil output could involve some compromise on Iranian output. "We believe that the oil market rebalancing has been rather delayed ... And certainly joint actions which were considered at the beginning of the year, including a freeze, could have drawn much nearer the date of rebalancing of the respective markets," Novak said on Monday. "We are ready, if there is such a decision, to join (an oil output freeze), TASS news agency cited Novak as saying. Oil prices collapsed to as low as $27 per barrel earlier this year from as high as $115 in mid-2014 but have since recovered to around $50. "The market is getting better and we noticed that the prices reflect this (improvement)," said Falih. "A coordinated and appropriate, collective decision on production will help bring balance and reduce inventories in a more timely manner". (Additional reporting by Maria Kiselyova and Katya Golubkova in Moscow; Writing by Henning Gloystein in Singapore and Dmitry Zhdannikov in London; Editing by Christian Schmollinger and Dale Hudson)